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.
Quotation dates: 1793-1951
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GUTTIE, adj., n.1 Also gutty; guddie, -y. [′gʌte]
I. adj. 1. Thick, gross, “applied both to persons and things” (Sc. 1808 Jam.); corpulent, pot-bellied (Kcd., Fif., Kcb., Dmf. 1955). Used of a big-bellied bottle (Sc. 1911 S.D.D.).Peb. 1793 R. Brown Carlop Green (1817) 129:
Wi' 's pig-wife Kate, that begs, On her twa stumps, like water-stoups, Or gutty, short, Mons-Megs.Sc. 1818 Scott Rob Roy xxii.:
Oigh, what will come o' ye gin the baillies suld come to get witting — ta filthy, gutty hallions, tat they are?Dmb. 1846 W. Cross Disruption x.:
I couldna believe that yon gutty carle wi' the droll hat was the Papist Pope.Rnf. 1862 A. M'Gilvray Poems 192:
Bella, who has become so fat, Stout, broad, and gutty.Abd. 1909 Colville 293:
A dignified Aberdeenshire burgh official was popularly known as Gutty Willie.
Hence guttiness, n., thickness, grossness (Sc. 1825 Jam.); capaciousness of belly (Sc. 1911 S.D.D.; Bnff.7 1927).
2. Fond of good eating, greedy, gluttonous (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 72; Bnff., Abd., Kcb. 1955). Also in Nhb. and Som. dial. Comb. guttie rive, a bout of gormandising, a gluttonous feast. Cf. Belly-rive .Bwk. 1823 A. Hewit Poems 136:
Wi' plenty guid fadges o' bread, An' plenty fat kail for the gutty.Bwk. 1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes 112:
You're like Gutty Shaw, In Edencraw, — There's nae filling you.Abd. 1951 Huntly Express (19 Jan.):
It wis an excuse for haein' a guttie rive.
3. Fig. Self-important, pompous, big (see Big, adj., 1.) (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., Add., guddy; Dmf. 1955).
II. n. 1. A corpulent, pot-bellied person (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 249; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., guttie, guddie (Add.); Dmf., Rxb. 1955).
2. A glutton, a guzzler (Rnff. 1955).Sc. 1806 Scots Mag. (Sept.) 695:
But the caunie, decent chiel, Sib to nae sic shameless guttie, Keeps his maut aneath his meal.
3. The minnow, Phoxinus phoxinus (Ayr. 1825 Jam.; Rnf. 1889 Ellis E.E.P. V. 747, guttie; Slg. 1954). Cf. Baggie, n.3, idem.
[From Gut, n.1, 1., the stomach, + adj. suff. -ie.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Guttie adj., n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/guttie_adj_n1>
