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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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‡PITAWTIE, n. Also pitawta, pitattie, -tata, -y; petawta, -ti, petaty; patattie; patatee; potaty, -tae, potauto, -tawto(e); petetou, bitatoe; ¶pewtatie (Lnk. 1880 Clydesdale Readings 191); pirtawtie, partatow, purtatoe; reduced forms in Uls. and Gall. (from Ir. influence) prat(t)ie, pra(w)ta, pratoe, pritta, pirta, purda, and deformations pirrie, in street-cries pirri-aroe, peeryor(r)ie. Sc. forms of Eng. potato. The Gen.Sc. form is now Tattie, q.v. See also Peeryorie. [pə′tɑ:tə. See Burns Holy Willie's Prayer xii.]

1. Sc. combs. and phr., also under Tattie: (1) pitawtie-bing, a heap of potatoes covered with straw, etc. for winter storage, a potato-pit. See Bing, n.¹; (2) pitawtie-beetle, -bittle, a pounder or pestle for mashing cooked potatoes. See Bittle, n.; (3) pitawtie-bogle, a scarecrow, lit. and fig. (Sc. 1825 Jam.); (4) pitawtie-claw, potato soup (Bwk. 1942 Wettstein). See also Claw; (5) pitawtie-doolie, = (3). See Doolie, n.¹, 2.; (6) pitawtie-holidays, a period of leave from school given to children in country districts to allow them to help in the potato-harvest; (7) pitawtie-muild, “ground just cleared of potatoes and considered sufficiently rich to give a crop of oats without manure” (Sh. 1880 Jam.); (8) pitawtie-rig, a section of ground used for growing potatoes, a potato-patch. See Rig; (9) potato-shaw, the foliage of a potato-plant (Bwk. 1942 Wettstein). See Shaw; (10) pitawtie-track, the drill or ridge of earth in which potatoes are grown; ¶(11) pitawtie-trap, a jocular term for the mouth, lips.(1) Ayr. 1787 Burns Brigs of Ayr 27:
Potatoe-bings are snugged up frae skaith O' coming winter's biting, frosty breath.Dmf. 1845 Stat. Acc.² IV. 186:
The mael chest and the potatoe-bing.(2) wm.Sc. 1837 Laird of Logan 21:
She felled him to the ground with that ponderous kitchen utensil, denominated a potato-beetle.(3) Sc. 1823 Scott St. Ronan's W. xvi.:
He comes down in the morning in a lang ragged night-gown, like a potato bogle.ne.Sc. 1836 J. Grant Tales (1869) 91:
The meanest clad potatoe bogle in the country.Sc. 1886 Stevenson Kidnapped xxvi.:
Ye have a fine, hang-dog, rag-and-tatter, clappermaclaw kind of look to ye, as if ye had stolen the coat from a potato-bogle.(6) Fif. 1936 St. Andrews Citizen (17 Oct.):
The vexed question of potato holidays was again discussed.(8) Ayr. 1822 Galt Provost vi.:
Not being content with the profits of his potatoe-rig.(9) Dmf. 1814 Farmer's Mag. (Nov.) 472:
I have therefore always been in the habit of cutting the potatoe-shaws with the sickle before they were quite withered.(10) Sc. 1887 Stevenson Underwoods 81:
The gairdner crooks his weary back A' day in the pitaty-track.(11) Kcb. 1815 J. Gerrond Poems 94:
At last Jean's sweet potatoe-trap. He stooped down and tasted.

2. Also potottie. Used in children's counting rhymes.Gsw. 1985 Anna Blair Tea at Miss Cranston's 83:
...and this time with the line of players holding out two fists in front to be cuffed one at a time by the boss-man doing the counting-out, One potottie, Two potottie, Three potottie, Four Five potottie, Six potottie, Seven potottie, More.Edb. 2003:
In Edinburgh we said One pitawtie, two pitawtie and so forth.