smeddum
Britishnoun
-
any fine powder
-
spirit or mettle; vigour
Etymology
Origin of smeddum
Old English smedema fine flour
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But with a little smeddum, or spirit, Scots could be saved – and celebrated.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 4, 2010
It wasn't your father—he hasn't the smeddum of a flea—but he wouldn't send you to do what he dassn't do himself.
From Rainbow Valley by Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud)
Ye micht hae smeddum enough to say Mester Bowden, or Alexander Bowden.
From My Man Sandy by Salmond, J. B.
He'll want smeddum and manly discipline; that's the stuff to make the soldier.
From Gilian The Dreamer His Fancy, His Love and Adventure by Munro, Neil
A braw doon-settin' 'twas for Jock, An' for a while it paid him, For wi's great muckle nieves like mells He pit in banes wi' smeddum.
From The Auld Doctor and other Poems and Songs in Scots by Rorie, David
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
