Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1960 (SND Vol. V). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

HAWICK, n. The name of a town in Rxb. [′hɑ:ɪk] used attrib. in combs.: 1. Hawick ba, also Hawick ball. A kind of round, brown, peppermint-flavoured boiled sweet, made in Hawick. 2. Hawick bake, see Bake, n.¹; 3. Hawick banna', a rich currant cake in paste cover (Rxb.⁴ 1956). Cf. Selkirk Bannock; †4. Hawick gill, a measure of ale or spirits equivalent to half an Imperial pint (Sc. 1825 Jam.); 5. Hawick hug, a squeezing grip in wrestling. Cf. Cornish hug, id.; 5. Hawick marle, a kind of clay (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., Rxb. 1956), = hawclay, s.v. Haw, adj. 1.Sc. 1999 Laura Mason Sweets and Sweet Shops 26:
Mint flavours had been popular for at least a century. Local products such as Jeddart Snails, Hawick Balls (both made in the Scottish borders), Uncle Joe's Mint Balls (Lancashire) and the black bullets of north-eastern confectioners reflect these early sweets ...Sc. 2004:
Ye can still buy yon auld traditional sweets like soor plooms an Jethart Snails, an a Hawick ba' can still bring a tear tae yer ee. 4. Sc. 1740 Ramsay T.T.Misc. (1876) IV. 237:
And well she loo'd a Hawick gill, And leugh to see a tappit hen.Sc. 1822 Scott Poet. Wks. (1834) X. 374:
A Hawick gill of mountain dew, Heised up Auld Reekie's heart, I trow.Sc. 1844 Sc. Songs (Whitelaw) 240:
What signifies the cutty stoup? Bring in the Hawick gill, sirs!5. Sc. 1835 Wilson's Tales of the Borders I. 154:
He therefore threw his arms round the back of his opponent, . . . with the intention of giving him a “Hawick hug,” but he found he could not join his hands together so as to effect his purpose, and his strength could not accomplish it.