cleek

David Crystal writes: "And I hadn't realized that classic crooks have hooks at both ends, one larger than the other. One is large enough to catch hold of a sheep's neck; the other end is smaller, for catching hold of the hind foot. He called it a 'leg cleek." (pp 8-9)

And then: "It seems to have been a Scottish word originally, in the fifteenth century. A hook for catching hold of something, or pulling something, or hanging something up. Fishermen used it a lot. And then it turned up again in the nineteenth century, in gold, referring to a type of club." (p 9)

And: "In parts of Scotland, to this day, if someone calls you cleeky, they mean you're grasping, captious." (p 9)

And: "And in the jazz era it turned up again, meaning a wet blanket at a party, a party-pooper. Beatniks in the US used it in the 1960s for any sad or melancholy person." (p 9)

If you can't tell, I just started reading By Hook or By Crook by David Crystal, and am loving it so far.

Love it!

For a minute, I thought you meant clique. I've never heard of a cleek!

one iron, in old golf lingo