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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.

SLEEK, adj., adv., v., n.¹ Also sleik, sleak, slieck; erron. sleet; sleeg-; sli(c)k, sleck; and extended forms under I.Sc. forms and usages. [slik; ne.Sc. + slɪk]

I. adj. 1. As in Eng. Also in extended forms sleekie, -y, sleek, smooth, slippery; used subst., the conger eel (Sh. 1970). Adv. sliekly, smoothly.Sc. 1790 Coll. Sc. Songs II. 51:
A gude fat sow, a sleeky cow.Peb. 1808 in Ramsay Gentle Shep. (Scenary ed.) II. 708:
Round a howm on t' odder syde The burnie rins mair sliekly.Sc. 1839 Blackwood's Mag. (Nov.) 654:
Rubbing his sleeky person against our dexter leg.Gsw. 1863 J. Young Ingle Nook 88:
The while her neebor baudran, Mattie, Weel keepit, sleekie was, an' fat aye.Ayr. 1879 J. White Jottings 182:
Whilst sleeky naigs did prance.Sh. 1953 New Shetlander No. 35. 14:
First give the sleekie a knoilt on the skult to quieten him, then insert the thick oak staff in his mouth and stir vigorously till the hook comes adrift.

Combs. (1) sleek measure, a method of measuring the volume of a commodity, esp. grain, fruit, etc., in which the container is filled level to the brim or sleeked, (see III. 2. below), but not heaped; (2) sleekstone, a whetstone, a smooth stone used for smoothing or polishing. Obs. in Eng. exc. dial. Cf. III. 3.(1) Dmf. 1794 Stat. Acc.¹ XIII. 256 note:
In grain of all kinds, sleek or even measure is used; but in lime measure, the peck is heaped.(2) Abd. 1859 Scots Mag. (April 1943) 64:
Old Wull took from his waistcoat pocket a little “sleek” stone.

2. Gen. in forms sleekie, -y, slikie: (1) smooth and insinuating in manner, unctuous, fawning and deceitful (Abd., Dmf., Rxb. 1825 Jam.); cunning, wily, self-seeking, sly (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Abd., Kcd., Slg., Fif., Lth., wm. and s.Sc. 1970), also used subst., a specious, plausible, wheedling person (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 166; Watson), sometimes used jocularly to a child or pet animal (Gregor). In this sense sleek is obs. or liter., in Eng. Combs. sleek-gabbit, smooth-tongued, oily, specious. Cf. slee-gabbit s.v. Slee, and III. 1. below; sleekie-bird, fig., a cunning fellow, a sneak; slick-tongued, = sleek-gabbit above.Edb. 1788 J. Macaulay Poems 188:
They're wily, slee, an' sleek.Peb. 1793 R. D. C. Brown Carlop Green (1817) 128:
The baggy, brosy, Baudrins braid, Sae sleeky and sae slee.m.Lth. 1833 Fraser's Mag. (June) 677:
A slikie old Scotchman, who used to step in for a crack, observed it.s.Sc. a.1838 Jam. MSS. XII. 202:
May the sleekie-bird ne'er build a nest, That sung to see the hawk wi' me!Dmf. 1836 A. Cunningham Lord Roldan III. x.:
Ye maun trust to the tongue, and ye shall find mine a slee and a sleeky ane.Edb. 1856 J. Ballantine Poems 108:
He is sleek in the tongue, he is gleg in the een.Rnf. 1862 A. M'Gilvray Poems and Songs 187:
To let poor simpletons see through The sleeky tribe.Per. 1883 R. Cleland Inchbracken vii.:
Ye're a pawkie loon an' a slick-tongued!Rxb. 1892 Hist. Bwk. Nat. Club XIV. 164:
She called the cat a fiznick for fondling her. At other times she called her a sleekie, this being the common word.s.Sc. 1898 E. Hamilton Mawkin x.:
I'd crack his sleek-gabbit head against a rock.Abd. 1904 W. Farquhar Fyvie Lintie 129:
Sae was't wi' Rory, sleek and slee.Abd. 1930 Children's Rhyme:
Fa goes roon the house at nicht? Neen but sleekie Tam.

(2) Secret, kept out of sight, concealed.Sh. 1953 New Shetlander No. 35. 13:
Every properly provided house had a sleekie muggy hanging on the twart-baaks, soot begrimed, and with its own particular vaam, ready for use in emergency.Sh. 1959 Shetland News (21 April) 3:
[To] lay sleekie lines in order to provide bait for the following day.

II. adv. Slyly, stealthily, covertly.Lnk. 1838 A. Rodger Poems (1897) 174:
Slip fu' sleek A bonnie yellow George or twa Into their cheek.

