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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

‡MANTIE, n. Also ma(u)nt(a)y; manto. Sc. variants of Eng. mantua, manteau.

1. A loose flowing gown, gen. made of a silken material (Lth., Cld. 1880 Jam.); a shawl (Slg. 1950), in this sense phs. rather a reduced form of Manteel.Sc. 1818 Scott H. Midlothian xxxvi.:
I wonder how my cousin's silk manty, and her gowd watch, or ony thing in the world, can be worth sitting sneezing all her life in this little stifling room.

2. Combs.: (1) mantie-coat, = 1.; (2) mantie-maker, maunty- —, mantimakker, a dress-maker (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl.; Sh., ne.Sc., Slk. 1962); reduced form mantie (Bwk. 1958). Phr. mantie-maker's jig, the stirring of the tea-leaves in the teapot in order to extract the maximum strength from them (Sc. a.1838 Jam. MSS. XI. 113), in jocular reference to the poverty of dress-makers.(1) Abd. c.1700 New Bk. Old Ballads (Maidment 1885) 11:
With pity coat and mantay coat, And jampy coat like lilly.(2) Bnff. 1787 W. Taylor Poems 55:
Now she is grown a Manty-maker.Bwk. 1859 P. Landreth J. Spindle (1911) 27:
My faither . . . said tylers werena' men, but mantymakers wi' beards.ne.Sc. 1884 D. Grant Lays 69:
Eidently for wives an' lasses Mantie-mackers shaped an' shewed.Ayr. 1891 H. Johnston Kilmallie I. xviii.:
She's a sewer, I think — a manty-maker, or something like that, I would suppose, from the needle-marks on her fingers.