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3 1924 088 038 413
THE
ENGLISH DIALECT DICTIONARY
THE
ENGLISH DIALECT
DICTIONARY
BEING THE
COMPLETE VOCABULARY OF ALL DIALECT WORDS STILL IN USE, OR KNOWN
TO HAVE BEEN IN USE DURING THE LAST TWO HUNDRED YEARS
FOUNDED ON THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY AND ON A LARGE
AMOUNT OF MATERIAL NEVER BEFORE PRINTED
EDITED BY
JOSEPH WRIGHT, M.A., Ph.D., D.C.L., LL.D.
PROFESSOR OF COMPARATIVE PHILOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
Volume IV. M— Q
LONDON: PUBLISHED BY HENRY FROWDE, AMEN CORNER, E.C.
(PUBLISHER TO THE ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY)
OXFORD: ii6 HIGH STREET
NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
1903
[All rights reserved'^
T
\~\LL
W e> s -v
PRINTED BY HORACE HART
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
NOTE
The English Dialect Dictionary is printed at (he expense of Josrph Wright, M.A.
of Longdate House, Park Town, Oxford.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST
REPRESENTED BY NUMBERS
N.I.' = Antrim and Down. — A Glossary ofWords in use
in the Counties of Antrim and Down. By W.
Hugh Patterson. E. D. S., 1880.
Buff.^ = Banffshire. — The Dialect of Banffshire. By Rev.
W. Gregor, 1866.
Brks.' = Berkshire. — A Glossary of Berkshire Words and
Phrases. By Major B. Lowsley. E. D. S., 1888.
Cai.i = Caithness.— MS. Collection of Caithness Words.
By D. NicoLSON.
Cmb.' — Cambridgeshire. — MS. Collection of Cambridge-
shire Words. By J. W. Darwood.
Chs.^ — Cheshire. — Glossary of Words used in the County
of Chester. By R. Holland. E. D. S., 1884-6.
Clis.2 = Cheshire. — An Attempt at a Glossary of some Words
used in Cheshire. By Roger Wilbraham, 1826.
Clis.3 = Cheshire. — AGlossary of Words used in the Dialect
of Cheshire. By E. Leigh, 1877.
s.Chs.^ = Cheshire. — The Folk-Speech of South Cheshire.
By Th. Darlington. E. D. S., 1887.
Cor.' = Cornwall. — Glossary of Words in use in Cornwall.
By Miss M. A. Courtney and T. Q. Couch.
E. D.S., 1880.
Cor.2 = Cornwall. — The Ancient Language and the Dialect
of Cornwall. By F. W. P. Jago, 1882.
Cor.^ = Cornwall. — MS. Collection of Cornish Words. By
T. C. Peter.
Cum.i = Cumberland. — A Glossary of Words and Phrases
pertaining to the Dialect of Cumberland. By
W. Dickinson. E. D. S., 1878-81.
Cum.' = Cumberland. — The Dialect of Cumberland. By
R. Ferguson, 1873.
Cum.3 _ Cumberland. — The Folk-Speech of Cumberland
and some Districts a(5jacent. By A, C. Gibson, 1869.
Ciuu.'' = Cumberland. — A Glossary of the Words and
Phrases pertaining to the Dialect of Cumberland.
By W. Dickinson. Re-arranged, illustrated, and
augmented by quotations, by E. W. Prevost, 1899.
Der.* = Derbyshire. — Pegge's Derbicisms, edited by Th.
Hallam and W. W. Skeat. E. D. S., 1894.
Der.2 _ Derbyshire. — An Attempt at a Derbyshire Glossary.
By John Sleigh, 1865.
nw.Der.* = Derbyshire. — MS. Collection of North-West Derby-
shire Words. By T. Hallam.
Dev.l = Devonshire. — Glossary to ' A Dialogue in the
Devonshire Dialect,' by a Lady. By J. F.
Palmer, 1837.
Dev.2 = Devonshire. — MS. Collection of North Devonshire
Words. By W. H. Daniels.
Dev.^ = Devonshire. — MS. Collection of Devonshire Words.
By Mrs. Sarah Hewett.
Dev.* = Devonshire. — A Glossary of Devonshire Plant
Names. By Rev. Hilderic Friend. E.D.S., 1882.
nw.Dev.' = Devonshire.— The Dialect of Hartland, Devon-
shire. By R. Pearse Chope. E. D. S., 1891.
Dorsetshire. — Poems of Rural Life, in the Dorset = Dor."-
Dialect ; with a Dissertation and Glossary, 1848.
By W. Barnes.
Durham. — A Glossary of Provincial Words used = Dur.i
in Teesdale in the County of Durham. 1849.
Durham. — A List of Words and Phrases in every- = e.Dur.^
day use by the natives of Hetton-le-Hole. By
Rev. F. M. T. Palgrave. E. D. S., 1896.
Durham. — Walks in Weardale. By W. H. Smith = w.Dur.'
(ed. 1885).
East Anglia. — The Vocabulary of East Anglia. = e.An.i
By R. FoRBY, 1830. Second Edition, consider-
ably enlarged, by W. Rye. E. D. S., 1895.
East Anglia. — The Vocabulary of East Anglia. By = e.An.^
Rev. W. T. Spurdens. E. D. S., 1879.
Essex. — A Glossary of the Essex Dialect. By = Ess.^
R. S. Charnock, 1880.
Gloucestershire. — A Glossary of Dialect and = Glo.'
Archaic Words used in the County of Gloucester.
By J. Drummond Robertson. E. D. S., 1890.
Gloucestershire. — A Glossary of the Cotswold = Glo.'^
(Gloucestershire) Dialect. By Rev. R. W. Hunt-
ley, 1868.
Hampshire. — A Glossary of Hampshire Words = Hmp.^
and Phrases. By Rev. Sir W. H. Cope, Bart.
E. D. S., 1883.
Hampshire. — Isle of Wight Words. By Major = I.W.^
H. Smith and C. Roach Smith. E. D. S., 1881.
Hampshire. — A Dictionary of the Isle of Wight = I.W.^
Dialect, and of Provincialisms used in the Island.
By W. H. Long, 1886.
Herefordshire. — A Glossary of Provincial Words = Hrf.'
used in Herefordshire and some of the adjoining
Counties. [By Sir G. C. Lewis], 1839.
Herefordshire. — Herefordshire Glossary. By = Hrf.^
Francis T. Havergal, 1887.
Kent. — A Dictionary of the Kentish Dialect and = Eeu.^^
Provincialisms in use in the County of Kent.
By W. D. Parish and W. F. Shaw. E. D. S., 1887.
Kent. — An Alphabet of Kenticisms. By Samuel = Ken."
Pegge. E. D. S., 1876.
Lakeland. — Lakeland and Iceland. By T.Ellwood. = Lakel.^
E. D. S., 1895.
Lakeland. — Lakeland Words. By B. Kirkby, 1898. = Iiakel.^
Lancashire. — AGlossary of the Lancashire Dialect. = Iiau.^
By J. H. Nodal and G. Milner. E. D. S., 1875-82.
Lancashire. — A Glossary of the Words and Phrases = n.Lau.^
of Furness (North Lancashire). By J . P. Morris,
1869.
Lancashire. — A Glossary of the Dialect of the = ne.Lan.^
Hundred of Lonsdale. By R. B. Peacock. London
Phil. Soc. Trans., 1869.
Lancashire. — A Glossary of Rochdale- with-Rossen- = e.Iiau.'
dale Words and Phrases. By H. Cunliffe, 1886.
VI
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHICAL LIST
s.Lan.i =
I.ei.1 =
Lin.i =
n.Iiiu.^ =
sw.lin.^ =
Nrf.i =
Nhp.i =
Nlip.2
N.Cy.l =
N.Cy.2 =
Nlil).i =
Not.i =
Not.2
Not.3 =
Oxf.i =
Kut.l =
S.&Ort.i =
Shr.i =
Shr.2 =
w.Som.l =
Stf.l =
Stf.2
Suf.I =
Sur.* =
Sus.i =
SUS.2 =
Lancashire. — A Blegburn Dickshoiiary. By J.
Baron, 1891.
Lancashire. — The Folk-Speech of South Lan-
cashire. By F. E. Taylor, igoi.
Leicestershire. — Leicestershire Words, Phrases,
and Proverbs. By A. Benoni Evans. E.D. S.,
1881.
Lincolnshire. — Provincial Words and Expressions
current in Lincolnshire. By J. E. Brogden, 1866.
Lincolnshire.— A Glossary of Words used in the
Wapentakes of Manley and Corringham, Lincoln-
shire. By Edward Peacock. E. D. S., First
Edition, 1877; Second Edition, 1889.
Lincolnshire. — Glossary of the Words in use in
South- West Lincolnshire. By Rev. R. E. G. Cole.
E. D.S., 1886.
Norfolk. — Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. By
J. G. Nall, 1866.
Northamptonshire. — Glossary of Northamptonshire
Words and Phrases. By A. E. Baker, 1854.
Northamptonshire. — The Dialect and Folk- Lore of
Northamptonshire. ByTHOMAS Sternberg, 1851.
North Country. — A Glossary of North Country
Words. By J. T. Brockett, 1846.
North Country. — A Collection of English Words,
i6gi. By John Ray. E.D. S., 1874.
Northumberland. — Northumberland Words. A
Glossary of Words used in the County of North-
umberland. By R. O. Heslop. E. D. S., 1892-4.
Nottinghamshire. — MS. Collection of Nottingham-
shire Words. By Thomas A. Hill.
Nottinghamshire. — IMS. Collection of Nottingham-
shire Words. By Horace Walker.
Nottinghamshire. — MS. Collection of Nottingham-
shire Words. By R. L. Abbott.
Oxfordshire. — Oxfordshire Words. ByMrs. Parker.
E. D. S., 1876, 1881.
Rutlandshire. — Rutland Words. ByRev. Christo-
pher Wordsworth. E.D.S., 1891.
Shetland and Orkneys. — An Etymological Glos-
sary of the Shetland and Orkney Dialect. By
T. Edmondston, 1866.
Shropshire. — Shropshire Word-Book, a Glossary
of Archaic and Provincial Words, &c., used in the
County. By G. F. Jackson, 1879.
Shropshire. — .Salopia Antiqua. By C. H. Harts-
horne. London, 1841.
Somersetshire. — The West Somerset Word-Book.
A Glossary of Dialectal and Archaic Words and
Phrases used in the West of Somerset and East
of Devon. By F. T. Elworthy. E. D. S., 1886.
Staffordshire. — An Attempt towards a Glossary of
the Archaic and Provincial Words of the County
of Stafford. By Charles H. Poole, 1880.
Staffordshire. — MS. Collection of Staffordshire
Words. By T. C. Warrington and A. Pope.
Suffolk.— Suffolk Words and Phrases. By E. Moor,
1823.
Surrey. — Surrey Provincialisms. By Granville
Leveson-Gower. E. D. S., 1876, 1893.
Sussex. — A Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect. By
W. D. Parish, 1875.
Sussex. — A Glossary of the Provincialisms in use in
the County of Sussex. By W. D. Cooper,
1853-
Warwickshire..^ Warwickshire Glossary. By T. =• War.'
Sharp. Ed. by J. O. Halhwell, 1865.
Warwickshire. — A Warwickshire Word-Book. By = War.^
G. F. Northall. E. D. S., 1896.
Warwickshire. — MS. Collection of Warwickshire = War.^
Words. By E. Smith.
Warwickshire. — Glossary of Warwickshire Dialect. = War.*
By G. Miller, 1898.
Warwickshire. — South Warwickshire Words. By = s.War.'
Mrs. Francis. E. D. S., 1876.
Westmoreland. — MS. Collection of Westmoreland = Wm.'
Words. By W. H. Hills and Dr. Just.
Westmoreland and Cumberland. — Dialogues, = Wm. &
Poems, Songs, and Ballads, by various writers, Cum.'
in the Westmoreland and Cumberland Dialects.
Published by J. R. Smith, 1839.
Wexford. — A Glossary, with some Pieces of Verse, = Wxf.'
&c. By Jacob Poole, 1867.
Wiltshire. — A Glossary of Words used in the = Wil.'
County of Wiltshire. By G. E. Dartnell and
E. H. GoDDARD. E. D. S., 1893.
Wiltshire. — A Glossary of Provincial Words and = Wil.^
Phrases in use in Wiltshire. By J. Y. Akerman,
1842.
Worcestershire. — A Glossary of West Worcester- = w.Wor.'
shire Words. By Mrs. Chamberlain. E.D.S.,1882.
Worcestershire. — South - East Worcestershire = se.Wor.'
Words. A Glossary of Words and Phrases used
in South- East Worcestershire. By Jesse Salis-
bury. E. D. S., 1894.
Worcestershire. — Upton-on-Severn Words and = s.Wor.'
Phrases. By Robert Lawson. E. D. S., 1884.
Yorkshire. — A Glossary of the Cleveland Dialect. = n.Yks.'
By Rev. J. C. Atkinson, 1868. Additions to the
above. E. D. S., 1876.
Yorkshire. — A Glossary of Words used in the = n.Yks.'=
neighbourhood of Whitby. By F. K. Robinson.
E. D. S., 1876.
Yorkshire. — A Glossary of Words used in Swale- = n.Yks.^
dale, Yorkshire. By Captain John Harland.
E. D. S., 1873.
Yorkshire. — Wit, Character, Folklore, and Customs = n.Yks.*
of the North Riding of Yorkshire. By R. Blake-
borough, 1898.
Yorkshire.— Yorkshire Folk- Talk. By M. C. F. = ne.Yks.'
Morris, 1892.
Yorkshire. — A Glossary of Words used in Holder- = e.Yks.'
ness in the East Riding of Yorkshire. By F. Ross,
R. Stead, and Th. Holderness. E. D. S., 1877.
Yorkshire. — A Glossary of Words pertaining to = m.Yks.'
the Dialect of Mid-Yorkshire. By C. Clough
Robinson. E. D. S., 1876.
Yorkshire. — The Dialect of Craven, in the West = w-Yks.'
Riding of the County of York. By W. Carr, 1828.
Yorkshire. — A Glossary of Words used in the = w.Yks.^
neighbourhood of Sheffield. By S. O. Addy.
E. D.S., 1888-90.
Yorkshire. — A Glossary of the Dialect of Almond- = -w.Yks.^
bury and Huddersfield. By Alfred Easther.
E. D. S., 1883.
Yorkshire. — The Hallamshire Glossary. By J. = w.Yks.*
Hunter, 1829.
Yorkshire. — The Dialect of Leeds, and its Neigh- = w.Yks.^
bourhood to which is added a copious
Glossary. By C. C. Robinson, 1861.
Where no authority is given for plant-names, the information has been obtained from A Dictionary of English
Plant Names, by J. Britten and R. Holland. E. D. S., 1878-86.
LIST OF WORDS FOR THE PRESENT KEPT BACK
FROM THE WANT OF FURTHER INFORMATION
MAD, adj. In phr. a mad mountain-side,
meaning unknown (Ir.).
MAEGINS, sb.pl. Meaning unknown (Sii.I.).
MAGEE, sb. A cat (Hrf.).
MAGICAL MUSIC, /lAr. A drawing-room
amusement (Suf.).
MAGMES, sb. Manganese (Stf.).
MALAPEN, V. In phr. to malapen hares,
meaning unknown (Abd.).
MALA-WHOOT, int. A direction to horses ;
exact meaning doubtful (Hmp.).
MALICE, sb. In phr. to die voithout malice,
meaning unknown (Won).
MANATHER, s^>. Meaning unknown (In).
MANE, sb. In phr. the mane of a sheaf,
meaning unknown (Sh.I.).
MANGLE, sb. In phr. the mangle coimt,
meaning unknown (w.Yks.).
MANGRIM, sb. Lameness (? Sh.I.).
MAPPET, ppl. adj. In phr. a mappet chin,
meaning unknown (Dev.).
MARCH-WISHER, sb. In phr. a March-
wisher is never a good fisher, meaning un-
known (Nhb.).
MARGEN, sb. Tares in corn (s.Cy.).
MARLE- THROWING, ppl. adj. Meaning
unknown (Gall.).
MARRET, sb. A marsh, bog (n.Cy.).
MASK, V. To bewilder (Wil.).
MATHER,s6. Adish forholdingmeal(Kcb.).
MAUD, adj 111 (Ess.).
MAUL, V. In phr. the ewes mauled their
turnips, meaning unknown (Nrf.).
MAUND or MAND, sb. A root (Dev.).
MAWSE, adj. Meaning unknown (Sc).
MAY-BOYS, sb. pi. Meaning unknown
(Wxf.).
MAYBURN, sb. A kind of bird (Con).
MAY-DOLL, sb. Meaning unknown (Cor.).
MEA, sb. A pasture (w.Yks.).
ME AR A-GEEKS , sb. pi. N oisy or obstinate
people (Con).
MEDDER, sb. or adj. In phr. one medder
edder ware, meaning unknown (Chs.).
MEDDY, sb. Meaning unknown (Con).
MEENIAorMINYAR,5Z'. Meaningunknown
(Gall.).
MEG, sb. In phn/ora bit of a meg, meaning
unknown (Dev.).
MELT(E, sb. A measure of two bushels of
coal [.' misprint for ' mett '] (Ken.).
MENSE, sb. ? A confinement (Cum.).
MENSE, V. To clear the way (Som.).
MERLIN, sb. A mermaid (Lth.).
METHAM, adj. In phr. metham with, equal
to (? Con).
MICONOMY , s*. Melancholia, a low-spirited
condition (Wil.).
MILLVADER, V. Meaning unknown (Gall.).
MINNOYT, pp. Meaning unknown (Bnff.).
MISDIMABLE, adj. Applied to a house :
meaning unknown (Sc).
MISGATE, sb. A misdeed (Sc).
MISHWY or MISH WE, adj Unwell, poorly
(Wan).
MISLOOIN, sb. Displeasure (Sc).
MISSET, adj. Not missed (Lin.).
MITCH-POOL, sb. A whirlpool (e.An.).
MOARLIE, adj. Meaning unknown (Gall).
MOINBU, sb'. An invitation to a funeral
transmitted in a manner similar to the
fiery cross (Sh.I.).
MOINDER, V. Meaning unknown (Lan.).
MOLLION, sb. Meaning unknown (Slg.).
MOLLY, sb. In phr. a molly of potatoes,
meaning unknown (Chs.).
MONE-DAYS, sb. pi Certain slates used in
roofing (Glo.).
MOONED, ppl. adj. In phr. mooned pools,
meaning unknown (Lan.).
MOOP, V. In phr. to have the nose and chin
moop, meaning unknown (Lth.).
MOOPING, sb. Meaning unknown (Slk.).
MOOR-GED, sb. Meaning unknown (Dev.).
MORT, s6. In phr. not fit for any mort to
see, meaning unknown (Nrf.).
MOSSICK, sb. Meaning unknown (Lin.).
MOT, conj. But (Wxf.).
MOUSE, II. In phr. to mouse or talk, meaning
unknown (Yks.).
MOUSUNT, pp. In phr. to be mousunt in a
poke, meaning unknown (Lan.).
MOUT, sb. In phr. to house with mout,
meaning unknown (Lth.).
MOWT, pp. In phr. neither lamed nor mowt,
meaning unknown (Lan.).
MUGGENT, ppl adj. In comb. lU-muggent,
meaning unknown (Bch.).
MULLOCK, sb. The stump of a tree (w.Cy.).
MUM, sb. In phr. a dead mum, meaning
unknown (Lan.).
MUMPER, sb. Meaning unknown (Kcb.).
MUMPIT, sb. In phr. mumpit and crumpet,
meaning unknown (Dev.).
MUNCHEON, sb. A luncheon [prob. mis-
print for ' nuncheon '] (Glo.).
MUNGUS, sb. An old marl-pit (Wan).
MURCHEN, sb. Some kind of animal (Pen).
MURKLE, sb. A term of contempt applied
to a person (Fif.).
MURT,a^'. In phr. a blue murt fit, meaning
unknown (Slk.).
NAAT, sb. In phr. a naat's chack, meaning
unknown (Nrf.).
NABLE, adj. In phr. nable rigs, meaning
unknown (Ken.).
NABOB, sb. In phr. to play nabob, to tres-
pass (Won).
NAMEUL, sb. An animal (w.Yks.).
NANK,5i!i. The great northern diver, Colym-
bus glacialis [.'a misprint for 'nauk'J (Nhb.).
NAPER, sb. In phr. wealth of grace seemed
in your naper to spare a farl, meaning un-
known (Edb.).
NARGER, adj. Narrower (Som.).
NAZZLES [sic], adj. Ill-tempered (Yks.).
'NELSE, conj. Unless (w.Cy.).
NESH, adj Hungry (Suf.).
NIDGELL, sb. A fat, froward young man ;
a lover whom no rival can displace (Gall.).
NIDY-NOY, adv. In phr. to gang donaring
nidy-noy, meaning unknown (Edb.).
NIP-NAP, sb. Meaning unknown (Stf.).
NIRB, sb. Anything of stunted growth ; a
dwarf (Slk.).
NOGER-NOW, sb. In phr. a great noger-
now of a fellow, meaning unknown (Lan.).
NOIT, V. To throw away a chance ; to spoil
carelessly (w.Yks.).
NOOCHING, ppl. adj Slouching, stooping
[? a misprint for ' mooching '] (Glo.).
NOR, adv. No more (n.Cy.).
NOR-NE ME, phr. Not I (w.Yks.).
NOSESKIP, adj. ? Nasal ; in phr. a noseskip
twang (Elg.).
NOUGHEL, sb. A knuckle (Wxf).
NUDGELL, sb. A corner (Dev.).
NUNIKIN, sb. Meaning unknown (Lan.).
NURRILL'D, ppl. adj. In phr. a nurriWd
stott, meaning unknown (Gall).
NUZE, ? sb. Coughing (Lan.).
O A STEED, sb. The grey wagtail, Motacilla
melanope f? misprint for ' oatseed '] (Cum.).
OCTOAVER, sh. In phr. a pair of octoavers,
meaning unknown (e.Yks.).
OLER, sb. Meaning unknown (w.Yks.).
OLFORD, sb. An orphan (Dev.).
OLINK, sb. Meaning unknown (Sc).
OMBRE, sb. ? A magic-lantern slide (Lon.
slang).
OMER, sb. An allowance, esp. for horses
(w.Yks.).
ONRUDE, adj. Rude (Cor.).
ONTJETHorONJETH,s';. Asmall parcel of
ground lately enclosed from a common and
let to a tenant for a money-rent only (Sh.I.).
OSSITING, prp. Coughing (w.Yks.).
OUSEL-HUNTING, vbl. sb. A customary
method of expressing popular disapproval
of an individual [prob. a misprint for
' onset ' = hooset, q.v.] (Hmp.).
Vlll
LIST OF WORDS KEPT BACK
OUSET, sb. A cluster of small cottages
(n.Cy.).
O-WARPS, sb. A landing-place (Chs.).
PACK-DAM, sb. Meaning unknown (Dev.).
PADDY, adj. Clear, unmistakeable (Cum.)-
PADOCK, 5^. In comb. Dike-padock, some
kind offish (Dev.).
PAG-AE, V. To please (Cor.).
PALADUM, sb. Meaning unknown (Glo.).
PALE, sb. In phr. to pour on one's pale a
pot of good ale, meaning unknown (Edb.).
PALLACH, V. Meaning unknown (Frf.).
PALLINS, ? adv. An intensitive (Lin.).
PALSKE, sb. A kind of cake (Wxf.).
PAPARAP, sb. Meaning unknown (Mry.).
PAR-TAIL, sb. Some kind offish (Slk.).
PAUSATION, sb. A pause (Dev.).
PAWN, V. To move (Sh.I.).
PAWRE, V. To push (Dev.).
PEAK, V. In phr. to peak the pheasants in
the trees, meaning unknown (Yks.).
PEEDINS, ? adv. An intensitive (Lin.).
PEENEADLAND, sb. The urine that escapes
from a hare or rabbit after death by shoot-
ing (n.Yks.).
PERSEEN, V. To pretend (Wil.).
PETT or PETTIT, sb. The skin of a sheep
without the wool (Rxb.).
PICTREES, sb. pi. Ghosts (n.Cy.).
PIL, sb. A heavy club (n.Cy.).
PINDER, sb. In phr. apinder green, meaning
unknown (w.Yks.).
PINK-PANK, V. To make a noise by
touching the strings of a stringed instru-
ment (Elg.).
PINNER, sb. In phr. to take another pinner,
meaning unknown (Rnf.).
PIOUS-HIGH, adv. In phr. to hold up the
nose pious-high, to act in a sanctimonious
manner (Dor.).
PLAYER, sb. Pleasure (Cor.).
PLECKY, sb. .'A plan or a place (w.Yks.).
PLENE, adj. Full, abundant (Sc).
POCHIN, sb. A hedgehog (Som.).
PODGE, sb. A purge (n.Yks.).
POD-LIHKER, sb. An octopus (Cor.).
POIRE, sb. A party sect or creed (s.Don.).
POLL, sb. In phr. my heart is lighter than
the poll, meaning unknown (n.Sc).
POMER, sb. Meaning unknown (Lan.).
PONG, sb. Meaning unknown (Abd.).
POOLE, sb. Some kind of bird (w.Yks.).
POPJOYING, prp. Meaning unknown
(Brks.).
FOPPOE, sb. An ass (w.Yks.).
PORTUNI, sb. The name of a demon
(?Nhb.).
POSIL, sb.. In phr. to rack toposils, meaning
unknown (Frf.).
POSSEE, adj. Possible (Wil.).
POSSILE, sb. Meaning unknown (Frf).
POSTISSER, sb. Pots (Brks).
POU, sb. A pan [? misprint for 'pon'] (Lan.).
POUKEN-PIN,s*. Meaningunknown(Rnf.).
POUSTER,!;. Touse quack remedies (Dev.).
VOVT-U^A'KED, ppl. adj. Having staring
hair (Dor.).
POW, sb.^ In phr. to steal a pow, meaning
unknown (Edb.).
POW, sb.'^ The stickleback, Gasterostens
trachurus (Som.).
POWELL, sb. In phr. to win in fair powell,
meaning unknown (Lan.).
POWLENS, sb. pi. In phr. to put powlens
under the needle, meaning unknown (Dur.).
PRASE, sb. A small common (Cor.).
PRING, sb. In phr. by pring, meaning un-
known (Nhb.).
PROANDER, adv. Peradventure (Cor.).
PROINER, sb. A pruner (Som.).
PROSEYLA',s6. Meaning unknown (n.Sc).
PUDDUD, V. To pad about (Oxf.).
PUFFINET, sb. The black guillemot, Vria
grylle (Fame I.).
PUG, V. To eat (Wil.).
PULLA, sb. A pool or lake of standing
water (Nrf.).
PULLAS, sb. A pulley (Lan.).
PUNDLE, sb. A short, fat woman ; an ill-
dressed woman {1 1.W.).
PUNGARLICKING, ///. adj. Anxious,
troubled (Rdn.).
PUPETS, sb. pi. Meaning unknown (Ess.).
PUPGALLANTER, sb. Meaning unknown
(Elg.).
PURL-HANDED,///. a^'. Meaningunknown
(Lnk.).
PURSELLED, ppl. adj. Meaning unknown
(Edb.).
PUTSOM. Meaning unknown (Dev.).
PYAGH, sb. A large dog-fish (Uls.).
QUAT, V. To flatter (Dev.).
QUILLE, sb. In phr. a maiden oak which
stoodin the quille,meanmg unknown (Som.).
QUILT, V. In phr. to quilt upstairs for em-
ployment, meaning unknown (w.Yks.).
QUINDAM, sb. A fifteenth (Lan.).
QUINEL, sb. The wedge or nail fastening
the blade to the handle of a scythe (Hrf),
QUISK, V. To complain [.'misprint for
'quirk'] (Hmp., Wil.).
QUISTICAL,«(^'. Meaning unknown (Ayr.).
M
MA, see Mae, adj., Mar, v}, Maw, sb}, Mow, v}, My.
MAA, sb} Sc. Also Nrf. Also written ma Sh.I. ; and
in forms mar Kcb. ; maw Sc. ; mow Nrf. [ma.] 1. The
common gull or sea-mew, Larus canus.
Sh.I. A'U waager 'at A'ra fune mair maa's eggs is ony ane o' me
age in Shetlan', Sh. News (May 20, 1899) ; Feth du'I see Di'l hae
de fleein' lek' a ma", ib. (Mar. 12, 1898) ; S. & Ork.i Cai.^ Applied
to several species of gull. Abd. It is here to be noted that no
maws were seen in the lochs of New or Old Aberdeen since the
beginning of thir troubles and coming of soldiers to Aberdeen,
Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 332. Per. To ' ding the Dutch,' and
secure their own fish for their own maws, was now [1720] the
great aim and end of Scottish maritime enterprise, Haliburton
Furth in Field (1894) 97. Rnf. Yon lonely maw, that, ever and
anon, Dives into the parting bosom of the bonnie Forth, Fraser
Poet. Chimes (185s) 2i. Kcb. Swainson Birds (1885) 207. Nrf.
Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 49.
2. Comp. Maa-craig, a crag frequented by gulls.
Sh.I. The gull that kept us company has gone to roost in the
distant maa-craig, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 133.
3. The herring-gull, Larus argentatus. Cai.^
[1. ON. mar, a sea-mew, gull {'larus'), ma- (in comps.)
(Vigfusson) ; cp. OE. maw.]
MAA, sb.^ Lth. (Jam.) Also in form maw. [Not known
to our correspondents.] An atom, jot, whit.
Ne'er a maa. Fiend a maw. Deil a maa.
[Norw. dial, ma, a chip of sawdust (Aasen).]
MAA, MAAD, MAADER, MAADHUR, see Mow, v.\
Mae, sb.. Maw, sb.\ Maud, s6., Mather, int., Mawther.
MA- AGED, ppl. adj. Cor. Mad, crazy, ' mazed.'
Our ould cat wud tear up, coover its ars like a ma-aged thing.
Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (ed. 1896) 255 ; Cor.^ A mere variation
of the pronunciation of ma-azed, mazed (q.v.).
MAAGER, adj. S. & Ork.' [ma-gar.] Lean, thin,
scraggy.
[Norw. dial, mager, lean (Aasen) ; ON. magr (Vig-
fusson) ; cp. OE. mceger (Sweet).]
MAAGUM, MAAIN, see May-game, Mowing.
MAAK,s6. Cai.i [mak.] The milt of a fish.
[Norw. dial, mjflke and mjokkje,t\ie milt of a fish (Aasen) ;
Dan. m.celke.]
MAAK, see Mawk, sb.^^
MAAKER, sb. Dor. A pole with a cloth fastened to
it with which an oven is cleaned. Cf. ma^wkin, sb. 4.
(W.C. c. 1750) ; (A.C.)
MA AKIN, MAAKISH, MAAL, MAALD, see Mawkin,
sb., Mawkish, Meal, sb.^, Mould, adj.
MAALIN, sb. Si ■ - - -- "
aesalon. S. & Ork.^
lid, aaj.
.a'lin.]
The merlin, Falco
MAALIN, MAALWARP, MAAM, see Mailin, Marlin,
Mouldywarp, Malm.
MAAMBLE, v. Suf ^ [ma-m(b)l.] Of soil : to stick
to the spade or dibbling instrument. See Malm.
When the soil sticks to the dabs in the operation of dibbling,
and falls off in lumps, it is said to ' maamble.' In digging stone land
also, when it sticks to the spade.
MAAMIE, t). and a«(;'. Sh.I. [ma'mi.] 1. v. To soften
or crush the earth by delving or ploughing. S. & Ork.^
2. adj. Soft, fine. ib. See Malm.
MAAMIE, see Mammy, sb.^
MAAMOUTH, sb. I.W.^ A silly, talkative person.
VOL. IV.
Hence Maamouthed, ppl. adj. talking foolishly, stupid.
Cf mawmooin.
Ded ye ever zee sich a gurt zote, maamouthed thing as she is ?
MAAN, MAANDER, see Mow, v.^. Maunder.
MAANDRED, sb. Sh.I. Also written maandrhid.
Manhood ; strength ; manliness.
For maandrhid der foon his equal, edder at sea or shore, Sh.
News (May ai, 1898) ; S. & Ork.i
MAANDREDAN, MAAP, see Maunder, Mope.
MAAR,s6. Sh.I. Also written mar-, [mar.] 1. The
ocean ; the sea-bottom.
Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 120 ; ' To lay de mar,' to lay the long-
lines on the sea-bottom, Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 93 ; Maar,
one of the old haaf-terms for the ocean, now only occurs in camps.,
ib. Dial. (1897) 24.
2. Comp. Mar-bank, an abrupt slope of the sea-bottom.
Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 24.
[1. ON. marr, the sea. 2. ON. mar-bakki, the border
between shoal and deep water along the coast (Vigfusson).]
MAAS, MA AT, MAAWL, see Maws, Mout, v.. Mole, sb.
MAAYCOCK,56. I.W.' A conceited fellow; a coxcomb.
[A meacock wretch can make the curtest shrew, Shaks.
T. Shrew, II. i. 315.]
MAB, 56.1 and v. Obs. n.Cy. 1. sb. A slattern.
Bailey (i 721) ; Grose (1790); N.Cy.'^ 2. v. To dress in
a careless, slovenly manner, ib. See Mob(b.
[Prob. the same word as ' Mab,' the queen of the fairies ;
cf Mab led.]
MAB, sb.'^ Yks. [mab.] A marble, taw. w.Yks.
Sheffield Indep. (1874) ; w.Yks.=
MABBIE, sb. Sc. A woman's cap. See Mob, s6.^
And we maun hae pearlins and mabbies and cocks. Chambers
Sngs. (1829) I. 223.
MABBIER, see Mabyer.
MABBLE, v} Nhb. Yks. Also in form mable Nhb.>
[ma'bl.] To dress stone roughly with a hammer or stone
axe instead of smoothing it with a chisel. n.Yks.''^*
Hence Mablin, sb. a mason's small hammer, having a
hammer face at one end and a chisel point at the other.
Nhb.i
MABBLE, v.'^ Ken. [mae'bl.] To confuse, mix, throw
into disorder.
An books and such like mabbled up, Masters Dick and Sal (c.
1821) St. 70 ; Ken.i
MAB LED, phr. Obs. War. Also in form mobbled.
Led astray by a Will-o'-the-Wisp.
Johnson & Steev^hs Shakespeare (1803) X. 265, in Brand Pop.
Antiq. (ed. 1813) II. 678 ; Mobbled Pleck, Allies Aniiq. Flk-Lore
(1852) 438.
[In Shaks. ' Mab ' appears as the queen of the fames.
O then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you, R. &" J.
I- iv. 53.]
MABYER, sb. Cor. Also written mabbier, mabyear.
[maebj3(r).] A young hen ; a pullet, chicken.
I'll sell en them two mabyers, Thomas Rhymes (1895) 23 ;
Grose (1790) ; Polwhele in Williams (s.v. lar) ; Cor.i As stiff
as a mabyer; Cor.^s^ w.Cor. (G.F.R.)
[OCor. mab-^iar, i.e. the son of a hen.]
MAC, sb. w.Yks. A shortened form of ' sumac,' used
by dyers. (S.K.C.)
B
MAC
[2]
MACK(S
MAC, see Make, sb}
MACABAW, sb. Sc. Also written macabaa. A kind
of snuff.
Lnk. Licht broon an' macabaw, Murdoch Readings (1895) H- 9-
Gall. Ye maun bring me a treat o' this same Macabaa, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 223, ed. 1876.
[Fr. macouba, 'tabac qui croit dans le canton de la
Martinique qui porte ce nom ' (Littr^).]
MACALIVE CATTLE,/>Ar. ? 0*s. Sc. Cattle appro-
priated to a child who is sent out to be fostered.
w.Sc. These beasts are considered as a portion and called Maca-
live cattle, of which the father has the produce but is supposed
not to have the full property but to owe the same number to the
child, as a portion to the daughter or a stock for the son, Johnson
Jm. Hebrides, VIII. 374 (Jam.).
MACARONI, sb. Obs. or obsol. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Nhp.
e.An. Also written macaroony e.An.^ ; maccaroni Sc. ;
mackerony w.Yks.^ ; and in form macaroon e.An.'
1. A fop, ' dandy ' ; an overdressed person. Also used
attrib.
Frf. Than does an oyster wench or cronnie To personate a Maca-
roni, MoRisoN Po«>«5 (1790) 8. Slg. Affwi' maccaroni shape Turn
shoe or boot, MuiR Poems (1818) 5. Edb. Daft gowk, in macaroni
dress, Fergusson Poems (1773) 138, ed. 1785 ; His coat an' hat
were o' the maccaroni chp, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 336.
Rxb. Each master, miss, and parent sage, Is now a macaroni, W.
Wilson Poems (1824) 22. w.Yks.^ Way, tha does look a macker-
ony now ! Nhp.i, e.An.12
Hence Macaronian, adj. foppish.
Slg. Give ear ilk Macaronian beau 'Tween George's Square an
eke Soho, Galloway Poems (1792) 16.
2. Comp. Macaroni-gin, obs., a kind of colliery gin.
Nhb.i There is a sort of gins called ' whim-gins,' and a kind
known by the name of 'macaroni-gins,' Brand Hist. Newc, (1789)
II. 684.
MACDONALD'S DISEASE, phr. .? Obs. Sc. An
affection of the lungs.
Per. It is called the Macdonald's disease because there are par-
ticular tribes of Macdonalds who are believed to cure it with the
charms of their touch and the use of a certain set of words. There
must be no fee given of any kind, Statist. Ace. V. 84 (Jam.).
MACE, s6. w.Yks.'' [mes.] The top ofthe jaw of a vice.
MACE, see Make, sb.^, Mass, s6.=
MACER, 5i. Obs. Sc. A mace-bearer, an officer who
preserves order in a court of law.
Sc. No macer's lungs did bawl the rolls of hell, Pennecuik Coll.
(1787) 21. Abd. The heraulds, pursuivants, macers, and trum-
peters, followed his majesty in silence, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792)
I. 24. Slg. When removed, the macer came to him, and charged
him to enter ward in the house of Airth, Bruce Sermons (1631)
91, ed. 1843. Edb. Built anno 1663, by the old Macer to the
Session, Robert Hamilton, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 172, ed. 1815.
[Meires and maceres that menes ben bitwene The kynge
and the comune to kepe the lawes, P. Plowman (b.) hi. 76.]
MACH, see Maught, sb., Mawk, sb}
MACHINE, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Dev. Also in
form machie Wgt. [majrn.] 1. In comp. Machine-house,
the shed containing the horse-gear for driving machinery.
nw.Dev.''^ 2. The engine for drawing coals. Nhb., Dur.
Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). 3. A piece of flat wood
used in making a kind of oatcake. w.Yks.^ Hence
Machine-bread, sb. a kind of oatcake made with the
' machine.'
The meal, being first leavened, is poured on a bake-stone, and
then scraped by a piece of flat wood called the machine. It makes
the cake quite flat, ib.
4. A conveyance, vehicle, a carriage, cart.
Sc. I hadn't the face to bring such a ramshackle, rotten old
machine up to the front door, Keith Prue (1895) 230 ; Have the
machine brought to the door (H.W.). Abd. His machine, as
Sandy termed the gig, became familiarly known, Alexander Ain
Flk. (i88a) 107. Frf. Mr. Dishart, give Nanny your arm, and I'll
carry her box to the machine, Barrie Minister (iSgi) xiii. Ayr.
A close machine, hurrying up from Ayr, vomits oot the Bishop,
Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 182. Lnk. Gordon Pyotshaw
(1885)158. Lth. Lumsden 5/;e«/-Aearf (1892) 224, Gall. (A. W.)
Wgt. A carter, who sometimes left his machie over night at the
scene of his day's labour, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 321. N.I.i
MACHLE, V. Per. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] To busy oneself to no purpose, to be earnestly
engaged yet to do nothing right.
Ye'll machie yoursell in the mids of your wark.
MACHREE, phr. . Irel. I.Ma. A term of endearment :
my heart !
Ir. Och, Molly, we thought, machree. ye would start back agin
into life, Tennyson To-morrow {tS&^. n.Ir. Och, Barney, machree 1
it's raeself that was fooled, Lays and Leg. (1884) 20. Ant. A
profusion of ' machrees,' Hume Dial. (1878) 23. w.Ir. But, jew'l
machree, they soon run back into his room, Lover Leg. (1848) I.
102. Wxf. But girls, machree, he'll be living for ever, Kennedy
Banks Boro (1867) 48. I.Ma. Machree ! Machree! The darling's
dancing like a drumstick! CAiNEMaK^mai; (1894) pt. i.v; Machree!
machree ! it shudn be I Brown Witch (1889) 126.
[Ir. mo croidhe ! my heart ! (O'Reilly).]
MACHT, see Maught, sb.
MACIATE, V. Cor. To emaciate ; to smash, crush.
(M.A.C.) ; A g'eat stoane faalled down 'pon my hand 'esterday,
and 'maciated my fust finger, Tregellas Tales, 'Lisbeth Jane, 3.
MACK, sb. Glo.i [mak.] In phr. at mack, 'maris
appetens.'
MACK, see Mag, s6.S Make, v.^, sb.^^, Mawk, sb.^
MACKAINGIE, s6. Bnff.^ In phr. fair mackaingte, fair
play, full scope.
Gee me fair mackaingie o't, an' a'll dee't ringin'. To hae fair
mackaingie.
MACKER, sb. Nhb.i Also in forms macket, mawkie.
A black coaly band or inferior coarse coal.
MACKEREL, sb. Sc. Irel. Cum. Yks. Sus. Guer. Also
written mackeral Lnk. ; macrel Sc. (Jam.) [ma'kril,
ma'k-rl.] 1. In comp. (i) Mackerel-bird, the wryneck,
Jynx torquilla ; (2) -cock, the Manx shearwater, Puffinus
anglorum, ; (3) -guide, the gorebill or gar-fish, Belone vul-
garis ; (4) -hawk, Richardson's skua, Stercorarius crepi-
datus; (5) -scout, see (3) ; (6) -sture or -stor, the tunny,
Thynmis vulgaris.
(i) Guer. Swainson Birds (1885) 103 ; The mackerel bird was
heard at St. Martin's on Sunday last, Clerk's Guer. News (Apr. 12,
1889). (2) N.I.i e.Ir. Swainson jS. 212. (3) Cum.* (s. v. Herring).
Sus. [It] is supposed to act as pilot to the mackerel. Sawyer Stis.
Nat. Hist. (1883) 13. [Satchell (1879).] (4) Cum.* (5) N.I.i
At Strangford Lough, and Spearling at Portrush (s.v. Horn-eel).
(6) Sc. From its enormous size, it being the largest of the genus,
Pennant Tour (1772) 8 (Jam.). [Satchell (1879).]
2. Phr. as clean as a mackerel, completely, entirely.
Lnk. ' Dune as clean as a mackerel ! ' he roared, Gordon
Pyotshaw (1885) 103. w.Yks. A nokt im ouar ■sz than az a makril
(J-W.).
MACKET, MACKLE, see Macker, Maggot, sb?, Makle.
MACKLED, ppl. adj. Nhp.^ [ma-kld.] Spotted.
Applied to marble-paper, which was ' nicely mackled.'
[Fr. m,aculer, to spot, blot (Cotgr.).]
MACKRO, sb. Ken. [mse'krS.] A mackerel, a cry
used by street-hawkers of mackerel.
Fine mackro, six-a-shillin' mackro (D.W.L.).
[Fr. maquereau, a makerel (Cotgr.).]
MACK(S, sb. pi. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Nhp. Also
written mak-Nhp.^; makk-n.Yks.Lan.s.Chs.^ meek- Lan.
[inak(s.] In phr. by the mack{s, an oath, an exclamation, a
disguised form of ' by the mass!' Cf. meaks, megs. See
Mass, sb.'^ 3.
Lan. By th' mack, hoo says, but there 'd need no Maine Liquor
Law, Staton B. Shuttle Visit Manch. 34. n.Der. Addy CI. (1890).
Hence (i) Mackin(s or Makkin(g)s, (2) Macklins, (3)
Makkers, sb. {pi. used in oaths and exclamations.
(i) n.Yks. Neea, makkings ! Spec. Dial. (1839) 5. s.Chs.^
(s.v. By). Nhp.2 (2) Lan. By the macklins, age, un so aw
will, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 117; By th' macklins, Bobby,
but yon chap's not sitch a foo after aw, ib. Shuttle Bowtun
35. (3) Lan. By the makkers, that ud just be it, Brierley
Irkdale (1868) 27; By the maJikurs would he? *. Day Out
(1859) 16.
[Is not my daughter Maudge as fine a mayd. And yet,
by Mack, you see she troules the bowl e, //w/.^/6wo (1638)
130 (Nares) ; Mack, I think it be so, Jonson Every Man
(1598) III. iv. 18, ed. Wheatley,58. (i) I would not have
MACKY-MOON
[3]
MADANCHOLY
my zonne Dick one of those boets for the best pig in my
stye, by the mackins ! Randolph Muses Lookins-fflasse
(1643) (t6.).]
MACKY-MOON, sh. and v. Som. 1. sh. A fool, a
silly person ; a ' guy,' a queer-looking figure.
Agrikler Rhymes (1872) Introd. 7; (W.F.R.); W. & J. Gl.
(1873). w.Som.i Come, be quiet, cas-n, and neet make a macky-
moon 0' thyzul.
2. The kingfisher, Alcedo ispida. w.Som.^
3. V. To play the fool.
Meiistur see I a macky-mooning along wi' tother chaps : he
soon stopped I at that (W.F.R.).
MACMILLANFOLK,^Ar. Sc. The Reformed Presby-
terians. Also called Macmillanites.
Lnk.The' Macmillan fock,'known as the Reformed Presbyterians
of the present day, Hamilton Poems (1865) 184. GsiLObsol. So
called from Macmillan, one of the founders of that body. The
Reformed Presbyterian Church was in 1875 mostly united with
the Free Church of Scotland (A.W.).
MACON, see Mawkin, sb.
MAD, adj} and sb} Var. dial, and colloq. uses in Sc.
Irel. and Eng. [mad, maed.] 1. adj. In comb, (i) Mad-
lead, a mad strain ; also used attrib. ; (2) -lock, a lunatic,
a mad fellow ; a wild, giddy person, a madcap ; (3) — moll
o' the woods, an untidy woman or girl ; (4) -pash, (5)
-start, see (2) ; (6) -woman's milk, the sun-spurge,
Euphorbia Helioscopia.
(i) Abd. When days o' grief Come sleekin in, like midnight
thief And nails yir mad-Ieed vauntin, Tarras Poems (1804) 17
(Jam.). (2) Lan. This madlock here is gooin' t' liver yor letters,
Brierley Irkdale {1865) 253, ed. 1868 ; Whoopin on sheawtin like
madlocks, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 17; Lan.i (3) e.Snf.
(F.H.) (4) N.Cy.i, Nhb.l, w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.i, Chs.l^^ (g) chs.l
I once had a cow with so vile a temper that no one could milk her.
She always went by the name of ' Madstart.' (6) s.Bck. (B. & H.)
2. Angry, annoyed, vexed. In gen. colloq. use.
Frf. She'll be mad when she gets it, Barrie Tommy (i8g6) 35.
Per. She was beaten for aince and wes rael mad, Ian Maclaren
Brier Bush (1895) 219. Ayr. Care, mad to see a man sae happy,
E'en drown'd himself amang the nappy, Burns Tarn 0' Shanier
(1790) 1. 53. Gall. Says I, as plain as if he hadna been a minister,
I was that mad, Crockett Bog-Myrtle (1895) 379. N.I.i, n.Cy.
(J.W.), Dur.', Lakel.2 Cum.^ What mak's yan madder nor o'
t'rest, 8. Wm. He med meh sayah mad, Blezard Sngs. (1848) 34;
Awesreet mad at em, thatawos,5/i?c. Z)jfl/. (i883)pt. iii.2. n.Yks.*
Aa bud, Ah war mad wiv her. ne.Yks.' He was mad, noo. e.Yks.
Neddy hissen gat seeah mad ower it, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889)
34. m.Yks.i w.Yks. Are ta mad at mha ? Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Jan. 5, 1889) ; w.Yks.* s Lan. Nay, don't get mad, and go off,
Westall J5«VcAi)eMc(i889) II • 160 ; Barbarawas still 'mad,' Francis
Daughter of Soil (1895") 67. ne.Lan.', e.Lan.' I.Ma. What I said
to her,madeherasmadasmad(S.M.). Chs.i Der.^ Aye, but I was
mad at him. nw.Der.i s.Not. Don't be mad with me. Prior Renie
(1895) 262. Not.' Lin.' Did yah do it to make me mad ? n.Lin.
Then Crookleshanks gets mad. Peacock Tales and Rhymes {i&S6)
93. sw.Lin.' Some women would have turned up, and been very
mad. Lei.', Nhp.^^ War.^ I was that mad I didn't know how to
contain myself ; War.*, s. War.' Shr., Hrf. Bound PTOt/mc. (1876).
Glo.i, Brks.' w.Mid. I was that mad I could have boxed his ears
(W.P.M.). Ess. Made me feel that mad, I could a swore,
Downes Ballads (1895) II. 10 ; Ess.', Ken.' Sur. Jennings Field
Paths (1884) 38. Sus. (F.A.A.) ; Sns.' Ah ! he just will be mad
if he comes to hear an't. I.W.' She was mad wi'n. w.Som.'
I was mad 'nough to hat'n down.
Hence (i) mad angry, (2) as mad as a bear with a sore
^'^g> (3) — « hare, (4) — a hedge, (5) — a March hare, (6) —
a piper, (7) — a pawn hand, (8) — a tup, (9) — a wasp, (10)
— wheelbarrows, phr. very angry.
(i) N.I.i (a) e.Yks.' (3) Ayr. It pits me aye as mad 's a hare,
Burns £)!'. toy. Pa«*iMC (1784) St. 13. (4) w.Yks. (E.S.A.) (5)
Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). (6) Cum., Wm. (M.P.) n.Yks.
Mestsrwaz sz mad sz a paiper wen t'lad let hoses galap awe (W.H.).
w.Yks. As mad as a piper, Prov. in Brighouse News (Aug. 10,
1889). n.Lan. Look, we've med him as mad as a piper (G.W.).
(7) Lan. Dick, as mad as a pown haund, Tahiti ih' New Year in
(1888) 9. (8) nw.Der.' He wur as mad as a tup. (g) LMa. Walks
out of the room as mad as a wasp, Rydings Tales (1895) 39.
Chs.' (10) w.Cor. The sheep were as mad as wheelbarrows
(A.L.M.).
3. Excited by liquor.
Cum. I'll hev a drop o' new rum ; it'll mak me as mad as owt
(J.Ar.).
4. Dotingly fond of, eager, keen, desirous of; gen. with
for or after.
Cai.' To be mad for a thing. Cld. He was mad for't (Jam.).
n.Yks.* He seems fair mad efter t'lass, 414. w.Yks. (J. W.), Der.^,
nw.Der.'
5. sb. Madness, intoxication. Glo.'
6. Spite ; gen. in phr. /or mad.
w.Yks. He threw a stoan through t'winda for mad (S.K.C.).
7. pi. Obs. A disease in sheep.
e. & s.Cy. Ray (1691). [Worlidge (1681).]
MAD, sb.'^ Obs. or obsol. Sc. Yks. Ess. Also written
madde e.Yks. ; and in forms made Gall. ; maid n. Sc. (J am.) ;
mid Ess. 1. A maggot. Cf. maddock, sb.^
n.Sc. (Jam.) Gall. The larvae, or seed of mawks, maggots, as
laid by the blue-douped mawking flee . . . on . . . putrid flesh,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). e.Yks. For fear of maddes breeding.
Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 6.
2. An earthworm.
m.Yks.i Ess. Ray (1691) ; (K.) ; (P.R.) ; Gl. (1851) ; Ess.'
[1. Cp. ME. mathe, 'tarmus' (Prompt. 321) ; OE. wiapa,
maggot (Sweet).]
MAD, sb? Cld. (Jam.) Also in form maud. A net for
catching salmon or trout.
[It is] fixed in a square form by four stakes and allowed to stand
some time in the river before it be drawn.
MAD, adj.^ Obs. Wil. Of land : spoilt, damaged.
If it be sowed with wheat it will be mad, and come to nothing,
Lisle Husbandry (1757) 100 ; The wet spewy clay ... is mad by
much rain, if heat and winds follow, id. 117 ; Wil.'
MAD, see Maud, sb.
MADAM, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also in
forms ma'am Som. ; marm Midi, [ma'dam, madam.]
1. A title of respect often prefixed to the names of gentle-
women instead of ' Mrs.' ; a squire's wife.
Nhb. Aw was gannin to th' Madam's at Apperley, Bewick Tyneside
Tales (1850) 12. w.Yks.2, ne.Lan.' Midi. Quid Marm Wroight,
Bartram People of Clopton (1897) 55. Nhp.' Obsol. War.^,
s.Wor.' Hrf.' A young unmarried lady is a ' young madam.'
e.An.' In a village, the esquire's wife . . . must have 'madam 'pre-
fixed to her surname. The parson's wife, if he be a doctor, or a
man of considerable preferment and genteel figure, must be
' madam ' too. The wife of the humble vicar, the curate, the farmer,
and the tradesman, must be content with the style of ' mistress.'
Dor.' Madam A gi'ed me deas frock. Som. Applied to the most
respectable classes of society : Madam Greenwood, Jennings
Dial. w.Eng. (1869).
2. A mistress ; a fine lady.
Ayr. I redde ye warn your madam, that gin she sends you here
again I'll maybe let his grace ken, Galt Gilhatze (1823) ii. Lnk.
When she's married she turns a madam, her mistress did not work
much, and why should she? Graham Writings (1883) II. 149.
Edb. A fine madam that maun have nae less than a fedder bed to
rest on, Beatty Secretar (1897) 233.
3. A title given to the mistress of a parish school.
Som. ' Ma'am ood touch us on the han' wi' her ferule.' An old
school-mistress of bygone days is well remembered by the title
of ' Ma'am Davis ' (W.F.R.).
4. A contemptuous term for a woman ; a ' hussy ' ; also
applied to children.
Per. The deil a penny debt has he — Nor scarlet madams
blinking, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 177. Ayr. Putting on the look
of a losel and roister, gave him a groat, and bade him go to the
madam's dwelling, Galt Gilhaize (1823) viii. Gall. A wildcat
madam at the best, I warrant, Crockett Anna Marli (1899) xviii.
s.Stf. Her's a reglar brazen madam, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
s.Not. Come hear, madam, or ah'U smack yer. She's a mardy
little madam (J.P.K.). Nhp.' I'll give it you, madam, if you don't
do as you're bid. War.^ She is a madam. w.Wor. I'm quite
ashamed of 'em, they're brazen madams, S. Beauchamp Grantley
Grange (1874) I. 68. s.Wor.' Dev. I'd make tlie madams squall,
Peter Pindar Wlis. (1816) IV. 183.
MADANCHOLY, adj. Yks. Lan. Also written mad-
an-coUy e.Lan.' [ma-dankoli.] 1. A corruption of the
word ' melancholy.' e.Lan.^ 2. Very vexed, sulky.
w.Yks. Shoo'd be as madancholy as owght if tha wor to tell
her shoo'd a wart ov her nooase, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Feb. a, 1895).
B 2
MADDED
[4J
MADE
MADDED, pp I. adj. Obs. Sc. Mad, foolish.
Per. Shall I so besotted be, And madded, as to sell my soul ?
NicoL Poems (1766) 240.
MADDEN, I'. Sc.Yks. [ma'dan.] To anger, annoy, vex.
Frf. But what maddens me is that every penny of it should go
to those bare-faced scoundrels, Barrie M. Ogilvy (1896) 78.
w.Yks.^ Doan't madden him no moar, pretha doan't ; he's mad
eniff i' awal conscience.
MADDER, sb? Hmp. Wil. Dor. Also in form mader
Dor.i [mae-d3(r), ?maB-S3(r).] 1. The stinking chamomile,
Anthemis Cotula. Also in pi. Hmp.^ Wil.^ Dor.^ Cf. ma-
ther,s6. 2. The sweet woodrufl", ^s/grw/a oiforafer. Wil.'
MADDER, s6.2 w.Sc. (Jam.) [ma'dar.] A vessel used
in mills to hold meal.
Hence Madders-full, sb. as much as will fill a 'madder.'
She . . . was there at home crying out her eyes madders'full,
fit for neither mill nor moss, Saxon and Gael (1814) I. 2.
MADDER, sb.^ and v. Yks. Also written maddher
e.Yks.i ; mader n.Yks. 1. sb. Pus, suppurating matter.
n.Yks. It's mebi betar far madar kumin ut ; it'l hial sinner
(W.H.)^'n.Yks.2 e.Yks.i il/S. arfrf, (T.H.) w.Yks.i
Hence Maddery, adj. charged with matter. n.Yks.'^
2. V. To fester. n.Yks.^ e.Yks.^ MS. add. (T.H.)
MADDERDOM, sb. Sh.I. In phr. horror 0' madderdom,
a wild, madcap person.
Come doon oot o' da ledder an' leave aff dat ringin' a bells on a
Sunday night, dii horror o' madderdom, 5^. News (Jan. 22, 1898).
MADDERIM, sb. Sc. Also written madderam S. &
Ork.^ ; maderim Sh.I. ; and in forms maddendrim Cai.' ;
madram, madrim Sh.I. [ma'd(a)rim.] Madness, folly ;
mad pranks, boisterous fun.
Sh.I. Der madram allwis maks me wae, Junda Klingrahool
(1898) 31 ; Da muck kishie 'ill tak' a' dis maderim oot o' dee, Sh.
News (Mar. 24, igoo) ; I wis . . . carin' fur naethin' bit madrim
an' foally. Burgess Sketches (and ed.) 88 ; S. & Ork.i, Cai.^
MADDIE, sb} Abd. A lunatic. (A.W.)
MADDIE, sb."^ ? Obs. Sc. A large species of mussel.
w.Sc. The three rocks . . . are call'd maddies from the great
quantity of big muscles called maddies, that grows upon them,
Martin W. Islands {1^16) 54 (Jam.).
MADDLE, V. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also
written maddalw. Yks. ; maddelLan. ; madle n.Yks. Lan.
[ma'dl.] 1. To wander in speech, to ramble, talk inco-
herently ; to rave, be delirious.
N.Cy.', Nhb.i, Cum., Wm. (M.P.) Cum.3 This he maddelt aboot
ebben endways away, 164 ; Cum.", n.Yks. ^ w.Yks. He mawne'd
an' maddle'd all aboot His daddy cumin heame, Blackah Poems
(1867) 16 ; (J.W.) ; WiLLAN List IVds. (1811); w.Yks.i xhen shoe
maddies an taurns ower in a sweb,ii.29i. Lan. I mun be madlin.
Eavesdropper Vill. Life (1869) 22 ; Thornber Hist. Blackpool
(1837) 108. ne.Lan.i
2. To become confused or bewildered ; to forget.
Dur.i, s.Dur. (J.E.D.), Lakel.^ Wm. A wes faer maddlet an
sed ta maseir, this is parlish waark, Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 3.
n.Yks. 1* e.Yks.i Ah's fair maddled amang it all. w.Yks. Ah felt
reight dizzy an maddald, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1847)
43. Lan. Aw felt rayther maddelt, Ferguson Preston Eggsibishun
(1865) i ; Tummy geet maddle't clen up i' th' fur end, Waugh
Heather (ed. Milner) I. 229.
Hence Madly, adj. in a dazed, muddled condition.
n.Yks. Aye ! He's vara old an' madly (R.H.H.).
3. To lose one's way ; to stagger ; to move aimlessly
about, to potter ; gen. with along.
n.Yks.i; n.Yks." Ah didn't ken wheear Ah war, bud Ah maddled
along, fust yah waay an' then t'ither. w.Yks. Well, 'ow's your
uncle? I suppose 'e maddies along as usual? (F.P.T.); w.Yks.'
As soon as I gat to t'moor I began to maddle. ne.Lan.'
4. With of or after: to be fond of, to dote, to be madly in
love with.
n.Cy, She maddies after that fellow, Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.= She
maddies of this fellow. n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^ He runs maddling after
her the day tiv an end ; n.Yks.* Thoo'U gan maddlin' efter t'lass
whahl thoo'll loss thi job.
5. To confuse, bewilder, esp. with noise ; to perplex,
muddle.
Cum.i, s.Wm. (J.A.B.) n.Yks. 'Twad maddle a priest (R.H.H.);
n.Yks.i Ah was fairly maddled wi't, sik a din an' clatter as
'twar; n.Yks. ''^'' ne. Yks.' T'noise o' t'organ maddies ma. e.Yks.'
m.Yks.' My head aches, and feels fair maddled. w.Yks. (C.W.D.);
w.Yks.' Thou parfitly maddies me wi aw thy . . . larnin, ii. 308 ;
w.Yks. 23" ; w.Yks.5 Mother ! ah can't du this sum if t'barn goas
on i' that waay, cos he maddies muh. Lan. Feerfo things, . .
welli maddlunt me fur o' bit, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 11 ;
Lan.' Make a less din, childer, win yo ; for my yed's fair maddle't
wi one thing an' another, Waugh Home Life (1867) xix. n.Lan.',
ne.Lan.', e.Lan.', m.Lan.'
e. Comp. Maddle-brain, strong drink.
w.Yks. He'd gotten so mich maddle-brain wal he didn't knaw
t'road home, Dewsbre Olm. (Dec. 2, 1865) 16.
[Delirare, dissipere, to maddle. Levins Manip. (1570).]
MADDLIN(G, sb. and adj. Lakel. Cum. Yks. Lan. Also
written maddlen Lakel.'' ; madlin Cum. w.Yks.^ Lan.'
ne.Lan.' e.Lan.'; madling w.Yks.® [ma-dlin.] 1. sb. A
fool, simpleton, blockhead ; a dotard ; a flighty, extravagant
person. See Maddle.
Lakel.= Thoo's a gurt maddlen ta gang an' sell t'cowey. n.Yks.
He's a reet maddHn, Why John {Coll. L.L.B.). w.Yks. Gooid-for-
naught madling! Bronte Wuthering Hts. (1847) xiii ; Thah
maddlin', what's ta been dewin' nah? (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.'^® Lan.
Thaa meytherin' owd maddlin thaa, Ackworth Clog Shop Chron.
(1896) 66; Do hand thi tung, thoo madlin', I pritho, Wavgh Jan-
nock (1874) ii; Lan.', e.Lan.'
2. A bad memory.
Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 307; Gl. (1851). ne.Lan.'
3. A weaving term : see below.
w.Yks. A way used by weavers to mix or confuse the place in a
piece of cloth, where a slightly different weft began to be used.
This was done by using first alternate threads of the new and old
kinds, and so gradually iutroducing the new till it was solely used
(W.T.).
4. a,dj. Foolish, silly, flighty ; confused.
n.Yks.2 A maddling deed. w.Yks. A madlin fool, Nidderdale
Olm. (1876) ; w.Yks.3 ; w.Yks.^ To be ' maddUng,' is to have our
ideas of things confused. Lan. A lot n' madlin' chatter-baskets,
Waugh Heather {qA, Milner) II. 152.
5. Perplexing. w.Yks. (J.W.), w.Yks.^
MADDOCK, s^..' Obs. n.Cy. Yks. L A maggot. Cf.
mad, sb?, mawk, sb.^ 1.
n.Cy. (K., s.v. Mauks). n.Yks. Meriton Praise Ale (1684) Gl.
m.Yks.'
2. A whim. n.Cy. Grose (1790).
[1. Dan. maddik, maggot (Larsen) ; ON. madkr (Vig-
fusson).]
MADDOCK, sb.^ Nhb. Dev. Also in form maddick
nw.Dev.' [ma'dak, mae'dik.] 1. A mattock.
nw.Dev.' There are three different kinds in general use, viz. : 1.
' Rooting maddick ' for digging furze, earth, &c. ; 2. ' Hacking
maddick ' for cleaning the surface of the earth of weeds, &c. ; 3.
' Digger ' or ' Digging maddick,' formed with two prongs, and used
for digging potatoes, &c.
2. Comp. Maddock-hoe, a tool, an axe at one end and a
hoe at the other, used in clearings for stubbing up furze-
roots, &c. Nhb.'
MADDRICK GULL,/.Ar. Cor. The black-headed gull,
Larus rudibundus.
RoDD Birds (1880) 315 ; Swainson Birds (1885) 209.
MADE, ppl. adj. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Chs. Lin. Lei. War.
Som. In comb, (i) Made earth, (2) — ground, ground that
has been disturbed by digging as distinct from virgin soil ;
land where the surface soil has been raised, or hollows
filled up with rubbish, or any material differing from the
surroundings ; (3) — hedge, a hedge made of dead material,
such as thorns, &c. ; (4) — lie, a deliberate falsehood ; (5)
— up, {a) in phr. made-up land, &c., see (2) ; (6) in phr. a'
made upfrae the pan and the spoon, a man of more flesh and
appetite than brains ; (6) — wine, home-made wine.
(i) w.Yks.= Lei.' When a pit is filled up with earth, or a bank
or mound artificially raised, the earth used for the purpose is so
called. War.s (2) w.Yks.^, Lei.', War .3 w.Som.' Well ! any-
body wid'n reckon to vind made-ground here, down to this here
deepness. (3) n.Lin.' (4) Slk. A downright made lee, Hogg
Tales (1838J 296, ed. 1866. (5, a) Nhb. Homes built on ' made up '
land. ' Made up ' sites are composed of street sweepings, &c.,
Newc. Wkly. Chron. (May 4, 1895) 5, col. 6. (6) Slk. He's a
comical chap ; he's no a' made up frae the pan and spoon, Hogg
Tales (1838) 282, ed. 1866 ; (A.W.) (6) Chs.', w.Som.'
MADE
[5]
MAFFIE
MADE, see Mad, sZ>.=
MADELL, sb. W'll} Also in form medal. The game
of ' merills ' or ' nine men's morris ' ; see below. See
Merrills.
Several varieties known respectively as ' Eleven-penny,' ' Nine-
penny,' ' Six-penny,' and ' Three-penny,' according to the number
of pieces used. ' Eleven-penny ' is played with eleven pieces each
side, instead of nine. The players move alternately, and the
general principle is to get three pieces together in aline anywhere
on the dots or holes, while at the same time preventing your
adversary from making a line. ' Nine-penny,' ' Six-penny,' and
' Three-penny ' differ only in the number of men each side and the
form of the board. The ' board ' is scratched or chalked out on
paving-stones, drawn on the slate, cut deep into the turf on the
downs, or the top of the corn-bin (with holes instead of dots), in
short, made anywhere and anyhow. The ' men ' or ' pieces ' may
be anything available, sticks being played against stones, beans
against oats, &c.
MADEMENT, sb. Cmb. [me-dment.] Hay harvest.
See Math, sb.^ 'About madement' [hay-making time] (W.M.B.).
MADER, MADERIM, see Madder, sb}^, Madderim.
MADGE, sb.^ Yks. Also in form madgy n.Yks.^^
[madz.] The clown or buffoon of the ' Plough-stots ' (q. v.) ;
a foot. Also in comp. Madgy Peg.
n.Yks. During the dance two or three Toms or Clowns make
antic gestures, while another set called Madgies or Madgypegs,
dressed like women, collect money, Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c.
1882) 48; n.Yks.i24, m.Yks.l
MADGE, sbP- Sc. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Nhp. Wor. Suf.
[madg.] 1. In comb, (i) Madge-bone, the fetlock bone of
a horse ; (2) -mony-legs, the dog's-wheat, Triticum
caninum ; (3) -owl, the barn-owl, Strix flammea ; see
Madge-howlet ; (4) Madges Station, a certain landmark
on the moors, west of Dore.
(i) ne.Lan.^ (2) Yks. From its numerous creeping roots, which
quickly fill the soil (B. & H.). (3) w.Wor. Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 3,
1888). [Morris Hist. Brit. Birds (1857).] (4) w.Yks.^
2. The barn-owl, Strix flammea. Nhp."-
3. The magpie. Pica rustica.
w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.i, Chs.^ (s.v. Jack Nicker), Der.i Obs., Nhp.i,
Wor. (H.K.), Suf.i [Morris Hist. Brit. Birds (1857).]
4. A playful or contemptuous term for a woman.
Sc. That glaikit madge Leddy Sibby, Saxon and Gael (1814) III,
106 (Jam.). Lnk. (Jam.)
5. The little fore-pin set up in the game of ninepins, the
' Jack.' ne.Lan.', e.Lan.^
[2. Thou lasie madge That fearing light, still seekest
where to hide, Du Bartas (1598) (Nares).]
MADGE-HOWLET, sb. Wor. Nrf. The barn-owl,
Strix flammea. Cf. margiowlet.
w.Wor. Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 3, 1888). Nrf. SwAiNSON Birds
(1885) 125.
[As sweet melodious as madge-howlet's song, Taylor
Workes (1630) (Nares) ; lie sit in a barn with madge-howlet,
and catch mice first, Jonson Every Man (1598) 11. ii, ed.
Cunningham, I. 18.]
MADGETIN, sb. e.An. [mse'dzatin.] The Margaret
apple. e.An.i, e.Suf. (F.H.)
[Cp. Fr. margoton, the name of a kind of apple in
Normandy ; see Joret Flore populaire (1887) 258.]
MADGIN, see Mudgin.
MADGIOWLER, s6. Cor.i A large moth. Cf. maggy-
owler, margiowlet.
MADLE, MADLIN(G, see Maddle, Maddlin.
MADLOCKS, sb. pi. Rnf. (Jam.) [Not known to our
correspondents.] Oatmeal brose made with milk instead
of water.
MADRAM, MADRIM, see Madderim.
MAE, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Also written maa, maie
Sc. ; may Sc. Ir. ; mey Sc. [me.] 1. sb. The cry or
bleat of sheep, esp. that of lambs.
Cai.^ Frf, The innocent lammies hae ceased . . . tae gi'e vent
to their plaintive mae, mae, Lowson Guidfollow (1890) 56. Edb.
Lambs bear treble with their kindly mae, Pennecuik Helicon (1730)
24. Slk. As to the storm, my sheep are just at ane mae wi't,
Hogg Tales (1838) 293, ed. 1866.
2. A child's name for a sheep ; a sheep call.
Sc. My sheep maie, maie, Chambers Pop. Rhymes (1870) 31.
Abd. (G.W.) Fif. Oo' gleaned fae the fiel'. What thorn had torn
fae tousy mey, Allan Cracks wi' Flutorum (1899) 36. Per. (G.W.)
3. V. To cry or bleat softly, as a lamb does.
Sc. Used to denote the bleating of lambs, while ' bae ' is gen.
confined to that of sheep (Jam.). Ayr. By ranablacktip maying,
Which did her fright, Fisher Poems (1790) 149. Lnk. Ewes shall
bleat, and little lambkins mae, 'Ramsa.y Poems (1800) IL 14 (Jam.) ;
The boys would maa and bleat, Stewart Twa Elders (1886)
147. Gall. Ewies for their younglin's maed, Nicholson Poet.
Wks. (1814) 42, ed. 1897. n.Ir. Whuniver yin o' the fellas met
me he wud begin mayin' like a goat, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 16.
MAE, adj. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Stf. Also written ma Sc.
e.Yks.^; mayNhb.^; and in forms meea e. Yks. ; mooStf.^
[me.] More, more in number. Also used subst.
Sc. A fair maiden tocherless will get mae wooers than husbands,
Ramsay Prov. (1737). Bnff. Taylor Poems (1787) 67. Kcd.
Several mae that I did ken, Jamie Muse (1844) 71. Frf. Mony mae
had nane ava, Piper of Peebles (1794) 6. Per. (G.W.) Dmb.
Salmon Gowodean (1868) 83. Rnf. Gie's nae mae sic withershins,
PicKEN Poems (1813) 1. 151. Ayr. Sal-alkali o' Midge-tail clippings.
And mony mae. Burns Dr. Hornbook (1785) st. 22. Lnk. Mony
gentry mae than he, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) m, ed. 1783.
Edb. Wha mae than he can tell, M^Dowall Poems (1839) 222.
Bwk. Need I mention ony mae ? Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856)
14. Peb. Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 92. Slk. Mae to care for
than yoursel', Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 336. Dmf. And
twa-three mae the fight prolong, Mayne Siller Gun (1808) 73. Gall.
The mae she drowned the mair enjoyment, Nicholson Hist. Tales
(1843) 30. Kcb.To fetch mae stanes wi' 's apron furl'd, Davidson
Seasons (1789) 39. Nhb. Like her alake ! I hae nae mae, Donald-
son Poems (1809), in Dixon Whittingham Vale (1895) 252 ; Nhb.*
The mae pairt on them wis gan back agyen. e.Yks. Meea meyn,
and mare wark [more men, and more work], Marshall Rur.
Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.l, Stf.l
Hence a ma,phr. all the more.
Sc. ' I wot they cost me dear eneugh.' 'The shame a ma,' Scott
Minstrelsy (1802) II. 122, ed. 1848.
[Sex scor and seuen yeir lined sarra And deid wit-outen
childer ma, Cursor M. (c. 1300) 3210. OE. ma, more in
number.]
MAEG, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Also written maig Sc.
(Jam.) Sh.I. Cai. ; and in forms mag Sc. (Jam.) ; mage
Nhb. (Hall.); meag Nhb.*; meg, myeg Nhb.* [meg,
miag.] 1. sb. A hand, a large, clumsy hand, used in an
uncomplimentary sense.
Sc. Rede thame owto' the maigo' the wicket, RiddellPs. (1857)
Ixxxii. 4. Sh.I. If he gets his maigs ower da jaws o' da gaut, he'll
repent hit afore William slips his grip, Sh. News (Aug. 20, 1898) ;
(Co//. L.L.B.) Cai.* Keep yer maigs aff that. Bwk. Your sherney
maegs wa'd file the sea, Henderson Po/i. Rhymes (1856) 79. Rxb.
Haud aff yer maigs, man (Jam.). Nhb.* A dorty meag. Keep yor
clarty megs off the butter.
Hence Maegsie, sb. one who has large, clumsy hands.
S. & Ork.*
1i.pl. The flippers of a seal. Sh.I.(Co//.L.L.B.); S.&Ork.*
3. V. To handle, finger ; to handle anything roughly so
as to render it useless or disgusting.
Rxb. ' He's maigit that bit flesh sae, that I'll hae nane o't.' Often
applied to the handling of meal in baking. ' Lay down that kitlin,
lassie, ye'U maig it a' away to naething' (Jam,). Nhb.* Whae's
gan ta eat that eftor a' yer myegin ?
MAEN, see Moan.
MAESH, sb. Som. Moss. Sweetman Wincanton Gi.
(1885).
MAESLIE,MAET,M AETHER, MAEZLE, see Measly,
Meat, Mather, int., Mazle.
MAFF, sb. Cum. [maf.] A foolish, silly person; a
fool. See MafBin.
Maffs better fed far than taught, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808)
170; Poor silly Maff, Dickinson Lit. Rem. (1888) 139 ; Cum.*
MAFFIE, sb. Nrf. [mse'fi.] A farmer's cart ; see below.
See Morfreydite, 2.
' Maffie ' is derived from hermaphrodite, and signifies a cart on
to which, for the purpose of carting hay or corn, is affixed a con-
trivance like the fore-part of a wagon, so that in fact it is neither
cart nor wagon, Haggard Farmer's Year, in Longman's Mag.
(June 1899) 153.
MAFFLAN FEAST
[6]
MAG
MAFFLAN FEAST, ^/in Cum.^ See below; also called
Fummellan Feast (q.v.), s.v. Fumble.
When a married couple are dilatory in producing issue, a few
sly neighbours assemble, unbidden, at the house of the barren pair
and invite themselves to tea and make merry, and to wish better
success (s.v, Fummellan).
MAFFLE, V. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Chs. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War. Won e.An. Dor. Som.
Also in forms mofBe Yks. Lin. Lei.^ Nhp."- War.^ e.An.^ ;
mufBe Lin. Lei.i War.^* s.War.^ Won e.An.^ Don Som.
[ma-fl, mo'fl, mB'fl.] 1. v. To stammer, hesitate; to
mumble, speak indistinctly.
N.Cy.i Cum. He wad a maffelt an toke 't on, ScoAP/oe Sargis-
son (1881) 198; Cum.* n.Yks.* Noo let's hear what thoo 'ez ti
saay foor thisel, an' deean't maffle on i' that road. e.Yks.i MS. add.
(T.H.) Lan.i, e.Lan.i Lin. Holloway. Lei.i A moffles soo, yo'
cain't mek aout a wood as a says, not joostly. Nhp.^, War. 3, e.An.^
e.Nrf. FoRBY Gl. (1830). Dor. (C.V.G.) Som. She did zim to
muffly when one spok to her, but I didn' think she were so bad
(W.F.R.).
Hence MafBing or MofHing, ppl. adj. speaking thickly
and unintelligibly. Nhp.^
2. To blunder, make mistakes, muddle ; to act or talk
in a foolish way ; to idle away time, to strive uselessly.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). s.Dur. (J.E.D.) Cum. (M.P.) ; Cum.'s ;
Cum." He just mafSes aboot an' dus nowt geud. s.Wm. (J A.B.)
n.Yks.* If he mafHes on wi' t'job i' yon waay he'll niwer mannish
it. w.Yks. HuTTON Tour to Caves {z^8I). n.Lan.^, Nhp.'
Hence (i) MafBe-horn, sb. an incapable, blundering,
inefficient person ; (2) Mafflement, sb. dilatoriness, non-
sense, trifling; concealment, underhand work; (3)MafBing,
MofBing, or Muffling, («) vbl. sb. mismanagement, blun-
dering ; (b) ppl. adj. blundering, clumsy, foolish, stupid ;
useless, unable to work ; weak, feeble, infirm.
(i) Lan.l, n.Lan.i, ne.Lan.i (2) Cum. (E.W.P.) ; Cum.^ Toakin
sike maflement ! Ye mun be nick't i' t'heead, 216. Lan. I like
that! There's nae mafflement aboot it, j6./aM«oc/fe( 1874) v. ; Lan.*,
Chs.i^ (3)") Dmf. After much higghng and mafHing, the printers
have got fairly afloat, Carlyle Lett. (Jan. 22, 1837). IV) Nhb.
Like a mafBin' aad man, aa's gan te gi ye the fore pairt o' the story
at the hint end, Haldane Geordy's Last (1878) 8. Cum. He . . .
turned his mafHing oald heid t'other way, Mary Drayson (1872)
10. w.Yks, 1 s.Yks. I remember hearing an old lady speak of
a person as mofUing whose mind and thoughts had become im-
paired by reason of old age, N. (y Q. (1878) 5th S, ix. 256. n.Lan.
Sum mafflin' fella set it agaain, R. Piketah Forness Flk. (1870) ii.
ne.Lan.^ Lel.i A's a shooflin' mofHin' sort o' feller. Ah'm sa very
mofSin. War.224 s. War .* I get as muffling as a child. Wor. My
sight gets very muffling (H.K. ).
3. To puzzle, confuse, bewilder.
N.Cy.^ Nhb. 'Twad maffle ony ferryman Te be a tick behine,
Haldane Geordy's Last (1828) 19. Lakel,'^ Thoo's maffled me noo,
an' Ah've lost me coont. Cum. Ah's been fair maffelt wi' work aw
t'day. What's maffeltye so? KiGuy Midsummer to Martinmas {iSgi)
iii. Wm. Thoo mont mind them sea mich er else thoo'U git maffled,
Billy Tyson, 18. w.Yks. Willan List Wds. (181 1).
Hence (i) Maffled, ppl. adj. puzzled ; confused, bewil-
dered ; slightly insane ; (2) Maffling, (a) sb. a state of
perplexity or confusion; (b) ppl.adj.confusing, bewildering;
(3) Maffly, adj., see (i).
(i) Cum. (H.W.) Wm. She was what they call in the country
maffled, that is confused in her intellect, Southey Lett. (1820'! III.
186, ed. Warter. w.Yks. Ye's niwer goin' ! I's fair maffled !
Banks Wooers (1880) i. n.Lin.i She's not craazy but just maffled
like. (2, a) N.Cy .1 (6) w.Yks. Willan Ljs^ fFrfs. (1811). Nhp.i
As often evinced in the imbecility and indecision of old age. (3)
Cum.* Said of an old person who, by reason of age, is bewildered.
' He's turnin' varra maffly.' Wm. (B.K.)
4. To spend recklessly ; to squander, waste in trifles.
s.Chs.i Dh)uwd mon aad ii jel ii miin'i wiinst, biir ey maaf-lt it
an' iiwee' fTh' owd mon had a jell o' money wunst, bur he mafflet
it aw awee]. Nhp.' The following item appears in the accounts of
a certain parish, where the money could not be accounted for :
' To moffled away, forty pounds. ' ' He moffles all his money away.'
5. See below.
Nhp.i Applied to land in an intermediate state between very wet
and very dry. When it clings to the plough, and obstructs its
working, a farmer would say, 'The land moffles so, I can't get on.'
6. To stifle, overcome with heat. m.Yks.^ Cf. maft.
7. sb. Hesitation, dilatoriness; nonsense, trifling, con-
cealment, underhand work.
Lan. Wi' no maffle abeawt him , Waugh Sketches ( 1 855) 49 ; Lan.*
[1. Which so stammered or mafled in his talke, that he
was not able to bring forth a readie worde, Baret (1580).
MDu. maffelen, to stammer (Oudemans).]
MAFFLIN, sb. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. [ma-flin.]
A simpleton, a silly, foolish person.
n.Cy. (Hall.), Lakel.2 Cum. (M.P,) ; Cum.' ; Cum.^ Whoar's
thy eyes, thoo mafflin ? 177 ; Cum.* Wm. Like a mafflin bezzling
dawn Strang liquors, Hutton Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 456; It
wes a lile bit afoor t'poor mafflin es wes left i' t'wood cud find his
way back ta t'rooad, Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii, 35, s.Wm. (J.A.B.) ;
Lile mafflins, aswe wer, Southey Doctor (ed. 1848) 559. w.Yks.
HuTTON Tom?- to Cflws (1781). ne.Lan.'
MAFFLING, prp. Lin.^ [ma-flin.] Said of a dog
running after and barking at sheep.
MAFT, V. and sb. Yks. Also in form meft n.Yks."
[maft.] 1. V. Of dust, snow, &c. : to drift.
n.Yks.= ' It mafts sair,' the dust or the snow drifts very much.
Hence Mafting, ppl. adj. drifting.
n.Yks. Sky was thick wi' maftin fog, MuNBY Verses (1865) 6s.
2. pass. To be stifled or overpowered by want of air,
great heat, &c. ; to be out of breath by great exertion, as
in fighting against a storm.
n.Yks. (T,S,); n.Yks.i^; n.Yks.*Oppent'winner,., Ah's ommaisl
mafted i' t'pleeace. ne.Yks.i Ah wer that mafted, ah wer fit ti soond
awaay. e.Yks. It's a sowmy neet ; Ah's ommast mafted, Nichol-
son i7^-S/>, (1889192; e.Yks.i Cum in, thoo leeaksommost mafted.
m. Yks.i w.Yks. Shoo wur ommast mafted, T. Toddles Comic Aim.
(1866) ; w.Yks.5
3. sb. A State of suflbcation or stifling.
n.Yks.2 ' What a maft ! ' a close packed company.
MAG, sb?- and v. In gen. dial, use in Eng. Also in
forms mack w.Som.^ ; maggy Dev. [mag, mseg.] \. sb.
The magpie, Pica rustica. Cf. madge, sb!^ 3.
Nhp. While Mag's on her nest with her tail peeping out, Clare
Poems (ed, 1873) 245. Brks.i, Suf.' (s.v. Madge), w.Som.i
2. A chatterer, a chatterbox ; a talkative, garrulous person.
w.Yks,2 s.Not. What a mag you are, child ; rest your tongue
a bit (J.P.K.). War.3 Shr.i Sometimes reduplicated, as, ' I never
'eard sich a mag-mag as yo' in all my days.' Shr., Hrf. Bound
Provinc. (1876). Oxf. (G,0.)
8. Prattle, chatter ; a talk, gossip, chat.
Brks.i Hawld thee mag. e.Suf. Shut your mag (F.H,). Hmp.'
Dev. Let me have a little mag with Emma, Sharland Ways Village
(1885) 26.
4. A scold, a fault-finding woman. m.Wor. (J.C),
w.Wor.^, se.Wor."^
5. V. To chatter, prattle, talk continuously; to gossip, chat.
w.Yks. For t'sake a stoppin' longer to mag, Tom Treddlehoyle
Sni>Ms/a,^K«. (1847) 42 ; w.Yks.^ ; w.Yks.^ Turn in, Tom, an' let's
mag a bit ! Chs.'^ s.Not. She magged and magged, till I felt fit
todrop (J.P.K.). Nhp.i How the child mags away. That woman's
always magging about. Hrf. Ther wuz ur maging un ur meaking
moor naise nur vower undert monkind ood (Coll. L,L.B.). Nrf.
Holloway. Ess. Gl. (1851) ; Ess.*
Hence Magging, vbl. sb. talking, chattering.
Dev. They want to read in peace without any magging going on
round 'em, Sharland Ways Village (1885) 99. Slang. I'm bound
the members as silenced us, in doing it had plenty of magging.
Hood Poems (ed. 1862-3) Sweep's Complaint.
6. To tease, worry incessantly ; to scold, complain, find
fault ; to abuse.
w.Yks. He was always maggin at t'bairns er somebody (B. K.).
Nhp.2 They two be alias maggin, War.^, w.Wor.i, se.Wor.i Shr.i
Canna yo' be queet, an' nod mag me so? Hrf.= n.Bck. His wife
is always a magging at him (A,C.). Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng.
Lang. (1809) 138. Hrt. She comes out and mags at me over the
hedge (G.H.G.). e.An.' It implies somewhat of displeasure, not
amounting to wrath. When two vulgar vixens come to a down-
right scolding bout, each is said to ' rag ' her antagonist. In a trifling
disagreement, they are said to ' mag' at one another. Nrf. You're
alius a magging, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 366. Ess. I mag at
her(M.A.R.). Ken. Such a one to mag. Keeps on mag, magging
(D.W.L.), I.W.2 Dev. Don't ee maggy zo, Pulman Sketches
(1842) 114, ed. 1871.
MAG
[7]
MAGGOT
Hence (i) Magger, sb. a scolding, complaining person ;
(2) Maggy, adj. cross-grained, disagreeable.
(i) w.Yks. He's nowt nobbut a regular magger (B.K. ). (2) Ken.
A maggy sort of man (D.W.L.).
MAG, s6.2 Nhp. War. Shr. I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. Also
in forms meg Nhp.' War.= Shr.^ Wil.'; meggy Wil.'
[masg, meg.] 1. A mark or stake to pitch or throw at,
in the games of ' pitch and toss,' quoits, &c. ; a stone
thrown at a mark or other stone.
Nhp.i, War. (J.R.W.), War.2 Shr. Northall IVd-bk. (i8g6) ;
Shr.2, 1.w.i 2 wil.i In the game of Must, q. v., a small stone— called
a ' meg ' or ' meggy ' — is placed on the top of a large one, and bowled
at with other 'meggies,' of which each player has one. Dor.'
Som. SwEETMAN Wincanton Gl. (1885).
HenceMeg-flyiiig,s6.thegame of 'pitch and toss.' War.=
2. A boys' game ; see below ; a stone used in the game.
Dor.i A game among boys in which the players throw at a stone
set up on edge.
MAG, see Maeg.
MAGAZINE, sb. Yks. [magszrn.] A lot, quantity,
number ; a crowd, gathering.
w.Yks. All t'raagazine on 'em stood up, Yks. Wkly. Post (May
16, 1896) ; Pitch all t'magazine on 'em on t'fire an' burn 'em. All
t'bloomin' magazine on 'em's ta goa ! Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 26,
1896).
MAGDUM, sb. Sh.I. [ma'gdam.] A counterpart, an
exact resemblance. S. & Ork.'
MAGE, see Maeg.
Nhb.' A genius, ? a corruption of
Sc. Masterful, exercising an undue
MAGENIKEN, sb.
the word ' magician.'
MAGERFUL, «c^'.
influence over.
Frf. I couldna help contrasting them, and thinking how masterful
your father looked. . . I couldna help admiring him for looking so
magerful, Barrie Tommy {iS^S) :x.\ OGod,keep me from becoming
a magerful man ! ib. ; She spirited hersel awa', the magerful
crittur, ib. Minister (1891) ix.
MAG(G, sb. In gen. dial, and slang use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms maick Abd. ; maikSc. (Jam.) Nhb.';
make Inv. Cld. (Jam.) Edb. Ant.; meg Nhb.' n.Yks.*
ne.Yks.^w.Yks.235 m.Lan.' Not. War.^ Glo.' Nrf. [mag,
meg, mek.] 1. A halfpenny ; fig. a very small sum.
Sc. (Jam.), Inv. (H.E.F.) Abd. He married for siller. . . But
... he ne'er fingered a maick o't, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 17 ;
In common use in the city of Aberdeen (W.M.). Frf. First they
toss them up a maik To learn what course they ought to take,
Beattie Amha (c. 1820) 12, ed. 1882. w.Sc. Still a cant term,
asp. among boys when bargain-making, as, ' Come, I'll gie ye a
maik for yon peerie ' (Jam.). Fif. In common use among boys and
lower classes in Dundee. At weddings it was the custom (until
quite recently at least) to throw coppers out of the window to the
children in the street. These commonly shouted, ' Maiks, maiks,
butter an' baiks, Up wi' the window [wi'ndl] and doun wi' the
maiks' (W.A.C.). Slg. Three pence— twa maiks frae a groat,
Taylor Poems (1862) 31. Cld. ' A make bake,' a halfpenny biscuit
(Jam.). Rnf. Wi' a maik in his haun. He gangs business-like wi't
tae the candyman's stan', Neilson Poems (1877) 47. Ayr. He
grabbit at every maik, Service Z)>-. Duguid{ed. 1887) 27 ; (F.J.C.)
Lnk. Wee toddlin callans hain their orie maiks, MuiR Minstrelsy
(1816) 2. e.Lth. The chaps used to stop in the hame-comin an'
melt their maggs, HuNTERy. Inuiick (1895} 97. Edb. Recompens'd
wi' makes, Liddle Poems (1821) 84. Ant. (W.H.P.j Nhb. Aw'll
cadge a meg ov Toby Walker, Wilson Tyneside Sngs. (1890) 342 ;
Nhb.l, n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' Only used in the phr. ' Ah a'e n't a meg.'
w.Yks. A meg for runnin' a errand, Yksman. (Oct. 1898) 315;
w.Yks.23S^ m.Lan.i, Not. (J.H.B.), War.= Glo.i I haven't a meg
about me. Lon. I does what they call ' the pile of mags,' that is,
putting four halfpence on a boy's cap, and making them disappear,
Uavhsw Lond. Labour {ed. 1861) III. 107. Nrf. (H.J.H.) Som.
A hadn't got a mag, Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 73. Slang. You
cares not a mag if one party should fall, Lytton Paul Clifford
(1848)123.
2. A penny. w.Yks. Hlfx. Courier (May 22, 1897). Nhp.'
3. pi. A small fee or gratuity ; a ' tip.'
Sc. Allowance to ploughmen when on duty from home, Morton
Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Ayr. ' Thou's nane blate for thy years, but
tak thou that by way o' mags ! ' quo' she, and she yerkit my
hafTet with her loof, Service Notandums (i8go) no. Lnk. They're
well paid for their preaching, they may very well both marry and
chrisen a' the poor foukes into the bargain, by way of a maggs,
Graham Writings (1883) II. 60. Ltli. The gratuity which servants
expect from those to whom they drive any goods (Jam.).
MAGG, V. Sc. [mag.] To carry off clandestinely,
to steal.
Sc. They were a bad pack — steal'd meat and mault, and loot the
carters magg the coals, Scott Midlothian (1818) xliv. Lth. To
magg coals, to defraud a purchaser of coals, by laying \_sic'] off
part of them by the way (Jam.).
MAGGED, pp. Bdf. Tired out, exhausted, jaded.
I'm quite magged with my day's glanin' (J.W.B.).
MAGGEM, MAGGER, see May-game, Maugre.
MAGGIE, s6.i Sc. Brks. w.Cy. Also written Maggy,
[ma'gi, mse'gi.] 1. In comb, (i) Maggie Findy, a woman
who is good at shifting for herself ; (2) — manyfeet, (a)
a centipede ; also called Maggie wi' the many feet ; {b)
a wood-louse ; (3) — Rab or Robb, («) a bad halfpenny ;
{b) a bad wife.
(i) Rxb. (Jam.) (2, a) Bnff. Theboy wasaskedwhatitwas, 'It's
a Maggy Monny Feet,'he said, Smiles A^«/«;'. (1876)11. Ags. (Jam.,
s.v. Monyfeet). Rxb. ib. Brks. Gent. Mag. (1784) 332, ed. Gomme.
(i) w.Cy. (Hall.) (3, a) Sc. (Jam.) (i) Abd. He's a very guid
man, but I trow he's gotten a Maggy Robb o' a wife {ib.).
2. A young woman or girl ; a jade.
Frf. Troth little profit has she made By fisher maggies, Beattie
Ketty Pert (c. 1820).
3. Obs. Mining term : aspeciesof till or clay ; see below.
Lnk. The most uncommon variety of till, is one that by the
miners is called Maggy. It is incumbent on a coarse iron-stone,
Ure Hist. Rutherglen (1793) 253 (Jam.).
MAGGIE, 56.= Sc. Nhb.Wm. Lan. [ma-gi.] 1. The
magpie. Pica rustica.
N.Cy.i Nhb. Maggys an' cock robins an' butterflees, Chater
Tyneside Aim. (1869) 12 ; Nhb.' Wm. Penrith Obs. (May 18, 1897).
ne.Lan.i
2. The common guillemot, Lomvia troile.
Frf. [So called] from the black and white plumage, resembling
that of a magpie, Swainson Birds (1885) 218.
MAGGIE, see Magrim.
MAGGLE, V. Wor. Glo. Oxf. [ma'gl, rase-gl.] To
worry, tease ; to tire out, exhaust.
w.Wor.' Glo.' ' It's enough to maggle un to dyuth ' [death] ;
said on a very muggy day. Oxf. A person who is both hot and
tired is ' maggled to death ' (G.P.) ; Oxf.' I be maggled to dyeath.
[To maggle, mactare, excarnificare, Levins Manip. (1570).]
MAGGLED, ppl. adj. Obs. Sc. Mangled, bungled.
What a maggled work you have made it now, Kirkton Ch. Hist.
(1817) 276.
[Creuell maglit face, Douglas Eneados (1513), ed. 1874,
III. 42.]
MAGGOT, sb} and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng.
Also written magot Dmb. e.An.' Sus. Dor. ; and in forms
maggat Wm. ; maggit Elg. Per. Hrf ; meggot Hmp.
[ma'gat, mas'gat.] 1. sb. In comp. Maggot-fly, the fly,
Musca vomitoria.
Nhp.' The common flesh-fly, so called from its depositing its
eggs upon butcher's meat.
2. A whim, fancy, caprice ; a fad, crotchet.
Sc. He has a wheen maggots that maun be cannily guided,
Scott Nigel (1822) iii. Elg. Tester Poems (1865) 79. Abd. What
new maggot has ta'en them noo ? M^Kenzie Sketches (1894) xiv.
Per. Cleland Lnchbracken (1883) 10, ed. 1887. Dmb. Mr. Bacon
has gotten himself vext and affronted so much with his magot
about the Kirk, Cross Disruption (1844) xxxviii. Edb. Some
crank, or maggots, dand'rin i' their head, Learmont Poems (1791)
305. Bwk. She's as fu' o' maggots as the Bride o' Preston, Wha
stopt hauf-way, as she gaed to the Kirk, Prov., Henderson Pop.
Rhymes (1856) 106. n.Cy. (J-W.) Wm. Let me hear na mair
o thee maggats, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 38. w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan.
Hoo's getten some maggot in her head, Francis Daughter of Soil
(1895) 72. ne.Lan.' n.Stf. When there's a bigger maggot than
usial in your head, Geo. Eliot A. Bede (1859) I. 115. Der. His
head's as full o' maggots as an egg is o' meat, Verney Stone Edge
(1868) X. Lei.' Nhp.' ' What maggot have you got in your head
now ? ' or, ' What maggot bites ? ' is an expression in common
use. War.*, Glo.' Brks.' ' To have a maggot in the yead ' is to
hold very strange and unusual notions. e.An.' e.Suf. She won't
work till the maggot bites (F.H.). Ess. (W.W.S.), Ess.' Sns.
Don't have any of your magots with me (F.E.S. ). Hmp. A person
MAGGOT
[8]
MAKERS
full of whims and fads is said to have the maggots (H.C.M.B.).
s.Hmp. His father had impatiently endured these most unnatural,
absurd tastes as some of Everhard's ' maggots,' Verney L. Lisle
(1870) V. I.W.I He's vull o' maggots. Dor. What maggot has
gaffer got in his head ? Hardy Woodlanders (1887) H. vi ; Barnes
Gl. (1863). Som. He've a-got a maggot in the brain o' un that
won't let un bide still, Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) ii. Dev.
Vather've a gotten a maggot in's head, Longman's Mag. (Dec.
1896) i6q. Cor.2
Hence (i) Maggative or Maggativous, adj., (2) Mag-
getting, ppl. adj. full of whims or fancies, whimsical,
capricious, crotchety; {3) Maggoty, adj. (a) see (2); {bj
queer-tempered, fractious, cross, ill-tempered, irritable ;
(4) Maggoty-headed, adj. (a) see (2) ; (6) passionate ; (5)
-minded, ppl. adj., see (2) ; (6) -pate, sb. an opprobrious
term ; (7) -poTv, sb. a whimsical, crotchety person.
(i) Bnff.i He's a peer maggative bodie. Fah wid mine fat he diz ?
' Maggativous ' has more force than ' maggative.' (2) Sns. I won't
stand your magotting tricks (F.E.S.). (3, a) Cai.' Dmb. Offendin'
him wi' your maggotty notions, Cross Disruption ( 1844) v. N.Cy.'
s.Dur. She's a varra maggotty awd body (J.E.D.). Brks.^^, e.An.^
e.Suf. Dainty about food or drink (F.H.). Ken.' He's a maggoty
kind o' chap, he is. Hmp.', I.W.' Dor. (C.W.) ; What a magoty
man he is, Barnes Gl. (1863). (6) s.Wor.i, Hrf." Glo. Ah ! he
wur a sad maggotty cust'mer a' times, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(1890') vi; Glo.i Dev.2 Don't be so maggoty, you silly boy. (4, a)
Abd. Ye're a maggoty-heided wratch, Dominie Will, M°Kenzie
Sketches (1894) iii. (b) nw.Dev.' (5) Oxf. He's a maggotty-minded
customer, you can't depend on his saying the same thing two days
running (CO.). (6) s.Chs.i I have heard schoolboys call after
a red-headed companion, ' Red-yed and maggoty-pate.' In an old
school book, in use some two hundred years ago, occurs the
following, ' Mr. is an old maggoty-pate.' (7) Sc. Darlington
Flk-Sp. (1887).
3. A fidgety, restless child.
Chs.i Eh ! tha unaisy maggot. Ken. Can't ye kip still, ye little
maggot? (W.F.S.)
4. pi. Tricks, nonsense.
Wil.i Her's at her maggots again. Thur be such a sight o'
'oondermentin' chaps a gaapsin' about thur alius, a body caan't
bide quiet noliow fur their maggots, ib. 213.
Hence (i) Maggotfs diversions, phr. wanton or rattling
fun ; see Meg's diversions, s.v. Meg, sb.^ ; (2) Maggotty,
adj. frisky, playful, lull of tricks, frolicsome.
(i) Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). (2) N.Cy.» s.Not. Spirited, wild
and tricky (of a horse ; used by women and children). ' Run
away, Willy, there's a maggoty horse coming' (J.P.K.). Brks.
Gl. (1852); Brks.i, Hmp.l, I.W.i WU. Slow Gl. (1892); Britton
Beauties (1820) ; Wil.^ n.Wil. He's so terrible maggotty (E.H.G.).
5. V. To kill the maggots on sheep with mercury dressing.
s.Wor. (H.K.) Hrf. They ave dun maggitin the ship {Coll.
L.L.B.). Oxf.i Get up an' maggot the ship, MS. add.
6. Of deer : to damage the bark of young trees by
nibbling at them here and there. Also used/ig.
Hmp. Gen. of a boy committing wanton mischief (J.Ar.).
7. To waste money, to spend foolishly.
Hmp. To maggot your money away (J.R.W. ) ; Hmp.'
MAGGOT, sb.^ Irel. Lin. Wor. Hrf. Glo. Oxf. Wil.
Som. Dev. Also in forms macket w.Som.* ; magget
w.Wor. ' s.Wor.^ Hrf.^ Cor.^ ; maggit se.Wor.' ; maggut
Glo. [ma'gat, mse'gat.] The magpie. Pica rustica. Cf.
mag, sb} 1.
Lin. (E.P.), Wor. (W.K.W.C.C.) w.Wor. Thee's no more
brains nor a maggit, Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 3, 10, 1888) ; w.Wor.',
s.Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.i, se.Wor.', Hrf.^, Glo. (A.B.), Glo.', Oxf.
(J.W.), Som. (W.F.R.), w.Som.'
Hence Maggotty-pie, sb. the magpie.
Wxf.', Wor. (H.K.), Glo,' Wil.' Still in use. At Deverill,
thirty years ago, there was a nursery rhyme as follows: 'Hushaby,
baby, the beggar shan't have 'ee. No more shall the maggotty-pie.'
w.Som.' A very old riddle, which is commonly asked in a mocking
way of very stupid people, is : 'So black's ray 'at, so whit's my
cap, magotty pie, and what's that!' Cor.' 2
[The same word as obs. E. Magot, a pet form of the
name Margaret. Cp. Fr. Margot, ' diminutif tres familier
de Marguerite, nom vulgaire de la pie ' (Littre).]
MAGGOTTING, prp. Wil. [mee-gstin.] Meddling.
Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.^
MAGGY-OWLER, sb. Cor.^ Also written -owla.
The goat-moth, Cossu's ligniperda. Cf. madgiowler, mag-
owlet, 2.
MAGHOGES, s6. //. Obs. Wxf.' Maggots.
MAGISTRAND, sb. Sc. A student in his fourth year
about to become a Master of Arts, in the University of
Aberdeen.
Abd. Now a Magistrand— that is, one about to take his degree
of Master of Arts, Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) 1. Fif. Up from
their mouldy books and tasks had sprung Bigent and Magistrand,
Tennant Anster (1812) 25, ed. 1871. Lnk. We of the magistrand
class, now in the beginning of April, concluded our lecturing, Wod-
Row Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 271, ed. 1828; The Magistrand Class is the
class of Magistrands, those who proceed to the M. A. degree (A.W.).
MAGISTRATE, s6. Sc. A red herring. See Glasgow
magistrate.
Lnk. Ham's unco dear, sae, if ye like, we's hae a ' magis-
trate,' Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 119 ; Frequently heard in the
Glasgow district (D.N.) ; 'Glasgow magistrate ' is a common cant
name for a red herring. The qualifying word may be omitted
at times (G.W.).
MAGLOON, sb. Nrt. 1. The red-throated diver,
Colymbus septentrionalis. Swainson Birds (1885) 214.
2. The great northern diver, C.^/««fl&. Cozens-Hardy
Broad Nrf. (1893) 49.
MAGNIFICAL, adj w.Som.' Grand, fine, magnificent.
Squire 's a magnifical [mag-neef'ikl] sort of a gin'lman.
[The house that is to be builded fof the Lord must be
exceeding magnifical, of fame and glory throughout all
countries, Bible i Chron. xxii. 5.]
MAGNIFY, V. Irel. Glo. Dev. [ma-gnifai.] To
signify, matter.
N.I.i That hurt won't magnify. Glo.'' It don't magnify, 20. Dev.
How may hap, sir, what doez ael this magnify? Gent. Mag. (1733)
331, ed. Gomme ; (Hall.)
MAGOWFIN, sb. s.Chs.' [magau-fln.] A grimace.
MAG-OWLE'T, sb. Obs. or obsol. Lin. Also in forms
mag-owl Lin.* ; -uUat n.Lin.' 1. The owl, Strixflammea.
Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 714 ; Brookes Tracts Gl. ;
Lin.', n.Lin. (E.P.), n.Lin.i
2. A large moth. See Madgiowler.
Applied not only to the owl itself, but to some large moth,
which may have been thought, perhaps, to resemble it, Brookes
Tracts Gl, ; Lin.'
MAGPIE, sb. Sc. Irel. War. Shr. Ken. Wil. Som. Cor.
1. In comb, (i) Magpie diver, (a) the smew, Mergus
albellus ; (b) the golden-eye duck, Fuligula clangula ; (2)
— widgeon, the goosander, Mergus castor.
(i, a) Ir., Ken. [So called] from its black back and white under
parts, Swainson Birds (1885) 165. (6) Wil. Also known as the
' magpie diver,' a very descriptive name, by reason of the black
and white plumage of the male. Smith Birds (1887) 494. (2) Shr.'
2. Fig. A talkative child or woman ; a scold, a term of
contempt.
Dmb, To sea the mistress soe ill about sitch an ugly wee magpie
of a body, Cross Disruption (1844) viii. War.^ She is a regular
magpie. Cor. A scolding woman is called a magpie, Hunt Pop.
Rom, w.Eng. (1865) 429, ed. 1896.
3. Fig. A collector of specimens, curiosities, &c.
War.^ In Birmingham the word is used of collectors. ' What
a magpie he is,' he is enthusiastic in adding to his collection.
4. A large moth. Cf. maggy-owler. Som. Compton
Winscombe Sketches (1882) 140. 5. A variety of potato.
n.Som. The sorts [potatoes] cultivated are the kidney, white
scotch, magpie, rough red, purple, and silver skin, Marshall
Review (1818) II. 519.
6. A large marble of brown earthenware. War.^
MAGRE, see Maugre.
MAGRIM, sb. Nhb. Dur. Also in form maggie Dur.
[ma'grim.] A difficulty, an awkward predicament.
Nhb.' ' That's the magrim ! ' you exclaim if you suffer a mishap
that is difficult to be rectified. Dur. Gibson Up- Weardale Gl. (1870).
MAGY, adj. Yks. [me-gi.] Foggy.
n.l'ks. It's terr'ble magy to-neet (F.P.T.).
MAKERS, sb. pi. Sc. A tract of low-lying wet land,
of a marshy and moory nature.
Gall. Mahermore or Mahermere is a specimen, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
MAHOGANY
[9J
MAIDEN
MAHOGANY, sb. Irel. Cor. [m3-o-g(a)ni.] 1. In
comb. Mahogany acquaintances. See below.
Ir. To give offence, as he did, to many of the most respect-
able gentlemen of Ireland by calling the Whigs an ' eating and
drinking club,' . . what they call in Ireland mahogany acquaintances,
Barrington Sketches (1830) I. xv.
2. A drink consisting of gin and treacle.
Cor. Drinking mahogany, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (ed. 1896)
436 ; Mr. Eliot mentioned a curious liquor peculiar to his country
which the Cornish fishermen drink. They call it ' mahogany,'
and it is made of two parts of gin and one part treacle, well
beaten together, Croker BosweWs Life Johnson (ed. 1835) 53, in
N. & Q. (1865-) 3rd S. vii. 280 ; Cor.i2
MAHOUN, sb. Obsol. Sc. A name given to the
Devil ; gen. in phr. Attld Mahoun.
Sc. To this day Mr. P. enjoys the reputation of being no less a
personage than auld Mahoun himself, Scotch Haggis, 118. Mry.
Save us ! that's surely Mahoun, Or that fearfu' Sir Robert o'
Gordonstown, Hay Lintie (1851) 58. Abd. A' the auld wives
cried, auld Mahoun, I wis ye luck o' the prize, man, Paul Abd.
(1881) 63. s.Sc. Peeping at him, as if he were the ' guidman o'
the croft,' Mahoun himsel, Wilson Tales (1839) 322. Ayr. And
ilka wife cry'd ' Auld Mahoun, We wish you luck o' your prize,
man,' Burns The Deil's awa' wit the Exciseman, st. i. Dmf. Even
he from whom our word of evil omen ' Mahoun ' is corned, Wal-
lace Schoolmaster (jZ^ci) 133.
[' Gramercy, teljour,' said Mahoun, ' Renunce thy God
and cum to me,' Dunbar Poems (c. 1510), ed. Small, II.
145. OFr. Mahon, name of one of the principal devils,
prop, a form of 'Mahomet ' ; see La Curne (s.v.).]
MAICE, sb. Cor.^ [meis.] The mesh of a net.
[Cp. Du. maas, a mesh.]
MAICH, see Maught.
MAICHERAND, ppl. adj. Ags. (Jam.) Weak, feeble,
incapable of exertion.
MAICK, see Mag(g.
MAID, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
in form meed- s.Chs.^ [med, mead.] 1. sb. A young
girl, a ' lass ' ; a daughter.
Pem. Hisht now, there's a good maid (E.D.). Glo.^ Wil. The
little village girls answer to a stranger : ' I be Mrs. Fletcher's
little maid,' Tennant Vill. Notes (1900) 53. Dor. Vor all the worl
like a zick chile or a little maid a-fretten. Why John {Coll. L.L.B.);
Five, they've buried there. Yes five, and she no more than a
maid yet, Hardy Greenwd. Tree (1872) I. 19. Som. ' Is it a boy
or a maid ? ' is the question invariably put if the sex of a ' little
stranger ' is asked. ' I've not seen my maid this while,' an old
woman will say, speaking of a married daughter (W.F.R.) ; A
ginger-headed maid, Raymond Tryphena (1895) 11. w.Som.^
Her's a oncommon purty maid. 'Who did 'er marry ? Why,
her's the old Jan Baker's maid. Dev. He didn't know how his
little maid comed to break her leg at all, Peard Mother Molly
(1889) 213 ; The small maid, his darter Susan, be gone off to her
mother's folks. Pall Mall Mag. (Feb. 1900) 155. n.Dev. Bet a
tyrant maid for work, Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 569. Cor. Maids
should bide tu bed, Cahill Wheal Certainty (1890) 45.
Hence (i) Maidy, sb. a young girl ; also used as a term
of address ; (2) Meedish, adj. of a man : eifeminate ; of a
woman : prudish.
(i) Dor. Why maidy, . . the prettiest milker I've got in my
dairy. Hardy Tess (1891) 173, ed. 1895 ; Maidy Anne must come
in, ib. Trumpet-Major (1880) iii. (2) Chs.^
2. Comb, (i) Maid-in-the-mist, the navel-wort. Cotyledon
Umbilicus. s.Sc. (Jam.) ; (2) -'s-love, the southern-wood,
Artemisia Abrotanuni. Nhp.' ; (3) -of-the-mead, the
meadow-sweet, Spiraea Ulmaria. Chs}
3. Phr. (i) auld maid's bairn, a child according to the
pattern or ideal of an old maid, such a child as an old
maid would have brought up if she had had one ; {2). best
maid, a bridesmaid ; cf best, 2 (7).
(i) Fif. 'Auld maid's bairns are never misleared,' she would
remark, Colville Vernacular (1899) 17. (2) e.Fif. Andra Soutar
was to be best man an' my sister Chirstie best maid, Latto Tarn
Bodkin (1864) xxiv.
4. A female sweetheart.
Som. Young men did walk their maids, Raymond Tryphena
(1895) 35. Dev. Ah ! yer com'th Bill Rooks an' 'es maid, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892).
VOL. IV.
5. A person of chaste life of either sex ; a bachelor.
•w.Y^s. Archaic Wds. in Yks. Wkly. Post {Sept. 8, 1883)7. w.Som.i
He was a very quiet fuller — my belief, he lived and died a maid.
Hence Maidship,s6. maiden condition,an unmarried state.
Lnk. Tib ne'er had ance been married. But ticht an' square her
maidship carried, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) i°3'
6. A child of either sex.
Sns. Friend Plant Names (1881) 10 ; Sus.i Sometimes used for
children of both sexes who are too young to work.
7. The last handful ofcorn cut in harvest. SeeMaiden.lO.
Edb. Sad mischance ! The Maid was shorn After sunset ! As
rank a witch as e'er was born, They'll ne'er forget ! Har'st Rig
(1794) 43) ed. 1801 ; This is esteemed exceedingly unlucky, and
carefully guarded against, note.
8. Various species of skate, esp.i?ara6a/!5. Cf.maiden,13.
•w.Ir. I recollect when fishing at the sea-side hearing a very old
Joe about being ' caught by a maid ' when one has been accidentally
bitten by a skate, N. & Q. (1869") 4th S. iii. 311. Cum.-*, Lin.
(P.R.) Sus.i At Hastings (s.v. Kiveling) ; A fish-wife crying,
' Buy my soles, buy my maids,' N. & Q. (1882) 6th S. v. 391.
[Satchell (1879).]
9. A fish-worm. Sh.I. {Coll. L.L.B.) 10. A clothes-
horse. Cf. maiden, 17.
Lan.', n.Lan.i, ne.Lan."^ Chs. 1727 (Inventory), 2 Old Maids,
o. o. 9, Barlcot Hist. Collector (1855) II. 99. s. Chs.i, Shr.', Ken.12
11. A wooden instrument for washing clothes, a 'dolly'
(q.v.). Cf maiden, 18.
s.Stf. Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). War. Prisoner struck his
wife with a washing ' maid,' B'ham Dy. Gazette (Oct. 6, 1896) ;
War .2 It differs from the Dolly-peg, in that its base is circular and
solid, save for two deep intersecting fissures from the opposite
diameters : thus exhibiting four massive staves, instead of slender
pegs ; War.3, w.Wor.i Shr. Northall Wds. (1896).
12. An iron frame for holding the ' backstone ' (q.v.) over
the fire. Shr.''' 13. An iron trivet placed on a fire on
which to stand a kettle. e.An.' 14. A contrivance by
means of which a smith sprinkles water on the fire. ib.
Cf maiden, 20.
15. Obs. A straw mat ; see below.
Shr.i A round straw mat — having a bow-handle — used as a kind
of breastplate to protect the person when lifting a large iron pot
off the fire : the pot rested against it, and was carried by the ' ears '
on each side.
16. In lace-making : a short three-legged tressel to
support the pillow in the lap of the lace-maker, her foot
resting on the rail at the bottom to steady the frame.
Nhp.' See Lace-horse, s.v. Lace, sb} 1.
17. V. To wash clothes with a ' dolly.' War.^, w. Wor.'
Hence Maiding-tub, sb. a tub for washing clothes with
a'doUy.' s.Stf. Pinnock S/;^. Cy.^KM. (1895). War.^, w.'Wor.'
MAID, see Mad, 56.^
MAIDEN, sb., adj. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also written maaiden Brks.' ; mayden n.Cy.
Wil. ; and in form meaden Dor. [mi'dan, mea'dan.]
1. sb. In comb, (i) Maiden bark, the bark of a young
oak-sapling not yet arrived at timber ; (2) — chance, a
first chance ; (3) — comb, the new white comb of the
first year made at the top of the hive in which eggs have
not yet been deposited ; (4) — crop, a first crop grown
from seed ; (5) — down, an unbroken, unploughed down
or hill ; (6) — duck, the shoveller. Spatula clypeata ; (7)
-hair or maiden's — , the muscles or sinews of oxen
when boiled ; (8) -'s name, a maiden name ; (9) —
pasture, grass land which has never been ploughed ; (10)
— rents, obs., a noble paid by every tenant of the manor
of Builth at their marriage or the marriage of a daughter ;
(11) — way, a Roman road; (12) Ha' -maiden, the brides-
maid at a wedding.
(i) Hmp.i Itismore valuable than 'timber-bark' (which requires to
be cut and hatched for the market), and still more so than ' pollard-
bark.' (2) Dmf. Yer ain lug'se get the maiden chance. Loot doon
and hear me, Quinn Heather (1863) 133. (3) Dev. We took some
maiden comb from that hive, Reports Provinc. (1884) 23. (4) Hrt.
Very reluctant of going to seed in a maiden crop, Stephens Farm
Bk. (ed. 1849) I. 589. (5) Brks.i, Hmp.i, n.Hrap. (J.R.W.) (6)
■Wxf. (J.S.) ; SWAINSON Birds (1885) 158. (7) GalL It is called
maiden-hair from its resembling in colour the hair of a maiden,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 336, ed. 1876. Nhb.i (8) w.Yks. A
C
MAIDEN
[-lO]
MAIDEN
connot justly say whot her maiden's name mut be (A.C.). {91
w.Yks.2 (lo)Rdn.(K.); Bailey (1721). (11) N Cy.i The Roman
highway running from the station at Whitley Castle, Northumber-
land, into 'the county of Westmoreland, Nhb.' A Roman branch
road which leaves the main way near Kirby There, after it has
descended the pass of Stainmore, in Westmoreland. Slanting
along the western side of the Pennine Range under Cross Fell it
grades up the slope to the water shade, and then descends to the
Gildersdale burn and enters Northumberland. [Mayden way is
generally reckoned a Roman way, and mayden castle one that
stands upon such a way, N. &' Q. (i88o) 6th S. i. 184.] (12)
n.Sc. (Jam.)
2. Comb, in plant-names : (i) Maiden barberry, a variety
of barberry, Berberis vulgaris ; (2) — elder, the elder of
the wood, Sambucus fragilis ; (3) -{'s hair, {a) the bog
asphodel, Narthecium ossifragum ; (0) the hair-grass, Aira
cristata; (c) the quaking-grass, Briza media \ (d) the
brist e-fern, Trichomanes radicans ; {e) the lesser dodder,
Cuscuta Epithymum ; (/) the traveller's joy, Clematis
Vitalba ; {g) the yellow bedstraw, Galium, verum, ; (4) —
heads, the common burnet, Sanguisorba officinalis ; (5)
-'s honesty, see (3,/) ; (6) — oak, the stalkless flowered
oak, Quercus Robur, var. sessiliflora ; (7) -('s ruin, (8)
Maidens' delight, the southern-wood, Artemisia Abrota-
num ; (g) — hair, the cross-wort, Galium cruciata.
(i) War. A variety which produces fruit without ' stones.'
(2) Cor.2 (3, a) n.Yks. (I.W.), Lan. (6) Lin. Thompson //«;.
Boston (1856) 714 ; Lin.i (c) Nrf. A notion still prevails that
to have a bunch of the grass called ' maiden-hair ' . . , brought
into the house is sure to bring ill luck, N. if Q. (1871) 4th S. viii.
58. I.W. (rf) Suf.i (e) I.W. (/) Bck. (g) n.Cy. Turner Heries
(1548). Yks. (4) Yks. (5) Wil. About Michaelmas all the
hedges about Thickwood (in the parish Colerne) are . . . hung
with maydens honesty, Aubrey Wilts, Royal Soc. MS. 120 ; Wil.^
Obs. (6) Hmp. {'])'Dev. Reports Provinc. {iSg^y, HsM* (8) Cor.2
(9) Nhb.l
3. A young girl ; a daughter. See Maid, 1.
Dev. Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; I hain't a gurl. I be a maiden.
There be maidens in those parts, and no gurls. I dunnow, but the
leddy may be a girl, Baring-Gould J. Herring (1888) 17.
4. A servant-girl.
e.Yks.i Smith's maiden. sw.Lin.' My maiden has left me. She
has gone to the Half-way House Stattis to seek a maiden. Dev.
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). n.Dev. Mother she looked after the
maidens both fore and after the poor lady's death, Chanter
Witch (1896) I.
5. A female sweetheart. Dev. Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
6. An old maid, an elderly unmarried lady.
Lnk. The maiden's bairns is a' unco weel bred, Graham Writings
(1883) II. 36. Shr. We shall all be maidens, and so shall we all
die, Burne Flk-Lore (1883) xxxiii.
7. A title given to the eldest daughter of a farmer.
n Sc. She is called the Maiden of such a place, as the farmer's
wife is called the Goodwife of the same place (Jam.).
Hence Ha'-maiden, sb. a farmer's daughter who sits
apart from the servants.
Bwk. A ha'-maiden and a hynd's cow are ay eatin', Prov. (ib.)
8. The female who lays the child in the arms of its
parent when it is presented for baptism. Lnk. (Jam.)
Also called Ha'-maiden.
Hence Maiden-kimmer, sb., see below.
Gall. The maid who attends the kimmer, or matron who has
charge of the infant at kimmerings and baptisms ; who lifts the
baby into the arms of its father to receive the sprinkling of salva-
tion, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 336, ed. 1876.
9. A person of chaste life. See Maid, 5.
w.Yks. Archaic Wds. in Yks. Wkly. Post (Sept. 8, 1883) 7.
10. The last handful of corn cut in the harvest.
Sc. The last handful of corn forfeits the youthful designation of
maiden when it is not shorn before Hallowmas and it is called the
carlin (Jam.). n.Sc. The maiden is carefully preserved till Yule
morning, when it is divided among the cattle, ' to make them thrive
all the year round ' (;6.). Per. As the harvest of the year
approached completion a strife sprang up among the reapers which
had for its object the taking of the maiden. . . The cry arose, ' Wha
tane the maiden ? ' and the name was received with cheers. . . The
maiden was tied up with ribands and presented to the farmer's
wife, who gave it the chief place in the principal room of the farm-
house above the mirror and between the sheaves of peacock's
feathers on the mantel. There it remained carefully preserved
throughout the succeeding winter, often indeed till the rape of a
new Proserpine replaced it in the following autumn, Haliburton
Puir Auld Sc. (1887) 147 ; [The maiden] was generally contrived
to fall into the hands of one of the finest girls in the field ; was
dressed up in ribbons and brought home in triumph, with the music
of fiddles or bagpipes. A good dinner was given to the whole
band and the evening spent in joviality and dancing, while the
fortunate lass who took the maiden was the queen of the feast ;
after which this handful of corn was dressed out, generally in the
form of a cross, and hung up, with the date of the year in some
conspicuous part of the house. This custom is now entirely done
away. Statist. Ace. XIX. 550 (Jam.). Fif. Now the corn is feckly
shorn ; Niest day they'll get the Maiden, Douglas Poems (1806)
137. e.Fif. Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxii. Edb. Now the Maiden
has been win. And Winter is at last brought in ; And syne they
dance and had the kirn In Farmer's Ha', Har'st Rig (1794) 42, ed.
i8di.
Hence (i) Maiden-day, sb. the day when the last sheaf
of the harvest is cut; (2) -feast, sb. the feast given on
the last day of the harvest ; (3) -night, sb. the night of
the harvest-feast.
(i) Fif. Let us tak' a gill O' whisky, gin, or brandy This Maiden-
Day, Douglas Poems (1806) 140. (2) Per. Statist. Ace. XIX. 550
(Jam.). Fif. Owre your riggs we'll scour wi' haste, And hurry on
the Maiden Feast, Douglas Poems (1806) 117. e.Fif. Great store
o' comestibles an' comdrinkables had been laid in for the maiden
feast, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxix. (3) Fif. They are fell doul'd
an' weary This Maiden-night, Douglas Poems (1806) 152.
11. The harvest-home ; the feast on the night of the
harvest-home. Also in pi.
Sc. The ' fry,' the ' maiden,' and dozens of inevitable occasions
demanded that the ' greybeard ' should be filled and emptied, Ford
Thistledown (1891) 124. Per. When the hairst was shorn, The
Maidens cam', Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 72. Fif. Morton Cyclo.
Agric. (1863V s.Sc. Mary and her sisters apprised me of the
evening on which their maiden, or kirn, would take place, Wilson
Tales (1839) V. 340.
12. An oak which has sprung direct from an acorn.
Ken. (W.F.S.) 13. The skate or thornback, Raia bails
and R. clavata. Also in comp. Maiden-skate. Cf maid, 8.
Or.I. Barry Desc. Or. I. (1707) 296 (Jam.). e.Sc. Neill Fishes
(1810) 28 {ib.). w.Ir. N. (f O. (1879) 4th S. iii. 311. [Satchell
(1879).]
14. A swarm of bees coming from a swarm of the same
year ; gen. in comp. Maiden-swarm. War.^, se.Wor.'
15. A gosling. Hmp.(J.R.W.), Hmp.^ 16. Ofo. Aninstru-
mentforbeheadingsimilarto the guillotine. Also used a//n6.
Sc. He that invented 'the maiden 'first hanselled it, Kelly Pj-ozj.
(1721) 140; It will be time to sharp the maiden for shearing o'
craigs and thrapples, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xxix. Abd. Shortly
with a maiden he was beheaded, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) II.
220. Lnk. The instrument called the maiden struck off his head,
Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 157, ed. 1828. Edb. Accused, con-
demned, and execute by the Maiden at the Cross of Edinburgh.
This fatal instrument, at least the pattern thereof, the cruel Regent
[Morton] had brought from abroad to behead the Laird of Penne-
cuick . . . who, notwithstanding, died in his bed, while the unfor-
tunate Earl was the first himself that handselled that merciless
Maiden, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 190, ed. 1815. Gall. Just at this
moment we came in sight of the Maiden, Crockett Moss-Hags
(1895) Iv.
17- A clothes-horse. Cf maid, 10.
Lan. An' aw hang'd 'em 0' th' maiden to dry, Harland Lyrics
(1866) 165; (F.R.C.); Lan.i, m.Lan.i, Chs.i, Shr.', Ken.2 Dev.
In the neighbourhood of Tavistock, N. fj* Q. (1859) snd S. viii.
483. nw.Dev.i Rare ; probably imported from Liverpool.
18. A wooden instrument used in washing clothes, a
'dolly' (q.v.). Cf. maid, 11.
■w.Yks. Sheffield Indep. (1874) ; w.Yks.* Consisting of a long
handle with wooden feet, by means of which clothes are stirred
about in a washing tub ; w.Yks.^'' War. Wise Shakespere (1861)
150. Shr.i
Hence Maidening-tub, sb. the tub in which clothes are
washed with a ' maiden.'
w.Yks.2 Salla, do yo pull t'oud maidnin tub to t'table ; w.Yks.^
19. The vane on the top of a wherry. Also called Tin-
maiden.
Nrf. As we were stowing up for the night, our tin maiden slipped
MAIE
[II]
MAILIN
overboard, Emerson Lagoons (ed. 1896) 32 ; These vanes are
peculiar and primitive. They consist of a tin portion, Vi^ith a long
streamer of bunting (red) attached, and one end of the tin is cut
out into a maiden holding a bunch of flowers — or into a man, &c.
This vane fits into a spike on the top of the mast, and when the
mast is lowered (to pass under bridges, &c.) it is apt to slip off the
pins (P.H.E.).
20. A wisp of straw put into a hoop of iron, used by a
smith for watering his fire. Rxb. (Jam.) Cf. maid, 14.
21. Part of a spinning-wheel ; see below ; a primitive
kind of loom.
Sh.I. Da maidens is mebbe loose. Tak' aff da whaarls an' da
flicht, an' pit hit a' richt, Sh. News (Nov. 13, 1897). Gall. An
ancient instrument for holding the broaches of pirns until the pirns
be wound off, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Nhb.' The two upright
standards which supported the driving wheel of a spinning wheel.
The term ' maiden ' was also applied to a little tripod with a fixed
vertical spindle at the top. The bobbin, or ' pirn,' taken from a
spinning wheel, ran loosely on the spindle and allowed the thread
to be wound off. Wm. One side fixed, the other movable, with
which the people of Westmoreland wove webs of harden, woollen
girths for the bretching of horses, girths of saddles, garters. Sic.
(J.H.)
22. adj. Of animals : never having borne young.
Oxf. , Brks. (G.O. ) w.Som.i A favourite with butchers. "Tis a
maidenewe,sogood'sany wether.' 'Noneo'yourcowbeef. He was
a maiden yeffer,dreeyear old ! else I never own un, nor paid vor'n ! '
23. Of trees : unfelled, unlopped, allowed to grow
naturally ; grown from the seed, self-sown.
n.Lin.^ Maiden ash, an ash of the first growth, i.e. raised from
seed, not one that has grown from the ' stool ' where a former tree
has been felled. Nhp.* Oxf.i Maiden ash, maiden elm, &c., MS.
add. Brks.'^ Woods are said to be stocked with 'maaiden timber'
when there has been no previous felling. Hmp.l Maiden-timber,
VfiSE New Forest {xQQ^ i6^. Dor. Maiden tree (C.W.) ; w.Gazeite
(Feb. 15, 1889) 7, col. I ; Dor.' Ruptured children are drawn
through a young maiden ash which has been split, in the belief
that they will be healed. w.Som.i Maiden-tree, or oftener Maiden-
stick. Dev. Reports Provinc. (1877) 133 ; Dev.*
24. V. To lay a child in the arms of its parent when it
is presented for baptism.
Lnk. To maiden the wean (Jam.).
MAIE, MAIG, see Mae, s6., Maeg.
MAIG, sb. Wil. [meg.] A peg. Slow Gl. (1892) ;
Wil.i Cfmag, sA.'^
MAIGERS, see Maugre.
MAIGHRIE, sb. Fif (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Money, valuable effects.
Of one who has deceased, it is said, ' Had he ony maighrie ? '
MAIGINTY, int. Bnff.* Also in form maiginties.
An exclamation of astonishment.
MAIGRE, sb. Nhb. [me'gar.] The sciaena or shade-
fish, Sciaena umbra.
The maigre, one of the largest of scaly fishes, Richardson
Bordere/s Table-bk. (1846) V. 149. [Satchell (1879).]
[Fr. maigre, a great and skaly fish, having a wattle on
his chin (Cotgr.).]
MAIK, see Mag(g, Make, sb.^^
MAIL, sb.^ and v. Obs. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Also
written mael(e SIk. ; male Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.^ Cum. Wm. ;
and in forms mealWm.; mell n.Cy. 1. sb. A spot,
mark, stain. '
Sc. Esp. what is caused by iron ; ' an irne mail ' (Jam.). Slk.
Can ne'er wash out the wondrous maele, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865)
87 ; Sindry methes an' maels war on it, ib. 93. n.Cy. A stain on
linen (Hall.). Wm. {ib.)
2. V. To spot, discolour, stain.
Sc. A bit rag we hae at hame, that was mailed wi' the bluid of a
bit skirling wean, Scott Midlothian (1818) xvii. N.Cy.^, Nhb.i
Cum., Wm. NicoLSON (1677) Trans. R. Soc. Lit. (1868) IX.
[1. OE. mat, a mole, spot, mark (^Elfric).]
MAIL, sb.'^ Sc. Irel. n.Cy. e.An. Also written male
e.An.' ; and in form maul- s.lrel. 1. ? Obs. A travelling-
bag, a portmanteau, trunk.
Sc. He . . . emptied out his mails upon the floor that I might have
a change of clothes, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xxii ; I trust she
has not forgotten the little mail, Scott Abbot (1820) xxxvi. N.Cy.',
e.An.1
Hence Mailin or Mauleen, sb. (i) a purse ; (2) a small
bag or pouch.
(i) Sc, Uls. (P.W.J.) (2) s.Ir. A mauleen is a little pouch or
bag for seed potatoes carried by women when they are planting («S.).
2. Comp. Male-pillion, a stuffed leather cushion on which
to carry luggage on horseback. e.An.^
[1. Unbokeled is the male, Chaucer C. T. a. 3115.
OFr. m.ale, 'malle' (La Curne).]
MAIL, sb.^ Sc. Nhb. Wm. Yks. Also written mail!
Sc. ; male Wm. n.Yks. ; and in forms meal(l Sc. ; mealle
Or.I. ; mell n.Yks. [mel, mial.] 1. Rent, payment.
Also nstdfig.
Sc. The rental-book . . . bore evidence against the goodman of
Primrose Knowe as behind the hand with his mails and duties,
Scott Redg. (1824) Lett, xi ; I'll pay you for my lodging maill.
When first we meet on the Border side, ib. Minstrelsy (1802) II.
58, ed. 1848. Sh.I. Undue exactions in the settlement of their
mails and duties, Sh. News (Feb. 19, 1898). Or.I. In scat, land-
mealles and teind, Peterkin Notes (1822) 129. Abd. The maill of
his new biggit houss at the burn held takin in sett to be ane sang
schole, Turreff Gleanings (1859) 12. Per. Margaret Horms-
cleugh rests [owes] to him ofbypast meall iCio [Scots], Maidment
Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) H- 3°3- ^"^- The yearly grass
maill for a cow was, in 1686, £^ [Scots], Hector Judic. Rec.
(1876) 329. Lnk. To all and haill the mails, farms, and entries
of all crops and years bygone and coming, Wodrow Ch. Hist.
(1721) I. 418, ed. 1828. Slk. By Lairistan foully was betrayed.
And roundly has he payed the mail, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 87.
Edb.The mails for the most part being received in money, Penne-
cuiK Wks. (1715) 64, ed. 1815. Gall. A large sum, . . being the
rents and mails of all his New-Milns property, Crockett Anna
Mark (1899) viii. Nhb.^, Wm. (K.) n.Yks. The simple word is
qualified by the prefix ' burgh ' or burrow set before it. . . This
imports that the payments ... of rent were made in connection
with . . . the burgh of Whitby, Atkinson Whitby (1894) 267.
Hence Mailt-house, sb. a house for which rent is paid.
Abd. A lone woman or two in a ' mailt-house,' Alexander
Notes and Sketches (1877) 8.
2. Comp. (i) Mail-duty, rent ; (2) -free, rent-free, exempt
from rent ; (3) -garden, a garden the products of which
are raised for sale ; (4) -payer, a rent-payer ; (5) -rooms,
hired rooms, rooms for which rent is paid.
(i) Abd. Not to pay mail-duty or service to their masters,
Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 150. (2) Slg. He made a law that
all goats should be grass-mail free. Statist. Ace. IX. 44 (Jam.).
Kcb. A tenant that sitteth mail-free, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No.
284. (3) Cld. The chief of these are the mail-gardens around the
city of Glasgow, from which the populous place is supplied with
all the variety of culinary vegetables, Agric. Surv. 131 (Jam.).
(4) Sc. Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 56. Abd. The best meal payer's
son that e'er buir hair, Ross Helenore (1768) 115, ed. 1812. (5)
Slg. He warned me from the rest of my mail-rooms in Saltcoats
and East Mains, Wodrow Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 351.
[1. The Inglismen suld not with gude wil tiiol to cum
vnder new burdines of a new sence, teines, or mailjs,
Dalrymple Leslie's Hist. Scotl. (1596) H. 297. ON. malt,
a contract, a soldier's pay, wages (Vigfusson).]
MAIL, si.* Dev. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A defect in vision. (Hall.)
[Fr. maille, a web in the eye (Cotgr.).]
MAIL, see Meal, sb.^, Meale.
MAILAK, MAILER, see Marlock, Meller.
MAILIE, arf/'. I.Ma. [meli.] Of a cow : hornless ;
also used subst. a cow without horns. Cf maillie.
Tom's got a mailie cow to sell, Caine Manxman (1894) pt. v.
xiii ; A mailie cow that was arrim. Brown Witch (1889) 13 ; One
cow they had, . . y'andhar ould mailie, ib. Yams (1881) 18, ed.
1889 ; She has'n much stock on the croft— just a couple of mailie
cows and a calf (S.M.).
[Gael, maolag, a cow without horns, der. of maol, bald,
without horns.]
MAILIE, see Maillie.
MAILIN, sb. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Also written
mailen N.Cy.^; and in forms maalin Nhb.> ; maeylin
N.Cy.i; malin Nhb.^; mallin Cum.'*; meealin n.Cy.
n.Yks." e.Yks. ; myeln Nhb.^ [me'lin, mia-lin.] 1. A
dusting mop for the oven ; a ' mawkin,' a ' mallymop.'
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.'^ A sort of mop made of old rags,
c 2
MAILIN(G
[12]
MAIN
with a long pole, for cleaning out an oven. Nhb.i Used for clean-
ing out the brick oven after the wood ashes have been raked out.
Dur.i A bundle of rags fastened at the end of a pole, to sweep the
ashes out of a brick oven. Cum."^ ; Cum.* T'yubben was sweeped
cot wid a mallin. This mallin consisted of a lot o' clouts tied on
till fend of a stick, C. Pacq. (June 29, 1893) 6, col. 3. n.Yks.
Thee goon's like an aud meeaUn (T.S.); n.Yks.2 e.Yks. Mar-
shall Rur. Econ. (1788). [(W.G.)]
2. Fig. An untidy, slovenly girl or woman.
N.Cy.i Nhb.i Ye dorty myeln. Cum.i, n.Yks 2
MAILIN(G, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Also written
mailen and in forms malen-, mealing Sc. [melin.]
1. A farm, holding. Also used attrib. See Mail, sb?
Sc. A mailing that would be dear o' a pund Scots, Scott Anti-
quary (1816) iv ; As one flits another sits, and that makes the
mealings dear, Kelly Prov. (1721) 8. Bnff. I hae a maihn frae
the laird, Taylor Poems (1787) 63. Abd. Anderson Rhymes
(ed. 1867) 191. Per. Ford i/ar/i (1893) 131. e.Fif.Aweelplenished
mailin'An gowd a' my ain, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxii. Dmb.
Taylor Poems (1827) 90. s.Sc. A bit canny guidman hereawa,
wi' a weel-stocked mailin, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 364. Rnf. Our
Laird had rais'd my mailin rent A hundred marks, Picken Poems
(1813) I. 121. Ayr. 'Twill please me mair to hear an' see't,Than
stockit mailins, Bdrns Poet's Welcome, st. 6. Lnfc. O' three bits
o' fairms he's ca'd lordie, Three snug little mailin's indeed,
Rodger Poems (1838) 148, ed. 1897. Lth. [He] leaves his . . .
dainty mealing, Ance his profit, pride, and praise, Macneill Poet.
Wks. (1801) 152, ed. 1856. Edb. Learmont Poems ij^igT^ 316.
Hdg. LuMSDEN Po«ms (1896) 22. Slk. He has the best stockit
mailings and the best filled beef-tubs, Hogg Tales (1838) 653, ed.
1866. Rxb. RiDDELL Poet. Wks. (1871) 1. 117. Dmf. She gae us a
dainty braid mailing, Johnstone Poems (1820) 128. Gall. Lauder-
dale Poems (1796) 83. Kcb. His mailen was stockit wi' horses
an' kye, Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 216. n.Cy. Border Gl. (Coll.
L.L.B.) Nhb. Heiress, too, to a mailin, Weel stockit and free,
Allan Poems (1837) 29. Cum. You saw yersel how weel my
mailin thrave. Ay better faugh'd, and snodit than the lave,
Williamson Local Etym. (1849) 20; Cum.* The heir to a cosy bit
mailen', E. C. News (Mar. 10, 1894) 8, col. 1.
Hence Malender, sb. a farmer, the holder of a ' mailing.'
Sc. The haill tenantes, cottars, malenders, tradesmen, and
servantes within the saidis landis, Francisque-Michel Lang.
(1882) 75 ; Obs. (A.W.)
2. The rent of a farm.
Sc. Let the creatures stay at a moderate mailing, Scott Mid-
lothian (1818) viii. Abd. Our house is' happed, and our mailen
paid, Ross Helenore (1766) 18, ed. 1812.
3. The outfit for a bride. Nhb.'
MAILKIN, MAILL, see Mawkin, sb., Meal, sb.^
MAILLE, sb. Obs. Sc. A gold coin.
Ayr. There were Siller Pennies and Groats, Gold Pennies and
Mailles, Service Notandums (1890) 67.
[Fr. maille, the name of many French coins of various
values ; see La Curne (s.v.).]
MAILLER, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also written mailer ; and
in form mealier (Jam.). One who has a very small piece
of land ; a particular kind of cottar ; see below. See
Mail, sb.^
Sc. Ane person beand in possession of onie landes, as mailler
to his maister, SKmfE, Difficill Wds. (1681) 38. Abd. (Jam.) Rs.
Another class of persons . . . who, though they cannot be strictly
called farmers, are so in part, as they occupy one, two, or three
acres of ground. These are commonly called cottars ... or
mailers, and often hold of the principal farmer. They do not
depend on farming for their entire support, being in general,
artificers, mechanics, or day-labourers. Statist. Ace. 1. 275 (ib.) ;
The great body of the people is divided into two classes, tenants
and cottagers; or as the latter are called here, maillers. The
maillers are those poor people who build huts on barren ground,
and improve spots around them, for which they pay nothing for a
stipulated term of years, ib. VII. 253 ; A species of cottager, here
called meallers, who build a small house for themselves on a waste
spot of ground, with the consent of the proprietor, and these are
ready to hire themselves out as day-labourers, ib. II. 560. Per. A
mailer is a farmer, or one who pays rent for land, also one who
tills a small piece of ground as a cottar, Lawson Bk. of Per.
(1847) 216.
MAILLIE, sb. Sc. Irel. Also written mailie Ayr. Gall.
N.I.' [me'li.] A pet name for a cow or ewe.
Ayr. As Mailie, an' her lambs thegither, Was ae day nibbling
on the tether. Burns Death of Mailie, 1. i. Dmf. (Jam.) Gall.
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) ; Lassies to the loan do hie To milk
and feed their mailies, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 122, ed.
1897. Kcb. The maillies were there by the open faul yett, An'
the stirks on the bricht blade were feedin', Armstrong Ingleside
(1890) 219. N.I.i ' Mailie, Mailie,' a call to a pet sheep.
[Cp. ME. Malle, the name of a sheep. Three kyn, and
eek a sheep that highte Malle, Chaucer C. T. b. 4021.]
MAILL YER, MAILOCK, see Mailer, Marlock.
MAIL-POLE, sb. Yks. A May-pole.
w.Yks. They've getten a May-pole up at Warley (they call it
' th' mail pole '), Hartley Budget (1867) 10.
MAILS, sb. pi. Sc. Irel. Yks. Also written male and
in form malion w.Yks. [melz, mealz.] A weaving term :
small perforated scales made of copper or other metal,
attached to the heald through which the end of the warp
passes ; rarely used in sing.
Rnt. 'Tween beads, and broads, and leads, and mails, . . It's
just eneugh to ding us chiel's Ca'd rhymers daft, Webster
Rhymes (1835) 151 ; Temper yer ilka thrum and thread. Yea,
whether they wimple thro' a head. Or thro' a mail, ib. 152. N.I.'
Used in Jacquard weaving. w.Yks. Each is pierced with three
holes, the central one being for an end or thread of the vs^arp to
pass through ; to the others the healds are tied (J.T.) ; Small
pieces of iron with holes for threading through the ends of a warp
in a loom (J.M.) ; (S.A.B.)
[Fr. mailie, mail, or a link of mail whereof coats of mail
be made, any little ring of metal resembling a link of mail
(COTGR.).]
MAILS, see Miles.
MAIN, sb}, adj. and adv. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng.
and Amer. Also written maain Brks.' ; mane Som. ; and
in forms magne Som. ; mayn w.Cor. ; meyne Lan. ;
mhyne Wxf.' [men, mean.] 1. sb. The greater part,
most. Also in //.
Sc. (A.W.) Lakel.2 What we've gitten t'main ont' in. Cum.
Ah think 'at t'main o' what he hed gitten, hed gon till his feet an'
finger ends, Farrall Betty Wilson (1886) 65. Yks. There were
t'mains of a hundred. Mains were t'middlemost (C.C.R.). n.Yks.*
T'main on 'em sez 'at it is seea. ne.Yks.' T'main on 'em gans tiv oor
pump. m.Yks.i w. Yks. * Some Tom Paineri' power. .. hez coun-
sell'd main on 'em to believe it, ii. 298. Lan. Aw've getten th' meyn
o' my larnin' sin' then wi' readin', Standing Echoes (1885) 14.
ne.Lan.' The varra main. Brks.' I thinks we hev a-killed the
maain o' the rats up at Breach Verm. w.Cy. I've a-heard the
main o' the news out in Australia, Cornh. Mag. (Dec. 1895) 602.
n.Wil. A peaper bout ower girt vine church, Which main o'm
knaw'd avore. Slow Girt Harcheology. n.Dor. (S.S.B.)
2. A large quantity.
w.Som.' We'd a-got a ter'ble maa-yn o' hail last night.
3. An equal quantity.
n.Yks." 1 want t'main of owther soort. w.Yks. (J.W.)
4. Hard work ; a spell or turn at labour.
m.Yks.i I've had hard mai'n to get my dinner down to-day.
1 generally have a bit of a mai'n at the newspaper when I go
to York.
5. Patience, endurance. S. & Ork.' 6. The under-done,
half-cooked part of meat; gen. in phr. in the main, under-
done.
e.An.l Give me a slice in the main. Nrf. I like my meat home-
done ; but my husband like his in the main (W.R.E.) ; Lor bor,
I carn't ate my maate so, I likes it in the main, Cozens-Hardy
Broad Nrf. (1893) 41. Suf.i The meat's in the main. e.Suf. This
steak is in the main (F.H.).
7. adj. Chief, principal, most important, major; firm,
staunch.
Sc.(A.W.) Nhb.i Applied to more important beds, as 'main post,'
' high main seam,' ■ low main seam.' ' The deep strata of this fossil
or what is styled in the language of the trade, " the main coal,"'
Brand Hist. Newc. (1789) II. 263, note. Lakel.2 T'main man at a
spot is t'heed fellow. Cum. T'main fun duddent begin till t'edge
o t'ibnin, Dickinson Lamplugh (1856) 4 ; Cum.* Wm. T'main
thick o' foke cums tul a doo o' this soort, Penny Readins at
Bumesed, 24. Yks. (J.W.) Lan. That's one o' th' main jobs for
thoose 'at's power, Waugh Owd Bodle, 264 ; Merr an aloes, wi'
aw th' main spoices, Staton Sng. Sol. (1859) iv. 14. nw.Der.'
Th' main chap. Hrf.^ Cider's the main thing for a mon.
8. Comb, (i) Main-band, the belt which communicates
the motive power to the machinery; (2) — chance, a
MAIN
[13]
MAINS
livelihood ; (3) -cut, a drain ; (4) -engine, the surface
pumping-engine at a pit ; (5) -head, the chief in point of
number ; the multitude ; (6) -pin, the turning pin upon
which the fore axle of any carriage turns or locks ; (7)
-rake, the principal leading or lode of a vein ; (8) -rope,
the rope which hauls the fi-dl tubs out in the ' Tail Rope '
system of haulage ; (9) -shore or -shure, (10) -soof, the
principal drain or sewer.
(i) w.Yks. T'main band's brokken, Shevvild Ann. (1848) 3. (2)
Oxt.i The main chance is the fust thing t'look arter ; wa's the good
of a clane 'ouse, an' nuthin t'et, dust think! MS. add. (3) Lin.
A main-cut or drain is now making by authority of Parliament,
Marshall7?«z«w(i8ii) III 28. (4)Nhb.l Nhb.,Dnr. Greenwell
Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). (5) n.Yks.^ (6) Wil. Davis Agric. (1813).
Dor.i, w.Som.^ (7) Der. Main-rake Meerstake gave this sage
advice, Furness Medicus (1836) 33. (8) Nhb., Dnr. Nicholson
Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (9) w.Yks. (J.W.), Lan.', m.Lan.i w.Som.i
Of recent importation. (10) Lan. At th' side o' th' main-soof 'at
they're makin' up i'th road, Waugh Dead Man' s Dinner, 345.
9. Great in size or degree, big ; thorough ; firm, staunch ;
of crops : fine, plentiful.
Sc. It's a main untruth, Scott Guy M. (1815) v. Abd. John
Kennedy of Kermuck, a main covenanter, Spalding Hisl. Sc.
(1792)11.178. Lan.i, nw.Der.^ Gmg. Of growing crops, Collins
Gowe'r Dial, in Trans. Phil. Soc. (1848-50) IV. 222. Brks. ' A main
sight ' of anything (M. J.B.). Hmp. A main pond (J.R. W.). w.Cy.
My vowles eat a main deal of barley, N. & Q. (1868) 4th S. ii. 287.
Wll. Yow be a main fool, Penruddocke Content {i860) 31 ; A main
bit o' bother about this yer margidge, Jefferies Hodge (i88o) II.
8 ; Wil.' A main sight o' vawk. Dor. Tidden a main deal o'
trouble, zimmen zo, Hare Vill, Street (1895) 90. Som. He axed
a main lot o' questions, Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894) 34 ;
There's a main crop of apples this year (W.F. R.); W. & J. Gl.
(1873). Dev. Er cloase costs a main sight ov money, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892) 138. nw.Dev.i A main zight o' things. w.Cor.
They'll get a mayn dousting whenever they coam, Bottrell Trad.
3rd S. 174.
Hence a main few, phr. a good many.
Wil. There war a maan few postes (W.H.E.). Hmp. ib. '
10. Comp. (i) Main-brew, a festivity, jollification; (2)
•hamper, a kind of basket used for carrying fruit ; (3)
•sweat, the violent perspiration which often immediately
precedes death.
(i) Lan. Wern havin' a main-brew at eawer heawse, Brierley
Day Out (1859) 4^ ! We'd bin to a main-brew, ib. Layrock (1864)
V. (2) Som. (Hall,) (3) Sc. (Jam.)
11. adv. Very, much, greatly ; quite.
Elg. The song to be sure was main long, Couper Tourifications
(1803) I. 52. Abd. It must be main lonely for him in the guard
house the nicht, Bram Stoker Waiter's Mou' (1895) 160. Wxf.^
Chas mhyne weery [I was very weary]. n.Cy. Ah'm main sorry
for thee, Longman's Mag. (Apr. 1889) 619; N.Cy.i Wm. He
was a main sharp lad (B.K.). n.Yks. Ah's main glad to see theh
(T.S.). n.Yks.* Ah's ommaist main sartin he's in t'reet on it.
ne.Yks.i Ah's main glad ti see tha. e.Yks.^ Dickon, Dickon, Ah's
main blythe thoo's boon to be king. w.Yks. He're a main bad
'un, Snowden Tales Wolds (1893) x. Lan. We're main sorry fur
thee, Sammy, Burnett Lowriis {iSn) xvi; I'm main sorry to
lose her, Hocking Dick's Faiiy (1883) i. Der. We're main proud
of our spire, Verney Stone Edge (1868) ii. Not. Religious folks
are generally main good at objections. Prior Renie (1895) 80.
Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 344. n.Lin.' I should
maain like to goa to Lunnun if it was nobbut to sea th' Queen.
Rut.' I be main sorry. s.Wal. I be main glad to have yo' back,
Longman's Mag. (Dec. 1899) 147. Fern. I'm main glad to see
you (W.H.Y.) ; I'm main poorly this mornin' (E.D.). s.Pem.
Laws Little Eng. (1888) 420. Glo. Thee know'st as thee wer
main ager to year arl about et, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890)
ii ; Glo.^2 Brks. Be main glad to zee 'ee, Hughes Scour. White
Horse (1859) vii ; Brks.' I be maain tired ater that ther job. e.An.^
This is a main cold place. Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893)
70. Sur. I be main glad to hear it, Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) II.
XV. Hmp. 'Tis main bad, zur, Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 104 ; Hmp.'
Wil. I sh'd be main glad to drink yer health, sir, Swinstead Par.
on Wheels (1897) 202 ; He were main forwardish then, Ellis
Pronunc. (1889) V. 47 ; Wil.' Dor. Jenny her'U be main glad
vor to zee I, Hare Vill. Street (1895) 105 ; Dor.' A main girt tree.
Som. Let's hook it out o' this mane zharp, Frank Nine Days (1879)
34. w.Som.' Her's better, thank'ee, sir, but her bin main bad,
1 'sure ee, Her's main a-tookt up way un. Dev. I be raainzorry
vur Jinny, poor ol' sawl ! Hitwett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.^ Tha
rawds '11 be main zoggy arter this yer snaw's a-milted. nw.Dev.'
Cor. I be main glad o' that, Baring-Gould Curgenven (1893)
xxxvii ; Cor.^ 'Tes main cruel the way they trems [trims] the
dogs. [Nfld. I am main sorry (W.H.P.). Amer. It's main strange,
Carruth Kansas Univ. Quar. (Oct. 1892) I ; Hit's the main biggest
rabbit ever I see. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 372.]
Hence (i) main and, phr. very, much, greatly ; (2) Mains,
adv. [a] see (i) ; {b) for the most part, on the whole.
(i) Yks. T'shop is doing main an' well, Gaskell Sylvia (1863)
242, ed. 1874. s.Oxf. He's main an' bad, and I believe as
'ee's took for death, Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 163. w.Som.'
I zim maister looked maa'yn un ugly t'anybody s'mornin'. The
roads be maayn un slipper, sure 'nough. nw.Dev.' (2, a) Yks. (K.)
n.Yks. Thou casts a leeta lantom, Pegg, thou's mains fine, Meriton
Praise Ale (1684) 1. 487 ; n.Yks.^ Mains fair, mains fond. Lin.'
He assisted me mains, (i) n.Yks.^ ' Mains fine,' attractive in the
main. 'Mains proud,' haughty rather than otherwise. m.Yks.'
The place was mains full.
MAIN, s6.= Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Also Dev.
[men, mean.] 1. A match in cock-fighting.
Sc. The schoolboys in those days were all expected to bring
a game-cock to the annual 'main,' Wright Sc. Life (1897) 42. s.Sc.
Dumbarton, where the best cock mains in a' Scotland are fought,
Wilson 7flfa(i836) IV.340. Nhb. A well-known rendezvous.where
mains were often fought on Sunday afternoons, Longman's Mag.
(Feb. 1897) 331. Lakel.2 Auld chaps tell us hoo a cock main was
thowt on bi them. Cum. He gat a match meadd for a main o cocks
ageaun Easter, Dickinson Lamplugh (1856) 5. Lan. An' bedrid
as he is, has his feyghtin' cocks for a main on t'floore o' his
chamber, Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale {i?,t6) II. 33. Chs.' Ohs.
Dev. And zo our cock hath had a nick ; Iss, iss, we've lost the
main, Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) IV. 206.
2. A group of game-cocks.
Wm. As grand a main as ivver ye clapt een on (B.IC).
3. A pit or enclosed place for cocks to fight in.
Wm. Oor middensteed was yance a main fer cockfeiten {ib^.
4. In bowls : a match played by a number of couples ;
see below.
Chs.' A main at bowls is a match played by a number of couples,
the winners again playing in couples against each other till one
man is left the victor.
5. In games : a pool or sweepstake. Nhb.' A quoit main.
MAIN, V. ? Obs. ' Yks. To lame, maim. w.Yks.
Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.*
[I mayne one, I take the use of one of his lymmes from
\i^m.,jemehaigne,'?K\JS,QV^. Norm.Fr. mahaingner, 'blesser'
(La Curne).]
MAIN, see Mean, w.'. Moan. •
MAING, MAINGIE, see Mowing, Menyie.
MAINLY, adv. Sc. Cum. Wm. Yks. Glo. Wil. Dev.
[me'nli, mea'nli.] 1. For the most part, generally.
Cum., Wm. (M.P.) m.Yks. Ah've mainly hed plenty o' wark,
Blackah Poems (1867) 22. w.Yks. We mainly taks wer tea
aboot this tahm, Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882).
2. Comp. Mainly-what, for the most part, generally.
Lakel.2 Cum. He's mainly-what reeght at t'laiig end, Sargis-
soN Joe Scoap (1888) 163 ; Cum.^ He ex't a lot of udder gentle-
men, frinds o' his, mainly what parsons, 78. Cum., Wm. (M.P.)
Wm. We'd faer crops 0 havver, mainly what, bet sum on't spoilt
we seea mitch rain, Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 39.
3. Very, exceedingly, greatly.
Gall. But the station master was mainly angered, Crockett
Cleg Kelly {i8g6) 205. Glo.' 2 Wil. An straite his back begun ta
whack. Wile mainly he did roar, Slow Courtship of Mister Clay. Dev.
I wud a mainly skiawed [sic'] un, Daniel Bride of Scio (1842) 190.
MAIN-RIG, sb. Fif. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A term applied to land of which the ridges
are possessed alternately by different individuals.
MAINS, si^.' Sc. Nhb. Dur.Yks. Also written mainnes
Sc. ; maynes n.Yks. [menz.] The farm attached to the
mansion-house on an estate, the home farm, the chief farm
of an estate or township, demesne lands.
Sc. Manerium, Ane mainnes, or domaine landes, because they
are laboured and inhabited be the Lorde, and proprietar of the
samin, Skene Expos, (ed. 1641) 91. Cai.' Abd. Kent ye muckle
Charlie German, Greave a while at Mains 0' Glen? Still Cottar's
Sunday (1845) 37. e.Lth. I gaed ootby, an' took a bit turn roun'
the mains, Hunter /. Imvick (1895) 215. N.Cy.' Nhb.' The
MAINS
[14]
MAKE
word occurs in the names of many farmsteads, as Lawson Mains ;
Hallington Mains, &c. Dur.i n.Yks. Jolin Dodsworthof Massam
Maynes, Quarter Sess. Rec. (Oct. 8, 1606) in N. R. Rec. Soc.
(1884) I. 48.
MAINS, sb? Sc. In phr. the mains more, see below.
Ayr. Devouring the mains more there the ither night wi' their
gallanting, Gavt Sir A. Wylie (1822) xvii ; Some thought it was
na come to pass that ye would ever consent to let Miss Mary tak'
him, though he had the main's more, ib, xcvi.
MAINSWEAR, v. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Also written
mainsweear e.Yks.^ ; and in forms menswear Or.I. ;
minswear Sc. To swear falsely. Cf. manswear.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Cai.i n.Cy. Grose (1790) ;
N.Cy.i, n.Yks.i", ne.Yks.i e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ;
e.Yks.i
Hence Mansworn, ppl. adj. perjured.
Sc. (Jam.) Or.I. It is leisom, gif they be mensworne, to punishe
them, PETERKiNA'bto( 1822) .(4/'/)£'«. 86. n.Cy. Bailey (1721). Nhb.^
MAINTAIN, V. Lei.^ In phr. to maintain causes, to pay
one's way. ' Ah cain't menteen causes an'pey a doctor's bill an'all.'
MAINTENANTLY, adv. n.Cy. [Not known to our
correspondents.] Mainly. (Hall.)
MAINTO, sb. Abd. (Jam.) Also in form mento.
Obligation, debt.
To be in one's mainto, out o' one's mento, no longer under
obligations to one.
MAINY, see Mean, v?-
MAIR, sb. Cor. [mea(r).] Sheaves of corn placed
longitudinally ; see below.
Cor.^ ' The weather was so catching that I could not put my
sheaves of corn either into shocks or arish-mows ; but made them
into mairs.' These are built longitudinally, about 18 ft. in length
by 12 ft. deep ; Cor.^
MAIRDLL, V. and adj. Sc. Also written mairdal (Jam.).
[meTdl.] 1. V. In pass. : to be overcome by fatigue.
Frf. I have often heard work-people declare they were perfectly
mairdiled with a piece of heavy work, N. &Q. (1854) istS. ix. 233.
2. adj. In phr. a mairdil woman, a woman who either
from size or bodily infirmity moves heavily. Ags. (Jam.)
MAIRLOCK, MAIRT, see Marlock, Mart, sb.^
BtAIS, see Master, sb.^, Mess, sb}, Meas(e.
MAISCHLOCH, see Mashloch.
MAIS'D, ppl. adj. Fif. (Jam.) [Not known to our
correspondents.] Of fruit : mellow.
[Cp. Sw. dial, masa, to warm as the sun does (Rietz).]
MAISE, s6. Lin. Shr. Dor. Also written mays sw.Lin.i;
maze n.Lin.^ Dor. ; and in pi. forms maisen Dor. ; mayses
sw.Lin.^ ; mazen ©or. [mez.] 1. The stinking chamo-
mile, Anthemis Cotula. Cf maithen.
sw.Lin.^ They're them nasty mayses. Shr.^ Dor. The corn
was full of mazen (C. W.).
2. pi. The ox-eye daisy. Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum.
n.Lin.^
[1. ME. maythes, ' cotula fetida' {Sin. Barih. 16) ; OE.
magepe, maythe, chamomile, ox-eye (B.T.).]
MAISE, see Mease, Meise.
MAISEL, MAISENTER, see Mazle, Masoner.
MAISHIE, sb. Sc. Also in forms maisie- S. & Ork.i ;
maizey Sh.I. ; maizie Abd. ; mashie, maysie Sh.I. ;
inazieSh.I.(jAM.); mazy Or.I.; meashie,meshie,meyshie
Sh.I. 1. A basket or pannier made of a network of straw
or bent ; a straw net. Cf maiz.
Sh.I. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 31 ; Furnishing packages employed
in the carriage of them [peats] called Cassias or Maizeys, Hibbert
Desc. Sh. I. (182a) 135, ed. 1891 ; A'U see an git da meashies
reddy, Sh. News (Aug. 27, 1898) ; Lass rive oot a lag o' yon
mashie. . . Fling da maeshie apo me lass, an' poo da lags frae him,
ib. (Sept. 3, 1898) ; A lock o' auld cashies, flakies, an' meshies,
Stewart Tales (1892) 7 ; Pannier holders made of rashes or
bent, and having bands of the same material for attaching to the
clibber or pony saddle, ib. note ; The apparatus by which the pony
is thus literally turned into a beast of burden consists of a pair of
straw panniers or maysies, attached to a wooden saddle or clibber,
CowiE Sh. (1871) 167 ; For carrying turf, hay, &c. {Coll. L.L.B.) ;
(Jam.) Or.I. Two creels, called ' the clibber and mazy,' upon the
backs of ponies constituted all the means of carriage, Fergusson
Rambles (1884) 146. ne.Abd. Maizie, a basket for odds and ends is
still known but is not in use (W.M.).
2. Comp. Maisie-maisie, a net with wide meshes made
of twisted straw ropes. S. & Ork.^
[I. Norw. dial, meis, a basket of wicker-work (Aasen) ;
ON. meiss, a basket (Vigfusson).]
MAISK, arfy. Or.I. Bashful. (S.A.S.), S. & Ork.'
MAISLE, see Mazle, Meazle.
MAISON-DIEU, s6. Obs. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Also written
maison-dew Per. ; mason-due N.Cy.^ ; and in forms
messan-dew Sc. (Jam.) A hospital, a name given to a
hospital.
So. (Jam.) Per. The Great Cross Abbey and the Maison Dew,
Haliburton Dunbar (1895) 91. N.Cy.i The vulgar name of an old
hospital. Sandhill, Newcastle, now taken down. Nhb.'
[Fr. Maison Dieu, an hospital, or spittle for the poor
(COTGR.).]
MAISTRY, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Skill, power, superiority,
mastery.
So. He's no an ill body in the main, and maistry, ye ken, maws
the meadows doun, Scott Midlothian (1818) xliv. N.Cy.'
MAITHE, sb. and v. Sc. Also in forms meath, methe.
[mef>.] 1. sb. A maggot. Cf mad, 56.^ 1.
Sc. The mair and the migraim, with meaths in the melt, Fran-
cisQUE-MicHEL Lang. (1882) 155. Cai.', Bn£f.i, Rnf. (Jam.) Slk.
Sundry methes and maels were on it, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 93.
2. V. To become infested with maggots.
Bnff.' The beef's a' beginnin' t'maithe.
[1. Make, mathe, wyrm yn |je fleshe, tarmus, Prompt.
OE. maS'a, worm, maggot (Sweet).]
MAITHEN, sb. Wor. Shr. Glo. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil.
Dor. AlsowrittenmathanHmp.'; mathenGlo.'; maythen
w.Wor.'; and in forms maathern n.Wil. ; mathern Hmp.
Wil. Dor. ; mauthern Wil.' ; mavin Sus. ; mawthen I.W. ;
maythern Shr.'; meaden Dor.'; moithern Shr.' [me'San.]
1. The stinking chamomile, Anthemis Cotula. See Maise.
Shr.', Sus., Hmp., Hmp.', I.W. n.Wll. Last year there had been
nearly as much mathern as crop, Jefferies Gt. Estate (1880) viii;
(E.H.G.) Dor. (C.W.), Dor.'
2. The ox-eye daisy. Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum.
Glo.^, Wil.' 3. The dog's chamomile, Matricaria Chamo-
milla. w.Wor.', n.Wil. (E.H.G.)
[1. 0'K.mcegpa (gen. mcegpan), maithen,may-weed (B.T.).]
MAITHEWEED, sb. n.Cy. The stinking chamomile,
Anthemis Cotula. (B. & H.)
MAIZ,s6. Obs. n.Cy. Yks. A large, light hay-basket.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). e.Yks. (1788). See Maishie.
MAIZE, MAIZEL, MAIZEY, see Meas(e, Mazle,
Maishie.
MAIZIE, sb. Ags. (Jam.) A linden.
MAIZIE, MAIZLE, see Maishie, Mazle.
MAJESTY, sb. Wm. Sus. [ma-dgasti.] 1. A rage,
passion. Wm. Ah went tul him i mi majesty (B.K.).
2. A corruption of ' magistrate.'
Sus. I'll ha ya to a majesty, Lower Tom Cladpole (1831) st. 49.
MAJOR, sb. and v. Obs. Sc. 1. sb. In comp. Major-
mindit, haughty in demeanour.
Mry.Althoughl besogerclad, Iammajormindit(jAM.). ClCL.{ib.)
2. V. To walk with a military air, to swagger.
Sc. Can it be for the puir body M'Durk's health to major about
in the tartans 1 Scott St. Ronan (1824) xx ; Ganging majoring to
the piper's Howff wi' a' the idle loons in the country, ib. Old
Mortality (1816) v.
MAKE, v.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Colon,
[mek, misk, mak, mek, me.] I. Gram, forms. 1. Present
Tense : (i) Ma, (2) Maa, (3) Maak, (4) Maake, (5) Mack,
(6) Mae, (7) Ma'e, (8) Mai, (9) Mak, (10) May, (11) Meake,
(12) Meayk, (13) Meek, (14) Meeak, (15) Meh, (16) Mek,
(17) Mey, (18) Mheak, (19) Mheyk, (20) Myek.
(i) w.Yks. O wod'nt ma na mischief for't, Bywater Gossips, 5 ;
w.Yks.a n.Stf. I'n set my heart on't as thee shalt ma' thy feyther's
coffin, Geo. Eliot A. Bede (1859) xi. Der. It ma's naugh to me,
Verney Stone Edge (1868) i. Lei.' (2) w.Yks. I'll maa thee do't
(].R.);BANKsWkfid.lVds.{i865). (3)m.Yks.'7M/rarf.37. (4)Wxf.i
Maake wye. (5)Sc.(A.W.),N.Cy.' Dur. We'll mack the bowrders
uv gowld, Moore Sng. Sol. (1859) i. 11 ; Dur.', s.Wm. (J.A.B.),
w.Yks.' (6) Yks. Mae a brute of thysel, Howitt Hope On (1840) x.
Lan. At maes me ask ye, Byrom Poems (1814) 1. 97 ; Lan.^, e.Lan.'
Lin. This howry day maes it clattier still, N. O" Q. (1865) 3rd S.
MAKE
[15]
MAKE
vii. 31. (7) Lan. Ma'e th' best o' th' job, Harland Lyrics (i866)
136. (8) nw.Der.i (9) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.i Abd. That mak's 'im sae
fond, Alexander Johnny Gibb (187 1) ix. s.Dur. A'U mak tha'
behave thysell (J. E.D.). Cum.i* n.Yks. Sheea awlus raaks sike
greeat trubbles o' trifles, Tweddell Cleml. Rhymes (1875) 3^-
e.Yks.', w.Yks.2 Lan. To mak' o' sure, Banks Manch. Man (1876)
iii. Der.2, Shr.i Snr. I maks my maark, Bickley Sur. Hills
(1890) II. vi. (10) w.Yks.Ta may mesen acquainted wi' t'geografy,
Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1B63) 42 ; w.Yks.i'^s, Lan.^,
Chs.i, s.Chs.i Not. Yer mun may haste (J.H.B.). Lin. An ass
as near as mays nowt, Tennyson N. Farmer, New Style (1870) St.
10. n.Lln.i He mays sich'n a noise I can't hear mysen speak.
Shr.i (^11) Sc. Murray Dial. (1873) 206. Cum. Gl. (1851).
Dev. We wuU me-ake tha bawders uv goold, Baird Sng. Sol.
(i860) i. II. (12) Nhb. Meayk heayst, Bewick Tyneside Tales
( 1850) 10. (13) N.I.i Cum. Thou meck'st thy flock to rest at nuin,
Rayson Sng. Sol. (1859) i. 7. (14) n.Lan. We may meeak our
little meear, Lonsdale Mag. (July 1866) 18. (15) w.Yks. Wee'U
meh thah arridges o' gode, Littledale Crav. Sng. Sol. (1859) i.
11. (16) Cum.i4, s.Not. (J.P.K.), War.2 Shr.i Mek 'er a coop o'
tay. e.Dev. Mek much o' ee, Pulman Sng. Sol. (i860) i. 4. (17)
Wm. What toth sham meyas me forgit his neaam? Wheeler
Dial. (1790) 18, ed. 1821. Lan. Sitch wark as tis meys, Tim
Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 2. (18) Nhb. Mheakin a' ring aghayn,
Bewick Tyneside Tales (1850) 14. (19) Nhb. Mheyk thee sell leuk
varra sprunt, ib. 13. (20) Nhb. To myck owr free, Oliver Sngs.
(1824) 7.
2. Preterite : (i) Maad(e, (2) Maake, (3) Maate, (4) Macked,
(5) Maed, (6) Maked, (7) Mead(e, (8) Meayd(e, (9) Med,
(10) Meead, (11) Meed, (12) M'yad.
(i) w.Yks. It maade t'men all jump back, Binns Orig. (1889)
No. i. 6; w.Yks.i (2) Ess.i (3) Wxf.i (4) w.Yks. Sheffield
Indep. (1874). (5) Cai.i (6) Ken. I maked it squitter. Keeling
Return to Nature (1897) viii. (7) Sc. Murray Dial. (1873) 206.
Cnm.^ I mead nea words aboot it, ■^. Wm. Sec a racket meade,
Graham Gwordy (1778) 1. 16. Lan. Boh they mead'n me't hear
um efeath, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 24. Glo. He mead
his brags avoore he died, Dixon Sngs. Eng. Peas. (1846) 201, ed.
Bell. Dev. Thay me-ade me keeper uv tha vinyirds, Baird Sng.
Sol. (i860) i. 6. (8) Nhb. Booz meayd ansur, Robson Bk. Ruth
(i860) ii. II. Wm. She meayde the bell tinkle. Whitehead Leg.
(1859) 6. (9) Wm. Jim Hutcheysen Med o' th' wimmen sham,
Blezard Sngs. (1848) 42. Lan. I med my mind up. Eaves-
dropper Vill. Life (1869) 103. Lei.i 28. War.2 I med this
box myself. (10) n.Yks. Meead em all quite merry, Tweddell
Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 6. (11) Or. I. Hid wus her that meed a' the
sair meen an' lood yowlin', Fergusson Rambles (1884) 246. Lei.'
(12) Dur.i
3. Pp. : (i) Makken, (2) Meade, (3) Meayed, (4) Med, (5)
Meead, (6) Myed.
(i) e.Yks.i (2) Sc. Murray Dial. (1873) 206. Cum. Her . . .
has just meade a fuil o' hersel, Anderson Ballads (1805) 92. (3)
Lan. We'n meayed up our moinds to't, Ainsworth Witches (ed.
1849) Inirod. iii. (4) Wm. He'd med up his mind, RoBisoN.<4a/rf
Taales (1882) 3. w.Yks. 'Twere med o' wood, Twisleton Poems
(c. 1866) 6. Lan. Shop were med to pay, Doherty N. Barlow
(1884) 7. Lei.i 28, War.2 (5) n.Yks.^ (6) Nhb. They've myed
him a lord, Oliver Sngs. (1824) 6.
II. Dial. uses. 1. In comb, with prep., adv., &c. : (i) to
make after, to pursue, follow with haste ; (2) — at, to aim
a blow at ; to attack ; (3) — away with, {a) to kill, destroy,
murder ; {b) to throw away or discard as useless ; (c) to
spend too freely, to squander ; (rf) to pawn ; (4) — by, to
excel ; to walk or run past ; (5) — down, (a) to dilute,
reduce the strength of spirituous liquors ; {b) to prepare,
make ready ; (6) — for, [a) to approach, go in the direction
of, advance towards ; (b) to prepare, make ready for ; {c)
to foreshadow, to seem to aim at ; (7) — for off, to make
a move of departure ; (8) — in, (a) to adjust, prepare ; (b)
to shut up, close ; (c) to kindle, light ; (9) — into or intil,
to make or force one's way into ; (10) — in with, to get into
favour; to ingratiate oneself; (11) — of, {a) to care for,
attend to ; to make much of, to flatter, compliment ; (b) to
profit by ; (c) to do with, put, place ; (12) — off, torunaway,
scamper off; (13) — off with, (a) see (12); (6)see(3,a); (14)
— on, (a) to hurry on ; {b) to treat kindly, to encourage or
induce by kindness ; to pet, caress, make much of ; (15)
— out, (a) of a light, candle, &c. : to extinguish, put out ;
(b) to prosper, succeed ; (c) to progress, get along ; (rf) to
manage, contrive, make shift ; to eke out ; (e) to get a
living, subsist, live ; (/) to prove, establish a fact ; (g) to
extricate oneself ; (h) to get hold of; (i) to puzzle; (16)
— out for, to provide for ; (17) — out to, to get to, reach
safely ; (18) — out with, see (14, d) ; (19) — through or
throw with, to finish, bring to a conclusion after sur-
mounting difficulties ; (20) — to, to approximate in some
degree to a certain point or object ; (21) — up, [a) to fasten
up, shut up, secure, pen up ; {b) to repair, close up ; to
close, stop, fill up ; (c) of a caterpillar : to turn into a
chrysalis ; (d) to decide, intend ; (e) to rise, get out of bed ;
(/) to arrange, prepare ; {g) to raise, collect, accumulate ;
(h) to contrive, mvent ; to compose ; (i) to get a horse into
good condition for selling, &c. ; (/) to make one's fortune ;
(k) to chop faggot-wood into proper lengths and bind it
into faggots ; (/) to coil up a rope ; {m) to break ; (22) —
upon, to prepare, get ready ; (23) — up to, (a) see (6, a) ;
{b) to overtake, implying some difficulty in so doing ; (c)
to accost a person with a view of making acquaintance ;
to make matrimonial advances ; {d) to curry favour ; (24)
— up with, to be pleased with.
(i) Sc. (A.W.), w.Yks.^ (2) Cld. He maid at me wi' his neive
(Jam.). Cai.i Nhb.i They were makin at us wi' sticks, Oliver
Rambles (1835) 156. Cum.i Our bull mead at him full smack,
w.Yks.i (3, «) Sh.I. A lass gaen t'da banks ta mak' awa' wi' hersel',
Stewart 7a/es (1892) 253. Cai.^ Ayr. A body gaun to mak' awa'
wi' himsel', Ainslie Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 128. n.Cy., Yks.
(J.W.) Chs.i- ' It's not worth rearing,' said of a calf which had
come prematurely and was very weakly, ' but I dunno like to
make away with it.' War.^ He is supposed to have made away
with his wife. Oxf.i MS. add. Brks.^ I be a-gwaain to maayke
awaay wi' my dog, vor thaay tells I as a goes ater the ship o'
nights. Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.2 (6) n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.), Chs.i,
War.s (c) n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.), Brks.^, e.An.2 (rf) Nhp.i I'm so
distressed, I've bin obliged to make away wi' e'ery thing I got.
(4) Cld. I maid by him in an hour (Jam.). (5, a) Sc. {ib.') (b) To
make down a bed, to fold down the clothes, so as to make it ready
for being entered {ib.). Cai."- Slk. Betty, my dear, make down
the bed, Hogg Tales (1838) 291, ed. 1866. (6, a) Cai.i Cld. He
maid for the door (Jam.). n.Cy. (J.W.) w.Yks. I made for a
certain tree, Fletcher rj^fl/imtofe (1895) 98. Lan. (S.W.) Chs.l;
Chs.3 Oo were making for Knutsford. Der.^, nw.Der.' (i) Sc.
They behoved to make for trouble, as being inevitable, Hutcheson
John XV. 10 (Jam.); James Russell desired him again to come
forth and make him for death, judgment, and eternity, Kirkton
Ch. Hist. (1817) Append. 417. (c) w.Som.i Your Tom do make
vor a gurt big fuller. I sim the wind do make for rain. nw.Dev.'
The win' mak'th vor rain. (7) n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.), Chs.i (8, a)
Sh.I. Shil made in hir waer, an' dan raikid aff a grain' o' worsit
aff n' her clue, Sh. News (Mar. 31, 1900). (b) w.Yks. Tea wor
owr an't hawse made in, Hallam Wadsley Jack (i866) iv. (c)
w.Som.i 'Look sharp and make in the vire.' Not used for lighting
a candle or lamp. Dev. Begun to zit ta work A-mekkin' in a vire,
Pulman Sketches (1842) 28. (9) Cld. He could mak intil the quay in
the darkest nicht (Jam.). (10) Sc. (16.), Cai.i (11, a) w.Sc. We a'
like to be made o' by them for a' that, Macdonald Settlement (1869)
157, ed. 1877. Per. He was flattered and made o', here, Hali-
BURTON Fields (1890) 131. Ayr. Mrs. Pawkie took in the bairns,
and we made of them, Galt Provost (1822) xiii. Cum. She was
petted and ' made of,' which pleased her, Linton Lizzie Lorton
(1867) iv. (6) Per. Gin ye're to make o' the Scriptures, ye maun
work them as ye would work your land, Sandy Scott (1897) 25.
(c) Sh.I. I winder what Sibbie made o' da kirnin' stane, whin sha
hed him last Fridday, Sh. News (Oct. li, 1897) ; What made doo
o' da bottle wi' da ink? <S. (July 15, 1900). (12) Sc. (Jam,), Cai.',
N.Li Tip. She med oif for home, Kickham Knocknagow, 624.
n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) Lan. We med off bi th' train, Ferguson
MoudywarfsVisit,it. Nhp.i,Hnt. (T.P.F.) (13, a) Sc. (Jam.), n.Cy.,
Yks. (J.W.) {b) Sns. (F.E.), (F.A.A.) (14, a) Cum.i; Cum.a
' For God-seak, lads, mak on,' ses yan, ' them's heidless woman'
greans,' 65 ; Cum." (6) Nhb.i He's muckle myed on. Cum.' Mak
on him and he'll dea better ; Cum." n.Yks.* T'dog'U follow if
thoo maks on it a bit. ne.Yks.i You maun't shoot at her, you
mun mak on her. w.Yks. (J.W.) ; I've nobbut two, but ah mack
more on em than shoo duz a hurs for all that, Tom Treddlehoyle
Baimsla Ann. (1846) 14. Lin. He's been a deal made on, Brookes
Tracts Gl. 8. n.Lin.i That theare little dogwo'dn't run efteryou as
he duz, if you didn't mak on him as you do. sw.Lin.^ It's a pity
to pet bairns, and mak' on 'em so. I think I did not make on him.
MAKE
[i6]
MAKE
as I ought. e.An.i u^f. Yow may coax [stroke] the hobby, bor ;
he like to be made on (W.R.E.). (15, a) Dev. 'The candle is out.'
'Yes, the wind has made it out,' Baring-Gould Spider (1887)
xxvii. nw.Dev.i Make out the light. s.Dev. Make out the candle
(G.E.D.). {b) n.Yks.^ ' He nobbut meead badly out i' yon busi-
ness,' met with but bad success; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i Gen. qualified
by badly. 'Au'd Neddy maks badly oot wi' t'job.' -w.Yks. He
was making poorly out, Snowden Web of Weaver (1895) vi. s.Not.
Bob's made very badly out ; he'll coom to th' workus, a doubt
(J.P.K.). (c) Cum.'- How is he makkan oot ? Cum." ne.Yks.^
She maks badly oot, i.e. makes slow progress towards recovery.
s.Not. Sometimes 'e seems a bit better, but a don't think 'e'U ever
mek much out again (J.P.K.). {d) n.Yks.i Mebbe he mak's out
to addle his living by't. w.Yks. ( J.W.) Lan. ' If you can spare me
for a hour.' ' I'll mak' out,' said the engineer, 'Bvs.^^-n: Haworth's
(1887) X. s.Not. The stun were too short, so ah put a bit at each
end to mek out (J.P.K.). n.Lin. Niver you mind, we shall mak
oot sum waays (M.P.). (e) Sus. It struck him that dogs that
couldn't eat their food would ' make out ' badly in feeding, Eger-
TON Flk. and Ways (1884) 39 ; Sns.i Well, John, how are you
going to make out this winter ? (s.v. Beeves). (/) Sc. A' tales
whilk dashers tell are seldom true ; Mind it's a kittle point to
mak' out a', Shepherd's Wedding (1789) 15. Nrf. They made out
that they were right after all. Arch. (1879) VIII. 171. {g) Sc.
(Jam.) {h) Sh.I. Da boys wis managed ta mak' oot tree aald
fuskets, Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) no. (0 Wil.' 'That makes
me out,' puzzles me. (16) w.Yks. Bill's fatther's made aht for
him an' t'wife agean, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Dec. 13, 1890); Some
o' t'family'll hev ta mak' aht for me, Saunterer's Satchel (1877) 34.
(17) [Aus. If we could make out to one of the Queensland norlhern
ports, BoLDREWOOD Robbery (1888) III. xii.] (18) n.Yks.* He'll
'a'e ti mak oot wi' t'bit 'at's left noo. w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. Give
me what yer have, and I'll make out with it for to-day (J.P.K.).
Sirf. You must make out a' that (C.T.). (19) Sc. He maid throw
wi' his sermon after an unco pingle (Jam.). Cai."^ (20) Sc. Lon-
don and Lancashire goes on with the presbyteries and sessions
but languidly. Sundry other shires are making to, Bailue Lett.
(1775) II. 36 (Jam.). (21, a) w.Yks. Is t'dog made up? Sheffield
Indep. (1874). Lan. Have you made up the dog for the night?
(J.W.P.) n.Lin.i If hens isn't maade up thaay pick ivery berry
off bushes. Shr."" Yo'd'n better mak that dog up i' one o' the
bings, fur if yo' tie'n 'im up be'appen 'e'll hong 'imself afoare
mornin'. (6) n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) Chs.* When a gap in a hedge
has been mended it is said to be made up. A person's eye, which
is swelled and closed up from some accident, is made up. sw.Lin.i
The silt soon maks up the pipes. They've been making up the
hole, and levelling. My throat seems quiet [quite] made up. Her
eyes are made up a'most every morning, (c) Clis.i- (rf) Sh.I.
I heard dem makin' up 'at dey wir a' ta vot fir Wason, Sh. News
(Oct. 13,1900). w.Yks. (J.W.) Chs.'- We'd made it up for goo
this week end. («) Cld. ' I canna mak up in the mornin ava,' im-
plying dislike or disability (Jam.), (y) Sc. To mak up the bed, to
put in order for the day (ib.'). Cai.^ {g) Cld. It took me a' day to
mak up the ten poun' for him (Jam.). Cai.*, n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) (A)
Sc. The minister's thrang makin' up his sermon (;'6.). (;) n.Lln.i
Sam's gone to John Skill's agean to mak up his herses fer Lincoln
fair. [Aus. We should want to spell the horses and make 'em up a
bit, Boldrewood Robbery (1888) II. iii.] (7) Slk. Your master will
soon be sic a rich man that we'll a' be made up, Hogg Tales
(1838) 339, ed. 1866. iK) w.Som.'- To the agricultural labourer
who shall best dig and lay a rope of hedge, and make up the wood.
First prize, los.. Handbill of Ploughing Match, Culnistock (Oct. 5,
1883). (/) I.W.2 Make up the keert rooap, you, avore it gits in a
harl. (m) Sh.I. The old fishermen never spoke of things being
. . . broken. To be . . . broken [was expressed as] ' made up,'
Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 120 ; To enable them the more readily to
find the lines [fishing] in the event of ' making up,' ib. 130. (22)
Sh.I. It's no . . . wir men comin', sae I'll awa in an' mak' upo' me,
Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 241 ; Lat wiz mak' apo' wiz, der a lok at
dii i' da mOdow, Sh. News (Sept. 3, 1898) ; S. & Ork.' I mak-upo-
me. (23, a) w.Yks.i (i) Sc. (Jam.) (c) Sc. [They] would make
up to the Captain, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 98. Fif. He was
' making ' up to Elsie Grierson, Heddle Marget (1899) 45. Ayr.
He could not do better than make up to your daughter, Galt Sir
A. Wylie (1822) cii. Gall. I wad hke to see the besom that wad
make up to my Quintin ! Crockett Standard Bearer (i8g8) 144.
N.I.i, n.Cy. (J.W.) w.Yks. Ther's monny a daycent sooart of a
young chap 'at thinks he could like to mak' up to a young lass 'at
he's met at th' chapel, Hartley Ditt. (1868) 80. Nhp.i Mr. •
has a notion of marrying ; he seems making up to a certain lady.
Brks.' I zaay, Daayme, doos'nt think young Jack Robins be a-
maaykin' up to our Maayry? Hnt. (T.P.F.) {d) Cum.^* (24)
Sc. If I were to tell you my whole story, . . it's my opinion that
you would be very little made up with it, Stevenson Catriona
(1893) iii.
2. Phr. (i) to make a budge, to make a move, to start off,
move ; (2) — a chimney of one's mouth, to smoke ; (3) — a
die, to die after a long illness ; (4) — « hal of any one, to
spoil ; to make a fool of; (5) —a hand of or on, (a) to use,
turn to account ; (6) to waste ; to destroy ; to deal with
awkwardly ; (6) — a lane, to make a passage or opening
for anything to pass ; (7) — a long neck, to stretch the
neck or head in order to reach or see anything ; (8) — a
man or a mouse, to be something or nothing ; (9) — a mark
on it, to make a note of ; (10) — a mane or tnoan, to grudge ;
to grumble ; (11) — a mock of, {a) to put in the shade, put
to shame ; {b) to half do a thing ; (12) — a mullock, to make
a mess of some undertaking ; (13) — a noise, to scold, rate,
complain, to be angry with ; (14) — a penny by or of, to
sell, to convert into money; (15) — apoor mouth, to pretend
poverty ; to endeavour to excite compassion ; (16) — a
poor out of anything, to have a bad termination; (17) — a
prayer, to pray, offer a prayer ; (18) — a put, to make an
attempt ; (19) — a sidation, to clear or put away ; (20) —
a wakes, to use a great quantity ; (21) — a water, to ship a
sea or wave ; (22) — account, to give in an account of; (23)
— afield, to work, be fit for work out of doors ; (24) — bacon,
to make a ' long nose ' ; (25) — believe, to deceive ; (26) —
better, to improve ; to grow ; (27) — bold or so bold, to pre-
sume, take a liberty, venture ; (28) — boun', reflex. : to set
out for ; (29) — children's shoes, to trifle with or make sport
of; (30) — count or count on, to reckon on, to calculate,
expect ; to intend ; (31) — exercise, to perform family
worship ; (32) — faith, obs., to testify solemnly ; (33) —
fashion, to pretend, make a pretence of; (34) — fast, to
fasten ; (35) — firm, to confirm by the bishop ; (36) — fore,
to be of advantage ; (37) — for it, to be married ; (38) —
good, to recompense, repay ; give an equivalent ; (39)
— ground on, to gain ground on ; (40) — home, {a) to make
off homewards ; (b) to shut ; (41) — /, make A, a children's
cry to a flock of wild geese ; (42) — it out, to get on, to do ;
(43) — it up, to arrange, agree, esp. to arrange or agree
to be married ; (44) — it up with oneself, to reconcile one-
self to ; (45) — little shoes, of a labourer : to have no regular
employment ; (46) — market, to come to terms, to agree
to marry ; (47) — markets, to go marketing or buying in
the week's provisions ; (48) — meals, to prepare food for
the household ; (49) — tnoan, to pity, show sympathy or
sorrow ; (50) — meat or t'meat, see (48) ; (51) — mows, to
make grimaces or mocking faces ; (52) — much of, to
flatter, pay great attention to ; to be attentive or obsequious
to ; (53) — music, to perform on any musical instrument ;
(54) — neither ends nor sides, to make nothing of, do nothing
with ; (55) — no doubt, to have no doubt ; (56) — no matter,
to be of no consequence ; (57) — one's brag, to boast, brag ;
(58) — one's feet their friend, to go off quickly, to run away ;
(59) — on^s soul, to save one's soul, to go to confession
and obtain absolution ; (60) — one's ways, to go along ;
(61) — one up, to recompense, benefit, remunerate, enrich ;
(62) — or meddle, (63) — or mell, (64) — or mend, to interfere
in any way, gen. with a neg. ; (65) — nothing, to fetch no
money ; (66) — nought of, to consider of no value, to make
nothing of; to disapprove of; (67) — nought out, said of a
person who is ill and whose recovery is doubtful ; (68) —
outs, see below ; (69) — ready, to dress provisions ; (70)
— sensible, to inform, acquaint with ; (71) — sharp, to make
haste, be quick ; (72) — shift, to manage, contrive ; to do
with or without a thing, as the case may be ; (73) — short
up, to run a course quickly, to draw to a hasty conclusion ;
(74) —spare, to be saving or economical; to deal out
grudgingly ; (75) —stead, to be of use ; (76) —sure, to be
confident of; to put an3;thing away in a safe place j (77)
— up one's mouth, to finish a meal with a dainty or bonne
bouche; (78) —use of to eat; (79) —weight, to add so
much of the commodity being weighed as wOl turn the
scale ; (80) — wimwamsfor water-wheels, to do an absurd
MAKE
[17]
MAKE
or ridiculous thing ; (81) — wise, to pretend, feign, make
believe ; (82) — wood, to make wood into faggots ; (83) —
work or a work, (a) to dartjage, injure, hurt ; (b) to make
a fuss or to-do ; to be angry ; (c) to make mischief.
(i) w.Yks. (J.W.) Nrf. What time do you think of making a
budge in the morning? Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 100. (2) Sc.
(A.W.), N.I.i (3) e.An.i So Will Young is like to make a die on't
at last. e.Suf. Pore Jack he's so bad I doubt he'll make a die on't
(F.H.). (4) w.Yks. (S.P.U.) (5, a) Nhp.i Mostfreq. used in a bad
sense, but not necessarily so. Hnt. (T.P.F.) {b) Nhp.^ He's made
a hand of all his property. Hnt.(T.P.F.) e.An.^ To 'makeagood,
bad, or indifferent, hand ' of an undertaking, are phrases common
enough. With us a bad sense is always understood, when no
qualifying epithet is used. ' That dog is mad, I must make a hand
on him.' e.Suf. (F.H.) (6) Shr. The colliers ranged on either side
to may a lane for the bull to pass along, BuRHEFlk-Lore (1883') xxxi.
(7) Lnk. Making a lang neck to win down to her, Graham Writings
(1883) II. 209. (8) Nhp.i (9) w.Yks. (E.G.) (lo) Edb. Nor rich
nor poor e'er mak' a mane To pouch their fee, Har'st Rig (1794)
37, ed. 1801. (11, a) Ayr. Faith, this mak's a mock, a mere pantry
o' your corporation ha's an' county rooms, Ainslie Land of Bums
(ed. 1892) 146. (6) Shr.^ It's no use 'im makin' a mock on it, if 'e
conna do it, 'e'd better let it alone, an' let somebody else try thar
'end. (12) w.Yks. Best on us mak a mullock at times, Bickerdike
Beacon Alm.{i&^^). (i3)Sc.(A.W.),w.Yks. (J.W.), nw.Der.i Nhp.'
If I stay out. Missis 'ill make a noise. War.2 If you don't get the
windows clean'd, missis will make a noise. Oxf.^ MS. add. Hut.
(T.P.F.), e.An.i, e.Suf. (F.H.), Ess.i w.Som.i Missus made a
purty noise, sure 'nough, last night, 'cause you wadu a-come home
— you'll catch it, mind ! (14) Nhp.^ I'll make a penny of it, if I
can. Hnt. (T.P.F.) (15) s.Sc. I dinna want to be plagued wi'
folk makin puir mouths, Wilson 7"a/f5(i839)V. 19. Dwn.(C.H.W.),
Cum.!* (i6)s.Wor. (H.K.) (17) Sh.I.AforeyougangI tink du'll
mak'aprayer, J.H.Z)aZ.(js/iT9j'(i896) 6. Dmf. He was nae speaker,
and for makin' a prayer he cudna had the cawnle to Elder Blair,
Ponder Kirkcumdoon (1875) 3. (18) Sc. ( A.W."), Chs.i (19) w.Yks.
(R.H.R.) (20) Shr. We've made-a-wakes with the cream while
the visitors have been here (K.P.). (21) Sh.I. Just as we gae sail,
he [the boat] made a watter aff o' da fore kaib, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I.
(1822) 224, ed. 1891. (22) Kcd. He is dead, and made account,
I hope, and at the happy Fount, Jamie ilfwse (1844) 12. (23) Edb.
Some Embrugh quean Is sickly, and dounae mak- — A-field again,
Har'st Rig (1794) 36, ed. 1801. (24) N.I.^ (s.v. Bacon), Chs.'
(s.v. Bacon) , Dev.s (25) Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks.2, w.Yks. (J.W.) (26)
Sc. Having - . . asked how James was — ' He's makin' better,'
quoth the goodwife, Sc. Haggis, 24. (27) Sc. (A.W.), N.Cy.i,
w.Yks.i* Nhp.i 'If I may mak so bold as to ax a favor,' is a
common prelude when an inferior is soliciting anything from a
superior, Oxf.* MS. add., Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.An.i I have made bold
to come. Dor. And what's the young woman's name, make so
bold, hostler ? Hasdy Et/ielberta {i8']6) I. i. w.Som.^ What might
you give for thick wagin, make so bold ! Plaiz, mum, I bea-come
vor to make bold t'ax vor a vew flowers, 'cause mother's gwain
to be a buried to-morrow. (28) Abd. The morrow's morn I'll
early mak' me boun' To see what's deein i' the borrow's toun,
Guidman Inglismaill (1873) 28. (29) e.An. She gan her missis
notidge last a'Lady ; but she di'n't git on, an' then she axt to
stay ; but her missis wunt hear on't, an' in course she couldn't be
expected to make child'ens shoes i' that way, N. If Q. (1855) ist
S. xi. 184. (30) Sc. (A.W.), N.Cy.l, Cum.i4, w.Yks. (J.W.), Not.i
n.Lin.i I alus mek coont on hevin' sixty seeks o' flewkes an aacre
to sell. Lei.' Ah nivver med no caount o' his app'nin' upon us i'
the gyaardin. Nhp.' I make 'count o' seeing all my children at the
feast. War.3 e.An.i^ I make count to go to the fair to-morrow.
Suf. I made count to have been here before (C.T.); Suf.' I make
count ta dew it a' Sunday. e.Suf. I make count to go to Ipswich
to-morrow. Ofoo/. (F.H.) Ess. G/. (1851); Ess.i {^^t)%<:. Monthly
Mag. (1800) I. 322. (32) Sc. The witnesses . . . sail also make
faith that they heard, saw, and bystude, quhen the said oiEciar did
execute and proclaime the brieve, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 24.
(33) Sc. The bits of pictures he made fashion of drawing, Scott
St. Ronan (1824) xiv. (34) nw.Dev.^ Make vas' the door, wuU ee?
(35) Chs.i Used in a sort of jocular way. (36) Cld. Dearth frae
scarcity maks nae fore to the farmer (Jam.). (37) Sh.I. Dem 'at's
gaien ta mak' for hit in winter wid be tinkin' as muckle aboot edder
tings as da hairst ! Sh. News (Oct. 8, 1898) ; I tink him an Jessie
. . . 'ill be makkin for it noo afore lang is geen. Burgess Lowra
Biglan (1896) 36. (38) Nhp.' He gave me a present, but I shall
make it good to him in some way or other. (39) s.Not. When ah
fun ah didn't mek no ground on 'im, ah begun to run (J.P.K.).
(40, a) w.Som.i Said of any person or dog who forsakes any ex-
VOL. IV.
pedition and turns back. 'Zoon's ever the collar was a-tookt off,
darned if he [the dog] didn make-home so vast as ever his legs 'ud
car-n.' nw.Dev.i {b) Cor.^ Ma'ue-home the door; Cor.^ (41)
Nhb.i As the flock fly overhead the children shout to them in
chorus, ' Wily geese, wily geese, make I, make A ! ' Wild ducks
usually fly in a formation like the letter V or A. The call to the
geese is to induce them to change from a straight line to A, like
the ducks. (42) Elg. The young folks could make it out without
me, Couper Tourifications (1803) II. 114. w.Som.'^ A very common
salutation is, 'Well, Farmer Jan, how do you make it outi' ' I
do hear they be gwain away, I s'pose they baint able vor to make
it out.' (43) Sc. She and that good-for-nothing Niel have made it
up to meet Phemie, Keith Lisfert (1894) i. w.Sc.That couple
ower there ... I doot they're makin 't up, Macdonald Settlement
(1869) 157. Ayr. Peggy Bletherbag and Kirsty Langtongue had
made it up wi' their men that they wad ha'e the weans a' cleaned
up on a Saturday afternoon. Hunter Studies (1870) 143. n.Cy.,
Yks. (J.W.) Lan. ' Well, aw declare,' said Dorothy, ' are yoa two
makin it up?' Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 82. [Aus. Jim and
Jeanie made it up to be married as soon after she came up as he
could get a house ready, Boldrewood Robbery (1888) II. ix.]
(44) Yks. I cannot make it up wi' mysen, seeing women coming
out i' that fashion, Taylor Miss Miles (1890) xxiii. (45) Nrf.
(E.M.) (46) Bnff. The lea, Whan Tib an' I 'ad made market,
Taylor Poems (1787) 66. Rnf. It's time you were makin' your
market. There's nae use in waitin' ower lang, Barr Poems (1861)
130. (47) w.Yks. Onny man objektin to his wife goin aght we him
on a Setterday neet ta mack markits, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla
Ann. (1850) 52. (48) Lnk. 'Tween makin' meals, an' washin' fluirs,
Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 3^. (49) Sh.I. Doo mak's little maen
fir a body, Sh. News (Feb. 10, 1900). n.Sc. If that ye dee forme,
sir knight, Few for you will make meen, BucHAN£«//arfs (1828) I.
90, ed. 1875. N.I.i When you've tooth ache they make no moan
foryou. (5o)Sc.(A.W.) n.Yks. The mistress prepares the food —
in the local vernacular, ' mak's t'meat,' Atkinson Moorl. Parish
(1891) 5; n.Yks."* (51) w.Som.' Plaiz-r, thick there boy bin
makin' mows. (52) Ayr. Speak him kindly, and mak' much o' him,
G ALT iatVrfs (1826) XXX. w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Stf. Her'll maK mucn
on 'im for a bit till her's got him fast, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann.
(1895). (53) Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks.i (54) w.Yks. If you mean
that the woman you say you ' can make neither ends nor sides
of is your wife, you are in a difficult position, Yks. Post (May 16,
1889). (55) Som. He zed he made no doubt the carter ud be
minded, Raymond Misterton' s Mistake {i?,S,&) 103. (56) Sc. (A.W.),
Nhb. (R.O.H.) s.Wm. Southey Doctor (ed. 1848) 561. w.Yks.
As ne'er bein burnt to deeath as mays na matter, Bywater
Gossips, II. (57) s.Wor. 'E aowed'eralot o' money, an' 'e ma-ade
'is brags as 'e didn't aowe 'er nothin' (H.K.). (58) Frf. 'Now
that you've eased your conscience, Smith,' he said fiercely, 'make
your feet your friend,' Barrie Tommy (1896) T30. (591 Ir. What's
all you can get here compared to making your sowl? Mayhew
Land. Labour (ed. 1861) II. 45. . Wxf. Maybe it would be betther
for me to think of mekin' me sowl. It's ten years since I was at a
priest's knee, and I'll have a hard job of it, Kennedy Banks Boro
(1867) 209. (60) Sc. (A.W.), w.Yks.5 (61) Sc. He made them
aye up, sometimes with an hundred fold in this life, and heaven
after, Thomson Cloud of Witnesses (1714) 78, ed. 1871 ; When we
receive anything useless or inadequate to our expectation or
necessities, it is ironically said, ' Ay ! that will mak me up ! ' or
seriously, 'Weel, that winna mak mesairup'(jAM.). Ahd. Though
you bear the world's reproach You'll be made up for ever, Milne
Poems (1871) 18; That little bittie winna mak' me up (G.W.).
