Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1934 (SND Vol. I).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1788-1835, 1904-1934
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BEND, BENN, v.2, n.2
1. v. To spring. This extension of the meaning of bend is due to the action of bending preliminary to springing.Sc. 1904 Battle of Philiphaugh in Ballads (ed. Child) 202 i.:
The Scots outoer the Græmes they ran, Sae merrily they bended.
ppl.adj. bendit, ready to spring.Slk. a.1835 Hogg Tales, etc. (1837) I. i.:
What are ye sittin glowrin like a bendit wulcat there for?
2. n. A bound, a spring.Abd.(D) 1788 J. Skinner Christmass Bawing in Caled. Mag. xxiii.:
But a lang trypal there was snap, Came on him wi' a benn. [In Skinner Amusements, etc. 1809, x. benn is spelt bend.]
3. Phrases: (1) "To be upo bend, to be ready for action" (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.); (2) to get a bend on, to make a bend, to make a move, implying haste.(1) Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928):
Bend, preparedness, . . . to be on the point of undertaking something or going somewhere; what is du upo b[end] aboot? where are you going, what are you about?Sh.4 1934(2) Dmb. 1931 A. J. Cronin Hatter's Castle 66:
Things have been goin' rather ill with me lately . . . I must get a bend on to let my property.Dmb. 1931 A. J. Cronin Hatter's Castle 571:
We'll make a bend the minute we've finished our tea. Not a minute will we waste!
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"Bend v.2, n.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 9 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bend_v2_n2>
