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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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

EESE, n. Also e(e)s(s). n. and ne.Sc. forms of Eng. use (Cai., Bnff., Abd. 1950). See P.L.D. §§ 128, 37, 35. [is]Abd. 1804 W. Tarras Poems 53:
Or yet to pluck me a' in pieces, An' tan my hyde for diff'rent eeses.Bnff. 1847 A. Cumming Tales (1896) 52:
“. . . ither siller things” . . . that she “never heard a name till, nor didna ken the eese o'.” [Ib. p. 83, ese.]Cai. 1890 J. Sinclair Scenes and Stories 191:
Did she tell ye she had 'e eess o' 'e murtcloth?Mry. 1897 J. Mackinnon Braefoot Sk. v.:
It's my opeenion 'at it's nae eese tae pray for rain.Abd. 1942 (per Ags.¹⁷):
I once heard this said in Aberdeen by a man who had been troubled by a lawyer: — “Gin the deil disna get Francie — there's nae eese for a deil.”ne.Sc. 1991 Ken Morrice in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 61:
I canna mind the date or foo mony
years I wis mairrit. The Prime Minister?
That wid be Mister Churchill. Na, na,
that's nae richt either. Is it Mister
Wilson? O laddie, it's nae eese ava. Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 43:
There wis a muckle paper-mashie model o a rig, wi paper divers at its foun an toilet rolls for gas pipes leadin frae the boddom tae a muckle chart on the waa aside Bacon an Eggs' hoosie, wi aa different eeses o ile that wid jist bumbaze ye.

Hence derivs.: (1) eesfa, eesefu', useful; (2) ees(e)less, useless; (3) ees(e)less muckle, too much. All known to Bnff., Abd. correspondents 1951.(1) Abd. 1872 J. G. Michie Deeside Tales 34:
Weel, sir, the money wid nae doubt hae been vera eesfa.Abd. 1926 P. Giles in Abd. Univ. Review (July) 222:
There wiz nae uncanny dealin's aboot it, and Sawtie wiz a rale eesefu' carle t' the countryside.(2) Abd. 1917 C. Murray Sough o' War 27:
Ye eesless, idle, poachin' hurb, ye're lyin' snorin' there, An' Germans cryin to be killed, but deil a hair ye care.(3) Abd. a.1880 W. Robbie Yonderton (1929) 90:
There's a silk nepkin here 'at aw wid like terrable weel, bit she's seekin eeseless muckle for't — it's saiven an' saxpince she says.Mry. 1927 E. B. Levack Stories old Lossiemouth 18:
Did iver ye hear sic a feel mon comin' wi' win' tae hes that has aye eesless muckle o't?