Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
PLOTCOCK, prop.n. A sobriquet for the Devil. Chiefly hist. in allusion to the incident before Flodden mentioned in Pitscottie's History (see 1835 quot.).Sc. 1724 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) II. 229:
Plotcock comes with Lumps of Lapland Clay, Mixt with the Venom of black Taids and Snakes.Sc. 1835 H. Miller Scenes (1874) 165:
The victims of Flodden were summoned at the Cross of Edinburgh in the name of Platcock [sic], i.e., Pluto.
