the unco guid

the unco guid

Those overly concerned with or adherent to ethical, moral, or religious principles. Primarily heard in Scotland. I'm sick of the unco guid chastising us for letting loose at the weekends with a bit of wild behaviour. Who are they to tell me what's proper or not?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

the unco guid

strictly religious and moralistic people. Scottish, chiefly derogatory
Unco , a Scottish alteration of uncouth , means ‘remarkably or extremely’, while guid is the Scottish form of good . The expression comes from Robert Burns 's Address to the Unco Guid, or the Rigidly Righteous ( 1787 ), and it generally carries an implicit charge of hypocrisy.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • be tight-arsed
  • a mummy's/mother's boy
  • don't get your panties in a bunch
  • panties
  • religious about (something)
  • religious about doing
  • be more Catholic than the Pope (himself)
  • catholic
  • more Catholic than the Pope (himself)
References in periodicals archive
He said his favourite Burns poem is Address to the Unco Guid because it is "attacking in its hypocrisy".
To a mouse? He would be Writer Burns would be all over the net; LEADING POET SAYS BARD WOULD BE @RABBIEWRITESExpert My dad Bill turned me on to the brilliance of Rabbie
Among the most famous of these last are those addressed to a clergyman with whose theology he disagreed and against whom he had a personal grudge: The Holy Fair, " Holy Willie's Prayer, " "Address to the Unco Guid, " and " Address to the Deil.
Burns, Robert