Quote:
Originally posted by Oz Referee
Kanckered - literally what they do to male animals when desexing them (ie castrate). Also commonly used when talking about broken down horses, I believe the processing plants for dead horses was once known as the Knackery (not sure of spelling).
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Like most of the Americans who frequent this board, "knackered" was a new word to me when OZ first used it. But in the last couple of days, I've sort of laughed about how odd it is and read OZ's definition this morning.
Then, in one of those absolutely bizarre coincidences that make life so interesting, I picked up an old copy of "Animal Farm" by George Orwell. I've never read the book, but I had a copy sitting on my bookshelves; a leftover from my father's high school days. I started reading just to see what it was like and came across a speech given by a pig, complaining about the fate that awaits even the most productive farm animal. Speaking to the strongest horse on the farm, he says:
"
the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones [the farmer] will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds".
How wierd is that? Never heard the word in 35 years. Then somebody tells me what it means, and it appears in the
very first book that I read after hearing the definition. I know this has nothing to do with basketball, but it was too cool not to share. Of course, I don't get out much, so you might not agree with my sense of "cool".
Chuck