strunt

Etymology

Of obscure origin. Cognate with Scots strunt (“spirits, whisky, toddy”).

Why this word is great

STRUNT — [Noun] A potent alcoholic drink, particularly spirits or whisky. Of obscure origin, cognate with Scots strunt ("spirits, whisky, toddy"). Unlike "dram" (which suggests a measured sip) or "strut" (which implies a swaggering gait), strunt carries the weight of indulgence—liquid boldness without pretense. It is the peat-smoke bite of a single malt swallowed neat, the amber glow of a tumbler catching lamplight, or the slow, warm unraveling of an evening spent with a bottle and no regrets—the kind of drink that blurs edges but sharpens truths.

noun

  1. Spirituous liquor; alcoholic drink.“Syne, wi' a social glass o' strunt, / They parted aff careerin / Fu' blythe that night.”
  2. A drink of spirits; a dram.
  3. A sulky fit; sullenness.“Wow, man, that's unco sad! --Is that ye'r jo Has ta'en the strunt!”
  4. A tail or rump“The Brain is acknowledged by all, to be the Fountain, from whence Sinews have their rise; particularly, there is derived thence one great Tendon, which passeth through the cavity of Neck and Back-bone, extending it self to the nethermost joint of the Strunt.”
  5. Anything short or contracted

verb

  1. To walk boldly.“"Upo' the hill" the callan cries, "She cock'd her gaucy runt; An' to Strathfallan green Burn-brae, Fu' nimbly she did strunt.”