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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

CLEEK, n.2 A term applied to Aberdeen weavers taking jobs in the Dundee mills.Ags. 1870 W. Buchanan Olden Days in Aberdeen Preface vii.:
The Dundee folks did not like to see so many Aberdeen “cleeks,” as they called them, coming to take up their spare jobs. . . . When they arrived . . . the Dundonians would say by way of banter, “Ye'll better look oot, there's a curn mair cleeks come the day.”

[Origin uncertain, but cf. Cleek, v.1, below, the Aberdonians being regarded as interlopers and “seizing” jobs legitimately belonging to the Dundonians.]

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"Cleek n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 2 May 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/cleek_n2>

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