Scottish dialect for a mongrel dog or cur — a scrappy mixed-breed of uncertain parentage. The term carries a slightly dismissive edge but can also be used with rough affection for a scruffy, low-pedigree but loveable mutt. In Scottish speech, a messin isn't a thoroughbred — it's the street-smart, tough, probably a bit rough around the edges dog that somehow ends up being everyone's favourite anyway. Think personality over pedigree.
That wee messin from down the road followed me home again — I'm starting to think he's adopted us.
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(Scotland) A mongrel dog; a cur.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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