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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

SCRUNT, v.2, n.2 Also skrunt.

I. v. 1. To scrape, scrub, scratch, grind (Ags. 1969). Also fig. Deriv. scrunter, a worker in a foundry who cleans and smoothes iron castings (Ags. 1969).Rnf. 1805 G. McIndoe Poems. 146:
His auld gray head he scrunted.
Gsw. 1860 J. Young Poorhouse Lays 31:
Jock leuk't his teeth, Moll said o' them There was but little danger, Tho' whiles he'd scrunted them at hame, Off trivice, heck, an' manger.
Slg. 1885 W. Towers Poems 65:
His law was but a grinding stane, That skrunted puir folk to the bane.

2. To plane (a board) roughly so as to remove a thick shaving, as in planing the joints in flooring (Abd., Ags., Lth., Lnk. 1969); to rough down pointing with a hand-pick (Id.).

3. To make a creaking noise (Cld. 1808 Jam.); to produce a harsh sound by scraping, as “by rubbing or scratching on a board with a blunted point” (Cld. 1825 Jam.); to scrape (a tune) on a fiddle.Rnf. a.1794 A. Wilson Poems (1876) II. 324:
Before the screen, wi' a bit fiddle sat . . . An' scruntit “Owre the hills an' far awa.”
Lnk. a.1832 W. Watt Poems (1860) 245:
[He] fond to show his dext'rous feats, Scrunts owre the rack like thunder.
Lnk. a.1852 Poets Scot. (Wilson) 384:
An' Ned now scrunts an interlude, Wi' short springs on his fiddle.

II. n. 1. The act of planing roughly; a thick or rough shaving of wood (Abd., Lnk. 1969). Cf. I. 2. Also fig. a critical survey.m.Lth. 1857 Misty Morning 109:
We've gien the maist o' things a bit gie scrunt.

2. A harsh grating sound made by scraping on wood or the like (Cld. 1825 Jam.). Phr. to play scrunt, to scrape (on a fiddle).Gsw. 1823 J. Livingston Comic Songs 34:
Whiles he played scrunt wi' the hair.
Clc. 1886 Mod. Sc. Poets (Edwards) IX. 90:
Twa scrunts o'er the strings make my troubles a' flee.
Ayr. 1901 G. Douglas Green Shutters xxvii.:
The scrunt of Janet's chair on the floor.
Fif. 1902 D. S. Meldrum Conquest of Charlotte iii. iii.:
A scrunt in the shafts as Jess [a horse] shook her head clear of the blow.

[Orig. prob. mainly imit. but with semantic influence from Scrunt, v.1 ]

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"Scrunt v.2, n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/scrunt_v2_n2>

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