scuff 
Other seruingmen there were witli the sayd Bassas, 
with red attire on their heads, much like French hoods, 
but the luiis llappe somewhat smaller towardes the end, 
with scii/es or plates of mettall, like vnto the chape of an 
ancient arming sword, standing on their foreheads. 
UaUuyt's Voyayes, II. 169. 
scuffle 1 (skuf'l), r. ?'.; pret. and pp. 
ppr. scuffling. [Formerly also .tkiitfle ; freq. of 
sen/ 1 . Cf. shuffle.'] To' pusli 01- light in a dis- 
orderly or scrambling manner: struggle con- 
fusedly at close quarters. 
A gallant man had rather fight to great disadvantages 
lor number and place in the Held in an orderlie waie then 
fkuffle with an undisciplined rabble. Eikun Basilike. iv. 
They [ships] being waited for by fifteen or twenty Dun- 
kirkers, which are not like to let them pass without some 
scuffling. Court and Times of Charles /., II. 3. 
Talbot Twysdon always arrived atBays's at ten minutes 
past four, and scujfted for the evening paper, as if its con- 
tents were matter of great importance to Talbot. 
Thackeray, 1'hilip, xxi. 
= Syn. See quarrel 1 , n. 
scuffle 1 (skuf'l), n. [< scuffle*, .] A confused 
pushing or struggle ; a disorderly rencounter or 
fight. 
There was a sfitffle lately here 't wixt the D. of Nevers and 
theCardinalofGuise; . . . they fell to Blows, the Cardinal 
struck the Duke first, and so were parted. 
lluirell, Letters, I. ii. 19. 
Bill's coat had been twisted into marvellous shapes in 
the scuffle. J. T. Trmcbridye, Coupon Bonds, p. 121. 
=Syn. Affray, Brawl, etc. See quarrel^. 
scuffle' 2 (skuf'l), . [A dial. var. of shovel (AS. 
seofl) : see s/iore/i.] 1. A form of garden hoe or 
thrust-hoe which is pushed instead of pulled, 
and commonly has a narrow, sharp blade set 
nearly in line with the handle : used for cutting 
off weeds beneath the surface of the ground. 
Where so much is to do in the beds, he were a sorry 
gardener who should wage a whole day's war with an iron 
scuffle on those ill weeds that make the garden-walks of 
life unsightly. Lou-ell, Biglow Papers, 1st ser., iii., note. 
2. A child's pinafore or bib. [Prov. Eng.] 
scuffle-harrow (skuf'l-har'6), >i. A form of 
harrow in which cutting-shares are substituted 
for the ordinary teeth. 
SCUffler 1 (skuf'l'er), n. [< scuffle* + -er 1 .] One 
who scuffles, or takes part in a scuffle. 
SCUffler 2 (skuf'ler), n. [< scuffle? + -er 1 .'] In 
agri., a kind of horse-hoe, or plow with a share 
somewhat like an arrow-head, used between 
drills of turnips or similar plants for rooting 
out weeds and stirring the soil. 
SCUffy (skuf'i), a. [< scuff 1 + -i/l.] 1. Lack- 
ing or having lost the original finish and fresh- 
ness, as from hard usage ; shabby : as, a scuffy 
hat; a scuffy book. 2. Shabby-looking; out- 
at-elbows; seedy: as, a scuffy fellow; a seuffy 
appearance. [Scotch or cdlloq. in both uses.] 
scuft (skuft), H. [Also corruptly scuff and scruff; 
< Icel. skopt, pron. and better written skoft, 
mod. assimilated skott, hair (of the head), also 
a fox's tail, = Goth, skufts, hair. Cf. Icel. 
skupla, a hat for old women, = MHG. scliopf, 
hair on top of the head; cf. also scut 2 .'] The 
nape of the neck; the scruff. [Obsolete or 
prov. Eng.] 
Down-stairs came Emily, . . . dragging after her the 
unwilling Keeper, . . . held by the "scufl of his neck," 
but growling low and savagely all the time. 