III. v. 1. As in Eng., to make smooth, rub or polish. Phr. to sleek one's ee, to rub one's eyes (Ags. 1930). Ppl.adj. sleekit, -et, sleeked, sleikit, (1) smooth, having an even surface or glossy skin (Cai. 1904 E.D.D., slicked; Cai., Abd., Slg., Fif., Lth., wm. and sm.Sc. 1970); (2) fig., of persons or their words or actions: smooth in manner, plausible, ingratiating, unctuous; insinuating, sly, cunning, specious, not altogether to be trusted (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Uls. 1953 Traynor); of weather: deceptive. Gen.Sc. Also adv. and as n., a sly person (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 428). Comb. sleekit-gabbit, smooth-spoken, oily in manner of speech (Sc. 1825 Jam.). Cf. I. 2. Derivs. sleekitly, adv., in an artful, sly way, fawningly (Sc. 1825 Jam.); sleekitness, n., speciousness, slyness, insincere obsequiousness (Ib.). Gen.Sc.(1) Ayr. 1785 Burns To a Mouse i.:
Wee, sleeket, cowrin, tim'rous beastie.Edb. 1791 J. Learmont Poems 304:
There's something here, Will mak life's road to me fou snodly sleekit.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 191:
His dykes had ne'er the sleek'd skin.Wgt. 1880 G. Fraser Lowland Lore 164:
Big pamper'd paddocks, geyan sleekit.Abd. 1923 Banffshire Jnl. (30 Jan.):
A sleekit coo brocht in the fite siller.Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 28:
The grund alow
sleekit wi ice;
air at zero
freezin ilka voice.(2) Abd. 1748 R. Forbes Ajax 5:
As far in chaft-taak he exceeds Me, wi' his sleeked tongue.Ayr. 1790 Burns To a Gentleman 23:
If sleekit Chatham Will was livin'.Edb. 1791 J. Learmont Poems 165:
Sleekit gabbit Edmund Burke.Sc. 1819 J. Rennie St Patrick I.:
Whan they saw that open force wad do nae good, St. Patrick advised tae come about them sleeketly.Sc. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet Lett. xi.:
The same soft, sleekit tone of voice.Lnk. 1867 J. M. Peacock Reverie 124:
The hoolet-like look o' his wee sleekit een.Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 13:
Sheu had a sleekid tong' i' her heid.Kcb. 1901 R. Trotter Gall. Gossip 455:
The sleekit cutty! wha wud'a' thocht it o' her?Uls. 1924 Northern Whig (8 Jan.):
A “sleekit” person is one given to “spying farleys” and not to be relied on.Abd. 1928 N. Shepherd Quarry Wood xvi.:
Says she sleekit like.Dmb. 1931 A. J. Cronin Hatter's Castle i. iv.:
A sleekit, namby pamby fellow.m.Sc. 1939 James Barke The Land of the Leal (1987) 389:
For himself he found it difficult to be angry with Geordie-mean, sleeked and sly though he was.Sc. 1956 Scotsman (23 Jan.) 6:
He's sae sleekit your een fair skyte off him.Abd. 1963 Press and Journal (3 Jan.):
A sky that only hours earlier held all the promise of a continuation of the spring-like conditions that preceded the sudden and unexpected switch to wintriness. Her comment: “That's ower sleekit a ding-on, I dinna like it.”Sh. 1968 New Shetlander No. 87. 6:
Men, dir aa da sam, jüst a baand o sleegit pooshins, baith aald an young. Abd. 1990 Stanley Robertson Fish-Hooses (1992) 12:
They were kind of sleekit. Whin they heard mi reading Muggie's palm for a laugh, then they aa wanted it deen. They aa turned kind tae mi and even dame Polly changed her tune taewards mi. But I wisnae being taken in by them. Lnk. 1991 Duncan Glen Selected Poems 62:
But see there
out of the setting sun
into these dark and humdrum days
stots a sleekit ferlie,
ilka makar haein his ain laugh.
There, and here, a language,
fire-flaucht, handsel agin drivin wunds. m.Sc. 1991 William Neill in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 52:
Yon Mouss-trap geggie, yon wes sleekit wark
tae shaw hou pushent lug-holes gar ye dee wm.Sc. 1991 Bill Sutherland in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 146:
Gaun, cleek yer new lodd, show him aff,
make gled eyes it his gallus chaff,
fur Ah've clockt he's a sleekit nyaff -
bit don't come runnin back tae me. m.Sc. 1992 James Meek Last Orders 141:
Quarterly figures. New plant. Executive incentive plan. Compulsory redundancies. Cost saving measures. Non-executive directors. That was the boy. Ah, sleekit wee Hitlers they were. He had something hidden away for them, did he not? What was it again? m.Sc. 1995 William Neill in Sheena Blackhall Lament for the Raj 26:
Thay bood tae pit him doun for yon brave ettle,
the sleikit gentrie that just cudna thole
an upstairt peasant pyntin oot the truith,
haudin the aidle o Scotland ablo their nebs. m.Sc. 1996 John Murray Aspen 6:
Syne Ah met wi Dodd Fox,
but he slippit me a sleikit luik
an smooled intil a syke, m.Sc. 1997 Liz Niven Past Presents 13:
Wi'oot leavin yer ain lan
Ye can still be an exile
Wha watches the lies o
The lan an the leid
Aw taen fae within.
A sleekit kinna wey
O kiddin ye wi
Veneers o democracy. em.Sc. 2000 James Robertson The Fanatic 204:
... Earl of Linlithgow, a sixty-year-old soldier, commander-in-chief of the King's forces in Scotland, and still fond of riding out at the head of his dragoons to break up field-gatherings; and Charles Maitland, Lord Haltoun, younger brother to Lauderdale, a sleekit, supercilious, grasping nepotist if ever there was one.

