Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1892-1930
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BOOST, Boust, Buist, v.1, tr. and intr. [bust Sc.; byst Kcb.]
1. tr. "To drive off, 'shoo' off; to guide, conduct in a particular direction" (Sc. 1905 E.D.D. Suppl.). Cf. Boast (Cai. quot.).Bwk. 1914 T.S.D.C. I., boost:
Reported from Bwk. with meaning of drive off, used of animals, as of a blow which a sheep gives with her head to a strange lamb. Obsol.Ayr. publ. 1892 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage, etc., and Poems 192:
Lap thro' the door, as baudrons loups Whan boustit frae the pats an' stoups.Kcb. 1893 S. R. Crockett Stickit Minister 200:
He was waiting with crooked stick to "boost" his father home.
2. intr. To move. For use in quot., cf. Eng. slang "shove over!"Gall. 1930 (per Wgt.3):
But when she rose from milking the brockie-faced cow and sat down beside the black Galloway, saying, "Buist ower, Crummie," Sandy gazed towards her.
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"Boost v.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 13 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/boost_v1>
