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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.

SNAPPER, v.¹, n.¹ Also snappar, snaper. [′snɑpər]

I. v. 1. To stumble, to trip, to fall suddenly (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Cai. 1904 E.D.D.; Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.; Ayr. 1923 Wilson D. Burns 186; Ork. 1929 Marw.; Sh., Bnff., Abd. 1970). Also fig. Also in n.Eng. dial.Sc. 1721 J. Kelly Proverbs 26:
A Horse with four Feet may snapper, by a time.Rxb. a.1734 Trans. Hawick Arch. Soc. (1913) 56:
If some glakit girl shou'd snapper.Ayr. 1794 Burns Contented wi' Little iv.:
Blind chance, let her snapper and stoyte on her way.Per. 1811 J. Sim Poems 29:
Its juice whiles sae o'ercomes the brain, That gar us snapper.Sc. 1816 Scott B. Dwarf x.:
Wouldst thou [his horse] snapper now and break my neck?Abd. a.1856 R. Ford Vagabond Songs (1904) 172:
There's mony a horse has snappert and fa'n, And risen and gane fu' rarely.Sh. 1962 New Shetlander No. 63. 4:
Didna he snapper an guid gruiflins apon his face.

2. Transf. To make a slip in conduct, to err, to get into a scrape (Sc. 1808 Jam.). Obs. in Eng.

3. Absol. or with out: to blunder by uttering, to blurt out.Sc. 1699 Proper Project for Scot. 6:
Have a care of the Word Covenant (I had almost Snappered out with it in my Title Page).Sc. 1745 R. Mackenzie John Brown (1918) 36:
That was a fell way of snapering.

II. n. 1. A stumble, a false step, a trip, a jolting motion (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Abd. 1970).Cai. 1904 E.D.D.:
Snapper: the jerking or the noise of a cart when passing over a road which has some loose stones on it.Abd. 1951 Huntly Express (16 Feb.):
If your horse had made a false step (a snapper as farm folk say).

2. Fig., a slip in conduct, a mistake, blunder, fault, unfortunate accident (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 429); a predicament, a scrape.Sc. 1713 R. Wodrow Corresp. (1842) I. 421:
A senseless snapper of Cockburn some time since.Sc. 1727 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) II. 196:
The generous Men of Sense will kindly praise us, And, if we make a little Snapper, raise us.Sc. 1761 Session Papers, Petition J. Murray (27 July) 2:
He had never in his Life fallen into such a Snapper as this.Sc. 1818 Scott H. Midlothian xx.:
Advocate Langdale has brought folk through waur snappers than a' this.Slk. 1822 Hogg Perils of Man II. 43:
That body's mad! He'll lead us into some ill-faur'd snapper.Ags. 1850 J. Myles Dundee Factory Boy (1877) 50:
They had both fallen into a “snapper,” as they called it, and had gone to the north to screen themselves from justice.Fif. 1882 J. Simson Inverkeithing 39:
I would indeed have been in a “snapper,” had I thrown the unlucky stone.

3. A blunder in speech, slip of the tongue, fault of style.Sc. 1745 R. Mackenzie John Brown (1918) 36:
If I said speired, it was a snaper.Abd. 1790 A. Shirrefs Poems 336:
Ane, like you, o' skilly ee, May mony a glim and snapper see.