Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1956
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TUSSI, n. A tassel, tuft, cluster as of grass, straw, hair (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl., Sh. 1973). Comb. tussi-girse, a species of coarse meadow-grass, Poa flabellata, found in Shetland but appar. an import from the Falkland Islands. Cf. Eng. tussock-grass, id.Sh. 1956 U. Venables Life in Shet. 55:
The local people planted this tussi girse . . . and harvested its tough fibrous leaves in autumn for rope making.
