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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BANE, BEEN, BEAN, Bein, Bain, Beane, n.¹ Also benn (Sh. 1967 New Shetlander No. 83. 26). [ben Sc.; bein Abd.ę (coast),ę Bl.I.ę, Cai.; be¹n w.Ags.; bin e.Ags., Mearns, Abd., L.Bnff., I.Sc. + + ɛ; bɪən s.Sc.]

1. A bone, a limb (Sh., Bnff., Ags., Edb., Gsw., Ayr., Dmf., Rxb. 2000s). Also in pl. the whole body, a framework. Hence baneless, boneless, without pith or strength (Abd. 1868 G. MacDonald R. Falconer I. xii.). Sc. 1836 J. G. Lockhart Life of Scott I. ii. 83 Note:
“The banes” (bones) — that is to say, the boards — of a Psalm-book.Sc. 1991 Roderick Watson in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 106:
O dule and darg an creakan banes,
I'm learnan aye, an no i vain Ork.(D) 1880 Dennison Orcad. Sk. Bk. 2:
Weel, Geordie an' Charlie foucht, like twa dogs for a been.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore 106:
She's just as gueed an aught, As wysse an' fu' of seelfuness an' saught, As onie she, that ever yeed on bean.Abd.(D) 1905 W. Watson Glimpses o' Auld Lang Syne 174:
I wid tak' a sook o' their fusky oot o' a keg wi' a been o' a baud's leg.Abd. 2000 Sheena Blackhall The Singing Bird 7:
The jynts laid on the bracken brae are perfect,
An ingyneerin maisterpiece in been;
Immaculate, thon skeleton's fite scaffold
Biggit as braw's an Inca waa o steen. Dundee 2000 Matthew Fitt But n Ben A-Go-Go 30:
Lowp ma banes an sook ma juice oot wi a straw, he thocht.Edb. 1720 A. Pennecuik Streams from Helicon 83:
But for the good of Scotland, they gate aft sare banes.Lnk. 1894 R. Reid Poems, etc. 1:
And side by side wi' the banes that lie Streikt there in their hinmaist sleep.Ayr. 1787 Burns Death and Dr Hornbook (Cent. ed.) xvi.:
It just played dirl on the bane.Rxb. 1924 Hawick Express (22 Aug.) 3/7:
Aw've yince or twice risked ma auld banes in a motor car.

2. A person, each member of a group.Abd. c.1782 Ellis E.E.P. (1889) V. 774 (17):
We'll be a' tane (teen) to the session o' Sunday, ilkye bane o'z.

3. A comb made of bone; also in comb. bane-kaim(e), see Combs. (6) below.Sc. 1887 Jam.⁶ Add.:
Bane. . . . A bone-comb, a small fine-toothed comb made of bone, very necessary for family use [as illustrated in next quot.].Ayr. 1786 Burns To a Louse iii.:
Whare horn nor bane ne'er daur unsettle, Your thick plantations.

Phrases:

(1) Bane is used as bone in St.Eng. with adjectives meaning “thoroughly,” as bane dry, bane idle, bane lazy, bane ready.

(2) Aw frae the bein, a' fae the been. (See first quot.)†Sc. 1808 Jam.:
One is said to be aw frae the bein, all from the bone, when proud, elevated, or highly pleased.Ags. 1932 Forfar Dispatch (6 Oct.) 3/2:
Shoosy Tosh cam in the nicht afore, michty big aboot haen gotten a ticket for a free ride. She wiz a' fae the been aboot it.

(3) (In) blood and bane, in the flesh.Sc. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet vii.:
Ay, ay, Mr Herries of Birrenswork, is this your ainsell in blood and bane?

(4) Bluid, flesh, and bane, entirely, whole-heartedly.m.Sc. [1838] A. Rodger Poems and Songs (1897) 5:
And when we're ane, bluid, flesh, and bane.

