Sackless, C, silly (originally, innocent).
“Our parson sweers a bonnie stick
Amang thur _sackless_ asses.”
_Anderson._ The Village Gang.
Sairy, C, sorry.
“A _sairy_ wife I trowe she’d mak
’At cudn’t muck a byre.”
_Ibid._ Betty Brown.
Sark, C and S, shirt (male or female).
“She won’t mend a _sark_, but reads novels, proud brat.”
_Ibid._ Elizabeth’s Burthday.
“Our women are nowadays a’ grown sae braw,
Ilk maun ha’e a _sark_, an’ some maun ha’e twa.”
_Ross._ The wee pickle tow.
Sarra, C, serve.
“The witch wife begg’d i’ our back-side,
An’ went _unsarra’d_ away i’ the pet.”
_Anderson._ The Witch Wife.
Sauch, S, willow.
“Whereby the glancing waves o’ Clyde
Through _sauchs_ an’ hangin’ hazels glide.”
Old Song—Bothwell Bank.
Scraffle, C, scramble.
“We _scraffelt_ on i’ this fashion, an’ it was quite dark afooar we
gat till Ammelside yatt.”
_Betty Yewdale._ T’ terrible Knitters i’ Dent.
Screes, C, sloping banks of fragmentary stone under precipices.
“Whoariver there’s _screes_
There’s mair steàns nor trees.”
Old Rhymes.
Scrimp, S, pinch, reduce.
“For lack o’ thee I _scrimp_ my glass.”
_Burns._ On a Bank Note.
Scrowe, S and C, a lot of children, etc., rough or numerous.
“There’s sic a _scrowe_ o’ Irishmen come ower frae Skinburness.”—Said
at Annan.
Scunner, S, shuddering disgust—noun and verb.
“An’ yill an’ whiskey ga’e to cairds,
Until they _scunner_.”
_Burns._ Ep. to Smith.
Sec, C; Sic, S, such.
“Feegh! _sec_ a yen we’ve hed at Codbeck,
As niver was under the sun.”
_Anderson._ The Codbeck Wedding.
“_Sic_ as ye gie, _sic_ will ye get.”—Proverb.
Shap, C, to seem likely, or tend to.
“They’re _shappin’_ to gang heàm wid empty pockets.”
Said of two losing whist players at a Merry Night.
Shinny, C; Shinty, S, a rough game played with knobbed or round ended
sticks—called in the south of England, I believe, hocky.
“_Shinny’s_ weel aneuf if shins wer’ seàf.”—Old saying.
Sinsyne, S, since then.
“She charm’d my heart an’ aye _sinsyne_,
I canna think o’ onie ither.”
Song—O’er the Muir.
Skeich, S, shy, distant.
“Maggie coost her heid fu’ heich,
Look’d asklent an’ unco _skeich_.”
_Burns._ Duncan Gray.
Skirl, S, scream.
“White and bludy puddings rowth
To gar the doctor _skirl_ wi’ drowth.”
_Ferguson._ St Andrews.
Skreich, S; Skrike, C, shriek.
“It’s time aneuch to _skreich_ when ye’re strucken.”
Proverb.
Skurl, C, slide.
“_Skurl, skurl_ the’ doon—I’ll kep the’, come thy ways,
I’ll leuk ahint me—niver mind thy claes.”
_Ewan Clarke._
Slake, C, a light smear as of grease, etc.
“Let’s tak’ _slake_ an’ _slake_ aboot till it’s done.”
Said in licking out a treacle pot.
Slape, C, slippery.
“I mun tell her fadder when I see him—she’s gittin’ varra _slape_,”
old John Howe of Branthwaite Hall called out when he witnessed, by
chance, a meeting of sweethearts on a lonely road.
Slare, C, to walk slowly.
“He may be a sharp worker, but he’s a _slarin’_ walker.”
Said by a farmer’s wife of a new come man servant.
Slashy, C, sloppy.
“It was beginnin’ to thowe, an’ was varra _slashy_ an’ cāld.”
_Betty Yewdale._ T’ terrible Knitters i’ Dent.
Slatter, C, slop.
“Wi’ jaws o’ yell some durty beuts
Pat loft seun in a _slatter_.”
_Mark Lonsdale._ The Upshot.
Sleekie, or Sleekit, S, sly, smooth.
“O we were sly, sly!
O, we were sly an’ _sleekit_.”
Song.
Slipe, C, to slip away, to “hook it.”
“_Slipe_, my lad, while thou’s weel. _Slipe_, I say, an’ let neàbody
see the’ gang.”—Said to a youth in a row.
Slocken, S and C, to slake thirst.
“Ha’e ye any clippin’ drink left?” “No!” “Ha’e ye any common yall? No!
Ha’e ye any smo’ beer? No! Why than, hang it—ha’e ye any pig-stuff? I
mun be _slocken’t_ wi’ summat!”—John Kendall at Hawkshead Hall the day
after the sheep-shearing feast.
Smaik, S, a small boy, or other small animal.
“He’s but a _smaik_, but he’s a man at the books.”
Said of a schoolboy.
Smittal, C, infectious.
“As _smittal_ as t’ Smo’-pox.”
Said of a successful male animal kept for breeding purposes.
Snape, C, snub, also blight.
“Yet tho’ sec bruolliments galwore
Oft _snaip’t_ the whyet of our days.”
_Stagg._ Auld Lang Syne.
Sneck, C, latch.
“The Buckabank chaps are reet famous sweethearters,
Their kisses just sound like the _sneck_ of a yett.”
_Anderson._ Bleckell Murry-Neet.
