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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

CALLER, CAULER, Callar, Cawler, Cauller, adj. and v. Also calour (Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore (S.T.S.) 13) and erron. callow, callan-[′kɑlər Sc.; m.Sc. + ′kǫlər]

1. adj.

(1) Applied to fish, vegetables, etc.: fresh, just caught or gathered. Also fig. Gen.Sc.Sc. 1724–1727 Ramsay T. T. Misc. (1733) 90:
Caller nowt feet in a plate.
Sc. 1818 S. E. Ferrier Marriage (1819) II. xi.:
Gin ye had brought me a leg o' gude mutton, or a cauler sawmont, there would hae been some sense in't.
Sc. 1933 E. S. Haldane Scotland of our Fathers xi.:
There were various street cries early in the century. . . . But the very beautiful “caller 'ou” was the best known. Oysters were always popular, and in 1817 they could be had from the fishwives for twelve a penny.
Abd.(D) 1920 C. Murray In the Country Places 29:
I fain would dook in Dee aince mair An' clatter doon the Market stair, — O the caller dilse an' partans there!
Abd.16 1938:
In Aberdeen, the cries of “Caller herrin'” and “Caller dulse” are occasionally still to be heard in the streets: “Fresh herrin', caller herrin', two a penny!”
Per. c.1800 Lady Nairne Songs (ed. Rogers 1905) 164:
Wha'll buy my caller herrin'?
Edb. [1866] J. Smith Poems, etc. (1869) 304:
Four bunch a penny, the bonnie caller radishes!
Slk. a.1835 Hogg Tales, etc. (1837) II. 331:
Do ye think . . . that a man o' taste canna distinguish . . . sweet, callar, fresh lamb, frae auld crock mutton? In phr.: as caller as a kail-blade, very cool and fresh (Bnff.2, Abd.2 1938).
Sc. 1816 Scott Antiquary (1818) xxi.:
They hae contrived queer tirlie-wirlie holes, that gang out to the open air, and keep the stair as caller as a kail-blade.

(2) Applied to air, water, etc.: cool, fresh, refreshing. Still widely known in Mod.Sc.Sc. 1724–1727 Ramsay T. T. Misc. (1733) 66:
When e'er the sun grows high and warm, We'll to the cauler shade remove.
Sc. 1896 R. L. Stevenson Weir of Hermiston v.:
And dry your bonny hair in the caller wind o' the muirs.
Sc. 1991 John McDonald in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 91:
Nou braks the incaain o a trumpet:
shenachy; warlock, wabbin frae's ain sowl
the dumfounerin sang.
Gangrel in a caller airt.
L.Bnff.(D) 1934 J. M. Caie Kindly North 21:
I' the yaird, richt clean an' caller, Smells the yird the beadle turns.
ne.Sc. 1979 Alastair Mackie in Joy Hendry Chapman 23-4 (1985) 64:
The visitors like sae muckle trok
on the crescent o the sand
here in the north whaur the dog-heidit peninsula
sticks it's snoot into oor cauler tides.
m.Sc. 1998 Lillias Forbes Turning a Fresh Eye 4:
And Calum of Brolas, you too have my hand,
Clean-throated, I remember you
In the caller air of Etive side.
em.Sc. 1999 James Robertson The Day O Judgement 13:
Its veins that yince ran cauld an caller,
Daffin an vauntie throu the glens,
Spew up in spleiterin cloods o reik
Tae bile an brust amang the bens.
Knr. [1886] “H. Haliburton” Horace in Homespun (1925) 215:
But the loch's cauler gleam, I see it in my dream.
wm.Sc. 1842 Children in Trades Report ii. 29:
Coming as one expresses it in her evidence, from the "callow" Highland air.
Gsw. 1972 Molly Weir Best Foot Forward (1974) 16:
As for me, my appetite was returning with the caller air, ...

Hence callerness, freshness.wm.Sc. 1835–1837 Laird of Logan II. 115:
The smell whereof is very pleesant and refreshing in the callerness of morning.
Gall. 1724 Session Bk. Minnigaff (1939) 440:
She said it was for callanness [sic] that she come out ther to ly with the child, and he said he was resting himself aside her a little.

(3) Healthy, vigorous (Abd.2, Lnl.1, Lnk.3 1938).Sh.(D) 1886 “G. Temple” Britta 34:
Dere was twa young birds in't the last time I gaed doun — twa yallow caller things, about da size o' hens, an' wi' beaks aye gapin' an' cryin' for food.
Abd.(D) 1767 R. Forbes Jnl. from London (1869) 17:
But the third [girl] wis a cauller, swack bit o' beef.
Abd. 1801 W. Beattie Fruits of Time Parings 4:
She's just as cawler as a trout Tho' five an' fifty.
m.Sc. 1922 “O. Douglas” Ann and her Mother vi.:
Robbie was such a caller baby, so fat and good-natured and thriving.
Rxb. 1826 A. Scott Poems 129:
A cauler young widow, plump, rosy, an' fair.

2. v. To freshen, cool. Also fig. Known to Bnff.2 and Abd. correspondents (1938).Sc. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xxviii.:
“The night,” she said, “was fair abune head — a night amang the heather wad caller our bloods.”
Edb. 1810 G. Bruce Poems 114:
Some in the town-guard, a' owre glar, In black-hole, gat a call'ring.

Vbl.n. callerin in phr. callerin o' the blade, the freshening and cooling of the grass by a shower of rain. Known to Bnff.2 1938. MacTaggart in Gallov. Encycl. gives this s.v. calledin' o' the blade, but this is prob. a misprint for callerin'.Bch. 1930 (per Abd.15):
We'd be a heap the better o' a skyte rain for the callerin o' the blade.

[O.Sc. callour, calour, caller, (1) of fish, flesh, etc.: fresh, showing no signs of flabbiness or staleness, a.1400; (2) of air, water, etc.: fresh and cool,1513 (D.O.S.T.); appar. a variant of Mid.Eng. calver, calvur, calwar, fresh (applied to salmon); for the dropping of v, cf. Sc. Siller, Eng. silver. See also Kalwart.]

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"Caller adj., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/caller>

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