Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1788, 1904-1925
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‡BRAIN, adj. Mad, enraged, furious. Known to Fif.10 c.1895.Sc. 1904 Lord Ingram and Chiel Wyet in Ballads (ed. Child) No. 66A xxviii.:
There was no pity for that two lords, Where they were lying slain; But all was for her Lady Maisery In that bower she gaed brain.Abd.(D) 1788 J. Skinner Christmass Bawing xxiv. in Caled. Mag. 503:
He was his ain hauf-brither, I wat my sell he was fou' brain, And how cou'd he be ither?Abd. 1925 Greig and Keith Last Leaves 209:
An' he's awa to his lady As fast as he could gang, But when he went to his lady, She was like to gang brain.
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"Brain adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/brain_adj>
