ain
own
ane
one
antil
until
auld
old
awa
away
awfae
awful; great many; extremely
ay
always
back-end
October month
bairn
child
barra
barrow
barricade
peaked tent with inside fire on the ground
bene
fine (C)
bi
by
bing(s)
plenty; come; go (C)
bis
is
bit
piece of
blindit
blinded
bocht
bought
braw
fine
broch
scraps of meat; bread; leftovers
buck
half-traveller (C)
bund
bound
burk; burker
murder for medical research; body-snatcher, cf Burke and Hare
cadger
itinerant dealer
cam
came
camp
tent; place for tents
cannae
cannot
castell
castle
catcht
caught
ceilidh
get-together for songs and stories (G)
chap
knock
cheeny
china
chuik
chuck! cry to gather animals, cf diug! (G)
clabbydhu(s)
horsemussel, cf claba-dubhaidh (G)
claes
clothes
cleek
hook
cloot
cloth
couldna
could not
country
non-traveller
cowp
rubbish tip
crack
talk, news
cratur
creature
croon
crown, five-shilling silver coin
cruisie
small paraffin lamp
dae
do
daurstnae
dared not
didna
did not
dinnae
don’t
disna
doesn’t
div
do (emphatic)
dochters
daughters
dodder
doctor (C)
doon
down
doot
doubt; rather think
dottled; dottlin
in a state of dotage; enfeebled
dovered
dozed
droll
strange, queer
drooky
dripping
ee(n)
eye(s)
eerie
eldin; eldrin
very old; old-fashioned things
faa
fall
fae
from
faired; fairing
cleared; entire
fankled
ensnared; tangled
feart
afraid
fir
for
fit
foot
flattie
dim-witted town dweller
follaein
following
forbyes
as well
founder
disease of the hoof
frae
from
friends
relations
gadgie
man (C)
gae; gae’n
go; going
gaun; gaunnae
going; going to
garron
small, sturdy horse; Highland pony
gav
town (C)
gelly
bowed tent with inside firecan and chimney
gie; gied
give; gave
greet; gret
complain; cried
guid
good
haben
food (C)
hae; haena
have; have not
half-blood
part thoroughbred
halflings
half-grown young
hame
home
hantle
folk
harlin
trailing
haud
hold
hecks
racks for fodder
hissel
himself
hit
it
hoo
how
hornies
police (C)
hoors
hours
hurl
a ride; push
hus
us
huvnae
haven’t
jeelie
jam
kail
curly cabbage
[kchkch]
non-lexical vocable: dog’s lethal snap
keeking
peeping
ken; kent
know; knew
kenneled
kindled
kist
chest
laochan
hero, boy (G)
lea
leave
leears
liars
leid
lead
lowsed
unyoked
loss
lose
luggies
small pails
mair
more
mairrit
married
maister
mister
mangin
intimating; speaking (C)
mar
kill
marlech
hare (C)
masel
myself
maun
must
mebbe
maybe
messages
groceries
moich
rotten; crazy (C)
moose
mouse
mort
woman (C)
muckle
greater
mushfeeker
umbrella mender (C)
nae
no
neep
turnip
neuk
nook
no
not
noo
now
o
of; non-lexical vocable
oot
out
orra
odd
ower
over
oxter
armpit
piece
sandwich
poke
small bag
polis
policeman
pooder
powder
pourie
small oil can with spout
prank
horse (C)
proochen
horse or cow caller, cf pruigean (G)
puckle
small amount (of)
puggy
little steam engine for shunting wagons
rags
woollens for recycling
raggie
ragged
reek
smoke
scholar
school pupil
sekkin
want, hope to get
seo
here (G)
shakit
shook
shan
ashamed; bad (C)
shaw
cut shaws off of
sister
the narrator’s female lis
tener
skeely
experienced
skelp
hit
[SLAP]
one slaps the other’s hand to seal an agreement
slipe
cut at a slant; wooden tool for cutting
slutter
sloppy mixture of food
smiddie
smithy
snottum
wrought iron crook for hanging pots over outside fire (C)
soond
sound
sowl
soul
spate
sudden flood
sprach
beg (C)
stall
stop (C)
static
friction
stook
a shock of cut sheaves
stuff
scrap metals
tae
to
tak
take
taste
savour
tattie
potato
tellt
told
tenions
pith
there; the’re
there’s; there are
thes
these
thon
that, those
Tilley
manufacturer of pressure, paraffin lamps
tinks
travellers (derogatory)
toll
a tell-tale
totie
small child; puff, cf totaidh (G)
touching
harming
trinks
ditches
tuppence
twopence
two-three
a few
waste
unused, remote, forgotten
welting
hitting
wha
who
whaur
where
wi
with
windae
window
winna
won’t
wir; wirsels
our; ourselves
wonst
once
worl
world
wumman
woman
ye(se)
you
yersel
yourself
yir
your
you’
young
ENDNOTES
1. inmated milk cans – pails with metal sieve inserts
2. the morn – tomorrow
3. wee totie – tiny puff of a
4. country hantle – settled community
5. mair the nicht – for the rest of the night
6. bings of haben – plenty to eat
7. I would have nothing in the world – nothing meant more to me
8. but and ben – a two-roomed cottage
9. a bhalaich – laddie
10. the noo – at the moment
11. smoor off – dampen down, diminish
12. hemmed and hawed – dithered
13. country laddie – non-traveller young man
14. country folk – non-traveller people
15. Hoolet’s Neuk – Owl’s Corner
16. buck gadgie – half-traveller man
