Show Search Results Show Browse

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1960 (SND Vol. V). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

HUSHLE, v.1, n.1 Also hush(e)l; huschle (Bnff.); huzzle (Abd.); hussle, -il (Rxb.). [hʌʃl, hʌsl, hʌzl]

I. v. intr. 1. To fidget or move about awkwardly or restlessly (ne.Sc. 1957); in an indecent sense in first quot. Cf. Hotch, I. 1.Abd. c.1750 Garland of Bon-Accord (1886) 13:
Awite I'm neither rich nor bonnie, But carlie can ye hushle ony?
Kcd. 1811 Rymour Club Misc. (1906) I. 30:
Grannie fell into a ditch by the way. She hushled, she scushled, she kent na well hoo.
Bnff. 1868 W. Garden Meg's Wedding 5:
The shy anes hushelt in a neuk thegither.

2. To shrug the shoulders, as if to rid oneself of an itch or irritation (Rxb. 1825 Jam., 1923 Watson W.-B.). Hence husslin-shoodert, having the habit of shrugging the shoulders.s.Sc. 1847 H. S. Riddell Poems 310:
Then hussled up his shouders baith, And hastened to the door O.
Rxb. 1925 E. C. Smith Mang Howes 20:
A met . . . a shauchlin, husslin-shoodert skeibult wui a toozy, taaty heed.

3. To work or dress in a careless or slovenly manner (w., s.Sc. 1887 Jam.; ‡Ayr.4 c.1928; Sh. 1957). Cf. Hash. Hence hushly, hashly, dishevelled, untidy, slovenly (Ayr. 1957).Ayr. 1870 J. K. Hunter Life Studies 51:
His auld servant . . . was aye in a sort o' hushly state o' dress.
Abd.8 1917:
He jist hushels throu's wark.

4. To jog along in a lackadaisical manner, to proceed in a lazy, apathetic way (Sh. 1957).Abd. c.1880 W. Robbie Yonderton 156:
“He did not like new-fangled things.” “Na, na, jist hushel awa i' the auld wye wi' him.”

5. To rush down a steep slope on a sledge, to toboggan. Vbl.n. hushlin, the sport of sledging.Bnff. 1955 Fraserburgh Herald (8 Feb.):
The richt name for't is “hushlin” . . . it's nae only “youngsters” fa hushle in Gamrie!

II. n. 1. A heap, conglomeration, an untidy bunch or mass (Abd.6 1913, huzzle; Cai.1 c.1920; Sh., Cai. 1957); an unruly crowd.Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 85:
A huschle o' streh cam off o' the hehd o' the sou an' the loon o' the tap o't . . . Fin the aul' fehl dyke cam doon in a huschle aboot thir luggs.
Cai. 1992 James Miller A Fine White Stoor 70:
... Pogo's grandfather used to live in a tent in the summer and in a seacave in the winter, a brawling, drunken, fechting hushle o shither by all reports.

Combs.: †hushel-bushel, -mushel, huschle-muschle, n., an uproar, a state of great confusion (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 86, -muschle); v., to put into such a state, to muddle (Ib.).Fif. 1825 Jam.:
A hushel-bushel sune began, And ilka chiel' ca'd oure his man.
Fif. 1864 W. D. Latto T. Bodkin v.:
I' the midst o' the hushel-mushel twa o' my mither's chaft-teeth were dung clean oot o' her head.

2. An untidy, carelessly-dressed person, a slattern (Cai. 1911 John o' Groat Jnl. (7 April), hursel; Bch. 1919 T.S.D.C. III., huzzle; Abd.4 1931; Sh., Cai., Kcb., Dmf. 1957).

3. Fig. Of things: an old worn-out implement or vessel (Ags. 1808 Jam.). Of persons: one who is unable to work as a result of incapacity or ill health (Dmf. 1825 Jam.).Rnf. 1835 D. Webster Rhymes 90:
I'm but a hushle At ony trade.
Dmf. 1838 Carlyle Life in London (Froude 1884) I. 126:
Each hovers there for a year or two, and then eternity swallows him, and he lies as straight as old Wull Moor, the Galloway Hushel.

4. A rustling sound (Bnff., Abd. 1957).Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 85:
A hard the huschle o' hir dress o' the fleer.
Abd.15 1924:
Aw hard a hushle amo' the strae.

[The word is formally a freq. of Hush, n.1, v.1, but similarities of meaning point to influence from or confusion with Hirsel, n.2, v.2]

You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.

"Hushle v.1, n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 29 Mar 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/hushle_v1_n1>

15189

snd

Hide Advanced Search

Browse SND:

    Loading...

Share: