Lang may your lum reek

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Meaning

May your household remain warm, inhabited and prosperous for a long time. Warm, celebratory and strongly Scottish. Often heard around Hogmanay, but not restricted to New Year. Regional use: Scots and Scottish English.

Origin

In Scots, 'lang' is long, a 'lum' is a chimney, and to 'reek' is to emit smoke. A smoking chimney signalled an occupied home with fuel and a working hearth, so the literal wish 'long may your chimney smoke' became a blessing of prosperity and continuity. Dictionaries document the full expression as a general Scots good wish, but its first print date has not been established securely here and its oral use may be older.

Research Sources

  1. Reek, noun and verb Dictionaries of the Scots Language
  2. Lang may your lum reek Wiktionary

Variants

  • Lang may yer lum reek

Usage Examples

  • The departing first-footer raised his glass: 'Lang may your lum reek.'
  • Lang may yer lum reek, and may the new shop keep the whole family busy.
  • She wrote 'lang may your lum reek' beneath the sketch of their new cottage.

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