clartyadj.
/ˈklɑːti/, U.S. /ˈklɑrdi/, Scottish English /ˈklartɪ/ Scottish and northern dialect.
a. Besmeared with sticky dirt; of the nature of sticky dirt, dirty, nasty.
ΚΠ
a1586 Maitland Poems in Pinkerton Sc. Poems (1786) 185 (Jam.) Thay man be buskit up lyk brydis..With clarty silk about thair taillis.
1693 T. Urquhart & P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais 3rd Bk. Wks. xxviii. 236 Clarty cod.
a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 382 Ochon, the day! That clarty barm should stain my laurels.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary II. x. 276 Their own sluttish proverb, ‘The clartier the cosier’.
1845 E. Robinson Whitehall II. xxiii. 261 ‘Kneel yourself, if you want clarty hose!’ replied Joyce.
b. Sticky, viscous or unctuous. English regional (northern).
ΚΠ
1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 31 Clarty, unctuous as honey, smeary.
1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby Clarty-ball, treacle- or sugar-ball.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Clarty, dirty, sticky.
c. in various transferred and figurative senses.
ΚΠ
1686 G. Stuart Joco-serious Disc. 47 Other clarty tricks he played.
1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby Clarty, mean, or of little consequence. Clarty bills, petty amounts.
1883 Good Cheer 3 One of the clartiest storms I ever was in.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.a1586