I amna fou’ sae muckle as tired – deid dune. It’s gey and hard wark coupin’ gless for gless Wi’ Cruivie and Gilsanquhar and the like, And I’m no’ juist as bauld as aince I wes. If you recognize the first stanza from Hugh MacDiarmid’s 1926 poem ‘A Drunk Man Looks At A Thistle’ you may also […]
Tag: Scottish
“Pernickety” – tracing a word’s origin(s)
The exact origin(s) of the word ‘Pernickety’ are lost in the mists of time. In particular, the Scottish mists of time. Clues nevertheless exist. And have been painstakingly investigated by Professor William Sayers, B.A., fil. kand., M.A., Ph.D., of the Medieval Studies Program, College of Arts and Sciences, at Cornell, who notes that : “In Scotland […]
Abulziement and Abusion
Abulziement and Abusion can each be found in James B. Montgomerie-Fleming‘s Notes on Jamieson’s Scottish Dictionary, published by W. Hodge in 1899. Here is a photograph of Major James B. Montgomerie-Fleming displaying his knees. This photo was taken during Major Montgomerie-Fleming’s lifetime. One might note that Major Montgomerie-Fleming’s left and right hands are not displayed: