1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xxviij^v With pitefull scriches she repleneshyd the hole mancion.

1598 R. Hakluyt tr. A. Jónsson in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 560 Monstrous skritches are heard round about this mountaine.

1635 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Donzella Desterrada 190 Gave she not her selfe over to scritches and cries.

1683 tr. J. Barrin Venus in Cloister 125 She gave a skrich that awakened all her neighbours.

1776 D. Herd Anc. & Mod. Sc. Songs (ed. 2) I. 147 And quhen she saw the red, red blude, A loud scrich schriched she.

1816 S. T. Coleridge Christabel i. 12 Perhaps it is the owlet's scritch.

1833 Ld. Tennyson My Life is Full 20 Sudden scritches of the jay.

1836 Tait's Edinb. Mag. May 291/2 Some o' th' wimmin set up a gret scritch, and ran away frightened out of their wits.

1929 P. W. Mackaye Weathergoose-woo! 155 But afore hit retched the floor beam, Shem he 'd claired the doorsill to one jump, lettin' out behind sech a scritch-yell to Jehovey, like hit summonsed all the cattymount tribes o' Pine Mount'in to the Jedgment throne.

a1971 S. Smith Coll. Poems (1975) 98 Now louder far..Is heard the scritch of the gravid bitch.

1998 J. Downes Guide Devon Dial. (ed. 2) 24/2 Scritch, shriek.

a1300 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Jesus Oxf.) (1935) 223 Þ[u] scrichest [c1275 Calig. schirchest] & yollest to þine fere, Þat hit is gryslich to ihere.

c1330 Seven Sages (Auch.) (1933) 1156 Loude he gan to crie and skriche [rhyme diche].

1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. xi. f. 28 She cried out, and all her maides skriched with her.

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) v. sig. Pp6 Then would she imagine..she heard the cries of hellish ghostes, then would she skritch out for succour.

1652 J. Gaule Πυς-μαντια 181 The pyes chattering about the house, the owles scritching.

1716 Temple's Irish Rebellion (new ed.) 121 The Ghost of Mr. William Fullerton, Timothy Jephts, and the most of those who were thrown over Portadown-Bridge, were Daily and Nightly seen to walk upon the River,..sometimes Scritching [1646 scrieching] in a most Hideous and fearful manner.

1840 R. Browning Sordello ii. 458 Only let..the hungry curlew chance to scritch Or serpent hiss it, rustling through the rift, However loud, however low.

1892 E. W. McGlasson in Harper's New Monthly Mag. Dec. 77/1 Hyear thet woman scritch!

1944 W. de la Mare Coll. Rhymes & Verses 70 Down to the shore skipped Lallerie, His parrot on his thumb, And the twain they scritched in mockery.

1957 H. Nicolson Journey to Java v. 88 The evening breeze stirs the tree above us and we hear the keel birds scritching.

1993 K. C. Phillipps Gloss. Cornish Dial. 50 Scritch, to screech: ‘They'm goin' kill a pig, and the dear chield do dearly love for to hear'n scritch.’

1926 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. 10 Oct. iii. 1/5 Retch yo' hand down in my shirt an' scritch my back fer me.

1938 E. Farjeon Sing for your Supper 56 Scritching the bark Of the sycamore-tree.

1991 P. Gethers Cat who went to Paris vi. 133 Norton..was extremely fussy about whom he'd let scritch him under the chin.

2004 H. Strachan Make a Skyf, Man! xxi. 239 Cyril Ries too you can hear, scritch-scritching his notes down on a piece of paper.

2014 L. Ribar Fourth Wish 14 She purred as I bent to scritch her little tabby head.

1952 P. Gladwin Desert in Heart ix. 91 Cats climbed up to the ridge-pole and slid down to the gutters with their claws scritching against the corrugated iron.

1986 R. Tomalin Summer Ghost (1991) xviii. 102 The key scritched in the lock.

1998 B. Kingsolver Poisonwood Bible (1999) v. 465 They [sc. the squirrels] scritch around and peep down at me with their beady little eyes till I just about lose my mind and scream, ‘Shut the hell up!’

2001 M. Odom Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Revenant 351 Something scritch-scritch-scritched over her head, the sound way too familiar... ‘Rats! Lots of them!’

2013 Herald Times Reporter (Manitowoc, Wisconsin) (Electronic ed.) 12 May 1 You..hear leaves scritching in the crisp autumn breeze.

1893 Harper's Young People 4 Apr. 408 Quick he whipped his jack-knife out; Ke-scritchy-scritch! He cuts a slit.

1928 Primary Educ. Pop. Educator Oct. 111/2 ‘Scritch!’ It sounded like someone very far away tearing a piece of silk.

1963 B. Appel Time of Fortune viii. 306 Wagon wheels went scritchy-scritch like Papa's matches.

1990 Chicago Tribune (Electronic ed.) 26 Dec. 7 Ask a hunter what happened the last time he unfastened a Velcro strip in the woods. ‘Scritch!’ reverberated the sound.

2012 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) (Nexis) 23 June 45 ‘Not too much pepper,’ warned Michel, cranking away at the grinder. Scritch! Scritch!

1953 S. Plath Jrnl. 24 Jan. (2000) 164 The sensuous delight of sitting warm and clear-eyed at my desk..and hearing..the persistent scritch of shovels on cement.

1987 R. Russell tr. B. P. Galdós Our Friend Manso xxvii. 135 As I would be finishing a sentence, I heard that scritch and it turned my nerves into taut wires.

1998 Ploughshares 24 102 She swiveled the chair from side to side; it made a very slight creak and scritch.

2012 Western Mail (Cardiff) (Nexis) 19 May 18 He relaxed, growing warmer, with the scritch scritch of the quill in the quiet room for company.