Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
SKEDADDLE, v. Sc. usage, also in n.Eng. dial.: to spill, scatter from a container. The word came into prominence from U.S. slang usage during the American Civil War (1861–5) in its modern colloq. sense of “to retreat hastily, to clear out”, and discussion of its orig. in Britain led to such statements as in quot. below. Apart from these, however, the word seems not to be attested in Sc. or Eng. dial.Dmf. 1862 Times (13 Oct.) 10:
Skedaddle is a word commonly used in Dumfriesshire, my native home. To skedaddle means to spill in small quantities any liquids. For instance, a person carrying two pails of milk, jabbling and spilling the milk right and left, would be skedaddling the milk. An interested observer would cry at once, “you blind buzzard, don't you see you are skedaddling all the milk?” The same word applies to coals, potatoes, or apples, and other substances falling from a cart.
