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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

DIT, Ditt, Dyt, v.1

1. To shut up, to close, gen. used of the mouth (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Mry.1 1925; Bnff.2 1940; Abd.7 1925; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). Pa.p. †ditt, ditted. Sometimes used with up.Sc. 1721 J. Kelly Proverbs 89:
Ditt your Mouth with your Meat.
Ib. 356:
When all's in, and the Slap ditt, rise Herd and lat the Dogs sit.
Sc. 1724–27 Ramsay T. T. Misc. (1762) 155:
Daft carl, dit your mouth.
Abd. 1787 A. Shirrefs Jamie and Bess Act II. Sc. ii.:
For gentle blades, wha have a fouth o' cash To dit fouks mou's ne'er meet wi' ony fash.
Ags. 1776 C. Keith Farmer's Ha' x.:
For o'en white bread dits ilka mou' That stays the-ben.
Ayr. a.1878 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage, etc., and Poems (1892) 308:
To swankies free an' funny, Dit nae up your lug.
Kcb. 1815 J. Gerrond Works 124:
Now, dit your gabs, ye taunting set.
Slk. 1829 Hogg Shepherd's Cal. II. 12:
But there's ae good thing about the auld Tod's house, — they never ditt up their windows. Ane sees aye what's gaun on within doors.

2. To obstruct (the course of) (Bnff.2 1940); also used with up.Sc. 1818 Scott H. Midlothian xxx.:
Lays his broad black loof on my mouth and dits up my gude words.
Bnff.6 c.1915:
Tak that big flooer oot o' the winda; it's dittin the licht.
Abd.6 1926:
Dinna dit the licht on him.
Ayr. 1862 J. Baxter The Kirn, etc. 77:
That I had ditted up the view O' Robbie's monument.

3. (1) tr. To darken, dim (Bnff.9 c.1927; Abd.6 1913; Abd.19 1930; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). Also erroneous form dirt (Watson).Sc. 1824 R. K. Douglas Poems 20:
Nae tell-tale fool daur dyt my door, Or faith he'd trudge the winnock o'er!
Abd. 1844 W. Thom Rhymes and Recoll. 171:
Nor Gadie's stream would dit yon gleam That wraps his dwallin' now.
Abd. 1923 R. L. Cassie Heid or Hert iv.:
Nae a clood dits the clear, dark blueness o' the lift.
Abd.1 1929:
That tree dits the sitting-room window.
Kcb.4 c.1900:
Ae woman says to anither. “I'll ne'er ditt yer door again.”

(2) intr. Of the sun: (a) to sink, to be low in the sky (Bnff.12 1850); (b) to go behind a cloud (Id.).

[O.Sc. has dit(t), dyt, in sense 1. above from 1375; Mid.Eng. dütten. ditten, O.E. dyttan, to shut (the ears), stop (the mouth).]

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"Dit v.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/dit_v1>

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