Further Ado

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s set, cross down (2s step up), dance down behind 3s and dance up nearer hands joined between 3s to 2nd place remaining in centre
9-16 2s+1s+3s dance mirror reels of 3 (1s out/up, 2s in/ down, 3s in/up). 1s end BtoB facing opposite sides
17-24 1s dance 6 bars Double Triangles then Petronella Turn to 2nd place own side
25-32 2s+1s+3s circle 6H round and back

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

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

Further Ado - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Information

The word "ado" itself comes from Middle English, where it was formed from the phrase "at do", meaning "to do". Over time, "ado" came to signify activity, trouble, or a state of busy concern. By the late medieval period, it was commonly used to describe needless bustle or difficulty. Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing, first performed in the late sixteenth century, helped to popularise the word in the sense of trivial fuss or exaggerated concern.

The idiom "without further ado" developed from this meaning. It is recorded in English from the seventeenth century and has remained in use ever since. The phrase is employed to indicate that something will proceed immediately, without delay or ceremony. In modern English, it is often used as a transition in speeches, writing, or conversation, signalling that the speaker will move directly to the main point or action.

It is important to distinguish "ado" from "adieu", the French word for farewell. Confusion between the two has occasionally led to the mistaken phrase "without further adieu", but the correct form is "without further ado". The idiom relies on the historical meaning of "ado" as fuss or delay, not on the French word for goodbye.