December 31, 2003

auld lang syne, the truth behind the glamour

Auld Auld, a. See Old.
Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. Scot. &
Prov. Eng.

Lang Lang, a. & adv.
Long. Obs. or Scot.

Syne Syne, adv. See Since.
1. Afterwards; since; ago. Obs. or Scot. –R. of Brunne.

2. Late, — as opposed to soon.

So “Auld Lang Syne” means “Old Long Since.” or “Old Long Afterwards.”

I don’t get it….

I think people were originally really trying to say “Old Long Since,” but they’d had one too many new years margaritas.

No Comments

  1. Geeze, to quote wikipedia:

    The song’s name is in Scots, and may be translated literally as ‘old long since’, or more idiomatically ‘long ago’, or ‘days gone by’. In his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language, Matthew Fitt uses the phrase “In the days of auld lang syne” as the equivalent of “Once upon a time”.

    Comment by Lauren — November 15, 2006 @ 7:05 pm

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