Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1914
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BIDLY-BA, n.comb. A poor specimen of a man, a weakling, one who lacks energy or courage (Fif. 1975). Sometimes reduced to bidly.Fif. 1914 P. Smith The Herrin' (1951) 19:
The man that couldna' tame a gill Was what ye'd ca' nae man ava' In Dyker talk, "A Bidly Ba."
[Etym. uncertain, poss. orig. an impotent man, < ? but the ba (see But, prep.2, and ba' = testicle).]
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"Bidly-ba n. comb.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/snd00087972>
