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.
†HULLER, n. A raw mist (‡Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.).s.Sc. c.1830 Proc. Bwk. Nat. Club (1916) 112:
When the hullers o' night are loorin', When the quakens are crimplin' eerie. Commonly in adj. hullerie, 1. of weather: raw, damp, cold (Rxb. 1825 Jam.); and by various extensions of meaning: 2. of a hen: having the feathers fluffed out, as a protection against bad weather; 3. of the head after a drinking bout: muddled, confused, “foggy” (Rxb. 1825 Jam., 1923 Watson W.-B.); 4. slovenly (Slk. 1825 Jam.); friable, crumbling (Id.).2. Rxb. 1825 Jam.:
“A hullerie hen,” a hen with its feathers standing on end.Sc.(E) 1925 H. McDiarmid Sangschaw 12:
The pigs shoot up their gruntles here, The hens staund hullerie.
