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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.

SNIB, v., n. Also snibb, sneb.

I. v. 1. To check, restrain, rebuke, reprove, punish (Sc. 1710 T. Ruddiman Gl. to Douglas Aeneis, s.v. snyb, 1880 Jam.); to keep in as a punishment. Now only dial. in Eng.Abd. 1754 R. Forbes Journal 30:
A clamehewit to snib me frae comin that gate agen.Sc. 1813 The Scotchman 95:
An eevin daelin o the gear wad snib the ryse o grit capitals.Slk. a.1835 Hogg Tales (1837) II. 332:
Ah Mary! you little jade! you have snibbit me!Fif. 1846 W. Tennant Muckomachy 18:
The man, thus snebbit, Lost, too, his tebbit.Mry. 1851 Lintie o' Mry. (Cumming) 64:
No termagant tongue, so loud and so glib, Dares rattle around us, or scold us, or snib.Gsw. 2000 Herald 22 Feb 17:
Most of the young people's language is recognisable with phrases such as: You're daein' ma nut in; gonny no dae that; shut it. Offstagespeak can be less penetrable. One of the cast could not make rehearsals because she was "snibbed". That's "grounded" as they say in the US. Or just no being let oot the hoose as we used to say in Glasgow.

2. To snuff (a candle) (Lth. 1808 Jam.); fig. phr. to snib one's candle, to checkmate, frustrate someone.Edb. 1897 W. Beatty Secretar xliv.:
Gif I dinna snib your candle this time, the deil may have my soul.

3. (1) To enclose, to shut in; to catch in a trap.Rnf. 1788 E. Picken Poems 41:
How ventran out yestreen, right late I maist was snibbit by the gate.Sc. 1797 Scots Mag. (Dec.) 906:
The Dutchmen endeavour'd to rin for't, But fand themsells snibb'd in a girn!Sc. 1864 J. Brown Jeems 6:
Jeems snibbed them [worshippers] slowly in.Gsw. 1904 H. Foulis Erchie i.:
Mr. MacPherson has been snibbing-in preachers in St. Kentigern's Kirk pulpit since the Disruption.

(2) To fasten (a door or window) with a catch (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.). Gen.Sc. Combs.: snibbing-bolt, a bolt for securing a door; snibbing-post, a post to which something is fastened.Sc. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm I. 218:
Fine water-closet latch, with snibbing-bolt and 5-inch joints.Lnk. 1869 A. Wallace Sk. Life & Char. 63:
The door is secured by “snibbing” or locking inside.em.Sc. 1881 A. Wardrop J. Mathison's Courtship 29:
“Did ye bar the door?” “I baith barred an' snibbit it.”Kcb. 1897 Crockett Lochinvar xlviii.:
The granite “snibbing-post,” to which the boat was usually tied.Cai. 1902 J. Horne Canny Countryside 43:
Adam Craig blew out the candle and snibbed the door.m.Sc. 1917 O. Douglas The Setons xiii.:
They laughed at me in London when I talked about ‘snibbing' the windows.Ags. 1957 Forfar Dispatch (10 Oct.):
The windas a' snibbed, the doors sneckit.Gsw. 1987 James Kelman Greyhound for Breakfast (1988) 24:
We were both shivering with nervousness and it made it the more awkward when she clambered up and over the sill. I snibbed the window afterwards. Lnk. 1991 Duncan Glen Selected Poems 7:
Time's gane oot
and we hae snibbed the door. Gsw. 1994 Alasdair Gray A History Maker x:
One grey dank autumn afternoon two months ago I had fed the poultry and was snibbing the henrun gate when I fell down flat and took an hour to regain breath and balance. Uls. 1997 Bernard MacLaverty Grace Notes (1998) 22:
Now that she was in the bathroom she felt the need to go. She snibbed the door and sat down, stared ahead. Abd. 1998 Sheena Blackhall The Bonsai Grower 63:
Hard on the chap o ten, ilkie nicht wioot devaul, he'd traivel frae room tae room, wyndin up aa the clocks, aince he'd snibbit the front door.

(3) Transf.: “to coit with (a woman)” (Sc. c.1810 Partridge Dict. Slang).

