[Ads-l] James Hogg's "brankie," n.

[Robin Hamilton]

As far as I can make out, this situation remains the case in the latest 
edition of Hogg's _Jacobite Relics of Scotland_, edited by Murray Pittock 
for the Sterling Edition of Hogg's Works in 2003, which ought to incorporate 
the latest research on the text.

There's a gloss to (presumably) the first occurrence of 'brankie', as 
'showy' (Vol. 1, p. 517) but, as far as I can make out via google Snippets, 
no relevant note to the text for this conundrum (Vol.1, Text p. 33, Notes p. 
437), so unless there are textual notes in volume 2, which isn't viewable 
even in snippet form in google books, the situation remains as Jon describes 
it.

Professor Pittock was possibly unaware of Jon's participation in a 
discussion of the issue on the mudcat forum some time ago.

        http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=28904

Go figure ...

Robin

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Murray Pittock

-----Original Message----- 
From: Jonathan Lighter
Sent: Monday, May 11, 2015 1:04 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: James Hogg's "brankie," n. sho

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Subject:      James Hogg's "brankie," n.
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The discussion of "making sillar" reminds me of this textual point which
seems to be worth mentioning.

James Hogg's additional verses to Burns's "Killiecrankie" includes this
stanza:

O fie, Mackay, what gart ye lie I' the bush ayont the brankie, O? ("Dammit,
Mackay, what made you hide in the bush beyond the brankie O?")

Burns's stz. 1 prominently includes the adj. "brankie," meaning 'gaudy,
finely dressed.'  Obviously not the sense here.

I find no dictionary or glossorial explanation for "brankie," n.  OED
includes "brank" as a "dial." syn. of "buckwheat," but no Scots dictionary
mentions this.  Editors seem to ignore this "brankie."

SND includes only the sense 'a utensil for turning griddle cakes.' with
20th C. exx. only.

My SWAG is that Hogg's "brankie," n., is a petrified a first-ed. error for
"bankie" ('a low bank'), poss. coined by Hogg - perfectly regularly and
intelligibly - to rhyme with "Killiecrankie."


JL

-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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