Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1965 (SND Vol. VI). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1773-1928, 1988-1991
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MIRLIEGO, n., adv. Also mirligo, mirl(e)y-, mer(r)li- (Sc. 1828 Blackwood's Mag. (Dec.) 914); merrily-, merrili-; mirgly- (Sc. 1896 A. Cheviot Proverbs 371); -gogs, -gigs (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). [′mɪrlɪgo]
1. In pl., vertigo, dizziness, light-headedness, esp. affecting accuracy of sight; fancies, freaks of the imagination; dazzle. Hence i(n) (rarely on) the mirliegoes, in a state of dizziness or vertigo, light-headed, dazzled, confused (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Per. 1904 R. Ford Hum. Sc. Stories II. 81; w.Lth. 1930; Bwk.2 1949, mirliegogs).Edb. 1773 Fergusson Poems (S.T.S.) II. 142:
Or else some kittle cantrup thrown, I ween, Has bound in mirlygoes my ain twa een.Kcd. 1822 G. Menzies Poet. Trifles (1827) 109:
A cog o' gude liquor May whyles gar the mirligoes dance in our e'e.Fif. 1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 175:
His een, bein' in the mirligoes, . . . They couldna see for glaiks.Bnff. 1852 A. Harper Solitary Hours 75:
What glamour tricks whilk ne'er hae been? What mirleygoes to blin' our e'en?Lth. 1894 P. H. Hunter J. Inwick 70:
My heid was in the mirligoes — a' thing gaed soomin roun' aboot me.Ags. 1901 W. J. Milne Reminisc. 88:
I saw a sicht 'at gied me the mirligoes i' ma een!Ayr. 1913 J. Service Memorables 187:
They were but the mirligoes of a fleeting hour.Sc. 1926 H. M'Diarmid Drunk Man 84:
A fair fat cast o' aureole throws That blinds them, in its mirlygoes.Per.2 1928:
"Yer een's on the mirleygoes," viz. eager or greedy or excited to see something. Ags. 1988 Raymond Vettese The Richt Noise 57:
Nae mirligoes stacher the dancer birlin
joy-glaid aneath the licht o the moon
2. In pl.: whims, caprices (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B., mirliegigs). See also Gig, n.1
3. A small spinning wheel (Kcd. 1825 Jam.), prob. one with the flyer set vertically above the wheel. Cf. spinnie s.v. Spin, v. 1 (3).Abd. 1876 R. Dinnie Songs 71:
A muckle wheel, a little wheel, A reel, an' mirliego.
II. adv. Dizzily.em.Sc.(a) 1991 Kate Armstrong in Tom Hubbard The New Makars 114:
Sea-maws twirl mirligo.
A peat-stack's cowped aroun the door.
Scarts breenge ablow.
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"Mirliego n., adv.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 5 Dec 2025 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/mirliego>
