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.
Quotation dates: 1825, 1881
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PUSLICK, n. Also pushlock; pushla. Gen. in pl., the (dried) droppings of a cow or sheep (Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl., pushla, Rs. 1911). Also in comb. coo-pushla, id. (Patterson). Also in n.Eng. dial. in form puzlock. [′pʌʃlək, -lə]Gall., Dmf. 1825 Jam.:
"As light as a puslick. As dry as a puslick". These are gathered by the poor, thoroughly dried and bleached through the winter, and used as fuel in spring.ne.Sc. 1881 W. Gregor Folk-Lore 46:
Whooping-cough. A decoction of sheep's "pushlocks," that is, the excrements of the sheep, was a cure for this disease. The same decoction was a cure for jaundice.
