UBRASM

Dialect Society

Vol. XXXI.

GLOSSARIES OF WORDS
USED IN

HETTON-LE-HOLE, DURHAM,
IN LAKELAND, AND IN
EAST ANGLIA;

THE REV. F. M. T. PALGRAVE,

THE REV. T. ELLWOOD,
AND

WALTER RYE.

(Numbers 74, 77, T5.)

Xon&on :

PUBLISHED FOR THE ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY

BY HENRY FROWDE, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,
AMEN CORNER, E.G.

1894-5.
 CONTENTS.

I. WORDS AND PHRASES USED AT HETTON-LE-HOLE

(Durham). By the REV. F. M. T. PALGRAVE.
Preface . iii

Table of Sounds vii

Vowel-Transpositions, &c ix

Notes on Grammar and Syntax

Accent and Pronunciation
Words and Phrases
..... . . xiii

xv
i

II. WORDS THE DIALECT OF CUMBERLAND, WEST-

IN

MORELAND, AND NORTH LANCASHIRE, WHICH

ARE RELATED TO THE ICELANDIC. By the REV.
T. ELLWOOD, M.A.

Introduction ....... iii

Glossary
Supplement ....... i

69

III. WORDS USED IN EAST ANGLIA. By WALTER RYE.

Preface ....... v
Abbreviations

Vocabulary ....... xi

i
 IN EVERY-DAY USE
BY THE

NATIVES OF HETTON-LE-HOLE
IN THE COUNTY OF DURHAM

BEING

IN THE

STANDARD ENGLISH OF THE DAY

EDITED BY THE

REV. F. M. T. PALGRAVE
SOMETIME CURATE OF HETTON

Xon&on
PUBLISHED FOR THE ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY
BY HENRY FROWDE, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE
AMEN CORNER, LONDON, B.C.

1896
 Ojforfc
HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
 ONLY two formsof speech are here described (i) literary,
:

conventional, or Queen's English and (2) dialectal English,

;

as spoken in the county of Durham. Let no reader,

then, complain that I have inserted words not peculiar
to Durhamcounty, or even to the North of England, for
South-country words may be found in this glossary.
What I mean is that such words are used in Durham
county, and are yet, so far as I know, not accepted in
polite English. I have not gone into the intricate question

of derivations, except in a few obvious cases, knowing how

easy it is for a dabbler in etymology to lay himself open to

the well-deserved ridicule of competent critics.
The dialect differing little in vowel-pronunciation from
the accepted speech, it has been thought unnecessary to
overburden these pages with a phonetic rendering of each
word. Where the glossic, however, is used, it is either to
mark an unusual word where the pronunciation might
be ambiguous, or as a typical example of other words of
'

a like character. Where the word fine occurs in the text,

'

it means something more refined than the dialect pure and

simple, introduced in the presence of one more highly
educated than the speaker.
A 2
iv PREFACE

I began by affixing 'J. G.' to several words, but as

time went on and I received more and more help from

Mr. Gleghorn, I have discarded this, and beg to acknow-

ledge here my deep obligations to him for his many

contributions to this glossary, which have swelled it to

quite twice its original size. To him and to Mr. R. Welsh,

both of Hetton, I am most grateful for kindness received
in compiling this word-list. Imperfect I know it to be,

yet the responsibility rests entirely upon me a great deal :

of interesting matter must necessarily have escaped one

who was only three years resident in the district.
Perhaps 1 may add here a few items of interest, which
could not well have found a place elsewhere in this book.
With regard to proper names, double Christian names
are often employed in addressing one another, as, 'John
' '

Henry,' Mary [maa'i] Lizzie,' Mary Ellen,' in the same

way that Marianne is often used elsewhere. Names ending
'

in '
-son are probably our commonest surnames, as Robin-
son, Robson, and others. Heslop, Teesdale, Young, Hopper,
are all common local names. The following is a small
list, showing peculiarities of pronunciation :

Atkinson, pronounced Atchison

Dobson Dfibison

Gleghorn Glegram
Hodgson Hodgin
Matthew Martha [maatlru]
Smithson Smitson
( StSvison
Stevenson
( Stlvison
Tonks Trunks
Turnbull Trummel

Red is the Tory colour, and blue the Liberal, in this

county.
 PREFACE V

It is by many miners considered unlucky to sleep above

the ground-floor, or to meet a woman during the
early
hours of the morning, while going to their work down the
mine. Some men will turn back for no other reason.
Cup and saucer are set on the left side of the plate, and
this has often been done to me in my lodgings. The most
noticeable furniture in a miner's cottage consists of a hand-
some brass bedstead, tall chest of drawers, knife-box (and
'
spoon-case combined) hung against the wall, longsettle,'

weight-clock in case, sewing machine, 'poss-tub' and

'wringer' (upright clothes- wringing machine). Fires are
raked in at night, and thus kept burning day and night,
so that in some cases it is true that a fire has not been

lighted afresh for ten or twelve years.

Bakers', poulterers', and fishmongers' shops are not usually
seen in colliery villages. A '

village,' moreover, may con-

'
tain as as 5,000 people, or even more, while
many
'
town
stands for such places as Sunderland or Shields. Bread
is always baked at home, even in such places as Bishop

Auckland. Fish is hawked about.

It is opinion that, in spite of a rather congested
my
population, the standard of morality is higher than in the
South, while there is more kindness shown towards animals,
though this does not apply, unfortunately, to pit-ponies,
whose lot is too often a miserable one. Rabbit-coursing
is also a flagrant exception. There is a good deal of brag
and loud talk, exclusiveness and Pharisaism, amongst the
miners as a class, but they cannot be called a degraded
class by any means, nor more addicted to their peculiar
temptations than any other class. Soaking in public-houses
on pay-Saturday is very general, and great extravagance
in living. But their home life compares well with that
of men in any rank, and the miner, as he returns black
VI PKEFACE

from his work, may often be seen surrounded by his bairns,' '

perhaps with one on his shoulder. The genuine pittie' (coal-

'

hewer) is very rarely a church or chapel-goer neither is ;

his wife, for the matter of that. Indeed, throughout this

district, there is not the same disproportion between male
and female worshippers observable in the South, the male
element not uncommonly preponderating with us.

F. M. T. P.
26, VICTORIA PLACE, DEVONPOBT,
May 23, 1895.
 TABLE OF SOUNDS

[The letters in square brackets represent Mr. A. J. Ellin's Glossic

System.]
& as in
'

man,' and
' '
Si as in master/ are pronounced [aa], the same a as in Fr. avez-
voue/ except where otherwise noted. As a matter of fact, these
two examples are exceptions in the dialect, becoming [maa'n]
' '
and [maa'stu], Cat varies between [kaat] and [kaa't].

ar will be found written throughout

[Jia]
the symbol adopted

by Mr. G. P. R. Pulman in his Rustic Sketches (South-

western dialect), this being the nearest sound that I know,
although Pulman's vowel is slightly more nasalized.

3 in many words is pronounced very distinctly, a purer sound than

that generally heard in lit. Eng. For instance, -es (pi. noun)
-ed (past part.) are pronounced with a distinct e, which is neither

[i]
nor [u], as generally spoken not only in Southern dialects,
but even in lit. Eng.
ee (as sounded in lit. Eng., whether spelt so or not) becomes
This is the vowel in see,' sea,' and
1 ' '

[ae, ae ]
in the dialect.
' ' ' ' '
so ; he,' she,' me,' &c.
' '
f is pronounced pure in of/ not as in lit. Eng. ov.' [ovf], not [ofv].

g, ending the pres. part., is not sounded.

h sounded as in lit.
Eng.
mind/ is something between the literary sound [uy]
' '

I, as in my,'
and the Devonian [aa'y], and is therefore marked [aay].
' ' '

Sight/ night/ right/ &c., however, become [saet], [naet],

[raet].
'
Find
'
is always short =
finnd, cp. German Jtnden.
' '

So also,
'

blind/
'
hind legs/ '
ahlnt (behind). Contrast
'
wind
Vlll TABLE OF SOUNDS

(our 'wind,' except in poetry), while to wind a watch is to

'
wlnd't.'

X in many words is pronounced very distinctly, a purer sound

than that generally heard in lit. Eng.
' '

ng pronounced pure, not as ngg ;

e. g. fing-er,' long-er,' young-est.'
6, as in 'not,' &c., is pronounced in continental fashion, and
should be correctly written [ao]. [Au] (not [au
1

]), however,
has for convenience been adopted in the text a slightly
coarser sound than the true one.
6 in a few cases remains as in lit. Eng., e. g. 'off
'
= [of] in the
dialect, not [au'f] ;
'
soft
'
= {
sofft ;
'
'cross' = [kros], not (kraus]
' '
nor [krau'sj ;
brokken (broken).
' '

ough pronounced ow, as sowt, thowt, nowt. Cp. Howton

(Houghton-le-Spring always so called).
ow. This is not the pure oo heard in Tyneside, although, for want
of a better sign, [oo*] has often been adopted in these pages.
It is rather a mixture of [oo ], [oa ], and [uuw], and, like the
1 1

is decidedly guttural.
last, [uuw],
My plan, therefore, has been to write down in the text which-
ever of these three vowels seemed to me to predominate over
the other two. Occasionally the ow was so open that I have
written [aaw].
Vowel-sounds are apparently far more varied in a dialect than
in received English, the vowel often changing its quantity, or
becoming modified, according to the nature of the consonant
by which it is followed.
r, except where initial, is a mere vowel, as in lit. Eng. It is
never rolled as in Scotland, nor reversed as in South-western
English.
'

pronounced pure, in is,' was,' and not as if iz, waz. Not

'
s is

[sz],
but [zs]. So written at beginning of word-list, although
later on the simple 8 has been adopted for convenience' sake.
' '
t is pronounced in hasten,' fasten,' &c.
'
' '
th hard in although (as in lit.
Eng. *Ain ').
Var. dial.

ii, as in 'shut,' 'come,' always pronounced do

is
[uo]. This is

a test- vowel of Northern or Midland speech.

 VOWEL-TRANSPOSITIONS AND OTHER
CHANGES

a becomes a, as, mak (make), tak (take), stapple (staple).

a becomes I
[aay], as,
mber (neighbour), wite (weight, blame),
wy (weigh), strite (straight). Contrast the pron. of eight
1
'

[ee'ut], though I have heard ight.

a becomes ya, as, Jyan, syam, tyabble, kyak, nyam (Jane, same,
table, cake, name).
a becomes ye", as, [fyes], [plyes], (face, place).

ai becomes 6, as, acquent, Renton (Rainton, near Hetton).

ai or ay becomes ea, as, plee-a (play), wee-a (way), ree-un

(rain), ee-ut (eight). This last is common, though not so
pure, I imagine, as 'ight.' Contrast the pron. of 'idea' [aa*y-

dae], almost [aa'ydar], (accent on first syllable). This pron. is

" Thoo
not confined to speakers of the dialect. hesn't getten
won i-day i' thy heed."
'
air becomes ar, as, thar (there), war (where), har (hare).
'
Here
is [hae'u] or [hai'u],

au becomes a, as, [aa'l], [haa-1], (all, hall). Call is

[kaa-1].

d becomes th in lether (step-ladder), sowther (solder), showther

(shoulder), thereckly (directly).

8 becomes a, in sattle (to settle), tallifo (telephone), parish-

ment (' perishment '). So, vice versd, wesh, hesp (wash,
hasp).

e" becomes ee, in weel (well), heed (head), &c.

er becomes re, as, [paat-run], pattern. Cp. brunt (burnt). So

' '
also Soothren, Southern(er). Cistern is always cistren ;
X VOWEL-TRANSPOSITIONS AND OTHER CHANGES

thirteen is 'thriteen,' A.-S. threotyne. On the other hand,

'
'

grinning often becomes girnin'.

' "
f is dropped in self,' as in other dialects. Mysel', &c. It will

. . smooth it
. sett against you." Boy's essay.

g becomes k in
'
stacker
'

(stagger).

I becomes e [ae']
in 'thee' (th hard; = thigh), reet (right), sect (sight).
'

Short-sighted is always near-seeted.' Boys selling matches

" box o' leets." " Good neet." " All mak the blood
cry, flee
"
fra thy heed (head) ! In [ae] (short) the [ai'J
sound seems
1 1
to predominate, in [ae ] (long) the [ee ] sound.

I becomes 3 in '

steng
'

(sting). And conversely, & becomes 1 in

"
'stritch' (phrase at a stritch"), yis, yit (yes, yet). A finer
' ' '

pron. is yass,' but yes is fine in all its forms ;

the only genuine
'
word in the dialect is ay/
ir or ur becomes or [au*], as, dorty (dirty), forst (first), chorch
(church), Morton (Murton a common name), hort (hurt). And
' '
so with
'
word (pronounced as spelt), work,' world [wau'd, ' '

wau -

k, wau'ld].
' ' "
Contrariwise, or becomes ur, as in hurse (horse). Try to
"
make things for the people for the informary (infirmary,
'
never hospital ').
Extract from a boy's essay.

1 is dropped, while 6 becomes ft, in

[kaa'd, aa'd, haa'd], cold, old,
hold. Cp. [aa'n], own (adj.).

n is dropped in
'
in,' which becomes i' before a consonant.

n. A favourite letter in the dialect, e. g. win (with), bin (by), fon

(for), sin (since),
tin (to).

6 becomes & (see under 1)

snaa (snow), raa (row terrace),
=
knaa, thraa, craa (noun). Joe is invariably Jo-a,' echo
'

[ek-oaai],
' '
and no ('
fine talk for nay ')
is always
'
no-a.'

6 becomes a in lang, haliday (A.-S. haUgdceg), slaps (slops),

lap-sided. Contrast <5ny, mSny, Jock (any, many, Jack).
6 becomes 6 in brQkeu, brok (broken, broke). So, sloth is
'

sloth,'
'
and soda is sodda.'
'

Sloth,' however, is not true dialect,

' '
slot being always used (meaning a sluggard).
 VOWEL-TRANSPOSITIONS AND OTHER CHANGES xi

6 becomes y&, as, styan, alyan, nyan, yain (stone, alone, none, home).
' '

Cp. Yorks.
'

beean,' bone. So, we say byath or beeath (both).

' '

The A.-S. for none is nan = ne-an, so that Durham preserves

the most primitive form of all.

'
6 or oo becomes a or e, as, [wae
1

] (= who. who in the

N.B. '

only mean how [hoo ]),

' '

pronounced in Eng., could

1
dial., as lit.

[wae'z] (nobody), [tae]

(whose), [nae'baud'i] ;
is (too, to two
pronounced [tuw]), dae (do), sae (so). Thus have is
[hae ] ;
1

clothes are always [klae'z] ; more, sore, are mair, sair ; both
is baith (oftener byath) ; and most is maist [mee'ust] ; while
no is nay. So [sae], sew [syoo*], sow [soa*u] or [saa']
'
are all distinct in the dialect, but [saa-] also stands for ' saw

(noun) ; [nae, sae, dae], however, are by no means so clear,

as may be seen from the following :

'
Nae (nay, no) it's nae (no") good."
;

"
'
A's gannin doon to the sae (sea).
'
A tell'd 'm sae " (so).
'A's gan to sae" (see).
'What's thoo gan to dae?" (do).
'He's gan to dae" (die).
' '
These sounds are almost identical, although no (adv.) seems to
'
have more of the a sound about it, no '

(adj.) more of the

e sound pronounced, I should say, with a distinctly
;
whilst die is

longer vowel than do, and with rather more of the e sound.

shower (sure) " I'm sure "

oo becomes ow, as, ; [aa'z shuwu]
"
[Aa'z shaawu aa kaan'u see'u], I'm sure
-

(very common).
'
I can't say," is the usual assertion of ignorance. Byowtiful,'
'
tow [tuw] (two). Cp. fower,' as in other dials. ; A.-S. feower.
So, vice versd, ow becomes oo, as in thoo, hoose, noo, hoo, &c.

s or c becomes z in looze (loose, vb.), prozession (procession),

converzation, dezolate, abzorb, dezease (decease). So, contrari-
'
' '

wise, Wesleyan is Wessleyan,' collision is collisshion ([eh],

not [zh]).
' ' ' ' '
t in it is often
dropped, e. g. in't (in it), keep't,' &c.
"
A dinna think't," the regular phrase for " I don't think FO/'
"He gave me't," never "he gave it me," it always coming last

in such sentences.
Xll VOWEL-TRANSPOSITIONS AND OTHER CHANGES

u becomes i in
' '

honey [hin-i] (term of endearment), [dis'unt]

(doesn't), while i becomes u in duzzy [duoz'i] dizzy.
=
u becomes o in one '
wonn '

(always).
'
Yan '
is only heard from
old people. So tong (tongue). See also under ir.

u [u] becomes 06 [uo], as in the convent. Eng. pron. of bush,

butcher, put, &c. N. country shibboleth,
[kuom hae'u] (come
' '

here) is perhaps a little fine for har away.'

'

[u] sometimes,
instead of becoming [uo], becomes [oo] (not [oo*]), as, [kloob,

roon, joog, moog, hooz], club, run, jug, mug, us (occasionally).

Cup, muck, 'bus, however, would be short, [uo]. "And ever
give ous cause." From the National Anthem, as copied down
' ' '
a
by boy. So, vice versd, bush,' cushion are often pronounced
' '
with the lit. u, and '

sugar is always
'

shugger [shug'u].

ur becomes ar in warse (worse), warship (worship).

v dropped, as in ha'e (have), owre (over, too-). Becomes f in

' '
of (not ov), naff (nave of wheel).

y inserted before oo, e.g. skyool, school (always). So, fyool,

byook, abyoon (above), gyoose, nyoon, syoon (soon). Cp. syoo

' '
'

(sew). Often spelt elsewhere beuk or buke,' &c.

y becomes a, e. g. varra [va'ru] very, Soonda [Suon'du] Sunday, &c.

 NOTES ON GRAMMAR AND SYNTAX

a, an, both used, as in lit. Eng.

-ie. Common diminutive, e.g. laddie, lassie, Jimsie, Robertie,
' '
bairnie, doggie, wee bittie cattie,' brownie.'

Some words are only used in tbe plural ;

see under Canes.

' "
by often becomes bin,' but not before a true consonant. Bin
"
hersell," A's bi misell," Bin itsell."

"
on. n dropped the grass." : To
(=' on' or 'of' ?) Used
lie o'
1

"
instead of for in the following Gan on she's waitin' o' tha." : !

" "
thy and thine are both used, e. g. This boot is thine," This is

thy boot."
' ' '
'
to becomes tae before a consonant ;
tin before a short vowel
" "A " '
'
tin us," went tin'm him, or to them)
(to ;
tiv before
"
a long vowel He went tiv oor hoose."
' '
with becomes wi '
before a consonant,
'
win before a short vowel,
'
and wiv before a long one (?) wimma (with me emphat. wi'
'

; ;

me), wi' tha, win 'm (him or them), win us, wi' ya (emphat.
wi' ye). We always say, to travel with the train for by '
'
'

train.' This is not confined to dialect speakers. 'With' is

' '
always [with], never [widh]. With often stands for to,' '

' '

(see under
' '
e. g. used with,' well taken with/ kind with

Clap).

it is becomes '
as in lit. " It's a "
it's,' Eng. grand day." Ay, is't,
" "
a's shower (or, ay, a's shower is't
").
Also used in cases
"
where '
it is' would be found in ordinary English, e. g. Where
" "
is't ? There it's."
XIV

is it becomes 'is't'
(Shakes.) [1st] (always). Not only in interroga-
tions, as, [wae
-

ist, waa ist] (who is it 1 where is it ?), but also in

" "
asseverations, as, A din-ah we ist (I don't know who it is).

Notice the absence of any trace of z in is ;

or of r in where, even
before a vowel.

-en, past part, act., e. g. hadden, letten, putten, litten.

getten,
So in S W.
'
'
dial. boughten bread is shop-bread, where -en

marks the p. p. pass.

'
'
I is [aa-z], thou is
[dhoo-z], invariably for
'
I am,'
'
thou art.'

When thou is not the first word, and is not emphatic, tha
'
'

[dhu] is the form, which stands also for thee (unemph.).

'Thou' in such cases is
emphat. "A winna be bet (beaten)
1
" " "
bi [dhoo ] (I'll not be beaten by thee). Isn't tha (aren't
you) 1 For the subjective and objective cases of pronouns
'
reversed for emphasis (so common in SW. dial.), cp. 'us is

[hooz is] for we are,' heard occasionally from Board School

'

'
'
children a species of fine talk (!).

tell'd or tell't. Told (invariable). Cp. sell'd (sold).

seed, saw.

was and were are never transposed, but always used correctly as
'
Neither do we say I loves or ' they loves.'
'
in lit. Eng.

can't, won't, don't, unknown. We say

'
cannot
'
or '
canna
'

' ' '

(= canno'), winnot,' 'winna/ dinnot/ dinna,' the form

in -t when used absolutely, when followed by a word
or

beginning with a vowel. The following are idiomatic " Can :

"
you not 1 ( can't you T),
"=think you 1
"
(do you think 1) e. g.
" Can "
you not do it, think you ? Cp. the frequent question
put to newcomers,
"
What think you of Hetton ] " or more
"
familiarly,
"
What's tha think of Hetton ? P." What !

" " It's

Is that water there ?
Dungeon Ghyll guide not water,
isn't that." Heard in Cumberland, but equally common at
Hetton.
 ACCENT AND PRONUNCIATION

It is impossible for me to indicate the intonation of the Hetton

dialect in ordinary conversation, still less those nicer refinements
in which dialects are so immeasurably richer than the standard
English but, roughly speaking, the accent is evenly distributed
;

on each syllable, without any being slurred over. This fact

was very clearly brought home to me by the cry " Vote for [fau ] 1

" ' '

Fenwick the for not being contracted into fr or f, even in
!

the repeated cry of a tipsy man (July 12, 1892).

In 'accent (vb. and n.), accept, advent, expense,' both syllables
are equally accented, not as in lit. Eng. accept, 'xpense, &c., and the
e's are correctly pronounced, [aad'vent] not [ad'viint]. So also,
'object' (vb.) is sounded exactly the same as 'object' (subst.).
'

House/ however, in compounds becomes 'us, as in workus,

bake us. A few words are added, showing the prominent syllable
in North-country pronunciation :
secretary, apostolic, melancholy
(short o), circumstances, arrangement, steadfast, testimony, trespass,
Whitechapel, parishioner.
"We always say progress, trefoil, &c.
 WORDS AND PHRASES

Abbut [aab'iit]. An introductory word. 'Ay, but,' or 'ah!

but.' Kg. "abbutawill."
Abed. In bed. Var. dial.

About [u'boot]. Around. "All twist yer neck about.'" May

27, 1892.

Abune [u'byoon]. Above.

Ahlnt. Behind.

Aliblaster. A large marble made of alabaster.

All [aa'l]. Quite. Var. dial. Used of time or distance.
"Howfaris't? One mile?" "Ay, it'll be all that." Note
the future tense, where in the south the present would
rather be used.

Alley. A
glass marble used by boys in playing marbles.
Probably from alabaster. The game of German Tactics,
played with these, always goes by the name of Glass
'

alleys.'

And all. A common pleonasm, often signifying nothing,

' " He was there and all."
though it may stand for also.'
"
Any [on-i] (always). At all. "Can ye sing ony ? I have
' '
also heard the double form any at all from one speaking
'
fine.'

Arnicks. The bulbs of the buttercup-tribe.

 Ask Bank
Ask. A small lizard, or newt.

Ass. Ashes.

Aud-farand. Cunning sagacious beyond one's ; years. (Spell-

ing copied from Halliwell. )
'

Ay [aa'y]. (always). Yes

'
Yis is fine, for gentlefolks' ears.
' '
Children are often corrected for answering ay instead of
'
'

yes to their betters. Yet the native word sounds far

more expressive. very It is also common as a mark of

approval or attention, in listening to a narration.

"
Backcast. We canno' backcast it," said by a widow of her
son's illness, meaning, 'We cannot now order it differently.'
Feb. 25, 1892. This is not the general meaning. The word
" Thoo's "
usually means a relapse. getten a backcast (i.
e.

you've got a relapse).

Bad [baa'd]. Poorly. Var. dial.
'

Badly liked (of persons). Disliked (always). So, to be badly

' ' '
taken with (unpopular), to be badly used (ill-used).
'
Baff [baaf]. Techn. The alternate, or off day or week '

(' Baff Saturday,'

'
Baff week ') when the fortnightly wages
are not paid to the miners. Opposed to 'Pay Saturday.'
Bag. To give a rabbit the
'

bag
'
is to overfeed it and thus
cause its death.

Bairn or Barn, a sound between [baan] and [baan]. Child

(always). So 'grand-bairns.' This latter probably im-
ported from Northumberland.

Bait-poke. Linen bag in which workmen carry their food.

Bally [baa'li]. A lever for turning points on a railway ;

so
called from a big iron ball on the stem.
Bank [baangk]. Hill. The word '
hill
'
is practically unknown
in the dialect. Also techn. for the '

pit
'-
surface, top of
'
shaft.
'
To '
work at bank '
is to do the colliery work
above ground.
 Barley Bitch 3

Barley [baa'li]. To claim, to speak for first ; as, "Barley me

the big 'un."

Bat. Stroke, blow (always).

Bath [baath]. vb. trans. To wash any one in a bath. Children
are always 'bath'd.' For bathe, lads often say 'bave,' and
of water dammed up).
' '
bavin' hole (piece

Beck. Used indifferently with

'
burn.' A stream.
Bedfast. Bed-ridden (always).

Bedstraw. Heard once in Hetton from a South Shields

" He was a thin
person :
man, looked as if he lived on his
own bedstraw."
Belong [bu'lang]. Belong to, hail from. man, on being A
asked where he 'belongs,' says, " I belong Hetton," mean-
ing his home, or place of birth, according to circumstances.
" War dis thoo " "
belang ? Aa belang canny Shields."
Berries. Generic name for all fruit of the berry kind.

Betimes. Sometimes ;
at times.

Bid. Invite to a funeral. "Was thou bid?" When a

'
miner dies, a
'
bidder goes round to all his fellow-workmen
to bid them attend his funeral.
'
Bide. Stop, remain. Var. dial. '

Stop is more generally

used, but is finer. "Mind thou bides away," "Don't let
them bide out night." Extract from boy's essay.

Bill-knife. A knife used by butchers for cracking bones.

"
Germander Speedwell. Bird's-eyes in summer.
' '
Bird's-eye.
Boy's essay.
' '
Bit. Used '
a bit garden (a little garden), a
adjectivally, as,
' ' ' ' '
bit lad,' or a bit laddie,' a bit lass or lassie (a little boy
" Have
or girl), &c. (always). never say a bit of a We '
.'

a bit sport such as football," &c. Boy's essay.

"
Bitch. A female. ' '
Gan on, you
bitch (said in my hearing by
a tiny child). Common term of abuse. A saying sometimes
heard is, "Every dog has its day, and a bitch two afternoons."
B 2
4 Bite Bogey
Bite. A bit, morsel.
"
Not hadden a bite the day
"
(
= to-day,
[dhu a beggar's usual plea.
dee-uj), is
Two common sayings
are " Bite the bridle and bear of
' '

: it," lumping anything

" could bite a double tack nail in two "
disagreeable and, I ;

(a sign of hearty hunger).

Blackclock. Cockroach (always).

To " A'll aa start

Blare. cry. gi' th' something to blare for, if
'
wi' th'." "Thoo's always blarin'." So, blary,' noisy, of
an infant.

Blather [blaadh'u]. Gabble. "She blathers away when

there's no one here," said of a baby's attempts to talk.
" Hard
May 7, 1891. (hold) thy blatherin' tongue."
Blazer. A piece of sheet iron, put between the grate and the
mouth of the chimney, in order to make the fire draw.
Bleck. Dirty grease, found on coal waggon-ways where
rollers are used.

Bleeberry [blae'beri]. Bilberry. The e in 'berry' is quite dis-

tinct in compounds in the dialect, never as in lit. English

(' blea-berry,' not 'bleab'ry ').

Blindy [blhvdi]. Blindman's Buff. The usual form is

'

Billy-
blindy.' See "Willy blindy, p. 51.

Blob. To bubble. " It blobs up."

Blood-alley. A bone-marble with red streaks in it.

Bloody [bluod'i]. A favourite epithet amongst many pitmen,

to be heard several times in eveiy sentence from certain
individuals.

Blush. Blister (subst. and vb.). "His hand's all blushed"

[hizs haandzs aal bluosht].

Bogey (g hard). Agric. A

low, two-wheeled sleigh-cart for
carrying hay to the stack without the trouble of pitching.
The 'pikes' are drawn on to this cart by a rope, the ends
of which are wound round a windlass-rolle at the front end
of the cart. Also, a square wooden truck on four wheels, for
the purpose of removing heavy goods a short distance, called
 Bonny Bran-spanking-new
also a
'
tram.' Down the pit, a bogey with an iron pin about
two feet long, at each of the four corners, to prevent the
timber and rails from falling off, would be called a
'

horney
'
tram.

Bonny. Fine, pretty, handsome. "Thou's a bonny bairn."

'
1
The Bonny Pit Lad is an inn so-called in Easington
" That's a
Lane, near Hetton. bonny loss when ye're nae
scholar" May 8, 1891.
"Lee laa, let,
Ma bonny pet."

("Lie low, light," &c., said to a butterfly, in chasing it.

' '

[Lae't] =alight, settle.) Bonny bord (bird), [baun'i bau'd].

Bottles. Medicine (always).

"
Bottom. We must all stand on our own bottoms," a common
saying, equivalent to Gal. vi. 5. [Wae muos aa'l staan iv
"
oo'r aa'n baut'mz.] Sometimes varied as follows : Every
tub must stand on its own bottom."

Bowdie [boo'di], A sherd, or piece of broken earthenware.

Bowl [boo'l]. Stone is common in the North

ball. The game
among pitmen. The one who throws the longest distance
' '

in three throws is declared the winner. Weight of bool

5oz. 15 oz., 2ooz., and upwards.
,
For the pronunciation
of this somewhat difficult vowel, found also in bowl (cricket),
see under Ow, p. viii.

Bowrie [boo'ri]. The ring in which boys place their marbles,

whilst playing.

Bracken. Brake-fern.

Braffen [braaf *n]. Horse-collar.

Brambles [braanrbulz] (always). Blackberry bushes and

their fruit. 'Blackberry,' if used, would be 'black-berry'
(the two words distinct, see under Bleeberry). Blackberry
jam is always 'bramble jam.' "Apple and bramble tart,"
" Bramble
pudding" (from a menu at the North of England
Cafe, Durham).
Bran-spanking-new. Quite new.
6 Brattice Buck-stick
Brattice. In the house, a wooden boarding fastened at right
angles to the door-frame, on the side where the door opens,
so as to screen the room from draughts. Also, wood or
canvas used in mines to help the air to travel.
" A'll
Bray. Beat, thrash. bray tha weel."
Breed [brae'd]. Bread. Compounds of bread are transposed :

e.g. 'cheese and bread,' 'butter and bread,' 'jam and

bread.'

Breed. To spread (of manure). Not heard about Hetton,

but used in the county.

Brent. Steep (of stairs, ladders, and such-like erections).

Brimming. Boarward (of a sow), maris appetens.

Brinkside. Kiver bank. "It's i' the brinkside" (said of a

bird's nest).

Brock. Badger. "Aa's sweatin' like a brock." (A.-S.)

Broth. A pi. word, as in other dialects.

'
A little broth '
is
'

always a few broth.'

Brownie [broo'ni] (always). Brown linnet. Singing competi-

tions of these birds for a wager are held in public-houses,
where they are always advertised as Brownie Matches.
' ' '

Brung. past part, of Browt and brung are both

'

bring.
' '

used, the former being the commoner form. The word

generally used in the dialect, however, is 'fetch.'

Buck-stick. The game of Trap, Bat, and Ball.' Called Spell

' '

'
and Nurr by old men. The game is now obsolete, but the
implements were as follows. (Bat or Mallet), the 'buck-
'
head was about the size and shape of a small Yorkshire
Eelish bottle, with one side flat, though some players pre-
ferred to have it round, The stick inserted in the buck,' '

and fastened to it with cobbler's wax-ends, was generally

' '
a cane about a yard long. (Trap), the trippets were of
two kinds. The wooden trippet, a strip of wood with
hollowed cup at the heavier end, and a heel underneath
towards the other end to obtain leverage, like the trapstick
 Buffet-Cage
in Trap, Bat, and Ball. The spring triplet, a rod of steel,
was fixed at one end in a frame, and the other end was
then bent down and inserted between the teeth of an
upright notched stick fixed in the other end of the frame.
'
This saw, or toothed catch,' being struck outwards, released
the steel rod or trippet, and this threw into the air a ball,
'
called a pot quoit,' which had been placed in a cup soldered
on to the trippet. The scores were counted by the number
of
'

rigs over
'
which the quoit was hit. The little lads who
'
' ' '
collected the chucks or quoits were called chuckiers,
and their reward was a certain number of shots.

Buffet [buof'et] (emphasis on the final syllable). Corner

cupboard, the top half of glass, like a bookcase.

Bullet. A
sweet(meat). The usual term. large sweetshop A
in a certain North-country town is inscribed in large capitals
The Bullet King.
Bummeler. Bumble-bee.

Burn [bau'n]. A stream.

Butcher. The stickleback, without a red belly. See Doctor.

Butcher's Plums. Meat (?). On saying to some one I was

" " " The
visiting, Who lives next door ? I was answered,
butcher. That's where we get our butcher's plums." Only
heard once.
'
Buzzer. Techn. The steam whistle or
'

fog-horn that warns

miners of the times for returning to and from work.

Buzzum [buoz 'urn] = besom, a kind of broom made of heather

or ling. Bosom is always pronounced [boo-zum].

Byreman. A man who works among cows. Fr. 'byre,'

" Extract from
a cowhouse. Keep the cows Her clean."

boy's essay.

Caff. Chaff.

Cage. Techn. The lift which goes up and down in the shaft
of a mine.
8 Call Canny
Call [kaa'lj. E. g.
'
What do they call you ?
'
The invariable
equivalent to 'What's your name?' this latter form of
inquiry being generally unintelligible to children, as I have
found by experience. Also, to abuse. "
Please, sir, he
called me," a schoolboy's common complaint of another
boy to his master.

Callant. Boy, or girl. Imported from Northumberland.

Caller [kaal'u]. Fresh. The cry of fishwives is still, 'Caller
hair'n (herring) ! Fresh, caller hair'n.' Also, [kaa'lu], a
man paid to go round at various hours of the night and
' '

early morning, calling miners to get up to go to work,

by rapping on
'
their doors. Hence, Calling Course,' the
time a caller goes his rounds.

Calven [kaa'ven]. Of cows, that have lately calved.

Cam " Tak' some o' that cam off."

[kaa'm]. Rising-ground.

Camp-bed. Four-poster, with a curved top on, formed of

wooden laths with cross-bars let into them. The frame-
work opens in the middle, for taking down.
Can and Could, besides their literary use, are also used in a
"
peculiar sense for the vb. to be able. They'll not can get
any food"=not be able to. "I haven't could get across
the doors,"i.e. I've not been able to get out (v. common).
" I doubt I'll not can "
April 1891.
7, get (I expect I shan't
be able to come). This last is one of the commonest
phrases, to be heard every day.

Canes. The schoolmaster's cane. Always in plural thus,

"She's getten her canes" [kae'unz]. Cp. 'teas' (pi. noun)
[tae'z], though used somewhat differently, e. g. 'We'll
have our teas,' 'I'll have my tea.' Cp. also Crickets,

Taws, Gases. This last means gas-jets, as in a gaselier.

"Having the gases lit." Boy's essay.

Canny. A
North-country catchword. 'A canny few'=a fail-
number, a 'canny man' is one with some sense in his
'

head, a canny little body would be a dapper little person,

'

with some notion of briskness and neatness. "It'll tak'

 Cant Checkweighman 9

a canny bit," i. e. take some time. Also, careful, gentle.

A ' '
child is told to be canny with a jug, a baby, or other

perishable article entrusted to him. juvenile letter to A

some one at Shields was inscribed on the envelope, " Please,
Mr. Postman, be canny with this letter." 'Ma canny
hinny,' a term of endearment.

Cant. To set on edge, and so turn over. "It canted owre."

Cap. A piece of leather put on a shoe.

Carling Sunday. Fifth Sunday in Lent, on which day the
'
'
traditional dish is one of carlin's cooked in melted butter,
A carling [kaa'lin] is a kind of pea, of a dark grey or brown
' '
colour. They are used by lads on Carlin' Sunday for

throwing at one another, and are boiled by publicans for

their customers on that night.

Casket. Cabbage-stalk.
" Let the cat dee"
Cat [kaat, kaa't]. (die), i. e. let the swing

(see Shuggy) run down of itself (constantly). School treat,

July 27, 1892. Also, the game of Tipcat, often called 'kit
cat.'

Cat-haws. Hawthorn-berries, often shot by boys through

a hollow hemlock-stalk.

Cat-knockles. The peculiar way some boys hold their marbles

when shooting.

Cavil [kyav'l]. The station of each miner engaged in hewing

'
coals is called his cavil.' These are changed every quarter
by the drawing of lots.

Chaffs. Jawbones (plural only).

Chancetimes. Occasionally (very common).

Checkers. The game of Draughts (only word in use).

Checkweighman (miners' techn. term). Name for both the

owner's and the people's representative, each appointed to
check the other's dishonesty, in weighing coal-laden tubs,
as they come from the pit.
10 Cheese and Bread Cletching
Cheese and Bread. The young leaves of the hawthorn are
pulled and eaten by children under this name. (See under
Breed, p. 6.)

Chemmerly. Urine kept in a large stone bottle and used for

washing clothes. This must undoubtedly be what Halli-
well mentions as " Chamber-lie. Urine. Shah"
Chimla. Chimney. Hence 'chimla-piece.'

Chinnerly. To separate the larger pieces of coal from the dust.

Chisel. A kind of bran with which boys feed rabbits.

Chuck. Food, provisions.

Chucky. A young fowl.

To clagged '= stuck.
'
Clag. clog, stick ;
so

Claggum. Toffee.

Clap. To stroke, pat. "If you clapped them, they will be

kind with you." Boy's essay on Kindness to Animals.
'
Observe the with,' which is very idiomatic.
'
Clarts [Claats]. Mud. Clarty,' dirty. For the vowel-pro-
nunciation, see under Ar, p. vii. It may be very ade-

quately represented by 'air/ so 'clairts.' As villages are

often denoted by some epithet, so we have on Tyneside

'Canny Shields,' 'Bonny Newcastle,' 'Clarty Walker.'

Clash. Disturb.
'
Clash'd and slap'd,' of milk which has
"
been agitated by hasty carriage. He's been clash'd about,
"
poor fellow (i.
e. often shifted). Met. "I'll clash thy brains
' ' "
out." Also, to clash the door, is to bang it. Dinno' clash
the door so [dur sae']."

Claze or Cleze [klae'z] (

= clo's). Clothes. Hence the com-
pounds, Claze-prop, a long pole to prop up the Claze-line ;

Clasc-stick, a short stick to thrust clothes down when boiling

in the pan ; Glaze-swill, a basket made of peeled willows,
used for holding clothes on washing-days.

Cletching. Brood of chickens. (Final g inferred.)

 Clever Cow 11

Clever [klivau]. In good health well, properly. "

If the ;

window had been open, we could have seen clever." " He's
not over-clever to-day," i. e. not very well. ^Very common
phrase), [naut uw'u klivau dhu dee'u].

Click. To catch one in the side, of a sudden twinge of pain,

&c. "She was click'd away very sharp," was said to me
of a woman dying suddenly. 'Click up,' catch up. To
'
'
click hold of any one (clutch).

Clip. To shear. "Clip the sheep in the summer." Boy's

essay.

Clish-clash. Idle talk.

" There's been a
lot o' clish-clash
about it."

" She's
Clock. To sit, of hens. not gan to clock yet."
"Yon hen's clockin'." A 'clocker' is a sitting or broody
hen.

Clog. A log. '

Yule-clog.'

Close, and adj. [-B]. Shut. Shut is considered vulgar,

vb. [-z]
close somewhat fine but both are heard.
;

Clout [kloo't]. A cloth, or old rag (always).

"Never cast a clout
Till May is out,"

a local proverb, illustrating the inclemency of a North-

country Spring. The vowel is not pure. Also, a blow on
the head, [oo ]
1

;
see under Ow, p. viii.

Coggly. Crooked, from side to side, as of an uneven swing's

motion. Walking on high heels, or sitting in a hay-cart,
would be so described.
Cotterill. A split pin for fastening handles on to cranks.

Coup Cart [koop]. The common dung- or coal-cart.

Cow [koo'J. A long iron rod fastened to the last tub of

' '

'
a set,' so that in case the rope breaks, the rod sticks in the

ground and holds the tub fast. Dray-carts and others have
such rods dangling at the axle-tree, to take the strain off
'
horses on a bank.'
12 Cowp Gush
Cowp [kuwp]. To exchange ; also, to overturn.

" doon an' heh

Crack. Talk. Sit let's (hear) tha crack a bit."
'
To have a '
bit crack is the invariable way of expressing
Not much
' '
a bit of a gossip. to crack on is the usual
'

expression for indifferent health. Cp. the lit. crack jokes.'

Also a talker (for this, cp. double use of the word gossip '). '

" Thou's a
good crack."
Cracket. A low stool, found in most cottages. When coal
islow, miners sit on a cracket to their work, one end of
which is higher than the other. A
cracket stands on legs
which in shape are not unlike a pair of bootjacks. steul A ' '

'

[styool] has three separate legs, and a '

cobbler's stool has
four.

Cradle [kred'l]. A pig's ladder. Also, scaffolding in a shaft.'

'

Also, a baby's wooden bed, on rockers, to be seen in

use in every cottage. It is stiff and Noah's-ark-like in

appearance.

Crake [krae'uk]. The crier's rattle, used when a meeting of

'
miners is cried through the street, is called his crake.'
The likeness between this sound and the cry of the corn-
crake is obvious.

Cray [krae*]. A hutch, as 'pig's cray,' 'pigeon- cray,' &c.

The only word in use.
Crible. To curry favour.

Crickets. The game of cricket is always spoken of in this

plural form. See under Canes, p. 8.

Crowdy [kraawdij. A
kind of porridge. (Teaspoonful of
oatmeal, in plate of hot water, and half a glassful of milk
added, when cold.)

Cuddy. Donkey (always, 'donkey' unknown). 'Cuddy-

'
handed is left-handed.

Cush [kuosh hau', kuosh haa', kuosh huop] and other variations.
A call to cows at milking-time.
 Da, Ma Bothering 13

Da and Ma. Papa and Mamma. "Where's tha (thy) ma?

"'

"
Tha da's coming " [kuom'un]. !

Daft. Foolish, of persons. Of things " They're the daftest :

"
things a child can have, to play with (Mrs. K of some ,

keys, Oct. 30, 1891). Var. dial.

Dawd. Slice. "Cut him a dawd o' breed."

Deadborn. Stillborn.

Dear knows [dae'u naa'z]. The superlative of ignorance,

corresponding to goodness only knows. On asking a woman
' '

when her husband will be in, she frequently gives this

answer.

Deave [dae'v]. To trouble, bother (= deafen?). "Next to

George's integrity and generosity of character, was his love

of country and patriotism. He was always deaving us ' '

about his native Cumberland." George Moore's Life, by

" It's "
Smiles, p. 29. eneugh to deave one (the noise
children make).
' '
Debiliated. Mispron. of debilitated.

Delve. To dig.

Dene [dae'n]. The picturesque wooded hollows, each traversed

by a stream, which line the sea-coast of Durham, are called
' "
denes.' Cowslips in spring in the deen." Boy's essay.
Dickises. "A'll dee (do) the dickises," i. e. something that
another cannot do, e. g. walk on a wall, jump a stream,

&c.
'

Dickyhedgie. The hedge-sparrow

'

(accentor modularis).

Doctor. The stickleback, with a black head and reddish belly.

Doors. "I
haven't been across the doors," i. e. across the
threshold, out of doors.' Notice the pi. in both cases.
'

*
Doorstaingels (g soft, as in angel ').
Door-frames.

Doorstead [dur-stae'd]. Threshold.

Dothering. Same as 'dothery.'

'
Dotherin' ducks,' the quaking
grass.
14 Dothery Duff
Dothery [daudh'uri]. Shaky, failing ;
of old age.

Doubt [aa* dooi] (I doubt). The equivalent to

'
I think.'
' '
Dough [doo'J. Cake. Yule-doo is a kind of currant cake
made in shape of a baby and given to children at Christmas.
' '
Not '
so many years ago the putter lad expected his 'hewer
to bring him the '

yule-doo.' If the hewer failed to bring

one, the putter would take the hewer's clothes, put them
' '
into a tub,' fill it up with rubbish, and send it 'to bank ;

' '
or if the doo was not well made, the putter nailed it to
a tub and wrote the hewer's name underneath.
Doving [doa'vun]. Dozing.
'
Dowly [daawli], which seems to point to Doly'= doleful, as
the true spelling. Dull (of persons or things). "Chorch
is se dowly." June 16, 1891.

Drawk. " A've "

Soak. gotten drawked throu' (wet).

Duckstone. A boys' game, played by any number of boys.

Each player chooses a nice round stone about the size of
a cricket-ball, and calls it his duck.' A mark is made on
'

the ground, and at a distance of about six feet from the line
'
or bye a large stone is placed, on which one of the players
'

sets his duck. The game begins by choosing who has to set
his duck on the stone. This is done by all the players
pitching or rolling their ducks as near the stone as possible ;

'
the one farthest off lies on. Then the rest of the players
'

If the man
' ' '
toe the bye, and try to knock his duck off.
'

can touch a player carrying his duck back, before he reaches

'
the bye, this player then becomes the man. The duck '

must always be on the stone when a player is touched,

else it is no go.

Duds. Clothes. Var. dial.

Duff [doof]. Fine coal, or coal dust (the only name in use).

Hence, duffy, trashy, cheap and nasty (of sugar) small, ;

like flour (of coal) ticklish, hard, awkward. The vowel in

;

'duff,' 'stuff/ &c., is longer than the ordinary vowel, being

[oo], a sound halfway between [uo] and [oo-].

 Dunch Pair 15

Dunch. To nudge or jog any one.

Dwarmy [dwaarmi]. Faint, languid.

Dyke. A hedge. This word is never used to mean a ditch.

"
The word hedge is only used in fine talk. Toss't owre
the dyke."

"
Een [ae'n]. Eyes.
' '
Aa'll put thee een oot ! Only used in
this single expression, and that by old people. This is the
sole relic of the old Saxon plural that I know of in the
dialect.

Eh ! aa din-aa ( dinna ken "

' '

Bp. Auckland).
' '

Indeed, I don't
know." The commonest of expressions.
'
Eh !
'

[ae] is

a true exclamation, capable

North-country of various
meanings, according to intonation and context.
Eneugh [u'nyoo'f]. Enough.
Enjoy. Bad health is 'enjoyed,' equally with good health.
This is a common use of the word in Eng. dial.

Enter-common. A place open to everybody. For instance,

Hetton Hall grounds, being presumably private, during the
strike were 'enter-common,' roamed over at will, used by

anybody.
Ettle. To " A ettled
intend, try. to gan to Hetton."
Evenly or even-y. adv Even
probably, likely.
; (Probably
a Tyneside word, as apparently unknown in or about
it is

Hetton. Frequently heard from a Tynesider.)

Eyesight. Never abbreviated into 'sight.' We always ken
' '
folk by eyesight.

Face. The innermost part of the pit, where the hewers or

etonemen are engaged at working into the solid coal or
stone.

Fad [faad, faa'd]. Farmyard, littered with straw, for keeping

stock in.

Fair. vb. intr. To improve, become fair (of Weather).

16 Farntickled Finger Calves
Farntickled. Freckled.

Fash To bother (vb. trans.). To be 'fashed' with

[faash].
anything, to be troubled by it. " Lad, dinna fash yersel."
is
" He disn't fash "
the hoose mooch (said of one seldom in) ;

or, as we should say, 'trouble the house.'

Fat. This word is used by boys playing marbles. If a player

'
shoots his marble into the ring, he is said to have spun
fat,' and ceases playing.
Feck. Portion.
" He did the main feck of the work."

Feckless. Helpless and feeble. The regular epithet of con-

tempt for any one unable to shift for himself.
Femmer. Frail ;
of persons and things. (Always.)
Fend. To shift for oneself, to do well. (Hardly dialect.)
"A man may spend :

He'll always fend,

That is, if the wife be owt (anything) ;

But a man may care :

He'll always be bare,

That is, if the wife be nowt."

Bring up, rear (always). To

'
Fetch up. '

bring is generally to
'
fetch.' So, my mother (Yorks.).
'
Fettle, vb. and noun. North-country catchword. To '
fettle
' ' '
or fettle up [fetl uop], the regular expression for to right
up,' 'get in order,' 'repair.' 'In good fettle '(good condition).
"When mountain sheep sniff the breeze, as you come upon
them, it is a sign of their being in good fettlin'." Sep. n,
1890. A woman has enough work to
do with her children,
"makin', mendin', and fettlin' for their bellies." Also as
a salutation " Well, : what fettle ? " " Oh, canny." " I'll
,

fettle ye up" (= punish).

Fiddy faddy. Trivial, elaborate, e. g. of fancy work. Not

common.
Fine tasted. Fine flavoured. Dialect ?

Finger calves [fing'u kaafs]. More commonly called 'sucking

'
calves [suok'n kaafs].
 First Flinches 17

day' we always say

'
First [fau'st]. Instead of 'next day
first.' This phrase is always used in local advertisements
of entertainments, sales, &c. " will be glad to see him
to tea Monday first at 5 p. m." From letter, Aug. 27, 1892.
' '
Pladges. Snowflakes. Often called flatches.

Flat. Min. tech. The station to which the '

putter
'

pushes
'
the full *
tubs. Here they are hitched together, and taken
' '
by the driver, ten or twelve tubs at a time to the landing,
which is a larger flat. From this flat they are drawn by the
'

engine to the shaft.'

To "
Fley. scare. Lad, dinna fley the galloway."

Flinches. A
boys' game. This is played by a number of boys
placing their caps in a row against the wall. Then the
players in turn take a ball, and standing at a distance try to
roll the ball into a cap. The owner of the cap which con-
tains the ball picks it out and throws it at one of the players.
If he fails to hit a boy, a small stone is put into his cap, and he
is said to be '
one egg.' As soon as he is 'three eggs,' he takes

up his cap, and this goes on until there is just one player left.
The rest of the players must now place their hands against the
wall in turn, and the winner is rewarded by having three
shots with the ball at each player's hand. If a boy flinches
or takes his hand away, he suffers three shots more for each
flinch. I ought to have said that when a player takes the
ball out of his cap, to throw at a boy, he may call on him
'

quicker, and calls

'
not to stir flesh ;
but if the other boy is

out 'flinches,' he allowed to dodge. is

The game is sometimes played in another way, as follows :

The players take the names of the days of the week.

will then throw the ball against the wall, and call
' '

Sunday
* '

out another name, e.g. 'Friday.' If Friday succeeds in

catching the ball or 'keeping' it before it touches the
ground, he throws it against the wall and calls out (say)
' '
'

Wednesday !
'
If '

Wednesday fails to
'

kep it, he picks

'

up the ball and throws it at a player, shouting out nee

(no) flinches,' whereupon the player stands fast. If
18 Plipe Porby
hits the pla}T er, the player tries to hit some one
' '

Wednesday
else, and so on until there is a miss. The one who misses
throws the ball out and ceases playing, and thus the game
goes on till only one player remains then follow the rewards :

and punishments.
Plipe. Hat-brim.
Flit. To '
shift
'
or remove from a house by night, unknown
to anybody.
A Friday's flit

Will never sit."

Foalfoot. Coltsfoot, tussilago (always).

Folk. People, e.g. 'menfolk,' 'womenfolk.'

Folly tar. A game played with marbles, while walking along.

One boy shoots his marble, and the other tries to hit it. If
itcomes within the span (hand's-breadth), it is called 'Spangy
' '
Oneses (' wonnzes ') but if it hits, it is called Knocky
;

Twoses' ('towsers'). Formerly so, but now played differ-

ently. They just hit, and count that one, and so follow on.
Fon. prep. For. In certain cases and by certain people. We
should always say, "
"
I'll work for thee [aa'l wau'k fur dhu],
s '
and '
fur me,' fur ye but some would say, fon it,' fon
;
' l

us,' 'fon 'im,' 'fon 'er,' 'fon 'em,' whereas most people
'
would probably say 'fo' them [faudh'm].
Fond. Foolish ;
hence '
fondie.' "Thou's a fondie."

Footing, first. Properly, the first person who enters one's

doors on New Year's Day. This refers to the custom of
going round to various houses on the morning of the
New Year, soon after the old year has passed, and being
regaled by those who humour the custom by keeping open
house (bread and cheese, meat and drink, especially the
Men go around in bands, it being
latter) for the first callers.
held unlucky for a female to usher in the new year. The
cat is generally locked up beforehand, as it is also con-
sidered unlucky for animals to appear on these occasions.

Forby. Besides (accent as in 'besides'). Prep, and adv.

" There
was other six forbv me."
 Forebears Gait 19

Forebears [fairbae'uz]. Ancestors. Sometimes called '

fore-

elders.' "Our fore-elders have all lived here."

Pore-head. Always pronounced as two distinct words. This
pronunciation is by no means confined to dialect speakers.

Forenenst [fu'nenst] (accent on last syllable). Facing opposite

(always). Of houses in a street: "He lives right fnenst
us." Also metaph. "They're not doing right forenenst
" "
me," He gov us sixpence forenenst it (i. e. towards it).
Forthless. Worthless, useless.

Fortnighth [fau't-nuth]. Fortnight (always).

Fozy. Unsound, of vegetables. A ' '

fozy turnip is a woolly one.

Fratchy. Cross tempered. I have also heard 'fratch,' but

these words are imported from Tyneside.

Fray From. So, 'tee'

[frae]. [tae
-

]
= to, too (two [tuw]) ;

cp. hae (have), hennot (haVe not). A finer pronunciation

' '

' '
from pitmen for 'hennot is hev'n't.'

"
Fremd. Strange. He was mair like a frem'd body na a friend. "
"A fremd body wad dae that " (reproof given to a churlish
man who refused to confer a benefit even on a relation in
distress).

Fresh. A thaw. "There's a heavy (or, thick) fresh on."

Common word among countrymen.
Fret. A mist, or sea-fog. To [frae'tj is also, to fret, whence
adj. freetin' (fretful).

Gaffer. A '
masterman '
or foreman. Var. dial.

Gait [gyet] (=way, road). A mining term signifying a short

journey, e. g. from flat to shaft and back again hence, last ;

journey. A workman,
removing a heap of soil or stones, if
asked how much still remains, will sometimes answer,
"Another gyet '11 takd up," meaning one more journey.
" Aa " He
just hev another gyet to gan." niver knew what
"
gyet it went (what became of it).

c 2
20 Galloway Get away
G-alloway [gaal'u'wu]. Pony. The only term in use. Pit-
'

ponies are always spoken of as galloways.'

Gan. Go. A.-S. gan.

" Gan on !
" = '
now then !
' '
start !
'

to be heard from children in the street all day long. The

vowel in word is very short, and nearly approaches the
this
' '

lit. short a the same sound is heard in yam (home).

:

'Going' (pres. part.) is 'gannin,' when used absolutely ;

but
'
when used as an auxiliary verb, it becomes '

gan ;
e. g.
" Is thoo " " A's
gannin' ? (Are you going ?), gannin' doon
" "
(sea) ; but "A's gan to' [sae'J (see), "A's gan
1
to the [sae ]
"
to dae't (I'm going to do it). This is sometimes heard :

" Ye're like the weel-off that hevn't a hoose to te

"
gan (You
are like the well-off that haven't a house to go to), of those
who have no need to trouble about finding a lodging for
themselves, because they have a residence of their own.

Garth [gaath], A potato-ground, also called 'Taty-garth.'

More generally, a small grass-field, enclosed, near a dwelling.
A common element in place-names, as Hallgarth(Pittington),
Briggarth in Easington Lane, &c.
Gather, v. i. Make a collection (' gathering') in money.
Gee. Pronounced Jee. A call to horses to go to the right, or
' '
Sometimes Gee-ba [jae'baa ] is heard. So Gee-
1
off-side. !

back Gee-up (Forward).

! !

Gee-y. Crooked, twisted. "It's all a-gee-y" [u'jae'waay].

Geordie [jau'di]. A miner ; cp. Jack Tar, Tommy Atkins,

or 'Johnny,' 'Tommy,' as generic names.

Get. One of the commonest uses in the dialect is that in

' ' '
which '

get is used absolutely, for manage,

' '
reach
(a place) hence, ;
'
be present.' " I couldn't get " = I could
not (manage to) get (there).

Get away. To die. Past part, getten, e. g. [get'n u'wee'u]

i.e. dead. Also imperat., meaning, 'You don't say so!'
Exclamation of surprise, doubt, or disbelief. An equally
common expression is
'
Gart
'

(slang rather than dialect).

 Get off Grunge 21

Get ' "

off. Get up,' learn by heart (always). Get some songs
off." Several boys' essays.

Ghyll [gil]. A bit of wild ground hollowed out by nature ;

a ravine. A common place-name in the Lake country.

Gill [jil].
A halfpint. Used of liquids.

Gimmers " Ye gimmers, "

[jim'uz]. Eascal. a'll smash tha !

Gis gis [gis'gis]. Call to a pig.

Give over [giv uwu] Don't ! =

Stop that
' ' '
!'
(very common).
Imperat. of vb. meaning 'to cease.'

Gliff. Startle.
' '
She gliffed me there."

Glower [gluw'u]. To stare with anger or amazement.

Gock, by [baa'y gauk]. An everyday expression of surprise,

&c. Quasi-oath. "By gock, thoo's a quare 'un."
" He niver
Gome. To heed. gomed me there."
Gorecap [gau'u kaa'p], A quasi-oath. (Should be written
Go-cap?)
Gowk [guuwk] or 'gowkie.' A soft person. An April fool is
often called
'

April gowk.'
l
Gowk '
is also the core of an
apple.

Grand. Common epithet of weather. [Graan dee'u] is the

usual salutation on a bright, sunny day.

Grape. To grope, search. Also, a kind of shovel (sometimes

'
called gripe'),
or huge fork-like implement used in filling

coke, and by farmers for removing manure.

Greybird [gree'u bau'd]. Commonest name for the song- thrush.
Greyhen [haen]. A jar in basket-covering, containing spirit.

Ground. "He hadn't been to ground for days." Mar. 2, 1892.

To 'gan to groond,' a common expression for going to the
closet.

Grozer [grau'zu]. Gooseberry.

'

Grunge. To grunt. Grunt unknown.

'

They will shew

' '

their teeth at you and grunge at you." Boy's essay.

 Guisen Guising
Guisen [gaa'yznj. To become dried and contracted, of rain-
'
tubs or wooden cisterns, so that the water sipes out.
'

" Yon tub '11

guisen."

Guising [gaa'yzn]. Play-acting by

'

guisers,' men and boys

in disguise (with blackened faces and paper caps), who go
about performing a rough Christmas play. " Have guisers,"
''most of the boys guise near Christmas." Boys' essays.
The play is much as follows :

CHARACTERS : The Leader, King George, Doctor Brown, Johnny Funny.

Leader. The moon 's gone down, and I've lost my way,
And in this house I mean to stay.
If you don't believe the word I say,
Step in, King George, and clear the way,

(Here comes in King George.)

King George. King George is my name,

A sword and pistol by my side ;

I hope I win the game,

The game of the sword,
The game of the sword.
Let's know your power,
I'll slash you into mincemeat
In less than half an-hour.
Leader. You, sir?
K. G. Yes, me, sir !

Leader. Take the sword, and try, sir !

(They fight and Leader falls.)

K. G. Ho, ho ! What have I done ?

I've killed his father's only son.
Send for the ten-pound doctor.
J. F. There 's no ten-pound doctor.
A". G. Send for the twenty-pound doctor.
Dr. Brown. Here comes in old Doctor Brown,
The best old doctor in the town.
K. G. Who made you the best doctor?
Dr. B. By my travels.
K. G. Where did you travel ?
Dr. B. Italy, France,and Spain ;

Three times there, and back again.

K. G. What can you cure?
Dr. B. A dead man.
 Gulley Handball 23

K. G. Cure him.
Dr B. I've got a little bottle in my pocket, goes tick-tack. Rise
up, Jack !

(Leader rises,}
All sing :
My brother 's come alive again,
We'll never fight no more.
We'll be as kind as ever,
As ever we were before,
A pocket full of money,
A cellar full of beer,
I wish you a merry Christmas
And New Year
a happy !

The weather 's very clarty,

My boots is very thin,
I've got a little money- box,
To put my money in.

(Each then sings a solo.)

Gulley. Carving-knife, bread-knife. Also, a crevice (gully).

Gusset. A tongue of stuff inserted as a patch ;

a gore.

Gyoose. Goose. "Like a gyoose cut i' the head," i. e. bewildered,

'
all abroad
'
as we say.

Ha woy. A call to horses to come to the left or near side.

' '

Hack. Min. tech. A heavy pick, weighing about 7 Ibs., with

head about 18 in. in length. There are various kinds, e. g.
Tommy hack (round head and chisel point), Jack hack

(round head and sharp point), Pick hack (sharp head and
chisel point). Also, filth, dirt. "Aa canna get the hack
off tha."

Hain. To shield, exculpate,

Halleluias. Salvation Army folk. The usual term.
Ham " He ham'd it o'er and o'er."
[haam]. Kepeat.
Handball [haand-baai]. The game of Bounders. More com-
monly called 'roondies.' Played by girls with shells
(' williks ')
and a ball, whilst these words are recited :

" Set a
cup upon a rock,
Chalk me one a pot.
One, two, three, four,
One at a time," &c.
"One up," &c.
24 Handhollow Hilly howley
Handhollow [haan'daul'u]. Used by girlswhen playing the
' ' ' '

game of
hitchy-dabber (hopscotch). Often the dabber
gets so near the line that a girl cannot insert the breadth
of her hand between, in which case she must give up the
' '
dabber to her opponent to play.

Hand's-turn. A stroke of work (common) ; often, of a

'

good
'
turn.

Hant. Habit.
" He has a nasty hant of doing that."

Happen. This verb used transitively, e. g. " he happened

is
" " "
it (i.
e. it happened to him), she happened a bad accident.

Har away [haa'wee'u, haa'ru'wee'u, haru ('

harra ') wee'u].
The shibboleth of this county, heard every day and almost
every five minutes. Be off ! Come along ! Here !

'
Heck. Call to a horse to come to the left or
'
near side.

Hemmels. Originally, a thatched shed, stable, or byre ;

now
the same, though seldom thatched. The word, although
still understood, is going out of use. field opposite A
Hetton Rectory, which once contained stables, is always
called 'the hemmels field.'

Hempy. Up to tricks and pranks, mischievous. Very common.

'

(The word has nothing to do with

'

Also, hemp, a scamp.

impudent.)

Hench or '
hinch.' Haunch.

Hew [hyoo*, hyoa'] (vowel strongly emphasized), vb. t. & i.

To hack away at the coal down a mine. Hence, hewer,' '

one who hews coal, a miner. (The vowel is peculiar, and

should be heard to be appreciated.)

Hey [hae]. A common exclamation of surprise or indifference ;

" "
hey ! aa din-aa (really, I don't know).

Hilly howley [hil'u huwl'(u)]. Hill and hole. In tossing

' '
the bat for innings, hill is the oval side uppermost,
 Him Hotes 25

'howl' the flat side. "Hill or howl for innings, lad."

Also used in Quoits.

Him. " Him wi' the " hat ' ' ' '
'
!
'

cap ! stick ! as the case may

be. Children's salutation of chaff to a stranger in any way
attired out of the common.
Hind (the
'
i
'

long). A farm-labourer. (The only term in use. )

Hing. Hang.
Hipsy dixy (of evidence). Trumped up. (Is this ipse dixit ?}
A rare word about Hetton, heard from a Tynesider.
Oct. 31, 1891.

Hitchy-bay. The game of Hopscotch. Properly speaking,

'
'

hitchy-bays are the courts marked out. The square bit

of wood is called 'hitchy-dabber.'

Hogger. Hose-pipe. Also, the following stocking-arrange-

ment. The coal-hewer formerly wore his stockings with
the '
feet
'
cut off, so that when small coals got into the
stocking-foot, he had only to pull off this, and not the
whole stocking consequently his ankles were bare, while
;

the stocking-leg covered his calf. He still swears by his

'hoggers,' as,
"
Dash mi hoggers " !

" "
Hoit. Slut. Ye mucky hoit !

" "
Hold. Hold thy hand [haa'd dhi haand, emphat. haa'nd]
means Hold hard '

Stop Don't An expression to !

' '
!
' '
!
'

be heard every day in playing games.

Honey [hin'i], or [huon'i] (fine talk). The standing epithet of

endearment to children, and used in the N. in much the
same unrestrained way that my dear is used in the S. W. ' '

' " '

Hooney hinney is sometimes heard. Behave, hinny,"

the stock admonition to a child at table.

Horney tram. See under Bogey.

Horntop. Only heard in the simile, "as slaa (slow) as a

horntop."
" "
Hotes. Hoats, lad !
'
Hush !
'

or, as a North-countryman
would say,
'
Whisht !
'
26 Howdie Jolly Miller
Howdie [haawdi]. Midwife. "Thoo's niver been weshed
since the howdie weshed th'," sometimes said to a very
dirty person.

Howk. To dig or hew out, as, for instance, with a '

hack.
'

"He's howked all the flowers up."

Hoy. To throw. " Let's see wee'll (who will) hoy the far-est."
Hunkers. Haunches. 'Sitting on the hunkers' means
squatting, as miners do in the streets (sitting on the toes,
with the thighs resting on the calves).

Hup [huop]. Whip (always).

Hupstitch = Every now and again, only in the phrase every '

hupstitch,' e.g. "she bakes every hupstitch." "He does

it every hupstitch," or, "he does it with the good constant"
i. e. constantly, or oftener than seems to be required.

Insense. Make to understand, 'render sensible,' inform.

" You didn't insense me what "
your name is, did you ?
"
"We insensed him intid (into it).

Italian iron. A '

tallion iron
'
is an iron tube about 6 in. long
and pointed at one end. Into the tube is inserted a heater.
make the waves in the frills of old women's
It is used to

caps. The word is not dialectal, but probably few ordinary

readers would be able to name the article, which is still to

be seen in many cottages.

Jackjaw. The common mispron. of jackdaw.

Jolly Miller. A round game.

" There was a
jolly miller, and he lived by himself,
As the mill went round he made his wealth ;

One hand in the hopper (also, 'copper'), and the other in the bag,
As the mill went round he made his grab (or, 'brag')."

These are the words they sing when playing. They go,
two and two together, round and round, and there is always
an odd one in the middle. When they come to the last
 Jowl -Kit 27

word 'grab,' he makes a grab, forces another to come out,

and takes his place they then start again, singing as
;

before.

Jowl [juuwlj. The flesh on a pig's jaws. Also (vb.), to knock

on the coal, while working down the mine, so that workmen
on the other side may know by the sound how near they
are to one another.

Jumly. Muddy. 'Jumly water.'

Kail-pot. A crock to boil cabbage (kail), &c., in. "The

"
kail-pot's callin' the yetlin' smutty (common proverb).

Keeker. The overlooker on a pit-heap.

" "
How are you (in health)?
Keep. How are you keeping ? i. e.

Very common, and I fancy more or less characteristic of

Northern speech.

Kellick. Unfledged bird.

' '
Ken. Kend,' kent '=know, knew, known. Of recognizing,
" aa "
or being acquainted with, people kenned 'im (universal).
:

[Aa* din'u ken], common about Auckland, is not so common

around Hetton as [aa'din'aa] or more strictly [aad'i'naa]
(' I don't '). know
Yet I have heard the former pretty
frequently from children and pure speakers. The form
' '
'
kenna is also found, e. g. Diz thoo kenna ? (dost thou
'

know ?).
Kenner. Time to cease work. The common expression is
' '
lowse (vb.).

Kenspreckled. Well known, marked.

Ket. Not good for food. (Often applied to sweatmeats.)
Kibble. Min. tech. A big iron tub, for filling with rubbish,
in sinking a shaft.

King's evil. Erysipelas, a gathering in the face.

Kist. Chest. A chest of drawers is a 'kist.'

Kit. A small tub for washing in, used by pitmen.

28 Kite Liberty
Kite. Belly. "Deil be the kite!" (often said of a greedy
child).

Kitling. Kitten.

Kittle. Ticklish, awkward to manage. A '

kittle
'

cough is

one that tickles. Boys try to set a trap 'kittly.'

Kitty. Policeman's lock-up.

(General.) Also, a short straw,
about 6 in. long, filled with powder, and used by miners in
firing.

Kitty cat. Game of Tipcat.

Knees, 'sitting on the,' the regular expression for kneeling.

"He canna sit on's knees noo" (of an invalid). "He
tell'd her to sit upon her knees, so down they sat."

Lad [laad]. Boy, youth. 'Boy' is never used. Also, a

common way of addressing horses.
Laggans. The pieces of wood which go to form a '
tub.'

Laid off. Discontinued. The invariable description of a pit

' '
which is not working is 'laid off or laid in.'

'Lang-settle,' Lang-legs' (nickname). "Short

'
Lang. Long.
reckonings make lang friends." 'Nice and lang' (sarcastic
expression of length).
" "
Lap. To wrap. Has thou lapped it up ?
Lass [laas].
'

Girl,' in the most comprehensive meaning of

"
the word. (Universal.) Mr. Shaw is keeping well, and
me and my little lass are both well." From letter, Oct. 28,

1890.
Lat. A lath.
'
Lay in. To lay in a pit, or lay it
'
idle ;
to leave off working
it, as when it becomes exhausted of coals. See Laid off.

'
Lead [lae'd]. To lead a horse and cart ; practically
'

leading
is equivalent to 'hauling.'
Learn. Teach (as in other dialects).

Liberty. Leave, permission. Var. dial.

 Library Loop 29

Library [laaybu'ri]. A book got from a library (always).

" Hes thoo "
getten a lib'ry ? The word is also used as in

polite English.

Lignies. Quoits made of lignum vitae wood, used in the game

Spell and Nur.'Also, a word used by boys when playing
'

" Them's mi
out their last marbles. ligganies" means his
last, all he has.
' '
Like. Likely. Like to fall nearly falling.
Limbers [lim'uz]. Shafts of a carriage. The only name for
shafts of a tub down the mine, which are made in one
' '

piece and detachable.

Linings. Pitmen's drawers, fastened at the knee by strings.

Lippen. To depend on, or trust to a person to perform a

certain work. "I lippen on him doing it."

Lisk. Thigh.
List. Desire, energy. "I haven't list to gan across." "He
"
hesn't list to did (do it). Preserved in the lit. listless.

Loggerhead. A coloured butterfly. Large moths are also

' '
sometimes called loggerheads.

Longcart [lang'kaat]. A two- wheeled hay-cart, somewhat

between an ordinary cart and a rolley.

Longsettle [lang'seti]. A long seat like a form, with back

and arms.

Lonnjng. i.e. lane.

'Laning,' The only form known,
[lon'un.] oop the back-Ion'." "We find swiney
"Gan
up Mousely (Moorsley) lonen" Extract from boy's essay
on Wild Flowers.
Looks-tha=look'st thou ? [looks dhu]. An expression to gain
attention, or mere pleonasm, used by boys to one another,
'
the familiar form of Look you <
which latter is addressed !

to strangers or superiors.

To " See we can

Loop [luwp]. jump.
leap, lowp the far'est."
"
When I was young and lusty, I could lowp a dyke."
30 Loose Maybe
Loose [laawz]. To finish work. " What time diz thoo louz ? "
"
or, to a stranger, "What time do ye (yae) louz ? (When do
"

you leave off working ?)

Loppit. Sour milk, curd milk.

Lops and lice. Hips and haws. So called by children.

Love-begot. Born out of wedlock. (An unjustifiable eu-

phemism.)
Low [luw]. Aflame. Hence '

low-rope,' hempen rope steeped

in tar, to burn as a torch.

Lowpy-lang-lonnen (
= leapy long lane?). Leap-frog.
Ear (always\ " The u ' '

Lug. I'll skelp thy lug." is generally

long, [loog] rather than [luog].

Lum. "
Chimney. Thou's as black as the lum."

Ma. See under Da.

Make. To '
mak' gam' '
(make game) of anybody, to make
9
fun Generally, in the form makkin' gam
of, ridicule. To .

'mak' sha'p,' or 'be sharp;' equivalent to the commoner

'look sharp.' I have heard 'sharp' used adverbially,

meaning quickly. [Aa'l shaap dae'd] (I'll do it quickly).

Man. As throughout North, used in exclamations. Noo,
'

mon !
'
= Now, sir. =
"Eh, mon, aa din-aa" Indeed, sir (or,
mate), I don't know. Also used irrespective of sex, e. g. I
overheard a big girl say to a little one, "Look oop that ra,
mon " (look up that row, child). In other uses man is

always long [maa'n].

Manishment. Mispron. of 'management.'
Mark. '
Dressed up to the mark,' i. e. in the extreme fashion.
' '

up to the nines,' up to the knocker,' up to Dick and

'
So,
down to Kichard.' All more properly slang than dialect.
Marra (marrow). Mate. So, of things, the 'fellow.'
Matterless [maat'u'lusj. "It's matterless," our everyday ex-
pression for 'No matter,' 'It's immaterial.'

Maybe [meb'i]. Perhaps.

 May-cat Mind 31

May-cat. The supei-stilion is, that a cat littered in May will

suck infants' breaths, if allowed to climb up into the 'cred-
dle.' Nobody will keep a May-cat.
Meat. Food. Var. dial. Bib. Only used in this wide sense,
when speaking "
of animals' food, e. g. Give the hens their
meat."
"Give them good meat" (From a boy's essay on Kind-
ness to Animals.)

Mense. When you invite your friends

Politeness, kindness.
and they cannot come, you are said to
to dinner as a duty,
'save your meat and your mense.' "It'll be more mense-
"
ful (courteous, hospitable-looking) said of serving up a

joint entire, to some guests, rather than the same joint cut
up into chops. "Mense is a great thing in this country"
(re funeral extravagance as a token of respect). A. R.,
July 4, 1892. Decency. "I did it for mense's sake." Vb..
to decorate, e. g.
'
mense the window.'
Mettle. "He's ower sharp mettle "(too hasty tempered).
Mr. B., of his brother, July 21, 1892.

Mickle. 'Little or mickle' (much). Not common. "I'd

rather have the scrapin's o' the muckle (or 'mickle') pot

than the wee pot full."

Middenstead. Ash-heap.

Midgy. Also called a 'Mistress.' These names were given to

a kind of lamp used by putter lads. The height of the
lamp was about 8 in., width 3 in., with open front. When
first invented, they were simply little wooden boxes, with

a hole at the bottom, through which the candle was thrust,

and another hole at the top to let out the heat. Afterwards
tin took the place of wood. The flame was sheltered by
a piece of wood or tin about 2 in. high from the bottom of
'
the lamp, and a similar piece from the top. The midgy
'

has now gone out of use.

Mind. Remember. Var. dial.

32 Mistress Nine
Mistress. Used interchangeably with 'Missus,' the former
being used rather of strangers.
Moley rat. The only name known for the common mole.

Muffler [muof *lu]. A neckerchief or '

comforter
'

(always).
Must. Often used where we should say '
shall
'
in lit. Eng.
"Would you your milk to drink, Mr. P.?"
like "Yes,
" Must I "
please." bring you 't, then ?

My word [maa'wau'd]. Our commonest exclamation of sur-

prise. Answers to
' '

indeed,' well, I'm sure,' of other parts.

"My ward, thoo'll get wrang."

Native. Native place (always so).

Nay [nae*]. No. The adjective is pronounced with more

leaning towards [ee'J sound, else the two are identical in
the following [nae*, aa'zh shuw'u dhaz nae paath hae*u]
:
1

(no, I'm sure there's no path here).

Neif [nae'f]. Hand. "Dooble yer naif (or, 'naiv') lad."

" A'll " ' '

gi' tha my neif directly !

Double-neif, the clenched
fist.

Nevvy. Nephew (always). Var. dial.

Nicely. "How are you?" "Nicely," a

'

polite
'

expression
' '
for varry canny,' or, 'aa canna com-plee-an (complain).

Niffnaffs. Nick-nacks.

Night. Used, as in country parts in S., of any time after

noon. Heard a woman parting from another at 3.30 p.m.,
say, "Good night." July 7, 1890.

Nimmy. "
Nimmy, nimmy, nak,
Which hand will tha tak'?
The reet or the left,
Or the bonny bord's (bird's) heft?"

Counting-in rhymes recited in starting a round game.

Nine. " He's like a man good
9 with the tail cut off" (of a for

nothing). April 27, 1892. Favourite simile.

 Noll On 33

Noll. To strike [naul].

Nor. Than(always). Cp. the Welsh na ; or is it only a

transposition of than ;
or can it be really nor (=and not,
instead of than (=then, next in merit)? For transposition,
' ' '

cp. int I for nit I,' in S.-W. Eng.

Noration. A confused crowd. A noise.

North-countryman. One from Northumberland or over the
Border. " He cooms fro' the West," would mean Weardale,
'

Teesdale, or Cumberland. Sooth (south) means any- '

'

West-countryman would be
'
where south of the speaker ;

unintelligible, of a Cornishman, he would be a Southern

'

[sooth 'run]. Countryman means an agricultural labourer.

'

Nought [nuwt]. Nothing. So, <thowt'= thought. "What's

" " " " Aa "
thoo daein' ? Nowt. thowt sae (always).

Now [noo']. Often used for emphasis, a mere pleonasm.

"He's a nice man, he is, noo." "He came here, he did,
' ' '

now," &c. Used for well in other parts e. g. noo then

'

(emphasis on word 'noo') [noo *dhn]=' well, then' (in

narrative).

Nows and thens. Common for

'
now and then.'

Null [nuol]. Annul. Mr. E., an invalid, rubs his legs to

'

[nuol dhu pee'un].

'
null the pain

Of. (i) [u]

= Like,' in the phrase, " or ony thing o' that."
'

(2) [iv]
= 'in,' in the phrase, "He's getten such a pain iv
" "
his legs." He canna lie iv it in the bed).
(i. e.
This
?
not be a form of
' '

may of,' but a transposition of in.

(3) [ofj='for.' To 'wait of any one is to wait for him.
(Invariable.) So, "he's shootin' of us" (he's shouting
for us).

Oftens [of'ns]. Often.

On. Of. E. g. " a bit on't," " tak' hard (hold) on But we V
say a cup o' tea.' When of is used, it is never pronounced
' ' '

' '

ov, any more than is becomes is.

34 One Panker-bowdie
" "
One [won]. Used with indef. art. I saw a one yesterday
5

(cp. the phrase, 'a dozen, &c.). This would only be used,
but always, where 'one' was not used numerically, as
opposed to any other number, but merely as a unit.
'
Open out. To open, the out being superfluous. Of parcels,
'

new buildings, &c. Not by any means confined to dialect

speakers.
Other. Used as in St. Matt. xxv. 16, 17, 20. "We had a
sale of work and made 20, also a social and dance, and
made other twenty." From a letter, Feb. 13, 1894. (In lit.
Eng. we prefix an before other, whereas in the dialect
a is prefixed to one. )
Our. Used in calling members of a family. Mothers may be
heard shouting at the top of their voice, "Har away, oor
Jeane Marry Lizzie" (all Christian names are generally
"
given, as here, referring to one child). Coom hayer, oor
Jumzie " (Come here, our James). Used indiscriminately
!

by boys to one another "dinna do that, our Fred."

;

Out of the way [oot dhu wee'u].

Of people, ungodly,
attending no place of worship, disrespectable, or vicious
(varied according to context). "He's been an out of the
way man iv his time."

Outbye. Out of the way, remote. Also, techn., of a miner

' '

coming towards the

'
shaft in order to get to bank. The'

corresponding term is 'inbye,' i.e. further along under-

' '

ground, towards one's cavil.

'
Over [uwu]. Too; '
owre'owresmarP (small). (Always.)
big,
Oxter. Armpit. 'Oxter-bound,' stiff in arm and shoulder.

Panker-bowdie [paeng'ku buw'di]. A game played with

' '
marbles. The panker or penker is a large marble,
' '

made of stone or iron. Each boy puts four marbles in

a ring, and proceeds to knock them out of the ring with
a panker. What he knocks out he gets ;
but if he fails to

knock one out, the next boy aims at his panker, and so
puts him out. The line from which they start, five yards
from the ring, is called the 'bye.'
 Past Please 35

Past. "He's gone past hissel," i. e. lunatic. "A's sixteen

past," i. e. sixteen, past my
sixteenth birthday. Contrast
S.-W. equivalent, "I be into my seventeen."

Paste-eggs (i.
e. Pasch-eggs). Eggs, dyed in a decoction of
logwood chips and onion peel, and sold in shops or pre-
pared at home during Easter, are so called (always).

Pawky [paa'ki]. Dainty.

Pay [pee'u]. "I'll pay your bottom," a common threat to

children.

Peedee. Something small, as a tiny marble.

Peesweep [paez'waep]. Lapwing, or peewit.

Peggin'-top. A peg-top.

Pen-point. Nib of a pen.

Pen-shank. Pen-holder.

Perishment. A violent chill is always described as a

'

perish-
'
ment of cold [pa'rish'munt u kaa'd].
Pick at. Find fault with, abuse (very common).
Pifiblo. Piccolo (always).

Pike. A
large haycock, often six feet high. The small hay-
' '
cocks only are called cocks.

Pipe-stopple. Stem of tobacco-pipe. Sometimes called

'

pipe-
shank.'

Pit. The only word in common talk for a mine. So, a miner
' ' ' '
is always
'

pitman or
'

pittie, and pit dress is pit-claes.

Pittering [pit 'run]. Low-spirited, complaining. "Ay, he's

"
pitterin' on (said of one who was continually fancying he
was just about to die).
"
Planting. Plantation. Gan up past yon plantin" [plaan'tn].

Playlaking. A simpleton. To mak' a

'

playlakin' of
'

any one,
to make a fool of him.

Please. 'Please yes,' 'please no,' a schoolchild's answer to

" " "
his teacher. Tommy, do you know your lesson ? Please
yes."
D 2
36 Pledge Quoit
Pledge. To wade through any liquid substance. What
is called 'paddling' in polite English, we always call
'pledging.'
' ' '
Fluff. Plough (very seldom). Plough Inn is called Fluff
Inn.'

Poke. A sack, or bag (common). Flour-poke.'

'

Poked. " He's

Offended. getten hissel' poked."
Pollis. Police. 'The pollis '=the policeman. "I'll fetch
the pollis," frequent threat to a naughty child.

Pompey. A small boy ;

a dwarf.

Poss. To wash clothes by putting them in a 'poss-tub' of

soap and water, and thumping them with a 'poss-stick,' or
short-legged staff, in some places called 'dolly.'

Pot-pie. A
boys' game. All caps being placed on a lad's back,
'
the rest vault over him, leap-frog fashion, and the one
'

who displaces a cap becomes vaulting-horse in his turn.

Potted head. Stewed meat, as sold in butchers' shops.
Priest [praest]. A clergyman is always so called. "I have
being to church and heard the priest." Boy's essay.

Proggle. A thorn.
"
Puddings. Intestines. A'll pull thy puddin's oot !" (Hence,

Pigs'-puddings, Black-pudding.)
Put. Min. techn. term. The 'putter' is a lad who 'puts,' or
' ' ' '
shoves the full tubs from the hewer's cavil to the flat

(q. v.), and takes the empty ones in to him. The empty or
' '
tume tub is often called the
'
led 'un
'

(
= led one, i. e. the
tub led in).

Putting through. A scolding.

Quey stirk [waay stau'k]. Two-year-old heifer.

Quoit. Besides the usual meaning (a common game amongst

miners), this word also means a large white marble made of

earthenware, and called a 'pot quoit.'

 Rageous Reek 37

Rageous. Outrageous (violent and delirious).

Raise. To 'raise the place' [ree'iiz dhu plyes], to make an
" "
uproar. He's raised the place to gan there (of a boy who
had pestered his parents to send him to school, and gone
wild over it with excitement).

Rame. To ply one with questions, as children love to do.

Mrs. R April i, 1892. "What's tha ramin' o' me for?"
"He just ramed my life out for sixpence." Here it means
to 'bother.'

Range [rae'unj]. To rinse. "Kange the pot out."

'
Rank. The distance a putter puts the coal from face to flat.
'

The first 'renk' might be 80 yards from the hewer, and

as the distance increased, the putter received an additional

penny for eveiy 20 yards. This was the case formerly,

but putters are paid differently now.

Ranters. Primitive Methodists.

Rasp. Easpberry. Strawberry is pronounced straa-berry (not

'straubry'). See Bleeberry.

