Ted Hastings wrote: [Nigel wrote:] > > Wha saw the tattie howkers,
> > I believe it may originate as "hawkers", based on Irish potato > > sellers. > I think the correct word here is actually "howkers", from the Scots > verb "howk", meaning "to dig". I've always known it as howkers (and I know very well the meaning), but I have come across a version of the rhyme from c.1914 which mentions "tattie HAWKers", referring to Irishmen who would travel to Glasgow to sell potatoes. > They probably called it "Potato Excavating" or some such Anglicism in > Edinburgh. Huzzah! Here come the tuber extractors Who could have seen them ging awa? Has anybody seen those potattie lifters Marching within a stone's throw of Royal Terrace? Have you got something against Edinburgh, Ted? -- Nigel Gatherer, Crieff, Scotland [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/gatherer/ Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
