Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1790-1824, 1895, 1994-1996
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BLELLUM, n. “An idle talking fellow” (Ayr. 1808 Jam.). [′blɛləm]Sc. 1994 Pete Fortune in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 154:
In fact auld Tosh (bad auld blellum he is, mind ye) said he kent as much fur a fact, ... Dundee 1996 Matthew Fitt Pure Radge 18:
a bletherin, blusterin, drunken blellum, sae ye ur
whit a state tae git intae
voamit stens
doon
the back o yir jaiket.Lnk. 1895 W. Stewart Lilts and Larks frae Larkie 70:
Thus he raved, the senseless blellum.Ayr. 1790 Robert Burns Poems and Songs (1969) 443:
She tauld thee weel thou was a skellum,
A blethering, blustering, drunken blellum.Ayr. publ. 1808 Burns To Rev. J. McMath (Cent. ed.) vi.:
An' shall his fame an' honor bleed By worthless skellums, An' not a Muse erect her head To cowe the blellums?Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 75:
Blellum. An ignorant talkative fellow.
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"Blellum n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 1 Apr 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/blellum>
