<B>scraper, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an instrument or tool for scraping. <BR> <I>Ex. We removed the loose paint with a scraper.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a person who scrapes: <DD><B> a. </B>(Figurative.) a person who scrapes together money meanly; miser. <DD><B> b. </B>a fiddler, as a person who scrapes the strings (used in an unfriendly way). <DD><B> c. </B>a barber, as a person who scrapes the skin in shaving. <DD><B> 3. </B>a two-wheeled, tractor-drawn machine for excavation and hauling, used especially on fairly dry ground and in wide areas that are not too hilly. </DL>
<A NAME="scrapheap">
<B>scrapheap, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a pile of scraps. <DD><B> 2. </B>a place for useless or worn-out things. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to consign to a scrapheap. <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) to discard as useless or worthless. </DL>
<A NAME="scrapie">
<B>scrapie, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a virus disease of sheep which attacks the nervous system, usually causing death. <BR> <I>Ex. Scrapie is ... so named because bleating victims rub themselves against posts or wire to relieve the itching (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="scraping">
<B>scraping, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of a person or thing that scrapes. <DD><B> 2. </B>the sound produced by this. <BR><I>expr. <B>scrapings,</B> </I>that which is scraped off, up, or together. <BR> <I>Ex. An apprentice ... thinking of ... the miseries of the milk and water, and thick bread and scrapings (Dickens).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="scrapiron">
<B>scrap iron,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> broken or waste pieces of old iron to be melted and used again. </DL>
<A NAME="scrapman">
<B>scrapman, </B>noun, pl. <B>-men.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a junkman who deals in old or discarded metal. <BR> <I>Ex. The affluent society only wants new cars and the scrapman has lost interest in old ones (New Scientist).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="scrappage">
<B>scrappage, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the act of scrapping, especially old cars. <DD><B> 2. </B>what is scrapped; amount scrapped. </DL>
<A NAME="scrapper">
<B>scrapper, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Slang.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a person who scraps or fights; boxer. <BR> <I>Ex. a good lightweight scrapper.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative.) a person given to fighting. <BR> <I>Ex. He's a real scrapper for a little boy.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="scrapple">
<B>scrapple, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> scraps of pork or other meat boiled with corn meal or flour, made into cakes, sliced, and fried. </DL>
<A NAME="scrappy">
<B>scrappy</B> (1), adjective, <B>-pier,</B> <B>-piest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>made up of odds and ends. <BR> <I>Ex. a scrappy meal of leftovers.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>fragmentary; disconnected; disjointed. <BR> <I>Ex. a scrappy conversation.</I> adv. <B>scrappily.</B> noun <B>scrappiness.</B> </DL>
<B>scraps, </B>noun pl.<DL COMPACT><DD> See under <B>scrap</B> (1). </DL>
<A NAME="scrapyard">
<B>scrapyard, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the place where a scrapman stores his items and carries on his business. <BR> <I>Ex. Most cars will reach the scrapyard by their tenth birthday (London Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="scratch">
<B>scratch, </B>verb, noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to break, mark, or cut slightly with something sharp or rough. <BR> <I>Ex. Your shoes have scratched the chair.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to tear or dig with the claws or nails. <BR> <I>Ex. The cat scratched me.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to rub or scrape to relieve itching, to give pleasure, or from force of habit. <BR> <I>Ex. Don't scratch your mosquito bites. He scratched his head.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to rub with a harsh noise; rub. <BR> <I>Ex. He scratched a match on the wall.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>to write or draw in a hurry or carelessly; scribble. <BR> <I>Ex. I also scratched down another ballad (Scott).</I> <DD><B> 6. </B>to scrape out; strike out; draw a line through. <BR> <I>Ex. I have often scratched out passages from papers and pamphlets (Jonathan Swift).</I> <DD><B> 7. </B>to withdraw (as a horse or candidate) from a race or contest. <BR> <I>Ex. High Gun, a good horse in America who has been difficult to train this season, was officially scratched yesterday (London Times).</I> <DD><B> 8. </B>(Figurative.) to gather by effort; scrape. <BR> <I>Ex. The oil wealth has yet to trickle down to many thousands of half-nomadic rural Venezuelans, who scratch subsistence diets out of jungle clearings (Time).</I> <DD><B> 9. </B>(U.S.) <DD><B> a. </B>to split (one's ballot) but still support most of the members of one's party. <DD><B> b. </B>to fail to support part of (a party ticket). <DD><B> c. </B>to erase the name of (a candidate) on a party ticket. <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to use the claws, nails, or the like, as for tearing a surface or digging. <DD><B> 2. </B>to rub some part of one's body to relieve itching, to give pleasure, or from force of habit. <DD><B> 3. </B>to rub with a slight grating noise. <BR> <I>Ex. This pen scratches.