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Munro’s Scottish-English Dictionary

A Compendium of Old Scots Words and Slang Phrases

Welcome to Munro’s Scottish-English Dictionary! See the original dictionary to the right.

To make it easier for your new-fangled computers and technology, we have made the dictionary searchable! Check it out below.

A

Aboot

About.

Aff

Off

Afore

Before

Aft

Often

Agley

Wrong or awry

Ah’ll

I’ll

Ahent

Behind

Airm

Arm

Alane

Alone

Anyhoo

Anyway, anyhow

Apisinthe

A disgusting and potent alcoholic beverage made by gomes by fermenting wasp and bee stings along with liquorice roots and yeast, and then distilling it

Aroon’

Around

Arse-over-teakettle

To tumble “head-over-heels.

Auld

Old

Awfae

Awful

Awthegither

Altogether

Aye

Yes, or always

B

Baith

Both

Bampot

Idiot. This is yet another on the very long list of Scottish words meaning “idiot.” I am not sure what a “Bam” is but a pot full of bams does not sound like a good thing

Banshee

A female ghost whose blood-curdling wail is terrible to hear because it is thought to foretell death or disaster

Bap

A plain, white, flour morning roll. Ideal for stuffing full of fried eggs, bacon, sausage, or even potato chips or candy bars for an extra dose of carbohydrate! The term Bap-face can be applied to someone with a plain, round, white, uninteresting, and rather dull-looking facial expression, whether or not they are stuffing their face with a bap at the time

Bawbee

A copper coin of small value

Beinn

Gaelic for mountain

Belligerent

Aggressively warlike

Bevvy

Alcohol

Bickering

Arguing and sniping in an unproductive and irritating way

Blawin’

Blowing

Blether (or blather)

To talk foolishly. Talk long-winded nonsense

Bletherskate

A silly, foolish, blabbering person

Bonnie

Beautiful

Bonxie

The local name for the Great Skua on the western isles of Scotland. Catharacta Skua is the proper name. These are large birds that, as a species, fall somewhere between the gulls and the buzzards. They are aggressive, territorial predators that prey on other birds

Breac

Gaelic for trout

Brither

Brother

Brose

Oatmeal or porridge

Brosie-heidit (or Brosy-heidit)

fat, inactive, stupid (someone whose head is full of oatmeal)

Bubbling

Crying

C

Cacophony

This does not mean a phony cactus, or a false cup of cocoa, even though it sounds like it. It means a jumble of confusing noises

Caird

Card

Candy floss

Cotton candy. Not to be confused with dental floss; an item rarely used in Scotland

Cannae

Can’t, can not

Canny

Can be used to mean any combination of careful, skillful, astute, favorable, and lucky

Cauld

Cold

Caur

Car

Ceilidh

(pronounced Kaylie!) is a Gaelic word meaning an informal social gathering, where, usually, there is singing, playing of musical instruments, dancing, storytelling and ample supplies of liquid refreshment. Gaelic is a language that is lovely to listen to and impossible to write down. Legend has it that when the Gaelic elders were finally forced to write down the words of their language they all got drunk and decided to amuse themselves by inventing the most ridiculous spelling imaginable to irritate the Lowlanders, and English speakers south of the border. On the Island of Lewis, Hugh and Wullie once passed through a little village where the sign said, “EADAR DHA FHADHAIL” but the locals assured them that it was pronounced, “Ardroil.

Chiel (or Chield)

Young lad or lass

Chittering

So cold that it makes your teeth chatter

Chob

Job. Highlanders, like Big Sandy, often sound the letter “J” as if it was “Ch” instead

Choke

Joke

Chumping

Jumping

Chust

Just

Claymore

Highland sword

Clootie

Cloth-covered. A clootie dumpling is a large kind of cake thing made of flour, spices, raisins, dried fruit, and suet that is wrapped up in a cloth, and is boiled in a pot for hours. It is a kind of boiled pudding. It can be eaten as a dessert, or, like most everything else in Scottish cuisine, it can be allowed to cool down, can be cut up into slices, and then get fried for breakfast! To say that someone looks like a clootie dumpling, or is as smart as a clootie dumpling, is not exactly a compliment

Cnoc

Gaelic for a small hill. Being Gaelic of course it is pronounced “Crock!

