Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
HOBBLE, n.3 Dim. hoblin. A small heap of six or eight peats stacked together on end to dry (Ork. 1929 Marw., hoblin, Ork. 1957).Ork. 1924 P. Ork. A.S. II. 80:
The first of May was considered as the ideal time to begin cutting peats. When cut and set on the bank face they stood for a week or more. Then they were “casten oot.” Then when they were sufficiently dry on the upper side they were raised three in each “raising.” Some time after, when nearly dry, they were put together in “bullans,” or “hobbles.”
Deriv. hobbler, a nick-name given to a resident in the Orkney parish of Holm St Mary, phs. because of the peaty nature of the ground (Ork. 1957).Ork. 1883 J. R. Tudor Ork. and Sh. 656:
Hobbler. The Tee-name of the Holm St Mary, Orkney, people. As many of these nicknames are sarcastic or contemptuous, can it have been derived from the Scotch Hobble, a state of perplexity and confusion, and meant to indicate people always more or less muddled or bewildered? Or can it be from the verb Hobble, “to swarm with living creatures,” as indicating that, like the Sanday and North Ronaldsay folk in ancient days, the Holmites were eminently pediculosi?Ork. 1908 Old-Lore Misc. I. viii. 320:
Tell 'im gin 'e winna voo tae hae wir dialec ta't i' the skeuls, there's naither a stirlin', . . . hobbler, . . . mare or bluidy puddin [parish nicknames] 'll vote for 'im.
