Clootie

In Scotland, a name of the Devil. A Clootie's croft (Cloutie's croft) was a small portion of the best land that was set apart as a propitiatory gift to the Devil. It was dedicated to the devil's service alone, being left untilled and uncropped; it was reckoned highly dangerous to break up by tillage such pieces of ground.

The name comes from cloot, meaning one division of a cleft hoof. A common variant of the epithet is Old Cloots and Auld Clootie. Another provincial English and Scottish euphemism for the Devil is Horny or Old Horny, and Little-Gude and Auld Mischanter (Ayrshire).

References

Sources

  • Bonnerjea, Biren. (1920). A Dictionary of Superstitions and Mythology. Thomson Gale.
  • Henderson, W. (1879). Notes on the folk-lore of the northern countries of England and the borders. Covent Garden: W. Satchell, Peyton and Co., p. 278.
  • Jamieson, J. (1880). An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language. Vol. 4. Paisley: Alexander Gardner.
  • Leach, Maria, ed. (1984). Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend. New York: HarperCollins.