"Ance" appears in the line "The English, for ance, by guile wan the day," where it conveys that the English victory was a singular, exceptional occurrence, achieved through deception. The word's clipped, short vowel gives it a firm, emphatic rhythm. In Scots poetry, "ance" frequently appears in narrative and reflective contexts, often to mark a decisive moment. Its use here is laced with bitterness—this one time, the English prevailed through treachery, underscoring the unfairness of the disaster. The term also carries a temporal resonance, suggesting that this defeat stands as an anomaly in Scotland's military history, making the loss even harder to bear.

"Ance" is the Scots contraction of "once," and its use in poetry often carries a wistful or emphatic quality, marking a singular, unrepeatable event. In Jean Elliot's "A Lament for Flodden," the line "The English, for ance, by guile wan the day" uses the word to suggest that the English victory was an exceptional, almost freakish occurrence, achieved through deception rather than superior valour. This usage adds a layer of bitterness to the lament, implying that such a defeat should never have happened and will not happen again. For poetry students, note that "ance" can function as a metrical convenience, its single syllable fitting neatly into iambic rhythms where the two-syllable "once" might disrupt the flow. It also carries a colloquial warmth, grounding formal verse in the rhythms of everyday Scots speech. In Burns's work, "ance" often appears in narrative contexts to mark a decisive turning point, and its repetition can create a cumulative, incantatory effect. When teaching Scots poetry, emphasising the distinctiveness of "ance" helps students appreciate how dialect choices are never merely decorative but carry thematic and emotional weight, shaping the reader's perception of time, memory, and the irreversibility of loss.