I had no idea what the last guest was talking about, so I looked it up:

From Notes and Queries, 4th series, Volume 7, May 6, 1971, page 386:

Burns.—Ten years ago, one of your correspondents elicited certain fine stanzas which had "escaped the notice of all the recent editors of Burns' Poems" (2nd S. xi. 307). I wish to call attention to a stereotyped blunder perpetrated by all these editors, so far as I know, in "Auld Lang Syne." Thus—

"We'll tak a richt gude-willie waucht,"—

is invariably printed "gude willie-waught."

Now it may be excusable in Mr. Micawber to be ignorant of the nature of gowans; but an editor of Burns should know that gude-willie or gude-willet (vide Jamieson, sub voce) means good-willed or cordial, and waucht a draught; and "gude-willie waucht" means a hearty drink; while "gude willie-waught" has no meaning whatever.

Every Scotchman to whom I have mentioned this has received it with surprise, and I myself long blindly accepted the error, which needs only to be pointed out in "N. & Q." that it may be corrected in future.

W. T. M.

*

Ibid, June 10, 1871, page 502:

BURNS: "RICHT GUDE-WILLIE WAUCHT."
(4th S. vii. 386.)

Not one of the numerous editors of Burns, and not one of his annotators, so far as I can see, have properly set up in type this familiar expression, which occurs nowhere else in Scottish song except in the world-famous "Auld Lang Syne" of Burns, "taken down from the singing of an old man."

It is a matter of very small moment whether the common Scotch word "waucht" be spelled with c or g. I would prefer the c in this and similar words, as showing the more ancient style; but either way is quite proper. I might go over the whole alphabet, and select from each letter a word in the Scottish dialect with the same guttural sound, which may be spelled by using either ch or gh. For instance, auchty or aughty for eighty, bauchle-shoon or baughle-shoon for shoes worn out of shape, claucht or claught for caught hold of, dicht or dight for wipe up, faucht or faught for fought, and so on. The word loch, signifying lake, is often spelled lough, and the proper name Lachlan or McLachlan is just as often spelled Laughlan or McLaughlan.

My present object in writing is to point out to your readers that there is no such word in the Scottish dialect as "Willie-waucht." True, it is invariably found so printed in all existing editions of Burns, including even that of the critical Dr. Hately Waddell; but this only shows how very ignorant modern Scotchmen are regarding the ancient dialect of their country. Had Burns lived to edit the printing of his own song, "Auld Lang Syne," the word "willie-waucht" would never have been seen nor heard tell of. It is not to be found in Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary. The word "waucht or waught," a copious drink, will be found there; and the word "gudewillie," with a good will, is there also. A "good-willie waught" therefore means a copious libation, taken with good will. The great error of editors and printers lies in absurdly placing the connecting hyphen between willie and waucht instead of between gude and willie. If an Englishman were to express in writing that he took a "willing drink" or a "hearty drink" of generous liquor on some happy occasion, he would never connect these words like Siamese twins, as printers have hitherto done in recording this rich phrase of Burns—"Gudewillie waught." In like manner it is perfectly unnecessary—nay, it is an error to do so in transcribing the phrase either in Scottish or German.

I have been favoured with a glance at the proof sheets of an edition of Burns shortly to proceed from the press of Mr. James M'Kie of Kilmarnock, and I am happy to say that the poet's happy phrase, which forms the subject of this note, is there correctly printed.

I may state that in Johnson's Museum, where "Auld Lang Syne" first made its appearance a few months after the poet's death, the phrase is printed thus—"right gude-willie-waught." This is better than the usual rendering, but the last hyphen is a printer's error calculated to mislead the reader. The Scottish epithet "ill-willie," used as a prefix to man, woman, bairn, dog, &c., is quite as common as its converse "gude-willie."

Wm. S. Douglas.
Edinburgh.


I hardly think any Scot could mistake the meaning of "gude-willie waucht," however printed. In a general way English people neither understand nor try to understand vernacular Scotch. "He's rale gude willie" (he is really good-hearted) is a most common form of expression in the Lowlands of Scotland, and most persons born north of the Tweed know that "a gude waucht," without the intermediate term "willie," means a hearty drink. "Gude-willie waucht" suggests something more. It means a hearty drink accompanied with jovial feelings; in the slang of the day "awfully jolly," overflowing with a sort of drunken kindness engendered in those who having imbibed rather more than sufficient are disposed to be friendly with every body. Men become sentimental as the blood circulates with greater rapidity. "Auld Lang Syne" was seldom sung until "after men had well drunk," and just before the company broke up.

J. Ck. R.


"W. T. M.'s communication having been quoted into the Glasgow Herald, I replied to it at some length there in the first instance, and now beg very briefly to sum up the facts of the case for the information of your correspondent: —

1. There were originally three MS. copies of "Auld Lang Syne," in the hands respectively of Johnson, Thomson, and Currie. In their several editions the phrase stands thus—"gude-willie-waught," "gude-willie-waught," "gude willie-waught." In Thomson's second edition, 1821, he seems to have revised his former reading, and adopted Currie's; at least I find the words quoted from him as they were printed by Currie, "gude willie-waught." Whether the original MSS. agree or differ on this point, not having seen them, I cannot say; but these editions are the only public authorities we now have to rely upon, and although one editor might give a wrong reading, two would not, three could not.

2. Jamieson has been misquoted by your correspondent W. T. M. to some extent; and Jamieson himself has misquoted Burns. The extent of the misquotation may be ascertained on reference.

3. There are such words in Scotch as "ill-willie," "ill-deedie," &c., but no such word as "gude-willie." "Ill" is an adverb, and may be conjoined as above with adjectives; "gude" is an adjective itself, pure and simple, and cannot, or at least should not, be so conjoined with another adjective, as "willie" is. Burns certainly would not have committed such an error: and if any MS. of his should seem to justify that reading, it must have been, I should think, by mere accident.

4. "Willie," as an adjective, combined with "waught" indicates the strongest will or determination to drink. "Hearty" is, perhaps, the only English word we have for it; but it means far more than hearty, and its combination with "waught" is perfectly legitimate.

5. W. T. M. writes "richt" and "waucht" improperly. Burns did not use the letter c in such words; he knew the power of his own language, in all its details, better.

These being the simple facts of the case, I think proper to submit them in reply to W. T. M.; but beg leave, once for all, to decline any controversy on the subject, more especially with an anonymous correspondent.

P. Hately Waddell.
Elmgrove Place, Glasgow.