Furth O' Clyde

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s set, cast and dance down between 3s, cast up behind 3s
9-16 All dance Allemande
17-24 All advance and retire for 1 step, cross RH and circle 6H round to left ½ way. 213
25-32 1s+3s ¾ turn partners RH, dance ½ RSh reel of 4 up/down middle and ¾ turn partner to end on own sides. 231

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

Furth O' Clyde - Full Size And Key To Symbols

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Dance Information

The word "furth" is a Scots form of "forth", and has been used since at least the early modern period to indicate something lying outside, beyond, or away from a particular place. It appears in legal, literary, and everyday Scots usage. For example, records from Lanarkshire in 1708 describe a man "furth of service", meaning outside or beyond service. In later centuries, the phrase "furth of Scotland" was commonly used to mean outside the country.

In geographical contexts, "furth" was often applied to rivers, estuaries, and coastal areas. The Clyde, one of Scotland's most significant rivers, flows into the Firth of Clyde, a broad estuary opening into the sea. To describe something "furth o' Clyde" therefore meant beyond the Clyde estuary, outside its bounds, or away from its immediate region.

The word "firth" itself, closely related to "furth", refers to an arm of the sea or a wide river mouth, as seen in the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde.

The Scots Language Dictionary records "furth" as both an adverb and preposition, meaning outside, beyond, or outwith. It has been used in phrases such as "furth o' the toun" for outside the town, or "furth o' the kintrae" for out of the country. The word has survived in Scots speech and writing into modern times, though it is less common in everyday English.