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.
Quotation dates: 1987-2003
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TANNER BA, n. comb. Also tanner baw. A cheap football.Gsw. 1987 Matt McGinn McGinn of the Calton 175:
When I was just a laddie
I went and asked my maw
If I could have a tanner
To buy a tanner ba'.Sc. 1989 Independent (1 Apr):
Rangers' manager, Graeme Souness, agrees that the emphasis has shifted too far from tanner ba' to track and field.Lnk. 1991 Duncan Glen Selected Poems 33:
Ahint the black pooer o the warks aw would seem desolation,
filth and scrub and rubbish
— but here the tanner-baw helped build Celtic Park's fame.Sc. 1999 Sunday Mail (27 Jun) 15:
There have been a couple of exceptions, fittingly in the home of tanner-ba'. Bill Forsyth's Gregory's Girl was an international hit, and the story of the glaikit goalie and his gal is remembered with affection.Sc. 1999 Herald (18 Sep) 3:
That is where the emphasis must lie in the long-term future here, less nostalgia for the historic culture of the tanner ba' and more stress on the breeding of strong, intelligent athletes.
Comb.: tanner baw player, a football player who has learned his skills on the streets, etc.Sc. 1992 Sunday Times (12 Apr):
Historically, this is not football country. Baxter, Law and Dalglish were children of the tenements, "tanner-ba" players for whom the grim back-close represented the lush green turf and sweeping terraces of Hampden. A tin can for a ball, clothes-poles for goalposts.Sc. 1998 Daily Record (11 Jul) 62:
"When I was a young boy we used to have lots of tanner ba' players. Nowadays those skills have disappeared. ... "Sc. 2000 News of the World (19 Mar):
One of the old school of tanner ba' players we don't seem to produce any more, he's been a refreshing addition to our game.Sc. 2003 Scotland on Sunday (16 Feb) 16 :
With excellent control, ease of movement and a left foot to stir soup with, James possesses all the mesmerising talents utilised by the tanner-ba' players of yesteryear.
