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.
†BY-SHOT, BYE-SHOT, n. comb.
1. “One who is set aside for an old maid” (Bch. 1825 Jam.2).Bch. 1804 W. Tarras Poems 72, Note:
[On Fastren's E'en] she that undertakes the baking of them [the bannocks] must (however many provocations she may receive) remain speechless till they are finished; then, if she do so, she is looked upon as an apparent to the bands of Hymen suddenly; but if she cannot restrain her loquacity, she is in danger of bearing the reproach of a by-shot, i.e. a hopeless maid.
2. Digression.Ags.(D) 1882 Brechin Advertiser (26 Dec.) 3/4:
But a' this story aboot the mills is only a kind o' a bye-shot.
