Horn

Source : Wright, Joseph English Dialect Dictionary web : https://eddonline4-proj.uibk.ac.at/edd/main.html

HORN, sb. and v. Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also written hooan n.Yks.; hoarn Nhb.1; hoorn n.Yks.2; and in form orn w.Yks. [h)orn, ǫən.] 1. sb. In comb. (1) Horn-and-hoof fair, a fair principally for horses and cattle; (2) Horn-arred, branded on the horns; (3) Horn-beam, (4) Horn-beech, the witch-elm, Ulmus montana; (5) Horn-blöd, a form of cupping; (6) Horn-book, obs., a child's primer; (7) Horn-bouet, a hand-lantern; (8) Horn-burn, (a) a mark branded upon horned sheep, &c.; (b) to brand the horns of cattle; (9) Horn-coot, the long-eared owl, Asio otus; (10) Horn-cutty, a short spoon made of horn; (11) Horn-daft, quite mad, foolish, outrageous; (12) Horn-dry, dry, empty, thirsty for drink; (13) Horn-eel, the garfish, Belone vulgaris; (14) Horn-end, the best or parlour end of a house; (15) Horn-fair, see below; (16) Horn-fish, see (13); (17) Horn-garth, a fence round horned stock; (18) Horn-garth service, the annual setting up of a hedge of wicker-work on the e. shore of Whitby harbour; (19) Horn-geld, a form of rent, the amount of which is settled by the number of horned cattle possessed by the tenant, ‘cornage’; (20) Horn-golach, the earwig; (21) Horn-grey, a variety of pea; (22) Horn-haft, a haft or heft made of horn; (23) Horn-hard, (a) very hard; (b) soundly, profoundly; (24) Horn-head, with full force; without stopping; (25) Horn-idle, quite idle; (26) Horn-mad, raving mad; outrageously vexed; (27) Horn-mark, see (8, a); (28) Horn-ouzel, see below [not known to our correspondents]; (29) Horn-pane, the pane of a horn window; (30) Horn-pie, (a) the lapwing, Vanellus vulgaris; (b) the plover, Charadrius pluvialis; (31) Horn-shoot, crooked, twisted out of the straight line; (32) Horn-spoon, a spoon made of horn; (33) Horn-tammie, a butt, a laughing-stock; (34) Horn-top, in phr. as slow as a horn-top, excessively slow; (35) Horn-wink, see (30, a); see Hornywink. (1) Chs. Marshall Review Agric. (1818) II. 122; At Chester there are three very considerable fairs in the year. The first, held on the last Thursday in Feb., is principally for cattle and horses, and is called Horn and Hoof fair, Holland View Agric. (1808) 313; Chs.1 (2) n.Yks.2 (3) w.Som.1 The usual name. (4) Sur.1 (5) Sh.I. For sprains and bruises, and affections of an inflammatory nature, a form of cupping called horn blöd was very frequently employed, and even yet is not quite obs.. The blöd-horn was commonly made of the horn of a quey or young cow, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 159. (6) Gall. Wull ye sit doon like Henny-penny in the hornbuik wi' your finger in your mooth? Crockett Stickit Min. (1893) 148. n.Lin.1 Hornbooks were used here in dames' schools until about a hundred years ago. Cor. His earliest education was at the dame's school, where... he learned from his horn-book, Couch Hist. Polperro (1871) 4. (7) Edb. The watchmen that guarded us... in blue dreadnoughts with red necks, and battons, and horn-bouets, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) vi. (8, a) Cum. Helvellyn in Cornh. Mag. (Oct. 1890) 388. w.Yks. (J.J.B.) (b) n.Yks.2, w.Yks.1 (9) Der.2, nw.Der.1 Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) V. ii. 105. (10) n.Sc. Put far awa' your siller speens,.. And bring to me my horn cutties, Buchan Ballads (1828) II. 95, ed. 1875. (11) n.Sc. Tibby Stott's no that far wrang there,.. horn daft as she is, Hogg Winter Evening Tales (1820) I. 314 (Jam.). Cai.1 Ayr. Horn daft is he wha greens to gie A liferent to some gipsy, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 253. (12) Cai.1, Twd. (Jam.) n.Yks.2 ‘Thou's hoorn-dry,’ your glass is empty. (13) N.I.1 (14) Abd. He would himself... walk... solemnly along to the ‘horn en'’ to seek repose, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 208. (15) Ken. The sternly virtuous cottagers... held a ‘Horn Fair.’ Some erring barmaid at the inn... aroused their righteous ire... with cow's horns, poker and tongs, and tea-trays... [They] collected night after night by the tavern, and made [a] fearful uproar, Jefferies Hdgrow. (1889) 69; Ken.1 An annual fair held at Charlton, in Kent, on St. Luke's Day... It consists of a riotous mob, who, after a printed summons, disperse through the adjacent towns, meet at Cuckold's Point, near Deptford, and march from thence, in procession, through that town and Greenwich to Charlton, with horns of different kinds upon their heads; and, at the fair, there are sold ram's horns, and every sort of toy made of horn; even the ginger-bread figures have horns. It was formerly the fashion for men to go to Hornfair in women's clothes. Sus.1 Rough music with frying pans, horns, &c., generally reserved for persons whose matrimonial difficulties have attracted the attention of their neighbours. (16) Cor.2 (17) n.Yks. Atkinson Whitby (1894) 52. (18) n.Yks.2 (19) Cum.4 (20) Ags. (Jam.) (21) Bdf. The horn-grey is sometimes sown in mixture with beans, Batchelor Agric. (1813) 399. (22) Knr. In Kinross was I made, Horn-haft and blade, Haliburton Furth in Field (1894) 138. (23, a) Sc. The hearty shake of Mr. Girder's horn-hard palm, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) xxv. Cum. He wink't horn hard when he fir't his gun, Clark Survey (1787) 32; Cum.1 Cum.4 (b) Abd. The lads are sleeping horn-hard, Ross Helenore (1768) 56, ed. 1812. (24) Slk. (Jam.) (25) Sc. I fell into a bit gruff sure enough, sittin' horn idle, wi' my hand aneath my haffit, Saxon and Gael (1814) I. 189 (Jam.). Lnk., Lth. (Jam.) Peb. Through the day ye gang horn idle, How I fend ye never think, Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 132. (26) Sc. The man is mad, horn-mad, Scott Nigel (1822) xxvi; Well, I tell ye fairly, I'm horn-mad, Stevenson Catriona (1893) ix. Lth. By yonder horned moon It's clear ye're a' horn-mad, Macneill Poet. Wks. (1801) 175, ed. 1856. Nhb.1, nw.Der.1 (27) Ayr. A’ the lug and horn marks o' my staigs and stots, Service Notandums (1890) 5. (28) N.I.1 A bird mentioned by Harris (1744) as found in Dwn. (29) Wxf. There came on his mind at times, a glimmering as it were through a horn-pane, Kennedy Evenings Duffrey (1869) 56. (30, a) e.An.1 The long tuft of feathers on its head confers on it the first syllable of this name. Nrf. Here, 'bor, bornpies, or pe-weeps, as some calls 'em, gin'rally lead this time o' the year, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 106. Suf. (C.G.B.), Suf.1 e.Suf. e.An. Dy. Times (1892); (F.H.) (b) Suf. (H.H.), e.Suf. (F.H.) (31) w.Yks.1 w.Som.1 Very com. ‘Thick there board 'on't do; can't never get-n true, he's s'horn shut's a dog's hind leg.’ (32) s.Sc. Sowens... was then set down. Sae ilk auld Billie chang'd his bad-ane For a horn-spoon, T. Scott Poems (1793) 341. Ayr. The medium o' conveyance a horn spoon, Hunter Studies (1870) 156. Dmf. Tureens o' reekin' kail. At whilk carls would wag the lang horn spoon, Thom Jock o' the Knowe (1877) 39, ed. 1878. (33) Abd. (Jam.) (34) e.Dur.1, n.Yks. (I.W.) (35) Dev.2 2. Phr. (1) as dry as a horn, very dry; (2) as fond as a horn, very foolish; (3) as hard as a horn, very hard; (4) horn, corn, and wool, all the stock and crops of a farm; (5) horn and spoon, drink and food; (6) in a horn, an expression of incredulity, used in reference to an event which is never likely to happen; (7) old in the horn, old; (8) so crocked as a horn, very crooked; (9) to be doaf in the horn, to be dull, stupid; (10) to bear away the horn, to win the prize in any contest; (11) to be nicked in the horn or to have many nicks in one's horn, to be advanced in years; (12) to blow a good horn, to look well and hearty; (13) to have a soft horn, to be a simpleton; (14) to have the horn in one's hip, to have the mastery over one; (15) to have got the horn, to be lustful; (16) to have got the horn in one, to be slightly tipsy; (17) to have too much horn, to be impudent; (18) to make a blow horn of a thing, to proclaim it everywhere; (19) to sleep as sound as a horn, to sleep very soundly; (20) to take off the horn, to drink off a ‘horn’ of ale; (21) all horns to the lift, a game; see below; (22) to draw in one's horns, to retract one's opinions; to retrench; (23) to get the horns, to be made a cuckold. (1) Cai.1, Lth. (Jam.), n.Yks. (T.S.) (2) n.Yks. (I.W.) (3) Cai.1 (4) Abd. Things are deein' gran' ─ horn, corn, and woo', Guidman Inglismaill (1873) 37. (5) Per. Sorn on them for horn and spune, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 46. (6) Suf.1 Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 71; ‘Yes, in horn, Master Franky, I should think you would.’ As much as to say, ‘I think I see you doing it,’ Reports Provinc. (1887) 9. [Amer. Now common, used to qualify a falsehood... A boy will say, ‘I saw a man jump over the house,’ and add sotto voce, ‘In a horn,’ meaning thereby directly the reverse. ‘Tie the boat up!’ says Jim, ‘I'll lie her up, in a horn! Do you reckon I can't run her in such a fog as we'll have to-night?’ N. Y. Spirit of the Times.] (7) Per. A'm ower auld in the horn to change noo, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 43. (8) w.Som.1 (9) Gall. O but wi' scholar-craft my ain, To see this whurlie-birlie. But hech! I am unco doaf i'e horn, A shauler gow was never seen, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 476, ed. 1876. (10) Sc. He that blows best bear[s] away the horn, Kelly Prov. (1721). (11) Lnk. I'm owre weel nicket in the horns by this time to let a Cockney tak a laugh oot o' me, Murdoch Readings (ed. 1895) III. 108. Edb. ‘Hegh sirs, does she expect to be Lady Nairn?’ ‘There's ower mony nicks in her horn, I doot,’ Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 172. (12) Wm. Thoo blows a rare good horn (B.K.). (13) w.Ir. My horn's not so soft, all out, as to repair your ould goose for nothin', Lover Leg. (1848) I. 9. (14) Abd. In his hip they ha'e their horn An' push him headlong to the foot, Wi' the brutality o' nowt, Anderson Poems (1826) 77. (15) e.Suf. He has got the horn (F.H.). (16) N.I.1 (17) Lakel.2 Thoo's ower mich horn fer me. (18) Cai.1 (19) Cai.1 (20) Lth. Gin ye tak' nae aff yer horn, They're no right weel contented, Bruce Poems (1813) II. 19. (21) Sc. A circle is formed round a table, and all placing their fore fingers on the table, one cries, ‘A' horns to the lift, cats' horns upmost.’ If on this anyone lift his finger, he owes a wad [forfeit], as cats have no horns. In the same manner, the person who does not raise his finger, when a horned animal is named, is subject to a forfeit. The wads are recovered by the performance of some task, as kissing, at the close of the game, the person named by the one who has his eyes tied up (Jam.). (22) Sc. He ‘drew in his horns,’ to use the Bailie's phrase, on the instant, professed no intention whatever to disoblige, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xxvii. n.Cy. (J.W.), Nhp.1, War.3, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Dor. I draw in the horns of my mind and think to myself, Hardy Ethelberta (1876) i. (23) Gall. A smith, may be ye kend him, That's got the horns, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 67. 3. A drinking-vessel; a draught of ale or whisky; a tin vessel used for warming drink, a ‘hastener.’ Sc. He... ca'd in at the change-house, an' took a gude horn, Vedder Poems (1842) 206. Elg. Welcome at morn a weel-filled horn, When drouthy dogs are dry, Tester Poems (1865) 121. Abd. He and I sall hae a horn, Beattie Parings (1801) 36, ed. 1873. Frf. The Captain... drew his bottle an' gie'd me a guid muckle horn... o' the real Glenferrichan, Lowson Guidfollow (1890) 55. Per. They'll reach the howff by fa' o' nicht, In Poussie Nancy's cowp the horn, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 22. Fif. Welcome, childer, tak' a horn O' my rare highland whisky, Douglas Poems (1806) 141. Rnf. He... Can tak' a hearty horn at e'en, Picken Poems (1813) I. 154. Ayr. That merry night we get the corn in! O sweetly, then, thou reams the horn in! Burns Sc. Drink (1786) st. 9. Lnk. Twa hours confab Owre a horn o' gude yill, Rodger Poems (1838) 32, ed. 1897. Edb. They toutit aff the horn, Which wambles thro' their weym Wi' pain, Fergusson Poems (1773) 157, ed. 1785. Shr.1 Hrf.2 Fast going out of use. Oxf. To have a ‘ half horn’ is a very common phr., meaning to have half a pint of beer (G.O.). Hence Horning, sb. a supply of drink. Lnk. Cam' the drouths to get their hornin', Nicholson Kilwuddie (ed. 1895) 71. Edb. He reels hame... An' pours out the effects o' hornin', Learmont Poems (1791) 172. 4. A spoon made of horn. Ayr. Horn for horn they stretch and strive, Burns To a Haggis, st. 4. Hence Horner, sb. a maker of horn spoons. Abd. (Jam. Suppl.) Bwk. They are known ‘either as horners, muggers, or besom and basket-makers,’ Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 124. 