Longshanks
(ˈlɒŋʃæŋks)
[See shank n.]
1. A nickname given to Edward I of England on account of his long legs.
| [13.. P. de Langtoft Chron. (Rolls) II. 284 Lewelin..& David son frere, unt perdu manantie, Cil od le lunge jambes de tut est seisie. ? 1306 Pol. Songs (Camden) 223 Whil him lasteth the lyf with the longe shonkes. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 4 Kynge Edward the furst, that was callyd kinge Edward with the longshangkes.] 1590 Marlowe Edw. II, iii. ii. 12 Great Edward Longshanks' issue. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. vi. 342 Edward King of Ingland frome his lang leggis callid Lang-schankis. 1603 Drayton Barons' Wars ii. xxx. 34 Great Lancaster..Canst thou thy oath to Longshancks thus forget? a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Westminster (1811) II. 104 He was surnamed Longshanks, his step being another man's stride. |
b. Hence applied generally to a tall or long-legged person, often as a term of derision.
| 1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew, Long-shanks, long-legged. 1915 Dialect Notes IV. 206 There comes long⁓shanks across the fields. 1939 F. Thompson Lark Rise ii. 32 The two tamer children..would make a dash on their long stalky legs for their own garden gate followed by..cries of ‘Long-shanks! Cowardy, cowardy custards.’ 1954 J. R. R. Tolkien Fellowship of Ring xi. 193 He was smoking a short black pipe. As they approached he took it out of his mouth and spat. ‘Morning, Longshanks!’ he said. 1959 I. & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolch. ix. 169 In the following [terms] the chief emphasis is on height, ‘Lofty’ being the most popular nickname, followed by ‘Longshanks’. |
2. A stilt or long-legged plover.
| 1817 T. Forster Observ. Nat. Hist. Swallow 86 Charadrius himantopus, Longleggedplover, Longshanks, or Longlegs. 1831 A. Wilson & Bonaparte Amer. Ornith. III. 77 The name by which this bird is known on the sea⁓coast is the stilt or tilt, or long-shanks. |