Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1735, 1836-1893
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SKRANKIE, adj., n. Also -y, scranky, skraunky. [′skrɑŋki]
I. adj. 1. Thin, lean, scraggy, meagre, shrivelled, lit. and fig. (Sc. 1808 Jam.; I.Sc., Lnl., Lnk. 1970). Also in n.Eng. dial. Hence skranky-looking, lean in appearance; skranky-shanked, with skinny legs.Sc. 1735 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) III. 130:
Ye . . . did lament Your purses being skranky.Abd. 1836 J. Grant Tales of Glens 105:
His features were as hard, and, gray, and scranky as the shattered corners of an old castle.wm.Sc. 1854 Laird of Logan 51:
Thae scranky-shanked mizzle-shinned Highlanders.Ags. 1855 “Robin” Rimes and Poems 27:
Some scranky twigs o' ash.Per. 1857 J. Stewart Sketches 64:
A skrankie puggie face an' scaud ee.Sc. 1891 R. Ford Thistledown 88:
He is a skranky-looking individual.Lnk. 1893 J. Crawford Sc. Verses 72:
Like Pharoah's skranky kine.
2. Spidery, scrawling, of writing (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 163).
II. n. A coarse-featured person (s.Sc. 1825 Jam.).
[Of Scand. orig. Cf. Norw. dial. skrank, a thin, rawboned figure, Sw. dial. skranker, wrinkled, prob. cogn. with Scrocken and shrink.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Skrankie adj., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/skrankie>