Sneck-posset, C. When a man has the door shut in his face,
figuratively or literally, he gets a _sneck-posset_.
“Glooar’d at me a bit, an’ than clyash’t dewar i mi feeace——He g’e ma
a faer _sneck-posset_.”
_Rev. T. Clarke_, Johnny Shippard.
Snell, S, cold and cutting.
“There cam’ a wind oot o’ the north,
A sharp wind and a _snell_.”
Ballad—Young Tamlane.
Snirrup, or Snirp, C, to curl up the nose, etc.
“As seun as she fund I depended on labour,
She _snirp’t_ up her nose an’ nae mair leuk’t at me.”
_Anderson._ The Lasses o’ Carel.
Snirt, or Snurl, C, the sound of imperfectly suppressed laughter.
“But seckan toke! nin could tell what aboot,
I stop’t my lugs for fear o’ _snurtin’_ oot.”
_Graham._ Gwordie and Will.
Snod, S and C, smooth, neat.
“Her cockermonie _snoddit_ up fu’ sleek,
Her haffet locks hung wavin’ owre her cheek.”
_Ramsay._ The Gentle Shepherd.
“You’re making this road rough!” “Ey, but we’ll mak it _snod_ afoor
we’re deun wi’ ’t.”
Reply of the road surveyor at Hawkshead.
Snowk, C, to snuffle audibly.
”_Snowkin’_ like pigs at a sew.”—Common saying.
Snug (as a verb), C, to nestle.
“We _snugg’t_ in togidder.”—Ibid.
Sonsie, S, comfortable looking, also lucky.
“Tall and _sonsie_, frank and free,
Lo’ed by a’, an’ dear to me.”
_Lady Nairne._ Kind Robin lo’es me.
“Whistlin’ maids an’ crawin’ hens are no _sonsie_.“—Proverb.
Sorn, S, to live on others, to sponge.
“_Sornan_ frae place to place,
As scrimp o’ mainners as o’ sense or grace.”
_Ramsay._ The Gentle Shepherd.
Souch, S, the sound of gentle wind or breath.
“Hark how the westlin’ win’ _souchs_ through the reeds.”
_Ibid._
Spang-hew, S and C, to fling to the winds.
_Spang-hewing_ is a cruel mode practised by school-boys of putting
birds, frogs, etc., to death. A stick is laid across a block, the
victim placed on one end and the other struck sharply, throwing the
poor animal high into the air, killing, and generally, mutilating it.
Spats, S and C, abbrev. of spatterdashes—gaiters.
“Their stumps, erst used to philabegs,
Are dight in _spatterdashes_.”
_Ferguson._ Leith Races.
Speel, S, climb.
“Monie a time,
Wi’ you I’ve _speel’d_ the braes o’ rhyme.”
_Ferguson._ My Auld Breeks.
Speir, S, ask, enquire.
“A feul may _speir_ mair questions than a doctor can answer.”
Proverb.
Spretty, S, covered with Sprett, a kind of coarse grass.
“Till _spretty_ knowes wad rair’t an’ risket
An’ slypet owre.”
_Burns._ The Auld Mare Maggie.
Sprogue, C, a pleasure ramble.
“I’ve been to t’ top o’ Knock Murton.” “What took ye there?” “I just
went for a _sprogue_!”
Part of a conversation in Arlecdon.
Squab, C, a long low seat with a back.
“Sit on t’ _squab_ till I bring ye summat to sup on.”—Said to me once
when I reached a farm house exhausted from struggling through a snow
storm.
Stammer, or Stummer, C, to stumble.
“Oft wittingly I _stummer’t_, oft I fell.”
_Relph._ Kursty and Peggy.
’Statesman, C, landed proprietor—Estatesman.
“It is a bonnie job, if gentlemen an’ gentlemen’s servants is to
ower-ride us _steàts fooak_.”
Said by an old lady at Coniston after a vestry meeting.
Stayvel, or Stayver, S and C, to walk in a listless manner.
“Ther was hundreds o’ fwoke _stayvelan_ aboot.”
_Ritson._ The Borrowdale Letter.
Stoore, S and C, dust.
“This day the kirk kicks up a _stoore_.”
_Burns._ The Ordination.
“The Bible ligs _stoory_ abeun the door heid.”
_Anderson._ Caleb Crosby.
Stound, S and C, ache or pang.
“An’ aye the _stound_, the deidly wound.
Cam frae her e’en sae lovely blue.”
_Burns._ A waefu’ gate yestreen.
“It _stoundit_ sare, an’ sare it swell’d.”
_Relph._ After Theocritus.
Straddel’t, C, brought to a stand.
“I think oald P—— was varra nār _straddel’t_ iv his sarmon.”
Heard at the door of a Wesleyan chapel after service.
Sumph, S and C, a fool.
“An’ onie _sumph_ that keeps up spite,
In conscience I abhor him.”
_Rev. J. Skinner._ Tullochgorum.
“I sit like a _sumph_, nea mair mysel’.”
_Anderson._ Barbary Bell.
Swap, S and C, exchange.
“I trowe we _swappit_ for the worse,
Ga’e the boot an’ better horse.”
Song—Carle an’ the King come.
“Lal Sim’s geane an’ _swapp’d_ the black cowt.”
_Anderson._ Nichol the Newsmonger.
Swat, C, sit down, squat.
“Come, Cuddy, _swat_ an’ tak’ a whiff.”
_Anderson._ The Cram.
Sweir, S, loath, unwilling.
“Forsooth they cried, anither gill.
For _sweir_ we’re aye to gang awa’.”
_Mac Phail._ Song.