English

Noun

besom ‎(plural besoms)

1. A broom made from a bundle of twigs tied onto a shaft.
2. (Scotland, Northern England, derogatory) A troublesome woman
   • 1903, Samuel Rutherford Crockett, The Dark O' the Moon: A Novel, page 130:

     "Eh, but she was a besom, if a' tales be true !"

   • 1917, A.S. Neill., A Dominie Dismissed, page 10:

     Janet's eyes began to look dim, and I had to frown at her very hard; then I had to turn my frown on Jean ... and Janet, the besom, took advantage of my divided attention.

   • 1963, Margaret McLean MacPherson, The Shinty Boys, page 187:

     Uncle Angus went on about the behavior of the car. "She's a besom, a proper besom, her and her gears. She'll be the death of me yet one of these days."

   • 2013, Nora Kay, Best Friends:

     "She's a besom but no' bad at times, like now," Agnes said as she bit into a dough-ring.

Derived terms

• besom pocket

Translations

See also

• besom broom on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Verb

besom ‎(third-person singular simple present besoms, present participle besoming, simple past and past participle besomed)

1. (archaic, poetic) To sweep.
   • 1954, Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood, page 13,

     Now, in her iceberg-white, holily laundered crinoline nightgown, under virtuous polar sheets, in her spruced and scoured dust-defying bedroom in trig and trim Bay View, a house for paying guests at the top of the town, Mrs Ogmore-Prichard widow, twice, of Mr Ogmore, linolium, retired, and Mr Prichard, failed bookmaker, who maddened by besoming, swabbing and scrubbing, the voice of the vacuum-cleaner and the fume of polish, ironically swallowed disinfectant...

Anagrams

• mebos, mobes