sculp n also scalp, skulp OED ~ sb2 (Nfld: 1840-), DC Nfld (1832-). Cp DINNEEN scealp 'a splinter, a piece, a slice, a layer'; EDD -s. 'remains of turnips,' scallop sb2 'residue after lard is melted.'
1 The skin of a harp or hooded seal with the blubber attached; PELT n.
1826 Edin New Phil J 39 When the vessels are loaded with these scalps ... they return to their respective ports. 1832 MCGREGOR i, 224 The pelts, or scalps, are carried to the vessel, and packed closely in the hold. 1842 JUKES i, 273 In skinning, a cut is made through the fat to the flesh, a thickness generally of about three inches, along the whole length of the belly, from the throat to the tail. The legs, or 'fippers,' and also the head, are then drawn out from the inside and the skin is laid out flat and entire, with the layer of fat or blubber firmly adhering to it, and the skin in this state is called the 'pelt,' and sometimes the 'sculp.' It is generally about 3 feet long and 2 1/2 wide, and weighs from 30 to 50 pounds. 1905 MURPHY 13 "Died on the Ice Floe": While the keen, glittering sheath knives soon gave / Them the 'sculp' they required for their 'tows.' 1924 ENGLAND 14 The great value of the sculps, or pelts, is due to the thick layer of pure white fat, and to the extremely high grade of leather manufactured from the skin. T 187/90-65 An' then all th' ol' sculps an' odds an' ends was hove in an' boiled, and that'd be number three oil. But now still they had use for it all, see. 1973 MOWAT 33 Put 206 sculps in that little boat, and she loaded down till every slop come over her gunwales.
2 The fleshy part of a cod's head, cut off and eaten as a delicacy; CHEEK(S), FACE, JOWL(S).
[1771] 1935 Can Hist Rev xvi, 56 [The Eskimos] liked the scalps of the raw cods heads best, P 68-54 I had a fine meal of sculps today. C 71-99 ~ A name given to fishes heads and faces. After the cod fish have been headed, the heads are saved and cooked, either fried or boiled, to make a very tasty meal. P 143-74 The tongues and sculps were later cut from the heads [of the fish] and were either eaten shortly after or were salted in butter tubs for the winter. 1975 The Rounder Sep, p. 12 By and large when people speak of heads they are actually referring to 'skulps.' These are the two side flaps cut from the sides of the head proper and joined by the bottom jaw... Skulps provide hours of sticky pleasure for those who enjoy picking [cod] bones.
3 A fragment gouged from an object.
P 194-65 Noticing a mark in a table which had a lacquered surface, her words were 'There's a sculp been taken out of it.'
