This word may be prefixed to a surname as in a recommendation from the Edinburgh Gazette (1705): “The best Oranges and Lemons, Pipens, Renets and English Aples, newly come from Abroad, with the finest Ginge bread that is to be had, are to be Sold by Luckie Law at her House in the Post Office Closs”. It may also be used as a noun. An early, vindictive illustration comes from Robert Law’s The Memorable Things that fell out whithin this island of Brittain from 1638 to 1684: “My Lady Stairs is dead and almost rotten; Be glad and joyful at this luckie's death”. A midwife may be addressed by this title as we see in John Nicholson’s Historical and Traditional Tales (1843): “Luckie Richardson had been some hours in the lady’s chamber, when the laird ... received the joyful announcement that a man-child was born”. The hostesses of taverns shared the appellation. The poet Allan Ramsay (1717) tells us “Lucky Wood kept an ale-house in the Canongate”. Although often associated with these occupations, other trades were not excluded. Alexander Hislop’s Book of Scottish Anecdote (1835) recalls a fishwife “‘luckie’ on whose lungs frequent practice in crying ‘caller haddocks’ had conferred stentorian strength”. Your luckie minnie is your granny. Luckie minnie’s oo is a name for bog cotton as described in the Shetland News (9 Dec 1958): “The burra grew a white cotton-like blossom known as ‘Lukki’s Oo,’ or ‘Lukki Minni’s Oo’”. The article goes on to explain, “‘Lukki Minni’ was said to be a witchie-body biding in the secluded parts of the hills. She carded her wool on da ferri-kairds, or ferns”. This ties in with the The Scottish National Dictionary’s suggestion that ‘luckie’ may have originally been used with the superstitious intention of averting ill-luck in case the old woman in question might be a witch.

Scots Word of the Week is written by Luckie
Robinson of Scottish Language Dictionaries

This week's Word is spoken by Dauvit Horsbroch.