(62) Abd. Jean has a min' o' her ain ; an' I sanna mak' or meddle
far'er wi't, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 156. Edb. Mak or meddle
betwixt man an' wife. Is what I never did in a' my life, Fergusson
Poems (1773) 109, ed. 1785. (63) Ayr. Daur to mak or mell with
the literal meaning thereof, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 286.
Dur.i I'll neither maek nor mell. Lakel.i, w.Yks.i (64) Sus.i He
must go his own way, I'm not a-going to make or mend any more.
(65) Oxf.i MS. add. Brks.i Whate wunt maayke nothun' now, an'
we only got to look to our stock. (66) Yks. I mak nought o' that,
Taylor Miss Miles (1880) ii ; Ah mak' nowght ov a entertainment
wheare ther's noa doncin. Ah mak' nowght ov a chap 'at's a
druffen un, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Feb. 16, 1895). (67) Sc. (A.W.)
w.Yks. 'Hah'sya'rBill?' ' He'sabaat t'same; Ah'm flaidhe's bahn
to mak nowt aht' (S.K.C.). (68) sw.Lin.i Used in such phr. as
' Does he mak' any outs ? ' or ' What kin' outs (i.e. what kind of
outs) does he make?' That is, 'How does he get on ? does he
make any progress ? ' said of a child at school, and of a lad gone
out to service. So ' I don't think he maks much outs at school
yet.' ' They made such poor outs last year.' (69) e.An.' I shall
D
MAKE
[i8]
MAKE
make ready my turkey to-morrow. I will let you know when the
beef is to be made ready. (70) Som. I should certainly a-fetched
young Zam, . . if I hadn' a-been made sensible, Raymond Sam
and Sabina (i8g^) 75. (71) e.Dur.i Wm. Mak sharp an' git thi
poddish intull thi (B.K.). n.Yks.i^", e.Yks.i m.Yks.i If thou
maks sharp thou'Il get it. w.Yks.^ Mak sharp hoam aggan, thear's
a good lad! Av maade as sharp as ah could ! (72) n.Cy., Yks.
(J.W.), nw.Der.i Lin.^ If I cannot have it, I must make shift with
what I have. Shr.' I'd sooner mak'-shift any how than be al'ays
borrowin' like they bin. Oxf.i MS. add., Hnt. (T.P.F.) Dor.
Zurely us can make shift to do wi'out that there chile, Hare yUl.
Street (1895") 149. w.Som.i I 'spose must [maek shuufm] make
shift and finish gin Zadurday night, else I count there'll be a noise.
Dev. Us make shift to keep a pig now, O'Neill Idyls (1892) 40.
(73) Chs.i ; Chs.3 Gen. applied to fast life. A young man dying
of dissipation is said ' To have made short up.' (74) n.Yks.^
' Deean't mak' spare on't. There's mairahint' ; of the eatables on
the table ; n.Yks.'* Noo reeach teea an' help yersels : ther's nowt
ya need be neyce aboot, an' ya needn't mak spare ov owt. (75)
Sc. Such cattle as would not drive they houghed and slew, so that
they should never make stead, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) 11. 269
(Jam.). (76) Nhp.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.) (77) Lan. They'd each on um
a butty-cake allowed at th' close uv every porritch-eitin beawt to
make up their meawths wi', Staton B. Shuttle Bowtun, 5. Slir.
Still in use. After a person has eaten a sufficiency he will be
tempted to have a little more of something different, e.g. *A snack
of bread and cheese to make up your mouth,' N. V Q. (1888) 7th
S. vi. 38. (78) Pem. She've a made use of nothing in the world
since yesterday (E.D.). w.Som.'^ Applied always to sickness.
' He can't make use o' nothing.' ' I count he an't a-got no mate
vor to make use o'.' Gen, heard in neg. sentences only. Dev.
The bacon and cabbage is what I can't make no use of, O'Neill
Idyls (1892) 37 ; If I dii feel a bit out o' soarts I can make use of
a drop of Pat's home-brewed better'n I can make use of anything,
Eng. Illus. Mag. (June 1896) 257. ne.Dev. Of a man very ill,
' He can't make use o' nothing,' Reports Provinc. (1882) 18. (79)
w.Som.i Come, maister ! that there idn nezackly ! mus' drow in a
bit o' suet vor to make weight o' it. (80) w.Yks. Banks Wkfld.
Wds. (1865). (81) Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i Her made
wise her was gwain home vor to zee her mother. He put on his
best clothes an' started, make wise he was gwain to church. They
turned their back, make wise they didn zee me, but I be safe they
did. Dev.^ Tidden no use to make wise you bant there, for I sees
yer tail in behind the door. n.Dev. Now doant make-wise an' finey
zo, RocKyjOT an Nell {iSSi) st. 48. nw.Dev.^ s.Dev. Fox Kings-
bridge {i8t 4). Cor.l2 (82) w.Som.i, nw.Dev.i (83, a) Not. His
cough seems to mak' work with him o' nights (L.C.M.) ; Not.' The
pipes has bust and med work wi' t'ceiling. sw.Lin.i These sharp
nights will make work with the fruit. (6) Sc. ' Ou dear! what's the
use of makinga wark ? ' ' I make no wark, as ye call it, woman,' Scott
A ntiquary {1816) ix. (c) w.Som.' 'They boys on't let alone thick
gate, they'll keep on makin work way un, gin they've a tord-n
abroad.' Also commonly used of illicit love.
3. Comb, (i) Make-ado, {a) an uproar, disturbance ; fuss,
bother ; also in phr. Make-ado, have-ado, to make work by
bad contriving ; {b) something to do to pass the time ; (2)
•away, wilful waste, destruction ; (3) -bate, a mischief-
maker ; (4) -believe, {a) a substitute ; (b) a mistress treated
as a wife; (5) -count, see (11); (6) -look, a made-up
appearance ; a sham ; (7) -nought, profitless, of no
avail ; (8) -shift, {a) a substitute for the time being ;
gen. used contemptuously ; [b) an excuse ; (9) -sleepy, a
soporific; used attrib.; (10) -up, [a) a fabrication, lie; [b)
anything made up of odds and ends ; also used attrib. ;
(11) -weight, a small quantity added to make up the right
weight of anything, asp. a small candle thrown in to com-
plete the pound ; (12) -wise, (a) a pretence, ' make-believe';
also used attrib. and advb. ; (6) a substitute.
(i, a) -w.Yks. Sheffield Indep. (1874); (B.K.); w.Yks.^ (6)
Sh.I. For a kind o' mak adQ I lightit mi pipe, Sh. News (May 15,
1897). (2) Lakel.2 (3) Sc. Thank God I am no makebate, Scott
Abbot (1820) iv. Dev.i For make-bates I'll warrant, 14. (4, a)
n.Yks.2 (A) Der.2, nw.Der.i (5) N.Cy.i (6) n.Yks." (7) ii. A
mak-nought matter. (8, a^ N.Cy.', Dur."- s.Dur. It may do but
it's nobbut a mack-shift (J. E.D.). n.Yks. (T.S.), ne.Yks.i w.Yks.
Hlfx. Courier (May 22, 1897 ) ; w.Yks.i 2, Chs.' Der.2 ' Now't but a
mak'-shift.' Expressiveof anything being ramshackle. nw.Der.^,
Nhp.i Ken. That'll do as a make-shift (D.W.L.). (6) n.Yks.2
'You mun mak as good a mak-shift as you can,' an apology or
excuse. m.Yks.i (9) Ayr. Mr. Glebantiends was a very mak-
sleepie preecher, Galt Lairds (1826) vii. (10, a) Bnff.', Gall.
(A.W.) (6) Rnf. Frae the treacle mak'-up on the candy man's
Stan', Neilson Poems (1877) 48. Gall. A mak'-up dinner is one
made up of scraps, and odds and ends (A.W.). Nhp.i (11) n.Cy.
Grose (1790) ; (j.L. 1783I. Lakel.=, w.Yks.', Nhp.', War.23,
Brks.' Ken. Kennett Par. Antiq. (1695). w-Som.' (12, a)
w.Som.' I zeed how 'twas ; I knowed 'twas nort but a make
wise. Dev.i Now you be a-quat you have no stomach make-wise,
and this is your orts a-fried up for me, 13. nw.Dev.' Cor. Weth
a make-wise face possed on top of his aun, J. Trenoodle Spec.
Dial. (1846) 54 ; Cor.' He's only a make-wise; Cor.^ (6) Cor.^
4. To compose poetry.
Sc. Sweetly could he make, but was a young clerk of no godly
counsel, Lang Monk of Fife {iBqS) 131. Per. Unless I mak' to
this man's mind, . . An' wha to please them a' can write ? Halieurton
Dunbar {i8g5) $2. nw.Der.'
Hence Makar or Maker, sb. a poet.
Abd. But I'm no a makar, Macdonald Malcolm (1875) II. 12.
Per. There was no formal reception of the new makkar, Hali-
eurton Fields (1890) 77 ; Makars too, wi' catchin' breath. Maun
step aside to speak wi' Death, ib. Dunbar (1895) 36. Ayr. Ayrshire
can boast of the name of I3urns, Boswell, and a host of living
' Makars,' Ballads and Sngs. (1846) I. Introd. 3.
5. Of a hedge: see below.
w.Som.' To make a hedge is to chop out and lay down the
' quick' or underwood, and then to cut down the sides of the bank
on which the ' bushment ' grows, and throw the sods, together
with the cleanings of the ditch, upon the top of all. ' To the
labourer who shall best make and lay a rope of hedge,' Culmstock
Agric. Soc. Meeting (1886).
6. To prepare a crop before carting after it has been cut.
e.An.i Every crop, howsoever severed from the soil, and left
upon it to dry, is said to be made when it is in a fit state to be
carried. e.Suf. To make clover or stover (F.H.).
7. To riddle meal, &c. w. Yks.^ 8. To put the soles
on boots or shoes.
Cmb.' I've done nothing this week but make a lot of cacks.
9. Of accounts, &c. : to balance, make up ; to bring up to
date.
Abd. H-d-e, ti, for keepin' bulks. Had wale o' pounds . . . An'
yet I doubt they were to mak' Fan the sang got up, Walker
Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 603.
10. To become fit for the peculiar purpose for which
anything is intended.
Cld. Muck maun be laid in a heap to mak (Jam.).
11. To complete a process of any kind of labour.
Lan. John brought word that they [oats] would be dried
to-morrow, and we must make 'em, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 82.
12. To do, esp. in phr. what make you here ?
Ayr. What mak ye sae like a thief? Burns Wha is that at my
bower door? st. i. ne.Lan.' What made you there? Der. What
make ye alone here? Le Fanu Uncle Silas (1865) I. 298. [What
make you here, you vulgar little boy? Barham Ingoldsby (ed. 1864)
Misadventures at Margate, St. i.]
13. To meddle, interfere.
Sc. If ye see ony of our folk, meddle not and make not, and
they'll do you nae harm. Scon Guy M. (1815) xxiii. Slg. He
thinks he will only preach against Poprie, and not make with
other controversies, Wodrow Sel. Bio^. (ed. 1845-7) 208.
14. To act, pretend, feign.
Sc. (A.W.), s.Wm. We meade as if we wer asleep, Southed
Doctor (^ed. 1848) 560. w.Yks. Let us go and make to poach (C.C.R.).
e.Lan.' You are making that. n.Lin. She meks as if she was
gooin' to put it doon that easy he we'd n't niver knawnowt aboot
it, Peacock Tales (1886) 98. e.An.'
15. To acquire by fraud or artifice ; to decoy ; to steal.
Not.' Lei.' Oo, noo, sir, it [a pigeon] een't non o' yourn ; it's
oon'y wan as Oi meed, i. e. decoyed. Nhp.' ; Nhp.2 I made this
knife at a heat [stole it cleverly], w.Som.' I reckon Jim made
thick there exe [axe].
16. With neg. : to matter, be of consequence or import-
ance, gen. in phr. it maksna.
Abd. Ye've gi'en my mug a crack ; But shame be fain, it dos na
mak', Beattie Parings (1801) 43, ed. 1873. Kcd. Fast or slow,
or high or laigh. It didna mak, he made them scraigh, Jamie
Muse (1844) 89. s.Sc. It macksnae whether crowns or cobles Get
them their bread, T. Scott Poems (1793) 346. Slg. It maksna
though ye ne'er do mair, MuiR Poems (1818) 26. Rnf. It maksna,
Picken Poems (1813) I. 62. Ayr. Sent aff at ance, it maksna
whither, Sillar Poems (1789) 234. Lnk. It mak'sna whether they
MAKE
[19]
MAKE
be blacks or greys, MuiR Minstrelsy (1816) 6. Edb. But makes-na,
now it's got a sweel, Fergusson Poems (1773) 168, ed. 1785.
Slk. I'll wed or die, it maks na whether, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865)
277. Dmf. Suld the ferlie seem to some Nocht better than a
daffin' skair, Itmaksna, Reiti Poems (1894') 57. Gall. It makes na
here for garb or gear, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 197, ed. 1897.
17. To attempt, try ; to offer. N.I.' He made to strike me.
18. To reach, come to.
Ayr. Wi' skip an' spring, like thing on wing. She made the
middle stane, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 339. Wgt.
Scarcely had he made the Lag . . . When clouds began to hide
the moon, Fraser Wigtown (1877)212. [Aus. I thought of the
long cold hours if we didn't make our camp, Boldrewood Colon.
Reformer (1890) I. vi.]
19. To progress, advance, come on.
Cum. Snap went the thread and down the spinnel flew ; To me
it meade, Relph Misc. Poems (1747) 3. w.Yks. It's made a went
since the time I had to do with it. Of a vat of new beer under-
going fermentation it will be said : ' It has made since morning,'
hasincreased in fermentation, c&c. ' It will make this way' (C.C.R.).
20. Of the tide, sea, &c. : to rise, surge, advance ; of the
moon : to wax, grow.
Sh.I. The approach . . . was much jeopardised in rough weather
by the dreadful waves that ' made ' coming from Clark's corner, Sh.
News (Mar. 12, 1898). Edb. Nine o' clock, when the flood tide's
making, Campbell Deilie Jock (1897) 168. Nhb.^ The tide is
makin. n.Yks.^ ' The sea has made since morning,' begun to
surge. 'The sea is making fast.' w.Som.i The tide '11 continny to
make for a week to come. Is the moon making or going back ?
21. To ooze, flow.
n.Yks. That pipe'U hae ti be sawthered ; it's mackin' a bit (T.K.).
22. To fasten, secure, make fast.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) w.Yks. I made't gates o' my
factory, Hallam Wadsley Jack (1866) viii ; w.Yks.^ Has he made
yon cellar grate? ■w.Yks.345 TJa-n. Mary wur just makkin' th'
dur, Brierley Daisy Nook (1859) 31 ; Lan.' Hasto made aw t'durs ?
Chs.l May th' durr ; Chs.2 ; Chs.3 Maigh th' door or th' yate. ' To
make the house' is to make it safe at night by locks and bars.
s. Chs.l Ahy shul ISeiiv yea' til mai-)th ddourz wen dhu laad-z
kiim-iin in [I shall leeave yo to may th' doors when the lads
comen in]. Midi. Toone Diet. (1834) ; N. & Q. (1894) 8th S. v.
207. Stf. ib. 358; Stf.i, Der.l, nw.Der.l, Not. (J.H.B.), Not.12
s.Not. Be sure an' mek the dower afore yer goo to bed (J.P.K.).
n.Lin. How ofens hev I bed to tell yer to mak' that door efter thee
when thou goas oot? N. if Q. (1894) 8th S. v. 359. sw.Lin.'
Lei. The door sha'n't be made, ib. (1858) 2nd S. vi. 187 ; Lei.^ A
med the shutters an' nivver keyed the cotter. Nhp.^ Have you
made the doors ? Make the doors. War. 12 Shr. It is bed-time,
so make the doors (K.P.); Shr.i Hrf. Dunchmb Hist. Hrf.
(1804) ; Hrf.i Glo. Pegge Derbicisms (ed. 1896).
23. To foster. War. Rham Wkly. Post (June 17, 1893) ;
War.^
MAKE, s6.i Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Lin. Nhp. War. e.An. Also in forms mac Lan. ;
mack Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.^ Nhb.'' Dur.' Wm.' n.Yks.^ e.Yks.
w.Yks.' n.Lan.' m.Lan.' Chs.'^ nw.Der.' Nhp.' War. ;
maik Sc. ; mak Sc. (Jam.) Nhb. Dur. Lakel.'=Cum.'* Wm.
n.Yks.'24 ne.Yks.' e.Yks.' m.Yks.' w.Yks.^ Lan.' n.Lan.'
ne.Lan.' e.Lan.' Chs.' Der. ; meak Cum.* ; mek Cum.'*
[mek, mak, mek.] 1. Fashion, design, style ; figure,
shape, form. See Make, v.^
Bnff. Her mak was neat, an' her skin fair, Taylor Poems (1787)
61. Per. Mayhap thy mak' is no sae genty As it had been at
maiden twenty, Stewart Character (1857) 57. Ayr. Bonie and
bloomin' And straught was its make. Burns Lady Mary Ann,
st.'4. Dmf. The soughin' sprett took maik and tongue, Reid Poems
(1894) 60. Nhb. Twae o' them's Irish tramps. Ah ken by t'mak'
on them, Tynedale Studies (1896) No. 6. Lakel.' Cum. Ah thowt
ah wad sketch a ' ViUidge Carakter,' yan o' t'oald mak, Farrall
Betty Wilson (1886) 34. Wm. He was what you might ca' a ugly
man — mak of John Rigg much, Rawnsley Remin. Wordsworth
(1884) VI. 168. n.Yks."- It's a queer mak', yon drag-harrow o'
Willy's ; n.Yks.^", e.Yks.l w.Yks. All reyt and streyt i mak an
shap, Preston Poems (1864) 3. Lan. Thot's a foonny mak' o'
coortin', mon, Francis Frieze (1895) 185; Yon mak' of a church
does no' shute me, Owen Owd Toimes (1870) 8.
Hence (i) Mack, adj. neat, tidy ; (2) Mackerlike, adj.
much more becoming, much more to the purpose; (3)
Mackerly or Makerly,a<^'. shapely, fashionable; tolerable;
(4) Mackish, adj. smart ; (5) Mack-like, adj. tidy, neat,
seemly, well-proportioned ; adapted to the purpose ; (6)
Mackly, adj. seemly, comely, good-looking ; (7) Mackly-
what, adv. in some fashion ; (8) Macky, adj., see (i) ; (9)
Makedom, sb. figure, shape.
(i) Rxb. (Jam.) (2) Nhb.' It wad leuk mackerlike if ye war
ta cairy th' waiter for the laddy, poor beggar! Yks. (J.W.) (3)
n.Cy. Grose (1790); (Hall.) (4) War. (/A. ) (5) s.Sc.(Jam.) Slk.
It would be far mair mack-like and far mair feasible, Hogg Perils
of Man (1822) II. 70 (Jam.). n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) n.Yks.= It might
be meead mak-like. (6) Lnk. Ramsay Poems (1721) Gl. Chs.i
(7) n.Lan.i (8) Nhp.' (9) Per. Yon stalwart makedom I ken richt
weel. Ford Harp (.1893) 419.
2. Sort, kind, species, variety, quantity ; fig. state, con-
dition.
Sc. That's no my mak. The hale year's mak, the quantity made
during the year (Jam.). Abd. Ye wad be hearkenin' til anither
mak o' a justification, Macdonald Castle Warlock (1882) Ivi.
n.Cy. What mack of corn or flock? Grose (1790) Suppl. ; N.Cy.',
Dur.' s.Dur. That's another mak n' stuff' altogether (J.E.D.).
Lakel.'2 Cum.Threeorfowermile,orsummeto't'mak, Richardson
Talk (1886) ist S. 32 ; Cum.' I'll turn my back o' t'mak o' them ;
Cum.3* Wm. Tell enny mack a lees. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 26.
n.Yks.'=3 e.Yks. Marshall/?m»-.&o«. (1788); e.Yks.i w.Yks.
He thought it was ' some mak of a toad,' Cudworth Bradford
(1876)51; What mack on a box is that ? (C.A.F.) ; w.Yks.^Au'm
noan one o' that mak. Lan. Two mac o foke wurn loike tone
t'other, Byrom Poems (1773) I. 108, ed. 1814; What mak of a
craitur ban we here? 'Waugh Chim. Corner (1874) 28, ed. 1879 ;
Lan.i n.Lan.' Thou's a queer make of a chap. ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.',
m.Lan.i s.Lan. Wot mack o lett-tersartosettin' deawn ? Bamford
Walks (1844) 170. Chs. Drink as has browt me to this mak, Yates
Owd Peter, i ; Chs.l What mak of a mon is he ? nw.Der.'
Hence Mackly or Makly, (i) adj. similar, of the same
make or kind ; exactly alike ; fitting nicely ; (2) adv. most
likely.
(i) w.Yks. But men's all mackly, Hartley Clock Abit. (1896)
43 ; Them two children is varry makly, Hlfx. Courier (May 22,
1897). e.An.' (s.v. Matchly). (2) w.Yks. Howson Cur. Craven
(1850) no.
3. Phr. (i) all make and shape, all sorts of ways ; (2) all
make of, all sorts, all kinds ; (3) a make of, (a) a kind or
sort of^ having a resemblance to ; (b) nearly, almost, just
about ; (4) in a make, after a fashion ; (5) neither make nor
shape, out of proportion, ill-designed or fashioned ; (6)
nought of the make, nothing of the kmd ; (7) one m,an's make,
fig. on a level socially, equal as regards birth, &c. ; (8)
all makes, (9) — andmanders, all kinds and sorts, all shapes
and sizes ; (10) — and shapes, (a) see (9) ; (b) ill or strangely
formed, very irregular.
(i) w.Yks. He lenns hissen aht i' all mak an' shap For that
twenty shillin' i' t'week, Saunteret's Satchel (1875) 16. (2) w.Yks.
(J.W.) Lan. Drest dolls, an' o mack o' things, Ferguson Moudy-
warp's Visit, 9; O' mak o' shapes, Mullins Johnny, i. Chs.
Drinkin', an' doin' a' mack o' wickedness, Yates Owd Peter, iv.
Der. Theer's aw mak o' tales about it. Ward David Grieve (1892)
I. iv. (3, a) s.Wra. We ust at sing A mack of a sang, Southey
Doctor (ed. 1848) 559. w.Yks. I'm a gainless thing — a mak' o'
lumber, Snowden Tales Wolds (1893) 7 ; We're like a make o'
cousins, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Feb. 9, 1895). Lan. I look upo' ill-
disposed folk as a mak o' mad, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) II.
27. ib) w.Yks. ' Ah'm a mak o' done up,' I am about tired out.
' Ah'm dewin a mak o' nowt,' I am doing nothing. 'Ah'm a mak
o' stall'd o' workin for fifteen bob i' t'wick,' Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(May 16, 1891). (4) w.Yks. Mister Bloward gate up and reposed
[proposed] that it wor sooa, in a mack as t'chairman had repooased
[proposed], BicKERDiKEfiracoK^/ra. (1875); (J.W.) (5) Lakel.^
Wm. It's like t'auld woman's shift 'at she cot oot wi' t'axe, it's
nowder mak ner shap, Old saying (B.K.). n.Yks.^ It hez nowther
mak nor shap in't. e.Yks.' That cooat's neeather mak nor shap.
w.Yks. (J.W.) (6) Wm. ' Noot o' th' mak,' he replied, Briggs
Remains (1825) 137 ; I'll du nowt o't mack, Carey Herriofs Choice
(1879) II. xii. Yks. (J.W.) (7) Lnk. If they warna baith ae
man's mak, I wad think naething o't ; for they warna a needle o'
differ between their dadies, an' what war they baith but twa
sticket taylors at the best? Graham Writings (1883) II. 34. (8)
N.Cy.' A little o' a' macks. Dur. En di'en a' maks o' jobs aboot
t'farm, Egglestone Betty Podkin's Visit (1877) 3 ; Dur.' Cum."
' What kinds of fish are in your lakes ? ' ' O' maks ameast.' Wm.
D 2
MAKE
[20]
MAKLE
(E.C.), Wm.^, n.Yks.^ w.Yks. T'roads were filled wi' aw macks
o' carnages, Dixon Craven Dales (1881) 188; w.Yks.^ Lan.
Aw'r fyertn't o' macks o' ways, Tim Bobbin Vieiv Dial. (1740)
37. Chs.i It takes aw macks to mak every mack ; Chs.^,
rw.Der.i (g) n.Yks. An' all macks an' manders, Tweddell Clevel.
Rhymes (1875) 57; n.Yks.^ 'Have you many different sorts of
things?' 'Aye, Ah warr'nd ye! a' ma'ks and manders' (s.v.
Manders) ; n.Yks.^ We saw au maks an manders o' queer things ;
h.Yks.* Ah've all maks an' manders on 'em. ne.Yks.i They were
all maks an' manders (s.v. Manders). e.Yks.^, m.Yks.i w.Yks.
You loathsome weaver ! shoo called him, an' all maks an' manders
[of foul names], Yks. Wkly. Post (Mar. 21, 1896). (10, a) Lan.
He'd seen hissel all macks an' shapes o' that hand, Donaldson
Rossendel Beef-neet, 12. (6)n.Lin.i' What is areaping-machine like?
I never saw one.' ' Why, if thoo hes n't sean one I can't tell the,
for it's all maakes an' shaapes.'
4. Race, family, lineage, species, kind.
w.Yks.i Lan. Davies Races (1856) 277. s.Lan. Picton Dial.
(1865) 15.
5. Tiie act of making or gathering the harvest.
e.An.i In this cloudy weather there is no make for the hay, &c.
MAKE, sb."^ Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Chs. Stf. Lin. Nhp.
Glo. Also written maak Bwk. ; maik Sc. Nhb.' ; and m
forms mace Nhp.^ ; mack N.Cy.^ ; mak Sc. Lakel.^ Wm.
e.Yks. Stf.^ ; myak Abd. [mek, mak.] 1. A match,
equal, fellow, ' marrow ' ; a friend, companion, consort,
' mate.'
Sh.I. Dey wir niver a cake 'at haedna a maik, Sh. News (Aug. 14,
1897). Elg. Gin we lose you, We'll never get yer mak again.
Tester Poems (1865) 161. Bnff. Taylor Poems (1787) 84. Bch.
Sail the sleeth Ulysses now Be said to be my maik? Forbes Ajax
(174-) 3- Abd. He ne'er saw Bessy's mak' before, Shirrefs Poews
(1790) 143; Still remembered, but is not in common use (W.M.).
Frf. LowsoN Guidfollow (1890) 240, Per. Perth never saw the
mak' o't, Haliburton Horace (i886) 7. Dmb. Now the brag o' a'
the lan', Its maik ye winna see, Taylor Poems (1827) no. Rnf.
FiNLAYsoN Rhymes (1815) 160. Lnk. She hasna left her make
behind her, Ramsay Poems {i'jsi) 31. e.Lth. There wasna his
maik at waddins an' kersenins. Hunter /. Inwtck (1895) 32. Edb.
Thy sonsy maik's nae ilka where, Learmont Poems (1791) 55.
Bwk. 'The trusty good wife o' Whitecornlees' seems to have been
the very maak or equal of The wife of Auchtermuchtie,' Henderson
Pop. Rhymes {18^6) ^6. Feh.NicOL Poems (1805) Da/i Days. Slk.
For man is but a selfish maike, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 331. n.Cy.
Bailey (1721); N.Cy.i^^ Nhb."^ Wm. 'There's alius a mak fer a
mak,' for every Jock there's a Jean (B.K.). n.Yks. It's a black
crake That never to her-sell can get a make, Meriton Praise Ale
(1684) 1. 295; n.Yks.i e.Yks. A father, rebuking his son for
taking a worthless fellow as his companion, will say, ' Deean't
gan wiv him. He's nooa sooat ov a mak fo thoo,' Nicholson Flk-
Sp. (1889) 72. m.Yks.i, w.Yks. (C.C.R.), Chs.i s.Stf. Yo'n
never see the mak' o' him again, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
Lin. Skinner (1671). Nhp.2, GI0.12 [Every cake hath its make
but a scrape cake hath two, Ray Prov. (1678) 68.]
Hence Makeless, adj., obs., matchless, without equal.
N.Cy.''^, Nhb.' 2. An image, model, resemblance.
Ayr. They made wee maiks oot o' clay or butter of them that
had thortered them, stappin' the maiks fu' o' preens and pappin
elf-shots at their heids wi' ill words and curses forbye, Service
Notandums (1890) loi.
3. Phr. a mak for a mak, said of unlikely persons who
make a match in marrying. Lakel.^
[1. Swch another for to make, That mighte of beautee
be his make, Chaucer Hous of F. 1171-2. OE. gemcecca,
companion, comrade, spouse.]
MAKE, sb? and v? e.An. Also in forms meag, meak
Nrf. Ess.^ [mek.] 1. sb. An agricultural implement
with a long handile and a crooked iron at the end, used
to cut up peas.
e.An.i Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 296, ed. 1849; Always
called a pease-make, Forby Gl. (1830) ; Suf.' Ess. Ray (1691) ;
Gl. (1851) ; Ess.i
2. A short-bladed, long-handled scythe, used to cut reeds.
e.An.' Wright E. Eng. \. 100. Nrf. I shall have to have a new
meag made, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 93 ; The man with his
meak over his shoulder, ib. Yarns (1891) 99.
3. V. To pull up peas, cut reeds, &c., with a ' make.'
Also with up.
e.An.' We talk of 'making the crop of pease.' Nrf. Which arc
you going to do— meag or mow ? Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 99-
e.Suf. It s time to make my peas up (F.H.).
[1. A meake for the pease, and to swinge vp the brake,
TussER (1580) 37.]
MAKE, see Mag(g, Mawk, sb.^
MAKER, s6. e.An.i The making.
It will be the maker of the boy.
MAKIN, sb. n.Cy. (J.H.) Nhb.' A fool, simpleton.
See Mawkin.
MAKIN, see Mekkin.
MAKING, sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Lan. Also written
raakin S. & Ork.' Nhb.' n^Yks.^ ; and in form makkin Sh.L
n.Yks.° w.Yks.^ Lan. [me'kin, ma-kin.] 1. With up : the
final preparation of cloth, &c. before it is sent out to the
drapers. w.Yks. (J. M.) 2. Wool-combing term: with m/:
the first process of preparing the wool, for putting it upon
the comb. w.Yks. ( J.T.), (E.W.) Hence (i) making-up
box, phr. the box into which the fleece is thrown after it is
broken up. w.Yks. (S.A.B.) ; (2) — box m.inders, fhr. ihe
men who break up the fleeces and throw them mto the
' making-up box.' ib. 3. Of tea: the quantity or amount
made at one time.
Sh.I. A napkin, wi' a makin' o' tae in ane o' da corners, Stewart
Tales (1892) 78 ; Tinks at A'm strinkin' a makkin' o' tae? Sh.
News (June 10, 1899) ; S. & Ork.i, Cld. (Jam.) Edb. Hyn awa' to
Einbrough scour'd she To get a making o' her fav'rite tea, Fer-
GUSSON Poems (1773) 108, ed. 1785.
4. The material from which anything is made. Gen. inpl.
Sc. (A.W.) Dwn. She went . . . till buy him the makin' o' a
flannel shirt, Lvttle Ballycuddy (1892) 54. s.Ir. He bought the
makings of a coat. The makings of a pair of shoes. That chap is
the makings of a thief (P.W.J.). Wxf. While Jem is carrying the
makins of the dinner home, Kennedy Fireside Stories (1870) 99.
5.pl. Earnings. w.Yks.^ A chap's makkinsmaksadifference,77.
6. //. Opportunities, chances, openings.
Lan. If aw'd th' makkins o' thee, aw'd mak' betther use o' mi
tongue nor theaw does, Brierley Marlocks (1866) i.
7. pi. Anything of importance or consequence, gen. in
phr. 110 makings.
n.Yks.^'Neea makkins on't,' no matter about it. m.Yks.i There
are no makings of it left. No makings ; let us go. w.Yks. Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Feb. 16, 1895).
8. Everything, the ' whole lot.'
w.Yks. He knew all t'makkin e't shop worrnt worth a benker,
Pudsey Aim. (1876) 25 ; All t'makkin '11 tumle dahn, Yks. Wkly.
Post (May 23, 1896).
9. pi. The small coals hewn out in ' kirving ' and ' nick-
ing ' ; the slack and dirt made in drilling a hole in the coal.
Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
10. A makeshift.
in .Yks.' There's little to dinner to-day; it's nought but a mak'ing.
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Feb. 16, 1895).
11. Petting, fondling, caressing.
Sc. Gantin's wantin, Sleep, meat, or makin o'. Old ada^e (Jam.).
MAKINS, see Mack(s.
MAKINT, adj. Sc. Also written maikint. [me-kint.]
Confident, possessing assurance.
n.Sc. A maikint rogue, one who does not disguise his character
(Jam.).
Hence Makintly, adv. confidently, with confidence or
ease.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Fif. He cam mairchin' maikintly into the house
(W.A.C.).
MAKKERS, MAKKIN(G)S, see Mack(s.
MAKKIN-BWEE, s6. Irel. Also in form makin-boy.
The Irish spurge, Euphorbia hibema.
Glw. InGalwayitisknownasmakkin-bwee: 'makkin' originally
meant root, but is colloquially applied to the parsnip; ' bwee '
means yellow—' makkin-bwee ' in English is therefore yellow
parsnip, Jrn. Bot. (1873) 339, in (B. & H.).
MAKLE, V. Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Also written mackle
Lei.' Nhp.' War.* [ma-kl.] To mend up, to make with
msufificient materials or skill ; to ' tinker up ' ; to contrive,
manage.
s.Not. A bit of a shed he'd makled up hissen. Yo'U be able
to makle it up some'ow out o' them oad stones (J.P.K.). Lei.' I
mackled his old coat up for him. Nhp.' Chiefly applied to trifling
things. ' She's very handy, she'll mackle it.' War.a
MAL
[21]
MALLACE
MAL, V. e.Yks.^ [mal.] To shout ; to scream.
[Cp. Bremen dial, mallen, 'theristreden,imSausegehen'
MALACHI, sb. Cor. In phr. like Malachts child, choke-
full of sense, said of any one who boasts of himself or of
his children. Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 425, ed. 1896.
MALACK, see Marlock.
MALADDY, adj. Nhb.^ Also in form mayladdy.
Said of one who is intoxicated and cutting capers.
MALAGRUIZED, -ppl. adj. Sc. Also written mala-
gruzed. In disorder, rumpled.
e.Fif. His claes belaggirt an' his frontispiece malagruzed,
Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) ix ; Her veil an' her shawl were sae
greatly carfuffled an' malagruized, ib. xxx.
MALAHACK, v. e.An. Amer. 1. To cut or carve
in a slovenly, awkward way. Cf. molly-hawk.
e.An.i Nrf.CozENS-HARDYSroaa:;V»/:(i893) 53. e.Suf.(F.H.)
[Amer. 'Low^iA. Biglow Papers [eA. 1866) 197; Farmer; Bartlett.]
2. Of a horse or donkey : to become disabled or worn
out by hard work. e.Suf. (F.H.)
MALAK, see Marlock.
MA-LAMB, s^i. e.Yks.1 [me--lam.] A child's term for
a lamb ; a ' baa-lamb.'
MALANCHOLY, see Melancholy.
MALAN-TREE, sb. e.An. [mae-lan-trl.] The beam
across an open chimney, in front of which the mantel-
piece is fixed. (Hall.), e.An.^
MALAPAVIS, sb. Lnk. (Jam.) [Not known to our
correspondents.] A mischance ; a misfortune.
MALAVOGUE, v. Irel. Cum. Also written mali-
vogue Ir. [mal3v6"g.] To punish in some dire but un-
defined way ; to beat, chastise.
Ir. If you go there again I'll malavogue you (A.S.-P.) ; Isn't
there Jemmy Shields, that goes to his duty oanst a month, mali-
vogues his wife and family this minute, and then claps them to a
Rosary the next? Carleton Traits Peas. (1843) I. 153. Cum.* I'll
malavogue theh.
Hence Malavogueing, vbl. sb. a beating.
Ant. (W. H.P.) w.Ir. Many's the sly malavoguein' he got behind
a hedge. Lover Leg, (1848) II. 453.
MALCH, see Melch, adj.^
MALDUCK, sb. Sc. Also written mallduck. [ma'l-
dBk.] The fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis. Cf. mallemoke.
Sc. (Jam.) Sh.I. Swainson Birds (1885) 213. Sh.I., Or.I.
Neill Tour (1806) 198 (Jam., s.v. Malmock).
MALE, sb?^ Cor.'^ [mel.] The fish shanny, Blennius
■pholis.
MALE, sb?- Ess. [mil.] The bird knot, Tringa canu-
tus. Swainson Birds (1885) 194.
MALE, sb.^ Dor. [mil.] The dandehon, Leontodon
Taraxacum. (C.W.) ; Gl. (1851).
MALE, s6.* Sc. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Five hundred herrings. Cf. meas(e.
MALE, see Mail, sb.^^^, MaUs.
MALECH, MALEDER, see Marlock, Melder, sb}
MALEFICE, sb. Obs. Sc. Also written maliflce. A
bad action ; the act or effect of witchcraft.
Sc. The full discovery of some malefice which before we only
suspected, Kelly Prov. (1721) 69. e.Lth. She is charged with
several malefices by laying in sickness on sundrie persons, Maid-
MENT Spotliswoode Miscell. (1844-5) II. 45. Frf. Witnesses, who
gave testimony that the malifices libelled could not have proceeded
from natural causes, LowsoN GuidfoUow (1890) 299.
[Fr. malefice, a mischief, ofi'ence, naughty deed, also, a
charm (whereby hurt is done), mischievous witchery
(COTGR.).]
MALEGRUGROUS, see Mallagrugous.
MALEK, MALEMAS, see Marlock, Milemas.
MALESHAG, s6. Yks. Glo. Hmp. I.W. Also in forms
malleyshag I.W. ; mallishag I.W.^^ ; malshrag Yks. ;
maltshag Glo. ; moleshag Glo.^ [me'ljaeg.] A caterpillar
that devours cabbages. Cf. maskel, 1.
Yks. The malshrag is a worm with many feet and breeds in cole
leaves (J.H.). Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 265; Glo.', Hmp.i^
I.W. Buoys is made a purpose to tarment mankind, zame as malley-
shags and vlays. Gray Amtesley (1889) I. 114 ; I.W.i; I.W.* I
ben to cut a cabbage or two vor dinner, but they be near all vull
of mallishags.
[ME. malshawe, ' eruca' (Caxton's Trevisa, vi. 19).]
MALETOATE, sb. Yks. Slang. See below.
w.Yks. I'm noather a maletoate, Hottontott, ner a drummaderry,
Ylisman. Comic Ann. (1878) 20. Slang. Maltout, a nickname . . .
used by soldiers and sailors of other corps, prob. a corr. of
'matelot,'. . a sailor, Grose Vulg. Tongue (1785) ; Farmer.
MALHAVELINS, sb. pi Obs. n.Yks.^^ Small per-
quisites or dues.
MALICE, V. Der. Lin. To bear malice towards ; to
spite or vex.
Der.i, Lin. (Hall.) nXin.i Thaay saay he's malic'd him for years.
MALICE, see Mallace.
MALICEFUL, adj. Or.I. n.Cy. Yks. Lin. Suf. Also
written mallisful w.Yks. [ma'lisful.] 1. Malicious.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks. Dinah's varry mallisful, Bywater Dial.
(1839) 132, ed. 1854 ; w.Yks.i n.Lin.l She's quick in her tempers
an' hes getten a foul tongue, but she's no ways maliceful or she
wouldn't do as she hes. sw.Lln.' He seemed so maliceful, if he
took agen a child. Those Irish are so maliceful, I don't like them
about the place. I hate them maliceful tempers. Suf. And that
looked so maliceful (C.G.B.).
2. Sickly ; in bad health. Or.I. (Jam.), S. & Ork.'
MALIGRUMPH, sb. Rxb. (Jam.) The spleen.
[Fr. malengroin, suUenness (Cotgr.).]
MALIN, MALIGN, see Mailin, Mails.
MALISON, s6. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Lan. Also written
malicin Rxb.; mallison Sc Nhb. Lakel.* Cum.*; and in
forms melishen, melishin, mellishan Sh.I.; mellison Frf.
[ma'lissn.] 1. A curse, malediction.
Sc. My malison on them that broke the bridge, Lang Monk of
Fife (1896) 15. Sh.I. On dem 'at's caused dy greetin' Shorly
malison sail rest, Nicolson Aithstin' Hedder (1898) 36. Or.I. I
shall bequeath my malison for thy dowry, Vedder Sketches (1832)
97. n.Sc. My malison ye's feel, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 138,
ed. 1875. Bch. He wad ne'er hae said That Philoctetes' malison
Wad light upo' my head, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 32. Abd. Mali-
sons, malisons, mair than ten That harrie the nest o' the heavenly
hen, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 115. Frf. No town-disease
retards their sleep. No mellisons there vented, Morison Poems
(1790) 50. Slg. He'll hae my malison . . . While I draw breath,
MuiR Poems (1818) 25. Ayr. Many a malison from the multitude,
who were ravenous against them, Galt Gilhaize (1823) ii. Lnk.
My malison on them, baith heavy an' deep, Wha laid the first bow
o' gude barley asteep, Hamilton Poems (1865) 68. Rxb. Then
frae their malicin preserve us a', A. Scott Poems (ed. 1808) 33.
Wgt. My curse and mallison she's get For to pursue her still,
Sharpe Ballad Bk. (1823) 77, ed. 1868. N.Cy .2, Nhb. (K.) Lan.
A malison on thee! Clegg Sketches (1895).
2. The personification of evil ; the Evil One.
Sh.I. Whin dey tak a thing i' der heads, da melishen himsel'
widna put dem afif hit, Sh. News (Aug. 20, 1898) ; As sOne as da
bag wis in we took aff lack da melishin. Burgess Sketches
(2nd ed.) 91 ; Da mellishan widna had oot ta da feet, Junda
Klingrahool (1898) 44. Cal.i Ye malison !
3. A person who is cruel to animals. Cf. horse-mallison.
Lakel.* Thoo's a mallison wi' a nag, an' thoo wadn't hev ta drive a
cuddy o' mine. Cum.* Wm. He is a malison with a horse ( B. K. ).
[1. OFr. (Norm.) maleigun, 'malediction' (Moisy).]
MALKE, MALKIN(G, see Mawk, sb.^, Mawkin, sb.
MALKIN, sb. n.Yks.* Also in form mawkin. A cat.
MALL, sb} Sc. Wor. Shr. Also written mawl se.Wor.'
[m?!.] 1. In comp. (i) Mall-beetle, a heavy wooden
hammer. Shr.' ; (2) -stick, a heavy piece of wood used
for driving stakes into the ground. se.Wor.' 2. Phr.
mall in shaft, all right, able to carry on one's business,
keeping straight on. See Mell, s6.^ 3 (6).
Dmf. You see we are rather rising than falling, ' mall in shaft,'
at any rate, Carlyle Lett, in Atlantic Monthly (Oct. 1898) 451.
MALL, sb? Som. A ploughshare. (Hall.)
MALL, see Maul, sb?, Mali, sb?, Moll, sb}
MALLACE, sb. Bck. Hmp. I.W. Som. Dev. and Amer.
Also written malice w.Som.' Dev.' ; mallis Amer. ; mal-
lus I.W.' ; muUers Bck. [mae-lss, -is.] The marsh-mallow,
Malva sylvestris. See Maul, sb?
Bck. (B. & H.) Hmp. Wise New Forest (1883) 284; Hmp.',
I.W.', w.Som.', Dev.' [Amer. Dial. Notes {i8g6) I. 342.]
MALLACHIE
[22]
MALM
MALLACHIE, sb. n.Sc. (Jam.) The colour of milk
and water mixed together.
MALLAGRUGOUS, adj. Sc. Also in forms allagru-
gous; malegrugrous (Jam.). Grim, ghastly; discontented-
looking.
Sc. (Jam.) Bch. She looked sae allagrugous that a bodie wou'd
nae car'd to meddle wi' her, Forbes Jrn. (1742) 17, Abd. When
the gleyd arose, he had an allagrugous look, Ellis Pronunc,
(1889) V. 775. Frf. An allagrugous, gruesome spectre, Beattie
Arnha (c. 1820) 52, ed. 1882.
MALLARD, 56. Brks. [mse-lsd.] The marsh-mallow,
Malva sylvestris. (B. & H.)
MALLARD, see MUler.
MALLEABLES, sb. pi. Sc. Iron-work.
Lnk. Ought o' our malleables want ye to learn ? There's chap-
pin' an' clippin' an' sawin' o' airn, Hamilton Poems (1865) 133.
MALLED, sb. Nhb.^ The whiting-pout or bib-fish,
Gadus luscus.
MALLEMOKE, sb. Sh.I. Or.I. Nhb. Also written
mallemock (Jam.) ; and in form malmock. The fulmar,
Fiilmarus glacialis. Cf. malduck.
Sh.I. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 213. Sh.I., Or.I. Malmock . . . ap-
pears in the friths of Orkney and voes of Shetland especially during
winter, Neill 7'om?-(i8o6) 198 (Jam.) ; S.& Ork.i Nhb. (R.O.H.)
MALLER, sb. Obs. Glo. A wooden instrument with
which to break clods. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 265.
MALLERAG, v. Lin. [ma'lirag.] To abuse, scold.
(Hall.) ; Lin.i He could not have his own way, so he malle-
raged me.
MALLET, sb. Irel. Dor. Cor. [malit, ma-lit.] 1. A
large iron hammer used for striking a ' borier.' Cor.^
2. Phr. io swing the mallet, to strike while the iron is hot.
Dor. I'll swing the mallet and get her answer this very night as
I planned, Hardy Wess. Tales (1888) H. 67.
3. Fig. in comp. Mallet-office, the office of the Mass, so
called from the beating of the breast by those who attend
during their devotions.
Ir. While they are all gone to the ' mallet-ofBce ' we'll slip down
wid a thrifle o' soot on our mugs, Carleton Traits Peas. (1843)
I. 344-
MALLEYSHAG, MALLIN, see Maleshag, Mailin.
MALLING, vbl. sb. s.Dev. A beating. Fox Kings-
bridge (1874).
MALLIS, MALLISHAG, MALLISON, see Mallace,
Maleshag, Malison.
MALLISS,s6. }Obs. n.Yks.= ^/. Prison fetters. Hence
Mallissed, ppl. adj. put in irons.
MALLOCK, 5^1. Dor. [mae-lak.] [Not known to our
correspondents.] A pig. w.Gaseite (Feb. 15, 1889) 7.
MALLOCK, v.^ w.Yks.2 [ma-lak.] To mix together.
MALLOCK, v.^ Lin. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] To scandahze. (Hall.)
MALLOW, sb. Or.I. Dor. 1. In comp. Mallow-rocks,
the marsh-mallow, Malva sylvestris. Cf. mallard, maul, sb.''
Dor. This may be a corruption of Mallow-hocks, Hock or Hock-
herb being an old name for the mallow (B. & H.).
2. Ihe: sea ■wT&ck.,Zostera marina. Or.I. (Jam.), S.&Ork.^
MALLOW, see Mellow.
MALLS, sb. pi. Obs. Som. Dev. Also written matiles
w.Som.^ The measles.
Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i, Dev.i n.Dev. Exm. Scold.
(1746) Gl.
MALLUS, see Mallace.
MALLY, sb. and int. Dur. Yks. War. Dev. Also
written malley n.Dev. [ma'li.] L sb. In comb, (i) Mally
Bent, a mythical being ; see below ; (2) -gowl, the mari-
gold. Calendula officinalis ; (3) -mop, an oven broom ; also
Jig. a dirty wench ; (4) -muck-heap, a confused heap ; (5)
-wallops, a tall, untidy woman. See Molly, sb}
(i) w.Yks.^ When two people are walking together, another will
say, ' There they go : like Nickerbore and Mally Bent that went
agateards all neet ! ' (2) n.Yks. (B. & H.) (3) n.Yks.2 (4) n.Yks.
(I.W.) (5) Dev. Didee iver zee sich a mallywallops afore? I
niver didden, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
2. A man who interferes with woman's work. War.
(J.R.W.) 3. A female ass. ■
n.Dev. I'd . . . Dra' popples wi' a malley, Rock Jim ati Nell
(1867) St. 35.
4. A hare. Dur. Brockett Gl. (1846). 5. int. Indeed ;
' marry.'
w.Yks.2 We'll have a good do to-neet, eh, mally, we will !
MALM, sb., adj. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms maam Brks.' Ken. Sur. ; mam e.An.^;
mamm Cum. Hmp.^ ; marm Ken.' ; marme n.Yks. Bdf. ;
maulm e.An.i Suf ; maum Sc. N.Cy.i Nhb.' Dur.^ n.Yks.'^*
ne.Yks.i e.Yks. m.Yks.' w.Yks.i ne.Lan.i Nhp.' Oxf. Bdf.
Hrt. Hmp. Wil. ; maume Hrt. ; mawm Cum. n.Yks.^
e.Yks.' w.Vks.* ne.Lan.^ Lin.^ n.Lin.^ War. ; mellum n.Dor.
Dev. ; melm nw.Dev.' ; moam Cum. Oxf. ; mome N.Cy.'
Lakel.^ n.Yks.'^ w.Yks. ; morm w.Yks. ; mourn Nhb.^
[mam, m9m, m93m.] 1. sb. A soft friable limestone ; a
rich clayey soil mixed with chalk. Also used attrib. and
in comb. Black malm.
War. A limestone bed of the Lower Lias . . . near Stratford-on-
Avon, Phillips Geo/. (1871) 109. Oxf. (K.); Phillips G«o/. (187 1)
416. Brks, A loose, greyish-white, tufaceous deposit, locally called
' malm,' and alternating with the peat which occurs in the alluvium
of the Kennet, Ramsay Rock Spec. (1862) 182. Bdf. Marme is
used in some parts to designate soils of this description [i.e. clays
with a mixture of chalk], Batchelor -<4.g'nc. (1813) 10 ; Marshall
Review (1814) IV. 512. Hrt. Ellis Mod. Hush. (1750') 11. i. loi.
s Cy. At the feet of most, or all, of the chalk hills of England lie
narrow lines of rich, deep, and of course tender clayey soil ; which
in the southern counties is termed ' maam,' or 'maam soil,' Mar-
shall ifCTKro(i8i4) IV. 512. Ken., Sur. (i. (1817) V. 368. Hmp.
On the white malms stood a broad-leaved elm. White Selborne
(1788) 4, ed. 1853 ; Hmp.' The gardens to the north-east and small
enclosures behind, consist of a warm, forward, crumbling mould,
called black malm, which seems highly saturated with vegetable
and animal manure. Wil. The Maumstone is to be found, more
or less, all over Wil., esp. towards Stonehenge. It is used for the
foundation of walls, and the poor people use it for whitening, in
keeping their hearth-stones clean. It is not so white as chalk,
and is much more brittle. Note in B.T. (s.v. Mealm-stan).
Hence Malmy, adj. soft, sticky, adhesive, esp. of soil ;
of weather : warm and damp.
n.Lin.' It was that cloas an' mawmy it maade me real badly.
Nhp.i Oxf. If the land be of that sort which they call maumy. Plot
Nat. Hist. {i6T])iK. Brks.' Bdf. BATCHELORv4^nc. (1813) 10. Hrt.
The chalk and mould are so mixed together that we call it a maumy
earth, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) I. i. 36. e.An.^ Nrf. Morton
Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 296, ed. 1849.
Hmp.HoLLOWAY ; Hmp.'
2. Comp. Malm-rock, soft sandstone of the Upper Green-
sand.
Sur. A very fine, pale-cream-coloured, soft sandstone, locally
termed ' Malm-rock,' Ramsay Rock Spec. (1862) 158.
3. Soft, slatey rock. nw.Dev.' 4. Gravel underneath
the ground. Dev. Reports Provinc. (1886). 5. A jelly.
e.An.' ' All beat to a mam,' of one severely bruised by repeated
blows. Ken. A little girl . . . flung the biscuit assigned to her to
the winds and wailed for ' marm," Keeling Return to Nature (1897)
XV ; Ken.'
6. adj. Friable ; smooth ; of fruit : soft, mellow, juice-
less ; insipid.
n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.', Nhlj.i Cum. Sweet to the teaste as pears
or apples moam, Relph Misc. Poems (1747) 17. n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.*
That pear is too maum for my eating ; n.Yks.* e.Yks. Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1788). m.Yks.' w.Yks. Willan List Wds. (1811) ;
w.Yks.'*, ne.Lan.i Oxf. Ray (1691). n.Dor. (S.S.B.)
Hence (i) Malmy, adj. of fruit : mellow, soft, juiceless ;
of food gen. : vapid, tasteless ; also nsed Jig. ; (2) Maumie-
ness, sb. mellowness.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) Rnf. You'll probably think I am too soft and
malmy now, and it may be so, Wodrow Carres. (1709-31) III. 403,
ed. 1843. Lnk. A pint o' trykle to mak it thicker an' sweeter an'
maumier for the mouth, Graham Writings (1883) II. 14. Nhb.',
Dur.i n.Yks.2 Maumy butter; n.Yks." ne.Yks.' It's soft an"
maumy leyke. e.Yks.' w.Yks. Ahr missis didn't like that cheese
yosenther ; shosaysitsmormy(H.L.). n.Lin.i (2) BnfF.'TI/S.arfrf.
7. Gentle; quiet ; demure, diffident; thoughtful; smooth-
spoken.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Lakel.^ As mome as a moose. Cum. Linton
Lake Cy. (1864) 307. n.Yks.3, w.Yks.', ne.Lan.'
MALMOCK
[23]
MALVESIE
8. V. Obs. Of land : to grow mellow.
n.Yks. Fra Scapphow till the west ende of Langhow Braw even
suth til the nether syde marmed land, Duchy of Lan. Rec. in N. R.
Rec. Soc. I. 24. e.Yks. Let [the earth which has been rammed]
lye three or fewer dayes to mawme, Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 107.
9. To besmear ; in mixing ingredients : to overturn a
portion ; of a crust : to moisten in any liquid ; to steep.
Sc. (Jam.) n.Sc. Malt is said to maum, when steeped iib.').
N.Cy.l, Cum. (J.Ar.), Lin.i, Brks.i
Hence Maamy, adj. besmeared. Brks.^
[1. OE. *nieabn in mealmiht, sandy, chalky; mealm-stdn,
maum-stone (B.T.) ; cp. ON. mdlmr, sand, in the place-
name Malm-hangar, Malmo in Sweden ; Goth, malma,
sand.]
MALMOCK, see Mallemoke.
MALOROUS,afi^'. JOfc. Sc. Evil; unfortunate; malicious.
Rnf. Ane groundless and malorous prejudice conceived against
the complainer, industriously and of sett purpose to ruin him,
Hector Judic. Rec. (1876) 131.
[Fr. malheureux, unhappy, disastrous (Cotgr.).]
MAL-SCRAL, MALSH, MALSHRAG, see Maskel,
Melch, adj.^, Maleshag.
MALSTER, sb. Nrf. A kind of apple.
My Aunt Golden-eye had two malster apple trees, Emerson
Son of Fens (189s) 3.
MALT, sb} Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also in
forms ma't Sc. ; maut Sc. Cum. n.Yks.* Lan. Chs.^ [molt,
m^t.] 1. In comp. (i) Malt-barn, a barn for malt ; (2)
-brae, any liquor made with malt ; (3) -comb(s, or -comeCs,
(4) -comings, the little sprouts of barley which fall off
during the process of malting ; (5) -inspired, inspired by
drink ; (6) -kill or -kell, a malt-kiln ; (7) -man, a maltster ;
(8) -money, obs., see below ; (9) -quearns, stones for
grinding malt ; a mill with steel crushers used for the
same purpose ; (10) -rashed, over-heated ; burnt ; (11)
■siller, money for malt, esp. in phr. tkafs ill-paid malt-
siller, that is an ill-requited benefit, or to have got one's
maU-siller, to have been unsuccessful in a much-vaunted
scheme ; (12) -stirrer, a stick with a sort of lattice-work
at the end, used for stirring malt ; (13) -sucker, in phr.
troubled with a malt-sucker inside, having an insatiable
craving for drink ; (14) -tap, the wicker strainer that is
put in the mash-vat, to prevent the grains passing through
the tap ; (15) -worm, a tippler.
(i) Sc. Were churches to want steeples, the kirk might be taken
for . . . the malt-barn, or the ale-house, Magopico (ed. 1836) 20.
Rnf. All and haill that dwelling-house formerly a malt-barn, Hector
Judic. Rec. (1876) 88. (2) Boh. Bacchus . . .drowned all my cares
to preach With his malt-bree, Forbes Dominie (1785) 29. (3)
Lakel.2, Yks. (K.), (J.W.) Cbsi'- They contain a considerable
quantity of saccharine matter, and are much used for feeding cows
that are milking. Not. (W.H.S.) n.Lin.' Often used as sheep
food. It is also used to pack bacon in for the purpose of keeping
flies away from it Lei.i, e.An."- Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819)
396, ed. 1849. e.Suf. (F.H.) w.Som.i Mau-lt-koa-mz. (4)Nhb.i,
Lakel.^, Yks. (K.) (5) Lnk. A set o' maut-inspired whims That
end in perfect smoke, Rodger Poems (1838) 24, ed. 1897. (6)
Lnk. I'll meet you neist Friday, at Mungo's maut kill, Rodger
Poems (1838) 24, ed. 1897. w.Yks. (J.W.), Chs.i (s.v. Kill),
e.An.2 (s.v. Kell), Suf.i (s.v. Kell), w.Som.i (s.v. Kill). (7) Sc.
The mautman comes on Munanday, And vow but he craves sair,
KiNLOCH Ballad Bk. (1827) 86, ed. 1868. Abd. Robert Harrow,
maltman there, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 240. Frf. Lowson
Guidfollow (1890) 267. Per. Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-
5) I. 263. Slg. Margarit Jamie, the wife of William Scott, ane
maltman, Wodrow Soc. Set. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 164. Ayr. The
rain may do gude itherwise, but it 'ill no pay the mautman, Hunter
Studies (1870) 275. Lnk. Skinners and ma'tmen, slater, candle-
makers, Muir Minstrelsy (1816) 8. Edb. Pennecuik IVks. (1715)
396, ed. 1815. Bwk. Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 60. Gall.
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (8) Oxf. The malt money in the shape
of Whitsun ale provided the churchwardens with funds for carrying
out the church services and providing bread and wine for the
Sacrament, STAPLETONi^)«r PflmA^s (1893) 263. (9) n.Lin.i (10)
Hmp.i (ii)Sc.(Jam.) (12) Sus.i (13) Lan. He's trouble't wi'
a raaut-seauker in his inside : . . it's some mak of a worm, that will
have ale, Waugh Tufts (ed. Milner) II. 291. (14) Nhp.i (15)
n.Yks.2
2.PhT.(i)ntaltandmeal, (2) tneat and malt, food and drink;
(3) the malt above the meal, a slight stage of intoxication.
(i) Rnf. 'T would maybe be as weel To mak his choice whar he
was sure O' baith his maut and meal, Barr Poems (1861) 162.
Cum. Eats and drinks of meal and maut, Hobie Noble. (2) Ayr.
Wine an' wassail, meat an' maut, Ainslie Land of Bums (ed.
1892) 284. (3) Sc. When he was riding dovering hame (wi' the
malt rather abune the meal), Scott Waverley (1814) xviii. Abd.
Shortly we began to reel. For now the maut's aboon the meal,
Beattie Parings (1801) 42, ed. 1873. e.Fif. Healths were drunk
a' roon an' in proportion as the maut got aboon the meal, the con-
versation became fast an' furious, Latto Tain Bodkin (1864) xxv.
Rnf. The parties being jovial, and the 'maut' in all likelihood
getting 'above the meal,' Hector Judic. Rec. (1876) 115. Ayr.
He never forgathered with Davie Miller but the maut was sure to
win abune the meal with the twasome of them, Service Dr. Duguid
(ed. 1887) 99.
3. Ale ; any liquor made from malt.
Sc. I've plenty o' maut, meal, and milk, Nicoll Poems (ed.
1843) 128. Mry . A chauther o' maut the drooth didna droon, Hay
Lintie (1851) 57. Lnk. Blessings on the hearty maut . . . That
fills us fou o' pith an' pang, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 30. Edb.
They rather did prefer a potion O' reamin maut, Complaint- (1795) 6.
MALT, s6.2 e.An. Also in form mold e.Suf. [molt.]
Sweat ; great heat ; also used attrib.
e.An.i e.Suf. I'm all of a malt from walking so fast (F.H.).
Hence Malted, ppl. adj. heated ; perspiring. e.An.'
MALTED, adj. Sc. War. Also in form mautit Per.
L Made from malt.
Per. Awa wi' your mautit potation, Stewart Character [iS^t) 79.
2. Of seeds: germinated.
Wor. The broad beans I planted last are quite dried up, they've
started to chit like, they've malted and gone (H.K.).
MALTEN-HEARTED, a«^'. Obs. n.Cy. Faint-hearted.
(K.), (Hall.)
MALTER, sb. Yks. Dor. Also in forms mater, mauter
w.Yks.3 L A maltster. Dor.' 2. A vessel. w.Yks.^
MALTER,!;. Nhp.* Also in form moulter. [mo-lt3(r).]
To melt, dissolve, to become pulverized ; also jig. to depart
quickly.
A person describing the appearance of a ghost, said, ' It stopped
a minute and then malter'd.'
MALTHING, sb. Ant. Stockings without feet. Balfy-
mena Obs. (1892).
MALTING, sb. Nhb. Also in form moultin. Nhb.'
A malt-house ; a malt-kiln.
Sat down to dinner at a spacious malting, Richardson Bor-
derer's Table-bk. (1846) V. 30 ; Nhb.^
MALTOOLING, vbl. sb. Lon. The practice of picking
pockets in omnibuses.
A woman would be considered useless to a man if she could not
. . . keep him for a few days after he comes out, which she does
by shoplifting, and picking pockets in omnibuses, the latter being
termed ' Maltooling,' Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) IV. 324, col. i.
MALTSCALE, MALTSHAG, see Maskel, Maleshag.
MALVADER, V. Sc. To stun by a blow; to injure.
Abd. I'll malvader ye. He's sair malvadert wi' the drink (G.W.).
Hence Malvadering, sb. a beating, defeat.
Sic a malvaderin' as I am to get ; he has won six gamesalready (&).
MALVERISH, adj Ags. (Jam.) Ill-mannered, ill-be-
haved, mischievous.
MAL VERSE, sb. and v. Obs. Sc. 1. sb. A crime ;
also used attrib.
Sc. If any malverse was committed, he must be countable,
Fountainhall Decisions (c. 1700) IV. 563, ed. 1759. Cld. (Jam.)
Edb. We wiss him speed Till he unravel ilka quirk. An' mal verse
deed, Learmont Poems (1791) 51.
2. V. To do wrong; to give an erroneous judgment.
Rnf. Was there no remedy? and if so, why may not this As-
sembly find that the last malversed, and alter what they had done?
Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) III. 345, ed. 1843.
MALVESIE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Malmsey wine.
Fif. Siller jugs and stoups divine O' malvesie and claret-wine,
Tennant Papistry (1827) 99. Ayr. Fill him a cup of wine, the
malvesie, to put smeddam in his marrow, Galt Gilhaize (1823) i.
[A lubbe of Malvesye, Chaucer C. T. b. 1260. Du.
malvezy, malmsey, so named fr. Napoli di Malvasia, a town
on the south-east coast of the Morea.]
MAM
[24J
MAMMOCK
MAM, sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. Der. Lin. Oxf. and Amer. Also
in form mom Amer. [mam.] 1. A child's name for
' mother ' ; a shortened form of ' mama,' ' mamma.'
Sh.I. His little boy . . . asked if ' mam widnawaaken,' Stewart
Tales (1892) 131 ; S. & Ork."- Bntf. Hout, hout, said Mam, ye're
sure in jest, Taylor Poems (1787) 64. Abd. The joint consent of
Mam and Dad Would be but fair, Cock Strains (1810) 1. 123. Per.
She wons, contented with her mam, Amang the curling peat reek,
Spence Poems (1898) 42. Frf. Tennant Anster (1813) 48, ed.
1871. Rnf. Rnf. Harp (1819) 163. Ayr. At gloamin' we gaed
down yestreen To ask my mam and daddy O, Ballads and Sngs.
(1847) II. 85. e.Lth. Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 42. n.Yks.
He can say Mam an' Dad, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 34.
e.Yks.i, w.Yks.i* Lan. Goo an ax thy mam ; hoo knows what
sallyvatiun is, Staton Rivals (1888) 3; Lan.i, n.Lan.i, e.Lan.',
m.Lan.i, nw.Der.i, Lin.i Oxf.i ' It used to be Mam and Dad and
Porridge, and then 'twas Father and Mother and Broth , but now 'tis
Pa and Ma and Soup." A saying referring to farmers' children.
Labourers' children now usually say Mam and Dad. [Amer. Dial.
Notes {iQg6) I. 68, 332.]
2. Comb, (i) Mam's fout, (2) ''s pet, the mother's favourite
child, a spoilt, petted child.
(i) Rxb. (Jam.), n.Yks.», w.Yks.i (2) Sc. He has fault of a wife
that marries mam's pet, Kelly Prov. (1721) 153. Cai.'
MAM, see Malm.
MAMADY, sb. n.Lin.' A sweetmeat made of boiled
sugar. Hence Mamady-spinner, sb. a maker of ' martiady .'
MAMBLE, V. e.An.^ To eat without appetite, or with
indifference. See Mumble, v.''- 3.
MAMBLE, see Momble.
MAMELT, s6. Wm.Yks. Also written mammelt Wm.
[ma'mlt.] A simpleton ; a fool.
Wm. Hang the for a mammelt, Wheeler £)«'«/. (1790) 86. w.Yks.
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Feb. i6, 1895) ; Huiton Tour to Caves (1781).
MAMET, see Mommet.
MAMIK, sb. Sh.L A ling having a roe.
Open da mooth o' da mamik an' bring wis safe ta da Kaavies,
Spence Ftk-Lore (1899) 132.
MAMIKEEKIE, sb. Rxb. (Jam.) [Not known to our
correspondents.] A smart, sound blow.
MAMLOCK, s6. Yks. Also in form mnmluck. [ma-m-
Isk.] A small fragment of bread, a bread-crust. n.Yks.
(LW.), n.Yks.i
MAMM, see Malm.
MAMMANS, sb. Irel. A child's name for ' mother.'
n.Ir. Wheest, my wee birdie, fur him's wi' his ain mammans,
Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 64.
MAMMA'S MILK, ;>,^r. s.Bck. The sun-spurge, £■«<-
phorbia Helioscopia. (B. & H.)
MAMMER, V. n.Cy. Nhp. War. Oxf Brks. Bck. Hmp.
Wil. Also in forms mommer Nhp.^ War.* Oxf^ Bck. ;
mummer Oxf^ [ma'mar, mas'm3(r).] 1. To confuse,
perplex ; gen. in pp.
Nhp.^ He was so mommered, he could not speak ; Nhp.^ I was
so mammerd, , War.* Stop that noise, my boys, I be quite mom-
mered with it ! Oxf. Oh, children, do be quiet, you fair mammer
my poor brains (G.O.) ; Oxf.^ Children often say a word over and
over again, till they can say it no longer, and then say that they
are mammered. Brks. I be that mad wi' myself, and mammered,
and down, I be ready to hang myself, Hughes T. Brown Oxf.
(i86r) xl ; Brks.^ I was quite mammered 20 many on 'um spakin' at
once. n.Bck. (A.C.), Hmp.^ Wil. Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.i
2. To mutter; to hesitate, to be in doubt. N.Cy.^
[2. I wonder in my soul. What you would ask me, that
I should deny. Or stand so mammering on, Shaks. 0th.
III. iii. 70. Mutulare, to mamere, Voc. (c. 1425), in Wright's
Voc. (1884) 668.]
MAMMET, see Mommet.
MAMMOCK, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Chs. Der.
Not. Lei. Nhp.. War. Won Shr. Hrf. Glo. Oxf Brks. Hrt.
e.An. Ken. Sus. Hmp. LW. Wil. Dor. Som. Amer. Also
written mammick Sus.' ; mammuck Suf.' ; and in forms
mammocks Hrf' e.An.; mommack Som. ; mommick Not.'
Ken. Sus.i^ Hmp.' Wil.' w.Som.'; mommock Cum.
w.Yks.2 Chs.i s.Chs.' Not.^ Nhp.' War.^s w.Wor.' s.Wor.'
Shr.' Hrf.2 Glo.' ; mommicks Som. ; mommuck se.Wor.'
Glo. Oxf ; mommuk Ess. ; mummacks Yks. m.Yks.' ;
mummick I.W.'^ Dor. Amer. ; mummock w.Yks.^ Der.^
nw.Der.' War.^* s.War.' w.Wor.' Glo. Brks. Wil.' Dor.' ;
mummuck n.Wil. ; mumock War.^ [ma'mak, mae'msk,
mo'msk, mu'mak, mB-msk.]. 1. sb. A fragment, scrap,
a broken piece, esp. of food ; a slice.
Sc. A man . . . who had torn my heart to mammocks, Scott Blk.
Dwarf {1&16) iv. N.Cy.' Cum. The heavy brown fleeces which
would have been left in ' mommocks ' on the furze bushes, Linton
Lizzie Lorton (1867) xxi. n.Yks.2 Cut into mammocks. e.Yks.
At their dinner of watery potatoes and mammocks of beef, Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (May 25, 1895) 8. w.Yks.^", Chs.' s.Chs.' L6ok
fit dhaat- bred kiit au-1 in'tii mom-uks [Look at that bread cut
all into mommocks]. Shr.' Look at all these mommocks throwed
about ; Shr.'' You may eat your mammocks as likes. Hrf.i Glo.
Make no mammocks or orts of your meat, Horae Subsecivae (1777)
265; N. & Q. (1853) ist S. vii. 206; Glo.'2 Oxf.i Et up yer
mommucks, MS. add. e.An.' ' Eat up your mammocks, child.'
We talk of tearing a thing ' all to mammocks.' e.Suf. (F.H.), Ess.
(W.W.S.), Hmp.i, n.Wil. (G.E.D.) Dor. Who do you think be
going to eat your mummicks (G.M.M.). Som. Jennings Obs. Dial.
w.Eng. (1825). w.Sora.' Avore you could turn yerzul round they'd
a put away every mommick o' it, and was lookin' vor more.
Hence Mommocky-pan, sb. a pan in which fragments
of broken food may be kept.
Wor. A lady . . . wanting to engage a female servant . . was
asked by the person seeking her place whether a mommocky-pan
was kept in the kitchen, A^. &= Q. (1873) 4th S. xii. 427.
2. An untidy heap or mess, a litter ; a confused, shape-
less mass, a dirty mixture ; confusion, muddle.
Yks. Eh, lad, yey sud seea t'mummacks at t'farmhoose now,
Macquoid Doris Barugh (1877) xxv. m.Yks.' Any object which,
through defective management, is associated with failure, has been
made a mummacks of. Can be widely applied, from a spoiled
pudding to more important things. w.Yks.^ s.Chs.' Iv ahy ddo
staa'rt on yu, ahy)shl mai'k ii mom'uks u yu [If I do start on
y6, I shall make a mommocks o' y5]. Not.^ Nhp.' ' What a
mommock you're making ! ' often said to children when messing
and mixing their food. ^ It's all of a mommock.' War,'^^ w.Wor.'
The 'ouse were ahl uv a mommock. s.Wor. He felt all of a mom-
mock if he put it on, Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 24. Shr.' Eh !
ye notty children — makkin sich a mommock all o'er the pleace,
Hrf.2 The place were ahl uv a mommock. Wil.' A clumsily-swad-
dled baby or badly-dressed woman would be ' aal in a mummock.'
3. A scarecrow ; a ' guy ' ; an untidily or absurdly
dressed person. Cf mommet, 2.
se.Wor.' Wil. Your wife calls you a ' puppy-headed mummock,'
Swinstead Parish on Wheels (1897) 3 ; Wil.', Dor.' Som. Jennings
Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1B25) ; (J.S.F.S.); Sweetman Wincanton Gl.
(1885).
Hence Mommocked-up,j!ij!i/. adj. dressed up fantastically
and absurdly. Shr.'
4. A poor eater, one who is dainty in eating.
War., Wor. He was always a mummock at his food (H.K.).
5.V. To break or cut into pieces, to crumble, tear, mangle ;
to carve awkwardly.
s.Chs.' Deeur aa'rt ulahyv! aay yoa' dim mom •ilk dhii giid
mee't [Dear heart alive ! hai yo dun mommock the good meat"i.
Der.2, nw.Der.i, Not.^ Lei.i Doon't ye mammock your bread a
that'n. Nhp.' Don't mommock your meat so. War.^^ s.Wor.
PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 14. w.Wor.' 'E mammocks 'is fittle
so, 'tis a shame to see 'im. s.Wor.i Shr.' Dunna mommock that
good mate, yo'n be glad o' worse than that some day ; Shr.^ Child
dunna mammock thy fittle o' that'ns. Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1870) ;
Hrf.', GI0.12 e.An. Cooper Gl. (1853). Snf.i Ess. I couldn't
stand any longer to see you mammocking that mutton in that
horrible manner, N. 6* Q. (1870) 4th S. vi. 329. Ken. Cooper Gl.
(1853). Sus.'= Hmp.i You are mommicking it. I.W.2 Don't mum-
mick that bread about zo : why casn't cut it fair. Wil.'
Hence Mommucking, ppl. adj. awkward.
Glo. A mommucking job (S.S.B.).
6. To disarrange, tumble, throw into confusion ; to pull
about, mess, make dirty ; to worry.
s.Chs.' Nhp.' ' How you mommock your clothes ! ' is often said
to any one who carelessly creases or wrinkles them. War. Donna
thee mummock thysen, B'ham Wkly. Post (Apr. 29, 1899) ;
War.234 s.War.' The children do mummock me about so. Shr.'
See 'ow yo'n mommocked a' the clane things as Oi'd j6ost fo'ded.
' Dunna mommock about athatns,' is a common form of reproof.
Glo. That rabbit was mummocked about by the dogs (A.B.). Brks.
MAMMY
[25]
MAN
(W.H.Y.) Hrt. Now, then, don't sit there mammocking them air
vittals over, N. & Q. (1870') 4th S. vi. 328. e.Suf. How that child
mammocks its food over ! (F.H.) [Ainer.Z>m/. iVofes (1896) 1. 398.]
7. To squander, dissipate, waste; to leave carelessly
about.
s.Chs.i Ey)z mom-flkt au- iz miin'iiiwee [Hey's mommocked aw
his money awee]. Shr.' 'E mommocked all 'is money away i' no
time. Glo. Baylis Jllus. Dial. (1870).
8. To mumble. Suf. (Hall.)
[5. O, I warrant, how he mammocked it ! Shaks. Cor.
I. iii. 71.]
MAMMY, sb.'^ Var. dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in form maamie S. & Ork.^ [ma-mi, mae'mi.]
1. A child's name for ' mother.' In gen. colloq. use.
Sh.I. Bring mammie in twartree pacts, Burgess Sketches (2nd
ed.) 3. Elg. 'Tis yer mammy's life yer sookin', Tester Poems
(1865) 165. Bnff. Taylor Poems (1787) 125. Abd. Paul Abd.
(1881 ) i2g. Frf. Ye surely dinna ken the dool Ye gar yer trachled
mammy dree, Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 9. Per. Our daddies
and our mammies, they were filled With meikle joy, Ford Hayp
(1893)43. Ayr. Whyie Jottings (jS^g) 224. Lnk. Hukter Po«ks
(,1884) 27. Lth. A' the weans cry crowdie, crowdie, Crowdie,
mammy, crowdie mae, Ballantine Poems (1856) 140. Bwk.
Mammie! fill the parritch coggie ! Chisholm Poems (1879) 23.
GaU. Kids, , . 'Mang craigs bleat for their mammies, Nicholson
Poet. Wks. (1814) 122, ed. 1897. Kcb. Dotty, in her cradley-ba,
Is mammie's bonny bairnie, Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 143. Ir.
Often afore it died Did be askin' its maramyfor bread. Barlow So^-
/a«rf (1892) 91, ed. 1893. n.Cy. (J.W.) Cum. Then way full drive to
mammy scowr't, Relph Misc. Poems (1747) 60. e.Yks.^ Run
whom ti thy mammy. w.Yks.', e.Lan.i, nw Der.i, Lin.', Suf.^
Hence JWammifled, adj. of children : spoilt, petted.
s.Chs.i U maam'ifahyd lifl brivit! Ahy)d soon shoa-n ur wot
fuur iv do wdz mahyn [A mammified little brivit I I'd soon shown
her what fur if hoo was mine].
2. Comp. (i) Mammy-dies, a name given to a spring
flower [not identified] ; (2) -gog, a spoilt child ; a foolish,
stupid person ; (3) -sick, of a child : afraid or unhappy
when separated from its mother ; (4) -suck, see (2).
(i)w.Yks. Yks. Wkly.Post{}a.n.z, 1897). (2) w.Som.iMaam-ee-
gaug. Dev. He's a mammy-gog sort of a fuller. Reports Provinc.
(1884)24. (3) ne.Lan.1, Brks.', w.Som.i (4)w.Som.iGuurtluebee
maam'ee-zeok, kruy un aul'ur kuuz ee'-v " aat--s an" u bee-t !
[(What a) great baby boy ! (to) cry and scream because he has
struck his hand a little !]
3. A nurse, a foster-mother.
S. & Ork.*- Abd. BIyth was the wife her foster son to see. . .
Well, says he, mammy, a' that's verygueed, Ross Helenore {ii68)
102, ed. 1812.
4. A midwife. n.Sc. (Jam.)
MAMMY, sb.' Hnt. [mse-mi.] 1. A shapeless mass.
Cf. malm, 6.
A substance is said to be all in a mammie when it is crushed out
ofallform(T.P.F.).
2. Comp. Mammyjag, a moist mass.
I put on wet rags when I go to bed and keep them on all night,
and in the morning my leg is all of a mammyjag, N. & Q. (1869)
4th S. iv. 231.
MAMMY, V. Obs. Dor. To eat slowly with little
appetite. Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in N. 6-= Q. (1883) 6th S.
viii. 45-
MAMORE, sb. Sc. [ma'mSr.] A big field.
Abd. An gin deelicht a' the young chiels githered to the lea o'
mamore to the ba', Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 772.
[Gael, magh mor, a big field (M. & D.).]
MAMP, see Mmnp, v}
MAMPUS, sb. Dor. [mee-mpas.] A great number, a
crowd.
No doubt a mampus of folk of our own rank will be down here
in their carriages as soon as 'tis known, Hardy Tess (1891) 22 ; Gl.
(1851) ; Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in N. & Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 45 ;
Dor.i A mampus o' voke.
MAMSWEAR, see Manswear.
MAN, sb.^ and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in forms men I.W." ; min Sc. Lakel.= Cum.^^^" Wil 1
Dor.' Som. Dev.= ; men e.Dur.' n.Yks. Lan. Chs.^ s.Chs.'
Der.'^ nw.Der.i Nhp.' s.War. se.Wor.' Hrf. Glo. n.Wil. •
mun N.Cy.i Cum. n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i e.Yks.» w.Yks.'s
VOL. IV.
nw.Der.i n.Lin.i Nhp." Glo.^ Oxf.i Brks.' e.An.' Hmp.'
I.W.i Wil.' w.Som.i Dev.' [man, masn, mon ; mun, man,
min.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Man-body, a full-grown male
person ; (2) -big, full-grown ; (3) -browed, having hair
growing between the eyebrows; (4) -catcher, a constable ;
(5) -chap, a man ; (6) -crazed, of a woman : love-smitten ;
(7) -creeper, the water-newt, Lissotriton punctatus; (8)
-door, coal-mining term : a door placed in a stopping just
sufficiently large to allow a man to pass through ; (9)
-eater, see (7) ; (10) -engine, a machine used in deep mines
instead of a lift to bring the miners up and down the shaft ;
(11) -faced, having masculine features ; (12) -fond, see (6) ;
(13) -grown, (a) see (2) ; {b) of a stick or tree : flattened
in its growth so that it becomes oval and resembles the
form of a man ; (14) -hole, a place of refuge in a pit to
allow the workmen to stand clear of the passing sets of
tubs ; (15) -hole door, the removable plate in a boiler which
covers a hole large enough to admit a man for cleaning,
&c. ; (16) — Jack, every one ; gen. in phr. every man Jack,
in gen. dial, and slang use ; (17) -keen, {a) see (6) ; [b) of
cattle : ready to attack human beings ; (c) of a woman :
passionate ; (18) -keeper, {a) see (7) ; (b) a small lizard ;
(19) -mad, ' maris appetens ' ; (20) -math, obsoL, as much
pasture -land as can be mown by one man in a day ; (21)
-muckle, see (2) ; (22) — of Kent, an inhabitant of the
Weald ; see Kent, s6.' ; (23) — of law, a lawyer ; (24) —
of mean, a beggar; (25) — of sin, the Pope; (26) — of
wax, a smart, clever fellow ; a very handsome man ; also
a term of endearment ; (27) -ondle, to use the hands
instead of levers in moving a heavy body ; (28) -rued, in
phr. to be man-rued, of a woman : to repent of a marriage
she was about to make ; (29) -sucker, (a) the cuttle-fish.
Sepia officinalis ; (6) the octopus, Octopus Bairdi ; (c) the rock
vm&\!&, Purpura lapillus [not known to our correspondents] ;
(30) -tie, the common knot-grass, Polygonum aviculare ;
(31) -trap, a green bog ; (32) -weean, a woman fond of
men ; a masculine woman ; (33) Men's daughter-day, the
Tuesday after Whitsun week ; (3^) Men-folk(s, the male
sex ; men-labourers on a farm ; (35) -'s house, a cottage
attached to a farm-house, in which the men-servants cook
their food.
(i) Sc. The men bodies are a' alike. . . The Almichty kenned
what he was aboot when He garred women be the pain-bearers,
Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 38. Sh.I. In the winter evenings he
would . . . make keshies for those who had no ' man-body ' to look
to, Clark Gleams (1898) 19. ne.Sc. I darena gang through the
kirkyard withoot some man-bodie wi 's. Grant Keckleton, 47. Abd.
Macdonald /?. Falconer (1868) 7. Frf. You want to have some
man body to take care of you, Barrie Tommy (i8g6) xiv. Dmb.
Ye havena been muckle the better o' having a man body alang
wi' you on this errand, Cross Disruption (1844) xviii. Ayr.
Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 261. Lnk. For a man body as she
says, ' he has an unco spate o' words,' Fraser Whaups (1895) 169.
Nhb.i There wis nee man-body i' the hoose at the time, lakel.*,
n.Yks.2 (2) N.I.i (3) Exb. Here it is deemed unlucky to meet a
person thus marked, especially if the first one meets in themorning.
Elsewhere it is a favourable omen. The term, I should suppose,
had been primarily applied to a woman as indicating something of
a masculine character (Jam.). (4) m.Yks.' (5) Glo. Tell they
not to look ater the men-chaps, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890)
80. (6) n.Yks.2 (7) N.I.i (8) Nhb.i Nhb., Dnr. Nicholson
Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (9) Ir. They are , . . supposed to go down a
person's throat when asleep and prey on his vitals, Flk-Lore Rec.
(1881) IV. 119. (10) Cor.2 (11) Abd.There'smairpoetryinauld
man-faced Miss Horn nor in a dizzen like them, Macdonald Lossie
(1877) xl. (12) n.Yks.2 (13, a) Sus. Neither she nor her brother
dared ever say a word about the matter till they were man and woman
grown, Egerton i7i. flKrf ff'a^'s (1884) 116. (4)Cum.i* (14)80.
(A.W.),Nhb.i (i5)Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coa/7"n G/. (1888).
(16) Sc. You'll come, every man jack of you, Keith Indian Uncle
(1896)107. Ir. She's sacked her ould sweethearts, ivery man jack
of them. Barlow Idylls (1892) 198. Wm. An meak o' t'man-jack
o' ye 's wise ez raesell, Wilson Bitev Sng. 98. -v^. Yks. If yo don't
set me daan, Man jack aw'U tak' yo' up, Senior Yule Clog (1882)
36. Glo. Good health to all of 'ee, every man Jack of you, Buckman
Darke's Sojourn (1890) 73. Ken. Every man-jack of them (G.B.).
Dor. Defying the farmer and the farmer's wife and the farmer's lad,
and every man jack among 'em, Hardy IVess. Tales (1888) I. 32.
MAN
[26]
MAN
w.Som.i Every man-jack o'm was a fo'ced to turn about. (17, a)
n.Yks. I seaure she's gane eighteen, And few but, at that age, they
are men-keen, Meeiton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 581-2 ; n.Yks.2 (s.v.
Man-craz'd). (i) Nhb.i Cum. The fields where used to be the mad
man-keen bull that went raging mad if he heard the voice or step
of a man, Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 181; Cum.i* Wm. (B.K.),
n.Yks.=, w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.i (c) Wm. (B.K.) (18, «) Rxb., Dmf.
A name given . . . because they believe that it waits on the adder
to warn man of his danger (Jam.). Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster
(1899). Gall. (A. W.) Ir. Zoo/o^/sif (1854") XII. 4355. N.I.Utis
said that mankeepers will creep down the throat of a person who
falls asleep near any water where they are. Frm. Science Gossip
(1882) 41. (b) Gall. They are a kind of nimble lizard, and run
about quarry-holes, in warm weather, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
392, ed. 1876. Dwn. (C.H.W.) s.Don., Mun. Simmons Gl. (1890).
(19) e.Suf. (F.H.) (20) Midi., Nhp. N. & Q. (1867) 3rd S. xi. 205.
Oxf. At Bestmoor Meadow . . . the farmers of the adjoining parish
of Dun's Tew, had . . . each a defined number of ' menmaths '
appurtenant to their farms. After the removal of the hay, the
afterfeed reverted to the proprietor of North Aston, who has now
bought up and so abolished these ' menmaths,' ib. Cmb. ib. 96.
(21) Lth. Gin e'er I'm man-muckle, and puir faither spared, I'll mak
ye a leddy, and faither a laird, Ballantine Poems (1856) 41. Edb.
Tam, my son, had grown man-muckle, Maclagan Poems (1851)
315. GalL I had grown to be man-muckle since the day on the
Tinkler's Loup, CROCKwri Moss-Hags (1895) iii. (22) Ken.^ (23)
Ayr. Or will we send a man-o'-law. Or will we send a sodger?
Burns Fete Champetre, st. 1. (24) Sc. ' O are ye a man of mean,'
she says, ' seeking ony o' my meat ! ' Jamieson Pop. Ballads {1806)
I. 89. (25) Fif. John Knox . . . Was as it were an iron mallet To
break the Man o' Sin to flinders, Tenn ant Papistry (1827) 6. (26)
w.Yks.i, Der.2, nw.Der.l (27) se.Wor.i (28) n.Yks.2 (29, a)
Ken.i (A) Sus. (G.A.W.) {c) Sus. Science Gossip {l8^2) 213. (30)
w.Som.i Dev. About Exeter we always call it man-tie. Reports
Provinc. (i88r) 13; Dev." (31) Cum.'; Cum.* To sledge home
their peats Dug up from the man-traps, Dickinson Lit. Remains
(1888)117. (32) n.Yks. = (33)Lakel.2 Cum. A holiday and fair
at Penrith (B.K. ). (34) Abd. I cudna thole men-fowk to wait upon
me, Macdonald Lossie (1877) Ixx. Per. The men-folk are crackin
o' owsen an' land, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 118. Ayr. I wonder
a wheen men-folk o' ye didna rise, Johnston Glenbuckie (1889")
244. Lnk. He was like a' the lave o' the men-folk, Roy Generalship
(ed. 1895) 2. Lth. Tho' . . . men-folk ban his gabbin' chat, The
lassies they find nae sic faut, Ballantine Poems (1856) 136. Bwk.
More shame to the men-folks, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 80.
Nhb.i What dis menfolk ken aboot sic things? e.Dur.' (s.v. Folk),
n.Yks. 2, w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Hoo doesn't think mich o' menfolk
in general, Longman s Mag. (Apr. 1897) 540. Glo. The men volk
are more humbler than the women volk ; specially when thaay
be high seasoned (E.D.). Dor. Men-folk be all alike, Longman' s
Mag. (Nov. 1898) 50. Som. 'Tis a lonesome place for a woman to
bide wi' no men-folk about, Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) viii.
w.Som.i Dev. The men-folks was all wild to try their strength,
O'Neill Idyls (1892) 90. (35) n.Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Some . . . large
farmers build a small house called the bothy, and sometimes the
men's house, in which their men-servants eat and prepare their
food, Agric. Surv. 518 (ib.).
2. Phr. (i) as the man said, a phr. introduced after making
a statement to remove the responsibility of it from the
speaker ; (2) by the man, (3) dear man or the dear man, an
expletive ; (4) man alive, an exclamation of impatience or
of surprise ; (5) — a-lost, a cry uttered by a traveller who
has lost his vi^ay ; (6) — dear, see (3) ; (7) — off the land,
a farm-labourer ; (8) — or mortal, any one ; (9) the bad man,
(10) the black man, the devil ; (11) the man above, the
Almighty ; (12) the mere man of his nature, the natural man
as opposed to the spiritual ; (13) to be all man and shirt, to
put on consequential airs ; to be proud ; (14) — a man
of many morns, to be a procrastinator ; (15) — a man of
one's meat, to have a healthy appetite; (16) — a man of
one's mind, to think and act for oneself; (17) — man
enough, to be strong enough ; in gen. coUoq. use ; (18) —
one's own man, to be in good health and in full possession
of one's faculties ; (19) — the man, to be just the thing
required ; (20) to show one's man, to use one's authority,
to domineer ; (21) too much of a man, too heavy ; (22)
you'll be a man before your mother, a phr. used to comfort
a small boy ; in gen. use ; (23) men of Gotham, see below ;
see Gotham; (24) men on, (25) men to ride, colliery terms:
see below ; (26) able to grow men and horses, of land :
very good and rich.
(i) I. Ma. (S.M.) (2) Lan. By th' mon, hoo's through. Stand-
ing Echoes (1885) 10. (3) Gall. (A.W.) n.Ir.The dear man, that
beats ocht, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 11. Dwn. ' Dear man ! ' sez
he, 'hoo time passes,' ib. Ballycuddy (1892) 13. (4) Ayr. Man
alive ! the bits of speugs and starlings at the lum-tap, poor things,
maun be clean bumbazed, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1B87) 132.
Ir. Kiss your child, man alive ! Carleton Fardorougha (1848) i.
N.!.' Ant. Och, man alive ! but it's little ye know That never was
there, O'Neill Glens (1900) 52. Cum.'*, w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not.
' Man alive ! ' she exclaimed, ' why ever didn't yer come before ? '
Prior Rente (1895) 305. Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). (5)
Dor. ' Man a-lost ! ' . . he cried, . . and then ran and hid himself. . .
' 'Tis our duty to help folks in distress. . . Man a-Iost, where are
you ? ' Hardy Trumpet-Major (1880) ix. (6) n.Ir. Ay, man dear,
it's ower ocht hoo muckle waens can eat, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan,
II. (7) Nrf. Some miserable farm-labourers, 'men off the land,'
sat drinking beer, Emerson Lagoons (ed. 1896) 102. (8) N.I.1
Now don't tell this to man or mortal. (9) Ayr. The yite has a
drop o' the bad man's bluid in it, Johnston Kihnallie (1891) II.
90. N.I.i Nhb.i If ye gan on se the bad-man'll get ye. (10)
Ayr. The Black Man would gi'e her power to . . . kep the butter
frae gatherin' in the kirn. Service Notandums (1890) 100. (11)
e. Yks.i There's a man aboon'U mak yg all care some day, if you don't
care noo. w.Yks.3, nw.Der.i (12) Ayr. I hae my doubts whether
the mere man o' his nature hath undergone a right regeneration,
GALT/,a!Vrf5(i826)ii. (i3)w.Yks.5 (i4)Bnff.i (i5)Sc.Iwasman
o' my meat, and master o' my wife. Ford 7'A!s&rfojfK( 1891)326. (16)
Sc.(A.W.) Chs.^ Gaffer's am on of his moind. (i7)Glo.He'snotman
enough for the job (S.S.B.). Nrf. Mary is man enow to dress her-
self, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 366. Sus. Three months ago,
sir, I wasn't man enough to say that word, Egerton Flk. and
Ways (1884) 45. (18) s.Sc. He was never his ain man again,
Wilson Tales (1836) IV. 46. Edb. I was, I thought, my ain man
again, Beattit Secretar (1897) 113. w.Yks." Lin. Th' boane's
setting nistly, an' I begin to feel my awn man agSan. He was
queer i' his head when he said it, bud he's his awn man agean noo,
Lin. N. & Q. (July 1890). Lel.i Wil. The double loss broke
Farmer Wilton's heart. . . The farmer never was his own man
again. He lost energy and hope. Banks Glory (1881)3. (19)
Suf. When Easter comes, who knows not than That veal and
bacon is the man. Garland (1818) 375. (20) w.Yks. Thah's nooa
need ta show thi man here (B.K). (21) Glo. The roller's too much
ofa man for thaay osses(S.S.B.). (22) Sc. (A.W.), N.I.i (23) Not. A
similar design was once entertained by that sage race, the wise
men of Gotham, Flk-Lore Rec. (1879) II. 67 ; King John intend-
ing to pass through this place . . . was prevented by the inhabi-
tants. . . The king, incensed, . . sent . . . some of his servants to
enquire . . . the reason of their incivility, . . that he might punish
them. The villagers . . . thought of an expedient. . . When the
messengers arrived at Gotham, they found some of the inhabitants
engaged in endeavouring to drown an eel in a pool of water ; some
were employed in dragging carts upon a large barn, to shade the
wood from the sun ; and others were engaged in hedging a cuckoo.
. . In short, they were all employed upon some foolish way or
other, which convinced the king's servants that it was a village of
fools, N. fr Q. (1850) 1st S. ii. 520. (24) Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. A
call from the onsetter to the banksman or brakesman, meaning
that men are in the cage to be drawn up, Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl.
(1888). (25) Nhb.i A similar call or signal, meaning that men
are coming up in the next cage. Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl.
(1888). (26) n.Lin.i
3. A husband ; an accepted lover.
Sc. You'll be getting a man of your own one of these fine days,
Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 29. ne.Sc. My man . . . wis' just a fair
average o' what men are generally, Grant Keekleton, 10. Elg.
Some wives, ye ken, will thrash their men, Tester Poems (1865)
104. Bnff. Taylor Poems (1787) 59. Bch. The bonnie lassie was
beguiled. She thought to get a man, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 20.
Abd. He's as good a man as a woman cu'd hae when he's sober,
Paul Abd. (1881) 61. Kcd. Grant Lays (1884) 21. Frf. The
widow, . . oppressed by the knowledge that her man's death at
such an inopportune place did not fulfil the promise of his youth,
Barrie Licht (1888) v. Per. Though he be ma man, a'U say this
for him, Maclaren Auld Lang Syne (1895) 128. w.Sc. He that
had been sae gude a son to her was na likely to mak an ill man to
me, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 264. Fif. Heddle Margei
(1899) 142. Dmb. Cross Disruption (1844) viii. Ayr. I hope
the cadger 'ill mak' her a real guid man, Johnston Kilmallie
(1891) I. 130. Lnk. Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 91. Lth. My
MAN
[27]
MANADGE
faither aye tells me — I'll ne'er get a man, Macneill Poet. Wks.
(1801) 205, ed. 1856. Edb. Hame she ran To tell the tidings to
her man, Tint Quey (1796) 15. Feb. Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836)
81. Slk. I hae a wee wifie, an' I am her man, Hogg Poems (ed.
1865) 265. Gall. Hae ye a man : or is he dead ? Nicholson Poet.
Wks. (1814) 6g, ed. 1897. Uls. Nance Colgan neglecks baith 'er
weans an' 'er man, M'Ilroy Craig-Unnie ( 1900) 24. Ant. (W.H.P.)
Wxf.'- Nhb.'^ Hor man wasn't win hor at the time. Cum.* This is
the term by which a Cumbrian woman always refers to her husband.
n.Yks.i Me an' mah man's gannan ; n.Yks.*, w.Yks. (J.W.I Lan.
We're mon an' wife na lunger, Saunders Abel Drakes Wife, ii.
s.Not. I've a man and five kids, Prior Renie (1895) 173. Nhp.^
s.War. 'Ur fund the drunkn beg'r 'ur calls 'ur mon. Why John
(Coll. L.L.B.). Wor.,Hrf. 16. G\o. Horae Subsecivae (ijTj) z-j 5;
Glo.i Him's my second man. Dev. The savin's of my man an'
rae for fifty year, Phillpotts Dartmoor (1896) 84.
4. A male paramour.
Midi. (E.S.), War.3 Wor. He is not my man, he is my husband,
Evesham Jm. (June 10, 1899).
5. A gentleman. Ess.' 6. A male animal
s.Chs.i Ah shouldna like be nudded by that mon [a bull] as we
han i' th' shippin (s.v. Nud).
7. Of animals or things : one.
Glo."^ That's him [pointing to a hen] ; the other men are'ntgood
layers. There's nobbut a shattering of apples on them trees ;
t'other men have a goodish few.
8. A familiar term of address to a person of either sex
or of any age ; often used at the end of a sentence to give it
special emphasis ; sometimes used as a meaningless
expletive. The forms mun, man, min seem to have
arisen through loss of stress.
Sc. ' Man, but I'm pechin' ! ' he exclaimed when he reached her
side, Keith Prue (1895) 273. Sh.1. {JColl. L.L.B.) Bnff. Ye'll
gang to that stinkin' place, man, till ye droun yoursel, Smiles
Natur. (1876) I. 13, ed. 1879. Abd. Fat hae ye been haiverin' at,
min? Alexander yoAK>y &5A (187 1) i. Per. Hoot ! Peter, man,
I'm thinkin' he was that carried like in 's mind, he didna ken even
wha it was gaed by, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 20, ed. 1887.
e.Fif. ' Noo min ! ' cried Willie, triumphantly, Latto Tam Bodkin
(1864) iv. Ayr. Man, I canna argue wi' you, but I could fell you,
Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 9. Lnk. Nainsel will lost her way,
man. . . She'll mind till dying day, man, Rodger Poems (1838) 8,
ed. 1897. Ir. O man, isn't that great? (P.W.J.) Uls. Commonly
reduplicated : ' O man, O man, there's a grand house ' (P.W.J. ).
N.Cy.'- e.Dur.' Eh, mon, aa din-aa. Lakel.^ Ah'U tell thi what,
min. Cum, Mun, thou'll nobbet Iwose t'e guid neame, Gilpin
Sngs. (1866) 256 ; Cum.i Thou's nea girt things, min ; Cum.^ ;
Cum.^ Whey min — there's Dick Walker an Jonathan Peel, 41 ;
Cum.* n.Yks. Be up, mon, an' werk whaile te'syabble, Tweddell
Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 9 ; n.Yks.* Ah'U tell tha what mun. ne.Yks.i
Tak ho'd, mun. e.Yks.i ' Mun ! Ah lickt him.' ' Did tha ? Ah
thowt thoo wad, mun.' w.Yks.' Eigh mun, thur er sad times ;
w.Yks.s Mun ah mean to goa some daay ! Sither [look you] mun !
' Thah's ower an' aboon soft Bil fur swapping thee dog fur that
bit'n a thing I' ' Bud he's geen muh his tother to bolt mun, — mun
hesn't he ur summat ? ' Hit him mun ! ' Mun am bown 1 ' equi-
valent to the half-threatening phrase, ' I'm going you know ! '
Come, doan't be darn abart it mun ; cheer up mun ! Lan. The
next week mon, Brierley Layrock (1864) iv. Der.* Doff thy hat
mon. nw.Der.i Bring it here, mun. Lin. She seem'd, somehow,
soa tender, mun, Brown Lit. Laur. (1890) 44. n.Lin.* I tell the
mun he's been dead this eaght year ! Nhp.' You mait as well try
to fly, mun ; Nhp.^ Used in speaking to a female, or even to a dog.
Glo. ' What dost want, mun ? ' addressed to a little girl who had
come into the cottage (S.S.B.) ; Glo.^But the best fun is to come,
mun ! Oxf.i Dii6't theeself ; I be tired, mun. Brks. Mose, mun,
. . . thee shouldst go in, Hughes Scour. White Horse (1859) vi ;
Brks.i What be at ther mun ? e.An.' 'Tisall true, mun. Nrf. Mun,
rub that with treacle, Emerson Wild Life {i%^6)<j^. e.Suf. (F.H.)
Hmp.' Also used in addressing a horse or dog. I.W.' Come here,
Moll, and I'll tell thee mun ; I.W.^ Thee bisn't gwine to frighten
me men, . I beant afeard un thee. Wil.i I'll ketch thee, min !
n.Wil. Does't knaw that, mon ? (E.H.G.) Dor.' But turn 'em into
fun, min, 221. Som. I'll do it, min, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng.
(1825). w.Som.i Very commonly used in speaking to either sex,
and by women talking to each other. Its use implies extreme
familiarity, and usually altercation or threat. ' I tell thee what
'tis, mun ! thy man 'ud gee it to thee, nif I was vor to tell'n hot I
zeed.' Dev. Aw, min ! I got a drefful tale til tellee, Hewett Peas.
Sp. (1892) 140 ; Dev.i Why thee dist'n think a will bush tha mun?
12 ; Dev.2 I don't know so much about that, min.
9. Used attrib. to express supreme excellence or quality,
applied to persons and things ; esp. in phr. right man.
■w.Yks. A niu an oud wuman i a strit at war a reit man wuman.
Link at Sis pen-naif a main, its a man naif, a kan tel 5a (J.W.) ;
That's a reight man pipe thah's getten (B.K.).
10. f. To show signs of manhood.
w.Som.'^ They boys, zoon's ever they do begin to manny, there
idn no doing nort way em. Dev. Our Jack da begin ta manny,
PuLMAN Sketches (1842) 114, ed. 1871.
11. To master ; to domineer over, use control over.
w.Yks. Ah weeant hev tha mannin ower me (B.K.). Lan. Aw
con never mon her, Brierley Treadlepin, iii.
12. To incite ; to urge ; gen. writh on.
Cum. He seeks the foe with rowan bough, And mans each friend
and neighbour. Burn Ballads (ed. 1877) 113 ; The boys mann'd
him on, but his head was not steady, Rayson Poems (1839") 23 ;
Cum.i They man't their dogs on to feight ; Cum.* Wm. Wheea
man'd them on ta feight but thee, thoo auld skaymeril? (B.K.)
13. Phr. (i) to man a thing out, to face it ; (2) to man one-
self, to act like a man ; to show spirit ; (3) to man the
spokes, to take hold of the poles of a bier.
(i) w.Yks. It never dawned on me to man them [dangers] out
for others' sake, Snowden Web of Weaver (i8g6) x. (2) Cum.
Man thysel, Jemmy, AtiDKRSoii Ballads (ed. 1808) 100. (3) ne.Sc.
The four coffins were placed in the centre of the street. . . Eight
fisherwomen ' manned ' the spokes, as is almost invariably the case
for the first lift, Green Gordonhaven (1887) 57.
MAN, sb.^ Lakel. Cum. Yks. Also in forms maen
Cum. ; mawn Cum.' [man.] A conical pillar of stones
erected on the top of a mountain ; the mountain top itself
Lakel.i Cmn. The maen or man, the great pile of stones built
up by the ordnance surveyors to mark the highest point, lying
further to the north-east, Linton Lizzie Lorton (1867) xxx ; Roond
Scawfell Man theer hung, As midneet black, a clood, Richardson
Talk (1871) 17, ed. 1876 ; Cum.' w.Yks. Phillips Rivers (1853).
MAN, see Mann, Maund, sb.
MANADGE, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Dur. Also in forms
manaudgeN.Cy.'; manawdgeLnk.; menage Sc. [msna'dg,
mana'dg.] 1. A kind of club or benefit society ; see below.
Sc. Every member pays in a fixed sum weekly, to be continued
for a given term. At the commencement, the order of priority in
receiving the sum collected, is determined by lot. He who draws
No. I as his ticket receives into his hands the whole sum collected
for the first week, on his finding security that he shall pay in his
weekly share during the term agreed. He who draws No. 3
receives the contributions of all the members for the second week,
and so on according to their order (Jam.). Ayr. There is a thing
which has come into most uncommon vogue amongst us of late,
that is, what is called the ' menage' system. . . A given number of
people lay their heads together, and agree to contribute so much
a week for a specified time ; the members settling among them-
selves by lot the order in which they are to receive the weekly
slump sum. If there are say twenty in the menage, each contri-
buting a shilUng per week, the member who is fortunate in the
drawing, gets a pound, less a small sum deducted for refreshment
to the company, or for the benefit of the person in whose house
the menage is held, Johnston Kilmallie (i8gi) II. 130. Lnk. This
kind of society is still common amongst the mill-girls in Bridgeton
of Glasgow, the purpose gen. being to enable them one after
another, to supply themselves with hats, Montgomerie-Fleming
Notes (1899) ; Every Scottish housewife of the working-class order
knows what a manawdge is, Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 68.
Dur. Poor widows in pit districts sometimes keep what is called a
' money ma-nadge ' ; members pay in is. a fortnight, until 21s. has
been paid in. They then receive 205. out of it, the remaining is.
going to the club woman for her trouble in taking care of the 20s.
(F.P.)
Hence (i) Manawdge-circle, sb. the whole number of
contributors to the ' manadge ' ; (2) -wife, sb. the woman
who collects and takes charge of the money paid into the
' manadge.'
(i) Lnk. ' Cleaner ' in general for the whole district, and washer-
wife for Mrs. Gruppy's manawdge-circle in particular, Murdoch
Readings (1895) I. 72. (2) Lnk. Mrs. Gruppy was a manawdge
wife who had considerable experience in the business. She was
a sort of accepted stair-head banker and chancellor of the local
exchequer, ib, 6g.
MANAGE
[28]
MANDRAKE
2. The method of seUing goods, esp. drapery, on credit
to be paid for in instalments. Also used attrib.
N.Cy.'^ Nhb. She lays out punds in manadge things, Wilson
Pitman's Pay (1843) 11 ; Nhb.l
Hence (i) Manadge-man, sb. an itinerant vendor of
goods on credit for household requirements ; (2) -wcman,
sb. the woman who becomes responsible to the drapers
for the goods they persuade customers to buy on the
' manadge ' system.
(i) Nhb. The manadge man not paid, Wilson Tyneside Sags.
(1890) 18; Nhb.l (2) N.Cy.l
[1. Fr. menage, ' le bon emploi de I'argent ' (LixxRi:).]
MANAGE,!;. Sc.Yks. [ma-nidg.] l.Togetthroughwith.
Sc. Glasgow Herald (Apr. 3, 1899).
2. To succeed in reaching.
_Lnk. Jack managed hame, the how or why, He kenn'd the best
himsel', Orr Laigh Flichts (1882) 14. Dmf. Juist as I managed
the Wingate brae-heid the black clud broke wi' a roar, Reid Poems
(1894) 197. w.Yks. (J.W.)
MANAGEABLE, adj. Yks. Lan. [ma-nidgabl.] Manag-
ing.
■w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Yo're so manageable an' clever an' thot,
Longman's Mag. (Apr. 1897) 543.
MANAGEMENT, sb. Cum. Not. Lin. [ma-nidgment.]
The process of manuring ; manure, esp. artificial manure.
Cum. This land wants more management ( W. S.). Not.i 2 s.Not.
Yer'Il niver ev no crops unless yer put some management on th'
land (J.P.K.). Lin. Brookes Tracts Gl. n.Lin.i Yard manure.
' It was n't that boht stuff fra Lunnun, it was th' manigement he
put in 'at maade his taaties graw,' Yaddlethorpe (1874). sw.Lin.i
If lime and management won't do, I don't know what will.
MANAUDGE, MANAWDGE, see Manadge.
MANCH, V. and sb. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Stf. Der. Lin. Shr.
Hrf. Som. Dev. Also written manche Som. Dev. ; and
in forms mansh Shr.^ ; maunce w.Yks.^^ s.Stf. ; maunch
s.Chs.' nw.Der.' Shr.^ Hrf^n.Dev. ; mench Lin.^ ; moance
w.Yks. ; mounch N.Cy.^ [manj, monj, m^nj.] 1. v. To
chew ; to eat ; to munch. Cf. maunge, v}, munch, v.^
N.Cy.'^ s.Chs.i Wey, Saam- left it weeur)th tit kud gy'er aaf it,
fin 6o)z maun-sht it in ur maayth til it)s gud nuwt [Sam left it
wheer th' tit could ger at it, an' hoo's maunched it in her ma'ith
till it's good nowt], Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
Dev. Moore Hist. Dev. (1829) I. 354. n.Dev. I'll maunch an'
drink vor nort. Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 68. s.Dev. Fox
Kingsbridge (1874).
2. To mince ; to mash, bruise, crush to a pulp ; to beat up.
s.Chs.^ Goa- un gy'et sum mee'l aayt u)th kof-ur, un ptit dheyz
tdo'thri tai'tuz tdo it, tin maan'sh um au- tip tiigy'edh'ur fur)dh
enz [Go an' get some meal ai't o' th' coifer, an' put theise toothry
tatoes to it, an manch 'em aw up together for th' hens]. s.Stf.
If thee touchest me I'll maunce thee into the earth, Pinnock Blk.
Cy. Ann. (1895). Der.=, nw.Der.i Lin. (Hall.) ; Lin.i Mench it
up. Shr.i The Missis said I wuz to mansh the 'tatoes, an' 'er 'd
put the butter an' crame.
Hence Mauncher, sb. a stone crusher. Shr.^
3. To trouble, bother, take pains.
w.Yks. Ay, an' he hed to maunce hissen to gie th' meeanin'
o' that word, Yks. Wkly. Post (May 8, 1897).
4. sb. A confused mass ; a mess, muddle ; fig. a blunder,
dilemma.
w.Yks. You stupid fellow, you have made a regular maunce of
it (G.B.W.) ; They're all maunce (S.O.A.) ; w.Yks.^ Tha's made
a bonny maunce on it. Hrf.^ All to maunch [all to bits].
6. Fig. Trouble, pains, bother ; a fuss.
w.Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post (May 8, 1897) ; w.Yks.s A person dis-
appointed in an object is told not to make ' sich'n a maunce abart
it.' ' What a maunce thou art ! ' is said to a teazing child.
6. A sloven, slut.
w.Yks. A, who's a moance? Hlfx. Courier (M-s^y 22, 1897).
MANCHE, MANCHENT, see Manch, Manchet.
MANCHET, sb. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Som. Cor. Also
written manchit Lan. ; and in forms manchent Cor.^ ;
manchun Cor.'^; manshen Som.; manshun Cor.'^ ;
manshut w.Yks. ; mansion se.Cor. [ma'njst.] 1. A
small loaf of white bread ; a hot cake ; a muffin. ^
Edb. Obs. Arnot Hist. Edinburgh, 60, informs us that in the
i6th cent, its citizens had four different kinds of wheaten bread :
the finest called manchet, Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 54.
Nhb. Manchet which we eat, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk.
(1846) VI. 182. w.Yks. HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781) ; (D.L.) ;
w.Yks.3 Obs. The man who sold it was known as ' Billy Manchet.'
Lan. Get this manchet an' cheese into tho, Waugh Chim. Corner
(1874) 86, ed. 1879. s.Lan.BAMFORDZPio/. (i854)G/.' Som.(HALL.);
W. & J. Gl. (1873). Cor.i A small loaf of bread, not baked in a
tin, in shape like a large bun. se.Cor. Any small loaf having a cir-
cular base, N. &' Q. (1881) 6th S. iv. 15.
2. Comp. (i) Manchet-bread, a small bun-shaped loaf.
Cor.^=^ ; {2) -loaf, a loaf shaped like a French roll, rising
in the middle. w.Cor. N. &= Q. (1881) 6th S. iii. 430.
[L Fr. (Norm, dial.) maMchelfe,pam a croflte dure,inegale,
fait en forme de couronne (Moisy).]
MANCHIT, MANCHUN, see Manchet.
MANCO, sb. Sc. Also in forms mankey Slk. ; mankie
n.Sc. Rnf. ; manky Abd. Per. ; maunky Edb. [ma'gko,
ma'rjki.] The material ' calamanco,' q.v. ; also used attrib.
Sc. (Jam.) n.Sc. She coost aff her mankie gown, Buchan
Ballads (1828) I. 225, ed. 1875. Abd. A manky gown, my Lucky
wore, Anderson Rhymes (1867) 18. Per. The auld wives o'
Dunblane, wi' the green manky gown, Monteath Dunblane
(1835) 113, ed. 1887. Rnf. Her kirtle was o' mankie made O'
various hue, Finlayson Rhymes (1815) 156. Edb. Bring . . . My
maunky coat, Auld Handsel Monday (1792) 18; A green glazed
manco petticoat, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) xx. Slk. Wi' wor-
sted buggers on and a jacket o' striped mankey, Chr. North
Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 99. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
MAND, see Maund, sb.
MANDATE, v. Sc. To commit to memory ; esp. to
commit to memory a sermon before preaching it.
Sc. Mitchell Scotticisms (1799) 52. Gall. It would arise in
despite of me, coming between me and the very paper on which I
wrote my sermon, before ever I began to learn to mandate,
Crockett Standard Bearer (i8g8) 145.
MANDER,s6. Yks.Lan. Der.Lin.Nrf. Suf.Som. Also
in forms mandher e.Yks.' ; manther w.Yks. ; maunder
Lin."^ [ma'nd3{r.] 1. Kind ; variety ; a dial, form of
' manner.'
n.Yks.'*, ne.Yks.l e.Yks. Noo, when they gat ti Toon Gate
bains com runnin iv all raandhers o' ways ti see what this thing was,
Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 37. e.Yks.', m.Yks.i (s.v. Mak).
w.Yks. It's sported all manthers o' cullers, Blackah Poems
(1867)43 ; Yks. Wkly. Post (May 8, 1897). Lan. I'd no mandero'
wey o' helpink, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 12. ne.Lan.i Der.
Addy Gl. (1888). Lin. All manderer games were on the goa,
Brown Lit. Laur. (1890) 49. n.Lin. He's good at farmin', and
gardenin', and preachin', and every mander o' thing. Peacock
/. Markenfield (1872) III. 269 ; n.Lin.i I couldn't think what man-
der o' thing it was cumin' when fo'st I seed a traction engine.
sw.Lin.i He's up to all mander of tricks. Nrf. He'd tarn all man-
der n' colours, Spilling Daisy Dimple (1885) 19. e.Suf. (F.H.)
Som. There was all mander of 'em as you may say (W.F.R.).
2. Phr. (i) by all mander of means, by all means; (2) mo
mander of good, no good at all ; (3) no mander of use, no
use at all.
(i) w.Yks.i (2) ib. I sa nay mander a good it did her efter au,
ii. 290. (3) Lin. Noa mander o' use to be callin' 'im Roa, Roa,
Roa, Fo' the dog's stoiin-deaf, Tennyson Owd Rod (1889) ; Lin.'
It's no mander of use going on in this way.
3. pi. Manners ; fashions. n.Yks.^
MANDER, i/.i Glo. Sus. Wil. Also in form maunder
Glo.^ [ma'nd3(r), m9'nda(r).] To order about in a dicta-
torial fashion ; to crow over ; to scold. Cf. mandy, v.
Glo.i How he do maunder anyone about. Sus. Wile gennelmen
do naun at all But eat and roll in coaches, Mander o'er us poor
fellors here, Lower Jan Cladpole (1872) st. 3. Wil. Slow Gl.
(1892) ; Wil.i Measter do mander I about so.
MANDER, V? Lth. (Jam.) To handle ; to deal.
MANDER, see Maunder.
MANDRAKE, sb. Yks. Chs. Lin. Lei. War. Shr. Hrf.
Hrt. LW. Wil. Dev. [ma-n-, mae-ndrek.] 1. The white
briony, Bryonia dioica.
Yks. (B. & H.), Chs.i n.Lin.i Quacks profess to sell something
which they call ' the true mandrake.' They tell their dupes that
it is a specific for causing women to conceive. In England it is
almost always the white bryony. sw.Lin.^, Lei., War.^s, Wor.,
Shr., Hrf., Hrt. LW. (C.J.V.) Wil.l The root is popularly sup-
posed to be Mandrake.
MANDREL
[29]
MANIFOLD(S
2. The black briony, Tamus commtmis. Yks. 3. The
cuckoo-pint, Arum maculatum. ib. 4. The enchanter's
nightshade, Circaea Luietiana. n.Dev. 5. The wild
cucumber. War.^
MANDREL, MANDRIL, see Maundrel.
M ANDY, v. Som. [ma-ndi.] To command. W.&J.
G/.(i873).
[The mone mandeth hire lyht, Lyr. P. 43 (Matzner).
OFr. mander, ' commander ' (La Curne).]
MANDY, adj^ Glo. Wil. Do_r. Som. Also in form
maundy Glo.^ Dor. [ma'ndi, mcj-ndi.] 1. Domineering,
proud, haughty.
Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i Ter'ble mandy sort of
a gin'Iman.
2. Abusive, insolent, saucy ; surly ; of a horse : restive.
Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 271 ; Glo.^ Wil. Britton Beauties
(1825); Wil.i Now only used by very old people. n.Wil. Now
your little bellies is vuU, ye be got so mandy. I likes thuc boss,
he's so mandy (E.H.G.). Dor. Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in N. & Q.
(1883) 6th S. viii. 45; (W.C. c. 1750) ; Dor.i
3. Obs. Showy. Wil.^
MANE, sb. Sc. Som. [men, w.Som. mean.] 1. In
comp. Mane-comb, a coarse, long-toothed comb, used for
combing horses' manes and tails. w.Som.^ 2. Phr. to
make neither mane nor tail of a thing, to make neither head
nor tail of it.
Fif. I can make neither mane nor tail o't, Robertson Provost
(1894) 130.
3. The wool on a ewe's neck.
Sh.I. Ye ken mam's auld yow wi' da coorse mane 1 Sh. News
(May 5, 1900).
MANE, see Main, sb}, Moan.
MANELET, sb. Sc. (Jam.) The corn-marigold, Chry-
santhemum segetum.
MANFIERDIE, adj. Sh.I. Marriageable. S. & Ork.i
[Norw. dial, mann, raan +/erdig, ready (Aasen). See
Feerdy.]
MANG, V.'' and sb.'^ Sc. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Lin. Nhp. Wil.
Som. Dev. Also in form meang Nhb. [mar), maeq.]
1. V. To mix together ; to mess about ; to touch with the
hand ; gen. of food. Cf. meng.
Nhb. Quite recently, when a boy at the tea-table had touched
a piece of bread, and changing his mind, had taken another piece,
he was desired to take the piece he had meanged. A''. & Q. (1878)
5thS.x.87; Nhb.iTyekthepieceo'cyekyemang'dforst. n.Yks.'*
e.Yks. Deean't mang it aboot seeah, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 72.
m.Yks.i It mangs well. sw.Lln.^ They've messed and manged
it so. Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som. ^ ' How's
come to mang the zee'ud ? ' ' The bags was a bust, and zo the
zee'ud was a-mangd all up together.' Dev. Moore Hist. Dev. (1829)
I. 354. n.Dev. Wi' zich, I reckon, Ha now deligh'th vor mang,
Rock Jim an' Nell {i86-]) st. 89.
Hence Manged-oop, ppl. adj. messed, badly mixed.
n.Yks.^ But 't wur nobbut a manged oop mess when a' wur
deean.
2. To break in pieces ; to bruise, crush ; to overpower.
Sc. That hanged or manged May ilk man mak' his end, Aytoun
Ballads (ed. 1861) II. 225 ; Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Fif.
Bangsters that did ither 'mang in hideous tulyie-mulyie, Tennant
Papistry (1827) 196. e.Yks.^, n.Lin.i
Hence Mangment, sb. a broken and confused mass.
e.Yks.i n.Lln.i What an' a mangment ther' was when H 's
pot-cart was fling'd oher up o' Mottle Esh Hill.
3. sb. A mixture ; a confused mass.
Cld. (Jam.), m.Yks.i Lei.i All of a mang, loike. Nhp.i ; Nhp.2
All in a mang.
4. Phr. to mix one's mang, to join in with ; to join in the
chorus.
Abd. I was bidding Jean e'en gie's a sang That we among the
lave might mix our mang, Ross Helenore (1768) 129, ed. 1812.
5. A mash of bran, malt, &c. ; a mixture of barley or oats
ground with the husks and given to pigs or dogs.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.i, Nhb.', Dur.i s.Dur. Oat mang is
or was much used for feeding pigs, the flavour of the bacon being
considered finer than that produced by any other food (J.E.D.).
n.Yks.i24 e.Yks. Marshall i?«>-. £co«. (1788). m.Yks.i
6. Comp. (i) Mang-com, mixed corn. Wil. (K.); (2)
•fodder, fodder mixed with hay and straw. Yks. (Hall.)
7. An eruption on the skin blended into a mass. Nhp.^
[3. Cp. OK. gemang, mixture, union (Sweet).]
MANG, v.^ and sb.'^ Sc. [mar).] 1. v. To become
frantic ; to feel great but suppressed anxiety.
Bnff.i He wiz manging t' be up an' at it. Abd. And she chokit
and boakit and cried like to mang. Chambers Sngs. (1829) I. 222.
Per. Dool fell the swain that's mang'd wi' love ! He goves for
comfort frae above, NicoL Poems (1766) 19.
2. With at: to feel strong but suppressed anger, to be
angry with. Bnff.i He wiz mangin' at 'im for gain' awa.
3. sb. Strong, suppressed anger, ib.
[1. Resave, vhill than, a harte lyk for to mang, Mont-
GOMERiE Poems (c. 1600), ed. Cranstoun, 202.]
MANG, prep. Sc. Nhb. Also in forms mangis, mangs,
mongis, mongs Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) [maq.] Among ; a
shortened form of ' amang.'
Sc. Gether us frae mang the heaethin, Riddell Ps. (1857) cvi.
47. w-Sc, s.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.') Ayr. Mang her favourites admit
you, Burns Farewell, 1. 2. Nhb. Mang ten thousan' he's chief n'
them a', Robson Evangeline (1870) Inirod. 8 ; Nhb.'
MANGE, see Maunge.
MANGER, sb. Obs. Hrt. In comp. Manger-meat,
fodder for cattle.
The best sort of psase for manger meat, Ellis Mod. Hush.
(1750) I. ii. 41.
MANGHANGLE, v., sb. and adj. Nhp. Dor. Som. Dev.
Also in form manangle Dev. [msBrjae-ql.] 1. v. To
mangle ; to mix in a wild and confused manner.
Dor. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) Dev. The shot 'ad manangled
'is hupper leg somethin' shockin', Phillpotts Dartmoor (idg6) 229.
2. sb. A confused mass. Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
3. adj. Mixed up, confused ; also ns&d Jig.
Nhp.' Som.^KKSiNGS Obs. Dial. w.Eng. {i&2$). w.Som.' There
they was, all urnin one over t'other, purty mang-hangle concarn,
sure enough.
[1. AFr. mahangler, to maim (Langtoft) : see Skeat
Etym. Did. 817.]
MANGLE, sb.^ Yks. Lin. Also in form mangel w.Yks.^
[ma'rjl, me'gl.] In comp. (i) Mangle-mash, a mixture ;
(2) -woman, a woman who does mangling.
(i) n.Lin. Bud sich a mangle-mash as this'U niver be seed agaain,
Peacock Tales (1890) 2nd S. 136. (2) w. Yks.^ T'meng-el-womman
knawahs awal abart him.
MANGLE, s6.* Yks. Not. Lin. Suf. Also written mangel-
Suf. The mangold-wurzel. Beta vulgaris macrorrhisa.
Yks. (J .W.), Not.' Lin. All on it now Goan into mangles an' tonups ,
Tennyson Owrfifoa (1889). e.Suf. (F.H.)
Hence Mangel-hod, sb. a heap of mangold-wurzels.
e.Suf. (F.H.)
MANGLUMTEW, sb. Cld. (Jam.) A heterogeneous
mixture.
MANGS, see '^B.uz,prep.
MANGY, adj. Yks. Som. Also in form maungy w.Yks.
w.Som.^ [m9'n(d)gi.] 1. Troubled writh the itch.
w.Yks. And maungy fowk at Scarbro, Harrogate, Pudsey Olm.
(1887) 4 ; (J.w.)
2. Spotted ; unevenly coloured ; dirty-looking.
Yks. That ribbon's too dark to go with black, it'll look maungy
(F.P.T.). w.Yks. I won't be seen in a mangey print (W.F.).
w.Som.' ' He wad'n so bad once, but now he's a proper maungy-
looking old thing.' Said of a table-cover the worse for wear.
3. Cowardly, mean.
w.Yks. I cannot see that it much benefits any man to tell him
all these mangy quaverings, Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) x.
Not. (J.H.B.)
MANGY-BED, s6. Dor. A bed of ' Downs-vein-stone.'
(C.W.)
MANI, s6. Or.I. Patience. 'He has no mani' (S.A.S.).
MANIFOLD(S, sb. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin. Also
written mannifold w.Yks. ; mannyfolds w.Yks.' ;^ many-
folds n.Cy. ; and in forms manifaad n. Lan.' ; manifowlds
s.Chs.^ ; mannyfoulds e.Lan.' ; manyfooad n.Yks. ; moni-
faud n.Yks.* ; monyfads Nhb.' ; monyfaulds Abd. ;
munnyfads Nhb.' The third stomach of a ruminant, the
' moniplies,' the omasum or psalterium, so called from the
many parallel folds or layers ; intestines.
Abd. He sweels their monyfaulds awa' Wi' wauchts fae gory
MANIGATE
[30]
MANNER
quaichs, Murray Hameaith (1900) 50. n.Cy. (Hall.), Nhb.i
n.Yks. Part of a sheep's stomach (T.S.) ; n.Yks.i* w.Yks. The
third stomach of an ox, Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; w.Yks.i^
s.Chs.^ Ahy)v gofn u ky'aay baad'li stee'kt i dhii maan'ifuwldz
[I've gotten a ca'i badly sleeked i' the manifowlds]. e.Lan.* The
intestines of birds. n.Lan.'^ An' he laid the manifaads down, poor
man, Local Sng. ne.Lan.^ n.Lin.^ The bowels of man and the
lower animals. e.Lin. The foal got hurt in his manifolds (G.G.W.).
MANIGATE, sb. Lan.^ [ma-niget.] A straight road
over bog or moss land.
MANIKIE, see Mannikie.
MANIKIN, sb. Obsol. Shr.^ A masculine woman.
It inna to be 'spected as poor Mary can top-an'-tayle turmits
like that great manikin as lives neighbour to her.
MANISH, V. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Also written mannish Dun' Lakel.'^ Cum.^* Wm. n.Yks.^'*
ne.Yks.^ e.Lan.'; and in forms manies, manis Sh.I.
[ma'nif.] 1. A dial, form of ' manage.'
Sh.I. Wir cairdin' 'ill be ane o' a new kind if da lasses diisna
manis ta get der ends ta wirk, Sh. News (Dec. 25, 1897) ; You'll
dii fir da lasses, I link, we'll manies da rest, Sh. News (June 30,
1900). Wxf.i Nhb. We had as mickle tae do as we could weel
manish, Jones Nhb. 34; Nhb.^ Div ee think ee can manish that
horse ? Dnr.l Cum. Had he not leave then to say how parson's
wark suld be manished ? Linton Lizzie Lorion (1867) v; Cnm.^ I
willn't oalas be here to mannish for y'e, 34 ; Cum.* Wm. But a
mannish te pay, Wilson Old Man's Talk, 86. n.Yks.* C'u'd ta
mannish ti' len' uz fahve pund ! 34. ne.Yks.' e.Yks. He taks a
plaguey deal o' manishin, Wray Nestleion (1876) 18. w.Yks.
I cannot manish to leave haam ez suin ez I sud, Banks Wooers
(1880) i ; w.Yks.i n.Lan.i But that's a thing ye kna reet weel 'at
I cud niver manish, Ulversion Mirror (Sept. 21, 1867). e.Lan.'
Hence (i) Manisher, sb. a manager ; (2) Manishment,
sb. management.
(i) Wm. He was ... a varra good manisher, Spec. Dial. (1885)
pt. iii. 41. (2) Nhb.', e.Dnr.i Cum.^ Es for his manishment, if
he'd nb'but stuck till his fadder' advice, he needn't ha' gitten sa
varra far wrang, 27. ne.Yks,'
2. To work a farm in a prosperous manner ; to apply
manure.
Cum.* To git t'land mannished for them farmers were glad an'
fain to set labourers a few stitches o' muck on, C Pacq. (Sept. 14,
1893) 6, col. I. n.Yks.i*, e.Yks.'
Hence Manishment, sb. the method of cultivating and
nourishing the land ; manure and other fertilizers. See
Management.
Nhb.' He's put a deal o' manishment into the land. Lakel.^
Ther's newt beats gaily o' mannishment fer taties. Cum. Get
away wid ye! the lann's good enough — but it's fairly hungered
out for want o' manishment (J.Ar.) ; Cum.* It's gay peer land, and
'11 bring nowt widoot plenty o' mannishment. n.Yks.' Poor crops?
Aye. What can yau luik for else ? There's nae mannishment i'
t'land; n.Yks. !^* ne.Yks.' Oor tonnops 'as had plenty o' good
mannishment. e.Yks.' Puttin in a bit o' manishment.
MANISHON, sb. n.Yks. A little insignificant-looking
person. (T.S.)
MANITOODLIE, sb. Sc. A term of endearment for a
baby-boy. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
MANK, v}, sb} and adj. Sc. Yks. Obsol. [maqk.]
1. V. To fail ; to be insufficient.
Aba. To mell wi' twa he wad na mank At stafTy nevel-job, Skinner
Poems (1809) 6. Rnf. (Jam.)
2. To make defective ; to impair, spoil.
Sc. To mank cloth, to misshape it (Jam.).
3. To want, long for. n.Yks. (T.S.) 4. sh. A want.
Sc. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl. Lnk. In their maw there was
no mank, Ramsay Poems (ed. 1800) I. 280 (Jam.).
5. A shortcoming, the shying of an animal which causes
him to stop.
Lnk. They're special creatures every ane, An' mak' nae mank
about the din, Watson Poems (1853) 15 ; But at the crafty
couper's crack They mak' an unco mank, ib. 40.
6. adj. Defective.
Sc. His large but mank and partial history, M'Ward Contendings
(1723) xii (Jam.). Sh.I. {Coll. L.L.B.) Lnk. Their copy hath
been very mank, and incorrect, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) III.
457, ed. 1828.
7. Phr. to look very mank, to seem at a loss. Sc. (Jam.
[1, 4. Fr. nianquer, to lack, be defective ; manque, defect,
lack, want (Cotgr.).]
MANK, v? and sb? Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Not.
Lei. Shr. Also in form manx w.Yks. [maqk.] 1. v. To
prank, romp, play tricks ; to pretend to work, to gossip ;
gen. in prp.
w.Yks. It's t'cat that Amos must a been mankin wi, Tom
Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1895) 63; w.Yks.^ A man who
had been fishing said that he could catch nothing, because his
friend, who was with him, ' was always manking about.' He's
only manking. Lan. They'd a notion o' mankin' a bit, Rams-
bottom Phases of Distress (1864) 19 ; Waugh Goblin's Grave, 376.
Chs.i Not.2 I knowed it was them lasses as had been mankin
about. Lei.'
2. To nod with the head. Cum.'* 3. To talk in an
affected manner. Cum.* 4. sb. A prank ; a trick ; a
practical joke.
w.Yks. We'd been bavin' » bit ov a manx wi' him an' he wor
as mad as a wasp. Hartley Clock Aim. (1880) 33 ; w.Yks." ;
w.Yks.3 Can you show any manks on the bar? Lan. Joe
said it would be a good mank to knock 'em up abeaut three
o'clock ith mornin' for a cup o' tay, T. Thraddlepin Sam. o' Ben's
(1878) 9; Lan.l, e.Lan.i Chs. S/ic«/ (1878) I. 87; Chs.', Der.*,
nw.Der.' Shr.' Yo' bin up to yore manks theer agen — bin 'ee ?
Hence Manky, adj. whimsical ; lively, frisky.
w.Yks. Sike manky feeals as them, Ah think. Broad Yks. 8.
Chs.' I could hardly ride th' tit, he were that manky.
MANKEY, see Manco.
MANKIE, V. and sb. Sc. [ma-nki.] 1. v. To fail;
to miss. Kcd. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 288. See
Mank, v} 1. 2. sb. A term in the game of ' pearie ' ;
see below.
At the game of pears or pearie, when a pear misses its aim, and
remains in the ring, it is called mankie (Jam.).
MANKIN, sb. Nhb.' The joint of a 'sheet' of a fish-
ing-net.
MANKIND, adj. Nhp.' In comb. Mankind-woman, a
coarse, masculine woman.
MANKIT, ppl. adj. Sh.L Worn out by violent
exertion, esp. by incessant rowing. S. & Ork.'
MANKLE, see Mantle.
MANKS, sb. War.'3 [marjks.] A slattern.
MANMENT, sb. e.An.' Manure. See Management.
That field wants plenty of manment.
MAN(N, see Maun, v.^
MANN, V. Sc. Cum. Also written man Sc. Cum.* ;
and in form maun Sc. Bnff.' [man.] To manage ; to over-
come, get the better of; gen. by the employment of
much exertion.
Sc. He'll no man't (Jam.) ; Could they no mann to reform the
kirk withoot sic a bizz ? Cracks about Kirk (1843) i. Bnff.' Frf.
Some are sent kirk-yards to haunt ; To ape the deil, the others
mannt, Morison Poems (1790) 7. s.Sc. Rough Mars himsell cou'd
never mann . . . Yet to subdue, T. Scott Poems (1793) 350. Rnf.
The deevil in his wrath I man'd to ca'm, Clark Rhymes (1842)
18. Ayr. Wha themsel's could scrimply mann, But ill could do
without him. Smith Poet. Misc. (1832) 95. Lnk. Could she no
mann tae buy a coo, Orr Laigh Flichts (1882) 46. Edb. I'll tell
ye how it's to be manned, Beatty Secretar (1897) 206. Cum.
Happen he can man sic a laal job as yon (J.Ar.) ; Cum.*
MANNER, s6.' and v} Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Lakel. Yks. Not.
Lin. Lei. Nhp. War. Som. Dev. [ma'n3(r, ma3-n3(r).]
1. sb. In phr. (i) all manner of thing, everything ; (2) by
all manner of nieans, (a) by all means, assuredly ; (b) by
hook or by crook ; (3) in a manner of speaking, a formula
of apology for any statement, ' if I may say so ' ; some-
times used to convey a doubt ; also used apologetically
for strong language ; (4) no manner of use, no use at all ;
in^«w.colloq.use; seeMander,s6.; {z) all manners of makes,
or all manners and makes, every conceivable kind ; (6) to
leave some manners in the dish, to leave a small portion of
any dish of food.
(i) w.Yks.* (2, a) Sc. (A.W.), Ir. (A.S.-P.) (ft) Lns. She would
by all manner of means have him there, Croker Leg. (i86a) 244.
(3) Not.' Lei.' I believe he wur quite respectable, like, in a manner
o' speakin' ; leastways, they say, ' Speak 0' a man as you find
him,' and I nivver had no dealin's wi' him good nor bad, so you
see, sir, I couldn't say no other on him in a manner o' speakin'.
MANNER
[31]
MANRITCH
War.s w.Som.^ Howsomedever I did'n zee no 'casion vor to let
he have the dog, in a manner o' spakin, like. I zaid I'd zee un
d— d to h — vore he should sar me such a trick; ees, and zo I wid,
in a manner o' spakin, like, you know, sir. Well, I wid'n misdoubt
what you do zay 'pon no 'count whatsomever, but 'tis a terr'ble
quairthing,inamannero' spakin. (4)Sc.(A.W.) Lin.' It's no manner
of use your trying, you cannot succeed. Dev. 'Tis no manner o' use
to maake a joke avoore he, Eng. Illus. Mag. (June 1896) 257. (5)
Lakel.2 We'd beef, an' mutton, an' ham, an' o' manners and maks o'
good things browt in fer oor dinner. Wm. He's o' manners o* maks
o' bonny things in his basket (B.K.). w.Yks. (J.W.) (6) w.Yks.i
2. Comp. Manners-bit, the last slice or small portion left
on a plate or dish.
n.Cy.(HALL.) w.Yks.Z; w.Yks." Left by the guests that the host
may not feel himself reproached for insufScient preparation. Nhp.'
3. pi. A bow or curtsey.
Nhp.i Often said by a mother to a child when anything is given
to it. ' Where's your manners 1 ' meaning, Why don't you ac-
knowledge it by a bow or a curtesy ?
4. V. To train an animal.
Tyr. A person who trains a dog or a horse successfully is
sometimes said toknowhowto manner an animal properly (D.A.S.).
5. To mock ; to mimic.
Dmf. Where nae tell tale echo manners, That could mock him
when sae wae, Johnstone Poems (1820) 96.
Hence Mannering, sb. mimicry, mockery. Dmf. (Jam.)
MANNER, sb.' and v.' Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Dur. Cum. Yks.
Lin. e.An. Sur. Sus. Hmp. Dev. [ma'nafr, mae'n3(r).]
Also written manner Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) n.Yks. ; mannur
n.Yks.* ; manor Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Suf. Ess. ; and in form
mainer Cum.^ ; manuer Suf. 1. sb. Manure ; esp. the
rich earth from hedge-rows, &c. mixed with yard-manure,
or spread by itself over the field.
N.Cy.i, Dur.i, Lakel.^, Cum.i, n.Yks. (T.S.), n.Yks.* e.Yks.i
n.Lln.^ Yard manure as distinguished from artificial manures.
sw.Lin.i, e.An.' Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). Suf. e.An.
Dy. Times (1892) ; Suf.', e.Suf. (F.H.) Ess. Morton Cyclo. Agric.
(1863).
2. Phr. to have a good manner, of meadow-land : to have
good, sweet grass. Sus., Hmp. Holloway. 3. v. To
manure ; to prepare land for crops.
Sc. To manor Ian' (Jam. Suppl.). e.Yks.' N.I.' It's hard to
manner that ground. The land will be well mannered by the frost.
Tyr. A field is said to be well mannered when it has been thoroughly
dug and ploughed and otherwise prepared for crop (D.A.S.) ;
(,M.B.-S.)
Hence (i) Mannered, ppl. adj. in phr. good or well
WJa««er«a?, of grass or clover: of good quality; of a meadow:
abounding in close sweet grass ; (2) Mannering, sb.
manure.
(i) Sur.i Sus.i You wunt have such a very out-de-way gurt
swarth, but 'tis countable purty mannered stuff, I call it ; Sus. 2,
Hmp.' (2) Dev. Couldn't grow cabbages without mannering,
Blackmore Christowell (i88i) xiii.
4. To pare off earth from hedgerows, &c., to make a
top-dressing for fields, gen. with offov up.
Suf. They've manored it off" too much (C.G.B.); (C.T.) ; Snf.i
e.Suf. To manor up mould (F.H.).
6. Of flax : to prepare it for use ; see below.
N.I.' Flax is said to be well-mannered, or the reverse, according
to its having been carefully treated or the reverse, in the various
processes of preparation. Flax is passed through rollers to manner
it for the scutchers.
[1. The same word as lit. E. manure, Fr. manoeuvre, lit.
a working with the hand.]
MANNER, s6.^ w. Yks.^ Aminnow, LeuciscuspAoxtnus.
MANNERABLE, a«^'. w.Som.' Well-behaved ; polite.
I considers the young Joe Baker so manerable [man'urubl] a
young fuller's other one in the parish. You don't zee he 'bout to
no public house, nor neet lig zome o' the young farmers in their
work, so ragged's a Mechaelmas ram.
MANNERLY, adj. Cum. Wm. Yks. Chs. [ma'na(r)li.]
1. Generous ; pleasant.
Lakel.^ She's a gay mannerly body wi' barns.
2. Tidy, respectable, decent; fashionable ; also used advb.
Lakel.^ Noo fadder, fassen yer waistcooat, an' liase yer shun,
an' gah aboot mannerly, as a body sud. Git oot wi' thi, Ah izzant
gaan by t'fauld yat, an' Ah's mannerly eniuf fer that Ah sud sa}'.
Cum.* Ah've some mannerly clias fer t' kirk, Penrith Obs. Wm.
Thoo mun leeak aboot fer a gae mannerly hoose, an bye it.
Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 36. n.Yks. A stranger in mannerly claes
had come to keld, Heath Eng. Peas. (1893) 100. Chs.'; Chs.^ I
know what yow would wish, Sir ; yow would have a pair of shoes
with a farantly toe and a mannerly heel.
3. Somewhat above the average ; good.
Lakel.2 We'd a gay mannerly crop o' taties. w.Yks. A mannerly
crop, N. & Q. (1854) ist S. X. 211; I've a mannerly hand [at
cards] (F.P.T.).
MANNERSOME, adj. ? Sus. Well-behaved, having
good manners.
Kind and gentle, and what the old people called ' mannersome, '
Blackmore Springhaven (1887) xxxiii.
MANNICK, V. and sb. Ess. [mae'nik.] 1. v. To play
tricks. Cf mank, v.^ 1.
(W.W.S.) ; Trans. Arch. Soc. (1863) II. 185.
2. sb. One who plays tricks. (W.W.S.) Cf. manticks.
MANNIE, sb. Sc. n.Cy, Nhb. Lin. Also written manny
Sc. Nhb.' [ma'ni.] An undersized man ; a term of con-
tempt ; a term of endearment for a small boy.
So. David, my mannie, David, come awa' hame, Dickson Auld
Min. (1892) 107. Abd. A short, thick-set man, or mannie, Alex-
ander Johnny Gibb (1871) i. Per. What brings you about the
town at this time o' day, my mannie? Cleland Inchbracken (1883)
136, ed. 1887. Fif. My mannie, wait a minute, Robertson Provost
(1894) 92. s.Sc. I wad hae ye ken, my mannie, I'm aye a very
tenty and frugal body, Snaith Fierceheart (1897) 65. Ayr. Just
gie me achiellie, I'se takhim, Tho' jimplyke a mannie ava. Ballads
and Sngs. (1847) II. 83. Lnk. A nice, naitural, nackie bit name
for the wee mannie, Murdoch Readings (1895) II. 91. Bwk.
Whiles she chides her little manny, Chisholm Poems (1879) 22.
N.Cy.i A tight little mannie. Nhb. Ah ! mannie, says aw, ye hev
raony a tight girl, Tyneside Sngstr. (1889) 8 ; Nhb.' She guessed
it belanged tiv her manny, Horsley Geordy (1883). Lin. (Hall.),
Lin.i
MANNIFOLD, see Manifold(s.
MANNIKIE, sb. Sc. Also written manikie. A man-
nikin.
Sc. (A.W.) Hdg. There cam' to our door a mannikie queer,
Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets, 14th S. 146. Dmf. A wee bit manikie,
Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 326.
MANNINS, sb. Irel. A nursery term for a small man
or boy, a mannikin.
n.Ir. Och, luvin's on him fur a wee mannins : an' wuz hims vera
bad ? Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 64.
MANNISH, adj. Yks. Chs. Brks. Ken. Also written
manish e.Yks.' ; and in form monnish s.Chs.' [ma'nij,
mffi'nij.] 1. Of a youth: aping manhood ; overbearing;
blustering. w.Yks.^, s.Chs.', Brks.' 2. Manly.
e.Yks.' Ken. (G.B.) ; Ken.' He's a very mannish little chap.
MANNO, sb. Abd. (Jam.) A big man.
MANNY, adj. w.Yks.^ Clever, used iron.
MANNY-YOWLER, sb. Dur. A tom-cat prowling
upon roofs at night. (R.O.H.)
MANCEUVRE, sb. and v. Irel. Chs. Also in form
manyewver Jr. 1. sb. A movement of the body, esp. a
frisky movement ; a gesture.
w.Ir. My bones is bruck all along n' your, little jackass man-
yewvers, Lover Z.fg-. (1848) II. 561. s.Chs.' Oo mai'du munyfio--
vflr aaf im [Hoo made a manceuvre at him]. D(5o bi-uwld dhaaf
ky'aat's miinydo'vurz [Do behowld that cat's manoeuvres].
2. V. To beckon ; to gesticulate.
s.Chs.' Ahy munydo'vilrd t6o ur fur kiim iin sit usahyd u mi,
biir do ky'ept ur fee-s tuurnt tudh'Qr roa'd, fin wiid)nii Idok toa-t
mi [I manoeuvred to her for come an' sit aside o' me, bur hoo kept
her feece turnt tother road, an' wudna look to'at me].
MANCEUVRETY, s6. Irel. See below.
Uls. She's at the age of manoeuvrety, or may be a wee ower't
('maturity' was probably what Mrs. Dinsmore meant), M'Ilroy
Craig-Linnie (1900) 127.
MANORTH, sb. Hrt. In phr. all manorth of what, of
a number of different articles : all in a jumble. Hrt. Merc
(Dec. 24, 1887).
MANPERAMBLE, sb. Lei.' The nonpareil, a kind of
apple.
MANRITCH, flcpj?'. n.Sc. (Jam.) Of a woman: masculine.
MANS
[32]
MANY
MANS, int. and sb. Cum. Lan. Also in form mons
Lan. [manz, monz.] 1. m/. An exclamation of surprise.
Cum.i* (s.v. Man alive.) 2. sb. Phr. by the mons, an
asseveration.
Lan. Nay, by th' mons, yoar rung theere, Staton Rivals (1888) 5.
MANSE, sb. Sc. [mans.] The official residence of
the minister, the parsonage.
Sc. Carolus Magnus, to the effect that the ministers of the word
of God suld not perish be hunger or povertie, gave to ilke kirlt ane
manse, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 82 ; The cure of souls . . . with
stipend, manse, glebe, and all thereunto appertaining, Scott
Midlothian (1818) xliii. Abd. A manse, and glebe, and guid kail-
yard, Cock Strains (1810) I. 138. Frf. It was bitter to look at the
white manse among the trees, Barrie Minister (1891) i. s.Sc.
Lying In a turnip field adjoining the manse, Wilson Tales (1839)
V. 113. Ayr. Faith ! the birkie wants a manse. Burns Holy Fair
(1785) St. 17. Slk. Manses are amazingly crowded wi' weans, Chr.
North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. no. Gall. Priests warplentier grown
than manses, Nicholson Po«<. Wks. (1814) 47, ed. 1897.
MAiSfSEMASDAY,^/%r. Sh.I. See below.
N. S. Dec. 31st, O. S. Dec. 19th, Manson's Aim. (1893).
MANSHIP, s6. w.Som.^ Courage; vigour; manliness.
Poo'urlee'dl wuop'ur-snaap-ur fuul'ur — lid-nnaatu bee'tu man'-
shup ubaew't-n [Poor little whipper-snapper fellow, (there) is not
a bit of manship about him].
MANSH, MANSHEN, MANSHUN, MANSHUT, see
Manch, Manchet.
MANSIE, sb. Sc. A dim. of ' man.'
Rs. My wee bit mansie, Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets, 5th S. 211.
MANSION, see Manchet.
MANSWEAR, v. Obsol. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks.
Also in forms (?) mainswear N.Cy.'^; mansweer, man-
sweir Sc. ; munswear w.Yks." To take a false oath ; to
commit perjury. Cf. mainswear.
Sc. Mackay ; Thou salltna mansweer thysel, Henderson St.
Matt. (1862) V. 33. N.Cy.i
Hence Manswore or Mansworn,/i^/. adj. perjured.
Sc. Prestongrange promised me my life ; if he's to be mansworn,
here I'll have to die, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xiii. Abd. He
described poor Sandy publicly, and very audibly, as a ' man-sworn
scoon'rel,' Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 174. Fif. Ye graceless
limmer, begone to your spindle, and thou mansworn loon, draw !
Grant Six Hundred, ix. Ayr. Declaring that hell would be
peopled wi' mansworn folk. Hunter Studies (1870) 236. Edb.
Murd'ring traitors, all man-sworn, LiDDLEPoems (1821) 18. Slk.
They meddle wi' nane but the guilty, the murderer, the mansworn,
Hogg Tales (1838) 70, ed. 1866. Gall. Will belch out something
like a d — n, . . And be mansworn thrice in a day, Nicholson Poet.
^Tfo. (1814) 94, ed. 1897. N.I.l n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.2, Nhb.i Cum.
Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 307. Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. Thoresby
Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks."
[The manswering of fals Laomedonis kynd, Douglas
Eneados (1513), ed. 1874, 11. 209. OE. manswerian, to
swear falsely (Lev. v. i).]
MANX, V. and sb. Sc. Cum. Yks. Also in form maunt
Sc. [mant, mant.] 1. v. To stammer.
S. & Ork.i MS. add. Abd. Noo an' than he mantit in his sang,
Guidman Inglismaill (1875) 32. Per. Hell-born echoes trumlin'
maunt Their wilderin shout, Stewart Character (1857) 99. Ayr.
'Bout state affairs he would ha'e manted, Thom Amusements
(1812)26. Lnk. Yesk and maunt, Ramsay Posms (1721) 18. Gall.
Ye bow and maunt and bark. What hearer is na sair? Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 299, ed. 1876. Cum. The brey de saidmantan, 'N-yea,'
Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1805) 130; Cum.^*
Hence (i) Manter, sb. a stammerer ; (2) Manting, (a)
vbl. sb. stuttering ; stumbling ; (6) -ppl. adj. stammering,
stuttering.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) (2, a) Sc. Like a cran in manting soon ov'rthrawn
That must take ay nine steps before she flee, Watson Coll. Sngs.
(1706) III. 29 {ib.'). ib) Sc. For it's e'en wi' a mantin mouthe,
Waddell /58(aA (1879) xxviii. 11. Kcb. Auld mantin Michael's
daughter, Davidson Seasons (1789) 77.
2. sb. A stutter ; an impediment in the speech.
Bnff.*, Abd. (G.W.) s.Sc. The former having what we call in
Scotland a mant, Wilson Tales (1839) ^- ^^9- e.Lth. That ane
said he had a mant, an' the tither ane that he clippit his words,
Hunter /. Imvick (1895) 19. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar.
2, 1895).
[1. (i) Mad manter, vaine vaunter, Montgomerie Poems
(c. 1600), ed. Cranstoun, Qk. Gael, manntach, stammering
(M. &D.).]
MANTAY, MANTEL,MANTHER, see Manty, Mantle,
Mander, sb.
MANTICKS, sb.pl. Chs.^ [ma'ntiks.] Pranks, antics.
Cf. mank, sb.^ 4.
MANTLE, sb. and v. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin. Nhp.
War. Oxf. e.An. Dev. Also written mantel n.Yks.^^ Nhp.i
War.* ; and in forms mankle Dev. ; mental Suf. ; mentle
e.An.i2 [ma-ntl, mse-ntl, me'ntl.] 1. sb. In comp. (i)
Mantle-shelf, the chimneypiece ; the ledge or shelf sur-
mounting the chimneypiece, in front of the grate ; (2)
-tree, the chimneypiece ; the beam across and in front
of the chimney ; (3) -wind, a wind-fan to winnow corn.
(i) w.Yks. (J.W.), Nhp.i, Oxf. (G.O.) Dev. Having struck her
head against the ' mankle shelf,' Cornh. Mag. (Mar. 1895) 275.
(2) n.Yks.' The long, massive, but narrow wooden shelf (almost
a beam) crossing just above the wide opening of the old-fashioned
fireplace, replaced in modern houses by the chimney- or mantel-
piece ; n.Yks.2, Nhp.' War." It waur my grandpap as put up that
mantel-tree, and he carved it too. e.An.^ (3) Chs. (K.)
2. A coarse apron ; a working-apron of large size.
e.An.i2 Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 58. Suf. Where
is your mentle, you little slut, you? (M.E.R.) ; (P.H.E.) ; The
word 'apron' is confined to the smaller kind, such as parlour
maids wear (C.G.B.). e.Suf. A coarse coloured apron for rough
work. Of any cloth except woollen (F.H.). Ess. (H.H.M.)
Hence Mantling, sb. rough blue and white checked
cotton for making aprons. Suf. (H.H.) 3. v. To em-
brace kindly. n.Cy.. Bailey; N.Cy.^, ne.Lan.^ 4. To
ape the fine lady ; to go about angrily. Lin. (Hall.), Lin.^
MANTLING, adj. s.Wor. Also in form muntling. Of
commanding aspect. PoRsoNQuamtlVds.(i8']^) 15; (H.K.)
MANTO, see Manty.
MANTY, sb. Sc. Cum. Yks. Der. Ken. Also written
mantay Sc. ; and in form manto Sc. (Jam.) [ma'nti.]
1. A gown ; the material of which the gown is made.
Sc. I wonder how my cousin's silk manty . . . can be worth sitting
sneezing all her life in this little stifling room, Scott Midlothian
(1818) xxxvi. Cld., Lth. (Jam.)
2. Cowzi^. (i) Manty-coat, a lady's loose coat; (2) -maker,
a dressmaker ; (3) -maker's stir, a stir given to the tea-
pot to improve poor tea ; (4) -making, dressmaking.
(i) Sc. With pity coat and mantay coat. And jampy coat like
lilly, Maidment Ballads (1844) 14, ed. 1868. (2) Sc. I took them
to the manty-maker to get made, Ford Thistledown (1891) 346.
Bnff. Now she is grown a manty-maker, Taylor Poems (1787) 55.
Abd. The bride's trousseau . . . had been entrusted to the local
mantie-makker, Alexander Atn Flk. (1882) 173. Kcd. Eidently
for wives an' lasses Mantie-mackers shaped an' shewed. Grant
Lays (1884) 69. Cld. (Jam.) Ayr. She's a sewer, I think — a
manty-maker, or something like that, I would suppose, from the
needle-marks on her fingers, Johnston Kilmallie (1891) ii. Lakel.^
Cum. She wad wi' Keate to Carel gang. And be a manty-mecker,
Rayson Poems (1839) 45. e.Yks.^, Der.'^, nw.Der.i, Ken. (H.M.)
(3) Ken. iib.') (4) Nhb. Tae the manty-makin' : I' wad gang tae
Biddy Macstitchem, Jones Nhb.
[1. Cp. Fr. manteau, mantel, a cloak (Cotgr.).]
MANUER, see Manner, s6.=
MANX, adj. Irel. I.Ma. In comb, (i) Manx petrel, (2)
— puffin, the Manx shearwater, Puffinus anglorum.
(i) LMa. At one time it was found in great numbers on the
coast of the Isle of Man, Swainson Birds (1885) 212. (2) N.I.^
I.Ma. Swainson ib.
MANX, see Mank, v.^
MANY, adj. and sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in forms meeny Chs.^ ; meiny Der.* War.* ; minny
Dev. ; monie Sc. ; monny Sc. (Jam.) w.Yks.* Lan. Chs. ;
mony Sc. (Jam.) Dur.* Lan. [me-ni, mo'ni.] 1. adj. In
comb, (i) Manya-bit, a long time ; (2) -a-many, very
many ; (3) -a-where, in many places ; (4) -a-while, see
(i) ; (5) — feck,a great number ; (6) -feet, (o) the centipede,
see Meg many-feet, s.v. Meg, sb. 1 (6, a) ; {b) the creeping
crowfoot, Ranunculus repens ; (7) -hearted, soft-hearted ;
(8) — one, many.
(i) w.Yks.i I've not seen him for monny a bit. (2) Elg. Which
MAP
[33]
MAR
ior mony a mony year Hang on the reeky wa', Coupzr Poetry
(1804) II. 67. (3) Edb. Fine plantations mony-a-where Wi' bra'
houses, Crawford Poems (1798) 39. (4) Chs. For monny a wheyl
at aftur, Clough B. Bresskitile (1879) 3' (S) Sc. My words they
were na mony feck, Ritson Sngs. (1794) I. 24 (Jam.). n.Sc.
(Jam.) (6 a, b) w.Yks.' (7) s.Dev. He was always many-hearted,
Reports Provide. '{1883) 18. (8) Sc. There's mony ane wad hae
thought themselves affronted, Scott Midlothian (1818) v. Abd.
Mony . ane's gotten a watery shrood, Alexander Johnny Gihb
(1871) ii. Ayr.It'syehaewooersmonieane,BuRNsCy.ia5«'e, St. a.
2. Phr. (i) a man of many trades begs his bread on Sunday,
a man of many trades does not thrive so well as he who
devotes himself to one only ; (2) as many heads as many
wits, every man has his own opinion ; (3) by many a time,
by far ; (4) for many a long day, (5) for this many a year,
for a long time ; (6) many a time andofi(en, frequently ; in
gen. colloq. use ; (7) many's the time, many a time ; (8)
this many (a) long, see (5) ; (9) to be too many for a person,
to be an overmatch for him ; in gen. colloq. use.
(i) Sc. Kelly Prov. (1721) 5. (s) Sc. Ramsay Prov. (1737).
(s) Lan. Nicer bi monny a time, Brierley Layrock (1864) xii. (4)
Sc. (A. W.), Dur.i (s) Sc. No having been in the room for this many
a year, Sc. Haggis, 155. (6) n.Cy. Grose (1790) Suppl. Chs.i^,
nw.Der.', Nhp.', War.12 e.An.i (7) Sc. (A.W.), N.I.', Oxf.' MS.
add. Sur.i He's passed me many's the time without knowing me.
(8) n.Sc. You . . . sung sae weel that there's no been the like o't 1'
. . . this mony lang — may be never, Glenfergus (1820) I. 346 (Jam.).
Abd. I hai na use to gang Unto the glen to herd this mony a lang,
Ross i/fteoT-e (1768) 31, ed. 1812. Dur.i (9) w.Yks. His assma's
bin ta monny for him this time. He's deead (M.F.) ; w.Yks.' Mind
thysell, or else he'll be to monny for the. Lei.' His cuff [cough] is
too many for him. Nhp.' War.^ He was one too many for him.
3. Much ; esp. a large quantity of certain substances,
such as porridge, broth. Cf. few.
Sc. A great many company, Scoticisms (1787) 18. Ayr. She has
ower mony parritch. Hunter Studies (1870) 204. n.Cy., Yks.
(J.W.) Lan. Noa monny above fifty, Brierley Layrock (1864) v.
Lei.', Bdf. (J.W.B.) Dor. (W.C. c. 1750) ; Dor.' Da the cow gi'e
many milk 1 360.
4. sb. With the indef. art. : a great number.
Per. Deil a mony trouts we gruppit, Haliburton Ochil Idylls
(i8gi) 14. Edb. You will meet amany yet before the last comes
along, Beatty Secre^a^ (1897) 374. w.Yks.' Lan. Theer's a mony
as 'ud be ready and willin' to wed wi' me, Longman's Mag. (July
1896) 255. Chs.* 'How are your potatoes?' 'Whei, there's
a meeny rotten.' s.Stf. You've sin a many strange sights,
Murray Rainbow Geld (1886) 78. Der.' A meiny apples. Not.
(W.H.S.) Lei.' Three's a many. War.* Lawks, what a meiny
keowclips you've got ! Hnt. (T.P.) Sus. A many at her age has to
work, O'Reilly Stories (1880) 75. Dor. We've a-many little
mouths to feed, Comh. Mag. (Sept. igoo) 314.
5. With the def. art. : the majority, the departed.
Kcd. Noo he's gaen ta join the mony, Gaen the road we a' are
gyaun, Grant Lays (1884) 115.
6. pi. A great number, plenty, in phr. manies o' times,
very often.
Som. You've axed me to Charterhouse manies o' times, Ray-
mond Men o' Mendip (1898) x. w.Som.' I've a-bin vore thick road
manies o' times, hon I could'n zee my 'and avore me. Dev. Minnys
a times 'av' I zeed hur ahead ov tha ole 'untin vield, Burnett
StoA/e.Bo)' (1888) xi.
MAP, sb} Sc. [map.] A portrait, likeness.
Ayr. Our John has gotten his map done, an' ye'U see it as weel
as himsel'. . . Some think it very like him, HuNTERS/wrfjVs (1870) 21.
MAP, sb.^ Irel. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Lin. LW. [map, maep.]
A dial, form of 'mop,' sb} (q.v.)
N.L', w.Yks.'3 Lan. Clegg 5fe/cAe5 (1895) 59. Lin. Brooke
Tracts Gl. 8. LW.'
Hence (i) Map-clout, sb. a cloth for mopping floors ; (2)
-nail, sb. a nail for securing the head of a mop ; (3) Mappin,
vbl. sb. the act of mopping.
(i) w.Yks. Dish claats an' map-claats, block up iwery nook an'
corner. Hartley Ditt. (1868) 125 ; (J.W.) (2) Nhb.' From four to
six inches long, with a broad flat head. (3) Lan. Wait eautside
whol th' mappin's getten eaut o' th' gate, Clegg Sketches (1895) 219.
MAP, v., sb.^ and int. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Also in forms
mep Cum.* ; mop- Nhb.' [map.] L v. To nibble ; to
move the mouth as though nibbling ; to catch hold with
the teeth. Cf. moup, v}
VOL. IV.
Rnf. PicKEN Poems (1813) Gl. Lth. The rabbits even . . . munch
an' map, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 149. Cum.* Obs.
Hence (i) Mappy, {a) sb. a rabbit ; {b) int. a rabbit call ;
(2) Mapsie, sb. a pet sheep ; a young hare.
(i, a) Abd. We're no like to starve, wi' sawmon i' the hedges,
an' mappies i' the trees ! Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxxiii.
Fif. The mappie was his favourite pet, Colville Vernacular (1899)
14. Lth. Wi' a mappie an' a puggie, Smith Merry Bridal (1866)
27, Gall. (A.W.), Nhb.i (6) Sc. (JAM.^, Abd. (G.W.) (2) GalL
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 337, ed. 1876.
2. Phr. to map andmell, to live with a man at board and
bed, as a wife with her husband.
Rnf. fShe] lang'd for some dopce decent man, Wi' him to map
and mell, Barr Poems (1861) 162.
3. sb. A rabbit. Bnff.', Cld. (Jam.) 4. int. A rabbit
call. Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.', Abd., Per. (G.W.)
MAP, MAPEMENT, see Mayhap, Mapment.
MAPLE, sb. s.Cum. The sycamore, Acer Pseudo-
Platanns. (B. & H.)
MAPLIN-TREE, s^i. GIo. Ih^ ma-^l^, Acer campestre-
Our bowl is made of a maplin tree, Dixon Sngs. Etig. Peas.
(1846) 183.
MAPMENT, sb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also in forms
maapment Lakel.'^ Cum.'* Wm. n.Lan.' ne.Lan.'; mahp-
ment Cum. ; mapement w.Yks. ; mopement Lakel.^
[ma'p-, ma'pment.] Nonsense ; fooUsh talk ; a silly rig-
marole. Cf. mope, 2.
Lakel.2' Wjiathedye layer dinner! ' ' Cauf-mutton pie boiled.'
' Seek mopement thoo does talk, ther's neea seek thing as cauf-
mutton pie.' Cum. Ah wonder at a grown man talkin' sec mahp-
Toent, Ricsy Midsummer to Martinmas {i8gi) vni ; Cum.'* Wm.
He tokt fer ivver sa lang, bet toked a deeal a maapment. Spec. Dial.
(1877) pt. i. 15. w.Yks. Did ye ivver hear sic mapement ? (R.H.H.)
Lan.', n.Lan.', ne.Lan.'
MAP-MOUTHED, adj. Dev.^ Of a mouth: having
lost the teeth.
MA-POT, MAPPEN, see Maw-, sb}, Mayhappen.
MAPPLEWELL SIXPENCE, /Ar. Yks. Afourpenny-
piece hammered out to the size of a sixpence.
w.Yks. Wha, me tongue wor worn az thin az a Mapplewell six-
pence, wi giein 'effi ansers, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann.
(1869) 35 ; The nail industry was formerly carried on at Mapple-
well, and it was the custom of the nail-makers to put fourpenny-
pieces under whatever they were hammering and flatten them
out (G.B.W.).
MAPSE, V. Som. Dev. Also in form mopse w.Som.^
Dev. [maeps, mops.] To make a smacking noise with
the lips when eating or talking.
w.Som.' Dev. 'Er dawnt zim tU 'ave iver 'ad a bit or a croon
of glide mayte avore ; jist Iflke, zee 'ow 'er's a mapsing 'er lips
awver 'er vittals, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Mr. mopsed
while talking, Reports Provinc. (1891).
MAPSY, sb. Nrf. [mse-psi.] An abscess.
We thought as she'd a mapsy in her inside, but the doctor he
say as it's only a thistletow (U.W.).
MAPUS, s6. ^Obs. Glo.i The head.
MAR, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Stf. Der. Not. Shr. Also written marr Gall. Nhb. e.Lan.'
nw.Der.' ; and in form ma- Lan. Chs. [mar, ma(r).]
1. V. To spoil, damage, injure ; to defile, dirty; to hinder,
interfere with.
Sc.(A.W.), N.I.' n.Cy.GROSE(i79o)M5.aa'rf.(P.) Nhb.Whewas
sure your sport to marr, Oliver Local Sngs. (1824) 13. n.Yks.' Yon
chap's mich mair lahk t'mar an t'mend't ; n.Yks.*, w.Yks.' Lan.
If tha uses it like that tha'U mar it (S.W.) ; Aw dunnot know
heaw th' piece is done. Aw'm fear'd it's marr'd enoof, Bealey
Jottings (1865) 12. s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854). Cbs.' ; Chs.^
Au was welly marred. Der.', nw.Der.'
2. Phr. to be quite marred, to lose one's senses, to become
unconscious.
Lan. Now, now, Meary, i'r naw quite marr'd, Tim Bobbin View
Dial. (ed. 1806) 30.
3. To spoil a child by indulgence.
w.Yks. If aw say shoo's marrin him shoo'U say — 'Oh fiddle,'
Hartley Clock Aim. (1892) 15. e.Lan.', Cbs.' s.Chs.' Oo)z
maa-rd dhun do stingk-s [Hoo's marred than (till) hoo stinks].
Der.2, nw.Der.' Shr.' 'Er's marred that lad tell 'e'U never be no
good to 'isself nor nobody else.
F
MAR
[34]
MARCH
Hence (i) Mard or Marred, (a) ppl. adj. spoilt, petted,
over-indulged; pettish, peevish ; {b) t;. with up : to spoil ;
to pet, caress ; (2) Mardish, adj. somewhat spoilt ; (3)
Hardness, sb. softness, lack of endurance, indulgence ;
(4) Mardy, (a) adj., see (i, a) ; (b) sb. a spoilt child ; (c) v.
to spoil, indulge ; also with tip.
(i, a) Lakel.2 w.Yks. Ther's nowt aw dislike to see in a haase
war nur a marr'd child, Yks. Wkly. Post (May 8, 1897); w.Yks.^'*
Lan. (S.K.C.); Come, wipe thi e'en, nor be so marr'd, Mellor
Poems (1865) 6; Not like some, marred an' sulky an' selfish,
Brierley Cast upon World (1886) 87. ne.Lan.i, m.Lan.i Chs.
[To a childish girl! Get away, you ma'd thing. Snowdrop [a
cow] 's very ma'd (H.A.B.) ; Ah, you mard thing (F.R.C.) ; Chs.i
A ' marred ' cat is one that likes to be petted. I once heard
a woman call her calf ' a marred owd stink' ; Chs.^ s.Chs.i Aay,
6o}z ii des-piirt maard ky'iflin ; bii dhen yu seyn it)s wi bee-in
u won-lin [Ay, hoo's a despert marred kitlin' ; bu' then y6 seyn
it's wi' bein' a onehn']. Stf.^ Der.2 Mar'd gobbin. nw.Der.i
Thooz childer er very mar'd. Not.i, Shr.i (61 w.Yks. Sheffield
Indep. (1874). (2) Lan. Billy's bin browt up a mardish sort of a
lad, Brierley Cast upon World (1886) 69. (3) Lan. I believe it's
nowt nobbut their mardness an' their way of livin' ut causes
these New York dolls to be so mich like faded waxwork, Brierley
Ab-o'th-YateYankeeland{i&?,z)v. (4,a)Stf.(G.O.) Not.Aboywho
cries with pain is called by his fellows a 'mardy baby' (W.H.S.);
Not.i He's that mardy he don't know what's the matter wi 'im.
s.Not. Yer shan't evno tutfey.if y'er so mardy (J.P.K.). (6) w.Yks.
Sheffield Indep. (1874I ; w.Yks.= (c) s.Not. We hed to mardy
'er a bit, whilst she was badly (J.P.K.).
4. To annoy, irritate. Cai."^ 5. To waste away ; to melt.
n.Yks. T'yeth mars snow away underneath (I.W.).
e. sb. A defect, an impediment.
GalL To have a marr in the speech, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
338, ed. 1876.
MAR, MAR(A, see Maa, sb}, Maar, Marrow, sb?-, Mere,
More, sb., Mear.
MARA, sb. Nhb. [maTa.l Myrrh. Robson Sns. Sol.
(1859) Notes.
MARA-BALK, see Mear-.
MARB, sb. ? Obs. Sc. The marrow. Rnf. Picken
Poems (1788) Gl. (Jam.)
MARBAE, see Marble.
MARBEL, adj. Sc. (Jam.) 1. Feeble, inactive. Lth.
2. Slow, lazy, reluctant. Ayr. Cf. mervil, 2.
MARBLE, sb. and v. Var. dial, forms and uses in Sc.
Irel. and Eng. [maTbl, ma'bl, ma'vl, mal.] I. sb. Dial,
forms : (i) Mahvil, (2) Marable, (3) Marbae, (4) Marl, (5)
Maroll, (6) Marrable, (7) Marval, (8) Marvel, (9) Marvil,
(10) Marvle, (11) Marvul.
(i) e.Yks.i Ah'll gi tha a gam at mahvils. (2) w.Yks.*, nw.Der.l
(3) Per. The marbae steps o' the Temple ! Sandy Scott (1897) 15.
(4)Not.i, s.Not. (J.P.K.), Lin.', Lei.i War. Is it marls or cob-
nuts ? Geo. Eliot Floss (i860) I. 46 ; War. 2, w.Wor.', se.Wor.',
Hrf.2 s.Hmp. You've got some mar'Is in yer pocket for me,
Verney L. Lisle (1870) xii. (5) Wor. (H.K.) (6) Sh.I. She's
liftid up a marrable stane, Stewart Tales (1892) 51. w.Yks.
Feightin abaght sum marrables, Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla
Ann. (1853) 34 ; w.Yks.23, e.Lan.i (7) CId. (Jam.) Rnf. Picken
Poems (i']88) G/. (Jam.) (8) N.I.i Wxf. In the season we shot
marvels on the road, Kennedy .Sa«As jBoj-o (1867) 5. Nhb.' Cum.
What's fuse o' my marvels and bo'? Gilpin Pop. Poetry (1875)
224. Lan. He cribbed my marvels, Burnett Lowrie's (1877) iv.
Lin.', Nhp.i, w.Wor.l Shr.i'Ow many marvels 'ast 'ee got, Dick?
Hrf.2, Brks.', e. An.l, Suf.' Sus. As Peter sat weeping on a marvel
stone, Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) v. Som. (W.F.R.) w.Som.'
Tom, wi't play marvels ? nw.Dev.' (9) n.Yks. They were laking
at marvils (I.W.). Chs.', n.Lin.', War.^, se.Wor.' (10) s.Wor.
PoRSON Quaint Wds. (iS-] 5). Glo.' (11) Nlib. Like pillors o'
marvul, Robson Sng. Sol. (1859) v. 15. Oxf. (G.O.), I.W.i^
II. Dial. uses. 1. sb. In comp. fi) Marble-bowls,
marbles, games of marbles ; (2) -day. Good Friday ; see
below ; (3) -stones, boulders in the glacial clay ; (4)
-thrush, the missel-thrush, Turdus viscivonis.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) (2) Sus. In some parts, marbles being played
by persons of all ages on that particular day. Sawyer Flk-Lore
(1883) 5. (3) Chs. (S.W.) (4) Nhp. SwAiNSON Birds (i888) 2;
Nhp.' Probably it receives this appellation from the round, marble-
like spots on the breast.
2. A marble or alley made of marble as distinguished
from those made of glass or stone, &c.
Abd. A' kinds o' bools — marble, stoner, and pigger, Cadenhead
Bon- Accord (1853) 249.
3. A lump containing worms found on the backs of horses,
cows, &c. w.Yks.^ 4. V. To play at marbles.
Lan. He never marblet, Brierley Layrock (1864) x.
MARBLERS, sb. pi. Dor. The company of stone-
cutters, who have exclusive rights as quarrymenin Swanage
quarries from time immemorial. (C.W.)
MARBLUE, see Morbleu.
MARCARUM,s*. w.Yks.'' [makersm.] 1. Arsenic.
2. The goosefoot, or Good King Harry, Chenopodium
Bonus-Henricus. See Mercury, 2.
MARCH,56.i Sc.Yks. Nhp. Shr.Oxf. Suf. Ken. [mart/,
matj.l In comb, (i) March and May, the white alysson,
Arabis alpina ; (2) -bird, any person or creature born
in March : (3) -daisy, the early flowers of the common
daisy, Bella perennis ; (4) — many weathers, (5) -month,
the month of March ; (6) -moon, the moon during the
month of March ; see below ; (7) — muck-it-out, see (5) ;
(8) -throstle, the missel-thrush, Turdus viscivorus.
(i)Nhp.(B.&H.) (2)Cxf. (G.O.),e.Suf.(F.H.) (3)Nhp.i (^^Ken.i
(5) Shr.i The corn looks well now. but 'ow it'll stond the March-
month we canna tell. (6) Mry. In the increase of the March
moon, the Highlanders cut withes of the wood-bind that clings
about the oak. These they twist into a wreath or circle and care-
fully preserve it till the next March. And when children are
troubled with hectick fevers, or when any one is consumptive, they
make them pass through this circle thrice. . . The like thej' do to
cattle in some distempers, Shaw Mry. 232 (Jam.). (7) n.Yks.^
e.Yks.i So called from the practice of cleaning out dikes, manure-
heaps, &c. (8) w.Yks. There's t'March throstle builds first (A.C.).
MARCH, sb?- and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Lin. Also in forms
mairch Sc. BnfF." Nhb.^ ; marsh n.Lin.^ [mertj.] 1. sb.
A border, boundary ; the line dividing two districts or
properties ; a landmark. Cf. mark, sb.^ 8.
Sc. Some of the justices thought it was but a mistake of the
marches, Scott St. Ronan (1824) viii ; Riding the marches, a
practice retained in various boroughs, esp. at the time of public
markets (Jam.). Cai.' Abd. Gordon poinded some sticks belongan'
to Forbes that had gone across the march, Michie Deeside Tales
(1872)120. Per. 5^a/«/. .<4fc. XX. 441 (Jam.). Dmb. Craw hame-
ward, Rab, get your ain marches redd, Salmon Gowodean (1868)
69. Ayr. I had just passed along the head rigg of the clover-field
at the Mains march, Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 48. Lnk. The
old farmer accompanying me, to shew me the marches, Nicholson
Kilwuddie (1895) 10. Slk. In a linn ... in the march between
twa lairds' lands'. . . he preached, Hogg Tales (1838) 22, ed. 1866.
Rxb. Our marches rode, our landmarks planted, Murray Hawick
Sngs. (1892) 15. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 365, ed. 1876.
Dmf. Ye ran o'er the march wi' my father, Johnstone Poems
(1820)128. Kcb. Rutherford Li?«. (1660) No. 137. N.I.i Nhb."-
Here applied to the line dividing England from Scotland. The
boundary line was in the charge of the several wardens of the
East, the Middle, and the West Marches. n.Lin.i I have come to
the conclusion that our people do not use the word ' marsh ' to
signify low land, which is at times flooded by water. The idea
of a boundary seems always to be conveyed by it.
2. Comp. (i) March-dike, a boundary wall or fence ; (2)
-ditch, a ditch forming a boundary between adjoining
farms or townlands ; (3) -fence, see (i) ; (4) -man, a
borderer ; (5) -stone, a boundary stone ; (6) -treason,
obs., the capital offence in English border law of conspiring
with others of the opposite border for reiving and cattle-
lifting ; (7) -way, a boundary road.
(i) Sc. If twa folk war disputin' aboot a march dyke, Cracks about
Kirk (1843) I. 9. Cai.i Gall. I'll carry your bundle as far as the
march dyke, Crockett Cleg Kelly (1896) 385. N.I.i, Nhb.i (2)
Cai.', Bnff.i Ir. This river . . . was the march ditch or merin
between our farms, Carleton Trails Peas. (ed. 1843) 1. 118. Don.
Afther ye've got yerself over the march-ditch first. Century Mag.
(Oct. 1899) 955. (3) Ayr. The cracks of the neighbours over march
fences, Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 7. (4) Sc. He is none of your
marchmen, or Highlanders, but has lands in Ayrshire, Lang Monk
of Fife (1876) 314. (5) Sh.I. I sat me doon apon a mairch stane,
Sh. News (Apr. 29, 1899). Or.I. They to set down march-stanes
thereafter to stand for ever, Peterkin Notes (1822) 137. Cai.i
MARCH
[35]
MARE
Slg. Should you have suffered the other to have changed the march-
stone ? WoDRow Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I- 204. Lnk. Whose
oaths are taken that the pits or march stones are standing in the
same situation they left them last year, Vlvi-R. Minstrelsy {iQiS) 13.
n.Cy. March stones . . . were formerly set up to mark the extent
of lands, estates, towns, &c., Jones Nhb. 89. Nhb.^ (6) Nhb.
Found guilty of March Treason, Richardson Borderei's Table-bk.
(1846) VI. 194 ; Fyrst, ye shall enquere of Martch-Treasone ; that
is to say, where any Inglyshe man trystes or entercommoneth, or
bryngeth in any Scottes man to come into this realme, in time of
peace or warr, to do any slaughter, to burne, robb, steale, or to do
any other offence within the realme, '^icaoi-%OTH Leges Marchiarum
(ed. 1747) 127 ; The forme of an indictment for marche treason is
as folowethe. . . The jurye presentithe that A. B. of C. . .
feloniously, tratorouslye and maliciously. . . contrarietohisdewtye
and alledgance cofiderated and cospired w* D. F. Scottes men. . .
And ... he the said A. B. accompaned w"" the said D. F. felo-
niously, traterouslye, and maliciouslye broke the house of L. M.
Enghshman at W. . . stale and drove awaye so many beasts, horse,
nowte, or shepe or other things as the case seamethe,/M/o;-»«fl/('oM5
of Sir R. Bower, Kt. (1551) in Richardson Reprints, IV. pt. ii. 28.
(7) Lth. Ahead ! scan out the march-way, Lumsden Sheep-head
(1892) 5.
3. V. To adjoin, border on, to be contiguous to; to bound,
form a boundary to.
Sc. I know the estates well ; they march with my own, Scott
Bride of Lam. (1819) xvii. Abd. Thes are marched by the feilds
near the sea syde called the Lynks, Turreff Gleanings ( 1859) no,
l?er. Though oor fields mairch and we've aye been neeburly, Ian
Maclaren Auld Lang Syne (1895) 122. Frf. My garden marched
wi' that o' Miss M<^Snaffle, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 36, ed.
1889. Lnk. The same hedge marched the twa estates, Thomson
Leddy May (1883) 7. Gall. Which marches with mine own house
of Kirriemore, Crockett Grey Man (1896) 38. N.I.^ This is where
my land marches with his. Don. My farm marches Pathrick's,
Pearson's Mag. (Mar. 1900) 311.
MARCH, MARCHAND, MARCHANT, see Marsh, sb.^,
Merchant.
MARCH-PANE, si. Obs. e.An.^ A kind of sweetmeat ;
see below.
The principal ingredients were almonds and sugar. It was
therefore much like our macaroons, but was made broad and flat, cut
into slices, and so distributed to the guests at deserts or tea-tables.
[Save me a piece of marchpane, Shaks. R. &= J. i. v. 9.
OFr. marcepain, ' patisserie faite d'amandes pilees at de
Sucre ' (H ATZFELD, s.v. Massepain) ; It. mdrcia pane, mdrza
pane, march-pane (Florid) ; cp. LG. marcipan, marsipan,
' Marci panis ' (Berghaus).]
MARCURY, MARCY, see Mercury, Mercy.
MARD, MARDEL, see Mar, v., Merdal.
MARDLE, V. and sb.^ Sc. e.An. Also written mardel
Sc. (Jam.) ; and in form matidle e.An.^^ [ma'rdl, ma'dl.]
1. V. To gossip ; to waste time in gossiping ; to dawdle.
e.An.^ ; e.An.'^ Tom and I stood mardling by the stile. Several
narbors stood maudling together in the road by the jossing-block.
Nrf. Oh, bor, don't you mardle, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 143 ;
The spotted rail is a quicker bird ; he don't mardle about in the
stuff,likethecommonrail,;'6. 5iVrfs(ed. 1895) 250; He would mardel
there all day long, N. &■ Q. (1853) ist. S. viii. 411. e.Suf. (F.H.)
Hence Mardler, sb. a gossip, one given to gossiping.
e.Suf. (F.H.)
2. To drawl. Nrf (A.G.) 3. To quarrel ; to interfere.
Nrf. (A.C.) 4. To indulge in merrymaking, to drink
together, e. An.^ 5. With up : to coddle, nurse ; to take
pains about. e.Suf (F.H.) 6. sb. A gossip ; a long talk.
Nrf. Having » mardle, Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 11;
(W.H.E.) ; I was just having a mardle (A.A.G.). e.Snf. (F.H.)
7. One who gossips, a lounging, idle woman. Cld. (Jam.)
8. A festive meeting, a drinking bout. e.An.^
MARDLE, sb.' e.An. [ma'dl.] A pond near a house,
on a common or by a roadside, convenient for watering
cattle. e.An.*, e.Suf (F.H.) Hence Mardlens, Mardling,
or Mardlins, sb. duck-vi-eed, Lemna minor.
e.An.i That pond's full of mardlens. Suf. (B. & H.) Ess. Fat
forming on the gravy like mardlins in spring on a ditch, Baring-
Gould Mehalah (1885) 329.
[Fr. mardelle d'un putts, the brink or brim of a well
(CoTGR.) ; OFr. margele, 'rebord en pierre d'un puits '
(H ATZFELD, s.v. Margelk).]
MARDLE, sb.^ w.Som.* [ma'dl.] A dial. pron. of
' marl ' (q.v.).
MARDO, sb. Yks. Der. [ma'do.] Dung, manure.
w.Yks.2 n.Der. Addy GL (1891).
[Cp. Fr. merde, ' merda ' (Hatzfeld).]
MARDY, see Mar, 3.
MARE, sb> Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
in forms mear Sc. Nhb.' ; meer Sc. N.Cy.* [mer, me3(r.]
1. In comb, (i) Mare-fart, the ragwort, Senecio Jacobaea-
Chs."^^; (2) ■'s-{a.t,theflea.-bane,Inuladysenferica. e.An.*,
Nrf ; (3) -'s-tail, the wood-spurge. Euphorbia amygdaloides.
Don. (B. & H.) 2. Phr. (i) the wild mare, a boys' game ; (2)
to give one the wind of the mare's tail, to ride off from one at
once ; (3) to win the mare or lose the saddle, to determine
either to succeed or to fail altogether ; to make a bold effort ;
(4) who has lost his mare ? what is the hurry ?
(i) Glo. A play among boys, wherein the person who acts the
mare, slides over the shoulders of several others, who are linked
together ; and is strapped with leathern aprons, and such like, all
the while he is getting over them, Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
(2) Lnk. I'se gie you the wind o' the mare's tail, and gar ye
wammel hame an' a' your wate coats about you, Graham Writings
(1883) II. 32. (3) Nhp.i (4) Lnk. ' Wha has lost his mare ? ' 'James
bade me tell you, fast as ye can send. To follow him this moment
down to the wood,' Black Falls of Clyde (1806) 175.
3. A horse of either sex.
Ir. All horse kind are usually spoken of as mares ; the reason
apparently being that every one sells his colts, while he only keeps
the maxas, Flk-Lore Rec. (1881) IV. 118.
4. A term of abuse.
N.Cy.i Used among the lowest women of Newcastle.
5. ? Obs. The last handful of corn cut in harvest ; see
below. Cf. neck, sb.^
Shr., Hrt. The last blades of corn which the reapers tie together
at the top to set up in the field to throw their sickles at. He who
cuts the knot receives the prize, HoTtE Every-day Bk. (1826) II. 1163.
Hrt. Chambers Bk. Days (1869) II. 378 ; The reapers tie together
the tops of the last blades of corn which is mare, Brand Pop.
Antiq. (1772) 308. {Daily Telegraph (Oct. 10, 1889) 5, col. i.]
Hence crying the mare, phr., obsol., a harvest custom ; see
below. See Cry, 12 (18).
Ir. Still practised at harvest homes in some parts. Academy (Sept.
15, 1888). s.Chs.* Now quite obs. When the last field of corn on
a farm had been cut, the labourers employed upon the farm col-
lected together upon a piece of elevated ground, and proceeded to
recite the following ' nominy ' : — ' What hast thou gotten theer ? '
' A mare.' ' Wheer wilt thou send her to ? ' ' To So and So's ' —
mentioning a neighbouring farmer, who had not been fortunate
enough to get his harvest over so soon, and who might therefore
be supposed to need the loan of the mare. Chs., Shr. ' Crying
the mare ' is quite a separate old custom from ' crying the neck,'
and was as follows. The men employed on a farm who were the
first to finish harvest in a neighbourhood got a full bottle of beer,
and fixing it on the longest ' pitch-fork' or ' pikel' that could be
found, stood on the highest ground on the farm, and raising the
fork and bottle above their heads shouted a loud and resounding
shout, so as to be heard at all the surrounding farms, thus indicating
their triumph over their neighbours by being the first to finish
harvest. All these old customs fell into disuse when machinery
was introduced (M.L.). Shr.^ When a farmer has ended his
reaping and the wooden bottle is passing merrily round, the reapers
form themselves into two bands and commence the following dia-
logue in loud shouts, or rather in a kind of chant. . . First band :
' I have her, I have her, I have her.' (Every sentence is repeated
three times.) ' What hast thee ? '. . . First, ' A mare.'. . Second,
' Whose is her? '. . . First, ' H. B's.' (naming their master, whose
corn is all cut). Second, ' Where shall we send her ? ' &c. First,
' To C. D.' (naming some neighbour whose corn is still standing).
And the whole concludes with a joyous shout of both bands united.
In the South Eastern part ... the ceremony is performed with a
slight variation. The last few stalks of the wheat are left standing ;
all the reapers throw down their sickles, and he who cuts it off,
cries ' I have her,' . . on which the rustic mirth begins. The latest
farmer in the neighbourhood ... is said ' to keep her all the winter.'
It not unfrequently happens, that the farmer who has been pre-
sented with ' the mar ' sends one of his harvest-men with a halter
at supper time for her!. . . ' They cryden the mar awhile I was thire,
becos yo sin we'den done harraat fust ; 'e gotten up o'er neet and
F 2
MARE
[36]
MARGY MORE
laid a dhel o' the weat down i' swaaths, un awhile we wun at
supper a mon cumm'd in wie a autar to fatch her away.' Hi-f.
The last few ears of corn are left standing, tied together at the top,
and the workmen throw their sickles at it, and he that cuts the
knot has the prize, and cries 'I have her.' ' What have you ? '
'A mare.' ' Whose is she ?' ' B.' (naming the owner three times).
' Whither will you send her ? ' 'To John a Nokes ' (naming some
neighbour whose corn is not all reaped), Blount (1681) ; Horae
Subsecivae (iTn) 266. Hrt. Bailey (1721).
6. Obs. The wooden figure of a horse used in a military
punishment ; gen. in phr. to ride the mare.
Sc. If a soldier passed without saluting the chaplain, he had an
hour's ride on the wooden mare for his pains, Scott Leg. Mont.
(r8i8) xiv. Abd. He causes put up betwixt the crosses a timber
mare, whereon runagate knaves and runaway soldiers should ride,
Spalding i/<i/. Sc. (1792)1.227; He . . . rode the mare, to his great
hurt and pain, ib. 231.
7. A trestle to support scaffolding ; a short beam used
to prop up laden carts.
Abd. He shoudit wi' scaffoldin'planks owre their meer, Anderson
Rliymes{Q:&. 1867)6. Lnk.Howwillyou knowthebonesofamason's
mare. . . amongst the bones of a hundred dead horses? Because
it is made of wood, Graham Writings (1883) U. 173. Ayr. A
high stage prepared on purpose with two mares and scaffold deals,
Galt Ann. Parish (1821) xxxvi. w.Mid. One end rests upon the
ground, whilst the other end is supported by two legs in the form
of the letter A, used to prop up laden carts, when stationary, from
behind, to prevent them from tilting backwards (W.P.M.).
8. A bricklayer's hod, a trough for carrying lime or
mortar borne on the shoulder.
Fif. I think I set my apron and my mare as weel as you your
apparel, Tennant Card. Beaton (1823) 155 (Jam.). Edb. The
builders o' the babel tow'r. An' thae wha bure the mortar mear,
LiDDLE Poems (1821) 43.
Hence Marefu', sb. a hodful.
I've a marefu' o' as guid lime here as ever cam out o'a lime-kill(jAM.) .
0. The slide on which casks are discharged.
Nhb.' It consists of two timbers, braced apart like the sides of a
ladder, between which the belly of the cask is held as it is slidden
down lengthwise.
10. A piece of timber, which can be fixed so as to
lengthen the leverage of the large 'gavelock' used in
quarry work. ib. 11. Soft ferruginous stone which has
no commercial value. It is found in the sandstone of the
lower coal-measures. w.Yks. (W.H.V.)
MARE, sb.'^ Sc. Dev. In comp. (i) Mare-rode, oppressed
with an incubus, having the nightmare ; (2) -stane, a rough
river stone hung up in a stable ; see below.
(i) Dev. Good Christians ! save me ! I am mare-rode ! Kingsley
Westwara Ho (1855) 19, ed. 1889. (2) Ags. Resembling a hatchet
in shape, which has been worn down by collision or friction so as
to admit of a cord being fixed round it. This is hung up in a stable
to prevent the horses being ridden by the nag called the mare (Jam.).
[Mare or ny^hte mare, epialtes, Prompt. OE. mare, the
nightmare [Leechdoms] ; ON. mara (Vigfusson).]
MARE, see Mear, Mere.
MARE-BLOB, sb. Der. Nhp. War. Glo. Also in forms
mere- Der.'' nw.Der.' ; mire- Nhp. The'marsh-marigold,
Caltha palustris.
Der.2, nw.Der.i Nhp. (B. & H.) ; Nhp.' The mare-blobs are in
burnished gold. The daisies spread about the green, Clare MS.
Poem. War. 3, Glo.i
MARE-CRAB, sb. Cor.' Various species of harbour-
crabs, esp. Carcinus maenas and Portunus puber.
MAREEL, sb. Sh.I. Also in form mariel. [marrl.]
Phosphorescence, the phosphorescent appearance of the
sea on a dark night.
As bright as the sheenin' mareel o' the sea, Stewart Tales
(1892) 239; Jakobsen Norsli in Sit. (1897) 25; Der gloorin' wi'
da mareel fil da skio is light agen, Sh. News (Oct. 15, 1898) ;
Rushing towards the opposite shore like a streak of mareel,
Spence Fill-Lore (1899) 24 ; (A.W.G.) ; S. & Ork.^
[Dan. niorild, marild, phosphorescence of the sea
(Larsen) ; Norw. dial, moreld (Aasen) ; ON. m,auru-eldr,
a light from insects, decomposed matter (Vigfusson).]
M AREILLEN, s6. Sc. The{rog-fish,Lophmspiscatorius.
e.Sc. Here [in the Frith of ForthJ it is named the mulrein or
mareillen, Neill Fishes (1810) 23 (Jam.).
MAREM, see Marram.
MARES' TAILS, phr. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in
Sc. and Eng. Also written mare's-tails ; and in forms
maayrestaailsBrks.'; mare-tailsw.Yks.' Long,streaky
clouds indicating stormy weather.
Sh.I. Didna doo see yon mares tails a' ower da croon o' da lift
aboot twaU Sh. News (Sept. 4, 1897). Abd. The sky had on the
previous night been streaked with great'mare's-tails' running up in
the direction of the dangerous wind, Bram Stoker Walters Mou'
(1895) I. Gall. The thin wind clouds streaked like mares' tails high
in the lift, Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 39. N.Cy.', w.Yks.',
Chs.'3, s.Chs.i, nw.Der.', Nhp.', War.=34^ s.War.', e.An.', e.Suf.
(F.H.) Brks.'Maayrestaailsan' mackerel sky.Notlongwet nor not
long dry. Hnt. (T.P.F.), Sus.', I. W.>, w.Scm.' [Mackerel backs,
And mares' tails, Make tall ships Wear low sails, Cheales Prov.
Flk-Lore, 26.]
MARFIELD PRIMULA, phr. n.Yks. The bird's-eye
primrose, Primula farinosa. (R.H.H.)
MAR-FIRE, see Mer-fire.
MARFLOO, sb. Sh.I. [maTflti.] The sea-louse, Pulex
litoralis. Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 24 ; S. & Ork.'
[ON. mar-fid, ' sea-flea,' ' cancer pulex ' (Vigfusson).]
MARFRY, sb. Lin. The extreme boundary edge of
a ditch outside the hedge. See Mear-fur, s.v. Mear, 5 (4, a).
nw.Lin. We'll beat oot that there marfry agean th' stoaii brigg
for a hare (E.P.).
MARFUR, see Mear.
MARG, sb. Sus. Hmp. Also in form murg Hmp.
[mag, mag.] The stinking chamomile, Anthemis Cotula.
Sus., Hmp. (B. & H.), Hmp.' See Margon.
MARGARET, sb. Nhb. Yks. Nhp. Hmp. Dev. Also
informmargetNhb. Nhp.'s.Hmp. 1. Incow^.Margaret's
flood, heavy rain expected about the date of St. Margaret's
day. Dev. N. &-' Q. (1850) ist S. ii. 512. 2. pi. The ox-eye
daisy, Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum. w.Yks. Lees Flora
(1888J 285. 3. The magpie, Pica rustica.
Nhb. (J. Ar.), Nhp.' s.Hmp. ' Look at them margets ! ' . . as three
magpies flew by, Verney L. Lisle (1870) xvii.
MARGENT, s6. Sc. Yks. e.An. [maTdgant, ma-dgant.]
A margin, beach, bank.
s.Sc. How sweet, with gliding step, to steal Along the margent
green, Watson Bards (1859) 42. e.Yks. By the margent of the
sea, Linskill Exchange Soul (1888) ii. e.An.'
[In the beached margent of the sea, Shaks. M. N. Dream,
II. i. 85.]
MARGERY, sb. Lin. The goosefoot, or Good King
Harry, Chenopodium Bonus-Henricus. (J.C.W.) cE
mercury, 2.
MARGIOWLET, sb. Brks. The Httle white moth that
flits about at twilight in summer. (M.J.B.) Cf. madgi-
owler.
[The same word as madge-howlet (q.v.). The name
transferred from the owl to a species of moth, from its
nocturnal habits ; see Howlet, 4.]
MARGON, sb. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Also written margin
I.W. ; and in form morgan Sus.' Hmp. I.W.'^ [ma-gan,
mp-gsn.] Various species of chamomile, esp. Anthemis
Cotula, A. arvensis, and A. nobilis.
Sus.' Hmp. Wise New Forest (1883) 284 ; (J.R.W.) : Hmp.'
I.W. (B. &H.),I.W.'2 V oy t ^ 1,
MARGULLIE, v. Obs. Sc. Also written margulie-,
and in form murgully. To disfigure, mar, mangle ; to
mismanage, abuse.
Sc. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl. Abd. Nature, unhurt by thrawart
man, And nae marguUied by chicane, Keith Farmer's HcC (1774)
St. 57 ; Shirrefs Poems (1790) Gl. ; It's sae margulied now an'
musty, Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 321. Lnk. My muse's
pride murgullyed, Ramsay Poems (1721) 324
[Fr. (Norm, dial.) margouller, ' casser la figure' (Del-
boulle) ; Fr. margouiller, to gnaw, to mumble with the
teeth, instead of kissing to bite (Cotgr.).]
MARGY MORE, /Ar. Irel. Also in form margamore
S.Don. A large market or cattle fair held before
Christmas or Easter.
N.I.i Ant. A shindy ... at the margy more, Hume Dial. (1878)
23. S.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890).
[Ir. margadh mor, a big market (O'Reilly).]
MARIE
[37]
MARK
MARIE, MARIEL, see Mary, Mareel.
MARIGOLD, sb. Irel. Yks. Chs. Shr. Ken. Also
written marygold n.Yks. w.Chs. Ken.^ ; and in form
merrigo Ken.' [maTigould.] 1. In comb, (i) Marigold-
cheese, obs., cheese made of skim-milk, having the petals
of marigold-flowers strewn amongst the uncoloured curd;
(2) -goldins, the corn-marigold. Chrysanthemum segetum.
(i) Shr.i They were believed to impart a quality of mellowness.
A Marigold-cheese was about the thickness of an ordinary cream-
cheese : it was eaten as soon as it became ripe. (2) Ant. (B. Sc H.)
2. The corn-marigold. Chrysanthemum segetum. w.Chs.
Holland G/. (1884). 3. The marsh-marigold, Calthapalus-
tris. n.Yks. (B.&H.) 4. A ladybird. Ken. (G.B.), Ken.'
MARI LWYD, phr. Wal. Also in form Merry-Lwyd.
See below. Cf. Merry Hewid.
A custom prevails ... of carrying about at Christmas time a
horse's skull dressed up with ribbons and supported on a pole
by a man who is concealed under a large white cloth. There is a
contrivance for opening and shutting the jaws, and the figure pur-
sues and bites everybody it can lay hold of and does not release
them except on payment of a fine. It is generally accompanied
by some men dressed up in a grotesque manner, who on reaching
a house sing some extempore verses requesting admittance, and
are in turn answered by those within, until one party or the other
is at a loss for a reply. . . This horse's head is called Mari Lwyd,
N. &' Q. (1850) ist S. i. 173 ; ib. 315.
MARINADE, v. Cor. Also written marrinade.
[mEerine'd.] To cure fish in a particular way.
I'll build for Hakes ... a factory for marinading 'em, Tregellas
Tales {1865)106 ; Cor.'^ Used of fish cured or cooked in a particular
way in vinegar, with bay leaves and spice.
Hence Marinaded, ppl. adj. cured, pickled in this par-
ticular manner.
I've seen my mother pick a bay leaf and put in among the mari-
nated pilchards, Pearse D. Quorm (1877) I. 122 ; Marrinaded fish,
O'DoNOGHUE St. Knighton (1864) Gl. ; Cor.2
[To marinate fish [in cookery], Piscem olivo frixuin
marino habitu afficere, marino affedu imbuere, Coles (1679).
Fr. mariner, ' faire tremper (de la viande, du poissonj dans
du vinaigre, du vin assaisonn^ d'herbes, d'epices, avant
de les faire cuire,' . . . marinade, ' vinaigre, vin assaisonne
d'herbes, d'epices dans lequel on laisse tremper un certain
temps de la viande, du poisson ' (Hatzfeld).]
MARINE, adj. Chs.' A salt-making term : applied to
a kind of grainy butter salt.
MARINERS, sb. pi. I.W.^ A game resembling ' Fox
and geese.'
MARISH, sb. Sc. Irel. Yks. Chs. Also written mareish
Chs.; marrish n.Yks.'''* [ma'rij.] A marsh, or low-
lying ground liable to be flooded ; also used attrib.