Conscience me!

“Goodness me, that’s a surprise!

Coordie

Cowardly person

Cowdie

Dried cow dung. Used by gomes and their ilk for smoking in pipes

Creag

Gaelic for a rock

Cry

Call

Cuillins

Mountain range on the Isle of Skye

D

Dab

This can have a lot of different meanings. The peck of a bird is a “dab.” It can mean a light blow, or a slap. In some parts of Scotland a dab is a small flat bottom-feeding fish like a flounder. To be “a dab hand” at something means to have great skill and be really good at something, after much practice

Dae

Do

Daein’

Doing

Daft

Foolish, stupid, crazy, frivolous, thoughtless. To be daft about something or someone means to be extremely fond of or crazy about

Dead

Really (as in “You should listen to his music. He’s dead good, so he is!”)

Deid

Dead

Deideag

Gaelic for a pebble

Dinna (or dinnae)

Don’t, do not

Dinna fash yersel

“Don’t go to any trouble on my account.

Dischuffed

Annoyed, unhappy

Disnae

Doesn’t, does not

Divining

A gome technique for extracting the emotional essence from a rock

Dook

A quick swim, to dip something or someone briefly in water (an essential in Scottish water!)

Doon

Down

Doot

Doubt

Dram

A small alcoholic drink, such as whisky

Drap

Drop

Dubh

Gaelic for black. Needless to say it is not pronounced “Dubb” or even “Dub-huh.” Instead it is pronounced to rhyme with Scottish pigeons, “Dooooo!

Dug

Dog

E

Eejit

Idiot, foolish person

Effer

Ever

Efter

After

F

Fair

Complete or absolute (as in “Ye’re a fair disgrace, so ye are!”)

Fairgduil

This combination of Gaelic words is the name of Big Sandy’s cave on the Island of Lewis. It means Seaview

Faither

Father

Fank

This word has two main meanings. It can mean a sheepfold (as it does in the Blackhope Scaur story) or it can mean a coil of rope. A fankle is an impossible tangle of rope (or string or fishing line, or indeed any long piece of material left unattended for even a millisecond

Fash

Trouble, inconvenience, bother

Feart

Afraid, or scared

Feartie

A cowardly, fearful perso

Fecht

Fight

Fechtin’

Fightin

Feck

Value, worth, strength, abundance

Feckless

Weak, feeble, incompetent, awkward, not resourceful, weak-minded (someone lacking in feck!

Fella

Fellow, person

Ferry

Very

Fib

A small lie, although like most lies it may start out small and get bigger and more troublesome over time

Fitba’

Football… that is soccer, the game where you actually kick a ball with your foot (as opposed to American Football where you mostly throw, catch, and carry the ball while gigantic opponents crash into you)

Fizzog

Fac

Foreffer

Forever. Soft-spoken Highland gomes, like Big Sandy, often pronounce the letter “v” as a soft “f” instead

Frae

From

Freen

Friend

Frenchie

French person

Furreign

Foreig

G

Gaither

Gather

Gamaleerie

A foolish, clumsy person

Gander

a causal look ove

Gang

Go

Gauping

Gaping

Glaikit

Foolish or stupid (see also gomeral, gamaleerie eejit, neep heid, lunk, mug, pudden, and a few hundred others!)

Glumshy

Sulky, sour-looking, sullen

Gome

Long-lived, mischievous, creatures formed from rocks. Thought, by some, to be extinct, or even mythical, unreal, or magical

Gomeral

A fool or stupid person. The Scots are sometimes an uncharitable race, or they recognize fools more often than most. There are three pages of synonyms for stupid person in most Scottish Thesauruses (or should that be Thesauri? If I don’t know does that make me a gomeral?)

