Nakers not Knackers!
I doubt whether DM would have been offended in any way if he saw this post onsite. It comes from another discussion group on google, and was apparently written by a noted journalist who had met him. The English-Irish expression "hit in the (k)nackers" (struck in the testicles) is thought to originate from the tiny tunable medieval kettledrums called Nakers strung on waist belt and lying roughly in the testicle region. Struck one handed with a stick and if you missed..... During the upsurge of interest in medieval music in the UK in the 60s I was often out banging my Nakers. In fact the situation got so serious that after complaints from outraged listeners, the BBC Pronunciation Department issued an edict to all announcers (Red Capitals said: IMPORTANT PRONUNCIATION INSTRUCTION). "Some pronunciation of the word Naker (a medieval percussion instrument) has caused offence. Please note...