Swats
May 3rd 2025
One of the lines from Robert Burns’s 1791 poem Tam O’ Shanter reads, “The swats sae ream’d in Tammie’s noddle”. But how many of us are aware of what swats are or were? Well, the trusty Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL) supplies the answer, “Newly-brewed weak beer: a substitute for this made from molasses and water boiled and fermented with the addition of yeast”.
Of course, this beverage could also be enjoyed in moderation! A February 1820 edition of Farmers Magazine describes how it was served as a typical accompaniment to a meal: “Oatmeal porridge, or peas brose with butter milk or swats, formed their breakfast and supper”.
The term made it into the twentieth century, as seen in the following from John Black’s Gloamin Glints (1913): “A bottle of old-time ‘swats’ or homemade ale, was procured for twopence from a little shop near”.
Later, we have a poetic example from William Neil in his Making Tracks (1988): “Swats made nae bliddie corses oniwey, in boattle, tankard, tassie, gless or joug”.
Are there any twenty-first century examples? It appears so. In January 2014 the Wishaw Press brought up swats as a way to connect a tea dance back to Burns: “Although cups of tea may be far removed from the reaming swats enjoyed by Tam O’ Shanter and his drouthy cronies, Christine stressed tea and dancing make a potent tonic for some o’ life’s ills”. It’s hard to disagree!
Dictionaries of the Scots Language would like to thank Bob Dewar for illustrating our Scots Word of the Week feature.
