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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

REDD, v.¹, n.¹ Also red, redde; rade (Abd. 1837 J. Leslie Willie and Meggie 31), raid (Lnk. 1808 W. Watson Misc. Poetry 40).

I. v. A. Forms: pat. red(d); pa.p. red(d), ¶reed (See I. 4. (2)).

B. Usages: 1. To save, deliver. Now only in archaic or eclectic usage. Hence redder, deliverer.Gall. 1727 A. Agnew Hered. Sheriffs (1864) 526:
She . . . threatened to take my life, had I not been red out of her hands.Ayr. 1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage 26:
O stood there e'er a braver Knight To redd a hail countrie?Sc. 1879 P. H. Waddell Isaiah xxxvi. 5:
Or hae they redd Samaria out o' my han'?Sc. 1928 T. T. Alexander Psalms ciii. 4:
That frae the mouls redds but thy life, To daith thow gang-na doon.

2. To put out or extinguish (fire), freq. in similes implying great haste (ne.Sc. 1967).Abd. 1781 Session Papers, Earl of Aboyne v. Earl of Aberdeen (21 July) Proof 12:
There was about two ells of the bught burnt down before the deponent, his mother, and a herd of Waterfoul's who was then in the sheal, could get it redd.Abd. c.1800 Sc. N. & Q. (Ser. 2) II. 187:
I toil'd a' mornin oot an' oot, Like ane jist reddin fire-y O.Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xvii.:
He comes roon by the stack mou' like a man gyaun to redd fire.Abd. 1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick x.:
Fleein like tae redd fire.

3. (1) To free, rid, relieve, disencumber (oneself or others). Gen.Sc. Freq. in ppl.adj. red(d), rade, cleared away, freed (from an encumbrance), rid; vbl.n. reddin, gen. in pl. forms reddins, reddance (by Eng. influence), clearance, riddance.Inv. 1726 Inv. Session Rec. (Mitchell 1902) 183:
To Redd the place of a person so Infamous and Incorrigable.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore (S.T.S.) 107:
But to get red, the lad contrives a sham, To send her back for something he forgot.Edb. 1794 G. Robertson Har'st Rig (1801) cix.:
The master now does carenae be, Tho' he were redd o' twa or three.Sc. 1825 Jam.:
He scarce had reddins of the door, When tangs flew past him bummin'.Rnf. 1865 J. Young Hamely Pictures 122:
May our kintra soon gett red O' ae black cause o' shame.Abd. 1879 G. Macdonald Sir Gibbie vi.:
Gien he red himsel' o' a' 'at was left, it was sma' won'er.Uls. 1879 W. G. Lyttle Readings 36:
An' noo I maun tell ye hoo we got red o' Jack Slouthers.Mry. 1887 J. Thomson Speyside Par. 68:
Sain yersel', Jamie; we're in the pooer o' the enemy. God gi'e us a gweed reddance.Ags. 1894 J. B. Salmond My Man Sandy (1899) xix.:
I'm shure they're a gude reddance.Cai. 1904 E.D.D.:
A gweed reddin.Bnff. 1927 E. S. Rae Hansel frae Hame 28:
Haud rade o' a' new-fanglt stite, we're Aul' Kirk tae the bane.

Phrs.: to redd one's fit or feet, -hand, to clear one's way for action or progress, to extricate oneself from a perplexity, to pay one's way (Sh., ne.Sc., Per., Kcb. 1967). Comb. redd-han', a free hand, a clearance, disencumbrance (ne.Sc. 1967), hence redd-han't, empty-handed, clear, unencumbered, having little to occupy oneself with.Sc. 1825 Jam.:
Of one who has bewildered himself in an argument, or who is much puzzled in cross-examination, it is often said, “He couldna red his feet.”Fif. 1862 St Andrews Gazette (15 Aug.):
What for do ye meddle wi' things, if you canna red your feet?Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 141:
Get a redd-han' o' sic trooshter ass seen's possible. He keeps a red-han' o' thim, an wise is he. . . . A'm gey redd-han'it o' nout ae noo. Fouck are braw redd-han'it aboot the yeel time.Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.:
I warran shu hes no mukkel to red her haand upon, puir boddi.Abd. 1950 Buchan Observer (26 Oct.):
When the corn hairst is at last behand, and certain orra jobbies that have been standing by this whileock seen to, there will be redd hand to start and tak' up the tatties.Abd. 1958 People's Jnl. (30 Aug.):
The sinn did redd's fut a hauf-'oor, an' ye'd hae thocht the swalla's hid jist been wytin' for't.

(2) of a plough: to shape or curve (the beam) so as to keep it from being choked or obstructed by stones or weeds in its progress. Hence ppl.adj. redd, clear of obstruction, comb. redd-plough, a plough so constructed; reddand, “the bend of the beam of the plough at the insertion of the coulter” (Cld. 1825 Jam.). Cf. n., 2.Lth. 1765 A. Dickson Agriculture 178:
When the beam is curved in such a manner as to make c d about five inches, the impediments that the plough meets with in going may easily be removed, or, according to the language of the plowman, the beam is well redd, and at the same time sufficiently strong.Lth. 1829 G. Robertson Recoll. 133:
A very ingenious implement of tillage, called the red-plough, for obviating . . . the choking about the neck of the culter, immediately under the beam; which was occasioned by the accumulation of weed-roots or rank stubble.

