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.
†BULLIHEISLE, n.
1. “A play amongst boys, in which all having joined hands in a line, a boy at one of the ends stands still, and the rest all wind round him. The sport especially consists in an attempt to heeze or throw the whole mass over on the ground” (Upper Clydes. 1825 Jam.2). [′bʌlɪ̢′hi:zl]
2. Dim. bulliheizilie, bulliehislee, “a scramble, a squabble” (Clydesd. Ib.).Lnk. 1816 G. Muir Clydesdale Minstrelsy 13:
The officer is forced to throw it [a cheese] among them, when a bulliehislee ensues, which often ends in a battle.
