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.
SLUNG, n.1, v. [slʌŋ]
I. n. 1. A sling for hurling stones (n.Sc. 1808 Jam.; Ags., Fif., Slg., Lnl., wm.Sc., Kcb. 1970). Comb. slung-stane, a stone for use in a sling, freq. in phr. like a slung-stane, as if from nowhere, “like a bolt from the blue” (Abd. 1970).Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore (S.T.S.) 89:
Tho' I'm amo' you cast like a slung stane.Abd. 1895 J. Davidson Old Ministers 104:
Ye're nae jist like ane o oorsel's; ye cam' in amon's like a slung stane.Ags. 1897 Bards Ags. (Reid) 221:
You ken how David wi' a slung, Did cast a stane.
2. A gangling simpleton, a “tall, lank booby” (Abd. 1825 Jam.); a disreputable character, a scoundrelly fellow (Ib.; ne.Sc. 1970)Abd. 1801 W. Beattie Parings (1873) 30:
And Kate says, See, ye stupid slung, Fat wye ye've fyl'd my curch.Abd. 1832 W. Scott Poems 127:
Colleaguin' wi' sic nasty slungs, Ye learn the very warst o' tongues.Abd. 1880 G. Webster Crim. Officer 51:
An orra slung, hed stown a silver watch.Abd. 1916 G. Abel Wylins 128:
His brither wis a slung.Abd. 1965 Huntly Express (25 June) 2:
He wis a dour slung onywye.
II. v. To hurl as from a sling, to expel forcibly (Ayr. 1880 Jam.). Cf. colloq. Eng. sling.
[O.Sc. slonge, a.1400, sl(o)ung, c.1420, a sling. Prob. from a Scand. variant of Mid. Ger. slinge, Eng. sling. Cf. Swed. slunge, Norw., Dan. slynge. For I. 2. cf. Norw. dial. slyngja, to loaf about, a lazy slut, a long thin person.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Slung n.1, v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 20 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/slung_n1_v>
