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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

YEUKIE, adj. Also yeu(c)ky, yeuckie, yewky, euky, uikie; yuckie, -y, yukki (Sh.); yuicky; youkie, -y, yooky; yo(c)kie, yoky (ne.Sc.); nyuckie (Per. 1950) (see N, letter, 1.); and esp. in sense 3. yuchie, phs. by association with Yuch, int. See also Heuk, n.², v.² [I. and em.Sc. (a), wm.Sc. ′jʌke; em.Sc. (b), sm. and s.Sc. ′juke, ne.Sc., Fif. ′joke]

1. (1) Itchy, itching, of a part of the body (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.; Per., Fif., Lth., Ayr. 1915–26 Wilson; Bwk. 1942 Wettstein; Rxb. 1942 Zai). Gen.Sc.Sc. 1719 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I, 134:
We like Nags whase Necks are yucky, Ha'e us'd our Teeth.Kcb. 1789 D. Davidson Seasons 46:
Unto thy smooth'ning tongue they fairly turn Their yeuky rumps.Gsw. 1860 J. Young Poorhouse Lays 190:
The “New Lum” tae, . . . Fu' kindly slipp'd withouten din, A note my yuckie loof within.Wgt. 1878 “Saxon” Gall. Gossip 287:
Davie was awfu yeuky about the thrapple, and naething wad help it but whiskey.Slk. 1891 Sc. N. & Q. (Ser. 1) IV. 152:
A “yeuky loof” or itching palm is regarded as indicative of coming favours. . . . “A'm surely gaun to get something.”Ork. 1908 Old-Lore Misc. I. vi. 224:
Dere sair anouch tae hae an' affilly yeucky.Sh. 1931 Shetland Times (14 March) 7:
Me left lüf wis bün affil yukki a' day.Slg. 1935 W. D. Cocker Further Poems 81:
Yae cleg-bite's bad, but twa's unlucky, The mair ye scart the mair it's yeuckie.Ags. 1947 Forfar Dispatch (10 April):
I wiz juist giein my lum a bit sweepie, fin I gies a sneeze — the shuit garred my nose turn uikie.Abd. 1955 W. P. Milne Eppie Elrick iv.:
Sair bitties is aye yokie fin' ey're hellin.Edb. 2005:
Ah'm aw yeukie efter bein oot in thae midges.

Hence yeukieness, n., an itch, itchiness, also fig. a yearning or longing, the pangs of love (Ags. 1974).Bwk. 1853 G. Johnston Botany E. Borders 74:
If the hairs get into the neck, a youkiness is the disagreeable consequence.Abd. 1892 J. Cromar Prodigal's Wife 93:
I hed a yokiness aboot the hert that I couldna get in to claw [i.e. in love].Per. 1895 I. Maclaren Auld Lang Syne 126:
Like a sklatch o' eukiness half roond his waist.

(2) Prickly, causing itching.Sc. 1926 H. M'Diarmid Drunk Man 10:
But thocht o' thee — o' thy contempt and ire — Turns hauf the warld into the youky thistle there.

(3) Combs.: (i) yokie knot, a heat spot on the skin causing much itching (Abd. 1974); (ii) euky pine, a sheep disease marked by constant severe itching, scrapie. See Scrape, v., 1.(2) and Pine, n.(ii) Rxb. 1922 Kelso Chronicle (17 March) 4:
Besides scrapie, the disease was known as euky pine, cuddy trot, etc.

(4) Proverbial phr.: to (gar one) claw where it's no yeukie and variations of the expression, to (make one) smart, used as a threat (see I. 2.(2)). Gen.Sc.Ayr. 1822 Galt Sir A. Wylie xcvi.:
I hae a thought that would gar baith you and them claw whar it's no yeuky.Ags. 1846 P. Livingston Poems (1855) 125:
The place that's no yucky he'll get it to claw.Gsw. 1877 A. G. Murdoch Laird's Lykewake 20:
The stick gar'd me claw, as gleg's a buckie, My chafts, that erewhile werena yuckie.Fif. 1909 J. C. Craig Sangs o' Bairns 23:
Eh! but I cu'd mak' him claw Whaur he isna yeukie.Sc. 1948 Scots Mag. (Feb.) 354:
He yokit on us and, my certie, he garred us claw whaur it wasna youkie!

2. Fig. Excitedly eager, impatient, restlessly waiting to be active about something, e.g. dancing, fighting, travelling or the like (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Sh., ne.Sc., Ags., Slg. 1974); sexually excited (ne.Sc., Per., Ayr. 1974). Comb. youkie-bane, responsiveness to music and rhythm.Sc. 1722 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) III. 19:
Straight Bawsy rises, quickly dresses, While Haste his youky Mind expresses.Per. a.1843 J. Stewart Sketches (1857) 190:
A wee wee siller cruckie, O, Wad made them fidgin yucky.Sc. 1861 E. B. Ramsay Reminisc. 55:
I'm unco yuckie to hear a blaud o' yer gab.Sc. 1874 W. Allan Hamespun Lilts 147:
Wi' yuckie palm, to store unearned gear.Per. 1879 R. Ford Tayside Songs (1895) 299:
Destitute o' youkie-bane; His lug as timmer as his cane.Abd. 1909 C. Murray Hamewith 7:
The feet o' ilka man an' beast gat youkie when he played.Bnff. 1918 J. Mitchell Bydand 57:
My han's are fairly youkie for a tussle.Sc. 1935 D. Rorie Lum Hat 66:
She aye had some new story she was yooky for to tell.Ags. 1952 Forfar Dispatch (21 Aug.):
Fat it is tae hae youkie feet and a restless speerit that winna lat ye sattle at hame.

3. In a gen. derogatory sense: mean, shabby, clumsy, rough or squalid in appearance, behaviour, speech, etc., filthy (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Fif., Lth., Lnk., Ayr., Dmf. 1974); of work: roughly and carelessly done, scabby, perfunctory, badly-finished (Fif., Ayr. 1957), as in yuckie dicht, a quick hasty dusting or wiping (Ayr. 1947), yuckie yoke, a horse-harness in a patched and dilapidated state (Fif. 1957).Rxb. 1927 E. C. Smith Braid Haaick 23:
Sic a yooky waddeen; nae streiv!Rxb. 1942 Zai 162:
It was a gey yeukie preacher.