Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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THROU, prep., adv., adj., n., v. Also throo; throw (Lnk. 1708 Minutes J.P.s (S.H.S.) 15; Sc. 1728 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) II. 4, Abd. p.1768 A. Ross Works (S.T.S.) 173, Sc. 1776 Clerk Saunders in Child Ballads No. 69 A. xxiii., 1823 Fair Janet in Child Ballads No. 64 A. xx.; s.Sc. 1933 Border Mag. (Aug.) 115), throwe (Ags. 1890 Brechin Advertiser (11 March) 3; Rxb. 1923 Hawick Express (19 Jan.) 3; ne.Sc. 1940 Abd. Univ. Review (March) 141), throuw (ne.Sc. 1874 W. Gregor Olden Time 40); I. Sc. forms trou (Ork. 1880 Dennison Sketch-Bk. 58; Sh. 1937 J. Nicolson Restin' Chair Yarns 90), tru (Sh. 1914 Angus Gl. 24), trough (Sh. 1898 “Junda” Klingrahool 7), troo (Sh. 1891 J. Burgess Rasmie's Büddie 40, 1918 T. Manson Peat Comm. 16), trowe (Sh. 1898 “Junda” Klingrahool 52, 1949 J. Gray Lowrie 81), trouw (Sh. 1916 J. Burgess Rasmie's Smaa Murr (Aapril 14); unstressed form ¶thrae (Sc. 1765 Edward in Child Ballads No. 13 B. vi.); throch (Sc. 1724 Ramsay Poems (S.T.S.) III. 81; Abd. 1889 Ellis E.E.P. V. 783, Abd. 1929 (see II.), Uls. 1953 Traynor); and, from Eng. dial., thruff. Sc. forms and usages of Eng. through (Abd. 1865 G. MacDonald Alec Forbes xii.; Knr. 1886 H. Haliburton Horace 5; Abd. 1928 P. Grey Making of a King 48). For dissyllabic forms see Thorow. [θru:; n., s.Sc. + θrʌu; I.Sc. tru, trʌu; in II., III. and V., ‡θrox]

