Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
ALLOW, v. Also alloo.
1. Sc. form of Eng. allow.w.Lth. 2000 Davie Kerr A Puckle Poems 75:
Aa deid-doun deid, till up-steer sap
alloos belief,
that hauden-doun will yince mair rise
ti life, unbow'd.Edb. 2003:
Are ye allooed tae gang there?
2. A Scotticism is the use of allow foll. by adv. or adv. phr., in sense of allow to go — e.g. “he was allowed home.”Sc. 1931 J. Wilkie Bygone Fife 251:
The latter [was] allowed ashore.
3. Followed by personal pron., used to refer to someone who had done more than he/she ought to have, or was expected to. wm.Sc. 2005:
Allow him. He always gets what he wants, even if the rest of us can't.Gsw. 1986 Moira Burgess in Deirdre Chapman Scottish Short Stories 1986 35:
'Allow you,' observed Lizzie, but she grabbed it all the same,...
