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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BYSTART, Byster, Bastart, n. A Sc. form of St.Eng. bastard. As a term of abuse; also bastartin, bastardin, bastardn, bastarn. Also used attrib.m.Sc. 1989 Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay The Guid Sisters 73:
That swine Johnny! He's the work ae the divil! He's the wan tae blame fur her turnin oot the wey she did. That bastardin Johnny!
em.Sc. 2000 James Robertson The Fanatic 25:
'I'm no sayin he wasna an evil bastart. But it seems everybody has him marked doon as a hypocrite. Jist because ye lead a double life disna make ye a hypocrite.'
m.Lth. 1997 Cecilia Grainger Pit Talk 8:
mind you that man oh hurs wiz a pure bastart.
Edb. 1994 Gordon Legge I Love Me (Who Do You Love?) 55:
'...The bastarn company's no got any fucking money to pay us cause the bastarn fucking company, went and got itself bastarn fucking bust, hasn't it.'
wm.Sc. 1974 Roddy McMillan The Bevellers 25:
... aw, Jesus Johnnie, therr that bastart bell again.
Rnf. 1972 Bill Bryden Willie Rough 30:
Come back wi my baa, ye thievin bastarts!
Gsw. 1962 Bill McGhee Cut and Run 157:
'Ya baw-faced bastart...'
Gsw. 1984 James Kelman The Busconductor Hines 38:
Take your time - I told you to take your bastarn time: jesus god another 22 minutes, I'll no make it.
Gsw. 1984 James Kelman The Busconductor Hines 122:
That's the trouble with the lower orders, they're a bunch of bastarn imbeciles.
Gsw. 1988 Michael Munro The Patter Another Blast 6:
bastartin A piece of foul language whose inventiveness lies in making a noun appear like a verb: 'Ach, chuck the bastartin thing in the bin!'
Gsw. 1989:
See you, ya bastart, ye.
Gsw. 1990 Alan Spence The Magic Flute (1991) 128:
'...Think they were bastardn darkies the way they're going on...'
Lnk. c.1779 D. Graham Writings (1883) II. 11:
What an we get a bystart, and hae to suffer for the foul act of fornication.
Kcb. 1894 S. R. Crockett Raiders xiv.:
Bysta Beatties from the debatable land.
Dwn. 1844 R. Huddleston Poems and Songs 34:
“Ha, ha,” quo' ane ca'd byster Crone.

[Phs. influenced by pejorative words of similar meaning like By-chap, Byspel, n. (2).]

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"Bystart n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 May 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bystart>

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