English

Noun

blackleg ‎(countable and uncountable, plural blacklegs)

1. (uncountable) Fatal cattle disease caused by the soil-borne bacteria Clostridium chauvoei; symptomatic anthrax
2. (countable) A person who takes the place of striking workers. A scab.
   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 22, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     In the autumn there was a row at some cement works about the unskilled labour men. A union had just been started for them and all but a few joined. One of these blacklegs was laid for by a picket and knocked out of time.

3. (countable) A person who cheats in a game, a cheater.
   • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 29686887 , chapter II:

     I had never defrauded a man of a farthing, nor called him knave behind his back. But now the last rag that covered my nakedness had been torn from me. I was branded a blackleg, card-sharper, and murderer.

4. (colloquial) A notorious gambler.

Synonyms

• (strikebreaker): scalie

Derived terms

• blacklegging

Translations

External links

• Blackleg on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Blacklegs in the 1920 edition of Encyclopedia Americana.

Adjective

blackleg ‎(not comparable)

1. Relating to a scab worker.

   The blackleg workers entered under cover of darkness.

Translations