Cutty-sark (witch) about scantily-clad females. The popularity of this poem was such that the phrase "Well done, Cutty-sark!" entered the English language via Scots as an exclamation similar to "Bravo!" Literary allusions to the original Cutty-sark abound. In "Ulysses", James Joyce writes: "Laughing witches in red cutty sarks ride through the air on broom sticks" (p. 695). Cutty-sark (witch) "Cutty sark" is 18th-century Scots for "short chemise" or "short undergarment". Hyphenated, Cutty-sark was a nickname given to the witch Nannie Dee, a fictional character created by Robert Burns in his "Tam o' Shanter", after the garment she wore. The figurehead of the
Cutty-sark (witch) fitted her as a child (a "lassie") but is now rather too short for her: Tam is so enthralled by the erotic spectacle that he cannot contain himself and yells out "Weel done, Cutty-sark!" (line 189). The witches are now alerted to his presence and pursue him. Tam heads for the River Doon, because, according to folklore, witches cannot cross running water. He makes it across the bridge to safety, but not before Nannie, the "Cutty-sark", has torn the tail from his horse. The poem ends ironically, with a mock warning to all men of the devilish consequences of thinking