How to Use scruff in a Sentence

scruff

noun

• She held the kitten by the scruff of its neck.
• The guy was lucky to not have been frogmarched out by the scruff of his neck.
  — August Brown, latimes.com, 27 Apr. 2018
• The 26-year-old has truly taken his chance by the scruff of the neck.
  — SI.com, 16 May 2018
• But for some men, the scruff on their chins doesn't match up with the hair on their heads.
  — Kelly O'Sullivan, Woman's Day, 26 Jan. 2017
• Sure, his scruff is still a bit patchy, but the curls more than make up for it.
  — Megan Gustashaw, GQ, 11 Oct. 2017
• In a video from the lessons, Tilly pulls her pup through the water by his neck scruff.
  — People Staff, PEOPLE.com, 8 June 2022
• The uniform isn’t so much suit-and-tie as plaid shirt, work boots, and two-day scruff.
  — Laura Regensdorf, Vogue, 30 Apr. 2018
• Say good-bye to rough scruff and hello to a more touchable and tame beard.
  — Vanity Fair, Vanities, 13 June 2017
• Say good-bye to rough scruff and hello to a more touchable and tame beard.
  — Vanity Fair, Vanities, 13 June 2017
• Amis’s saw-toothed sentences seized me by the scruff and carried me off for good.
  — Parul Sehgal, New York Times, 20 Oct. 2020
• Something about a man in a beanie (with a little bit of scruff 😍) just looks so good.
  — Yoora Kim, Seventeen, 28 Mar. 2023
• His powerful right hand seizes me by the scruff of my neck and directs my head to a spot in the sky.
  — J. B. MacKinnon, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2020
• The point is, neither of them has hair and scruff that's the same exact length or the exact same texture.
  — Megan Gustashaw, GQ, 6 Jan. 2018
• The Reds are indeed crying out for a bit of steel in midfield; someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck when the chips are down.
  — SI.com, 29 Apr. 2018
• The traditional vows seize love by the scruff of the neck and set it down in real life, in the real world.
  — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 29 May 2019
• Bert’s approach was to grab readers by the scruff of the neck and rush them through a volley of bullet points to the bottom of the page.
  — Bruce McCall, The New Yorker, 12 Dec. 2020
• And while his stubble is now proper scruff, his neck is all cleaned up.
  — Megan Gustashaw, GQ, 12 Jan. 2018
• The cabin functions are intuitive and friendly to use — for those who choose to grab it by the scruff of the neck.
  — Mark Maynard, sandiegouniontribune.com, 11 Aug. 2017
• This week there was an abundance of admirable beards, scruff, and stubble.
  — Megan Gustashaw, GQ, 5 Nov. 2017
• These were the words of my grab-life-by-the-scruff-of-the-neck husband after finishing our first six months bobbing about in the sea.
  — Kellie Pollock, CNN, 17 Apr. 2018
• Still, the Posies had a little scruff and blur to its guitar sounds and muscle to the drums, which situated it in the era.
  — John Adamian, courant.com, 9 June 2018
• Nope, this is not at all a car that encourages you to take it by the scruff, or hoon it, or whatever.
  — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 9 Oct. 2022
• Nanook comes to embody a way of facing the world, of taking it by the scruff of the neck and wringing existence from it with a laugh.
  — Peter Cowie, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022
• Police described him as a white man in his late 20s or early 30s with brown scruff on his face.
  — CBS News, 30 June 2017
• Allover scruff and and visible chest hair speaks for itself.
  — Megan Gustashaw, GQ, 11 Feb. 2018
• Researchers who want to observe an opossum up close merely grab it by the scruff of its neck, or lift it up by the tail.
  — Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic, 20 July 2022
• His tired eyes are proof, as is the scruff on his cheeks that's mixing into his graying goatee.
  — USA TODAY, 7 Sep. 2017
• The resulting portraits capture their scruff, their bow ties and their wild eyes.
  — Jenna Ross, Star Tribune, 29 Dec. 2020
• Satisfied, Otis stands and gives a lazy shake of his head that dries only his neck scruff, then ambles off, leaving the rest of his catch to the gulls.
  — Erin Berger, Outside Online, 2 Oct. 2018
• A little of this medium-weight balm goes a long way to style and shape longer beards, while still deeply moisturizing your scruff with shea butter.
  — Cristina Montemayor, Men's Health, 11 Jan. 2023

Last Updated: 5 Sep 2024