Rattle-scawp. A frolicsome, mischievous fellow.

Rax. Stretch. Dry flesh, stretched tight, would be 'rax'd.'

Hence 'raxy,' stiff. "He raxed his-sel' oot" (stretched
his arms).

Readimadeasy. Keading made easy [raed'iimud'ae'zi]. The

term is only used by old people, and refers, I imagine, to a
once popular spelling-book of that name. "How far did
ye get through the readimadeasy?" "Oh, I got as far as
the 'Cra and the Jug,' and the 'Man with the Scythe in his
Hand.'"
Rear. Underdone (of meat).

Recking-crook [krook] not [kruok]. A crook hanging over

the fire for pans to hang from.

Reckling. The weak pig in a litter.

Reek [rae'k]. Smoke. '

Baccy- reek,' 'Powder-reek.'

38 Reest Rown
Beest. To be lazy. When a horse refuses to draw a load, we
say it has 'tune (taken) the reest.'

Beesty. Eusty (of bacon).

Bend. Tear.
" I rended the lard out of a i. e. took the
pig,"
fat to boil down.

Bibbing-plough. A plough without wheels.

Bicket. A badly-castrated animal.

Riddle. A sieve. Var. dial.
'
Bide. To ride the water with anybody
'
is, to trust him.
"
He's not safe to ride the water with."

Biggy. Ridgy, as of a grass-field in furrows. Furrows are

' '
called rigs.

Bind. Eime, " There's a

hoar-frost. heavy (or, thick) rind on."

Bip. Kascal. Often said of children.

To " Eive that handkerchief in two." " Please

Bive. tear.

sir, he's ruvven a leaf out." "He's ruwen his breeches."

[raayv, ruov, r.uovn.]

Boad. Way (metaph.) ; as, 'out of the road' ('out of the

way' means something quite different), 'in the road,' 'no
' '

(by no means), any road (anyhow).

'
road This use of
road is found in the Midlands, and extends a considerable
way South.
Bolley. What is called a '

trolly
'
in some parts, i. e. an open

waggon for carrying heavy goods, such as beer-barrels or

packing-cases.

Bolypoly [raaw'li paaw'li]. Eolling over and over, as children

do on a slope.

Book [roo'k]. Thick fog, damp. "It's a thick rook the neet

(to-night)." Adj. 'rooky.' Cp. 'reek.'

Boopy. Husky (of the voice). (Always.)

Bown [ruuwn]. Eoe of a fish. The milt is called 'melt.'
 Rozzle Scobbie 39

Bozzle. Kesin. Also, to warm oneself. "He rozzled his

hide."

Bummle cundy. A ditch filled up with loose stones, for

water to drain through.

Sackless. Foolish, senseless.

Safety. Pronounced as a trisyllable, 'safe-ity.'

Sag. To bend down in the middle, yield (as a plank does by

its superabundant weight). Shakes.

Salamander. A poker with a flat, thickened end, heated

red-hot in the fire, for thrusting into an unlighted fire.

(Mentioned in David Elgiribrod.)

Sally Walker. A
round game. The players form a ring,
joining hands, and go round a girl in the middle of the
ring, singing

"Rise, Sally Walker, rise if you can,

Rise, Sally Walker, to follow your good man.
Choose to the east, choose to the west,
Choose to the bonny lad that you like best."

The girl in the middle then takes the young man of her

choice, and the rest sing

" Now ye're married I wish you joy,
First a girl and then a boy.
Seven years over, seven years to come,
Now is your time to kiss and be done."

They then kiss and go out, to give place to another couple,

the game going on as before.

Sandlark. Meadow-pipit.

Sark [saa'k]. Shirt.

Satisflsed. The invariable mispronunciation of 'satisfied.'

[saat'is'faa'yzd.]

Scallion. A
young onion, before the bulb has formed. A
favourite dish is scallion and lettuce.

Scobb'ie. Chaffinch. Not so common as 'sheelie.'

40 Score Set on
Score. Line.
'
On the scores, out !
'
This word is used by
boys in their game of marbles, when the marble is not
knocked clean out of the ring, but lies just on the line :

then the cry is raised,

'
It's on the score.'

Scoreprice. Pitmen's wages, the price current for filling

a 'score,' i. e. 21 (or, in some places, 25) 'tubs.'

Screed. A man, speaking of various-sized scraps of glass, cut

into squares and long strips, called it "only screed-glass."
(Only heard once.) Same as shred?

Scribe. A scribble or scratch, in the phrase, hadn't the "He

scribe of a pen for it," meaning he had not even a receipt or
written guarantee.

Scrike. vb. and subst. Shriek.

Scringe. When a boy sharpens his slate-pencil with a knife,

he says it makes his teeth scringe.' '

Scrubter [skruob'u]. A wooden harrow, made of boards

fixed on a frame Venetian blindwise, for breaking 'clots'

(clods).

Scuffler [skuoflu]. The same as a 'scrubber.' Also, a

turnip-plough.
Scumfish. Suffocate.

Scunner. To flinch, or give signs of pain. "He never scun-

nered that blow on the heed (head)."

Second-handed (always thus). (At) second-hand.

Seek. Look for. (Invariably.) [saek.]

Seggar [seg'u]. Soft stone lying on coal-seams, used for

making into bricks and coping-stones.

Set. subst. Work, to-do. "A've had- en a bonny set win 'm."
Also, a train of coal-waggons or tubs. To set means, to ' '

escort, convoy.

Set on. Sew on, of buttons, &c. Also, to put tubs into the
' '

'

cage
'
down a coal-mine, the man, whose business this is,
' ' '

being called 'set-on,' or on-setter.' Set is the ordinary

 Settlings Shotstick 41

expression for 'put;' e.g. "set on the dishes," "set out

"
the fowls (drive them out of doors), &c. see Put.

Settlings. Sediment.

Shades [shae'udz]. Window-curtains (always). "Shades

cleaned at is. gd. the pair," painted on a laundry-cart in
'
Sunderland.
l
Window-curtain, when used, only refers to
that kind which is strung across the lower half of a window.

Shaft. Min. The perpendicular entrance to a mine, in which

* '
the cage works. There is a double shaft to every mine,
[shaaft.]

Share. Cow- dung.

Sheelie [shae'li]. Chaffinch.

Shift. To remove, change one's residence. To move, e. g.

"Shift them gates" (of opening or shutting railway-cross-
ing gates). A
shift,' tech., is a turn at work, mining work
'

being divided into 'day-shifts' and 'night-shifts,' each of

eight hours' duration.
'

Shinny. The game of hockey. '

Hockey is unknown.

Shire. To pour off water or any liquid in such a way as to

leave the sediment.

Shithering bout [shith'run boot]. Shivering fit, feeling of

cold all over the body.

Shive. Slice. "It is easy from a cut loaf to steal a shive."

See West Somerset Wordbook. This proverb may be found
in Shakespeare (Tit. Andron. Act ii. Scene i).

Short-tongued. A person who cuts his words short, slurring

them over, is sometimes said to be 'short-tongued.'
' '
Shot. Eid, as to be shot of any person or thing (always so).
" A's well shot on't"
(I'm well rid of it).

Shotstick. A round stick on which a paper cartridge is rolled

(mining term).
42 Shuggy Slip
"
Shuggy. subst. and vb. int. Swing. Give me a shuggy ;

he's shuggied all the afternoon [aaf'tu'nyoon]." (S. Sch.

Treat, Aug. 1891.) The word 'swing' seems to be
13,
'

quite unknown
in this connexion. Swings are swing-
'

boats, to be seen at every fair.

'
A
shuggy is also a see-saw.
'

Siddle. To pick out or choose the best of anything.

' '
Sin. Since, ago. is sometimes heard among the
Zyne old,
and 'langzyne' (accent on the penult.).

Singing ninny. A kind of girdle-cake, common among old

folk. (Name imported from the North.) Now generally
called Spice Cake. (Not to be confused with Spice, q. v. )

Leak. " The watter's slpin' oot."

Sipe.

Skeel. A
peculiarly-shaped bucket (broader at bottom than
top, with upright stave projecting from rim, to serve as
a handle), formerly used in colliery villages to carry water
for household use. They were carried on women's heads
on a wase' (q. v.), and a piece of wood was made to
'
float

on the top, to prevent the water from splashing over.

" A
Skelp. Smacking blow. got a good skelp at him." Infants
' '
are threatened with having their botts (or bottomies ')

skelped.'

Skelper. Anything very large, a 'whacker.' Cp. 'banging,'

' '

slapping, as epithets of size.

Skemmy. The common blue or farmer's pigeon, often kept

by boys as a pet.
Skimmering. 'Skimmerin' clean,' the acme of cleanness.
Of a doorstep, linen, &c. (Communicated by A. T. D.)

" Let be
I'm not playing." When a boy wishes to
Skinch. !

stop playing at any running game, he shouts "Skinch!"

meaning he is not liable to be caught and made prisoner.
" "
Skitling. Same as
'

hempy.' The skitlin' rascal !

Slack. A hollow or dip in the land.

Slip. Child's pinafore.

 Slippy Speer 43

Slippy. Slippery (always).

Slogger. To walk with the stockings hanging loosely.

Sloken [slauk'n]. Slake, quench.

Slowed [sluwd]. Drunk.

"
Slum. Slumber. "He's slumming [sluonvun].

Small, in the phrase,

'
Small family,' means a family of small
children.

Smally [smaali]. Small. "That's a smally bit bairn."

Smit (=' smite'?). An infectious disease is said to 'smit,'

or to 'be smittle' (always). "He'll get the smit" (L e.
" " ' '
catch the disease). Is't smittle ? (Is it catching ?)

Smout [smoot]. A hare's ' '

run through a hedge.

Smush. To smoulder away, as touch-paper used by miners.

'
The touch is made by soaking in saltpetre.
'

Snap-apple. The game of Bob-apple.

Sneakly. Quietly (generally with a notion of slyness).

Sneck. A door-latch (always). Also, vb., to latch.

Snot. Candle-snuff.

Soft. Wet (of the weather). The common salutation on

a rainy day " Soft " !
is,

Sonsy. Nice, jolly-looking, stout (of persons). Imported

from the North, and not commonly heard.
Soss. A heavy fall. " He went down with such a soss."
Sour docken. A small plant children pull and chew, the
Common Sorrel.

Spang. Span, i. e. the distance stretched between thumb and

little finger.

'

Spanish. Licorice, or Spanish juice. (Pron. Spennish.')

Speer. Inquire. This word is rare, being an importation

from the North.
44 Spelk Stonie

Spelk. A thorn or splinter the flesh. The usual term.

Also of anything insignificant A spelk of a thing.
" He's
.
just a spelk of a lad."'

Spell and Nurr. See Buck-stick.

Spew. To vomit.
'

Spice. The only name known for currant-cake.

'
Cake always
means tea-cake.

Sprag. Min. A
bar of wood inserted between the spokes of
a coal-waggon, to act as a drag.

Spuggy. Sparrow. Boys' nickname for the house-sparrow.

"
"Looks tha, thar's a spuggy, man !

Squander [skwaa'ndu]. Scatter (always).

Staithes [stae'uths]. Tech. The shipping stage belonging to

a colliery.

Standard. A stager, well-known inhabitant of any place.

"Another old standard . . .
passed to his rest the week
before." From a letter, Aug. 29, 1895. (Very common.)
Steer. Strong (of- the voice).
"
Stent. One's fill. "He's had his stent (i.
e. satisfied).

Stick and Clout. Cant name for an umbrella.

" A canno'
Stime. see a stime," often said by one whose eye-
sight is bad.

Stirk [stau'k]. Yearling calf.

Stirken. To cool and stiffen, as gravy does, [stau'kn.]

" Stite him "
Stite. Equally, as soon. as me (the sense is often
'much rather').
' '
Stithe. pron. Steith [staayth], not [-dh], cp. Staithes.
Stench, or a very close atmosphere.

Stobbie. Unfledged bird.

Stonie. Stallion, [styan'i.] A stone is always a styan.

' '
 Stock Take with 45

Stook [stoo'kj. Bundle of sheaves set up in the corn-field.

Stour [stuuwuj. Dust in motion.

" Yon's
Strait. Narrow. (Common.) a strait place." Cp.
St. Matt. vii. 13, 14.

Stramp. Trample.

Striddly-pigeon. A boys' game. A boy is blindfolded, generally

by pulling his cap over his and stands with his legs
eyes,
stretched out. The other boys shy their caps between his
legs. When all the caps have been thrown, the boys
" Strite "
The boy
shout, (straight) on, striddly-pigeon !

then walks straight on, until he touches a cap with his

foot. The owner of the cap snatches it up and runs to
a certain place and back again, the rest of the boys bleach- '

'

f ing him, that is, thrashing him about the head with their
caps. As soon as the boy returns to the starting-place, he
becomes 'pigeon.'

Stubbie. Same as 'stobbie.'

'

Sump. Sump wet,' wet to the skin.

Sup [suop]. Drop. 'A sup rain' (a drop of rain) ; "he likes
" "
a sup (fond of a drop too much) ; ha'e a sup milk, will
" " Give them
tha ? vb., to sip or drink. (cats) clean milk
to sup." Boy's essay.

Swalley [swauli]. A hollow place. ''The village lies right

in a swalley." Said also of the throat, e. g. "My throat is

sore just in the swalley."

Sweel. To gutter, flare, of a candle.

Swmey. Common Sow-thistle or Milk-thistle. See under

Lonning.

Taistrel. An ill-mannered boy ;

one given to playing pranks.
"
Take with. Take to, appreciate. 's well tune with,"
i. e. is very popular, [tyoon] is p. p. of [tak].
46 Tanner Teem
Tanner. Eoot of a boil, corn, or tooth.

Tappy-lappy. Pell-mell, helter-skelter. Halliwell has, "In

haste with the coat-laps flying behind through speed,"
with the following example: "Nanny Bell's crying out:
I just gat a gliff o' Gweorge runnin', tappy-lappy, for the
howdey."
Tarry towt. A single strand of rope steeped in tar.

Tarsy [taa'zi]. A round game.

The players form a double
ring by standing in a circle with a space between each,
while each player has another standing immediately be-
hind him. There is one odd player who stands, as third,
behind any of the other two. A
player standing in the
centre then tries to 'tig' or touch the inside player who
has two behindhim, while the latter, to avoid being
caught, must run behind the two standing behind
either

him, or behind any other two in the ring. Thus another

is brought to the front rank, and if caught before he
can place himself behind another couple, becomes in his
turn the pursuer, while the late pursuer takes his place
in the ring.

Taw [taa'J. A boy in playing marbles always has his fancy

marble to shoot with this he calls his taw.' Var. dial.
:
'

Taws [taa'z, taaz]. A

leathern strap for punishing naughty
children, to be seen hanging up in many cottages. It is
like a carriage-window strap, cut into a fringe at one end.

Teas. "She haves her teas ( = fre-

Used in the plural thus :

quent sometimes at the Sewing Meeting" (A. K.).

teas)
"No, thank you, we've hadden our teas" (but, 'my tea'}.
See under Canes.

Teejy. Tedious, peevish.

Teem. vb. i. tr. Pour. The only word known.

and Eain
' '

through a leaking roof. To teem out is to

'
teems in '

pour out liquids. A teapot with a well-turned spout is

called a 'good teenier.' Shakes, has 'beteem.'
 Teethache Toothwork 47
"
Teethache. Toothache. He's getten the teethache." Oct. 19,
1892. Also called 'tyoothwark.' "My tooth's working,
I've get-en the toothwork."

Tew [tyoa*]. To
tire, pull about, tease. "She fairly tewed his
life So 'tewing,' of work, means tedious, and 'tew,'
out."

generally, means, to toil, labour. Tor pronun., see under

Hew.
The night [dhu nae't]. To-night ; so, 'the day.' (The usual
expression. )

Throng. Busy ; inconveniently crowded (always).

Thropple. Throat, windpipe.

Throstle. The song-thrush is sometimes called 'thros'le,'

but more often greybird.'
'

Tice. Entice, encourage.

Tidy betty. A short fender across the grate, without a

bottom.

Tied. Used metaph., like the lit. Eng. 'bound.' So found in

' ' "
Jeremy Taylor. A's tied te gan (forced to go).

Tig. To touch. (Used by children at play.)

'

Tiggy. The child's game of

'
Touch.

To. By. What are you to trade ?' " She's getten a son tin
'

'im" (lit. 'got a son to him,' i. e. by him). Also, = For.

" What'll "
ye take to your breakfast ?
Token. Min. techn. A ticket, of tin or leather, affixed to
each tub of coals, stating details.

Toom [tyoo'm]. The day or time for the dismissal of hinds,

when they are hired afresh. Met., " A've had-en a sair tume
" He canna bide a tume now "
(spell) abune six moonths."
(a change, of raiment or position, of an invalid). This
word does not seem to be generally known. Also, empty
(only used of coal-waggons).

Toothwork [tyuoth'waa'k]. Toothache.

48 Toughcake Upstanding
Toughcake [tyoof kyak]. A
water-cake, or white-cake, baked
on the girdle. No currants used.
Tram. Very much the same as Bogey,
Min. techn. term.
q. v. a bogey has the flange on the
Strictly speaking,
wheel, while in the case of the tram, the flange is on the
rail. Also, the tram had fast and loose wheels, having
more play on the axle, to allow them the better to take
a curve.

Trippet and quoit. The game of Trap, Bat, and Ball, more
commonly called 'Buck-stick.'

Troon [truuwn]. A mason's trowel.

Trow [truw]. Trough.

Truth. "The truth goes farthest," the common overture to

a confession, to be heard any day.

Tub [too'b, toob, tuob]. Min. A coal-waggon used down the

pit, holding from 6 to 8 cwt.

Tug. To rob (a nest).

Tune or Teun. Taken (always).

Tup [tyoop]. A '

tupe
'
or '

teup
'
is a ram. Var. dial.

Twist. Quarrel, disagreement. "They're all atwist." "Hes

"
thoo hadden a twist ? So, 'twisting,' discontented.

Twitch-bell. Ear-wig (
= twitch-belly ? Cp. S. W. 'angle-
twitch '=a worm. Ear-wig=arse-wriggle).

Unpatient. Impatient.

Upcast. Throw in one's teeth, taunt with.

Upgrown. Grown up, adult (always).

Uproar. No
idea of noise implied, but only of confusion, as
of a house 'upside down.' To 'be in an uproar,' is to have
an untidy room, as on washing-day, &c.

Upstanding. Kegular, fixed, constant (of wages).

 Used with Whaing 49

Used with [yoa'zd with] or [yuw'zd with]. Used to, accustomed

to. Cp. 'taken with.'

Vast. vast [vaast] of '= number of; a 'vast o' years,' the
'A
only expression for a long time. "There has a vast of
People died here lately." From a letter, March 27, 1895.
'
Viewer. The manager of a coal-mine. So,
'
under-viewer
(under-manager).
Vine. A
lead-pencil (always).
'
Pencil
'

always means slate-

pencil. "Apiece of vine" Boy's essay.

Wad [waadj. Would.

'
Wag. Play the wag,' to play truant.

Waggon- way [waag'n wee'u]. Tech. A colliery line of rails.

Warden [waadn]. Church warden. This abbreviation is

universal, and used by all classes.

Warsh [waa'sh]. Faint, from loss of food, (adj.)
Wase [wae'z]. A folded cloth, or bundle of straw, placed upon
the head, on which to rest the skeel,' q. v. '
I have altered
the spelling of this word from weeze' to 'wase,' in accor-
'

dance with Halliwell.

Waysgoose. Day trip of the workpeople belonging to a firm

or company, especially a newspaper staff. Same as
'
bean-
feast.' Var. dial.

Week-end. In the North always signifies Saturday till Monday,

when working-folk sometimes go away for a visit. The
common expression of educated and uneducated alike, and
by no means confined to the North.
'
'
Week-end trips are
now advertised on most of the lines.

Weeny. Tiny. Only heard once, from a native of S. Shields.

Wey ay [wai'aa'y] (why, ay !). Interj. To be sure !

(v.

common.)
Whaing [hwaeng]. Boot-lace.
50 What cheer Will
What cheer [chai'u, chae'u]. Commonest greeting of man to

man, answered back in the same words. A nautical phrase

imported into the dialect (?), equivalent to 'hoo is tha?'
For the pron. of cheer, cp. 'here,' 'hear,' which are both
pronounced [hai'u] or [hae'u], [Kaan dhoo* hae'u mu]
(Can you hear me ?).

What for. For the commoner what .... '

for ?' Standing at
' '
the beginning of a sentence, like the literary why [waut
fur hez dhoo baen u'wee'u sae lang] 'What for,' L e. why,'
'

'
'
hast thou been away so long ? N. B. The glossic [fur]
exactly represents its equivalent in lit. Eng., in speaking of
the 'fur' of any animal (=Fr. feu). 'What' is used for
'that' or 'which,' as in the following: "Give them your
things what you cant eat." Boy's essay.
Whaten. What'n' or what'na'=what kind of ?
' '

(always).
' ' ' '

Cp. whichen a one (which), suchen a (such a).

Whiles. Once (olim) ;
sometimes.

Whin. Gorse.

Whirligig [hau'li 'gig]. A boy's iron hoop. The wooden hoop

'

only is called a hoop.'

Whisht [hwishtj. Hush !

'
Hush '
is quite unknown.
Wick. Quick, (subst.) "He's cut his finger into the wick."

Wife. Woman. "Anaadwife." So, 'fish-wife,' 'hen- wife.'

Cp. i Tim. iv. 7.

Wig. A tea-cake. Same as 'Doo.'

Wiggery waggery. Loose motion in walking.

Will. Used for 'shall,' e.g. "Will I like it, think you?"
So, 'would' for 'should.' "Aa wad like 't, aa wad noo"
(I should like it, I should indeed). This is not confined to
dialect speakers, as the following extracts from letters will
" I will be "
testify : glad to hear from you soon ; "I will
"
be pleased to do best to meet your wishes ;
my will "We
be very glad if you will give us the pleasure of your com-
 Willy blindy Yewfir 51

pany," &c. ;
''We will be very glad to see you." For this
from two boys' essays " You might
use, cp. the following :

run to the man and say, take some bricks off (an overloaded
cart), or else the horse shall down " " letting us see the
fall ;

Magic Lantern, and telling us where we will see the place."

Willy blindy A game played by boys, One boy is

[blin'di].
blindfolded, and the rest tie knots in their handkerchiefs,
and strike him on the head or shoulders, until he catches
hold of one of them. This one then becomes the willy.' '

Wingeing. Whining. "He's winjin' on now," "She's so

winjy."

Winter. The bracket hooked on to the bars of a grate, upon

which anything may be heated in front of the fire.

Wishful. Desirous.

Wite. Weight; blame. "He got the wyte on't." Cp.

' '

neighbour,' pronounced nighbour.'

Wobbit. An " Wobbit thou'll not. "

introductory word.

Wor [wau]. 'Oo-ur,' spoken fast, produces 'wor' or

Our.
' '
wur. Cp. probable origin of the lit. pronunc. of One.

Work "
[waa'k]. To ache. Mi airm warks." This is a
common Wykehamist '

notion,' except that it is pronounced

' '
wurk.

Wowl [wuwlj. To howl, cry.

Yam. The
invariable pronunciation of home. An example ' '

" Aa's
of purely short a ; cp. 'gan.' gannin yam, aa is."
Yard [yaad]. Common abbreviation for 'churchyard.' Cp.
"Warden.

Yetling. A small crock. See under Kail-pot.

Yewfir [yuof *u]. A young fir-tree about the girth of a man's

arm.
E 2
52 Yoke Yule
Yoke. To 'put in' a horse (to a vehicle). This is distinct
from 'harnessing,' or putting the harness on his back, &c.

Yon (adj.), Yonder (adv.). That, there

generally, of objects ;

pointed out. Sometimes, of distant things. I was much

amused once, when going over the castle at Durham, to
hear a man who had lately seen the sights of London,
comparing the antiquities of the castle with what he had
seen 'yonder,' or 'in yon place,' all his remarks began,
'
When I was yonder,' &c.
'
Yowley or
'

yellow yowley [yuw'li]. The yellow-hammer.

'
Yule. Christmas. Hence Yule-dough
'

(see Dough),
'
Yule-
' '

becoming commoner than

'

clog (see Clog). Yuletide is it

was a short time ago, but most people say

'
Christmas.'

OXFORD: HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITT

LAKELAND AND ICELAND
BEING

A Glossary of Words
in the

Dialect of Cvimberland, Westmorland

and North Lancashire
WHICH SEEM ALLIED TO OR IDENTICAL WITH THE
ICELANDIC OR NORSE

TOGETHER WITH

COGNATE PLACE-NAMES AND SURNAMES, AND A SUPPLEMENT

OF WORDS USED IN SHEPHERDING, FOLK-LORE
AND ANTIQUITIES

REV. T. ELLWOOD, M.A.

RECTOR OF TORVER
AUTHOR OF 'LEAVES FROM THE ANNALS OF A MOUNTAIN PARISH
IN LAKELAND'

ILonfcon

PUBLISHED FOR THE ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY

BY HENRY FROWDE, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE
AMEN CORNER, E.G.

1895
 Ojeforfc
HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
 INTRODUCTION

IN the year 1869, and for one or two years following,

Dr. Kitchin,now Dean of Durham, took up his abode at
Brantwood, near to this parish and on the opposite margin
of Coniston Lake, and while there he had in hand, as a

Delegate of the Clarendon Press, Oxford, the proofs of

Cleasby and Vigfusson's Icelandic Dictionary, which was
then passing through the press. As a native of Cumber-
land, I had long before this been in the habit of collecting
characteristic old words of the Cumberland and Furness
dialect, and Dr. Kitchin kindly asked me to look over
those proofs to see whether I could suggest any affinities

between the Icelandic and our Northern forms. A careful

comparison convinced me that there was a remarkable

resemblance in some words, and an identity in others,
both in form and meaning that this resemblance was so
;

general that it could not be owing to any mere accidental

circumstance ;
and that the older the words found in our
dialect, the more closely did they and the Icelandic seem
to be allied. It occurred to me then that the task of
collecting such words of the dialect of Cumberland, West-
morland, and Lancashire North of the Sands, as seemed to
have identity or close affinity in form and usage with the
Icelandic, would be one means of tracing out the origin
of this dialect, and hence in some measure the origin of
IV INTRODUCTION
those by whom this dialect was spoken; and as we have
in Lakeland words and usages almost as primitive as they
have in Iceland, we could, I thought, trace some portion
at any rate of our native language a great way towards
its primitive or parent stock.
I thought also that, as many of the old customs and
superstitions in Lakeland are fast dying out, just as the
old Norse words that represent them have become or are

rapidly becoming obsolete, it must be now or never with

me in commencing the undertaking, if I wished perma-
nently to note down the customs and vocables of the

people amongst whom the whole of my life has been

spent.
I have worked at intervals at the task of collecting
these words for a period of now upwards of twenty-seven

years and though I have doubtless in some instances done

;

over again what others have done much better before me,

yet in other instances I imagine I have unearthed and

identified words and customs of the Northmen yet to be
found amongst our Dalesmen, of which not any notice had
been taken before.
Dr. A. J. Ellis, in his fifth volume of Existing Dialects
as compared with Early English Pronunciation, gives
fifteen varieties of the Cumberland dialect, ten of the

Westmorland dialect, and seven of the dialect of Lancashire

North of the Sands, that is, of Furness and Cartmel.
These differences are, I think, only phonetic, and do not
include any radical or derivative differences and if you ;

find any undoubted Norse word in the dialect of any

portion of that area of which I have spoken, the chances

are that it has survived in every other rural portion of
that district, provided that that portion has 'an oldest
'

inhabitant with years long enough and memory keen

 INTRODUCTION v

enough to retain the customs and vocables of sixty or

seventy years ago. I refer to Dr. Ellis in this connexion with
great pleasure. I corresponded with him on the subject
of the Cumberland and Furness dialect from 1872 close up
to the time of his death. At times for weeks a voluminous
correspondence kept passing between us he took the ;

dialect in its phonetic, while I tried so far as I could to

examine it in its derivative aspect ;
but throughout this
correspondence Dr. Ellis was always most willing to com-
municate anything I required from his unrivalled word
lists and researches. The last communication I received
from him was with the present of the concluding volume
of his great work l
upon the subject ;
and shortly after-

wards, having completed in these volumes what may,

I think, be regarded as his life-work, when his task was
over he fell asleep.

It seems in many instances to be the opinion of philo-

logists who have treated upon our dialect as derived from

the Norsemen that, as they all names
were plunderers, so
and habits of plundering must be referred to them.
A careful study, however, of the words of the following
Glossary seems to point to a very different conclusion.
The remarkable thing about them is that they evince the

peaceful disposition of those who first settled here and

left their
language. The great bulk of the words are
field names and farm names the terms applied to hus-

bandry operations, and names for the keeping and rearing

of sheep and cattle or used in their care or management ;

words applied to butter-making, cheese-making and dairy

The general title of this work is On Early English Pronunciation
1 '

with Especial Reference to Shakespeare and Chaucer.' Published for the

Early English Text Society and the Philological Society, London. Part I
in 1869. Part V in 1889. Part V deals more especially with existing
dialects as compared with Early English Pronunciation.
Vi INTRODUCTION

operations generally, and the domestic duties and concerns

of everyday life. In pursuing this study it has been of

great service to me that I have never lived outside the

district in which the words peculiar* to this dialect are
still retained and that I have lived generally in the most
;

rural, the most and consequently the most un-

isolated,

changed portions of it, my word lists were obtained

that
where my life was spent amongst a people where the
earliest words and customs are retained if they are retained
anywhere and from living amongst them I have always
;

had opportunities of getting these words from those who

speak them in their earliest and, therefore, their purest

forms.
The country bordering upon the Sol way is often pointed
out as being the most rich in Cumberland in unchanged
dialect forms. It was in this country I was born and

lived, being conversant with almost every part of it

until I was between seventeen and eighteen years of age.

For three years I lived near the Cumbrian Border to the.

East of Carlisle, where phonetically a very different dialect

isspoken, approximating very much to the Lowland Scotch
of Annandale, still however retaining the characteristic
Norse forms.
After this, for two or three years, as a master in the
St. Bees' Grammar School, a foundation then free for every
boy native of Cumberland or Westmorland, I had an
opportunity in this, a central Parish on the West Cumber-
land sea-board, of hearing the dialect of boys who had
been born in well-nigh every large and important parish
of Cumberland, and also to some extent of Westmorland ;

while for the last thirty-five years of my life, in a remote

mountain parish of the Lancashire Lakeland, I have
certainly, in my searchings and wanderings, had the most
 INTRODUCTION Vll

ample opportunities of studying the dialect and folk-

speech of every nook and corner of the lake country, and
of every parish and valley in Lancashire North of the
Sands.
I have said that manyof the old words of Lakeland (by
which term I mean what may be called larger Lakeland,
i. e. it includes the whole of Cumberland, West-
Lakeland as
morland, and Lancashire North of the Sands) are, like many
of the objects and customs which they represent, rapidly

becoming obsolete, that the dialect, as represented 'by its

most characteristic words and phrases, is fast disappearing ;

yet in Cumberland at any rate we have a series of dialect

poets, extending over great part of 200 years, who have
embalmed in their songs and poetic sketches the words and
phrases of our Cumbrian everyday life. They have been
poets of the people, and their words and measures still

live in the converse of Cumbrians : with those words and

measures I have been familiar from childhood, and I seem
l
to have retained them viva voce from my earliest recol-
lections.In illustration of the meaning of the words in the
Glossary I have quoted copiously from those local dialect
poets. I will sketch the position and
Briefly, therefore,

writings of the chief of them, extending from the early part

of last century to the present time.
The first Cumberland dialect poet was the Rev. Josiah
Relph. He was born shortly after 1700, and died of con-
sumption in 1743. He became perpetual curate of his
native village, Seberingham, and also, as the custom then
was, he taught the parish school. Many of Relph's pieces
are pastorals and translations into the dialect from Horace,

1
Most of the editions of the Dialect Poets are so incomplete, omitting
even the best pieces, that they have to be retained viva voce if retained
at all.
vm INTRODUCTION

Virgil, and Theocritus ;

and in some of his poems he has
very faithfully pourtrayed the chief characters of the village
in which he lived.

Stagg, the next dialect poet, was born about the year
1770 at Burgh-upon-Sands, near Carlisle, and died at Wor-
kington in 1823. He was deprived of his sight very early
in life. He
kept circulating library at Wigton, and eked
a
out his living partly by acting as a fiddler at dances,
fairs, hakes, and merry nights. His pieces, published first

by Robertson of Wigton, exhibit truthful pictures of Cum-

berland scenes, manners and customs, as they existed one
hundred years ago. His poem, The Bridewain, or Bringing
Home the Bride, is the most truthful picture of the keen
neck-or-nothing galloping and other amusements which
took place at a Cumberland wedding of the olden time.
It is a literal description of a marriage which took place
in the Abbey Holme, where it is still spoken of as
'
The
Cote Wedding.'
Sanderson is the next Cumberland poet. Born in 1759,
he seems to have lived most of his early life at Seberingham.
He spent the closing years of his life at Shield Green, Kirk-
linton, where he lived the life of a recluse. He was a great
collector of old Cumberland dialect words ;
and in some of
the oldest forms in the following word-lists I have had
hints from his sketches. He was the compiler of the first,
or at any rate one of the very first, of our Cumberland
Glossaries. I have a copy of it which I suppose to be of
the earliest, probably of the only edition it bears the ;

imprimatur Jollie, Carlisle, date 1818.' He died in 1829.

'

His end was a melancholy one. The cottage in which he

livedby himself, from want of care on his part, took fire
in the night ;
the neighbours were alarmed, and ran to the
rescue; he escaped, dreadfully burned, from the flames, and
 INTRODUCTION IX

lay down (he was in his seventieth year) under a tree, much
exhausted, a few yards from his own door. His friends
meanwhile what they could of his property.
tried to save
He inquired most anxiously after a box in which his MSS.
had been deposited, with the view of the publication of
a laboriously corrected edition being told that the box
;

was consumed, he expired a few minutes after, saying, or

rather sighing out, Then I do not wish to live.'
'

Mark Lonsdale was born in 1 759 in Caldewgate, Carlisle,

and passed through life partly as a teacher and partly as
an actor in London and the provinces. He died in 1815
in London, and was interred at St. Clement Danes. He
wrote much Of his writings in the dialect,
for the stage.

The Upshot the ablest and most original dialect poem

is

that has appeared. It is the free sketch of such a Cumber-

'
land gathering (see Glossary, under Upshot ') which really
took place about 1780. It consists of about 300 lines, and
I know of no piece that approaches it in the correct use
and application of old Cumberland words. After continu-
ing for many years in MS. it was published in 1811 in
Jollie's Sketch of Cumberland Manners and Customs.
Robert Anderson Cumberland poet whose works 1
is the
are most widely and most generally known. He was born
shortly after 1770, in Carlisle, and died in 1833, at the same
place: he was a pattern- drawer by trade. His life was
like more
lives, a hard struggle for existence, and he fell in
his later years into habits of intemperance, which may

possibly have had something to do with those feelings

of bitterness and misanthropy which he exhibited in the
decline of his life. He is matchless as a truthful exponent
of the dialect, manners, and customs of Cumbrians. He
1
Most of the editions of Anderson are very imperfect arid incomplete.
The most complete I know was published by Robertson, Wigton.
x INTRODUCTION
carries us into their homes and their domestic scenes, and
lets us hear their quiet fireside chat. He brings us to their
fairs and merry-makings, their weddings, their hakes and
dances. He depicts their wrestlers and other athletes as
the greatest heroes, and lets us know in almost every

portion of his writings that, in comparison with other

counties,
'
Canny ole Cummerlan caps them o* still.'

In the Glossary I have quoted so copiously from his writings

that a good idea of his style and language may be gathered
therefrom.

Rayson was born in 1803 at Aglionby, near Carlisle,

and died in 1857. Great part of his life was spent as
a country schoolmaster. He was a great favourite with
the farmers, writing their letters and making their wills,
and received as the principal part of his fee for teaching
their children free whittlegate with them, as was customary
at that time. His best piece is Charlie M'Glen.
Dr. Gibson, M.E.C.S. and F.S.A., is, in point of time, the
next writer in the Cumberland dialect. Next to Anderson
I consider him most successful exponent. For
to be its
seven years he lived about two miles from here, and had
a medical practice which took in Coniston, Torver, Seath-
waite, and the Langdales. and this I believe was the time
of his greatest literary activity, in which he composed
most of his dialect works. They all appeared in a volume
entitled, Folk- speech, Tales, and Rhymes of Cumberland
and some districts adjacent, published by Coward, Carlisle,
in 1868.
Of the pieces it includes, I consider Bobby Banks Bodder-
tnent the best. To which I consider the
this last piece,

masterpiece of prose in the Cumberland dialect, I have

frequently alluded in the Glossary, under the initials B.B.B.

 INTRODUCTION xi

Dr. Gibson was born at Harrington in 1813, and died at

Bebington, Cheshire, in 1874.

John Richardson, who spent a long and useful life as
parish schoolmaster in the lovely and sequestered
Vale
of St. John's, near Keswick, has published two volumes of
Cumberland Talk (Coward, Carlisle, 1871 and 1876). They
Cumberland home life in poetry and
consist of sketches of

prose :
they are, especially the first volume, a faithful
reflex of the Cumberland dialect and Cumberland habits
at present, more especially as they exist in the neighbour-
hood of Keswick, Threlkeld, and the Vale of St. John.
I have quoted from them frequently l .

In addition to these, I have referred to and quoted from

some local poets and anonymous dialect verses which I had
either remembered or written down in a list of my own.
To these I have referred as Local Songs, &c.
For many years I have been a careful reader of, and at
times a contributor to, Notes by the Way, and other discus-
sions on Westmorland dialect 2 and place-names in the
pages of the Westmorland Gazette. This has confirmed

my opinion upon the very close connexion and identity

that exists between the dialect of Cumberland, Westmor-
land, and Furness in their place-names and dialect words.
Some words I have obtained colloquially, without being
able to say exactly when or where but I can, I think, safely
;

affirm that there no single word in the Glossary which

is

cannot be evidenced either to exist or to have existed in

1
Miss Powley, who died at Langwathby in 1883, has written some
excellent pieces (prose and poetry) in the Cumberland Dialect, under the
title of Echoes of Old Cumberland, published by Coward, Carlisle.
2
Authors chiefly referred to for Westmorland Dialect are Ann :

Wheeler's Dialogues. Rev. T. Clarke's Specimens of Westmorland Dialed. Kendal,

Atkinson & Pollitt, 1872 and A Bran New Wark, by Rev. W. Hutton, 1785
;

(re-edited for English Dialect Society by Professor W. W. Skeat in 1879).

Xll INTRODUCTION
the meaning assigned to it in the dialect of one or more
of the three counties I have named.
l
Recurring to the Norse element, Mr. Magntisson has most
carefully vised and revised, and corrected when required,
every word and every phrase of the Norse or Icelandic

portion of this work. I amnot likely to meet with con-

tradiction when I say that I could not have a greater

authority upon that subject.

The fact that this work professes to be a Glossary of the
dialect, and not a treatise upon Comparative Philology,
precludes me from bringing forward the close connexion be-
tween it and the Icelandic so prominently as has been done
elsewhere ;
but I think any one who reads over carefully
the words of the one and the other will be convinced that
there a most striking and radical affinity between our
is

Northern English dialects and the words that in language,

place-name, and folk-lore are found in the Icelandic or
Norse.

1
Editor of the revised edition of the Icelandic Version of the Bible for
the British and Foreign Bible Society, 1866, Joint Translator of the Saga
Library, and Author of Legends of Iceland.
 GLOSSARY

A. A river, Icelandic. Used very largely as suffix for

river-name, as Hvtid, white river, formed from a glacial

moraine. Hitd is hot river, as formed from a hot spring.
At page 76 of Landndma it is said of a settler, '
he
took land between the hot river and cold river, Hitd ok
Kaldd.' In Edda over one hundred North-English and
Scottish rivers or a's are mentioned. In Lakeland this
d frequently found suffixed as a river-name, e.g.
is

Rotha, Bratha, Greta, Wisa. Torver is in old documents

called Torfa, the name of the river upon which it stands,
whose waters (being discoloured by the mossy uplands
through which it flows) are therefore called Torfa, that
is The turf river.

Addle or Ettle. In Cumberland, to earn.

'
Addlin brass,' earning money.
Agate. On gate. See gate, discussed in Whittle Gate.
We're gitten agate=We are making progress.
Akin. Related, of the same race. Icel. kyn, race or
'

generation. Fra kyni til

kyns,' from generation to
generation.

Alegar. Vinegar. In West dialect spelled Allegar = Ale

eager or Ale fermented.
Ya drop o' allegar.' Bran New Wark.
'

*B
2 Ang-nail Ask
Ang-nail. (A.-S. ang-naegl, a whitlow.) piece of nail A
upon the finger growing out from the other nail, and at
times occasioning great pain.

Angry. Painful or inflamed. Icel. angr, pain.

Ark. A chest. Meal ark, the meal-chest. Arklid, a place-

name near foot of Coniston Lake. Icel. ork, A.-S. arc,

Lat. area.

Arr. A scar. Icel. arr, a scar ; Cleasby.

Arval, adj. Anything connected with heirship or inherit-

ance, from Icel. arfr, inheritance ;

used chiefly in refer-
ence to funerals. The friends and neighbours of the
family of deceased were invited to dinner on the day of
the interment, and this was called the Arval dinner,
a solemn festival to exculpate the heir and those entitled
to the possessions of deceased from the mulcts cj fines
to the lord of the manor, and from all accusation of

having used violence. In later times the word acquired

a wider application, and was used to designate the meals

provided at funerals generally. Icel. arfi, inheritor ;

Ulph. arbi, A.-S. yrfe, Dan. arv. From

arfr comes
Icel. erfda-oldr, Dan. arveol, a funeral feast in Iceland and
Denmark corresponding apparently, in solemnity and
the general nature of the invitation, with the Arval
feast of the North of England. Arveol = arv + ol, Danish,
inheritors' ale, is the nearest etymological equivalent of
dialect arval. Compare Bridal.

Arval Bread.. Cakes which each guest received at a funeral.

Arvals. Used meat and drink supplied at funerals. To

of
drink off the arvals=To consume what has been left at
a funeral.

Ask, a lizard. Gael, snake or adder.

 Assal tooth Bale-fire 3

Assal tooth. A grinder, from Icel. jaxl, which Cleasby

defines as a jaw tooth or grinder.

At. That, an indeclinable relative pronoun. Corresponds

with the Icelandic indeclinable pronoun at.
'
'
At. Is in Furness used in the sense of to before the
'He telt me at gang,' He told me to go.
infinitive, e.g.
Icel. at mark of the infinitive, as at ganga, at
or ad, the
'

hlaupa, at vita/ to go, to run, to know. Icel. 'Hann

baufc theim at ganga = Furness, 'He bad them at gang.'

'

Atter. A spider, from atter, poison. Icel. eitr, poison.

Attercob. A
spider's web (cobweb)^ from atter, poison,
and coppa, a cap or head.
Awns. In Furness, and West and South Cumberland,
called angs, the beards of barley. Process of separating
described under Fotr. Icel. angi.
Aye. Always or ever. Icel. ce = ever or always, a; grcenn,
ever green. In the Landndma it is said of the How or
burial-mound of Torf-Einarr that in winter and summer
it was '
se grsenn
'
= ever green.

Bain. Near. Icel. beinn, straight or short. Bainest way,

in Cum. and Fur. = beinstr vegr in Icel. In the dialect all
the degrees of comparison are found bain, bainer, bainest.
Bairn. A child ;
lit.
anything born. Icel. barn, A.-S. beam,
Bakston. An upon which oat-bread was baked.
iron plate
The name and process seem to correspond with name and
use of Icelandic bakstr-jdrn, an iron plate for baking
sacramental wafers. But bakstr-ofn, baking oven, comes
nearer.

Bale-fire. Icel. bdl, a flame. A series of signal -fires lighted

upon the Scottish and Cumbrian borders to denote the

outbreak of war. Chancellor Ferguson gives a list of
B 2
4 Bang Beck
stations for bale-fires extending along the border from
the Solway to the Tyne. Such stations are found com-
monly in Lakeland, e. g. the Beacon Mountain in High
Furness, the Brandrith Mountain at the head of Enner-
dale. Lay of Last Minstrel, canto iii. 25 :

'Is yon the star o'er Penchryst Pen,

That rises slowly to her ken,
And, spreading broad its wavering light,
Shakes its loose tresses on the night :

Is yon red glare the western star?

O, 'tis the beacon-blaze of war.'

Bang. A blow. Icel. bang, hammering, an onomatopoeic

word.

Bank. Wards, as denoting direction as up-bank, upwards :

;

down-bank, downwards. Icel. bakki.

'
While trees they
grow up-bank,
While run down-&awfr,
rivers
We nivver maun leuk on his marrow agean.'-'ANDEBSoN.

Barrin-oot. The locking-out of the schoolmaster by the

scholars at Christmas, who exacted as the conditions of
his admittance a certain period of holiday. This is well
illustrated by Richardson's humorous sketch in the
dialect entitled T Barrin-oot.

Barrow, Barf, or Berg. (Icel. berg, a mound.) A mound ;

then a hill. Frequent as place-name and surname in

Lake district.

Bauk. Beam to support the roof of a house. Icel. balkr,

a beam ;
naval bulk-heads.

Bauks. The crossbeams of a loft upon which the hay

was laid.

Bees or Beece. Used of cows

or cattle generally. Evi-
dently a contraction of beasts or cp. Icel. bdss. ;

Beck. (Icel. bekkr, Dan. beak.) A small stream or rivulet,

 Beel Beild 5

found very generally as common noun and compound

of place-name in North of England. JBeckermet, a village
in Cumberland ; literally, the meeting of the waters.''

Beckermote Scar is a steep cliff in limestone at the angle

of the Nidd
(Yorkshire), where it sinks into the ground.
Beckermonds is the name of a tongue of land in York-
shire between two streams at their confluence. So the
river Eamont was formerly called Amot, from a, a stream,
and mot, meeting. Amot is also the name of a river in
Norway, and of several places there situated at the
confluence of two streams. In speaking of the vale of

Avoca, amongst the Wicklow mountains, Moore has

beautifully recorded the strong impression made on the
mind by the meeting of waters :

'
Oh ! there 's not in the whole world a valley so sweet
As that vale in whose bosom the wild waters meet
Oh ! the last rays of feeling and life shall depart
Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart.'

Beel or Seller. To bellow. Icel. baula. Used of the

bellowing of cows or bulls. See under the word Dow.

Beild. A shelter. (Properly, anything by lied or built, from

O. E. bylle, to build.) On high and exposed fells, a shelter
of loose stones to protect the sheep from storms. The
lair of a fox is also called its beild, and seems to corre-

spond with Icel. bcali, a den. In the Creed of Piers

Plowman we have :

'
Swich a bild bold
Y build upon erth heigh te.'

The wild and lonely pass of Nan Beild, at the head of

Kentmere, doubtless took its name from such a beild.
Near to it is still pointed out the place where a father
and his three sons, who had been shepherding, were
found dead, locked in each other's arms, under the
 Berrier Bete

shelter of a stone wall, where they had been starved to

death. Burns uses the word bield in the sense of a
shelter in his A ddress to a Mountain Daisy :

'The flaunting flowers our gardens yield

High shelt'ring woods, and wa's maun shield ;

But thou beneath the random bield

0' clod or stane,
Adorns the histie stibble field,

Unseen, alane.

Berrier. A Thresher. Bed-time for berriers and supper

'

time for carriers.' Old Cumberland Proverb.

Berry. To thresh with a flail. Icel. berja, to strike or

thresh.

Bete. To mend or improve the fire. (Icel. bceta, A.-S.

betan, to mend
or improve. Chaucer.) To
Fires bete.

mend, applied to the fire. Hence, rectangular pieces of

turf cut from the moss and used for burning, were called
betes or peats, from being used to repair or mend the fire.

One of Anderson's songs, dated 1808, is entitled Peat

Leader s Complaint. In many parts of Cumberland and
Lakeland, the peat stack entirely supplied the place of
coals. Many houses had only hearth-fires, i. e. fires with-

out grates, consequently nothing but chats and peats

could be used for fire-elding. On baking days, when
the brandrith was in use or otherwise, a large fire was

required the office of beting the fire was sufficient to

;

employ one person. At night such fires were not alto-

gether extinguished, but the peat embers were 'raked,'

as it was called, i. e. the embers were so raked over that

they would smoulder until morning. Consequently many

fires in the Lake district had never been altogether

extinguished for years ;

and I know the case of a man
who possessed his grandfather's fire the fire never having
been altogether extinguished for three generations.
 Bewce Bizen 7

Bewce. A stall for oxen. Icel. bass, a boose or stall in

a cow-house, as 'binda ku a bas.' Cow and bas go
'
together as in an Icelandic nursery rhyme sofa, sofa,
1
sell i eyju, ky> a basi, kb'ttr i buri.'

Bicker. A wooden dish or drinking vessel. Icel. bikarr,

a large drinking vessel.

Bid. To bespeak attendance. (Icel. bjoda.) Applied chiefly

to marriagesand funerals. The district within which all
were invited to funerals was called 'a bidding.' 'As
many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.' In the
'
'
Landndma, the harvest feast is called the haust bod
or harvest bidding.

Bigg. Barley. (Icel. bygg, Dan. byg.)

'
Ya Thursday he went wi' some bigg to the market
An drank wi some neebers he little kent how.' ANDERSON.

Biggin. A building. Cf. A.-S. Byggan, Icel. Bygging.

Used also in proper names, as Newbiggin, Sunbiggin.
Birk. (O. N. bjork [collect, birki], Dan. birk.) The Birch.
Names of farms are derived from this word, as The Birks
in Seathwaite ;
so used elsewhere. The surname Birkett
seems formed of this word with the Norse article suffixed.

Birler. The person who handed round the ale at a Cum-

berland feast, and whose duty it was to see that the

guests generally were provided with drink. Icel. byrla,

which Vigfusson defines as signifying, to wait upon or

'
hand round the ale at banquets. Magniisson says, the
word in Icelandic corresponding to birler is byrlari and ;

in Iceland the men who assist in carrying drink about to

guests at weddings and other feasts are even now so called.'
Bizen. a wonder; A.-S. bisen, an example.)
(Icel. bysn,
This word, which in the dialect means a warning or
8 Blained Bower
example, generally goes with 'shem.' 'She's a shem
and a bizen to aw the hail toun.' Anderson.
Blained. Half-dry. Generally applied to linen hung out
to dry. Dan. blayne, to whiten. Slain is found in
Craven in the sense of whiten also, to dry, as above. ;

Blea. Lead-coloured ; also blue. Icel. bid-, in bldr, blue.

Blea Tarn, between Great and Little Langdale.

Blea-berries. Whortle-berries. leel. bld-ber, Dan. blaaber,

blue berries, from their blue or livid appearance.

Bleate. Bashful. Icel. blautr, timid, effeminate.

'Great is thy pojver, and great thy fame

Far kenn'd and noted is thy name

And though yon lowin' heugh's thy hame
Thou travels far
And, faith ! thou 's neither lag nor lame
Nor bleate nor scaur. BURNS.

Blin Bile. Blind boil,* a boil that does fnot come to a head,
or run.

Blin Tarn. A tarn without visible outlet ;

Icel. blindr,

blind. So we have a blind alley/ without

'
exit.

Bloomery. Ancient smelting furnaces in Cumberland and

High Furness, the remains of which are still to be found.
The word may be connected with Norse verb bldsa, used
for to smelt in Landndma B6k.

Board. Anciently meant table. Still so retained in the

phrase bed and board,' board and lodgings Board of
' '

Trade.' In the Icelandic it still retains the double mean-

ing of board and table. John xii. 2,
'

Og Marta gekk
fyrir borftum,' Martha served at table.

Bole. Trunk of a tree. Icel. bolr.

Bower. The inner room in a cottage. Icel. bur. Byre.

A cow stall. Both words seem to have come originally
 Brandrith Brandrith Stean 9

from Icel. bur. Common to all Teutonic languages, and

'
in most meaning a chamber.'
Brandrith. (Icel. brandreid, a grate.) The brandrith in
Lakeland was originally an iron tripod, held together by
rims of iron, and employed in supporting the girdle-plate
which was used above the hearth-fire for baking oat-
bread. The name and thing named are gradually passing

away, as hearth-fires are being supplanted by modern

grates, and oat-cake by wheat-bread yet there is ;

hardly a valley in Lakeland in which a brandrith may

not be found and is not yet occasionally used. The
Three Shire Stones where the three fair counties meet
together upon the top of Wrynose, near the source of the
river Duddon, were called The Three-Legged Brandrith,'
'

as being the place where the grate for the beacon-fires

or bale-fires was placed. It is in a prominent position,

and could be seen from each of the three counties
Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire in fact, the ;

original grate or brandrith may have at this point stood

partly in each one of them. This word has a still more
local significance, for the usual term for the point,

generally marked by a large boulder stone where the

boundaries of three parishes met was called Brandrith.
A mountain near the Great Gable bears the name of The '

'

Brandrith and the place where the rivers Brathay and

;

Rothay meet at their confluence with Windermere is

called The'
Brandrith,' because in old times an iron

grate was placed there as a beacon which could be seen

down the Lake of Windermere. So upon the river Eeuss
where it flows from Lake Lucerne is an old lighthouse
or light-tower which is said to have given its name
'
'
Lucerna to the Lake.
Brandrith Stean. A boundary stone at the meeting of
10 Brant By
three parishes. There is a huge boulder-stone so called
at the western extremity of this parish, which marks the

point at which the three parishes of Torver, Blawith and

Woodland meet.
Brant. Steep. (Icel. brattr, A.-S. brant, steep.) Proverb,
brant as a Brantwood, on the eastern
'
as besom.'

margin of Coniston Lake, which has been successively

the residence of distinguished literati, at present the
residence of Professor Ruskin, is so called from the brant
or steep wood which rises behind it.

Bridewain. Bidden wedding or Infaire. A marriage.

Brissett. A wooden frame.
Bruff or Bur. A faint luminous disk round the moon,
'
called technically a corona.'

Bummel Bee. (Icel. buml, resounding.) The humble bee.

Burn. A
stream, equivalent to Beck. (A.-S. burn, Gothic
brunna, a spring Icel. brunnr.)
;

Busk. A bush. (Icel. buskr.)

By. A very common termination of the names of villages.

Anderson says :

'There's Harraby and Tarraby,

An Wigganby beseyde,
There's Oughterby and Souterby
An Bys baith far an weyde.' Thuirsby Witch,
In Iceland this is beer, batr, or bijr ;
in Norway, bo ;
in

Sweden and Denmark, by. This word is very frequent

throughout the whole of Scandinavia ;
and wherever the
Scandinavian tribes went and settled the name by or bo
went with them. In the map of Northern England the
use of this word marks out the limit and extent of the
Norse immigration g. the name Kirkby or Kirby.
;
e.

About twenty or thirty such names are found in maps

of the Northern and Eastern counties, denoting churches
 Bye Carlings 11

built by the Norse or Danish settlers; e.g. Kirkby-in-

Furness, Kirkby-in-Kendal, now usually Kendal. Com-
pare Kirkjubcer in Iceland. In Denmark and Sweden
names ending in by are almost numberless. (This note
I have had in a great measure from Dr. Kitchin, Dean of
Durham.)
Bye. Lonely, as a bye place = a lonely place, is connected
with this word.

Caimt. Ill-natured or peevish.

Cald. Cold. Icel. kaldr, cold. Caldbeck=Icel. kaldbekkr.

Cam. The upper portion of a stone fence often formed of
sharp serrated stones so as effectually to turn the Herdwick
sheep. Icel. kambr. Such a cam is called a Yorkshire
cam, a ridge or fence on the moors formed by digging
two ditches and throwing up a ridge between them.
Catcam on Helvellyn seems to be from this word, a
'
cam
fit to turn a cat.'

Cap. To top or surpass.

;
Yer bulk 's seen monie a country
larn'd wise gentry, that
May preach and palaver and brag as they will,
0' mountains, lakes, valleys, woods, watters and meadows
Bit canny auld Cummerlan caps them aw still.' ANDERSON.

Carl. A countryman or one of the commoner or meaner

order. Norse karl, used in Landndmi in sense of liber- '

'
tus or freedman. '
Nor the churl said to be bountiful.'
Isa. xxxii. 5.

Carlings. Grey pease steeped in water and fried next day

in oil or butter, eaten on mid-Lent Sunday or the second

Sunday before Easter, called on this account Carling

Sunday. We have
expressed in this the old rhyme
naming the Sundays before Easter :

<Tid, Mid, Misserai

Carling, Palm and Pace Egg-Day.'
12 Carr Clam
It was a very common custom for boys and others to
carry their cartings in their pockets and salute each
other in the house or upon the roads with a handful of
them. This Sunday was in earlier times called Care '

Sunday,' and is said to be from kcera, given in Cleasby

and Vigfusson as meaning, to make a charge against or
accuse, and so called in reference to the charges or accu-
sationsmade against our Lord at this time. The name
and the custom have doubtless originated in a religious
observance.

Carr. (Icel. kjarr.) Applied to fields or woods. In Norse

kjerr is also applied to a small wood. In Cumberland
small, hollow, cup-shaped fields, surrounded by alders or
ellers, were called eller cars. Dillicars is a very usual

appellation of fields so shaped, from kar, a cup, and deila,

to divide.
p
Chaft. The jaw. Icel. kjaptr, N. kjafter.

Chats. Fuel formed of underwood and brushwood, very

commonly used in Lakeland for keeping up hearth fires
and other household fires.

Cheese-rims or -rums. Cf. Icel. rim, a rim. Circular

wooden frames which the curds were pressed in making
in

cheese. They were usually composed of staves held to-

gether by wooden hoops. They were circular vessels
of coopered staves without top or bottom in which the
curds were confined and pressed from above by a beam
from which a stone was suspended as a lever.

Choop. Pronounced shoop. Red seeds of the wild rose.

Rotten as a choop? Proverb.

'

Clagg. To stick. Dan. klwg, loamy.

Clam or Clem. To starve. Icel. klemma, to pinch.

 Clap Cow-ban 13

Clap. A pat. Icel. klapp, a pat.

Clap. To pat. Icel. klappa, to pat.

Clap-bread. (Dan. klappe brod.) Thin cakes beaten or

clapped out with the hand.

Claver. To climb. Dan. Havre.

Clegg. (Icel. kleggi, a cleg or horsefly.) The horsefly or

Cletch. A brood, as of chickens. Of. Icel. klekja ; Ulph.

klahs ; Dan. klcekke.

Clock lound. The downy seeds of the Dandelion are col-

lectively called a clockfrom the idea that the number
of times one must blow to bring them all off will indicate
what hour of the day it is. They are blown off with the
slightest puff, and when the wind is so still as not to
disturb those seeds it is said to be clock lound. Cf. lound.

Cluif. A hoof. Icel. Jdauf. Connected with cleave, the

cleft hoof.

Cote. a cottage or small farm A.-S. cote.) The

(Icel. kot, ;

word is very frequently found as the name of places

bordering on the Solway. In the Abbey Holme, for
example, applied as the name of several farms e. g.
it is ;

Raby Cote, Seaville Cote, East Cote, Skinburness Cote,

Sea Cote.

Cow-ban or Cow-bo, pronounced ku. A

large horseshoe
-

shaped wooden collar, generally of ash, to fasten cows to

the bewce. It was fastened to a stake called a rid-stake.
The two ends hung downwards and were joined by a
crosspiece called the catch, and remained fastened by
the elasticity of the bow. See Jobby Cow-ban's Law-
suit, a tale in the dialect, by Richardson. The name as
14 Cowp Cur
well as the article are Scandinavian, Icel. kyr, ku, a cow,
and bogi, a bow.

Cowp. To exchange or barter. Horse-dealers are called by

Anderson 'horse-cowpers.' 'What aw trades 's bad as
1

horse cowpers ?' Anderson's Caret Fair. Icel. kaupa, to

barter, kaup, a bargain. The root-word, as used by
Ulphilas, means to strike. We have the idea in the
phrase
'
to strike a bargain/ the equivalent of
cowp or
kaupa. Hence also the Cumberland phrase of chopping
'

off' cattle to any one, i. e. striking the bargain and ;

hence also the custom which cattle-dealers had of striking

hands to show the bargain was concluded. The surname
Cooper or Cowper seems to be derived from it.

Cratch. A curved frame sheep on. N. kraki,

to lay
a looped and trunked stem used as a staircase still so ;

used in Norway.
Creel. A hazel or willow basket used for holding peats ;

the peat creel. Icel. krili, a basket.

Crewel. To work embroidery in mixed colours.

'
To crewel
'
a ball is to cover it with variegated worsted work.

Creyke. A nook or opening formed in the sand of marshes

by the tide. 'He stuck in a creyke* Anderson's Burgh

Races. From Icel. kriki, a nook or recess.

Cringle. Curved, from Icel. kringla a circle, in Cringle

Craggs in Langdale ; Cringle Gill.

Cronies. Boon companions. Dan. kro, a beerhouse.

'
Cum sit down ma cronies

A lal bit an lissen.' ANDERSON.

Cross. See page xv of 'Landndma as it illustrates the

'

Dialect of Cumberland by T. E.

Cur. A Shepherd's or Farmer's dog. Magnusson says the

Icelanders call any unknown dog a korri.
 Cush Deeal 15

Gush. Addressed to cows, as G*is or Grids is addressed to

pigs. From Icel. kussa or kusa. Kus kus ' is the '
! !

milkmaid's call cows in Iceland, just as 'Gush!

to
'
cush 1 is in the North of England.

Cush man. A very common ejaculation expressive of

wonder.

Daft. Simple or silly. Icel. daufr. G&eudaft= gone mad.

Daytal. Daily, as
'

daytal labourer,' a man who works by

the day. Tal corresponds with Icel. tal, a count. Tell,
to count, '
He telleth the stars.'

Deave. To deafen. Icel. deyfa.

'Fad sez when Dick streykes up "Jim Crow"

Or Joe tries "Uncle Ned"
Whisht lads yur gaun ta
1
;
deave us aw
Its teyme ta gang to bed.' Local Song.

Dee. To die. Icel. deyja, to die.

'
What complaint had he, Betty,
Says hoo aw' caunt tell,
We neer had no doctor,
He deet of hissel.' EDWIN WAUGH.

Deeal. A division or share, as of a town or common

field which, though unenclosed, has its produce divided
or parcelled out into separate portions, the ownership
of which changes annually in succession. Icel. deila, to

divide ; A.-S. dcelan ;

Goth, deiljan ; Engl. To deal or

divide, as of cards.

Deeal. A dale or valley. The Norse word dalr, plu. dalar,

a valley, seems to correspond exactly in meaning and
application with this word deeal, as found in Lakeland.
As place-names they have a similar application, and in
Iceland pver-dalr, Djupi-dalr, Breii5-dalr, Langi-dalr,
Fagri-dalr, correspond with Crossdales or Thwart-dales,
Deep-dale, Broad-dale, Lang-dale, Fair-dale, in Lakeland.
16 Deet Dillicar

Icel. Vatzdalr= Lakeland Wasdale. Vatzdalr is literally

waterdale. See Landndma, p. 71. In Iceland, as in

Lakeland, they speak of dala-menn, i. e. dalesmen.

Deet or dight. To prepare or to cleanse, as corn from chaff.

'
The cleanest corn that e'er was dight,

May hae some pyles o' caff in ;

So ne'er a fellow-creature slight

For random fits o' daffin.'

Burns' version of Eccl. vii. 16.

Deetin-cleaith. A cloth used to dress corn upon.

Deetin-Hill. A hill near the homestead was used by Cum-

berland farmers to dress corn upon by throwing it up

against the wind. The deetin hill.' In almost all old

'

Cumberland barns doors opposite to each other were

:

provided, so as to secure a draught of air to cleanse or

deet the corn.

Deetiu Machines were a later invention which, by turning

a handle connected with fanners, secured an artificial
blast. The blast for bloomeries in High Furness was
secured by having them placed in a narrow gorge or
ravine through which the wind rushed furiously.

Deft. Skilful, neat.

'Aw heard a jeyke at window, pane,
An deftlywent to see.' RICHARDSON.

Degg. To moisten. Icel. doggva, to bedew, to moisten.

Des. To heap up or pile. Icel. des, a heap of hay ; desja,
to heap up hay.
Dill. To lull to sleep. Icel. dilla, to lull.

Dillicar. (Icel. deila, to divide, and

ker, Dan. kar, a cup.)
A name generally applied to small, cup-shaped fields in
Lakeland. A number of them laying together are called
 Dog-whipper Dordum 17

Dillicars. There is an instance in this parish, where six

such fields together, forming something like a circle, are
called dillicars.

Dog-whipper. In old parish account books there is fre-

quently an annual payment entered to the dog-whipper
or for dog- whipping. Whipping dogs out of church was
very essential where every shepherd was usually accom-
panied by two or three dogs, and a quarrel amongst the
dogs that would thus assemble might have been a very
serious matter. Latest entry for dog- whipping at Torver
is May 21, 1748, in which occurs the item for 'Ringing
Bell and Dog-whipping, 5s. 2d.'

Donk. To moisten or wet, as rain does. Dan. donke, to

make damp.
Donky. Wet or moistened.
'
A donky day,' a wet day.
Bonn and Doff. Dress and undress, do on and do off.

Edwin Waugh, in Lancashire Songs, says :

'
When th' order cornea to us
To doff these owd clooas,
There '11 surely be new uns to don.'

Donnot. A worthless person.

'
There 's
many a good look-

ing donnet.' Local Proverb. According to Fergusson,

from dow not ; Brockett, do naught.

Dordum. '
I take this word,' says Ferguson,
'
to be from
dyra ddmr, thus explained by Malet In the early part :
'

of the Icelandic commonwealth, when a man was sus-

pected of theft, a kind of tribunal, composed of twelve

persons named by him and twelve by the person whose
goods had been stolen, was instituted before the door
of his dwelling, and hence was called a door doom, or
Icel. dyra ddmr, i. e. door judgement but as this manner ;

of proceeding generally ended in bloodshed, it was

*c
18 Dow Dree

abolished.Hence in Iceland the word was generally

synonymous with the tumult and uproar which generally
characterized the proceedings.' Such a dyra d6mr and
its consequent disorder and bloodshed is described in

Landndma.
Dow. Good or help. When
not likely toa person is

recover from an illness it is said of him, He '11 du nea '

dow.' Icel. duga, to help. Proverb :

'A whussling lass an a bellerin cow

An a crowing hen ell du nea dow.'

Ann Wheeler, in Westmorland Dialogues, says of a scape-

'

grace, Hes nwote at dow.'

Dowly. Lonesome or dull, as applied to a road or place.
Icel. daufligr, deaflike, i. e. lonesome or lonely. This word
is used in the same sense in Yorkshire. Blackah, in
Poems in the Nidderdale Dialect, says :
'
Bud t' hoose

leaks dou'ly all t' week lang,'

Drape. To speak slowly.

Dree, adj. Icel. drjugr. Slow but sure lasting. ;

Besides Cumberland, Westmorland, and Furness, this

word is well known in the dialects of Yorkshire and
South Lancashire. In Waugh's '
Cum whoam to the

childer an me,' we have :

'Av brong thi top cwoat dusta know,

For t' rains cummin down varra dree,
The hearthstones wheyte as new snow,
as
Cum whoam to the childer an me.'

Dree. To endure. (Icel.. drygja, to lengthen.) On the

Cumbrian and Scotch border, to dree his wreid,' is '

equivalent to endure his fate. In the Guy Mannering

of Sir W. Scott, Meg Merrilies, whose dialect is of this

says of Bertram, He had dreed his wreid in

'

district,
a foreign land till his twenty-first year.'
 Dub Elding 19

Dub. A
pool or piece of deep water, the depth being the
thing chiefly considered in the name. (Icel. djtipr, deep,
also dypi, depth Dan. dyb.) ;
This word is very com-

monly used in Cumberland as the name of watering-

places near farmhouses. The deep pool bounding the
Abbey Holme and finding its way into the Solway at
Dubmill, is called from its depth,
'
the Holme Dub
'

;
we
have also Dub Wath. The Great Doup, near the Pillar
Rock, is a precipice of several hundred feet deep, by

falling down which one of the most adventurous climbers

in Lakeland, the Rev. James Jackson, lost his life. Icel.

djtip means the deep, as applied to water. The word is also

applied to deeps on the lakes and fiords of Norway, and

'
there is a river in Normandy called Dieppe, or the deep,'
which gives its name to the town which stands upon it.

Eaa. Channel of a stream. '

Hows t' eaa 1
'

i. e. How is

the water running ? (Icel. d, a stream A.-S. ea.) The ;

Leven and Crake are thus at times called ea or stream.

The Norse form d enters into the form of a great many
river-names in this Bratha, Bela, Calda,
district, e. g.

Greta, Liza, and Wisa.

In Iceland rivers from glaciers
are called Hvitd, or white rivers from hot springs they ;

are called Hitd, or hot rivers, as opposed to Kaldo", or

cold river, which is another Icelandic river name=
Calda in Cumberland.

Easings. Eaves. A.-S. efesan , eaves.

Efter. After. Icel., Dan., Swed., and A.-S. efter.

Elding. (Icel. eldr, Dan. ild, fire

Fuel. Icel. elding, fuel.) ;

In Exod. the flame of fire appearing to Moses is in

iii.

the Danish Bible eldslowe. Fire elding, as applied to

chats and peats, is the most general name for fuel in

Lakeland.
C 2
20 Elf Fend
Elf. Cognate with Dan. alf, Icel. alfr.

Eller. The alder tree. Icel. elrir (Dan. eel.} Elterwater, in

Langdale, is a Tarn taking its name from the alder trees
which grow near it. We have the name ellercar, applied in
Denmark and the North of England to small, cup-shaped
meadows surrounded by elder trees ; from Norse eller

and kjarr, copsewood or brushwood. Also in the proper

'
names Ellerbeck and Ellwood. Birk an eller are often '

named together.

Fain. Pleased. Icel. feginn, fain.

'
Wey Geordie aws fain
To see thee again.' Local Song.

Fairy. See Elf.

Far. Norse for sheep, as in Faroe Islands = Sheep Islands.

Sheep pastures upon the Yorkshire moors are called far
pastures. This word far, a sheep, seems to be found in
the name Fairfield, which is in Lakeland applied to the
flat, level sheep -pastures upon the tops of mountains.

Fairfield, near Ambleside, is a notable example. Mag-

nusson says '
in Iceland we have in old records fdr and
fcer, for sheep. I take fcer to be the direct source of
Fair in Fairfield.'

Feal. To hide or cover. Icel. fela.

Feeal. To give way or decline, as in old age. It is said

of an old man, '

He's feealin fast.' Icel. feila, to falter ;

adj. feilinn, faltering, connected with Lat. fallere, to

shake.

Fell-fo. Fieldfare or Landrail. Fare, to go, as in fare,

farewell, &c.

Fend to. To make a shift to gain a living. Icel. fe'na ?, to

 Pendy Plet 21

gain or profit. Anderson says :

'
How fens ta ?
'

How
are you ?

'
A man may spend, an still can fend,
If his weyfe be owt, if his weyfe be owt,
A man may spare, an still be bare
If his weyfe be nowt, if his weyfe be nowt.'
Local Proverb.

Pendy. Economical, thrifty.

Fess or Pest. To send out cattle to other farms to be

grazed (Dickinson). This word I take to be from
Icel. festa, which Vigfusson gives '
to settle,'
'
make a
bargain, or stipulate.'

Pest. To bind an apprentice.

Posting Penny. Money paid to a servant upon hiring to

bind the agreement. Both these words are from festa, as
above. Festar penningar is given in Icelandic as meaning
pledge or bail. Handfested is applied to irregular
marriages or betrothals in the North of England, though
I am not sure that it is so used in Cumberland. It

evidently has its counter -

part in Icelandic festar,
betrothals.

Fettle. Order, condition. Connected with Icel. fella (pron.

feddla) to join together, or to put into order, as ]pat er

=
vel felt that suits well.

Pit. Foot in dialect, and in Icelandic web-foot. The

mouth of a stream is called beckfit, and a village on
the Solway, Beckfit, so derives its name.

Flack. A thin sod. Icel. flag, the spot where turf has
been cut.

Flacker. A person who cuts and spreads '

flacks.'

Fleet. See Flet.

Flet. To skim milk. A.-S. flet, Dan. flode, cream. Mag-

22 Flick Fotr

ntisson says, The corresponding verb

'
in Icelandic is

fleyta, to skim anything that floats on the surface,

especially cream.'
Flick. Flitch. (Icel. flikki,
a flitch of bacon.)
'
Blin Stagg the fiddler gat a whack,
The bacon flick fell on his back
An than his fiddle stick they brack.
Bit whist a'll sa nea mair.'

ANDERSON'S Worton Wedding.

Flit. To remove, as of household goods and chattels.

Such a removal, when made in secret and to avoid
'
paying creditors, is called a moonlight flitting.'
-
Dan.
flyttedag, moving day ;
Icel. flytja, flyt flutti, to
remove. Gen. xii. 8, 'Og fluttist til fjallanna fyrir
austan Betel,' = and removed to a mountain on the east
of Bethel.
'
When the huse is whirlin roun about
Its teyme enough to flit,

For we've always been provided for,

An sea wull we yit.' Local Song.

Flowe. An
expanse of mossy waste, as Wedholme Flowe
in the Abbey Holme, Solway Flowe, Bowness Flowe.
Icel. fldi, a marshy moor.
Force. (Icel. fors, mod. foss, a waterfall.) Used of a
waterfall in the Lake country, as Airey Force, Colwith

Force, Stockgill Force, Force Forge.

Forelders. Ancestors. Icel. foreldri, parents, ancestors.

Forwarning or Foreboding. Cf. Icel. forbo#, fyrirbofa.

The prophetic anticipation of some serious misfortune,

as death. In illustration of the corresponding Icelandic
idea, a remarkable instance is given in the Erybyggia

Saga. See chapter xi of that Saga.

Fotr, Fotring Iron. (Icel. f6tr, the foot.) A fotring iron

was an instrument in the form of a square made of plates
 Potr Gain 23

of sheet iron, and used by the Cumberland farmers

for separating theawns from the barley. It was used
between the feet, hence its name. The process was called

fotring.
Potr. A verb formed from the foregoing word.

Pots. Woollen substitutes for children's shoes, from Fotr

a foot.

Pra. (Dan. fra ; Icel. frd.) From.

1
There were lasses fra Wigton, fro, Worton, fra Banton,
Some o' them gat sweethearts, while others gat neane,
An bairns yet unbworn '11 oft hear o' Burgh Kaces,
For ne'er mun we see sec a meetin agean.' ANDERSON.

Fremmed. Strange. Dan. fremmed. Mostly in phrase

'fremmed folk,' as distinguished from those well known
or natives.' In Bible of Ulphilas, ' Framatheis,' foreign
'

or strange, ex. fra, from.

Fridge. To rub, as a stocking against a badly-fitting

shoe.

Frith or Firth the Icel. fjordr, dat. sing. fir$i,) a frith or

(is

bay, as Solway Frith, a Scandinavian word ; but a small

crescent-formed creek or inlet is called a vik or wyke in
Windermere, and is less than fjortfr. In Iceland and
Old Scandinavian countries the shore districts are
frequently divided into counties bearing the name of
frith, just as the inland part is divided into dales. The
western and eastern part of Iceland are called West
Firths and East Firths, and in Norway a county is called
Firfcir ;
over one hundred firdir are mentioned in Iceland.
In Landndma B6k, a frequent phrase for describing the
homes of the early settlers is
'
Milli fjalls ok fjoru,'
between fell and foreshore.
Gain. Near = Bain. Gainer way = Icel. gagn in gag'n-vegr,
a short cut.
24 Gait Garn
Gait. A male pig. Icel. galti, and goltr. This word is

found in Landndma in a remarkable passage describing

the settlement of Ingimund, where a boar is said
(galti)
to have swum about till it died.

Gang, Gan, Gow, Gowa. Go. One of the oldest and

most general words in the northern family of languages.
Ulph. gaggan ; ganga or gd Dan.
A.-S. gangan ; Icel. ;

gauge or gaa. Gowa seems equivalent to 'Go away,'

and is now howay. A thrifty and industrious housewife
upon the Border, once describing her life to me, said :

It 's gang, gang, aye gang, gang, an when aw canna

'

gang nea langer awn dune.'

Gangrel. (Used with
'

body.') The old Border appella-

tion for tramp.

Gap. Icel. gap, gap, an opening in a fence.

Gap. Used of the openings or passes amongst the mountains
of Lakeland, e. g. Whinlatter Gap, Scarf Gap, Raise Gap.

Gap rails. Round poles let into stone, or wooden posts,

instead of gates.

Gapsted. (Icel. stadr, a place.) Entrance to a field is so

called.

Gar. To compel. (Icel. gjora, to make.)

'
It garred me
'

greet.' I'll gar thee,' I'll compel you.

Gards. Another form of the word Garth, applied to fields
or enclosures. The word corresponds in a remarkable
manner in its application in Iceland, Norway, Sweden,
and Denmark, to the use in which we find it in Cumber-
land, Westmorland, and Furness. The oldest form is the
Gothic gards, as found in the Bible of Ulphilas.
'
Garn. Yarn. (Icel. gam .)
'

Spin gam in Cumberland

corresponds with Icel. spinna gam as given in Vigfusson.
 Garn-winnels Gesling 25

Garn-winnels. A wooden cross from which the gam i

wound. Cognate through the Icel. vindil-dss, windlass,

as used in ships. Of this word Magniisson says, Garn- *

winnels corresponds, as to the thing, exactly to the Mod.

Icel. garn-vinda. As to the form, winnels evidently
descends from vindill, a winding instrument, which we
have also in windlass = vindil-dss, a winding-beam.'

Garth. A garden ;
also a small enclosed field close to the
farmhouse. Sheep, calves, and pigs were put into it.

Garth, surname. Icel. gardr.

Gate. Thoroughfare, a way, a road.

'
Gaen his own gate,'

gone his own road. From

gata, a way or road,
Icel.

a thoroughfare. Ulph. gatva=TikdTfla. Dan. gade, street.

Gate in Carlisle is also used of streets, as Botchergate,
Eickergate, Caldewgate, &c. Similarly, Clappersgate,
Mealsgate.
Gate. Used of rights of pasturing upon marshes or fells,
as cattle gates, sheep gates.

Gaum. Sense or forethought. Icel. gaumr, heed or

attention.

Gaumless. Evidently the accidentally unrecorded Icel.

gaumlauss, a perfectly classical compound, heedless or
senseless. Icel. gaumr, heed or attention, found in the
phrase Gefa gaum at
'

e-u,' togive attention to.

'
Thou
greet gaumless fail.' Kichardson.
'

Gay or Gey. Very or thoroughly, as a gey feyne day.'

Carlyle's mother speaks of him as being * gey ill ta leeve

wi.' See Froude's Life of Carlyle. Icel. gagn, through

or thoroughly, as gagn-hrceddr, thoroughly frightened.

Gesling. Young of geese. Icel. gceslingr. From this root

we have the surnames Gasgarth, Gaskell.
26 Gildert Gloppened
Gildert. A number of snares attached to a hoop for catch-

ing small birds in the snow. (Icel. gildra, a trap.)

Gill or Ghyll. A deep, narrow glen, with a stream running

at the bottom. The Icelandic word gil (Norwegian giel)
has exactly the same meaning. If there be no stream
another word is used. Gill is also found in Cumberland
as surname.

Gimmer. Ewe lamb. Icel. gymbr, a gimmer or ewe that

has not lambed ;
Dan. gimmer-lamb.

Gird. A wooden hoop used

for enclosing or keeping

together the rims of firkins. Icel. gjord, girid, collect.

Cognate, with Garth or Gards, an enclosure.

Girdle or Gurdle. Sometimes also called the girdle-plate.

An iron plate used for baking oat-cakes and bread over
the fire.

Girdle or Gurdle. A
pan or circular iron plate fitted
flat

with bule like a pan, and used for baking cakes

generally :

'
Our weyfes for gwrdle ceake an tea ;

Bit aw's the chap for gud strang yell.' ANDERSON.

Giss or Griss. A pig or swine. Icel. griss, a young pig,

Dan. gris, Sc. grice. In calling a pig the term used
' '
is
'

giss !
giss ! or '
griss !
griss ! The proverb, '
He
nowder said giss (or griss) nor sty' (s^a=sty), is
equivalent to,
'
He neither said pig nor sty.' Griss
is in Grasmere or Gricemere, Grisedale
found also
Pass, Grisedale Farm, Grisedale Glen; also Grizedale,
a valley near Hawksland, and Grizebeck. Grice is
a surname in Cumberland.

Gloppened. Astonished. Icel. gltipna&r.

'
Aw was fairly
gloppened.' Ann Wheeler's Dialogues.
 Gloppers Gowpen
Gloppers. Blinders for the eyes of horses. Cf. Icel. gloppa,
opening, a hole.
Glour. To look earnestly. Cf. Icel. gldra.

Glumpen. To look surly. Icel. glupna.

Gouk. The cuckoo. Icel. gaukr.
Goving. Adjective from Guff, with the same meaning.
'
Greet goving fuil,' a great vapouring fool.

Gowl. To cry with a whine, as a dog does. To cry.

Icel. gdla, tohowl or whine. Ps. lix. 14, A kveldin '

og g61a sem hunda, og hlaupa um kring stafcinn.' In the

evening they will whine like a dog and run about the
'
city. In Landndma, p. 161, svd gol' is used of
a raven's croaking as foreboding a terrible conflict, from
which Magntisson says, The Icel.
'
it anticipates a feast.

gaula has at the present day exactly the same sense that
you give to gowl.'

Gowpen. (Icel. gaupn Sc. goupen.)

;
This word seems
to be exactly the same in sound and significance in
Cumberland and Iceland. It means (i) the two hands
held together in the form of a bowl ; (2) as a measure, as
'much as cdn be taken in the hands held together. Scotch,
'goud in goupens.' Within my own remembrance the
beggars were furnished with a bag, and the charitable
housewives put into it a goupen of meal or flour. The
ballad of Robin Hood alludes to such a practice when ;

Little John is sent a begging, he says he must have

'A bag for my meal,
A bag for my malt,
A bag for my flour and my corn ;

A bag for a penny

If I get any
And a bag for my own bugle-horn.'

The Hebrew word caph represented such a measure, and

28 Gradeley Haaf
the Hebrew letter, of which caph is also the name, is

represented by the bent hand.

Gradeley. Promptly or well. (From Icel. greidliga,

readily.) Also as an adjective, lasting or enduring.
'Ahve nea gradely comfort me lass
Except wi yon childer an thee.' EDWIN WAUGH.

Grave. To dig. Icel. grafa.

Greeap. (A.-S. grep, a furrow.) The space or furrow

behind cows in stalls.

Greenhew. A word found in old manorial writings, used

for the payment for cutting trees upon an estate by the
tenant.

Greymin. A thin covering or spotting of snow.

Grip. To seize. Icel. gripa.

Grund. Farm, used as place-name. Sand grund or ground,
&c. Icel. grund, a green field or plain. Grund, as farm
name, occurs very frequently in High Furness, e.g.
Sawrey Grund, Holm Grund, Park Grund. The same is
the case in Iceland. H. Swainson-Cowper, F.S.A., kindly
collected for me the names of this class. In Furness
alone he enumerates forty-seven Grunds as portion of

place-names generally joined with personal names.

Guff. A vapouring fellow. Icel. gufa, vapour, steam. In

local names in Iceland, as Gufunes, Gufudalr, Gufuskalar,
so called from the steam of the hot wells.
'When seek leyke guffs leame decent fowk
Its teyme sum laws sud alter.' See ANDERSON'S Village Gang.

Haaf, vb. To
with the large haaf or sea nets. Icel.
fish

hdfr and kdf-net, p net with a poke-formed centre to

collect the fish in. This word is so used by fishermen
of the Solway, both on Scottish and Cumbrian side.
 Haaf Net Hause 29

I have seen it in an old charter of the Burgh of Annan,

describing the rights of fishing.
Haaf Net. Poke net.

Hack. A pickaxe. Dan. hakke.

Hag Worm. Viper. Magnusson gives me the following

interesting note on this word.
'

Hagworm is Icel. hogg-

ormr (=hew-vrorm, from the action of the reptile, when
it bites, resembling the movement of the adze in the

joiner's hand), a snake, a serpent. In Icelandic Bible

" "
serpent is always hoggormr.'
Hald. Hold. Icel. hold.

Hancloot, Hanclaith. Towel. Icel. kanklcetfi. Magnusson

says the mod. Icelandic is also hand-klutr.

