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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

DAD, DAUD, Dawd, Dadd(e), Daad, Dod, Daed, v.¹, n.², adv. [dɑ(:)d Sc., but Bnff., m.Sc., s.Sc. + dǫ(:)d)]

I. v.

1. tr. To strike so as to shake; to jolt (sometimes with about); to beat or throw with violence; “to thrash or abuse” (Rxb. c.1920 Mr Clelland W.-L.). Also in n.Eng. dial. (E.D.D.). Vbl.n. daddin, a beating; ppl.adj. dauded, dawdit, imbedded (by knocking in); “abused, hurt” (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 161, dauded); “ill-used” (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 36). Gen.Sc.Sc. c.1707 Queen Anne in Jacobite Minstrelsy (1829) 39:
Ane daudit her wi' a flail.Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.:
He daddet it doon.Cai.⁷ 1939:
He wis duntan an' dawdan e poor mannie.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 36:
She's a peer dawdit lassie.Abd. c.1790 G. Smith Miscellaneous Pieces (1824) 137:
Ere I were dauded, cadg'd, an' cuff'd like you.m.Lth.¹ 1948:
"To dad the hands" is to beat them against the sides to restore circulation.Per. 1857 J. Stewart Sketches p. xcvi.:
When he had . . . dawdit his bonnet on the nearest stone.Fif. 1825 Jam.²:
I'se gi'e you your daddins; I will beat you.Ayr. 1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage, etc. 175:
Clansmen . . . riving up the auld deep dauded tether sticks o' their allegiance.Dmf. 1849 T. Carlyle in J. A. Froude Life (1884–85) II. 10:
2 Sept.: With a nervous system all “dadded about” by coach travel, rail travel.

Comb. dadding-stone, see quot. Sc. 1850 J. Grant Sc. Cavalier xii.:
On one side of the door was a turf seat, on the other a daddingstone, where (in the ancient fashion) the barley was cleansed every morning.

2. intr. To dash or bump about, to thud. Sometimes with refl. force.Sc. 1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona xv.:
They pu'd him up like a deid corp, dadding on the craig.Sc. 1929 Spectator (20 July) 82/2:
[To a blackbird caught in a net] Puir beast! Ye've fluttered and daudit i' dumb distraction.Ork. 1920 J. Firth Reminisc. (1922) 118–19:
Such was the anguish of one old woman on experiencing this wanton destruction of her property that, in her own words, “she gaed tae the back o' the hoose an' dadded like a sinloo.”Edb. 1812 P. Forbes Poems 163:
Now Will the weaver rode sae kittle, Ye'd thought he was a flying shuttle, His doup it daddet like a bittle.Ayr. 1901 “G. Douglas” Green Shutters vi.:
The lichtnin sent the trees daudin on the roads.

3. tr. To pelt; to bespatter (Abd.², Lnk.³ 1939).Sh.⁹ 1947:
He daddet me wi' snaaie baas.Ags. 1833 J. S. Sands Poems 43:
Ilk fool that claims your honours bright Wi' missiles dad him.Peb. 1805 J. Nicol Poems I. 35:
An' a' his cleathin daudit Wi' glaur that day.

4. intr. Of wind, rain, etc.: to blow in gusts; to pelt, to drive. Known to Bnff.², Abd.⁹, Fif.¹⁰, Edb.¹, Lnk.³ 1939, Bwk.² 1948. Usu. in ppl.adj. daudin', driving.Sc. 1878 D. Vedder Poems, etc. 168:
The norlan' blast frae yonte the binne May skelpe an' dadde fu' snelle an' dour.Sh.⁹ 1947:
Da reek's daddin doon.Lnk. 1919 G. Rae Clyde and Tweed 46:
And the daudin' wunds brocht the seepin' rain.Ayr. 1785 Burns Third Ep. to J. Lapraik (Cent. ed.) iii.:
I'm bizzie, too' an' skelpin at it; But bitter, daudin showers hae wat it.

