Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1721, 1773-1885
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JUTE, n., v. Also j(u)it, jut, joot. See also Jeet. [dʒøt, dʒyt, dʒɪt, dʒut]
I. n. 1. Occas. in pl.: weak or sour ale, dead liquor, bad or sedimentary whisky (Sc. 1808 Jam., jute, joot; Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 288; Ork. 1959, joots); a drink of such.Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 19:
She never ran sour Jute, because It gee's the Batts.Edb. 1773 Fergusson Poems (S.T.S.) II. 129:
Tho' gude joot binna kend to rumble Your weym within.Edb. 1792 “Juvenis Scoticus” Melpomene 51:
Grassmarket carters, mind your brutes, When ye gang in to tak your jutes.Fif. 1812 W. Ranken Poems 98:
For them might rot in Gallic docks, If d—d to drink your joot, John S — s.Lnk. 1818 A. Fordyce Country Wedding 31:
Now for a wee drap well brewed jut.
2. Any insipid drink, dregs; applied contemptuously to weak tea, etc. (Upp.Cld., Rxb. 1825 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., jut; Ags., Kcb.6 c.1926; Ork. 1959, jootie).Bnff. a.1829 J. Sellar Poems (1844) 22:
But thee a juit o' clean cauld water, Thou hasna pith to gar me clatter.Dmf. 1835 Carlyle Letters (Norton) II. 389:
You take your tea at home, then fare out about seven or eight o'clock, drink one other cup of jute, have some talk.Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.:
A jute of tea, a small quantity of tea.Hdg. 1885 J. Lumsden Rhymes 138:
I had placed myself outside my seventh cup of jit.
Deriv. jooter, anything that has turned semi-liquid, e.g. from decomposition; hence a confusion, mess, mix-up (Ork. 1959, “aa in a jooter”). Adj. jooterie, in this state, said of a festering sore (Ork. 1959).
†3. A tippler (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl.). Also dim. juttie (Ags. 1808 Jam.).Ayr. 1790 J. Fisher Poems 61:
To ilka sort o' drinkers suit, An' harboured ilka worthless jute.
Phr. a Geordie Jute day, a hot day, sc. a good day for a drink, quasi from Geordie Jute, as a nickname for a tippler.
†4. An ill-favoured or worthless woman (Cld. 1808 Jam.).Rnf. 1788 E. Picken Poems 155:
Jo' may mak' a kindly mate, Tho' the jute be broken-backet.
†II. v. To tipple (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl., joot).Sc. 1808 Jam.:
Jutting and drinking is a phrase commonly used with respect to tipplers.
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"Jute n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/jute>
