The Scots enjoy discussing the weather incessantly. Possibly because of this, there are over 400 words for snow. Oh, and the old adage “if you like the weather in Scotland, wait a half-hour and it will change” could not be more accurate. Although “dreich” will always be the most popular, the following are some of the best Scottish weather-related words.
Dreich
Meaning dreary, gloomy, bleak, miserable, grey, depressing, and sunless… you get the idea! Dreich is the mothership of all Scottish weather terms and is used more frequently than cans of Irn-Bru are opened, so it’s not surprising that Scots voted it as their favorite word in a government survey.
Pure Baltic
It’s absolutely (insert curse word) freezing, to the point where you’ll likely be shivering uncontrollably.
Snell
It is so bitterly cold that it feels like the air is penetrating your skin.
Flaggie
A large (muckle) snowflake.
Fret
Don’t worry, for a “fret” is a sea-borne mist that is piercingly cold and damp.
Mochie
Applicable to those squirming moments when clamminess envelops you and warm, uncomfortable dampness sets in as a result of those dreadful, humid days.
Bullet Stanes
Simply put, hailstones.
Drookit
Completely saturated to the bone, drenched, sodden, soaked. If your clothes are “drookit,” you either didn’t have an umbrella or the rain was so heavy that the umbrella couldn’t prevent your clothes from becoming drookit.
Jeelit
A great-sounding term for extremely cold temperatures.
Sump
When the rain falls with vigor and great force.
Gloaming
This alluring and evocative twilight that descends upon a location in the early evening hours. “the glomyng of the nycht” appears in an old Scots text from the fifteenth century.
Greetie
From the Scots word for ‘cry’, ‘greet’, ‘greetie’ means raining and showering.
Haar
If you observe the haar entering, then you are observing a notable wispy mist entering from the east.
Plowetery
If it is plowetery, then the situation is a mess. Rainy, showery, filthy, and wet.
Oorlich
The word ‘oorlich,’ which means unwelcomely damp, nippy, cold, and chilly, is an excellent opportunity to emphasize the Scots ‘ich’ sound. NOT to be pronounced as “oor-lick”
Smirr
That irritating, drizzling rain that ruins the day. It’s not impressive enough to justify a “rain day” spent indoors, but it still manages to slowly soak you.
Feefle
A term used to describe snow that magically swirls, twirls, and dances, inspiring the desire to build a snowman.
Flindrikin
A sprinkling of snow here and there.
Stermm
The material of stars!
Spitters
The kind of slushy, chilly snowflakes or icy raindrops that touch your skin during a firm gust of wind.
Unbrak
Used to describe situations when a thaw is imminent.
Pish-oot
Intense precipitation when it’s “pishing it down”!
Watergaw
See “The Watergaw” by Scottish poet Hugh McDiarmid for a detailed description. You know when you see a rainbow, only to realize that it’s a hypnotic fragment of a rainbow with no pot of gold at the end? That potion of colours is a ‘watergaw’ and emerges after a hefty bout of rain. Do not mistake it for a rainbow.
Auld wives and pike staves
That is, it is raining cats and dogs!
‘The rain is God’s way o’ cleanin’ the coos’
Every cloud has a glimmer of silver!
‘Cast not a clout till May is oot’
Wise words of counsel. You don’t want to look like “mutton dressed as lamb” by walking around like a fool in sandals that expose your toes when the weather isn’t even fully summer yet! Until the blossoms of May appear, one must be patient.
Yer grandpa’s like the weather — nae pattern!
To say the least, the good old Scottish weather is unpredictable.
Topic: 27 Scottish Words And Phrases To Describe The Weather
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