Best Scottish word

1 BAUCHLE

Originally to refer to a wee, fat, untidy wifie. When the whole heroin chic thing was in, girls would have taken it as a compliment to be called a "bauchle", but now with a return to the Jackie O school of wardrobe a modern-day usage might be "that Kate Moss might be a malinky size zero, but in that mockit simmit she still looks a right bauchle".

2 BLETHER

A classic and favourite - a friendly word to mean idle chitter chatter. May have been used to describe woman as they swapped gossip at the steamie, but is now used to refer to all sorts of situations involving woman and what we do best: "Let's go to Harvey Nichols and have a good old blether over some champagne cocktails."

3 DREICH

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Used to describe grey, damp, nondescript days, the kind that in the school holidays when you were young inevitably meant a trip to a museum or other such place where learning was supposed to be fun. Still in use today and becoming more apt as our country experiences climate change and saw a summer shrouded in misty, sodden weather, skies that were "threatening to pish doon" at any moment.

4 FANKLE

Applied to wool that becomes tangled up, but can now be used to mean any sort of muddle, such as: "Oh, my earphones for my brand new 40GB iPod Nano are in a proper fankle."

5 GALLUS

Bold, daring, rash, wild, unmanageable, impish, mischievous, cheeky. Usage: "Yi gallus wee besom, I'll skelp yir erse!".

Translation: "Ooh, you are a one, I'll put you over my knee!"

6 MOOCH

Slightly confusing in its exact definition. The west seems to use it to mean to scrounge/acquire through blagging, while in the east it seems to mean to be nosey, inquisitive.

7 POCKLE

To describe a thief or the act of thieving. Almost an affectionate term though: "Oi, who's pockled my stapler?" or "Don't leave that there, you're just inviting someone to pockle it".

8 SLITTER

Can be used to refer to a spillage of something, but also a complicated situation. Modern use might be: "Oh golly, I've slittered spaghetti all down my new retro 'Frankie says' T-shirt."

9 WABBIT

Just such an excellent way to describe the feeling the morning after the night before, a slight chill and general run-down feeling at the onslaught of a cold, or simply how you might feel after a long day at work - tired, worn out. Peely-wally.

10 WHEESHT

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A dismissive expression to encourage someone to be quiet: "Haud yer wheesht ye sooth-moothed eejit, ye dinnae know what yer havering aboot."

Translated to mean: "Do hush up chap from anywhere south of Lerwick, I'm not sure you truly grasp the concept that's being discussed."