Gonnae

Going to

Got tore intae

Attacked with vigor

Gralloch

Doesn’t this word even sound disgusting? It is the entrails of a deer. In other words all of the guts and lungs and organs that are taken out and thrown away after a deer has been killed

Greedy-guts

A greedy person

Greeting

While this word can mean welcome it can also mean crying. A Scottish Greeting Card would still usually be an upbeat, cheerful, welcoming card. I have not heard of a “Crying Card” although that might be a great, unfilled commercial opportunity in Scotland

H

Hadnae

Had not, or hadn’t

Haff

Have

Haivering

Talking trivial, foolish nonsense

Hame

Home

Haud

Hold

Haun

Hand

Heid

Head

Hi-falootin’

Very fancy, posh, or expensive

Hing

Hang

Hinging

Hangin

Hinkum-sneevy

a silly, stupid, lazy person

How does she cry it?

“What does she call it?

Huff

Used in the phrase “To take the huff,” it means to take offense and sulk

Hunker down

Squat down in a crouching position. Settle patiently, without drawing attention to yourself

Huv

Have

I

Ionnsaigh

Gaelic for attack

Itchy-coo

Itching powder

Ither

Other

J

Jaloose

guess, suspect, or imagine

Jessie

As in, “Ye big Jessie!” it means a scaredy-cat. A derogatory, politically (and literally) incorrect suggestion that girls (like one called Jessie) are more timid and tentative than boys are

Jist

Just

K

Keek

Has many meanings. Here, it means a brief glance, or peep. A quick, surreptitious look

Kenspeckle

Someone who stands out in a crowd as being easily recognizable. Distinctive in appearance

Kirk

Church

Knackered

Really tired and weak and exhausted

Knick-knack

A trivial piece of something. Superfluous, cheaply-made, frivolous thing

L

Laddie

Young man, boy

Lassie, or lass

Young woman, girl

Liath

Gaelic for gray

Lionmhor

Gaelic for great or magnificently large

Lug

Ear. The projecting part of an object

Lunk

A large, dull, useless, person

M

Ma

My

Mair

More

Maist

Most

Maistly

Mostly

Masel’

Myself

Mawp

To mope, to wander around thoughtlessly or listlessly

Mawpit

Acting in a dull, thoughtless, listless way

Mhairhidgh

Gaelic word containing lots or randomly placed “h” letters, just to make it easy to remember how to spell it. It is, of course, pronounced Varry, to rhyme with Harry

Midden

A large collection of cow manure. Also used as a Scottish term of endearment

Midge

Tiny biting insects that lurk in their millions all over Scotland waiting for the most irritating and inconvenient time to come out of hiding and start sucking your blood

Mo grain

This Gaelic phrase literally means “My hatred.” This is what Varry Doo calls her cloud of blood sucking Highland midges. They are only too happy to dish out Varry Doo’s hatred whenever they are asked to do so

Moose

Mouse

Mooth

Mouth

Mor

Gaelic for large, huge, or gi-bungous

Mowdiewort

Mole (small furry burrowing animal), or a sneaky, untrustworthy person

Muck

Dirt. Farmyard manure. If someone is called Lord Muck or Lady Muck or is said to be acting like a Muckity-Muck this means that they are putting on airs and graces as if they were superior and more important than anyone else

Muckle

Large

Mug

A gullible fool, an idiot, someone easily taken advantage of

Muggy

Humid, drizzly, fogg

N

Nae

No

Naebody

Nobod

Napper

Head

Neb

A person’s nose. Any projecting tip or point

Neep

A turnip (see also Tumshie)

Neep Heid

A stupid or foolish person (literally “turnip head”)

Neffer

Never

Nicht

Night

Nick

Steal

Nip

To move quickly

No’

Not

Noo

Now

Nought

Nothing

Nyaff

A puny, insignificant, worthless, good-for-nothing person

O

O’

Of

Och away and blether

“Oh go away, I don’t believe a word you are saying.

Och! (or Ach!)

