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.
Quotation dates: 1717-1747, 1806-1845, 1902
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TRIP, n.1, v. Sc. usages:
I. n. A turn at dancing.Sc. 1747 Lyon in Mourning (S.H.S.) I. 117:
Some used to take a dance in the cabin; but they could not prevail with her to take a trip.Fif. 1806 A. Douglas Poems 151:
I'm sure a trip o' dancin' Suits best this night.Abd. 1845 J. Milne Essays, etc. 177:
We'll hae a sang, an' maybe a trip i' the barn frae him afore't be lang.
II. v. 1. Phrs.: †(1) to trip over in child bed, of a woman: to be taken in labour; (2) to trip ower the tether, to fail to keep one's bargain, to break one's word, evade one's obligations.(1) Inv. 1717 Steuart Letter Bk. (S.H.S.) 50:
My wife being about to trip over in Child bed.(2) Gall. 1902 Gallovidian IV. 21:
Meg'll trip ower nae tether, an' there can be little fear o' her.
2. Agent n. tripper, a small buoy with a flag marking the location and ownership of lobster-pots sunk off shore (Ags. 1973), prob. from its dancing or bobbing motion.
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"Trip n.1, v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/trip_n1_v>
