Stag head, stag’s head

[STAG sb.¹]

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1. The head or skull and antlers of a stag.

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1812. Crabbe, Tales, iv. 176. A stag’s-head crest adorn’d the pictured case.

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1908. M. Mal. Harper, Rambles in Galloway, i. 28. Canoes, large stag heads, and a capacious brass pen have been found in the bed of the loch.

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2. Stag-head or stag’s head moss = stag-horn moss (see STAG-HORN 2 b).

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1869. W. Cory, Lett. & Jrnls. (1897), 266. Picking staghead moss and flowers.

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1885. Lady Brassey, The Trades, 234. On the banks … daisies and buttercups,… stag’s-head moss, and all kinds of familiar wild flowers flourished.

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