| pliutal | hobbling kind of walk. Also pronounced as ‘pleatail’. |
| dè bu sgiallt | what was the cause of … |
| cnot an doruis | a small revolving block of wood used to secure a door or gate. |
| cnot | bow tie. |
| fulag | the swivel on a tether. In South Uist this is pronounced as ‘udalan’. |
| calpa | that part of a tether between the stake and the swivel. |
| luirgeachan | that part of a tether between the horse’s feet and the swivel. |
| muileann liosraidh | where flax was spun and made into cloth. |
| liosadair | a person who made cloth from flax. |
| dh’earmaideadh e | he was mistaken for someone else. |
| ruiseadh | e.g. quickly going over a topic, subject. “Thug e ruiseadh bruidhne air a’ cheud chogadh.” |
| bòrd a’ locha | edge. |
| ceann tuiris | sending someone on a message. |
| dréibhair | a wooden bat. |
| pìc e | in the game ‘speilain’ this phrase meant to catch the loose ball and hit it back as close as possible to the stumps, or more accurately the hole in this case. |
| sgriob a’ ghlanaidh | when lifting potatoes every second furrow was ploughed since potatoes were not planted therein. This made it easier to lift the potatoes since only one furrow was left to be turned over by hand. |
| iomaire an fhoghair | strip of croft land ploughed for potatoes which would be consumed by the household. Machair potatoes were kept for seed or for selling. Not convinced this was a widespread practice. |
| sgealbadh | cutting the eyes out of potatoes. |
| sùil mhullaich | most prominent eye in a potato. |
| buthaman | bowman potatoes. So called after a ship ran aground at Paible with a cargo of this potato. The captain of the ship was called Bowman. |
| puicain [sic] | bag. |
| an taca ’sa bhliadhna | at this time of year. |
| ciutaig | nickname applied to local with a short hand. |
| maistir | urine, used for waulking. |
| grianuisg (-ean) | fool(s). |
| miosan measair | wide-rimmed basins filled with milk with the object of obtaining as much cream as possible. |
| an cruinneachadh | when the butter and whey separated. |
| crannachan gallda | more modern churn with a wheel attached. |
| cairtair | a tanner of hides. |
| drògbhail | moaning, complaining. “Tha e a’ deanamh drògbhail chianail mu dheidhinn a’ mhulann.” |
| faighdeach a’ mhuilinn | a small feeder loch close to the mill which provided the water power to run the mill. |
| taigh bainne | an outdoor building in which dairy produce was stored. Would only be found on a steading with a great number of cattle. |
| spainn bhròg | shoe horn. |
| searrag | a small glass made from the sharp point of a horn. |
| sùgan òrdaig | making a rope from a rick which you have just constructed. Starting at the side of a rick until you reach the required length. Then tied round the rick to secure it. |
| piullach | ragged. |
| Cha robh do chridh aig do chluais sin a dheanamh | local expression widely used in the Islands whose origin I am not sure of. |
| riopair | a towel consisting of an old sack. If you had been eating a meal such as herring you would clean your hands in this so as not to leave its smell on a cleaner towel. |
| gaiseadh na laimhe | refers to being careful as to how many seeds you planted in spring, being tight fisted about it. If you did not plant sufficient seeds what kind of harvest did you expect? Gaiseadh na laimhne agus mùthadh a’ chorrain [q.v.] – a saying associated with farming pointing to two things which would leave you bare. |
| mùthadh a’ chorrainn [sic] | refers to the stubble which would be left if the crop was not cut properly. Even if a few inches were left throughout a field it could still accumulate to a lot when added together. Therefore these two things (i.e. gaiseadh na laimhne [q.v.] agus mùthadh a chorrain) could leave you empty come harvest time. Gaiseadh na laimhne [q.v.] agus mùthadh a chorrain – a saying associated with farming pointing to two things which would leave you bare. |
| a’ chomhlach | a group of people gathered round and having a chat. |
| dean annlann dhe | to make something last, e.g. supplementing your main course by eating side salads thereby making your main course last longer. |
| ceillidh an taigh sheingse | relatively big occasions in days gone when men gathered in the pub after the cattle sale, one of the few days when they did enter a pub. Stories, anecdotes would be swapped. |
| driulionn [sic] | mixed up, entangled. |
| streambal | untidy and dirty. “Chan eil innte ach streambal cachda.” |
| dùdan | affected the ears of corn, whereby they went black on the inside although appearing normal in colour on the outside. Also called ‘gaiseadh’ and ‘putharan’. |
| [gaiseadh] | [See dùdan.] |
| [putharan] | [See dùdan.] |
| giobal | a useless stranger. |
| caingeis | having no preference, not bothered either way. “Tha e caingeis dhaibh dè an taobh a thig iad.” |
| liagainn iad air falbh | they sneaked away. |
| radhp laomunn | a sale of clothes belonging to recently deceased person. |
| radhp mosgainn | a sale of furniture belonging to recently deceased person. |
| teothadh | warming with drink. |
| straoidhlig | a shred. “’S gun straoidhlig aodaich air.” |