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Figurative.) to get along with difficulty. <DD><B> 5. </B>to withdraw from a race or contest. <DD><B> 6. </B>to make a miss or fluke in billiards or pool. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a mark made by scratching. <BR> <I>Ex. There are deep scratches on this desk.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a very slight cut. <BR> <I>Ex. He escaped with only a scratch on his face.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>a rough mark made as by a pencil or pen; hasty scrawl; scribble. <DD><B> 4. </B>the sound of scratching. <BR> <I>Ex. the scratch of a pen, the scratch of a match.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>any act of scratching. <DD><B> 6a. </B>the line marking the starting place of a race or contest. <DD><B> b. </B>the starting place, time, or status of a competitor who has neither allowance nor penalty. <DD><B> c. </B>such a competitor. <DD><B> 7. </B>(formerly) a line at which boxers met and began to fight. <DD><B> 8. </B>in billiards or pool: <DD><B> a. </B>a miss. <DD><B> b. </B>a fluke. <DD><B> 9. </B><B>=scratch wig.</B> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>for quick notes, a first draft, or the like. <BR> <I>Ex. scratch paper.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>collected or prepared by chance or hastily and often of poor quality. <BR> <I>Ex. a scratch football team, a scratch crew, a scratch meal.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>done by chance; dependent on chance. <BR> <I>Ex. a scratch shot.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>without a handicap in a race. <BR><I>expr. <B>from scratch,</B> </I>with no advantage; from the beginning. <BR> <I>Ex. He had to borrow money and start his business from scratch. Its rulers are virtually starting from scratch, not only in industrialization but in administration (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>up to scratch,</B> </I>up to standard; in good condition. <BR> <I>Ex. "The Lost Princess" is ... a shepherd's daughter, who has also been taken in hand by the wise woman but who fails to come up to scratch (New Yorker).</I> noun <B>scratcher.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="scratch">
<B>Scratch, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the Devil. </DL>
<A NAME="scratchboard">
<B>scratchboard, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a kind of cardboard covered with chalk, used for drawings, as in pen and ink or crayon. Its prepared surface can also be scratched out with a cutting tool to achieve certain effects of lighting. </DL>
<A NAME="scratchgage">
<B>scratch gage</B> or <B>gauge,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a tool for marking on metal, having a hard steel point. </DL>
<A NAME="scratchhit">
<B>scratch hit,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a weakly hit ground ball to the infield in baseball, that enables a fast base runner to reach first base before the throw. </DL>
<A NAME="scratchline">
<B>scratch line,</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a line which marks the start of a race. <DD><B> 2. </B>a line which may not be crossed in performing the broad jump, javelin throw, or other field event. </DL>
<A NAME="scratchpad">
<B>scratch pad,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a pad of paper for hurried notes or first-draft writing. </DL>
<A NAME="scratchsheet">
<B>scratch sheet,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S. Slang.) a publication that lists the horses scratched from a race and other racing information; form sheet. </DL>
<A NAME="scratchtest">
<B>scratch test,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a test for allergy to a particular substance, made by scratching the skin with a dose of the substance. </DL>
<A NAME="scratchwig">
<B>scratch wig,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a wig covering only part of the head. </DL>
<A NAME="scratchy">
<B>scratchy, </B>adjective, <B>scratchier,</B> <B>scratchiest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>that scratches, scrapes, or grates. <BR> <I>Ex. a scratchy pen.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>consisting of mere scratches. <BR> <I>Ex. scratchy writing. A child's first drawings are scratchy.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>scanty; straggling. <BR> <I>Ex. scratchy hair.</I> adv. <B>scratchily.</B> noun <B>scratchiness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="scrawl">
<B>scrawl, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t., v.i. </I> to write or draw poorly or carelessly. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>poor, careless handwriting. <DD><B> 2. </B>something scrawled, such as a hastily or badly written letter or note. noun <B>scrawler.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="scrawly">
<B>scrawly, </B>adjective, <B>scrawlier,</B> <B>scrawliest.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> awkwardly written or drawn. </DL>
<A NAME="scrawniness">
<B>scrawniness, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> scrawny quality or appearance. </DL>
