Page 56 - Art First: Helen MacAlister: At the Foot o’ Yon Excellin’ Brae
P. 56
don’t give a tinker’s curse 1 ‘…the land of inner tinkerdom…’ 2
oil on linen, 2012, 42 x 59.4cm
1 Second Sight – Neil Gunn, p102
2 Travelling Scot – Christopher Harvie; Preface by Tom Nairn, p8
Nonsense Vocables John Purser: “There is a saying in Sassenach Scotland,
oil on linen, 2012, 42 x 59.4cm ‘that’s all hidorum hodorum,’ meaning it is all nonsense.
But ‘hidorum hodorum’ is none other than canntaireachd,
and to accuse it of being nonsense is to make as big a fool
of oneself.” 1
To add, as reverse, the word ‘ruapais’ meaning rigmarole,
2
nonsensical talk and suggest the Gaelic as source.
1 Scotland’s Music - John Purser, p162
2 Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, vol.xxxv11; Some
rare words and phrases, p17
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