WORD experts have put another classic Scots phrase in their dictionary — “beddy-baws”.
The term, meaning bed or sleep, is one of 600 new additions to the prestigious Oxford English tome.
The term “beddy-baws” has been added to the dictionary[/caption]
It’s been used by generations of parents to tell their kids it’s time for them to hit the pillow.
Researchers found the earliest printed mention in a children’s lullaby published in Peterhead-based local newspaper The Buchan Observer in 1864.
It said: “My bonnie sweet wee lammie! Cosy i’ yer beddy-baw, Crawin’ to yer mammy!”
And it continues to be used.
A Twitter/X user from Falkirk wrote recently: “Off to my beddy baws for another night of trying to sleep while weather makes ye feel too warm.”
The Oxford English Dictionary entry reads: “Beddy-baws. Noun. Scottish colloquial. A child’s word for: bed or sleep.”
And the Scottish National Dictionary states the word “baw” in “beddy-baw” means “To lull, to hush a child to sleep.”
Other expressions added to the OED include the historical Shetland legal term “larycht aith”, where an accused is acquitted if two witnesses testify to their innocence under oath.
Comedy legend Sir Billy Connolly, 81, got “trousered” — the state of being very drunk — into the dictionary in 2021.
And the late comedy legends Francie and Josie helped get “stoater” added last year.
The duo, played by Rikki Fulton and Jack Milroy, popularised the term for something remarkable