4. To clear (a way or passage), to make room in or on (Sc. 1710 T. Ruddiman Gl. to Douglas Aeneis, 1808 Jam.; Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.). Gen.Sc.; to remove obstructions from: (1) in gen.: of a road, surface, etc. Ppl.adj. redd, superl. reddest, cleared, empty. Phrs. to redd the bout, redd roads, to scythe standing corn round the edges of a field at harvest-time to allow a reaping-machine to go to work (ne.Sc. 1967); to redd the hoose, -ice, in curling: to clear the tee of stones lying on it by displacing them with a fast forceful shot. Gen.Sc. See House.Sc. 1756 M. Calderwood Journey (M.C.) 149:
Her two hands streight out before her, holding the fan out likeways, as if she was to red her way by it.Dmb. 1817 J. Walker Poems 90:
The lift was redd, an' braw, an' clear.Sc. 1822 Scott F. Nigel iv.:
It wad have red the gate for my ain little bill.Sc. 1827 R. Chambers Picture Scot. I. 298:
It was here [Ayr] that Wallace first redd room for liberty among the locust swarm of his country's oppressors.Dmf. 1830 R. Brown Mem. Curl. Mab. 71:
A stalwart chiel to redd the ice Drives roaring down like thunder.Rnf. 1835 D. Webster Rhymes 82:
A room up the stair was reddest.Edb. 1844 J. Ballantine Miller xi.:
“Redd the close man!” “Am I no redding the close as fast as I can?”Ags. 1894 A. Reid Songs 91:
Nae wird to say, but to stand at bay, An' redd their road like men.w.Lth. 1910 J. White Eppie Gray 7:
The thrifty mither's unco thrang — The table maun be redd.Sc. 1914 J. G. Grant Complete Curler 104:
B with his last stone may come thundering up and “redd the hoose”.Abd. 1931 D. Campbell Uncle Andie 9:
Gin ye dinna blaud yer win'-pipe tryin' tae redd a roadie throu' her deefness.Abd. 1951 Buchan Observer (28 Aug.):
It was the scythe had still to “redd roads” for the back-delivery reaper.

(2) to clear land of whatever is growing on it by reaping, ploughing, etc. Comb. redd-harrow, a harrow used for tearing up deep roots or spreading. Most freq. in ppl.adj. red(d), cleared of its crop, bare after cropping or ploughing, as in red fallow, -ground, -land (Dmf. 1894 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. 154; Abd., m.Sc. 1967), -yird. In this sense the form is sometimes confused with Reid, adj., red, esp. in districts with a red clay soil. Phr. redland oats, a crop of oats sown in the rotation after a cleaning crop, e.g. turnips (w. and sm.Sc. 1967).Sc. 1709 Compend of Securities 278:
The Tenant having received Ten Bolls of Steel-bow seed, and two Bolls sown, and harrowed Red-Land, he obliges him to give as many Bolls sown, Red-Land, and tilled, and harrowed the Year of his removing.Wgt. 1713 Session Rec. Kirkinner MS. (6 April):
The said mare was in the harrows on the red land of Knock on about twelve days agoe.Sc. 1749 Session Papers, Lindsay v. Muir State of Process 4:
He saw a good deal of Red-land in the Bowhouse Mailling when he came over to plow there.Per. 1795 Stat. Acc.¹ XX. 474:
They began on the day already mentioned to rib the ground, on which they intended to sow barley, that is, to draw a wide furrow, so as merely to make the land, as they termed it, red.Dmf. 1795 Stat. Acc.¹ XXI. 450:
I allude to land, which is left without a green fallow; for this operation cleans it well, and the grass seed comes up unmixed. It is remarked that green-fallow destroys the gule more effectively than red-fallow.Sc. 1808 Jam.:
“There's mair whistling than red land”, a proverbial phrase, borrowed from its being customary for ploughmen to whistle while engaged at the plough, for keeping both themselves and their cattle in good spirits. Applied to those who make more noise than progress . . . or who in discoursing have more sound than sense.Sc. 1826 Elfin Knight in Child Ballads (1956) I. 16:
Ye'll get an acre o' gude red-land . . . And ye maun aer it wi your horn.Lth. 1829 G. Robertson Recoll. 137:
The Redd-Harrow. — . . . the purpose of which is to fetch up all the roots of weeds, as couch-grass, etc. . . . to the surface.Ayr. 1830 Perthshire Advert. (22 April, 19 Aug.):
When the ground is swarded ley, the turf is returned surface downwards next the stones, but if the ground be in stubble or red ground, then straw or some other substitute must be laid next the stones. . . . The farmer has much to vex him [in Canada], that you never dream of; sometimes the grasshoppers come, and leave all red behind them.Ags. 1853 W. Blair Aberbrothock 92:
Set oot on a rig o' reed yird alangside a Park o' bonny girse belangin' the Laird.Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxxix.:
They made a detour through a bit of “redd lan'”.Ags. 1893 F. Mackenzie Cruisie Sk. viii.:
Your breeks are juist red land, an' the coo has fittit on your Sabbath hat.Per. 1895 R. Ford Tayside Songs 17:
But aye the ither rig was redd, An' the wark gaed on alway.Slk. 1915 H. J. C. Clippings from Clayboddie (1921) 136:
The finishing touch is given to the picture by the bits of red land beginning to appear.Arg. 1954 D. Mackenzie Farmer in W. Isles 56:
During our fourth year at Ballygown we abandoned the deep ploughing of redland for short leys.

(3) to clear out a ditch, channel or the like, to remove rubbish or silt from (ne. and m.Sc. 1967). Hence reddment, a clearance, cleansing.Gsw. 1739 Burgh Rec. Gsw. (1911) 8:
Remitt to the magistrats to give the necessary orders and directions for causing the Gallowgate burn to be redd and made clean by the heretors who bound with the burn.Fif. 1750 E. Henderson Ann. Dunfermline (1879) 456:
To order the Touns Scaffinger to Keep Redd the holes for receiving the water off the Tower Bridge.Mry. 1898 J. Mackinnon Braefoot Sk. 98:
“For the love o' Gweed,” she cried, “somebody redd the bran'er!” “It'll nae redd,” said San'ers Nauchty . . . “it's as fu' o' rubbitch as an egg.”Abd. 1946 J. C. Milne Orra Loon 1:
Reddin' midden-drains forbye.Fif. 1951 P. Smith The Herrin' 17:
Tae clean a dub made up their min' And redd it oot.

