Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

shanks' nag

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.76 in modern English

Syllables
shanks' -nag
IPA
17
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Transportation by foot. To "take a shanks' nag" means using one's own legs to walk.

Archaic

Example Sentences

  • "He took shanks-naig, but fient may care."

Etymology

Traced back to shanks-nag, 1758; The expression -- believed to be Scottish in origin (i.e. shanks-naig 1774), refers to the use of shank to refer to the part of the human leg between the knee and ankle.

Usage

Inflected Forms

shanks' nags (plural)

Phrases

shanks' mare shanks' pony shank-nag

Frequently Paired Words

shank-nag

Questions

What does shanks' nag mean?
Transportation by foot. To "take a shanks' nag" means using one's own legs to walk.
Where does shanks' nag come from?
Traced back to shanks-nag, 1758; The expression -- believed to be Scottish in origin (i.e. shanks-naig 1774), refers to the use of shank to refer to the part of the human leg between the knee and ankle.

How to pronounce shanks' nag

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “shanks' nag”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “shanks' nag”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “shanks' nag” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.