Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1872-1887, 1984-2003
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BUMP, n., v. Sc. usages:
I. n.
1. In dim. bumpy, the posteriors.Ayr. 1887 J. Service Dr Duguid 225:
She reishelled his bumpy weel till it gelled again.
2. In pl., very fast turns of a skipping rope.Edb. 1984:
Ah wis eywis the cawer at bumps.Sc. 1992 Herald 20 Jun 9:
Skipping ropes could be played alone or in a crowd. ...When the rope was cawed harder and faster the game was known as "the bumps" and the skipper had to jump higher to miss the whipping rope.Sc. 1994 Herald 8 Dec 14:
But street life became the source of many useful lessons in social etiquette. ... debating the relative merits of Judy versus Bunty, conkers, the ferocious intricacies of skipping and bumps, what those lumpy packets of Dr White towels hidden in the tallboy were really for, peevers.
3. A thump on the back as a birthday ritual, the number of thumps corresponding to the age reached, or one thump for each year of range (Sh., Cai., Bnff., Ags., Fif., Edb., Gsw., Ayr., Dmf. 2000s).Sc. 2002 Evening Times 30 Oct 10:
The boys were a great laugh and clubbed their socks off in Mas and Cube where I gave Ronnie some birthday bumps!Edb. 2003:
Gie him his bumps.
II. v. To swell, bulge, become plump or lumpy.Inv. 1872 Trans. Highl. Soc. 49:
The former (bullock) was not only at full maturity when three years old, but he was beginning to founder on his legs and bump in his flesh.
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"Bump n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/snd00088201>