Oh! An expression of irritation or exasperation

Ony

Any

Onything

Anything

Oot

Out

Ord

Gaelic for hammer

Ower

Ove

Oxter

Armpit

P

Pair

Poor

Pairty

Party

Perfick

Perfect

Petraglif

A rock that has absorbed a lot of human emotion

Petter

Better

Pit

Many meanings, depending on the context. Put. A large hole in the ground. Peat

Pit the pit in the pit

Could (theoretically) mean, “Put the peat in that large hole in the ground!” although, I must confess, I have never heard anyone utter that exact sentence

Pit-Bing

A heap, or pile of discarded rocks and unusable or unburnable coal

Pluke

A zit, or blackhead. Can be used as a derogatory term for someone you don’t think very highly of

Poat

A Highlander’s “boat.

Polis

Police. The expletive statement, “Murder Polis!” means, “Goodness me, what a surprising and unfortunate situation!

Pooch

Pocket. Can also mean dog

Pother

Bother. Highlanders, like Big Sandy, often pronounce a “B” with a soft, “P” sound

Poultice

A hot medicated bandage that is supposed to draw infection and pus out of a wound. Boggie and Weasel got this word mixed up with the word solstice which means one of the two times every year when the sun is farthest away from the equator. The midsummer solstice is on about June 21st and the midwinter solstice is on about December 22nd

Pratt

Idiot. Embarrassingly clumsy oaf

Pudden (or puddin)

Pudding (any sausage made from diced up meat with onions, oatmeal and spices, boiled, and stored for future use. Also, a stupid or clumsy person.

Puddock

Frog. Can also be used to refer to a toad… or as a derogatory remark about someone whom you don’t consider to be too smart. So if you are looking for an alternative to eejit, gomeral, neep-heid, etc., you could say, “Ye daft wee puddock!

Puggled

Pooped. To be puggled is to be brought to a standstill because of complete exhaustion and frustration

Punter

Somewhat derogatory word for a common man or ordinary person

Pure dead brilliant

Something really impressive

Putt

Can be used for the way a Highlander like Big Sandy says the word, “but.” It can also refer to the traditional Scottish pastime of trying to knock a small round white ball into an elusive little hole on a lawn of grass by hitting it several times from short distances (accompanied by colorful Scottish slang and terms of endearment towards the ball)

Py

By

R

Ramstougerous

Rambunctious, boisterous, disorderly

Reek

A strong (and usually unpleasant) smell

Richt

Right

Runt

A short, undersized, dwarfish person or animal, poorly formed and unhealthy

S

Saft

Soft

Sair

Sore

Sappy

Soft, wet, tender and gentle

Scaur

Scar (of skin, or of the earth or of the ground. A steep eroded hillside)

Scree

A mass of loose stones on a hillside, which can turn into a landslide if things go awry

Scud or scuddie

Naked bare skin

Scunner

A feeling of disgust, loathing, or dislike (or a person that gives one a feeling of disgust, loathing or dislike). If a person feels scunnered then they feel disgusted at the injustice or unfairness of a situation

Scunneration!

“Goodness me, that’s annoying!

Sealgair

Gaelic for hunter

Shilpit

Thin, puny, shrunken, starving and unhealthy looking

Shoo!

Go away! Get out of here! Often said to animals, who apparently understand Scottish better than most humans

Shoogle

To move in and unsteady, shaky and wobbly way

Shouldnae

Shouldn’t, should not

Shug (or Shuggie)

Hugh

Sic

Such

Skiddle

A disappointingly small amount of something

Skinny-malinkie

A tall, slender person

Skulk (or scouk)

To sneak around furtively. To move in a way to avoid detection

Slag

A wet, muddy mess

Smairt

Smart

Smarty-pants

Clever person, often used as a derogatory term

Snag

To steal or acquire through luck

Snooty

Snoot or snout is nose. Someone who is snooty has their nose in the air. They are snobbish, and project a superior air. Rich person who exhibits these features

Snotters

Slimy mucus dripping from someone’s nose. A snottery person is someone with slimy mucus dripping from their nose

Socrach

Gaelic for comfortable

Soosands

Thousands. As used in the famous Scottish knock-knock joke: “Knock knock” “Who’s there” “Amos” “Amos who?” “A mosquito!” “Knock knock” “Who’s there? “Anna” ”Anna who?” “Another mosquito!” “ Knock knock” “Who’s there?” “Susan” “Susan who?” “Soosands o’ mosquitoes!

