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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

SETURDAY, n. Also Settur- (Arg. 1920 H. Foulis Vital Spark 126), Setarday (Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 27; Ags. 1894 J. B. Salmond My Man Sandy (1899) vii.), Seter- (Rxb. 1912 Kelso Chronicle (11 Oct.)) , Setterday (Abd. 1865 G. MacDonald Alec Forbes xliii.; Dmf. 1912 J. L. Waugh Robbie Doo 15; Ags. 1929 Scots Mag. (April) 71), -dae (Ork. 1911 Old-Lore Misc. IV. iv. 184), Saiterday (Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxi.), Saitur- (Abd. 1882 W. Alexander My Ain Folk 88; Lth. 1894 P. H. Hunter J. Inwick 72), and etym. forms Saturn(s)day (Abd. 1700 Abd. Burgh Rec. (1872) II. 329; Sc. 1702 Lord Seafield's Letters (S.H.S.) 115; Bte. 1747 Rothesay T.C. Rec. (1935) II. 801). The form Se'erday represents the glottal stop pronunciation of m.Sc. (Rnf. 1925 G. Blake Wild Men i.; wm.Sc. 1932 A. H. Charteris When the Scot Smiles 264). Sc. forms of Eng. Saturday (Gall. 1700 Session Bk. Minnigaff (1939) 35; Edb. 1931 E. Albert Herrin' Jennie v.). [Gen.Sc. ′setərde]wm.Sc. 1991 James Russell Grant in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 54:
Monday tae Seturday fou'r times a day m.Sc. 1994 Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay Forever Yours, Marie-Lou 5:
MARIE-LOUISE How did ye no stey in yir bed?
MANON Wid you mind tellin me...
MARIE-LOUISE It's Setterday. Arg. 1998 Angus Martin The Song of the Quern 54:
But, och, we'll thole it a, boys, an scowrie weather tae,
for we ken that Setterday's aye drawin near.
Wi a dirty sheaf o nots in yer nefe
ye'll droon the Banks o Ballantrae in beer.

Sc. usages in combs.: 1. blin' Seturday, a Saturday of the week in which no pay is given to those who are paid fortnightly (em.Sc. (a), wm.Sc., Dmf., Slk. 1970); 2. blowing Saturday, see quot.; ‡3. little Seturday, Wednesday, which is often a half-day among shopkeepers (Abd., Kcd. 1970); 4. Saturday kebbuck, “a cheese made of the overnight and morning's milk, poured cream and all into the yearning tub” (Sc. 1911 S.D.D.); 5. Saturday's bawbee, -(ha') penny, a (half) penny given to a child every Saturday as pocket money (Sc. 1911 S.D.D., bawbee). Gen.Sc.; 6. Saturday's change, a change of weather occurring on a Saturday, esp. during harvest and thought to presage a bad spell; 7. Saturday's slap, -sloppe, the opening of a salmon-weir in a river at the week-ends to allow salmon to pass to the upper reaches during which time it is illegal to fish for them. See Slap; 8. silken Seturday, a fine-weather Saturday; 9. siller Saturday, Saturday as pay-day, esp. among weavers in the west of Scotland; found in a variant of the rhyme under 10. Cf. also 1. above; 10. wee Setterdy, the last night of the year, Hogmanay; the Wednesday before the Spring Communion service, only in rhyme in 1936 quot. See Cockie-law and cf. 3.1. Dmf. 1957 People's Jnl. (8 June) 7:
For those of us whose fathers were paid fortnightly there was pey Seturday and there was blin' Seturday.2. Inv. 1817 Wernerian Soc. Mem. III. 257:
So very uncommon was the violence of this storm, that the 20th. February 1799, is still called in the language of the country, “The Blowing Saturday”.5. Ags. 1886 A. Willock Rosetty Ends 156:
It no' bein' the day on which they got their Saturday's ha'penny.6. Per. 1809 Letters J. Ramsay (S.H.S.) 264:
We now see that a Saturdays change is not so bad as is said.8. Ork. 1969:
A silken Seturday aften maks a canvas Monday. Good weather on Saturday seldom lasts out the week-end.9. wm.Sc. 1847 R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes 316:
This is siller Saturday The morn's the resting-day; Monanday up and till't again, And Tyesday push away. — A favourite rhyme amongst the wives of the working-men in the west.10. Arg. 1914 J. M. Hay Gillespie ii. iv.:
It was the night of “wee Setterday”, the last night of the year.Slg. 1936 Glasgow Herald (11 Aug.) 7:
This rhyme was used by the street vendors in Falkirk district to warn their customers to make their purchases early, as it was “early closing day” on a particular Saturday. Her version was: — This is wee Setterday, The morn's cocky law, I'll no be back tae Monday Tae gie ye a' a ca'.