I. prep. 1. As in Eng.: through, from one side or end to the other of. Sc. Phrs.: (1) doon throu, see Doon, adv., III. 36.; (2) throu han(d)(s), under consideration, review or discussion, so as to sort out or dispose of (a matter, etc.), esp. with verbs hae, get, pit, tak (Cld. 1880 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Uls. 1953 Traynor; ne.Sc., em.Sc. (a), Lnk., Kcb. 1972). See also Hand, I. 8. (27); in form through-hand [′θruhɑn], as adj., slapdash, rough and ready (Lnk. 1972); (3) throw heids, id.; ‡(4) through-hochie, n., a throw in the ring game of marbles in which the marble is thrown from round the back of and through between the legs (Bnff. 1969). Comb. through hochie blow away, see 1966 quot.; (5) throu it, into confusion, disorder or ruin, so as to make a botch of, as in phrs. fa throu it (see Fa, v., 9. (23)), gae doon throu it, to confuse Scots and English in an attempt to speak in a refined way, gang (aa) throu it, id. (Abd. 1972), also to dissipate one's resources, make a mess of one's business, come a cropper, go bankrupt (see Gang, v., iii. A. 9.) (ne.Sc., Ags. 1972); (6) throu ither, see sep. art.; †(7) throchout, throughout; (8) throu the bile, -boil, up to and beyond boiling point (Arg. 1936 L. McInnes S. Kintyre 24). Gen. (exc. I. Sc.; (9) throu-the-bows, (i) = (5). See Bow, n.3, 8.; (ii) as a n., a strict examination, a severe censure; (10) throu the bree, of vegetables: boiled till soft and mushy (Abd. 1972). See Bree, n.1 (1); (11) throu the burland, = (9) (ii) (Per.4 1950), poss. a corruption of Birlie, n.1; (12) throu-the-muir, -meer, n., a severe dressing-down, a row, violent altercation (Fif. 1850 Peattie MS.; Bnff., Abd., Ags., Per., Slg. 1972), also fig. See also Muir, n., 2. (1); also as an adj., untidy, heedless, devil-may-care (ne.Sc. 1972). (13) through the needle-ee, a children's game (see Needle, n., 1. (5) (ii)); (14) throu-the-wud, laddie, a severe scolding (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 446, 1905E.E.D.). Cf. (12). (2) Fif. 1864 W. D. Latto T. Bodkin ix.:
Andra an' me tane the subjeck through han's.
Abd. 1880 G. Webster Crim. Officer 15:
Some o' the cases 't I hed throw han'.
Sc. 1891 Scots Mag. (July) 159:
The Free Church had the Confession put through hand.
Kcb. 1897 Crockett Lochinvar xxxiii.:
We had ye gye-and-weel through-hands.
Abd. 1914 J. Leatham Daavit 46:
Bob Grant, an' mi brither Wullie an' me, a' hid it throu han'.
Abd. 1966 Huntly Express (30 Sept.) 2:
Fin we took it throu' han' I think it wis the same man.
(3) Kcd.1 1925:
We took the thing throw heids.
(4) Abd. 1962 Abd. Press & Jnl. (14 Nov.):
How many boys, for instance, could define a through-hochie blowaway?
Bnff. 1966 Banffshire Advert. (20 Jan.) 10:
A through-hochie is a stroke used in the game of bools known as knocking out. Blowaway means that if the player runs forward and catches his bool on the rebound he is entitled to another shot from the point at which he made the catch.
(5) Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xlix.:
Is Dawvid gyaun throu' 't wi' the new vricht already?
Ags. 1880 J. E. Watt Poet. Sketches 81:
The showman gaed through't, an' when a' thing was gane, As a beggar he tried to mak use o' the wean.
(7) Ags. 1808 T. Guthrie Autobiog. I. 29:
“Abraham” we learned to pronounce Aubrawhawm — “Capernaum”, Caapernauum — “throughout all the land of Israel”, throch-oout aul the laund of Israul.
(8) Per. 1921 J. H. Findlater Green Grass Widow 217:
See the kettle's weel through the bile afore ye make it [tea].
Sc. 1933 N. B. Morrison Gowk Storm 60:
It will no be mair than twa-three minutes afore it's through the boil.
Fif. 1964 R. Bonnar Stewartie 3. vi.:
Half-fill the pot wi' water first, an' bring it through the boil.
(9) Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 192:
He got a gey through-the-bows, an' he geed awa unco hingin-luggit.
Per. 1904 R. Ford Hum. Sc. Stories 87:
We'll ha'e a through-the-bows in Mathew Matics an' Domestic Economy.
(10) Abd. 1951 Huntly Express (29 June):
The pot hottered vehemently, and the tatties were “throu' the bree.”
(12) Abd. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb xlix.:
A throu'-the-muir that dreeve aul' Peter naarhan' dementit.
Ags. 1894 F. Mackenzie Glenbruar 68:
Mary gied me the awfu'est through-the-moor ever mortal got.
Bnff. 1935 Abd. Univ. Review (March 1935) 121:
Fan Earth, weel by wi' her throu'-the-muirs, Is caul' as her fite-faced meen.
Bnff. 1953 Banffshire Jnl. (14 July):
A thochtie haiveless an' throwe-the-meer maybe.
(13) Ayr. 1823 Galt Spaewife I. xi.:
When other weans were leaping wi' gladness at Through-the-Needle-ee.
(14) Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.:
She gae 'er man throw-the-wud-laddie.

