tam-o'-shanter
(ˌtæməˈʃæntə(r))
Also 9– Tam o' Shanter.
[f. the name of the hero of Burns's poem of that name (i.e. Tom of Shanter).]
In full, Tam o' Shanter bonnet, tam-o'-shanter cap: A soft woollen bonnet with flat circular crown, the circumference of which is about twice that of the head, formerly worn by Scottish ploughmen, etc.; introduced, in a modified form, c 1887 as a head-dress for girls and young women. Abbreviated tam, tammy.
| 1840–50 [Remembered in use]. 1884 West. Daily Press 29 May 3/7 The Tam o' Shanter is still occasionally worn [by men]. 1887 Scott. Leader 24 Sept. 5 Mr. O'Brien..was wearing an overcoat and a Tam o' Shanter, for the morning air was chilly. Ibid. 19 Oct. 4 The head-dress [adopted by Dundee factory girls] is the modest one of either a single or double-peaked cap or a Tam o' Shanter bonnet, and those workers who have adopted this..have been jeered at, and in some cases mobbed, while passing along the street. 1887 J. Ashby-Sterry Lazy Minstrel (1892) 26 Or if you think it right or wrong—I'll wear my Tam o' Shanter. 1888 Black Adv. House-Boat vi, A grey Tam o' Shanter..impervious to the wet. 1895 [see tam]. |
Hence tam-o'-shantered a., wearing a tam-o'-shanter.
| 1894 Du Maurier Trilby I. 81 He married the..tartaned and tam-o'-shantered barmaid at the Montagnards Ecossais. |