Or.I. They [islands] are of different natures, some sandie, sonfe
marish, Wallace Desc. Or.I. (1693) 7, ed. 1883. Wgt. Peits which
they take out of a stiff black marish ground in the summer time,
Fraser Wigtown (1877) 86. Ir. Brown-knotted rushes and sombre
sedge, and all other marish growths, Barlow Lisconnel {iSg^) 75.
n.Yks.'24 Chs. In making firm . . foundations in this boggy,
mareish soil. Travels of Sir W. Brereton (1634-5) in Chet. Soc. Publ.
(1844) I. 66.
[And the marishes thereof shall not be healed, Bible
Esek. xlvii. 11. OFr. mareis, a marsh (Hatzfeld, s.v.
Marais).^
MARJERY, sb. ne.Lan.' A pet name for a cat.
MARK, s6.' and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. Aus.
and Amer. [mark, male.] 1. sb. In phr. (i) mark nor
horn, used neg. : nothing at all, not a vestige ; {2) — of
mouth, of horses : the power of showing age by the teeth ;
_/?§•. youth ; (3) in mark, of a horse : young enough to show
its age by its teeth ; (4) out of mark, beyond the time
when the age is shown by the teeth ; (5) mickle (or little)
mark, much (or little) in evidence ; (6) to be a mark on, to
be fond of; (7) to wear the m,arks of any one, to be struck
by any one, to bear the marks of a blow.
(i) GaU. When one loses anything and finds it not again, we
are said never to see mark nor burn of it again : it is a shepherd's
phrase, as he burns the sheep with a red hot iron on the horns
and nose, to enable him to know it, Mactaggart Encyd. (1824).
(a) GaU. Old maidens are said sometimes to have lost the
mark o' mouth, ib. ; Ye see I've near lost mark o' mouth. And
lasses aye are fond o' youth, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 59, ed.
1897. [Aus. Any way she was very old, and long past mark of
mouth, Longman's Mag. (Sept. 1899) 417. Amer. There are some
standin rules about the horse. . . There's the mark o' mouth,
Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) 2nd S. iii.] (3) w.Som.' (4) ib.
How old d'ee call thik 'ess ? — Same age as other vokeses, when they
be out o' mark. (5") Abd. My toilet, indeed, it was nae mickle
mark, Edwards Mod. Sc. Poets, 13th S. 292. {6) Ess. ' Jim olluz
was a mark,' she say, ' on pork,' Downe Ballads (1895) 29 ; A mark
on swearin ? Ah, sir, that he be, ib. 31. (7) Kcd. ' Tak' that,' quo'
he, 'ye careless shard, I'se gar ye wear my marks,' Grant Lays
(1884) 7.
2. A conspicuous figure.
Sh.I. Lowrie wis den a mark i' da kirk, Sh. News (Apr. 9, 1898).
Hence (i) Marked, ppl. adj. distinguished, prominent ;
(2) Markless, adj. without distinction, not remarkable.
(i) Sc. He's come o' a gude stock. . . The Livingstones o' this
parish were marked men in the auld days. Whitehead Daft Davie
(1876) 340, ed. 1894. (2) n.Yks.2
3. A supposed invulnerable spot formed by the Devil on
the body of a witch. Also called The Devil's mark.
Sc. They searched him for ' the Devil's mark,' which was
supposed to keep him silent. This was found under his tongue.
He then confessed everything they wished, Comh. Mag. (Nov.
1898) 656 ; Alexander Boys, skilled in searching the mark, came,
and finds the mark in the middle of her back, wherein he thrust a
great brass pin, of which she was not sensible, neither did any
blood follow when the pin was drawn out, ib. 663. Cai. That upon
a vulgar report of witches having the devil's marks in their bodies,
Andrews Bygone Ch. Life (1899) 182. Per. A small hole horny
and brown coloured, through which mark when a large brass pin
was thrust till it was bowed, the witches, both men and women,
neither felt a pain, nor did it bleed, Ritchie St. Baldred (1883)
loi. Ayr. A notour witch-finder . . . searched Bessie for the mark,
as the poor ignorant bodies ca'd it, and "which every witch was
supposed to have. This search was neither more nor less than
the jagging of her all over with lang sharp preens, to see if per-
adventure ony painless part could be found, and which wouldna
bleed. Service Dr. Dugnid (ed. 1887) 69. e.Lth. Her body was
examined and the mark of the Devil found upon her throat. It
was believed that Satan put a mark upon all who had enlisted into
his service, which mark was recognisable by the part being bloodless
and insensible to pain, Sands Tranent (1881) 39; The searcher in
Tranent cam and found the mark on those that were suspect of
witchcraft, Andrews Bygone Ch. Life (1899) 186.
4. An aim in shooting ; also usedy?^.
Sc. Praying the Lord, ye may stand to your marke, Maidment
Pasquils (1868). Fit. Ilka man took well his mark, Tennant
Papistry (1827) 197. Ayr. Now, Lord hae mercy on the man
That Patrick tak's a mark at, Ainslik Land of Burns {ed. 1892) 130.
5. A male sweetheart, an admirer. Lan. (S.K.C.)
6. The figured side of a knife. w.Yks.'' 7. pi. The
footprints of an otter. ne.Lan.'
8. Comp. (i) Mark-ash, a boundary ash ; (2) -oak, a
boundary oak ; (3) -stone, a stone set up to mark the
boundaries of land ; see March, sb.^ ; (4) -way, a track to
enable the holders of the divisions of land in a common
field to have access to them.
(i) Hmp.i (2) Hmp. Wise New Forest (1883) 284 ; Hmp.i So
called from the ancient cross or mark cut on the rind. (3) Gall.
Stones set up on end for marks in the days of yore, that the
farmers might know the marches of their farms, and lairds the
boundaries of their lands, Mactaggart Enc^'cl. (1824). (4) w.Mid.
Before the Acts enclosing the common fields the holders of the
shots into which they were divided had access to their property
by means of tracks called 'markways.' The word is still well
remembered by old people (W. P.M.).
9. A wide gutter. Dev. (Hall.) 10. v. In phr. (i) to
m.ark for, to betoken, give promise of, to show signs of
becoming ; (2) — in, in shooting : to note where the birds
fall ; (3) — on or upon, to make an impression upon ; (4)
— a finger on or upon, to do the smallest injury to, to touch
in the smallest degree ; (5) — a foot to the ground, (6) —
the ground, to set foot to the ground.
(i; Dor.' 'E da mark var to be tall. w.Som.' Thick there colt
do mark vor a strong, useful sort of a 'oss. Dev. Thick cheeld da
mark-vor a bedd'r man than's father, Pulman Sketches (1842) 114,
ed. 1871. (2) nw.Dev.' When shaoting birds (i.e. partridges) it is
MARK
[38]
MARKET
customary to send a boy to an elevated point to mark in, i.e. to
observe and note, for the information of the sportsmen, where the
birds drop. (3) Bnff.i Twa men vrought a hail day tryin' t'brack
that big haithen stane ; bit they cudna mark-upon't. Cld. (Jam.)
(4) Bnfif.i Gehn ye mark a finger on 'im, a'U gee ye yir cum-agehn.
Cld. (Jam.) (5) Cld. He is sae weak that he canna mark a fit to
the grund. He's beginnin' to recruit, for he can now mark his fit
to the grund (Jam.). (6) Sc. (A.W.) N.I.i He could hardly mark
the ground.
11. Of a horse or stag : to reveal its age by the teeth
or horns.
w.Som.' He do mark vower off — i.e. he is between four and five
years old.
12. Of dogs: to give tongue, to indicate where the quarry
has taken refuge underground.
w.Sora.^ The hounds . . . marked grandly in deep water, under
the wood, and moved what was no doubt the dog otter, Wellington
Wkly. News (July 21, 1887).
13. To take aim in shooting.
Lth. Baith far an' near this lad is ken'd That he can mark right
fair, Thomson Poems (1819) 187.
MARK, sbP- Sc. Also in form mark, [mark, mark.]
1. Obs. A silver coin worth 13s. 4^. Scots, equivalent to
iZ\d- sterling.
Sc. My sma' means whilk are not aboon twenty thousand merk,
Scott Waverley (1814) xxxvi. n.Sc. I'll gie ye five merks, Buchan
Ballads (ed. 1875) II. 231. Bnff. He enjoys annually 300 merks
Scotch from a Mortification, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 16. Abd.
Her father . . . O* some four acres held a tack For three merks
an' a croon, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 183. Frf. Wou'd
fortune for me niest lay by A score o' merks to stop my cry,
MoRisoN Poems (1790) 98. Fif. No ass of any great repute For
twenty Scots marks could have then been bought, Tennant Anster
(1812) 19, ed. 1871. s.Sc. Those naked katherans, to whom a
single merk would be a fortune, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 2. Dmb.
Twa merks, they said, wad coft a pair o' shoon, Taylor Poems
(1827) 90. Rnf. I've sin some thretty mark a year, Finlayson
Rhymes (1815) 103. Ayr. Plack, bodle, mark, and bawbie, Galt
Lairds (1826) ii. Edb. No less than six thousand merks Scots
money, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 44, ed. 1815. Dmf. Were it a
merk or a boddle broon, The siller was there when the day cam'
roon, Reid Poems (1894) 76. Gall. Whose keen care for the
merks, the duties, and the tacks, Crockett Grey Man (1896) 119.
Wgt. Ten marks Scots, left by the deceased Jannet M°Adam . . .
to the poor of this parish, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 15.
2. A division of land varying in extent ; also in comp.
Mark-land.
Sc. The common burdens were laid on, not according to the
retour or merk land, but the valuation of the rents, Baillie Lett.
(1775) !• 370 (Jam.). Sh.I. The lands are understood to be
divided into merks. A merk of land, however, does not consist
uniformly of a certain area. In some instances, a merk may be
less than an acre ; in others, perhaps, equal to two acres. Every
merk again consists of so much arable ground, and of another part
which is only fit for pasturage. . . Several of these merks, some-
times more, sometimes fewer, form a town, Statist. Ace. V. 195,
note(ib.')\ The markland in Shetland was of varying extent. In
Delting the mark is estimated as 0.7 acre ; at Lerwick a mark is
not nearly a Scottish acre ; at Unst a mark might be less than one
or equal to two. In Dunrossness a merkland ' ought to contain
1600 square fathoms ' ; at Fetlar « mark is estimated at half an
acre ; in North Yell a quarter acre, Sh. News (Apr. 30, 1898) ;
The ancient valuation was disused and the skat assessed on the
marks in the pennyland. . . From the analogy of the Orkneys an
average mark would be the fourth part of a pennyland, and as a
* last ' of land contained eighteen marks, a last was ^\d. land, i.e.
the fourth part of an ounceland. A markland was divided into
eight ores, or ounces. . . The mark of land was the unit, for . . .
yearly rent, ib. Or.I. He laid a heavier ratement on the fractions
of every markland, then on the markland itself, Wallace Desc.
Or, I. (1693) 237, ed. 1883; These penny-lands are again divisible
into smaller denominations of merks or merk-lands, farthing-lands,
and cows-worths, Peterkin Notes (1822) 6; Nae less than twa
marks o' laund. . . Twa marks o' laund ; that wad keep twa coos,
an' twa mares an' twa rools, Fergusson Rambles (1884) 162. Inv.
Slait is thirty merkland, Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5)
II- 355- Arg. The denomination of mark lands still holds in com-
mon speech, and in general one mark-land may give full employ
to one plough and one family in the more arable parts of the
county, Agric. Surv. 33 (Jam.). Fif., Slg. N. & Q. (1853) ist S.
vii. 618. Rnf. Y' is ane second feu contract of ane merkland of
ye said lands, Uectoh. Judic. Records (1876) 303.
Hence (i) Mark-merkland, sb. a division of land vary-
ing from one to three acres ; (2) -stones, sb. pi. stones
used to define the Hmits of a 'mark' of land.
(i) S. & Ork.i (2) Sh.I. [The mark's] exact limits being de-
scribed by loose stones or shells under the name of merk-stanes,
HiBBERT Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 35, ed. 1891.
3. Obs. A nominal weight. Also in comp. Mark-waight.
Sh.I. Eight pieces of this description of cloth [wadmel], each
measuring six ells, constituted a mark. (In the seventeenth cen-
tury, however, the name of a mark of wadmel became entirely
obsolete owing to the custom introduced of convertingit into money.
. . . The eighth part of a mark of this coarse cloth then acquired
the name of a shilling of wadmel), Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822)
35, ed. 1891 ; A newer standard of comparison had succeeded to
the wadmel, formed of a certain weight of some inferior metal.
The division, therefore, of a mark-weight of this substance into
eight ures or ounces appears to have suggested a name for the
same number of portions into which a mark of land began to be
resolved, H. ; Sixpenny land pays to the proprietor 8 merks butter,
Statist. Ace. VII. 580 (Jam.). Or.I. 24 merks make one setting,
nearly equal to i stone 5 lib. Dutch, ib. 477 ; The least quantity
is called a merk (which will be eighteen ounce). Twenty-four
merk makes a liespound or setten, Wallace Desc. Or. I. (1693)
41, ed. 1883 ; The malt, meill, and beare are delivered in Orknay
be wecht. . . 24 marks makis an setting, Skene Dijficill Wds. (1681)
130 ; S. & Ork.'
[1, 3. By this gaude have I wonne . . . An hundred mark,
Chaucer C.T. c. 390. OFr. marc, ' quantite ' d'or, d'argent
pesant un 'marc' (huit onces) (Hatzfeld) ; MLG. mark,
' (Geld)-gewicht, ein halbes Pfund ' (Schiller-Lijbben).]
MARK, sb? Dur. Yks. Lin. Dev. 1. In comb, (i)
Mark('s e'en, or St. Mark's eve, the eve of St. Mark's
day, see below ; (2) Mark, Luke, and John, a four-post
bed of which one leg is broken or gone.
(i) Dur. ' What for should you die any more than me myself? '
' Because I've had my warning ! I've had plain proof I shall. . .
1 seed my own waft go into the kirk last St. Mark's eve, and it
never cam' out no more, Longman's Mag. (July 1897) 252. n.Yks.
The custom of observing Mark's-e'en ... by watching in the
church porch, Simpson Jeanie o' Biggersdale (1893) 221 ; n.Yks.'
Perhaps scarcely extinct even yet. The watch in the church-
porch, forthe purpose of ascertaining who among the parishioners
is to be carried to his long home in the churchyard during the
ensuing year, is still spoken of as matter of recollection, if not of
these days' practice. The duly gifted watcher, according to some,
would see all his fellow-inhabitants proceed into the church, and
defile thence again in long procession, leaving only such behind
them as were auned to death before another Mark's-e'en : accord-
ing to others, the procession into the church would be formed
oply of the shapes of the doomed ones, who pass into the church,
but do not return thence. Another form of the notion is, to watch
by a window which commands the church-road, when the figures
of those who are to die within the year will be seen to pass as if
' boun for cho'ch.' Should the watcher, however, fall asleep at the
mystic hour of vision (midnight) he is himself among those whose
death is auned ; n.Yks.* e.Yks. The apparitions of those who
shall die in the ensuing year, are seen to walk to the church where
they shall be buried : certain persons, ' watching the kirk ' to
know the fate of their fellow parishioners. If the watcher go to
sleep at the critical moment he himself is doomed to die within
the year, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. 332. Lin. In the year
1634, two men . . . agreed betwixt themselves upon St. Marke's
Eve at night, to watch in the church porch at Burton to try
whether or noe . . . they should see the spectras or phantomes of
those persones which should die in that parish the yeare following,
Edb. Antiq. Mag. (1848) 82. (2) e.Dev. Old Betty was under her
' Mark, Luke, and John,' Blackmore Perlycross (1894) xii.
MARK, MARKAL, see Mirk, MercaL
MARKET, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also written markat Wm. ; and in form mercat Sc.
[ma'rkit, merkit, ma'kit.] 1. sh. In comb, (i) Market-
ball, a bell rung to denote the commencement of a
market ; (2) -custom, a toll levied on animals brought for
sale at a market ; (3) -fare, a ' fairing ' or present brought
from a market ; (4) -fresh, (5) -fuddled, lively and excited
with drink, 'fresh,' somewhat intoxicated; (6) -hand-
kertchy, a large handkerchief used to carry home
MARKET
[39]
MARL
purchases from market ; (7) -merry, see (5) ; (8) -nitch,
the amount of ale or spirits indulged in after market ;
(9) -peart or -peert, see (5) ; (10) -place, the front teeth ;
(11) -ripe, ready for market ; fig. old enough for marriage;
(12) -sea-crow, the hooded crow, Corvus comix; (13)
-stance, the site of a market, a field in which a market or
fair is held ; (14) -stead or -stede, obs., a market-place ;
(15) -sweet, unsaleable; blown upon; (16) -town, a larger
town than a village ; (17) -trot, a slow trot, a pace slightly
quicker than walking.
(i) Cum.* At Carlisle, the ringing of a bell at 10 o'clock denotes
the commencement of the oat market, and at 10.30 the bell is rung
for the wheat market. At Cockermouth and Penrith, a bell is
also rung when the grain market opens. (2) Abd. Custodier of the
'market customs' at An'ersmas Fair, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882)
103- (3) s.Sc. I'm gaun wi' ye to the market, an' ye maun gie
me my market-fare, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 51. (4) w.Yks.
(S.J.C), w.Yks.=, Lan.l, Chs.i Stf. The fat rascal, who was
already ' market-fresh ' when we started back, is in great feather,
Cornh. Mag. (Jan. 1894) 43. Not.i, sw.Lin.l, Lei.^, War.=,
w.Wor.i Shr. Bound PcoMKc. (1876); Slir.2 w.Som.i They zess
he wadn drunk, but I reckon he was a little bit market fresh like.
(5) Lan. William himself, though not precisely in that condition
recognised as ' market-fuddled,' was far from sober, Longman's
Mag. (July 1896) 253. (6) w.Yks. Befoor long he'd getten all
his bits o' duds teed up in a market handkertchy, Hartley Tales,
2nd S. 9. (7) w.Yks. '^ Not. I've never known him drunk, but
I've seen him market-merry, Not. Guardian (Apr. 1889). Lin.
Defendant admitted that he was a little market-merry, and a bit
'shouty,' Lin. Chron. (Jan. 22, 1887). sw.Lin.* Lei.' A weean't
droonk ! A wer oon'y maarket-merry, loike. Nhp.', War.23
Wor. Defendant had been to Birmingham, and had returned home
' market merry,' B'ham Dy. Post (Oct. 3, 1896). Shr. Bound
Provinc. (1876). Oxf.i MS. add. Hnt. (T.P.F.) (8) Dor. He's
got his market-nitch, Hardy Tess (1891) 14, ed. 1895. (9) Chs.'^
s.Chs.' Aay, ah thingk- ee)z mdo'isli li bit raaa'rkit-peeurt iiv u
Set-iirdi [Ay, ah think he's mooistly a bit market-peeart of a
Setterday]. s.Stf. He wa' as yo' may say drunk, but just market
peert, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Der.=, War.'^s Wor.
Market peart, or more so, Evesham Jrn. (Nov. 21, 1896). w.Wor.',
se.Wor.i, s.Wor.i, Shr.i Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876) ; Hrf.2
Rdn. Morgan Wds. (i88i) (s.v. Peart). Glo.' (10) Lin.i If you
bullyrag me I'll knock your market place down your throttle.
sw.Lln.' ' She's lost her market-place, she'll none get a husband '
— said of a woman whose front teeth are gone. (11) Ayr. Dinna
be in a hurry yoursel', Peggie, lass ; ye are no' just market ripe,
Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 122. (12) Dev., Cor. Zoologist
(1854) XII. 4255. (13) Abd. Agent for the owner of the market
stance, Alexander Ain Fill. (1882) 103. (14) Sc. At the mouth of
the water, stands the toune of Air, a notable mercat-stead, Dcsc.
of the Kindome of Sc. (Jam.) n.Yks. The site called ' the Old
Market-place,' but earlier generations had heard the same place
. . .called the market-stede, Atkinson Whitby (1894) 201 ; n.Yks.^,
Nhp.i2 (15) Sc. Grose (1790) Af5. arfrf.(C.) (16) sw.Lin.i (17)
w.Som.' (s.v. Jig-to-jog).
2. Phr. (i) the judge of the market, the arbiter appointed
to settle all disputes arising at a market ; (2) the mouth of
the m.arket, the entrance to a market or fair ; (3) to break a
market, to spoil the market for, to spoil the chance of
buying and selling ; also usedy?^. ; (4) to lose one's market,
to throw away one's matrimonial chance ; (5) to make a
m.arket or markets, to go marketing ; fig. to make a match,
to become settled in matrimony ; (6) to meet a bad market,
to sell badly.
(i) Abd. ' Get the joodge o' the market,' cried the onlookers,
who by this time had got keenly interested in the squabble,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 102. (2) Abd. A bargain was struck
in the very ' mou' o' the market,' ib. loi. (3) Abd. Ta'en up to
the joodges, for braking 's dother's market, ib. 180 ; He canna be
alloo't to brak the man's market that gate, ib. 102. (4) Sc. (A.W.)
(5) Sc. They say my market's made : but they are mad, Penne-
cuiK Coll. (1787) 25; She hade two daughters, . . and for these
she thought she might make a better mercat in Scotland than in
England, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 373. w.Yks. Sheffield Indep.
(1874) ; A very common use is that by young men or women who
have a partner to seek, and who keep up as good an appearance
as possible. After marriage such will say when remonstrated
with for untidy habits, ' I've made my market, what does it
matter!' (B.K.) (6) Wor. (H.K.)
3. Sale, traffic, a bargain or transaction made at a
market; the price or rate of a transaction.
Abd. Foo girsin' beasts 's sellin' ; they'll be an upwith frising]
market shortly or it chates me, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 99.
e.Lth. The Session appoints some of the elders to go to the seaside
at efternoon, to see that there be no mercat in herring, Andrews
Bygone Ch. Life (1899) 135. Wgt. The backwardness of the
owners of victual to expose the same to publick mercat, Fraser
Wigtown (1877) 44. s.Not. He wain't stop theer long at that
market (J.P.K.). Lin.i I have made a good market of my corn.
4. pi. Marketings, things to be sold or bought at a
market.
Yks. (Hall.) sw.Lin.^ I had just a few markets in my hand.
What with my markets, and my two little ones, I felt quiet
[quite] bet.
5. V. To take to market, to sell.
Wm. Our Betty cud meeak t'buttre an markat it, Goardy Jenkins.
MARKET- JEW, sb. Cor. In comb, (i) Market-jew
crow, {a) the chough, Pyrrhocoraxgracutus ; (b) the hooded
crow, Corvus comix ; (2) — turmut, a large white turnip.
(i, a) From its frequenting the neighbourhood of Marazion,
SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 74. [Morris Hist. Brit. Birds (1857).]
{b) RoDD Birds (1880) 315. (2) Cor.i Grown in Marazion.
MARKING, sb. Cum. Yks. Nhp. Som. 1. The mixture
with which sheep or cattle are marked. Nhp.^ (s.v. Keel).
Cf. keel, sb.^ 2. Comp. Marking-iron, a branding-iron
for marking sheep, cattle, &c.
Cum.i, n.Yks. (I.W.) w.Som.' For sheep, horses, or cattle.
For the former it is dipped in hot pitch and dabbed on the freshly
shorn sheep, while for horses, &c. it is made hot, and really
brands.
MARKSMAN, sb. N.I.' A man who cannot write his
name and therefore has to make his mark.
MARL, sb} and v} Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Lan. Chs. Lin.
Hrt. Wil. Som. Dev. Also written maarl Wxf; marie
Dev. [marl, mal.] 1. sb. A variety of soil consisting
principally of limestone and clay. Also used attrib.
Wxf.' Quick mud. Nhb., Dur. A limestone of a soft, friable
argillaceous or sandy nature, Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
Chs. Marl . . . consists of clay, sand, and lime unequally mixed,
Marshall Review (1818) II. 139; Chs.^ The clays above the rock-
salt. n.Lln.^ This word here means chalk. Hrt. There are four
several sorts, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) III. i. 66. Som. The
spontaneous production of the marl land, Marshall Review
(1818) II. 523.
Hence Marler, sb. a man who works in a marl-pit.
Chs.i, Chs.3 (s.v. Marl-head).
2. Comp. (i) Marlebrute, the earth in a lime rock ; (2)
-grass, the red clover, Trifolium pratense ; (3) -head, the
face of marl at the deepest end of a marl-pit ; (4) -midden,
a compost of marl and earth ; (5) -pit, the hole from which
marl is dug.
(i) Dev. Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815) XXIX. 576. (2) Som.
Marl grass is the spontaneousproduction of the marl land, Marshall
Review (1818) II. 523. Wil. A mixture also of marl-grass ... is
occasionally added, Davis Gen. View Agric. (181 1) vii. (3) Chs.^ ;
Chs.^ The deepest part of a marlpit, where the ground occasionally
falls in on the marlers. (4) Sc. (Jam.) (5) Chs.^
3. V. To spread marl on land.
Chs.^ Marl was considered such an excellent manure that it was
commonly said : ' He who marls sand May buy the land ' — because
he would be sure to grow rich if he used marl on sandy soil.
n.Lin.i The properties of marl as a fertilizer are thus set forth in
rhyme : ' If you marl land you may buy land ; If you marl moss
there is no loss ; If you marl clay you fling all away.' [If . . . some
fields be marled, and others left unmarled, Stephens Farm Bk.
(ed. 1849) I. 85.]
Hence (i) Marler^ sb. a man employed to spread marl
on land ; (2) Marling, sb. the process of spreading marl
on land.
(i) Lan. I went to Ellen Seed's and were with the marlers till
betwixt 7 and 8 o'clock, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 28. (2) Lan.
Then Thomas Seed . . . having ended his marling, ib. ; The Har-
vest home and the ' shutting of marling ' were gala days, Thorneer
Hist. Blackpool (1837) 95.
4. Phr. to marl a man, to cheer a man after drinking his
health ; see below.
Chs.' ; Chs.3 The gang [of marlers] after receiving any small
MARL
[40J
MARNULL
sum as a present from a chance visitor, stand in a ring ; the fact
of the donation and the amount is announced by the ' Lord of
the pit.'
MARL, v.'^ and sb? Sc. Nhb. Yks. Ken. Wil. Som.
Also written marie Sc. Bnff.^ ; and in form myarl Cai.-'
[marl, mal.] 1. v. To become mottled, variegated ; to
variegate, spot, streak. Cf. mirl(e.
Sh.I. Da sky is saftly marled ower, A sign n' wadder fair,
Stewart Ta&s (1892) 91. Bnff.i Abd. Wrinkles mark's an our hair
marie, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 75. Per., Cld. (Jam., s.v. Mirl).
Hence (i) Marled, ppl. adj. spotted, mottled, variegated,
streaky ; (2) Marled salmon, phr. the grey trout, Salmo
eriox; {3) Marly, adj., see (i).
(i) Sc. Marled stockings, those made of mixed colours, twisted
together before the stockings are woven or knitted (Jam.). Cai.^
Ayr. The marled plaid ye kindly spare, Burns Answer to Verses
(1787) St. 5. Lth. The thick chokin' drift That cam in wreathed
swirls frae the white marled lift, Ballantine Poems (1856) i.
Slk. By the marled streak and the cloudlet brown, Hogg Poems
(ed. 1865) 128. Gall. The great marled eggs o' the whaup,
Crockett Raiders (1894) xlv ; Marled soap (A.W.). Nhb.^ Ap-
plied to some kinds of leaves and to stones, &c. Ken. The fine
eating meat being that which is marled flesh and spreadwell,
"^oviiQ Annals Agric. (1784-1815) XX. 266. (2) w.Sc. There be
also several rivers here which afford salmon : one sort of them is
very singular, that is called marled salmon, . . being lesser than
the ordinary salmon and full of strong large scales : no bait can
allure it and a shadow frights it away, Martin W. Islands (1716)
58 (Jam., s.v. leskdruimin"!. (3) Per. Aneath that plain tippet o'
marly grey, Edwards Sirathearn Lyrics (1889) iig. Gall. Her
vi^eather-beaten complexion, netted and marly like the reticulations
on a bladder, Crockett Anna Mark (1899) xx. Wil.^ Applied to
fat beef, or bacon from a fat pig, where the fat seems to streak and
grain the lean. Som. Applied to the appearance of well-fed meat,
when fat and lean are well intermixed (W.F.R.).
2. sb. An indistinct mark, a mottle.
Ayr. Marls in the skin, when cold (F.J.C.). w.Yks. Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Mar. 2, 1895).
3. //. The measles. Abd. (Jam., s.v. Mirl). Cf. mirl(e, 2.
MARL, v.^ and sb? Sc. Der. Som. Dev. Also written
marie Sc. [marl, mal.] 1. v. To marvel, wonder.
Sc. ' I marie the skipper took us on board,' said Richie, Scott
Nigel (ii>22)m. w.Som.i Dev. Grose (1790) iI/5. orfrf. (P.)
2. sb. A marvel, wonder.
Der.i Obs. w.Som.'- 'Tis a marl, however 'twas, they had'n all
bin a killed. Dev.i n.Dev. Es marl who's more vor rigging, E.vm.
Scold. (1746) 1. 130.
[1. Where is your sweetheart now, I marie ? Jonson
Tale of a Tub (1633) 11. i, ed. Cunningham, II. 455.]
MARL, s6.* and j;.* m.Yks.i [mal.] L si&. Sleet. 2. z;.
To sleet.
MARL, sb? Lin. [mal.] A tarred string.
Lin.i, n.Lin.i sw.Lin.i Used by gardeners to tie up raspberries
and other plants.
[A shortened form of naut. E. marline, a small cord used
for binding large ropes, to protect them. Du. marlijn,
a der. of marren, to bind or tie knots (Hexham).]
MARL, v.^ Dev. Of silk, &c. : to ravel. (Hall.)
MARL, see Marble.
MARLAK, sb. Sh.I. [ma'rlsk.] The sea-weed,
Zostera marina. (A.W.G.), S. & Ork.^
[Norw. dial, marlauk, 'zostera ' (Aasen).]
MARLBOROUGH-HANDED, adj Wil. Left-handed.
(W. C.P.) ; Wil.^ People who used their tools awkwardly were
formerly called ' Marlbro'-handed vawk,' natives of Marlborough
being traditionally famed for clumsiness and unhandiness.
MARLED, see Motild, adj.
MARLEY, sb. Sc. Chs. War. [maTli, ma'li.] 1. A
marble. See Marble, I (4).
Frf The marleys were made of a kind of red clay hardened in the
fire, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 94- s.Chs.', War. (W.S.B.), War.23
2. Comp. Marley-stopper, a splay-footed person. War.^
MARLIN, sb. Sc. Shr. Cor. Also in forms maalin
Sh.I. ; marlion Sc. Cor.^ 1. The merlin, Falco aesalon.
Sc. Eagles, falcons, goshawks, sparhawkes, marlions, and such
like, Monipennie Chron. (1612) 200, ed. 1818. Shr.i, Cor.^
2. The sparrow-hawk, Accipiier nisus. Sh.I. Swainson
Birds (1885) 136. 3. The kestrel, Tinnunculusalaudarius. ib.
MARLOCK, sb. and v. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Lin.
Also in forms maalack,mailakw. Yks. ; mailock ne.Lan.';
mairlock w.Yks. ; malack ne.Yks.i w.Yks.^ ; malak
e.Yks.i w.Yks.2 Lin.^; malech Lin.^; malek w.Yks.;
marlak(e w.Yks. Chs.^ ; marlijk Lan. ; maylak, may-
lock w.Yks. ; morlock m.Yks."- [malak, melak, mealsk.]
1. sb. A prank, frohc, ' lark ' ; a trick, practical joke ; a
noisy disturbance, an uproar, ' row.'
ne.Yks.i There wer sike maalacks as ah nivver seed. e.Yks.
What a do we had oot o' Billy Swaby an his malak wi Bonnick
Boggle, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 32 ; e.Yks.i They kicked up a
bonny m^Iak. w.Yks. He wor awlas up ta sum a hiz maylaks,
Pogmoor Olm. (1892) 34 ; Thinking at first she had done it for
a marlake, Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) i ; They're making
a bonny malek, they have done nothing but fratch since they
came home (M.N.) ; Kickt up a maalack. Banks Wkfld. Wds.
(1865) ; What a maylock tha'rt makin, Sheffield Indep. (1874) ;
TV. Yks. 2^ ; w.Yks. 5 T'sowgers an' t'peelers is at it agean up yon-
der, ther's a bonny maalack atween 'em ! Let's ha' noan o' thy
maalacks nah ! bud just clap thuh darn an' be quiet, du that !
Lan. I says to mysel', ' I'll have a bit marlock wi' yon conceited
chap Dick,' Longman's Mag. (Aug. 1896) 369 ; Ofore E startud
ov his marluks E went reawnd wi' his hat, Ormerod Felley fro
Rachde (1864) iv ; Lan.i, ne.Lan.', e.Lan.i, Chs.'^, nw.Der.i, Lin.^,
n.Lin.^
2. Phr. (i) to be on the tnarlock, to play tricks ; (2) to make
marlocks at, to make eyes at, to flirt.
(i) Lan. If that wurno a knock my ears are on th' marlock,
Brierley Old Nook, iii. (2) Yks. Thou's gazing after yon meddle-
some chap, . . and he making marlocks back at thee, Gaskell
Sylvia (1863) 11. xiii.
3. A fraudulent contrivance or trick.
m.Yks.i He said that he could not recollect nothing about it now.
Thinks 1 to myself, * That's a morlock, however.'
4. An unfortunate accident.
w.Yks. Hamilton NugaeLH. (1841) 350 ; Send for the plumber,
there's a marlock w't watter (J.R. ).
5. One who plays pranks, a fool. Yks. (Hall.) Lan.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) 6. v. To play, frolic, romp ;
of a horse : to be restive, kick.
Wm. Tha did marlock an' kaper aboot a top et girs, Clarke
'VReysh Beearin (1863). Yks. I seed Squeer Scamodeen's great
bull ... a tearin', and marlockin', Fetherston T, Goorkrodger
{\^l6) 72. w.Yks. A squad a cats mailakin on t'roof a t'stable,
Pogmoor Olm. (1893) 43 ; We began malackin ameng t'desks an
t'seats, Yksman. (Oct. 1878) 265. Lan. An' let yo romp an' mar-
lock theer, Ramsbottom Phases, of Distress (1864) 99; Is yon
Rondle's o' Crumpers marlockin' about the fowd again ? Waugh
Chim. Corner (1874) 120, ed. 1879 ; Lan.^, Chs.^
Hence (i) Marlocker, sb. one who plays a practical .
joke ; (2) Marlocking,///. adj., (3) Marlocky, adj. play-
ful, frolicsome.
(i) Lan. Some marlocker or other had festnt a pair o' chylt's
clogs to its feet, Mellor Ut^cle Owdem (1865) 22. (2) w.Yks.
They wor all in a marlakin' humour, Binns Grig. (1889) No. i. 7.
Lan. That road wur alus haunted wi' som mack o' marlockin frolic-
som feiends, Donaldson Rossendel Beef-neet, 12. Chs.^ (3) LaHi
I felt raither marlocky mysel', Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) II. 116.
MARLY-SCRARLY, MARM, MARMAID, see Maskel,
Malm, Mermaid.
MARMIT, sb. Obsol. Sc. Shr. Also in forms marmint
Shr.i ; marmite Sc. ; marmot Shr.^ A cooking utensil.
Sc. We had neither pot nor marmite, Scott Nigel (1822) xii.
Shr.i A three-legged iron pot — holding about four quarts — to be
hung over the fire. ' Bring me the marmint, to bile some linsid fur
the cow's drench.' ' 2 Potts — i Marmitt,' are comprised in an In-
ventory, dated at Aston Botterell, about 1758; Shr.^ A pot with
hooks at each side. \_N. & Q. (1874) 5th S. i. 209.]
[Fr. marmite, a great pot, kettle, boyler or boyling lead ;
esp. such a one as is used for the boyhng of beef in the
kitchins of abbeys (Cotgr.).]
MARNDER, see Maunder.
MARNULL, 56. Dor. Also in form marnhill. A game,
see below. Cf. merrils.
A carter's lads' game, played with 9 white and 9 black stones, or
pieces of chalk and coal. The game is to make a Hne of Three.
When any player has done this he is at liberty to take off the board
one of his opponent's men. This goes on till only 3 of one
colour are left. Then the men (or stones) can jump to any vacant
MARNUM HOLE
[41]
MARROW
corner, and try to form another row of Three. When this is done
the game is over, and the player who has most men left on the
board wins (C. J.F.) ; Out on the downs, &c., at odd times they cut
a ' board ' in the turf and have a game al fresco. I have never
seen the game played, but I have once or twice seen the figure
in question cut in the turf and wondered what it could be. Mar-
null is the name of a village in the north of Dorset (H.J.M.).
MARNUM HOLE, /^r. Lin. The south-west quarter
of the heavens.
n.Lm. We hevn't done wi' down-fall yet, th' wind's gotten into
Marnum Hole agen, A^. 6* Q. (1870) 4th S. v. 341 ; Probably Lower
Marnham, near Tuxfcrd, lying south-west of its vilifiers, gets the
credit of originating all the rain a south-west wind brings, ib. 432 ;
n.Lln.i Gen. used in relation to rain.
MAROLL, see Marble.
MAR00L,s6. Sh.I. The sea-devil or frog-fish, Zo^;^«<s
piscatorius. {Coll. L.L.B.), S. & Ork.^
[Norw. dial, mar-ulk, marul, ' Lophius piscatorius '
(Aasen) ; Dan. marulk (Larsen).]
MAROONJUS, adj. Sc. Also written marounjous
Abd. ; and in forms morungeous n.Sc. (Jam.) ; murreun-
geous e.Fif. Harsh, stern ; outrageous ; obstreperous.
Also used advb.
n.Sc. Often conjoined with another term expressing the same
idea ; as ' morungeous cankered ' (Jam.). Abd, Neen there hed a
mair maroonjus face, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xviii ; We'll
better use the bracelets [handcuffs], Tam, they're twa marounjous
deils, Ogg W^!7& Wa^v (1873) 80. e.Fif. Oot sprang a pair o' mur-
reungeous rascals frae the wud, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) ix.
MAROW, MARQUERY, see Marrow, sb.^, Mercury.
MARR, V. Sc. (Jam.) [mar.] 1. To purr as a cat ; of
an infant : to make a cooing sound. Cld. See Mur(r, v.
2. With up : to make a noise like two cats when pro-
voking each other to fight ; fig. to urge on or keep one to
work. Ags., Cld.
MARR, MARRA, MARRABLE, see Mar, v., Marrow,
Marble.
MARRAM, sb. Irel. Lin. e.An. Sur. Also written
marem, marrum Nrf. ; marum Sur. ; and in forms mor-
ran Ir. ; murram Nrf. [maTsm.] 1. The mat-grass or
sea-reed, Psamma arenaria. Gen. in comp. Marram-grass.
Ir. (B. & H.) Lin. Marram grass grows abundantly on the sand-
banks of our coast, Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 232. e.An.'
Nrf. Found on sandhills or artificially planted to prevent drifting
(R.H.H.) ; We looked idly at the tufts of Marram-grass, Emerson
Yams (1891) 37 ; (B. & H.) e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787).
Sur. Tufts of marum, or bents — for this creeping, wiry, grass-like
growth is called by either name, Forest Tithes (1893) 39.
2. Comp. Marram-bound, overgrown and held together
by ' marram-grass.'
Nrf. I wandered by a farm on the marshlands, just within the
jagged fortalice of the marram-bound dunes, Emerson Marsh
Leaves (1898) 15.
3. pi. Places where the ' marram-grass ' abounds. Nrf
(B. & H.)
[1. ON. mar-almr, qs. marhalmr, ' sea-straw,' sea-grass
(Vigfusson).]
MARRASS, sb. ? Obs. n.Yks.^ A morass, ground
liable to be flooded.
[Mys out of f>is marras as any mayn foxes, IVars Alex.
(c. 1450) 3932. M Du. maras, marasch, a morass (Oudemans) .]
MARREL-, see Merrils.
MARRIABLE.a^'. w.Yks. (J.W.) ne.Lan.» [ma'riabl.]
Marriageable.
[Maryable, nubilis, Prompt. OF. mariable (Godefroy).]
MARRIAGE, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
in form merridge Sc. [maTidg, msBTidg.] In comp. (i)
Marriage-bone, the merrythought of a fowl ; (2) -lines, a
marriage certificate ; (3) -sark, a shirt made by the bride
to be worn by the bridegroom on the day of the marriage ;
(4) -shake, a ticking sound.
(i) Cai.i (2) e.Yks.i, w.Yks.^s Lan. Filling up the register,
obtaining the marriage lines, BRiERLEY/;'Wa/« (1865) 233, ed. 1868;
Lan.', Chs.3, Not.', Lin.', Rut.', Lei.' War. Leamington Courier
(Mar. 13, 1897) ; War.234^ s.War.' Wor. The witness ' handed
in her own marriage-lines,' Evesham Jrn. (Jan. 8, 1898). Glo.'
Nrf. Francis War. IVds. (1876) 129. e.Suf. (F.H.), w.Som.' (3)
VOL. IV,
ne.Sc. Ah've seen the bridegroom's merridge sark torn owre's lugs
in blauds wi' fechtin'. Green Gordonhaven (1887) 70. (4) Sh.I. A
sound like the ticking of a watch was called a ' marriage shaek,'
Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 163.
MARRIED, ppl. adj. Chs. War. Shr. Som. 1. Applied
to women : faded, careless in appearance or dress.
w.Som.' Her was a smart, perky little 'ummun vore he married
her, but her lookth married sure 'nough now.
2. Phr. married all o'er (over), said of a woman who, after
marriage, becomes changed for the worse in appearance.
Chs.' War.2 'I see young Mrs. Waters to-day.' 'Ah, how
was 'er lookin' ? ' ' Married-all-over a'ready.' Shr.' ' Han'ee sid
Mary Gittins lately?' ' Iss, dunna-d-'er look bad? Aye, 'er's
married all o'er ! '
MARRINADE, MARRISH, see Marinade, Marish.
MARROT, sb. Sc. Cum. Also written marrott Sc. ;
and in form morrot Sc. [ma'rat.] 1. The common
guillemot, Lomvia troile.
e.Sc. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 218 ; Pennant Zool. Birds (1776)
521 (Jam.). Frf. The marrots light the billows fan, Sands Poems
(1833) 46. Edb. Norwill I spare a marrot, nor yet a kitty-weake,
Maidment Garland (1824) 51, ed. 1868.
2. The razor-bill, Alca torda.
Abd. SwAiNSON ib. 217. Fif. Sibbald Hist. Fif. (1803) 112 (Jam.).
e.Lth. Swainson ib. 217. Cum. (R.H.H.)
MARROW, s6.' Var. dial, and slang uses in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also written marra n.Ir. Cum.*n.Dev. ; and in
form morrow Ir. [ma'r3,maera.] 1. In cow/, (i) Marrow-
bones, {a) the knees ; (6) castanets, bones ; performers
on the castanets ; (2) -truth, simple truth, the verj' truth.
(i, a) Abd. Ance get . . . fowk upo' their marrow-banes til 'im,
haith, he'll lat them sit there ! Macdonald Castle Warlock (1882)
xix. Slg. Low on his marrow-bones to an old deaf and bhnd
cobler, Galloway Poem^ (1810) Sutors Mag. 9. Ir. The cause
the devils and ' morrow-bones,' Paddiana (ed. 1848) I. 168. n.Ir.
Down ! on yer marra bones — Flet on yer marra bones, Lays and
Leg. (1884) 51. Cum.* It wad'nt a bin good fer his marra-beaans,
Sargisson /oc 5<ro«/i (1881) 64. w.Yks.' I'll bring him down on
his marrow bones. nw.Der.' Som. [She] was down on her
marrow-bones upon the hard road to fasten together the torn frock,
Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) vii. w.Som.' To bring down to
their marrow-bones. n.Dev. And nif by gurt hap tha dest zey
mun at oil, thy marrabones shan't kneelee, Exm. Scold. (1746) i.
268. Slang. So down on your marrowbones, Jew, and ask mercy!
Barham Ingoldsby (ed. 1864) Merchant of Venice. (6) Lon. We
the King's Royal Bell Ringers and the marrow bones and cleavers
pays our usal and customary respects. . . Having our marrow bones
and cleavers all ready to perform if reqired, N. £?* Q. (1893) 8th S.
iii. 251. (2) Der. That's marrow truth, let who will deny it. Gushing
Voe (1888) II. i.
2. The centre, the essential part, the best of anything ;
the main point, or the full meaning.
Ir. He had sent ' the marrow of it ' to his sister, Barlow Lisconnel
(1895) 258. Yks. Thou's hit t'marrow on t'matter, Gaskell Sylvia
(1863) II. iii. Lin.' Now I have got at the marrow of the thing.
3. A term applied to the doctrine of a particular sect of
the Scottish Church ; also used attrib.
Sc. The work ' The Marrow of Modern Divinity,' published by
Edward Fisher in 1718 ; a work which exercised a powerful influence
in its day and paved the way for the secession from the Church
of Scotland in 1736. Those who preached the evangelical doctrines
of the ' Marrow ' were known as the ' Marrow-men,' and hence the
application of the name to a ' kirk ' is not unlikely, Montgomerie-
Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899). Gall. Allan Welsh, minister of
the Marrow Kirk in the parish of DuUarg, Crockett Lilac Sun-
bonnet (1895) i ; The precious and savoury truths of the pure marrow
teaching, ib.
MARROW, sb.^, adj. and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc.
Irel. and n. counties to Chs. Der. Also Shr. ? Dev. Also
written marow Shr.^ ; marro e. Yks. w.Yks. Lan. ; and in
forms mar- Lth. ; marra Sc. N.Cy.' Nhb.' e.Dur.^ Lakel.^
Cum.* Wm. w.Yks. n.Lan.' ; marrah w.Yks. ; marrer
Nhb. n.Yks.* ; marry w.Yks.^ ; morrow S. & Ork.' Cai.'
[ma'ra.] 1. sb. A match, equal ; an exact counterpart
or likeness, a facsimile. Also in pi. form.
Sc. There she stood the very marrowof a country queen, Keith
Bonnie Lady (1897) 51 ; Nae man can seek his marrow in the kirn
sae well as he that has been in it himsel', Ferguson Prov. (1641)
26. Sh.I. I guess you ain't never heerd the morrow of them in
G
MARROW
[42]
MARROW
your bom days, Burgess Tang (1898) 149; S. & Ork.i Cai.'
Elg. His marrow's nae i' the toon, Tester Poems (1865) 129. Bnff.
Taylor Poems (1787) 22. e.Sc. It was a room the very marrow
of this, Setoun R. Urquhart (1896) iii. Abd. Oor nain Maggie
hisna 'er marrow i' the pairis' for a biddable, aiven-temper't lassie,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 74. Kcd. Grant Lays (1884) 190.
Frf. Sam'l Fairweather has the marrows o't on his top coat, Barrie
Minister (1891) xv. Per. Ye'U no get the marra of him in six
pairishes, Ian Maclaren Auld Lang Syne (1895) 235. s.Sc.
(A.C.) Rnf. Y ovKQ.Pidures (1865) 134. Ayr. A coorse, muckle
sumph, the very marrow of her lord, Service Dr. Duguid (ed.
1887) 75. Lnk. I ne'er hae seen his marrow yet, Nicholson
Idylls (1870) 121. e.Lth. Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 239. Edb.
You hae nae marrow, sure, in nature, Crawford Poems (1798)
88. Hdg. LuMSDEN Poems (1896) 63. Slk. Mysell for speed had
not ray marrow, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 434. Dmf. Reid Poems
(1894) 48. Gall. But 'las! thou hast oure mony marrows,
Nicholson Poet. IVks. (1814) 89, ed. 1897. N.Cy.i Nhb. A men
wha's marrow's hard to meet, Clare Love of Lass (1890) II. 80 ;
There's coal at Wallsend Can scarcely meet with a marrow, White
Nhb. (1859) 119; Nhb.i s.Dur. She's met with her marrow
(J.E.D.). Lakel.^ Cum. For singing he ne'er had a marrow,
Anderson Ba//aafs(ed. 1808) 47; Ahatt'marrows 6 Mary Hanson's,
Farrall SeWjv f^/fao« (1886) 10 ; Cum.'* Cum., Wm. Fine wark
indeed, here! Lang tack follow thy marrow (M.P.). Wm. A
fearful girt cat ; . . I nivver saa his marrow, Wheeler Dial. (1790)
III, ed. 1831 ; Itle just fit tha es weel es ivver Jammy Langrnire
nogg fit Jammy, an thoo knaas thae wor a marra, Spec. Dial.
(1885) pt. iii. 33. n.Yks.'234 e.Yks. T'aud squire's getten a
dowter withoot a marro, Wray Nesileton (1876) 283 ; e.Yks.' Ah
niwer seed his marrow at plooiu. m.Yks.' They are marrows in
bone-idleness. w.Yks. He's t'verra marrah tul him (J.J.B.) ;
w.Yks.' Etraath, there nivver wort'marrowto him, ii. 286; w.Yks. '^;
w.Yks.s Ah niwer seen his marrow i' awal my born daays, 74.
Lan. Its marrow cannot be fun in o' the countryside, Thornber
Penny Stone (1845) 9, ed. 1886 ; He wor th' marrow ov his brother
Dick, Lahee Owd Yem, 15 ; Lan.^, n.Lan.*, ne.Lan.', e.Lan.^,
m.Lan.^ Chs. Yow wudna foind . . . his marrow in the shoir,
Warburton Hunting Sngs. (i860) 93 ; Chs.', Der.^
Hence (i) A-marrows, arfz). alike, equal, corresponding ;
(2) Marrowless, adj. matchless, incomparable, without an
equal.
(i) Cum. Beath amarras (H.W.). Cum., Wm. Not a-marrows
(M.P.). (2) Sc. ' You are maiden marrowless,' a taunt to girls that
think much of themselves and doings, Kelly Prow. (1721) 385;
Nae equal to you but our dog, Sorkie, and he's dead, and ye're
marrowless, Henderson Prov. (1832) 132, ed. 1881. S. & Ork.'
Edb. Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) Gl. Kcb. My sweetest,
my matchless, and my most marrowless and marvellous well-
beloved, Rutherford i«//. (1660) No. 180. N.Cy.',Cum.*, w.Yks.i
2. Of things : one of a pair.
Sc. My buckles are not marrows, Scoticisms (1787) 16. Sh.I.
My een is mebbie no morrows, Sh. News (Apr. 29, 1899). Frf.
Me wearin a pair o' boots 'at wasna marrows ! Barrie Thrums
(1889) XV. Gall. A pair of boots — which though they were not
marrows, Crockett C/«g-/ir«//)i(i896) 337. n.Cy.(J.L. 1783); N.Cy.';
N.Cy.'^ A pair of gloves or shooes are not marrows. Nhb.' Aa've
getten yen byut on, but aa canna find the marra ti'd. Dnr. It's no
use keeping that stocking, the marrow's lost (A.B.) ; Dur.i These
gloves are not marrows. s.Dur. Whar's t'marrow to this stocking?
(J.E.D.) Lakel.2 If ye've a pair o' owt, an' h'es lost yan, ye'll
want t'marrow. Cum.'' This is not the marrows of it, Sullivan,
80. s.Wm. (J.A.B.) n.Yks.i 'Looks-tee! Ah've fun a glove.'
■< Aye, an' here's t'marrow on't ' ; n.Yks.^* ne.Yks.i We had two,
bud we've lost t'marrow tiv it. e.Yks. ' Them two stockins is
marrows. w.Yks. Willan List Wds. (i8ii) ; Banks IVkfld. Wds.
(1865); w.Yks.' Thur stockins o' mine are not marrows ; w.Yks.",
s.Chs.',Der,' nw.Der.'Whichisth'marrowtothis? Shr.'Theywun
off the same ship, Sir ; this leg's the marrow o' the one yo' seed.
That inna the marrow o' the boot the child's got on, it belungs to
another.
Hence Marrowless, adj. not a pair, not matching, odd.
Sc. Ye hae on marrowless hose (Jam.). e.Fif. On his feet were
a pair o' marrowless bauchles, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xiv.
Dmb. A marrowless glove and a lang-teethed heckle, Cross Dis-
ruption (1844) xxiii. Ayr. There was a body leeved in D'ry parish
ance put on marrowless stockins ae day to the kirk, Service Dr.
Duguid {ed. 1887) 213. Lth. Its mar'less shoon are worn as thin
As Queen Anne coins, Ballantine Poems (1856) 130. Nhb.'
Cum. Forby usin' marrowless buttons, Anderson Ballads (1805)
22 ; Cnm.i
3. A companion, mate, partner ; a workfellow.
Sc. Unto another priest his marrow. Who sent a maid his boots
to borrow, Colvil Whigs' Supplication (ed. 1796) 1. 1589. S. &
Ork.i Ayr. It was nae a richt thing for us to be marrows in ony
sic trade wi' cripple Janet, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) v. Ltta. Sae
shalt thou dow, Wi' thy feckless marrows, my sweet wee bairn,
Ballantine Poems (1856) 60. N.Cy.'^ Nhb. Weel, him an'
Charlie wes the thickest o' marrers thegither, Pease Mark o' Deil
(1894) 19 ; Nhb.' We've been working marrows for the last six
months. Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). Dur. ' Ma
marrow's off work.' A pitman calls the man who works with
him, or who works at the same place at a different time, his marrow
(A.B.). e.Dur.' Cum. He wassent a bad marrow f'r o' that.
Christian Mason Ghost Story (1880) 10 ; Cum.' ; Cum.3 A weel
to do, thoroughly oald marrow was Joe, 160. n.Yks. Shipmen
who were marrows to those who sailed to Greenland and Finland,
Atkinson Whitby (1894) 97. e.Yks. Spoken of oxen, &c., Mar-
shall 7?«?-. Econ. (1788). w.Yks. ' Ye're joking, man.' 'Not o,
marra, o'm non jokin,' The Tocsin (1841) 5 ; w.Yks.' Ass my
marrow, if I be a thief; w.Yks.* Lan. He olus us'd to do, when
ut he sprodded obewt weh his marros, Paul Bobbin Sequel
(1819) 42; He freely will his money spend When he meets his
marrow, Halliwell Pal. Anthol. (1850) 75 ; Lan.', n.Lan.',
ne.Lan.', Chs.'^^s s.Chs.' 'That's one o' yur marrows.' Not
common except in compounds, as ' plee-marrow," schoo'-marrow.'
Der.2, nw.Der.', Shr.'* ?n.Dev. Grose (1790).
Hence Marrowless, adj. companionless, solitary.
Ayr. Know thou art not marrowless in thy exercise, Dickson
Sel. Writings (1660) I. 58, ed. 1845. Cum."*
4. A spouse, a husband or wife ; a lover, wooer ; of
animals or birds : a mate.
Sc. Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny bonny bride. Busk ye, busk
ye, my winsome marrow, Ramsay Tea-Table Misc. (1724) I. 235,
ed. 187 1. Sh.I. O say ye no this, my ain winsome marrow, O say
no this ta me, Stewart Tales (1893) 236 ; I soucht dee fur mi
morrow. Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 128. n.Sc. O stay at hame,
my ain gude lord, O stay, my ain dear marrow, Buchan Ballads
(ed. 1875) II. 194. Cai.' Elg. Ye may mourn your lang-wist
marrow, Couper Poetry (1804) II. 265. Abd. Her that's been my
marrow for foorty year, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 62. Kcd.
At hame his marrow Tibbie, Wisna a' thegither bare. Grant
Lays (1884) 39. Frf. Some foaming wave has prov'd the grave Of
my long absent marrow, Morison Poems (1790) 124. Per. Wi'
the curse o' your marrow, John Tod, Stewart Character (1857)
70. Dmb. Folks are beginning to speak o' us already as marrows,
Cross Disruption (1844) xx. Rnf. Picken Poems (1813) I. 115.
Ayr. Ye kiss'd the 'spoony' hours away, Wi' Will, your winsome
marrow, Ainslie Land of Buy ns (ed. 1892) 290. Lnk. Here's to
our Queen an' her marrow, Rodger Poems (1838) 61, ed. 1897.
Lth. McNeill Preston (c. 1895) 69. Edb. Here the braw young
bride, Wi' her winsome marrow, sleeps side by side, Maclagan
Poems (1851) 132. Slk. O stay at hame, my noble lord ! O stay
at liame, my marrow I Borland Yarrow (i8go) 18. Kcb. I've
lingered in the hawthorn shade To meet my winsome marrow,
Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 135. Wm. & Cum.' But his inconstant
marrow Mag . . . Lowsed his timmer leg. n.Yks.' ' A fine eagle,
that, Robert.' ' Aye. An' Ah tried main paart iv a' month t'get
t'marrow tiv it. 'Twurt'bigger bo'd o' t'tweea.' ne.Lan.' There's
never a sparrow Without its marrow. Chs. Let's be mate an
marrow, Clough B. Bresskittle (1879) 8 ; Chs.'; Chs.* The robin
and the wren Are God's cock and hen. The martin and the swallow
Are God's mate and marrow.
Hence Marrowless, adj. without a husband, unmarried.
Rnf. Awakes A thousand regrets in the marrowless lass, Thom
Rhymes, &c. (1844) 86.
5. adj. Similar, corresponding, like, equal.
n.Yks." w.Yks. It's just marro to one at Hepsabah won, Hart-
ley Grimed Visit (1893) 112; My britches is marrah to thine
(.lE.B.) ; w.Yks.* The marrow glove ; w.Yks.^ Lan. Aw never
sprad my e'en upo' th' marrow trick to this, Waugh Owd Bodle,
260. Chs.' Pigs of the same litter are called ' marrow pigs.'
s.Chs.' Weeflr)zdhu maar-u stok'in tii dhis? [Wheer's the marrow
stockin' to this ?] Shirts made of the same piece of stuff are
marrow to each other ; and a piece of new cloth of the same pat-'
tern used to mend a shirt might be said to be ' marrow to it.'
8. Phr. (i) a-marrow, see below ; (2) marrow fer bran,
(3) — the bran, alike, similar, equal ; (4) — to Bonny, lit. a
match for Buonaparte, equally bad ; (5) — to bran, (6) — to
mack, much alike, equal, similar, a match for ; (7) — to the
MARRY
[43J
MARSH
patch, well-matched ; (8) — to which, a counterpart, exact
likeness.
(i) Bnff.i ' Nae a marrow,' not an atom ; ' the deil a marrow,'
the devil a bit ; ' the sorra a marrow,' the sorrow at all. (2)
Lakel.2 (s'l w.Yks. (R.H.R.) (4) Lakel.^ Ye o' know t'sayen
t'marrow ta Bonny. w.Yks. Hlfx. Courier (May 22, 1897) ; Dyer
Dial. (1891) 105; w.Yks.3 ; w.Yks.^ One who has committed any
bad action, or bears a very bad character, is 'marrow to Bonny.'
(■5) s.Bnr. She's marrow to bran (J.E.D.). Cum. 'That j-en likes
his beer.' ' They're marra t'bran the yen as t'tudder ' (E.W.P.) ;
T'assel tree, teuh, was aboot marra-teh-bran, fer t'lin-pin whoU
was rovven oot eh beaath ends on't, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881)
217 ; Cnm.i w.Yks. Shoe's lived i' Preston a lang wile, and it's
marra to bran o' this place (F.P.T.) ; w.Yks.^s (6) w.Yks. He's
marrow to mack, Hlfx. Courier (May 22, 1897). (7) Chs.i A
husband and wife who were rather strange characters, and about
equally eccentric, were said lo be ' marrow to the patch.' (8) Yks.
This toast-dog's marra to which of your grandmother's (F.P.T.).
7. V. To match, equal.
Sc. (A.W.),N.Cy.i Nhb.Alad . . . thitcudmarra the intorprysin'
fishin'-gad ways o' the famis man, Keelman s Ann. (1869) 3; Nhb.i
Aa've tried ti marrow the colour. Dur.i Cum. A beild I hae that
marrows thy ain, Burn Ballads (ed. 1877) 78 ; Cum.^ Wm. The
rest of the week ya day marrows another, Hutton Bran New
IVark (1785) 1. 13. n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.^ 'They marrow badly.'
' Marrow me that an ye pleease,' match me the pattern shown ;
n.Yks.*, e.Yks.i, m.Yks.'^ w.Yks. In tossing for money: 'Will
thou marrow me, or sail I marrow thee?' [Shall I put a coin down
covered by my hand, and will you put down another?] (S.P.U.) ;
w.Yks.13; w.Yks.5 Tak this an' ass 'em to marrow'tthuh, an' bring
a yard on't. ne.Lan.^
8. To mate, couple, wed ; to join, unite.
Rnf. Strayed 'mang misty groves, Wi' ice-wreathed maidens to
marrow, Thom Rhymes, &c. (1844) 89. Ayr. Charlie Walkinshaw
and Bell Fatherlans were a couple marrowed by their Maker, Galt
Entail (1823) xvii. Edb. He's wise wha marrows wi' content,
Though in a rustic biel', Maclagan Poems (1851) 280. n.Wm. To
form a draught of horses by joining. They marrowed t'nags that
year ta mow (B.K.).
9. To lend men or horses for labour to a neighbour and
to receive a similar loan in return when needed. N.I.^
[3. Marwe, or felawe yn trauayle, socius, sodalis, compar.
Prompt^
MARRY, I). Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
in form merry Sc. [ma'ri, mee'ri.] In phr. (i) to marry
away from, to be married from a certain place, to have the
weddmg festivities at; (2) — on, (3) — upon, (4) — with,
to marry, to be married to ; (5) — itself, to marry ; (6) —
the pigs, to ring the noses of pigs ; (7) wha to be married
first, a card game.
(i) w.Yks. (J.W. ) s.Not. Nan was married away from 'er place
(J.P.K.). (2) Sc. Helen, . . who was married on Menelaus, King
of Sparta, Scotidsms (1787) 115; It's a common report she's to
be marriet on Mr. Leonard, Roy Horseman's Wd. (1895') ix. Frf.
Rintoul's making his ain ill luck by marrying on a young leddy,
Barrie Jl/»««i'«r(i89i)xxv. Fif. Lieb'sgrandmither. . . wasmerrit
on auld Rab Johnstone, Heddle Marget {i&gg) 37. Lnk. Ye wad a
been married on a lownlike, leepet, lazy lump, Graham Writings
(1883) II. 28. Edb. Ye than was just new married on a Kate,
An I on Jenny, Learmont Poems (1791) 192. Gall. (A.W.)
N.I.l N.Cy.iMissA is married on Mr. B . (3) Sc. And
she was married again upon my Uncle Robert, Stevenson Cai-
riona (1893) xxi ; A sister married upon a minister, Ramsay
Remin. (ed. 1859) loi. Abd..'Whaurfor my mistress at the Hoose
sudna be merried upo' Lord Liftore, Macdonald Lossie (1879)
Ixvi. Ir. The handsome gintleman she's married upon, Carleton
Traits Peas. (1843) I. 417. N.I.' She was married upon a man
they call M"Kee. (4) Dor. I doan't wish my zon to marry wid
shee, N. & Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 157. w.Som.i (5) Ir. Where
would ye take her if ye were married itself? Paddiana (ed. 1848)
I. 97. (6) Hrf.2 When about to ring the noses of pigs, they say
they are about to ' marry the pigs.' (7) Gall. MACTAGGART£>ji;_)'d.
(1824) 458, ed. 1876.
MARRY, int. Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Der. Lin. Also in form mary Der.^ [ma'ri.] 1. A
term of asseveration, indeed, truly ; esp. in phr. Aye, marry.
Edb. Marry ! I was forgetting that— but I am sore bestead,
BEATTYSfcre/a*- (1897) 133. N.Cy.i, Dur.i, s.Dur. (J.E.D.) Cum.'
Marry dud ha. Wm. Et wad mak enny boddy mad, .. . marry
wod it, Close Satirist (1833) 161. n.Yks. Used by old people
more than it is used now. If asked to do a thing, reply might be
' Nut I, marry ' (W.H.) ; n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.^ ' It's coming on rain.'
' Ay, Marry ! it is ' ; n.Yks.-* Aye marry ! bud sha's a beauty. Aye
marry, tha're wed noo hard eneeaf. ne.Yks.i Aye, marry; they
will that. e.Yks.i Aye, marry, it's time they Was wed. m.Yks.^
Nay marry ! Marry bairn ! w.Yks. He's nooan i' love wi me, net
he marry ! Hartley Clock Aim. (1889) 52 ; w.Yks.' Satisfied !
nay nut I marry wi' thy argument, ii. 328 : w.Yks.^ O'm e nooa
varra gret hurra, not o marra; w.Yks.3 Yus, marry 1 can he?
Lan. I would not remind thee o' these things. . . Not I, marry !
Brierley Cotters, xii. ne.Lan.', Der.' Obs. Lin. Nay marry
not I, I don't care which an a woy it goes, Lin. N. & Q. III. 11.
2. Phr. (i) marry and shall, that I will ; (2) — come out,
(3) — come up, exclamations of surprise ; (4) — come up,
my dirty cousin, an expression used to those who are very
fastidious or who assume a distinction to which they have
no claim ; (5) — geaupe, an expression of reproach ; (6) —
f faaith, an asseveration, indeed, verily; (7) — me, (8) —
on us, see (3).
(i) n.Cy. Grose (1790) iI/5. «rfrf. (P.); N.Cy.i (2) N.Cy.' (3)
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; N.Cy.', Dur.', Cum.' s.Wm.
UuTTOs Dial. Stoiih and Arnside {1^60)1.32. w.Yks.' (4)Chs.'^^
(5) n.Yks. Marry geaupe stink, you're varra dench'd, I trow,
Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 57. (6) n.Lin.' Naay, marry i'
faaith, I'll not do that. (7) m.Yks.' ^8) N.Cy.'
[1. Orig. an interjectional oath, calling to witness the
Virgin Mary. ' Ye,' quod the preest, ' ye, sir, and wol ye
so ? Marie ! ther-of I pray yow hertely ! ' Chaucer C. T.
G. 1062.]
MARSGUM, sb. Sh.I. Also in form masgum. The
frog-fish or sea-devil, Lophius piscatorius.
Is it a masgum or a turbot ? Stewart Tales (1892) 31 ; S. & Ork.'
MARSH, sb} and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms march Shr.' e.An.' Nrf. e.Suf ; mash
Oxf Brks.' e.An.'= Nrf. Suf Ken. I.W.' w.Som.' Dev.*;
meesh Sur.' ; mesh Nrf Sus.' w.Hmp. Dev.* s.Dev.
[marj, maj, maej, mej.] 1. sh. In comb, (i) Marsh-bird,
\a) a frog ; {b) a man of the marshes, one who works or
lives in the marshes ; (2) -briarj.the horse-fly ; (3) -butes,
tall boots for working in boggy land ; (4) -hay, hay grown
on marsh-land ; (5) -land, [a] a name given to the borders
of Lincolnshire ; {b) rich alluvial soil ; (6) -land bailiff,
the ague ; (7) -landers, cattle of the marsh-land or short-
horned breed ; (8) -man, see (i, b) ; (9) -owl, the short-
eared owl, Asio brachyotus ; (10) -sheep, the white-faced
Kentish breed of sheep; (11) -tide, an exceptionally high
tide, flooding the marshes.
(i, fl) e.An.' Nrf. Cozens Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 45. e.Suf.
(F.H.) (6) Ken. A ' ma'shbird ' has a grave demeanour, and very
deliberate he is in action, Ann. Fishing Village (ed. 1892) ■^. (2)
Ess. You have treated me, as I would not treat a marsh briar,
Baring-Gould Mehalah (1885) 279. (3) e.An.'^, e.Suf. (F.H.)
(4) Nrf. A sack of sweet 'mesh' hay an' a blanket or tew to tuck
yerself in, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 50. (5, a) Lin. I were
living sarvant wi' a farmer down i' Marshland, Monthly Packet (Apr.
1862)377. (6) w.Som.' Good marsh-land to let. Very com. advert.
[Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863).] (6) Nrf. He was arrested by the
Marshland bailiff (A.C). (7) e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787).
(8) Lin. A marshman, a fenraan, and = woldsman are different
beings, Longman's Mag. (Jan. 1891) 252. (9) Nrf. Emerson Birds
(ed. 1895) 167. (10) Sur.' (11) Nrf. On the marshes over which
the sea just retains its hold by flooding it at the high ' marsh tides,'
there is neither pebble nor stone, Cornh. Mag. (Mar. 1899) 314.
2. Cow6. in plant-names: (i)Marsh-bent, (2) -bent grass,
the fine-top grass, Agrostis alba; (3) -daisy, the thrift,
A rmeria maritima ; (4) -helleborine, the Epipactispalustris;
(5) -holy more, the marsh-rosemary, Andromeda polifolia ;
(6) -mallice, -mallish, or -mallus, (a) the marsh-mallow,
Malva sylvesiris ; (b) the white mallow. Althaea officinalis;
(7) -mallow, (a) see (6, b) ; [b) the dwarf-mallow, Malva
rotundifolia ; (c) the marsh-marigold, Caltha palustris ; (8)
-pilewort, the small celandine, Ranunculus Ficaria ; (9)
•succory, the marsh-hawksbeard, Crepis paludosa ; (10)
-violet, the common butterwort, Pinguicula vulgaris;
(11) -weed, the marsh-horsetail, Equisetum palustre ; (12)
■woundwort, the marsh-betony, Stachys palustris.
(i) Ayr. The heath may wave abroad its bloom, and the marsh-
G 2
MARSH
[44]
MARTIN
bent its white downy banner, Ainslie Land of Bums (ed. 1892)
15. Sus. Marshall Review (1814) V. (2) Bnff. Gordon Chron.
Keith (1880) 284. (3) Cum.i (4) Hmp. The marsh helleborine [is
to be found] in Long parish swamp, Longman's Mag. (Dec. 1899)
152. (5) Dor. (G.E.D.) (6, a) Nhb.i (s.v. Maws). Lakel.= Shr.i
March-mallus stewed into a tay is a mighty good thing fur swellin'
as comes from rheumatiz. -w-Som.! Mash mallice lay's the finedest
thing in the wordle vor th' infermation. Dev. Now, ef yer ladyship
will unly make a mashmally poultice an' put up tu yer veace, 'tweel
dra' out awl tha 'flammation avore marning. Mashmally-tay is
very giide vur colds in the heyde! HEWETrPeas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.*
(b) I.W.i (s.v. Mallus). (7, a) Yks., Suf. (6) Chs.i (c) n.Yks.
(8) Nhp.' (g) w.Yks. Lees /^/ora (1888) 305. (10) w. Yks. (11)
Dev." (la) Bnff. When bruised used to cure wounds, Gordon
Chron. Keith (1880). Edb. Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 133, ed. 1815.
3. A name given locally to certain particular marshes.
Oxf.' Marsh Gibbon is always called Mash. ' Gooin' t'Mash t'day ? '
Ken.i In East Kent the Marsh means Romney Marsh. Sns.i The
Southdown folk always speak of Pevensey level as The Mesh. ' I
went down to Pemsey last week, and walked out on The Mesh.'
w.Hmp. The low-lying land round Christchurch Haibour subject
to floods is called the Mesh (H.C.M.B.).
4. Low-lying land liable to be flooded ; grass lands near
the sea ora river, whether dry or swampy; rich,levelland.
Lin. The marshes are the flat lands stretching along the sea-coast
which have been reclaimed from the sea ; the fens are the flat lands
which, by a triumph of engineering art, have been reclaimed from
the%vj3^mi>s, Longman's Mag. (Jan. 1891) 253. Brks.' The Mash
is sometimes a fine meadow, as at Newbury. Nrf. I went back to
the sheep. . . I used to drive 'em down to mash along with the cows,
Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 23. e.Nrf. The upper sides (of the
fens, or swampy margins of the rivers and lakes which abound in
the southern part of this district) being frequently out of the water's
way, afford a proportion of grazable land : hence, probably, they
are provincially termed marshes, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787) I.
320. Suf. Have you driv them cows to mash this morning?
(M.E.R.) ; Suf. I- Som. All the level country which was once
covered with sea is called ' the mash' (W.F.R.). w.Som.i There is
no implication of bog or swamp. ' The marshes ' are some of the
richest grazingland in Somerset. s.Dev.Appliedlooselyto meadows
by the riverside, whether dry or marshy. 'A few meshes down
the river' (G.E.D.).
5. V. To work in the marshes.
Nrf. I went mashing along with the old chap, Emerson Son of
Fens (1892) 78 ; Includes marsh-mowing, dyke-cutting, bottom-
fying, dike-drawing, &c., ib. note.
MARSH, sb.'^ .' Obs. Wm. A sausage or pudding in
a gut. (K.)
MARSH, see March, sA.=
MARSHALSEA MONEY, phr. Obs. Oxf. e.An. A
charge by which parishes were bound to contribute for
the relief of poor prisoners confined in the King's Bench
and Marshalsea prison ; the county rate.
Oxf. ' Marshalsea money ' continued to be paid by the overseers
until about the year 1827. . . Then it seems to have merged into
the county rate, Stapleton Three Parishes (1893) 278. e.An.^
MARSK, sb. Wm. Also in form mask. Moor, high
rough pasture land.
Wm. T'sheep's up i' t'marsk (B.K.) ; We're gaen ta inclouse
Soully Mask, an' it will cost a cony penny, Close Tales and Leg.
(1862) 35.
MAR'S YEAR, /i^r. Obs. Sc. A name given to the
year 1715.
Sc. It has received this denomination from the Earl of Mar, who
took the lead in this insurrection and commanded the rebel army
in Scotland (Jam.). Ayr. Auld uncle John, wha wedlock's joys Sin'
Mar's-year did desire, Burns Halloween (1785) st. 27.
MART, sb.'^ Chs. Cmb. [mat.] 1. Obs. In comp.
Mart-cart, a market-cart.
Chs.i 'Bought a mart-cart at Thos. Henshall's sale for £0 144. od.'
From an old farm memorandum-book (1787),
2. A pleasure-fair.
Cmb.i Wisbech mart begins the Saturday after the end of Lynn
mart.
MART, 56.2 Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Also in forms maert
Sh.I.; mairt Sc. N.Cy.^ Nhb.^ Cum.i ; mert S. & Ork.^
Wgt. [mart, mert.] 1. A cow or ox fattened to be killed
and salted or smoked for winter provision ; any meat
pickled and stored for the winter. Also used 7?^.
Sc. They cam out to gather marts for the garrison, Scott Old
Mortality (1816) xxvii ; The farmer had to consider how he was
to provide a winter's mart, Hislop Anecdote (1874) 258. Sh.I.
Sic an annimal as shQ wis, an' a maert ta da bargain, Sh. News
(July 2, 1898) ; When they [trows] wished to take a nice mert,
they did not remove the animal to their own subterranean abodes,
leaving no traceaboveground,SpENCEi^A-io)-«(i899)i44; S.&Ork.i
ne.Sc. The mairt or the pig, that was to be salted, must be killed
when the moon was on the increase, else the meat would not keep
well, GREGOR/"//^-Z,ore(i88i) 151. Cai.i Bnff.,Abd.Keptin salt for
use at Martinmas, Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863) . Abd. We fell'd the
muckle mairt, Willia.ms Farmer's Twa Laddies (1900) St. 7. Frf.
The fatted ox killed for the Yule festivities is called a mart, N. fe' Q.
(1878) 5th S. ix. 248. SIg, Whan kintra bodies gat their marts. . .
Auld Davie ay . . . Was at their head To gie the brutes their last
deserts, MuiR Poems (1818) 18. Rnf. Many a fou-fed nowt,
his nain, Gangs grazin' thro' the crafts, For mairts some day,
PicKEN Foems (1813) II. 13. Ayr. We have had several ekes in
the shape of cheese, crocks of butter, and the share of marts,
Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 61. Lnk. Could you hae the heart,
To leave sae fair a lamb for sic a mart. Black Falls of Clyde (1806)
122. Lth. He toldwhat the 'mairt'had weighed, STRATHESKB/mi-
bonny (ed. 1891) 82. Edb. He may next year get for his mart a
highland cow, Crawford Poems (1798) 16. Gall. Presently
turning them [Highland cattle] out on the moors till the snow came,
and then killing, salting, and setting them apart as ' marts ' for
winter consumpt, Crockett Anna Mark (1899) xii. Wgt. People
then salted their meat, calling it mert, a term probably taken from
the word Martinmas, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 222. N.Cy.' Though
a less frequent custom since the extensive cultivation of turnips,
it is not unusual for families to join in the purchase of a mairt and
to divide it among them. Nhb. Two or more of the poorer sort of
rustic families still join to purchase a cow, &c., for slaughter at
this time (Martinmass), called always in Northumberland, a mart,
Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1848) I. 400 ; Nhb.' Dur. Raine Charters
Finchale, &c. (1837) 3. Cum.i In the last century it was a rare
circumstance to slaughter a fat beeve at any season but in November,
and in some districts rarely then.
2. Fig. One who lives in ease and prosperity.
Lnk. Graham Writings (1883) II. 72, note.
3. Fig. A derisive term for a tall person.
Nhb.i Ye greet muckle mairt.
[1. Gael, mart, a cow (M. & D.) ; Ir. 7-iiarf, a cow, a beef;
Mir. mart, a beef (Macbain).]
MART, MARTAL, see Mort, sb.^, Mout, Mortal.
MARTH, sb. Sc. Marrow, pith. Cf mergh.
Slk. O'er muckle marth i' the back, Hogg Tales (1838) 618,
ed. 1866.
[A pron. of OE. mearg, marrow,]
MARTHINS, MARTIL, see Martyens, Mortal.
MARTIN, s6.i Sc. In phr. (i) Martin-a-bullimus, (2)
St. Martin of Bullion'' s day, July 4, the feast of the Transla-
tion of St. Martin.
(i) Sh.L I link Martinabullimus dae fearnyear wis da warst
dae I ever saw, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 224, ed. 1891. (a)
Sc. (Jam.)
[(2) S.Martin le bouillant, le j^juillet,'S. Martinus callidus,
S. Martini Bullionis festum ' (Ducange, s.v. Festum) ;
4 juillet, fete de la translation de saint Martin, appelee
' saint Martin d'ete,' ou ' chaud Martin,' Reinsberg-
DiJRiNGSFELD Traditions de la Belgique (1870) II. 19.]
MARTIN, sb.'^ Sc. Irel. e.An. In comp. (i) Martin-oil,
the stormy petrel, Procellaria pelagica ; (2) -snipe, the
green sandpiper, Helodromas ocnropus ; (3) -swallow, the
martin, Chelidon urbica.
(i) Glw. SwAiNSON S;V& (1885) 211. (a) e.An.i Nrf. Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 49; Swainson ib. 197. (3) e.Lth. ib. 56.
MARTIN, sb.^ Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Lin. Lei. "War.
Wor. Glo. Oxf. Mid. Ken. Sus. Hmp. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev.
Also written marten War.* Glo. Oxf. Dor.' Dev. [ma'tin,
ma'tan.] 1. A heifer, the twin of a bull-calf, gen. supposed
to be incapable of breeding. Also in comp. Martin-calf
or -heifer. See Free-martin, s.v. Free, adj} 1 (14).
■w.Yks.i Chs.i ; Chs.3 It is a received idea that if a cow has
twin calves of opposite sexes, the cow calf never breeds. Not.2
Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 714 ; Lin.i sw.Lin.i Don't
buy yon, I doubt she's a Martin-calf. Lei.' Not a true heifer, but
an undeveloped male with many of the characteristics of the ox,
and generally fattened and killed about Martinmas. War.^; War.-*
MARTINMAS
[45]
MARY
Why, Bill, that be a marten ; yer mustn't spect a calf out of her.
s.Wor.i Glo. Horae Subsecivae {ill']) s6t, Glo.i,-w.Mi(l. (W.P.M.),
Ken. (P.M.), Stis.i2, Hmp.i Wil.i An animal with an ox-like
head and neck, which never breeds, but is excellent for fatting
purposes. . . Recent investigations, however, have proved that
though the external organs of a free-martin may be female the
internal are in all cases male. Dor.i w.Som.i The male calf is
also generally sexually imperfect, but the term ' martin ' is never
used respecting him, as he is none the less valuable for grazing
purposes. Dev. Twin calves of different sexes are spoken of as
mate and martin, and that the female is sometimes called a free
martin-heifer. Reports Provinc. (1893). nw.Dev.'
2. Obs. A spayed heifer.
ne.Lan.i Oxf. Kennett Pan v^k/z'j. (1695); (K.); Horae Sub-
secivae (1777) 267.
MARTINMAS, sb. Sc. Lin. Nhp. Suf. Ess. Also in
forms martlemas sw.Lin.^ Nhp.^ Suf. Ess.' ; martomes,
martmas Sc. [marti(n)m3s, ma-ti(n)mas.] 1. St. Martin's
day, a Scotch quarterly term-day ; the November term.
Also used attrib.
Sc. Recently the Martinmas Term day for removals, and for
engagement of servants, was fixed for Nov. 28 (A.W.). n.Sc.
Feein' Friday, . . the week before Martinmas, Gordon Carglen
(1891) 66. Abd. The Martomes terme last bypast and Witsonday
terme to cum, Turreff Gleanings (1859) 169. s.Sc. Only a few
days before the term of Martinmas, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 305.
Rnf. Upon the terme of martmas nixt to come in this instant year
of God, Hector Judic. Records (1876) 44. Ayr. Ye ken it should
have been paid at Martinmas, Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 81.
Hdg. Againe Martinmas neist, Ritchie St. Baldred {1883) 70.
2. Comp. (i)Martininas-beef,cattle killed about Martinmas
time, of which the meat is cured and kept for winter pro-
vision ; (2) -foy, a farewell feast held at Martinmas ; (3)
-hiring, a fair at which servants are hired, held about
Martinmas time ; (4) -servant, a servant hired about
Martinmas time.
(i) Nhp.' Suf., Ess. Beef dried in the chimney, like bacon ; . .
it is usual to kill the beef for this purpose about the feast of St.
Martin, November 11, Grose (1790). Ess. Gl. (1851); Ess.'- (2)
Per. It depends a good deal on the departing ploughman's charac-
ter, or rather disposition, whether his foy at Martinmas is big or
little. . . As many as eight or nine men, with as many of the maid-
servants additional, may take part in a Martinmas foy. The enter-
tainment could not begin till the horses on the farm were
' suppered,' but beginning at nine p.m. . . it might go on till one
or two next morning, Haliburton Furth in Field (1894) ao. (3)
sw.Lin.i It were a Martlemas hiring. (4) Lin. I was a Martlemas
servant one while, on the tother side of the Trent (R.E.C.).
MARTLESHAM LION, phr. Suf. In phr. as red as
Martlesham lion, very red. e.An. Dy. Times (1892).
MARTLET, sb. Obs. Sc. The marten, Mustela marles.
SiBBALD G/. (1702) (Jam.); FRANCisQUE-MicHELZ,«K.g'.(i882) 134.
MARTON CHAPEL, /Ar. Chs.' In phr. to be all on
one side like Marlon Chapel, to be much on one side.
MARTYENS,56.//. Irel. Also in forms marthins,mar-
tyeens. A kind ofwooUen gaiters or stockings without feet.
Ir. A man sewing two martyeens, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed.
1843) 201. n.Ir. O'Toole in the rain went his Riv'rance to meet
With keedug on head and with martyens on feet, Lays and Leg.
(1884) 12. Uls. (M.B.-S.)
MARTYR, sb. and v. Sc. Dur. Also written marter
Sc. ; martir Cld. (Jam.) ; and in forms maater Dur. ;
mairter e.Fif; merter Per. ; mertir Frf. ; myarter Cai.'
[martsr.] 1. sb. In comb. Martyr's stane, a stone
marking the grave of a ' martyr' ; see below.
Dmf. Wi' death an' his sand-glass on the martyrs' stane, Cro-
MEK Remains (1810) 116 ; The martyrs . . . are those unfortunate
people who perished in the deadly struggle of the Church of Scot-
land with English prelacy. Their graves were marked out by
their countrymen with hewn stones (called the martyrs' stanes)
rudely sculptured and strewn with rhymes of scriptural denuncia-
tion against their persecutors, ib. note.
2. A spoilt or dirty condition or appearance, a mess ;
anything that causes such a condition.
Sc. (Jam.) Frf. The boose was juist in a mertir (W.A.C.).
3. V. Tocut down, mutilate, disfigure, to torture, torment;
to injure. ,
Sc. Fkancisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 373. Cai.' Dur. He was
sair maatered aboot Ihe fyess (F. P.).
Hence Martyran, sb. ill-treatment, the act of subjecting
to great pain. Bnflf.'
4. To bungle, mismanage, confuse, spoil ; to work in a
dirty and clumsy manner. Cai.\ Ags., Cld. (Jam.)
5. To bedaub, bespatter, dirty.
Erf. Mertir'd wi' clort (W.A.C.). Per. In scutter holes hinch-
deep I've been, Wi' dirt a' mertered to the een, Spence Poems
(1898) 165. e.Fif. His face was mairterit wi'cairt creesh an' pat-
bleek, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xi.
Hence Mertered,^//. adj. bedaubed, bespattered.
Per. Collie left me in the bog A mittled, mertered, drooket
laddie, Spence Poems (1898) 71.
MARTYREESE, v. Sc. Also in form mertyreese
Abd. To victimize, martyr.
Kcd. ' Tibbie, here am I ! ' cried Tammie, ' Martyreesed, as ye
may see,' Grant Lays (1884) 46.
Hence Mertyreesin, sb. martyrdom.
Abd. Hats is a perfect mertyreesin, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) i.
MARUM, see Marram.
MARVEL, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Sus. 1. sb. The white
horehound, Marrnbium vulgare. Sus.' 2. pi. News ;
something wonderful to relate. n.Yks.^ 3. v. To marvel
at, wonder at.
Fif. Sir Knicht did hing a while on wing, Marvellin' the meanin'
o' that thing, Tennant Papistry (1827) 33.
MARVEL, MARVIL,MARVLE,MARVUL,see Marble.
MARY, sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also written
marie Sc. ; and in form meary Dor. [meri, mesTi.]
1. In comb, (i) Mary and Joseph, a garden variety of the
forget-me-not, Myosotis palustris ; (2) -apple, a variety
of apple; (3) -bird, the ladybird, Coccinella septemptmctata;
(4) — Brown, a children's singing game; see below ; (5)
-gowl-an, (a) the corn-marigold. Chrysanthemum segetum ;
(6) the common daisy, Be Hi s perennis ; (6) -mas, September
8th, the festival of St. Mary; (7) -sole, the smear-dab,
Pleuronectes microcephalus ; (8) -'s tears, the common lung-
wort, Pulmonaria officinalis.
(i) n.Lin.i (2) Hmp. (J.R.W.) (3) n.Yks.2 (4) Sur. 'Here
we go round, ring by ring. To see poor Mary lay in the ring;
Rise up, rise up, poor Mary Brown, To see your dear mother go
through the town. I won't rise, I won't rise [from the ground],
To see my poor mother go through the town. . . I will rise, I will
rise up from off the ground. To see my dear sweetheart go through
the town.' The 'daughter' lays down and at the end of the game
joins the line and another lays down, Gomme Games (1894) 364.
Sus. Played by the children standing in line and advancing and
retiring towards the lying or kneeling child, ib. 367 ; In the Hurst-
monceux version, when the last verse is sung, the girl in the
middle rises and picks a boy out of the ring; he goes in the middle
with her, and they kiss, ib. [The children form a ring, one child
laying or kneeling down in the centre. The ring sing the first,
third, fifth, and alternate verses; the girl in the middle answers
with the second, fourth, and so on, alternately. At the last verse
the girl jumps up and breaks through the ring by force ; another
girl takes her place in the ring and the game begins again, ib.
For further rhymes, see ib. 364-7.] (5, a) Nhb.i In the vicinity
of Newcastle, Hardy Hist. Bwk. Natur. Club, II. 13. (A) In the
neighbourhood of Wooler the name mary-gowlan is given to the
common daisy, ib. 18, note. (6) Ayr. My Lord himsel', at last
Marymas, when he sent for me to make a hoop to mend her leg,
Galt Gilhaize (1823) v. (7) Sc. (CD.) [Satchell (1879).] (8)
Dor. The spots on the leaves being regarded as the marks of the
tears shed by the Virgin Mary at the Crucifixion, w.Gazeite (Feb.
15, 1889) 7, col. I.
2. Phr. (i) Mary's gone a milking, a children's singing
game ; see below ; (2) — mixed a pudding up, a children's
singing game ; see below ; (3) to tie with St. Mary's knot,
to cut the sinews of the hams of an animal, to hamstring.
(i) Ess. Supposed to be sung between mother and daughter and
beginning, ' Mary's gone a milking, a milking, a milking,' Flk-Lore
Rec. (1880) III. pt. ii. 167. (2) w.Yks, ' Mary mixed a pudding up,
she mixed it very sweet. She daren't stick a knife in till John came
home at neet. Taste John, taste John, don't say nay, Perhaps to-
morrow morning will be our wedding-day. The bells shall ring and
we shall sing And all clap hands together (round the ring). . . It's
shppery as a glass ; If we go to Mrs. We'll find a nice young lass.
Mary with the rosy cheeks. Catch her if you can ; And if you can-
not catch her, We'll tell you herj'oung man.' A ring is formed by
MARY
[46]
MASHELTON
the children joining hands, one child in the centre. The first verse
is sung. Two children from the ring go to the one in the centre
and ask her who is her love. . . After that the rest is sung, Gomme
Games (1894) 368. (3) Sc. Then Dickie into the stable is gane, —
Where there stood thirty horses and three, He has tied them a' wi'
St. Mary's knot, Poet. Museum (1784) 27 (Jam.).
3. Obs. A maid of honour ; a female attendant.
Sc. Wi' the queen and her maries all, To see fair Johnie slain,
KiNL0CHi?a//arf5(i827)84; Now bear a hand, my Maries a', And
busk me brave and make me fine, Scott Minstrelsy (ed. 1803)
II. 173 ; Yestreen the Queen had four Maries, The night she'll hae
but three ; There was Marie Seaton and Marie Beaton And Marie
Carmichael and me, tb.
4. A female friend. Ess.^
MARY, MASCALE.MASCELjMASCELIN, see Merry,
Maskel, Maslin, sb.^
MASCHLE, sb. and v. Sc. Also written mashle (Jam.).
[ma'jl.] 1. sb. A mixture ; a state of confusion ; also
used advb. in a state of confusion. Cf meeschle.
Bnfif.i Sic a maschle's a' thing's in. Cld. What a maschle ye've
made (Jam.).
2. V. To mix or crumble into a confused mass ; to put
into a state of confusion, to allow to become confused.
Also with up. Bnff.i, Cld. (Jam.) Hence Mashlin, ppl.
adj. mixed, mingled, blended in a coarse or careless
manner. n.Sc. (Jam.) 3. With up : to be closely con-
nected by marriage and blood relationship.
Bnff.' They're a' mas-chlet up thegeethir in that place.
MASE, sb. Or.I. A net with wide meshes made of
twisted straw ropes. Cf. maishie, 2.
It is laid across the back of a horse for fastening on sheaves of
corn, hay, &c. Also for supporting the cassies or straw-baskets
which are borne as panniers one on each side of a horse (Jam.).
MASE, see Maze, Mess, sb.'^
MASELDINE, MASENTER, MASER, MASGUM, see
Mashelton, Masoner, Mazer, Marsgum.
MASH, v., sb.^ and adj. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms maesh Som. ; mass Cum.* w.Yks. ; mesh
w.Yks. se.Wor.i Glo.^ Oxf '^ Nrf. n.Wil. ; meysh Lan. ;
mish Suf. ; mysh Wm. [maj, mej, mas.] 1. v. To
infuse, as of tea or malt. See Mask, v. 1.
N.Cy.i I'm just about mashing the tea. Lakel.^ Put t'kettle on
an' mash a sup o tea. Cum. I mass't a cup o' tea, Richardson
Talk (1871) ist S. 25, ed. 1886; Cum.' n.Wm. Let tlieteahev
time to mash (B.K.). n.Yks. (T.S.), n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i T'tea isn't
quiet mash'd yit. w.Yks. Aw sed if he'd stop aw'd mass a sooap
o' teah, Yks. Wkly. Post (May 8, 1897) ; w.Yks.^s, Lan. 1 Chs.' He
was reeachin t'teapot out o' t'cupboard, to mash his tea, Eaves-
dropper Vill. Life (1869) 18. Der. Tea'll be mashed soon now,
VERKEYStoMe£'rf;f«(i868)xxii. Not.^ Lin. Streatfeild Z,«. a«rf
Danes (1884) 344. Lei.^ I suppose as you did as you mostly do,
put the tea in the oven to mash before you went to chapel. War.'^^''
s.War.i The tea-pot is set by the fire to mash. Shr.*^ Oxf.' Av
ee mashed, Missis? MS. add. s.Oxf. 'Owsomdever, we must 'ave
our teas now, I ha' mashed it this 'alf hour, Rosemary Chilterns
(1895)35. e.An.i Nrf. Jane, ha'yawmeshed thetayit? (W.R.E.)
Suf. (E.G.P.) a. Suf. Have you mished your malt yet? (F.H.)
Hence (i) Mashing, sb. the first putting of hot water to
the malt in brewing ; (2) -basket, sb. a wicker strainer
used in brewing ; (3) -mundle, (4) -mungle, (5) -staff, (6)
•shovel, sb. an implement used in brewing to stir the
malt ; (7) -tub, sb. a tub in which the malt is ' mashed ' in
the process of brewing.
(i) w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865). (2) Shr.' (3) ib. Used
for stirring the malt in the 'mashing-tub,' and the 'drink' in the
' furnace.' (4) Chs.^ (5) Shr.i Mashing-stafl", pouch and taps,
Auctioneer's Catal. (1877). (6) w.Som.i Havingalong handle, with
cross pieces at the end, so that the general appearance is some-
thing like a shovel. It is used in stirring up the mash, or wetted
malt, in the act of extracting the wort. (7) Shr.i Either round or
oval in form. 'Three oak mashing-tubs,' Auctioneer's Catal.
2. Comp. (i) Mash-man, one who has charge of the
' mashing ' of malt at a distillery ; (2) -rule, (3) -staff, an
instrument for stirring up the malt in a ' mash-tub ' ; (4)
-tub, (5) -vat or -fat, a large tub in which malt is 'mashed'
for brewing.
(i)Sc. Hewasengaged asamashman at a distillery. Ford 7"A«//e-
afozt>« (1891) 295. (2)Lci.i,Nhp.i, War.3 Shr. 1 ' Mash-rule, ladder,
and sieve,' Auctioneer's Catal. (i8t5). (3) Shr.^ (4) Sc. (A.W.),
w.Yks.i,Chs,i, Not.i Un.STREATFEiLTi Lin. and Danes {1884)3^^;
Lin.i, Lel.>, se.Wor.i, Shr.2, e.An.i, Oxf.i MS. add., n.Wil. (E.H.G.)
(5) Sc. (A.W.) Wm. Cum. and Wm. Trans. XIII. pt. ii. 266.
Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 344. Lei.', Shr.^
3. To smash, break ; to crush, bruise ; freq. with up.
Cum. T'coop-bword top was sooa masht up, at t'cottrel was neah
use at oa, SARGissoN/oe Scoap (1881) 217 ; Cum.i" Wm. He wes
o masht ta bits, Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 41 ; T'aald soo . . . wi er
heead fast in teea piggins an mysht it o ta bits wi tryan ta gitre
heead oot, ib. 4. n.Yks.i There's been a deal o' gran' pankins a'
mashed up here ; n.Yks.* e.Yks.i Don't mash them cooals si
mich. w.Yks. Adam gate so mesht wi't fall, Preston Poems, &c.
(1864) 4 ; w.Yks.^* Lan. Theer's . . . four pipes masht, Tim Bob-
bin View Dial. (ed. 1740) 26; O' thi bits o' pots an' sticks mashed
up, C-LECG Sketches {iBgs) 468. ne.Lan.i, Der.i Lin. An' I claums
an' I mashes the winder hin, Tennyson Owd Rod (1889) ; An'
their mashin' their toys to pieaces, ib. Spinster's Sweet-arts (1885I.
Hence (i) Mashed-sugar, sb. moist-sugar ; (2) -up, ppl.
adj. exhausted, overcome, knocked up.
(i) Oxf.i (2) Wm. Oor lile Jack was fare masht up, Kendal Cy.
News (Sept. 22, 1888). n.Yks.^ 'A mashed-up man,' one broken
in constitution. w.Yks. 'Is moother wur fair mashed oop wi'
nursin' 'im (F.P.T.). m.Lan.^
4. Comp. Mash-mortar, in phr. to hit up into mash-mortar,
to hit into small pieces, to crush utterly. Dor.^ 5. To
do anything in a bustling hurry, to rush about.
Wm. Thamashed off doont'turnpike an gataway as fast [as]ivver
tha cud, Taylor Sketches (1882) 11. Lan. Meysh at it, lad, Stand-
ing Echoes (1885) 23. ne.Lan.^ He com mashin' doun. Lin.^
6. To measure, cut off.
w.Yks.s Gi'e us that length o' band ah sawah . . . an' lets mash
a bit to tee me boit wi', 51.
7. sb. Heat, a condition of heat and perspiration.
w.Hrt. Not infrequently used . . . some twenty years since.
* I'm all in a mash,' was a common exclamation of the haymaker or
harvest-man, N. ET Q. (i88o) 6th S. ii. 197.
8. A smash ; a soft pulpy heap, a fragmentary mass, a
mess ; fig. a muddle, mistake.
s.Sc. A' the mash o' pleasures punyThatfraeitfa',T. Scott PotfW5
(1793) 318. Cum. In vice will bang them aw to mash, Rayson
Poems (1839) 34; Cum.i, n.Yks. (W.H.) e.Yks.i He's throdden
on it, an noo it's nowt bud a mash. nw.Der.^
Hence Mashment, sb. anything cut up and mixed
together ; fig. a muddle, ' hash.'
Wm. I sud meak mashment on't, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 79.
ne.Lan.^
9. A mason's large hammer ; a hammer used for breaking
stones. Also in comp. Mash-hammer.
Cai.i, Abd. (Jam.) Lnk. Hurrah for the clink o' the mash an'
the dourer, Coghill Poems (1890) 83. Nhb.i n.Yks. A hammer
with double cutting edge (the head more than 6 inches long). Whin-
stone Quarries (C.V.C).
10. The thread of a screw. Wor. (H.K.), Hrf.2, Glo.i
11. A term of admiration for anything fine, esp. of dress.
w.Yks. O just look, iznt that a mash ? Ai, that iz a mash (W.H.).
12. adj. Hot, warm.
Bdf. ' When the oak is before the ash The summer will be dry
and mash.' No other use of the word ' mash ' in the sense of hot
could be obtained in the same district, /V. Ss'Q. (1880) 6th S. ii. 113.
MASH, sb? Lan. Suf. Cor. [maJ, msej.] A large
quantity, a considerable number ; a mass.
Lan.' ne.Lan.i We hed a mash on it. Suf. (C.T.) Cor. A
called the poor doctor a mashes of names, J. Trenoodle Spec.
Dial. (1846) 29; Cor.i; Cor.2 Mashes of mait.
MASH, see Marsh, sb}, Mesh.
MASH-CORNS, sb.pl. Irel. Also in form mashy-corns.
The roots of the silverweed, Potentilla anserina.
N.I.i The root is roasted and eaten. It tastes much like a parsnip.
Tyr. Science Gossip (1881) 278.
MASHELGEM, see Mashelton.
MASHELMENT, sb. ne.Lan.i [ma-Jlment.] Wheat
and barley grown and ground together. See Maslin, sb.^
MASHELTON, sb. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lin. Also in
forms maseldine Lin.; mashelgem, mashelshon ne.Yks.';
mashelson n.Yks.^ ne.Yks.^ e.Yks. ; masheltum Lakel.^ ;
maslegin w.Yks.* ; masselgem N.Cy.^ Nhb.^ ; masselgin
Dur.^ ; masseljam Nhb.' ; masselton Cum.' ; massledine
MASHER
[47]
MASK(E
e.Yks. ; masslegin Yks. w.Yks.^ ; masslinjem Nhb.' ;
mastlegin w.Yks.^ ; meshTtun w.Yks. [ma-Jltan.]
1. Mixed corn, a mixture of different kinds of grain or
of their flour or meal, esp. of wheat and rye. Also used
attrib. See Maslin, sb}
N.Cy.'- Nhb.' Wheaten meal and rye meal mixed for brown
bread. The grain is often grown together and mixes in threshing,
and is generally baked with leaven. Dur.i Lakel.^ A mixture of
wheat, rye, and barley. Cum. Keall O' masselton pez o' dark grey,
Dickinson Cumbr. (1876) 243. Yks. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.)
n.Yks.i Applied to the purpose of making brown bread ; n.Yks.'^,
ne.Yks.' e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; One halfe . . .
sowne with massledine, and the other with cleane wheate, Best
Rur. Econ. (1641) 43. w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; Watson
Hist. Hlfx. (1775) 542; w.Yks.'*; w.Yks.^ A mixture of rye and
wheat, used for tlie making of brown bread. The two kinds of seed
are generally sown together, requiring light land, however, for
the purpose. Lin. Gent. Mag. (1861) pt. ii. 506.
Hence Masselton-batch, sb. a sack of mixed grain
ready for being ground.
Cum. A masselton batch will be sent off to t'mill, Dickinson
Cumbr. (1876) 254 ; Cum.^
2. Phr. to make mashelton of anything, to do anything
imperfectly, to make a muddle of, to bungle.
Nhb.i Thoo's myed reg'Iar masseljam on't this time. n.Yks.''
To make mashelton of one's discourse is to put fine and vulgar
words together. ne.Yks.' They can mak nowt bud mashelshon
on't [said of ignorant persons trying to speak in a refined manner].
MASHER, see Masker, v.
MASHES, sb. pi. ne.Yks.' [ma-Jaz.] A kind of gaiters.
(s.v. Gamashes).
MASHIE,si. Sc. [ma'Ji.] Aparticular kind of golf-club.
Flf. Tarn . . . made a tremendous drive, and alack! the ba' landed
in the valley. When he got doon a squeeky voice was cryin',
' Use yer mashie,' M'Laren Tibbie (1894) 87.
MASHIE, MASHLE, see Maishie, Maschle.
MASHLIE, sb. Sc. (Jam.) [ma-jli.] 1. Mixed grain ;
gen. peas and oats. See Mashlum. 2. The broken
parts of a moss. n.Sc. Hence Mashlie-moss, sb. a moss
that is much broken upf.
ib. One in which the substance is so loose that peats cannot be
cast ; but the dross or mashlie is dried and used for the back of a
fire on the hearth.
MASHLOCH, sb. and adj. Obs. Sc. Also in forms
maischloch(jAM.); mashlach; mashlichfjAM.); mashloc;
mashlock (Jam.). [ma'Jlsx.] 1. sb. Mixed grain, gen.
peas and oats. Sc. (Jam.) See Maslin, sb.^, Mashlum.
2. Obs. A coarse kind of bread.
Sc. Ne'er mint at baking another bannock as lang's there's a
mouthfu' o' mashlock (bread made nearly all of bran) to be had in
the township, St. Johnstoun, II. 37 (Jam.) ; [Edinburgh] citizens
had four kinds of wheaten bread ; the finest called manchet, . .
the fourth . . . mashloc, Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 54.
3. adj. Promiscuous, mingled.
Bnff. Thus gaed on the mashlach fecht, Taylor Poems (1787) 25.
MASHLUM, sb. and adj. Sc. Yks. Lin. Also in forms
mashlam Sc. ; mashlin Sc. (Jam.) ne.Yks.^Lin. [ma'Jlam.]
1. sb. Mixed grain ; the flour or meal of different kinds
of corn. See Maschle, Maslin, s6.^
Sc. Gen. pease and oats (Jam.) ; Morton Cydo. Agric. (1863).
Cld. (Jam.) Rnf. Mashlin, per boll, {,8 os. od. Scots, Hector
Judic. Records (1876) 33G. Lnl. 20 stacks of oats, and 5 stacks
mashlum, secured in splendid condition, Falkirk Herald (Oct. 28,
1899). ne.Yks.' (s.v. Mashelson). Lin. Wheat and rye mixed,
Gent. Mag. (1861) pt. ii. 506.
2. A mixture of any kind of edibles. Cld. (Jam.) Z. adj.
Mixed ; made from different kinds of grain.
Sc. The mashlum bannocks will suit their muirland stamachs,
Scott Old Mortality (1816) xx. s.Sc.The mashlam bannock is amang
the meal, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 220. Cld. Mashlin meal (Jam.).
Rnf. His away taking . . . ane burden of mashlum corn from his
neighbour, Hector Judic. Records (1876) 196. Ayr. I'll be his debt
twa mashlum bannocks. Burns Author's EarnestCry (1786) st.20.
MASK, sb.\ Yks. War. [mask, maesk.] 1. The face,
without any idea of disguise.
n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i Sha'U tak'.thi mask for tha [She will photo-
graph you].
2. A hunting term for a fox's head.
n.Yks.", ne.Yks.' War.^The fox ' set his mask straight for the
hills,' MoRDAUNT & Verney War. Hunt {i8g6) II. 212.
MASK, si.'' Sc. Suf Sus. 1. A quantity; a mass. See
Mash, s6.2
Frf. There was a great mask o' things in't, B arrie Thrums (1889)
xiv ; I thought of ' mask,' but that would mean the kirk was
crammed, ib. Tommy (1896) xxxvii. Suf. (C.T.) e.Suf. Used by
the old only (F.H.).
2. Phr. to be one mask, to be completely covered with
anything.
Sus.' fo«. mud or blood. 'Why! you're one mask ! Wherever
have you been ? '
MASK, sb.^ Cor. The mast of a ship.
e.Cor. Look at es mask, es ropes, Daniel Poems.
MASK, V. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. [mask.] 1. To
infuse, as of tea or malt. See Mash, v. 1.
Sc. I hope your honours will take tea before ye gang to the
palace, and I maun gang and mask it for you, Scott Waverley (1814)
xlii. Sh.I. Till raammie hangs the little pot, And granny masks
the tea, Sh. News (Sept. 10, 1898). ne.Sc. He puts on the fire,
an' even masks my drap tea. Grant Kecklcton, 98. Cai.^ Abd.
A starn o' gweed maut, maskit i' yer nain bowie, Alexander
Johnny Gibb ( 1871) xxx. Per. Milkin' the coo, Or maslcin' the tea,
Haliburton Ochil Idylls {iSgi) 107. Fif. Fry some ham an' eggs,
an' mask a cup o' tea, Robertson Provost (1894) 116. Ayr. Mrs.
Baldwhidder had just infused (or masket) the tea, Galt Ann.
Parish (1821) vil. Lnk. Five pecks o' maut masket in the meikle
kirn, Graham Writings (1883) II. 14. Edb. The auld wife sleely
masks the tea, Glass Cal. Parnassus (1812) 9. Kcb. I hope that
for His sake who brewed and masked this cup in Heaven, ye will
gladly drink, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 287. N.Cy.i Nhb.i
Wor aad wife's ganna mask the tye. Cum. While the tea's maskin'
fJ.Ar.) ; Cum.i, n.Yks.i*, ne.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks. Mask yon
bit o' tSea(J.T.F.).
Hence (i) Masked, ppl. adj. infused, drawn ; (2) Masking,
sb. an infusion, a sufficient quantity of tea, &c., for an
infusion ; (3) -fat, (4) -loom, sb. a brewing utensil, a mash-
tub ; (5) -pat, sb. a teapot ; (6) -rung, sb. a rod for stirring
malt in the mash-tub.
(i) Sc. Miss Jennet had poured away the over-masked tea and
infused it afresh, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 137. (2) Sh.I. Der's
nae wy ta get a maskin' o' tea unless da Lord sends it, Stewart
Tales (1892) 48 ; S. & Ork.i Abd. Steep a maskin' for the New
Year's yill, GM(rf»«fl«/»!^&>Ma!7/ (1873) 30. Cld. (Jam.), Nhb.i (3)
Sh.I. Drowned in his own masking-fat, Scott Pirate (1822) xxiv.
Per. Lawson Bk. of Per. (1847) 205. Rnf. Ane maskene-fatt, ane
fetterit lok. Harp (1819) loi. Gall. In the new hall ... a
masken fatt, Inventoiy of Caerlaverock (1640) in Nicholson Hist.
Tafe (1843) 266. (4) Sc. Herd Co//. S«^s. (1776) G/. Ayr. I did
put in my masking loom, Amang the malt, aft locks o' broom,
Fisher Poems (1790) 60. Lnk. That she stowed in her masking-
loom, Ramsay Poems (1721) 20. (5) Frf. What maist concerns my
tale e'noo Is Mysie's maskin'-pat, Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 21.
Per. Lawson Bk. of Per. (1847^ 205. Ayr. Then up they gat the
maskin-pat, Burns When Guildford good, st. i. e.Lth. Folk wadna
drink the like o't noo, they wad say it was the syndins o' the
maskin-pat, HuNTERy. Inwick (1895) 146. (6) Sc. (Jam.) Abd.
Aul' Kate brought ben the maskin' rung. Cock Strains {i8io) II. 136.
2. Comp. Mask-fat, a brewing utensil, a mash-tub.
Dur. Raine Charters, &c. Finchale (1837) 78.
3. To be in preparation, to be in process of production ;
of rain, wind, or storm : to be preparing for, to be ' brew-
ing ' ; freq. with tip.
Bnff.' It's maskin' up for anither shoor. Ayr. I could see that
he was maskin' for the pocks. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 116.
Gall. Mirky cluds in the south-wast Are masking up a blashy blast,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 364, ed. 1876. Yks. The sky masks
for better weather (C.C.R.). n.Yks.^ It's masking for thunder.
[L Sw. mdska, to mash for beer (Widegren) ; Dan.
mceske (Larsen) ; Norw. dial, mask, grains (Aasen).]
MASK, see Marsk, Mass, sb.^
MASK(E, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Chs. [mask.] L sb.
A mesh of a net.
Bnff.' n.Yks. Two Newport men for fishing with a net of which
every maske was not two inches broad and one inch long, Quarter
Sess. Rec. (Apr. 20, 1669) in N. R. Rec. Soc. VII. 134. Chs.'^^
2. A crib for catching fish.
Sc. (Jam.) Sh.L Dey can geng aff an' get der nets whin wo
widna get a mask, Sh. News (Sept. 9, 1899).
MASKEL
[48]
MASONER
3. V. To catch in a net.
Ayr. A fish is said to be maskit (Jam.).
[1. Maske of nette, macula, Prompt. OE. max, net
(Sweet) ; Dan. maske, a mesh (Larsen).]
MASKEL, sb. Som. Dev. Also written mascel Dev. ;
maskell nw.Dev.^ ; and in forms mahlscrall, mal-scral,
maltscale, marly-scrarly, mascale Dev. ; maskill n.Dev.;
maul-scrawl s.Dev.; mawl-scrawl w.Som.^; muskel Dev.^
[niEB'skl, m9'lskrol.] 1. The common green caterpillar.
Cf. maleshag.
w.Som.' We shan't ha' no gooseberries dee year hardly, vor
the mawl-scrawls. Dev. Cabbages at this time of the year are
generally full of mahl-scralls, Reports Provinc. ( 1 885) 99 ; Tha gUze-
berry bushes be acovered awl awver wi' malscrals, Hewett Peas.
Sp. (1892) ; You knows no more than a marly-scrarly, Blackmore
CAns;ozt/cW(i88i) xxxvi ; HoraeSudsecwae{iT]']'', S65 ; N. & Q. (1856)
and S. i. 143 ; Dev.' I meend when it went against her to kill a muskel
or an oakweb, 54. n.Dev. Cubabys be good, an' maskills too, Rock
Jim an' Nell {1861) St 124. nw.Dev.i, s.Dev. (F.W.C.)
2. A small shrivelled apple.
w.Som.i I thort we should a had some cider, but they [the apples]
be all a turned to mawl-scrawls.
MASKER, sb. Wm. [ma'skar.] A mummer, guiser.
At Kursmas teea, ther was t'maskers, Southey Doctor (ed.
1848) 559.
MASKER, V. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Stf. Der. Lin. Shr.
Also in form masher Stf. [ma'sk3(r.] 1. To render
giddy, senseless ; gen. in pp. confused, bewildered, as by
losing one's way in fog, snow, or darkness.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Chs.^ He were welly mas-
kered. Stf. Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) Der. Addy Gl. (1888) ;
Der.2, nw.Der.i Shr.' It wuz a great mercy the poor fellow wunna
lost — 'e got maskered i' the snow-storm o' the 'ill. Maskered wuth
the men's talk ; Shr.^ Sich a dark neet I was masker'd like. Gid
him a lick as quite masker'd him.
2. To choke, stifle.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Chs.' A crop overgrown with
weeds v\?ould be said to be ' maskert wi' weed.' Chs.^ s.Chs.i
Ahy)m wel-i maas'kiirt wi flem [I'm welly maskert wi' flem]. Mi
fee'dhiir)z gofn sich' fl baad' kof; ee kofs sumtahymz lahyk uz iv
6e)d maas'kiir [My feether's gotten sich a bad cough ; he coughs
sometimes like as if he'd masker].
3. To decay ; to rust.
w.Yks.' Stee wer rosseled, fram, gor an masker'd, ii. 287. n.Lln.'
Th' sap of oak soon maskers all awaay to noht. Them ohd iron
spools is that masker'd thaay weant hohd watter at all.
[1. ME. malskren, to bewilder, to be bewildered (Matz-
ner).]
MASKERT, sb. Sc. (Jam.) The marsh-betony or
clown's all-heal, Stachys patusiris. Cf. marsh-woundwort,
s.v. Marsh, s6.' 2.
MASKILL, see Maskel.
MASKINS, sb. pi. Yks. Lan. Der. Also in form
meskins w.Yks.' [ma'skinz.] In phr. by the niaskins, an
oath, exclamation, by the Mass ! See Mass, sb} 3.
w.Yks.' By t'meskins, — I wad ayther a geen him a girt clout our
t'heead, or degg'd him, ii. 293. Lan. By th' maskins, Jone, theawst
pleost meh well, Ridings Muse (1853) 21 ; It's her, by the mas-
kins I Brierley Cast upon World (1886) 266 ; Neaw, byth' mas-
kins, if I be naw fast I Tim Bobbin ViewDial. (ed. 1806) 9. nw.Der.'
[By the Maskins I would give the best cow in my yard,
to find out this raskall. Baron Cyprian Academy (1647)
bk. I. 53 ; By the meskin, methought they were so, indeed.
Chapman May-day (1611) iv. iv, in Plays (ed. 1874) 301.]
MASKIS, sb. Sc. A mastiff. See Masty, sb.
Slk. The maskis will not move his tongue, Hogg Poems (ed.
1865) 329.
MASLEGIN, see Mashelton.
MASLEY, adj. Glo.' [mse'zli.] Of wood: knotty,
(s.v. Mazzerdy.)
MASLIN, sb} In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng. Also
in forms masceline n.Yks.= ; measlin Nhp.' ; meslin Sc.
(Jam.) n.Cy. n.Yks.' ne.Yks.' e.Yks. Der. Lin.' n.Lin.i
Nhp.' e.An.' Nrf Suf w.Som.' ; mezlin Chs.' ; mislon Ess.
fma-zlin, me-zlin.] 1. Mixed corn, a mixture of different
kinds of grain or of their flour or meal, esp. of wheat
and rye.
w.Sc. SiBBALD Gl. (1702) (Jam.). n.Cy. Morton Cyclo. Agric.
(1863). Nhtp. February is the best and safest seed time for wheat,
maslin and rye, Marshall Review (x?,o?>)\. 76 ; Nhb.' Wheatenmeal
and rye meal mixed for brown bread. The grain is often grown
together and mixes in threshing and is generally baked with leaven
(s.v. Masslinjem). Dur.i (s.v. Masselgin). n.Yks.' (s v. Mashelson) ;
n. Yks.'^ A mixture of wheat, rye, c&c. in a mash. ne. Yks.' e.Yks.
MARSHALLTJMr.fcojj. (1788) (s.v. Mashelson). w.Yks.' Lan.DAViES
TJaccs (1856) 279. Chs.' A custom quite out of fashion now. Der.
Meal and meslin fill'd a carved ark,FuRNESS Af<;rf<'«<5 (1836) 21. Lin.'
A mixture of wheat and oats. n.Lin.' Obsol. Nhp.' Obs. ; Nhp.^
War. Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) Hrt. Mustin \_sic\,^ Ellis Mod.
Husb. (1750) V. i. 38. Bdf. Bread made of various kinds of flour,
BATCHELOR.kKa/.£K^. Z.a«^. (1809) 138. e.An.' Suf. Rainbird
Agric. (1819) 296, ed. 1849. Ess. Paid for a boushel of mislon and
half a boushel of whet for James Rorsbrock o. 7. 2", Colne Over-
seers' Accounts (1714). w.Som.' Mixture of wheat, barley, and oats
— often sown upon odd corners for poultry or game.
2. Comp. (i) Meslin-bird, the fieldfare, Turdus pilaris ;
(2) -bread, bread made from the mixed flour or meal of
different kinds of grain ; (3) -corn, mixed corn.
(i) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 51. (2) e.An.'
Fifty years ago ... the household bread of the common farm-houses
in those districts was made of rye. Meshn-bread, made with equal
quantities of wheat and rye, was for the master's table only. Suf.
Rainbird Agric. (1819) 296, ed.' 1849. (3) w.Som.'
[1. The tother for one loafe have twaine. Of mastlin^of
rie, or of wheate, Tusser Husb. (1580) 145 ; Mastiljon,
'mixtilio,' Cath. Angl. (1483). MDu. masteluin, masteluyn,
a mixture of wheat and rye in equal proportions (Oude-
MANS).]
MASLIN, sb.^ Yks. Chs. Lei. War. Wor. Shr. Ken.
Also in form meslin Shr.' [ma'zlin.] L A mixed
metal, brass ; gen. used attrib.
Chs. ij Maslyn basens. Inventory (1611) in Local Gleanings {7eh.
1880) VIII. 300 ; Chs.' An alloy of copper with some harder metal.
Formerly in use. . . An old spoon, apparently made of some alloy
of copper, not brass, but more like gold in appearance, which the
grandfather of my informant spoke of some fifty years since as a
maslin spoon. War. Brass vessels for boiling fruit, &c., are called
maslin pans in the Birmingham trade, N. & Q. (1882) 6th S. vi. 158.
Wor. This name [maslin pans] is given in and about Stourbridge
to brass pans or kettles used for preserving fruit, ib. (1884) 6th S.
X. 289. Wor., Shr. MasUn pans . . . were made in the seventeenth
century at Coalbrookdale and Stourbridge, and the word 'maslin '
was and is common, ib. (1891) 7th S. xi. 83. Ken. Maslin-pots,
three-legged pots made of the same metal as tops [bell-metal], ib.
(1854) 1st S. X. 393.
Hence Maslin-kettle, sb. a large vessel used to preserve
fruit in or to boil milk.
Lei.' Either shallow or deep, for boiling milk in. War. 2; War.^
A maslin kettle was an indispensable article in the jam-making
season, and in many houses was used almost solely for this pur-
pose. Wor. Maslin kettle, ^Mrt;o« Catalogue, Castle Morton (1819).
w.Wor.' Made of zinc and copper. s.Wor. (H.K.), Shr.'
2. A vessel or pot made of mixed metal.
w.Yks.^A small saucepan, ^(?m. made of brass. War. Cast iron
enamelled goods [for boiling fruit, &c.] are also called maslins,
N. & Q. (1882) 6th S. vi. 158. Ken. An old brazier informs me
that three-legged pots made of the same metal as tops, generally
called bell-metal, were formerly known as maslins, ib. (1854) '^t
S. X. 393.
[1. ]>e wyndowes wern y-mad of iaspre . . . |)e leues were
masalyne. Sir Ferumbras (c. 1380) 1327. OE. rncestling, a
kind of brass (B.T.) ; (Nhb.) mceslen, ' ses ' [John ii. 15).]
MASON-DUE, see Maison-dieu.
MASONER, sb. and v. Yks. Lin. Lei. War. Wor. Glo.
Oxf Sus. Also in forms maisenter Oxf.'; masenter
War." s.War.' ; masonter s.Wor.' se.Wor.' Glo.' ; meea-
sonern.Yks."; mesenter War."* [mes3n3(r),me"S3nta(r).]
1. sb. A mason ; a bricklayer.
n.Yks.2 n.Lin.' Them Smiths hes been maas'ners hereaboots
for oher a hunderd year whativer moore. sw.Lin.' The masoners
can't come while next week. Lei.', War.234^ s.War.' s.Wor.
Why, Ted's pretty nigh a masonter got (H.K.) ; s.Wor.', se.Wor.',
Glo.', Oxf.', Sus.'
2. V. To do the work of a mason.
s.Wor. A wuz on a masonterin' thur a' las' wik (H.K.).
[The forms with -ter are due to association with car^
penter.]
MASON-WORD
[49 J
MASTER
MASON-WORD, sb. Wbs. Sc. A masonic pass-
word.
Per. The Mason-word (one says) I know as plain As any Brother
In the Mason's train, NicoL Poems (1766) 83. Gall. 'Tis given out,
that when he took the Mason word, he devoted his first child to
the Devil, Telfar True Relation of an Apparition, &c. (1695) in
Nicholson Hist. Tales (1843) 7.
MASONY, V. Som. Dev. To work as a mason, to
follow the trade of a mason.
■w.Som.i The trade of a mason includes those of brick-layer,
stone-waller, slater, and plasterer. The infinitive termination
added to the substantive name of any handicraft's man, verbalizes
it, and gives it the frequentative force of following the craft, as
well as of only working at it specifically. ' I did'n know you was
able to masony [mae'usnee].' ' I sar'd my perntice to the hutching,
but now I do masony.' nw.Dev.^
MASQUET,/!//. a<^'. w.Cy. In phr. to go a masquei, to
lose one's way. See Masker, v.
O sir, do'ee please come down, the gentleman has gone a
masquet, his beard and his hair be full of conker-bells, and he's
most ago, Thornton Remin. (1897) vi.
MASS, sb} Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Stf
Der. Rut. Also written mas Sc. ; and in forms mes Sc. ;
mess Sc. n.Cy. Cum.'^iWm. Yks. Stf.^ Der.^ nw.Der.^;
max Cum.^ ; miss Sc. Lan. [mas, mes.] 1. In comb.
(i) Mass John, a clergyman or minister of religion;
(2) -man, a Roman Catholic.
(i) Sc. Mess John ty'd up the marriage bands, Ramsay Tea- Table
Misc. (1724) I. 9, ed. 1871. Bnff. This letter than read grave Mess
John, Taylor Poems (1787) 95. Bch. To draw a weapon at the
last. That sticks Mass John, Forbes ZJokjwjc (1785) 25. Abd. Mess
John himsel' sometimes got knocks nae to his mind, Anderson
Rhymes {ei. 1867) 58. Frf. Hurrah for the bridal day, Mess John,
and the dancers, Johnston Poems (1869) 178. Per. He is gone to
call Miss John To join our hands, and make us one, Nicol Poems
(1766) 161. Dmb. In the place Whare Mess John draps water on
their face, Taylor Poems (1827) 43. Enf. Barr Poems (1861) 13.
Ayr. The pulpit whaur the gude Mess John His wig did weekly
wag, AiNSLiE Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 78. Lnk. We had nae
ministers than but priests. Mess Johns, Black Friers and White
Friers, Graham Writings (1883) II. 134. Lth. Lumsden Sheep-
head {iSgz) 108. Edb. The waefu' scald o' our Mess John, Fer-
GUssoN Poems {!■]'] 3) 162, ed. 1785. Peb. With greater sway Than
even thelittlegreat Mass John, Lintoun Green (1685) 21, ed. 1817.
Gall. At the manse, as they cam' by, Bespake Mess John, the
knot to tie, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 75, ed. 1897. Wgt. The
would-be Benedict went to Mess John to acquaint him with his
matrimonial intentions, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 347. (2) Ir. He
was not a Mass-man, he was a Protestant, Time (Mar. 1889) 318.
2. A title prefixed to the Christian name of a minister of
religion.
Sc. Mes Davie Mortoun blest them in the dawing, Maidment
Pasquils (1868) 188 ; Blessed be God, Mass James, that sent you
to my house, Pitcairn Assembly (1766) 9 ; Cameronian preachers
were so styled, . . as Mas David Williamson, Mas John King,
N. &> Q. (1852) 1st S. V. 322. Lnk. At last Mess John Hill hears
of the horrid action, Graham Writings (1883) II. 20. Gall. Never
a chiel has been fit to be the minister o' Balmaghie since auld
Mess Hairry died I Crockett 5/a«rf«?'rf jBeafcr (1898) 117.
3. An oath, exclamation. Also in phr. amass, by the mass.
See By, prep. 16. Cf megs.
Fif. Mass ! I'm glad to see you here, Tennant Papistry (1827)
20. n.Cy. (J.L. 1783) ; Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Cum. Mess
lad, but he'll keep them aw busy, Anderson Ballads (1805) 7 ;
' Why don't you take oS' your hat to me, boy ? ' 'If you please,
sir, if you'll hod teaa cofe, amess I will,' Dickinson Cumbr. (1876)
271 ; Cum."^ Amess it is ; Cnm.^ Ey, mess I I was warn't gaily
weel, 180 ; Cum.* ' Yeh dunnot mean teh tell meh ... at yeh ha
sebbenty wives ? ' . . . ' Yis, amess hevee,' Sargisson Joe Scoap
(1881) 177. Cum., Wm. Mostly in connexion with a comic threat.
' Mess, but aa'l warm thee!' (M.P.) Wm. An mass I'll be soa
tea, er I'll try, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 21, ed. 1821. s.Wm. By
th' mess I hennet seen yan, Hutton Dial. Storih andArnside (1760)
1. 32. Yks. (J.W.) Lan. By th' mass, Aw'U suffer like a fatted
cawf t' be kilt, Doherty N. Barlow (1884) 18; By th' mass, yoad
neer ha had sitch yure as that if yoar ideos hadn't awtert its growth,
Staton Three Graces, 3; By th' miss th' owd story ogen, Tim Bobbin
View Dial. {ed. 1806) 1 4. Stf.^ Der. Grose (1790),- Der.'^, nw.Der.i,
Rut.i
VOL. IV.
4. Phr. f i) mass and meat, prayers and food ; (2) to miss
mass but hit the gathering, to nearly do something.
(i) rif. Let's leave them at their mass and meat, And look about
anither gate, Tennant Papistry (1827) 134. (2) N.I.^ If ye missed
mass ye hut the gatherin'.
[Messe or masse, Missa, Prompt OE. mcesse (B.T.) ;
OFr. w«sse (La Curne) ; ON. »««ssa(ViGFUssoN). 3. Mass,
thou lovedst plums well, that wouldst venture so, Shaks.
2 Hen. VI, II. i. loi.]
MASS, sb.^ and v. Shr. Wil. Som. Dev. Also in forms
maas s.Dev. ; mace Som. w.Som.^ ; mask Shr."^ Wil.^
Dev.* ; mess w.Dev. L sb. Mast, the fruit of the oak,
Quercus robur, or of the beech, Fagus sylvaiica.
Shr.i Theer's a good 'it o' mass this 'ear — rar' raps fur the pigs
an'gis. Som. Jennings 065. /?!«/. w.i'M^. (1825). w.Som.i Mae-us
bee tuurbl skee'us dee yuur [acorns are very scarce this year].
Dev.* n.Dev. Grose (1790). w.Dev. Marshall ifMj-.i'coK. (1796).
s.Dev. (F.W.C.)
2. V. To search for or collect acorns.
Wil.'^ w.Som.i Can't keep the pheasants home nohow — they
be macin' and blackberrin' all over the place.
MASS, sb? Slk. (Jam.) Pride, haughtiness, self-conceit.
See Massy, 2.
MASS, see Mash, v.. Master, sb?
MASSACREE, v. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Lei.
War. Oxf Som. Also in forms marcycree Nhb.^ ; marcy-
kree Nhb. ; mercycree Nhb.' [ma'sakri.] To massacre,
butcher, kill ; to destroy life by accident.
Nhb. Then Petticoat Robin jumpt up agyen, Wiv's gully to
raarcykreehuz aw, Allan Tyneside Sngs. (1891) 96 ; Nhb.', Cum.',
w.Yks.', ne.Lan.i Chs.' An old shepherd objected to some canal
scourings being placed on a meadow where ewes were lambing,
lest the young lambs should flounder into the soft mud and be
' massacreed.' Not."- Lei.' Ah'U massacree ye, my lady, next
toime as I ketch a holt on ye. War.2 I'll massacree them cats ;
War.s Oxf.' I'll massacree tha, MS. add. w.Som.' To think that
so many o' they poor little chillern should a bin a massacreed
like that.
MASSARD, MASSELGEM, MASSELGIN, MASSEL-
JAM, MASSELTON, see Mazzard, sb.'^, Mashelton.
MASSER, 56.' Obs. Lan. Lei. 1. A shopkeeper,
mercer. Lan. (K.) 2. A merchant. Lei. ib.
MASSER, sb.'^ Som. A privy, jakes. (Hall.)
MASSLEDINE, MASSLEGIN, MASSLINJEM, see
Mashelton.
MASSLINN, sb. Suf [mse-slin.] The mistletoe, Vis-
cum album. Science Gossip (1882) 215.
MASS-WEBB, see Mouse-web.
MASSY, adj. Sc. Nhb. Cum. [ma-si.] 1. Massive,
bulky, strong ; big.
Sc. Elsie's neives are massy, Outram Lyrics (1887) 125. n.Sc.
He grasped his sword sae massy, Buchan Ballads (ed. 1875) II.
64. Frf. Come on, my massy cudgel soon you'll feel, Morison
Poems ( 1 790) 171. Rnf. Her massy nose like Etn a glows, M'Gilvra y
Poems (ed. 1862) 319. Ayr. Aft clad in massy siller weed. Burns
Sc. Drink (1786) St. 7. Lnk. A massy punch-bowl, wi' a braw
mounted cap, Rodger Poems (1838) 14, ed. 1897. Lth. How glad
each joyful soul Will fill the Poet's massy bowl, Thomson Poems
(1619) 217. Edb. Let massie clouds form the Cimmerian night,
Pennecuik jyc&o« (1720) 166. Nhb.'
2. Self-important, conceited ; boastful, bragging. Also
used advb.
Sc. I hae broken his head or now, for as massy as he's riding
ahint us, Scott Old Mortality (1816) xiv. Lnk. My gentleman gets
in and talks very massy aboot the grand job Government was
lookin' oot for him, Fraser Whaups (1895) ^"'- ^^^- Cocking
his tail sae massy like, Hogg Tales (1838) 53, ed. 1866. Nhb.'
He's a massy fellow. Cum.* ' He's a massy independent fellow ' ;
a term used by a girl who turns up her nose at the old lover.
MASSY, MAST, see Mercy, Must, sb}
MASTEL, sb. Obs. Cum.'* A patch or border of an
arable field never ploughed.
MASTEN, sb. Sh.I. A mast. S. & Ork.>
[Dan. masten, the mast (with postpositive article).]
MASTER, sb}, adj., adv. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc.
Irel. and Eng. Also in forms maaster n.Yks.* w.Yks. ;
maasther n.Yks.* ; mace Wil.'; maester Sh.I. ; maestur
Shr.'; maisWil.'; maisterSc. N.Cy.' Nhb.' Dur.' Lakel.='
H
MASTER
[50]
MASTER
Cum.i*n.Yks.'= e.Yks. w.Yks.' n.Lin.i Nhp.^ Shr.' Hnt.
Sur. Dor. w.Som.^ ; maisther n.Yks.^ e.Yks.^ ; marster
Ess.i ; mas Som. w.Som.' ; mass Ken.* ; mayster Brks.' ;
measter Lan. Der.^ Lin. Dor. ; meeaster n.Yks.* ; mester
Sh.I. n.Ir. n.Cy. w.Yks.^ Chs.* s.Chs.* nw.Der.* Not.
sw.Lin.'; mesther Chs.* ; mestur Lan. [mest3(r, mea's-
t3(r, me-st3(r.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Master-beast, the
most powerful beast in a herd, the leader of a herd ; Jig.
the most influential person, the victor, winner ; (2) -bee,
the queen-bee ; (3) -bullock, see (i) ; (4) -cow, the leading
cow of a herd ; (5) -daddy, a troublesome child, one who
tries to get the upper hand ; (6) -drain, a principal drain ;
{7) -fule, a champion ass ; (8) -handle, the left handle of
a plough ; (9) -heap, the largest portion, the highest heap ;
(10) -keeper, an officer of the New Forest; (11) -man, (a)
an artisan or tradesman who sets up for himself, an
employer ; an overlooker, ruler, governor ; (b) the head
of a family or household, a husband ; (c) a person of self-
willed and violent temper ; (12) -pen, the chief feather of
a bird ; (13) -pig, the largest and strongest pig in a sty ;
(14) -shifter, an official who has responsible charge of a
mine or portion of a mine in his shift during the absence of
the Overman; (15) -swingle-tree, see (17) ; (16) -tail, see (8);
(17) -tree, the swingle-tree of a plough ; the large spreader
of a harrow ; (18) -wasteman, an official in charge of the
ventilation of a mine ; (19) -wood, the principal beams of
wood in the roof of a house ; that part of the roof-timber
of a farm building which has been put in at the expense
of the proprietor ; (20) -work, a certain amount of work
on the ' mains ' farm exacted from the neighbouring
tenants of small holdings.
(i) n.Yks.'' His wife's t'maisther-beeast. nXin.^ He's th' maister
beast at . Iv'ry body but one or two e' th' parish is sewer to
voate that way he tells 'em. Most foaks said as B 'ud win,
but I alus said as we should prove th' maister beasts e' th' long
run. w.Mid. (W.P.M.) (2) e.Yks. The master bee is longer and
larger then the other bees, Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 64. (3) w.Mid.
(W.P.M.) w.Som.i The cow which beats or drives the rest of
the dairy is called the ' mae-ustur buul'ik.' There is always one
in every dairy. {4) Chs.' In most herds of cattle there is generally
one cow to which all the others give way. She is called the
'master cow,' and generally leads the way from one pasture to
another, the rest following. s.Chs.' Hrt. The great danger that
weak and underline cows are liable to suffer by those we call
master cows, Ellis Cy. Hswf. (1750) 174. w.Mid. (W.P.M.) (5)
Oxf. That child's a fair master-daddy (CO.). (6) w.Yks.', ne.Lan.i
(7) e-An."- (8) Chs.' That which the man holdeth while he clcareth
the plough from clogging earth, Academy of Armory^ Bk. HI. viii.
(9) n.Yks.2 (10) Hmp. 1193 acres are held by the master-keepers
and groom-keepers, attached to their respective lodges, Marshall
Review (1817) V. 289. (11, a) Edb. How there was a great affray :
Some master-man Was soundly swing'd, Har'st Rig (1794) 38, ed.
i8oi. n.Ir. A saw the big fellow lauchin' when the raesterman
ca'd me ' gentleman,' Lyttle Paddy McQuillan.^ 28. Nhb.*, Dur.*
Lakel.^ A chap 'at's sarra'd his time, bin a journeyman, an' than
set up fer hissel — a maisterman tailier, an' seea on ; an' he's mebbe
t'maister ower neea body but hissel. n.Yks.124^ w.Yks.* (4)
N.Cy.* Nhb. Ah maist think Ah'U be pleased to hev him for a
maisterman ! Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 113 ; Nhb.* Ye'U he' ti'
see the maisterman hesel. Cum. The maistermen . . . made their
way first to the village inn, Caine Shad. Crime (1885) loi ; Cum."
Wm. RusKiN Fors Clavigera (ed. 1896) I. 294, note, (c) Wm.
Thoo's a bit ov a masterman but Ah'll tak thi doon a peg (B.K.).
(12) Sh.I. I wis faerd at du hurtet di peerie croon, Or brukkled da
mesterpen o' di wing, Junda Klingrahool (1898) 8. (13) sw.Lin.i
(14) Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (15)
n.Yks. (I.W.) (16) s.Wor. Attached to and in the same line
with the beam (H.K.). Shr.'2 (17) S. & Ork.* The swingle-tree
which is nearest the plough. Or.I. (Jam.) e.Yks. A swingle-tree
of double length, used in yoking four horses by four swingle-trees.
Sometimes called a four horse balk, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Feb. 9,
1895). s.Peni. The big spreader (to which the small spreaders
are attached) fixed to a harrow (W.M.M.). (18) Nhb,' Nhb.,
Dur. A person who has responsible charge of the entire ventila-
tion of the mine on the out-bye side of the working headways,
including both the intake and return air-courses, under the
direction of the manager or under-viewer, Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl.
(1888). (19) Cai. The principal beams of wood in the roof in a
house (Jam.) ; The tenant being always bound to uphold the
original value of the master wood, as it is termed, Agric. Surv. 30
(ib.) ; Cai.* [It] was not included in the ' comprisement,' that is, the
valuation which an incoming tenant had to pay to the outgoing.
(20) Obs., ib.
2. Phr. (1) master of morfi/icafions, obs., the manager of
certain public funds, chosen annually; (2) — o/the copse,
the missel-thrush, Turdus viscivorus ; (3) — of the work or
— of works, a superintendent of town buildings ; (4) — on,
the master of, having overcome the difficulties of; (5) to be
one's master at, to be superior to one iii anything.
(i) Abd. Scoticisms (1787) 56. (2) w.Wor. Berrow'sjrn. (Mar. 3,
1888). (3) Abd. A member of Town Council chosen to take charge
of a Town Council's property in stone and lime, and see that it
is kept in repair (A.W.). Ayr. A scaffold had been erected ... by
Thomas Gimlet, the master-of-the-work, Galt Provost (1822) ix.
(4) Cum. He wad very leykely suin get maister on her, Silpheo
Billy Brannan (1885) 3. Yks. (J.W.) Not. He's thoroughly
mester on it (L.C.M.). sw.Lin.* It taks a deal of getting mester
on. He's well mester on it. (5) Lakel.^ He's my maister at leein'.
3. The head of a household or family ; a husband.
Wm. Oor master's varra thrang wi' his wark (B.K.). n.Yks.*
'Our maaster's not at home. He's awa' ti' t'hirings ; ' the farmer's,
or cottager's, wife, of her husband ; n.Yks.*, e.Yks.* w.Yks. 'My
mester,' or ' ahr mester,' is pre-eminently the wife's mode of
referring to her husband, Sheffield Indep. (1874), Lan. A rough
measter to make and mend and ' do ' for, Fothergill Probation
(1879) xix ; Missis, year as keen as yoar mestur, Staton B.
Shuttle Manch. 34. ne.Lan.* Chs.* A husband and wife never
walk arm in arm. The ' mester ' walks in front and the wife follows
about two yards behind. nw.Der.* Not. My mester's very badly.
Thank you kindly for calling. Missis (L.C.M.); Not.' s.Not. Is
the mester astir yit ? She's a widder ; her mester died a year
agoo (J.P.K.). Lin.* My master will soon be home to tea.
-sw.Lin.* The two mesters, her mester and my mester, lifted her
in. Lei.* Nhp.* A wife's inquiry for her husband usually is,
'Where's the maister?' War,'' My master isn't home yet;
War.34, s.War.*, Shr.i, Hrf.2, Glc* Oxf. How's the master to-
day? (G.O.) Hnt. (T.P.F.), Sus.i w.Som.* A wife (of the small
farmer and lower middle class only) always speaks of her husband
as ' maister.'
4. A term of address to a superior or stranger, Sir.
N.I.* Are you wanting any bog-wood the day, master ? Nhb.
Aye master, but a miss is as good as a mile, Richardson .Sofrferej-'s
Table-bk. (1846) V. 56. Cum. Hoots, maister, I ken a better way
nor that, Burn Fireside Crack (1886) 8. n.Yks. Eh, but it never
will, maister, Linskill Betw. Heather and N. Sea (1884) iii. e.Yks.
' Whah, maisther,' says Bobby, ' hoo's this ? ' Nicholson Flk-Sp.
(1889) 37. w.Yks. Can't ye tak that barn on to yer knee,
maister? Saunterer's Satchel (1875) 39. Lan. Thenk yo', measter,
all th' same. Banks Manch. Man (1876) i. Chs. Eh ! mester, but
it's a grand country you coom from somewheer, Egerton Flk. and
Ways (1884) 84. Der.2 Lawks, measter, Oi'ra well'y spent (s.v.
Well'y). Not. (L.C.M.) s.Not. Good mornin', mester (J. P. K.).
War.^ Gen. applied by labourers to those above them in rank.
' Master, can you tell me what time o' day it is ? ' Shr.* s.Pem.
Master, what o'clock is it? Laws Little Engl. (188B) 421. Oxf.*
' Yer's the money, Willum.' 'Thenk ee, Maaster.'
5. A title of respect prefixed to names, Mr. ; gen. used
of labourers or men of the lower class.
n.Cy. (J.F.M.) Lin. That all depends on Measter Scuffham,
Gilbert Rugge (1866) 318. War. Wise Shakespere (1861) ;
War.2-4, s.War.* Oxf.* Labourers are called ' Master So-and-so ' ;
only the principal farmers, &c. are called ' Mister.' Hnt. How's
Master Smith to-day? (T. P. F.) Ess.* Ken.* The labourer's title.
'Where be you goin'. Mass Tompsett!' (s.v. Muster). Sur. Used
. . . only ... for respectable men of the humbler sort. A farmer
for instance is Mr. ; his bailiff, if he has one, is Master So-and-
so, N. b" Q. (1878) 5th S. X. 222; Sur.* Sus. A respectful title
applied to the older generation of labourers (F.E.); Sus.* A
married man, young or old, is ' Master,' even to his most intimate
friend and fellow workmen, as long as he can earn his own liveli-
hood ; but as soon as he becomes past work he turns into • the
old gentleman,' leaving the bread-winner to rank as master of the
household. ' Master ' is quite a distinct title from ' Mr.' Thus
'Mus Smith' is the employer, 'Master Smith' is the man he
employs. Hmp. Old Master Carpenter used to be clerk (H.C.M.B.).
Wil.i A style still used by the lower classes in n.Wil. to trades-
men and sons of farmers. Thus a brickmaker whose name is
Davis, is called ' Mace Davis,' and sons of farmers are called
MASTER
[51]
MASTERPIECE
' Mace John,' or 'Mace Thomas,' the surname being sometimes
added and sometimes not, IVtl. Arch. Mag. I. 338. ' Mais 'before
a consonant. Before a vowel it would be ' Mais'r ' or ' Maistr' ' —
as ' Maistr* Etherd.' Dor. Yes, Maister Derriman, Hardy
Trumpet-Major {iS8o)vi. Som. Mas Chedzoy (C.W.D.). w.Som.i
I likes Mas' Jim better-n all the rest o'm.
e. An employer, the head of a shop or works ; the name
given to a farmer by the farm-labourers.
Abd. I'll need to gar yer maister tak' ye afore the Shirra,
Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871') viii. Edb. Upon the morn the
master looks To see gin a' his fowk ha'e hooks, Har'st Rig (ed.
iBoi) g. n.Cy. (J.W.), n.Yks." w.Yks. Little mesters are manu-
facturers in a small way of business, who take part in the actual
work as if they were journeymen, Sheffield Indep. (1874). Lin.
The farm labourer always speaks of his employer as 'our maister'
(J.C.W.). Shr.i, Brks.i Dor. A toast or song that is usually
the first done justice to at a Dorsetshire harvest home — that
in honour of the ' measter,'. . as follows : ' Here's a health unto
our master, The founder of the feast,' &c., N. & Q. (1879) 5th S.
xi. 78 ; The imposing form of the ' master' could be seen leaning
over the gate, Longman's Mag. (Sept. 1900) 447. w.Som."^
' Maister's a-go to market, and I can't tell ee nort about it, gin he
do come 'ome.' The line is drawn at the employer, however petty.
7. A respectable, well-dressed man ; a gentleman ; any
individual.
w.Yks. Tell that there mester, Sheffield Indep. (1874) ; The
Shevvild' chap's Second Letter tot Mester, Shevvild Ann. (1851)
I ; w.Yks.2 There's a mester comin'. s.Not (J.P.K.)
8. A landlord, a laird.
Cal. The farm must . . . assist when called out in cutting down
his landlord's (or as here termed his master's) crop, Statist. Ace.
X. 17 (Jam.) ; Cai.^
9. A schoolmaster, dominie.
n.Sc. There is but one other garden to equal it in Carglen (let
alone, of course, the minister's or the maister's), Gordon Car-
glen (1891) 165. Abd. Did the creatur raelly gae the length o'
threatenin' the maister, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xvii ; A
schoolmaster is the maister (G.W.). Lnk. Forgot the griefs that
were to come. The maister's swingin' tawse, Nicholson Idylls
(1870) 94. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 336, ed. 1876. Cum.
Gl. (1851). n.Yks."
10. The parson of a parish.
w.Som.iThis is to gee notice — there on't be no Zindyhere next
Zindy, 'case why — maister's a-gwain Dawlish vor praich.
, 11. An adult, a young man when grown up.
s.Not. Among children any adult man is a mester (J.P.K.).
■w.Dor. Roberts Hist. Lyme Regis (1834).
12. The eldest son of a baron or viscount.
Sc. (A.W.) ; The Viscount of Arbuthnott's eldest son is stiled
\sic\ Master of Arbuthnott. This, however, is getting into desue-
tude, Monthly Mag. (1798) H. 437. Abd. Petagogis to my Lord
Gordoun and Master of Caitness, Turreff Gleanings (1859) 32 ;
The master of Forbes moved some complaints against the Bishop
of Aberdeen, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 87.
13. The eldest son of a squire. Sur.* 14. The leader
ofa herd of cows. w.Som.^ 15. Used of one distinguished
for any quality of mind or body ; anything good of its kind.
n.Yks. A maister of a lass [one that is strong, clever, masterful,
or rapacious]. A maister ofa 'swill' [a great wicker basket]
(LW.) ; n.Yks.1 She's a maister te gan [of a mare]. A maister at
eatin'. w.Yks. But this wor t'mester— a regular Tomtarralegs,
Hallam Wadsley Jack (1866) xix. Suf. (R.H.H.)
16. adj. Chief, principal ; great, best ; remarkable.
Hrt. The master roots of a vigorous tree, Ellis Mod. Husb.
(1750) Vn. ii. 63. Suf. He's a master man for that (C.T.). e.Suf.
' A master boy,' an overgrown boy ; also a very clever boy. 'They
had a master row together' (F.H.). Ess. An" then Bill give the
booy a shaike. That was a master spree, Downe Ballads (1895)
22 ; Well, that is the master bit I do think I ever was towd, *. 7.
11. adv. Used as an intensitive : extremely, very ; best.
Hrt. You may draw out what underline plants you please, and
only leave the master thriving one, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) VH.
i. Suf. I see the master grut rat, e.An. Dy. Times (1892); That
fared a master long time to me(C.G.B.) ; That's a master fine boss
you a got (C.T.). e.Suf. You've been a master long while doing
it (F.H.). Ess. Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 222.
18. V. To domineer.
s.Chs.i Yoa" bin au-viz kiim-in raaynd)th bongk, mestflrin, bur
ah)l sey iv yoa-)n mes'tflr oaT may [Yo bin auvays comin' raind
th' bonk, mesterin' ; bur ah'll sey if yo'n mester o'er mey].
Hence (1) Maisterin, ppl. adj. imperious, authoritative ;
overbearing ; (2) Mastership, sb. control.
(i) Shr.i ' 'E seems a maisterin' sort o' mon, that.' ' Oh, aye !
'e can do the maisterin' part right well, but a bit o' 'ard work flOd
shoot 'im a sight better.' (2) s.Chs.' Wi miin aa siim mes'tiirship
oa'r sich feluz, els dhi)n bi gy'et'in mes'tur u iiz [We mun ha'
some mestership o'er sich fellows, else they'n be gettin' mester o'us].
19. To defeat, overcome, best.
w.Yks. If thah starts o' feytin' him he'll maister theh (.^E.B.).
MASTER, sb.^ Obs. or obsol. Sc. Also in forms
maister, mester ; mister (Jam. 5«/i/i/,). Stale urine.
Sc. Take near a tub-full of old master . . . and mix it with as
much salt. Maxwell Sel. Trans. (1743) 262(Jam.) ; Liquid collected
from a byre ; applied also to the contents of the midden hole of a
farm-house (Jam. Suppl.). ne.Sc. Another common detergent was
stale urine, maister, Gregor Flk-Lore (i88i) 176. Cai.' Used as
a lye. Per. Here heaps o' filth, there dubs o' mester, Stewart
Character (1857) 62. Lth. Sturdy cans for haudin master, Thomson
Poems (1819) 74.
Hence (i) Master-can, sb. a can for holding urine ; a
chamber-pot ; (2) -laiglen, (3) -tub, sb. a wooden vessel
for preserving urine.
(i) Sc. 'Tis out o' the sowen kit And 'tis into the maister-can,
Herd Coll. (1776) II. 139 (Jam.). Lth. An auld master-can,
Thomson Poems (1819) in. Edb. Nor uly-pig, nor maister-cann,
But weel may gie Mair pleasure to the ear o' man Than stroke o'
thee, Fergusson Poems (1773) 171, ed. 1785. (2) Wi' maister
laiglen like a brock He did wi' stink maist smore him, ib. 169. (3)
Sc. (Jam.)
[Cogn. w. G. mist, dung; MDu. miest., OE. meox, Goth.
maihstus ; see Kluge and Schade (s.v. Mist)^
MASTER DOBBS, see Dobbs.
MASTERDOM, s6. Sc. Lan. Mastery, the upper hand.
Ayr. That spirit of masterdom without which there can be no
command, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xviii. ne.Lan.^
MASTERFUL, adj. In ^n. dial, use in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms maisterfou Bnif.' ; maisterful Nhb. Cum.
Wm. w.Yks.' ne.Lan.' w.Som.' ; maistherful n.Yks.^
e. Yks.' e.Lan.' ; maystervul Brks.' ; mesterfil S. & Ork.*
1. Determined, obstinate, self-willed, overbearing, im-
perious.
Sc. (A.W.) Nhb. But dinna be ower maisterful, Ci.AKE.Love of Lass
(1891) I. 112. Cum. He's a maisterful man, an yan can deah nowt
wi' him (E.W.P.) ; Cum.* I think that she was the more masterful
of the two for she never gave in. Wm. (B.K.), n.Yks. °, e.Yks.',
w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.*, e.Lan.' Chs.'; Chs.^ Thon lad's too masterful
by hafe, oi mun take im down a peg. Not.' Lei.' She's a most
masterfuUest temper. Nhp.' You little masterful thing ! War.
She'll get so masterful, there'll be no holding her, Geo. Eliot
S.Mamer{i&6i)ii2; War.s", s.War.', Hrf.2 Glo. The boy's that
masterful, I can't manage him (A.B.). Oxf.' MS. add. Brks.^
Our Gerge be got that maystervul ther yent no doin' nothun' wi'
'un. Bdf. (J.W.B.), Hnt. (T.P.F.),Sur.', Sus.' w.Som.' Applied
also to animals. ' Our Daisy's a maisterful sort of a bullick, her'll
beat other cow we've a got.'
Hence Masterfully, adv. violently, forcibly.
Abd. Took some money frae Mr. Robert Jameson, minister at
Marnan Kirk, violently and masterfully, Spalding i/is/. Sc. (1792)
I. 34. Rnf. Did most masterfully and violently rescue the said
Gavin Pow, ye prisoner, Hector /Mrfa'c. Records (1876) 68.
2. Spiteful. e.An.' 3. Great in size, strong, powerful.
S. & Ork.', Bnff.' n.Yks.2 A maistherful weight.
4. Wonderful. Suf. (R.H.H.)
MASTERLIN', sb. ne.Lan.' A petty master, a would-
be master.
MASTERPIECE, sb. and adj. Yks. e.An. Dev. Cor.
Also in form maisterpiece w.Yks. 1. sb. Anything sur-
prising or wonderful, that which excites admiration.
e.An.', Suf. (C.T.) Dev. An enormous ratwas turned out. 'He
be a masterpiece ! ' exclaimed Bill, Reports Provinc. (1893). Cor.
Why, you'm a masterpiece, young man ! Mortimer Tales Moors
(1895) 224; He was a masterpiece ofa shotsman and snarer,»6. 265.
2. A self-willed person, one who persists in having his
own way.
w.Yks. That barn o' thine's a reyt maisterpiece ; it'll get owt it
wants (^.B.) ; A ! it is a little maisterpiece I It roared all t'neet
through, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Feb. 9, 1895).
II 2
MAST-HEAD
[52]
MATED
3. adj. Chief, great, wonderful.
Nrf. They're the master-piece bards for pickin' up worams,
Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 27.
MAST-HEAD, sh. Sc. In phr. to the mast-head, to the
utmost limit, to the end ; extremely, very, in abundance.
Abd. Hold on to the mast-head [endure to the end]. He is mad
to the mast-head. They got whisky to the mast-head. The laddie
was punished to the mast-head (G.W.). Edb. An Idiot cram'd to
the mast-head Wi' that insatiate glutton weed, Liddle Poems
(1821) 97.
MASTICK, sh. Som. [mae'stik.l An acorn, mast, the
fruit of the oak, Quercus robur. (J.S.F.S.), (F.A.A.)
MASTIS, sb. Nhb. Cum. Lan. Also written mastice
ne.Lan.' ; andin formmestissNhb. [ma'stis.l A mastiff
dog. Nhb. (R.O.H.), Nhb.i, Cum.S ne.Lan.'
[The cur or mastis, Douglas Eneados (1513), ed. 1874,
III. 206 ; A mastis, Itciscus, Caih. Angl. (1483).]
MASTLEGIN, see Mashelton.
MASTROUS.a^^'. andarfi/. Obsol. Suf. 1. adj. Great,
extreme, remarkable. e.Suf (F.H.) 2. adv. Very,
extremely, ib. Cf. master, sb.'^ 16, 17.
MASTY, sb. Dur.i Cum.^ w.Yks.^ w.Wor.^ [ma-sti.]
A mastiff dog. Also in comp. Mastie-dog.
[Fr. mastin, a mastive (Cotgr.) ; with change of suffix,
cp. haughty (Fr. hautain).]
MASTY, adj. Lin.i sw.Lin.^ [ma'sti.] Large and
strong, big.
MAT, sb.^ Sc. Nrf. Ken. Hmp. Also written matt
Ken. [mat, maet.] 1. In comp. Mat-grass, (i) the wire-
bent, Mardus stricta ; (2) the marram-grass, Psamnia
arenaria,
(i) Bnff. Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 284. (2) Nrf. (B.'& H.)
Hmp. A great tussock of the 'mat' grass which dips into the water,
Longman's Mag. (Dec. 1899) 155.
2. A woollen bed-covering ; the coarse piece of sacking
on which the feather-bed is laid.
Rnf. A mat meant a thick woollen covering for the bed, generally
wrought into a pattern, Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 350. Ken.
Obs. Back chamber right hand, i flock bed. . . Fram matt and
cords, Pluckley Vestry Bk. (Oct. 25, 1790).
MAT, sb.^ e.An. A tool for stubbing furze, ling, &c. ;
a mattock. e.An."-, e.Suf. (F.H.)
MAT, v} Hrf.^ [mat.] In phr. to mat potatoes, to stir
the earth round them.
MAT, v.^ se.Wor.^ [mat.] To fit ; to correspond.
Cf. mattle, v.^
MAT, see Malt, sh.\ Mote, v.'^
MATASH, 56. Sh.I. A corrupt form of ' moustache.'
He rubbed da froad o' da mylk aflf o' his matash, wi' da sleeve
o' his froak, Sh. News (June 4, 1898) ; Yon twisted matash is dat
pitten on laek, 'at it's juist a scunnerashen, ib. (Oct. 28, 1899).
MATCH, s6.i Sc. Yks. Not. Dor. [mat/.] 1. In comb.
(i) Match-dipt-at-both-ends, an old-fashioned brimstone
match ; see below ; (2) -hawkers, a nickname for the
people of Otley ; (3) -paper, obs., brown paper soaked in
a solution of saltpetre and used with a flint and steel to
light pipes, &c. ; (4) -steil, a used match ; (5) -stick, the
wooden part of a lucifer-match.
(i) e.Yks. The present paraffin match has quite superseded the
old brimstone match, made of a splinter of wood about six inches
long, and dipped at both ends. They used to be hawked about by
pedlars, and sold at a halfpenny per bundle of about 20 matches ;
and were only used for ignition by the spark on the tinder, produced
by the flint and steel, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 18. (2) Yks.
They're called ' match-hawkers,' Wherefore each must wield a
match, Yks. Comet {1844) VI. 81. (3) Ayr. Just put a fingerfu' o'
poother i' the pan, and set lowe to it wi' a bit o' match-paper,
Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 19. (4) Not.^ (5') Edb. The deil made
match-sticks o' his bains, Learmont Poems (1791) 24.
2. See below.
Dor. She bore in her arms curious objects about a foot long, in
the form of Latin crosses (made of lath and brown paper dipped
in brimstone — called 'matches' by bee-masters). Hardy Greenwd.
Tree (1872) pt. iv. ii.
MATCH, v., sb.^ and adj. Sc. Irel. Cum. Rut. Bdf. Ken.
Wil. Som. Dev. [matj, maetj.] 1. v. In comb. Match-
me-if-you-can, the ribbon-grass, Phalaris arundinacea.
Ken.^ 2. Phr. to match it out, to make provisions last
for an appointed time ; to accomplish one's work by a
given date.
Wil. I hope to match it out to the end of the week, Jefferies
Hdgrw. (1889) 189.
3. To marry, mate.
Sc. This marks rather that the Spotswoods have matched with
the Gordons, and married one of their daughters , Maidment Spotiis-
woode Misc. (1844-5) I- 5- Elg. Auld maids we'll grow. Unless we
match wi' somebody. Tester Poems (1865) 220. Edb. Nae lass
wi' him will ever match, Crawford (1798) 104.
4. To manage ; to master.
Rut.i ' I can't match that ! ' An old man, learning netting from
my boy, said, ' I think I can match it.' Bdf. 'Shall I help you to
hold that?' 'Thank you, sir, I can match it' (J.W.B.). Ken.
(W.F.S.) w.Som.i I thort to a bin there, but I could'n quite match
it, come to last. nw.Dev.i
5. sb. Comb, (i) Match-(a)-running, a game resembling
prisoner's base ; (2) -party, a person who arranges
marriages.
(i) Ken.(G.B.),Ken.'- (2) Ir. Before Lent is the great time for mar-
riage contracts, and you will meet ' match parties ' everywhere going
about bargaining for a 'boy' or ' girl,' Fik-Lore Rec. (1881) IV. iii.
e. adj. Sufficient ; competent.
Cum. Jonty's match tamaka good start wi' that, Rigey Midsummer
(1891) xiii.
MATCHED, ppl. adj. Cum. Yks. Also written matcht.
[mat/t.] 1. Put to the extreme limit of one's forces or
ability; almost overtasked.
n.Yks. Of a woman newly but not wisely married, ' Ay, she's
tied a knot with her tongue she'll be matched to unloose wiv her
teeath,' Atkinson Moorl. Parish (1891) 35 ; He was a matcht man
(I.W.) ; n.Yks.i He'll be matched to win there while neeght.
He'll be matched to dee't, ony way he can frame't. Matched to
sit oop on eend ; n. Yks." Ah s'all be hard matched ti git t'job deean.
2. Equal to, capable of.
Cum.'' ' Ise matched te fell thee twice oot o' thrice ' ; a wrestlers
boast.
MATCHET, sb. e.An. [mae-tjat.] A popular name
for a cart-horse, that is a mare. (F.H.)
MATCHLY, adj. and adv. Obs. e.An. s.Cy. Also in
form meatchley s.Cy. 1. adj. Exactly ahke; fitting
together. e.An.^
e.An.i Nrf. T. Browne Tract viii. (c. 1680) in Wks. (ed.
Wilkins), III. 233.
2. adv. Perfectly ; well ; mightily. Nrf. (K.) ; Ray
(1691). s.Cy. Grose (1790).
MATCHY,s6. Nhb.' [ma'tji.] Apiece of touch-paper ;
see below. Cf. match-paper.
Soft brown-paper steeped in a solution of saltpetre, and used in
obtaining a light from a flint and steel. Still carried by old men
in the fields.
MATE, sb. and v. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Not. Ken. Sus. I.W.
Dev. Also in form meyat I.W.' [met, meat.] 1. sb.
In phr. (i) /'// be m,ate if you'll be marrow, I'll make one of
a pair if you will make the other ; (2) the mate in the loom-
gate, the companion weaver at the next loom ; (3) to be
mates with, to be friendly with.
(i) Chs. Clough B. Bresskittle (1879) 8. (2) w.Yks. (J.M.) (3)
n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) e.Ken. She is such a one to be mates with
any one (G.G.).
2. A carter's assistant ; the boy who leads and tends the
horses of a team.
Ken. (W.H.E.) Sus. [A] carter-boy credited with the following
advice to his father, whose ' mate' he was, Egerton Flk. and Ways
(1884) 26. I.W.i
3. A common form of address to a stranger.
Yks.(J.W.) s.Not. What part do yer come from, mate? (J.P.K.)
4. A match. w.Yks. Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.*
5. The male of twin calves of different sexes.
Dev. The pair are spoken of as mate and martin, Reports Provinc.
(1893).
6. V. To match, equal. w.Yks. (J.W.)
MATE, see Meat.
MATED, pp. Sc. Lin. Nhp. Oxf. Also in form maated
Lin. [me'tid.] Confused, bewildered.
Lin. The feller's clean daazed, an' maazed, an" maated, an'
MATER
[53J
MATTER
muddled ma, Tennyson Locksley Hall Sixty Years After, &c. (1887)
145. Nhp.i When I get into the street at night, I am so mated, I
hardly know where I be. Oxf. (G.P.) ; Oxf.' I be reg'lar mated.
Hence Mated-out, ppl. adj. exhausted with fatigue.
Rxb. (Jam.) ' J^r j S
[My mind she has mated, and amazed my sight, Shaks.
Macb. V. i. 86 ; pat left wer on-lyue . . . Wer also maistrett
& masyd & mated of \a\T strennthes, Wars Alex. (c. 1450)
1270. OFr. mater, ' abattre, vaincre ' (La Curne).]
MATER, see Marlter, sb.
MATERIAL,flrf/. N.!.* Good, excellent. A material cow.
MATERIALS, sb. pi. Irel. Som. 1. Builders' plant.
w.Som.i Then I must tender vor you to vind zand and bricks
and lime an' that, and I must vind materials [mutuur'yulz]. We
can begin the job torackly, nif you can plaise to zend your wagin
arter the materials.
2. The ingredients for mailing punch ; punch.
Ir. Take my advice, leave ' the materials ' alone to-night and
stick to the claret. Smart Master of Rathkelly (1888) II. 53 ; The
' materials ' were called for. . . A huge array of whisky-bottles
, and hot water and lemons, Paddiana (ed. 1848) I. 168.
MATFELLON, sb. n.Yks. [ma-tfelan.] The small
knapweed, Centaurea nigra. (R.H.H.)
[Jacia nigra, matfeloun, Sin. Barth. (c. 1350) 24. OFr.
mathfeloun, ' iacea nigra ' {Alphita) ; for forms in Fr. dial,
see JoRET Flore Populaire (1887) 118.]
MATFULL, sb. Sh.I. A herring that is 'full,' as
distinguished from one that is ' spent.' See Matie.
Crown brand matfuHs 22 to 22^ m., Sh. News (Aug. 27, 1898).
[Norw. dial, matfull, stiff and heavy from surfeit, used
of animals (Aasen).]
MATH, sb> Irel. Yks. War. Wor. Hrf. Glo. e.An. Som.
[niajj, mse^.] 1. A mowing.
Wor. It will come in for the latter math (W.C.B.). Hrf. A day's
math is about an acre, or a day's work for a mower, Morton
Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Glo. The first math, or cutting of a
valuable piece of freehold meadow land, Evesham Jrn. (Oct, 24,
1896). e.An.i, Som. (Hall.)
2. A crop of grass.
War.3, Ess. (W.W.S.) w.Som.^ Capical math o' grass; aa'll
warnt is two ton an acre.
3. Meadow-land. Wxf. Hall />-. (1841) II. 161. n.Yks.^
[1. OE. mcep, math in aftermath, mowing, hay-harvest
(B.T.). MLG. made, ' Matte, Wiese ' (Schiller-Lijbben).]
MATH, s6.2 Som. A litter of pigs. W. & J. G/. (1873).
MATH, MATHEGLUM, MATHEN, see Mather,
Metheglin, Maithen.
MATHER, s6. War. Hrf. 1. The stinking chamomile,
Anthemis Cotula. War.* See Maithen,! ; cf.madder,5Zi.'l.
2. Thegreat ox-eyeda\sy,ChrysanlhemumLeucaMtkemum.
Hrf.i See Maithen, 2.
MATHER, V. Glo. To turn round before lying down
(as an animal). (W.H.C.), Glo.*
MATHER, int. Sc. Lin. Ken. Sus. Hmp. LW. Dor.
Som. Also in forms maader, maether Abd. ; math Som. ;
mawther Sus. ; mether LW.^ Dor.* ; meyther I.W.* ;
midda Lin. ; mither LW.* Ken.* Som. ; mother Sus.*''
{mae-S3(r), mi-(S3(r).] 1. A carter's call to his horse to
come to the near side, ' come hither.' Abd. (Jam.), (G.W.)
Sus. (R.B.) Hmp. HoLLOWAY. LW.*'' 2. Comp. (i)
Mather-ho, (2) -out, (3) -way, a carter's call to the horse
-to come to the left ; (4) -whoy, a call to a horse to come
over gently ; (5) -wo, see (3).
(i) Dor.* Ev'ry hoss da know my fiace. An' mind my 'mether
ho! an' whug,' 221. (2) Sus. Ma the route [sic] (E.E.S.). (3)
Ken.*, Dor. (W.C.) Som. He said ' good-day ' to the host, 'mither
way' to the horses, and proceeded on his road, Raymond Gent.
■■■Upcott (1893) 8. (4) Lin. The novel sound Of ' midda whoy ' when
-dear old Bright Would drive the horses round. Brown Lit. Laur.
{1890)64. (5)Sns.i2
MATHERN, see Maithen.
MATHON -WHITE, s6. Wor. A variety of hop.
There are two varieties in particular esteem both with the
planter and the merchant, the Golding-vine and Mathon White,
jyiARSHALL Review (1818) II. 378.
MATHUM, see Meathum.
Also in forms matje Sh.L ;
An immature herring; a fat
MATIE, sb. Sc. e.An.
mattie Sc. Sh.L [mati.]
herring. Cf. matfull.
Sh.I. Excluding the Lewis and Barra matje fishings, Sh. News
(Aug. 27, 189B) ; I quote to-day: .. Shetland maties, 16 to 17 m.;..
crown-brand matties, 18 to 19 m. ; . . do. maties, 15 to 17 m., ib.
ne.Sc. They . . . pitched the individual herrings into diilerent heaps,
according as they were 'full,' 'spent,' 'matties,' or 'tornbellies,'
Green Gordonhaven (1887) 45. nw.Sc. The herrings taken in the
Minch in May and June are technically known as ' matties,'
Buckland Fishes (1880) 113. e.An. Nall Gl. 280.
[MLG. madikes-herink, 'jetzt': matjes-h. ' Hering, der
gefangen wird, ehe er voll Rogen oder Milch ist ; wenn er
voll Rogen oder Milch ist, heisst er vull-herink' (Schiller-
LiJBBEN).]
MATLE, see Mattie, v.*
MATLO, sb. Or.L Also in form matilot S. & Ork.*
[ma'tlo.] T]\&comuionho\is&-i[y, Muscadomestica. (S.A.S.),
S. & Ork.*
MATRIM0NY,s6. Yks. Ken. Dev. [ma-t-, mae-trimsni.]
1. In comp. Matrimony-cake, a large round cake ; see
below.
e.Yks. A large round cake, called matrimony cake, having a layer
of currants between two layers of pastry, is covered with sugur,
then cut into as many pieces as there are persons at the feast,
Nicholson Flk-Lore (i8go) 11.
2. A mixture of gin and whisky, or gin and rum. nw.Dev.*
3. The red valerian, Centranthus ruber. e.Ken. (G.G.)
MATTENT, ppl. adj. Nhb.' Also in form mattered.
[ma'tant.] 1. Of flour : made from wheat that has
sprouted. 2. Comb. Mattent-bread, bread made from
wheat that has sprouted.
' Mattered-breed ' sticks to the knife when cut, in consequence of
inferior flour used in its composition.
MATTER, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms matter, maitter Abd. ; mater Nhb. ; matther
e.Yks.* ; metter Dev. [ma't3(r, me't3(r.] 1. sb. In phr.
(i) about a matter, very nearly ; (2) a little matter, a small
amount, esp. of money ; (3) a matter of, about, approxi-
mately, used before a number ; in gen. colloq. use ; (4) a
sair m.atter, a bad business ; an unlortunate occurrence ;
(5) no matter(s of nobody's, no one's concern ; (6) no matter(s
on it, (7) there is no matter, it does not matter ; (8) there's
no matter for such a person, such a person does not deserve
consideration ; (9) to let a person know what was tnatier,
to reprove a person ; to take revenge on him ; (10) to little
;«aW*r, to little purpose ; to small advantage ; (xi) to make
no matter, to be of no consequence ; (12) what (the) matter?
what does it matter.? (13) any matters, much, any great
quantity ; (14) as near as {makes) no matters, as near as
can be ; (15) no great matters, nothing to boast of, esp. of
health ; (16) no matters, nothing out of the common,
nothing to speak of, gen. of health ; also in sing. ; (17) to
be of no matters, (18) to make no great matters, see (11).
(i) w.Yks.* (2) w.Yks. An t'tahn allahd her a little matter ta
help her ta keep um on, Yksman. Comic Ann. (1878) 38. (3) Abd.
A maitter o' twa shillin's or half-a-croon, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(i87i)x. Gall.(A.W.) Cum.* Amattero'twentyormair;Cum.sHe
wad give anybody 'at ken't t'fells weel a matter o' five shillin to g'a
wid him, 2 ; Cum.* Yks. Ah've a matther o' fotty sheape (F.P.T.).
w.Yks.* nw.Der.* A matter o' twenty. Not.* Lei.* A matter o'
thray af-points o' gin. Nhp.* A matter of a hundred people there.
War.3 Oxf.' MS. add. Brks.* Sus. A matter of forty years or
so, Tennant Vill. Notes (1900) 139. Dev. They kept comp'ny un-
beknawst to un for a matter o' three months or more. Black and
J?^tee(June 27, 1896)824. (4)80. (A. W.) nw.Abd.'T's a sair maiter
thatwe'reootO'biskit,Goorfz«</«(i867)st.7. (5) Yks. (C.C.R.) (6)
Yks. It's gone and no matter on it (C.C.R.). (7) Sc. Monthly Mag.
(1798) II. 436. (8) Yks. There's no matter for such folk as will
go wrong (C.C.R. ). (9) n.Yks. (I. W.) f 10) Abd. Main sports .. .
Which, gin I ga'e you stick an' stow. Wad tak' o'er mukle time
e'enow, To little matter, Shirrefs Po«»«5 (1790) 214. (11) Nhb,
It mhead ne mater, Bewick Tyneside Tales (1850) 14. Yks,
(J.W.) (12) Ayr. An' hae to learning nae pretence, Yet, what
the matter? Burns To J. Lapraik (Apr. i, 1785) st. 9. Gall. May
be some for a' their cracks Will get, and what the matter. Their
licks this day, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) in, ed. 1876. n.Yks.
(I.W.) {13) n.Yks. Did it rain onny matters? (I. W.) ne.Yks.*
MATTERABLE
[54]
MAUGH
e.Yks.i He' ya had onny matthers o' rain 1 your payt ■ (14) Not.i
Lin. Brookes Tracts Gl. 8. Lei.', War.^ (15) Cum.^ ; Cum.'*
Thee furst bargin leucks neah girt matters to be deuhan wid, Sar-
GissoN Joe Scoap (1881) 218. ne.Yks.i Ah can't tak neea greeat
matters o' meeat. w.Yks.i 'How's thy wife?' ' Naa girt matters.'
Not.i Lin. Brookes ib. n.Lin.i Thaay've built a new chech at
Borringham, bud it's noa great matters to look at. Lei.i Nhp.i
I am no great matters. War .3 Hrt. I don't fare no great matters
this morning, Hrt. Merc. (Dec. 24, 1887). Hnt. (T.P.F.) (16)
n.Yks.2 Neea matters o' good. ne.Yks.i e.Yks.i Ah's neeah
matthers. -w.Yks.i Lin. He's no matters of a scholar, Brookes
Tracts Gl. n.Lin.i ' How are you off for gooseberries this year?'
' We've noa matters, I niver seed so few.' e.An."^ Nrf. It is no
matter of a rhoed, Rye Hist. Nrf. (1885) xv. Suf. I don't fare no
matters, e.An. Dy. Times (1892). (17) Lin.i It's of no matters, I
can skelp the load without him. (18) n.Yks.* It maks neea gert
matters owt 'at he sez.
2. Information.
n.Yks.-* Onny matter 'at he knaws weean't mak onnybody neea
wiser.
3. A number, quantity ; a quantity of food.
Sc. She retired and left the stranger to enjoy the excellent
matters which she had placed before him, Scott St. Ronan (1824)
ii. n.Yks.* Nut onny gert matters foor me, Ah 'ed summat afoor
Ah cum'd. e.An.^ There was a matter of 'em.
4. V. To esteem ; to value ; to care about.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Cum.i ' What tou's seimn left te pleass ? ' 'Ey,
I dudn't matter't much'; Cum.« n.Yks. We did not matter his
remarks (C.F.) ; n.Yks.i Ah dean't matter him, nat t'valley ov an
au'd naal ; n.Yks.* Ah nivver did matter him mich. ne.Yks.' Ah
deean't matter him mich. e.Yks. Ah think mah missus disn't mich
matther her new maiden. w.Yks.i I matter naan o' thy coUops ;
■w.Yks.2 I don't matter it at all. Lan. I mattered not if we ex-
changed, so I took his box and he took mine, Walkden Diary
(ed. 1866) 80. ne.Lan.i n.Lin.' Steam cultivaators is all ver^
well for th' hill-side, bud I matter 'em noht for law-land. Dev.
Wul I daunt metter that, Nathan Hogg Poems (1886) 61.
5. To know, have knowledge of.
Yks. Do you matter ought on him ? (C.C.R.)
MATTERABLE, flc^y. Cum. [ma'tj^arabl.] Important;
of consequence.
Cum.i What he does isn't matterable ; Cum."*
BIATTERED, see Mattent.
MAT-TER-FANGLED, adj. Cum." [ma'tj^ar-fagld.]
In incipient dotage ; muddle-headed, confused.
MATTERLESS, adj. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lin. Shr.
[ma-t3(r)l3s.] 1. Unimportant, immaterial.
e.Dur.i It's matterless. Cum. It's quite matterless to me who
does it (E.P.) ; Cum.*, n.Yks.'^ n.Lin. It's matterless, for when
he's here, he never does nowt, Peacock R. Skirlaugh [ 1870) II. 64 ;
n.Lin.^ It's matterless which waay you tak' th' watter, for be it
how it maay my land is alust flooded.
2. Indifferent, unconcerned, uninterested.
s.Wm. I was meeterley easy, quite matterless about it, Hutton
Dial. Storih and Arnside (1760) 1. 14. Shr.^ Oh aye ! if yo'n do
things fur 'er, 'er'U tak' on as matterless as if it didna belung to 'er.
3. Incapable ; incompetent ; helpless ; shifdess.
Cum. Mrs. Robinson ... is said ... to have been a simple,
matterless body, Hutchinson Hist. Cum. (1794) I. 225. n.Yks.*
MATTERY, v. w.Som.^ To discharge pus.
Plaise to gie mother some rags, 'cause father's leg do mattery
[maafuree] zo.
MATTERY, a^'. Nhb. [ma-t(3)ri.] Wordy; loquacious.
When a farmer stopped her, and made a great fuss about the so-
called trespass, she remarked: 'What a mattery old man' (R.O.H.).
MATTIE, see Matie, Matty, 5^-.
MATTLE, v.^ Lin. Also written matle n.Lin.^ [ma-tl.]
To match, mate. sw.Lin.i Yon just mattles it.
Hence (i) Matley, adj. equal ; alike ; (2) Mattler, sb.
the match to anything ; the fellow, the equal.
(i) (Hall.) (2) Let him cum on mun, I'm his mattler, Brown
Neddy (1841) 10. n.Lln. Sutton Wds. (1881); n.Lin.^ Thaay're
the very matler o' one anuther, as like as two peys. One a' kill'd
but yesterday an' its mattler the day afoor. sw.Lin.i The mattler
to the white one has cauved.
MATTLE, z;.2 Rxb. (Jam.) To nibble.
MATTRICE-CO AT, s6. Obs. e.Yks. A peculiar growth
of fleece ; see below.
When . . . the fleece is as it wcare walked together on the
toppe, and underneath it is but lightly fastened to the under-
growth, . . it is called a mattrice-coat. Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 20.
MATTY, sb. . Nhb. Cum. Lan. Also written mattie
Cum.3 [ma-ti.] The mark at which players aim in quoits
or pitch-and-toss ; also used fig., esp. in phr. to shift one's
maity, to alter one's position or policy. Cf. mot, sb.-
Nhb.i Cum. Thou's olas that thrang, there's nae stirrin thee off
thy matty (E.W.P.); Ah'd hardly shiftit me matty an geaan ower
teh sit wih t'lasses a minnet, Sargisson Joe Scoap (iSBi) 30 ;
Cum.i; Cum.3 Skiftin his mattie as fancy may please, 54. ne.Lan.'
MATTY, adj. Sc. (A.W.) Yks. (J.W.) Nhp.i'^ [maU]
Matted, twisted, interwoven.
MATY, see Meaty.
MAUCH,seeMaught, Mawk, sb}, Moch, adj.,Mooch, v?
MAUCHT, adj. Rxb. (Jam.) Also written maught.
Tired, worn out ; puzzled ; defeated ; out of heart.
MAUCHT, see Maught.
MAUD, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. ? Yks. ? Lan. Also written
mawd Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.^ ; and in forms maad Sc. (Jam.)
Nhb.^ ; mad Lnk. ; maund w.Yks. [mad.] 1. A shep-
herd's plaid ; a shawl.
Sc. A maud, as it is called, or a grey shepherd's plaid, supplied
his travelling jockey-coat, ScoTT GmjV-/'^. (1815) XXV ; (Jam.) Lnk.
Blankits an' sheets, tikes an' braw mads. Watt Poems (1827) 60.
Lth. To coax or wheedle from me my beautiful and valuable
Paisley maud, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 269. Edb. Like a fool
Wi's bonnet and his maud, Carlop Green (1793) 124, ed. 1817.
Hdg. As aft I've seen a maud Hing owre the hurdles o' a jaud,
Belanging to some gipsy scamps, Lumsden Poems (1896) 14. Slk.
Twa lang liesh chaps . . . baith happit wi' the same maud, Hogg
7a/es(i838) 7, ed. 1866. Dmf. ' Kinvaig' — what's that? a tippet
or a ' maud,' Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 339. N.Cy.^, Nhb.'
w.Yks. The apparition wore a broad blue bonnet and a maund or
plaid like a Scotchman, Grainge Pedlar (1866) 3. Lan. Nathan
wrapped in the same maud with Sally, Kay-Shuttleworth Scars-
dale (i860) II. 79.
2. Camp. Maud-neuk, the triangular corner of the plaid
in which the shepherd carries weak lambs or anything he
may require. Nhb.' (s.v. Herd's Maud).
MAUD, MAUDLE, see Mad, sb?, Mardle, v.
MAUDLIN, 5^-. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Wil. [m^-dlin.]
1. In camp, (i) Maudlin-fair, a fair held at Hedon on the
feast of St. Mary Magdalen ; fig. a great uproar ; (2) -flood,
a flood occurring about the time of the feast of St. Mary
Magdalen ; (3) -seam, a particular seam of coal, so called
because it was first worked extensively on property
belonging to the hospital of St. Mary Magdalen, Newcastle.
(1) n.Cy. (Hall.), e.Yks.i (2) Cum. ' Maudlin Flood ' occurs
. . . between July 20th and August 2nd. I have heard that the
same term was applied to August 2nd, N. & Q. (iQti) 5th S. vii.
47. (3) Nhb.i
2. Theox-eyedaisy, Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum. Wil.'
MAUDLING-DRUNK,ai^'. n.Yks.* In a maudhn con-
dition from drink.
MAUDLIN-HOOD, s6. Sc. A woollen hood. See Maud.
A hood of woollen stuff buttoned or hooked to a larger cape of
the same, and is frequently worn detached either as a protection
to the bonnet or to the uncovered head (J.Ar.).
MAUDLINS, sb. pi. n.Lin.' [mq-dlinz.] A disease
in the hoofs of horned cattle.
MAUDRING, prp. Ken. [mg-drin.] Mumbling. Cf.
maunder, 1. (Hall.), Ken.'
M AUF, MAUG, M AUGER, see Maugh, Mog, v?, Maugre.
MAUGH, sb. Obs. or obsot. n.Cy. Dur. Yks. Also in
forms mauf N.Cy.' n.Yks.=* e.Yks. m.Yks.' ; maug n.Cy.
Dur. ; meaugh N.Cy.'* Dur. 1. A brother-in-law ; a
near connexion.
n.Cy. Bailey (1721) ; (Hall.); N.Cy.'*, Dur. (K.) n.Yks. Bid
rty Maugh Kerry come, Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 134 ; My'
maugh ettled sair t'ha'e me away, Atkinson Lost (1870) xxvi ;
n.Yks.' e.Yks. Marshall iJwni'coM. (1788). w.Yks. Thoresby
Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.*
2. A companion; a partner, colleague. ^.Yks.'^ m.Yks.'
[1. Has ))ou here . . . any man, Sone or doghter, eme
or maghe {v.rr. mau, mohw), Cursor M. (c. 1300) 2807.
OE. maga, a man, a son, a relative (B.T.) ; G. Mage, a
relation.]
MAUGHT
[55]
MAUL
MAUGHT, sb. Sc. Also in forms mach Sc. (Jam.) ;
macht Sc. S. & Ork.^ ; maich Ags. Fif. (Jam.) ; mauch,
maucht ; mawch Per. Fif. (Jam.) ; mought Edb. ; myach
Cai.' [m9xt, maxt.] 1. Might, strength, abihty ; occas.
in pi.
Sc. The auld man tynes a' maught, Donald Poems (1867) 27.
S. & Ork.i Bch. Forbes Ulysses (1785) 14. Abd. Had I the
maughts, I ha'e the will, Cock Strains {xQi6) I. 127. -Ags. (Jam.)
Frf. He scarcely had maucht left to wag his bit loom, Watt Poet.
Sketches (1880) 33. Per., w.Sc. (Jam.) Fif. Meditatin' deeds
o' maucht, TENNANTPa/i/s^yy (1827) 142. Cld., Ayr. (Jam.) Edb.
In spite o' a' their maught They're rookit O' their siller An' gowd,
Fergusson Poems (1773) 158, ed. 1785.
Hence (i) Maughtless, adj. feeble, wanting bodily
strength ; (2) Maughtlessly, adv. feebly, impotently ; (3)
Maughtly, adv. strongly, mightily; (4) Maughty, adj.
mighty, powerful.
(i) Sc. (Jam.), S. & Ork.i, Cai.i Bch. Rhaesus an' maughtless
Dolon, Forbes Ajax (1742) 4. Abd. He gae my maughtless
rhyming pat An unco doze, Cock Strains (1810) H. 107. Frf. His
maughtless hands on's thigh-bones clattered, Beattie Arnha (c.
1820) 51, ed. 1882. Fif. (Jam.) Lth. Get up, ye machless brute
(Jam.). Edb. Now grown mauchless, Macneill Sc. Scaith (1795)
9. (2) Frf. It had better been aff Than hae mauchtlessly hung by
this auld oxter staff. Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 117. (3) Sh.I.
Da carry is coming frae da nor'-wast, an' if it hings up dat wy, it
widna be a fairlie if he sood be maughtly troo da swaar o' da dim,
Spence /Vi6-Z.or« (1899) 245. (4) n.Sc. (Jam.) Abd. That plaid a
maughty part, Ross Helenore (1768) 21, ed. 1812. Fif. Wi' a
machtie spang Up on the kirkyard dyke he sprang, Tennant
Papistry (1827) 172. Edb. Ballantine Gaberluneie (ed. 1875) Gl.
2. Phr. to have lost the tnachts, to have lost the use of
one's limbs. n.Sc. (Jam.) 3. An effort.
Per. If ever more I make one maught Your grief to throttle,
Spence Poems (1898) 75.
4. Marrow. Ags., Per., Fif (Jam.)
[1. All Jie stanis ^at er made . . . Sal smite to-gider wid
sli maght, Cursor M. (c. 1300) 22679.]
MAUGHT, see Maucht.
MAUGHY, adj ? Obs. Ant. Of cold meat : having a
heavy smell and taste without being actually tainted.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) See Mawk, sb.^, Moch, adj.
MAUGRAM, see Megrim.
MAUGRE, prep, and sb. Sc. Lin. Suf Also written
mauger n.Lin.' ; and in forms magger Bnff.' ; magre Frf ;
magyers Per. ; maigers Rnf.(jAM.) [m9g3(r),Sc.ma'g3r.]
1. prep. In spite of; notwithstanding.
Sc. The brigands were, to my shame, and maugre my head, for
a time of my own company, Lang Monk of Fife (1896) 54. Frf. But,
dominie, I couldna hae moved, magre my neck, Barrie Minister
(1891) xliii. Per. Intending maugre Jove to have More increase
than you can receive, NicolPoc>«5 (1766) 146. Fif. They yet may
miss't Maugre their pray'rs an' graces. Gray Poems (1811) 97.
s.Sc. I — maugre all the experience of misery I had had — could
scarcely look on the animated corpse thus, Wilson Tales (1839) V.
99. Rnf. (Jam.) Ayr. Maugre all that Scots could, Ballads and
Sngs. (1846) I. 63. Edb. He would not, maugre what the wench
would have us think, ^t-atii Secreiar (1897) 293. n.Lin.^ Theare's
a right of waay by the Milner's Trod, and I'll goa by it when I
want, mauger the teath of all th' lords and squires i' Linkisheer.
Suf. Maugre this my wayward fate, Suf. Garland (1818) 42.
2. Phr. (i) f maugre o' or a magger 0', (2) to maugre, in
spite of.
(i) Bn£f.^ A'U gar ye dee't a-magger o' yer neck. Abd. I' maugre
o' an Erastian Presbytery, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) vii.
(a) Per. He did it to magyers ye (W.A.C.).
3. sb. Ill-will, bad feeling; vexation, blame; hurt, injury.
Sc. Brown Diet. (1845).
[1. Mawgre my heide, me behuffit sustene The hard
dangeris of Mars, Dovgias Eneados (1513), ed. 1874, iv. 206.
OFr. maugre) ' malgre ' (La Curne).]
MAUK, V. Wor. Hrf [m9k.] To mimic, mock.
w.Wor.l ' What are you crying for, Emma ? ' ' The b — b— b'ys
mauks me ; thaay says I d — do b — b — buft so ! ' Hrf.^
MAUK, MAUKAM, MAUKIN, see Mawk,s6.^ Mawkin,
sb.
MAUL, s6.> and v.^ Chs. Der. Lin. Nhp. War. Bdf Hnt.
e.An. Also written mawl nw.Der.* sw.Lin.^ War.* Bdf.
[m9l, m93l.] 1. sb. Clayey or marly soil ; earth mixed
with manure. Cf moil, v. 8, mull, sb}
n.Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 138. e.An.' Suf.
Rainbird Agric. (1819) 246, ed. 1849.
Hence Mauly, adj. of soil : sticky.
Chs.i Applied to the soil when there has been rain enough to
make it clag on horses' feet or on the wheels of a cart. s.Clis.^
Dhur)z bin ubit uviislob'uru ree'n, just uniif-fur mai'dhugraaynd
mau-li [There's bin a bit of a slobber n' reen, just enough for may
the gralnd maulyj.
2. V. To cover with mud ; to besmear. Gen. used in prp.
and pp. Cf moil, v. 2.
nw.Der.i When persons are walking on a muddy road, they will
say, ' What mawling work it is.' Lin. Adcock Gl. (Hall.)
sw.Lin.^ The roads are so muddy, one gets quiet mawled up. So
mawling and wet as it is. If you'd seen how mawled I was wi'
mucking out the pig-sty.
3. To toil through claggy land. Nhp.S War.*, Hnt. (T.P.F.)
MAUL, sb.^ w.Som.^ [mol.] 1. The stone, usually
a pebble cut in half, with which painters grind paint on
the ' maul-stone.' 2. Camp. Maul-stone, the large stone
on which painters grind their colours.
[1. Cp. ON. mol (gen. malar), pebbles (Vigfusson).]
MAUL, sb.^ ? Obs. n.Cy. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A moth. (Hall.)
[Sw. m.al, moth (Widegren) ; ON. molr (Vigfusson) ;
Goth, malo {Mat. vi. 19).]
MAUL, si.* Yks. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A gull. Yks. Wkly. Post (Dec. 31, 1898).
MAUL, v.^ and sb.^ Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Not. Lin. Nhp.
War. Wor. Shr. Hrf Oxf Hnt. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written
mawl sw.Lin.' s.Wor.^ Oxf; and in forms moul n.Dev. ;
mowly w.Som.^; mull Dev.' ; muUy n.Dev. [m^l, mcjal.]
1. V. To pull about, to handle roughly ; to tumble ; to
finger unnecessarily.
w.Yks.5 Doan't be mauUng it i' that waay ! Lan. Wi' thee
mauling abaat me, Ackworth Clog Shop Chron. (1896) 237. Chs.i^
Not. To beat out of shape (J.H.B.). sw.Lin.' How you've mawled
your victuals about. Nhp.i She came smiling out ; saying she hated
to be mauled about, Clare Shep. Calendar (1827) 156. War.'^
Don't maul the girl so ; War.^ Don't maul that fruit so. se.Wor.'
Shr.i Shepherd's a mighty good-tempered dog — 'e lets the chil-
dern maul 'im as much as they'n a mind, an' never snaps 'em. Shr.,
Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Oxf. Who are you mauling about ?
(G.O.~j ; Oxf.i ' Mawl an' limb,' to pull about in rough play. Hnt.
(T.P.F.) w.Som.' Commonly used respecting young fellows'
rustic courtship. * For shame ! I ont be a mowled [muwlud, muw-
iild] no zuch way.' Dev.' n.Dev. Grose (1790) ; He murt mully
and soully tell a wos weary, Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 381 ; To moul
and soul a person about, as at the play of ' More sacks to the mill,'
Horae Subsecivae {1111) a']'j. Cor. You mustn't maul the fish about,
Forfar Poems (1885) 17.
Hence Maulers, sb. pi. the hands.
stf."- s.Stf. Tak' yer maulers off, this is teu good for 3'0 to
hondle (T.P.). War.", s.Wor.l Oxf. Keep your maulers off (G.O.).
2. To put coal on a fire by hand, lump by lump.
War.s Shall I shut the coal or maul it on the fire ?
3. To draw or tug along ; to push ; to take away roughly.
Gen. with q^or away.
s.Chs.' To maul off or away, e.g. of a policeman dragging a
culprit to prison. Nhp. He mauls the heaps away, Clare Poems
(1820) 100; Nhp.', Hnt. (T.P.F.)
4. sb. pi. The hands ; the fingers. w.Yks.^
MAUL, v.^ and sb.^ Lan. Chs. Not. Rut. Lei. Nhp. War.
Wor. Bdf Hnt. Suf Ess. Also written mawl Wor. ; and
in form mau- Ess. [m^l, m9al.] 1. v. To toil ; to drag
along wearily. Cf moil, v. 1.
Lan. Maulin' amung pigs and keaws, Brierley Cotters, xv. s.Chs.'
Wen yu bin yuwin lin mau-lin in u feyld, un dhu sim puwurin
daayn iz eeiit iipon-yu, yoa bin dlaad' gy'et siim'ut dringk [When
y6 bin yowin' an' maulin' in a feyld, an' the sun pourin' dai'n his
heeat upon yO, yo bin glad get summat drink]. s.Not. Th' oad
hoss went mauhn' an' daulin' along as if 'e war asleep (J.P.K.).
Nhp. When he a ploughboy in the fields did maul, Clare Village
Minst. (1821) 16.
2. To fatigue, tire out ; to harass, vex ; gen. used in pp.
s.Chs.' To be mauled, . . to be overworked. Rut.' I'm clean
maul'd out. Nhp.' I'm welly mauled to death. Bdf. (J.W.B.\
MAUL
[56]
MAUND
Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.Suf. (F.H.) Ess. A person will say that he is maud
with hard worli and fatigue (H.H.M.).
Hence Mauling, ppl. adj. tiring, fatiguing, wearying.
Lei.i It's a maulin job them big washes. Nhp.', War.^ Wor.
It's mawling work getting those trees away (H.K.). e.Suf. This
is a mauling hot day (F.H.).
3. Cow2Zi.Maul-haiily,heavy, troublesome, tedious. s.Chs.^
4. sb. A harassment, vexation ; an infliction. Lei.^ War.^
MAUL, sb? n.Cy. Yks. Der. Not. Lin. Also written
mawl Der.^ ; and in form mall sw.Lin.^ [m^l, 099!.!
The marsh-mallow, Malva sylvestris; gen. in //. Cf
mallace, maws.
n.Cy. Grose (i-jgo).!!. Yks. 2* e.Yks.MARSHALL/JMf-.^coM. (1788).
m.yks.>, w.Yks.5, Der.i Obs., s.Not. (J.P.K.), Lin. (W.M.E.F.)
sw.Lin.i The seeds are eaten by children, and called Cheeses.
[Hec malua, malle, Voc. (c. 1425) in Wright's Voc. (1884)
644.]
MAULIFUFF, sb. n.Sc. (Jam.) A woman without
energy ; one who makes much fuss and accomplishes very
little; gen. used of a young woman.
MAULKIN, MAULM, see Mawkin, sb., Malm.
MAULMAS,s6. Yks. Also written maumassn.Yks.'^;
and in forms momas{s n.Yks.^ ; mommass n.Yks.' ;
momus n.Yks.^ [m^'mas.] A mass of kneaded dough
or any food not cleanlily prepared ; also fig. a fat woman
in dirty finery ; a personal caricature.
n.Yks.'-; n.Yks.^ A dainty-looking momass ! What a momus!
MAULP, MAULSCRAWL, see Mawp, sb?-, Maskel.
MAULY, sb. Abd. (Jam.) A shortened form of mauli-
fuff' (q.v.).
MAULY ARN, sb. Oxf.^ Also in form maulyern. The
lapwing, Vanellus vulgaris.
MAUM, MAUMASS, see Malm, Maulmas.
MAUMBLE, sb. Nhp.^ A soft, sticky, adhesive mass ;
esp. of moist soil which clings to the spade. Cf malm, 5.
AH of a maumble.
MAUMBLE, MAUME,MAUMENT, see Momble, Malm,
Mommet.
MAUN, sb. Shr.'^ Also written mawn Shr.^ [mgn.]
A horse's mane.
MAUN, v> Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Shr.
Also in forms man Sc. (Jam.) Cai.^ N.Cy.^ Nhb.' ; mann
Sh.I. ; mon Sc. m.Yks.'^ m.Lan.'; moun m.Yks.' [man,
man ; unstressed man.] 1. Must. See Mud, v?, Mun, v}
Sc. Ye mauna gang farther the night, Scott GuyM. {1815) Infrod.
10 ; The King . . . mon make ane new dissolution to the effect
foresaid, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 8 ; He man da' it, Grose
(1790) MS. add. (C.) Sh.I. Ta redd oot kin ye mann be wice.
Burgess Rasmie (1892) 85 ; I man aye set my feet against da edge
o' da taft, Stewart Tales (1892) 242. Or.I. Statutes and ordinances
raa'n be maid against them, Peterkin Notes (1822) Append. 86.
Cai.' Bnff. A'. . . Maun late or soon submit to fate, Taylor Poi?»js
(1787) 13. Elg. Tester Poems (1865) 148. Kcd. Jamie Muse
(1844) 30. Bch. Forbes Dominie (1785) 31. Abd. BEATTiEPanK^s
(1801) 2, ed. 1873. Frt. I maun bide ahint, Barrie Minister
(1891) XXX. Per. A' the warld an' his wife Maun lie at ae great
level, Halibhrton Horace (1886) 2; We maunna forget him, Ian
Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 27. Fif. I man remember sum thing
mairatlainthe,MELViLLv4M/oA!0^.(i6io) 146, ed. 1842; Robertson
Provost (1894) 15. Slg. In the yierd ye man be row'd, Galloway
Poems (1792) 43; Of force he man bow down, Bruce Sermons
(1631) iii. Dmb. A minister ye maun be. Cross Disruption (1844)
ii. Rnf. Young Pictures (1865) 47. Ayr. They maun thole a
factor's snash, Burns Twa Dogs (1786) 1. 96. Lnk. Maun we be
forced thy skill to tine? Ramsay Poems (1721) 19; Gutcher man
cum' to the farm, Hamilton Poems (1865) 37. Lth. Ye maunna
scaith the feckless ! Ballantine Poems (1856) 48. e.Lth. He that
wad eat the kirnel maun crack the nit, Hunter/. Inwick (1895)
70. Edb. The gudeman out-by maun iill his crap Frae the milk
coggie, Fergusson Poems (1773) 109, ed. 1785. Bwk. Henderson
Pop. Rhymes (1856) 83. Feb. Affleck Poet. IVks. (1836) 52. Slk.
You and me maunna exclude frae the ranks o' respectability a'
folk, Chr. North Noctes (ed. 1856) III. 68. Rxb. What maun be
maun be, Riddell Poet. Wks. (ed. 1871) I. 6. Dmf. He maun
surely gang To seek a wife, Shennan Tales (1831) 62. Gall.
Crockett Bog Myrtle (1895) 41. Wgt. Ane maun work, an' ane
maun pey, Fraser Poems (1885) 136. n.Ir. Ye maun wait till
ye're a Mason, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 13 ; N.!."- Ant. If I maun
dae't A can dae't,B«tf_}>OTma OSs. (1892). N.Cy.' Nhb. Thoo, O
Solomon, maun hev a thoosan', Robson Sng. Sol. (i860) viii. 12 ;
Nhb.' Aa man away noo ; aa've stopt ower lang. Ye manna let
him gan. Cum. I maun no repine, Gilpin Siigs. (1866) 74. Yks.
Ye maun think nought at it, Howitt Hope On (1840) vi. m.Yks.'
Moun [maown-] is used in the n.w. In m.Yks., and n. and e. gen.
maun [maoh-'n] is used, with muon- when the verb is preceded by
a pronoun and bears the stress alone ; while s.w. two other forms
prevail, mon [maon-] and mOan [muoh-'n]. Lan. Father said I
maun try and get a place, Gaskell M. Barton (1848) iv ; He maun
goo his aen gate, Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) II. 103.
m.Lan.i, Shr.' 2
2. May or might.
Nhb. Ay, lads, ye maun weel luik skeered, Clare Love of Lass
(1890) I. 30.
3. To command in a haughty or imperious manner.
So. Ye maunna maun me (Jam.).
Hence Maunin', ppl. adj. imperious, commanding,
haughty.
Cld. She's an unco maunin wife ; she gars ilka body rin whan
she cries Iss (Jam.).
[L All man purches drink at thi sugurat tone, Douglas
Eneados (1513), ed. 1874, 11. 5 ; Thow man on neide in
presonne till endur, Wallace (1488) n. 208. ON. man, pr.s.
will, shall ; see Vigfusson (s.v. munu)?[
MAUN, v? Sc. Also in form man. [man, man.] To
accomplish by means of strength ; to effect by whatever
means.
