Cutty-sark (witch) "chemise", or "shirt". The earliest recorded literary usage of the term "cutty sark" (as opposed to older usage of the two separate words) is by Dougal Graham in c. 1779 (the year of his death): "A cutty sark of guide harn sheet, My mitter he pe spin, mattam." In Burns' 1791 poem Tam o' Shanter, the drunken Tam, riding home on his horse, happens upon a witches' dance. Among the dancing figures is a particularly beautiful young witch named Nannie (Scots pet-form of Anna), "ae winsome wench and wawlie" (line 164). She is wearing a "harn" (linen) "sark" (nightshirt) which
River Sark and was formerly a haven for criminals and outlaws who wished to exploit the weakness of the two countries' border defences. The boundary between the Sark and the Esk is called the Scots' Dike. Its name is not connected with "Cutty Sark". River Sark "Disambiguation: for other meanings, please see Sark (disambiguation) The River Sark or Sark Water is a river best known for forming part of the western border between Scotland and England. Most of its short length, however, is entirely in Scotland. It flows into the estuary of the River Esk just to the south of Gretna. During