Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
†CRIB, n.2 A reel for winding yarn (Rxb. 1825 Jam.2).Sc. [1826] R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (1870) 390:
But the crib, and ben the crib, And down the crib raw. [A rhyme for counting yarn.]
Hence cribbie, a term formerly used by women spinners in Rxb. and the south of Sc. to denote the amount of yarn they had reeled, either half round (Jam.2) or once round the reel.s.Sc. c.1830 T. Wilkie in Proc. Bwk. Nat. Club (1916) 69:
A cribbie being once round the reel, or a measure of about three foot.