Sc. Sud ane o' thae, by lang experience, man To spin out
tales, Wilson Poems (1816) 46 (Jam.) ; Death's maunt at last to
ding me owre, ib. (1790) 201. Lnk. He'll no man't, spoken of any-
thing which, it is supposed, one cannot effect. I'll ergh eneuch
man't (Jam.).
[Cp. Norw. dial, manna seg, to summon up the man
within oneself (Aasen).]
MAUN, v.^ Sh.I. To shake the head from palsy.
S. & Ork.'
MAUN, see Mann, Maund, sb.
MAUND, sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng. Also in
forms man Dor.' ; mand Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.' w.Yks.' n.Lin.'
e.An.' ; maun Sc. (Jam.) Bch. Not.' Ken. Wil. Dor. e.Som.
Cor.'2; mawn Sc. e.Yks. Wil. Don' Som. Dev. Cor. •
moan Ken."^ ; mund n.Yks.'^ [m9n(d, mand, mand.]
1. A basket ; a hamper ; also in comp. Maund-basket.
Sc. Properly for bread, Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 35.
Bch. A whittle that lies i' the quinzie o' the maun, Forbes Jm.
(1742) 13. Abd. Hand me in o'er the maund Yonder, Beattie
Pan«^s (1801)9. Cld., Rnf. (Jam.) Ayr. Cover him under a mawn,
Burns Coo/'«/-o'C«rfrf«, St. I. n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.^Ahand-
basket with two lids. Nhb.' n.Yks.' A large open basket ; n.Yks.2
e.Yks. A long, narrow shallow basket of peculiar shape, used . . .
in gathering ilithers, N. & Q. (1881) 6th S. iii. 437 ; Kendall God's
Hand {iS'jo) 8. m.Yks.' w.Yks.' They lig seea rank o'th grund,
at thou mud fill a maund in a crack, ii. 304 ; w.Yks.*^ Midi. The
basket in which butter was brought to market, N. & Q. ib. 14.
Not. I was going to market with my butter in my maund (L.C.M.) ;
Not.'^ s.Not. A large square basket with a hinged lid in two parts
(J.P.K.). n.Lin.' I remember very well as Mrs. Ashton, o' Noth-
rup Hall, alust call'd a long narra' baskit a maund. s.Pem. Laws
Little Eng. (i888) 421. Nrf. The baskets used in the fish offices
here are called ' maunds.* They are made of osiers, open-ribbed,
and are distinguished from other fish-baskets, called 'swills,'
N. (Sr» Q. ib. 278 ; A basket into which herring are counted, Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 100. Suf.' Large basket out of which
corn seed is sown. Ess. (W.W.S.) Ken.' A large, round, open,
deep wicker basket, larger at top than bottom, with a handle on
each side near the top (some have two handles, others of more
modern pattern have four) ; commonly used for carrying chaff,
fodder, hops, &c., and for unloading coals; Ken.^ A deep basket,
broader at top and open there. Sur.i, Sus.i Wil. One 2-bushel
basket and maun basket (W.H.E.). Dor. Men were bringing fruit
... in mawn-baskets. Hardy Woodlanders (1887) II. ix ; (W.C.) ;
Dor.' A-stoopen down all day to pick So many up in ma'ns an'
zacks, 179. Som. Baskets for catchingsalmon (W.F.R.) ; W. &J.
Gl. (1873). e.Som. A ' half bag maun of potatoes ' would be a basket
containing 60 lb., N. (f Q. (i88o) 6th S. ii. 388. w.Som.' Round
and deep, without cover, and with two handles (placed opposite
each other) attached to the upper rim. Very commonly it is used
as a measure for apples, potatoes, &c., and hence is generally
MAUND
[57]
MAUSE
called a ' half-bag-maun,' from its holding half a bag of potatoes, or
eighty lbs. ' Plaise, sir, we wants two new mauns, th' old ones be
proper a-weared out.' Dev. I said to the gardener, ' That basket
will do.' He replied, ' I'll get a. basket, miss.' ' Is not that a
basket ? ' ' No, miss, that's a mawn.' The gardener says a mawn is
like a flasket, only of coarser material, Reports Provinc. (1889) ;
Dev.' A hamper, or small basket, in which game is sent. n.Dev.
A big basket holding about one hundredweight or for counting out
big quantities of fish. If we get big catches of herrings, we say
they have caught a ' maun-basketful,' which would be about 350
herrings, or if a larger size 600 (C.N.B.). nw.Dev. A coarse basket
used for carrying turnip and other roots, &c., to cattle. It is
about 2 ft. in height and 18 in. in diameter, and it has two handles
(R.P.C.). Cor. (F.L.H.); Cor.' A large coarsely-made hamper
used for sending potatoes ; Cor.^s
Hence Maundful, sb. a basketful.
n.Cy. HoLLOWAY. w.Yks.' A lile oud wumman wee a mandful
of barn lakens, ii. 356.
2. Comb. Mand of sprats, about a thousand sprats. e.An.'
3. Thirty of the fish hake, Merlucius vulgaris.
Dev. Each Mawn weighing about 200 lbs.. Farmer's Jrn. (Nov.
30, 1829).
[1. Mawnd, sportula, Prompt. OFr. mande, panier d'osier
a deux anses (La Curne).]
MAUND,z). Sc. Not. Nhp. Shr. Hrf. GIo. Slang. [m§nd.]
To beg.
Edb. Ilk an must maund on his awn pad, Pennecuik Helicon
(1720) 67. Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Slang. Slang Did.
(1865).
Hence Maunder, sb. a beggar.
Edb, She was matched to old Scrope, the Maunders King, Penne-
cuik Helicon (1720) 65. Not. (L.C.M.), Nhp.2 Glo, Gl. (1851).
[Fr. mander, to bid, to send for (Cotgr.).]
MAUND, see Maud, sb., Mound.
MAUNDER, V. and sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms maander Nhb.^ Wm. & Cum.' ne.Lan.'
Suf.' ; maandther Wm. ; mander Cum.' w.Yks.' Brks.'
e.An.' Wil. ; marnder Nrf, ; maundher e.Yks.' Lan. ;
mauners.Sc; meander m.Yks.' Dev. ; moander,monedur
Lan. ; munder Cld. (Jam.) [m9'nds(r), ma'nda(r.] 1. v.
To talk idly and incoherently ; to mumble ; to grumble ;
to threaten in an undertone ; to muse, ponder.
So. Thus continued the Antiquary to maunder, ?icaTn Antiquary
(1816) xxii. s.Sc. Slawly climbs a brae Whare nae tell-tale echo
manners, Ance to mock him when sae wae, T. Scots Poems (1793)
358. Slk. We maun pity and forgie stupidity when it begins to
maunder, Chr. North Noctes (ed. 1856) III. 179. N.I.', Nhb.',
s.Dur. (J.E.D.) Lakel.2 He was maunderen on aboot what he was
worth. Cran.' Wra. He does maunder queerly (B.K.) ; Esawes
maandrean aboot, Clarke Jonny Shippard's Jounia (1865) 13.
n.Yks. He was maundering and talking tivhiz-sel (I. W.); n.Yks.'^*
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks.
What are teh maunderin thear abaht? Wkjld. Wds. (1865) ;
w.Yks.i23 Lan. Awgated maundherinagain,CLEGGSfefcA?s(i895).
Chs. You maunder about a shock which has made you not your-
self I Banks Prov. House (1865) 210, ed. 1883. s.Chs.' Dh^eur
dhii goz mau-ndurin on, lin nbo-bdi taak-in nu moour noa'tis on
dhi dhfln nuwt. Stf. Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) Not. He goes
maundering on about old times (L.C.M.); Not.', Lei.', Nhp. '2,
War.3 Shr. 2 Goes maundering and bothering on. Hrf.' Glo.
Horae Subsecivae {-LTn) 211 ; Glo.'^, Brks.', Bdf. (J.W.B.), e.An.'s
Nrf. Brockett Gl. (1846) MS. add. (W.T.) Suf.' Ken. Sal began
to maunder ; For fare de string, when we'd gun swing, Shud brake
an cum asunder, Masters Dick and Sal (c. 1821) st. 91 ; Ken.',
Sus.', Hmp.' Wil. Britton Beauties (1825) Dev.Granda... amean-
derin' and a mutterin' off in front of ivery wan riaght straight up
t'cliff road, Cassell's Fam. Mag. (Apr. 1895) 334; Dev.' Nort but
jowering and maundering all this day, 12.
Hence (i) Maunderer, sb. a grumbler ; one who talks
in his sleep ; (2) Maundert,///. adj. moped ; (3) Maundrel,
(a) sb. a gossip ; a babbler ; in phr. to play the maundrel,
to babble ; {b) v. to babble ; (4) Maundrels, sb. pi. idle
tales ; foolish, feverish fancies.
(i) n.Yks.2 (2) s.Lan. Bamford Z)«'fl/. (1854). (3, «) Sc. Hand
your tongue, maundrel, Saxon and Gael (1814) III. 81 (Jam.).
Cld., Lth. (ii.) (6) Cld. (16.) (4) Per., Fif., s.Sc. (<6.) Edb.
Suppose the great hae mair o' warl's guid, They hae anew o'
maundrels i' their head, Learmont Poems (1791) 305.
VOL. IV.
2. To wander about in a confused, aimless, or melancholy
fashion ; to miss one's way ; to walk unsteadily ; to act
in a helpless, imbecile manner.
Nhb.' Lakel.2 He's nowt ta deea but maunder aboot frae
moornen ta neet. Wm. & Cum.' Wm. Heear thoo is, maandthran
aboot es if thoo heddant a hand's turn to dew, Gooardy Jenkins.
n.Yks.'* w.Yks.' Lile Robin, thou hes maunder'd whear Thou'l
nut finnd mich to pleease, ii. 358. Lan. I kept moanderin about
fro' dur to dur, Brierley Ab-o'th-Yaie Yankeeland {1885) xii ;
Seroh wur malloncholick, un monedurt obewt nah un tawk'd o'
drewnink bursal, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 33. nw.Der.', Lei.',
War.3 s.Wor. PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 14. Shr.' 'E gvvuz
maunderin' about like some owd cow. e.An.' Nrf. A lot o'
paaple marnderin' about on the sand, Spilling Johnny s Jaunt
(1879) vi. Ken.' Sus. An maundered by-the-bye inter de church,
Jackson Southward Ho (1894) I. 289; Sus.'
Hence Maundering, />//. a^//'. listless ; idle; helpless.
Dur.' Lei.' They've a maunderin' couple.
3. sb. A gossip ; a babbler. Sc. Brewer (1870).
MAUNDREL, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Wal. Stf Der. Shr. Also
written maundrell Der.' ; maundrill Stf.' ; and in forms
mandrel Der.^ nw.Der.' ; mandril Wal. [mg'ndral.] A
miner's pickaxe, sharpened at both ends.
n.Cy. Grose (i790~i MS. add. (P.) w.Yks.2 Wal. N. & Q.
(1877) 5th S. viii. 186. Stf.', Der.'2, nw.Der.', Shr.'^ [A maun-
drel and bickhornd, Howell (1660) sect. Ii.]
MAUNDY, sb. e.An.^ [m§-ndi.] A feast, esp. for
children, usually but not invariably held on Maundy
Thursday.
MAUNDY, MAUNER, see Mandy, adj., Maunder.
MAUNGE, z/.' and 56.' n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Der. Lin. Cor.
Also written maw^nge Cor.' 1. v. To munch, chew,
masticate ; to eat greedily. Cf manch, mounge, munge.
Lin. It'll maunge up the house one o' these days, I 'spects, Gil-
bert Rugge (1866) I. 157 ; (Hall.) Cor.'2
2. sb. A confused mass, a mess, muddle ; fg. a blunder,
a dilemma, trouble.
n.Cy. (Hall.) m.Yks.' Table fell over, with the breakfast
things, . . and made such a maunge as never. s.Lan. Hoo made
[an] a maunge on it (F.E.T.). nw.Der.'
[1. Fr. manger, to eat, feed (Cotgr.).]
MAUNGE, v.'^ and 5^-.= Lakel. Yks. Not. Nhp. Also
in form mange w.Yks. [mon(d)g, m(5an(d)g.] 1. v. To
pet, ' cocker up ' ; gen. with up.
Lakel.2 w.Yks. What for do you mange t'bairns up so? (W.F.)
2. To be in a despondent, complaining mood, to be dis-
satisfied ; with about: to go about listlessly.
s.Not. What are yer maungein' about for? (J.P.K.) Nhp.'
3. sb. A fit of ill-humour.
Yks. Like a little lass in a maunge, Kllis Proiiunc. (1889) V. 391.
MAUNGY, adj. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Not. Also written
mawngey w.Yks. ; and in forms manegy n.Lan.' ; mangy
Wm. w.Yks. Lan.' ; moongey n.Yks. [m9'ndgi,m93'ndgi.]
Spoilt, petted, pampered ; cross, peevish, ill-tempered ;
complaining.
Lakel.2 A gurt maungy babby. Cum.* Wm. She's nut sa
varra weel, she's terble mangy (J. M.). n.Yks. He's robbut
moongey (I.W.). w.Yks. He's a mangy little beggar (H.L.) ;
Thah'rt a little mawngey tooad. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865);
w.Yks.3 ; w.Yks.5 A spoiled child is apt to be ' maungy' at times,
and refuses to take pleasure in what generally affords it a great deal.
' As mauangy as an owd cat ! ' 'A little mauangy dolly ! ' Lan.',
n.Lan.' s.Not. A can't abide to see yer about me, yer maungey
young thing (J.P.K.).
MAUNGY, MAUNKY, MAUNNER,see Mangy, Manco,
Maunder.
MAUNSEL(L,s6. Yks. AlsowrittenmaunEU(l n.Yks.' '*
[m^'nsl.] A fat, dirty, slovenly woman.
n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^ A mucky maunsill ; n.Yks.*, m.Yks.l
MAUNTLY, adv. ? Obs. Nhp.^ Greatly ; very much.
I should mauntly like to see it.
MAUP, see Mope.
MAUPS, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Lin. Also written mawps
Lin.' [mqps.] A stupid person.
n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.', ne.Lan.' Lin.' All his talk proves him
to be a mawps.
MAUSE, t/. Obs. n.Cy. To ponder upon ; to gaze at ;
to admire. Grose (1790).
MAUSE
[58I
MAWK
MAUSE, MAUSIE, MAUSY, see Mose, v., Mawsie,
Mosey, adj}
MAUT, MAUTE, see Malt, sb}, Mort, sb}, Mote, sb.^
MAUTEN, V. Sc. Also written mawten. 1. Of
grain: to begin to spring while being steeped. Sc. (Jam.)
2. Of bread : to become tough and heavy. Ags. (tb.)
Hence (i) Mautent, ppl. adj., (a) of grain : having a
peculiar taste because not properly dried ; (b) of a person :
dull, sluggish ; (2) Mawtened-loU, (3) -lump, sb. a heavy,
inactive person.
(i, rt) Lnk. (Jam.) {b) Ags. (*.) (2) Bch. (<i.) Aba. There
tumbled a mischievous pair O' mawten'd lolls aboon him, Skinner
Poems (1809) 8. (3) Ags. (Jam.)
MAUTEN, ppl. adj. Sc. n.Cy. Also written mawten
Sc. (Jam.) 1. Of grain : having a peculiar taste because
not properly dried ; of bread : not properly baked ; moist
and friable ; also Jig. of a person ; dull, sluggish. Sc.
(Jam.) 2. Comp. Mauten-corn, damp and germinating
corn. N.Cy.'
MAUTH^ sb. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in form moth
Cor.'^ [m?]'. mo}?.] Moss.
w.Som.^ You can vind a fine lot o' mauth, miss, over in the goil.
nw.Dev.i, s.Dev., e.Cor. (Miss D.), Cor.'^
MAUTHE-DOOG, s6. I. Ma. Also in forms modda-doo,
moddey-doo. A spectre dog ; see below.
There is a notion prevalent in many places that whenever a
calamity is at hand, or in localities vi^here some accident or evil
deed may have occurred, a spectral dog appears. . . In the Isle of
Man it is termed the ' Mauthe Doog,' Gent. Mag. (Apr. 1880) 494-5 ;
Freckened she'd come in some shape or another, like a corpse,
by gum! or a modda-doo, goin bawwawin, Brown Witch
(1889) 83 ; It is . . . believed to appear at certain times, and its
presence foretells storms and shipwrecks, N. &= Q. (1872) 4th S.
ix. 415 ; An apparition which they called Mauthe Doog, in the
shape of a shaggy spaniel, was accustomed to haunt . . . [Peel]
Castle in all parts, but particularly the guard-chamber, Boswell
Antiq. (1786) \ N.tf Q. ib. x. 92.
[Ir. ntadadh (a dog) + dubh (black) (O'Reilly).]
MAUTHER, MAUTHERN, MAUTIT, see Mawther,
Maithen, Malted.
MAUVIE, sb. Cai.i [ma-vi.] The maw of a fish ; the
stomach of any small animal ; a rennet-bag.
MAVIE, see Mavis, Meevie.
MAVIN, s6. Sus.^'' [me'vin.] The margin.
MAVIN, see Maithen.
MAVIS, sb. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Nhp. Bdf e.An. Also
in forms mavie Per. ; mavish Sc. Ant. n.Cy. Bdf e.An.'°;
mawish Cmb. ; mevies Lnk. [me'vis, me'vij.] The
song-thrush, Turdtts musicus.
Sh.I. He had a good tenor voice and could sing like a mavis,
Burgess Sketches (and ed.) 19. Elg. Tester Poems (1865) 213.
Bnff. Next to the mavis the lark or the laverock is the bird for me.
Smiles Natur. (1876) xiii. e.Sc. We showed her a mavis's nest,
Setoun R. Urquhart (1896) vi. Abd. Gibbie could . . . sing like a
mavis, Macdonald SirGibbie (1879) xli. Kcd. Grant Lays (1884)
18. Frf. WiLLOCK Rosetty Ends (1886) 4, ed. 1889. Per. She's
singin' like a mavie, Stewart Character (1857) 79, Fif. Robert-
son Provost (1894) 23. Slg. Towers Poems (1885) 132. s.Sc.
Watson Bards (1859) 37. Dmb. The mavis whistles on the tree,
Taylor Poems (1827) 81. Rnf. Young Pictures (1865) 46. Ayr.
Service Notandums (1890) 40. Lnk. Gar thee cock thy tail like
a mevies, Graham Writings (1883) II. 37. Lth. Macneill Poet.
Wks. (1801) 160, ed. 1856. Bwk. Chisholm Poems (1879) ^9-
Feb. Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 139. Slk. A bit mavis! Chr.
North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 2. Dmf. Fu' weel the sleekit mavis
kens, Cromek Remains (1810) 34. Gall. Irving Lays 11872) 69.
Kcb. While on the brake The mavis takes his stan', Davidson
S(?aso;« (1789) 58. Wgt. FraserPosmjs (1885) 89. Ir. Swainson
Birds (1885) 3. N.I.' ' You can sing like a mavis,' gen. used
satirically. Ant. He was singin' like a mavish, Ballymena Obs.
(1892I. n.Cy. Holloway. Nhb. At Dews-hill Wood the mavis
sings beside her birken nest, Charnley Fisher's Garland (1841)
5; Nhb.i, Nhp.2, Bdf. (J.W.B.), e.An.i=, Cmb. (J.D.R.) Nrf. I
fared as happy as an owd mavish over a dodman. Spilling
Johnny's Jaunt (1879'! iv. Suf. (G.E.D.), Suf.', Ess.i
[And now is Mirthe therin, to here The briddes, how
they singen clere, The mavis and the nightingale,
Chaucer Rom. R. 11. 617-9. Fr. maiivis.]
MAVIS-SKATE, sb. Sc. The sharp-nosed ray, Rata
rintea. Cf may-skate.
e.Sc. Neill Fishes (1810) 28 (Jam.). [Satchell (1879).]
MAW, sb.^ and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng.
Also written ma Dev. ; maa Nhb.' ne.Lan.' I.W.' Cor.'^;
mawe Edb. War.* [m^, moa, ma.] 1. sb. The stomach ;
esp. of human beings and o'f cattle ; the heart.
Nhb. While stuffing full your . . . maws (W.G.). e.Yks.i Ah
can't eeat ni mare, mi maw's ommost brussen. m.Yks.', ne.Lan."-
Chs.12; Chs,3 Aw's fish as comes to his maw. War.* There's
summat the matter with that cow's mawe. Hrt. The maw of a
sucking calf or kid, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) III. i. 122. e.Suf.
(F.H.) Ess. Jephson in Ess. Arch. Soc. (1863) II. 179. Hmp.
Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 104. I.W.i, w.Som.i, Cor.i, Cor.^ 97.
2. Comb, (i) Maw-bag, the stomach of an animal; (2)
-bind, of cattle : to become costive; (3) -bound or -bun, of
cattle ; costive, gorged ; (4) -guts, the intestines of sheep ;
(5) -pot, see (i) ; (6) -sick, a disease of sheep caused by a
defective stomach ; (7) -skin, the stomach of a calf, salted
and cleaned, from which rennet is obtained ; (8) -turned,
made squeamish.
(i) Gall. The mawbag o' a butterflee Weel dried and stufT'd
ahame had he. The baw too o' a midge's e'e, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 238, ed. 1876. Nhb.i (2) n.Yks.^ Oor coo's fit te maw-
bind. (3) n.Yks.2, w.Yks.2, Chs. (Hall.), Chs.'^^, nw.Der.i, Not.',
Lei.i, w.Som.i (^^) Jie-v. Reports Provinc. {iBg-]). (5) Dev. Grose
(1790) MS. add. (P.) n.Dev. Let's hope Death's mapot is a-clit.
Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 99. (6) Bck. Ellis Shep. Guide
(1750) 186. (7) Chs. Not only the mawskin or stomach of the
calf is used, for the purpose of coagulation, but also the curd,
Marshall Review (1818) II. 48 ; Chs.' Midi. Marshall Rur.
Econ. {i-jge) U. Lei.i, Nhp.", Shr.12, e.An.i,Suf.l (8) Lnk. Some
said he was maw-turn'd wi' the fa'; for he booked up a' the barley,
Graham Writings (1883) II. 17.
3. The human mouth ; the throat.
Slg. Our maw wi' drouth was burning, Galloway Poems (ed.
1795). Lth. Fast their maws they steevely cram, Bruce Poems
(1813) II. 66. Edb. Foreign falals Cram ilk ane's ameryor mawes
Wi' sick'nin' shil-shals, Lear.mont Poems (1791) 50. Chs.'
w.Som.i Shut thy gurt maw, and let's ha' none o' thy slack.
4. V. To eat, devour.
w.Yks.^ Well, what can yuh expect through a chap 'ats bin iised
to nowt bud mawing taaties ? 35.
MAW, sb.^ Chs. Der. [m?.] 1. A mallet ; a large
hammer. See Mall, s6.'
Chs.i A large wooden hammer with a long handle, for driving
stakes into the ground. The head is shod with an iron hoop at
each end. s.Chs.', Der.^, nw.Der.i
2. Comp. Maw-yed, a blockhead. s.Chs.'
MAW, s6.^ Cor.'^ [ni?.] A piece of bread and butter.
MAW, s6.* Obs. Lan. Agameplayedwithapiquetpack
of 36 cards, by any number of persons from two to six.
Sieze-noddy, maw, and ruff, were all games of cards, Harland
& Wilkinson Leg. (1873) 135.
MAW, see Maa, sb.^^. Mow, v}*
MAWBISH, adj. e.An. [mo'bij.] Intoxicated.
e.An.i Nrf. ' Some o' they fellows '11 go home mawbish,' says
the captain, remarking their increased hilarity. White E. Eng
(1865) I. 97.
MAWCH, MA WD, see Maught, Maud, sb.
MAWDY, adj s.Cy. [m9di.] Of a child: cross,
peevish. N. &= Q. (1882) 6th S. vi. 249. Cf mardy
MAWE, MAWER, MAWG, see Mow, v.\ More, sb
Mawk, s6.i '
MAWGRAM, MAWIN(G, MAWISH, see Megrim,
Mowing, Mavis.
MAWK, s6.i and v} Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lan.
Not. Lin. Also written mauk Sc. N.Cy.^^ n.Yks.* e.Yks.
w.Yks.i Lan. Lin. ; and in forms maak Nhb.^ Cum.*
w.Yks.i n.Lan.i ne.Lan.^ ; mach Sc. ; mack Lan.i ; make
N.Cy.2; malke e.Yks.; mauch Sc. Enflf.'; mawgn.Yks.^;
moak Nhb.M moch Abd.; moke Nhb.i w.Yks.= ; mork'
w.Yks.^ [m^k, m93k, mak.] 1. sb. A maggot; esp. the
larva of the bluebottle fly.
Sc. A mach and a horse's hoe are baith alike, Ferguson Prov.
(1641) 7. Abd. (G.W.) se.Sc. Keep the herring an' the ling
Frae mauks that creep, Donaldson Poems (1809) 106. Lnk. Some
cam' frae dark, sepulchral walks. A' creepin' ow'r wi' creamy
MAWK
[59]
MAW KIN
mawks, DeiVs Hallowe'en (1856) 15. e.Lth. That's ane 0' your
Leeberal Churchmen — the mawks that the Kirk has bred in her
belly, Hunter /. Inwick (1895) 193. Hdg. Ye are the silliest
gawkies To rive auld hames For sic wheen triflin' mawkies, Lums-
DEN Sheep-head (1892) 105. Slk. I saw her carefully wi' a knife
scrapin out the mauks, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV. 97.
Gall. A raawk on a sheep's hurdie, Crockett Sunbonnet (1895)
ix. Kcb. The hen ... to the midden rins To scrape for
mauks, Davidson Seasons (1789) 5. N.Cy.12 Nhb. Shanks full
of mav/ks, WlhSON Pitman's Pay (184^) 10; Nhb.', Dnr.i s.Dur.
Farmers speak of sheep as being 'struck' with mawks in 'hot
weather '^ — when the eggs of the fly germinate in the skin (J.E.D.).
Cum. (M.P.) ; Cum.* He's pikin mawks oot o' a deed dog. n.Yks.
Thur yowes are clowclagg'd, they skitter saire, They'l be full of
mawks, if yow tack nut care, IWeriton Praise Ale (1684) 11. 155-6;
n.Yks.i234^ ne.Yks.i e.Yks. There will malkes breed immedi-
ately, Best Rur. Econ. (1642) 79; e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i w.Yks.
Thart' ez welcome ez a mawk i' cheese, Yksman. Comic Ann.
(1881) 28; w.Yks.' 235 Lan_ Maggots for fishing we used, as
boys, to call ' mawks,' Gaskell Lectures Dial. (1854) 32 ; Lan.',
n.Lan.i, ne.Lan.^^ Not.^ That sheep is covered wi' mawks ; Not,^
s.Not. Obsol. Look at the mawks i' this ship's back (J.P.K.).
n.Lin.'- She was that mucky she niver reightled oot her hair fra
one munth end till anuther, an' e' them daays women wore
poother, so e' summer-time it ewsed to get full o' grut hewge
mawks. sw.Lin.i
Hence (i) Maukiness, sb. the state of being full of
maggots ; (2) Mawket, ppl. adj. infested with maggots ;
(3) Mawky, adj. (a) full of maggots; (b) dirty ; white and
sickly-looking ; (4) -fly, sb. the bluebottle, Musca vomi-
toria.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) (2) Gall. The sheep grow mawket on the hill
And sair themsells they claw, Mactaggart i'Mcyci (1824) 244, ed.
1876. (3, a) Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.i, Abd. (G.W.) Lnk. His midder
sell'd mauky mutton, Graham Writings (1883) U' 233. Bwk.
Mawky kail, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 83. n.Cy. Grose
(1790) ; N.Cy.' Nhb. The taties'U then hev ne disease. Then
thur'll be ne mawky cheese, Bagnall Sngs. (c. 1850) 21 ; Nhb.i
' A maaky salmon,' an unclean salmon. n.Yks. (T.S.) ; n.Yks.' ;
n.Yks.* Ez deead ez a mauky ratten. e.Yks.' Mawky cheese.
w.Yks.i235^ ne.Lan.i Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 714.
sw.Lin.' The sheep are all mawky. (A) n.Yks. He has a desprit
mawky look (T.S.). e.Yks.i (4) Nhb.'
2. Comp. (i) Mawk-blight, mildew caused by clusters of
maggots and minute insects ; (2) -fly, the bluebottle ; (3)
-foist, see (i) ; (4) -midge, see (2) ; (5) -worm, a maggot.
(i) n.Yks.2 (2) n.Lin.i (3) n.Yks.^ (4) Cum.l" (5) Draf.
That greedy thief [alcohol] Wha's fiery pinions thousands bear aff
For maukworm beef, Quinn Heather (1863) 102.
3. Phr. (i) as dead as a mawk, quite dead ; (2) as fat as a
mawk, very fat ; (3) as white as a mawk, sickly- looking ;
{4) silly as a mawk, excessively silly.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) Lnlc. My mither's as dead as a mauk, Graham
IVritings (1883) H. 39. Edb. Our bonny tortoise shell cat, Tommy,
... as dead as a mawk, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) ix. Rxb.
What ails my watch ? She's faintit clean away. As dead's a mauk,
her case is such. Her pulse, see, winna play, A. Scott Poems
(1805) 200 (Jam.). (2) Lakel.2 w.Yks. Prov. in Brighouse News
(Aug. 10, 1889) ; w.Yks.s (3) n.Yks 2 e.Yks. Nicholson i^/A-S/>.
(1889) 22. n.Lin.i ^^j Cum.*
4. Fig. A whim ; a foolish fancy ; a joke, trick.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). n.Yks. '^ w.Yks. Like a badly bairn, or a
little lass in a mawk, Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 386. Lan. Conno'
wi thry a bit ofamauk, like, afore things are gone too far? Brierley
Tales (1854) II. 180.
Hence (i) Mawged, ppl. adj. vexed ; (2) Mawkish, adj.
whimsical ; (3)]V[awky,a(3?;'. whimsical, capricious, change-
able; peevish, discontented; proud, conceited ; (4)Mawky-
headed, see (2).
(i) n.Yks.2 (2) War.4 When yer get old, mind yer don't become
as mawkish as yer mother. (3) n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.' n.Yks.
Ah nivir knew onny one soa mawky, Fetherston Smuggins Fam.
20 ; n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.2 A mawky body ; n.Yks.*, m.Yks.i w.Yks.'
Them maaky upstarts, ii. 301. Lan. Hoo's a mawky slut, Gaskell
Lectures Dial. (1854) 31. Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 714 ;
Lin.' It's very mawky weather. (4) n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.'
6. One that is squeamish and fastidious.
w.Yks.^ She is a mawk !
6. V. To become infested with maggots.
Bnff.' MS. add., Nhb.' ne.Yks.' They'll mawk leyke sheep.
7. Fig. To crave for ; to become melancholy; to mope.
n.Yks.i He mun be put intiv jacket an' trowsers, he mun ; else
he'll raawk. Thoo's mawking te gan te t'show.
[1. A mawke, tarmtis, Cath. Angl. (1483). Dan. madike,
a maggot (Larsen) ; ON. madkr (Vigfusson).]
MA'WK, sZ).= and f .2 Wil. Also written maak. [mak.]
1. sb. A mop for cleaning out a brick oven. Wil.' (s.v.
Mawkin.) SeeMawkin,4. 2. v. To clean out the oven
with a mop, before putting in the bread.
n.Wil. Fetch the maakin an' maak out th' o-ven (E.H.G.).
MAWK, sb.^ Wm. [mok.] A hare. See Mawkin, 56. 5.
There is an old mawk sits here (B.K.).
MA"WK, v.^ Lan. Also in form mawkin. To go about
stupidly, to move in a senseless manner.
He goes mawking about after something he knows nothing
about (S.W.) ; Aw mawkint an lost meh gate agen Snap, Tim
Bobbin Vieiv Dial. (1740) 24; I'd mawkint obewt, Paul Bobbin
Sequel (1819) 21.
, MAWK, v.* Oxf. [mok.] 1. To frighten. Oxf.' MS.
add. 2. To baffle, tease, torment.
' Well ! that do mawk me.' It also conveys an idea of surprise
(M.W.).
MAWKIN, sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng. Also
written maukin Sc. w.Yks. s.Chs.' Fit. Oxf.' Hrt. e.An.^
Cmb. Som. ; mawken Suf. Dor.' Dev. ; and in forms
maakin Wil.'; macon Frf. ; mailkin Nhb.'; malkin Sc.
(Jam.) Cum.*n.Yks.2 w.Yks." Lei.' Nhp.' War." s.Wor.^
Shr.' e.An.' Wil.' Som. Dev.' Cor.'^ ; malking Lin.' ;
maukamNrf. ; mauking e.Yks. ; maukumNrf; maulkin
Stf ; mawking Brks. ; mocking Nrf ; moekin Lan. ;
moikin War.'" s.War.' ; mokin Lan. Hmp.' ; morcan
e.An.' ; morgin Bdf. ; morkin Shr.' [mo-kin, ma'kin.]
1. A half-grown girl ; esp. one engaged to do light
house-work.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 134 ; A lass and a maukin
(Jam.).
2. A slattern, an untidy person ; a showily or eccentri-
cally dressed person ; a term of abuse or contempt for
any one.
N.Cy.' Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 307 ; Cum.* Lan. Th'
moekin connot ha beighlt this egg at aw, Staton Loominary (c.
1861) 88 ; Tum o' Willioms shul dash th' yallo posset e' th' Mokin's
fece, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819') 36; Lan.' He code her a mis-
manner't daggle-tail an' a mawkin', Manch. Critic (Mar. 31, 1876).
s.Lan. A dunce, a listless person, Bamford Dial. (1854) 201. Chs.
Thah ruddl-faaced mawkin, CLOUGHiJ.Sre5«it'«/i;(i879)2o. s.Chs.'
Wey, Poli, yoa' Ibo'kn ii reg'ilur mau'kin, dhaat' yoa' dim, wi ytir
fidh'iirzun yiirfol"dhu-rol ; ivahy wQz iiyungg wensh lahykyoa',
ahy shiid bey ushaimd ii foa'ks seyin mi goa- ulung' dhu roa'd
sich' is traal'iik. Fit. (T.K.J.) Der. Why, ye're drippin' like a
joint o' meat. . . I canna think how ye can be sich a mawkin , Verney
Stone Edge (1868) v. War. He called her a country mawkin,
B'ham Daily Post (June 9, 1899). Shr.' Sally, if yo' gO'n to town
i' that owd cloak an' them fithers an' flowers stuck i' yore 'at, yo'n
a to carry the flag for the biggest maukin i' the far. e.An.' Grab.'
What are you anticking about there for — you great maukin.
e.Suf. (F.H.) Dev.'Muchhowacoud leke zuch a zokey molkit, such
anunsoutherly malkin,7. Cor. Better for a man to have a threfty
wife thun a malkin, T. Towser (1873) 143; Cor.' 2
Hence Mawkinly, (i) adv. dirtily ; (2) adj. slovenly,
dirty.
(i) Lan. Aw bin so mawkinly rowld i' th' riggot, Tim Bobbin
View Dial. (1740) 37. (2) Lan. Noan o' yoar mawkinly treawsers
breeches, Scholes Tim Ganiwaltle (1857) 26.
3. A scarecrow, an effigy of a man or woman, made of
old clothes stuffed with straw, put up in fields to scare
birds.
n.Yks.' e.Yks. (Miss A.) ; An efther some cafHe, contrahvin, an
talkin. They varry seean manidged ti mak up a mawkin, Nichol-
son Flk-Sp. (1889) 39 ; e.Yks.l, w.Yks.=*, Chs.'^, Stf.' n.Stf. You
knew no more . . . than the mawkin i' the field, Geo. Eliot A. Bede
(1859) I. 108. Der.' Not. He's made his old coat into a mawkin
to keep the crows off (L.C.M.). Lin. Brookes Tracts Gl. ; Lin.'
We mun have a mawkin up to keep the birds off the line. n.Lin.i
He's moore like a mawkin then a man. sw.Lin.' We mun set up
a mawkin, or the birds'll get all the seed. Lei.' Shay dew mek
'er-sen a sooch a mav^^kin ! Nhp.' What a malkin she's made of
I 2
MAWKIN
[60]
MAWPUSES
herself; Nhp.2 War. The mawkin'll keep off the birds (N.R.) ;
War.S", s.War.i, w.Wor.', se.Wor.i, s.Wor.i Shr. In the above
recent cases the mawkin was used, Burns Flk-Lore (1883) xxii;
Shr.^ The Bayly's put sich a rar good maukin i' the corn-leasow —
anybody 66d think it wuz a livin' mon ; Shr." Hrf.^" Glo.^, Brks.
(W.H.Y.), Bdf. (J.W.B.), e.An.i Nrf. (A.C.) ; They warn't no
more good than them mockings, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 21.
Suf. The boys called these suits (of clothes) Mawkins because they
were first exhibited in the shop windows on lay figures. The Suf.
people called a draped up figure alive or dead a Mawkin, Rust
Good Old Times in Norwich Argus (1888); (C.T.) Snf.i, e.Suf.
(F.H.), Ess. (J.F.) Sns. Dere wos a law chep as wur a bit ov a
nabbler an a live mawkin wot hed awves loiked a mort of rubbidge
an yape, Jackson Southward Ho (1894) I. 432 ; (E.S.S.) ; Sus.i
Wil. Thee looks like a girt maakin, Jefferies Gt. Estate (1880)
viii; Wil.i Som. (W.F.R.) ; (Hall.) Dev. Looking for all the
world like a mawken, Carew Autob. Gipsy (1891) xxx.
4. A mop ; a bundle of rags fastened to a pole ; esp. used
to clean out the hot embers from a brick oven before the
bread is put in.
n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy.', Nhb.i Cum. Linton Lake Cy.
'^1864)307. n.Yks.2 w.Yks. Ah wor as black as a baker's maukin,
Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1847) 4 ; w.Yks.*, Lan., Chs.
(F.R.C.) Chs.i The clouts are usually attached to the pole by a
short chain. In using it, it is dipped in water, and is pushed back-
wards and forwards over the bottom of the oven ; Chs.^, s.Chs.i,
Stf. (K.), Der.l, Not. (L.C.M.X Not.3, NUp.12 Via.T.B'hamWkly.
Post (June 10, 1893) ; War.'^s se.Wor.' To prevent its setting on
fire, the mawkin is first dipped in water. s.Wor.i ^hr.' Now
then, wet the maukin, an' fatch the tin to piit the gledes in. GIo.
(W.W.S.), Glo.i, Oxf.i Brks. Gl. (1852) ; Brks.i, Bdf. (J.W.B.)
Hrt. Ellis Cy. Hswf. (1750) igo. Hmp.i Wil. The malkin,
being wetted, cleaned out the ashes ; . . malkin [is] a bunch of
rags on the end of a stick, Jefferies Gt. Estate (^iS8o) viii ; Wil.' ^,
Dor.i Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). ■w.Som.l Mau'keen, maa-keen.
Cor. (F.R.C), Cor.l2
5. A hare.
Sc. They were considerate men that didna plague* a puir herd
callant muckle about a moor-fowl or a mawkin, Scott St. Ronan
(1824) xiv. Elg. CouPER Poetry (1804) I. 175. BnflF. Whan he
shot, The maukin up, an' ran awa, Taylor PoffKS (1787) 91. Bch.
As mirkie as a maukin at the start, Forbes Jrn. (1742) 7. Abd.
He maun hae likit leevin' things, puir maukin an' a', Macdonald
D. Elginbrod (1863) I. 90. Frf. A macon killed by's fa' i' the seat :
A hare, a monster. Sands Poems (1833) 84. -w.Sc. Miss Jean could
loup like a maukin, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 271. e.Fif.
Latto 7am Bodkin (1864) xi. Slg. The tod and maukin cowerin'
flee Before the hunter's horn, Towers Poems (1885) 60. Rnf. Barr
Poems (1861) 49. Ayr. Tormenting the birds and mawkins out o'
their verra life, Galt Entail (1823) viii. Lnk. None will go to sea
that day they see a mauken, or if a wretched body put in a mau-
ken's fit in their creels they need not lift them that day, as it will
be bad luck, Graham Writings (1883) 11. 237. Ltb. Bruce Poems
(1813) II. 10. Edb. Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xv. Bwk.
As thochtless as the maukins that were nibbhn' 'mang the corn,
Calder Poems (1897) 202. Feb. Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 62.
Slk. Hogg Tales (1838) 366, ed. 1866. Rxb. He left na a blade that
a maukin could bite, Riddell Poet. Wks. (1871) II. 202. Dmf.
Tnoiii. Jock o' Knowe (1878) 4. Gall. Once they raised, as it had
been a poor maukin, a young lad that ran from them, Crockett
Moss-Hags (1895) xlvii. Kcb. Mawkins hirple ower the frosty
lawn, Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 151. n.Cy. He could wire a
mawkin (B.K.). Nhb. The mawkin gogglet i' the synger's face,
Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VII. 142. Cum.* Obs.
6. Comb, (i) Maukin-hippit, having thin hips like a hare ;
(2) -mad, ' as mad as a March hare.'
(i) Per. Nane o' yer auld maukin-hippit withered bodies for me,
Monteath Dunblane (1835) 92, ed. 1887. (2) Bnff. Down the brae
I gaed fu' wight, An' lap an' sang, grown maukin mad, Taylor
Poems (1787) 65. Edb. Fuddlin Bardies now-a-days Rin maukin-
mad in Bacchus' praise, Fergusson Poems (1773) 144, ed. 1785.
n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll L.L.B.)
7. Phr. the maukin is gaun up the hill, the business in
hand is prospering. Rxb. (Jam.)
[1. Mawkin is prop, a dim. of the Christian name Maud.
Malkyne, or Mawt (v.r. Mawde), Matilda, Prompt?^
MAWKIN, at/?'. e.Lan.' Unwieldy; difficult to handle.
MAWKIN, see Mawk, v?
MAWKING-FLY, sb. Sc. The bluebottle fly. Gall.
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 336, cd. 1876. Cf. mawk, sb} I.
MAWKISH, adj. Sc. Yks. Chs. Nhp. War. Brks. Hnt.
I.W. Also in form maakish I.W.^ [m§'kij.] 1. Insipid ;
unsavoury. Chs.^, Nhp.i, War.^, Brks.', Hnt. (T.P.F.)
2. Slightly indisposed ; faint ; sick from drinking.
Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks. (T.S.), e.Yks.' w.Yks. Doctors doant hev
a varry cumfuttuble time ; their raoast delicate bits a wark ar sich
as menny on uz wud feel mawkish abaht hanallin, Tom Treddle-
hoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1896) 32. Chs.'^, I.W.'
MAWKRE, see Macker.
MA WKS, sb. and v. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Der. Lin. Nhp.
War. Shr. Hrf. Brks. Ess. Ken. Sus. Hmp. Also written
mawx Der.' ; and in forms mauk N.Cy.' ; mawk N.Cy.'
w.Yks. Brks.' Sus." Hmp.' ; mox: Der.' Hrf" [m9k(s.]
1. sb. A mess ; a mixture ; a state of decay.
Chs.'"3 s.Chs.' Ahy daayt dhai-)n mai- u mau-ks on it [I dait
they'n may a mawks on it]. Hrf." The taters were all in a mox.
2. A foolish, slatternly woman ; an overgrown, clumsy
girl. Cf mawkin, sb. 2.
n.Cy. Bailey (1721); N.Cy.', Chs.'"^^ Der.', sw.Lin.' (s.v.
Mawkin). Nhp.' What a mawks ! War.i"^ Ess. Out of the way
with you, you lazy mawks (C.D.). Ken. (K.), Sus.", Hmp.'
Hence Mawky, adj. of a woman : dowdy and ungainly ;
wearing tawdry finery. w.Yks. (S.K.C.), Brks.^
3. V. To mess, dirtj'.
s.Chs.' Ahy)vmau'kst mi aanz wi em'pi-in treekl [I've mawksed
my hands wi' empyin' treacle]. War.^ Shr.' 'Ow yo'n mawksed
that apparn, w'y it wuz on'y clane on at tay-time.
4. To mess about ; to saunter, loiter in.
s.Chs.' Dhu chil'durn wun mau'ksin umiingg' dhii srubz i dhii
gy'aa'rdin [The childern won mawksin' among the srubs i' the
gardin]. Shr.' I've knit a stockin awilde we'n bin mawksin' the
lanes after a bit o' laisin'.
MAWKSY, adj. Oxf.' [mo'ksi.] Soft ; tasteless ;
esp. of over-ripe fruit.
MAWKY, adj. Oxf [mSki.] Over- sweet.
MAWL, see Mall, sb}. Maul, sb}, v."^^
MAWLDY, MAWL-SCRAWL, MAWLT, MAWM,
see Mouldy, Maskel, Mould, adj., Malm.
MAWMBLE, MAWMENT, MAWMET, see Momble,
Mommet.
MAWMOOIN, sb. w.Yks. A blockhead, simpleton;
a playful, teasing youth or girl ; lit. ' mow the moon.' Cf.
maamouth.
Ha does ta put it on ? Ower thi heead, mawmooin, Hartley
Swrfg-rf (1871) 143 ; (C.C.)
MAWMS, sb. pi. Lei.' [m^mz.] In phr. to make
tnawms, to make faces.
I can't go out o' my door wi'oot his mekkin' mawms at me.
MAWMSEY, sb. and adj. Not^ Lei. Nhp. War. Shr.
Also written maumsey Nhp.' [m9'mzi.] 1. sb. A silly,
awkward, trifling fellow ; a noodle.
Not.' Lei.' A's a poor mawmsey. Nhp.'", War.^
2. adj. Sleepy, stupid, esp. from want of rest or from
over-drinking.
Shr.i Merry nights mak'n sorrowful mornin's — I'm despert
mawmsey to-day, an' shanna be right tell I'm pool'd through the
sheets agen.
MAWN.sS. Hrf. Rdn. [m^n.] 1. Peat. Hrf. Morton
Cyclo. Agric. (1863) ; Hrf.' 2. Comp. Mawn-pit, a peat-
pit ; a bog. Hrf.' Rdn. Morgan Wds. (1881).
[1. Wei. mawn, gleba, caespes (Davies).]
MAWN, see Man, 56.", Maun, sb., Matind, sb.
MAWNER, V. Dmf. (Jam.) To mimic.
He's ay mawnerin' me.
MAWNGE, see Maunge, v}
MAWP, sb} Lan. Dor. Also in forms maulp, maup
Lan.'; muopeDor.'; mwopeDor.' [ni??.] 1. The bull-
finch, Pyrrhula Europaea. Cf. nope.
Lan. SwAiNSON Birds (i 885) 66 ; Lan. 'Payd for maulpp \_sic] taken
38 in Rostherne, . . for every malpe id., Rostherne CH wardens'
Accts. (1673). Dor. SwAiNSON ib. ; Dor.'
2. The ialue-tit, Partis caendeus. Lan.i In the Fylde district.
MAWP, s6." and v. w.Yks. rm9ap.] 1. sb. A blow.
Ah'U gi' theh a mawp o' t'heead (^E.B.).
2. V. To strike, {tb.)
MAWP, MA WPS, MAWPUSES, see Mope, Maups,
Mopuses.
MAW'R
[6i]
MAY
MAW'R, sb. e.An. Also written maur e.An. Suf. ;
mohr e.An.= ; mor e.An.^ Nrf. Suf. ; more Ess. ; and in
forms mo', maw e.An.* Suf ' ; mo' Suf. [m93(r).] A
woman ; a girl, esp. a young girl ; gen. used as a vocative.
See Mawther.
e.An. Here, maur, take yeow this here gotch, an' goo an' buy a
punner o' yist, N. & Q. (1872) 4th S. ix. 167 ; e.An.i= Nrf. 'Mor,
that pig is witched,' said Jimmy to his mother, Emerson Marsh
Leaves (1898) 156 ; So we wool, mor, A.B.K. Wrighfs Fortune
(1885) 8. Suf. What were that you was a singun of, maw'r?
FisoN Merry Suf. (1899) 10 ; He hurled a stone against the bo's
and mo's, Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 284; Suf.', e.Suf. (F.H.)
Ess.i A great awkward girl.
MAWRE, see More, s6.'
MAWS, sb. pi. Sc. Nhb. Not. Also written mawse
Nhb.i ; and in form maas ib. [ra^z, maz.] The mallow,
esp. the marsh-mallow, Malva sylveslris. Also in comp.
Mawsmallow. Cf maul, sb?
Rxt. Sdence Gossip (1876) 39. Nhb. (C.T.), (R.O.H.), Nhb.i
s.Not. Even where ' maul ' is used in the singular, the pi. appears
to be generally 'maws ' (J.P.K.).
MAWSE, MAWSEY, see Mows, Mosey, adj.'^
MAWSIE, adj. and sb. Sc. Also written mausie Frf.
[mp'zi, ma'zi.] 1. adj. Of persons, esp. women : stout,
well-made ; of cloth and clothing : thick, strong.
Bnff.i Cia. That's a gran', mawsie gown ye've got (Jam.).
2. sb. A stout person, esp. a woman ; a stupid, slovenly,
worthless woman ; also used^?^. of a poor-sounding fiddle.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 373. Bnff.i She's a
braw sonsie mawsie, that wife o' his. Frf. The fidler tifted ilka
string, Play'd tulloch ev'ry smite o't.When mausie wad nae loudly
sing, He gae his bow the wyte o't, Morison Poevns (1790) 23.
3. A piece of strong, thick, warm dress material. Bnff.'
MAWSTER, sb. Sc. A mower.
Elg. The mawster strong, wi' shining steel. He bounds the
meadow through, Couper Poetry (1804) I. 100. Gall. It has what
mawsters call a matted sole, which racks the shouther-blades in
cutting it, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 325, ed. 1876.
MAWSY, see Mosey, adj.'^
MAWT, sb. e.Lan.i [mot.] A moth.
[Norw. dial, mott, a moth (Aasen) ; ON. inotii (Vig-
fusson).]
MAWTEN, MAWTHEN, see Mauten, v., ppl. adj.,
Maithen.
MAWTHER, sb. ? n.Cy. ? Yks. Glo. Hrt. e.An. Wil.
Also written mauther w.Yks.* e.An.' Ess.' Wil. ; morther
Suf ; and in forms maadhur Ess. ; modder Cmb. Nrf
Suf Ess. ; modhdher e.An. ; modher Cmb. Nrf Suf Ess.;
motha Glo.' ; mother n.Cy. [motSalr).] A girl just
growing into womanhood, esp. a great, rough, awkward
wench ; a little girl ; an unmarried woman ; also used of
mares, cows, and other female animals. Cf maw'r.
n.Cy. Bailey (1721). w.Yks.2 A gret stawgin' mauther. Glo.'
A stromacking motha. Hrt. She be a. reglar mawther, she be
(H.G.). e.An. Modhdhers are honest men's daughters, Ray
Prov. (1678) 75; e.An.' Cmb. Ray (1691) ; Cmb.' She's a coarse
country mawther, only fit for a farmyard. Nrf. Grose (1790) ;
He will talk of a ' mawther ' who may or may not be his 'dafter,'
Rye Hist. Nrf. (1885) xv. e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787).
Suf. That there big morther o' yourn (M.E.R.); Ray Wds.{i6gi);
Suf.' Ess. A great aukurd maadhur, aint good for naathin', and
never 'ool be (W.W.S.) ; A coarse wench, Ellis Pronunc. (1889)
V. 222 ; Ray ib.; Ess.', Wil. (K.)
[Away, you talk like a foolish mauther, Jonson Alchemist
(1610) IV. iv, ed. Cunningham, II. 60 ; No sooner a sowing
but out by and by, With mother or boy that Alarum can
cry, TussER Husb. (1580) 39 ; Moder, servaunte or wenche,
Prompt. Norw. dial, moder, mor/ used in calling girls
(Aasen).]
MAWTHER, MAWTHERING, MAWX, see Mather,
int., Mothering, Mawks.
MAWZY, s*. Nhb.i [mq-zi.] A speckled hen.
MAWZY, see Mosey, adj.^
MAXEL, MAXEN, see Maxhill, Mixen.
MAXFIELD, s^i. Chs.'^ The town of Macclesfield ;
in phr. Maxfield measure, heap and thrutch, or — measure
upyepped and thridched, very good measure.
MAXHILL, sb. Ken. Also in forms maxel Ken. ;
maxul Ken.'; mixhill Ken. [mseksl.] A dunghill.
(G.B.) ; Mixing it in layers among the farm-yard dung in the
mix-hills, Marshall Review (181 7) V. 438 ; Young Ann. Agric.
(1784-1815) XXVII. 523; Grose (1790); Ken.'
MAXIE, sb. Sc. [ma-ksi.] A ' maximus ' error ; a
great error.
Abd.Horror of horrors! amaxie,MACDONALDi?.i^o/co««(-( 1868) 191.
MAXIM, sb} and v. War. Won Suf Som. Dev. Cor.
Also written maxum s.Wor.' [mae-ksam.] 1. sb. Apian,
contrivance ; an experiment ; a fad ; a crotchet.
War.^ w.Wor.' The curate's a fustrate 'un amongst the lads ;
'e's got such a many maxims to amuse 'um. s.Wor.', Suf. (C.T.)
w.Som.' You never can't satisfy her, her've always a got some
maxim or 'nother. I've a tried every sort o' maxims wi' un, but
I can't make-n grow. Dev.^ I zim fayther is a bit better to-day ;
he can suck himself up by the bedpost now, that's his first maxim.
nw.Dev.' Cor.'That'soIdAnn'swork; she's fullofher maxims; Cor.2
2. pi. Pranks, tricks, practical jokes.
s.Wor.' e.Suf. He won't come any of his maxims over me (F.H.).
n.Dev. Gale-headed Jones. . .Was playing maxims upon Will, Rock
Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 112. nw.Dev.' He's up to wan of hees
maxims, I'll warn.
3. V. To play ; gen. in prp.
Dev. When the rooks are darting about the sky they say . . . ' See
how these crows are maximing ; we shall have rough weather,'
D'Urban & Mathew Birds (legs') I3. n.Dev. I zee, Joe Routley's
maximing, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 92. nw.Dev.' I zeed min
maximin' about in the fiel'.
MAXIM, s6.2 Stf A kind of lottery.
MAXON, see Mixen.
MAY, V?- Irel. Yks. Won Shn Glo. Oxf [me, mea ;
unstressed ma.] 1. \a.'^\\v. {\)niay I never or 1 may never
if, (2) m,ay I never stir, a strong protestation used to give
force to any statement.
(i) Ir. May I never, but this is the first I heard of it (A.S.-P.) ;
That I may never, if a finer swaddy ever crossed my hands,
Carleton Fardorougka (1848) i. (2) N.I.', w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. Might.
s.Wor. He may have told me, but he didn't (H.K.) ; You may't,
or you might, Porson Quaint IVds. (1875I 21. Shr.' ' May' for
' might' is oi gen. usage— people considerably higher in rank than
the peasantry employ it. ' I may have known what was going to
happen,' 'I may a done it, if I'd ony thought,' Introd. 66. Glo.'
If I'd aheard in time, I may have come yesterday. Oxf. (G.O.)
MAY, s6.' and v?- Van dial, uses in Sc.Jrel. and Eng.
Also in forms ma- Wm. ; maay Brks.' [me, mea.] 1. s6.
In comb, (i) May-bee, (2) -beetle or -bittle, the cockchafer;
(3) -birchers, (4) -birches, obs., see below ; (5) -bird, (a) the
whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus ; (b) a person born in May ;
(6) -bug, see (2) ; (7) -cat, (8) -chate or -chet, a kitten born
in May ; also used7?§-. of children ; (9) -cross, see below ;
(10) -curlew, see (5, a) ; (11) -day, (a) the ist of May;
(b) to do the spring house-cleaning ; to do any extra
cleaning ; (12) -dew, in phr. to wash one's face in May-dew,
see below ; (13) -eve, the last day of April ; (14) -fire, the
Beltane fire of May-day ; (15) -fish, a fish found in the
Severn at certain times of the year ; also called Twait
(q.v.) ; (16) -fool, see (20) ; (17) -fowl, see (5, a) ; (18)
-garland, a garland of flowers carried by children from
house to house on May morning ; (19) -gobs, a period of
cold weather occurring about the second week in May ;
(20) -gosling or -gesling, a person befooled on the ist of
May, an ' April fool' ; a silly person, a dupe, blockhead ;
(21) -gosling day, see (11, a) ; (22) -hill, the month of May,
a trying time for invalids ; (23) -horn, a horn blown
by boys on the ist of May ; (24) -jack, see (5, a) ; (25)
-kitten, see (8) ; (26) -lamb, a child's name for a lamb ;
(27) -month, the month of May ; (28) -music, see below ;
(29) -puddock, a young frog ; (30) -rolling, a merrymaking
held on May 29 ; (31) -sick, of barley, &c. : unhealthy,
yellow in May ; (32) -sickness, the unhealthy appearance
of a crop of barley, &c., yellow in May ; (33) -singers, (34)
•singing, (35) -song, see below ; (36) -water, see (12) ;
(37) -whaap, see (5, a).
(i) Cor.'s (2) Glo.', Hmp.' Wil. Britton Beauties ('1825'):
Wil.'^ (3, 4) Chs.' May birches were branches of var. kinds of
MAY
[62]
MAY
trees fastened over the doors of houses and on the chimneys on
the eve of May Day. They were fixed up by parties of young
men, called May Birchers, who went round for the purpose, and
were intended to be symbolical of the character of the inmates.
Some were complimentary in their meanings, others were grossly
offensive ; and they sometimes gave rise to much ill-feeling in
rural districts. (5, a) Heb., Ir. [So called] because they appear
in the month of May in greater numbers than at other times,
SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 200. e.An. (R.H.H.), e.An.^ Nrf. One
or two whimbrel or ' May birds,' as the gunners call them, Cornh.
Mag. (Mar. 1899) 317; Swainson ib. Hmp. Now and again a
whimbrel, or May-bird, flew overhead, Cornh. Mag. (Apr. 1893)
368. Cor.iz (6) Sc. May-birds are ay wanton (Jam.). (6) Nhp.'
So called from gen. making its first appearance in May. War.
(J.R.W.), Glo.i, Ken.i=, Sur.l, Sus.i e.Sus. Holloway. Hmp.
White Selbome (1789) 288, ed. 1853. Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
■w.Som.' Not so common as Oak-web (q.v.). (7) Nhb.^ Dtir. It is
believed that a cat born in the month of May will suck the breath
of a baby in the cradle if the opportunity offers, Flk-Lore Rec.
(1879) II. 205. e.Dur.i Nobody will keep a May-cat. (8) s.Pem.
They are supposed to bring adders into the house. Laws Little Eng.
(1888) 421. Cor. Children born in the month of May are called
' May chets,' and kittens cast in May are invariably destroyed, for —
' May chets Bad luck begets,' Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865} 430,
ed. 1896. (9) Oxf. An ancient custom is observed in this church
[Charlton-on-Otmoor], a cross of evergreens and flowers being
annually placed on the top of the loft "where the great Rood once
stood, and here it remains all the year round. Every May Day
the village girls dressed in white bring the 'May Cross' to the
church in procession, Murray Handbk. (1894) 95. (10) Ir. Swain-
son ib. (11, a) nw.Der.i sw.Lin.' Old May Day, 13th May, from
which the annual hiring of farm servants is reckoned. ' She'll be
home this Mayda' week.' ' May Day's the unsettledst time there is.'
Nhp.i, Hnt.(T.P.F.) Nrf.Nine May-daysout of tenaredistinguished
by abominable and frigid weather. Haggard Farmer's Year (1898)
vii. (b) n.Lin.l I can't begin to maaydaay th' cupboards oot to-daay
for I've gotten my best frock on. I mun hev that there room maay-
daayed oot, an' a fire in it. (12) Sc. (A.W.) Nhb.i On the first of
May young people go out into the fields, before breakfast, to wash
their faces in May dew. Oxf. It wasformerlybelieved bymany, that
if they got up early on May-morning and washed tiieir faces with
May-dew they would possess a rosy complexion (CO.). (13) Don.
Flk-Lore Jrn. (1884) II. 90. w.Cy. One superstition, peculiar to the
month of May, is common. . . Over many a cottage door you see a
neatly cut cross, St. Andrew's or Latin, of birch wood, or in some
cases a bunch of birch twigs only. If you ask the meaning thereof,
you will be told that they are put up upon May Eve ' to keep off the
witches' ; also that they may be taken down at any time during
the month, although they generally remain up until the following
spring, Longman's Mag. (Apr. 1898) 547. (14) Dev., Cor. ' May-
fires ' were long numbered amongst the sports of May-day, Bray
Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) I. 325. (15) s.Wor.', Glo.i (16)
Som. Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869). (17) Ir. Swainson ib. (18)
Nhp.i 421-2. Oxf. The garland is ^«M. formed of two willow hoops,
placed transversely, and decorated with leaves and wild flowers.
It is suspended from a stick, which is held at each end by a child
fG.O.). (19) Cai.'- (20, a) Sc. There was also a practice of
making fools on May-day, similar to what obtains on the first of
the preceding month. The deluded were called May-goslings,
Chambers' Information (^ed. 1842) 616. Dur.i, Lakel.^ Cura.(J.Ar.);
Cum.* There is still a strong prejudice against goslings hatched in
May ; they are certain to be as unlucky as kittens born, or lads and
lassies married in that month. Wm. Think on neea body maks a May
geslin o' thi (B.K.). s.Wm. Yeel faind naa sic Magezzlins, wha'l
gee ye out to see that ugly creature, Hutton Dial. Storth and
Arnside (1760) 67. n.Yks.^^, e.Yks.i w.Yks.^ A similar practice
prevails on this as on AU-fools' day, and the victims are called
' May-geslings,' 357. n.Lan.i (21) n.Lan.i (22) s.Wor.i Er'U
never over-get IWahy 'ill, I doubt, poor wratch. Hrt. ' He'll live
now, I think.' 'Yes, if he gets up May-hill' (G.H.G.). Ken.i'I
don't think he'll ever get up May hill,' i.e. I don't think he will
live through the month of May. Hmp. She'll mend when she's
up may hill. May hill's sure to try 'im a bit (W.M.E.F.) ; He
won't chmb up May Hill, Wise New Forest (1883) 180. (23) Oxf.
Scores of youngsters, as usual, celebrated the advent of the month
of flowers in their own peculiar way by creating a most hideous
row with their May horns, Oxf. Times (May 5, 1900) 3. Brks.i
Made by boys from the rind of the Withy, wound round and
round ; a smaller piece being wound also and inserted at the
smaller end. Cor.i Sometimes parties of boys, five or six in a
party, will assemble under your windows, blowing tin horns and
conch shells, and begging for money. With the money collected
they go into the country and have bread-and-cream junket, &c.
An additional ring of tin is added to the bottom of the horns every
year. (24) N.I.i Erroneously believed to be the young of the
curlew. (25) Cum.", Hrf. (E.M.W.), Som. (W.F.R.) (26) Dur.i
(27) n.Lin.' ' Cohd, why it's not near as cohd as it was last maay-
munth.' I have never heard this compound formed from the name
of any other month. Shr.i I al'ays think yarbs is best gethered i'
the May-month, they bin more juicy then than any other time.
Cor.3 (28)Cor. Thefirst of Mayisinauguratedwith much uproar...
At Penzance . . . the branches of the sycamore were especially cut
for the purpose of making the ' May-music' This was done by
cutting a circle through the bark to the wood a few inches from
the end of the branch. The bark was wetted and carefully beaten
until it was loosened and could be slid off" from the wood. The
wood was cut angularly at the end, so as to form a mouth-piece,
and a slit was made in both the bark and the wood, so that when
the bark was replaced a whistle was formed. Hunt Pop. Rom.
w.Eng. (1865) 383, ed. 1896. (29) Lnk. Had your mouth as mim,
and grave us a May-puddock, Graham Writings (1883) II. 51. (30)
Som. A festivity at East Brent, the sport being to roll one another
down the knoll (W.F.R.). (31) Wor. (W.C.B.), se.Wor.i (32)
se.Wor.i (33, 34, 35) Chs.^ A day or two before the first of May
parties of young men go out in the early morning to the various
farmhouses singing a song in welcome of the 'merry month.'
They are always spoken of as ' the May Singers,' and their song is
known as ' the May Song.' (36) Dev. Jistaleetlemoremay-watter
tu make 'e graw a bit, my dear ! Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 141 ;
Dev. 3 The dew which lies on the grass in the early May mornings
is said by the country folk to be an excellent beautifier of the
complexion. (37) Ir. Swainson ib.
2. Comb, in plant-names : (i) May-blob, [a) the marsh-
marigold, Caltha palustris ; (b) the cuckoo-flower, Carda-
tnine pratensis ; (c) the globe-flower, Trollius europaeus;
[d) the celery-leaved crowfoot. Ranunculus sceleraius ; (2)
■blub, (3) -bubble, see (i, a) ; (4) -bushes, the lilac, Syringa
vulgaris ; (5) -daisy, the corn feverfew, Matricaria inodora \
(6) -flower, (a) see (i, a) ; {b) see (i, b) ; {c) see (4) ; {d)
the greater stitchwort, Stellaria Holostea ; (e) the arum
lily, Calla adhiopica ; (7) -goslings or -geslings, the
catkins of the willow; (8) -gowlin, the flax-leaved goldy-
locks, Chrysocoma Linosyris ; (9) -grass, see (5, d) ; (10)
-hay, see below ; (11) -lily, the lily of the valley, Con-
vallaria majalis ; (12) — of the meadow, ? the meadow-
sweet, Spiraea Ulmaria ; (13) -pink, the white pink,
Dianthus Caryophyllus ; (14) -spink, the primrose. Primula
acaulis; (15) -tops, the upper part of algae, esp. Laminaria
digitata ; (16) -Tosty, the guelder-rose. Viburnum Opulus ;
(17) -weed or -wide, [a] the wild or stinking chamomile,
Anthemis Cotula; (b) see (5); (c) the wild ox-eye. Chry-
santhemum, Leucanthemum ; {d) the wild beaked parsley,
Anthrisciis sylvestris ; (e) the oar- weed, Laminaria
digitata.
(I, a) w.Yks.2, Rut. (J.P.K.), Rut.l, Lei.l, Nhp., War.3, Wil.l
(6) Nhp.i (c) Lei. (rf) Nhp.' (2) Wil.l (3) -ySfil. The flower
buds of the marsh marigold. Garden Wk. (1896) No. cxi. 77 ;
(G.E.D.) (4) s.Dev. (G.E.D.) (5) s.Not. (J.P.K.) (6, a) N.I.',
Ldd. Don. On May Eve they pull bunches of the ' May flower'
(kingcup, or marsh marigold, Caltha palustris), and put them over
the doors of their houses, Flk-Lore Jrn. (1884) II. 90. sw.Cum.,
Chs.i3, Lin. (I.W.), w.Wor. Shr. It is still common ... for the
children to honour May-day by coming round with posies of the
glittering flowersof CaMa — marsh marygold, as it is wrongly named.
Shropshire boys and girls call them may-flowers, N. & Q. (1893)
8th S. iii. 427 ; Shr.i (b) w.Yks.^ Lan. Science Gossip (1882) 164 ;
Lan.i, Chs.', Hmp. (W.M.E.F.) (c) Cor. id) sw.Cum. (e) Lin.
(LW.) (7)w.Yks.3 (8) Wm. For her he had collected the deepest
tinged May Gowlins that grew in the meadows, Lonsdale Mag.
(1822) III. 46. (9) Shr.i (10) Sc. Twisting the red silk and the
blue. With the double rose and the May-hay, Maidment Garland
(1824) 22, ed. 1868. (11) w.Som.l (12) War.2 (13) Dev.* (14)
Rnf. (Jam.) (i5)Nlib.Ofo. Formerlyusedbykelpraakers(R.O.H.);
The laminaria sheds its upper part in broken weather, about the
end of the month of May— this, when washed ashore, is known as
May-tops, Hodgson Hist. Bwk. Nat. Field Club (1892) XIV. 2g,note.
(16) Dev.i (17, a) Hrf. Upon the best lands we find the thistle, . .
maywide, wormwood, and wild mustard poppies, Marshall
Review (1818) II. 278. Bdf. This is supposed to increase the May-
weed, scratch-burs, &c., Batchelor .-i^nc. (1813) 105. Hrt. Ellis
MAY
[63J
MAYBE
Mod. Husb. (1750) II. i. Mid., Suf.i, e.Suf. (F.H.), Ken.i, Sus.i
e.Sus.HoLLOWAY. Hmp.l (6)Brks.DRUCEi^/o)-a (1897)287. Bck.
Science Gossip (1891) 119. Hrt. (<r) Suf. {d) Wor. {e) Nhb. A
sea-weed (a species of Fucus) used as manure, Reports Agric.
(1793-1813)45; (R.O.H.); Nhb.i
3. Phr. (i) between the two Mays, between the ist and
i2th of May ; (2) Queen of May, the primrose. Primula
acaulis.
(i) N.I.l (2) Bnff. The Queen o' May, in rocklay green Our
Currie braes adorneth, Taylor Poems (1787) 18.
4. The hawthorn, Crataegus Oxyacantha, gen. applied
only to the blossom, but sometimes to the tree also.
Lnk. Sweet-scented ha wtliorn! odour-breathingMay! Nicholson
Idylls (1870) 192. Nhb.i n.Yks. T'hedges is white wi' May
blossom, TwEDDELL Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 49- w.Yks.', n.Lin.',
War., Shr., Glo. Oxf. Applied to the tree as well as the blossom
(G.O.). Brks.i, Hrt., e.An.i, Cmb. Nrf. Trees white with may
bloom. Haggard Farmer's Year (1899) vi. Suf.', n.Ess., Sus.,
Hmp.i Wil. BRiTTONBcaMftVs(i825). Dor. Som. Jennings i>ja/.
w.Eng. (1869). w.Som.i It is thought very unlucky, and a sure
' sign of death,' if May is brought into the house. Cor. When the
flowers be out, an' the May be'pon the hedges, "Pea-rsr D. Quorm
(1877) I. 106; Cor.i
Hence (i) May-bread-and-cheese, sb. the leaves and
buds of the hawthorn ; (2) -bough, sb. a branch of the
hawthorn in full bloom ; (3) -bush, sb. the hawthorn ; (4)
-flower, sb. the blossom of the hawthorn ; (5) -fruits, sb.
pi. the berries of the hawthorn ; (6) -tree, sb. the hawthorn
tree.
(i) War.^ Eaten by children. (2) Sus., Hmp. Holloway. (3)
e.An.i, Nrf., e.Suf. (F.H.), Hmp.", w.Som.' (4) Cum. (5) Yks.
(6) n Lin.i Nrf. They may make fine may-trees, Haggard Farmers
Year (1899) vi.
5. The young shoots of the sycamore, Acer Pseudo-
platanus. Also in comp. May-tree.
Cor. Young shoots of sycamore, as well as whitethorn, are known
as May, Flk-Lore Jm. (1886) IV.225 ; They. . . strip the sycamore
trees (called May-trees) of all their young branches, to make
whistles, Hunt Pop. Rom, w.Eng. (1865) 382, ed. 1896; Cor.'^
6. The small-leaved elm, Ulmus campestris.
Dev.* Trans. Dev. Assoc. XI. 137. w.Cor. N. & Q. (1855) ist
5. xii. 297.
7. The laurustinus. Viburnum Tinus.
Dev.* Perhaps only in mistake by the lower classes; still the
name is in use.
8. The white alysson, Arabis alpina. Som. (B. & H.),
Dev.* 9. The corn feverfew, Matricaria inodora. s.Not.
(J.P.K.) 10. V. To go very early in the morning of
May 1st, into the fields or woods, and gather boughs to
decorate the houses. e.Sus. Holloway. Hence Mayer,
sb. one who goes to gather boughs on May morning.
Cor. It is the first of May. Come along ; perhaps we shall meet
the Mayers, Quiller-Couch Ship of Stars (1899) 79.
11. Obsol. To play at May-games. n.Lin."- 12. Of wheat:
to turn yellow in the spring. Also in phr. to go a-maying.
n.Lln.i Wheat is said to go a maying when the growing crop
looks yellow about the middle of the month of May. ' Th' wheat's
off a maayin' agean to-year I see.' ' It's middle o' Jewne, bud I
see that wheat o' thine e' th' Crawtree cloas is agaate o' maayin'
yit.' Nhp.i The generality of the crops of wheat look yellow in
the month of May ; this is called maying, Hillyard Farming, 95.
Bdf. It is an old observation in this county that wheat which
mays, viz. turns yellow in that month, never mildews, Batchelor
Agric. (1813) 376. Hrt. All wheat should may or look yellowish
in April, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) III. i. Ken. Farmers' Jm.
(May 12, 1828).
MAY, sb.'^ Sc. Irel. Cum. In pi. meyen Wxf.' [me.]
A maid, maiden.
So. My bonny May, VEDDERPoeMs(i842) 140; He's married the
may, Longman's Mag. (Jan. 1898) 243. n.Sc. But by there came
a weel-fair'd may, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 48, ed. 1875. Per.
He saw a weel-faur'd May, Was washing aneath a tree. Ford
/far/> (1893) 18 ; Twa barefit Mays were seen, Haliburton Horace
(1886) 20. Slk. To take this cunning may's advice, Hogg Queer
Bk. (1832) 164. Dmf. The bonniest may in a' Dundee, Cromek
Remains (1810) 153. Wxf.i Blessed yarth amang meyen. Cum.
Bonny May Marye, Burn Ballads (ed. 1877) 55.
[He at last ensewit ane wther may, Hermyony, the
dochtir of Helena, Douglas Eneados (1513), ed. 1874, 11.
139 ; pe mai [lat jee wald haue, Cursor M. (c. 1300) 3238.
OE. m^g, a woman (B.T.).]
MAY, see Mae, sb., adj.. Make, v.^
MAYBE, adv. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Amer. Also in forms mabbee Som. ; mabby Wil. ;
mavies N.Cy.' Nhb.' ; maybees N.Cy.' ; niaybes Gall. ;
maybies Nhb.i ; maybisEdb. ; mebbeSc. Ir. Lakel.* Yks.
Lan.i m.Lan.i Not.^ sw.Lin.' Wor. Shr.' Glo. Oxf.' Ess.
Sus. Amer. ; mebbee Cum.^ ; mebbie Sh.I. ; mebbies
Nhb.i Dur. ; mebby Ant. N.Cy.' Nhb.' Dur.' n.Yks. e.Yks.'
w.Yks.i Stf. Rut.i Nhp.'2 Hnt. Som.; med-be Brks.' ;
meebyStf.'; mevvies Nhb.' Dur. ; mevvyNhb.' [me'bi,
me'ba.] 1. Perhaps, possibly.
Sh.I. Dey'll mebbie come dis wye, Sh. News (July 23, 1898) ;
I'm mebbe jOst as weel-laek as some 'at tinks a hantle mair o
demsells, Burgess Tang (1898) 18. ne.Sc. Mebbe it wis the win',
Green Gordonhaven (1887) 54. Bnff. Taylor Poems (1787) 10.
Abd. He micht maybe hae mista'en the nicht, Michie Deeside Tales
(1872)173. Kcd. A week or maybe mair, Grant Laj/s (1884) I. Frf.
Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 130. w.Sc. Ye micht maybe need a shuit
o' claes, Macdonald Settlement (1869) 37, ed. 1877. Dmb. Cross
Disruption (1844) i. Ayr. The fau't maybe lies in their een.
Hunter S/«fl?<>s (1870) 22. Lnk. Orr Laigh Flichts (1882) 11.
Edb. Ye'll maybis hear her change her tune, Tint Quey (1796) 19.
Hdg. LuMSDEN Poems (1896) 221. Dmf. But maybe no, Shennan
To/es (1831) 39. GaU. The lad kenned mair than maybes a' the
presbytery pitten thegither, Crockett Stickit Min. (1893) 24. Ir.
Maybe dhrift-wood, or grand bits o' boards, Barlow Boglaiid
(1892) 4, ed. 1893. n.Ir. Ye'll mebbe be axed what ye want,
Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 12. Uls. Mebbe ye'll no' even alloo 'at
Rabbie Deen's drinkin' hissel oot o' hoose an' hame, M'^Ilroy
Craig-linnie (1900) 24. Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). N.Cy.'
Nhb. Yor mavies wondrin whe aw mean, Oliver Sngs. (1824) g ;
Nhb.' ' Mevvy not.' ' He's mevvies not se fond as ye think.'
' Aa'U mebby be there the morn.' ' Mebbies aye ; mebbies not,'
a phrase often used ironically, expressing incredulity. Nhb., Dur.
Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). Dur.', LakeL^ Cum.^ Mebbee
ther's a lock 'at doesn't know what a leear Tommy Towman is, 8.
Wm. Mebbe thae thowt thaed meeak ma looas mesell, Spec. Dial.
(1885) pt. iii. 2. n.Yks. Ah's mebby see me bairn, Tweddell
Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 33. e.Yks. You'll me'bbe finnd a bit o' good
advice, V^-ray Nestleton (1876) 104; e.Yks.' Mebby he'll wed her
efther all. w.Yks. Bud then ah've mebbe thowt ageean, Preston
Poems (1864) 7; w.Yks.'* Lan. ' Feightin', mebbe ! ' suggested
her father. Banks Manch. Man (1876) iii ; Lan.' ne.Lan. Mebbe
I'll shap as weel at a bit o' music as ony on yo, Mather Idylls
(1895) 149. m.Lan.' I. Ma. A guinea ... Or maybe two, Brown
ZJorio;-(i887) 26. Stf. Mebby when he's got round a bit, Saunders
Diamonds (1888) 29 ; Stf.', nw.Der.' Not. There's a Jennaway
in the town-council, who's maybe summat of his, Prior Rente
(1895) 102 ; Not.^ s.Not. Mebbe you'll be wanting me to-morrer ?
(J.P.K.) Lin. You'll maaybe remember (J.T.F.). sw.Lin.' Mebbe
it'll gie thee ease. Rut.i Nhp.' Often used with the adjunct 'like';
as, ' Mebbylike I shall goo' ; Nhp.^ Mebby 'twunt, mebby 'twull.
War. Mebbe the tinker '11 drop in, Elson Climbing Boys {igoo) 104.
Shr.' Glo. Mebbe I 'ev time to tell 'e, Gissing Vill. Hampden
(1890) I. i. Oxf.i MS. add. Brks.' Med be you be a-gwaain to
Reddin to-morrer, zur? Hnt. (T.P.F.) Ess. Mebbe I ha' bin a
bad un, Downes Ballads (1895) 41. Sur. Maybe you'll finish it
to-morrow, Hoskyns Talpa (1852) 193, ed. 1857; Sur.' Sus.
Mebbe you'll hear two or three, Jennings Field Paths (1884) 62 ;
Sus.' May be you knows Mass Pilbeam ? Sus.^, Hmp.' 'Wil.
Slow Gl. (1892) ; Britton Beauties (1825). n.Wil. May-be, he
wouldn't do't (E.H.G.). Som. They was happy enuff, tho' mabbee
motherless, Leith Lemon Verbena (1895) 47; Jennings Obs. Dial.
w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.' ' Maybe I shall, maybe I shan't.' Used
by people a little above the true dialect speakers. Dev. ' He must
be a stranger, I think.' ' Maybe, Miss Annie, maybe,' O'Neill
Dimpses (1893) 19. [Amer. Mebbe he will an' mebbe he wont,
Westcott David Harum, i.]
Hence May-be, s6. a possibility ; chance; a supposition,
guess.
Lnk. Brichtest hopes are but a maybe ! Nicholson Kilwuddie
(1895) 8a. Dwn. There's nae mebbees aboot it, Lyttle Robin
Gordon, 65. Lin. Often answered by ' May-bees don't fly this
month,' Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 714. Som. Thaw a middent
a mebby bin wetting hes eye, Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 43.
MAYER,N
[64]
MAZE
2. Phr. (i) maybe it was not, used ironically as a strong
affirmative; (2) — that, oh ! indeed ! (3) mebbe and perhaps,
used to express a doubtful contingency.
(i) Lns.The big bell rung out for dinner, and maybe it was not
we that were glad to hear it, Croker Leg. (1862) 244. (2) N.I.i
(3) w-Wor. Mebbe an' perhaps a be hup the grouns, S. Beau-
champ N. Hamilton (1875) '• 75'
MAYERN, sb. n . Yks* A gatherer of wicken or couch-
grass, Triticum repens.
MAY-GAME, sb. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms
maagum Cor. ; magame Som. s.Dev. ; maggem Som.
[me'giam, me-gam.] 1. pi. Tricks, frolics, antics, practical
jokes ; whims, fancies. Cf. megrim, 2.
Som. W. & J. Gl, (1873) ; * Have you ever done any heowing? '
' No, sir, not I hevn't, 'cept formaay-geeiims nowand t'en ' (W.F.R.) ;
Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.i ' Come ! none o' they
there May-games [maa-y-gee'umz] wi' me.' [So called] no doubt
from the revels which used to be held on May-day. Dev. 'E dawnt
du nort vrom cockcraw tu zinzet, but be up tii awl zorts of may-
games, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 100 ; Dev.i Dame can't abide
such may-games and highdelows sabbath days, 8. s.Dev. Fox
Kingsbridge (1874). Cor. I doan't want no more av yourma-agums,
Forfar Pentowan (1859) xiv ; I'll tache 'ee to interrup' the word
o' Grace wi' your gammut an' may-games! ' Q.' Troy Town (1888)
xi; Cor.123 w.Cor. Any odd, foolish game is called a May-game,
Flk-Lorejrn. (1886) IV. 233.
Hence May-gemmin, adj. frohcsome, silly, childish.
Cor. 2 Such maygemmin ways.
2. A foolish, silly person.
Cor.l Don't make mock of a maygame ; you may be struck
comical yourself one day. w.Cor. Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 233.
MAYGRIM, see Megrim.
MAYHAP, adv. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lin. Nhp. Oxf Brks.
Bdf. Hnt. Ess. Dor. Som. Dev. Amer. Also written
maay-hap Brks.^ ; and in forms map Bdf. ; mayhaps Nhb.
Oxf."^ [mi'ap, mrap.] Perhaps, possibly. Cf. maybe,
mayhappen.
Abd. Gibbie 'ill be here mayhap whan least ye luik for him,
Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxxiii. Lnk. Mayhap you'll think I
halflins ken, Parker Misc. Poems (1859) 51. Edb. Boist'rous
winds mayhap portend That the ripe corn will hardly fend, Har'st
Rig (1794) 40, ed. 1801. Nhb. Mayhaps this lord o' ours may
come to the end o' his tether some o' thae days, Jones Nhb. 2'ji.
n.Yks,* Lin. Mowt a bean, mayhap, for she wur a bad un, shea,
Tennyson N. Farmer, Old Style (1864) st. 6. Nhp.^, Oxf.' s.Oxf.
Twelve shillin' a week mayhap! Rosemary Chiltems (1895) 92.
Brks.i Bdf. Sometimes pronounced ' mape.' A child in Sunday-
school being asked, ' Why do you suppose David took five stones
with him when he went to meet one giant Goliath? ' replied, after
a long pause, ' 'Cause map he might meet some moore * (J.W.B.).
Hnt. (T.P.F.) Ess. Mayhap there'll be a row, Clark /. Noakes
(1839) St. 168 ; Ess.i Dor. He'll think himself as good as me —
better mayhap, Longman's Mag. (Nov. 1898) 52. Som. They do
never use the room, except mayhap in summer, Raymond Try-
phena (1895) 2. w.Som.i I shall zee-ee to market, mayhap [miaap'].
Dev. Mayhap a slice o' coold bacon, Longman's Mag. (Dec. 1896)
156 ; Mayhap yu work'th in tha mill 1 Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
[Amer. When you are as old as I be, . . mayhap you may be
foundered too, Sam Slick Clocimaier (1836) ist S. xxvii.]
MAYHAPPEN, adv. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf Der.
Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War. Shr. Ess. Sus. Also in forms
mappen Lakel.^ Wm. Lan.'^ n.Lan.^ Chs.^^ sw.Lin.^ Nhp.'
e.Sus. ; m'appen Lakel.' Cum.^ Not.' s.Not. Lei.' War.^
Shr.' ; m'appn Lin. ; m'happen w.Yks. Not. sw.Lin.' ;
may-'oppen n.Der. ; me-happen Chs.' [ma'psn.] Perhaps,
possibly. Cf behappen, mayhap.
Lakel.' Cum.^ ' M'appen I may,' she says, 'm'appen I may,'
37. Wm. Mappen yal want knaa whaar a cu frae, Spec. Dial.
(1885) pt. iii. I. E.Wm. Mappen they'll sarra us, Southey Doctor
(ed. 1848) 560. w.Yks. M'happen I may get to t'meatin' (F.P.T.).
Lan. Mayhappen yo'd better take him, Gaskell M. Barton (1848)
vii ; Lan.', n.Lan.' Chs.' Me-happen yo'n come in a bit to-neet at
after dark ; Chs.^ s.Chs.' Mai--aap-n yoa-)n sey dhii mes'tur ijt
maa-rkit [Mayhappen yo'n see the mester at market]. n.Stf. But
may-happen he'U be a ready-made fool, Geo. Eliot ^. i?frf«(i859)
I. 144. s.Stf. Mayhappen the cat's as good, Murray Rainbow
Gold (1886) 156. n.Der. May-'oppen we con, may-'oppen we conna,
Hall .ffoM^rea^s (1896) i. Not. Sometimes m'happen, as m'happen
it may (J.H.B.) ; Not.' s.Not. M'appen ah shall goo an' m'appen
not (J.P.K.). Lin. M'appn he'll come yet, Brookes Tracts Gl.
n.Lin.' Maay-happen I shall goii to Garthrup o' Sunda', bud I'm
not sewer. sw.Lin.' M'happen, it's a httle rheumatis. Mappen,
he may change. Lei. M'appen he thought you had no docity,
N. & Q. (1858) 2nd S.vi. 187 ; Lei.', Nhp.', War.^ Shr.' M'appen
'er met, an' m'appen 'er metna. Ess. (W.H.P.) e.Sus. Mappen
he is alive, poor chap, Longman's Mag. (July 1898) 257.
MAYLADDY, MAYLOCK, see Maladdy, Marlock.
MAYOCK-FLOOK, s6. Sc. The fLounA&r, Pleuronedes
flesus.
Sc. (Jam.) Fif. The Mayock Flook, of the same size with the
former, without spots, Sibbald Hist. (1803) 120 (Jam.). [Satchell
(1879).]
MAYOR, sb. Cor. In phr. (i) like the Mayor of Cale-
nich ; (2) — of Falmouth, (3) — of Market-Jew, see below.
(i) Calenich is one mile from Truro, and the mayor's hackney
was pastured two miles from home ; so, as his worship would by
no means compromise his dignity by walking to Truro, he in-
variably walked to his horse to ride there, so that it was said of
any one who would keep up appearances at great trouble, that he
was ' like the Mayor of Calenich, who walked two miles to ride
one,' Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 424, ed. 1896. (2) The
stupid man whose moods, whether of sadness or merriment, are
inopportune, is . . . said to be ' like the Mayor of Falmouth, who
thanked God when the town-jail was enlarged,' ib. ; The brewer
of Market-Jew was also mayor. . . It was his practice, when any
of the townspeople came before him, begging him to settle their
disputes, . . to shut them up in the brewery-yard, give them as
much beer as they could drink, and keep them there until they
became good friends. Owing to this practice he seldom had
enough beer to sell, and was frequently troubled to pay for his
barley. This . . . gave rise ... to the proverb still in daily use,
' Standing, like the Mayor of Market-Jew, in his own light,' ib.
68-9 ; The class who never know on which side their bread is
buttered, are said to be ' like the Mayor of Market-Jew, sitting in
their own light,' ib. 424.
MAYS(ES, see Maise.
MAYS-GOLD, s6. Nhp.^ A children's game similar to
' Merry-ma-tanzie ' (q.v.).
MAY-SHELL, sb. Sc. Irel. The bone of a cuttle-fish.
Sepia officinalis.
Gall. Caumshell, or Clamshell, or Mayshell, a beautiful white
piece of shelly or boney matter, in shape somewhat like a lady's
slipper, frequently found driven in upon our shores. It is reduced
by our nowt doctors to a fine powder, and blown through the
hollows of quills into cattle's eyes, which have motes in them,
Mactaggart isMcyrf. (1824) 129, ed. 1876. N.I.'
MAYSIE, MAYSLE, see Maishie, Mazle.
MAY-SKATE, sb. Sc. The sharp-nosed ray. Rata
rintea. Cf. mavis-skate.
e.Sc. This is now and then got, when the.nets are shot near the
mouth of the Frith, Neill Fishes (1810) 28 (Jam.).
MAYTHEM, sb. Cum. A 'May-gosling,' a person
befooled on the ist of May ; a stupid person. Linton
Lake Cy. (1864) 307.
MAYTHEN,MAYTHERN, MAYTHER, see Maithen,
Moither.
MAYTHIG, sb. Shr.' The stinking chamomile, An-
themis Cotida. See Maithen, 1.
MAZALIUM, sb. Bck. The mezereon, Daphne Meze-
reum. (B. & H.)
MAZARD-BOWL, sb. Obs. Hrf A drinking bowl,
made of maple. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) [Mazar or
Mazer, a broad flat standing cup to drink in ; so called
because such cups are often made of Maple or of the
knots of it, Blount (1681).]
MAZARDED, ppl. adj. ? Obs. Lin.' Stunned ; amazed.
Cf mazed.
MAZE, v., sb. and adj. Sc. Irel.' Cum. Yks. Midi. Lin.
Nhp. Wor. Shr. Glo. e.An. Hmp. Som. Dev. Cor. and
Amer. Also written mase w.Wor.' Shr.^ Glo.' ; and in
form mize Wxf.' [mez, meaz, miaz.] 1. v. To amaze,
astonish ; to bewilder, puzzle, mystify.
Cum.*, n.Yks.^* Midi. T'would maaze 'ee, Georgie, downright
maaze 'ee, to see what that ould lurcher be oop to, Bartram People
ofClopton, 22. Lin. But summun 'uU come ater mea mayhap wi'
'is kittle o' steam, Huzzin' an' maazin' the blessed fealds wi' the
Divil's oan team, Tennyson N. Farmer, Old Style (1864) st. 16.
MAZE
[65]
MAZERMENT
n.Lin.l Nhp.'^ A clane mazed me. Dev. Ther's many a theng i'
tha warld complately mazes me, Longman's Mag. (Mar. 1899) 458 ;
Wheer 'e tuke such hideas from halways 'mazed me to know,
Phillpotts Daiimoor {zSgS') 220. [Araer. Floorin one of them afore
the eyes of the others never starts the flock, it only 'mazes them,
Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) 3rd S. xii.]
2. To turn giddy or light-headed.
w.Wor.i Stir.2 Felt quite mased. Glo.l
Hence Ma.zzing,ppl. adj. light in the head, giddy. Lin.^
3. To wander as if stupefied.
Cum.* n.yks.2 ' Mazing about,' wandering in a vacant mood.
4. sb. A State of amazement or astonishment; per-
plexity, confusion, surprise. Also used^g.
Fif. [He] up the street Rade on — in mickle maze I ween, For
fient ae face was to be seen, Tennant Papistry (1827) 137. Rnf.
In midst n' my mazes reflection unkind Shew'd the form of a
faithless young fair in my mind, Webster Rhymes (1835) 29.
Wxf.i, w.Yks.3 Hmp.i When she see 'un she was all in a maze.
Dev. My mind is kind of in a maze, Salmon Ballads (1899) 60.
5. See below.
Ant. The whirling of a top, when it is so swift as to escape the
eye, and the top seems motionless, is called by boys a maze, Grose
(1790) MS. add. (C.)
6. Phr. to have the maze, said of herrings about to shoot
the roe. e.An.^ 7. adj. Mad, crazy, lunatic ; uneasy,
over-anxious.
w.Som.' 'Mad' is never used in this sense, and is only applied to
anger, or to rabies. ' They've a tookt away the poor old John . . .
to the 'sylum, they zess how th' old man's so maze as a sheep.'
' Her was screechin' an' hollerin' same's a maze ummun.' Dev.
Zo maze's a sheep, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 11 ; You'll draiveme
maze! Daniel S«rf« <)/■ Sao (1842) 177. nw.Dev.^
Hence (i) Maze-finch, sb. the chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs ;
see Mazed-finch ; (2) -headed, adj. giddy, dizzy ; be-
wildered ; (3) -house, sb. an asylum or madhouse ; (4)
■like, adv. stupidly, foolishly, lilce a madman ; (5) -man,
sb. a madman, lunatic ; (6) -Monday, sb. the Monday after
pay-day at a mine.
(i) Cor. Swainson Birds (1885') 63 ; Rodd Birds (1880) 315. (2)
Som. I were that maze-headed I couldn' hardly Stan', Raymond
Sam. and Sabina (1894) 47. w.Som.^ In this combination there is
no implication of madness. Dev. Did ... a sheep become maze-
headed, . . then old Caulks was consulted, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892)
Introd. 9 ; So maze-'eaded as a sheep 'e was, Phillpotts Dartmoor
(1896) 51 ; Reports Provinc. (1897). nw.Dev.^ (3) Som. W. & J.
G/. (1873). w.Som.i Mae-uz-aewz. (4) w.Som.l I never didn zee
nobody act so maze-like's thee dis. Dev. Pore Palmer zim'd tuk'd
in a vit, An maze-like zim'd ta stare, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (ed.
i866)2ndS.27. nw.Dev.^ (5)w.Som.'Eewuz uur-neenubaewtlig
u mae-uz-mun [he was running about like a madman]. Dev. A
maze-man is not exactly mad, but wildly, inconsiderately, stupidly
foolish, Reports Provinc. (1897). (6) Cor. Gen. taken as a holiday,
but on which a man will do his 'little churs ' at home (J.W.).
MAZE, see Maise, Meas(e.
MAZED, ///. adj. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
written maazed Wm.Cor.''^; maized Cum.; mased Shr.';
and in form moysed n.Lin.^ [me'zd,me3'zd.] 1. Amazed,
astonished, surprised ; bewildered, astounded, perplexed.
See Maze, v. 1.
Sc. (A.W.),N.Cy.i, Dur.^ Lakel.^Seck seets yan saw,yan's fairly
mazed an' wondered what next. Cum.Wheytemaiz'dwi'loungin'on
ith' nuok, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 60. Wm. I was 'maazed
as owt, and I screamed, RAWNSLEY/fc>«m. Wordsworth (1884) VI.
165. n.Yks. (T.S.), e.Yks.i w.Yks. Ah wor fair mazed wi' t'job,
(J. H.G.) ; Amazed goose, applied to a person astonished, Thoresby
Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.* Lin. I nivver was so mazed e' my life, as I
was when Mariapopp'd in an'sethersendoon hyih' fire, Lin. N.tfQ.
(Jan. 1892) 10. n.Lin.i Nrf. I stood like a mazed willock when
I seed that woman wavin', Emerson Wild Life (1890) 97. Dor. I
laughed to zee 'em look zo 'mazed, zur, Windsor Mag. (Mar. 1900)
424. w.Som.i Poor soul, her's always mazed about one thing or
'nother. e.Dev. A' couldn't look more mazed and weist, if a hun-
derd ghostesses was after him, Blackmore Perlycross (1894)
viii. Cor.2
2. Stunned, confused, stupefied, dizzy, giddy, confused
in the head.
N.Cy.' s.Dur. A poor mazed, daft creetur (J.E.D.). w.Yks.' I
can hardly tell what he wor like, I worseamaz'd, ii.301. s.Chs.*
Mahy uwd mon fau'd of fi Idoud u ee' u wik' ugoa' fit Fen'iiz, iin
VOL. IV.
ee)z bin lahyk u bit mai'zd evur sin [My owd mon fawd ofl" a looad
o' hee a wik ago at Fenna's, an' he's bin like a bit mazed ever sin].
War.^ He was mazed with liquor ; War.* Yer seems quite mazed
like. Shr.i Poor Jack Robe'ts fell off the lather isterd'y, a-sarvin'
the thetcher — 'e wunna much 'urt, on'y a bit mased. Oxf.' MS.
add. Nrf. Just as if she was mazed, Jessopp Arcady (1887) iii.
Hence Mazed-headed, adj. dizzy, giddy.
Dev. I bant very well ; I veel za mazed-headed as a sheep,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.^ I've been going round till I'm
nearly mazed-headed.
3. Crazed, mad, lunatic, distraught, insane.
Der.2, nw.Der.i Som. The voaks '11 think thee'rt mazed, Frank
Nine Days (1879) 9. w.Som.^ This here weather's fit to make any-
body mazed. I be mazed, rampin' distracted wi' the toothache.
Dev. The farmer, a matter-of-fact man, looks as if he thought us
all 'a little mazed,* as they say in Devonshire, Bray Desc. Taniar
and Tavy (1836) I. gg ; A complete lunatic is said to be ' so mazed
as a sheep.' Sheep are said to be mazed when they have a rather
common affection of the brain, which causes them to keep on
turning round and round, Reports Provinc. ( 1897) ; Dev.* Dist
think, my sweeting, I shall e'er be maz'd anew to claw out my
own eyes? 22; Dev.^ n.Dev. Et made ma amost mazed. Rock
Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 31. w.Dev. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796).
s.Dev. Fox Kingsbridge (1874). Cor. Like a gate flop o' lightning
gone mazed an' brok loos, Daniel Bride of Scio (1842) 229 ; As
for my mother, she was a maazed wumman,TREGELLAs7a/«s(i868)
114; Cor.i2
Hence (i) Mazedish, adj. mad, confused, insane ; (2)
Mazedness, sb. madness ; (3) Mazedy, see (i).
(j) Cor. 'Tes no mazedish condudle of mine, J. Trenoodle
Spec. Dial. (1846) 33 ; Cor.^ (2) w.Som.* Can't be nort else but
mazedness vor to make'n go and make jis fool o' his-zul, in there
avore all the market volks. Cor. The peculiar state of mazedness
into which he had drifted, Pearce Esther Pentreath (1891) 118;
Cor.a (3) Cor.2
4. Eagerly desirous, ' mad after.' Gen. with after or about.
w.Som.' Speaking of cows eating spiced hay, a man said, ' They
be mazed arter't — they'll lef the best grass vor't.' Also very com-
monly used for great love or fondness. ' He's mazed arter her,' or
' her's mazed arter-n,' mean that great fondness exists for the other
on his or her part respectively, but does not imply anything im-
proper. Dev. These here ways of her's, bless you ! only made
Jan Williams all the more mazed about her, Chanter Witch (1896)
vi. nw.Dev.^
5. Fidgety, uneasy, over-anxious ; fretful.
w.Som.' Mr. Baker bin yer — he's mazed 'bout 's old machine,
'feard we shan't ado'd-n eens he can 'gin to cut his grass way un.
nw.Dev.'
6. Camp, (i) Mazed-antic, a wild, foolish, crazy person ;
cf. mazegerry ; (2) -finch, {a) the chaffinch, Fringilla
coelebs ; see Maze-finch ; {b) the wagtail, Motacilla lugubris;
(3) -Monday, (a) the Monday after pay-day at a mine ; (6)
the Monday before Christmas.
(1) Cor.i2 (2, o) Dev. The mazed finch, a truly Devonian appella-
tive, given to one species of this tribe in co^nsequence of its wild
and incessant motiou. Bray Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) I. 319.
(6) Dev. So named because of its incessant motion, Hewett Peas.
Sp. (1892). (3, a) Cor. It was 'maazed Monday' (i. e. Mondayafter
the pay-day), Camborne Aim. (1894) 95. {b) Cor.^ On this day all
good housewives are at the wash-tub by two or three o'clock in
the morning, while the more youthful section of the community
celebrate the occasion by removing the gates from the neighbours'
gardens.
MAZEGERRY, sb. Dev. Cor. Also written mazegary,
-jerry Cor.* [me'zdgari.] A wild, thoughtless, frolicsome
fellow. Also used attrib. and in comp. Mazegerry-pattick.
Dev. Old Pynsant, the mad fool, . . Play'd zich a mazeg'rry
trick, Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) IV. 213. Cor. Dedst behould
sich a mazegerry pattick afore, Tregellas Tales (i860) 81 ; Cor.^^
MAZELL, sb. Hmp. The mezereon. Daphne Mesereum.
MA ZEN, see Maise.
MAZER, sb. Nhb. Also written maser. Anything
out of the common, a wonder; an eccentric person.
He's a reg'lar mazer, noo. She's a mazer, that neybor above,
Allan Coll. (ed. 1890) 204 ; It fissicks Jimmy, aw suppose, An'
that's a reglor maser, Wilson Tyneside Sngs. (1890) 328 ; (R.O.H.)
MAZERMENT, sb. Obs. Sc. Confusion, perplexity,
amazement.
Abd, A' in greatest mazerment and care, Ross Helenore (1768)
K
MAZERY
[66]
MAZZARD
22, ed. 1812 ; She . . . round about wi' mazerment 'gan glowr, ib.
70. Fif. The monks and canons on their beds . . . tauld in mazer-
ment their beads, Tennant Papistry (1827) 48.
MAZERY, sb. Dev. [me'zri.] Nonsense, foolery ;
madness.
A gentleman described what he considered a foolish proceeding
on the part of a public body as ' the biggest piece of mazery ever
known,' Reports Provinc. (1897) ; (R.P.C.)
MAZICAN, sb. Lakel. Yks. [ma-ziksn.] A stupid
fellow ; a fool, noodle. Lakel.^, w.Yks. (R.H.H.)
MAZIE, see Maishie.
MAZING, adv. Sc. Brks. Nrf. s.Cy. [mi-zin.] Very,
amazingly ; wonderfully, astonishingly. Also used attrib.
s.Sc. We took wine thegither . . . we waur that mazing naffy,
Snaith Fierceheart (1897) 149. Brks. Varmer Small-bwones ... a
mazin' stout man, Hughes Scour. White Horse (1859) v; He's
mazing partickler about seeds, ib. T. Brown Oxf. (1861) xviii.
Nrf. Wot play sich mazin capers, Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf.
(1893) 19. s.Cy. I'm 'mazin' fond on thee, Em'ly, Cornh. Mag.
(Nov. igoo) 655,
Hence Mazinly or Maayzinly, adv. very, exceedingly,
extremely.
Brks.i That therbwoy o'ournbe grawin' mazinly now to be zure.
MAZLE, V. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Lin.
Also Cor. Also written mazel Dur.^Cum. n.Yks.^ w.Yks.
ne.Lan.' ; mazzel n.Lin.^ ; mazzle e.Yks.* w.Yks.^ Lan.^
Lin.' sw.Lin.' Cor. ; and in forms maasel Wm. ; maazle-
Cor.'^ ; maezle Wm. ; maisel Nhb.^ ; maisle Nhb.' Wm. ;
maizel Cum.^ Wm. ; maizle Lakel.^; maysle Wm. &
Cum.'; mayzel Cum.' ; mezzle w.Yks. [ma'zl, mi'zL]
1. To stupefy, bewilder, daze ; to become stupefied or
confused. Gen. in pp. Cf. mazed.
Nhb. Over much whiskey disn't agree wi' me ; it mak's me fair
mazled theere, Clare Lowfio/Lais (1890) II. 184 ; Nhb.' Lakel."
It's eniuf ta maizle yan o'tagidder. Thoo's maizled amang t'.
Cum. When you have read thus far you may be maizel't (H.W.) ;
Cum. 3 I was no'but maizelt, 22. Wm. Naarly starved to death an
maisled, Southey Doctor (ed. 1848) 560; But a fairly was
maaseled when t'maasels hed gone, Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii. 30.
e.Yks.' w.Yks.Omreightmezzledwi'it, ////V.Coj/riVr(May22, 1897),
Lin. He wosn't reight, His mind was mazzled, Brown Lit. Laur.
(1890) 88 ; Lin.', n.Lin.' sw.Lia.' They get that mazzled wi' that
nasty beer.
Hence (i) Mazlekin, sb. a fool, simpleton, idiot ; (2)
Mazlin(g, (a) sb., see (ij ; {b) ppl. adj. stupid, foolish,
confused.
(i) Wm. I see thaust an arrant maislykin, Wheeler £>/«/. (1790)
19. w.Yks. HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781). (2, a) Nhb. Like
maislins they star'd, Gilchrist Siigs. (1824) 11 ; Nhb.' Dur.
Gibson Up-Weardale Gl. (1870) ; Dur.' Lakel.' Whats ta meead
o't meer an car thou ole mazlin 1 Lakel. " Cum. Sec a maz'lin as
he, Anderson Ballads (1805) 93; Cum.3 T'oald maizlin was like
to toytle off his steiil wid laughin, 4. Wm. (A.C.) ; A wor sartan
tha wer a set a maizlins, Dial. (1865") 6. neXan.', n.Yks.^
w.Yks. HuTTON ToJif to Caves (1781). (6) Wm. & Cum.' Mayslin
gowk ! I nobbit juokt. Wm. Yan hed bettre beet teea hofe be
wioot sick maezling, mafflin ninnihammers aboot yan's hoose,
5/i^c. /)<■«/. (1885) pt. iii. 6. Lan.i
2. Phr. to scat massling, to stun, knock silly, to send
spinning.
Cor. Till I'm mazed enough to scat Thy great bussa-head a
mazzling, Thomas Randigal Rhymes (1895) 27 ; I'll gibben a clout
with this that will scat en a-mazzlin', Camborne Aim. (1894) 99;
Cor.^; Cor.3 I'll scat thee mazlin', if thee artn' quiet this minute.
3. To wander aimlessl3' about, to trifle ; to do anything
unskilfully.
Cum. Let other lasses ride to Rosley-fair, And mazle up and
down the market there, Relph Misc. Poems (1747) 13 ; I mazle
an' wander, nor ken what I's dein, Anderson Ballads (1805) 26.
w.Yks.' What's thou for ollas mazzlin about t'alehouse door?
MAZY, adj. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Shr. Brks. e.An. Som.
Dev. Also written maayzy Brks.' ; maazy Chs. ; masey
Shr.' ; maizy Suf. ; and in forms measy Chs." ; meazy
Lan. Chs.^ ; meezy Chs.' [me'zi, mea'zi, miazi.]
1. Giddy, dizzy, confused in the head.
w.Yks. Mi poor heead is like a whirligig an' aw'm as mazy as
can be. Hartley Clock Aim. (1879) 34 ; Them whirligigs makes
me mazy, Hlfx. Courier (May 29, 1897) ; w.Yks.^^" Lan. Bein'
mazy's when yor inside whuzzes reaund whol yo cawn't ston up
beaut stickin' to summat, Clegg David's Loom (1894) xv; Sumheaw
it made meh meazy, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 16. m.Lan.'
Chs. Aw'U may thi yed as maazy wi th' shippon stoo' as tha has
may'ditwi th'yell, CloughS. B?-«sA!'«/e (1879) 3; Chs.'"; Chs.^
An old woman who drank about three gallons of gin a fortnight
made no complaint except of 'being so oft meazy.' Der." nw.Der.i
My cowd mays me very mazy. Ev tha turns round a dhat'n, dha'll
be mazy. Shr.' Brks. G/. (1852) ; Brks.' G«k. followed by ' hke.'
' When I yeared what 'um had done I was zo took aback as to veel
quite maayzy-like.'
Hence (i) Maziness, sb. dizziness ; (2) Meazy-sow, (a)
sb. a stupid person ; {b) adj. giddy, empty-headed.
(i) Lan. Aw'U soon show yo what maziness is, Clegg Davids
Loom (1894) XV. (2, o) Lan. Th' unlucky meazysow ov o' uzbant
cudnah shift hissel, Scholes Tim Gamwattle (1857) 28. (6) s.Lan.
Bamford Dial. (1854).
2. Wandering, uneasy, unsettled ; semi-conscious, wan-
dering in one's mind.
n.Yks. Used only of conversation. ' He were bad in t'fever and
quite mazey' (R.H.H.). Suf. A sick man told me that his wife
was 'as maizy as a Jew,' i.e. kept going backwards and forwards
to his room (C.L.F.).
3. Mad ; eager for, madly desirous.
Som. A mazy ould vool, W. & J. Gl. (1873). Cor. They'm fair
mazy after it now (G.H.).
Hence Mazy-Jack, sb. a fool, idiot ; a parish fool.
Dev. Get tha gone out on't, tha gurt guttling gor-bellied mazy-
jack ! Madox-Brown Dwale Blulh (1876) bk. i. i ; Dev.^ Now Joe
Izard's dead us shall 'ave to find a new mazy Jack.
4. Sickly. e.An.'
MAZY, see Maishie.
MAZZARD, sb.'^ Sc. Irel. Yks. Lan. Not. Nhp. War.
Hrf Glo. Brks. e.An. Wil. Cor. Slang, [ma'zsd, mse'zad.]
The head or face.
Sc. It was but a switch across the mazzard, Scott Abbot {1Q26)
xix. Ir. ' Skull,' says I — and down they come three brown
mazzards, Edgeworth Bulls (ed. 1803) 129. w.Yks." A man
said to another man who had been fighting, and whose head and
face were bruised, ' My word, tha's getten a nice mazzard ! ' Lan.
A mazzard wi' aw teeth in't, Ainsworth Witches (ed. 1849) bk. 11.
v. Not. He gave him a clout over the mazzard and served him right
(L.C.M.). Nhp.'" War. He gave him a louk on his mazzard
(J.B.). Hrf. Robertson Gl. (1890) ; Hrf.', Glo.' Brks. Zich
spwoorts wur only meaned vor thaay as likes their mazzards
broke for love, Hughes 5com>-. White Horse (1859) vi ; Brks.' Did e'
zee what a raayre mazzard that ther chap had a-got ? e.An.' Suf.'
E' yeow dont take care baw I'll gee ye a lump i' the mazzard. Wil.
Dwon't'e be peart ... or I'll break thee mazzard vor thee, Akerman
Tales (1853) 31 ; Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.' Only in such
threats as : ' I'll break thee mazzard vor thee ! ' n.Wil. He've got
a turrible girt mazzard (E. H. G. ) . Cor.^ Only in such phr. as ' I'll gie
thee a clout on the mazzard.' Slang. You look desperate queer,
man, about the mazzard, Ainsworth Rookwood (1834) bk. v. i.
Hence Mazzard-oak, sb. a headed oak. Not. (L.C.M.),
Nhp."
[Let me go, sir. Or I'll knock you o'er the mazzard,
Shaks. 0th. II. iii. 155. P^fig. use of maser, a bowl ; see
Mazard-bowl.]
MAZZARD, s6." Irel. Wor. Glo. Ken. Wil. Som. Dev.
Cor. Also written massard Cor. ; mazard Lin. Glo.'
Dev. ; and in form mazer- Dev. [mae'zad.] 1. A small
black cherry, Pninns avium. Also used attrib.
Glo. Grose (1790) ; Gl. (1851) ; Baylis Illus. Dial. (1870) ; Glo.',
Ken.' w.Cy. Bailey (1721) ; (K.) ; Ray (1691). Wil.' w.Som.'
It is a common saying that to gather them ' you must hold on with
your nose and pick with both hands,' hence the usual remark upon
a hooked nose, ' He've a got a nose fit for a mazzard-picker.' Dev.
A small kind of cherries, black as well as red, but the black ones
the sweetest, which are frequently soak'd in brandy, to make
cherry brandy, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 271 ; He had no ambition
whatsoeverbeyond getting by honest means the maximum of mazard
cherries, Kingsley Westward Ho (1855) 4, ed. 1889; HewettPc«s.
Sp. (1892) ; Dev.'s, nw.Dev.' Cor. So fast es aw man could ate
massards, Jimmy Trebilcock (1863) 14 ; Her eyes were as black as
mazzards (F.R.C.) ; Cor.' ; Cor.^ In some places there are fairs
called after the fruit because it is in season when they take place.
Hence (i) Mazzard-brandy, sb. a drink made of small
black cherries; (2) -garden, sb. a cherry orchard; (3)
-pie, sb. a pie made of small black cherries.
MAZZARDY
[67]
MEADOW
(i) Dev.3 (2) n.Dev. (B. & H.) (3) n.Dev. Whe'r twur wort
or mazzard-pie, Rock Jim an' Nell (i86-]) st. 11.
2. The dwarf wild cherry, Prunus Cerasus. Also in
comb. Mazzard-cherry. Wor. (B. & H.), Glo.'^ Dev.
(B.& H.) 3. The h\r Acherry, Pnmus Padus. Lim. (B.& H.)
Hence Mazer-tree, sb. a black cherry-tree, prob. Prunus
Padus. Dev. (B. & H.) ; N.&'Q. (1851) ist S. iii. 467.
MAZZARDY, «^-. Glo. Dor. Som. Also written maz-
zerdy Glo.' ; and in forms mazzardly Som. ; mazzerdly
Glo.' [mas-zadi.] Of wood : knotty.
Glo.l Dor. I heard a labourer complain . . . that ' the mock was
so mazzardy he could get no spawJs [splinters] oiT of un wi' the
bital,' N. er Q. (1871) 4th S. viii. 462 ; Dor.' Som. (Hall.)
[A der. of ME. maser, maple-wood (Matzner) ; see
Mazard-bowl.]
MAZZEN, V. Yks. Lin. [ma-zan.] 1. To stupefy,
make dizzy ; to perplex, bewilder. Cf. mazle, 1.
e.Yks.i This noise mazzens ma seeah, Ah deeant knaw what
Ah's deein. n.Lin. N. & Q. (1852) ist S. v. 376; n.Lin.i
Hence Mazzening, ppl. adj. confusing. e.Yks.'
2. To be half drunk. n.Lin.'
MAZZERT,/!^. Lan.' [ma'zat.] Excessively vexed.
He'd his best Sunday black on, and he came smack i'th' slutch
and he wur mazzert, I'll a-warnt yo.
MAZZLE, see Mazle.
ME, pron. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Eng. and Amer.
Also in form mah n.Yks. [mi, unstressed form ma.]
1. Reflex, or as an ethic dative : myself, for myself
Cf her, him.
Ayr. I set me down wi' right good will, Burns Highland Lassie,
chorus. Wm. Thou must bind me it and top bind me it, Southey
Doctor in N. 6- Q. (i888) 7th S. v. 100. n.Yks. Ah . . . sat mah
down, Castillo Poems (1878) 17. w.Yks.^ I'll wash me (s.v.
Him). Chs.13 s.Chs.' Introd. 69. Not.', Lei.', Nhp.', War.23
s.Wor. I should like to have me one. I must get me a wife, Por-
SON Quaint Wds. (1875) 8. Shr.2 I'll goa and get me some mate.
Hrf.2 I must get me a wife. [Amer. My head aches me, Dial.
Notes (i8g6) I. 420.]
2. Unemphatic form of the nominative. Lei.', War.^
Cf. her, him. 3. Preceding a trans, verb, see below.
w.Yks.2 If you me believe, cousin, there were seven pints 0'
fat came out o' that goose.
4. Comb, (i) Me-aliye, (2) -'s-dames, exclamations, oaths ;
(3) -seems, it seems to me ; (4) -thinks, I think.
(i ) Ayr. A seam o' teeth she had, nae doot, . . But me alive ! she
took them cot Nicht after nicht, White Jottings (1879) 185. (2) Sc.
Ma's dames, quoth he, Colvil Whigs' Supplication (ed. 1796) 11.
275- (3, 4) Rut.' Spoken deliberately, and not as one word: ' Me
seems,' ' Me thinks.'
[On the disjunctive use of Me, see the Grammar.]
MEA-BERRY, sb. w.Yks. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] The cranberry, Vaccinium Oxycoccos. Lees
Flora (1888) 792. See Mea-wort.
MEACE, see Meech, Meitch, Mess, sb}
MEAD, s6.' Sc. Irel. Nhb. Nhp. Glo. Oxf. Brks. Ess.
Ken. Sus. Hmp. LW. Wil. Dor. Som. Also in forms
med- Nhp.'2; meead LW.' ; meud LW. ; myed Oxf
[mid.] 1. A meadow, field.
Sc. I met my bonny Pegg, right air, Comin' owr the mead alane.
Shepherd's Wedding (1789) 17. Sh.I. Keep ye a come at ye, an'
be apo' da mead aboot da time A'm reddy, Sh. News (July 21,
igoo). Mry. Lossie pours By haugh and flowery mead. Hay
Lintie (1851) 45. Per. The gowan on the simmer mead. Ford
Harp (1893) 262. Dmb. Come muirlan' birds and mourn a wee-
On heathy mead, Taylor Poems (1827) 18. Rnf. Picken Poems
(1813) I. 21. Edb. His hair he pouthers. An' frisks about in mead
or park Wi' mealy shouthers. The Complaint (1795) 4. Wxf.'
Nhb.' Still in common use. ' 'Th&beeses is i' the mead.' Glo. A
grass-field liable to be flooded (W.W.S.). Oif. The canal cutting
. . . leads a portion of this boat traffic along the Yarnton meads,
Stapleton Three Parishes (j.8g^) 311; Oxf.' Brks.' A be gone
down in the me-ad. Ess. jEPHSON^ssay, i8o. Ken. Used in place-
names. Foulmead, near Deal (D.W.L.). Sus.', Hmp.', I.W.
(J.D.R.), I.W.', Wil. (K.M.G.) Dor. A faint whiteness of more
than usual extent showed that the rivers were high in the meads.
Hardy Wess. Tales (1888) I. 15 ; An' where the river, bend by
bend. Do drain our mead, Barnes Poems (1869-70) 3rd S. 16.
n.Dor. (S.S.B.) Som. The meads that year was white as milk wi'
harse daisies, Leith Lemon Verbena (1895) 39.
2. Comb, (i) Mead-lands, meadow-land; (2) -ridd, a
certain custom peculiar to the copyholds of Cuckfield
manor, see below ; (3) -sman, an official in charge of the
common meadows, a hayward.
(i) Nhp.i2 (2) Sus. The copyholders have always claimed and
taken liberty to plow ridd and mead ridd, that is to say, to
fell and dig up by the roots any great trees that stand scatteringly
dispersed in their arable grounds or meadows, hindering their
plough and that pro bono reipublicae, and accordingly have used
this custom time beyond all memory. Customs Cuckfield Manor, in
Burrell MS. 5701, 159. (3) Oxf. The ' Meadsman ' has the
management of the business, and upon a certain appointed day
. . . takes a bag . . . down to the meadows and begins the draw-
ing, Stapleton TAr^ePamfes (1893) 308; Boats using this towing-
path pay toll to the meadsman, ib. 311.
[L A mede Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and rede,
Chaucer C.T. a. 89. OE. mmd, 'pratum' (JElfric).]
MEAD, sb?- Chs. Lin. Pem. Ess. Som. Dev. Also in
forms maethe Som. ; meath s.Chs.' s.Pem. ; meathe
w.Som^'; meeath Chs.'; math Chs.'^ [mid, mi)>, w.Cy.
also meS.] A drink made with honey.
Chs.' 3, s.Chs.' sw.Lin.' Made from the washings of the honey-
comb, after the honey is taken out, boiled with spices, and
fermented with barm. s.Pem. (W.M.M.) Ess. When some mead
or wind he tuck — He sed he was so thusty, Clark /. Noakes
.(1839) St. 78; Gl. (1851). Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.1
As a boy I well remember a certain house where an old house-
keeper used to regale me with meathe. She always had it at
hand, in a small barrel on draught. It used to be the usual drink
of hospitality. n.Dev. Let's have a glass of mead, Chanter Witch
(1896) 18.
MEAD, ME ADEN, see Make, v?, Meid, Maiden.
MEADER, sb. Dev. Cor. Also written meeder Cor.'
[mid3(r).] A mower. See Mead, sb}
Dev. Just then a sturdy meader came, With scythe and cider-
horn, Capern Ballads (1858) 15 ; I was wan ov the strongest men
in the parish, and wan ov the best meaders, Burnett Stable Boy
(i888)xxvii. nw.Dev.' Cor. TraHs. P/jjV. 5oc. (1858) 164; Cor.'
The meader walks forth with .his scythe on his shoulder, His
firkin in hand, so early in the morn ; Cor.'^ w.Cor. A mower of
hay, but since the use of the scythe has been introduced in the
cutting of corn . . . the word has been applied to a mower
generally, N. & Q. (1854) ist S. x. 480.
MEADLESS, see Meedless.
MEADOW, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Eng. and Amer.
Also in form midda e.Yks.' n.Lin.' [me'da.J 1. A field
set apart for hay in contradistinction to pasture land.
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; Fog was ommast as lang
as midda, Nicholson Flh-Sp. (i88g) 61 ; e.Yks.', ne.Lan.',
nw.Der.i, Lin. (W.W.S.) Glo. Any low flat grass-land, which
has not been plowed and is usually mown ; in contradistinction
to 'ground,' and 'ham,' Marshall Rur. Econ. (1789). [Amer.
Dial. Notes (1896) I. 342.]
2. Grass land by the side of a brook or river; low,
boggy grass land.
Bwk. Green bog or marshy ground, producing coarse grass,
mostly composed of rushes and other aquatic plants, Agric. Surv.
29 (Jam.). Nhp.' Glo. Common mowing-ground, subject to be
overflowed, il/oM^A/yil/fl^. (1801) 1.395. e.An.' e.Nrf. Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1787).
Hence Meadow-hay, sb. the hay which is cut from bogs.
Sc. Agric. Surv. 112 (Jam.). 3. pi. The dips or bottoms
of valleys in a state of perennial herbage. Midi. Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1796). 4. The cuckoo-flower, Cardamine
pratensis. n.Yks. (B. & H.) 5. Comb, (i) Meadow-
barley, the squirrel-tail grass, Hordeum pratense; (2)
•bout, (3) -bright, the marsh-marigold, Caltha palustris ;
(4) -bromus, a species of grass [not identified] ; (5) -crake,
the corncrake or landrsiX, Crex pratensis ; (6) -crake cut-
box,a machine for cutting fodder; (7) -crocus, the meadow
saffron, Colchicum autumnale ; (8) -drake, see (5) ; (9)
•frisky, the meadow fescue-grass, Festuca pratensis ; (10)
•kerses, the cuckoo-flower, Cardamine pratensis ; (11)
•maid, the meadow-sweet, Spiraea Ulmaria ; (12) -quake,
see (5) ; (13) -queen, see (11) ; (14) -rocket, the marsh-
orchis. Orchis latifotia; (15) -runagates, the creeping
XooststrUe, Lysimachia Nummularia ; (16) -soot, see (11) ;
MEAG
[68]
MEAL
(17) -sweet, the garden form of the dropwort, Spiraea
Filipendida ; (18) -warp, a mole.
(i) Sus, Marshall Review (1814) IV. 45. (2) Lan., Chs.^,Shr.J'
(3) Nhp."- (4) Stf. Marshall Review (1814) IV. 45. (5) Lin.
(E.F.), (E.P.), Lin.i, Nhp.i (6) n.Lin.i An old-fashioned machine
worked by hand, which makes a noise which is thought to be hke
the cry of the corncrake. (7) Yks. (8) n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.' Not.
Swainson Birds (1885) 177. s.Not. (J.P.K.) (9) Suf. (10)
nw.Dmf. Garden Work (1896) New S. No. cxiv. in. (11) s.Pem.
(W.M.M.) (12) n.Lin.'- (13") Rnf. The modest meadow-queen.
And lily near the lake, Fraser Chimes (1853) 1 10. Per. Here a
bunchy meadow-queen is Trying through a marsh to flounder,
Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 158. (14) Dmf. In Annandale
and by the border [it] is meadow-rocket, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 174, ed. 1876. (15) Nhp. (i6) Wil. Jefferies Gt.
Estate (1880) 37, ed. 1881 ; Wil.i (17) Nhp. (18) Lan. Owd
Roger o' Cherry Bob's, ut used to goo o' catchin' meadow warps.
Wood Hum. Sketches, 87.
MEAG, MEAGRAM, see Maeg, Make, sb?, Megrim.
MEAGRIES, sb. pi. Sc. Miseries, ills. Cf. megrim.
Lnk. A' ither meagries amang us are rife, Oh mony's the slain
in the battle of life, Hamilton Poems (ed. 1885) 225.
MEAGRIM, MEAK, MEAKE, see Megrim, Make, sb}^,
Make, v.^
MEAKER, s6. Dev. The ramnovi,Leitciscus phoxinus.
(Hall.)
MEAKIN, MEAKING, see Mekkin, Meeking.
MEAKS, int. Cum. An exclamation. See Mack(s.
What seesta 'at her ? Meaks she's nea greet things, Ritson
Pastoral Dial. (ed. 1849) 5-
MEAL, sb.^ and v.^ Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written meall Cum.' ; meeal n.Yks.^ e.Yks.' ; and in
forms maal s.Dur. ; mail Sc. (Jam.) Nhb."^ Chs.*^ ; maill
N.Cy.i ; male Sc. (Jam.) Gall. Uls. Shr.^ ; meil w.Yks.^ ;
mell Sc. ; mial Lakel.^ ; myel Nhb.' [mil, mial, mel.]
1. sb. In comb, (i) Meal-a-forren, a meal of meat over
and above what is consumed, a meal beforehand ; (2)
-'s meat, (3) -of-meat, (4) -'s victuals, food enough for
one meal, the food taken at a meal, a meal.
(i) GaU. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). n.Cy. (J.W.) (2) N.I.i
Uls. A' hae niver known what it was tae be ailin, or miss a male's
meat, M"^Ilroy Craig-limiie (1900) 30. Dwn. (C.H.W.) LakeL^
They're nlwer tul a mial's-meat when yan drops in o' them at
feeden time. Cum.* Ah wadn't give'm a meal's meat if he was
starvin. * He did not know the plaintiff was ailing. She was
never off her meal's meat,' W. C.T. (Mar. 10, 1900) 2,001.3. n.Yks.^
She helped them for a meeal's meeat. m.Yks.i w.Yks. They
worasgooidasameal's meyt tul him, Yiswa/j. (1880) 74; w.Yks.';
w.Yks.s Ther's a meil's-meit for thuh onny waay, lad — tak it an'
eit it. ne.Lan.', Chs.' s.Chs.' Dhur)z noo'bri uz)l gy'iv u pbour
mon u meylz-meet wen ee)z aa'rd iip iin waan-ts won [There's
noobry as'Il give a poor mon a meal's-meat when he's hard up an'
wants one]. nw.Der.i, Lei.' Shr.' I gid the mon a shillin' an' a
meal's-mate fur 'is job ; Shr.^ Nobody to gie him a male's mate.
e.An.' w.Som.' Do 'ee try vor t-eat, there's a dear — you 'ant a
had enough vor a meal's-meat [mae'ulz-mait] vor a rabin. (3) Sc.
(Jam.) Gall. Wi' the minister's meal o' meat to ready, and only
gomeril Hob to do it, Crockett Standard Bearer (i8g8) 143. Nhb.'
Aa hevn't had a meal-o'-meat thi day, hinny. (4) Oxf. (G.O.)
e.An.' It is not unusual to make the meal's victuals the wages
of some short chance job of work. e.Suf. (F.H.)
2. A milking ; the time appointed for milking.
Dur.' Lan. About one half from each cow each meal, Marshall
Review (1808) I. 318. e.Lan.' Chs. As each succeeding drop
which a cow gives at a meal exceeds the preceding one in richness,
Marshall Review (i8r8) II. 42; Chs.'^s n.Lin.' Milk is said to
be two, three, or four meals old ; that is, two, three, or four half-
days have passed since it was milked. ' Thaay do saay that Miss
Metcalfe was that near while she kep' her milk foherteen meal
ohd.' Suf.' She gon a pail brim full at a meal. LW. (C.J.V.)
Hence Meallin or Maillen, sb. the fixed time for milking
a cow. N.Cy.'
3. The quantity of milk which a cow or a herd yields
at one milking.
Cld. (Jam.), Nhb.', Dun' s.Dur. T'cow's gien a good ma-al o
milk to-neet (J.E.D.). Lakel.^ Cum.'; Cum.* The milk had
' turned' in the dairy, though only two meals kept, Rise of River,
346. Yks. It givesitsmSalofmilkat either end of theday(C.C.R.).
n.Yks.2, e.Yks.' w.Yks. (W.A.S.); w.Yks.'; w.Yks.^ That cow
has given a very poor meal to-night. Chs. The meal is immediately,
after milking in summer, cooled in quantities proportioned to the
heat of the weather, Marshall Review (1818) II. 42; Chs.' The
term is extended to cheese-making ; thus, if a cheese is made of
the morning's milk only, it would be called a one-meal cheese ; if
from the milk of two meals, a two-meal cheese ; of three meals, a
three-meal cheese. . . It is when the cows fall off in milk in the
autumn, and two meals are not sufficient to make a cheese, one
hears of three or four-meal cheeses. s.Chs.' The whole quantity
of milk obtained from a herd of cows at one milking. Two meals
of milk are, on an average-sized Cheshire farm, used to make one
cheese in the summer. nw.Der.' Lin. Why, there are three
meals of milk all mixed together here (J.C.W.). Lin.', n.Lin.'
sw.Lin.' She has g'en a good meal this morning. It taks one cow's
meal to serve the cade-lambs. Nhp.', War.'^a Shr.' The cows
sinken i' thar milk fast, I can see it less every meal. Hrf.^, Hnt.
(T.P.F.),e.An.'- Suf.RAiNBiRD/4^nr. (1819) 296, ed. 1849; (H.H.)
e.Suf. The hghtning has spoilt a whole meal of milk for me (F.H.).
Sus.'=, Dor.', Som. (W.F.R.) w.Som.' There, that's what I call
a good meal o' milk.
Hence Meallin or Maillen, sb. the quantity of milk
which a cow yields at one milking. N.Cy.', Nhb.'
4. Used as a suffix to form adverbs implying division.
Hrf.2 To tear a thing limb-meal. A pain came on fitmeal.
5. Phr. meals more, ever so much. [Not known to our
correspondents.]
Fif. Applied to one who is given to prodigality. 'Gie them meals-
more, they'll be poor' (Jam.).
6. V. To feed ; to have meals.
Sc. Syne the fe, they sal mell as it likes themsel, Waddell
Isaiah (1879) v. 17. Fif. He can work there, and sleep and meal
here, Heddle Marget (1899) 173.
7. To decrease the number of milkings of a cow.
h.Yks.^ ' We've meeal'd her,' in order to check the secretion,
which the usual milking tends to keep up ; a mode towards ' drying '
the cow before stalling or fattening her for the butcher. Chs.' ;
Chs.s You mun mail Cherry.
[2. OE. mal, a fixed, suitable, appointed time, season,
occasion (B.T.). ON. mdl, due time, meal-time ; hence of
cattle : missa mals, to miss the time, when sheep are lost
or astray for a day so that they cannot be milked (Vig-
fusson).]
MEAL, sb.^ and. v.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written meel Bnff.' Bch. ; and in forms mael
Sh.I. w.Yks. ; male n.Ir. ; mayl Lan. ; meeal Wm. n. Yks.^ ;
mehl Sc. ; meighl Lan. ; mel Sc. (Jam.) ; meol w.Yks.' ;
meyl w.Yks. e.Lan.'; meylle w.Yks.^; miel, mill Sc.
[mil, mial, meil, mel.] 1. sb. Ground corn before it is
dressed and bolted ; coarse or undressed flour.
Yks. Mind and ask for meal, and don't bring haver-meal (C. C. R.).
n.Yks.' Flour for ordinary household purposes, not so much
dressed as ' fine flour.' That which results from the grinding of
the mixed corn intended for pig-feeding, just as it falls from the
stones ; n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.', w.Yks.^, n.Lin.', Ken.', w.Som.' [Mor-
ton Cyclo. Agric. (1863).]
2. Oatmeal ; the flour of oats, barley, or peas as dis-
tinguished from that of wheat.
Sc. Her two next sons were gone to Inverness to buy meal, by
which oat-meal is always meant, Johnson Jrn. to IV. Isl. in Wks.
VIII. 240 (Jam.). Rnf. As weel To mak his choice whar he was
sure O'baith his maut and meal, Barr Poems {1&61) 162. Gall.
Ye need mony a bowl 0' meal to your ribs, Crockett Moss-Hags
(1S95) 226. Nhb.' w.Yks. Not so common now as ' oatmeal ' in
full (J.T.) ; Meyl-porridge and milk, Yksman. (1878) 10, col. i ;
w.Yks.i Lan. Meighl for porritch, ClEgg David's Loom (1894) iii.
ne.Lan.i,e.Lan.l,Der.(T.H.) Lin.THOMPSONf/isi.iJosfcK (1856) 714.
3. Comb, (i) Meal-and-ale, a dish consisting of oatmeal,
ale, and sugar spiced with whisky ; (2) -and-bree, ' brose,'
oatmeal porridge or ' hasty pudding ' ; (3) -and-bree night,
Hallowe'en ; (4) -and-kail, a dish consisting of oatmeal
and kail ; (5) -and-thrammel, meal and water or ale, see
below ; (6) -ark, a meal-chest or flour-bin ; (7) -bowie, a
barrel or cask for holding meal ; (8) -bread, bread made
of wheat, ground without sifting out theJsrJ*! ; (9) -cog,
a wooden vessel for holding meal ; (10) -corH or -'s corn,
every species of grain; a grain of meal ; (11) -draught,,
the llour-wagon ; (12) -girnel, see (6) ; (13) -grunder, a
miller or corn-grinder ; (14) -hogyett, see (7) ; (15) -in.
MEAL
[69]
MEALE
a dish made of oat or barley cakes soaked in milk ; (16)
-kail, see (2) ; (17) -kist, (18) -kit, see (6) ; (19) -maker,
obs., a miller ; (20) -man, (a) a miller, a flour-dealer, a
worker in a flour-mill ; (b) a huckster, an itinerant dealer ;
(21) -meat, farinaceous food ; (22) -mol, oatmeal ' parkin ' ;
(23) -monger, a meal-seller, one who retails oatmeal ;
(24) -mouthed, afraid to speak out ; soft-tongued, plausi-
ble ; (25) -poke, a meal-bag ; a beggar's wallet for holding
meal ; (26) -score, a bfll for flour ; (27) -seed, (28) -shod
or -shude, the husk of the oat when detached from the
grain ; (29) -skep, a small receptacle for meal ; (30) -stand,
a polished barrel for holding oatmeal ; (3i)-stone, a rough
stone of seventeen and a half pounds' weight, used in
Weighing oatmeal ; (32) -wean, (33) -wife, a female flour-
dealer ; (34) -wind or -wand, see below.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) Bnflf.i Made when all the grain crop is cut. (2)
Bih. By this time it wis time to mak the meel-an-bree, An deel
about the castocks, Forbes Jrn. (1742) 18. (3) Mry. (Jam.) (4)
Bnff,^ Consisting of mashed kail mixed with oatmeal and boiled to
a fair consistency. (5) Bnff. Properly a little meal put into the
mouth of a sack at a miln, having a small quantity of water or ale
poured in and stirred about. At times it is made up in the form
of a bannock and roasted in the ashes (Jam., s.v. Thrammel) ; He'se
get his mess O' crowdy-mowdy. An' fresh powsowdie ; O' meal
an' thrammel, Taylor Poems (1787) 25. (6) Sc. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (C.) Lth. In the corner between the dresser and the
meal ark, Strathesk More Bits (1885) 234. Dmf. The meal-ark,
a huge chest divided into two compartments — one for oatmeal, one
for wheaten flour, Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 19. Gall. We'll
empty the auld carle's meal-ark, Crockett Bog-Myrtle (1895) 230.
n.lr. Male-arks, an' pitatey-pits — fifty, at laste. Lays and Leg.
(1884) 66; N.I.i, Nhb.i Lakel.= A chest for kitchen or stable to
store meal in. Also, in a more common usage, a smaller meal
vessel for the purpose of containing in a portable way a portion
of meal for daily use. Cum.* The oaken aumbry and meal-ark
were seen in the wall, Rawnsley, 156. Wm. A think he'd hed
his heead itmeeal-ark, Clarke Spec. Dial. (1865) 16. n.Yks.^ For-
merly seen as a fixture in large old farm-houses, built of stone
slabs on the ground-floor. w.Yks. (C.W.D.) Lin. Here is her
meal-ark, Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 265. (7) ne.Sc.
The last act of her [i.e. the bride's] installation as gueedwife was
leading her to the girnal or mehl-bowie and pressing her hand
into the meal as far as possible, GregorF/*- Z.o« (1881) 93. Bnfif.i
(8) Nhp.' (9) Lth. Wi' meal-cogs an' kail-cogs, Smith Merry
Bridal (1866) 7. (10) Sc. I haena tasted meal's corn the day
(Jam.). Cal.' To have not a mealcorn, to be in the greatest want.
Abd. Nae sust'nance got that of meal's corn grew. But only
at the cauld hill's berries gnew, Ross Helenore (1768) 65, ed. 1812.
(11) n.Yks.2 (12) n.Sc. A large, square wooden trunk, known as
the 'meal-girnel,' Gordon Carglen (1891) 85. Abd. Ye maun
mind weel the auld tale o' the meal-girnel . . . though it be ca'd a
barrel i' the Bulk, Macdonald Castle Warlock (1882) liii. Fif.
Many an oak almerie and meal-girnel stood around, Grant Six
Hundred, ix. Gall. On to the lip o' the meal-girnel, Lap Robbin
and sang his sang, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 413, ed. 1876.
(13) n.Yks.= (14) Gall. Mactaggart ib. 339. (15) Bnff.l (16)
Sc. And there will be meal-kail and castocks, Ramsay Tea-Table
Misc. (T724) I. 87, ed. 1871. Bwk. Oatmeal ... as hasty-pudding
(provincially raeal-kail), Marshall Review (i8i8) I. 29. N.Cy.^,
Nhb.l (17) Frf. It is seldom they let their auld meal-kist gae
toom, Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) no. n.Yks.2 (18) Edb. A
mouse they had catched in the meal-kit, Moir Mansie IVauch
(1828) vii. (19) Lnk. John Bryce, mealmaker, in Cambusnethan
parish, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 108, ed. 1828. Edb. Meal-
makers came to truth to hald him Till time their friend was out of
strait, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 392, ed. 1815. (20, a) Yks.
(C.C.R.), n.Yks.2, m.Yks.i (A) Der. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ;
Der.'^ pt. i. 156. (21) n.Yks. We hev plenty o' meal-meat (I.W.) ;
n.Yks.2 (22) w.Yks. (E.G.) (23) Abd. To have purchased from
a mealmonger during the week would have implied improvidence,
Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 213. Per. Like a covetous meal-
monger, That knows the poor must starve with hunger. Unless
they give what price he pleases, Nicol Poems (1766) 165. Lnk.
My fadder stuid As quhyt as a mielmonger, Ramsay Gentle Shep.
(Scenary ed.) 719. Edb. Old Mr. Mooleypouch, the mealmonger,
Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xxiii. Dmf. Meal-monger Dick took
bwre the gate His craiken banes to recreate, Quinn Heather
(1863) 224. (24) Edb. Paid wi' crowns instead of pounds, Frae
meal-mouthed r— es or bankrupt lowns, LiddlePo«>«s (1821) 151.
Shr.i Yo' bin so despert meal-mouthed — afeared o' spakin w'en
yo' should'n. (25) Sc. Shame be in my meal-poke then, Scott
Bride of Lam. (1819) v. Sh.I. Bairns . . . often cried for a krOl
when the mael-pock was empty, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 208.
Abd. He'll cairry a meal pyocli yet, ere a' be deen, Alexander
Ain Flk. (1882) 96. Slk. He rested his meal-pocks on the corner
of the table, Hogg Tales (1838) 276, ed. 1866. Ayr. No ae handfu',
— no even a cauld potato, — in your meal-pock, Galt Sir A. Wylie
(i822)xvii. Edb. Ballantine Gafe)-fe«^rj>(ed. 1875) 12. Gall.Many
beggars still carry a wallet in which they collect meal, generally
in handfuls, at houses in the country. This meal they most usually
sell (A.W.) ; To rake the rent frae aff the soil. Else twig the meal-
powk's strings, Mactaggart ib. 333; He often insisted to take the
mealpowk by the string, and follow him at his trade, which was
much better than farming, ib. 378. n.Cy. (J.W.), n.Yks.^ Lan.
He wur patient when th' mayl-poke wur low, Cy. Wds. (Nov. 17,
1866) 40. ne.Lan.i (26) n.Yks.^ (27) Sc. They are used for
making sowens or flummery (Jam.). Cai.i Edb. These shells,
thus separated, and having the finer particles of the meal adhering
to them, called mill seeds, are preserved for sowins, Pennecuik
Wks. (1715) 87, ed. 1815. Lakel.2 The fine inner skin which is
found on haver. w.Yks.l, ne.Lan.l (28) n.Yks.^ Lan. They are
preserved in oat-shells, vulgarly called meal-shudes, Marshall
Review (1808) I. 296. (29) Nbb.' (30) Per. A 'single' ploughman
had only two items of luggage — his kist and his meal-stand, Hali-
burton Furth in Field (1894) 2a. (31) Gall. Mactaggart /A. 339.
(32, 33) n.Yks.^ (34) n.Sc. To meal-wind a. bannock or cake, to
rub it over with meal after it is baked before it is put on the girdle
and again after it is first turned (Jam.). Rxb. Lassie, melwand
that banna {ib^.
4. Phr. (i) nouther seeds nor meal, neither one thing nor
the other; (2) the meal came home short from the miller,
expectations were disappointed.
(i) Nhb.i (2) Kcb. He cuddled an' kissed her an' ca'd her his
doo, But the meal cam' hame short frae the miller, Armstrong
Ingleside (1890) 217.
5. V. Of grain : to produce meal.
Sc. The beer disna meal that dunze weel the year (Jam.) ; The
crops in the western part of Scotland were bulky, yet they did not
meal well (W.W.S.).
Hence Meal'd, pp. ground into powder. n.Yks.'^
MEAL, sb? Lakel. Lan. Chs. Lin. e.An. Also written
meel Lin. ; and in forms meol Lake!.' Lan. Chs. ; miel(e
Nrf. Suf. [miL] A sand-bank or sand-hill, freq. in proper
names. Gen. in pi.
Lakel.^ Found frequently in proper names — Esk Meals, Meals-
gate. Cum.* Lan. There is an extensive parish called North
Meols ... in the sandy district to the south of the estuary of the
Ribble, N. tf Q. (1854) ist S. ix. 409. Chs. Along the sea-margin
of the tongue of land between the rivers Mersey and Dee, the
sand has been thrown up in domes. Two little hamlets built
amongthose sand-hills are called North and South Meols, ib. (1853)
ist S. vii. 298 ; Place in the Wirral, on the mouth of the Dee,
pronounced 'mels' (J.W.). Lin. STREATFEiLoLin. and Danes {1884)
232. e.An.i Nif.'WHiTEDirect. {1832) 18; Trans. Phil. Soc, {18^5)
34; (K.) nw.Nrf. Brancaster Meals, Blakeney Meals, and Wells
Meals are among those most dreadedbythe mariner, iV. & Q.^iS^^)
ist S. vii. 208.
Hence (i) Meal-bank, sb. a sand-hill or bank of sand
blown up by the wind ; (2) -marsh, sb. low sandy land
reclaimed from the sea.
(i) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 77. e.Suf. (F.H.) (2)
n.Nrf. The fascinating but little known region of the 'meal-marshes'
which fringe the North Norfolk coast, Cornh. Mag. (Mar. 1899)
313; The 'meal-marshes' belonging more to land than sea, but
wholly under the dominion of the salt water, which intersects
them in creeks broad and narrow, and at spring tides floods the
whole, !6.; Low sandy land, lying between Holkham and Blakeney
(U.W.).
[Norw. dial, niel, a_sand-bank along a lake or river-course
(Aasen) ; ON. meir, a sand-hill grown with bent-grass,
then gen. a sand-bank whether overgrown or bare, freq.
in Icel. local names ; mel-bakki,z.S2L'!\&-h3.-ak. (Vigfusson).]
MEAL, see Mail, sb}^, Mell, sbP; Mod, sb}
MEALE, sb. ? Obs. Or.L Also written meel (Jam.) ;
and in forms mail S. & Ork.^ ; meil(e, meill, miel. A
measure of weight.
The stipend consists of 86 mails malt (each mail weighing
about 12 stone Amsterdam weight). Statist. Ace. V. 412 (Jam.) ;
6 settings make i meel, ib. VII. 477 ; On the first is weighed
[EALER
[70]
MEAN
settings and miels, ib. 563; 6 settings makis an meale, . . 24 meales
makis an last, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 130; Eighteen meils
make a chalder, Wallace Desc. Or. I. (1693) 41, ed. 1883; Four
meills four settings malt, twa meiles twa settings meil [meal],
Peterkin Notes (1822) 129 ; S. & Ork.^ Equivalent to about 7I
stones Dutch.
[OE. mixl, ameasure (Leechdoms) ; ON.wa/(ViGFUssoN).]
MEALER, s6. e.An.^ A large white moth that appears
to be covered with meal. See Miller, 4.
MEALER, see Meller.
MEAUNG,s6.and V. Sc. Also in forms maeleii,maelin,
mellen Sh.I. ; mellin S. & Ork."^ [mi'lin, me'lin.] 1. sb.
A chest for holding meal. Abd. (Jam.) 2. pi. The meal
kept to dust over bannocks before they are baked. S. &
Ork.i 3. Comb, (i) Mellin's-balley, (2) -brunnie, a cake
of meal.
(l) Sh.I, Da mearest foonder oot o' da edge o' a mellin's bailey
is a' dat a body can tak', Stewart Tales (1892) 247. (2) Sh.I.
' Heas doo mair levin i' da basin ? ' ' Yiss, a maelens-briinnie,
dat's a',' Sh. News (Nov. 4, 1899) ; Here's da mellen's-brunnie,
lay him apon a col, ib. (June 4, 1898).
4. V. To dust or sprinkle with meal.
Sh.I. Shu bjuk oot anidder bannik an' maelin'd him weel, Sh.
News (Nov. 4, 1899).
[1. Fundus, a meeling, Duncan Etym. (1595)-]
MEALING, MEALL, IVIEALLER, see Mailin(g, Mail,
s6.i3, Mailler.
MEALOCK, sb. Sc. Also written meallock Pen;
meelack Bnff.*^ [mrlsk.] A crumb of oatcake, a small
fragment of bread.
Bnfif.^ * Shack the meelacks oot o' the truncher.' ' Meelackie ' and
* wee meelackie ' are in common use. Abd. I . . . got the guid o' the
mealocks and skailin's o' inspiration frae the poopit abeen my held,
GRmo Logie o' Buchan (1899) 183 ; (G.W.) Kcd. I'll . . . eat the
mealocks ye lat fa' Fan ye get bread an' cheese. Grant Lays
(1884) 22. Per. Munchin meallocks frae my pockets, Spence
Poems (1898) 170.
MEALOM, sb. Sc. [mrlsm.] A very dry potato
when boiled. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 339.
MEALS, MEALTITH, see Miles, sb. pi.'', Meltith.
MEALY, adj} Var. dial, and coUoq. uses in Sc. and
Eng. Also written meally Cum.^ ; meealy n. Yks.^ I.W.' ;
meUy w.Yks. [mMi, miali, meili.] 1. Dusty with meal,
meal-stained.
Abd. Awa wi' your mealy miller, Kinloch Ballad Bk. (1827) 14,
ed. 1868. Ayr. He was dressed in hodden-grey, mealy, dirty, and
sair worn. Hunter Studies (1870) 73. Edb. Mealy bakers, Hair-
kaimers,crieshygizy-makers,FERGDSsoNPo«>«s(i773)i74,ed.i785.
2. Of the colour of oatmeal, a pale yellowish-white.
Nhb.^ 3. Of the weather : mild and damp.
Wil.^ 'Twar a oncommon mealy marnin'.
4. Comp. (i) Mealy-bag, a beggar's wallet for holding
meal ; (2) -bird, the young of the long-tailed duck, Harelda
glacialis ; (3) -crushy, oatmeal fried in dripping; (4) -moth,
the lesser whitethroat, Curruca garntla ; (5) -mouth, [a]
a smooth-tongued person ; a plausible, hypocritical tongue ;
(b) the willow-warbler, Phylloscopusirochilus ; (6) -mouthed,
{a) reticent, reserved, afraid to speak out ; plausible,
smooth-tongued, hypocritical ; {b) dainty, fastidious in
eating ; (c) applied to a bay or brown horse having a light-
coloured muzzle.
(i) Ayr. Weel brac'd wi' mealy bags, Burns Jolly Beggars (1785)
1. 16. Edb. Ane clad in hoden grey, Wi' mealy bags and hollan
kent, LiDDLE Poems (1821) 23. (2) Nrf. Swainson Birds (1885)
162 ; Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 51. (3) N.I.i (4) s.Pem.
Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421. (s, a) Wm. He's a mealy-mooth
(B.K.). {b) w.Yks. Swainson ib. 26. (6, a) e.Sc. Ca' him a saunt,
Wilhe, if ye're so mealy mou'ed, Setoun Sunshine (1895) 323.
Abd. He sudna be that mealy mou'd aboot the best that's yon'er,
Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xxix. s.Sc. She'll no be sae
mealy-moothed as I am, Wilson Tales (1836) III. 69. Dmb. You
were by nae means mealy mou'd In blamin' others, Salmon
Gowodean (1868) loi. Ayr. The Earl of Argyle has received a
mealy-mouthed letter from that dissolute papist the Archbishop of
St. Andrews, Galt Gilhaize (1823) i. Lnk. The fine temperance
leddy mem ! The mealy-mouthed maimber n* the Guid Templars !
Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 141. Bwk. To admire an' fawn an'
flatter Aye as mealy-mou'd ye please, Calder Poems (1897) 257.
N.I.i Ant. A'U no be mealymouthed the next time, Ballymena Obs.
(1892). S.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890). Lakel.= We du't care fer . . .
eny body 'at's mealy-moothed's o' that sooart. Cum.i, n.Yks.^*
w.Yks. Bud it's parlus speiking it : folk's so meilymowthed now a
days, Tom Lee (1875') 80. Lan. Grumblers an' fratchers, an' mealy-
mouthed folk, Dottie Rambles (1898) loi. ne.Lan.i, chs.i Not.
(J.P.K.); Not.iAh knoo what shay's after, shay need'nt be so
mealy mouthed. s.Not. A don't trust noat she says; she's too
mealy-mouthed (J.P.K.). Lin.i War.s He is a mealy-mouthed
rascal. Suf.i Ah, yah! she's a mealy-mouthed 'an— she fare as if
butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, but cheese wouldn't choke her.
Ess. Had John bin mealy-mouth'd, 'tis plain . . . He'd lost his gal,
Clark/. iVoate (1839) St. 29; G/. (1851). e.Sus., Hmp. Holloway.
I.W.i Wil. Slow Gl. (1892). w.Som.i He idn no ways mealy-
mouthed— he told'n his mind right out. CoUoq. I tell you you
needn't be mealymouthed with me, Hughes T. Brown Oxf. (1861)
xxxiii. (6) War.3 He is too mealy-mouthed. He will be glad
some day of the food at which he now turns up his nose, (c) Cura.i*
MEALY, adj?- Wm. Spotty, disfigured by blotches or
spots, marked with blemishes. (W.H.H.) See Mail, sA.'
MEAMUA, see Mee-maw.
MEAN, sb} Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. ' 1. Obs.
The tenor part in music ; a tenor.
War.s I remember it certainly to 1855, but used only by old
members of the village choir, and other old men. Brks. Ther wur
Dick the treble and Jack the mean, Hughes Scour. White Horse
(1859) 170.
2. Instrumentality ; a means.
n.Sc. It was a mean to make me live by faith, Wodrow Soc. Sel,
Biog. (ed. 1845-7) II- I22' Abd. It might have been a mean to
have staid many from rising in such a desperate business, Spalding
Hist. Sc. {Tl']<)'2S II. 192. Ayr. The dreadful woe . . . most wonder-
fully made a mean ... to effectuate our escape, Galt Gilhaize
(1823) xxvi. Lnk. Folk soud use ilk lawfu' mean To mend a faut,
Watson Poems (1853) 9. Edb. He excelled also in that unusual
mean of knowledge, catechizing, Wodrow Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed.
1845-7) II- 37- . ,
3. Property, substance ; tackle, implements.
Dis burope is no fit ta trust your mean till, boys, Sh. News
(May 6, 1899) ; He's comin' dead frae da laand. I wiss ta Him 'at
made wiz 'at wir mean wis i' da boat, ib. (Sept. 17, 1898). Edb.
To try to grasp her Httle mean, Liddle Poems (1821) 117.
4. pi. Phr. by that means, consequently, for that reason.
Nhp.i It rain'd, and by that means she could'nt come.
[1. The mean is drowned with your unruly base, Shaks.
Two Gent. i. ii. 95. Cp. It. mezsdno, a mean or counter-
tenor in musick (Florio).]
MEAN, adj. and sb?^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Eng. and
Amer. Also written mean Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) ; and in
forms meean n.Yks.*; meeon w.Yks.* ; mein Sc. ; myen
Oxf ^ [mm, mian.] 1. adj. Held in common, or in equal
shares ; also used advb. in common.
Sc. Their wes ane piece of mean grass betwixt them, Ayr. and
Wgt. Arch. Coll. IV. 166 (Jam. Suppl.) ; A mein pot plaid never
even, Ferguson Prov. (1641) 6. Bwk. Where daucin' in the auld
mein-barns Was held till break o' day, Calder Poems (1897) 119 ;
We watched the laden carts return To the mean-yaird beside
the burn, ib. 96. Cum.^ Mean field, a field in which the several
shares or ownerships are known by meerstones or other boundary
marks; Cum.* Mean fence — A stone wall on the fellside which
when in disrepair, must be put in order by the two tenants whose
land it divides ; ib. The custom connected with a mean-field is as
follows : the one tenant (he may be the absolute owner of the
land) has the right to take off the hay-crop only, whilst another
tenant has the right of eatage for the rest of the year. At times
it is only a part of a field that is in mean, it is then marked off from
the rest by meerstones or by reans. Lan. That we would go
mean at ploughing, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 94 ; We concluded
to get John Dickenson to measure our ground we had plowed
mean, ib. 116.
Hence Meaner, Meaner, or Menare, sb. a mediator,
adjuster, one who divides and marks off in equal portions
land which is held by joint tenants. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
2. Of inferior quality.
Lin.i n.Lln.i Applied to food or drink. ' This tea's very mean.'
Oxf.i Uuy doo kaul dhat u myen- set uuwt [I do call that a myen
set out].
3. Of bad character, worthless, naughty; angry, unkind.
n.Yks. Mean as muck (T.S.) ; n.Yks.i ' He's nobbut a mean un.
MEAN
[71]
MEANY
yon chap ' ; a person of very indifferent character or reputation.
' It's varra mean deed, living as he hves ' ; n.Yks.* He's aboot ez
meeanezthamak'em. Sha'smeeaneneeaftihungert'baa'ntideeath.
ne.Yks.i It's a varry meean tthrick. He corns yam as meean as
muck. w.Yks. He was very mean with her. I war ganging by
t'field, and there war Willy Lowis' bull. I couldna rin, and 'ea
cam and leuked at me across t'stile. ' Is ta gaen to be mean ? ' says
I (E.L.). [Amer. Dial. Notes {1896) I. 390.]
4. In bad health or condition.
Lin. I tell a shepherd that there is one of his sheep dead in a
certain field. He replies, ' I'm not surprised, fur it has looked very
mean a longwhile' (J.C."W.). Pern. He is but mean, this long time.
She was feelin' very mean, when I seen her (E.D.).
5. sb. Anything shared between two ; a common, un-
enclosed land.
w.Yks. Watson Hist. Hlfx. (1775) 543 ; w.Yks.* Glo. Lands
not inclosed. Forest of Dean, Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
6. Phr. in mean, in common, in joint ownership.
Cum.* At times it is only a part of a field that is in mean. ' Eatage
of which common is in meane between Thos. Whinney and Wm.
Nicholson,' Extract from Manorial Court Bk.; None shall shear
any grass upon any raines or hedge-backs which is in meane
betwixt Gropes (!) and Gateside, ib.
[1. OE. gewicene, mcene, 'communis' (B.T.). 2. ME.
mene, mean, common, poor (P. Plowman).^
MEAN, v.^ Var. dial, uses in Eng. Also in forms
main(y Dev. ; meean n.Yks. e.Yks.' w.Yks. Lan. s.Chs. ;
meon Yks. ; menie Som. ; meyny Dev. [mln, misn,
men.] 1. In phr. (i) to mean on, to mean, intend; (2)
— one well, to mean well to one, to mean to do good to
one ; (3) — to say, to say.
(i) e.Yks.i What's tha meean-on, deein that? (2) n.Yks. Thou
meeans us beeath weel, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 34.
w.Yks. (J.W.) (3) w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Chs.i Siim foa'ks meyiinfln
tu see iiz th) Toa-riz un got'n in [Some folks meeanen to see as
th' Tories han gotten in].
2. To matter, signify, to be of any account ; to need
taking into consideration.
w.'i^ks. Ther wor noa moor cordial i' th' bottle nur what aw
could do wi' misen, so that didn't mean, Hartley Tales, 2nd S. 75 ;
It meeans varry little to me which it is, Shevvild Ann. (1854) 24 ;
■w.Yks.2 It doesn't mean. Lan. Then aw'st look a queer seet, but
aw guess it we'ant meean, Standing Echoes (1885) 12. Stf., Der.
(J.K.), Der.2, nw.Der.' Not. ' This piece of cheese is heavier than
you told me to cut.' ' Oh ! that won't mean ' (F.G.R.) ; It means
nothing to me (J.H.B.). Lin.' There are no weeds in this field to
mean anything. n.Lin.i You maay get a few shillin's, bud you'll
not get oht to mean onything oot on him. Lei.i, War.^
3. To make signs ; to signal, beckon, nod.
Som. If I did see her to the back, I'd menie to her to know how
Robert was (T.K.L.) ; Ai meaneed Zally to come nigh, Frank
Nine Days (1879) 62. w.Som.' Aay mai'nud tiie un dree* ur
vaawur tuymz, bud ee diid'-n tak- ut [I signalled to him three or
four times, but he did not comprehend]. I ax yer pardon, sure,
z'r — I thort you mai-nud to me. Dev. I meyny'd to 'n, and then
he know'd all about it, Pulman Sketches (1842) 115, ed. 1871 ; She
squeezed ma arm, and main'd twid be, Tozer Poems {1873) 59;
Dev.i Her nadded and mean'd to en, that a shud come by the vire,
ig. n.Dev. Nelly, my chuckie, mainy to 'un. Rock Jim an' Nell
(1867) St. 26.
MEAN, 1/.2 and sb? Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Also
written meen(e Sc. Cum.' ; mene Sc. (Jam.) ; and in forms
meean Lakel.' e.Lan.^; mein(e, meny Sc. ; meon w.Yks.'
[min, misn.] 1. v. To utter a moaning sound, to wail ;
to complain ; to bemoan to indicate pain.
Sc. (Jam.) ; The mavis menyed in her song, Aytoun Ballads
(ed. 1861) I. 27. Gall. When a horse e.g. which has anything
wrong with its foot or leg winces when it is touched, it is said to
'mean 'it (A.W.). N.Cy.' Cum. Gl. (1851) ; Cum.' A horse
walking lame is said to meen the lame foot ; Cum.* Obs. Wm.
He was sean gaen ith end, thof he hed meand him this hoaf year,
Wheeler Dial. (1790) 47, ed. 1821. w.Yks.' Shoe meaned hersel
like a cowshut, ii. 288. Lan. It's kom'n to a pratty pass ot a boddy
munna meean' 'im when hee's unjustly flogt. Walker Plebeian Pol.
(1796) 52, ed. 1807. ne.Lan.' A cow when very ill and moaning
is said to be meanin herself. e.Lan.'
Hence Meaning, sb. an indication of pain or lameness,
a shrinking. N.Cy.^
2. To pity, condole with.
Sc. Condemn him not but aye him meine For kindness that
before has been, Henderson Prof . (1832) 25, ed. 1881 ; They that
wash on Wednesday, Are no sair to mean, Chambers Pop. Rhymes
(1890) 388 ; He's really no to mean for his meat if he wad tak it,
Ferrier Inheritance (1824) I. iv. Bnff. Taylor /'ocms (1787) 172.
s.Sc. There's no a family wha wad be mair to mean, Wilson Tales
(1836) II. 164. Rnf. PicKEN Poems (1813) I. 81. Ayr. Charlie's
no to mean wi' his match, Galt Entail (1823) xxi. Edb. I find the
rich as grit to mean 's the poor, Learmont Pofwi (1791) 305. Dmf.
Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 350. Nhb. He's not much to mean
(W.G.) ; Nhb.i She is much to mean. Cum.* Pretendin some
unlucky wramp or strean For Cursty's kind guid-natured heart to
mean, Relph Misc. Poems (1747) 17. Wm. (K.)
3. To complain of, blame, resent.
Abd. I dinnamein them to be merry And lilt awa, Skinner Pofws
(1809) 43. Per. All the tyme of his sickness he never . . . meaned
any pain, WoDROw Sac. Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) !• '"• Edb. His
sad affront was sairly mean'd. As ane of their society, Pennecuik
Wks. (1715) 389, ed. 1815.
4. In law : to complain, to make a complaint, to state
a case before a tribunal for the recovery of a claim.
Sc. Let Romish frogs return to Rome And meane them to the
Pope, MAiDMENTPa5^M;75 (1868) /«/ro</. 17; Their cace did humblie
meene Oft to the Counsell and the Queene, Rogers Reformers
(1874) 107. Abd. The gentleman rode over before the day,
meaned himself to the Lordsof theCouncil, who continued the diet,
Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 52. Frf. Unto your Wisdoms humblie
means and complains I, James Nickle, Edb. Antiq. Mag. (1848)
153. Per. Having meined to the Session how greatly they have
been burdened, Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) II. 296.
Rnf. Unto your Lop [Lordship] : Humbly means and shews, I,
Mr. John Davidson, Hector Judic. Records (^i8']6)2g. Lnk. Having
meaned herself to the Council, they did take off the contumacy for
her noncompearance, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 213, ed. 1828.
5. sb. A moan, lamentation ; a complaint, esp. in phr. to
make one's mean.
Sc. She heard a puir prisoner making his meane, Kinloch Ballads
(1827) 131. Or.I. Like a bothy i' terrable pain, makin' meen,
Fergusson Rambles (1884) 245. n.Sc. He maks a great mene for
himsell (Jam.). N.Cy.', Lakel.' Cum. Sits by his greave and oft
maks a sad meane, Anderson Ballads (1805) 1 12 ; Away I sleeng'd,
to grandy made my mean, Relph Misc. Poems (1747) 2.
[1. Nu es here nan jjat wil fiam mene, Cursor M.
(c. 1300) 18255. OE. mcenan, to lament, mourn, com-
plain (B.T.).]
MEANELS, sb. -pi. Obs. N.Cy.^ Spots called 'flea-
bites ' in white-coloured horses.
MEANEVERS, adv. Shr.^ Meanwhile.
MEANG, see Mang, t;.'
MEANING, sb. Lan. Chs. Lin. e.An. Also written
meeanin s.Chs.' [mianin.] L Matter, consequence.
n.Lin.' Niver mind, doant truble thy sen aboot it, it maks no
meanin' which awaays it is.
2. An intimation, hint, hkelihood ; a slight symptom.
ne.Lan.' e.An.' I felt some little meaning of fever this morning.
3. pi. Intentions.
s.Chs.' Ey)z ii laad" wi ver-i giid meyiinins [Hey's a lad wi'
very good meeanins].
MEANOLAS, sb. Cor. Also written meneolas Cor.=
A kind of stove ; see below.
Cor.' It was a square box filled with stones and clay, used by
fishermen in their boats, before the invention of stoves, as a fire-
place on which they dressed their meat ; Cor.^
[OCelt. maen {men), a stone + olas, a hearth (Williams).]
MEANT, sb. Yks. Lin. Dev. Also written ment Dev.
[ment.] Meaning ; importance.
e.Yks.' Ah've a strange, queer feeling i'my innards; Ah knawn't
meant-ont. w.Yks. ^ He could not tell what was 'the meant o' this
cat.' Are these letters of any meant ? n.Lin. N. & Q. (1852) ist
S. V. 376. Dev. I want to know, sir, what's the ment of it ?
Reports Provinc. (1886) 97.
MEANTIME, sb. Sc. In phr. in the middle of the mean-
time, meanwhile.
Cai.' Edb. In the middle of the meantime, I was expatiating
to Mungo on what taste it would have, Moir Mansie Wauch
(1828) xix.
MEAN-WATER, sb. ? Obs. Stf. A voiding of blood
by cattle ; bloody water voided by cattle. (K.), Stf.'
MEANY, see Menyie.
MEANYGATE
[72]
MEARCE-POT
MEANYGATE, sb. Lan. A common pasture or walk
for cattle. See Mean, adj. 1.
MEAPEE, V. Obs. Dev. To show a dislike to any-
thing by making a disagreeable sound with the hps and
the mouth. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 270.
MEAR, sb. and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written meare Gmg. Som. ; meer N.I.'^ Lakel.' Cum.*
Wm. w.Yks.i Chs.* Der. nw.Der.^ Nhp.i Glo.' Brks. Nrf.
Sur. I.W. Som. ; meere n.Lin.' ; meir w.Yks. ; mar- Ir. ;
mere n.Cy. Nhb.^ Lakel.^ Wm. n.Yks.i w.Yks. Chs. Not.^
n.Lin.i Lei.^ Glo.= Brks.^ e.An.i Nrf. s.Cy. Wil.' Som.;
mier Nhb.^; and in forms mar Lin.^n. Lin.'; marae.An.';
mare Nhb.^ ; meara e. An.^ ; mire Wor. e. An.' Nrf. ; myre
Nrf [mTr,mia(r.] 1. s6. A boundary, limit ; a landmark.
Nhb.i, Lakel.2, Yks. (K.), n.Yks.' Chs.' Obs., but still found
in combination. Not. The sand mere (J.H.B.); Not.' n.Lin.'
Where a person knows his own land by meres or boundaries,
Survey of Manor of Kirton-in-Lindsey (1787). Lei. Beluoire
Priory, standing upon the utmost part of the shire, almost upon
the very mere. Burton Desc. Lei. (1622) 43 ; Lei.' There being no
direct meer between them. Wor. (H.K.), Shr.' Obs. Gmg. The
meares and boundaries [of which] have been time out of mind,
Baker & Francis Surv. Gower and Kilvey (1870) 161. Glo. Baylis
Illus. Dial. (1870) ; Suf.', Hmp.', I.W. (C.J.V.) Som. W. & J.
Gl. (1873).
2. A balk or strip of grass left as a boundary in common
fields or between different properties ; a grassy ridge of •
ground.
Nhp.' This mode of division is superseded by modern inclosures,
and the term has consequently become obs. Glo. Baylis lUus.
Dial. (1870) ; The strip of grass that runs round a field under the
hedge (S.S.B.) ; Grose (1790); Gl. (1851); Glo.'2 Brks. Gl.
(1852) ; Brks.1 e.Cy. Ray (1691). e.An.i Nrf. N. & Q. (1852)
ist S. v. 321. s.Cy. Ray (1691). Wil. Banks of grass, too steep
to plough, on a hill-slope between two ploughed parts (K.M.G.) ;
Wil.' A turf boundary between the downs on adjoining farms :
formed by cutting two thick turves, one smaller than the other,
and placing them, upside down, with the smaller one on top, at
intervals of about a chain along the boundary line. 'The strips [in
a " common field "] are marked off from one another . . . by a
simple grass path, a foot or so wide, which they call " balks " or
" meres ",' Wil. Arch. Mag. XVII. 294. ' Two acres of arable, of
large measure, in Pen field, lying together and bounded by meres
on both sides,' Hilmarton Par. Terrier (1704). Som. Hervey
Wedmore Chron. (1887) I. 181.
3. A line of stones down a field which have been picked
out of the plough's course. Shr.' 4. A grass road ; a
private carriage road between two estates or grounds.
n.Cy. Holloway. Nhp.' A grass lane, near Hunsborough Hill
in the vicinity of Northampton, which separates the estates of two
neighbouring country gentlemen, is called ' The Meer' or ' Meer
Lane,' and a similar lane in an adjoining parish bears the same
name. Brks. (W.H.Y.) Wil. Holloway.
5. Comp. (i) Mear-balk, a balk or strip of unploughed
land, forming a boundary, esp. in open fields, a ridge or
bank of earth or sand forming a boundary ; (2) -bank, a
separation ; (3) -bath, see (i) ; (4) -field, an open field in
which the several shares or ownerships are known by
boundary marks ; (5) -furrow or -fur, (a) a furrow marking
a boundary ; (b) the grass which grows close to the hedge-
side or bottom ; (6) -oak, an oak forming a landmark ;
(7) -path, a path dividing two properties ; (8) -stake, obs.,
a tree or pollard standing as a boundary mark of the
divisions of a wood or coppice ; (9) -stang, obs., a land-
mark ; (10) -stone, a stone set up as a landmark ; (11)
-stoup, a boundary post ; (12) -tree, a tree planted to
mark a boundary ; (13) -walk, see (i).
(i) n.Lin.l, Nhp.', Lei.', e.An.'^ Nrf. Trans. Phil. Sac. (1855)
34 ; Suf.' (2) Nrf. Grose (1790). (3) Nrf. Morton Cyclo. Agric.
(1863). (4) Lakel.', Cum.* Obs. (5, a) Lin. Morton Cyclo. Agric.
(1863). n.Lin.' Now frequently used to signify the boundary
fence between one property and another where the meerefurrow
has been before the land was enclosed. 'He flops his sen doon
e' a dikin nigh-hand th' foot-trod agean J R 's marfur.'
Lei.' (b) Lin.' (6) w.Yks. 2 A division between Sheffield and
Wadsley. Shr.' (7) Brks.' (8) Sur. (K.) (9) Wm. {ib.) (10)
Nhb.' From thence by mere stones set up in the Langstrother
to the dyke of Gernsyde, Hodgson Nhb. III. pt. ii. 397. Lakel.'
There are still stones so standing. Cum. Dawson of Thackthwaite
shall plowe no further . . . then the jury have sett meer stones,
Hodgson Century of Paines (1883) 35; Cum.* Obs. Wm. Shifting
0imerestanss,'Ru-n:onBranNewWark{i']8=,')\.3OT. n.Yks.' w.Yks.
HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781); w.Yks.' Chs. These intakes were
wholly unfenced, mere-stones at the corners alone marking the
boundaries of each quillet. Sheaf (1880) II. 109 ; Chs.' They are
sometimes placed in a hedge to show where one man's portion
terminates and another's begins. Sometimes put at the corners
of a quillet or loon, to show the property of an individual when
lying unenclosed amongst other lands. There are many such
stones on Halton Hill. Not.', n.Lin.' Lei.' Hit's the mere-stone,
sir, as marks the mere between Cadeby an' Osbas'on. Nhp,',
War. (J.R.W.), Wor. (H.K.), Shr.' Obs., Brks.', Wil. (K.), WU.l
Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873); (W.F.R.) (11) n.Lin.l (12) Chs.'
(13) Brks. (K.)
6. Obs. A measure of land containing lead ore, of varying
length ; see below.
Der. The bar-master attended and received a measure or dish
of ore, the first produce of the mine, as the condition of permitting
him to proceed in working his meer or measure of 29 yards of the
vein, Marshall Review (1814) IV. no ; In some places the meer
is 32 yards and in others 29 ; and they are distinguished by
' Lords Meers,' ' Founder Meers,' and ' Taker Meers,' Mander
Miners' Gl. (1824) ; The miner then is free From losing any meer
of ground or grove, Manlove Lead Mines (1653) 1. 31 ; A custom-
ary measure of land ... to which a Derbyshire miner is entitled
when he finds a metallic vein. Formerly a Derbyshire meer in
the Low Peak contained 29 yards in length, and in the High Peak
31 yards in length, the breadth of a meer in both districts being
from skirt to skirt. . . Now, however, by the recent statute, . . so far
as relates to the High Peak, every meer of ground shall contain 3a
yards in length. Tapping Gl. to Manlove (1851) ; (K.) nw.Der.'
Hence Meer-stake, sb. a wooden stake driven into the
surface of the ground to show the extent of a meer.
Der. Driven into the ground in the middle of a cross ; sometimes
at every Meer's End, and sometimes only at the beginning and end
of the whole Meers, the better to find their boundaries, Mander
Miners' Gl. (1824) ; A pin of wood driven into the superficies of
the earth by the bar-master, at the end of the founder's meers, at
the time they are freed in order to show their extent or end. . . In
the High Peak, a meer stake is not now necessary, Tapping Gl. to
Manlove (1851); Main-rake Meer-stake gave this sage advice,
FuRNESs Medicus (1836) 33.
7. V. Obs. To mark out or measure land.
Wm. The Scotch Burial Ground . . . never had any trustees for
itself alone, being only meered or walled off and excluded from
the title, Curwen Kirkbie Kendal (1900) 84. Chs. A place where
a paier of gallowes stande, . . and that meareth and devideth the
lib'ties, Sheaf (18S0) II. 31 ; Meeringe and devydynge of Church-
yarde, Par. of Prestbury (1600) 44, in Cheet. Soc. XCVII ; Chs.'
Probably quite obs., but in a deed, dated 1679, a man was permitted
' to meere out ' an acre of common land, and to build upon the land
'so meered out.' In a deed made in 1775 occurs the following
phrase ; ' from the common called or known by the name of great
Lindow as the same is now meered out by meters and bounds.'
Shr.' In a copy, dated 1714, of the Terrier of the Oswestry Schools'
lands, taken in 1635, is the following : ' One parcel of meadowing
. . . meared by two oakes one att each end thereof.' Som. (Hall.)
Hence Hearing, (i) sb. a boundary ; (2) ppl. adj. marking
a boundary dividing two estates, parishes, &c.
(i) Mry. Aslip of uncultivated ground of various breadth between
two corn ridges, Agric. Surv. Gl. (Jam.) Ir. This river. . . was
the march ditch or merin between our farms, Carleton Traits
Peas. (ed. 1843) I- nS. N.I.' Don. Billy starts up an' lifts the
tether to lead the goat to the mearin' of the parishes, Cent. Mag.
(Feb. 1900) 605. Myo. You see . . . those two poles ? the line
between them marks the mearing of the two lands, Stoker Snake's
Pass (1891) iv. (2) Hmp.' A mearing ditch.
8. To iDound, border, be contiguous with.
Dwn. Haven't you a fancy for that farm of Gunion's that meats
your land? Lyttle Betsy Gray (1894) 53.
[1. And Hygate made the meare thereof by West,
Spenser F. Q. (1596) bk. iii. ix. 46 ; Meer, marke be-twene
ij londys. Prompt. OE. gemcere (meer- in comps.), a
boundary (B.T.).] ^ v i- 1,
MEAR, see Mare, sb.^
MEARCE.POT, 56. Yks. A bedchamber utensil.
w.Yks. It wor varry little bigger ner a raearce-pot, Yks. Wkly.
Post (Oct. 17, 1896),
MEARTY
[73 J
MEASLY
MEARTY, MEARY, see Mighty, Mary.
MEAS(E, sb. Sc. I.Ma. Dev. Cor. Also written mese
Sc. ; and in forms mais Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) ; maise Sc.
(Jam. Suppl.) I.Ma. ; maize nw.Dev.^ ; maze Sc. (Jam.)
I.Ma. n.Dev. [miz, mez.] A measure used in counting
herrings of varying quantities ; see below.
Sc. The number is five hundred, but . . . they are 'long hundreds ' :
hence a mais of herrings is 600 herrings (Jam. Suppl.) ; Mese of
herring conteins five hundredth, for the common use of numeration,
and telling of herring, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 87 ; The supply
of fresh herrings . . . was uncommonly large ; twelve boats, some
of them having nearly forty maze (a maze is five hundred) having
arrived in the morning, Caled. Merc. (July 24, 1815) (Jam.). I.Ma.
The mode of reckoning is by scores, of which six score form the
hundred and five hundred the 'meaish' (Gaelic), mease, or maze,
as spelt in some old Manx statutes, by which term they are sold,
consisting of 620 herrings, N. dr-- Q. (1874) 5th S. ii. 417 ; Dan . . .
shook the herrings into the hold. ' Five maze at least,' said Quil-
leash, Caine Deemster (1887) 66, ed. 18S9 ; His outstretched arm,
at the end whereof was a herring. . . ' Ten maise of this sort for
the last lot,' ib. Manxman (1894) pt. iv. vii. n.Dev. At Clovelly,
Bucks, Bideford, Ufracombe, and as far as Lynton, herrings are
sold by the ' maze ' or ' meas ' of 612 fish. This number is arrived
at in the following way : — the herrings are counted by the handful
of three fish, called a ' cast,' and thus when 40 casts have been
counted, 120 fish have been reckoned, equal to a ' long hundred ' ;
10 more 'casts' are counted, and the number reached by the
addition of these thirty more fish is 1,50. Then the fisherman
calls out ' cast ' and throws in another cast, completing the number
to 153 fish. This process repeated four times gives the number
of 612 fish, . . and makes up the maze or meas, N. (f Q. (1874) 5th
S. ii. 167 ; Large quantities of herrings have been caught at
Clovelly. One fisherman, James Small, brought in about twenty
mease (mease, 600). The prices realised have fallen so low as 55.
per mease, IV. Morning News (Nov. 23, 1895); Clovelly is cele-
brated for its herrings. The fishery is in the autumn, and tlje fish
are sold by the maize, of 612 fish, ^anrf-iA. (ed. 1877) 67. nw.Dev.^
Cor.2 505 herrings.
[A mayse of herynge, allistrigium, Catk. Angl. (1483).
O^.^'Weiss, a wooden box, a basket used for packing
herrings, hence meisa sild, barrel-herrings (Vigfusson) ;
MLG. mese, meise, ' ein Mass ftir trockene Sachen'
(SCHILLER-LIJBBEN).]
MEASE, v.'^ Sc. Nhb. Also written mees Sc. ; mese
Nhb.^; and in forms meisSc. (Jam.) ; meise s.Sc; meyse
Cai.^ [miz.] 1. To soothe, mitigate, calm.
Sc. He that crabs without cause should mease without mends,
Ray Prov. (1678) 368 ; May ruing heaven mees thy care, Jamieson
Ballads (1806) I. 58 ; He should be seindle angry that has few to
mease him, Henderson Prov. (1832) 2, ed. 1881. Cai.'- s.Sc.
God meise the means, Wilson Tales (1836) III. 235. Nhb. Thus
to mese my waes, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (.1846) VI. 39 ;
Nhb.i
2. To soften, mellow fruit.
Rxb. As by putting fruit into straw or chaff (Jam.).
[1. Musand the meine mycht meis hir euer mair, Sat.
Poems (1567), ed. Cranstoun, I. 41 ; Bot othir lordis that
war [him j by Hes meased the king in sum party, Barbour
Bruce (1375) xvi. 134. Cp. ME. amese, to calm (Dest. Troy) ;
OFr. amesir (Godefroy).]
MEASE, v.^ Yks. Also written meease Yks. [miz,
miaz.] To be absent-minded, 'wool-gathering,' lit. to
muse or maze (q.v.). Cf. measen.
Yks. There's a mint mair thowt on an' kenned than sike as yey
can think uv, 'at gans meeasin' aboot at yal inds t'deeathruf, Mac-
QUOiD Doris Barugh (1877) xxv. ni.Yks."^ Somewhat ails our Nance,
or she would never go measing about, at all ends, the day through.
MEASE, see Mess, sb.'^
MEASEN, V. Yks. Also in forms mooizen w.Yks. ;
mooysen w.Yks.* ; mouizen w.Yks. To be in a dreamy
state ; to act slothfuUy ; to mope, fret. See Mease, v.^,
Muse, v}
m.Yks.' When not hungry a person is disposed to ' measen over
his meat.' w.Yks. Has ta nought to do but sit mooizening like
that? (S.P.U.); w.Yks.*
MEASHIE, see Maishie.
MEASKEEN, s6. Obs. Wxf.' A flat-bottomed basket
for straining potatoes, &c. Cf, maishie.
VOL. IV.
MEASLE, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written meazle, meezle Sc. ; and in forms
maisle Ant.; mezzil w.Yks.^ Lan.^ e.Lan.^ s.Chs.' Den
nw.Der.i Shn^ ; mezzle e.Lan.' Chs.' s.Chs.' Shr.^ [mrzl,
me'zl.] 1. sb. A spot, pimple.
s.Chs.i Wey wot)s maat-ur wiiyii ? Yur fai-s iz au' oa-r mez'ilz
[Whey, what's matter wi y6 ? Yur face is aw o'er mezzilsl.
Hence Measled, adj. (i) spotted, blotched, marked with
pimples ; speckled, mottled ; (2) of meat : having the fat
and lean well blended together.
(i) Lnk. Lift up your meazled heads ance mair,Z'«rs Halloween
(1856) 25. Dmf. It dreeped down Sawney's meezled shin, Cromek
Remains (^1810) 88. e.Lan.i, s.Lan. ( S.B.) s.Chs.i Yoa bin mezild
au 1 oa-r. nw.Der.' He must drink very 'ard, 'is face is finely
mezzilt. Nhp.i The flesh of a healthy child is often said to be
mezzled. ' The child looks very nicely, it's little flesh is so mezzled.'
(2) Nhp.' A butcher would say, ' It's nicely mezzled with fat.'
2. Comp. (i) Measle-face, a face covered with red pimples;
(2) -faced, having pimples, having a spotty, inflamed com-
plexion ; (3) -flower, the garden marigold, Chrysanthemum
segetum.
(i) w.Yks. 2 Lan. When he coom in ogen he glooart awvishly
ot mezzil fease, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 36; Lan.i
Der. Hartshorne Salopia (1841). (2) Lan. Grose (1790) MS.
add. (P.) War.^ (3) Wil.i Children have an idea that they may
catch the complaint from handling the plant.
3. //. A disease in swine ; small-pox in sheep.
Suf. YouNG^K«<i/5^^n'ir. (i784-i8i5)XlX.299. Ken.^ [Bailey
(1721).]
Hence Measled, ci^'. of animals : diseased, affected with
the measles.
w.Yks.2 Applied to a horse, in a diseased state. e.Lan.*, Chs.^
s.Chs.i We speak of pigs being mezzled. So also 'mezzled pork.'
Shr.i It is popularly supposed that food given to pigs when it is
too warm, will induce a mezzled condition of flesh. * Tak' car' as
yo' dunna gie them lickle pigs thar mate too warm, or we sha'n
'ave 'em all mezzled ' ; Shr.^ ' Th' auld sow's mezzild like, I think
as how ul die.' The word ' mezzild ' describes a pig which has ' the
flesh full of tiny blobs of water all over the body ; the cheeks are
not so bad as any other part ; the fat as bad iviry mossel, but nod
so visible like to the eye.' e.An.^ The hog is measled.
4. V. To cause the legs to become speckled by sitting
too close to a fire. Cf mizzle, v.^
Ant. Get up oot o' that an' dae some work, an' no be maislin'
your shins at the fire (W.T.K.).
Hence Maisled, ppl. adj. of the legs : speckled from
sitting over the fire. ib.
[1. Cp. MLG. niasele, massele, ' rother, juckender Haut-
fleck ' (ScHiLLER-LtJBBEN) ; Mt>u.maschelen, red spots on
the legs caused by sitting too near the fire in winter
(OUDEMANS).]
MEASLIN, see Maslin, sb.^
MEASLINGS, sb. pi. Yks. Lin. e.An. Also written
measlins Lin.i ; and in forms meslings Lin. ; mezlings
w.Yks.^ ; mizzlings Lin. [mrz-, me'zlinz.] The measles.
w.Yks. ^ 'What aals yar barn, Missis ? ' ' Shoo's gotten t'mez-
lings ! ' Lin. Skinner (1671) ; Then we'd the mizzlings and the
kingcuflTs and baulks (J.W.) ; Lin.', e.An.'
MEASLY, adj. Sc. Yks. Wan Oxf Mid. Ken. Also
written measely n.Yks.^ ; meazly e.Ken. ; and in form
maeslieSc. [mi'zli.l 1. Spotted; having a white scurfi-
ness on the skin. Cf measle.
n.Yks.2 w.Yks. 2 A man is said to have a 'measly face.'
Hence Maeslie-shankit, adj. having the legs speckled
through being too near a fire.
Lnk. How cou'd ye confess sae muckle to maeslie shanket
Marion, Graham Writings (1883) II. 22.
2. Of swine : diseased, having ' measles.'
Ken.2 ' A measly hog.' "The liver is always decay'd ; and there
are here and there in the lean flesh, on cutting it, small white spots
or pimples which seem to be C3-sts or bladders of fat.
3. Fig. Poor, inferior, small ; contemptible.
Sc. When I came back it had changed into this measly sodger,
Tb&s, 2nd S. (1889) 17. War.2 w.Wid. They were a poor measly
lot of heifers, not worth half what he gave for them. He's such a
measly sort of fellow, I never can get on with him (W.P.M.%
e.Ken. What meazly apples ;G.G.).
L
MEASURE
[74J
MEAT
4. Mean, miserly.
War. 2 Oxf. He's a measly humbug ; you won't get anything out
of him (G.O.).
MEASURE, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Eng. and
Amer. Also in forms meezer, meezure, mezzur Nhb.' ;
misser Sh.I. ; missour Sc. ; mizzer Chs.' [me"g3(r,
me'z3(r.] 1. sb. A speciiied amount or quantity varying
in different districts, a bushel ; see below.
Nhb.i Wm. Of oatmeal, 16 quarts, Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863).
Lan. Of potatoes, 90 lbs., ib. Ctis. Of wheat, 38 quarts-75 lbs.;
of barley and oats, 38 quarts = 9|^ gallons ; of malt, 32 or 36 quarts
= 8 or 9 gallons, ib.\ Ch&.^ The measure varies for different
materials and in different localities. A measure of wheat varies,
sometimes in neighbouring parishes, from 70 lbs. to 75 lbs. or 80 lbs.
Oats are generally 45 lbs. to the measure ; in Chester 46 lbs. ; and
in some districts 50 lbs. A measure of beans weighs 60 lbs. ; of
potatoes 84 lbs. ; Clis.^ A Winchester bushel of corn ; Ctis.^ A
bushel [Winchester] of corn. Guer., Jer. Of apples, about 3
bushels, Winchester; of potatoes, 14 pots = 7 gallons, Morton
Cyclo. Agric. {186^). [Amer. Specifically, a four-quart measure,
Dial. Noles (1896) I. 421."!
2. The act of measuring, measurement.
Sh.I. Wid Donald Ertirson sleep soond if he saw ane takldn a
skjOpfu' o' herrin', lat alane a hauf o' kishie oot afore da misser? Sh.
AezBS (Aug. 13, 1898). Wor. Judging from a measure we made by
foot-steps it is almost 700 yards round the base, Allies Antiq. Flk-
Lore (1840) 70, ed. 1852.
3. Phr. to have a person's measure, to have all their good
and bad qualities noted. Sc. (A.W.) Nhb.' Aa hev yor meezer.
4. IVIoderation.
Sc. He that forsakes missour, missour forsakes him, Fergusson
Prov. (1641) 13,
Hence Measurely, adv. in moderation, moderately.
Eat and drink measurely, and defy the mediciners, ib. 11.
5. A vein or layer of coal. Stf.^ 6. v. In phr. (i) to
measure for a new jacket, (2) — for a warm suit of clothes,
(3) — one's back with a stick, to thrash, beat, flog.
(i) Ken.i Now, you be off, or I'll measure you for a new jacket.
(2) Hrf.2 (3^ s.Not. Ah'll measure yer back wi' this stick, if yer
don't goo (J.P.K.).
MEASURING, prp. and vbl. sb. Irel. Nhb. Ken. Also
in formmeezerin Nhb."- \. prp. In co;«j*. (i) Measuring-
bug, a caterpillar ; (2) -stick, a stick used in planting
potatoes.
(i) Ken.' (2) Nhb.i Used in planting garden potatoes by measur-
ing each drill off and setting the line to it.
2. vbl. sb. A charm supposed to cure ' heart-fever' (q .v.).
Don. Women have . . * heart-fever,' . . wise women are able to
cure it by ' measuring.' They measure round the body over the
heart with a green string, Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 256.
MEAT, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Amer. Also in forms maet Sc. ; mait Sc. w.Yks. Cor.'' ;
mate S. & Ork."^ N.I.^ Chs.' ; mayte Dev. ; meeat n.Yks.^
e.Yks.^; meht Sc. ; meight Lan.; meit Sc. (Jam.); met
Sh.I. Wxf.^ ; mete Cld. ( J am.) ; mey t e.Yks. w.Yks. e.Lan.';
meyte Dev. [mit, miat, met, w.Yks. meit.] 1. sb. Food
in general, victuals, board ; a meal.
Sc. My father and my uncles lay in the hill, and I was to be
carrying them their meat, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xxi ; He pays
me meat and fee, Scott Minstrelsy (1802) I. 318, ed. 1848. ne.Sc.
[Riddle] ' I geed by a hoosie. An it wis fou o' meht. But there wiz
naither door nor window T'lat me in to eht? ' [Answer] ' An egg,'
Gregor Flli-Lore (1881) 79. Abd. Maister Trahvis gied me my
mait, Macdonald Lossie (1877) xxv. Frf. She . . . hath scarcely
tasted meat since Monday night, Barrie M. Ogilvy (i8g6) 37. Per.
Ye sa'na want yer meat, Willie. . . I've cakes an' butter, cheese an'
eggs, Stewart Ctiaracter (1857) 137. Rnf. Oh, parritch is medi-
cine, Parritch is meat, An' parritch is muscle an' bane, sirs, Neil-
son Poems (1877) 109. Ir. Won't yer Rev'rence bless the mate,
if ye plase, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 161. N.I.', Dwn.
(C.H.W.), n.Cy. (J.W.) Cum. They (i. e. porridge) are good meat
(W.K.J ; Cum.* A workman will hire himself out at so much per
week and his meat. ' Huntin's nobbet a ratchan kind o' busi-
ness, and it taks o' t'meat out of a body's belly,' Dickinson Cumbr.
(1876) 289, n.Yks.i ' What wages are you getting now, James ? '
' Wheea, aighteen pence an' ma' meat's aboot t'mark.' He gets 's
meat at 's dowther's ; n.Yks.'', ne.Yks.i w.Yks. That tidy lewkin
lass . . . wor both meyt an' drink to me, Cudworth Dial. Sketches
(1884) 5 ; Ha' sud we get on baat meyt ? Ylis. Wkly. Post {^May 8,
1897). Lan. It would become Sir Adrian Landale o' Pulwick —
Barrownite— to have 's meat i' the kitchen. Castle Light of Scar-
they (1895) II ; Th' clock strikes nine afoor aw've t'chonce To
get a bite o' meyt. Standing Ecltoes (1885') 4 ; God never sends
mouths but He sends meight, Waugh Snecli-Bantfiii6&) i. ne.Lan.'
I get I2S. a-week an' my meat. Chs.' s.Chs.i Uz fill li mis'chtif
liz iin eg)z fill u mee't [As full o' mischief as an egg's full o' meat].
Stf.', n.Lin.i, Shr.i w.Som.i This here's rare trade ; 'tis mai-t,
drink, and clothes. Dev. Love be moar than drink or mayte,
Salmon jBaWarfs (1899) 63. s.Dev. (G.E.D.) Cor. We might so
well go up an' get a bit o' meat, Lowry Wrectzers (1893) 75 ; The
best custom we ha' got es a drap av best brandy after meat, For-
far Pentowan (1859) i ; Cor.' ^
Hence (i) Meatable or Meat-yabble, adj. having a
capacity for food, hungry, having a good appetite ; (2)
Meaties, sb. pi. food for infants or very young children.
(i) n.Yks.2 ' I's ower meeat-yabble to be blate.' A reply to a
request to eat. (2) Rnf. (Jam.)
2. Food for animals or birds, provender for horses or
cattle ; chaff, hay.
Sc. (A.W.) N.I.' The horse dos'nt take his mate now at all.
Dwn. Buttermilk meat [meal and buttermilk food for birds]
(C.H.W.). e.Dur.i Only used in this wide sense, when speaking
of animals' food, ' Give the hens their meat.' Yks. The food of
fowls, cattle, and of animals generally. Hen-meat, Bird-meat,
Horse-meat (C.C.R.). e.Yks. We've had lots o' meeat this back
end, fog was ommast as lang as midda, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889)
61. Chs.i Lin. Morton Cyc/o. yj^g-n'c. (1863). Hrf.i
3. Flesh.
Sh.I. Hit'll geng troo da place if ye mak' use o' her maet (J.I.).
Cor.2
4. Beef, as distinct from mutton, &c.
e.Yks.i w.Yks. A butcher's boy many years ago who used to
go round asking, ' Do you want ony meat or mutton ? ' (J.T.)
5. Bacon as distinguished from butcher's meat. n.Lin.'
[Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 391.] 6. Cattle or sheepi
when fit for the butcher, fat cattle.
Lin.' I shall want a deal more for them beasts for they are meat
now. n.Lin.' We may sell them six yohs as soon as ther's a chanch,
thaay're meat ony time.
7. Comp. (i) Meat-ax, a poll-axe ; (2) -bane, a broad bean ;
(3) -board or -borde, a dining-table ; a board on which
food is dressed ; (4) -earth, the natural soil or surface of
the land, esp. such as is good and fertile ; (5) -hale or
-heal, having a good appetite, in good health ; (6) -house,
a larder ; fig. a house where a liberal allowance of good
food is given ; (7) -like, having the appearance of being
well-fed, well-nourished ; (8) -list, appetite ; (9) -16m or
-lum, a vessel in which food is cooked ; (10) -midder or
-mither, the food-provider or mistress of a house, one who
serves out food ; (11) -nut, the fruit of the chestnut,
Castanea vesca ; (12, a) -rife, abounding with food ; {b)
ready for meals ; (13) -shop, (14) -spot, see (6) ; (15) -spoon,
a table-spoon ; (16) -stint, lack of food ; (17) -wage, having
board only as wages ; (18) -ward, of peas : soft and tender
when boiled ; (19) -ware, (a) potatoes, pulse, and other
farinaceous food ; (b) of soil : fertile, producing good peas
or beans ; of peas or beans : soft and tender when boiled,
good for food ; (20) -whole, see (5) ; (21) -year, the season
for crops, &c.
(i)Not.(J.H.B.) (2')Cor.2 (3)Wxf.',n.Lin.i (4) w.Som.i As distin-
guished from clay, gravel, or sand. There is often abundance of
meat-earth on virgin soil where the plough has never been. Dev.
A top o' that comes meat airth, Baring-Gould/. Herring (1888)
12 ; Dev.3 The soil which lies directly under newly-cut turf. It is
considered the most fertilizing earth to be had, and is especially
used for potting. Cor.' ; Cor.2 A load of good meat earth. (5)
Sc. The wonted ' A' meat hale, mony braw thanks ' was in-
stinctively uttered, Saxon and Gael (1814) I. 44 (Jam.). Abd.
' Hoo's a' your ain folk ? ' ' Brawly— meat-hale and hearty,' Guid-
man Inglismaill (1873) 36. Kcd. I'm glad to hear ye're a' meat
hale, Jamie Muse (1844) 159. w.Sc. Your a' abune the blankets, I
hope, meat hale, Carrick /.a/rrfo/iog-aw (1835) 91. Lnk. She's
meat-heal, and ay working some, Graham Writings (1883)11.53.
Nhb.i He's heath meat he-al and druk he-al ; thor's little or nowse
the mitterwuv him. s.Dur. Thou's meat-heal at ony rate (J.E.D.).
Lakel.2 All's i' gay good fettle, thenk ye, er ye o' meat-hial at your
hoose ? Cum. Thank yeh ; we're aa meat-heall at heamm (E. W. P.) ;
[EAT
[75J
MEDDLE
Cum.i ; Cum.3 Barnes, some nine or ten, Menseful, meat-heal, fat
an ruddy, 168. n.Yks.2, m.Yks.i, w.Yks.i n.Lan. He's meat-heal,
whether he's genteel or not, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) I. 97.
ne.Lan.' (6) n.Ir. ' It's weel fur ye,' sez I, ' it's no a bad meat-hoose
yer in, my lass,' Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 14. Cum. He was
yance aks't ta yan 6' ther slapish meet hooses, Farrall Betty
IVilsoM {1B86) 61. n.Yks.2 They keep a rare meeat-house. w.Som.i
The larder of the county hospital is always so called. (7) Sc. He's
baith meat-like and claith-like (Jam.). Cai.^ (8) w.Cy. Grose
(1790) Suppl. w.Som.i Taffety is er? let'n bide a bit ; I'll warn
he'll zoon come to his meat-list. n.Dev. And cham come to my
meat hst agen, Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 560. (9) Sh.I. A similar
vessel . . . was long preserved in the North Isles as a maet-lOm for
any animal supposed to be suffering from the evil eye, Spence
Flk-Lore (1899) 166 ; S. & Ork.l (10) Sh.I. The mistress of the
house was looked upon as the maet-midder, Spence Flk-Lore (1899)
208; S. & Ork.l (^ii) Dev.i- (12, a) w.Sc, Rxb. Siebald Gl.
(1802) (Jam.), {b) n.Yks.2 (13) Cum." On a Cumberland farm,
which is known as a ' good meat shop,' the hands get their teas
sent out to them everyday, W.C.T.X. (1892) 3, col. 2. (14) ne.Yks.'
It's nobbut a middlin meeat spot. (15, 16) n.Yks.^ (17) She nobbut
gets a meeat-wage, ib. (18) Dev. Horae Subsedvae {iTT}) 271.
(19, a) Dor. N. &= Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 45 ; Dor.i (6) Sora. W.
& J. Gl. (1873'^. w.Som.' Pease grown upon some soils will not
boil — i. e. do not swell, and only become hard and shrivelled.
Such soils are well known, and are said not to be meat-ware. Also
used to describe peas or .beans which are good boilers, and fit for
food. They paise I had o' you wad'n meat-ware ; we was fo'ced
to have 'em a ground for the pigs. Dev. Theaze peyze han't meyte-
werne. They da bwoyle za hard's a boord, Pulman Sketches (1842)
Ii5,ed. 1871. (20) n.Yks.i,m.Yks.i w.Yks. Ah've bed one dinner
to-day but Ah'm meat- whole yet (S.K.C.). e.Lan.i (21) Sh.I. A
guid pact year wis never a ill maetyear, Spence i^tt-Lore (1899) 228.
8. Phr. (i) meat and mense, both food and politeness ;
see below ; cf. mense ; (2) — for manners, of a horse :
receiving board in return for the use of it ; (3) to fall from
one's meat, to lose appetite ; (4) to have one's meat do one
no good, to be discontented, churlish ; to be vexed, dis-
appointed, or humiliated.
(i) N.I.i Ye shud still ax a frien' t'take a bit o' whativver's goin',
if he diz, why A vs^ish him his health , an' much good may it do him ;
if not ye hae yer meat and mense both. Ant. If you offered food
to a. visitor and it was declined owing to not being required, it
would be said, ' You had baith your meat [food] and your mense,'
Ballyntena Obs. (1892). e.Dur.i Lakel.2 They'd a slaved biath
ther meat an' ther m.ense if they'd ass'd us ta hev a cup wi' them.
Cum. I've saved ray meat and my mense (J.A.). (2) e.An.l Nrf.
Wanted, pony, meat for manners, for winter months, n.An, Dy.
Press (Nov. 2, 1894). (3) Lnk. I'm gettin' auld an' frail, An' fa'in
frae my meat, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 155. (4) Not.' Lei."^
His meat don't do him no good.
9. V. To feed, provide with food ; to board.
Sh.I. "Wha can affurd ta pay a growin' boy, or a wumman, auch-
teen stilres for a day's wark an' met dem apo' da best ? Sh. News
(Mar. 4, 1899). Boh. He lives, an' sail be seen well clad. An'
meated well enough, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 31. Abd. In Aberdeen-
shire where farm-servants ' meat ' in the house, the bill of fare is
not of a very high-class order, Jokes, ist S. (1889) 11 ; I thochtye
wud 'a maetit a' throu' ither, Alexander /o/iKHy Gibb (1871) vii.
Frf. What richt hae I to keep kye when I canna meat them ?
