To wap and wan. i.e., strike against the shore, and ebb. dusky as in autumn. On they gade, and on they rade, And a' by the licht o' the moon, 66 "Wan waters," pale, dark, And there they lichted doun.-"The Douglas Tragedy." To warm his haffits. i.e., box his ears.-" Fair Maid of Perth," ch. 29. To weary for his dinner. It was an old custom in Scotland, for a host to take his guest to the top of the tower of his house, and if such a convenience did not exist, to the nearest rising ground, in order that he might admire the view, and by means of the keen air gain a sharp appetite, and so, “Weary for his dinner."-" Bride of Lammermoor," ch. II. To weather one. i.e., get the better of. To wet one's whistle. i.e., take a drink. To whip the cat. The phrase is used to indicate the practice of tailors going to work at the houses of their customers. It was used by the tailors of Crieff for, to work against time. i.e., urge the time. In England the phrase means "to be drunk."— Heywood's conothista," 1635, p. 60. To win the mell. "Philo The last runner at the Brouse got a wooden mallet. So to "win the mell" is to be last in any undertaking. To work for naething mak's folk dead sweir. "Dead sweir," extremely averse to exertion.—Jamieson. TOD Lowrie's clinks. i.e., mighty blows.-"John Gibb of Gussetneuk." TOLLIE Barclay of the glen. Happy to the maids, but never to the men.—Thomas the Rhymer. Refers to an ancient weird which was said to follow the family of Barclay of Towie Barclay in Aberdeenshire. In this ancient house the heir male scarcely ever succeeded his father, but the females generally made good marriages. The Barclays sold the estate in 1753 to Lord Tweedale for his second son, who did not long survive, thus confirming the gloomy prediction. Lord Findlater was the next owner, but as he firmly believed in the weird, he sold the estate in 1792 to the Trustees of Robert Gordon's Hospital, Aberdeen. Too great a handful. i.e., responsibility. TOOм bags rattle. Empty vessels sound most.-E. Empty bladders make a great noise.-Gaelic. TOOм pokes will strive. A poor married couple are apt to quarrel.-Kelly. TOOM stalls mak' biting horses. TRAITOR'S word ne'er yet hurt honest cause. TREAD on my foot again, and a boll of meal on my back. TROT faither, trot mither; how can the foal amble? It is hard for those who have had a bad parentage, and consequently an ill education, to be good."-Kelly. How can the foal amble, when the horse and mare trot ?-E. Also, in England they say If the mare have a bald face, the filly will have a blaze. TROW take thee.-Orkney. Though now only a boggy phrase intended to frighten children, this expression is derived from the old superstitious belief in a malignant race of Trows, Fairies, or Dwarís. See, Yule Rhymes. TRUE blue will never stain, | But dirty red will dye again. TRUE enough, false liar. An ironical consent to them whom we hear telling lies.-Kelly. TRUE love is aye blate. TRUE love kythes in time of need. i.e., shows itself. Amicus certus in re incerta cernitur. A friend in need is a friend indeed.-E. Also in Spanish. TRUE love's the waft o' life, but it whiles comes through a sorrowfu' shuttle. TRUTH and honesty keep the crown o' the causey. Compare, To crown the causey. Truth and oil are ever above.-E. And Truth may be blamed, But shall never be shamed.-E. TRUTH can neither be bought nor sold. "Black Dwarf," ch. 5. TRUTH tells best. TRUTH will aye stand without a prop. A lie stands on but one leg.-Gaelic. Lies have short legs.-German. A lie has no legs, but a scandal has wings.-E. The Welsh, on the contrary, say-The best traveller is a lie. TULLICH-ARD. The slogan of the Clan Mackenzie. Tullich-ard is a hill in Kintail upon which a burning tar barrel was placed to summon the clansmen to assemble at the castle of St. Donan. TURNING the riddle. By St. Peter and St. Paul, By the virtues of them all, If it was Rob that stealed the plaid, The charm of turning the riddle was practised in the following manner. A pair of scissors was stuck in the rim of the riddle, with a string through their eyes, in which two persons put each his forefinger, and suspended the riddle between them, and after spitting east, west, north, and south, repeated the above lines. If Rob was the thief, the riddle turned at the mention of his name, and thus the delinquent was detected. TUSH Swims best that's bred in the sea. i.e., the best sailors are bred to the sea from infancy.