Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1718-1733, 1793-1908, 1991-1994
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AJEE, AGEE, adv., pred. adj. [ə′dʒi:]
1. To one side, aside, off the straight. Gen.Sc.Sc. 1718 Ramsay Chr. Kirk iii (Poems 1721) vii.:
[She] Dung a' her Cockernonny A jee that Day.Fif. 1994 Nellie Watson in Joan Watson Memories and Reflections: An East Neuk Anthology 13:
They baith wid tell ye what was richt,
And ne'er tae tell a lee,
They walked the 'straight and narrow way'.
And never gaed agee.Edb. 1844 J. Ballantine Miller of Deanhaugh 30–31:
His little head was thrown ajee.Ayr. 1822 Galt Provost xix.:
I was . . . constrained to loot [bow] a sort a-jee.
2. (Of a door, etc.) Ajar, partly open. Gen.Sc.Dundee 1991 Ellie McDonald The Gangan Fuit 44:
Weill, ye can lave the casement o the muckle chaumer winnock ajee an the muin'll shine in owre.Knr. 1886 “H. Haliburton” Horace in Homespun 104:
An' Geordie wi' his jaws ajee A ballant roarin'!Edb. 1844 J. Ballantine Miller of Deanhaugh 21:
Ye'd better wait till the yett's ajee.Ayr. 1793 Burns Whistle and I'll, etc. i.:
Come nae unless the back-yett be a-jee.w.Dmf. 1908 J. L. Waugh Robbie Doo (2nd ed.) 25–26:
There wasna . . . a lum reekin, or a door agee.
3. fig. Aside, off the straight; in or into a disturbed or disordered state, esp. “applied to the mind, as expressive of some degree of derangement” (Jam.2); tipsy. Gen.Sc.Sc. 1733 in Ramsay T. T. Misc. (1762) 32:
Let ne'er a new whim ding thy fancy a jee.Sc. 1816 Scott O. Mortality xxxvii.:
His brain was awee agee, but he was a braw preacher for a' that.Sc. 1887 R. L. Stevenson Underwoods, The Maker to Posterity i.:
When a' we think, an' a' we see, An' a' we luve, 's been dung ajee By time's rouch shouther.Bnff. 1905 J. Goodsman Macduff in Bnffsh. Jnl. (28 Mar.) 13:
The railin' roun' the harbour quay Keeps folk frae droonin' when agee.Edb. 1894 P. H. Hunter J. Inwick 138:
There's naethin sets the jidgment ajee like the thocht o' oor ain interests bein affeckit.Uls. 1898 A. McIlroy The Auld Meetin'-Hoose Green iii.:
Their theology, a'm telt, is a' agee.
