Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
CUFF, v.
1. “To winnow corn, barley, etc., for the first time” (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 222); vbl.n. cuffin, the loose chaff flying about (Bnff.2, Abd.2 1941).Abd. 1750 An Abd. Estate (S.C. 1946) 170:
To 4 spinners 2/3 day shieling and cuffing at bolls . . . . . . 0. 8. 0.Abd. 1920 A. Robb MS.:
I cufft the stobbins oot amo' the corn and made it ready for riddlin.Abd. 1933 J. H. Smythe Blethers 10:
Till Jeems wis gey near smored wi' stew An' biggit oot wi' cuffins, O!Abd. 1994 Herald 3 Oct 16:
But it is not just that there is more water about. We have discovered a whole new feeding source for the game. We call it 'cuffins', and it can be had for nothing from the big grain stores. Cuffins, which I think are plural, are what the cleaning process separates from the grain when it enters the store. There are millions of weed seeds ... . there is chaff. There are awns, light grains, and a surprising number of heavy ones too.
Hence cuffin-riddle, “the riddle used in the first act of winnowing cereals” (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 222; Bnff.2, Abd.2 1941) and cuffer, idem.Abd. 1906 J. Christie in Bnffsh. Jnl. (5 June) 3:
And whaur's the “muckle cuffin-riddle” That hang on wa' at Drachlaw?Abd. 1920 A. Robb MS.:
The cuffer wis made like the riddle o' a fan and wis swung fae side to side wi' the bar o' wood ca'd the switch.
2. To draw a layer of soil off the surface of the ground with a rake or cuffing-board in order to sow seed. The earth is afterwards replaced by the same means. Vbl.n. cuffing, the layer of soil thus removed. Cf. Eng. dial. (s.Wor.) cuff in, to set, plant (E.D.D.).Sc. 1759 J. Justice Brit. Gardener's Cal. 81:
Cuff your ground and rake it.Ib. 107:
Take off the cuffing from your bed an inch deep . . . then sow the seeds pretty thick, draw on the cuffing, and give them a good share of water above the cuffing.Sc. 1869 J. C. Morton Cycl. Agric. II. 606:
The beds should be opened, by removing the surface soil into the alleys, by the operation called cuffing, which is performed by a wooden-headed rake.Sc. 1935 M.L.A.:
The operation of cuffing is still in use in forest nurseries and the technical terms cuff, cuffing, and cuffing-board have passed into use by the Forestry Commission.
Hence cuffing-board, the board with which the operation is performed (see quot. above).
3. See quot. Vbl.n. cuffing, agent n. cuffer. Abd. 1843-45 Trans. Highl. Soc. 260:
Sheaves reaped by the smooth sickle by cuffing (viz., striking with the sickle so as to cut and gather a sheaf together without grasping every cut with the left hand) . . . I have never employed any cuffers myself.
