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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

HADDIE, n. Also haddy, hawdie, huddie (Edb.¹ 1929); †haddoe; †-ow; -a, -o (Rxb.); haddoo (Ork.⁵ 1956). [Sc. ′hɑdi, Lth. ′hǫde, Rxb. ′hɑdə, Ork. ′hɑdu]

1. The haddock, Gadus aeglifinus. Gen.Sc.Sc. 1683–1722 W. MacFarlane Geog. Coll. (S.H.S.) II. 3:
The sea . . . is well provyded of fishes such as Killing, Ling, Cod, Haddowes, whyttings, Herrings, makrells.Per. 1737 Ochtertyre Ho. Bk. (S.H.S.) 6:
Supper minced fowlls . . . Hogs cheek cold . . . Eggs in the shell . . . Broyled haddoes.Sc. 1816 Scott Antiquary xxxix.:
I hae some dainty caller haddies, and they sall be but three shillings the dozen.Edb. 1828 D. M. Moir Mansie Wauch (1839) vii.:
Splitting the hills as ye would spelder a haddy. [Ib. xi., haddo.]Fif. 1887 “S. Tytler” Logie Town II. i.:
I meant to cry “Caller haddies, had-dies,” with additional vigour that made the welkin ring.Gsw. 1915 Neil Munro Erchie & Jimmy Swan (1993) 190:
Admiral Jellicoe, wi' the best will in the world, canna indulge ye to a battle every nicht to yer tea; buy haddies if ye want to keep yer strength up. Ags. 1921 V. Jacob Bonnie Joann 15:
Yon's Fishie Pete That cried the haddies in Ferry Street.Nai. 1927 G. Bain Dauvid Main 35:
She would try what a few Nairn haddies would do for her recovery.Bch. 1949 W. R. Melvin Poems 71:
There's curin' yards an' kilns lik' toons For herrin' an' for huddies.Edb. 1985 Robert Garioch in Joy Hendry Chapman 42 30:
For, be it said, the Schule of Scottish Studies
Kens mair about cookery than jist hou to byle tatties and haddies. Gsw. 1987 Peter Mason C'mon Geeze Yer Patter! 32:
A've jist swallied a bone ooty yon haddy. I've just swallowed a fish bone. wm.Sc. 1990 John Byrne Your Cheatin' Heart 23:
Boyle [Loudly] So, that's four box of flounder, five box of haddie, an' six dozen lobster. Sc. 1999 Herald 6 Apr 12:
I was also impressed by the Dunblane school which has persuaded its local supermarket to use Scots on bilingual labels on its shelves so that sandwiches are now in the pieces section, and shoppers must look for tatties, bubblyjock, and haddie, when their shopping lists demand potatoes, turkey, and haddock. Sc. 2002 Sunday Herald 23 Jun 6:
Like we'd been slapped in the kisser with a wet haddie.

Phrs. & Combs.: (1) barbarian haddy, the common sea bream, Pagellus centrodontus (Cai. 1907 J. Horne County of Cai. 403); (2) finnan haddie, see Finnan; (3) haddo-breeks, the roe of the haddock, from its shape (Rxb. 1825 Jam., ‡1923 Watson W.-B.); (4) haddie-wife, a fishwife who sells haddocks; (5) to be as deif as a haddie, to be stone deaf (Gsw. 1951; m.Lth. 1956); (6) yellow haddie, a smoked haddock, = (2) (Abd., Ags. 1956).(4) Edb. 1872 J. Smith J. Blair's Maunderings (1881) 48:
Here was a dragoon chargin' a haddie-wife doun a dark close.(6) Abd. 1909 J. Tennant Jeannie Jaffray 223:
Oatcakes and tea and yellow haddies galore.

2. Used as a term of mild, jocular abuse, a duffer, blockhead (Ags., Edb., Gsw., Ayr. 2000s). Cf. Haddock, n.¹, 2.Fif.¹⁷ 1955:
A golf course starter, seeing two stickit golfers approaching the first tee, said “Here the twa haddies comin”.Gsw. 1985 Michael Munro The Patter 31:
haddy A shortened form of haddock, used as a mild term of abuse; an idiot. wm.Sc. 1990 John Byrne Your Cheatin' Heart 48:
... you're gonnae look a right haddie goin' round the clubs in any them get-ups ... Sc. 2003 Sunday Mail 2 Nov 81:
I wonder what haddie was in goals for Morton and Clyde on the days when those prolific Old Firm goal machines Harald Brattbakk and Peter van Vossen finally broke their ducks for their Glasgow clubs? Sc. 2004 Daily Mirror 4 Dec 2:
Big can be a prefix to all sorts of catcalls. Stick big in front of haddie, dumpling or diddy and you'll catch my drift. And those are the printable ones.

3. Used in Gsw. as a nickname for an Aberdonian, smoked haddocks being a staple product of Aberdeen. Freq. Aiberdeen haddie (Gsw. 1920–1956 per Abd.³⁰).

4. Applied to the species of char, Salvelinus killinensis, found in Loch Killin in Inv. (Inv. 1911 C. T. Regan Brit. Freshwater Fishes 98).