blaikit baffled
bonnie pretty
brak break
breeks trousers
breesties breasts
buddie body, person
byre farm building for cows
ca’ call
caal’ cold
canna can’t
chiel boy
claik chatter, gossip
clarty muddy
clype to tell tales against someone
come in aboot to visit or enter
coorse uncouth, naughty, bad
corn oats or barley
couldna couldn’t
crabby bad-tempered
craitur creature (but often used to refer to a person, usually affectionately and sympathetically)
daftie idiot
deboshed debauched
dee do
deeving annoying or wearying by talking
deid dead
deif deaf
dicht wipe
dinna don’t
dinna don’t
dinna don’t
dirl to vibrate, quiver, reverberate (amongst many other meanings)
disna doesn’t
dochter daughter
docken dock plant
doon down
doot doubt
dottled having dementia
douce sober, respectable, gentle, pleasant
dyke wall
ears years
eased used
efter after
elky every
ess this
fa who
fantoosh fancy or posh
fash fret or bother
feart scared
filie whilie (while)
fit what
fit wye why
fooner flounder
fooshty mouldy or musty
furlin’ whirling
gaan going
gey very or terrible
ging go
glaise glass
gran’ grand or nice
grunnie grannie
haan hand
hae have
halflin half-grown boy
harl to roughcast an outside wall in the traditional way, with lime and small stones
hauch to cough
hisna hasn’t
hivna haven’t
hoose house
hud hold
hunner hundred
-ie added to words affectionately (e.g. woodie, calfie)
ithers others
jaikit jacket
jaloose surmise
jist just
jobbie poop
kelt killed
ken know
kin kind
lang long
larn teach
likit liked
lither laziness
loon boy or young man
loupit leapt
lugs ears
mair more
mait meat
malafoustert destroyed or wrecked
micht might
midden rubbish heap; dirty, messy place
min’tie/minutie minute
na no
nae not
neebours with neighbouring
neep turnip
nicht night
o’ of
och oh!
ony any
onyways anyhow
oot out
ordinar the normal state of affairs; ordinary
pit put
pliter to wade splashily through mud or other messy stuff
press shallow cupboard
quine girl
rare very good
respekkit respected
richt right
riggit ready (e.g. to leave the house)
scairt scared
sicht sight
siller silver
sklyter a slithery, half-solid, half-liquid substance
slee sly
sna snow
sooky sycophantic
spuin spoon
steerin’ bustling
stirk a bullock
stromash altercation
sweer swear
syne since, ago
tae to
tak take
tattie potato
tell to
telt to it
thegither together
tinky disreputable, vagrant-like
trumphery rubbish
wee little
weel well
wet wit
whang to beat or strike
wheek move, remove or dislodge swiftly, dextrously
wi’ with
wi’oot without
winna won’t
wisna wasn’t
wite fault
wrang wrong
wye way
yairn yarn
ye you
yer your
yowl to yell or howl
Acknowledgements
First of all, a big thank you to my mum, Grace, for providing an excellent Scots language consultancy and translation service. I’m particularly pleased with ‘she’s loupit’ for frost leaving the ground – so much more evocative than any equivalent I can think of in English. Thank you, too, for all the encouragement and for being so eager to read this book!
I’m also hugely grateful to Lesley McLaren and Lucy Lawrie, my wonderful writer friends, for their invaluable help with this story. Lesley picked up lots and lots of plot problems, mistakes and other issues – in particular, she realised that one of the main characters wasn’t working. Lucy then came up with brilliant suggestions for how to make this character (I won’t say which one!) more sympathetic, along with a host of other improvements. What a great team! Thank you for all the brainstorming, ideas and encouragement. Lesley’s engaging (and sometimes nail-biting) nature writing can be found here: http://www.mediterraneanpyrenees.com. Lucy is the author of warm, witty, thought-provoking and page-turny women’s fiction featuring characters you’ll be sad to say goodbye to at the end of the book. Tiny Acts of Love and The Last Day I Saw Her are available now, and The Child in My House is to be published soon.
Finally, thank you, faithful readers of the Pitfourie Series. I’m sorry this one took longer than expected to see the light of day – it ended up being a long ’un! The next in the series... No, I’m not going to commit myself to an unrealistic schedule this time round! All I’ll say is that Book 3 will be along eventually – working title The Summer Woods.
Please visit my website (https://www.janerenshaw.co.uk) for up-to-date information about my books, to subscribe to my mailing list or if you would like to contact me. I always love to hear from readers!
Books by Jane Renshaw
The Pitfourie Series
(so far)
Book 1 The Sweetest Poison
Book 1.5 What They Found
(available to mailing list subscribers)
Book 2 The Time and the Place
Stand-alone psychological thrillers
Watch Over Me
The Child Who Never Was