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Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

GAME, n. For Sc. forms see Gemm. Sc. usages:

1. In phr. (1) to make game, to jest, joke (Abd.², wm.Sc.¹ 1947). Cf. Eng. to make game of (someone). Also in n.Eng. dial. (2) oot the game, unable to continue because of exhaustion etc. (1)Kcb. 1814 W. Nicholson Tales 28:
O sir, ye're surely makin' game; Or think ye I can a' believe What ye in compliment me give?(2)Gsw. 1985 James Kelman A Chancer 144:
I mean I gave you that tenner. Murdie that was fucking ages ago. Aye, I know, Christ. I mean I'm right out the fucking game man ... Tammas sniffed and stared at the table.Sc. 1994 Daily Record 18 Nov 12:
Sergeant John McGie and PC Iain Marshall took one gander at Mother Goose star Dorothy Paul's frock, and reckoned it was so loud that it might be breaking noise laws.
So they used the strong arms of the law to take the dame oot the game.Sc. 1995 Herald 4 Dec 11:
The Italian No.10 was the danger man, said Waddell. He told Greig to "put him oot the game". "Jist for the night, boss, or for good?" Greig replied.

2. In pl.: (a meeting for the purpose of holding) contests in athletics, piping and dancing, esp. in various Highland centres. See also Hieland.Sc. 1822 Inverness Jnl. (4 Oct.):
One of the spectators of the Highland games, yesterday, was plundered of a gold watch.Sc. 1831 Abd. Journal (31 Aug.):
The [Braemar] Games were contested with a spirit which would have pleased our friend the Ettrick Shepherd himself.Sc. 1853 Scotsman (21 Sept.):
The Braemar Gathering, one of the oldest of our modern meetings for the display of Highland costume and the practice of Highland games, came off on Thursday.Sc. 1927 Colquhoun and Machell Highland Gatherings 111–3:
In 1788 the Northern Meeting was instituted. . . . No games were intended, only balls and dinners. . . . Games proper began in 1840.Sc. 1948 A. Raeburn This is Scotland 54:
Hotels are full, there are balls and Highland Games, where tossing the caber, throwing the hammer, Highland dancing and other professional spectacles are arranged to provide artificial local colour for the entertainment of the Sassenachs.

3. Combs.: ¶(1) game fee, = buttock-mail (see Buttock); (2) game hawk, the peregrine falcon, Falco peregrinus (Slg. 1885 Trans. Slg. Nat. Hist. & Arch. Soc. 62; Kcb.¹⁰ 1947); so called because it preys on game-birds; also in Eng. dial.; (3) game rat, the weasel, Mustela nivalis (Kcb. 1878 R. Service in Zoologist (Series 3) II. 427; (4) game-watcher, a gamekeeper (Abd., Ags. 1953).(1) Edb. 1821 W. Liddle Poems 38:
Niest ye maun pay down the game fee, An' nae mair we sal trouble thee.(4) Kcb. 1894 Crockett Raiders xi.:
D'ye think Yawkins and his sea-thieves will no find out . . . that something heavy has been carried to the shore between twa men. . . . It's so plain to be seen that even a gamewatcher could make oot as muckle!