Tag: linguistics

Fifteenth in a series
bourach
(boor·ach) Dialect, chiefly Scot ~n.
1. small hill or mound.
2. disorganized heap or mass (as in “Last went and it turned intae a right bourach“).
3. a crowd or group of people.
4. a small, humble house.
5. a muddle; mess; state of confusion (often in “That room o’ yours is a total bourach. Get in there an’ get it tidied!“).
[editor’s note: I’ve got a bunch more of these. Should I continue?]

Fourteenth in a series
gallus
(ga·luss) Dialect, chiefly Scot ~adj.
1. self-confident, daring, cheeky.
2. stylish, impressive (esp. Glasgow “He’s pure gallus, by the way“).
3. Orig. derogatory, meaning wild; a rascal; deserving to be hanged (from the gallows).

Thirteenth in a series
wabbit
(wah·bit) Dialect, chiefly Scot ~adj.
1. exhausted, out of breath, unable to function due to extreme tiredness (as in “Playin’ wi’ thae weans has gote me wabbit“). [similar to puggled]

Twelfth in a series
drookit
(droo·kit) Dialect, chiefly Scot ~adj.
1. drenched, soaked through. (used in “Ah fell in the burn an’ got drookit“)

Eleventh in a series
fankle
(fan·kle)Dialect, chiefly Scot ~v.
1. to entangle, twist.
2. to knot.
3. to coil, wind.
4. to disorder, complicate.
~n.
5. an entanglement. (used in “Dinnae get yersel’ in a fankle“).

Tenth in a series
canny
(can·y) Dialect, chiefly Scot ~adj
1. cautious, careful, hesitant, unwilling to rush into things.
2. frugal, prudent (esp. with money) [a canny Scot – one who has an aversion to separating money from his pocket] (as in “He’s that canny he aye pays for his round wi’ empty lemonade bottles“).

Ninth in a series
laldie
(lall·dy) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~n.
1. a thrashing; a sound beating, punishment (as in “Jist wait till ah get ma hauns oan ye, ya wee bugger. Ah’ll gie ye laldie“).
2. gie it – to undertake an action with vigour and vitality (as in “Gaun yersel’, big yin. Gie it laldie“).

Eighth in a series
fitba’
(fit·baw) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~n.
1. (m) the beautiful game
2. (f) stupid game involving 22 grown men (and 3 officials of dubious parentage and eyesight) kicking a lump of leather around a field, often sparking irrational behaviour, bad language and blind devotion to a team or player, to the detriment of normal marital relations. ( see fitba’ widow)

Seventh in a series
scunner
(scun·ner) Dialect, chiefly Scot -v.
1. to feel aversion.
2. to produce a feeling of disgust or loathing in.
-n.
3. a strong dislike (often in “tak a scunner“, or “git oot o’ ma face ya wee scunner“).
4. an object of dislike; nuisance.