2. (1) Further into, in the interior of, in another part or end of (Sh., n., m., s.Sc. 1972). Mry. 1708 E. D. Dunbar Social Life (1865) 213:
Throw the house, nineteen bottles . . . 1 sh. 7 d.
Sc. 1757 Session Papers, Beugo v. Beugo (28 Jan.) 13:
She was sometimes with him, and sometimes thro' the house.
Abd. 1972:
I've left my specs throu the house.

(2) across, over the surface of (Sc. 1782 J. Sinclair Ob. Sc. Dial. 139; Sh., ne.Sc., em.Sc. (a) 1972), e.g. in phr. throu the fluir, from one side of a room to the other (ne., em.Sc. (a), Lnk. 1972). Sc. 1708 Fountainhall Decisions (1761) II. 435:
Trailing her through the floor by the hair of the head.
Ayr. 1723 Ayr Presb. Reg. MS. (16 Jan.):
All the three rumbled or tripped through the floor as if they had been dancing a reell.
Slg. 1766 Session Papers, Ure v. Wright State of Proof 8:
In his walking through the room, he meaned his left foot.
Ayr. 1795 Stat. Acc.1 XIV. 58 note:
One of Lord Glasgow's tenants, near 90, comes to church almost every Sabbath, through a bad road.
Ayr. 1887 J. Service Dr Duguid 25:
We toddled thegither as bairns through his mother's flure.
Abd. 1920 A. Robb MS. xiii.:
It gaed through the fleer in supple order — and made for the door.
Dmf. 1937 T. Henderson Lockerbie 7:
“Through the brig” as it was called, and which implied crossing the bridge over a burn.

(3) on the other side of (a wall), next door, in an adjacent room or house (Sh., n., m. and s.Sc. 1972). Ags. 1888 Mod. Sc. Poets (Edwards) XI. 172:
Oor neebour bairnie, through the wa'.
s.Sc. 1894 Scots Mag. (Oct.) 346:
Perhaps he, in the joy of composition, had not remembered the “folk through the wa'.”
Lnk. 1955 Scotsman (23 Sept.):
An old man who had lived there all his life died last year “through the wall” from the house in which he was born.

(4) amongst, between. Abd. a.1809 J. Skinner Amusements 68:
Butler, put about the claret, Thro' us a' divide and share it.

3. In expressions where Eng. uses a different prep.: during, in (the course of). Also in Eng. dial. Phrs. †throu good health, in good health, well, through one's sleep, while asleep, through the day, -night, in the day (night)-time, through the cauld, while one has a cold; esp. of speech: thickly, in a choked manner (ne.Sc., Per. 1972), through (‡length of) time, in time, eventually (Uls. 1953 Traynor; I., ne., m.Sc. 1972), through the week, on week-days (Gen.Sc.). Dmf. 1708 Trans. Dmf. & Gall. Antiq. Soc. (1933–5) 99:
He could not help it it being his ordinar to speak through his sleep.
Wgt. 1712 Session Bk. Glasserton MS. (27 July):
That might be done through length of time.
Abd. 1750 Abd. Journal (11 Sept.):
A Gentleman in Town, got up thro' his Sleep in a Surprise.
Per. 1775 Nairne Peerage Evidence (1873) 123:
Lady Lude at Orchill who they say is looking throu good health.
Rnf. 1790 A. Wilson Poems (1876) II. 27:
Thae were days indeed, that gart me hope, Aeblins, thro' time, to warsle up a shop.
m.Lth. 1811 H. MacNeill Bygane Times 30:
The chiel gat on, Through time became a Signet Clark.
Ags. 1823 A. Balfour Glenthorn I. 65:
Ye saw what happened thro' the night.
Abd. 1851 W. Anderson Rhymes 206:
At times, she wad flyte thro' her sleep.
Sc. 1874 E. B. Ramsay Reminisc. 208:
She was aye speaking through a cold.
m.Lth. 1897 P. H. Hunter J. Armiger 167:
We'll see't the morn if there's no' a shift o' wind through the nicht.
Edb. 1900 E. H. Strain Elmslie's Drag-Net 6:
You'd come to it through time.
Gsw. 1935 McArthur & Long No Mean City xix.:
The vague, vain hope that things will be better for them “through time.”
Sh. 1951 Sh. Folk Book II. 14:
Through time he died and the very day after. . . .
Fif. 1952 B. Holman Behind the Diamond Panes 15:
The only man in Fordell or nearby who wore a hat “through the week” was the minister.
Uls. 1953 Traynor:
I'll call through the day.

