Collins Dictionaries - Scots Dictionary - The perfect wee guide to the Scots language

bashit Bashitvegetables are ones which have been mashed: bashit neeps.

bastartin( bass-ter-tin ) or bastardin( bass-ter-din ) Bastartinis a swear word used, like damned or bloody, to indicate dislike or annoyance: Watch whit yir daein wi that bastartin hammer!

bate( bait ) Bateis a Scots form of beat or beaten: We got bate wan nil.

bauchle( bawCH-l ) or bachle( baCH-l ) A bauchlewas originally a shabby or worn-out shoe. Nowadays the word bauchleis usually used to describe an ungainly or shabby-looking person, especially a small one: a wee bauchle.

bauldieor baldie( bawl-di ) Someone who is bauldieor bauldie-heiditis bald: a wee bauldie guy. A bauldieis a bald person. A bauldieis also a very short haircut: You wouldn’t notice I’d had my hair done even if I got a right bauldie, would you?

bawbag( baw-bag ) The bawbagis a colloquial term for the scrotum. In the Glasgow area, bawbagis also used as an insult to a person.

bawbee( baw-bee ) A bawbeewas originally a silver coin worth six Scots pennies. Later, bawbeecame to mean a halfpenny. Although the halfpenny no longer exists, the word bawbeeis still used to mean any small amount of money, especially in phrases implying miserliness or shortage of money: the current economic climate – otherwise known as a serious lack of bawbees. [The coin was probably named after Alexander Orrok of Sillebawby , who became master of the Scottish mint in 1538]

bawfaceA bawfaceis a round, chubby face, or a person with such a face.

bawheid( baw-heed ) Bawheidbasically means the same as bawface. However, it can also be used as a cheeky form of address for a person: Hey, bawheid!

beadleA beadle, also known as a kirk officeror church officer, is a paid official of the Church of Scotland, whose job includes assisting a minister with administrative work and placing the Bible in the pulpit at the start of a service.

beamerA beameris a red face caused by embarrassment or guilt, or something which is so embarrassing or bad that it causes such a blush. The word is mainly used in the Glasgow area.

bearA bearis a usually derogatory term for a wild and uncouth young man, particularly one who drinks a lot: The bar closed long before the bears’ drooth was assuaged.

beastAmong farmers, a beastis a calf, cow, bull, or bullock, irrespective of its age or sex. The plural can be either beastsor beas.

beastie

beastieA beastieis any small animal, nowadays particularly an insect, spider, or similar creepy-crawly.

beauty Ya beauty!is an exclamation of delighted approval or agreement: A holiday on Monday. Ya beauty!

bedsor beddiesIn some areas of Scotland, the game of hopscotch is known as beds. The pattern of squares chalked on the ground on which the game is played is known as a bed. Also called pauldiesand peever.

beelTo beelis a Northeastern word which means to fester or turn septic.

beelinTo be beelinis to be furiously angry. Beelinis less commonly used to mean very drunk. A beelinis a Northeastern name for a boil on the body. [All these senses are derived from beel (see above)]

beezerSomething which is a beezeris an extreme example of its kind, usually one which is bigger or better than normal. In particular, a cold but dry and sunny winter day is often referred to as a beezer.

behouchie( ba-hooCH-ee ) or bahookie( ba-hook-ee ) The behouchie is an informal, usually jocular, name for the backside: Sit on your behouchie, you! [It is probably a combination of behind and hough , the Scots word for a thigh]

bell The Bellsis the name traditionally given to the moment at midnight on December 31st when church bells are rung to mark the beginning of the New Year: We always used to go to the Cross for the Bells, but it’s got a bit rowdy these days. When a group of people are drinking in a bar, the person whose turn it is to go and buy the next round of drinks is often said to be on the bell.

belong toTo belong toa town or area is to live there: I belong to Glasgow. In Scotland, people sometimes say that the owner of an object belongs tothat object, rather than the object belonging to the person: Who belongs to this coat?

belt The belt, also known as the tawse, was a leather strap with which schoolchildren were struck on the hand for punishment. Its use is now illegal: I got six of the belt for fighting. To belta child was to punish them by hitting them on the hand with such a strap.

Beltane( bell-tane ) Beltaneis an old Celtic fire festival which originally took place on the first or third of May. It was also a former term day, again on the first or third of May. In Peebles, Beltaneis also the name given to the festivities accompanying the Riding of the Marches, which are held in late June. [The word comes from the Gaelic belltainn ]

beltie( bell-ti ) A beltieis an informal name for the belted Galloway, a variety of Gallowaycattle which is black at the front and rear but has a white band round its middle. They are most common in Galloway in the extreme Southwest of Scotland, where they were first bred.

ben 1A benis a mountain. Benis often used as part of the name of a mountain, such as Ben Nevis or Ben Lomond . [In this sense the word comes from Gaelic, where it is spelt beinn ] 2 Benalso means in, within, or into the inner or main part of a house or other building: Come ben the hoose ; She was ben the kitchen making tea. A benis also the inner or main room of a house, especially that of the old-fashioned two-room cottage known as the but-and-ben.

Berwickshire( berr-ick-sher or berr-ick-shire ) Berwickshireis a historic county in the extreme southeast of Scotland, on the North Sea coast and the border with England. It is now part of the Scottish Borders council area.

besom( biz-zum ) Besomis a derogatory term for a woman or girl: Cheeky wee besom!

bevvyAs in some other parts of Britain, in Scotland any alchoholic drink is sometimes referred to as bevvy. A bevvyis a drinking session, and a particularly drunken one is sometimes called a heavy bevvy: It’s just another excuse for a good bevvy. To bevvyis to drink alcohol, and hence, someone who is drunk is sometimes said to be bevvied. [The word is an informal shortening of beverage ]