Variant spelling of 'girnie'; inclined to grimace, complain, or show a bad temper (Scots).
From Scots 'girn' (to snarl) plus '-y' (variant of '-ie' suffix in Scottish dialect). The '-y' ending is particularly productive in English adjectives ('stormy,' 'rainy'), and Scots uses it similarly.
Girny and girnie are spelling variants that show how Scots orthography isn't standardized—speakers and writers make different choices about whether to write '-ie' or '-y' based on regional pronunciation and personal convention. This flexibility is normal in minority languages without strong institutional standardization.
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