II. adv. 1. Used to express the extent or direction of a journey: across country, all the way, from starting point to destination; on one's way; having completed one's journey, arrived. Gen.Sc., gen. omitted in Eng. Sc. 1715 D. Warrand Culloden Papers (1925) II. 62:
As he came throw at Elgin.
Sh. 1884 Crofter's Comm. Evidence II. 1217:
Where is he? — He is not through.
Ags. 1894 J. B. Salmond My Man Sandy (1899) 87:
She wud hae me promise to come throo wi' Sandy an' see them.
Lth. 1895 A. S. Swan Gates of Eden ix.:
The train sped through among the bleak solitudes of the Lanarkshire hills.
Sh. 1901 T. P. Ollason Mareel 16:
At lent I made my w'y hame trow.
Sc. 1929 R. Masson Use and Abuse of Eng. 42:
Mr Grey is going through to Glasgow for a few days.
Abd. 1930 E. S. Rae Waff o' Win' 11:
He was throu' a while syne.

2. Towards the inner part of a house, room, etc., in towards the fire (I.Sc., Cai. 1972). Cf. I. 2. Sh. 1898 Shetland News (15 Oct.):
Shü cam' in trow ta da fire.
Sh. 1928 Sh. Almanac 188:
Betty, hae ye ony tae ready but trow?
Sh. 1949 New Shetlander No. 19. 43:
He gude ben trow an' cam' wi' a bottle.

3. At or near one's end, done for (I., n., m.Sc. 1972). See also Far, adv.1, II. 25. Abd. 1918 C. Murray Sough o' War 29:
They thocht him fairly throu' at first, an' threepit he was deid.
Sc. 1936 Scots Mag. (Sept.) 436:
I suppose the auld man's gey far through?

4. Of time: from then on, thereafter without intermission. Sh. 1897 Shetland News (4 Sept.):
A'm willin' ta come frae da morn an' sae trow.

