“Weel done Cutty-sark!”

Excerpt from the poem:

“…But here my Muse her wing maun couer;
Sic flights are far beyond her pow’r;
To sing how Nannie lap and flang,
(A souple jade she was, and strang),
And how Tam stood, like ane bewitch’d,
And thought his very een enrich’d;
Even Satan glowr’d, and fidg’d fu’ fain,
And hotch’d and blew wi’ might and main;
Till first ae caper, syne anither,
Tam tint his reason ‘ thegither,
And roars out, “Weel done, Cutty-sark!”
And in an instant all was dark:
And scarcely had he Maggie rallied,
When out the hellish legion sallied.

As bees bizz out wi’ angry fyke,
When plundering herds assail their byke;
As open pussie’s mortal foes,
When, pop! she starts afore their nose…”

Translate:

Cutty-sark: short undershirt; Robert Burns 1791, Tam O Shanter.

“Well done short shirt.”

Excerpt from the poem:

“…But here my muse must cow her wings,
Such flights are far beyond her power;
To sing how Nannie leaped and sported
(A supple wilful girl she was, and strong);
And how Tom stood like one bewitched,
And thought his very eyes enriched;
Even Satan glowered, and fidgeted full of lust,
And bobbed and blew with might and main;
Till first one caper, then another,
Tom lost his reason all together,
And roars out: ‘ Well done, short skirt! ’
And in an instant all was dark;
And scarcely had he Maggie rallied,
When out the hellish legion sallied.

As bees buzz out with angry wrath,
When plundering herds assail their hive;
As a wild hare’s mortal foes,
When, pop! she springs away before their nose…”

The Scottish Word: cutty sark with its definition and its meaning illustrated and captioned with the word used in context in the Scots language and in English.