Chapter intro

Cuddy

- donkey. This beast of burden, unfairly criticised for lack of intelligence, has lent its name to many pithy sayings, among them:

A cuddy should never handle tocher [money]

and:

A cuddy's gallop is soon done.

Cuddy is sometimes used of a horse or pony. It is also used of a sawing-horse. Here’s another traditional riddle featuring ma cuddy as a stinging nettle.

Hey-up ma cuddy,
Ma cuddy's ower the dyke [over the wall],
And if ye meddle ma cuddy,
Ma cuddy'll gie ye a bite.

Clydesdale Deer