BaRrie Minister {i6gi) xxvi. Per. For want o' eggs we couldna
meat a stranger, Stewart CAararfcj- (1857) 189. Cld. (Jam.) Dmb.
Toiled late and ear' to meat himself and me, Salmon Goivodean
(1868) 97. Gall. We maun . . . toil to meat us too, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 360, ed. 1876. Yks. (C.C.R.) n.Yfcs. ' So-and-so
is meated in the house' isquite thecustomarymannerof expression,
Atkinson Moorl. Parish (1891) 44 ; n.Yks.i We meats em a' ;
lodgers, an' daytal men, an' a'; n.Yks." ne.Yks.^ He meeats
hissen, an' ah weshes him. e.Yks. Mowers . . . meate themselves.
Best Rur. Econ. (1641) ; e.Yks.i Ah've ten shilhns a week, an Ah
meeats misen, MS. add. (T.H.) m.Yks.i w.Yks. Tha's seen hah
ah meyted an rowt, Preston Poems, tfc. (1864) 26. Hrf.12 Cor.'
Mait the pigs ; Cor.^
10. To fill with grain.
Sh.I. Dis is da mUn 'at maets da corn, da auld folk said, Sh, News
(Sept. 18, 1897).
MEAT, MEATCHLY, see Mete, Matchly.
MEATH, 5^1. Obs. Lin. The power to buy or to
refuse to buy, the option ; the preference.
I give thee the meath of the buying, Ray (1691) ; (K.); Grose
(1790) ; Lin.i If anything, I gave him the meath.
[The same word as ME. methe, measure, moderation
(Stratmann). OE. inwfi, measure, proportion, also, the
measure or extent of power, ability, capacity (B.T.).]
MEATH, MEATH(E, MEATHER, see Maithe, Mead,
sb.'^, Meeth(e, Methir.
MEATHEW,z;. Nhb.^ To become covered with mildew.
The wheat was all meathewed.
MEATHUM, sb. Wm. Lan. Also in form mathum.
A fool, a stupid person, a blockhead ; a changeling.
Wm. (K.); (Hall.) Wm., n.Lan. What's ta been dewan thoo
stupid meathum, thoo, to spill t'milk? (W. H.H.)
MEATY, adj. Yks. Midi. Nhp. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf.
Oxf Brks. Mid. Nrf. Sus. Hmp. Som. Cor. Also in forms
maity Cor.^; maty Oxf.^ Brks.^ [m?ti, me'ti.] Of
animals : fleshy, but not fat, in good condition for the
butcher.
Yks. (J.W.) Midi. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796). Nhp.i It's
a nice profitable piece of beef; it's so meaty. War.^, s.Wor.'
Shr.i Them biillocks binna to say fat, but they bin matey — thick o'
the rib. Hrf.12, gIo. (A.B.), Oxf.i MS. add., Brks.' w.Mid.
' That's a nice, meaty little heifer.' Applied both to the live animal
and to a carcase (W.P.M.). Nrf. Grose (1790). e.Nrf. Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1787). Stis., Hmp. Holloway. Hmp.i That bullock
be'ant meaty, w, Som.' Her's a nice meaty bullick. Cor.i She's a
maity little pig ; Cor.^
MEAUDIWARP, MEAULD, MEAUSE, see Mouldy-
warp, Mould, adj.. Muse, v.^
MEAUT, MEAVERLY, MEAWDEWART, see Mout,
Meeverly, Moiildywarp.
MEAWGH, MEAWLDY, MEAWLT, ME AWNGE, see
Maugh, Mouldy, Mould, adj., Mounge.
MEA-WORT, sb. w.Yks. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] The cranberry, Vaccinium Oxycoccos. Lees
Flora (1888) 792. See Mea-berry.
MEAWSE, MEAWT, see Muse, v?, Moot, v?-, Mout.
MEAYER, sb. Cor. Also written meeyur. A measure.
A g'eat rule what he do meeyur the ground weth, Hicham Dial.
(1866) 16 ; Cor.i
MEAZLE, 5^1. and adj. Obs. Sc. Also Som. Dev.
Also in form mysel Sc. 1. sb. A leper, a filthy creature.
■w.Som.i Common at the beginning of the last century. n.Dev.
What's mean by that, ya long-hanjed meazle? Exm. Scold. (1746)
1. 3°-
2. adj. Leprous. Sc. FRANCisQUE-MiCHELZa«^. (1882)
157 ; (Jam.)
[Clense je mesels, caste je out deuelis, Wyclif (1388)
Matt. X. 8. OFr. mesel, ' lepreux ' (La Curne).]
MEAZON, MEAZY, see Mouse, sb., Mazy.
MEBBY, MECE, see Maybe, Mouse, sb.
MEBLE, adj. Sc. Movable. Brown Did. (1845).
MECHANICKER, sb. Lan. A mechanic, workman.
A mechanicker who could get six-un-twenty silver shillin a wick,
Staton Loominaiy (c. 1861) 84.
MECK, see Make, v.^
MECKANT, adj. Abd. (Jam.) Romping, frolicsome.
MECKLE, see Mickle.
MECKLEKECKLE, adj GIo. Poor in quality or fibre.
Cf. keckle-meckle.
A mecklekeckle sort of fellow, Northall Flk-Phrases (1894).
MECKSON, see Mixen.
MED, MEDAL, see Make, ■y.^, Mead, s6.i, Mud, v."^, Madell.
MEDCALF, sb. ne.Lan.^ A calf's pluck.
MEDDEM, sb. Cai.' [me'dsm.] An irritation or tickling
in the nose.
Supposed by the superstitious to indicate that a visitor is coming.
MEDDING, see Midden, sb.
MEDDLE, V. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written medel Cum. [me'dl.] L In phr. to meddle
or {and) make, to interfere in matters which do not concern
one. Gen. with neg.
Sc. (A.W.) n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.); N.Cy.i, Nhb.i
-w.YlLs. Sheffield Indep. (1874) ; w.Yks.12 ^.Stf. I wo' meddle or
mak' in yo'r affairs, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Der.=,
nw.Der.i sw.Lin.' I never hear tell on him meddling nor making
wi' no one. Not. (J.H.B.), Nhp.' War.= Quoth the young cock,
L 2
MEDELESS
[76]
MEEK
I'll neither meddle nor make, Old Prov. ; War.*, s.War.i Brks.i
I wunt meddle nor maayke wi' 'e but me-ans jus* to mind my awn
business. e.An.', e.Suf. (F.H.) Ess. Ne'er meddle or maake with
wile-beas, pray, Clark J. Noakes (1839) st. 127. Sus., Hmp.
HoLLOwAY. Hmp.i
2. Co/«/>. (ijMeddle-make, to interfere. Cmb. (W.R.B.) ;
(2) Meddle-making, mischief-making, strife-sowing. e.Suf.
(F.H.) 3. Without a prep. : to interfere with ; to hurt,
annoy.
Ayr. Although I wouldna meddle thee, More timid ye would
need to be, Smith Poet. Misc. (1832) 38. Lnk. I'm neither giento
meddlin' folks, Nor notin' their affairs, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873)
38. Edb. Gif ye pass me your word, my lord, to meddle me not,
I will, Beatty Secretar (1897) 264. Dmf. Ye'd aiblins rue fu'
soothly syne Ye meddl't warlock's ware, Reid Poems (.1894) 61.
Gall. Wha has been meddlin' ye? Crockett Stickit Min.{:8g3) 253.
n.Ir. Shure it's jist as I toul' ye for meddlin' their bank. Lays and
Leg. {iB8^) 21. N.I.i The dog won't meddle you. -w.Yks. (J.W.)
4. To come in contact with, to have to do with.
Sc. I wad hae ye think. Afore ye meddle wi' the men, Shepherd's
Wedding (1789) 13. Rnf. Foul fa' the chield wha thinks't a faut
To meddle wi' the juice o' maut, PickenPo(>»!5(i8i3) II. 24. Cum.
(J.S.O.) Brks.i If thee meddles wi' what yent belongin' to 'e agin,
I'll gie 'e a jarrapin.
MEDELESS,MEDHA,MEDHER,seeMeedless, Mather.
MEDICAMENTING, vbl. sb. Sc. Medical attendance.
Ayr. For many a day all the skill and medicamenting of Dr.
Callender did him little good, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xiii.
MEDICINE, sb. and v. Sc. Dur. Lon. Som. Also
written medisen Dur. ; and in form metsin w.Som.^
[me'dsin, w.Som. me'tsin.] \. sb. Any kind of medica-
ment whether for inward or outward application. w.Som.^
2. Fig. Anything disagreeable or bitter, as medicine.
Sh.I. I ken yon'U be a medecin ta Anty, Burgess Sketches (2nd
ed.) 29.
3. Drink.
Lon. As long as you can find young men that's conceited about
their musical talents, fond of taking their medicine, MAYHEwiowrf.
iaioM)' (1851) II. 20, ed. 1861.
4. V. ? To cure.
Dur. A charm to cure erysipelas. ' The Ceroncepel [Erysipelas]
coming in at the town end, By the name of the Lord I medisen
thee,' N. ^ Q. (1873) 4th S. xi. 421.
MEDICINER, sb. Obs. Sc. Also written medicinar.
A physician, doctor.
Sc. Fat and drink measurely, and defy the mediciners, Ferguson
Prov. (1641) II; Tell me now — you also are somewhat of a
mediciner — is not brandy- wine the remedy for cramp in the stomach ?
Logan St. Johnstoun (1823J II. 228 (Jam.). Abd. Doctor Gordon,
medicinar in Old Aberdeen, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) 1. 117. Fif.
Now [he] hes renunced the ministerie, and takin him to be a
mediciner, Melvill Autobiog. (1610) 417, ed. 1842. Slg. Medi-
cinars propone remedies to be applied with all diligence, Bruce
Sermons (1631) xi, ed. 1843. Rnf. The fact of the worthy bailie
being a ' Mediciner ' may account for the note appended, Hector
Judic. Rec. (1876) 87.
MEDICK, sb. Bdf. Ken. Cor. Also written meddick
Cor.2;medikBdf [me'dik.] 1. Anemetic. Bdf.(J.W.B.),
Cor.2 2. Medicine.
Ken. You must take your medick (D.W.L.).
MEDLEY, sb. and v. Yks. Lan. Chs. [me-dli.] 1. sb.
In comp. Medley-pie, a pie made of alternate layers of
apples, onions, and fat bacon. Chs. (A.J.C.) 2. A
commotion, tumult.
w.Yks. There's a bonny medley — a fine stir (C.C.R.).
3. V. To mix, mingle.
Lan. Aw sorts o strange neighses begun to be yerd, medlied
neaw un then by a skroike, Staton Loominary (c. 1861J 112.
[1. Medle or mengynge togedur of dyuerse thyngus,
Prompt. OFr. (Norm.) medlee, 'melee' (Moisy).]
MEDNART, sb. Sc. The meadowsweet, Spiraea
Vlmaria. Brown Did. (1845).
MED NIP, 56. Hrf^ [me-dnip.] A root of briony.
As I was stocking that ere hedge-but, I came across two
uncommon big mednips.
MEEAL, MEEALIN, MEEAS, see Mod, sb}, MaUin,
Mess, sb}
MEE ATH, MEECE, see Mead, s*.'', Meese, sb}. Mouse, sb.
MEECH, V. Yks. Lan. Wor. Ken. I.W. Dor. Som. Dev.
Cor. Amer. Also written meach w.Wor.^ Ken.'- n.Dev.
Amer. ; meich I.W. [mltj.] 1. To sneak, skulk ; to idle
stealthily or shamefacedly about ; to creep about softly.
Gen. with about. See Mitch, v.
m.Yks.l,s.Lan.(F.R.C.),Ken. (K.\Ken.i w.Som.l Her's always
a meeching about to vokeses back doors. n.Dev. Ha murt take
P'po' and meach off, E.vm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 469. Cor.i (s.v. Minch).
[Amer. To go meeching about, to go in a mean or underhand way,
Dial. Notes (1896) I. 78.]
Hence (i) Meecher, sb. a sneak, a lurking thief; (2)
Meeching, ppl. adj. sneaking, creeping softly ; poor-
spirited, cringing, melancholy, complaining. Cf. meeking.
(i) w.Som.' Get home, you meecher ! is the everyday salutation
to a stray dog. (2) s.Wor.^ w.Wor.i 'Er's a poor meachin' sart
uv a 66man ; 'er never were good fur much. Ken. A meeching
look, a meeching pace (K.). [Amer. Heard among very old-
fashioned people in New England, but it is becoming obs. . . . ' A
meaching sort of fellow ' is one who cringes and fawns upon
you or looks as if he was always ashamed of himself. Reports
Provinc. (1891) ; Father goes up to him, looking as soft as dough,
and as meechinasyou please, Sam Slick C/orf>«afef(i836)istS. XV.]
2. To play truant, to absent oneself without leave.
I.W. (J.D.R.) w.Dor. Roberts //«;. Z,j)'M<e 7?e.g-!S (1834). Som.
Gent. Mag.(i.iga^zio\ J EtiisiisGS Obs. Dial. iv.Eng. {1825). w.Som.^
He never don't meechy, there idn no better boy vor to larn in all the
parish. Hisfather'vea-leather'd'nmanies o' times, but he mee'chus
[meeches] 'long wayThor'ne's boy. Dev. He used to persuade us to
go meeching from school, Reports Provinc. (1891) ; MooRE Mist. Dev.
(1829) I. 354 ; Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) (s.v. Mitch). nw.Dev.'^
Hence Meecher, sb. a truant.
Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873) ; Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
w.Som.i I can't do nothing way un ; I zends 'n riglar, but he's a
proper meecher. Dev. ' Black-berry meechers and blue-berry snails.
All the dogs in the parish will hang at your tails.' . . These lines
used to be shouted after the children who did not come to school
in time. Reports Provinc. (i8gi). nw.Dev.^
3. To gather up by picking or begging. Dor. Barnes
Gl. (1863).
[1. Sure she has Some meeching rascal in her house,
BEAUMONT&FLETCHERScorM/«/Z,arfv(i6i6)v.i. 3. Mecher,
a lytell thefe, laronceav (Palsgr.).]
MEED, sb. n.Lin.i [mid.] Desert, reward.
n.Lin."- Commonly in a bad sense. ' He's gotten sarved reight ;
that was just the meed for him.'
[The word is used in a bad sense in Havelok, 2402 : And
he shal yelde ))e })i mede By crist (lat wolde on rode blede.J
MEED, see Maid, Make, v}, Meeth(e, Meid, Mud, v.'^
MEEDER, see Meader, Meeterly.
MEEDGE, sb. Fif. A mark to steer by. Colville
Vernacular (1899) 19.
MEEDLESS, adj. n.Cy. Yks. Der. Also written mead-
less, medeless w.Yks. [mrdless.] 1. Troublesome,
tiresome, unruly ; restless ; lit. without reward.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.^ w.Yks. If there be an acute pain,
we call it a meedless pain, Hamilton Nugae Lit. (1841) 345 ; He's
a varry medeless soart (J.H.G.) ; Yks. Mag. (1871) I. 28; w.Yks.i
Der. Addy Gl. (1888) ; Der. 2, nw.Der.i
2. Undecided, unable to make up one's mind ; heedless,
without thought or plan ; without measure.
w.Yks. Thoresey Lett. (1703) ; I am meadless whether to drive
on or to begin it over again, Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) 86 ;
I was meadless how to show myself again to Elizabeth, ib. 192 ;
w.Yks.2 I was meedless altogether; w.Yks."
MEEF, see Meeth, adj}
MEE-FLOOR, sb. Obs. Stf. The second parting in
the coal-measures.
At Wednesbury ... in the nether-coal, the second parting or
laming is called the mee-floor, one foot thick (Hall.); (K.); Stfi
MEEGRIM, see Megrim.
MEEJICK, sb. Wil. [mi-dgik.] Anything strange or
unusual.
A very common expression among the men. . . It was always ' a
sort of a meejick,' Jefferies Gt. Estate (1880) iv ; Wil.i
MEEK,arf7'. Sh.I. Hmp. Dor. [mik.] 1. Desponding,
easily depressed.
Hmp. Novi^ he be right ill he be meeker nor ever, he be that
(W.M.E.F.).
MEEKING
[77]
MEET
Hence Meek-hearted, adj. low-spirited, faint-hearted ;
shy.
Hmp.He be a meek-hearted man at the best o' times (W.M.E.F.) ;
Heis terrible meekhearted (T.L.O.D.); (H.W.E.) Dor. (C.W.)
2. Comp. Meek-tasted, sweet or mild of taste.
Sh.I. Dey're nae tattie sae meek taestit is da anes 'at's grown
aside wirsels, Sh. News (Oct. 30, 1897).
MEEKING, ^/>/. adj. Shr. Glo. Also written meaking
Shr.^^ Ailing, lacking energy, drooping. Cf. meeching,
s.v. Meech.
Shr.i Kitty wuz al'ays a poor meakin' thing, nod likely to get 'er
livin' like the rest ; Shr.2 A meaking cratur Gwuz meaking about.
Glo.l
MEEKS, sb. Not. The bistort. Polygonum Bistorta.
(B. & H.)
MEEL, see Meal, sb?^, Meale, Mool, sb}, Mould, sb?-
MEELA, MEELACK, see Mmia(h, Mealock.
MEELCAVE, sb. Irel. A flesh-worm in the foot. s.Ir.
Simmons Gl. (1890) (s.v. Mulharten).
MEELICK, 56. Sc. [Not known to our correspondents.]
[mrlik.] A term in playing marbles : the same spot.
Abd. When I gave anither chap's ' pitcher' the 'speelick,' My
ain ane was sure jist to spin i' the 'meelick,' Ogg Willie Waly
(1873) 76 ; When the ring was the game a' the lakes [stakes] he
wad win, For his pitcher was sure i' the meelick to spin, Ander-
son Rhymes (ed. 1867) 137.
MEE-MAW, sb., adj. and v. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der.
Also written memaw w.Yks.'' n.Lan.^ nw.Der."- ; and in
forms meamua Wm. ; meemo e.Lan.^ m.Lan.' ; memo
Lakel.'^ [mrmp.] 1. sb. An antic or grotesque action
or expression of face, a grimace ; dumb show; an affected
manner, atfectation.
Lakel.2 Ther's memo i' eaten, an' walken. It's a complaint
amang young fooak. Wra. Went en meaad sum meamuas ta his
maister, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 74. Lan. They'n to mony mee-
maws abeawt 'em for me, WAUGHSMfcA-fia;!^ (1868) ii ; Not at
that lilt-un-goo-forrud sort uv a meemaw [of a polka], Staton B.
Shuttle Visit Manch. ^1 ; Lan.', n.Lan."^, e.Lan."^ m.Lan.'Yo' should
just watch a weyver tell another weyver i' th' next alley but one,
i' mee-mo' in' abeawt th' cut-looker gooin'-a-courtin' wi' that red-
heyded Sal-o'-owd Bobs. Chs.', s.Chs.l, nw.Der.'
2. A trifle, gewgaw.
w.Yks. These offerings of shreds and patches are what the West
Yorkmen call memaws — trifles of a personal character, yet each
meaning much, like the widow's mite, Manch. Cy. News (Dec. 30,
1899) ; w.Yks.s Shoo's more memaws about her an' eniff. nw.Der,*
3. A simpleton, fool.
Lan. He alius had th' happy knick-knack o' not apeerin' sich a
mee-maw as he semt, New IVkly. (Jan. 26, 1895) 7, col. i.
4. adj. Affected, mincing, prim.
Lakel. 2 That's memo talking. Wm. She's a lal prood memo
thing (B.K.).
5. V. To make signs or grimaces ; to tell in dumb show ;
to be affected ; to do anything affectedly.
w.Yks. Thay begin a memawin abaht with ther pride an non-
sense, Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1874) 33. Lan. [Of a
singer]What's hoc mee-mawin abaat? Ackworth Clog Shop Chron.
(1896) 343. m.Lan.i Yo'd laff tell yo'd th' bally-werch iv yo'
watcht th' weyver i' th' next alley but one mee-mo back ageean
' Well, aw never ! '
Hence Meemawing, ppl. adj. affected, mincing.
Lan. Tha pride-brussen, mee-mawin, feathercock owd maddlin,
Ackworth Clog Shop Chron. (1896) 248 ; Afther a bit o' meemawin
talk, Clegg Sketches (1895) 8 ; Aw wonder how they con forshame
o' their face. A lot o' mee-mawing snickets, Waugh Barrel Organ
(1886) 18.
6. To dress up, to wear a great many gewgaws.
w.Yks.^ A factory girl is ' memawed throo head to foit ' upon
the Sunday, sporting her ear-rings, bracelets, &c.
7. To wheedle, coax, to caress in a wheedling manner.
Chs.' Dunna be mee-mawin me a that'ns, for get o'er me. s.Chs. '
It)s ndo ydos dhii mee--mau-in mi u)dhaafii roa'd, dhii)l gy'et nuwt
aayt fl mey [It's noo use tha mee-mawin' me a-thatta road, tha'U
get nowt alt o' mey].
MEEN, V. Ken.' [min.] To shiver slightly. Hence
Meening, sb. an imperfect fit of the ague.
MEEN, MEEN(E, MEENY, see Mean, adj., Mean, w.^
Menyie.
MEEPY-MOPPY,s^i. Cor.^ Thegameof hide and seek.'
MEER,s6. Yks. Der. The kidney of an animal dressed
for the table ; the fat parts surrounding the kidney. ? A
misprint for ' near' (q.v.). w.Yks.*, Der.^, nw.Der.*
MEER, see Mare, sb}, Mear, sb.
MEERAN, sb. Sc. (Jam.) Also in form mirran Bch.
[Not known to our correspondents.] A carrot. Bch.,
Abd. See More, sb.
MEER-BROWED, adj Lth. (Jam.) [Not known to
our correspondents.] Having eyebrows which meet
together.
MEERISH.aif/". Cum.^* [mis'rij.] Effeminate; insipid.
MEES, see Mease, v.'
MEESCHLE,s6. andi;. Sc. [mrjl.] 1. s6. A mixture ;
a state of confusion ; also used advb. Cf maschle.
BnflF.' They've made an unco meeschle o' that maiter. The hail
thing geed meeschle thegeether. Cld. (Jam.)
Hence Meeschle-maschle, (i) sb. great confusion, a
confused mass of anything ; (2) adj. confused ; much
connected by intermarriage ; also used advb.
(i) Bnff.' (2) Their money maiters are a' meeschle-maschle.
The hail toonie's a' meeschle-maschle freens through ither, ib.
2. V. To mix ; to throw into confusion.
It wiz a' meeschlt up thegeethir, ib.
MEESE, s6.' Glo. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in
forms meece Glo.^ ; meoze Dor.' ; mesh Wil.'Dor.^ Som. ;
mews w.Som.' n.Dev. Cor.° [miz, mij, miiz.] Moss;
the lichen which grows upon apple-trees.
Glo. Horae Stibsecivae {tjt]) 2-]! ; Glo.', Wil.' Dor. w. Gazette
(Feb. 15, 1889) 7, col. 2; Dor.' Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873) ; Jen-
nings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Soni.' Whit-droats nestes
bain't never a builded way mews [mue'z], Cuddlies now d'always
make theirs way mews. n.Dev. Grose (1790). Cor.^
Hence Meesy, adj. mossy.
Glo, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 271. Dor.' I be happy wi' my spot
O' freehold groun' an' meshy cot, 245.
[ME. mese, moss (Stratmann). OE. nieos: treoives
meos, 'muscus' (Chop. Gl. (c. 1050) in Wright's Voc.
(1884) 447) ; cp. MHG. mies (Lexer).]
MEESE, sb.^ Cai.' The observation of certain land-
marks in order to locate a particular spot at sea. Cf.
meeth(e, 2.
Such observation of the relative position of prominences on the
land as enables one at sea to locate a particular bank, fishing
ground, &c.
MEESEN, MEESH, MEESH-MASH, see Mouse, sb.,
Marsh, sb}, Mish-mash.
MEESY, adj. e.An.' [mx'si.] Tainted, unsavoury.
[Prob. a special use of meesy, der. of nteese, sb} OE.
nieos is used to render ' rubigo ' {Dent, xxviii. 42).]
MEET, V. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. [mit]
1. In phr. (i) to meet in with, to meet with ; (2) — up with,
to stop, check, master ; to match ; (3) — with, to have, find,
obtain, catch ; (4) — with it, to ' catch it,' to be punished,
to meet with one's deserts.
(i) n.Sc. (Jam.), Cai.' Edb. Where he would meet in with mer-
chants in scores, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xi. (2) n.Yks. He's
getten met up wiv, wi this wife (I. W.). (3) w.Yks. (J.W.)
w.Som.' V-ee mee't wai puurd'dee geod spoo'urt z-maurneen ?
[Have you had pretty good sport this morning ?] Zoa yiie keod'-n
mee't wai um, keod'ee \ [So you could not catch them, could you ?]
Wee mee-t wai u suyt u niits aup t-ee'ul [We found a quantity of
nuts up at the hillj. (4) Glo.^ You'll meet with it, 19.
2. Comb, (i) Meet-her-in-the-entry-kiss-her-in-the-but-
tery, the pansy, Viola tricolor. n.Lin.' ; (2) -me-love,
the London pride, Saxifraga umbrosa. Dev.* 3. To
meet with, light upon, to find.
Yks. Shall I meet a village before I get to Aireton ? (F.P.T.)
w.Yks. (J.W.) Wor. I met a drop of rain (W.C.B,). Pern. I met
a scissors underneath the table. I met this muff comin' down the
hill (E.D.). s.Pem. I met this glove on the road. Laws Little Eng.
(1888) 421.
4. To meet an obligation ; to pay a debt ; to pay a
creditor.
w.Yks. (J.W.) w.Som.' Tidn no use to tell — I can't never meet
it ! I must zell some stock avore long, vor to meet my rent. Far-
mers say, ' I be bound to meet my landlord.'
[EET
[78]
MEETHS
5. Obs. To place, put.
w.Cy. He to her heart did a dagger meet, Dixon Sngs. Eng.
Peas. (1846) 51.
MEET, adj., sb. and adv. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der.
Nhp. Dev. Also written mete N.Cy.= Lan. [mit] \. adj.
Fit, proper.
Slk. They hae gentle forms and meet, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865)
416. N.Cy.i In common use. w.Yks.i, Nhp.^
Hence Meetly, adv. fittingly, as is proper.
Per. Flunkey lords. An' pages pouther'd meetly, Haliburton
Ochil Idylls {i8gi) 61.
2. Comp. (i) Meet-coat, a dress-coat ; a coat which
exactly fits the size of the body ; (2) -marrow, an exact
copy or facsimile, a fellow ; (3) -shad, exceeding what is
fitting.
(i) Sc. Used by old people as distinguished from a ' long' coat
(Jam.). (2) Abd. When the finished production was sent home . . .
Aunty Ann pronounced it the very meet-marrows of the one she
had held so long in loving memory, Abd. JVkly. Pree Press {Dec. i,
1900). (3) Lan. On neaw I'r in os ill o kele os meetshad, Tim
Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 39. s.Lan. (S.B.)
3. sb. pi. In phr. to meets with or meet{s with, even with,
' quits.'
Lan. Boh ister no wey o cumming meet with um ? Tim Bobbin
View Dial. (ed. 1806) 7. ne.Lan.' I'll be meet wi' tha. Dev.'
Odds ! thinks I, I'll be to meets with ye, 14 ; I'll be meets with
him, ib. Gl. nw.Dev. I'll be to meets way'n (R.P.C.).
4. adv. Just, exactly.
Lan. So meet ofore eh geet teear I took Nip on rubb'd hur
primely efeath, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 42 ; Mony . . .
ut cud o bin weel contentud too o gwon whoam meet then,
ScHOLES Tim Gamwattle (1857) 45 ; An' snored mete loike an
eawl, Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) II. 89.
Hence (i) just meet, phr. exactly, quite ; (2) just meet
now, (3) meet now, phr. just now, at this moment.
(i) w.Yks. Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks." Lan. So it're just
meet as good, Dottie Rambles (1898) 140 ; Thae'U just meet plez
liim, Waugh Owd Bodle, 256. (2) Lan. An' what's moor, there's
scores o' folk what live just meet neaw 'at knows it to be correct,
Lahee Owd Matty (ed. 1887) 45 ; Noather on um doed so wele
just mete neaw, Ormerod Felleyfro Rachde (1864) ii ; Hoo's after
some'at at's noan so good, just meet now, Waugh Chitn. Corner
(1874) 27, ed. 1879. Chs.123 (3) ucy. (K.), N.Cy.2, w.Yks.^
Lan. They wantun one, meet nah, ut first hewse ut theu corns
to o' the reet hond, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 7 ; Its meet neaw
buzz'd into meh heeod, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 50.
e.Lan.i s.Lan. It's comn meet neaw, Bamford Dial. (1854).
5. Obs. Indifferently. Der.'^
[1. There is no lady living So meet for this great errand,
Shaks. Twelfth N. 11. ii. 46. Cp. OE. gemet, fit, proper ;
gemete, fitly (Sweet).]
MEETEN'D, ppl. adj. n.Yks.^ [mrtand.] Made fit ;
prepared or adapted.
MEETER, sb. War. A strap from the crupper and
back-strapofahorse'sharnessmeetingthe collar. (J.R.W.)
MEETERLY, adv. and adj. n.Cy. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Also in forms meatherly n.Cy. ; meederly, meeth-
erly N.Cy .2; meterly N.Cy.i w.Yks. Chs.'^ [mit3(r)li.]
1. adv. Tolerably, moderately, fairly. Cf meeverly.
n.Cy. It will do meeterly well, Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.)
N.Cy.i ; N.Cy.2 Meeterly, as maids are in fairness, Prov. Wm.
I am meeterly content, Hutton Bran New Work (1785) I. 24.
s.Wm. I was meeterley easy, Mutton Dial. Siorth and Amside
(1760) 1.13. m.Yks.'^ w.Yks. 'Hah are yo' gettin' on ? ' 'Aw,
ah'm meterly ' (.lE.B.) ; There's a pack n' corn i' t'corner, thear,
meeterly clane, Bronte Wuthering His. (1847) xvi ; Meeterly, '
as Megge Riley danced, Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.'* ;
w.Yks.s ' How are yuh daame to-daay ? ' ' Thenk yuh, am like
meeterly ; how's yersel' ? ' Lan. ' That wur clever too-to, wur it
naw?' ' Yigh, meeterly,' Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 26 ; An'
he're meeterly strict too, beside, Waugh Sneck-Bant (1868) ii ;
Lan.', ne.Lan.', e.Lan.', Chs.'^ Der. We're meeterly weel sarved.
Ward David Grieve (1892) III. bk. iv. vi.
2. Handsomely, modestly, agreeably. n.Cy.(K.) ; Grose
(1790); N.Cy.2 Z. adj. Moderate, in a fair state, middling.
n.Cy. A meeterly body — one of moderate size (K.). n.Yks.
Hee's pratty meeterly flesh ; here's a good skin, Meriton Praise
Ale (1684) 1. 151. ra.Yks.' ' A meterly body' is a person whose
trim, becoming appearance inspires one with a pleasant feeling.
w.Yks. Tha taks ivverything shoo's getten an' it's a meeterly
dollop all at once, Hartley Clock Aim. (1879) 44. Lan. Grose
{j.T3o)MS.add.{C.)
MEETH, adj."- and v. Sc. n.Cy. Dun Cum. Also
written meth(e Cum.=^* ; and in forms meefCai.'; meith
Abd. ; meuth N.Cy.' Cum.' ; muth Slk. s.Dur. [ml|7.]
1. adj. Of the weather : hot, sultry, close ; of persons :
exhausted with heat.
Sc. The day is meeth, and weary he, Jamieson Pop. Ballads
(1806) II. 363. Cai.' Abd. But meith, meith [het, het, ed. 1812]
was the day. The summer cauls were dancing brae frae brae,
Ross Helenore (1768) 82 (Jam.) ; They are posting on whate'er
they may, Baith het and meeth, till they are haling down, ib. 'jg, ed.
1812. Slk. The night is that muth and breathless, Hogg Tales
(1838) 211, ed. i856.
Hence (i) Meethness, 56. extreme heat, sultriness ; soft
close weather ; (2) Meuthy or Muthy, adj. of the weather :
sultry, close, mild and damp.
(i) Abd. Wi' wae and faut and meethnass of the day, Sae sair
beset she was that down she lay, Ross Helenore (1768)26, ed. 1812.
(2) s.Dur. A muthy sort of a day (J.E.D.). Cum.' Meuthy weather.
2. v. To breathe with difficulty, to choke. Cum. Gl. (1851).
Hence Meathy or Meuthy, sb. a difficult respiration
caused by rareness of the air.
N.Cy.', Cum. 2* e.Cum. Hutchinson //is/. Cum. (1794) I. 220.
[1, 2. Cp. ON. mcedi, weariness, exhaustion ; niaSa, to
exhaust, to be exhausted (Vigfusson).]
MEETH, adj!^ s.Sc. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Modest, mild, gentle.
[An hah leuedi mild and meth, Cursor M. (c. 1300)
10,152.]
MEETH(E, sb. and v. Sc. Also written meath(e,
meith Sc. ; and in forms meed S. & Ork.^ ; meid Ags.
(Jam.) ; mith Bnff. ; myid Fif (Jam.) [mij?.] 1. sb. Obs.
A measure.
Sc. Lat me wit the meath o' my days, Waddell Psalms (1871)
xxxix. 4. Fif. They look't up ilk lofty wa', Takin' their meiths
for its downfa', Tennant Papistiy {iSz^) 189.
2. A landmark for directing the course of a vessel in
sailing, or for enabling fishermen to find particular spots
of fishing-ground ; also used gen. for a mark or anything
by which observation is made or an object is detected.
Sc. They werena just to ken meiths when the moorfowl got up,
Scott St. Ronan (1824) iii. Sh.I. Fishing places, designated Raiths,
were pointed out by certain land-marks called Meiths, so that
every one knew his own raith, Hibeert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 221,
ed. 1891; The fishermen were very particular to set their lines
in a given straight course, indicated by meiths or marks on
the land, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 130 ; The fishermen direct their
course in sailing by observations on the land, called meeths and
formed from the bearings of two high eminences. Statist. Ace. V.
191 (Jam.) ; I tink I ken whaur ye ir, by da meethes o' dasubjeck,
Stewart Tales (1892) 13; S. & Ork.' Cai.' Such observation of
the relative position of prominences on the land as enables one
at sea to locate a particular bank, fishing ground, &c. Abd. Where
she might be, she now began to doubt. Nae meiths she kend, ilk
hillock head was new, Ross Helenore (1768) 24, ed. 1812. Ags.
I hae nae meids to gae by (Jam.). Fif. (16.)
3. A hint, an innuendo.
n.Sc. One is said to give a meith or a meid of a thing, when he
barely insinuates it (Jam.).
4. V. To mark a place at sea by the bearings of objects
on the land.
Sh.I. ' I tought ye aye set bi da compass.' . . ' Say dey du,
Tamy, for maist pairt, when der ony distance fram [to sea] bit
when dey can meed der no sae muckle need,' Sh. News (Apr.' 23
1898) ; It is sufficiently prominent to be used by fishermen "as a
landmark at sea for meithing the Burgaseurs, Spence Flk-Lore
(1899) 47 ; S. & Ork.i Bnff. Vith ane vther litle hauch vpon the
south syd of the said water, mithit and merched as foUowes
Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 78.
[1. In ])e mesure of his mode & me))e of his wylle,
Cleanness (c. 1360) 565 in Allit. P. 53. OE. mwth, measure,
degree, proportion (B.T.).]
MEETHERLY, see Meeterly.
MEETHS, sb. pi. Sc. (Jam.) Activity, bodily energy.
One IS said to have nae meeths who is inert. '
MEETING
[79]
MEGGY
MEETING, sb. and ppl. adj. Var. dial, uses in Irel.
Eng. and Amer. Also in forms mait'n- Oxf.' ; matin
Brks.^ ; mayting Dev. ;" mitting Cor. [mitin, me'tin.]
1. sb. In phr. to give the meeting, to meet. s.Wor.\ Glo.
(A.B.) 2. The service at a chapel, or Nonconformists'
place of worship.
Uls. Presbyterian churches are usually called meeting-houses,
and ' going to meetin' ' means going to church, Uls. Jrn. Arch.
(1858) VI. 42. Nhb. Where he was found quite dead by some
persons on their waj' to ' Glanton Meeting,' Dixon Whiitingham
Vale (1895) 274 ; Nhb.i We'd a gran sarmon at the meetin thi day.
Brks.i Be 'e a-gwaain to Matin' at Compton to-night ? Dev. Ef I
comes til yer maytings vor tha benefit o' my soul, Salmon Ballads
(1899) 69, Cor. We'll go to mitting when we're hum, Tregellas
Tales (1865) 61. [Amer. Let's get ready and put on our better-
most close, and go to meetin, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) ist S.
xxiv ; I am going to meetin', Dial. Notes (1896) I. 65.]
Hence (i) Meetinger or Meetener, sb. a dissenter, one
who attends a chapel ; (2) Meeting-house, sb. a Non-
conformist chapel ; an Irish Presbyterian church.
(i) Oxf.i, Brks.', e.An.i Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893)
56 ; Among some of the meetingers there is not only a firm belief
in these direct personal revelations, Jessopp Arcady (1887) iii.
e.Suf. (F.H.) Sus. Holloway. Hmp.i Dor. To be a meetinger,
you must go to chapel in all winds and weathers, and make yerself
as frantic as a skit. Hardy Madding Crowd (1874) ^l"- w.Som.i
No, they wadn never church-volks, they was always meetiners
ever sinze I can mind. (2) Uls. Presbyterian churches are usually
called meetinghouses, Ws./w.^j-cA. (1858) VI. 42; Mr. McAllister's
Auld Secedin' Meetin'-House, M"Ilroy Craig-Linnie (1900) 112.
Dwn. Our fowk keeps a harmoneyum fur the waens in the Sunday
skule, an' yit wadnae play it in the meetin'-hoose, Lyttle Bally-
cuddy (1892) 19. w.Som.i This word has now got to mean the
little village chapel where there is no regular minister.
3. pi. The point in a shaft or rope incline at which the
ascending and descending cages or tubs pass one another.
Nhb. We'd pass'd the meetin's aw'd ne doubt, Wilson Pitman's
Pay (1843) 26 ; Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. Meetings begin at the top of
this stone. Borings (1887) IV. 54 ; Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
4. //. The meeting of two currents of the tide in More-
cambe Bay.
' ne.Lan.i Often producing a rough and dangerous sea for small
craft.
5. ppl. adj. In comp. Meeting-board, the boards across
the middle of a window to which the 'catch' is fixed.
w.Yks. (S.K.C.)
MEEUXING, prp. Hxi? Messing anything about in
the mouth.
MEEVE, see Meve.
MEEVERLY, adv. and adj. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Also in
forms meaverly w.Yks.^^ ; meverly n.Cy. w.Yks.'* Lan.
[mrv9(r)li.] 1. adv. Moderately, tolerably, middling ;
fairly well in health ; easily, gently. Cf. meeterly.
Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. A' wor goin' up nice an' meverly like
(J.H.G.); w.Yks.s Art ta meaverly? Lan. Grose (1790) MS.
add. (P.)
2. Modestly, handsomely.
Lan. Un aw thowt awd nare sin hur lookin more meeverly,
ScHOLES Tim Gamwattle (1857) 14 ; Lan.' Aw carrid mesell meety
meeverly too, an' did as yo bidd'n meh, Tim Bobbin View Dial.
(ed. 1750) 37.
3. adj. Mild, of a gentle or modest disposition; shy,
bashful ; sparing in eating and drinking ; also used iron.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.^ Williams wor ollas a dowly, swamous,
meaverly mack of a chap, ii. 306. Lan. C meeverly, pildert owd
woman, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 15 ; Eh, he's meterly meverly.
He ates loik one o' his feyghtin cocks, Kay-Shuttleworth Scars-
dale (i860) II. 33.
MEEVIE, sb. Sc. Also in forms mavie, mavy. The
slightest noise, gen. in phr. meevie nor mavie.
Bnff.i A leukit oot, an' harkent ; bit a hard naither meevie nor
mavie. Abd. The moon's as white's a new-blawn wreath o' snaw,
Meevy nor mavy, now, ane wadna hear, WALKERBards Bon-Accord
(1887) 401.
MEEYUR, MEEZE, MEEZLE, MEEZY, MEET, see
Meayer, Mouse, sb., Measle, Mazy, Maft.
MEG, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. [meg.]
1. In comb, (i) Meg cutthroat, the whitethroat, Sylvia
cinerea ; (2) -'s delight, great fun ; (3) -'s diversions, tricks,
frolics, rattling fun, esp. in phr. to play Meg's diversions
with ; (4) — Dorts, a pettish young woman, cf. dort ; (5) —
Harry, {a) a hoyden, a ' tomboy ' ; (6) a hermaphrodite ; (6)
— many-feet, (a) a centipede ; (b) the creeping buttercup,
Ranunculus repens ; (7) — many-legs, (8) — o' mony-feet,
see (6, a) ; (9) -owlet or -uUat, (a) an owl ; (b) a large
moth ; (10) -water, salt-mining term : a weak or bastard
brine found in sinking shafts; (11) — wi'-many-feet, [a)
see (6, a) ; {b) see (6, b) ; (12) — wi'-many-teaz, (a) see
(6, a); (b) see (6, b); (13) — wi'-the-many-feet, {a) see
(6, a) ; (b) the crab. Cancer pagurus ; (c) the lobster, C.
gammarus; (14) — with-the-wad, a Will-q'-the-Wisp,
Ignis fatuus. See Mag, sb.'^
(i) Rxb. SwAiNsoN Birds (1885) 33. (2) w.Wor. Well, it were
Meg's delight, S. Beauchamp Grantley Grange (1874) I. 202. (3)
n.Wil. The huntsmen play Meg's diversions with the wheat in wet
weather (E.H.G.). Som.W. & J. G/. (1873); No, I'm afraid to drive
the pony now — heshowed usMeg'sdiversionsyesterday(W.F.R.).
(4) Cai.i, Old., Lth. (Jam.) (5, a) Lan. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) ;
ib. (P.) Chs.i23_ s.Chs.i (6) e.Lan.', Chs. (E.F.), Chs.i, nw.Der.'
(6, a) N.L^ Dur. Brockett Gl. (1846). (6) Cum. On account of
its numerous runners, which root at every joint, spreading rapidly
(B. & H.). (7) Lakel.2 (8) s.Sc. Ye lie whar the meg-o-mony-
feet crawls on the green and yellow carrion, Wilson Tales (1836)
II. 45. Gall. I dinna like the Meg o' mony feet. Nor the brawnet
Connochworm, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 410, ed. 1876. Nhb.'
(9, a) Lin.i n.Lin. Megullat and Glimmergowk are provincial
names for the owl, Peacock R. Sliirlaugh (1870) II. 286, note;
n.Lin. 1 Iv'ry meg-ullat thinks her awn bubs best. (A) Lin.' (10)
Chs.i (ii,«)Dur.EGGLESTONEBf«jPorf;4'i'«'5itrt.(i877)9. (6)Cum.i'»
(12 a, b) Lakel.2, Cum.* (13, «) Sc. (Jam.) (b) Ags. Agric. Surv.
i^?7C 55 (Jam.jS.v. Fierie-tangs). (c)ib. (i4)Som.W. cSc J. G/. (1873).
2. A woman ; a country girl.
Abd. Up I gat twa bunching megs, an' fiU'd the ring, Beattie
Parings (zQoi') 11, ed. 1873. Slg. He made complaint to Jamies,
Jocks, and Megs, Galloway Poems (1804) R. Spittle, 55. Edb. The
nimmest Meg amang them a' Will tipple wi' a Jo an hour or twa,
LiDDLE Poems (1821) 157. e.Lan.'
3. A pet-lamb. I.Ma. N. 6^ Q. (1869) 4th S. iii. 345.
4. A magpie. Suf ' (s.v. Madge). See Mag, sb}
5. An ugly or ill-dressed person.
n.Lin.' An ohd meg ! what's she cum here to-daay for ? She's
th' ugliest ohd meg I iver seed ; I should tak her for a scarcraw
if she was n't alus a singin' oot to th' lasses.
6. A boy's name for a bad old ' peerie ' or peg-top. N.I.',
Oxf. (G.O.)
MEG, v. Lin. [meg.] To peer about.
Miller & Skertchly Fenland (1878) iv ; Lin.'
[Dan. dial, mige: at mige efter noget, to seek after
(Molbech).]
MEG, see Maeg, Mag, sb.^, Mag(g, Mig, 56.'
MEGGAR, V. Lin. Also written megger. [me'g3(r).]
To improve, get better, mend ; to recover from an illness,
&c. ; also used trans, to get over (an illness).
Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 715 ; Streateeild Lin. and Danes
(1884)344; (J.C.W.) Lin.' I meggar'd over it at last. The frouty
old fellow will meggar his ailment (s.v. Frouty). n.Lin. The fire
meggers, Sutton Wds. (i88i).
MEGGIFICATION, sb. Sc. ? A lie, untruth.
Slk. To say there's nae truth in dreams, ye ken that's a mere
meggification, HoGG Tales (1838) 440, ed. 1866.
MEGGINS, sb. pi. w.Yks.^ Also written meggons.
[me'ginz.] In phr. by Meggins or by the Meggins! an
oath or exclamation. Cf. megs.
By the Meggins if I catch thee here again I'll give thee a good
hiding.
MEGGOT, see Maggot, sb}
MEGGS, 5^-.//. Der.2 nw.Der.' [megz.] Teeth.
MEGGY, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. [me'gi.]
1. In comb, (i) Meggy-cart, a long-bodied two-wheeled
cart, used for carting faggots ; (2) -lotchy, the freshwater
loach, Cobitis barbatula ; (3) — mony-feet, (4) — mony-legs,
a centipede ; (5) -owler, a butterfly, a large moth. See
Meg, sb. 1.
(I) e.Suf. (F.H.) (2) Nhb.i (3) Rxb. (Jam.), Nhb.' (4) Dur.
Brockett Gl. (1846). (5) Cor. (Hall.); (J.W.)
MEGGY
[Sol
MEITCH
2. The whitethroat, Sylvia cinerea. n.Cy. Swainson
Birds (1885) 23. See Muggy, sb} 3. A moth. n.Lin.^
4. A weed of the buttercup kind. Lakel.^ 5. A small
stone used in the game of ' Must ' (q.v.).
Wil.^ A small stone — ■ a meggy ' — is placed on the top of a large
one, and bowled at with other ' meggies' of which each player has
one (s.v. Must).
MEGGY, see Mag, sb.'^
MEGH, sb. Sc. Obs. ? The big toe.
Edb. Bouse the quegh Till the gout fastens on their megh Wi'
deadly racks, Learmont Poems (1791) 84.
MEGIRKIE, 56. Ags. (Jam.) A piece of woollen cloth
worn by old men for defending the head and throat
from cold.
MEGIRTIE, sb. Ayr. (Jam.) A kind of cravat, held by
two clasps.
MEGRIM, sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf Der. Not. Lin.
Lei. Nhp. War. Won Shr. Glo. Brks. Ess. w.Cy. Cor.
Also in forms magram w.Yks.^ ; maugram, mawgram
w.Yks. ; maygrim s.Chs.^ ; meagram s.Not. ; meagrim
Sc. n.Lin.'' Ess. ; meeagrum e.Yks.^ ; meegrim Not. ;
megram Gall. ; megrum War. Glo.' ; mogram w.Yks. ;
mogrum Stf.' ; ? negrum Der.^ nw.Der.' fmegrim, -am ;
mi'griin, ■am, m9'gr3m.] 1. A whim, fancy, caprice ;
an absurd notion or fancy. Gen. in pi.
So. Ellen, too, if she can leave the meagrims behind for once,
Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 22. Ayr. Converse with the Muse was
a safety'valve that permitted escapement of megrins {_sic\ Ainslie
Land 0/ Burns (ed. i8g2)Inirod.2^. Slk. (Jam.) Dmf. Urged on
by the megrim, he ran to his tomb, Where he stripped the poet
and quickly came home, Shennan Tales (1831) 157. Gall. Few
megrams ever enter Willie's head, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 477,
ed. 1876. e Yks.' w.Yks. Whenivver they went ta get a bit ova
twig ta mack ther mawgrams to, they cut it off we a golden sickle,
ToMTREDDLEHOYLE5a;>«i/a Ann. (1856) 36 ; Thah can dress i wot
soart ov a maugram fashion thagh's a mind, . . for it iz a maugram
dress iz thine, ib. (1858) 49 ; (W.H.) Lan. Tho'rt always after
some of thy megrims, Roby Trad. (1829) II. 357, ed. 1872. n.Stf.
We must spare her . . . not for a husband neither but for her own
megrims, Geo. Eliot A. Bede (1859) II. 288. Not. Now let's have
none of your meegrims (W.H.S.); Not.' Lin. Thompson Hist.
BostoK (1856) 715. n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' They has such megrims, has
little bairns. Lei.' Nhp.' What megrims have you got in your
head now? You've as many megrims as a dancing bear. War.^,
s.Wor. (H.K.), Glo.' Ess. We have the meagrims, Baring-Gould
Mehalah (1885) 293. w.Cy. 'Where's your conscience, girl, that
you can go sacrificing all them you should love and honour ... to
your own megrims ? ' ' It's not megrims, mother — it's love,' Long-
man's Mag. (Oct. 1897) 497 ; (Hall.) Cor. One evening her
daughter, . . who had long suffered from the megrims, was in capital
spirits. Hunt Po/i. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 369, ed. 1896.
Hence Maugram'd, ppl. adj. adorned with queer figures.
w.Yks. All young men wearin shert frunts, risbands an collars
at's maugram'd all ovver wi different soarts a patterns an colours,
Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1859) 50.
2. //. Antics, tricks; gesticulations; grimaces. Cf.
May-game, 1.
Yks. A kitten is ' on wi' it's maagrams ' when amusing itself by
scampering about with a newspaper in its mouth, and tossing it to
and fro. A girl is ' full o' maagrams.' s.Chs.' Naay, du,nu bi on
wi aan'i u yur soft mai'grimz [Nai, dunna be on wi' anny o' yur
soft maygrims]. Stf.', Der.^, nw.Der.' s.Not. What are yermekkin
sich meagrams for? (J.P.K.) Lin. Wot meagrims art th' up to,
Sally? Brown LiV.injo-. (1890) 17. War. (,J.R.W.) Shr.' Them
childern wun naughty i' church, they wun makin' maigrims an'
witherin' one to another all the wilde.
[The same word as lit. E. megrim, a neuralgic pain in
the side of the head, Fr. migraine, the meagrim (Cotgr.).]
MEGS, sb. pi. Yks. Der. [meg.] In phr. by the megs,
an oath or exclamation, a disguised form of 'by the
mass ! ' Cf. mack(s ; see Mass, sb} 3.
w.Yks. Yet by t'megs, . . A've eard him call em legs, Preston
Poems, (s'c. (1864) 3 ; Bi t'megs, bud it's time to be lewking raand
t' corners nah, Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884) 11 ; Bud bi t'megs
aw'U mak sum on 'em sit up, Yksman. (1875) 44, col. i ; w.Yks.'
Der. Addy Gl. (1891).
MEGSTY ME, phr. , Sc. Also in form megisty Lnk.
A mild expletive or exclamation of surprise, wonder, &c.
Sc. Eh, megstie me. An' can it be the case that they really fecht
wi' cawnil hcht ? Ford Thistledown (1891) 29 ; Megsty me, sic a
braw horseman ! Koy Horseman's Wd. (1895^ X. Fif. 'Megstie
me I ' Leezbeth cried, ' the man's a' cobwebs,' Robertson Provost
(1894) 96. Ayr. Megsty me, what am I about? Galt Sir A. Wyhe
(1822) xvi ; Megsty me, doctor, are ye serious, or are ye wysse
eneuch ? Service Notandums (1890) 17. Lnk. Megisty me ! sic a
look he gied when he saw where he was, Eraser IVhaups (1895)
xiii. Lth. Often used by children (Jam.).
MEG'WEED, sb. Sus. The common Alexanders,
Smyrnium Olusairum. (B. & H.)
MEH, see Make, v.'
MEHELL, sb. s.Don. A gathering of people to reap,
make hay, etc. Simmons Gl. (1890). Cf. melliah.
[In meithle, crowds, concourse ; reapers (O'Reilly).]
MEHL, MEHT, MEICH, MEICKLE, see Meal, sb.^.
Meat, Meech, Mickle.
MEID, sb. Sc. Also written mead, meed, [mid.]
Mood, disposition ; bearing, courage.
Sc. But I am mourning i' my meed That ever I left my mither
gueede, Gil Brenton in Child Pop. Ballads (1882) I. 68 ; Hie
dames too wail your darling's fall. His youth and comely meid,
Ramsay Tea-Table Misc. (1724) I. 230, ed. 1871 ; Neir will I for-
get thy seimly meid. Nor yet thy gentle lure, Trag. Ballads, 1. loi
(Jam.). n.Sc. Gregor A^ofes to Z^MKifl?- (1893) 247. Abd. I'm in
an ill meid to-day (G.W.) ; Till nature tak' some whim, an' change
her meed, Gie's nae mair stories about noble bleed, Walker
Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 403. Edb. How can I houk a graff for
her, Ane o' sic comely mead? Learmont Poews (1791) i5-
[A pron. of mude, OE. tnod.]
MEID, see Meeth(e.
MEIGH, adj. Sc. ? Still, oppressive, close. Cf.
meeth, adj.^
Ayr. Man, it's awfu' kin' o' meigh an' warm-wise, Service Dr.
Duguid (ed. 1887) 201.
MEIGHL, MEIKLE, MEILY, see Meal, sb.'', Mickle,
Mealy, adj.^
MEIN(E,MEING, MEIR,see Uean,adj.,v.'', Meng, Mean
MEIRDEL, sb. Sc. Also written merdil Sc. ; merdle
Abd. [meTdl.] A confused crowd of people or animals;
a numerous family of little children ; a huddle of small
animals.
Mry. (Jam.'i ; Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882") 373. Abd. There
was a perfeck merdle o'themaifter't,ALEXANDERv4m/'/A. (1882) 131.
[Fr. merdaille, a crew of shitten knaves, of filthy
scowndrels, of stinking fellows (Cotgr.).]
MEIS(E, see Mease, i/.'
MEISE, V. Sc. Yks. Also in form maise Sc. (Jam.)
[meis.] To mix, or unite in one mass ; to incorporate.
n.Sc. Different substances are said to maise, when in conse-
quence of being blended, they so incorporate as to form a proper
compost or manure (Jam.). w.Yks.^ As it has to be meist, it mout
as weel be meist first as last.
MEISHACHAN, sb. Sc. A subscription dance.
Arg. The meishachan, where first I felt love's mainglin' smart,
CoLviLLE Vernacular {t.8^^ 6.
MEISLE, V. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Also in forms meissle
Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.'; meysel, meyzle Sc. (Jam.) ; micelGall.;
micell Nhb.' [mei'sl, mei"zl.] 1. v. To waste imper-
ceptibly ; to disappear gradually ; to expend in a trifling
manner.
Fif. Said of one with respect to his money, ' He meisslit it awa,
without smelling a must ' (Jam.). Nhb.' It's micell'd away.
2. To eat little and slowly ; to crumble up in eating.
Bnff.' He's a gueede heep better noo, an' macks oot t'meisle awa
a biscuit fill's brackfast. Cld., Lth. (Jam.) Gall. (li.); Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
3. sb. A small piece. Bnff.^
MEISLEN, V. and sb. Sc. Also written meisslen,
meyseln (Jam.). 1. 7>. To consume or waste away bj'
slow degrees. See Meisle.
Bnff.i They got a gey bit liftie o' siller, bit they meislent it awa
in a year or twa. Cld., Lth. (Jam.)
2. To eat little and slowly. Bnff.', Cld., Lth. (Jam.)
3. sb. A very small piece, ib.
MEITCH, V. n.Cy. Yks. Also written meach w.Yks.
[meitj.] To measure ; to compare. Cf. moich.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks. Wright Gram. Wndhll. (189a) g8;
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 8, 1884) 8.
MEITH
[8i
MELDER
MEITH, MEITHER, MEKIL, see Meeth, adj.\ Meeth(e,
Moither, Mickle.
MEKILWORT, s6. Obs. Sc. The deadly nightshade,
Atropa Belladonna. Brown Diet. (1845) ! (Jam.)
MEKKIN, sb. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Also written meckan
Cum." ; meckin Lakel.^ Cum. ; and in forms maikin Lan.'
n.Lan."^ ; makin ne.Lan." ; meakin Lakel. w.Yks. n.Lan.
fme'kin, me'kin, mrkin.] 1. The yellow iris or corn
lag, Iris Pseudacorus. Gen. in pi.
Cnm.i'* w.Yks. HuTTON Tom?- /o Caws (1781). Lan.', n.Lan,',
ne.Lan.'
2. Any common wayside fern, except Pteris aquilina,
but esp. Nephrodium tilix-mas. Gen. in pi.
Lakel.'' Cum. Hutchinson Hist. Cum. (1794) I. Append. 43 ;
Trans. Cum. Assoc, pt. vii. 152; ^B. cSc H.); Cum.' ; Cum." Theear's
nobbut two maks, meckins an breckins. Wm. Meckins mak good
thak (B.K.).
3. The water milfoil, Myriophyllum verticillaium.
Lakel. (B. & H.) Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (.1864) 307. n.Lan.
(C.W.D.)
MEKLE, see Mickle.
MEL, sb.^ Lan. Honey.
Lip that is sweet as the mel of the bee, Bamford Rhymes (1864)
181.
MEL,sb.^ Cum. A conical but not peaked hill standing
alone; a landmark; used ? only in place-names. (J.S.O.),
Cum.i*
MEL, see Meal, sb.'^, Mell, sb}", v.'', prep.
MELANCHOLIOUS, adj. Sc. Also written melancho-
leous Rnf. ; melancholyousAbd. Melancholy; sombre;
bilious.
Abd. The King somewhat melancholyous after his travel, coming
all the way post by coach, gave little ear to their speech, Spalding
Hist. Sc. (1792) L 318. Rnf. Thy melancholeous minor key Be-
spoke the same, Clark R/iymes (1842) 17. Ayr. Discoursing with
great sobriety on that melancholious theme, Galt Gitliaise (1823)
xvii. Slk. Why yon melancholious weeds Hung on the bonny
birks of Yarrow? Borland Yarrow (1890) 63. Gall. There was no
saying what cantrip this most melancholious saint might not have
taken into her head, Crockett Standard Bearer (i8g8) 264.
MELANCHOLY, adj. and sb. Sh.L Yks. Dev. Also in
forms malancholy w.Yks. Dev. ; milankily Sh.L [me'l-,
ma'lankoli.] 1. adj. In phr. to be melancholy over any-
thing, to be grieved and vexed about it. w.Yks. (E.G.),
(J.W.) 2. Peevish. w.Yks. (C.C.R.) 3. Insane ; mad
with anger.
Yks. I C. C.R.) w.Yks. Old Duke wor ommost malancholy when
he saw it, Hartley Clock Aim. (1872) 49; w.Yks.'^*
4. Very unsatisfactory.
Dev. A man said his work, which for some days had been a
failure, was a ' malancholy job,' Reports Provinc. (1877) 133.
6. sb. Love-sickness. S. & Ork.' 6. Mischief.
Sh.I. I'll belt care 'at he gets hit. He's aye up for some milankily,
Sh. News (Oct. 8, 1898).
MELANDER,s6. Som. [mal8e-nda(r).] A disturbance ;
an accident ; a misfortune.
I said to him, Arthur Phibben seems to have met with a bit of a
melander (W.F.R.) ; W. & J. Gl. (1873).
MELCH, adj.^ and v. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Shr. Also
Written melsh e.Lan.' Chs.' [melj.] 1. adj. Of cows :
giving milk, milch.
e.Lan,! Shr.' Bin them barren or melch, Maister? Shr.^
[Melch kye, and draught oxen wyll eate a close, Fitzhereert
Husb. (1534) 62.]
2. Comp. (i) Melch-cow, a cow giving milk. w.Yks.=,
Shr.''^ 3. V. To milk ; ^(?«. in /i/i.
w.Yks.'' A cow is said to be hard-melched or easy-melched when
she is difficult or easy to be milked. Chs.' Thus we speak of a
cow as ' oo's an easy-melshed un.' ' Oo's too easy-melshed ; I
doubt oo'l run her milk ite.' Der. 2, nw.Der.', Shr.''
MELCH, adj.^ n.Cy. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Not.
Lin. Won Shr. Hnt. Suf. Ken. Also written melsh n.Cy.
w.Yks.^^ Chs.'^ ; and in forms malch w.Yks. ; malsh
Hnt. ; milch Wor. Ken. [melj.] 1. Mild ; warm ; soft
and moist ; applied chiefly to the weather, but also occas.
to anything soft.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Lakel." A chap 'at went ta a pliace whar
VOL. IV.
they mak whisky, an' they'd gien him a sup o' reg'lar stingo, said
it went doon as melch as new milk. w.Yks. This cheese '11 be
melch Ah think (B.K.); (Hall.); w.Yks.' 2; w.Yks.sAraelsh nut
is a soft one, not ripe. A melsh night ; w.Yks.s Lan. Nice melch
mak o' a mornin, Waugh Chim. Comer (1874) 113, ed. 1879;
Lan.i Chs.' Hens '11 begin a layin soon, it's so melsh; Chs.23,Der.',
nw.Der.' Not." It's a melch day, mester. Lin. It's strange melch
weather, Sir ; . . that was the melchest time I ever knew, when we
had to eat our bread with a spoon, it was so soft, N. & Q. (i860)
2nd S. ix. 106. n.Lin.' Ther's a deal of foaks is badly an' its all
thruf this melch weather. We're hevin' a melch back-end, soa we
shall hev a huncht spring. sw.Lin.' This melch weather is all
agen the pork. Shr.' Theer's a nice melch winde this mornin' —
mild as May. Hnt. N. & Q. ib. 63.
Hence Melched,^^/. adj. melted with heat, in a warm,
perspiring condition.
Not. I'm quite melched (J.H.B.). n.Not. (H.W.)
2. Comb, (i) Melch-hearted, gentle, diffident, timid, poor-
spirited ; (2) Melsh Dick, a wood-demon supposed to
guard soft unripe nuts.
(i) s.Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.', e.Suf. (F.H.) Ken.' Jack won't
hurt him, he's ever so much too milch-hcarted. (2) n.Cy. (Hall.)
w.Yks.3 ' Melsh Dick '11 catch thee, lad,' was formerly a common
threat used to frighten children going nutting.
3. Of a country: open, clear.
Yks. The melch coontry, Fetherston T. Coorhrodger {iQio) 157.
4. Modest. n.Cy. Grose (1790).
[1. Du. malsch, tender, soft, sweet, mellow; malts,
maltsch, tender, soft (Hexham) ; EFris. malsk, ' mollig,
sanft' (Koolman).]
MELDA, sb. Sh.I. [me'lda.] Weeds.
Nor da kail bowed dat's gaen owerwi'shickenwirt, runshick an'
melda, Stewart Tales (1S92) 42.
[Norw. dial, melde, weeds among the corn (Aasen).]
MELDER, 5^1.' Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Also written meldar Sc. ; meldhre Irel. ; and in
forms maleder w.Yks.^ ; milder w.Yks.^ ne.Lan.' [me'l-
d3(r.] L An indefinite quantity of corn, esp. of oats,
ground at one time ; the meal when first ground ; also
the time taken to grind a parcel of corn ; fig. a heap,
a large quantity. Cf. mailer.
Sc. I have often thought the miller's folk were far over careless
in sifting our melder, Scott Monastery (1820) viii. Bnif. In doing
a melder the primitive mill hottered away at the rate of six bolls
of meal ground in a week, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 148. Abd.
They came flocking frae the towns like mice to a melder, Ruddiman
Sc. Parish (1828) 134, ed. 1889. Frf. When bear an' ate the earth
had fiU'd, Our simmer meldar niest was mil'd, Morison Poems
(1790) iio. Per. His wife had forgotten to bring home anew
melder, Stewart Character (1857) xcvi. Fif. 6 qrs. of oats sent
to mill, Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). s.Sc. To keep oor teeth gaun
till oor ain melder come frae the mill, Wilson Talcs (1839) V. 90.
Ayr. Ilka melder, wi' the miller. Thou sat as lang as thou had siller,
Burns Tam 0' Slianter (1790) 1. 23-4. Lnk. Thrifty wee Lug^ie,
the melder to speed, Was croonin' awa o'er its ilka dam-head,
Watson Poems (1853) 35. Edb. The seeds from the different
makings of meal (melders) through winter, are preserved, Penne-
cuiK Wks. (1715) 87, ed. 1815. Slk. Ower muckle . . . meldar i'
the brusket, Hogg Tales (1838) 618, ed. 1866. Gall. If the melder
be six bolls, the mutter is about the fortieth part, Mactaggart
Encycl (1824) 356, ed. 1876. Ir. When we get home our own
meldhre, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) 92. N.I.' Ant. Bally-
mena Obs. (1892). s.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890). N.Cy.' Nhb.
They ' expect their melder, or batch of oats, to give half meal for
corn,' Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815) XXXV. 555; Nhb.'
Lakel.i ; Lakel." He sat doon ta seek a melder o' poddish as ye
nivver saw. Cum. O' 'at I cud gev him ut due, was to leeave her
a melder o' meeal, Dickinson Cumbr. (1875) 43; Cum." When a
farmer carried a few bags o' havver to mak' into havver-meal for
poddish, that was cawt a melder, C. Pacq. (June 15, 1893) 6, col.
2. Wm. Tak a melder o' bran fer t'sheep (B.K.). w.Yks. There
■rtwr a melder o' folk (S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.'^, Lan.' n.Lan.i Under 3
pile o' hay they fand sic a melder o' meeal— girt seeks full, Invas.
0' LTston (1867) 5. ne.Lan.'
Hence Meldering-day, sb. the day, kept as a kind of
feast, on which a parcel of corn was ground. N.Cy.'
2. Phr. (i) the dusty melder, the last child born in a family.
Abd. (Jam.) ; see Dusty ; (2) to eat a melder, to eat too
M
MELDER
[82J
MELL
much. N.I.' 3. Obs. or obsol. A kilnful of oats ; as
many oats as are dried at one time for meal.
n.Cy. (Hall.), Cum., Wm. (M.P.) Yks. Holloway. Chs.
Grose (1790); Chs.i=3
[1. Norw. dial, melder, flour or corn in the mill (Aasen) ;
ON. meldr (gen. meldrar) (Vigfusson).]
MELDER, s6.2 Yks. [me-ld3(r).] Entanglement;
mental confusion. w.Yks.^
Hence Meldered, adj. mixed, entangled.
w.Yks. T'reins were so meldered, he couldn't loose 'em (S,P.U.\
MELDREN, 5*. Sc. [me'ldrsn.] The quantity of
corn ground at one time. See Melder, sb}
Per. And biggit mills and grun' the meldrens, Spence Poems
(1898) 70.
MELDROP, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Also written mell-drop
N.Cy.^ [me'ldrop.] 1. The foam which falls from a
horse's mouth or the drop at the bit. s.Sc. (Jam.) 2. A
drop of mucus at the nose, whether produced by cold or
otherwise ; the drop at the end of an icicle ; any drop in
a pendant state.
s.Sc, Lnk. (Jam.) Rxb. Dight the meldrop frae my nose, and
I'll wear the midges frae yours (<i.). N.Cy.'
[1. ON. mel-dropi, the drop or foam from a horse's
mouth ; mel (mod. mtl and mil), the mouth-piece, bit
(Vigfusson). 2. Out at his nose the mildrop fast gan rin,
Henrysone Test. Creseide (c. 1500) (Jam.).]
MELDWEED, sb. Sc. The white goosefoot, Chenopo-
dium album. Lnk. Patrick Plants (1831) 131.
MELDY-GRASS, sb. Sh.I. The dodder, Spergida
arvensis. S. & Ork.^
MELG, sZ». Sc. The milt offish.
Abd. Franxisque-Michel iawj-. (1882) 425; (Jam.)
[Gael, niealg, milt offish (Macbain).]
MELGREAVE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Yks. Lan. Also written
jnellgrave Sc. (Jam.) ; and in form melgraf Lnk. (Jam.) A
quicksand. Cf meal, sb?
Lnk. (Jam.) Gall. It is said that a horse and his rider once
sunk in a mellgrave somewhere in Ayrshire, and were never more
heard of, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 339, ed. 1876. w.Yks.
HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781). ne.Lan.'
[Prob. a hybrid word, being a tautological comp. ; cp.
ON. melr, a sand-bank (Vigfusson), and OFr. greve,
'terrain sablonneux, au bord de la mer ou d'un fleuve '
(Hatzfeld).]
MELIA, MELISHIN, see Millia(h, Malison.
MELL, sb.^ and v.^ Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Lin. Suf. Also written mel Cum.^ [mel.] 1. sb.
A mallet ; a ' beetle ' ; a hammer, gen. of wood ; fig. a
heavy fist.
Sc. He that taks a' his geer frae himsel and gies to his bairns,
it were well waird to take a mell and knock out his harns, Fer-
guson Prov. (1641) 16. Sh.I. The old knockin' stane and mell —
now obsolete, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 29 ; S. & Ork.i, Cai.^ Abd.
Death has gi'en him wi his mell. And dung him dead, Shirrefs
Poems (1790) 243. Frf. He would . . . smash them with a mason's
mell, Barrie Tommy (1896) xxix. Fif. Tennant Papisiry (1827)
27. Dmb. Ring nae mair on't ! come doun, man, wi' the mell,
Salmon Gowodean (1868) 71. Rnf. Webster Rhymes (1835) ^^°-
Ayr. A nieve like a mason's raell. Service Di: Duguid (ed. 1887)
253. Lnk. Her little fist — what Doghip would have termed a ' wee
mell ' — had left an ugly mark on his cheek, Gordon Pyolshaw
(1885) 186. Lth. A mell for knockin' bear, Thomson Poems (1819)
113. Edb. Carlop Green (1793) 119, ed. 1817. Bwk. The mason's
mell and trowel Are laid aside till morn, CalderPootm (1897) 78.
Dmf. Bogle doons them like a paver, Wi's mell this day, Quinn
Heather (1863) 189. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 247, ed.
1876. n.Cy. Bailey (1721); N.Cy.i2^Nhb.i,Dur.i,Lakel.2 Cum.
Gl. (1851) ; Cum.i* Wm. Fowks o' steaynes. An Celtic mells.
Whitehead Leg. (1859) 43. n.Yks. Drive it firmly with your
mell, Atkinson Lost (1870) ii ; n.Yks.i A mell was customarily
used in connection with the frummity-trow, in the process of
preparing the wheat for use in making the furmity ; n.Yks.^a*!,
ne.Yks.i e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i
w.Yks.' ; w.Yks.s A wooden hammer, with a square head and an
upright handle, used for hooping barrels, and for tapping them
too, and for other purposes. Lan.l, n.Lan.^, n.Lin.', sw.Lin.i, Suf.*
2. Comb, (i) Mell-and-wedge-work, a , coal-mining term :
the method of bringing down 'jud' with tools instead of
by blasting; (2) -head, a blockhead, an 'oaf '; (3) -headed,
large and square-headed ; gen. used of a stupid person ;
(4) -'s-man, a stonemason; one who can handle a 'mell';
(5) -scope, a confirmed dunce ; a wooden-headed person.
(i) Nhb. A' bein' mell and wedge wark then, Wilson Pitman's
Pay (1843) 33. (2) n.Yks.i2^ m.Yks.i n.Lin.i Thoo's a straange
mell-head, thoo taks noa noatice o' what foaks says to thS. (3)
Cum.'* (4) Lnk. Banker your stane an' show ye're a mellsman,
CoGHiLL PoCT«s (1890) 84. (5) Cum.i*
3. Phr. (i) as dead as a mell, ' as dead as a door-nail ' ;
quite dead ; (2) he's getten a head and so has a mell, a phr.
used to express contempt for a very dull, unintelligent
person ; (3) pick and tnell, thoroughly ; with determina-
tion ; ' hammer and tongs ' ; (4) the shaft is out of the mell,
things are not going prosperously ; (5) to fling the mell, to
boast, brag, exaggerate ; (6) to keep mell in shaft or to keep
shaft in mell, to keep straight in any course ; to keep in
good health; to carry on one's business prosperously; to
make both ends meet.
(i) Edb. They'll think you're as dead as a mell, Crawford
Poems (1798) 54. (2) n.Lin.i (3") Cld. He went at it, pick an'
mell (Jam.). (4) Rnf. D'ye think, mem, her husband is
wealthy ? Some say the shaft's oot o' the mell, Barr Poems (1861)
109- (5) s.Sc. Take care o' yersel', Dan. Dinna fling tlje mell
ower faur, or, gor, ye may gang to the bad place, Ahd. Wkly. Free
Press (Dec. 8, 1900X (6) Ayr., Lth. (Jam.) Gall. When a
person's worldly pffairs get disordered, it is said that the mell
cannot be keeped in the shaft ; now unless the mell be keeped
in the shaft no work can be done, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
339-40, ed. 1876.
4. Obs. The prize given to the last one in a race ; the
last in any contest ; esp. in phr. to win, or get, the mell, to
be last, to come off worst in any encounter.
Sc. Since we have met we'll merry be. The foremost hame
shall bear the mell; I'll set me down, lest I be fee. For fear that I
should bear't mysell. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) II. 47-8 ; (Jam.)
Slk. Now for the mell ! now for the mell ! Deil tak the hindmost
now 1 Hogg Tales (1838) 153, ed. 1866 ; In former ages it was
the custom on the Border when the victor in the race was presented
with the prize of honour, the one who came in last was at the
same time presented with a mallet or large wooden hammer, called
a mell, . . and that then the rest of the competitors stood in need
to be near at hand and instantly to force the mell from him, else
he was at liberty to knock as many of them down with it as he
could. The mell has now for many years been only a nominal
prize, ib. n.Cy. When a horse came last in the race, they often
say in the North, he has got the mell, Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed.
1813) I. 448. Nhb. The unlucky young chiel who had the mis-
fortune to win the ' mell,' Dixon Whittingham Vale (1895) 54.
Lakel.2 They give t'warst plewer 'at a plewin match— that taks
t'mell. Cum. Still, still dog'd wi' the damn'd name o' mell !
Relph Misc. Poems (iT^l) 5 ; Cum." The jockey who is last in a
race is called the mell; Cum.^* ne.Lan.i To get the mell is to
obtain a mallet in prize ploughing as a prize for the worst
ploughing.
5. A blow with a mallet, or any heavy weapon.
Sc. Ilka ane should get his ain And ilka Whig the mell. Cham-
bers Sngs. (1829) I. 198 ; For a whole hour they would hae been
at it, baff for baff and mell for mell, Roy Horseman's Wd. (1895) i.
Cai.i
6. A big, strong, stupid person. Sc. (Jam.), Cai.', Bnff.*
7. V. To hammer ; to strike with a ' mell ' or with the
fist ; to beat severely ; to pound ; to bruise.
Cal.i In the ancient husbandry, the finishing preparation of the
ground for the later sown crops was mellingthe clods by mattocks.
Bnff. True it is that they may mell you, Taylor Po«w«s (1787) 169 ;
Bnff.i They mellt the pailin' hehd into the grun. Cld. (Jam.)
Lth. The callants flew through thick an' thin, An' yell'd, an'
mell'd wi' lounderin' din. Smith Merry Bridal (1866) 23. N.I.i
Mell whuns, to bruise whins with a mallet for cattle feeding.
N.Cy.i, Nhb.i, n.Yks.^ e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 27;
e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) n.Lan. When things are hammered fast
together, we say they are melled together (E.M.W.). n.Lln.*
8. Vhr. to pick and mell, (i) to ma.vi\;tohz3A. S.&Ork.*;(2)
to set to work vigorously ; to make use of all the means
within one's power. Cld. (Jam.)
MELL, sb.'' Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also written
mel Dur. Yks. ; and in forms mall n.Cy. Dun' ; meal
MELL
[83]
MELL
n.Cy. ; meyl e.Yks. [mel.] 1. The last cut of corn in
the harvest field. Cf. mell, sb.^ 4.
Dur. When the last handful is bound up in the golden sheaf,
and the sheaves are all placed upright in lots of ten or twelve
each, locally called stooks, the farmer's head man, or some other
elderly male person employed during harvest, proceeds with most
stentorian voice to ' shout the mell,' which is celebrated in the
following rhymes : ' Blest be the day that Christ was born. We've
gettin't mell of Mr 's corn ; Weel bound and better shorn.
Hip! Hip! Hip! Huzza! Huzzal' Denham 7"rac/5 (ed. 1895) ll.a.
Cum.l This last cut is commonly platted, enclosing a large apple,
and hung up in the farm kitchen till Christmas Day, when the
corn is given to the best cow, and the apple to the oldest servant
on the farm ; Cum.* Yks. When carrying the last corn, the
labourers and servants, by way of triumph cry ' mel, mel ' (K.) ;
Denham ib. n.Yks. Hearya, they've gitten t'mell to neet, they'r
shooting (W. H.). ne. Yks.i We've gotten t'mell.
2. ? Obs. A contention for superiority on the last day of
harvest.
n.Cy. The reapers, on the last day of their business, had a
contention for superiority in quickness of dispatch, groups of
three or four taking each a ridge, and striving which should
soonest get to its termination. In the north of England this was
called a mell, Chambers Bk. Days (1869) H. 377.
3. The harvest-home supper.
Nhb.i Nee mair at mell or merry night The cheering bagpipes
WuU shall blaw, Roxey Lay of the Reedwater Minsir. (1809^
Dur. Gibson Up-Weardale Gl. (1870'). Yks. Morton Cyclo. Agric.
(1863). n.Yks. (W.H.), n.Yks.i3, w.Yks. (S.K.C.)
4. Comp. (i) Mell-day, the last day of reaping ; (2) -doll,
the last handful of corn dressed like a doll or bound neatly
together, and carried in triumph through the field ; cf.
kirn-baby ; (3) -field, the field in which the last sheaf is
cut ; (4) -shaft or -sheaf, the last sheaf or sickleful of
corn ; (5) -shilling, an additional shilling given to each of
the reapers instead of a harvest supper ; (6) -supper, the
harvest-home supper.
(i) n.Cy. This day is known throughout the north by the appel-
lation of ' Mell Day.'. . An hour or two before the last and lucky
cut the village musician is sent for to proceed with all haste to
the harvest field, where he is expected to play some of his merriest
tunes ; to the sounds of which, at intervals, the shearers, binders,
and their kind-hearted master, join in social dance, Denham ib.
(3) n.Cy. A mell-doll, or image of corn, dressed like a doll, is
carried, amid the joyful acclamations of the people on the last day
of reaping. One of the verses of an old but vulgar song refers to
the custom : ' Odzookers ! Whom have we here now ? Why, sure
ita'nt Black Moll? Why,maam,you'reof the fair sex, And welcome
as mell-doll,' Fam. Churchman (Sept. 11, 18B9') 124 ; N.Cy.^ Nhb.'
An image gaily dressed like a female child, and carried by a woman
on a pole, in the midst of a group of reapers, as they go dancing
and screaming to and from the fields on ' a shearing out day.' These
parties generally consist of women ; but after the day's work is
done, the mell-doll . . . graces the board where the swains partake
with their female partners in reaping in a plentiful meal, and the
evening concludes with mirth, music, and dancing, Hodgson Nhb.
pt. ii. II. ■^. Nhb., Dur. (J.H.) Dur. My recollection of a mell
doll is of a corn-sheaf stuck with flowers and wrapped in such of
the reapers' garments as could be spared, Henderson Flk-Lore
(1879) ii. Wm. (J.H.) Yks. Henderson i^*-Z.ofc (1879) ii. (3)
Dur., Yks. In the years 1825 and 1826 I saw the reapers coming
home from the Mell Field i^ the evening, dressed in high-crowned
muslin caps, profusely ornamented with ribbons of various colours,
andprecededby music, Denham j6.3. (4) n.Yks.i This was frequently
made of such dimensions as to be a heavy load for a man, and,
within a few years comparatively, was proposed as the prize to be
won in a race of old women. In other cases it was carefully
preserved, and set up in some conspicuous place in the farm-house ;
n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.i m.Yks.' Leftstanding for the farmer himself to
cut. (5) Dur., Yks. Denham !*. (6)n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; Brewer
(1870) ; N.Cy.', Nhb.i Dur. It's corn that folks dance and sing
about when they're carrying the last load home — or may be you're
thinking of the dance at the mell supper. This mell supper . . .
comes ofi' only in honour of corn, Longman's Mag. (Oct. 1896)
577 ; Diir.i, Lakel.*, Cum.'* n.Yks. T'chap sang at t'mell supper,
Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 46 ; n.Yks.'^ ; n.Yks." The mell-
supper ... is still with us. ne.Yks.' e.Yks. Marshall Rur.
Econ. (1788). m.Yks.' w.Yks. The churn-supper was always
provided when all was shorn, but the mell-supper after all was got
in, BiHgley Herald (1887) Notes.
MELL, sb.^ Som. A warming-pan. (Hall.)
MELL, v.'^ and sb.'^ Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Lan. Chs. Lei. Dor. Som. Dev. Also written mel
Dur. Dor.' ; and in form meel Dev. [mel.] 1. v. To mix,
mingle ; fig. to have intercourse with, to have to do with.
Sc. The weel-scented Barber, wha melled wi' the gentry, Vedder
Poems (1842) 78. Bnff. Taylor Poems (1787) 147. Abd. Some
fowk wud never mak' nor mell wi' naething less nor gentry,
Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xix. Per. Mell na wi' rogues that
entrap an' inveigle, Stewart Character (1857') 36. Slg. Galloway
Poems (i8io) 4. Rnf. I ance was at the schule mysel'. An' wi' a'
mischief loved to mell. Young Pictures (1865) 144. Ayr. Nor
mell'd wi' sic as lee'd an' blether'd, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed.
1892) 188. Lnk. I'se for thy bairn provide ; Amang my ain she'll
pick an' mell, Hamilton Poems (1865) 35. e.Lth. 'Mang frem to
mell, MucKLEBACKiT Rhymes (1885) 13. Dmf. It will not mellwi'
ought but worth, Nor be content wi' less, Thom Jock o' Knowe
(1878) 80. Gall. None of us desired to mell with loose company,
Crockett C>-y>7IfaM (1896) vi. n.Cy. (Hall.), n.Yks.^, Lan,' Dev,
Us mell up one bushel o' lime to two o sdind^ReportsProvinc.{iQHQ).
Hence Melling, sb. a mixture, esp. a small quantity of
light wool used to blend with darker wool.
So. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 373. w.Yks. (W.T.)
2. Phr. (i) mell on me no more and Fll mell on thee no
more, a formula used by children when making a compact
to refrain from attacking one another ; (2) to mell on one's
match, to engage with one's equal ; (3) to mell or make, to
interfere with.
(i, 2) w.Yks.*" (3) s.Dur. A'll nowther mak nor mell wet
(J.E.D.). Cnm.i34^ Yks. (K.) w.Yks. It'll neither mak nor mell
thee (S.P. U. ). Som. Ther war naw need To mell or make wi' thic
awld creed, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825) 139.
3. To meddle ; to interfere ; often with on ; to join in
battle.
Sc. Are you sure this Earl is a man to mell with ? Scott St.
Ronan (1824) x. Abd. I wadna mell wi' 't, Macdonald R. Falconer
(1868) 132. Ayr. It sets you ill Wi' bitter, dearthfu' wines to mell,
Burns Sc. Drink (1786) st. 16. e.Lth. Weemen hae nae business
to mell wi' them, Hunter J. Inwii.k (1895) 189. GaU. Wha' in
Galloway wants to ride an' mell wi' Clavers an' the lads on the
Grey Horses? Crockett il/055-iya^s (1895) xvii. Wxf.i Dinna mell
wi' it. N.Cy.i Nhb. It's not my way to mell in a case like that,
Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 102 ; Nhb.' Ye'U get wrang if ye mell
wi'd. Dur. Gibson fjft-^Fraj'rffl/sG/. (1870) ; Dur.' s.Dur. Dinnot
be freghten't, A'll nut mell o' tha (J.E.D.). Lakel.' ; Lakel.= Ah
mell wi' mi awn business. Cum. He was niver best pleased to
hear t'Cap'en's dochter's name melled on, Linton Lizzie Lorlon
(1867) xxi ; Cum.' ; Cum.^ They'll be a warnin' to me nut to mell
wi' wark 'at I hevn't been browte up till, 178. Wni. Na yan dar
mell on him, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 16. n.Yks. Nowt melt o'
nowther him ner t'mutton that tahme, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes
(1875) 45; n.Yks.'^^; n.Yks.* If thoo mells on oor larl Jimmy
onny mair, Ah'U leather tha mysel. ne.Yks.' Thoo maun't mell
on 'em. e.Yks. Leave other folks alone — especially folks 'at's never
me'Iled wi' you, Linskill Exchange Soul (1888) iv. m.Yks.' Let
him mell of his marrow, and none be always agate of the likes of
that larl one. w.Yks. '3; w.Yks. ^ Noan o' yower melling — what
ha' ye to du wi' 't ? Lan. We're going to howd one [meeting] . . .
wheer the Manchester head constable cannot mell wi' us, Westall
Birch Dene (1889) III. 14 ; Lan.', n.Lan.', e.Lan.', Chs.' Lei.'
Dunna yo' mell. Dor. Vor he've a-been so good to-year, An' han't
a-mell'd wi' any squabbles, Barnes Poems (ed. 1869) 3rd S. 112 ;
Dor.i Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.' I tell
ee 'tis a nadder, don't you mell way un. Dev. (Hall.)
4. To match, equal.
Sc. Simon he's a strappin' chiel, For looks wad mell wi' ony
bodie. Whistle Binkie (1878) I. 269 (Jam. Suppl.).
5. sb. A company.
Sc. Mackay Diet. (,i888). Dmf. A dozen or twenty men will
sometimes go in, and stand a-breast in the stream, at this kind of
fishing [called heaving or hauling], up to the middle, in strong
running water for three or four hours together : a company of
this kind is called a mell. Statist. Ace. II. 16 (Jam.).
[1. When god melles sorow anguys & trauaile till his
flescly lykynge, Hampole (c. 1330) Ps. ix. 9. OFr. mesler,
nteler, ' unir ensemble ' (Hatzfeld).]
MELL, prep, and sb.^ Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also
written mel N.Cy.'^ Cum.'; and in form mill n.Cy. [mel.]
I. prep. Obsol. Between. N.Cy.' Cf. amell. 2. Comb.
M 2
[ELL
[84]
MELTITH
MeIl-door(s, the passage between the ' heck ' and the
outer door ; the door opening from the 'hallan ' into the
' heck ' ; the double doors enclosing the farm-yard.
N.Cy.i2, Nhb. (J.H.), Lakel.i Cum. An' some o' th' hallan, or th'
mell deers, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1805) 138 ; Cum.' ; Cum.^ (s.v.
Amell-door) ; Cum.* Wm. & Cum."- The mell-door and heck were
always at the back of the house. Wm. Briggs Remains (1825)
201, 216. n.Yks.'
3. sb. The middle.
Nhb. The mell on't wis flagg'd wi' luve for the dowtors o'
Jeruz'lum, Robson Sng. Sol. (1859") i''- 1°; Nhb.i
[1. Swilk maystris war made fiam o mell, Leg. Holy
Rood (c. 1300) 103, ed. Morris, 90. ON. nteSalin a medal,
t medal, between, among ; cp. Dan. mellem and imellem,
between (Larsen).]
MELL, v.^ Cld. (Jam.) Of corn in the straw: to become
damp.
MELL, z;.* Hmp. [mel.] Of a cat : to mew.
I heard her mellin in t'garden all night long (W.M.E.F.).
WELL, adj. Nhb.^ Of the weather : mild. Cf. mellow.
MELL, see Mail, sb.'^^. Meal, sb.'^, Mill, sb.^
MELLEN, MELLER, see Mealing, Miller.
MELLER, sb. Sc. Also in forms mailer Kcd. ;
maillyer Bnfif.^ ; mealer Kcd. ; miller- Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
The quantity of corn ground at one time. See Melder.sA.'
Bnff.i We've jist a maillyer fae the mill. Kcd. They gather to
him far and near, Wi' mailers 0' their corn : For if ye gie him it the
day, Ye're sure o' meal the morn, Jamie Muse (1844) 145; At
Clinter Mill a mealer lay, The aits had come frae Knowes, Un-
weigh't, unseckit i' the troch, Grant Lays (1884) 5. Draf. Young
Peggy's to the mill gane To sift her daddie's meller, Cromek Re-
mains (1810') €16.
Hence Mellerin(g or Millering, sb. waste meal, esp. the
waste meal gathered after grinding the sweepings of a
meal-mill. Cf. meldren.
Sc. She would meal you with millering That she gathers at the
mill, BucHAN Ballads (1828) II. 84, ed. 1875.
MELLET, sb. e.Lan.^ sw.Lin.^ [me'lit] A small
wooden hammer ; a mallet. See Mell, sb?-
MELLETTER, sb. Lan. A surprise ; a surprising
thing.
By sungs.bo'that'samelletter ! Mullins ThrumsfromSpindle,2o.
MELLGRAVE, see Melgreave.
MELLIAH, sb. I. Ma. Also written melya, mheillea.
The gathering-in of the harvest; the harvest-home supper.
See Mehell.
There wasa great shout, ' Hurrah'for the Melliah ! ' It rang through
the glen and echoed in the mountains, CAiNEiJ/CTM;rwan (1894) pt. 11.
xiii; Harry took heart, and eat like a melya, made a very .good
tay, I tell ye, Brown Witch (1889) 91 ; Nor at the ' Mheillea ' drank
the home-brew'd ale, Johnson Isle-iad, 53.
MELLIER, MELLIN, MELLISHON, MELLISON, see
Milyer, Mealin, Malison.
MELLOT, 56. Chs.is.Chs.^ [melat.] The short-tailed
field-mouse.
MELLOW, adj. and v. Sc. Yks. Midi. Stf. Not. Lin.
Won Bdf Suf I. VV. Also written mella n.Yks. n.Lin.' ;
mellah e.Yks.' ; mailer s.Not. ; and in forms mallow
LW.^ ; mulla Suf "^ [me'la.] 1. adj. Of fruit : ripe ; of
meat : good and tender.
e.Yks.'- Ten a penny, mellah peears. n.Lin.' That Scotch beast
'11 mak' mella' beaf when he's kill'd. Wor. (H.K.) Bdf. Apples
of the roughest flavour, if they be but ripe, are said to be mellow
(J.W.B.). Suf.i
2. Comb, (i) Mellow-hole, a hole, esp. in a stack, where
boys put apples to ripen. e.Yks.' ; (2) -nest, a hiding-
place for eatables for one's own private consumption.
n.Yks.^ 3. Rendered genial by drink; slightly in-
toxicated ; mettlesome, spirited.
Abd. Ye'll mak them mellow wi' draps o' mountain-dew, Caden-
HEAD Bon-Accord (1853) 151. Ayr. When thou was corn't, an' I
was mellow, Burns Farmer s Salutation, St. 9. n.Yks. Sits be hiz
wahn er grog tell he iz mella, Castillo Poems (1878) 53. Midi.
Two ' being half-drunk,' and the third 'just comfortably mellow,'
Bartram People of Clopton (1897) 138. Stf. Monthly Mag. (1816)
I. 494. s.Not. (J.P.K.) e.Lin. They telled me the poany was a
^uellow maw to catch (G.G.W.). I.W.', e.Suf. (F.H.)
Hence Mellowish, adj. slightly intoxicated.
Rnf. When Jove was mellowish, He found he far'd the better,
Picken Poems (1813) I. 182.
4. V. To soften. Wor. The frost mellows the ground (H.K.).
MELLS, sb. pi. Sc. In phr. to gree like butter and melts,
not to agree well.
They 'gree like butter and mells, Ramsay Prov. {I'l'ii) ; They
'gree like butter and mells [maul's, note']. Spoken when people
do not agree, but I know not where the comparison lies, Kelly
Prov. (1721) 323.
MELLUM, see Malm.
MELLY.ai^'. Sc. [me'li.] Mellow ;^^. pleasant, tender.
Dmf. Ilk day tae me ye seem mair fair, Blythc, bulky, douce, and
melly, Quinn Heather (1863) 226.
MELM, see Malm.
MELMONT-BERRY, sb. Mry. (Jam.) The berry of
the juniper, Juniperus communis.
MELSTHER, s6. e.Yks.^ MS. arfi/. (T.H.) A dial, form
of ' maltster.'
MELT, sb} Irel. Nhb. [melt] The tongue.
N.I. 1 Keep in your melt. I'll knock the melt out of you. Nlib.i
A cant word. ' Had yor lang melt, yor aye gan moothin aboot.'
MELT, v} and sb.'^ Sc. Not. Wor. [melt.] 1. v. To
waste away.
Wor. If I takes him [a newly-bought bull] from good keep and
puts him to bad he'll melt (H.K.).
2. Of money : to spend in drink.
Sc. You are ready now to melt that penny into whisky, Ford
Thistledown (1891) 184 ; Hame he cam wi' coppers six Ilk day to
melt in mountain-dew, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 99. Bnff.' A've
a saxpince, an' a'U melt it. Ayr. Gin I had that tippence melted
into whisky and toom'd o'er my hause. Hunter Studies (1870) 133.
3. sb. Phr. in a melt and a swelter, exceedingly hot.
Not. She was all in sich a melt and a swelter, Hooton Bilberry
Thurland (1836). ,
MELT,w.2 Yks. Som. Dev. [melt.] To prepare barley
for fermentation ; to make it into malt.
w.Yks.' ; w.Yks.^ They don't lauk malt 'at were melted i' cukoo
taum.
Hence Melted, /i^/. adj. of flour: made from corn which
has sprouted in harvesting ; of bread made from such
flour : sticky, heavy, and sweet.
TV. Som.' The same effect is said to be produced by over rapid
grinding, and hence heating in the mill. Dev. Thease loave ov
breyde a-clit. I 'spose tha flour wuz a-melted, Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892) (s.v. cut) ; Dev.l, nw.Dev.l
MELT, v.^ Sc. [melt.] To make a person or animal
sink suddenly under a blow on the side ; to knock, bruise.
Sh.I. I believe A'm blue meltid me knees an' elbiks, Sh, News (Apr.
I, 1899). Bch. I can teet an' hitch about, An' melt them ere they
wit ; An' syne fan they're dung out o' breath They hae na maughts
to hit, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 36.
[Hell spark ... I sail belt thee . . . Soone fald or I melt
thee, MoNTGOMERiE Flyting (ed. 1629) 762.]
MELT, MELTAITH, see Milt, sb>^^, Meltith.
MELTER, sb. w.Yks. [meltsfr).] One who has
charge of a crucible steel furnace. (W.S.)
MELTET, MELTETH, see Meltith.
MELTIE.BOW, s6. Sc. See below. See Melt, 7^.^
Abd. To make the [herd's] club serve its purpose completely,
there was cut out near the handle a mystic figure, something
like an ill-fashioned monogram, known as the ' meltie-bow,' which,
it was understood, saved the club from inflicting harm on the cattle,
if it chanced to strike them below the belt, as it were, Alexander
Ain Flk. (1882) 92.
MELTIT, see Meltith.
MELTITH, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Also written meltaith Lnk.;
melteth Sc. (Jam.) ; and m forms mealtith Sc. ; meltet
Abd. ; meltit Sc. [me'ltijj.] 1. A meal.
n.Sc. (Jam. ) Abd. About mid-day they ae slim meltet sent, Ross
Helenore (1768) 52, ed. 1812. Rnf. Our meltith's aft but scrimp
an' scanty, Picken Poems (1813) I. 124. Lnk. They're forced tq
stand upon the open road. And mak' a meltaith of a bawbie clod,
MuiR Minstrelsy (1816) 5. Edb. May ye hae mealtiths when ye're
hungry grown, Learmont Poems (1791) 261. SIk. Wi' routh o'
hamely meltith stored, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 373. Rxb. They
gobble their melteths nor doff the hat, Riddell Poet. Wks. (1871)
I. 36. Dmf. Quick she gat a meltith made. And welcomed them
MELVERLY
[85]
MEND
like friens, Johnstone Po^ws (1820) 103. Gall. She . . . made their
meltiths warm and clean, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 40, ed.
1897. Kcb. 'Fore his mate Lays the delicious meltit, I5avidson
Seasons (,1789) 5. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.)
2. Comb, (i) Meltith-buird, a table on which meals are
served ; (2) -hale, having a good appetite.
(i) Sc. Yer weans round about yer meltith-buird sal grow like
the olive wands, Wabdell Ps. (1871) cxviii. 3. (2) Rnf. To see
gin a' be meltith hale, An' thrang at wark, Clark Rhymes (1842) 19.
3. Phr. (i) a greedy guts ne'er got a gude meltith, greed
never prospers ; (2) a hearty hand to give a hungry meltith,
an expression used to describe a niggardly person ; (3)
twa hungry meltiths makes the third a glutton, privation
leads to excess.
(i) Sc. Henderson Prov. (1832) 29. (2) Sc. Kelly Pro?;. (1721)
27 ; Ray Prov. (1678) 360. (3) Sc. Ferguson Prov. (1641) 32.
4. The quantity of milk yielded by a cow at one time.
Cf. meal, sb?- 3.
Ags. (Jam.) Frf. She . . . the milk frae ony cow could steal An'
make whole meltits ramp ! Lowson Guidfollow (1890) 235. Per.
(Jam.) Flf. Quickly they the kebbuck table, Hawkie's e'enin'
mealtith bring, Douglas Poems (1806) 102. s.Sc. She accordingly
brought her evening's meltith and skimmed it into his dish, Wil-
son Tales (1839) V. 96.
[1. Norw. dial, maaltid, meal-time (Aasen) ; ON. mdltiS
(Vigfusson).]
MELVERLY, sh. Shr.^ In phr. (i) get to Melverly
wie thee, go where mischief may befall you ; (2) Melverly
God helps, the inhabitants of Melverly; (3) Melverly/
where do you think? see below.
(i) From the circumstance of this village on the Welsh side of
Shropshire being continually flooded bythe irruptions of the Severn
has originated the phr. of ' Get to Melverly wie thee.' (2) Its re-
moteness, perhaps, and the frequency of inundations to which it is
subject, has occasioned the place to pass into a bye word, and its
inhabitants to be called Melverly God helps. (3) After a dry
summer, the Melverleians, whose land, which in itself is rich and
productive, has been rendered morefertilebythebountiful watering
of the adjacent river, retort upon their bantering neighbours, by
the phrase of 'Melverly! where do you think?' A triumphant
kind of exclamation, which signifies that such crops as those at
Melverly could be obtained nowhere else.
MELVIE, V. and adj. ? Obs. Sc. Also written melvy
s.Sc. 1. V. To cover with meal or flour.
Fif. In coats meal-melvied, Tennant Papistry (1827) 69. s.Sc.
Only look at my back and think hoo sic a raelvyin wad suit on
your fine black coat, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 91. Ayr. Sma' need
has he to say a grace, Or melvie his braw claithing! Burns Holy
Fair (1785) st. 25.
2. adj. Soiled with meal. n.Sc. (Jam.)
MELYA, see Melliah.
MEM, 56. and i;. Sc. [mem.] \. sb. Madam, Ma'am.
. ne.Sc. ' What have you been doing ? ' ' Nothing, mem,' Green
Gordonhaven (1887) 104. Abd. But, mem, I canna lee, Macdonald
ioss»V (1877) Ixiii. nw.Abd. Eh ! Dear be here, mem, is this you ?
Goodwife (1867) St. 1. Per. I wuss ye gude e'en, mem an' sir,
Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 9, ed. 1887.
2. V. To call one Madam or Ma'am.
Ayr. ' Indeed, Mem.' ' Ye needna " mem '' rae. . . I'm a common
body,' Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 58. Lth. He mem'd me this
and mem'd me that, McNeill Preston (c. 1895) 92.
MEMAW, see Meemaw.
MEMBER, sb. War. Wor. [me-mb3(r).] A person,
an individual.
War.3 He is an odd member [an odd person]. Wor. You get a
warm member sometimes, Evesham Jrn. (Aug. 13, 1896).
MEMBER-MUG, sb. Yks. Lan. [me-mba-mug.] A
chamber utensil. w.Yks. (H.L.), (S.K.C.), Lan. (H.M.)
MEMEL, sb. Wm. Yks. Also written memmel Wm. ;
memmil w.Yks. Timber imported from Memel ; red-
wood, pitch-pine.
Wm. l,B.K.) w.Yks. Memel timber is now being replaced by
pitch-pine for bearing timber. Memel timber was exported in logs,
not sawn up into sizes, of 12 to 18 inches square (J.S.); It'll sure
to stand ; it's a memmil joist (S.O.A.).
MEMO, see Mee-maw.
MEMOIR, sb. Yks. A remembrance, recollection.
w.Yks. Are they sad memoirs of changes since then? Bicker-
dike Beacon Ann. (1872) 6 ; (J.W.)
MEMORANDUM, sb. Sc. Yks. 1. A memorial in-
scription.
Edb. The laird of the ground . . . Put up a stone with this
memorandum, Mitchell Tinklarian (ed. 1810) 8.
2. A memento, remembrance.
n.Yks. ' I am going to keep that as a memorandum.' Restricted
to the rural n. (C.C.R.)
MEN, sb. pi. Sc. In phr. the Men, see below.
n.Sc. There is a sect, or rather a special class of Presbyterians,
called ' the Men.'. .' The Men '. . . represent an advanced, not to
say an exaggerated, form of the belief held by those among whom
they live. They are regarded by those around them with reverence
as men of specially holy lives, and, from their pronounced avowal
of religion, are often called ' professors,' receiving that title as
regularly as if they had chairs in a university, Good Wds. (1881)
236 ; The ' day of the Men ' is the high day of the solemnities of
a Ross-shire communion, ib. 237.
' MEN, see Man, sb.'^, Mun, v.'^, pron.
MENAAGER, v. Hmp. [m3na-dg3(r).] To make
shift, to contrive.
' How are you going to make that old gate do ? it's all to pieces.'
' O, ri manaager it up somehow' (H.C.M.B.).
MENAGE, sb. Sc. [msna'g.] A domestic establish-
ment ; household management.
Sc. (A.W.) Lnk. She said he only wanted one thing to make
his menage complete, . . a wife, Hamilton Poems (1865) 245.
[Fr. menage, ' administration des choses domestiques '
(Hatzfeld).]
MENAGE, see Manadge.
MENAGERIE, sb. Lin. Shr. Sus. Hmp. [mana'd^ari,
manse'dgari.] A collection of odds and ends ; a mixed
assembly ; a confused state of things, a litter.
n.Lin.'^ He wrote it all doon, what he said, an' what she said, an'
what thaay said, and what thaay hed for the'r suppers, and what
thaay paaid, and the whoale menagery on it. Shr.' 'Eart alive,
childern, whad a menagerie yo'n got 'ere I Sus. What's all this
menagerie about? (F.E.S.) Hmp. There just was a menaagery
there (H.C.M.B.l.
MENAGERY, sb. Wor. Hrf Pem. Glo. Oxf. Ken.
Hmp. Also written menajery Glo.' [manae'dgari.l
1. A contrivance, a clever arrangement or makeshift.
Hrf.2 I never zeed such a menagery as that. Pem. (E.D.), Glo.'
Oxf.' What's that menagery? MS. add. Ken.' That is a menagerie !
Hmp. (H.C.M.B.)
2. An implement. s.Wor. (H.K.)
MENARD, MENCE, MENCH, see Mennard, Mense,
Manch.
MEND, V. and sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
[mend.] I. v. Gram, forms. 1. Preterite : Ment.
Sc. Think how aft I ment your sarks and hose ! Herd Coll. Sngs.
(1776) 11. 199 (Jam.). N.I.1, Shr.i
2. pp. (i) Menden, (2) Ment.
(I) e. Yks.i (2) N.I.i Hrf.i ; Hrf.2 It's just been ment.
II. Dial. uses. L v. See below.
w.Som.' In speaking of a lodger or son it is usual to speak of
' washing him ' and ' mending him ' when his clothes are intended.
' You knows, mum, I niver can't avord vor to wash and mend
[maim] thick there gurt bwoy vor nothin.' Dev. She ' washed and
mended him ' to the envy of the neighbours. Good Wds. (1881) 844.
2. To cure, heal ; to make better, to improve. Also
used_/?^.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Abd, The marquis got back his keys, whilk
he took with the burthen foresaid, and could not mend himself;
such and so great was Frendraught's moyan against him at this
time, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 43. s.Sc. O' ye'r love 'twill
owther men' ye. Or a wee deceive the time, T. Scorr Poems (1793)
358. Cld. Men' yer maners (Jam.). Ayr. Not a' the quacks, wi' a'
their gumption, Will ever mend her, Burns Ep. to J. Goudie, st. 4.
Slk. To fatten and to mend ye, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 277. Dmf.
The doctor's not worth ought I vow, He might hae mend ye lang
or now, Shennan Tales (1831) 53. n.Yks.' T'Cropton chap — he
mended me reeght on eend ; n.Yks." He'll a'e ti mend his waays
or he'll mend up nowt. w.Yks. (J.W.) Dev. Have you seen how
a little dog is mended of lamb worrying ? Baring-Gould Urith
(1891) II. xxxix.
•3. intrans. To get better, improve in health, become
convalescent.
Cld. ' He's aye menin',' he is daily growing stronger (Jam.) .
Ayr. The held did not mend, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 33.
MENDEN
[86]
MENGE
Twd. February ; an ye be fair, The hoggs'U mend, and naething
pair [lessen], Swainson Weather Flk-Lore (1873) 39. Cum. Like
as if he'd just mendit oot ov a lang illness, Farrall Betty Wilson
(1886) I ; Cum.^ His hand mendit weel, 163. Wm. I hwope ya
mend nicely, Lonsdale Mag. (1821) H. 446. n.Yks.^ My son's
nicely, Sir, thenk ye: mending gey an' fast; n.Yks.^Ah's mending
neycely noo, Ah's seean be all reet agaan. ne.Yks.'^ He's mending
nicely. e.Yks.i ilfS. arfrf. (T. H.) ,w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Mary, my
owd lass, thae mun mend ! Lake Longleat (1870) IL vi. Chs.^
' How's your wife to-day ? ' ' Oo's mendin nicely, thank you.'
n.Lin."^ He's not well yit, bud he's mending. Gmg. William is
mending very nice now (W.M.M.).
Hence Mending, ppl. adj., in phr. (1) on the mending
hand,_ (2) — road, (3) — side, (4) — way, improving, re-
covering health.
(i) s.Wor. My ear seems on the mending hand, Porson Quaint
Wds. (1875) 23 ; OuTis Fig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (1896) XVIL
s.Wor.i, Glo. (A.B.) (2) s.Wor. (H.K.) (3) w.Yks. (J.W.) (4)
s.Wor. (H.K.)
4. To improve, become better ; to reform, improve in
character ; to atone, make amends for.
Per. Speak o' yer ain sins, ye rascal ! an' let mine be. Yer
soul's black wi' them, an' it's time ye was mendin', Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) 59, ed. 1887. Cld. Things are menin' wi' him
now (Jam.). Ayr. I might have been cut aff frae the kirk
a'thegither ; however, I have made up my mind to mend,
Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 32 ; If honest worth in heaven rise
Ye'U mend or ye win near him, Burns Tarn Samson (1787)
Epitaph. Edb. For Gudesake mend, while yet ye can, Mac-
lagan Poems (1851) 184. n.Cy. (J.W.) Cum. He duddent
know what way to gang to mend hissel, Richardson Talk (1876)
2nd S. 183. n.Yks.'* He's mended hissen mich. w.Yks. Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 8, 1884). Lan. Eh Jone ; thae mends noan,
Waugh Owd Bodle, 255 ; It wur a rotten place i'th Jacobin
times, an' aw dunno thinkit's mich mendut, Brierley Tafc (1842) 86.
Hence (i) Mendable, adj. reparable ; (2) Mendation,
(3) Mendment, sb. amendment, improvement.
(i) Kcb. Faults in your life are mendable by repentance,
WoDROw Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 385. (2) w.Yks. Splendid
benefits resultin' fro' this mendation i' traade, Yks. Comet (1844)
No. 2, 15. (3) Abd. (Jam.)
5. Phr. (i) to mend a candle, to lengthen the wick of a
rushlight; (2) — one's draught, to drink again, take
another glass ; (3) — one's drinking, to empty one's glass,
so as to leave no heel-taps ; (4) — one's speed, to quicken
one's steps ; to accelerate one's progress.
(i) Sur. N. & Q. (1869) 4th S. iv. 43. (2) s.Wor. If you like
cider, sir, I hope you'll mend your draught, Porson Quaint Wds.
(1875) 30 ; s.Wor.\ se.Wor.' (3) sw.Wor. I have heard in the
district between Malvern and Ledbury, ' You want to mend your
drinking.' That referred to * heel-taps,' i.e. leaving some in the
glass, not quite emptying it before again filling (W.B.). (4) Per.
The apples^^rosy anes- — I gat to gar me mend my speed ? Nicoll
Poems (ed. 1843) 89.
e. To make good ; see below.
War. He had been mending cabbage plants [putting in fresh
plants in the rows where those first planted had failed] (E.S.).
7. To dress land with manure. Also with up.
Lan. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). e.Suf. (F.H.) Sur.^ A field
that is poor or run out is said to want mending (s.v. Amendment).
Sus.i Hmp.i Mending the land (s.v. Amendment).
Hence Mendment, sb. manure. See Amendment.
Mid. Manure is undoubtedly the greatest cause of fertility. (The
Middlesex farmer says ' there is nothing to be done without
'mendment'), Middleton View Agric. (1798) 305. Ken.i Ken.,
e.Sus. HoLLOWAY. Sus.'', Hmp.i
8. To grow stout. Hence to be well mended, phr. to have
grown stouter. Uls. (M.B.-S.) 9. sb. A patch, repair.
Cld. (Jam.) 10. Phr. on the mend, improving, getting
better.
Fif. Ay, I'm on the mend ; I'll sune be up and aboot, Heddle
Marget (1899) 45. Ayr. Really sin' ever Willie cam hame, the
wark has been on the mend. Service Notandums (i8go) 4. Edb.
Ye are on the mend ? but yet ye look but shilpit, Beatty Secretar
(1897)377. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
MENDEN, int. Nrf Suf. Also written mendin Nrf.
[me'ndsn.] A disguised oath. See Amenden.
Nrf. ' Mendin on ye, maw,' an expression of expostulation
something like ' don't be so tiresome' (E.M.); What the mendin'
du yew mean ? Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 9. Snf.i What
amenden! e.Suf. (F.H.)
MENDER, sb. w.Yks. [me-nd3(r).] A person who
looks over and repairs a piece of cloth when finished
weaving. (J.W.), (J.M.)
MENDING, prp. e.An. In phr. mending the muck-heap,
a vulgar romp.
Holloway; e.An.i If one falls down, others fall over till there
is a promiscuous heap, of either or of both sexes, tumbling together,
as they would express it themselves, ' heads and bolls,' of course
indelicately and seldom decently.
MENDS, s6.//. Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lan. Also Sus.
Som. Also in forms mens Sc. Cum.* e.Yks.' ; mense Sc.
1. Amends, reparation, recompense, satisfaction, revenge;
atonement.
Sc. There's nae mends to be got out of him, Scott Blk. Dwarf
(1816) x ; He that crabs without cause shall meat without mends,
Ferguson Prov. (1641) 13. Cai.^ 'To mak mens,' to make up
for a loss or injury. Boh. If I did wrang to lay the wyte On silly
Palamede, Fat mends gat he frae you? Forbes Ulysses (1785) 30.
Per. NicoL Poems (1766) 60. SIg. Wodrow Sel. Biog. (ed.
1845-7) I. 139. Rnf. I hae sworn ... To hae some sort o' mends
o' the washerwife's son, Webster Rhymes (1835) 115; That's
better mense for a fault than a' your mortifying o' your members,
Graham Writings (1883) II. 21. Slk. But no mends could he
get, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 327. Rxb. See if ye can mak' some
mends, Riddell Poet. Wis. (ed. 187 1) I. 200. Kcb. Many a
blackstroke received innocent Jesus, and he received no mends^
Rutherford Z.c«. (1660) No. 12. N.Cy.i, Dur.i, n.Yks.=, w.Yks.i
Sus. Holloway. w.Som.i I know'd you'd zee how I should ha
mends like, so zoon's you know'd o' it.
2. Improvement, cure; amehoration of conduct, health, &c.
Sc. There is nothing but mends for misdeeds, Kelly Pj-ozj. (1721)
320; I see nae signs o' a mends yet. Ye hae the mense in your
ain han' (Jam. Suppl.). BnfT. Taylor Poems (1787) 11. Cnm.^ A
varst of advice, o' free gratis begat ; But he gat nea mends, dud'nt
pur oald man, 161. n.Yks.^ ' Is your wife no better? ' ' Nae, Ah
sees nae mends iv her.' ' He's been gannan a strange gate ower
lang. It's te nae use leuking for mends ' ; n.Yks.^ I's heartless o'
onny mends ; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.^ Ah doot there's neea mends for
her. e.Yks.i He awlas was a bad un, an Ah see ni mens in him
yit. w.Yks. Ther's noa mends for him (JE.B.) ; w.Yks.^ Lan.
My ear gated o' ticklin. . . Well, aw shaked my yed ; an' aw wiped
my ear, . . but it made no mends, Waugh Tattlin' Matty, 20.
3. Phr. (1) at the height of one's mends, nothing further to
be given or had ; (2) to the mends, in addition, over and
above, ' to boot'
(i) Cum. Ah wad finnd oa that oot mebby, when ah was at
t'heet o' me mends, Sargisson foe Scoap (1881) 10 ; Cum.i* (2)
Sc. Often applied to what is given above bargain (Jam.) ; I will
verily give ... a free discharge of all . . . and beg him pardon to
the mends, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 161 {ib.).
MENE, MENEOLAS, see Mean, v.'^, Meanolas.
MENG, V. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Chs. Shr. Also written
meing Sc. (Jam.) ; and in form menge n.Cy. Chs.^^^^ Shr.^
[merj, meng.] 1. To mix, mingle, blend. Cf. mang, v.'^,
ment, pp., ming, t;.^
Bwk., Rxb. To meng tar, to mix it up in a proper state for
smearing sheep, greasing carts, &c. (Jam.) n.Cy. (Hall.), Nhb.i
Cum. Here, lan'-leady, . . meng us up thar glasses, Stagg Misc.
Poems (ed. 1807) 140 ; Cum.* Obs. Cum., Wm. Nicolson (1677)
Trans. R. Lit. Soc. (1868) IX. Shr.i
Hence (i) Meinging, vbl. sb. the act of mixing ; (2)
Meng-corn, sb. mixed corn ; (3) Menged-tar, sb. a mixture
of tallow and tar for greasing carts.
(i) Slk. The meinging of repentance, Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck
(1818) I. 288 (Jam.). (2) Nhb.i, Chs.123 (^^.v. Muncorn). (3) Nhb.i
2. Of corn: to become mixed.
n.Sc. Corn is said to meing, when yellow stalks appear here
and there, when it begins to ripen, and of course to change
colours (Jam.). Bwk. The corn's beginnin to meng (fb.).
Hence Meingyie, v. to mix, applied to grain when it
begins to change colour or to ripen. Fif {ib.)
[1. Anoon to );e erjie he spit And wi)) erfe he menged
hit. Cursor M. (c. 1300) 13545. OE. mengan, to mix (B.T.) ;
G. mengen.]
MENGE, sb. Yks. [meng.] A term used in the game
of marbles ; see below.
n.Yks. If a taw sent towards the ring was accidentally stopped
MENGY
[87]
MENSE
the sender would say ' Menge,' i.e. that it should be allowed to
proceed. If his opponent in the game said 'No menge,'the first taw
must remain, for the time being, where it was stopped (W.H.).
MENGY, sb. Dev. Also written menjy nw.Dev.^
[me'ndgi.] The minnow, Leuciscus phoxinus. Dev.^,
nw.Dev.^ [Satchell (1879).] See Minnie, sb? 1.
MENGYIE, MENIE, see Menyie, Mean, v}
MENJUS, adj. Sur. [me'ndgss.] A corruption of
' tremendous.'
Most menjus high spirity folks was the old master and the missus,
Bladkw. Mag. (i8go) 462.
MENK, V. Yks. [meqk.] To hiave an inclination or
longing for anything. See Mint, v.
n.Yks. She's always menkin after finery (F.K.).
Hence Menkin, sb. a longing, craving.
I have a menkin for a bit of nice homemade bread (ib.').
MENNARD, sb. Yks. Also written menard n.Yks. ;
and in form mennad n.Yks.* e.Yks.^ [me'nad.] A minnow,
Leuciscus phoxinus ; a very small fish.
n.Yks. Duant kil dhat lal fish wat its nobat a menard (W.H.") ;
n.Yks.", e.Yks.i w.Yks. ' A little fish, is'nt it ? ' ' We oUas calls
'emmennards' (F.P.T.) ; w.Yks.i
MENNEM, sb. Nhb. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Som. and Amer.
Also written menem Wm. ; mennam N.Cy."^ Nhb.^ ;
mennim Nhb.'; mennom Dur.'; menowm Nhb.'; mennum
Cum. ; and in form minim Som. Amer. [me'nam.] The
minnow, Leuciscus phoxinus. Alsousedattrib. Cf mennard,
mennon.
N.Cy.' Nhb. Wi" mennim bait an' flee, Coguetdale Sngs. (1852)
46 ; Nhb.' Mennem hyeuks and mennem tackle are used in trout
fishing. Dur.', Lakel.'' Cum. Wi' mennums furst, an' next wi'
worms, An' than wi' grubs I baitit, Richardson Talk (1876) and
S. 24. Wm. T'silvery sided menemcrew, Can scarcely water
find. Whitehead The Lyvennet {iB^ci) 5. n.Yks.*, Som. (Hall.)
[Satchell (1879). Amer. Little ponds never hold big fish ;
there is nothing but pollywogs, tadpoles, and minims in them,
Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) and S. xix.]
MENNENT, sb. Sc. The minnow, Leuciscus phoxinus.
See Mennon.
Bwk. We sought the heather-Iinties' nest Or gump'd for men-
nents in the pool, Calder Poems {1897) 63.
MENNER, s6. Lan. A dial, form of 'minnow,' Z,«/nsa«
phoxinus. Science Gossip, XVIII. 164. e.Lan.'
MENNON, sb. Sc. Also written menon ; and in forms
menin, mennin, minnin, minnon, see below, [me'nan.]
The minnow, Leuciscus phoxinus. Cf. mennem.
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Takin' minnons i' the burn wi' an' aul' creel,
Ai-EXAiiOER Ain Fli. (i88a) 88 ; [He]'s no the worth o' a minnin,
no to say a whaul, Macdonald Sir GibUe (1879) 1. Rnf. Down
frae the lion to the snail, Up frae the menon to the whale, Tanna-
hillPo««s(i8o7) a85, ed. 1817. Lnk. A trottin' burnie Wi' trouts
an' mennin's plenisht weel, Hamilton Poems (1865) 89 ; Where
the saugh-tree shades the menin pool, Ramsay Poems (1800) H.
133 (Jam.) ; For hours he'll examine a trout or a minnon, Nichol-
son Idylls (1870) 25. Lth. Whyles sprauchlin' through the Hun-
ter's Bog For puddock, taid, or mennin. Smith Merry Bridal (1866)
35. Slk. When bits o' callants and lassies are plowterin about
fishin for mennons wi' thread and cruckit preens, Chr. North
Nodes (ed. 1856) U. 63. [Satchell (1879).]
MENNOT, sb. 1 Obs. Yks. The minnow, Leuciscus
phoxinus.
e.Yks. Marshall /?«)-. £co«. (1796^ H. 333. [Satchell (1879).]
MENSAL, adj. .' Obs. Sc. In conib. Mensal kirk, see
below.
Sc. A ' Mensal church ' (from Mensa, a table), was a term ap-
plied in Scotland to a church that had been appropriated by the
Patron to the Bishop, and made thenceforth part of his own bene-
fice, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) i. Lnk. The kirk of Daviot,
which is one of the mensal kirks of the diocese of Murray, Wod-
Row Ch. Hist. (1731) IV. 195, ed. 1828.
MENS(E, see Mends.
MENSE, sb., adj. and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Lan. Lin. Also written mence Sc. Cum. Yks. ;
mens Lin.' ; and in form ments Lin.' [mens.] 1. sb.
Honour, respect, reverence.
Ayr. Ye rin frae ae thing tae anither, Wi' mad intent, the Deil's
ain brither, Till mense is lost, Wnns. Jottings (1879) 152. Edb.
fortune . . . will . . . slight us for our lack o' common sense, That
dinnae ken what way to do her mence, Learmont Poems (1791)
196; They'll pay him nae regard or mense, LiDDLE/'o«>«s(i82i)ia8.
2. Profuse hospitality, liberality; a liberal amount, a
great deal.
Per. He's fou o' law the publican. He has a mense o' pure non-
sense, Stewart Character {i8$-j) aa. N.Cy.', Dur.' e.Dur.' Mense
is a great thing in this country {re funeral extravagance as a token
of respect). nw.Yks, A bottle of currant wine which she was
saving to make mence with a friend or two who were coming,
Hist. William and Joseph (^1821) 84. w.Yks. There is not a mense
of snow in smoky Leeds, Hamilton NugaeLit. (1841) 356 ; (J.W. )
ne.Lan.' sw.Lin.' What a mense of folks there was ! Oh, dear,
it runned a mense ! He's .gotten a mense outen it. The rain has
done a mense of good.
Hence Menses, sb. charity. Yks. (Hall.)
3. Pay, recompense, reward ; thanks, grateful return ;
kindness.
Rnf. We've fed him, cled him — what's our mense for't a' ? Tan-
NAHiLL Po«»js (1807) 12 (Jam.). Slk. A' thegetherye'll mak but
little mence o' him, Hogg Tales (1838) a39, ed. 1866. Cum."
'What will be my mense?' orrecompense, Sullivan C«m.«KrfPFm.
(1857) 89 ; Thoo's rowl't aboot i' t'muck an' mire. An spoil't thy
cleas for mense, Richardson Talk (1886) ist S. 88. Wm. Let us
dea what mense we can and prevent what evil, Hutton Bran New
Wark (1785) 1. 405. n.Yks.3
4. Decency, propriety, decorum ; sense, discretion, tact ;
good manners, politeness.
Sc. We hae mense and discretion, Scott Rob Roy (1817)
vi ; Little mense to the cheeks to bite afi" the nose, Ramsay Prov.
('737) ; Hs looks amon' fowk like a man o' mense. Ford Thistle-
down (1891) 47. Abd. I hope my frien' has ruth o' mence, Cock
Strains (1810) l\. 87. Per. Be seen with men of mense, Halieur-
TON Dunbar (1895) 31. Fif. Tennant Papistry (1837) 313. w.Sc.
Had he the mense as he has the manners, we micht mak him our
deacon (Jam. Suppl.). Dmb. Nae gallant wends the Braes, in
mense or grace, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 3. Rnf. We haena
mense like cruel man, Picken Poems (1813) L 67. Ayr. She . . .
could behave hersel wi' mense, Burns Poor Mailie, st. 4. Lnk. A
rattle-skull, Wha's neither mense nor havens, V^att Poems (1827)
67. Lth. Gude nature, mense, an' wut conjoint, Lumsden Sheep-
head {\8gz) 97. Edb. He'll learn mair mense by-and-by, Ballan-
TiNE Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 120. Bwk. They haena mense eneuch
to ask Gin Collie will ye lick? Calder Poems (1897) 223. Slk.
They haena the mense of a miller's yaud, Hogg Tales (1838) 34,
ed. 1866. Dmf. Wae worth yer name, John Barleycorn, Baith
mense an' gain ye gar us scorn, Quinn Heather (1863) 83. Gall.
Ye'll hae the sense and the mense to keep a calm sough, Crockett
Moss-Hags (1895) xviii. Rxb. She baked a cake and butter scones
for menses sake To entertain her guest, Riddell Poet. Wks. (ed.
1871) L ga. Wgt. We ha'e plenty o' mense, Fraser Poems ( 1885)
51. Uls. 'You have your mense and your meal.' Meaning when
a favour has been offered and refused (M.B.-S.). Ant. Ballymena
Obs. (1892). N.Cy.'^ Nhb. But never a soul had the mense to
come near them, Ritson M Garl. (1810) ; (K.) ; Nhb.i, Dur.^
e.Dnr.i I did it for mense's sake. s.Dur. (J.E.D.), Lakel.'^^ Cum.
' Meat's gude, but mense is better,' was an old proverb against
selfishness at table, ' Leave a bit on yo'r plate, for t'mense o*
t'house' (M.P.) ; 'Taylor's mense.' A small portion left by way
of good manners (J.L. 1783) ; Some wantin' mence, some wantin'
sense, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1805) ia8; Cum.' ' He hez nowder
sense nor mense': said of a person who is silly and unmanageable ;
Cum.* n.Yks.^ Nane that's owther mense or sham' wad dee it ;
n.Yks.2 'They hae nowther mense nor sense,' neither good man-
ners nor understanding. ' Meeat is mickle, but mense is mair,*
a provision is much, but goodness is more ; n.Yks.^ ; n.Yks.* If
he'd 'ed onny mense aboot him, he wadn't 'a'e sed a thing leyke
that. ne.Yks.' e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.',
m.Yks.' w.Yks. Ye've no mense aboutyo', Snowden Webof Weaver
(1896) 139; Hutton Tour to Caves (1781) ; w.Yks.', n.Lan.i,
ne.Lan.'
5. Neatness, tidiness, order ; freshness, gloss, newness,
bloom.
Lakel.2 Wesh thisel an mak thisel a mack of mense. Yks. Thou
has neay mence in thy clathes (K.). n.Yks.i 'You've spoilt his
mense'; of a horse, the tail of which has been cut too short.
ne.Yks.i Thoo's ta'en all t'mense ofT'n thi cleeas. e.Yks. Ay ! lass !
all mense is offa thah best bonnit, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889') 73 ;
e.Yks.' w.Yks. She charged me to clean it for mense, Blackah
Sngs. (1867) 43; He has no mense of himself, i.e. he does not
keep himself respectable. Obsol.(J.T.) Lin.' The best part of the
MENSE
[88]
MENSEFUL
wear or use of anything. n.Lin. When th' mense o' this here
marryin's gotten worn off, Peacock Tales (1890) 2nd S. 45 ; n.Lin.^
It was a fam'ly wi'oot ony mense among th' whoale lot. That
blacli velvit coat o' mine'll wear a long time yit, bud all th' mense
has goan off on it.
6. A credit ; an ornament.
s.Sc. Her cheese could brag the country wide, And were aye a
mense to Little Billy, Watson ■£««& (1859) 10; Yer clever son
wha's a mense to us a', Wilson Tales (1836) II. 165. Lth., Dmf.
It is said of any individual of a family, who either in respect of
personal or mental accomplishments, sets out or recommends all
the rest, ' He ' or ' She's the mense of the family/ or ' of a' the
family' (Jam.). Bwk. We're a mense to Paxton town, Henderson
Pop. Rhymes (1856) 15. Slk. What a mense she would be to the
town of Selkirk 1 Hogg Tales (1838) 320, ed. 1866. Rxb. Thou was
a mence At kirk, i' market, or i' spence, A. Scott Poems (1805)
105 (Jam.). Dmf. Be baith douce, an' clever, an' braw, A mense
tae yersel' an' Corby Ha', Thom Jock 0' Knowe (1878) 26 ; Blythly
I took up the springAnd bore the menseawa,Jo ! Cro^'ek Remains
(1810)47. N.Cy.i Nhb. 'Twadleuk mair tiv his mense ta gan an'
muck the byre, Chatt Poems (1866) 86 ; Nhb.i ' He's a mense ti
the family' — one who adds repute to his circle.
7. Comp. (i) Mense-money, pocket-money, money kept
in the pocket so as to never be without money and to show
one's respectability ; (2) -penny, (a) see (i) ; (b) liberality
conducted by prudence.
(i)n.Yks.2 (2, a) n.Yks.i, w.Yks. (F.K.R.) (i)N.Cy.i w.Yks.
Willan List Wds. (1811).
8. adj. Decent, respectable ; clean, tidy, neat. Also used
advb. See Menseful.
Wm. She turns her family out mense. I feel mense again
(B.K.). m.Yks.^ I will try and make mense of it of some road
[give it a presentable appearance in some way]. w.Yks. Shoo's
as mense a woman as ivver ah knew (iE.B.) ; Mak things lewk
mense afoar t'maister comes rahnd, Yksman. (June 28, 1879) VII.
405 ; w.Yks.^5
9. V. To grace, decorate, adorn ; to do honour to ; to
behave respectfully or courteously to. Also used Jig.
Sc. Bide sweet lady from the blast, And ae night mense my
lonesome ha', Cunningham Sngs. (1813) 51 ; They mense little
the mouth that bites aff the nose, Ferguson P>'oz/.(i64i) 33 ; Serve
me that way, and ye's no rue. But mense your kin, Pennecuik
Coll. (1787) 28. Ayr. Whatsome'eryour airts may be As we hae
nought to mense ye wi', Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 186.
Lth. Your things and mine's putten thegither will mense the house,
Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 16. Edb. His legs mens'd all the
parish, at kirk and market, Mitchell Tinklarian (ed. 1810) 6. Slk.
Good . . . bannocks ... to be pouched by them that draff and braw
wad better hae mensed, Hogg Tales (1838) 74, ed. 1866. Dmf.
Though thou'd mense Juno's car, Quinn Heather (1863) 201.
N. Cy.^ The pictures mense the room. Nhb, Te mense this greet
occasion, Wilson Dicky's Wig (1843) 81 ; The clock menses the
room, A^. & Q. (1882) 6th S. vi. 474 ; Nhb.i e.Dur.i Mense the
window. Cum. Broken pots for dublers mens'd thewaws, Relph
Misc. Poems (1747) 15 ; My mudder thowt it mens'd a house,
Anderson Ballads (ed. 1881) 112 ; Gl. (1851). n.Yks.i e.Yks.i
Mah wod. Jack, bud thoo did lewk weel o' Sunda neet, wiv a lass
ov eeather sahd ti mense tha off, MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. Good
tidings will mense a brazen messenger, Snowden Web of Weaver
(1896) 191. ne.Lan.i
10. Phr. to mense a board, to do the honours or preside
at table.
Sc. N. & Q. (1871) 4th S. viii. 465. Dmf. Conveener Tamson
mens'd the board, Mayne Siller Gun (1808) 57 ; (Jam.)
11. To tidy, make clean and neat ; to clear up. Also
reflex, to dress or smarten oneself up. Gen. with up.
Wm. Yan . . . Has mens'd her up wi' labour girt, An' now she
shines again, Whitehead Leg. (1859) 23. n.Yks.^ ' I will mense
me with a new coat.' ' She mucks mair than she menses,' as the
sloven, who is said to soil more than she cleans; n.Yks.* Sha
seean mensed things up a bit when sha cam. Nobbut saay thoo's
sorry an' it'll mense t'matter up at yance. m.Yks.i Don't stay to
mense thyself up, now, but go. w.Yks. Aw've turned 'em, an'
clahted 'em, an' mensed 'em up. Hartley Clock Aim. (1894) 25 ;
Away wi' ya, an' mense yond gardin' up a bit (J.T.F.) ; w.Yks.^
I'll mence mysel up a bit. ne.Lan.' Gaa an' mense thysel up.
12. To make up for ; to amend, improve.
w.Sc. Your giein' now canna mense for your takin' then (Jam.
Suppl).
[1. To mene me with messes, grete menske nowe it
were, Awntyrs Arthure (c. 1435) 230 in Sc. Allit. Poems
(1897) 133 ; And suche a wife t>ou sende Isaac . . . him to
ioy and menske to ))e. Cursor M. (c. 1300) 3269. 2. ON.
;«e««5^a, humanity (Vigfusson). 8. ON.mennskr,h\iman,
belonging to man. 9. Men suld him mensk, Cursor M.
2432.]
MENSEFUL, adj. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dun Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Lin. Also written menceful w.Yks.' ; and in form
mensfou Sc. [me'nsful.] 1. Becoming, proper, seemly,
modest, discreet ; creditable to a man, decent, respectable.
See Mense, sb.
Sc, Lay by your new green coat, and put on your Raploch grey ;
it's a mair mensefu' and thrifty dress, Scott Old Mortality (1816)
V. s.Sc. Ye've but to be a mensefu' hand, A knowing prudent
trader, Allan Poems {188-]) 30. Ayr. Wi' ilka loom auldkimmers
ken Is mensefu' in a butt-an'-ben, AmsLiE Land of Burns (ed.
1892) 176. Lnk. But d'ye see fou better bred Was mensfou Maggy
Murdy, Ramsay Poems (1800) I. 278 (Jam.). Edb. It shall gang
hard wi' me an' mine, if some day or other he disna get a mensefu'
return for this and other kindnesses, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed.
1875) 62. n.Cy. Grose (1790). Nhb. (R.O.H.) Dur. Gibson
Up-Weardale Gl. (1870) ; Dur.i Wm. Wer meear ner enough te
mak' menseful fooak Gi' the'r shooders a hitch, Bowness Stud.
(1868)46. n.Yks.i A menseful chap, enew. A menseful funeral;
n.Yks.3* ne.Yks.i Thoo deean't leeak menseful i' them things.
e.Yks. For the family thus to appear was regarded as menseful,
Jackson i^y^ (1874) 10. w.Yks. Ah'd suin let t'lass knaw't wur
not menceful t'run after t'lads i' sich a fashion. Banks Wooets
(1880) II. 7 ; (J.W.) ; w.Yks.l Live in a gradely, menceful, heppen
way, ii. 306. Lan. It'll be a sham [shame] if we connot find him
a menseful bit of a dinner, Waugh Jannock (1874) ii ; Davies
Races (1856) 272 ; Lan.^ n.Lin. Bud then ther' wasn't a mense-
fuUer lass i' all England, Peacock Tales (1890) 2nd S. 32 ; n.Lin. ••
Hence Mensefully, adv. becomingly, suitably, decently,
fittingly.
Nhb. Thy wit could not save the good breeches That mensefully
cover'd thy bum, Allan Tyneside Sngs. (ed. 1891) 113. n.Yks.^ ;
n.Yks.2 ' Mensefully manner'd,' a well-ordered address. ' Mense-
fully lared,' suitably instructed. ' Mensefully through the world,'
and at last ' mensefully brought out,' buried ; n.Yks.*
2. Mannerly, polite, well-behaved ; courteous, well-bred ;
respectful.
Sc. She's as menseful a lady as ever stepped, Keith Bonnie
Lady (1897) 82. Frf. When Jeannie is near he's aye mensefu' an'
douce. Watt Porf. Sketches (1880) 59. Per. Woman grown, an'
mensefu', an' fair. Ford Harp (1893) 164. s.Sc. Sic mensfu' folk
in house or ha', Watson Bards (1859) 8. Dmb. Pate, tho' mensefu'
yad, can scarce be thought To prize his bonny rider as he ought,
Salmon Gowodean (1868) 2. Ayr. They ken'd him to be aye A
mensefu' beast, Fisher Poems (1790) 105. Lnk. Be mensfu' wi'
your mouth, and dinna eat o'er muckle, Graham Writings (1883)
II. 52. Lth. Ae douce, mensefu* weel-faur'd queen, Lumsden
Sheep-head (1892) 151. Slk. The ewes had been very mensefu'
that night, Hogg Tales (183B) 23, ed. 1866. Gall. She did not
think it becoming or menseful, Crockett Cleg Kelly (1896) 248.
Ant. He was a mensfu crathur, Ballymena Obs. (1892). n.Cy.
(J.L. 1783). Nhb. (R.O.H. ), Lakel.^ n.Yks.3; n.Yks.* He mun
alius mak hissen mensful. e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
w.Yks. (J.W.), ne.Lan.i
3. Hospitable ; generous, liberal.
Lth. Instructions to see that everything was mensefu' an' wise-
like, an' to hae a royal supper in the ' Black Bull,' Strathesk
More Bits (ed. 1885) 293. N.Cy.i Nhb.i We'll set oot the best
ware for the tea ; it'll be mair menseful like. e.Dnr.^ ' It'll be
more menseful ' — said of serving up a joint entire, to some guests,
rather than 'the same joint cut into chops. Lakel.i Cum. Send
her some spare-rib, and let it be a menseful bit (M.P.) ; Cum.' A
menseful swort of a body ; Cum.^ n.Yks. The Wise Man made
his visitors kindly welcome, made them draw in their chairs to the
fire, provided them with pipes and tobacco, . . and, in short,
' behaved hissel' real menseful wiv 'em,' Atkinson Moorl. Parish
(1891) 118; A menseful funeral, LeedsMerc. Suppl. (Dec. 20, 1890).
4. Tidy, clean, neat ; in good order. Also used advb.
e.Lth. The wrichts were to mak' mensefu' and wicelike a' the
close yetts, Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 238. n.Cy. (J.W.)
s.Dur. They keep a varra menseful house (J.E.D.). n.Yks.
(R.H.H.) ne.Yks. Clean up the garden and make it a bit mense-
ful (J.C.F.). e.Yks. A bit of paint 'uU mak t'house look quite
MENSELESS
[89]
MENYIE
menseful (Miss A.) ; e.Yks.i Mak thysen menseful afoor thoo gans
tl choch. w.Yks. Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.sis^ n.Lln.i
Hence Mensefulness, sh. tidiness, order.
n.Yks. Three lads . . . working away at a bit of toilsome clearing
which had been made necessary for 'mensefulness,' Atkinson
Moorl. Parish (1891) 13. w.Yks. (J.W.)
5. Useful. W.Yks.* 6. Comp. Menseful-penny, liberality
conducted by prudence ; money spent at an inn in return
for the use of the house as a place of resort.
N.Cy.i Would have their menseful-penny spent With gossips at
a merriment, Camel's Wedding. Nhb.^
[1. pis maner ... is menskefull & noble. Wars Alex.
(c. 1450) 2953.]
MENSELESS, adj. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Also written
menceless w.Yks.' [me'nslas.] 1. Without regard for
decency or propriety ; indecent ; untidy, disorderly. See
Mense, sb.
N.Cy.i Cum. Jack out wi' monie a menseless word, Gilpin Pop.
Poetry (1875) 70. n.Yks.'24^ e.Yks.i, m.Yks.' w.Yks. Willan
List Wds. (1811) ; w.Yks.s
2. Unmannerly, rude, ill-bred ; uncultured, unpolished.
Also useAJig.
e.ScThe deil's menseless, but you're misleard, Setoun Sunshine
(1895) 124. Abd. Haud yer tongue wi' that menseless-hke lauchin',
Macdonald Castle Warlock (1882) iv. Frf. Menseless bazils,
Beattie Amha (c. 1820) 18, ed. 1882. Per. Cheese or butter (not
both — tliose who united butter and cheese were counted mense-
less), H ALiBURTON /"Mr^A !« i^«/a? ( 1 894) lo. e.Fif. Bessie refused
to alloo sic a menseless rapscallion to set anither fit within her
academy, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) iii. Rnf. My menseless lay
'S now wisein' to the gloamin', Picken Poems (1813) I. 97. Ayr.
Ither menseless graceless brutes, Burns Death of Poor Mailie, 1. 50.
Lnk. Here's that menseless whaup girnin' in at the window, Fraser
Whaups (1895) i. Dmf. Low, mean, licht, and menseless, immoral
and senseless, Quinn Heather (1863) 212. Gall. Ye senseless,
menseless blastie I Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 206. N.Cy.i,
Cum. (M.P.), n.Yks.i=, m.Yks.i w.Yks. Willan List Wds. (1811) ;
w.Yks.i
3. Thoughtless, silly, foolish ; senseless.
Sc. He's no sae 'menseless, seeing he's waled sae guid a wife
(Jam. Suppl.). Abd. He jee'd na out o' that an inch Afore a
menseless man Came a' at anes athort his hinch. Skinner Poems
(1809) 7, Peterhead ed. Per. Puir menseless sheep that hae na
gotten a shepherd, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 149, ed. 1887.
4. Greedy, covetous ; selfish, inhospitable.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Bch. To get fat cou'd be ettl'd
at By sik a menseless thief, Forbes Ajax (1742) 4. Cum. A set
o' menseless brutes ! (M.P.) ; Cum.'^ A menseless greedy gut ;
Cum.*, n.Yks.2
5. Immoderate, out of all due bounds ; incalculable ;
extraordinary.
Sc. Things has wi' dearth been menseless here awa, Morison
Poems (1790) 183 (Jam.). Abd. It was jist menseless the siller 't
he made aff o' diseas't nowte, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 130.
MENSEN, V. Yks. [me-nsan.] With up : to tidy, make
clean and neat, put in order. See Mense, v. 11.
Let's see if we connot get all mensened up befoor yor father
comes, Hartley Clock Aim. (1893) 29; It didn't tak me monny
minits to mensen misen up, ib. (1889) 39 ; When they seed what
a dirty hoile it wor they thowght they wod mensen it up a bit,
Yks. Wkly. Post (Oct. 17, 1896) ; (J.W.)
MENSION, sb. Obs. Nhb. Also written mencon,
mencyon Nhb.^ The vestige of a dike left sufficiently
visible to indicate where it had once been. See Mention.
Ye mencyon of an olde dike, Survey of Tuggal (1567) in Bate-
son Hisi. Nhb. I. 352 ; The word is of frequent use in documents
in such phrases as : — ' thence along the mencion of an old dyke
to—' (R.O.H.); Nhb.l
MENT, V. and sb. I.W. Dor. Som. Also in form
mint w.Cy. Dor.'; minte Som. [ment.] 1. v. To
resemble, take after ; to personate. See Mint, v. 4.
I.W.' The child ments [mences] like his father ; I. W.* w.Cy. A
do mint the veather o' un mortally, Grose (1790). Dor. Two little
childern ... so feair As the mother that they did zoo ment, Barnes
Poems (1869-70) 3rd S. 24 ; My childern here, in playvul pride, Did
zit 'ithinhis wooden walls, A-ment6n steStely vo'k, ib. 29 ; He ments
his father (S.A.K.) ; Dor.' 'E da ment his father. Som. (Hall.)
2. sb. Resemblance, likeness to. I.W.*'^ Som. Sweet-
man Wincanton Gl. (1885).
VOL. IV.
MENT, pp. Obs. n.Cy. Cum. Mixed, mingled.
n.Cy. (J.L. 1783). Cum. The bluimen pezz [peas], green ment
wi' reed and blue, RELPHil//sc.Po«w5(i747) 13; G/.(i85i); Linton
Lake Cy. (1864) 308 ; Cum.*
[Till with Ills elder brother Themis His brackish waves
be meynt, Spenser Sh. Kal. (1579) Julye, 24 ; The grene
with the rede meynt, Lydgate Storie of Thebes (c. 1420)
1260. M.Y..meynt,nieynd,meHgd,p-p- oi mengen; see Meng.]
MENT, see Meant, Mend.
MENTION, sb. Sh.I. [me-njsn.] A trifle, a little bit
Cf. mension.
[I] taks him a hyst wi a mention 0 strent, Burgess Rasmie (1892)
16 ; He was, as he used to say himself in the language of one of his
many callings, ' jOst a mention aff o' da plumb,' ib. Tang (i8g8) 2.
MENTITH, sb. Sc. A meal ; a dish. See Meltith, 1.
s.Sc. For these gentlemen I'se want a mentith o' coUops, an* a
mutchkin o' brandy, Snaith Fierceheart (1897) 65.
MENTLE, MENTO, MENTS, MENY, see Mantle,
Mainto, Mense, Mean, v.^
MENYIE, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan.
?Der. Not. Nhp. Also in forms maingie Bnff.' ; manzy
Frf. ; meany Wxf.' Nhb.' Der. ; meeny Lan. nw.Der.' ;
meiny w.Yks.* nw.Der.'; meinzie Lnk.; mengyie Sc.
(Jam.) Abd. ; menji n.Sc. ; meny N.Cy.^ e.Yks. w.Yks.*
nw.Der.' Not. ; menya w.Yks.*; menze Slg. ; menzie Sc.
n.Cy.Nhp. [me'ni.me'nji.] I.s6. 06s. Afamily,household.
Sc.(Jam.); FRANCiSQUE-MicHELZ.aK^.( 1882) 290. Wxf.i N.Cy.2
We be six or seven a meny [six or seven in family]. e.Yks. Quite
01^5. in common speech, but still preserved in an old rhyme, used
in stationing boys at the various ' hods,' preparatory to a game.
'Meny, meny, miny mo, I ax ya wheear mun this man go?'
Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 73 ; e.Yks.' Obs. in common parlance,
MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; Watson Hist.
Hlfx. {iT]5) 543; w.Yks.* s.Lan. Bamford Z)/a^. (1854).
2. A retinue, train of followers, a suite ; a company of
followers, a procession.
Sc. Childe Sinclair and his menyie steered Across the salt sea
waves, Vedder Poems (1842) 60 ; If the laird slights the lady his
menyie will be ready, Ramsay Prov. (1721) 42 (Jam.) ; Engaged
in the same joyous revel as the menyie of old Sir Thorn o' Lyne,
Scott Redg. (1824) Lett. x. Fif. The menzie o' that German loon
Hae pykin' been at this my gown, Tennant Papistry (1827) 103.
Rnf. Tho' we hae neither horses nor menzie at command, Harp
(1819) 146. Lnk. They might well be seen. So properly mounted,
approaching the green, . . I dare well declare a pretty meinzie,
Maidment Ballads (1844) 69, ed. 1868. n.Cy. Border Gl. (Coll.
L.L.B.) Nhb. Then the Percy out of Bamborowe cam. With him
a mighty meany, Ritson N. Garl. (1810) 15; Nhb.' Siccan a
funeral as aa nivver saa; what a meany was there! !Der. While
all his meany kept behind, Jewitt Ballads (1867) 232.
3. A crowd, throng, multitude ; a number, used both of
persons and things. Also used attrib.
Sc. Is not this a waukrife menyie ? Chambers Sngs. (1829) II.
353. n.Sc. Wi' menji feathers in her hat, Buchan Ballads (1828)
II. 245, ed. 1875 ; A great menyie, a multitude (Jam.). Bnff. He
still managed to attend to his garden and his ' family,' as his mother
termed his maingie of beasts, Smiles A^a^w;-. (1876) v. Cld. (Jam.)
Bch. He did the auld man leave Amon' sae fierce a menzie,
Forbes Ajax (1742) 8. Abd. This mengyie o' shirras, an' lawvyers
an' constables, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xviil. Frf. There
is a manzy of different things all sauced up to be unlike themsels,
Barrie M. Ogilvy (1896) 76. s.Sc. The bonniest hensure o' the
hail menyie, Wilson Tales (1836) IV. 34. Slg. Without a notable
inconvenient either to body or soul, or to both, without a notable
menze, as we speak, Bruce Sermons (1631) xv. Rnf. Call ye
nocht tham and [a] joly menye, Harp (1819) loi. e.Lth. Your
menzies, balls, and a' that, Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 211.
Edb. Menzies o' moths an' flaes, Fergusson Poems (1773) 167,
ed. 1785. Dmf. Three loud huzzas the menyie gaed, Mayne
Siller Gun (1808) 38. Lan. O meeny o fok wou'd gawm th' rimes,
Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) Reader 13. nw.Der.' Not.
Still in common use (W.H.S.) ; Not.' This examynate wasrequyred
by the whoU multitud present to requyre the Burgesses in his
Ward to mete a meny of honest Burgesses att the Hall, Not.
Borough Rec. (1598). Nhp. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.)
4. V. To crowd, to mix confusedly. Bnff.', Ayr. (Jam.)
[1. In thi seed alle the meynes of erthe schulen be
blessid, Wyclif (1388) Deeds iii. 25. OFr. maisnee, maisnie,
' famille ' (La Curne).]
MENZ
[90]
MERCY
MENZ, adj. Sh.I. Getting well through any kind of
work. S. & Ork.^
MEOL, MEOLS, see Meal, sh?^, MUes, sh. pi}
MEOUT, sb. Sc. Irel. Also written myaut Bnfif.' A
slight sound, the least noise.
Bnff.i He sat i' the neuk an' nae ae myaut cam oot o's hehd.
NI.i There was'nt a meout out o' the childre. Don't let a meout
out o' you.
MEOWL, V. Sc. Cum. Yks. War. Dev. Also in forms
mahl, meahl nw.Dev.^ ; miol Sc. (Jam.) ; mowl Cum. ;
myawl e.Yks."- To mew or cry like a cat. Cf mewl.
Sc. (Jam.) Cum. A black cat 'at nivver leeves her house, but
sits mowling, yowlin' aw day, Daley Mayroyd (1888) II. 131.
e.Yks.^ War.^ How that cat goes meowling about; she must have
lost her kitten. nw.Dev.i
Hence Meowling, sb. (i) a crying ; (2) obs., the cry of
a tiger.
(i) e.Yks.i Stop thy myawHn', cease your crying. War.^
' Stop that meowling' — an admonition to a child to discontinue a
peevish cry. (2) Sc. Mioling of tygers, bruzzing of bears, &c.,
Urquhart Rabelais (1653) (Jam.).
MEOZE, MEP, see Mease, sb}, Map, v.
MER(-, MERACLE, see Mear, Murr(e, Miracle.
MERCAL, s6. Sh.I. Also in form markal. [meTkl.]
A piece of wood used in the construction of a plough ; the
head of a plough. Cf. merkie-pin.
Through the lower end of the [plough] beam a square hole is
cut, for the introduction of a piece of oak about twenty-two inches
in length, named the Mercal, to which is affixed the sock and the
sky, HiBEERT Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 200, ed. 1891 ; What manners
are to be expected in a country where folk call a pleugh-sock a
markal? Scott Pirate (1822) xviii ; A square hole is cut through
the lower end of the beam and the mercal, a piece of oak about
22 inches long introduced, which at the other end holds the sock
and sky. Statist. Ace. VII. 385 (Jam.) ; S. & Ork.i
MERCAT, MERCH, see Market, Mergh.
MERCHANDIZING, vbl. sb. Sc. Selling, retailing;
shopping.
Sc. By the end of this merchandising I was glad to leave her
at the door with all our purchases, Stevenson Catriona (1893)
xxiv. Lnk. She canna tak a creel on her back, and apply to
merchandizing as I do to win a man's bread, Graham Writings
(1883) II. 54.
MERCHANT, 5*. Sc.Chs. Nhp. Som. Dev. Cor. Also
in forms marchand Sc. (Jam.) Nhp.* ; marchant Chs.^
Nhp." w.Som.^ n.Dev. Cor.'^ ; merchan Sc. [martjant,
ma'tjsnt; martj3n(t, ma'tjant.] \.\n^hT.(z) merchant's
interest, ? the legal rate of interest for merchants ; (2) —
May's little summer, a fine summer ; (3) to have on^s eye
one's merchant, to buy from one's own judgment.
(i) Ayr. He'll never be so extortionate as to make you pay
merchant's interest at the rate of five per cent, Galt Lairds
(1826) ix. (2) Cor." (3) Sc. A man's eye is proverbially said to
be his merchant when he buys any article entirely on his own
judgment without any recommendation or engagement on the
part of another (Jam.).
2. A shopkeeper, retail dealer ; a pedlar. Also used attrib.
Sc. We had not got to the second merchant's before she was
entirely charmed, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xxiv; A peddling
shop-keeper that sells a pennyworth of thread is a merchant,
Burt Lett, (i 754) I. 77, 78 (Jam.). Sh.I. Dir twa or tree wyes o'
daelin' wi' a merchan', Sh. News (July 25, 1899). ne.Sc. It wad
hae been better . . . had he been born . . . with the genius to
become a sma' merchant like mysel', Grant Keckleion, 4. Abd.
The new merchan' at the Kirktown, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) vi. Ayr. Run up to the merchant's for a white loaf,
Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 42. Lth. Ye ne'er catch him wairin'
a plack, man, Till a braw merchant's shop opens up in a crack,
BallantineP'o«>«s(i856) 109. Gall. Afause merchant loon Lives
het and fou within the toon, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 69,
ed. 1897. Nhp. Applied in a more extensive sense than in city
phraseology. Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 272.
Hence Marchantable, adj. fit for sale, in good condition;
fig. in good health.
w.Som.i 'Have you any spring chickens?' 'Well, mum, they
baint not hardly marchantable, not 'eet.' ' Thank ee, I baint no
waj's marchantable like s'morning — I was a-tookt rampin' be-now
in my inside.' n.Dev. Why fath, Cosen Margery, nort marchant-
able, Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 329.
3. A fancier ; one who deals in any speciality.
Chs.i A ' hen marchant. ' ' He wur th' ronkest dog marchant as
ever a seed.'
4. A buyer, purchaser, customer ; ftg. a wooer.
Sc. He never failed to pick up one, two, or three, on his way
home, for which he got plenty of ready merchants, Sc. Haggis,
51. Kcd. Often wad the elder spinster Gie her frien's to understan'
That there wis na want o' merchan's Eager for her hert an' han',
Grant Lays (1884) 83. Per. His aid and assistance in procuring
merchants for the goods, Monteath Dunblane (1835) 71, ed. 1887.
Cld. Na, I'll no brek the price ; I can get a merchant for my guids
ony day at my ain siller (Jam.). Dmf. You and I Are sweer to put a
merchant by. When we hae goods, and want to sell, Shennan Tales
(1831)43. Gall. Have ye found a merchant for your horse? (A.W.)
5. Shopping, the purchasing of goods.
Ayr. I'm ga'un to mak ma marchand (Jam.).
Hence Marchandye, sb. merchandise. Sc. {ib.)
MERCHIE, see Murchy.
MERCIFUL, ac^'. and rt^^w. Sc.Wor. Ken. Also in forms
mercifil Sh.I. ; mercifu Sc. 1. adj. Of the weather :
favourable, propitious, seasonable.
Sh.I. Da twa hidmist days o' da ook wis merciful wadder for
da corn, Sh. News (Oct. g, 1897) ; Dis is a mercifil time o' wadder,
baith fir laand an' sea, ib. (Feb. 25, 1899).
2. Lucky, fortunate.
s.Sc. It's mercifu he couldna tak awa my reputation alang wi
my leather, Wilson Tales (1836) III. 66.
3. Used as an intensitive, ' blessed,' ' mortal.'
Ken.i They took every merciful thing they could find.
4. adv. Very.
w.Wor. I hanna bin thur fur a merciful long while, S. Beau-
champ Grantley Grange {i8-] 4) II. 236; A merciful long time (W.B.).
MERCIMENT, sb. Sc. [maTsiment.] Mercy; dis-
cretion ; disposal.
n.Sc. I maun be at, or come in, your merciment (Jam.). Bnff.i
The crap's a' oot at the merciment o' the weather. He wiz twa
oors on a rock at the merciment o' the storm. Abd. Them't
comes oon'er their merciment in ceevil maitters, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) xviii. e.Fif. He resolved to place me under
the merciment o' Mr. Squeaker, the parish dominie, Latto Tarn
Bodkin (1864) iii. s.Sc. Wha kens what may com owre ye, if ye
put yersel i' their merciment, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 94.
[A mercyment, amerciamentum, misericordia, Cath, Angl.
(1483).]
MERCURY, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lin. Also
in forms marcurysw.Lin.^; markerryCum.Wm.; markry
e.Yks.^ ; marquery Lin. 1. Arsenic.
n.Cy. White arsenic (Hall.). e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1788) ; e.Yks.i Formerly used in dressing wheat, to prevent the
disease of smut, MS. add. (T.H.) Lin.^ The garners of Mareham..
le-fen were poisoned with mercury.
2. The goosefoot, or Good King Henry, Chenopodium
Bonus-Henricus.
N.Cy.i, Cum., Wm., e.Yks. (B. & H.) tin. (J.C.W.); Look at
them ta'ates and the marquery ; . . them's the only things they've
left, and I'd a deal sooner they'd ta'en the marquery, N, & Q.
(1865) 3rd S. vii. 32. e.Lin. Com. in gardens (G.G.W.).
3. The wild orache, Atriplex hortensis.
Lin.i sw.Lin.^ Often cultivated in gardens, and eaten as spinach.
In a Lincoln Seedsman's Catalogue it is advertised as ' Marquery,
or Lincolnshire Perennial Spinach.'
4. Comp. Mercury-leaf, the dog's mercury, Mercurialis
perennis. s.Sc. (Jam.)
MERCY, sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. Eng. and Amer.
Also in forms marcy Cum.^ Sus. ; massy e.Yks.^ Lin. Sur.
Sus. Hmp. Wil. w.Som.^ Dev. Cor." ; messy I. Ma. ; mussy
Suf ^ [ma'rsi, ma'si, ma'si.] 1. Used as an exclamation
of surprise, indignation, &c.
e.Yks. O' massy, his heart noo wad ommost dispair, Nicholson
Flk-Sp. (1889) 43. I.Ma. ' Aw messy ! messy I ' she says, ' they've
lost one another,' Brown Witch (1889) 5. Sus. ' Massy,' she said,
' the girls nowadays don't know naun about work,' Egerton Flk.
and Ways (1884) 41. w.Som.i n.Dev. Law I massy, Jim, ot
kautch be tellin', Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. no. Cor."
2. Comb, in exclamations of surprise, sorrow, &c. : (i)
Mercy be blessed, (2) —bless thee, (3) —me, (4) —oh
or ho, (5) — on or upon one, (6) — save one, (7) — soce,
(8) — wull, (9) what in mercy, (10) Father of mercy.
MERDAL
[91]
MERIDIAN
(i) Sh.I. Mercy be bliss'd 'at we wirna apo' da ert dan ! S/i. News
(Dec. 1, 1900). (2) Sh.I. Haud dy tongue, mercy bliss dee. What
signafees a spark o' gree ? Sfi. News (July i, 1899). (3) Sc. Mercy
me ! It's no' a dream, Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 85. Cum.^ An
theearwe stopt, formarcy me, Aparlish freeght we gat, 65. w.Yks.
(J.W.) Lin. Law, massy me, Brown izV. iawr. (1890) 89. Hmp.
And what a hight, massy me ! Foreste/s Miscell. (1846) 164. Cor.
But massy me, ef I baant feerly shaamed, 7". Towser (1873) 12.
[Amer. Mercy me ! How it is snowin' — an' blowin' ! Century Mag.
(Dec. 1900) 242.] (4") Sur. Massy, oh ! the old hen was hollerin'
like mad. Forest Tithes (1893) 14. Sns. (S.P.H.) (5) ne.Sc.
Mercy on's, . . here's oor Peterie's boat, Green Gordonhaven (1887)
55. Abd. Mercy on's! fa's that? Greig Logie o' Buchan (1899)
74. e.Yks.i, Suf.i Wil. Slow Gl. (1892). Som. Massy 'pon
me, Mrs. Grinter! Raymond Sam and Sabina (1894) 46; But
massy 'pon us ! you can't go all down street like that, ib. Men n'
Mendip (1898) vii. w.Som.i (s.v. Oaths). (6) Sh.I. Daa, mercy
save dee an' git da lamp up, Sk. News (Oct. 20, igoo). I.Ma.
Messy save me ! I did'n expeck to see you to-day ; v.'hen did you
come home? (S.M.) (7) w.Som.i Massy, soce! hot be 'ee 'bout !
(8) Dev. Massy wull, what in the wordle heve ee done, Ratchell ?
PuLMAN Sketches, 70, in Elworthy Gl. (1888). (9) Abd. What in
mercy can hae come o' the laird, Macdonald Castle Warlock
(1882) iii. (10) Sh.I. ' Fader o' mercy I ' Betty said, slippin' her
sock, an' fauldin' hir haands apon hir lap, Sh. News (Dec. 15, 1900).
8. Whisky; gen. in pi.
Sc. ' Be carefu' o' the mercies ' was a stock phrase relating to it
[whisky], Ford Tliistledown (1891) 126 ; We ran short o' the
mercies, and I had to gang to my bed sober, ib. Ayr. The Bailie
requires neither precept nor example wi' his tumbler when the
mercy's afore him, Galt Lairds (1826) xxxii. Lnk. Dinna ye
turn awa' yer sonsie face frae the mercies when they are set on
the table, Murdoch Readings (1895) III. 10.
MERDAL, sb. and adj. Sc. Also written mardel, and
in form mardel. [me'rdl.] 1. 5^. A fat, clumsy woman.
Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 65 ; S. & Ork."^
2. adj. Big, clumsy, fat.
Slk. Lyke ane greate mardel stotte, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 369.
MERDLE, see Meirdel.
MEKDtn , adv. w.Som.^ [ma'dli.] Merrily.
[Of two horses] They did'n go very well jis to fust, but arter a
bit they urned along merdly [muur'dlee] together.
MERE, sb. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der.
Lin. Shr. Hnt. e.An. Sus. Also written meer Der. e.An.
Suf ; and in forms mar n.Cy. Nhb. n.Yks.^'e.Yks.^Shr.';
mare Chs.' s.Chs.' Der.' Sus.' ; mear N.Cy." [mi3(r,
ma(r, me3(r).] 1. A small lake or sheet of standing
water ; a pond.
Ags. A pool caused by the moisture of the soil ; often one that
is dried up by the heat (Jam.). n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.", Nhb.
(Hall.), Cum.* Wm. Marshall /fcMra) (1808) I. 324. n.Yks.'^s
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.i Lan. On Martin
Mere are turned a number of flocks of geese, Marshall Review
(1808) I. 324. n.Lan.', ne.Lan.! Chs. The lakelets, or meres,
with which Cheshire abounds, Marshall Review (1818) 11. 67 ;
Chs.' Rostherne Mare is a favourite resort for Manchester holiday
folk. It is a very picturesque sheet of water, and is extremely
deep ; Chs.^ There are a great many meres, . . the largest that of
Combermere, more than a mile long. s.Chs.' Der. In the Peak,
water for the cattle is obtained from meers — artificial ponds,
supplied by gutters from the roads (T.N.B.) ; Addy Gl. (1891) ;
Der.' Lin. The shallow sheets of water called meres. Miller &
Skertchly Fenland (1878) vi ; The meres have been mostly
drained, butmany of thelarger ponds still retain the nameof meres,'
N. V Q. (1868) 4th S. ii. 281 ; Lin.' Meres stored with both fish
and fowl. Shr.' ' My lad, can you tell me the name of this water ? '
' Oh, aye, sir ; it's Kettle-mar'.' Hnt. The meres are awful
reservoirs of stagnated water, Marshall Review (1811) III. 214.
e.An. The 'meer' was the receptacle of many inconsidered t;^ifles,
Longman's Mag. (Nov. 1892) 83. Nrf. Isolated ponds, whose supply
of water is derived almost directly from the rainfall, Woodward
Geol. Eng. and Wales (1876) 406. Suf. In common use, e.An. Dy.
Times (iSgs) ; Suf.' Small, deep, piece of water, esp. if a river runs
through it. Sus.l
Hence Merey, adj. full of fens or small sheets of water.
Lin. Any one who has visited the Fens must have heard such
phrases as ' A good farm, but too merey,' N. & Q. (1868) 4th S.
ii. 281.
2. Comp. (i) Mere-balls, balls composed of the water
algae, Confervae, found at the bottom of a lake ; see Moss-
balls, s.v. Moss, sb.' 8 ; (2) -land, fen-land, land containmg
many pools and sheets of water ; also used attrib. in phr.
Mere-land town, the town of Lincoln ; (3) -pool, a pool of
water ; (4) -side, the margin of a lake.
(i) Shr.' Balls . . . found in Colemere (s.v. Moss-balls). (2)
Lin. Too much mere-land, A^. If Q. (1868) 4th S. ii. 281 ; The rain
rins down thro' mere land toune, Sae does it down the Wa', N. &
Q. (1866) 3rd S. ix. 30 ; Lincoln = Mere-land town, the town of
mere-land, ib. (1868) 4th S. ii. 281. (3) Der.' Nearly obs. (4)
Shr.' The mere-side at Ellesmere affords a most charming walk.
3. A marsh ; sodden, reedy ground ; ground permanently
under water. m.Yks.', Suf. (E.G. P.)
[1. Mere a water, gort, Palsgr. (1530) ; Mere, watur,
Prompt. OE. mere, a mere, lake ; a pool (B.T.).]
MERE, MERE-BLOB, see Mear, Mare-blob.
MERESMAN, sb. Sus.' A parish officer who attends
to the roads, bridges, and watercourses.
MERESWINE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also written meer-.
1. The dolphin, Delphinus delphis.
Fif. The bigger beareth the name of dolphin and our fishers call
them meer-swines, Sibbald Hist. Fif. (1803) 115 (Jam.).
2. The porpoise, Phocaena communis.
Sc. As a vast quantity of fat surrounds the body of this animal,
it has given occasion to the proverbial allusion ' as fat as a mere-
swine ' (Jam.). Fif. He saw the rocks and tangly meads Whair
the big meer-swine mak' their beds, Tennant Papistry (1827) 36.
[1. OE. mereswtn, ' delfin ' (jElfric) ; MLG. merswin,
' delphin ' (Schiller-Lubben). 2. Cp. G. meerschwein, a
porpoise.]
MER-FIRE, sb. Nhb. LMa. Also in form mar- LMa.
Phosphorescence on the sea.
Nhb.' I.Ma. The marfire's risin'. . . Luminous patches of
phosphorescent light in the water were showing that the herrings
were rising, Caine Deemster (1887) 64-5, ed. 1889.
MERGAL(D, sb. Wor. Hrf. Also written mergle Hrf "
[m§-gl(d.] Confusion, a mess.
w.Wor.' Hrf." A crop of grain laid flat is said to be 'in a mergal.'
MERGE, see Merge.
MERGH, sb. Sc. Also in forms merch (Jam.) ; mergie
Sh.I. [merx-] Marrow.
Sc.The mergh o' his shin bane has run down on his spur-leather,
ScoTT Minstrelsy (1802) II. 127, ed. 1848. Sh.I. Ane braks da
bane, anidder sooks Da mergie o' it, Stewart Tales (1892) 233.
n.Sc. It is commonly said, when a person is advised to take some-
thing that is supposed to be highly nutritive, 'That will put
mergh in your veins ' (Jam.). Bch. Nor has he mergh intil his
banes To wield Achilles' spear, Forbes -4jax (1742) 10. Frf.
Mergh an' mettle now are gone, Beattie Arnha (c. 1820) 40, ed.
1882. Edb. But mergh, alas ! to disengage Your bonnie buik frae
fettering cage, Fergdsson Poems (1773) 142, ed. 1785.
Hence (i) Merchiness, sb. the state of being full of
marrow ; (2) Merchy, adj. marrowy, full of marrow ; (3)
Merghless, adj. without marrow, pithless.
(i) n.Sc. The Israelites had never known the merchiness of that
promise, if a Red Sea had not made it out, Bruce Som/ Confirmation
(1709) 18 (Jam.). (2) The Lord is reserving a merchy piece of the
word of his promise to be made out to many of his friends and
people, ib. (3) Frf. Athort the hare and merghless spaiks, Beattie
Arnha (c. 1820) 51, ed. 1882.
[OE. mearh, mearg, marrow (B.T.).]
MERGIE, V. Fif. (Jam.) In phr. Eh/ mergie me, an
exclamation of surprise.
MERGIE, see Mergh.
MERGIN, sb. e.An. [m§-dgin.] The mortar and
cement of old walls. Cf. mudgin.
e.An.' Nrf. Grose (1790). e. Nrf. Another specimen of manure
much coveted here is mergin, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787) I. 30.
MERGIN, afi?/'. Sc. [Not known to our correspondents.]
Most numerous, largest.
n.Sc. ' The mergin part,' that which exceeds in number or in
size (Jam.).
MERGLE, V. Fif. (Jam.) To wonder, express surprise.
Cf. miracle, 4.
MERIDIAN, s&. Sc. [mari-disn.] Mid-day drink. Also
used attrib.
Sc. Get him over to John's coffeehouse, man— gie him his
meridian, Scott Redg. (1824) i ; Plumdamas joined the other two
gentlemen in drinking their meridian, ib. Midlothian (1818) iii.
N 2
[ERINO
[92]
MERRY
Elg. Ware tvva drunk skippers at their progg ... To quarrel our
meridian grog, Couper Poetry (1804) II. la. Per. Strolled into a
neighbouring tavern for his meridian at the summons of the dram-
bell, Haliburton Fiirth in Field (1894) 57. Fif. At mid-day few
who could afford their 'meridian' were to be seen on the quay,
MEhD'Rvm MargredcKj.Sgs,') 17. Ayr. Sit doon your wa's here beside
me at the windock and we'll hae oor meridian, Service Noiandums
(1890) 13. Edb. So after giving him his meridian, and a bite of
shortbread, we shook hands, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xviii.
MERINO, sb. w.Yks. [marai'na.] The finest kind of
shoddy, made from women's dresses. (M.F.)
MERITORIOUS, adj. w.Wor.' Having a show of
reason or excuse.
I never tells a lie as a'nt no sart 0' use ; w'en I tells a lie, I tells
a meritorious 'un.
MERK, see Mark, sb?, Mirk.
MERKERIN, sb. Ags. (Jam.) The spinal marrow.
MERKIE-PIN, s5. Or.I. Thatpartof a plough in which
the share is fixed. S. & Ork.^ Cf. mercal.
MERL, V. ? Obs. Sc. To candy ; to become sweet
and gritty.
Gall. When honey is . . . beginning to grow this way, it merles ;
and when it is let go on, it is merling, Mactaggart Encyd. (1824).
Hence Merlie, adj. candied, sweet and ' sandy.' ib.
MERL-, see Mirl(e.
MERLADY, sb. Sh.I. A mermaid.
The Mer-lady, perceiving that she must become an inhabitant of
earth, found that she could not do better than accept the offer,
HiBBERT Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 261, ed. 1891.
MERL(E,s6. Sc.Irel. [marl.] The blackbird, rMraT^s
meriila.
Sc. The hazle groves rang with the blythe merle's sang, Cun-
ningham Sngs. (1813) 25. Bnff. Gordon CAtok. Keith (1880) 280.
Abd. There's nae a sound in yon bower. Marl's sough nor mavis
singin', Thom Rhymes, &c. (1844) 105. Per. Stewart Character
(1857)12, s.Sc. Wilson 7a&s( 1839) V. 40. Ayr. He could sing
like ony merle, Boswell Poet. Wks. (1816) 168, ed. 1871. Lnk.
Maist delightfu' notes That warble through the merl or mavis'
throats, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) 52, ed. 1783. Lth. The merle
an' mavis doon yon glen Gar a' the welkin ring, M'^Neill Preston
(c. 1895) 64, Edb. Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) Gl. Hdg.
Ye merles aroon', ye larks aboon, Lumsden Poems (1896) 179.
Bwk. Chisholm Poems (1879) 4. Dmf. The merle pipes weel in
his mid-day biel', Reid Poems (1894) 95. Gall. Fairest and rarest
ever was seen Sing the merle and laverock merrily, Crockett
Bog-Myrtle (1895) 373. Ir. Swainson Birds (1885) 6.
[This joyfull merle so salust scho the day, Dunbar
Poems (c. 1510), ed. Small, II. 174. Fr. merle, a mearl,
owsel, blackbird (Cotgr.).]
MERLE, s^>. Cor. [m5l.] The link of a chain. (G.F.R.),
Cor.12
MERLE, MERLIGO, see Murl, v}, Mirligo.
MERLINS, mA Sc. An exclamation of surprise. Lth.
(Jam.) See Marl, v.^
MERLIN'S GRASS, phr. Wal. The common quill-
wort, Isoetes lacustris. (B. & H.)
MERLS, MERLYGRUBS, see Merrils, MuUygrubs.
MERMAID , sb. Sc. Cor. Also in forms marmaid Cai.^ ;
meermaid Fif. (Jam.) ; mormaid Cor. 1. In comb, (i)
Mermaid's glove, a variety of sponge, Spongiapalmata ; (2)
-'s purse, the egg-case of certain chondropterygious fishes.
(i) Sh.I. The sponge, called mermaid's glove, is often taken up,
upon this coast, by the fishermen's hooks, Statist. Ace. V. 186
(Jam.); Edmonstone Zeil. (1809) II. 325 {ib.) ; S. & Ork.i Cai.i
Common on the coast. (2) Gall. A . . . seaweed box ... of an
oblong shape . . . with a long spraing or talon stretching out from
each corner, as long as the box, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Cor.
Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1870) III. 47 ; Cor.' 23
2. The frog-fish, Lophius piscatorius.
Fif. SiBBALD Hist. Fij. (1803) 120 (Jam.). [Satchell (1879).]
MERMOOTH, sb. Nhb. The entrance to a haven.
So called at Boulmer on the coast (R.O.H.).
MERRATOO, see Moorratow.
MERRICK, sb} Cor. [msrik.] The black-headed gull,
Larus rudibimdus. Rodd Birds (1880) 315.
MERRICK, s6.2 Dev.* [marik.] A dial, form of
' medick,' Medicago saliva.
MERRICKING, adj. Chs.^^ [maTikin.] Rollicking,
' up to a lark.'
[A der. of OE. myrige, merige, * dulcis ' (B.T.).]
MERRIE, adj Pem. [mari.] Of land : tough in
ploughing. s.Pem. This yerth is main merrie (W.M.M.).
MERRIGO, see Marigold.
MERRILS, sb. pi. Yks. Lan. Midi. Nhp. War. Cmb.
Dor. Also written merrills Yks. e.Yks. ; and in forms
marrel- Dor. ; merells Nhp.' ; merelles n.Yks.' Midi. ;
merls n.Yks.'*; murrells Cmb. [msTilz.] The game of
'Nine Men's Morris'; the figures used in the game of
' Nine Men's Morris.' Also in comp. Merril-peg.
Yks. Thirty years ago farm-servants . . . had a game called
' merrills,' in which a board with holes and pegs was used, N. &• Q.
(1890) 7th S. iv. 433. n.Yks.i* e.Yks. Several more boys are
about the place, playing at ' merrills,' or ' Jack steean,' Nicholson
Flk-Sp. (1889) 10 ; e.Yks.' Played on a square board with 18 pegs,
nine on each side. w.Yks. Dyer £)('«/. (1891) 105 ; Gomme Games
(1894) I. 413. Midi. Very generally played . . . under the name
of Merrilpeg or Merelles. The twelve pieces 1 have never seen
used, though I have often played with nine. We generally used
marbles or draught pieces and not pegs, ib. 417. Nhp.^ Played by
two people, on a board, whereon are marked three squares, one
within another at equal distances, and connected with each other
by a line at each angle, drawn from the inner to the outer square,
and again by lines in the middle of each side of the square, the
area of which is denominated ' the pound.' At each intersection
of the lines a spot or hole is made ; as it is sometimes played with
pegs, sometimes with bits of paper, or wood, or stone, according
to the resources of the players. . . Each of the players has nine
pieces or men, differing in colour or material from his adversary's,
which they lay down on the spots alternately, one by one, each
endeavouring to prevent his opponent from placing three of his
pieces in a line, as whichever does so is entitled to take off any
one of his antagonist's men where he pleases, without breaking a
row of three, which must not be done whilst there is another man
on the board. After all the pieces are placed on the board, they
are moved alternately backwards or forwards along the lines ; and,
as often as either of the players succeeds in accomplishing a row
of three, he claims one of his antagonist's men, which is placed in
the pound, and he who takes the most pieces wins the game. This
amusement was formerly the pastime of the shepherds while
tending their flocks in the open fields. War. Gomme ib. 417, Cmb.
N. &> Q. (1867) 3rd S. xii. 254.
Hence (i) Merril-board, sb. a board upon which the
game of ' merrils ' is played ; (2) -pound, sb. the ' pound '
used in the game of merrils.'
(i) Lan. One [chair] in particular had supplied the material for
a ' merril board, Brierley Marlocks (1867) vii. (2) Dor. The boys
of a cottage near Dorchester had a while ago carved a ' marrel '
pound on a block of stone by the house, Flk-Lore Jrn. VII. 233, in
Gomme ib. 410.
[Fr. merelles ; le jeu des merelles. The boyish game
called Merils or five-penny Morris ; played here most
commonly with stones, but in France with pawns or men
made of purpose and tearmed Merelles (Cotgr.) ; OFr.
marrele, 'jeton, palet' (Hatzfeld, s.v. Marelle).]
MERRILY-GO, see Mirligo.
MERRIMENT, sb. e.Suf. A professional clown ; a
comical person, one quick at making jokes. (F.H.)
MERRIMENTAL, adj Obs. Nhp. Merry, noisy.
And full of merrimental cheer, Clare Village Minst. (1821) 40.
MERROW, sb. Irel. [ma-ra.] A mermaid.
w.Ir. Yeats Flk. Tales (1888) 61 ; My grandfather . . . saw one
once on the head of a merrow hard by the Glassen rock. Lawless
Crania (1892) I. pt. 11. viii. s.Ir. Dick guessed at once that she
was a merrow, Croker Leg. (1862) 181.
[Ir. moruadh, a mermaid (O'Reilly).]
MERRY, sb. Wm. Lan. Chs. Der. Shr. Oxf. Brks.
Bck. Hnt. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor. [maTi.] 1. The
wild cherry, Prunus avium.
Wm. , ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.i, Chs.i, s.Chs.i, Der. (H.R.), Shr. Oxf.,
Brks. A small black cherry formerly much grown (E.H.G.). Bck.,
Hrt. Hmp. Here and there ' merry orchards' mingle themselves
with the holms and hollies. Wise New Forest (1883) 82; Hmp.i
s.Hmp. We'd had such a sight o' merries as never was, Verney
L. Lisle (1870) xxix. I.W.i Wll.i Apphed to both black and red
varieties, but especially the small semi-wild fruit. Dor. N. If Q.
(1877) 5th S. viii. 45 ; Dor.i
MERRY
[93]
MERRY
2. Comp. (i) Merry-fair, a fair held during the season of
the wild cherry; (2) -flower, the wild cherry, Prunus
avium ; (3) -tree, the wild cherry tree.
(i) Hmp. A ' merry fair ' is held at Wood Green once a week
during the season, Wise New Forest (1883) 82. (2) Wll. At Bar-
ford, Sarum Dioc. Gazette (Jan.*i89i) 14, col. 2 ; Wil.^ (3) Chs.^,
Shr.i, Sns.i 135. Hmp. The wild cherry tree, or merry-tree, also
known in certain districts as the ' Gean,' Longman's Mag. (Dec.
1899) 179. Dor. (C.W.)
[1. Fr. merise, a small bitter cherry (Cotgr.) ; OFr.
merise {Roman de Rose, 82^1); cp. Fr. (Norm, dial.) m'rise,
' cerise des oiseaux ' (Joret).]
MERRY, adj. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
written merri- Sc. w.Yks.^* Ess.; and in forms mary Sc. ;
murrie Dev. ; murry Sc. Nhb. Lakel.' Cum.^ Dev.
[ma-ri.] In comb, (i) Merry-bauks, obs., a cold posset ;
(2) -begot, (3) -begotten, {a) an illegitimate child ; (b)
illegitimate ; (4) -come-up, in phr. to play merry-come-up,
to play havoc, to ravage; (5) -dance, the Aurora Borealis;
(6) -dancers, (a) see (5) ; {b) the vapours arising from the
earth on a warm day, when seen flickering in the
atmosphere; (7) -day, a Isusytime; (8) — Dun of Dover, a
phantom ship ; (9) -end, in marbles : a sudden end to a
game and scramble for the marbles, or their seizure by
another ; (10) -hyne, a good riddance, a contemptuous
dismissal ; (11) -maid, a dragon-fly ; (12) -man, (a) a
clown, buffoon, merry-andrew; {b) 065., a retainer, follower;
(13) -ma-tanzie, -tansa, -tandy, -me-tanzie or -my-tanzie,
a children's singing game, see below; (14) -may, see
(11) ; (15) -meal, a feast held to celebrate the birth of a
child ; (16) -meat, {a) see (15) ; {b) any kind of meat said
to have the effect of stimulating the animal propensities ;
(17) -meeting, a festive entertainment and dance, see
(21) ; (18) -mokus, in phr. to drive, go, &c., to Merry-mokus,
to drive, go, &c., to Jericho or Bath, an expletive ; (19)
-muck heapt, higgledy-piggledy, in confusion ; {20) -nest,
a hiding-place for eatables or delicacies for one's own
private delectation ; (21) -night, a festive entertainment,
gen. followed by dancing, games, &c. ; a dance held at a
village inn or public-house, gen. at Christmas-time ; (22)
-pin, in phr. to be on the merry-pin, to be excited or
merry.
(i)n.Cy. Grose (1790). Der. (K.); Ray (1691) ; Der.12, nw.Der.i
(2, a) Cum. That Joe Garth is a merry-begot, Caine Shad. Crime
(1885) 103 ; Cum.'* n.Wm. T'barn's net ta bleeam that it's a merry-
begot [rarely heard] (B.K.). (A) ne.Lan.i (3, a) Cai.^, Ags. (Jam.),
w.Yks.', n.Lan.i (A) Per. To mak a fule o' her that gate, wi' a
merry-begotten wein ! Clklanb Inchbracken (1883) "2, ed. 1887.
Lnk. The merry-begotten weans, Graham IVriiings (1883) II. 35.
N.Cy.^ (4) s.Oxf. You've bin off shrovin' an' let the rewks play
merry-come-up with my barley all day, Rosemary Cfiilterns (iSgs)
27. (5) Fif. As streamers aft throu' clearest sky In merry-dance flash
out and fly, Tennant Papistry (1827) 32. (6, a) Sh.I. The nierry
dancers extending to the zenith and unusually quick in their move-
ments were considered an ill omen, but when they quietly displayed
themselves in a graceful arch along the northern horizon the fisher-
men expected fair weather,'SpENCE Flk-Lore (1899) ^i^ i The merry
dancers, as they are called, are the constant attendants of clear
evenings, and prove great reliefs amidst the gloom of the long
winter nights, ^Kcj'f/. Sn'/., s.v. Aurora Borealis (Jam.). Or.I. The
North-Light is, . . by reason of its desultory motion, called Morrice-
dancers. Merry dancers, and Streamers,WALLACEZ)«sc.Or/. (1693)
156, ed. 1883. Cai.i, N.Cy.', w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.i, w.Som.l, Cor.'"
w.Cor. N. & Q. (1854) 1st S. X. 480. [We may even in London
catch glimpses of the ' merry dancers' ' gambols, Sat. Review (1890)
52, col. I.] (i) Rxb. ' I've seen the merry -dancers' is a phr. com-
monly used when it is meant to indicate that one has remarked a
presage of good weather (J am.). (7) Stf. They've begun cuttin' grass
at [X's farm]. I reckon they'll be havin' merryd'y (G.H.H.). (8)
Ken. An account of a remarkable phantom-ship called ' the Merry
Dun of Dover,' Flk-Lore Rec. (1878) I. 246. (9) Lan. When in an
interrupted game a dash is made for the remaining marbles (J.M.) ;
A ' merry-end ' is brought about by a big boy grabbing the marbles
in the ring and annexing them to his own use, despite protests
from the owners thereof, Manch. City News (Oct. 10, 1896). (10)
Abd. ' A merry-hyne to him,' or ' it,' a phr. used by persons when
they have got quit of what has rather annoyed them. ' To get one's
merry-hyne,' to receive one's dismission rather in a disgraceful
manner; applied to servants (Jam.). (11) Ess. (J.W.B.) (12, a)
Frf. Stand and watch the merriman saying funny things to the
monkey, Barrie Tommy (1896) 201. Rnf. We stood wi' the
tawpies. And leugh at the merryman's tale, Webster Rhymes
(1835) 6. s.Chs.i 'As th' owd merryman said' is an expression
frequently heard when some witticism has been quoted. Oxf.i
MS. add. Ess. (W.W.S.) Dev. Tha drums wis a bating an
murryminsprancin, Nathan HoGoPoe/. Lett.{td. 1865) 20; Lookee
zee tQ thickee chap. 'Tez tha murrie-man in Sanger's Circus,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). Cor. Like a merry-man struck mazed,
LowRY Wreckers (1893) 12 ; Cor.23 (b) Sc. (Jam.) Fif. Wi'
chappin'-sticks that sair did smyte, Crail's merry-men did mak,
Tennant Papistry (1827) 94. Slk. His merryemen are V in ae
liverye clad, Borland Yarrow (1890) 34. Dmf. Go, call to me, my
merry men all, SHARPE.Sa//aa? JSi. (1823) 14, ed.i868. (13)80. The
following account [is a] description of the mode in some parts of the
country : — A sport of female children, in which they form a ring,
dancing round in it while they hold each other by the hands and
singing as they move. In the progress of the play, they by the
motion of their hands imitate the whole process of the laundry, in
washing, starching, drying, and ironing (Jam.) ; Another form of
this game is only a kind of dance in which the girls first join hands
in a circle and sing while moving round, . . ' Here we go round
the mulberry-bush, . . And round the merry-ma-tanzie.' . . They
then begin, with skirts held daintily up behind, to walk singly
along singing, ' This is the way the ladies walk,' &c., after which
they perhaps simulate the walk of gentlemen. . . They then repre-
sent ironing clothes, baking bread, washing the house, and a num-
ber of other familiar proceedings. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (1870)
134. Cai.i Inv. Here we go with merry shout, Up and down and
round about. And dance a merry-ma-tandy, Stewart Ben Nevis,
361, in GoMME Games (1894) I. 376. Fif. Girls chose the quieter
sports — merry-my-tanzie, jing-a-ring, Colville Vernacular (1899)
13. s.Sc. A game among children, generallygirls,comraonthrough-
out the lowlands. They form a ring, within which one goes round
with a handkerchief with which a stroke is given in succession to
every one in the ring ; the person who strikes, or the ' taker,' still
repeating this rhyme : — ' Here I gae round the jingie ring. The
jingie ring, the jingie ring, Here I gae round the jingie ring And
through my merry-metanzie.' Then the handkerchief is thrown
at one in the ring, who is obliged to take it up and go through the
same process (Jam.). Rnf. The following is a fragment of this little
ballet as practised at Kilbarchan : ' She synes the dishes three
times a day. Three times a day, three times a day. She synes the
dishes three times a day. Come alang wi' the merry-ma-tanzie,'
Chambers ib. 135. Ayr. The wee lassocks have made a ring on
the causey and are singing ' Roon aboot merry-ma-tanzie,' Service
Notandums (1890) 75 ; When at jing-ga-ring, buttons, the bat or
the ba', . . Or Mary-ma-tanzie, Laing Poems (1894) 11. Lnk. A
number of girls join hands in a circle round one of their number,
who acts as a kind of mistress of the ceremonies. The circle
moves slowly round the central lady . . . singing to a pleasing
air ; ' Here we go the jingo ring. The jingo ring, the jingo ring,
Here we go the jingo ring About the merry-ma-tanzie.' At the
end of the first line of the next verse they courtesy to the girl in
the inside, who returns the comphment. . . The lady of the ring
then selects a girl from the circle, of whom she asks her sweet-
heart's name, which is imparted in a whisper ; upon which she
sings to those in the circle (they dancing as before) : ' Guess ye
wha's the young good-man.' . . Those in the circle reply by
some approving or depreciating words, . . such as ' Honey is sweet
and so is he,' . . or ' Apples are sour and so is he.' . . The marriage,
however, is finally concluded upon and effected. . . ' He's married
wi' a gay gold ring.' . . At the end of the first line of the next verse,
all go for a moment separate, and each performs apirouette, clapping
her hands above her head. Chambers ib. 132 ; At Biggar this game
was generally played on the green by boys and girls. A ring is
formed bj' all the children but one joining hands. The one child
stands in the centre. The ring of children dance round the way
of the sun, first slowly and then more rapidly. First all the chil-
dren in the ring bow to the one in the centre and she bows back.
Then they dance round singing the first and second verses, the
second verse being addressed to the child in the centre [' Come,
name the lad you like the best,' &c.]. She then whispers a boy's
name to one in the ring. This girl then sings the third verse
[' Guess ye wha's the young guidman,' &c.]. None in the ring
are supposed to be able to answer, and the name of the chosen boy
is then said aloud by the girl who asked the question. If the name
is satisfactory the ring sing the fourth verse [' Honey's sweet and
so is he,' &c.], and the two players then retire and walk round a
little. If the name given is not satisfactory the ring sing the fifth
MERRY
[94]
MESH
verse [' Crab-apples are sour and so is he,' &c.] and another child
must be chosen. When the two again stand in the centre the
boys sing the sixth verse [' Can she bake and can she brew ? ' &c.].
The girls answer with the seventh [' She can bake and she can
brew,' &c.]. Then all sing the next verses, imitating washing
clothes, wringing, ironing, baking bread, washing hands, combing
hair, &c. . . The boy who was chosen then presents a ring, usually
a blade of grass wrapped round her finger, to the girl. . . When
all have chosen, if any lad is left without a partner, the last verse
is sung [' Here's a silly auld man left alone. Left alone, left alone.
He wants a wife and can't get none. About themerry-ma-tansa'],
G0MMEA373. Edb. Chambers »'A. 131. [For rhymes and further in-
formation see GoMME ib. 369-376.] (14) n.Ess. Forby CI. (1830).
(15) Chs.i It is customary for those present (except the mother) to
take something to drink, generally spirits, to bring luck to the
new comer. ' More and merrier, less and better fare, like Meg n'
Wood's merry-meal ' ; Chs.^ s.Chs.i Currant-cakes, of the kind
called ' Lord Ralph,' are eaten, and spirits are drunk by all except
the mother in honour of the occasion. {16, a) ne.Sc. When the child
was born there was a feast called the merry meht, part of which
was the indispensable cheese, or cryin kebback. In some dis-
tricts a bannock made of oatmeal, milk, and sugar, and baked in
a frying-pan, called the cryin bannock, was served up. Each one
present carried off a piece of the cheese to be distributed among
friends, and every one who came to see the mother and baby also
carried away a piece for the same purpose, Gregor Flk-Lore {1881)
4-5. Bnff. (W.G.) Gall. MACTAGGARTiTMcyf/. (1824). (6) n.Yks.i^
(17) Nhb.i (18) Dev. I'll draive thee to Merry-mokus eef thee
kip's on terrifyin' me zo. Reports Provinc. (1893). (19) Wm.
Merry muckheapt on tha fleear Hauf a skooar wez spralin there,
Blezard Sngs. (1848) 43. (20) n.Yks.2 (2r) Rnf. Then at a
murry-neet or fair. Harp (1819) 202. n.Cy. (J.L. 1783); N.Cy.^
Nhb. A ' friendly lead ' given by neighbours to a poor person.
Each brings something to the entertainment, as food, drink,
tobacco, &c., and also his own mug (P.A.G.) ; A pleasant method
of helping the very poor or aged. On an arranged evening
the neighbours made a tea-party at the cottage, each guest
bringing his or her own cup and saucer, and also a present
— a cake, a pound of tea, a jar of butter, a home-made cheese, or
a bag of potatoes. In the company there would always be a
fiddler or one who played the concertina, and they laid themselves
out for enjoyment, while she in whose house the entertainment
took place was laid in with a stock of eatables that lasted her
through the worst of the winter, Longman's Mag. (Feb. 1897)
329 ; Yit sometimes at a murry neet, 'Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843)
42 ; Nhb.i These neets generally 'came off' in the house of an indi-
gent couple or woman, and the entrance fee was an indirect
charitable donation. Dur.^ Lakel.' ; Lakel.^ Oot o' date varra
nar. Cum. Sec a murry neet we've hed at Bleckell, Anderson
Ballads (1805) 64; What such a merry-night have you had?
Richardson Talk (1876) 2nd S. 8; Then there was the 'murry
neet ' to end with^the dancing, the drink, the supper, more drink,
and setting the lasses hame, Linton Lizzie Lorton (1867) xxiii ;
Cum.i Wm. Thear's a merry-neet at awr neist nebbors, Wheeler
Dial. (1790) 37. Yks. A rustic merry-making in a farmhouse about
Christmas, common in some parts. There is abundance of homely
fare, tea, cakes, fruit, and ale ; various feats of agility, amusing
games, romping, dancing, and kissing withal. They commonly
break up at midnight, Irving Bracebridge Hall (1822) 6. n.Yks.^
w.Yks. The excitements of the merry-night lead not to criminality,
WiLLAN Arch. (1811) 81; w.Yks.', ne.Lan.i (22) Wm. Troth
I'm on the merry pin, Wheeler Dial. (1790) Sng. 1. 43. [Upon
a mery pynne, de hayt, as il a le cueiir de hayt, Palsgr. (1530) 844. ]
MERRY, see Marry, v.
MERRY HEWID, sb. Wal. See below. See Mari
Lwyd ; cf. hodening-.
s. Wal. On Christmas Eve, a horse's head, decorated with ribbons
and carried by a party of men, is taken round to the diff'erent
houses in the neighbourhood. The men sing a Welsh song, to
which the people in the house must reply in a similar manner or
give the party admission and regale them with ale, &c. This
custom is called ' Merry Hewid,' and commencing on Christmas
Eve, continues for two or three weeks, A''. iSr'g. (1852) istS.vi. 410.
MERRY-LWYD, see Mari Lwyd.
MERRY-MAID, sb. Cor. A mermaid.
The ' merry-maids ' of the Cornish fishermen and sailors possess
the well-recognized features of the mermaid. Hunt Pop. Rom.
w.Eng. (1865) 149, ed. 1896 ; Why should a merrymaid, that will
ride upon the waters in such terrible storms, never lose her looking-
glass and comb? Baring-Gould Vicar {1816) vi ; There was the
merrymaid very plain to be seen, ib. 167.
MERRY-SOLE, sb. Cor.i= The French sole, Solea
aurantiaca. Cf. Mary-sole.
MERRY-TOTTER, sb. Obs. n.Cy. Nhp. A see-saw ;
the childish amusement of riding on the ends of a balanced
plank. n.Cy. Grose (1790). Nhp.^
[Myry tottyr, chylderys game, oscillum, Prompt. ; A
merytotyr, oscillum, petaurus, Cath. Angl. (1483).]
MERRY-TROTTER, sb. w.Yks. Also in form
merry-totter w.Yks.' [m3ri-trot3(r).] A swing formed
of a rope thrown over a beam.
Watson Hist. Hlfx. (1775) 543 ; Wun al be scrimin' up a poll,
anuther swingin' on a merry- trotter, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla
Ann. (1862) 4 ; Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 1, 1884) 8 ; -w.Yks.iS"
MERSE, sb. Sc. Cum. [mars.] 1. Alluvial land by
the side of a river or the sea ; a marsh. Also used aitrib.
Bwk. Owre a' the Merse his name is known, Henderson Pop.
Rhymes (1856) 15 ; A Merse mist alang the Tweed In a harvest
mornin's gude indeed, Prov.,ib. 105. Dmf. There's a maid has sat
o' the green merse side, Cromek Remains (i8io) 234 ; Ground
gained from the sea, converted into moss (Jam.). Cum." In use at
Rocliffe and amongst the people hving near the estuaries of the
Esk and Eden.
2. A flat fertile spot of ground between hills, a hollow.
Dmf. (Jam.)
MERSK, sb. Sus.^2 Hmp.^ Also written merse
Sus.'^ [mask.] A marsh.
[Cp. EFris. marsk, ' IVIarsch ' (Koolman).]
MERT, MERTER, see Mart, sb.^, Martyr.
MERTH, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lan. Den
Also written mirth Nhb. w.Yks. ; and in forms morth
Gall. N.I.i Nhb.' Dur. w.Yks.; murth N.Cy.'= Nhb.' w.Yks.
Lan. ; muth nw.Der.' L Plenty, abundance, a great
deal. Cf. mort, sb.^
n.Cy. A murth of corn. Coles (1677); (K.); Grose (1790);
N.Cy.i2, Dur. (K.) Cum. Gl. (1851); Cnm.2 w.Yks. Willan
List IVds. (1811). Lan. They put'n hur to o' murth o' pene, Paul
Bobbin Sequel (1819) 4 ; Lan.', nw.Der.'
2. Phr. a morth of cold, intensity of cold, severe cold ; a
very heavy cold.
Gall. Those who receive a severe cold get what is termed
their morth o' cauld, Mactaggart^kc)';:/. (1824). N.I.' Nhb. 'Oh!
you've got a morth of cold.' To a sneezing child with watering
eyes (J.Ar.) ; Nhb.' He had bidden ower lang i' the water when
he was out fishin', and he has getten a murth of cauld, Oliver
Rambles (1835) 70, note. Dur. It is a morth of cold (K.).
[1. Icel. mergS, a multitude, a quantity (Zoega) ; ON.
mergi, plenty (Vigfusson).]
MERTYREESE, see Martyreese.
MERVADIE, adj. Sc. See below.
Gall. Ane fine sweet brittle cake is said to be mervadie, Mac-
taggart Encycl. (1824).
MERVE, see Mervy.
MERVIL, adj. Sc. [msTvil.] 1. Nervous, trembling.
Per. Tak care, lads ; that horse's unco' mervil (G.W.).
2. Inactive of mind or body. Rxb. (Jam.) Cf. marbeL
MERVY, adj. Sc. Also in form merve. [ma'rvi.]
Savoury, agreeable to the taste ; of fruit, &c. : rich,
mellow, ripe. Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 350 ; (Jam )
MER-WIFE, s6. Obs. Sh.L A mermaid-wife.
The Shetlander's love for his merwife was unbounded, Hibbert
Desc. Sh.L (1822) 261, ed. 1891.
[OE. mere-wtf, a water-witch (B.T.). Cp. G. meerweib,
a mermaid.]
JVjER-WOMAN, sb. Obs. Sh.L Lan. Also in form
meer-. A mermaid.
Sh.I. Each merman or merwoman possess but one skin, enabling
the individual to ascend the seas, Hibbert Desc. Sh.I. (1822) 261
ed. 1891. Lan. The meer-woman we call her, Roby Trad. (1829)
II. 176, ed. 1872.
MERYAN, MERYON, see Muryan.
MES, MESCAUN, see Mass, sZ>.', Mess, sb.\ Miscaun.
MESE, MESENTER, see Meas(e, Mease, v.\ Mouse,
sb., Masoner.
MESH, sb. and v. Hmp. LW. Dor. Som. Also in form
mash w.Som.' [mej.] L sb. The ' meuse ' or run of a
hare or rabbit through a hedge ; a gap in a hedge.
Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.' I.W.' ; I.W.2 A'd kill everything a'
MESH
[95J
MESS
could zee in the meshes wi'in half a mile. Dor.i Som. Often
used of a hare's run, or gap made by cattle. ' I've stopped their
mesh ' (W.F.R.) ; W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i
2. V. To jump or creep through a hedge ; esp. of hares
or rabbits ; also Ms&dfig.
Dor.i You'd better mesh. Som. (W.F.R.) ; W. & J. Gl. (1873^
w.Som.' Nif you vreathe up the gates, zoon's the corn's a cut, they
be fo'ced to mashy, and then the night-hunters be a doo'd.
MESH, see Marsh, sb}, Mash, v., Meese, sb}
MESHEE,s6. Lan. [majr.] A dial, form of machine.'
Just bring that index meshee o' thine round th' table, Brierley
IVaverlow (1863) 156, ed. 1884.
MESHER, sb. Cum.^ [me-Jar.] A dial, form of
' messenger.'
MESHIE, MES'H'L'TUN, MESKINS, see Maishie,
Mashelton, Maskins.
MESLEST, MESLIN, MESLINGS, see Mislest, Mas-
lin, sb.'^', Measlings.
MESS, sb} and v} Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also written mes Bdf.; and in forms mais-,masew.Yks.^;
meace Sc. ; mease- w.Yks. ; meeas w.Yks. ; meos
w.Yks.^ ne.Lan.^ [mes, mias.] 1. sb. A dish of food, a
sufficient quantity for a meal.
w.Yks. Shoo . . . tried whativver coom, Ta cook hur chop an
keep hur meeas Osummat nice it oom, Presto:^ Poems, &c. (1864)
19 ; w.Yks.^ A meos o' porridge. A standing meos [a stewing
dish] ; w.Yks.^ Au could ha' had sa'em [seven] or naun [nine]
mase (of food) (s.v. Mais-pot). Chs.' We had a mess o' these
taters just to try em, an I never tasted any better. nw.Der."- A
basin or other kind of eating mug full of broth, milk porridge. Sec.