Mrs. Gaskell, Charlotte Bronte, xii. 
SCUg, . and r. See sku;/ 1 . 
SCUlduddery, . See skuldudrlery. 
sculjo, SCUlljoe (skul'jo), H. A haddock not 
split, but with the belly cut off, slack-salted, and 
dried hard. [Provincetown, Massachusetts.] 
sculk, SCUlker. See skulk, skulker. 
SCUlUt, 'ii. See skull 1 . 
scull 2 (skul), 11. [Also skull; a particular use 
of scull 1 , skull 1 , a bowl (the oar being named 
from the slightly hollowed blades, like the dish 
of a balance) : see scale 2 (and skoal) and skull 1 . 
Scull 2 is etym. identical with sculft, which is 
now more com- 
monly spelled 
skull: see skull 1 .'] 
1. A short, light, 
spoon-bladed 
oar, the loom of 
which is com- 
pfiratively short, 
so that one per- 
son can row 
open-handed 
with a pair of 
them, one on 
each side. 
Never mind the 
rudder; we don't 
want it, nor the wa- 
terman. Hand us 
5430 
that right-hand scull. That 's a smart chap! Now shove 
off ! Wlnite Mcleille, White Rose, II. vii. 
2. An par used to propel a boat by working it 
from side to side over the stern, the blade, 
which is always kept ic the water, being turned 
diagonally at each stroke. See cut in pr<-<-c.|- 
ing column. 3. A small boat fur passengers; 
a skiff; a wherry. 
The wherries then took the places in a great measure of 
our present cabs; and a cry of " Next Oars " or "Scullg." 
when anyone made his appearance at the top of "the Stairs. " 
was synonymous with ' Hansom " or " Four Wheeler. " 
J. Ashtnn, Social Life in Reign of 0,ueen Anne, II. 144. 
Not getting a boat, I was forced to walk to Stangate, 
and so over to White Hall in a scull. 
Pepys, Diary, March 21, 1609. 
scull 2 (skul), r . [< sculpt, .] I. trans. 1. To 
propel with one oar worked at the stern : as, to 
scull a boat. 2. To propel with sculls. 
II. intrans. 1. To work an oar against the 
water, at the stern of a boat, in such a way as 
to propel the boat. See sculling. 
Around him were the goblin train 
Hut he scull'd with all his might and main, 
And follow'd wherever the" sturgeon led. 
J. R. Drake, Culprit Fay, at. 20. 
2. To be sculled, or capable of being propelled 
by a scull or sculls: as, the boat sculls well. 
SCUll :i t (skul), n. An obsolete form of school 2 . 
SCUll 4 , H. See skull*. 
sculler 1 (skul'er), H. [Formerly also scitllar, 
xkuller; < scull 2 , v., + -erl.] 1. One who sculls 
a boat. 
Yon have the marshalling of all the ghosts too that 
pass the Stygian ferry ; and I suspect you for a share with 
the old gaoler there, if the truth were known. 
!i. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, I. 1. 
A sculler's notch in the stern he made, 
An oar he shaped of the Ijootle-blade. 
J. R. Drake, Culprit Fay, at. 18. 
2. A boat rowed by one man with a pair of 
sculls or short oars. 
Who chances to come by but fair Hero in a sculler? 
. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, v. 3. 
By water, at night late, to Sir O. Carteret's, but, there 
being no oars to carry me, I was fain to call a skuller that 
had a gentleman already in it. Pepys, Diary, July 12, 1665. 
The little Boats upon the Thames, whicli are only for 
carrying of Pel-sons, are light and pretty ; some are row'd 
but by one Man, others by two ; the former are call'd 
Scullers, and the latter Oars. 
Misson, in Ashton's Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, 
(II. 146. 
