Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1722, 1785-1928
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SPITTLE, n. Also spittell (e.Lth. 1842 Children in Mines Report II. 459), spitle. For comb. black-spittle, see Black-spit, -spittle. Sc. form and usage: a quantity of saliva ejected at one time, a gob (Ork., Cai., Ags., Per., wm.Sc., Kcb. 1971). Cf. Gob, n.2 Also fig. of something worthless.Sc. 1722 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) III. 18:
His Floor was a' Tobacco Spitles.Ayr. 1785 Burns Death & Dr Hornbook x.:
I wad na mind it, no that spittle Out-owre my beard.Per. 1816 J. Duff Poems 74:
My muse was never worth a spittle.Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 168:
She cared na for a common cheel De'il the single spittle.Gsw. 1872 J. Young Lochlomond 44:
I micht as well juist bait [hooks] wi' spittles.Arg. 1907 N. Munro Daft Days i.:
I don't care a spittle for them.Sc. 1928 H. Lauder Roamin' 60:
“A spittle in the loof an' a shak' o' the hand” has sealed more honourably-kept bargains in Scotland than were ever attested on parchment.
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"Spittle n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/spittle>
