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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

HUMMIE, n.3 Also hummy.

1. A cry used in the game of shinty to warn an opponent to keep to his own side, off-side! (Slk. 1825 Jam.). Also phrs. hummie your stick, — side, id. (Edb. 1910 Scotsman (6 Sept.), — side).Edb. 1897 Edb. Ev. Dispatch (18 Nov.):
In Fife the cry hereabouts of “hummie your side” is expressed in the one word “karshab.”
s.Sc. 1902 E.D.D.:
This cry [hummie your stick] is raised at the game of shinty when a player crosses to his opponents' side although still striking the ball in the direction contrary to his opponent. By doing this he renders himself liable to knocks from the enemy's shinty-sticks until he returns to his proper side.

2. The game of Shinty (Lth. 1808 Jam., Add.); also the stick used in the game (Ib.).Lth. 1821 Blackwood's Mag. (Aug.) 36:
The shinty, or hummy, is played by a set of boys in two divisions, who attempt . . . to drive with curved sticks a ball, or what is more common, part of the vertebral bone of a sheep, in opposite directions.

[Orig. uncertain. ? Cf. the call hun ye in the game, recorded for Sheffield dial. and the similar development of the alternative name Shinty, q.v. Cf. also Heytie, id., ? < hey tae ye.]

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"Hummie n.3". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 24 Apr 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/hummie_n3>

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