4. To cut, cut short or off, curtail, to slice, cut into (Sc. 1880 Jam.; Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928); Uls. 1953 Traynor; Sh., Mry., Dmb., Ayr. 1971); to make an end of, bring to a sharp end (Sc. 1880 Jam.); to sharpen or trim (a quill pen) (Id.); to geld, castrate (Id.). Ppl.adj. snibbit, -et, cut short, curtailed, trimmed, of the hair, cropped very close (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl.; Cld. 1880 Jam.; Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.; Mry. 1971). Vbl.n. snibbins, slices of potato used for sprouting (Uls. 1892 E.D.D.).Sc. 1788 Scots Mag. (Nov.) 558:
A coutter glib, That ev'ry weyward weed can snib.Lnk. 1818 A. Rodger Poems (1901) 222:
Aye snib aff the ither groat Frae whisky, staup and porter pot.Edb. 1839 D. M. Moir Mansie Wauch xxvii.:
Not above three inches from the place where his wife had snibbed it across by.s.Sc. 1857 H. S. Riddell Psalms cii. 4:
My hairt is snibbet an' wutheret like gerse.Mry. 1873 J. Brown Round Table Club 219:
As gin some Great Bein' had snibbed them aff wi' a scythe.

†5. Sc. thieves' slang: to steal by pocket-picking.Sc. 1821 D. Haggart Life 7, 62:
The flash kanes, where I might fence my snib'd lays. . . . We determined to snib no more lils.

II. n. 1. A cut, smart stroke.Abd. 1739 Caled. Mag. (1788) 502:
I thought he might ha gotn a snib.

2. A short distance or extent.e.Lth. 1908 J. Lumsden Th' Loudons 234:
An auld herd at the knowe ca'd “Mill” — Past Johnscleuch a short snib.

3. A short, steep hill or ascent. Poss. a different word (Per., Slg., Ayr. 1971). Cf. Snab, n.²Per. 1950:
It's level traivlin aifter we get ower the snib.

4. Fig. A check, a rebuke, a rebuff, calamity, reverse (Uls. 1953 Traynor; Per., Dmb., Ayr. 1971). Now obs. in Eng.Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore (S.T.S.) 20:
Sic snibs as that may sair to let us see That 'tis far better to be loose and free.Abd. 1804 W. Tarras Poems 18:
Wha ne'er experienc'd a stoun, Or ragglish backward snib.Slk. a.1835 Hogg Tales (1837) II. 309:
You an' I maun gie her a snib.

5. A catch, a small bolt, an additional fastening for the lock of a door, etc. (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Cai., Uls. 1904 E.D.D.; Per., Fif., Lth., Ayr. 1915–26 Wilson). Gen.Sc.; a button (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl.). Also attrib.s.Sc. 1869 N. & Q. iv. iv. 545:
The snib is a small piece of wood, by inserting which into the loop the sneck becomes fast and cannot be raised from the outside; and in later and more civilized times the term has been applied to the bolt now attached to all door-locks.Edb. 1881 J. Smith Habbie and Madge 81:
Habbie pits the snib in the door.Sh. 1897 Shetland News (4 Dec.):
Geng dee wis an' open, Mansie, da snib is on.Gsw. 1904 J. J. Bell Jess & Co. ii.:
We dinna keep a lock on oor cellar door. Yer aunt has a snib on hers.Abd. 1931 J. H. Hall Holy Man 82:
Ane o' her bairns crackit his finger in the sneb o' the door.Slg. 1932 W. D. Cocker Poems 117:
We'll steek the door, an' sneck the snibs.Gsw. 1985 James Kelman A Chancer 184:
He took her hand as they ran down the path to the gate; and out onto the pavement, letting the gate swing back to clatter against its snib lock. em.Sc. 1992 Ian Rankin Strip Jack (1993) 22:
Wise? Well, perhaps not worldly-wise, not wise enough to know how snib locks and human minds worked, but wise in other ways. em.Sc. 1992 Ian Rankin Strip Jack (1993) 187:
... then glanced round and saw that Kemp had disappeared into the bathroom. Water started splashing. Gently, Rebus turned the snib and locked it at the off position. Sc. 1993 Scotsman 5 Apr :
It seems strange to them but they can make coffee whenever they want, because the door to this room has no snib, bolt or heavy iron key. Sc. 1993 Herald 6 Oct 14:
There was an example of the Scottish craftsman at work at Celtic Park recently. A lady supporter found herself locked in the lavatory and every effort to move the snib proved to no avail, as did the attempts to free her of the stewards. Sc. 1996 Daily Record 15 Nov 14:
Other more common terms like cowp, barra, kailyard and snib are also included in The Dictionary of Scottish Building Terms compiled by architect Glen Pride. Sc. 2001 Sunday Mail 12 Aug 6:
He [an iguana] has to have a snib-lock on his door because he scratches to get out sometimes. When we let him out, he runs up the stairs and straight into the bathroom, as he loves water and swimming.

6. The act of thieving.Edb. 1821 D. Haggart Life 36:
We attended a market, and obtained nine screaves at one snib.

7. Slang: a sixpence (Mry., Abd. 1921 T.S.D.C.; Rs., Abd. 1930).