5. In phrs. and combs.: (1) throch an(d) throw, through and through, completely through (Abd. 1897 Trans. Bch. Field Club IV. 80, Abd. 1930); (2) through-ban(d), throw-, trow-baand, n., a large long stone or sod extending through the whole thickness of a stone or turf wall to reinforce or strengthen it (Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 446; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Sh., Cai., Ahd., Bwk., sm. and s.Sc. 1972). Also attrib.; (3) through-bear, to maintain, support, sustain, carry through, gen. in vbl.n. throw-bearin, -an, -baern, support, maintenance, livelihood (Sc. 1825 Jam.), the means of finding a way out of difficult or straitened circumstances (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 192; Abd. 1925; Sh. 1972). Deriv. throw-bearance, id.; (4) through-ca, energy, drive, ability to get work done (Ags., Per. 1921 T.S.D.C.; ne.Sc., Ags. 1972); a thorough search or hunt, a “turn-up” in an effort to find (Abd. 1972). See Ca-through; (5) throucome, throw(e)-, trowkum, what one has to come through, an experience or procedure, freq. of a difficult or trying nature, an ordeal, hardship (Mry., Abd. 1921 T.S.D.C.; Sh., ne.Sc. 1972); (6) through-coming, a livelihood (Cai. 1905 E.D.D.); (7) throw-gaun, -ga'(i)n, -gaan, †-gand, -gaein, (i) ppl.adj.: (a) passing through, on a journey (Ags. 1972); (b) providing a passage or access from one street, house, room, etc. to another (m.Sc. 1972); (c) of persons: active, bustling, energetic, getting through work quickly (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Fif., Lnk., Slk. 1972), lively, merry (Uls. 1953 Travnor), of work: straight-forward, done with ease and speed; of persons: prodigal, spendthrift (Cld. 1825 Jam.); (d) thorough-going, uncompromising; (ii) vbl.n. (a) a passing through by way of transit or processing; (b) a passageway, alley, lobby, ante-room (Rnf. 1920; Slg., wm.Sc., Wgt. 1972); (c) = through-bearing s.v. (3); (d) = (5) (Mry. 1930); (e) a strict and censorious examination of one's conduct, a severe taking to task or reproof (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 192; Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; ne. and wm.Sc., Wgt., Rxb. 1972); rough treatment in gen.; (8) througang, throw-, throoging, trough-geng, -geong (Sh., Ork.), (i) a going over or through; a passage (I.Sc. 1972); specif. (ii) a narration, a recital (of a story); (iii) a full rotation of crops, a shift; (iv) a thoroughfare, lane, passageway, corridor open at either end (Sc. 1808 Jam.; Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928); Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Ork., w.Lth., wm.Sc. 1972). Also attrib.; (v) = (5); (vi) energy, drive (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 192); (9) throw-gangin, -een, -gannin, (i) ppl.adj., of persons: active, pushing (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.); of a horse: full of energy or “go”, fleet; (ii) vbl.n., a severe scolding (Rxh. 1958 Trans. Hawick Arch. Soc. 25); (10) throwgate, (i) a passageway, alley, lane (w.Lth., wm. and sm.Sc. 1972); †an aisle in a church; (ii) progress, headway (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.); (11) through-hole, the hole in a plough-beam in which the top of the coulter is fixed (Ayr. 1957); (12) through-let, a narrow passage or channel, esp. at sea. Found in place-names on the Clyde estuary; (13) through-pit, -pet, -put, trow-, (i) a putting through (of work), production, output (Per. 1915 Wilson L. Strathearn 273; Sh., n. and em.Sc. (a), wm.Sc., Wgt. 1972); energy, activity, capacity for or progress at work (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.; Sh. (trow-), Abd., Per., Dmf. 1972). Hence phr. at one's ain throwpit, at the working speed most convenient to oneself, at one's own pace (Per. 1972); ¶(ii)? a foist, piece of propaganda; (14) through-pittin, (i) ppl.adj., energetic, active, quick and deft at work (Cld. 1880 Jam.); (ii) vbl.n., (a) a bare living, just enough to put one through life (Sc. 1825 Jam.; Cai. 1905 E.D.D.); (b) a rough handling, a severe rating or cross-examination (Cld. 1825 Jam.; Gall. 1905 E.D.D.; Uls. 1931 Northern Whig (11 Dec.) 13; Slg., wm. and sm.Sc. 1972); (15) through-strike, in mining: a cutting or passageway from one section of a mine to another, a Thirl. (1) Sc. 1806 R. Jamieson Ballads I. 151:
