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Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BUSS, v.¹ See also Busk, v.

1. To deck, adorn. Vbl.n. bussin'.Sc. 1818 Ballad in Edb. Mag. 327:
I'll buss my hair wi' the gowden brume.Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.:
A bonnie bride needs-na muckle bussin'.

2. Specific meanings.

(1) To dress (fish-hooks).Rxb. 1811 A. Scott Poems 18:
To tempt his saunt'ring steps abroad Wi' fly buss'd hook, an' fishing rod.

Comb. huik-busser. See Heuk, n.¹Dmf. 1894 J. Cunningham Broomieburn 210: 
Auld Isaac Fletcher, the huik-busser o' Ecclefechan.

(2) “To bedeck (the Hawick town-flag) with bunches of coloured ribbons, etc. — an annual ceremony performed on the Common-Riding eve” (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). Vbl.n. bussin(g); also used attrib.Peb. 1935 W. Sanderson W.-L.:
The “bussing,” as at present carried out in Peebles, Hawick, Selkirk and Galashiels, means the fixing of coloured ribbons to the flagstaff of the cornet, which is usually done by the lady companion of the latter.Slk. 1921 in Kelso Chron. (24 June) 3/3:
In former years each Corporation and Association had its own bussin' ceremony, but on this occasion a union of the corporations — Hammermen, Weavers, Souters, and Tailors — was effected.Slk. 1935 Edb. Ev. News (17 May):
Miss Jenny Dickson, a well-known Border golfer, is to “buss” the flag of the Selkirk Shoemakers' Incorporation on the “Nicht afore the Morn.”