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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

WAG, v., n.¹ Also wagg, wog (metri causa) (ne.Sc. 1884 D. Grant Lays 31), woug (Cai. 1921 T.S.D.C., Cai. 1973), wug. Sc. forms and usages. [wɑg, wǫg]

I. v. 1. In various usages now obs. in Eng.: (1) intr., of a leaf, plant, etc.: to move to and fro, to waver, shake (in the wind). Gen.Sc.; (2) tr. to cause to shake, to move to and fro; to brandish (a weapon). Gen.Sc.(1) Abd. 1768 A. Ross Helenore (S.T.S.) 69:
Weak as a windlestrae, That wi' the wind e'er wagged on a brae.Ayr. 1785 Burns 3rd Ep. J. Lapraik ii.:
May the tapmost grain that wags Come to the sack.Kcb. 1789 D. Davidson Seasons 22:
Heather-bells upo' the mountain's top Wag wi' the morning dew.Bwk. 1897 R. M. Calder Poems 141:
We'll teach oor children to revere The land where wags the thistle.Per. 1910 W. Blair Kildermoch 118:
No' a breath o' wind, no' a branch nor a leaf o' a tree or a buss waggin'.Wgt. 1912 A.O.W.B. Fables 101:
Ilka stalk that waggt gied him a fricht.(2) Sc. 1806 Scott Health Lord Melville vii.:
While there's one Scottish hand that can wag a claymore, sir.Per. 1816 J. Duff Poems 70:
Ye'll wagg the gully oure the dyke, An' dare them to come near ye.Sc. 1820 Blackwood Mag. (Nov.) 147:
The roof wags its remotest raft.s.Sc. 1857 H. S. Riddell St Matthew xi. 7:
What gaed ye out intill the wulderniss till see? ane reed wagget wi' the win'?Ags. 1880 J. E. Watt Poet. Sk. 33:
He scarcely had maucht left to wag his bit loom. ne.Sc. 1993 Ronald W. McDonald in A. L. Kennedy and Hamish Whyte New Writing Scotland 11: The Ghost of Liberace 69:
The thocht o rottans made him loup doon an snuffel aroon the steading wi's tail wuggin awa like the shaft o Tucker's engin.

2. intr., gen. with advs. about, awa, on: to carry on, proceed, jog on (Sh., Ags., Per., Dmf. 1973).Ayr. 1822 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage 232:
How hae ye been wagging through the warl' sinsyne?Fif. 1864 W. D. Latto T. Bodkin xx.:
Mair wark than he could well wag wi'.Rnf. 1873 J. Nicholson Tibbie's Garland 48:
Her wee legs sae weary! she scarce can wag alang.Kcb. 1898 T. Murray Frae the Heather 89:
I'll jist hae to wag on my lane.Abd. 1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick xxii.:
We maan jist wag awa wi't an' gar't be deein, Glen.

3. tr. To beckon, signal to (a person), wave the hand, etc., to; in 1924 quot. to send (a message). Also intr. with at, (up)on (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 205; Cai. 1905 E.D.D.; Sh., n., em., wm.Sc., Rxb. 1973). Also in n.Eng. dial.Slg. 1717 Trans. Slg. Nat. Hist. Soc. (1927) 44:
Many of them waggs the people within the strand.s.Sc. 1838 Wilson's Tales of the Borders IV. 90:
“Jock,” cried I, wagging the boy in, “come here a minnit.”Per. 1857 J. Stewart Sketches 50:
Whistle, cry or wag.Mry. 1873 J. Brown Round Table Club 16:
There's the Captain ayont that hillock o' stanes waggin' upon 's.Rnf. 1878 Good Words 184:
He was a proud man when Lizzy Sharp wagget him first.Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.:
I wagged on him to come across the field to me.Kcd. 1900 W. MacGillivray Glengoyne I. 109:
Mary came to the door and ‘wagged' us in for tea.Slg. 1901 R. Buchanan Poems 172:
His maister cam' into the shop and wagged Tam ower to his bench.Lth. 1914 C. Slater Marget Pow 110:
He wagged on Hamlet to come away with him.Abd. 1924 Swatches o' Hamespun 48:
Wag me ae wird an' say ye lo'e.Abd. 1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick vi., xx.:
Waggin wi the torch …. They're waggin on's …. 'e Keeng waggit 'em in aboot tull 'im.

