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.
BELT, Bilt, v.2 and n.2
1. v. To strike (with a belt). Colloq. in Eng.Edb.2 1934:
I'll belt you one!
2. n. “A blow” (Ayr. 1825 Jam.2, s.v. bilt).Id.; Lnl.1 1934:
He gave the man a belt on the jaw.
3. A leather strap formerly used to punish children; see tawse.Fif. 1985 Christopher Rush A Twelvemonth and a Day 84:
But her worst instrument of torture was the belt.
At school, belts acquired the mythical fame of Notungs and Excaliburs, and teachers became legends in their lifetimes for the highly personalised styles in which they wielded their particular weapons.Rnf. 1986 John Mitchell Class Struggle 47:
Since August 1983 the use of a 'tawse' or 'belt', had been specifically banned as an instrument of discipline in most Scottish schools. The catalyst for this eventual action within Strathclyde had been the case raised in the European Court of Human Rights by a Clydebank mother: Mrs Grace Campbell refused to allow corporal punishment to be inflicted on her son, took the case to Strasbourg, won it - thus tolling the death knell for the belt in Strathclyde - and then removed her son to a private school, where corporal punishment was still enforced!Rnf. 1993 History on your Doorstep, The Reminiscences of the Ferguslie Elderly Forum 9:
If you were late for school you got the belt.Sc. 1998 Scotsman 23 Jan 20:
"I went to a Glasgow school where they used the belt and I was in my time bawled at, belted, cuffed and finally expelled."