Handsel. A
bargain, generally applied to the money
that crosses the hand for the first bargain. Corresponds
with the Icelandic word handsa^which. Vigfusson explains
thus :
'
A law term, usually in the plural, handsol,
handselling or hanselling, i. e. the transference of a right,

bargain, or duty to another by joining hands hand- :

shaking was with the men of old the sign of a transac-

tion, and is still so used among farmers and others ;
so
that to shake hands is the same as to conclude a bargain.
Lat. mandarC) manu dare.'

Hank. To fasten. Icel. hanka.

Harbour. A place of reception, a room. Icel. herbergi,

F-m. 1-104 hus ok herbergi,' house and hold,
alliteration
'

corresponding Cumberland phrase, turned out of huse

'

and harbour/ harbour here being identical with Icel.

herbergi.

Hause. Used of the passes over the lower fells which

separate the valleys of Lakeland, as Scatoller Hause,
30 Haver Helm Wind
Gaits Hause, Esk Hause, Tarn Hause, Haws or Hause
Water. Icel. hdls, the neck, then a hill, a ridge, especially
in Iceland, of the low fells which divide two parallel
dales. Cf. Swiss col in the same use.
Haver. (Icel. hafrar.) Oats.

Heck. A swinging gate, used where a fence or wall crosses

a beck. Also of the hurdles into which hay is put for
cattle. Dan. hekke, Icel. heggr, a hedge.

Heckberry. The bird-cherry. Dan. hcegebcer, prunus padus.

Hell. This word is used as the name of several streams
in Lakeland, called from it Hell Beck. Such streams
generally proceed from recesses resembling caves, e.g.
Hell Gill in Langdale, hence the name from Icel. hellir,
a cave. Gen. xix. 30, '

Og hann var }mr i helli,' and he

dwelt in a cave.

Helm Wind. From Icel. hjalmr, Goth. hUms, A.-S., Eng.,

and Ger. helm, a Teutonic word derived from hilma, to
hide. In this acceptation it isgiven by Vigfusson, as
applied in popular tales, to a cap of darkness which
makes the wearer invisible, and so also it is applied in
Old Norse to the clouds as rendering the mountains
invisible. There are several mountains in Iceland called
Helm or Hjalmr, and in Norway called Hjalm and we ;

have Helm Crag near Grasmere, and the Helm near

Kendal. Helm, is also found as a surname. It is from
the idea of covering or hiding, the original sense, that we

get the name helm in helm wind, for the helm is the cap
or covering of clouds which descends upon the summit
of Cross Fell at the time when the helm wind blows.
The places most subject to this helm wind are Milburn,
Ouseby, Melmerly, and Gamblesby. Sometimes, when
the atmosphere is quite settled, with hardly a cloud to
 Hem Hooker 31

be seen and not a breath of air stirring, a small cloud

appears on the summit of the mountain, and extends

itself to the north and south. The helm is then said to
be on, and in a few minutes the wind is blowing so
violently as to break down trees, overthrow stacks, and
occasionally throw a person from his horse, or overturn
a horse and cart. When the wind blows the helm seems
violently agitated, though on ascending the Fell and
entering it there is not much wind. Sometimes a helm
forms and goes off without a wind and there are essen-
;

tially easterly winds without a helm.

Hem. To draw in. Icel. hemja.

Herdwicks. The black-faced breed of sheep found in Lake-
land, noted for their climbing powers and ability to live

on bare pasture.
Herry. To rob, as birds' nests. Icel. herja, to ravage or
plunder. O. E. harry, '
Who harried hell.' Milton.

Hesp. A fastening or catch for a door. S. Eng. hasp, Icel.

hespa. A greedy and overreaching man is called an ole '

hespin.'

Hest. A horse. Icel. hestr.In proper names, as Hestam=

best and ham or heim, a dwelling. Hest Bank.

Het. Hot. Icel. heitr.

Hind or Hine. A man put in to occupy a farmhouse where

the farmer has more than one. A.-S. hina-hine, a servant,

hjdn, an upper servant.

Icel. Hind is also found in

Cumberland as surname.
Hinder, Hind. Back or behind. Icel. Jiindri.

Hisk. To open, as of children gasping for breath, or

sobbing. Of. Icel. hixta, to hiccough, to sob.

Hooker. To bend. Icel. hokra, to crouch.

32 Hollin Hummer
Hollin. The holly. This word apparently takes the Norse
suffixed article inn or in.

Holm. An island, especially in a lake or creek ;

also of low
land near a lake or river, e.
g. Silver Holme, Ling Holme,
Rough Holme, and the many Holmes in Windermere
and other lakes. Holme Islandj near Grange, in More-
cambe Bay the Abbey Holme. Compare Icel. holmr,
;

which exactly corresponds with it in those meanings.

Holme is found in Westmorland as surname.
How. Originally a grave-mound, then a gentle eminence
or mound, frequently in proper names in this sense.
Silver How, Fox How, Torpen How, Brown How, The
Hill of Howth in Dublin Bay. Miss Powley, in a Plea
for Old Names, says that how is still in use in Cumber-
land and Westmorland for grave-mound and Edmondson ;

says howie still means a mound, tumulus, or knoll in the

Shetland and Orkney Islands. Icel. haugr is a tumulus
or burial-mound ;
an Icelandic verb heygja, formed from
this noun, signifies to bury or inter with a mound over the
grave, signifying an honourable burial and a distinction
conferred only upon chieftains. See Landndma B6k.
How is found as surname in Lakeland.

How. Bleak or exposed. How and Icend express the two

opposite ideas. How, exposed ; Icend, sheltered.

Howk. To excavate. Swe., Goth, holka.

Hummer. A
grassy slope by the side of a river. Hum- '

mers dark,' Gibson's Folk Speech. Icel. hvammr, a

Very frequent as an appellation

'

grassy slope or vale ;

in every Icelandic Farm,' Vigfusson. It also means

a swamp, and is in this sense applied in Lakeland to

wet land. The word illustrates in a remarkable manner
the varied history of the same word in different countries.
 Hurd Kemp 33

While in Lakeland it has become an obscure and almost

obsolete word in the dialect: in Iceland as Hvammr,
the name of the home of the noble and talented family
of the Sturhmgs, it becomes one of the most memorable
and renowned place-names in the history of the Icelandic
commonwealth.
Hurd. A herd of cattle. Icel. hjorS. Cf. Goth, hairdeis,
a herd or shepherd, Icel. hirdir, a shepherd. John x.
'

Eg em goSr hiriftr,' I am the Good Shepherd.

Ill, adj. Bad or evil. Icel. illr, bad or evil.

'
It 's an ill

win that blows neabody good.' Proverb.

Illify. To defame.
Ings. Meadows. N. and A.-S. ing or eng, a field or
meadow. As place-name, The Ings, near Windermere.
Intak. A piece of land enclosed near a farmhouse, an
intake, evidently so called as having been originally
taken in from the common or fell.
'
As they wor o' trailin
varra sla down Willy Garnett's girt intak' Gibson's

Folk-speech. Of this word Magniisson says, 'This is

a purely Scandinavian term, but unknown in the Cum-
berland sense except in Sweden, where a piece of a
common enclosed for cultivation is called intaka.'
Intil. Into. Dan. ind til, Swe. in till.

Keld. A well or spring. (Icel. kelda, Dan. kilde, a well or

spring), found in place-names, as Threlkeld, Iron Keld,

Butterilket, Butterild Keld and Keldra, a well with an
d, or spring flowing from it ;
also a hamlet called Keld
in Westmorland.

Kemp. To strive, to contend. Icel. keppa (pp = mp), Dan.

kcempe, Swed. kdmpa. Cf. also Icel. kempa, which Vig-

fusson defines as a champion. We have two instances

*D
34 Ken Kink
of the use of this word in Stagg, the blind Cumberland
poet:
'See how the kemping shearers run,
An rive an bind an stook their corn.'

And again :

'
Auld Nick and Scott yence kempt they say,
Whan best a reeafe fra san cud twayne.'

The Scott here spoken of is Michael Scott, the wizard

mentioned in The Lay of the Last Minstrel. In more
contests than one Old Cumbrian traditions speak of him
as being able to hold his own against the devil.
Ken. To know. Icel. kenna, to know.
'
D' ye ken John
Peel?'

Kenning. Recognition, 'oot ov aw kenning,' out of all

recognition. Icel. kenning, a mark of recognition.

Ket. Carrion. Icel. kvett, ket, kjot, flesh ;

a Scandinavian
word found in neither Anglo-Saxon nor German.

Kep. To catch. Icel. kippa, to pull, to wrench, to pick.

Keslop. Rennet from calf. a

(Icel. kcesir, explained
below, and hlaup, coagulated milk.) Used very commonly
by the housewives of Cumberland and other portions of
Lakeland for making cheese. Cheese-making is not near
so common now as it was formerly, when every farm-
house used to manufacture its own cheese. The Icelandic
gives us a striking parallel to this word and its meaning,
for in Cleasby kcesir is translated as rennet from a calf s

maw, used to curdle milk, hleypa mjdlk, for making cheese

and skyr ;
is frequent in modern Icelandic usage.
and
Hlaup is the curdled milk in its first unacidulated state,
while skyr is the sour curds stored up for food, and at
present a national dish with the Northmen.
Kink. To cough in convulsions. The hooping-cough is

called the kink-cough. Icel. kinka, to nod the head.

 Kirk Kist 35

Kirk. Church. Kirkja in Iceland, kirk in Scotland, and

kirke in Denmark. Also in derived proper names:
Kirkfell in Wasdale Head, Kirkju Fell in Iceland.

Kirn or Kurn. A churn. Icel. kirna, a churn. This

word gives its name to the harvest festival or feast of the

ingathering in Cumberland, called kurn supper, from the

fact that half-churned cream was one of the good things
served up upon the occasion. Butter sops were also
a very essential part of the feast formerly, and consisted
of very thin wheaten cakes broken small and sopped in
butter melted with sugar. I do not know what Ambrosia
was like, but Butter sops used to seem to me to be
a feast fitted for the gods. I believe that they are now
almost, if not altogether, unknown. '

Up-and-down kurn,'
a churn which was much in use in Cumberland and
Westmorland formerly, although now obsolete. It was
worked by an up and down process.

Kist. A chest. Icel. kista, a chest. Old oak kists and

cupboards are to be found very generally in old farm-
houses in Cumberland and the Lake district they are ;

very curiously and laboriously carved with the initials

of the family to which they have originally belonged,
with various nourishes and devices, and dates ranging
from 1600 or thereabouts, to 1800 are carved upon them.
A gentleman, Mr. Collingwood, who is well versed in
wood carving, has assured me that some of the curious
letterscarved upon them are unmistakably Norse. Eel
kistwas the term applied by the monks of the Abbey in
Holm Cultram to the pond near the river Waver in which
they kept their eels alive. The road to it is still called
Eel Kist lane also the coffin was called kista in which
;

Kveldulf drifted aland, see Landndma.

D 2
36 Killing Lad
Killing. A kitten. Icel. kettlingr.

Kittle. To tickle. Icel. kitla.

Knab. A rocky projection, e.g. The Knob on Windermere.

Icel. knappr.
Knep. To browse or nip grass, as a horse. Dan. nappe,
to pick up rapidly small objects, to snatch.

Knot. A rocky excrescence, generally proceeding from the

top of a mountain. (Icel. knuta, which Vigfusson explains
as a knuckle-bone or the head of a bone.) The word is
of frequent occurrence both in Norway and Lakeland.
The Knott, Benson Knott, Knott End, Hard Knott,
Harte Knot ( = the hard knot) in Norway; and the idea
seems to be taken from the close resemblance which
some mountains bear to the round of the knuckles.
'
Hntita frequently applied to the tops of mountains in
is
"
Eastern Iceland, which resemble the knob of the " femur
which moves in the socket of the hip-bone.' Magnusson.
Kurn-supper. The Cumberland Feast of Ingathering.

Kyle. A boil or sore.

'
As sair as a kyle,' Proverb. From
Gripa a kylinu,' to touch
'
Icel. kyli, a boil or abscess.
a sore place. '
Odaun leggur af kylum minum,' There
'
is

anguish from my wounds.' Ps. xxxviii. 5.

Kysty. Fastidious. Applied generally to those who are

difficult to please with the quality of their food, e. g. Thu
'

lyle kysty fairy '=' You little unthankful imp.' Often

heard on the Border. Icel. kveistinn, fastidious, peevish.

Lad. (Icel. hladi), a pile or stack. Lad stones, upon the

top of Wetherlamb Mountain, are stones piled up. There
is the same idea in the place-name Lad Cragg and

Latrigg.
 Lsen'd Lang 37

Lsen'd or Leen'd, as above, used in High Furuess for

sheltered, as a leen'd place for sheep on the fell.

Laif or Hlaif. A loaf. Ulph. hlaifs, a loaf. Icel.

hleifr. The word as used in the dialect seems to have

the H.

Lair. Mire or dirt. Icel. leirr, clay, earth, loam ;

Dan.
leer. This leir or lair very frequently goes in this
sense to form place-names in Landndma, as Leirhofn,
the miry landing-place Leiruvdgr, the miry bight. ;

Lairy. Miry.
Lait or Late. To seek. (Icel. leita, to seek; Ulph.
wlaiton ; Greek, Trepc/SXeTreo-^ai, to look around.) In the
modern Icelandic Bible, John viii. 50, En eg leita ekki '

mins heiiSurs s er, sem hans leitar og dsemir,' I seek

;

not mine own glory there is one that seeketh and

;

judgeth.
'Lads i't dark, meeade rampin wark

As cloaks and clogs were laitit.'

MARK LONSDALE, TJie Upshot.

Lake or Laik. To play as children do. Icel. leika, to

play Ulph. laikan, to skip or leap for joy.

;
In the
Maeso-Gothic Bible of Ulphilas, Luke xv. 25, Saggvins '

According to De
Songs and Plays.'
'
is
jah laikans,'
Quincey (Lake Poets), Wordsworth used to pun on the
double meaning of this word as implying playing and
visiting the Lakes (' Laking ').

Laikins. Playthings, toys. Of. Icel. leikinn, playful.

'
Here baby laikins, routh o' spice on sto's an' stands extended.'
STAGG, Rosley Fair.

Lane. Alone. Icel. leyna, to conceal.

Lang. Long. Icel. langr.

38 Lang streekt Loave

Lang streekt. At full length. Dan. langstrakt, at full

length.

Lapstone. A cobbler's stone upon which he beats his

leather. Icel. lappa, to patch or cobble.
Lathe. A barn. Icel. hlada, Dan. lade, a barn. Leathes,
a village in Cumberland Watenlath, barn at the end of
;

the wath ;
and Silloth, may all come from this root.
Lee, Lea, or Ley. A scythe. Icel. le with art. le'inn,

mod. Ijdr', Dan. le, The same word in the

a scythe.
same meaning is found in Yorkshire, and Lucas thus
describes it as found in Nidderdale :.
'
It is a large heavy
scythe with a straight handle, and blade flat with the

handle, unlike those in the South, which are smaller,

and have the blade turned at an angle.'

Leeze. To cleanse wool, les being applied to anything

made of wool. Icel. les, knit woollens.

'Leeze me on thee John Barleycorn,

Thou King o' grain.' BURNS.

Leister. A salmon spear, from Icel. Ijdstr, a club, then

a salmon spear. There is a graphic description of how
the leister was used for spearing salmon on the Sol way
in the Redgauntlet of Sir W. Scott. leister with A
three prongs of a somewhat different construction is used
in Cumberland for leistering eels, the eels being brought
up between the prongs.
Lig. To lay. Icel. leggja.

Lin. Flax or linen. Icel. lin.

'
Lin sarks.' Ann
Wheeler's Dialogue.

Lite. To depend upon or rely upon. Icel. hlita, to depend

or rely on.

Loave ! An interjection denoting wonder.

 Loavins Lowse 39

Loavins. Used in the same sense.

'
Loavins, what el

Betty think, Betty think, Betty think.' B. B. B.

'
Lofin Days ! or Lovin Days !
Lofi deus, or
'
Praise God ;

an interjection of wonder.
Look. To pluck out weeds from among the corn, generally
performed by an instrument called looking tongs. The
derivation of this word of very common use in Cumber-
land puzzled me for a long time. Vigfusson, however,
seems to clear up the matter when he gives lok as mean-
ing a fern or weed, and quotes in illustration the phrase,
'Ganga sem lok yfir akra,' to spread like weeds over
a field. Dan. luge, to weed an orchard.
Looking -tongs. Looking-tongs, used as above.
Loppered. Coagulated, as milk.
Lound. Calm or still. Lound places, sheltered places. Icel.
'

leyndr, hidden, covered laun vogr,' a sheltered creek.

;

Magniisson says, anent this word

'
It has clearly the :

same sense as Swe. lugn, Dan. lun, calm,

Icel. lygn,

sheltered against the corresponding nouns being

wind :

Icel. logn, Swe. lugn, Dan. lun. Perhaps in the Lake-

land word we have at last a clue to the origin of Icel.
lundr, Swe. lund, Dan. lund, a grove.
Lova me. In Cumberland = lof-mer in Iceland, both derived
as above.

Lowe. A flame. Icel. logi ;

Dan. lue. The flame of fire

spoken of as appearing to Moses, Exod. iii. 2, is in the

Icelandic Bible, 'Eldsloga,' and in the Danish Bible,
'
Ildslue.' Eldin being also applied to fire in Lakeland.

Lowe. To flame. Swedish, Elden begynner loga upp '= '

Cumbrian and Furness phrase, T' Eldin begins at low up.''

Lowse. To release, as children from school or horses from

work. Icel. leysa, to release.
40 Lowse Meean
Lowse. Loose. Icel. lauss, loose.

Lug. Ears of a dog, horse, or sheep. Cf. Swed. lugg, forelock.

Lug-mark. The ear-mark of mountain sheep is so-called.

Mair. More. Icel. meiri.

'
The last new shun our Betty gat,
They pinched her feet, the deil may care,
What she mud hev them lady leyke
Though she hed corns for ivver mair.' ANDERSON.

Mak, sb. Make, shape, or kind.

Mak, vb. To meddle. '
Aw nowder mak nor mell.'
'
Proverb meaning, I do not interfere.'

Maks. Sorts.
'
It tuks o' maks ta mak ivvery mak.' Rev.
T. Clark, Johnney Shepherd.
Man. A conical pillar of stones erected on the top of
a mountain. Cf. Icel. mon, mane, ridge, top.

Happen or M'appen. It may happen.

'
Lai Dinah Grayson 's fresh fewsome an free
Wid a lilt iv her step an a glent'iv her e'e
She glowers ebbenat me whativer I say
An meastly maks answer wid M'appen I may
M'appen I may she sez, mappen I may,
Thou think's I believe the, an mappen I may.'

GIBSON, Folk-speech.
*
Mazlin. A
stupefied person.
'
Whats ta meead o't meer
'
an car thou ole mazlin 1 B. B. B.

Mear-field. A field in which the several shares or owner-

ships are known by meer-stones or other boundary
marks. A
field was so divided in this (Torver) parish

into three shares until last year, then the three shares
came into one ownership and the division ceased. Cf.
Icel. mceri, boundary, in landa-mceri.
Meean. A moan in Westmorland dialect.

Meean, Mane of a horse. Icel. mon.

 Meer Maid Mell Doors 41

Meer Maid or The Norse ideal of the Meer Man

Meer Man.
or Marmennill, is well illustrated on pages 76 and 77 of the

Landndma, where he is said to have been brought up

by an intending settler while fishing, and is compelled to
indicate to the settler a future landtake. The same fore-
boding or prophetic character is given to him in the
North of England.

Meer Stones. Stones placed at the boundaries of undivided

allotments to mark the limits of the owners. Many of
the old allotments were thus divided, and there are still

stones so standing and so named: seems to correspond

exactly with the Lyritr of Norway (from lydr, people,

and rettr, right), which is explained in this way :
'
When
the boundary of a field or estate was to be drawn, the
law prescribed that a mark-stone (merkis-steinn) should
be raised upon the spot, and three other stones laid
beside it, and by
called landmark-stones (lyrittar-steinar),
their number and position they were distinguished from
all other stones in the field." To meer corresponds Icel.
mo?ri, boundary in landa-mceri.
Melder. A grinding of meal. Icel. meldr, meal.
'
That ilka melder wi' the miller,
Thou sat as lang as thou hed siller.' BURNS.

Mell. To interfere. Cf. Icel. midla (rti. mdlum, to bring

terms about in disputes). In Ann Wheeler's Dialogues

Gossips are described as those who employ their time in

Gangin frae house to house heerin news an mellin e ther
'

nebbors.'

Mell Doors. The space between the outer door of a house

and the inner = middle doors. Of this word, Magnusson
'
says, In Icelandic farmhouses the term milli-dyr =.
middle door, is still heard; it means a door which is
42 Mense Murry Neet
somewhere between the front door and the door of the
household sitting-room = badstofu-dyr.'
Mense. Decency. Icel. mennska, manliness or propriety

of conduct ; what becomes a man, from Icelandic menri'

skr, what belongs to a man.
Mensfu. (Icel. mennskufullrT) Hospitable or becoming.
Derived as above.

Meol or Meals. (In Iceland sandhills are called

Sandhills.

mdr, pi. melar from the meal-like appearance of the sand.)

Found frequently in proper names, e. g. Millom meol =
holm, Esk Meals, Mealsgate, Cartmel, Mealo. See a very
interesting illustration in the Landndma. See pages 77
and 78.
Mi. Mine. Icel. minn, min, mitt, my.
Mickle. Large. Icel. mikill, large. Mickle dore, lit. Great
Door, the deep chasm or opening between Scawfell and
Scawfell Pikes.

Mind, vb. To give one's mind or attention to. Icel.

minna, to remind.

Mire. A moor or bog. Found in place names, as The

Mire, Pelutho Mire, Mire Side. Icel. mtfrr, a moor, bog,
or swamp. Hence also in Icelandic place-names, Myri,

Myrar.
Moud. Mold. Icel. mold.

Moudywarp. The mole. Icel. moldvarpa.

Muck. Dirt or mud. Icel. myki.
Muit or Moot Ho. Literally the Meeting Hall or Town Hall.
Man. Must. Icel. mun.
Munnet. Must not.

Murry Neet, Merry Neet or Old Wife Hake. This, as its

name imports, was a night dedicated to mirth and
 Naggin Numerals 43

festivity. It took place at some village or country inn

during the Christmas holidays, and was most character-

istic of Cumberland and Lakeland. In the following
verse from Anderson's Bleckell Murry neet, the scenes at
such an entertainment are described :

'
Ay, lad sec a murry neet, we 've hed at Bleckell,
The sound the fiddle yet rings in my ear,
o'

Aw reet clipt an heelt war the lads and the lasses

And monie a eleverllsh hi/zy was theer ;

The bettermer swort sat snug i' the parlour,

I' the pantry the Sweethearters cutter'd sea soft,
The dancers they kick'd up a stour i' the kitchin,
At lanter the caird-lakers sat i' the loft.'

Naggin. Tormenting. Icel. naga, to gnaw ; colloquial :

nagga and naggra, nag.

Narhand. Near to. Icel. ncerhendis.
Natterin. Peevish, cross. Icel.
gnadd, grumbling ; gnadda,
to grumble. Dan. gTiaddre, to grumble.
Neaf. Fist. Icel. hnefi, the fist.

Neakt. Icel. nekt, nakedness.

Near. Stingy. Dan. ncer, close, sharp.

Neb. Beak. Dan. nceb, Icel. nef.

Neea. No. Icel. neinn.

Nuik or Neuk. Nook.
'They say a heedless woman woaks at sartin neets o' t' year
An greeans an yewls at sec a rate as freetins fowk to heer
I wadn't mind sec teals, bit yence I gat afreet mesel ;

I' Branthet Neuk, an hoo it was, just lissen an I'll tell.'

GIBSON, Branthet Neuk Boggle.

Numerals. The following are the Icelandic numerals up

to Einn, one tveir, two frir, three fjdrir,
five :
; ; ;

four fimm, five.

; The numeral system of the dialect
does not, so far as I have been able to compare them,
bear any especial affinity to them. A very curious
 Offcmn
numeral system, however, has been found to prevail,
with some phonetic variations, over the whole of the
North-English district of which I am treating, having
come down apparently viva voce from very early times.
They have been generally spoken of as sheep-scoring
numerals, though by no means confined to this. I sub-
join three specimens :

No. 1. No. 2. No. 3.

BORROWDALE, KlRKBY CONISTON,

KESWICK, STEPHEN, HIGH FURNESS,
CUMBERLAND. WESTMORLAND. NORTH LANCASHIRE.

Yan Yan' Yan

Tyan Tyaan' Taen
Tethera Taed-'ere Tedderte
Methera Maed-'dere Medderte
Pimp Mimp Pimp
Sethera Hai'tes Sethera
Lethera Sai tes Lethera
Hovera Hao-ves Hovera
Dovera Dao-ves Dovera
Dick Dik Dik
'

Yan-a-dick Yaan-edik Yan-a-dik

Tyan-a-dick Tyaan-edik Taen-a-dik
Tether-a-dick Taed'eredik Tedder-a-dik
Mether-a-dick Maed'eredik Medder-a-dik
Bumfit Buun Mimph
Yan-a-bumfit Yaan'eboon Yan-a-Mimph
Tyan-a-bumfit Tyaan-eboon Taen-a-Mimph
Tether-a-bumfit Taed'ereboon Tedder-a-Mimph
Mether-a-bumfit Maed-ereboon Medder-a-Mimph
Giggot Buomfit Gigget

No. 1 was obtained from the shepherds of Borrowdale.

No. 2 Dr. A. J. Ellis obtained through Dr. Murray from Mr. W. H.
Thompson, of Kirkby Stephen.
No. 3 my wife remembered from childhood as used by Coniston
shepherds.

as to form with
Offcum. Stranger, seems to correspond
Icel. af-kvcemi. In the Fell dales, those who are not
natives of a dale or district, or who have lately come
 Oft Pot 45

into it, are called offcums, and it is sometimes very long

ere they are looked upon as possessing the full freedom
and social privileges of the dale or district.

Oft. Icel. opt or oft.

Oot. Icel. tit, out.

'Thou's here ivery day just to put yan aboot
An thou moiders yan terrably Jwohnny, git ooC
GIBSON, Folk*speech.

Feat. An
oblong piece of moss or turf used for beating or
mending the fire hence called beats or peats.
;

Peat Mull. The waste or de'bris of the above used for

banking up fires, so that they may smoulder and continue

alighted. Mull= Swed. mull, Dan. muld, Icel. mold. Icel.

tn6-mold answers exactly to peat mull ;

m6 from m6r, peat.
Pell. A rattling shower of hail or rain. A Cumbrian,
being questioned as to whether it rained much in his

neighbourhood, replied, It donks and drizzles, bit nivver

'

cums doon in nea greet pell'

Pentas. Penthouse. A roof fixed to the side of a house.
Common Cumber-
in the last century in farmhouses in
land and Lakeland generally. With the modern im-

provements in farmhouses they have now generally

passed away. There is still one at Low Torver Park in
this parish, one I know in Langdale, and one till lately

at Hause Bank, Coniston. Magniisson, who visited some

of them when residing here with us, says he believes
them identical with the outside galleries which formed
of old a marked feature in Scandinavian houses.

Pot. Icel. pottr. The deep circular holes generally filled

with water, from which peats have been dug upon the
mosses, are called peat pots. The word is also applied
to the deep circular holes which the action of a river
46 Pun Rake
forms amongst the rocks in the Duddon. The circular
glacier mills in the rocks of Switzerland have been
formed by a somewhat similar process. The word is

applied to any basin-shaped hole. From this root are

kail pot, the large circular pan used for boiling broth ;

set pot, the large circular pan built into a furnace.

Pun. Pound.
Punston. Poundstone ;
a pebble or cobble stone, as nearly
as possible of the weight of twenty-two ounces. In old
days butter was sold by the long pound, which weighed
twenty-two ounces. Great care was exercised in select-
ing a round stone of the precise weight. I remember
a round cobble stone so used by an ancestor of my own,
which had been chipped a little to reduce it to the
'
standard.' One of the oldest and heaviest penny pieces
was selected in order to give the cast or overweight.

Quit. Free. N. kvittr, free. When a person loses at

a game of chance, he sometimes says he will play again,
'
double or quits,' i. e. quit or free from the obligation.
It is found in the same sense in the Bible :
'
The owner
of the ox shall be quit.' Exod. xxi. 28.

Raise. Applied originally to mounds or cairns raised over

the dead, as Dunmail Raise, between Grasmere and
Wyburn, said to be the grave of Dunmail, the last king
of rocky Cumberland. Stone Raise is the name of a
Cumbrian village thus derived. Of this word Magniisson
says,
*
Raise =Icel. hreysi Dan. ros and rose Swe. rose
; ; ;

Norw. ros, also Dan. and Swe. sten-rose, all = heap of stones
thrown together anyhow by hands or nature ;
a cairn.'
Rake. Commonly used as name of a sheepdog, from Icel.

reka, to drive, or reki, driver. Possibly, however = Icel.

rakki, a cur.
 Rake Rash 47

Rake. In the Lake country, applied generally to the

narrow paths along which sheep are driven to the
fell. It is used in the same acceptation in Yorkshire.
From Icel. reka, part, rak, originally vreka, to drive ;

Outrake, corresponding in sound and meaning with

'
Icel. tit reka (Joshua iii. 10, lit reka kananita,' drive

out Canaanites), was a path

the by which sheep
were driven out to the fell. There is one so named

on Black Combe, one at Torver, one at Coniston.

There seems to be one or more in most of the larger
'

valleys in Lakeland, which are spoken of as the rake,'

just as we speak of 'the fell.' There are also several

farms in the district called The Outrake,' and I have
{

observed that such farms generally stand at the entrance

to a rake or fell drive. The Norse verb reka, also
means to drive or drift, as the tide does ;
and we have
this verb in the place-name of Wreaks End, near
Broughton in Furness, derived from a point in the
stream close by which makes the end of the tide flow
or drift in that direction. On the Yorkshire moors sheep
'

are said to '

rake out when they go single file. Ulleraker
= wool rakes, was formerly a realm of Sweden in the

present province of Westmanland.

Ham. Strong, as of a pungent, offensive smell. Icel. ramr,

rammr, strong, rank.
Rang. Wrong. Icel. rangr.
Rannel Boak. The house beam ;
the large beam running
across the chimney in old farmhouses. Icel. rann,
a house (?)
and balkr, a beam.

Rannel Tree. Another form of the above.

Rash. Active. 'As rash an' as young eighty-five.'
Anderson. Icel. roskr, Dan. rask, Swed. rask.
48 Ratch Reean
Batch. To sneak about, to lay hold of meat, as dogs do.
a hound or dog.
Cf. Icel. rakki,

Ratch. A thievish, greedy animal, generally applied to an

old sow which is spoken of as the
'
ole ratch.' Sometimes
applied to a thievish person, as in the following lines :

'An than t' ole body cums oot ta fratch

She 's a gudden ta fratch is yon un my songs.
She co's me "a durty ole theeven ratch"
An than we ga at it leyke hammer an tongs.' Local Song.

Raup. An auction, from Icel. hrdpa, to cry, hr6p, a cry.

Reckling. The weakest member of a litter of pigs or of

a brood of chickens, from O. N. reklingr, an outcast or ;

it may be from reck, care, as

describing that which requires
most care.

Red. Iron-ore, so called in Furness, from Icel. raudi, the

red iron ore, from which the Norse settlers wrought iron.
Landndma * Hann bl^s fyrstr manna raufta a Islandi,
:

ok var hann af ]?vi kallaftr RauiSa-Bjorn,' he was the

first man who smelted (red) iron in Iceland, and from
this he was called Red-Bjorn.

Redstake. The stake by which cattle are bound to the

*
bewce.' A.-S. wrced, a band or tie, and staca, a stake.

Reean Rein and Rane (in Cumberland and

(in Furness),

Westmorland). The reeans, in Furness, were unploughed

portions which were left round the cultivated fields,

known in other portions of the country as

'
head riggs.'
The origin of the name seems, however, to have been
from the uncultivated strips which before town fields and
,

commons were divided by fences, were left untilled in

order to mark the boundaries. A neighbouring land-
owner, aged somewhere near eighty, tells me that he
remembers perfectly well when the town fields of Coniston
and Torver were divided by such reeans, and every man's
 Reeap Reet 49

division was called his reean. The same system was

known also in Westmorland, for J. B. Davies, Esq., of

Kirkby Stephen, says The name reeans is used here

:
'

for narrow strips of grass land, a little higher than the

ground on either side, left in closes called field lands or

dale lands to mark the division of such land or dale.
We have fields called raynes, sloping land with riggs or
terraces, on the lower side of which there is usually a
reean or slightly elevated strip. These slightly elevated
strips have often been levelled down, but the name is
still retained.' The same system prevailed in Cumber-
land, and Dickinson, in his Glossary of the Cum. Dialect

(English Dialect Society) defines Rig and Rane,' a phrase

'

very common in Cumberland formerly, as an arable field

'

held in shares, which are divided by narrow green lanes

(ranes) and the intervals usually cultivated.' The system

is found still, any rate was found very recently, at
or at

Tebay near Penrith in Westmorland. The system for-

merly prevailed in Yorkshire. O. N., Icel. rein, Swed.
ren, a grassy strip round a cornfield, which must not be
broken up by plough or spade ;
a field- boundary.

Reeap. Rope. Ulph. raips, Icel. reip, rope.

Reek. Smoke. Icel. reykr, smoke.

Reykjavik, the capital
of Iceland, is literally smoke wick,' so called from the
'

steaming hot springs near it. Cf. the Auld Reekie,' or

'

Edinburgh, in Burns.
Reek. To smoke. Icel. rjuka.

Reet. Neat, properly equipped or fitted out.

'She's smart oot o' dooars, she's tidy i't 'hoose,
Snod as a mowdy warp sleek as a moose ;
I black goon, i blue goon, i green goon or grey,
I tell her she's reel, an git m'appen I may.'
GIBSON, Folk-Speech.
*E
50 Rice Rowan Tree
Bice or Bis or Bise. Brushwood, thorns on hedges, &c.
Copsewood and brushwood generally. A person doing
anything with energy is said to be 'gaun at it leyke
a man haggen (i.
e. rise,' implying that
cutting down),
rise, from its thick, prickly and impenetrable nature,
requires energy in him who cuts it down. Icel. hris,

a collective noun for shrubs or brushwood. (O. E. rls or

rys. Chaucer.)
Biddins or Ruddins. Clearings. See Landndma, 126.

Big. A ridge. Icel. hryggr, given in Cleasby as the

back or spine in men or beasts, then a ridge or mountain

ridge. very generally applied in this country to

It is

a ridge, then an oblong hill, as Lantriggs, Latrigg also ;

in Cumberland as surname.

Big Beeap. The straw rope going over the ridge of a

stack.

Bim. An edge ;
from Icel. rim, a rim or outer edge, as of
a sword.
Bive. To tear. A *
slate river
'
is a splitter or divider of
slates. A boy who tears his clothes '
is called a rive rags.'

Icel. rifa ;
Dan. rive ; Eng. rive.

Boss. From Icel. hross, a horse. Rosthwaite, Rossgid,

Rosley, noted for its horse fair; and Ross, a common
surname.
Boven. Riven. Icel. rofinn, part, of rjufa.

Bowan The mountain ash. O. N. reynir Dan.

Tree. ;

ronnetrcB. This word marks, perhaps more clearly than

any other, the intimate connexion between the words and

superstitions of Scandinavia and the North of England.
Reynir is found in a few Icelandic place-names, as
Reynir, Reynivellir; Reynis-Stadr, applied to mark
places at the time of the settlement, the only sort
 Rowt Ruddle 51

of tree, except the dwarf birch, that was found in

Iceland. There is a place called Raynors, in Cum-
berland, which seems to mean 'The Mountain Ashes.'
Rowantree is also found as surname. The rowan tree
was a holy tree consecrated to Thor, and, according to

legends quoted in Vigfusson, very intimately connected

with the mysteries and superstitions of the Icelanders.
Reynir had its fame in Iceland from the
supposed
magical influence of the tree against witches. In some
places in the North of England a piece of the rowan
tree was placed above the door to scare away evil

influences. Atkinson, in his Forty Years in a Moorland

Parish, says that in Yorkshire women often carried
with them a piece of the rowan tree to drive off evil
spirits, hence it was called witch wood ;
and in Lake-
land the stick for stirring the cream was frequently of
the rowan tree wood, to counteract the malign spiritual
influence which at times bewitched the cream so that no
butter was forthcoming. Burns says :

'Thence countra wives, wi' toil and pain

May plunge and plunge the kirn in vain :

For, oh the yellow treasures taen

!

By witching skill
And dawtit twal-pint hawkie's gaen
As yell's the bill.'

Rowt. To bellow (of cattle). Icel. rauta, to roar ; Swe.

ryta.

Ruddle. Red paint used for marking sheep, and made

from the red hematite found up the Wasdale Screes and
elsewhere among the Cumbrian Mountains. See the
mode of procuring it described in The Old Church Clock,
by Canon Parkinson. Icel. ryd, rust. Magnusson says,
The corresponding Icelandic word is rjddla, an iterative
'

of rjdda, to redden by besmearing, used in the common

E 2
52 Rung Scale

language of Iceland for the act of lightly besmearing.

The word is not recorded in the dictionaries, but it may
be heard in all parts of the country.'

Rung. Round of a ladder.

Runnel. An open drain or runlet. Dan. dialect, ronnd.

Sackless. Simple or without energy. Icel. saklauss,

innocent, free from blame. From sok, blame, and lauss,
without. A '
neer-do-well
'

is sometimes called a sackless.

Saeng. A heap or bed of hay. Icel. seeing, sceng, bed.

Saim. Lard.

Sair or Sarr. Sore. Icel. sdrr.

Sammel. Gravel.

Sand. Often used to form place-names. Icel. sandr.

Sark. Shirt. Icel. serkr, shirt.

'An cried out, "Weel dune cutty sarkl"

When 'in a moment a' was dark.' BURNS.

Scale. A wooden hut or shelter. Used of wooden huts

put up as a temporary protection for turf, which are
called 'peat scales.' It is also frequently found in

place-names, as The Scales, Scale Hill. Bowscale, Sea-

scale, Nether Scales, Scaleby, literally the booth dwelling.'
'

Icel. skdli, a shed or hut put up for temporary use. It

is said in the Landndma Bok of the earliest settlers in

par s^r enn skala-topt peirra ok sva

'

Iceland, hrdfit.'

Scale, vb. To
disperse or separate. Icel. skilja, to

separate. This word is very generally used in the dialect

of Lakeland. Scaling hay, spreading it out in the sun ;

scaling, i. e.
spreading, peats. The clouds are said to
scale when they disperse.
 Scar Seyme-twiner 53

Scar. The face of a rock, a cliff cut off or escarped ; the

rock itself. Cf. Icel. sker, an isolated rock, from skera,
to cut ; Swe. skdr.
Sconce. A stone seat fixed in the wall in old farmhouses.
*

Cf. Icel. skonsa, a nook in a house.

Scree. The de'bris or shale on the steep, almost perpen-
dicular, side of a mountain, as the Screes of Wastwater ;

from Icel. skrida, or from the sound scree, which the

shale makes in rushing down.

Scroggs. Stumps. Dan. srog, a stump.

Sebben. Seven. Ulph. sibun, seven.

Seean. Soon. Icel. senn, soon.

Seeves. Rushes. Icel. sef, Dan. siv, a rush. Called also

'
in Scotland and on the border, rash, e. g. Green grow
the rashes, O.'

Segg. A hard callous place on the hand. Icel. sigg, thick,

hard skin.
Sel. An Icelandic word very frequent in Landndma, mean-
ing a shed on a mountain pasture, but within the land-
marks of each farm, where the milk cows were kept in
summer. In place-names in Lakeland, e. g. Sellafield,
Selside, &c., we seem to retain this word.
Sett. To accompany so as to direct or place in the right

way. Icel. setja, to place or set in the right direction.

'
Aw sett Betty yem aw the way to Kurkbanton,
An on the ole settle we coddlet aw neet.' ANDERSON.

Settle. A
long seat with a high back. 'The settle neist
was thrown aseyde.' Anderson. -

Seyme-twiner. A small machine placed under the arm

and used for twisting straw ropes for stacks. Cf. Icel.
sima, n., rope and tvinna, to twine.
54 Seymie Sipe

Seymie. Used of any ill-natured, twisted fellow. It occurs

in this sense in the following verse of Anderson's Kursmas

Eve:
'Than wry-gobb'd Seymie neest meead a lang speech
Bad them drop o' their fratchen and speyte ye tknaa
"What neybers" said he "yud far better gree
"Nor for lawyers and doctors thus feight ye tknaa.'"

Shank. The lower or remaining part. Dan. skank.

Sheep-sime or seyme. A straw rope hung round a sheep's

neck, including the foreleg, to prevent its leaping fences.
Cf. seyme-twiner.

Shive. A slice. Icel. skifa ;

Dan. skive.

Shive, vb. To slice.

Shrike. To shriek. Icel. skrcekja.

Side. A settlement. In place-names, as Arnside, Ormslde,

Ambleside, Swinside. Icel. sftfa, side, name of many
settlements.

Sike or Syke. A
small stream or gutter. Icel. siki.

Found also as part of place-name in Sykehouse, Syke-

side, Sykehead. Also as surname, Sykes.

Sile. Used for straining milk, a sieve. In domestic

language in the east of Iceland stli, for liquids only.

Sile, vb. To strain milk with a sile. East Icel. sila.

Sime or Seyme. The straw rope used for holding down the
thatch or covering upon stacks. Icel. sima, a cord or rope.

Sin. Since. Icel. sidan ;

Dan. siden.

Sine, sb. A strainer ;

Icel. sija (Engl. in = Icel. i, in many
cases), a sieve.

Sine, vb. To strain. Icel. sija.

Sipe, vb. To drip. Dan. sive, to drip.

 Skarn Skum 55

Skarn. Dung. Icel. skarn, dung.

Skel. Shell. Icel. skel, a shell. '"Here's five dozen o'
"
eggs," sez she. I wadn't give a skell o' them mair nor
'
ten for sixpence." B. B. B.

Skemmel. A long wooden bench used as a seat. Icel.

skemill, a bench.

Skep. A circular basket made of rushes, a beehive. Icel.

skeppa.

Skift. To shift. Icel. skifta.

Skill. To shell, as peas. Icel. skilja, to separate. Of. how-

ever Dan. skalle, Swed. skala, to shell.

Skillings. The farinaceous portion of wheat or oats

separated from the husks. Cf. Icel. skilja, to separate.

Skirl. To scream.
Skratti. The name of a hobgoblin or boggle. This name
and idea were once very well known in Cumberland,
and I remember having heard it often forty or fifty years
ago. This name, as known in Cumberland, is evidently
the Norse or Icelandic skratti, a wizard or warlock. The
Swedish skratti refers to the strange noises with which
wizards work ;
also a goblin or monster, as vatna-skratti,
a water sprite or monster. Skratta sker, the scar or
rock by Karmt isle in Norway, on which certain wizards
were exposed to die, reminds one of Scratchmere Scar,
in Lakeland.

Skreek. To shriek. Icel. skrcekja.

Skufter. To run about hastily or in a confused manner.

Icel. skotta, to veer, or hover about.

Skum. That which rises to the top when a liquid is boiled.

Dan. skum.
56 Skim Snarl

Skun. To throw with a quick and hasty effort. Icel.

skunda, to speed, skynda, to cause to speed, to throw.

Skut. The hind-end board of a farmer's cart, which can be

taken out. Icel. skutr, the stern.

Slack. A hollow boggy place. Also as place-name, e.g.

Nettleslack, Ashslack. Icel. slakki has the same mean-
ing. Found in Cumberland as surname.

Slape. Slippery. Icel. sleipr, slippery.

Slape-clogs. A cheat.

Slatter. To spill. Icel. sletta, to dash.

Sleek. To quench. Icel. slekka, to slake.

Sled. Asledge shod with iron, and used for dragging

slates or peats, where carts or wheel carriages could not

be used. Icel. sledi, a sledge.

Slockeu. To quench thirst. Icel. slokkva, to extinguish.

Smit, vb. a. To mark sheep with a distinctive mark, or

smear them, as farmers do, with red or ruddle previous
to sending them to the fell. Lambs are so smitted when
put upon the fell, and sheep at clipping time. Each
first

farmer has his own distinct smit or brand, which are

carefully noted in the shepherd's book. Smeitan, to
smear, is found in the Bible of Ulphilas=Icel. smyrja,
to smear or anoint, as of kings. There is an Icel. word,
smita, of fatty humors oozing through the pores of the
face.

Smit, 86. A mark upon sheep from the above.

farmer's ;

' '

With the '

smit lug mark there are, it is
and the '

stated, about 600 varieties of sheep marking in Cum-

berland, Westmorland, and Furness.
Snarl. A string or rope is said to be in a snarl when it
 Sned Sowens 57

is twisted and tied, so it cannot

that easily be un-
fastened. Magnusson says, I have
'
heard this expression
in Eastern Iceland "fserift er alt i snerli"=the line

(a new fishing tackle) is all in a snarl, i. e. all twisted

into a knot.'

Sned. To cut, lop, or prune. Icel. snida.

Snop snarl. An ill-natured person.

Soop. Old dialect for sweep. Icel. s6pa.

Setter (of porridge). To seethe, or simmer.

Soua ! Soua ! or Swa !

interj. Don't or cease
! ! or fie ! was
very common
in the dialect with old people, but is now
fast dying out. Vigfusson gives almost the same word in
Icelandic, svei, fie, and he says that svei l^r, svei, svei,
'

'
svei is the cry of the Icelandic shepherd to his
!
dog if
he worries a sheep or barks at a stranger and I have ;

heard almost the very same words, under the same

circumstances, used by a shepherd to his dog in Lake-
'
'
land :
Sooa, theer, sooa, sooa, sooa !

Sour. Boggy and swampy land is called sour land. Icel.

saur, boggy or moorland. In LaTidndma, 126, it is said of

the settlement of Steinolf He saw a clearing in the dale,
:
'

and there he built his house (bae), and called th.e whole
dale Saurbce, the swampy dwelling, as there was much
sour land there.' Cf. Sowerby, Sowerby Castle, Temple
Sowerby.
Sowens. The husks of oatmeal were steeped in water,
and the farinaceous matter so extracted was served up
boiled in milk. So served it was called sowens.

'Sup good sowens,

Sup good man,
If thou issnt full
Thou may lick o'ol t' pan.' Cumberland Old Saw.
58 Spean Steek

Spean. To wean. Icel. speni, a teat or dug of animals.

Speer. To ask. Icel. spyrja, to ask.

Spelk. A splinter. Icel. speller.

Stack. Pret. Icel. stakk, pret. of stinga, to stick.

Stag. A colt when first mounted to be broken in. Stagg

is found in surname.

Staip. To overturn, as a cart. Icel. steypa, to make to

stoop, to overturn.

Stang. A post pole, or shaft of a cart. Icel. stong, gen.

stangar.

Stangin. On the evenings of Christmas Day and New

Year's Day the revellers were accustomed to mount
those they met upon a stang, bear them so mounted to
'

the public house, and compel them to stand drinks '

;

this was called stangin.

Sted. A place, as housested, fairsted ;

or abode, used in
the sense of place in the Bible And Abijam his son
:
'

reigned in his stead,' i

Kings xiv. 31. Icel. staifr, a place,
from stedja, to place. We
have it in Lakeland frequently
in place-names, as Souterstead, Bowmanstead. The
place where the Temple of Thor is said to have stood
at Thursby, is called Kirksteads. There, possibly, a
Christian Church had been built upon the site of the
former temple of Thor.
Stee. A ladder. Icel. stigi, a ladder, stigr, a step, steep
ascent. Dan. stige, a ladder, sti, a steep path or ascent.

Stye Head Pass, Kidsty Pike, Stake Pass.

Steek. To shut or close. In domestic speech in East
Iceland stjaka dyr, is to fasten the door of a sheep-pen

by a pole, (stjaki) slantingly pressed against it.

 Steel Taistrill 59

Steel. A stile, from the same root. Dan. steile, Icel. stagl.

As place-name, Steel Fell, High Steel, Steel Bank, Climb

Steel. Of. Icel. Stagley, an island so called.

Steg. A gander. Icel. steggr, a male bird.

Stoun. A sudden fit of pain. Icel. stingr, pi. stingir,

shooting pains ?

Stower. A stake, as
'

dyke stower,' a hedge stake. Icel.

staurr ; Dan. and Sw. stor.

Sump or Sumph. The puddle about a midden. Dan. sump,

mire, or puddle.

Swange. When hay is rolled into two ridges, leaving

a hollow between them, it was in the dialect called
a swange. In Icel. svangi means that hollow which
shows between the vertebrae of the long back and the
belly of a hungry cow. In Yorkshire, swangs are hollow
places in high ground.
Sweel. To flare up and burn rapidly, as a candle. Cf. Icel.

svcela, heat accompanied by smoke.

Sweltered. Overcome with heat. Icel. svceldr, Ulph.

swiltan, to be overcome.

Swey. To swing. Dan. svaje. Cf. Icel. sveigia.

Swingle-tree. The splinter bar. Icel. svingla, to rotate.

Swipe. To drink off hastily. Icel. svipa, to swoop. Cf.

the Icelandic phrase drekka ut i einum svip, to quaff off

in one gulp.

Taggy Bell. The curfew. So called near Penrith, where the

custom of ringing the taggy is still kept up. Dan. tcekke,
to cover.

Taistrill. Waistril or vagabond.

60 Tak Thrang
Tak. To take. Icel. taka.

Tanggal. Seaweed. Icel. Jtongull (from older *Jjangall),

seaweed stalk (para-fiongull). Cf. Dan. tang.

Tarn. A
small mountain lake, e. g. Blea Tarn, Little

Langdale Tarn, Easedale Tarn. Icel. tjo'rn, gen. tjarnar,

a tarn. A tarn without visible outlet is called a blind '

tarn.'

Teem, adj. Empty. Turn, vb. To empty. 'An theer wm

thy brock skin-bag,' Fray o' Sowport. Icel. tdmr, empty.
'
Jb'rSin var ey&i og t(5m,' the earth was without form
and void ; tcema, to empty.

Tengs Tangs (W. and

(C.), F.). Tongs. Icel. tong, pi.
tengr, Dan. tang.

Thack, sb. Thatch. Icel. Jtak and JJekja, to thatch or

cover.

Thack, vb. To thatch. Icel. fekja.

Thivel or Thyvel. The round stick still used for stirring

the porridge. Cf. the unique passage in Eyrbyggja-saga,

ed.Vigfusson 1 864, p. 70, 9 :

(
hann hafdijid enn eigijiafffan
sinn graut
'
= he
had then still not stirred (done stirring)
his porridge. This pp.J>afdr must go back to an inf. fiefja,
to beat, stamp, stir, cf.fcefa once there doubtless existed
;

an O. N. */ce/i^=thyvel.
Thole. To bear or endure. Icel. fola, to bear or endure.
'
He that tholes, overcomes.' Scottish Border Proverb.

Thor. In place-names. Thursby, pronounced Thorsby ;

Thuston Water, former name of Coniston Lake.

Thrang. Busy. Icel. frongr, close or tight. Proverb,

'
Thang as Throp's wife.' A rock very close to the margin
of Coniston Lake is called Thrang Cragg.
 Threep Thwaite 61

Threep. To argue persistently. Icel. Jirefa. There are

lands in Cumberland called Threeplands or Threaplands,
i. e. debateable lands or lands of
disputed ownership.
Thum-sime or -seyme. A short rope made by twisting
straw round the thumb.

Thur. These. Icel.jSeir, they, these.

Thurm. Gut. Used of fiddle strings. Icel.Jjarmr, Dan.-

Swed. tarm.

Thwaite. A piece of land cut off by a fence, or enclosed ;

a fell or meadow. Icel. pveit or fveiti. The root is

found in A.-S. thwitan, to chop or cut off [Chaucer],

Thwite, Cumberland dialect, to white, q. v. Thwaites in

Lakeland were originally fields or meadows fenced or cut
"
off. In this acceptation we have thwaites used as a
common noun of the thwaites or meadows on the margin
of Coniston Lake. So in
Icelandic, of a piece of land or

paddock of land, in which language it seems to have

been originally used of an outlying cottage with its
paddock.
'
fser jarSir allar, bu ok J>veiti,' all the
estates, dwellings, and thwaites where 6^, cottage, and
;

pveiti, field, seem opposed to one another. The modern

sense Qfpveit in Icelandic is the brim of dry meadowland
that gradually inclines towards bogland. From being
a field-name, thwaite gradually, in Cumberland and
Westmorland, became applied to farms, and then to
villages and parishes, as The Thwaite near Coniston, Sea-
thwaite, Ormthwaite, Crossthwaite, Bassenthwaite. And
in this sense it is of very frequent application in Norway
and Denmark. Tvcet, Dan. tvcede ;
or thwaite, a surname ;

and the word thwaite is also found as a surname in High

Furness. There are several names ending in thwaite,
almost identical in Norway and Lakeland :
 Tike Toft

tik. a tradition that a Curwen of Workington

There is

Hall shot a Howard of Corby in a duel on Carlisle

Sands, during an assize meeting, for offensively using
'
'
the word tyke to him. Tyke is a trickster, especially
in dealings in horses, and in this acceptation the word
seems, like the character which it represents, to have
come to us from Yorkshire. What tyke means in that
county, and hence often in Lakeland also, may be made
evident from the following description pf
'
A Yorkshire
Tyke.'
Bane
'
ta Clapham town gate, liv'd an owd Yorksher tike
Who idealing i horseflesh had ne'er met his like,
Twor his pride that ive au the hard bargains hede hit,
Hede bit a girt monny, bud niwer been bit.'
Nidderdale Almanac, 1873.

Til. To. O. N. and Dan., Swe. and Scotch, til, to.

Tite. Soon. Cf. Icel. titt, n. of tidr, often, and tifila,

(for

tidlega), early.

Titter. Sooner. Cf. Icel. tidar, adv., oftener.

'
Titter an
better,' Proverb.

Toft. A homestead. The farmhouse including the farm

buildings. Icel. toft or topt, orig. the four roofless walls
of a house, hence, in pi. homestead, in place-names.
In the East of England this word is used as part of
place-name, as Lowestoft. In Cumberland it is the most
usual name for farmhouse, farm buildings, or homestead.
'
E. g. '
That barn,' says Hyne, i' Palmer's toft e'll dea
reet weel to keav in,' The Upshot. In a Court Book of
 TopSark Tun 63

the Manor of Derwentwater, Gawen Wren was fined

ten shillings about the year 1640 for having two fires
in one toft at the same time. The fuel then chiefly used
was wood, and this was one of the various expedients for

preventing too rapid consumption.

its In the article
upon Bloomeries it will be seen that an Act was passed
in the reign of Elizabeth abolishing Bloomeries in High

Furness, because they deprived the tenants of their proper

wood and fuel. Toft is found as surname.
Top Sark. A loose overcoat of coarse grey wool, very

commonly used by farmers and their men servants in the

'

early part of this century. I set off i t' rain wid my

basket an' things in't, anonder
t'
my top sark, to keep
o' dry.' B. B. B.
Trail. To go slowly. Icel. tregligr, indolent."

'They were o' trailin away varra sla.' GIBSON, Folk-speech.

Trinter. Sheep of three years or winters. An example of

the method of reckoning by winters is found in the
Bible of Ulphilas, where the girl of twelve years old is
said to be twalib wintrus,' Luke viii. 42. The method of
'

counting years by winters is almost invariably found in

the Landndma, e.
g.
'
At that time had passed from the
'

beginning of the world 6073 winters (Landndma,

ch. vi. p. 33). The corresponding Icelandic word is

J>revetr=a, sheep of three winters or years old.

Trod. A footpath,, called a fit trod. Cf. Icel. trod.

Tuithwark. Toothache.

Tun or Ton. Originally a field or place surrounded by

a hedge. In this sense Wycliffe translates Matt. xxii. 5 :

'
But thei dispiseden, and wenten forth, oon to his tun
(field), another to his merchandise.' Cf. Icel. tun, an
enclosed field round a homestead.
64 Twinter Waffler

Twinter. A sheep of two years old (lit. two winters).

Corresponding to Icelandic tvcevetr =a sheep of two
winters old.

Unco. Uncommon. Found on both the Cumberland and

Scottish side of the Border as
'
unco gude,' very good.
Icel. einkar, specially or greatly, prefixed to adjectives
'
or adverbs, as einkar vel,' very well.

Unket. Uncommon.
Upshot. A Cumberland festive gathering of general enter-
tainment and merriment usually held upon Fassen's
even, Shrove Tuesday evening, or the eve of the
i. e.

Feast before Lent. The Upshot, Mark Lonsdale's longest

poem in the dialect, takes from being the de-

its title

scription of such an upshot. The opening lines are as

follows :

'Thur Worton lads an twea three mair

Theer mud be six or seeven
Tawk't of an upshot lang an sair,
To keep up Fassen's even.'

It seems to have taken its name upshot from paying up

the shot or expenses described in the following lines :

'At teyme when nwote bit teeth was gaun,

An' aw by the chafts was tether'd
Wull Brough an' ftitson tuik in haun,
To see 'at shot was gether't.

Uptak. The taking up or finding of anything. IceL upp-

tak, a seizure or confiscation.

Waffle. To hesitate or vacillate. Icel. vcvflast.

Waffler. One who hesitates. In the slang of Iceland both

vcefill and vceflari, in the same sense, occur.
o' fame an renown,
'
St. George the greet Champion
Was nobbit a waffler to Matthew Macree.' ANDERSON
 Wale Wath 65

Wale, vb. To select. Icel. velja. In the Bible of Ulphilas

waljan is 'to and walis is 'chosen' or true.
choose,'
Professor Wilson calls the Old Man Mountain, The wale '

o' gude fellows, the king of old men.' The Old Man has
probably in his time formed the subject of more com-
parisons than any other man. In a letter 1 have from
Professor Ruskin, he says, ' I have more correspondence

upon my table than the bulk of the Old Man. I mean

the cairn upon the top, not the mountain.'

Wale, sb. A selection, Icel. val, choice, selection. Out-

weels or wales, from wale, to select, is used of small
apples selected from the rest as worthless. Of. Icel.

tit-vol, selection, tit-valinn, selected. 'There's no wale

o wigs in the Tweed.'

Wanely. Quietly. Icel. vavialega, wontedly, in the usual

way. '
He shuts the fold yett wanely to,
Deuce tak that cwoley dog.' ANDERSON.

Wankle. Feeble, tottering, failing in health. A.-S. wancol.

Wap. A truss or lap of straw. Cf. Icel. vaf, what is

lapped together, and vefja, to roll or lap.

Warday. Every day, i. e.

week-day, as distinguished from
Sunday. Swed. hvardag, Dan. hverdag, cf. Icel. hvdrr
dagr, every day.
'
Hes better in his warday duds
Than udders drest in aw their best.' ANDERSON.

Wark. To ache. Icel. verkr, an ache, verkja, to ache.

Wath. A ford.The word was formerly well known in

the dialect, but has now in some measure fallen into
disuse. It is still found, however, in place-names. The
Wath in the Abbey Holme, How Wath, Holly Wath.
66 Welt Wineberries

Watendlath may be '

the lath or barn at the end of the
wath.' Icel. vad, a ford.

Welt. To roll or roll over, to incline to one side. A cask

or vessel is thus said to welt over. Icel. velta, to roll or
roll over; Ulph. valtjan=Kv\(vbctv to )
roll.

Whang. A Shoelatchet. Icel. JJvengr, Dan. tvinge. See

Gen. xv. in Icelandic Bible.

Whelp. A pup. Icel. hvelpr.

Whidder. To tremble. Cf. Icel. hvidra, to move shudder-

'

ingly, said of a spasmodic pain shooting through the

intestines.

Whilk. Which. Dan. hvilken,

Whinge. To cry. Cf. Icel. kveina, to cry, to whimper ;

and kveinka, to whimper from pain or discomfort.

Whins. Furze.

White. To peel or cut with a knife. Chaucer,

'
to thwite,'
the same root as thwaite.

Whittle. A carving-knife.
Whittle Gate. The right of the schoolmaster to dine at
each house in the parish in turn. In the last century
this was in the rural parishes of Cumberland the usual
method of providing the board of the village school-
master in some instances he staid a week at each farm-
;

house in turn. Wastdale Head, where it continued until

about twenty years ago, was the last parish in which this
custom prevailed.

Whye or Quey. A heifer of any age up to three years old.

Icel. kviga, a young cow before she has calved.

Whye Cofe. A female calf. Icel. kvigu-kdlfr.

Wineberries. Red currants. Norweg. vinbcer.
 Wizzent Yule 67

Wizzent. Withered. Often applied to small withered or

shrivelled apples. Now wizened. Icel. visnadr, withered,
from visna, to wither or dry up.

Wrang. Wrong. Icel. rangr (anciently vrangr).

Wyke Wick. A small bay.
or Icel. vik ;
the Norse sea-

kings were called vikings, or creekers, from frequenting

bays or creeks. Pool Wyke in Windermere and also in

Bassenthwaite Lake = pool or deep-water bay.

Yammer. To talk or hum indistinctly. Icel. jamla, to

grumble. I think I may say for certain that I have
heard jamra used in the same sense. E. M.
'
Yark. Old Cumbrian for beat ' '
or belabour.' Icel. pjarka,
to belabour.

Yek. Oak. Icel. eik.

Yek Cubbert. Oak cupboard.

Yule. Icel. J61. Christmas. This was a great festival
in heathen times, and afterwards applied to Christmas.

F 2
 SUPPLEMENT
*

CHIEFLY OF DIALECT WORDS AS APPLIED TO SHEPHERDING,

OR USED IN LOCAL FOLK-LORE AND ANTIQUITIES.

Allans. The land in a stream or beck, partly or entirely

surrounded by water an island in a river (as if from
;

'
a,' a beck or stream, or river, and land '). The charter
'

of the Manor of Coniston describes '

Torver Beck and
Beck a stated distance, as belonging to the
Allans,' for

adjoining Manor of Coniston. In a county division,

'

Westmorland claims the Beck and Beck Allans from

'

Lancashire for the boundary extending from Winder-

mere Lake to Little Langdale, i.e. for nearly the whole
course of the River Brathay.

Attermite (Westmorland). A
family likeness a chip of ;

the old block. aettar-mot, a family likeness.

Icel. See
Cleasby, under the word, where it is said of two men
that they had a family likeness, in that both had an un-

steady gait.

Bate. Applied in the Lake Country to the angle of the

cleavage of the rocks.
Batter. The angle of inclination in stone walls. In house
walls where the stone exposed, it is the slope of
is

particular stones inwards from the face of the wall most

suitable for carrying off the rain water in fence and dry;
70 Bell wether Charms
stone walls upon the fell, the bottom of the wall is

generally much broader than the top, and the batter

' '
is the
angle of inclination between them. Chock is
'

a square stone used to block the top cam in such walls '
;

'
and * a through is a large flat stone going quite through
the wall as a support.

Bell wether. The leader of a flock of sheep upon the

mountain or fell. A bell is attached to it, to guide the
other members of the flock at night or in misty weather,
and they are accustomed to follow it. Such a bell

wether is yet (1896) to be found in this parish in a flock

whose boundaries are the Walna Scar Mountain, approach-
ing 2,000 ft. above the sea level.

Blanchard. A one-eyed cock ;

a veteran. '
'

Stags are young

cocks.

Brash. The plunge of the brasher or dasher of a churn.

'Cursty! Cum kurn a brash, butter's abuin.' Old
Cumberland Proverb.

Carry. The sett or direction of the clouds.

Charms. The value of charms in connexion with the

dialect is that many of them were framed in the dialect,

g., a charm to be used to cure an attack of hiccough,

e.

as :

'

Hiccough, hiccough, gang away

An cum ageean some udder day
When aw brew an when aw beeake,
An than awl mak a hiccough ceeake.'
When one of the first set of teeth is extracted, a little
salt is to be placed upon it and
then to be placed in it is

the fire with the following incantation :

'
Fire fire ! burn beean,
God sen my tuith ageean.
 Charr Clay Daubin 71

Charr. A beautiful and palatable

belonging to thefish,

salmon and trout genus, Salmo, and differing from the

true salmon only in a few particulars. British Charr are
found not wholly, in Windermere and the
chiefly, if

neighbouring lakes. Coniston Lake and Gaits Water

Tarn in Torver are amongst the most favoured resorts of
the Charr. Francis Hoy lake's Latin
Dictionary (1640)
has :
'
A Chare, a fish so called, onely proper to Winan-
dermeer in Lancashire.' The New World of English
Words (1658) has Chare, a kinde of fish, which breeds
:
'

peculiarly in Winandermere in Lancashire.' In Camden's

Britannia it is said of Windermere that it breeds a '

peculiar kind of fish found nowhere else, which the inhabi-

tants thereby call a Chare'

Cinder. Icel. sindr, slag or dross. This word is applied to

the slag or dross containing a large percentage of iron
which is found on the margin of Wastwater, Coniston,
and other lakes, also in the Duddon Valley. It indicates

the sites of the Old Bloomaries, where iron was brought

to be smelted suppressed in the Hawkshead and
:

Coniston district, in A.D. 1565, the seventh year of Queen

Elizabeth, the tenants agreeing between themselves to
pay an annual rent of 20 called Bloomsrnithy Rent.
Many field-names are derived from it, e. g., Cinder Hill,
Cinder How, Cinder Knab, Cinder Beck, Cinder Barrow.

Claggeran. Holding to a rock with hands and feet, so as

to climb it. Gaun up an' doon t' brant pleases, lowpen
'

t' becks an' claggeran up t'

craggs.' Rev. T. Clarke's
description of Shippardan or Shepherd Life.
Clay Daubin or Dabbin. In the North and East of Cum-
berland the cottages were usually built of clay, inter-

spersed with layers of straw. It was necessary for the

72 Cock Drunks Cowgate

proper consolidation of the fabric that the whole of it

should be built in one day. Hence there was a very
general gathering of the neighbours to assist in such
erections (often for a new married couple), and after the

edifice was completed the day was concluded with

festivities including music and dancing. Anderson's
Dialect Poem, The Clay Daubin, gives a graphic
description of such an occasion.
Cock drunks. The fruit or berries of the mountain ash.
The name explains the superstitious idea connected
with it.

Cock Loft. The attics in Cumberland farmhouses were

formerly so called as being the out of the way places in
which cocks were trained for battle.
'Sec dancing we'd hev on the cock loft,

Bill Adams the fiddler sud play,' ANDERSON.

Cock Main. Name of a contest in which several pairs of

cocks were matched against each other. Thus, twenty
pairs were called a forty-cock main.'
'

Cock- Penny. The fee paid by scholars to the master in

Cumberland Parish Schools, to staked upon the
be
annual school cock fight, fought upon Fassen's Even or
Fastings Eve, i. e. the eve of Lent.

Cock-walk. Farm yard where a cock was kept to be pre-

pared for fighting.

Cocker. One who trains and fights game cocks.

'
The
cocker o' Dawston.' Anderson.

Cocking. Cockfighting.
'
At cocking the Dawstoners nivver
were bet.' Anderson. At present the crest of the
Dalston School Board is a fighting cock.

Cowgate or Cattlegate. The right of pasturage upon a

common or marsh.
 Crock Dwinnal 73

Crock or Crock Yow = ewe. An old and powerless ewe.

To crock is to become feeble and powerless through age.

Darrack, Dark, or Dargue. A day's work.

'
Ive nit sea
offen hed a harder darrack efter t' sheep owther at clippin
time or soavin time, as a hed followin that ould gray
heidit chap an carryin his ledder bags.' Gibson's Joe
and the Geologist. In the dialect this word was very
generally used to denote measure or extent. For
example, a field was said to be of BO many darrack of
shearing, that is, it would take a man so many days
to reaj) it. A darrack of peats upon a moss was as
much turf as a man could dig in one day.

Daub. To plaister, as with morter.

Dumb wife. An idea formerly prevailed in Cumberland
that dumb people had the power of foretelling the
future. Hence, any old dumb woman in a parish became
a sort of wise woman, and as such was consulted in the
case of stolen property, or future events, or telling for-
tunes such wise women were not always dumb. I have
:

known one remarkable for her volubility. See Viss, as

applied to Guest in the Landndma. Generally, how-
ever, they were dumb, and marked their predictions with
initial letters upon a board with chalk, as in the follow-

ing verse, from Anderson's popular song of Sally Gray :

'
I caw'd to sup cruds wi' Dick Miller,
An hear aw his cracks an his jwokes,
The Dumb weyfe was telling their fortunes
What ! I mud
be leyke udder fwokes
Wi' chalk, on a pair o' auld bellows,
Twea letters she meeade in her way,
S means Sally the wide waiT owre
And G stands for nwote else but Gray.'

Dwinnal. To pine or waste away by degrees.

'
He dwin-
74 Dwine Pratch
nalt awae ta nwote, an than deet.' Rev. T. Clarke,

Johnny Shepherd.
Dwine, as above.

Feeace o' clay. A solid and inflexible countenance.

'Aw defy t' feeace o' clay.' GIBSON, Folk-Speech.

Pell. A mountain. The Icelandic form is fjall ; Norwegian

fjeld, pronounced fiell. In the lake district it is applied
to particular mountains, as Scawfell, Kirkfell, Bowfell,
and is applied to a mountain district generally which is

termed The '

Fell.' The unenclosed upland common is

also called 'The Fell,' as in the following verse from

Richardson :

'Ya winter neet, aw meynd it weel,

Our fowk hed been at fell ;

An beein tired went suin ta bed,

An aw sat be mesel.'

Pell seyde. The mountain districts of Cumberland are so

called.
'
If they ax whoar aw cum fra
Awl say the fell seyde,
Whoar fadder and mudder,
An honest fowk beyde.' ANDERSON, Croglin Watty.

Pell seyders. Cumbrian mountaineers are so called.

Fodder-gang (North Lancashire). The narrow passage or

gangway in front of cattle stalls, by which fodder was

conveyed to them.
Pratch. A scolding match.
'
The Cumberland Scold,'
a poem which is the joint effort of two Cumberland

poetesses (Miss Blamire of Thackwood, from 1747 to

1794, and Miss Gilpin of Scaleby Castle, from 1738 to
1811) is the poetical reproduction of such a scolding
 Frith Goods 75

which they had themselves heard. The following is the

last verse :

'For thou was nowther gud nor rich,

An temper'd leyke auld Scratch 'em
The deil a day gangs owre me heed,
But fratch 'em FEATCH 'EM FRATCH 'EM.

Frith. Land is said to be frithed when it is freed from

tillage and devoted to pasturage, as grass land or wood

land. The original idea seems to be to devote the land
to wood growing, as frith means a wood in the old

dialect, and it is still found in this sense in place-names,

as High Frith, in Cartmel.

Geeall. To ache with pain brought on by intense cold.

Git ower. A very common Cumbrian phrase, meaning to

get the better of in a bargain or an argument. Richardson

has a. poem founded upon the Cumbrian phrase of
defiance, 'Git ower me 'at can.' The following is the
concluding verse :

Thinks I, its queer, an axt a man

If t' reason he could tell:
'Aye weel eneiiff I can,' he said,
He 's gitten ower
'
his-sel ;

He 's swallow'd aw his fadder left

Aw t' hooses, brass, an Ian,
An twenty scwore o' sheep beside,
'
Git ower that 'at can !

Godspeed. A wooden screen or barrier against the wind,

Godspeed Y because
'
within the door, apparently called
leave-takings or good-byes were said there. Betty com
'

limpin by t' Godspeed.' B. B. B.

Goods. Property. This word however has a very different
meaning in Cumberland and in Furness. In Cumberland,
goods = household furniture, goods and chattels '; in Fur-
'

ness, goods are the sheep and cattle belonging to a farm.

1
To greet the coming, speed the parting guest.
76 Goose Grass Hogg
Goose Grass or Guse Grass. The right of depasturing
a goose with its goslings upon the fell or common.

Harden. Very rough and coarse linen used in Cumber-

land in the last century for jackets and overcoats.

Harden Sark. An overcoat made of such linen. The total

annual payments made to the preaching schoolmaster of
the parish of Buttermere, in the last century, were
a harden sark, the right of Whittle Gate, a darrack of
peats, and a guse grass.

Hay Bay. A commotion or disturbance. At times used

'
to signify a discussion with sticks/ as in the following
lines from Anderson :

'The Hay Bay 1 now ceast

For he spak leyke a Freest
An cawt for a bottle o' rum ye tkna.'
Heaf, sb. The place where a mountain or fell sheep is
born, and where it continues to live and pasture, is called
its Heaf.
Heaf, vb. Of cling to the same spot.
sheep, to Hence,
people who cling to their home or birthplace, are said to
heaf themselves to it.

Heaf-going Sheep. Sheep which remain as one flock upon a

certain portion of the fell, and which are usually sold with

the farm to which that portion of the fell is apportioned.

Hefted. Meaning as above, and used in dialect of North
Cumberland.
Heronsue. The heron.
Hogg. A lamb for twelve months after weaning.

1
The quotation is frpm Anderson's '
Kursmas Eve,' and the reader will
know the kind of discussion implied in a Hay Bay if he read the three or
four verses of that poem which precede the quotation.
 Hogg-whooals Need-fire 77

Hogg-whooals. Holes made through the fence walls in

Lakeland to allow the sheep to pass from one pasture to
another :
'
When aw gat him intuit hogg-whooals wi' his
heead in an his feet oot aw dud switch him.' Gibson's
Betty Yeiudale.
Horsin stean. The stone (often formed into steps) near
Cumberland farmhouses, from which horses were mounted.
Horsin or horsing is here used as a verb, as it is also in
the old popular Cumberland measure, '
Horse and away,'
i.e. mount or to horse and
away.
Hullet. The owl.
'
The
was broken by a skirling
silence
hullet Sure nivver did hullet, heronsue, or miredrum
\

mak sec a noise before.' A bran new Wark.

Kurruck, Kirruck, Sunken Kirk, or Kirk Sucken. Words

in the dialect used to describe the huge stone circles to

be found in the districts of Lakeland. Examples Long :

Meg and her daughters, near Little Salkeld, Cumberland ;

Stone Circle, near Keswick and Stone Circle at Swinside,

;

near Broughton-in-Furness. For full description see

vol. v, part i, article vii,
'
On a group of Cumberland
Megaliths in Transactions of Cumberland and West-
morland Antiquarian Society for 1881.

Miredrum. The bittern, a bird frequenting swampy and

miry wastes, in which it kept up a continuous drumming
sound, hence its local name of miredrum or drummer.
Several fields in the Lake district, which have apparently
been the resort of this bird, have their place-name of
Drummer Mire derived therefrom ;
there is one so called
in Troutbeck in Westmorland, and one at Coniston.

Need-fire. A fire first kindled by rubbing two pieces of

wood together ; ignited by this, a fire of wood was piled
78 Pack Saddle Bell Rashbearing

up, through the smoke of which the cattle upon the

all

farm were made to pass, as a remedy against murrain or

other infectious disease. From this fire a brand was
passed on tolight a similar fire on the next farm, where
the process of passing the cattle through the smoke was

repeated, and so on at other farms in succession. This

processwas formerly well known and believed in, in

High Furness and also in Cumberland.

Pack Saddle Bell. A curious brass bell formed of a hollow

globe, with a brass ball inside, and attached to pack
saddle horses, to guide those that followed. The writer
has such a bell formerly used on the pack saddle road
between Kendal and Whitehaven, passing over Hard
Knott and Wrynose.
Push Pla or Plough. A plough which was used by being
pushed by the hand. was generally used for taking
It

off the surface or top sod from turf, and this top sod was
used to bank up the surface of turf fires so that they
might continue alight and smoulder for a long time.
Such ploughs are still to be found in Lakeland, and are
much sought after by collectors of local antiquities.

Rashbearing. The annual custom in northern parishes

kept up at Ambleside and elsewhere in Westmor-
still

land, of collecting flowers and rushes (rashes), and

walking in procession to spread them on the floor of the
parish church, where they remained as a covering for the
whole year. The young girls generally took a part in this.
T' Resh Bearin is one of the Rev. T. Clarke's best dialect
pieces. In some parishes, rushing the church in this
-
way was paid for, and in this (Torver) parish, in the

early part of the last century, it is an annual item repre-

 Hud Shepherd's Book 79

sented in the church accounts by one shilling a year.

The object was to counteract the effect of the damp,
unpaved church floor: an allusion is made to it in the

hymn :

'Our fathers to the house of God,

As yet a building nude,
Brought offrings from the flowery sod,
And fragrant rushes strewed.'

Bud. The red haematite used marking or smitting

for

sheep. Formerly obtained chiefly from the Wasdale

Screes. Called also Ruddle. The smit marked upon
the sheep with this Rud or Euddle is generally the
the owner's name, except in
initial letter or letters of

sword smit, resembling sword, staple smit, resembling

staple.

Rushstand. Called rashstand in Central and N.-W. Cum-

berland, and reshstand in North Cumberland. The iron
stand used for supporting rush lights, once the sole

light used for domestic purposes. A great variety of

these stands have been obtainedby local collectors, some
very complex and bearing several lights.

Saurin. Vinegar. See Ann Wheelers Dialogues.

Scarrow. A name
generally applied to small fish in the
dialect of the Abbey Holme, seems to be from the Latin

scaurus, a name brought there possibly by the monks of the

Monastery or Abbey which gives its name to the parish.

Shepherd's Book, The. A book published at irregular

intervals extending over several years, and containing
the distinctive marks, ear mark and smit (see under the
word) of the of heaf-going sheep of the farms
stocks
in the fell or mountain districts of Cumberland, West-

morland, and North Lancashire. With the ear mark and

80 Siddick

smit together, the marks of upwards of 600 farms or

estates are given therein. The ear mark is the most
important, as being that which is generally sworn to in
1
any legal suit. Each stock *is illustrated by the diagram
of a sheep, nearly 1000 in all. These marks are interest-

ing as being described in the technical dialect of the

sheep farmers, e. g. :

Bitted. With a triangular piece cut out of the ear.

Cropped. A portion of the top of the ear cut off.
Cropping in both ears is conceded only to Hall farms, or such as
belonged to the lord of the manor.
Forked. With a triangular piece cut out of the top of the ear.
Fold-bitted When the ear is folded and cut, leaving a triangular
space.
Fold-bit. The ear mark so formed.
Halved. With half the ear cut off.
Key-bitted. With a rectangular piece cut out of the ear.
Punched. With a circular hole in the ear.
Bitted. With a rectangular piece cut out the whole length of the
ear, dividing the ear into two
parts.
Shear-bitted. Sheared or cut to a point at the end of the ear.
Bneck-bitted. The ear cut in resemblance of the sneck or latch of
a gate.

In the stock of sheep belonging to Raven Cragg, Barton,

Westmorland, is a curious connexion between the place-
name and the smit, which for that farm is the figure of
a raven, smitted or marked upon the side of the sheep.

Siddick. This word, which is found in many instances as

place-name, and also as common noun on the Cumber-

land shore of the Solway, has been originally Sea dyke,

corrupted to Siddick, and was applied to the sea dyke

which, in the Abbey Holme and other parts of Cumber-
1
In some cases there are two or more stocks with distinctive ear marks
and smits belonging to the same farm named by the mountain or fell
upon which they pasture, e.g. Downey Dale Farm in Wasdale Head has
the following: Greenhow Stock, Lingmel Stock, Yewbarrow Stock, and
Mosedale Stock.
 Smiddy The Borrowdale Letter 81

land, was reared and maintained to protect the flat

agricultural country against the encroachment of the sea.

In the Abbey Holme the rent of a large and valuable
farm is assigned to a parish committee for the proper
maintenance of this sea dyke.

Smiddy. A blacksmith's shop. Applied also as a nick-

name to the blacksmith, as in the following instance
c
from Anderson :
Treype Tom, Smiddy Dick, an Deef
Reed, ye tkna.'

Snape, vb. To check or restrain.

'
This wedder ell snapt
grass.' Colloquial in High Furness.

Snape, sb. A check.

Stint or Stent. The Cumberland marshes adjoining the

Solway and its tributaries, the Wampool and Waver,
have their pastures limited or stinted as to the number
of cattle for which they will afford grass. To define
them thus is to stint them, and each cattle grass is
called a stint or stent : called also Marsh Stint or Marsh
Stent.

Teanale. The basket used for cockling on the Arnside

and Cartmel coasts of Morecambe Bay. He threw a '

teanale wi' cockles at me.' Ann Wheeler's Dialogues.

Tether or Tedder. A rope to fasten sheep or cattle.

Tether Styak. The stake to which it was tied. Borrowdale

Letter.

The Borrowdale Letter. This a somewhat unique pro-

is

duction, as being much the earliest piece of prose extant

J
in the Cumberland dialect . It is by Isaac Ritson, and
1
Dr. Gibson, in his introduction to his volume of Folkspeech, claims for
the Borrowdale Letter, the merit of surpassing all productions in the
Cumberland dialect (prose or poetry"), because, to quote his own words,
it is an exposition of the folkspeech in that part of the county where,
'

*G
82 The Borrowdale Letter

professes to be the letter of a Borrowdale shepherd to his

friend, describing his voyage from Whitehaven to

Dublin, and the wonderful sights he saw there. The

peculiarity of the letter is not so much that the writer
employs a dialect different from that of other Cumber-
land dialect writers, but that having had all his former
experiences in a valley where he had heard nothing but
what was connected with farming, and more especially
with shepherding, he is put to great straits in relating
his adventures at sea, and the wonders which he saw in
the Irish metropolis. Thus he calls ships, sea
nags the. ;

harbours he out gates,' i.e. farm

calls 'girt foalds wi'

yards without gates pulling up the anchor he calls

;

'
'

slippin t' belter an anchor he terms a tedder styak,

;

from the custom of fastening an unruly animal to

a stake sails are wind clythes like blinder bridles 1
;
.

Trinity College, Dublin, which, with its museum, especi-

ally attracted his attention, he calls Collership hoos or
scholarship house, and the river Liffy he terms Dublin
Beck. The following is the language in which he records
his appreciation of the music in St. Patrick's Cathedral ;

'
Summit they cawt rowargins (organs) began bealin like
ea hundred mad bulls, an as menne lads i their sarks

began a skreamin, murder.'

and where only, the unadulterated Old Norse rooted vernacular is spoken.'
The other Cumbrian writers, in which he includes Stagg, Anderson, and
Kayson, he calls /Scofo-Cumbrian. In making this sweeping assertion
Dr. Gibson is, I think, decidedly wrong. Stagg, Anderson, and Rayson
wrote as unmixed a form of the Cumberland dialect as Dr. Gibson him-
self, and the poetic productions of every one of them were singularly free
from that Scottish intermixture which meets one in the dialect almost as
soon as we cross Stanwix Bridge at Carlisle, or at any rate Gosling Syke,
which is a little further on.
1
Blinder bridles (called in Furness, gloppers) are horse bridles, with
large eye shades to prevent the horses from becoming restive.
 Twine t' tail ont Woo 83

Twine t' tail ont. Used in the Borrowdale Letter for the
steersman guiding the ship with the helm, which the
writer compares with twining or twisting the tail of
a cow, a method practised in Cumberland with the object
of turning the cow in the required direction.

Watch Hill. The hill from which the outlook was kept
against border freebooters hence now frequent as Border
;

place-name.
Whick. Alive or living.

Whicknin. Leven or yeast.

Whicks. Maggots.
Whicks. Young shoots of thorns transplanted.

Whickset Hedge. A growing or living fence.

All dialect forms of the old word quick, living, as
found in Let them go down quick into the
'

pit,'
'

Judge
the quick and the dead.'

Woo or Oo names for wool in

or Ooa, are all dialect

Cumberland, Westmorland, and North Lancashire. The

following represents a dialect conversation which has
been heard here :

'
Wool-dealer (pointing to well-filled bag) :
'
Oo ?
Farmer (owner of bagl 'Aye, oo.' :

Wool-dealer Aw oo ?
:
' '

Farmer: 'Aye, aw oo.'

'
Wool-dealer :
'
Aw, ya oo ?
Farmer :
'
Aye, aw ya oo.'
which being interpreted means :

'
Wool-dealer :
'
Wool ?
Farmer :
'
Yes, wool.'
Wool-dealer :
'
All wool ?'

Farmer :
'
Yes, all wool.'
'
Wool-dealer '
All one wool
: ?

Farmer :
'
Yes, all one wool."

By asking, Is it all one wool ? is meant, Is it all the wool

84 Woo craggs Yilp

of one season, and sheared or clipped at the same clipping

time or shearing time. Such wool is, in the dialect,
sometimes called the wool of one clip.' '

Woo craggs or oo craggs. The names of rocks or craggs

in Lakeland, over which sheep having passed, have left

some of their wool cleaving to the craggs.

Yilp. To make a sound like the squeak or yelp of a mouse.

'

Yilp leyke mice.' Borrowdale Letter.

OXFORD : HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

 A GLOSSARY
OF

WORDS USED IN EAST ANGLIA.

 Ojforb
HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY
 <Bfo0ff<m>
o of

USED IN

EAST ANGLIA
FOUNDED ON THAT OF FORBY.