Spew (or spue)

To vomit, or to pour out, in a continuous stream

Sprachle (or sprauchle)

To move clumsily and laboriously; to struggle or flounder. Like so many old Scots words the sound of the word gives a sense of its meaning

Stane

Stone

Sticky-bun

A sweet pastry filled with delicious gooey filling, and/or icing, or frosting on top. Scottish cuisine may lack sophistication but they make many varieties of really tasty sticky-buns

Stooks, or stookies

Stacks of hay, or other grain, gathered together to dry in the sun after being harvested, and before they are stored for the winter

Stooshie

A public uproar. A tumultuous disturbance (see Stramash

Stramash

An uproar. A tumultuous disturbance

SubterMacdui

The gome capital of Scotland. A city built under the mountain of Ben Macdui near the human town of Braemar, Scotland

Suspeecious

Suspicious

Sycophant

This word does not mean an unwell elephant, and is not the way to describe the situation if you are fed up hanging out with your uncle’s wife. Instead, this word means someone who is always kissing up to someone else. A self-seeking flatterer

T

Tae

To. Also, toe

Tatterwallop

Someone whose clothes are so scruffy, ragged, and torn that they look like a ragged scarecrow. (Hint: it is not a Scottish compliment to call someone a tatterwallop.

Tellt

Told

Thae

Those

Thegither

Togethe

Thon

That

Thoomb

Thumb

Tooch, tooch, tooch!

“Tut, tut, tut, you silly person, you!

Toon

Tow

Towrists

Tourists. Highlanders, like Big Sandy, pronounce the first syllable of the word tourist as if it rhymes with cow

Troosers

Trousers

Tumshie

A turnip. Since turnips are not the most intelligent of vegetables it can also be used as a derogatory term for someone who is not too smart

U

Unnerstaun

Understand

V

Vazanimee

A young human with great affection for rocks and gomes. In gome legend such a human could be altered to become a “vessel of life” (from the Latin vas animi) and provide great value to gomes

Venatores

Gome hunters with a reputation for being ruthless, silent, and relentless. Rarely ever seen. Thought by some people to be mythical

Verra

Very

W

Wan

This can have many meanings, depending on the context. In this setting it simply means the number ‘one.’ It can also mean lacking, insufficient, poorly formed, weak and sickly, win, wind

Wance

Once

Wansonsy

Mischievous, unpleasant, and treacherous

Wasnae

Was not

Weans

(pronounced “wains” to rhyme with “rains”)

Weasel-blawn

Unpleasant, ill-natured, as if the person has been affected by the bite, breath, or hiss of a weasel

Wheen

Several, a large number of, “Soosands and soosands!

Wheesht

Quietness. “Haud yer wheesht!” means “Keep quiet!

Whit

What

Wi’

With

Wid

Would, also wood

Windae

Window

Winnae

Will not

Wir

Our

Wisnae

Wasn’t, was not

Wouldnae

Wouldn’t, would not

Wraikful

Deranged and destructively vengeful (Hint: not a nice quality to look for in a person.

Wrang

Wrong

Wumman

Woman

Y

Yank

pull vigorously. Can also be used as an endearing term for an American

Yap

To talk or bark

Yappy-lugs

A derogatory expression for people who talk too much

Yatter

Unimportant chatter

Ye

You

Yer

Your

Yersel’ (or yerself)

Yourself

Yestreen

Yesterday evening

Yitter

See “Yatter!

Yon

That (as in “Yon thing ower there.

Yoose

You