5. tr. To slam (a door); intr. (of the door itself) to bang. Often with to. Known to Bnff.², Abd.⁹, Ags.², Fif.¹⁰, Slg.³, Lnk.³, Kcb.¹⁰ 1939. Ppl.adj. dading.Sc. 1722 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) III.30:
This said, he dadded too the Yet.Sh.(D) 1891 J. J. H. Burgess Rasmie's Büddie 12:
An sae on da brig-staens I laands him his lent; An dads tü da door.Edb. 1843 J. Ballantine Gaberlunzie's Wallet, Intro. 10:
The half open door, dauded to wi' a dirl.Rnf. 1790 A. Wilson Poems 185:
The sclates are hurling down in hun'res, The dading door an' winnock thun'ers.

6. Phrs.: (1) to dad about, to wander, to “knock about” (Kcb.¹⁰ 1939); (2) to dad down, to fall down heavily (Fif.¹⁰ 1939); (3) to daud on, to knype on, to jog along; (4) to dad wi' the blue bonnet, see Blue Bonnet.(1) Sc. 1831 S. E. Ferrier Destiny III. iv.:
To think of Glenroy's daughter going dadden about the country in a gig!(2) Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems 200:
Swith to Castalius' Fountain-Brink, Dad down a Grouf, and take a Drink.(3) Abd. 1923 J. Coutts in Swatches 61:
Ay, Meggie, lass, ye're daudin on.

II. n.

1. A heavy blow, a knock or thump, a thud; "a sudden and violent dash or throw" (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 36). Also in n.Cy. and Nhb. dial. (E.D.D.). Dim. daudie. Gen.Sc. Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems 37:
Whan Jet-black Hair and Brigs of Noses, Faw down wi' Dads. Sh.(D) 1891 J. J. H. Burgess Rasmie's Büddie 23:
An mony a dadd we're hed sin dan, An mony a scart an batter. m.Sc. 1870 J. Nicholson Idylls o' Hame 47:
The very best folk whiles deserve a bit daudie. Ayr.¹ 1910:
My feet skited and doon I cam wi a daud. s.Sc. 1938 J. Keddie in Border Mag. (Feb.) 30:
She drew off and gied Aleck the dangedest daud i' the lug ye ever saw - or heard!

2. A clapping of the hands, "or thumping of the fist on the table" (Fif.¹⁰ 1939). Dmf. [1777] J. Mayne Siller Gun (1808) 57:
"Dumfries, and a' its bonny Lasses, And gallant Lads," Were drank in magnum-bonum glasses, Wi ruffs and dads!

