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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.

HEEDRUM-HODRUM, n. Also heederum-hoderum, heedrum-huderum, heedrum hoodrum
Derogatory term for Highland music. Also attrib. Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 19:
... the spreit that lowps whaun it meets
the swecht o oor true past, and greets
no oot o seep-sappin heedrum-hodrum
but oot o whit we were, ... Sc. 1992 Herald 16 May 11:
"Let's hear it for the teuchters!" cries Rab, as the ceilidh gets underway and he and Jamsie discover that two centuries of heederum-hoderum have given Scotland a corporate logo as Highland myth becomes Lowland lore.Sc. 1996 Times 24 Aug :
Once in the Oyster Bar of the Cafe Royal in Edinburgh he used the traditional method of "mouth music" to illustrate his pibroch ... it was an incomprehensible "heederum-hoderum" but they could not have known that the distinguished-looking kilted and bearded scholar was giving a demonstration of an art form which stretches far back into history.Sc. 1997 Sunday Times 26 Oct :
Some Scots were offended when he refused to put tartan trimming on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Heedrum hoodrum ceremony is, apparently, out of sync with the "vibrant, modern Britain" he is trying to promote.Sc. 2000 Edinburgh Evening News 14 Nov 18:
Their traditional haunt and hub of the heedrum-huderum, the West End Hotel in Palmerston Place, where Gaels gang up, has changed hands.Sc. 2002 Sunday Herald 29 Dec 1:
Hogmanay show foul-ups became a source of great angst and indeed national shame as the newspapers would examine the entrails of another example of rotten New Year TV fare. One year, Scottish TV in ironic mode, mounted a parody. It was set in the mythical Heedrum Hodrum Hotel.Sc. 2003 Evening Times 11 Apr 14:
I was horrified recently to discover that the journey now features a pre-recorded video extolling the virtues of the capital accompanied by a heedrum-hodrum dirge with repetitive beat.Sc. 2004 Scotsman 20 Nov 4:
Eye-popping knitwear and heedrum-hodrum tunes are usually the things most associated with fiddle music.