Throuch-and-thro the Jew's window He gard the bonny ba flee.
Abd. 1924 Scots Mag. (Sept.) 441:
I gat a borie redd throchan-throw tha gryte an' muckle vryethe.
Abd. 1930 E. S. Rae Waff o' Win' 56:
For I'm nae throch-an-throwe we'et yet.
(2) Abd. 1777 J. Anderson Essays I. 11:
The through-band feal B, on the opposite side, having been first rightly laid.
Abd. 1841 Hatton Estate MSS.:
All the throughband stones are built with lime through and through.
Gall. 1865 F. Rainsford-Hannay Dry Stone Walling (1957) 35:
The Double to have one set of through-bands 21 inches ahove the grass at 1 yard centres, projecting slightly on each side.
Sh. 1964 Sh. Folk Book IV. 1:
Long rectangular stones extending the full width of the wall, called “trow-baands.”
(3) Sc. 1700 T. Halyburton Memoirs (1714) 138:
Eyeing his Strength for Throw-bearance in the Whole of the Work.
Sc. 1705 R. Wodrow Analecta (M.C.) I. 79:
Ane honnest throu-beairing in the world, soe as we might not be burdensome to others.
Sc. 1714 J. Thomson Cloud of Witnesses (1871) 45:
Through-bearing me as He sees most for His own glory.
Per. 1769 Survey Lochtayside (S.H.S.) 83:
The common course of the country is to take the best and leave the worst as they have a throwgh-bearing that same way.
Sc. 1813 The Scotchman 89:
To get a scrimpit throubearin for their dear-loet bairnies.
Fif. 1838 A. Bethune Sc. Peasantry 136:
A throughhearin is a' I maun look for.
Sh. 1947 New Shetlander (June-July) 3:
Hit's a guid day at pits aff da nite, an hit's aye a trow-baern.
(4) Ags. 1914 I. Bell Country Clash 4:
He had nae through-ca' wi' his subjeck. He was wantin' in acteevity.
(5) Abd. 1917 D. G. Mitchell Kirk i' the Clachan 194:
What a fecht he has to win throwe! But a' his throwe-comes are the makin o' him.
Bnff. 1937 E. S. Rae Light in the Window Dedication:
In Scotland's throucomes aye belang The tartan wi' the yalla threed.
Sh. 1962 New Shetlander No. 60. 27:
Whin he taald dem aa his trowkums.
(7) (i) (a) Sc. 1901 N. Munro Doom Castle xx.:
The through-going stranger took his pack there.
(b) Gsw. 1851 Gsw. Past & Present (1884) II. 12, 175:
A “throughgand” close betwixt Jamaica Street and Argyll Street. . . . The through-gaun close opposite the Tontine Inn.
Ayr. 1890 J. Service Notandums 24:
Ae straucht through-gaun entry.
Abd. 1931 G. Greig Mains Again 9:
Steek that throw-gaun door.
Ags. 1962 D. Phillips Lichty Nichts 36:
The simplest “dooble hooses” were “through-gaen” — the second room leading off the kitchen.
(c) Kcb. 1814 W. Nicholson Tales 26:
A throwgaun, rattlin' merry chiel.
Ayr. 1821 Galt Legatees viii.:
Gleg, blithe, and throw-gaun for her years.
Slk. 1827 Hogg Shep. Cal. (1874) vi.:
Mrs. Wilson's a throughgaun quean, and clears mair than a hunder a year.
Fif. 1841 C. Gray Lays 10:
The throwgaun carle ne'er keeks behind him.
Hdg. 1889 J. Lumsden Lays Linton 69:
Your clever, through-gaun, smeddum-fou', young gudewife.
Arg. 1914 J. M. Hay Gillespie ii. xviii.:
A canty wee neeboorly through-gaen, but an' ben toon.
Dmf. 1920 J. L. Waugh Heroes 41:
A crisp winnowing wind that gladdened the hearts of the haymakers and made their work “throughgaun” and lightsome.
(d) Rnf. 1898 J. M. Henderson Kartdale 69:
The understanding o' a th'rough-gaun theology is no in everybody's line.
(ii) (a) Ayr. 1822 Galt Provost xxxiv.:
Those mighty masses of foreign commodities, the throughgoing of which left “goud in gaupins” with all who had the handling of the same.
Lth. 1829 G. Robertson Recollections 254:
