Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1808-1824
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BLUE-CAP, n.
1. One of the common order of Scotsmen — i.e. one who wears a blue cap; often used contemptuously.Sc. 1808 Scott Letters (1932) II. 122:
Can I not procure you a score of blue-caps who would rather write for us than for the Edinburgh Review if they got as much as pay by it?Sc. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet xx.:
"Gentlemen! — humph!" said Crackenthorp — "not a blue-cap among them but halts upon that foot."
2. A mining term. See Blue, III. 2.
3. Name of a bird. See Blue, V. 2.
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"Blue-cap n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/bluecap>
