Definition

1. Noun:

   • The lean end of a neck of veal or mutton: The bony, less meaty part of an animal's neck, especially from a calf or sheep, often used for making stock or soup.
   • A person who is unusually thin and scrawny: (Informal, often derogatory) A very thin, bony, or gaunt person.

2. Verb:

   • To wring the neck of; to strangle: To kill or attack by squeezing the throat.
   • To execute or kill by garrotting: To strangle with a ligature, such as an iron collar or cord.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • The recipe calls for a scrag of mutton to flavor the broth.
  • He was a tall scrag of a man, all skin and bones.

• Verb:

  • The villain threatened to scrag the hero if he didn't cooperate.
  • Historical accounts state that heretics were scragged during the Inquisition.

Advanced Usage

• "Scrag-end": Specifically refers to the inferior, bony end of a neck of meat.
  • She bought some scrag-end of lamb to make a cheap, hearty stew.

Variants and Related Words

• Scraggy (adj): Thin and bony; scrawny.
  • The old tree had scraggy branches.
• Scrag-gly (adj): Rough, irregular, or untidy in form or growth.
  • He had a scrag-gly beard.

Synonyms

• Noun (for a thin person): Beanpole, skeleton, rake, bag of bones.
• Verb (to strangle): Throttle, choke, garrotte, wring the neck of.

Related Phrasal Verbs / Constructions

(This word does not commonly form standard phrasal verbs. Its verbal use is typically direct and transitive.)

Related Idioms

• "To be on the scrag": (Archaic/Rare slang) To be in danger of being hanged or executed.
  • The thief knew he was on the scrag if the constable caught him.

Noun

1. the lean end of a neck of veal
2. lean end of the neck
3. a person who is unusually thin and scrawny

Verb

1. wring the neck of
   • The man choked his opponent
2. strangle with an iron collar
   • people were garrotted during the Inquisition in Spain