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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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About this entry:
First published 1952 (SND Vol. III). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

†COB, Cobb, v.¹ and n.¹

1. v. To beat, strike, gen. on the posterior. (See second quot.) Also used in Eng. nautical parlance and Eng. dial.Sc. [1814] Scott Waverley (1829) App. II. to Gen. Preface:
The porter shall have thee to his lodge, and cob thee with thine own wooden sword.Rxb. 1825 Jam.²:
At clipping-time, laying-time, or udder-locking-time, when a number of them [shepherds] are met together, certain regulations are made, upon the breach of any one of which the offender is to be cobbed. He is laid on his belly on the ground, and one is appointed to beat him on the backside, while he repeats a certain rhyme; at the end of which the culprit is released, after he has whistled. This mode of correction, although formerly confined to shepherds, is now practised by young people of various descriptions.

2. n. (1) “A blow” (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 139, cobb). Also in Eng. dial. “Cob” in the quot. signifies a rough-handling meted out to an obnoxious boy by his companions.Ags. 1906–11 Rymour Club Misc. I. 47:
Call-a-cob, maraline, Cast a barrel in a string, A' them 'at winna come to this call-a-cob Shall be weel call-a-cobbled owre again.

(2) In pl.: “a boys' game in which a ball thrown against a wall had to be caught by a boy named. The latter had then to strike one of the other players with it, a miss being a forfeit. Three forfeits incurred a beating on the posteriors by the other boys” (Arg.¹ c.1875).

(3) The game of tip-cat, the bat or stick used in the game (Dmf. 1956). Dmf. 1915 D. J. Beattie Oor Gate En' 7: 
We had oor fiery games o' "cob" an' "'sociation".