Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

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.

BUTT, n.⁴

1. An intimate companion, friend, workmate (Kcb.¹ 1937). Most common in dim. buttie, butty (Cai.⁷, Fif.¹⁰, Lnl.¹ 1937); in gen. dial. use also in Eng. (E.D.D.).Cai. 1907 D. B. Nicolson in County of Cai. 67; Cai.⁸ 1934:
'Ey ir great butts.Edb. 1931 E. Albert Herrin Jennie 190:
She must 'a' spent her money on her butties.Arg.¹ 1937:
Me an' him wuz butties for mony a day.Lnk. 1890 J. Coghill Poems 86:
Ane boastit owre his butties a' That nane wi' him could big a wa'.

2. An escort.Rnf.³ 1914:
I'll gie ye a butty hame.Gsw. 1962 Bill McGhee Cut and Run 18:
Ah'll gie ye a "butty" inty the toon, ... Gsw. 1988 Michael Munro The Patter Another Blast 11:
buttie or buttie-up A walk in the company of an acquaintance: 'Wait a wee minute an Ah'll gie ye a buttie up the road.' Gsw. 1992 Jeff Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! (1993) 109:
I managed to flannel around this gaffe by telling her that Archie Killoch, the Planet's unofficial nights-off man, had agreed to run the last reel so's I could give the drunken Paddy a butty up the road. This seemed to satisfy her.