Colloquially (and somewhat crassly), it can also be used to mean the space between the buttocks, as in: "the sweat is running doon the sheugh of my arse".
"A plain loaf, slices of which are known in Scots as plain breid is a traditional style of loaf made in Scotland. It has a dark, well-fired crust on the top and bottom of the bread. There is no crust on the sides due to the unbaked loaves being stuck together in batches, baked together then torn into individual loaves afterwards. This style of bread does not fit well in most modern toasters due to the greater height of the loaf." -- Wikipedia
"A restless movement from Laurie suggested that his chair was not easy, or that he did not like the plan, and made the old man add hastily, "I don't mean to be a marplot or a burden. I go because I think you'd feel happier than if I was left behind. I don't intend to gad about with you, but leave you free to go where you like, while I amuse myself in my own way."
"When Michaelis's testimony at the inquest brought to light Wilson's suspicions of his wife I thought the whole tale would be shortly served up in racy pasquinade - but Catherine, who might have said anything, didn't say a word."
"There were slow boys and bashful boys, feeble boys and riotous boys, boys that lisped and boys that stuttered, one or two lame ones, and a merry little quadroon, who could not be taken in elsewhere, but who was welcome to the `Bhaer-garten', though some people predicted that his admission would ruin the school."
A Scots idiom encapsulating a Scottish kind of egalitarianism, central to the Scottish national identity.
(We're a') Jock Tamson's bairns = we're all the same.
'Jock Tamson' (John Thomson) could've been a historical figure - some sources claim the phrase comes from a John Thomson who was a highly-regarded Reverend of Duddingston Kirk in Edinburgh from 1805-1840. Sir Walter Scott was an elder of this church, which may have aided the dissemination of this phrase.
Alternatively, Jock Tamson could be a Scots form of 'John Thomas' which is slang for penis. We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns could mean that we're all the product of sexual intercourse - i.e. we're all created the same way.
Comments by karensa
karensa commented on the word pittenweem
A small village on the east coast of Scotland.
August 26, 2009
karensa commented on the word stushie
An uproar, a row, an altercation (Scots).
August 26, 2009
karensa commented on the word irn bru
My uncle calls Irn Bru 'Metal Forehead' -- bru or broo being Scottish for brow, forehead.
August 19, 2009
karensa commented on the word skelf
Scots for a splinter of wood that has gone into the skin.
August 19, 2009
karensa commented on the word up to high doh
A Scots phrase meaning very worried, very anxious.
August 19, 2009
karensa commented on the word cowp
A Scots word meaning either:
v/ To tip something over or
n/ A mess, as in a (rubbish) tip
August 19, 2009
karensa commented on the word goony
Nightgown (Scots).
August 19, 2009
karensa commented on the word sheugh
A ditch or a trench (Scots).
Colloquially (and somewhat crassly), it can also be used to mean the space between the buttocks, as in: "the sweat is running doon the sheugh of my arse".
August 18, 2009
karensa commented on the word plain breid
"A plain loaf, slices of which are known in Scots as plain breid is a traditional style of loaf made in Scotland. It has a dark, well-fired crust on the top and bottom of the bread. There is no crust on the sides due to the unbaked loaves being stuck together in batches, baked together then torn into individual loaves afterwards. This style of bread does not fit well in most modern toasters due to the greater height of the loaf." -- Wikipedia
August 18, 2009
karensa commented on the word jeely piece
A jam sandwich (Scots).
c.f. The Jeely Piece Song
Oh ye cannae fling pieces oot a twenty story flat,
Seven hundred hungry weans will testify to that.
If it's butter, cheese or jeely, if the breid is plain or pan,
The odds against it reaching earth are ninety-nine tae wan.
- Andy McNaughton, 1967
August 18, 2009
karensa commented on the word milngavie
A well-to-do area on the outskirts of Glasgow. Pronunciation absolutely nothing like the spelling: Mul-guy.
August 9, 2009
karensa commented on the word fille de joie
French for 'prostitute': literally 'daughter of joy', which may be telling of the French attitude towards sexuality?
August 9, 2009
karensa commented on the word marplot
"A restless movement from Laurie suggested that his chair was not easy, or that he did not like the plan, and made the old man add hastily, "I don't mean to be a marplot or a burden. I go because I think you'd feel happier than if I was left behind. I don't intend to gad about with you, but leave you free to go where you like, while I amuse myself in my own way."
Louisa M. Alcott, Little Women, 1869
August 9, 2009
karensa commented on the word pasquinade
"When Michaelis's testimony at the inquest brought to light Wilson's suspicions of his wife I thought the whole tale would be shortly served up in racy pasquinade - but Catherine, who might have said anything, didn't say a word."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, 1925
August 9, 2009
karensa commented on the word quadroon
"There were slow boys and bashful boys, feeble boys and riotous boys, boys that lisped and boys that stuttered, one or two lame ones, and a merry little quadroon, who could not be taken in elsewhere, but who was welcome to the `Bhaer-garten', though some people predicted that his admission would ruin the school."
- Louisa M. Alcott, Little Women, 1869
August 9, 2009
karensa commented on the word papa gâteau
French for 'sugar daddy'.
August 5, 2009
karensa commented on the word l'enfant d'autre lit
French for 'stepchild'. Literally translated as: child of another bed. How wonderfully gallic.
August 5, 2009
karensa commented on the word hoachin
Very busy/crowded (Scots)
August 5, 2009
karensa commented on the word peely wally
Pale (Scots)
August 5, 2009
karensa commented on the word mawkit
Absolutely filthy! (Scots). I love this, it sounds so visceral.
August 5, 2009
karensa commented on the word stoory
Dusty (Scots)
August 2, 2009
karensa commented on the word gie it laldy
Do something with great enthusiasm, to give your best effort (Scots)
August 2, 2009
karensa commented on the word jock tamson's bairns
A Scots idiom encapsulating a Scottish kind of egalitarianism, central to the Scottish national identity.
(We're a') Jock Tamson's bairns = we're all the same.
'Jock Tamson' (John Thomson) could've been a historical figure - some sources claim the phrase comes from a John Thomson who was a highly-regarded Reverend of Duddingston Kirk in Edinburgh from 1805-1840. Sir Walter Scott was an elder of this church, which may have aided the dissemination of this phrase.
Alternatively, Jock Tamson could be a Scots form of 'John Thomas' which is slang for penis. We're a' Jock Tamson's bairns could mean that we're all the product of sexual intercourse - i.e. we're all created the same way.
August 2, 2009
karensa commented on the word haud yer wheesht
Be quiet! (Scots)
August 2, 2009
karensa commented on the word ne'erday
New Years Day (Scots)
Pronounced: newer-day
August 2, 2009
karensa commented on the word fankle
A tangled mess (Scots)
"You're in an awfy fankle"
August 2, 2009
karensa commented on the word milngave
A well-to-do area on the outskirts of Glasgow. Pronunciation absolutely nothing like the spelling: Mul-guy.
August 2, 2009
karensa commented on the word teuchter
A derogatory Lowland Scots word for a Highlander.
August 2, 2009
karensa commented on the word dreich
I doubt there's an English equivalent which so perfectly encapsulates a certain kind of Scottish weather.
August 2, 2009