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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

MUDGE, v., n. Also mu'ge; moodge. [mʌdʒ; Cai., wm.Sc. mu-]

I. v. 1. tr. and intr. To (cause to) move, to stir, to budge, to shift (Cai. 1903 E.D.D.). Gen.Sc. Vbl.n.pl. mudgins, -eons, movements; esp. movements of the features, grimaces, wry faces (Rnf., s.Sc. 1825 Jam.). Also in sing. See also Murgeon.Ayr. 1790 A. Tait Poems 53:
Nor from the bar shall he e'er mudge.Sc. 1802 Scott Minstrelsy (1848) IV. 344:
Thai dare na mudge for fricht.Cld. 1818 Scots Mag. (Aug.) 155:
Nowther fleechan nor whippan could mak him mudge a fit.Ayr. 1836 Galt Rich Man (1925) 8:
I was, in sooth, a pawkie wean, and kent a mite by its mudging from a moulin.Abd. 1872 J. G. Michie Deeside Tales 120:
In spite o' a' they could do' they could'na mudge the brig.Wgt. 1877 Saxon Gall. Gossip 228:
The beggars were jibing and grinning and wudna mudge.Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 18:
Bit the auld lethy wad no mudge.Ags. 1894 A. Reid Sangs 37:
I cannily mudge to my sanctum.Arg. 1914 N. Munro New Road viii.:
Back to the blankets, lad, the pair of us, and never mudge.Bch. c.1930:
Aw saw nae mudgins aboot the place fan Aw cam by, an' Aw wis win'erin sair 'in ye wis a, weel aneuch.Fif. 1932 M. Bell Pickles & Ploys 43:
If we're a goal doon in the second half, slip roond an' moodge in oor goalposts a bit.Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 39:
She lookit up, the auld wife,
an' gied a mudgeon,
as gin she suddenly foond
aa things unreddable.em.Sc. 1991 James Robertson in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 173:
She's up tae here in wae an winna moodge,
Tho she mey catch her daith frae cauld - em.Sc. 1999 James Robertson The Day O Judgement 27:
"Eternity'd hae mudged nae mair
Nor gin it stertit yesterday. ... "

2. To fidget with mirth.Slk. 1824 Hogg Shep. Cal. (1874) xii.:
“I wish ye may hae peeled a' the hide aff his shins,” quo' the Foumart, and he mudged and leugh.

‡3. With extension of meaning: to rumour, to spread news abroad in a secretive manner (Bnff. 1963).Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 228:
Fouck are mudgin' it he is jist at the horn.

II. n. 1. A movement (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Cai. 1903 E.D.D.; Ork., ne.Sc., Ags., sm.Sc. 1963, Gsw. 1970s).Ags. 1887 A. D. Willock Rosetty Ends 132:
The least mudge on the pairt o' ony o' the bairns after the licht was oot, was sure to be magnifeed into something dreadfu'.Per. 1895 I. Maclaren Brier Bush 43:
There wasna ane o' them made a mudge.Cai.¹ 1928:
Nane o' them made a mudge.Sc. 1935 D. Rorie Lum Hat 19:
In sudden fear he strave to rise An' niver a mudge could mak.

2. A sound, a whisper, a rumour (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 228; Cai. 1903 E.D.D.; ne.Sc., em.Sc.(a), Dmb. 1963. Cf. v. 3.Per. 1903 H. Dryerre Blairgowrie 127:
Sandy Reid, being a sound sleeper, never heard a “mudge” of it all.