Shank's mare

[Jim Parish]

Mark Mandel wrote:
> It occurs more recently (1874-77) in the US, with the pleonastic d.o.
> "it": So, rolling my grub in my blanketI left all my tools on the
> groundI started one morning to shank itFor the country they call Puget
> Sound.The Old Settler's Song, or Acres of
> Clams.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Settler%27s_Song_%28Acres_of_C
> lams%29> See also on Mudcat
> Cafe<http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=3507#815633>

Compare also "leg it" and "hoof it". No citations off the top of my head,
but I've seen both of them many times. A bit further afield, baseball-talk
also includes such expressions as "leg out a hit", to reach first on a
bunt or ground ball, purely by virtue of one's footspeed.

I could swear I've also run across "ankling".

Jim Parish

Jim Parish

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