"knacker's yard" meaning in English

See knacker's yard in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈnæk.əz ˌjɑːd/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈnæ.kɚz ˌjɑɹd/ [General-American] Audio: En-uk-knacker's yard.oga [Received-Pronunciation] Forms: knackers' yards [plural]
Etymology: From knacker (“one who slaughters and (especially) renders worn-out livestock (especially horses) and sells their flesh, bones and hides”) + -'s + yard. Etymology templates: {{m|en|knacker||one who slaughters and (especially) renders worn-out livestock (especially horses) and sells their flesh, bones and hides}} knacker (“one who slaughters and (especially) renders worn-out livestock (especially horses) and sells their flesh, bones and hides”), {{m|en|-'s}} -'s, {{m|en|yard}} yard Head templates: {{en-noun|knackers' yards}} knacker's yard (plural knackers' yards)
  1. The area of a slaughterhouse where carcasses unfit for human consumption or other purposes are rendered down to produce useful materials such as glue. Categories (topical): Fictional locations Synonyms: knackery, schindery Related terms: Inspector Knacker, knacker, knackered [adjective] Translations (area of slaughterhouse where carcasses are rendered down to produce useful materials): kafilerie [feminine] (Czech), équarrissoir [masculine] (French), Abdeckerei [feminine] (German), Kafillerei [feminine] (German)
    Sense id: en-knacker's_yard-en-noun-0rZBXgwT Disambiguation of Fictional locations: 74 26 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English entries with topic categories using raw markup Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 57 43 Disambiguation of English entries with topic categories using raw markup: 53 47 Disambiguation of 'area of slaughterhouse where carcasses are rendered down to produce useful materials': 97 3
  2. (colloquial, figuratively) A (notional) place to send a person or object that is spent beyond all reasonable use. Tags: colloquial, figuratively
    Sense id: en-knacker's_yard-en-noun-O560c7TM Categories (other): English entries with topic categories using raw markup, English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys Disambiguation of English entries with topic categories using raw markup: 53 47 Disambiguation of English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys: 43 57

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for knacker's yard meaning in English (8.5kB)

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          "text": "CXXV. The Commissioners may license such slaughter-house and knacker's yards as they from time to time think proper for slaughtering cattle within the limits of the special Act. CXXVI. No place shall be used or occupied as a slaughter-house or knacker's yard within the said limits which was not in such use and occupation at the time of the passing of the special Act, [...]",
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          "text": "It was a horrible smell of corrupt flesh and mouldy bones, mingling with the sickly steam of from cauldrons in which the anatomized animals were seething down. None save those who have been so unfortunate as to venture upon the confines of a knacker's yard, can possibly conceive the horrible nausea produced by these blended effluvia: it was enough to make the strongest stomach heave and become sick.",
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          "type": "quotation"
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        {
          "ref": "2012, Judith Flanders, “The World’s Market”, in The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens’ London, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne Books, part 2 (Staying Alive), page 138",
          "text": "In the 1820s, it was estimated that 400 horses a week were slaughtered via licensed horse-butchers (more commonly known as knackers' yards); by mid-century the number had risen to 1,000 horses weekly, and knackers' yards dotted the poorer districts – [...]",
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          "ref": "2014, Laurie McTaggart, “My Book of Life is Overdue at the Great Library in the Sky”, in Bell Street Blues: Poems, Kibworth Beauchamp, Leicestershire: Matador, page 86",
          "text": "By then, of course, we and the book are in a sorry state, / scuffed and grubby and having been used / often for purposes not strictly intended, / from doorstop to lavatory-paper, / and ended up in a knacker's yard. / I'm in the knacker's yard. Have been for a while … / and, really, there are worse places to be.",
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          "text": "CXXV. The Commissioners may license such slaughter-house and knacker's yards as they from time to time think proper for slaughtering cattle within the limits of the special Act. CXXVI. No place shall be used or occupied as a slaughter-house or knacker's yard within the said limits which was not in such use and occupation at the time of the passing of the special Act, [...]",
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          "text": "It was a horrible smell of corrupt flesh and mouldy bones, mingling with the sickly steam of from cauldrons in which the anatomized animals were seething down. None save those who have been so unfortunate as to venture upon the confines of a knacker's yard, can possibly conceive the horrible nausea produced by these blended effluvia: it was enough to make the strongest stomach heave and become sick.",
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          "text": "[T]he market [Smithfield Market] is surrounded by slaughter-houses and knackers' yards, tallow-melting, bone-boiling, tripe-washing, and other offensive trades; [...]",
          "type": "quotation"
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          "text": "In the 1820s, it was estimated that 400 horses a week were slaughtered via licensed horse-butchers (more commonly known as knackers' yards); by mid-century the number had risen to 1,000 horses weekly, and knackers' yards dotted the poorer districts – [...]",
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      "code": "cs",
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      "sense": "area of slaughterhouse where carcasses are rendered down to produce useful materials",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "kafilerie"
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    {
      "code": "fr",
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      "tags": [
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      "word": "équarrissoir"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "area of slaughterhouse where carcasses are rendered down to produce useful materials",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Abdeckerei"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "area of slaughterhouse where carcasses are rendered down to produce useful materials",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Kafillerei"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "note": "bakutil m (approximation; literally referring to feed manufacturing companies)",
      "sense": "area of slaughterhouse where carcasses are rendered down to produce useful materials"
    }
  ],
  "word": "knacker's yard"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-09 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (4d5d0bb and edd475d). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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