Glo. Horae Suhsecivae (1777) 272. Bdf. A common dishful of milk,
crumbed with bread, or boiled milk only, Batchelor Agric. (1813)
58a ; The breakfast and supper of men-servants consists in general
of a mess of milk, ib.
Hence (i) a mess for a mad dog, phr. a queer compound
of food, an unsavoury dish ; (2) like a chip in a mess of
milk, phr. of persons : insignificant, useless.
(i) ne.Wor. Esp. when minced or chopped up (J.W.P.V (2)
It's not much good getting him to do it ; he's only like a chip in a
mess of milk, ib.
2. Comp. (i) Mess-meats, dishes of hash or minced
meat ; (2) -pot, an iron pot for cooking purposes ; a
ladle ; (3) -potful, as much as a mess-pot will hold.
(i) n.Yks.2 (2) m.Yks.i Used for boiling messes of porridge,
&c. w.Yks. To adjourn to Nancy Roberts's, the Fox and Hounds,
where that good soul served them with ' mease pots ' of broth for
a halfpenny each! Cudworth Bradford (1876) 297; w.Yks.'^;
w.Yks.^Asort of black pipkin, holding about a pint. ' Next morning
... a portion is taken out with a ladle, or maispot, as much as
would be sufficient for one cake.' ne.Lan.^ e.Lan.' A pot bowl
with a handle. nw.Der.^ (3) w.Yks.i They sleeked thersels wi
a meospotfuU or two o' grout, ii. 300.
3. A meal, dinner ; an allowance of food.
Sc. Jenny sat up even at the meace. And a' her friends sat lier
beside. Chambers Sngs. (1829) II. 352. Fif. My denner had been
nearly doubl'd : Yet it is marvel nae the less, That we hae made sae
guid a mess, Tennant Papistry (1827) 102. Bdf. Day-labourers,
who have no mess in the house with the servants, . . sometimes
delay their breakfast till nine, Batchelor Agric. (1813) 580.
4. Obs. A company of four.
w.Yks.l The number of four at an entertainment at an inn, where
a stipulation was made for a party to dinner at a certain price per
mess, or meos. Bdf. March 3, 1656. Sir, . . I must needs tell you,
that another girl is fallen to my lott, this making a compleat mess
since I had a boy, Longman's Mag. (Nov. 1894) 82,
5. A number, a large quantity.
e.Yks.' There's a mess of apples uppa that three, MS. add.
(T.H.) w.Yks. Besoides a mess on it under his noase, Hallam
WadsUy Jack (1866) xix. s.Chs.l Dhflr wiiz ii ter-iibl mes ii foa-ks
dheeur [There was a terrible mess o' folks theer]. Rut.^ We'm
had a nice mess of rain. A tidy mess o' people. Lin. A good
mess of drink and board. Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870) I. 37 ; Lin.i
I have got a nice mess of peas. s.Lin. A great mess of grapes,
N.^ Q. (1881) 6th S. iii. 364. sw.Lin.i What a mess of lasses he
has, there mut be five or six on 'em. There was a mess stanning
and talking at the corner. Nhp.i I've got a nice mess of pears.
A mess of people, a mess of sheep, or a mess of buildings;
Nlip.2 Bdf. A mess of children (J.W.B.) ; What a mes there is,
Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 138. Hnt. (T.P.F.) Nrf.
Depositing a ' mess o' eels ' he had brought as a present, Emerson
wild Life (1890) 60. w.Som.* Never did'n zee zich a mess o' volks
in all my born days. There'll be a mess o' taties d'year.
6. The number of rabbits found in a barrow. Nhp.^
7. V. To serve up a dish ; to divide food amongst a
number of people.
Lan. So Jane messed him some up in a basin, Staton Loominary
(c. 1861) 8 ; He messed up th' broth ith basins, i'A. 31. Chs.iCome
an' tay th' cheilt, wheile aw mess th' dinner for th' men.
8. To serve cattle with hay or provender.
Hrf. Bound Prow'wi:. (1876). Som. I canmessy or milky nif ther
be need o't, Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869) 139 ; W. & J. Gl. (1873).
9. Phr. to mess and mell, to partake of food together ; to
have familiarintercourse with, to associate with. Cf mell,z;.''
w.Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. Some there were that never thought to
mess or mell in the same chamber with Bodletonbrae and his
sister, Galt Provost (1822) xxxiv ; He would neither mess nor
mell wi' ony o' the new reformers. Service Dr. Diiguid (ed.
1887) 281.
[1. A messe or dish of meate borne to the table, fercu-
lum, Baret (1580). Fr. mes, a messe or service of meat,
a course of dishes at table (Cotgr.). 4. You three fools
lack'd me fool to make up the mess, Shaks. Love's L. L.
IV. iii. 207 ; A mease of men, quatuor, Levins Manip,
(1570)-]
MESS, sb.^ and v.'^ In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc.
and Eng. [mes.] 1. sb. A confused, disorderly con-
dition ; a muddle ; fig. a scrape, dilemma, predicament.
Per. We wouldna hae come in a mess like this on an errand
o' this kind, but needcessity's no to be bargained wi', Sandy Scott
(1897) 44 ; Ye've landed yoursel' in a mess, ib. 77. Cum.' He hez
meadd a mess on't. w.Yks. Wen e wor it same mess, Rogers
Nan Bunt (1839) i. s.Stf. Sich a mess as the kitchen was in,
PiNNOCK Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). nw.Der.', Lin.i Rut.^ I got
inflammation when I was over my mess of Mary [at her birth].
Nhp.i To get into a mess. War.^ What a mess you are in. e.An."-
It is well I was not in the mess. Lon. The London butcher will
at all times, when he enters the market, reject such cattle or
sheep as are what is termed in a mess ; that is, depressed, after
excitation by being overlaid or overdriven, Stephens Farm Bk.
(ed. 1855) II. 149. Hat. (T.P.F.) Sus., Hmp. I was not in that
mess, HoLLOWAY. Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863).
2. A term of contempt for anything small, weak, or
insignificant.
Rut.i She's a poor mess. She can't go out to sarvice : she's
a weakly mess. War.2 This basket is a mess of a thing : it won't
hold a handful ; War.^ w.Wor.' It's a poor little mess uv a thing.
s.Wor.i 'Tis but a poor little mess of a place. se.Wor.', Hrf.^,
Glo. (A.B.), Glo.i, Oxf.i MS. add.
3. A slattern. Glo. Grose (1790) MS. add. {M..)
4. Ordure, the quantity of dung excreted at one time.
e.Yks.' MS. add. w.Yl?s. (^E.B.) 5. v. To disorder,
soil or dirty ; to throw into confusion ; to trifle with food ;
to muddle, bungle ; to squander money.
w.Yks. Te mess yarsen like that, Leeds Loiners Olm. (1882) 17.
ne.Lan.i s.Stf. Yo' con sit in the parlor if yo' wo' mess it,
PiNNOCK Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Der. I wonna ha' ye messin' yer
new shawl like that. Good Wds. (1881) 842. nw.Der.', Lin.'
Nhp. (F.R.C.); Nhp.' How you have messed your gown. How
you mess your money away. War.a He does not eat his food, he
only messes with it. He has messed his money away. s.Wor.
(H.K.) Shr.i 'Er's messed all 'er wages away an got nuthin, as
yo' met say, to shewn fur 'em. Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876).
Glo. The most onandiest, nothingly child you ever see — always
a-scribblin' and a messin' and moonin', Longman's Mag. (May
1900) 40. Brks.i A child is told 'not to mess its food,' not to
continue to touch it with its fork or spoon without eating. Hnt,
(T.P.F.)
Hence messed up, phr. in a strait. Glo.'
6. To interfere with, meddle ; to pull about ; to fidget ;
to do anything in a makeshift, unsatisfactory way ; gen.
with about.
Lakel.2 What's thoo messan wi' thi fadder razors for ? w.Yks.
(J.W.) n.Lin. I ses to him, you've been messin' aboot wi' Sarah
Ann, that's what you've been doin' on (E.P.). sw.Lin.' I've been
doctoring and messing about wi' her. She wanted to know why
they were always going messing about at her house. Not. Warr
er yer messin! (J.H.B.) Nhp. To mess round (F.R.C.). Wor.
That ground be full 0' emlock and all sorts ; Fred and George 'a.
MESS
[96]
METCH
bin messing at it, but they can't do much (H.K.). w.Mid. Now
then, what are you messing about there for? You'll git into
trouljle if you don't watch it (W.P.M.). Ken. He's not going to
mess me about (D.W.L.). Slang. I ain't come 'ere to mess with
you, Kipling Badalia (1890) 8, col. i.
Hence Messing, ppl. adj. bothering, troublesome.
Wor. You come to me to do your bits of messing jobs (H.K.).
7. With about or over : to waste time ; to loiter ; to do
nothing in particular.
w.Yks. To run about gossiping, or to little or no purpose,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 31, 1884) 8. War. Leamington Courier
(Mar. 13, 1897) ; War." Don't mess there all morning trying to get
that clock to go ; War.s* s.War.i She might as lief be at school,
she's only messing about at home. Shr.' 'Ow lung bin 'ee gweVn
to mess o'er that crochet ? Oxf. Don't be messing about there all
day long (G.O.) ; Oxf.i MS. add. w.Mid. Don't mess about
mending those reins, they'll never be safe (W.P.M.). Ken.i Don't
keep all-on messing-about like that, but come here directly-minute.
8. With over, up, or with : to make much of, to spoil,
pamper.
s.Wor.i, Glo. (A.B.), Glo.i Ken. She messes up them children
so. Their so messed up (D.W.L.).
MESS, see Mass, sb}'^
MESSAN,56. Sc.Irel.Nhb.Cum. Also written messane
Abd. ; messen Sc. N.I.' Ant. ; messin Sc. Ant. ; messon
Sc. [me'ssn.] A small dog ; also used attrib. Also used
fig. as a term of contempt for a small, insignificant person.
Sc. We hounds slew the hare, quo' the messon, Ferguson
Prov. (1641) 34 ; The bits o' messan dogies, like my son, and
maybe like your father's son, Mr. Alan, will be sair put to the
wall, Scott Redg. (1824) x. Sh.I. Da yells o' dee an' da yalkin
o' yon messin o' dine, Sh. News (July 24, 1897). Abd. That nane
o' this congregation bring in with them to the kirk ony messanes
or doggis in time of sermon, Ritchie St. Baldred (1883) 127. e.Fif.
Willie Lapstane and Peter Roget ! bonny messans indeed ! Latto
Tarn Bodkin (1864) xi. Slg. Let poor dog or rich. Let messan or
bitch, Ne'er pass by this hillock incog., Muir Poems (1818) 299.
s.Sc. Watson Bards (1859) 107. Rnf. His make was something
like a messin, Tannahill Poems (1807) 36, ed. 1817. Ayr. He . . .
wad hae spent an hour caressin, Even wi' a tinkler-gipsey's
messin. Burns Twa Dogs (I'jSS) 1. 17. Lnk. Petty poets or sic
messens, Ramsay Poems (1721) 185. e.Lth. A bit messan we'd
had aboot the hoose for a gey while. Hunter/. Inwick (1895) 81.
Peb. Lintoun Green (1685) 11, ed. 1817. SIk. You're a terrible
tyke when you set your mouth on a messan to gie him a bit
worryin for your ain amusement, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856)
\l\. 324. Rxb. Though ye was o' the messin kind, Wha's fond o'
gusty gear, To theivin ye was ne'er inclined, Wilson Poems
(1824) 14. Bmf. On Jane's lap is her wretched little messin-dog
' Nero,' Carlyle Lett. (1853) in Atlantic Monthly (1898) 685.
Gall. Cowered like a weel-lickit messan tyke, Crockett Standard
Bearer {iSgS) 12^. N.I.i Ant. You're a dirty messin, BaZ/ymfKa
Obs. (1892) ; Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) N.Cy.', Nhb.i Cum.' ;
Cum.3 It wad lick a cur dog mair nor ten times it' weight, An'
mongrels an' messans they dursn't cu nar, 158.
[Madame, je heffa dangerouss dog! He is owre mekle
to be 5our messan, Dunbar Poems (c. 1510), ed. Small, H.
ig6. Gael, measan, a lapdog, a pert or forward person, a
puppy (M. & D.); Ir. measan (O'Reilly); Mir. mesan
(Macbain).]
MESSANDEW, MESSANTER, see Maison-dieu,
Mishanter.
MESSENGER, sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
[me'sin(d)g3(r.] 1. In law : a sheriff's officer. Also in
comp. Messenger-at-arms, Messenger-of-arms.
Sc. The messengers were put in another, containing a single
bed for their accommodation, Sc. Haggis, 127. Rs. Five men
appear as messengers, and apprehend so many of the Councilors,
Edb. Antiq. Mag. (1848) 135. Abd. A messenger-at-arms . . . the
terror of evil doers far and wide, Michie Deeside Tales (1872) 17.
Fif. Sheriffs learn'd . . . and messengers-at-arms with brows of
brass, Tennant Anster (1812) 32, ed. 1871. Rnf. Tom Campbell
laughs, the messenger, And David, too, the writer, M^Gilvray
Poems (ed. 1862) 22. Ayr. I was weel on to three years with
John Gledd, the messenger, Galt Sir A, Wylie (1822) xiii.
Lnk. I, Robert Leich, messenger, by virtue of the above written
letters in our sovereign lord's name and authority, command and
charge you Mr. James VeitchjWoDROwCft.i/wZ. (1721) II. 397, ed.
1828. Edb, Your horn and caption and sic gear. And messengers
that follows near, Liddle Poems (1821) 243. Hdg. OfBciars and
ministers of the lawes . . . and messengers-of-arms, Ritchie St.
Baldred {1883) 59.
2. A sunbeam.
Brks.i A sunbeam coming through a long crack into a rather
dark barn or loft. Hmp. Sunbeams which pour down slantwise
to the earth from a rift in a large cloud (J.R.W.) ; Hmp.^ Wil.'
A sunbeam reaching down to the horizon from behind a cloud is
sometimes said to be the sun ' sending out a messenger.'
3. pi. Small detached clouds betokening rain.
Nhp.\ War.3, s.Wor.', GIo.i, Sur.i, Sus.i Wil.^^ Jefferies
Greene Feme Farm (1880) vi.
4. pi. Morsels of mould which come out with the beer
from a cask that is nearly empty. War.^, se.Wor.^
MESSET,s6. Nhb. Dur. Cum.Yks.Lan. Also written
messit N.Cy.' Nhb.'^ Dur. ; and in form misset Lan.
[me'sit.] A small dog, a ' messan.' Also used fig. as a
term of contempt for a diminutive creature.
N.Cy.i Nhb.i The best watch is a messit-dog in iv a hoose.
Dur. Gibson Vp-Weardale Gl. (1870) ; Dnr."^ Cum. A leytle black
messet danced sae leykeauld Jenny, Blamire Poet. Wks. (c. 1794)
216, ed. 1842. Cum.', n.Yks.^ Lan. To carry her misset, open
her pue, Brathwait Lan. Lovers (1640) iv ; Obs. (S.W.)
MESSIGATE, sb. ? Obs. Or.I. The road to church.
Used in former times (J.G.) ; (Jam.)
[Prop. ' the way to Mass.']
MESSLIN, adj. Dev.'* [me'slin.] Extremely lively,
mischievous ; also used s«fc/. a lively, mischievous creature.
That cat is a proper messlin.
MESSMENT, sb. Yks. Lan. Lin. Som. [me-sment.]
A mess ; a confused, disorderly, or dirty condition ; a
muddle, confusion ; anything unpalatable.
n.Yks.2 e.Yks. Nicholson /"//^-S/'. (1889) 4; e.Yks.i, w.Yks.
(J.W.) Lan. Tell him to keep his messments awhoam in future,
Staton B. Shuttle Bowtun, 27. n.Lln.' When ther' was a heavy
thunner shoor, th' waiter ewst to run into th' chech an' mak' a
straange raessment. w.Som.i And a purty messment they made
o' it.
MESSY, adj. Nhp. Glo. Brks. Ken. [me'si.] 1. Un-
tidy, in a creased or disorderly condition.
Nhp.i How messy yoiir gown is ! Glo. Mary's painting tackle
greatly distressed her hostess, partaking as it did of the nature of
things ' messy and slummicky,' Longman's Mag. (May 1900) 41.
2. Of food : unpalatable, soft, pulpy.
Brks.' I can't et that ther pudden', a looks messy.
3. Fidgeting, irritating, finicking.
Ken. I don't like such messy ways (D.W.L.).
MET, see Mote, v.^, Mud, v.^
METAL, sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Chs. Der. Lin. Also
written mettle Nhb. Dur. [me'tl.] 1. In comp. (i)
Metal-coal, coal containing pyrites ; (2) -ridge or -rig, a
curvature or heaving up of the thill of the seam ; (3)
•stone, a mixture of shale with sandstone.
(i) Nhb.i It is peculiarly liable to spontaneous ignition. (2)
N.Cy .' Caused by the pressure of the superincumbent strata. Nhb.'
Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (3) Nhb.' Nhb., Dur.
Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
2. Cast iron.
n.Lin.i ' It's not iron, sir ; it's noht but a ohd peace of metal,'
said of the cast iron bottom of a fire-grate.
3. Shale of various colours and kinds.
Nhb.i Metal is variously described as soft, or strong, or slaty,
according to its degree of hardness, and is spoken of as grey, blue,
dark, and black-metal. Nhb., Dur. In some small parting of mettle
or stone, Compleat Collier (i']o8)g; Soft grey metal, Borings (i88i)
II. 2. w.Yks. Geol. Surv. Vert. Sect., Sheet 43.
Hence Metally, adj. mixed with shale.
Nhb.l Nhb., Dur. Grey and brown mettally stone. Bonnes
(1881) i6o.
4. Clay or marl found above salt or coal.
Chs. The workmen distinguish the clay by the appellation of
' metal,' giving it the name of red, blue, or brown metal, Marshall
Review (1818) II. 80 ; Chs.i Der. Indurated clay above salt and
coal, Mawe Mineralogy (1802).
METCH, V. Nhp.i [metj.] To crop the snuff of a
candle ; to snuff. Cf mick.
The only recommendation the new-fashioned candles had, was,
they did not want metching.
METE
[97]
MET{T
[1. Hie lichinus, meche, Pict. Voc. (c. 1475), in Wright's
Voc. (1884) 754. Fr. meche, meiche, the wick or snuflf of a
candle (Cotgr.) ; OFr. meche (La Curne).]
METE, V. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Also written meat, meet
n.Cy. [mit.] To measure.
Boff.i MS. add. Fif. The heralds had the rink-room metit, The
barriers set, and lists completed, Tennant Papistry (1827) 137.
Slg. The scrimpet measure ne'er was met him, MuiR Poems (1818)
15. Ayr. This day thou metes threescore eleven, Burns TerraugMy,
St. 2. Lnk. We ken o' a staundart mair gen'rous an' high Than
modern teetot'llers to mete oursels by, Watson Poems (1853) 51.
Edb. A wee bit yardy mete out square, Learmont Poems (1791)
183. n.Cy. (P.R.) ; Grose (1790). w.Yks.i
[In what mesure je meten, it schal be meten ajen to
50U, Wyclif (1388) Matt. vii. 2. OE. metan, to measure
(.(Elfric).]
METE, see Meet, adj.
METER, adj. Chs.'^ [mi-t3(r).] Moderate. See
Meeterly.
METERLY, METH, METH(E, METHE, see Meeterly,
Mead, sh?, Meeth, adj}, Maithe.
METHEGLIN, sb. Wal. Lei. Nhp. War. Wor. Shr.
Oxf. Hnt. Hmp. Wil. Sora. Dev. Cor. and Amer. Also
in forms matheglum Oxf.' ; metheglum Wil. ; mezyglen
Wal.; 'theglum Wil. [majieglin.] Beer made from
honey ; see below.
Wal. Jago Dinl. (1882) ; Metheglin, a kind of drink in Wales
made of wort, herbs, spice, and honey sodden together, Blount
(1670). Lei.i Nhp.i Usually pronounced Methegle. Made, after
the pure honey is extracted, of the last crushing of the comb, boiled
with water and fermented. War.^ Made by boiling both comb and
honey, mixing the liquor with sweetwort. In the process of
boiling the wax of the comb rises to the surface of the liquid and
is skimmed oif to form bees-wax. After this has been done the
liquid is strained and is again boiled with spice added, to the taste
of the maker. The liquid is fermented with a small quantity of
yeast placed in it on burned toast. se.Wor.' Shr.' In a high-
class brew the ' comb ' is sometimes washed in a little ' fresh beer' to
hasten the fermentation ; but the strength of the liquor is dependent
upon the quantity of honey it contains. ' Ow'n yore bees turned
out this time, Molly ! ' ' Mighty middlin' — plenty o' dry cOom, but
despert lickle 'oney ; I dunna think I shall 'ave a spiggit-stane o'
metheglin.' Oxf.' 'Ool ee 'a a draap o' my maatheglum ? Hnt.
(T.P.F.) Hmp, Where metheglin was making he would linger
round the tubs and vessels, White Selborne (1788) 143, ed. 1853.
Wil. (K.M.G.) w.Som.' Muthaeg-lun. Dev. I reckon to make 95.
or io«. of the honey this year, let alone a drop of metheglin for
ourselves, O'Neill /rfy/s (1892) 41 ; Dev.* Cor. Enjoying Jane's
new barley-bread, . . which he moistened with metheglin. Hunt
Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 63, ed. 1896 ; Cor.^ [Amer. Dial. Notes
(1896) I. 391.]
[Metheglin, wort, and malmsey, Shaks, Love's L. L. v.
ii. 233. \Vel. meddypfyn, ' melicratum hydromeli, ad
verbum, potus medicinalis, a Meddyg, & Llynn Potus '
(Davies).]
METHER, sh. Obsol. Irel. I.Ma. Also written
meather Uls. ; medha LMa. ; medher Wxf. 1. An old
wooden drinking vessel of a square form with a handle
or ear on each side, out of which all the family drank
successively.
Ir. The wind ris and the rain fell as if it came out of methers,
Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 97. Uls. A four-sided vessel
formed from a single block of wood with one, two, or four handles,
Uls. Jm. Arch. (1853) I. 157. Ant We notice a mether of new
milk, Hume Dial. (1878) 24. w.Ir. Run, Grania, run quick and
fetch some out of the big mether ... on the top shelf. Lawless
Grania (1892) I. pt. i. vi. s.Ir. There was the golden mether that
every Thiema at his wedding used to drink out of, Croker Leg.
( 1862) 329 ; (P.W.J .) Wxf. And medhers of many forms, Kennedy
Duffrey (1869) 229. I.Ma. In a corner ... a medha and a pot with
nothin in it, Brown Witch (1889) 188.
2. Phr. to rain mether, to pour with rain.
Ir. As if it was about to rain mether, Yeats Flk. Tales (1888) 188.
[1. Ir. meadar, a hollowed out drinking vessel (Macbain).]
METHER, see Mather, int.
METHODIST, sb. Stf. In contp. Methodist-cream,
rum when used in tea.
s.Stf.I could smell the methodistcre'mat the next taible,PiNNOCK
Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
VOL. IV.
METHODY, sb. Sc. Irel. Yks. Lan. Stf. Der. Lin. Dor.
Dev. Also written methodee Lan. ; methodey Dwn. ;
and in forms mettherdy e.Lan.' ; mettody n.Yks.
[me'})3di.] 1. A Methodist ; also used attrib.
ne.Sc. Under the ministrations of a godly and devoted ' Methody '
minister, Green Gordonhaven (1887) 23. Lnk. Morrisonians,
Methody, Ranters, Quakers, . . they're a' ready till flee at ane
anither's throats, Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 11 r. Dwn. He niver
cared muckle'aboot the Methodeys, Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 27.
n.Yks. Sum Mettody er Ranter bodder, Castillo Poems (1878) 42.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan, Somewhat of a Methodee, Gaskell M.
Barton (1848) vi. e.Lan.' se.Lan. Them Methodies arena a bad
lot, Cornh. Mag. (Nov. 1898) 716. Stf. Will ye gi'e that to
t'Methody preacher ' ib. (Jan. 1894) 37. nw.Der.' n.Lln. Many
parsons does, both Church and Methody, Cornh. Mag. (Jan. 1899)
82. Dor. Yes, zur, they be Methodies, Windsor Mag. (Mar. 1900)
413. Dev. Uz jogged along wi' Methody and Baptiss, Zo long's
they didden interfere wi' we, Salmon Ballads (1899) 50.
2. Contp. Methody-hammer, a hammer made with a
smooth face on each end. w.Yks. (S.P.U.)
METLAM, sb. Obs. Cum.'* In comp. (i) Metlam-
corn, a toll of corn paid by certain lands ; (2) -peck, the
measure by which the lord of the manor's officers
measured the ' Metlam-corn.'
METSIN, see Medicine.
MET(T, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Der. Not. Lin.
e.An. Ken. [met.] 1. A measure, ^ew. a bushel; some-
times two bushels, esp. of coal ; also the sack in which
such a measure of coal is sold ; a measuring stick.
Sh.I. Herrings caught in the bays in autumn, sell for id. per
score or 3s. per mett, nearly a barrel of fresh ungutted herrings,
Statist. Ace. VII. 589 (Jam.) ; S. & Ork.' Abd. John was the first
carter who sold single metts in Aberdeen, Anderson Rhymes (ed.
1867) 208. n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.'° Nhb. No porter shall receive his
mett of come ovar and above his wages for any q' under two
last, and only to receive his mett of one sort of graine in one ship,
Rec. Merchant Adventurers of Newcastle, in Surlees Soc. Publ. (1895)
I. 246 ; Nhb.' At quoits or at pitch-and-toss, when a dispute arises
as to the throw that lies nearest to the hob or mot, a small stick or
a piece of straw is taken to measure the distances. This is called
a met. Cum.' Formerly a measure of two bushels Winchester.
n.Yks.'24_ ne.Yks.' e.Yks. We sende a mette of massledine for
our own tempsed-breade baking, Best Rur. Econ. (1641) ; e.Yks.',
m.Yks.i, w.Yks.' 234 cer.', nw.Der.', Not. ;W.H.S.) Lin. Thomp-
son Hist. Boston (1856) 715 ; Lin.', e.An.', Ken.'
Hence Met-poke, sb. a narrow sack or corn-bag, gen.
holding about two bushels.
n.Yks.'24, ne.Yks.' e.Yks. A three bushel poke, Kennett Par,
Antiq. (1695); e.Yks.', ra.Yks.'
2, A boundary; a boundary stone ; a mark to show the
part measured off.
Sh.I. I min be plain ta tell you 'at I ken da metts as weel as ye,
Sh. News (June 17, 1899); S. & Ork.'
[1. Met {v.r. mette), idem quod mesure. Prompt, ; A
mette, mensura, metreta, Cath. Angl. (1483) ; & quen hit
shorne was wele hit jalde an hundre of fiaire mettes talde.
Cursor M. (c. 1300) 12330. OE. gemet, ' mensura, modius,
satum ' (B.T.).]
MET(T, V. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Not. e.An. [met.]
1. To measure.
Abd. Ye're o'er ill set, As ye'd hae measure, ye sud met, Keith
Farmer's Ha' (1774) st. 38. Edb. Sair dung wi' dule, and fley'd
for coming debt, 'They gar their mou'bits wi' their incomes met,
Fergusson Poems (1773) 183, ed. 1785. N.Cy.' Nhb.' Aa's in,
aa tell ye ; aa'll met ye for 'd. Not. (W.H.S.), e.An.'^
Hence (i) Metster, (2) Metter, Mettor, or Meter, sb. a
person legally authorized to measure ; in pi. an incorpo-
rated society, legally authorized to measure.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) (2) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.), n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy,»
Nhb, Mettors, an incorporated company of Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
whose members, as sworn meters, measured the quantity of im-
ports or exports, or the capacity of keels and boats employed on
the Tyne (R.O.H.) ; Mettors. The ordinary of this society, dated
Aug. 3, 1611, enjoined them to meet on the 20th day of September
in every year. Brand //tsA Newc. (1789) II. 357; In the book of
oathsin the town-clerk's office in Newcastle, occur the forms of ' the
oath of the mettors,' and ' the oath of a mettor for keels and boats,'
ib. note; The Free Meters claimed and exercised the exclusive
privilege of measuring all corn imported and exported. . . These
o
METTER
[98]
MIAMAS
demands were resisted a few years ago ; and the company at last
gave up the point at the assizes in 1821, Mackenzie Hist. Newc.
(1827) 702; Nhb.i e.Ylts. The man who checks off the number
of deals delivered by the deal carriers ( J.W.D.).
2. Comp. (i) Met-stick, a piece of wood used to measure
the foot ; (2) -wand, (3) -wood, (4) -yard, a measuring-
rod ; a draper's yard-stick.
(i) Sc. Arrested brats around their grandsire kneel, Who takes
their measurements from toe to heel ; The met-stick par'd away to
suit the size, He bids at length the impatient captives rise, Village
Fair in Blackiv. Mag. (Jan. 1821) 432 (Jam.). (2) Sc. (Jam.),
n.Yks.2 (3, 4) n.Yks.2
[1. Of all men agh ))at drightin dride (v.r. drede) J)at
mirtiies mettes man to mede, Cursor M. (c. 1300) 272.]
METTER, see Matter.
METTLE, sb. and adj. Sc. Dur. Yks. Lin. [me'tl.]
l._ sb. In phr. (i) to be mettle to one's teeth, to be full of
spirit ; (2) to be on one's mettle, to be in a bad temper ; (3)
to be over sharp mettle, to be too hasty-tempered ; (4) to
take mettle, to take courage.
(i) Abd. Ye' re nae a beggar's brat. . . An' mair, I see Ye're
mettle to the teeth, Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 400. (2)
e.Yks. (W.W.S.) (3) e.Dur.i (4) Lnk. At last I took mettle, an'
offer'd her battle, Lemon Si. Mungo (1844) 23.
2. adj. Spirited ; active ; capable of enduring fatigue ;
decent.
Fif. A sonsy mettle hizzy, Douglas Poems (1806) 23. Rnf.
Young chiels use mettle heels, When gaun to see their dearie,
Barr Poems (1861) 49. Edb. 'Od he was a mettle bodie of a
creature, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xx. Slk. (Jam.) Gall. Ye'U
ken Laird Heron o' the Rathan, Jen— a mettle spark, Crockett
Raiders (1894) xxxiii. Lin. Thou would'st be a mettle lass enow,
an thou wert snog and snod a bit better, Scott Midlothian (1818)
xxxii.
METTLY, adj s.Chs.i [me'tli.] Quick-tempered,
irritable.
£e wuz ver'i shaa-rp iin snaapi, wuz dh) uwd tin — des'purt
metli [He was very sharp an' snappy, was th' owd 'un — despert
mettly].
METTODY, METTOR, MEUD, see Methody, Met(t, v.,
Mead, sb."^
MEUGLE, V. Sc. [mju'gl.] To dabble in mud.
Cai.i Meugled in dirt till 'e verra een.
MEUL(T-HO, see Moot-hall.
MEUSE, sb. and v. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Nhp.
War. Won Shr. Hrf Glo. Hnt. e.An. Ken. Sur. Sus. Hmp.
Also written mews Lan. Glo.' ; mewse Nhp.^ Hnt. Suf.'
Ken.i Sur. Sus. ; muce Nhb.' Yks. ne.Lan.' s.Wor.' ; muse
Lan.'Chs." s.Wor.' Shr.' Hrf. Suf Sur. Sus. ; and in forms
mooce, moose s.Wor. [mius, miuz.] 1. sb. A small
hole or ' run ' through a hedge or through grass made by
a rabbit, hare, or other small animal in its track ; a 'mesh.'
Cf. mussit.
Nhb.i ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) IL 257. l,an.
Da VIES Races (1856) 279; Lan.i s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854).
Chs.l3, Der.2, nw.Der.i, Nhp.', War. (J.R.W.) Wor. Noticingseveral
nets set along the meuses on the side of the road, Wor. Dy. Times
(Nov. 22, 1882) in N. & Q.{ 1885) 6th S. xii. 49. s.Wor. (H.K. ) ;
s.Wor.i Them Welshmen [Welsh sheep] 'd go through a rabbit run
or a har' muce. Shr.'^, Hrf. (W.W.S.), Glo.i, Oxf. (M.A.R.),
Hnt. (T.P.F.), Suf.i, e.Siif. (F.H.), Ken.', Sur. (F.E.), Sur.i Sus.
I shot 'en dead, just where a meuse ran up towards the hedge,
Gent. Mag. (May 1890) 468; (F.E.) ; Sus.12 Hmp. Holloway;
Hmp.i
2. A hare's ' form.' Glo.' 3. v. To run through a gap
in a hedge, &c.
Wor. When, in coursing, a hare is found in a field, and runs
through her muse, it is said ' The hare has mus'd ' (E.S.).
[1. Take a hare without a muse, and a knave without
an excuse, and hang them up, Howell Eng. Prov. (1659)
12 ; As when a crew of gallants watch the wild muse of
a boar, Chapman Jliad (1598) xi, ed. 1875, 136. Fr. (Bas-
Maine) m,us, ' muce, passage etroit a travers des brous-
sailles pour les lievres, les lapins,' &c. ; s. muse, 'se glisser
comme le gibier qui passe par una muce ' (Dottin) ; cp.
LiTTRE (s.v. Musse).]
MEUSE, MEUTH-, see Muse, v}, Meeth, adj}
MEVE, V. e.An. Also written meeve Suf.' [miv.]
To move.
e.An.i Suf.i Let it 'bide— if ye take it awah t'ul only be ta
meeve aginn. e.Suf. Meeve that chair. Obsol. (F.H.)
[I meve or styrre from a place,/* meuue, Palsgr. (1530) ;
Mevyn, moveo. Prompt.^
MEVERLY, MEVIES, MEVVIES, MEVVY, see
Meeverly, Mavis, Maybe.
MEW, s6.' Obs. Sc. A son-in-law.
Make na twa mews of ae daughtir, Ferguson Prov. (1641) 24 ;
Make not two mews of one daughter [spoken to them who think
to oblige two different persons with one and the same benefit,
taken from the Latin, Eaedem Jiliae duos generos parare'\, Kelly
Prov. (1721).
[OE. mceg, a kinsman ; Goth, megs, a son-in-law.]
MEW, sb.'^ and v.^ Nrf. Suf Also in form mews
Suf. [miu.] 1. sb. A place in which to confine any
living creature ; esp. a breeding-cage for canaries, gold-
finches, and other small birds.
Nrf. N. V Q. (1861) 2nd S. xi. 98. Suf. e.An. Dy. Times (1892).
2. V. With up : to coop up, confine.
That house fare wholly mewsed up wi' trees (C.G.B.).
[1. Fr. mue, a mue or coope wherein fowl is fattened
(COTGR.).]
MEW, v.'' Cor. Of a gull : to cry, scream.
The gulls were still mewing their plaintive dirge over the fishy
harbour, Cornh. Mag. (Nov. igoo) 628.
MEW, see Mow, sb.^, t).'. Mure, adj.
WEWED, ppl. adj. Cor.'^ [miud.] Scattered by fright.
MEWER, see Mure, adj.
MEWL, V. Sc. Yks. Der. Not. Also written meul
Sc. (Jam.) ; mule Der.^ nw.Der.' [miul.] To cry, as an
infant or young animal ; to mew. Cf. meowL
Sc. (Jam.), e.Yks.', nw.Der.', Der.2 s.Not. Tek the child up;
she's bin mewlin an' pewterin this 'afe hour (J.P.K.). Lon. Shovel
had listened at the door and heard it mewling, Barrie Tommy
(1896) ii.
Hence Mewling, />//. adj. crying, whining.
GaU. Mony a mewlin', peuterin' body has great success wi' the
weemen folk, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xxxii.
MEWMAID, s6. e.Suf. A mermaid. (F.H.)
MEWNGE, MEWPLE, see Mounge, Moople.
MEWS, see Meese, s6.', Meuse, Mew, sb.^
MEWT, V. Obs. Sc. To mew.
Wae's them that has the cat's dish and she aye mewting, Ram-
say Prov. (1737).
[To mewte as a catte, catellare, Cath. Angl. (1483); Chat
mynowe (meutet), Biblesworth (c. 1325), in Wright's Voc.
(1857) 152. Cp. Fr. miault, a mewing (Cotgr.).]
MEWTLE, V. Cum. Wm. [miu-tl.] Of cows and
ewes : to make a low, crooning sound over their new-
dropped young. Cum.'*, Wm. (B.K.)
MEX, MEXEN, MEY, see Mix, v.\ Mixen, Mae, sb.
MEYAT, see Mate.
MEYCOCK, sb. Sc. The maycock, the grey ploven
Squatarola helvetica.
Ayr. The robin's left the ha' door. The meycockhe's comeback
AiNSLiE Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 336.
MEYEN, MEYL, MEYL(LE, MEYNG, MEYSE, see
May, sb.', Mell, sb.'', Meal, sb.'', Mean, w.', Mease, z/.'
MEYSEL, MEYSH, MEYSHIE, MEYT(E, see Meisle,
Mash, v., Maishie, Meat.
ME YTHER, MEZEL, see Mather,mi'.,Moither, Mizzle,?;.'
MEZELL, sb. Hmp. [me-zl.] The spurge-olive.
Daphne Mezereum. (B. & H.), Hmp.' See Mazell.
MEZELTOE, see Mistletoe.
MEZEREON, sb. Chs. The spurge-laurel, Daphne
Laureola. (B. & H.)
MEZLIN, MEZLINGS, MEZYGLEN, MEZZACK,
see Maslin, sb}, Measlings, Metheglin, Mizzick.
MEZZIL, see Measle.
MEZZLE,s6. Yks. [me-zl.] Excitement.
w.Yks. Tip's all in a mezzle, 'e wants to be off (F P.T.).
MEZZLE, MEZZUR, see Mazle, Measle, Measure.
MHEILLEA, MIAMAS, see Melliah, Milemas.
MIAUVE
[99]
MICKLE
MIAUVE, V. and sb. Sc. Also written myauve Bnff.^
1. V. To mew, as a cat. Bch. (Jam.) 2. sb. The mew
of a cat. Bnflf.'
MIAWK, sb. and v. s.Pem. [mi'gk.J 1. sb. A groan,
grunt ; a grudge.
Dicky gav'n the poney without a miawk (W.M.M.).
2. V. To groan, grunt, to bear a grudge.
A never miawked again it {ib.).
MICA, sb. Cor.^ [mai'ka.] 1. The deposit of coarser
or inferior clay in the pits in china clay-works. 2. Comp.
Mica-pits, in porcelain works : the long, narrow, shallow
pits where the fluid clay deposits its ' mica ' as the pure
clay passes on to the clay-pit.
MICEL(I,, see Meisle.
MICH, V. Lan. [mitj.] To mince one's words, to use
mincing language.
I dunnot see as he miches so, Burnett Lowrie's (1877) i.
MICH, see Mitch, v., Much.
MICHAEL, sb.'^ Chs.^^ In comp. Michael-riggs, the
autumnal equinoctial gales, happening about Michaelmas.
See Rig.
MICHAEL, s5.= Sc. Irel. Also written michel Wxf.^
A term applied to a girl.
Bnff.i She's a ticht michael. Wxf.i Shea's a gooude lickeen
michel (s.v. Lickeen).
MICHAELMAS, sb. Sc. Chs. Nrf Wil. Dor. Som. Dev.
Also in forms mechaelmas w.Som.^ ; mikklismas Sh.I.
In comb, (i) Michaelmas blackbird, the ring-ouzel, Turdus
torquatus ; (2) — crocus, the meadow safiron, Colchicum
autumnak ; (3) — daisy, (a) the sea starwort. Aster
Tripolium ; {b) the feverfew, Pyrethrum Parthenium ; (4) —
gnat, the daddy-longlegs ; (5) — mare, see below ; (6) —
moon, (a) the harvest moon ; (b) obs., the booty of a raid
or fray made at this season, as constituting the portion of
a daughter ; (7) — ram, a ram at the Michaelmas season.
(i) Wil. Smith Birds (1887) 137. Dor. Swainson Birds (1885) 8.
(2)Wil.i (3, o) Chs.i, Dev.4 (6) Dev.* (4) Nrf. (P.H.E.) (5) Ayr.
He would have no objection to be a bailie for the next year, on
condition that I would in the following let him again be dean of
guild, even though he should be called a Michaelmas-mare, for it
did not so well suit him to be a bailie as to be dean of guild, Galt
Provost (1822) iv. (6, a) Sc, The Michaelmas moon rises ay
alike soon. The moon, at full, being then in the opposite sign, bends
for some days towards the tropick of Cancer, and so rising more
northerly, rises more early. My country people believe it to be
a particular providence of God that people may see to get their
corn in, Kelly Prov. (1721) 334. (A) Sc. (Jam.) Slk. There is
a circumstance in their contract of marriage, that merits attention,
as it strongly marks the predatory spirit of the times. The father-
in-law agrees to keep his daughter for some time after the
marriage, for which the son-in-Jaw binds himself to give him the
profits of the first Michaelmas moon. Statist. Ace. II. 437, 438 (I'A.).
(7) Sh.I. Wisna dat da Lammas lambs, da Mikklismas rams, da
Hallo'mas hogs, an' da Yule yows, Sh. News (Oct. 2, 1897).
w.Som.'- Neet lig zome o' the young farmers in their work, so
ragged's a Mechaelmas ram (s.v. Mannerable).
MICHEN, sb. Obs. Sc. Also in form moiken Per. (Jam.)
The common spignel, Meum. athamanticum,. Cf.muilcionn.
Sc. (Jam.) Per. The Atliamania meum, here called moiken or
muilcionn, grows in the higher parts of the barony of Laighwood
and in the forest of Clunie, Statist. Ace. IX. 238 {ib.).
MICK, V. Bdf. [mik.] To crop the snuff of a candle,
to snuff. (J.W.B.) Cf. match.
MICKEY, sb. w.Yks.s [mi-ki.] A farthing candle.
' A p'und o' can'les an* a haa'p'ny back ! ' ' Dus tuh want 'em
mickey's, doy ? '
MICKLE, adj., adv. and sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum.
Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Der. Nhp. War. Brks. Hmp.
Wil. Also written mickel Cum. Lan. ; mikil Sc. (Jam.) ;
mikle Sc. ; and in forms meckle Dwn. ; meickle Sc. ;
meikle Sc. n.Cy. Lan. ; mekil Sc. (Jam.) ; mekle Sc. (Jam.
Suppl.) ; muckel N.Cy.i ; muckle Sc. Bnfif.i N.I.' N.Cy.'
Nhb.i e.Dur.i Cum.' n.Yks.^ m.Yks.' w.Yks.= ; mukle Sc.
[mi'kl, mB kl, mu'kl.] 1. adj. Great, large, big in size.
Sc. Show him the way down the muckle loaning, Scott Guy
M. (1815) i. Sh.I. When I'm just passin' crubdykes, muckle
grey stanes, or hill-folk's knowes, Stewart Tales (1892) 6. Cai.'
Mry. In turning a great muckle stone I met wi' a curious forma-
tion, Hay Lintie (1851) 22. Elg. The miller Had a gay muckle
muggin Weel packit wi' siller. Tester Poems (1865) 108. Bch.
The mucklest man, he may be fitted Wi' hose that's either wove
or knitted, Forbes Shop Bill (1785) 12. Abd. They . . . well
their meikle fingers beck To gi'e them tune, Keith Farmers
Ha' (1774) St. 4. Frf. Upon his muckle heid a sheaf O' shaggy
hair nae kaim wad enter, Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 99. Per..
A great, muckle tree, the brawest tree ever ye saw, and the
mucklest, Sandy Scott (1897) 31. -w.Sc. ' Ou ay,' said the idiot,
' there's a muckle bubbly Jock that follows me wherever I gang,'
Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 46. Fif. That's whaur ye make
a muckle mistake, M'Laren Tibbie {i8g^) 38. Rnf. When the moon
had grown meikle and round, Webster Rhymes (1835) 13. Ayr. A
mickle quarter basin, Burns Lass of Ecdefechan, st. i. Lnk. He
whispered that there was a muckle trout in the Gledstane pool,
Fraser Whaups (1895) vii. Lth. A muckle cheese, twa chairs
and a', Forbye some tea, 's the prizes, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892)
38. Edb. A' the lave who rule our muckle house, Crawford
Poems (1798) 3. Bwk. Brose in a muckle dish, Henderson Pop,
Rhymes (1856) 85. Feb. A share ye'U hae, The meikler, that nor
wife nor weane ... Is tae be fund at Cockmylane, Linioun Green
(1685) 64, ed. 1817. Slk. That great big muckle John Bull, Chr.
North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 70. Exb. He tuik his muckle plow-
staif, Murray Hawick Sngs. (1892) 17. Dmf. Before ye tend a
meikle flock, Ye first must tend a less, Hawkins Poems (1841) V.
38. Gall. It's a muckle lee, Crockett Cleg Kelly (1896) 116.
Kcb. He blaw'd . . . O' his fine muckle Ha', Armstrong Ingleside
(1890)156. N.I.1 n.Cy. Border Gl.{Coll.'L.\..B.);-R.Cy.^ Nhb.
And muckle faith — his mends we doubted, Graham Moorland
Dial. (1826) 9; Nhb.i ' Gaan aboot like a muckle soo.' Often
used as a duplicative term to express something extraordinarily
impressive, as ' He's a greet, muckle, big chep.' e.Dur.i i'^
rather have the scrapin's o' the muckle pot than the wee pot full.
Lakel.i Mickle dore, the deep chasm or opening between Scawfell
and Scawfell Pikes. Cum. Saint Mary's muckle clock bumm'd
eight, Anderson Ballads (1805) 70. n.Yks.'^, m.Yks.i, w.Yks.
(C.W.D.) Lan. The meikle stane would build a bra' chopping
block, RoBY Trad. (1829) I. 252, ed. 1872. ne.Lan.' War. ? Obs.
The mickle meadow. Deeds and Docui-nents at Southam (1600).
Hence (i) Mickledom, obs., (2) Mickleness, (3) Mickleth,
sb. size, bulk, largeness ; (4) Micklish, adj. rather large.
(i) Sc. Mickledom is nae virtue, Ramsay Prow. (1737) 53, ed. 1776
(Jam.). Nhb.i (2) Sc. (Jam.) (3) Lan. That's just th' length an'
bradth on't to th' mickleth of a yure, Brierley Red Wind. (1868)
38 ; Lan.i (4) n.Yks.iz, m.Yks.i
2. Comb, (i) Muckle-bag, the stomach ; (2) -bookit or
•boukit, {a) large, full-bodied, overgrown ; (b) great with
child ; (3) -chair, a large arm-chair ; (4) -coat, a great-coat,
top-coat ; (5) -devil, the Devil ; (6) — Friday, the day on
which a large fair is held ; (7) -hell, hell itself; (8) ■horn(ed
devil, see (5) ; (9) -man, the head labourer on a farm ;
(10) -mouthed, having a large mouth ; (11) -neeved, large-
fisted ; (12) -pot, a cauldron ; (13) -preen, a large pin used
for fastening shawls ; (14) -rin wheel, the large wheel of
a spinning-wheel ; (15) -sheeld, see (5) ; (i6) -sized, large-
sized ; (17) — Sunday, a Sunday on which the Communion
is held ; (18) -tochered, largely dowered ; (19) -toe, the
big toe ; (20) -wame, the stomach of an animal, esp. of a
cow ; (21) -wheel, see (14) ; (22) -worth, of great value or
reputation.
(i) Lnk. She was suddenly seiz'd wi' a rumbling in her muckle
bag, Graham Writings (1883) II. 37. (2, a) Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.i
e.Lth. Weel, he was a muckle-boukit chiel, Hunter J. Inwiek
(1S95) 107. (6) Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.i (3) j-if. She was crootlin' in
her muckle chair, Robertson Provost (1894) 28. Gall. Mac-
taggart Encycl. (1824). (4) Sc. Lend me a hand off with my
muckle-coat, Scott Guy M. (1815) xxxiii ; His mukle-coat, his
hairy wig, O vow! he lookit dreary, Kinloch Ballad Bk. (1827)
77, ed. 1868. Kcd. His muckle coat wis nearly new. Grant Lays
(1884) 16. Rxb. 'Tis true I have a muckle coat, Ruickbie
Wayside Cottager (1807) 158. (5) Sc. The muckle-deevil blaw
wind in your sails, Scott St. Ronan (1824) xxxii ; The meikle
Deil take her with his cloven feet, Pennecuik Coll. (1787) 12.
Abd. The Muckle Deil lay at the mirk pit mou', Murray Hame-
with (1900) 30. Ayr. The muckle devil blaw ye south If ye
dissemble! Burns Author's Earnest Cry (1786) st. 4. Edb.
Mislear'd fallow, the meikle devil speed him, Mitchell Tinklarian
(ed. 1810) 9. Gall. The muckle Deil— 111 luck gang wi' him,
O 2
MICKLE
[lOO]
MICKLE
Irving Lays (1872) 53. Nhb. Thoo muckle de'il, thaw varra
warstest blow, Chatt Pofms (1866) 86. (6) Abd. (G.W.) Frf.
The fair, or Muckle Friday, or Muckley, great day of the year in
Thrums, Barrie Tommy (1896) xvii. (7) Sc. Nae doubt they
burn for it in muckle hell, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xv. Gall.
Between the red coal and the brimstane flaming blue ayont the bars
o' muckle hell, Crockett Raiders (1894) x. (8) Slk. The muckle-
^horned deil, Hogg Tales (1838) 305, ed. 1866. w.Yks. Enuff to
desave oud mucklehorn de'il his sen, Bywater Sheffield Dial.
(1839) 203, ed. 1877 ; Witnesses wot al beard the varry oud
mucklehorndeil his sen, Shevvild Ann. (1851) 9; w.Yks. 2 (9)
Per. At sixteen he was little-man on a farm in the vicinity of
Logic. At twenty, he was muckle-man on the same farm,
MoNTEATH Dunblane (1835) 76, ed. 1887. w.Sc. Amongst the
servants in the employment of our Scottish farmers. There is the
'muckle man' and the 'little man.' . . The ' muckle man' bears
himself with great dignity and importance towards those of lower
standing than himself. . . His costume — broad-brimmed woollen
bonnet, broad-rigged corduroy jacket and breeches of the same
fabric open at the knees with garters of red tape, Carrick Laird
of Logan (1885) 83. Ayr. Madam, Quoth he, I wad speak wi'
The meikle man, Fisher Poems (1790) 71. (10) Sc. He shall
either marry our daughter, ' mickle mouthed Meg,' or strap for it,
Sc. Haggis, 12 ; Mickle-mouth'd folk are happy to their meat ;
spoken by, or to them who come opportunely to eat with us, Kelly
Prov. (1721) 253. Frf. Muckle-mou'd Meg, wha was lame on a
leg, Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 13. Slk. Muckle-mou'd fock hae
a luck for their meat, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 73. Gall. Muckle-
moo'd Gilchrists they ca'ed them, Crockett Sunbonnei (1895) vii.
(11) Dmf. He's spoony on muckle-neeved Meg, Wallace School-
master (1899) 196. (12) Cum. The 'muckle-pot' shown to the
curious is nothing more than a modern affair, Denham Tracts
(ed. 1892) 155. (13) Cai.i (14) Abd. The muckle 'rin wheel —
often removed in the evening for the sake of room, Michie Deeside
Tales (1872) 83. (15) Sh.I. Why ta da muckle sheeld dii dey
dive sae muckle intil hit ? Sh. News (Feb. 12, 1898) ; Stramp ta
da muckle sheeld 111 geng apo da rOff, ib. (Nov. 11, 1899). (16)
m.Yks,'^ w.Yks. ^ He gav muh a mickle-sarz'd litter to posst fur
him, Introd. 11. (17) Sc. It was either ta muckle Sunday hersell,
or ta little government Sunday that they ca'd ta fast, Scott
Waverley (18141 xxix. Abd. (G.W.) (18) Gall. When Tam
Lindsay gaed afif wi' his fleein' flagarie o' a rauckle-tochered
Crawford lass, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xxxii. (19) Bnff.
Thro' my auld bachle peep'd my muckle tae, Ta,ylor Poems (1787)
4. Frf. It brunt to the bane my muckle tae, Sands Poems (1833)
90. (20) Sc. Still used in country districts where the people
have not yet given up making a big haggis. The common or wee
haggis is contained in the stomach of a sheep, . . but the big
haggis is contained in a meklewame (Jam. Suppl.). (21) Sc.
She . . . talked something of matrimony; and the mysteries of
the muckle wheel, Scott St. Ronan (1824) xvi. Nhb. Two serving
women . . . spinning on what was called the muckle wheel,
Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VIII. 31. (22) Sc. (Jam.)
CaL' No muckle worth [of bad reputation].
3. Grown-up, adult.
Sh.I. Eppie wis his muckle douchter. Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.)
86. Abd. There's nae convainience to lat baiins play themsells,
or muckle fowk keep things snod, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 10.
Per. Oh, guidman, I lang to see Oor lassies and oor muckle men,
Ford Harp (1893) 386.
Hence (i) Man-muckle, adj. grown up to be a man,
having arrived at j'ears of manhood ; (2) Woman-muckle,
fl^'. grown up to be a woman, having arrived at womanhood.
(i) Lnk. Nae suner had he grown up to be man muckle than he
gaed away, Fraser Whaups (1895) i. (2) Gall. I had sons and
dochters man and woman-muckle, Crockett S/aKrf«j'rf Sea )-«'(i898)
327-
4. Much in quantity, abundant.
Sc. He's doen him to his sister's bower, Wi mickle dool and care,
Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) I. 75 ; A wee spark makes meikle
wark, Ramsay Prov. (1737). Sh.I. Some fell uppo stony places
whar day hedna muckle ert, Parable of Sower {Coll. L.L.B.). Or.I.
There's as muckle sense beneath some folk's bannets as there is
aneath ither folk's hats, Vedder Sketches (1832) 19. n.Sc. There's
sma' politics in hiven, though there's muckle on yerth, Gordon
Carglcn (1891) 235. Cai.^ Muckle black need [urgent need]. Mry.
Meikle fame I found, Hay Lintie (1851) 37. Bnfif. Ye may think
muckle black shame o' yersel, man. Smiles Natur. (1876) ii. Bch.
Forbes Ajax (1742) 9. Abd. Whilk bred mikle trouble to the
country and confederates, Spalding /fi5/. Sc. (1792) I. 199. Kcd.
Jamie 71/«5«( 1844) 157. Frf. A glaiket wife. .. maksduddie weans
and mickle strife, Morison Poems (1790) 131. Per. Yir trust wes
mickle help tae him in his battle, Ian HI aclaren Brier Bush (1895)
49. Fit. Tenkant Anster {1812) 32, ed. 1871. s.Sc. They were
nae folk o' muckle gear, Watson Bards (1859) ^- Dmb. Taylor
Poems (1827) 71. Rnf. Webster Rhymes (1835) 6. Ayr. An'
meikle Greek an' Latin mangled. Burns Lett, to J. Tennant, 1. 12.
Lnk. Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) i. Lth. Beauty's e'en a doubtfu'
gift, Wi' mickle shew, but little thrift, Ballantine Poems (1856)
71. Edb. Duncan brags how meikle meal She's eaten here, Har'st
Rig (1794) 8, ed. 1801. Feb. Tam . . . Made the punch, wi' muckle
clatter, Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 126. Draf. Meikle dool and
sorrow brought To many a house and man, Johnstone Poems
(1820) 103. Gall. Alang the gate my way you lead. And truly,
whyles, there's meikle need, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 17. N.I.i
n.Cy. (J.L. 1783) ; Grose (1790); N.Cy.^^ Nhb. When coorn cam
forrit fast, it gav us muckle grief, Chatt Poems (1866) 86 ; Nhb."-,
Dur.i, e.Dur.i, s.Dur. (J.E.D.) Cum. I sat doun anunder his
shaddow wi' muckle deleyght, Rayson S«^. So/. (1859) ii. 3 ; Cum.i
Wm. We hev'nt varra mickle bloom on t'trees ta year(B.K.);
Mickle talk hes thare been abaut it, Hutton Bran New Wark
(1785) 1. 362. n.Yks.123, ne.Yks.' e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1788). m.Yks.i w.Yks.(C.W.D.); Hutton ro«ytoCat;«s(i78i);
He that marries a slut eats mickle dirt, Prov. in Brighouse News
(July 23, 1887); w.Yks.i Lan. Mickle haste, Roby Trad. (1829) II.
353, ed. 1872 ; As he look'd reet at John wi' mickle pride. Ridings
Muse (1853) 13. ne.Lan.i Wil. Britton Beauties (1825); Slow
Gl. (1892) ; Wil.' Occasionally.
Hence (i) Meikly, adv. greatly, much ; (2) muckle an'
nae little, phr. very much, a great deal, a large sum of.
(i) Edb. I wonder meikly, in sic times, How chiels, like you,
wi' fearful weams Can get their cravings satisfy'd, CrawfordPo^jms
(i 798) 88. (2) w.Sc. Muckle an' nae little siller he gied him (Jam.).
5. Eminent, distinguished by birth or wealth, great, im-
portant.
Sc. There's nae gainsaying that oor Adam's the muckle man o'
the faimily noo, Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 4. Abd. Muirton has
gryte enfluence amo' the muckle fowk, Alexander Ain Flk.
(1882) 151. w.Sc. (Jam.) Fif. Our anchor's lost, . . We're
perish'd a', baith sma' and muckle, Tennant Papistry (1827) 97.
Edb. Ye meikle folks that bide in L — n, Liddle Poems (1821) 77.
Dmf. Some fowls . . . weel protecket. Because by meikle fouk
respecket, Quinn Heather (1863) 34.
6. Proud, haughty.
Bnff.i He's a muckle little man. Cld. Aye, he's a muckle wee
laird (Jam.).
7. adv. Much, greatly.
Sc. I think it might pass, if they winna bring it ower muckle in
the light o' the window! Scott iJnrfe q/' £«>«. (1819) viii. e.Sc.
He used to lend me books an' muckle I've regretted it since, Setoun
R. Urquhart (1896) iii. Abd. Hech ! but it'll come sune eneuch,
an' they're muckle to be peetied, Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) iii.
Frf. I ferlie meikle what ye mean. Smart Rhymes (1834) 206.
Per. It's no cannie to be muckle wi' the body, Ian Maclaren
Brier Bush (1895) 76. w.Sc. Us puir folks are no fashin' ourselves
muckle wi't, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 59. Fif. Ye ca'd her
gude, an' muckle mair, A lovely creature, Douglas Poems (1806)
43. Dmb. Neither your lass nor mine cares half as muckle aboot
mautrimony as your auntie, Cross Disruption (1844) vii. Rnf.
He reek'dna meikle on their trim, Picken Poems (1813) II. 80.
Ayr. I was muckle impressed wi' the truth of this ae day. Service
Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 245 ; Ye've said enough, And muckle mair
than ye can mak to through. Burns £n^5 </-4)"' (1787) 1. 174.
Lnk. We're muckle obliged to you, Colin Dulap, Rodger Poems
(1838) 13, ed. 1897. Edb. Meikle wish'd the coming light Might
be fu' clear an' sinny, M=Dowall Poems (1839) 39. Bwk. There's
naething e'er sae ill, but that It micht be muckle waur, Chisholm
Poems ( 1879) 64. Gall. I would be muckle the better o't, Crockett ■
Stickit Min. (1893) 88. Kcb. Muckle better than the lave I e'en
maun try to learn ye, Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 143. Dur. How
mickle better's the luv then weyne ! Moore Sng. Sol. (1859) iv- 10.
s.Dur. ' A's mickle obleeged to tha.' Almost 06s. (J.E.D.) Cum.'
Hoo mickel mair they hed this year int' iron kist, Dickinson
Lamplugh (1856) 4. Wm. Hoo mickle bett'r's thy luv nor wine,
Richardson Sng. Sol. (1859) iv. 10. n.Yks.2 Is there mickle mair
on't ? m.Yks.i w.Yks. That did Sir Andrew mickle scare, Lucas
Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) Gl.
8 Phr. (i) mickle about it, (2) — off at one, (3) —syke-like,
(4) — what, much the same, much as it was ; (5) to think
mickle of, to esteem, think well of.
MICKLED
[lOl]
MID
(i) Frf. ' Ay hoo are ye, Jess ? ' Tibbie said. ' Muckle aboot it,'
answered Jess, Barrie Thrums (1889) vii. Lnk. ' If Miss Ruth
speers for me, Jean, jist say that I'm muckle aboot it.' ' Ay, ye're
ay muckle aboot it, if ye'd dee wise like I'd hae some peety for ye,'
Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 39. (a) Dur.i (3) w.Yks. Hamilton
Nugae Lit. (1841) 326. (4) Cum.' 'How's mudder?' 'Mickle
what, she's parlish feckless.' (5) Sc. Our minister . . . was a
' muckle thocht o' man,' and a ' rale guid preacher,' Wright Sc,
Life (1897) 47. Bwk. Think muckle o't, Henderson Pop. Rhymes
(1856) 38. Lth. Be blithe, ye mortals, while I'm here — Think
muckle o' a stranger, Smith Merry Bridal (1866) 17. Gall. I was
hearin' some o' them wasna thocht muckle o' ! Crockett Bog-
Myrtle (1895) 269.
9. Very ; esp. in phr. muckle maun, very big, fine.
Sc. It has a meickle maun blue pouch hingin at the carr side o d,
HiSLOP Anecdote (1874) 124. Edb. Skreen their faces Wi' hats and
muckle maun bongraces, Fergusson Poems (1773) i75i ^^- 1785.
Rnf. Faith, I'm fear't, whan muckle big, He'll be sic a fule, Neilson
Poems (1877) 92.
Hence Mickle-well, adv. very much, greatly.
ni.Yks.^ I's mickle-weel obliged.
10. sb. A quantity, a large amount, a great deal.
Sc. Better be blythe wi' little than sad wi' mickle, Ramsay Prov.
(1737) ; I ken nae mair than yersel', mem, an' no that muckle,
Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 4. ne.Sc. We're nae deein' muckle at
the baddies eynoo onygate. Green Gordonhaven (1887) 76. Abd.
Whyles I ettle at the trade, Wi' erfsome fear an trembling, The
fient a muckle o't I've made, Still Cottar s Sunday {184s) 173.
Per. Sandy Scott (1897) 10. Fif. It'll no mak' muckle o' a sale,
puirauldbody! HEDDhE Marget {iSgci) 10. Rnf. Attack the cheese,
An' eat as meikle as ye please, Picken Poems (1813) I. 62. Ayr.
Yet they've muckle to learn. Ballads and Sngs. (1847) I. 53. Lnk.
There's mickle baith o' want an" wae 'Midst your prosperity, Orr
Laigh Flichts (1882) 62. Lth. She had mickle to thole, she had
mickle to learn, Ballantine Poems (1856) 4. Dmf. Wi' mickle
o' pleasure and mair o' wae, Reid Poems (1894) 127. n.Ir.
It's ower ocht hoo muckle waens can eat, Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 11. Dwn. It wuz as meckle as we cud dae till get him
till promise, Lyttle Ballycuddy (iSgz) 24. Nhb. We haven't seen
that mickle o' ane anitherof late, Clare Loveof Lass (1890) I. 27 ;
Cuckoo, scabb'd gowk, Mickle said, little wrought, Flk-Lore Rec.
(1879) !'• 64' Lakel.° Many a little maks a mickle. Cnm. I ne'er
had muckle, ne'er kent want, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 97 ;
Ye'd hae muckle to do, Blamire Poet. Wks, (c. 1794) 197, ed.
1842 ; Cum.^ There's nut mickle on her, 38. s.Wm. Ye dunnet
addle as mickle ta day, Hutton Dial. Storth and Arnside (1760)1.
28. n.Yks. If they hev mickle, they want mair, Tweddell Clevel.
Rhymes (1875) 48 ; n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.° It cost a mickle o' money.
e.Yks. Is there mickle ti' dea? Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
m. Yks.' A went [vast] mickle. Mickle wad hae muckle, an' muckle
wad hae mair. w.Yks. How mickle has he got ? (C.W.D.) ; w.Yks.^
Mickle wad hev maar. ne.Lan.i Many littles meyak a mickle. Many
mickles meyak a mile. Nbp.i Still retained in the common adage,
' Many littles make a mickle.' Brks.' Many a little maaykes amickle.
?Hmp.i
11. Phr. to make mickle of, (i) to show great attention to,
to make much of; (2) to succeed, prosper; (3)10 be in
good health ; to improve in health.
(i) So. (Jam.), Cai.^ Lnk. He may indeed, for ten or fifteen
days, Mak meikle n' ye, wi' an unco fraise, Ramsay Gentle Shep.
(1725) 32, ed. 1783. (2) Sc. Take it all to yoursell. Captain, and
meikle ye are likely to make on't, Scott St. Ronan (1824) viii.
(3) Fif. ' Hog's Dauvit, yer brither ? ' ' Faith, I dinna think he's
inakin' muckle o't,' Robertson Provost (1894) 37.
12. Size, measure, bulk, height ; freq. in pi.
w.Yks. ' What mickle is it ? ' ' It's noa mickle at o, hardly' (D.L.).
Lan. O deyle o bronze figgurs ov o mickels un shaps, Ormerod
Felleyfro Rachde (1864) ii ; Her meikle is not to be found, Kay-
Shuttleworth Ribblesdale, I. 21 ; Laji.', e.Lan.i Chs.i ; Chs.^
He is of no mickles; Chs.^ s.Chs,'^ £e)z u ndo mik-lz [He's n'
noo mickles]. Stf., Der. (J.K.)
13. //. Ingredients, varieties. n.Yks." Sundry mickles.
[Ector . . . most is in mynd for his raykyll strenght, Dest.
Troy (c. 1400) 1477 ; He was mighty on molde & mekull
goode hade, ib. 159 ; pe mukel . . . loghe to fe lyfte rered,
Cleanness (c. 1360} 366, in Allit. P., ed. Morris, 47. OE.
micel [mycel), great (B.T.).]
MICKLED, pp. w.Cy. Dev. [mi-kld.] 1. In phr.
mickled with [the] cold, benumbed with cold.
w.Cy. Grose (1790) Suppl. Dev.' n.Dev. Ad ! tha wet be
mickled and a steeved wi' tha cold, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 277 ;
Mickled with the cold, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 273.
2. Choked, suffocated, parched with thirst.
Dev. I'm niest 'pon mickled ! Diiee gie me a jCig ov zyder !
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.i Go vet me the latin cup of best
drink, the pilam is a go down my droat ; I'm just a mickel'd, 4.
n.Dev. Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) Gl.
MICKMICK, sb. Lin.i [mi-kmik,] The green wood-
pecker, Gecinus viridis.
MICKSEN, see Mixen.
MICKY, arf/'. w.Yks.2 [mi'ki.] Dull, pale-faced.
A man said of another man who had been drinking the previous
night, ' He looks very micky ! '
MID, adj. and sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. [mid.]
1. adj. In comb, (i) Mid-aged, middle-aged ; (2) -belten,
obs., the middle of the Beltane quarter ; see Beltane ; (3)
•cuppil or -kipple, the thong uniting the two staves of a
flail ; (4) -eld, middle age ; (5) -feather, (a) a narrow ridge
of land between two pits ; (o) a middle partition, esp. the
partition between two flues of a chimneystack ; (c) a salt-
making term : the plates running between the fires and
parallel to the sides of the pan ; {d) the principal timber
at the bottom of a cart ; (e) the post against which folding-
doors are shut ; (6) -finger, the middle finger ; (7) -ground,
a fishing-ground situated in a middle position ; also used
attrib. ; (8j -house, half-way ; (9) -leg, in phr. mid-leg deep,
up to the middle of the leg ; (10) -man, a mediator between
contendingparties; (ii)-noon,noon,mid-day; (12) -person,
a third person or middleman between two others; (13)
•ray Sunday, mid-Lent Sunday ; (14) -rib, the middle rib ;
the midriff; (15) -room, {a) a small room between the
kitchen and the other room of a three-roomed cottage ;
(b) the middle compartment of a boat ; also used attrib. ;
(16) -side, in phr. mid-side deep, in salt-making : a measure
of depth equal to about one half; (17) -stay, the barn-
floor between the mows ; (18) -stead, a homestead ; used
attrib. ; (19) -stick, the middle stick of a kite, &c. ; (20)
-thigh, in phr. mid-thigh deep, up to the middle of the
thigh ; (21) -thrill, a piece of timber supporting the boards
at the bottom of the cart ; (22) -time, in phr. mid-time of
day, mid-day, noon ; (23) -water, the middle of a stream
or of the sea ; also us&dfig.
(i) Per. He was na a laddie, but a mid-aged man and a barrister,
Sandy Scott (1897) 14. (2) Wro. Bout mid-belten twas or Ise be-
thought awrang, when I must passe ore th' Breamy bourne, Brath-
wait Mtishrome (1615) 130. (3) n.Sc. This is sometimes made of
an eel's skin ; at other times, of what is called a tar-leather, i. e. a
strong slip of a hide salted and hung, in order to prepare it for
this use (Jam.). Gall. Cappin, a piece of green hide, firmly tied
to that half of a flail called the ' soople,' so that the ' midkipple,'
another piece of hide, may connect it to the other half, the ' hand-
staff,' MACTAGGARTi'Kryc/. (1824) 115, ed. 1876. N.I.i (4) n.Yks.2
(5, a) Chs.' Most of our ponds or pits are old marl pits, and the
mid-feather appears to have been left between an old and a new
pit. The reason probably was that by the time a new pit was
wanted the old one had become filled with water and could not
be again worked ; but the same seam of marl was worked as near
the old pit as possible, the mid-feather being left to dam the water
out of the new pit. Also a turf-getting term. In former times
there was no drainage from the peat bogs ; and when a turf-getter
in digging out turf got to the bottom of a hole the water filtered in
upon his work and stopped him. He, therefore, left a mid-feather
of solid turf between the hole he was digging and the previous
hole, and baled the water over it, whilst he got the bottom ' lift '
of the turf out; Chs.^a, s.Chs.i (b) w.Yks. (T.H.H.), e.Lan.i,
Chs.i (c) Chs.l (d) w.Yks. (J.J.B.), w.Yks.'" (c) w.Yks.l
(6) Sh.I. ' Shu . . . trivl'd his airm up efter, wi' her mid finger — '
' Why wi' her mid fing'r, daa ? ' ' Did doo niver ken ... 'at da
auld folk afore dis, widna touch ony sair wi' dir fore finger?' Sh.
News (Feb. 17, 1900). (7) Sh.L Whin da hoe is doon, an' da bod-
dom cleen, frae da mid grund an' in efter, Sh. News (June 9, igoo) ;
As recently as 30 years ago, the mid-ground lyings, or raeds, each
belonged to a certain boat or skipper, and it was considered almost
an act of theft — or at least of aggression — for another crew to set
lines on a man's lying, even although that man was ashore at the
time, ib. (Oct. 21, 1899). (8) Edb. I dare not gang so far. But I
shall gae mid house and mair, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 394, ed.
1815. (9) Sur. I have seen the Kensington Road covered, footlock.
MID
[102J
MIDDEN
or midleg deep with puddle, Marshall /femezt) (1817) V. 358. (10)
Sc. A large paper which a very gracious and wise brother, some-
what a mid-man betwixt us, had drawn, Baillie Leit. (1775) II.
380 (Jam.), (ii) Lth. Whether at midnoon panting laid. Ye crav'd
coy zephyrs transient aid, Macneill Poet. Wks. (1801) 237, ed.
1856. (12) Sc. Be writ or epistle, or be ane mid person, called
•Nuntius,' Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 42. (13) e.Yks.i The rays
of the sun are vertical to the equator, or mid-way on the earth.
(14) n.Cy. Up ta t'mid-rib (B.K.). Nrf. I examined the mess in the
frying-pan — pieces of liver, . . midrib, Emerson Lagoons (ed.
1896) 76. (15, a) Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.i Gall. Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824). (6) Sh.I. The boat was divided into six compartments,
viz., fore-head, fore-room, mid-room, oost-room, shott hurrik or
kannie, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 127 ; Dy faaider, an' Robbie took
da forward aers, An' Magnie an' Aandrew sat i' da midroom, Sh.
News (Apr. 23, 1898) ; S. & Ork.i (16) Chs. It is then taken and
placed midside deep in brine, Marshall Review (1818) II. 59.
(17) Wil.i (18) w.Yks. In the township of Royston, near Barnsley,
there are eighteen freeholders, not all of whom reside in the town-
ship, known as 'midstead oviners,' Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 7,
1896) ; I take it that ' midstead owner ' is virtually equivalent to
' homestead owner,' the homesteads of Royston lying together in
the middle of the township, with the town fields around them and
the four pieces of common land at the verge or boundary of the
township, ib. (19) Frf. Splicin' the midstick of a laddie's kite that
had been broken, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 170, ed. 1889.
(20) Cum. Whea was't durst venture mid-thie deep ? Anderson
Ballads (ed. 1808) 89. (21) Chs.^ Two longitudinal pieces known
as ' thrill bars ' or ' mid thrills ' are mortised into the binders, and
these support the boards which form the bottom of the cart (s.v,
Cart). (22) Sh.I. Auld an' young maun noo hae it [tea], laek shute
watter, mornin', e'enin', an' midtime-a-day, Stewart Tales (1892)
247 ; Sharg, sharg, shargin', e'enin', mornin*, and midtime o' day,
ib. 64. (23) Sc. (Jam., s.v. Myd-watter.) CId. Applied to a person
who is always in diiEculties or trouble. ' I ne'er saw him better,
he's aye in mid-wattir ' (ib.').
2. sb. The middle, the centre.
Cum. Gl. (1851). Der. Afore New Year's Day, or come mid' o'
Janawary at latest, Good Wds. (1881) 850.
MID, see Mad, sb?. Mud, 1;.=
MIDDA, see Mather, m?.. Meadow.
MIDDEN, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
I.Ma. Chs. Der. Not. Lin. War. Wor. Nrf. Suf. Also
written middin Sc. Dur.^ Cum.^ Wm. n.Yks.* e.Yks.^
w.Yks.^ n.Lan.^ ne.Lan.^ Der.^ Lin. Wor. ; and in forms
medding Sc. ; midding Sc. N.Cy.^ Dur. Wm. w.Yks.^ Lan.
Lin.-"^ [mi'din, -an.] 1. Any place or receptacle for dirt
and rubbish ; a dunghill, a heap of manure or refuse, the
cesspool of a privy. Also used attrib.
Sc. Like the cock in the midden in the fable book, Stevenson
Catriona (1893) xix; A cock is crouse on his ain midding, Fer-
guson Prov. (1641) 4. Sh.I. The manure ... is a midden, con-
sisting of dung, of heather that has been cut for litter, of sea-weed,
and of earth, or dry decomposed moss, named Duff-mould, Hibbert
Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 201, ed. 1891. Cai.i Elg. Couper Poetry
(1804) II. 70. Bob. We dinna ken his midden, Forbes Ulysses
(1785) 16. Bntf. He took refuge on the logs, near the Middens
(where the refuse of the city was laid down), Smiles Natur. (1876)
24, ed. 1893. Abd. Only on occasions of great solemnity were
the middens or dunghills removed, Tdrreff Gleanings (1859) 7.
Frf. Piper of Peebles (1794) 5. Per. Monteath Dunblane (1835)
18, ed. 1887. Fif. Zig-zaggin', wi' great tent and toil. Through
the thick middens, Tennant Papistry (1827) 127. Dmb. In case
I should be brocht owre the coals by . . . for his whumble intil
the midden, Cross Disruption (1844) v. Rnf. Aft hast thou hidden
'Mang worthless rubbish i' the midden H is priceless diamond-written
pages, Young Pictures (1865) 158. Ayr. As if I was a thing no fit
to be lifted ofi' a midden with a pair of iron tongs, Galt Provost
(1822) vii. Lnk. Some score o' critic wasps, aiblins some midden
flees, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 73. Edb. Crawford Poems (1798)
95. Bwk. Ye'U flounder in the midden, Calder Poems (1897)
S19. Feb. From a midden's height to crow, Lintoun Green (1685)
II, ed. 1817. Slk. It's like fa'in frae heaven to earth, . . frae the
empyrean on a midden, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 339.
Dmf. Wha at a biddin Skelped oot, and socht materials in Frae
Nature's midden, Quinn Heather (ji>(>'^ 134. Gall. Let me ahint
the midden first, for I'm no fond o' lead draps mysel', Crockett
Raider (1894) xviii. Wgt. Fraser Wigtown (1877) 22. N.I.i
Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). Dwn. We hae been readin' in the
newspapers aboot them middens. . . A beleeve a ^veel-biggit midden
is a sonsy wholesome thing aboot ony man's hoose, an' guid fur
the appetite, Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 83. Don. Then bury the
knots in a midden. Black Flk-Medicine (1883) iii. N.Cy.12 Nhb.
Berwick is a dirty town, A church without a steeple ; There's a
midden at every door ; God curse all the people, Denham Tracts
(ed. 1892) 285. Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). Dur.
(K.), Dur.i Crau." Better wed ower t'midden ner ower t'moor.
Cum., Wm. (M.P.) Wm. Wefand it ligging ath middin, Wheeler
Dial. (1790) 41 ; Fadder, yah may be sewer, hed varra lile chance
o' craain on his aan midden, Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii. 43 ; (K.)
n.Yks.i234 ne.Yks.i e.Yks.MARSHALLiJ^n i'coK. (1788); e.Yks.i,
m.Yks.i^ w.Yks. He's a poor cock 'at cannot craw of his awn
middin' (J.T.F.); w.Yks.i=3*5 Lan. Hoo gwos by th' name n'
' Midden i' Fithers,' Waugh Chim. Corner (1874) 26, ed. 1879;
The odour from shippons and middens, Francis Daughter of Soil
(1895) 26 ; Lan.i The ashpit at one time commonly attached to
most houses in Lancashire. n.Laii.i I.Ma. Like an ould boot
upon a midden. Brown Witch (1889) 39; On this he played
. . . from the top of the midden outside in summer, Caine Manx-
man (1894) pt. I. V. Chs.i^ Midi. The cock is crowing on the
midden, Bartram People of Clapton (1897) 156. Der.12, nw.Der.i,
Not. (W.H.S.) Lin. Skinner (1671). sw.Lin.i In the 'Mayor's
Cry,' an old Proclamation of municipal regulations for the City of
Lincoln, all men ' that have any middings, dirt hills, or any other
filth at their garth ends,' are ordered to remove them. War.3
Wor. .A^. & Q. (1855) ist S. xi. 440. Suf. The meadow instead of
the midden outside the door, Fison Merry Suf. (1896) 50.
Hence Middened up, ppl. adj. covered or smothered
with dirt or rubbish. n.Yks.^
2. Comp. (i) Midden-bol or -biil, a dunghill, the receptacle
for the drainage of a cow-house ; (2) -bottom, the site on
which a manure-heap has stood ; (3) -cock, a dunghill
cock, the principal cock of a yard ; Jig. the chief man of a
place ; (4) -creel, a basket for manure or refuse ; (5) -crow,
the carrion crow, Corvus corone ; also w^&Afig. for a person
of low extraction ; (6) -crown, the top or summit of a
dunghill ; (7) -cruke, see (5) ; (8) -daup, (a) see (5) ; (b) a
dastardly fellow; (9) -dub, a pool or hole in which the
moisture from a dunghill is collected, a dunghill puddle ;
(10) -dung, manure from a dunghill ; (11) -dyke or -daek,
the wall of a dunghill ; (12) -fork, a fork for handling
manure ; (13) -head, (a) see (6) ; ib) in phr. to be heard upon '
the midden-head, to quarrel openly ; (14) -heap, a dunghill ;
(15) -hole, a hole or hollow in which manure and refuse
is collected, a dung-heap ; a small pool of dirty water
beside a dunghill ; (16) -lairach, see (2) ; (17) -making, the
making of dunghills ; (18) -mavis, a rag-picker, one who
rakes up dunghills and dust-bins for scraps ; (19) -monarch,
a cock ; (20) -mount, a mound or rampart formed of
heaped-up dung and rubbish ; (21) -muck, the filth of the
dung-heap ; (22) -mylies, («) the goosefoot, Chenopodium
album ; {b) the wild spinach, Ch. Bonus-Henricus ; (23)
■pant, a pool formed by the drainage of a dunghill, a
receptacle for the drainage of a cow-shed ; (24) -peel, see
(9) ; (25) .quick, a worm bred from manure deposit ; (26)
-scarter, a hen ; (27) -spuce, see (14) ; (28) -stance, (29)
■stead or -steethe, the site of a dunghill, a place for storing
manure, rubbish, Sec, a dunghill, ash-heap ; (30) -sump,
see (23) ; (31) -tap, see (6).
(i) Sh.I. Doo sood a tought afore doo shiv'd ony body i' da
midden bOl wi' naethin apo' dae feet bit bits o' auld sukkalegs, Sh.
News (Aug. 6, 1898) ; Dis am fun i' da midden bul oot by da hoose,
ib. (May 22, 1897). (2) Nhb.i (3) Sc He was as uplifted as a
midden-cock upon pattens, Scott Midlothian (1818) xliii. Rnf.
Our middin cock Craw'd i' the night at Twall o'clock, Picken Poems
(1813) I. 120. Ayr. His wee three-cornered hat sittin' on three
hairs like a bit midden cock on his held. Service Notandums {iSgo)
77. Feb. A blust'ring midden cock . . . With his loud-cackling
Partlet blest, Lintoun Green (1685) 40, ed. 1817. Gall. Midden
cocks het frae thebawks, Mactaggart iT^gJc/. (1824) in, ed. 1876.
n.Yks.'^ (4) Ayr. Her walie nieves like midden-creels, Burns
Willie's Wife, St. 4. (5) N.Cy.i, Nhb.i, n.Yks.2, ne.Lan.i (6) Sc.
Richt ower the midden-croun, Donald Poems (1867) 45. (7)
n.Yks.2 (8 a, b) w.Yks.i (9) w.Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. He was harlt
through mire and midden dub, Galt Lairds (1826) xi. (10) Sc.
Midding-dung either unmixed or compounded with earth ; . . if it be
designed for grain, it should be plowed into the ground as soon as
possible after it is laid on it to prevent waste by exhalation,
MIDDEN
[103]
MIDDLE
Maxwell Sel. Trans. (1743) 200 (Jam.), (n) Sh.I. Sh(l clappid
her apon a muckle stane i' da midden daek, Sh. News (Aug. 6,
1898). Lth. Ye'll find him sittin' on Robbie Blair's midden-dyke,
Swan Carlowrie (1895) x. (12) I.Ma. Carrying in one hand a
bucket-full of potatoes and a midden-fork in the other, Ryding
Tales (1895) 21. (13, a) Sc. He saw upon the medding-head a
tall black man of a grim countenance, Kirkton Ch. Hisi. (1817)
XX. Sh.I. He keepit wis a whole winter sittin wi Job upun his
midden head. Burgess Tang (1898") 30. Elg. Why did ye sleep,
ye lazy tykes, On midden-head, Couper Poetry (1804) II. 220.
Abd. Ae hen frae aff yor midden head Ye grudge to kill for me,
Williams Farmer's Tint Laddies (1900) st. 8. e.Fif. He . . . gaed
roon to the midden-head wi't, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxix.
Ayr. Its roots and rankness are in the midden-head of Arminianism,
Galt Gilhaize (1823) xiii. Lnk. Ye craw unca croose on yer ain
midden-heid, Murdoch Readings (1895) III. 104. Dmf. Picken's
hen's cauld and dead. Lying on the midden head, Wallace School-
master (1899) 377. Gall. Fetch every swineherd Kennedy from
every midden head, Crockett Grey Man (1896) 67. (6) Abd. Had
o' the bargin we made an outred We's no be heard upo' the midden
head, Ross Helenore (1768) 93, ed. 1812. (14) Frf. Rowin' owre
an' owre ane anither in the parental midden-heap, Willock Rosetty
Ends (1886) 129, ed. 1889. n.Yks.'^ Nrf. An ancient and festering
midden-heap stands before the door of the dairy, Longman's Mag.
(IWar. 1899) 417. (15) Sc. Caused Maggy bann, Lap o'er the
midden and midden-hole, And aff he ran. Ballad in Scott Waverley
(1814) Pref. to 3rd ed. Abd. [He] plumpet in Kate's midden-hole,
Cock Strains {liio) II. 122. Per. What adds considerably to their
miserable state is the abominable but too general practise of placing
the dung-hill (midden-hole, vulgarly) before the doors of their
dwelling-houses, Statist. Ace. XIX. 333 (Jam.) ; Sometimes a hole
or small pool beside a dunghill in which filthy water stands (Jam.).
Ayr. An' she cry'd, Lord preserve her ! An' ran thro' midden-hole
an' a'. Burns Halloween (1785) st. 23. Nhb.' The porthole through
which ashes are shot. Lan. He roU't off' th' kitchen slate into th'
midden-hole, Waugh Owd Bodle, 257 ; Lan.i Chs.i Generally
slightly sunk below the surface of the ground. (16) Bnff. (Jam.,
s.v. Lerroch). (17) Gall. A new set o' folk is coming about me
athegether now, wha talk about plowin and middinmakin, Mac-
TAGGART Encycl. (1824) 28, ed. 1876. (18) Lth. Ilk tree-legg'd
man, ilk club-taed laddie, Ilk midden mavis, wee black jaudie, A'
dread an' fear ye, BallantinePo«>«5 (1856) 68. Edb.& Gaberlunzie
(ed. 187s) Gl. (19) Fit The craw o' the cock, for . . . a wheen o'
thae indispensable midden-monarchs hae their abode ... at the
back o' my auld cronie's hoose, McLaren Tibbie (1894) 116. (20)
Sc. A species of rampart used by the inhabitants of the city of
Edinburgh during the reign of Charles I in defending themselves
against the batteries of the castle (Jam.). Abd. They raise midding
mounts upon the causeway, and fill up sundry houses with sand
and water to resist fireworks, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 214.
(21) n.Yks.^ As mean as midden-muck. (22, a) n.Sc. Thus
denominated as growing on dunghills (Jam.). (6) Slk. Sometimes
eaten with salt, in times of scarcity, ib. (s.v. Myles). (23) Cum.
The breydegruome roun the middin pants Proud as a peacock
stretches, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1805) 129; Cum.i Cum., Wm.
(M.P.), w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.1 (24) Cai.i (25) n.Yks.2 A kind of
worm, with which the angler baits his hook. (26) Per. Wi' loads o'
produce 0' the midden-scarters, Stewart Character (1857) 189.
(27) Lan. Fur e smells wur nur o midden-spuce, Scholes Tim
Gamwattle (1857) 39; I moot os weel ha bin o'er th' heeod in o
midding spuce, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 46. (28) Sc.
The oozings, after all, are not entirely lost, as the middenstance
requires no more manure, Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) I. 467.
(29) Sc. Keep the breadth of the middenstead between them,
Scott Leg. Mont. (1818) vi. Cai.i Abd. The destroyer . . . was
permitted to flaff his wings, and to craw on the midden-stead of
carnal victory, Ruddiman Sc. Par. (1828) 39, ed. 1889. Ayr. Like
the heft o' a muck fork frae a midden-stead, Ainslie Land of Bums
(ed. 1892) 99. Lnk. Up, like cock on middenstead, Sprung Satan
on the barrel head, Deil's Halloween (1856) 23. e.Lth. Has Tod
Lowrie ony property in land o' his ain, forby the bit midden-steid
that gies him a vote in his ain coonty ? Hunter /. Inwick (1895)
8g. Gall. The young cock could craw crouser than the old upon
the same midden-stead, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) v. N.Cy.i
Nhb. In the middensteed he was a mighty man, Chatt Poems (1866)
87 ; Nhb.i, e.Dur.i Cum. To see her throw away her money ' ontil
t'midden-steed as a body mud sae,' Linton Lizzie Lorton (1867)
xxiv ; The place where it stands, with its surrounding wall in
well-kept farm-yards (J .An). Cum., Wm. (M.P.) n.Yks.^; n.Yks.*
' He married her mair for t'muck than t'midden-steead,' more for
her property than her person ; n.Yks.*, m.Yks.^ w.Yks.' He wor
standing hard by t'midden-steead, ii. 292 ; w.Yks.^, Lan.i (30)
Cum.i Cum., Wm. (M.P.) (31) Lnk. Like flees on stinkin' midden-
tap, CoGHiLL Poems (i8go) 65. Kcb. This morning bodes us ill, . .
For the gray crow flew o'er the midden-tap, Davidson Seasons
(1789) 95 (Jam.).
3. Phr. (i) an eating midden, a glutton, one who sacrifices
everything to the gratification of his appetite ; (2) cock of
the midden, the principal person of a place, one who rules
everybody else in his own house or neighbourhood ; (3)
to marry a midden for muck, to marry for money.
(i) Ags. (Jam.) (2) s.Dur. Cock of his own midden (J.E.D.).
■w.Tfks.i Lan. He's th' cock o' this here midden, Westall Birch
Dene {i88g) II. 17. ne.Lan.^ Lin.i He is cock of the midding.
(3) w.Yfcs.i You'd marry a midden for muck.
4. A heap or large quantity.
n.Yks. 2 He can eat a midden o' meat. It has been a midden o' rain.
5. A contemptuous term for a woman.
Sc. A dirty slovenly woman (Jam.). CaL', N.Cy.i, ne.Lan.^
6. pi. A name given to certain rocks outside South
Shields harbour. Also called Black Middens.
N.Cy.i Dangerous rocks on the north side of the entrance into
South Shields harbour. Nhb. To . . . the billows shocks. On the
dread Black Middens' Rocks (W.G.).
[1. A middynge, sterquilinium, Cath. Angl. (1483) ; A
fowler myddyng sawe bow never nane, Hampole Pr. C.
(c. 1340) 628. Dan. midding, a dunghill ; m^g-dynge, a
dung-heap (Larsen) ; ON. myki-dyngja (Vigfusson).]
MIDDEN, /r^/>. m.Yks.i [mi-dan.] Amid.
I found a goose-egg midden the straw-bands.
[pe stsef tobrsec a midden, Lajamon (c. 1205) 8154.]
MIDDER, see Mother, sb.^
MIDDERN.si. Nhb.^ [mi'darn.] The midriff or dia-
phragm.
MIDDHUP, sb. Irel. Also in form midthyp. An odd
or curious instrument. s.Don. Simmonds Gl. (1890).
MIDDIN(G, MIDDIS, see Midden, sb., Mids.
MIDDLE, adj., sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. and
Eng. [mi'dl.] 1. adj. In comb, (i) Middle-band or
-bant, a thong passed through the ' capple ' of a flail, con-
necting the swipple with the handstafif ; (2) -banes, the
waist ; (3) -bin(d, (4) -bond, -bont, or -bun, see (i) ; (5)
■coal, the strata of coal in Lightmoor Winsey pit ; (6)
■day, mid-day ; (7) •horned, of cattle : belonging to a
particular kind between that of longhorns and shorthorns;
(8) ■leg-deep, knee-deep ; (9) -limmers, limmers or shafts
that are attached to the yoke-hole in the centre of a tub-
end; (lo) ■mie, in brewing : the liquor drawn off from the
second mash ; (11) -night, midnight ; (12) -piece, a board
forming part of the bottom of a cart ; (13) -pole, the gear
which attaches the hind to the fore-wheels of a wagon ;
(14) ■spear, (a) the upright timber of a gate between the
'harrow' (q.v.) and the head; {b) the upright beam to
which the folding-doors of a barn are fastened ; (15)
•stead, the compartment of a barn which contains the
threshing-floor; (16) -stree, see (14, b) ; (17) •street stones,
boundary stones where an owner holds only one side of
a village ; (18) -tree, see (14, b) ; (19) -way, ' middling,'
pretty well.
(i) ne.Yks.i Chs.^ Usually made of whitleather. s.Chs.i
nw.Der.i Mid-1-baand. s.Not. (J.P.K.), Nhp.i, War.^ (2) w.Som.l
Miid-l bae-unz. Obsol. n.Dev. Exm. Crtshp. (1746) Gl. (3) Som.
(W.F.R.) w.Som.'Mud-l-buyn. (4) nw.Der.i Midl-bont. s.Wor.i,
Glo.i Ken.i Mid'lbun. (5) Shr. Marshall Review {\8iS) II. 200.
(6) e.Suf. I expect a letter by the middle-day post (F.H.). Som.
There were a black cloud or two, middle day, Raymond Men o'
Mendip (1898) i. CoUoq. If I don't hear from you by middle-day,
I shall know you are not coming. Middle-day dinner (A. B.C.).
(7) Nrf. Improving^their established breed,the middle-horned variety,
which in view of the uses of cattle in this country is far preferable
to either of the other breeds, Marshall Review (1811) III. 396.
(8) Nhb. Darlington Gl. (1887). s.Chs.i Dhu sliij iz mid-1-leg-
deep [The sludge is middle-leg-deep]. (9) Nhb.i Nhb., Dur.
Limmers that are attached to the yoke-hole in the centre of a tub-
end, Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (10) w.Yks.^ (11) Sc. I
was to be carrying them their meat in the middle night, Stevenson
Catriona (1893) xxi. (12) s.Chs.i One or two longitudinal pieces
[of oak] known as ' mid'l-peysiz' [middle pieces] are mortised
MIDDLED
[104]
MIDDLING
into the fore-bond and arse-bond (s.v. Cart). (13) n.Lin.'^ (140, i)
Dor.' (s.v. Harrow). (15) e.An.i Generally in the middle of the
building. But the same name serves, should it be, as in small barns
it sometimes is, at one end. Snf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 296, ed.
i849;Suf.» (16) Nrf.^reA. (1879) VIII. 171. e.Snf. (F.H.) (17)
Cum.l (18) e.An.i (ig) w.Som.' ' I suppose you have done well
with your dairy goods ? ' ' Wuul, zr, mud-l-wai'ee luyk ' [Well,
sir, middling like].
2. sb. The waist, the middle part of the body.
Sh.I. Your gowden hair hangs ta your middle sae jimp, Stewart
Tales (1892) 236 ; His strops tied aboot his middle, Sh. News
(July 3I) 1897). Abd. Queans dink, and neatly prin'd, Frae tap
to middle, Keith Farmers Ha' (1774) st. 55. Ayr. The body wi'
his coorse grey claes and clapper tied to his middle wi' a rape,
Service Notandums (1890) 71. Dmf. Nae mair wi' kilted coats
we see Thy middle jimp and sma', Johnstone Poems (1820) 78.
n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) Lan.i He wur up to his middle i' watter. He
geet him by th' middle an' pitch'd him upo' th' floor. m.Lan.i
Shr.' I dunna like pdttin' a strap round a child's middle to dade
65th — it mak's 'em inclined to peck forrat. Oxf.' MS. add.
w.Som.i ' To catch round the middle ' is a wrestling term. It is
common to say, ' so high's your middle,' ' so deep's your middle,'
but in these cases a depth short of the waist is understood.
3. V. To finish weaving one piece of cloth off two or
more parts in the same loom. w.Yks. (J.M.) 4. Phr.
to middle in with, to show signs of, to be attacked (by an
illness).
Sh.I. Mony a evil day an' oor is geen ower mi head sin I first
middled in wi' hit [bronchitis], Sh. News (Aug. 28, 1897).
MIDDLED, ppl. adj. and sb. Sh.I. Also written midled ;
and in form middelt S. & Ork.' 1. ppl. adj. A sheep-
marking term : having a piece cut out of the middle of
the ear.
The right lugg midled, the left lugg shuUed in the top a bit before,
Sh. News (Dec. 18, 1897) ; The right lugg middled, the left lugg
feathered, ih.
2. sb. A sheep-mark : a piece cut out of the middle of
the ear. S. & Ork.*
MIDDLE-ERD, s^-. Sc. Also in form midlert. \. Obs.
The earth, world.
n.Sc. Yet in use . . . among old people, by which they understand
this earth in which we live, in opposition to the grave. Thus they
say, ' There's no man in middle erd is able to do it ' (Jam.). Abd.
This gate she could not long in midlert be, Ross Helenore (1768)
59 {ib.).
2. The nether regions.
Edb. She's ower thick wi' the Auld Ane and the folk that dwell
in the middle erd for a body to mell wi', Beatty Secretar (1897) 249.
MIDDLEIST, 5M^^r/. «c^'. w.Yks.^ [mi-dl-ist.] Middle-
most, most central.
MIDDLEKIN, arfy. Wil.^ [mi-dl-kin.] Tolerable.
MIDDLEMAS, sb. Ken. I.W. Also written middlemus
I.W.' [mi-dl-mas.] Michaelmas. Ken. (G.B.),Ken.i,I.W.i
MIDDLEMER, a(^'. Lakel. Yks. [mi-dlm3(r.] Central,
middle, coming between the eldest and youngest in age.
Lakel.2 ' Is that t'auldest lad er youngest ? ' ' It's nowder, it's
middlemer.' w.Yks. (J.W.)
MIDDLEMISH, adj. Brks. [Not known to our other
correspondents.] Moderate, middling ; not liberal.
A he's but a middlemish man ; not much for geein' (W.W.S.).
MIDDLEMOST, arfy. Sc. Lakel. Yks. Brks. [mi-dlmast.]
1. Central, nearest to the centre, most in the middle.
Sc. (A.W.) Lakel.2 T'middlemest o' flot. w.Yks.^a
2. Moderate, not liberal. Brks. (M.E.B.)
MIDDLING, adj., adv. and sb. Van dial, and colloq. uses
in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also written middleing m.Yks.* ;
middlen w.Yks. Dor. Som. ; midlen Lnk. ; midlin(g Dur.'
w.Yks.^ Shr.^ e.Ken. ; mydlyng Sc. ; and in form millin(g
w.Yks.^ [mi'dlin.] 1. adj. Moderate, fair, tolerable ;
mediocre, indifferent, poor, bad ; varying in degree accord-
ing to the tone of the speaker or to a preceding adv.
Sc. ' Mydlying Mane,' a happy mean, Montgomerie- Fleming
NotesoMjam.{i&gg). Sh.I. 'What sort of girl is that Smith one?'..
' O, she's kind o' middlin,' Burgess Lowra Biglan (1896) 41. Lnk.
Gin ye and I war ance cairded thro' ither, we may get bonny weans
o' a midlen mak, Graham Writitigs (1883) II. 209. Gall. If folk . . .
had eneuch gumption to gie ye guid linen instead o' middlin silk,
Crockett Stickil Mm. (1893) 243. n.Cy. (J.W.) [Dur.i Of a
midlin size. w.Yks. He's middlen traade, Emsley Poems (1893) ;
w.Yks.2 ' How's trade!' ' Middling'; w.Yks.^ Chs.' But in a
middling way. a.Not. ' How's yer apples, John ? ' ' Oh, some's
middling, others is but middling' (J.P.K.). Lin. A person will
pass 'a middling night' (W.W.S.). Rdn. Uncommon middling
[very inferior], Morgan Wds. (1881). War.^ Glo. I'd clean
forgot it : my recollection be a-getting so middlin', Gissing Vill,
Hampden (1890) I. vi; Glo.' It'll be a middling job for the farmers,
if the rain lastgs. Oxf.' The wife told him her husband had just
died. ' I wuz a good wife to 'ee,' said she. ' Middlin', missis,'
said the supposed corpse, MS. add. Lon. Times is middlin' with
me ; they might be better, but then they might be worse, Mayhew
Land. Labour (1851) I. 268, col. i. Ken.' A word with several
shades of meaning, from very much or very good, to very little or
very bad. The particular sense in which the word is to be taken
for the time is determined by the tone of the speaker's voice alone.
Sur.i n.Wil. Said of anything that is moderate of its kind, but
deriving its real connotation from the adverb prefixed. ' Very
middling ' is used of something that is poor or bad of its kind,
' pretty middling' of something good or well (W.C.P.). w.Som.i
I tookt out a middlin lot o' dirt sure 'nough. I never did'n zee no
jis mess avore. Dev. ' 'Avee got a gflde crap ov pays thease yer ? '
' Aw 'ess, middling-like,' Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). Cor. Women
was like pilchards ; when 'ums bad 'ms bad, and when 'ms good
they is but middlin', Steel Rowans (1895) 380.
Hence (i) Middlingish, adj. moderate, fair, tolerable ;
(2) Middlingly, adv. moderately, not perfectly; (3) middling
and, phr. moderately, tolerably.
(i) e.Yks.' A middlinish few [a good quantity]. A middlinish
lot o' taties. w.Yks. (J.W.) Ken. A middlingish many, N. & Q.
(1878) 5th S. A. 52. (2) Ayr. Even then she was but middlingly
pleased, Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 133. Wm, Them as laddies
their wits oot of other folk brains 'ill nobbut be middlinly sarrad.
Quarterly Review (1867) CXX. 379. w.Yks. If they happen ta be
nobbut middlinly dressed, ToMTREDDLEHOYLE5a!>«s/a^K«. (1857)
50. (3) Dev. I like gruel middling and sweet. Reports Provinc.
(T883) 88.
2. In a moderate state of health, fairly well ; indifferent,
poorly ; the degree of health varies in accordance with
the tone of the speaker or with a preceding adv.
Sc.(A.W.) n.Ir.'Hoo'sa'wi'yethiswather?' ' Middlin', thankye,'
LYTTi-EPaddy McQuillan, 102. n.Cy. (J.W.) Dur.l 'But middlin,'
not in good health. Cum .' Tse gaily weel to-day, but I was nobbut
varra middlin yesterday ; Cum.* Dr. John Dalton replied to the
question asked by William IV, as to how things were going on at
Manchester, ' Very middlin.' Yks. ' Eh ! 'ow's thou V ' Eh ! I's
nobbut middlin', 'ow's yersel ? ' ' Well, I's joost middlin' ' (F.P.T. ).
e.Yks.' Nobbut midlin. w.Yks. 'Well, Nancy, how are you to-
day?' 'Why middling, miss, i' myseln,' Bronte Agnes Grey
(1847) xi ; w.Yks.' 2j ne.Lan.' Chs.' 'How are you to-day?'
'But middling'; Chs.3 'How is Jack?' 'Middlin.' s.Stf. ' Very
middlin' ' means really ill. ' Pretty middlin ' is a reluctant con-
fession of good health, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). nw.Der.'
s.Not. ' How are you to-day ? ' ' Pretty middlin, praise the Lord '
(J.P.K.). Lin. A person will pass 'a middling night 'and feel
' only middling ' next day (W.W.S.). War.^a ; War.* I be pretty
middling, but the old woman, she be middling, and my poor lass,
she be vora middling. s.War.' This word has opposite meanings
according as it is preceded by 'pretty' or 'very.' 'I'm pretty
middUng' means ' I am tolerably well.' But ' I'm very middling '
means ' I am very unwell.' w.Wor.', s.Wor.', se.Wor.', Shr.',
Hrf.'2 Rdn. Uncommon middling [very ill]. Glo. There's one o'
th' owld yeows a bit middling to-day, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(1890) 138 ; Glo.' Oxf. He's very middhng, N. & Q. (1874) 5th
S. i. 6 ; ' How's the missis ? ' ' Oh, very middling ' (G.O.). Brks.
Miss Winter, . . when she had ascertained ' that his missus wur
pretty middlin,' made some other commonplace remark, Hughes
T. Brown Oxf. (1861) xviii ; Brks.' I be but middlin' zur, thank
'e ; the rheumatics be bad agin. Hrt. I'm pretty middling, thank
you (G.H.G.). Nrf. Thank ye, I fare pretty middling. How's
yourself? (W.R.E.) ; We're all kinder middlin', Cozens-Hardy
Broad Nrf. (1893) 41. Suf. He's pretty middlin, e.An. Dy. Times
(1892) ; I fare sorter middlin as mornin (C.T.). Ken. He's keeping
pretty middling (D.W.L.). e.Ken. I'm midling, thank you (G.G.).
Sur.' e.Sur. In response to an inquiry as to his health a native
will never get beyond the answer 'pretty middlin' (G.L.G.). Hmp.
'How are you to-day?' 'O! I'm but middling' (H.C.M.B.).
Wil. 'Ten't more'n middlin' loike, Swinstead Parish on Wheels
(1897) 26; Wil.', n.WiL (W.C.P.), Dor. (C.W.) w.Som.' Oh,
her idn on'y very middlin', eens mid zay ; her've a got the brown-,
MIDDLING
[105]
MIDGE
titus shockin' bad like. Dev. To . . . cast him a ' 'Do, Tavemer,
this morning ? Middling, eh ? ' Baring-Gould Red Spider (1889)
xviii.
Hence Middlinish, adj. in a fair state of health, moder-
ately well ; not very well, poorly.
e.Yks.' Ah's middlinish. Wil. You be lookin', middlinish, zur,
andael as if ewas shrammed, Akerman 70/65(1853) 137. w.Som.'
Wuul, Urchut, aew bee yue- z-maur-neen ? — Wuul, miid leeneesh
luyk, thang-kee, Jumz [Well, Richard, how are you this morning?
— Well, pretty tolerable, thank you, James].
3. Comp. Middling-ill, a disease in sheep : the red or
black water.
Dur. Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815) XIX. 309. Wm. Reports
Agric. (1793-1813) 24.
4. adv. Moderately, tolerably, fairly ; rather.
Sc. Meg was a sonsy lass, an' middlin' fair, Allan Lilts (1874)
265. Sh.I. They all gave him a middling wide berth. Burgess
Sketches (2nd ed.) 44. Bnff. The Register of Baptisms is kept
middling regularly since 1690, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 446.
Abd. It's a middlin' lang road, Alexander .<4<« Flk. (1882) 21. Frf.
The middling good folk who did not go to church counted those
who did, Barrie Licht (1888) ii. Ayr. Jenny Whalbart and her
man were middlin' ticht o' the grup, Service Dr. Duguid (ed.
1887) 26. e.Lth. Simpson spak up middlin sensible, Hunter
J. Inwick (1895) 29. Dmf. There was some meikle mares, and
some middling bonny, Shennan Tales (1831) 81. Gall. 'How's a"
your fouk at hame?' 'They're middling weel,' Nicholson Po«/.
TVks. (1814) 46, ed. 1897. Ir. 'Deed, he gits his health middlin'
well enough, glory be to' goodness, Barlow Lisconnel (1895)
22. Don. A week . . . these doin's lasted, an' then . . . came to a
middlin' sudden stop. Harper's Mag. (Sept. 1899) 510. Nhb.
' How fare they ? ' ' Middlin' well,' Jones Nhb. 109. Cum. We
sartenly dud git middlin fresh, Richardson Talk (1876) 2nd S. 4 ;
The gentleman blusht up teh t'een ... an slipe't middlin sharply,
SARGissoN/oe5ro«/i (1881)54; Cum.4 Middlin' fairly gaily, n. Wm.
Their aald jinny ass hed a young un middlin grown. Spec. Dial.
(i885)pt.iii.28; Watyermiddlinggaily? Isereet fain et see ya luke
sa weel, tLonsdale Mag. {1821) H. 446. w.Yks.^ He'd aather come
ur send middlin offuns to ax after wur health, 60. Lan. That lone-
some spot geet things middlin weel to itsel, Clegg Dial. (1895) i ;
Wavin' wur middlin' good, Brierley Old Radicals, 8. I.Ma. I
walked middlin' quick down Agnesh Road, Rydings Tales (1895)
61 ; She is middlin cross to-day (S.M.). Chs.i Middling good.
War.2 We get on middling at the farm ; War.3 A middling
fair run. s.War.^ ' We gets on pretty middling,' . . means
... we are doing well. But ..." he's going on very middling '
means ... he is doing very badly or conducting himSelfvery badly.
Brks.i Work done ' but middlin',' is rather badly done. e.Ken.
'How do you like it?' 'Midling' (G.G.). Sur.^ He's given to
chuck people out middlin' sudden. Sus. They did pretty middlin
answerable to their size, Egerton Flks. and Ways (1884) 85 ; Sus.^
It may mean very much, as, ' He lashed out middUn', I can tell
ye ! ' Or tolerably well, as, ' I doant know but what she made
out purty middlin'.' Or very bad, as, ' How did the wedding go
off ? ' 'Middling, thank you, sir. . . You see the parson he entirely
forgot all about it.' Wil.' A middlin' good crop. w.Som.i 'And
how's things looking? ' ' Oh, purty middling like, mus'n grum'le,'
They zold their things middhn bad like, did'n em? Dev. Iss fy
they'm middling good children, O'Neill Idyls (1892) 32.
Hence Middlingish, adv. moderately, tolerably.
e.Yks.i He's middlinish off. w.Yks. (J.W.) Glo. We makes
our way — and a middlingish crukked way 'twere, I tell 'ee, Buck-
man Darke's Sojourn (1890) 61.
5. Comp. (i) Middling-fause, cunning ; (2) -sharp, toler-
ably well ; (3) -sized, moderate in size.
(i) e.Lan. If then wanten to be middlin' fause, they should be
churchwardenfor awhile. A''. &Q. (i874)5th S.i.6. (2)Shr.i; Shr.2
The missis bin midling-sharp. (3) Sc. (A.W.) Ir. He was not quite
sure whether he were glad or sorry to find how heavy the middling-
sized ones seemed to lift. Barlow Idylls (1892) 144. w.Yks. (J.W.)
6. sb. A mediocre person or thing, one that is not above
the average in capacity or health ; a moderate condition
of health ; gen. in phr. among the middlings.
Chs.i ' What sort of a man is your team-man ? ' ' Well ! he's
just about among the middlings.' s.Chs.' Of a person who does
not rise above the average of excellence, it is commonly said, ' He's
among the middlins.' Der. ' How are you to-day, Sam ? ' ' Only
among the middlin's, Mester' (H.R.). sw.Lin.^ I'm no-but among
the middlings. Oxf.i So you be amongst the middlin's to-day, be
Missis? MS. add. Suf. lam only amongst the middlings (M.E.R.).
VOL. IV.
Lon. 'How are you getting on, Dick?' . . 'Well, only among the
middlings. Sir,' Sunday Mag. (1877) 182. Ken.' ' Well, Master
Tumber, how be you gettin' on now ? ' ' Oh, I be amongst the
middlins ! ' Dor. 'How be you ? ' 'I' the middlens, thank 'ee, lad,'
Hare Vill. Street (1895) 146. Som. 'An' how's Mr. CuUiford to-
day?' ' Amongst the middlens, Zir; amongst the middlens,' Ray-
mond Love and Quiet Lije (1894) 25.
7. A moderate quantity, a good deal, a good many.
Yks. Do they give thee middling of brass, now? Upthrow of Celt,
225. w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. I've had middlin' o' luck sin' I coom
back fro' Lunnon, Ab-o'-th'-Yate Xmas Dinner (1886) 4. sw.Lin.'
It made middling of money. She seemed to get middling of things.
We've got middling of herses.
8. pi. Coarse flour or meal.
Lel.i The various qualities of meal aredistinguishedinto — i.Bran,
2. Shorts, . . 5. Thirds or Middlings. War.^ Coarse flour with a
large proportion of bran. se.Wor.i Shr.' Food given to pigs,
being a mixture of bran and pollard. [The bran of wheat and
sometimes pollard, or middlings, are given to fowls, Stephens
Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) I. 357.I
9. pi. A particular quality of teazle.
Glo. The central shoot of each plant called the King is cut, the
produce of the second and subsequent cuttings are sorted into
Queens, Middlings, and Scrubs, Marshall Review (1818) II.
457. Som. When made into ' packs,' a pack of ' kings' consisted
of 9000 heads, a pack of middlings of 20,000, while the scrubs were
of little value (W.F.R.).
10. pi. Potatoes of an intermediate size.
w.Mld. The larger ones being called 'ware,' and the smaller
ones 'chats' (W.P.M.).
11. pi. An instalment of ' shoe-money,' sometimes given
to hop-pickers in the middle of the hopping time. Ken.'
12. In tin-mining : the middle division of the contents
of a round ' buddle.' Also called Crease.
Cor.3 The 'crease' or 'middlings' containing tin that is sent
over the buddle a second time. . . These divisions are quite arbi-
trary ones made by the tin-dresser marking round with a shovel
when the buddle is full.
13. A miner's term for a place that has been worked on
all sides. m.Yks.''
MIDDRIT, see Midred.
MIDGAN, sb. Cor. Also written midjan Cor.'^
[mi-dgan.] A small fragment ; a scrap, shred. Also
used^^.
A little ugly midgan of a cur began to bark. Hunt Pop. Rom.
w.Eng. (1865) I. 34 ; Why he scat all to midjans and jouds, J. Tre-
NOODLE Spec. Dial. (1846) 43; Cor.' The cup is skat to midjans;
Cor.2 Midjans and jowds.
MIDGE, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
[midg.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Midge-clippings, nse.A Jig.
for anything very small and deUcate ; (2) -go-morrah,
hesitation, doubt, excuse ; (3) -grass, the meadow soft-
grass. Holms lanatus ; (4) -hole, a hole into which only a
midge can creep, a very small apartment ; (5) -'s knee-
buckle, a very small article; (6) -tail clippings, used
iron, for one of the ingredients of a supposed medicinal
concoction ; see below.
(i) Lan. Yo'r John's not made out of midge-clippins, Waugh
Heather {eA.WAaer) II. 171. (2) Cor.3 Bottrell Trad. 3rd S.
Gl. (3) Nhb.' (4) n.Yks.2 (5) N.I.' (6) Ayr. Sal-alkali o'
Midge-tail clippings, And mony mae. Burns Death and Dr. Horn-
book (1785) St. 22.
2. Any small fly, esp. the common house-fly. Cf. house-
midges, s.v. House, sb}
Sc. A mosquito (Jam.). Cum.* The ordinary house fly being
called house-midge. In the districts s. and sw. of Cockermouth,
' midge ' refers only to the small gnat or biting fly. ' Bob stuck
tull t' chair . . . like a midge tuU a flee-paper,' W. C. T. X. (1899)
23, col. 4. n.Yks.2
3. A person of diminutive stature ; anything very small.-
Bnff.', CId. (Jam.), n.Cy. (J.W.), n.Yks.^, e.Yks,', w.Yks.^s
Lan.' ' Hasto seen his woife ? ' ' Aye, hoo's nowt but a midge.'
n,Lan.' 'Thow lile midge,' applied to a child. Chs.^
4. A small hackney-fly or carriage.
Dev. Small flys licensed to carry two or at most three persons,
to be seen on all the cab-stands about Torquay, are almost always
called Midges about that town. Reports Provinc. (1877) 133 ; Ap-
plied formerly at Torquay to a sort of miniature carriage, drawn
by a mule, and seldom holding more than one person with com-
P
MIDGE-MADGE
[io6]
MIDSUMMER
fort. After a while small ponies were used instead of mules, and
then larger ponies, and the size of the vehicle consequently grew
(G.E.D.).
6. V. To stir or move slightly.
Edb. Gif I had midged, he would have struck me first, Beatty
Secretay (1897) 97.
MIDGE-MADGE, s6. I.W. Som. [mi-dg-mffidg.] Con-
fusion, disorder.
I.W.' w.Som.i Applied ^fM. to things, not to persons. 'Go home
hon a will, 'tis always the same, all to a midge-madge [mij'-maj],
and her away neighbourin'.'
MIDGEN, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lei. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf.
Glo. Oxf. Also written midgeon w.Yks.'^ ; midgin n.Cy. ;
and in forms moudgen Hrf.^; mudgen Oxf.; mudgin
War.^^ s.Wor.* se.Wor."^ Glo.^ ; mudging Lei.^ [mi'dgin,
m'B'dgin.] The mesentery of a pig ; the fat on the
chitterlings of a pig. Also in comp. Midgen-fat. Cf.
midgerum.
n.Cy. Grose (i79o)M5.arf(/. (P.) w.Yks.", LeL', War.23 s.Wor.
PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 14 ; s.Wor.', se.Wor.', Shr.i, Hrf.^,
Glo.i, Oxf. (A.L.M.)
Hence Midgen-lard, sb. an inferior kind of lard made
from the fat of the intestines of a pig. Shr.^
[Omentum, a paunche clout vel Myggerne, Trin. Coll.
MS. (c. 1450), in Wright's Voc. (1884) 599. OE. mycgern,
fat about the kidneys (B.T.).]
MIDGERUM, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Lei. Oxf. Wil. Som.
Also written midgerim Som. ; midjerum w.Yks.' ; and in
forms niidgram w.Yks. ; midgrom w.Yks.^ ; mudgerum
Oxf; mugerom n.Cy.; muggerum Wil.' [mi'dggrsm,
jnB'dgaram.] 1. The leafy fat belonging to the intes-
tines of an animal, esp. of a pig. Also in comp. Midgerum-
fat. Cf midgen.
n.Cy. Lawson Upton Gl. (i§84) ; (Hall.) w.Yks. Banks Wkfld.
JVds. (1865) ; w.Yks.* ; w.Yks. 2 In rendering lard the 'midgerum
fat ' is considered of inferior quality. The ' leaf fat ' makes the best
lard ; w.Yks.^ When the pig is killed, a small plate of liver, a
kidney, and portions of ' midgrom-fat ' very often goes to the
neighbours. ne.Lan.' Lei.' Yo' mut tek the midgerum-fat. Oxf.'
The fat fried with pig's liver. Wil.' Som. Sweetman Wincanton
G/. (1885); W. & J. G/. (1873).
2. The milt, spleen. w.Yks.\ ne.Lan.'
MIDGET, sb. Cor.i2 [mi-dgit.] A very small piece
of anything, a scrap, fragment.
MIDGETTY, adj. Cor. [mi-dgiti.] In comp. (i)
Midgetty-morrows, the fidgets ; (2) -per, an uproar, great
confusion.
(i) Cor.^2 ^2") Cor.* What a midgetty-por you have around
you ; Cor.^
MIDGEY, sb. Nhb. Dur. Also written midgy Nhb.*
e.Dur.* [mi'dgi.] A candle lantern closed at the back
and sides only, 'a mistress.'
Nhb.' Used by putters and drivers in a pit. Nhb., Dnr. An oblong
box without a front, carried upright, the use of which is to carry
a lighted candle or small lamp in a current of air, Greenwell Coal
Tr. Gl. (1849). e.Dur.' The height of the lamp was about 8 in.,
width 3 in., with open front. When first invented, they were
simply little wooden boxes, with a hole at the bottom, through
which the candle was thrust, and another hole at the top to let out
the heat. Afterwards tin took the place of wood. The flame was
sheltered by a piece of wood or tin about 2 in. high from the bottom
cf the lamp, and a similar piece from the top. The ' midgy ' has
now gone out of use.
MIDGICRAW, sb. n.Yks.= [mi-dgikrg.] A con-
temptuous term. See below.
'A pawky young midgicraw,'a little impertinent body.
MIDGY, sb. Sh.L Nhb. [mi'dgi.] 1. A midge.
Sh.I. If onything elt hir, it wis da midgies. Der horrid ! Sh.
News (June 23, 1900). Nhb.' Bitten aal ower wi midgies.
2. Comb. Midgy's ee, a minute thing. Nhb.*
MID JAN, MIDJERUM, see Midgan, Midgerum.
MIDNIGHT, sb. Not. A contemptuous epithet applied
to one who is slow or behind-hand with work. Also
used attrib.
s.Not. An old and very slow carrier here used to go by the
nickname of ' Old Midnight.' ' Oh, he's a midnight farmer, he is ;
he niver gets his hay when other folks does ' (J.P.K.).
MIDRED, sb. Obs. Sc. Dur. Also in forms middrit
Slk. ; mithrate, mithret Sc. (Jam.) 1. The diaphragm,
midriff.
Slk. Teil tat it birst te white middrit o' him, Hogg Tales (1838)
263, ed. 1866. Dur. It will drive his heart out— then where will
his midred be? Bishoprick Garl. (1834) 51.
2. pi. The heart and ' skirts ' of a bullock. Ayr. (Jam.)
[L Hec diafragma, a mydrede, Nominale (c. 1450), in
Wright's Voc. (1857) 208. OFris. midrede, midrith,
' zwerchfell ' (Richthofen).]
MIDS, sb. and v. Sc. Also written midse, midz ; and
in form middis. [midz.] 1. sb. After a prep. : the
midst, middle.
Sc. With these fallis ilke square piece of land is met over the
middis, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 94. Abd. Alane by mysel' in
the mids o' the Dee, Ogg Willie Waly (1873) 19a. Frf. Aye he
wad growl i' the mids 0' the road, Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 80.
Per. Among the raids of themselves, he hes raised up prophets,
apostles, and preachers, Wodrow Soc. Sel, Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I.
118. s.Sc. Yonder's two big hornie deils i' the midz o' the flock,
Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Dec. 8, 1900). Ayr. Hoosever, in the mids
o' our care, wha should come doitin' roon a corner but Doctor
Duguid himsel' ? Service Notandums (1890) 25. Lnk. They put
them on a black stane or stool, in the mids o' the Kirk, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 26.
2. Phr. in the m,ids of the meantime, at present, at once,
soon. Cf meantime.
Abd. Lat them gang fordards, an' in the mids o' the meantime,
Kirsty 'ill be queellin, Paul Abd. (1881) 35 ; It's my thoucht that
it's nae his will that ony o' his creatures shu'd gang afore him i'
the mids o' the meantime, Michie Deeside Tales (1872) 248 ; I' the
raids o' the meantime I'm gaein aff yer property the nearest gait,
Macdonald Castle Warlock (1882) xlix.
3. Comp. (i) Mids-day, obs., mid-day, noon; (2) Mids-
man, obs., a mediator.
(i) Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (2) Sc. Mr. Blair and Mr.
Durham appeared as mids men, Baillie Lett. (1775) 40Ij(Jam.).
4. A medium ; a middle course.
Sc. There's gude mids in a' things, Walford D. Netherby, v ;
Temperance is the golden mids between abstinence and intemper-
ance, Pardovan Coll. (1700) 244 (Jam.). Bnff.' To strike a raids.
Abd. There's a midse i' the sea, ye ken, an' it is not wisse-like to
gae sic len'ths, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 67. Rnf. This is the
midse that is fallen upon at present to prevent rents, Wodrow
Corres. (1709-31) I. 144, ed. 1843. Gall. There's a gude mids in
a' things, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
5. The open furrow between two ridges.
Bnff.* To tack oot the mids, is to draw the last furrow. Abd. If
Sandy dinna spoil himsel' wi' his mids, he is maist sure to get it.
The mids, or finishing furrow, is critical, Alexander Ain Flk.
(1882) 242.
6. pi. Obs. Means, methods, ways.
Sc. Fleming Scripture (1726) ; Your debates about the midses
make the end among your hands to be lost, Baillie ifW. (1775) II.
193 (Jam.). Kcb. Oh, seek all midses, lay all oars in the water,
put forth all your power, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 199.
7. V. Obs. To strike a medium.
Sc. Trebonian midseth the matter thus, Stairs /«s;. (1759) B. ii.
T. i. sec. 41 (Jam.).
8. To come to an agreement. BnfF.*
[1. Euin in the middis of this his mirrie hall. Sat. Poems
(c- 1573); ed. Cranstoun, L 286; Right even in middes of
the weye, Chaucer Hous F. 714.]
MIDSUMMER, sb. and v. Nhb. Yks. Lin. War. e.An.
Sur. Sus. Hmp. Wil. Dev. [mi-dsuma(r, •sBma(r).]
1. sb. Inco?«6.(i) Midsummer-come-never, an imaginary
season which never arrives, ' the Greek Kalends ' ; (2)
•daisy, (a) the ox-eye daisy, Chrysanthemum Leucanthe-
mum ; {b) the feverfew, Pyrethrum Parthenium ; (3) -daw
or -dor, a cockchafer; (4) -men, (a) various species of
orpine, esp. Sedum Telephium ; (b) the mandrake, Man-
dragora officinalis ; (5) -silver, the silverweed, Potentilla
Anserina.
(i) w.Yks.2 At Midsummer-come-never, (a, a) War.^, Sus. (6)
Dev.4 (3)Suf.(C.G.deB.), Cmb. (Hall.), Hmp. (H.W.E.) (4, «)
Nhb.*, Wil.i [She would never go to bed on Midsummer Eve,
without sticking up in her room the well-known plant called
Midsummer Men, as the bending of the leaves to the right or to
MIDTHYP
[107 J
MIGHTY
the left would never fail to tell her whether her lover was true or
false, Tawney Rachael (1800) in Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1813) 263 ;
I likewise stuck up two Midsummer Men, one for myself and one
for him. Now if his had died away we should never have come
together, but lassureyouhisblowed and turned to mine, Co«Hoiss««>-,
No. 56, <6.] (4) e.An.i (5) Snr.
2. A feast held at midsummer.
n.Lin.i The feasts at Thealby, Winterton, Crosby, Broughton,
and other villages, which are held about midsummer time, are
called midsummers, not feasts. Going out into the village at this
time is called ' going into the midsummer.'
3. V. To attend a midsummer feast.
ib. Going a midsummering.
MIDTHYP, see Middhup.
MIDWART, adv. Obs. Sc. Towards the centre.
RuDDiMAN Introd. (1773) (Jam.).
IVUDWIFE, sb. Sc. In comp. Midwife-gallop, full
gallop, a great rate.
Ayr. He pricked past the vehicle, quite at a midwife-gallop,
AiNSLiE Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 121.
MIE, MIEL, see Mow, sb?-, Meal, sb.^^, Meale, Moil, sb}
MIELE, MIER, see Meal, sb?, Mear.
MIFF, sb? and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Eng. and
Amer. [mif.] 1. sb. A slight quarrel or misunder-
standing, a 'tiff'; a fit of ill-humour, pettishness: a
' huff.'
Sc. Little miffs would occasionally take place, Scott Antiquary
(1816) V. n.Cy. He left me in a miff, Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.)
Wm. Nought can raak a miff amang us, Hutton Bran New Wark
(1785) 1. 551. m.Yks.i,ne.I,an.i,n.Lta,»,Lel.i,Nhp.i,War.(J.R.W.),
(E.A.P.), War.s, w.Wor.^ s.Wor. (H.K.) ; s.Wor.i Ive 'ad a bit
of a miff. se.Wor.i Went off in a miff. Shr.' She is in a little
sort of a miff about a ballad. Hrf.*, Glo.i, Oxf.^ Brks.' A was in
a miffamwoast avoor I begun to tell'n how 'twas. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
Sus. HOLLOWAY. Hmp.i, I.W.2 Wll. He's in a miff, Britton
Beauties (1825) ; Slow Gl. (1892). n.Wll. They had a bit of a miff
about it (E.H.G.). Dor. 'Twill cause them to kick up a bit of a
miff for certain, Hardy Life's Iron. (ed. 1896) 232 ; Dor.i If he shou'd
have a whiff In there, 'twou'd only breed a miff, 220. Som. Awl
rait me vlower zes oi to ee, now doant git in a miff, Frank Nine
Days (1879) 23; Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825); (F.A.A.)
Dev.2 Deal Gainsborough a lash, for pride so stiff, Who robs us of
such pleasure for a miff, Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) I. 57.
Hence Miffy,a<^'.apt to take offence, touchy, capricious.
Nhb.i Nhp.i She's very miffy. Shr.i Dor. (A.C.); (W.C.
c. 1750). [Amer. I'll tell you if you won't be miffy with me, Sam
Slick Clockmaker {iZ^S) ist S. xxvi.]
2. Phr. to take miff, to take offence, to be affronted.
Nhp.i ' She's taken miff'; Nhp.^ n.Bck. He soon took miff
(A.C.). Wil. Britton Beauties (1825). Dor. (A.C.) ; (W.C. i..
1750)-
3. V. To offend, affront, to give offence to ; to take
offence ; to pout. Gen. in pp.
Sc. My Thetis, a little miffed, perhaps — to use the women's
phrase, Scott Redg. (1824) Lett. xii. Bnff.i Lin. Thompson Hist.
Boston (1856) 715 ; Lin.i He was miffed, and left without making
his obedience. Shr.i 'E miffed at it direc'ly. s.Pem. A's miffin
(W.M.M.). Sus.l Hmp. Hollow AY. I.W.^ Som. Jennings OA5.
Dial. w.Eng. (1825). Dev. He's miff'd wi' I, Pulman Sketches
(1842) IIS, fid. 1871 ; Dev.l Na, dant'e be mift, 5. s.Dev. Fox
Kingsbridge (1874).
4. To whimper. Lakel.^ Hence to never say miff, phr.
not to whimper, not to give in, ' never say die.'
Keep swat an' niwer say miff, ib.
5. With off : of plants : to fade ; to lose their strength
and beauty.
Glo. Another alpine which is very apt to ' miff off' if grown in
the open border, Ellacombe Garden (1895) xvii. Sur. N. & Q.
(1883) 6th S. viii. 267.
Hence Miffey, adj. of plants : apt to fade when trans-
planted.
Nlib.' Applied to plants when set in the ground unseasonably.
' Th'or miffey just noo.'
[1. When a little quarrel, or miff, as it is vulgarly called,
arose between them. Fielding Tom Jones (1749) bk. iii. vi.]
MIFF, sb? Cum. Yks. [mif.] A 'mow' or rick of hay
or corn. Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 308. m.Yks.' (s.v.
Mew), w.Yks.'
MIFFLE, V. Lin. Nrf. Suf. [mi-fl.] 1. With after:
to mumble about or concerning. See Maffle.
Nrf. What are you mifjlin' after? Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf.
(1893) 70. e.Snf. (F.H.)
2. With about: to shuffle.
n.Lln.' He miffles aboot so, a body duzn't knaw wheare you
hev' him.
MIFF-MAFF, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. [mi-f-maf.] Non-
sense, foolishness, ' humbug.'
n-Cy. Trans. Phil. Soc. (1858) 164. Cum. Nin o' this miff-maff,
Gilpin Sngs. (1866) 279. w.Yks. As if life was nothing but a
kiss and a song, and such miff-maff, Bakr Love for an hour, 201.
n.Lan.i, ne.Lan.^
MIFFY, sb. ? Obs. n.Cy. Glo. A nickname for the
Devil ; a devil.
n.Cy. MifEes, buckles, gholes, Denham Tracts (ed. 1895) II. 78.
Glo. Grose (1790) ; Baylis Illus. Dial. (1870) ; Gl. (1851) ; Glo.'
[OFr. maufe, ' diable ' (La Curne).]
MIG, sb.^ Lakel. Yks. Also in form meg e.Yks. [mig.]
1. Liquid manure, the drainings from a manure-heap,
cow-shed, &c.
Lakel.2,n.Yks.(T.S.), n.Yks.124 ne.Yks.i e.Yks. It is dropping
out of use a good deal (R.S.); Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 30, 1895).
w.Yks. (C.W.D.)
Hence Miggy, adj. composed of or tainted with liquid
manure, &c. n.Yks. This watter's nobbut miggy (I.W.).
2. Camp, (i) Mig-hole, a hole at the bottom of a stable
wall for letting out the drainings from the floor. n.Yks.* ;
(2) -trough, a receptacle for liquid manure, ib.
[1. ME. migge, urine (Anc. Riwle, 402) ; OE. micga,
migga, urine (B.T.).]
MIG, sb? ? Obs. Som. In phr. as sweet as mig, very
sweet. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
MIGGAL-CONPORE, sb. Cor. Also in forms miggle-
cum-pore Cor." ; migle-cum-por w.Cor. 1. An uproar ;
confusion. See Mingle-cum-pur.
Cor.i (s.v. Midgetty-por), Cor." w.Cor. I must be home to stow
our things in the warehouses ; else I shall find everything in a
migle-cum-por, Bottrell Trad. 3rd S. 58.
2. Mixed food ; a ' mess.'
w.Cor. A term used in swine feeding, Bottrell Trad. 3rd S. Gl.
MIGGLE, see Muggle, v}
MIGGY, sb. n.Cy. [mi"gi.] The magpie. Pica rus-
tica. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 76. Cf. maggie, sb.^
MIGGY, adj. Hmp. Dor. [mi-gi.] Of the weather :
moist, damp, ' muggy.' Hmp. (H.C.M.B.), Dor.'
MIGHT, sb. Sc. Yks. Suf. 1. A quantity ; a large
amount ; a great number.
w.Yks. (J.W.) e.Suf. I've a great might of wate this year (F.H.).
2. //. Obs. Means, power, help.
Sc. I wan off by mights of Marie, Pennecuik Coll. (1787) 14.
MIGHTFUL, a<C?'- ne.Lan.» [mitiful.] Full of might,
powerful.
MIGHTY, adj., adv. and int. Var. dial, and colloq.
uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also in forms mearty
n.Dev. ; meeghty w.Yks. Der.* ; meety w.Yks." Lan. ;
merty Dev. ; michtie Sc. Bnff.' ; michty Sc. ; moight(y
Midi, [mai'ti, mrti, Sc. mi'xti.] 1. adj. Large in
quantity or size, great, exceeding, considerable.
Frf. He has a michty load o' luggage, Barrie Thrums (_i88g) ii.
Per. A michty whang aff a cream kebbuck, Stewart Character
(1857) Ixxiii. Ayr. What makes the mighty differ, Burns Address
to unco guid (1786) St. 3. Lnk. Ye hae the michty impudence to
call them names, Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 40. n.Cy. (J.W.)
w.Yks. Leuk what a gurt meeghty chimley there is yonder,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 23, 1896) ; w.Yks." Gret meety pots o'
saim ! War." There's a mighty lot o' cherries on that tree.
Oxf. You know a mighty lot, you do (G.O.). Hrf." WU. A tough
job of work is mighty (G.E.D.).
Hence Mightily, adv., obs., greatly, very much, con-
siderably.
Lan. Tey'n awthurt the'r tone meetyly fro a Protlamashon for
a Fast, Walker Plebeian Pol. (1796) 24, ed. 1807 ; I lung meetily
ta year what misfartins yone met we'h ogen, Paul Bobbin
Sequel {xQig) 6; For I'r meetily troublt abeawt me kauve, Tim
Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 38.
r 2
MIGLE-CUM-PORE
[io8]
MILE
2. Of liquor : strong, potent, intoxicating.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Fif. Berwick's yill-carts were asteer, Rumblin'
wi' barls o' michtie beer, Tennant Papistry (1827) 115. Wil.
Thuck ale wur too mighty vor I (G.E.D.).
3. Stately, haughty, disdainful.
Sc. (Jam.) Lakel.2 Thoo needn't mak thisel seea mighty becos
thoo's some new shun on. w.Yks. (J.W.) w.Som.i They be so
mighty and fine, nobody else idn hardly fit to wipe their shoes,
by all likin'.
4. Very fine or gay. Dor.^ Som. Bound Provinc. {1876) ;
(Hall.) 5. Strange, surprising.
Sc. (Jam.) Frf. ' It's most michty,' said Jess, . . ' 'at ye should
tak a pleasure in bringin' this hoose to disgrace,' Barrie Thrums
(1889) iii.
6. Phr. the Mighty be ower's, an exclamation, oath.
Abd. The Michty be ower's ! What's come to my bairn ? Mac-
DONALD Castle Warlock (1882) vi.
7. adv. Very, exceedingly.
n.Sc. Michtie rich, michtie gude (Jam.). Frf. Weel when he
was a probationer he was michty poor, Barrie Thrums (i88g)
xiv. Ayr. Now, Jove, for once be mighty civil. Burns Impromptu
on Mrs. Riddel's Birthday (1793) 1. 9. Lnk. I ken na how I'll
do without it ; An' faith I'm michty ill aboot it, Leighton Larfrfw's
Lamentation, 1. 40, in Nicholson /rfy//s (1870). Edb. He's michty
quate, the place itsel' is michty quale, I3eatty Secretar (1897) 35.
Gall. It's a most michty queer thing, Crockett C/fg-/ifc/fy (1896) v.
s.Ir. Mr. Darby Haynes, a mighty decent man, Croker Leg.
(1862) 237. Lan, (S.W.) Der.i Mighty fine. Midi. Yes, says
the squire, moighty sharp an' savage, Bartram People of Clapton
(1897) 195; Moighty slow and clivver, he said, this, ib. Nhp.i,
War.'^s^ s.Wor.i se.Wor.i A mighty good un ; a mighty little un.
Shr.i Rogers the tailor bought a pig at the far, but 'e's a mighty
poor aven. ' Mighty-bad,' in regard of health. Shr., Hrf. Mighty
good people. Bound Provinc. (1876). Hrf.=, Glo. (A.B.), Glo.i
Oxf. That's all mighty fine (CO.). Hnt. (T.P.F.) Dev. But old
Squire was always mighty pleased to see him, Chanter Witch
(1896) vi ; The present zimmer most merty small, Peter Pindar
RoyalVisit {iig^)-pX..\i. st.8. n.Dev. Hare'smeartywell to passand
maketh gurt account o' me now, Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 547.
Collog. And mighty glad the mail is near here, Stevenson Vailima
Lett. (1895) 235. [Amer. Week ago Tuesday it was, an' a mighty
nice mornin' it was, too, Westcott David Harum (1900) ii.]
8. Surprisingly.
Frf. ' A' I can say,' said Hookey, ' is 'at she taks me most
michty,' Barrie Thrums (1889) ix.
9. int. An exclamation of surprise ; gen. in phr. Mighty me.
Bnff.i Frf. Michty, man, ye dinna want tae fecht wi' ane o' my
best freends, Lowson Guidfollow (1890) 25. w.Sc. Eh, mighty!
that surely canna be, Macdonald Settlement (1869) 61, ed. 1877.
Ayr. Michty me, wha ever heard the like o' that, Johnston Kil-
mallie (1891) I. 172. Lnk. Ae, mighty me, . . baud a' your
tongues, Wardrop /. Mathison (1881) 15. Edb. Michty, lass,
ye're unco sprush to have come sae far, Beatty Secretar (1897)
222. Dor. Mighty me ! Won't mis'ess storm and call us stupids
when she comes back! Hardy Madding Crowd (1874) xxxii ;
Mighty me ! You soon forgive him, ib. Ethelberta (1876) I. xxiv.
MIGLE-CUM-PORE, see Miggal-con-pore.
MIHILMAS(S, sb. Obs. w.Yks.i ne.Lan.' Michael-
mas. Cf. milemas.
[As sone as Myhelmas Day was past, Paston Letters
(1465) II. 244 ; pe kyng . . . wende vor)) to Oxenford aboute
Myhelmasse, R. Glouc. (c. 1300), ed. Hearne, II. 463.]
MIKE, V. and sb. Yks. Lan. Lin. Shr. Glo. Oxf. [maik.]
1. V. To loiter, idle away time ; to ' loaf.' See Mitch, v.
Lan. (J.S.) Lln.i Dtm't mike to-day. Shr.^ Jacky wants to
mike. Glo.'- Oxf. Come, get on with your work, you have been
miking about long enough (CO.).
Hence Miker, sb. a truant. Glo.'
2. sb. A respite from work.
w.Yks.'^ Tha'rt going to have a mike ! Oxf. (CO.)
MIKIL, MIKLE, MIKKLISMAS, see Mickle, Michael-
mas.
MILANER, sb. Obs. w.Yks. A milliner. Willan
List Wds. (1811).
[A millaner's wife, Jonson Every Man (1598) i. iii. 120,
ed. Wheatley, 18. A mi/laner was prop, a dealer in wares
from Milan ; see Skeat Etym. Did. p. 817.]
MILARY, MILCH, see Millery, s6.=, Melch, adj.'^
MILCHER,s6. Suf Dor.Som. [mi'ltjafr).] Amilch-cow.
Suf.' A good milcher (s.v. Milch). Dor. I shall have to pay him
nine pound a year for the rent of every one of these milchers,
Hardy Wess. Tales (1888) I. 59. Som. (W.F.R.)
MILCY, adj. Cor. Also written milsey Cor.'' ; and in
form milchyCor.'^^ [mrlsi.] 1. Of damp corn: having
germinated ; also of flour and bread made from such corn.
(Hall.) ; Cor.' The loaf has a sweet taste and close consistency ;
Cor.2
2. Comb, (i) Milchy-bread, moist, sticky bread made
from 'milcy' corn; (2)-corn,cornthathasgerminated. Con'
MILD, adj. Nhb. Dur. Won Sun Hmp. Wil. Dev.
[maild.] 1. Of the atmosphere : quiet, calm, with no
wind. Dev. Reports Provinc. (1883) 88. 2. Soft ; easy
to work.
Nhb.i Mild steel, mild post, mild limestone. Nhb., Dur. Nichol-
son Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). Sur. This'U be mild enough for anything
presently; you don't call this a stiif soil, Hoskyns Talpa (1852)
169, ed. 1857. Hmp. I say, Bill, don't chuck us any of they mild
'uns [i. e. soft bricks] for this 'ere ' coin ' (G.L.G.). Wil.'
3. Ripe.
Wor. One child brought me a dozen mild strawberries last
week, Berrow's Jrn. (Dec. i, 1894) 5, col. 2.
MILD, sb. Or.I. A kind of fish.
Many other fish are caught about this coast, but in general in
inconsiderable quantities, called in this country, milds, bergills,
skate and frog. Statist. Ace. XIV. 314 (Jam.); S. & Ork.i
MILD, see Mile, s6.'
MILDCHEE, s6. Obs. Ken. Mild ale.
A pot of mildchee and a whifi", Nairne Tales{iigo) 49, ed. 1824.
MILDER, V. Lin. Dor. 1. To moulder, decay, turn
to dust. Cf. mulder.
Lin. (Hall.), Lin.' sw.Lin.' The stone-work is so mildered.
The frost lays hold on it and it milders down.
2. To smoulder. n.Don (S.S.B.) Cf. moulder, v}
MILDER, MILDS, see Melder, sb}, Miles, sb.
MILDY, adj.^ and v. s.Cy. Cor. 1. adj Mouldy;
mildewed. See Milder. w.Cor. The bread is mildy (M.A.C.).
2. V. To grow mouldy, to mildew.
s.Cy. 'Tis a wunner as 'e yen't mildeed wi' the damp, Comh.
Mag. (Nov. 1900) 658.
MILDY, adj.'^ Chs. Shn [mi'ldi.] Of soil : loose, fine,
crumbly.
s.Chs.' Wei, dh(Sr)z won giid thingg- fibaay't)th frost, it)l
mai-)th graaynd mil-di iin nahys Ifl wuurk [Well, there's one
good thing abait th' frost, it'll may th' graind mildy an' nice to
work]. Shr.' The fros' 'as done a power o' good, the ground
breaks up as mildy an' fine as a Inion-bed.
MILE, sb} Yks. Chs. Not. Lin. Nhp. Shr. Hrf. Glo. Oxf.
Brks. Som. Also in forms mahl n.Yks. ; mild Brks.'
w.Som.' ; moil Chs.' [mail.] 1. In comb, (i) Mile-iron,
an iron milestone ; in phr. as ragged as a mile-iron, very
rough and ragged ; see below ; (2) -stone bread, bread
or cake in which the currants or plums are far apart ; (3)
•stoop, a milestone ; (4) -way money, see below ; (5)
Miles-end-ways or -endy-ways, a long way ; an undeter-
mined distance.
(i) n.Lln. Explained to me as meaning 'as ragged as an iron
milestone, because children pelt them and make them look rough
and dented ' (M.P.). (2) n.Yks.a (3) w.Yks. He mud as weel
ha' just whistled jigs to a mile-stoop. Hartley Budget (1867) 25.
(4) Oxf. By the Mileway Act ... it is provided that every person
having one yard-land or more in his possession lying within five
miles of Oxford, shall for every yard-land perform such personal
duty as in the said Acts is mentioned, or in lieu thereof shall
make annual payments to the Vice-Chancellor and Mayor. An
Act was passed in 1771 empowering the Vice-Chancellor and
Mayor to use the Clerk of the Commissioners of Highways to
levy the ' Mileway money,' Stapleton Three Parishes (1893) 283 ;
1798- Paid Scroggs, surveyor, the Mileway money, ^7, ib. 164.
(5) s.Chs.i Wei, Bob, W(5eiir)s bin dhis juu-rni?— Oa', iip ii)top'
ii daayn yon-dur, mahylz-en -di-wee-z [Well, Bob, wheer'st bin
this journey ?— Oh, up atop o' dain yonder, miles-endy-wees].
Shr.i Everybody wants the thetcher at the same time— the
Maister rid miles end-ways the tother day after a mon : Shr.2
Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Glo.'
2. Used {or pi. miles.
n.Yks. Fer fower mahl, ah think tha run, Castillo Poems
MILE
[109]
MILK
(1878) 43. w.Yks.i Chs.i It's three moil to Knutsford ; Chs.3
Not. (L.C.M.) Nhp.i Twenty mile ; Nhp.2 Shr.i About two mile
across the filds; Shr.2 To'ert four or five mile. Brks. All the
way, . . and 'tis quite vour mil'd, Hughes Scour. White Horse
(1859) vi; Brks.i Ut be better nor zeven mild vrom Hampstead
to Newbury. w.Som.^ I count 'tis up vower mild [muyuld]
yer-vrom.
MILE, s6.2 ? Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) The wild celery, Apium
graveokns.
The tradition of the s. of Sc. asserts that those who were
persecuted for their adherence to Presbytery, during the reigns of
Charles II and James II, in their hiding places often fed on this
plant.
MILE, see Mill, sb}, Moil, sb?, v.
MILEMAS, sb. Shr. Sus. Hmp. Som. Also in forms
malemas w.Som.^ ; miamas Shr.' [mai'lmas.] Michael-
mas. See Mihilmas(s.
Shr.l We mun be thinkin' about the rent, Miamas is drawin'
nigh. Sus.'^ Hmp. Holloway. Som. Get rid o' the stock an'
zell the keep to Mi'lemas, Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) viii ;
At Milemas when they put me in theaze pooat-hawl place, Jennings
Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825) 170. w.Som.i We bin yur vive-and-forty
yur come Malemas [Mae'ulmus].
MILES, sb. pl> Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Also written
myles Lth. (Jam.) ; and in forms mails Sc. (Jam.) ; meals
Cum.*; meolsCum.i; rtiilds N.I.i [maU(d)z.] 1. Van
species of goosefoot, esp. Chenopoaium album and Ch.
Bonus-Henricus.
Ayr. (Jam.) Lnk. Patrick Plants (1831) 131. Lth., Rxb.
(Jam.), N.I.1, Nhb.i, Cum. (B. & H.), Cum.i*
2. Var. species of orache or Atriplex. Cum. (B. & H.)
[Norw. dial, melde, meldesiokk, ' Chenopodium album '
(Aasen).]
MILES, sb. pl?^ Slk. Rxb. (Jam.) Small animals found
on the diseased intestines and livers of sheep, ' flukes.'
Cf milt, sb?
MILGIN, see Million.
MILK, sb., V. and adj. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written mylk Sh.I. [milk.] 1. sb. In comb.
(i) Milk and bread, bread and milk ; (2) — and meal,
milk-porridge ; (3) -ass, an ass giving milk ; (4) -badger,
one who sells milk, and occas. other things, from door
to door ; (5) -bauk, the shoulder-bar for carrying the milk-
pails ; (6) -beast, a milch-cow ; (7) -bowie, a milk-pail ; (8)
-boyne, a milk-tub ; (9) -broth or -brose, broth, or oatmeal
gruel made with milk instead of water ; (10) -can, see (7) ;
(11) -cow, see (6) ; (12) -crock, an earthenware vessel for
holding milk ; (13) -faced, shy ; timid ; (14) -fork, a forked
branch placed at the dairy door, upon which the milk-
vessels are hung after being scoured ; (15) -hannel, a
large vessel into which the milk-pails are emptied by the
milkers ; (16) -hearted, poor-spirited ; cf. melch, adj? ;
(17) -house, the dairy ; (18) -ill, a disease among ewes and
lambs ; (19) -jogger, a milk-carrier, esp. one who uses a
donkey or a cart ; (20) -keg, see (8) ; (21) -kitting, the act
of carrying milk in 'kits' for sale; (22) -lead, a shallow
cistern lined with lead in which milk is set to cream ; see
below ; (23) -lue, lukewarm, of the temperature of milk
warm from the cow ; (24) -madlocks, see (2) ; (25) -maid's
path or -maid's way, the milky way ; (26) -may, a milk-
maid ; (27) -meat, see (2) ; (28) -meats, custards, cheese-
cakes, curd-cakes, &c. ; (29) -potage, see (2) ; (30) -pricked,
appl. to milk Which has turned sour ; (31) -round, the district
in which a milkman sells or delivers milk; (32) -saps,
bread soaked in boiled milk and sweetened with sugar ;
(33) -seatre, (34) -sieve, (35) -sile, a milk-strainer ; (36)
•skeeal, (37) -span, (38) -stoup, see (7) ; (39) -syth, see
(35) > (40) -tin. the metal vessel in which milk is set to
cream ; (41) -trunk, the vessel into which milk is poured
to be carried from the field ; (42) -walk, a dairy business ;
(43) -warm, see (23) ; (44) -woman, a wet nurse.
(i) Sc. Monthly Mag. (1798) 1. 435. (2) n. Sc. (Jam.) (3) Sc. Scoii-
cisms {i.i&i) Zl- (4) w.Yks. (S.P.U.) (5) n.Yks.^^ Having a sweep
cut out in the centre to fit below the milkman's neck. (6) nw.Der.'
n.Lin.i Steers is a midlin price, but milk-beasts an' draapes is bad
to sell. (7) Sci She could handle a milk-bowie muckle better than
a pen, Whitehead Daft Davie (1876) aoz, ed. 1894. (8) Dmb.
Tosh Mary . . . Wha aften did the kirn and milk-boynes fill,
Taylor Poems (1827) 56. Ayr. All the stools and chairs in the
house, with the milk and washing boynes upside down ... as
seats for the aged, GALTGittm'se (1823) xvi. (9) Sc. (Jam.) Abd.
The most economical way of using bear or barley is when it is . . .
boiled with a little butter . . . or with milk, when it is called milk-
broth, .^^rtt:. S«TO.5i8 (I'A.). Cld. Apint o'milk-brose he didworry,
NiMMO Sngs. (1882) 194. Nhp.', e.An.i Suf. Rainbird Agric.
(1819) 296, ed. 1849. e.Suf. Broth made of boiled milk and onions
(F.H.). (10) n.yks.i4,ne.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.) {zi)%i.Scoticisms
(1787) 57. Sh.1, We niver hed a better mylk koo apo' da byre,
Sh. News (June 2, 1900). Abd. Hawkie is a good milk cow, Paul
Abd. (1881) 131. Lnk. What feck o' stirks an' milk cows hae ye?
M'Indre Poe>«5 (1805) 140. Don. They soul' two of the milk-cows
out ivthe byre, Pearson's Mag. (May 1900) 477. (12) Ir. Evil was
the moment for Anne and Anne's milk-crocks, Century Mag. (Aug.
1899) 627. (13) n.Lln.i She was that milk-faac'd she hardlin's dost
speak to a man when she seed him. (14) Shr. 12 ^ig'j Cum.i
(16) Glo.i (17) Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. I . . . used sometimes to make a
raid on the milkhouse, Hunter Studies (1870) 3. Feb. A milk-
house must be cool but free from damp, Agric. Surv. 81 (Jam.).
N.Cy.i, Nhb.l, Lakel.2, Cum.i, n.Yks.i24 w.Yks.i I'd been flightin
him 'bout t'lile leet i' t'milkus, ii. 295 ; w.Yks.^ Kind of dairy or
cellar on the ground floor. Chs. The milk is carried to the milk-
house, Marshall i?et/icz»(i8i8) II. 44. Hmp. Holloway. n.Wil.
Dairy farms are in general well accommodated with milk-houses and
cheese-lofts, Marshall Review (1818) II. 485. w.Som.' Miil'k-
aewz. (18) Nhb. The loss of lambs is sometimes very considerable
from disorders such as the milk-ill which attacks them from three
to seven days old, Marshall Review (1808) I. loi ; Nhb.' (19)
w.Yks. Thro' t'gaps t'wind whistled loike a milk-jogger, Hallam
Wadsley Jack (1866) vi ; w.Yks.'' (20) Sh.L The milk-keg standing
on a chair with a piece of canvas over the top of it, Stewart Tales
(1892) 40. (21) e.Lan.' (22) n.Yks.i A shallow milk-cistern, in
which the meal of milk is deposited, having an orifice at the bottom,
stopped with a wooden spigot, on the removal of which the milk
flows away, leaving the cream covering the bottom of the vessel ;
ii.Yks.* After the milk has stood overnight, the plug is withdrawn.
ne.Lan.i, n.Lin.', Nhp.' War.* A large shallow vessel of lead,
supported on a wooden frame, or table, in which milk is placed to
' set.' It remains in occasional use in old farm-houses, although
it is now generally superseded by the shallow earthenware pans
used for this purpose. There is an outlet from the bottom of the
vessel through which the milk can be run off when the cream has
' risen.' Wor. Milk Lead on stand. Auctioneer' s Catalogue (Sept.
1900). Shr.i Two milk leads and frame. Hrf. (E.S.), Glo.i Dor.'
Milklead var to zet The milk in, 59. (23) Sh.L Gang Mansie, or
dan hit'U be cauld, hit wis bit mylk lue whin I set hit apo' da flOr,
Sh. News (Aug. 18, 1900). (24) Rnf. (Jam.) (25) Sc. That lang
baldric o' stars, called the milkmaid's path, Blackw. Mag. (Nov.
1820) 146 (Jam.). Wil.' (26) Dmf. The plow-boy whistled at his
darg. The milk-may answered hie, Cromek Remains (1810) 243.
(27) n.Sc. (Jam.), Cai.' (28)n.Yks.2 (29) Sc. Scofewms (1787) 70.
(3o)Shr.2 (3i)Yks.(J.W.) Oxf.Wanted,asinglemantoserveamilk-
round.O.^ r!V«c5(Jan.i3,i90o) i. (32)Cld.(jAM.) (33)n.Yks.2 (34)
Sc. (A.W.), Chs.i (35) Sc. (A.W.), n.Cy.(J.W.) Nhb.i Usually a
wooden bowl having a perforation in the bottom covered with fine
hair-cloth or fine gauze. w.Yks. (J.W.), Lin. (W.W.S.), n.Lm.'
(36) n.Yks. (T.S.) (37) Sh.L About the middle of May the wives
set their kirns, milk-spans, and raemikles in the well stripe to steep,
Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 139. (38) Lth. Twa gude new milk-stoups,
Thomson Poems (1819) 108. (39) Sc. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776)
Gl. (4o)n.Yks.l (4i)Som.(W.F.R.) (42) Wor. (W.C.B.) Lon.
My father had a milk-walk, Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) I. 435,
col. 2. (43) Chs.l, s.Chs.i (44) n.Sc. (Jam.)
2. Comb, in plant-names : (i) MUk-cans, the greater
stitchwort, Stellaria Holosiea ; (2) -flower, the white
campion. Lychnis vespertina ; (3) -girl, the cuckoo-flower,
Cardamine pratensis ; (4) -goviran, a yellow flower, ? the
Aande[\on,Leontodon Taraxacum ; (5) -maid(s or -maiden(s,
(a) see (3) ; {b) see (i) ; (c) the cowshp, Primula veris ; (rf)
the oxlip, P. vulgaris, var. caulescens ; (e) the bird's-foot
trefoil, Lotus corniculatus ; (/) the flowers of the great
bindweed. Convolvulus septum ; (6) -ort, the root of the
harebell. Campanula rotundifoUa ; (7) -pans, see (i) ; (8)
-sUe, see (3) ; (9) -thistle, the common sow-thistle, Sonchus
oleraceus ; (10) -weed, (a) see (9) ; (b) the sun-spurge.
Euphorbia Helioscopia; (11) -wort, [a) see (10, b) ; [b) the
petty spurge, E. Peplus ; (c) see (6).
(i) Chs.i (a) Wil.i (3) Dev.jDev." (4) Slk. A yellow flower
MILKARTHERIN
[no]
MILK-SYE
whose stem gives out a humour similar to butter-milk (Jam.).
(5,0) w.Yks. Yks. lVkly.Post{]a.n. 2, 1897). Mid. Ess. (S.P.H.)
Wll. The meadows where the milkmaids stand thick and pale,
EwiNG Jan Windmill (1876) xviii ; Wil.i Dev. We call them
milkmaids, Reports Provinc. (1884) ; Dev.* (6) w.Yks. (W.F.),
Sur. (R.G.C.), I.W. Dev. Milk-maidens are little white flowers
that grow in the meadows, or on the banks of running streams,
Bray Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) I. Lett, xviii ; Dev.* (e)
n.Lin.i (rf) n.Yks. (e,/) Sua.' (6) n.Sc. (Jam.) (7) CUs.3 (8)
Yks. w.Yks. Then primrose here and milksile there Through
withered leaf an' rush Peeps aght e pride, Tom Treddlehoyle
Bairnsla Ann. (1847) 14. (g) n.Lin. In allusion to its milky juice
(B. & H.). War.3 Dor. (C.W.) (10, o) w.Som.i (6) Hrt., e.An.,
Ess. (11, a) Ess. (6) WiU (c) n.Sc. (Jam.)
3. A school festival ; see below.
Lth. A day annually observed in a school, on which the scholars
present a small gift to their master ; in return for which he gives
them the play, as it is called, or freedom from their ordinary
tasks, and provides for them a treat of curds and cream, sweet-
meats, &c. Sometimes they have music and a dance (Jam.).
4. The soft semi-liquid of the grain of wheat, esp.in phr.
out of milk, said of corn which has begun to harden.
War.3 Wor. The sparrows began [to eat the wheat] as soon
as the corn was just out of the milk, Evesham Jrn. (Apr. 29, 1899).
Glo. (E.S.)
5. A cow. n.Lin.i John's gotten two real good milks to sell.
6. V. Com6. Milk-the-co'ws, the wall pennywort, Co^/e(/o>«
Umbilicus. Cor. (B. & H.) 7. Phr. (i) to milk ower the
can, to discourse pointlessly or beyond the mark ; (2) to
milk the tether, see below.
(i) n.Yks.'^ As the unskilful milker draws the fluid to waste
over the pail-edge, instead of into the pail. w.Yks. Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Apr. 25, 1895). (2) Sc. (Jam.) w.Sc. During the winter,
. . the kye became yell, and the family were consequently short
of milk. The cows of a neighbouring farmer were at the same
time giving plenty of milk. Under these circumstances, the
Highland lad proposed to his mistress that he would bring milk
from their neighbour's cows, which she understood to be by aid
of the black airt, through the process known as milking the
tether. The tether is the rope halter, and by going through the
form of milking this, repeating certain incantations, the magic
transference was supposed capable of being effected, Napier
Flk-Lore (1879) 76.
8. Of a cow: to yield milk; to suffer herself to be milked.
Lth. How milk the kye? How draw the horse? Thomson
Poems (1819) 122. w.Som.l Thick yeffer don't milky well 't all —
her's so ter'ble itemy.
9. To add milk to tea.
Dev. Have you milked your tea ? Reports Provinc. (1877) 134.
10. To steal. Picken Poems (1788) Gl. (Jam.) 11. adj.
Obs. Milch.
Edb. Kine, Farrow, yeld, and milk, fat and lean, Carlop Green
(1793) 130. ed. 1817.
MILKARTHERIN, sb. Irel. An itchy spot on the
sole of the foot, reheved by rubbing on hot iron or stone.
Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892).
MILKING, prp. and sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
[mi'lkin.] 1. prp. In comb, (i) Milking-hill, a dry,
slightly elevated open place near the farm-house where
the cows are milked ; (2) -kye, milch cows ; (3) -loan, the
milking-place ; (4) -pails, a game ; see below ; (5) -ring,
obs., a circle of overhanging trees or bushes, gen. of holly,
within which the cows were milked in hot weather ; (6)
•shiel, a shed for milking cows or ewes ; (7) -side, the side
of the cow by which the milker sits ; (8) -slap, see (3) ;
(9) -time, the hour in the afternoon when cows are usually
milked.
(i) Ctun.^ (2) Sh.I. Wey hid Fleckie an' Sholmie an' Essie, a'
milkin' kye, Stewart Tales (1892) 244. (3) Gall. String awa,
my crommies, to the milking loan, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
257, ed. 1876. (4) [One child stands apart and personates the
mother. The other children form a line, holding hands and
facing the mother. They advance and retire singing the first,
third, and alternate verses, while the mother, in response, sings
the second and alternate verses. While the last verse is being
sung the children all run off; the mother runs after them, catches
them and beats them. Either the first or last caught becomes
mother in next game, Gomme Games (1894) I. 386. The verses
vary in the different counties; for typical set see Lon.] Dur.
[The milk-pails have] degenerated into ' male scales,' ib. 387.
w.Yks., Lan., Brks. ib. 380-4, 387. Lon. ' Mary's gone a-milking,
mother, mother, Mary's gone a-milking. Gentle sweet mother o'
mine. Take your pails and go after her. Daughter, daughter,
Take your pails and go after her, Gentle sweet daughter o' mine.
Buy me a pair of new milking-pails, mother, mother, &c. Where's
the money to come from, &c. Sell my father's feather-bed, &c.
What's your father to sleep on ? &c. Put him in the truckle-bed,
&c. What are the children to sleep on ? &c. Put them in the
pig-sty, &c. What are the pigs to lie in ? &c. Put them in the
washing-tubs, &c. What am I to wash in? &c. Wash in the
thimble, &c. Thimble won't hold your father's shirt, &c. Wash
in the river, c&c. Suppose the clothes should blow away ? &c.
Set a man to watch them, &c. Suppose the man should go to
sleep ? &c. Take a boat and go after them, &c. Suppose the
boat should be upset ? &c. That would be an end of you.' . . Played
with two lines of children advancing and retiring, ib. 376-9, 387.
Nrf. The mother sits on a form or bank, the other children
advancing and retiring as they sing. After the last verse is sung
the children try to seat themselves on the form or bank where
the mother has been sitting. If they can thus get home without
the mother catching them they are safe, ib. 386. Ess. ib. 379-80.
Ken. Played with two lines of children advancing and retiring, ib.
386-7. Hmp. A ring is formed by the children joining hands.
One child stands in the centre — she represents the mother. The
ring of children say the first, third, jnd every alternate verse. . .
The game is played as above, except that when the mother has
said the last verse the children call out, ' Good job, too,' and run
off, the mother chasing them as above. The game does not appear
to be sung, ib. 387. I.W. The Cowes version has arrived at
'wash-pan' [for milk-pail], ib. 387. (5) Cum.^ (6) Ayr. Blythe
Bessie in the milking-shiel. Burns Cy. Lassie, st. i. (7) Cum.^
(8) Gall. The cauves brak through the milking slap, Their minnies'
pawps they draw, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 244, ed. 1876. (9)
Snr. Jennings Field Paths (1884) 69.
2. sb. pi. The remains of wool taken from the front of
the comb after 'jigging.' w.Yks. (E.G.), (E.W.)
MILKNESS, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Lin. Also written milknesse N.Cy.* Yks. [mi'lknas.]
1. Dairy produce ; milk.
Abd. I hope to see him here. About his milkness and his cows
to speer, Ross Heleiiore (1768) 85, ed. 1812. Edb. My ky may
now rin rowtin' to the hill, And on the naked yird their milkness
spill, Fergusson Poems (1773) 107, ed. 1785. Gall. She could . . .
Row up the fleeces at the clippin,' And had the milkness a' in
keepin', Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814") 41, ed. 1897. s.Sc. The
milkness spoiled his last lampoon — The warst mischance ava,
Watson Bards (1859) i°5- n-Cy- Holloway. Dtir. White meats
made of milk (K.) ; Dur."^ s.Dur. We hev' a great milkness this
summer (J.E.D.). Cum.i, n.Yks.i, w.Yks.^, ne.Lan.i
2. A dairy ; the furniture of a dairy ; dairy-work ; the
number of cows kept to supply a dairy.
Sc. In managing the milkness, she was none of the cleanest,
Saxon and Gael (1814) I. 153 (Jam.). Rnf. He tell'd her to stick to
her milkness an' meal. An' leave him to settle, Picken Poems
(1813) II. 133. N.Cy.i2, Cum.i Wm. As toth lasses ise sure nin
cud top em, eider for milkness, or in dure wark, Wheeler Dial.
(1790) 44. n.Yks.2 n.Lin.i I can give her a good character for
iverything, except she knaws noht aboot milkness.
3. Camp. Milknesse-farm, a dairy farm. Yks. Grose
(1790) MS. add. (P.)
MILK-SYE, sb. Sc. Stf. Also written milk-sey ; and
in forms milcie Lth. ; milsey, milsie Sc. [mi'l(k)-si, -si.]
1. A milk-strainer. Also used attrib. Cf milk-sile,
milk-syth.
Sc. An ark, an ambray and a ladle, A milsie and a sowen-pail,
Ramsay Tea-Table Misc. (1724) I. 174, ed. 1871. Ayr. (F.J.C.)
Lth. It minds me o' a milcie clout, Nae sooner fill'd than it rins
out, Thomson Poems (1819) 182. Bwk. He handed her — the milk-
strainer, milsey, or seller, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 82.
Stf. 1812-13. A Stf. farmer's inventory of goods purchased on
commencing housekeeping. Milk Sye, 3s. 6d. (G.H.H.)
2. Comp. Milsie-wall, the wall of a dairy in which there
is a sort of window made of perforated tin. Bwk. (Jam.)
3. Phr. to be sair stressed stringing the milsie, to make
much ado about a little work.
Sc. Henderson Prov. (1832) 146, ed. 1881 ; This refers to the
cloth through which the milk is strained being taken off the
wooden frame, wrung out and tied on again (Jam.).
MILKY
[III]
MILL
MILKY, adj. Sc. Nhb. Dev. Cor. [milki.] 1. In
comb, (i) Milkydashel, (a) the sow-thistle, Sonchus
oleraceus ; {b) the milk-thistle, Carduus Marianus ; (c) the
dandelion, Leontodon Taraxacum ; (2) -dassel or -dazzle,
see (i, a) ; (3) -dicel, -disle, or-dizel, (a) see (i, a) ; (b) see
(i, b) ; (c) see (i, c) ; (4) -dickle, (5) -tassel, see (i, a) ; (6)
-thrissel, see (i, b).
(i, o) Dev.i ; Dev.^ Milky-dashels be gude rabbit's mayte !
Dev.* Cor. (B. & H.) (6) nw.Dev.i (c) Dev. Reports Pro-
vinc. (1897). (a') Dev.* Cor. (B. & H.) (3, a) Cor.l* (b)
CoT.^ ; Cor.3 Willie's gone out to bring home a few milkydizels
for his rabbits, (c) Dev.* (4) Dev. (B. & H.) (5) Cor. {tb.)
(6) Nhb.i
2. Of grain : having the ear filled but not yet grown white.
Cld. Green pease and barley, when the ear is just become milky
. . . spoiled by 4 degrees [of cold]. . . Oats, when the ear is milky,
by 6, Agric. Sun/, ii-a (Jam.).
MILL, sb.^ and vJ' Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Alsoinformsmelle.An.^;mullSc.e.An.'^ SeeMiln. 1. sb.
In comb, (i) Mill-bannock, a circular cake of oatmeal ; see
below ; (2) -bill, an iron tool used in dressing mill-stones ;
(3) -bitch, a small bag clandestinely set by the miller to
receive meal for his own profit ; cf. black bitch ; (4) -burn,
the stream which drives a water-mill ; (5) -capon, obs., a
poor person who sought the charity of those who had
grain grinding at the mill ; (6) -clap, the piece of wood
that strikes and shakes the hopper of a mill ; in phr. to
have a tongue like a mill-clap, to talk incessantly ; (7)
-clapper, a small-toothed wheel attached to the upper
mill-stone by which the supply trough is shaken ;
also used fig. to describe a great chatterbox ; (8) -cloose,
the boxed woodwork which conducts the water into
mill-wheels ; (9) -clothes, a miller's working clothes ;
(10) -ee or -eye, {a) the orifice through which the meal
falls into the bin ; in phr. hot from the mill-eye, newly
made ; ib) unsifted flour as it comes from the mill-stones ;
(11) -fish, the turbot, Rhombus maximus \ (12) -fud, a mill
girl, a girl who works in a mill ; (13) -gear, the
machinery or mechanical equipment of a mill ; (14) -haave,
a vessel used in a corn-mill for measuring the ' shilling ' ;
(15) -head, the pond or reservoir of water which supplies
a water-vvheel ; (16) -holm or Milium, a watery place
about a mill-dam ; a small meadow belonging to a water-
wheel ; (17) -house, the under-room in a mill, where the
meal runs down from the grinding ; also the room in a
' tucking-mill ' where the ' stocks ' are situated ; (18) -house
story, a piece of doubtful gossip ; (19) -kill, a kiln in which
oats are dried before being ground into meal ; (20) -lade,
•lead, or -leat, the canal or trench which carries the water
of a river or pond down to a mill ; the mill-stream itself;
(21) -lichens, the entry into the part of the mill where the
inner wheel works ; (22) -man, a miller; (23) -meat, poultry
food, such as bran, coming from a mill ; (24) -peck, a kind
of hammer with two chisel-heads used for deepening the
grooves of the mill-stone ; (25) -pool or -pound, water
pounded up behind a mill by means of a dam ; (26) -posts,
the posts on which a wooden mill is erected ; fig. very
thick legs ; (27) -prop, a thick round piece of timber used
as a prop or stay ; also usedy?§-. and attrib. ; (28) -reek, (a)
the fumes arising from the smelt mill ; (b) a disease to
which lead-workers are subject ; (29) -ring, (a) the open
space in a mill between the runner and the wooden frame
surrounding it ; (b) the meal remaining within this space
or adhering to the mill-stones, considered as a perquisite
of the miller ; (c) the dust from the mill ; (30) -shilling, the
shelled grain which runs out of the ' mill-eye ' ; see below ; in
phr. to lie like a mill-shilling, to lie with great fluency ; (31)
-staff, a flat piece of wood, rubbed with ruddle, by which
the accuracy of the work done by the ' mill-peck ' is
tested ; (32) -stag, (33) -steep, a lever fixed to the machinery
of corn-mills by means of which the mill-stones can be
moved closer together or wider apart ; (34) -stew, see
(29, c) ; (35) -stick, a large piece of timber used in the
construction of the larger windmills ; (36) -story, see (18) ;
(37) -sucken, obs., bound by tenure to carry corn to be
ground at the manorial mill ; (38) -tail, the stream below
a water-mill ; the waste water from a mill ; (39) -timbers,
see (27) ; (40) -trou or -trows(e, see (8) ; (41) -wand, obs.,
a rod or beam used to move a mill-stone ; see below.
(i) Gall. A circular cake of oatmeal, with a hole in the centre,
. . gen. a foot in diameter, and an inch in thickness, . . baked at
mills, and haurnedor toasted on the burning seeds of shelled oats.
' If he could afford to make sic mill-bannocks to his friends, he
could be no way distressed,' Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (2)
Wor. (W.C.B. ) (3) s.Sc. This is a term originally invented by the_
miller for concealment ; as he was wont to say to his . . . servant,
in allusion to the use of a dog, ' Hae ye set the bitch ? ' (Jam.)
(4) Sh.I. The millburns, and the quaintly diminutive native mills,
working horizontally, Sh. News (Mar. 19, 1898). (5) Sc. The alms
were usually a gowpen or handful of meal. It was likewise cus-
tomary to hang up a pock in the mill, into which a handful of meal
was put for the use of the poor, out of the quantity ground,
KiNLocH Ballads (1827) 30 ; Hoch ! had I drank the well-water.
Whan first 1 drank the wine, Never a mill-capon Wad hae been
a love o' mine, ib'. 23. (6) Cai.' (7) w.Som.i Dhu tuung- oa ur-z
lig u mee*ul-tlaap-ur. (8) Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (9)
I pat on my mill-claise, and gaed out, ib. 159, ed. 1876. (10, a)
Sh.I. A . . . seemly baron's mill . . . that casts the meal through the
mill-eye by forpits at a time, Scott Pirate (1822) xi. Rnf. Mill-ee
is often in leases used as signifying the whole mill and pertinents
(Jam.). Slk. A doolfu' voice came frae the mill-ee, Hogg Poems
(ed. 1865) 65. Dmf. A pawky cat came frae the mill-ee, Cromek
Remains (1810) 67. Gall. The shelled grain which runs out of
the mill-e'e, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). N.I.i, Nhb.i, n.Yks.i*
(i) Nhb.i (ii)S. &Ork.i (12) Abd. (G.W.) Frf. We spend a
day in prosaic Dundee among ' mill-fuds ' and ' corks,' Colville
Vernacular (1899) 3. (13) n.Yks.'^*, w.Yks.^ (s.v. Gear). (14)
£db. It varies in size at different mills ; but is gen. less than a
' pease-firlot ' (Jam., s.v. Haave). (15) w.Som.' (16) n.Cy.
Bailey (1721) ; N.Cy.°, w.Yks.*, Nhp.* (17) w.Som.i I zeed-n
g'in mill-'ouse benow. (18) Cor. Quiller-Couch Hist. Polperro
(1871) 127. (19) Chs.i (s.v. Kill). (20) Sc. Immediately below
the bridge, a white mill and a dark mill lade, Simpson Stevenson's
Edb. Days (1898) 280. Bnff. The Sedge Warbler, which lay
concealed in the reedy copses, or by the margin of the mill-lades.
Smiles iVa^Mr. (1876) iii. Lnk. Wee sykes a' jowin' like mill-lade,
Watt Poems (1827) 75. Gall. The splash of the water tumbling
from the wooden mill-lade or trough into the black pool beneath
the great wheel, Crockett Anna Mark (1899) vii. n.Ir. N. & Q.
(1873) 4th S. xii. 479. Yks. One of my dogs chasing a fine buck
rabbit lost it by bunny making a clear leap over a part of a mill-
lade, Yks. Wkly. Post (Nov. 12, 1898). Dev. (K.) (21) n.Sc.
(Jam.) (22) Nrf. Jim the millman . . . rarely came out of his mill,
Emerson Yams (1891) 68. (23) n.Yks.2 (24) WW. The millpeck
is a little tool like a double adze, or perhaps rather like two chisels
set in the head of a mallet, Jefferies Gt. Estate (1880) ix ; Wil.'
(25) War.^ These words are used indiscriminately where there is
no pool apart from the stream, but where there is a separate pool
the water above the dam is called either the mill-dam or the pound.
(26) Lakel.^ (27) Nhb. Aw like nyen o' yer . . . Hottentots wi
thor millprop legs, Chater Tyneside Aim. (1869) 17. (28, a)
Nhb.' (6) Lnk. The miners and smelters of Leadhills and Wan-
lockhead are subject as in other places to the lead distemper, or
mill reek, as it is called. It brings on palsies and sometimes mad-
ness terminating in death in about ten days. Pennant Tour (1772)
130 (Jam.). N.Cy.i, Nhb.i (29, a) Sc. (Jam.) (6) Sc. (/A.) Abd.
A number of the mill-masters apply the mill-ring to the feeding of
horses, Agric. Surv, 506 (ib.). (c) n.Sc. (ib.) (30) Ayr, Sanny
lee'd like a mill-shilling, Service Dr. Duguid (1887) 13. Gall.
When we see a person vomiting from the effects of drinking spirits,
we say he was ' sendin' the drink frae him like a mill-shilling,'
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (31) Wil. He laid down the mill-peck
and took his mill-staff to prove the work he had done. This was
made of well-seasoned oak, the pieces put together so that they
should not warp. He rubbed the edge with ruddle, and placing
the mill-staff on the stone, turned it about on its shorteraxis. Where
the ruddle left its red mark more pecking would be necessary,
Jefferies Gt. Estate (1880) ix ; WO.'- (32) Som. I went up to see
the ole mill-stag (W.F.R.). (33) Rxb. (Jam.) (34) Sc. (Jam.)
(35) Nrf. ' That ain't long enough for a mill-stick neither,' said the
old man, pointing to the fallen tree, Emerson Lagoons (ed. 1896)
165. (36) Cor .3 Mills were so noted as places for scandal, that
any slanderous tale used to be called a mill story, Bottrell Trad.
3rd S. 17. (37) Ciim.i (38) n.Lin.i, war.s WU. Shall we walk
to the mill-tail and try a minnow! Akerman Spring-tide (1850)
44. w.Som.i (39) Gall. My theebanes war then like mill-timmers,
and my fingers like dragtaes, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 26, ed.
MILL
[112]
MILLER
1876. (40) Lnk. His wame caddled like onny mill trows, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 58. Gall. Mactaggart fwcyc/. (1824). Nhb.'
(41) Sc. A mill-stone was conveyed from the quarry to the mill,
by means of a rod, or beam of wood, called the mill-wand, which
was thrust through the hole in the centre of the stone, and thus
the people employed to trundle it home were enabled to roll it
along Uke a wheel, Edb. Aniiq. Mag. (1848) 55.
2. Phr. (i) to blow enough to turn a mill, to be out of
breath ; (2) to go to mill, to carry corn to be ground at the
mill. ; (3) to keep the old mannie's mill going, to keep on
sliding one after the other without intermission ; (4) to let
the multure be taken by one's own mill, to allow oneself to
be deprived of one's rights ; (5) to pick the mills, see below.
(i) e.An.2 (2) w.Som.i Maister zess how . . . Jim must go to
mill, else 'on't be nort to sar the pigs way tomarra. nw.Dev.i
(3) Frf. It was a sicht .. .the way they [boys] 'keepit the auldman-
nie's mill agaein ' on the slide, wearin their tackets doon to the
leather, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 74, ed. 1889. (4) Sc. It's
a sin and a shame if they should employ the tinkling cymbal they
ca' Chatterby, and sic a Presbyterian trumpet as yoursell in the
land. . . If ye will take a fule's advice ye winna let the multure
be ta'en by your ain mill, Scott Si. Ronan (1824) xvii. (5) Sh.I.
If there was any tendency to shortness of breathing the patient
was asked to 'pick the mills.' This was done by repeating the
following without drawing breath ; ' Four-and-twenty mill-stanes
hang upon a waa,He was a good picker that picked them aa : Picked
one, Picked twa, [and so on to] Picked twenty-four.' If the
patient could pick eighteen to twenty-four mills, the breathing or
lungs were supposed to be in fairly good condition, Spence Flk-
Lore (1899) 155.
3. A snuff-box ; a small box, gen. made of horn.
Sc. When tobacco was introduced into this country, those who
wished to have snuff were wont to toast the leaves before the fire,
and then bruise them with a bit of wood in the box, which was
therefore called a mill, from the snuff being ground in it (Jam. ).
Or.I. I have known the luxuries of snuff and tobacco find their way
into their mulls and spleuchans, as donations, Vedder Sketches
(1832) 108. n.Sc. I shall never again take a pinch of snuff from
his ram's horn mull, Gordon Carglen (1891) 186. Elg. Couper
Pof/ry (1804) II. 15, e.Sc. Rob helped himself to a pinch of snuff and
handed the mull to Mich'el, Setoun R. Urquhart (1896) iii. Alid.
[He] lugg'd out his mill an' licket sneeshin, Anderson Poems
(ed. 1826) 47. Frf. The mulls and cutties flew like drift, Beattie
Arnha (c. 1820) 16, ed. 1882. Per. Treating himself. . . to a huge
pinch of snuff, and sending his mull on a coasting voyage round
the apartment, Haliburton Furth in Field (1894) 11. w.Sc.
Well, give me your mull, Alister, for I see you snuff, Macdonald
Settlement {iS6ci) 169, ed. 1877. Slg. Towers Poems (1885) 64.
se.Sc. A sneesher wi' an empty mull, Donaldson Pofwis (1809)
114. Dmb. Took a snuff, han'd round his mill, Taylor Poems
(1827) 17. Rnf. As soon as I can find my mill, Yese get a snuff
wi' right guid will, Picken Poems (1813) I. 117. Ayr. Boswell
Poet. Wks. (ed. 187 1) 212. Lnk. Rax me your mill, an' my nose I
will prime, Watson Poems ("1853) 70. Lth. Thomson Poems
(1819) 182. Edb. A mill with snitian ['sneeshin'] to pepper her
nose, Pennecuik Helicon (1720) 65. Gall. Lugs out his mull, and
aft his neb will prime, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 350, ed. 1876.
Wgt. John who . . . would have been only too glad to have
gratified the Bailie's desire for a pinch, was unfortunately . . .
minus his mull, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 258.
4. A small stand with a mirror and a piece of red rag
fastened to it, used for ensnaring larks.
Lan. Macpherson Hist. Wild-fowling (1897) 6g.
5. The game of ' merrils ' (q.v.). Nhp.' 6. v. Phr. /o
mill one out of a thing, to wheedle it away. Lth. (Jam.)
7. To clean clover-seed from the husk. Wil.' Hence
Milled-hop, sb. the seed of hop-clover when it has been
cleaned from the husk.
Wil. Davis Agric. (1813) in Arch. Rev. (1888) I. 37 ; Wil.'
8. To swing or wheel round ; to turn anything slowly
about. Glo.' Mill that ladder. e.An.i
9. To manufacture.
Slg. That cowlie had baith wit an' skill, Wha first of a' ca'f-legs
did mill, Galloway Po^ms (1792) 16.
10. Cloth-making term: to beat the material with
ponderous wooden hammers to make it thicker ; freq.
with up.
w.Yks.5 Cloths are divided into 'Superfines' and 'Double-
mill's,' for ordinary purposes, the latter much narrower than the
former, on account of the ' milling-up ' process gone through.
Hence (i) Milled,///, adj. of cloth : beaten, fulled ; also
used /?.§■. ; (2) Milling-machine, sb. a machine by means
of which the cloth is driven through a spout and then
pressed between heavy weights.
(i) Sh.I. Dis sooth mill'd claes sets afF a lock o' weet, Sh. News
(Aug. 5, 1899). Lnk. What double-mill'd sinners the poor folk
must be, Rodger Poems (1838) 178, ed. 1897. w.Yks. T'floor wor
carpitad wi dubble mil'd sheet-leetnin, Tom Treddlehoyle
Bairnsla Ann. (1846) 21. (2) w.Yks. Binns Vill. to Town
(1882) 17.
11. To mark or emboss (as a coin) by means of a machine.
w.Yks. T'mooin wor mill'd-up at edge like a suvrin, Tom Tred-
dlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1848).
12. With in, to, or up : to shrink ; to wither ; to diminish
in quantity ; gen. in pp.
n.Yks. T'stuif's getten mill'd in (I.W.). n.Yks.124 ne.Yks.»
He's milled in a good bit. m.Yks.'-
MILL, s6.2 Sc. Nhb. [mil.] 1. A confused heap. Cf.
mell, v.'-
Nhb.i When a number of mason's tools have been sharpened
they are brought out from the smithy and thrown down in a heap.
This is called a mill. The tools are one by one picked out of the
mill, and sorted by the distinctive marks of each mason.
Hence Milled, adj. intoxicated ; mixed up.
Bnff.i Nhb. For where's the man desarves the nyem, Winnet
push about the jorum And, fairly mill'd, gan dancin' hyem, Wilson
Pitman's Pay (1843) 79 ! Nhb.'
2. A boys' fight ; a scrimmage. Abd. (A.W.)
MILL, V?- Ken.i2 [mil.] To melt.
MILL, MILLARD(Y, see Meal, sb.^, Mell, prep.. Miller.
MILLDEW,56. Sh.L Wet, rain, fog; cold raw weather.
I . . . haes ta geng furt i' dis mildew, I can ca' hit, S/i. News
(Sept. 22, 1900).
MILLER, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
in forms mallard Wil.^ ; mellar e.An.^ ; mailer Ess. ;
millard Nhp.^ Oxf. Hmp.^ Wil.^ Dor.^ ; mUlardy Wil.
Som. ; millerd Brks.' nw.Dev.' ; millerdy Som. ; millert
Abd. ; millery Hmp.^ Som. ; millud se.Wor.^ [mi-la(r,
mi'lad.] 1. In cowd. (i) Miller-cloot, a plug of straw to
put into a hole in a sack of grain ; (2) -'s dog, a hairy
caterpillar : (3) -doustipoU, (a) a species of moth ; (b) a
variety of stock grown in cottage gardens ; (4) -'s eye, (a)
a small kernel in bread, where the water has not mixed
with the flour ; (b) a jelly-fish ; (5) -('s lift, an upward
thrust, gen. with the handle of a crowbar ; see below ; (6)
■moUard, (7) -'s soul, see (3, a) ; (8) -'s star, the greater
stitchwort, Stellaria Holostea.
(i) Lakel.2 (2) G\o. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 273; Northall
Flk-Phr. (1894). (3, «) Hmp. So called from the mealiness of its
wings(J.R.W.); Hmp.i Som. Sweetman ffmca«^OBG/.( 1885). {b)
Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.i (4, a) War.a (A) Ken.i (5) Abd. Cant
it up wl' the millert's lift (G.W.). N.I.i An upward thrust with
the point of a crowbar. Ant The men were using iron crow-bars,
and called out to each other, ' Now all together, a miller's lift !' . .
By this term was meant the effort to move the stone forward by
an upward lift of the handle end of the crowbar, . . just the reverse
of a prise, N. & Q. (1871) 4th S. viii. 305. n.Cy. The grinding
surfaces of mill-stones require to be re-dressed from time to time.
To do this the upper stone is raised until it stands on its edge, the
lower end of the iron bar, or gavelock, . . resting on the fixed
nether millstone as a fulcrum, while an upward motion is given
to the hand at the higher end ; a downward motion being inappli-
cable in this case. In a ' miller's lift ' the gavelock acts as a lever
of the second order ; in a prise it is a lever of the first order, ib.
(6) WU. A millardy-moUard, a ten o'clock scholard, What makes
you come so soon ? (K.M.G.) (7) Dor. He saw one of those great
white miller's souls, as we call 'em — that is to say a miller-moth
come from William's open mouth, Hardy Life's Iron (ed 18061
253. (8) Sus. (B. & H.) V • y ;
2. Phr. (i) to be behindhand like the miller's filler, to be
dilatory in keeping appointments ; (2) fo put out the miller's
eye, to add too much water or milk to any mixture ; cf.
drown, 4.
(i) Nhp.i (2) Nhp.i Most frequently applied to weak tea, or
any spirituous mixture ; also to an exuberance of milk in making
a pudding. This peculiar phrase has no reference to the eye of a
miller, but probably to that part of the machinery of a mill termed
the mill-eye. . . If, through the inattention of the miller, the grain
MILLER
[113]
MILPREV(E
flows too freely into the hopper, and thence fills the eye or aper-
ture of the revolving stone, and brings the machine to a stand, the
mill-eye is stopped or put out. WarA Hnt. (T.P.F.) Ess. That
day, they had a toad-in-hole, A dish that's deadly gud. But when
cad Styles to goffle it Bargun, he soon ded cry out : — ' Missus, I
thinks as how, taa-day, You've put the meller's eye out,' Clark /.
^oaA«5(i839)st.67-8; Ess.i Ken.iWhenaperson.inmixingmortar
or dough, pours too much water into the hole made to receive it ;
then they say, ' I reckon you've put the miller's eye cut now I '
3. An obscene Story. SeeMill,s^>.il(i8). Cor.sThat'samiller.
4. A moth of any kind, esp. a large white moth ; also a
white butterfly.
Cum.i Nhp.i Probably the ghost-moth, Phalaena humuU, from
the lightness of its colour ; Nhp.*, se.Wor.i Slar.2 Miller, miller,
blow your horn ! You shall be hanged for stealing corn. Oxf.*
MS. add., Brks.i, e.An.'^ Nrf. Holloway. Hmp. If you kill a
miller while it's flying round a lighted lamp, you'll get a letter
next day (W.M.E.F.) ; Hrap.^ 'Millery, millery, doustipoU, How
many zacks hast thee astole ? Vow'r an' twenty, and a peck ; Hang
the miller up by's neck.' Children say this to the moths, and con-
demn them. I.W.i Wil. One of those small white moths known
as ' millers ' went past him, Ewing Jan Windmill (1876) vi ; Wll.',
Dor.i Som. (W.F.R.); N. &' Q. (1851) ist S. iii. 133. w.Som.i
nw.Dev.^ Millerdy, millerdy, dowsty poll, How many pecks hast
thee a-stole ? Vower an' twenty, My belly's empty, Zo grammer,
gee ma zom zupper.
5. A hairy caterpillar, esp. the caterpillar of the tiger-
moth ; the larva of the Vanessa uriicae.
Shr. Another amulet in recent use around Market Drayton is
composed of a ' miller,' or hairy caterpillar, enclosed in the shell
of a hazel-nut, from which the kernel has been withdrawn through
a hole bored in the side. The nutshell and caterpillar are then,
sewn up in a cotton band and tied round the sufferer's neck. If
the cough does not disappear under this treatment, the 'miller'
must be taken out of the nut and replaced by a living spider,
BuRNE /"/A-iof* (1883-6) 194 ; Shr.l2
6. A young spotted fly-catcher, Muscicapa grisola.
Shr. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 49 ; Shr."^
MILLER-, see Meller.
MILLER'S-'THUMB, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks.
Lin. Also written miller's-thume Bnff.'; and in form
milner's-thumb e.Yks.^ n.Lin.^ 1. The sea-scorpion.
Coitus scorpius. N.I.^ 2. The long-spined Cottus, C.
bubalis. to. 3. The young of the bib, Morrhua lusca.
Bnff.' 4. The armed bullhead, Aspidophorus Europaeus.
Nhb.' 5. The goldcrest, Regulus cristaius. Rxb. Swain-
son Birds (1885) 25. 6. The British long-tailed tit-
mouse, Acredula rosea. Cum. (H.W.) 7. The willow-
warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus. Cum.* 8. A fossil in
the Lias, the gryphaea incurva.
e.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 27, 1895) ; e.Yks.* MS. add.
(T.H.) n.Lin.»
0. A hard, flat boulder, gen. large, found in the oolite.
n.Lin.* 10. A variety of pear; the Bishop's thumb. Cum.*
MILLERT, MILLERY, see Miller.
MILLERY, sb.^ n.Yks.^ [mi-lsri.] A mint ; a place
for coining money. See MiU, v} 11.
MILLERY, sb.^ Cum. Also written milary. The
willow-warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus. (J.D.), Cum.*
MILLET, sb. LW. The wood club-rush, Scirpus
sylvaticus. (B. & H.)
MILL-GRUEL, sb. Sh.L Also written mil.; and in
form myl-gruul. Porridge made with milk.
The Johnsmas at Midsummer, when they supped the ' milgruel
kits,' Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 188 ; Could doo no mak wiz a pan
o' mylgruul ? Sh. News (Aug. 5, 1899) ; S. & Ork.*
MILLIA(H, num. adj. Irel. Also written melia ; and
in forms meal a, mille. In phr. millia{h murther(s, a
thousand murders ! Gen. used as a cry of alarm.
Ir. It 'ud be the milliah murdhers to let the . . . villin . . . ofi",
Carleton Fardorougha (1848) xvii; Poor Shemus roared out
' Mille murdher ! ' Yeats Flk. Tales (1888) 208. n.Ir. Protect us I
what's that he hez got ? sez his wife ; Meel a murther ! Lays and
Leg. (1884) 78. Don, ' Melia-murther ! ' says Billy, and over went
two of the skeps. Cent. Mag. (Feb. 1900) 606. s.Don. Simmons
Gl. (1890). w.Ir. Millia murther! cries the King, Lover Leg,
(1848) I. 103.
[Ir. mile, a thousand (Macbain).]
VOL. IV.
MILLIAR, MILLIER, see Milyer.
MILLIN, 5^1. Sc. [mi-lin.] A crumb of bread ; the
least particle of solid food ; a bit of anj^hing. Cf. mool,
s6.' 1.
Sh.I. He's [lamp-glass] in shall millin's, mam, Sh. News (May 5,
1900); S. & Ork.i No ae millin hae I. Cai.', Cld. (Jam.)
MILLIN(G, see Middling.
MILLION, sb. e.An. Also in form milyin Nrf.
[mi-lian.] A pumpkin. e.An.i, Nrf. (M.C.H.B.), (Hall.),
e.Suf. (F.H.)
MILLY-BOX, sb. Obs. w.Yks. A box carried about
on Christmas Eve ; see below.
Boxes in which figures of the Virgin and Child, together with
spice, oranges and sugar, were formerly carried from house to
house by the children on Christmas Eve, Andrews Olden
Times (i8go) 131 ; Children carry about these figures [the Virgin
and Child] ... in what they call milly-boxes. The boxes are
lined with spices, oranges, and sugar. They call this 'going a
wassailing,' Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) ii.
MILLY-THUMB, sb. Cum. War. Also written milly-
thoom Cum.' [mili-Jjtim.] 1. The long-tailed tit,
Acredula rosea. War.^ 2. The willow-warbler, Phyllo-
scopus trochilus. Cum.'
MILN, sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. Der. Not. Lin. [miln.] 1. A
mill, a factory. See Mill, sb}
Sc. (Jam.), n.Yks.2 w.Yks. To the Divil of Hollow's-miln,
Bronte 5^iy-/«y (1849) ii; w.Yks.' ^3*, e.Lan.^, Der.' Not. There
used to be a miln at the bottom of the town (L.C. M.). Lin. Kennett
Par. Antiq. (1695). n.Lin.' There ewsed to be a windmiln agSan
th'Messingham watter-miln. sw.Lln.* The man as belongs the miln.
2. Comb, (i) Miln-ee, the hole from which the ground
corn falls into the chest below ; (2) -grease, the oil and
tallow used to lubricate machinery ; (3) -holms, watery
places about a mill-dam ; (4) -posts, (5) -stohps, the
posts on which a wooden mill is erected ; also used fig.
for thick legs.
(i) w.Yks.' (2) w.Yks. Tha'll hardly quite relish th' perfumes
o' miln-grease, Hartley Diii. (1868) 40. (3) Der.' A field near
my miln at Unston is called the Miln-holm. Obs. (4) n.Lin. 1
She's gotten two straange milnstohps on her awn sartanly. (5) ib.
[1. A milne, m.olendinum, Cath. Angl. (1^83); It spedith
to hym that a myln stoon of assis benangid in his necke,
Wyclif (1388) Mati. xviii. 6. OE. myln, a mill (B.T.) ;
lj3t fyiciltvtd, 1
MILNER, sb. Yks. [mi-lna(r).] 1. A mill-hand ; an
operative. See Miln.
w.Yks. When t'owd parson's wife Meets t'milners i' ther' clogs,
Yks. Wkly. Post (May 8, 1897) ; It's drinking time, doy, there's
t'milners comin' hoam (S.K.C.) ; (E.G.)
2. One who puts the cloth into the stocks. w.Yks."
See Mill, sb} 10.
[1. A milner, molendinarius, Cath. Angl. (1483).]
MILNER'S-THUMB, see Miller's-thumb.
MILPREV(E, sb. Cor. A stone used as a charm
against adders, see below.
Around the Land's End ... in the summer-time, it was not safe
to venture amongst the furze on the Downs without a milpreve. . .
Described ... as being about the size of a pigeon's egg, . . made
by the adders when they get together in great numbers. . . I was
once shown a milpreve ; it was nothing more than a beautiful ball
of coralline lime-stone, the sections of the coral being thought to
be entangled young snakes. . . The Cornish retain variety of charms,
and have still towards the Land's End the amulets of Maen Magal
and Glain-neider, which latter they call a Melprer [sic], a thousand
worms, and have a charm for the snake to make it, when they
have found one asleep, and struck a hazel-wand in the centre of
its spirae. Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 418, ed. 1896 ; The
farmer called it a ' milpreene ' \_sic'] or serpent stone, which, when
required, was boiled in milk and the milk afterwards administered
as an antidote for bites of vipers. The account he gave of the
formation of the stone was that a number of adders congregated
together at times, and their spittle hardened upon a hazel rod or
the tail of one of their number, N. fr Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 23 ; Cor.'
A coralline ball worn as a. charm against adders ; Cor.* The
Druids' or serpents' egg.
[OCor. milprev, the Druid's or serpent's egg. The ovum
anguinum of Pliny. Mil, a thousand -f /rev, a reptile
(Williams).]
MILSEY
[114]
MIMMOCK
MILSEY, MILSIE, see Milcy, MUk-sye.
MILSIE-WALL, sb. Obsol. Feb. (Jam.) A wall with
crenated battlements.
MILT, sb} Sc. Yks. Chs. Lin. Glo. Oxf. Brks. I.W.
Wil. Dor. Som. Also in form melt Sc. w.Yks.= Chs.^^
Oxf.' Brks.' Wil.' [milt, melt.] 1. The spleen, gen. used
of animals.
Sc.The mair and the migrame, with meaths in the melt, Fran-
ciSQUE-MicHEL Lang. (1882) 155. S. & Ork.' e.Yks. Nicholson
Flk-Sp. (1889) 73 ; e.Yks.i w.Yks.^ The mesentery gland of a
pig. Clis.13 sw.Lln.i There's a many will eat a pig's milt, and a
many reckons it's cats' meat. Glo.'^ Oxf.' MS. add. Brks.'
' Heart and melt ' supper, is made by cramming the fattish melt
with savoury stuffing, also stuffing the heart. I.W.' Part of the
inside of a calf. Wil.' The spleen of a pig, which forms a favourite
dish when stuffed. Dor. (W.C. c. 1750). Som. Jennings Obs.
Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.'
2. Comf. (i) Milt-hole, the space between the ribs and
the pelvis ; (2) -token, obs., a method of foretelling the
weather ; see below.
(-1) Cld. (Jam.) (2) Sh.I. It is called the milt-token, and is said
to have been practised in some parts of Shetland. When the first
mert was killed about Hallowmas, the milt or spleen of the animal
was taken out and laid on a board, and six cuts were made
crosswise, equi-distant from each other. These cuts were not
quite through the milt, the under side being left whole. They
were named — the first, November ; the second, December ; . . and
so on to April. The milt was now laid in a dark place for three
days and three nights. It was then carefully examined, and if a
cut had closed and presented a dry appearance, the month it
represented was to be mild and dry ; but if the cut was open and
dry the month was supposed to be windy. An open and wet cut
foretold wind and rain, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 117-8.
[1. ME. milte, spleen (Stratmann) ; OE. milte (Sweet).]
MILT, sb.^ Sc. Lakel. Yks. Also in form melt Sc.
m.Yks.' [milt, melt.] The male fish, a ' milter.'
Sc. (A.W.) Lakel.2 A soft-bellied fish — herrin', fer instance.
in.Yks.i w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865).
[Flem. milt, the male of the herring (Schuermans) ; cp.
milte, ' la laictee ou laictance du poisson, comme d'un
hareng ' (Plantin) ; Norw. dial, mjelte, the milt of the
male fish ; mjeltesilel, the male of the herring (Aasen).]
MILT, sb.^ ? Obs. Glo.' w.Cy. (Hali..) Also in form
melt Glo.' The ' fluke ' in sheep. Cf miles, sb. pi.'
MILT, V. Cor. To smelt.
Where the Jarmans used to milty their tin, Tregellas Tales
(1868) 15.
Hence Milting-house, sb. a smelting-house.
Where the milting house es, ib,
MILWYN, sb. Obs. Lan. ? The greenfish, Labrus
lineatus, or the milwel. Conger vulgaris.
Skinner (1671); Ray (1691); Myllewell, a sort of fish, the
same with what now in Lan. is called milwyn, which Spelman
renders green fish ; but it was certainly of a difierent kind,KENNE-iT
Gl. (1695), ed. 1816; Grose (1790).
MILYER, sb. Cor. Also written milliar, millier Cor.^ ;
millyer; and in form mellier Cor.^^ [mi'lj3(r), me'lj3(r).]
1. A piece of iron on which anything revolves.
The hang-bow and millyer was all that was left of the gate,
Thomas Randigal Rhymes (1895) 6 ; Cor.^ The axles of the frame
used in washing ores ; Cor.^
2. Camp. Milyer-stone, the stone in which the iron pivot
of a gate revolves. Cor.^
MIM, adj. and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Oxf. Brks.
e.An. Cor. [mim.] 1. adj. Prim, demure ; affectedly
modest or shy ; prudish ; primly silent or reticent.
Also ■ase.AJig.