5. A snuff-box in form of a sheep's horn. Mry. A native of Dallas, who carried several snuff-mulls about him, and to almost every person he met, offered his horn to take a pinch, Hay Lintie (1851) 75. Lnk. Ay the ither pinch [they] were takin' O' gude Scots snuff frae out a' horn, Muir Minstrelsy (1816) 41. Peb. It was his doom, Whan takan' o' a sneesh, Auld Sawny's horn on's croon tae toom, Lintoun Green (1685) 57, ed. 1817. 6. A vessel used for cupping. Sh.I. I houp Arty tell'd you ta tak' da horn, Sh. News (Sept. 11, 1897). Or.I. For a cupping glass they have a horn with a small thin skin at the lesser end: the way how they use it is thus, the physician with the point of his knife gives three or four small cuts or gashes on the place where he proposes to set the horn, and having set the broadest end on the wounds, he sucks the small end a little and then lets it stand, till the abundance of blood that it draws make it fall off, Wallace Desc. Or. I. (1693) 39, ed. 1883. 7. Hard skin on the foot; a corn. n.Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Your edge sometimes has touched the horn, Or men't a pen, or cut a corn, Anderson Rhymes (1867) 116. 8. A comb for the hair. Ayr. In some beggar's haffet squattle;.. Whare horn nor bane ne'er dare unsettle Your thick plantations, Burns To a Louse, st. 3. Lan.1 Tak how o' this horn, an' ready thi yure a bit, Waugh Chim. Corner (1879) 168. 9. The continuation of the stern of a boat. Sh.&Ork.1 10. The nose; also used fig. of things. Sc. I wad like ill to wait till Mr. Harrison and auld Gudyill cam to pu' us out by the lug and the horn, Scott Old Mortality (1816) vii. Lth. Tea-pots wi' baith lug an' horn, Thomson Poems (1819) 73. Gall. There ye; [a teapot] set, wi' lug an' horn, My joy an' comfort, e'en an' morn, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 85. 11. Part of a bell. Ayr. The model bell o' a' the laun’, Twal’ hunner wecht jist as ye staun’, Tongue, lip, an' horn, Laing Poems (1894) 79. 12. A corner. Nhb.1 It occurs in place-names. Ken. The horn of an apple pasty (K.); Ken.1 13. A legal term; gen. in phr. put to the horn, declared a criminal; see below. Sc. To ‘put to the horn’ was almost a proverbial expression, and came from one of the recognised statutory Acts... The theory of law which gave rise to this process of horning was that the debtor who failed to obey the Royal summons to pay his debt was to be treated as a rebel against authority, and when he had been ‘put to the horn’ he could be thrown into prison, though he had to be maintained there not by the State, but by the creditor. This could not be done, however, until the debtor was duly warned and given a certain time to pay. If that was overrun the Horning Office officials proceeded to the cross of the burgh or county town, read letters of denunciation against the debtor, and then followed that up by three blasts on a horn, and by the affixing of the letters to the cross. This practice... has long since fallen into desuetude, Scotsman (June 28, 1899). Bnff. ‘At the horn,’ on the verge of bankruptcy (Jam.). Abd. She rung the bell instantly on her servants to put him to the horn, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 305. Dmb. Glad to catch him with your poind and horn, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 63. Ayr. I'll be put to the horn whenever it's kent, Service Notandums (1890) 60. Lnk. [They] Will be harry't wi' taxes, an' put to the horn, Hamilton Poems (1865) 46. Edb. Your horn and caption and sic gear, Liddle Poems (1821) 243. Gall. I had been put to the horn ─ that is I had been proclaimed rebel and outlaw at the Cross of Edinburgh with three blasts of the king's horn, Crockett Grey Man (1896) vi. Hence (1) Horner, sb. one who is sent to Coventry; (2) Horning, sb. the legal process of ‘putting to the horn’; gen. in comb. Letters of horning, or Horning and caption, an order requiring a debtor to pay his debt on pain of being declared a rebel; a letter of amercement. (1) n.Sc. (Jam.) (2) Sc. If he was freed o' his hornings and captions, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xxvi. Sh.I. ‘Horning,’ or ‘putting to the horn,’ was the method of enforcing the decrees of the civil courts, Willcock Minister (1897) 27. Abd. Ralph Boswell the officer... threatened the parishioners with charges, hornings, poindings, distrainings, &c., Ruddiman Sc. Parish (1828) 43, ed. 1889. Per. Summonses, hornings, and poindings for debtors, Stewart Character (1857) 35. w.Sc. If I'm alive, I will, to-morrow morning, Protest his bill, and get a charge o' horning, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 200. Fif. It is desyred that by speciall Act of Parliament, horning and caption be decerned aganis excommunicats, Row Ch. Hist. (1650) 64, ed. 1842. Slg. The council resisted till threatened with letters of horning, Bruce Sermons (1631) 119, ed. 1843. Ayr. However strict in the harsh offices of caption and horning, he had the friendly spirit of the poor man among the poor, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) vii; ‘Horning’ and ‘caption’ were forms of diligence. ‘Letters of caption,’ which ran in the name of the sovereign and were authenticated by his signet, ordered the judges and officers of the law to incarcerate a debtor who had disobeyed the charge given him on ‘letters of horning’ to pay a debt or perform an act, GALT Sir A. Wylie note A. Lnk. The ither mornin', wi' a' caption an' hornin', The auld janitor ─ death ─ seiz'd on Johnny the Laird, Lemon St. Mungo (1844) 64. Lth. In Session Courts and Admiralty Till tired o' horning and memorial, Ye turn frae tricks to things corporeal, Macneill Poet. Wks. (1801) 168, ed. 1856. Edb. As if he had been an Edinburgh Parliament House lawyer, studying his hornings, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xxiv. Slk. Never went to bed without sayin his prayers to escape a charge o' hornin, Chr. North Noctes (ed. 1856) III. 285. Gall. This is not a horning but a hanging job, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xvi. Kcb. If I had that pawn I would bide horning and hell both, ere I give it again, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 134. 14. pl. The awns of barley. e.An.1, e.Suf. (F.H.) Hence Horny, adj. of barley: abounding in ‘horns.’ e.An.1 It is applied to a sample of barley, from which the awns have not been properly separated in the process of winnowing. e.Suf. (F.H.) 15. The old name for ‘outlets,’ wooden frames used to enlarge the carrying surface of a wagon. Ken. (D.W.L.) 16. v. To gore, push with the horns. Ir. They kicked and they horned, so that she was afraid to come near them, Kennedy Fireside Stories (1870) 35. N.I.1 n.Lin. He horn'd th' poor thing to deäd (M.P.). Oxf. If thee goest in old Dan'l Kearsey's close, his bull 'll horn thee, Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 126. e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). e.Suf. (F.H.) 17. To publish anything abroad as by blast of a horn. Dor. ‘I'm afeard your labour in keeping it close will be throwed away,’ said Coggan... ‘Labe Tall's old woman will horn it all over parish in half-an-hour,’ Hardy Madding Crowd (1874) lvii. Hence Horning, vbl. sb. trumpeting. Do hold thy horning, Jan! Hardy Madding Crowd (1874) xlii. 18. To saw the horns off cattle. N.I.1 Hence Horned, adj. of cattle: having the horns sawn off. N.I.1 19. To pour drink down a person's throat; to drench a beast. n.Yks. (I.W.); n.Yks.2 ‘We hoorn'd it intiv her,’ said of liquid medicine for the cow, poured through a natural horn. w.Yks. Nurse 'ad fairly to 'orn the brandy into her (F.P.T.). 20. To cup. Sh.I. Kirstin is [has] horn'd mam's shooder... Hornin' an' kuppin' wis maistly da cüre for a', Sh. News (Sept. 11, 1897). 21. Curling term; see below. Sc. When the stone has not pith to cross the score, which the sweepers wish ─ the opposite side cry out in derision ‘horn him, horn him’ ─ draw it up by the handle, which of course takes it out of play (G.W.). 22. Obs. To cuckold. Sc. By those that do their neighbourn [sic] horn, Colvil Whigs Supplication (1796) 1. 64; He cherish'd one himself to horn, COLVIL Whigs Supplication 342. Hence Horning, vbl. sb. cuckolding. Edb. Let auld Jock a horning dree... And she'se ne'er be blam'd by me, McDowall Poems (1839) 199.

Source : Century Dictionary ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Dictionary )