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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

HIDIE, adj., n. Also hidy, hidey, hidee; hoidy; hoddie, hoddy (Ags.); howdie (Fif.).

I. adj. Carefully concealed; very suitable for hiding anything or anyone in (ne.Sc., Per., m.Lth., Rxb. 1957).Ags. 1932 Barrie Julie Logan 24:
I have not seen his hoddy place, but the doctor tells me it is still there and is no more than a lair beneath what we call a bield, a shelter for sheep.Fif.¹ a.1940:
An old poacher-naturalist used to say to me, “The dunlin's is an awfu' hidy nest.”Ags. 1947 J. B. Salmond Toby Jug ii.:
“This is a richt hoddie corner ye have.” “No' hoddie enough if the likes o' you can find it.”

Gen. used in combs.: 1. hidie-hole, a hiding-place (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Cai. 1902 E.D.D.; Fif. 1957, howdie-). Gen.Sc. Also nonce forms hide-hole (Lnk. 1880 Clydesdale Readings 226), hidie-how (Sc.(E) 1933 W. Soutar Seeds in the Wind 20). Also used fig., a subterfuge (Sc. 1825 Jam.); 2. hoddy-table, a small table which can be pushed under a larger one when not in use.1. Sc. 1817 Blackwood's Mag. (Nov.) 158:
They're darned in some o' the queer hidy-holes about the rocks there.Edb. 1828 D. M. Moir Mansie Wauch (1839) xvi.:
I had scarcely jouked into my hidy-hole, when “crack-crack” played the pistols like lightning.Abd. 1863 G. Macdonald D. Elginbrod xxx.:
“Ah!” said Hugh, “you did not know of this hidie-hole, did you?”Ork. 1907 Old-Lore Misc. I. ii. 61:
The Irelan' men hed hidie holes i' the hill.Sh. 1930 Shet. Almanac 186:
Du'll visit every hoidy hol, Da tatie cro an' a'.s.Sc. 1933 Border Mag. (April) 58:
There's mony a hidie hole in Deid Water where it will tax the minions o' Buccleugh to ferret oot.Ags. 1954 Forfar Dispatch (5 Aug.):
Ee corner, the guide luit we see a wee hodie-hole far the king wiz wint tae puit somebody afore a banquet.Fif. 1985 Christopher Rush A Twelvemonth and a Day 141:
Though not so private as the castle, its height and openness allowed the lovers the luxury of being able to spot an approach from miles in any direction, and there were no hidie-holes from which younger folk could gawp at the serious romantic gestures of those who had crossed over into their teens. 2. Ags. 1896 Barrie Sentimental Tommy xvii.:
You should have seen Grizel on the hoddy-table knocking nails into the wall. The hoddy-table is so-called because it goes beneath the larger one at night, like a chicken under its mother.

II. n. The game of hide-and-seek (Per. 1957); the exclamation made by a player in the game to indicate that he is ready to be sought for (Lth. 1825 Jam.; Per. 1957). Also hidie-ho!, id. (Per. c.1916).Lth. 1821 Blackwood's Mag. (Aug.) 35:
The watchword of this last [hide and seek] is hidee.Ib. 37:
Another couplet, addressed to the secreted personage at Hidee — Keep in, keep in, wherever you be, The greedy gled's seeking ye; — . . . must awaken the most pleasing recollections.