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About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

Quotation dates: 1871, 1928

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BLACK STRAP, n.

1. Weak table-beer.Abd.(D) 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxiv.:
I wud 'a gi'en a bottle o' black strap till 'a been there.

2. Black treacle.Bch. 1928 (per Abd.¹⁵); Abd.¹⁹ (Deeside) 1934:
We get a lick o' black strap to wir breid (oatcakes).

[In colloq. Eng. black strap is a name given to an inferior kind of port, or to a mixture of rum and treacle. See N.E.D. and Un. Eng. Dict.]

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"Black Strap n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/black_strap>

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