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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

CALLAN, CALLANT, Calland, Callen, n.¹ Also cullan. [′kɑlən, ′kɑlənt, ′kɑlənd]

1. A stripling, a young man; a boy (Cai.⁸ 1934, calland). Gen.Sc.Sc. 1822 Scott F. Nigel vi.:
Knighton has trundled a piece of silver-plate into your house . . . trundled it upon its edge, as a callan' would drive a hoop.Sc. 1989 Scotsman 16 Jan 10:
As an innocent Auld Reekie callant 70 years ago I emulated Walter Scott in nest-harrying.Sc. 1991 T. S. Law in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 34:
Siccan a cullan's neebor yince
Was nichtit yae day nae day since.Bnff. 1844 T. Anderson Poems and Songs 25:
In this guid town o' whilk I'm tellin', When I was but a gangrel callan, Was muckle sport, an' glee, an' ballin'.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore 7:
The calland's name was Rosalind, an' they Yeed hand in hand together at the play. . . . To Norry he was ay a tenty beeld.m.Sc. 1927 J. Buchan Witch Wood ii.:
Ye're a young callant to be a minister.Slg. 1795 Stat. Acc.¹ XV. 366:
A poor baxter callan who had lately left his trade.wm.Sc. 1980 Anna Blair The Rowan on the Ridge 3:
He lay against the boulders and looked up at the castle keep, ... It stood behind him, dark and shadowy, its blunt walls sturdy but roofless, a beckoning temptation to any spirited callant.wm.Sc. 1989 Anna Blair The Goose Girl of Eriska 16:
He winked at cheeky callants whose tormenting was unmalicious, and cuffed the ears of unpleasant bullies.Dmf. 1817 W. Caesar Poems 148:
But ne'er sin' I was a bit callen — Has she been the half o't away.Uls. 2003 Belfast News Letter 26 Apr :
Tha callants flit tae Dee Street and thrived laik pet lambs.

2. Sometimes applied familiarly or affectionately to older men. Known to our Abd. and Ags. correspondents only.Lnk. 1926 Hamilton Advertiser (23 Jan.) 3/4:
An' the gratitude o' the man [Burns] tae those wha befriended him micht weel be copied by mony wha broadcast the callant's failin's an' slur owre his guid points.Dmf. 1904 J. Gillespie Humours of Sc. Life 96:
Scotch Skip . . . to his Vice-Skip: “Noo, Chairlie, ma callan', they've landed the shot and it haps the pat-lid.”

3. Phrases: (1) Auld Callant, a former pupil of George Heriot's Hospital, Edinburgh; (2) Callants' ba', “the annual game of handball played in Jedburgh on Candlemas day, and in Hawick on the Saturday preceding the ‘men's ba''” (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.).(1) Edb. 1707 in D. Wilson Memorials of Edinburgh (1848) I. 218:
On the morning of this joyous holiday, the Statue of King Charles was gaily decorated with flowers by the “Auld Callants,” as the élevés of Heriot's Hospital are still termed.Edb. 1898 J. Baillie Walter Crighton, Intro. xv.:
But with the end of the monastic system came the end of the romance of “The Wark,” and the Auld Callant, as the old Herioter is called, will, within a measurable number of years, be extinct as the dodo.(2) Rxb. 1918 Jedburgh Gazette (22 Feb.) 3/4:
They tel't me 't was the “Callants' Ba',” And that the “Men's” yin wad be brisker; But on the High Street, I am shair, I saw a “Callant” wi' a whisker.

4. The chief male personage in some ridings of the marches festivals (s.v. march n.¹, v. I. 2. (15)).Sc. 1999 Sunday Times 6 Jun :
What American tourist would not be thrilled at the sight of 200 people on horseback following the uniformed Callant or Cornet or Braw Lad and his entourage and riding out from the town with flags commemorating some ancient battle site miles out in the countryside?Sc. 2004 Hawick News 20 Aug :
But a closed-door meeting resolved issues which have been simmering for months, following a speech by Provost Zandra Elliot at the Callants' Club dinner earlier this year.