Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1952 (SND Vol. III).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1908-1922
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DRILL, v.2 Also dry(i)ll. To move or work slowly and indolently, to loiter, dawdle (Ork. 1929 Marw.). Also in Eng. dial.
Hence drilly, adj., dawdling (Ib.).Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928):
To geng drillin aboot de wark.Sh. 1922 J. Inkster Mansie's Röd 35:
A lock o' folk comin' dryllin behint a', an' raabin a lock o' nonsense ta ane anidder.
Comb.: dr(y)illaskøvi, -skövie, a fisherman's tabu-name for the otter (Sh. 1899 J. Spence Folk-Lore 121, dryilla-skövie; 1908 Jak. (1928)), lit. the one that drags its tail.
[Cf. Norw. dial. drila, to move heavily and lazily, to trail along, to dawdle.]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Drill v.2". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/drill_v2>
