TOBHTA, 139, the four bare walls of a house. Tobhta taighe. Pìobairean nan tobhtaichean, women who stand on the wall of the house and call their husbands to dinner or harangue their neighbours in a quarrel. MS Hymns 135, pìobairean nan tobhtaichean dh’iarr Cormac an seachnadh – [Cormac advised his son to avoid marrying such a woman, amongst others]. I 429: Na pòs finneag [?] no ainneamhag no pìobaire na tobhta [proverb]. [Gleadhrach na tobhta – meaning as above. J.M.]
Dwelly points out that the word tobhta is a survival of the times when houses were built of divots rather than of stone.