To separate the sids or shells from the grits or kernel of the oats, after the first through-going of the melder.
(b) Lnk. 1897 J. Wright Scenes Sc. Life 59:
I lifted the sneck and went by the “through-gaun” or lobby leading from the village street to the garden behind.
Gsw. 1954 Bulletin (15 April) 4:
Last time Monteith Row was in the news it was because Glasgow Corporation proposed to demolish it in order to make a “through going.”
(c) Abd. 1868 W. Shelley Wayside Flowers 187:
We'll aye get a through-gaen alang wi' the lave.
(d) Sc. 1928 J. Wilson Hamespun 25:
Rehearse their thro'-gauns to the bairns, Wha soon get tint amang the maze.
(e) Sc. 1817 Scott Rob Roy xiv.:
The folk that were again him gae him sic an awfu' throughgaun about his rinnin' awa.
Bwk. 1897 R. M. Calder Poems 296:
Then the cat gets a thro'-gaun that ends in a claw.
Abd. 1923 Banffshire Jnl. (27 March) 3:
I thanked him for the “through gaun” he gave me.
(8) (i) Ags. 1853 W. Blair Aberbrothock 46:
As he saw there wad be nae throoging, he stappit the mous o's cannon an' sailed awa'.
Abd. 1875 G. MacDonald Malcolm II. xix.:
The fower-fut stane wa' had to flee afore him, for a throu'-gang to the Prence o' the Pooer o' the Air.
(ii) Mry. 1887 A. G. Wilken Peter Laing 33:
I've only ae story that's worth giein' a' througang till.
(iii) Rnf. 1802 Caldwell Papers (M.C.) I. 312:
The tenants shall lime at least one third of the lands at the rate of eight chalders of lime per acre the first throughgang, and another third part at the same rate per acre in the second throughgang, and the remaining third part at the same rate per acre before the expiry of the lease.
(iv) Gsw. 1715 Session Papers, Petition A. Leitch (3 Feb. 1767) 8:
The entry or thro'-gang of the said Andrew Leitch's [courtyard].
Ayr. 1780 J. Mitchell Memories Ayr. (S.H.S. Misc. VI.) 257:
Separated only by a passage called in the vernacular language a ‘through-gang.'
Sc. 1808 Jam.:
A throwgang close is an open passage, by which one may go from one street to another, as opposed to a blind alley.
s.Sc. 1857 H. S. Riddell St Matthew vi. 2:
As the hypocrites do in the synigogues an' in the throwgangs.
(v) Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 192:
We hid a gey through-gang afore we got a' thing sattlet up.
(9) (i) Sc. 1814 Scott Waverley xxxix.:
Ye should ken a horse's points; ye see that through-ganging thing that Balmawhapple's on; I selled her till him.
(ii) Rxb. 1927 E. C. Smith Braid Haaick 22:
Hei'll geet an awfih throwegangeen for dui-in that.
(10) (i) Rxb. 1718 J. J. Vernon Par. Hawick (1900) 144:
Andrew Scott, wright, and Tho. Hardie in the throwgate of the kirk to stand.
Dmf. 1956 Dmf. & Gall. Standard (2 June) 16:
Furnished House to Let. Throughgate, Dunscore.
(12) Ayr. 1795 Stat. Acc.1 XII. 423 note:
A little to the northward of the old port, between it an a place called the Throughlet, the entrance to the precipice ahove described.
Rnf. 1845 Stat. Acc.2 VII. 409:
A narrow channel significantly called the “Throughlet,” through which the tide rushes with such impetuosity.
(13) (i) Sc. 1808 Jam. s.v. Eydent:
He has nae great throw-pit, hut he's very eident.
Ags. 1894 J. B. Salmond My Man Sandy (1899) 30:
She has nae throwpet in her hoose.
Abd. 1955 Buchan Observer (26 July):
Processing difficulties even at the reduction faetories, whose throughput has been considerably curtailed.
(ii) Sc. 1879 P. H. Waddell Isaiah 1:
Some nieffu' o' sangs an' nae mair, the feck o' them lies an' thro-put.
(14) (ii) (b) wm.Sc. 1888 Archie MacNab 55:
I yoked on him, an' gie'd him a regular through-pittin'.
Lnk. 1910 C. Fraser Glengonnar 80:
She never gies an ill answer back when I gi'e her a through-pittin.
(15) m.Lth. 1770 Session Papers, State of Process, Henry v. Clark 17:
The state of the colliery betwixt Mr Clerk's present through-strike into the waste and the march of Polton.
Ayr. 1776 Session Papers, Fergusson v. Earl of Cassillis (21 Dec.) Proof 32:
A thirling or throughstrike from the new to the old waste.

