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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1934 (SND Vol. I). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BANG, v.¹, tr. and intr., adv.

A. v. As in St.Eng. To strike or to close violently and noisily, to explode, to slam. The following usages are more esp. Scottish.

1. v.tr. Surpass, excel, beat, overcome, thrash; colloq. and vulgar according to Un. Eng. Dict. and colloq. according to N.E.D. and Shorter Oxf. Eng. Dict. The sense of throw with sudden movement (refl. or tr.) is regarded by N.E.D. as dial.

(1) Beat, surpass, excel. Gen.Sc.Sc. [1827] Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) I. 349:
As for your prose, nane bangs it, serious or comic, ludicrous or shublime.Abd. 1841 J. Imlah Poems, etc. 186:
And Athole ne'er was bang'd for brose.Kcb. 1885 A. J. Armstrong Friend and Foe xxix.:
An' ye ken a woman can bang a man ony time, when there's prudence an' forethocht in the bargain.

(2) Defy, overcome, thrash, also fig. Gcn.Sc.Ags. 1856 W. Grant Poet. Pieces 45:
Curs'd pride an' wealth may scout an' bang us Because we roose ye.Edb. 1773 R. Fergusson Sc. Poems (1925) 38:
What bangs fu' leal the e'enings coming cauld.Rxb. 1868 D. Anderson Musings 11:
Kirk session law, he bang'd it a', Did Cuillie Jock o' auld Blink-bonny. vbl.n. bangin', (a) jolting; (b) thrashing.(a) Arg. 1907 N. Munro Daft Days xxix.:
I cam' wi' the coach frae Maryfield, and my heart's in a palpitation wi' sic briengin' and bangin' ower heughs and hills.(b) Kcb. 1789 D. Davidson Seasons, etc. (Spring) 20:
The Yankies brattled down the brae, To save themselves a bangin.

(3) With complementary adv. or prep.

(a) With up and into, tune up vigorously, change violently, throw violently, strike up (a tune).Sc. 1774 Boswell Ominous Years (Pottle 1963) 332: 
To my no small surprise they banged up the tune of "God save the King" . . . I was so used to the word bang that I could hardly believe it was not English, but the expression in English is struck up.Ayr. 1790 A. Tait Poems, etc. 229:
Bang up your pipes, auld John McLean.Ayr. 1892 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage, etc. and Poems 191:
Or her wha for a woman's faut Was bang'd into a lump o' saut.

(b) With out, throw hastily or violently, face out boldly.Sc. 1822 Scott F. Nigel xxvii.:
In Scotland . . . nobles can bang it out bravely, were it even with the King himself, now and then.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore 137:
Then I'll bang out my beggar dish, An' stap it fou o' meal.Ags. 1820 A. Balfour Contemplation, etc. 262:
This decent, sober, prudent woman Bangs out her blankets.

2. v.intr.

(1) To hurry to do a thing.Edb. 1822 R. Wilson Poems 7:
“O John!” cries Maggie, “we're undone! Fye man, look sharp, bang to your shoon, An' no be murder'd i' your bed.”Kcb. 1814 J. Train Strains of the Mountain Muse 22:
And e'en as fast as I could bang, I bicker'd down the mountain's side.

ppl.adj. bangin'.Ags. 1846 A. Laing Wayside Flowers (1857) 109:
An' now they're bizzy ear' an' late, Our buskin', bangin' lasses yet.

Phrase: to tet bang at, to make an effort at.ne.Sc.(D) 1921 J. Wight in Swatches o' Hamespun 9:
Sae Jeems . . . loot bang at the heich notes o' Bangor wi sic a roar.

(2) With adv. complement, but no obj.

(a) With aff, let oneself go, “fire away.”Bnff. 1866 W. Gregor D.Bnff. 216:
He thocht he hid naething mair adee nor choose a text, munt the poopiet, an' bang aff.

(b) With in, enter, move in a forcible or noisy fashion.Ags. 1776 C. Keith The Farmer's Ha' 12:
In does the gauger quickly bang, Wi' visage awfu', In quest o' some forbidden fang, Or goods unlawfu'.Edb. 1811 H. MacNeill Bygane Times 55:
Customers bang in at e'en. . . . And aften miss the Maister's face.

(c) With out, rush out, fall out violently.Sc. 1728 Ramsay Poems II. 111:
Yet blythly wald I bang out o'er the brae.Ags. 1820 A. Balfour Contemplation, etc. 272:
She bang'd out o'er, rax'd him a chair.e.Dmf. 1894 J. Cunningham Broomieburn iii.:
The gentleman he bangs oot juist as she coupit.

(d) With up, jump, rise hastily. Gen.Sc.Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems 339:
The Hunter with his Hounds and Hawks Bangs up afore his Wife awakes.Per. 1895 R. Ford Tayside Songs 175:
An' stuck preens in his seat! An' sune's the dainty man sat down He bang'd up wi' a yowl.Edb. 1794 H. MacNeill Upshot o' the Hist. o' Will and Jean (1796) 20:
Up he bang'd; and sair afflicted, Sad and silent took the road.Ayr. 1879 R. Adamson Lays of Leisure Hours 123:
An' tho' at antrin' times ye fa' . . . Bang up again, yer girr tae ca'.Kcb. 1912 A. Anderson Surfaceman's Later Poems 2:
He aye sleeps next the wa' — Bangs up an cries, “I want a piece,” The rascal starts them a'.

†(3) “A term used in salmon-fishing, as signifying that the fishers push off with their boats at random, without having seen any fish in the channel” (Jam. 1808 for Abd.).

B. adv. The verb stem is used like an adv., gen. with verbs of motion, come, go, send, often with advs. or preps. in, through, up, out, as in St.Eng. to indicate a sudden blow (see quot.). In the sense of suddenly, all at once, all the examples in N.E.D. are Sc.

1. To indicate a sudden action.Sc. 1818 S. Ferrier Marriage II. xi.:
Ilk ane gangs bang in till their neebor's hooss, and bang oo't [sic] o't as it war a chynge hooss.

2. Suddenly, all at once. He hadna been an oor in London when bang gaed saxpence. [Popular joke about the economical Scot.]