Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1781-1857, 1990
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1]
‡SOOM, n.2 Also soam, soum, sum (Jak.). The swimming- or air-bladder of a fish (Arg. 1882 Arg. Herald (3 June); Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928); Ayr. 1930; Uls. 1953 Traynor); in pl., the air-bladder dried and used as food (Sh. 1808 Jam.).Sc. 1781 Caled. Mercury (22 Jan.):
Very fine Cod Sooms, in firkins, or by the pound.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 430:
Herring soam . . . Young girls throw this against a wall, and if it adheres to it in an upright manner, then the husband they get will also be so; if crooked, he will be crooked.s.Sc. c.1830 Proc. Bwk. Nat. Club (1916) 79:
A young man or woman takes the soam by one of the ends and throws it against the wall near by the fire-place, and if it sticks there they will be lucky in all their love undertakings and vice versa unlucky.Ags. 1857 A. Douglas Ferryden 14:
The belief of many absurdities: . . . — that the air-bladder or soom of the herring is also poisonous.Abd. 1990 Stanley Robertson Fish-Hooses (1992) 59:
Firstly, ye hid hundreds of pans of wee pingers and the lassies hid tae wash them by hand and clean oot aa the sooms with a scrubber. Then they threw them ontae a table and I hid tae tie them taegither.
