Gallus or gallous is what my mother was always warning me that I must not be. Which is a shame because it seemed to me that it was the gallus people who had all the fun in life.
A gallus person is cheeky, self-confident, a wee bit of a devil and as far as my mother was concerned ‘common’. Bubble gum chewing and red nail varnish wearing, if they happened to be female, and distinctly ‘fast’.
They were described as being gallus because it is a corruption of the word gallows, which is where they were destined to be hanging from if they weren’t careful.
Oh yes! My mother used that one to me too!
Then of course there are your galluses! Braces to keep the troosers fae fallin doon!
Evee,
I’ve never understood the braces – galluses thing. I wonder how that name came about.
Americans call them Suspenders, the British call them Braces, and the French initially named them Galluses.-
George W Noble,
Thanks for the very interesting comment. There are so many Scots words that have derived from French words over the years as there was a lot of travelling between the two countries especially, due to the auld alliance between the two countries from the middle ages onwards.
Katrina
My dad was from Ayrshire and he always referred to his braces as his Galluses thanks for helping me to understand that one
Ewan,
Glad to be of service! I must admit I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard anyone use the word for braces, certainly not for years anyway.