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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

GOWK, v.3 To kill a hooked fish by thrusting a stick down its throat (Fif. 1949). Also gowking stick.

Fif. 1985 Christopher Rush A Twelvemonth and a Day 100:
Grandfather had told me the same story about the turbot.
I thought of the great lead-weighted gowking stick silencing them as they came thrashing onto the wet slippery deck.

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