Tag: linguistics

Twenty-fifth in a series
wheesht
(whee·sht) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~v.
1. a call for quiet or silence; used as an interjection Wheesht! to bring about or continue, the silence of others. ~esp. children (often in “Will ye wheesht, you pair! Ma heid’s loupin!“).
2. quiet, hushed [haud yer wheesht is to hold one’s tongue].

Twenty-fourth in a series
skiver
(sky·ver) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~n.
1. one who avoids tasks or work in general; a shirker. [see also sloper]
2. a splinter of wood embedded in the skin (also skelf).
~v.
3. skive (“Ah cannae be arsed wi’ this – ahm away fur a skive.“)

Twenty-third in a series
greet
(gree·t) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~v.
1. to cry, weep.
2. gravel or grit.
~adv.
3. greetin’ (“Stope greetin’! It wisnae that sair.“)
~adj.
4. greetin’ face cry baby; one who is prone to tears or constantly miserable.

Twenty-second in a series
thrawn
(th·raw·n) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~adj.
1. twisted; distorted or misshapen.
2. stubborn or obstinate (often in “Jeez O, yer a thrawn auld bugger!“).
3. to be cross; in a dour or sullen mood.

Twenty-first in a series
birl
(burl) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~v.
1. to spin around, to revolve rapidly.
2. a whistle; the sound made by a whistle.
~adv. birlin’ (“Ah tell ye, efter a’ that dancin’ ma heid’s fair birlin’“).

Twentieth in a series
couthie
(coo·thee) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~adj.
1. amiable, sociable esp. persons (“Och, she’s a couthie soul, so she is“).
2. comfortable, pleasant; snug (as in “Here, there’s a couthie wee pub doon-by“).

Ninteenth in a series
blether
(ble·ther) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~n.
1. a person who chatters incessantly, someone who babbles on and on (“That wee yin o’ yours is an awfy blether gettin’“).
~v.
2. to engage in conversation, long-winded or idle talk (as in “Ah met yer granny doon the toun, we had a richt gud blether the gither“). [See also sweetie-wife]

Eighteenth in a series
stramash
(stra·mash) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~n.
1. an uproar; a violent commotion or rowdy behavior; a melee. (“And players from both teams have now become embroiled in what can only be described as a giant stramash inside the penalty box“).
2. state of heightened excitement or rage. [similar to stushie, stooshie]

Seventeenth in a series
drouth
(droo·th) Dialect, chiefly Scot ~n.
1. drought; long or extreme period of weather without precipitation.
2. thirst, dry mouth, usually caused by excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages the previous night (“Man, ah must’ve hud ten pints last night. Ah’ve got an awfy drouth“). A typical cure would involve more liquid refreshment. [see hair o’ th’ dug]

Sixteenth in a series
teuchter
(choo·chter) Dialect, chiefly Scot ~n.
1. (trad.) one who derives from the Highlands of Scotland (a Highlander); more commonly used by city folk to describe rural dwellers.
2. Gaelic-speaker (mostly to each other) esp. at strange Gatherings known as Mods [definitely not Rockers]. Occasionally partakes of a wee dram (see also heuchter teuchter).