Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1986-2000
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SHANKIE, n. Also shunkie, shunkey, shunky. A water-closet (m.Sc. 1970); a privy of any kind (Kcb. 1970); a toilet (pedestal).Edb. 1986 Fred Urquhart in Joy Hendry Chapman 46 43:
" ... Then, half an hour after that, when Big Isa wanted to go to the shunky, I found him there wi' his troosers round his ankles." wm.Sc. 1988 Robin Jenkins Just Duffy 172:
Mick's in the shunkey, where he spends half his life, tossing himself off, ... Edb. 1993 Irvine Welsh Trainspotting (1994) 25:
Ah whip oaf ma keks and sit oan the cold wet porcelain shunky. w.Lth. 2000 Davie Kerr A Puckle Poems 18:
We hae flo-oer bedecked borders an tidy trimmed greens, -
But memory flickers tho' dear scenes lang awa
An scents fae the shunky, in the auld Monkey Raw.
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"Shankie n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 7 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/shankie>
