Broo money
September 5th 2026
Broo money is the money the state pays you when you’re unemployed and in need of financial support. The Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL) explain that forms of English bureau are used in Scotland for both the Jobcentre and unemployment benefit.
The term appears to have developed shortly after unemployment benefit was expanded in 1920. In February 1922, the Falkirk Herald mentioned an individual who only, “had a few shillings left from his buroo money”. That November, a Port Glasgow Express piece on gambling noted, “that quite a big slice of the ‘buroo money’ is staked in the hope of backing a winner”.
The importance of this money is evident in Fred Urquhart’s novel Jezebel’s Dust (1951), where a character rages that someone was, “Tryin to do me out of my Broo money that I’ve paid into for years and years”. Agnes Owens’ Gentlemen of the West (1984) portrays the reverse situation, with a character pleading, “If ye pay me aff the auld wife will get broo money. Dae us that favour”.
James Kelman reflected in a 1983 short story published in The Streets of Stone that: “They were good days and one or two of us could have afforded to let our broo money lie over a week if we had wanted though none of us ever did”. Times have changed considerably. In June 2019, the Paisley Daily Express quoted one defender in court: “I have had my buroo money taken off me – it’s just desperation”.
Dictionaries of the Scots Language would like to thank Bob Dewar for illustrating our Scots Word of the Week feature.
