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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

USELESS, adj., adv., n. Also uisless (Dmf. 1926 Scots Mag. (March) 438), yaiseless; yisliss (Lnk. 1926 W. Queen We're a' Coortin 29), ösless (Sh.); ¶wishless (Arg. 1882 Argyllshire Herald (3 June)). Sc. forms and usages. [′jɪslɪs, ′øs-]

Sc. forms:ne.Sc. 1994 Alison Mann in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 194:
But I wad hae nane o it. Aa I cud foresee wis yaiseless expense wi nae guid ootcome. In ma experience it's niver been ony yuise tainglin wi the gentry. Ye canna win agin them.

Sc. usages: I. adj. Indisposed in health, unable from illness or exhaustion for any activity (I. and n.Sc. 1973).Sh. 1928 Manson's Almanac 186:
An' dis day or twa A'm been fair ösless.
Kcb. c.1930:
“Ye're gey waff-lookin' the day.” “Deed aye, I've juist been gey useless.”
Abd. 1960:
I was useless for mair nor a week efter that flu.

II. adv. Governing an adj.: exceedingly, so much as to be ineffectual, far too (Ags., Fif., Ayr. 1973).Per. 1878 R. Ford Hamespun Lays 18:
This cud' was ower big, the neist rather wee, That, useless auld, or 'twould dune to a tee.
Sc. 1881 A. Mackie Scotticisms 13:
The maid has put on useless many coals.
Sc. 1891 N. Dickson Kirk Beadle 115:
But she's useless big — she's got nae laft, an' she's sair fashed wi' thae muckle pillars about her.

III. n. The flower lady's thumb. Polygonum persicaria (see quot.).Per. 1904 E.D.D.:
The Virgin Mary (the blotch on its leaves are the marks of her fingers) plucked up the plant and threw it away, saying ‘that's useless'; and Useless has been its name ever since.

Useless adj., adv., n.

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"Useless adj., adv., n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/useless>

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