Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1835-1897, 1952-1956
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BLAME, v. Also bleem, dialect variant of Eng. blame. [blim]Ork.(D) 1880 Dennison Orcad. Sk. Bk. 19:
I ken you an' a' your folk bleemed the laird o' Hellsness — me peur boy.Ork. 1952 R. T. Johnston Stenwick Days (1984) 68:
"Desh, id wur theesel tae bleem. Thoo hidno peyed thee subscription for fower 'ear." Ork. 1956 C. M. Costie in Neil R. MacCallum Lallans 51 (1998) 5:
"Weel," said the Auld Man, "if thoo're coman wae me thoo'll mind I didno speir thee, for many a time een that geungs aff wioot an errand comes heem wae een, an if thoo comes at a misanter, thoo his cheust theesel tae bleem."
Sc. phrs. to blame (a thing) on (a person), to ascribe the blame to (someone) for (a thing), to charge one with. Gen.Sc.; to blame (a person) wi (a thing), to accuse one of.Bwk. 1835 Fraser's Mag. XI. 617:
I call this bad management, and I blame it upon you. Gsw. 1877 A. G. Murdoch Laird's Lykewake 35:
Had cam' to blame me wi' his death. Bwk. 1897 R. M. Calder Poems 123:
Right or wrang a' mischief's blamed On the heid o' Yiddum.
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"Blame v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 12 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/snd00088030>
