Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1823-1871
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TCHICK, n., v. Also tchek; tchuck; freq. in reduplicated forms.
I. n. (from the int.). A representation of the palatal click used to urge on a horse (Ork., ne.Sc., Ags., wm.Sc., Kcb. 1972) or, occasionally, of the dental click used to express annoyance, tut-tut (Id.).Sc. 1823 Scott Q. Durward xiv.:
Summing up the whole with a provoking wink and such a interjectional tchick as men quicken a dull horse with.Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xxxvii.:
Tchuck-tchuck! Was ever an 'oman tried this gate?
II. v. To utter this exclamation or make a sound resembling it to urge a horse; to say tut-tut.Sc. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet vii.:
We heard Benjie gee-hupping, tchek-tcheking, and above all flogging, in great style.Sc. 1849 J. W. Carlyle Letters (1883) II. 55:
The young lady tchick-tchicked, and looked deprecatingly.
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"Tchick n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 16 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/tchick>
