Claw

CLAW, sb.1 and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Yks. Chs. Lin. Lei. War. Shr. e.An. Dev. Amer. [klǭ.]

1. sb. Fig. Hand, clutch, hold. Gen. in pl. Sc. I owre my shouther gae a stare Tae jeuk her claws, Quinn Heather (ed. 1863) 41. Fif. He beheld ilk bishop's claw Glaum at his fish and cleik them a', Tennant Papistry (1827) 39. Ayr. Our friend wasna slack either with teeth or wi' claw on the dainties, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) x. Elg. Guide keep us aye oot o' yer claws, man, Tester Poems (1865) 169. s.Lin. Tek y'r mucky claws out o' my sight (T.H.R.).
2. A scratch. Abd. He rubbit his hands, and ga'e his lugs a claw, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 90. Rnf. Jeanie, wi' her nails impared, His haffets gies a claw, Barr Poems (1861) 140. Ayr. Poverty, noo, has gien us a claw, Ballads and Sngs. (1846) I. 117; The day he stude his country's friend, Or gied her faes a claw, Burns Laddies by the Banks o' Nith (1789). Lnk. Johnnie gied his heid a bit claw, an' scarted oot the best answer in 't, Wardrop J. Mathieson (1881) 11.
3. A kind of iron spoon used for scraping the bake-board. Ags. (Jam.)
4. v. To scratch, to tear with the claws. Also used fig. pret. tense clew, pp. clawn. Sc. Your conduct will gar you claw a beggar's haffet yet, Henderson Prov. (1832) 17, ed. 1881; Claw me and I'll claw you, HENDERSON Prov. 105. Elg. The diel's in the bees, in the midges an' fleas; We've claw'd till we've naething to claw, man, Tester Poems (1865) 168. Abd. I fidg'd, an' flet, an' sobb'd, an' sigh'd; and cla'd my head, Cock Strains (1810) I. 99. Frf. It claw'd the crowns o' guid twa hunder, Sands Poems (1833) 78. Per. [I] clew at my head ─ I was sairly tongue-tied, Nicoll Poems (1843)
5. Fif. He clawed his pow a-wee, mutterin' to himsel', Robertson Provost (1894) 63; A lassie fair... Ance slighted me... But I didna like to claw that... I gat the slight, I took it light, Gray Poems (1811) 148. Ayr. Ne'er claw your lug, an' fidge your back, Burns Author's Earnest Cry (1786) st. 6; He clew his elbock in gleeful anticipation of the story, Service Dr. Duguid (1887) 257. Lnk. I'm gled ye lik't yon hamely screed, For mony a time I've clawed my heid, An' thocht I micht din't better, Wardrop J. Mathieson (1881) 92. Lth. I... canna cast my ain claes, nor yet claw my ain knee, Ballantine Poems (1856) 93. Edb. I may claw a hungry wame, Crawford Poems (1798) 5. Rxb. He clew his head an' look'd fu' queer, A. Scott Poems (1808) 194; Let them gae fight it on the main, And claw the scalp o' foreign faes, Riddell Poet. Wks. (1871) I. 212. Kcb. Clawing and curing his scabs, and letting out his boils, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 142. Slk. An' your daft pow to claw, Geordie, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 363; The cauld sweat brak on him an' he clew his head, HOGG Tales (1838) 70, ed. 1866. n.Cy. Border Gl. (Coll. L.L.B.) Nhb. He sits in his huddock and claws his bare buttock, Allan Coll. Tyneside Sngs. (1891) 4. Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 322. n.Lin.1 Th' cat's claw'd th' side o' my Sunda' silk goon fra' top to bottom. Hence (1) Clawed, ppl. adj. having claws, finger-nails; (2) Clawing, vbl. sb. scratching, clawing. (1) Elg. A weel-claw'd paw whishts the harangue, Syne a' is right, Couper Tourifications (1803) I. 6; ‘A weel-claw'd paw’ is a hand with well or daintily trimmed nails (A.W.). (2) Sc. Clawing is bad ─ it begins wi' pleasure and ends wi' pain, Henderson Prov. (1832) 17, ed. 1881.
6. To snatch, seize, lay hold of roughly; to handle. Also used fig. to embrace, fondle. Rnf. We trust a weighty-tochered wife He'll some day claw, McGilvray Poems (ed. 1862) 95. w.Yks.5 The shambles have a bad repute because dirty Irishwomen are accustomed to go the length of them, from one end to the other, on a Saturday night, ‘clawing ower ivvry bit o' meit 'at thuh can lig ther fing-ers tul: an' aw-alus claw t'meit wal ther trying to chēap it.’ ‘It lukes as if it hed been clawen bonny an' weel.’ Shr.1 Now, childern, yo' needna claw out o' the basket as soon as it's pŭt down, yo'n get whad's in it none the sooner; Shr.2 He claw'd hout on it. e.An.1 nw.Dev.1 I ba-ant a-gwain vor titch min arter they've a-bin claw'd all auver.
