Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1824, 1880-1915
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CHACKIE MILL, Chacky mill, Chackie mull, n. The death-watch beetle, an insect of the genus Anobium. Known to Abd. correspondents only (1939). Cf. elf-mill s.v. Elf.Bnff. 1880 J. F. S. Gordon Chrons. of Keith 63:
The "Chacky Mill" or Death-Watch (occasioned by the very rapid motions of the head of an Insect in old wood boring its way) was conjectured to be a forego of Death or a Flitting.Abd. 1824 G. Smith Douglas, etc. 129:
Here's ghaists . . . and wraiths . . . and chackie mills.Abd.(D) 1915 H. Beaton At the Back o' Benachie 43:
If a death-watch, or, as it was then called, "the chackie mull," was heard . . . those of the inmates who heard it were in a state of secret fear and trembling.
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"Chackie Mill n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/chackie_mill_n>
