Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
¶FLAG, v.3 Sc. usage: to break clods with a flagstone (see quot.).Sc. c.1800 Ork. Agric. Jnl. (1936) XI. 14:
In certain seasons when the land was bad to make, the amount of mallet work must have been tremendous. I do not know whether they went in for “flagging” or not in those days. What I mean by that is dragging a big flagstone over the ground to break the clods.