(5) Fra the bane. (See quot.)Sc. 1825 Jam.²:
“It does na cum fra the bane,” a proverbial phrase applied to a confession that does not seem sincere. It is probably borrowed from meat, that is not sufficiently roasted or boiled, which does not easily separate from the bone.

(6) Near the bane, miserly.Lnk.³ 1933:
Used of a skinflint. “He's awfu' near the bane.”

(7) Pike ye'r bain, to consume the last drop or fragment of drink or food.Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems 18:
We drank and drew, and fill'd again . . . O it was nice, To hear us a' cry, Pike ye'r Bain. [Ramsay adds the footnote: “A Cant Phrase, when one leaves a little in the Cup, he is advised to ‘pick his Bone' — i.e. Drink it clean out.”]

(8) To be b(e)ane for, to be a suitable match for, to be good enough for (as in marriage). Dmf. 1820 Hogg Winter Ev. Tales I. 270:
Auld Robie will think tou's hardly beane for her.

(9) “To have a gude bane in one's sleeve — i.e. a strong arm” (Ags.² 1933).

Combs.:

(1) bane-bred, naturally adept, having an innate aptitude or skill (Rxb. a.1838 Jam. MSS. XI. 11; Ork. 1975). Cf. Eng. bred in the bone.

(2) bane-briss, to crush the bones of (Ork. 1975). See Brizz. Ork. 1894 W. R. Mackintosh Peat-fires 62:
[He] shafted his nieve in the face of Wilson, a gigantic governor who lived there, and threatened to bane-briss him.

(3) Bane-dyke. (See quot. and Banefire)Cld. 1825 Jam.²:
A beast is said to be gane to the bane-dyke, when reduced to skin and bone. Perhaps q[uasi] good for nothing but to travel to the dyke where the bones of dead horses lie.

(4) Bane-gatherer, one who gathers and sells bones.wm.Sc. [1835] Laird of Logan (1868) 503:
Vagrants . . . Bane-gatherers and Rowley-powleys — Criers o' Hanging-speeches.

(5) bane-grease, 'the oily substance produced from bones bruised and stewed on a slow fire' (Sc. 1825 Jam.).

(6) Bane-kaim(e), baine-, a comb made of bone placed in a woman's hair to hold it in position, or a small-toothed comb for removing dust and vermin from the hair.Sc. 1874 W. Allan Hame-Spun Lilts 156:
Wi' large bane-kaims an' trinkets on their heids.Cai. 1930 “Caithness Forum” in John o' Groat Jnl. (9 May):
If some o' wir folk hid a 'oo'ie face lek 'at they wid be at him wi' a baine kaime.

(7) bane-man, a collector of bones, a rag-and-bone man (Ayr. 1845 J. Taylor Annals Fenwick (1970) 66).

(8) bane pairt, the greater part, the majority (Cai. 1975, now gen. bone part). Cai. 1934 John o' Groat Jnl. (19 Jan.):
Hid's for lauchin' at 'e bane pairt o' them comes 'ere.

(9) Bane-pikin', corpse-stealing.Abd. 1865 G. Macdonald Alec Forbes III. ii.:
We want a resurrectioner 'at bides i' this hoose — a foul bane-pikin' doctor.

(10) Bane-prickle, “the stickle-back” (Clydesd. 1825 Jam.²). Cf. Banstickle.

(11) Banes-brakin', a fight in which bones are broken, a violent physical encounter between foes.Abd. 1742 R. Forbes Ajax his Speech, etc. (1801) 3:
But at banes-brakin', it's well kent, He has na' maughts like me.

(12) bean-shinned, thin in the leg, with bony legs. Abd. 1915 H. Beaton Benachie 204:
Bow-houghed an' bean-shinned, ringle-e'ed an, din-skinned.

(13) bane-steek, herring-bone stitch in embroidery. See Steek. Sc. 1827 M. & M. Corbett Odd Volume II. 258:
No ane can do back-steek, bane-steek, half sae weel as my Tibbie.

So also in other compounds, as, bane-mill, where bone is replaced by bane.