Auld Brig and New Brig

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Robert Burns thus refers to the bridges over the river Ayr.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “Auld Brig and New Brig” mean?

Robert Burns thus refers to the bridges over the river Ayr.

Is “Auld Brig and New Brig” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.