Do you hurkle-durkle? What the Scottish word taking over social media means and where it came from

If you’re active on social media, there’s a good chance that you’ve seen this Scots word floating around.

Though it sounds made up, hurkle-durkle is a real Scots word.

There are plenty of unique words and phrases in Scots, but perhaps none more so than hurkle-durkle.

Does this phrase sound made up? Absolutely. However, it is a real word which appears to have first been used in 19th century Scotland.

Hurkle-durkle meaning

While it has fallen out of use, to hurkle-durkle is "to lie in bed or lounge about when one should be up and about".

In other words, as Countdown star Susie Dent shared, to hurkle-durkle is to “linger under the covers of a warm bed long after it’s time to get up”.

It is closely tied with the word hurkle, which means to hunker - or sit huddled - in a crouched position for warmth, which makes hurkle-durkle the perfect word for the cold winter months.

Why are people using 'hurkle-durkle'?

Every now and then, hurkle-durkle begins to circulate on social media as new people discover the term. Dent has shared the word several times, describing herself as a 'hurkle-durkler' and it has been recognised once again after American actress and singer Kira Kosarin posted a TikTok using hurkle-durkle as her word of the day. Korasin has more than 31 million followers on the platform, with the video having been viewed over 3.8 million times.

The audio has since been picked up by hundreds of others online, including Scottish influencer Caroline McQuistin who shares snippets from her life living on the Isle of Skye.

Despite this, there are plenty of sceptical comments on the video from Scottish people who have never heard the word before.

Yes, hurkle-durkle is a real Scottish word

If you are among those unaware of hurkle-durkle, be assured that it is a legitimate Scottish word.

The reason you may not have heard of it – even as a Scottish person – is because the origin of hurkle-durkle goes back to a 19th century dialect of southern Scots.

One of the earliest records of the word is in John Jamieson’s Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language in 1808.

Despite its timeless meaning, hurkle-durkle has largely fallen out of use. But with bad weather a near constant in Scotland – regardless of the time of year – perhaps it's time to bring it back.

Long live hurkle-durkling.