Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1974 (SND Vol. IX). Includes material from the 2005 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
Quotation dates: 1787-1818, 1935-1994
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TIPPER, v. 1. intr. To walk on tip-toe or in an affected or unsteady manner, to trip, teeter (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Sh. 2000s); also ¶tr. to place one's foot lightly on the toes. Reduplic. form tipper-taiper, id. Comb. tipper-taes, tip-toes.Ayr. 1787 Burns Letters (Ferguson) No. 112:
[The meere] tipper-taipers when she taks the gate first like a Lady's gentlewoman in a minuwae.Fif. 1807 A. Williamson Poems 132:
A thriftless heir, Who tipp'ring walks, and maks a windy skew.Sc. 1935 W. Soutar Poems in Scots 40:
She tirl'd upon her tipper-taes.Sh. 1954 New Shetlander No. 40. 14:
Whan it got sae bad dat I cood hardly tipper my fit ta da grund de made me go ashore fur good.Sh. 1994 Laureen Johnson in James Robertson A Tongue in Yer Heid 165:
I stöd at da gate an watched her tipperin up da rodd in her high-heeled shön. Shö wis a peerie, dark-advised body, slim-biggit an kerryin a muckle handbag.
2. tr. To place in an insecure or unsteady position, to cause to rock.Slg. 1818 W. Muir Poems 30:
Trust nae mair your nest to tipper On bending twigs.
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"Tipper v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 9 Feb 2026 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/tipper>
