SUSAN TIPPETT BRAITHWAITE

Today’s word is stookie.

Stookie generally refers to plaster of Paris. In Scots, it means a plaster cast for broken bones. In the non-medical world, it means statues made of plaster, but I’ve heard it to mean pretty much all statues.

Sticking with the statues definition, this leads into descriptors of people standing stock still–think deer in the headlights. Stookie can also apply to anyone who’s a wee bit slow on the uptake. And, it’s also a game played by kids where they have to stand still like statues and the first to move is out. (I remember playing the game, and, honestly, it was way more fun than it sounds.)

The last version isn’t in any of the Scots dictionaries, I looked, and it’s not in them. This is more of a regional definition, specifically Glasgow. Stookie meaning headbutt. Growing up, I’d hear the phrase, “I’m goan tae stick the stookie oan him.” (I’m going to headbutt him.)

Here a cupple stookies it Glesga Botanic Gairdens
(Here’s a couple of statues at Glasgow Botanic Gardens)

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