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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

CRAW, v. Sc. form of Eng. crow (see P.L.D. § 34.1).

1. Used as in St.Eng., but note the following phrs. and pa.p. craw'n (Bnff.², Abd.⁹, Fif.¹⁰ 1940), crewn (irreg.).Sc. 1718 Ramsay Chr. Kirk iii. i. in Poems (1721):
Carles wha heard the Cock had craw'n Begoud to rax and rift.Dundee 1991 Ellie McDonald The Gangan Fuit 38:
" ... Ye maun think yer smert, but I wadnae craa.
Whan it comes tae anatomy, yer brehns
is in yer feet." Man, whit a coup d'etat.Knr. [1886] “H. Haliburton” Horace in Homespun, etc. (1925) 223:
It was a bauld thing he had dared; Far better he never had crewn!

Phrs.: (1) to craw crouse, see Crouse; (2) to craw day, to see another morning; (3) to craw in one's crap (crapine), see Crap, n.¹, Crappin.(2) Sc. 1819 J. Rennie St Patrick II. iv.:
It wad be nae great ferlie though we're whuppet aff tae the apen ocean, an' ne'er ane o' us win back tae craw day.Dmf. 1825 Jam.²:
May I ne'er craw day! “May I never see the morning!” an imprecation used in Dumfr[ies].

2. To perch on the eaves of a corn-stack like a crow and pass up the sheaves from the forker to the builder (Ags. 1946 (per Fif.¹⁴)).