(4) to clear a congested passage of the body, the throat, nose, stomach, etc., to purge (n.Sc. 1967).Abd. 1801 W. Beattie Parings 26:
Now and then, to red her head, She taks a pickle snuff.Kcd. 1819 J. Burness Plays 291:
As soon's his puddens were a' redd, The lousie dog was put to bed.Ags. 1857 A. Douglas Hist. Ferryden 50:
Sing ye, Jess, till I get my throat redd.Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb v.:
That'll help to redd yer stamach.Abd. 1909 J. Tennant Jeannie Jaffray 177:
After this hush came a hurricane of coughing, “redding” of throats, emptying and filling of noses with taddy or brown rapee.Abd. 1917 E. S. Rae War Poems 57:
The precentor stopped: syne raid 'is throat.

Phrs. (i) to hae a red weam, to have given birth to a child; (ii) to redd one's crap, fig., to relieve one's feelings by talking, “to get something off one's chest” (Abd. 1967). See also Crap, n.¹, 4. (6), (10).(i) Abd. 1768 A. Ross Works (S.T.S.) 155:
Your thrift it will look little bouked, An' ye had a red weam or twa.(ii) Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 141:
He redd's crap o' thim.Kcd. 1956 Mearns Leader (8 June) 6:
It gied the maist o' them a chance tae redd their craps o' their ill thochts.

(5) to clear (a fireplace, a tobacco pipe) of ashes, poke up or out (Sh., ne. and m.Sc. 1967). Also fig. Hence redder (Uls. 1953 Traynor; Sh., Per. 1967), reddin-pin, a metal pin used to clear a pipe.ne.Sc. 1874 W. Gregor Olden Time 16:
From others of them were suspended . . . a bunch of stars or bruckles to redd the tobacco pipes.Mry. 1898 J. Mackinnon Braefoot Sk. 81:
The gravedigger picked up a “birse”, and suddenly busied himself redding his pipe.Per. 1904 R. Ford Hum. Sc. Stories 17:
As lang as he was spared to redd the ribs o' Gospel truth amang us.Uls. 1901 S. F. Bullock Irish Pastorals 75:
Pulling out a clasp knife and tin tobaeco box he fell to redding his pipe in his palm.Mry. 1931 J. Geddie Characters 38:
A well-seasoned clay “cutty”, with a “reddin' pin” carefully chained to the stalk.Gsw. 1947:
She's aye reddin the fire in that house, i.e. She's continually stirring up trouble and keeping everyone in hot water.Fif. 1955:
To redd one's ain ribs = to mind one's own affairs.

(6) to clean the intestines of a slaughtered animal of their fat (I.Sc., Rxb. 1967). See Rede, v.² Vbl.n. reddins, the fat thus obtained, esp. for use in making puddings (Fif. 1850 R. Peattie MS.; w.Sc. 1880 Jam.; Ork. 1929 Marw.; Sh., Dmf. 1958). Also reddin-fat (Sh. 1967).

(7) Sc. Law: to vacate (a property), to leave a house, etc., empty and ready for occupation by the next tenant. Also absol. Ppl.adj. red(d), esp. in phr. void and redd, cleared and ready for a new occupant, a freq. formula in a summons of removing.Ayr. 1706 Arch. and Hist. Coll. Ayr & Wgt. IV. 218:
I faithfully bind and obleidge me, my aires and successores, . . . to make the same maillen land and houssis, etc., voyd and red, conforme to my overgiving.Gsw. 1716 Burgh Rec. Gsw. (1908) 583:
The ground without the West Port . . . be kept voyd and redd.Sc. 1763 Session Papers, Petition Magistrates Elgin (24 Jan. 1782) 2:
To leave the school-house, chamber and bell-house, void and redd.Sc. 1817 Scott Letters (Cent. Ed.) IV. 427:
Of free will he leaves my premises void and redd at Whitsunday.Abd. 1829 MS. Tack:
At the expiry of this lease the tenant is to flit redd and remove himself, his family, bestial, goods and gear.Sc. 1900 Scottish Farmer (6 Jan.) 6:
The defender was legally charged by a sheriff officer in the month of June to remove all his belongings, and leave the place “void and redd” and clear by the 28th of November.Edb. 1956 Edb. Ev. News (14 Nov.):
Yesterday Mrs Mitchell received the Sheriff's notice which said that she, her family of two sons, “goods, and whole belongings, are to leave the dwelling-house void and redd to enable the pursuers to enter thereto by noon, Monday, November 19.”

5. (1) to clear away or remove an object to obtain more space or to replace it with another (ne., m. and s.Sc. 1967). Hence redder, a farm-hand who removes corn as it is threshed by others.Rnf. 1749 W. Hector Judicial Rec. (1878) 193:
He and the rest of his companions . . . have for a long space bygone Entered into the Deffender's Barn, where two thresshers and a redder were at work.Sc. 1832 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) III. 349:
The shielings that we used to come upon . . . have “been a' red awa!”Ayr. 1901 G. Douglas Green Shutters iv.:
The masons could have redd out the fireplace to make room for't.w.Sc. 1906 Rymour Club Misc. I. 3:
Redd chairs, redd stools, Here come we, a pack o' fools.Abd.³⁰ 1966:
It's time ye redd awa yer playicks or I get the fleer swipit.

