Blair Collection > Place names in Strathbogie, with notes historical, antiquarian and descriptive

184 Place Names in StratJibogie.
from the old custom of 'cuttling corn,' that is,
carrying it, when reaped, from a low ground to
an exposed height for ' winning ' or withering it.
The same term was used when corn was removed
from a distant field to the neighbourhood of the
stackyard to wait the earliest opportunity for
securing it. From this old custom we have the
names Cuttlehill, Cuttlecraigs, Cuttlebrae, and
Cuthiltown. Hollowdyke is understood locally
to mean ' the hollow of the dyke,' but I have not
found the English word ' hollow' in Scotch names.
The place is in the neighbourhood of The
Tullochs and Horntowie, and the name may be
derived from the same root {tiilacJi). Cf. Tillyduke
in Strathdon. Flodders is a small place near
Overhall, very marshy, and abounding in pools
which at one time v/ere used as ponds for
'steeping' lint. Flodder in old Scotch means to
overflow, and it is probable that the name has
been suggested by the wet character of the land.
Cf. Floderburn, Lanarkshire.
Other English names in Cairnic need no ex-
planation, but there are a few which have died
out, and which are worth notice. In a Retour
of 1638, are mentioned 'Eistthrid and Westthrid,'
farms in Botarie. These names are representative
of a class very widely distributed over the whole
country, and illustrate the old custom of letting
a single holding among three tenants. These
' thirds' do not appear to have been divisions of