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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

MUG, n.2, v.1 Also dims. muggie, -y, and pl. mugs with sing. meaning (Rnf.).

I. n. 1. The hole in the ground which is used as a target in certain games of marbles (Lnk. 1825 Jam.; Cld. 1880 Ib.; Rxb. 1942 Zai.; Ayr. 1963). Cf. Kype, Mosh, n.2Rnf. 1869 Athenaeum (5 June) 772:
Mug, mouth, hence a certain game at marbles, where a semi-circular hole is made in the ground to receive them, is called “muggie”, or “mugs,” in Renfrewshire.

2. The name of the game itself (Ayr. c.1930; wm.Sc. 1963, muggie).Rnf. 1877 J. Neilson Poems 92:
An' at “muggie”, losh, my sirs, Johnnie aften brags.
Per. 1889 T. Edwards Strathearn Lyrics 34:
But the best o' them a' was a game at the bools, The “mug” or the “ring,” wi' its wonderfu' rules.
Bwk. 1897 R. Calder Poems 68:
We played at ba' or muggie.
Ayr., s.Sc. 1919 T.S.D.C.:
Muggy. A marble game. A hole is dug in the ground with the heel (the hole itself is also the muggy). Players trow up to the muggy from the taw; he who first gets into the muggy measures a spang out of it and then tries to hit his opponent's bool; if he hits it, he gets it if the game is wonny; if the game, however, is only funny the boy whose marble has been struck is out of the game. So on till all have been eliminated but one, when the game is finished.

3. Jocularly applied to the target in other games: the hole in a golf-green (wm.Sc.1 1963); the mark where the batsman stands in the Sh. game of rounders (Sh.10 1963).

II. v. 1. To roll a marble into the mug (Cld. 1880 Jam., mug(gie)).

2. To bounce a ball against a wall in certain games such as wa'baw, q.v. (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 353).

[Poss. an extended usage of mug, a cup.]

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"Mug n.2, v.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/mug_n2_v1>

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