Dreich

dreich, dreigh adjective.
Scot dialect dreary
[Middle English dreig, drih enduring, from Old English dreog]

Aaaah - after the excitement of my 200th blipday (and many thanks to all those who visited with comments and good wishes - it was lovely) today has steadily deteriorated. I came home in semi-darkness about 3.30 - and went into the back garden. The hill reflected the mood of the afternoon.

"Dreich". Another definition:-

A combination of dull, overcast, drizzly, cold, misty and miserable weather. At least 4 of the above adjectives must apply before the weather is truly dreich

Today has passed the test. Oh dear, there will be more and more days like this. And as I sit in the study, the wind is beginning to whip round the house, and howl over the roof.

In "Tam o Shanter" - Robert Burns' brilliant narrative poem - a night out for Tam is described:

.....While we sit bousing at the nappy,
An' getting fou and unco happy,
We think na on the lang Scots miles,
The mosses, waters, slaps and stiles,
That lie between us and our hame,
Where sits our sulky, sullen dame,
Gathering her brows like gathering storm,
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.

Tam's wife was called Kate, Burns' wife was called Jean - but it probably reflects a not uncommon way of things. Yes, a "gathering storm". On the whole best avoided!