17. bing o whins – lots of gorse
18. awfae carry on – mad commotion
19. the night – tonight
20. a suddent – suddenly
21. bing the mang tae the bene mort – give the patter to the lady
22. bene hantle – well-to-do folk
23. broo card – signing-on book for National Insurance contributions
24. The Firs – a camping place owned by Lady Wemyss
25. Royal Mail – post bus
26. bits o cloots – old blankets and tent covers 194 The Horsieman
27. din ye jan – don’t you understand
28. your bit Shelties – the small ponies
29. stall yir mangin – hold your tongue
30. gar him dee-o – cause his death
31. shan gurie – prostitute
32. on the rampart – rampant
33. old woman – dear wife
34. shan old gadgie – dirty man looking for a woman
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Furnace, in the early 1900s. Rising behind the houses to the right is Furnace Wood, where Duncan’s family camped for many years. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
2. The Township of Auchindrain, near Furnace. This is an old-fashioned, joint tenancy farm, now preserved as a museum and well worth a visit. Duncan’s first job was with Adie MacCallum, building drystone dykes here. (School of Scottish Studies)
3. Travellers in Kintyre, with their pony and light cart, before the First World War. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
4. A typical travellers’ camp in the West Highlands, c.1910. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
5. A traveller family in Kintyre, Argyll, in the early 1900s. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
6. The kettle pot and snottum were basic requirements for a traveller’s life. The snottum in particular had many uses: it was kept by the tent door, to keep it open and (occasionally) to ward off unwelcome visitors. It also suspended cooking pots above the fire.
7. Some of the goods made for barter or hawking around door-to-door.
8. A Cheeny Feeker’s (mender of delph or porcelain) bow and drill. It works on the same principle as the early caveman’s fire-starter.
9. Tools of the trade for a tinsmith.
10. Traveller’s tents. Top: Bow tent inside. Top centre: Bow tent outside. Above: Rigging stick. Below: Gelly tent. Bottom: Barricade tent.
11. Heavy horses and ploughmen outside the Volunteer Arms, Forfar. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
12. Kirriemuir, Angus. As a young man, Duncan travelled all the country about here. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
13. A traveller’s camp in Fife. Note the iron snottum in the entrance of the tent. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
14. Beauly, near Inverness. A typical Scottish market square, on a fair day in the early twentieth century. (School of Scottish Studies)
1. Furnace, in the early 1900s. Rising behind the houses to the right is Furnace Wood, where Duncan’s family camped for many years. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
2. The Township of Auchindrain, near Furnace. This is an old-fashioned, joint tenancy farm, now preserved as a museum and well worth a visit. Duncan’s first job was with Adie MacCallum, building drystone dykes here. (School of Scottish Studies)
3. Travellers in Kintyre, with their pony and light cart, before the First World War. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
4. A typical travellers’ camp in the West Highlands, c.1910. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
5. A traveller family in Kintyre, Argyll, in the early 1900s. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
6. The kettle pot and snottum were basic requirements for a traveller’s life. The snottum in particular had many uses: it was kept by the tent door, to keep it open and (occasionally) to ward off unwelcome visitors. It also suspended cooking pots above the fire.
7. Some of the goods made for barter or hawking around door-to-door.
8. A Cheeny Feeker’s (mender of delph or porcelain) bow and drill. It works on the same principle as the early caveman’s fire-starter.
9. Tools of the trade for a tinsmith.
10. Traveller’s tents. Top: Bow tent inside. Top centre: Bow tent outside. Above: Rigging stick. Below: Gelly tent. Bottom: Barricade tent.
11. Heavy horses and ploughmen outside the Volunteer Arms, Forfar. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
12. Kirriemuir, Angus. As a young man, Duncan travelled all the country about here. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)
13. A traveller’s camp in Fife. Note the iron snottum in the entrance of the tent. (Scottish Ethnological Archive)