(2) in Mining: to clear away waste or debris (Sc. 1886 J. Barrowman Mining Terms 54). Vbl.n. redding, the debris thus removed, in comb. redding bing, a heap of this at the pit-head.Gsw. 1700 Burgh Rec. Gsw. (1908) 302:
He haveing . . . endeavoured to make the tounes quarrie called the Black quarrie ane goeing quarrie, . . . was at great expenssis in redding and making a face thereupon.Ags. 1795 Session Papers, Arbuthnott v. Scott (11 March) 239:
The above expence is over and above that of tirring a quarry, or redding a post.Lnk. 1866 D. Wingate Annie Weir 15:
Frae another, ebber pit — Three weary days they, hour aboot, had redd.e.Lth. 1887 P. McNeill Blawearie 99:
The other pair on having the wall-face redd up fell to “holding” once more.Ayr. 1903 G. Cunningham Verse 108:
'Boot the howkin o' coals, or the reddin' o' fa's.Fif. 1924 Rymour Club Misc. III. 136:
It is half-smothered too in the coom of redding-bings, which have quite destroyed the once lovely links of bent and shining sand.

(3) to get rid of, to relieve oneself of. Cf. 4. (4) Phrs. (ii).Bwk. 1880 T. Watts Woodland Echoes 99:
'Tween right and wrang, I'll take thy pairt, An' redd a friendly screed tae thee.

6. To disentangle, unravel, sort out: (1) of thread yarn, etc. Gen.Sc. Also fig. in phrs. with Hesp, Pirn, q.v. Cf. (4). See also Raivel, v., 1. Used also with passive force as in 1918 quot. (Abd. 1967). Phr. to redd thrums, to quarrel about trifles (Sc. 1911 S.D.D.).Sc. 1736 Ramsay Proverbs (1776) 26:
Fools ravel and wise men redd.Abd. 1790 A. Shirrefs Poems 52:
Ye'll redd a ravelled pirn.Ayr. 1790 A. Tait Poems 301:
The ravell'd hesps he makes them clean And reds them out.Ayr. 1822 Galt Sir A. Wylie xvii.:
I can tell you ae thing, and that is, redde the ravelled skein wi' my leddy.w.Sc. 1842 Children in Trades Report (2) I. 17:
Redding, or disentangling the cloth when it comes dripping wet from the wash-wheels.Mry. 1898 J. Mackinnon Braefoot Sk. 132:
Ma pirn wadna work at first, man, but fan ance A got it redd, michty! if ye'd seen hoo it birl't.Ork. 1913 Old-Lore Misc. VI. i. 27:
Thoo're no' the lass I saw reddin' the raffelled hesp.Abd. 1918 W. Mutch Hev ye a Spunk 28:
He was trauchelt, for the traffic in a snorl wadna redd.Bnff. 1923 Banffshire Jnl. (18 Sept.) 8:
Tiret bairns . . . lat their parents redd the snorl o' schism, creed or dogma.

(2) of a fishing-line or -net: to unravel, to undo entanglements (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 141; Sh., ne.Sc., wm.Sc. 1967). Also vbl.n.Lnk. a.1779 D. Graham Writings (1883) II. 221:
They can neither bait a hook nor red a line.Fif. 1869 St Andrews Gazette (30 Oct.):
In the line fishing . . . the line has to be redd and baited every time it is used.Sc. 1884 W. S. Miln Herring Fishing 10:
The boat and crew being ready to proceed to sea the crew get aboard and commence to “red”, i.e. fold the nets in methodical succession, head-rope being to “stern”, and foot-rope to “bow”.Lth. 1924 Edb. Evening News (10 April) 4:
The lines had been “redd” by the wives, and re-baited and coiled down in the skepp ready for running out.Arg. 1946 Scots Mag. (Dec.) 218:
We redd the net as we head north up the loch — a ringnet has always to be redded and redded again — passing it aft over the netpole and stowing it in the port quarter ready for shooting.Abd. 1961 P. Buchan Mount Pleasant 34:
Ilka een in the but an' ben Had to redd or bait or sheel.Ayr. 1999:
In the redding of the fishing line.

(3) of the hair: to comb. (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.; Per. 1915 Wilson L. Strathearn 210). Gen.Sc. Also used passively and with up. Vbl.n. pl. reddins, combings (w.Sc. 1880 Jam.), in 1924 quot. of horse-hair.Sc. 1715 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) II. 68:
Some red their Hair, some set their Bands.Abd. 1737 Caled. Mag. (1788) 505:
Some redd their hair, some main'd their banes.Rnf. 1805 G. McIndoe Poems 21:
Tho' Andrew he's a tousy blade His head, tho' seldom it be red.Rs. 1814 E. Bond Letters I. 116:
His countenance was disfigured by a neglected beard, and “an ill red up head.”Dmb. 1844 W. Cross Disruption xiii.:
I should be reddin up my hair and maikin mysel' snod.s.Sc. 1871 H. S. Riddell Poet. Wks. II. 279:
Then still again these locks he'd ted; But nought did Mary care Though they again should never redd.Sh. 1892 J. Burgess Rasmie's Büddie 27:
An dan wi forrce shü redd mi head.Arg. 1896 N. Munro Lost Pibroch (1935) 68:
She cried the old child tune and she redded her hair.Bnff. 1924 Swatches o' Hamespun 20:
Can I dee ony trade wi' ye? Ony reddins, Jock?Abd.³⁰ 1966:
My heid winna redd.

