I was watching TV a couple of weeks ago and there was a programme on about Scottish words. They asked Jackie Stewart the 1960s/70s Formula 1 racing driver – and several times World Champion – what his favourite word was and he said jiggered. It’s a good long while since I heard anyone using the word and I have to say that it isn’t really one that you look forward to using. It describes something that is broken and an online dictionary says that jiggered is used in the place of a profanity or something rude.
I remember though that we used to say that we were jiggered when we were exhausted and for some reason I had it in my mind that it was used because jigging (dancing) was always so tiring. You’ll know what I mean if you’ve ever been to a Scottish country dance!
Anyway I had a look on You Tube to see if there was anyone using the word jiggered but couldn’t find anything, I did however see this video of women (and a man who shouldn’t have been there) ‘waulking’ tweed and singing in Gaelic. Do you remember way back in the 1960s BBC Scotland used things like this as fillers, except the women were wearing ordinary clothes? It passed for entertainment then. Then there’s a ceilidh band called Jiggered tacked onto it, they’re not bad though. They seem to have been at the Viking Festival in Largs.
Okay now you can do a post on what in the world ‘waulking tweed’ is! Looks crazy! I like the word jiggered too and I would guess it means tired out too:) I have been to a Scottish country dance! In Mabou Cape Breton. I did not dance just watched and it wore me out!
Peggy Ann,
Well it does look crazy, it’s the last process in the manufacture of wool or tweed. Nowadays it’s done by machinery but years ago it was done as in the video. It makes the material softer but stronger and shrinks it to make the weave closer. You can read about it here
I’ve learned something too I looked at Mabou (Inverness County) the Scots who first settled there must have felt quite at home – looking at the photos!
Ah, I know what ‘waulking tweed’ means because I’m reading Seasons on Harris by David Yeadon! The ‘Harris’ of the title is the island of Harris in the Hebrides, home of the famous Harris tweed.
Joan,
It would seem that it’s only done for tourist purposes nowadays but when I was wee and still living in Glasgow the woman in the flat upstairs from us was from Skye and she and her mother had actually done it, singing along in Gaelic. Hard work apparently.
In Arthur Ransome’s ‘Pigeon Post’,[chapter 34] Captain Flint says ..”Well, I’m abolutely jiggered”.. where I picture him registering complete astonishment. Knew I’d heard it somewhere!
Interested to see in the background of the video of the band, what looks like a couple of NZ cabbage-trees – Cordyline species.
Regards, Valerie, NZ.
Valerie,
I’m sure I’ve only read Swallows and Amazons. I had forgotten that jiggered is sometimes used like that, well remembered!
The cordylines are quite common here especially in coastal towns but they often look a bit the worse for wear. They thrive better on the west coast where it’s a wee bit milder. Most of the local ones (I’m on the east coast) died last year, we had a terrible winter but I see that some are sprouting from the base again.
I’m wondering if jiggered means hanged -doing a jog in the air, but no reference for it,. It would fit with the idea of being tired exhausted and broken, Margaret
Margaret,
I’ve only heard the word jiggered being used to mean exhausted or worn out, it can be used to mean a person is exhausted, or a thing is worn out. Nowadays people tend to say something is ‘effed’ – but that isn’t quite as restrained!
Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to comment.
Katrina