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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.

KEEKER, n. 1. One who watches or pries, a surreptitious observer of others, a peeping Tom (Mry. 1925; Kcb. 1959); 2. fig.: the eye (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., 1942 Zai; em.Sc.(a), Lnk., Ayr., Kcb., Slk. 1959). Cf. Eng. slang peeper. Specif., esp. with blue, = Eng. a black eye (Abd., Ags., Edb., wm.Sc. 1959; Sh., Bnff., Ags., Edb., Gsw., Ayr., Dmf., Rxb. 2000s); 3. a microscope. Comb. far-keeker, a telescope.1. e.Lth. 1892 J. Lumsden Sheep-Head 3:
Up among the everlasting hills! And who met the poor, pale, keeker up there?2. Ayr. 1852 M. Lochhead Poems 47:
We'll gie them noo the time o' day, In a blue keeker.Ayr. 1886 J. Meikle Lintie 183:
No wantin' to rin the risk o' getting a keeker.Sc. 1928 Scots Mag. (July) 263:
If he had been a booser and cam' hame on the Seterday nicht tae gi'e her a pair o' blue keekers she'd ha' worshipped him.Sc. 1958 Sunday Post (31 Aug) 15:
“That's a richt keeker!” “How did ye get that black eye?” wm.Sc. 1979 Robin Jenkins Fergus Lamont 9:
'Onybody that laughs will get a keeker from me.' Sc. 1997 Daily Record (18 Oct) 31:
She tells me that the unfortunate actress who turned up at a premiere sporting a velvet eyepatch to cover the keeker given to her by her lover, was Zsa Zsa Gabor. Her lover Porfirio, Rubirosa, landed her with it during one of their many fights. Gsw. 1999 Herald (27 Aug) 21:
"But, the main thing I noticed was the number of women with black eyes - real keekers . . ." Sc. 2001 Herald (19 Feb) 6:
Ramon Vega, still sporting a keeker from the Old Firm game, said: "That was a hard game to play in, very tough. Dunfermline never give up and we are lucky to be still in the cup." Sc. 2003 Scotsman (18 Apr) 16:
I've looked like a cow with a crumpled horn for the last few years, following a serious accident. Last week, I finally got round to having my bonnet beaten out, so to speak - so this week I'm sporting an apparent shiner, as I wait for the aftermath of the reconstructive cosmetic surgery to subside and heal. ... I took no pleasure in my survivor's scar, but I see my keeker as a recognisable improvement. Sc. 2003 Scotsman (26 Apr) 7:
All I got to do was to look at some vague little designs in the machine's innards and have a few sharp puffs of air blown into my keekers.3. Sc. 1828 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) II. 86:
A . . . callant, wi' bauld, bricht een, like far-keekers spyin into futurity.e.Lth. 1908 J. Lumsden Th' Loudons 168:
This keeker shaws what wee things are — A needle is an airn bar.