Hence combs. and derivs. (i) red-kaim, a comb for the hair (Dmf. 1825 Jam.; Ayr. 1923 Wilson Dial. Burns 181); freq. with ppl.adj. reddin-kame, id. (Per., Fif., Lth. 1915–26 Wilson; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Rxb. 1942 Zai.; Ork., n., em., sm. and s.Sc. 1967). Also fig.; (ii) deriv. redder, -ir, id. (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl.; Cai. 1904 E.D.D.; I.Sc., Cai. 1967); (iii) reddin-slap, a jocular usage for “the placket or slit in a woman's petticoat or frock” (Ork. 1929 Marw.). See Slap.Lth. 1801 J. Thomson Poems 110:
He also had a reddin' kame, To redd his wither'd lock.Sc. 1836 Lockhart Scott xxiii.:
[Dr. Douglas's] efforts to embellish it had been limited to one stripe of firs, so long and so narrow that Scott likened it to a black hair-comb. It has bequeathed the name of the Doctor's redding-kame to the mass of nobler trees amidst which its dark straight line can now hardly be traced.Fif. 1864 W. D. Latto T. Bodkin xxxii.:
I never like to gang frae hame, unprovided wi' sleepin' graith, a reddin' kame, an' a razor.Sc. 1876 S. R. Whitehead Daft Davie 245:
The landleddy . . . was so kind as to bring her her breakfast and a redding kame.Ags. 1907 D. Tasker Readings, etc. 91:
I've grown as thin's a reddin' kame.Rxb. 1925 E. C. Smith Mang Howes 20:
A baird sair needin a reddeen-kaim.(ii) Sh. 1898 Shetland News (26 Nov.):
Takkin' da redder oot o' da drawer.Ork. 1958:
Are du seen me redder, boy?

(4) fig., sometimes with up, of a matter of legal or financial business, a problem or difficulty, a dispute, any confused situation: to settle, sort out, clear up, solve, to determine (boundaries, lit. and fig.); to clarify or expound some complex subject. Gen.Sc. Derivs.: reddance, a settlement of an account, will, disposition (Rnf. a.1850 Crawfurd MSS. (N.L.S.) R 9); redder, one who settles a matter in dispute (Sh. 1967), in comb. land-redder (see 1875 quot.). See also March, n.¹, and Ride; redment, ¶reddiment, a settlement of affairs, an estate, etc. (Sc. 1825 Jam.), a sorting out, a setting in proper order.Sc. 1701 Seafield Corresp. (S.H.S.) 330:
I find Burdsbank verie willing to redd all fairly and very friendlie with your Lo[rdship].Sc. 1705 Invercauld Rec. (S.C.) 114:
This affair is past redding espectially considering their justifieng the thing.Sc. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Shep. i. i.:
Ye . . . have sae kind Redd up my ravel'd doubts, and clear'd my mind.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore (S.T.S.) 89:
Come here, and red this threap for ye can tell The very truth, 'cause ye heard a' your sell.Rnf. 1815 W. Finlayson Rhymes 136:
Nor even presume a knotty Text to redd.Dmb. 1846 W. Cross Disruption xix.:
I have a fashion o' redding matters wi' the strong hand when they'll no redd otherwise.Cai. 1875 Trans. Highl. Soc. 179:
The townland of Kilminister was red into thirty-six pennylands. . . . These were measured out by shrewd countrymen called land-riders, or more properly, land-redders, for they did not ride.Slk. 1889 T. Kennedy Poems 202:
Nane can mak' redment but “Funk”.Ayr. 1890 J. Service Notandums 12:
When at last he took his departel, his doers had some fashious wark in the reddin' up of his affairs.Sc. 1893 Stevenson Catriona xvii.:
Properly handled and carefully redd out his is a story that could scarcely fail to have some consequence.Kcb. 1895 Crockett Lilac Sunbonnet iv.:
Maister Cauldsowans redd up the doom o' such.e.Lth. 1908 J. Lumsden Th' Loudons 32:
Losh! losh! for what will be the reddiment It whups me even to guess!Arg. 1914 N. Munro New Road xxvii.:
The more I think of it the more I am convinced that Duncanson needs redding up.Abd. 1918 J. Mitchell Bydand 23:
They'll redd us fae reet tae rise for generations back.Lnk. 1928 W. C. Fraser Yelpin' Stane 54:
Now we'll get the affair redd up.Sc. 1935 D. Rorie Lum Hat 66:
She could redd up a' the parish or ye finished wi' your tea.Slk. 1964 Southern Reporter (2 April) 9:
Sometimes there's a wee mix-up of families [lambs] that needs reddin' out.

Phrs. (i) to redd the marches, to perambulate the boundaries of a burgh, parish or township, to beat the bounds. See Ride; (ii) to redd out or up, kin(dred, relations, etc.), to trace lineage (I., ne.Sc., Lth., Lnk., sm.Sc. 1967). See Kin, n., 4. (2).(i) Sc. 1843 N. MacLeod Crack About Kirk 15:
It was aye their sough at the redding o' the marches between them and the Establishment.Fif. 1867 St Andrews Gazette (19 Oct.):
Redding the marches. The marches of the burgh [Newburgh] were redd by the magistrates and burgesses on Wednesday last.Dmb. 1868 J. Salmon Gowodean 69:
Craw hameward, Rab, get your ain marches redd.(ii) Sc. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xxxi.:
“I dinna ken,” said the undaunted Bailie, “if the kindred has ever been weel redd out to you yet, cousin.”Sh. 1892 J. Burgess Rasmie's Büddie 85:
Ta redd oot kin ye mann be wice.Ayr. 1930:
There wiz never sic a wumman to redd up folk's relations.

