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What does "betrun-cheoned" [betruncheoned] mean in Suttree by Cormac McCarthy

English Language & Usage Asked by cbp on July 26, 2021

McCarthy’s works are filled with obscure words, but this one is particularly strange, and prior to me posting this question, almost constitutes a Googlewhack.

I’m reading the Kindle edition and so it could even be a misprint.

The passage is this:

The black wiped his eyes with one huge hand. Stories of the days and nights writ there, the scars, the teeth, the ear betrun-cheoned in some old fray that clung in a toadlike node to the side of his shaven head.

One Answer

The word is betruncheoned. The hyphen is misplaced (see comment by @GEdgar).

To truncheon something is to hit it with a truncheon (a type of club used by the British police). Thus a betruncheoned ear is one that has been hit by a truncheon.

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NOTE

To understand why the word is "betruncheoned" and not simply "truncheoned", the following is relevant How does the "be-" prefix change the words to which it is applied? How did it come about?

Correct answer by chasly - supports Monica on July 26, 2021

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