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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

SKITTER, n., v.¹ Also ¶skeeter.

I. n. 1. Thin excrement, watery stool (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Cai., Ayr. 1904 E.D.D.); with def. art. and freq. in pl., diarrhoea (Id.). Gen.Sc. Also fig. Hence ¶skitteration, excrementation, skitterful, suffering from diarrhoea, skitt(e)ry, id., purgative, causing looseness of the bowels. Applied in combs. to various birds which have a habit of voiding excrement when startled or rising in flight: skitterbroltie, -y, the corn bunting, Emberiza calandra (Ork. 1877 Sc. Naturalist (Jan.) 9, 1929 Marw., Ork. 1970). See Broltie; skittery deacon, the common sandpiper, Tringa hypoleucos (Slg. 1885 C. Swainson Brit. Birds 196); skittery feltie, -y, the fieldfare, Turdus pilaris (Slg., Fif., w. and sm.Sc. 1970).Sc. 1711 J. Watson Choice Coll. iii. 59:
To settle the Disjune Of those that have the Skitter.Sc. 1721 J. Kelly Proverbs 16, 176:
A Spoonful of Skitter will spill a Potful of Skink. . . . If you was as skitterfull as you are scornful, you would file the whole House.Sc. 1747 Execution Lord Lovat 9:
Upon which, the Warder ask'd his Lordship, what Wine he would please to have. Not white Wine, says he, unless you would have me go with the Skitter to the Block. For it seems white Wine generally gave him the Flux.e.Lth. 1759 Address to Farmers 33:
His style was emphatically enough described as a skitter of words.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 81:
Ye seem tae hae the skitter, Or bloit this day.Sc. c.1850 A Few Rare Proverbs:
Ye hae the wit o' skitteration, ye ought to be presented wi' a turd.Sc. 1911 Rymour Club Misc. I. 135:
Sowens is a skittry dish.Ork. 1911 Old Lore Misc. IV. iv. 186:
Yea' wirt o' tha bit a skitter broltie hid was dere! Abd. 1993:
Eez briks wis an aafa mess o skitter. Sc. 1993 Scotland on Sunday 26 Dec :
John Lambie's team are defying every strand of logic which says they must be doomed, and the Hibs manager, Alex Miller, will approach this one like a reindeer with the skitters. wm.Sc. 1995 Alan Warner Morvern Callar 42:
When I got up it was to cross to the toilet and run both taps to cover the noise of me having the skitters. Sc. 1997 Scotland on Sunday 5 Jan 34:
Roy Aitken, the Aberdeen manager, must have struggled to bed last night suffering from fearful skitters. Sc. 1998 Aberdeen Evening Express 20 Mar 11:
Apparently Airtours have ditched four hotels from their brochure because of the avalanche of complaints about holidaymakers' suffering a veritable epidemic of stomach problems - ranging from a touch of the skitters to full-blown salmonella poisoning. Sc. 2000 Scotsman 25 Oct 8:
I am sorry George was absent from school yesterday, but he had the skitters. (Sorry I can't spell the proper word.) Sc. 2002 Herald 14 Dec 1:
Before the game, who truly knew how Celtic would fare? In particular, O'Neill has a defence that slews between heroism and the skitters, and it made for a night of high drama in the Balaidos Stadium.

2. Transf.: anything dirty, disgusting, unpleasant or vexatious, a mess, rubbish, trash, nonsense (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Sh., n.Sc., Ags., Per. 1970); an abusive term for an objectionable person, a dirty untidy slattern, a dawdler (Fif. 1958). Hence skitterie, piffling, trifling, contemptibly small or inadequate (Cai., Slg., Lnk., Slk. 1970), with vaguely derisory force in comb. skitterie winter, the last person to arrive for or, less freq., to leave work in a factory, mine, school, etc. on Hogmanay (wm.Sc. 1970);  also, more generally, a person who is late, e.g. in getting up in the morning; see Winter. Esp. of a task; fiddly, footling, time-consuming (m.Sc. 1970). Cf. II. 2. Ayr. 2000:
You no up yet, skitterywinter?

II. v. 1. To suffer from diarrhoea (Sc. 1825 Jam.). Gen.Sc.Sc. 1721 J. Kelly Proverbs 20:
A skittering Cow in the Loan wad ay have many Marrows. Spoken when ill People pretend that others are as bad as themselves. Cai. 1992 James Miller A Fine White Stoor 196:
I'll soon get the hay done at this rate. Lucky so far. No stones to take the teeth oot o the blade, and a good crop o clover to keep the skittering army [cattle] happy in the winter.

Used tr. in fig. phr. to skitter the slaps, to take home the last load of corn at harvest (Ork. 1970). Cf. 2. above.

2. To waste time in trifling jobs, to dawdle, to potter in an aimless footling way (Fif. 1950).Kcd. 1934 L. G. Gibbon Grey Granite 114:
She wasn't to have the long nosed sniftering wretch skeetering around while she was alive.