Haud Yer Wheesht: Your Scottish Granny's Favorite Sayings

Rating:
Summary: A good overview of the shrewd Scottish outlook on life.
Review: This is one of the smallest books I have ever read, and was amusingly illustrated by Rupert Besley, who has worked on several other Scottish humor books. The book has over 500 sayings in Lollands (Lowland Scots English -- Robert Burn's language) grouped into 34 categories such as Business, Death, Observations on Life, Love, Marriage, Money, and Work. A one-page glossary of a few of the Scots words is included, but readers unfamiliar with Scots English would be advised to also have Collins' "Scots Dictionary" handy for some of the other words not listed. Under each proverb is the author's interpretation of the meaning, usually based on the category it is filed under. I did not always agree with Mr. Morrison's "translation", as I felt many of the sayings had broader applications than he allowed, or the translations could have been phrased differently to better bring out the point of the proverb. But that is minor quibbling over personal taste. The real beauty of the book is that, here in one slim volume, are several generations worth of shrewd comments on life, as seen through the eyes of our Scottish ancestors. I found it interesting that many sayings I have seen elsewhere called "old English proverbs" had a close relative in Scots. It makes one wonder which actually came first, and whether the saying is actually English, or has been misattributed. All-in-all a fun little book, and a great "bathroom reader". If nothing else, it will help you practice sounding like a canny auld Scot! [This review appeared in somewhat different form in the March issue of "The Tartan Tattler", the newsletter of the Scottish Club Of Tulsa.]