DCHP-1 Online
scalp-lock Hist. 
1 n.
See also: scalp ((n.)) (def. 1)
- 1848 I'll cause . . . the plundered scalp-locks of the pigmy and giant to flutter in ghastly bloody glory. . . .
- 1900 Indeed, there were times when the gathering of scalp-locks was to all intents and purposes a branch--and that not the least lucrative branch--of the commerce in peltries.
- 1934 . . . their leggings and the arms of their shirts [were] fringed with ermine tails, or scalp-locks taken from the heads of enemies slain in combat.
2 n. a long tuft of hair worn by some Indian warriors with otherwise cropped or shaven heads as a challenge to their enemies.
See also: fore-lock
- 1859 He was the first Indian I had seen whose hair had been pulled out, all except the scalp-lock; this custom is common amongst many tribes of Indians, though not universal amongst any.
- 1925 The Indian is naturally a brave man . . . wearing his scalp-lock as an emblem of defiance.
- 1965 [The Canadian Indians] shaved their heads either in whole or in part; in the east and on the plains they retained the scalp-lock.
- 1848 I'll cause . . . the plundered scalp-locks of the pigmy and giant to flutter in ghastly bloody glory. . . .