A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 2001 (DOST Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1558-1658
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Snapper, -ar, n.1 [Snapper v.] lit. and fig., also in fig. context. A stumble, trip; a setback, difficulty. 1558-66 Knox I 79.
Forresse war runne upon the day to Smallame [etc.] … but many snapparis thei gate 1596 Dalr. I 340/21.
This king dies … throuch the vehement snapper of a wantount horse 1629 Boyd Last B. 73.
I am not like these sinners which but trip and stumble, and rise again after a snapper 1633 Johnston Diary I 163.
Boldly without ane hoast or snapper I said my lesson 1637 Johnston Diary I 249.
The Lord maik me sensible of his justice in that snapper and of his assistance in the rest of the action 1658 R. Moray Lett. fol. 295.
He thinks no more of a leak & a storm then other people think of a snapper of horse at land
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"Snapper n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/snapper_n_1>
