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.
Quotation dates: 1746, 1887-1928
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ILL-SHAKEN, adj. Also -shacken (Gregor), -shakken, -shaukin'. [-′ʃɑkn]
1. With up: untidy, disordered, ungainly in dress (Abd. 1825 Jam.), or demeanour, awkward, clumsy, loutish (I. and ne.Sc. 1958); "uncomely, disgraceful" (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 88).Sc. 1746 Lyon in Mourning (S.H.S.) I. 117:
The most "odd, muckle, ill-shaken-up wife she had ever seen."Mry. 1887 J. Thomson Recollections 95:
A long, lanky, ill-shaken up sort of man.Abd. 1920 G. P. Dunbar Peat Reek 41:
An' a rocher-like, ill-shak'n-up lookin' tink In a twalmonth ye widna see.
2. With thegither: loosely built, ungainly, shambling (Abd., Kcd. 1958).Abd. 1928 N. Shepherd Quarry Wood iv.:
He was a long loose man, ill-shakken thegither. Useless laps of skin sagged round his mouth.
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"Ill-shaken adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/illshaken>
