Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BLETHERING TAM, n.

1. “The three-spined stickleback” (wm. Sc. [1835] Laird of Logan (1868) App. 483; Kcb.³ 1929), Gasterosteus aculeatus.

2. “The whitethroat, Sylvia Cinerea” (Rnf. 1885 C. Swainson Brit. Birds 23; wm.Sc. 1835 Laird of Logan II. App. 292; Kcb.³ 1929).Sc. 1994 Herald 27 Aug 28:
Ashy head, fawn-pink belly, ochre back and white outer tail feathers make the whitethroat easy to identify, quite apart from its eponymous field mark, which it often puffs out in display. Hence the old Scots name, Beardie, others being White Lintie and Blethering Tam, this last as much from it's drinker's pose.