erse - Hamely Tongue

erse ~ the buttocks; the bottom of a sack, etc. (The erse haes fell ooty it); the seat of trousers (I mine whun the same boy hadnae an erse in his trousers). an owl wumman wae a stray erse one entirely lacking in skill or ability of any kind (Fitba? An owl wumman wae a stray erse could kick fitba). a purse tae her erse (of a bride or prospective bride) having a (usu. substantial) dowry (nae beauty tae keep hir aff hir work, but a guid purse tae hir erse). as much as the erse can stan as much as may be borne in physical comfort (esp. by those listening to a speaker: cf. the reply of an elderly Aughafatten lady to a wordy preacher’s enquiry as to how she had enjoyed the message: ‘Aye mine this, yer reverence: the heid can only tak in as much as the erse can stan’). as much as my erse knows aboot snipe-shootin nothing at all (He knows as much aboot it as my erse knows aboot snipe-shootin is an assessment of the range and depth of a person’s mastery of a skill, knowledge of a subject, etc.). big o the erse (of a person) awkward, clumsy. couldnae hit a bull on the erse wae a bakeboord (see bakeboord). erse aboot hang about to no purpose or merely to kill time; work ineffectually. erse-aboot-face the wrong way round (Ye’r aye gan at it erse-aboot-face). erse-hole o naewhur any dismal, out-of-the-way place. erse-lick a servile flatterer, a toady. erse-poaket joc. a hip-pocket. fa tae an erse (of a project, arrangement, business enterprise, etc.) collapse, fail miserably. get up aff yer lazy erse bestir yourself and do some work. Is yer eyes in yer erse? (to one exasperatingly unobservant). kick on the erse a small amount or distance (Well if A wuznae right A wuznae a kick on the erse away frae it). kiss-mae-erse a toady. mak an erse o bungle; make a botch of. niver bother yer erse (see bother). niver while their, yir, etc. erse lucks doon never at all. pit an erse tae give material means/standing to (It wuz the merryin inty the Broons pit an erse tae them). Sit doon on yer erse! Sit down! (and stop pestering or interrupting). stockins wae an erse in them tights. the sheugh o the erse the cleavage between the buttocks (tearin an workin tae the sweet wuz rinnin doon the sheugh o mae erse). Yer erse an pairsley! Nonsense! [OE ærs]

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