WITH NUMEROUS CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS

WALTER RYE.

Xon&on :

PUBLISHED FOR THE ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY

BY HENRY FROWDE, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE,
AMEN CORNER, LONDON, E.G.

1895.

[All rights reserved.']

 PBEFACE

IN collecting the material for the following work I

wish at once to state that I have none of the qualities
necessary to be possessed by the editor of a Dialect Dic-
tionary, and that I do not consider myself as having done
anything more than to mechanically collect w.hat others
have recorded and add to certain words which I have noted
myself.
In such collection have been greatly helped by several
I

correspondents, and especiallyby the Rev. M. C. H. Bird, of

Brunstead, who has kindly helped me to read and correct
the proofs, and also by Sir Hugh Beevor, Mr. P. B. Ficklin,
the Rev. F. J. Braithwaite, the Rev. C. H. Evelyn White,
and the other gentlemen mentioned in my list of abbre-
viations.
It may be as well to say a few words about what has
been done heretofore about the dialect of East Anglia. A
short account of the best-known works and articles I have
noted later on ;
but speaking shortly, the first serious
attempt to collect and print it, was that by the Rev. R.
Forby. He
collected with little discrimination, was very

garrulous,and often indecent, but East Anglians owe him

a great debt for having done what he did. Much of his
work I have omitted from the following pages, for he
included in it many such ordinary words as aggravate,
VI PREFACE.

alley, age, ague, &c., and duplicated words for no reason,

e.g.:
Minnock (S). One who affects much delicacy.
Minnock (V). To affect delicacy.
Nail's Glossary is a very good and careful one, and added
many new words and readings to our store, and so did
Broad Norfolk, which is very amusing reading, but only
'

consisted of various letters to a newspaper, was not edited '

or supervised, and contained many words of common use

which had no business in a local dialect book.
I cannot help thinking that many of the words included
in the following pages are only the imperfect remembrance
by an ignorant countryman of some 'good word' which
took his fancy.
Only two or three years ago, being in the company of
a farmer who was extremely fond of using long and
little

fine words, I remember mischievously asking him whether

'
he did not think it fine feasible weather for his crops, and
'

he jumped at the word, and soon after I heard him repeat

it to a friend

Many amusing words and phrases given by

of the

Fitzgerald in his Sea Words are manufactured. A good

example is when he makes a gamekeeper refer to a weasel
'
as a suckeggliest warmint,' the vermin most given to suck

eggs.
'
'

prying about like a peahen

'

Pea-goosin, cabobble to ;

confuse'; squackled, sploddin, quavery-mavery, ruffatory,

hammer- snouting, rumgum^)tious, undercumstumble, rum-
bustical, dardledum due, and others, are words framed after
the fashion of Lewis Carroll, and in most cases are omitted
from these pages, as they are not dialect at all. One might
as well insert such words as tootsicums, babsicums, coodli-
cums, and popsy wopsy.
Very many are caused by nothing more or less than
transpositions of the initial. Pulfer for fulfer (fieldfare),
bunker for funker, stuggy for pluggy, pample for trample,
 PEEFACE. Vll

nigger for snigger, doss for toss, jounce for bounce, himps
for limps, twilting for quilting, skive for dive, tunnel for

funnel, cristle for gristle, quaddle for coddle, and wewling

for mewling, are a few which occur to me.

Many too are obvious corruptions, e. g. sarn for concern,

sloven wood
for southernwood, and grubbage for rubbish.
were possible to divide the words into districts, we
If it
should no doubt find a great difference between the dialect
of one part of a county from that of another. 'When
I left for Ryburgh,' said my old skipper
Strumpshaw
Tungate, a very careful observer, the words fared very '

strange to me.'
Occasionally one finds a trace of an old lost verb,
g. p. 92, She did fare to slov/ i. e. to become a sloven.
'
e.

Except in well-known instances, I have not attempted to

give the dialect names, often widely varying, of the local
fauna and flora, and must refer my readers to the numerous
local works on natural history.
The following specimens of modern Norfolk have been
handed to me by correspondents :

Wh' lor', bor, yow fare t' bee s' strange. Wh' darn ya' ole skull,
Inow yow werry well. My fa' he now ya' fa'. Ya' fa' kep a dickey.
Hee one da' hult a stoon agin a guce, an' he kilt 'er ded, an' my fa'
he sez, sez hee, that he worn't t' kum ower hisn troshel agin. An' n'
moor he dint.
But my fa' hee arter'ardsmaade it op, an' axd ya' fa' t' goo t'
Kootch an' Hosses an' hev a glarss a aale an there tha tuk on, tha
did, lik a kupple a ole fules. An arter that there tha wuz frenz
agin.

I went for tree punner of trid (thread). I tumbled over the troshel
and cut my lip trow and trow (through).

Jack : Look there's some red Blackberries.

Bill : Ye fule, theyre allus red when they're green (meaning when
they are not ripe).

I wish you might live to be as gray as a dow and yar hair trape
arter ye yards.
vm PR]

went afoul on him, he did, and he rightsided him iri

Biller he
a hurry he gave him what for. Then there was a pretty how der yer
;

du his owd womman come out, and she went a foul o' Biller she
; ;

mobbed and went in wonnerful.

As was jumping t' holl from Farmer Tbirkettle's
I littl pightle inteu
t' rhoed, she corne up teu me and say :

'
'
Can I get trew here ?
'Iss,' sed I, 'but it is no matter of a rhoed.'
'Whawt?'sedshe.
'
It's only a driftway like,' sed I.

'Eh? 'sed she.

Nobbut a packway,' sed I.
'

'
'

Oh,' sed she and which way deu ;

'
I go V
'Yew go as the rhoed go, for tew or tree hundred yard till yeu
come teu a paryard,' sed I.
'Teu whawt?' sed she, &c., &c.

A bibliography of the Dialect would be difficult to com-

pile, but a long list of all authors on this dialect will be
found in the Appendix to the Promptorium Parvulorum,
an Anglo-Latin Lexicon compiled by Brother Geoffrey of
Lynn about the year 1440 (Harl. MSS. 221), printed by
Pynson also with Notes by Albert Way, Camden Society,
;

p. Ixxxii. The more important works on the subject are:

(i.) Forby's Vocabulary (two vols. 8vo, 1830), with Supplementary
Volume by the Rev. W. T. Spurdens (1858).
(2.) Additions Forty, by the Rev. F. Gillett (East Anglian, iv.
to

pp. 128, 156). Norfolk Words not in Forby, by the Rev. G. J. Chester,
Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society, v.

p. 1 88. Ditto by W. G. Waters, ib. viii. p. 167.

(3.) E. S. Taylor's interleaved copy of Forby is mentioned in Notes

and Queries (2nd Ser. vii. p. 38), but I have been unable to trace this,
nor the valuable dialect notes collected by the Rev. E. Gillett of
Runham (E. G. R.).
(4.) J. G. Nail's Etymological and Comparative Glossary, in his
Appendix for his Guide to Yarmouth and Lotvestoft, 1866, 8vo.
(5.) Sea Words and Phrases along the Suffolk Coast (East Anglian, iii.

p. 347 ;
iv. p. 109) ;
and
A
Capful of Sea Slang (East Anglian, iv. p. 261). These two
(6.)
articleswere by the late Edward Fitzgerald.
(7.) A reprint of Forby with additions, forming the basis of the

present work, was published by the Author in volume iii. of the

 PREFACE. IX

Norfolk Antiquarian Miscellany, pp. 465-602 (A few copies were printed

off and paged separately, and were sent round to all likely to help
in getting together the present collection.)
(8.) Broad Norfolk, by Cozens-Hardy (reprinted
from the Norwich
Daily Press), Norwich, Norfolk Neivs Office, ist ed. (103 pp., 1893) ;

2nd ed. same, with Index added, Jarrolds, Norwich.

For MSS. and detached collections on East Anglian dialect

the following references may be useful.
Glossaries of Words used in the Counties of Lincoln, Norfolk and Kent,
1779-1814, by Sarah Sophia Banks (Additional MSS. 32640).
Glossary of Provincial Words, collected by G. Nicol, 1789 (Additional
MSS. 32640, fol. 237).

Peculiarities of the Norfolk Dialect, by G. Nicol, Eighteenth Century

(Additional MSS. 32530, fol. I47b).
Collections for the Dialect of Suffolk and Essex (East Anglian, New
Series, pp. 84, 109, 132).
i.

Arderon's Collections as to ditto (ib. p. 297).

An Old Specimen of Norfolk Dialect (in 1807), (East Anglian, New
Series, iii. p. 17). Of Suffolk ditto (East Anglian, New Series, v. pp. 129,
152-155).

See also :

Arderon's Collections as to Norwich Dialect, 1745-60 (Additional MSS.

27966, fols. 228-253). I have printed notes of some of these in the

East Anglian.
The Song of Solomon in Tiventy-four English Dialects, 1858-61 ;

Prince Buonaparte (Norfolk by the Rev. E. Gillett of Runham).

:

Catalogue of Local and Vulgar Words used in the County of Norfolk

(folio, about 1780), by Anthony Norris. Was No. 345 in Dawson
Turner's sale catalogue, but I cannot trace where it is.
Archaeologia, xix. p. 15.
For several articles on Norfolk Dialect, see Notes and Queries, ist
Ser. pp. 217-365 vi. pp. 326 and 400; 5th Ser. ii. pp. 147,353, 377,
ii. ;

397; iii. p. 166; xii. p. 174.

Glossary of Norfolk Provincialisms (17 pp.). Vol. ii. of Marshall's
Rural Economy of Norfolk, 1837.
Kent's General View of the Agriculture of Norfolk, 1796.
Young's Farmer's Tour through the East of England) four vols.
1771.
Similarity of Norfolk Dialect with that of Cheshire (Archaeologia, xix.
p. 15).
Norfolk Words, by Anne Gurney. (Philological Society's Transactions,
1855, p. 32.)
 PREFACE.

Of dialect ballads we have few. There is an amusing one

telling how '

raw/ took his 'darter

Giles Jolterhead, a joskin
'
Dinah to the Norwich Festival, printed in East Anglian, ii.
p. 67 ;
and the Norfolk version of the ballad of Arthur
'Bradley was recently printed by me in the East Anglian.
The most readable of all the dialect stories of the present
day are Giles's Trip to London, and the rest of the series,
which are very clever and deservedly popular.
 ABBREVIATIONS

*Arderon = Arderon's Collections for Norwich (Addl. MSS. British

Museum, 27, 966).
B. A. = Baret's Alvearie.
*P. B. F. = Mr. P. B. Ficklin of Tasburgh Hall, Norfolk.
B. G. = Barnes' Glossary.
B. Jon. = Ben Jonson.
Br. = Brockett's Glossary.
*C. H. E. W.=The Rev. C. H. Evelyn White, Editor of the East
Anglian.
*C. D.=The Rev. Cecil Deedes, of Wickham St. Paul, Essex.
Cr. = Craven Glossary.
*C. S. P. = Mrs. Petre, of Cavendish Rectory, Suffolk.
*Cull. Haw. = Cullum's Haivsted (Suff.), 1813.
E. A.=East Anglian.
E. F. G. = The late Edward Fitzgerald, Sea Words and Phrases along
*

the Suffolk Coast (East Anglian iii. p. 347 and iv. p. 109), and
A Capful of Sea Slang (East Anglian iv. p. 261).
*E. G. R. = The late Rev. E. Gillett, of Runham, Norfolk, Additions
to Forty's Vocabulary of East Anglia, in East Anglian, Ser. iv.

128, 156.
Em. = Dr. Emerson.
*E. S. T.=The late Rev. E. S. Taylor, of Ormesby, Norfolk.
*F. J. B.=The Rev. F. J. Braithwaite, of Great Waldingfield, Suffolk.
*G. E. = George Ellis.
*G. J. C. = The Rev. G. J. Chester, Norfolk Words not in Forby (Norfolk
Arch. v. p. 1 88, viii. p. 167).
Gr. = Grose's Provincial Diet.
*H. B. = Sir Hugh Beevor.
*H. C.=Mr. Hugh Clark, of Cavendish.
Jam. = Dr Jamieson.
Jen. = Jennings' Glossary.
Xll ABBREVIATIONS.

*J. G. N.=J. G. Nail's Etymological and Comparative Glossary to the

Dialect of East Anglia, comprised in his Guide to Yarmouth and
Lowestoft, 1866.
*J. H. G.=Mr. J. H. Gurney, of N. Repps, Norfolk.
= Lowland Scotch.
L. Sc.
*Marsh. = Marshall's Rural Economy.
M. C. H. B.=The Rev. M. C. H. Bird, of Brunstead, Norfolk.
M. E.= Middle English.
Min. = Minsheu's Diet.
M. S.= Moor's Suffolk Words.
N. E.= Northern English.
N. G. Nares = Nares' Glossary.
N. & Q.= Notes and Queries.
0. E.=01d English.
0. V.=0rtus Vocabularum.
P. PI. = Piers Plowman.
Pr. Pa.= Promptorium Parvulorum.
R. N. C.= Ray's North Country Words.
R. S. E. C. = Ray's South and East Country Words (reprinted by English
Dialect Society, 1874).
S. D. = Hotten's Slang Dictionary, London, 1864.
Sk. = Skinner's Etymol.
Som. = Somner.
*Spur.=The Rev. W. T. Spurdens' Supplementary Vol. to Forby, 1858
(reprinted by English Dialect Society, 1879).
T.=Tusser.
T. B. = Tim Bobbin.
T. J. = Todd's Johnson.
*Tungate=The late J. Tungate, an old marsh and boating man

(Strumpshaw, Norfolk).
W.=WicklifFe's Translation of the Gospels.
W. B. = Mr. William Bull, ofWickham, Essex (born near Bildeston,
Suffolk).
W. C. = Wilbraham's Cheshire Glossary.
*W. G. W.=W. G. Waters' Words not in Forby (Norfolk Arch. viii.

P- 167)-
*W. R.=W. Rye.
W. W. R.=Willan's West Riding Words (Archaeologia) .

*W. W. S.=W. W. Skeat.

 VOCABULARY

About. Sometimes used thus :

'
Is the horse worth forty
'
'
'
'

pounds 1
Nothing about it.' Is he a mile off 1 'No,
nor about it.'

*Abroad. Out to sea [S. S.]. Outside the house [M. C. H. B.].

^Acknowledge. To tip [M. C. H. B.].

'

*Acre-spire, or Acre-spit. The sprouting or chicking

'

of barley in malting, or of stored potatoes [E. S. T.,

J. G.
N.].
'
A-days. For nowadays.' Ex. Flour sells cheap a-days.' '

' '
I seldom see Mr. Smith a-days [O. E.]. Sed quere ?
[Spur.].
Addle, Aidle. ( 1 ) To grow, to thrive. Ex. That crop
'

addles.' Also see Tusser. (2) To earn, to profit gra-

dually. Ex. I have at
'
last addled up a little money.'
(3)Cropping, lopping, or pruning [E. S. T.]. Spurdens
wrongly conjectures it to be to huddle up.'
'

*Aerigel. Earwig [Arderon], See Erri wiggle.

*After. Sometimes used in a peculiar sense, for about, e.g.
'
'
The hen is after laying.' The child is after the measles
'

[E. S. T.].
* Aftermath. The second crop of grass.
 Again Aim
Again (pronounced A.GIN). For against (AGINST) [Spur.].
Ex. 'I am not for it, but again it.' For near to. Ex.
'
She stood again the door.' If she stood very near the
door, it would be more correct to say close again,' or
'

' '
if facing it, at some little distance, over
'

right again ;

again.'
*
Against. Close against thunder ;
i.e. thunder is in the air

[M. C. H. B.].
Agone. For ago. Our word is the older of the two.

*Agraft. To lay in, of a tree put into the soil so as to just

cover its roots [M. C. H. B.].
Ahuh. Awry, aslant. Better Ahoe, and sometimes All-a-
one-hoh [Spur.]. Vel All-of-a-hugh [J. G. Nail].
* Ailing. To move listlessly [G. E.].
*Aint. To anoint, to beat [J. G. Nail, E. S. T.].
*Aker. A turbulent current, a commotion of a river

[Pr. Pa.].

*A'lady. For Our Lady, Lady Day [E. S. T.].

* Alegar.
Vinegar made from ale. Ale-aigre, as vin-aigre
[E. S. T.].
Ale-stall. The stool or stand on which casks of ale or
beer are placed in the cellar.
* Alexandra Plovers. Kentish plovers (Aegialitis cantiana)
so called by Breydon gunners. E. T. Booth in Rough
Notes [M. C. H. B.].
' " '
*A11. I shall do you [M. C. H. B.].
it for all

Allen. Grass land lately broken up Aid-land. ;

It is

synonymous with Olland, q. v.

*Alliwig. An earwig [Spur.]. See Erriwiggle.

*Allus. Always [E. S. T.].
*Alm. Chill.
'
Just set the mug down to the fire, and take
the cold "
aam " off the beer
'

[Johnson].
 Almanacks Angry 3

*Almanacks. Making
'
of almanacks,' forecasting the
weather [Sea Slang].
* Alone. We
have the odd phrase all-a-living-acw,' i.e. '

quite entirely alone,' spoken compassionately of a sick

'

person left improperly in a helpless condition [Spur.].

Alp, Olp. The bullfinch. E. S. T. says alf in Suffolk, and

ulf in Norfolk, i.e. finch, as bloodulf, bullfinch. Nope

in Ray, and Alp in the Romaunt of the Rose, 1. 658
[W. W. S.].
* Amenden. A sort of oath.
'
Amenden take you.'
e.g.
'
'
Where amenden are you goin' ?
[E. S. T.] (I).

Amper. A sort of inflamed swelling. Pustules [J.

G. Nail].

Ampersand. The character &, representing the conjunction

and. This is and per se and by a little smoothing and
;

elision in pronunciation becoming Ampersand.

An. (i) If. Ex. 'An I do,' &c. (2) Than. Ex. 'Little
more an & half.'

Anan !
'
How
what say you ?
!
'
It is often contracted to

A'an, or N'an. The same as Shakespeare's Anon

[W. W. S.]. [?
W. E.]
*Anatomy. The skeleton [M. C. H. B.].

Anberry. (i) A
small swelling, or pustule, to which horses
are subject on the softest parts of their bodies. In books
of farriery, and in the Dictt. the word is Ambury.

(2)
A[small] knob or excrescence, on turnips and other
roots, caused by the punctures of insects, to deposit their
eggs [Marshall].
Anchor. The part of a buckle commonly called the Chape,

put into a in the strap

slit so called ;
from some resem-
blance in shape to an anchor.
An-end. Onward, towards the end. It also signifies
upright, rearing [M. E. on ende].
Angry. Painfully inflamed. Ex. '

My corn, or my kibe, is
very angry to-night.'
B 2
4 Angry-water Artful

f Angry-water. Discharge from any scorbutic or eruptive

disease [Johnson].

Anpasty. Another name for Ampersand. In Jennings'

Glossary it is Anpassy ;
and the author (rightly) supposes
Passy a corruption of Per se.

*Ans. Awns [M. C. H. B.]

*Antrums. Used for tantrums [J. G. Nail, E. S. T.].

*A'pieces. For to pieces, e.g.

'
Ta crumble all a pieces'
[E. S. T.].
Apple-jack. A pastry, better known as Apple-turnover,
Flap-jack, Apple-hoglin, and Crab-lanthorn.
Apple-John, John-apple. A species of apple.
Apron, (i) The caul or omentum of a hog, film of fat

[Tungate]. (2) Also the fat skinny covering of the belly

of a goose or duck. (3) The -upper part of a chimney

opening above the grate [Spur.].

Argufy. To import, to have weight as argument. Ex.
'
What does that argufy 1'
[Jen.].
*Arm. A
trowel [B. B. F.].

*Armstrong. Arm in arm [E. F. G.] Qy. Arm-strung

[W. R.].

*Arrawiggle. The earwig [E. S. T.].

Arsle. (i) To move backwards. (2) To be unquiet, to
fidget, to move frequently in any direction, particularly
on a seat. In this secondary sense the adverb about is

usually annexed.
Arselling-pole. The pole with which bakers spread the
hot embers to all parts of the oven.
*Arsy-farcy. Vice versa [E. S. T.].
'

*Arter. After. Ex. '

What are you arter ? [M. C. H. B.].
*Artful, In good sense. Ex. of our Lord in His
(i)
mother's arms, '
How artful He do look [C. S. P.].!
'

(2) Ingenuous, clever (N. Ess.) [C. D.].

 Article Avellong Workmen 5

Article. A
poor creature a wretched animal ! !

As. Who, which. Ex. Those as sleep.' He will come

' '

as ( = as it were, not who nor which] to-morrow.'

*Ashel. To cut bricks to form a joint in masonry

[W. G. W.]. Coined from the sb. Ashlar [W. W. S.].

*Ashentree. The ash [M. C. H. B.].
* Asked. To have banns of
marriage published [M. C. H. B.].
*Asked-out, or Out-asked. To be 'asked' for the third
time [M. C. H. B.].
*Asleep. Sails are asleep when steadily filled with wind
[Sea Slang].
Asosh, Ashosh. Awry, aslant. Compare Ahuh.
*Ass-upping. Hand-hoeing (of wheat, e.g.) to turn the
docks and thistles end upwards, or to cause the posterior
to be the superior part of the body whilst stooping in the
act of hoeing [M. C. H. B.].
*Ast. Ask [M. C. H. B.].
*Athort. Across, athwart [M. C. H. B.].
A'top of. Upon. Ex. '
I saw Mr. Brown a'top of his new
horse yesterday.'
Atter. Pus, morbid matter.
Attery. Purulent.
*A'twixt. Betwixt or between [E. S. T.]. There seems
some difference, for a common expression is
'
a'twixt and
'

a'tween [W. R.].

Aught. Another form of Owed. '
He aught me ten pounds.'
*Aunt Hannah. White arabis [M. C. H. B.].

Ausier. The osier.

Avel. The awn or beard of barley.

*Avellong Work.
'

Mowing or reaping, lying out of the

'

perpendicular [J. G. Nail].

*Avellong Workmen. Reapers or mowers approaching the

side of an irregularly shaped field will have an unequal
 Avelly Back-stalk

portion to do. The excess

or deficiency is called avellong
work See Avelong in Murray.
[E. S. T.J.
*
Avelly. Barley is said to be avelly, if when dressed for
market some of the awms (awns) stick to the grains
[E. S. T.].
Avised. Aware, informed.
'
I am not avized of it,' I do
not recollect about it [Johnson, Cull. Haw.]. The
original M. E. form, of which Mod. E. advised is a cor-

ruption [W. W. S.].

Awk. Inverted or confused. Bells are
'
to give
rung'cm?&
'

alarm of fire. This is the only connexion in which the

word is used among us, without its adjunct ward.
I/Estrange (who was a Norfolk man) uses it. In Pr. Pa.
awk is rendered into Latin by perversi. Ray says that
awkivard is opposed to toward [R. S., E. C.].
*Awms (for awns). The beard of barley so pronounced ;

in Suffolk [Moor]. In Norfolk usually Aans or Harris,

i.e. awns. In Essex, Ails. See Avel [E. S. T.]. Some-
times Haulms [A. E. R.].
Ax. To ask.

*Axt-out, or Out-axt. Said of banns when asked for the

last time.

Bab. To fish by throwing into the water a bait on a line,

without hook, with a small piece of lead to sink
float or

it, lifting it up from time to time, and dropping it again.

It is the same as bob. The bait used for fishing in this

manner is usually made of large worms, strung together
on worsted which catches in the eels' teeth [Tungate],
and tied in a bunch.
Babs. Small prints to amuse children.
^Bachelor. Elderly single men of a better rank are mostly
'
so styled. Ex. Bachelor D.' [C. S. P.].
*Back-stalk. The back of a low hearth [B. N. 27] (? cor-

ruption for back-stove [id. 87]).

 Backsticking Balderdash 7

*Backsticking. A way of ploughing in. The earth having

been previously turned is turned back again. See Strike
[E. S. T.].
' '
*Back up. Angry. Ex. Tha' got his back up [M. C. H. B.].
*Backus. The back kitchen or scullery \back-house com- ;

pare Wuddus, wood-house. W. R.].

Badget. A badger,
Badly. In
ill health. Sometimes sadly badly, and some-
times sad bad.
Baffle, (i) To gull, to cheat, or make a fool of. (a) To
manage capriciously or wantonly, as in the case of
children or cattle. Ex. ' He was sadly baffled in his
bringing up.' (3) To beat and twist irregularly together,
as '

growing corn or grass is baffled by wind and

rain.'

Bag. The dug of a cow.

*Bag Harvest. A harvest when the men board themselves,

carrying their food in bags [Johnson].
*Bahangs. Hanging down untidily, said of clothes

[J. G. Nail].
*Bahd. A bird G. Nail].
[J.
Bail. The handle of a pail, bucket, or kettle. Also the
bow of a scythe. See Bale. Sometimes Bile \B. N. 83].
Bain. Pliant, limber.
*Bait. Bundle. In Suffolk, hemp, when pulled, was tied
up in small baits,' to cart home [C. D.].
'

*Balaam Sunday. The Sunday in which the lesson relates

to Balaam and his ass, on which, says Spurdens, though
'
I cannot see why, the Norfolk housewife is reminded of
the approach of the mackerel season.'
^Balaam's Smite. The mark on a donkey's back [J5.
N. 54].
Balder. To use coarse language. See Bawda.
'

Balderdash. Not frothy and confused

'
as the Dictt. have
it, but filthy or obscene talk.
8 Baldrick Bandy-hoshoe
*Baldrick, or Balderick, or Balderdick. A girdle made of
horse's hide placed round a bell [M. C. H. B.].

*Bale (pronounced BILE). A slight withy stick or rod,

bent so as to form a bow, and attached to the scythe
stick [Johnson, and see B. N. 83]. See Bail and Rifle.

Balk, (i) A ridge of land left unploughed, to serve as

a boundary, either between two contiguous occupations,
or two divisions of the same farm, in an unenclosed
cornfield [vide Merebalk]. (2) A
ridge so left in the body
of the land, at certain intervals, in a particular mode of

ploughing called balk-ploughing. (3) A

beam in a build-
ing, supporting an upper floor or roof; or any piece of
timber, squared, and ready for any purpose in building.
(4) The failure of an expectation. (5) A piece of machi-

nery used in the dairy district of Suffolk, into which the

cow's head is put when she is milked. It allows her to
move her head freely up and down, but when she
attempts to withdraw it, she finds herself balked, and

that she must stand still till the dairymaid dismisses her.

(6) Straight young trees after they are felled ;

but before
they are hewn, it should seem, for then they would
become balks in the third sense. (7) Applied to prevent-
ing animals from the chance or opportunity of propa-
gating their species. (8) Earth turned up to the plough-
ridges or ringes [M. C. H. B.].
Balker. A great beam. An augmentation of Balk.
Bamble. To shamble, to walk unsteadily and weakly.
To tread one's shoes awry, How yew dew bamble your
'

shoes.'

Bandy, (i) The curved stick with which the ball is struck
at sundry games. (2) Any game so played is called
by
the general name. (3) A hare, from the curvature of
her hind legs.

Bandy-hoshoe. The game of ball played with a bandy.

 Bandy- wicket Bargander 9

The hoshoe may be from the resemblance of the lower

end of the bandy to a horseshoe.

Bandy- wicket. The game of cricket.

Bang. Cheese made, in Suffolk, of milk several times

skimmed ;
therefore very hard and tough, and with
which a hard knock or bang might be given. Otherwise
Suffolk Thump possibly from its being impossible to
;

make any impression on it by banging.

*Bange (pronounced BANJ). Light rain [J. G. Nail].

Banging. Huge ;
beating or excelling in size other things
of the same kind.

Bangled. (i) When cocked hats were worn, one of the

sides was sometimes let down to protect the face of the
wearer. The hat was said to be bangled. Also said of
a round hat with a broad and loose brim, such as is
worn by Quakers. (2) Also applied to the young shoots,
or more particularly the broad leaves of plants, when
they droop under heavy rain or strong sunshine. Teut.

abbangen, dependere.
*Bangy (pronounced BANJ-I). Dull, gloomy [J.
G. Nail].

*Bank. Generally used for beach [Miss Gurney].

*Bannock. A cake baked in a French oven [B. N. p. 85].

[I greatly doubt this. W. K]

Bargain. An indefinite number or quantity of anything ;

not necessarily conveying the idea of purchase and sale.

5
Ex. 'Two good tidy bargains of hay from an acre,
meaning something less than wagon loads. 'A poor
bargain of wool from three score hoggets.' 'A sad
bargain of lazy chaps.' [A wagon load according to
J.G. Nail and E. M.].

*Bargander. The sheldrake [E. S. T.], the solan goose (?)

Probably the same as Garganer,' a bird some-
'

[Moor].
'
times called Garner.' Tungate used to talk of shooting
10 Bargood Barton

(what I thought was) gardeners in the most cold-blooded

way [W. R.] (Tadoma cornuta) [M. C. H. B.].
Bargood. Yeast the flower or cream of it. It is some-
;

times corrupted into Burgood, and even Bulgood. In

Suffolk, Bulgard [Spur.]. Moor (Suff.) says he never
heard the word, and E. S. Taylor says it is not in use in
Norfolk. Formerly Beer-good, as noted by Ray in his
Preface [W. W. S.]
Bark. The tartar deposited by bottled wine or other
liquor, encrusting the bottle.
*Barksel. The season for barking trees [M. C. H. B.].

Barley-bird. The nightingale, which comes to us in the

season of sowing barley.

Barley- mung. Barley meal mixed with water or milk, to

fatten fowls or pigs.

Parley-sele. (i) The time for sowing barley. (2) It is

time to set barley when a man in leather breeches can
feel the earth warm whilst sitting on the ground
[M. C. H. B.].
*Barm. Yeast ;
called Rising or Raising in Essex.

*Barney Bee, or Burney Bee, quasi Burnis Bee, i.e. Fiery

Beetle, the May Ply [? W. R.] or Lady-bird [Spur.]. Vide
Bishop Barnabee.
Barrow-pig. The least pig of the litter. The Pitman has
the same meaning, and perhaps is more general also ;

called a Dodmau. In [Jen.] a barrow-pig is a gelded pig.

Barsele, Barksele. The time for stripping bark. See Sele.

Barth. A shelter for cattle, &c. ;

cf. seamen's berth ;
but
see Murray.

Barton. Formerly the demesne land of the lord of the

manor ;
not let out on lease, but held by the lord, in his
hands, for the sustenance of his household. Now
own
used for a farm-yard, a rick-yard, or even a poultry-
yard.
 Basking Bay 11

Basking, (i) A drenching in a heavy shower. (2) A sound

drubbing [Forby, E. S. T.]. Basting [J. G. Nail].
*Bass, Base, or Bast. Matting made from the inner bark
of a tree (the tree, viz. lime) [E. S. T.]. A hassock.
*Baste. (i) To stitch together slightly and loosely before
hemming [E. S. T.]. (2) To beat [Johnson].
Batch. A bout as of drinking, card-playing, &c. Properly
;

it means a quantity of bread, or other things, baked at

the same time. This is a dictionary sense.
Batlins. The loppings or stowin of trees [J. G. Nail]. Vel
Eattlings, toppings and loppings of trees. unhewn An
rail is also called a battling
[Forby]. Croppings of trees
;
larger than faggot sticks, yet less than timber [Cull.
Haw.].
* Batter. A slope. 'I'll have that ditch made 5ft. deep
'

on the batter [Johnson].

*Battors. Strong broad fencing-rails [Marshall].
*Battry. A tea-kettle.

*Bauley Boats. Harwich fishing-smacks [-B.

N. 77].
Bavin. A light, loose faggot.
Bavish. To drive away. Corruption of banikh (?).
*Bawda. To abuse grossly [J. G. Nail,, quoting Moor].
*Bawley. A fishing-smack.
Bawnd. Swollen [Sir Thomas Browne]. Now obsolete.
See Ray's GL, ed. Skeat. p. 16.

Bay. The space in a building between two main beams.

(i)
We speak of a barn, or a cart-lodge, of so many bays.
Sometimes, but not so correctly, the whole space between
the threshing-floor and the end of the barn is so called ;

cf. bays of a window. (2) The nest of a squirrel [but ;

this probably an error for dray.'

is
'
W. W. S.]. (3) A
division or compartment, a window. Also Day [Spur.].
(4) A dray [Moor].
1 2 Bay-duck Beck
Bay-duck. The shell-duck from its bright colour, like
;

that of a bay horse. Sometimes the May duck [W. R.] '

or gargander.'

*Bayn. Pliant, limber [Pr. Pa.].

Beaker. A drinking-glass.
*Beam-bird [or Wall-bird]. Spotted fly-catcher [J. H. G.].
*Bear. '
To bear a bob,' to make one among many ; to
lend a helping hand, at the risk, as it should seem, of
receiving a bob, or blow. From ringers, who have
several sorts of bob, all, of course, involving the idea of
a blow. (2) An instrument used to cut sedge [Johnson].
Also a surname common in S. Suffolk [F. J. B.].

*Bear 'em. As much wood from fencing as can be tied up

and carried off at the end of work time. Taken as
a right in old times, now often by consent [W. B.].
*Beargood. Yeast [Arderon]. See Bargood and Burgard.
Beam. A barn.
*Bears' Ears. The auricula [F. C. H. in N. and Q. 4th Ser.
vii. p.
350].
Beast. An
animal of the beeve kind in a fatting state.
[I doubt this. Why do we speak of a fat beast if this
1

is so ?]

Beastlings. The first milk drawn after a cow has calved.

Pronounced BIESTINGS, from the A. S. bysting [Spur.].
See Beezlins.
Beat. To repair, to supply the gradual waste of anything.
We seem to apply it only to mending the broken meshes
of a net. See Beet.
*Beath. To place green wood by the fire, to set out or

straighten it by heat [J. G. Nail].

Beatout. Puzzled [J. G. Nail] = beat out.

*Beatworld. Beyond control [J. G. Nail] (?).

Beck. A brook or rivulet.

 Becket Beggar's Velvet 13

*Becket. A spade used in cutting turf [J.

G. Nail].

*Becket. A sheath, e.g.

'
knife becket' [E. F. G.J.

*Becomes. One's best clothes [J.

G. Nail].

Bed. The uterus of an animal. (2) A fleshy piece of

(i)
beef cut from the upper part of the leg and bottom of
the belly.

*Bedded. Bedridden [C. D.].

Bed- faggot. A contemptuous name for a bedfellow, as it
were, a wretched substitute, no better than a faggot in
the muster of a regiment.

*Bedrepes. of harvesting formerly performed

Days by
customary tenants for their lord [J. G. Nail].
*Bee-bird. Great-tit (Parus major] also oxeye [M. C. H. B.].
;

Bee-bread. A
brownish opaque substance, with which
some of the cells in a honeycomb are filled, for the food
of the insect in its larva state.

Bee-drove. A great confluence of men, or of any other

creatures, as it were a swarm of them.
Beein. A home, a place to be in [J. G. Nail, quoting Moor].
*Beergood, Bergard, Bargood. Yeast [M. C. H. B.].

*Beever. A
slight repast in the intervals of regular meals,
a luncheon used in the southern parts of Suffolk and
;

[in] Essex [Spur.]. An afternoon snack about 4 p.m.

[E. S. T.].
Beet. Bet up, to mend nets [J. G. Nail and E. F. G.]. See
Beat.

*Beetsel. The time for sowing beet [M. C. H. B.].

*Beetster. A net-mender [J. G. Nail and E. F. G.].

*Beezlins. The milk of the third or fourth '
meal
'

or
milking after calving [E. S. T.]. See Beastlings.
Beggar's Velvet. The light particles of down shaken from
a feather-bed.
 Beggary Bergard
Beggary, (i) The copious and various growth of weeds in
a field. (2) The name of a specific plant [Spur.].
Begone. Decayed, worn out.
Being, (i) An abode, particularly a lodging. (2) Because.
Ex. '1 could not meet you yesterday, being I was ill
a-bed.'

Belike, (i) Likely. Ex. '

Belike we may have snow.'
(2) As it is said. Ex. '
I hear Mr. A. is to be married to
*
Miss B.'
Aye, so belike'
*Belking. Lounging at full length [J. G. Nail].

Belliborion. A variety of apple.

Bell-soller. The loft on which ringers stand.
*Below. Downstairs, North of England. Ex. He ha' '

gone below = He has gone

'

to the North [M. C. H. B.].

Belsize. Bulky, of good size.

*Ben. A figure put in front on the last load of the harvest,

intended to represent Ceres [Johnson],
*Benane. Beneath [Spur.].
Ben-joltram. A brown bread soaked in skimmed milk ;

the ploughboy's usual breakfast.

*Bentles. The low sandy flattish land on parts of the
Suffolk coast [E. S. T.].
Bents, (i) stalks of grass remaining in pastures after
Dry
summer feeding [Forby]. (2) Benten, Benting, or Bentles,
1
coarse reedy grass [E. S. T. and J. G. N.] .

*Bequixt. Betwixt [Spur.].

^Bergard. Vide Bargood.

1
When the wild dove finds all other food fail she has to betake herself
to the seeding bentles, hence these sayings :

'The dove she do no sorrow know

Until she do a~benting go.'
And
'When the pigeons go a-benling
Then the farmers lie lamenting' [E. S. T. ].
 Besom Bies 15

*Besom. A broom made of birch twigs cut and dried for

the purpose, and then tied up in a bunch. In some parts
of Suffolk called Birch-broom. In some parts of Norfolk
called Ling-broom or besom [H. C.].
Bess o' Bedlam. A sort of vagrant, once very common in
this country, who were wont to announce themselves as
inmates of Bedlam, allowed in some lucid interval to
range the country, and return at a stated time
to their

confinement.
*Best. Used as a verb. Ex. '
I bested him in the bargain.'

Bestow, (i) To deliver a woman, otherwise, to put her to

'

(2) To lay up, to put

bed.' out of the way. It is equi-
'
valent to the seamen's phrase, to stow away.'

*Bet. To beat. Mispronunciation [H. B.].

*Betty. (i) The nickname for the kettle [W. G. W.] (2) To
dawdle or waste time [F. J. B.].

*Betty-tit. The titmouse [J. G. Nail].

Bezzle. (i) To blunt or turn the edge of a tool in the

process of whetting or grinding [Forby]. (2) To drink

greedily [E. S. T. and J. G. N.].
Bibbfe. To eat like a duck, gathering its food from water,
and taking up both together. Johnson says that ducks
bibble when they put their beaks in the mud.
*Bick. A wooden bottle or cask in which beer is carried
to the field, E. Norf. [Johnson].

*Biddies. Young chickens [Spur.].

Bide-owe. Interpreted by Ray 'paenas dare.' It may be
so. It is impossible to assent or gainsay, as it is totally
extinct. It is one of Sir Thomas Browne's words.

*Bies. See Bighes. '

He is in his bies,' he is according to
1

his fancy or desire (bias ?) [Arderon]. Tungate used this

when referring to boat being at her best, when sailing
my
on one wind [W. R.]. See B. N. 12. But probably 'at
its best.'
 Biests Bishop-barnabee
*Biests. The wen-like protuberances on growing trees

[E. S. T., J. G. N., Suff.].

*Biffin. Ahalf-dried or preserved, apple. [Beef un, the
name of an apple with red skin.]

Bigg, (i) A species of barley ;

called also Barley-big.
(Hordeum hexastichon, Lin.) (2) A pap or teat

[J.
G. Nail].

*Biggoty. Overbearing [G. E.].

'
Bighes. Ex. She is all in her bighes to-day,' q. d. best
humour, best graces, &c. See Bies. [Spelt bighes, and
explained (wrongly) by Forby as 'jewels' in order to
force a false etymology. W. W. S.]
*Bile. See Bale.
*Biler. Boiler [M. C. H. B.].

*Billows of Snow. Snow-drifts [N. and Q., 3rd Ser. vol. ii.

P- 374
*Billy-boy. A sea boat [M. C. H. B.].

Billy-wix. An owl.

*Bind. Anything to tie up a bundle with. Cobbler's

sewing thread is called wax-bind, or wax-bonds ends
[E. S. T.].

*Bind, Bellbind. Bindweed. (Convolvulus) [M. C. H. B.].

Bing. A bin for corn, flour, wine, &c. The proper word.
*Binne. By-and-by [?].

Bird of the Eye. The pupil, or rather, perhaps, the little

refracted image on the retina, or that of a very near

spectator reflected from the cornea.

*Bishimer. An ant [5. N. 62] (obviously a corruption of
pismire).

Bishop. To confirm.

Bishop-barnabee. The pretty insect more generally called

 Bit Blame 1 7

the Lady-bird, or May-bug [?

W. R.], Coccinella septem
punctata, Lin.
'Bishop, Bishop Barnabee,
Tell me when your wedding be.
If it is to-morrow day,
Take your wings and fly away.'

Bushy barnabee variorum reading on the

[E. S. T.]. A
Norfolk coast is Busk ye, busk ye, all hands on deck.'
'

'

Co', busk ye, mates, ta' grow late, and time to go

'

[E. S. T.]. It is sometimes called Bishop Benebee, which

may possibly (?) have been intended to mean the blessed

bee sometimes Bishop Benetree, of which it seems not
;

possible to make anything. Moor gives this for Suffolk :

'Gowden bug, gowden bug, fly awah home,

Yar house is bahnt down, an' yar children all gone.'

*Bit. The
chief difficulty in an affair. Ex. '

Ay, ay, that

will be the bit' [C. S. P.].

Bitch. A trull ; the female companion of a vagrant. Our

tinkers do not keep bitches, but trulls.
'
*Bitterly. Excessively. It is odd enough that sweetly is
'

used in the same way [Spur.].

*Bittore. The bittern [E. S. T.]. M. E. bitoure [and cor-
rect, W. W. S.].

*Blabber. To talk idly, or chatter [E. S. T.].

*Black-cap. Marsh-tit (Parus palustris) [M. C. H. B.].

Black-sap. Very advanced jaundice.

*Black Meat. Cured bacon [E. F. G.], or ham smoked
[W.E.].
*Black Squire. A squarson [M. C. H. B.].
clerical squire,

*Black Weed. Sparganium ramosum [M. C. H. B.].

*Blains. Ulceration at the roots of the tongues of cattle
[Johnson].
Blame. An evasion of Damn. Ex. '
Blame me,' or
'
I will
be blamed if,' &c.
c
18 Blar Bloifin

Blar. Calves, sheep, asses, and children all blar, or blare

in their several natural modes. (2) mixture of pitch A
and tar [E. F. G.].
*Blare. A loud cry [G. E.].
*Blarm. Blame. Ex. ' Blarm me if you baint '

[M. C. H. B.] .

Blaunch. A blain.

Blauthy. Bloated.
*Bleach. A
drying-ground [M. C. H. B.].
Blee. General resemblance, not colour and complexion.'
'

'

Ex. That boy has a strong blee of his father [Ch., P. G.].
'

Bleek. Pale, sickly, sheepish.

*Bleff. Turbulent, noisy [J. G. Nail].
*Blether. A bladder [Johnson].
Blind. Abortive. When blossoms fade away without
forming the fruit, we say they are blind. It seems to be
particularly said of strawberries and other small summer
fruits.

Blind-hob, Blind-sim. Blind-man's buff.

Blinked Beer. Not with

acidity, but an ill flavour pecu-
be occasioned by too long delay of
liar to itself ; said to

fermentation, until the wort is too cool to ferment with

proper activity. Others account for it from insufficient
stirring of the mash, so as not to wet all the malt.

^Bloated. Puffed. Ex. 'A fond mother, looking at her

"
poor little boy's swollen cheek, observed sorrowfully, He
" '
was a bloaty little cousan and no mistake [C. S. P.].
Blob, (i) A small lump of anything thick, viscid, or dirty,
as of tallow, dregs of ink, &c. [Forby], (2) To shake

[G. J. C.]
Block-horse. A strong wooden frame with four handles,
commonly called a hand-barrow, for the purpose of
carrying blocks.
*Bloifin. A kind of blowing cough [G. E.].
 Blood-fallen Blubber-grass 19

Blood-fallen. Chilblained.
Blood-olf. The bullfinch. Pronounced ULF [E. S. T.].
See Alp.
*Bloom. (i) Plumage. Ex. 'Cock teal in full bloom.'

(2) Full plumage, or breeding plumage [M. C. H. B.J.

Blore. (i) To bellow like a bull. The same as Blare.

(2) Used of acow moaning after a weaned calf [E. S. T.].

*Blossom. (i) An ewe, when 'maris appetens' ;
a sow is

said to look 'proud' [E. S. T., also Johnson]. (2) The

state of cream in the operation of churning, when it
seems to be in a state of fermentation, and will not
coagulate and become butter [Johnson].
* Blossomed. Said of cream whilst churning becoming full
of air [J. G. Nail].
Blouze. (i) A woman with hair or head-dress loose and
disordered, decorated with vulgar finery.
or (2) A
woman's bonnet more properly that sort which
;
is other-
wise called a Slouch. All of a blouze, red in the face
(3)
from heat and exertion [Spur.]. (4) When the growth
of one plant is hindered by the over-growth of another,
it issaid to be blouzed by that plant [Spur.].

Blow. Blossoms. Ex. '

There is a fine blow of apples this
year' [B. R.].
*Blown, to be. To be detected [Arderon]. This is modern
London slang, e.g. 'To be blown upon' [W. R.].
Blown-herring. A herring slightly cured, for speedy use and
home consumption, and smoked but once, which has the
of plumping them, without discharging the fat,
effect

somewhat like the baking or roasting of apples. On

some parts of our coasts a blown-herring is called a Tow-
bowen. Why ?
They are also called Bloaters.
*Blowzin. '
Flowers comin' on a blowzin' [W. R.].
Blubber. A bubble, from blob.
Blubber-grass. Different species of bromus, from their
c 2
20 Blunk Boke-load
soft inflated glumes ;
in particular mollis, which infests

barren pastures.
*Blunk. Squally, tempestuous [J. G. Nail and Marshall].
*Blunt. A blunt of snow, a heavy fall of snow [M.C.H.B.].
*Bluster-wood. Shoots of fruit-trees, or shrubs that

require pruning [E. S. T. and J. G. Nail].

Bluther. (i) To blot in writing. (2) To disfigure the face
with weeping.
*Boak. A definite quantity, quasi bulk [Spur.]. See
Boke.
Boar-thistle. The Carduus lanceolatus, Lin.
Board-cloth. A tablecloth.
*Board you! When
one harvester wants to drink after
another, he board you, which means, give the bottle
calls
to me when you have drunk [Johnson].
Bob. (i) To cheat. (2) A plummet [E. S. T.]. (3) A blow
'
or smack, e.g. a bob i' the chops.'
Bode, (i) To board. Ex. '
He bodes and lodges there.'
(2) Past tense of bid, to offer,
'
He bode me 2s.'
[E. S. T.J
Bode-cloth. A tablecloth. See Board-cloth.

Bodge, (i) To patch clumsily; the same as botch. (2) To

boggle, to fail.

*Body . For belly [M. C. H. B.'J .

*Body of.
Large quantity. A body of rain [C. H. B.]. Ex. ' '

Bog vel Boggy. Sturdy, self-sufficient, petulant [Forby].

Malapert, consequential, saucy, impertinent [Johnson].
Boist. A
swelling. A
sore or blain [E. S. T.].

Boke. ( Ex. There is more boke than corn in that

i
)
Bulk. '

goaf [Forby]. See Boak. A large quantity, an abun-

dant crop [Johnson]. (2) To nauseate, to be ready to
vomit. (3) Part of a cart [M. C. H. B.].
*Boke-load. A load of hay or straw, or of corn in the straw
[Johnson]. A large top-heavy bulky load [Marshall].
 Boke out Bop 21

Boke out. To bulk and prominence.

swell, to gain

*Boky. Proud, conceited, saucy [Spur.]. Vide Bog [W. R.].

*Bolders. (i) Bulrushes [W. R.]. (2) Scirpus lacustris
[M. C. H. B.].
^Bolter, Bolted. Applied to a bump, raised [M. C. H. B.].
*Bolted. Of plants run to seed [M. C. H. B.].
*Bolling. A pollard tree (N. Ess.). See Murray's Diet,
for instances [C. D.].

Bombaze. To confound, bewilder, perplex as if a veil ;

were thrown before the eyes, to hinder one from seeing

what he is about.
*Bone-cart. To carry on one's shoulder. Ex. 'I coudn't
'

av a horse, so I was forst to bone-cart 'em [J. G. Nail].

Also used for the human body. '
I'll baste your bone-

cart' [Johnson].
Bone lazy, Bone sore, Bone tired. So lazy, sore, or tired,
that the laziness, the soreness, or the fatigue, seem to
have penetrated the very bones.
*Bones. It is said to be unlucky to burn bones, and that
it gives the burner the bone ache (Brunstead, 1890)
[M. C. H. B.].
*Bonker, or Bonka. Strapping, bouncing. Applied to
young women and J. G. Nail].
[E. S. T.
Bonny. Brisk, cheerful, in good health and spirits. We
do not include in it the idea of comeliness'
'

[?
W. R.].
*Bonx. To beat batter for puddings, Essex [J. G. Nail].
*Boodle. The corn marigold [J. G. Nail].
*Boots on. Died with his boots on, viz. died a violent
death [M. C. H. B.].

Bop. To dip or duck suddenly [Forby]. Come to stoop

or squat dow-i, coming with the idea of secreting [John-

son]. (2) Bopped, said of a baby when its long clothes

are exchanged for short ones. (3) To drop a curtsy
[M.C.H.B.].
 Bor Bottle-nose

Bor. A term of very familiar address, generally [mis]-

understood to be a coarse pronunciation of the word boy,
but applied indiscriminately to persons of both sexes
and of all ages. A part of the word neighbour (A. S.
ne'ah, prope, and btir) and why may it not exist in the
;

simple as well as in a compound form 1 If this explana-

tion be admitted, one old woman may, without absurdity,

say to another (as often happens), 'Co', bor, let's go

a-sticking in the squire's plantations.' And the other
may answer, Aye, bor, so we will.' See Bor in Murray,
'

Part III.

^Border. To use coarse language [Spur., E. S. T.].

Bosh. To 'cut a bosh' is something stronger than the

'
more usual expression to
'
cut a dash something more
;

showy and expensive.

*Bosky. Tipsy [E. S. T. and J. G. Nail].
*Bosom. The join in a grain of wheat is called the bosom.
'
'
If you put some wheat into water the bosom will
open
[M. C. H. B.]
Boss. A hod for mortar, carried on the shoulders like
a hump.
Bossock. To toss and tumble clumsily, as it were to
throw all the limbs together into one heap [W. R.].
Bottle, (i) By a 'bottle of hay* is now understood such
a moderate bundle as may serve for one feed, twisted
somewhat into the shape of a bottle. (2) Barley-bottles.
These were little bundles of barley in the straw, given to
farm horses. This wasteful mode of giving feeds of corn
is
probably now quite disused. (3) The dug of a cow is
called her bottle, as well as her
bag.
Bottle Bird. An apple rolled up and baked in a crust.
Bottle Bump. The bittern, anciently called bittour, or
buttour.

Bottle-nose. The common porpoise.

 Bottle Tom Braid 23

Bottle Tom. Long-tailed caudatus) [M. C. H. B.].

tit (P.

*Bottomfy. To throw out the bottoms of marsh ditches, as

' '

opposed to pulling or drawing the weeds with a crome

only [M. C. H. B.].

*Botty. Proud [J. G. Nail]. For boggy ;
see Bog [W. W. S.].

Impertinent [B. N. J.].'

Bouds. Weevils in malt.
Bouge. (i) 'To make a commit a gross blunder,
bouge,' to
to get a heavy fall by taking an awkward false step.
(2)To bulge or swell out.
^Bough-load. The last load of the harvest, so called
because dressed with boughs [W. B.].
*Boulders. (i) Bulrushes [Eastern England, by W. White,
vol. i. p. 175]. (2) Stubs [C. H. B.].
*Bout. A furrow [E. S. T., J. G. Nail]. Eather, a double
furrow; to go to the end and come back [W. B., H. C.].
Bout-hammer. The heavy two-handed hammer used by
blacksmiths.
*Bown. A swelling or lump [G. J. C., quoting J. Steele].
*Bownd. Swollen [Ray]. See Baund.

Bowry. A
bower or arbour. The word was anciently
written bowre, and signified a room, particularly a
woman's apartment. A bed-chamber [E. S. T.].
*Boxing Harry. Going without food all day [Johnson].
*Brabble. A ruffle on the surface of the sea [Spur.,
E. F. G., and E. S. T.].

^Bracing-down. Third time of turnip-hoeing, drawing

down the ridges [M. C. H. B.].

Brackly. Brittle. Particularly applied to standing corn,

some ears of which are so quickly ripened as to snap off
short [M. S.].

*Bradocks. Young turbots [J. G. Nail].

Braid, (i) A culinary term ;
to beat and blend soft
24 Braiding Bred
substances or mixtures ; particularly to press them with
a spoon through a colander or sieve. It is probably
different from Bray, to pound in a mortar. (2) To half

cut, then interlace quick or other hedge stuff [M. C. H. B.].

*Br aiding. Applied to net-making [J. G. Nail].

*Bramble. A blackberry-bush [G. E.].

Bramish. To flourish, gesticulate, and assume affected airs,
to boast [Forby]. A
boasting showy coxcomb, one who
spreads himself and appears of great importance more ;

particularly so called if his face is red from drinking or

from standiDg by the fire [Johnson]. 1

Brand. The smut in wheat, making it look as if a hot
iron had passed over it.

*Brandy Bottles. The yellow water-lilies [J. G. Nail].

*Brandice Fashion. Planting in a triangle.

Brank. Buckwheat; Polygonurti fagopyrum.
Brash, (i) An acid and watery rising from the stomach
into the mouth. (2) Refuse boughs, clippings of hedges,
&c.

Brashy. Applied to land overgrown with faint grass,

rushes, or twigs [Forby]. Wet, cold, and coarse meadows,
especially if rushy, are said to be brashy [Johnson].
Brattle. To lop the branches of trees after they are felled.
Brattlings. Loppings from felled trees.

Bravely. Very much recovered from sickness.

Brawn. A boar.
*Braze. To deny, contradict [G. E.].

*Bread, Diss Bread. A kind of cake or gingerbread made

atDiss [M.C.H.B.].
Breck. A large division of an open corn-field, q.d. Break.
But query from bracken, cf. the breck district.

Bred. A board to press curd for cheese, somewhat less

1

A marvellously comprehensive word this !

 Bred-sore Broaches 25

in circumference than the vat. A. S. bred, a board

[W. W. S.].

"ELed-sore, Breeder. A whitlow, or any sore coming with-

out wound or other visible cause. A whitlow only
[Spur.].
*Breeder. (i) A weather breeder an unseasonably fine

day. (2) To breed for when a woman enceinte is in

good health, whilst her husband is ill, he is said to breed

for her (1891) [M.C.H.B.].
*Brenner. A sharp gust of wind on the water [E. F. G.].
*Brew. The field side of a ditch, its brim, brow, or berm
[E. S. T. and J. G. N.].

^Bridleway. A way with gates, where riders can go but

not carts [C. D.]. Also a Spur way.
Brief. Any written or printed petition, or begging paper.

Brig. A bridge.
^Bright. The appearance of marshes when flooded, 'the
marshes are bright to-day' [W. R.].
Brim. Commonly, but erroneously, supposed to be another
name for a boar. We say, indeed, the sow goes to brim '
'

but we never call the boar a brim. In Cheshire, the sow

is said to be brimming, which is exactly the A. S. brem-

mende, fremens. E. S. Taylor says brim is said of a sow

'
when she is maris appetens,' and that proud or salt
' '
'
'

isused for the same thing.

Brim. The past of to broom or to sweep with a broom,
brim up all the muck I could [E. S. T.].
' '

*Bring up. To stop, to bring to a standstill, to assume

a threatening attitude; e.g. 'He brought up before me'
= he drew his guard at me also he brought up = he
' '

;
'
'
'

stopped his cart' [M. C. H. B.].

Brink -ware. Small faggots, generally made of whitethorn,
to repair the banks of rivers.

Broaches, Brauches, Brotchwood. Rods of sallow, hazel,

26 Broad Buck
or other tough and pliant wood, split, sharpened at each
end, and bent in the middle like an old-fashioned hair-
pin; used by thatchers to pierce and fix their work.
A fell of such wood is divided into hurdle-wood and
broach-wood ;
the stouter and the slenderer. M. E. broche.

Broad. A lake formed by the expansion of a river in a flat

country.
Broad-best. The best suit of apparel. Perhaps because
understood to be made of broadcloth.

Break, Brock. To belch, to break wind [W. R.].

*Brogues. Breeches, Suff. [J. G. Nail].

^Brooches. Sores [M. C. H. B.].
^Broomstick Marriages. Marriages contracted to save the
legitimacy of a child, or to father the child on another
parish ;
otherwise Hop-pole marriages.
*Brow. To
clear away rough grass and brambles ;
the
clearings are called Brewings [W. G. W.].

Bruckled, Bracket. Grimy, speckled and ingrained with

dirt. Ex. That child's hands are all over bruckled.'
'

Bruff. Hearty, jolly, healthy, in good case.

*Brum. A broom [Spur., E. S. T.].
*Brumble. A bramble.
*Brumble gelder. A farmer [J. G. Nail]. Lit. bramble
cutter.

Brump. To lop trees in the night (?).

Brun. Bran.
*Brush. (i) To cut down weeds, &c. [E. S. T., J. G. Nail].

(2) To beat a covert '

a day's brushing with the
;

governor' [H. B.].

Brustle. A bristle.
*Brut. To browse, Suff. [Bailey].

Buck. That part of a cart or waggon which may be very

 Buck Buffle 27

properly called its belly [For by]. The body of a cart

[Cull. Haw.].
Buck. To spring or bound with agility. A horse bucks
[F. J. B.].
Bucker. (i) A horse's hind leg. (2) A bent piece of
wood somewhat like it in shape ; particularly that on
which a slaughtered animal ishung up, more generally
called a Gambrel. It has been guessed that this is the
origin of
'
kicking the bucket.' (3) A bucket.
Bucker-ham. The hock joint of a horse.
Buck-head, Buck- stall. To cut down a quickset hedge to
the height of two or three feet, with a view of renovat-
ing its growth [Forby]. Sometimes called a thorn boll
or bull [Johnson.]
Bud. A calf of which the horns are beginning to shoot.
But the name is equally applied to those of the same
age, of the polled breed [Forby.] heifer, steer, or A
bull at a year old, not two [Johnson]. Yearling cattle

[Marshall].
Buddie. A noxious weed among corn. Chrysanthemum
segetum, Lin.
*Buetiful. Beautiful.
Buffer. A fool, a buffoon.
*Buffet. A corner cupboard, used for the display of glass
< '

or chany [E. S. T.J

Buffet Stool. A four-legged stool set on a frame like
a table. It is the poor man's sideboard, table, or stool,
as occasion requires.

Buffle. (i) To handle clumsily, as if the fingers were

stuffed or blown up. (2) To speak thick and inarticu-
lately, as if the mouth were stuffed. (3) To baffle [Spur.].
(4) To be buffled, to be confused [E. S. T.]. That '11 '
hull
'

him in a buffle put him into a difficulty [B. N. p. 86].

(5) To warm one's hands in pockets, &c., N. Ess. [C. D.].
28 Bulk Bumbled
Bulk. To throb.

*Bull. Is always pronounced as in mull or hull [Spur.].

Bull-feist. The common puff-ball.
*Bullakin. Low vulgar abase [Johnson].
*Buller. To bellow a noise [G. E.].
;

*Bullkin. A bull calf [E. S. T.].

Bullock, (i) To bully. (2) To bellow or lament vocifer-

Sobbing and
'

ously. Ex. bullocking.'

*Bulls. The sterns of hedge thorns [Marshall, and B. N.
66].
Bull's Noon. Midnight. The inhabitants of dairy counties
can feelingly vouch for the propriety of this term. Their
repose is often broken in the dead of night by the
loud bellowing of the lord of the herd, who, rising vigor-
ous from his evening rumination, rushes forth on his
adventures, as if it were broad noonday.
Bulry-mung. (i) A mixture of the meal of oats, peas,
and vetches [Forby]. (2) Scurrilous and abusive Ian-
guage [E. S. T.].
Bully-rag. To revile in vulgar and opprobrious terms.

*Bulmong. Peas and oats sown together [Cull. Haw.].

Bulver. To increase in bulk by being rolled over and
over, like snow. The word is often applied to hay or
corn collecting into increasing heaps.
*Bulver-head. One whose brains are a thick confused
mass [Johnson]. [Bull-headed? Tungate].
*Bulvering. Sticking out [Johnson]. Cumbersome [B. N.
100].
Bumbaste. To beat or baste severely, particularly to
inflict school discipline.
*Bumble. A hoarding in front of a building being rebuilt
[W. R.].
*Bumbled. Blinded as with a handkerchie [Arderon].
 Bummaree Bunkas 29

*Bummaree. To run up a score at a newly opened public-

house [Hotten's Slang Dictionary]. Not known [W. R.].
*Bumbay. In Suffolk a quagmire from stagnating water,
dung, &c. [Cull. Haw.]. See Bumby.
Bumble, (i) To muffle. Ex. '
The bells were bumbled at
his burial.' (2) A
cover of a vessel [Spur.].
Bumble-bee. The Humble-bee. Bumbler [Em.]. /
Bumble-footed. Having a thick lumpish foot which ;

moves were made whole, without articulations.

as if it

Bumbles. Coverings for the eyes of a horse, obstructing

his vision more effectually than common blinkers.

Bumby. Any collection of stagnant filth, into which the

drain from some dirty place runs. See Bumbay.
Bun. A dried stalk [Halliwell].
*Bunch. (i) To beat hemp [Spur.]. Also, 'bunch' of
plovers, as we say a 'skein of wild duck' [W. R.]. (2)
A small flock [M. C. H. B.].

Bund-weed, Bunds. Different species of wild centaureae,

particularly nigra, Lin., which much infests grass land ;

and some species of scabiosa (succisa, Lin., for instance).
It is quasi bum-weed, from the roundness and plumpness
of the parts of fructification in the plants above-men-
tioned [sed quaere bind-weed W. R.].
Bundle. Anopprobrious term applied to females, equiva-
lent to baggage, which perhaps means strictly a follower
of the camp. Bunch is used in the same sense.

Bungay Play. A simple straightforward way of playing

the game at whist,
by leading winning cards in suc-
all

cession, without any plan to make the best of the hand.

From Bungay, Suffolk.

Bung-tail. The tail of a draught-horse, docked and pared

down to the shape and size of a bung [? bangtail W. R.].
*Bunkas. A crowd collecting together confusedly, Suff.
[E. S. T. and J. G. N.],
 Bunker Busk
*Bunker. Any large rank-growing weed [M. C. H. B.].
*Bunkers. Strong growing bunches (e. g. Carex caespitosa)
[M. C. H. B.].
Bunks, (i) The wild succory, Chichoreum intybus, Lin.
(2) A rabbit [E. S. T.].

Bunny. A small swelling caused by a fall or blow. Allied

to E.bunion [W. W. S.].
*Bunt. To strike with the head, to gore [G. J. C.].

Bunting, Bunty. Miserably mean and shabby.

Burbles. Small tingling pimples, such as are caused by
the stinging of nettles or of some minute insects. Minsh.
calls them Barbies. Qu. because they have been produced

by puncturing the skin with little barbed points ?

*Burgard. Yeast [E. S. T. and J. G. N.]. See Beargood
and Bargood.
Burr, (i) A mistiness over and around the moon ;
E. S. T.
Near burr far rain.' (2) The
(
quotes the proverb,
wart-like excrescence on trees, Norf. ; the same as the
Suffolk Biest [E. S. T.]. (3) The rough edge of wood
leftby the tool on the lathe [E. S. T.].
*Burrow Duck. Sheldrake (Tadorna cornuta) [J. H. G.].
Burthen. To charge closely and pressingly. Ex. I bur- '

thened him with it as strong as I could, but he would

not confess/
*Bush. (i) Reeds. When a wounded fowl swims from the
open water into the reeds, it is said to have got into
the bush. (2) Eeed-bed [M. C. H. B.].
Busk, (i) Particularly applied to domestic fowls exposing
themselves to the sun on a hot day, lying in the most dusty
place they can find, and scratching up the dust among
their feathers, to rid themselves, it is said, of the vermin
with which they are infested. (2) To prepare, to get ready
to go [E. S. T.]. (3) The piece of wood or iron that con-
fines the bung of a churn See Bishop-barnabee.
[H. B.].
 Buskings Gail 31

*Buskings. Gaiters [C. S. P.].

*Buss. A fishing-boat [J.
G. Nail].

*Bussen-billy. Ruptured [J. G. Nail]. Busten-belly, Id.

[E. S. T.].
Butes = Crotch-boots, the boot of boots. Ex. '
You
won't take no harm, you ha' got your butes on'
[M. C. H. B.].
*Butlands, or Buttles. Land set apart for butts at which
to practise archery [Spur.].

*Butt. A flounder [J. G. Nail].

Butter Teeth. Broad and yellow teeth.

*Buttery. A pantry [Spur.].

All colleges have butteries

[F. J. B.].
Buttle, (i) Another name for the Bottle Bump, Butter
Bump, or Bittern. Archery grounds, as in Butlands.
(2)
Buttress. An implement used by blacksmiths for paring
hoofs of horses \B. N. 56].
Buzzle Head. B. N. p. 68. Probably a corruption for
puzzle head [W. B,.].

*Bybler. A great Bible reader [E. S. T.].

*Bylders. A kind of watercress [J. G. Nail].

Caddow, or Gadder. A caddus nist.'

A jackdaw. '

*Cade. A measure for herrings, not now used 2 Henry VI, ;

iv. 2. 36. A cade of sprats at Aldborough is a thousand

[E. F. G.].
*Cadpig. The smallest pig in the litter [W. B.]. Vide
Petman.
*Caffling. shilly-shallying; cheapening an
Hesitating,
article or shifting a bargain [Johnson].
Gail, (i) To throw weakly and wide of the
mark. A boy
throws a stone, a mauther cails it [or Shails, Johnson.]
(2) To move with a wavering and irregular gait. (3) To
32 Cakey Canker Rose

gambol and throw out the heels like a skittish colt,

kicking and calling.'

'

*Cakey. Soft or silly [F. C. Husenbeth in N. and Q. 4th

Ser. vol. iv. p. 127].

*Calder, or Caulder, or Chalder. Chauldron. The husk of

wheat [M. C. H. B.].
Call, (i) To use abusive language; to call names, not
particularizing any. Ex. '
How she did call me !
'
Jen.
Becall. Br. Call. (2) Need, occasion.
Ex. '
There was
'
no call for your doing so ;
i. e.
you were not called upon.
Callow, (i) The stratum
of vegetable earth lying above

gravel, sand, limestone, &c. [Forby]. (2.) The surface of

the land removed to dig for stones [E. S. T.].
Calm. The concreted scum of bottled liquors.

Calmy. Mothery.
Cambuck. The dry stalk of dead plants, as of hemlock, or
other umbelliferae.

Camp. An ancient athletic game at ball (football), now

superseded by cricket, a less hardy and dangerous sport
[and by football, a more dangerous one].
Canch. (i) A small quantity of corn in the straw put into
a corner of the barn or an out-house. (2) A short turn
or spell at a job of hoeing, ditching, &c. (3) A trench,
cut sloping to a very narrow bottom, or an angle. See
Cansh.
'
*Cand. To adhere '
It cands together [Johnson] ;
i. e.

candies.

*Canker. Seed-pods of the wild dog-rose [C. D.].

Cankerfret. Verdigris. The rust of copper or brass.
When the tinning is worn off' from kitchen utensils, they
are said to be canker-fretted. It is not used for the rust
of any other metals.
Canker Rose. The common red field-poppy, otherwise
called Copper Rose, and Headache.
 Cankers Carpeted 33

*Cankers. Caterpillars [Marshall],

Canker Weed. The Senecio Jacobaea, or common ragwort.
*Cansey. Causeway. See Carnsey. In Suff. pron. CAISEY
[H. C.].
*Cansh. A small mow [Marshall]. See Canch.
Cant, (i) To set up on edge. (2) To throw upwards with
a jerk [Forby]. (3) To turn, or slew round as an anchored
vessel with the tide [E. F. G.].

Cant Bail. A triangular rail of which two are cut from

;

a square piece of timber sawn diagonally.

*Capped. Land is capped when beaten down hard by

heavy rain [F. J. B.].

*Cappel. (i) The iron fixed to the end of the horsetree,

and to which the traces are hooked when at plough or
harrow [Johnson]. (2) The revolving wooden loop on
'

the top of a flail, by which the swingel is attached to

'

'
<
the handstaff [W. G. W.].
*Capper [Suff.]. A hardish crust, formed on recently har-
rowed land by heavy rain [E. S. T.].
Cappered. Usually applied to cream wrinkled on the sur-
face in a brisk current of air sometimes to
by standing ;

the surface of land suddenly dried after rain.

*Cappers. Setting 'cappers,' a schoolboy's game of fol-

lowing the leader over hedge or ditch [M. C. H. B.].

Car. A wood or grove on a moist soil, generally of alders

or osiers ; a plantation by a river.
' '
*Carnser. Causeway, e. g. Heigham Carnser,' for Heig-
ham Causeway' [W. E.].
*Carnsey or Causey, id. [E. S. T.]. Johnson says Cantsa,
a raised footway, and the side of a horse or carriage way.
Browne (Letters to Dugdale) has Cawsing. See Caunsey.

^Carpeted. Had up for a fault before one's master '

onto
'

the carpet, into the room [M. C. H. B.].

34 Carr Casualty
*Carr. Alder carr, a wood or spinney of Alder Trees,
which if composed of Osiers and Willows would be called

a f bed'[M. C. H. B.].
*Carre. A stoat [N. and Q.].

*Carrying the Blacksmith. A horse does when his hinder

shoes knock against his fore ones [Johnson].
*Car Stone. A peculiar stone found principally near
Swaffham [Spur.].
Cart. Crab. The carapace of a crab [Hotten's Slang Dic-

*Carwo. The word used by boys to scare rooks and

crows from the corn. The Norfolk boys say
'Bird a bird, a wooh,
Here come the clappers,
To knock ye down back'ards,
'
Carwo Carwoo oh
! !

Case. Cause. We
whimsically transpose these two words.
Ex. '
He did
without any case whatsomever.'
it Oh, if
'

that be the Cause, indeed We may say Becase for!

'

Because.

Caseworm. The caddis.

Cast, (i) Warped, thrown on one side as it were, from

a straight form [Forby]. (2) To vomit [E. S. T.].

Cast, Yield, produce. Ex.

(i)
'
did your wheat cast ? How '

In Suffolk the question would be, 'How did it rise ?'

1

(2) Of rabbits they are not counted per head, but two
:

or three for one according to size and quality. Rabbits

' ' '

that cast twelve to the dozen are called full rabbits '

[M. C. H. B.].
Casualty. The flesh of an animal that dies by chance.
Ex. 'Gipsies feed on casualties.' 'This mutton is so
pale and flabby, it looks like a casualty.' He gave '

a bullock to the poor at Christmas, little better than

a casualty.' But to be correct, pronounce it Cazzlety.
 Cat Chaits 35

Cat. (i) A
mass of coarse meal, clay, and some other
ingredients, with a large proportion of salt, placed in
dovecotes to prevent the pigeons from leaving them, and
to allure others to come. Called also a Salt Cat ;
mean-
ing, no doubt, a Salt Gate. (2) A ferret. A coped cat is

a muzzled ferret [W. R.].

Catch Land. Border land, of which the tithe was disput-
able, and taken by the first of the claimants who would
catch it.

*Cauf or Cawf. A floating perforated box to keep lobsters

in [E. S. T.]. See Corf.

Caulk. Calcareous earth in general ; any sort of lime-

stone. The same as E. chalk.

Caunsey. A causey, a raised and paved way. [By no

means necessarily paved, Spur.]. See Carnser. In Pr.
'
'
Pa. also spelt Cawcewey [C. D.].
Cause. Case, q. v.
*Cave. To fall in, a grave begins to cave [M. C. H. B.].

*Caven. Coarse chaff, &c., raked off the barn floor, Essex.
See Colder.

Caving. The chaff and broken ears of corn, swept from

the threshing-floor.

Cess. A
layer or stratum when successive quantities of
;

things of the same kind are regularly placed one over

another [Forby]. Johnson has Ceace.
Chaam. To chew or nibble into small pieces. Books
and papers are too often chaamed by mice, if they can get
at them. [M. E. chammen, to chew (Sir T. More's Works,
p. 241); Mod. E. champ. W. W. S.]
Chads. Dry husky fragments among food. This bread is

chaddy.
*Chafly. Thirsty [Johnson],
Chaits. Fragments or leavings on plates or trenchers, or
D 2
36 Chalder Check
of the food of animals, as turnip chaits. To which may
be added Chats, as Ash Chats, Sycamore Chats, Maple
Chats (what are otherwise called the Kegs (keys !) of
those several trees). Blackthorn Chats are the young
shoots or suckers of the blackthorn on rough borders,
where they are occasionally cut and faggotted, but the
roots left in the ground. All different forms of the same
word, and of connected meaning also Chanks
; [Spur.].
Chating stuff is soft grass grown among rushes
[M. C. H. B.]. See Chats, Chites.
Chalder. (i) To crumble and fall away, as the surface of
cawk, gravel, &c., by the action of moist air. Otherwise
Cholder and Cholter. (2) A chaldron.
^Chamber. The room over any other room, e. g. the bed-
room over the parlour is the parlour chamber [W. E.].
Chamble. To chew minutely. Frequentative of Cham,
old form of Champ.

Chamblings. Husks of corn, or other very small scraps of

what has been gnawed by vermin. Sometimes called
Chankings [G. E.].
*Chanks. The same as Chaits [Spur.].

*Char. For chair [Johnson].

*Charhole. The place in the roof of the stack in which
stands the harvestman, who takes the corn from the man
below him [W. G. W.].
*Chase. A green lane [C. D., C. S. P.].
*Chats or Chatters. Protruding bushes of blackthorn, &c.,
running into a field from the fence [E. S. T.]. See
Chaits. Otherwise Sprawls.
Chatter-pie. A magpie.
*Chatty. Well or neatly finished, natty [M. C. H. B.]
*Cheary. Careful, sparing [Marshall]. Chary? [W. E.]
Check, (j) To taunt, to reproach. Ex. '
He checked him
 Cheese Chitlings 37

with the favours he had done him.' (2) Shutters are

checkedwhen put half to for mourning [W. R.].
*Cheese. One meal cheese = cheese made from one milk-
ing [M. C. H. B.].
*Cheese Braid. A dairy utensil, into which the curd is put
and pressed [Johnson]. See Bred.
*Chest. An oak coffin [E. T. Booth, M. C. H. B.].
Chick, (i) A flaw, as in earthenware. (2) To begin to

germinate ;
as seeds in the earth, leaves from their buds,
or barley on the couch in the malt-house. (3) To crack,
chap, chop as the skin in frosty weather.
;

Chicken's Meat, (i) The herb chickweed, Alsine media,

Lin. (2) Also dross corn, only fit to feed fowls.
Child-age. Childhood. Intended as a term of contradis-
tinction to old age.

^Children's Shoes, to make. To suffer oneself to be made

sport of [E. S. T.]. See Little Shoes.
Chine. The part of a cask into which the head is fixed.
Chine-hoop. The extreme hoop which keeps the end of
the staves together, and is commonly of iron.

Chingle. (i) Loose gravel, shingle. (2) Lump sugar

[W. R.].
Chink, (i) To cause a sprain on the back or loins, seem-

ing to imply a slight separation of the vertebrae. Ex.

'The fall chinked his back.' (2) To cut
into minute

pieces.

Chipper. To chirp.
*Chirm. The noise of birds, children, and sometimes of
women [Spur.].
*Chist. Chest \N. and Q.].
*Chites. The bottoms of turnips, the top,3 of which have
been eaten by sheep [Johnson], See Chaits.
*Chitlings. The small gut of pigs [C. H. B.].
 Chittled Church Hole
*Chittled. Sprouted, vegetated [Johnson],
Chitty, Chitty-faced. Baby-faced.
Chizzly. Harsh and dry under the teeth.

Chobbins. Unripened grains, not coming out of the husks

under the flail, but beaten off by it, quasi Choppings.

Chobby. Abounding in chobbins.

Chomp. To chew loudly and greedily, to champ.

*Chop. Haifa sweath [Spur],

Chop-loggerhead. An One who has
intense blockhead.
a head to all appearance thick and stout enough to bear
a blow of a hatchet.
Chout. A jolly frolic; a rustic merry-making.

Chovee, Chovy. A small beetle.

*Chow. To chew [E. S. T.].
Christian. A man as distinguished from a brute beast.
*Christmas. Technical term for holly.

Chubby. Surly.
*Chubbock. A thick, short lump of wood, fit
only for the
fire
[Johnson].
*Chuck. (i)Food or provision for an entertainment
[Hotten's Slang Dictionary], (2) A term of endearment
for girls [E. S. T.]. (3) To throw or jerk [M. C. H. B.].

*Chuckle. To submit, cringe, play the sycophant [John-

son].
Chufly. Fat and fleshy, particularly in the cheeks.

Chump, (i) A
small thick log of wood [Forby]. (2) The
thick end of a tree [E. S. T.]. (3) Wooden. Ex. 'Don't
be a chump' (4) Head. Ex. 'He is going off his
chump'
Church Clerk. The parish clerk. Long in use.
*Churched. Returned thanks in church [M. C. H. B.].
*Church Hole. A grave [B. N. 83].
 Churching Clamp 39

Churching. The Church Service. To one of the offices in

particular this name is given in the Book of Common
Prayer. But we say in general, We have churching
'

twice on a Sunday.'

Churchman. An officiating minister. He is a good, bad,

or indifferent churchman, as he acquits himself in the
desk or pulpit.
*Churn Milk. Milk that has been churned [Spur.].
*Cinder Pit. The ash pit [G. E.].

*Cla, Cley. The claw of a bird, crab, or lobster [Spur.].

See Cleas.
*Clack. To clatter [E. S. T.].

*Claggings. Refuse wool shorn from the breech of the

sheep [Johnson].
Claggy. Clogged with moisture, as roads and footpaths
are after moderate rain [Br.].

Clag-locks. Locks of wool matted or clogged together by

the natural moisture of the animal, or wet and dirt.

Clam, Clamminess. Ex. The meat has been kept too

(i)
'

long, and has got a clam,' begins to decay. (2) A slut,

so excessively dirty that her skin looks clammy. (3) To
stick together by some viscid matter. (4) To emaciate,
to starve with hunger; the juices of the body being sup-

posed to be thickened and gradually dried up. Cf. the

north country 'clemmed.'
'

*Clammed, or Clemmed. To kill or do '

for [West Rud-
ham, May 27, 1887, M. C. H. B.].
Clamp, (i) An extempore brick-kiln, in which bricks are
burned when there is not earth enough near the spot to
answer the expense of erecting a regular kiln. Also used
for burning lime for manure [Spur.]. (2) A mound of
earth lined with straw to keep potatoes or mangold
wurzel through the winter. Now called a pie [Spur.].
40 Clamper Cleading
Clamper. To make a noisy trampling in walking, as men
do whose shoe soles are guarded with iron, women in
iron pattens, &c.

*Clams. Wooden pliers or nippers by which the harness-

maker holds leathers while he sews them [Johnson].
*Clapgate. A small swing gate between two posts [G. E.].
* The post on which the gate shuts or
Clapping-post.
closes. The other is the hanging-post [E. S. T.].
Clart. To daub with syrup, juice of fruit, or the like.
Clarty. Daubed with syrup, &c., sticking to the fingers.
*Clates. Pieces of iron in the shape of the heel and toe of
the shoe, fastened to these parts to make the shoes more
durable [Johnson].

*Clating. To choose sides by measuring with the feet.

Clip, and Cleat.

'
Cf. cleated shoes.' See Clepe,
Claumb, Clomb. To clamber in a heavy and awkward
manner. Intens. of climb.
Claunch. To walk in a lounging manner, as if the feet
were dragged along in the dirt, to save the trouble of
lifting them up. Ex. Yinder go Black Betty, claunch-
'

ing along in her creepers.' Also used for to catch hold

[Spur.].
*Claver, Clever. Generally used as inferring goodness of
heart or benevolence. Also pretty or neat as ' a claver ;

mauther,' a pretty or neat girl (Acle, Norf.) [W. W. S.].

*Claw, or Clay. To claw hold on anything = to take hold

of it with one's hands, generally, roughly or suddenly

[M. C. H. B.].
*Clay Lump. Bricks of sun-dried clay. Vide Dauber
[H. B.].
Clay-salve. Common cerate ; from its colour.
Clead. To clothe. Cf. Du. kleed, clothing.
O
Cleading. Clothing [O. E.].
 Cleas Clitchy 41

Cleas, Cleyes. Claws ;

as of a lobster or crab. Ex. '
Crack
the cleas in the hinge of the door.' See Cla.

Cleat. To strengthen with thin plates of metal. Shoe-

heels are often cleated with iron and kitchen utensils ;

worn thin, with copper. See dates.

*Cleat. Pleat, in nautical phraseology [M. C. H. B.].

Clepe. To call. The word is used by our boys at play,

who clepe (or, as they commonly pronounce it, clip) sides,
or opposite parties at ball, &c. [A. S.]. See Clip.

*Clevers, or Cluvers. Tussocks or tufts of coarse grass, or

roots of rushes with earth adhering to them, turned up
by the plough [E. S. T.].

*Click, or Clock. A blow [E. S. T.].

Clicket. To chatter. Dim. of clack [T.].

Clicket. Voluble.

*Clift. A cliff [E. S. T.].

Clim. A sort of imp which inhabits the chimneys of nur-
series, and is sometimes called down to take away

naughty children.
Climp. To touch a polished surface with dirty or
(i)

greasy fingers, and leave marks upon it. (2) It is a sort

of cant term for steal.

Clink. A smart slap.

Clinks. Long nails used for fixing irons on gates, &c.,

where they are wanted to take strong hold.

Clinkers. Bricks of a smaller size than usual, burned very

hard, and set up on edge to pave stables, or other places
where there is trampling of heavy cattle.

*Clip. (i) To choose sides [E. S. T.]. To embrace

(2)

[E. S. T] (3) A blow [B. N. 5]. (Common aU over

England, W. R.) See Clepe.

*Clitchy. Clammy, gummy, &c.

 Liver Clung
Cliver. A
chopping-knife.
(i) (2) Goose-grass (Galiuin
aparine) [M. C. H. B.].
Clod. To clothe.
Clodding. Clothing. A
pauper solicits clodding for her
children ; the overseer tells her they were clodden but
a while ago.
little

Clodger. The cover of a book. See Clozzier.

Clogsome. Dull, heavy, tiresome.
Clog-wheat. A bearded species.
*Clomed. Caught.
'
He domed hold of me
'

[Johnson].
Also, climbed.
*Close. Dusky, a close evening, day closes in [M. C. H. B.].
*Closen. Enclosed fields ;
plural of close [Spur.].
*Closes. Fields with footpaths through them [B. N. 26,
? W. R.].
Clotch. To tread heavily, and move awkwardly.
*Clote. Colt'sfoot [Marshall].

Clough. (i) A ravine between two precipitous banks,

having a run of water at its bottom Forby only cites ;

one case at Lynn. (2) A sluice with one door, drawn

up like a portcullis a Stanch has a pair of doors a Lock,
; ;

two pairs of doors [E. S. T.].

Clow. , (i) The clove pink. Fr. clou de, girofle. (2) A slice
of bread, cheese, &c. [E. S. T.].
*Clozzier. The binding or covering of a book [Johnson],
See Clodger.
*Club. To jump, keeping both feet together [Johnson].

Clue. Three skeins of hempen thread.

Clunch. Close-grained hard limestone, lit to be used in
building, but soft when first taken from the quarry.
Clunchy. Short, thick, and clumsy.
Clung, (i) Tough, juiceless land hard to work [Forby].;

(2) Rather shrunk, shrivelled, or collapsed [E. S. T.].

 Clutch Cock-brumble 43

*Clutch. A brood of chickens or ducks [M. C. H. B.].

Clutter, (i) Confusion, disorder. (2) To make a noise or

hurly-burly by talking [E. S. T.].

'

*Co ! Exclamation ;
abbreviation of come. '
Co ! bor
[H. B.]
*Coach. A four-wheeled perambulator [M. C. H. B.].
Coal-hod. An utensil of metal or wood, to hold the coals
to be thrown on the fire ;
otherwise called the Coal-
scuttle, -shoot, or -shoe.
Coal-shoot. A coal-scuttle [H. B.].
'
Coarse. Opposed to fine, as applied to weather. It is
a coarse morning.'
*Coat. A petticoat [C. S. P.].
Cob. (i) A sea-gull. (2) The stony kernel of fruit. (3)
In Suffolk, a basket for seed corn, the same as the seed-
leap or seedlip [E. S. T.]. (4) Husk or chaff [Johnson].
(5) Loam or clay [Id.]. (6) The boast, pride, or crack

[Id.~\.
He was the cob of all this county for fishing.'
'

(7) A pile of herring. (8) A roe herring.

