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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

STRANG, n. Urine which has been collected and allowed to stand for some time to be used as a lye for bleaching or as liquid manure in a dunghill (sm.Sc. 1825 Jam., Dmf. 1925 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. XIII. 40; I. and n.Sc. 1971).Ags. 1790 D. Morison Poems 14:
Ned swore they smelt o' strang Right strong that day.
Mry. 1810 J. Cock Simple Strains 137:
[He] stapit baith in Kettie's pig, An' steepit them right weel 'Mang strang, that night.
Abd. 1840 Kempy Kay in Child Ballads (1898) V. 213:
An she has faen to the stale strang, Seven year auld an more.
Ork. 1924 P. Ork. A.S. II. 79:
An old man once told me that there was nothing like “strang” for making boots “limber.” It was used in dyeing, and largely in washing.

In combs.: (1) strang bing, a hole in the ground in which urine was collected (Ork. 1971). See Bing, n.1 (4); (2) strang-hole, a seepage pit in a midden (see quot.) (I. and n.Sc. 1971); (3) strang pig, a large jar or vessel in which the strang was kept (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 439; Ork., Abd. 1971). See Pig, n.2; (4) strang-tub, id. (Cai. 1904 E.D.D.; Ork. 1971). All now obsol. or hist.(1) Ork. 1908 Old-Lore Misc. I. v. 182:
Maidens who wished a peep into the future pulled from the fire a half burnt peat. This was carried carefully home, dipped in the “strang bing” and laid above the “odder stone,” or lintel, till next morning when it was taken down with much fear and trembling, broken across, and the colour of the fibry material still holding between the two parts, decided the colour of her future husband's hair.
(2) Abd. 1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick iii.:
Outside the “closs” behind the steading where the byre and the stable met was the “stranghole”, which was fed by the rain from heaven reinforced by the liquid discharge from the byre and the stable.
Abd. 1963 Evening Express (11 Oct.):
One of her chums fell into the “strang hole.”
Abd. 1993:
E dyeuks aye likes tae splyter in e strang hole.
(3) Abd. 1847 Gill Binklets 24:
“Ye ha'e broken my strang pig.” This was a large jar for containing stale master against the washing day.

[A subst. use of Strang, adj., strong, rank, arising from a reduced form of O.Sc. strang wesche, id., 1540. See Wash.]

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"Strang n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/strang_n>

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