4. Combs.: (1) wag-at-the-wa, (i) an elf or goblin who was supposed to sit on the Cruik or fire-crane and swing it to and fro as an annoyance to the domestics and a premonition of bad luck to the household; (ii) also wag-at-e-wa(a), wag at a-, -i-, -y-, waggitawa, waggity-, wag o the wa (Dmf. 1930), an unencased pendulum clock, orig. with some wooden mechanism, of a kind made in Germany, and hung on a wall (Cld. 1825 Jam.; Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.; Cai. 1905 E.D.D.; Per., Fif., Lth., Ayr. 1915–23 Watson W.-B.; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein). Also attrib. Gen.Sc. and n.Eng. dial. Also in reduced form waggie; (iii) see quot.; ¶(2) wag-pow, a head-shaker, one who disapproves by shaking his head, see Pow, n.¹; (3) wag-tawse, a nick-name for a schoolmaster.(1) (i) Rxb. 1825 Jam.:
The moon, she was at the latter-fa'; “Gang to your bed,” cry'd Wag-at-the-wa ', O! why do we wag the witch-nickit crook.s.Sc. c.1830 Hist. Bwk. Nat. Club (1916) 62:
The spectre Wag-at-the-wa', a species of the Scottish Brownie, generally presided over the affairs of the kitchen, and was also the family monitor, and the servants', particularly the kitchen-maids', constant tormentor.s.Sc. a.1838 Jam. MSS. X. 345:
The crook has always left the mark of the cross, that this potent spell may counteract the dreaded influence of Wag-at-the-Wa'.(ii) Lnk. 1858 G. Roy Generalship 55:
To take a fancy to a waggitawa clock.Abd. 1868 W. Shelley Wayside Flowers 273:
'Tis aften sae, on shiny days, Wi' waggies o' mair costly kind.Edb. 1876 J. Smith Archie and Bess 60:
The tick-tack o' the waggity-wa'.Kcb. 1885 A. J. Armstrong Friend and Foe xxi.:
The “wagaty-wa” gave warning for the midnight hour.Sh. 1898 J. Nicolson Aithstin' Hedder 39:
The old “wag at da wa'” had just tolled the eleventh hour.wm.Sc. 1903 S. Macplowter Mrs. McCraw 117:
She's gotten a tongue like a wag-at-i-wa'.Abd. 1920 C. Murray Country Places 22:
Chains hingin' doon like a wag-at-the wa'.Ags. 1922 V. Jacob Tales 6:
A ‘wag-at-the wa' clock with a gaudily-painted face.m.Sc. 1939 James Barke The Land of the Leal (1987) 9:
... the wag at the wa' clock with its swinging exposed pendulum and its weights and chains; the bucket stools constituting his toys when the most of the brothers and sisters were absent; ... Kcb. 1941 Gallovidian 11:
When waggie nicht's late hour has chappit.Sc. 1972 Scotsman (2 Sept.) 6:
Most Scots would be more familiar with the description of Black Forest clocks as “wag-at-the-wa' clocks.”Dundee 1985 W. N. Herbert in Joy Hendry Chapman 41 22:
Ha! zat yoo, auld Wag-at-thi-waa,
sweean ma hert amang ma ribs?
or thi spool o th'orloge i thi daurk
whaur thi hoose faulds lyk a caurd wm.Sc. 1989 Anna Blair The Goose Girl of Eriska 87:
His blue eyes, fixed on it, moved back and forth like his mother's wag-at-the-wa'. Sc. 1993 Herald 26 Oct 17:
I had composed the dog for sleep in her basket; I had emptied the ashtrays and adjusted the wag-at-the-wa! I entered into my chamber. Abd. 1996 Sheena Blackhall Wittgenstein's Web 8:
The hauns o the classroom wag-at-the-wa creepit roon frae hauf een tae hauf twa, syne tae the back o fower, an Neil Rannoch traucled hame wi the dreich prospect o a hale evenin feedin an muckin oot chuckens an futterats afore him.(iii) Abd.⁴ 1933:
“That's nae wag-at-the wa'.” — (Said after a good substantial dinner.)(2) Sc. 1926 Scots Mag. (Nov.) 148:
But the lad she would hae, for she caredna a strae For a wheen auld wag-pows' din.(3) Rxb. 1859 Bards of Border (Watson) 107:
Wagtawse rose sune that mornynge.

II. n. 1. (1) A signal or gesture with the hand made to attract attention or summon a person (ne., em. and wm.Sc. 1973).Rnf. 1838 Whistle-Binkie 15:
He was unco obliging, and cam at my wag.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 205:
Gee a hoy an' a wag t' the loon t' fess haim the nout.Lnk. 1897 J. Wright Sc. Life 33:
I gied Wull a wag an' slippet a bawbee into his hand.Abd. 1993:
I geed im a wag fin I drave past.

(2) Phr. a wag o the pen, the least scrap of writing, a brief letter. Cf. Scrape, n., 1.ne.Sc. 1888 D. Grant Keckleton 97:
It's sax months sin' I had a wag o' a pen frae either Glaisgo' or Liverpool.

2. Dim. waggie : (1) see I. 4. (1) (ii); (2) also in form waggitie (Lth. 1926 Wilson Cent. Scot. 274; Ags., Per. 1973), the pied wagtail, Motacilla alba (e.Lth. 1885 C. Swainson Brit. Birds 43; Fif., Lth., Lnk., s.Sc. 1973). Also in n.Eng. dial. See also Water; ¶(3) a cow's tail, in children's riddle.(3) Abd. 1912 Rymour Club Misc. II. 21:
Twa leatherin cloots, and a waggie.

3. (1) As in Eng. a droll or tricky person. Comb. ¶wag-wit, a witty jesting fellow; ¶(2) in pl.: tricks, mischievous behaviour; (3) phr. to tak the wa o, to mock, make fun of.(1) Ayr. 1786 Burns Brigs of Ayr 183–4:
In Ayr, wag-wits nae mair can hae a handle To mouth ‘a Citizen', a term o' scandal.(2) Rnf. 1835 D. Webster Rhymes 115:
When wailing the wags o' the washerwife's son. He drinks and he swears, he revels and rants.(3) Bnff. 1967 Bnff. Advertiser (13 Apr.) 3:
I think ee're jist takkin' the wag o' me an' ma photies.