Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

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.

†TWIG, v.² 1. To put cross-ropes on the thatch of a house (Slk. 1825 Jam.). Hence twig-rape, a cross-rope put on the thatch of a house (Id.).

2. To hold in, contain.Per. 1864 R. M. Fergusson Village Poet (1897) 140:
An' canna comprehend, O Linn, how ever Your narry shops can twig this mighty river.