Knackered

Knackered is a British term meaning tired or exhausted.  The word is used across many English-speaking countries (UK, Ireland, Australia, etc).

Example:  Sorry, but I can’t come to the party tonight.  I am knackered. 

When a horse became useless it was sent to the knackers yard.  The knackers yard was the slaughterhouse for horses.  It comes from the job title, knacker (or knackerman).  Their job was to remove dead or dying animals from farms or public highways.  The animals collected were not used for human consumption.  Instead, the carcasses were turned into fat, glue, bonemeal, soap or other byproducts.  The job title dates to 1573.  Thomas Tusser wrote, “plowrite, cartrite, knacker and smith.”  Knackered (meaning tired) dates to 1882.

 

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Reference:
https://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/30/messages/2331.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knacker
https://www.etymonline.com/word/knackered
https://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/wills-words-of-the-week-knackered/

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