The Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL) gives a selection of definitions for plank. The one we’re focusing on here is: “to put in a secret place. Hide, secrete, stow away for later use.”
As children, did you spend time in December searching for where the presents had been planked? Perhaps the following from Alex G Murdoch’s Scotch Readings (1886) refers to present-hiding: “Hide it below the bed, or ‘plank’ it on the highest shelf in the house”.
The next citation in DSL comes from nearly 100 years later. In Agnes Owens’ Gentlemen of the West (1984) this appears: “‘Ach, I’m away,’ said Baldy. ‘I think I’ve got a bottle planked somewhere in the Drive’”. Another (from Anna Blair’s Scottish Tales, 1987) describes a shepherd who is about to leave a place scrabbling “frantically in the sand to find the planked treasure that would change his life”.
Traveller and author, Betsy Whyte, used the term as a command to her dog in her autobiographical Red Rowans and Wild Honey (1990): “… I said, ‘Plank, Ricky! He’s coming again.’ This time, however, the policeman just cycled past us, giving a little wave of his hand”.
Finally, the following example appeared in the Weekly News of March 2020: “The Queen doesn’t plank the top plonk for herself, though. She’s a famously generous host and, as royal sommelier Pippa Penny puts it, likes to ‘pull out the good stuff for the state occasions and royal banquets’”. An affectionate picture of the late Queen not hiding her best wines.
Scots Word of the Week comes from Dictionaries of the Scots Language. Visit DSL Online at https://dsl.ac.uk.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here