2. Specif., in measuring produce, esp. grain or fruit: to level off (the contents of the measure) with the mouth of the container, to smooth the heaped-up commodity from the top of a capacity measure leaving the surface level (Cld. 1880 Jam.; Abd., Ags., Ayr., Slk. 1970). Also of the commodity itself: to fill (a vessel) level with the brim. Ppl.adj. sleekit, filled to the brim without overflowing or being heaped up. Cf. Sleek-measure, under I. 1. and sleek, under IV. 3. Comb. sleaked-ful, as a n., a level measureful (Gall. 1904 E.D.D.).Sc. 1825 Jam.:
“Noo, sleek the stimpart”, i.e., smooth or level the grain in the measure.Kcb. 1861 R. Quinn Heather Lintie 108:
The tears I shed behin' her Wad sleek a sheuch.Kcb. 1897 T. Murray Frae the Heather 33:
Cauld Boreas speeds the tempest, And cleughs are sleekit fu'.

3. To sharpen, put an edge on. Hence sleekin-stane, a whetstone (Sc. a.1838 Jam. MSS. XI. 168).

4. To slip, slide or insert (something flat) below another object, to push in out of sight.Abd. 1804 W. Tarras Poems 74:
A' tramp their feckfu' jerkin fu', To sleek aneath the bowster.

5. To walk or move in a smooth, furtive manner, to slink, sneak, glide noiselessly, steal along (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 166; Sh., n.Sc., Ags., Lth., Lnk., Dmf. 1970).Abd. 1804 W. Tarras Poems 17:
Whare will ye land, when days o' greif Come sleekin in, like midnight thief, An' nails yir mad-leed vauntin.Bwk. 1876 W. Brockie Leaderside Leg. 25:
Then he wad sleek sleely back wi' some piece o' news.Ayr. 1892 H. Ainslie Pilgrimage 215:
Venom's a sleeking, slimy lizard.Fif. 1909 R. Holman Char. Studies 15:
They've sleekit awa' gey quite like.Abd. 1920 G. P. Dunbar Peat Reek 18:
Syne aff he gangs sleekin'.

6. tr. To flatter, praise, wheedle, ingratiate oneself with. Also intr. in phr. to sleek in wi', to fawn on or curry favour with (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Slg., Fif., Bwk., wm. and s.Sc. 1970).Lnk. a.1779 D. Graham Writings (1883) II. 93:
To blow the goodwife, and sleek the goodman.Edb. 1791 J. Learmont Poems 31:
Thae ay their kintry weel soud sleek, An' clap their head.

IV. n. 1. An act of smoothing, specif. (1) the act of sharpening a knife, scythe, etc. (Sc. a.1838 Jam. MSS. XI. 168); (2) “Used to denote the sweep of a net” (Ib.).

2. Flattery, smooth talk, unctuousness (Sh. 1970).Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 99:
Noo, lass, I'll tell thee Johnnie Wa's May blaw thee up wi' sleek an' haever.

3. A measure of capacity applied to certain commodities, esp. grain or fruit, gauged by weighing the amount of the commodity which will fill a given vessel level with the rim and not heaped up, a shortened form of sleek measure, see I. 1.(1) (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Lnk. 1960). The sleek is still used in the fruit-orchards of Lanarkshire (see 1908 quot.). Also as coll. sing.Rnf. 1705 W. Hector Judicial Rec. (1876) 44:
To give and deliver to the said Alexr. Naipper of Blackstoune ten slicks of keeping apples.Ayr. 1748 Session Papers, Petition J. Smith (8 Feb. 1765) 2:
Two sleik fruit yearly, one of pears and another of apples yearly.Bwk. 1809 R. Kerr Agric. Bwk. 448:
Six fills of the corn firlot up to the edge of the wood, or a little higher, called sleaks.Gsw. 1820 J. Cleland Rise & Progress 167:
Fruit is sold by the sleek of 20 Scotch pints.Lnk. 1824 J. Sinclair Prospectus for Analysis of Stat. Acc. App. 29:
The Standard Sleek for the Sale of Fruit, contains 2231.25 cubic inches, equal to 43 lbs. avoirdupois. The Standard Sleek for the Sale of Onions, contains 1785 cubic inches, equal of 39 lbs. 5 oz. avoirdupois.Mry. 1829 G. Buchanan Tables 210:
Potatoes [sold] by the Barley Firlot measure twice filled and raised a little above the brim, but not heaped, as designated by the provincial term a Sleek, eight of which fills make a Boll.Lnk. 1856 Deil's Halloween 19:
A heavy sleet [sic] o' Sodom apples.Sc. 1908 J. C. Newsham Hortic. Note-Bk. 10:
The sleek or West of Scotland bushel now represents a fixed weight as tabulated. Apples 40 lbs. Pears 50 lbs. Plums 60 lbs.