Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 2005 (SND, online supplement).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1985-1998
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REFRESHMENT, n. Specif. an alcoholic drink.Gsw. 1985 Michael Munro The Patter 58:
refreshment The most popular euphemism for an alcoholic drink is a wee refreshment: 'It's not unknown for Big George to take a wee refreshment of a Saturday night.'m.Sc. 1985 Janette Walkinshaw in Julie Milton Original Prints 58:
Of course it was in his interests that I was deported but I am not saying it was him told the Arabs I had a few bottles on me. How they expect a man to work in that heat without a refreshment beats me.m.Sc. 1987 Dave Brown and Ian Mitchell Mountain Days and Bothy Nights (1992) 89:
As his name suggests, Malky [Malky the alky] was fond of a wee refreshment.Edb. 1992:
Yer grandad likes a wee refreshment on Saturday efternuin.Sc. 1994 Daily Record 22 Dec 26:
And when I finally settle down on the 25th for a wee refreshment only to discover they've drunk the last bottle without me, too right I need something like Santa to sustain me.Dmf. 1997 Nell Thomson Spit the First Sook 22:
He usually stopped for a refreshment at the Craigdarroch Arms, and he would shout 'Here lass, haud this horse tae a get a pint'.Gsw. 1998 Alan Spence Way to Go (1999) 3:
My father must have had a drink or two in the afternoon. Or three. A tipple. A snifter. A dram. A wee refreshment.
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"Refreshment n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/snd00090540>
