Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1801-1932
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GIRNIGO, n., adj. Also girn(e)y-, girnie-, -goe, -gae, -gow, -gowl(ie), ¶grinigo.
I. n. "A contemptuous designation for a peevish person" (Sc. 1808 Jam., girnigo, -gae; Sh.10 1954, girnie-gowlie).Rxb. 1801 Leyden Complaynt Scot. 318:
Tell your carle (alias gib) cat, Auld Girniegae o' Cragend's dead.Per.2 1928:
An old woman in the Dunkeld-Caputh district once said to a little girl who was in a "tantrum": "Girny-gowl, the cat's auntie!"Ags. 1932 Scots Mag. (Feb.) 363:
One was young and debonair, and the t'other as cankered an old girnigoe as the world could well hold.
II. adj. Peevish, ill-tempered.Edb. 1843 J. Ballantine Gaberlunzie 178:
Skirlin' weans, an' a girnigo dame, Might set ony man to the barley bree.Edb. 1844 J. Ballantine Miller 134:
Drowsy faces a' peeping out ower Wi' surly brow an' wi' girnigo look.
III. Combs.: †1. girnigo (grinigo)-gash, a scoffing term addressed to a petulant child (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 63); 2. girnigo-gibbie (Rnf. 1788 E. Picken Poems, Gl.; Fif.13 1954), girny-gow-gibby (Ork. 1929 Marw.), girn(e)y-go-gab(b)y, id. (Dwn. 1931 North. Whig (5 Dec.) 13, girney-go-gaby).1. ne.Sc. 1881 W. Gregor Folk-Lore 17:
Grinigo Gash, the laird's piper.2. Dmf. 1847 R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes 185:
Girnigo Gibbie, The cat's guid-minny!Uls. 1880 Patterson Gl.:
"Girny go gabby the cat's cousin," said to a child that cries frequently without much cause.
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"Girnigo n., adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/girnigo>