(5) in regard to a fight or the participants: to intervene between or separate (the combatants), to put an end to (fighting) (Abd. 1967).Sc. 1699 Edb. Gazette (22–25 May):
Amongst her other imprecations, she wished he might be tristed amongst his Enemies in a dark Night, where there was a deep water, that there might be many lay on him and few to red.Lnk. 1709 Minutes J.P.s (S.H.S.) 68:
The saids Walter Carmichaell and Jean Lyndsay run to him and they went to the ground together, and the said Walter Carmichaells wife desyreing the deponent to goe up to them to red them, he refused to do the samen.Sc. 1728 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) II. 171:
Were Jove again to redd Debate Between his Spouse and Daughters twa.Dmf. 1808 J. Mayne Siller Gun 2:
Auld wives, to redd them, ran between.Sc. 1814 Scott Waverley liv.:
To stick him under the other gentleman's arm, while he was redding the fray.Sc. 1829 G. Robertson Recoll. 85:
Frequently were men and master both under the necessity of running out to the stable to redd their [horses'] quarrels.Slk. a.1835 Hogg Tales (1837) II. 153:
When I gaed back to redd them, they were sae inveterate that they wadna part till I was forced to haud them baith down through the water an' drown them baith.Bnff. 1851 Banffshire Jnl. (9 Sept.):
Gude Glengerrock's trusty blade, That red the bludy fray.Uls. 1929:
The ideal family is said to be “two to fight and one to redd”.Sh. 1964:
When dey met, dey wir naething bit hadd an' redd.

Hence (i) vbl.n. reddin, the separating of combatants, attrib. in combs.: reddin-blow (s.Sc. 1802 J. Sibbald Chron. Sc. Poetry Gl.), -straik, †-streak, the blow from a combatant which is frequently the lot of one who tries to stop a fight (Cai. 1904 E.D.D.; Uls. 1953 Traynor; Sh., Abd., Kcd., Per., w.Lth. 1967). Hence transf., a severe blow, a buffet of fate; also, from a misunderstanding, a blow dealt in order to separate combatants (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.); (ii) derivs.: (a) redder, n. one who intervenes to stop a quarrel, also in combs. redder's-lick, -part (s.Sc. 1802 J. Sibbald Chron. Sc. Poetry Gl.), -straik (Bnff. 1967), see (i), and as a v. in ppl.adj. ¶redderin, separating, intervening; (b) redsman, one who intervenes to separate combatants (w.Sc. 1880 Jam.).(i) Sc. 1736 Ramsay Proverbs (1776) 36:
He that meddles with toolies come in for the redding-streak.Per. 1766 A. Nicol Poems 171:
She gets a clash or redding-stroke behind.Sc. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxvii.:
Beware of the redding strake! you are come to no house o' fair-strae death.s.Sc. 1836 Wilson's Tales of the Borders II. 120:
It would be unseemly to be visited with the reddin' straik.Sh. 1892 G. Stewart Fireside Tales 262:
Da fulishness o' comin' in fir da reddin' stroke.Ags. 1896 Arbroath Guide (19 Dec.) 3:
She just gies Princie the reddin' stroke.Mry. 1927 E. B. Levack Lossiemouth 32:
She merriet a man fae doon the coast 'at she kent naething aboot, but she's getting the reddin'-strake the day.Lth. 1928 S. A. Robertson Double Tongue 39:
There's mony since got a gey clour Wi' the reddin-straik.Abd. 1930 Abd. Univ. Mag. (March) 109:
Heely, heely, Betty! Jist sit ye stull. The reddin' straik ye ken's nae mowse.Per.⁴ 1950:
They were still layin in tae each other when big Tam cam up and gied them the reddin straik.Sc. 1954 N. B. Morrison Following Wind xii.:
John had always been what she termed to herself a redding-stroke man: one who would never hesitate to do something because he knew it to be unpopular, who would be the one to receive the blow when he tried to part two combatants.(ii) Sc. 1712 J. Maclaurin Crim. Cases (1774) 55:
The defunct, interposed as a redder between them, did casually receive the wound libelled.Sc. 1816 Scott O. Mortality iv.:
The redder gets aye the warst lick in the fray.Sc. 1897 L. Keith Bonnie Lady 51:
To meddle with it was but to court the redder's lick.m.Sc. 1927 J. Buchan Witch Wood xi.:
It's a kittle thing, and him that invokes it is like to get the redder's straik.Abd. 1928 Abd. Book-Lover VI. No. 1. 14:
A heid owre them a' Jock's lang souple airms Richt handy cam' in at the redderin' pairt.

7. (1) (i) of a room, building, etc.: to tidy (up), to set in order (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.). Gen.Sc. Ppl.adj. red(d), tidied, neat. Deriv. reddment, a tidying-up (Rxb. 1942 Zai, Rxb. 1967); (ii) to clean or clear thoroughly. (1) (i) Fif. 1761 Session Papers, Haldane v. Holburn (6 March) 6:
The Deponent overheard, while she was redding up the House.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore (S.T.S.) 134:
Anither forward unto Bony-Ha', To tell that there things be red up an' bra'.Edb. 1786 G. Robertson Har'st Rig (1801) cxxxix.:
The stalwart Chelsea man (Whase now ta'en in to redd the barn).Sc. 1817 Scott Letters (Cent. ed.) IV. 499:
As we stand at present it takes a little time to redd up when we expect a guest.Abd. 1822 William Mackie compiler, ed. David Stevenson The Diary of a Canny Man (1991) 57:
4th May, 1822
... Had to assist with raiding up the room for, and taking in, horses ... Masons continue building stable.s.Sc. 1847 H. S. Riddell Poems 16:
To redd the house and sweep the floor.Per. 1888 R. Ford Glentoddy 92:
I'm biggit oot at the door, and have been gaun in and oot by the skylicht for mair than a week. But noo, I'm thinkin', there'll need to be a reddment made.Sc. 1889 Stevenson M. of Ballantrae viii.:
I . . . find my journals very ill redd-up.Ags. 1891 Barrie Little Minister xxv.:
As for Waster Lunny's daughter Easie, who got her schooling free for redding up the school-house and breaking my furniture.Kcb. 1893 Crockett Raiders xxvii.:
We had a stranger last nicht, . . . an', indeed, we hae hardly gotten redd up after him yet.Sh. 1900 Shetland News (Nov. 17):
Shu begood ta redd up.Uls. 1908 Traynor (1953):
Red out the turf-house.Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.:
The scodge was makin' a reddment.wm.Sc. 1934 K. R. Archer Jock Tamson's Bairns 50:
But he cam' back hame for his cosy bed, Fun' the fire black oot, an' the place no' redd.wm.Sc. 1985 Liz Lochhead Tartuffe 56:
Mibbe he's here tae redd it up an' sort it ...
Hoo cin his favour best be courtit? Gsw. 1987 Peter Mason C'mon Geeze Yer Patter! 16:
Am fed up reddin up efter yous. I'm depressed at continually tidying your things away. Arg. 1993:
That's the worst rubbish roon there yet - we're no redd up. m.Sc. 1994 Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay Forever Yours, Marie-Lou 43:
Last week thair, when ah wis reddin up the boattom drawer ae your chest-ae-drawers, ah cam acroass a photie...an auld photie fae back in the forties ... Sc. 1995 David Purves Hert's Bluid 10:
It's plain ti see whan in this houss
A cuist ma een aroun:
the'r but ae bodie reddin up
an five fowk reddin doun! m.Sc. 1998 Lillias Forbes Turning a Fresh Eye 16:
I mind weel the day he cam tae redd
The dowie raws i my yaird. Ayr. 1999:
A'll redd that hut/that table. A'll redd up the kitchen/the hoose.(ii) m.Sc. 1999 Janina MacDonald in Moira Burgess and Donny O'Rourke New Writing Scotland 17: Friends and Kangaroos 82:
They'd been reddin oot thir hooses a moarnin, scrubbin flairs, shakin oot mats, scrubbin an pittin swirly paetterns oan thir doorsteps an noo it wis elevenziz.Ayr. 1999:
A'll redd oot that hut.Edb. 2003:
Ah need tae redd oot the utility room.

