Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1946-1987
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GLENNIE, Glenny, n. Mining: a flame safety-lamp used for testing the presence of gas (Edb.6 1944). Fif. 1950 Edb. Ev. Dispatch (28 Jan.):
"By the way, it's a naked light you have." "Yes," I replied, "It's a glennie lamp that they are using in that section."
Comb.: glenny blinks, miner's nystagmus (Edb.6 1944, obsol.).Also fig.Ayr. 1946 Forward (21 Dec.) 1:
After sixteen years of this, he had to leave because of the "Glennie Blinks" — the eye-twitch with which miners were afflicted through working in the dark with the old-style flickering lamps. 1987:
That wid gie ye the Glennie-blink.
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"Glennie n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 17 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/glennie>