7. To scrape. Elg. I'm sick o' brose an' brochan dose, A richer caup I'll claw yet, Tester Poems (1865) 120. Frf. An empty parritch-pat ye'll claw, Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 31. Gall. All soldiers are great trenchermen, and can right nobly ‘claw a bicker,’ Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xxvii.
8. To flatter, cringe to, to toady. Lei.1, War.3
9. To strike, hit. Sc. Wi' sword and targe into their hand... The lads began to claw, then, Chambers Sngs. (1829) I. 43. Kcd. I gar'd my cudgel claw his head, Till he fell o'er as he'd been dead, Jamie Muse (1844) 96.
10. To do anything vigorously, vehemently; to lift smartly, snatch up. Abd. Syne claw'd awa the reels and jigs Like ony thing, Beatties Parings (1801) 11; Their soles they were na sweer to claw, But trampit it fu' clean awa', Shirrefs Poems (1790) 213.
11. Comp. (1) Claw-back, (a) a backbiter; (b) a flatterer, wheedler, parasite; (2) Claw-hammer, (a) a pig's foot; (b) a swallow-tail coat; (3) Claw-ill, an ulcer in the feet of cattle; (4) Claw-poke, an ignorant, silly dummy; (5) Claw-tooling, the rough dressing on the face of a stone wall, done by the chisel. (1, a) Chs.1 Chs.3 (b) n.Yks.2, Lei.1 (2, a) N.I.1 (b) Lth. A gigantic flunkey, in claw-hammer coat, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 211. N.I.1 [U.S.A. The boys made very unpleasant remarks concerning his clothing, particularly his ‘claw-hammer coat,’ Adeler Hurly Burly (1878) xxiv.] (3) w.Dev. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796). (4) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 15, 1884) 8. (5) s.Yks. (S.O.A.)
12. In phr. (1) to claw the back, fig. to gratify, please; (2) claw an auld (or auld man's) pow, to live to old age; (3) claw whar ye dinna youk or whar ye're no youkie, to receive a beating; also used fig.; (4) claw favour, to curry favour; (5) claw aff, to eat with rapidity and voracity; (6) claw up one's mittens, to kill, overturn; to put an end to, finish. (1) Abd. That speech mith claw the billy's back, I'm sear, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 162. e.Lth. Claw my back, an' I'll claw yours, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 111. (2) Sc. I've seen o' late fu' many a howe, An' claw, owre soon, an auld man's pow, Picken Poems (1813) II. 140 (Jam.). nw.Abd. Gin young fowk winna guide themselves, Grey heeds they'll never claw, Goodwife (1867) st. 53. Frf. They needna expect e'er to claw an auld pow, Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 75. Ayr. Until a pow as auld's Methusalem He canty claw, Burns Verses at Selkirk (1787) st. 12. (3) Sc. I'll gar ye claw whar ye dinna youk (Jam.). Abd. The pointer whare never it yeuk'd gar't him claw, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 205. Ayr. I hae a thought that would gar baith you and them claw whar it's no yeuky, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) xcvi. Gall. The cat o' nine tails was never sae near clawing my shouthers whare they werena yeukie, Nicholson Hist. Tales (1843) 128. (4) Sc. Ane who deserts his ain friends to claw favour wi' the rats of Hanover, Scott Waverley (1814) xi. (5) Syne claw'd it aff most cleverly Till he could eat nae mair, Herd Coll. (1776) II. 200 (Jam.). Abd. Nor did they think it ony sin What they did eat; But claw'd a' aff with little din, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 212. (6) Sc. Mamma... will claw up both your mittens, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) xvii. Fif. Applied to shooting a hare (s.v. Mittens) (Jam.). Rxb. Also to killing a man (JAM.). [7. To claw (flatter), blandior, demulceo, Coles (1679); Laugh when I am merry, and claw no man in his humour, SHAKS. Much Ado, I. iii. 18. 10. (b) Blandisseur, a flattering sycophant or claw-back, COTGR.]

CLAW, sb.2 Sc. A clause. Ayr. Ye forget the other claw about Watty and Geordie, Galt

Entail (1823) viii.

CLAW, see Clow.

‡CLAW, v. n.Cy. [Not known to our correspondents.] In phr. to claw off, to reprove. (Hall.)