Sc. Maidens should be mim till they're married, and then they
may burn kirks, Ferguson Prov. (1641) 24 ; Did I not say it wasna
want o' spunk that made ye sae mim ? Scott Blk. Dwarf (1816) il ;
A bit but, and a bit ben, Makes a mim maiden at the board end,
Ramsay P>-oi». (1721) 9 (Jam.). Cai.', Bnff.' Kcd. He's aye sae
mim an' douce, Grant Lays (1884) 173. Frf. Maidens, mim they
look, and unco shy, Morison Poems U79o) '87. Per. What gars
ye be sae terrible mim ? Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 146, ed. 1887.
e.Fif. The venturoiocust was now as mim as a moose, Latto Tarn
Bodkin (1864) XXX. Dmb. She's ... as mim as if butter wadna
melt in her mooth. Cross Disruption (1844) i. Rnf. They are
baith meek and mim, Barr Poems (1861) 206. Ayr. The young
leddy wasayeasmim as a may puddock to a' the lave o' mankind,
Galt Sir a. Wylie (1822) xxxiv. Lnk. Mony braw lasses . . . When
they are afore folk, are mim as a moose, Thomson Musings (1881)
222. Lth. He's bauld as a lion, though mim as a lamb, Ballantine
Poems (1856) 98. Edb. Some o' the lasses were sae mim. Handsel
Monday (1792) si. Slk. As mim and as sleek as a moudie, Hogg
Tales (1838) 363, ed. 1866. Dmf. Nanny's so dry and so mim,
Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 195. Gall. As mim as pussy baw-
drons, Crockett Raiders (1894) xxxvi. Exb. A' trowed her mim
in the bridal-shine That butter itsel' wadna melt in her mou',
RiDDELL Poet. Wks. (ed. 1871) I. 165. N.I.', N.Cy.', Nhb.', Dur.',
s.Dur. (J.E.D.) w.Yks. Some 0' t'bonniest and mimmest-looking
too, Brontje Shirley (1849) viii. s.Oxf. Susan 'ere knowed all
about it, though she did set there as mim as mim, Rosemary
Chiltems (1895) 208. Brks.' She zet ther 20 mim as I cood'nt get
on no how, an' zo I got up an' come awaay. e.An.'
Hence (i) Mimlie, adv. primly, prudishly ; (2) Mim-
mouthed or -mou'd, adj. affectedly prim or proper in
speech, &c. ; reticent, shy at speaking out, soft-spoken ;
(3) -mou'dness, sb. affected or fastidious modesty in con-
versation ; (4) -ness, sb. prudishness, primness ; (5)
•spoken, adj., see (2) ; (6) -ways, sb. pi. quiet, sly manners.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) (2) Sc. You needna be sae mimmoot to sae auld
a freen', Roy Horseman's Wd. (1895) vii. Abd. Fat did yer
mimmou'd young leddy the last time she was at oor hoose! Abd.
tVkly. Free Press (Oct. 20, 1900). Frf. A mim-mou'd maiden jimp
an' spare, Morison Poems (1790) 25. Ayr. When a thought
comes into her head she is not mim-mouthed in giving expression
to it, Johnston Kilmallie (1891) II. 178; Some mim-mou'd
pouther'd priestie. Burns IV. Chalmers, St. 4. Lnk. I canna bide
him a meenit. He's aye sae mim-mouthed, an' sae cauldrife,
Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 17. Edb. Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed.
1875) Gl. Gall. Every . . . ill-gabbit mim-moo'ed hizzie had a lick
at puir Birsay, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xxiii. Wgt. Sae
dressed-up mim-mou'd a mistress ne'er sat i' my muckle chair afore,
Good Wds. (1881) 402. Nhb.' (3, 4) Sc. (Jam.) (5) Sc. Douce,
plod-plodding, mim-spoken lads, Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 189.
(6) w.Cor. Common (M.A.C).
2. V. To act in a prim, affected manner, either in speak-
ing, eating, walking, &c.
Bnff.' The peer pridefou bodie cam raimmin an' prim pin' ben the
fleer.
Hence Mimin', sb. the act of protesting or acting
affectedly.
Kcb. They canna tak' a dram o' liquor now without ha'ein' as
mony mimins and preein's to gang through, as if they were a' born
gentry, Elder Borgue (1897) 31.
MIMICATE, i;. Obs. Sc. To mimic; to pretend, sham.
Gall. Blinnie [is] a person mimicating the blind, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 76, ed. 1876.
MIMICKING, ppl. adj. Chs.'» [mi-mikin.] In comb.
Mimicking work, work made to look well for a time, but
not to last ; work done with bad material.
MIMINY-MOUTHED, adj. Midi. Prim, demure,
affected. See Mim.
Pictures of miminy-mouthed ladies and spindly fops, Bartram
People of Clopton (1897) 95.
MIMINY.PIMINY, int. w.Som.' A meaningless ex-
pression, used by children in their games.
Miminy piminy [miim'unee pum'unee], where be'e to ? Miminy
piminy, I zee you.
MIMMAM, sb. Brks. [mi-mam.] A bog.
Nichols Bibl. Topog. Brit. (1790) IV. 80; Grose (1790); Gl.
(1852) ; Brks.'
MIMMOCK, sb. and v. Rut. Nhp. War. Wor. Hrf. Glo.
Hnt. Ken. Som. Also written mimock w.Wor.' ; mim-
muck se.Wor.'; and in forms mimick Nhp.' Ken. Hnt. ;
mimmick w.Som.' [mi'mak, -ik.] 1. sb. A person with
a dainty and fastidious appetite or manner.
War.2 s.Wor. 'Er isn't over 'ealthy, 'er's alius such a mimmock
at 'er meals (H.K.). Ken. She's such a mimick (D.W.L.).
Hence Mimmocky, adj. fanciful, dainty; used con-
temptuously.
s.Wor. Faddy and mimmocky, OuTis Vig. Mon. in Berroiv' s Jm.
(1896). Ken. Such a mimicky little thing (D.W.L.).
2. V. To play with one's food ; to have a poor appetite.
War.2
MIMMY-MANCKING
[115]
MIND
Hence Mimmocking, ppl. adj. (i) dainty in appetite ;
puny, sickly, weakly ; (2) affected in manner ; (3)
grimacing.
(i) Rut.i Applied to a delicate baby. Nhp.i ; Nhp.^ Applied to
a small weakly child or animal. War.^, se.Wor.i Hrf.i A little
mimmockin thing; Hrf.^, Glo.', Hnt. (T.P.F.) w.Som.i Said only
of persons. ' Her's a poor little mimmickin thing, hardly worth
rearing.' (2) War.s, se.Wor.i (3) w.Wor.i, Glo.i
MIMMY-MANCKING, /r/. Der.= nw.Der.i Grimacing.
MIMMY-MAWKS, sb. pi. w.Yks.^ [mi-mi-m9ks.]
Grimaces, wry faces. ' Gi' o'er makin your mimmy-mawks.'
MIMP, V. and adj. Sc. Cum. Lan. War. Wor. Glo. Wil.
Cor. _ [mimp.] 1. v. To speak or act in an affected or
mincing manner ; to toy or play with one's food in an
affected manner.
BnSf.i Joined with ' primp ' and ' mim.' ' She mimpit an' primpit
through the room.' ' She mimpit an' mimmt fin she spaak.' Cum.i
Lan. Peggy coom mimpin up besoide him, lookingbonnily confused,
Staton Loominaty (c. 1861) 41. s.Wor. He mimps at his food
(H. K.). Cor. I thought you'd be mimpin' and mincin'. Parr
Adam and Eve (1880) I. 151.
Hence (i) Mimping, fpl. adj., (2) Mimpy, adj. affected,
mincing ; dainty, fanciful about food.
(i) Enff."- Rxb. The mimpin damosel, Allan Poems (1871)
Rustic Bard. War.^ w.Wor,^ I never see such a mimpin' 'arse
as this 'ere, I canna get 'im to eat 'is food. Glo.* (2) s.Wor. (H.K.)
2. To make believe ; to sham, pretend.
s.Wor.', Glo.i Wil.i ' Look at she a-settin' up ther, mimpin' ! '
idling, playing the fine lady.
3. To crouch, to sit huddled up or crouched together.
WU. Hermimped auverth' vire aal day,herwur so bad(G.E.D.).
4. adj. Prim, demure, affected. Also used advb. Bnff.*,
Lan.*
MIMPSY-PIMSY, ai^'. Dev. [mi-mpsi-pimzi.] Dainty,
fastidious, fanciful, affected. See Mimp, 4.
The ninny-hammer gilses now Just turn wi' mimpsy-pimsy scorn,
Salmon Ballads (1899) 79 ; Whot a poor mimpsy-pimsy craycher
'tez, tu be sure! Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892); Whotiver be yll
nickling along lilie that vur? . . I can't abide zich mimpsy-pimsy
ways, tb. 106.
MIMSEY, sb. Cor.* 2 [mi'mzi.] The minnow, Leu-
ciscus phoxinus.
MIMSEY, adj. N.I.* [mi'mzi.] Prim, prudish ; con-
temptible, (s.v. Mim.)
MIN, see Man, sb}. Mind, Mun, v}, pron.
MINARTA,s6. Irel. The herb Bennet, Geum urbanum.
N. <Sr» Q. (1863) 3rd S. iv. 383 ; (B. & H.)
MINAWAY, sb. Sc. Also in forms minowaye Slk. ;
minua Frf A dial, form of ' minuet.'
Frf. Could mince a minua on mist. Or caper on a cloud, Lowson
GuidfoUoiv ( 1890) 233. Ayr. She made nae a ceremonious curtsey,
like a maid of honour dancing a minaway wi' the Lord Chancellor,
Galt Lairds (1826) xiv. Slk. The otar dancit ane minowaye,
Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 173.
MINCE, sb. Wor. Cor. A mite ; also used attrib. See
Mint, s6.2
s.Wor. The red spider be jus' like a mince, one o' them mince
things as comes in cheese (H.K.).
Hence Mincey-flour, sb. flour infested with mites.
w.Cor. (M.A.C.)
MINCE, V. Sc. Shr. Brks. Dev. [mins.] To walk or
dance with short steps, in a mincing or affected manner.
Frf. Could mince a minua [minuet] on mist. Or caper on a cloud,
LowsoN GuidfoUow (1890) 233. Shr.* Jest see our Mary ! 'er
gwuz mincin' alung as if 'er wuz daincin' on eggs an' afraid o'
breakin' 'em. Dev. (Hall.)
Hence Mincing, //>/. adj. affected ; trifling.
Fif. My faith, it was nae mincin' matter ; There never was sic
chaft-blade blatter On hairst-rigs or on crafts, Tennant Papistry
(1827) 116. Brks.* She be too mincin' azart of a gal vor my money.
MINCH, v} Som. Dev. Cor. [mi'ntj.] To play truant,
to 'mitch' (q.v.).
Som. Gerit. Mag. (1794) no; (F. R.C.) Dev. Theer's nort
doin' just now so I minched away, Phillpotts Dartmoor {\?,!j(>)
126. Cor. For aw would minchey, Thomas Randigal Rhymes
(1895) 4 ; Cor.i2
Hence Mincher, sb. a truant. Dev. (A.B.C.), Cor.^^ |
MINCH, v." and sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lan. Not.
Lin. Rut. Also writtenminshSc.(jAM.)s.Not. [minj.] l.v.
To mince ; to cut into very small pieces. Also used 7?^.
Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.* Abd. The sorrow ane amon's wou'd fike
minch'd meat to make [the chuck], Beattie Parings (1801) 9, ed.
1873. Arg. My heart is a' to muilins minched, Colville Verna-
cular (1899) 6. Lnk. Reviewers . . . May minch, dissect, condemn
to burn. Watt Poems (1827) 7. Kcb. Let Christ have all your
love without minching or dividing it, Rutherford Lett. (1660)
No. 130. N.Cy.*, Dur.* Cum. Cut um up into minsht coUops, Po//
Book (1832) 35. e.Yks.*, m.Yks.* w.Yks. Lucas Stud. Nidder-
dale (c. 1882) Gl. ; w.Yks.^, m.Lan.* s.Not. Ah didn't minsh
matters (J.P.K.). n.Lin.* Rut.* I won't minch it [will not
'mince matters'].
Hence (i) Minch-meat, sb. mince-meat ; also used_;?^. ;
(2) -pie, sb. a mince-pie.
(i) Lnk. Made him minch-meat for the grave, Graham Writings
(1883) I. 156. m.Yks.* (2) N.Cy.i Nhb. Send thee to Satan to
make minch pies, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VIII.
377. n.Yks. Minch-pies, an' lots o' other things, Tweddell Clevel.
Rhymes {1875) 7. w.Yks.^s, m.Yks.*, Not.*, s.Not. (J.P.K.),
Lin. (W.W. S.) n.Lin.* It is said that mince-pies and minch-pies
are not quite the same. Minch-pies, we are told, have meat in
their composition ; mince-pies have not.
2. To walk mincingly. eYks.^ 3. sb. A small piece
of anything; a crumb. Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.', m.Yks.'
MINCH-HOUSE, 56. Obs. ?Sc. Also written minsh-
A small inn or ale-house.
They lay at a minch-house in the road, being a good inne for
the country ; for most of the public houses I mett with before in
country places were no better than ale houses, which they call
here minch-houses, n.Eng. andSc. in 1704 (1818) in TV. &' Q. (1888)
7th S. vi. 44 ; It is a sort of inne or minsh-house of considerate
note kept by a ffarmer of great dealings, ib.
MINCHICK, V. and sb. Sc. [mi'njik.] 1. v. To cut
or break into very small pieces. Bnff.* 2. sb. A very
small piece, ib. Hence Minchickie, sb. a very small
piece indeed.
Bnff.* Old. An exaggerated diminutive used by children, when
they wish to express the smallest bit possible, or to justify the
portion they claim or have taken for themselves (Jam.).
MINCHIN, s6. Hrfe.An. Also in form mingine.An.^
[mi'njin.] A mite or crumb of anything ; a small piece
of food. Hrf (W.W.S.), e.An.*, Nrf (G.E.D.)
MIND, sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
in forms maynd e.Dev. ; meynd Cum." ; min Sc. Dwn. ;
mynd, myne Sc. (Jam.) 1. In phr. (i) to be a mind to or
amind or amint, (a) to choose to, to be inclined or willing to ;
to intend, propose ; (b) to deliberate, consider, turn over
in one's mind ; (2) to have a mind to, see (i, a) ; (3) to
have a mind upon, to think about or upon ; (4) to have no
mind to, to dislike, have no liking or inclination for ; (5)
to keep mind, (6) to run in one's m.ind, to remember, keep
in one's recollection ; (7) to settle on^s mind, to make one's
will ; (8) to take one's mind of it, to have one's own way ;
(g) ginye've a wmrf, if you will take heed or warning; (10)
in one mind, of one way of thinking, in agreement; (11)
most of a mind, inclined to ; (12) my mind, in my opinion,
to my mind ; (13) a long mind, (14) a year's mind, a long-
entertained wish or desire ; see below.
(i, a) Lnk. I'll begin wi' ye as I'm amind to end wi'ye, Graham
Writings (1883) 11. 212. N.I.* ' I was a mind to ha' done it,' I in-
tended to do it. w.Mid. You could do it very well if you were
amint to it. It's no use persuading him ; he wunt go home
unless he's amint (W.P.M.). Ken.' 2, wil.* n.Wil. You can
bide thur as long as you be a mind to (E.H. G.). w.Som.* ' Tommy,
you must-n go up there.' ' What vor ? I shall nif I be a mind to.'
Dev. ' Whot chell I zing ? ' ' Whot thee'st a mind tu ; unley let et
be zommat lively!' Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 49. {b) w.Som.* I
be a mind I'd break up thick field and put'n to beans. I be half a
mind to let'n go and take his chance. (2) Sc. (A.W.), Yks. (J.W.),
War.^ Wor.Themoneywas ready for the overseer if he had a mind
to call for it, Evesham Jrn. (Apr. 9, 1897). Brks. Thee medst cum
and pick 'em all out if thee'st a mind to't, Hughes T. Brown Oxf.
(1861) xxiii. Hnt. Have you amind to go with me? (T.P.F.)
Sur. People live here as long as they've a mind to, Jennings Field
Paths (1884) 26 ; Sur.* Hmp. He took as much as he'd a mind
to't (H.C.M.B.). Dev. The Rev. Thomas did say what he had a
Q2
MIND
[ii6]
MIND
mind to, O'Neill Idyls (1892) 108. (3) Dev. [Speaking of two
characters in a Scriptural Parable] ' I've often had a mind upon
they two men,' Reports Provinc. (1883) 88. (4) Ayr. Thou hast na
mind to marry, Burns Here's to thy health, st. 2. Kcb. As to your
particular treating by yourselves with the invaders of our land, I
have no mind to it, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 326. (5) So. (Jam.)
Per. Keep mind thou maun a reckoning gie, Haliburton Dunbar
(189s) 18. Ayr. But ay keep mind to moop an' mell Wi' sheep o'
credit like thysel ! Burns Death ofPoorMailie, st. 10. Lnk. But, Mary,
keep min' it's sae wee, Nicholson Idylls {l%^o) 16. (6) Sc. (A.W.)
w.Yks. Itrunsin my mind I set off at a canter, Snowden Webof Weaver
(1896) xix. (7) Dor. (A. C.) (8) Rnf. Things canna weel gang mair
aglee— She e'en may tak' her min' o't For me, this day, Picken
Poems (1813) I. 147. (9^) Abd. Keep your clack, ginye've a min',
Shirrefs Poems (1790) Introd. 17. (10) Yks. If they're all i' one
mind they can get what they want, Taylor Miss Miles (1890) xiv.
■w.Yks. (J.W.) (n) Wor. It's most o' mind to be rainy (H.K.).
(12) Sc. A lord ! it's my mind he will only prove to be a lord o'
session, Scott St. Ronan (1824) ii. I.W.i My mind nothun doant
zim to vaay noohow to-night, 50. (is) Cum., Wm. It meant origi-
nally the disposition of effects at a funeral, to ensure a repetition
of masses and solemnities in remembrance of the departed, at the
end of a month. When these were discontinued, the phr. seems
to have been retained as an emphatic one for a deliberate resolu-
tion (M.P.). (14) (Jb.)
2. Recollection, remembrance, memory, esp. in phr. to
have mind.
So. I have no mind of any such Whigs before, Stevenson Cairi-
ona (1893) ii ; I had na the least mind of it (Jam.). Abd. I haena
min' o' sic a sizzon, Guidman Inglismaill (1873) 28. Per. My first
mind is my mother's knee, Spence Poems (1898) 70. Rnf. Ye'll
hae mind, . . How sweet was our bliss, Webster Rhymes (1835)
125. Ayr. My faither was awfu' dull o' the uptak that day, and
hadna mind o' ony paper ava. Service Noiandums (1890) 69. Lnk.
I'm sure it's as lang as my mither has mind, Rodger Poems (1838)
14, ed. 1897. Edb. Hae ye mind The morn's the first o' May?
M«Dowall Poems (1839) 40. N.I.i I hadn't a bit mind of it. ' I
had no mind,' I forgot. Dwn. I hae min' o' her pittin traycle in it
tae mak the breid keep, Lyttle Ballymddy (1892) 10.
Hence (i) Amind, phr. in mind, in recollection ; (2)
Mindless, adj. forgetful, regardless.
■ (i) Sh.I. I tocht 'at hit pat me amind O dem 'at's awa frae me,
JunDAKlingrahool (1898) 6. (a) Abd. Mindless of the shock His
limbs in wand'ring bore the former day, [He] starts, Shirrefs
Poems (1790) 233.
3. A reminder, hint. Cld. (Jam.) 4. Inclination,
desire ; affection.
Kcd. He often thocht that she was dead, . . Or that to him she
was unkind. And bless'd anither wi' her mind, Jamie Muse (1844)
13. Lth. Sure she guid an' fair maun be, Wha's win my Willie's
mind, Bruce Poems (1813) II. 48. Cum.* Seah she conquer't, an'
pay't what she hed a mind, Farrall Betty Wilson (1886) 127.
e.Dev. Ay be my young-man's, an' hee's maynd's tawards ai, PuL-
MAN Sng. Sol. (i860) vii. 10.
MIND, V. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
in forms mahnd n.Yks." ; maind e.Dev. ; min Sc. Ir.
e.Lan.^ Wil. Som. ; meind Cum. ; mine Sc. w.Yks. Dev. ;
minn'd Lan. ; moind Lan. Nrf ; mynd, myne Sc. (Jam.)
I. Gram, forms. 1. Preterite: (i) Mineted, (2) Mineteed,
(3) Muyn.
(i) War. (J.R.W.) Som. fFmcaKtoKG/.( 1885). (2) Wil. Slow
Gl. (1892). (3) w.Som.i
2. pp. (i) Minden. e.Yks.^ ; (2) U-muyn. w.Som.'
II. Dial. uses. 1. To remember, recollect, bear in
mind ; to recall to mind.
Sc. Hout, tout, man, mind where the Stuarts come frae, Scott
Nigel (1822) XXXV ; What would yon old wife have minded of the
pair of us! Stevenson Catriona (1893) xii. Sh.I. Mindin' hoo
supple we wer whin we set oot, J.H. Da Last Foy (1896) 3.
ne.Sc. Ah mine weel fin the like o' that wis deen. Green Gordon-
haven (IBS']) 61. Cai.i Abd. I canna min' when I began to come
here first, Macdonald D. Elginbrod (1863) I. 82. Kcd. I min' the
little'n weel. Grant Lays (1884) 11. Frf. It's because I canna
mind his name, Barrie Tommy (1896) 67. Per. Ye mind hoo ye
got three notes oot o' me at Perth Market, Ian Maclaren Brier
Bush (1895) 16. e.Fif. Weel do I mind how we used to squat
roond her wheel, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) iii. s.Sc. Ance, ye
mine, I loo't the muses, T. Scott Poems (1793) 356. Slg. Fine I
mind, Towers Poems (1885) 149. Rnf. He'll lang mind his visit,
PiCKEN Poems (1813) II. 136 ; He forgets his loves or debts. An'
minds his griefs no more. Burns Sc. Drink (1786) Motto. Lnk.
I min't like yestreen, Hamilton Poems (1865) 147. e.Lth. Ye
mind the year whan the Auld Kirk was dung doun ? Hunter /.
Inwick (1895) 9. Edb. I mind mysell, it's nae sae lang sin syne,
Fergusson Poems (1773) 108, ed. 1785. Slk. I canna mind half
what he said, Hogg Tales (1838) 9, ed. 1866. Gall. Do you mind
where ye first learned the Lord's Prayer? Crockett Standard
Bearer (1898) 309. Kcb. Ye'll min' when oor Grizzle an' me first
forgather'd, Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 69. Ir. He said he minded
Bessie havin' a fancy for duck-eggs. Barlow Lisconnel (1895) 27.
n.Ir. A didnae min' ocht mair fur a guid while, Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 21 ; N.I.^ 'I mind the time,' a common beginning to a
story. Uls. Yin simmer day — a min't es weel es yisterday, M'Ilroy
Craig-linnie (1900) 27 ; (M.B.-S.) Ant. I mind the night I promised
well, O'Neill Glens (1900) 19. Dwn. Knox Hist, Dwn. (1875).
Nhb. Ah niver mind to have neglected her afore, s. Tynedale Stud.
(1896) iv ; Nhb.i, e.Dur.' Lakel.^ Ah '11 hev nin o' thi sauce,
minds'ta that noo. Cum. We wull meind thy luive mair ner weyne,
Rayson Sng. Sol. (1859) i. 4. n.Yks.^ ne. Yks.^ Ah mahnd yance.
e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i w.Yks. Aw mind one day seein i' th' pape.rs 'at
it's a varry bad thing to sarve tramps, Hartley Clock Aim. (1887)
25 ; w.Yks.^ Thou minds, as I wor gangin haam. Lan. I moind
Tum Grisdale being dreawnt, Bowker Tales (1882) 106. s.Not.
Ah mind when ah wor a young un mysen (J.P.K.). Lin. D'ya
mind the murnin' when we was a-walkin' togither? Tennyson
Spinster's Sweet-arts (1885). n.Lin. Dost mind 'at we plaay'd i'
th' crewyard ? Peacock Tales (1886) 122. War. (J.R.W.) ; War.^
Mind the butter for to-morrow, when you're at the farm ; War.^-*,
s.War.i Glo. Thee mind'st owld Peter, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(1890) ii ; GI6.12 Brks. Ever since I can mind, Hughes T. Brown
Oxf. (1861) xviii ; Brks.i What do a me-an by tawkin' to I like
that ther ? why I minds when a was but a bit of a bwoy. Bdf. I
mind well as when I were a lad. Ward Bessie Costrell (1895) 50.
Hnt. I mind the time when hog feast cost a mort' o' money, A'. & Q.
(1865) 3rd S. vii. 295. Nrf. Mind yow, O darters o' J'rusal'ra, . .
to tell onto him, that I fare cothy wi' love, Gillett Sng. Sol.
(i860) V. 8. w.Nrf. I doant moind sich a Christmas as this here,
Orton Beeston Ghost (1884) 4. Ess. I mind how father used to
hide me ! (H.H.M.) Ken.' Do you mind what happen'd that time
up in Island ? Ken.= Sur. I told him I could mind having married
such a gowk as 'ee without a ring, and that shut 'ee up, Bickley
Sur. Hills (1890) II. i ; Sur.' Sus. One morning I mind I got up at
four, 'Egertoh! Flk. and Ways (1884) 42 ; Sus.i I minds him well, he
was along here last Milemas. Hmp.i I.W. A clarinet and a bugle,
as you nied mind when a buoy. Gray Annesley (1889) I. 116;
(J.D.R.); 1.W.12 Wil. SlowG/.(i892) ; WlUI minds I wur just
about bad then. n.Wil. He ' minded ' a great snowfall when he
was a boy, Jefferies Wild Life (1879) 83. Dor. I can mind him
ever since I was growing up a hard boy-chap. Hardy Greenwd.
Tree (1878) iii ; Dor.i I da mind, oone year, I zeed a vill o' hearty
cheer, 160. Sora. We 'ool mind thoi love moore than woine,
Baynes Sng. Sol. (i860) i. 4 ; W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i Can
you mind the poor old Betty Jones ? Dev. I mine et vuiy wul,
Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (1847) 26, ed. 1866 ; I minds yu when
yii lived til Yarnscombe, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.3 n.Dev.
Sudden she could mind no more, but dropped down like a log,
Chanter Witch (1896) 13. nw.Dev.» Cor. I'll . . . tell'n all the
stories I can mind, Forfar Poems (1885) 51 ; Cor.^ w.Cor. I
mind 'un courting when he'd a grey 'ead and now he's courting
when he's got a bald 'ead (M.A.C.).
Hence Minding, sb. a recollection, remembrance ; fie.
a very small quantity, a ' thought,' sufficient to recall to
remembrance.
Sh.I. Dat's da second time 'at dat's taen place in him i' my
mindin Sh. News (Feb. 5, 1898). Ayr. Dinna scart a hole in your
plate that way, lassock !— ha' juist a min'in' in't, for t'e cat, ye ken I
Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 227.
2. To be mentioned or remembered in a will.
Frf. Aboot twenty o' the leadin' inhabitants had been mindit by
i-benezer to the extent o' sums ranging frae seventeen pounds to
hlty-five pounds, Willock Roseity Ends (1886) 143, ed. 1889.
3. To remind ; to admonish.
Sc. It minds her o' the beginning o't, Shepherd's Wedding (inSg)
'cTj , f ; ^" •.. ; 00"""'^^ ""^ °' ""^^^ happened dan. Burgess
Sketches (2nd ed.) 88. Elg. It min's me aye . . . Upon a three-
leggit steel turn d upside doon. Tester Poems (1865) 140. Kcd
As he drew near to Luna's braes, It min't him sair on former days,
Jamie M^e (1844) 16. Frf. It minds me o' a water spout, Sands
Poems (1833) 114. Per. Thou minds me o' a maid thysel', Hah-
MIND
["7]
MINE
BURTON Horace (1886) 35. w.Sc. That I do— Cardenn, man, when
ye mind me o't, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 162. Cld. That
mynes me o' my promise (Jam.). Dmb. Ye'U mind my master o'
what I've said, Taylor Poems (1827) 77. Rnf. Others mind ye o'
a rat, Barr Poems (1861) 33. Ayr. The doctor was mindin' me
o' a curlers' dinner we were at, Service Notandums (i8go) 23.
Lnk. It minds ane hoo they did theirsel', Thomson Musings (1881)
128. e.Lth. I no needed onythin to mind me o't, Hunter/. Inwick
(1895) 149. Edb. She minds me o' that sturdy fallow, Liddle
Poems (1821) 28. Gall. His visage min'd me o' a rock, Lauderdale
Poems (1796) 90. N.I.^ Now mind me of that to-morrow. Ant.
Mindin' himself o' the dear days lost, O'Neill Glens (1900) 34.
Nhb.i, Lakel.* Wm. That minds me Ah mun git sum bacca at
t'shop (B.K.). Yks. (C.C.R.) m.Yks.i Mind him of it, if you go.
w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. There wom't no need to mind me o' that
(J.P.K.). Lin. It minds me o' th' time when I wer a lass, Lin.
N. & Q. (Jan. 1892) 11. War. I have recently been minded of
Bingley House, Midi. Ciies. Herald (May 12, 1898). -w.Wor.
When thee be acomin tail fust down the lather, yer minds me o'
that aecle, that rain-bird, us sid i' the ood, Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 10,
1888). Glo. That minds me. . . That woman . . . have sent a note
to be delivered, Gissing Both of this Parish (1889) II. 230. s.Oxf.
It 'minds me o' the time when Tom an' me come 'ome, Rosemarv
Chiltems (1895) 181. Nrf. Minds me of coming into harbour fishin'
time, Emerson Lagoons (ed. 1896) 77. Suf. That gal du mind me
o' what I was at her age, FisoN Merry Suf. (1899) 63. Wil.^ That
minds I o' Lunnon, it do. n.Wil. (E.H.G.) w.Som.' Aa'y muyn
an oavur-n oa'vur ugee'un, vur tu bee shoa-ur vur tu bee u geo'd
bwuuy [I admonished him over and over again, to be sure and be a
good boy]. n.Dev. Locked it up in the chest, as it mightn't mind
him of things. Chanter Witch (1896) iii.
Hence Minding, sb. (i) a reminder ; (2) //. the marks on
a stone about to be sawn, for the guidance of the sawyers,
(i) Wil.' After a severe illness you are apt to have 'the mindings
on't ' now and again. n.Wil. She haves the mindin's o' that stroke
as she had a year ago (E.H.G.). (2) s.Not. Yer hevn't minded yer
mindings (J.P.K.).
4. To observe, notice ; to pay attention or heed to.
Lth. Noo join me — for min' me, Blythe honours they maun hae,
Smith Merry Bridal (1866) 16. N.I.i See 1 d'ye mind the way
she's walkin'. Nhb. Mind yo're witniss this day, Robson Bk.
Ruth{i86o) iv. 9. Lakel.' n.Yks.* Ah've mahnded what thoo sed.
e.Yks.i w.Yks. Ha doant mean ta hev ony up-stais, tha mines,
Tom Treddlehoyle Ben Bunt (1838) 5. Glo. ' Are the potatoes
ready to dig?' 'I don't know, I hav'nt minded them' (A.B.).
e.An.i ' I never minded it,' I did not notice it.
5. To watch, loolc after, take care of; to tend, attend to,
superintend.
s.Sc. Ye'U be minded better ere ye leave us, Wilson Tales {1S36)
II. 261. Gall. Min' yer money. Ye need it to buy yersel' shoon,
Irving Lays (1872) 233. Dur.' n.Yks. 'Noo mahnd her,' take
careof her(T.S.) ; (I.W.) ne.Yks.i e.Yks.' Cum an mind bayns,
whahl Ah sahve pigs. m.Yks.' Mother, let's mind one another,
or we shall both get drowned. Minding the bairns and the house.
w.Yks. Each weaver 'minds' two looms, Phases Bradford Life, 196;
They do the work, and he minds them. The old man's full of
ailments, and so the daughter's gone home to mind him (C.C.R.).
Lan. I minded mygoodsand foddered andwatered them, Walkden
Diary (ed. 1866) 95. m.Lan.', Chs.^, nw.Der.i, War.-*, Not.i, Hrf.i
Oxf.' MS. add. Snr.i Som. Put un down in kitchen to mind the
spit, Raymond Tryphena (1895) 27. w.Som.i To work at any
machine or engine is to mind it. A farmer seeing a boy idle, would
tell him to mind his work. Dev. It was no hardship for the old
Australian to 'mind hisself,' as his neighbours constantly remarked,
Stooke Not Exactly, i; Dev.s, Cor.3, w.Cor. (M.A.C.)
Hence]VIinder,s6.aworkerinaspinning-mill ; a'spinner.'
Lan. Johnty Harrop the 'Minder' had got into difficulties,
Ackworth Clog Shop Chron. (1896) 163; Lan."^
6. To be nursed, be taken care of.
w.Yks. While her mother was away at the mill Tressy was put
out ' to mind,' Burnley Sketches (1875) 57.
Hence Minder, sb. a child put out to be nursed.
[Those are minders . . . left to be minded, sir, Dickens Mutual
Friend (1865) bk. i. xvi.]
7. To wish, have a mind to ; to feel inchned or disposed to.
Abd. The earl of Sutherland . . . directed therefrae his led horse
with his greath to the Bog, minding to lodge there all night,
Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) 17. Frf. Gif yer mindit to speir. Watt
Poet. Sketches (1880) 13. Cld. I don't myne to see him ava (Jam.).
Ayr. A paper I'm mindit to hae drawn out, Galt Entail (1823)
xxxix. Nhb.'Aa wis minded to gan, but — . w.Yks. (J.W.) sw.Lin.'
He did not mind for the land at S. The Squire does not mind his
doing of it, i.e. does not like it. I don't think she minded [liked]
to go away. He doesn't seem to mind [wish for] a trade. Nhp.l
I minded to go over to Morton. Wor. Ee con goo ef a do mind,
Ouns Vig. Mon. Glo. That man down to Coombe, who'd break
any stwon you wur minded to gie un, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(1890)167. Wil. Slow G/. (1892). Dor. Zam be a-gwain to take I
to Mere to-morrow, if I be zo minded, Hare Vill. Street {iSgs) 72.
Som. SwEETMAN WincantoH Gl. (1885). Dev. You must trapse off
from 'eer up-long to Princetown or wheer you'm minded to,
Phillpotts Dartmoor (1896) 276. e.Dev. Ai bag'th 'ee . . .
nit ta meuve ner ta wake my young-man till's a-maindid teue,
PuLMAN Sng, Sol. (i860) ii. 7. Cor.s You can do what you mind to.
8. Phr. (i) to mind away, to get out of the way, stand on
one side ; used in the imp. ; (2) — for, {a) to care for,
mind ; (b) to watch, look out for ; (3) — of, to remember,
recollect ; to think of; (4) — off, see (i) ; (5) — on, see (3) ;
(6) — one on, to remind, call to remembrance ; (7) — one's
draught, to take another glass to drink ; cf mend, 5 (2) ;
(8) — oneself, (9) — o«e's feet, to take care of one's steps ;
(10) —out, (a) see (i) ; (b) see (9) ; (c) to retaliate ; (iij —
out the road, see (i) ; (12) — upon, see (3).
(i) s.Not. Mind away! there's a cart comin' (J.P.K.). (2, a)
Sc. The bairn was in an unco rage, but I wasna mindin' for that.
Swan Aldersyde (ed. 1892) 116. (A) Sc. Hauldin' the line, and
mindin' for his signals, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xv. (3) Sc.
' Did Adam ever mention him before?' ' Never that I mind of,'
Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 21. Abd. When I mind o' her, I maist
think I have lost a friend, Ruddiman Sc. Parish (1828) 28, ed.
1889. Frf. I dinna mind o't but aince, Barrie Thrums (1889)
xviii. Per. Ye mind o' the man that rejoiced so sair because he
had gotten his son back safe and sound. Sabbath Nights (1899) 26.
Ayr. I mind o' thinkin', laird, . . that he was the very emblem o'
mortality. Service Notandums (1890) 21. Edb. Auld grandfaither,
that I mind of when a laddie, MoiR Mansie IVauch (1828) i. Dmf.
0 ask your heart gif it minds o' me, Cromek Remains (1810) 219.
GeiU. I mind weel o' the faither o' him that's gane, Crockett Bog-
Myrtle (1895) 170. (4) m.Yks.i (5) Per. I can understan' him
minding on his auld hame, Sandy Scott (1897) 10. Gall. Ilka time
ye hear it, laddie, ye'U mind on yer faither, Crockett Raiders
(1894) ii. n.Yks.* Ah nivver, 'at Ah mahnd on, ivver tried ti
disawn't. (6) Nhb.i ' Mind me on ' — bid me remember. w.Yks.s
Lan. Owd nick minn'd me on ogen, Paul Bobbin Sequel (^181 gi)
16. e.Lan.' (7) Glo. (H.S.H.), Glo.i (8") Abd. Min' yersel' wi'
warlocks, ghaists, and witches, Ogg lVillielValy(i8']3)2i. w.Som.'
Mind yerzul. (9) nw.Abd. Tak tent, tak tent, an' min' yer feet,
Goodwife (1867) St. 5. (10, o) Lan. (S.W.) ; Common (F.R.C).
Chs.' (6) Chs.' Som. If I don't min' out, woone o' these days . . .
he'l vail off, Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894) 136. (c) Dev.3
I'll mind ee out bimbye. (11) s.Not. Mind out the road o' the
mester (J.P.K.). (12) Abd. It's ower ... to min' upo', Macdonald
R. Falconer (1868) 7 ; It's you that I've been vex't aboot aye, fan
1 minet upon't, Mary, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 10.
[1. OE. myndgian, to remember, bear in mind.]
MINDEN, sb. Nhb.i A forward girl.
' Di ye hear me, sirrah minden ? ' — spoken in admonishment to
a wayward girl.
MINDER, sb. Cum. A miner.
Ainstie's miners ('minders' the Wastcote people called them),
Linton Lizzie Lorton (1867) xiv.
MINDFUL, a(^'. Yks. [mai'ndfl.] Careful.
n. Yks.* Thoo mun be mahndful hoo thoo hugs t'basket. ne.Yks.^
Thoo'U a'e ti be mahndful gannin' thruff t'yat. w.Yks. (J.W.)
MINDLESS, adj. w.Wor.^ Weak-minded, silly.
The prisoner seemed to be mindless.
MINDRY, see Minery.
IVIINE, sb. Stf. Wal. Hrt. Ken. Sus. [main.] 1. In
comp. (i) Mine-earth, obs., white earth near the surface
of the ground, indicative of iron ore ; (2) -greys, thin beds
of shelly limestone ; (3) -lows, the heaps or mounds about
a mine ; (4) -pits, shallow round pits, formerly the source
from which clay ironstone was derived.
(i) stf. (K.) ; (Hall.) ; Stf.' (2) Sus. In many of the localities
in the Weald these limestones are known by the name of ' mine
greys,' Ramsay Rock Spec. (1862) 149- (s) Stf.i (4) Sus. These
still go by the name of ' mine-pits,' and must not be confounded
with the 'marl-pits,' or those other deeper openings, Ramsay
Rock Spec. (1862) 148.
MINE
[ii8]
MINIFER
2. Any kind of mineral, esp. ironstone.
Wal. There are several sorts of mine, some hard, some gentle,
some rich, some coarser. The iron-masters always mix different
sorts of mine together ; otherwise they will not melt to advantage,
Ray Acct. of Ironwork (1691). Ken. (Hall.), Ken. 12
3. Tlie bottom of drains in roads, commons, &c. Hrt.
Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) VI. i.
MINE, pron. e.An. [main.] Used with the ellipsis of
house, &c. : my house, my home.
e.An.i I wish you would come to mine. Nrf. A Norfolk man
will say to you, ' Come to mine,' or tell you he had been to ' his '
—house being understood in each case. Rye Hist. (1885) xv ; I
happened with him at mine, Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 63.
Suf. I've got one up at mine I can lend ye (C.G.B.) ; Have you
called at mine? (M.E.R.); He come to mine last night, e.An. Dy.
Times (1892) ; Suf.^ I hope sune to see you at mine. e.Suf. (F.H.)
MINENT, sb. Sc. Also in forms meenint, meenont.
[mrnant.] A minute.
Sh.I. In a peerie meenint da fodder door flies open, Clark
N, Gleams {i8g8) 57. Rnf. He cam' to Moss Street head. An' stood
a minent swithering, Clark Rhymes (1842) 31. Ayr. Consider
ye a meenont, Service Noiandums (1890) 2. Slk. They then
spak amang themsels for five or six minents, Hogg Brownie of
Bodsbeck (1818) II. 25 (Jam.).
MINER, sb. Sc. In phr. miner's asthma, see below.
That painful trouble so prevalent among colliers known as
' miner's asthma,' which is brought on through digging in damp
workings and amid foul air and gases underground, Wright Life
(1897) 65.
MINERY, sb. Som. Also in form mindry. [mai-n(3)ri.]
Mining works ; the locality of the mines.
I'll ride across to the mineries, myself so quiet as I can, Ray-
mond Men 0' Mendip (1898) iii ; (W.F.R.)
MINE'S, pron. Sc. Also in forms minse Sh.I. ; mynz
S. & Ork.i [meinz.] Mine.
Sc. She sail be mines in less than haf-a-year, Shepherds Wedding
(1789) 8. Sh.I. She swappid a auld jimper o' minse efter da
djooks, Sh. News (Aug. 12, 1899) ; S. & Ork.', Cai.' Per. A page
the very verbatim o' mine's, Sandy Scott (1897) 65 ; She's no
your granny, she's mines, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 242, ed.
1887. Lnk. Your hat . . . needs turnin', like mine's, Murdoch
Readings (1895) II. 29. Lth. Your things and mine's putten
thegither will mense the house, Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885)
16. Edb. 'Here's my music-book.' . . 'And here's mines,' Reade
Christie Johnstone (ed. 1893) x.
MING, v.^ Obs. n.Cy. Dur. Nhp. Bdf Also in form
minge N.Cy."^ To mention ; to remind, give warning ;
also with ai : to allude to a thing.
n.Cy. Bailey (1721) ; Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.^ ; N.Cy.° To ming
at one. Dur. (K.), Nhp.^ Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang.
(1809) 138.
Hence Minging, sb. a remembrance, a reminder.
n.Cy. (K.) ; N.Cy.2 It is usually said, 'I had aminging.' Suppose
of an ague or the like disease ; that is not a perfect fit, but so
much as to put me in mind of it. [The minging of a distemper,
Morbi praelusio, Coles (1679).]
[Could never man work thee a worser shame, Than once
to minge thy father's odious name, Hall Satires (1597)
bk. IV. ii. 80 (Dav.) ; For \&y of mote cou)je neuer mynge,
Pearl (c. 1325) 855, in A Hit. P. 26. OE. mynegian, myngian,
to recall, remind (B.T.).]
MING, v.^ and sb. Sc. Shr. Lin. e.An. Som. Also in
forms minge Shr.^ ; mink- e.An.' [miq.] 1. v. To mix,
mingle, esp. to knead or mix the ingredients of bread.
pret. Mung. Cf. meng.
Sc. For I . . . ming my drink wi' greetin', Riddell Ps. (1857)
ii. 7. Lnk. (Jam.) Shr.i Tell the cowman to gie the 'eifer a good
bran mash, an' to minge it up well. e.An.' Nrf. Ellis Pronunc.
(1889) V. 272. Suf. In universal use, but confined to the kneading
of dough for bread or dumplins, Spurdens Gl. (1840) ; Suf.' She
mung up that bread. e.Suf. To ming dough = to work it with the
fingers (F.H.). Som. Not now used here (W.F.R.) ; To minging
lime, and to tile pins, Chwardens' Accts. (1730).
Hence (i) ming a niang, phr. to mix up together; (2)
Mink-meat, sb. food for fowls mixed with bran or barley-
meal.
(i) ne.Sc. Aw sing a sang, aw ming a mang, A cyarlin an a kid,
Gregor/7*-Z.o« (1881) 109. (2) e.An.i
2. Phr. to ming the miller's eye out, see below.
Nrf. When making bread, if the woman adds more water than
the flour will carry, she will ming the miller's eye out, Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 7 ; I mung the miller's eye out, Spilling
Johnny's Jaunt (1879) i. e.Suf. (F.H.)
3. sb. A mixture.
Feb. Various sorts of mixtures, in none of which tar is an
ingredient. . . These mings do not clot the fleece as tar does, Caled.
Merc. (Dec. 4, 1823) (Jam.).
4. Property of different owners intermixed.
Lin. Land of different proprietors lying mixed, is said to be
lying in ming, Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 715 ; Lin.'-
[I. In the drynke that she meddlid to 50U, mynge je
double to hir, Wyclif (1388) Apoc. xviii. 6.]
MINGE, sb. e.Suf [minz.] The female pudendum.
(F.H.)
MINGE, V. e.An. To drizzle. e.An.' (ed. 1830).
- MINGE, see Ming, z/.'^
MINGIN, sb. e.An. Also written mingen, minjin
Nrf. [mi'n(d)gin.] A midge ; a small gnat. Cf. minchin.
e.An.i Nrf. Hawking over the reed-beds for the 'mingen,' that
have got up early to enjoy their ephemeral lives — the birds
climbing the air, turning this way and that, seizing the ' mingen '
by the hundred, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 306 ; The minjins are
very troublesom.e here (U.W.).
MINGIN, see Minchin.
MINGIN ATER, 56. Obs. Yks.Der. A maker of fretwork.
Yks. Ray(i69i) ; (K.) ; Bailey (1721) ; Grose (1790). Der.i
MINGLE-CUM-PUR, sb. Not. Lin. e.An. Cor. Also
in forms -per Cor. ; mingle-de-purr Not.' ; minglety-pur
sw.Lin.' 1. A mixture, medley, a confused mass. Also
used_/?^.
Not.' e.An.' A mixture of ingredients or matters unpleasant to
the sight as well as the palate. Cor. And while the women were
scrabbling-away, and all was a mingle-cum-por, O'Donoghue
5/. Knightcm (1864) xiii.
2. A mass of corruption and rottenness.
sw.Lin.' ' It's all of a minglety-pur,' said of a rotten sheep, &c.
MINGLED, pp. Yks. Of bacon, &c. : streaked, in
alternate layers of fat and lean.
n.Yks. T'bacon's nicely mingled (I.W.).
MINGLEDY-PINGLEDY, adj. Not. Confused, in great
confusion and disorder, ' higgledy-piggledy.'
s.Not. Theoad man'swillwaramingledy-pingledy mess (J.P.K.).
MINGLE-MANGLE, sb. and adj. Sc. Lan. Lei. Nhp.
1. sb. A medley, a confused mixture ; a hotch-potch.
ne.Lan.', Lei.', Nhp.' 2. adj. Irregular, confused.
Sc. Yetholm ... is sae mingle mangle that ane micht think it
was either built on a dark night, or sawn on a windy ane, Hislop
Anecdote (1874) 734.
[1. Centon, a mingle-mangle of many matters in one
book (COTGR.).]
MINGLEMENT,s6. n.Yks.'^ [mrrjlment.] A mixture
of all sorts ; a medley. Also us&A Jig.
MINGLETY-PUR, see Mingle-cum-pur.
IVnNG-MANG, sb. Sc. Lin. [mi'tj-maq.] Confusion ;
disorder.
Cld. It's a ming mang, it is in utter confusion (Jam.). n.Lin.'
When I com' into th' hoose th' bairns hed ohersetten th' taable,
an' plaates an' dishes, an' meat and beer was all brokken in a
ming-mang up o' th' hearth-rug.
MINGSE, V. Sh.I. Also in forms minkse ; minx S. &
Ork.' [mirjz, miqks.] To mix, mingle. See Ming, v.'^
Shu wis steerin' i' da kirn wi' da staff ta mingse da watter an' da
blaedig, Sh. News (July 23, 1898) ; Sweet mylk an' burstin' mingst
tagedder, ib. (Nov. 19, 1898) ; Raider sail I get a grain o' Doogil's
dip, an' a package o' Cooper's an' minkse hit, ib. (Nov. iq, 1807') •
S. &Ork.i ^' ^"'
Hence Minkster or Minxter, sb. a mixture.
Da minxter o' gin an' Scotch [whisky] mebbie hed somtin' ta
da wi' it, Sh. News (Aug. 20, 1898) ; S. & Ork.'
MINGWORT, s(&. Obs. n.Cy. The wormwood, ^r/e-
mista Absinthium. Grose (1790) ; (B & H )
MINIFER, sb. e.An. [mi-nif3(r).] 'l The stoat,
Mustela ermtnea.
e.An.i Sometimes, but very rarely, found in this country in very
severe seasons. Nrf. In winter, of course, he is often white, with
MINIFY
[119]
MINNIN
a black tip to his tail — hence his name of ' minifa,' Emerson Birds
(ed. 1895) 345. e-Suf. (F.H.)
2. A child undersized for its age. e.Suf. (F.H.) S. Comp.
Minifer-pin, a small-sized pin. e.An. (Hall.), Suf.^
[1. Fr. manu ver, the fur Minever, also the beast that
bears it (Cotgr.).]
MINIFY, w. Obs. e.An. To make less. e.An.^ (ed. 1830).
[Is man magnified or minified by considering himself as
under the influence of the heavenly bodies? Southey
Doctor (1847) cxcvii (Dav.).]
MINIKIN, adj. and sb. Sc. Yks. Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp.
War. Shr. Hrf. e.An. Som. Dev. Also written minnikin
w.Som.^ [mi-nikin.] 1. adj. Small, delicate, neat;
effeminate ; puny, undersized.
w.Yks.2, Not.i, Lei.i, Nhp.i, VSTar. (J.R.W.), War.s Shr.i It's a
minikin lickle thing.fur six months owd, but a pretty child. w.Som.^
Gen. used in connection with ' little.' ' Ees, her's a fine maaid a-
come now ; but lor ! her was a poor little minnikin thing, sure
'nough, when I tookt her fust.' [A little house some years ago
there stood, a miniken abode, Hood Poems (ed. 1862-3) Fairy Tale.~\
Hence Minikin-finikin, adj. delicate, effeminate.
■w.Yks.!^ He's a minikin-finikin fellow.
2. sb. Anything very small or delicate, esp. the smallest
kind of pin. Also in comp. Minikin-pin.
Sc. 'A minikin prein,' the smallest that is made (Jam.). Fif.
(<6.), Not.i, Lin. (W.W.S.), Lei.i, Nhp.i, War.s Shr., Hrf. Bound
Promnc. (1876). e.An. (Hall.) [Jack in the pulpit, out and in ;
Sold his wife for a minikin pin, Halliwell Rhymes (1886) 231.]
3. A slight affected girl ; a pert fine girl.
Shr.' Sich a minikin as 'er is. Dev. Still in use (Hall.).
[1. For one blast of thy minikin mouth, Thy sheep shall
take no harm, Shaks. K. Lear, iii. vi. 45 ; Minnekin Nan,
TussER Husb. (1580) 20.]
MINIM, s6. Cor. Also in form minum. [mi'nim.] Used
to denote anything very small.
Cor.s A little minim of a man. w.Cor. Come in, you minum
(M.A.C.).
[Not all Minims of nature, some of serpent-kind, Milton
P. L. (1667) viii. 482.]
MINIM, see Mennem.
MINION, sb. Chs. [mi'njan.] A small fish, a minnow.
See Mennon, Minnie, 56.^
Come to the river and catch minions (E.F.).
MINISTER, sb. Sc. [ministar.] 1. In comb, (i)
Minister's man, the beadle of a church ; the man who
looks after the minister's garden, &c. ; (2) -'s mark, a mark
on sheep, having both ears cut off.
(i) Per. It's Joseph Smiley, the minister's man I Cleland Inch-
bracken (1883) 263, ed. 1887. Wgt. One of those characters who
combine the different situations of Church-officer, gravedigger,
' minister's man,' and general factotum, Eraser Wigtown (1877)
a6i. (2) S. & Ork.i
2. pi. Small spiral shells found on the sea-shore. S. &
Ork.i
MINK, s6. and z». Sc. [miqk.] 1. sb. A ring of straw
or rushes used in adjusting the bow on an ox.
Abd. An' plaits a theet or mends a mink. To sair an after use,
Beattie Parings (1801) 25.
2. A noose, halter.
Abd. A bodie's as wise to keep their held oot o' the mink as
lang's they can, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 135 ; They . . . forged
ale sellers' licences for drink, Eor which their heads should been
put i' the mink, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 10.
3. V. To tie fast.
Abd. I hae ye in my service minkit, Davidson Poems (1861) 96.
4. With up : to coil a rope in the hand.
Bnff.' Mink up the coo's tether.
MINK, see Mint, v.
RUNKIE, adj. Sh.I. Minute, small.
Da minkie haem o Man, Burgess Rasmie (1892) 125.
MINK-MIMP, sb. Lakel.2 [mi-qk-mimp.] An affected
or mincing manner of speaking. See Mimp.
MINKSE, see Mingse.
MINLER, 56. e.Yks.i [mi'nlar.] A miller. SeeMilner.
MINN, sb. Sh.I. [min.] A mouth, inlet, or arm of the
sea ; a deep hollow in the bottom of the sea, a bay or gulf
the water of which is deeper than that of the sea outside it.
Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 96 ; S. St Ork.' ' Swarbacks Minn ' is an
opening leading from Aithsvoe to St. Magnus' Bay.
[ON. minni, mynni, the mouth of a river, 'ostium' (Vig-
fusson) ; Dan. minde (Larsen).]
MINNEER, sb. and v. Bnflf.i [mi'mr.] 1. sb. A great
noise. 2. v. To make a great noise.
MINNIE, sb} and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Also
written mihnney Sh.I. ; mynnie Slk. [mi'ni.] 1. sb.
A mother ; a dam ; a pet name for ' mother.'
Sc. The bits o' bairns skirl on their minnies, Scott Redg. (1824)
Lett, xi; Your minnie's milk is no out of your nose yet, Ramsay
Prov. (1737). Sh.l.Igotdeefrae mi minnie, Burgess i?a5)M« (189a)
25 ; Old mihnny Conlay . . . was pleased to say, Sh. News (Feb.
12, i8g8). Bnff. Man naked comes frae minnie's wyme, Taylor
Poems (1787) 35. Bch. Her minny crooks her mou', Forbes
Dominie (1785) 31. Abd. Ye're as safe's gien ye lay i' yer minnie's
lap, Macdonald Malcolm (1875) II. 251. Per. The fawn blithely
skips while its minnie lies doun, Stewart Character (1857) 25.
Slg. Minny sent me aff tae schule. Towers Poems (1885) 181.
Rnf. Aft I've dreed my minny's anger, Picken Poems (1813) II.
72. Ayr. When first I gaed to woo my Jenny, Ye then was trottin
wi' your minnie. Burns To his Auld Mare, st. 5. Lnk. Like infant
in its minnie's lap, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 98. Lth. What tho'
thy minnie flytes an' scolds, LuMSDEN5A«e/i-A«arf(i892) 61. Slk. Ane
honest man's wyffe and mynnie to twa bairns, Hogg Tales (1838)
109, ed. 1866. Dmf. Wi' your thrawart minny glowrin' Owre ilk
dawtie word I say, Reid Poems (1894) 148. Gall. If ye want the
bit lass, afore Hector Faa's minnie ties him an' her up ower the
tangs, Crockett Raiders (1894) xvi. N.Cy.' Nhb. Maw faix ! it
seems a canny sprout, As big maist as it's minny, Marshall Sngs.
(1819) 5 ; Nhb.i Cum. She's tied to gang t'same way as her ain
minny, Linton Silken Thread {iS&o) 290. Wm. A poor feckless
thing et darn't lait a sweetheart without its minny ga wi' it, Briggs
Remains (1825) 155.
Hence (i) Minnie-cat, sb. a female cat ; (2) -'s-bairn, (3)
-dawtie, sb. the mother's favourite ; (4) -'s-man, sb. a term
of contempt applied to a henpecked husband.
(i) Ir. (A.S.-P.) (2) Sc. (Jam.) (3) Cld. {ib.) (4) Lnk. Near
him ! you're just beside him : Were it Ann, you'd reach her sax
mile aff — Poor minny's man, Black Falls of Clyde (1806) 131.
2. A grandmother. S. & Ork.' 3. v. To join each
lamb in a flock to its own mother or lamb ; of a lamb : to
run to its mother.
Ltb. It is given as a proof of the accuracy of a shepherd's ac-
quaintance with his flock, that after the lambs have been separated
from the ewes, he can ' minnie ilka lamb ' (Jam.). Peb. The said
twelve ewes being separated from the rest, and having bleated or
cried, four or six lambs broke off from the flock of eild sheep and
ran to the ewes and minnied or mothered themselves by sucking,
Indictment of farmer in Edb. Mag. (Jan. 1772).
MINNIE, 56.= Oxf. Hmp. Wil. Som. Dev. Amen Also
written mean y Dev. [mi'ni.] 1. The minnow, Z,«Masa<s
phoxinus ; small fry of any kind.
Oxf. (CO.), Oxf.i Hmp. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) Wil.i
n.Wil. 'The ' minnie,' as the stickleback is locally called, makes its
nest beside the bank, Jefferies Wild Life (1879) 356. w.Som.'-
Dev. A biggish vly, unless ta troll Wi' th' mSany you mid choose,
PuLMAN Sketches (1842) 21, ed. 1853 ; Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
Cor.2 [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 49.]
2. A diminutive person. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892).
MINNIE, sb.^ Sc. See below.
w.Sc. According to Jamieson, the eve of Yule was termed by
the Northmen ' Hoggunott,' meaning slaughter night, probably
because then the cattle for the coming feast were killed. During
the feast, one of the leading toasts was called 'minnie,' meaning
the cup of remembrance, Napier Flk-Lore (1879) 154.
MINNIES, sb. pi. Cor. Also written minnis. [mi'niz.]
Stones suspended from ropes, used in pilchard fishing, to
prevent the fish from escaping from a seine-net.
A man is constantly plunging down a stone, fastened to a rope,
to frighten back the fish. This is called ' throwing the minnis,'
Bond Hist. Looe (1823) 76; Whilst to hinder their escape back
again from the tuck-sean into the stop . . . minnies are con-
tinually kept plunging opposite the only aperture, Quiller-Couch
Hist. Polperro (1871) 107; Cor.^
[OCor. maen, a stone (pi. meyri) (Willlams).]
MINNIHAMMER, see Minnyhammer.
MINNIMINNY-MONIFEET, sb. Dur.^ A centipede.
MINNIN, see Mennon.
MINNING-ON
[120]
MINT
MINNING-ON, sb. Yks. [mi'mn-on.] A temporary
meal or ' snack ' ; a forenoon luncheon.
Yks. Grose(i79o) MS. add. (P.) w.Yks. ' Minning on,' a slight
refresher when you have not time for a more solid meal,
Hamilton Nugae_l.it. (1841) 360 ; That will do for a minnin'-on
(J.R.); (B.K.) ; A just gat a bit of a minning-on (W.H.).
MINNIS, sb. Ken. Sus. Also written minnys, and in
form mennys Ken. (K.) [mi-nis.] A wide tract of ground,
partly copse and partly moor ; a high common ; a waste
piece of rising ground.
Ken. Grose (1790) ; (K.) ; If. & Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 328, 499 ;
Kea.i2 Sus.i One of the rocks on the East Hill, at Hastings, is
called ' The Minnis Rock ' ; Sus.2
MINNITY, adj. e.Suf [mi-niti.] Very irritable and
impatient. (F.H.)
MINN0CK,s6.^ Sc. [mi'nak.] The minnow, i,«M«scws
phoxinus.
Lnk. We've catch'd wee minnocks, monya score, Parker Misc.
Poems (1859) 33.
MINNOCK, V. and sb.^ Nhp. e.An. Dev. Also in form
minnik Dev.^ [mi'nak.] 1. v. To affect delicacy ; to
ape the manners of one's superiors ; to fool about. See
Mimmock, 2.
Nhp.' A little minnocking thing. e.An.i Dev.^ Yu be wasting
your time agen Susie ; yu'm awles minniking about instead of doing
yer proper work.
2. sb. An affected person. e.An.' Cf. mimmock, 1.
MINNON, see Mennon.
MINOD, sb. Sh.I. Also in form minvid S. & Ork.'
In phr. (i) to rek de minod, to go about, and come very late
home ; (2) to waak de minod (minu'^d), to sit up long into
the night. Jakobsen Norsk in Sk. (1897) 36 ; S. & Ork.'
[Minod, minusd, repr. ON nti^natt, midnight ; see
Jakobsen (I.e.).]
MINSE, MINSK, see Mine's, Minch, i;.^
MINSHACH, adj. Cai.' [mi-njax-] Mean, niggardly,
inhospitable.
[Gael, mtannasach, covetous, greedy (M. & D.).]
MINSHOCH, sb. Sc. Irel. Also in form meenshogue
Ir. [mi'njax.] A she-goat two years old.
Gall. She was in the form o' a hare, but when he drew naurher,
she was as big as a minshoch, Mactaggart £«cyrf. (1824') 348, ed.
1876. Wxf. A puchawn and eleven meenshogues, Kennedy
Evenings Diiffrey (1869) 361.
[Gael, minnseag, a yearling she-goat (M. & D.) ; Ir.
minnseog, a young she-goat (O'Reilly).]
MINSHULLCRAB.^Ar. Chs. Also in form minshu'-
crab s.Chs.' [mi'nj3{l) krab.] A variety of cultivated
apple found in old orchards.
Chs.' It is much valued on account of its keeping properties,
being extremely hard in texture. It is too sour to eat, but is a
most excellent cooking apple. s.Chs.' [Named from Minshull, a
place in Chs.]
MINSTER-HOLD, ppl. adj. Lin. Of land, &c. : held
of the Minster, i.e. under the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln.
n.Lin. All t'other is minster-hold, Peacock R. Skirlaugk (1870)
II. 152. sw.Lin.' ' I reckon the house is minsterhold.' ' It was
rainsterhold, but they made it freehold.'
MINT, sb."- Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs. [mint.]
1. Peppermint.
Lnk. Here also is the mint, the pressed leaves of which are
used to mark the chapters the minister reads on Sunday, Fraser
Whaups {zBgz) 12. Gall. Still breath she smoorswi' oils and mint,
Nicholson Poet. IVks. (1814) 85, ed. 1897. w.Yks. (J.W.)
Hence Minty, adj. flavoured with mint or peppermint.
Nhb. Fardin's worth o' minty black bullets, Chater Tyneside
Aim. (1869) 28. n.Yks. It hez a minty teeast (I.W.).
2. Comp. (i) Mint-cake, ' fat-cake ' (q.v.) with the addition
of chopped fresh mint and sugar, rolled out very thin ;
a sweetmeat, see below ; (2) -drops, (a) peppermint
lozenges ; (b) the red campion. Lychnis diurna.
(i) Cum.'' A sweetmeat no longer in vogue. Made by boih"ng
down soft brown sugar and water until a firm but ' short' mass is
formed ; strongly flavoured with peppermint ; in shape two inches
square and \ inch thick ; somewhat resembling toffy, but not so
hard and crystalline. Sold at two squares for one half-penny.
w.Yks. Az ta t'slates at top at hahces they wor wesht az thin az
mint cake, Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1861) 51. Lan.
An owd woman ut kept a skoo un sowd towfy un mintcake, Staton
Loominary (c. 1861) 49. (2, a) Chs.' It used to be a constant
custom in country places for old women to comfort themselves in
church by sucking mint-drops. (6) Nhb.'
MINT s6.= War. Wor. Shr. Hrf. G!o. Brks. Ken. Sus.
Hmp. Wil. Dor. Som. [mint.] 1. Amite, a small insect
found in cheese, flour, &c. Gen. in //. Cf. mince, sb.
s.Wor. (H.K.), Hrf.i Glo. Grose (1790) ; Baylis Illus. Dial.
(1870); Marshall Rur. Econ. (1789) I; Glo.', Sus.', Hmp.',
I.W.'2 Wil. Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.'^ n.Wil. Riddle :
What's the smallest thing as is sold alive in markut? — A mint
(E.H.G.). Dor.', Som. (W.F.R.)
Hence Minty, adj. of cheese, &c. : full of mites.
War.2, s.Wor.', Shr.' Obsol., Hrf.' 2, Glo.' Brks.i Cheese with
mites therein is commonly described as 'minty.' Ken.", Sus.',
Hmp.' Wil. BRiTTOit Beauties (1825); Wil.' n.Wil. 'Ow minty
thuc cheese is (E.H.G.).
2. Small fish caught on the Sussex coast.
Sus. Pari. Report on Sea Fisheries, 213 ; (F.E.S.)
[1. Bibiones, uermes, Anglice myntys, Metr. Vac. (c. 1450)
in Wright's Voc. (1884) 623.]
MINT, sb.^ In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc. and Eng.
[mint.] A very large quantity or amount, esp. in phr. a
mint of money.
Per. I've got a mint o' Famous pieces, puns, an' quibbles,
Stewart Character (1857) 198. Nhb. A mint o' money, as the folks
say, maun hae been expended upon the fine auld Ha', Jones Nhb.
83. Lakel.2 Cum. What signifies a mint o' gear when we are
baith grown auld ! Gilpin Ballads (1874) 199. n.Yks. He hez a
mint o' brass (T.S.). w.Yks. A fat man with a red necktie, a blue
vest, and a mint of money, Barr Love for an hour, 24 ; w.Yks.'
He's worth a mint o' money. Lan. DAViEsi?ac«s (1856) 236. Nhp.'
Brks.' That chap run zo hard, a gin I a mint o' trouble avoor I
ketched 'un. e.An.12, Cmb. (W.W.S.) e.Suf. There's a mint of
pears on that tree. A mint and all of spear-grass (F.H.). Sur.
(L.J.Y.) Som. Your father have a-made a mint o' promises, Ray-
mond Gent. Upcott (1893) 187. Dev. Butivul 'twas, for certain, an'
cost a mint o' money. Fall Mall Mag. (Apr. 1900) 436. [We are
very good friends to the government, . . for we pay a mint of
money to 'um, Fielding Tom Jones (1749) bk. vii. xiii.]
MINT, sb." Nrf Ken. [mint.] The ' milt,' spleen.
Nrf. Jim had bought a pig's fry. I ate of all parts, the ' nut '
and the mint, Emerson Lagoons (ed. 1896) 76. Ken.'^
MINT, V. and sb.^ Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Lin.
Nhp. e.An. Also written mynt Sc. ; and in forms ment
Cai.' Mry. (Jam.) Abd. ; ?mink e.An.'; munt Cld. (Jam.)
m.Yks.' w.Yks.* ne.Lan.' [mint, ment, munt.] 1. v.
To purpose, intend, aim ; to aim a blow at or strike.
Sc. I will cleave to the brisket the first man that mints another
stroke, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xxv. n.Sc. It's thrice she's minted
to the brand, Buchan Ballads (1828) II. 92, ed. 1875. Abd. They
canna mint to gae here or there afore ithers in playactors' claise,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 82. Ayr. We are like Peter who
minted to his Master on the water, Dickson Sel. Writings (1660) I.
135 , ed. 1845. Slk. It was heezing upon the tae side and myntyng to
whommil me, Hogg 7a/cs(i838) no, ed. 1866. Dmf. Soon at the
Tweed he mints to blaw, Cromek Remains (1810) 152. Kcb.
Jesus is looking up that water, and minting to dwell amongst them,
Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 27. N.I.' ' Mint the gowler,' hit the
dog with a stone or anything. n.Cy. (K.) ; N.Cy.' ; N.Cy.s • To mint
at a thing,' to aim at it, to have a mind to it, Ray(i69i). n.Yks.'*
Nhp.iRare. e.An.i2,Suf.i e.Snf.Iknowwhathe*smintingat(F.H.).
2. To endeavour, attempt ; to venture, dare, presume.
So. And aften mint to make advance, Ramsay Tea-Table Misc.
(1724) I. I, ed. 1871. Bnff. He scarce can mint to close an eie,
Taylor Poems {xi&f) 36. Boh. 'Tis strange what makes kirk-fouks
so stupid ... Or mint to preach in sik a pupit, Forbes Dominie
(1785) 41. Abd. Not minting to follow the enemy, Sfaldinc Hist.
Sc. (1792) II. 249. Frf. Stay, Thimble, ne'er at sic daft projects
mint, MoRisoN Poems (1790) 176. Per. Resting here, O could we
mint To speak o't ill? Stewart Character (1857) 119. s.Sc. If a
nation did but mint To wrang thee ought, T. Scott Poems (1793)
352. Rnf. My e'en are bauld, they dwall on a place. Where I
darena mint my han'. Harp (1819) 161. Ayr. Whene'er I'd mint
my love to hint, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 338. Lnk. To
speak but till her I dare hardly mint, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725)
22, ed. 1783. Lth. [I] clam to the chair-back and minted to preach,
Ballantine Poems (1856) 14. Edb. At a sour look, or correction.
Maun nouther frein nor mint objection, Learmont Foews (nqi)
58. Un. Still used (Hall.). ^ ^ '
MINT(E
[121]
MIRCHY
3. To make a feigned attempt at ; to make a movement
as if to strike a blow but without doing it ; to invent, feign.
Cai.i Mry. Gl.Surv. Qaw.) Atd. Common. ' Dee't an' dinna
mint ' (W.M.) ; Bowin', raise up frae his seat, An' mannerly mintet
to withdraw, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 45. Per. When he the
lasses but came near, And mint'd to kiss, NicoL Poems (1766) 98.
n.Cy. Pretending an indisposition of health, or some other minted
excuse. Two Lan. Lovers (1640) 60 (Hall.). Nht>.' Aa wasn't
gan ti hit him ; aa oney minted at him. n.Yks.^ ; n.Yks.^ He did
not strike me, but he minted at it ; n.Yks." ne.Yks.i They didn't
deea it, bud they minted at it. e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
4. To hint at, to insinuate, suggest ; to hint at by signs ;
to mimic, imitate. Cf ment, v.
Se. We . . . have idiots about us that cannot understand what
we mint at, unless we speak it out in braid Lowlands, Scott Nigel
(1822) xxxiii ; I'm far frae minting that is other than the way that
ye believe it, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xiv. Abd. Forbid 't I sud
mint at that, Maister Tawse, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) x.
Smb. You mint That certain queans were nae sae far ahint, Salmon
Gowodean (1868) loi. Ayr. I didna mint a word about driving him
forth the shop, Galt Entail (1823) xxxviii. Lnk. Her wrangs to
nane she ever mintit, Hamilton Posms (1865) 35. Edb. At lesser
matters now they mint, Har'st Rig (1794) 20, ed. 1801. Wgt.
Wha e'er minted that Meg was ill-faured till noo? Good Wds.
(1881) 403. Nhb.i He nivvor even minteet it ta me. She didn't
dee'd reet oot ; she oney minted at it. n.Yks.'^, ne.Yks.' e.Yks.
Marshall i?M>-. Econ. (1788). m.Yks.^ You should have minted
at it. w.Yks. I know your meaning by your munting, Thoresby
Lett. (1703); HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781); w.Yks.*, ne.Lan.^
Nrf. What are yer minten at ? Cozens- Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 56.
5. sb. An aim, attempt at, effort, endeavour ; a feint, esp.
in phr. to make a mint.
Sc. Lang mint, little dint, Ramsay Prov. (1737^. n.Sc. Nor
made I ever any extraordinary mint to seek God, Wodrow Sel,
Biog. (ed. 1845-7) II. 184. Abd. Wi' kindly ment we stilled his
fear, Murray Hamewith (,1900) 49. Fif. His brother and brother-
in-law . . . making a mint maid the lown toflie, Melvill Autobiog.
( 1610) 273, ed. 1842. Slg. He maketh not a mynt against his enemies,
Bruce Sermons (1631) xii, ed. 1843. Kcb. Making a mint to sow
vengeance among his enemies, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 197.
Nhb.i To ' myek a mint,' is to make an attempt at doing. e.Yks.^
He meead a mint at it, bud nivver framed as if he meeant tT deeah it.
6. Phr. full mint, with a purpose, a will, full speed.
e.Suf. She went at her work full mint (F.H.).
7. A Stroke, blow. Cld. (Jam.)
[1. Myntyn or amyn towarde for to assayen, Prompt.
OE. myntan, to mean, intend, purpose (B.T.). 4. And
toward a myghty mountane hym myntyd with hys fynger,
Wars Alex. (c. 1450) 1089.]
MINT(E, see Ment, v.
MINTY-LEUKIN, adj. Nhb.^ Weedy in appearance.
Them taties 's gye minty-leukin' ; thor no' thrivin'.
MINUA, see Minaway.
MINUTE, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also written minit w.Yks. Lan. Dev. ; minnet Dor. Cor.^ ;
minnit n.Yks.^ e.Yks.' w.Yks. Dev. [mi'nit.] 1. sb. In
phr. (i) a little minute, a moment, minute ; (2) as near as
a minute, as nearly as possible ; (3) in a minute, readily,
willingly, without a moment's hesitation ; (4) not a minute,
not at all ; (5) this minute, at the present moment, now ;
(6) to a minute, accurately, to a T ; (7) to wish one a happy
minute, obs., a complimentary phrase at the end of a letter.
(i) Ken.i2 (2) e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) (3) Sc. (A.W.),
w.Yks. (J.W.), Sur. (L.J.Y.) w.Som.l I'd zend my ploughs for a
day, in a minute, nif I wadn zo a-pushed up. Tell'n I an't a-got
nother one, else I'd let'n ab'm in a minute. (4) w.Som.' I
don't like thick sort, not a minute. (5) Lan. Clemmed to th' death
this minit, Brierley Layrock (1864) ix. Dev. I be acoming
thease minit I Hewett Peas. 5A (1892). (6)Sc.(A.W.) w.Yks.
It's like hur to a minit, Rogers Nan Bunt (1839) 6. Hrf.i (7)
Lan. My most humble service to your Lady, and I wish her a
happy minute, Norris Papers (c. 1680-1707) in Cheth. Soc. Publ.
(1846) No. 9, 35.
2. pi. A short interval of play during schooltime. Also
in comp. Minute-time.
Frf. You got your revenge at ' minutes,' Barrie Tommy (1896)
xiv. Per. Please give the pupils their minutes. When do you
get your minutes? Come an' see us at minute-time (G.W.).
VOL. IV.
3. Anything very small or tiny.
n.Yks.2 w.Yks. Ay, poor little minnit, he"s all skin an' grief
(H.L.). Lel.i Theer's a man at Coonje'son as 'as got iwer sooch
a teeny-toiny little bit o' a beuk, as een't not so big as a minute.
War.2 Mrs. Webb's baby is a little minute ; I shouldn't think it'll
live. Dev. 'Er idden no bigger than a minnit, Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892). Cor.^ Gc«. limited to human beings and the animal creation.
' Have 'ee seen Ann Trembroath's boy ? 'Ees the worse little
minnet I ever seed.'
4. An old-fashioned child.
w.Cor. ' He's a funny little minute.' Common (M.A.C.).
6. pi. In phr. no minutes, see below.
Dor.* Noo minuets!' a warning among boys at marbles; meaning
the player is not to remove small obstacles on the ground, Barnes
Gl. (1863).
6. The first draught of an agreement made in writing.
Sc. Common in the Scottish lavifs : as ' Have ye made a minute
of that contract?' Johnson Diet. (Jam.) Rnf. I have come to a
minutewith the printer, WoDROwCo>Tf5. (1709-31)11.519, ed. 1843.
7. V. To make short notes or make a first draught of a
writing. Sc. (Jam.)
MINVID, MINX, see Mined, Mingse.
MINXIN, adj. Lan. Forward, pert, like a minx.
Hoo wur a honest dacent woman : noan-Iike thee, tha minxin
slut, Lahee Acquitted (1883) 55.
MIOL, see Meowl.
MIPE, v} Chs. Der. Also in form mipus Chs.' [maip ;
on the form mipus see s.Chs.' 8.] To be fastidious or
dainty in eating, to have no appetite for food.
Chs. Mipin' an' mincin'. Sheaf (1878) I. 61 ; Chs.i s Chs.' It
wuz lahyk Ciz iv wot wilz gild uniif- fdr iidhdr foa-ks ee't wo)nii
gild iiniif' fiir uur ; dheeur do mahypt fin min-st til 60 wel'i mai'd
mi ky'eyv tit)th seyt un Cir sau'sinus [It was like as if what was
good enough for other folks eat wonna good enough for her ; theer
hoo miped an' minced till hoo welly made me keive at th' seight
on her sauciness].
Hence Miplin, sb. one who eats daintily. Der.', nw.Der.'
MIPE, v.^ Yks. Also in form moip. [maip.] To pry.
w.Yks. I moiped into t'backyard i' search ov a prop, Hallam
Wadsley Jack {1866) v\ \ T'foaks couldn't hely [s!'c] raoipin' after
'em, each surmoizin' summat, ib. ii; w.Yks.' Beggars are said to
go miping and piming about a house.
MIPPETS, sb. S.Lin. A small child, a very little boy
or girl. (I.W.)
MIRACLE, sb. and v. Sc. Also in forms meracle
Fif. ; merrigle Cai.' ; miraikle, mirakkle Sh.I. ; mirdkel
S. & Ork.' [mira'kl.] \. sb. An object of amazement ;
a ridiculous spectacle, a mockery.
Sh.L Man, if we'd been in a close [crowded] neeberhid we'd be
miraikles, Sh. News (.Oct. 15, 1898) ; S. & Ork.i Mirakel, [with]
accent on second syllable, the a long and broad.
2. A contemptuous term for a mischievous boy. Also
used attrib.
Cai.' A witless merrigle. Twa-three merrigle boyags.
3. A large quantity.
Ayr. We bought a miracle of useful things for the manse, Galt
Ann. Parish (1821) vi.
4. V. To wonder, to be astonished. Fif. (J.B.)
5. To tease, torment, hurt.
Sh.I. I'll laern dee ta fling staens an mirakkle da par bits o
geese! Bufgess Lowra Biglan (i8g6) 24.
MIRACULOUS, adj. and adv. Sc. Yks. Also written
miraculus Yks.; and in forms mira'clous Sc; mirak'Ious
n.Yks.* [m3ra'k(8)l3s.] 1. adj. Wild, eccentric ; reck-
less, venturesome, careless ; very drunk.
Sc. (A.W.) Yks. Whin a mon's droonk he's miraculus and mad.
Fetherston T. Goorkrodger {iB'jo) 35; One who in ungovernable
passion gives way to antics, is said to be in a miraculous state
(C.C.R.). n.Yks.* He's a bit mirak'Ious wiv a gun. He carried
on iv a strange mirak'Ious way at the fire.
2. Of a child : lively, mischievous, precocious.
n.Yks.* He war awlus a mirak'Ious kind ova lad. ne. Yks.' He's
a miraklous young jockey. There's neea badness aboot him, bud
he's a bit miraklous.
3. Clumsy, helpless. Cai.' 4. adv. Excessively, very.
Lnk, The hale lot in a body Had got themsel's mira'clous fu',
Thomson Musings (1881) 175.
MIRCHY, see Murchy.
R
MIRD
[122]
MIRK
MIRD, sb} Sh.I. Nhb. [mird.] An accumulation ; a
close-packed and confused crowd ; a muddle.
Sh.I. There is a perfect 'mird ' of youngsters to be seen infesting
tlie streets every night, A'. Chron. (Jan. 22, 1895) 3, col. 4 ; S. &
Ork.i MS. add. Nhb.' The creature made a complete mird of it.
MIRD, V. and sb.'^ Sc. [mird.] 1. v. Obs. To
meddle, intermeddle.
Sc. Wi' lasses I ne'er mean to mird or to mell, Jamieson Pop.
Ballads (1806) II. 335. Abd. 'Tis nae to mird wi' unco fouk, ye
see, Nor is the blear drawn easy o'er their e'e, Ross Hdenore
(1768) 100, ed. 1812.
2. To attempt, venture.
Abd. He squeel'd to her like a young gyte But wad na mird to
gang Back a' that day, Skinner Poems (1809) 3. Lnk. Cauld i'
the clay Ere a sang or a word i' their praise will mird, Hamilton
Poems (ed. 1885) 104.
3. To make amorous advances ; to coax, to fawn upon one.
Sc. For yesternight nae farther gane . . . He there wi' Meg was
mirdin' seen, Chambers Sngs. (1829) II. 494. Ayr. Aye, ye dinna
mird about her for naething (Jam.). Dmf. Mird wi' your maiks, ye
smatchet (ib.).
Hence Mirding, ppl. adj. coaxing, fawning.
Abd. Wi' nae bit mirdin' mate to cheer thee, Shelley Flowers
(1868) 183. Ayr. (Jam.)
4. sb. Flattery, coaxing.
Slk. Donald was mumpit wi' mirds and mockery, Hogg Poems
(ed. 1865) 419.
MIRE, sb. and v} Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
written myre- Lnk.; and in forms mwire se.Wor. , myer
Wm. [mair, mai'3(r.] 1. sb. A bog, swamp ; wet,
boggy land.
Sh.I. Cut his own peats, and carried them home from' the mires,
Clark N. Gleams (1898) 18 ; He flew like thought, over peats,
banks, and mires, and everything, Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 61.
Ayr. So ran the far-famed Roman way, So ended in a mire. Burns
On the Seat of hard Galloway, No. 3. La.kel.^ Found in place
names, as The Mire, Pelutho Mire, Mire Side ; Lakel.^ Shap Mires.
n.Yks.i Frequent in local names, as Pundermire, Tranmire, &c.
Dev. The large marshes, or as they are very properly called, mires
of Dartmoor, Bray Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) I. lett. 19 ;
Certain quaking bogs undermine the ground half-way, and it would
be a sorry commencement to the day's work to be ' stugged in a
mire,' as the moor-men have it. Page Explor. Dartmoor (1889) v ;
No plough will ever go through ' those mires,' or peat-filled vales,
Cornh. Mag. (Nov. 1887) 508. nw.Dev.i
Hence Mire-side, sb. the side or edge of a bog or swamp.
Lnk. Had I no, bie chanss, cum here, I had died at sum myre-
syd, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (Scenary ed.) 720.
2. Cotnp. (i) Mire-crow, the black-headed gull, Larus
rudibundus ; (2) -drum, the bittern, Botaurus stellaris ; (3)
-drumbler, the snipe, Gallinago coelestis; (4) -duck, the
wild duck. Anas boscas ; (5) -snipe, {a) see (3) ; (b) fig. a
person with hard features ; (c) an accident ; misfortune ;
(d) in phr. to catch a mtre- snipe, to get into a bog, to 'mire'
oneself.
(i) Cor. RoDD Birds (1880) 315. [Swainson Birds (1885) 209;
Forster Swallows (ed. 1817) 92.] (2) n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.12 Nhb.i
Now a rare, casual visitant. Lakel.^ A bird frequenting swampy
and miry wastes, in which it kept up a continuous drumming
sound. Cum. Hutchinson Hist. Cum. (1794) I. App. 18; Cum.^
Wra. Hullet, herrensue, or miredrum, Hutton Bra« New Wark
(1785) 1. 337. nw.Der.i Nrf. Grose (1790). Suf.'^ Cor. Rood
Birds (1880) 315. [Forster Swallows (ed. 1817) 83.] (3) Stf.
Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) (4) Frf. Swainson ib. 156. Cum."
(5, a) Cai.i Abd. Swainson ih. 192. Edb. Nor ne'er a miresnipe
in the fen, LiDDLE Poc»i5 (1821) 145. Nhb.i (A) Bnff.i A' nivver
saw sic a mire-snipe o' a craitur o' a wifEe's he's gotten, (c) Cai.
I met wi' a miresnipe (Jam.), (d) Slk. itb.')
3. Phr. to be one as deep in the mud as the other in the mire,
to be much the same, to be ' six of one and half a dozen
of the other.'
War.3 Lei.i Theer 'evn't a pin to chewse atwixt 'em : wan's as
bad as t'oother; wan's as dip i' the mood as t'oother i' the moire.
4. V. To bedaub or cover with mud. Also with up.
Cum. Richardson Talli (1876) 2nd S. 35. se.Wor.i
5. To stick fast in mud ; gen. in pp.
Sc. (A.W.) Cum. I've often knawn cattle get mired in a creyke
(E. W. P. ). Wm. Myert in a peeat pot, tummalt intet Boondry Dyke,
Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 10. Ken. By the great distance between
the wheels, the load is more easily drawn across sloughs, the
four, unless where sloughs are very wide, being seldom mired
at the same time, Marshall ifci/^te; (1817) V. 486. Sns. (S.P.H.)
6. Fig. To entangle in a dispute.
Sc. The gentleman is mired, and seems not to know well what
to plead for himself, Magopico (ed. 1B36) 24 ; They finding them-
selves mired, stood not to deny it. Shield Society Contendings
(1780) 194 (Jam.). Ayr. An' in the depth of science mir'd. Burns
Lett, to J. Tennant, 1. 14.
MIRE, v.'^ Obsol. Glo. Suf To wonder ; to admire.
GI0.12 e.Suf. Used by the old only (F.H.).
[Heere but alas he myred what course may be warelye
taken, Stanyhurst Aeneid (1582) iv. 292 (Dav.).]
MIRE, MIRE-BLOB, see Mear, sb., Mare-blob.
MIRET,s6. Cor. [mirst] The common tern, S/«r«a
fluviatilis.
Swainson Birds (1885) 203 ; Rodd Birds (1880) 315. e.Cor.
(M.A.C.)
MIRGE, sb. Sh.I. [mirg.] A multitude, swarm.
S. & Ork.i Cf. mird, sb>
[Cp. ON. merg'S, multitude (Vigfusson).]
MIRK, adj., sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Lin. War. Won Hrf. Glo. e.Cy. s.Cy. Also written mark
w.Yks. e.Cy. s.Cy. ; mirke n.Yks. ; murk Sc. N.Cy.^
Lakel.2 Cum.^ Wm. n.Yks.^^ m.Yks.^ w.Yks.'* ne.Lan.^
s.Lan. Lin.' e.Cy. s.Cy. ; and in forms mark Sc. ; mork
Nhb.; muck- s. Won' Glo.i [mark, mak.] \. adj. Dark,
gloomy, obscure, dusky.
Sc. We have met at the mirk hour before now, Scott Rob Roy
(1817) xxxiv; A mirk mirrour is a man's mind, Ray Prov. (1678)
358. Sh.I. My head taen aboot i' da cauld mirk muld, Stewart
Tales (1892) 42; S. & Ork.' MS. add. ne.Sc. The lift was mark,
The nicht was dark, Green Gordonhaven (1887) 52. Cai.' Mry,
Hay Lintie (1851) 81. Bch. By this time it wis growing mark,
Forbes Jm. (1742) 6. Abd. It was sae mark, that i' the dark
He tint his vera sheen, Cock Strains (1810) II. 120. Kcd. The
room was quiet noo an' mirk, Burness Thrummy Cap (c. 1796)
I. 277. Frf. Smart Rhymes (1834) 81. Per. Ford Harp (1893)
136. w.Sc. The mirker the night The mair you let out your vast
volume o' hght, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 258. Flf. The
vera wind o' siccan werk Blew down the mouse-webs black and
mirk, Tennant Papistry (1827) 197. Slg. Some e'enin' whan it's
mirk. They'll coup the bell-house aff the kirk, MuirPo«>«s(i8i8)
22. s.Sc. I couldna . . . keep twa human creatures pleading for
shelter ... in a mirk nicht like this, Wilson Tales (1839) ^- 47-
Dmb. Salmon Gowodean (1868) 31. Rnf. Pjcken Poems (1813) I.
97. Ayr. Wannerin'oot into the mirk nicht, Service Dr. Duguid
(ed. 1887) 255. Lnk. Far ower the loch an' the mirk lanely
wuds, Hamilton Poems (1865) 151. Lth. Bruce Poems (1813)
II. 165. Edb. Eild murk clouds will fa' o'er The aim o' his e'e,
Maclagan Poems (1851) 223. Hdg. They culd not tell, because
the nicht was mirk, Ritchie St. Baldred (1883) 231. Bwk. This
is like Wilton kirk. It's baith narrow and mirk. And can only
haud its ain parish folk, Henderson Pop. Rliymes (1856) 40. Peb.
Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 138. Slk. Thro' the wild sughing
hours o' the mirk nichts o' winter, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856)
III. 86. Gall. The Hft has aft been mirk for you. The nicht fu'
dark and lane, Gallovidian (1900) II. 76. Kcb. Armstrong /k^/s-
5/^6(1890)36. n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; (K.) ; N.Cy.2 Nhb. Even i'
this cloudy an' mirk day, Jones Nhb. 165 ; Nhb.i Aa canna see,
it's se mirk. Cum. That murk neet 'at knock't his joys i' t'heed,
Gilpin Pop. Poetry (1875) 204 ; Cum.' Cum., Wm. Nicolson
(1677) Trans. R. Soc. Lit. (1868) IX. n.Yks. Weese git a battin
and a burden-rape, Though it be mirke, weese late it out by grape,
Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 5. n.Yks.^^, m.Yks.i w.Yks.' I
mopt up into a mirk ginnel, ii. 356; w.Yks.* Murk i' th' eemin.
n.Lan.', ne.Lan.' Lin. Skinner (1671).
Hence (i) Mirkins, (2) Mirklin(g)s, adv. in the dark ;
(3) Mirkness, sb. darkness ; (4) Mirksome, adj. somewhat
dark ; (5) Mirky, adj. dark, gloomy, dusky ; of the
weather : dark and muggy ; also used advb.
(i) n.Cy. Grose (1790). (2) n.Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.2 e.Cy., s.Cy.
Ray (1691). (3) Sc. The folk wha sat in mirkness saw great
licht, Henderson St. Matt. (1862) iv. 16. Abd. They part . . .
through the mirknessof the night, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 289.
Slk. Then mirkness set over his e'en, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865)
289. Wm. The mirkness of the neet, Hutton Bran New IVark
(1785) !• 34°- (4) Sh.I. It's mirksim daanderin da nicht. Burgess
Rasmie (1892) 70. Dmf. A hoolit's skraich i' the mirksome e'en.
MIRK
[123]
MIRR
Reid Poems (1894) 182, ne.Lan.^ (5) Elg. In the mirky hour o'
nicht, Tester Poems (1865) 176. Bnff. Gordon Chron. Keith
(1880) 303. Per. Ae mirky nicht, when winds blew cauld, Ford
Harp (1893) 378. Fif. Mirky clouds in th' afternoon Come
stowfin' up the west, Tennant Papistry {iSs-j) 98. Rnf. Young
Pictures (1865) 14. Ayr. Ae cauld November mirky nicht. White
Jottings (1879) 319. Lth. Macneill Poet. Wis. (1801) 147, ed.
1856. Edb. Learmont Poems (1791) 4. Hdg. The mirkiest hour
— whan there's nae mune — Precedes the daw', Lumsden Poenis
(1896) 94. Rxb. Though the night was mirky dark, W. Wilson
Poems (1824) 16. Dmf. Johnstone Poems (1820) 104. Kcb. The
gloomy shadows o' mirky nicht Are banished by endless day,
Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 90. Nhb. Ye canna dee that iv a
mirky night, Jones Nhb. 126. m.Yks.i, ne-Lan."- s.Lan. I call
him murky because of his sullen temper. He's murky enough by
the looks of him, Bamford Traveller (1844) 47. Lin.*, War.'^
Hrf.l A mirky day, mirky weather. Glo.'-
2. Comp. (i) Mirk-dim, dark, gloomy ; (2) -drife, a fine
driving snow or mist ; (3) -Monanday or Monday, obs.,
a particularly dark Monday, see below ; (4) -night, mid-
night, the darkest hour of the night ; (5) -shot, -shut, or
•shet, twilight, dusk.
(i) Hdg. City streets, mirk-dim wi' smeak, Lumsden Poems
(1896) 22. (2) Lakel.2 When fair's as full 0' snow as an egg's
full o' meat, an' t'winds driven an' whirlen 't aboot e' o' directions
at yance. Wm. (J.M.) (3) Sc. In 1652 a total eclipse of the
sun . . . happened, . . on Monday, the 24th of March, which
hence received the appellation of Mirk Monday, Edb. Review
(June 1818) 29; But EUangowan ! that had been a name amang
them since the mirk Monanday and lang before, Scott Guy M.
(1815) vi. Dmf. They were wat by the priest i' the mirk
Monday week, Cromek i?«»!«ms (1810) 115; Mirk Monday was
a day of almost total darkness and is frequently counted from as
an era, ib. note, (4) Sc. They wad never think of his lordship
coming back till mirk night, Scorr Bride of Lam. (1819) ix. n.Sc.
Gordon Carglen (1891) 53. n.Yks.''^ (5) s.Wor. At muckshot,
OuTis Vig, Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (1896) ; s.Wor.' Glo. Horae
Subsecivae (1777) 279; Lewis Gl. (1839); Grose (1790); Many
a night when I gode over the hill after mirkshut did I see poor
Sam's candle a-burning, Gissing Both of this Par. (1889) I. loi ;
Gl. (1851); GI0.12
3. sb. Darkness, gloom ; the close of the day, night.
So. He's throw the dark, and throw the mark, Jamieson Pop.
Ballads (1806) I. 83. Sh.I. Troo death's mirk gaen hame, Nae
evil I'll dread, J.H. Da Last Foy (1896) 6 ; I da mirk dan haem-
wird wid we slunk, Burgess Rasmie (1892) 105. Cai.' Usually
limited to the latter part of evening twilight. Mry. They thun-
der'd alang through the mirk o' the nicht. Hay Liniie (1851) 58.
Boh. At mark o' th' night, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 33. Abd. Mirk
o'ertak' the gloamin', Murray Hamewith (1900) 41. Frf. Lowson
GuidfoUow (1890) 241. Per. He once . . . Could spanged wide
ditches in the mirk, Spence Poems (1898) 76. Slg. Galloway
Poems (1804) 60. Dmb. How your deft haun' can help the mirk
to clear, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 66. Rnf. Yet much the Lord
has hid in mirk, IWGilvray Poems (ed. 1862) 340. Ayr. Thou
would be found deep drown'd in Doon ; Or catch'd wi' warlocks
in the mirk. Burns Tam o' Shanter (1790) 1. 30. Lnk. The gloomy
mirk that night a storm foretold, Ewing Poems (1893) 14. Lth.
Reckless ay o' prayer or kirk. Ye ply your sinfu' wark till mirk,
Macneill Poet. Wks. (1801) 168, ed. 1856. Edb. The song of
soaring lark Which makes the day glide smooth till mirk, Liddle
Poems (1821) 170. Bwk. At mirk we took oor ways, Calder
Poems (1897) 118. Dmf. But the sun thro' the mirk, blinks blythe
in my ee, Cromek Remains (1810) 170. Gall. But never slow at
morn or mirk was our Aunt Jean, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895)
xxiii. Ir. Nowhere else, one imagines, does mirk swooping from
overhead so mingle with mirk striking up from underfoot.
Barlow Idylls (1892) 182. Nhb. Sittin' in t'mirk all by yersel' !
Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 160; 'Twixt the mork and the
m'yunleet wes nittin' a stockin', Chater Tyneside Aim. (1886) 8.
Cum. At it frae mwornin till murk, Dickinson Cumbr. (1876) 249.
Wm. He was cumin heaam just ith mirk, Wheeler Dial. (1790)
50. m.yks.' w.Yks. HuTTON ToKc^o Ca»M (1781).
4. V. To darken, overcast ; also usedjig.
Sc. Where saughs and osiers mirk the face o' day. Poet. Museum
(1784) 45 (Jam.). Lnk. In my he'rt love's licht Is mirked by
sorrow's nicht, Thomson Leddy May (1883) 4. Edb. Their sordid
sauls Mirk't Britain's glory, Learmont Poems (1791) 23. e.Cy.,
s.Cy. ' To be merk'd,' to be troubled or disturbed in one's mind, to
be startled, Ray (1691). s.Cy. Grose (1790).
Hence Mirkin, sb. darkness, nightfall. Also in //.
S. & Ork.i MS. add. m.Yks.i
MIRKLES, sb. pi. Or.I. The radicle leaves of the sea-
weed, Fucus esculenius. S. & Ork.'
MIRKNING, sb. and ppl. adj. Sc. Also in form
mirkinnen Sh.I. 1. sb. Twilight, dusk. See Mirk.
Sh.I. I aye keep a sherp e'e aboot me in da mirkinnen whin I'm
just passin' crub-dykes, Stewart Tales (1892) 6 ; Shii cam' in trow
ta da fire i' da mirknin', Sh. News (Oct. 15, 1898) ; S. & Ork.'
Ayr. Ae simmer e'en baith wale an' trig, About the mirkning,
Fisher Poems (1790) 102.
2. ppl. adj. Darkening, growing dark.
Ayr. The clachan lichts begin to blink ayont the mirkning brae,
Edwards Mod. Poets, 5th S. 185.
MIRKY, adj. Sc. Also written murkie. [msTki.]
Merry, gay, light-hearted.
Bch. 'Tis mirkie as a maukin at the start, Forbes Jrn. (1742) 17.
Abd. Wi' dimpled cheeks an' mirky mou' That seems to say, 'Come,
kiss me now,' Walker Bards Bon-Accord {iSSq) 369 ; The lassies
sae mirky are a' at their play, Davidson Poems (1861) 57. Frf.
Shou'd some blyth murkie lassie tak your e'e, Ye'd change your
tale, MoRisoN Poems (1790) 190. Fif., s.Sc. (Jam.)
[Mirk- (murk-) is probably a form of OE. myrge, niyrige,
pleasant (E. merry)I\
MIRL, v> Sh.I. Also written mirrl. [mirl.] To
move rapidly round ; to dance ; also trans, to move with
quick vibratory motion, to vibrate. See Mirr.
Da stars wis mirlin' i' da lift. Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 64 ;
He pointid at da yow an' lamb lyin' apon his fore knees sookin'
awa' an' mirrlin' his tail, Sh. News (May 5, 1900) ; S. & Ork.'
MIRL, V?- ? Obs. n.Cy. Cum. To pine, grieve. n.Cy.
(Hall.) Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 308.
MIRL, see Murl, v.^
MIRL(E, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Also written meril-, merl-
Slk. [mirl, marl.] 1. v. To become spotted, to speckle.
Bnff.i, Per., Cld. (Jam.) Cf. marl, v.^ Hence (i) Mirlet
or Mirlit, ppl. adj., (2) Mirly, adj. variegated, speckled,
spotted; (3 ) Mirly-breasted, ai^'. having a speckled breast.
(i) Cld. There ware an' hairst ilk ither hawse . . . an' spread
their robe o' mirlet hues Outover fell and lee, Edb. Mag. (Oct.
1818) 329 (Jam.). Slk. Hir culoris was the merilit heuis, Hogg
Poems (ed. 1865) 172; Merlit seas, ib. Queen's JVake (1813) 175.
(2) Sc. The mavis droops his mirly crest. Life ofW. Wiggle (iSoS)
lo. Per. The throstle's maiden hymn Wells freely frae his mirly
breast, Ford Harp (1893) 361. w.Sc. What woe gars thee sit
mourning here below And rive thy mirley breast ? A. Wilson
Poetns (1790) 188 (Jam.). Lnk. The wee mirly birds, Macdonald
Poems (1865) 25. Ant. A mirly hen, Ballymena Obs. (1892). (3)
Rnf. She spreads her early blossom ; And wooes the mirly-breasted
birds To nestle in her bosom, Tannahill Poems (1807) 151 (Jam.).
2. sb. A crumb. Sc. Brown Diet. (1845). 3. pi. The
measles. Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 157. Abd.
(Jam.)
MIRLIGO, sb. Sc. Also written merligo, mirlego,
mirlygo ; and in form merrilygo. [ma'rligo.] 1. pi.
Dizziness, vertigo affecting the sight, disordered vision.
Gen. in phr. in the mirligoes. See Mirl, v}
Sc. My head's sae dizzy -wi' the mirligoes, Scott Old Mortality
(1816) xxviii ; Strak him i' the bree That made ilk ee Dance i' the
merrily-goes most merrily! Drummond Muckomachy (1846) 45.
Frf. The merligoes are yet before your e'en, Morison Poems
(1790) 134. Fif. His e'en bein' in the mirligoes Ae single styme
afore his nose They could na see for glaiks, Tennant Papistry
(1827) 175. e.Fif. Are my een i' the mirligoes ? or what? Latto
Tam Bodkin {\86a,') i\. e. Lth. My held was in the mirligoes -a'
thing gaed soomin roun' aboot me, Hunter/. /kwi'cA (1895) 70.
Edb. My own een began to reel with the merligoes, Moir Mansie
Wauch (1828) xxii ; Some kittle cantrip thrown, I ween, Has
bound in mirlygoes my ain twa e'en, Fergusson Poems (1773) 195,
ed. 1785.
2. A small upright spinning-wheel.
Rnf. So called from the quickness of its motion (Jam.).
MIRR, V. and sb. Sh.I. 1. v. To tremble, thrill ; to
vibrate. S. & Ork.' Cf. mirl, v.'^ Hence Mirrin', sb.
vibration, trembling.
Dat's da mOnie 'at ye're cut noo. . . I ken be da mirrin' 'at's i'
da yow's legs, Sh. News (Jan. 13, 1900).
R 2
MIRRAN
[124]
MISCARRIAGE
2. sb. A vibration, tremor ; the waving of the air upon a
very hot day.
I very wye 'at ye luikid da simmer mirr wis dancin' afore your
e'en, Sk. News (July 22, 1899).
MIRRAN, MIRRL, see Meeran, Mirl, v}
MIRRORING-GLASS, sb. Yks. [Not knovirn to our
correspondents.] A mirror, looking-glass.
w.Yks. A'se ne'er got a mirroring-glass for t'see mysen in,
Gaskell Sylvia (1863) I. vi.
MIRROT, sb. Sth. Rs. (Jam.) The carrot, Daucus
carota. Cf. meeran.
[Cp. Swr. morot, carrot (Widegren) ; Dan. morod, wild
carrot (Larsen).]
MIRRUP, see Nirrup.
MIRSGIM, sb. Cai.' [mirzgim.] The angler-fish,
Lophius piscatorius.
MIRTH, see Merth.
MIRTLE, V. Obs. w.Yks.^ To crumble, waste away.
[Bothe Mawhownus & maumettes myrtild in peces,
Dest. Troy (c. 1400) 4312 ; cp. LG. inurten, murtjen,
'zerreiben, zermalmen, zerkleinern' (Berghaus).]
MISACKER, V. Sh.I. To injure seriously. Cf. mis-
saucher.
I micht a been raisackered for a' my days, Stewart Ta/cs (1892) 4.
MISAGAFT, ppl. adj. ? Obs. s.Cy. Sus. Also in form
misagift Sus.^^ Mistaken, misgiven.
s.Cy. Grose (1790). Sus. Ray (1691) ; (K.) ; Yabe misagaftan
ef ya think as I wol ge ya brenclieese and beer far naun, Jackson
Southward Ho (1897) I. 250; Sus.^^
MISAGREE, V. Sus. [misagrr.] To disagree.
I dOant misagree ter partin wud un, onny I be dubersome ef ya
wol ge me money anuf, Jackson Southward Ho (1894) I. 433 ;
Sus.i I doant see how anyone can be off from misagreeing with
these here people next door.
MISANTER, see Mishanter.
MIS AUNTER, sb. Lakel. Yks. Also in form misanter
w.Yks. [miso'nt3r,misa'nt3(r).] A misadventure, mishap.
Cf. miscanter, mishanter.
Lakel.2 n.Yks.^ Full o' mishaps an' misaunters. w.Yks. (C.W.D.)
[Mysawnter or myscheve, infortunium, Prompt. ; see
Aunter.]
MISBEET, V. Sc. [misbrt.] To disarrange, mis-
assort, mis-match. See Beet, v.
Sc. To misbeet a web is to tie up the wrong bundles of warp and
weft in giving it out to the weaver (Jam. SuppL); Wise as he
was he couldna help himsel when he got his web ra\sh&\., Deacon's
Day, Whistle Binkie, I. 273 {ib.). Lnk. The yarn misbet . . . The
dressing box a broken shaid, M^Indoe Poems (1805) 10.
MISBEGOT, sb. and adj. Sc. Yks. Som. Cor. Also in
form misbegotten Sc. Cor. [mi"sbigot(sn.] 1. sb. An
illegitimate child.
e.Yks.i w.Som.i 'Who's child is that?' 'Oh! her's a poor
little misbegot, what I've a-got to keep vor zomebody.'
2. adj. Illegitimate.
Ayr. A sorry, poor, misbegot son of the Muses, Burns Sketch
insc. to Fox, 1. 15. Edb. His ain bairns, a wheen misbegotten
whalps, Beatty Secreiar (1897) 191. w.Som.^ Cor. If . . . the
child was ' misbegotten,' . . the stone would not move, Hunt Pop.
Rom w.Eng. (1865) 179, ed. 1896.
MISBEGOWK, sb. Sc. A deception, disappointment.
Cf begowk.
A sair misbegowk, Stevenson Weir of Hermiston (1896') v.
MISBEHOLDEN, adj. Sc. Yks. Lan. e.An. Also in
forms misbehadden, misbehaden Sc. ; misbehodden
w.Yks.' ne.Lan.' ; misbeholding e.An.' [See pp. of Hold.]
1. Offensive, ill-natured, disobliging; uncomely, out of
place. Gen. used of speech.
Sc. Frae that day, as lang as she lived, she never said a misbe-
haden word to Jamie, Sc. Haggis, 79. SI1.I. Derno a misbehadden
yackle [molar] in her mooth, Sh. News (Jan. 29, 1898). n.Sc.
' Misbehadden geit,' a child that is very ill-trained (Jam.). Slk.
The first that says a misbehadden word, Hogg Tales (1838) 622,
ed. 1866. w.Yks.' I nivver gav him another misbehodden word, ii.
294. ne.Lan.' e.An.' I never gave her one misbeholding word.
e.Suf. (F.H.)
2. Beholden, indebted.
w. Yks.Am nusn ban ta bi misbi-odsn tul im (J. W.). e.Suf. (F.H.)
MISBELIEF, sZ>. Obs. Sc. Unbelief.
Misbelief, said I, should go to hell, Memoirs (1680) i, ed. 1846.
MISBELIEVE, v. Sc. Yks. Som. [misbili'v.] 1. To
disbelieve, doubt.
Sh.I. Lass, A'm no misbelievin' dee, Sh. News (Nov. 17, 1900).
Abd. Glower as I wad, misbelievin' my ain e'en, open that door
did, Macdonald Castle Warlock (1882) xiii. Lnk. It gars me
grieve To hear ye doot an' misbelieve Oor ministers, Coghill
Poems (1890) 28. w.Yks. A duant misbillv wot ja sea, am siu3(r)
(J.W.). Som. Oh, I don't misbelieve you (G.W.L.). w.Som.i I
don't misbelieve it a minute, I've a zeed purty near the same
thing, manies o' times.
2. To misunderstand. n.Yks.'^, m.Yks.'
MISBODEN, />/>. Obs. N.Cy.' Injured.
[Or who hath yow misboden, or offended, Chaucer
C. T. A. 909. OE. misbeodan, to ill-use (Chron. 1083) ; ON.
misbjbda ( Vigfusson).]
MISCALL, V. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Stf. Lin. Lei.
Won Glo. Som. Also in forms misca Sc. Bnft? Nhb.'
Cum.'; miscaa Sc. ; misco Cum.'^; miscoe ne.Lan.'
[misk^-l, -k93l, Sc. -ka'.] 1. To abuse, call names, rail
at, speak evil of; to scold ; to mahgn, misrepresent.
Sc. I aye took your part when folk miscaa'd ye, Scott St. Ronan
(1824) xiv. Sh.I. A' her lang life been misca'ed an' abused,
Stewart Tales (1892) 113. ne.Sc. I canna bide to hear him mis-
ca'd. Grant Keckleton, 38. Cai.i Elg. Why will ye storm, dirt-
eatin' worm, An' other creeds misca' yet? Tester Po«»«5 (1865)
119. Bnff.i Bch. They began to misca ane anither like kail- wives,
Forbes_/Vk. (1742) 17. Abd. I'm sure I owe them thanks that
they Did ne'er misca't, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 348. Kcd. The
man wha'd misca' them Deserves^an' sae fa' him — A cudgel to
wallop his hide. Grant Lays (1884) 145. Frf. He misca'd them a'
up hill an' doon dale for cooards an' landlubbers, WiLLOCK/foseWj'
Ends (1886) 187, ed. 1889. Per. Howking thro' the Bible for ill
words tae misca yir ain fouk wi', Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895)
75. Fif. Shejaw'd them, misca'd them For clashin', claikin' haips,
Douglas Poems (1806) 125. s.Sc. She maybe tak' the dorts an'
misca' him, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 58. Dmb. If she hadna had
the sense to misca' me weel. Cross Disruption (1844) v. Rnf. I'll
lea't to men wha by profession Misca' Auld Nick, Webster i?AyOT«s
(1835) 26. Ayr. They mortally affronted the toun by miscaaing
the gude steeple, Galt Lairds (1826) xxiii. Lnk. The laddies used
to pit her into terrible raptures, when they misca'ed her and took
to their heels, Fraser Whaups ( 1895) 160. Lth. They never cease
Sadly to misca' him, M'NEiLLP?-e5/o« (c. 1895) 114. Edb. Fishers
and fleshers they miscall'd him, Fennecuik Wks. (1715) 392, ed.
1815. Dmf. There's a heap he can say to his mither, A fremit
wife would but misca', Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 196. Gall.
I'm no miscaain' onybody, Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 268.
Kcb. There is some pining and mismannered hunger that maketh
me miscall and nickname Christ as a changed Lord, Rutherford
Lett. (1660) No. 108. Wgt. Fie ! don't misca' him wi' sic names
Juist fair afore his face, Fraser Poems (1885) 156. N.Cy.', Nhb.'-
Cum. Tib misca'd him day and neeght, Stagg« Misc. Poems (ed.
1807) 88; Cum.i ; Cnm.^ We're meast tean wi' them 'at oor frinds
meast misco', 181. n.Yks.^'' Lan. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.)
ne.Lan.'^ Stf. He miscalled her all o'er the plaas, Murray Joseph's
Coa< (1882) 242. n.Lin. I wean't forgie her fer mis-calling Bill,
Peacock Tales (1890) 21. Lei.i They threaten, mis-call, scoff at
us. w.Wor.i Many's the time I've chattered 'un well fur gettin'
the drink, an"e's never miscalled me for it. s.Wor.i Glo. But none
of we want to miscall the man, Gissing Vill. Hampden (1890) III. i ;
(A.B.) ; Glo.i w.Som.i You miscall me like that again, that's all !
2. To mispronounce in reading, to read imperfectly.
Cai.', Bnff.i Abd. Woe to the loun that a word wad mi:
Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 205.
Hence Miscaer, sb. one who reads imperfectly.
Bnflf.i He's an unco miscaer fin he reads : he's deein' na
at a' at the squeel.
MISCANTER, sb. and v. Lakel. Yks. 1. sb. A mis-
adventure, mischance. Cf. misaunter, mishanter.
Cum. Oft by miscanter this way led. The nighted traveller's
seen A frightful ghaist, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 75 ; Cum.'
w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781). n.Lan.i, ne.Lan.i
2. V. To fail, miscarry, to be disappointed in an under-
taking. Lakel.'^, Cum.'
MISCARRIAGE, sb. Sc. Yks. Also in form mis-
cairrage Sc. 1. A misfortune.
Lnk.Ikent... o'yourmiscairriage, Thomson icrfrfvJI/flji(i883) 103.
misca ,
' nae gueede
MISCASUALTY
[125]
MISCHIEVOUS
2. Misconduct, misbehaviour.
Abd. To Holland goes he, leaving his father sorrowful for his
lewd miscarriage, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 292 ; Marriage . . .
was design'd ... to screen some haverel's miscarriage, Caden-
HEAD Bon-Accord (1853) 213. n.Yks. As obeying an Order made
at last Sessions, and alsoe for his miscarriage in the face of the
Court, Quarter Sess. Rec. (Jan. 14, 1642) in N. R. Rec. Sac. IV. 220.
MISCASUALTY.sA. lObs. e.An.^ An unlucky accident.
MISCAUN, sb. Irel. Also written miscawn Clr. ; and
in forms mescaun s.Don. ; .?miscaum In; miskin n.Ir.
Ant. ; muskawn Wxf.' [misk9'n.] A lump of butter.
Ir. She got the largest miscaun of butter, Yeats Flk. Tales (1888)
271 ; I sink the base allusion to the miscaum of fresh butter,
Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) 141. n.Ir. Plates wir heap'd
high up with mislcins Av butter, an' praties, an' beef. Lays and
if^. (1884) 71. Ant. The well-known three-sided lump of butter
which is sold at markets, and known as lump butter, Ballymena
Obs. (1892); We notice a miscaun of butter, Hume Z)«a/. (1878)
24. S.Bon. The popular name of the great cam on the top of
Knocknaree Hill, near Sligo, is Miscaun Maire [Queen Maire's
butter-roll], Simmons Gl. (1890). Wxf.^ Aar was a muskawn n'
buthther, 94. Clr. She tauntingly replied that his large oatcake,
his quarter of beef, and his ' miscawn ' of butter would amply suffice
a better man, N. & Q. (1854) ist S. x. 505.
[Ir. miosgdn, a small disii of butter (O'Reilly).]
MISCHANCY, adj. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nlib. Cum. Also
written mischauncy Nhb. [mistja'nsi.] Unlucky ; risky,
dangerous ; mischievous.
Cal.^ Bnff.i He wiz at a gey mis-chancy ploy. Abd. Lang did
I keep it as a powerfu' charm Against the wiles o' thir mischancy
faes. Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 566. Cld. (Jam.) Edb.
In case the flames should, by ony mischancy accident or other,
happen to break out again, MoiR Mansie IVauch (1828) xix. Lth.
(Jam.) Ir. Last week I got laid up wid this mischancy could,
Barlow Lisconnel (1895) 210. N.Cy.' Applied to a horse or other
animal frequently getting into scrapes. Nhb. It seems wonderful
what mischauncy ways I had wi' the bits 0' linin's and easy things
ray guid uncle put a' right and straight for me, Jones Nhb. 20 ;
Nhb.i, Cum. (J.Ar.), Cum.*
MISCHANT, adj. Obs. Sc. (Jam.) Also in forms
mischan- Lth. ; muschin- Fif. ; mushin- Lth. 1. Bad,
mischievous. n.Sc, w.Sc, LtU. Mischant youther [smell].
2. Comp. (i) Mischan-pratt or Muschin-pratt, a mis-
chievous trick ; (2) Mushin-fow, cruel.
(i) Fif. Used ironically, as 'That is a muschinprat.' Lth.
(2) Lth.
[1. Ye mischant murtheraris, Sat. Poems (1567) ed.
Cranstoun, I. 30. Fr. meschant, wicked (Cotgr.).]
MISCHANTER, see Mishanter.
MISCHIEF, sb. Van dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also written mischeef ne.Lan.' ; and in forms
mirschey Som. ; mirschy w.Som.' ; mischieve m.Yks.'
e.Lan.' ; mischy Glo. ; misshieff Cld. (Jam.) [mi'stjif,
•tjif.] 1. Inco;f«/>.]V[ischief-night,theeveningof April3oth;
see below.
w.Yks. Boys thirty years ago used to go about damaging
property, believing that the law allowed them on this night.
Happily the practice is over at Wakefield, Banks Wkfld. Wds.
(1865) ; Rough practical jokes are played by lads upon their
neighbours, Yks. N. & Q. (1888) II. 216 ; w.Yks.= On the evening
of this day gates are pulled off their hinges and hung up in trees,
and many other acts of wanton mischief committed ; w.Yks.^
Lan. Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867) 239 ; Some lads tried
for robbin' a porritch-pon. . . It wur ' mischief neet,' an' they did
it for a marlock, as far as I can understond, Waugh Hermit Cobbler,
iii. e.Lan."- Boys carry off all mops, tubs, brushes, &c., which may
have been left out of doors, and place them in an inconvenient
position for recovery, as on a neighbouring hill, or the house-top.
s.Lan. The eve of May-day was formerly known as ' mischief night,',
. . and prior to the epoch of the ' new policemen,' many were the
strange pranks, rude practical jokes and mortifying depredations
committed, N. & Q. (1871) 4th S. vii. 325.
2. A severe hurt or injury ; an accident, misfortune ;
harm, damage. Occas. in pt. form.
Bnff.i He got an awfou mischief wee a steen fa'in' on's leg.
Abd. Aiven doon ill-eesage like that. It's aneuch to gi'e 'im a
mischief, I'm seer, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 88. Cld. (Jam.),
n.Cy. (J.W.) m.Yks.i He'll do one a mischieves if he can any
way. Glo. 'Er's harmless enow when he comes yereby, 'er 'oodn't
do none mischy, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) xvi. e.An.'
To happen with a mischief. Nrf. I was with poor Jack when he
got his mischief (W.R.E.).
3. A troublesome, mischievous person.
Sc. Ye're a perfect mischief (Jam.). Cai.i Bnff. Edward was
declared to be a ' perfect mischief,' a source of dread and annoyance
to the whole school, Smiles Natur. (1876) 25, ed. 1893. w.Yks.
(J-W.)
4. In gen. colloq. use : the devil, the deuce, esp. in phr. io
play the mischief with, to spoil, ruin.
Sc. He grat, an' swat, an' spat like the very mischief, Ford
Thistledown (1891) 91 ; He's gain to the mischief as fast as he can
(Jam.). Cai.i To play the mischief wi'. Cld. (Jam.) Lnk. What
the muckle mischief, stir . . . will ye refuse to chrisen my wean 1
Graham Writings (1883) II. 41. Edb. Where the mischief are
they now? Maclagan Poems (1851) 183. Ir. ' Go to the mischief.'
Anything that has deteriorated, finished, or ' gone to the dogs,' is
said to have ' gone to the mischief (A,S.-P.). n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
I.Ma. But would overhaul them Herself like the mischief, Brown
Doctor (1887) 36. Brks.' To ' play the mischief with anything.
Som. It made one truly believe that the very old Mirschey hiszelf
must be in the maid, Raymond Tryphena (1895) 15. w.Som.iThe
buUicks be a brokt into th' orchet, and they'll play th' old mirschy
wi' th' apples.
MISCHIEFFUL, adj Yks. War. Wor. Hrf. Glo. Oxf.
Brks. Bdf. Suf. Sun Sus. Hmp. Wil. Som. Dev. Also
written mischieftil Glo. Suf. Sur.' Sus.' n.Wil. Dev. ; and
in forms mirschiefful w.Som.' ; mischerful s.Won Glo. ;
mischieval Bdf. ; mischievul Brks.' Wil. ; mishtafu'
s.Wor. ; mishterful s.Wor.' Hrf ^ Glo.' e.Suf. ; mishtiful
se.Won' Glo. ; mistaful s.Wor. [mi'stjifl.] Mischievous,
full of mischief.
Yks. (J.W.) V/SiT. Leamington Courier(MaT. 13, 1897); War.**,
s.War.i s.Wor. OuTis Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (1896) ; A's
a mishtafu' rascal, but theer ben't no 'arm in 'im (H.K.) ; s.Wor.',
se.Wor.i, Hrf.2 Glo. See what that there mishtiful young imp o'
darkness been and done, Longman's Mag. (May 1900) 45 ; They'd
warm ers shirt for un, they 'ood, if they was a bit mischerful,
Buckman Darke' s Sojourn (1890) ii ; (A.B.) ; Glo.' Oxf.' Ee'z dhil
mis'chifuolist lifl chap uz evuur uuy sin in aul muuy bau-rn daiz
['E's the mischieffuU est little chap as ever I sin in all my born days].
Brks.i Bdf. N. ifi Q. (1880) 6th S. ii. 183. Suf.'That had been
brought ... by that mischiefful toad, Dick Dogget, . . o' purpose
to scare their boss, Strickland Otd Friends (1864) 69 ; (C.G.B.)
e.Suf. (F.H.), Sur.i, Sus.i s.Hmp. Such a mischiefful httle dog as
it is, Verney L. Lisle (iS'jo) xiii. Wil. They there wosbirds zimd
rayther iJam and mischievul, Akerm ah Spring-tide (1850) 47. n.Wil.
He's a turrible mischieful young radical (E.H.G.). w.Som.' They
lousy boys again ! I know 'tis young Bill Baker; idn a more mirs-
chieffuller [muurs'cheefeol'ur] young osebird in all the parish.
Dev. There, ye little mischieful rascal, Mortimer Tales Moors
(1895) 139.
MISCHIEVE, V. Sc. Lan. Also written mischeev Lan.
[mistji'v.] To injure, hurt, damage ; to spoil.
Sh.I. I kent he wid mischieve himsel'. He's that ram-stam whin
he gengs ta du onything, Sh. News (May 21, 1898). Cai.' Elg.
His haste mischiev't his speed, Couper Poetry (1804) II. 86. Bch.
Some strain 'd their lungs, And very loud me mischiev'd with their
ill tongues, Forbes Dominie (1785) 43. Abd. As sure's death I'll
mischieve somebody gin this wark gings on muckle langer, Abd.
Wkly. Free Press (June 25, 1898). Frf. Tint or else mischieved,
Beattie Much Ado (c. 1820). Edb. In sicklike sort she does mis-
chieve Her simple seed always sinsyne, Pennecuik Wks. (1715)
402, ed. 1815. Lan. Aw'l verily mischeev o th wul Manchistur
pedigree on yo ! Scholes Tim Gamwattle (1857) 28 ; If ever I
catch thee wi' him I'll mischieve th' pair on yo', Lahee Acquitted
(1883) 55. e.Laa.l
Hence Mischievan, sb. a severe injury or hurt ; a cruel
beating.
Bnff.i Twa cabrachs o' cheels fell upon 'im as he wiz gain' hame
fae the market, an' ga' 'im an aufou mischievan. Cld. (Jam.)
[Ther fylle uppon me . . . xij. of hes men, viij. of them
in barneys, and ther they wold have myscheved me,
Paston Letters (1465) II. 205. OFr. meschever, 'avoir du
malheur, echouer ; mal fabriquer ' (Godefroy).]
MISCHIEVOUS, adj Sc. Nhb. Also in form mis-
chieveous Nhb. [mistjrvss.] 1. Hurtful, painful.
Edb. He got a vile mischievous thump Just on the shouther,
Forbes Poems (1812) 61.
MISCHY
[126]
MISDOUBT
2. Cheating, tricky, dishonest.
Edb. Fairn-year Meg Thomson got, Fraethir mischievous villains
A scaw'd bit o' a penny note, That lost a score 0' shillins To her
that day, Fergusson Poems (1773) 132, ed. 1785.
3. Comp. Mischievous-born, of a mischievous disposition.
Nhb. The lad was mischieveous-born, an' neever had onything
i' the way o' right trainin, Jones Nhb. 123.
MISCHY, MISCO(E, see Mischief, Miscall.
MISCOMFIST, ppi. adj. Fif. (Jam.) Nearly stifled
with a bad smell, 'scomfist' (q.v.).
MISCOMFORTUNE,si?>. e.An.i A misfortune, mishap;
lit. fortune that comes amiss.
MISCOMFRUMPLE, v. } Obs. Nhp.' To rumple,
crease. Cf. discomfrontle.
If one female sits so close to another as to rumple or crease her
dress, by pressing or sitting upon it, she is said to miscomfrumple it.
MISCOMHAP, sb. Obs. e.An.' A misfortune, mishap ;
fortune or ' hap ' that comes amiss.
MISCONSTER, v. ne.Lan.i A dial, form of 'mis-
construe.'
MISCONSTRUCT, z^. Obs. Sc. To misconstrue ; to
have a wrong conception of
Sc. To have their carriage, inclinations, and actions sifted, and
often misconstructed, KiRKTON Ch. Hist. {1611)21^. n.Sc. Through
. . . unbelief misconstructing all, Wodrow Soc. Set. Biog. (ed. 18^5-
7) II. 125. Per. When he came to Edinburgh declared how he was
misconstructed, ib. I. 97. Rnf. I cannot misconstruct it [silence],
and yet know not well how to account for it, Wodrow Cot-res.
(1709-31) II. 512, ed. 1843. Lnk. It cannot be misconstructed in
me, not to desire to dispute the same, ib. Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 138,
ed. 1828. Kcb. I am not thus plain with many I write to : it is
possible I be misconstructed, and deemed to seek a name, Ruther-
ford Lett. (1660) No. 285.
Hence Misconstructed, ppl. adj. misconstrued.
Per. No byas'd misconstructed blame Could ever stain Miss
Jenny's name, Nicol Poems (1766) 140.
MlSCONTENT,a<iy. Sc.Yks. Discontented,dissatisfied.
Abd, Got not good payment of his fee . . . whereat he was mis-
content, Turreff Gleatiings (1859) 87; Miscontent and profane
time-servers, Spalding //I's^. Sc. (1792) II. 69. Slg. Mr. Alexander
was miscontent with the King's delay, Bruce Scj->«o«s(i63i) 1S9,
ed. 1843. w.Yks. Still in common use : Am nugn g bit miskon-
tent wi wot i getgn (J.W.).
MISCONTENTED, ppl. adj. Sc. Yks. Discontented,
dissatisfied.
Bnff.i Abd. A menzie of miscontented puritans, Spalding Hist.
Sc. (1792) I. 57. Ayr. Had she gotten a gentleman of family, I
would not have been overly miscontented, GALTiafVrfs (1826) vii.
w.Yks. (J.W.)
MISCONTENTMENT, sb. Obs. Sc. Discontent, a
grievance. "
Abd. There was some miscontentment betwixt the marquis of
Huntly and his son the lord Gordon on the one part, and the said
earl of Murray on the other part, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 7.
Per. You will find miscontentment in more here convened, if you
give us not warrant, Lawson Bk. of Per. (1847) 262. Slg. Fostering
factions and divisions in the Kirk, private grudges and miscontent-
ments, Bruce Sermons (1631) 123, ed. 1843. Ayr. Ye can neither
read, pray, nor confer, but fret and fume in your miscontentment,
Dickson Set. Writings (1660) I. 70, ed. 1845.
MISCONVENIENT, adj Sc. Yks. Inconvenient.
Sc. 'It is most misconvenient, at least,' said I, Stevenson Ca/n'o«3
(1893) X. w.Yks. It'l bi miskonviniont fo ma ta kum ta-mgon (J. W.).
MISCOOK, V. Sc. To cook badly ; fg. to mismanage
any business, to bungle.
Sc. Ye've miscookit a' your kail (Jam.). Abd. She never was
wed, for the nicht she was bookit, The lad got a fleg, an' the
match was miscookit, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 54.
MISC0UNSELLED,//'/.arf7'. Obs. Sc. Badly-advised.
Ayr. The provocation given to the people of Scotland by the
King's miscounselled majesty, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xiii.
MISCREDENT, sb. Obs. Dev. [Not known to our
correspondents.] A miscreant. (Hall.)
[A dungeon appointed for offenders and miscredents,
Stanyhurst in Hoiinshed's Desc. Irel. iv. (CD.)]
MISCRY, V. ? Obs. n.Cy. Yks. Also in form miscree
N.Cy.^ To descry, discover. Gen. in pp.
n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy.'^ w.Yks. Thoresby £f«. (1703);
w.Yks. 2* [Miscreed, delectus, Coles (1679).]
MISDAINFUL, adj Shr.^ Also in form misdeenful.
Suspicious.
MISDEEDED,a(^'. Shr.^ [misdi'did.] Miserly, covetous.
A mis-deeded owd mon !
MISDEEDY, «q^-. Bnff.i Cld. (Jam.) [misdi-di.] Mis-
chievous.
MISDEEM, V. Chs. Not. Lei. War. Shr. [misdrm.]
To suspect ; to be suspicious or illiberal. Lei.^, War.^,
Shr.^ Hence (i) Misdeemful, adj., (2) Misdeeming, ppl.
adj., (3) Misdeemous, adj. suspicious, inclined to think evil.
(i) Chs.i Shr.i Mrs. Morris is so misdeemful, 'er thinks every-
body's chaitin' 'er ; Shr.^ (2) Not. She's a very misdeeming
woman (L.C.M.). Lei.i She's sadly misdeeming. War.^ (3) Chs.'
MISDEENFUL, see Misdainful.
MISDO, V. and sb. Sc. Lan. Som. Also written mis-
doo Lan. 1. v. To transgress ; to do wrong.
w.Som.i My bwoy was always quiet an' proper like, I be safe
he never widn a misdo'd, nif they tothers had'n a-coy-duck'n away
'long way they.
Hence Misdoer, sb., obs., an evil-doer, a transgressor.
Abd. To summon thirmisdoers, at the Mercat Crosses, Spalding
Hist. Sc. (1792) I- 35-
2. sb. A mistake.
Lan. The'll be nother slip nor mis-doo abaat it, Donaldson
Tooth Drawin', 10.
MISDOUBT, V. and sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also in forms misdaat e.Lan.' ; misdoot Sc.
Ant. Nhb.' n.Yks. e.Yks.' 1. v. To disbelieve, distrust,
to regard with suspicion.
Sc. I dinna misdoubt ye, Scorr Rob Roy (1817) xxii; If he has
a domicile at all, which I misdoubt, Stevenson Catriona (1893) ix.
Sh.I. A'm no misdootin' you, William, Sh. News (Sept. 10, 1898).
Cai.i Abd. I'm sair misdootin' ye, Fraser, Abd. Wkly. Free Press
(Sept. 15, igoo). Frf. If ye see three thummils, an' suppose that
ye ken which ane o' the three the pea's aneath, juist misdoot yer
judgment, for it's seldom aneath ony o' them, Willock Rosetiy
Ends (1886) 155, ed. 1889. Per. I wasna gaun to misdoubt Him,
Sandy Scott (1897) 53. Dmb. Ye wadna misdoot it if ye kent the
hauf o' what has come to pass. Cross Disruption (1844) xxiii. Ayr.
The gilly never misdoubted either her or my grandfather, Galt
Gilhaize (1823) viii. Edb. The lass had taken mortal oifence at
having her father misdoubted, Beatty Secretar (1897) 61. Dmf.
Dazed and dumbfounderid stood Miss Jean, Misdoubting the sight
she saw, Thom Jock 0' Knowe (1878) 17. Ant. A daeny misdoot
you, Ballymena Obs. (1892). Don. Be mae word, an' I don't
misdoubt ye, Harper s Mag. (Oct. 1899) 739. Nhb. I winna mis-
doubt ye, Jones Nhb. no; Nhb.' Yks., Lan., Chs. (J.W.), Not.'
sw.Lin.i I misdoubted it at the first onset. Lei.' If yo' misdoubts
me, yo' can send an' ahx. War.^, Brks.' e.Suf. I don't misdoubt
he said so (F. H.). w.Som.' I wid'n misdoubt what you do zay,
'pon no 'count, but howsomdever I can't nezactly make it out.
2. To doubt, suspect ; to fear, apprehend ; to think ; to
have an inkling or suspicion of. Also used reflex.
Sc. But I misdoot the silly thing is for clucking, Steel Rowans
(1895) 233 ; I misdoubt me, Jenny, that you're no better than an
Erastian Sadducee, Good Wds. (1879) 278. Abd. I misdoobted 'at
ye wasna the same to me efter ye cam to yer ain, Macdonald
Lossie (1877) Ixviii. Per. I'm sair misdoubtin' but he's been after
nae gude ! Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 20, ed. 1887. Ayr. I'm
misdoubtin' the session's slack in its deelings, Johnston Kilmallie
(1891) 1. 155. Lnk. I dinna misdoot but ye dae mair wark. Eraser
Whaups (1895) xiii. Edb. I misdoubt I'll be hanged, Beatty
Secretar {iSg-]) 37. Gall. I misdoot it's gaun to be terrible weather,
Crockett Stickit Min. (1893) 211. Ir. That ould crathur's asthray
in his mind, I misdoubt. Barlow ii5coK«c/ ( 1895) 205 ; We began
to misdoubt some bad luck, ib. Bogland (1892) 10, ed. 1893. N.I.'
He misdoubted there wud be blood dhrawed somewhere or another.
n.Yks. Ah misdoot me we sha'n't be seein' her at Scunnergate,
Simpson Jeanie o' Biggersdale (1893) 143. e.Yks.', w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lan. I misdoubt me as wark 'uU be like yon letter, lad, it'll noan
coom, Francis Fustian (1895) 240. e.Lan.' Ken. I misdoubt me
it's age turns the roses blue, like it turns folks' hair white, Long-
man's Mag. (July 1891) 267. Dor. I misdoubt ef the hatches be
a-hgven down yonder. Hare Vill. Street (1895) 95- Dev. I wish
maister were come. I misdoubt he'll have a wet skin to-night,
O'Neill Dimpses (1893) 33.
3. To mistake, be mistaken.
Ayr. The land folk'll get a skelping the day if I dinna misdoubt,
Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 95.
MISE
[127]
MISFORTUNATE
4. sb. A doubt, mistrust, suspicion.
Sc. I have a misdoubt if yon Nanny . . . gives due attention to
the body of the creature for admiring his mind, Keith Bonnie Lady
(1897) 13. Cai.i Ayr. I hae a misdoot that a's no right and
sound wi' her mair than wi' him, Galt Entail (1823) Ixvi. n.Cy.,
Yks. (J.W.)
MISE, sb. and v. Obs. Ciis. ? Der. Wal. Also written
mize Chs.^ Der. s.Pem. 1. sb. An ancient fine or levy,
a gift or customary present. Also in comp. Mise-money.
Chs. Mise (in the County Palatine of Chester) 3000 Marks paid
to every new Earl, Coles (1677) ; Chs.l^ Der. Task nor mize I
will make none, Jewitt Ballads (1867) 33. Wal. Mise in Wales
is the customary present (of 5000 pounds) to every new Prince,
paid thrice in the reign of King James, viz. to himself. Prince
Henry, and Prince Charles, Coles (1677); Anciently it was given
in cattle, wine, corn, &c., for the support of the prince's family;
but when that kingdom [Wales] was annexed to the English crown
the gift was changed into money, the county of Flint paying 2000
marks, &c., Dyche (1752). s.Pem. It is recorded in the minute-
book of the Corporation of the Borough of Tenby that on 'April 29,
1617. 28/6 was paid to W" Barlow Esq. for Mize Money. This
mize money was a gift customary by the inhabitants of Wales, to
every new Prince at his entrance into the Principality,' N. & Q.
(1891) 7th S. xi. 66.
2. Comp. Mise-book, a parish valuation book.
Chs.i There was and perhaps still is at Chester a mise-book
in which every town and village in the county is rated for this tax ;
Chs.^ Sir P. Leycester, in his Bucklow Hundred, speaking of
Lymmsays, 'It is, in our common Mize Book, mizedatoi/. i6s. ooof.'
3. V. To value for rating purposes. Chs.^^
[1. OFr. mise, 'depense, moyens pecuniaires, finances'
(La Curne) ; MLat. misa, ' depense, revenu, tribut '
(Ducange).]
MISER,s6. Sc. Irel. Obs. Awretch, a miserable person.
Sc. Who is the old miser? Scott Monastery (1820) xxxiv.
Hence Miserly, adj. wretched, mean, shabby.
Don. Phew ! who comes for a miserly leg ! A beautiful wan of
goold an' mother-of-pearl 'ill be more befittin' a man o' my wealth
an' station. Cent. Mag. (Feb. igoo) 606.
MISERABLE, adj. and adv. Lan. Wor. Pem. Ess. Sus.
I.W. Dev. [m.i"Z3r3bl.] 1. adj. IVIiserly, stingy ; greedy,
covetous.
Lan. Nonsense ! You can afford it well enough. Don't be so
miserable, N. (y Q. (1881) 6th S. iii. 133. ne.Lan.i, Wor. (J.R.W.)
Ess. He's very ill, and I think he doesn't take enough to eat,
he's so miserable (S.P.H.). Sus.' The old man's that miserable
that he won't lend nothing to nobody (s.v. Misagree). Dev.
N. <Sr= Q. (1853) ist S. vii. 544.
2. Great, considerable.
I.W.'^ They horses yet a miserable lot o' corn last winter.
3. adv. Very, extremely, exceedingly.
s.Pem. Ay, 'tis miserable good, man (W.M.M.). I.W. And what
do 'em call this yere sport ? . . Zimple it looks; mis'able zimple. . .
I hreckon it's good enough vur gentry. Mis'able dull they be,
poor things, Gray Annesley (1889) I. 158-9; I.W.^
MISERATE, V. ? Obs. e.An. To render miserable.
Gen. in pp. e. An.i ; e.An.2 I was quite miserated to hear on't.
MISERATED,/^ e.An.' Printed miseraled. Pitied,
commiserated.
MISERD, sb. and adj. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Shr. Also in forms misert Sc. (Jam.) BnfT.' N.L' ;
mysart Nhb.' ; myserd e.Lan.' ; myzert Cum.' [mai'zad,
mai'zsrt.] \. sb. A miser, a close-fisted, avaricious person.
Sh.I. Der dat an' miserds at dey widna tak' da butter 'at dat
wid need, Sh. News (July 30, 1898). N.I.' Don. Billy held on to
the goal like a miserd to his bag, Cent. Mag. (Feb. 1900) 705.
Nhb.', Cum.', -w.Yks. (J.W.), e.Lan.', Chs.' Shr.' 'Is Faither
wuz as great a miserd as ever lived, an' 'is owd Nuncle too.
Hence (i)Misertish, (2) Misertly,a«(7'. miserly, avaricious.
(i) Gall. MAcnxOGfL^T Encycl. (1824). (2) N.I.'
2. Comp. Misert-pig, a money-box.
Bnff.' A small vessel which has no opening except a small slit
large enough to receive the largest-sized coin of the realm ; used
by children for keeping their money.
3. adj. Miserly, parsimonious. Abd., Cld. (Jam.)
MISERY, sb. Sh.I. Lan. Der. Not. Hrt. e.An. Ken.
Amer. Also in form meesery Sh.L [mi'zari.] 1. Bodily
pain ; a continuous aching.
nw.Der.' s.Not, It's well she's gone ; she was in misery all
the time (J.P.K.). Hrt. I've got such an undeniable misery in
my head (H.G.). e.An.' Suf. She always had the misery in her
head along of all the wind they spinning-wheels made, FisoN
Afe>ry 5m/. (1899) 35 ; He do suffer so with the misery in his
head, Macmillan's Mag. (Sept. 1889) 357. Ess. I gin to feel Sich
mis'ry in my head, Clark /. Noakes (1839) st. 153 ; Ess.' Ken.'
He's gone in great misery for some time. [Amer. I've got a
misery in my back. It takes a heap of misery to get the bones
out of your laig (leg), Dial. Notes (1896) I. 373.]
2. A source of great anxiety ; a burden.
Lem. He'll never be no better, an' I'm sure he's a misery to
hissel' as well's every one else, Cornh. Mag. (Feb. 1899) 231.
e.Snf. (F.H.)
3. Phr. the bones of misery, a skeleton.
Sh.I. Last voar du Iflte dy horse eat tangles an' redwir till he
wis at da bona o' meesery, Stewart Tales (1892) 17 ; He wiior
up till he cam ta da bones o' meesery himsell, ib. 32.
MISFET, V. Bnff.' [misfe't.] To offend, to incur
one's displeasure.
[Cp. Fr. mesfaire, to misdo unto : A qui il mesarrive on
luy mesfait, Men (lightly) use him ill that hath ill luck
(COTGR.).]
MISFEUR, see Misfdre.
MISFIGURE, V. Lin. e.An. Also in form misvigure
e.An.' [misfl'g3(r).] 1. To disfigure.
n.Lin. (E.P.) sw.Lin.' She's misfigured worse than ever I seed
her. e.An.'
2. To disguise.
n.Lin. He my misfigure hissen next time as he likes, I shall
knaw him. Peacock R. Skiylaugh (1870) III. gg.
MISFIT, V. and sb. Sc. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Lin. [misfi-t]
1. V. To fit badly ; to make clothes so that they do not
fit ; not to be of a pair, not to be alike in size and shape.
Gen. in pp.
Abd. The legs bein' made on dissimilar plans, He pushed an' he
pu'd till he bursted the steeks — ' Confound them, I'm devilish
misfitted,' said Sands, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 44. Cld.
(Jam.) Edb. Being misfitted 'gainst my will, Ye shou'dna stang,
M'DoWALL Poems (1839) 154. Dmf. O we're a' mismarrowed
thegether, O we're a' misfitted and wrang, Wallace Schoolmaster
(1899) 195 ; We're a' misfitted thegether, We would need to be
paired anew, ib. 196. w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. To be unsuited to a position or occupation, to disagree,
not to get on with.
n.Lin.' I can't saay as it's a bad plaace, but me an' my missis
misfits badly. She married him for luv, foaks says, but thaay
misfit one anuther finely noo.
Hence Misfitten, ppl. adj. unadapted ; disproportioned.
n.Yks.^ m.Yks.'
3. sb. Anything that is out of place, or not in accordance
with circumstances ; a misunderstanding, a failure to keep
an appointment. n.Yks.'*, ne.Lan.' 4. A person who
turns out badly, a failure ; one who is not to t5e trusted.
Lakel.'' They spent a pooer o' money ta mak a man on hira,
but he turned oot a misfit an' it o' was wasted. n.Yks.*
MISFORE, v. and sb. Sc. Also in forms misfeur,
misfor Sh.L^ misfuir Elg. ; misfur Sh.L ; misfure S. &
Ork.' [misfoT.] 1. v. To miscarry ; to be unsuccessful
or unfortunate ; of a boat : to founder, wreck ; to be lost
at sea. See Fure, v.
Sh.I. I might a kent 'at we wir ta misfOre som' wye or idder,
whin Peggy Tamasin cross'd my rod as I wis comin' ta da noost,
Sh. News (Feb. 4, 1899) ; He wis rowin' wi' wis da simmer 'at a'
da boats misfOre, ib. (Apr. 9, 1898); {Coll. L.L.B.) Elg. Dure
again on Mistress coupt : Sair, sair misfuirt was she, Couper
Poetry (1804) II. 85.
Hence Misforn, ppl. adj. lost at sea.
Sh.I. On da keel o' a misforn boat he's seen neeghbours an'
relations torn ane by ane fae his side, Stewart Tales (1892) 64 ;
The presence of windy knots or wattery swirls in the wood . . .
indicated that the boat was liable to stora-brooken, i.e. blown up
by the wind on land, or misfOrn at sea, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 126.
2. sb. A boat that has perished at sea with its crew.
S. & Ork.'
MISFORTUNATE, adj. Sc. Irel. Lon. Som. Dev. Amer.
Also written misfortinit Abd. [misf9-tn3t, misfoTtnat.]
Unfortunate.
Sc. I am very misfortunatc. Monthly Mag. (1798) II. 437. Cai.'
MISFORTUNE
[128]
MISHANTER
Abd. That kin' o' fouk that hae misfortiiiit memories whilk can
mind things that everybody else wants t'forget aboot, Abd. Wkly.
Free Press (May 19, 1900). Per. Misfortunate in everything, He
hath been all his life, Smith Poems (1714) 61, ed. 1853. Dmb.
A misfortunate affair aboot some siller o' Mr. Duncanson's, Cross
Disruption (1844) xxix. Ayr, Elspa Ruet, the sister of that mis-
fortunate woman, Galt Gilhaize (1823) vii. Edb. Did not allow
the misfortunate creature the life of a dog, Moir Mansie Wauch
(,1828) xiii. Slk. Ye shall never rue your kindness o' heart and
attentions to that puir misfortunate bairn, Hogg Perils of Man
(1822) n. 254 (Jam.). n.Ir. Throwin' the misfortunate pair Down
into Doe Hole, Lays and Leg. (1884) 23. Don. Up till this mis-
fortunate case. Cent. Mag. (Nov. 1899) 42. Lon. But I was very
misfortunate, MAYHEwiowrf. Labour{i8^T) I. 359, col. a. w.Som.i
Her's a poor misfort'nate [musfauTtnutJ thing, nort don't never
zim to vitty way her, same's other vokes. Dev. I do zim there's
nobody za misfortunate as I be, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 150.
Cor. There hev a-been such a misfortunate goin's on as a wreck,
hereabouts, ' Q.' Three Ships (ed. 1892) 32. [Amer. I pitied the
misfortunate wretch from my soul, Sam Slick Clockntaker (1836)
1st S. xxvii.]
[Mysfortunate, maleureux, Palsgr. (1530).]
MISFORTUNE, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Lin.
Lei. War. Shr. Oxf. Som. Also written misfortin w.Yks.
Oxf.^ [misfg'tan, misfcrtan.] 1. In comb. Misfortune
meat, the meat of an animal that has not been properly
butchered, or has died by accident.
w.Som.^ The meat of an animal which has been * killed to save
its life,' or which had died before assistance arrived. This kind
used until lately to be regularly 'dressed' like properly butchered
meat, and sent to London for sale ; now it is dangerous.
2. A breach of chastity ; the giving birth to an illegitimate
child ; an illegitimate child.
Abd. Fan she first taul' me o' Bauble's misfortune, Alexander
Ain Flk. (1882) 220. Per. Ye'se tell me he was sympatheesin'
wi' her in her misfortun', Clelanti Inchbracken (1883) 76, ed. 1887.
Ayr. Ye'U min' the bit misfortune I had wi' the laird o' Curwhang ?
Ainslie Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 148. Edb. She with a mis-
fortune met And had a bairn, Har'st Rig (1794) 19, ed. 1801.
Gall. (A.W.), N.Cy.^ w.Yks. She happened on a misfortin, you
see, but t'barn deed an' so sho got nowt (H.L.) ; w.Yks.'^, ne.Lan.^
Chs.^ ; Chs.^ The girl's misfortin. Midi. Had ' had a misfortune ' —
in the shape of a bouncing boy, Bartram People of Clopton (1897)
92. Not.'- n.Lin.i She's bed a misfortune, poor lass,, an' thaay
do saay as th' faather wean't awn it. e.Lin. (G.G.W.) Lei.*-
' Why do you ask wages so much higher than your sister ? '
' Please, sir, I never have a misfortune.' * To light of a mis-
fortune' is the ordinary euphemism. War.^, Shr.i Oxf.^ My
daater a 'ad a misfortin, she 'ave, MS. add.
MISGAR, sb. S. & Ork.i A kind of trench in sandy
ground occasioned by the wind driving away the sand.
MISGIVE, V. Sc. Som. Also in forms misgee w.Som.^;
misgie Sc. 1. Obs. To fail, fall through, miscarry.
Sc. I thought my gun would me misgie Whan I had her on my
shouther, Kinloch Ballad Bk. (1827) 66, ed. 1868 ; My cause has
misgiven. Monthly Mag. (1798) II. 437. Abd. The marquis had
assurance of divers earls, lords and barons, to rise and assist him ;
but all thir arguments misgave this noble marquis, Spalding
Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 167. Slg. Matters were so managed . . . that
all the Popish designs misgave, Bruce Sermons (1631) 18, ed.
1843. Enf. As I am a very unfit person to set this correspondence
agoing, so it has so far misgiven at the entry, Wodrow Corres.
(1709-31) I. 342, ed. 1843. Ayr. Nothing he takes in hand shall
misgive, or be marred, Dickson Writings (1660) I. 123, ed. 1845.
Lnk. If their design misgave, they could say, it was in their heart
to ' build a house to the Lord,' Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 24,
ed. 1828.
2. To doubt, to have a misgiving.
w.Som.i I misgeed [mus'gee'd] terrible whe'er he'd come or no.
MISGO, V. Sc. Ken. Som. Also in form misgae Sc.
Enff."^ 1. To go wrong, go astray ; to fail, miscarry.
Bnff.^ A doot the thing 'ill misgae. Per. But if a' mercy, things
misgae, I'll ramble like a Lybean rae, That flees the wood, Nicol
Poems (1766) 21. w.Som.i Her was a oncommon nice maid;
'tis a thousand pities her should 'a miswent. Aay kaewnt dhai
bee u-muswai'nt, uuls dhaid a-biin' yuur voa-r naew [I expect
they have lost the way, else they would have been here before
now].
Hence Miswent, ppl. adj. strange, irregular, out of
proportion.
Ken. [It] is said of the Church of Cuckstone, near Rochester
(which is very unusual in proportion) , ' If you would goe to a church
miswent. You must goe to Cuckstone in Kent,' Hearne Gl. Rob.
Glo. (1810) (s.v. Myswende); (W.F.S.)
2. Of a cow : to slip her calf
ne.Sc. May your bairnies ne'er be peer, B'soothan, Vsoothan,
Nor yet yir coo misgae the steer, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 161.
MISGOGGLE, MISGOOGLE, see Misguggle.
MISGROWN, ppl. adj. Sc. Stunted in growth, ill-
shaped.
Bnff.i He's a mis-lippent, mis-grown baggeral. Ayr. (Jam.)
MISGUGGLE, v. Sc. Also in forms misgoggle Rxb.
(Jam.); misgoogle e.Fif ; misgrugle Bch. Abd.; mish-
guggle Sc. To disfigure, spoil, mar ; to handle roughly;
to rumple.
Sc. Donald had been misguggled by ane of those Doctors about
Paris, Scott Waverley (1814) xviii; They wha think differently,. .
overturning and mishguggling the government and discipline of
the kirk, *. Midlothian (1818) viii. Bch. Bat she bad me had aff
my hands far I misgrugled a' her apron, Forbes Jrn. (1742) 8.
Abd. Misgrugl'd now, an' torn to thrums, Cock Strains (1810) II.
90 ; There ye are at yer English again ! an' misgugglin' Scriptur'
wi' 't ! Macdonald Lossie (1877) xvii. e.Fif. Andra had tauld him
hoo I had mis-googled the tail o'mycoat, Latto Tarn Bodkin (^864)
vii. Rxb. He's fairly misgogglit that job (Jam.).
MISGUIDE, V. Sc. Lan. [misgai'd.] 1. To mislead,
to lead astray.
So. Scoticisms (1787) 55. Lan. An' misguide me i' mists on
t'moors, Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i86o) II. 34.
Hence Misguided, ppl. adj., fig., misled, deceived ;
erring, badly trained.
Sc. That ill-brought-up and misguided EHzabeth, Keith Lisbeih
(1894) vii. Abd. The man maun hae been sair misguidit 't loot's
een see the like o' 'er, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 229. Ayr. I
saw you with Sir David Hamilton enter the garden of that mis-
guided woman, Galt Gilhaize (1823) ii. Gall. ' Poor lads ! ' she
said, and again, ' Poor misguided lads ! ' Crockett Standard
Bearer (1898) 55.
2. To mismanage; to waste, squander, mis-spend.
Abd. The good soldiers were debarred, and the regiments like to
be misguided, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 11. Edb. How we
misguided the good things that were lent us for our use here, by
a gracious Provider, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xv.
Hence (i) Misguided, ppl. adj. mismanaged, bungled ;
(2) Misguiding, vbl. sb. squandering, waste, extravagance.
(i) Lnk. The 'cure' had been recommended and tried; and
this — the misguided result, Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 106. (2)
Sh.I. Wir Gibbie is come ta grace hi' misguidin' sin' he guid ta
bide i' da toon, Sh. News ^May 15, 1897) ; Arty is gain ta come ta
grace by misguidin', ib. (Apr. 2, 1898). Ayr. He ne'er was gi'en
to great misguidin, Yet coin his pouches wad na bide in. Burns
On a Sc. Bard, st. 8.
3. To ill-use, maltreat, abuse, spoil, injure.
Sc. There were whiles when his dander rase to see the Lord's
sants misguided, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xv ; The boy mis-
guides his cloaths, Scoticisms (1787) 55 ; Never was misfortunate
man so misguided as he, ib. 119. Abd. When he comes to think
that shame o' himsel, I'll tak him to my hert, as I tak the bairn, he
misguidit, Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxii. Frf. Mr. Strappem
had . . . sairly misguided his ain cults by accidentally pitting his
fit into them, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 19, ed. 1889.
MISGULLY, V. Fif (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] To cut in a clumsy manner, to mangle in
cutting.
MISH, see Mash, v.
miSUANDhED, ppl. adj. Sc. Mismanaged, bungled.
Edb. It was a mishandled job from the iirst, but yet it might
have come right had it no been for our bickering, Beatty Secretar
(1897) 402.
MISHANTER, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Lakel. Also
written mischanter Sc. Bnflf.^ Cum.*; mishaunter Lakel.^;
misshanter Sc; and in forms messanter, misanter Sh.L
[mija-ntsr, mistja'ntar.] 1. sb. A misfortune, mis-
chance, accident ; ill-luck. See Misaunter.
Sc. Mishanter on the auld beard o' ye ! Scott Redg. (1824) Lett,
xii ; Ye micht as weel hae had the mischanter to be born ayont
the Border, Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 8. Sh.L Oh! man, man,
for sic a messanter, Sh. News (July 2, 1898) ; A' da misanters dat
happened me da first vaige made no a bit odds ta me, Stewart
MISHAP
[129]
MISLEAR
Tales (1892) 259. Cai.i Bnff.i He fell oot o' the cairt an' got a
mischanter on's knee. Bch. They had some allagust that some
mishanter had befaln us, Forbes Jrn. (1742) 16. Abd. I hinna
been a Sunday oot o' the kirk till this mis-shanter came o'er me
for sax months, Paul Abd. (1881) 31. Kcd. The special mishanters
occurrin' to the Dyster o' Dalsack, Grant Lays (1884) i. Frf.
He commenced to tell o' an awfu' mischanter that befell him, Wil-
LOCK Rosetty Ends (1886) 67, ed. 1889. w.Sc. Hame we got at
last without any misshanter, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 284.
e.Fif. There happened a mischanter, whaurin I had a leadin' han',
Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) iii. Dmb. ' Five and a half mishanters I '
exclaimed Stiflfrigs in a towering passion. Cross Disruption {iS^^)
xviii. Rnf. But was dreadin' some mischanter, An' stood abeigh,
PiCKEN Poems (1813) I. 66. Ayr. Mishanter fa' me, If ought of
thee, or of thy mammy. Shall ever danton me, Burns Poefs
Welcome to Child, st. i. Lnk. Mischanter lick me wi' a rung !
Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 44. e.Lth. She was feared some
mishanter maun ha' come ower him, Hunter/. Inwick (1895) 239.
Edb. What black mishantir gart ye spew Baith gut and ga' ? Fer-
GussoN Poems (1773) 120, ed. 1785. Rxb. Mischanters I hae
met a hantle, A. Scott Poems (ed. 1808) 46. n.Cy. Border Gl.
{Coll. L.L.B.); N.Cy.i, Lakel.^ Cum.* Aw maks o' mischanters
happened, IV. C. T. (Mar. 12, 1898) 2, col. 4.
2. Phr. (i) Auld Mischanter, a name for the Devil; (2) the
mishanter, the Devil, ' the mischief.'
(i) Rnf. Auld Mischanter, Picken Poems (1788) Gl. (Jam.) (2')
Bnflf. What the mishanter, than cried John, Taylor Poews (1787) 25.
Slg. I gaed straight to the mishanter (When press'd frae the arms
o' sweet Bell), Galloway Poems (1804) 77.
3. V. To meet with an accident : used of a hurt or bruise.
Bnff.i
MISHAP, sb. Not. Lin. Hmp. [misa-p.] 1. A mis-
carriage in child-bearing.
s.Not. She's had three children, besides one or two mishaps
(J.P.K.). sw.Lin.i She's had two mishaps sin she's been married.
2. Contp. Mishap-child, an illegitimate child. Hmp.
(W.M.E.F.)
MISHAPPENS, 56. ^/. Obs. Sc. Unfortunateness.
Beside other evils, the mishappens of the affair, which could
not be by any hand so compassed as to give content to all,
Baillie Lett. (1775) I. 117 (Jam.).
MISHEPPEN, adj. sw.Lin.^ Clumsy, awkward. See
Heppen. ' He's as misheppen a chap as ever I seed.'
MISHGUGGLE, see Misguggle.
MISH-MASH, sb., adj. and v. Sc. Yks. Lan. Stf. Not.
Som. Also in forms meesh-mash Bnff.' Abd. (Jam.) ;
mish-marsh w.Som.' [mi"J-maJ.] 1. sb. A confused
mixture, a hodge-podge ; a state of confusion, a muddle.
Cal."- Bnff.' Sic a meesh-mash is they've made o't. Abd. (Jam.),
w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Monthly Mag. (1815) I. 127; Grose (1790)
MS. add. (C.) ne.Lan.i, Stf.' s.Not. The plums was nout but a
mish-mash, wi' gettin' 'em ower ripe. A don't like taters all of a
mish-mash, like this (J.P.K.). w.Som.^ Sue, you be a purty maaid
to quill the yarn ; why, thee's a-got it all to a tangle and a mish-
marsh !
Hence Mishmasherie, sb. anything in a confused or
huddled state. Sc. (Jam.)
2. adj. Confused. Also used advb.
Bnff.'^ His maitters a' geed meesh-mash. Abd. (Jam.)
3. V. To mingle, to throw into a confused state.
Bnff.i Edb. Steghin gluttons, . . Mish-mashin' creatures for
their greed or gust, Learmont Poems (1791) 199.
MISHTERFUL, MISHTIFUL, see Mischieflful.
MISK,s6.' Som.Dev. [misk.] Aniist,fog; alsoused/?^.
Som. The rain was thick as a misk, Raymond Men o' Mendip
(1898) xviii. -w.Som.i T'idn nort but a bit of a misk [miisk] ; 't'll
break abroad umbye, I count. Dev. I could scarcely find my way
home — I felt in a misk. Reports Provinc. (1881) 13.
Hence Misky, adj. foggy, misty.
Som. 'Tis a misky morning (W.F.R.) ; A 'misky ' rain made the
day almost as dark as dusk, IIayjjond Sam and Sabina (1894)
167 ; W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som."^ Miis-kee maurneen, zr,
z-maur-neen, ed'nut? [Misty morning, sir, this morning, is it not?]
Dev. Reports Provinc. (1881).
MISK, sb? Obs. Sc. [misfe.] A low, wet, untilled
piece of land.
CId. Land covered with coarse rough moorish grasses (Jam,).
Ayr. The misk is usually the property of neighbouring lairds or
feuars. One vassal can, in terms of his title-deeds, pare off the
VOL. IV.
peats only ; another is confined to the surface product — the bog-
hay, &c., as winter fodder, or to the right of pasture under fixed
limitations. Indeed the rights of the misk were always clearly
defined in the ' tacks ' of the adjoining lands. For example in
1732, Marie Buntine set or granted 'a tack of hir land, . . reserving
out the tack the six Falls of Wet Misk ' (ib.) ; A low swampy
valley called the Misk, intervenes between the hills and the more
fertile lands in the parish of Stevenstoun, Robertson Hist. Cun-
inghame (Jb.\
Hence Misk-grass, sb. grass growing upon wet, untilled
land. Ayr. (Jam.)
MISKEN, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan.
[miske'n.] 1. v. To mistake, not to recognize, to be
ignorant of; to ignore, disown, to refuse to notice.
Sc. No man fell so regularly into the painful dilemma of mis-
taking, or in the Scottish phrase, miskenning the person he spoke
to, ScoTT St. Ronan (1824) xvi ; Poor fowk's friends soon misken
them, Ramsay Prov. (1737). Cai.' Elg. A milk-white steed
Whose huifs misken'd the ground, Couper Poetry (1804) II. 208.
Abd. This was done several times, but he miskenned all, and never
quarrelled the samen, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1793) I. 49. Per. In
verse acrostic ye intendit To write your name, and to me send it:
Maybe I might had quite miskend it, 'Hicoi. Poems (1766) 104. Slg.
A minister that . . . miskens this grand controversie, or speaks of
it so darkly as that he discovers he desires not to be understood,
WoDROw Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I- 249. Edb. I guess'd at
first, he had miskent me, Macneill Bygane Times (1811) 33. Kcb.
My Lord miskent all and did bear with my foolish jealousies, and
miskent that I ever wronged his love, Rutherford Lett. (1660)
N0.91. n.Cy. Grose (1790) ;i/5. arfrf. (P.); N.Cy.i,Nhb.i n.Yks.i;
n.Yks.2 I mis-kenn'd you. ne.Yks.', m.Yks.', w.Yks.*, ne.Lan.'
Hence Miskent, ppl. adj. unnoticed, not observed, un-
recognized.
Sc. The Londoners and others, as is their miskent custom, after
a piece of service get home, Baillie Lett. (1775) II. 139 (Jam.).
2. To misunderstand, misconceive.
Ayr. The impenitent . . . miskens both God and himself, Dickson
Writings (1660) I. 25, ed. 1845. Edb. Ye sair misken yoursel', Or
thans ye wadnae tell me sic a tale, Learmont Poems (1791) 266.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; N.Cy.i Cum.i ; Cum.3 Ken
yersel and yere neighbours 'ill no mis-ken j'e, 210. n.Yks.''',
m.Yks.i
3. To leave alone, forbear, not to meddle with.
Sc. Carlavrock we did misken. It could not be taken without
cannon, Baillie Lett. (1775) I. 159 (Jam.) ; Mr. Henderson and
sundry would have all these things miskent, till we be at a point
with England, ib. 1. 368. Ayr.,Twd. One says to another, ' Misken,'
when he wishes him to desist or abstain from anything that he is
doing or is about to do (Jam.).
4. Reflex. To assume airs of superiority.
Cal.' Ant. ' You'll misken yoursel' and no' know your nibors.'
Said to one who has met with good fortune, Ballymena Obs. (1892).
Cum. An' fleeching chieis around her thrang Till she miskens her
a' day lang, Blamire Poet, Wis. (c. 1794) 192, ed. 1843.
5. sb. A mistake, misunderstanding.
m.Yks.' It was a misken.
MISKEN, see Mixen.
MISKEST, V. n.Yks.'^ [miske'st.] To err in casting
up accounts. See Cast, v. VI. 1.
All miskessen together.
MISKIN, see Miscaun, Mixen.
MISKNOW, V. Sc. Irel. To be ignorant of, not to
know ; to rnisunderstand, fail to recognize.
Slg. They misknowing the right meaning of it, it is na marvell
suppose they and we differ in this matter, Bruce Sermons (1631)
iii, ed. 1843. Ayr. Haters of him, who are set to work their own
will, and misknow God, Dickson Writings (1660) I. 61, ed. 1845 ;
(Jam.) Edb. As gif misknowing that I was observed, Beatty
Secretar (1897) 358. Ant. A word misknown to the false and cold,
O'Neill Glens (1900) 59.
MIS];.E, sb. Sc. The mistletoe, Viscum album.
Fer. Dark as the mountain's heather wave The rose and the misle
are coming brave, Ford Harp (1893) 67 ; Pratt Buchan, 325, note.
MISLE, see Mizzle, v.^^
MISLEAR, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Cum. Also written
misleer Cum."* ; and in forms mislair Frf. ; mizleare
Wxf.^ [misliaT.] 1. v. To misinform ; to lead astray,
seduce.
Trf. Rich folk like us can afford to be mislaird, Barrie Tommy
MISLEARED
[130]
MISLIPPEN
(1896) 35 ; Mr. Strappem was careful on this occasion no' to be
owre misleard wi' the powther, an', after loadin' the gun, oot he
cam', WiLLOCK Rosetty Ends (1886) 20, ed. i88g. Ayr. I'm no
design'd to try its mettle ; But if I did, I wad be kittle To be mis-
lear'd, Burns Death and Dr. Hornbook {i-]85) st. 10. Lnk. To gar
him act the patriot's pairt. An' no to be by gowks mislear't. Cog-
hill Poems (i8go) 141. Cum. Some gat sae mislear'd wi' drink,
Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 4 ; Maynae skeath at ony rate . . .
mislear your weyfe, ib. 146 ; Cum.*
Hence Mislearin, sb. an error.
Sc. Wha weel can weet folk's ain mislearins? Waddell f ifl/ms
(1871) xix. 12.
2. sb. A worthless man ; an unlucky fellow. Wxf.^
[1. OE. mtslaeran, to teach wrongly, to persuade a per-
son to do what is wrong (B.T.).]
MISLEARED, ppl. adj. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Also
written misleard Sc. Nhb.^ Cum. n.Yks.^ ; misleerd,
misleered Sc. ; and in forms misleart Ayr. ; misleert
Nhb.^ [mislia'rd.] Unmannerly, ill-bred. See Mislear.
Sc. Some misleard rascals abused my country, Scott Nigel (1822)
iii ; The deil's greedy, but you're misleard, Henderson Prov.
(1832) 29, ed. 1887. Elg. He thumb'd the gowd— O Sathan ! ye,
Misleer'd, decoy'd the touch, Couper Poetry (1804) II. 71. Bch.
Then to blame me Is futie an' mislear'd, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 31.
e.Sc. The deil's menseless, but you're misleard, Setoun Sunshine
(1895) 124. Abd. My father, who was a greater scholar than your-
self, you misleared loon, Ruddiman Parish (1828) 37, ed. i88g.
Frf. To be awarded the punishment which their misleared conduct
had made their due, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 44, ed. 1889.
Per. An Auld Kirk man a'll dee, unless some misleared body tries
tae drive me, Ian Maclaren ^«W Lang Syne (1895) 30. w.Sc.
I would be mislear'd gif I didna' say that I was obliged to you for
the offer, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 91. s.Sc. He's nae mair
nor a gommeril ; a mislear'd chield, Snaith Fierceheart (1897) 134.
Rnf. FiNLAYSON Rhymes (1815) 109. Ayr. He egget on the mis-
leart creature his servant-man to break your land-surveyOr's im-
plement, Galt Lairds (1826) xxii. Lnk. Auld maid's bairns are
never misleared, Glasgow Herald {Dec. 23, 1889). Edb. Mislear'd
fallow, the meikle devil speed him. Mitchell Tinklarian (ed. 1810)
9. Slk. These audacious (or, as she called them, misleared) beings,
Hogg Tales (1838) 42, ed. 1866. Rxb.But they wha here are sae
misleard, Riddell Poet. Wks. (ed. 1871) 1. 238. Dmf. Pride bein'
the leadin' feature O' this misleared, mischievous creature, Quinn
Heather {1&62) 135. Gall. That misleered hound, the minister's loon,
Crockett Bog-Myrtle (1895) 375. Kcb. How is it, sir, that I cannot
be quit of your bills, and your misleared cries? Rutherford Lett.
(1660) No. 181. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.) Nhb.i Cum.
He's a greet mislear'd beast to eat that way (E.W.P.). n.Yks.^
MISLER, sb. Hrf2 [mi-zl3(r).] The missel-thrush,
Turdus viscivorus.
MISLEST, V. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs. Midi.
Der. Not. Lin. Lei. Won Hrf. Som. Also in forms
meslest Midi. ; mislist N.Li Nhb. Cum. Lan. Lei.'
[misle'st, misli'st.] To molest, annoy, insult.
N.I.i Uls. Nothing mislists the gentle people [the fairies], Uls.
Jrn.Arch. (1859) VII. 140; A puir, gan' aboot cratur, but he's God's
wean, an' folk shud niver mislist an aul' body, M^Ilroy Craig-
linnie (1900) 22. Nhb. Mony an eel did Jack mislist Feedin' on the
deed man's breest, Chater Tyneside Ann. (1869) 33 ; Noo, wor
pollis, t'yek warnin, an' divvent mislist us, Robson Evangeline
(1870) 368 ; Nhb.i Cum. He inquired thrice of him, if any
had mislested him (E.W.P.) ; Neahbody mislestit my box,
Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 85. n.Yks.^ e.Yks. N. &= Q. (1886)
7th S. i. 34 ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks. If he . . . mislests nubdy,
it's nowt we have owt to do wi'. Hartley Clock Aim. (1881) 33 ;
w.Yks.2 Lan. If anybody mislists her, owd Snapper-spring '11
ungaitther ribs for 'em, Brierley Waverlow (1863) 196, ed. 1884.
e.Lan.i Chs.' No one ever mislesses us ; Chs.^ s.Chs.' Ndo'bdi)l
neviir misles't yii ij)dh roa'd [Noob'dy '11 never mislest y6 o' th'
road]. Midi. He ax'd me if he had ever mislested me, N. & Q.
(1885) 6th S. xii. 514 ; Mr. Thorn. Ratcliffe refers to ' mislested ' as
common . . . and ' melested ' as occasionally heard, ib. (1886) 7th
S. i. 34. Der. N. &' Q. (1886) 7th S. i. 34; Der.2, nw.Der.i Not.
He mislested him shocking (L.C.M.). s.Not. Don't mislest 'er no
more, poor thing! (J. P. K.) Lin. (J.C.W.) n.Lin. When he isn't
mislestin' ducks, he's lettin' pigs oot, M. Peacock Tales (1890) 87;
(E.S.) ; n.Lin.i You mun see 'at sum'ats is dun aboot Chafor's bull,
he mislests iv'ry thing. sw.Lin.' The bees won't mislest you.
They go two or three together for fear of being mislested. Lei."-
This is the stick you was a-goin' to mislist me with. Wor. N. & Q.
(1886) 7th S. i. 34. m.Wor. (I.C.) w.Wor. Nor mislested 'em,
S. BEAUCHAMpGcflMWey G(-a«g-e(i874')I.2oo. Hrf.^ w.Som.i Nobody
'on't never mislest [miislaes'] you, nif you don't zay nort to they.
[A mispronunciation of ' molest,' arising from the
common use of the prefix mis-, in the sense of wrong.]
MISLIKE, V. Sc. Yks. Lan. Lin. Sur. Sus. Som. Cor.
[mislai'k.] 1. To dislike.
Sc. It was the New Inn and the daft havrels . . . that she
misliked, Scott St. Ronan { 1 824) xv ; When she left him ... his mind
began again to mislike the project, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 51.
Abd. Bringing the people to mislike their covenant and haill
procedure, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 102. Per. Howsoever ye
have been misliked of many, yet have you proved a profitable
servant to your Master in most difiScult times, Lawson Bk. of Per.
(1847") 260. Edb. Misliking my low employment as I did, Beatty
Secretar (1897) 12. Gall. She had forgotten her own terror in
little delicate ministrations to the woman who misliked her,
Crockett Anna Mark (1899) xxvii. n.Yks.', e.Yks.* Lan. Aw
mislike it, Clegg Sketches (1895) 303. ne.Lan.', n.Lin.i, sw.Lin.i
Sur. He didn't mislike the look o' the stubbles, Hoskyns Talpa
(1852) 136, ed. 1857. Sus.*- Som. 'Tis a tickhsh place to live in
if you be a bit misliked, Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) ii. w.Som.'-
Aay sheod'n miisluyk dhik jaub u bee't [I should not mislike that
job at all]. Cor. I thought the lass misliked 'un, ' Q.' Troy Town
(1888) xxiii.
2. Obs. To displease.
Slg. All they would do was to allow Mr. Bruce to come out if
he heard anything that misliked him, Bruce Sermons (1631) 69,
ed. 1843.
[2. And i haue halden lang in thoght J>e ded })at me
misliked oght, Cursor M. (c. 1300) 28229. OE. ntislician,
to displease (B.T.).]
MISLIKEN, V. Sc. Cum. Yks. Also in form mis-
likken Cum.* n.Yks.'^ [mislaikan, -li'ksn.] 1. To
disparage, to compare disparagingly ; to miscall ; to do
discredit to.
Ayr. I could not bide to hear Annie Daisie mislikent, Galt Lairds
(1826) vii ; It's my part no to require ony thing at your hands that
would misliken the favour of Providence, ib. Sir A. Wylie (1822)
Ixxxvi. Cum. Don't you misliken me. . . I'm none of your peeping
Toms, Caine Hagar (1887) I. 199 ; Cum.' Divvent mislikken noo.
n.Yks.2
2. Obs. To disappoint of one's expectations.
n.Yks. Wee'd been misliken'd of our dinners, Meriton Praise
Ale (1684) 1. 226.
MISLIN-BUSH, sb. e.An.* The mistletoe, Viscum
MISLIPPEN, V. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Also
written mislippin Uls. Nhb. [misli'pan.] 1. To dis-
trust, doubt ; to suspect. See Lippen.
Sc. I thought it best to slip out, quietly though, in case she
should mislippen something of what we're gaun to do, Scott Blk.
Dwarf (1816) iv. Ayr. I do not mislippen but he lost his grip,
and would be mortally injured by his fall, Johnston Glenbuckie
(1889) 186. Uls. (M.B.-S.), N.Cy.i, ne.Lan.i
2. To disappoint. Gen. in pp.
N.Cy.i, Nhb.i Yks. Grose (1790). w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(May 4, 1895) ; A failure of appointment is thus spoken of — ' he
mislippened me,' Hamilton Nugae Lit. (1841)338 ; Watsos Hist.
Hlfx. (1775) 543 ; w.Yks.* I've hed a sleeveless earrand, an I'se
seea mislippen'd, ii. 290 ; w.Yks.^*, e.Lan.*
3. To neglect, overlook ; to mismanage.
Sc. To mislippen one's business. 'And now, be sure, the
yeardingo' my bains Dinna mislippen— O remember me. The Ghaist,
6 (Jam.) ; Ye ne'er mislippened nane, O Lord, Waddell Psalms
(i87i)ix. 10. Bnff.i Abd. See that Betty's nae mislippen' her jots,
ALEXANDER/o/zKMy Gibb{i8-]T) xix. Dmb. Miss Migummerie is in
a terror in case Mr. Jimes should have a hard bed, or sleep in a
damp room, . . or be mislippened in a 1000 ways. Cross Disruption
(1844) xxxii. Rnf. Our vera bit yardie. . . Was aft sae mislippened
nocht thrave in't ava, Young Pictures (1865) 126. Ayr. I wouldna
that a thing gi'en to me in the way of trust was mislippent,
Galt Sir A . Wylie (1822) xiii. Slk. Ilka woman has that power, . .
an' I fancy few o' them mislippen it, Hogg Tales (ed. 1866) 234.
Gall. Heaven do so to me an' more also ... if I ever mislippen a
probationer when yince I'm settled in the Dowiedens, Crockett
Stickit Min. {iSgs) 63. N.L* Ant. Ballymena Obs. {iSga). N.Cy.*,
Nhb. (W.G.) w.Yks. I mislippen'd it (S.J.C). Lan. I soon fan I
wur mislippened, Donaldson Rossendel Beef-neet, 12.
MISLIST
[131]
MISS
4. To delude, deceive.
Rnf. I hafflins think his een hae him mishppen'd, Tannahill
Poems (1807) 27 (Jam.).
MISLIST, MISLON, see Mislest, Maslin, sb}
MISLOOK, V. Yks. Som. Also in form misleuk
n.Yks.'^ To overlook ; to miss in searching ; to mislay,
lose temporarily.
n.Yks.2, m.Yks.'^ w.Som.^ We've a mislooked ever so many of
our v\?adges ; you 'an't a borried none o'm, I s'pose !
MISLUCK, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Also in form
mizluck Wxf * [mislB-k.] 1. sb. Ill-luck, misfortune.
Sc. It was the misluck of a meeting with them, wounding to his
pride and self-esteem, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 56; Wha can
help misluck? Ramsay ProK. (1776) 75 (Jam.). Cai.^ Slg. Fortune,
that thrawn-headed slut. Has gi'en ye your share o' misluck,
Galloway Poems (1795) 11. Rnf. They hae a knack o' ilka beuk.
Can tell the cure for ilk misluck, Webster Rhymes (1835) 118.
Lnk. What but the very blackest misluck could she expect to
happen during a year that had begun with such dire misfortune 1
Murdoch Readings (1895) III. 114. Lth. Oh ! mair dirdum an'
misluck. In his guid naig's fat rump it stuck, Bruce Poems {iBi^)
II. 166. Edb. The day after I had had the misluck with Mary
Ainslie, Beatty Secretar (1897) 386. Wxf.i 57.
Hence Misluckit, ppl. adj. unlucky, unfortunate.
Bnff.' He's a mis-luckit stock wee a' thing it he pit's han' till.
He's sair mis-luckit wee's baiss. Nhb.^ We've been varry fortinit
wi' the powltry, but mislucket wi' the geese.
2. V. To miscarry, not to prosper. Sc. (Jam.)
MISLUSHIOUS, adj. Obs. or obsol. Sc. Also written
mislushios Lnk. Malicious, rough.
Sc. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl. Lnk. Hutcheon with a three-
lugged cap . . . Hit Geordie a mislushios rap, Ramsay /'oews(i72i)
129. . Edb. Tak that, ye mislushious jaude ye, Beatty Secretar
(1897) 256.
WlSMACH.T,ppl.adj. Obs. Sc. Also inform mismaight.
Mismatched, disarranged. Sibbald GL (1802) (Jam.).
MISMAGGLE, v. ? Obs. Sc. Also written mismaggil
j(Jam.). To spoil, mar ; to disorder.
Bcb. Far I misgrugled a' her apron an' mismaggl'd a' her
cockernony, Forbes Jm. (1742) 17. Fif. My face, my face has
mismaggilled my fortune, Tennant Card. Beaton (1823) go (Jam.).
MISMAIM, V. n.Lan.i [misme-m.] To disturb. Cf
mismay.
That's a gud barn ; any body may tak it up an' it niver mismaims
itsel'.
MISMAKE, V. Sc. Also in forms mismack, mismak.
1. To shape badly ; to form improperly, as applied to
clothes. n.Sc. (Jam.) 2. To disturb, trouble ; to dis-
compose ; reflex, to blush, change countenance.
w.Sc. He could threep a lee in your face an' no mismak him
(Jam. Suppl.). Slk. Dinna mis-make yoursell for me (Jam.).
MIS-MANNERED, adj. Sc. Cum. Lan. Also in form
mismannert Lan. [misma'nsd, -at.] Ill-mannered, un-
mannerly ; unbecommg.
Kcb. ? Obs. There is some pining and mismannered hunger, that
maketh me miscall and nickname Christ as a changed Lord, Ruther-
ford Z.««. (1660) No. 108. Cum. Linton iaAc Cy. (1864)308. Lan.
A mis-manner't waistril, Waugh Tattlin' Matty, 22; Lie there, aw
says, theaw mismannert pillar o' ice, will to, Staton Loominary
(c. 1861) 17 ; Barbara called me a mis-mannered hound, Francis
Daughter of Soil (1895) 102. ne.Lan.^
MISMAR, V. Obs. Sc. To disarrange, mar.
Elg. The banster growls his tumbl'd stocks, And har'st
mismarr'd sae sair, Couper Poetry (1804) I. 161.
MISMARROW, V. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Also in
form mismorrow Sc. (Jam.) S. & Ork.' 1. v. To pair
wrongly, not to match rightly. See Marrow, sb.^ 7.
Sc. (Jam.), S. & Ork.i Dmf. O we're a' mismarrowed thegither,
O we're a' misfitted and wrang, Wallace Schoolmaster (1899)
19s. N.Cy.i, Nhb.i
Hence Mismarrow't, ppl. adj. ill-matched, not of a pair.
Cld. (Jam.)
2. sb. One of a pair that does not correspond, anything
that is wrongly matched.
Abd. Nae rung had he nor whup to drive His twa mismarrows
on their way, Shelley Flowers (1868) 56. Cld. (Jam.)
MISMAUCHER, v. Abd. (Jam.) [Not known to our
correspondents.] To spoil, render useless.
MISMAVE, see Mismove.
MISMAY, V. Sc. Irel. Cum. Also in form mismae
Sc. (Jam.) [misme-.] To disturb, put about ; to molest,
annoy. Gen. used reflex.
Cld., Dmf. She never mismaed her mind (Jam.). N.I.^ Ant. He
niver mismayed himself, but let me dae it a' mysel', Ballymena
Ofo. (1893). Cum.i Our cowt met t'soldiers and niwer mismay't
hissel'.
[Cp. lit. E. dismay with change of pref.]
MIS-MAZE, MISMEAVE, see Mizmaze, Mismove.
MISMEAL, V. Nhb. Yks. Also written miss-meal
Nhb.^ [mismi'l, mismia'l.] To milk a cow intermittently,
previous to drying her.
Nhb. 1 To milk a cow one meal and neglect to do so for a meal or
two after, and to thus intermit until the udder becomes dry (s.v.
Meal). w.Yks.i To milk a cow once a day instead of twice. [When
you begin to dry a cow, mismeal her for a week or ten days,
Knowlson Cattle Doctor {iQ'n) 120.]
MISMENSE, V. Yks. [misme-ns.] To soil, sully,
damage, to make untidy ; fig. to disgrace. See Mense.
n.Yks. She'll mismense hergown wi t'sun and rain (I. W. ); n.Yks.' ;
n.Yks.2 The paint is sadly mismensed. It weean't mismense you
[it will not disgrace you]. m.Yks.i
MISMINNIE, V. Sc. Of a lamb : to lose its mother,
to be put to suck strange ewes ; also used fig. See
Minnie, sb.'^ 3.
Abd. That bairn's cryin' because it's just misminnied (G.W.).
Cld. (Jam.)
MISMOVE, V. Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Also in forms
mismave Lakel.^ Cum.^; mismeave Nhb.' w.Yks.' ; mis-
muive, mismuve Sc. (Jam.) To disturb, trouble ; to dis-
concert, alarm, flurry.
s.Sc. Naething mi^oves ye or pits ye aboot, Wilson Tales
(1836) II. 164. Cld. Ye needna mismuive yoursell (Jam.). Slk.
lib.) Nhb.i This shall not in the least mismeave our mind, Kelly
Teetotallers (1854) 29. Lakel.' He went tul t'doctor, an' he saw'd
him a finger off, an' he was never a bit mismaved. Cum.' -w.Yks.'
Nought mismeaves him.
MISNARE, V. Cum.'^* [misneaT.] To incommode,
to put out of the way.
MISPORTION, V. n.Sc. (Jam.) [Not known to our
correspondents.] Reflex. To eat to excess, to surfeit
oneself.
MISRECKON, V. and sb. Sc. Yks. ? Dev. [misre'ksn.]
1. V. To miscalculate. Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks.^, m.Yks.'
2. sb. A miscalculation, mistake.
Dev. I made a misreckon, mother — Jane is the maid for me.
Baring- Gould Dartmoor Idylls (1896) 86.
MISRED, ppl. adj. ? Obs. Sc. Also in form niisrid
(Jam.). Entangled ; complicated.
Slk. That's a lang story, mither, an' a mis-red ane, Hogg Tales
(1838) 282, ed. 1866. Kcb. Prentice wabster lad who . . . wastes
the waft upo' a mis-rid pirn, Davidson Seasons (1789) 10 (Jam.).
MISREMEMBER, v. Sc. Irel. [misrime-mbsr.] To
forget.
Frf. I misremember now whether it was Mr. Scrimgour or the
Captain that took the fancy to my father's pigs, Barrie Licht
(1888) ix. Ir. I misremember what occurred, Kipling Bci. Ballads
(1892) 43, ed. 1895 ; No man living can say that he ever mis-
remembered a duel. Lever Martins (1856) I. xv.
MISS, sb} Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. [mis.] 1.
A title of respect used in addressing a young lady. cAn."-
2. The eldest daughter of a family. Also called Missy.
Lei.^ If miss woon't, non of the yoong uns will. War.^
3. Comp. Miss-Nancy, an effeminate person, esp. one
conspicuous for outward adornment and airs of gentility,
but deficient in common sense. Also used attrib.
n.Yks. She'll pretend to do fancy work, In netting or knotting
or other misnancy work, Lett, from Young Lady (1870) 35. w.Yks.
Eh! John William! he is a Miss Nancy (F.P.T.); Banks Wkfld.
Wds. (1865); (J.R.); w.Yks.i ; w.Yks.^ Sich a misnancy of a
husband, 41.
4. The title of a married woman.
Ken.' Sus. (F.A.A.) ; (F.E.) ; Sus.i Single ladies being addressed
as Mrs.
5. Obs. A mistress, paramour.
Sc. It was thought nothing uncivil for the peers of England to
talk of his popish misses in their houses of parliament even
5 2
MISS
[132]
MISSLIE
before the king's face, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 128. Slg. Priests,
lawyers, Iceen physicians, kept misses, Galloway Poems (1810) in
Stiior's Mag. 26. Lnk. The duke of York had the management of
things at court, in conjunction with French misses and pensioners,
WoDROW Ch. Hist. (1721) IV. 199, ed. 1828. n.Lin.i
MISS, V. and sb.^ Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
[mis.] 1. V. In piir. (i) to be both missed and wanted, to
be missed, to have one's absence regretted ; (2) miss a
foot or — one's foot, to miss one's footing, to make a false
step, to stumble ; (3) — a quarter of, of time : to be a
quarter to ; (4) — as one missed one's mammy's blessing, to
be disappointed at having missed something ; (5) — calf,
of a cow : not able to be impregnated ; (6) — of, (7) — on,
to miss.
(i) sw.Lin.i 'He'll be both missed and wanted,' the common
phrase to express that a person's loss will be felt. (2) Sc. The
burn was rinnin' frae bank to brae, I missed a fit and fell in, Sc.
Haggis, 58. Sh.I. He miss'd his fit an' sled doon ower da girse
apon his left bench, Sh. News (Oct. 6, 1900). Kcd. She mist a fit
or took a dwam, An' tuml't i' the Feugh, Grant Lays (1884) 12.
Frf. Ane o' them missed his fit owre a grozer bush, Willock
Rosetty Ends (1886) 127, ed. 1889. Ayr. But mist a fit an' in the
pool Out-owre the lugs she plumpit. Burns Halloween (1785) st.
26. Dmf. Near the linn he miss'd a fit and tumbl'd in, Shennan
Tales (1831) 78. Gall. Should he . . . miss a foot, and cock his
keel up, What dire disgrace might intervene, Nicholson Poet.
Wks. (1814) 83, ed. 1897; He missed a fit on the tap o' a dyke,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 176, ed. 1876. N.I.i (3) Snf. That
miss a quarter a twelve (C.T. ). (4) N.I.^ 'You missed as you
missed your mammy's blessin',' said derisively. (5) Sc. A cow
that slips or misses calf, N. df Q. (1856) and S. i.416. (6) n.Lin.i
My master is much concerned that he was so unhappy as to miss
of seeing you. Peck Axholme (1709) 207. Sur.i I miss of it terribly.
(7) w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.'- I miss'd on him yisterday, though I
look'd high an' low fer him.
2. To escape, avoid ; to escape the notice of.
Per. A drubbin' to miss, he sair sickness did sham, Nicoll Poems
(ed. 1843) 95. N.I.i There's not much misses you.
3. To fail, omit ; to be wanting, to fail to happen.
Sc. (W.C. c. 1750). Bch. You'll stand, I fear upon your
shankies, And maybe slaver in the brankies : It could not miss,
Forbes Doniinie (1785) 39. Abd. They didna miss To gie to
ilka dainty dame a sappy kiss, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 214. Rnf.
Whan buskit oot in braw new claes, Auld grannie's hansel's never
miss't, Neilson Poems (1877) 16. Ayr. Directions . . . she never
misses gieing to me when I gang oot or come in. Service Dr.
Duguid {ed. 1887) 160. Edb. Now an' then he soudna miss To
squeeze her hand, Crawford Poems (1798) 53. w.Yks. Ther
wor hardly a neet I missed goin' tut Feytin Cocks, Cudworth Dial.
Sketches (1884) 8. Hrf.2
Hence to miss but, phr. to fail to, to avoid, help.
Ayr. She's a kind gentle creature, and canna miss but to die n'
a broken heart, Galt Lairds (1826) xxvi. Gall. Four pounds a
head, a year auld steer. How can he miss but thrive ? Lauderdale
Poems (1796) 10. Cum. I lith'd him yeance, sea canna miss but
know, RiTSON Pastoral Dial. (1849) 6.
4. Of crops, &c.: to fail, not to grow ; to fail to germinate.
Sc. (A.W.) n.Yks. T'turnips is missed (_I.W.). w.Som.i More-n
half o' they taties missed. Never didn know the turmut zeed
miss, same's 't'ave de year.
5. Obs. To do without, dispense with.
Edb. An', when o' fraise she was na mist. He set her down upo'
the kist, Tzva Cuckolds (1796) 10. Midi. M alone Note to Tempest
I. ii. 312.
6. Reflex. To make a mistake.
n.Lln.^ I miss'd mysen sorely when Lord Yarbur caame, I thoht
he was a man hawkin' pills, an' tell'd him to goa aboot his business.
7. sb. Absence, loss, want.
Sh.I. Miss da boy I less his miss canna be made up ta me, Sk.
News (Jan. 29, 1898). Abd. Aw'm seer, man, he wud hae nae
gryte miss for a' the time, Alexander .^»'Ki7y^. (1882) 88. n.Yks.
You will find a miss o' them (I.W.) ; n.Yks. '^ It'd be a bad miss
gin ther' wur a want o' watter. w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Chs.^ 'Yo'n
find a miss o" such and such a person or thing. War.^ Give the
poor creature a penny, you will never feel the miss of it. Wor.
You'll feel the miss uv 'er, now (H.K,). w.Wor.i Sair' Ann 'ave
bin that spylt, 'er dunno w'en 'er's well oS. 'Er 'nil feel the miss
on it, w'en 'er mother's dyud. s.Wor.i Tom's lost his place ; and
'e'll find of it afore winter, and feel the miss o' good fittle. se.Wor.'
Hrf.2 He'll feel the miss o' good fittle. Glo. (A.B.), Glo.i Oxf.i
Er never had none, so er'll never feel the miss on't, MS. add.
Sur. He sent all his children to school for he 'knew the miss of it,'
Heath Eng. Peas. (1893) 146 ; Sur.^ I feel the miss of it every day.
8. Obs. A fault, defect, mistake.
Sc. Tremble lest I should tell mess John my misses, Pennecuik
Coll. (1787) 38. Abd. 'I slipt aff, and left them to their crack.'
' Nae miss o' that : for as I ween. They'll nae be angry they are
left alane,' Shirrefs Poems (1790) 33. Per. The devil take the
miss is That every officer was not slain. Ford Harp (1893) 63.
MISS, MISSAL(D, see Mass, sb.\ Mistal(L
MISSAUCHER,t/.and55. Sc. Also written missauchre,
missaucre (Jam.). 1. v. To destroy, spoil, ruin ; to hurt
or injure severely, to mangle, crush, bruise. Bnflf.'-, Ayr.
(Jam.) Cf. misacker. 2. sb. Destruction, ruin ; a severe
injury, suffering caused by crushing or beating.
Bnff.'- He ga's finger a dreedfou missaucher wee the mill.
Ayr. (Jam.)
MIS-SEEM, V. Sc. To ill-become.
Dmf. His head is getting a shade of grey — which does not mis-
seem him, but looks very well, Carlyle Lett. (1836) in Atlantic
Monthly (1898) LXXXII. 296.
[ME. missemen, to ill-become (Stratmann) ; Lo this
misemand thing folous, Hampole (c. 1330) Ps. Ixxii. 15.]
MISSEL, sb. Nhb. Shr. [mi'sL] In comp. (i) Missel-
bird. Shr.^, (2) -Dick, the missel-thrush, Turdus vis-
civorus. Nhb.' (s.v. Mezel-thrush).
MISSEL, MISSER, see Mizzle, v."^, Measure.
MIS-SET, II. Obs. Sc. To put out of humour, displease.
Sc. I did not say frighted, now — I only said mis-set wi' the
thing, Scott Blk. Dwarf (1816) iii ; Our minnie sair mis-set, ib.
Midlothian (1818) xviii. Ayr. I took the muse when I coud get her,
An'did'sshe bade, whadurst mis-set her? Fisher Po«*«i (1790) 143.
BnSSET, MISSHANTER, see Messet, Mishanter.
MISSING, sb., ppl. adj. and prep. Sh.I. n.Cy. Yks. Lan.
Also in form missens N.Cy.' Nhb.' [mi'sin.] 1. sb.
Anything missing.
N.Cy.' ' Here's a missens here,' said of a room from which the
furniture had been removed. Nhb.*- ne.Lan.' I's lukkan fer
t'missin's.
2. ppl. adj. Of a tide : moderate, not full. S. & Ork.'
3. prep. Excepting.
w.Yks. We all went missin' mi fatther (^.B.) ; (J.W.)
MISSION, V. ? Obs. Sc. To commission ; to send on
an errand.
Ayr. Lord Boyd, to whom I thought ye had been missioned,
Galt Gilhaize (1823) v.
MISSIONAR, sb. Sc. An itinerant preacher; also
used attrib.
Abd. I tell't ye foo she had banter't the missionar' an' Miss
McAllister, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (May 19, 1900) ; A missionar
minister, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) iv ; The Missionars were
sae rife in this parish, and the eggs so scarce, for every wife was
hauling them to these preachers, Ruddiman Parish (1828) 133,
ed. 1889.
MISSIS, see Mistress, sb}
MISSIVE, s6. Sc. L Income, (i) Missive of lease,
(2) — of tack, a provisional lease, an informal contract
prior to a legal one duly drawn up.
(i) Rnf. His lease being about to expire he was ' courted and
solicite ' by his lordship and his factor to apply for its renewal •
and having agreed to do so, a missive of lease was sent to him by
the factor for approval. Hector Judic. Records (1876) 129. (2)
Ayr. As gif the Almighty was bun by missives o' tack to gie them
seed-time an' harvest, whether they deserve it or no, Ainslie
Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 69.
2. A letter sent. Sc. (Jam.)
MISSLE, see Mizzle, v.^
MISSLIE, adj. Sc. Irel. Also in form mistly Lth.
(Jam.) Ant. [mi'sli.] 1. Solitary, lonely from the absence
of anything.
Sc. Siebald Gl (1802) (Jam.). Lth. {ib) Ant. It is very mistly,
wanting the dog (S.A.B.).
Hence Misslieness, sb. solitariness, loneliness from the
absence of any one. Cld. (Jam.)
2. Missed, regretted or wanted when absent.
Gall. We say such a one is missile, when his presence is missed
anywhere, and thought to be awanting, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824).
MISSMENT
[133 J
MISTIME
MISSMENT, sb. Cor. Also written misment Cor.^
[mi'sment, -mant.] 1. A mistake, error.
Theere's shurely some missment somewheere, T. Tou/ser(iS'j3)
14 ; Howsomever, we made a missment, Tregellas Tales (1865)
33 ; Cor.i 'Twas a misment on my part ; Cor.^
2. A loss.
We've found 'ee a great missment, 'Q.' Three Ships (i8go) viii.
MISSOL, MISSOUR, see Mistal(l, Measure.
MIS^SORT, V. Yks. Also written mis-soort n.Yks.''
[mis-soTt.] 1. To mismanage, to treat wrongly.
n.Yks.2 ' He mis-soorted her strangely,' said of the cow, which
the farrier had medicined injudiciously.
2. To mistrust. m.Yks.^
MISSPEAK, V. Obs. Cld. (Jam.) To praise unduly.
To praise one for a virtue or good quality which his conduct
immediately after belies.
MISSWEAR,!;. 1 Obs. Sc. To swear falsely, to perjure.
Sc. (Jam.) Hence Mis-sworn,///, adj. perjured, forsworn.
s.Sc. To prevent him from making himself a mis-sworn man,
Wilson Tales (1839) V. 54.
MIST, sb. and v. Ken. Wil. [mist.] 1. sb. In comp.
Mist-pond, a pond on the downs not fed by any spring
but by mist, dew, or rain. Cf. dew-pond.
Wil.i Such ponds rarely fail, even in the longest drought.
2. V. To rain finely, to drizzle. Ken.^^
MISTAFUL, see Mischiefful.
MISTAKE, V. and sb. Sc. Also in form mistak.
1. V. Obs. In phr. (i) to mistake afoot, (2) — the road, to
stumble.
(i) Frf. Nell Mistook a fit for a' her care, An' wi' a haiches
fell, yioKisoN Poems (1790) 25. (2) Which gar'd her feet mistak
the road. And o'er baith hip an' hoUion, She fell that night, ib. 24.
2. To transgress, do wrong.
Sc. I think the knave mistook more out of conceit than of
purpose, Scorr Nigel (1822) iv.
3. sb. In phr. no mistake but, doubtless.
Per. Nae mistak but they should keep to Bible ways, Sabbath
Nights (1899) 7.
MISTAL(L, sb. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Lan. Also written
mystall w.Yks.*; and in forms missal(d, missol w.Yks. ;
mista w.Yks.' ; mistle w.Yks.® Lan. ; misto w.Yks.^ ;
mistoe w.Yks.* [mi'stl.] A cow-house.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Cum.^, n.Yks.', ne.Yks.^ w.Yks. My
father went into the old missal, to fodder the cows (F.P.T.) ;
(D.L.) ; Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.^ I've been laten him i'
th' mista, ii. 286; w.Yks. '^*® Lan. They went into the stable
and cowhouse (or mistle as it was called in that country),
Hamerton Wenderholme (1869) vii ; Lan.^
Hence Mistal-heck, sb. a half-door fitted into the passage
leading from the farm-house to the cow-shed.
Cum."- In old times the farm-house was built adjoining the
cow-house or mistal, with a passage between them. The doorway
opening from this passage into the cow-house was fitted with a
half door or mistal-heck. A few buildings of this kind still remain.
[Norw. dial, mj^st^l, a dairy in a mountain pasture
(Aasen) ; mjplke stddl, a milking-shed in the hill pastures
(Ross) ; st^l, a milking place in a distant pasture ( Aasen) ;
ON. stdiull, a. milking shed for kine (Vigfusson).]
MISTEACH, V. and sb. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lin. Also in forms mistach Nhb.' Yks. ; mistech n.Cy.
Nhb. e.Yks.i w.Yks. ; mistetch N.Cy." Nhb.' Dur.' Cum."
Wm. n.Yks."'*ne.Yks.' m.Yks.' w.Yks.'^ [mistltj, -tei-tj,
-te-tj.] 1. V. To teach or train badly, to render unsettled
or unmanageable.
Ciim.2* n.Yks. Mistetching other fooaks, Tweddell Clevel.
Rhymes (1875) 38 ; Thou'l mistetch my cow, Meriton Praise Ale
(1684) 1. 14. m.Yks.i, w.Yks.'
Hence Misteached, ppl. adj. badly trained or reared ;
having acquired bad habits, vicious ; out of temper, worried.
Gen. applied to animals.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.* ; N.Cy.^ A mistetcht horse. Nhb.
Mr. Ogle had amisteched thoroughbred mare, Dixon Whittingham
Vale (1895) 50; He was a mistetched chap, ye ken, one o' the
sort that has a bit grudge against everythin', an' vicious same as
horses is sometimes. Pease Tales (1899) 80 ; Nhb.' A dangerous
horse is termed mistached. Dur.' s.Dur. It's good for nowt ; it's a
mistetched un, it winnot pull an empty cart (J.E.D.). Cum.
(J.Ar.) ; A mistetched fowl, one that has been improperly hatched
and is consequently weak and feeble (E.W. P.) ; You'll be wrapped
in warm flannel to-morrow, like a mistetched chicken, Dalby May-
royd (1888) III. 75. s.Wm. (J.A.B.) Yks. A mistacht horse, a
mistecht palate (K.). n.Yks. ' = * ne.Yks.' Sha's gotten quiet
mistetched. e.Yks. Marshall Ritr. Econ. (1788). e.Yks.' Thou
must be misteched ti gan on i that way. w.Yks. They've plagued
yon chap till he's gotten misteched (S.P.U.). n.Lin.'
2. sb. A bad habit or training.
N.Cy.i, n.Yks.i w.Yks.' T'oud mear hes gitten a sad mistetch ;
w.Yks.2 Sometimes used by horse-dealers.
[1. OE. mistcecan, to teach wrongly (B.T.).]
MISTENT, V. and sb. Sc. 1. v. To neglect. Bwk.
(Jam.) See Tent, v. 2. sb. A mistake, slip.
Edb. It's good for folks to tak good tent, And warning take by
this mistent, Liddle Poems (1821) 169.
MISTER, s6.' Sc. Nhb. War. Also in form mistor
Nhb.' [mi-sta(r.] A term of address, Hke ' sir.'
Sc. (A.W.) Nhb.' Used by a superior to an inferior or in a tone of
reproof as, ' Noo then, mistor, what are ye deeinwi' ma box?' War.
Do you know, Mister, you can hear a good German razor whistle
when you use it properly, B'ham Dy. Mail (Feb. 3, 1896) ; War.^
Gen. applied by labourers to those above them in rank : ' I say,
Mister, which is the way to Bristol Street ? ' Heard in refresh-
ment rooms : ' What can I give you. Mister ? '
MISTER, sb.^ Yks. [mi-sta(r).] In phr. whatmister?
what sort ? what kind ?
w.Yks. Yks. Mag. (Dec. 1872) II. 113 ; Dyer Dial. (1891) 57.
