Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to hang.

1937–84

Partridge DSUE (1984) 1028/2: C.19.

2. (Aus.) to attack, to manhandle [f. sense 3].

1861		Bell’s Life in Sydney 30 Mar. 3/3: [He] informed his Worship that on Sunday morning he received Paddy into his affectionate embrace, charged with having ‘scruffed’ another Murphy.
1879		Gippsland Times (Vic.) 20 June 3/6: He simply swore at me and said if he caught me in the Commissioner’s office [...] he’d scruff me.
1885		Bulletin (Sydney) 9 May 5/3: He wouldn’t give evidence against some black troopers who had been shooting niggers near Herberton, so the authorities ‘scruffed’ him down to Townsville, heedless of the wild outbursts of profanity with which he filled his native woods.
1901		‘Rolf Boldrewood’ In Bad Company 107: It’s dashed hard lines on him to be scruffed and gaoled by those Union scallowags.
1914		Truth (Melbourne) 31 Jan. 7/3: he slumbered for an hour only, his cobber scruffing him out to feast his eyes on what was taking place.
1926		K.S. Prichard Working Bullocks 252: He was a likeable chap [...] a good mate, and enjoyed a go with the gloves, or scruffing, to keep up his muscle.
1941		Baker Popular Dict. Aus. Sl. 64: Scruff, to, to attack, manhandle a person.

3. (Aus.) to grab and/or drag by the scruff of the neck; note abbatoir use in cit. 1965.

1885		H. Finch-Hatton Advance Aus.! 100: In crossing the Fitzroy river at Yaamba I once had a narrow escape of being ‘scruffed’ by an alligator .
1887		Bulletin (Sydney) 5 Nov. 8/2: A few wandering Salvationists held a holiness meeting about a fortnight ago in a mining camp near Lyell (N.Z.), and many hardened sinners were scruffed into the fold.
c.1905		J. Furphy Rigby’s Romance (1921) Ch. xxx: 🌐 Up comes my lord, an’ grabs me by the collar [...] Course, I makes a welt at the copper—for I won’t stand to be scruffed by any living man.
1914		E. Dyson Spats’ Fact’ry (1922) 30: The spotter scruffs Benno ’n’ the girl, ’n’ starts t’ drag ’em t’ the hall iv justice.
1930		N. Lindsay Redheap (1965) 194: ‘Down I go first thing to-morrow and back he comes if I have to scruff him home by the neck’ .
1965		W. Dick Bunch of Ratbags 148: The scruffers’ job was to get hold of a sheep or lamb [...] and scruff (grab) them and hoist them over the fence.