Look up knacker, knackered in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

A knacker is a person in the trade of rendering animals that are unfit for human consumption, such as work horses that have died in harness or are too tired to work any more.^[1] This leads to the slang expression "knackered" meaning very tired, or ready for the knacker’s yard, where old horses would be slaughtered and made into dog food and glue. The word is derived from the old Irish word for a horse (an each) pronounced a nack. From this is derived the word for a horse dealer (an eachoir) , pronounced a nack-ower anglicised to a knacker. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ...

The original use of the term is very common throughout the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, and gained some notoriety during the outbreak of mad cow disease. The Slaughterhouses Act of 1974, the Meat (Sterilisation and Staining) Regulations of 1982 and the Food Act of 1984 all have a definition of a 'knacker's yard' as 'any premises used in connection with the business of slaughtering, flaying or cutting up animals whose flesh is not intended for human consumption.' Classic image of a cow with BSE. Source: APHIS Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a fatal, neurodegenerative disease of cattle, which infects by a mechanism that surprised biologists upon its discovery in the late 20th century. ...

Slang

Knackered meaning tired, exhausted or broken in British and Irish slang is still commonly used in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Knackers is also British/Australasian slang for testicles¹ and the term knacker is sometimes used in Ireland to denote an Irish Traveller, though it is considered extremely derogatory. It also be applied to a rural character equivalent to the urban scanger or scumbag which are both derogatory terms in themselves. Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speakers dialect or language. ... The testicle (from Latin testis, meaning witness [1], plural testes) or ballock is the male generative gland in animals. ... Irish Travellers (sometimes known as Tinkers, pikeys, knackers) are a nomadic or itinerant people of Irish origin living in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with pejoration. ... Scanger or skanger (IPA: ) (female: howiya[1]) is a derogatory term for a stereotypical member of a youth subculture group in Ireland, similar to the chav in the United Kingdom. ...

The British magazine Private Eye often refers to senior police figures in satirical articles as "Inspector Knacker" or "Knacker of The Yard", a reference to Jack "Slipper of the Yard" Slipper. March 4, 2005 cover of Private Eye; this is a typical example of the magazines front cover. ... New Scotland Yard, London New Scotland Yard, it blowwsssss often referred to simply as Scotland Yard or The Yard, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for policing Greater London (although not the City of London itself). ... Jack Slipper (Born in London, England on April 20, 1924, Died August 24, 2005) was a Detective Chief Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police in London. ...

References

1. ^ What is a Knackerman knackerman.com, undated (accessed 18 February 2007)

• ¹ e.g. Thomas, The Virgin Soldiers.