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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BUIST, Büest, n.1 Also böst, baist. [bust Sc.; bøst I.Sc., sn.Sc.; b(j)ust ne.Sc., but Abd. + buʃt; byst m.Sc.; best Fif.]

1. “A box or chest” (Sc. 1808 Jam.); “a small box” (Ork. 1845 Stat. Acc.2 XV. 95; Ork., Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl.: Abd.2, Ags.1 1937, obs.).Sh. 1888 Edmonston and Saxby Home of a Naturalist 39:
The “Büest” . . . was an oval box, prettily carved and stitched (as it were) together by withes. . . . In it our mother kept her baby-gear.
Abd. 1900 A. F. Moir in Scots Mag. (March 1934) 440:
Few houses were without the “buist,” an open box containing a very varied collection of tools.
Mearns 1822 G. Menzies Poems (1854) 136:
O' a' the various kinds o' sorrow Within the buist o' famed Pandora.
Hdg. 1801 R. Gall Poems (1819) 26:
An' frae the willow buist did scatter A tate o' meal upo' the water.

Combs.: (1) meal-baist, a meal-chest (Fif. 1957); (2) Norrowa böst, a small carved box for trinkets, etc., made in Norway; (3) tar-buist, “the box in which the tar [for branding sheep] is kept” (Sc. 1825 Jam.2, s.v. buistin'-iron).(2)Sh. 1964 Sh. Folk Book IV. 7: 
The "kyist-lids" made convenient shelves for accomodating domestic and culinary articles when not in use, such as the "bakin-weight" and "bottle", "denner-troch," "Norrowa böst".

2. “A coffin; nearly antiquated, but still sometimes used by tradesmen” (Lth. 1808 Jam.).

Hence buist-maker, “a coffin-maker; a term now nearly obsolete” (Ib.).

3. fig. A strong, coarse person or animal.Ags. 1930 “A Kennedy” Orra Boughs xxiv.:
It's hard to be the first o' a breed o' buists and trallops that ever had a thocht tae clink against anither.
Lnk. 1825 Jam.2:
He's a buist of a fallow, He is a gross man; That's a buist of a horse, a strong-bodied horse.

[O.Sc. boist, boyst, buist, bust(e), a small box (D.O.S.T.); Mid.Eng. boiste, buiste, O.Fr. boiste, Mod.Fr. boîte, id. Gr. πυξις, Lat. pyx-is, -ida, late Lat. bossida, a box.]

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"Buist n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/buist>

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