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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

TROLLOP, n., v. Also trallap, -op; treelip (ne.Sc.). Sc. forms and usages of Eng. trollop, a slattern. Occas. used in pl. form with sing. meaning (Per. 1835 J. Monteith Dunblane Trad. (1887) 75). The forms in -a- are also found in n.Eng. dial.

I. n. 1. A long, gangling, ungainly person or animal (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 199; Abd. 1952, treelip; Ork., ne., em.Sc.(a), w.Lth., wm.Sc. 1973). Adj. treelippy, stringy, lanky (Abd. 1911 Abd. Weekly Jnl. (31 March)).Abd. 1878 The Academic 121:
Fat's a blash o' tea an' a fluff o' loaf-breid to a lang, teem trallop like you?Ags. 1930 A. Kennedy Orra Boughs xxiv.:
The first o' a breed o' buists and trallops.ne.Sc. 1956 Mearns Leader (23 March):
A lang treelip o' a fite horse.

2. A long trailing piece of cloth, a loose-hanging rag, a tatter; a large ugly straggling mass of anything (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 199; I. and n.Sc. 1973 trallop, treelip). Per. a.1843 J. Stewart Characters (1857) 65:
The chackit daidle, or bit brattie, That hings in trollops on your dawtie.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 199:
His kilt wiz a' in trollops.Abd. 1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick xx.:
A lang trallop o' a fite dud.

Deriv.: trollopie, untidy, hanging loose (Sh., Bnff., Ags., Fif., Edb., Ayr., Rxb. 2000s).Edb. 1993:
Ah eywis look trollopie in a skirt an blouse.Sc. 1998 Herald 6 Apr 16:
Initially, Sauce Burd confined herself to comments about the inappropriately adult, consciously-trollopy clothing worn by some of the audience's younger members.Sc. 2002 Herald 26 Aug 13:
One only needs to look, however, at today's wedding photographs to see how trollopy some kilt-wearers look; ...Sc. 2002 Express 18 Sep 9:
I am forced to agree with Mr Charles Edmond, of Tighnabruaich, who laments the modern tendency to wear the kilt in such a "trollopy" fashion.Dmb. 2004:
That's a right trollopie coat ye're wearin.

3. Rubbishy talk, nonsense (Ork. 1973).

II. v. To work in a slovenly dirty manner, with at (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 199); of clothes: to hang or trail in a loose untidy or wet state about one (Bnff., Abd., Ags., Slg. 1973); to trail.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 199:
The bairn cam in ass caul's geal, wee 'ts frockie a' trollopin' aboot it's leggies.Gsw. 1985 Moira Burgess in Julie Milton Original Prints 11:
And there in the middle of the gospel itself, didn't two young mothers with three toddlers between them come trolloping up the aisle!