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Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

CAIRRY, Carie, Cary, Caerry, Cerry, v. Sc. forms and usages of St.Eng. carry. The forms kairy (Ork. 1920 J. Firth Reminisc. Ork. Par. (1922) 126) and kerry (Sh. 1919 T. Manson Humours Peat Comm. II. 48) are also found.

Sc. forms of Eng. carry.em.Sc. 2000 James Robertson The Fanatic 118:
'Ye are correct, sir,' he replied. 'I cairrit urgent messages tae the Toun.'em.Sc. 2000 James Robertson The Fanatic 229:
' ... I packed aw the stuff I had intae a suitcase and a few bags. I pit a note on the stuff I couldna cairry - a box o books, a few auld claes ... .'Gsw. 1990 John and Willy Maley From the Calton to Catalonia 36:
How come they stoapped the wummin fae cerryin guns? If ma sister wiz here she'd want a rifle in her hauns an a bandoleer ower her shooder.

Sc. usages:

†1. To conduct, escort, lead. Now arch. or dial. in Eng. (N.E.D.).Sc. 1707 Account Bk. Sir J. Foulis (S.H.S. 1894):
Jan. 20: To w^m douglas y^t he gave to Jonie jonstoune to carie his charges w^t the 2 horses to dunipace . . . 0. 3. 6.Sc. 1733–1734 J. Cockburn Letters (S.H.S. 1904) 6:
To a jockey's combing and brushing his horse and putting a white clean bridle upon his head the morning before carrying him to markett.Sc. 1861 E. B. Ramsay Reminisc. (2nd Series) iii.:
Mrs Campbell gave him [the servant] very particular instructions regarding visitors, explaining, that they were to be shown into the drawing-room, and no doubt used the Scotticism, “Carry any ladies that call up stairs.”n.Sc. c.1730 E. Burt Letters North Scot. (ed. Jamieson 1818) I. 66, Note:
They talk of . . . getting on the back of a cart-horse, and carrying him to grass.

†2. To behave. Obs. earlier in Eng., last quot. 1673 (N.E.D.).Sc. a.1714 First Earl of Cromartie in Earls of Crm. (ed. Fraser 1876) II. 482:
Dureing his lyfe he not only protected the country by his power, but he caryed so, that non wes els estemed a better neighbour to his friends, nor a juster maister to his dependers.Sc. 1726 R. Wodrow Corresp. (1843) III. 267:
I hope the youth will carry so as he may not be ashamed of the God of his fathers.

Hence caryadge, behaviour.Sc. a.1714 First Earl of Cromartie in Earls of Crm. (ed. Fraser 1876) II. 482:
In that on thing of his caryadge to his first wyfe, he is justly reprowable.

3. Ppl.adj. carried, carri(e)t, carryit, cairri(e)t, caerry't, (1) transported (in spirit), elated; conceited; harebrained; known to Bnff.², Ags.¹, Slg.³, Lnk.³ 1938; now obs. in Eng. (N.E.D.); (2) “delirious (in cases of fever)” (Fif.¹⁰ 1938); (3) applied to eggs: imported; (4) of sandwiches or other food, packed for consumption elsewhere (Bnff., Ayr. 2000s).(1) Sc. 1701–1731 R. Wodrow Analecta (Maitland Club 1843) III. 120:
He was in (such) a great rapture that he knew not well sometime what he was doing . . . his spirit was so wonderfully carried and ravished.Sc. 1827 Scott Chrons. Canongate, Croftangry v.:
Shanet will pay ye the fifteen of change that ye ran away without, and without bidding Shanet good day. But never mind (nodding good-humouredly) Shanet saw you were carried for the time.Abd.¹⁹ 1938:
She's a carriet craitur wi' hir heed i' the air.Ayr. 1821 Galt Ayrsh. Legatees 54:
Indeed, he has given hints about the saving that might be made by buying one [a carriage] of our own; but my mother shakes her head, and says, “Andrew, dinna be carri't.”Rxb. 1825 Jam.²:
Jenny's gotten an heirscaip left her, and she's just carryit about it.Ant., Dwn. 1930 (per Uls.³):
“A cairrit away crathir,” a light-headed, hare-brained person.(2) Sc. 1837 Wilson's Tales of the Borders III. 90:
O sir! his mind has been carried ever since.Fif.¹⁰ 1938:
He was awfu' carried for a while through the nicht.Gall.(D) 1901 Trotter Gall. Gossip 6:
Yer faither took . . . the Typhus Fivver. . . . He gaed clean caerry't the third day, an ken't naething an naebuddy.(3) Lth. 1938 (per Lnk.³):
In the Lothians a distinction used to be drawn between “country eggs” and “cairriet eggs,” i.e. between “home produce” and “imported.”(4) Sc. 1991 T. S. Law in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 33:
A better piece this gied the men
nor onie auld, cauld, cairriet yin
athin a flask an piece-box tin
a man wuid pootsh whuin gaun his ben.

4. Phrases: (1) carry my lady to London, a children's game; †(2) to carry coals, to submit to any indignity; †(3) to carry the worl' before one, to prosper, to succeed in life.(1) Uls. 1880 W. H. Patterson Gl. Ant. and Dwn.:
In this game two children grasp each other by the wrists, forming a seat, on which another child sits, who is thus carried about, while the bearers sing — “Give me a pin to stick in my thumb, To carry my lady to London; Give me another, to stick in my other, To carry her a little bit farther.”(2) Sc. 1822 Scott F. Nigel i.:
You may get a broken head — he looks not as if he would carry coals.(3) Ayr. 1887 J. Service Dr Duguid 98:
He was lifted up to an extraordinar' degree to see me carrying the worl' so weel before me.

5. Also used pass.: to be carried, esp. in pr.ppl. in apposition. Per. 1910 W. Blair Kildermoch 119:
Sic a cauld-rife heart I had to God, carryin' aboot in my breast awa' to the fishin'.m.Lth. 1857 Misty Morning 287:
The stranger having a dog carrying round his neck. Edb. 1925 C. P. Slater Marget Pow 158:
When you've cats carryin'.Wgt. 1877 "Saxon" Gall. Gossip 204:
She was one day going to Stranraer with some tins carrying.