Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
Hide Quotations Hide Etymology
About this entry:
First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1827-1834
[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]
FOGO, prop. n. In phr. to be the cooper o' Fogo, see quot. and cf. also Cooper o' Stobo, and quot. s.v. Faither, n., 2. (1).Bwk. 1827 R. Chambers Picture of Scotland I. 39:
Fogo used to be distinguished for the excellence of its cooper, or rather for the progressive improvement and increasing dexterity of a long race of coopers; every successive member of which displaying greater skill than his father, gave occasion to the proverbial saying, "Ye're just the cooper o' Fogo'" meaning that you are a better man than your father.s.Sc. 1834 Hogg Domest. Manners Sir W. Scott (1909) 87:
I was afraid he would never be the Cooper of Fogo, for he seemed to be blest with a very thick head.
You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Fogo prop. n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/fogo>
