ppl. a. Sc. = TOPPED ppl. a.; esp. crested, tufted; chiefly in the collocation tappit hen, a. a hen having a crest or topknot; b. a drinking-vessel having a lid with a knob; spec. one containing a Scotch quart.
1721. Ramsay, Ode to the Ph—, iii. ‘That mutchkin stoup it hauds but dribs, Then let’s get in the tappit hen.
1794. Burns, Lines on Tumbler, ii.
| Come, bumpers high, express your joy, | |
| The bowl we maun renew it; | |
| The tappit-hen, gae bring her ben, | |
| To welcome Willie Stewart. |
1814. Scott, Wav., xi. A huge pewter measuring-pot, containing at least three English quarts, familiarly denominated a tappit hen.
1821. Galt, Ann. Parish, ii. His head powdered and frizzled up like a tappit-hen.
1906. Athenæum, 30 June, 803/3. Of genuine old pewter … here are … flagons, tappit-hens, toddy ladles.
