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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

STRUNT, n.1, v.1 [strʌnt]

I. n. 1. A fit of pique or pettishness, the huff, the sulks, freq. in pl. and in phr. to tak the strunt(s) (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Dmf. 1925 Trans. Dmf. and Gall. Antiq. Soc. XIII. 40; Lth. 1926 Wilson Cent. Scot. 269; Uls. 1931 Northern Whig (17 Dec.) 10; Arg. 1936 L. McInnes Dial. S. Kintyre 15; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Rxb. 1942 Zai; m. and s.Sc. 1971). Also in n.Eng. dial. Adj. strunty, pettish, out of humour (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.).Sc. 1719 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 107:
Is that ye'r Jo Has tae'n the Strunt?Ags. 1776 C. Keith Farmer's Ha' 21:
Take tent, and nae wi' strunts offend.Bwk. 1821 W. Sutherland Poems 90:
Least he'd tane the strunt again.Dmf. 1826 H. Duncan William Douglas III. iii.:
You are still in the strunts about the prisoners.Slk. 1875 Border Treasury (17 April) 432:
He had taen the strunts aboot Wullie's wipe at 'im.m.Lth. 1894 P. H. Hunter J. Inwick 31:
The laird took the strunt on the heid o't, an' gied ower comin to the kirk.Rxb. 1918 Kelso Chronicle (19 April) 4:
The tyler takes the strunts, bids Bella gude-night.Slg. 1935 W. D. Cocker Further Poems 56:
The tinkler's cuddie took the strunts An' deil an inch would steer.

2. Strife, enmity, hostility.Sc. 1776 D. Herd Sc. Songs II. 222:
The steerer up o' strunt and strife.Rnf. 1835 D. Webster Rhymes 110:
I'm but ill suited for a life, Sae fu' o struggle, strunt, and strife.Sc. 1882 C. Mackay Poetry and Humour Sc. Lang. 343:
Strunt and sturt are birds of ae feather, And aft are seen on the wing thegither.

3. A person of sulky disposition, a surly person (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 185).Ayr. 1790 A. Tait Poems 223:
Then ye'll ken the foul thief's tribes You nasty strunt.

II. v. 1. To offend, pique, affront (a person). Hence struntit, offended, huffed, in a pet (Rxb. 1825 Jam., 1923 Watson W.-B.; Uls. 1929).Rxb. 1825 Jam.:
He strunted the puir lass.Hebr. 1897 E. Hamilton Outlaws xix.:
There's naething in a' the world that strunts him sae muckle as you.Sc. c.1925 R. Thomas Sandie McWhustler's Waddin' 94:
I ken fine ye wadna like tae be strunted afore ony o' them.

2. To sulk, to go about in a huff (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 185; Inv., ne.Sc., Bwk., wm., sm.Sc., Rxb. 1971).Fif. 1909 J. C. Craig Sangs o' Bairns 3:
He'll no' greet, nor glunch, nor strunt.Arg. 1917 A. W. Blue Quay Head Tryst 225:
He'll strunt for a week if he catches me wi' anythin' no' tae his fancy.Abd. 1961 Buchan Observer (7 March):
Throu' a' the evenin' she struntit but an' ben wantin' a word.

[Prob. orig. a nasalised variant of Mid.Eng. strut, strife, contention, from the weak ablaut grade of O.E. *strūt. The corresponding O.E. verb. is strūtian, Eng. strut, to swagger, †to swell, protrude, which has a sim. Sc. variant in Strunt, v.2 For the semantic development cf. the cogn. Dan. strutta, to resist obstinately, Norw. dial. strotta, to sulk, strunten, piqued, offended, Ger. dial. straussen, to wrangle. See also the metathetic form Sturt.]

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