Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1960 (SND Vol. V).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1891-1932
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HEDERKANDUNK, Hedderkondunk, n. Also hederkendunk, hedderkindunk, -can-dunk, heather-cun-dunk, hedracaduncy.
1. A (game of) see-saw (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), 1914 Angus Gl., hedderkondunk, c.1914 J. M. Hutcheson W.-L., hedracaduncy, Sh. 1956). Also fig. Hence phr. to ride hedder-kindunk, to move up and down like a see-saw.Sh. 1891 J. Burgess Rasmie's Büddie 95:
We'd finn a aald plank noo an dan, An rig a hedderkin-dunk.Sh. 1899 Shetland News (18 March):
Twa lairge planks ridin' hedder-kindunk i' da shoor mil.Sh. 1906 T. P. Ollason Spindrift 142:
The Sharps and the Petersons were placed on the extremes of life's hedder-can-dunk. The Sharps were up and the Petersons down.
2. A thump, bump, thud; heavy fall (Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), hederkandunk, -kendunk, Sh. 1956).
3. A sea bird, either the goosander, Mergus merganser, or the northern diver, Colymbus immer (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl.).Sh. 1932 J. Saxby Trad. Lore 197:
“Hedder-can-dunk” — Northern Diver, so named from the children's game (see-saw), that diver's mode of procedure resembling the motion of a see-saw. Perhaps the game known as Hedder-can-dunk took that name from the bird, not the bird from the game.
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"Hederkandunk n.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 19 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/hederkandunk>
