General
reekin
What does reekin mean?
Smoking or giving off smoke/steam; figuratively, stinking, or blind drunk.
"The lum was reekin awa in the cauld air."
Origin
Scots 'reek' (smoke), from Old English 'rēc'.
Frequently asked questions
What does reekin mean?
Literally it means smoking or steaming, but it's also used figuratively to mean stinking, or blind drunk.
Where does reekin come from?
From the Scots word 'reek', meaning smoke, which comes from Old English 'rēc'. 'Auld Reekie' is a nickname for smoky old Edinburgh.
Does reekin mean drunk?
It can — 'reekin' is one of many Scots words for being very drunk, alongside its literal 'smoking' sense.
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