*Cob-baker. Anything unusually large [Johnson].

Cobble, (i) The round stones with which most country
towns are paved. (2) The stone of fruit. (3) Any small,
hard, pebbly substance. Also the vsmall lumps of earth
raked off garden beds [Spur.]. (4) A fishing-boat for- ;

merly coble, as in Johnson's Diet. Welsh ceubal, a ferry- ;

boat, a skiff.

*Cob-boy. One who between boy and man [W. B.].

is

Cob Irons, (i) The andirons on which wood is burned on

the hearth. (2) The irons hung upon the bars of the
kitchen range on which the spit is supported.
*Cob Loaf. The outside loaf of a batch [Johnson].
Cock-brumble. The hawk's-bill bramble, as it is otherwise
called, from its curved spines. Rubus fructicosus, Lin.
 Cocker Colderskep
*Cocker. To fondle, to indulge [Johnson].
*Cockerell. A young cock of the first year [J.
W. G.].

*Cockey. A sewer London Street, Norwich, was origin-

;

ally called Cockey Lane [W. R.]. The trap leading to

a drain [A. E. R.].
Cock Farthing. A term of endearment used to a little boy.
Cock's Egg. An abortive egg, without a yolk.
*Cock's Heads. Plantain, ribwort, or ribgrass [Marshall].
*Cockshot. A passage cut through a wood for woodcocks
to fly through, in which a net was placed to catch them.
In an old Act of Parliament it was Latinized ' volatile
woodcoccorum.'
*Cockshut Time. The time of fowls going to rest [Johnson].

*Cod. The pocket of a net.

*Coding Comber. A woolcomber who went his rounds on
foot [Johnson].

Coffer. A chest to keep clothes in.

Conn, (i) A coffin. (2) A basket which preceded the use
of coffins [Spur].

*Coil. A company. Ex. 'A coil of teal' [M. C. H. B.].

*Coiled up. Curled up. Of ferrets, cats, or dogs [M. C. H. B.].

*Coipy. Haughty, assuming airs of consequence, coupled,

of course, with ignorance [Johnson].

Coit. To toss up the head. Of a proud and affected minx

*
it is said she coits up her head above her betters.'

*Cokered. Unsound, as applied to timber [Cull. Haw.].

Cold-chill. A ridiculous pleonasm, meaning an ague fit,

on the first access of a fever.

Colder. Broken ears of corn mixed with short fragments

of straw, beaten off by the flail. Rubbish as Colder ;
'

(sometimes cholder) may be shot here.' See Cavon.

*Colderskep. A large basket for chaff, &c. [G. E.].

 Cole Come 45

*Cole. Money [Johnson]. Also used in London slang

[W. W. S.].
*Coll, or Call. A brood of wild ducks [Johnson]. See Coil.

Collar. To sully with soot or coal-dust.

Collar, Collar-coal. Black smut from the chimney or

bars. We distinctly pronounce it thus. Sed vide Colly.
Shakespeare has collied, i. e. black, Mid. Nt. Dr. i. i. 145.
Collie dog was formerly coaley dog it is a Gallic word. :

Gallic cuilean, a puppy.

Collar Ball. A light ball with which children play.

Collar Beam. The highest and shortest beam in a build-

ing, which is
thought perhaps hold together and to
secure the roof, as the garments are held by the collar.
Also Wind Beam, q.v.

Collogue. To confer together for some mischievous pur-

pose.
*Colly-ball, Colly-coal. The collar-ball and collar-coal of

Forby are better pronounced thus [Spur.].

*Colly-coal. A sort of charcoal [Johnson].

^Column of wild duck. A string or skein of them [W. R.].

*Comb. '
Comb your hair,' viz.
'

put you to rights, set you

'

Mob,' or even to
<

straight.'
'

pay [M. C. H. B.].

Come. Intruded into several phrases, awkwardly and
vulgarly perhaps, but not without meaning. Ex. To-
'

morrow come - -
Tuesday come fortnight.'
se'nnight.'
'
- -

Meaning, no doubt, when to-morrow se'nnight, or Tues-

day fortnight shall come or, let them come, and then
;

the thing will happen. A more facetious phrase is, to- '

morrow-come-never,' i. e. Ad Graecas calendas. To this

may also be referred Miscomfortune and Misconhap ;

words very injuriously reputed corruptions. Come hardy,

Come hether, Cope harby, or Cope a holt- horse language
for come to the left. See Weesh away for the right [E. M.].
46 Come-along Cop
I fetched him a come-
and N. Essex. '

*Come-along. Suff.

along,' i. e.
gave him a good knock-down blow [W. B.].
Come-back. A guinea-fowl.
harsh cry is supposed to
Its

resemble the pronunciation of those two words.

*Comepted. Facetious [C. S. P.].
*Comforter. A thick neck-wrap [M. C. H. B.].

Compass. An as of carpenters' work, of laying

outline ;

out ground, &c., with a sweep, approaching to a circular

form. A
bow-window was anciently called a compass-
window. Shakes. Troilus and Cressida.

Compassing. In a roundish or circular form.

*Compo'. Composition, cement [M. C. H. B.].
*Conceit. Fancy [M. C. H. B.].
*Coney-chuck. The wheat- ear [J. H. G.].

*Conge. A road or way [N. and Q ,

2nd Ser. x. pp. 67-137].

*Conkers. Shells of the small variegated snail [W. B.].

^Conquer. A chrysalis, like a snail [G. E.].

Contain. For detain [E. M.].
Cookeel. A sort of cross-bun, made and eaten in Norfolk

during Lent. They are sold cheap, and may be from

Fr. Coquille. The last remnant with us of the Eomish
Carnival [Spur.]. Sugar'd loaves stained yellow [Arde-
ron]. A sort of simnel or cross-bun, made and eaten
during Lent. Query, similar to Kichel in Chaucer [John-
son]. Certainly not [W. W. S.].
*Coomb. Four bushels or half a quarter [M. C. H. B.].
Cooms. The high ridges in ill-kept roads, between the
ruts and the horse-path .[Forby]. Cullum says the ridge
which is raised between the horse-path and the rut.
Literally, combs.
*Coop. To muzzle ferrets [H. B.].

Cop. To throw something upwards, in order to reach a

mark at some moderate distance ;
also to throw right
 Cope Coshie 47

away [Spur.]. To throw underhand [Johnson]. To toss

lightly, in Cambridgeshire [W. W. S.].

Cope, (i) A
large quantity or great number [Forby]. (2)
To exchange or chop [Ray]. (3) To fasten up or muzzle
the mouths of [W. R.].ferrets

*Copper Jack, or Copper-hole Jack. A scullion [M. C. H. B.].

Copper Hose. The wild red poppy.
Copple-crown. A tuft of feathers on the head of a fowl,
not such as can be depressed at pleasure, like the crests
of many birds, but permanently erect. It is sometimes
called a Topple-crown, which is strictly synonymous.
Cop means a Top.
Coppling. Unsteady, in danger of falling. Ex. '
It stands

coppling,' i. e.
toppling, unsteady. Copply [M. C. H. B.].

Cop-web. A cob-web. The old form.

*Cord. A triplet of faggots [M. C. H. B.].
Corder. For Colder or Cholder, q. v.

Corf, (i) A
floating cage or basket' to keep lobsters. See
Cauf. Used on the Suffolk coast [Forby]. (2) To un-
twist a rope or line from its kinks [E. F. Q.].
Corn. A particle, a very minute portion, as it were a grain.
We also apply it to salt, and to many other things.

Corny, (i) Abounding in corn. Ex. 'These sheaves are

heavy and The
'
corny.' (2) Tasting well of malt. Ex.
ale is corny.' (3) Tipsy.
*Corroborate. To match. Ex. '
You don't call those a pair,
do you ?
Why now, bor, I don't think they do fare to
corroborate.' [M. C. H. B.].
Cosh, (i) The glume of corn, particularly wheat. 'White
wheat in a red cosh,' is a favourite variety [Forby]. (2)
A husk of wheat containing grain [Johnson]. (3) A stick.
'
Let us cut a cosh.'

*Coshie. A small sweetmeat [W. R.I.

48 Cosset Cousin Betty
Cosset, (i) To fondle. (2) A pet, something fondly
caressed.

*Cosset-lamb. Cade or tame lamb [Arderon]. A lamb

reared without the ewe. Cot-lamb, a Cade-lamb [John-
son].
*Cost or Coast. The ribs of cooked meat, particularly
roast lamb.
'
Do you choose shoulder or coast ? '[E. S. T.].

Costly. Costive. Frugal.

*Cot. (i) A case for a wounded finger [Spur.] ;
a finger-
stall.(2) The open part of a spade or shovel, into which
the hand goes [Johnson]. (3) A lamb brought up by
hand [Marshall].
Cothe. To faint.

Cothish, Cothy. (i) Faint, sickly, ailing. (2) Morose

[Kennett's MS. Glossary, Lansdowne MS. 1033]. This
is the meaning also given by Sir Thomas Browne.

C otter lin. Vide Cossett.

*Cotterling. Tame, docile, gentle [Johnson].

*Cotterly. A tame docile animal is said to be cotterly
[Spur.].
Couch, Couch-handed. Left-handed.

Count. To guess, to suppose, to opine. Ex. '

I count you
*
farm three hundred acres.' Similar to the Yankee, I
reckon' [W. R.].
*Counter. The cutting knife
plough [G. E.] of a

Couples or Couplings. A passage left through a fence, so

that a man may pass, but not a cow, horse, ass, or large
beast also a Turn-stile [Spur.].
;

Cousin, (i) Nephew or niece [O. E.]. (2) Hardly to know

the queen's cousin = to be haughty [M. C. H. B.].

Cousin Betty, Cousin Tom. A

bedlamite, or rather an
impudent vagrant pretending to be such who used to ;

enter the sitting-room of a family, having first ascer-

 Covey Crack 49

tained that there was nobody in it but women and

children, with whom he or she claimed kindred. Vide
Bess o' Bedlam.

*Covey. Lifeless, listless [M. C. H. B.]. See Cothey.

*Cow. (i) Cowl of a chimney [C. D.]. (2) A turned or
faced quoit [M. C. H. B.].

*Cowgrass, or Cocksfoot. (Dactylis glomerata) [M. C. H. B.].

*Cowl. (i) The top of a malt-kiln. (2) Also a cask with
one end out, carried by a pole on the shoulders of two
men, for the conveyance of water [Spur.]. (3) A tub
[Ray.]. (4) A cart [F. J. B.].

Cowlick. A twist or wreathing in the hair of the forehead,

which, in a calf, might be supposed to have been licked
by the cow out of its natural position.
Cow-mumble. A wild plant, more commonly called Cow
Parsnip.

Cowslop. A cowslip. The old form.

Cow-tongued. Having a tongue smooth one way and rough
the other, like that of a cow. Expressively applied to
one who gives fair or foul language, as may best suit his

purpose.
Coy. (i) A decoy for ducks. (2) A coop for lobsters.

Coy-duck. A duck trained to entice others into the tunnel

in a decoy.

Coxy-roxy. Merrily and fantastically tipsy.

Cra. A crow.
Crab Grass. The common sandwort [W. G. W.].
Crab-harrow. A large heavy harrow used on strong
adhesive soils [Johnson].
Crab-lanthorn. A sort of pastry.
*Crabs, Cromer crabs. Two hundred go to one hundred at
wholesale price [M. C. H. B.].

Crack, Crake. To brag.

E
50 Crack Crib
'
Crack. (
i
) Something to boast of. Ex. She is the crack
of the village.' (2)
A very short time. Ex. '
It was
done in a crack'
Crag. The craw. Ex. '
He has stuffed his crag well.'

Crag. A
deposit of fossil sea shells (?). The Norfolk crag
consists of incoherent sand, loam, and gravel, and con-
tains a mixture of marine, land, and fresh-water shells,
accumulated at the bottom of the sea, near the mouth of
a river. Hist Geology (1875), p. 215 [C. D.].
Tate's

*Cramp-bone. The patella of a sheep or lamb, carried

about as near the skin as possible as a charm against
cramp [E. S. T.].

*Cramp-rings. Rings made of sixpences subscribed for

(unasked) for a person afflicted by fits, by nine young
men [E. S. T.].

Crample. To move with pain and stiffness, as if affected

by cramps.
Crample -hamm'd. Stiffened in the lower joints.

*Cratch. An old Suffolk word for a manger [E. S. T.].

*Craunchlings. Small apples of any kind having an

uneven surface [Johnson]. See Crinchlings and Crump-
lings.

Crawly-mawly. In a weakly and ailing state.

*Craw-water, Water-craw. The water -ouzel (Cinclus

aquaticus), water-crow. Craw = crawl [M. C. H. B.].

Creepers, (i) Low pattens mounted on short iron stumps,

instead of rings. (2) Grapnels to bring up anything
from the bottom of a well, pond, or river. Used to
recover dead bodies.

*Creeple. To squeeze.
Crevet. A cruet.

*Crewel. A fine sort of worsted work [E. S. T.].

*Crib. A manger [M. C. H. B.].

 Crible Cr ome 51

Crible. A finer sort of bran. When the broad bran has

been separated from the meal, a second sifting through
a finer sieve brings off crible,
*Crick. The teal (Querquedula crecca), probably from
their note [J. H. G.].
Crickle, Cruckle. To bend under a weight, to sink down
through pain or weakness.
*Crid. Crowded, carted, or pushed (of a wheelbarrow)
[M. C. H. B.].
Crimble. To creep about privily, to sneak, to wind along
unperceived.
Crinch. To crush with the teeth some harsh and brittle

substance, as unripe fruit. In Suffolk more frequently

pronounced CKANCH.
Crinchling, Chringlings. A small apple. See Craunehlings.
*Cringe, Curl. All cringed up, all crinkled or curled up
[M. C. H. B.].
*Cringle. A withe or rope for fastening up a gate [Mar-
shall].
Crinkle, Crunkle. To wrinkle, twist, plait, or rumple
irregularly.
Crish, Crush. Cartilage, or soft bones of young animals,
easily crushed by the teeth.
Crock, (i) Smut, dust of soot or coal. (2) In Suffolk, the
bricks or plate of a fire back, called in Norfolk the back-
stock [E. S. T.].
*Crod. Occurs in the Paston Letters [M. C. H. B.].
*Crolter, or Zrolter. The front board of a wagon or
tumbrel [M. C. H. Bird.]
Crome, or Groom. A crook ;
a staff with a hook at the end
of to pull down the boughs of a tree, to draw weeds
it,

out of ditches, and for a variety of other useful purposes.

[We have muck-brooms, fiie-crooma, and mud-crooms
Spur.]
K 2
52 Croodle Crowd
Croodle. To lie close and snug, as pigs or puppies in their
straw [Forby], as chickens do under the hen. Also
'
sometimes of various liquors, which are said to be very
'

pretty croodle [Johnson].

Crop, (i) Annual produce, as well animal
as vegetable.
We talk of crops of lambs, turkeys, geese, &c. (2) The
craw of birds, metaphorically applied to other animals.

(3) A joint of pork, commonly called the spare-rib.

Grope. To creep slowly and heavily.

*Cropfull. (i) Vexed, sorrowful [Spur.]. Sed quaere.
(2) Satisfied [M. C.
H. B.].
Crotch, (i) The meeting
of two arms of a tree or of an ;

arm with the trunk or of the limbs of the human body,

;

below the waist. (2) A staff under the arm to support

the lame : a crutch.
*Crotch- boots. Water-boots that come up to one's crotch
[M. C. H. B.].
Crotched. Cross, peevish, perverse. Perhaps for crouched,

q. d. crossed.

Crotch-room. Length of the lower limbs. It is said of one

who has long legs that he has plenty of crotch-room.
Crotch-trolling. A method of trolling or angling for pike,
used in the broads and rivers in Norfolk. The fisherman
has no rod, but has the usual reel, and, by the help of
a crotch-stick, i.e. forked stick, throws his bait to a con-
siderable distance from him into the water, and then
draws gently towards him. It
it is much practised by
poachers, as there is no rod, or 'pole,' to betray their
intention.

Crouse. To caterwaul. A cat is said to crouse when she

'

is
'
maris appetens [Johnson].
Crowd, (i) With us, one individual can crowd another.
No doubt the origin of the American word. (2) To drive
or wheel a handbarrow [E. S. T. and Marshall]. This
 Crow-keeper Culpit 53

occurs in the Paston Letters, Dec. 18, 1477. In Suffolk

a wheelbarrow is a crowding-barrow. See Crud.

Crow-keeper. A boy employed to scare crows from new-

sown land.

*Cruckle. (i) To sink down through faintness or exhaus-

tion [Spur.]. (2) To bend or nearly break [G. E.].

Crud-barrow, Crudden -barrow. A common wheelbarrow,

to be shoved forward. In P. L. we find the phrase
crowding a barrow crud is the part.
;
See Crowd.

Crumbles. Crumbs, diniin.

*Crummy. Short and fat.
Crump. To eat anything brittle or crimp.

Crump, Grumpy. Brittle ; dry baked ; easily breaking

under the teeth.

Crumplin. (i) A diminutive and misshapen apple. (2)

Met. a diminutive and deformed person. See Craunchling.
Crunkle. To rumple.
*Cruse. A pitcher [C. S. P.].
Crush, Crustle. Gristle.

Cuckoo-ball. A light ball made of parti-coloured rags, for

young children.

Cuckoo-flower. Orchis mascula.

*Cuckoo-pint. (Arum maculatum) [M. C. H. B.].

^Cuckoo's mate. The wryneck, which comes with the
cuckoo [Tungate].
Cuff. A lie, or rather a hoax or deceit ;
'
don't cuff us,' i.e.

don't try to take us in [Johnson].

Culch. Thick dregs or sediment.
"Culls. Refuse cattle [W. G. W.].
Gulp. A hard and heavy blow.
Culpit. A large lump of anything. This should rather be
Culpin, a large thick slice. Culpon occurs in Pulbam
54 Culver Cute
Town Accounts, 1570, and Chaucer has the same word
[Johnson].
Culver. To beat and throb in the flesh. As a sore
advances towards suppuration it '
bulks and culvers.'
In Suffolk it is pronounced gelver.
Culver-headed. Soft-headed, harmless.
Cumbled, or Cumbly-cold. Oppressed, cramped, stiffened
'
*
with cold. Accomeled for coulde [Pr. Pa.].
*Cums. When the wetted and sprouting barley has been
malted, by screening the small sprouts are knocked off,
and they bear this name among maltsters.
Cupboard-head. A most expressive designation of a head
both wooden and hollow.
*Cupboard-love. Arising from stomach rather than heart
(cook and policeman) [C. H. B.].
'

*Cur, Cuth. Quoth. Ex. '

Cur Bob, you are a liar

[M. C. H. B.].
*Curb. A fire-guard [M. C. H. B.].
*Currel. A rill or drain. A diminutive run of water.
Drindle is nearly the same, and is also the bed of such,
a currel or small furrow [E. S. T.].
*Currie. The long narrow Yarmouth cart, adapted to go
up the rows [Johnson]. They are said to have been
invented in the reign of Henry VIII, and called
Harry carriers. But for years they have been called
Trollies.

Cushion-man. The chairman at the Quarter Sessions, or

at any other public meeting, where there is the same
distinguishing mark of presidency.
*Cussy. A rap on the head [B. N. 85]. See Custard.
Custard. The schoolmaster's ferula, or a slap on the flat

hand with it.

Cute. Shrewd, quick in apprehension. The origin, no

doubt, of the American word.
 Cuts Dallop 55

*Cuts. To draw, to draw lots. The cut is the shortest

straw, or that which has been cut short [E. S. T.].

*Cuttering. Confused hasty talking, in rather a hasty

whisper [Johnson].
*Cutting goods. Drapery is so called in village shops

[Johnson].
*Cutting-out. First time of turnip-hoeing. Thinning out
the young plants with the hoe [M. C. H. B.].

*Cyprus cat. Tabby cat [C. S. P.].

*Dab chick. Didapper, Dive-an-dop, Divy duck ;

the little

grebe [J.
H. G.].

Dabs. Dibbles, instruments for dibbling (pron. Debs),

knucklestones.

Daddle. To walk unsteadily, as a child.

*Daffadowndilly. The common daffodil [M. C. H. B.].

*Daft. Cracked, crazy [M. C. H. B. and B. N. 84].

Dafter. A daughter.
Dag. Dew.
Dag of rain. A slight misty shower.
*Daibles. Scrapes, convictions, notions, dibles [M. C. H. B.].
*Dakeshead. A spiritless, moping, stupid fellow [Johnson] .

*Dale. Devil ; e.
g.
'
Dale me if I don't,' Devil take me if

I don't [M. C. H. B.].

Dallop, or Dollop, (i)

A patch of ground among growing
corn where the plough has missed [T.]. (2) Rank tufts
of growing corn where heaps of manure have lain. (3)
A parcel of smuggled tea, varying in quantity from six
to sixteen pounds, and perhaps more or less. (4) slat- A
tern, synonymous with Trollop. (5) A clumsy and shape-
less lump of anything tumbled about in the hands. (6)
To paw, toss, and tumble about carelessly.
56 Dame Dart
Dame. Once an honourable designation of females of high
rank now applied only to those of the lowest. It is
;

almost obsolete even there.

*Dams. Drained marshes [B. N. 77 (? W. R)].
'

*Dander. Temper. 'He ha' got his dander up [M. C. H. B.].

*
Dandy. A conical-shaped contrivance for warming beer
[Johnson].
*Dandying, or Danning. Plastering a wall or studwork
[Johnson].
'
Dangerous. Endangered. Ex. Mr. Smith is sadly badly ;

quite dangerous'
*Danish Crow, Norway Crow. The hooded crow [J. H. G.].
*Danks. Tea-leaves \B. N. 54].
*Dannies. Hands [E. M.] ;
but query an error for dan-
nocks.

*Dannock. A small loaf of bread. A piece of dough left

over not large enough for a loaf, put into the oven and
eaten hot [W. B.].

*Dapter. One who

is clever at anything
(pronunciation
DAPSTER). See Hottens Slang Diet. [W. B.].
*Dar, or Daw. The tern (Sterna), blue daw, black tern
(Hydro chelidon niyra), in immature plumage, the adult
being black dar [M. C. H. B.].
*Dare. To dare one's eyes = to try one's eyes [M. C. H. B.].
Dark Hour. The evening twilight. The interval between
the time of sufficient light to work or read by and the
lighting of candles a time of social domestic chat.
;
Ex.
'
We will talk over that at the dark hour.'

Darnocks, Dannocks. Hedger's gloves that for the left ;

hand being made whole to grasp the thorns, and for the
right, with fingers to handle the hedging-bill. Darnic
[Johnson].
*Dart. An eel-spear [M. C. H. B.].
 Dash Deke 57

Dash. To abash.

Dauber. A
builder of walls with clay or mud, mixed with
stubble or short straw, well beaten and incorporated, and
so becoming pretty durable. The mixture is used, par-
ticularly in Suffolk, to make fences for farmyards, &c.,
and even walls for mean cottages.
*Dauling. The markets are very dauling to-day
'

'; no
spirit in purchasing [Johnson]. Dawdling ? [W. R.].
Daunt. To stun, to knock down.
Dauzy, Dauzy-headed. Dizzy ; either literally or meta-

phorically, as if confused, bewildered. [Now Duzzy, W.R.]

*Davying. Marl is got up the cliff by a winch, which is

called davying it up [Marshall].

*Dawds. Rags [Johnson]. Duds ?
[W. R.].

*Dawzle, or Dorsle. To stun. S. Suff. and N. Essex

[W. B.].
*Daxt. Confused, nonplussed [Johnson].
*Dead, to. To whip him to dead, to whip him to DEATH
[W. R.].
*Deadman. A piece of timber buried in the earth to secure
posts, &c. [Spur].
*Deadman's Day. St. Edmund's day, Nov. 20 [Spur.].
Deal Apples. The conical fruit of the fir-tree.
Deal Tree. A fir-tree.
Deathsmear. A disease fatal to children.

*Debbles. Tools to make holes for grain [G. E.].

Dee. A die or dice.

Deen. See Dene or Din.

Deke, Dike. A ditch. Properly a ditch, but sometimes

used for the bank of earth thrown out of the ditch.
Deeke is very often used for the ditch and bank together,
but a fen deeke has in general no bank [Spur.].
58 Deke-holl Dick-a-dilver

Deke-holl, Dike-holl. A hollow or dry ditch. Not neces-

sarily a dry ditch [Spur].
Delf. A deep ditch or drain.
Delk. A small cavity, in the soil, in the flesh of the body,
or in any surface which ought to be quite level.

*Delph-holes. Deep holes in the broads, over springy

ground. E. D. Press, Feb. 2, 1891 [M. C. H. B.].
Dene, (i) Din. (2) Slightest noise. Ex. 'I don't hear
a dene' [M. C. H. B.].
*Dent. The worst of anything, the pinch [M. C. H. B.].
Dere. Dire, sad [Sir Thomas Browne].

Derely. (i) (Keally) direly, lamentably, extremely. Ex.

'I am derely ill';
'

derely tired/ &c. (2) Thoroughly,

dearly [M. C. H. B.].
*Destitute. This curious expression was used quite recently
in advertisements, when a man was leaving a farm and
had no other to go into. ' Mr. A. B., who is destitute of
a farm, will sell,' &c. [W. R.].
Deusan. A hard sort of apple which keeps a long time,
'
but turns pale and shrivels. Hence the simile, pale as
a deusan.'
Deve. To dive.

Devilin. The swift (Hirundo apus).

Deving Pond. A pond from which water is drawn for
domestic use, by dipping a pail.

Dew Drink. The first allowance of beer to harvest men

before they begin their day's work.

*Dibbler, Dib, or Deb. An (iron) tool for dibbling wheat,

beans, &c. [M. C. H. B.].
Dibles. Difficulties, embarrassments, scrapes.
*Dick. (i) Very poor Suffolk cheese [Johnson]. (2) A
ditch (deke) [Marshall].

Dick-a-dilver. The herb periwinkle.

 Dicky Dinge 9

Dicky. An ass, male or female.

Dicky Ass. A male ass ;

the female being usually called
a Jenny ass or a Betty ass.

*Didall. A
triangular spade, very sharp, used for cutting
roots of sedges or rushes [Johnson]. The Kev. J. Gunn
says a small net for cleaning the bottom of ditches. To
clean out rivers and dykes [W. E.]. See Didle.

*Didapper. (i) A kind of water- fo wl applied to a Bap-

;

tist [Spur]. (2) Dabchick, dob-chicken (Podiceps minor]

[M. C. H. B.].
Didder, (i) To have a quivering of the chin through cold
(2) To tremble or shake generally, as
'

[Forby]. a bog
didders' [Johnson].
Diddle. To waste time in the merest trifling. An extreme
dimin. of dawdle.

Diddles, Diddlings. Young ducks, or sucking-pigs.

Didle. ( )
To clean the bottom of a river with a scoop or
i

(2) Also an expression used

dredge. in marble-playing,
to denote inanimate movement, supposed to give some
unfair advantage [C. H. E. W.].
'

*Dier. One likely

"
to die. Ex. '
He don't look like a dier

[M. C. H. B.].
Dills. The paps of a sow.
Dilver. To weary with labour or exercise ;
from delving ?
*Dindle. The plant dandelion [Spur]. Sow-thistles,
(i)
hawk-weeds [Marshall]. (2) To dawdle over [M. C. H. B.].
Ding, (i) To throw with a quick and hasty motion. Ex.
(2) To beat or knock repeatedly.
'
I dung it at him.'
'

Ex. I could not ding it into him [R. S., E. C.] (3) To
'

fell or knock down [E. S. T. and Johnson]. (4)

A smart
slap particularly
;
with the back of the hand.

Dinge. (i) To rain mistily, to drizzle. (2) Dark colour or

hue.
'
He has got a dinge,' a blot on his character.
 60 Dingey Doctor of Skill

*Dingey. Dull, faded [M. C. H. B.].

*Dingling about, (i) Hanging or swinging about [W. R.].

(2) To loiter about, hesitate, &c.

'
He is dingling away
'
his time after that young woman [Johnson].
Dip. A sauce for dumplings, composed of melted butter,
vinegar, and brown sugar.

*Dip-ears. The common Tern [J. H. G.].

Dirt Weed. Chenopodium virid-e, Lin.
'
*Disannul. To disturb or do away with. Ex. Pray now,
'
don't disannul the primrose roots [C. S. P.].
Discomfrontle. Seems to be a compound of Discomfit and
Affront in sense as well as in sound.

*Dishabille. In working dress [C. S. P.].

*Dish Ladle. A tadpole, from its shape [Spur.].

*Disimprove. To get worse, not to improve [W. R.].

Disoblige. To stain or sully.

Do. '
To do for.' (i) To take care '
provide for. Ex. The
of,
children have lost their mother, but their aunt will do for
them.' (2) To kiU [M. C. H. B.].
Doated. Decayed, rotten ; chiefly applied to old trees.
Dobble. (i) To dawb. (2) Snow or earth which balls on
the feet [W. B.].

Dock. The broad nether end of a felled tree, or of the .

human body.
Docksy. A
very gentle softening or dimin. of the fore-
going in its second acceptation.

*Docky. The labourer's dinner he carries with him [H. B.].

Doctor. An apothecary, who is invariably addressed and
mentioned under this title.

Doctor of Skill. A physician, who never receives his proper

title, but is as invariably styled Mister. It is fruitless
to attempt to explain this commutation.
 Doddle-wren Dooblus 61

*Doddie-wren. The common wren (Troglodytes vulgar is)

[M. C. H. B.].
*Doddles. Pollards [M. C. H. B.].

Doddy. Low in stature, diminutive in person. Probably

from the common vulgarism Hoddy-doddy.
Dodge. A small lump of something moist and thick.

Dodman. A snail.
Doer. An agent or manager for another.
Dogs. Andirons on the hearth where wood is the fuel.
Carpenters also use dogs to support some of their heavy
work. Probably formerly made in the form of a dog
sitting [Spur.].
*Doke. (i)
A dint or impression, an indentation [John-
son]. See Dooke. (2) A dimple [G. E.].
*Doker. A diminutive used with respect to young animals
[W. G. W.].
*Dole. A number or quantity [Spur.].

*Dole, or Dool. A
boundary stone or mark in an unin-
closed field. very often a low post thence called
It is ;

a dool post. A subsidiary meaning, as in turf dole, which

means a place where turf is being cut, and has nothing
to do with dole allotments to the poor [W. R.]. Marshall

says a dole is a place off which only one particular per-

son has a right to cut turf.
Dolk, Doke. A larger and deeper Delk, q. v. See Doke
and Dooke.
Dollop. See Dallop.
Dollor. To moan [F. J. B.].
*
Dolly. A beetle used in bunching hemp [Spur.].
Dome, Doom, or Dum. Down ;
as of a rabbit, a young
fowl, &c.

*Doney, or Downy. A shepherd [Johnson].

* Dooblus.
Doubtful, suspicious [Johnson].
62 Dooke Dow Fulter

*Dooke. The impression of a body in a bed, &c. the ;

indentation from a blow upon anything soft the depres- ;

sion in a cushion, pillow, soft earth, &c. [Spur.].

*Door. 'It's up 'up to the knocker

to the door,' or
'
=
It's well finished,
up to dick [M. C. H. B.].
Door Stall. A door-post. The very Saxon word.
Dop. A short quick curtsy.

Dop-a-low. Very short in stature. Dopperlowly [Johnson].

*Dopler, or Dopper. A thick woollen jersey for outside
wear [M. C. H. B.].
Dor. A cockchaffer.

Dore Apple. A firm winter apple of a bright yellow colour.

Dormer. A large beam.
Doss, To attack with the horns, as a bull, a ram, or
(i)
a he-goat. No more ear for music than Farmer Ball's
'

'

bull, as dossed the fiddler over the bridge [W. K.]. So it

cannot be, as some suppose, the same as Toss because, ;

though bulls can do so, the other two horned animals

cannot. Has it any connexion with Dowse ? (2) A has-
sock to kneel upon at church.
*Dossekin. To drop a curtsy [G. E.].
*Dotts. The roe of a female herring, the male being Milts
[B. N. 56].
*Double-dweller. Semi-detached houses [M. C. H. B.].
*Double-swath. Marsh grass cut once in two years only
[M. C. H. B.].
Dough up. To stick together, as if with paste.
Dow. (i) A dove. (2) To mend, in health. Of a sick
man continuing in the same state, it is said that he
5
neither dies or dows.'

*Dowelled. Dovetailed [M. C. H. B.].

*Dowfulfer. The mistle-thrush [M. C. H. B.].
Dow Fulter [Fulfer? W. E.]. The fieldfare [G. J. C.].
 Dowler Drawlatch 63

Dowler. A sort of coarse dumpling.

Down bout. A hard set-to ;
a tough battle.

Down-lying. A lying-in.
Downpins. Those who in a jolly carousal are dead drunk.
Metaphor from ninepins. Also a ruined man, see Bor-
row's Lavengro.

Downy. Low-spirited. [Sed quaere, W. R.]

'
'

*Dow-pollar. Dove-house ; pronounced duff-huss [M. C.

H. B.].
*Dowshie. A large hoe for scraping roads [B. N. 28].

Doxy. An old wife [Spur.].

Drabble. To draggle, to soil.

*Drabbletail. A slattern [Pr. Pa.].

Dragging Time. The evening

of the fair day, when the

young fellows pull the wenches about.

*Drain. A rivulet or running ditch. Also the channels

that run through the Breydon mudflats [M. C. H. B.]
Drains. Grains from the mash-tub, through which the
wort has been drained off.
Drant. (i) To drawl in speaking or reading; more pro-
perly, perhaps, spelled draunt (pronounced like aunt).

(2) A
droning or drawling tone. Ex. 'He reads with
a drank'

Draps. Fruit in an orchard dropping before it is fit to be

gathered.
*Draw (verb). To picture to oneself [M. C. H. B.].
*Drawed. Drawn. Them ditches was drawed last
Ex. '

year'; i.e.
they had the weeds pulled out of them with
a crome [M. C. H. B.].
Drawk. The common darnel-grass.
Drawlatch. A tedious dawdling loiterer. Minshew explains
draidatclet a sort of nightly thief, from his drawing the
64 Drawquarters Drug
latchets, or latches, of doors. A sneaking fellow; an
eavesdropper [Spur.].
*Drawquarters. To keep alongside of. To be on equal
terms with. To give a quid pro quo [M. C. H. B.].
*Drawts. (N. Ess.) Draughts (Suff.), or sharves, the shafts
of a wagon.
*Draw water. The goldfinch [M. C. H. B.].

*Dreening-wet. Draining or dripping wet [M. C. H. B.].

Drepe. To drip or dribble. See Drope.

Drift-way. A driving- way, a cart-way along an enclosed
slip of land.
Drindle. A small channel to carry off water ;
a very neat
diminutive of Drain.

Dringle. To waste time in a lazy lingering manner.

Dringling pains. Premonition of labour in women

[W. G. W.].
^Driving. Longshoring for herring (E. D. Press, May 8,
1891) [M. C. H. B.].
Droll. To put off, to amuse with excuses. Pronounced
like DOLL.

*Drop. To stoop or curtsy [G. E.].

Drope. (i) To run down
like wax or tallow from the
down the face
candle, or perspiration in violent heat.

(2) To have a downward inclination [E. F. G.]. See

Drepe.
^Dropper. A woman or child who goes behind the dibbler.
*Drove. A wide path or way over flat or open lands

[W. R.].
Drovy. scabby, lousy, or all three
Itchy, ;
a word of
supreme contempt, or rather loathing.
Droze. To beat very severely.
Drozings. A hearty drubbing.
Drug. A strong carriage with four wheels for conveying
 Drugster Dukes 65

heavy loads of timber. [This is, I think, wrong a drug

has two wheels, a jill four.

Drugster. A druggist.
*Dubbing. (i) A
coat of clay plastered immediately upon
the splints and rizzors of a studwork building. (2) A
part of a bullock or piece of beef [Johnson]. The same
'
as the bed [W. G. W.].
'

*Dubstand. A term used at marbles [G. E.].

*Duck. To bop, bob, drop or dodge or duck the head to
escape being hit. In allusion to the habit of ducks
when bobbing their heads, the why and the wherefore of
which habit I have never seen or heard discussed
[M. C. H. B.].
*Dudder. To shiver with cold or fear [Spur.].
Duddle. Commonly used with the addition of
'

up.'
'
To
'
duddle up is to cover up closely and warmly with an
unnecessary quantity of clothes. Ex. 'How he do duddle
hisself up.'

*Duddle. A bird-snare made of hair [E. Daily Press,

Dec. 4, 1894].

Duels. Pegs or pins, used by coopers to fasten the heads of

casks [Johnson].
*Dufler. A
cross-bred pigeon. Supposed by some to be
contracted from dovehouse.
*Duffims. A dove-cote [M. C. H. B.].
*Duffle. A duffle coat [M. C. H. B.].

Dufiy Dows. Young pigeons not fully fledged. Dovies P

[Spur.].
Duggle. ^i) To lie snug and close together, like pigs or

puppies. (2) To cuddle or caress [Em.]. (3) To rain

heavily [M. C. H. B.].

*Dug Udder. She begins to dug,' of a cow.

'

sign she A
is near calving, as her udder begins to fill out [M. C.H.B.].
*Dukes, or Dukes-headed. A stupid fool [B. N. 85-94].
F
66 Duller Ea
Duller. A dull and moaning noise, or the tune of some
doleful ditty. Nothing more likely to produce moaning
than dolour. Loud speech [Spur.] A noise or shindy
.

[W. R.].

*Dumpling. Dough boiled [G. E.].

*Dumpy. Sullen [Johnson].

Dundy. Of a dull colour, as dundy-grey, or whatsoever

other colour is to be coupled with it.

Dunk-horn. The short blunt horn of a beast.

Dunk-horned. Sneaking, shabby.

Dunt. (i) Stupid, or dizzy. A dizzy calf with water in
the head is said to be dunt. (2) To stupefy.
*Dust. A dust of coal = just a very little coal (or tea, or

seed) [M. C. H. B.].

*Dutch Nightingale. A frog [Spur.].
Dutfln. The bridle in cart-harness. A Suffolk word only
[Spur.].

Duzzy. Dizzy ;
an easy change of letters. Not dizzy, but
foolish, stupid, crazy [Spur.].
'
Yew mucka duzzy fule.'

Dwain, Dwainy. Faint, sickly.

Dwile. (i) A refuse lock of wool. (2) A mop made of
them. (3) Any coarse rubbing or cleansing rag.

Dwinge. To shrivel and dwindle. Apples are dwinged

by over-keeping.

Ea. Water. Popham's ea, and St. John's ea, are water-
courses cut for the drainage of different parts of the
Bedford level into the Ouse above Lynn. Ea brink is
the beginning of a very sudden curvature of that river,
from which point a new cut was made at a prodigious
expense, and finished in the year 1820, to improve the
outfall of the fen waters into Lynn harbour, by giving
them a straight direction. It is commonly written and
 Eachon Ellus 67

printed, and generally pronounced by strangers eau, as if

the word had been borrowed from the French, which it
certainly was not.
Eachon. In speaking of two individuals we commonly say
eachon (each one), as in speaking of more than two every
one. In common pronunciation it may sound like eachin,
or even itchin. Ex. I gave eachon of them half a crown.'
'

[I doubt. It should be each on 'em.'] '

Eager, or Eagre. A
peculiarly impetuous and dangerous
aggravation of the tide in some rivers caused, as it ;

would seem, either by vehement confluence of two

streams, or by the channel becoming narrower, shallower,
or both. We
have an eager in our river Ouse, many
miles above Lynn, near Downham Bridge, where the
'

waters seem to stand on a heap along each bank

'

[Forby]. But is it not the tide running up a narrow

river "?

*Eave Boards. Boards put upon dung-carts to make them

carry more [Johnson].
Eavelong. Oblique, sidelong ; along the edges, skirts, or
eaves, aswe often call them, of inclosed grounds, particu-
larly when they deviate from straight lines. Hence,
'
1

eavelong work is mowing or reaping those irregular

parts in which the corn or grass cannot be laid in exact

parallel lines.
Ebble. The asp-tree.
Eccles-tree. An axle-tree.

Eddish. Aftermath.
*Eelset. Snare to catch eels.

*Eft, Effet. Vide Swift [M. C. H. B.].

*Eldern. Elder-tree [Pr. Pa.].

*Election. In election, likely. '

We are in election to have
'

a bad harvest this year [Cull. Haw.].

*Ellus. Ale-house [N. and Q.].
F a
68 Elvish Eye
Elvish. Peevish ; wantonly mischievous.
End. (i) Part, division. Ex. 'He has the best end of the
staff.'
'
It cost me the best end of an hundred pounds.'
(2) The stems of a growing crop. Ex. ' Here is a plenty
of ends, however it may fill the bushel.'

*Enddish. A second crop of grass [Pr. Pa.].

Endless. Intestinum caecum ;
blind gut.

Enemis. Of very obscure and doubtful meaning, like

most of Sir Thomas Browne's words. Hickes says it
means Lest (ne fortd). A note in Bonn's edition says
the word is still used in the sense of Lest, but rather pro-
nounced Enammons. Spar the door ennemis he come,'
'

is the example given in Ray. [Obsolete.]

*Enow. Enough [M. C. H. B.].

*Envy. 'Not to envy a dish/ not to care about eating it

[C. S. P.].

Erriwiggle. An earwig. See Aerigel.

E'ry. Every. A very common elision.

Esh. The ash-tree.

Ether. To wattle, or intertwine, in making a staked hedge.

Otherwise to Bond a hedge,' meaning, particularly, the
'

finishing part at top, of stouter materials, which is to

confine all the rest.

Even-flavoured. Unmixed, unvaried, uniform. An even- '

flavoured day a
meaning day of rain,'
of incessant rain.

Every-each. Alternate, every other.

*Every futon non. Every now and then [Johnson].
Ewe. For owed.'
' '
He ewe me '
sixpence [W. R.].
Exe. An axe.

*Eye. (j) As
Trowse Eye for Hythe [W. R.]. (2) Also
in ;

applied to a brood of pheasants, as covey would be to

partridges [J. H. G.].
 Eyes Pan 69

*Eyes. Spectacles [Em.].

*Eynd. The water-smoke [W. R.].

Fadge. (i) To suit or fit. Two persons, two things, or

two parts of the same thing fadge well or ill together.
(2) To succeed, to answer expectation. We will have, '

an this fadge not, an antic.' (3) A bundle or parcel

[Johnson].
*Fadom. (i) Full growth, applied to plants, sometimes to
young stock. 'It has not yet got its fadom.' It is
not yet fully grown [Spur.]. (2) A. fadom of bullrushes
is six shows (sheaves), measuring six feet round, not high.

[W. R.].
Fagot. A contemptuous appellation of a woman. Ex.
'A lazy fagot.'
*Fag out, To. To fray out, as a rope's end [E. F. G.].
*Fain. Contented. Davis in Swan and her Crew [M. C. H. B.].
^Fairies' Loaves. Petrified Echini. Yarrell, Brit. Birds,
4th ed. vol. iii.
p. 203 [M. C. H. B.].

Fairy Butter. A
species of tremella, of yellowish colour
and gelatinous substance, not very rarely found on furze
and broom.
*Faite. Well made, well proportioned, thriving [M. C. H. B.].

*Faithful, To be. To tell an unpleasant truth. Ex. '

How
' '
like you poor John's grave Well, Jane, to be faithful
?

with you, it similars nothing in the world but a pig's

grave' [G. S. P.].

' *
Fall. For fell.' I shall fall that tree next spring.'

*Fal-lals. Finery [M. C. H. B.].

*False. Heis a false man he is telling lies. Halst.
:

Gazette, Mar. 15. '88 [C. D.].

Famble Crop. The first stomach in ruminating animals.
*Fan. 1 large basket [W. G. W.].
70 Pang Fasguntide
Fang, (i) A fin. (2) A finger. (3) To lay hold of.
'
He
fanged hold of him.' (4) To clutch e. g. He fanged
'
;

'

her by the throat and nearly quackled her [5. N. 27.].

Fangast. A marriageable maid [Sir Thomas Browne].

The word is not now known, and is therefore given with
Ray's interpretation and etymol.
Fapes. Green gooseberries. Variously called also Feaps,
Feabs, Fabes, and Thapes all abbreviations of Feaberries.
;

But these names are with us applicable in the immature

state of the fruit only. Nobody ever talks of a ripe
fape.
Fare, To seem. Ex.
(i)
'
She fared sick'; 'they/a?^ to
be angry/ To be, to feel e.g.
;
How do you fare 1
'
'

(2) A litter of pigs. Farrow is

1
1 fare pretty well.'

commonly used in this sense, but fare is the better word.

Farmer. A
term of distinction commonly applied, in
Suffolk, to the eldest son of the occupier of a farm. He is
addressed and spoken of by the labourers as the farmer.' '

The occupier himself is called master. A labourer speak-

ing to the son would say, Pray, farmer, do you know
'

'

where my master is ? Or one labourer would ask an-

'
other, Did my master set out that job ? And would be '

'
answered, No, my master didn't, but the farmer did.'

*Farr. A fair.
'
Ar you ar goin' to thah far ?
'

[Johnson,
Spurden].
Farrer, or Farrow. Barren. A cow not producing a calf
is for that year called a farrow cow. In Suffolk she
would be called Ghast [Forby, Johnson].
*Farthing-weed. Marsh penny-wort (Hydrocotyle vulgs.)
[M. C. H. B.].

Fasguntide. Shrovetide, which is interpreted fasting-time.

This is given by Blount, in his Dictionary of Hard Words,
1680, as a Norfolk word. If it were so then, it is, like
many of Sir Thomas Browne's words of nearly the same
 Tasking about Pelfoot 71

age, very at all known now.

little if Perhaps Blount was
misinformed. The word, however, to do it justice, has
somewhat of a Saxon air, and may have been in use ;

indeed, may be so still, though inquiry has not detected

it.
[Obsolete.]
*Fasking about. Bothering or bustling [M. C. H. B.].
'
*Fassal. For '
vessel [Spur.].
*Fast. In use, occupied [M. C. H. B.].
Fat Hen. Awild pot-herb, very well worth cultivation.
It is as good as spinach if its grittiness be well washed
and it be dressed in the same way.
off, Chenopodium
album, Lin.
*Fathom. Growth, whether in length, size, or maturity ;

but generally used to growing corn ready for harvest.

'
'
That field has nearly got its fathom [Johnson]. See
Fadom.
*Fawny. A ring [B. N. 27] (? slang, W. K.).
*Fearful. Timid, or timorous [E. S. T.].
*Feat, or Fate, (i) Excellent, choice, very good [Spur.].
(2) Pretty [Arderon]. (3) Nice, clever.
*
A fate little
'
mawther [E. T. S.].
Feather Pie. A
hole in the ground, filled with feathers
fixed on strings, and kept in motion by the wind. An
excellent device to scare birds.

^Feeding. A pasture. Almost obsolete in Norfolk, but

more usual in Suffolk.
Feft, To persuade, or endeavour to persuade. It is one of
Sir Thomas Browne's words become obsolete.
'
Feist, Feistiness. Fustiness. Ex. This cask has a feist
in it.'

Feisty. Fusty but fusty is the corruption.

; Feisty is the
original, and a most expressive word.
*Felfoot, or Fulfit. The fieldfare (N. Ess.) [C. D.].
72 Pelt -Pill Bells

Felt, (i) A thick matted growth of weeds, spreading by

their roots, as couch-grass. Ex. ' This land is all a felt'
A fieldfare.
(2)

*Fendeek. A dyke or drain [G. E.]

Fen Nightingale. A frog otherwise called a March bird.
;

*Ferridge. A common sort of gingerbread, made very

thick, and generally with some figures imprinted on it

before baking [Johnson].

*Ferry fake. To pry impudently

N. 56]. [B.
Few. Little. It is a plural adjective, used
with a singular
substantive in two instances only. We talk of a few '

*
broth' and a few gruel.' In all other cases we use the
word like other people. This use of few is peculiar to
Norfolk, and I believe to the eastern part' [Spur.].
E. F. G. correctly points out that it sometimes means

'quantity only.
'
'
We brought in a goodfeiv of sprats.'
[Clearly the origin of the Americanism.]

Fewty. Trifling, of no worth [Johnson]. Down south

'footy' [W. R].
*Fie, or Fye. To cleanse out a ditch, a pond, or any other
receptacle of mud or filth.
*Fierce. 'Don't fare fierce,' don't feel bright, up to the
mark [W. R].
'
'
*Fifering. Shooting ;
a fifering pain [M. C. H. B.].

Fifers. The fibrous roots of a plant [Spur.].

Fighting Cocks. The spikes of the different species of

plantain, with which boys play a game so called [Br.].
Filands. Field lands, or rather filde lands. Tracts of un-
inclosed arable land.

File, (i) To foil.

(2) To defile; the simple for the com-
'

pound, as in
'

stry for destroy, and some others.

Pill Bells. The chain-tugs to the collar of a cart-horse,

by which he draws.
 Filler Fiz'n 73

Filler, (i) To go behind. (2) To draw back.

Fill-horse, Filler. The horse which goes in the shafts. In
a regular team, the order the fore-horse, the lark-horse,
is,

the pin-horse, the fill-horse. Perhaps more correctly the

Thill-horse, or the Thiller. But / is very commonly sub-
stituted in pronunciation for th, as we sometimes call
a thistle a In Suffolk the horses in a team are
fistle.

distinguished by the names of fore-horse, fore-lash, hand-

horse, and filler.
Finable, (i) To touch lightly and frequently with the
ends of the fingers. A gentle
diminutive of fumble. (2)
To pass through without cutting. Ex. My scythe fimbles '

the grass.'
*Finder. An obsolete term in coursing [J. H. G.].

*Finify. To be over-nice in doing anything [Johnson].

*Fintum. (i) A sudden freak of the mind. '

Well, there !

what fintum now ?

'

A
piece of wood fastened by
(2)
a girdle or cord round the waist of a reaper to carry his
reaping-hook [Johnson].
Firepan. A fire-shovel. The word is in Johnson, but not

in this sense, in which it seems provincial.

*Fishimer. B. N. 62. [Corruption of pismire.]
Fit. Heady. Ex. '

Come, stir, make yourself fit.' Compare

the racing term.

Fitter. To shift from one foot to the other [W. C.].

*Five Finger. The common starfish [M. C. H. B.].
Five Fingers. Oxlips.
Fizmer. To and make a great stir about
fidget unquietly,
some trifle, making or no progress. Formed, per-
little

haps, from the slight rustling noise produced by these

petty agitations.
'

*Fiz'n. First-rate. Ex. '

How does that colt get on 3
'Oh! fiz'n' [W. B.].
74 Flack Flarnecking
Flack, (i) To hang loose. Akin to Flake. (2) A blow,
particularly with something loose and pliant.
'

(3) Hurry,
'

John is always in a flack [W. B.].

Flacket. A tall flaunting wench, whose apparel seems to
hang loose about her.

Flag, (i) A portion of the surface of heathy land turned

up by the spade, and heaped to dry for fuel. The more
it abounds in roots of ericae, &c.,the better fuel it makes.

(2) The surface of a clover lay of the second year turned

up by the plough. The wheat for the next year's crop
is dibbled into the flag. (3) The top spit of a marshy
meadow, which is skinned off the top in contradistinc-
;

'

tion to a turf which is cut down after the flag is taken

'

off [W-. E.]. Also a level piece of grass fit for athletic

sports. See advertisement of the Aylsham Derby.

Flagelute. A very small rent or hole in a garment. Per-
haps from resemblance to the small perforations in a
flageolet.
*Flail-basket. Frail basket, or squeeze basket [M. C. H. B.].

^Flaking. Boughs or branches laid crossways on the

rafters of a shed before thatching over [Johnson].
*Flang. To slap [G. E.].
Flap. A
slight stroke or touch. Ex. 'I have got a, flap of
cold,' the cold has touched or struck me. 'A flap of wind,'
a cold caught by exposure to a current of air [Spur.].
Flap-jack, (i) A broad flat piece of pastry. Vide Apple-
jack. (2) A
flat thin joint of meat, as the breast of a

lean sheep or calf [Jen.].

Flapper. A young wild duck which has just taken wing,

but is unable to fly far.

Flaps. Large broad mushrooms.

*Flaregee. A kind of candlestick [G. E.].
Flarnecking. Flaunting with vulgar ostentation. Inten-
sive of flare.
 Plash Pletches 75

Plash. To flash a hedge is to cut off the lower parts of

the bushes which overhang the bank or ditch.
Flazzard. A stout broad-faced woman dressed in a loose
and flaring manner.
Fleaches. The portions into which timber is cut by the
saw. Another form of Flitch.

Fleck. The down of hares or rabbits torn off by the dogs.

Dryden has flix in the same sense. A. S. flex, linum.

Flecked, Fleckered. Dappled, speckled with differences of

colour.

*Flee. To flay.

Fleet, (i) To skim the cream from the milk. (2) A

channel filled by the tide, but left very shallow and

narrow at low water. This seems to be the proper

sense, and the word is thus used at Lynn. (3) Shallow ;

a dish or a basin, a ditch or a pond, or anything else of

little depth, is said to be fleet, e. g. We ploughed the field
'

'
as fleet as may be [W. R.]. '
Fleet of herring-nets,' five
or six score |_E. F. G.].

^Fleeting, Fleeter. A
system which has grown up on the
E. Anglian coast in the place of the old method of smack

fishing. Four or five or more smacks have gone out

'

together and stayed during several weeks upon the deep

sea fishing ground, tended by a steam vessel which has
travelled backwards and forwards, taking fish home and
'

bringing stores out (Suff. and Ess. Press, March 14, 1886)
[C.D.].
Fleeting Dish. A skimming-dish to take off the cream
from the milk.
Flegged, Fligged. Fledged.
Flet Cheese. Cheese made of skimmed milk. This is the
name by which the celebrated Suffolk cheese is univer-
sally called in its native county.
Fletches. Green pods of peas ; from some resemblance
76 piet Milk -Flitch

they are supposed to bear to an arrow. Pletcherds, the

very young pods query from their flatness [Spur.].
;

Flet Milk. The skimmed milk from which the cream has
been taken by a fleet or shallow wooden skimming-dish
[Johnson],
*Flew. Down. The dirt under a featherbed is bed-flew
[Spur.]. See Fluff.

Flick, (i) A smart stinging slap. (2) The outer fat of

the hog, which is cured for bacon. In Suffolk this is
called
'
the flick,' and the rest of the carcass
'
the bones'

(3) A flitch, either of bacon, or of sawn plank and ;

a better form of it.

(4) Hare's or rabbit's down [Spur.].
*Fligged. Fledged [Pr. Pa.].
Fligger. To quiver with convulsive motion. The shaking
of the flesh of an animal after its death, while the butcher
dresses it [Johnson].

Fliggers. The common flag, so called from the motion of

its leaves
by the slightest impulse of the
air.

*Flight. The course wild ducks take on their homeward

evening journey. A marshman will tell you that they
come over the river night after night, within a yard or
two of the same place ; naturally that is the spot to wait
for them [W. E.]. Boys also say they have ike flight of
pigeons, when they come home after having been let out
the first time.

^Flight, (i) Of bees, a swarm of bees [Marshall]. () A

second swarm [W. B.].
*Flight Oats. Oats grown on the poorest sand and in the
fen districts [C. D.].

Flit, (i)To remove from one house to another. (2) Mid-

night-flit, to run away [M. C. H. B.].
*Flitch. To move from place to place, as from farm to
farm [Marshall]. But this was probably his mistake for
to flit [W. K.].
 Flits Poisty 77

*Plits, or Elites. Chaff [Spur.]. Johnson has it Flight.

Flizzoms. Flying particles, or very small flakes in bottled

liquors. The bee's wings, by which some persons of fine
taste prove the age of their port, are nothing but
flizzoms.
*Flocklet. The flock mark put on sheep [Johnson].
*Floreh. To spread the mouth from affectation. To display
dress or finery [Johnson].
*Flote. A dam in a stream.

Flue, (i) Shallow [Forby]. (2) The coping of a gable or

end wall of a house [Marshall].
*Fluff. See Flew.
*Flukers. The external extremities of angles of mouths
of pikes
[M.C.H.B.].
*Flummox, Flummocks. To embarrass [M. C. H. B.].

*Fobby. Soft, no substance [G. E.].

*Fod. A pet animal.
*Fodder. Litter, and again nonsense. '
Thank goodness,
'

there is no fodder in his letter [C. S. P.]

Fog. Long grass, growing in pastures in late summer or

autumn not fed down, but allowed to stand through the
;

winter, and yielding early spring feed. By its length

and thickness the outer part forms a cover or sort of
thatch for the lower, which is kept fresh and
juicy, at
through a mild winter.
least

Fogger. A huckster, a petty chapman carrying small wares

from village to village.
*Fog-off. Of plants : to damp off [M. C. H. B.].

Foison. Succulency, natural nutritive moisture, as in

'
herbage. Ex. There is no foison in this hay.'
Foisonless. Devoid of foison [Sc. N.]. See the Scotch
fusionless [VV. R.].

*Foisty. Stale [Tusser]. See Fosey.

78 Poky Forlorn

Bloated, unsound, soft and woolly.

'
Foky. Ex. a foky
turnip.'
Fold-pritch, or Pitch. A heavy pointed iron, to make holes
in the ground to receive the toes-of hurdles.

*Follow - the - sea (or the -

plough). A fisherman, &c.
[M. C. H. B.]
Fond, (i) Luscious, fulsome, disagreeably sweet in taste
' ' ' '

or in smell. (2) For found ;

I h&vefond it
[Johnson].
Toot anon. '

Every foot anon.' Every now and then

[Cull. Haw.].
Footing-time. The time of recovery from a lying-in, of
getting on foot again [R. S. E. C.].
*Foot-lace. To repair a wall just above its foundation
[W. G. W.].
*Foot-locks. The corn or grass collected upon the feet of
mowers [Johnson].
Force. A strange sort of neutro-passive. Ex. '
I forced
to go.' I was obliged, I could not help.

Forecast. To think before. It is an excellent quality in

a servant to 'forecast his work,' to think what he is to
do next.
*Foreigner. Any one who does not belong to the district.
All the shire men are foreigners [F. J. B., C. D.].
Fore-summers. The forepart of a cart. This kind of cart
was some years ago much used in Norfolk, but is now
wearing out. A sort of platform projecting over the
shafts was called the fore- summers, or fore-stool.'
'
Now
almost driven out by the introduction of the tumbrel
[Johnson],
Forgive. To begin to thaw.
Forhinder. To prevent.
Forlorn. Worthless, reprobate, abandoned. Ex. A for- '

lorn fellow is one with whom nobody would have any

'

concern.
 Posey Preckens 79

*Fosey. Over-ripe [B. N. 3]. See Foisty.

Foulty. Paltry, trumpery, despicable.

Four-eyed. Applied to dogs which have a distinct mark

over each eye, of a different colour for the most part
;

tan upon black. One who wears spectacles is also said

to be four-eyed.

Fourses. The afternoon refreshment of labourers in harvest,

at four o'clock. Fourings [Marshall].

Foy. A supper given by the owners of a fishing- vessel at

Yarmouth to the crew, in the beginning of the season.
It is otherwise called a Bending foy, from the bending of
the sails or nets, as a ratification of the bargain.

Fozy. Very nearly, if not exactly, the same as foky.

Frack. To abound, to swarm, to be thronged, or crowded
'

together. Ex. The church was /racking full

' '

My apple- ;

trees are as full as they can frack.'

Frail, (i) A wicker [rush] basket. (2) To fret or wear
out cloth.

Frame. To speak or behave affectedly ;

to shape the
language and demeanour to an occasion of ceremony.
Framed manners is Low Sc.
'
'

Frampled. Cross, ill-humoured.

*Frank. A heron [E. F. G. and W. R.].

*Fraps. Entanglements [M. C. H. B.].

*Frary or Pharisee Rings. Green circles seen in pastures.
No doubt a corruption from fairy rings.
*Frase. To break [Ray and J. Steele].
Frazle. To unravel or rend cloth. In the north, a Frize of
paper is*
half-a-quarter of a sheet.
*Frazled. In confusion, entangled [Johnson].

Frazlings. Threads of cloth, torn or unravelled.

Freckens. Freckles.
80 Preeli-frailies Prouzy
Freeli - frailies. Light, unsubstantial delicacies for the
table; frothy compliments, empty prate, frippery or-
naments ; almost any sort of trumpery meant for
finery.

*Freemartin. A barren heifer [W. G. W.].

Frenchman. Any man, of any country, who cannot speak
English ; as any one who does not understand East
Anglian is a shireman.
Fresh, (i) Home-brewed table beer, drawn from the tap.

(2) Hence, tipsy. (3) Store sheep, cattle, &c., when in

condition [Johnson].
Fresher. A small frog. Frosher, a frog [Spur.].
^Fretful. Overwhelmed with grief [C. S. P.].
*Frettened. Pock-marked [Johnson].
*Frewer. A sirreverence [Johnson].
*Fribble. To fuss about [G. E.].

Frightful. Apt Certainly more expressive

to take fright.
than fearful, which would be generally used, yet the effect
very ludicrous. Ex. Lauk Miss, how
'
of substitution is !

'

frightful you are says a homely wench, when Miss

!

screams at the sight of a toad or a spider.

Frimicate. To play the fribble, to affect delicacy.

*Frimmicating. Particular as to dress [B. N. 92].

*Frimmock. To assume affected airs [Spur.].

Frize. To freeze.

Frog-spit. See Cuckoo-spit.

Froise, Froyse. (i) A pancake. (2) To fry.

*Frolic. Water -frolic, a gala, regatta, or water -picnic

[M. C. H. B.].
*Frorn. Frozen \N. and Q.].

*Froschy. [B. N. 7. 30, 38].

Frouzy. Blouzy, with disordered and uncombed hair.

 Frown Further 81

*Frown, Froan. Frozen [W. B.].

Frowy. Stale ;
on the point of turning sour from being
over kept.

Frugal. The reverse of costive or '

costly,' q. v.
'
Good
c
woman,' quoth the village doctress, is your child
'
costive?' Costly! ma'am, no, quite the contrary, sadly
'

frugal indeed !

*Frummety for flrmety. Boiled wheat in milk.

Frump. A sour, ill-humoured person ;

more particularly
an old woman.

Frumple. To rumple, crease, or wrinkle.

*Fule for Fool. .

*Fulfer. The missel-thrush.

Full due. Final acquittance. Ex. I shall soon have done
'

with Mr. A., or I shall go away from B., for a full due,'
for good and all.

Full flopper. A young bird sufficiently feathered to leave

the nest.

Funk, Touchwood. (2) Also a term used in marble-

(i)
playing [C. H. E. W.]. (3) A verb. Ex. The soot funked
<

'

up in my face [M. C. H. B.].

Furlong. A division of an uninclosed corn-field, of which
the several subdivisions are numbered in the map, and
registered in the field-book.
*Furrin or G-one-furrin. Gone foreign, abroad emigrated ;

to furrin parts [M C. H. B.], i. e. out of England.

*Fursick, Fussick. To potter over one's work [J5. N. 14].

Further. A word which can only be explained by
its- use, which is very common. Ex. 'If
examples of
'
I do so I will be further,' meaning I will never do it.'
I wish that fellow further,' i. e. 'I would I were well
'

rid of him.'
G
82 Pussle Gall

*Pussle or Tusk. To bustle. Ex. '

The partridges fussled
'

or fusked up right under my feet [M. C. H. B.].

*Fut it. Move your feet, move on, be off [M. C. H. B.].

*Fuzhacker. The whinchat,stonechat, or wheatear generally

(Pratincola rubicola) [M. C. H. B.].
Fuzzy. Rough and shaggy.
Fye. To clean or purify. To fye out the pond ;
to fye up
the corn [Spur.]. See Fie.

*Fyesty. Foisty, fusty [Spur.].

*Gad. A guide, a long stick [G. E.].

*Gaddy-wentin. Gossiping [B. N. 94].

*Gadge. To mark out the dimensions of a ditch or drain
by cutting out a small quantity of the soil by a line or
cord [Johnson].

Gag. (i) To nauseate to reject with loathing, as if the

;

throat were closed against the admission of what is

offered. (2) To make an unsuccessful effort to vomit.

Gage. A bowl or tub to receive the cream as it is succes-

sively skimmed off.

* '
Geese [B. N. 87].
Gaggles or skeins.' Cf.

Gain. Handy and dextrous, as Johnson explains it. But

it is of more extensive sense, and by no means out of
use, as he supposed
it to be. On the contrary, it is very
frequently used, and means convenient, desirable just ;

as may be wished. Ex. ' The land lies very gain for
'
'
me.' I bought this horse very
gain (cheap) [W. R.].
e
Br., as a qualifying term used with other words gain ;

quiet,' pretty quiet.

Galdeb. To prate in a coarse, vulgar, noisy manner.

Gall. A vein of sand in a stiff soil, through which water

is drained off, and oozes at soft places on the surface ;

otherwise Sand Galls. [? Gault.]

 Gallopped Beer Garget 83

Gallopped Beer. Small beer for present drinking, made by

simple boiling, or, as it is called, galloping small quan-
tities of malt and hops together in a kettle.

Gallow Balk. The balk or strong bar of iron to which the

pothooks, or hakes, as we call them, are appended in the

open kitchen chimney so called because it resembles

;

the upper part of the gallows. Gaily Balk [Johnson].

Gamakin, or Gamalkin. Said of an awkward, gaping,
staring, and vacant person, walking about, having no
'

idea or object in mind. What are you gartialkin arter ?

'

[Johnson].
*Game Hawk. The peregrine (F. peregrinus) [M. C. H. B.].
'

*Gan, or Garn. (i) For 'grin [Johnson]. (2) For 'gave.'

Ex. '
He gan me it
'

[M. C. H. B.].
Gander. To gad, to ramble.

Ganger, (i) A goer, a speedy horse. (2) The overlooker

of a gang of workmen [M. C. H. B.].
*Ganging. (i) Going [W. R.]. (2) 'To go ganging,' to
beat the parish bounds [C. S. P.].

*Gangle. Ganway.Vide Cromer Manor [W. R.].

Gant. A village fair or wake. There are probably few
instances of the use of it. But in those few it is not
likely to be lost. Mattishall Gant is in no danger of
losing its ancient name while it retains any portion of
its and celebrity in the neighbourhood.
attraction

Ganty Gutted. Gaunt lean and lanky. ;

Gape Stick, Garpe Stick, (i) A large wooden spoon, to

which it is necessary to open the mouth wide. (2) Also
to feed young fowl [W. R.]. (3) To stare and gape. (4)
To go garping about, to wander listlessly [M. C. H. B.].
*Gardene. Guardian (N. Essex) [C. D.].
*Garget. (i) A
distemper affecting the throats and udders
of cattle or pigs [F. J. B.] [Johnson]. disease incident A
to calves [Marshall]. (2) Pigeon berry [M. C. H. B.].
G 2
84 Gargut Root Gay
*Gargut Root. The root of hellebore [Marshall],
Garle. To mar butter in the making, by handling in sum-
mer with hot hands. This turns it to a curd-like sub-
stance, with spots and streaks of paler colour, instead of
the uniformly smooth consistency and golden hue which
'
it
ought to have. Johnson says mottled or streaked
from mismanagement.'
G-artle-head. A thoughtless person.
Gartless. Heedless, thoughtless, regardless.
*Gashful, Gastly. Frightful (East, Hal li well).
Gast, or Gast Cow. A
cow which does not produce a calf
in the season. Otherwise a Farrow Cow, q. v. Also
applied to mares [F. J. B.].

Gast Bird. A single partridge in the shooting season

(Suff., Halliwell).

Gat. An opening in the great sand-bank which lies at the

back of the Yarmouth Roads. There are several, dis-
tinguished by names, as Fisherman's gat, &c.
*Gatless. Half-witted, shiftless [B. N. 5].
Gatter Bush, Gattridge. The wild guelder-rose, Vibur-
num opulus, or the wild dogwood, Cornus sanguinea,
Lin.

Gault. (i) Brick earth. Occasionally any sort of heavy

and adhesive earth. (2) A cavern. (3) A cavity caused
by a sudden subsidence of earth or soil [M. C. H. B.].

Gavel, Gavin, (i) A sheaf of corn before it is tied up.

(2) To collect mown corn into heaps in order to its
being loaded. (3) A bundle of hay ready for cutting
[B. N. 40].
Gawp. To gape very wide, to stare with a sort of idiotic
wonder.
said of an
'

*Gay. (j) Many-coloured. My leg is gay' is

inflamed leg [C. S. P.]. (2) Also applied to animals in

the sense of pied [J. H. G.].
 Gay Cards Gill 85

Gay Cards. The cards in a pack which are painted with

figures.

Gays. Prints to ornament books. The word is in Johnson

on the sole authority of L' Estrange, who was a Norfolk
man, and not infrequently betrays it. Frequently applied
to coarse engravings pasted on cottage walls [Spur.].

Ge. To go p W. R.]. Ex. This does not ge well with

'

that.' He and she will never ge together,' meaning it

'

is an ill-suited match
[W. C., Jen.]. It may be added
here that when to make our draught-horses go on we
call indifferently ge-ho or ge-wo ! This is sad confusion,
and we ought to know better for ge-ho, being inter- ;

preted, means go stop, and ge-wo is go go. We express

ourselves with much more propriety when we say wooch-
wo and wo, q. v.
*Gear-stuff. Doctors' gear, medicine [M. C. H. B.].
*Gedless. Thoughtless [C. S. P.].

Generals. The Archdeacon's Visitation. The diocese of

Norwich seems to be the only one in which this popular
name is used. It is to be presumed that everywhere the
Visitation is officially called the Archdeacon's General
Court.
*Gere. Unintelligible stuff [Arderon] ; or a confused heap.
Get. '
To get over the left shoulder,' to be a loser.

Giffle. To be restless, unquiet, fidgetty. It ought to be

'

spelled with g, noij, as the Dictt. have it.

Jiffling and
'

jaffling is still a phrase.

Gig. A trifling, silly, flighty fellow.

*Giglot. Occurs in W. White's Eastern England as the
feminine of the last word [W. R.].
*Gill. A pair of
timber wheels [Marshall]. A vehicle for
conveying timber, consisting of two wheels, a strong
axle-tree supporting a very stout bar, on which the
timber is slung, and shafts.
86 Oliver Glemth
Gilver. To ache, to throb. Possibly a softening of Culver.
*Gim and Gin. For '
give and
' '

gave.'
'

Tom, will you gim

me that there ball ? '
'
Tom, he gin it to me '

[Johnson].
Gim, Gimmy. Spruce, neat, smart. But probably the
common slang word 'jimmy [W.
'

R.].
Gimble. To grin or smile. Johnson has Gimling, Giggling.
Gimmers [sometimes Gimmels, W. R.]. Small hinges ;
as
those of a box or cabinet ; or even of the parlour door.
Leather hinges [C. W. B.].

*Gimption. Brittle, of a machine or toy [Spur].

*Gimsering. Carving or making any small things in brass,

wood, iron, &c. [Arderon].
Gimson. A gimcrack.
*Gin or Jin. The
entrails of a calf preserved with raisins,

currants, lemon-peel, &c., and made into a pie called a

'

gone, skin and gin

'

gin pie all

;
[Johnson].
*Girn. To sneer, to make faces [Johnson].

Give, (i) 'To give one white-foot,' to coax him. The

phrase certainly allusive to the fawning of a dog.
is

(2) 'To give one the seal of the day,' to greet civilly
with a salutation suitable to the hour of meeting, as
good morning,' or good evening.' Our phrase is general,
' '

and exactly equivalent to 'give you good time of day/

in Shaks. To give grant,' to allow authoritatively.
(3)
'

The Justice, the overseer, or anybody else in authority,

'
is often solicited to give grant,' that such or such a thing
may be done.
*Gladden. (i) Or gladden bushes, bulrushes [W. R.].
Marshall says large and small catstail. (2) Typha lati-
folia [M. C. H. B.].
*Glaze-worm. Glow-worm [M. C. H. B.].
*Gleave. An eel-spear [W. G. W.].

Glemth, Glent. Glint. A glimpse, a short and slight view.

 Gloat Gob 87

*Gloat, or Glot. A species of eel [B. N. 77].

Glouse. A strong gleam of heat, from sunshine or a blazing
fire ;
also Scot, spong [Johnson].
*Glowsy. Heavy, oppressive.
'
The day fare so glowsy
like' [Em.].

Glusky. Sulky in aspect.

*Glut Wedge. A quoin or wedge of hard wood, to widen
the cleft made by the iron wedge [Johnson].
Gly-halter. A halter or bridle with blinkers, as those of

draught-horses.
*Glys. Blinkers.
*Gnatling. Very much engaged about trifles, busy doing
nothing [Johnson].
Goaf. A rick of corn in the straw laid up in a barn if in :

the open air it is a Stack. Johnson says the corn at the

bay or end of the barn.
*Goafe, or Gofe. A mow
[Arderon and Cull. Haw.].
corn

Goaf-flap. A wooden beater to knock the ends of the

sheaves, and make the goaf or stack more compact and
flat. In Suffolk the goaf-flap is seldom or never used ;

but a standing joke on the ist of April to send a

it is

boy, or a silly fellow, to borrow a goaf-flap, and the mes-

'
'

senger invariably runs the gauntlet of all the servants

and labourers at the farm-house to which he is sent.
* Goaf-horse. The horse ridden upon corn deposited in
a barn so as to compress it [Spur.].
Goaf-stead. Every division of a barn in which a goaf is
placed. A large barn has four or more. The threshing-
floor is called the Middle-stead.

Goave. To stow corn in a barn [Pe.]. Ex. *

Do you intend
'

to stack this wheat, or to goave it ?

Gob. (i) The mouth. Ex. '

Shut your gob
'

[Br.]. A great
talker said 'to have the gift of the gob' [gab?].
is (2)
A large mouth-filling morsel, particularly of something
88 Go Gong
greasy. Ex. 'A gob of fat, suet, bacon, pudding, or
dumpling, well soaked in dripping, which will easily
slip down.' (3) Metaph. A considerable lump of .some-

thing not eatable. By such a gob of money,' our country-

'

man must have meant, as we still mean, by the very

same phrase, a good round sum. (4) To expectorate
[M. C. H. B.].
*Go, a. To ride, run away [Arderon].
*Go, To follow a business or calling, e. g.
to.
'

my son go
by water,' gets his living on the water [Spur].
*Gobbity. Pleasant to the taste [J. H. G.].
Gobble. Noisy talk.
Gobbler. A turkey-cock.
*Goer. Thick mire or dirt, such as are in the kennels
[Arderon]. See Gore.

Golden-knop. The lady fly, otherwise golden bug.

*Golder. A chat [M. C. H. B.].
Goles, Gosh, Goms. Foolish and very vulgar evasions of
profane oaths, all including the Sacred Name, combined
with some other word or words.
*Gollder. Low vulgar language, loud and vociferous

[Johnson].
*Gollop Ale. Ale made in a copper from malt and water
simply boiled [M. C. H. B.].
Golls. (i) Fat chops or ridges of fat on the fleshy parts
;

of a corpulent person. It is in Johnson, with authorities,

as used contemptuously for hands; paws. It is not
known to us in that sense. (2) Pendent matter hang-
ing from children's noses, sometimes called lambs' legs

[Johnson].
*Gommerel. A fool [M. C. H. B.].
'
*Gon. For given. It was gon me [Spur.].
*

*Gong. The ringe or rickles of corn or hay collected in

the field by a horse or other rake [Johnson].
 Good-doing Gosgood 89

Good-doing, (i) Charitable in various modes. Ex. 'The

parson's daughters are very good-doing young women.'
(2). To put flesh or fat on rapidly. (3) Of land in good
working order. (4) Of roads in good state for walking
[M. C. H. B.].
Good Mind, Good Skin. Many combinations of the adjec-
tive good, with different substantives, are detailed in
Johnson but these two are not among them. They
;

both express good humour. Ex. He '

is not in a good
'
mind? or he is in a bad skin to-day.'
Good'n, Goody. Contractions of Good Man and Good Wife
(the first sometimes farther contracted to Go'on).
Good Tidily. Reasonably, pretty well. Tolerably, pretty
middling [Spur.].
Good Tidy. The adverb good, in its sense of reasonably,'
'

'
or not amiss,' as given by Johnson, does not satisfy us
without the addition of tidy, which in strictness means
Timely, from A. S. tid. Ex. ' She stayed a good tidy
'
stound,' i. e. a good while.' It has not, however, always
a perceptible connexion with time. Ex. This is a good '

tidy crop,' i. e. a pretty good one. He slapped him '

good-tidily'
*Goolie, or Guler. The yellowhammer (Emberiza citri-

nella) [M. C. H. B.].

^Gophering Irons. For crimping linen [M. C. H. B.].
'

Gore, Slush and gore are generally mentioned

(i) Mire.
'

together. The former expresses the thin, the latter the

thick part of the mire. See Goer. (2) The same as
scoot.
'
Gore Blood. Clotted, congealed blood. All of a gore,' or
'
all of a gore of blood.'

Gosgood. Yeast [Sir T. Browne].

Ray says that in his
time it was in use also in Kent. The word is now utterly
extinct.
90 Goslin Grease
Goslin. The male catkin of different species of Salix.
Gotch. (i) A large coarse ewer or pitcher. (2) Also a dis-
ease to which rabbits are liable [M. C. H. B.].

Gotch-belly. A fair round belly, much resembling the

protuberance of a gotch.
Go-to bed-at-noon. The apposite name of the common
goatsbeard.
*Gouch, Gush, Gulch.
'
It came down gulch,' swop, flop,
all of a heap [M. C. H. B.].
*Gour. Voracious [M. C. H. B.].
Gow. Let us go an abbreviation of Go we, the plural
;

'
imperf. of the verb to go. It implies, but let us all go

together.' A
farmer in Suffolk, speaking of the differ-
ence between the old farmers' wives and the modern ones,
observed that '
when his mother called the maids at
milking-time, she never said go, but gow.'
*Grabble. To resist, to contend, to grapple with [Johnson].
Grain. To gripe the throat to strangle. Grane [Spur.].
;

Greened [B. N. 6]
*Grainer. A vat used in tanning in the second operation.
It is filled with a strong solution of
pigeons' dung to
destroy the effects of the lime on the hide [Johnson].
*Graned. A sheep whose wool is a mixture of black and
white, or speckled, is called a graned sheep
[Johnson].
*Grassing. The grassing requires about five weeks, and if
there are showers constantly turning thrice a week, if
not twice. This is always on grass land [C. D.].
Grattan. Stubble [Johnson],
*Graycoat. An epithet applied to an agent employed to
collect tithes [J. H. G.].
Graze. To become covered with the growth of grass.
Grease. A faint and dim suffusion over the sky, not
amounting to positive cloudiness, and supposed to indi-
cate approaching rain.
 Greenolf Groaning 91

Q-reenolf. (i)The greenfinch, or, more properly, green

grosbeak, Parus viridus, Lin. (2) Loxia chloris [M. C.
H. B.].
*Green Way. A road over turf between hedges, usually
without gates [W. R.].
Green Weed. The dyer's broom, Genista tinctoria, Lin.
Greft, Grift. To graft.
Grewin. A
greyhound.
Grey-backs. Scaup ducks (Fuligula marila) [M. C. H. B.].

*Grey-bird. An
English partridge [M. C. H. B.].
*
Grey-coat Parson. An impropriator or, the tenant who ;

hires the tithes.

* Gad well (Stevenson)
Grey-duck or Hearth-duck.
[M. C. H. B.].

^"Grey-gulls. Immature herring- and saddle-back gulls

[M. C. H. B.]
Grigs. Small eels.

Grimble. To begrime. Grumbled in the same sense is

stronger, implying a thicker coat of dirt.

Grimmer. A pond or mere, of considerable extent, but of
such moderate depth as to have much of its surface
covered with weeds, appearing to the eye a green mere.
Grindle. A small and narrow drain for water. But
Drindle is a better word, q.v.

*Grip. A shallow drain [Cull. Haw.]. Grup [Em. and

B. N. 28, 36].

*Gripple. A small drain, stream, or beck [Johnson].

' '

Surely a diminution of grip [W. R.].

Grissens. Stairs or staircase.

*Grit. To take work by contract = great [F. J. B.].

*Grittle. Corn just broken or cracked. Oatmeal so done
is called Grits or Grots [Johnson].

Groaning. A lying-in.
92 Groaning Cake Grub Stubbling
Groaning Cake. A cake made on such occasions, with
which about as many superstitious tricks are played
as with bride-cake.

*Ground. Go to ground, to defecate [M. C. H. B.].

Ground Firing. Roots of trees and bushes, taken as a sort

of perquisite by the labourers who stub them, and used
for fuel.

Ground Gudgeon. A small fish, adhering by its mouth to

stones at the bottom of brooks
. and shallow rivulets ;

the loche, otherwise called ground-bait, being used to

catch pike or perch. It is Cobitis barbatula, Lin.

Ground Lark, (i) What species of lark is meant is not

easy to determine, for all our indigenous species build
their nests on the ground. Any, rather than the sky-
lark,which soars to a vast height from the ground, or
the woodlark, which perches and sings on boughs. (2)
Meadow Pipit [M. C. H. B.].
Ground Bain. A plentiful but gradual fall of rain, which
works its way deep into the ground.

Grout. A sort of thin mortar poured into the interstices

of building materials, as flints or other substances of
small size and irregular shape, which cannot be laid even.
They are confined with a wooden frame till the grout
is incorporated with them, and fixed. Then the frame is
removed, and another portion of wall formed in like
manner.
Grub, (i) Idle, nonsensical talk. (2) Food. (3) To pick
up a living in mean haphazard ways.
Grubblings. Phr. To
'
lie grubblings,' i. e.
grovelling, with
the face downwards.

Grub Felling. Felling of trees by undermining them, and

cutting away all their roots.

*Grub Stubbling. Half chop off, half stub a tree [H. B.].
 Gruffle Gush 93

Gruffle. To make a sort of growling noise in the throat,

as men are wont to do in sleep or in drink. In fact, it
is a diminutive of Growl.

Grunny. The snout of a hog.

Grup, Groop. A trench, not amounting in breadth to
a ditch. If narrower still, it is a Grip ;
if extremely
narrow, a Gripple.
Grutch. To grudge. An old word with us, and occurs in
the Lynn Guild Certificate, temp. Richard II [W. R.].
*Guards. '

Drawing the guards.' Just ready to fight

[W. R].
*Gudgeon. A
small axle [G. E.].
*Guler. Gulefinch or yellowhammer [E. S. T.].
Gull, (i) To sweep away by force of running water. Ex.
'
The bank has been gulled down by the freshes,' q. v.
(2) A breach or hole made by the force of a torrent. (3)
Also a brook thickly overgrown with underwood or
brushwood [H. C.].
Gulp, (i)The young of any animal in its softest and ten-
derest state. Can the meaning be (hyperbolically) that
it looks as if it might be swallowed, taken down at
a gulpl Gulp-o'-the-nest, the smallest of the brood.
(2) A very short, squabby, diminutive person.(3) A very
severe blow or enough to beat the sufferer to a
fall ;

mummy. Here is enough of association. But in this

sense it must be taken as a variation of Gulp, which we
use in its proper sense, and q. v.
Gulsh. (i) Mud. (2) A heavy fall.
(3) Plump, souse, &c.,

applied to the fall.

Gulsher. A heavy fall

[B. N. 56].
Gulsky. Corpulent and gross.
Gumption. Understanding.
Gurn. To grin like a dog.
Gush. A gust of wind.
94 Gussock Halt- wo

Gussock. A strong and sudden gush of wind.

*Guy. A feint or trick [Johnson].

Gye. A name
of different weeds growing among corn.
In some places Ranunculus arvensis, Lin. is so called,
and in others, different species of Galium sufficient
;

diversity. And see N. and Q., 4th Ser. viii. p. 108.

Gyle. Wort.
*Gyp. (i) To cheat, to trick [Johnson]. (2) Cambridge
college-servants. So called from their vulture-like pro-
pensities [M. C. H. B.].

*Hack. (i) Probably havock, e. g. a flock of sheep playing

hack [W. B.]. (2) Birds play hack with fruit-trees

[F. J. B.].
Hack, Half-hack. A hatch, a door divided across.
Hack, (i) To stammer, to cut words in pieces. (2) To
cough faintly and frequently.
Hackering. Stuttering [B. N. 88].
Hackle. To shackle, or tether beasts, to prevent their
running away.
Hack Slavering. Stammering and sputtering, like a dunce
at his lesson.

Haggy. Applied to the broken and even surface of the

soil, when in a moist state. Were it dried and hardened
by sun or frost, it would be Hobbly. Rough, uneven as
a road having large stones laid upon it, or deep uneven
ruts [Johnson].

