Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
BACK CREEL, n. A basket or creel carried on the back and secured by a strap tied to the creel and passing round the breast on a level with the shoulders, or round the head.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 37:
Backcreels — Baskets made of willows, formed to fit the human back — ere the invention of “wheel-barrows,” these were used in cleaning byres, stables, what not.Gall. 1843 J. Nicholson Hist. and Trad. Tales 10:
There was the full of a back creel of peats set together in the midst of the house floor.
