If you hear a Scot referring to “wee beasties” then keep an eye out because this refers to pesky small insects, and if it’s expressed like “they’ve got wee beasties in their hair” then there’s a case of headlice going on.If you hear a Scot referring to “wee beasties” then keep an eye out because this refers to pesky small insects, and if it’s expressed like “they’ve got wee beasties in their hair” then there’s a case of headlice going on.
If you hear a Scot referring to “wee beasties” then keep an eye out because this refers to pesky small insects, and if it’s expressed like “they’ve got wee beasties in their hair” then there’s a case of headlice going on.

Scotland’s Favourite Scottish Words: 40 Braw Scots words and phrases such as “Crabbit”

Dae ye ken Scotland’s favourite Scottish words? If not, continue reading to discover forty braw Scots words and phrases that hit differently to regular English.

Scotland is a multilingual country and our colourful vocabularies affirm that - from Scottish Gaelic to the Scots language and their dialects, any formal English speaker is sure to think “what is going on here” at least once.

If that’s you then dinnae get yersel in a fankle (don’t worry) because we asked our Scotsman readers ‘what’s your favourite Scottish word’ and they gave some fantastic answers so you’ll ken just fine in future.

Tying in with ‘A Year of Conversation and the International Year of Indigenous Languages’ in 2019 the Scottish Book Trust organised a vote for ‘iconic Scots words’ as the dictionary differs that much to standard English.

That said, rest assured that Scots words like “ken” are not beyond your ken. Here are 40 of the nation’s favourite Scottish words (and sayings) as voted by our Scotsman readers - gie it a swatch (check it out!)