A Quirk of English Grammar That Died Out After Only 200 Years
TL;DR - my first idea was &quot;scarecrow&quot;. Etymonline confirmed it fit the pattern, and linked to several other examples. I searched for &#x27;(v.) (n.)&#x27; and read through the first 340 examples to find ones which fit the pattern. Nearly all are from the given time period. One notable exception is &quot;sawbones&quot;, for surgeon, from Dickens in 1837. Another intriguing one is &quot;Kellogg&quot;, from an old term for butcher (&quot;kill hog&quot;) dating to the 1200s.<p>What about scarecrow? &quot;1550s, from scare (v.) + crow (n.). Earliest reference is to a person employed to scare birds.&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;search?q=scarecrow" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;search?q=scarecrow</a> .<p>That&#x27;s in the given period (1550 to 1700).<p>Etymonline adds &quot;For the formation, compare daredevil&quot;, at <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;daredevil?ref=etymonline_crossreference" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;daredevil?ref=etymonline_cro...</a> , which says:<p>&gt; For the formation, compare scarecrow, killjoy, dreadnought, pickpocket (n.), cut-throat, also fear-babe a 16c. word for &quot;something that frightens children;&quot; kill-devil &quot;bad rum,&quot; sell-soul &quot;one who sells his soul&quot; (1670s).<p>Dreadnought, according to <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;dreadnought?ref=etymonline_crossreference" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;dreadnought?ref=etymonline_c...</a> , &quot;is mentioned as the name of a ship in the Royal Navy as early as c. 1596&quot;, which is also in the same time frame.<p>Killjoy is attested from 1776 (see <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;search?q=killjoy" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;search?q=killjoy</a> ) so a bit outside that range, though it comes from earlier use as &quot;Kill formerly was used with other stems (for example kill-courtesy &quot;boorish person,&quot; kill-cow &quot;bully, big man,&quot; etc.; also compare Kellogg).&quot;<p>&quot;Kellogg&quot; is from &quot;kill-hog&quot;(!), &quot;attested from late 13c. (Gilbert Kelehog), literally &quot;kill hog,&quot; a name for a butcher (compare kill-buck, a medieval surname, also noted as a term of contempt for a butcher)&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;Kellogg?ref=etymonline_crossreference" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;Kellogg?ref=etymonline_cross...</a> . That&#x27;s earlier than the given range.<p>I did a search for &quot;(v.) (n.)&quot; to find only entries with a verb and a noun, then read through them to find examples.<p>There&#x27;s &quot;tosspot&quot;, &quot;heavy drinker,&quot; 1560s, from toss (v.) + pot (n.1).&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;tosspot#etymonline_v_49568" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;tosspot#etymonline_v_49568</a><p>Oh! What about &quot;sawbones&quot; described as &#x27;&quot;surgeon,&quot; 1837 (Dickens), slang, from verbal phrase; see saw (v.) + bone (n.)&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;sawbones#etymonline_v_37669" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;sawbones#etymonline_v_37669</a> .<p>rotgut, described as &quot;also rot-gut, &quot;unwholesome liquor; cheap, adulterated whiskey,&quot; 1630s, from rot (v.) + gut (n.)&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;rotgut#etymonline_v_43891" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;rotgut#etymonline_v_43891</a> .<p>breakwater, described as &quot;&quot;any structure serving to break the force of waves and protect a harbor or shore,&quot; 1721, from break (v.) + water (n.1).&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;breakwater#etymonline_v_27394" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;breakwater#etymonline_v_2739...</a><p>picklock, described as &quot;1550s, &quot;person who picks locks;&quot; 1590s, &quot;instrument for picking and opening a lock;&quot; from pick (v.) + lock (n.1).&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;picklock#etymonline_v_46295" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;picklock#etymonline_v_46295</a><p>clingstone, described as &quot;&quot;fruit (generally a peach) having the pulp adhering firmly to the stone,&quot; 1722, from cling (v.) + stone (n.). Also as an adjective.&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;clingstone#etymonline_v_47730" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;clingstone#etymonline_v_4773...</a> .<p>catchpenny, described as &quot;&quot;something of little value but externally attractive and made to sell quickly,&quot; 1760, from catch (v.) + penny (n.). Also as an adjective.&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;catchpenny#etymonline_v_53260" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;catchpenny#etymonline_v_5326...</a><p>marplot, described as &quot;one who by officious interference defeats a design,&quot; 1708, the name of a character in Susanna Centlivre&#x27;s comedy &quot;The busie body;&quot; from mar (v.) + plot (n.).&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;marplot#etymonline_v_54198" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;marplot#etymonline_v_54198</a><p>The already-mentioned &quot;spendthrift&quot; &quot;Replaced earlier scattergood (1570s) and spend-all (1550s).&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;spendthrift#etymonline_v_25691" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;spendthrift#etymonline_v_256...</a> .<p>cut-throat, defined as &quot;murderer, ruffian, assassin,&quot; 1530s, from cut (v.) + throat(n.).&quot; - <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;cut-throat#etymonline_v_29233" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.etymonline.com&#x2F;word&#x2F;cut-throat#etymonline_v_2923...</a><p>turncoat, &quot;1550s, from turn (v.) + coat (n.). The image is of one who attempts to hide the badge of his party or leader.&quot; - turncoat (n.)<p>stopgap, &quot;also stop-gap, 1680s, from stop (v.) + gap (n.); the notion probably being of something that plugs a leak, but it may be in part from gap (n.) in a specific military sense &quot;opening or breach in defenses by which attack may be made&quot; (1540s).&quot; - stopgap (n.)<p>Indeed, nearly all of these are from that ~200 year time period!