knacker

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun someone who buys old buildings or ships and breaks them up to recover the materials in them
noun someone who buys up old horses for slaughter

From Old Norse hnak (“saddle”) (whence Icelandic hnakkur (“saddle”)).

You're only fit for the knacker's yard. — At the Back of the North Wind, George MacDonald
Because he was up one time in a knacker’s yard. — Ulysses, James Joyce
It was a Beauceron mare, old and thin, and one fit for the knacker, which was dragging a very heavy cart. — Les Misérables, Victor Hugo

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