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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

JOB, Joab, Jobe, Chob (Ork.), v.¹, n.¹ Sc. usages of Eng. job, (to do) a piece of work.

I. v. To have illicit sexual intercourse. Mostly in vbl.n.Sc. 1721 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) I. 180:
And compliment them with a Clap, Which by aft jobbing grows a Pox.Ayr. a.1796 Burns Reply to a Trimming Epistle vi.:
Ye're blam'd for jobbin!Abd. 1804 W. Tarras Poems 58:
No to job wi's servant Lizzie.Rnf. 1841 R. Skimming Lays 7:
Gi'en o'er the jobbin a' thegither.

II. n. 

 1. Sc. forms of Eng. job, paid work; a task; circumstance, condition (Ork., Abd., Ags., Edb., Gsw., Ayr., Dmf. 2000s).Ork. 1952 R. T. Johnston Stenwick Days (1984) 6:
" ... I wish thir wis some test I could mak' them dae for me, cheust tae shaw hoo muckle they think o' me, an' I wid mairry the wen whar made the best chob o' id."wm.Sc. 1985 Liz Lochhead Tartuffe 57:
Ma men are a' big strong boays, they'll help ye cairry!
Well, a bodyguard-
Joab lik' theirs means big broad shooders come in
convenient ...Rnf. 1986 John Mitchell Class Struggle 62:
The head argued, with some justification, that in his eyes it was most certainly obscene but the Janitor remained unmoved. "Ah'm sorry, sir," he declaimed, "but it wid be mair than ma joab's worth tae try an' scrub that oaff. It's nae dirty enough, y'see."Gsw. 1990 John and Willy Maley From the Calton to Catalonia 22:
His brains ur in his erse. It's no exhibitions we need, it's joabs an hooses.Dundee 1991 Ellie McDonald The Gangan Fuit 15:
Guid joab for Renoir he dee'd whan he did.
They widnae tak thon for the Tate.
Nae chance.Sc. 1991 T. S. Law in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 34:
he'd hae tae tell the relict daith
haed whummelt-oot her paer man's braith.
This was a sairlik jobe tae tak ... Ags. 1994 Mary McIntosh in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 147:
I didnae think onything aboot it whan the letter drappit through the door. In a broon envelope it wis, aa ofeecial like wi my name an address typit oan it, an half stuck doon at that. Boorocracy disnae hae the time tae feenish ony joab in a wice-like menner, I say.m.Sc. 1994 Martin Bowman and Bill Findlay Forever Yours, Marie-Lou 29:
The be-all and end-all, eh, a steady joab!...Is thur anyhin mair fuckin awful in this world than a steady fuckin joab?...Ye git tae know yir joab ootside in an back tae fuckin front!Edb. 1995 Irvine Welsh Marabou Stork Nightmares (1996) 24:
See us, Vet? Meant fir better things. Me wi aw they security joabs. Nae prospects.Gsw. 2000 Herald (2 Mar) 19:
He addresses the aforementioned group of people: "Ah can work. Ah could get a joab nae bother... ".

2.  Deriv. jobbie, also jobie, (1) A small job; a simple task (Cai., Bnff., Abd., Ags., Ayr. 2000s); (2) A lump of excrement (Sh., Ork., Bnff., Abd., Ags., Fif., Edb., Gsw., Ayr., Dmf., Rxb. 2000s); (3) Contemptuous term for a person (Ags., Edb., Gsw., Ayr. 2000s) (4) In pl. Nonsense (Ags., Edb., Ayr. 2000s).(1)Abd. 1981 Christina Forbes Middleton The Dance in the Village 6:
'Come on oot, Tam, I've a jobbie for you
'Get going' an' catch that moose!'Dundee 1987 Norman Lynn Row Laddie Sixty Years On 37:
When a happy Mother got her laddie started as an apprentice 'Jiner' she invariably imagined a background of shavings, and sawdust, 'Clean dirt' and wee jobies done free about the house. (2)Edb. 1989 Gordon Legge The Shoe 43:
A wee jobby had refused the flush earlier and she was pushing it round the S-bend with the aid of some toilet paper.m.Sc. 1996 Christopher Brookmyre Quite Ugly One Morning (1997) 6:
'This jobbie is state evidence and is officially under the jurisdiction of Lothian and Borders Police. Remove it, bag it and tag it.'Sc. 2001 Scotsman (31 Aug) 9:
It was when he fell asleep in a smelly Portaloo while doing a jobby that Stuart Nicol realised he was new to this music festival game.Gsw. 2002 Herald (12 Feb) 14:
"Well, when you look at jobbies all day, it makes your boyfriend seem so much more attractive when you get home."Sc. 2003 Herald (6 Aug) 16:
"Toilet" is unacceptable terminology within an English private school, however, as the lad had been told, the correct word being "lavatory". Teacher thus prompted: "Now, Ewan, that's not right. What is it you want?" Ewan's reply was unequivocal: "A jobby."Sc. 2004 Sun 21 Feb:
Except it appears Britain'll put a monkey on Pluto before a Scotland team thinks for itsel again. We're talkin' guys earnin' ten, 20, 30 grand a week, yet they're lookin' round tae the bench for help when the jobbies hit the extractor. (3)m.Sc. 1989 James Meek McFarlane Boils the Sea 164:
'You're a wee cheat and a thief.'
'Aye, and you're a big jobby.'m.Sc. 1992 Iain Banks The Crow Road (1993) 89:
'They're shite-holes, so they are,' laughed Lachy. 'And you're just a big jobbie!'(4)wm.Sc. 1991 Liz Lochhead Bagpipe Muzak 4:
Interviewed me aboot my hobbies -
I says: Macrame, origami,
Being nice tae ma mammy -
(Basically I tellt him a loat o jobbies).Slg. 2000 Herald (13 Apr) 19:
He was a trifle put out, then, when she eventually interrupted him to say: "Well, that's very nice, but I'm from Falkirk and you've been talking jobbies for the past half-hour."Sc. 2004 Daily Record (21 Aug) 29:
My fellow columnist John McKie has already told you the Olympics are a pile of Minotaur's jobbies. Now I'm going to tell you why.

3. The act of fornication, in comb. by-job, id. Cf. Bye-job.Sc. 1786 Burns Merry Muses (1911) 130:
The sneak wha at a lassie's by-job, Defrauds her.