A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue (up to 1700)
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First published 1986 (DOST Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1627-1692
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Quhap, Whap, Whawp, n. (Cf. e.m.E. wap ‘a turn of a string wrapped round something’ (1545), also in the later north. Eng. and north-east Sc. dials. = ‘a splicing or joining made by means of a cord or twine tied round’, etc. (SND, s.v. Wap n.2 1).) Only in the proverbial expression there is a quhap in the rape, there is a joint (a potentially weak spot) in the rope, ‘there is a hitch somewhere’. — a1628 Carmichael Prov. No. 1530.
There is a quhap in the raip 1657 R. Moray Lett. 72.
There would have been a whawp in the rope if you had told me such a theaveless tale 1692 Presbyterian Eloquence (1692) 106.
There is a whap in the rape [pr. kape: gl. all's not well]
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"Quhap n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/dost/quhap>