SCUller 2 t (skul'er), H. [Found in mod. E. use 
only in the Sc. var. scudler, scudlar, and as in- 
volved in scullery, q. v. ; < ME. squylloure, squyl- 
lare, squyler, < AF. scuiler, scalier, < OF. escuelier, 
escuellier, escueillier, escuillier, escutier, escullier, 
csculer, csquelier, an officer who had charge of 
the dishes, pots, etc., in a household, usually 
(in OF. ) a maker or seller of dishes and pots, = 
It. scotlcllaio, sciKlellaio, a dish-maker (Florio), 
< ML. scutellarius, an officer who had charge of 
the dishes, pots, etc., in a household, a maker 
or seller of dishes and pots, < L. scutella, a sal- 
ver, tray, ML. also a platter, plate, dish (> OF. 
esctiele, "cscitelle, F. ecuelle, a dish) : see scutella 1 , 
and ef. scuttle 1 and skillet, from the same souree. 
Cf . scullery. According to Skeat, the ME. nquyler, 
nquyllare, etc., are variants of an orig. sirillcr, 
a washer; but this is disproved by the forms 
cited above.] An officer or servant who had 
charge of the dishes, pots, etc., in a household, 
to keep them clean; a dish-washer. Prompt. 
Pan:, p. 471. 
How the squyler of the kechyn 
. . . went furth out at the sate. 
Robert of Brunne, Handlyng Synne, 1. 5913. 
All such other as shall long unto the squyllare. 
Rutland Papers, p. 100. (llaUiwell.) 
scullery (skul'er-i), M. ; pi. sculleries (-iz). 
[Early mod. E. also skullery, earlier squillary ; 
< ME. squi/lerey, < OF. ''euciielcrie, escueillerie, 
1'nculerie, f., the office of a servant who had 
charge of the dishes, etc., *esci lit : r, twiiellier, 
m., a place or room where dishes were kept, a 
scullery, < ML. scutellarium, neut., a place or 
room where dishes were kept, < L. scutella, a 
salver, ML. a platter, plate, dish: see sculler 2 , 
scuttle 1 . The word has no orig. connection with 
scullion, with which it is now commonly asso- 
ciated in thought.] 1. A place where dishes, 
kettles, and other kitchen utensils are kept and 
washed, and where the rough or slop work of a 
kitchen is done; a back kitchen. 
The pourvayours of the buttlarye and pourvayours of 
the squylerey. Ordinances and Regulations a/ the Jlo/ial 
[Household (1790), p. 77. (Skeat.) 
He shall be published . . . with cuts of the basting- 
ladles, dripping-pans, and drudging-boxes, #c., lately dug 
up at Rome out of an old subterranean sfatllery. 
W. Kiny, Art of Cookery, Letter v. 
sculpin 
2f. Slops; garbage; offal. 
The soot and skullery of vulgar insolency, plebeian pet 
ulancy, and fanatick contempt. 
fl]i. Gauden, Tears of the Church, p. 258. (Davies.) 
SCUlling (skul'ing), H. [Verbal n. of scull 2 , r.] 
The act or operation of propelling a boat with 
one oar at the stern. The oar is moved sidewise 
with a peculiar twist or feathering by which the handle 
describes a figure of 8, and the blade presses ngainst the 
water alternately on the one side and the other. The ac- 
tion of the hlade resembles that of a screw propeller, but 
the motion is alternating or reversed at each stroke, in- 
HU-IH! of a continuous revolution. See cut under scull-, 
scullion (skul'yon), n. [Early mod. E.seolioii, 
.ii;>nli/<>n : < ME", sculgon, sarliotie, a dish-washer : 
appar., with transferred sense (due perhaps to 
the association with scullery), < OF. escouillnn. 
escoucilloH, a dish-clout, a malkin or drag to 
sweep an oven, F. tcomillon, a malkin or drag to 
sweep an oven, a sponge for a gun, < 8p. esco- 
billim, a sponge for a gun, < escobilla, a small 
brush, dim. of cscolia, a brush, broom, = It. sco- 
pa, a broom, = OF. escouve, escovbe, F. ecoure, 
a broom, < L. scnjxt, pi. scopee, twigs, a broom 
of twigs : see scope 2 . The word is uow'gener-' 
ally associated in thought with scullery, whicli 
is, however, of different origin.] 1. A servant 
who cleans pots and kettles, and does other 
menial service in the kitchen or scullery. 
