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: 1887-1971
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TREBUCK, v., n. Also trabuck, trebuck, tribuck, terbuck (Sc. 1887 Jam. Suppl.); terbutche, terbutsme. [†trə′bʌk, tər′bʌtʃi, -smi]
I. v. To make a false move in a game. Used exclam. in quasi-imper. form as a call when a player in a game wishes to retrieve a fault and make a second attempt or when someone wishes to correct what he has just said or to change his mind in making a choice (‡Ayr. 1973). An opponent may also anticipate the call by making it first and so exact a forfeit. See etym. note.Sc. 1887 Jam. Suppl.:
If a person, on making a false move in a game of skill, calls out trebuck or trabuck me before his opponent, he has the right to move again; but if his opponent is the first to call out trebuck or terbuck you, the player is checked and must pay the forfeit.Ayr. 1925 Kilmarnock Standard (18 July):
Rhubart, fine fresh. Oh, dammit, terbutsme, wulks, biled wulks, a bawbee a jug [of a street-hawker too drunk to remember what he was selling].Ayr. 1971 Kilmarnock Standard (23 April):
A player who aimed a “dinger” at a particular bool and then changed his mind would receive permission to do so simply by calling out “terbutche”.
II. n. A slip, check or false move in a game of skill (Sc. 1887 Jam. Suppl.).
[North. Fr. dial. trébuquer, trabuquer, Fr trébucher, to stumble, trip, make a mistake. The grammatical form of the call is somewhat uncertain, phs. orig. the Fr. pa.p. trébuché, trébuqué, altered to trebuck me, -ye as in I.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Trebuck v., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 6 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/trebuck>


