Show Search Results Show Browse

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1968 (SND Vol. VII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

PUNCH, n.1, adj. Sc. usages of Punch, the puppet.

I. n. 1. In comb. Punch and Polly = Eng. Punch and Judy.Edb. 1828 D. M. Moir Mansie Wauch iii.:
Punch and Polly, and puppie-shows, and mair than I can tell.

2. A short, stout person or animal, a fat little man or woman (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 135). Also in dim. forms punchie, punchik(ie), id. (Ib.; ne.Sc. 1967), freq. as a nickname. Hence punchie, -y, adj., thick and short, of persons or animals (Lnk., Rxb. 1825 Jam.; ne.Sc. 1967). Cf. II. and Bunch, n. Also in Eng. dial.Peb. 1793 R. Brown Carlop Green (1817) 134:
Snell, punchy Peg, that whisky mak's.

II. adj. Of persons or animals: stout, thickset, dumpy (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). Now only dial. in Eng.

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

"Punch n.1, adj.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 9 Dec 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/punch_n1_adj>

21509

snd

Hide Advanced Search

Browse SND:

    Loading...

Share: