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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

SLAISTER, v., n. Also slester, -ir; sleester, slister, slyst(h)er; scloister, sk-, sclyster. [′slestər; Cai. ′sləi-]

I. v. 1. intr. (1) To work messily in water or the like, to splash the hands about in a liquid; to work awkwardly, clumsily or ineffectively (Sc. 1808 Jam., slyster; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Rxb. 1942 Zai). Gen. (exc. ne.) Sc. Ppl.adjs. slesterin, untidy, slovenly (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl.); slystered, overworked, harassed (Cai. 1921 T.S.D.C.); vbl.n. slysterin, hard, exacting work (Cai. 1934). Also in n.Eng. dial.Sc. 1756 M. Calderwood Journal (M.C.) 135:
They have nothing to do but slester and wash.Bwk. 1823 A. Hewit Poems 96:
Banish'd frae yer native place, To slaister here.Abd. 1868 W. Shelley Wayside Flowers 66:
Wee Troutie tak's pairt i' the slaisterin wark.Sc. 1893 Stevenson Catriona xxiii.:
Slestering and scrubbing at the very stones upon the public highway.Per. 1908 M. & J. Findlater Crossriggs xii.:
To “slaister” among the toffee with an old knife.Rxb. 1927 E. C. Smith Braid Haaick 23:
Hir slaisterin way o wurkin wad ug onybody.Ork. 1931 J. Leask Peculiar People 133:
Sibbie waas a slesterin' pell.Edb. 1965 J. K. Annand Sing it Aince 7:
Seekin worms, seekin grubs, Slaisterin in the clarty dubs.

(2) to slack or idle at work, to waste time in trivial occupations, to lead an idle purposeless life, to loaf about (Cai. 1970). Vbl.n. slystherin, “a term of contempt for a branch of cookery the object of which is to please a fastidious taste” (Uls. 1930). Cf. II. 2.

(3) to wade in mud or water, to flounder through mire (Sh., Cai. 1970).Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 89:
As Johnnie slaister'd throu' the stank.Cai. 1932 John o' Groat Jnl. (4 Nov.):
Ye've been sleesterin' aboot wi' 'is weet day til yir gutter til 'e knees.

(4) to eat or drink messily and greedily. Combs. slaister-kyte, a messy eater, a glutton (Rxb. 1825 Jam., 1923 Watson W.-B.); slaister-pokes, id. (Watson).Edb. c.1750 R. Chambers Traditions (1825) II. 149:
A wheen puir slaister-kytes.Sc. 1816 Scott Antiquary x.:
It will set ye better to be slaistering at them and the lapper-milk.Kcb. c.1850 Vale of Urr Verses MS. I. 167:
They slaister and eat till they scarcely can sit.

2. tr. (1) To make messy, smear, bedaub (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Sh., Cai., em.Sc.(a), sm. and s.Sc. 1970); to splash, bespatter (Sh. 1966 Edm. Gl., 1914 Angus Gl.). Deriv. slaisterer, n., a dauber.Edb. 1773 Fergusson Poems (S.T.S.) II. 112:
The Pomet slaister'd up his Hair!Edb. 1813 “Edinias” Ramble to Roslin 37:
Wi' the oil bottle she slaister'd it weel.Ags. 1887 A. D. Willock Rosetty Ends 77:
Slaistered frae head to fit wi' mud an clay.Slk. 1894 J. Bathgate Aunt Janet's Legacy 65:
Dinna slaister the entry haddin' folk cairryin' in shairn on their feet.Lnk. 1904 I. F. Darling Songs 102:
This couthie wee thing slaisters a' my goun.Kcb. 1911 Crockett Rose of the Wilderness xviii.:
He called them [house painters] “puir craitures — mere slaisterers o' coloured dirt.”m.Lth. 1925 C. P. Slater Marget Pow 93:
I hope it'll no' slaister the windy-sole.Rxb. 1933 Kelso Chron. (3 Nov.) 5:
He aye wis slaistered at the sark.Kcd. 1970 Abd. Press & Jnl. (30 Aug.):
Jim's breeks lie slestered there wi' clay.

(2) to smear (a substance) on a surface, to spread or scatter in a messy way (em.Sc., Lnk., sm. and s.Sc. 1970).m.Lth. 1925 C. P. Slater Marget Pow 53:
Slaisterin' the grease upon the floor as usual.m.Sc. 1933 W. Muir Mrs. Ritchie xxi.:
They slaister their hairs ower everything.