(2) of the person: to tidy, arrange the garments neatly. Gen.Sc. Freq. with up. Ppl.adj. red(d), tidily and neatly dressed, ill-red(-up), untidy, slovenly.Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 50:
She's aye sae clean, red-up, and braw.Ags. 1823 A. Balfour Foundling III. 218:
A plain country lad, an' no that sair redd up.ne.Sc. 1826 Aberdeen Censor 277:
He was just a puir, gleyed, inkneed, ill-red-up, warridraggle o' a creature.wm.Sc. 1835 Laird of Logan 162:
Aff I set, after redding mysel up, ower the craft by Poo-burn, barefitted.Bwk. 1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes 80:
Those clarty folks can redd themselves up at times.Lth. 1882 J. Strathesk Blinkbonny 251:
She had kept the kitchen, if possible, brighter, and herself “redd up”.Bnff. 1901 Banffshire Jnl. (3 Sept.) 6:
Ho! redd ye my lads for a reel on the heather.Rxb. 1923 Kelso Chronicle (6 April) 4:
Next morning Tammy redd up, and, trying to infuse some energy into his usual deliberate paces, plodded westward up the village.

(3) of housed animals: to clean out and supply fresh bedding to (ne.Sc. 1967).s.Sc. 1837 Wilson's Tales of the Borders III. 193:
He contrived to keep a swift black mare, always well fed and redd.Kcd. 1932 L. G. Gibbon Sunset Song (1937) 122:
They redd up the beasts early that evening . . . feeding them well with turnips and straw and hot treacle poured on the straw.

8. Fig. of persons, with up or out: to scold, berate, give a “dressing-down” to (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Fif. c.1850 R. Peattie MS.; Cai. 1904 E.D.D.; Sh., ne.Sc., Ags., Slg., sm.Sc. (out) 1967); to speak critically of (ne.Sc. 1967). Vbl.n. redding-up, a scolding, rebuke (Sh., Abd., Ags., Kcb. 1967).Ags. 1776 C. Keith Farmer's Ha' 8:
Auld luckie says they're in a creel, And redds them up, I trow, fu' weel.Edb. 1839 D. M. Moir Mansie Wauch xxvii.:
I'll gie him sic a redding up as he never had since the day his mother boor him.Fif. 1864 W. D. Latto T. Bodkin xxxiii.:
Tibbie . . . heard Mrs Patch reddin' up her gudeman for breakin' the crockery.Ags. 1891 Barrie Little Minister x.:
He redd them up most michty.Abd. 1929 J. Alexander Mains & Hilly 210:
Ye've jist been sittin' here reddin' up somebody 's ye aye dee.Ags. 1948 J. C. Rodger Mary Ann 32:
We gaed up the Deevil's Elbow and he gae me an affa reddin'-up.

II. n. 1. Also redd-oot, rid-oot. The act of clearing away or tidying up, a putting in order, a cleaning, tidying (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Uls. 1953 Traynor). Gen.Sc. Also in n.Eng. dial.; a clearance, removal of an obstruction. Freq. with up.Abd. 1880 W. Robbie Yonderton xxxii.:
Weel, did ever ye see sic a redd up as the Mains his gotten?Ags. 1894 J. B. Salmond B. Bowden (1922) 132–3:
I wish we had redd o' them afore onything waur happens. . . . I had nae suner gotten the hoose gien a redd-up an' the table set, than the neebers wis in on's.Abd. 1914 A. McS. The Bishop 23:
The kirk is needin' a redd up, sirs.Bnff. 1937 E. S. Rae Light in the Window 32:
G'wa and gie yoursel' a redd up.Abd. 1961 People's Jnl. (20 May):
He gid his throat a redd an' said . . .Sc. 1995 Scotland on Sunday 28 May 10:
There are spring cleans and spring cleans, and what Janey Buchan has been up to over the past few weeks must be one of the major rid-oots of all time. Edb. 2004:
This hoose needs a guid redd-oot afore Christmas.

