stephen davie wrote: > Seems like expressions of old bear out the idea of a muckle being > either a lot or a little. > > A cauld needs the ceuk sae muckle the doctor. > I need it like a hole in the head. Interesting. According to an entry in the Oxford Dictionary: Mickle (also muckle) is archaic or Scottish & N. English. It can be a noun (a large amount) or an adjective (very large). Proverb "Many a little makes a mickle" (also "many a mickle makes a muckle") i.e. many small amounts accumulate to make a large amount. The forms mickle and muckle are merely variants of the same (now dialect) word meaning ‘a large amount’. However, the alternative form of the proverb (originally a misquotation) has led to a misunderstanding that mickle means ‘a small amount’ -- Bruce Fletcher Stronsay, Orkney <www.stronsay.co.uk/claremont> "Do you get virgin wool from ugly sheep?"