A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1963 (DOST Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1637
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Half-loaf, n. In the phr. To leap at the half-loaf, ‘To snatch at small boons’ (J). — 1637 Monro Exped. 36 (J., who adds: ‘The phrase, "loupin at the half-loaf" is still used, Rxb.’, and gives an explanation).
Rather to live honourably abroade … , then to encroach … on their friends at home, as we say in Scotland, leaping at the half loafe
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"Half-loaf n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 14 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/half_loaf>
