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: 1818-1925, 1987
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BAISIES, BAZIES, BA(I)SES, Beezie, Beezy, n. Also ¶paces. Rounders, handball. [′be:ziz, ′be:zɪ̢z Sc.; ′bi:ziz Ags.]Bnff.(D) 1882 W. M. Philip K. MacIntosh's Scholars 16:
A band of boys happened to be playing at the “Bazies” (Bases), a game of ball.Bnff.(D) 1917 E. S. Rae Private J. M'Pherson, etc. (1918) 30:
It's nae sae verra lang seen sin' they a' waur at the skweel, Playin' baisies, bools, an' literin' late tae watch the mullert's wheel.Abd. 1901 R. C. Maclagan Games of Argyleshire 22:
This is also called Rounders. In Aberdeenshire it is played as Bases.Ags. 1925 Forfar Dispatch (16 July) 3/3:
We hid races an' jumpin' an' playin' at beezie.Dundee 1987 Norman Lynn Row Laddie Sixty Years On 59:
Football and cricket were discouraged in the confinement of the back-coorty, so Beezy, where the ball was struck with bare hand and less likely to cause damage, was substituted. A sketchy imitation of the American baseball, and the rules tended to change at the whim of the biggest boy, especially if it was 'his ba''.
Comb.: ba'-baises, ball-paces, the game of prisoner's base or rounders.Sc. 1818 E. Picken Dict. of Sc. Language:
Ba'-baises, the name of a particular game at ball.Per. 1836 G. Penny Traditions 116:
The Ball Paces was formerly much played; but is now almost extinct. In this game a square was formed; and each angle was a station where one of the party having the innings was posted. A hole was dug in the ground, sufficient to hold the ball, which was placed on a bit of wood, rising about six inches above the ball. The person at the hole struck the point of this with a bat, when the ball rose; and in its descent was struck with the bat to as great a distance as possible. Before the ball was caught and thrown into the batman's station, each man at the four angles ran from one point to another; and every point counted one in the game.
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"Baisies n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 8 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/baisies>