Then out spoke the young scullion boy, 
Said, ''Here am I, a caddie." 
The Rantin' Laddie (Child's Ballads, IV. 99). 
For hence will I, disguised, and hire myself 
To serve with scullions and with kitchen-knaves. 
Tennyson, Gareth and Lynette. 
Hence 2. A low, disreputable, mean fellow. 
Wilt thou prostrate to the odious charms 
Of this base scullion f Quarles, Emblems, v. 8. 
The meanest scullion that followed his camp. South. 
scullionly (skul'yon-li), a. [< scullion + -ly 1 .] 
Like a scullion; 'vile; mean. 
But this is not for an unbuttoned fellow to discuss in 
the garret at his trestle, and dimension of candle by the 
snutf ; which brought forth his scullionli/ paraphrase on 
St. Paul. Milton, Colasterion. 
SCUllionry (skul'yon-ri), n. [< scullion + -n/.] 
The work of a scullion ; drudgery. Cotgrave. 
sculljoe, n. See sculjo. 
SCUlp (skulp), r. t. [= It. scolpire, < L. scul- 
j>ere, cut out, carve in stone, akin to scalpere, 
scratch, grave, carve (see scalp 3 ), and prob. to 
Gr. yfoijteiv, hollow out, engrave (see glyph).] 
1. To cut; carve; engrave; sculpture. [Now 
colloq.] 
O that the words I speak were registred, . . . 
Or that the tenor of my just complaint 
Were sculpt with steel on rocks of adamant ! 
Sandys, Paraphrase of Job, xix. 
Architect Palloy sent a large model of the Bastille 
sculped in a stone of the fortress to every town in France. 
Harper's May., LXXV1I. 836. 
You pass under three spacious rest-houses, consider- 
ately erected by the monks, and are struck by the bold 
inscriptions in Chinese characters sculped on the face of 
the big stones and boulders which fringe the path. 
Fortnightly Ren., N. S., XLIII. 759. 
2. To flense, flay, or take the skin and blubber 
from, as a seal. [Newfoundland.] 
Having killed or at least stunned all they see within a 
short distance, they skin, or, as they call it, sculp them 
with a broad clasp knife, called a scnlping-knife. 
Fisheries of V. S., V. 11. 480. 
sculp (skulp), n. [< sculp, r., 2.] The skin of 
a seal removed with the blubber adhering to it. 
The legs, or nippers, and also the head, are then drawn 
out from the inside, and the skin is laid out flat and entire, 
with the layer of fat or blubber firmly adhering to it ; and 
the skin in this state is called the "pelt," and sometimes 
the sculp. Fisheries o/ U. S., V. ii. 480. 
SCulper (skul 'per), n. See scorper. 
SCUlpin, Skulpin (skul'pin), . 1. A calliony- 
inoid fish, Cauionymus lyra, having at the angle 
of the preoperculum a strong compressed den- 
tate spine; a dragonet: more fully called yel- 
low sculpin. See dragonet, 2, and cut under Cal- 
lionymus. 2. A mean or mischief-making fel- 
low. [Local slang, New Eng.] 
Ye see the miser'ble sculpin thought I'd never stop to 
open the goods. Sarah O. Jeteett, Deephaven, p. 88. 
3. A cottoid fish, especially of the genus Coi- 
tus (or Acanthocottiis), as C. seorpius of the 
northern Atlantic; C'. ffreenlandicvs, the daddy- 
sculpin ; C. iencits, the grubby of the New Eng- 
land and New York coasts. One of the commonest 
on the Atlantic coast of the United States is C. octodccim- 
spinosui. All these fishes are of ugly aspect, unshapely, 
with very large spiny head, wide mouth, comparatively 
slender tapering body, and irregularly mottled coloration. 
They inhabit the northern seas, and are especially numer- 
ous in the northern Pacific. Tlu-y are used by *he native 
Indians as food, but are generally held in contempt by the 