3. A large piece knocked off; a lump of any solid matter (Sc. 1808 Jam., dawd, daud; Mry.¹ 1925, dawd; Abd.⁶ 1913, daad; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Uls.² 1929); a large quantity of anything. Known to Bnff.², Abd. correspondents, Ags.², Fif.¹⁰, Slg.³, Edb.¹, Arg.¹, Lnk.³, Kcb.¹⁰ 1939. Also used fig. and applied contemptuously to persons. Found in n.Eng. dial. (E.D.D.). Sc. 1721 J. Kelly Proverbs 284:
Raw Dawds make fat Lads. . . . Spoken when we give a good piece of Meat to a young Boy. Sc. a.1776 D. Herd Sc. Songs (2nd ed.) 28:
A daad of a bannock or herring-brie. Sc. 1989 Scotsman 31 Jul 11:
Last week the Scottish Tourist Board held a meeting with assorted interested parties as to how they might maximise golf tourism. The difficulty it faces is that the administrators of some of the more hallowed dauds of golfing turf don't exactly welcome worshippers from overseas with outstretched arms.Sc. 1999 Herald 9 Oct 11:
Speaking as someone whose idea of sculpture is a dod of intricately-shaped froth on the top of a pint, I have to say that this trail is actually most fascinating. Abd. 1995 Sheena Blackhall Lament for the Raj 8:
Yonner lies brukken cheena, roosty metal,
Crackit pipes and furled dauds o wire Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 2:
A tounsman or an incomer luikin at Morven, or Mortlach, or Lochnagar even, wad jist see a daud o scenery, nae mair, nae less. Ags. 1993 Willa Muir in Joy Hendry Chapman 74-5 95:
The bairns are fairly louping in the womb,
Lunting and lamming oot,
Riving great dads oot o' the Christian sky,
And the Universe is feeling a wee bit sick. Fif. 1992 Simon Taylor Mortimer's Deep 251:
'...It wis the blessit Colum Cillie hissel heistit the deid-kist ower the side like it was a dod a sharn...' Per. 1990 Betsy Whyte Red Rowans and Wild Honey (1991) 89:
'Oh hey! is that oatcake you are makin'? Gie's a daed o' it! It smells fine,' she went on. m.Sc. 1898 J. Buchan John Burnet of Barns i. iii.:
And what dae ye ca' yoursel' but a great, God-forsaken dad o' a man. m.Sc. 1989 James Meek McFarlane Boils the Sea 158:
' ... The point is that mother's just a word, I know, and this big stupid dod of lager and slime' - she poked him again - 'has fuck all to do with the wee pink wriggly thing with the clutching hands and no teeth I got handed in the infirmary....' Slg. 1935 W. D. Cocker Further Poems 51:
Sae God made heaven an' earth; syne keekin' doon He saw the new warld soom, a shapeless dod. Gsw. 1972 Molly Weir Best Foot Forward (1974) 68:
It was cold and wet and heavy to dig out, but we lugged back great dods of it... Gsw. 1985 Anna Blair Tea at Miss Cranston's 66:
Message-boys puffed up the stairs with great baskets of groceries on their heads, carrying dawds of butter spaded-out from big slabs... Gsw. 1987 James Kelman Greyhound for Breakfast (1988) 129:
Take a look out there, he says, it's a fucking disgrace. Here I am trying to run a doctor's surgery and I can hardly get fucking moving for dirt and dust and dods of garbage man blowing in the fucking door every time it gets opened ... Gsw. 1992 Herald 27 Nov 16:
Peter Lamont of Kilmarnock did a daud of literary translation from the Scots with Dona Nobis Fractus, Jacobus (Gie's a Break Jimmy) and Sursum Instita Tua (Up Your Kilt). Gsw. 1999 Herald 6 Sep 24:
The food on the island is superb. If you haven't eaten real Greek food try the meze - wee dauds of everything. s.Arg. 1917 A. W. Blue Quay Head Tryst 49:
Hame again, Dougie . . . wi dads o' Greek in yer heid. Rxb. 1826 A. Scott Poems 54:
Wi' spuilzie, too, we eith our dwallins cram, An' gust our gabs wi' dainty dauds o' lamb.

4. Phr.: dads and blads,†(1) = Blads and Dawds, q.v.; †(2) "sometimes used to denote the greatest abundance" (Fif. 1825 Jam.²). (1) Per. 1737 Ochtertyre House Booke (S.H.S.) 8:
(25 Jan.) Dinner dads and blads fouls in it.

III. Used adv. in such phrs. as to come dad, to play - (daud, dod), to fall with a heavy thud (Bnff.², Abd.², Ags.², Fif.¹⁰, Slg.³, Edb.¹, Kcb.¹⁰ 1939). Sc. 1718 Ramsay Chr. Kirk iii. xiii. in Poems (1721):
He like a Fail, Play'd dad, and dang the Bark Aff's Shins that Day. Sc. 1908 A. C. Martin in Glasgow Ballad Club III. 57:
But when the winds are howlin' mad, And ower the bow the waves come dad, Tak' my advice, O Davie lad - Gang doon the caebin, Davie. Ayr. 1790 A. Tait Poems 133:
When ye [lint seed] war ripe, the bows play'd dod. Gall. 1930 (per Wgt.³):
The sheep's heid fell ower yin o' his shouthers an' the trotters play't daud a' roun' him.