scrat2+ (skrat)

[Early mod. E. also skrat; scratch1 (skrach), v. [An extended form of scrat, due to confusion with cratch1: see scrat1 and cratch1, and cf. scotch2.] I. trans. 1. To mark or wound slightly on the surface by the scraping or tearing action of something rough, sharp, or pointed. Daphne roaming through a thorny wood, Scratching her legs that one shall swear she bleeds. Shak., T. of the S., Ind., ii. 60. A sort of small sand-coloured stones, so hard as to scratch gla . N. Grew , Museum. 2. To rub or scrape, as with the finger-nails or with a scratcher, but without wounding or marking, as for the purpose of relieving itching or irritation. When he read, he scratch'd his head, And rav'd like one that's mad. Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow (Child's Ballads, V. 388). Enlarge, diminish, interline; Be mindful, when invention fails, To scratch your head, and bite your nails. Swift , On Poetry. cision: as, he escaped with a mere scratch on the face. My greatest hurt Is but a scratch compar'd to mortal wounds. Beau , and Fl . (?), Faithful Friends, iii. 3. 3. pl. A disease in horses, consisting of dry chaps, rifts, or scabs between the heel and the pastern-joint.-4. In various contests: (a) The line from which the contestants start. The runners stand with their toes on the scratch , the starter calls "set," and the men a ume the positions which they think will get them into their best speed the quick IMG:content-0363.png:[blocks in formation] The report reached us, and with a scurry the five ponies came away from the scratch , followed by a cloud of dust. The Century , XXXVIII. 403. The scratch , or line from which the jump is taken, is a joist, some five inches wide, sunk flush with the ground. The Century, XL. 207. (b) A line drawn acro a prize-ring, to which boxers are brought in order to join fight. See to come up to the scratch, under come. (c) The starting-point or time of starting of a player or contestant who has to make the full score or who is allowed no odds in a handicap game or contest; also, a player or competitor holding such a position.-5. In billiards, a stroke which is succe ful, but not in the way intended; a fluke.-6. A kind of wig covering only a part of the head; a scratch-wig. When I was last at Paris, no person of any condition, male or female, appeared but in full dre , and there was not such a thing to be seen as a peruque ronde; but at present I see a number of frocks and scratches in a morning in the streets of this metropolis. Smollett, Travels, vi. ( Davies.) 7. A calcareous, earthy, or stony substance which separates from sea-water in boiling it for salt. Rees.-8. A scrawl. [Colloq.] "This is Chichely's scratch. What is he writing to you about?" said Lydgate, wonderingly, as he handed the note George Eliot, Middle march, lxxv. to her. To come up to the scratch. See come. To toe the scratch, to come to the scratch; be ready to meet one's opponent. [Colloq.] II. a. 1. Taken at random or haphazard, or without regard to qualifications; taken indis[Colloq.] scribble. If any of their labourers can scratch out a pamphlet, they desire no wit, style, or argument. Swift . 4. To dig, scrape, or excavate with the claws: as, some animals scratch holes in which they burrow.-5. To erase or blot out; obliterate; expunge. His last act is to try and get his name scratched, so that he may not die in the service of a stranger. W. H. Ru ell, Diary in India, I. 189. IMG:content-0364.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-0365.png:[blocks in formation] (b) In U. S. politics, to erase (the name of a candidate on a printed ballot) by drawing a line through it; hence, to reject (a candidate). - To scratch out, to erase; rub out; obliterate. Syn. 1. Chafe, Abrade, etc. See scrape. II. in trans. 1. To use the nails, claws, or the like for tearing the surface, or for digging, as a hen. Dull tame things... that will neither bite nor scratch . The indefatigable zeal with which she scratched , and her unscrupulousne in digging up the choicest flower or vegetable for the sake of the fat earth-worm at its root. Hawthorne , Seven Gables, x. a var. of scrat2, as in the dial. Aud Scrat, the devil: see scrat2. Cf. scratch1, var. of scrat1.] A devil: only in the phrase Old Scratch, the devil. scratch-awl (skrach'al), n. A scriber or scribeawl. Same as back scratch-back (skrach'bak), n. scratcher, 1. scratch-brush (skrach'brush), n. A name of various brushes. ( a ) A brush of hard, fine bra wire, used in metal-working, particularly by workers in fine metals and alloys and electroplaters, for operating upon metal surfaces to remove dead luster and impart liancy. (b) A brush of iron or steel wire, used by bra and iron-founders for cleaning sand from castings. (c) A brush of fine spun gla , sometimes used by electroplaters for imparting brilliant surfaces to articles of extreme delicacy. scratch-coat (skrachʻkōt), n. 2. To relieve cutaneous irritation by the scrap- In plastering , ing action of the nails or claws or of a scratcher. the rough coat of plaster first laid on. In two- If my hair do but tickle me, I must scratch. Shak., M. N. D., iv. 1. 28. 3. In U. S. politics, to expunge or delete a name on a voting-paper or ballot; reject one or more candidates on a regular party ticket, by canceling their names before casting the ballot. The greatest scolds are notoriously partisans who have themselves scratched and bolted whenever it was their interest or pleasure to do so. The Century, XXXVII. 314. 4. In billiards, to make a scratch or fluke. To scratch along, to scramble on; get along somehow. [Colloq.] "Oh, I suspect we'll scratch along all right," Macarthy replied. H. James , Jr. , Harper's Mag., LXXVII. 88. Where the hen scratches. See hen.