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Re: questions on 2 surnames (read at your peril)
in reply to a message by Lethe
All I can tell you is that I've looked at every creditable source I can think of for evidence of the possibilities you raise and I haven't found any.
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Left-handedness was a common trait among the Kerrs of the Anglo-Scots border. That is why the staircases in their peel towers ran counter to the usual construction, to give the advantage to a left-handed swordsman descending the stairs. The expression Kerr-handed results from the association of left-handedness with that clan. So the expression derives from an existing surname.
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