III. adj. †1. Thorough, complete. Obs. in Eng. Adv. throw(e)lie, throly, thoroughly, completely. Sc. 1711 Speech for Mr Dundasse 11:
Sen I have more throly consider'd the matter.
Sc. 1734 J. Cockburn Letters (S.H.S.) 6:
A through weeding and sneding up to a wood. . . . After this through sneding it was to want no more but being clear'd of dead wood.
Sc. 1797 Scots Mag. (Aug.) 534:
The Southerns dinna relish throwlie his performances.
s.Sc. 1857 H. S. Riddell Psalms li. 2:
Wasch me throwelie frae mine inequitie.

2. Active, bustling. n.Sc. 1825 Jam.:
A throuch wife.

3. Of a house: in which one room leads into another without a lobby or vestibule (Fif., Ayr., Dmf. 1972). Cf. II. 5.(7)(i)(b). Dmf. 1956 Dmf. & Gall. Standard (17 March):
Exchange small through House, Noblehill, for Three-apartment Council House.

IV. n. 1. A hole or passage through a wall, fence, etc.; access through such; the passage cut through coal in a mine worked on the stoup-and-room method. See Stoup, I. 6.(1), and Thrower. Lnl. 1796 Stat. Acc.1 XVIII. 436:
The manner of working the coal . . . what is called stoop and throw.
Sh. 1897 Shetland News (11 Sept.):
Aence get dey da trow an' da taest, an' dey'll come agen as shüre's doo's sittin' yonder [of trespassing animals].

2. In form thruff: a bond-stone, through-stone or through-ban(d) in a wall (Rxb. 1923 Watson W.-B.). See II. 5.(2). Also in n.Eng. dial.

V. v. 1. tr. To complete, carry through (a piece of business), to negotiate (a matter), bring to fruition. Freq. in Wodrow. Obs. Phr. thruch throw, v., to do anything in a perfunctory manner, specif. to wash hurriedly, n., a hasty superficial washing (of clothes) (Dmf. 1952). Ork. 1701 H. Marwick Merchant Lairds (1936) I. 8:
I am indevouring to Through my bussiness as much as possible.
Wgt. 1702 Session Bk. Sorbie MS. (20 April):
The Session having through'd their businesse they went about their privy censures.
Sc. 1708 R. Wodrow Analecta (M.C.) I. 138:
This began a work of conversion, and it was throughed by the nixt daye's sermon.

2. intr. To succeed, get through, win acceptance. Phr. to thruch throw, to pull through, to manage to survive (Dmf. 1972). Ayr. 1786 Burns Brigs of Ayr 174–5:
Faith ye've said enough, And muckle mair than ye can mak to through.
Lnk. 1863 J. Hamilton Poems 56:
We've throught weel an' thriven this mony a year.
Dmf. 1925 Trans. Dmf. & Gall. Antiq. Soc. XIII. 41:
When some young beasts were turned out for the season to fen for themselves, I asked, “Is it not too early?” “Oh, no, they'll thruch-through.”
Dmf. 1960:
An auld body canna thruch as well as a young ane.

[O.Sc. throuch, 1375, thrw, a.1400, = I., through-bearing, 1653, throwgang, 1457, throwgate, 1531, throwghtlie, thoroughly, 1543, throȝ, 1498, through, 1638, = V., 1.]

Throu prep., adv., adj., n., v.


"Throu prep., adv., adj., n., v.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 15 May 2021 <>



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