-Kelly. TWA gudes seldom meet, What's gude for the plant is ill for the peat. That which is good for the back is bad for the head.-E. TWA hands may do in ae dish, but ne'er in ae purse. TWA hangings on ae widdy mak's twa pair o' shoon to the hangman, but only ae ploy to the people. A warning to an evil-doer that his punishment is certain, as it will ensure extra profit, without further trouble, expense, or commotion. "TwA heads are better than ane," as the wife said when she and her dog gaed to the market. TWA heads are better than ane, though they're but sheep's anes. Spoken when either husband or wife is dead, and the sorrowing party goes back in the world after.-Kelly. TWA to flight and ane to redd. Three is said to be an ideal number of children in a family, two to fight, and one to settle the dispute. TWA wolves may worry ae sheep.-Fergusson. TWA words maun gang to that bargain. More words than one go to a bargain.-E. TWEED rins between Crook and Hearthstane. Crook is a lonely inn, in the parish of Tweedsmuir, Peebles-shire, and is the halfway house between Dumfries and Edinburgh. Hearthstane is a landmark, on the opposite side of the Tweed, which is here but a mountain streamlet. The joke is in the play upon the words Crook and Hearthstane. TWEED said to Till, | What gars ye rin sae still? The Till flows through the northern part of Northumberland, and joins the Tweed between Coldstream and Norham, not far from Flodden · field. It is a sluggish, deep river. 'TWEEN Martinmas and Yule, | Water's wine in every pool. Refers to the value of rain in the latter part of the year. 'TWEEN the Isle o' May, | And the links o' Tay, Mony a ship's been cast away. 'TWEEN Rae Hill and Lorieburnshaw, There ye'll find Cowdaily wa', And the foundations laid on ern. It is said that when the first of the noble family of Somerville came from France, and secured possession of Cowthally Castle, near Carnwath, Lanarkshire, the outer walls as well as a considerable part of the main building were destroyed during the siege. Somerville therefore decided to erect a castle on a different site. This design, however, was frustrated by the Evil one, aided by several active assistants, who, during the night undid the work of the preceding day. One night Somerville watched himself, and the destroyers advised him in the words of this rhyme, to build on the old foundations, a recommendation with which he complied.-Chambers. 'TWEEN Wigton and the toun o' Ayr, Portpatrick and the Cruives o' Cree, No man need think for to bide there, Unless he court Saint Kennedie. Compare, The Kennedies wi' a' their power, etc. These sayings refer to the predominating influence of the Kennedy— Cassillis-family in Ayr and Galloway. TWINE tow, your mother was a gude spinner. Spoken to those who curse you or rail upon you, as if you would say, take what you say to yourself.-Kelly. U. UNCO folk's no to mird wi'. "Mird," jest. UNDER snaw, bread, | Under water, dearth. Under water, famine; under snow, bread.-E. It is firmly believed among farmers that a winter of frost and snow makes the best possible seed bed, while a rainy season sours the land. UNSEEN, unrued. i.e., buy a pig in a poke on both sides. "UNSICKER, unstable," quo' the wave to the cable. "Unsicker," not secure, unsteady. UNTIMEOUS spurring spoils the steed. Up to the nines. An expression of high approval. Excellent, first-rate, AI at Lloyds. -E. "Roy's Generalship," part 7. There paints auld nature to the nines.-Burns. i.e., exactly. Up wi' the whuppers o' Ayton.-Berwickshire. This is a saying common in the district. The whuppers were a family of excellent dancers who attended all the frolics of the countryside.— Dr. Henderson. UPON my ain expense, as the man built the dyke. Taken from an inscription in the churchyard of Foot Dee-FittySt. Clement's Parish, Aberdeen I, John Moody, cives Abredonensis, Builded this kerk yerd o' fitty upon my ain expenses.-Kelly. USE of hand is father of lear.-Kelly. Usus adjuvat artem.-L. V. VENGEANCE! Vengeance! when? and where? Upon the house o' Cowdenknowes, now and evermair. Thomas the Rhymer. This is said to refer to some former proprietor of Cowdenknowes, Berwickshire, who is variously represented as a persecutor, a cruel feudal baron, or a wicked laird. |