▪ I. scut, n.1
(skʌt)
Also 6–7 scutte, 6–8 skut(t, (9 scud).
[Of obscure origin: prob. allied to scut a.
Connexion with ON. skut-r stern of a vessel (Norw. skut either end of a boat), or with mod.Icel. (tóu-) skott (fox's) tail, has often been assumed, but appears unlikely.]
1. a. A short erect tail, esp. that of a hare, rabbit, or deer. (Quot. 1530 may belong to sense 2, which is recorded earlier.)
| 1530 Palsgr. 268/2 Scutte. 1576 Turberv. Venerie 243 The tayle of an Hare and Conney is called their Skut. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. v. v. 20 My Doe, with the blacke Scut? 1601 Holland Pliny xi. l. I. 352 Those that be long shagged and rugged, have very little and short skuts, as Beares. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. vi. x. 329 How the Indian Hare came to have a long tayle, whereas that part in others attains no higher then a scut? 1770 G. White Selborne, To Pennant Mar. (1789) 79 It's scut [the moose's] seemed to be about an inch long. 1868 Cussans Her. (1893) 89 The tail of a Fox is called the Brush;..of a Hare or Rabbit (heraldically termed Coney), the Scut. 1869 Blackmore Lorna D. xix, The goat..rushed at him..his little scut cocked like a gun-hammer. |
† b. (See quot.) Obs.
| 1601 Holland Pliny xxxii. v. II. 434 If the husband take a frogg and spit her..alength upon a reed, so as it goe in at the skut or nature [printed mature] behind and come foorth againe at the mouth. |
2. † a. A hare. Obs.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 451/1 Scut, hare. 1523 Skelton Garl. Laurel 632 Masid as a marche hare, he ran lyke a scut. |
b. Hunting. The hare as the object of the chase. Also fig.
| 1809 Malkin Gil Blas viii. ix. (Rtldg.) 296 The minister was ready to burst with laughing, to see me so eager after the scut. 1826 Sporting Mag. XVII. 378 This day being devoted to the scut, we accompanied Mr. Lyster. 1877 Coursing Cal. 1876 21 Handling her hare in grand style, never left the scut until she killed. Ibid. 78 Keeping well to the scut, she never gave her opponent a chance. 1921 Galsworthy To Let iii. xi. 310 He sat there a long time dreaming his career, faithful to the scut of his possessive instinct. |
Hence ˈscutted a. (only in Comb.).
| 1634 W. Wood New Eng. Prosp. ii. xv. 89 An English Mare..stumbled into one of these traps;..the Indians..seeing such a long scutted Deere, praunce in their Merri⁓totter [etc.]. |
▪ II. † scut, n.2 Obs. rare.
[Perh. a. early mod.Du. schut, schutte embankment.]
? An embankment.
| 1561 Nottingham Rec. IV. 124 Tellyng of the skutte and other worke about the Bryges. |
▪ III. † scut, a. and n.3 Obs.—0
[Of obscure origin: perh. related in some way to short a., skirt n.]
a. adj. Short. b. n. A short garment.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 451/1 Scut, or schort, curtus, brevis. Ibid., Scut, garment, nepticula. |
▪ IV. scut, n.4 dial. or slang.
(skʌt)
Also scutt, skut.
[? Var. of scout n.2]
A term of contempt for a person.
| 1873 Trollope Harry Heathcote (1874) vi. 146, I thought you was ringing trees for that young scut at Gangoil? 1895 M. E. Francis Frieze & Fustian 63 I'll pinnance ye, ye little scut! 1901 Longman's Mag. Sept. 405 Moran, ye scut! don't be skirmishin'. 1916 J. B. Cooper Coo-oo-ee viii. 95 The likes of them skuts to find fault with my cookin'—'deed it's more than O'Callaghan himself would dare do. 1929 W. Deeping Roper's Row ix. 96 He always was a precocious little scut. 1936 M. Franklin All that Swagger xxvii. 254 You speak like a low-down scut. 1970 L. Sanders Anderson Tapes xii. 41 You bloody scut! Forget it! 1978 ‘M. M. Kaye’ Far Pavilions lxiii. 863 You'd think those scutts could have given us a bit more notice... It's a shabby lot they are. |
▪ V. scut, n.5 U.S. colloq.
(skʌt)
[Origin unknown: cf. prec.]
Tedious menial work. Freq. attrib. in scut work.
| 1960 Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 454/1 Scud, scut,..hard, boring, or tedious tasks; minor details that are unrewarding and time-consuming. 1972 Newsweek 10 Jan. 37/2 Huber inflicted a fair amount of scut work on the boy—washing dishes, fetching books and journals from the library. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 20 Mar. 14/2, I did all the scutwork: paid the bills, ran the houses, drove the children. 1978 L. Pryor Viper (1979) iii. 40 The servants..were..brought from Iran and Turkey to do the scut work. 1978 Maledicta II. 69 Scut, menial medical procedures that must be carried out, usually relegated to the least senior member of the medical team. |
▪ VI. † scut, v. Obs.
[? f. scut a.]
trans. To dock, cut short.
| 1530 Palsgr. 707/2, I scutte, je docque. |
▪ VII. scut
variant of scout n.3