What does scrag mean?
Scrag is an uncommon but vivid English word that survives chiefly in older, informal, regional, and literary usage. As an adjective, it means lean, gaunt, or bony, especially of a person or animal; as a noun, it can denote such a lean creature, a bony portion of meat, or the neck or throat. The verb is chiefly forceful and threatening: to squeeze or seize the throat and, in older usage, to kill by strangling. Modern speakers will most often meet the word in dictionaries, novels, and historical texts rather than everyday conversation. Its uncertain origin adds interest: the word is attested from the late sixteenth century, but its source has not been securely identified. The term is useful because it compresses a strong physical impression—emaciation, leanness, or rough handling at the throat—into a single uncommon word.
A lean, bony person, animal, or thing; a lean portion of meat; or the neck or throat.
"The butcher set aside a scrag of boiled meat for the broth."
The meat sense is chiefly old-fashioned, while the neck-and-throat sense is especially associated with regional speech and informal usage.
Lean, thin, gaunt, or bony, especially of a person or animal.
"The hill farmer knew every scrag beast in the valley."
This use is now uncommon and often sounds old-fashioned, rural, or literary.
To squeeze, compress, or seize the throat; historically, to kill by strangling.
"The gang threatened that they would scrag anyone who informed on them."
The verb has a violent, threatening register and is chiefly found in older slang and historical contexts.
The plural is grammatical but rare, as the word itself is uncommon in modern usage.
"The yard was filled with scrags, their ribs sharply visible beneath their hides."
A single old word can describe both a bony scrap of mutton and a fierce grip at the throat.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of scrag
The word is attested from the late sixteenth century, but its ultimate origin is uncertain. It developed forms referring to a lean or bony person or animal, the neck or throat, and the act of squeezing or strangling. Because its source cannot be established securely, no specific cognate can be supplied with confidence.
Related word forms
How scrag is actually used
The word is uncommon in contemporary standard English. Its adjective and noun senses often have an old-fashioned or regional character, while its verb is forceful and potentially threatening. The strangling sense is especially associated with older criminal or military slang.