Haifer. To toil.

Hain. To heighten [W. R.]. To rise in price.

*Hainer. The master who holds or sustains the expenses

of the feast [Johnson].
Halt- wo ! A word of command to horses in a team, mean-
'
'

ing, go to the left ;

for wo, in this case, is not stop, but
 Hake Hamper 95

go, by the commutability of w and g in A. S. words.

This was horse language in the fourteenth century. Ch.
'
Heit Scot Heit, Broc which, by the way, are names
'
! !

still given to cart-horses.

Hake, (i) A pothook. The progress is hook, hoke, hake.
But this is inverted order. (2) Now chiefly used for
a kind of gate which hangs over the kitchen fire, or
another utensil which hangs down the chimney, both
used for suspending pots and boilers [Spur.]. A horse is
said to hake at plough when he works heartily, doing
more than (3) Hooks generally
his share [Johnson].

[W. R]. (4) To

toil, particularly in walking. There is
an obvious connexion in sense with hack and hackney.
It is often joined with Hatter, q. v. Ex. ' He has been
haking and battering all day long.'
*Hale. (i) A
long range or pile of bricks set out to dry in
the open air before being burned [Johnson]. (2) Man-
gold clamp [M. C. H. B.]. (3) A heap of anything
[Em.].
*Half Fowl. Any wild fowl other than mallard [M. C. H. B.].
*Half-hack. A hatch, a door divided into two parts.
Half-hammer. The game of
'

hop, step, and jump.'

Half-rocked. Oafish, silly. It seems to imply that a poor
creature's education as a simpleton was begun even in
his cradle by his careless nurse.
*
*Haller. To haller hold yer,' is to warn the
halloo. To
man on the top of the wagon to hold tight whilst the wagon
is being moved from shock to shock in loading up corn

in the harvest field. A boy rides the horse and hallers

'

'

hold'yer [M. C. H. B.].

*Hallorin. To shout, loud call [G. E.].

Hallowday. A holiday.
^Hamper. To impede [M. H. I 'ont be
'
C. B.j. hampered
up along o' you.'
96 Hample Trees Hang Sleeve

*Hample Trees. The bars by which horses draw a plough,

&c. [Spur.]. Hames or Hameltrees [Johnson].

*Hancer. The heron [G. E.].

Hand. To They made me hand a paper.' (2)
'

sign. Ex.
Performance. It is the eleventh sense of the word in

Johnson, and nothing is commoner than to speak of

making a good or a bad hand of any undertaking. With
us the phrase, in the latter sense, admits no qualifying
epithet. To '
make a hand on,' is to make waste of, to

spoil or destroy. Ex. '

He has made a hand of all he
had, he has wasted his whole property.
*Handhawk. A plasterer's tool on which he lays the
plaster [Johnson].
Hand-over-head. (i) Thoughtlessly extravagant. (2)

Hemp is said to be dressed hand-over-head when the

'
,'

coarse part is not separated from the fine.

*Handsel. A helping hand [M. C. H. B.]. A start \B. N. 7 1].

*Handsel. To inaugurate, to begin. To put the first coin
into a collection [M. C. H. B.].

Hand- smooth. Uninterruptedly, without obstacle. Also,

entirely. Ex. '
He ate it up hand-smooth.'
HandstafT. The handle of a flail. See Swingel.
*Handstaff-cap. The swivel that joins handle and swingel
[W. B.].

Hang, (i) A crop of fruit. 'A good tidy hang of apples.'

(2) A declivity.

*Hangy. A clayey soil when wet

is hangy
[Spur.].

Hanging Level. A regular and uninterrupted declivity, an

inclined plane.

*Hang on to. To scold. '

I'll
hang on to him properly
'

when I catch him [C. S. P.].

Hang Sleeve. A dangler, an officious but unmeaning

suitor.
 Hang Such Hartree 97

Hang Such. A worthless fellow, a fit candidate for a

halter.

Hank, A
fastening for a door or gate,
(i) (2) small A
quantity of twine, yarn, &c., not rolled in a ball, but
doubled over in lengths, is called a hank.
Hap. To cover or wrap up.
Happing. Covering, wrappers, warm clothing.
Hap Harlot. A coarse coverlit.
Harber. The hornbeam or hardbeam.
Hards, (i) Coarse flax, otherwise Tow-hards. (2) The
very hard cinders commonly called iron cinders. The
calx of pit coal imperfectly vitrified by intense heat

[M.S.].
*Harkany. A job. Ex. '
I have finished my harkany
'

[M. C. H. B.].
*Harness. Leathern defences for the hands and legs of
hedgers, to protect them from the thorns [Spur.].
Harnsey. A heron. See Hornsey, a young heron [E. S. T.].

Harnsey Gutted. Lank and lean, like a harnsey.

Harren. (i) Made of hair, q.d. hairen.
'
A harren brum
'

is a hair broom. (2) Herring is so pronounced

[M. C. H. B.].
Harriage. Confusion. The i is to be sunk in pronuncia-
tion, as in carriage and marriage.
c
Ex. They are all
up at Aarriage.' I think I have heard that, in the south

part of Suffolk, the phrase, He is gone to Harwich

' '

(alike in pronunciation), means he is gone to rack and

ruin. Johnson has it Harridge.

*Harry Denchman. The Danish crow [W. G. W.].

*Hartree. The vertical part of a gate which claps against
the gatepost [Spur.]. Johnson has it, the upright wood
at that end of a gate to which the irons are fixed, and

spells it Heart-tree.
H
98 Harvest Lord Hay-crome
Harvest Lord. The principal reaper, who goes first, and
whose motions regulate those of his followers.
Harvest Lady. The second reaper in the row, who supplies,
or supplied, my lord's place on his occasional absence,
but does not seem to have been ever so regularly greeted
by the title, except on the day of harvest-home.
Hase. The heart, liver, &c., of a hog, seasoned, wrapped
up in the omentum and roasted.
*Hasel. See Haysele.
Hassock. Coarse grass growing in rank tufts in boggy
ground.
Hassock Head. A shock-head, a bushy and entangled growth
of coarse hair.
*Hatch. A gate. A half hatch, where a horse may go but
a cart cannot [E. S. T.].

Hatter. To harass and exhaust with fatigue.

*Haughty Weather. Windy weather [Marshall].

Havel, (i) The beard of barley. (2) The slough of a
snake.
*Havel and Slaie. Parts of the fittings of a weaver's loom
[W. E.].
Haw. The ear of oats. Johnson spells it Haugh.
Hawkey or Horkey. The feast at harvest-home.

Hawkey-load. The last load of the crop, which, in simpler

and ruder times, was always led home on the evening of
the hawkey, with much rustic pageantry.

Hay. (i) A hedge, more particularly a clipped quickset

hedge. It is most commonly pronounced as if it were

in the PI. N., or ather as if it were spelled haze. In

(2) A
Suffolk it is always pronounced Hay [Forby].
rabbit-net [Cull. Haw.].

Hay-crome. No rustic implement is now literally called

by this name, but a metaphorical use of the word is very
 Hay-goaf Heart Spoon 99

common. The characters scrawled by an awkward pen-

man are likened to
'

hay-cronies and pitchforks,' as they

more generally are to
'

pot-hooks.'
*Hay-goaf. Hay mow.
Hay-jack. (i) The lesser reedsparrow, or sedgebird of
Penn. (2) The Whitethroat (Sylvia cinerea) [M. C. H. B.].
Hay Net. (i) A hedge net. A long low net, to prevent
hares or rabbits from escaping to covert in or through

hedges. (2) Hang net [M. C. H. B.].

Haysele. The season of making hay.

Haze. To dry linen, &c., by hanging it up in the fresh
air, properly on a hedge. But that circumstance is not
essential. Indeed, anything so exposed is said to be
hazed, as rows of corn or hay, when a brisk breeze
follows a shower.
Hazle. To grow dry at top. Dim.
Head. (
i
)
Face. We say
'
I told him so to his head,' as
old as Sh. [Forby]. (2) Bullocks are said to go at head
when they have the first bite, in distinction to those who
follow [Marshall].
Headache. The wild field-poppy.
Head Man. The chief hind on a farm.
Headswoman. A midwife.
Heads and Holls, Humps and Holls. Pell-mell, and topsy-
turvy. Prominences and hollows tumbled confusedly
together promiscuous confusion. Hills and Holls [ W. R.].
;

Heap. A great number or quantity.

Heart. The stomach. '
A pain at the heart
'

means the
stomach-ache.
*Hearth. The island on Scoulton Mere is so called
[M. C. H. B.].
*Heart Spoon. The pit of the stomach. It is, no doubt, so
called from the little hollow, or depression, near the point
of the sternum.
H 2
100 Heater Herring Spink
*Heater. The fork of a road [B. N. 88].

*Heavels. Plain work in weaving [Arderon].

*Heck. A half-door or latch [Marshall].

*Heckfor. A heifer [Marshall],

Hedge Accentor. The hedgesparrow.

*Hedge-betty. A hedgesparrow [W. B.].
^Hedge-pig. A hedgehog [W. R.].
*Heel. 'You have got me by the heel.' You have out-
reached me [Arderon].
*Heft. A
handle of a knife, &c. [G. E.].
*Heft or Hift. A lift or a push [M. C. H. B.].

*Hefty. Blusterous weather [M. C. H. B.].

Heifker. A heifer.
Heigh'n. To heighten. See Hain.
Heir. To inherit. Ex. '
His son will heir his estate.

Help up. To assist or support. It is commonly used

ironically. Ex. '

I am finely HOLP UP.' O. E., ' man is A
well holp up that trusts in you.'

Helve. The handle of an axe.

*Hempland. A little field or pightle attached to a cottage,
so called from being used to grow hemp on [Spur.].
Hen Poller. A loft for poultry to roost. Sometimes simply
poller.
Hen's nose full. A very minute quantity.
*Herbage. The right of feeding or pasturage [M. C. H. B.].

Hereaways. Hereabouts.
Herne. A nook of land, projecting into another district,

parish, or field. See Hyrne.

*Herring Spink. (i) A bird often Been during the herring

fishery. The golden-crested wren [E. F. G.]. (2) (Regains

cristatus) C. T. Booth [M. C. H. B.].

 Hess Hild 101

*Hess. A quantity of yarn containing fourteen leas, or two

skeins [Johnson].
'
*Het. Past imp. of heat. Ex. I ha het the kittle.'

*Hey. A hedge. See Hay.

*Heyhowing. Thieving of yarn from the master weaver
[Arderon].
Hick. To hop or spring. .

Hickle, Heckle, (i) To dress flax ;

to break it into its
finest fibres. (2) A comb to dress flax.

Hickler. A dresser of flax or hemp.

Hide, (i) To thresh; 'to curry the hide.' (2) Abdominal

'

skin, e. g. Suck that into your hide [M.

'
C. H. B.].
*Hides. Entrails prepared to make sausages in [Spur.].
Hiding. A beating.
*Hidlings. At random [Spur.].

Higgle, (i) To be
and tedious in bargaining. It is
nice
dimin. from Haggle, with a sense of contempt. It implies
the most petty chaffering. (2) To effect by slow degrees,
and by minute sparing and saving. The poor often
talk of higgling up a pig, i. e. buying and fattening it up
in that way.

*High. Aristocratic, whilst Low = short in stature

[M. C. H. B.].

*High Learned. University-taught [C. S. P.].

*Highlows. Half-boots [M. C. H. B.].

*High Surprizes. High spirits hoity toity [Spur.]. ;

Hike. To go away. It is generally used in a contemp-

tuous sense. Ex. 'Come, hike,' i.e. take yourself off;
' '

begone. Probably local pronunciation for hook it

[W. E,.].
Johnson gives its meaning as to seek, search,
or find ;
'
go, hike him up.'
Hild. The sediment of beer ;
sometimes used as an imperfect
substitute for yeast. Better hilds [Spur.].
102 Hilding Hitchel

*Hilding. Leaning or tilting, as a cask [Spur.].

*Hill. A
floating hover or piece of high ground entirely
surrounded by water on the Broads [M. C. H. B.].
Himp. To limp. A variety rather than a corruption.
*Hinder. Yonder [Spur, and Cull. Haw.].
Hingin. A hinge. Belg. hengene, cardo.
Hingle. (i) A small hinge. (2) A snare of wire ; moving
easily, and closing like a hinge. (3) To snare. Poachers
hingle hares and rabbits.
*Hingling is the term used for a snare for pheasants,
made with one or with two wires [W. B.].
Hippany. A part of the swaddling-clothes of an infant ;

a wrapper for the hips.

*Hipstrap. A strap which passes down near the hips of

the horse, to support and hold up the trace [Johnson].
Hire. To borrow. We speak of hiring money for taking ' '

it up at interest. And why not money as well as house

or land "? The interest is rent.

*Hirn. A narrowoverhung with bushes [Johnson].

line
But doubt this,
I and fancy Johnson merely noticed
a place at the corner of the hyrne, q.v., which answered
this description [W. R.].

*Hisen. (i) To raise or advance the price of anything

[Johnson]. This, too, I doubt. We always say

'
ham '

[W. R.]. (2) His. Ex.-

'
He who takes what isn't his'n,
When he's cotched is sent to prison' [M. C. H. B.
1
.

Hitch, (i) To change place. (2) To stop at \_N. and Q.,

3rd Ser. iv. p. 363]. (3) To make room [Pr. Pa.]. (4) To
jerk. (5) To twist, of rope. (6) Nautical phrase, '
half
hitch '[M.C.H.B.].
*Hitchel or Hickel. A hemp-dresser's comb [Spur.].
*Hitchel. A kind of halter, for hitching a pony to a fence

[W. B.].
 Hitcheler Hoddy 103

*Hitcheler, or Hickler. A hemp-dresser [Spur.].

Hithe. A small port.
Hithertoward. Towards this time, or place.

Hitty -missy. At random ;

hit or miss.

Hob, Hub. (i) The nave of a wheel. (2) The flat ends of
a kitchen range, or of a bath-stove not the back. (3) ;

The mark to be thrown at in quoits and some other

games. (4) The hilt or guard of a weapon. In general
'
'

up to the hub means as far as possible.

Hobbles. Roughness on a road or path, which causes pas-
sengers to hobble in their gait.
Hobble-de-poise, Evenly balanced, so that any slight
(i)
wavering is immediately recovered. If we had rocking
stones in our country, we should describe them among
ourselves as standing exactly hobble - de - poise. (2)
Metaph., wavering- in mind, unable to come to a
determination.

*Hobbly. Rough, rugged, stony [M. C. H. B.].

Hobby. A small horse synonymous with Pony.
;

Hobby- lanthorn. A
will-o'-the-wisp from its motion, as;

if it were a lanthorn ambling and curvetting on the back

of a hobby.
*Hocket. To romp about foolishly [C. S. P.].
Hoes and Hoes. The feet and leg bones of swine.
*Hodman Hob. A snail-shell ?Dodman [W. R.].
[Spur.].
*Hod. A shell or skin, potato hod, bean hod. Hodding
'

peas,' shelling peas [M. C. H. B.]

*Hodmedod. A small snail [G. E.].

Hodding Spade. A sort of spade principally used in the

fens, so shaped as to take up a considerable portion of
earth entire, somewhat like a hod.

Hoddy. Pretty well in health and spirits, in tolerably

1

good case. May it not be a corruption of Hardy ?

104 Hoffle Hop and go one
*Hoffle. To shuffle or hobble.

Hogget, Hog. A sheep a year old, before its first shearing

[W. B.].

Hoglin. A
homely article of pastry.
Hog-over-high. The game of leap-frog.
*Hogweed. (i) Knotgrass. (2) Scarlet poppy and also
sowthistle, thus called [M. C. H. B.].
Hoist, (i) A cough. (2) To cough. (3) To raise. Ex.
'
'
The river is hoisted or risen [M. C. H. B.].

Hoit-a-poit. Assuming airs of importance unsuitable to

years or station.

Holie Verd. Holly used in the Christmas decoration of

churches [Spur.].
Holl. (i) A ditch, particularly a dry one. This is the
simple form ; we also use the
compounds and Deke-holl
Dike-holl, i. e. a hollow or empty ditch. By no means
necessarily a dry one [Spur.]. (2) Hollow, which, in
strictness, is a compound of two adjectives.
*Holls. The groin, legs, &c.
'
Head and holts' heads or
tails [Spur.].

*Holped. Helped [H. B.].

Holt. A small grove or plantation.

Holymas. All Saints' Day.

*Homer. A very short plump skate [W. R.].

*Hommer. A hammer [G. E.].

Honey Orach. A small plum, of luscious sweetness but
little flavour.

*Hoogo. A kind of taint in meat, &c., from too long

keeping [Spur.]. Haut gaut ?

*Hop and go one, or Dot and go one. A lame man, a one-

legged one who uses a crutch, which makes the dot or
impression like a dot [M. C. H. B.].
 Hop Crease Horse 105

Hop Crease. The game among boys, more commonly called

Hop Scotch.
Hop-pole Marriage. A marriage just in time to save the
legitimacy of a child. Also a Broomstick Marriage-

Hopping Giles. A common appellation of any one who

limps. St. Giles was reputed the especial patron of
cripples.

*Hoppintoad. A toad [G. E.]. I think natterjack toads

are so called [M. C. H. B.].

Hopple. A
tether to confine the legs of beasts to prevent
their escape, or to make them stand still. beast A
tethered by having a fore foot tied to the opposite foot
behind, is said to be cross-hoppled.

Hoppling. Tottering, moving weakly and unsteadily ;

frequently applied to children. All these words are

nearly allied to Hobble, and have certainly the same
origin, q. v.
*Horder. To hoard or lay up [G. E.].
*Horkey. Better thus than Hawkey, for which see Spur.

*Horkey Load. The last load of the harvest [F. C. H. in

N. and Q., 4th Ser. vi. p. 487].
Hornen. Made of horn. Ex. '
The hornen book.'
'
A hornen
'

spoon [Jen.].

Hornpie. The lapwing.

Horns. The awns of barley. Though a corruption, not an
unmeaning one.

*Hornsey. A crane [Arderon]. This is an error for hern-

saw or heron [W. R.].
Horse, (i) A
seed or straw introduced into a cask, by
means of which the liquor is stolen [Johnson]. (2) To
work on a dead horse = to draw money on account
before work is finished. (3) A dead freight
= vacant
space in chartered ship. (4) That is a horse of a very
103 . Horse Brambles Ho ven
uiffereiit colour = that is a different matter altogether
[M. C. H. B.].
*Horse Brambles. Briars, wild rose [Marshall].
*Horsetree. The whip pie or swingle tree [Marshall].

Horse-ma-gog. Boisterously frolicsome.

Hose. The sheath or spathe of an ear of corn.

*Hose-in-hose. A primrose or polyanthus with one corolla

within another L M. C. H. B.].
*Hotkin. A case for a sore finger [Arderon].
'

*Hotness. Very hot. Ex. '

That makes some hotness
[Pr. Pa.].
Hot Pot. A mixture of warm ale and spirits.

*Houghses. Feet or shoes of any one [Johnson]. I have

'
'
often heard Huffs used, but have thought it a corrup-
'
'
tion of Hoofs.' '
Take your clumsy huffs off the chair
[W. R.]. See Houss.

Hounce, or Houncer. The ornament of red and yellow

worsted spread over the collars of horses in a team.
Houncings. Housings [Spur.].
*Houndings. The housings of the harness [W. R.]. Cover-
ing the collar (Suff.) [E. S. T.].
House, (i) The family sitting-room, as distinguished from
the other apartments [Gr.]. (2) To grow thick and
compact, as corn does. If this have any relation to a
house at all, it must be to the roof.

*House Dowly. A tenderly brought up person [Johnson].

*Housen. For houses [W. R.].
Houss. A contemptuous name for feet, as being like those
of a beast's hoofs. [I cannot help thinking this is a tran-
scriber's error for 'houffs' (hoofs). See Houghses
W. R.]. Miss Matthews, howe er, has '
Howshies or
'

hoishies for boots or feet.

Hoven. Swollen. Cattle are hoven by eating too much

 Hover Hugger-mugger 1 7

green clover in a moist state, or other flatulent and suc-

culent food. Turnips are It oven by rank and rapid growth
in a strong wet soil.

*Hover. A floating reed-bed [M. C. H. B.].

*Hover Spade. A tongue-shaped spade for cutting turf
for burning [M. C. H. B.].

*Howers, or Huwers. Dried flags for fuel, differing from

Howes in being the upper cut, with the grass, reeds, &c.
[Spur.].
*How-do-ye-do, Hullabaloo. To make a pretty piece of
work to kick up a hullabaloo [M. C. H. B.].
*Hubs. Hoofs [Spur.].

*Huckering. To stammer [G. E.].

*Huckle. To bend down with pain [Spur.].
*Huckle Bone. The hip bone [Spur.].
Huckles. The hips.

Hudderin. A well-grown lad. If a Suffolk farmer (in

East Suffolk at least) be asked how many male servants
he keeps, his answer may probably be Two men and '

a hudderin' (2) Large and loutish [G. E.].

*Huddle me-close. The side-bone of birds, not the merry-

thought [M. C. H. B.].

Huff, (i) A dry, scurfy, or scaly incrustation on the skin.

Also Hoof [Spur.]. (2) To scold, rate, or take to task.
In O. E. a /m/f-cap is a swaggering blade. (3) In a
temper.
'
He is in a huff.'

Huffle, Huffles, Hufflins. A rattling in the throat in

'

breathing.
'
The death-ruffle [Spur.].

*Huffs, Hoofs. Men's feet [W. R.].

Huggy-me- close. The clavicle of a fowl ; more commonly

called the Merry-thought.

*Hugger-mugger. Stingy [Pr. Pa.].

108 Hulk Hunch
Hulk, (i) A lout, a lubber; one who, in vulgar phrase,
seems to have more guts than brains.' (2) A gross
'

overgrown fat fellow. (3) To pull out the entrails of

a hare or rabbit. does not appear to be applied to
It

the exenteration of any other animal.

Hull, (i) To throw. It is pretty plainly a corruption of

Hurl, and is therefore not to be spelled Holl, e. g. He

'

hulled it into the holl' = He threw it into the ditch.

(2) To take off the husks.
'
To hull the banes
'
=' To shill
'

the paas [Spur.].

*Hullett. A brook with woody banks [C. S. P.].

Hulls. The husks of peas, pulse, beans, &c. [Spur.].

Gooseberries [Em.].

Hull and Hullchin. A

broad, thick piece of bread and meat
or other victual [Johnson]. Often Hunchin [A. E. R.].

*Hullpoke. A bed made with oat flites [C. W. B.].

Hullup. To vomit, viz. to hurl up your food.

*Hullyly. Wholly. 'That du hullyly stam me '

= That
puts me to a nonplus [M. C. H. B.].

Hulver. Holly.
Hulver-headed. Stupid, muddled, confused, as if the head
were enveloped in a hulver bush.
Hume. A
hymn. This word is curiously puzzling.
Hummer, (i) To begin to neigh. The gentle and pleasing
sound which a horse utters when he hears the com
shaken in the sieve, or when he perceives the approach
of his companion, or groom. (2) Frequentative of hum
[M. C. H. B.].
Hump, (i) A
contemptible quantity, a poor pittance.
(2) Ill-temper. Ex. 'He has got the hump.'
Hunch, (i) A lift, or shove. 'Give me a hunch, Tom,'
said an elderly East Anglian matron, somewhat cor-
pulent, to her stout footman, who stood grinning behind
 Hunchin Imitate 109

her, while she was endeavouring to climb into her car-

riage. (2) A thick slice of bread and cheese [C. H. E. W.].

*Hunchin. See Hull.
Hunch "Weather. Cold weather, which makes men hunch
up their shoulders, and animals contract their limbs, and
look as they were hunch-ba.ck.ed.
if

Hunger Poisoned. Famished, unhealthy from want of

sufficient nourishment. In Suffolk, hunger-poisoned is
applied solely to misers.
*Hurdle, Hox, or Huddle. To thread the hind legs of
rabbits [M. C. H. B.].

Hurry. A small load of corn or hay got up in haste, from

apprehension of rain.
*Hutch. (i) A chest [C. S. P.], (2) An iron chest in which
the registers are kept [C. D.].
Hutkin. A
case or sheath for a sore finger. Otherwise
and generally called a Cot. See Hotkin. Hoodkin, a little
hood [Spur.].
Huvel or Hoofel. The feet. Hence Huvelling, leaving dirty

marks. 'I've just cleaned the place, and you've come

'

huvelling about [W. B.].

*Hyrne. A corner, the portion of the village situated in
an angle or corner [E. S. T.].
*Hyter Sprite. A beneficent fairy, not a ghost. Also
'
'

antics, high surprizes [Em.].

Ice Bone. A part of the rump of beef. The Aitch- or

Edge-bone [E. S. T.].
Ichon. Each one. Ex. '
Ichon on'em.'
'
*
*Iller. More, more iller is worse [Arderon].
*Imber. Numbers [Arderon].
Imitate. To attempt, to endeavour, to make as if. Ex.
A child or a sick person imitated to walk, or to do

something else, which he proves unable to accomplish.

1 10 Imp Jag
*Imp. A child. Ex. 'I was afraid the poor imp would
have been frizzled.'
*Inards. Inwards, entrails, the inward part [M. C. H. B.].
Inder. A great number or quantity of valuable things.
Ex. '
He is worth an inder of money.' India 1

Indifferent. Not merely middling, neuter, neither good

nor bad, but positively bad.
*Ing. A common pasture or meadow [Ray].
*Ingain. Profit in buying and selling [W. B.].
*In general. Generally, in a general way [M. C. H. B.].

*Innocent. Rather half-witted, not by any means the same

as harmless e. g. He 's a rare simple innocent.'
'

Inward-maid. The housemaid in a farm-house, who has

no work in the dairy, &c.
Iron-sided. Hardy, rough, unmanageable. A boy who
fears nobody, and plays all sorts of mischievous tricks,
is called an iron-sided dog.

*Ivory. Ivy (N. Ess.) [C. I).].

*Jack. A farthing [Johnson].

*Jack-o'lantern. Ignis fatuus, Will-o'-the-wisp. One
seen at East Ruston, 1890. Also called lantern-man
[M. C. H. B.].
*Jacky Breezer. (i) A dragon-fly [Spur.]. (2) More
usually Tom Breezer. plural Breezes [M. C. H. B.].
* Jacob. A small frog [C. S. P.].
Jade, (i) A horse. We do not always use it in a con-

temptuous sense, as it is in general use. (2) A horse

that will not work well up to the collar [M. C. H. B.].

*Jaffling. Jiffling.

Jag. An indefinite quantity, but less than a load, of hay

or corn in the straw. Johnson says '
a quantity of hay
or corn in the straw, or thorns, faggots, &c., any of which
 Jam Jibbet 1 1 1

isthree courses upon a waggon and topping up. As

Major Moor observes, a jag and a bargain are as one.'
And as to the meaning (of this sentence) it's what you
please [W. R.].
*Jam. Of clay. Vide Webster [H. B.].
Jamb, (i) A mass of masonry in a building, or of stone
or other mineral in a quarry or pit, standing upright,
and more or less distinct from neighbouring or adjoining
parts. (2) To squeeze or to walk, e. g. Some one has
been jambing here afore us = Some one has walked on
these ronds before us, looking for snipe. (Jacks lay till
'
you almost jamb on to them.) (3) To jamb the ronds,' to
hunt them for eggs or snipe, &c. [M. C. H. B.].
Jammock. (i) To beat, squeeze, crush, pummel, or trample
into a soft mass. Intens. of Jam. (2) A soft, pulpy
substance.
*Jannock. (i) Fair, honourable, or straightforward [W. R.].
(2) A cake baked on the hearth [Spur.].
Jatter. (i) To split into shivers. (2) To jolt [Johnson].
*Jaffle. an indecent or malicious charac-
Idle discourse of
ter [E. S. T.]. Sed quaere. See Jiffling.
Jay-fulfer or Felt. The fieldfare (8. pttaris) [M. C. H. B.].
*Jeldered up. Severely bruised [Johnson].
Jeroboam. A
capacious bowl or goblet, otherwise and more
generally called a Joram.
Jet. (i) A
very large ladle to empty a cistern. (2) To jet,
to take out with a jet [F. J. B.].

Jib. The under lip. Of a whimpering child it is said

'
he
hangs hisyifr.'

Jibbet. To put a toad

or a hedgehog to a cruel death, by

placing it on one end of a balanced plank, and striking

the other smartly, so as to send the poor animal high
into the air, and of course to kill it by the fall. In some
counties it is called Pillippmg.
112 Jibby Jogging
Jibby. A frisky, g-adding, flaunting wench, full of
fantas-
tical and affected airs, and dressed in flashy finery.

Jibby Horse. A showman's horse decorated with parti-

coloured trappings, plumes, streamers, &c. It is some-
times transferred to a human subject.
* To make a fool of, to turn, nautically of the
Jibe, Gibe.
boat-sail or bowsprit [M. C. H. B.].
*Jib Fork. A two-pronged fork of the length used in
harvest [Johnson].

*Jiccop. To move or disturb a seat [G. E.].

*Jiffling. Fidgety [W. R.].

Jiggs. Small dregs or sediment, as in a pot of coffee or
a bottle of physic [M. S.].

Jig-by-jowl. Phr., close together. Apparently a corruption

of a phrase more general, '
Cheek-by-jowl.' But Jun.
admits, and we use it.

Jill-hooter, Jilly-hooter. An owl. Jill is a female name,

formerly very common. Madge is another familiar ap-
pellative of the same animal. Billy-wix is a third, which
should belong to the male bird ;
but it does not appear
that difference of sex is at all regarded.

Jill or Jim. A machine with two wheels for carrying tim-

ber ; otherwise, and in Norfolk most frequently, called
a Jill. The Drug, q. v., is in many parts called a Timber-
jill [a drug is a two- wheeled carriage]. See Gill.

*Jimmer Hinges. Leathern hinges [C. W. B.].

*Jip. To trick, cheat, or impose upon [Johnson],

*Joalies. Young herrings [E. F. G.].
Joan's Silver Pin. A single article of finery, produced
occasionally and ostentatiously, among dirt and sluttery.
*Job. To peck with a sharp strong beak [Pr. Pa.].
Jogging. A protuberance in sawn wood, probably where
 Joist Jottee 113

the saw was joggled and thrown out of the line, by

a knot or some accident.
*Joist. Joist cattle are those of other persons taken in to

pasture [Cull. Haw.]. Possibly a corruption of Agist

[W. K].
*Joll. (i) To peck [W. G. W.]. (2) To jolt.
'
e
*Jollick, or Jonnick. Right. That 's not [John-
jollick
son]. This is another example of the interchanging of
U for nn. No doubt it is the same word as Jannock, q. v.

*Jolly. A jolly man=a stout man [F. J. B.].

Joram. Br., &c. Vide Jeroboam.
Joseph. A very old-fashioned riding-coat for women,
scarcely now to be seen or heard of.

Joss, Jostle. To make room by standing or sitting close.

Jostling Block, Jossing Block. A

horse-block, to which
the horse must be made to joss as close as possible, and
to stand quite still for the convenience of mounting.
Jot. Plump, downright. Ex. '
He came down jot upon
his rump.' Also for the paunch ;
sometimes the breech
[Spur.].
Jot, Jotter. To jolt roughly. The latter, indeed, is
somewhat stronger than the former, and a sort of
frequentative.
Jot, Jot-cart, is properly a cart of which the body is set

flat, or jot, on the axle, in immediate contact, without

anything to give it play. It is used, however, with some
latitude, for any cart of very rough motion.

Jot-gut. The intestinum rectum, in which the largest and

finest hog's puddings are made.
Jottee. A delicate dimin. or softening of jot, or jot-cart,

meaning a vehicle approaching to a gig, or park chair,

as nearly as the statutable price of a taxed cart will
admit.
i
114 Jounce Ka-there
Jounce. To bounce, thump, and jolt, as rough riders are
wont to do.

Journey. The time a man is at plough, generally about

six hours. Properly it means a day's work. Sometimes,
however, the plough is at work nine hours, and then two
journeys in the day are taken.
Jower. To exhaust with fatigue, as from a day's labour,
or travel. Ex. She came home right on jowered out.'
'

*Jowiney. The time a man is at plough [Pr. Pa.].

Jowl, (i) To peck
furiously, or strike hard with a point-
less instrument. 'Them old crows hev been rarely a
'

jowlin o' them turnips [Em.]. To strike with a sharp

one is to job, q. v. (2) The head or skull [Spur.].
Jub. The slow heavy trot of a sluggish horse [M. S.].

Jug. To squat, and nestle close together, as partridges at

night.
Julk. To give a sound like liquor shaken in a cask not

quite full. Otherwise yulk. No doubt a word fabricated

from sound.
Jum. A sudden from encountering an
jolt or concussion,
obstacle unnoticed instance, driving a carriage
; for

against a large stone, or taking a post in brisk motion ;

also a heavy loss in cattle or money [Johnson].

*
Jumper, Dopper or Dopier. A thick jersey [M. C. H. B.].
*Jump it. To understand it
[Johnson].

*Kane. Water at low tide between the outer sandbank

'
and the beach. I shall bathe in the kane [B. N". 26].
'

*Karma. Mother,' a fungoid growth on jam, vinegar, &c.

'

[M. C. H. B.].

*Ka-there, or Kith-there, or Karinder. An expression

calling or requiring the attention of others to something,
e.g.' Ka there, if hare beent John Thompson cum to that
far' [Johnson].
 Kedge Kelks 115

Kedge. Brisk, active. This is Sir Thomas Browne's

spelling. We pronounce it Kidge or Kidgy, and apply

it exclusively, or nearly so, to hale and cheerful old
persons.
*Keel. A chiefly employed on the Yare
kind of boat
[Spur.]. Compare the Newcastle keels. Now very rare ;

they differ from wherries by their mast being stepped

amidships [W. E.].
*Keeler. A shallow tub. See Killer.

Keep, (i) To associate, to keep company with. (2) To

lodge, to keep residence, or abode. For this we have
academical authority. Inquire of anybody you meet in
the court of a college at Cambridge your way to Mr. A.'B
room, you will be told that he keeps on such a staircase,
up so many pairs of stairs, doors to the right or left. (3)
To persevere [Spur.].
Keep. Food for cattle. Ex. I am
'
short of keep for my
cows.'

Keeping-room. The general sitting-room of the family, the

common parlour.

*Keesle, or Schisle. A boy's taw, formed from a schistus

kind of stone found in the clay [Johnson]. Boys talk of
chiselling at marbles, by which they mean swindling,
taking unfair advantage. It is frequently heard in that
sense.
'
You are an old chiseller.'
'
He chiselled me out
'

of it
[A. E. E.].
Kell. (i) The omentum or caul of a slaughtered beast.

(2) A kiln [Spur.].

Kelter. (i) Condition ;

order. Ex. 'My farm is in pretty

good kelter.'
'
The mauther have slumped into the
slush,
and is in a nasty forlorn kelter.' (2) Applied to a plough ;

which is said to kelter well or ill, as it works in a slope

or curvature.
*Kelks. The testicles.
I 2
116 Kemp Kidge
Kemp. [Sir Thomas Browne.] Vide Camp.

*Kench, or Kinch. The part of a haystack in use or cutting

down. Shall I begin another cut of the stack, Sir, the
'

'

last kinch is getting very low [Johnson].

Kernel. A grain. Ex. '

A kernel of wheat '

;
'
a kernel of
salt.'

Kett. Carrion. c
A kettycur' is a nasty stinking fellow.
Our word includes any kind of garbage.

Kett Pole. A carrion pole.

Key Beer. Beer of the better sort, kept under lock and
key ;
or having a lock-cock in the cask.

Kibbage. Small refuse and rubbish ;

riff-raff.

*Kibe. Quasi chilblain, discharging matter.

Kick. (
i
)
A novelty ;
a dash. It seems an abbreviation of
kick-shaw, or kick-shoe. (2) The extreme of fashion, all '

upon kick, like Tom Turner's wife's coffin

'

[E. S. T.].
Kickel. A sort of flat cake with sugar and currants strewn
on the top. Coquille. [Kichell, B. N. 78.]

Kicky. Showy.
*Kid-faggot. A
double faggot, one tied with a withe at
each end [E. S. T.].

Kiddier, Kidger. One who buys up fowls, eggs, pork, &c.,

at farmhouses, or rears them himself, and carries them to
market. He is the same person with Ray's Cadger.
[Kiderer, B. N. 92.]
*Kidder. This has much the meaning of the French
charcutier in the Norman province. A pork-butcher,
sausage-maker, a low dealer in poultry and provisions.
Kiddle, (i) To embrace, caress, fondle. A more delicate
form of Cuddle, q. v. (2) Synonymous with Higgle in the
second sense, q.v.

*Kidge. See Kedge.

 Killer Kink 117

Killer. A
shallow tub, particularly a wash-tub. Cooler ("?)
[W. B.]. Often Keeler [A. E. E.].
Kilver. A mincing pronunciation of Culver, q. v.

^Kinder. Somewhat, in a slight degree [Spur.]. Clearly

the origin of the American expression [W. B.]. See
Kind o'.

Kindful, Kindly. In the same sense which that word bears

in the Litany '
The kindly fruits of the earth.' The
fruits in their several kinds.

*Kinderlike. As it were, quasi. Saxon kyndelich [Spur.].

^Kindle. A rising of the wind [Johnson].
*Kindling. Firewood [M. C. H. B.].
Kind o'. In a manner, as it were a sort of qualifying ;

expression; often, as if on recollection of having gone

too far, thrown in at the end of the sentence or clause ;

but its place is of no importance, it makes equally good

grammar anywhere. Ex. He fared kind o' sorry to hear
'

it.' She made game on it, kind o'.' It was a kind of

'

sorrow or of merriment which was shown. This no

doubt is the American kinder,' imported by our East
'

Anglian colonists [W. B.]. See Kinder. Sometimes

Kindly [Em.].
Kiner. A flannel wrapper used by nurses for infant children,
to cover a certain part of their bodies.

King Harry. A popular name of two common singing-

birds, King Harry redcap
(i) is the goldfinch, the
Fringilla carduelis, Lin. (2) King Harry blackcap is
the bird which is commonly called simply the blackcap,
Motacilla atricapilla, Lin.

*Kings and Queens. Herrings with coloured fins [M.C.H.B.].

Kink, (i) To be entangled, set fast, or stopped. The thread
or yarn kinks in winding. Bailey uses the same verb to

express the stoppage of breath in children in violent fits

of crying or coughing. (2) To be disentangled, to be set
T18 Kinsman Risk
free. This is not a solitary instance of the same word
being made to express opposite or correlative ideas. But
we are concerned with no other at present. We use it
in both senses, of stoppage and of relief. Of the first an
instance has been given of the second, we have more
;

than one equally common. In an alarming fit of sick-

ness, whether cough or anything else, when slight but

progressive symptoms of amendment appear, it is prog-

nosticated that the patient will kink up again.'
'
When
the seems extinct, a latent spark may remain which
fire

will kink up,' not by stirring or blowing the coals, but

'

by laying the poker over them, and setting up the fire

shovel in front, in other words, by having patience
with it.

Kinsman, Kinswoman. Not a relation in general, but a

cousin german in particular. Ex. What relation is
'

Tom Smith to you, good woman ?

'

He is my kinsman, '

Sir.' Sometimes, indeed, it is, 'my own cousin.' In

Suffolk there is a different usage of the word. There
a nephew is generally called kinsman.

*Kip. The skin of a calf after it is weaned, before it arrives

at a year old [Johnson].

Kiplin. The palates, gullets, sounds, or other perishable

parts of the cod-fish, cured separately from the body,
which they would taint and putrefy. The ruddy-hard
parts obviously [W. R.].

*Kirt. An abbreviation of Kirtle ;

in Suffolk sometimes
Skirt [Spur.].

Kirtle. An outer petticoat to protect the other garments

from dust, &c., in riding. Such was our sense of the
word, which is scarcely, if ever, heard of now that pillions
are so gone out of use.

Kisk. Anything perfectly dry and husky. Johnson has

'
the act or noise of pigs in eating peas or barley when
 Kiss-me-at-the-garden-gate Kitty Witch 119

thrown among straw.' Which seems to me very absurd

[W.R.].
Kiss-me-at-the-garden-gate. A
fanciful yet rather a pretty
name of the several beautiful varieties of the garden pansy,
or Viola tricolor, Lin.

*Kiss-me-quick. The curl of hair growing on a woman's

head at the nape of the neck [M. C. H. B.].
*Kisses. The pansy, heartsease [Spur.].
*Kissey. As adj. thirsty, dry [W. B.].
^Kissing. In fashion whenever you can find a piece of furze
in bloom [M.C.H.B.].
Kit. (i) A wooden utensil, with two handles, and a cover
fitted in between them, as a flour kit, a salt kit, &c.

Sometimes, but less properly, (2) the flesh of animals for

dogs [Johnson]. Often spelt Kid [A. E. B,.].
Kit Cat. A game played by three or more players [M. S.].
The cat is shaped like a double cone. Tip Cat [W. R.].
Kit-cat Roll. A bellied roller for land, the horse going in
the furrow, and the roller acting on the sloping surface of
the ridge on each side.

Kitling. A young cat or kitten.

Kittle, (i) To tickle. (2) Uncertain. '

Kittlish weather.'

(3) To bring forth young, especially of rabbits [G. J. C.].

Kitty Witch, (i )
A small species of crab on our coasts, with
fringed claws. (2) A species of seafowl, probably more
than one, certainly including that which is called by
Pennant the kitty-wake. (3) A female spectre, arrayed in
white, of course. (4) A woman dressed in a grotesque
and frightful manner ;
otherwise called a kitch witch,
probably for the sake of a jingle. It was customary,
many years ago, at Yarmouth, for women of the lowest
order to go in troops from house to house to levy con-
tributions at some season of the year, and on some
pretence, which nobody now seems to recollect, having
120 Kiver Knubble
men's shirts over their own apparel and their faces smeared
with blood. These hideous beldames have long discon-
tinued their perambulations, but, in memory of them, one
of the many rows in that town is called Kitty Witch Row.
(5) A buffoon [Arderon].
Kiver. To cover.

Knacker, (i) A saddler and harness-maker. (2) A hus-

band who is not able to procreate. Also called a Burglar
[Johnson].
Knacker's Brandy. A sound strappado.

*Knape or Knave. The frame which contains the straw

which is carried up the ladder to the thatcher [Johnson].
Knap Knees. Knock-knees. Knap is a gentle knock.
Also used thus, My knees knapped together = knocked
' '

together.
Knobble Tree. The head. It is of course implied that
the head is wooden. See Knutable.
*Knob-stock Wedding. A compulsory marriage owing to
the interference of the parish officer, the lady being in
the family way and likely to be actually chargeable
[Johnson]. The same as Hop-pole Wedding [W. R.].

Knock. To stir or to work briskly. Ex. '

He came
knocking along the road in a great hurry.'
*Knock Salt. A great heavy stupid awkward fellow
[Johnson].
Knoppit. ( i ) A little clod ; or, indeed, a small lump of
almost anything. Dimin. of Knop or Knob. (2) A child
[Spur.].
'
Know.. Knowledge. Ex. Poor fellow ! he has but little

My know
l
know.' is better than yow thowt.'

Knub. A knob.
Knubble. (i) A small knob, as at the end of a walking-
stick, a poker, the handle of a door, &c. (2) To handle
 Laash Laldruin 121

clumsily; using thumbs and knuckles, as in kneading

dough. See Knobble.

*Laash or Leaish. Wet, cold, chilly, uncomfortable [Spur.].

Spurdens regards this word as the shibboleth of East
Norfolk all these vowels to be distinctly separately
;

sounded so as to leave the word a monosyllable. Vide

Leasty.

*Lab Dab. A profuse perspiration with a filthy habit.

'
'
The wench is all of a lab dab [Johnson].

Lace. To beat. In Lowl. Sc. and N. E. it still means also

to mix with spirits [Jam., Br.].
Laced. Mutton. A prostitute.
*Lack. (i) To lack anything is to have an indifferent

opinion of it [Johnson]. (2) A

goose is said to lack or
lag to her nest from repeatedly coming to it and con-
tinuing some time. Said to be a sign of her desiring
incubation [Johnson].

Ladle. To dawdle.
Lad's Love. The herb southernwood, Artemisia abro-
tanutn, Lin. Boy's Love [Jen.].
*Lafter or Latter. The number of eggs laid by a fowl
before she sits [Johnson].

Lagarag. A lazy fellow who will do no more work than

he is forced to.

*Lagtail. A loiterer [Johnson].

*Laid. (i)
'
The river is laid' = ihe> river is frozen at the
bottom [Arderon and also E. S. T.]. Marshall, however,
says just or slightly frozen. (2) She is laid, i. e. lying
down [C. S. P.], [in the day time, M.C. H. B.]. (3) Frozen
at the top, not bottom. Also Just Set [M. C. H. B.]. (4)
Gone to bed [W. R.]
Laldrum. An egregious simpleton,
'
a fool and a half.'
122 Lall Lanner

Certainly it implies something more than an ordinary

every-day fool.

Lall. (i) Perhaps a contraction of

To lounge, to loiter.

Ladle, q. v. Perhaps another form of Loll. (2) A lounger,

with the idea of silliness annexed. Perhaps a familiar
abbreviation of Laldrum.
Lam. To beat unmercifully.
Lamb Storms. Stormy weather near the vernal equinox,
often hurtful to the new-yeaned lambs.
*Lamb, Summer Lamb. The common snipe (Scolopax
gallinago), from the noise it makes lambing in spring

[M. C. H. B.].
*Lamming for eels. Thrashing the water to make the eels

go into a net [W. R.].

Lammock. (i) To lounge with such an excess of laziness
as if it were actual lameness [Forby]. (2) A large quan-
tity.
'
A good tidy lammock of grass '

[Johnson].
*Lam Net. A net into which fish are driven by beating
' '
the water [E. S. T.]. Lamming for eels [W. R.].
*Lamper along, to. To take big strides [B. N. 34].
Lamper Eel. The lamprey.
*Lampit. A field name in N. Ess. = Loampit, says Mr. H.
Round [C. D.].
They was
'
*Lanarkin. lanarkin' an' golderin' together,'
1 larking [Em.].
*Landstroke. The iron which is fixed on the side of the
head of the plough [Johnson],
Land Whin. The rest-harrow, Ononis spinosa, Lin.
Langle. To saunter slowly, as if it were difficult to advance
one foot before the other.
Lanner, Lanyer. The lash of a whip. In Suffolk, 'the
'

lanner is only used for the leathern lash, and does not
include the whipcord attached to it
[Forby]. Johnson
has it Lanierd.
 Lantern-man Latch 123

*Lantern-man. Ignis fatuus, Syleham Lights [M. C. H. B.].

'

Lap. Thin broth or porridge, weak tea, &c.

'
Poor lap !

*Lape. A large skep or basket used in a farmyard for

carrying chaff or colder [Johnson].
Lap-sided. Deformed on one side, as if the protuberance
were caused by wrapping or lapping folds of cloth over
the part. [Lopsided.]
Largess. A When they have
gift to reapers in harvest.
'

received they shout

it, thrice the words halloo largess '

an obvious corruption of the words, d la largesse,' a very

l

ancient form of soliciting bounty from the great, not of

thanking them for it. But whatever may be the irregu-
larity in performing the ceremony, or the ignorance of
the performers, it is unquestionably a remnant of high
'
feudal antiquity. It is called hallowing a largess,'
and generally a harsh and discordant yell, but might
is

be much otherwise if the fellows had good ears and tune-

able voices. Indeed, sometimes, when mellowed by dis-
'

tance, it may be reckoned among pleasing rural sounds.'

Larrup. To beat.

Lash, Lashy. (i) Soft and watery, as applied to fruits, &c.

See Laash. (2) Also cold and raw as applied to weather
[E. S. T.].
Lash Egg. An egg without a full-formed shell, covered
only with a tough film.
*Last. (i) Of corn, in Norfolk was twenty-one coombs.
(2) Of herrings, ten thousand [E. F. G.]. (3) Thirteen
thousand two hundred. Six score and twelve go to a
hundred herring [M. C. H. B.].
*'
Lat, dat [dirt], and lumber
'
= great nonsense [Em.].
Latch, (i) To catch what falls; also to alight. Ex. 'He
(2) To throw from below
will always latch on his legs.'
so as to lie or lodge upon some projection or branch above

[Spur.]. (3) A
thong of leather [Spur.]. (4) string of A
anything, e. g. a latch of links = a string of sausages.
124 Latch-on Lay
Latch-on. To put more water on the mash when the
wort has run off.

Latch Pan. The pan placed under the joint while it is

roasting, to latch the dripping.

*Latch of Links. A string of sausages. Johnson says a
latch is the number contained in a skin or hide, but this
seems wrong.
'
*Lather. To flog or pay.
'
Yer father '11 lather you
[M. C. H. B.].
*Latten, We do not mean any mixed metal, but give the
name to common tin plate.

Latter. The number of eggs a hen lays before she begins to

sit. We do not talk of setting her upon her latter, but
upon a Clutch of eggs, generally thirteen or fifteen, but
always an odd number for luck's sake.
Laugh and lay down. A childish game at cards, in which
the player, who holds a certain combination of cards,
lays them down on the table and is supposed to laugh at
his success in winning the stake.
Launch. A long stride (diphth. pron. broad).
'
*Law. '
To follow the law on yer is to '
pull yer,' to follow
it
up, or pull you up before the magistrates to prosecute

[M. C. H. B.].
*Law or Layer. Young plants, such as whitethorn, crab,
and brier [Johnson].

Lawnd. A lawn.
Lay. (i) A very large pond. Seemingly connected with
Lake. Always lays in the plural ponds in the midst of
;

copse and timber [Spur.]. (2) Pools of sea water left

along the beach at the ebb of the tide [E. S. T.].

Lay. (i) To intend, to lay out, to lay a plan. Ex. '
I lay
to plough for turnips to-morrow.' (2) Gain or profit.
'
What sort of a lay did you make of him ?
'

[Johnson],
 Layer Locking Time 125

*Layer. Arable land in grass and clover [H. B.].

Layer of Wind. A dead calm in which the miller cannot
grind.
Layer Over, (i) A gentle term for some instrument of
chastisement. See N. and Q. 2nd Ser. vii. p. 38. (2)
A meddler [E. S. T.].
*Lay on to. To beat, to lay the hand or stick on
[M. C. H. B.].

*Lay-out. Of a ferret when on heat [M. C. H. B.].

Laze. To be
lazy. In
fact, the adjective seems derived
from the verb ; not the verb from the adjective.
*Lazy-bed. A system of potato-planting [M. C. H. B.].
Lea. Forty threads of hemp yarn [Forby]. (2) Eighty
(i)
yards of yarn [Johnson].
*Leach. A perforated tub used for making lye from wood
ashes [Spur.].
*Lead. '
Star leading the moon.' When the evening star
is in front of the moon, that is on the right-hand side,
or west of it, a sign of bad weather [M. C. H. B.].
*Leaders. Sinews [M. C. H. B.].
*Leads. Pencils. Cedar as opposed to slate [M. C. H. B.].
Learn. To teach. Pronounced larn.' I '11 larn you tew' '

be a hedgepig,' as a keeper once said when he shot

a hedgehog [W. R.].
*Lease. To glean, Suff.
*Leastways. Leastwise, at least [M. C. H. B.].
Leasty. Dull, wet, and dirty ; applied to weather. Vide
Laash or Leaish.
*Leave, Lief. As lief. 'I had as lief have one as the
other.' I would just as soon have one as the other
[M. C. H. B.].

Lacking Time. Showery weather, rain with short intervals

'
'
of sunshine. This is a lecking time for hay [Johnson].
126 Leek on Levenses
Leek on. (i) To put water on [Johnson]. (2) To add
more liquor, as in brewing [Marshall].
Lection. In election, in likelihood. Ex. '
'Tis 'lection to
rain.' The phrase in proper form is very common.
Ledge. A bar of a gate or stile, of a chair, table, &c.

*Ledged. The tool used by thatchers for driving or clean-

ing reed [Johnson].

Led Will. An odd, ungrammatical person. It means '
led-

by will,' i. e. by a
will-o'-the-wisp, and it is meta-
phorically applied to one who is in any way puzzled
and bewildered by following false lights.

*Ledwilled. Bewildered [N. and Q.].

*Leech. Medicus ;
as in horse leech, cow leech, &c. [Spur.].

*Leer. To grin, or sneer, or look with eager eye [M. C. H. B.].

*Leet. (i) A meeting of three cross-roads as three &-leet.'
'

(2) A place where

three cross- ways meet [E. S. T.]. In

Surrey this would be a Three went way. Was the

village court the court leet was held at the cross-roads ?
:

[W. R.].
^Length of foot. He has got the length of yer foot = He
'
'

has measured and reckoned you up, and knows how far
he can trust you or presume upon you [M. C. H. B.].
*Length of tongue. To give one the length of your tongue,
to slang [M. C. H. B.].

Lep, Lepe, Lip. A large deep basket, e.

g. a seed-lip.
'

*Lessest. For '

least [Spur.].
*Lether or Latther. A ladder [B. N. 63].
*Let out. To scold [Em.].

Level. To assess. Ex. I will pay whatever you level

'

upon me/ It is implied in the very word that the assess-

ment is a fair and equal one.
*Levenses. The reapers' repast at eleven o'clock [Spur.].
See Noonings.
 Lewer Lig 127

Lewer, Lower. A lever. The first an obvious variation

of thatword the second a very common change of the
;

diphthongs ew and ow.

Lick-up, (i) A miserably small pittance of anything, as if

itwere no more than the cat can take up by one stroke

of her tongue. (2) Leavings, orts [M. C. H. B.].
'

*Lie. Sleep.
'
Where does he lie to-night? [C. S. P.].

*Lie-by-the-wall. To bo dead and laid out [C. S. P.].

*Liefer. Sooner, rather [M. C. H. B.].

Lie Latch. A wooden wood ashes, on
vessel filled with
which water poured, and the
is lye which runs through
holes in the bottom is caught or latched in another
vessel below. Some call it a letch.

Lift. A sort of coarse rough gate of sawn wood, not hung,

but driven into the ground by pointed stakes, like a
hurdle, used for the same purposes of sub -dividing lands,
stopping gaps in fences, &c., and deriving its name from
the necessity of lifting it up for the purpose of passing
through. In Suffolk, however, a lift differs from a gate
principally in not being hung on hinges, but in having
the projecting ends of the back and lower bar let in to
mortice holes in the posts, into and out of which it must
be lifted.

*Lig. To lie [Spur, and W. K.].

Ligger. ( )
A line with a float and bait for catching pike,
i

thrown into the water and allowed to lie there some

time before it is (2) examined.
plank bridge over a A
ditch [W. K.]. (3) pole nailed A
horizontally from stud
to stud to support the splints before receiving a coat of

clay or loam, the same as Bizzor [Johnson].

Lig, Liggle. To carry something too heavy to be carried

with ease, as a child liggles a puppy about. Both the
words are dimin. of lug.
328 Light Linger

*Light. To shut up a light in a cellar, e.

g. is a sign of
a death in the house [M. C. H. B.].

*Lights. The lungs [M. C. H. B.].

Light-timbered. Light limbed, active and alert.

Like. One mode of forming adjectives in the Saxon lan-
guage was by adding lie or lice to substantives or verbs.
In English this termination is softened into ly; often,
but not always, conveying the original idea of likeness.
To effect this, we are in the habit of annexing our own
word like in propria forma, not so as to form one com-
pound word, nor to affect any word, verb, or substantive
in particular, but the whole phrase or clause in which
either occurs. Ex. She was in a passion like.' ' She
'

fare to be angry like.'

l
She scolded me like' The usage
may be said to be awkward enough, but it is after the

antique. means, 'in a manner,' or 'as it were.' It

It

may be added that in our use of the common anomalous

colloquial phrase,
'
had like,' we generally use the Saxon
word pure and unchanged. Ex. He had lie to have
'

broken his head.'

Like of. (i) To approve. Ex. '

My master will not like of it.'

'

(2)
'
The likes of us people of our station [M.C.H.B.].
Limb. A determined sensualist [a limb of the devil] one
;

who eats, drinks, &c., with peculiar glee and zest.

Limmock. Intens. of Limp, q. v.

Limp, Limpsy. (i) Flaccid. Apparently a contraction

of Limber. (2) A loose lazy fellow is said to be a limpsy

rascal [Johnson].

*Lim to. To suck [B. N. 3].

Line. To beat; from the implement of chastisement,

a rope's end.
'

*Linger. To long after. Sick people '

linger for food they

fancy [C. S. P.].
 Link Live under 129

Link. A sausage. From the usual mode of forming

sausages, it should seem that a single one was only half
a link of the savoury hain. We
call two (several ?)

together a Latch of Links. In some other counties a far

more correct expression is used,
'
a link of sausages.'
*Link Hides. Sausage skins, the intestines of a pig pre-

pared and stuffed [Spur.].

*Link-meat. Mirice-meat. A boy quarrelling with another
was heard to say, 'I '11 cut you into link-we&i' [W. B.].
Link Pin. Why not as good as Linch Pin ?

*Lint. A net [S. Abbs, W. R.].

List or Listly. Quick of hearing. Ex. '
I am very listly
of hearing.' Sometimes Lest.
Listly. Easily, distinctly. Ex. 'I heard it very listly'
Ch. has the verb Lisse, to make easy. This isan adverb,
formed from the participle of that verb.
*Lit. A stain [B. N. 3].

*Lithy. Supple, pliant a merry : Andrew is said to be

'
a 'lithy fullah [Johnson].
*Litter. Fodder, straw or rushes [M. C. H. B.].
*Little-est. Smallest [M. C. H. B].
*Little Shoes, making. Said of a labourer when he has
no regular employment, but only odd days [Em.].
Little Silver. A low price. Ex. The stover in my low '

meadows have been so 'nationally damnified by this

slattering weather (said an old farmer) that 'tw'ont be
worth but little silver.'
*Little Stands. A loke [Johnson].
* The head of the dandelion [Johnson].
Livelong.
Live under. It strongly expresses the close connexion
between landlord and tenant: the latter looking up to
the former as his patron, and being desirous of showing
him every mark of attention and respect, and being
K
1 30 Living Lode
in his turn considered as under protection. I live under
Lord A., Sir B. C., Squire D., are expressions seldom
heard in the present state of things, and never with all

their old meaning.

'

*Living.
'

Very good living, very pleasant living not ;

'
only good pay but nice surroundings. To dream of the
dead is to see the living,' betokens the unexpected meet-
ing of friends or relatives [M. C. H. B.].
*Loaders. Herring of specially beautiful tints [B. N. 77].
Lob. To kick on the seat of honour [Spur.].
Lobcock, Lubbock. A lout, a lubber. Not only a northern
word but an eastern one.
Loblolly. Neither water-gruel nor any particular sea-
faring dish. With us, as in Exmoor, it means ' any odd
mixture of spoon meat/ provided only that it be very
thick. We
have a simile founded upon it, as thick as '

loblolly' Though what loblolly exactly is we do not

pretend to define [J. H. G.].
*Lobspound. To be in any difficulty or perplexed state
[Johnson].
*Lobster. The smallest of the tribe Stoat [J.
H. G.].
*Lock. A bunch [B. N. 40].
*Locked. Cards when faced are said to be locked [Johnson].
Lock Spit. A small cut with a spade to show the direction
in which a piece of land is to be divided by a new fence.
We also commonly narrow
word spade to spid or
the ' '

spit, in talking of the depth to which labourers are

required to dig. Ex. '

Go three spid deep.'
Lode. An artificial watercourse. In the fens in the
south-west angle of Norfolk are several lodes to aid the
drainage ;
as Salter's lode, &c. But the term is not con-
fined to fen drainage. At Fincham, the common water-
course, which intersects the lower part of the parish from
west to east, to the outfall into the river Wissey, is
 Loggats Long 131

called at present, and in all old writings, the lode ditch.

It is often corruptly called the low ditch so easy ;

is it to lose ancient names by confounding them with

more modern and familiar words.
*Loggats. Short sticks used for throwing at a stake in
the game Trunket [M. C. H. B.].
of

Logger. To shake as a wheel which has been loosened,

and does not perform its motion correctly.
Loke. An inclosed footway, a short narrow turn-again
lane [Forby]. Generally a private green road leading
fielden [Spur.]. An inclosed footway, not a driftway
[W. R.]. Johnson says a close or enclosed lane, the
branches forming almost a canopy.
Lollop. To lounge and saunter heavily.
Loll poop. A sluggish sedentary lounger. Literally one
who is sluggish in the stern.
Lolly Sweet. Lusciously sweet, without any flavour to
relieve the sweetness.

Lond. (i) Land in the abstract. Arable, as distinguished

from pasture [Spur.]. (2) A division of an uninclosed
field. Rather, indeed, a subdivision for in the old maps
;

of uninclosed parishes, each field is divided into furlongs,

and each furlong into londs. (3) To clog with mire.
Ex. He came walking over the ploughed field, and was
'

landed up to the knees.'

* Lonesome.
Lonely, applied to people and animals
[M. C. H. B.].
Lone Woman. A woman unmarried, or without a male
protector.
Long, (i) To forward to a distance, from one hand to
another, in succession. (2) Great. Ex. '
He asks a long
price.' (3) to the palate.
Tough Its opposite, short,
means easy to masticate, as pie-crust, &c. (4) To think.
'

Ex. ' I think long to hear from him [W. B.].

K 2
132 Longful Lucam
Longful. Very long ;
full long. Ex. '
He was gone a longful
while.'

*Lookem. A window in an attic or upper room of a house,

generally in the roof [Johnson]. Vid.e Lucam.

*Look over. To forgive [C. D.].
*Loomy. Meat that has got rancid and mouldy [Johnson].
*Loon. The great crested grebe [J. H. G.].
Loop. The part of a pale-fence between one post and
another. Otherwise a length or lift of
paling.
Loose-ended. Lewd. Ex. She is a loose-ended baggage.'
'

Generally used for the opposite of costive [W. R,.].

*Loose twisted. Lewd [Spur.].
Lop. To hang loosely. A lop-eared rabbit,' a rabbit whose
'

ears hang down.

Lope. To take long strides particularly with long legs.

;

*Lopeway. A foot and bridleway not adapted for carriages

[Johnson]. Probably a mispronunciation of Lokeway
[W.R,].
Lopper. To turn sour and coagulate by too long standing.
Loppered milk has been explained du lait pourri.
*Lord. In Suffolk, the labourer who goes foremost through
the harvest [E. S. T.].
Lords and Ladies. The flowering stems of the Arum macu-
latum, Lin.
*Low. A salt lake left by the retiring tide [M. C. H. B.].
*Low. Short of stature [M. C. H. B.].

Lowen. (i) To fall in price. Very analogically opposed

to Heigh'n or Hain, q.v. (2) To depress anything

[Spur.].
*Lower. A lever [Johnson].
Lucam. A window in the roof of a house. Sir Thomas
Browne spells it Leucomb. Vide Lookem. A garret
window [B. N. 84].
 Lucks Lust 133

Lucks. Small portions of wool twisted on the finger of

a spinner at the wheel or distaff. The same word as
Lock, when applied to hair, &c., but in form nearer to
the original.

*Lug. (i) To hang loosely, dangling heavily [Spur.]. (2)

The ear [M. C. H. B.].
Lugsome. Heavy. Either to be borne as a burden, or
when applied to a road, causing a wearisome drag to
cattle.

*Lug Worm. The sand worm used as bait [M. C. H. B.].

'
*Luller. The nightingales luller so, that I cannot get to
'

sleep [M. C. H. B.].

Lumber. Coarse, dirty, or foolish talk.
Lummox. A fat unwieldy person, and very stupid to boot ;

heavy in mind and body, as if made of loam or unctuous

earth. Ex. Look o' yin great lummox, lazing and lollop-
'

ing about.'
Lump, (i) To drub with heavy blows. (2) Lump of fowl,
a large bunch of wild fowl [M. C. H. B.].

Lumps, (i) Bricks of the common length and breadth, but

half as thick again, and harder. (2) Clay lumps, cottages
built of clay [M.C. H. B.].

Lunge. To lean forward, to throw one's whole weight on

anything.
Lunt. Short, crusty, surly in speech or in manners.
Lure. To make a loud and shrill cry. Ex. '

They halloo'd
and lured to one another.' It has no less authority than
that of the great Bacon. It is an old term in falconry,
meaning, not only to hold out an enticement, but to utter
a particular call to bring the hawk back.
'
Lurry. To daub by rolling in mire. Ex. His clothes were
lurried all over.'

Lust. To incline. Metaph. from inclination of mind. Ex.

134 Lute Maid
'
This wall lust o' one side.' B. gives it as a sea term.
'
The ship lusts.'

*Lute. Eent, curved [E. F. G.].

*Luthur. A ladder [Johnson]. I usually note it 'lather
'

[W. B.].

Macaroon [or Macaroony, Spur.], a fop. All sexagenarians

must well remember the time when the jackanapes,
who are now called dandies [mashers], were denominated
macaronies.

*Mackly. Exactly alike, fitting nicely [Pr. Pa.].

Madam. A term of respect to gentlewomen, below lady but

above mistress. In a village, the esquire's wife, if she be
not literally a lady, must have madam prefixed to her
surname. The parson's wife, if he be a doctor, or a man
of considerable preferment and genteel figure, must be
madam too. The wife of the humble vicar, the curate,
the farmer, and the tradesman, must be content with the
style of 'mistress.

Madgetin. The Margaret apple. Margaret being familiarly

reduced to Madge.

*Madgin or Mudgin. The lime and clay rubbish of old

buildings or the refuse of limekilns used for manure

[Spur.].
*Maffle. See Moffle.

Mag. To chatter. It implies somewhat of displeasure, not

amounting to wrath.

Magot. A whimsy, odd fancy, freak, monkey trick.

*Magoting. Pron. marketing [W. B ].

*Maid. The contrivance by which a smith sprinkles water
on the fire. Also an iron (trivet) to be placed on the fire
on which to stand a kettle [Johnson].
 Main Male Pillion 135

Main, (i) That part of the meat which is least dressed.

Ex. Give me a slice in the main.' (2) Very.
'
This is '

'

a main cold place [.5. N. 70].

Make. (
To make count,'
i
)
'
to intend, to reckon upon. Ex.
'
I make count to go to the fair to-morrow.' (2) To make
on, to caress, to
distinguish by particular attention.
(3) To make a hand
on, to waste, to destroy to make ;

a good, bad, or indifferent hand of an undertaking, are

phrases common enough. With us a bad sense is always

understood, when no qualifying epithet is used. Ex. '
He
has 'made a hand of all his property.' '
That dog is mad,
I must make a hand on him.' (4) To make a noise, to
scold, or rate severely. (5) To die on 't, to diemake a
after long sickness or decline. Ex. 'So Will Young is
like to make a die on 't at last.' (6) An instrument of
husbandry with a long handle and a crooked iron at the
end, chiefly used to pull up peas. Tusser calls it a meake.
We pronounce it make, and talk of 'making the crop of
peas. Indeed, every crop, howsoever severed from the
soil, and left upon it to dry, is said to be 'made when it

is in a fit state to be carried.

in this cloudy We say,
'

weather there is no make for the hay,' &c. In Suffolk

the instrument is always called a peas-make. (7) A
short-bladed long-handled scythe, used to cut reeds
[W. Wright's Eastern England, i. p. ico]. (8) To
make as if=to pretend [M. C. H. B.].
'

*Maker. Making. Ex. '

It will be the maker of the boy
[C. S. P.].
Malahack. A word ludicrously fabricated, which means to
cut or carve in an awkward and slovenly manner [Forby].
G. J. C. has malahankjto twist up in an awkward manner
as an eel malahanks a fishing-line.
Malan Tree. The beam across an open chimney, in front
of which the mantelpiece or shelf is fixed.

Male Pillion. A stuffed leathern cushion to carry luggage

136 Malkin March Bird
upon, behind a servant attending his master on a journey.
A mode of travelling and of conveyance gone out of use
in our own times, since the universal adoption of gigs,
whiskies, tilburies, dennetts, &c.
*Malkin. See Maukin.
*Malt. Sweat, malting hot [M. C. H. B.].
Malt Cumbs. Malt dust. The little sprouts and roots of
malted barley, withered, turned dry, and separated by the
screen. Qu., are they so called because produced upon
the couchl
*Malted. Heating, perspiring.
*Mam. '
All beat to a mam.' Severely bruised by repeated
blows [Johnson].
Mamble. To eat with seeming indifference as if from want
of appetite or disrelish of food. A
dimin. of Mumble, by
change of vowel.
Mammocks. Leavings, wasted fragments. Ex. Eat up '

your mammocks, child.' Sometimes, indeed, we talk of

tearing a thing all to mammocks'
*

*Mand of Sprats. About a thousand [E. F. G.].

*Mander. To meander, stroll [M. C. H. B.].
*Manment. (N. Ess.)
= manure. '
That field wants plenty
'
of manment [W. B.].
*Manner. So pron.
Earth dug out of ditches and put as
'

dressing on Yard-manure is called muck [W. B.].

fields.
'

*Mantle. A full apron, used when doing any dirty work

[Johnson]. Also Mentle [B. N. 58].
*Mantle Tree. The beam across and in front of the chimney
[Johnson].
Mara-balk, Mere-balk, Mire-balk, Mere. A balk or narrow
slip of iand,unploughed, separating properties in a common
field.

March Bird. A frog. Clearly an error for Marsh Bird.

 Marchpane Matchly 137

Marchpane. A favourite delicacy in old times : the prin-

cipal ingredientswere almonds and sugar, much like our
macaroons, but made broad and flat, cut into slices, and so
distributed to the guests at desserts or tea-tables.

Mardle. (i) A pond near the house, in the yard, or on the

neighbouring green, or by the road side, convenient for
watering cattle. Exactly the Fr. mardelle. (2) A jolly
meeting, compotatio [Spur.]. (3) To gossip [W. R.]. The
last is the only sense in which the word is now used.
Vide Maudle.
*Mardlens. Small duck, a week on ponds. '
That pond's
'

full of mardlens [W. B.].

Mare's Fat. Inula dysentrica, Lin.

Mare's Tails. Long narrow clouds irregularly floating below
the general mass, and of a darker colour reckoned a strong
;

indication of continued rainy weather.

Margent. A margin.
*Marram. See Reed grass.

Marshalsea-money. The county rate.

*Martin Snipe. The green sandpiper [J.

H. G.].
*Marvels. Marbles [Johnson].
*Mash Butes. Marsh boots [Spur.].
*Mash tea. To make tea [C. S. P.].

*Mash Tub. The brew tub [M. C. H. B.].

*Masterful. Spiteful [M.C.H.B.].

*Masterfule. A champion ass [B. B. F.].

*Masterpiece. Anything wonderful or surprising.

*Mat. A tool for stubbing furze, ling, &c. [Johnson].
Mattock 1

Matchly. Exactly alike, fitting nicely. Another of Sir

Thomas Browne's words, happily explained by modern
pronunciation Mackly.
138 Math May-bird
*Math. Mowing [Pr. Pa.].
Matter. Number or
quantity.
'
There was a matter of
'em.' Generally used as expressing something surpris-
ing, wonderful, &c. [Johnson]. 'No matter of a road'
[W.R].
*Mattoek. A kind of pick and adze [G. E.].
*Maudle. To gossip [Spur.]. Vide Mardle.
Maukin. (i) A dirty,
ragged, blowzy wench. A dimin. of
Mary or Moll, anciently written Mall. (2) A scarecrow ;

a figure of shreds and patches, imitating humanity abomin-

ably, in old ragged apparel, male or female, and set up in
a garden or on new-sown land.
Maul. Clayey or marly soil, adhering to the spade or
ploughshare.
Maulmy. Clammy, adhesive, sticking to whatever comes
in contact with it.

^Maundering. Querulous, complaining [Spur.].

Mauther Mawther. A girl.
or When addressing a girl you
say maw [. N. 5].
'
'

Mavis or Mavish. A thrush. The missel thrush or storm

cock is never so called, only the smaller thrush.
*Maw. Abbreviation of Mauther.
*Mawbish. Drunk [Eastern England, i.
p. 97].

Mawskin. The maw of a calf, cleaned and salted, to produce

the liquor called runnett, used for curdling milk.

*Mawth-dog. The phantom of a dog in Norfolk [Pr. Pa.

(Shuck ?W.R)].
* Mawther. See Mauth.

May. The flowers of Crataegus oxyacantha and of Prunus

spinosa, Lin., are respectively called whitethorn and
blackthorn may.

*May-bird. The whimtrel, also called Half-bird and Half-

curlew [J. H. G.].
 May Bush Mentle 139

May Bush. Either of the shrubs which bear those flowers.

'
In Suffolk, however, the '

May bush is always the white-

thorn.

*Mazy. Sickly. Herrings about to shoot the roe are said

to have the maze [E. F. G.].

*Mazzard. The face and jaws [Johnson].

*Meadows. Low, boggy, rotten grass land [Marshall].
Meal. As much milk as is taken from a cow at one
milking.
*Meals. Sand-banks [Pr. Pa.].
Meal's Victuals or Meal's Meat. Food taken at one meal.

Meaning. An intimation hint likelihood slight symp-

; ; ;

tom. Ex. 'I felt some little meaning of fever this

morning.'
*Mear Balk. A ridge left unploughed in a field.

*Measlings. The measles.

*Meat for Manners. To keep a horse belonging to some
one else but to use itas an equivalent for its keep, i. e.
the cost of feeding and tending it [M. C. H. B.].
Meddle and Make. To interfere, to intrude into business
in which one has no particular concern.

*Meesy. Tainted or unsavoury [M. C. H. B.].

Meetinger. A
dissenter [M. C. H. B.].
Mell. To swing or wheel round, to turn anything slowly
about from resemblance to the motion of a mill.
;

Mending the Muck Heap. A coarse vulgar romping bout.

Ifone falls down, others fall over till there is a promis-
cuous heap, of either or of both sexes, tumbling together,
as they would express it themselves, heads and holls,' '

of course indelicately and seldom decently.

Mentel-piece. A cornice or mantle [G. E.].
Mentle. A woman's coarse woollen apron. Apparently
a misapplication of Mantle.
140 Meowun Middle Tree
*Meowun. Mown [Pr. Pa.].
*Mere Balks. Earth or sand boundaries [Stevenson].

*Mergin. The mortar and cement of old buildings [Mar-

shall]. No doubt identical with Meijin, a sort of white

marl, the refuse of a lime-pit [Johnson]. Vide Mudgin.

*Merry-may. The dragon-fly (N. Ess.) [C. D.].

Meslin. A mixture of the flour or meal of different sorts
of grain.

Meslin Bread. Bread made of mixed flour or meal. Fifty

years ago, on the light soils of both our counties, thou-
sands of acres produced only rye, which now yield an
abundance of wheat. At that time the household bread
of the common farm-houses in those districts was made
of rye. Meslin bread, made with equal quantities of
wheat and rye, was for the master's table only.

Mess. A gang, a crew, a scrape. Ex. 'It is well I was

not in the mess.'
*Met. A
customary measure of coals at Lynn, containing
five pecks [Johnson] = two bushels [Further Rep. of
Charity Comni. p. 348].
*Mett. To measure [Spur.].
*Mettock. A mattock [Pr. Pa.].
Meve. To move.
*Mice, plural Meece. Fried mice are given to children for
whooping-cough, and the children are told that they are
little bads,' i. e. birds [M. C. H. B.].
'

Middlestead. The compartment of a barn which contains

the threshing-floor ; generally in the middle of the build-
ing. But the same name serves, should it be, as in small
barns it sometimes is, at one end.

*Middle Tree. The upright shaft to which the doors of

a barn fold, and to which they are made fast and locked
when necessary [Johnson].
 *
Midsummer Men Miniver 141

*Midsummer Men. Mandrake [Johnson].

Mile. An
abbreviated pronunciation of Michael, which
was anciently written MiMl or Mihel.
*Milk. A woman who wishes to wean her child burns her
milk to make the remainder waste. I have heard of
this within the last four years [M. C. H. B.].
Milk Broth. Gruel made with milk, and grits [groats] or
oatmeal.
*Miller or Mellar. A moth [M. C. H. B.].
Million. A pumpkin. So called on account of its many
seeds [M. C. H. B.].
*Milt. The roe of herring. See also Round [W. R.].
Mim. Primly silent ; with lips closed lest a stray word
should escape.
*Minchin or Mingin. A small piece of food [Johnson].

Mind. To notice. Ex. 'I never minded it' =I did not

notice it
[M. C. H. B.].
Mine. This and other possessive pronouns are used with
the ellipsis of house. Ex. 'I wish you would come to
mine! 'I shall go to-morrow to yours.'
'
We are invited
to his.'

Ming. To knead to mix the ingredients of bread. Not

;

in general use in Norfolk, though its dimin. Mingle is,

but very common in Suffolk. A. S. mengean, miscere.
In Suffolk to ming is confined to kneading of dough for
bread [Spur.].
*Minge, or Bange. To drizzle [M. C. H. B.].

*Mingins. Midges, small gnats [A. E. R.].

*Mingle-cum-pur. A mixture of ingredients or matters
unpleasant to the sight as well as the palate [Johnson].
Minifer. The white stoat or ermine.

*Minify. Make less [M. C. H. B.].

*Miniver or Minifer. The weasel [M. C. H. B.].
142 Mink Mocking
Mink, Mint. To attempt, to aim at. It is not the only
instance in which we change the consonants k and t.

Mink-meat. Meat for fowls, &c., minged with bran or

barley-meal. Vide Mung.

Minnock. One who affects much delicacy, to affect deli-
cacy, to play the fribble.
Mint. A great number [Spur.]. Vide Mink.

Misbeholding. Offensive, affronting. It is applied solely

to words. Ex. I never gave her one misbeholding
'

word.'

Miscasualty. An unlucky accident.

*Mischief. To happen with a mischief, to meet with an
accident.

Miscomfortune, Miscomhap. Misfortune, mishap. The in-

sertion of the syllable com is by no means without sig-
nification. Fortune or hap comes amiss.
*Miseraled. Pitied, commiserated [M. C. H. B.].

*Miserated. Rendered miserable [Spur.].

Misery. Acute pain in any part of the body. Misery in

the head means a violent headache.
Mislin-bush. The mistletoe.

*Misvigured. Disfigured [Johnson].

*Mitchpool. A whirlpool [G. E.].
'

*Mob. To rail at. Ex. '

She mobbed me shameful
[C. S. P., C. D.].
*Mob cap or Mop-cap. A tartar, hasty-tongued. Also a
kind of Tam-o'Shanter hat [M. C. H. B.].

Mock-beggar Hall. A house with an inviting external

aspect, but within poor and bare, dirty and disorderly,
and disappointing those who beg alms at the door.
*Mockbrawn. See Brawn.
*Mocking. Alternate.
 Moderate Moreish 143

*Moderate, or Middling. In a fair state of health only

[M. C. H. B.].
Moffle, Muffle. To speak thick and inarticulately. In
East Norfolk more usually pronounced Maffle [E. S. T.].

Moil, To labour. (2) To be fatigued or perplexed in

(i)
body or mind is to be moiled [Johnson].
Moise. (i) To mend, improve, increase, &c. Old Fr. moison^
not moisson. (2) To increase in growth as plants [S r)ur.].
(3) To thrive [Arderon and Marshall].

*Molberries. Skuas (Lesteidae) [M. C. H. B.].

Mold or Molt. A profuse perspiration.
*Moll, Mole. Dead e. ; g.
'
He 's gone to the 'moll country ;'

viz. is dead [H. B.].

*Moll. Straw beaten small [M. C. H. B.].

*Mollifled. Melted [M. C. H. B.].

*Moltlong. A sore or disease between or rather above the

clees of cattle [Johnson].

Molt-water. Clear exudation. Ex. '

His face was all of
a molt-ivater.' The discharge from a blister is likewise
so called.

Month's-mind. An
eager wish or longing. very ancient A
phrase, many centuries old, in very general use in a dif-
ferent sense, perhaps now equally general in this. It
was a feast in memory of the dead, held by surviving
friends at the end of a month from the decease.

*Moon. '
The moon on her back holds water.' A sign of
rain [M. C. H. B.].

*Mopsy. A slatternly mawther.

*Mor. A female [G. E.].
*Morcan. An effigy [G. E.].
*Moreish. Something so good that one would like to have
more [Spur.].
144 Moreover than that Muck
Moreover than that. Besides, over and above that. It is
equivalent to the common phrase, what is more than
'

'

that [T.].

*Morfery. A farmer's cart [G. E.]. A corruption of her-

maphrodite [W. R.].
Mork-shriek. A mockery, a humbug, a foolish old wife's
tale. Literally, it means a shriek in the dark.
Morris, (i) An ancient game in very common modern
use. (2) To go away. 'He is morris'd,' he has taken
French leave [Johnson].
Mort. A very great number or quantity.
Mortal. Very great, exceeding.
Mortation, Mortations. Used as adjectives, and with the
addition of ly, as adverbs. Thus eked out with additional
syllables, they may be
understood as intensives of mortal
and mortally but are very vulgar words, of course.
;

*Morte. A corpse, a dead body [J. H. G.].

Mortice, Morth. A corpse (mors) [M. C. H. B.].
*Mother Home. The keeper at Scoulton, where the little

gulls congregate annually, told me that the mere was

like a mother home to them [W. E,.].

Moultry. Spoken of earth when mellow, and neither too

wet nor too dry [Spur.]. Surely from Mould [W. R.].
Vide Muldry 1
Mouse -hunt. The weasel [J.
H. G.].

Mowing. For mewing. '

It was mowin the bitterest,' said
of a cat [Em.].

Mozy. Shaggy, covered with hair. The clown, who shaves

but once a week, is of course very mozy when he comes
under the barber's hands. It is a common nickname of
itinerant Jews, whether bearded or not. In this case it
may be meant for Moses, as we call a sailor Jack.
*Muck. A term of disparagement, e. g.
'
You young muck
you'[H.B.].
 Muck Grubber Mump 145

Muck Grubber. A hunks ;

a sordid saver of money, who
delves for it, as it were, in the mire.
Muck of Sweat, Muck Wash. Excessive perspiration.
Muck Spout. One who is at once very loquacious and
very foul-mouthed. A most expressive term.
Mucky. Dirty.
*Muddle. Fatigue, not necessarily from drinking. To
muddle time away, muddle about [F. J. B.].
Mudgin. Rubbish of chalk and ruined buildings, mixed
with lumps of clay, broken straw, &c., with which hovels
or low walls for farmyards are sometimes built. See
Mergin.
Muffitee. A covering for the wrists, of cotton, wool, or
fur. A very small muff [Br.].
*Muffle. To bumble the bells [Spur.].
*Muir-heart. Faint-hearted [B. N. 99]. See Mure.
Mulder. To crumble into dust.

*Muldry. Said of earth greatly affected by the frost, finely

pulverized [Johnson]. Vide Moultry?

Mull, (i) Soft, breaking soil ;
'

putris gleba.' The broken

and dusty relics of turf-heaps are called turf 'mull, or
moot. (2) A mill [Spur.]. (3) To make a mess of any
undertaking [C. H. E. W.].
*Muller. Miller [C. S. P.].

Mulligrubs. A fit of the sullens. We do not use it for

gripes.
*Mullok. A medlar [N. and Q. 2nd Ser. ii.
p. 338].

Mully. To make a sort of sullen half-suppressed growling,

like a dog before he barks, or a bull before he roars.

Mulp. To be sulky, to pout.

*Mumby. A kind of pear, a roussellette [Spur.].

Mump. A hop and a jump [Johnson].
1 46 Mumper Naggle
Mumper. A
beggar. Commonly used in Norwich for the
waits [A. E. R.].
Mun? (i) A particle of interrogation, used in much the
same manner as Ah'n? or Anan? low term q. v. (2) A
of address, rather expressive of extreme familiarity than
of contempt, as Jen. explains Min, which is used in the
same manner in the West. Ex. Tis '
all true, mun '

corr. perhaps of Man.

[I never heard
it W. E,.]

Mung. A mixtureof coarse meal with milk or pot liquor

for the food of dogs, pigs, or poultry. From Ming, q. v.
In Norfolk used for barleymeal only [Johnson]. From
Ming, kneaded, mixed up.
*Munge. The human mouth [Johnson].
Mure-hearted. Soft-hearted, meek-spirited, easily moved
to pity or tears.

Mure-mouthed. Using soft words.

'

Mush. Guardedly silent.

'
As mush as a mackerel
[E. S. T.].

*Na (NAY). Offer or refusal.

'
When you want to sell
'

that horse I wish you would give me the na of him

[Johnson].
Nab. To catch, as a bird catches insects in its bill.

Nabbity. Short in stature, but full grown. Said of a dimin-

utive female, A ludicrous derivative from Nab, as if the
little creature might be taken up between one's finger
and thumb.
Nabble. To gnaw. A
stronger word than Nibble, by
change of vowel. Mice nibble and rats nobble our vic-
tuals, and hares and rabbits our growing vegetables.