II. n. 1. A state of wetness and dirt, a splashy mess, dirty water, slops (Sc. 1880 Jam.; Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.; Per., Fif., Lth. 1915–26 Wilson; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Gen. (exc. ne.) Sc.), also in extended form slaistery, id. Adj. slaist(e)ry, sleisterie, wet and dirty, muddy, slimy; of persons: slatternly, working messily.Sc. 1808 E. Hamilton Glenburnie vii.:
We cou'dna be fash'd to gang sae far wi' a the slaistery.Sc. 1824 Scott St. Ronan's W. i.:
Are ye at the painting trade yet? an unco slaister ye used to make with it lang syne.Sc. 1825 Jam.:
That's slaistry wark ye're at. The weather is said to be slaistry, when one is exposed to a good deal of rain, or has one's dress soiled by the miriness of the roads.Sc. 1832 Carlyle in Froude Life (1882) II. 268:
They are painting in the dining-room, lobby, and staircase; and, to avoid much slaister for the future, doing it in oil.Slg. c.1860 Trans. Slg. Nat. Hist. Soc. (1924) 24:
Splash! splash! splash! In slaistery, sliddery glaur.Sh. 1906 T. P. Ollason Spindrift 85:
Da wishin' o' lame, an' da slav'ry an' slester.Lth. 1923 S. A. Robertson With Double Tongue 27:
It's best to dye Pace eggs when hale; when broken they're a slaister.Ork. 1930 Orcadian (13 Feb.):
Slaistery was a word applied to wet slimy oats, or other stuff in a wet hairst-time.Dmf. 1953:
A richt slaister o' a day.em.Sc. 1999 James Robertson The Day O Judgement 21:
" ... Think hou yer lusts wud spulyie it,
A slaister mak o awthin fine. Abd. 1998 Sheena Blackhall The Bonsai Grower 70:
Noo, Loch an Dav wis seenister an sleisterie betimes, glaury at its boddam wi lang, treelipin weeds.

2. An unpalatable or nauseating mixture of foods, etc. (Sc. 1808 Jam.; em., wm. and s.Sc. 1970). Deriv. slaistrie, id., the eating of such, gormandising, “the offals of a kitchen, including a mixed refuse of solids and fluids” (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Cai. 1970).Edb. 1773 Fergusson Poems (S.T.S.) II. 64:
Ye lowns that troke in doctor's stuff, You'll now hae unco slaisters.Sc. 1824 Scott St. Ronan's W. xxxii.:
Taking it [wine] naked, and no wi' your sugar and your slaisters.Sc. 1834 Chambers's Jnl. (May) 106:
“Lunch!” said he, in a tone of the utmost contempt. “Eneuch to bring down judgements, to hear the like o' you speakin' o' sic slaistrie.”m.Sc. 1863 J. W. Carlyle Letters (Carlyle 1903) II. 287:
No weak broths, or what we used to call “slaisters”.Edb. 1873 D. MacLagan Nugae 107:
Labster-sauce wi' saumon Wae's me that sic a slaister suid Gang into mortal maw, man.Gsw. 1898 D. Willox Poems & Sk. 73:
Tae say that ye wad throw awa' aboot four an' sixpence, or four an' sevenpence, on a lot o' slisters!Ags. 1956 Forfar Dispatch (4 Oct.):
I got a shooer o carrots and cabbages a' ower me and intae my open handbag, sittin at the table-leg. Sic a scloister.Sh. 1962 New Shetlander No. 61.13:
Nane o dis slester o shugger an seerup at yon Englishmen laeks apon hit.

3. transf.: a state of confusion, a hurly-burly (I.Sc., Cai., em., sm. and s.Sc. 1970).Fif. 1873 J. Wood Ceres Races 3:
And e'er the sclyster's fairly owre, The Laird himsel' will stap anour. wm.Sc. 1985 Liz Lochhead Tartuffe 17:
So the man who gie's his dochter's haun should ken that it's
Him that's responsible for the sins she commits.
Think! Afore you get her in sich slaister!

4. A botch, bungle, unskilful work.Ork. 1950:
What a slester yir makin' o' dain' that.

5. Of persons: a slovenly, dirty worker, a slut (Slk. 1825 Jam.; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Rxb. 1942 Zai), also in form slesters, id., a messy eater, “one who bedaubs himself” (Rxb. 1825 Jam.; em., wm., s.Sc. 1970); a botcher, unskilful worker (Ork. 1950).m.Sc. 1954 Scotsman (26 July):
He maladroitly spilled his tea on the glistening tablecloth, and was promptly but not unkindly called a wee slaister. Sc. 1999 Scotsman 26 May 10:
The main offences her children commit are: being a slaister, dawdling, losing things and talking back. Sc. 2001 Scotsman 14 Dec 4:
It's "The Rudest Men In Scotland", dressed by GQ magazine. But appearances can be deceptive, and Kiernan is soon picking the raisins out of the BBC Scotland scones and spilling his coffee everywhere - he's a right slaister. Edb. 2005:
He's an awfy slaister gotten since he's had yon wee shock.

6. A smear, small amount.Sc. 1998 Herald 11 Jul 26:
This is the land of the real tomato, rich, sweet and firm - not the tasteless, perfectly formed, genetically "improved", greenhouse variety ... Eaten with a slaister of olive oil, sprinkled with fresh chopped basil ...