Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
†RAGGER, n. An Ork. sea-taboo word for a knife.Ork. 1890 Old-Lore Misc. (1909) II. ii. 106:
If I called the knife I used for cutting the throat of the cod a knife, I had to throw it overboard. It had to be called a “ragger”. That was to keep the devil away.Ork. 1911 J. Omond Orkney 6:
A knife had to be called some other name as tullie or ragger.