Nab-nanny. A louse.

*Nacker. A collar or harness maker [Johnson].

Naggle. To pace and toss the head in a stiff and affected
 Name Nay 147

manner, like a young nag bitted and reined to be shewn

at a fair. Particularly applied to affected females.
Name or Half-name. To privately baptize [C.
H. B.].

Nancy. A small lobster.

*Nape. In laying a hedge, to nape is to cut the branch

partly through so that it can be bent down [Johnson].
*Nares. The kidneys of any animal [Johnson]. Vide
Near.

*Narn ? An
interrogation as if to say, ;
*
I did not hear or
understand what you said' [Johnson].
'

*Narnbut Used in the sense of an excuse.

'
I can't, sir ;

'
I narnbut must go to-morrow [Johnson]. Nobbut
[W. K].
Narrow- wriggle. Apparently a corrupt form of Erriwiggle,
q. v.

*Nasen. Plural of nests [Spur.].

*Nasty. Disagreeable, bad tempered, easily offended. Ex.

'
He was very nasty about it
'
=
angry or uncompromising
[M. C. H. B.].
Nation. Very, extreme.
Native. Pronounced na-tive, but as the word is in its
nature an adjective, place must necessarily be understood.
Ex. Norwich is my native.'
'

Nattle. To be bustling and stirring about trifles, or very

busy in doing nothing at all.
Nature, Natural feeling or affection.
(i) simple old A
woman, as a reason for loving one of her daughters more
than the others, said she had more nature in her. (2)
Kinsfolk [Spur.].

Naughty-back. A term of gentle reproof, for the most

part used to children.
Nay, Nay-say. Right or opportunity of refusal. Ex.
'
Give me the nay-say, or the nay, of it
'

means Let me '

L 2 '
148 Nay word Nep
have the first choice, so that I may refuse it, if I think

proper.'

Nayword. (i) A watchword, password, private token.

Whosoever cannot give it must not be admitted or
trusted, as the case may be. (2) A byeword, a laughing-
stock.

Nazle, Nazzle. A ludicrous dim. of ass.

Near. The fat of the kidneys. In Suffolk it is pronounced

'

nyre.' Vide Wares.

Near Now. A little while ago. Pegge imputes this word
to us. But where did he hear it ?
Neck-break, (i) Complete ruin. Ex. 'The fall of prices
was his neck-break.' (2) A game for children, with two
short splines having a third between them, fixed so as
to move in a curious way on a ceiling, which makes the
neck ache to look up long at them [Spur.].

Necking, Neckinger. A cravat or any other covering for

the neck.

Neck Weed. A common ludicrous name of hemp.

*Need. Parturitio [Spur.].

Needle. A
piece of wood put down by the side of a post
to strengthen it, a spur.

Needles, (i) A common weed among corn, so called from

itslong and sharp seeds. (2) Shepherds' needles (Scan-
dix pecten veneris). Shepherds' purse (Capsella bursa
pastoris) [M. C. H. B.].
*Needs' End. In on short commons [Johnson].
difficulties,

*Neesen. Plural of nest [B. N. W. B,.]. 7?

*Nefly. Nephew [JV.
and Q.].
*Neither nigh nor by. Nowhere near, without one's leave
[M. C. H. B.].
Nep, Nip. The herb cat-mint, which being covered with
 Nervish Nigeting 149

a fine white down, has given rise to a common simile,

'
as white as nip.'

Nervish. Affected with weakness of nerves.

*Nesing. For nesting, or rather looking after nests. Boys

said to play truant after birds-nesing [W. B.].

Nest Gulp. The smallest and weakest of a brood of nest-

lings.

*Nestletripe. The worst of a litter of pigs [N. and Q.

2nd Ser. i.
p. 75].

Nettle Springe. What is more generally called Nettle

Rash. A small tingling and itching eruption, looking
and feeling as if it had sprung up from the stinging of
nettles.

*Nettus. A neat-house [Spur.].

Newdicle. Something new, just as a miracle is something
wonderful. A fanciful and licentious fabrication, per-
haps never used at all seriously.

News. To tell as news. Ex. 'It was newsed at market

yesterday.'
*Newsed. Mentioned in the newspaper [M. C. H. B.].

Nexing, Nexting. Very near, coming next to.

Nicked. Exactly hit, in the very nick, at the precise

point. Another of Sir Thomas Browne's words.
Nickled. Beaten down and intricately entangled, as grow-
ing- corn or grass by rain and wind.

Nidget. (i) assist a woman in her travail.

To See Need
= travail. Johnson says it is only used when a woman
gives the help. (2) A cowardly coxcomb or pretender.
See Norfolk Drollery, 1673, I2mo, p. 40.

Niffle, Niffle-naffle. To trifle, to play with one's work

[Forby]. Niffy-naffy [Spur.]. To walk daintily [G. E.].
*Nigeting. To call women to one in labour [Arderon].
150 Nigger Noah's Ark
Nigger, (i) A short half-suppressed neigh ;
and a dimin-
utive of that word. (2) A sneering contemptuous
giggle. Snigger ?

Niggle, (i) To eke out with extreme care. (2) To cheat

'

dexterously. Ex. He niggled him of

'
his money
[Forby]. (3) To cuddle [G. J. C.].

Nildy Wildy. Whether one would or not 3* nilled lie,

willed he.

Nine Holes, (i) A rustic game ; or, indeed, more than one.
In one of them, nine round holes are made in the ground,
and a ball aimed at them from a certain distance. This
is supposed in N. G. to be the modern form (whether
subject to the same rules or not) of Nine men's morris.'
'

We have that game, and it is different, being played on

a flat surface. In our other game of nine-holes, the holes
are made in a board with a number over each, through
one of which the ball is to pass. (2) A fish of the
lamprey kind, not uncommon in our fen ditches.
Ninnie or Ninny. Soft, sawny, silly, or shannie [M.C.H.B.].
Nip. (i) To pinch close in domestic management. (2) A
parsimonious housewife. Br. Nip Cheese. See Nep.
Nipper. A young nipper. Vide Yipper. To nip about.
To stir nimbly, slightly [M. C. H. B.].
Nipt. Pinched. '
He lies nipt,' he is hard run.
Nishany. Very positive [G. E.].
Nisy. A very poor simpleton.
Nittle. Not a corruptionor mispronunciation of little in ;

addition to the import of that word, it includes the idea

of neatness or prettiness.

*Nittled. Entangled [Spur.].

*Noah. The foot or
swing plough [Johnson].
Noah's Ark. A cloud appearing when the sky is for the
must part clear; much resembling, or at least supposed
 Nobbut Nonce 151

to resemble, a large boat turned bottom upwards. It is

considered as a sure prognostic of rain.

Nobbut. Only, or except. It is a confused jumble of none
Ex. keep nobbut two cows.'
'

but, or nothing but. I

1
Mr. Smith is a good master, nobbut he is too strict.'

Nobby. A fool ;
also a very young fool.

Noble. The navel.

*Nocky. A ninny [Spur.].
Nog. A
sort of strong heady ale. It seems to be peculiar
to Norwich. Sir Robert Walpole's predilection to
'
'
Norfolk nog is well known. Nuttall's Diet., edited by
a Norwich man, gives nog, a measure, a little pot.

Nogging. (i) Courses of brickwork, between or below

upright posts or studs in the construction of some walls.
(2) A
small measure or pot of ale [C. H. E. W.].
No'hn. An awkward syncopated form of the word nothing.
Ex. '
I don't know nohn about it.'
[? None.]
Noils. Coarse refuse locks of wool, of which mops and
dwiles are made. Nolled, knotted or matted.
*'Noint. (i) To beat [Johnson]. (2) A rogue, a good-for-
nothing [H. B.].
*
Noising. A term given by Norfolk marshmen to several
species of birds frequenting their native swamps. They
apply it particularly to the song of the Nightjar,
Grasshopper, Reed and Sedge Warblers (E. T. Booth)
[M. C. H. B.].
*Nolt. A dunce or blockhead [Johnson].
No But moderate, nothing to boast of. Ex. The
Matters.
no matters of a shot.'
squire is Is the parson a clever
'

churchman ? No great matters'

'
'

Nonce. '
He did that for the nonce' It always means
something offensive [Forby]. Spurdens disagrees with
'

this, and says, for the nonce or noonst has its natural
'

sense only.
152 Noneare Nothing
Noneare. Not till now [Ray]. Sir Thomas Browne has it

in the sense of presently. The Paston Letters has Won er,

for not earlier or no sooner. G. J. C. says ' a little while.'
Nonekin. Playing nonsensical [G. E.].
*None of both neither. [C. S. P.]
*Nonnecking. Full of apish monkey tricks [Johnson].
Nonnock. ( i ) An idle whim a childish fancy. Connected
;

no doubt with the following. (2) To imitate, to resem-

ble (?) [Johnson]. (3) To play the fool [Spur.].

Nonny. To to play the fool.

trifle ; Chiefly applied to
the fondling and toying of sweethearts, and when the
1

fair one is coy, and cries be quiet,' you shan't, &c.

' '

Nonplunge. Nonplus.
Noonings. The dinners of reapers, &c., still taken at
noon. See Levenses.
*Nope. A bullfinch [Ray.].

*Noppet. A bunch of wood or straw [Johnson].

Nor. Than.
Noration. A loud rumour, or, as it were, a roaring general
publication of what was meant to be kept secret.
*Norbor. Neighbour [M. C. H. B.].
*Norn. Nothing [Spur.].
*Nose. A smell. In use generally of hay, e.
g.
'
That hay
have a buetiful nose' [H. B.].
*Not but what. Nevertheless, or it was not because I did
not [M. C. H. B.].
*N"otch. To dock. 'He notched me half a day,' viz. de-
ducted so much from my wages [W. B.].
Notchet. A something that deserves to be
notable feat,

marked, recorded, noted, notched.

^Noteless. Not taking notice, of old people with failing
powers [W. B.].
'

*Nothing. Not at all, not nearly, e. g.

'
so large 1
'
No-
'

thing so large [H. B.].

 Notified Oiley 153

"^Notified. Noted [Johnson].

Nowl, Noble. The navel. The n&well stone of a circular
staircase would seem to come from this [W. R.].

*Noyles. Refuse wool in combing [Johnson].

Nuddle. To hold down the head. Johnson has Huddling
or Nuzzling, hiding the face in the bosom to prevent

being recognized.
*Nudge. To touch with the elbow [M. C. H. B.].

*Nudging. Cheerless, solitary, living in obscurity from

penurious habits [Johnson].
Num. Stupid. Ex. 'As num as a post.' Compare
Numskull.
*Numbchance. '
She niver offered to do a hand's tu'n, but
'

stood garpin an' starin' just like numbchance [Em.].

Numpost. An imposthume. This dreadful malady in the
head must of course produce stupor. We should say, it
makes a man as num as a post.' [What rubbish
'
! ,

W. R.]
*Nunting. Sullenly angry [Johnson].
Nunty. Very plain and old-fashioned. Applicable to
female dress only. Most probably clumsily formed from
the word nun.

Nut-crome. A stick, with a crook at the end ofit, to pull

the boughs of filberts, or hazels, in order to gather the

fruit.

*0af. Silly, stupid. You silly oaf, or oof [M. C. H. B.].

*Oamy. Light, porous, floury ; spoken of ploughed land

[Marshall]. See Omy.

Oatflight. The chaff of oats, much lighter than that of any

other sort of grain, and which may most properly be said
to fly.

*Oiley. An oiled smock or canvas jersey [M. C. H. B.].

154 Old One-and-thirty
Old. Customary ;
what has commonly happened in like
case [O. E.]. We should say, If we are found out, we
'

shall have old scolding and storming.' There will be '

old cramming and tipling at the hawkey.'

Old Shock. A
mischievous goblin, in the shape of a great
dog, or of a calf, haunting highways and footpaths in the
dark. Those who are so foolhardy as to encounter him,
are sure to be at leastthrown down and severely bruised,
and it is well if they do not get their ancles sprained or
broken of which instances are recorded and believed.
;

See Shuck.
Old Sows. Millepedes, woodlice. Used as pills, they are be-
lieved to have much medicinal virtue in scrofulous cases,

especially if they be gathered from the roots of aromatic

potherbs, mint, marjoram, &c.
Old Witch. The cockchafer.
Olf. Vide Blood-olf and Green-olf [Ulphj. In Suffolk more
often pronounced Olp [Spur.].

*Olget Hole. A hole left in the side of a barn for light

[W. G. W.].
Olland. Arable land which has been laid down in grass
more than two years, q. d. Old Land.
*011ost. For always [W. R].
*Omy Land. light, puffy soil.
Open, Land just brought
into cultivation,and requiring clay or marl to give it
firmness [Johnson]. See Oamy.
*On. (i) Of. 'I ha' read some on it.'
(2) Setten on,
sat upon. Of incubated eggs. (3) Tell on.
'
I ha' never
'

heard tell on [M. C. H. B.].

One-and-thirty. game A much resembling vingt-

at cards,

et-un, but of very venerable antiquity, assuredly, for it

is alluded to by Bishop Latimer in one of his sermons.

It was, many years ago, called one-and-thirty turntail,

and one-and-thirty bone-ace. The first name was from
 One-eyed Steak Over-flush 155

turning up the last-drawn card, to show whether the

number was exactly made up, or exceeded the second, ;

from the fortunate contingency of drawing an ace after

two tens the ace, counted for eleven, made up the
;

game, and was certainly a good ace. It is still played

by children.

*One-eyed Steak. A Yarmouth floater [M. C. H. B.].

'
Onto. Upon. Ex. I will lay my stick onto you' [T.]
*Open. Not spayed, spoken of a heifer or a sow [Marshall].
Opinion. To opine.
*Orts. Leavings, scraps, fragments. Suff. [E. S. T.]. Kings-
ley uses this word for pieces of a broken stick [ W. E,.] .

Bothersome. Some other [N. and Q.].

Out Holl. To scour a ditch, and make it as it was at first,

completely lioll
[Forby], A vile practice of scouring
out the ditch for manure, without returning any part of
the soil to the root of the hedgewood [Marshall].
*Out of one's hundred. To feel strange, out of one's
element [M. C. H. B.].
Outs. Vide Make.
Outshifts. The skirts, boundaries, extreme and least re-

garded parts of a town, parish, farm, or garden. Ex.

'
He lives somewhere in the outahifts of the town.'
Oven Bird. The long-tailed titmouse. The bird itself is,
indeed, seldom called by this name, but most commonly
the long-tailed Pick- cheese. The allusion is to the nest,
which is otherwise, and more descriptively at least,
called a Pudding-poke's nest. Sometimes called a Ground
Oven [A. E. R].
'

*Over. The Coroner is said over a corpse [M. C. H. B.].

'
to go

*Overday-goods. Refuse stock. Goods whose day is over

[M, C. H. B.].
Over-flush. Superfluity.
156 Overgive Pad
Overgive. To thaw.
Overhew. To overgrow and overpower ;
as strong and
luxuriant plants overhew those of humbler growths.

^Overlay. Overreach [M. C. H. B.].

^Overlooked. Bewitched [M. C. H. B.].

*Overly. Arbitrary, tyrannical [Johnson].

Overwhart. Across. To plough overwhart is to plough at

right angles to the former furrows. Overthwart [W. R.].

Overwort \B. N. 22].
Overworn. Apparel worn as long as is thought fit, thrown
aside, and given to servants or the poor, is called over-
'

worn clothes.'

*Owdacious, Outdacious, Oudacious, Alldacious. Auda-

cious 'An owdacious liar or scoundrel' [M. C. H. B.].
;

Owe. To possess by right. Ex. '

Mr. Brown owes that
farm.' This seems to me a misunderstanding of our
Norfolk phrase, '
Mr. B. own that farm,' for owns [W. R.].
*Owl's Crown. The wood cudweed [Marshall].

Pack Gate. A
gate on a packway, which often lies through
inclosed grounds. Many of such ways and gates still
retain their names and use in high Suffolk.

Packman. A hawker, one who travels about the country

with packs of goods [L. Sc., Br.].

Pack-rag Day. Old Michaelmas day, on which servants

in the country pack up their tatters and go to new
services.

Packway. A
narrow way by which goods could be con-
veyed only on pack-horses now a foot and bridle way
;

with gates.
Pad. (i) To make a path by walking on a surface before
untracked, as in new fallen snow, or land lately ploughed
 Paddle Pan 157

jrForby]. (2) Dried cow-dung, formerly collected for

fuel [Johnson]. (3) A pannier [Marshall].
Paddle. To trample, applied principally to children [Forby].
Only when in water [Spur.].
' '

*Padling. Trifling, peddling.' My small padling debts.'

Will of James Poley of Little Hedingham, yeoman, 1679
[C.D.].
Page. The lad attending on a shepherd.
Paigle. A cowslip. The flowers are dried by some rustic
simplers, and an infusion of them, under the name of

paigle tea, is administered as a very mild and wholesome

soporific. Certainly it has that effect and so, in different

;

cases, has paigle wine, which is by far the more palatable

'

medicine. The word 'paigle is, in Suffolk, applied to

the crowfoot, Ranunculus bulbosus, Lin.
*Pake. To poke about. He pake about
'
like a turkey
arter dark.' He moons about [Em.].
*Pakenose. An inquisitive person [B. N. 27].
*Paking. Poking about. See Peaking.
*Pal. Two courses or rounds in stocking knitting [John-

son].
*Palky, Polky. Always of potatoes diseased.
Pamment. A square paving brick. Contracted from
pavement.
Pample. To trample lightly. A child pamples about. A
heavy-heeled fellow slods. Johnson has, to walk as
'
if

the feet were tender.'

*Pampling. Fidgety [M. C. H. B.].

Pan. (i) The hard earth below that which is moved by
the plough. (2) To be hardened, as the surface of some
soil is, by strong sunshine suddenly succeeding heavy
rain. seems a comparison (parvis magna) with the
It

operation of fire in a pottery. Johnson has, to bind

'

firmly, as a barn floor of clay.'

158 Panchion Pass
Panchion. A large broad pan. Augm. of Pan.

Pane. A regular division of some sorts of husbandry

work, as digging, sowing, weeding, &c. It seems to have
been figuratively taken from panes, or stripes of cloth.
Indeed, that old sense is still in use among us. Paned
curtains are made of long and narrow stripes of different

patterns or colours sewed together [Forby]. The quan-

tity of clay or brick between the studs [Johnson].

*Pangle. In the parish of Wereham is one of those fenny

badly-drained pieces of land, which are usually called
'
labours in vain,' from all attempts to turn them to
profitable uses being ineffectual ;
this is called the Pangle
[E. S. T.].

Panhin, Panchin. A small pan. Pannikin

1

*Paper. 'A piece of paper,' a summons. '

I'll get a piece
'

o' paper for you [M. C. H. B.].

*Papish. A decayed pollard tree, showing white [Johnson].
Par [Yard?]. An inclosed place for domestic animals, for
calves, perhaps, in particular.

^Parcel. A piece or quantity. '

A parcel of grub
'

a pack
of nonsense.

Parflt. Perfect.
'
Noe was a just man and a parfite' [Cap-
graves Chronicle, E. S. T.].
*Parlour Chamber. The room over the parlour, just as the
porch chamber is the room over the porch [W. R.].

*Parsley Breakstone. The common saxifrage [W. G. W.].

*Part. Half [M. C. H. B.].
Partless. In part, partly. Perhaps the syllable less might
be thought to express the intended idea more strongly.

Par-yard. The farm-yard. [Rather the manure-yard.]

Pash. To beat anything brittle into small fragments.
'

Pass. To pass the bell is to toll it for the purpose

'
of
 Patch upon Pecurious

announcing a death. On the day of the funeral the bell

isnot said to be passed, but tolled or rung.
Patch upon. To impute blame rashly or wrongfully. Ex.
'
He patched it upon me, who knew nothing of the
matter.'

*Paulk. To climb, to stand high [G. E.].

*Paupusses. Paupers. Suff. [Halliwell].

Paved, (i) Turned hard, as a clayey soil in dry weather

[Forby]. Spoken of dirty clay lanes which have become
passable [Cull. Haw.].
*Pawk. To throw about awkwardly. Suff. Hence
Pawky, an awkward fellow [Halliwell].
*Pawk. To search [B. N. 26].

Pawts. Flat boards fastened on the feet to enable men to

walk safely on mud or ooze.

Pax-wax. The strong tendon in the neck of animals [Sir

Thomas Browne's list and B. N. 35].
Pay. To beat.

Peagoose. One who has an aspect both sickly and silly.

It is a compound of peak and goose.

*Peaking. Secretly looking or prying about [John-

(i)

son]. Also of a young chicken or pheasant that is

(2)
not well and will not eat. Phonetic from the noise
the latter makes [M. C. H. B.]. (3) Or peagoosing. '
How
'

he do go a pea-goosin' about [E. M.].

*Pearl. The common tern (Sterna fluviatilis) and the
lesser tern (Sterna minnuta) [J. H. G.]. This is called
'Chit'perle [M. C. H. B.].

*Pearwhelp. A scion or offset from the root of a pear-tree

[Johnson].
Peckish. Hungry, disposed to be pecking.

Pecurious. Very minutely and scrupulously exact. It

160 Fed Pelt

seems to be fantastically fabricated from peak and

curious ; importing a prying curiosity to see that all is

quite right.
Fed. A pannier, a large wicker basket with a lid. Two are
commonly used, and called a pair of peds,' one on each
'

side of a horse, in which pork, fowls, butter, and eggs are

carried to market, and fish hawked about the country.

Pedder. One who carries wares in a ped, pitches it in open

market, and sells from it. But probably any foot-man,
whether trader or pilgrim [W R.]. .

Pedder's Way. In the old maps of Norfolk a road is laid

down, under this name, from the north-west extremity,
called St. Edmund's Point, over the champaign part of
the county to the interior and central parts. It was
much frequented of old, and goods of more value and
importance conveyed along it than are now wont to be
carried in peds. Some few reaches of it here and there
still retain the old name but the whole of its ancient
;

course cannot be made out, being of course lost in the

inclosures which have taken place in modern times.
*Pedware. For podware. Pulse, beans, peas, or any kind
of pods [Johnson].

*Peel. A long-handed sort of shovel used for putting bread

into the old-fashioned brick ovens [M. C. H. B.].

Pee- wee. (i)Peaking and pining whining and whimper- ;

ing. (2) To micturate, especially of children pittle = the ;

same. Ex. '

He ha' pittled his britches
'

[M. C. H. B.].
Pee-wic. To peak and pine, &c.
Peg. To thump with sharp knuckles.
Peg Trantum. A galloping, rantipole girl ;
a hoydenish
mauther.
Pelt, (i) A sheep's skin with the wool on. In R. N. C. it

is a raw skin or hide without the hair or wool. (2) A

game at cards somewhat like whist, but played by three
 Pelt Wool Petition 161

only. (3) The act of plucking feathers from live geese

[Johnson].
Pelt Wool. The wool which is shorn from the hide after
the animal's death.

Pend. To press or pinch. Commonly said of apparel

(i)
which does not fit. Ex. The shoe pends here.' '
phrase A
'
sometimes used figuratively for that is the tender point,'
or the like. (2) To incline or lean. 'The wall pends
this way.'

Pense. To be fretful.
'

*Pent. Short of anything. '

Pent for time.'
'
Pent for rume
[W. R.].

Perceivance. Faculty of perception aptitude to learn. ;

is a dunce, and has no perceivance.'

'
Ex. The boy
Perish. To destroy. Ex. '
The frost has perished all my
tender plants.'

Perk, (i) To perch. (2) A perch. A legitimate noun

substantive. (3) A wooden frame against which sawn
timber to dry.
is set So called from its resemblance
up
in form to a perch in a bird-cage. (4) Brisk, lively, proud.
'
Perk as a peacock.'

Perry Dancers. The Northern lights. The peries or perries

are the fairies. There is fancy and elegance in this word.
It is corrupted, it seems, in L. Sc. to merry dancers or
pretty dancers.

*Perry Wind. Half a gale [W. White's Eastern England,

i.
p. 92 ;
also E. F. G. and J. G. N.].

*Pesket (Peascod). A pod [M. C. H. B.].

Pess. A hassock to kneel on at church.
Peterman. A fisherman in use on the Suffolk ; coast.

Petition. An adjuration. Ex. 'He took strong petitions

that he was innocent.'
M
1 62 Petman Pidgeon-pair
Petman or Pedman. The smallest pig in the litter. Some-
times Dodman of a litter, though this is properly used
for a snail only [W. R.].

*Petty. House of commons, garden-house [M. C. H. B.].

Pheesy. Fretful, querulous, irritable, sore.

*Phossy or Phooky. Applied to fruits when unsound, soft

and woolly [Spur.].
*Pick. The bar-tail godwit [J. H. G.].

*Pick or Bang. A way of deciding which side is to go

in first at any game. A stick is thrown up, and if it
falls upright it is pick, and bang if it falls flatling

[Johnson].
*Pick. An eel-spear [M. C. H. B.].

Pickcheese. (i) The titmouse,

or yellowhammer [W. B.].

(2) In the plural in general use by school-children for

the seeds of Malva sylvestris, [H. B.]. (3) The blue tit
(P. cceruleus) [M. C. H. B.].

Pickerel Weed. Most likely a species of Potomogeton, Lin.

The pike, and other fresh- water fish, deposits its spawn in
narrow stripes upon the stalks and leaves of the Potomo-
geton and other water plants.

*Pickings. A dirty, slovenly, ragged woman, is said to be

'
'
a lump of pickings [Johnson].

Pickle. To glean a field a second time, when, of course, very

little can be found. It can surely be nothing more than
a mere dimin. of pick.

Picklin. A sort of very coarse linen, of which seedsmen

make their bags, dairymaids their aprons, &c.

*Pickpiirse or Sandweed. The common spurrey [Mar-

shall].

*Pidgeon-pair. A male and female, used of human beings

[F. J. B.].
 Pie Pin of the Throat 163

(i) The heap of earth and straw piled

Pie. over potatoes
to protect them from the frost [Forby]. (2) kind of A
gull or Scoulton pie (Larus ridibundus) [M. C. H. B.].
Piece or Pieces. Fields arable [M. C. H. B.].

*Pie-wipe. The pewit or common lapwing [also Arderon],

*Pieyard = Paryard. The bullock-yard [M. C. H. B.].

*Pifler (Pipeflller). A
child who, in weaving, fills or winds
the thread on the pipe ready for the weaver [Johnson].

*Pigeon-pair. A boy and a girl, not necessarily twins.

When a man has two children one of each sex
[M. C. H. B.].
*Piggle. To be nice with one's food, turning it over like
a pig [G. J. C.].

*Pightle. See Pitle.

*Pigmire, Pishmire, Pishemire, or Pishemeer. The ant.

Pike off! Begone Shoulder your pike and march.'

!
'

*Pilch. (j) A flannel wrapper for an infant [Forby]. (2)

A thick shoulder shawl [Johnson].
*Pile. The head side or obverse of a coin [Johnson].

Pilger. A fish-spear.

Pimgenet. (i) A very delicate and mincing diminutive

of piemgenet for pomegranate. (2) A small red pimple.
Possibly a hyperbolically figurative application of the
first sense.

*Pin. To fasten upon. As of a ferret and rabbit [M. C. H. B.].

Pin Basket. The youngest child in a family.

Pingle. To pick one's food, to eat squeamishly.

*Pin Horse, The horse next before the shaft-horse or

(i)
'

[Bevan]. Those in front of him are Lash Horse

'
thiller
and Fore Horse [W. G. W.].
Pinning. The low masonry which supports a frame of
stud-work.
Pin of the Throat. The uvula.
M 2
164 Pin-patches Planting

Pin-patches, Pin-paunches. The small shell-fish called

periwinkles, of which vast multitudes are found on our
coasts. They are commonly drawn out of their shells
with a pin.
Pin Wing. The pinion of a fowl.
*Pipe. The narrow entrance to a wild-fowl decoy [W. R.].

*Pipes. Channels in the human anatomy [C. D.] (N. Ess.).

Pipperidge. The barberry-tree. But the fruit is always

called by its proper name.
Piss Bed. The common dandelion. So universally is its
diuretic effect known, that it is said to have a name

equivalent to this in every language in Europe.

*Pit. Pond. The word in Norfolk generally implies water
[H. B.].
Pit Hole. The grave.
Pitle, Pickle. A small piece of inclosed ground, generally
pronounced in the first, but not unfrequently in the second
form. [Never to my knowledge, W. R] See Pightle,
'

always pronounced pytle.'

Pitter. To grieve piteously.

'
Pittering and pining.'
*Pivet. Privet [M. C. H. B.].

Placket. A pocket.
*Plain. A level place surrounded by houses in a town, as
in Norwich and Yarmouth.
Plancher. A boarded or planked floor.
'
Planets. The phrase by planets means irregularly, capri-
'

ciously, upon no intelligible principle. In changeable

weather the rain and sunshine come and go by planets.
A man of unsteady mind acts by planets meaning much ;

the same as by fits and starts [For by]. The word%)lanet

is used as a horoscope [Spur.].

Planting. A plantation.
 Plash- Poke Day 165

*Plash. A shallow pool [E. S. T.]. Probably the same as

Splash in Surrey [W. R.].
Flaw. A slight boiling. meat seems likely to be
If the
tainted before it can be dressed, the cook must give it '

'
a plaw to check the progress of decay, and, if possible,

keep it a little while at a stand.

*Plenna. To lose flesh, decline [Johnson]. No doubt the

same as the next.
Plenny. To complain fretfully. Sick children are said to
plenny.
Flounce, (i) To plunge with a loud noise [Forby]. (2) To
nonplus [Johnson].
*Pluck. (i) A slight tear. E.g.
'
That bromble gon my
gown a rare pluck' [H. B.]. (2) Liver and lights, edible
in'ards [M. C. H. B.].

Pluggy. Short, thick, and sturdy.

*Plump. Bread broken or cut, with salt sprinkled and
water poured over it
[Johnson].
Plunky. Short, thick, and heavy.
*Poach. To tread soft land by cattle [Spur.].

Pock-fretten, Pock-broken. Marked with the smallpox.

Pod. A fat protuberant belly.

Podge. To stir and mix together. The same as Poach.

Poit. Something stronger than Pert, in farther assuming

an air of importance.

*Poke. A small sack [G. E.].

Poke Cart, Poking Cart, Poker. The miller's cart, which

is laden with the pokes or flour-bags belonging to his
customers.

Poke Day. The day on which the allowance of corn is

made to labourers, who, in some places, receive a part of

their wages in that form.
166 Poker Pose
*Poker. The red-headed pochard (F. ferina) and tufted
duck (F. cristata), called respectively red pokers
and
black pokers [M. C. H. B.].

*Pokey Hokey. A bugbear to frighten children [Spur.].

Hokey Pokey is now cheap fruit ice in Norwich [W. R.].
*Polke. A pit full of mud [Pr. Pa.].
*Pollar. (i) An
upper apartment in a house for fowls, in
which they roost [Johnson]. (2) A roosting-place [Spur ].
Hen's Polly, a roost [B. N. 27]. Possibly from 'pillar'
[W. R.].
*Pollard. The
best kind of bran, sharps the second quality,

middlings third do. [F. J. B.].

Poller, Pollen, Pollinger. A pollard tree.

Polliwigs. Vide Purwiggy.

*Polly Washdish. The common wagtail [M. C. H. B.].

Polt. A
hard driving blow.
*Poltens. Crutches [Johnson].

*Polter, Poulter. To shoot with a cross-bow [M. C.H. B.].

*Poople. The poplar-tree [Spur.].

Popinjay. A parrot ; now obsolete [J. H. G.].

Poppin. A puppet. It is the French popin, which Cotgrave

'

interprets spruce, brisk, quaint.'

Poppin Show. A puppet-show.
Popple, (i) A
poplar-tree. (2) To tumble about with
a quick motion, as dumplings, for instance, when the pot
boils briskly.

*Poppling. Talking nonsense [Johnson].

*Pork Cheese. Brawn [M. C. H. B.].
*Porking. To go. To go picking up small pieces of wood,
coal, or other fuel at the seaside [Spur.].

Porkling. A small porker.

Pose. A catarrh, or cold in the head.
 Potladles Pritch 167

Potladles. Tadpoles, from their shape.

*Pottens. Crutches for the lame [Spur.].
Potter. To poke, pry, rummage.
Power. A great number. Ex. '
There was a vast power of
gentlefolk at the music.'

*Poys. Pies [M. C. H. B.].

*Prate, Crake. The noise a hen makes, usually supposed

to be a sign she is near laying [M. C. H. B.].

*Prayed for. Banns asked. Ex. ( Mr. Hunnard was prayed

'

for in church to-day [H. B.].

Prest. Ready. In its common application it seems to be
understood as an abbreviation of the adverb presently.
Ex. I will be with you prest.'
'

*Pretty. The ornamented part of a wine-glass.

'
Fill it up
to the pretty' [M. C. H. B.].

*Prey. The head of cattle driven from the common pasture,

and impounded if any among them belong to adjoining
parishes [Johnson].
*Prick. See Pritch.
Prim. Very small smelts. The fry of smelts. So called
at Lynn, where the smelts are remarkably fine.
Prime. To trim up the stems of trees, to give them the
first dressing or training, in order to make them grow
shapely.
*Prink. To show out s of the ground.
'
The barley is just
'

prinking out of the ground [Johnson].

Prise. A lever used for the
purpose of forcing. This
instrument is sometimes called a Pry.
Pritch. A
strong sharp-pointed instrument of iron for
various purposes, (i) A
fold pritch is that with which
holes are made in the ground to receive fold stakes, or
what are called the toes of hurdles. (2) An eel pritch is
168 Pritchel Pulky
a spear for taking eels. (3) Probably Prick, as an eel

prick [Spur.].
*Pritchel. The iron with which the smith makes the holes
in the shoes [Johnson]. A kind of hard chisel for mill-
stones [W. B.].

Proctor. Tohector, swagger, or bully. From the proctors,

who were licensed collectors of alms
[W. R.].
Prog, (i) To pry or poke into holes and corners. (2) A
curved spike or prong, to drag what is seized by it. (3)
Food. (4) Begging for food, or money to buy it with.
Ex. He is on the prog!
'

*Progue. To prick with a sharp stick [G. E.].

Proter. A poker.
*Proud. A sow is said to look proud when marls appetens
[E. S. T.].
*Pucker. To draw up or gather [G. E.].

Pudding. A stuffed cushion put upon a child's forehead,

when it is first trusted to walk alone.

Pudding Pie. A
piece of meat plunged in batter and
baked in a deep dish, thus partaking of the nature of
both pudding and pie. Sometimes called a Toad in a hole.

Pudding Poke. Vide Oven and Poke.

*Puddle. The implement with which thistles and other
weeds are cut below the surface [Johnson], Spud?
*Pulfer. The fieldfare [W. G. W.].
Pulk. (i) A hole full of mud, or a small muddy pond.
Otherwise a Pulk Hole. Sir Thomas Browne speaks of
them as shallow pools left at the ebb of the tide, but
I think a pulk is rather a deep hole
[W. R.]. Johnson
says,
'
a place whence water is drawn by a lever.' (2) A
thick, chubby, fat figure, of low stature.

Pulky. Thick, fat, chubby, and short.

 Pull Purdy 169

*Pull. To haul, to prosecute, e.g. to bring before the bench

[C. H.B.].
*Pull. Of ditches ;
to draw out the weeds [M. C. H. B.].
*Pullen. Poultry [Pr. Pa.].
Pulling -
time. The evening of the fair-day, when the
wenches are pulled about.
*Pulling-trees. The part to which the horses are attached
to plough [G. E.']. Vide Pundle-tree.

Pull-tow, Pull-tow Knots. The coarse and knotty parts of

the tow, which are carefully pulled out and thrown aside
before it is fit to be spun into yarn.

*Pulthy. Filthy [G. J. C.].

Pummace. The mass of apples inashed under a stone roller

before they are placed between layers of straw or the
cider press. The word is figuratively used for any soft
pulpy substance, like rotten or mashed fruit. Ex. ' I will
beat you to a pummace.'
*Punch it! Be off! [Johnson].
Punder. To be exactly on an equipoise.
Pundle Tree. The wooden cross-bar to which the horses
are fastened to draw ploughs or harrows. Tree means
wood, as has been before explained and the compound ;

word literally means, the balanced wood, which is

descriptive of it. The pundle tree is thicker than the
whipple tree.

Pungled. Shrivelled and become tough, as winter fruit

overkept, but not turned rotten also grain shrivelled
;

with heat or disease.

Puppy. A puppet.
^Puppy-dogs. Small dogfish [M. C. H. B.].
Pur. A poker [also Arderon].
Purdy. Surly, ill-humoured, self-important. [This is not
correct at Aylsham.]
170 Purely Quackle
Purely. Much improved in health. Ex. '
I am purely
to -day.'

^Purely. (Suff.)Only in connexion with a confinement.

(N. Ess.) More generally [W. B.].
*Purl. Advertised at beer-houses as a morning drink, is

warm beer with a sprig of wormwood placed in it

[A. E. B.].
Purle. (i) A term in knitting. It means an inversion of
the stitches, which gives to the work, in those parts in
which it is used, a different appearance from the general
surface. The seams of stockings, the alternate ribs, and
what are called the clocks, are purled. (2) A narrow
list,border, fringe, or edging. The top of a knitted
stocking may, perhaps, serve as an instance, and thus
point out the connexion with the preceding word. It is
a contraction of Purfle.

Purwiggy. A tadpole.
*Push. A sore [Spur.]. Not all sores, but rather an
abscess [A. E. B.]. A
boil or sore swelling [C. D.].

*Pushmire. For pismire or ant [Em.].

*Pusket or Puskit. A peapod [G. E.].
Pussle, Puzzle. A very dirty drab a ; filthy slut.
*Put his muck up. Raised his temper [W. B.].
*Put out. To put out the bell = to toll the bell [M. C. H. B.].
*Putty. The mud of a river. Probably only yachtsmen's
slang [W. B.].
' '

*Puy. Johnson says the quant used to be so called. It

is now obsolete [W. B.].

*Pye Wipe. See Pie Wipe.

Quackle. To interrupt breathing. Formed to express the

inarticulate sound then uttered. '

My cough quackles
me '

[F. J. B.].
 Quackled Quick 171

*Quackled. Choked, suffocated [Cull. Haw.].

'
He fanged
her by the throat and nearly quackled her.'

Quaddle, Quoddle. To coddle ;

to boil gently.

Quaddling, Quoddling. Codling ;

a well - known soft
summer apple.
Quaddy. Very broad, short, and thick in person.
Quaggy. Soft and tremulous. Primarily and particularly
applied to soil, but not confined to it sometimes extended;

to great obesity and flabbiness of flesh.

"^Quail. To curdle.

*Quake. In very common use.

'
First time as ever I see
the train I lay hold on the railings and lor' I quaked
'

properly [C. S. P.].

*Quant. See Quont.
Quarrel. Any four-cornered pane of glass more particularly ;

the ancient lozenge-shaped pane.

^Quarter. To quarter the road, to make a fresh track
[M. C. H. B.].

Quavery Mavery. Undecided, and hesitating how to decide ;

not on an even balance meaning to determine, but fearful

;

of taking a wrong step.

Queach. A
plot of ground adjoining arable land, and left
unploughed, because full of bushes or roots of trees.
Quest. To yelp as a dog when he scents his game.
Questing. Barking. A questing spaniel is one who opens
' '

upon the scent of his game, in contradistinction to one

who runs mute.
Quezzen. (i) To suffocate with noxious vapour. (2) To
smother away without flame. If the fuel be damp, the
fire quezzens out. Johnson says Quessomed.
*Quick. Dog's grass [Sir T. Browne]. Is this our south
country Twitch or Couch, accursed of all gardeners?
[W. R.]-
172 Quicks Rafty
Quicks. Roots of harrowed out of a foul soil long
grass,
neglected, principally Triticum repens, Lin. They are
commonly collected in heaps, and burned on the land.
The process is called burning of quicks' Couch, Quick,
*

Twitch, are other common names of these rapidly rooting

and stubbornly vivacious grasses.
Quons. A hand-mill for grinding mustard-seed. It may
be suspected of being no other than a coarse corruption
of quern.

Quont. A
pole to push a boat onwards. Johnson says the
*
pole is called puy.' There is an extraordinary variation
in the way this word is pronounced. Some watermen
say quant, others quont [W. R.]. Similarly Rand and
Rond.
' '
*Quotted. Squatted ;
e. g. of partridges, They've quotted
[M. C. H. B.].

Eab. A wooden
beater, to bray and incorporate the in-
gredients of mortar.
Hack, (i) A rut. We say a cart rack [Forby]. (2) Weeds
and other rubbish growing among corn [Johnson].
*Rafe Board. A
part of a wagon [B. N. 84]. See Rave
Boards. Wings or side boards [M. C. H. B.].
Raff. Refuse, rubbish, worthless fragments. In T. J. it is

assigned to Norfolk, in the sense of a low fellow.'

'

Raffling. Idle, unsteady, unthinking. Ex. 'A raffling

fellow,' one who seems to act at random, hit or miss.

Raffling Pole. The pole with which the embers are spread
to all parts of the oven.

Raft. A fusty and damp smell, such as often proceeds from

what has been closely shut up.
Rafty. (i) Fusty, stale. A cask emptied of its contents is

apt to become rafty, if there be not sufficient access of

air ;
and provisions, if the larder be not well ventilated.
 Raft Rand 173

(2) air is said to be rafty when it is misty, with

The an
unpleasant smell. If it be moreover cold, it is said to be
'raw and rafty.' Rather Rasty, q.v. [W. R.].

Raft, Raftiness. (i) A stinking mist, (2) Fustiness in

a cask.
Rag. To rail ;
revile in outrageous and opprobrious terms.
*Raise. Of the act of expectoration. '
What I raize is
wonderful' (N. Ess.) [C. D.].
Rally, (i) A projecting ledge in a wall built thicker below
than above, serving the purpose of a shelf. (2) A coarse
sieve, to sift peas or horse-beans. (3) To sift.

*Ram. The keel of a boat [M. C. H. B.].

Ramp, (i) To prance, to romp. L. Sc. Rampage. (2) To

grow rapidly and luxuriantly. It is applied to the rank
growth of plants supporting themselves. In the case of
those which have tendrils or claspers, by which they lay
hold on other supports, it is an admitted word.

*Ramper. A public road or highway [Johnson].

*Rampered. A road is said to be rampered when its sides

are pared down and suitable material laid on the middle

to raise it [Johnson].

*Ramprow Goose. A Yarmouth herring [Eastern Eng-

land, i.
p. 133].
Hamshackled. Confused and obstructed in motion, action,
or intention, like a ram when his head is fastened to his
fore leg. Sometimes used as tumbledown, all to pieces.
Ranch. To scratch deeply and severely, as with a nail or
some more sharply pointed instrument.
Rand, (i) A joint of beef; or rather a piece than a joint.
It does not seem to admit of any precise definition, but
to signify any fleshy piece from the edges of the larger
divisions of the hind quarter, the rump, loin, or leg.

(2) A
strip of leather in the heel of a shoe, turned over
the edge, and firmly stitched down to strengthen it. In
1 74 Randan Rattle wing

both senses from Teut. rand, margo. (3) The boggy

space between embankments and stream of rivers \N.
and Q. 2nd Ser. i. p. 522]. See Rond. I never heard it
called rand [W. R.].
Randan. The produce of a second sifting of meal. Vide
Crible.

*Rannock. Womack Broad is so called [M. C. H. B.].

Banny. The shrew-mouse. The short-tailed field-mouse,

abounding in moist meadows, is not unfrequently called

by the same name, but sometimes distinguished as the
water ranny.
Ranter, (i) A tin or copper can, in which beer is brought
from *the cellar, and poured out
into drinking vessels.

(2) To pour liquor from a large into smaller vessels.

(3) To sew up a rent in a garment, or to apply a patch
over it, so neatly as that the new stitches are not dis-
cernible.

*Rap. To exchange, to swop [Johnson].

Rap and Rend. To seize and apply to his own use what-
ever a man can lay hands on.

Rape and Scrape. Much the same in import as the fore-

going phrase, but implying less violence.

*Rape (REAP) Hook. A sharpened sickle. A true sickle

should have a slightly toothed or ragged edge [W. R.].

Rase. To cut or scratch superficially ;

to wound or abrade
skin deep.

Rasp, Resp. To belch.

*Rasty. Rdsty meat is nasty, strong-smelling, though not

quite stinking meat [W. R.]. See Reasty.
Rath Ripe. Coming early to maturity.
^Ratified. Scolded, lectured [Johnson]. Rated? [W. R.].

*Rattlewing. The golden-eyed duck [J. H. G.].

 Rattling Red Tail 175
'

gon him a good rattling [John-

'

*Rattling. Scolding. I

son].
Rattock, A great noise. Rattacking [Johnson].
Raum. To sprawl ;
to move with arms and legs on full

stretch.

*Ravary. A violent mad fit of passion, attended with loud

vociferation [Johnson].

*Rave Boards. Eave-boards [Johnson]. See Rafe Board.

*Ravelings. The same as Frazelings.

Rawings. After-grass. Vide Eddish. Pronounced Rawrin

[Johnson].
*Rawn. A second growth of meadow grass [H. B.].
Razor. A small pole, used to confine faggots [Forby].
More usually Rizzer [E. S. T.]. A long cleft pole used r

to confine the splints in a building of stud and clay

[Johnson].
*Razor Grinder. The night-jar [J. H. G.].
*Reach. A stretch of paling [H. B.].

Reast, Reastiness. Restiveness or rancidity. Indeed the

two senses seem to be sometimes strangely confounded.
Some talk of a horse '

taking reast or rust,' or running

'

rusty,' meaning that he becomes restive, not rancid [Br.].

Reasty. (i) See Rasty. (2) Restive. A corruption, no

doubt. (3) Rancid and probably so is this of Rusty,
;

from the appearance of things turned rancid, as of bacon,

to which it is particularly applied.

*Reave. To unroof or disturb the roof [Marshall].

*Red Head. The common pochard (F. ferina), also called

Dunbird.

*Red Leg. The redshank, not the French partridge

[M. C. H. B.].
*Red Tail, Fire Tail. The redstart [J. H. G.].
176 Red Weed Rid
Red Weed. Any of the species of field poppy with scarlet
flowers.

Reed Pheasant. The bearded tit

[M. C. H. B.].
Reed Roll. A thicket of reeds on the borders or shallow
parts of a river.
*Reign-upon-you. To take violent hold. To get the mas-
tery [F. J. B.].
Rein, (i) To droop the head, as ripe corn. (2) To bear
the head in a stiff and constrained posture, through affec-

tation, like that of a horse sharply bitted.

Releet. The meeting of different roads in the same point,
as a three releet, a four releet, &c.

Render. To give a finishing coat of plaster to a wall

[Forby]. To melt lard or other fat [Spur.].
*
*Rennable. Plain, easy to be understood. That boy reads
'

very rennoble [Johnson].

Rere. Raw, insufficiently cooked.
Ret. (i) To soak, to macerate in water. (2) A wart [E. S. T.
and Be van].
Retting Pit. A pond used
for soaking hemp. In the fens
there are two modes of retting dew retting,
different :

which is spreading the crop on the grass, and turning it

now and then to receive the dew and water retting, ;

which is laying it in a pond or ditch, covered with turf.

*Rice. Pea straw [Johnson].
'

*Rickles. The ringes or gongs.' Scattered corn or hay

' '

collected into ranks by means of large rakes, commonly

called drag-rakes [Johnson].

*Rickstavel. A frame of wood placed on stones or piers

[Johnson].
Ricky. Masterly.
Rid. (i) To remove litter or incumbrance ;
to put in order.
Ex. '
Rid up the room, or rid yourself, before the com-
 Riddle Right side 1/7

pany come.' (2) To dispatch. Ex. *

To rid work,' '
to
rid ground,', &c.
Riddle. A coarse sieve ;
as a corn riddle, a cinder riddle,
&c.

Bide, (i) 'To ride grub,' to be out of humour, sulkily

(2) The quantity of wood
silent and pouting [Forby].

growing from one stub [Johnson]. (3) A saddle-horse

[Marshall].
*Bidgeband. That part of the harness that crosses the
back of the horse. In use in 1775 [C. D.].
*Bidgewith(e). A tumbril. One was sold in an overseers'
distraint at Great Waldingfield, Suff., in 1724 [C. D.].

Bie. The raised border on the top of a stocking.

*Biest. An iron which is fastened below the breast of
a plough [Johnson].
*Biffle. To plough lightly [B. N. 14].
Big. (i) A ridge in ploughed land, as much as lies between
one furrow and another, (2) A rib in a stocking [Forby].
(3) A trick or hoax [Johnson]. (4) A sheep having one
testicle [Johnson].

Bight, (i) To set to rights; to put into order; frequently

used with 'up.' Ex. 'Right up the room, company is
coming.' (2) Obligation. Ex. 'I have no right to pay
so much,' q. d. I am not obliged to pay it.
Bight on. (i) Positively. Ex. '
I am right on determined.'
'
He is a plain right on sort of man.' (2) Straight for-
ward. Ex. ' Go right on, and you cannot miss the way.'
(3) 'I am right on jowered out' [W. K.].
Bight out. (i) Directly, uninterruptedly, completely. (2)
Put out, excited. Ex. 'He was right out about it'

[M. C. H. B.].
Bight side, (i) To state and balance an account. (2) To
set in order, replace [Eastern England, i. p. 46]. (3) To
put to rights in an offensive or punching way.
178 Right up Rip
'
'
Eight up. Stand right up, boy
Upright. Ex. It is !

figuratively said of one who lives on his own means,

*
without trade or profession, that he lives right up.'
Bight-up-eared. Prick-eared, pert, saucy.

*Rigsby. A wanton romping girl [Johnson].

Rile, (i) up water or liquor and make it turbid,

To stir

by moving the sediment [Br.]. (2) It is figuratively

applied both to the temper and to the complexion.
A man is riled when he is provoked to anger. This is
one of the numerous American words which came from
the East of England.

Rim of the body. The membrane lining the abdomen, and

covering the bowels.
*Rime. Fog (N. Ess.) [C. D.].
Rimple. A wrinkle.
*Rine, Rin. Brine [Marshall].

Ringe. (
i
)
The border or trimming of a cap, kerchief, or
other article of female dress. (2) A
row of plants, or
anything [Forby]. else (3) Corn or hay collected in
a row [Johnson].
Ringle. A
ring as used in the nose of a bull or in snouts
of swine, or any sort of iron ring used on the farm

[J. H. G.].
*Riot. Noise, a quarrel between two people only [M. C.
H. B.].

Rip. (i) To swear

profanely, and in anger. It is intended,
perhaps, to intimate that the outrageous blasphemer, to
whom it is applied, would, if he could, rip and tear the
object of his wrath. Or peradventure it may be only
a cant abbreviation of reprobate. (2) To be very violent
and outrageous. (3) An outrageous profane swearer.
(4) Any person or thing completely worn out and worth-
'
less. (5) Playful ; you young rip' said of children

[M. C. H. B.].
 Rippier Rocket 179

*Rippier. One who brings fish from the coast to sell in-
land [J. G. N.]. But E. F. G. queries this, and so do I.

*Ripple. (i) To ripple or ribble land is to plough it in

small wavy ridges [Bevan]. (2) A
particular way of
ploughing, laying the land two furrows together [John-
son].

Rising. Yeast, or whatever may be used as a substitute

for it, tomake the dough rise in fermentation.
Risps. (i) The stems of climbing plants generally, (a)
The fruit-bearing stems of raspberries sometimes, per- ;

haps, applied to other plants somewhat like them.

*Rissling. Beating walnuts off the branches with a pole
[Johnson].
Rist. A rising or elevation of the ground.

*Rixy. (i) A half-castrated horse, having a testicle in its

body not descending into the scrotum [Johnson]. See
Rig [W. B.]. (2) The smallest sea-gull [E. F. G.].
*Rizzer. See Razor.

*Rizzers. Hurdle stakes [M. C. H. B.].

*Roaches. Sweets \B. N. 72].

Road. To force or jostle one off the road by riding or
driving against him.
*Roading. Running races with teams upon the road [Mar-
shall].

*Roarers. Wooden baskets to carry salt herrings [E. F. G.].

Roblet. A large chicken, or young cock.

Rock, Rock-staff. A distaff, from which, as we are told,
the wool was spun by twirling a ball below.
'
An old
woman's rockstaff' is a contemptuous expression for
a silly superstitious fancy.

Rocket. A row of holes made by dibbles, the whole length

of the Stetch, q. v.
N 2
180 Rode Rond
*Rode. To spawn [W. R., E. F. G.]. Usually Roud or
Rowd.
Boger's Blast. A sudden and local motion of the air, not
otherwise perceptible but by its whirling up the dust on
a dry road in perfectly calm weather, somewhat in the
manner of a waterspout. It is reckoned a sign of ap-
proaching rain [see N. and Q., 4th Ser., vol. vi. p. 502].
Usually now for a violent and sudden whirlwind, not
uncommon in the summer on the broads often of force ;

enough to haycocks and dismast yachts [W. R.].

lift

*Boil'd. Disturbed [Arderon].

Boke. A fog.
*Boker. A young skate [W. R.]. Vide Homer.

Boky. Foggy. Generally applied to the fog and mist

rising in the evening off the marshes and water meadows
[W. R.].

*Bolling Barley. Collecting it into heaps ready to pitch

into the wagon [Johnson].

Bollipoke. Hempen cloth of very coarse texture. Per-

haps so named because only fit to be used as bags or
wrappers for rolls or bales of finer goods.
*Bolypoly, or Bollypolly. Rolled pastry and jam pudding
served up boiled. A rolled pole, from its shape and
make [M. C. H. B.].
*Bome. A candle is said to rome (roam ?) when the tallow
runs down wasting in a draught [Johnson].

*Boment. To raise a report or falsehood [Johnson]. [From

Romaunt 1 W. R.]
Bommock. To romp or gambol boisterously. Apparently
an intens. of Romp or Roam.
*Bond. (i) The slip of marshy land which lies between
the natural river bank and the artificial embankment,
which usually runs parallel to it [W. R.].
 Roof Raising Runty 181

*Roof Raising. House-warming [M. C. H. B.].

Rosil. Rosin.

Rosilly. Like rosin. It is applied to a soil both sandy

and clayey.
*Rouding Time. Spawning time [W. B..].

*Round. The roe or 'milt' of herring [W. B.].

Rove, (i) A
scab [Forby]. (2) Half a ploughing, two
furrows instead of four [Cull. Haw.].
Row. (i) A hedge. Probably an abbreviation of Hedgerow.
(2) A narrow passage [M. C. H. B.].
Rowy. Of uneven texture, having some threads stouter
than others.
*Riid-burrow. A wheelbarrow.
*Rudder. The instrument used
. for stirring the mash in

brewing [Johnson].
*Rume. A room [N. and Q.~\.

^Runaway. At Wisby there is an open ditch across the

green where the water runs across, called the runaivay
[H. C.].

*Rundle, Rundall, or Roundle. A round field or marsh,

or a field that lies round or adjoins a person's property
or house. 'Johnson's rundle' [M. C. H. B.].

Runnably. Currently smoothly without hesitation. Ex.

; ;

'The boy reads pretty runnably.' Often Renably in

Suffolk.

*Runner. (i) The water-rail (Rallus aquaticus). (2) Also

of eggs when incubation has caused the yolk to change
its appearance [M. C. H. B.].

*Running-calf. A calf brought up on the cow and not

artificially [J. H. G.].
'

Runty. Crusty, surly, ill-humoured.

'
To run runty is

to take affront and resent.

182 Russel Salt Eel

*Russel. A
low, prickly plant, bearing a blue flower ;
also
called Banerth [Johnson].

Buttle. To make a harsh and rough noise

in breathing;
as when
the action of the lungs is impeded, or the pas-
'
*
sage through the trachea obstructed. The death ruttle
[Spur.].

*Ryvers. Those who open the gills of herring to make way

'

speet on which they hang while being

'
for the stick or
dried [East. England, i.
p. 146].

Sad Bad, Sadly Bad, Sadly Badly. Very ill.

*Sad Bread. Soppy, heavy, unbaked bread [M. C. H. B.].

*Sag. Sedge, as sweet sedge (Acarus calamus] [W. R.].

Sag. To fail, or give way, from weakness in itself, or over-

loading ;
as the bars of a gate, beams, rafters, or the like.
In nautical language, is when, from overloads, the middle
of a ship lies lower than its extreme ends. If the reverse,
said to Log [E. S. T.].
it is We also use it figuratively.
Of a man who droops in the decline of life, we say, he '

begins to sag!
*Sagging, Soughing. Of the wind in the reeds [M. C. H. B.].

Sag Ledge. A crossbar or brace to a gate, to prevent the

ledges from sagging.
*Salad. Any green vegetables [M. C. H. B.].
Sale. The iron or wooden part of the collar of a cart-horse
[For by]. The same as Hames [Johnson].
*Sales. See Seles. Part of harness [G, E.]. Harnes [B. N.
90].
Sally, To pitch forward. (2) An old hare [W. G. W.].
(i)
*Salt. When a sow is maris appetens [E. S. T.].
' '

Salt Cat. Vide Cat.

*Salt Eel. A punishment by giving the rope's end [John-
son].
 Saltings Sap 183

*Saltings. Meadows occasionally covered by salt water

[Spur.].
*Same as. In N. Ess. a common interpolation, as e. g. I
'

should have sent it down, same as to-morrow.' It seems

to imply a slight indefiniteness [C. D.].

Sammen Bricks insufficiently burned

Bricks. soft and ;

friable. They are

commonly understood to be Salmon
bricks, and to be so called, because, from lying near the
outsides of the kiln, they get more smoke than heat, and
assume a reddish hue, supposed to be something like
that of the flesh of the salmon, to be properly salmon-
coloured bricks. Sammel Brick [Johnson].
Sammodithee. This uncouth cluster of little words (for
such it is) is recorded by Sir Thomas Browne as current
in his time. It is now totally extinct. It stands thus in
the eighth tract, On Languages.' Dr. Hickes has taken
'

the liberty of changing it to sammoditha, and interprets

it,
'

Say me how dost thou,' in pure Saxon,

'

sccg me hu
dest thu.' But, as Spurdens amusingly points out, it is
a mare's nest, and only a jumble up of the reply, Same '

unto thee.'
*Sammucking. Strolling aimlessly [B. N. 24]. See
Sannikin.
Samp. To lull, either the wind or the sea [E. F. G.].
Sand Galls. Vide Galls.
*Sannick. Fancy [M. C. H. B.].
*Sannikin. Loitering, idling [Johnson]. See Sammucking.
Sannock. A freq. or intens. of Sanny.

Sanny. (i) To
utter a whining and wailing cry without

apparent cause. Sanna [Johnson]. (2) To fall or stagger

from excessive weakness, &c. He sannied a little on
'

one side, fell down, and died immediately' [Johnson].

Sap. Another of Sir Thomas Browne's words ;
of which
neither Hickes nor Ray gives any explanation. [Prob-
ably the gipsy word sap, a snake. See Borrow.] E. S. T.
184 Sapy Scald

says sap, a silly fellow. It is curious that now always,

in scholastic slang, sap means a man who grinds hard on
the sly [W. R.].

Sapy. Pallid, sickly meat that will not get firm

;
also

[E. S. T.]. Johnson

suggests sappy-headed, watery
brain. Spurdens says meat in the first state of putridity.
'
*Sarn or Cern. '
Sarn your bones, I'll
ge yow a flogging
[Johnson].
*Sarshen. See Soshen.
Sauce, (i) Any sort of vegetable eaten with fresh meat.
The ancient simplicity of rustic cookery, unacquainted
with high and stimulating condiments, still seeks whole-
some substitutes for them in the garden. (2) Cheek,
'
banter. Don't have none of your sauce [M. C. H. B.].
'

*Saucie. Full of spirits, of inarticulate animals even. Ex.

' '
That bull is regular saucie this morning [M. C. H. B].
*Sawbill = Merganzers and Goosanders [M. C. H. B.].
*Sawnie. Silly [M. C. H. B.].
Say. (i) A taste or trial, sufficient to give a hankering
for more. Ex. ' Now
the sheep have got a say of this
grass they cannot keep out of it.'
[Assay ?]

*Sayces. Rows or layers of bricks.

Say-nay, (i) To refuse. (2) To forbid.

*Scaithful. Given to breaking pasture also liable to be ;

overrun by stock, as open fields, &c. [Marshall].

Scald, (i) To scorch to affect with dry heat.
; (2) A mul-
titude a collection of something paltry and insignificant.
;

'
Ex. I found the whole scald on 'em "; perhaps of boys
robbing an orchard. (3) A patch in a field of barley,
scorched and withered by the sun, in a hot dry season,
and on a light soil. A correspondent of Broad Norfolk,
'
p. 28,gives scald as the highest part of a hilly field,'
but there is little doubt he was only accidentally de-
scribing a scalded patch.
 Scald Scocker 185

*Scald or Scalt. A '

scaled
'

head affected by ringworm

[Spur.].
*Scale To plough with a shallow furrow [Marshall],
in.

Scallion. An onion in an advanced period of its growth,

in which its flavour becomes coarse and rank, and its
substance tough. An onion sprouting in the second year
to bear seed or the new bulbs which are sometimes
;

produced from the old one in that renewed growth.

^Scalps. Stones on a beach especially at Hunstanton.
*Scamel. A godwit [B. N. 75].
*Scamp. The head or scalp.
'
If you say so again I'll hit
'

you a lick o' the scamp [Johnson].

^Scandalized. A wherry is said to have her sail scan-
dalized when half lowered, so as not to catch the
it is

wind ;
a slovenly way of getting out of reefing [W. R.].
Scant, (i) Insufficient, not competent. We talk of a
'
scant pattern,' meaning a scanty pittance. (2) Narrow,
a scant reach on the river [M. C. H. B.]. scant wind. A
Scantity. Scarcity, insufficiency. Ex. '
She has but a poor
scantily to live on.'
Scare, (i) A cur to drive away the pigs and poultry.

(2) Lean and scraggy, as applied to persons ; scanty and

flimsy, to apparel.
*Scarflng. Preparing two pieces of iron for welding, by
beating them thin at the ends.

*Scarify. To rough harrow land [M. C. H. B.].

*Scatling Poles. Used in building scaffolding [M.C. H. B.].

Schisms. Frivolous excuses ;

roundabout reasonings ;

strained apologies nice distinctions

;
whimsies fancies
; ;

and fooleries in general.

Scocker. A rift in an oak-tree, particularly when blasted

by lightning but more frequently a scocker is occasioned

;

by water soaking down into the body of a pollard oak

1 86 Scoed Scrabbed-eggs
from an unsound part in the head of the tree and when ;

a severe frost follows, the expansion of the water, in

freezing, splits the wood mechanically.
*Scoed. A disease among lambs ;
a sort of gout in the
knee [Johnson].
*Scoles. Scales.

*Sconsed. Refused, neglected, shirked [Johnson].

Scoot. An irregular angular projection, marring the form
of a field, garden, &c. also gore, probably askew [E. S. T.].
;

See also B. N. 1 2.
Scooter.
'
To run like scooter,' i. e. very nimbly. Probably
from Scout. Here is the origin of another American
word [W. R.]. From the flight of the scoter duck, Anas
nigra, Lin. This bird appears particularly active in

pursuit of its prey.

*Score. A gangway down the cliff [Spur.].
'

*Scorf. To swallow or eat. '

I scorfed the lot [W. B.].
Scotch. To spare, to refrain. Figuratively ;
the primary
sense of the word being to cut or mince. So when we
say 'I did not scotch to tell him my mind,' we mean
'
I did not at all mince the matter.'

^Scotches. Scores or notches [Marshall].

*Scoulton-pie. The black-headed gull which nests on

Scoulton mere [J. H. G.].
*Scour. Relaxed as to the bowels [M. C. H. B.].
*Scoused. Secluded or hidden. [M. C. H. B.].
Scove. To run swiftly, to scour along.
Scrab. (i) To scratch or claw. (2) The incipient nest of
any ground-building bird is so called, especially that of
game birds and plovers [M. C. H. B.].
Scrabbed-eggs. A
lenten dish, composed of eggs boiled
hard, chopped and mixed, with a seasoning of butter,
salt, and pepper.
 Scradge Scruse 187

Scradge. To dress and trim a fen-bank, in order to pre-

pare the better to resist an apprehended overflow. All
it

loose materials within reach are raked together, and such

additions as are to be had are procured, and so applied
as to heighten and strengthen the upper part on the side
next to the flood.
Scranch, Scrange. (i) A deep scratch. (2) To inflict such
a scratch.
Scrap. To scratch in the earth ;
as a dog or other animal
having that propensity.
Scraps. The dry, husky, and skinny residuum of melted fat.

*Scrat. An hermaphrodite [Johnson],

^Screen. A sieve ;
also verb, to sift [M. C. H. B.].
Screet. Half a quarter of a sheet of paper.
*Scriggle. A quick motion caused by tickling, a wriggle
[Johnson].
*Scrimmage. Skirmish, skrimmage [M. C. H. B.].
Scrimption, Scrimshuns. A very small portion, a miserable
pittance.
Scringe, (i) To shrink or shrivel, as with sharp cold or
dry heat. (2) To cringe, to shrink as it were from fear
of chastisement.
*Scrinkled. Shrivelled or crumpled [M. C. H. B.].
*Scrog. To cut beans with a sickle or hook [B. N. 84],
Scroggy. Twisted, stunted.
Scrog Legs. Bandy legs, crooked shanks.
*Scrome. Screamed [M. C. H. B.].
*Scrovy (Scrubby). A shabby, ragged, and dirty appear-
ance [Johnson],
*Scrunk. A shoal, generally of fish, but also used as of
wild fowl, ships, and donkeys [E. F. G.J.
Scruse. Truce, or perhaps excuse, probably a corruption
of one of these words. A boy at play wanting to tie
his shoe, or to leave off for any other momentary
188 Scudding Pole Search

occasion, calls out scruse, and does not lose his place in
the game.

*Scudding Pole. Part of a herring boat [M. C. H. B.].

*Scug. The squirrel [Johnson]. Nares has Scummer.

*Scule. For school.

*Scummering. The playful galloping of colts when let loose

[Johnson].
Scuppit. A dimin. of Scoop. A sort of hollow shovel to
throw out water ;
also a common shovel.

*Scurrick. A small portion [Johnson].

*Scurrying Pole. A stick used to stir an oven fire

[Johnson].
^Scutcheons. Wooden baskets with handles on top, to
carry fresh herrings [E. F. G.].
*Scute. See Scoot.

Seal. Time, season. Hay seal, wheat seal, barley seal, are
the respective seasons of mowing or sowing those products
of the earth. But it goes as low as hours. Of an idle
'
and dissipated fellow we say that he keeps bad seals ; '

'
'
of poachers, that they are out at all seals of the night ;
of a sober, regular, and industrious man, that he attends
' '
to his business at all seals,' or that he
keeps good seals
and meals.' Sir Thomas Browne spells it Sele, but we
seem to come nearer to the Saxon. To give one the '

sele of the day.' See Sele. [See Flight-seel and Shot-sele,

W. E.]
*Sealable. Seasonable, opportune, but applied only to
time. An '
inn is open at all scalable hours [E. S. T.].
'

"^Sea-pheasant. The pintail duck [J. H. G.].

*Sea-pie. The oyster catcher [J. H. G.].

*Sear. Dry, dead [Cull. Haw.].
'
*Search. Of physic.
'
I feel it a searching on me
[M. C. H. B.].
 Searled up with cold Set 189

*Searled up with cold. Pinched or nipped up [W. R.,

Tungate].
*Seat or Sitting. Enough eggs for a hen to sit on and cover
nicely [M. C. H. B.].
^Seconding. The second time of hoeing turnips [M. C. H. B.].

*Sedge-marine. The sedge- warbler [J. H. G.].

Seed-lep. The basket carried by the seedsman. Sometimes
it isapplied with less propriety to the deep basket which
holds chaff to feed the horses.
*See Sim. A child's game. If one of the party is blinded
it is Blind Sim [Spur.].
*Seft. Saved, sparing [G. E.].
Seg. ( i) Any animal emasculated when grown to maturity,
as a bull seg. (2) Sedge [Spur.].

*Seggen. Made of sedges, as a seggen mattress, a seggen

horse collar [Spur.].
*Sein Wheat. Mildewed wheat [Johnson],
*Sele. E.g. wheat sele, barley sele, hay sele, season for wheat
sowing, &c. These words are pronounced short, thus
haysle, &c. [E. S. T.]. See Seal.

*Seles. Horsys harneys [Prompt. Parv.].

Sencion. The common groundsel.
*Sensible. Conscious, in cases of severe illness ;
the opposite
to unsensed (N. Ess.) [C. D.].

*Sensible - A term applied to a lunatic who is

crazy.
sensible insome respects [H. B.].
*Sensible-make. To make understand. Local at Walding-
field [F. J. B.].

Serve. To impregnate.
Set. (i) To astound, to overcome with surprise. Ex.
'
When she heard the news she was quite set,' q.d. motion-
less, set fast. (2) To set by,' to treat with attention and
'

consideration. Ex. 'He was very much set by.' It is

190 Sets Shack Bag
O. E. : B. Tr., 'He that setteth not by himself.' (3) A
situation, as an 'eel-set' [M. C. H. B.]. (4) To quant, a
quant, a setting-pole. (5) To arrange, to set in order.

(6) Sown, of seeds. (7) Set on, to put a man on to

piece or job work. (8) Set out of turnips, the final ;

hoeing [M. C. H. B.].

*Sets. Of plants, the cuttings or offshoots. Also small

'

potatoes used for setting [M. C. H. B.].

'

Seven Year. A period of seven years collectively. A

septennium. Ex. I have not seen him these two seven
'

years.'

*Several. A
portion of common land allotted to a certain
person [M. C. H. B.].
'

*Sew. For sowed. '

He sew his wheat yesterday [Spur.].

*Shabbley. Dull, showery [M. C. H. B.].

Shack, (i) To rove about, as a stroller and mendicant.

(2) To turn pigs or poultry into the stubble fields, to
feed on the scattered grain, in exercise of a right over
common fields. [The custom of shackage was, that where
lands were uninclosed but held in severalty in slips (see
'

Seebohm), marked out by dole stones, all the owners

'

might turn out their pigs (and 1 think all cattle) to

common over all Any one owner
the uninclosed land.
might inclose his slip, but then, of course, he lost his
' '

right of shackage. Injuste shakeraverunt is a classical

expression often found in Norfolk Court Rolls, W. R.j

(3) A
shabby fellow, lurking and prowling about, and
living by his shifts. (4) The shaken grain remaining on
the ground when harvest and gleaning are over or, in ;

woodland countries, the acorns or mast under the trees.

Shack Bag. Properly, one who carries a bag, shaking it to
induce others to put something in, and holding it ready
to receive whatever he can pilfer. But it is commonly
used in the first sense of shack, substantive.
 Shack Time Sheer 191

Shack Time. The time when pigs are at shack.

Shacky. Shabby, ragged, and shiftless, or shirtless.
*Shag. (i) 'To raise a man's shag' is to make him angry
('
Get his wool up,' W. R.) [Johnson]. (2) Fat or bacon
on which some of the coat, hair, or bristles remain
[Johnson].
*Shag-trot. A slow pace.
Shall, (i) 'To shail about.' To run shailing is to move
' '

as if the bones were loose in their sockets, like a ripe nut

(2) To throw a flat missile

in its shale or shell [Forby].

[Spur.]. A long string of barges being towed is said to go

shailing about if it swings loosely across the river [W. R.].
(3) To drop out [F. J. B.]. (4) Sloping off [M. C. H. B.].
*Shake. A crack in timber [Spur.] .

^Shaken. Timber is said to be shaken when from the

violence of the wind its grain is separated ;
also Wany
[Johnson].
*Shaling. Gliding or slipping, slanting [M. C. H. B.].
*Shaling-oiF. Tapering or slanting [M. C. H. B.].

Shalm, Sharm, Shawm. To scream shrilly and vociferously.

Shamble. To drive away and disperse. Also to shout
[B. N. 23].
*Shammock. A sloven [B. N. 92].
Shanny. Shatter-brained. Ray has Shandy, certainly the
same word in somewhat different form. Sometimes
shanny--pa.ted [E. S. T.]. Johnson says, shy, wild in
'

countenance, caused by affliction or an imaginary evil.'

*Sharm. See Shalm.
*Sharp. Hungry [M. C. H. B.].

Shaunty. Showy, flashy, affecting to be tasteful in apparel

or ornament.

*Shay-brained. Foolish, silly [Blomefield].

Sheer, (i) Brittle. It is given in T. J. as an adv. and as
192 Shelled Shinlog
a low word, in the sense of quick, at once.'
'
Low let

it be. It is nearly connected with our sense. (2) Bright

red, shining with inflammation. (3) To reap [Marshall].
Shelled. Pie-bald, or partly coloured, as in Sheldrake.

*Sherb Corn. [Nolan's Poor Laws, second edition, i.

p. 50 1 .]
Shere-man. Any man who had not the good fortune to be
born in one of the sister counties, or in Essex. He is

a sort of foreigner to us and to our ears, which are

;

acutely sensible of any violation of the beauty of our

phraseology, and the music of our pronunciation, his
speech soon bewrays him. 'Aye, I knew he must be
a shere-man by his tongue.'
Shores. A general name for all the counties in England,
but Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, which are commonly
'
called by us the three counties.'

Shet. To shut, e. g. a shet knife for a clasp knife [W. R.].

*Shew, Shue. Interjec. to scare away [M. C. H. B.].

*Shife. A slice or portion [Johnson]. But I doubt this,

the example which he gives seeming to make it mean
Sheaf [W. R.].

Shiften. (i) To change linen. (2) To shift stitches from

one pin to another in knitting. Also Shiffen, to change
linen [B. N. 89].

Shiftening. Achange of linen. A

poor woman begs of
the overseer to give her boy, who is going out to service,
*
only a shiftening, two of each sort, one on and one off.'
Shim. A narrow stripe of white on a horse's face.

Shimmer. To glimmer, to shine faintly.

Shimper. To simmer.
*Shinker. A little curly-tailed long-coated dog [Johnson].
*Shinlog. Refuse bricks used to stop the kiln mouth while
burning [Johnson].
 Shitten Shot 193

Shitten [Shut-in] Saturday. The Saturday in Passion Week,

and should now be pronounced Shutten, or Shut-in-Satur-
day ;
the day on which the blessed Redeemer's body lay
inclosed or shut in the tomb.
Shive. (i) A small and thin slice [Forby]. (2) A thick
and broad piece [Johnson]. Also Shiver or Sliver, used
for a slice of any size [W. R.J. (3) The small iron wedge
with which the bolt of a window-shutter is fastened. In
Suffolk this is called '
a Sheer.'
Shoaf. A sheaf [O. E., W. C.].
*Shoal Furrow, or Fleet Furrow. shallow furrow, being A
the last ploughed before taking the balk up [Johnson].
*Shoat. See Shot.
Shod, Shud. A shed. Either may be the participle of the
A. S. verb, It certainly means a shaded place.
Shoes and Stockings. The variety of primrose and polyan-
thus which has one flower sheathed within another.

*Shog. The pace of a horse, not an amble ;

a little out of
a walk, but not a trot ;
also used to hurry up [Johnson].
Sholt. A cur. Shoult [Johnson].
*Sholve. A shovel [Spur.].
Shoo. To scare birds.

Shool, Shulve. To saunter, with such extreme laziness as

if the saunterer did not mean to walk, but to shovel up the

dust with his feet.

Shoring. Awry, aslant. From the oblique or slanting

position of a shore or buttress.
*Shortening. Lard or butter for pastry-making [B. N. 22].
Shorts. Bran mixed with a small proportion of the flour.

*Short-stuff. Spirits. Vide Spoon-stuff [W. E.].

Shoshings. Vide Ashoosh and Soskins.
Shot, Shoat. A half-grown pig. It may, perhaps, be so
called from its being of proper age and size to be fatted.
o
1 94 Shot sele Shucky
*Shotsele or Shutsele. The evening time, when birds give
gunners the chance of a shot by a flight [W. R.].
Shove, (i) To cast the first teeth (pronounced like GKOVE).

(2) To germinate, to shoot. Neither of these senses is

recognized in the Dictt.
*Show. For Shaw [E. M.].
Show. (Pronounced like cow.) To push or thrust. Certainly
the same with Shove, but we seem to distinguish them
by use. In showing, some force must be used. Shoving
may be quietly and silently performed, as in the instances
given under that word.
*Shrap or Scrap. A bait of chaff laid in the winter season
to attract sparrows, &c., which are then netted with a con-
trivance called a 'shrap net,' which it was once compulsory
on parishes to provide [E. S. T.].
*Shrarm. Vide Shalm.

*Shreep. To clear away partially, as mist [E. F. G.].

Shreeve. The sheriff.

*Shrigger. A petty poacher and thief [Johnson].

*Shrook. For shrieked [Johnson].
Shrough. (Pronounced SHEUFF.)Fragments of sticks, bits
of coal, cinders, &c., picked up by the poor for fuel.
Occasionally applied, indeed, to any sort of refuse or
sweepings.
Shrovy. Shabby, ragged, squalid. From Shrough.
*Shruck. For shrieked [W. R.].
'
She shruck a rum 'un'
[E. M.].

*Shuck Dog. See Old Shuck.

Shuck Trot, Snug Trot. A low, lazy, and yet shaking trot.
The butterwoman's rate to market. See Shog.
'
'

Shucky. (i) Long coated or long tailed, as a shucky dog

[Johnson]. (2) Untidy in one's dress or person.

 Shud- Sill Iron 195

*Shud. For Shed [E. M.].

*Shuft. To push or crowd. '
I saw John shuft Tom into
the ditch' [Johnson].

Snug, Snugging. To shake, shaking, concussion. Ex.

'
Give
the tree a good shug, and the fruit will fall.'

Shulve. A shovel. T., Shelve. Jen., Showl. W. C., Shool.

Br., Shuil. Shulve [#. JV. 22].

*Shy. Wild in conduct, amorous, not bashful [Spur.].

Also see B. N. 21 to same effect.

*Shywannicking [5. N. 74]. I think a coined word [W. B,.].

See Skywannicking.
*Siberet. '
The siberet was asked at church,' the banns were
published [Arderon]. Sybb-rit=s2/6 rede banna [Prompt.
Pan;.]. Now usually Sibbits.

Sich. Such.
Side. Long, as applied to apparel. In the P. L. we find
directions for making a short gown out of a side one.
In modern usage, however, we seem to depart strangely
from the ancient, and to use the word in the sense of
strait. Ex. This sleeve is too side, it must be let out.'
'

Or,
'
It is too loose, it must be made sider.'

Sidlings. Aside, sideways. Women on horseback sid-

sit

lings, and men straddlings. The words are respectively

formed from sidleand straddle.
*Sight. A large quantity or considerable number; e.g.
'
4
He has given me a sight of trouble [J. H. G.].
'

*Sights. Spectacles ;
e. g.
'
He was pakin about in sights
[H. B.].
Sile. (i) To strain, as milk, &c., to take out any dregs or
impurity. (2) To allow a turbid fluid to remain un-
moved, that it may deposit its sediment [For by]. (3)
The small fry of fish [E. F. G.].
*Sill Iron. The iron which connects the plough with the
o 2
196 Silly bold Sisserara

standards, jigs, or carriage, of a Norfolk plough [John-

son].

Impertinently and unbecomingly free, assuming

Silly bold.
unseemly airs, applied to petulant and forward youth.
'

Silly bold, like Tom Johnson's owl' [E. S. T.].

*Sim. See See-sim.

Simper. To simmer. Skinner deduces these two words

from the same etymon, and spells the latter of them
Simber most probably because it was so pronounced at
;

that time in Lincolnshire, the county in which he was

resident. This Mr. Todd ventures to call foolish. If the
still existing use of simper, in the very next county,
may be allowed to throw any light on that of simber
one hundred and fifty years ago, we so far vindicate the
most judicious, and generally most cautious, of our ety-
mologists from such a censure.
*Simpson. Groundsel [W. B.].

Sin, Sen. Since.

'

*Sine. Then. 'First one, sine another [Arderon].

*Singular. Long or single [Marshall].

^Sink-hole Thief. A
despicable small thief, capable of
creeping through a sink-hole [Arderon].
Sir Harry. A close stool. [Clearly a (k)night stool, W. K.]
Sirs. In O. E. sometimes written Sera, and thence, as we
pronounce it, Sara. The common use of
it, as a term of
address, seems strangely inconsistent with the usual
application of Sir. No respect is implied by it. It would
be offensive to address it to superiors, or even to equals.
It is a form of accosting inferiors only, as servants, and
of both sexes. A farmer says to his domestics collec-
tively,
'
You may all go to the fair, Sars, for I shall stay
at home.'

*Sisserara. A blow [B. N. 5, 59, 87].

 Sithe Skinker 197

Sithe. To sigh. O. E. sihe, of which our word seems a

corruption.
*Sit ye merry. A phrase used at the end of a song. The
suggested meaning is, sickgemcere= behold the end.
Sizzle. To dry and shrivel up, with hissing, by the action
of fire on some greasy or juicy substance, or green wood.
*Skein. A long line of flying duck [W. K.].

Skelp. (i) To kick with violence. It never means striking

with the hand, or moving briskly, as in L. Sc. [S. W.
Eix in N. and Q., 2nd Ser., vol. vi. p. 372.] (2) A strong
kick.

Skep. (i) A basket wider at top than at bottom [Forby].

Not to carry in the hand [Ray]. (2) A bee-hive is

always a bee-skep.
Skew. To start aside, as a horse, at some object which
scares him.

*Skewt. An irregular corner of a field [H. B.].

*Skife Nail. A long nail, having its head formed so as to
suit or agree with the holes in the plat of a plough, and
by which it is fastened firmly to the breast [Johnson].

*Skillagalee. Thin gruel [G. E.].

Skillet. A small pot of iron or copper with a long handle.

Skimmer. To flutter or frisk about lightly. It is a fre-

quent, of skim. Pegge speaks of 'shimmering light.'

We should call it a shimmering light. The words may
perhaps be connected.
Skinch. To stint to pinch ; ;
to give short commons.
Skink. (i) To serve at table; particularly to serve the

guests with drink [Forby]. (2) To avoid drinking in

turn [Spur.].
Skinker. One who serves drink. In alehouse parties, in
which the word principally used, it is applied to one
is

of the company who takes upon himself to fill the glasses

198 Skinks Sky Wannikin
or horns, and to call for more liquor, when it is wanted.
The waiter, who brings it in, is not called the skinker,
but the Tender, q. v.
*Skinks. Bricks immediately next the skovens or outside
ones in a kiln or clamp [Johnson],

Skip-jack. The merry-thought of a fowl, converted into

a little toy by means of a twisted thread and a small
piece of stick [Br.].
^Skipping Block. A mounting block for horse [Johnson].

Skirl. To shrivel up something dry, by too much heat ;

as parchment, card, or paper skirl up before the fire. It

may, however, be merely prefixing s to curl ;

and there-
fore to be spelled scurl.

*Skit. (i) A complaint incident to foals [Johnson]. (2)

A hint ;
not direct information [Johnson].
Skive. To pare off the thickset parts of hides, to make
them to uniform substance, in order to their being
tanned. Sui.-G. skifna.

Skiwanikin, Skiwinckin. Awry, crooked, warped.

Skizzle. A large
marble, rolled along the ground at others
placed in ring, to displace as many of them as possible,
as at the game of skittles.
*Skot Pig. See Shot.
*Skouch. To scrape the shoe awkwardly [G. E.].
*Skovens. The outside bricks in a kiln or clamp [Johnson].
*Skran. Dinner \B. N. 55].
*Skriggle. To wriggle or struggle away [E. S. T.].
*Skrimskin. A small piece [Johnson].
*Skrome. A scraping together of things as by a crome
[Johnson].
*Skruse. A truce or temporary cessation. See Scruse.
*Skruzzle. Crackling or baked skin of pork [J5. N. 35].
*Sky Wannikin. Shy, giddy, thoughtless [Johnson].
 Slab Sleeping-room 199

Slab, (i) The outer cut of a timber or other tree when

sawn into planks. [Another American word W. R.]
(2) A slave a drudge.
;
The boy who serves the mason
is called his slab. But perhaps, in this case, he may be
called from the slobby stuff he carries to his master, or
from his carrying it on a piece of a slab, and not cor-
ruptly from slave. (3) A puddle or collection of surface

drainage [E. S. T.].

Slade. (i) A green road. (2) A sled or sledge. (3) A
narrow slip of boggy ground [Spur.]. To carry on a
sledge. Heavy weights are easily sladed on level ground

[T.]. (4) To dislocate [M. C. H. B.].

*Slake. To be at slake, to be at leisure [Marshall]. Slack?

*Slaper. The bottom of a tree remaining in the ground

after it is felled [Johnson]. [Is there any connexion
between this word and the dry wood '
sleeper' of the
railway
1

? W. R.]

*Slappy Bread. Not baked enough [Cull. Haw.].

