Translator needs scottish help with scottish words and idioms

[kkchang]

Dear all,
I'm translating the book BEING EMILY, by Anne Donovan (Canongate, 2008), set in Glasgow, into Brazilian portuguese, and can't seem to understand 4 words/ idioms. Could you help me out? Thank you a lot!

1) "He looks dead differente fae the resty of us; fair straight hair and skin pale and thin you can near see through it, while we're all brown and curly-haired. 'Like tinks', ma gran'd say when she was in a bad mood"

If I understand correctly, this would mean something like: "Like gypsies". Is that correct?

2) Here the character is talking about school and about going and arriving at school: "(...) with me in sixth year, I just signed in at the office insteady gaun to regi (...)".

Regi is short for registration, maybe? A dept. of a school where one must go if arriving late, before getting in to the class? But, then, what's the difference between this and "just signing in at the office"?

3) "just the odd homer" - here the expression is related to someone that is not regularly working anymore, is just doing "the odd homer". Can I understand that it is like "odd stuff (jobs)"?

4) "shaughly auld wall" - I assume this is something like "fragile", "crumbling"?


Thank you very much for your help!

Have a nice weekend,

Caroline

[Polwarth]

Hello
1 It's the short form for the word 'tinkers'. Do a search for Scottish tinkers!

2 'Registration'

3 I don't know that expression, but then I'm from Edinburgh, not from Glasgow!

4 We'd normally spell it as 'shoogly'! Unsteady.

[tig]

1) tinks as in tinkers as Pol said although in glasgow we call gypsy's tinkers ie: dark haired dark skinned rommany type people

2)its registration...... registration in schools here is similar to "signing in at the office" although its classed as a 15 min class you need to go to twice a day(to your registration teacher) to prove you are there (you still need to register in every class you go to too)

3)a "homer" is if say you where carpenter for the council but you did your own work on the side( either during working time or not).....like i worked in the parks cutting grass for a living but id pop down to an old womans house and cut hers while i was working and she would pay me....if you "not working" ie: still claiming benefits then an odd homer is someone who does work illegitimately ...both are the same really

4)shoogly = wobbly