blackleg: Meaning and Definition of

black•leg

1. Also calledan infectious, often fatal disease of cattle and sheep, caused by the soil bacterium Clostridium chauvoei and characterized by painful, gaseous swellings in the muscles, usually of the upper parts of the legs.
1. a disease of cabbage and other cruciferous plants, characterized by dry, black lesions on the base of the stem, caused by a fungus, Phoma lingam.
2. a disease of potatoes, characterized by wet, black lesions on the base of the stem, caused by a bacterium, Erwinia atroseptica.
3. a swindler, esp. in racing or gambling.
4. a strikebreaker; scab.

1. to return to work before a strike is settled.