100 Favourite Scots Words

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About the Book: 

affront • baffies • capercailzie • dingie • elderitch first fit • glaikit • hogmanay • jalouse • laldie • mar numpty • onding • pawkie • scunner • thrapple wean • yeukie • and mony mony mair tae whet yer thrapple...

What is your favourite Scots word?

Have you heard of a stushie or a stairheid rammy?

Do you know a numpty who talks a lot of mince?

For over a decade, The Herald has published the Scottish Language Dictionaries’ Scots Word of the Week. This wee book gathers 100 of our favourites, showing the breadth and diversity of the Scots language over time, ranging from lesser-known Older Scots to formal language to contemporary slang. Uncover the surprising origins of well-known words such as numpty and wean, discover unusual ones like onding and gowan, and savour evocative gems like Robert Burns’ ‘blethering, blustering, drunken blellum’.

About the Author:

PAULINE CAIRNS SPEITEL began her career in Scots dictionaries with the Scottish National Dictionary, continuing in 2002 with the formation of Scottish Language Dictionaries. Pauline has worked on many projects with SLD including the 2005 Supplement to the Scottish National Dictionary and was a major contributor to the latest publication of the second edition of the Concise Scots Dictionary.