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: 1849, 1904
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TONTINE, n. Sc. usage of Eng. tontine, a kind of insurance or annuity scheme, the funds of which were often invested in the building of houses, hotels, etc. One such society erected at the Cross of Glasgow in 1735 a block containing the Town Hall and other public buildings with an arched piazza on the keystones of which were carved grotesque faces (see J. Cowan From Glasgow's Treasure Chest (1951) pp. 392 sqq.). Hence tontine face, a distortion of the countenance from humour, glumness or other eause, a wry face, a grimace.Gsw. 1849 Gsw. Past and Present (1884) I. 270:
“Tontine Faces” — a quaint term in Glasgow, meaning comical or distorted, with reference to the heads of faces which are to be seen on the tops of the pillars which support the Town Hall, at the Cross.Gsw. 1904 H. Foulis Erchie x.:
Duffy sat wi' a Tontine face on him maist o' the time.
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"Tontine n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/tontine>
