Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1907
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HACK, n.3 The foot-rest on a peat-spade, consisting usu. of a projecting pin or block on the right-hand side of the shaft (Ork.5 1956). Hence comb. hack-spade, a peat-spade; phr. up to the hack, fig. firmly imbedded or fixed, securely in position, from the distance up to which the spade is driven in cutting the peats (Id.).Ork. 1907 Old-Lore Misc. I. iv. 134:
The flaying is done with an instrument called a "hack spade." This spade is of the shape of a jet of gas from an ordinary burner with a slight curve forward, so that the cutting is done slantwise.
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"Hack n.3". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/hack_n3>
