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Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

FEY, n.² Also fy(e), fie, fwye, †fay. nn. and mn.Sc. forms of Eng. whey (Bch. 1891 Trans. Bch. Field Club II. 13, fie; Bnff. 1937 E. S. Rae Light in the Window 34, fwye; n.Sc. 1951). [fɑe]Abd. c.1794 Sc. N. & Q. (Sept. 1923) 140:
Yer so'or sung sowens, yer ill-brewn ale, Yer stinkin' fy, and yer breid fired raw.Abd. 1822 Byron in Moore's Life (1833) V. 302:
Aberdeen and other parts . . . about Invercauld and Braemar, where I was sent to drink goat's fey.Mry. 1889 T. L. Mason Rafford 12:
Sowans, milk-porridge, and “grins o' fy,” instead of milk, formed the principal food.Cai. 1891 D. Stephen Gleanings 25:
The weaver answered, “Maggie no weel, she canna come the day, she burnt her feet wi' a pot o' fy.”Abd. 1942 Scots Mag. (July) 276:
Washin' sarks an' bakin' breid, An' yirnin' croods an' fye.

Combs.: 1.fy-blots, “the white foam which forms on whey when boiled” (Cai. 1907 D. B. Nicolson in County of Cai. 72); 2. fy-brose, “brose made with whey instead of water” (Ib.; ne.Sc. 1945); 3. fy-gruns, “the sediment of finely divided curd formed after the whey has cooled” (Cai. 1907 .Ib.): cf. 1889 quot. above; 4. fy-pottage, porridge boiled in whey.2. Bch. 1832 W. Scott Poems 48:
Fay brose, or pottage fae the wall did fine.4. Bnff.¹² 1890:
“And what would you do, Willie, if anyone left you a fortune?” my father once asked a farm-servant. “Man,” he replied enthusiastically, “we'll hae fy pottage an' fy till't, an' lie tae the een amang strae.”