Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 2005 (SND, online supplement).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
PURE, adj. Completely, utterly. Also in phr. pure dead brilliant, 1980s catch phrase of Elaine C. Smith, Glasgwegian comedienne/actress, as an expression of approval.Per. 1979 Betsy Whyte The Yellow on the Broom 8:
No, no I don't know what they do with the bairns in they Homes but I do know they are pure rogues when they come out of them.Gsw. 1984 Agnes Owens Gentlemen of the West 79:
"Better look out. He's pure mental."Gsw. 1985 Michael Munro The Patter 56:
pure An adjective or adverb meaning absolute, absolutely, expressing the height or depth of whatever it is applied to: 'She's pure rotten tae me.' 'It was a pure shame, so it was.' 'The dinner was pure magic.' 'That yin's a pure ratbag.'Sc. 1989 Times (25 Jun):
Monitoring the delivery pattern of The Glaswegian the pure-dead-brilliant etc mouthpiece of Strathclyde chic has proved a disillusioning experience over the last couple of months for a Diary correspondent who lives in the City of Culture's west end.Gsw. 1990 John and Willy Maley From the Calton to Catalonia 6:
See him. He's pure mental, by the way.wm.Sc. 1991 Liz Lochhead Bagpipe Muzak 3:
So my big smile'd come across, I'd larded oan lipgloss
And my false eyelashes were mink
With a sky blue crescent that was pure iridescentGsw. 1992 Herald (18 Dec) 12:
The chaps from Neilston looked pure dead brilliant in their tartan ponchos.Sc. 1996 Herald (20 Aug) 8:
While Willie Black, 48, who has used the park as his drinking establishment for 20 years and does not intend to budge, made his pitch to the TV camera, a pair of young mums clucked behind them: "That's a pure sin. It's a disease. He's just a sick wee man."Sc. 1997 Herald (13 June) 21:
She can't speak. Her legs are like jelly. Why? Because she reckons Little Joe is a pure babe.Sc. 1997 Herald (27 June) 7:
The equestrian statue of Wellington outside the Gallery of Modern Art, wearing his usual Monday morning headgear of a traffic cone, is the summer's statement of what constitutes Pure Glasgow.Sc. 2001 Daily Record (3 May) 17:
The Chewin' The Fat sketch is pure dead brilliant because it tells the full-strength, get-it-ower-yer-thrapple-and-chuck-it-up-again truth about our nation and the bevvy.
