shanks' nag

noun

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

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Meanings

nounshanks' nag (plural shanks' nags)

plural shanks' nags

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

    He took shanks-naig, but fient may care.

    1774, Robert Fergusson, Poems on Various Subjects

Origin

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.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 十一路
  • 十一路walking
Icelandic fara á tveimur jafnfljótum, ganga
  • fara á tveimur jafnfljótumwalking
  • gangawalking
Swedish apostlahästar
  • apostlahästarwalking
Cite this entry
APA

shanks' nag. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shanks'%20nag

MLA

“shanks' nag.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shanks'%20nag. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shanks' nag,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shanks'%20nag.

Source: shanks' nag on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.