Slar, Slare. To bedaub.
Slary. Bedaubed.
Slatter. To wash in a careless and slatternly manner,
throwing the water about, &c.
Slattering-weather, Slavering-weather. A frequency or
continuance of slight rain.
*Slaver. Nonsense \B. N. 55]. Of a soapy sort [id. 97].

*Slavering Bib. A child's chin-cloth [E. S. T.].

Slazy. Of loose and open texture, easily torn, and soon

worn out for which faults, it seems, the manufactures
;

of Silesia were formerly remarkable.

Sled. Vide Slade.

Sleeper, (i) The stump of a tree left in the ground. (2)

A rushlight [T.].

^Sleeping-room. A bedroom [H. B.].

 200 Sleight Sliver

Sleight, (i) The knack of doing anything. This sense is,

perhaps, common
enough, but not distinctly given in
the Dictt. (2) Ready calculation, shrewd judgement.
(3) To wear away clothes, shoes, &c. In Essex I heard
the expression that a man was a slipe for boots,' i. e. '

that he wore his boots out very fast [W. R.]. great
'
A
sleight for butes' [E. M.]. Also B. N. 90.
Slent. A gentle slope in the surface of the ground.

*Slicker. A thick slice [Johnson],

Slift. The fleshy part of the leg of beef. The grand round
of beef is the upper and under slift together. From
Sliver also Slive.
;

*Slight. Dexterous at any art [Arderon]. See Sleight.

Slimslacket. Of very thin texture, loose and flaccid.

*Sling Horse. The horse that follows the fore horse in

a team [Johnson].

*Slings. A yoke to carry water [G. E.].

Slink, (i) To suffer abortion, as applied to a cow only.
The cow slinks her calf, the mare slips her foal, the ewe
warps her lamb. (2) A shifty fellow [C. H. E. W.].
Slink-calf. The abortion of a cow [W. C.].
Slink-veal. Miserable lean veal, which looks like the flesh
of an abortion, L. Sc. W. C. Teut. Schlenken, abjicere.
'

*Slipe. For a wonder at

'

; generally, greedy. See Sleight.

*Slite. Wear and tear [E. F. G.].

*Slithers. Small pieces of leather put in between the sole

of a shoe and the welt [Johnson, quoting Norwich Mer-
cury, July 3, 1 830].

Sliver, Sliving. A slice of flesh. Ch. seems to mean a small

slice. We
always mean a large one, and pronounce the
i long, as directly from the verb Slive. A.S. slifan,
findere. W. C., a thin slice.
 Slod Smite 201

Slod. (i) To wade through mire, half-dissolved snow, &c.

(2) The accretion of soil, clay, or mould on one's soles
[E. S. T.].
*Slod, Slud. A
piece of dough with a pat of butter in the
middle, put in to bake while the oven is heating [W. B.J.

Slop, (i) An outside garment, reaching to mid-leg, worn

by children, and by some workmen. (2) Underwood.
Sloven-wood. Southernwood.
Slub. (i) Thick mire, in which there is some danger of
sticking fast. (2) To slub, to throw mud out of a ditch

[M. 0. H. B.].

Slug-horn. A
short and ill-formed horn of an animal of
the ox kind, turned downwards, and appearing to have
been stunted in its growth.
Slump, (i) To sink suddenly and deep into mud or rotten
ground. (2) Defeated, upset. An unsuccessful candidate
' '
is said to be slumped. Slumped again [A. E. R.].
Slur, Slurry. Loose, thin, almost fluid mud. The reverse
of slub.

Slurrup. To swallow any liquid greedily, and with a noise

of the lips or in the throat.
Slush, (i) Loose mud. (2) Filthy talk. Figuratively.
Sluss [B. N. 40].
*Smeaa. Marshland. '
Down by the carnser and over the
smeaa' [B. N. 70]. Of. Marshland Smeeth [W. E.], a
smooth place.
Smeagre. Thin, lean.
Smeath. An
open level of considerable extent, commonly
pronounced and printed Smee.
*Smee. Widgeon (Anas penelope) [C. H. B.].

Smick, Smicket. Delicate diminutives of Smock.

*Smite. A small piece.

'

They ate up every smite [John-

'

son].
202 Smittock Snaffle

*Smittock. Ditto.

Smock-mill. A corn-mill, of a shape supposed to resemble

that garment. If a mill of this form be mounted on
a basement of stone or brick some few feet high, forming
a storehouse under it, it assumes the more dignified
appellation of a tower mill.
*Smoke-jacks. Cockades. [M. C. H. B.].
*Smolt. A calm [E. F. G.].
Smore. To abound, to swarm. We say that a very
(i)
numerous swarm of bees come smoring out of the hive.'
'

(2) Contraction of some more [M. C. H. B.].

Smotch. (i) A blot or stain, I have(a) To defile. Ex. '

smotched my fingers with the crock.'

Smouch. (i) To kiss him with a loud smack [Forby].

(2) To smuggle [Johnson].
*Smoulder. To smother, suffocate, quench, put out [John-
son].
*Smoultin. To get smooth. '
The tide is a smoultin now
'

it gets kinder smoother when the tide is going out

[B.N.So].
*Smuddered. Smothered. Ex. Smuddered to '

dead,' choked
to death, or stifled [M. C. H. B.].
Smur. Small misty rain, which seems to fill the air like
smoke. It falls so lightly on the skin, as to seem rather
to smear or anoint than to wet it.
*Smurry Day. A wet off-and-on sort of day [Tungate].
Snack, Sneck, Snick. A sort of fastening for a door. A
snack must be of iron and is either a thumb-snack, in
;

which the latch is lifted by pressing the thumb on the

broad end of a short lever, which moves it or it is ;

a hand-swacA;, which acts upon the latch by a spring.

In short, it is any sort of iron fastening which does not
include a \oek-snack.
*Snaffle. To talk nonsensically [Johnson].
 Snag Snickups 203

Snag, (i) A rough knob or gnarl on a tree. (2) A tag of

bootlace, or snack, or latch [M. C. H. B.].

Snaggy. Morose, coarse, and rough in temper. Not, pro-

perly, testy and peevish.
Snarl. To twist, entangle, and knot together ; as a skein in
winding off.

Snaste. The burning wick or snuff of a candle. [Snaast,

B. N. 6].

Snasty. Captious, passionate. [Snarlish, B. N. 1 2.]

'
To
take a thing in snuff,' however low an expression it may
now sound, was formerly used by very good authors in
the most serious composition by Bishop Andrewes, for
;

instance, in his sermons. It manifestly conveys the

same idea as this word. To be angry is to take some-
thing in snuff. Easily annoyed.
Sneck. A door-latch \B. .ZV.
52, 90]. See Snack.
Sneer. To make wry faces without intention of expressing

contempt or insult, which the word in its general sense

implies.
*Snettle. A noose [Johnson].
*Sniceups. The gapes. Adisease which causes young
'

birds to make a noise like sniccups [C. H. B.].

'

Snicker-snee. A large
clasp-knife. This word was prob-
ably brought to us by the Dutch, in whose language it
is said to have the same meaning.

Snickle, Snittle. A
slip-knot. Ex. 'Tie it in a snickle,
not in a tight knot.'
*Snick-snaeks. Equal shares [Johnson].
Snickup. Begone away with you
! !

Snickups. An
undefined and undefinable malady, but not
always easily cured. To say of a man that he has got '

the snickups,' means rather that he fancies himself ill,

than that he really is so. It is by no means so alarming
204 Sniffle Snaffle Sock
an ailment as a It may have its
'

flap of cold/ q. v.
name partly because it rhymes to hiccup and partly ;

because not unlikely to be acted upon by the same,

it is

or by some similar medical treatment. It may be added

'

that ' a poor snickuppy creature is sometimes applied !

to a pale-faced, petted, and pampered child, always pining

and puling.
* Sniffle Snaffle.
Trifling discourse, &c. [Johnson].
Snippock. A very small morsel. From snip.
'
*Snitch. The nose. Ex. '
Pull her snitch for her
[M. C. H. B.].
*Snob. A shoemaker, pronounced as shummaker [M. C.
H. B.].

Snobbing. Horses biting one another gently [H. B.].

'
*Snooze. For noose. Ex. Defendant pleaded guilty to
having snoozed the pike' [Police Report, 1886, Wrox-
ham].
*Snotch. For notch [Johnson].
Snots. White bream (Alramis blicca) [M. C. H. B.].
Snoul. A short thick cut from the crusty part of a loaf or
a cheese.
*Snuck. Dogs going after bitches are said to go snuck-
ing after them [Johnson].
Snudge. Such brisk motion as an aged person may use.
Ex. The old woman went snudging along,' i. e. snugly
'

wrapped up, with arms folded and head inclined, making

the best of her way.
Snuskin. A nicety, a tit-bit.

Soak. To bake thoroughly. It is particularly applied to

bread, which, to be good, must be macerated, as it were,
in the caloric of the oven. If it be dough-baked, the

complaint is that it has not been sufficiently soaked.

Sock, (i) The superficial moisture of land not properly
 Soe So-long 205

drained off [Forby]. (2) The lowest part of a wet field

from which there is no outlet for the water, therefore all
the sock (soak) is deposited there [Johnson]. (3) The
mouth or outlet from a ditch into the river. (4) More
generally and correctly the ditch running parallel with the
river outside the wale [M. C. H. B.]. (5) Also Soggy,
wet, heavy, adhesive.
Soe. A large tub carried by two men on a stout staff, or

stang, passing through two iron rings at its top, for

the conveyance of water, grains, hogwash, &c.

Soft-path. One that may be ploughed. A hard-path is

permanent [F. J. B.].

Soil. To fatten completely.

Soiling. The last fattening food given to fowls when they

are taken up from the stack or barn door, and cooped
for a few days.

So-ins. In this or that manner, taliter. We also say

So-fashions in the same sense. Vide Siddlins.
Soldier. To be disposed to give or take affront, to swagger,
to bully.

*Sole. To beat violently [W. G. W.].

Soil. To pull by the ears. It is thus written because we
pronounce the o short. In Suffolk it is pronounced
SOWL.
Seller. A loft. It anciently meant any loft or upper
room. It seems now to be confined to a belfry, which is
sometimes called the bell soller, sometimes simply the
soller. Sometimes Sollery [Spur.]
Sollop. To lounge, to waste time in utter laziness and
inaction.

So-long. Au revoir.
'

Good-bye for so long as we are

apart' [M. C. H. B.]. [I doubt this being a genuine
Norfolk phrase, W. R]
206 Sona Span
'
*Sona. For c
so.' Ex. '
I did not do that ;
I only did sona
[Johnson].
Sords. Filth, washings, offscourings.
Sore. Sorry, vile, worthless. Ex. He '
made a sore hand
'

of it !

Sore, Sorely. Very, exceedingly.

Sort. A
great number. Ex. I have been there a sort of
'

times' [Sh.]. 'I see a sort of traitors here' [B. Tr., Br.].
Sorzle, To intermingle in a confused heap.
Sozzle. (i)
Perhaps may be connected figuratively with Soss, q. v.
it

(2) An odd mixture of different things, generally applied

to a compound of various ingredients boiled together for
a medicine. Ex. How can she be well ? she is always
'

taking one sorzle or other.' (3) Slops [5. N. 6~\.

*Soshen. To cut at an angle [G. E.].
*Soshins. (In Suff., Shoshins), aslant, sloping.
*Soshways. Obliquely [Johnson].
Sosa, Suss. A
jumble, or mixed mess of food. Always
used in contempt. See Suss.
*Sossen. Zigzag, right on the skew [W. R.]. Also see
Soshins. Sarshen, B. N. 65.
Setter. To boil gently. Sottering, in the case of a thick
mixture of ingredients, seems to mean the same as the
simmering of more fluid matter.

Soupings. Any sort of spoon meat.

Sow. (i) The insect called millipedes. (2) Sow-bug
[M. C. H. B.].
Sow-pig. A gelded female [W. B.].
Sowse. (i) The paunch of an animal, usually sold for

dog's meat. (2) Pigs' feet or ears pickled are called soiuse
in Suffolk [Forby]. (3) A smart slap rather than a blow,
generally a box on the ear [Johnson],
*Spalt. Brittle [Cull. Haw.]. Used in Cambridgeshire.

span you' = I
'

*Span. I shall shall spare you [Arderon].

 Spangles Spend 207

*Spangles. Oak spangles [M. C. H. B.].

Spank. To move swiftly and stoutly. Ex. '
How he did
'

spank along !

Spanker, (i) A person who takes long steps with agility,

a stout or tall person. (2) Fine and large, conspicuous
[M. C. H. B.].
Spanking. (i) Moving nimbly, striding along stoutly.
(2) Showy, conspicuous, especially if large.

*Spantree. The threshold of a barn or outhouse [W. G. W.].

Sparch. Brittle.

Spar Dust. Powder off posts, dust produced in wood by

the depredations of boring insects. It is to be distin-

guished from Saw Dust.

*Spare. To make, to be saving or careful [F; J. B.].

Spate Bone, Spaut Bone. The shoulder bone of an animal

slain for food. Spade Bone, from its shape, is pretty
common.
*Spear. Of seeds, to germinate [M. C. H. B.].

"^Spear-grass. The usual term for twitch (Triticum repens)

[H. B.].
Speck, (i) The sole of a shoe. The heel of the shoe is,
'
by way of distinction, called the heel speck. These old
shoes must be heel specked.' (2) The fish commonly
called a sole, from its resemblance in shape.

*Specked. Used of decay in its earlier stage. '

More blades
are specked, they'll soon be bad'[W. B.].
*Speets. Long on which
sticks or lathsherrings are strung
to dry [White's Eastern England, vol. i. p. 146].

Spend, (i) To span with the fingers. Apparently a mere

corruption, but O. E. in P. B. (2) To consume or ex-
pend. Ex. We spend so much
'

meat, flour, cheese, &c.,

in our family weekly.'
208 Spender Spirket
Spender. A consumer. A small spender
' '
is a person
who has very little appetite.
Spending-cheese. Cheese of a middling quality, used for
family consumption in the dairy districts of Suffolk,
considerably superior to the Bang, or Thump, for which
they are so celebrated, but by no means equal to
Gloucester.

*Spendlow. Dead wood made into fagots, and sold for

kindling [Johnson].
Spere. A spire. Just as we use shere for shire.

Sperken, Sperket. A wooden peg to hang hats, &c., upon.

See Spiken and Spickot.

Spikin, Spekin. A large nail with a round flat head. See

Spirket.

Spile. Awedge of wood stoutly pointed with iron, used

in clay or gravel pits, &c., to let down large quantities at
once.

Spile-hole. The air-hole in a cask [Br.].

Spile-peg. The wooden peg closing the hole for the admis-
sion of air into a cask when it is tapped.

*Spindling. Wasting away a good deal [Mrs. A. Leakey,

of Acton].

Spink. (i) A chaffinch. (2) Herring Spink, the gold-crest

[M. C. H. B.].
*Spinney. A small wood [H. C.].
Spire, or Spere. Anything that rises above the level of
surrounding objects. Spere-grass, or couch-grass. The
spires or young trees left in clearing underwood [F. J. B.].
*
Spirit. Electric fire a blast of lightning.
;
Ex. In the
great tempest, a spirit lit upon the church steeple.'

*Spirket. An hook [Moor, Blomefield]. Johnson

iron
gives it as a special word for a semicircular iron on
*

which the hog is hung before it is bowelled.' But it is

 Spit Spring 209

clear the word is for anything on which anything else is

hung [W. R.].

Spit. The depth of a spade in digging. We talk of going
two or three spit deep.
Spittle. A
term of supreme contempt, or rather loathing.
'
'

[O. E.] Oh, you nasty spittle q. d. filthy fellow ! !

dirty creature Arderon quotes the expression, You

!
'

'

forlorn spittle !

*Splarr. To spread or sprawl [5. N. 27].

*Spoat. Short-grained wood [B. N. 39],

Spoffle. To be over-busy about little or nothing. (Spuffle.)

Spolt. Brittle ; chiefly applied to wood easily separable

into fragments [Forby]. 'As spolt as steel' [Johnson].

Spong. (i) A long narrow slip of inclosed land, such as

a strong active fellow might clear in Spang or leap.
Spong-ivater is a narrow streamlet [Forby]. A low bog
or morass [Johnson]. (2) Hot spong,' a sudden power '

of heat from the sun comes from under a cloud [Johnson].

(3) A
calm at sea [Spur.].
*Spoon-stuff, or Short-stuff. Spirits [W. R.}.
Spore, (i) A spur for a gate-post. The proper word.
1 Shore [W. R.]. (2) To preserve fruit [W. G. W.].
*Spot Spoons. Tadpoles [M. C. H. B.].
*Spotty. Partial [E. F. G.].

*Spoutt. Brittle [B. N. 40, 53],

*Sprags. Sprays or spurs.

Spraid. To sprinkle, to spatter, to moisten with spray.
*Sprat-loon. The red-throated diver [J. H. G.].

Sprawls. Small twigs, or branches of trees or bushes.

Spreckled. Speckled.
Spring, (i) Young plants of whitethorn, to make hedges
[Forby]. (2) A lea, grass-land [Spur.]. (3) Run in eggs.
Vide Run [M. C. H. B.]. (4) Excited by drink [B. N. 62}
210 Springe Squatting Pills
Springe, (i) To spread lightly, to sprinkle. (2) A horse-
hair or wire snare for birdcatching, &c. [M. C. H. B.].

Springer. A youth. In L. Sc. springald.

Sprink. A crack, a flaw. Sprunkt [Johnson].
Sprit. A pole to push a boat forward. A. S. spreot,
contus.

Sprunny. Neat, spruce.

Spud, (i) Any person, or thing, remarkably short of its
kind. (2) A chisel for weeds [G. E.].

Spuddy. Very short and stumpy.

*Spuds. Potatoes [W. B.].

Spuffle. To move hastily, with an ostentatious air of busi-

ness and bustle. See Spoffle. [This is a much-used
word.]
'
Spuffling. Moving as above. Ex. I saw Mr. A. spuffling
along.'

^Spunking. A beating or thrashing with the hands

[C. H. E. W.]
Spunky. Brisk, mettlesome. No uncommon vulgarism.
In O. E. spunk is touchwood. A. S. spoon, fomes.

*Spurket. An iron hook on a wall [G. E.].

*Spurrer. A sparrow [M. C. H. B.].

*Spurway. A bridle- way [W. R.].

Squash, (i) To
splash, to moisten by plentiful effusion.
(2) To squeeze, so as to make soft, like a pumpkin squash.
(3) Also pea-pods which look full but are really empty
[W. B.].

Squat. To quiet, to put to silence.

'
Ex. Pray, nurse, squat
the child.'

Squatting Pills. An opiate in the form of pills. Ex. He '

got no rest till the doctor gave him some squatting pills.'
In this, and the two preceding words, the a is pronounced
as in hat.
 Squezzened Stale 211

*Squezzened. Suffocated [Johnson].

Squiggle. To shake and wash a fluid about the mouth,

with the lips closed.
Squinder. To burn very faintly, or even insensibly, as
damp fuel, which does not kindle into a flame, and gives
out no heat, but yet it is consumed. It is said to
squinder, or be squandered away. So is the candle
which has a bad wick. Perhaps it is to be considered as
a dimin. of Squander. The fuel or the candle is unpro-
fitably wasted.
*Squink. To wink [Johnson].
(j) To look asquint. Ex.
'

Squinny, Child, do not squinny

your eyes so.'
Very (2) lean, meagre, slender, shadowy,
&c. Sometimes it is
squinny gutted.
Squish. A dim. of Squash. The water squishes under our
feet in the grass, if it be walked on too soon after rain.
It is used by Swift.

Squit. (i) A word of supreme contempt for a very

diminutive person. A paltry squit '
In O. E. it was !
'

Squib, but that word seems to be lost, and the more is

the pity, for at any rate it was less offensively contemp-
tuous. (2) Silly talk, for which one feels contempt.
Ex. Hold your squit.' (3) A syringe, a squirt
'

[C. H. B.].

*Squoddy. Short of stature, sturdy [Spur.].

*Stacia. A comparative.
'
That will do like stacia,'
'
As
drunk as stacia [Johnson].
'

R.]. Unknown to me [W.

Stag, (i) A
wren. (2) A cock turkey, killed for the
table in his second year by which time he has often
;

reached the weight of twenty pounds or more [Forby].

(3) A young bull [W. G. W.].
*Staith, or Staithe. A
landing-place from a river, not
necessarily for goods, as E. S. T. thinks [W. R.].
* Stale. The staff or handle of a rake or fork also the
;

stalk or reed of hemp [Spur.].

p 2
212 Stalk Statue

*Stalk. See Back Stalk.

Stam. To astonish, to overcome with amazement.

(i)

(2) A matter of
'
'
Ex. a stamming story, indeed
It is !

amazement.
*Stanch. (i) A lock with one pair of doors only [E. S. T.].
(2) Staunch. A hen when very broody and well settled on
her nest is said to be down' and 'stanch.' If she does
'

not go down well on to her eggs she is said to

'
lift

[M. C. H. B.].
Stanchions, (i) Iron bars, dividing and guarding a win-
dow, not used for a prop or support. (2) The timbers
or ribs of a row-boat.

Stand, (i) 'To stand in hand,' to concern, behove, or

interest. Ex. 'It stands you in hand to look to that.'
W. C.
'
It stands you on.' (2) To stand holes,' to rest
'

content as one happens to be at present. It seems to be

an allusion to some game played by moving pegs from
one hole to another, as on a cribbage board.
^Stands. Young timber, trees under 6 in. timber girth, or
24 in. in circumference [Marshall].
Stank. A dam. In its nature a stank converts, in some
sort, into a pond that part of the water which it inter-
cepts ;
so there is a connexion between the two senses.

Stannide. Stickleback [5. jV. 35].

Stanstickles. Small fish, with many names.
*Star. (i) Starling (Sturnus vulgaris}. (2) A showy
young woman, one to stare at [M. C. H. B.].
*Star. Vide Lead [M. C. H. B.].
*Starr Grass. Bents. A marsh between Martham and
Horsey is called Starr Grass Marsh [E. S. T.]. Starr
'

'

Gras is
Norwegian for sedge [M. C. H. B.].
Statesman. The proprietor of an estate.

*Statue. A figure set up in a field as a scarecrow [F. J. B.].

 Stay Stir-up Sunday 213

*Stay. A lean-to post [C. H. B.].

*Stead. (i) To supply a space left vacant. Ex. '

I am at
'
last steaded with a servant, a house, a horse, or what-
ever else I have been in want of. (2) A place to stand
on as a f&irstead is the ground on which a fair is held.
;

*Steelfall. A spring trap [G. E.].

*Steelyard. A balance [G. E.].
*Steen. Spite or envy [Johnson].
*Stent. A task [G. E.].
Stepples. A short and neat flight of steps, as from the
parlour window to the garden to reach the upper shelves
;

of a book-case, or something else, in which appearance

is to be considered.

Stetch. (i) As much land as lies between one furrow and

another [Forby]. (2) A ploughed ridge [Johnson].
Stew. A cloud of dust or vapour; as from a much
frequented road, a lime-kiln, a brew-house, &c.
Stifler.A stickler; one who is very busy and active in
any matter as it were raising a dust.
;
Ex. She was '

a high stifler upon that occasion [Forby]. A stapler

'

[Johnson].
'
*Still. Rest. Ex. <
There is no still in him [M. C. H. B.].
Stilts. Crutches. A lame man is said to walk with stilts.

Stingy, (i) Cross; ill-humoured. (2) Churlish; biting;

as applied to the state of the air [Pe.].

*Stint or Stent. To allot work. Stinted = impregnated, of

cattle [M. C. H. B.].
Stiony. A small itching and inflamed pimple among the
eyelashes. It is sometimes Sty. [? Sty
in eye, W. R.]
Stir-up Sunday. The last Sunday after Trinity of which ;

the collect, in our Book of Common Prayer, begins with

'
the words Stir up'
 Stitch Stone Runner
*Stitch. A space between two double furrows ;
a rig
[B. N. 3].

Stith. An anvil.

Stive, (i) (2) A smoke, a'dutt' (dirt) [Arderon,

Dust.
also E. S. T.and Johnson]. (3) To raise dust. Ex. Go '

'

gently, Tom, you stive the ladies said to an awkward ;

fellow who
kicks up clouds of dust in riding or walking.
(4) 'All of a stive,' all in a bustle [E. M.].

^Stiver or Stover. Marsh litter or marsh stuff [M. C. H. B.].

*Stivven up. A road is so when blown full of snow
[Johnson].
Stock. The back or sides of a fireplace ;
whence the simile,
4
as black as the stock!

*Stocken or Stocking. '

The barley will not get out of the
'
stocken [F. J. B.].
*Stock Frost, (i) One which freezes the river, beginning
at the bottom [Arderon]. (2) Ground or mare's ice
[M. C. H. B.].

Stodge. To stir up various ingredients into a thick mass.

*Stoeing. The lopping or topping of pollards [Johnson].

Trees generally [W. B.].

*Stoggy. Thick, broad, and strongly made [Johnson, Tun-

gate].
*Stoly. Dirty [Ray].
Stomach, (i) Anger. (2) To resent. (3) To endure. I
'

cannot stomach it' [F. J. B.]. (4) To lose one's stomach

and find a greyhound = to recover one's appetite after an
illness [M. C. H. B.].

Stomachful. Resentful.
*Stondle. A bearing tub [Marshall].
Stone Blind. Totally blind, blind as a stone. Vide Sand
Blind.
*Stone Runner. The ringed plover [J. H. G.].
 Stoneware Straight Shop 215

Stoneware. Old-fashioned earthenware of a dusty white or

greyish colour.
Stoop. An ancient sort of drinking- vessel. There are, or
were a few years ago, in some colleges at Cambridge some
very old ones, retaining their proper name.
Stoor. (i) To stir. (2) A Btir, commotion, bustle [Br.].
(3)
'
A stoor '
of yeast is a sufficient quantity for a brew-

ing, be it large or small. It is not so called because

kept in store (the common pronunciation), but that it
is to be stoored (stirred) into the wort to excite fermenta-
tion.

*Stop. The bucket of a well ; formerly any bucket. See

' '

Prompt. Parv. My Ike stop [E. S. T.].

*Stoppages. Convulsions or fainting fits
[H. B.].
'

For Boy, how you do

' '
*Store. stir.' store I
[Johnson].
*Stormified. Stormy-looking [M. C. H. B.].
Stound. (i) A while, a portion of time. Ex. 'He stayed
a long stound.' (2) To stun. A man may be stounded
by a blow on the head. (3) To overcome with astonish-
ment.
Stour. Stiff, stout.

*Stove. To fumigate [B. N. 63].

Stover. Winter food for cattle.

*Stow. (i) To drive sheep, swine, horses, &c., into a corner,

in order to catch them [Spur.]. (2) To put away, to store
up [G. E.].
Stra or Strow. Straw.
Straddlins. Astride. In some counties it is Astraddle.

Straft. A scolding bout, an angry strife of tongues [Sir

Thomas Browne],
^Straight Shop. A public-house in which liquor is sold at
the same price indoors as outdoors [W. R.].
216 Strakes Strome
*Strakes. t The iron tire or rirn of a wheel, Suffolk
(j)
[Spur.]. (2) The boards forming the sides of a boat.
Perhaps from streaks.

*Strake-tire. The tire of a wheel when made in sections ;

hoop -tire when the whole tire is in one piece [W. B.].

*Stramalkin. The gadding or loitering of a tall, awkward,

dirty, and slovenly-dressed person, particularly a female
[Johnson]. [A marvellously comprehensive word W. R] !

*Strapping. Outswapping others, a strapping great gal,

very fine and large [M. C. H. B.].
*Streeking Board. The ironing-board [Spur.].
*Strif. Strife [M. C. H. B.].
*Strike. The flat bar by which all the grain above the
measure is struck off.

Strings. The shafts of a wagon [Be van].

Strinkle. To sprinkle.

Strip. To strip a cow is to milk her very clean, so as to

leave no milk in the dug.

Strippings. The last milk drawn from a cow in milking.

It is considered richer than the first milk. In Norfolk
strockings.
Strit. A street.

Strockings. The last draining of the cow's milk, which can

be got by strocking (stroking) the paps, after the full
stream has ceased.
Strome. To walk with long strides. It may be figuratively
connected with Stream, from the rapidity of motion
'
[Forby], E. S. Taylor, on the contrary, writes, It is
a peculiarity in E. A. dialect to convey a variety in the
meaning of a word by altering a vowel in it. A long
vowel denotes slowness. Trip is to move quickly. Trape
isto drag along heavily.' This is borne out by Spurden,
'

who says to stroa/m is to wander idly about.

'
 Strong-docked Stuggy 217

Strong -
docked. Thickset and stoutly made about the
loins and rump. It is a valuable qualification of

labourers, male or female, employed in work requiring

the exertion of the muscles of those parts of the body.
Betty is a good shearer (reaper),' said an old labourer in
'

commendation of his daughter ;

'
she is a fine strong-
docked wench.'

Stroop. The gullet, or the windpipe. It seems indifferently

applied to both.
Strout. A struggle, bustle, quarrel.
' '
*Strul. Well. That will do strut [Johnson].
Strum, (i) A
battered prostitute. An abbreviation of
Strumpet, as brim, in a like application, is from brim-
stone. (2) To make a noise on a musical instrument
[M. C. H. B.].

*Strumel. A loose long head of hair [Johnson].

*Strunt. An animal's tail [Johnson].

Stry. To destroy, to waste.

Stry, Strygood. A wasteful person, a bad manager or
economist.

Stryance. Wastefulness.

Stry-goodly. Wasteful, extravagant. Ex. '

A ^try-goodly
fellow.'

*Stub, Stump. Stub rabbits = rabbits that do not go to

ground [M. C. H. B.].
*Stubley. Full of roots [M. C. H. B.].

*Stub Shot. A shoot growing from the stub [Johnson],

*Stud. (i) A
steady careful person, who has the care and
management of a business or family left to his trust, is
said to be its stud and support [Johnson]. (2) A nick-
name given to a man from his love of venery (Wilton,
i877)[M. C. H. B.].

*Stuggy. Short, thickset, pluggy [W. G. W.].

218 Stulk Hole Summering
Stulk Hole. Vide Pulk Hole.
*Stull. Any unusually large mackerel [E. F. G.]. Sir
Thos. Browne talks of one caught at Lowestoft an ell long,
in 1668. See Sull.

Stulp. A low post put down to mark a boundary, or to

give support to something. A post standing up a little

above ground [Arderon].

^Stunner. To signify something of uncommon merit, e. g.
'

That 's a stunner [C. H. E. W.].

'
I

Stunt, (i) A check in growth. Ex. 'That tree has got

a stunt.' (2) To sprain [M. C. H. B.].
Stunt, Stunty. Short, blunt, crusty, unmannerly.

Stupe. A foolish and dull person.

Stuttle. Vide Stan stickle.
*Such-time. Time when [M. C. H. B.].

Suckling, (i) A
honeysuckle. What she did admire,
'

that was the suckling-room,' i. e. the honeysuckle-papered

room [H. The common purple clover.
B.]. (2)
In
Suffolk, however, the red clover is never called suckling,
but that term is generally used for the white or Dutch
clover.

*Sudges. Suds [Spur.].

Sue. To issue in small quantities, to exude as a fluid from
a vessel not sufficiently tight to confine it [Forby]. A cow
is sue or sew when she ceases to give milk [Johnson].

*Suecutret. Disappointment [M. C. H. B.].

*Sukey. A settle (Miss Ray, per C. S. P.) ; also in Herts

[C. D.].
*Sull. A very large mackerel [N. and Q., 2nd Ser. vi.

p. 382]. See Stull.

*Summering. The summer growth, or summer feed or

pasturing [M. C. H. B.].

 Summer-lamb S wacker 219

*Summer-lamb. The common snipe in summer, when it

'
'
drums or lambs,' a noise somewhat resembling a
'

<ba,ba' [C. H. B.].

*Summer land, to. To lay it fallow a year [Ray].

*Summerly. A turnip fallow [Marshall] .

Sump, (i) A dead weight. (2) A blockhead. (3) A fish-

box to keep fish alive in water [M. C. H. B.].
Sumpy. ( ) Heavy, lumpish, sullen. It is often applied to
i

bread not sufficiently baked. (2) Saturated with water,

as wreck timber [E. S. T.].
*Sun Dog. Halo round the sun [M. C. H. B.].
Sunket. (i) To pamper, cocker, cram with delicacies. (2) A

contemptuous appellation of a silly fellow. (3) A tit-bit

'

or dainty bit. (4) Spelt * suncate in Halliwell.

Sunkets. (i) Dainty bits, nice feeding [Forby]. (2) A
small quantity of food or drink, especially if given
grudgingly [Johnson].
Suss Suss
! An invitation to swine to come and eat their
!

wash.
Suss, (i) To swill like a hog. 'I '11 suss your pluck,' is
a serious threat of an enraged vixen. (2) An uncleanly
mess, looking like hog-wash. Possibly there may be
some reference to the Latin word sus ; but vide Soss.

(3) A pig that thirsty, out of condition, e. g. She only

is
'

sussed,' i. e. drained the liquid and left the meal. (4) ' He
went suss into the water,' to tumble in headlong and
make a splash in so doing. (5) Suss, v. to oppress
[M. C. H. B.].
*Suttling or Swattling. Tippling, drinking a long time and
to great excess [Johnson].

Swack. (i)To throw with violence. Teut. swacken, vibrare.

L. Sc. swak. (2) A hard blow or violent fall. (3) Violently.
Ex. I fell down swack'
'

Swacker. Something huge, a bulky and robust person.

220 Swacking Swattle

Figuratively, a great lie. Ex. '

That 's a swacker.
Whacker ?
[W. R].
Swacking. Huge, robust.
*Swad. Pork swad= brawn [A. Grimmer]. See Sward and
Swerd.

*Swaggle. To agitate in a jug [G. E.].

*Swaies, or wands, occurs in the Churchwardens' Accounts

of St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich, 1630. See Norf. Antiq.
Misc., vol. ii.
p. 21. See Sway.

Swailing. Lounging from side to side in walking. [? Staling,

W.B.]
Swake, Swike. The handle of a pump.
Swale, (i) A low place. (2) Shade, in opposition to sun-
shine. Ex. 'Let us walk, or sit, in the swale.' (3) To
'

melt away. Ex. The candle swales by being placed in

'

a current of air [E. M.].

*Swallop. A rolling, heavy, lounging walk [Johnson].

*Swan. Swans' eggs are not supposed to hatch before there
has been a thunderstorm (to crack the hard shell ?)
[M. C. H. B.].
'

Swang. To swing with great force. '

To sivang the door
a better phrase than to slam it. Also Swang on
'
is to
'

him, give him a good smack [B. N. 91].

Swang-ways. Obliquely, aside.
Swank. To sink in the middle.

Swaper, Sway. A switch.

Sward Pork. Bacon cured in large flitches. But see Swerd
and Swad.
*Swarth. For swaithe,' the row of cut
'

grass.
Swash. To affect valour, to vapour or swagger.
*Swatch. A narrow channel through a shoal [E. F. G.].
*Swattle. To guzzle or drink.
 Swattock Swinny 221

*Swattock. A variety of 'swack.' An old woman at

'
Beccles said, '
I fell down swattock, and there I lay gulsh
[E. S. T.].

*Sway. A
Bmall pliable twig or branch [Johnson]. A rod
or switch [Marshall]. See Swaies.

*Sweepage. The right of cutting faggots, grass, &c., on

a several or common allotment [M. C. H. B.].
Sweetful. Delightful, charming, full of sweets.
*Sweet William. Some salt-water fish. (Species I could
not determine.) Lemon sole ? [M. C. H. B.].
Sweldersome, Sweltersome. Overpoweringly hot.
'

Swelking. Sultry. Ex. It is a swelking hot day.'

*Swerd. A Norfolk dish composed of the rind of pork

seasoned, rolled up tight, boiled, and eaten in slices also ;

called Mockbrawn [Johnson]. Now called Pork Cheese

[Tungate]. See Swad. [It cannot be of the rind only,W.R]
Swidge. A puddle or plash of water.
Swift. An eft or newt, a common species of lizard.
Swiggle. To shake liquor in an inclosed vessel.
*Swill. (i) A ped or hamper in which herrings are carried

[Johnson]. (2) Pigs' food [C. H. E. W.].

*Swimmer. Light dumplings [B. N. 12].

^Swinge. A leash or couple by which hounds are led

[Johnson].
Swingel. That part of a flail which swings. In Suffolk,
the Tail-top. Also a Crank [Marshall].

Swingle. To cut off the heads of weeds, without rooting

up the plants.
^Swingling. A process in dressing or preparing flax and
hemp [Johnson].
^Swinny. A little crab, common on the Norfolk coast
[W. G. W.].
222 Swipe Sybbrit
Swipe. The lever or handle of a pump.
^Swipes. Small or very indifferent beer [C. H. E. W.].
*Swish. A pool of water [B. N. 25].
*Swish Tail, or Switch Tail. The tail of a horse uncut
[Johnson].
*Swiving. Mowing with a reap-hook [B. N. 37].
Swob, (i) A very awkward fellow, who seems fit only for
coarse drudgery. our form of the sea-term Swabber,
It is
one who sweeps and cleans the deck with a swab or mop.
'

(2) Best explained in an Ex. If you stir it, it will swob

over,'i. e. the
liquor in a vessel so full that the slightest
motion will throw it over the brim, leaving something to
be swabbed or swept up.
*Swobber. To oscillate water, &c. [G. E.].

Swobble. To talk in a noisy, bullying, saucy manner, like

a blackguard.
*Swobble-cart. One that goes more on other people's
business than its owner's [W. B.].
Swobfull. Brirnfull, so that an attempt to move the vessel
would make its contents overflow.

*Swop. To exchange, to chop [C. H. B.].

Swottling. Corpulent, greasy, and sweaty.

*Swuggle. (i)To put liquor in motion in a tub, &c., when
rinsing it
[Johnson], (2) To drink eagerly [Spur.].
*Swulk. The quantity of drink taken at one suction
[Spur.].
Swullocking. A gross intens. of Swelking, q.v.

*Swum. Swam. In general use [H. B.] .

Swurd. A sword.
Sybbrit. The banns of marriage. It is one of Sir Thomas
Browne's words, and in full use at this day. See
Siberet.
 Ta Take 223

Ta, Te, To. The, this, that, it. If we write

'
te freeze,' or
'
'
te hail
'

(for it freezes,' or
'
it hails ')
we must caution
our readers to give to the vowel the same sound which
it has on the French monosyllables, le, te, se, &c. Ta
'

may, perhaps, be preferable. Ex. Ta freeze 1

' '
Yes,
'

and ta hail to.' Do it freeze ?

'
No, ta don't freeze
'

now, but ta wull at night' [Forby]. A child will say of

'

the railway train, Here ta cum [W. R.]. For the third
'

form, to, we have common and general authority in

to-day, to-night, and to-morrow, for this day or night,
and the morrow.
Tab. The latchet of a shoe, fastened with a string or
(i)
thong. (2) The end of a lace commonly, and perhaps ;

more properly called a Tag.

Tack, (j) A trick at cards. (2) The handle of a scythe.
Also Sneed [Johnson].
Tag. (i) The rabble. Rag and Bobtail are generally of the
party. (2) To follow closely, as it were an appendage.
Ex. '
He is always tagging after her.'

Tagney. Finery. 'Tagney clothes,' the Sunday best

[M. C. H. B.].
*Tail 'em. To make an even exchange of animals [Johnson].

Tale?[W. R.].
*Tailshotten. A disease in the tail of cattle, in which the
spinal marrow becomes so affected that the beast is unable
to stand [Johnson].
* The swingle or short stick of a flail
Tail-top. [Norwich
Mercury, Nov. 15, 1828].

Taint, (i) A very dirty slut. A most expressive word,

as if her dirt were contagious, and it were unsafe to
come near her. (2) A large protuberance at the top of
a pollard tree.

Take, (i) 'To take on,' to enlist, to take on himself the

'
duties of a soldier, to grieve. Ex. She took on sorely
224 Tarn Tass
for her husband's death.' To ache, as a wound, a strain,
or a bruise, takes on. (a) To take to do, to take to
task to rate or reprove.
; (3) To take a talking to.
Pretty much like the second phrase, but implying more
and severity. Ex. I wish,
of gravity good
'
sir,' said a
woman who had a graceless whelp of a you would son,
'

be so good as to send for my Tom into your study,

and take a talking to him. I hope ta would daunt
him.' (4) To take a thing next the heart, to take it on
an empty stomach [M. C. H. B.].
Tarn. The familiar abbreviation of the female name
Thomasine, probably used to distinguish it with proper
delicacy from the coarse masculine Tom.
Tan. Then. We very commonly pronounce it than.

Tang. A strong flavour ; generally, but not always, an

unpleasant one.
^Tangle. Sea- weed wrack [M. C. H. B.].

*Tangle-leg. Strong beer [M. C. H. B.].

Tantablet. A sort of tart, in which the fruit is covered by
a crust, but fancifully tricked and flourished with slender
shreds of pastry.
?

*T'antony s Fire. The erysipelas.

*
Tap Ordinary beer, the droppings of the tap [Johnson].
lap.
Sed quere Cat-lap [W. R.].
Tappis. To lie close to the ground. sportsman's phrase. A
Ex. It is so wet the birds cannot tappis'
'

Tardry. Immodest, loose, whorish.

(
i
) (a) Shabby genteel,
cheap finery [M. C. H. B.].
*Tarmarl. Tarred string.
'

*Tarmit. For 'turnip [Johnson].

*Tarra-diddle. A falsehood of the lesser kind.

Tass. A dish or a dram ;

as a tass of tea, or a tass of

brandy.
 Tathe Teeter-cum-tauter 225

Tathe. (i) Manure dropped upon the land by the cattle

depastured upon it, principally of sheep. Teath [Johnson].

(2) To manure land with fresh dung by turning cattle

upon it.

Tatter. To stir actively and laboriously. It is commonly

used in conjunction with Tow (pronounced like cow),
which, if not equivalent, is closely connected in meaning,
q.v. Ex. He is a very painstaking man, always towing
'

'

and tattering after his business [Forby]. Scolding, con-

tinually lecturing [Johnson].
Taunt. To tease ;
to pester with silly questions, importunate

entreaties, or any mode of minute vexation. Ex.

'
How
'

this child does taunt me !

(pronounced like aunt).
*Taut. (i) Tight, close, fast. (2) Watertight, of a boat
[M.C.H.B.].
*Tavaels. Cat's claws or talons of a hawk.
*Taw Maker. Work in weaving which makes flowers
[Arderon].
*Teagle. Tackle [Spur.].
*Team. A team of links = a string or chain of sausages
[Spur.].

*Team, Teamer. To pour out copiously. use it also We

metaphorically of a multitude pouring along like a stream :

of a thronged congregation issuing from a church, or a

crowded audience from a theatre, it is said 'how they
came teamering out.'
*Teamer. A team of five horses [Marshall].
*Teath, Taythe. The manure of sheep, particularly when
the field is regularly folded [Johnson].
Teen. Trouble, vexation.
^Teeniest. Tiniest, very smallest [M. C. H. B.].

*Teeter-cum-tauter. A see-saw [Johnson]. Still in com-

mon use [W. B.].
Q
226 Tell Thatney
*Tell. To count or recount. 'I never heard tell on it

afore.'

*Tempanus or Tempus Fire. Erysipelas (? St. Antony's

fire).

^Temper. In Norf. = to ease in Essex, first to clean

;

plough the land shallow, then to rove across, then stetch

up and plough once more. See Young's Agric. of Ess.,
i. 261, or full quotation in Murray's case [C. D.].

^Tempest. Thunder- showers.

Tench Weed. A sort of pond weed, having a slime or
mucilage about it; supposed to be very agreeable to
that fat and sleek fish. It is Potamogeton natans, Lin.

Tend, (i) To wait on company at table. (2) To take care

of children, cattle, poultry.

Tender. A waiter at a public table or place of entertain-

ment.

Terrify. To seize ;
to irritate annoy. A blister or a caustic
is said to terrify a patient. To shake [JV. and Q., 3rd
Ser. iv. p. 126]. To tear out, p. 178 [F. C. H.].
*Tetchy. Irritable [C. S. P.].

Tew, Tow. (i) To pull, tear, and tumble about, as hay

with the fork and rake, a weedy soil with plough and
harrow. (2) Tew, two [M. C. H. B.].
*Tewel. The vent or fundament of a horse.
*Tewey. To be squeamish in eating [C. S. P.],

Thack. To thatch ;
or the material for thatching as straw,;

sedge, reeds, &c. ;

also to thwack [Johnson, and Em.].

Thackster. A thatcher.

Thapes. Gooseberries. E S. T. says, 'I have never heard

Tapes used. My grandmother invariably called goose-
" '

berry-tart, thape pie." Tungate agrees with this, so

does Marshall [Sir Thomas Browne]. Vide Fapes.

*Thatney. That fashion [Arderon].

 That'ns Throat-latch 227

That'ns. In that manner.

The. Used asan inflexion on It. Ex. The child will cut '

'

you do not take away the knife [O. E.].

'
theself, if The
own accord
'

[Arderon].
Thead. The tall wicker strainer placed in the mash-tub
over the hole in the bottom, that the wort may run off
clear. It is perhaps more commonly called a read.

There and there-aways. Thereabouts. Ex. Is the horse '

'
worth twenty pounds ? There and there-aways.'
'

*Thight. Close, thickset, &c., as in crops [Marshall].

*Thiller. The shaft horse [W. R.].
Thinder. Vide Yinder. Th and y have in many instances
been confounded, not from any cognatio literarum, but
from some similarity of A. S. characters. This is the
origin of the common abbreviations, y
e
, y*, &c.

*Thiseney. This fashion [Arderon].

*Thisness. In this manner or way [Johnson].
This'ns, Thus'ns, That'ns. In this or that manner.
Thite. (i) Tight; as applied to the fitting of apparel. (2)

Compact, not leaky, water-tight.

Thokish. Slothful, sluggish [Sir Thomas Browne and
Johnson].
*Thongy. The heat between two showers [JB. N. 2].

"^Thorough. Short or pin. A

spavin which shows itself
on both sides of a horse's hough or hock [Johnson].
'

Thoughts. Opinion. Ex. It is my thoughts that,' &c.

*Thow. For Thaw [Johnson],
*Thrattles. Sheep's dung in pellets [Johnson].
Three-releet. Vide Keleet.
Throat-latch, (i) The narrow thong of the bridle which
passes under a horse's throat. Throat-band [Johnson].
(2) The strings of a hat, cap, &c., fastened under the
chin.
Q 2
228 Thrum Tiffle

Thrum. To purr, as a cat.

(i) A simple mode of fastening

Thumb-snack, a door. Vide
Snack. (2) Or thumb-bonds, in thatching [M. C.H. B.].
Thump. A sort of hard cheese. Vide Bang.
'

Thunder. '
March thunder makes all the world wonder

[M. G H. B.].
Thurck. Dark. So say Hickes and Ray, and so it may
have been for aught we can say to the contrary [Sir T.
Browne].
*Tibs. The extreme ends of a cart. I never heard it used
to those of a wagon [Johnson].
Tick, (i) A
very gentle touch, by way of hint, or as
a token of endearment. Br. tig, Fr. tic. (2) To toy.
Indeed, the two are often used together, and seem to
defy discrimination two fond sweethearts are sometimes
;

seen ' ticking and toying.'

Tiddling, Tittling. Topmost. 'The tiddling top' means

the very highest point, the same as Tip-top. The mean-
ing may perhaps be, that a thing so placed must stand
ticklish or tittlish.

*Tidiff. The titmouse or oxeye. In Norfolk, the Pickcheese

[Johnson].
Tidy. A
light outer covering worn by children to keep
their clothes from dirt and grease.

*Tidy, Tidily, (i) 'I fare pretty tidy, kind o' middling,'
a little more than moderate. 'I'm a-doing pretty tidily
now, I'm a-mendin.' (2) A good tidy stroke = quickly
[M. C. H. B.].
*Tied up. Confused, constipated [Johnson]. (2) Mar-
(i)
ried. Tied house, a retail house bound to deal with
(3)
a certain wholesale house [M. C. H. B.].
Tiff. A pet, slight anger. Ex. '
She was in a tiff.'

Time. To be mightily busy about little or nothing.

 Tight Ting-tang 229

Tight, (i) Prompt, active, alert. 'A tight fellow!' (a)

Drunk. 'He is tight.' (3) Tidy. 'Tight yourself up'
[W. B.].

Tightly. Promptly, actively, alertly.

Tight Lock. Any species of coarse sedge growing in marsh

ditches. So called from its being used to bind the
sheaves of beans or oats, growing very luxuriantly on
such land.
Tild. To incline. It is particularly applied to a cask, so
raised at one end as that the liquor, when it is become

low, may flow out at the other. We also say of anything

which stands and in apparent danger of falling,
inclined,
' '
that it stands Hiding? or upon the tilt! In T. J. both
verb and substantive are tilt. So, indeed, they very
commonly are with us. But there is fair analogy for

the difference in spelling.

*Tile-loose. A harmless lunatic, shanny [M. C. H. B.].

Tilesherd. A fragment of a tile, as potsherd of a pot, q. d.
Shred.

Tiller, (i) The handle of a spade. (2) To throw out many

stems from the same root. (3) Of land, in good tiller or
tilth. (4) In good heart, or in good working order
[M. C. H. B.].
*Timberwhim. A gill [M. C. H. B.].

*Time I do this Awhile I do this [Em.].

*Tine. The prong of a fork [Johnson]. Compare a stag

of ten tynes [W. R.].

Ting. To ring a small bell.

'
To ting bees,' is to collect
them together, when they swarm, by the ancient music
of the warming-pan and the key of the kitchen door ;

the melody of which is still believed to be very effica-

cious.

Ting-tang. A small and shrill bell, to summon the family

230 Tip Toad Skep
to dinner, the congregation to prayers, &c. The sanctus
or saunce bell.

Tip. A
smart but light blow.
Tipe. To kick up, or fall headlong, from being top-heavy.
The word seems connected with top through tip [Forby].
To tip up a cart [Johnson].

^Tippling. Haymaking [Halliwell], Neither Johnson nor

I know this [W. K.].
Tissick. A tickling faint cough ; called also a
'

tissicky
cough.'
*Titchy. Touchy, irritable [M. C. H. B.].
Titter. To ride on each end of a balanced plank. Other-
wise Titter-cum-totter. A common
sport among children,
sometimes ending in broken heads or limbs. See Teeter-
cum-tauter, a see-saw. Commonly Tittem-a-tauter.
Titter, (i) A pimple. (2) The teat [M. C. H. B.].
*Titteravating. Perplexing, teasing [Johnson].
*Titterish, otherwise Totterish. Tittery, tottery, unstable,
easily overset [Spur.].
Titter-worm. A cutaneous efflorescence, a series or con-
fluence of minute pimples.
Tittle. To tickle.

Tittle-my-fancy. Pansies. Viola tricolor, Lin.

Titty, Titty-totty. Very small, tiny, sometimes pleonas-
tically, little titty.

Tiver. (i) A composition of which tar is the principal

ingredient, to colour and preserve boards exposed to the
(2) Marked with ochre. The sheep are
'
air [Johnson].
'

tivered across the loins [Johnson].

*Toad-in-the-hole. Meat and batter baked pudding
[M. C. H. B.].
Toad's Cap. A fungus.
*Toad Skep. A fungus produced from ash-trees [Johnson].
 Tod Top Latch 231

Tod. (i) The head of a pollard

tree [Forby]. (2) The
'

upright stake of a wan hurdle, the '

bottom of a tree
left in the ground. See Slaper
[Johnson]. (3) To amount
to a tod, or twenty-eight pounds of wool.

To-do. A stir, a bustle. Ex. '

He made a great to-do
about it.'

*Tog. A crab [W. R.].

Together. Seemingly, but not really, an adverb converted

to a noun, and used in familiarly addressing a number
of persons collectively. Ex. Well, together, how are ye '

' '
*
all? Where are you going together ? i. e. both of you
[W. R.].
Tolc. To tempt, coax, &c. Ex. '
Good sauce tolcs down
the meat.' In Suffolk it is Tole.

*Tole away, (i) To draw away or persevere in drawing

[Spur.]. (2) To tole, to talk into or over [M. C. H. B.].

Tolerate. To domineer, to tyrannize.

*Tom Breezer. The dragon-fly [M. C. H. B.].
*Tomma. A brown loaf [Johnson]. But surely tommy is

recent slang for any bread [W. R.].

Tommy. A small spade to excavate the narrow bottoms
of under-drains. Also a small wrench used by engineers.
Tom Poker. The great bugbear and terror of naughty
children, who inhabits dark closets, holes under the
stairs, unoccupied cock-lofts, false roofs, &c. Such places
are often called from him Poker-holea.

Tom-tommy. A plough with a double breast, to clear out

furrows.

Tongue. A small sole, from its shape. A distinction used

by our fishermen.
Toon. Too [? W. R.].

Top Latch. The thong by which the sales of the horse-

collar are tied together.
232 Top and Tail To-ward
*Top and Tail. To top and tail turnips, to cut their
leaves and roots off, generally called 'tailing tunnips'
[M. C. H. B.].
Toppings. The second skimming of milk, the first being
properly called cream.
Topple. To tumble, to bring the head to the ground and
throw the heels over.
Toppler. A
tumbler, who, among various antic postures,
throws his heels over his head.
Tosh. A tusk,
a long and somewhat curved tooth. It is
but another form of the commoner word.
Toshnail. A nail driven in aslant or diagonally, so as to
have the stronger hold, like the teeth of some animals.
It is also used as a verb.
*Toshy. Muddy or sticky [G. J. C.].

*Totald. Killed or injured [Johnson].

'
*Tote. The whole or all.
'
The whole tote of them [John-
son].
Totty, Totty-headed. (i) Dizzy. Particularly from the effect
of too much drink [Ch.]. (2) Totty, tiny [M. C. H. B.].

*Tou. Snares for taking game. Sometimes applied to

greyhounds [Johnson]. No doubt the same as Tow.
*Touchwood. Dry rotten wood [G. E.].
Tow. Necessary tools, tackle, or apparatus for
any pur-
pose (pronounced like cow) [Forby]. An angling rod
and line is called in Norfolk, a fishing tow. farmer's A
stock of implements is called his tow [E. S. T.].

*Toward. Quiet, easily managed. As of a colt [W. B.].

Of a child [C. S. P.].
To-ward. (i) The substantive is to be inserted between
the two syllables of the preposition. Ex. To London '

ward,' i. e. toward London [O. E., P. L.]. (2) To be tame

or fond [G. E.].
 Tow Bowen Trig 233

*Tow Bowen. A blown herring [W. R.].

*Town. Any village. 'I have the best turnip in the
'
town [M. C. H. B.].
*Towty. Cord become untwisted and in nearly the same
state as before twisting, that is, hemp or tow [Johnson].

Trade. Line of conduct, course of action, practice, habit,

custom. Ex. If this is to be the trade,' &c. Here is
'

'

the source of another

'
American word.
Trafling Dish. A bowl through which milk is strained
into the tray in which it is set to raise cream.
Trape. To trail, to be drawn along. Ex. 'Her gown
trapes after her on the floor' [Forby]. It is strange that

throughout Forby 's examples he inserts the final s. This

'
should have read, ' Her gown trape after her [W. R.].

Traptles. The small pellets of the dung of sheep, hares,

rabbits, &c.
Traverse. A smith's shoeing shed.
Treaden. Made of thread. Within our memory threaden '

'

stockings were an article of Sunday apparel for village

servants and apprentices.
*Treen Plates. Trenchers [Spur.].

*Trickle, Trittle. To bowl. Ex. Trickle me an orange

'

across the table.'

'
The crowd was so thick, one might
have trickled balls on their heads.'
*Tricky. (i) Mischievous. (2) Spitefully ill-humoured.
(3) Artful.
Triculate. To adorn. seems to be fancifully formed
It
'
from the phrase to trick out.' It is used by masons for

putting the last hand to what they mean to be smart

and showy.
*Trids, Tirds. Foeces [M. C. H. B.].

Trig. ( )
i To
trot gently, or trip as a child does after its

They trigged off together.' (2) The mark from

'
nurse.
which a ball is delivered [Johnson].
 Trip Trundle

Trip, (i) A small cheese, made insummer, to be eaten in

its softand curdy state, or it soon becomes dry, tough,
and uneatable [Forby]. (2) A few sheep [Ray].

Trip-skin, (i) A
piece of leather, worn on the right-hand
side of the petticoat, by spinners with the rock, on which
the spindle plays, and the yarn is pressed by the hand
of the spinner. (2) The skinny part of roasted meat
which, before the whole can be dressed, becomes tough
and dry, like a trip overkept, or the leather used by old
women for cleaning.

*Trivet. A rest for the kettle on the hob [M. C. H. B.].

*Troat. The throat [M. C. H. B.].
*Troison. A taste or savour [Arderon].

Trollibags. The intestines.

*Trollies. The long narrow Yarmouth cart adapted to go

'

up the 'rows [W. R.]. See Currie.

*Troned. For trained.' He have ollost been ironed up
' '

t'ut' [Johnson].
*Trope. To saunter or loiter. See Trape [Johnson].
*Trosh. To beat out grain with a flail
[G. E.].
*Troshel. Threshold, a step [G. E.].
*Trotter. A woman of the town [W. B.].
Trouble. A woman's travail. Ex. '
She is now in her
trouble.' Perhaps a corruption.
Trounce-hole. A game at ball, very like trapball, but more
simple a hole in the ground serving for the trap, a flat
;

piece of bone for the trigger, and a cudgel for the bat.
Trow. A trough [E. S. T.].
*Truck. Rubbish of any sort which requires removing
[F. J. B.].
Trunch, Trunch-made. Short and thick; compact and
squab in figure.
*Trundle. To saunter [Em.].
 Trunk Tune 235

Trunk. A wooden box with air-holes, submerged in the

broads and rivers, in which fish when caught is kept if

not wanted immediately for market.

*Trunket. A game at ball, played with short sticks, and
having a hole in the ground instead of a wicket [John-

son]. Two Stone Trunket, the same game, but the boy
who wields the stick is put out by one of the other
players throwing the ball between the stones.
Trunk-way. A watercourse through an arch of masonry,
turned over a ditch before a gate. The name arose, no
doubt, from the trunks of trees used for the same pur-
pose in ancient and simpler times, and even now, in the
few wooded parts of both counties.

Try. To melt down by fire, for the purpose of purifying ;

usually applied to melting the suet of hogs, or other

animals, to get rid of the skinny and impure parts. The
purified lard is then kept for domestic use.
*Tucks-. Iron pins usually put in the upper part of the
blocks of a four-wheeled carriage for timber, to prevent
the timber slipping off [Johnson]. Sometimes pronounced
Stucks [W. B.].
*Tumble. To
agree, to understand ;
e. g.
*
He would not
'

tumble to it [M. C. H. B.].

Tumbler. A tumbril. Our name is exactly descriptive.
A tumbler is made open behind, and occasionally closed
by a tail-board. On the removal of this, and a strong
wooden bar before, which, passing through two iron
hold-fasts, secures the body to the shafts, the carriage
tumbles backwards and discharges the load.
Tunder. Tinder.

*Tundey. Rotten ; of wood shining with a phosphoric ap-

' '

pearance. It 's nothing but an old tundey-\og [W. B.].

'

*Tune. Order or temper. '

That farm is in good tune

[Johnson].
236 Tunmere Twank
Tunmere. The line of procession in parochial peram-
bulations.

Tunnel. A funnel.

*Tupe. To drink a quantity at a draught [J5.

N. 27].
From Tope ?
Turf. Peat, fuel dug from boggy ground. The Dictt. in-
terpret the word as meaning only the surface of the

ground pared off. These we call flags, and they are cut
from dry heaths, as well as from bogs. The substance
of the soil below these is turf. Every separate portion
of it is a turf.
*Turfer. A woman of the town [W. R.].
*Turnover. An article in pastry [G. E.].

Tussle. A struggle.
Tussock. A hassock, q. v. ;
a thick tuft of coarse grass in
pastures, or of rank growth in corn.
*Tussick. To cough.
*Tutnose. A short snub nose [Johnson].
Tutter. Trouble. *
What a tutter he make of it !
'

*Tuttle Box. An article used by ploughmen to keep the

horses apart from each other, that they may see forward
and between them to make a straight furrow [Johnson].
*Tuzzle for Tussle. A struggle.
*Tuzzy. Muzzy, ruffled, ragged, dishevelled [Johnson].
But very intoxicated [W. E..].
*Twack. To turn quickly to change or alter one's opinion
;

[Johnson].
*Twadeling. Slow, inactive, spiritless [Johnson].
*Twadle. A long whistling [G. E.].
Twank. (i) To let fall the carpenter's chalk-line, which
makes a smart slap upon the board, (2) To give a smart
slap with the flat of the hand, on the breech, or other
fleshy part.
 Twiddle - Tye 237

Twiddle. A small pimple. Sometimes a Widdle [Johnson].

To be busy and bestow seeming pains about the merest
'

trifles. Ex. What are you twiddling about there ?

'

Twig, (i) To give such a slight, but smart, correction as

may be inflicted with a twig. (2) Figuratively, to give
somewhat sharp, but not angry and severe reproof
[Forby]. (3) To sway sideways [Spur.].

*Twiggers. Tusser has this, but the meaning is obscure.

Twil. Until. It is a word compounded of the prep, to

'
and the subst. while ;
and means to the time.'

Twill. A sortof coarse linen cloth, of which loose frocks,

trowsers, &c., are made for working-men.
Twilt. (i) A quilt, here as well as in the North [T. J.].
(2) To
quilt [Br.]. (3) To beat.
expressive word, An
inasmuch as it is implied that weals are left, like the
stripes or ridges in quilted work. Boys used to show
with pride balls they had twitted, that is, quilted with
twine.

Twinny. To rob a cask before it is broached. A thievish

wench twinnies her dame's cask of mead or made wine.

*Twinters. Two winters. Beasts two winters old [B. N.

87].
*Twister. To twist or turn [G. E.].

Twit. (T) A fit of hasty ill-humour, snappishness. (2) To

taunt [C. H. E. W.].

*Twitchy. Said of the wind blowing in gales, unsteady.

Also irritable.
Twitty. Cross, snappish.
Twizzle. To turn a thing round and round between the
fingers,quickly and repeatedly. It is sometimes used in
a neuter sense. Ex. He came twizzling down.'
'

Tye. An extensive common pasture. There are several

tyes a few miles south of the central part of Suffolk ;
but
 T'year Upland
in no other part of East Anglia. There are also some
on the northern border of Essex.

*T'year. This year [M. C. H. B.].

Undeniable, Unexceptionable, with which no fault can

be found.
Under Butter. The butter made of the second skimmings
of milk in the dairy districts of Suffolk. It is kept for
domestic purposes, or sold to near neighbours for prompt
use ;
never put up in firkins and sent to market. Though
good for present consumption it will keep but a short
time.

Under Deck. The low broad tub into which the wort runs
from the mash-tub. [Under Beck?] Underback rather
than Underbeck [W. B.].
Under Grub. To undermine.
Under Grup. An under-drain, a concealed watercourse in
wet soils.

*Underly. Backward, behind time [M. C. H. B.].

*Underming. To undermine [M. C. H. B.].

Under Nean [Under Nane, W. B,.].
Underneath.

Uneathily. Unwieldy, hard to be put into motion.

Unfaceable. Unreasonable, indefensible. A proposal, or an
assertion,which a man could not have the face boldly
to make or to maintain, is said to be an unfaceable one.

Ungain. Inconvenient, intractable. Ex. The land '

lies
'
ungain for me.' My horse is very ungain.'
Unsensed. (i) Stunned, as by a blow or fall. (2) Stupe-
fied, as by excess of drink. (3) Insane.

*Up. Said of birds in full breeding plumage [M. C. H. B.].

Upland. Higher and drier ground, as contradistinguished

from fen-land.
 Upright Wad 239

*Upright, to live = live on income from money or land.

'
'
She lived upright would be intended as a high com-
pliment to one deceased [F. J. B.].

Upstart. The deep impression of a horse's foot in a clayey

soil, filled up with water, which, when another
soon
horse happens to tread in the very same place, starts
upwards and plentifully bespatters the rider.
Urgeful. Urgent, importunate, teasing.

* Valuation. '
I lost the valuation of eight
Time, quantity.
sacks of potatoes.' Let it stay there the valuation of two
'

days' [Marshall].
* Vance Hoof. The
garret [Marshall].
*Vardle. Bottom hinge of a gate \B. N. 86].
Vast. A very great quantity. ' We had a vast of rain in the
last quarter of the year 1824.'
Vessel, (i) Half-a-quarter of a sheet of writing paper (I).
(2) A wooden cask to hold fermented liquors.
Vine. Any trailing which must spread
fruit-bearing plant,
itself on the ground be not supported, as cucumbers,
if it
'

melons, strawberries, &c. This is another American

'

word [W. R.].

Voke. To make an effort to vomit. Vide Boke and Puke.

*Wab. An artificial teat, used in rearing young children

or animals [Spur.].
*Wack [Whack, W. R.], a quantity, enough.
*Wacken. Large.
'
A wacken boy
'

[Johnson]. But
'

surely this is only the common expression

'

whacking
[W. R.].
Wad. Woad. A
plant of great use in dyeing. By mixture
itcontributes to produce many colours. What it yields
of itself is blue. As blue as wad.'
'
240 Wad Walter
*Wad. The edge of grass, hay, or stubble left higher than
other parts between each mower's work in mowing
a field [Johnson].
*Wade. To have liberty; as the tension in a mortice or
other joint, from the wood having shrunk, is said to wade
[Johnson] .

Wadmal. A very coarse and thick kind of woollen manu-

facture. What is thus called by us is
only the winter
clothing of rustics.
*Wake. A
piece of open water, in the midst of a frozen
river or broad. In Norway called WAK
[M. C. H. B.].
*Wale. The forefront of a horse-collar [Johnson].

Walk, (i) An uninclosed cornfield [Forby]. (2) A fair or

wake [Spur.].
Walks. A large extent of country so circumstanced is called
'
The Walks' The name is, no doubt, from the ancient
manorial right of sheep-walk over such lands during
a considerable part of the year.
*Wall. (i) To lie by the. Ex. He '
lies by the wall,' is, he
is dead.Spoken between death and burial [Cull. Haw.].
(2) Marsh or river wall, an artificial earth embankment

against water [M. C. H. B.].

*Wall -
bird. The spotted flycatcher. From the usual
situation of its nest [J. H. G.].
*Walland band. The leather used in spinning [E. S. T.].

"^Wall-eyed. When the two eyes are of a different colour

[M. C. H. B.].
Wallis. The withers of a horse.

Wallop. To move as fast as possible, but not without

much effort and agitation. The gallop of a cow or a cart-
horse is a good specimen of wallopping [Forby].

Walter, Wolter. (i) To roll and twist about on the

ground as corn laid by the wind and rain or as one
; ;
 Wan Warted 241

who is rolled in the mire. (2) To cause extreme fatigue,

whether by the above-mentioned discipline, or any other
exhausting exertion. I am right on woltered out
Ex. '

by my day's work,' long walk, or whatever else. See

Wankered.
Wan. A long rod to wave into a wattled hedge.

Wancle, Wanky. Weak, pliant, sometimes winky-wanky.

*Waney. A long talk [G. E.].

*Wankered (see Woltered). Fatigued or exhausted ;
a
'

corruption from vanquished' [E. S. T.].

*Wanklin. A weakling [B. N. 92].

^Wanting. Wanted, e. g. rain was wanting (N. Ess.)
[C. D.].

*Wanty. The belly-band of harness [M. C. H. B.].

*Wany. Partly unsound timber.

Wanze. To waste, pine, wither.
Wap. (i) To wrap. (2) To beat ;
with some figurative
allusion to the former sense.

Wapper-jaws. A wry mouth, a warped jaw.

Wappet. A yelping cur. Vide Yap.
Waps, Wapsy. A wasp. The original word.
Warble, Warblet. A hard swelling in the hides of cows
and other caused by the growth of a larva or large
cattle,

maggot, from the egg of a fly deposited there. Warbeetles

[Johnson].
Ward. Callosity of the skin, on the hands from hard
labour, and on the feet from much walking.
*Warded off. Started off work [M. C. H. B.].
*Warp. (i) A lamb cast some time before its maturity
[Johnson]. (2) Of herrings, is four [E. F. G.].
* Warted. The situation of a dog and bitch when together
[Johnson].
R
 r
as Weam
'

*Was. Short for '

vast,' in sound like 'worse ;

e. g. 'Taint
a worse sight better than 'twas afore.'

*Wase. To breathe with difficulty, as in asthma [Johnson].

'
*Wash. Sweat ;
as
'
The horse is all of a wash [W. B.].

*Wasket. A heavy block of wood for levelling turf

[M. C. H. B.].
*Wasking. A beating [Johnson].
'
I'll warsk yar weskit
'

[Em.].
*Waste. To bang or cudgel.

*Waster. (i) A defective wick to a candle, causing guttering

and waste [Johnson]. (2) A rabbit or other animal that
looks like a dier, wasting away [M. C. H. B.].

Water Dogs. Small clouds of irregular but roundish form,

and of a darker colour, floating below the dense mass of
cloudiness in rainy seasons, supposed to indicate the
near approach of more rain.
* Water-frolic. A regatta on the broads [H. B.].
* Water- The short-tailed field-mouse.
ranny.
* Water-ret. The in water [Johnson].
steeping hemp
Water-slain. Overcome with superabundance of water.
Water Springe. A copious flow or springing of saliva,
which often precedes and attends nausea.
Water Sprizzle. A disease in goslings and ducklings, of
which no intelligible account can be obtained from those
who are most conversant with the diseases of those
animals.

Water Taking. A pond from which water is taken, in

default of a pump for the use of the house.

Water Whelp. A dumpling kneaded without either yeast

or eggs, and of course very hard and heavy.

*Waxspunsends.- Waxed thread [G. E.].

*Weam. A rent or tear in a garment or cloak [Johnson].
 Weariful Well 243

Weariful. Tiresome, giving exercise to patience. Ex. '

I
have had a weariful bout of it.'

'
Weary, (i) Feeble, sickly, puny. Ex. It is a poor weary
child.' (2) Troublesome, vexatious [Br.].
'

^Weather. Stormy weather. '

What a day of weather

[M. C. H. B.].
"^Weather-breeder. An unseasonably
'
still
'

or fine day

[M. C. H. B.].

Weather-head. The secondary rainbow.

Weather-laid. Stopped on an intended journey by stress
of weather.

Web. (i) 'The web of the body,' the omentum. (2) The
film of the eye.

^Weeping. The plaintive note of the golden-crested wren

(Regulus cristatus) [E. T. Booth].

Weeping Tears. A very old pleonasm, but in very common

use for excessive sorrow. Ex. I found poor Betty all in
'

weeping tears,' i. e. shedding them profusely.

Weer. Pale and ghastly in aspect.

*Weesh, or Weesh away. Horse language for to the '

right' [Em.]. See Come or Cope hardy or harby, for

the left.

*Wee-wo. See Wew-wow.

Welk, Welt, (i) To soak, roll, and macerate in a fluid.

(2) To expose to sun and air, and turn over in order to

be dried, as grass to be converted to hay ; garden plants
to save their seeds, as peas and beans, or to be preserved
for winter use when their moisture is exhaled, as onions.

(3) To give a sound beating, which is likely to raise weals,

welks, or welts (ridges).

*Well. Healthy.
'
The doctor saw he was never a well
child' [C. S.P.].
R 2
 Well to live Wheel Spur
f
Well to live. Having a competence. Ex. Is Mr. A. a rid
man 1 '
'

Pretty well to live,' or

*
to do?
*Welter. To fade, applied to flowers [C. S. P.].

Wellum. The filling up of a ditch at a gateway to afford

access to a field [M. C. H. B.].
Wem. A small fretted place in a garment. A. S. ivem,
macula [W.].
*Wench. A woman of the town, or other immoral female

[W.R.].
*Went. The mesh of a net [E. F. G.].
Wennel. A weaned calf [T.].

Wet Shod, or Shed. Wet in the feet.

*Wewling (? Mewling). A plaintive note in crying,

commonly with a view to excite charity [Johnson].

*Wewting. The whistling of a boy without any regard or

idea of time or harmony [Johnson]. See Whewt.
Wew-wow. To wring and twist in an irregular and intricate
manner. Wee - wo, All of a wee - wo.'
'
Not straight
[Em.].
*Weybreds. Warts, anburies [Johnson].
*Whale. Swarth, double-whale. When a marsh is not cut
for two years, it is called a double swarth or double whale

[M.C.H.B.].
Whart-whartle. To cross, tease, and exhaust patience. It
is certainly another form of Thwart; as in the instance of
over-whart.
Whaul. Vide Yawl.
Wheelspun. A very stout worsted yarn, spun on the common
large wheel, of which the coarsest stockings, gloves, caps,
&c., are made.
Wheel Spur. In the old state of our cross-roads, the horse-
path was in the midway between the two wheel ruts.
 Whelm Whinnock 245

Between that and each rut was the wheel spur, much
higher than either. If, to avoid the deep rut, a carriage
drawn by a single horse was ventured upon the quarter,
the horse was obliged to make the wheel spur his path,
often a very unsafe one, particularly in stiff soils.

Whelm, Half a hollow tree, placed with its hollow

(i)
side to form a small watercourse.
downwards, (2) To
turn a tub, or other vessel, upside down, whether to
cover anything with it or not. Ex. Whelm it down.' '

* or on account of which [M. C. H.

Whereby. By B.].

Wherret or Worrit. To pester, annoy, harass. [Worry ?]

*Wherry. A sailing barge, with one sail, and mast stepped
'
right forward, the successor of the keel.'

*Whet. A drinking among harvest men on the first day

of harvest [Johnson].

Whewt. (i) To (2) To squeak faintly, as a young

whistle.
bird. Perhaps formed from the sound. See Wewting.
*Whid. A dispute or quarrel [Johnson].
Whiffler. One whogoes at the head of a procession to clear
the way for In that of the Corporation of Norwich
it.

from the Guildhall to the Cathedral Church, on the Guild-

day, the whifflers (for they are so called) are two active
men very lightly equipped (milites expediti), bearing
swords of lath or latten, which they keep in perpetual
motion, whiffling the air on either side, and now and then
giving an unlucky boy a slap on the shoulders or posterior
with the flat side of their weapons.
While, Whilst. Until. Mr. Pegge says the word is invari-
ably so used in the Northern counties. It is nearly so in
the Eastern. Thus,
'

Stay while I go in,' i.e. Stay in the

'

time (while) of my '

going in,' Stay while I return,' i. e.

stay to the time (while) of my return.

Whinnock. Intens. of whinny in the second sense, q.v.

B3
246 Whinny Wicker
Whinny, (i) To neigh like a foal. (2) Fig. to snivel and
whimper like a child. Lat. hinnio.
* Whins. Furze bushes [Tungate].

Whippet. A short light petticoat.

Whipple Tree. A short bar by which horses draw. Tree

used again in the simple sense of wood. Wimple Trees
[R N. 60].
*Whisk. A contrivance for winnowing or blowing dirt,

&c., from corn [Johnson].

Whisket. A small parcel.

White Back. The white poplar, Populus alba, Lin. So
called from the whiteness of the under side of the leaves.
White Herring. A fresh herring.
*Whitester. A bleacher. Down in Surrey a whitester is
'
a cock laundress.'
*Whittawer. A tanner who makes white leather by using
alum instead of bark [Johnson].

Whittery. Pale and sickly. Chiefly, if not solely, applied

'
to puny children. Ex. It is a poor uhittery brat.'

Whole-footed, (i) Treading flat and heavy, as if there

were no joints in the feet [Forby]. (2) Stiff", congested
[W. G. W.]. (3) Very intimate, closely confederate. A
figurative expression doubtless. But it is not easy to
comprehend what the figure is meant to be. Whole-
handed, which is used in the same sense, is far more
intelligible. Hand joined in hand is a good image of
intimacy and confederacy.
Whop, Whap. (i) A heavy blow [Jen.]. (2) To beat
severely.

Whybibble. A whimsy, idle fancy, silly scruple, &c.

* Wicker,
(i) To neigh. (2) A corner, e.
g. wickers of the
mouth.
 Widdles Winne 247

Widdles. (i) Very young ducks [Forby]. (2) Small

pustules causing considerable itching [Johnson].
*Wiff. (i) A sudden glance [Johnson]. (2) The sudden
turning of a hare when coursed [Id.].
*Wiffle. To be unsteady, uncertain [Johnson].
Wilch. The wicker strainer set upright in the mash-tub,
to prevent the grains running off with the wort. Vide
Thead.
*Wile-time, Pastime.
'
Now that is a nice ivile-time for
'

you ladies, to come and see we poor people [C. S. P.].

*Will. To wait your grandmother's will = to wait till some
one asks you to marry [M. C. H. B.].
Will-a-wix. An owl. Billy-wix usually [W. B.].
*Will-led. See Led-will [M. C. H. B.].
*Willock. A guillemot [E. F. G.].
Wind Egg. An addle egg, or an egg without a yolk.
Winders. The women who perform the office of giving the
last attire to the dead, and watch the body till the time
of burial.

Winding. The wool in which the bodies of the poor are

wrapped, or rather covered, when deposited in their
coffins. A single pound is so drawn out and artfully
disposed as to suffice for a large body. In Suffolk the
flannel which is wound round a corpse is called a
winding.
Dwindle. A skep or basket [Johnson]. For winnowing
corn [W. G. W.].
Windrow, (i) A row of mown grass, put together in the
process of haymaking to be ventilated, when far advanced
towards completion. (2) To put the nearly-made hay
into such a form.

Winge. To shrivel, as fruit over-kept.

*Winne. The pensive crying of a child ;
also the neighing
of a horse. [Whinny, Johnson.]
248 Winnick Wobble
*Winnick. A weak crying [G. E.].
Winnol Weather. The stormy weather which is common
in the beginning of March. The third day of that month
is the anniversary of St. Winwaloe, a British saint.

^Winter-proud. Said of wheat when strong above ground

before the spring [M. C. H. B.].

*Wippet. A child small of its age, perhaps from puppet

[Johnson] .

Whippet is North Country for a small racing

dog [W. R].
*Wips and Strays. Heads and straws, of corns (Danish)

[Miss Gurney].
*Wirriwibble or Wiviwel. The sea-buckthorn.

Wishly. Earnestly, wishfully, with longing. Ex. The

'

lad looked so wishly at her.' The children eyed the

'

plum-pudding wishly J
*Wisp. A rowel or seton [Marshall].
*Wisp or Whisp. A small flock [M. C. H. B.].
Wit. Common sense [Ch., &c.]. Ex. 'He did it without
fear or wit,' q. d. with a foolish want of thought.
Without. Unless. Ex. '
I will not go without you will
go with me [Pe.J.
'

*Witles. Vitals, heart and lungs.

*Wittery. Weak or frail [B. N. 94].

*Wittles. Victuals [M. C. H. B.].

Wizzen. To wither, shrivel, dry up.
Wo. Stop, check. Ex. '
There is no wo in him.' '
He
knows no ^vo.'
*Wob. A piece of linen containing sugar or some sweet-
meat, which is given to an infant as a substitute for the
breast [Johnson].
Wobble. To reel, totter, or move uneasily and laboriously.
 Woe Work 249

*Woe. Mourning.
'
Blinds down for the week are said
'
to be in woe [W. R.].

Wolder. A rolled bandage (or Woulder).

*Wolt. To harass, worry, fatigue to death [E. S. T.].

Wong, (i) An agricultural division or district of some

uninclosed parishes. Spelman says it is rather of arable
than of pasture land. (2) Meadow, green field ? always
wet [N. and Q. 2nd Ser. i. p. 522].
*Wonmell. Wonmell cheese, i. e. one meal [Spur.].
' '

Wooch, Woosh !
'
Wooch wo ! means Go
'
to the right !

Woodlands. The district usually called High Suffolk is

stilldistinguished by the inhabitants of the eastern coast
of that county by the name of The Woodlands, though
now the name is far from applicable. Formerly, indeed,
and within living memory, it was very thickly wooded.
Wood-sprite. The woodpecker.
*Woofit. Anan ignorant person. Sometimes used as
oaf,
a term of endearment to infants [Johnson].
*Wooser. A hard blow [G. E.].

Wop. To produce an abortive lamb. The word is as pecu-

liarly applied to ewes, as slip is to cows. The ewe ivops
her lamb, the cow slips her calf.

*Worbitten. Used of growing timber pierced by the larvae

of beetles [Johnson].

*Wor-bush. A piece of reed-ground or margin of Hickling

Broad [M. C. H. B.]. Said to be where the Hickling
men hid to avoid being pressed in time of war.

Word. To dispute, to wrangle. Ex. '

They worded it a
long while.'

Wore for Worn. My hat is wore out [M. C. H. B.].

Work. To ache, to throb. In violent headache the head
'
works like a clock/
250 Work-wise Writ
Work-wise. In a workmanlike manner, as such work
(whatsoever it be) ought to be done.
'
Ex. I thought he
did not handle his tools work-wise.'

*Worl or Whirl. (Commonly pronounced WALL.) The

ring put on a spindle to give it steadiness [Johnson].

*Worrok. To tease, perplex, or vex [Johnson].

'
Worthy. Lucky enough. Ex. If I had but been worthy to
know that.' Sometimes ivorthy is added at the end of
another word, to convey the idea of being capable of, or
fitfor. Ex. 'I will level this pit to make the land
plough-worthy,' i. e. capable of being ploughed, fit for the

plough.

*W(h)ortle Berries. Bilberries [Johnson].

*Woultered. Fatigued, exhausted [Johnson]. Sometimes

' '

right on jowered out [W. R.].

Wowl. To howl, to wail vociferously.
* Wrapped much
up in. Very fond of. Ex. 'I ain't

wrapped up with it' [M. C. H. B.].

Wrastle. To dry or parch.

Wrastling Pole. A pole to spread fire about the oven, or

to beat walnuts from the trees. Both these processes
seem to include the idea of drying or parching.
Wret. (i) A wart, [or writ, Em.]. To cure, cut as many
'
'
scotches in an ashen tree as you have wrets [M. C. H. B.].

Wret Weed. Any wild species of euphorbia.

Wrigglers. Small fish, of which commoner names are
Sand-eels or Lance-fish.

*Wrinch. (i) A sprain [Johnson]. (2) A piece of cord

put through a hole in a staff, by means of which it is
twisted on the nose of a horse to keep him still during
an operation [Johnson].
*Writ. See Wret.
 Wrong Yelk, Yulk 25 1

Wrong, (i) Deformed, misshapen in person. (2) A crooked

bough.
Wry. To cover close [Forby]. To rake up the fire [Johnson].
Wrying. Covering, of bedclothes, &c., not of apparel.
Wry-rumped. Having an obliquity of form in the lower

part of the back.

*Wunt. To sit, as a hen [Miss Gurney].

*Wypes (or Pywypes). The lapwing or plover [Johnson].

*Yag. To irritate (Nag ?) [Spur.].

Yale. A small quantity.

Yangle. To tether a horse by fastening a fore-leg and

hind-leg together.
Yap. (i) To yelp. (2) A yelping cur. We have the
venerable authority of Dr. Caius for wappe, which comes
very near our word. And we have its dimin. wappet.
Yard. The garden belonging to a cottage or ordinary

messuage very often called the yard perhaps from

is ;

humility, as unworthy to be called a garden. Ex. We '

have a sort of fape bushes in the yard.'

* Yarden. A yard measure [Spur.] .

Yardman. The hind who has the particular care of the

farmyard, and of the cattle fed there.
Yarm, Yawm. To shriek or yell.

Yarroway. The common yarrow.

Yawl, (i) The large open sea boat used on the Norfolk
coast. (2) To squall or scream harshly, like an enraged
cat or the cry of a peacock is an excellent instance of
;

yawling.
Yelk, Yulk. (i) To knead clay with straw or stubble, to
prepare it for dauber's work. (2) The yolk of an egg

[M. C. H. B.].
252 Yelm Yulk
Yelm. (i) To
lay straw in convenient quantities, and in
regular order, to be used by a thatcher. (2) portion A
of straw laid for that purpose.

*Yelt. A pig [M. C. H. B.].

*Yeow. You [N. and Q.].
Yerbes. Herbs.
Yerth. Earth.
*Yet. As yet [M. C. H. B.].
Yin. Yon.
Yinder. Yonder.
Yip. To chirp like a newly-hatched chicken, or other very

young bird.

Yipper. Brisk.

*Young-youth. A young person of either sex [C. S. P.].

Yowe. An ewe.
*Yowl. See Yawl [Em.], and (2) to howl or complain
[M. C. H. B.].
Yulk. A heavy fall.
PE Palgrave, Francis Milnes
1884 Temple
H4P35 A list of words and
phrases in every-day use by
the natives of Hetton-le-
CALL NO.:

H-t ts-f