2. The curvature of a ploughshare which helps to keep it clear of encumbrances. Cf. v., 3. (2).Sc. 1784 J. Small Ploughs 30:
It [beam] may have a curve of 6 inches up & down, which the ploughmen call the redde of the plough.Sc. 1855–7 Trans. Highl. and Agric. Soc. 90:
It is needless to think of ploughing rough land effectually without a plough made specially for the purpose, large and strong in every part, having abundance of coulter “redd”, and great width and power in the wrest.

3. Power of clearing or sweeping aside obstacles; the ability to work energetically and effectively, drive (Sc. 1880 Jam.; Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.; I.Sc. 1967); progress, headway in working or business, gen. in phr. to mak redd (Ork. 1967).Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 50:
He foichels sair at that, bit he hiz nae raid wee 'im . . . He hiz some redd fin he sets tee.Sh. 1898 Shetland News (26 Nov.):
I wis been tryin' ta mak' some redd be treshin!Sh. 1916 J. Burgess Rasmie's Smaa Murr (12 Faebruary):
Ye'll mak smaa redd if ye dell wi a dimpel.Abd. 1966 Huntly Express (29 July) 2:
I wis houpin' tae mak' redd o' them [by selling sheep to raise money].

4. Rubbish, flotsam, rubble that has been cleared away (Fif. c.1850 R. Peattie MS.; Per., Fif., Lth. 1915–26 Wilson), waste material, refuse, esp. that from a coal-pit or quarry (Fif., Lth., Peb., Rxb. 1967); the green ooze or vegetation from the bottom of a pond, etc. (Rxb. 1825 Jam., 1923 Watson W.-B.). Also attrib. and fig. = nonsense (e.Lth. 1958). Also in n.Eng. dial.Edb. 1701 Burgh Rec. Edb. (1962) 295:
Baillie Rule reported that Robert Hepburne of Bearfoord was throwing the red of his quarrie digged be him upon the other syde of the north loch.Gsw. 1716 Burgh Rec. Gsw. (1908) 593:
And lykewise prohibits and discharges the laying of redd or foulzie on the grass of the skinners green.Abd. 1946 Monymusk Papers (S.H.S.) 182:
To use clay or reds from ditches in place of muck faile.Bwk. 1764 Session Papers, Yules v. Others State of Process 2:
They demolished two houses for the benefit of the redd.Abd. 1811 G. Keith Agric. Abd. 437:
The lime rubbish, provincially lime redd, of Aberdeen.Fif. 1896 County Folk-Lore VII. 388:
The air [in the mine] was sometimes that bad that a light of no description would burn: the only light she had was the reflection from Fish Heads, and her family carried the rade to the bank.Lnl. 1925 H. M. Cadell Rocks w.Lth. 303:
“Redd”, or stony debris, from Bridgeness Colliery.Fif. 1960 Daily Express (22 Sept.) 1:
The volunteers are being used to . . . carry away the redd. the miners' name for waste.

Combs.: (1) redd-bing, a mound of waste at the surface of a mine or quarry (Sc. 1886 J. Barrowman Mining Terms 54; Fif., Lth. 1967); (2) redd-box, a truck for carrying rubbish to the pit-head; (3) red(d)sman, redes-, a worker employed to keep the passages in a pit clear of debris (Sc. 1886 J. Barrowman Mining Terms 54).(1) Fif. 1961 Dundee Courier (3 Feb.) 5:
Standing at the top of the 150-foot redd bing at Blairhall Colliery.(2) e.Lth. 1887 P. McNeill Blawearie 104:
Downhill . . . swept the redd-box full of unwieldy blocks for the building.(3) e.Lth. 1744 Scots Mag. (Jan. 1897) 152:
To Robert Dick redsman 6 days to the reding at 4 pns per day as the on half of his weag.Fif. 1841 Trans. Highl. Soc. 326:
The redsmen who prepare the roads for waggons and clear away the rubbish before the wall-faces.Sc. 1869 D. Bremner Industries 17:
When the miners stop work, another class of men enter the pit; these are the “reddsmen” and “brushers”, whose duty it is to examine and repair the roads, remove any stones that may have fallen, and see that the roof is secure through the workings.e.Lth. 1887 P. McNeill Blawearie 59:
Down came another cage out of which stepped the manager accompanied by the chief oncost or reddsman.

5. Oats after being threshed. See I. 5. (1).Lnk. 1822 W. Watson Poems (1877) 87:
But, if we hae eneugh o' red [threshed oats], We'll never need to miss a tid.

6. Left-over food on a plate.Sc. 1858 E. B. Ramsay Reminisc. 27:
“I thought, Mr. —, you had done”. “Oh, so I had, mem; but I just fan' a pigeon amang my redd”.

7. An instrument for cleaning out anything.Sc. 1887 Jam.:
That will make a fine red for a pipe.

8. A settlement of affairs.Lnk. 1853 W. Watson Poems 32:
Till lang-at-the-length, he thocht proper to speer Gin a redd was made out about heirin' her gear?

9. The act of combing and arranging the hair (I. and ne.Sc., Per., Slg. 1967).Sc. 1892 N. Dickson Kirk Beadle 80:
He jist gangs up to the gless, looks in, gies his heid a bit redd, and then awa' he gangs to the poopit.Ags. 1929 Scots Mag. (May) 142:
Ask the lassie into the front room an' I'll be ben as soon as I gi'e ma hair a redd.

10. With up, a scolding, a rebuke, censure (ne.Sc., Ags., Slg. sm.Sc. 1967).Ags. 1874 T. Guthrie Autobiog. I. 329:
He gied the drinkers a terrible redd-up.Rxb. 1913 Kelso Chronicle (24 Jan.) 2:
The maister needs a bit redd up tae.Abd. 1929 J. Alexander Mains & Hilly 54:
Bit gin a curn loons meet on the toon loan, a'body's character gets a redd up.