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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1956 (SND Vol. IV). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

FLICHT, n.1, v.1 Also †flecht; flich. Sc. forms and usages of Eng. flight. [Sc. flɪçt, Cai. flɪç, Sh. fləɪ(ç)t, s.Sc. flct]

I. n. 1. As in Eng. Phr. to be at the flicht, to be in rags and tatters (Abd.7 1925). Cf. Flaucht, n.2 I. 1.Sc. 1826 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) I. 216:
Frae the tap step o' the flicht to the causeway.
Hdg. 1896 J. Lumsden Battle of Dunbar 10:
[He] pat baith sheep and kye to flicht!
Abd. 1916 G. Abel Wylins 10:
But he tell't me o' the huntin' lan's ayont the eagle's flicht.
m.Sc. 1985 William J. Rae in Joy Hendry Chapman 40 18:
He wis an auld eagle, and he wis pechin and forfochen wi the trauchle o flicht.
m.Sc. 1998 Lillias Forbes Turning a Fresh Eye 7:
A' thae gowden lyrics, ye've made siccar, Chris
They'll aye be pairt o ye, ticht-yirdit in the moul
Ye'll ne'er loose them frae yer chairge, yer bricht unruly bairns
But whiles, just for a thimble-span they rise frae sleep
Mak ae great, skeerie flecht aroon the warld
An bed wi ye again be early licht.

Hence ¶(1) flichtfu, flitting, fitful; (2) flichtie, -y, flighty, capricious. Gen.Sc.; ¶(3) flichtmafleathers, finery, gewgaws, from the notion of feathers and fluttering ribbons and frills; (4) flichtrife, flichteriff, unsteady, fickle, changeable (Abd.6 1913), flichtriveness, fickleness.(1) Lnk. 1883 D. Thomson Leddy May 12:
Trying tae quench her burnin' love, But only fannin' the flichtfu' breeze.
(2) s.Sc. 1835 J. M. Wilson Tales of the Borders I. 401:
Feathered creatures are flichtie.
Kcb. 1895 Crockett Men of the Moss-Hags iv.:
She's not like a flichty young lady aboot a hoose.
Abd. 1928 “P. Gray” Making of a King 69:
Annie's been a flichty kin' o' crater for a score o' years back.
(3) Kcb. 1894 Crockett Lilac Sunbonnet iv.:
'Deed I'm nane sae unbonny yet, for a' yer helicat flichtmafleathers, sprigget goons, an' laylac bonnets.
(4) Bch. 1804 W. Tarras Poems 47:
He's but a glomin flichteriff gnat, Can bang nor win', nor wather.
Bch. 1861 J. Davidson Poems 121:
Fortune, in her flichtriveness, has laid my lot so lowly.
Abd. 1932 R. L. Cassie Scots Sangs 20:
Flichtrife mengies hae forgot The nation's saul sae gran'.

2. Gen. in pl.: the fly of a spinning-wheel, which guides the thread to the spool (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Sh., ne.Sc., Ags. 1951).Mearns 1825 Jam.:
The flechts of a spinning wheel are the pronged or forked pieces of wood in which the teeth are set.
Abd. 1900 Scots Mag. (March 1934) 439:
With both hands the spinner drew it [flax] on to the “flichts” which, revolving rapidly, both twisted and rolled up the yarn on a spool.
Sh. 1922 J. Inkster Mansie's Röd 157:
Girzzie . . . took da whaarles aff o' da flicht an' pat a foo pirm apo' da sweerie pin.
Bch. 1932 Abd. Univ. Rev. (March) 105:
The flichts an' the cyards an' the reel are a' ta stew lang seen an' flung furth.

3. In pl.: the whirling arms or awes of a binder (Abd.27 1951). Deriv. flichters, that part of the fanners which generates the wind (Cld. 1825 Jam.).

II. v. 1. intr. To flutter; to palpitate, to get excited or angry; tr. to perturb, excite. Ppl.adj. flichtit, angry, disturbed (Bnff.4 1926).n.Sc. c.1830 H. Miller Scenes and Legends 465:
O mither deir! mak' ye my bed, For my heart it's flichtin' sair.
Sc. 1926 K. Parker My Ladie Dundie 88:
Nae doot but they flichted him at the first, but he's quick in the up-tak, and keepit his ain counsel.
Bnff.9 1947:
He flichtit at that.

2. intr. To take to flight, to fly, flee (Cai.7, Ags.19 1952). Also fig.; tr. to desert by flight.Sc. 1752 Scotland's Glory II. 85–7:
The followers of John divine In Scotland when they flighted And published here the Gospel news.
Bnff. 1889 Banffshire Jnl. (31 Dec.):
The rage wis a' for sodgers' dreel But that seen flichtit aff the reel.
Sc. 1928 Scots Mag. (July) 274:
Ay! mony a weary day hae I sat there And heard him drone and flicht awa' in prayer.
Cai. 1934 John o' Groat Jnl. (25 Oct.):
A'm stride-leygs on's back an' he is doon 'e reegs at 'e flichin' gallop.
Sc. 1949 Scots Mag. (Jan.) 293:
The birdie's flichtit its nest.

Hence †flighter, a flighty, vaunting person, a “high-flyer.”Lnk. a.1779 D. Graham Writings (1883) II. 152:
I mean Flighters who has gotten a little of the means of Mammon, more silver than sense, more gold than good nature, haughtiness for humility, value themselves as a treasure incomprehensible.

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"Flicht n.1, v.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/flicht_n1_v1>

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