Sloot – it’s Oot!!! – Book Launch with Ian Macpherson
Friday 25 October, 2918
Waterstones Byres Road, 351-355 Byres Road, g12 8au
Where Comedy, Literature and Ian Macpherson Collide
Ian says:
Ahead of publication of my forthcoming novel by Bluemoose Books, I keep getting asked what exactly sloot means. Does it refer, for instance, to a deep South African gully eroded by rainfall? No, it does not. Is it, conceivably, a reference to the Dark Web Dictionary definition? No, it most certainly is not!
Perhaps, then, it has something to do with the well-known Scottish saying ‘Ne’er cast a cloot till sloot be oot.’? Interesting question. For those unacquainted with Scots dialect, oot is a Scots variation of out. So far so comprehensible. Cast means throw, while a cloot is – I’m reliably informed – a damp dishcloth used to envelop a traditional Scottish dumpling in the cooking process. Hence clootie dumpling, which has a different meaning entirely on the Dark Web. Trust me. You really don’t want to know. And don’t get me started on the DWD definition of cullen skink. I mean, I’ve been around, but REALLY!
I finally googled sloot and here, in Standard English, is the meaning of the full phrase for the purposes of this email: Don’t throw a damp dishcloth used to envelop a traditional Scottish pudding in the cooking process till Ian Macpherson’s latest novel is published. Excellent advice. It’s out or, if you will, oot on October 25th. Waterstone’s Byres Road – Glasgow. 7.30pm.
Refreshment provided. Bring your own cloot.
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Written by : Pat Byrne
Publisher of Pat's Guide to Glasgow West End; the community guide to the West End of Glasgow. Fiction and non-fiction writer.
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