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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 1976 and 2005 supplements.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

FLUIR, n., v. Sc. form of Eng. floor. Also flure, flair, flare, flaer, flerr (m. and s.Sc.); fler; flör, flür(e), flüer (Sh.), fleur (Ork.); fleer, †flear (ne.Sc.); †floer, †flour. [I., m., s.Sc. flør, m.Sc. + fle:r; ne.Sc. fli:r, ‡flu(ə)r]

1. As in Eng. Vbl.n. †flouring, fluring, flooring.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore 39:
Peace be therein, says he upo' the floer, She turns about, an says, ye're welcome here.Abd. 1807 Deeside Field (1927) 40:
To five house dors & cuples windows flouring and silling . . . £5 5 0Rnf. a.1810 R. Tannahill Poems (1876) 362:
Young Ann whamelt him owre on the flair.Abd. 1868 G. Macdonald R. Falconer II. xxii.:
There's nae flurin' there. Haud i' the middle efter me, or ye'll gang throu.e.Lth. 1876 J. Teenan Song and Satire 12:
A muckle chair upon the fluir Contained my Lord the Provost.Wgt. 1880 G. Fraser Lowland Lore 134:
He at once joined the dance, and, according to his own account, he was “never aff the flure the haill nicht.”Sh. 1899 J. Spence Folk-Lore 120:
There were several names applied to the sea bottom, such as the flör.Fif. 1939 St Andrews Cit. (25 Jan.) 5:
Rattans scramblin' ower the ruif An 'neath the flair.Kcd. 1950 Dennis Smith ed. The Third Statistical Account of Scotland: The county of Kincardine (1988) 63:
Afore the fire folk couldna' sit for fear,
For peats and clods cam' bunging ben the flear;
The Parson cam' and gained the house wi' prayer,
But still the clods were thuddin' here and there.wm.Sc. 1985 Liz Lochhead Tartuffe 30:
An' bring me linament - Ah'm awfy liable
Tae rheumaticks wi' bein' so lang oan the caul' flair, kneelin'.Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 21:
Na, he'll blouster till he draps on the flair
or spews up his ring as he stotters hame.Gsw. 1990 John and Willy Maley From the Calton to Catalonia 32:
When ah want contributions fae the fler ah'll ask fur them.Dundee 1994 W. N. Herbert in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 162:
Well, he deals himsel twa cairds and he laives the pack in the middle o the flair.Abd. 1995 Flora Garry Collected Poems 18:
Big, bonny cat-beast, douce an tame,
Ye wanner roun ma kitchen fleer
An wanner throwe ma thochts; I'll sweir
That there ye've fun a second hame.Sc. 1995 David Purves Hert's Bluid 10:
Wha's aucht thir buits? Wha's awe thae shuin
that's sperfilt on the fluir?
A've haed ma fill! A tell ye strecht,
A'l dae wi this nae mair.m.Sc. 1996 John Murray Aspen 4:
Ah see a skelp o polished iv'rie
raxin doun tae the valley flair.Abd. 1998 Sheena Blackhall The Bonsai Grower 20:
Like a powser, Gibby breenged ower the saft carpet, fleered her at ae lowp an brocht his mou doon ticht on hers.wm.Sc. 1998 Alan Warner The Sopranos (1999) 147:
Let's see you all shaking some hair doon on that flair, but first, to add to the happy occasion, I've got an announcement to make.Dundee 2000 Ellie McDonald Pathfinder 3:
... the leaves an flouers
are lippin owre
the edges o the paper
on tae the flair.

2. Phrs. and combs.: (1) flure-bands, the bands that secure the bottom boards of a boat to the keel (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl.); (2) floorfu, a roomful of people; (3) flureheid, the middle of the floor; see Heid, n., 6.; (4) through the fluir, across the floor. See Through; (5) to tak the fluir, to set foot on the floor, esp. in order to dance (Abd.²⁷ 1952).(2) wm.Sc. 1854 Laird of Logan 462:
I happen to have a diet of examination, and you'll tak' the second floorfu'.(5) Gsw. 1863 J. Young Ingle Nook 142:
An' siccan legs — I do declare, A'maist e'en noo could tak' the flair.ne.Sc. 1928 J. Wilson Hamespun 13:
Fling bye their stules an' tak the fleer, An' sune are hoochin' in the reel.