The Scots Language in Outlander: 13 Scottish words and phrases from Ken to Dinna Fash
“Dinna Fash, Sassenach” is a phrase from Outlander that features not just one but two Scottish languages; Gaelic and Scots. Today, we’re focusing on the latter.
Despite Gaelic being at threat of extinction and Scots (the tongue of the famous Robert Burns) facing a similarly stark decline, they are still officially seen as native languages of Scotland.
If Scottish words and sayings like “stramash”, “gomeral” or “peely wally” have you scratching your head then carry on reading for thirteen Scots expressions in Outlander used by Jamie Fraser and his ‘teuchter’ crew.
Have you ever met someone you instantly disliked? In the Scottish context you may have had a true “meet and greet” in that case as “to greet” in Scots means “to cry”. Outlander is full of emotionally impactful scenes and the official channel for the show even has “try not to cry” video montages (missed opportunity to say “try not to greet”). Photo: YouTube Screenshot via Outlander
When speaking Scots, a “beastie” refers to an animal so a “wee beastie” is just the scaled down version i.e., an insect. According to the Dictionary of the Scots Language, the phrase “wee beasties” can even be used for small children (we would assume - or at least hope - in an affectionate way.) Photo: Francisco Pérez Andrés via Canva Pro
Fans of the show will remember the words “Dinna be daft, lass”. The Scots word means “stupid” so in the above picture you could say that the horse has a daft expression. The adjective becomes a noun with the term “dafty” which in Scots is - you guessed it - a term for a stupid person. Photo: YouTube Screenshot via Outlander
If you’re feeling extra cultured in your Scots language endeavours then you can use this term in place of “dafty” (fool). A gomeral refers to an idiot but this word is not commonly used nowadays. That said, with other Scottish words like bampot, choob, doaty, dobber, or clot-heid, all available for calling someone stupid, you’re truly spoiled for choice. Photo: YouTube Screenshot via Outlander