[What mister wight she was, and whence i-brought ?
Fairfax Tasso (1600) iv. 28 ; But telleth me what mister
men ye been, Chaucer C. T. a. 1710. The expression
what mister men ? is equivalent to men of what mister (i.e.
occupation) ? OFr. mestier, 'genre d'occupation manuelle,'
Hatzfeld (s.v. Me'tier).}
MISTER, sb.^ and v. Obs. Sc. Also written myster.
1. sb. Need, want, necessity.
Sc. Mister makes man of craft, Ferguson Prov. (1641) 24;
There's nae friend to friend in mister, ib. 31; Warld's gear
was henceforth the least of her care, nor was it likely to be
muckle her mister, Scott Midlothian (i8i8) xliv. Abd. As gryt's
my mister, Ross Helenore (1768) 7, ed. 1812 ; And yet I kend her
mister to be great, ib. 34. Lnk. The sighing sisters Who often beet
them in their misters, Ramsay Poems (1721) 136.
Hence Misterful, adj. needy, in want or difficulty.
Sc. Misterfou' fowk mauna be mensfou', Ferguson Proj/. (164 1)
24 ; Dalrymple Gl. (c. 1800).
2. Phr. to beet a mister, to supply a want. See Beet, 4.
Lth. The phr. when anything, for which there is no present use,
is laid up in case of future necessity : ' This will beit a mister '
(Jam., s.v. Beit). Slk. If twa or three hunder pounds can beet a
myster for you in a strait ye sanna want it, Hogg Tales (1838)
294, ed. 1866.
3. V. To be necessary, to need.
Sc. Gif it misters (Jam.). Slg. What misterd us to have a
sign? Brvce Sermons (1631) 17, ed. 1843. Edb. What misters
me for to express My present poverty or wrack, Pennecuik Wks.
(1715) 338, ed. 1815. Slk. Little misters it to me whar they
gang, Hogg Tales (1838) 36, ed. 1866.
[1. Quhilk of thamehad of help mister, Barbour Bruce
(lyiS) XI. 452 ; Wi)) tresour greet & preciouse ))ing Suche
as maydenes han of mistere. Cursor M. (c. 1300) 3247.
OFr. (Norm.) we5fer,'besoin,necessite'(MoisY). 2. Grantit
eik leif wod to hew, and tak Tymmer to beit ayris and
wther mysteris, Douglas Eneados (1513), ed. 1874, 11. 53.
3. First quhen he mistert not, he micht. He neids, and
may not now, Montgomerie Cherrie (1597) 805 ; To mister,
lack, egere. Levins Manip. (1570).]
MISTER, see Master, sb.^
IVnSTERFUL, a^'. Won Misty.
It be so misterful out o' doors, it be dark already (H.K.).
MISTERN, ^j!i/. fl^'. Obs. Wxf.' Dazzled.
MIST-FAWN, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Mist resembling a white
spot of ground.
Slk. If it be a mist fawn, as I dare say it can be naething else,
it has drawn itself up into a form the likest that of a woman of
ought I ever saw, HoGC Perils of Man (1822) II. 256 (Jam.).
MISTIME, V. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Not. Lin. [mistai'm.]
1. To disturb the regular routine of one's life, to put out
of one's usual habits.
MISTLE
[ 134 ]
[ISTRYST
Sc. (A.W.) Nhb.' Aawis sair mistimed, an' hed little sleep for a
week. n.Yks.^* w.Yks. He has not slept for three nights. No wonder
he is ill ; he is quite mistimed, Hamilton Nitgae Lit. (1841) 356 ;
(S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.^ That al mistime her ah sud'nt wonder, 22.
Not. My master's been ill a three week and I feel very much
mistimed (L.C.M.). n.Lin. I was that mistimed with Jack bein'
ill so long I hev niver been rightly mysen sin' (M.P.). sw.Lin.^
With having the boys at home she has mistimed herself a bit.
Hence (i) Mistimeous, adj. irregular, unpunctual, not
to be trusted to do anything at the proper time or in the
proper manner ; (2) Mistiming, sb. want of punctuality,
irregularity of hours or habits.
(i) Cal.i (2) Dmb. This illness maun have maid him less fit to
thole ony mistiming either of meat or sleep. Cross Disruption
(1844) xxxii.
2. To play out of time.
Slg. Ere they wad mistime a note They wadna care a single
groat, MuiR Poems (1818) 62.
MISTLE, see Mizzle, v}, Mistal(l.
MISTLET0E,s6. Nhb.Lin.Shr. Alsoinformsmezeltoe
Nhb."^; miseltoe Shr.^ [mi'zl-, mi'slto.] 1. A bunch of
evergreens hung from the ceiling at Christmas-time. Cf.
kissing-bough.
n.Lin.i Gen. formed on a hoop. It is decked with oranges and
trinkets, and is used for the same purpose as the real mistletoe is
in those parts of England where it can be readily procured.
2. Cotnp. Mistletoe-thrush, the missel-thrush, Turdus
viscivonis.
Nhb.i (s.v. Mezel-thrush). Shr.^ It moves off in considerable
flocks into Herefordshire and Monmouthshire for the sake of the
mistletoe, which abounds in the orchards there, on the viscous
berries of which it dehghts to feed ; whence it has obtained its
familiar name of missel, or mistletoe-thrush, Science Gossip (1873)
166. [FoRSTER Swallows (ed. 181 7) 72.]
MISTRESS, sb. Var. dial, and coUoq. uses in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also in forms misses Suf. ; missess Nhp.'^ ;
missis vi?.Yks. s.Chs.^ Not. Nhp.' War.^ Sur. Dor. Dev. ;
missus Fif Lan. s.Wor.i Hrf.^^ Brks.' Hnt. Nrf. Ess. Sur.^
Sus. Dor. Som. ; misthiss w.Ir. ; mistus Ken.^ Sus.^
[mi'stris, mi'sis.] 1. A title of respect given to the wives
of the lower clergy, farmers, small tradesmen, &c.
So. The tacksmen or principal tenants are named by their farms.
. . And their wives are called the mistress of Kingsburgh, Boswell
Jm. (1785) 146 (Jam.) ; The active bustle of the mistress (so she
was called in the kitchen, and the gudewife in the parlour), Scott
Guy M. (1815) xxiv. s.Sc. In the Lowlands, esp. in the country,
the wife of a minister is called the mistress (Jam.). Ayr. The
mistress, as a' ministers' wives o' the right kind should be, was in
a wholesome state of composity. Steam-boat (1822) 296 {ib.). Nhp.'^
e.An.^ The wife of the humble vicar, the curate, the farmer, and
the tradesman must be content with the style of mistress ; which,
indeed, is going rapidly downwards among the ci-devant goodies.
Hrf.i Brks.' Be the Missus at whoam if 'e plaze 1 Sus. (F.A.A.) ;
(F.E.)
2. A familiar term for a wife.
Per. The wife wad be for pu'in' the wig aff my cantle, . . for
she's no for prankin' wi' that gate, my mistress ! Cleland Inch-
bracken (1883) 149, ed. 1887. Fif. The missus was telHng me,
Meldrum Margredel (1894) 148. Ayr. Ye ken Girzie and oor
mistress never got on very weel wi' ane anither, Johnston Glen-
buckie (1889) 74. Lth. Say that yer dear young mistress at hame
is a great newspaper woman, Ldmsden Sheep-head (1892) 260.
Gall. To ask him when he thought of taking a mistress up to the
Back o' Beyont, Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 55. n.Ir. Now,
Paddy, my man, that shows what the fowk think o' you an' yer
mistress, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 79 ; N.l.^His mistress opened
the door to me. Wm. Oor mistress hes gone ta t'market (B.K.).
w.Yks. Hah's t'missis, Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865). Lan. If our
missus chanced to look an' see me at th' window, Longman's
Mag. (Nov. 1897) 66. nw.Der.i Not. I went back into the 'ouse
to tell the missis. Prior Renie (1895) 192; (L.C.M.) s.Wor.i,
Hrf.2, Glo. (A.B.), Brks.i Hnt. Go tell the missus I want her
(T.P.F.). e.An.2 Nrf. Yow've took awah m'heart, my suster,
my missus, Gillett Sng. Sol. (1860) iv. g. Suf.i, e.Suf. (F.H.)
Ess. Missus ! I thinks as how, taa-day, Yow've put the meller's
eye out, CLARKy. Noakes (1839) st. 81. Ken.i My mistus and me's
done very well and comfortable together for 'bove fifty year. Sur.
A year and a half ago I buried my poor missis over there, Jennings
Field Paths (1884) 23 ; Sur.' Sus. I sends my mistus for the club
doctor, Gent. Mag. (May 1890) 465 ; Sus.i It is very difficult to
say at what age a Sussex man's wife ceases to be his mistus and
becomes the old 'ooman, and finally lapses into the old gal. Dor.
You an yer missus 'ud make yer dinner off 'em, Cornh. Mag. (Sept.
1900) 309. Som. Now then, missus, make haste wi' the cup,
Raymond Sam and Sabina (1894) 22. Dev. Missis, when'erzeed
the Bishop coming, 'Er tummilled piire ol' passon intti bed, Salmon
Ballads (1899) 48.
8. A young unmarried lady. Sus.' Cf. miss, sb}
4. A female sweetheart.
Dor. Why bisn't walken the missis round thease evenen, Eert ?
Windsor Mag. (Aug. 1900) 352.
5. A term of address to a strange woman.
n.Cy. (J. W.), e.Dur.' w.Yks. Nah, missis, leyn o' yer brekfast,
Saunterer's Satchel (1875) 39 ; Tak no gaum on 'em, missis, ib. 40.
Not. (L.C.M.)
6. A lady.
w.Ir. As the misthiss beyant in the big house often did afore.
Lover Leg. (1849) I. 39.
7. An employer. Sus. (F.A.A.), (F.E.) 8. A pit lantern
used by drivers in the main airways. Cf. midgey.
Nhb.i An oblong box wanting the front side, which is left un-
glazed and open. Nhb., Dur. An oblong box without a front,
carried upright, the use of which is to carry a lighted candle or
small lamp in a current of air, Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
e.Dur.i (s.v. Midgy).
9. V. To act as mistress, to assume airs of superiority.
s.Cbs.'^ Ahy kon')u stond too foa'ks i)th sai'm aays mis'isin oaT
mey [I conna stond two folks i' th' same haise missisin' o'er mey],
Nhp.i If one of the junior branches of a family interferes in the
management of domestic concerns, a servant would say, ' I won't
have her mississing over me.'
Hence (i)Mississing,^^/.a^'.,(2)Missusy,fl^'.assuming,
authoritative, domineering.
(i) s.Chs.' Th dau'tiiraa'd sichmis-isin wee"z [Th' daughter had
sich missisin' wees]. War. ^^ The mississing hussy. (2) Brks. '
MISTRUE, V. Sh.I. To distrust ; to disbelieve.
The lasses wirna still free o' mistruin' 'William, Sh. News (Oct.
22, 1898).
[Norw. dial, mistrim, to mistrust (Aasen) ; Dan. mistro
(Larsen).]
MISTRUST, V. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Lin. Hrf. Som.
Cor. Also in forms misthrist e.Yks.^ ; mistrist n.Yks.^
e.Lan.^ [mistru'st, -trB-st.] 1. To distrust, doubt ; to
regard with suspicion.
Ayr. I'm no mistrusting Willie Pitt, Burns A Dream (1786) st.
7. Edb. My husband has it on his mind that I have mistrusted
him, Beatty Secretar (1897) 143. Gall. We winna mourn ower
sair as if we mistrusted Him ! He wadna like that, Crockett Kit
Kennedy {i8gg) i^o. n.Cy. (J.W.) n.Yks. Ah mistristed him frg
t'varry first (I.W.). e.Yks.i, e.Lan.', sw.Lin.i, Hrf.^ w.Som.i
I always mistrusted 'bout thick there wall, he never wad'n a put
up 's he off to. Cor. The people came shyly at first. They mis-
trusted the Established Church, Quiller-Couch Ship of Stars
(1899) 63.
Hence Mistrustful, adj. distrustful, suspicious, doubtful;
timorous.
Edb. I canna bide mistrustfu' folk like that, Campbell Deilie Jock
(1897) 232. n,Yks.2, e.Yks.i w.Som.i Ter'ble mistrustful umman,
her can't never keep no maaidens.
2. To suspect, apprehend.
Ayr. Little good I mistrust will he do them, Johnston Kilmallie
(1891) II. 124. Lan. On I mistrust it ot hoor' meawlt for o bit o
tussling on teawing, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 38.
MISTRY, V. and adj. Obs. Dev. Also written mistree
(Hall.) ; mystry Dev.^ 1. v. To deceive, delude.
Dev.' ' Lookee dist zee, there's blue eneugh in the skey to make
thee a pocket.' ' Po ! your eyes mystry,' 11.
2. adj. Dim-sighted. (Hall.)
MISTRYST, V. Sc. Yks. L To miss an appointed
meeting or ' tryst.'
Sc. Ye'll just mistryst aince and for a' with the gentry in the
bents, Stevenson Cairiona (1893) xiii ; Feind of me will mistryst
you for a' ray mother says, Scott Blk. Dwarf {\Qi6) iv. Gall.
Ken ye so httle o' Isobel Rorrison that ye waud daur to mistryst
her, Crockett Anna Mark (1899) xx. n.Yks.'
2. In pass. : to be put to perplexity ; to be confused,
frightened.
Sc. They are sair mistrysted yonder in their Parliament House
MISUSE
[135]
MITHER
about this rubbery o' Mr. Morris, Scott Rob Roy (181 7) xiv ; It's
a braw thing for a man to be out a' day, and frighted — na, I winna
say that neither— but mystrysted, wi' bogles, ib. Blk. JDwar/(i8j6)
iii. n.Sc, s.Sc. (Jam.) n.Yks.' Chiefly used in the />/■. ' I have
been sairly mistrysted ' ; n.Yks.^
MISUSE, V. Sc. To ill-use, maltreat, injure; to abuse.
Abd. To see the lassie he was laith Sae handled and misused,
Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 185. Per. He had misused them
many ways, . . struck her, Lawson Bk. of Per. (1847) 235. Rnf.
His horse was most barbarously abused and hurt, and his rider
misused. Hector /«(^!c. Records (1876) 95. Edb. He had the ill-
fortune to see a gentleman beingmisused bysome souldiers, Beatty
Secretar (1897) 414.
Hence Misuser, sb. one who maltreats or injures another.
Ayr. Obs. Had almaist brokin y'mother's arme, andis continuallie
misuseris of y" mother, Wodrow Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I- 4^.
MISWEM,s6. Nhp.i [miswe-m.] A mistake, blunder.
You've made a miswem.
MISWENT, see Misgo.
MISWONTED, adj. Obs. n.Cy. Yks. 1. Tender.
n.Cy. HoLLOWAY. w.Yks."^ 2. Having bad habits. n.Cy.
HOLLOWAY.
MISWORD, sb. Yks. Chs. War. Won Hrf. Glo. Brks.
Suf. Ken. Sur. Sus. Wil. Dor. Also written missword
s.Chs.^ War.^ [miswa'd.J An angry, unkind, or abusive
word ; blame, censure, disagreement.
w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Chs.i Ah nevur noad im see' ii mis-wuu'rd
tii aan'ibodi [Ah never knowd him see a missword to annybody].
War.^ He never gave me a misword all his life ; War.^ I never had
a miss-word with him. s.War. Here have I served one man or
his father this forty year, and never had a misword. Heath Eng.
Peas. (1893) 338. w.Wor.' We wuz married farty year, an" 'e
never so much as give me a misword. s.Wor.' We was fellow-
servants nigh upon two year, 'er and me, and never 'ad a misword.
se.Wor.i, Hrf.2 Glo. (A.B.) ; Glo.' We did never have a misword.
Brks.i Us had a misword or two an' ent spoke to one 'nuther zence.
e.Snf. (F.H.) Ken. We never had a misword (D.W.L.) ; Ken.'
He's never given me one misword. Snr.i Sus.' I am sure my
master's never given me a misword all the years we've been
married. n.Wil. He bin living wi' I dree year and he hant never
give me a misword (E.H.G.). Dor. But, look ee, I beaint a-gwine
to take no miswords vrom thy vo'k, Hare Vill. Street (1895) 37.
MIT, sb} Wor. Shr. [mit.] A shallow tub used for
household purposes, esp. for washing butter.
■w.Wor.i Shr.' Ge«. used in comp.,asButter-mit, Kneading-mit.
[Cp. OE. (Nhb.) >M2to,ameasureof meal (/.M^exiii. 21).]
MIT, sb.^ Obs. Cor. The spot from which the throw
was made in the game of ' Bob-buttons,' q.v.
The giants . . . met for a game at bob-buttons. . . Trecobben
Hill was the ' mit,' or the spot from which the throw was made.
Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 51, ed. 1896.
MIT, s6.^ I.W. [mit.] A maggot. (C.J.V.)
MIT, see Mud, v.^
MITCH, V. and sb} In gen. dial, use in Irel. Eng. and
Amer. Also written mich N.I.^ w.Yks.' s.Stf. Shr.' Nrf.
n.Wil. Dor. Cor.' Amer.; miche Glo.'^ I.W.''^; mych
w.Yks. Hrf. ; myche Wxf.' w.Yks.' Glo.* ; mytch Ant.
[mitj.] 1. V. To slink, slouch, sneak, prowl about ; to
crouch, huddle. Cf. meech, 1, mooch, f .*
w.Yks. Th' chap myched off. Hartley Clock Aim. (May 187 1) ;
w.Yks.3 s.Stf. He became very curious indeed, . . raiching hither
and thither in sloth-like dexterity to surprise conversations,
Murray /ofe Fa&( 1890) xiv. Shr.'OAs.? The poor owd 66man's
gettin' mighty simple, 'er canna do much but mich i' the cornel.
Dor. Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in N. & Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 45.
[Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 217.]
Hence (i) Michin, sb. a skulking boy, sly in doing mis-
chief w.Yks.' ; (2) Miching, adj. treacherous, untrust-
worthy. Hmp. (H.E.)
2. To idle about. Wxf.', Hmp.', Dev.S Cor.'
Hence Micher, sb. an idler, loafer.
Wxf.' w.Yks. Hlfx. Courier (May 22, 1897). Som. Sweetman
Wincanion Gl. (1885).
3. To play truant, to absent Qneself without leave.
Ir. (A.S.-P.), N.I.', Uls. (M.B.-S.) Ant. Grose (1790) MS. add.
(C.) Dwn. (C.H.W.), n.Hrf. (H.C.M.), Pem. (W.H.Y.) s.Pem.
Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421 ; A's a naughty boy, John is, a mitches
very often (W.M.M.). Gmg. (J.Y.E.), Glo.'^, Hmp. (T.L.O.D.)
I.W.' ; I.W .2 That bwoy han't ben to school to-day ; he's ben
michen. n. Wil. This form sometimes occurs along the Gloucester
border (G.E.D.). Dor. (C.V.G.); We never . . . once played truant.
. . . We called it ' miching,' pronouncing the ! in ' mich ' long, as in
mile, Longman's Mag. (Mar. 1889") 516. Dev. Plaize, zir, mawther
zend 'e tu skule, but 'e's ago mitching up ta Waglands wi' Joey
Grills, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.' n.Dev. Wan vornoon Hur
mitchedvro'schule, RocK/ima«'iVe//(i867)st.i2. s.Dev.(F.W.C.)
Cor. Turn your back, an' they'd be mitchin' in a brace o' shakes,
' Q.' Troy Town (1888) xi. [Amer. N. & Q. (1870) 4th S. vi. 349.]
Hence (i) Michard, (2) Micher, sb. a truant, one who
stays away from school without leave.
(i) Dev. The following rhyme was in use at Northmolton some
years ago : ' Blackberry michard. Blueberry snail. All the dogs in
the town Hang to thy tail.' A ' blackberry michard ' is, of course,
one who stays away from school to pick blackberries. Reports
Provinc. (1895) ; Dev.' Here, you rapscallion-ragamuffin, where be
you slinking to? . . what did you there, michard ? 14. n.Dev. Hid
Ned the michard in a bunt. Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 104. (2)
Hmp. (J.R.W.) w.Cor. N. & Q. (1854) ist S. x. 320.
4. To pilfer ; to cheat artfully. w.Yks.', ne.Lan.', Glo.*
Hence (1) Micher, sb. a thief, pilferer. n.Cy. Holloway.
Nrf. Grose (1790). [(K.)] ; (2) Miching, ppl. adj. pilfering,
cheating, taking small advantages. w.Yks. (S.P.U.)
5. sb. A truant, one who stays away from school. w.Cor.
N. &= Q. (1854) ist S. X. 320.
[4. To mych, suffurari, Levins Manip. (1570) ; Mychyn
or pryuely stelyn smale thyngys, surripio, Prompt.
Mycher, alytell thefe,/(3>'ro«ceai', Palsgr.(i53o); Mychare,
furunculus, Prompt. OE. *mycan, to steal ; cp. OHG.
muhhan (-on), 'grassare, praedare ' (Graff).]
MITCH, sb.^ Cai.' [mitJ.] The support near the stern
of a large boat, on which the mast rests when lowered.
MITCH, see Much, adj.
MITE, sb} Sh.I. Anything small and inferior, as refuse
potatoes.
Shil hiiv'd a weet mOldie kishie, half foo o' grice mites, apo' da
flor, Sh. News (Oct. 20, 1900).
MITE, sb.' Nrf. [mait.] A turn ; a ' go ' (as in
marbles).
' How many are you going in a mite ? ' asked Jim. ' Two in a
mite,' he says, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 7.
MITE, V. Bnff.' To pick mites out of anything.
MS. add.
MITER, V. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Also written mitre
s.Dur. Lakel.* ; myter Cum.' [mai't3(r.] To crumble to
dust ; to waste ; to wear away gradually through the
effect of time and weather. Cf mitle.
s.Dur. It's all mitered away (J.E.D.). Lakel.* A chair leg er
owt else 'at's sided away, an' gits mitr'd an' mouldr'd. Cum.'
Stone which decomposes by the action of the weather myters
away. Wm. Sea now niwer mair mun thou haud up thy heed,
But miter and moulder like t'beaynes 0' the deed. Whitehead
Leg. (1859) 69, ed. 1896. n.Yks. (J.E.D.), w.Yks. (J.W.)
MITEY, adj. Chs. Lin. [mai-ti.] Small ; like a mite.
s.Chs.i A mitey little thing. Lin. Holloway.
MITH, V. Sc. Also Sus. Hmp. Also in form meith
Abd. Fif. 1. Might. See Mought, Mud, v?, Mun, v}
Sc. O mith I tell you Gib, my man. Gin I a man had slain ?
Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) I. 96. Abd. I meith ha had some
chance, Ross Helenore (1768) 8, ed. 1812 ; But mithnin he dee wi'
the less coontin ? Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) x; Baith mith
be better o' the mending. Cock Strains (1810) I. 16. Frf. As
stark as mith outwear the stars. Piper of Peebles (1794) 8. Per.
Could ye no think the like o' Miss Lindsay or me A bride to the
Laird o' the Lonzies mith be? Spence Poems (1898) 32. Fif. You
mith discern ... A deadly hatred, Tennant Papistry (1827) 70;
My father an' mither meith hae e'en made me a monk, Tennant
Card. Beaton (1823) 90 (Jam.). Edb. You mith do meikle ill,
Crawford Poems (1798) 89. Sus.* I mith have done it. Hmp.'
I mith have done it.
2. Used with ellipsis of aux. have.
Sc. Ye mith slain Clerk Saunders in open field, Jamieson Pop.
Ballads (1806) I. 88.
MITH, see Meeth(e.
MITHER, V. and sb. Lin. Nhp. [mi-tS9(r).] 1. v. To
muffle up ; to smother ; to encumber. Nhp. (Hall.),
Nhp.' 2. sb. pi. In phr. to be in the mithers, to be quite
intoxicated. Lin. (Hall.)
MITHER
[136]
MIXEN
MITHER, see Mather, int., Moither, Mother, sb}
MITHRATE, MITHRET, see Midred.
MITHRIDATE, sb. n.Yks.^ A soft medicinal con-
fection ; in phr. I'll bray thee to mithridate, I'll beat you
to a jelly.
[Give me some mithridate. Some mithridate and oil,
JoNSON Every Man (1598) iv. vi, ed. Cunningham, I. 48.
Fr. mithridate, ' electuaire' (Hatzfeld).]
MITLE, V. Obs. Sc. Also written niitel Gall. Of
mites : to eat away ; also used7?§-. Cf miter.
Dmf. (Jam.) Gall. When siller is chynged, it is said to be soon
mote or mitle \_sic] away, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
MITTEN, sb. Sc. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not.
Lei. Nhp. Shr. Hnt. Ken. Cor. and Amer. Also written
mittan Sc. ; mittin w.Yks. s.Chs.^ ; mitten Lnk. ; and in
form mit(t Sc. Cum.' n.Yks.'" Lan.i Not.' Lei.^ [mi-tan.]
1. In phr. (i) better a wet mitten than a cold hand, half a
loaf is better than no bread ; (2) to glack one's mitten, to
bribe one ; see Glack ; (3) to send one a mitten, to reject
one ; to cast one off ; (4) to be right in one's mitten, to be
in good health and spirits ; (5) to claw up one's mitten, to
kill ; to give the finishing stroke to ; to overturn ; gen. of
game or human beings ; (6) to lay up one's mittens, to beat
out one's brains.
(i) Sh.I. Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 231. (2) Bn£f. Sure as mitten's
glaikit, Gudeman, ye seem to hae the knack o't, Taylor Poems
(1787) 71. Bch. How will he tak it, When he hears tell How
Maggy's mitten ye hae glacket ? Forbes ZJowmxc (1785) 39. (3)
Cor. You take my advice, Cousin Eve ; send him a mitten, Parr
Adam and Eve (1880) I. 216. [Amer. There is no gettin quit of
them at no rate, for they won't take the mitten if you do try to cut
them, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) 3rd S. xi. Can. In Canada . . .
when a lady refuses an offer of marriage . . . the rejected suitor is
said to ' get the mitten.' It sometimes happens when a lady has
to reply to a proposal by post, instead of writing a refusal she
simply encloses a small knitted mitten, A^. &= Q. (1888) 7th S. v.
398-9.] (4) Sh.I. I wisna still right i' me mittens, bit I wis a corne
reviv'd, Sh. Nezvs (Dec. 31, 1898) ; Bawby, doo's no right i' dy
mittens da night. . . A'm seen dee as cheerfu an' canty as ony lass
i' da place. What's come ower dee? 2i5. (July 10, 1897). (5) Fif.,
Rxb. (Jam.) (6) Bch. An' the horse take a brattle now they may
come to lay up my mittens, an' ding me yavil an' as styth as gin
I had been elf-shot, Forbes Jrn. (1742) 4.
2. A glove, gen. of worsted.
Sc. Hastily and confusedly searching for his worsted mittans,
Scott Midlothian (1818) xxi. Sh.I. Shu took my gravat an' mittens
an' hang dem apo' da raep inby da fire, Sh. News (July 2, i8g8).
n.Sc. Mr. Merrison Dean put on his ' hoddin ' overcoat of darkest
gray, his huge mittens, big goloshes, Gordon Carglen (1891) 225.
Trf. Mittens, white as drifted sand. Were clapped upon ilk horny
hand. Sands Poems (1833) 72. Per. It would hae coft me winter
mittans, Had I ta'en care, Stewart Character (1857) 43. Ayr.
Whustlin' Wull was comin' daunerin' alang the Brig en' wi' his
Camlachie-mits on, and leukin' vera pookit wi' the cauld, Service
Notandums (1890) 121. Lnk. My white silk hose, and mittons for
my hands, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) 46, ed. 1783. Lth. He has
coft me a rocklay o' blue. And a pair o' mittens o' green, Macneill
Poet. Wks. (1801) 192, ed. 1856. Edb. A pair of worsted mittens,
Forbes Poems (1812) 44. Cum.'^ n.Yks.* Woollen gloves
covering the wrist and knitted with divisions for the fingers.
3. A leather glove, esp. one made without divisions for
the fingers and used by hedgers to protect their hands
from thorns ; a gauntlet.
Fif. He threw ane birrin' gauntlet down : A dozen glasses by
the mitten Were into shivers smash'd and smitten, Tennant
Papistry (1827) 120. Lth. Bedight and garnish'd with kid mils
and flower. Behold our Solomon, Lumsden Sheep-head {iBgz) 123.
Dur.i Hedging mittens. Cum. Forby ledder mittens, Anderson
Ballads (ed. 1808) 45. Wm. An ower their hands to 't elbow
joint They'd mittens patch'd wi' steel. Whitehead Leg. (1859)
19. n.Yks.i w.Yks. Scatcherd Hist. Morley (1830) 170, ed.
1874. Lan. Davies Races (1856) 279; Lan.i, Chs.i=3, s.Chs,',
Not.i, LeL"^ Nhp. E'en the poor hedger, in the early morn, Chop-
ping the pattering bushes hung with dew, Scarce lays his mittens
on the branching thorn, Clare Village Min. (1821) I. 55 ; Nhp.i
Shr.i I lost a capital par o' mittins the tother day ; I 'anged 'em
o' the 'edge bbth my bayte-bag, aw'ile I wuz clanin' the diche.
Hnt. (T.P.F.), Ken.i2
MITTENED, ppl. adj. ? Obs. Sc. Yks, In phr. (i) a
mittened cat catches no mice, (2) a mittened cat never was
a good hunter, too much fastidiousness retards success.
(i) n.Yks.2 (2) Sc. Ferguson Prov. (1641) 6.
MITTILAT, sb. Abd. (Jam.) In phr. to make a
mittilatof a person, to injure him to the extent of depriving
him of the use of his limbs. See Mittle.
MITTIMUS, 5^1. Wm. Yks. Also written mittemas
n.Yks. [mi'timas.] 1. A legal summons ; a notice to
quit ; a dismissal from service.
n.Yks. Noo ya see what sike roudyism as cum tu, t'Paleceman's
browt tha thi mittimus to appear afoore t'magestrats. Poor fella,
A pity yon man, A du really ; t'landlord's sent him hiz mittimus
to leeav (W.H.). e.Yks.' Maysther's gannin ti gi Bill his mittimus
n' Sethada neet, MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (S. P.U.)
2. Phr. to get one's mittimus, to be committed to prison ;
to receive a due punishment ; to be dismissed from em-
ployment.
Wm. He's gitten his mittimus at t'last (B.K.). n.Yks. Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Dec. so, 1890) ; Yon lass iz gitten her mittimus to
leeav in a munth (W. H.).
MITTING, see Meeting.
MITTLE, V. Sc. [mi-tl.] To hurt ; to mutilate.
Sc.The stirk that ye lat git itsel' mittled the ither day, St. Kathleen
(1820) III. 213 (Jam.). Per. Collie left me in the bag A mittled,
mertered, drooket laddie, Spence Poems (1898) 71; Thae 'lines'
hae skaed puir fouk nae little, Just look hoo mony a ane they
mittle, Ford Harp (1893) 347.
MIVER, sb. Som. A mortar. (Hall.)
MIX, v} Sc. Won Wil. Dev. Cor. [miks.] 1. In
comb, (i) Mix-medley, a jumble, nw.Dev.^ Cor.^; (2)
-muddle, one who muddles things imbecilely. Wil.'
2. Phr. to mix the thrang, to join the throng.
Abd. We'll o'er the gate and mix the thrang, Beattie Parings
(1801) 6, ed. 1873.
3. To change from one occupation to another.
Wor. Using the breast-plough makes my thighs ache, so I
does'nt keepun at it all day, but I does something else and so
mixes it a bit (H.K.).
4. To change colour ; esp. of the hair : to become grey ;
of the face : to grow pale from disease.
Cai.i He's gettan gey mixed. Bnff.i Per. Scottish farmlands
... in past Augusts waved with ' mixing ' barley, Haliburton
Furth in Field (1894) 6.
5. Of the body: to put into a state of disorder.
Bnff.^ The news o' the accident mixt 'im fell sair.
MIX, v.'^ Wor. Shr. Hrf w.Cy. Also in form mex
Shr.' [miks.] To clean out the litter of a stable or cow-
house. Gen. with out. See Mixen, 5.
Wor. I've mixed out my cows (H.K.). s.Wor.' Shr.' Theer
use't to be a lad kep' to mex the cows, sarve the pigs, an' do all
the rough work ; Shr." Mixing the moggies. Hrf.2 Mix out the
cow-house. w.Cy. (Hall.)
MIXED, ppl. adj. Sc. Nrf. Also written mixt Sc.
1. In comb. Mixed stuff, rush, reed, and ' gladdon.'
Nrf. ' Hear you want some reed cut.' . . ' What about the price ? '
' Oh, I shall give you thirty shillun' a hundred.' ' Same for mixed
stuff? ' ' Yes,' Emerson Son of Fens (1893) 94.
2. Partially intoxicated. Sc. (Jam.)
MIXEN, sb. and v. Gall. Irel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf Der.
War. Wor. Shr. Hrf Rdn. Pem. Glo. Brks. Suf Ken.
Sur. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Also written
micksen Der.= ; mixin Chs.^ ; mixon Lan. Chs.'^ Shr.''
Ken.' 2 Sus.; and in forms maxen Wil.; maxon Ken.'
Sus.^^; meckson nw.Der.' ; mexen Lan.' Chs.' s.Chs.'
Stf. I.W. ; mexn Lan. ; misken Glo.' Ken.' ; miskin
s.Stf War.23 s.Wor.' se.Wor.' Hrf.'" s.Pem. Glo. ; mixtin
Wor. ; Pmizen Wxf,'; mucksen Wil. ; muxenWiL'Som.;
muxon Som. [mi'ksan, me'kssn, mi'skin.] 1. sb. A
dunghill, manure-heap ; a heap of ashes, refuse, &c. Cf
maxhill.
Wxf.' w.Yks. Watson Hist. Hlfx. (1775) 543; wYks.i24
ne.Lan.', Qhs. (E.F.), Chs.'23, s.Chs.', Stf. (J.T.) s.Stf. Her's
playm' on the miskin in her clane pinner, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann.
(1895). War. Throw it in the mixen (W.H,) ; Fifteen, sixteen,
Maid's in the miskin, if^ywc (T.C.O.); War.^s, Wor. (W.C.B.)
s.Wor.', se.Wor.' Shr. Should there happen to be in one corner,'
the heap known locally as the ' mixin,' White Wrekin (i86o)
MIXHILL
[i37l
MIZZLE
xix ; Shr.^'^ Hrf. The making of mixens is not properly attended
to, Marshall Review (1818) II. 280; Hrf.12 R^n. Morgan
Wds. (1881). Fem. (C.V.C.) s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888)
421. Glo. To clean out miskins at nights, Evesham Jrn. (Sept. 5,
1896) ; Marshall Rur. Econ. (1789) ; Glo.i, Brks.i,e.Suf. (F.H.)
Ken. (D.W.L.); 'That is a mixen.' This I found to be a heap
consisting of stable manure, seaweed, and earth in alternate
layers, N. &= Q. (1867) 3rd S. xii. 203; Ray (1691); Ken.i
Properly one which is made of earth and dung ; or, as in Thanel,
of seaweed, lime and dung ; Ken.^ Here it is more properly
restrained to an heap of earth and dung mixed together. Sur.
N. & Q. (1874) 5th S. 1. 361 ; Sur.i Sus. He would buy
four ounces of'baccer' and sit on the mixen and smoke it out,
Egerton Flk. and Ways (1884) 15 ; Ray (1691); Sus.i He sets
hisself down on the maxon (s.v. May-be) ; Sus.^ A heap of dung
and lime, or mould mixed together for manure. Hrap.', I.W.
(J.D.R.) Wil. The mixen's good enough for thee, Ellis ProMJ«Kc.
(1889) V. 53 ; (K.) ; Britton Beauties (1825) ; He had dug up a
gallon of snakes' eggs in the 'maxen,' Jefferies Hdgrow. (1889)
169 ; Wil.^ Dor. (C.W.) ; You want one [backbone] ... at the
right side for ground-dressing, and one at the left side for
turning mixens, Hardy Tower {i?>&2)\i\ Dor.^ Som. (W.F.R.);
Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825) ; Zo thay flung um on tha
mixen, Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 95. Dev. Moore Hist. Dev.
(1829) I. 354. n.Dev. Let un take Tam'sin to es mixen. Rock
Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 88.
2. Comp. (i) Mixen-heap, a dunghill ; (2) -hole, a hole
for manure, dung, or refuse ; (3) -varlet, a term of reproach.
(i) e.Suf. (F.H.) (2) Chs.i (3) Gall. Keep wide from me,
mixen-varlet, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) i.
3. Phr. better wed, or marry, over the mixen than over the
moor, prov. better marry a neighbour than a stranger from
distant parts.
Yks. ' Better wed over the mixen as over the moor,' as they say
in Yorkshire, Scott Midlothian (1818) xxxi. w.Yks.^* Lan.
Better [wed] over mixon than over moor, Cheth. Miscell. (1851) 6.
Chs. Ray Prov. (1678) 300; Chs.'^ Dor. 'Well, better wed over
the mixen than over the moor,' said Laban Tall, Hardy Madding
Crowd (1874) xxii.
4. Fig. A term of reproach to a woman or child.
s.Chs.i Yu lit'l mik-sn [Y6 little mixen]. Glo. Horae Subsecivae
<I777) 273.
5. V. To clean ^ out a stable, cow-house, pig-sty, &c.
Occas. with up. Cf. mix, v.^
Lan. Aw con mexn ... as weel as onny one, Tim Bobbin View
Dial. (ed. 1740) 49; Lan."^ Chs.l; Chs.^ I'm agai't mixening up
the pigs. s.Chs.' So metaph. of cleaning other places, which are
particularly dirty. Der.^, nw.Der.i
[1. Beggers . . . naked on mixens, R. Rose, 6496. OE.
myxen, dunghill {Luke xiv. 35) ; Mixen, meoxen, der. of
■meox, mix, myx, dung (B.T.).J
MIXHILL, MIXLE, see Maxhill, Mizzle, w.^
MIXTY-MAXTY, sb. and adj. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Also
in forms mixie-maxie Sc. ; mixter-maxter Sc. Nhb.^ ;
mixty-maxie Sc. ; mixy-maxy Wgt. N.Cy.^ [mi'ks(t)i-
maks(t)i.] 1. sb. A heterogeneous mixture ; a confusion.
Sc. The warld was a gey queer mixty-maxty, Roy Horseman's
Wd. (1895) xxxix. Bnff.i A' thing aboot the place is in an unco
mixtie-maxtie. Abd. A mixter-maxter o' figures wi' the letters o'
the ABC, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) ix; Ye've a kin' o'
Scotch tongue in yer held fin ye lat it wag free — ither times it's
kin' o' mixty-maxty, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (June 25, 1898). Frf.
We had a fell mixter-maxter amon' oor visitors, Willock Rosetty
Ends (1886) 42, ed. 1889. e.Ltb. He had nae heids to his discoorse,
it was juist a mixtie-maxtie, Hunter/. Inwick (1895) 20. Gall.
Wi' supper in his kyte weel fed. Composed o' unco mixie maxies,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) i8g, ed. 1876 ; Auld times are apt to
get a kennin' mixter-maxter in yin's held, Crockett Bog-Myrtle
(189s) 204. N.Cy.i, Nhb.i
2. adj. Jumbled together ; confused ; mixed.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 425. Per. Method ! he
hasna nae manner o' method ; it's a' mixty-maxty, and canna be
profitable. Sabbath Nights (1899) 30. Ayr. Yon mixtie-maxtie
queer hotch-potch. The Coalition, Burns Author's Cry and Prayer
(1786) St. 21. Lnk. There's aboot thirty creeds i' the Raws a'
mixtie-maxtie! Gokdoth Pyotshaw (1885) no. Dmf. Yer mixtie-
maxtie puddle Vie, Quinn Heather (1863) 238. Wgt. His points got
mixy-maxy, and defied ye tae recall The guid advice he gied ye,
for 'twas a' reel-rawl, Fraser Poems (1885) I33._
VOL. IV.
MIZ, ai^'. Dor.^ [miz.] Bad. 'Amizjob.'
MIZE, sb. and v. I.W. Also in form moise I.W.'
[maiz.] 1. sb. Water. I.W.^ Cf mizzle, v}, miz-wet.
2. V. To ooze; to discharge slowly. (J.D.R.), I.W.'^
[1. Cp. EFris mis, 'feucht' ; wFsr^ (Koolman).]
MIZE, MIZEN, MIZLUCK, see Maze, v., Mise, Mixen,
Misluck.
MIZMAZE, sb. and adj. Nhp. Ken. Sur. Sus. Hmp.
Wil. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms mis-maze Cor.^ ;
miz-meaz Wil. Som.; mizz-maze Dev. Con; mizzy-maaz
Cor. ; mizzy-maze Wil.' Cor.' [mizmez, -me'az.] 1. sb.
Confusion ; bewilderment, perplexity ; nervous excite-
ment.
Nhp.i Ken.' Time I fell off de stack, soonsever I begun to look
about a little, things seemed all of a mizmaze. Sur. I can see any-
thing at a distance, but when I look at things that are close to me
they go all of a miz-raaze, and I can't see nothink at all (W.P.M.).
Sus.i He came upon me so quick, and axed me so suddent, I was
all of a mizmaze. Hmp.', Wil.' Som. Until his head ' wur all to
a miz-maze like,' Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894') 215. w.Som.'-
When I zeed the vire, I could'n do nothin, I was all to a miz maze.
Dev. I da veel all ev a mizz-maze, Pulman Sketches {iSi[2) 116, ed.
1871. nw.Dev.' Cor. My head seems all of a miz-maze like, Parr
Adam and Eve {1880) III. 30; He wor in a mizz-maze oall the
way, Tregellas Tales (1868) 24; Cor.' I'm all o' a mizzy-maze ;
Cor.^ We are all in a mizmaze together.
Hence (i) Miz-mazed, ppl. adj. bewildered, puzzled ;
stunned ; (2) Miz-mazey, adj. puzzled, confused.
(i) Wil. Slow Gl. (1892); Wil.' Som. Sweetman XVincanton
Gl. (1885J. (2) Wil. (G.E.D.); Wil.i Used of print swimming
before the eyes. Cor. For my head is mizzy-maazy, Thomas
Flooding of Wheal Owles (1893).
2. adj. Giddy ; confused, bewildered.
Dev. It just makes me feel miz-maze, Sharland Ways Vill.
(1885) 143.
MIZ-WET, s6. Dev. A mist.
It's a miz-wet, Reports Provinc. (i8£
MIZZICK, sb. n.Cy. Chs.
s.Chs.' ; and in form mezzack
boggy place. Cf. mizzy.
n.Cy. (Hall.), Chs.'^^ s.Chs.' Wen aa'r mes'tiir kum tu dhis
bongk fost, yaan'dur feyld, lLik')yu, it wtiz nuwt biir u miz'iik; un
e3')z pes'tiird widh it, un dree'nd it, iin wuurkt it til ey)z nevur li
bet'ur bit ii graaynd upu)th faa-rm [When ahr mester come to this
bonk fost, yander feild, luk y6, it was nowt bur a mizzack ; an'
hey's pestered with it, an' dreened it, an' worked it till hey's never
a better bit o' graind upo' th' farm].
Hence Mizzicky, adj. boggy ; b\so fig. muddle-headed.
Chs.l 2 a s. Chs.l We conna tak th' bosses 0' that mizzacky
graind (s.v. Tedious).
MIZZLE, f.' and sb. In gen. dial, use in Irel. Eng,
and Amer. Also written misle w.Yks.' w.Wor.'^ Shr.^;
missel w.Yks.. ; mizle Wxf 1 ; and in forms measle
w.Yks.'^ ; mezel Nhb.' ; mistle n.Yks.'' ; ? mixle Dev.i
[mi'zl.] 1. v. To rain in very fine drops ; to drizzle.
Cf. mize.
N.I.i, n.Cy. (J.L. 1783). Nhb.l It's mezehn' on o' rain. Dur.i
Lakel.'^ It mizzles a bit but it won't be mich rain. Cum.*,
w.Yks.i 23^ Chs.l, s.Chs.i, Der.^, nw.Der.i, Not.' s.Not. There wor
no rain to speak on, it just mizzled a bit off an' on (J. P.K.).
sw.Lin.1 I thought there'd ha' been some downfall last night, it
kep' mizzling about. Lei.i, Nhp.', War.^, w.Wor.', se.Wor.i
Shr.i; Shr.2 It misles o' rain. Brks.', Hnt. (T.P.F.), Hmp.l
[Amer. Green Virginia Flk-Sp. (1899).]
Hence (i) Mizleen, sb. misty weather; (2) Mizzling,
ppl. adj., (3) Mizzly, adj. drizzling ; rainy ; misty.
(i) Wxf.i (2) n.Yks.2 w.Yks.' A donky, mislin mornin, ii.
285. Lan. Clegg SAcfcA«s( 1895) 236. sw.Lin.i Sus. Holloway.
w.Som.i Dev. Who'd iver athort ov zeeing yu thease way, sich a
mizzling day as this is tu, Hewett P«as. Sp. (1892) 99. (3) s.Dur.,
n.Yks. Nasty mizzly weather (J.E.D.) ; n.Yks.2, w.Yks. (J.W.)
Chs.l It's a mizzly sort o' rain. Dev. 'Tis " wetting mizzly time,
Pulman Sketches (1842) 116, ed. 1871; Dev.' I was a-guest thee
wist'n come as it began to be mixly, 11.
2. Phr. to mizzle a person, to mystify him ; to give him
wrong information. Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876).
3. sb. Drizzling rain ; a mist.
N.I.i,Wxf.i,Dur.rs.Dur.(J.E.D.),Lakel.=,Cum.i,n.Yks. (J.E.D.)
T
See Mize.
i2) 19.
Also written mizzack
s.Chs.i [miz'ak.] A
MIZZLE
[138]
MOAX
e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 74 ; e.Yks.i w.Yks. It's bin a
dark dreary mak ov a day o' missel an' moist (D. L.). Lan. When
... at their marlocks i' t'mizzle an' t'wynd, Kay-Shuttleworth
Scarsdah (i860) II. 35. Clis.23, g.fjot. (J.P.K.) sw.Lin.i There
was a bit of a mizzle. Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Suf.'
w.Som.i Come on, soce ! 'tis nort but a bit of a mizzle like. Dev.
I zim arter thease mizzle us chell 'ave a thinder, Hewett Peas.
Sp. (1892).
[1. As the miseling vpon the herbes, Bible (1551) Deut.
xxxii. 2 ; To miselle, pluuitare, Cath. Angl. (1483). LG.
miseln, 'iein regnen' (Berghaus); Du. mieselen, to drizzle,
or raine thinne dropps (Hexham).]
MIZZLE, V? In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc. Irel. Eng.
and Amer. Also written missle e.Lan.' ; mizel w.Yks. ;
inizzel Dor. ; and in form moizle n.Yks. [mi'zl.] 1. To
disappear quickly; to slink away; to take oneself off;
freq. in imp. : be off !
Sc.(A.W.),N.I.i s.Dur.HemizzledallatyanceQ.E.D.). Lakel.2
Cum.i It's gittan leatt an' I mun mizzle. Wm. T'Preest en' t'Clerk,
en' ivery yan, 'Ed mizzled t' th' ha Brigg, Blezard Sngs. (1848) 41.
n.Yks. She moizled her sel out ageean bedtime to sit up langer
(I.W.). e.Yks.i It's eleven o'clock, it's aboot time Ah was mizzlin.
w.Yks. He luk'd raand but th' chap had mizel'd, Hartley Clock
Aim. (1896) 42; w.Yks.'^ Come, mizzle. Lan. He poo'd eawt ov
his pocket a wedge o' curran loaf, an' made it mizzle i' quick
sticks, Mellor Uncle Owdem (1865) 4. e.Lan.', Chs.'s, Der.^
nw.Der.i Come, mizzle off wi' thee ! Not.' Now then, mizzle.
s.Not. Some o' the fowls is mizzled, for sure an' sartain (J.P.K.).
Lin.i None of your chap, mizzle. Nhp.' I'll mizzle off. War.2 ;
War.^ When I saw the keeper coming I mizzled. se.Wor.l Shr.,
Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Oxf. You mizzle, or I'll set the dog
on you (CO.). Brks.' You bwoys had best mizzle avpor I gets
a stick to e'. Lon. Of course I mizzled, for fear of a stone or two,
Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) III. 144, col. 1, ed. 1861. Hnt.
(T.P.F.) e.Suf. He mizzled off out of the way (F.H.). Ess.
You'd better mizzle off (W.W.S.). Dor. Here's your young man
come coorting! Mizzel, my girl! Hardy Jude (1896) 50. Som.
We'll git a boat an' off to Starcross mizzle, Frank Nine Days (i 879)
20. Slang. Farmer. [Amer. Green Virginia Flk-Sp. (1899).]
2. To succumb ; to yield ; to give up.
Ess. Yow who cry this mus' mizzle, Clark /. Noakes (1839) st.
50 ; Ess.*
MIZZLE, V? Sc. Also written misle Rnf. ; mizle Sc.
(Jam.) [mi'zl.] To speckle ; to give various colours,
n.Sc. (Jam.) Cf. measle, v. 4.
Hence (i) Misle-shinned, adj. having speckled legs ;
(2) Mizzled,//"/, adj., (3) Mizzlie, adj. speckled.
(i)Rnf. Misle-shinn'd Mungo Macapie, Sempill Bridal, st. 6.
(2) Sc. Bare shouthers mak mizzled shins, Henderson Prov.
(1832) 46, ed. 1881. Cai.i Bare legs exposed too near a hot fire
are said to become mizzled. Abd. May the French, for their
ambition, Get mizzled shins, Beattie Parings (1801) 19, ed. 1873.
Ayr. Thou now hast got thy daddie's chair, Nae hand-cuSTd,
mizzl'd, hap-shackl'd Regent, But, like himsel', a full free agent,
Burns Elegy on 1788, 1. 34-6. (3) Per. (Jam.) Rxb. And when
the callans romping thick, Did crowd the hearts alang. Oft have
I blawn the danders quick Their mizlie shins amang, A. Scott
Poems, 146 (ib.').
MIZZLINGS, see Measlings.
MIZZLYDICK,/^r. Nhb. The missel-thrush, r«<>-rfi<s
viscivorus. Swainson Birds (1885) i.
MIZZY, sb. n.Cy. Lan. Also written mizzey n.Cy. ;
and in form mizz s.Lan. [mi'zi.] A quagmire, a soft
boggy place. Cf mizzick.
n.Cy. Bailey (1721) ; N.Cy.^ Lan. They draggunt meh thro'
wick thurns, o'er doytch-backs un thro' mizzles, Paul Bobbin
Sequel (1819) 39; Lan.i s.Lan. Holland Gl. (1884-6) (s.v.
Mizzicky). [A Mizzy, vorago, Coles (1679).]
MIZZY-MAZE, see Miz-maze.
MO, sb. Sh.I. Also written rap. [moe.] In phr. a
lock ofmj), a quantity of small useless things. Cf. murr.
In Aithsting ' a lock o' m^ ' is jocularly applied to a quantity of
small useless things (small potatoes, small sillocks), Jakobsen
Dial. (1897) 47.
[Norw. dial, moe, the radiation or glimmer of heat in
the summer (Aasen) ; ON. mo^a (Vigfusson).]
MO', MOACH, see Maw'r, Moch, adj.. Mooch, v."^
MOAGRE, MOAK, see Mogre, Mawk, sb}, Moke, sb?^
MOAKIE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. A fondUng name for a calf.
Cld. It was a waesorae thing to hear the wee bits o' saikless
moakies mainan' in the deadthraws, Edb. Mag. (Oct. 1818) 327
(Jam.).
MO AM, see Malm.
MOAN, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also
written mone Sc. (Jam.) Wm. ; and in forms maen Sc.
Cum. ; main, mane Sc. ; pret. mant e.Lan.* [m5n, Semen.]
1. V. To mourn, sorrow, grieve ; to complain ; to give
expression to pain. See Mean, v?
Per. I winna mane If I meet wi' hands an' hearts Like those o'
cantie Ochtergaen, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 80. Lth. Ill-fated
wand'rer! doomed to mane, Macneill Poet. Wks. (1801) 231, ed.
1856. Edb. They're mair that will hae cause to mane, th. Bygane
Times (1811) 26. Wm. Sally, she's dun nowt bit mone aboot sin
we lost oor lile lass (W.H.H.). w.Yks. Wright Gram. Wndhll.
(1892) 43. e.Lan.*
2. reflex. To moan.
Sh.I. Niver a e'e closed shQ da leeve lang night, bit toss'd an'
maen'd her, Sh. News (Sept. 4, 1897).
3. To show signs of or give expression to pain ; to com-
plain of.
So. I maun never maen doing and suffering for the Countess
Joscelin, Scott Antiquary (1816) xi. Gall. When a, horse which
has anything wrong with its foot or leg winces when it is touched,
it is said to maen it (A.W.).
4. To pity, condole with.
Per. The man that sits . . . Haund-haill, an' neither slow to
steer Nor quick to tire. An' wi' that spark to poets dear O'
Nature's fire, — He's no to maen, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (i8gi)
41. N.I.i ' Moan you a hair,' pity you in the least.
5. sb. Lamentation, complaint, esp. in phr. fo »2a>&emo(a;«.
Sh.I. I needna mak' nae maen, ^icolson Aithstin' Hedder (iQgS)
21. Cai.^ To mak nae maen for a person, to think him not to
be pitied. Bnflf. I'll nae longer feed my mane, Taylor Poems
(1787) 178. Abd. There was little main made for Bruce, Michie
Deeside Tales (1872) 155. Per. They mak' the lood maen. Ford
Harp (1893) 334. Fif. Weary, ye coorie in yer cot alane Makin'
a mane, Robertson Profos/ (1894) 143. Cld. I'se no mak mone
for him (Jam.). Slg. Dool sorrow and woe is their mane, To think
on the dearness of sugar, Galloway Poems (1792) 68. Rnf. Now
mak' yer mane, For honest Harry, dead an' gane, Picken Poems
(1813) II. 76. Ayr. Dightit her e'en an' quat her maen, Ainslie
Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 191. Lnk. Many a ane may mak' a
main, An' o'er its ruin mourn, Lemon St. l\tungo (1844) 26. Edb.
They're forfoughten ilka ane ; At which the master mak's nae
mane. But speaks o' scaith, Har'st Rig (1794) 25, ed. 1801.
Gall. I ken thee by thy ceaseless mane, Nicholson Poet. Wks.
(1814) 117, ed. 1897. Cum. She maketh woefu' maen. Burn
Ballads (ed. 1877) 5.
MOAN, MOANCE, MO ANDER, MO AP, see Maund, sb.,
Manch, Maunder, Mope.
MOAPPEE, v. Obs. Dev. To show a dislike to any-
thing by making a sound with the mouth. Grose (17C50)
MS. add (M.) ' '
MOARZE, see Mose, v.
MOAT, sb. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Also in forms mot(t
Sc; mote Sc. N.Cy.' Nhb.' An earthen mound ortumulus.
Also in comp. Moat-hill.
Abd. Wi' dreadfu' voice, frae aff a rising mot. He call'd to stop,
Ross Helenore (1768) 132, ed. 1812. Frf. Wundie Law is at the
back thereof, ane exceeding high mott hill, Maidment Spottiswoode
Miscell. (1844-5) I- 328. ' Dmf. Behold the moat on Sillerhill, And
the deep ditch around it still, Shennan Ta&s (1831) 29 Nl'
Uls. (M.B.-S.), N.Cy.' Nhb.' The names at Elsdon, Wark, HaU-
whistle, Harbottle, &c., of hills with earthern [_sic'\ ramparts. Assizes
were held on the mote-hill at Wark, North Tyndale, in 1279 and
in 1293.
[The mote is of Mercy the manere aboute, P. Plowman
(b-) v. 595. OFr. (Norm.) mote, 'eminence de terre naturelle
ou artificielle ' (Hatzfeld, s.v. Motte). Cf. mot, sb.^\
MOAT, see Moot, sb., Mote, s6.i
MOATS, sb. pi. ? Obs. w.Yks.i In phr, to play the
moats, to be much exasperated.
He wor hotterin mad, an play'd t'moats, ii. 304.
MOAX, V. Lan. To move about in a confused manner,
to confuse, daze.
(S.W.) ; (F.E.T.) ; Then relations . . . moaxing, hoaxing,
coaxing You to go and take a drop, Gaskel ComicSngs. (1841) 19.
MOB
[139]
MOCHRUM
MOB, sb.^ Sh.I. [mob.] A drove or school of whales.
It is believed this shoal [of ' caaing ' whales] consisted of two
mobs, one of which escaped to seaward, S/i. NewsQa\y 30, 1898).
MOB, sbJ^ Irel. Yks. Lan. Nhp. War. Shr. Hnt. Mid.
e.An. [mob.] 1. A morning cap ; a close cap worn by
women, coming over the ears and meeting and tying under
the chin. Also in comp. Mob-cap.
Ant., Lan. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Nhp.^ Rarely seen
now. War.3 Worn by old ladies in War. certainly down to
1854. Shr.2, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Mid., Ess. This morning cap has
always been called a 'mob,' Stevens in ChaknockG/. (1880); Ess.^
2. A kind of Tam-o'-shanter 'hat. e.An.* 3.//. Blinkers
for horses. w.Yks.^
[1. LG. mopp, ntoppe, ' eine den ganzen Kopf bedeckende
Miltze ' (Berghaus).]
MOB, v.* e.Yks. [mob.] To pelt; to beat a delinquent
schoolboy with caps, &c.
On the a9th of May (Royal Oak Day) any boy who lacked the
loyal symbol, a sprig of oak, would be mobbed, i. e. pelted with
eggs, not always fresh-laid, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 27; e.Yks.'
Hence Mobbing-day, sb. May 29th.
The 29th of May, Royal Oak Day, is Mobbing day. Not only
wild birds' eggs, but the eggs of hens and ducks, are used to
'mob' with, Nicholson Flk-Lore (1890) 14.
MOB, w.= Nhp. e.An. . [mob.] To scold, rate ; to taunt,
abuse ; to ridicule, jeer at.
Nhp.i ' He mobbed herwell.' Often applied to the noise which
small birds make at the sight of a hawk or a cat. e.An.i Nrf.
He began to mob Harvey, and said they oughter brought me in
afore, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 69 ; (E.M.) w.Nrf. They may
mob as they like, but better be mobbed by a livin' man than
frightened into yer grave by a dead 'un, Orton Beeston Ghost
(1884) 9. Suf. He never 'mobs' his children, Macmillan's Mag.
(Sept. 1889) 361 ; He reg'lar mobbed me about it, e.An. Dy.
Times (1892); (E.G.P.) e.Suf. (F.H.) Ess. She mobbed him
just frights. I was just a-mobbing! [taking myself to task]
(H.H.M.)
MOB(B, V. and sb. ? Obs. Yks. Ken. 1. v. To dress
carelessly and untidily. See Mab, v.
w.Yks. Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.* Ken. ' See how she is
mobb'd up ' — how sluttishly she is drest.
. 2. sb. A slut, slattern. Ken. She is a strange mob (K.).
MOB-BEG, sb. I.Ma. [mo'b-beg.] A mob of boys ; a
little crowd or mob. Also used attrib.
Amid a crowd of the ' mob beg ' children of the streets, Caine
Manxman (1894) pt. 111. ix ; The horns blowin' laak mad lik at the
mob-beg, Rydings Tales (1895) 119; It wasn long before the whole
mob-beg was round the door, Brown Yams (1881) 169, ed. 1889.
[The element -beg repr. Gael, beag, little (M. & D.).]
MOBBER, sb. 1 Obs. Lan. A rioter, one of a mob or
crowd of people.
On pain of being deemed mobbers and rioters, Eyrom Remin.
(1745) in Cheth. Soc. Fubl. XLIV. 398.
MOBBERLEY, sb. Chs. In comb. (1) Mobberley clock,
in phr. always too late like Mobberley clock ; (2) — crabs, a
nickname given to the inhabitants of Mobberley.
(i) Chs.i (2) Fifty or sixty years ago it was the custom in
Mobberley to pelt the parson with crab apples on 'Wakes'
Sunday— the Sunday next after St. Luke's day (B. & H.) ; Chs.' It
was formerly the custom amongst rough Mobberley people to pelt
passers by with crabs, just as they now pelt with snowballs.
MOBBISH, adj. ? Obs. Sc. Riotously inclined, inclined
to mob.
Sc. Which . . . gave them an irregular and mobbish appearance,
Scott Waverley ( 1814) xxxv. Rnf. The people were very mobbish
and irregular, Wodrow Corresp. (1709-31) III. 204, ed. 1843.
MOBBLE, V. Yks. Lan. To pelt with stones ; to mob.
■w.Yks. It is a burnin shame at fowks doesn't mobble em both
ate at taan, Dewsbre Olm. (1865) 9; (J.W.) ne.Lan.i
MOBBLED, see Mab led.
MOBBUM BREAD, phr. Obs. Chs. Bread made
with half rye and half wheat-meal.
A Cheshire servant-maid . . . told me in November, 1746, that
in that part of Cheshire where she had lived, they eat . . . bread
made with half rye and half wheat-meal, which they there call
Mobbum bread ; but in other parts of Cheshire, towards Man-
chester, she says, they eat sour cake, that is to say, oat-cake-bread,
Ellis Cy. Hswf. (1750) 18 ; Chs.i
L Obs. A drink
MOBBY, sb. Som. Amer. [mo-bi.]
made from potatoes.
[Amer. Vox cum re iis qui colonias Americanas frequentarunt
notissima ; significat autem Potum ex radicibus Battatas, nobis
Potatoes, dictis, certo artificio confectum. Skinner (1671).]
2. Small beer.
Som. ' Strong table, small table, and lamentable.' Mobby belongs
to the last class, Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885).
MOBLE, V. War. Shr. [mobl.] To muffle the head
and shoulders in warm wraps ; to put on an abundance
of warm wraps. Gen. with up.
War.3 Shr.* I never sid sich a 60man, 'er mobles 'erself up in that
owd '66d an' shawl, an' sits by the fire. Yo' mun moble yourself
well up, it's a despert, raw, cowd night. Mind as yo' bin mobled
up right well afore yo' start.
[Who had seen the mobled queen, Shaks. Hamlet,
II. ii. 525.]
MOBLEMENT, sb. ? Obs. Hrf.' Confusion, disorder.
MOCH, adj. and v. Sc. Also in forms mauch Sc. ;
moach Abd. ; mogh- Lnk. (Jam.) ; moich Ayr. [mox,
mox.] 1. adj. Moist, damp, becoming mouldy or putrid.
Sc. Applied to animal food, corn in the stack, meal, &c. (Jam.)
Ayr. Applied to tainted meat (Jam.).
Hence (i) Mochy, adj. (a) moist, misty, damp, foggy,
close, ' muggy ' ; {b) dirty, filthy ; (c) of meat : becoming
putrid ; (2) Moichness, sb. dampness causing putridity or
corruption.
(i, a) Sc. A mochie day, a hot misty day. Mochy is not applied
to mist indiscriminately, but to that only which is produced by
great heat (Jam.) ; The mauchie, stauchie, simmer heat Has aye a
kirkyaird airt, R. Caled. Curling Ann. (1898-99) 154. Abd. Sic
spates o' rain, syne mochy, dreepie weather, Guidman IngHsmaill
(1873) 28 ; There's a mochie nicht, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871)
xlv. Frf. r the time o' the Flood the deil gaed sailin' by the Ark
on a barn-door, an' said, 'It's a mochy mornin, mester Noah'
(W.A.C). Edb. Mair scouthery like it still does look, At length
comes on in mochy tooV, Har'st Rig (1794) 27, ed. 1801. Dmf.
Feckless in this mochy heat I bide a blink tae rest by thee, Reid
Poems (1894) 70. Gall. May comes in wi' mochy showers, Mac-
taggart Encycl. (1824) 93, ed. 1876 ; We say of the weather, when
it is warm and moist, that it is mochy weather ; and of everything
else in a similar way, that it is mochy, ib. 348. (A) Sc. Brown
Diet. (1845). (c) Lnk. (Jam.) (2) Ayr. Your mother's pence it
pleases me ; But its moichness hurts me sairly, Old Ballad (Jam.).
2. V. To become putrid or grow mouldy.
Sc. Gen. used in pp. Moch't meat or flesh, is animal food in a
state of incipient corruption, when it sends forth a disagreeable
smell (Jam.). Abd. The corns well stacked began to moach and
rot till they were casten over again, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 59.
[1. Moch, all waist, widderit with granis moutit, Douglas
Pal Hon. (1501), ed. 1874, i. 8.]
MOCH, sb. Sc. Also written mogh Ags. (Jam.) ; and
in form mouch Sh.I. [mox, mox-] A moth. Also used
fig. Cf. moggy, si.*
Sh.I. A monster o' a mouch, dat lang, 'at fell oot o' da faulds o m
apo' da flOr, Sh. News (May 26, igoo). Cai,' The larva of a clothes
moth. Abd. Half ate'n wi' mochs, Alexander yo/!««y Gibb (1871)
xxi; Forbids her husband to leave such a consuming moch in bis
house, Gordon BnV. Z)i5/. (1639-49) 113, ed. 1844. Ags. (Jam.),
e.Per. (W.A.C.)
Hence (i) Moch-eaten, adj. eaten by moths ; (2) Mochie
or Moghie, adj. full of moths.
(i) Bnff.i (2} Abd. It's no likly a guid bed'll kill me gien it sud
be a wee mochy, Macdonald Malcolm (1875) II. 162 ; A heap of
hose is a mochy pose (Jam.) ; (G.W.)
[Mowjte, clothe wyrme [v.rr. mowhe, mow, mowghe],
tinea, Prompt. See Mote, sb!'-}
MOCH, see Mawk, sb.^
MOCHA, sb. e.An. A term applied to a cat of a black
colour, intermixed with brown. (Hall.)
MOCHAR, MOCHE, see Moocher, sb}, Mooch, v.^
MOCHER,i). Sc. Also written mochre (Jam.), [mo-vsr.]
1. Ofcows: to coddle or soothe, esp. before milking. Cai.*
2. To be busy about trifling matters or mean work. n.Sc.
(Jam.) 3. To work in the dark. ib.
MOCHRUM, s6. Sc. [mo-xrsm.] In cow6. (i) Mochrum
elder, (2) — laird, the cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo.
(i) Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (,1899) 350. Wgt. Perhaps
T 2
MOCK
[140]
MODEL
their present appellation was bestowed on the cormorants by our
Presbyterian forefathers in the days when the kirk session held
supreme sway in rural places, and might be one way in which the
people showed their dislike to its inquisitorial functions, Zoologist
(1878) 428, in SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 142; (A.W.) (2) Gall. A
name for the black cormorant ; . . because they have been, as it
were, proprietors there of a piece of wild shore, for an unknown
length of time, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 422, ed. 1876.
MOCK, sb} Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written mok
s.Dev. e.Cor. [mok.] 1. The stump of a tree with the
root ; a large block ; a large stick. Cf. moot, sb.
Dor. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863) ; Gl. (1851) ; Dor.i s.Dev.,
e.Cor. (Miss D.) Cor. The Christmas Log, which is here generally
lighted by a portion saved from the last year's fire, is usually called
the 'mock,' Whitcombe Bygone Days (1874) 194; In town the
family, flocking round the mock, are interrupted by the cheerfully
tolerated intrusion of the goosey-dancers, Quiller-Couch Hist.
Polperro (1871) 161 ; Cor.i A piece of this year's Christmas mock
is in some parts saved to light the next year's ; Cor. 2 w.Cor. More,
the fibrous part of the root .. . as distinguished from the mock, which
means the solid and heavy portion, N. df Q. (1854) ist S. x. 320.
2. A tuft of grass or sedge.
Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863). w.Som.i In pasture land, the cattle
usually leave tufts or patches of the ranker herbage : these are
always called mocks. The word is never applied to a root of any
kind. 'Tak-n skir over the mocks, out in the Barn's close, they'll
do to put 'pon tap o' the rick.'
MOCK, sb.'^ Dev. Cor. [mok.] The pomage or com-
pound of apples and reeds in the ' wring ' or cider-press.
Dev. Apples ground to pieces and laid up to be press'd in the
cyder press, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 275; (Hall.) ; Dev.'' w.Dev.
Marshall y?(<r. ScoK. (1796). Cor. 12
MOCK, v}, sb.^ and adj. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [mok.] \. v. In phr. (i) mock beg-gar hall, a. house
with an inviting external aspect, but within poor and bare,
and therefore disappointing to those who come to beg ;
(2) to mock on, to mock ; (3) — the church., see below.
(i) e.An.i, Sus.12 (2) Inv. Highland News (Oct. 18, 1890) 2,
col. 7. (3) e.An. GROSE(i79o)il75. arfrf. (P.) Nrf. There is a pre-
valent opinion that, if a couple who have had their banns published
fail to present themselves for marriage afterwards, they will be
fined for mocking the Church (W.R.E.) ; Cozens-Hardy 5>-oarf
Nrf. (1893) 98 ; (A.G.F.) e.Suf. (F.H.)
2. To imitate, mimic.
N.I.i ' Mockin' 's catchin',' a warning not to mock or laugh at a
person who is suffering from anything unpleasant, lest the same
misfortune may happen to one-self. It is said particularly to per-
sons who are mimicking the personal defectsof others. Lakel.^Mud-
der, oor Jack's mocken mi slowpen mi tea. se.Wor.^, 0xf.lM5. add.
3. sb. Fun, badinage ; a jeer, flout. Gen, in pi.
Abd. Vow the swankies like to teaze Him wi' their mocks,
K.^nn Farwter' s Ha' (1774) st. 12. Ayr. Charlie Fox May taunt
you wi' his jeers and mocks. Burns Author's Cry (1786) st. 19.
Lnk. Gie's nane o' your mocks normalice, Graham Writings (1883)
II. 22.
Hence Mockage, sb. mockery, mocking.
Edb. This man's keen, maisterful face . . . behind its sagacious,
politic calm, had a suggestionof mockage, BEATTYSecTC^ar(i897) 15.
4. A sham, cheat, swindle, falsehood.
Sh.I. Da bridals 'at dey hand in Lerrick is only a mock, dey
can hae dem fir fifteen shillins, or a pound at da maist, Sh. News
(Sept. 22, 1900). Lnk. Lad, ye maun ken our Mill's nae mock,
Watson Poems (1853) 14. Edb. That light limmer, The diel's a
mock t' her, Liddle Poems (1821) 34.
5. pi. Trifles. Som. (Hall.) 6. adj. In comb, [i) Mock-
eye, a glass eye ; (2) -lead, blende or black-jack, zinc
sulphide; (3) -shadow, twilight ; (4) — stag-hunting, see
below ; (5) -weean, a man who proves a false wooer.
(i) Dor. 'If she's so set on his havin' a pair [of eyes], why
doesn't he get a mock un put in ? ' 'A mock eye ! My stars ! I
never heard tell o' such a thing,' Longman's Mag. (Apr. 1900)
526. (2)Cor.2 (3) Hrf. Bound ProOTMc. (1876) ; (K.). (4) Dev. A
curious case was heard last week before the magistrates of the
division of Hatherleigh, arising out of the old Devonshire custom
of ' mock stag-hunting,' or ' skimiting riding,' Flk-Lore Pec. (1882)
'V. 167 ; The custom expressed disapprobation of some evil liver.
The villagers chose some one to act stag, disguised with antlers, &c.
The others on foot or horse, disguised in hunting and other cos-
tumes, represented huntsmen and hounds. The 'stag' was hunted
through the village lanes and finally brought down near the offen-
der's house — where was great shouting, blowing of horns, and
spilling of blood, brought in a bladder, Som. Cy. Gazette (July 8,
1882). (5) n.Yks.2
MOCK, v.'^ e.An. [mok.] To place alternately so as
to fill up interstices ; to balance.
Nrf. The black squares on a chess-board mock each other, Arch.
(1879) Vin. 171 ; (P.H.E.)
Hence Mocking, adv. alternately.
e.An.i Nrf. I think. Sir, that we had better put in them plants
mocking CW.R.E.).
MOCK, see Moke, v.
MOCKER, V. Hrf. [mo-k3(r).] To divide or cleave
in pieces.
Old Nannie Hawkins have got a big stick o' wood, and she
says as I shall have him for eight pence. If I could get him, I'd
soon mocker him, A^. & Q. (1850) ist S. ii. 519.
[EFris. niokern, ' klopfen, schlagen, zerklopfen ' (Kool-
man).]
MOCKET, sb.'^ Cor.^ [mo'kit.] A bib attached to an
apron to keep the front of the dress clean.
[Embavete] imbibed ; that is, as a child hath a bib or
mocket put before his breast, Cotgr.]
MOCKET, sb.^ s.Pem. [mo'kit.] The intestine of a
calf. (W.M.M.)
[Cp. Flem. moocke, ' sorte de tripe grasse de boeuf ou def
mouton, caillette' (Plantin) ; Du. moocke, the paunch of
beasts with the dung in it (Hexham).]
M0CKET-HEAD,s6. Stf. See below. See also Ancony.
(K,); Stf. ^'Ancony,' a term in the iron-works for a bloom, wrought
into the figure of a flat iron bar about three feet in length, with a
square rough knob at each end. One of these knobs is called an
' ancony end,' the other a ' mocket head' (s.v. Ancony),
MOCKING, see Mawkin, sb.
MOCKING-BIRD, s6. Nhb.'Cum.'» [mo-kin-bard.] The
sedge-warbler, Salicaria phragmitis.
MOCK-METHER-HAUVE, int. n.Lin.i A call to a
horse to go to the left. See Come-hither, Hauve, v.^
MOCKRIFE, ai^'. Sc. Also written mokriffe. [mokri.]
Scornful. Also used subst.
Sc. The settle o' the mokriffe. Riddle Ps. (1857) i. i. Cld.
Loud leuch the elf wi' mockrife glee, Edb. Mag. (Oct. 1818) 327
(Jam.). Ayr. He laugh'd wi' a mockriff laugh, Edwards Mod.
Poets, 5th S. 61.
[For the element -rife cp. cold-rife.]
MOD, sb.^ Sh.I. [mod.] The indistinct form or contour
of anything. Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) ^^i.
[ON. mot, a stamp, mark (Vigfusson).]
MOD, sb.' Sh.I. [m5d.] A small quantity. S. & Ork.»
[Norv^ dial, mod, small bits of hay and straw (Aasen) ;
ON. mod, the refuse of hay (Vigfusson).]
MOD, sb.^ w.Yks.^ [mod.] A dumpy or clumsy child.
A little ' mod' or 'moddin thing' is a child that 'sets down flat
feet,' &c.
Hence Moddin, adj. dumpy, clumsy.
MOD, MODDA-DOO, MODDER, see Mud, v.", Mauthe-
doog, Mawther.
MODDER, V. Obs. Sc. To mutter.
Slk. Mayed and modderit in dismay, Hogg Poems{ed. 1865) 331,
MODDY, sb. Yks. [rno-di.] In comp. Moddy-calf, a
young calf. e.Yks.i Cf. moggy, sb.'- Hence modd,
moddie, phr. a call to calves. e.Yks. (Miss A.)
MODE, see Mould, sb.^
MODEL, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Nfld. Also
written moddie Lan. [mo'dl.] 1. s6. An exact likeness;
a pattern.
Gall. He minds me o' Sir James — the very model of Sir James,
Crockett Anna Mark (1899) hi. n.Cy., Yks. (J.'W.) Lan.
Amongst 'em a moddie o' your lamented brother, Ainsworth Lan.
Witches (ed. 1849) bk. i. v. [Nfld. A person entering a shop asked
for • cloth of that model,' exhibiting a small piece. Trans. Amer.
Flk-Lore Soc. (1894).]
2. V. Obs. To organize, arrange.
Lnk. The lord Macdonald, a professed papist, with a modelled
army, 'Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) III. 97, ed. 1828 ; The council's
letter . . . contains some other things anent the modelling of the
justices of the peace, ib, 429.
MODER
[141 J
MOEMS
MODER, s6. Sh.I. [mo-dsr.] In cow/, (i) Moder-dy(e,
(2) -sook, a ground-swell in the sea, an under-current.
(i) They in misty weather, before the compass was invented,
could always find the land by the ' moder-dye ' ; an under-swell
in the sea, which swell always went in the direction of the land,
whatever way the wind blew, Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 19 ; He [it]
begood an' filt up the sky in ower da laand, an' da moder dy cam
up frae da nor'-waast da wan gardie efter da tidder, Sh. News
(Sept. 10, 1898) ; S. & Ork.i (2) S. & Ork.i
MODERATE, v. Sc. Irel. [mo'dsret.] 1. To preside
in a Presbyterian ecclesiastical court.
Sc. The Moderator of the former Assembly . . . openeth the
Assembly by prayer, and moderates till a new Moderator be
chosen, Steuart Coll. (1700) bk. i. tit. 15 (Jam.). Fif. He moderat
the reasoning, gatherit upe the conclusiones, and put all in wrait
and ordour to be reported to the Assemblie, Melvill Autobiog.
(1610) 56, ed. 1842 ; At the fourth Assemblie, holden at Edinburgh,
. . . Mr. Knox moderated, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1650) 24, ed. 1842.
Hence (i) Moderation, sb. the act of presiding in an
ecclesiastical court; (2) Moderator, sb. the President in
a Presbyterian Church court.
(i) Fif. Mr. John Howison, by the magistrats of Glasgow,
rugged out of the judgment-seat and place of moderation in the
Presbyterie of Glasgow, Row Ch. Hist. (1650) 97, ed. 1842. (2)
Sc. The Pastor is constant Moderator of a Session. . . In a Presby-
tery a new Moderator is gen. chosen annually ; in a Provincial
Synod or Assembly, at every meeting (Jam.). Abd. The said Mr.
James Martin to endure [continue] Moderator till the next
Assembly, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 218. Slg. He is president
and moderator of the race : it is he who gives the calls and pre-
scribes the conditions of the care, Bruce Sermons (1631) xvii, ed.
1843. Lnk. Dauvit . . . Believes in his heart he'll yet be a D.D,, An'
that a first-rater — be made Moderator, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 26.
Lth. With the gravity, and perhaps with infinitely more of the
sincerity of a Moderator, he would look at me, Lumsden Sheep-head
(1892) 177. Dwn. The Moderator tell't him he wudnae aloo him
till say a wurd, Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 34.
. 2. To preside in a congregation at the election of a pastor ;
also in phr. to moderate (in) a call, see below.
Sc. The Minister ordered to moderate at the election, Steuart
Coll. (1700) bk. i. tit. I (Jam.) ; It is the Presbytery that moderates
in a 'call' from the congregation to the person elected. The
Presbytery meets for public worship with the congregation : a
form of call is produced which the members of the congregation
sign. If signed by the majority of members and no objections are
made, the Presbytery ' sustains' it, and thereafter in due time and
order proceed to ordination, or to induction. The Moderator of
the Presbytery acts as its mouthpiece (A.W.). w.Sc. I must go
over and see him one of these days, before his call is moderated
in, Macdonald Settlement (1869) 69, ed. 1877. Per. When do
Mr. Sangster and the Session intend to moderate the call and
get him ordained and settled among you? Clzland Inchbracien
(1883) 41, ed. 1887.
Hence Moderation, sb. the act of presiding in a con-
gregation at the election of a pastor ; also in phr.
moderation of a call.
Sc. When a minister is appointed to preside in this business, it
is said that the Presbytery grant a moderation to the people (Jam.).
Fif. When a congregation has elected a minister, the Presbytery
meets, and a form of call is produced which is signed by the
members of the congregation. If there are no objections, and the
call is signed by a majority, the Presbytery sustains the call, and
takes steps for the ordination or the induction of the person elected
and called. This is what is meant by moderation of a call (A.W.) ;
The provost and minister gabbled about presbyteries and synods,
the moderation of calls, elders, deacons, Grant Six Hundred, v.
MODERATE, adj. and sb. Sc. War. Wor. e.An. 1. adj.
In a fair state of health only, middling.
■ War., Wor. ' How be you, Mr. Cottrell ? ' ' Oh ! moderate like '
(H.K.). e.An.i
2. Not good, bad.
Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Ntf. (1893) 25. Suf. A very moderate
road(C.T.).
3. Belonging to the Scottish Established Church ; see
below.
Sc. So called from the prevailing laxity of doctrine and life, and
non-evangelical spirit of the Scottish National Church ministers in
the i8th century. Still in use among dissenting Presbyterians as
a term of reproach to those to whom it may apply (A.W.). Kcd.
Though ' brimstone Johnny ' fyles cam' roon, An' didna spare his
breath To prove to us faur ' Moderate ' souls Were sure to gang
at death, Grant Lays (1884) 54. Per. Fau'se doctrine I'se wager!
But that comes o' sittin' under a moderate minister ! Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) 66, ed. 1887.
4. Composed, quiet, not flurried.
Sh.I. I ken I wis tankfil ta Him 'at made me 'at Sibbie wis sae
moderat, Sh. News (Aug. 28, 1897).
Hence Moderation, 5^. in phr. be in moderation, keep
cool or calm.
Sh.I. Juist had dy peace, Sibbie, an' be in moderation, Sh. News
(Oct. 15, 1898).
5. Of the weather : calm.
Sli.I. ' Yae, it's a moderate day, boy,' I said. Burgess Sketches
(2nd ed.) 107 ; The day is moderate, Sh. News (Jan. 8, 1898).
Hence Moderation, sb. calmness, settled weather.
Sh.I. An he [it] comes ony moderation i' da wadder michtna
we a' geen afif an' tried da haandlin' some day, Sh. News (Nov. 27,
1897).
6. sb. A party in the Scottish Established Church holding
moderate theological views.
Cai.' A party term in the Scottish ecclesiastical disputes which
led to the ' Disruption ' of 1843, and for many years afterwards
applied to those who continued to adhere to the Church of Scotland.
Ayr. The Church was composed of two sections known as Evan-
gelicals and Moderates. . . The former were the party of progress,
whose battle-cry for the time was Non-intrusion and Spiritual
Independence. The latter were really what their name implies.
They were the comfort-loving, easy-minded class, who were
opposed to change either in doctrine or Church-government, John-
ston Glenbuckie (1889) 206 ; In Church politics the people of
Kilmallie were for the most part moderates, ib. Kilmallie (1891) I. 2.
MODEST-DANCE, sb. nw.Der.i A morris-dance (q.v.).
MODEYWARP, see Mouldywarp.
MODGE, V. and sb. Not. War. [modg.] 1. v. To
muddle, disorder, confuse, used of inanimate objects. Gen.
in phr. codge and tnodge.
War. Don't codge and modge at that patch any longer, Northall
Flk-Phr. (1894) ; War.^ ' To codge and modge,' to muddle and
cobble. 'You've codged and modged this sewing pretty well.'
2. To crush, bruise. War. (Hall.) 8. sb. Confusion ;
a state of dirt and disorder; a dirty mess.
s.Not. The floor was all of a modge. Oh, the place is a modge
(J.P.K.).
MODGE, see Mog, v}, Mooch, v."^
MODGEL, sb. ! Obs. Sc. (Jam.) A noggin.
Sc. ' I've gotten my modgel,' I have got my usual quantity of
drink. Fif. 'To tak one's modgel,' to partake of a social glass;
sometimes denoting a morning dram.
MODHER, see Mawther.
MODIFY, V. Sc. [mo'difi.] To adjust, arrange pro-
portionally, esp. to arrange a clerical stipend or living.
Sc. The Court . . . Thus modify. . . We'll allow him yearly Ten
pecks of meal, — as clearly Equivalent to the full extent of stipend
paid in Bear, Outram Lyrics (1887) 85; To pay ane composition,
or sik ane sum of silver as he pleases to modifie, Skene Dijficill
Wds. (1681) 77 ; That leuinges micht be modifyit To Preichouris
that war qualifyit, Rogers Reformers (1874) 60 ; Still in use in
the Tiend Court (AW.).
Hence Modification, sb. an arrangement or adjustment.
Sc. The fixing of the stipend is termedits ' modification,' Outram
Lyrics (1887) 213. Abd. Apecunial penaltie to the puir according
to the modification of the Session, Turreff Gleanings (1859) 24.
MODISH, adj. Obs. Sc. Fashionable, in the mode ;
polite, courteous.
Abd. The merchants modish manners show'd, Anderson Poems
(ed. 1826) 42. Slg. Thy modish dress as fine appears As if Parisian
skill had cut the plumage, MuiR Poems (1818) 163. Rnf. The
Pelagian scheme, which he and all our modish writers give into,
WoDROW Corres. (1709-31) III. 188, ed. 1843. Lnk. The fanatics,
now the modish way of expressing the presbyterians, Wodrow
Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 422, ed. 1828. Edb.The pert reply, the modish
air, Glass Cal. Parnassus (1812) 38. Gall. [He] could speak and
spell wi' modish skill, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 47, ed. 1897.
MOEKIN, ppl. adj. s.Lan. Dull, silent, abstracted.
Bamford Dial. (1854). Cf. mawk, v.^, mawkin, sb. 2.
MOEKIN, see Mawkin, sb.
MOEMS, sb. pi. 1 Obs. Sc. Scraps of any kind.
Gall. Than moems o' poems I will sing unto thee, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 349, cd. 1876.
MOFFERY
[142]
MOGUE
MOFFERY, MOFFLE, see Morfreydite, Maffle.
MOG, v} Irel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Lin. Nhp. War.
Shr. w.Cy. Som. Amer. Also in forms maug N.I.' ; modge
s.Chs.' ; mug w.Yks.^^ [mog.] 1. To move on, depart,
walk off, move away, esp. to decamp, go off quickly or
hastily. Gen. with q^or on.
N.I.i Maug off with you. w.Yks. Slowtrot mogg'd hooam next
morning a sadder an' a wiser man, Bickerdike Aim. (1875) 31 ;
Ah'll be moggin' hoam (^.B.) ; w.Yks.' Come, mog off; w.Yks.s
Mug on ! Lan. Davies Races (1856) 236. s.Lan. Picton Dial.
(1865) II. Chs. Sezawt'mesel, it'stoime tobemoggin, CAs.A'.erQ.
(Oct. 29, 1881) I. 174. s.Chs.i Wei, wey miin bi mog-in of [Well,
wey mun be moggin off]. nw.Der.^A half-threatening command
— ' Mog off wi' thee, en be sharp back agen.' ' He mogg'd off pratty
sharply wen 'is faither coom.' Lin. Miller & Skertchly Fenland
(1878) iv ; Lin.i, n.Lin.^ sw.Lin.i Now then, mog off! Mog on a
piece. Nhp.iUsed as a command. 'Comemogoff.' War.(J.R.W.)
Shr.i Now then, mog off fur the cows or they Ofinna be out o' the
foud by six ; Shr.z, w.Cy. (Hall.) Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
2. To walk along slowly but steadily ; to jog on, move
gently. Also usedy?^. Gen. with on or along.
w.Yks. 'Was he hurrying?' ' No, he war just mogging along'
(S.P.U.) ; Let's be moggin' on, Yks. Wkly. Post (Jan. 12, 1895) 7 ;
w.Yks.3 When a man helps t'wauf [wife], they may mug on. Lan.
Aw mogged up eawt oth loom-shop into th' heawse, Staton B.
Shuttle Manch. 5. [Amer. We mogged along slowly. Dial. Notes
(1896) I. 398.]
3. trans. To remove, take away ; to remove from one
place to another, esp. to change cows from one pasture
to another.
s.Chs.' Speaking of some one who had honestly restored to her
some belongings, a woman said, ' Men-i ii won iid vl mogd iim of
[Many a one 'ud ha' mogged 'em off]. Shr.i Obsol. Tell John
to mog the cows i' the mornin' — it's time as they wenten i' the
Cote Leasow.
4. Obsol. To exchange cards in the game of 'costly' (q .v.).
Shr. The cards being dealt, the first player asks the dealer if he
will ' mog,' i. e. exchange a card with him. . . When four persons
are playing, opposite partners mog with each other, Burne Flk-
Lore (1883) 648 ; Shr.i
MOG, v."^ sw.Lin.i [mog.] With out: to dress one-
self out.
Some folks do mog theirsens out a good deal. I never did see
how she was mogged out.
MOG, int. War. Shr. Glo. [mog.] A call to calves,
usually repeated three times. War.^ (s.v. Call words),
Shr.i, Glo. (A.B.) See Moggy, sb} 4.
MOGEN, adj. Obs. Sc. ? Common, public.
Peb. A mogen pot never played well, Agric. Surv. 340 (Jam.).
MOG(G, V. Dor. Som. [mog.] To pout, grow sullen ;
to mope ; to refuse food. Cf. muggard.
Dor. Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in N. & Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 45.
Som. Applied to cattle. ' 1 don't like their looks — mogging over
their food so' (W.F.R.).
MOGGAN, sb. Sc. Stf. Also written moggen, moggin
Sc. ; and in forms moogan Cai.^ ; muggan Stf.^ ; muggin
Elg. [mo'gsn.] 1. A long footless stocking ; a stocking;
a stocking used as a purse.
Cai.i The part covering the upper of the foot was fastened to
the second toe by a latchard. Elg. The miller Had a gey muckle
muggin weel packit wi' siller. Tester Poems (1865) 108. Bch.
I'm seer some o' them wat the sma' end o' their moggan, Forbes
Jrn. (1742) 16. Abd. I've a pair or twa o' stoot moggans, Alex-
ander yoA«)y Gibb (1871) xxxviii ; I wat your moggen ye ha'e
wet. And smear'd your duds. Cock Strains (1810) I. 131. Kcd.
[He] Ged faur you an' I are joggin'. But left a weel-replenished
moggin. Grant Lays (1884) 25 ; He never quat That moggin fae
his grip. Fat cash was in't was never kent, ib. 31. Flf. Hairy
moggans (Jam.). Stf.'
Hence Moggan'd, pp. having moggans or footless stock-
ings.
Mry. He moans their moggan'd legs, Frost-bitten black and
blue. Hay Lintie 11851) 61.
2. A long sleeve for a woman's arm wrought like stockings.
See Gardy-moggans, s.v. Gardy.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Had I won the length but of ae pair of
sleeves, . . And on my twa gardies like moggans wad draw, Ross
Helenore (1768) 134 (Jam.).
3. pi. The legs. Rxb. (Jam.) 4. Phr. to mix moggans
with one, to have sexual intercourse with.
Bch. Wo to the night I first began To mix my moggans with
thee, man ! Forbes Dominie (1785) 34. Abd. Anither marvel'd
sic a deem Wou'd moggans mix wi' his In ony day, Anderson
Poems (ed. 1826) 103. Fif. (Jam.)
[1, 2. Gael, niogan, a stocking worn without the part to
cover the foot, an old stocking, boot-hose ; a loose sleeve
worn over another (M. & D.). According to Macbain
borrowed fr. the Sc]
MOGGANA, sb. Yks. A dial, form of ' mahogany.'
w.Yks. A these is noist chairs ; o reckon they'r moggana,
BwrATEB. Sheffield Dial. (1839) 140.
MOGGIATOR, sb. Obs. Cor. The top stone on the
head, in the ancient game of quoits. (M.A.C.)
MOGGI(E, sb. Sh.I. [mo'gi.] The stomach of a fish
or whale. Also in comb. Cropping moggies. See
Muggie, sb.'^
Another favourite Shetland dainty is known by the name of
' Cropping moggies,' consisting of the liver of the cod mixed with
flour and spice, and boiled in the fish's stomach : . . in the plainer
form of livered moggies, the flour and spice being absent, it re-
gales the fishermen at their summer lodges, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I,
(1822) 252, ed. 1891 ; Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 37.
[Cp. ON. magi, stomach (Vigfusson) ; see Jakobsen
Norsk in Sh. (1897) loi.]
MOGGIN, s6. Chs.^^s.Chs.^ [mo'gin.] A clog or shoe
with a wooden sole.
MOGGLE, V. e.Yks.* [mo-gl.] To mutter.
There he stands, mogglin an chuntherin
MOGGY, sb} and int. Chs. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf. Glo.
[mo'gi.] 1. sb. A calf ; a pet name for a calf.
Chs.i s.Chs.i Used rather as a name for a particular calf than
as a generic name for calves as a whole. War.^^^ ne.Wor. (J.W.P.),
w.Wor.', s.Wor.i, se.Wor.i, Shr.', Shr.^ (s.v. Mix), Hrf.12, Glo.
(A.B.), Glo.i
2. A pet name for a cow. Also in comp. Moggy-cow.
Glo. (A.B.) 3. A pet name for a young donkey. Hrf.'^
4. int. A call to a calf. s.Wor.\ Glo.(A.B.) See Mog, m/.
MOGGY, sb? Not. Lin. Bdf. [mo-gi.] 1. A stuffed
figure, a scarecrow.
Bdf. The personage who attended those who went maying, and
who carried a ladle, was also so called. The company consisted
of 'my lord and my lady,' two moggysandamerryAnder(J.W.B.).
2. A slattern, an untidy, badly-dressed woman.
s.Not. I wouldn't be seen going about such a moggy (J.P.K.).
Lin. (W.W.S.) sw.Lin.i She did look a moggy. Bdf. (J.W.B.)
MOGGY, sb.^ Yks. [mo-gi.] A cake made of flour,
potatoes, and fat ; a thick flour ' parkin.'
w.Yks. Yks. Mag. (1871)!. 30 ; Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 4, 1895).
MOGGY, s*." Yks. [mo-gi.] A moth. Cf. moch.
n.Yks. There's a moggy on t'winder (I.W.).
MOGH, see Moch, adj., sb.
MOGRAGE, t;. and s6. w.Som.' [mo'gridg.] Mortgage.
They calls it [the land] he's, but I count 'tfs purty well a
mograged. 'Mr. Baker 've a-got the mograge [maugreej], 'pon all
they houses.' Invariably in such a sentence the mortgage, not a
mortgage, is said by many above the dialect-speaking class.
MOGRAM, MOGRUM, see Megrim.
MOGRA-MYRA, sb. Irel. The early purple orchis,
Orchis mascula.
Wkl. The early purple orchis is called ' mogra-myra,' and is
supposed to be most efficient as a love-potion, Flk-Lore Rec (i88i'>
IV. 117. ^ -'
MOGRE,s6. Sc. Also written meagre (Jam.). [m5-gsr.]
A clumsy mess, confusion, disorder.
Cai.i To mak a mogre of a job, to spoil it by clumsiness. Old.
(Jam.)
MOGS, V. Or.L Also in form mugs, [mogz.] To
trample or wade through mud, snow, &c. Gen. in prp.
Paety Toral mogsin' haim a' t'rough the snaw, Paety Toral {18S0)
1. 9, in Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 792; (S.A.S )
MOGSHADE, sb. Obs. s. & e.Cy. The shadows of
trees. Ray (1691).
MOGUE, V. and sb. Yks. Nhp. Pern. Glo. Som. Slang.
Also written moge w.Yks." ; morg w.Yks. [mog, moag.]
1. V. To deceive by false representations, to humbug.
w.Yks. Dunnot believe him, he's morging tha (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.s
MOGUST
[143]
MOIL
Nhp.' You shan't mogue me. s.Fem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421.
Slang. Farmer.
2. To make fun of.
w.Yks.2 Tha mun tak no notice o' him ; he's nobbut moging
thee ! Glo.i
3. sb. A joke ; a humbug, trick.
s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421. Som. Used by journey-
men tailors, among whom there is a great amount of slang peculiar
to themselves (W.F.R.).
MOGUST, sb. Cor.2 Also in form moguz. [mS-gast.]
A donkey, an ass.
M0GVURD,s6. Som. Also written mogford. [mo-gvad.]
The mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris.
(B. & H.) w.Som.i Horehound and mash raallice and mogvurd
[maug'vurd] 's the best 'arbs is, nif anybody 've a catch'd a chill
or ort.
MOHD, MOHDER, MOHR, see Mould, sb.^, Mouder,
Maw'r.
MOICH, V. Yks. Also written moitch, and in forms
mooitch, mouch. [muitj.] To measure land, &c. See
Meitch.
w.Yks. A term used in quoit playing for measuring the distances
of the quoits from the peg. ' Let's moitch it ' (S.J. C.) ; (E.G.);
(S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.^ In a game -where the distance from any mark
is doubtful it might be said,'Au'll moich thee.' Not used for measures
of capacity.
MOICH, MOIDER, see Moch, adj., Moither.
MOIDLE, V. Yks. Also written mooidle. [mui'dl.]
To worry, bother, confuse ; to muddle, mess about.
w.Yks. Great coits, . . thay do nowt but mooidle yo, and mack
yo sa woat, yo doant naw wot ta do wi yersenze ardly, Tom
Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1861) 46; But iz moidlein it shop
neet after neet, ib. (1869) 39 ; (J.W.)
MOIDY, adj. Cum.^ n.Yks.'' Also in form moithy
Cum.' Moist. Cf mooth.
MOIE, sb. n.Yks.^ [moi.] A muddle, confusion ; riot.
Cf. moil, s6.= U.
MOIKEN, MOIKIN, see Michen, Mawkin, sb.
MOIL, sb.^ Irel. Shr. Hrf. Pem. Also written moill
Shr.^ ; moyle Hrf ° s.Pem. ; and in forms miel Wxf. ;
muil Ir. ; mweeal Con. [moil.] A cow without horns.
Also usedT?^.
Ir. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863) ; (A.S.-P.) Con. A hammerless
gun has been called a ' mwreeal ' gun, Yeats Flk. Tales (1888) 150.
Wxf. You're Hke our miel cow that gives a pail full of milk,
Kennedy Ba«As iSoco (1867) 307. Hrf.^ s.Fem. LAms LittU Eng.
(1888) 421.
Hence (i) Moiled or Moillet, adj. (a) hornless, without
horns ; (b) of a cap : borderless ; {c} bare ; (2) MouUeen,
sb. a cow without horns.
(i, a) Ir. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Ant. A raoil'd cow,
Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Shr.i I 56dna-d-a car'd if the Maister
'ad soud that Bishop's Castle cow 66th 'er wide 'orns, but to sell
my pretty little mwoilled 'eifer — it did vex me. Hrf, Morton
Cyclo. Agric. (1863) ; Hrf.i A moiled sheep, (i) Shr.i I like the
childem to -war nightcaps, it keeps the bousters clane, an' they
done as well mwoilkd as bordered, (c) N.1.^ Applied to a bare-
looking building, (a) Ir. The two mouUeens that her uncle Jack
left her, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) 50.
[Ir. maol, bald (O'Reilly) ; Gael, maol, bald, without
horns (M. & D.) ; Wei. moel, 'calvus, depilis' (Davies).]
MOIL, V. and s6.* In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written moile Wxf.* Shr. Hrf. Wil.*; moyl Glo.
Som.; and in forms mile s.Wor.* Shr.* Glo.*; moel Yks. ;
mooil w.Yks.; mule Cor.**; mwile se.Wor.* Brks.*
I.W.* Dor.*; mwoil Hmp.* n.Wil. ; myle Glo.'^ [moil,
mail, muil.] 1. v. To toil, labour, work hard, drudge,
esp. in phr. toil and moil. Also used trans.
Cai.* Bnff. E'en lat him gae, Wi' Sisyphus to moil, Taylor
Poems (1787) 145. Kcd. Th« Muse . . . has toiled an' moiled to
■earn yer credit. Grant Lays (1884) 77. Per. Wi' dam an' wreir
they moil ye [the river] An gar ye weave an' spin, Fergusson
Vilt Poet (1897) 143. IHf. TTiat's the end o' a' oor toilin' an'
moilin', Robertson Provost (1894) 164. Rnf. In my yaird I'd early
moil, Picken Poems (1813) II. 41. Ayr. He has had to baith thole
and moil for what he has gotten, Galt 5«V.<4. IVylie {zi2z)-xxv.
tnk. Aye toilin' an' moilin' frae mornin' tae nicht, Nicholson
KUwuddie (1895) 132. Dmf. Bored and riddled, toiled and moiled,
Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 372. Gall. Through ilka turning o'
the year, I moil and brose awa, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 333,
ed. 1876. Nhb. Wi' Jean, wha used to slave and moil. Time idly
passes, Strang Earth Fiend (1892) 17. Cum. For me, still moilin
by mysel, Anderson Ballads (1805) 28 ; Cum.^ Painstaking ;
caring for. ' Toilin' and moilin' ; ' Cum." n.Yks.' A prahty loife
to leead ! whin ah'm moiling loike a slaave a' decay, Fetilerston
Smuggins Earn. 73 ; n.Yks.*, m.Yks.* w.Yks. A chap at's moiled
an' broiled, an' done his best to keep body an' sowl together,
Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884) 11 ; w.Yks.°, ne.Lan.^, Chs.^^
Der. Yo're alius toilin and moilin. Ward David Grieve (1892) I. xi.
n.Lln.* He's alus moilin' among th' muck like a mohdiwarp. Nhp.'
Any one labouring along a dirty road, or overcome with walking
on an oppressively hot day, would be said to 'go moiling and
toiling along' ; Nhp.^ War,'^ I had to toil and moil for two hours.
Common ; War.* s.War.' I've been moiling at it all day. w.Wor.',
s.Wor. (H.K.), se.Wor.* Shr.* Yo' met'n mwoil an' toil a couple
o' 'ours, an' 'ardly get a wisket full ; Shr.^ Shr., Hrf. Often
applied to disagreeable employment, Bound Pro»!«c. (1876). Glo.^
Brks. (W.H.Y.); Brks.* I hev a-got zome money put by, an'
dwoant look to toil an' moil al my daays. e.An.^, Suf.' Sur. They
pore crethurs as has to moil loike we postes, Bickley Sur. Hills
(1890) I. i. I.Wyi 'Tis noo use to keep mwilun there. Dor.*
w.Som.i Freq. used with toil. ' 'Tis 'ard vor to be a sar'd so bad,
arter I've a toiled and a moiled vor he, same 's I have.' Dev. Forty
year toilin' an' moilin' an' m'ai yard gived up in t'end to wimmin
an' roosters ! CasselTs Earn. Mag. (Apr. 1895) 330 ; Dev.* n.Dev.
To moily and toily, Horae Subsedvae (1777) 275. Cor.*^
Hence (i) Moiled, ppl. adj. hot and weary with work ;
tired out, exhausted ; (2) Moiling, ppl. adj. wearying,
tiring, exhausting.
(i) Not.^ Nhp. The rough, rude ploughman . , . moil'd and
sweating, Clare Rur. Life (1820) 136. e.An.' To be fatigued or
perplexed in body or mind is to be moiled. e.Suf. (F.H.) Som.
Gent. Mag. (1793) 25, ed. Gomme, 1884; Grose (1790) MS. add.
(P.) (2) Stf., War. (H.K.) Lin. You've had a moiling day of it
(J.C.W.).
2. To make dirty or defile ; to soil, bedaub, plaster with
mud or dirt.
War.2,w.Wor.i s.Wor. Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 15; (H.K.) ;
B.Wor.i, se.Wor.* Shr.' Working in filth and mire, of such kind
as would cleave to the labourer. ' 'Ow them chaps bin milin' i'
the mixen, they bin all o'er muck ' ; Shr.^ Moiled from yed to fut.
Glo. A child is said to moyl himself, Horae Subsedvae (1777) 375 ;
GI0.12, n.Wil. (G.E.D.) Cor.i He was muled in mud ; Cor."
Hence (i) Miling, ppl. adj. dirty and laborious ; (2)
Moiled, ppl. adj. soiled, dirtied ; made foul.
(i) Shr.i A mIlin' job. (2) War.*, w.Wor.*, Hrf.*
3. To knead or make dough.
Cor.i w.Cor. N. If Q. (1854) ist S. x. 320.
4. With in : to put in wet ground.
s.Wor. It don't matter 'ow wheat's moiled in [i.e. how wet
the ground is], I've e'erd old men say as the wheat does best as
sticks to the clod when it's planted (H.K.).
6. To burrow in the ground like a pig, badger, &c. ; to
draw potatoes with the hand from under the growing
plant.
s.Pem. Said of a rabbit, or more gen. of a badger or pig bur-
rowing the ground. ' We moost catch them owld mowls, they be
moilin the ground to pieces ' (W.M.M.) ;. 'Liens Little Eng. (1888)421.
6. To be fidgety or restless; to worry; to be in a flurry,
mess, confusion.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Lin. But 'e tued an' moil'd 'issen dead, Tenny-
son N. Earmer, New Style (1870) st. 13. n.Lin.^ Theare's noa
gettin' noa rest wi' him at neets ; he's tewin' an' moilin' aboot
for iver. n.Wil. He got a mwoilin about wi't aal (E.H.G.).
Hence Moiled, **/. adj. upset, worried. w.Yks. (J.J.B.),
<E.G.)
7. sb. Toil, drudgery, hard labour.
Per. The deepening furrow Of moil I marked, Spence Poems
(1898) 74. Rnf. Thrift apens up ilk winnock blin', Her daily
moil to work at, Picken Poems (1813) I. 51. Ayr. Down in the
valley, 'midst smoke and moil, Ballads and Poems ( 1885) 77. Edb.
Rewards sufficient for our moil, Liddle Poems (1821) 147. Dmf.
Far frae the toil, and the moil, and the murk, Reid Poems (1894)
2. Gall. His daily moil procures him the support, Lauderdale
Poems (1796) 35. Wgt. He sud hae my blessin' wi' her, forbye
a' that moil an' toil, Good Wds. (1881) 404. m.Yks.*, w.Yks.
(J.W.) Lan. For the moil in the factory until neet, Ashton Basin
o' Broth, no.
MOIL
[144]
MOITASHUN
8. Mud, mire ; sticky, wet dirt.
Hrf.', Glo.' Brks.i A's a-gettin' vurder an' vurder in the mwile,
i. e. he's going from bad to worse. Hmp.^ To get into the mwoil.
Wll. Brixton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.^ Aal in a mwoile.
Hence Mily or Moily, adj. dirty, sticky ; muddy, miry.
Chs.'3 Glo. 'Twur summat of a mily day, and her wur a-
holding of hers dress up smartish, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(1890) ix.
9. A profuse sweat or perspiration.
s.Not. Ah were all of a moil, till the wet runned down my
back (J.P.K.).
10. A slut, a dirty creature.
Glo. A filthy creature, a filthy moil, Grose (1790) MS. add.
(M.) Dev. A chattering, raving, rixy, louching, haggaging moil,
Madox-Brown Dwale Bluth (1876) bk. i. i.
11. Disorder, confusion ; turmoil, bustle, din. See
Moild, 2.
Gall. One ear bent to the outer moil of the storm, Crockett
Raiders (1894) xlvi. Wxf.i Na whilke be nar fash nar moile, 116.
w.Yks. Maister, you've catched me in a regular moel, for I hevent
hauf done fettlin yet (M.N.) ; Th' moil an' bustle n' Lundun,
Hartley Paris, 130 ; Nor live i' sich a noisy mooil as awm alius
in nah, ib. Clock Aim. (1896) 38.
12. Fig. Trouble, vexation ; concern. Also in pi.
w.Yks. Awm all ov a mooil whot to say i' t'preface for Snow-
drops, Clayton's Ann. (1878) Prej. ; (J.W.) War. Men who want
to do the correct thing mount a top hat and environ themselves
in the moils of a frock coat, Midi. Cties. Herald (July 28, 1898).
Siis. He burnished nicely an hed no moils, Jackson Southward
Ho (1894) I. 433 ; Sus.i
MOIL, see Mile, sb>, Moyle.
MOILD, sb. and v. Yks. e.An. Also in forms mold,
molt e.An.i2. mooild w.Yks. [moild, miiild.] 1. sb.
Toil, labour, drudgery. See Moil, sb.^ 7.
w.Yks. It's been a weary moild an tew. Bud nah it gets near
t'end, Preston Poems, Ifc. (1864) 5.
2. A mess, confusion, muddle ; turmoil, uproar.
w.Yks. If ther's two or three childer he mun expect a bit ov a
mooild until they're off to bed, Hartley Clock Aim. (1896) 25 ;
My heead's all in a mooild to-day ; ah can du nowt reyt (iE.B.) ;
They nobbut get into a war mooild ner iver, Yks. Wkly. Post
(Mar. 21, 1896).
3. A profuse perspiration or sweat. See Moil, sb.^ 9.
e.An.i ; e.An.^ ' All of a mold ' - dripping with perspiration.
4. V. To be in a state of confusion or muddle ; to get
disordered or crumpled. Also with up. Gen. in pp.
w.Yks. Aw think tha'd better let em goa i'th box for fear they
might get mooilded up, Hartley Clock Aim. (1894) 311 ; Ah'm
reight fair mooilded amang it all, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 18,
1895); (JJ.B.)
Hence Mooilding, sb. rough treatment or handling.
w.Yks. Mi clooas wir noa war for th' mooildin they'd had,
Hartley Grimes Visit (1892) iii.
MOILEY, sb. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Cor. and Amer. Also
written moylie Gall.; and in forms moilya N.!."^; mooley,
muley Amer. [moi-li.] 1. A hornless cow or bullock.
Also used altrib. and in comb. Moiley cow. See Mailie,
Moil, sb?-
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). n.Ir. A pickle stray fur a
bed fur the moiley coo, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 73 ; N.I.i,
Uls. (M.B.-S.) Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). Dwn. Knox Hist.
Dwn. (187s) ; Wuz it the black an' white moiley! Lyttle Bally-
cuddy {jB^z) ^g ; (C.H.W.) Don. The nine pins soon began to
simmer in Moiley's milk, Yeats Flk. Tales (1888) 150. s.Don.
Simmons Gl. (1890). n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Cor. (M.A.C.) [Amer.
Gives his old Mooley a chance o' sneakin into his neighbour's
fields o' nights, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) and S. iv ; Dial.
Notes (1896) I. 231, 342.]
2. Fig. A mild, good-natured person.
Gall. An auld moylie, a lame person, even to sillyness, Mac-
taggart i^^i^'c/. (1824).
MOILLET, adj Mtg. [moi'lit.] Speckled, spotted.
Applied to the face of a sheep. 'That sheep's a moillet faced
'un ' (E.R.M.).
MOIHD, sb. Sh.I. A moment. {Coll. L.L.B.)
MOINE, sb. Obs. Brks. Also written moyn. A
dunghill. (K.) ; Gl. (1S52) ; Brks.'
MOIP, see Mipe, v.^
MOISE, V. e.An. Also written moys Nrf. [moiz.]
To thrive ; to increase, improve, mend.
e.An.12 Nrf. Spoken of crops, and stock; also in gen. sense,
as, 'He muddles on, but does not moys,' Grose (1790) ; To see
wuther the wine-trees moised, and the pomegranates blOwed,
Gillett Sng. Sol. (i860) vi. 11 ; I don't think this plant will
ever moise (A.S.-P.). e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). Suf.
When a man has been successful in his undertakings, he is said
to be 'moised,' and the contrary when unfortunate, e.An. N.^ Q.
(1866)11.363.
Hence Moiser, sb. a medicine which makes a sick per-
son ' moise ' or improve in health. e.An.^
MOISE, see Mize.
MOISENED, pp. w.Yks.2 [moi-zsnd.] Dazed, per-
plexed.
MOISEY, see Mosey, adj}
MOIST, V. and sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. Som. [moist]
1. V. To moisten, make moist.
Frf. He used to moist his clay An' lay his corn in. Smart
Rhymes (1834) 120. Lnk. To moyst my sun-scorched veyne with
liquid drops, Lithgow Poet. Rem. (1618-60) Scotland's Teares, 1. 5.
w.Yks. (J.W.), Som. (Hall.)
2. sb. A fog, mist.
Lan. There's a thick moist this morning (S.W.).
MOISTEN, V. Sc. Der. Slang. [moi-s{t)an.] In phr.
to moisten one's clay, to drink or sot.
Edb. Nae human being could last at sic wark without moistening
the clay a bit, Ballantine Deanhaugh (1869) 35. Der.^, nw.Der.^
Slang. Moisten your clay, wet the other eye, Dickens Old Curiosity
(1840) Ixii.
MOISTERLESS, adj. Sc. Lacking moisture.
Abd. Some aged female, whose dry and moisterless eyes can
best withstand the pungent fumes, Ruddiman Parish (1828) 118,
ed. 1889.
MOISTIFY, t;. Obs. Sc. [moi'stifl.] To moisten, ^e«.
used ludicrously of topers.
Sc. (Jam.). Abd. Shirrefs Poems (1790) Gl. Ayr. Tho'
whyles ye moistify your leather. Burns Authors Cry (1786) st.
31. Rxb. A whisky soss To moistify your middle, Ruickbie
Wayside Cottager {iQo'f) 186.
MOIT, sb. and v. Yks. Lan. Aus. Also written moyte
w.Yks.* [moit.] 1. sb. A small or minute particle ;
a ' mote.'
n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^ ' The meat was eaten up every moit.' 'There
I was nowther head nor hair on't, moit nor doit', said of a total
disappearance ; n.Yks.* Tha sed 'at tha shared it oot amang t'lot
on uz, onny waay Ah nobbut gat a moit. ne.Yks.i He's nobbut
just a moit o' bread, e. Yks."^ ' Hez tha onny bacca. Bill ?' ' Naw,
natamoit.' m.Yks.i w.Yks.^ Asrankas moits i'thsun; w.Yks.^s*
2. A minute particle of wood or other foreign substance,
found in wool. Gen. in pi.
w.Yks. (W.T.) ; T'sliver's full o' moits an' as rough as a bear's
back (W.C.S.) ; The seed of an Australasian plant, which clings
to wool, and is unravelled by the scribbler, without being
separated from the wool. Being vegetable, it cannot be dyed
with the wool, and becomes a burl (F.M.L.) ; (S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.s
Hence Moity, ai^'. of wool : full of little pieces or 'moits.'
w.Yks. I've a splendid lot [of wool] in just now, not moity,
and free from burr, Yksman. (Aug. 1878) 93 ; (S.P.U.) ; (J.J.B.)
e.Lan.i [Aus. The ' heavy and moity ' parcels [of wool] were not
touched by the cautious operators at any price, Boldrewood
Squatter's Dream (1890) viii.]
3. V. To cleanse or pick out ' moits ' from wool, before
it is made up. w.Yks. (J.W.), w.Yks.^
Hence (i) Moiting, vbl. sb. the act of picking out or
cleansing wool from ' moits ' ; (2) Moiting-machine, sb. a
machine used in extracting ' moits ' from wool.
(i) w.Yks. Banks Wkjld. Wds. (1865); w.Yks.S; w.Yks.^A
process in the manufacture of cloth, by which the wool, subsequent
to being scoured (the first process), and preparatory to its passing
through the ' willey,' is cleansed from ' moits ' or shivs— minute
particles of wood, and other foreign substances. (2) w.Yks.
Extensive premises . . . containing willeying, moiting, scribbling,
and condensing machinery, &c., Cudworth Bradford (1876) 373;
(F.M.L.) ; w.Yks.5
MOITASHUN, 56. Lan. [moite-Jan.] With w^.: the
least part or portion. See Moit.
Hoo'd not bear a moitashun o' responsibility, Staton B. Shuttle
Bowtun, 33.
MOITCH
[145]
MOKE
MOITCH, see Moich.
MOITER, sb. sw.Lin.^ [moi't3(r).] In phr. always
on the moiter, said of a sick or dying person who keeps
always on the move in a half unconscious sort of way.
MOITHER, V. and sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and
n. and midl. counties to Rdn. Mtg. Glo. Also ? Nrf. ? Sur.
Nfld. Also written moyther Lei.^ Glo. ; and in forms
mauther Glo. ; mayther Hrf.= ; meither s.Chs.^ ; meyther
Lan. Chs.i ; mider Nfld. ; mither Lan. Not.^ Lei.* War.==
Shr.^ ; moidar Sc. Nhb. ; moider Sc. (Jam.) Gall. s.Don.
N.Cy.i Nhb.i Lakel.^ Cum.^* Wm. n.Yks.'* w.Yks.'^ Lan.^
n.Lan.^ I.Ma. Chs.^^ Der.= nw.Der.^ Nrf. Sur. ; moidher
Ir. e.Yks.* Lan.; moidur Lan.; moodher s.Wm.; moyder
Cum.* w.Yks.'* Lan. Chs. Der.'; myther Chs.^ Stf Der.
War. [moi'tS3(r, mai'tS3(r).] 1. i;. To confuse, perplex,
bewilder ; to worry, bother, fatigue. Used gen. in pp.
Ir. I dhramed it all the night asleep and awake till I was fairly
moidhered in me head. Barlow Lisconnel (1895) 210. Ant. This
livin' air is moilhered wi' the bummin' o' the bees, O'Neill Glens
(1900) 4. Don. Without moidherin' yer poor head over things that
'ud be a puzzle to ye the longest day ye'd live, Pearson's Mag.
(May igbo) 477 ; Billy himself was as much moidhered about the
how an the why of it all as the nixt, Cent. Mag. (Feb. 1900) 602.
S.Don. Simmons G!. (1890). n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy."^ Nhb.i
What wi' this an' what wi' that, aa's fair moidart. s.Dur. A's
fairly moithered to death (J.E.D.). Lakel.^ A naggen barn 'II
sometimes be tell't ta whisht er thoo'll moider me ta deeth. Cum.i
He gatmoyder't in a snowstorm ; Cum.^ Thou moidersyanterrably,
40 ; Cum.* Wm. He needn't moider hisself. Ward R. Elsmere
(1888) bk. I. x; Thoo'll moider mi soul oot (B.K.). n.Yks.'*
e.Yks.i Aye poor thing ! she's ommost moidhered, amang all them
bayns. w.Yks. ' Wellnee moydered,' almost distracted, Thoresby
Z.«rt. (1703); HvTTON Touy io Caves {ii8i) ; w.Yks.i* Lan. Don't
mither your mammy for bread, Gaskell M. Barton (1848) vi ; I'r
arronly moydert, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 33 ; I'm gredely
moidurt wi thinkink obewt it, fur sure, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819)
13 ; Lan.^, n.Lan.^, e.Lan.', m.Lan.' I.Ma. His poor head's that
moidered and mixed it's like a black pudding, Caine Manxman
(1894) pt. V. i. Chs. Thah'st go if thah dusna meyther me,
Clough S. Bresskiltle {iB'jci) 4; Ray(i69i) ; Chs.^ Dunnamoither
me. Thast goo if tha dusna meyther me ; Chs.s s.Chs.'- Yi mey-
dhiirn mi wi yiir led'n [Ye meithern me wi' yur ledden]. Stf.^
Der. If I'm to be moidered wi' em I'll be paid, Ward David Grieve
(1892) I. iv; Der,^2, nw.Der.^, Not.' Lei.' A wur that moithered,
a didn' knoo wheer a was to a wik. Nhp.' I'm welly moithered
to death ; Nhp.^ War. Constantly heard in Stratford (W.S.B.) ;
You'll happen be a bit moithered with it while it's so little, <Jeo.
Eliot S. Marner (1861) 186; War.^s, Wor. (W.C.B.), w.Wor.i
s.Wor. She moithers me (H.K.). Shr. (M.H.C.); Shr.i Them
women's clack mltherd the poor chap tell 'e didna know whad 'e
wuz sayin'. Do it which way yo'n a mind, an' dunna moither me
60th it. Hrf.i; Hrf.2 I felt regularly moithered. JHtg. (M.H.C.)
Glo. Father says, I'm a good traveller and could go anywhere, but
I was a bit moithered at Paddington (A.B.) ; Grose (1790) ; Gl.
(1851); Baylis Illus. Dial. (1870); Glo.», Nrf. (W.C.S.) Sur.
Thinking only moiders a body's brain, Oliphant At his Gates.
[Nfld. Dial, of Nfld- in Dy. Chron.]
Hence (i) Moidering or Moithering, ///. a«^'. worrying,
bothering; perplexing, bewildering, puzzling; (2) Moider-
ment, s6. worry, trouble, annoyance ; (3) Moidhersome,
adj. troublous, full of cares and worries.
(i) Ir. Och whisht, and bad manners to you, you moidherin'
brat, Barlow Idylls (1893) 67. w.Yks. It was out of these
moidering talks with my mother, Snowden Web of Weaver (1896)
78. Lan. His muther's a meytherin owd maddlin, Ackworth
Clog Shop Chrott. (1896) 239; Th' moidering yung foo hed bin
mekkin a johnny ov hissel, Fergusson Moudywarp's Visit, 21.
Chs.i Der. Ye'r' but a moithering chap, Verney Stone Edge (1868)
XXV. (2) Cum.^ He was ga'n whoar he cudn't carry his land . . .
an his moiderment alang wid him, 28. (3) Lan. There's bad times
afore us — bad, clemmin, moidhersome times, Clegg David! s Loom
(1894) ii.
2. To Stupefy with blows, &c.
Lnk. (Jam.) Gall. The sun had stricken me unawares and
moidered my head, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xxvii.
Hence Moidart, Moidered, or Moidert, ppl. adj. dull,
stupid ; bemused or stupid from drink.
Lnk. What man ! is your brain sae moidert jrau canna see that?
Duncan S. Cy. Weaver, 48 (Jam.). Dmf. Waixace Schoolmaster
VOL. IV.
(1899) 350. Gall. Her lad was but a moidert ass, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 177, ed. 1876 ; I could see Samuel Tamson standing
gazing moonstruck at the well. ' Ye great moidered nowt, ye ! '
Crockett Raiders (1894) xxi.
3. In pass. : to be overcome or rendered stupid with heat.
Yks. She's fairly moidered wi' heat an' noise, Gaskell Sylvia
(1863) ix. w.Yks. 2 A person who is overdone with heat, as on a
hot day or in a stuffy room, is said to be moidered. Lei.' Moithered
wi' hate [heat].
Hence Moithery or Mothery, adj. of the atmosphere :
oppressive, close.
Not' War., Wor. It's very close to-day, it feels quite mothery
(H.K.).
4. In pass, with up: to be uncomfortably cooped up,
crowded ; to be wrapped up too warmly.
Cnm. Fairly moidered up wi' au maks of rubbish (J.Ar.). s.Wm.
(J.A.B.) w.Yks. EccLES Leeds Olm. (1881) 22. Der. A woman
said that a child was ' mythered up in clothing' when it was too
much wrapped up, Addy Gl. (1888),
5. To talk incoherently or foolishly ; to be delirious, to
wander or ramble in one's mind.
s.Chs.i Ey bigiin' meydhflr iibuwt siim uwd mon [Hey begun
meither abowt some owd mon]. War. I was tossing about and
mithering all night (C.T.O.) ; War.2 ; War.s He talked in his sleep
and seemed to be quite mithered. w.Wor. As though he wur
moithered loike, S. Beaochamp Grantley Grange (1874) I. 30 ;
w.Wor.i 'E's mighty simple this marnin' ; 'is yud's bin so bad ahl
night, 'e kips moitherin'ahl the w'ild. s.Wor. He was moithered
last night, and all over the place, talking about what had happened
when he was a boy (,H.K.). se.Wor.i'Isyud a bin bad all night;
'e seems moithered like. Shr.' I thought the poor child wuz
gwein to 'ave a faiver, fur 'er burnt like a coal, an' moithered all
night. Hrf.i2, Rdn."- Mtg. 'How was he last night, William! '
'Oh! he was moithering just all the time' (E.R.M.). Glo.
(W.H.C), Glo.i
Hence (i) Maythering, ppl. adj. babbling or talking
incoherently Mke an imbecile ; (2) Moitherdy, adj., (3)
Moithered, (4) Moithering, ppl. adj. dazed, bewildered ;
wandering in one's mind, silly ; delirious.
(i) Hrf.2 (2) s.Wor. 'E was that moitherdy and mombledy when
'e went to sleep that night, 'e didn't scarce know where 'e wflz
(H.K.). (3) War.2, w.Wor.l, s.Wor.', Hrf.', Glo. (H.S.H.),
(W.H.C.) (4) War.2, Hrf.1
6. To wander about aimlessly or confusedly.
Cum. We moidered aboot . . . till aboot six o'clock, Mary Dray-
son (1872) 15. Lan. As aw wur moiderin mi road whoam aw leet
o Charley-o-Rauves, Abrum o' Flup's Quortin' (1886) 8. War.
He stayed up till half-past 12 and was ' moithering ' about his bed-
room till 2 o'clock, B'ham Dy. Gazette (Aug. 9, 1898).
7. To make a fuss or commotion.
Lan. What art moidherin abeaut, tha little foo ? Clegg Sketches
(1895) 108. s.Chs.' Ahy shaa)n-u meydhflr wi) yii [I shanna
meither wi' ye].
8. To labour very hard. n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.^
9. sb. A fuss, bother.
s.Chs.' Dhur(z nuwt tu mai- ii meydhiir iibaayt [There's nowt
to may a meither abai't].
10. Distracting or foolish talk.
s. Chs.' Ah kud)nil stond is mey -dhur [Ah cudna stond his meither].
11. Cajolery, blarney.
s.Chs.' Ey)z sich ii lot fl meydhur widh im, yii nevflr noa'n
wen ey)z tel-in yd reyt [Hey's sich a lot o' meither with him, y6
never known when he's tellin y5 reight].
[1. I've been strangely moyder'd e're sin 'bout this
same news oth' French king, fVii of a Woman (1705)
(Nares).]
MOITHERED, ppl. adj Shr.' [moi'Sad.] Broken
into very small flakes, said of curds.
In the process of curd-making if the whey breaks into large
flakes they are jowters— if into very small ones, ' the cruds bin
moithered' (s.v. Jowters).
MOITHERN, MOITHY, MOIZLE, see Maithen, Moidy,
IVLizzlc Vt^
moke', sb} Yks. Lin. War. Wor. Hrf Pern. Bdf Lon.
Wil. Som. Dev. and in gen. slang use. [mok.] A donkey.
Yks. I goes and lends that cove my moke for three bob a-week,
Fetherston T. Goorkrodger (1870) 132. w.Yks.^, Lin.', War.s
Wor. The patient moke was requisitioned, Evesham Jm. (June 25,
1898). s.Wor. (H.K.), Hrf. (.F.G.A.) s.Pem. 'Where be yea
u
MOKE
[146]
MOLL
gwayin on the moke, bay?' The only term by which a donkey
was known fifty years ago (W.M.M.). Bdf. (J. W.B.) Lon. I had
a good moke, Mayhew Land. Labour {ei. 1861) II. 85. Wil. Slow
Gl. (1892). Som. They pitied the moke, Agrikler Rhymes {iQjz')
39. Dev. N. & Q. (1879) 5th S. xi. 28. nw.Dev.i Slang. Hi
boy ! look at that fine girl with the lean moke, Horsley Jottings
(1887^ i.
MOKE,s6.2 Nrf. Ken. Sus. Hmp. Also written moak
Sus.^^ [mok.] 1. The mesh of a net. Gen. in pi.
Nrf. Grose (I79o^. Ken.12 Sus. The mokes of a net, Ray
(1691); (K.); Sus.i; Sus. = Ordered, that no fisherman of the town
should fish with any trawl-net, whereof the moak holdeth not five
inch throughout, Hastings Corpor. Rec. (Aug. 4, 16041. Hmp.
HoLLOWAY. [The mokes of a net, maculae, Coles (1679) ; The
mocks of a net, Worlidge Diet. Rust. (1681).]
2. Wicker-work. Nrf. Grose (1790). s.Cy. (Hall.)
MOKE, sb.^ and adj. Yks. Lin. Also written moak(-
Lin.i n.Lin.i [mok.] 1. sb. A mist, fog; thick, close,
foggy weather.
m.Yks.i Lin. Miller & Skertchly Fenland (1878) iv ; Lin.i
Hence Moaky or Moky, (i) adj. of weather : dull, hazy.
Lin. (Hall.), n.Lin.^ ; (2) sb. hazy, dull, dark weather.
Lin.' 2. adj. Hazy, dark. Lin. (Hall.)
[Cp. ON. mokkr, a dense cloud (Vigfusson) ; Sw. dial.
moket, thick, heavy, of the atmosphere (Rietz).]
MOKE, V. Lan. Der. Hrf. Glo. Also in form mock
Hrf [mok.] 1. To loaf about, to idle, lounge about.
See Mike, Mooch, v."^
Lan. What dost' keep mokin an' rootin about th' Well Lone
Bridge so mich for o' neets? Brierley Waverlow (1863) 112, ed.
1884. nw.Der.', Glo.i
2. To play truant. Hrf (W.H.Y.)
MOKE, see Mawk, sb?-
MOKE-HEARTED, adj Cum.* Timid, cowardly.
Cf mote-heartit.
MOKES, s^i. />/. tOhs. Ken. Embers, coals.
Come, stir the mokes, Nairne Tales (1790) 47, ed. 1824.
MOKIE, 56. Cai.' [moki.] A stupid, silly lout.
MOKIN, see Mawkin, sb.
MOKINS, sb. pi. Hmp. [m5-kinz.] Gaiters made of
coarse sacking, worn to defend the legs from furze, cSic.
See Mogg-an. Wise New Forest (1883) 162, 284; Hmp.i
MOKUS,s6. Hmp.i nw.Dev.i A donkey. Cf.moke,sA.i
MOL, see Moll, sb}
MOLAGOON, sb. Ant. [Not known to our other
correspondents.] The devil-fish, Lophius piscatorius.
(W.H.P.) Cf. MoUygowan.
MOLASS, sb. Obs. Sc. Also in form molash w.Sc.
(Jam.) Lnk. Whisky made of molasses.
Lnk. Spout ye a mutchkin o' molash in her cheek, ye'II get her
mind an' speed the better, Graham Writings (1883) II. 51. Lth.
The only guid molass has dune. Some drouthie wives it's sent
hame soon ; Which gars their dearies canty croon. The praise o'
sugar whisky, Bruce Poems (1813) II. 25.
Hence Molashed, adj. intoxicated. w.Sc. (Jam.)
MOLBERRY, sb. e.An. [mo-lbari.] The common
skua, Slercorarius catarrhacles.
e.An.i Nrf. Then's the time for them old gulls, . . and them old
molberries chase 'em, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 64.
MOLD, see Malt, sb?, Moild, Mould, sby^
MOLDEN, sb. "^slv. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] A mole. (Hall.)
MOLDIWART, see Mouldywarp.
MOLE, sb} and v. Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Yks. Lin. e.An. Ken.
Also in forms maawl Suf ; moley e.Dur.^; moll e.An.^ ;
mowl Nrf Suf.i [mol, moul.] \. sb. In co»2i. (i) Mole-
blind, blind as a mole; (2) -country, the churchyard; in
phr. to go to the mole-country, to die ; (3) -rat, a mole.
(i) Lnk. Scores o' mole-blind fools, Rodger Poems (1838) 143,
ed. 1897. (2) e.An.i He's gone to the moll country. Nrf. Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf . (1893) 41. (3) e.Dur.', n.Yks.i*
2. A contemptuous name for a child.
Ken. A lot of dirty little moles (D.WL.).
3. The earth thrown out by moles. Suf* 4. v. To
catch moles ; to clear the ground from mole-hills.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Yks. Grose (1790) jW5. arfrf. (P.) sw.Lin.' He
was round moling last week. They pay him £iQ a-year for moling.
Hence (i) Moler, (2) Moley, 56. a mole-catcher.
(i) sw.Lin.i They've gotten a parish moler. He and the moler
have gotten across. (2) Abd. Jamie Meldrum's begun tae mak'
the cairt, an' Moley's on the outlook for a beast, Abd. Wkly. Free
Press (Oct. 27, 1900).
MOLE, si.= Bdf Som. [m51.] L The higher part of
the back of the neck. Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). 2. pi.
In phr. Moles of the head, the space at the top of a child's
head before the skull has entirely formed. Bdf (J.W.B.)
MOLE, sb? Cor.i ^ [mol.] The rock goby, Gobius niger.
MOLE, sb." Chs. Bdf Cmb. Sus. [mol.] 1. The
pointed iron shoe of a plough secured to the end of a
standard, used in making a deep drain for water.
Bdf. They [the ploughs] have sometimes a coulterwhich precedes
the mole, Batchelor ^.g-ra. (1813) 174.
2. Comp. Mole-plough, a kind of plough drawn through
the subsoil in making drains.
Chs. What is said of the mole plow belongs to the draining of
farm lands, Marshall Review (1818) II. 135. Bdf. Mr. B. at the
new farm at Dunton, has drained much of his farm with a mole-
plough, Batchelor Agric. (1813) 474. Cmb. Sir Charles Cotton
has used the mole plough with success on pasture, Marshall
Review (1814) IV. 634. Sus.^
MOLE, s^>.= Suf.i A mule.
MOLE-DAY, SI&. Obs. w.Cy. A funeral. (Hall.) Cf.
mool, sb} 5.
MOLE-DIVER, sb. Sus. The little grebe, Tachybaptes
fluviatilis. Smith Birds (1887) 505.
MOLEERY-TEA, sb. Cai.^ The common milfoil,
Achillea Millefolium ; also the goose-tongue, A. Ptarmica.
MOLESHAG, see Maleshag.
MOLESHECKLE, sb. t Obs. Nrf Also in form
mosheckle. The bone within the cuttle-fish which may
be rubbed into pounce. Trans. Phil. Soc. (1855) 34.
MOLEY, MOLEY- WARP, MOLHERN, see Mole, sb.\
Mouldywarp, MoUhern.
MOLICK, sb. Sh.I. A ' bucht ' of fishing-hnes,
measuring forty to fifty fathoms. Jakobsen Norsk in Sh.
{-i&^i) 87 ; S. & Ork.i
[A der. of ON. mdl, a measure, a length of sixteen
fathoms (Vigfusson).]
MOLIGRANT, see Molligrant.
MOLL, sb} Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Nhp. War.
Wor. I.W. Dev. Also written mol' Dev.' ; and in form
mall Nhb. [mol.] 1. In comb, (i) MoU-Andrey, a
merry-andrew ; a mountebank ; (2) -blob, the marsh-
marigold, Caltha palustris ; cf. molly-blob ; (3) -cot, an
effeminate man ; one who does women's work ; (4) -kit,
a ' molly-coddle ' ; (5) -of-Coventry, a simple card-game,
see below; (6) -of-the-woods, the wood anemone, ^«ewo>?e
Nemorosa ; (7) -on-the-coals, a gloomy-minded person ;
(8) -washer, the pied wagtail, Motacilla lugubris ; see
MoUy-washdish.
(i) LW.12 (2) Nhp.i Wor. N. &- Q. (1878) 5th S. ix. 405.
(3) Chs.i (4) Dev.i Much-how a coud leke zuch a zokey molkit,
such an unsoutherly malkin, 7. (5) w.Yks.^ Played by four
children. The one who gets his cards paired off first wins. As the
cards are thrown down the folio winglines are repeated in succession
by the players : ' Here's an ace ; what say you to that ? And here's
another as good as that. Here comes the best of all the three. And
here comes MoIl-of-Coventry.' (6) War. (G.E.D.) (7) Ayr. She
was aye one of your MoII-on-the-coals, a sigher o' sadness, Galt
Entail (1823) Ixxviii. (8) LW.'2 [From the fanciful similarity
between the beating of the water with its tail by the bird while
tripping along the leaves of a water lily, and the beating in the
water by washerwomen, Johns Birds (1&62) 171 ; Swainson Birds
(1885) 43-4.]
2. A wench ; a sweetheart ; a prostitute. In gen. use
as slang.
Nhb. When the Malls began their reels, Marshall Sngs. (1819)
3. w.Yks.5 m.Lan.' Aw'm gooin' to meet mi Moll to-neet. s.Not.
ParUament Street's full of Molls (J.P.K.). Slang. Farmer.
3. A slut ; a guy. s.Not. Eh, what a moll you do look (J.P.K.).
MOLL, 56.'' e.An.i [mol.] Straw beaten small.
MOLL, V. Lan. Also in form molly. To idle. Chs.
N. &- Q. (1882) II. 89.
MOLL, see Mole, sb}, Mool, sb}
MOLLACHON
[147]
MOLLY-CAUDLE
MOLLACHON, sb. Slg. (Jam.) A small cheese.
MOLLAG, sb. I.Ma. 1. A dog's skin blown up as a
bladder, and used as a buoy to float herring-nets.
Hammocks of nets and lines of moUags up to the mast heads,
Caine Manxman (1894) 100 ; You may blow yourself out like a
moUag, Rydings Tales (1895) 114.
2. Phr. as full as a mollag, dead drunk.
He come home about half-an-hour ago as full as a moIIag, and
was sleepin' on the seddle in the parlour, Rydings 7a&s(i895) 79.
[Manx mollag (Kelly).]
MOLLA-HEAD, sb. Cor.^ A shock-head of hair.
MOLLAN, sb. So. A long straight pole, such as
fishermen use at their fish-yards. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
MOLLART, sb. Lan.^ [mo-lat.] A mop for a baker's
oven, a ' mawkin.'
MOLLAT, sb. Sc. The bit of a bridle. Brown Diet
(1845)-
MOLLCODLIN, see Molly-coddle.
MOLL DOYLE, phr. Irel. See below.
Ir. During the 18th and the early part of the 19th century the
Irish peasantry often formed themselves into various secret
societies for the redress of grievances. These societies were
always supposed to be under some leader, generally fictitious,
with a fanciful name. Moll Doyle was one of these fictitious
names, and Moll Doyle's daughters were the rank and file of the
parties who committed the outrages by night. ' By the powers
of Moll Doyle,' often heard as a sort of harmless oath (P.W.J.).
Wxf. Some folk, however, owed him a spite for the taking of the
land, and Moll Doyle and her daughters were hired to pay him a
visit, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 272.
MOLLERN, MOLLERNE, see Moll-hern.
MOLLETONS, sb. pi. w.Yks. [mo-litanz.] Cloth-
making term : the rags of closely-woven white flannels.
(W.F.)
MOLLETS, sb. pi. Rxb. (Jam.) Fantastic airs ;
sly winks.
MOLL-HERN, sb. Midi. Nhp. "War. Oxf. Brks. Mid.
Wil. Also written molhern War. ; and in forms moUern
Oxf.^ Wil.^ ; mollerne Wil. ; moUyarn Oxf.' ; moUyern,
molly-hern Oxf. ; molly-heron Wil.' [mo'l-an.] The
heron, Ardea cinerea; esp. the female bird.
Midi. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 144. Nhp.i, War. (Hall.), War.a
Oxf. Aplin Birds (i88g) 214 ; Oxf.' ; ib. MS. add. Brks.', w.Mid.
(W.P.M.) Wil. A moll em flod away, Jefferies Gi. Estate
(1880) iv; (K.M.G.); Wil.i
MOLLICRUSH, v. and sb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Der. Lei.
Nhp. War. Shr. Glo. Bdf. w.Cy. Also written moUycrush
Lan. War. ; and in forms mollyscrtish Bdf. ; muUicrush
w.Yks. e.Lan.' ; muUycrush w.Yks.° Nhp.' [mo-likruj,
-kTB/.] 1. V. To crush ; to beat to a jelly ; to bruise ; to
pulverize ; also_;?^. to hector, domineer.
Cam.* w.Yks. When I tell'd him I'd muUicrush'd 'em, an' wot
a mess I'd made wi't wall, he sed I'd been tryin' to ruin him,
Hallam Wadsley J ack {1&66) vi ; w.Yks.^ Lan. Aw'U mollycrush
him ! Staton Rivals (i888) 11. e.Lan.i, nw.Der.i Lei.' 'A doon
wi' that nize, or ah'll mollicrush ye. Nhp.' A servant, complaining
of her place, said to an elder sister who was prevailing upon her
to stay : ' It don't signify what you say, I will leave ; you shan't
muUycrush me.' War. Holloway ; War.^ I'll molUcrush him ;
War.3, Shr.2 Bdf. Stand over from the poast, do ; for if hany-
think goes wrong there, we shall get molly-scrushed (J.W.B.).
w.Cy. {,Hall.)
2. sb. A crushed condition; a jelly ; gen. of fruit.
War.3 What a mollicrush you have made of these raspberries—
you should have picked them more carefully. Glo.^ To beat it all
of a mollicrush.
MOLLIFY, V. Shr. e.An. [mo-lifai.] 1. To soften ;
to subdue. Shr.^ Hence Mollified, ppl. adj. melted.
e.An.' 2. To bruise ; to beat. Shr.^
MOLLIGRANT, sb. and v. Sc. Also written moli-
grant, mollygrant Sc. ; and in form moUiegrunt Bwk.
[mo'ligrant.J 1. sb. A complaint; a whining lamentation.
Sc. Ye wha mak your moligrant aboot The warld's fauts and
folly, Caledon. Curling Ann. (1898-99) clxii. Ags. (Jam.) Frf.
It behoved him to feel wae for her if he didna mak' muckle
mollygrant for himsel', Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 57, ed. 1889.
e.Fif. He heard a waefu' moligrant like the whinin' o' a dog,
Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) ii. e.Lth. That's anither o' your
moUigrants, like yon aboot the folk a' deein o' hunger for want o'
flour breid. Hunter/. Imtiick (1895) 95. Edb. Madge sits down
on a creepie and gies a lang mollygrant on the inherent depravity
of human nature. Smith Habbie and Madge (ed. 1881) 22. Bwk.
We mak' a sad moUiegrunt mingled wi' tears, Calder Poems
(1897) 206.
2. V. To lament ; to whine.
Fif. He's lyin' yonder moUy-grantin' aboot Bauldie, Robertson
Provost (1894) 167.
MOLLIGRUBS, MOLLIGRUMPHS, MOLLIN, see
Mullygrubs, MuUin.
MOLLIPEART, adj. Oxf Also written mollypeart.
[mo'lipiat.] Over-lively. (Hall.) ; Oxf MS. add.
MOLLISH'S-LAND, sb. Cor. A girl's game, resem-
bling ' Tom Tiddler's ground ' ; see below.
Flk-Lore Jrn. V. 57 ; Gomme Games (1894) I. 389 ; Cor.^ One
girl, standing in middle of street, has to catch the others as they
rush by.
MOLLOCK, MOLLOCKS, see Mullock, s6.'
MOLLOP, V. .? Obs. Sc. Also written mollup (Jam.).
To toss the head in a haughty or disdainful way. Rxb.
(Jam.) Hence Molloping, ppl. adj. proud, disdainful.
Slk. I'm nane o' your molloping precise flegaries that want to
be miss'd, an'beckit, an' bowed to, HoGG Tales (,1838) 74, ed. 1866.
MOLLUCK, see Mullock, sb."-
MOLLUKA, sb. Sc. The Molucca bean, Caesalpinia
Bonducella. See Crospunk.
w.Sc. There is a variety of nuts called Molluka, some of which
are used as amulets against witch-craft, or an evil eye. particularly
the white one : and upon this account they are wore about
children's necks, and if any evil is intended to them, they say the
nut changes colour, Martin West. Islands (1716; 38 (Jam.).
MOLLY, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Irel. and Eng. Also
written moUi Chs.'e.Dev.; moUie Ken.' [mo'li.] \. sb.
In comb, (i) Molly-blob, the marsh-marigold, Caltha
palustris ; (2) -chops, anything effeminately delicate ; (3)
-cot or -cotter, a man who does women's work ; one who
interferes with domestic arrangements ; (4) -dancer, a
morris-dancer ; (5) -gowan, the devil-fish, Lophius pisca-
torius ; (6) -hedge-sparrow, the hedge-sparrow. Accentor
modularis ; (7) -mawks, a dirty slatternly woman ; cf.
mawks, 2; (8) -Hogging, frequenting the company of
immoral women; (9) -rag, to scold coarsely and abusively;
(10) -washdish, the pied wagtail, Motacilla lugubris ; see
Moll, sb} 1 (8) ; (11) -wasp, a mole.
(1) Nhp.' (s.v. Moll-blobs). (2) e Dev. Timberlegs can goo,
where flesh and bone be moUichops, Blackmore Perlycross (1894)
xxxvi. (3) Yks. Yks. Wily. Post (May 8, 1897). m.Yks.' Lan.
If ever aw contentedly turn moUycot, there'll ha to be some very
different noshuns oth whole duty o man, Staton Loominary
(c. 1861) 63; Chs. N. & Q. (1882) II. 89. m.Lan', Chs.', Chs.a
(s.v. MoIIy-codde). s.Chs.' MoM-kot ur noo mol-i-kot ! Ahy
lahyk u mon uz)l kiim i dhu ky'ich-in tin taak- u bit fl noatis u
dhii chee-z weyl it)s beyin mai-d [Molly-cot or noo molly-cot!
I like a mon as 'all come i' the kitchen, an' tak a bit o' notice o'
the cheese wheil it's bein' made]. Nhp.', War.^s Shr.' 'E's whad
I call a useful man in a 'ouse athout bein' a mollycot. Hnt.
(T.P.F.) (4) Not.2 (5) N.I.1 (6) Ken. (H.K ) (7) War.'^
(8) n.Lin.' (9) Nhp.' War.2 . War.^ She was always molly-
ragging me. (10) Hmp., Som. Swainson Birds (1885) 44. (11)
Rut.'
2. A generic name for a girl ; a slut ; a prostitute. See
Moll, s6.'
Not. (J.P.K.) Glo.' The men and girls [hired at the Gloucester
■mops'] are called 'Johnnies and Mollies' (s.v. Mop). e.An.2
Every mawther is, ex officio, called Molly, at a venture.
3. A man who fusses and busies himself about the house,
or with women's work ; a ' molly-coddle.'
m.Yks.', Lan. (S.W.) Nhp.' What a Molly! (s.v. Molly-cot).
Glo.', Oxf,i7l/5. add. I.W. ^C.J.V.) w.Som.i N;f rj a got such
a old Molly, I'd pin the dish-clout up to the tail o' un.
4. The hedge-sparrow, Accentor modularis. Ken.' See
Molly-hedge-sparrow. 5. v. Of a man : to do women's
work ; to attend to household affairs.
s.Wor.i 'E were a good un to Molly for 'isself, were old Joe.
MOLLY, MOLLYARN, MOLLY-CAUDLE, see Moll,
v., MuUy, sb., MoU-hern, Molly-coddle.
u 2
MOLLY-CODDLE
[1481
MOMMET
MOLLYCODDLE, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Chs. Der. Not.
Lin. War. Won Hrf. Oxf. Brks. e.An. Wil. Som. Dev. Cor.
and Amer. Also written mollicoddle w.Yks.^ Not.' ; and
in forms mally-caudle Cor.^ ; moU-codlin e.An.^; molly-
caudle w.Som.i Dev.' Cor.'^; molly-Coddles w.Yks. ;
molly-codlin n.Yks. [mo'li-kcdl.] L sb. An effeminate
person, esp. a boy ; one who takes excessive care of his
health ; a valetudinarian ; in gen. colloq. use.
Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks. (T.S.) w.Yks. He's a regular molly-coddles,
yer can scarcely see him for coats and comforters (H.L.) ; w.Yks."
Lin. A person who talies excessive care to keep himself from the cold
(W.W. S.). Wor. Making 'molly-coddles' of my chiWren, Evesham
Jrn. (May 2, 1896). e.An." Wil. Slow Gl. (1892). w.Som.i
You 'ont catch a old molly-caudle like he corain ; nif is but ever
such a little bit of a scad, he on't put's 'ead out. Dev.', Cor.^
[Amer. He is such a mollycoddle (fool), Dial. Notes (1896) 1. 50.]
2. A man who does household work ; one who interferes
with women's business.
m.Yks.i, Chs.3, War. = 3^ se.Wor.', Hrf." Oxf. Jane tells me
her husband scrubs all the house for her ; what a mollycoddle she
has made of the man, to be sure (G.O.) ; Oxf.' MS. add.
Brks.', Cor.l2
3. V. To pamper up; to spoil by over-care and attention;
to be over-anxious as to health.
Der.2 (s.v. Coddle.) Not.', Lin. (W.W.S.) Cmb.' I never
believed in molly-coddling my children. w.Som.' I can't abear to
zee nobody a molly-caudled up in jis farshin ; better put the boy
in a glass case to once. No wonder the children be waikly,
always a molly-caudled up like that there ; must'n never go out
o' doors 'thout girt coats and shawls and they things.
4. Of a man : to do the household work properly apper-
taining to a woman.
m.Yks.' His wife's an ailing body [person], so he mollycoddles
himself a bit.
MOLLYCROY, v. Wm. Lan. To crush to death ; to
extinguish. Cf moUicrush.
Wm., n.Lan. 'A'll mollycroy thee.' Probably obs. (W.H.H.)
MOLLYERN, MOLLYGRUBS, see Moll-hern, Mully-
grubs.
MOLLY-HA-WK, sb. Nrf A heavy double-toothed
mattock. Arch. (1879) VIII. 171. Cf malahack.
MOLLY-HERN, MOLLY-HERON, see Moll-hern.
MO LLY -PRANCE, s/^. Nhp.' [mo-li-prans.] A merry-
making. See Oly.prance.
MOLOSS, adj. Ayr. (Jam.) Loose, dissolute.
MOLROOKEN, sb. Irel. The great crested grebe,
Podiceps cristatus.
It. Smith Birds (1887) 500. N.I.' Uls. Swainson Birds
(1885) 215.
MOLT, V. e.An. [molt.] 1. To perspire. e.An.
(Hall.) See Malt, sb.'^ Hence Molten, ppl. adj. per-
spiring freely. e.Suf. To be all of a molten heat (F.H.).
a. Comb. Molt-water, a clear exudation ; the discharge
from a blister. e.An.' His face was all of a molt-water.
MOLT, see Moild.
MOLTED, ppl. adj. Nhp. e.An. [mo'ltid.] Violently
affected by heat. Nhp.', e.An.', e.Suf. (F.H.) See Molt.
MOLTEN, t/. Sc. [mo'ltgn.] To melt ; usedT^^.
Lth. He molten'd into laughter dire, Lumsden Poems (1896) 65.
MOLTER, see Moulter, v.\ Multure.
MOLTLONG, sb. e.An.' [mo-ltlor).] A sore just
above the divided parts of the hoof in cattle.
MOM, MOMAS(S, see Mam, Maulmas.
MOMBLE, V. and sb. Yks. Stf War. Wor. Shr. Hrf.
Glo. Suf Also written maumble Hrf.'^; mawmble s.Wor.';
and in forms mamble s.Wor.; mumble w.Yks." Nhp.' Wor.
Glo.' Suf [mo-m(b)l,mu-m(b)l.] L z^. To jumble together;
to ravel, tangle; to wrinkle, crumple; to crumble; to
waste ; to mess ; to bungle ; to do anything in a clumsy way.
w.Yks.", Nhp.' War." ; War.^ He has mombled away a hundred
pounds. w.Wor.' s.Wor. I don't know where I've mombled it
away. It's no odds how soon I uses 'em to mend the bad places in
the hedges, afore the cows mombles 'em about (H.K.). Shr.'
Hrf.= If she can't do one thing she can maumble on at another.
Glo.' ' Er's bin an' mombled mine now,' said by a little girl, whose
knitting had been ravelled by her neighbour. ' Sez is accounts was
mumbled. Now if is accounts was mumbled, 00 mumbled em!'
Suf. (Hall.)
Hence (i) Mombled-up, ///. adj. dressed up awkwardly
and ridiculously; (2) Momblement, s6. confusion ; disorder.
(i) Shr.i (2) Shr.' Mary, yo' al'ays get these drawers into a
momblement an' mess w'enever yo' gO'n to 'em. Hrf.'
2. To confuse ; to puzzle ; to wander mentally.
s.Stf. I'm that mombled wi' soo many flutters about I do' know
wheer to begin (T.P.). Wor. My head gets mumbled (W.C.B.).
se.Wor.i s.Wor. I corn't see, not 0' neither heye, an' I feels
mombled like, Ouris Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn, (1896) xvi ;
s.Wor. 1, Glo. (W.H.C.)
Hence Mombledy, adj. bewildered ; troubled.
s.Wor. 'E was that moitherdy and mombledy when 'e went to
sleep that night, 'e didn't scarce know where 'e wuz (,H.K.).
3. sb. A bungling job ; a state of confusion ; a tumbled,
crumpled condition, an entanglement.
Nhp.' ' What a mumble you're making of your dress ! ' In very
common use. War." I know'd 'e'd mek a momble on it. Shr.'
'E'U mek a momble on it. Glo.'
4. Phr. to be in momble('s meadow, to be in a difficulty ;
to be puzzled, bewildered.
ne.Wor. (J.W.P.) s.Wor. ' A's in momble-meadah ; a's got in
an' a con't git out,' said to a man who had got a wheel of his truck
in a hollow place and couldn't move it (H.K.).
MOME, sb. and adj. n.Cy. Wm. Yks. 1. sb. Obs. A
fool, blockhead, a dull ignorant person.
n.Cy. Away with this foolish mome : Flodden Field (1633) 7, in
Child's Pop. Ballads (1889) III. 352. w.Yks. Willan List Wds.
(1811).
2. adj. Dull. Wm. (B.K.) : Gibson Leg. and Notes (1877) 93.
[Parnassus is not dome By every such mome, Drayton
Skeltoniad, 1373 (Nares) ; A mome, niorio, bardus. Levins
Manip. (1570). Fr. (Norm, dial.) mome, petit enfant ; a
rapprocher maumet, 'poupee' (Moisy).]
MOME, see Malm.
MOMENT-HAND, sb. Obs. Sc. The minute-hand of
a clock or watch.
Sc. (Jam.) Frf. I . . . stopt the clock ; the moment hand Stood
like a rock at my command, Sands Poems (1833) 126. se.Sc. A
clock, the hour and moment-hands of which were going in contrary
directions, Donaldson Poems (1809) 63.
MOMENTY-MORRIES, sb. pi. Nhb. Skeletons.
Ye're nowt better than a lot o' ' momenty morries,' — meanin'
skeletons, ye ken. Pease Tales (1899) 32.
[For memento ntori (' remember that thou must die '),
the name given to a small decorative object, containing
a skeleton or other emblem of death. — I make as good
use of it as many a man doth of a Death's-head or a
memento mori, Shaks. i Hen. IV, iil iii. 35.]
MOMMACK, MOMMASS, see Mammock, Maulmas.
MOMMEL,sZi. Hrf." [mo'ml.] A scarecrow, a 'mommet.'
MOMMER, see Mammer.
MOMMET, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Wm. Yks. Lan. War. Wor.
Shr. Hrf Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written momet
n.Yks." Dev.^ ; mommit se.Wor.' ; and in forms mamet
Wm. ; mammet n.Yks.'^ Lan. Shr." Dor. ; maument
ne.Lan.' ; maumet n.Cy. ; mawment Fif N.Cy.' w.Yks.'
Lan. ; mawmet n.Yks." s.Wor.' Dor. w.Som.' ; mummet
n.Yks." Cor. ; murmet Dev. [mo'mit, mq'mit, -at.]
1. An image, effigy ; a puppet, an odd figure ; freq. used
as a term of abuse.
Fif. Sipsies saw The marble mawments carvit braw Stuck in their
niches i' the wa', Tennant Papistry (1827) 91. N.Cy.' Wm. He
wes olus a flaenowt braggan mamet. Spec. Dial. (1877) pt. i. 23.
n.Yks." Lan. She found a Mammet or feature so artificially made up
in her night-attire, Brathwait Lan. Lovers (1640) xv; Wot made
thee caw thoose two mawments pigs ? Staton Loominary (c. 1866)
54. War. This is no world to play with mommets. Wise Skakespere
(1861) 154. Shr." A mammet of a thing. Hrf." Wil.' (s.v. Mom-
mick). Dor. What a mommet of a maid, Hardy Tess (1891) 362,
ed. 1895; N. & Q. (1854) ist S. ix. 43. w.Dor. Roberts Hist.
Lyme Regis (1834). Dev. On November 4th it was at one time
customary for village children to canvass the neighbourhood for
subscriptions, for materials to make a Guy Fawkes' ' momet,'
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 15. Cor. (F.R.C.)
2. A scarecrow.
War .3 s.Wor. Cutis Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (1896) xviii.
se.Wor.', s.Wor.' Shr.' I'd as lif gOa i' the night as the day, I
amma afeared o' mommets. Som. So Johnny conceived the idea
MOMMETRY
[149]
MONGS
of making a mommet with a pair of worn-out breeches, a discarded
hunting coat, &c., Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894). w.Som.i
Can you please to let us have a vew things, a old hat an' that, vor
to make up a bit of a mommet, the rooks be vallin' in 'pon the
taties? Dev. Little Joe and me be like a pair of murmets, Black-
more Christowell [1881) xxviii ; Dev.^
3. pL Trifles. n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.^, neXan.i
[1. A wretched puling fool, A whining mammet, Shaks.
a. &^ J. III. V. 186; A mawmentt, idolum, Cath. Angl.
(1483) ; Thou that wlatisf maumetis, Wyclif (1388) Rom.
ii. 22. OFr. mahummei, mahommet, ' idole en general '
(La Curne) ; Mahumet, one of the idols of the Saracens
{Roland), the same word as Mahomet, Arab. MuAammed.]
MOMMETRY, s6. Yks.Som. Also in forms mammetry,
mawmetry n.Yks.'^ [mo-matri.] Idolatry, image-worship;
mummery. See Mommet
n.Yks.^ w.Som.^ They there pa'sons wi' their can'ls and crosses
and bowin and scrapin, I calls it riglar mommetry.
[All mawmetry aghe to cese in men, Hampole (c. 1339)
Ps. xcvi. 8 ; Longe he regned in jiat londe In maumetrie
furst fei}) he fond. Cursor M. (c. 1300) 2286.]
MOMMICK, MOMMOCK, MOMMY, see Mammock,
Mummy.
MOMMYPOME, v. Yks. Also in form monnypome.
To make signs with the hands.
w.Yks. (i) As a signal of distress, or (2) as a means of ridicule,
^fK.the latter. It is in use amongst the older people of the district
[Sheffield] (J. S.); w.Yks.2
MOMMYRUFFIN, MOMUS, see Mumruffin, Maulmas.
MON, see Man, sb}, Maun, v}, Month, sb}
MONANDAY, sb. Sc. Wm. Also written mononday
Sc. (Jam.); munanday Sc; munnonday Gall. ; munonday
s.Sc. Lnk. ; mununday Abd. ; and in form monaday Sh.I.
[mB-nande.] 1. Monday.
Sc. The Mautman comes on Munanday, Kinloch Ballad Bk.
(1827) 86, ed. 1868. Sh.I. Atween da Monaday an' da Setterday,
Stewart Tales (1892) 27; Dis is Monanday, Sh. News (Jan. 15,
1898). n.Sc. Likewise they sailed on Mononday, Buchan Ballads
(1828) II. 12, ed. 1875 ; If Monanday, or Monday, be first mentioned
in company by a female, of what age or rank soever, they account
it a most unlucky omen (Jam.). Abd. On Mununday night about
an hour after brose time, SHiHREFsPo«m«(i79o) 317. s.Sc. Let the
marriage be on Munonday or Tysday at farrest, Wilson Tales
(1839) V. 55. Ayr. On the Mononday therafter, Edb. Aniiq. Mag.
(1848) 132. Lnk. Your kyte's like to crack wi' your Munonday's
yill, Rodger Poems (1838) no, ed. 1897. Rxb. Yeh Monanday
at morn, Murray Hawick Siigs. (tSgs) 16. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824). Wm. (Hall.)
2. Phr. the mirk Munonday, March 29th, 1652, when an
eclipse of the sun took place, there being complete dark-
ness for about eight minutes.
Lnk. I ha'e mind o' the mirk Munonday, Graham W%iiings{\i&'^
II. 133-
[1. OE. Monandceg, Monday [Leechdoms, 76).]
MONCE, sb. Yks. A mischance ; a bungle.
Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. Still in use in Halifax. If any one was
put to do anything and by carelessness or incapacity had spoilt
the work, they would be told 'Tha's made a monce a' that an
reight anair (,C.C.).
MONCE, V. Cum. Yks. [mens.] To strut.
Cum. He had found a murderous-looking club ; and with this he
monced about brandishing it in true maniac fashion, T)m.^y Mayroyd
(1888) I. 245. w.Yks. He monced like a bantam cock, Nidderdill
Olm. (1878).
MONDAY, sb. Sc. Wor. Lon. Nrf. Sur. 1. In comb.
Monday, Tuesday, a game ; see below.
Lon., Sur. A game played with a ball. There are seven players,
who each take a name from one of the days of the week. One
(Sunday) begins by throwing the ball against a wall, calling out
at the same time the name of one of the days, who has to run and
catch it before it falls. If this one fails to catch the ball, the first
player picks up the ball and tries to hit one of the six with it, who
all endeavour to escape being hit. If the player succeeds, he again
throws the ball against the wall, calling out another day of the
week to catch it. If a player gets hit three times, he is out. The
winner is he who has either not been hit at all or the fewest times,
or who has been able to stay in the longest, Gomme Games (1894)
L 389,
2. Phr. (i) a canvas Monday for a cam'ric ook, a
saying ; (2) a Monday's haddie, a stale fish ; one that
has been caught two days ; (3) this side Monday week,
some very distant date ; (4) not up to Monday, deficient in
intellect.
(i) Sh.I. Sh. News (Oct. 21, 1899). (z) Sc. Down on the floor
wi' a clout he slams Wi' een like a Monday's haddie, Outram
Lyrics (ed. 1887) 99. (3) w.Wor. You won't catch me this side
Monday week, S. Beauchamp Graniley Grange (1874) II. 91. (4)
Nrf. (E.M.)
MONE, sb. Nhb.i A man.
MONEDUR, see Maunder.
MONEN, sb. Sh.I. The moon. (Jam.), S. & Ork.i
MONEY, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. [mu'ni,
mB-ni.] 1. In comb, (i) Money-grabber, a covetous
person ; (2) -grass, the yellow rattle, Rhinanthus Crista-
galli; (3) -hugger, a miser; (4) -in-both-pockets or -in-
every -pocket, the common honesty, Lunaria biennis; (5)
-later, a fortune-hunter ; (6) -nifferer, a money-changer ;
(7) -pennies, the wall pennywort, Cotyledon Umbilicus ; (8)
■penny, the small white cowrie ; (9) -plant, see (4) ; (10)
-purse, a purse ; (ii)-scrat, a money-saver ; (i2)-spidhat,
see below ; (13) -trap, an heiress whose riches are likely
to gain her a husband ; (14) -wanting, impoverished.
(i) n.Yks. He's a regular money grabber (I.W.). (2) Lei. (3)
n.Yks.2 (4) Lakel.2 Ken.' The curious seed-vessels, which grow
in pairs, and are semi-transparent, show the fiat disc-shaped seeds
like little coins within them, an appearance which no doubt
originated the name. Wil. Garden Wk. (1896) No. cxi. 76 ; Wil.>,
Dor. (C.V.G.) Som. Sophia had neglected that year to pick the
money-in-both-pockets by the garden-hatch, Raymond Sam and
Sabina (1894) 167. w.Som.' Muunee een boo'udh pau'guts. Dev.
Reports Provinc. (i88i) ; Dev.* (5) n.Yks.= (6) Sc. Jesus cowpit
the tables o' the money-niff'erers, Henderson St. Matt, (1862)
xxi. 12. (7) Dev. (8) Cor.i (9) Dev., Dev.-* (10) Ken. He
brought our Jack a leather cap An' Sal a money-puss, Masters
Dick and Sal (c. 1821) St. 16; Ken.', Sus.' (11) n.Yks.2 (12)
e.Yks.' A small spider of any species, the appearance of which is
popularly supposed to indicate the receipt of a sum of money, and
to kill which will deprive the person of it. (13) n.Yks.^ (14)
Nhb. Naething o' the money-wantin' troubles o' the auld laird
seemed to be experienced, Jones Nfit>. 83.
2. Phr. (i) black money, obs., counterfeit halfpence ; (2)
dry money, ready money; (3) money and fair words, see
below; (^) to get good money, to receive high wages; (5)
to have neither money nor marbles, — nor marvels, to be
quite impoverished ; to be 'cleared out.'
(i) Rnf. A century and a half ago Scotland was inundated with
' Black Money,' or counterfeit Irish and Scots halfpence, chiefly,
it was supposed, imported from Ireland. In the reign of George II,
the officers of His Majesty's mint had to complain of this overflow
of ' Black Money,' because it was so great as to cause ' the good
gould and silver to be drained, and the country to be villanously
cheated,' Hector Judic. Records (1876) 133. (2) Don. All their
drhy-money havin' run out, they soul' two of the milk-cows out iv
the byre, Pearson's Mag. (May 1900) 477. (3) n.Yks.^ The old-
fashioned rebuke quoted as a reply to an inquisitive person, who
would fain know exactly what your purchase cost. (4) Ken.i He's
getting good money, I reckon. (5) n.Yks.2, w.Yks. (B.K.)
3. Obs. Silver.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Yks. Money and gold, Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.)
4. The yellow rattle, Rhinanthus Crista-galli. Cf. money-
grass.
Nhp.i So called from the rattling of the seeds in the pouch or
pod. n.Bck. (B. & H.)
5. The scum that rises to the surface of any boiling or
fermenting liquor. s.Chs."^
MONG, MONGE, see Mung, Mounge.
MONGER, 5*. Sc. Sus. A trader; a man who has
anything for sale.
Ayr. Send Willie the monger to hell with a smack, Burns Loyal
Native, 1. 4. Sus.'
[This Canon has a brave pate of his own, A shaven pate,
and a right monger, Jonson Tale of a Tub (1633) 11. i, ed.
Cunningham, II. 452. OE. mangere, a merchant {Matt.
xiii. 45).]
MONGIS, MONGS, see Mang, prep.
MONGS
[150]
MONKEY
MCNGS, prep. Suf. Only in phr. ji/om (ye) mongshe{e
or munchies, you, all of you. See Together.
Where are you mongshe goin ? You mongshee [or mongshees]
must part the money. Are these you mongshees' coats? (F.H.) ;
Ye mongshe had best not be late (M.E.R.) ; I was talking to a
Suffolk labourer lately and asked him if in his part of Suf. the word
' folk ' was used for people. ' Yes,' he said, ' but some called them
munchies' (H.H.M.).
[Mongshe{e repr. a)mongs ye, amongst you.]
MONGY, MONIE, see Mungy, Muni(e.
MONIEST, adj. superl. Obs. Sc. Also written monni-
est. Most in number. See Many.
Slg.That doctrine manbemaisteffectual and moving that walkens
and steirs up moniest of the outward senses, Bruce Sermons
(1631) i, ed. 1843. Gall. He wha found the bead swunged mon-
niest, Mactaggart £«ry(:/. (1824) 8, ed. 1876; He'll then sit down
amang the monniest, And think the braidest road the bonniest,
Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 97> ed. 1897,
MONUMENT, sb. Sc. Also written monimint, mony-
ment Sh.I. [mo'nimsnt] Aspectacle, a ridiculous object;
a ridiculous person, a fool.
Sh.I. Gaen stravaigin'. . . ower da face o" da eart like a benummed
monyment, Stewart Tales (1892) 42 ; He's nedder monimint or
sniil. Burgess Rasmie (1892) 90 ; A'm kent mony a lass ... bit
deil sic a moniment as Kirssie iver I wis acquaint wi', 5^. News
(May 21, 1898) ; S. & Ork.i Abd. Connachin' the best o' braws,
forbye makin' 'ersel' a kin' 0' a moniment to the haill pairis',
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 179.
MONIPLIES, sb. pi. Sc. Also written monieplies,
monny-plies, monyplies. [mcnipliz.] The third stomach
of a ruminant, the 'manifolds' (q.v.), the omasum or
psallerium, so called from the many parallel folds ; Jig.
used of human intestines.
Sc. The food parches the stomach and intestines, hardens and
concretes in the fold of the second stomach or monny-plies, Essays
Highl. Soc. II. 218 (Jam.). Bnff. It temper'd weel our mony-plies,
Taylor Poems (1787) 143. Rnf. A patfu o' good monie-plies. To
taste ony mouth that is dainty, Finlayson Rhymes (1815) 112.
Ayr. Rinnin' at them wi' a gully, he swure he wad mak fiddle-
strings o' their moniplies. Service Notandums (i8go) 119. Gall.
Confound their monyplies, Mactaggart£kc_)ic/. (1824) 424, ed. 1876.
MONISH, V. Yks. [mo'nij.] To exhort ; to warn.
w.Yks. (C.C.R.), (J.W.) Hence Monishment, sb. a warn-
ing ; an exhortation.
w.Yks. (C.C.R.) ; I had shaved my beard, to spite her monish-
ments, Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) xix.
[And monyshit iche moderson . . . That all be bowne
at a brade, Wars Alex. (c. 1450) 1379.]
MONK, sb. Sc. Cum. Chs. Shr. [mugk, mBrjk.] 1. In
comb, (i) Monk's-cowl, the common monkshood, Aconi-
ium Napellus ; (2) -fish, the angler-fish, Lophius piscatorius ;
(3) -rhubarb, the patient dock, Rumex patentia ; (4) -wood,
var. species of monkshood.
(i) bhr.i So called 'from the resemblance of the upper sepal to
the cowl of a monk,' Prior P/flK/s (ed. 1870) 156. (sj Cum." (3)
Dmf. Monks' rhubarb and masterwort, of no value now, but formerly
used in poor people's broth, Wallace ScAoo/masfei- (1899) 22. (4)
Chs.i
2. A head-stall ; a stable halter.
Fif. He knew his 'monk' or head-stall, his haims, brecham,
britchen, and rigwoodie, Colville Vernacular [iSgg) 15; Morton
Cyclo. Agric. (1863).
MONK-CORN, see Mung-corn.
MONKERY, sb. Nrf. [mB-qkari.] Unfair dealing.
Arch. (1879) VIII. 171.
MONKEY, sb. Var. dial, uses in Irel. Eng. and Amer.
[mu'rjki, mB-rjki.] 1. In co;«6.(i) Monkey-bean, a game;
see below ; (2) -blossom, various species of Mimulus ; (3)
•'s-cup, an excrescence, the upper surface of which is
concave, on the midrib of a cabbage-leaf; (4) -('s-face,
{a) the pansy, Viola tricolor ; [b) the caterpillar of the Buff-
tip moth, Phalera Bucephala ; (5) -flower, (a) see (2) ; (i)
the yellow toad-flax, Linaria vulgaris ; (6) -'s-grass, the
fine bent-grass, Agrostis vulgaris ; (7) -hat, the tall nastur-
tium, Tropaeolum majus ; (8) -('s-hood, the monkshood,
Aconitum Napellus ; (9) -'s-lowance, a whipping ; (10) -'s-
milk, the milk of the cocoa-nut ; (11) -musk, see (2) ; (12)
•must, the purple cow-wheat, Melampyrum arvense ; (13)
-nut, (a) the cocoa-nut ; (b) the pea-nut ; (c) the meadow
grass, Poa annua ; (14) -pea, the wood-louse ; (15) -plant,
(«) see (2) ; {b) see (5, b) ; (c) the yellow rattle, Rhinanthus
Crista- gain ; (16) -powder, a leaf of the ash-tree worn in
the afternoon of Royal Oak day. May 29 ; cf. powder-
monkey ; (17) -snecks, a kind of 'snecks' bent over and
weighted at the top end, like the butt of a pistol, the
weight of the ball keeping them in position without a
spring ; (18) -tail or -'s tail, silk-weaving term : a straight
piece of iron attached to the jack-rods which regulate
the pile, part of a power-loom ; (19) -tree, (aj the monkey-
puzzle, Araucaria imbricata ; (b) the sumach, a tree of the
genus Rhus ; (20) -wrench, a large wrench.
(i) nw.Dev. An angle of a building is enclosed by an arc on the
ground marked out by players' feet. The players then stand so
far off and run to the enclosure, the last in being called Monkey
Bean. He alone remains inside, clasps his hands, and issuing out
endeavours to catch either of the players, before they can reach
the enclosure or 'home' again. If one be touched with the
clasped hands, then the pair join hands, start from 'home,' and
try to catch as many of the others as possible before they can again
return. Each time those who are caught unite with the Monkey
Bean to catch the others. The last one caught becomes the
Monkey Bean for the next game. Each time when the enclosure
is reached, the players hop on touching the arc and remain on one
foot till again they start (R.P.C.). (2) Cor. The yellow monkey-
blossoms . . . throve so well in the marshy soil, ' Q.' Noughts and
Crosses (1891) 22. (3) n.Lin.i (4, a) Sus. (b) Nhp. A caterpillar
feeding on hawthorn, having a pale blue head and a representation
of a monkey's face thereon (F.R.C.). (5, a) N.I.', w.Som.' Cor,
The monkey-flower was out, and the marsh aflame with it. There
was a spell in that yellow blossom with the wicked blood-red spots,
'Q.' Noughts and Crosses (1891) 17. [b) n.Yks. (6) Sus. (7J
Chs.l (8j Dev., Dev.4 (9) Brks.' (10) e.Suf. (F.H.) (11) Wil.i
The large garden varieties of Mimulus, which resemble the true
musk, but are scentless, and therefore merely monkey (i.e. mock,
spurious) musk. Dev." (12) Wil.i (13, «) e.Suf. (F.H.) (6) Lan.
(F.R.C.) (c) Wil.i Eaten by boys for its nut-like flavour. (14)
Ken. (D.W.L.) ; (J.W.) ; Ken.12 Also the ligea oceanica, which
resembles the wood-louse, and lives in the holes made in the stone
by the pholades. (15, a) n.Wil. In one corner too the monkey plant
grows luxuriantly, Jefferies Wild Life (1879) 162; Wil.', w.Som.',
Dev." (s.v. Monkey Musk), {b) n.Yks. (I.W.) (c) Dor. (G.E.D.)
(16) Oxf. (G.O.) (17) Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
(18) w.Yks. (S.A.B.) Lan. A part of a power-loom moving to and
fro actuating the take-up motion (O.S.H.). {ig, a) w.Som.' (4)
s.Wil. (G.E.D.) (20) s.Chs.i [Amer. When he returned with
him, she had just eaten the monkey wrench and the screw-driver,
and she was trying to put away a fence paling, Adeler Elbow-
Room (1876) lix.]
2. Phr. (i) to cock one's monkey, to anger one ; (2) to have
a monkey on {a building, &c.), to have a mortgage on it ;
in gen. colloq. use.
(I) e.Suf. (F.H.) (2) Dur. N. ey Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 433.
Lakel.2 n.Yks. A lay owt e's paid summut doon an getten t'monkey
on t'rig-tree for t'bigger part, Frank Fishing (1894) 15. w.Yks.
Then ther's a monkey on it, Yksman. (1875) 29 ; w.Yks.^ s.Chs.'
It wuz u nahys lit-1 plai's ; bu dhi stuk-n ii miingk-i £ipa)th top ;
un dhii miingk-i got klemd, iin waan'tid kiim daayn ; soa- dhai
aad- tu sel il sai-1 [It was a nice little place ; bu' they stuck'n a
monkey upo' th' top ; an' the monkey got clemmed, an' wanted
come dai'n ; so they had to sell a sale]. s.Stf. They sen thur's a
monkey astride o' the cres' tiles, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
Der.2 Monkey on the chimney. nw.Der.' s.Not. Ah tho't the
house were 'is own, but it seems 'e's got a monkey on it (J.P.K.).
sw.Lin.' There's sca'ce a house in the place, but what has a monkey
on it. Nhp.i War.3 Oh yes, there's a monkey setting on his
chimney. Cmb. N. &= Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 289.
3. A young hare.
Hrf. A young hare (or monkey, as they are called here at this
time of the year). Fishing Gazette (Sept. 7, 1889) 147.
4. A padlock. Mid. N. <S^ Q. (1878) 8th S. ix. 277.
5. A hod. Lakel.=, Cum." 6. An arrangement placed
between the rails at the head of an incline, which allows
the wagons to pass over it in going up, but prevents them
from running back. Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl.
(1888).
MONMOUTH-STREET
[i5il
MOOCH
MONMOUTH-STREET, 56. Obs. Lon. In phr. 7l/o«-
mouth-street finery, tawdriness and pretence.
The great mart for second-hand apparel was, in the last century,
in Monmouth-street, Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) II. 25.
MONNIT, sb. n. Yks. The minnow, Leuciscus phoxinus.
See Mennot.
MONNOCS.s*.^/. Ant. (B.&H.) Also written monnox.
1. The berries of the heath, Einpetrum nigrum. 2. Comb.
Monox heather, the heath, Empetrum nigrum. See
Moonog, 1.
MONOCORY, sb. Cor.^ [mano-kari.] Affectation.
He do talk big enough as if he warn't a bit fear'd, but 'tes only
his monocory.
MONS, see Mans.
MONSUS, adj. Ess. [mo'nsas.] Monstrous, great.
Frum its top yow, sartenly. Can see a monsus way, Clark J,
Noakes (1839) st. 2 ; Ess.i
MONTETH, sb. Chs. A vessel to wash or cool glasses
in. HOLLOWAY.
[Said to be from the name of the inventor.]
MONTH, sb.^ Irel. Chs. Wal. Lei. War. Hrf Glo. Hrt.
e.An. Sus. I.W. Som. Cor. Also in forms mon Hrf.'' ;
moneth Chs.'^ [munjj, mBn}).] Inco»«6. (i)Month's-end,
the end of the month after a funeral ; a certain day after
a funeral on which the mourners attend church ; (2) -('s-
man, a man employed for a month, esp. a labourer em-
ployed for the harvest ; (3) -'s-mind, {a) the service
attended in memory of the deceased a month after the
funeral ; {b) in phr. to have a month's mind to anything, to
feel a strong inclination for anything ; (4) — Sunday, obs.,
the Sunday on which once a month the parochial officers
used to meet to discuss parish business.
(i) Wal. In some places the funeral is less considered than the
Sunday when the mourners assemble for the purpose of attending
church. In many a parish, the only occasions on which the church
is well filled is when one of these ' Month's Ends ' (as they are
called, whatever time may have elapsed since the funeral) gathers
... mourners, AfoM//)^ PA<. (1863) 683. Hrf.2 w.Cy. To thehttle
whitewashed church of the district, . . village mourners still go
dutifully a month after a funeral to keep what they call ' the month's
end,' Longman's Mag. (Apr. 1898) 546. (a) Hrt. He commonly
employed six month's men every harvest, Ellis Afoc?. Husb. (1750)
V. i. 8. Sus. Young ^«Ma/s^^nV. (1784-1815) XXII. 212. (3,0)
Ir. [A month's mind is the repetition of one or more masses, at
the expiration of a month after death, for the repose of a departed
soul. There are generally more than the usual number of priests
on such occasions ; each of whom receives a sum of money, varying
according to the wealth of the survivors — sometimes five shillings,
and sometimes five guineas.] He hadn't even a month's mind !
Carleton Traits Peas. (1843) I. 163. [Moneths-mind, Dies post
alicujus obitum trigesimus, Coles (i6']g).'] (b) Chs.^^ Lei.'^ A'd
a moonth's moind to the meer, but a didn' loike paartin'. War.3
GI0.2 17, e.An.i Suf. e.An. N. 6^ Q. (1866) II. 327 ; Suf.i I've a
month's-mind to do so. e.Suf. (F.H.) I.W.i I'd a month's-mind
to a knock'd un down ; I.W.* w.Som.^ I be a month's mind never
to go aneast'n again. Cor.^ I've a month's mind to do so and so.
(4) Som. (W.F.R.)
[(3, b) I see you have a month's mind to them, Shaks.
Two Cent. 1. ii. 137 ; The King [Henry VH] had more than
a moneth's mind ... to procure the pope to canonize
Henry VI for a saint, Fuller Church Hist. (1655) bk. iv. 23.]
MONTH, s6.^ n.Sc. (Jam.) The Grampian mountains,
esp. towards their eastern extremity ; in phr. to gangoure
the Month, to cross the Grampians.
[Gael.w«oMafl%,amountain, a mountain range (Macbain).]
MONTHLY-BIRD, s6. Sc. The fi.eWave,Turdus pilaris.
Frf. Swainson Birds (1885) 6.
MOO, V. and sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. Der. Nhp. Glo. Oxf. Hnt.
Suf. Hmp. Som. Also in forms mooa n.Yks. ; moe Suf
[mu.] 1. V. Of cows : to low.
Ayr. When I hear the mooing of the kye in the gloaming,
Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) i8g. n.Cy. (Hall.) n.Yks. T'
cow was mooa-ing (I.W.). e.Yks.i, w.Yks.^, nw.Der.i Glo.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) Oxf.' MS. add. Hmp. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (M.) w.Som.i This word is used only to children— to
them always.
Hence Moo-moo, sb. a child's name for a cow. n.Yks.*
2. sb. The plaintive cry of a cow.
Frf. To hear the ' moo ' o' the coos as they lazily saunter hame
at milkin'-time, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 4, ed. 1889. Lnk.
Your gleg an' hunger-sharpen'd e'e Turn roon', when ye cry moo,
Thomson Musings ( 1881) 137. Kcb. Thou rangest o'er thy food,
among the queys, A' fearless o' thy moo or cap 'ring tail, Davidson
Seasons (1789) 59 (Jam.). n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.), e.Lan.i, Nhp.i,
Hnt. (T.P.F.), Suf.i
MOO, see Mae, adj., Mow, sb.^
MOOAN, MOOARN, MOOCE, see Morn, Meuse.
MOOCH, sb.^ and v."- Wil. Also written mouch Wil.'
[mutj.] 1. sb. Bad temper; ^«M. in phr. ma wioocA, sulky,
cross. Wil.' 2. v. To sulk ; to be in a bad temper.
A boy . . . comes home 'mouching' (G.E.D. ) ; Wil.'
MOOCH, 1/.2 and sb.^ In gen. dial, use in Sc. Eng. Nfld.
and Aus. Also written mooche War.^ Glo.''' ; mootch
n.Yks. ; mouch Sc. w.Yks. Lan. Stf. War.^ w.Wor.'
se.Wor.i s.Wor.i Hrf.^ Glo. Brks.' Lon. Ken. Sur. Hmp.'
Wil.' Dev. Nfld. ; mouche War.'' ; moutch Wil.' ; mowch
Gall. ; and in forms mauch w. Yks.^ ; moach Stf.' Shr.' ;
mocha War.'' Shr. e.Suf. ; modge War.^ ; mush Dev. ;
mutch Lon. [mutJ.] 1. v. To idle and loaf about ; gen.
with the idea of seeing what one can pick up on the sly ;
to pilfer. Cf. mitch, v.
Sc. Muckle as I like 'e I couldna aye be dain' wi 'e mouchin' i'
the as'-hole, Tweeddale Moff (1896) 220. Gall. One of the
speakers found fault with a farmers' candidate for mouching about
in his gig canvassing the voters, instead of meeting and addressing
the electors publicly (A.W.). w.Yks. Go mooching about after
rabbits, &c. (S.O.A.) ; (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.3 If a person were
asleep, it would be said, ' Tha mun mauch in.' Lan. He's always
mouching about (S.K.C). Stf.' s.Stf. Job is continual a-
mouching round your house, Murray Rainbow Gold (1886) 3.
Not. (W.H.S.) War.''; War.3 My late neighbour used to go
modging about the garden occasionally, but he has never kept
it in proper trim. w.Wor.' That owd black cat goes mouchin'
about, in an' out uv folkses 'ousen, er'U sure to get shot one uv
these daays. s.Wor. I niver takes 'im alung o' me in the spring-
time, a's suer to mouch alung the 'edges an' disturb the game like
(H.K.). se.Wor.i, s.Wor.i Shr. They hanna got nothing to do,
so they just go mochin about (A.J.M.); Shr.' 'E's no good, 'e
does nuthin' but moach about from mornin' tell neet. Glo. Thur
wunt be nowheers for a chap to mooch about soon, Cheltenham
Exam. (Feb. 12, 1896) 8 ; Glo.i^ Qxf. That lad of yours wants
looking after; he's got a bad habit of mooching (G.O.). Brks.
Gl. (1852); Brks.' What was 'e mouchin' about in the hen 'us
vor? Lon. I don't mean to say that if I see anything laying about
handy that I don't mouch it, Mayhew iond. Labour (1851) IV.
418. e.Suf. I caught the tramp moching about the shod to see
what he could lay his hands on (F.H.). Ken.' Sur. A chap goes
out a-artistin', 'ee say, an' 'ee only speands the broard daay
mouchin", Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) I. xiii. Hmp. Yonder's that
keeper mouching about again (W.H.E.); Hmp.' Wil. To carry
a jar of beer up to the men in the field, and to mouch a good
armful of . . . clover, Jefferies Hodge (1880) II. 178; Wil.'
Dev. He had done no regular work, from a labouring man's point
of view, but had mouched round the gents who came fishing in
the Tiwy, Mortimer Tales Moors (1895) 65. nw.Dev.i I jis'
mooch'd about the town. s.Dev. I be going a mooching (F.W.C.).
[Aus, I don't see but what bushranging . . . ain't as safe a game
... as mooching about cattle dufSng, and being lagged in the long
run all the same, Boldrewood Robbery (1888) II. i.]
Hence Moocher,s6. a pilferer ; a hedge-robber; a loafer;
a cadger ; one who dogs another by stealth ; a beggar ; a
hawker.
n.Yks. (T.S.) w.Yks. (S.K.C.) ; Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June6, 1896).
Lan. (J.S.J.), War.=s, s.Wor. (H.K.) Oxf. That boy's a reglar
little moocher — always hanging about to see what he can lay his
hands on (G.O.). Brks.' A cat that steals provisions is called a
moucher. Lon. They loiter about the streets and public-houses to
steal from drunken persons, and are called . . . 'mutchers,*
Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) IV. 283. s.Cy. (F.R.C.) Wil.
There are three kinds of poachers, the local men, the raiders, . .
and the 'mouchers' — fellows who do not make precisely a pro-
fession of it, but . . . loiter along the roads and hedges, picking up
whatever they can lay hands on, Jefferies Gamekeeper (1878)
142, ed. 1887 ; Wil.' Dev.' The privilege and honour of the
encounter had been vouchsafed to a common moucher, Mortimer
Tales Moors (1895) 65.
MOOCH
[152]
MOOL
2. To play truant, esp. to play truant in order to gather
blackberries ; to gather blackberries ; to absent oneself
from business.
w.Yks. My lad'sbeenmouching again (S.K.C.). s.Wor. (H.K.)
Hrf.i ; Hrf.= ' Where is ? ' ^ Oh, he's gone mouching.' s.Hrf.
(H.C.M.) Glo. He never mooched vrom his bisness. Leg. Peas.
(1877) 63; Blackberry-mooching, Grose (1790); Glo.'- Ken.
Tit-bits (Aug. 8, 1891) 280. Hmp.i, Wil.' n.Wil. He's alius a-
moochin' (E.H.G.). Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). [Nfld. Patter-
son Trans. Amer. Flk-Lore Soc. (1894).]
Hence Moocher, sb. a truant from school, esp. one who
plays truant in order to gather blackberries ; hence a
gatherer of blackberries. See Blackberry-mcucher.
War. (J.R.W.), Hrf.2 Glo. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) ; Glo.i
Moocher, moocher, blackberry hunter, Tied by the rope, and
swim by the water. Hmp.^ s.Hmp. What a moucher you are,
David ! Allays after them blackberries, Verney L. Lisle (1870) x.
Wil. I played moocher, Ewing Jan IVindmill (1876) vi ; Wil.'-^
Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
3. imp. Be off.
Oxf. Now then, mooch I and don't let me catch you here
again (G.O.).
4. sb. Phr. ow /^e moocA, (i) gone off loafing ; (2) shuffling.
Wil.» 5. A blackberry. Glo. (W.H.E.), Dev. (B. & H.)
[1. OFr. (Norm.) mwe/jer, 'cacher ' (Moisy) ; OFr. mucer
(Hatzfeld, s.v. Musser); cp. OHG. muhhan {
' heimlich lauernd anfallen u. ausrauben ' (Schade) _
MOOCH, see Mouch, Much, v.^
MOOCHER, s6.^ Hrf. Glo. Wil. Also in form mochar
Glo. [mu'tj3(T).] The fruit of the blackberry, Rubus
fruticosus. See Mooch, v."^ 2.
Hrf.(E.M.W.), Glo.(B.&H.),Glo.i Wil. Slow Gl.{iii}2); WiU
Hence Moochering, /ir^. blackberrying. Glo.'
MOOCHER, sb.^ War. Hrf. Also_ written moucher
Hrf.^ ; and in form mutcher Hrf [mu'tj3(r).] A potato
left in the ground which sprouts anew and comes up the
following year.
War.^ Now the potatoes have come regularly I will take out
these moochers. Hrf. (C.J.R.), Hrf.12
MOOD, sb.^ Som. Dev. Cor. Also written mude s.Dev.
[moid.] 1. A kind of gelatinous fungus produced on
liquor by fermentation ; the ' mother ' of vinegar.
Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.l, nw.Dev.', s.Dev. (F.W.C.)
Cor.i ; Cor.^ Linseed tea when too thick is ' a mood.'
2. Vegetable sap. Cor.^^
MOOD, sb.' Dev. (Hall.) Cor.'^ The 'pancreas,' the
sweetbread of an animal.
MOOD, adj. Lan. Satiated, filled to repletion. Davies
Races (1856) 275.
MOOD, MOODHER, see Mould, sb}"^, Moither.
MOODGE, V. Sc. To move, stir. Cf. mudge, v.
Ayr. He found that his utmost efforts wi' the pick never
moodged it ava, Service Noiandums (1890) 65 ; I durstna moodge,
in case he micht hear me and fa', ih. 20.
MOODLE, V. ? Obs. n.Cy. Cum. To fold up untidily.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 308.
MOODY, ai^'. Sc. Dev. Cor. [mce'di.] 1. Low-spirited.
s.Dev. Fox Kingsbridge (1874). 2. Comb. Moody-hearted,
melancholy ; disposed to tears ; dispirited ; ' chicken-
hearted.'
Dev. Betty bustled about, upstairs and down, told us openly
that Thirza was rather moody-hearted, Pbaro Mother Molly {iB8g)
150; Dev.i I be a cruel moody-hearted timersome boddy ; and
you scare wan, you do zo, 22. n.Dev. I moody-hearted got to be,
Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 31. Cot?-
Q. Gallant, courageous.
Sc. Mony were the moodie men Lay gasping on the green,
Ballad Captain Carre ( J am. ).
MOODYWANT, sb. Dor. Som. Also in form muddy-
want Som. The mole, Talpa Europaea. See Moudie.
Dor. N. (f Q. (1873) 4th S. xi. 81. Som, W. & J. Gl. (1873).
MOODYWARP, MOOF, MOOFIN, MOOGAN, see
Mouldywarp, Mow, sb.^, Muffin, Moggan.
MOOGARD, sb.^ Cai.' [mu'gard.] The mugwort,
Artemisia vulgaris. See Muggert.
The leaves of this plant are often smoked by boys instead of
tobacco.
MOOGARD, sA.* Cai.' [mu-gard.] A worthless person
or thing.
MOOGUILDIN, sb. Sh.I. Also written moogildin,
mougildin S. & Ork.' ; and in form moogjildin. A
sillock roasted with the liver inside.
Numerous nutritious dishes, such as krampies, krappin, moo-
guildin, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 177; I ken I sail mak— if hit
wis bit tree or fowe rin moogjildins, Sh. News (July 2, 1898) ; No
sae muckle as wid mak' dee ae moogildin, ib. (Feb. 3, 1900) ;
S. & Ork.i
MOOI, sb. Sh.I. A green sea-weed eaten by cattle.
S. & Ork.i
MOOIL, see Mooild, Mod, sb}
MOOILD, sb. Yks. Also in form mooil w.Yks.^
[muild.] Mood, temper.
w.Yks. Shoo wor i' one ov her ill mooilds, Hartley Clock Aim.
(1878) 5; (J.W.) ; Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 31, 1884) 8; w.Yks.3
Sho's in a queer mooil to-day.
MOOIT-HALL, MOOIZE, MOOIZEN, see Moot-hall,
MO'OL^ sb.^ and V. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Der. Lin.
Ess. Ken. Dev. Cor. Also written moul Sc. n.Cy. n.Yks.
nw.Der.' Ess. Dev.^ ; moule Cor. ; and in forms meal
n.Cy. e. Yks. ; meeal n. Yks.'^ ; meel ne.Sc. Cai.' Bnff.' ;
moll e.Yks.'; mooil w-Yks.*^* ; mowl N.L'Ken.' ; mowle
e.Yks. Lin. ; muil Arg. Gall. ; mule Sc. [mul, Sc. also
mil, Yks. muil, mial.] 1. sb. Mould, soil in a good state
for working. See Mould, sb.'^, Mull, sb.^
Slk. Men ca' the wee sleek mole blind because he has nae een
they can see, and leeves darklin in the moul, Chr. North Nodes
(ed. 1856) IV. 72. Dmf. They've eaten the sward till the red mool
is seen, Johnstone Poems (1820) 131. e.Yks. Rake it all over. . .
till the mowles be indifferent small, Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 107.
w.Yks.2 Go and earth them 'taters up ; there's a good mooil !
w.Yks.", Ken.i Cor. N. if Q. (1854) ist S. x. 320.
2. Comp. Mool-board, part of a plough. See Mould-
board, s.v. Mould, sb.^
Cai.i Gall. Another article belonging to a ploughman's business,
such as the moolbred, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 460, ed. 1876.
n.Yks. The moulburd is dhat pat av 3 pliu st turns t'land auar an
maksafur. Thi pliu al run iaziar wen t'moulburd gits worn brit
(W.H.). nw.Der.i
3. pi. Dry earth in a pulverized state ; earth for working.
Cai.i, N.I.i n.Cy. Grose (1790). n.Yks.2 e.Yks. Marshall
Rur. Econ, (1788). Lin. Good leafy mowles for nex year's blubs
[bulbs], Fenn Cure of Souls (1889) 52. Ess. The mouls dig well
to-day (H.H.M.).
4. The soil for a grave ; the grave.
Sc. Ilka pap wi' the shool on the tap 0' the mool Wad forbid
her frae comin' to cure me, Outram Lyrics (1887) 137. Abd. It's
to draw the deid frae the moul' sae drear, an' open the kirkyard
gate, Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxx. Rnf. Tho' he's now
below the mool. He's no his Jane, Picken Poems (1813) II. 82.
Kcb. Lang the auld cratur has slept i' the mool, Armstrong Ingle-
side (i8go) 70.
Hence (i) Mouled,//. buried ; (2) Mooly, adj. earthy ;
earth-stained.
(i) Slk. But where are they now? A' mouled,a' mouled, Hogg
Tales (1838) 34, ed. 1866. (2) Dmf. A ghaist was seen . . . Moolie
frae the grave, Quinn Heather (1863) 228 ; Nought's for me but
death's dark pantry, Mooly wa's and roof o' ^reen, Johnstone
Poems (1820) 112.
5. pi. The grave ; earth of a grave ; dust.
Sc. Married to the mools, of a young woman whose sole bridal-
bed is the grave (Jam.). ne.Sc. Graveyards and all connected
with them — the earth or meels, and the gravestone and the coflSn
and the mortcloth — were looked upon with awe, Gregor Flk-Lore
(1881) 215. e.Sc. Her father an' mother were i' the mools when
1 kent her, Setoun Sunshine (1895) 191. Frf. The kind lady we
ha'e this day laid i' the mools, Lowson Guidfollow (i8go) 188. Fif.
Cast her corp among the mools, Tennant Papistry (1827) 63. Ayr.
Fill in the mools yoursel' and gie the last spadefu' a kindly clap,
Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 68. Lnk. Whan ye refuse guide milk
meat, I'm doubtfu' your mouth be gaun to the mules, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 38. Lth. Gif wee Watty dinna mak a' o' them
fools, I'll e'en gie ye leave to lay me in the mools, Ballantine
Poems (1856) 118. Edb. The friends of the newly buried stood
by the mools, Mom Mansie Wauck (1828) x. Bwk. Sune we maun
be sleepin' Amang the mools at last, Calder Poems (1897) 273.
MOOL
[153]
MOON
Rxb. When lowly lies their mould'ring frame The mules amang,
A. Scott Poems (ed. 1808) 73. Dmf. Him whase banes hae fan'
tae mools Aneth yon hoary cairn, Reid Poems (1894) 86. Gall.
Ye smell o' the mulls, Crockett Sunbonnet (1895) ix. Wgt. The
cauld mools wrap the banes, Fraser Poems (1885) 11. Nhb.i The
bairn down in the mools, O saft and saft sleeps she, Swinburne
Tyneside Widow (1888). Cum. He's i' the mools, Gilpin Sngs.
(1866) 540 ; Cum.4
6. V. To work the soil.
Dev.i You ha' been weeding and mouling in the earth, 53.
7. To crumble.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Bnff.l Gall. The bairnies
them daigh did mool, Mactaggart Encycl. (1834) 413, ed. 1876.
e.Yks.i This piece o' wood's si rotten. Ah can moll it all ti pieces
wi mi finger an thumb.
Hence (i) Moolicks, sh. pi. crumbs ; (2) Moolie, (a) sb. a
soft, ill- made marble ; (6) adj. full of crumbs, or small pieces
of soil ; crumbling, friable, esp. of soil ; fig. soft, flabby ;
(3) Moolins, sb. pi. crumbs, esp. in phr. to blow one's
moolins, to be on one's last legs ; ' to be at the end of one's
tether ' ; (4) Muliness, sb. the state of being full of crumbs.
(i) Frf. A hantle o' moolicks o' bread lyin' aboot, Willock
Roseity Ends (1886) 132, ed. 1889. (2, a) Sc. Montgomerie-
Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899). (b) Sc. ' A moolie sort of a chap '
is a common schoolboy expression for a ' duffer,' ib. Per,, Cld.
Mulie cheese (Jam.). w.Yks.* (3) Sc. Come here, wee Robin,
and I'll gie ye a wheen grand moolins out o' my pooch, Chambers
Pop. Rhymes (ed. 1870) 10 ; ' He's blawing his moolins.' This is
borrowed from the practice of boys, . . who, after they have eaten
the piece of oat-cake which they had carried to school, . . take
out the crumbs and blow the dust from them, that they may eat
these also (Jam.). Arg. My heart is a' to muilins minched, Colville
Vernacular (1899) 6. Fif. Pieces were exhausted, and pooches
reipet for mfllins, Colville ib. 11. Ayr. It flew down to the floor
an' was pickin' up some bits o' moolins sae lively, Honter Studies
(1870) 279. Lnk. I feed wi' moolins out my pouch Ilk gapin'
hungry mou', Hamilton Poems (1865) 53. Edb. The laddie's girn
set with moolings of bread, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) 34. Gall.
I fed him with crumblings — ' moolings ' Maisie Lennox call<id them,
Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) ii. (4) Sc. (Jam.)
8. With in : obs., to crumble bread into a basin in order
to soak it in liquid.
Sc. (Jam.) ; Ye ken naething but milk and bread when it is
mool'd in to you, Ramsay Prov. (1737). Abd. Mony 'U bite and
sup wi' little din That wadna gree a straik at moolin in, Ross
Helenore (1768) 93, ed. 1812.
9. To crease clothes ; to discompose the dress, w. Yks.'
10. To pull or tumble about. n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (1884). 11. To have carnal intercourse
with.
Rnf. Alaster Sibbie Wha in wi' black Bessie did mool, Sempill
Bridal, st. 3.
12. Phr. to mingle and mool with persons, to associate
intimately with.
Slk. I maun mingle an' mool wi' them for ages, Hogg Tales
(1838) 36, ed. 1866.
[1. A pron. of lit. E. mould. Cp. Norw. dial, mold, moll,
mould, earth (Aasen) ; Sw. mull (Widegren) ; Du. mul,
the crumblings of turfe (Hexham).]
MOOL, sb.^ Sh.. and Or.I. Also written moul, miil ;
mule (Jam.), [mul.] The extreme point of a promontory,
a bluff headland.
SI1.I. The Moul or promontory is naturally protected by the
steepness of its banks, which overhang the sea, Hibbert Desc. Sh.I.
(182a) 156, ed. 1891 ; S. & Ork."^ Sh. & Or.I. Such places are quite
frequent, both in Shetland, such as the Mule of Unst, and in the
other end of the mainland of Orkney called the Mule-head of
Deerness, . . that is to say insulated headlands projecting to the
sea, Statist. Ace. XIV. 324 note (Jam.).
[Norw. dial, mule, a promontory, a rounded headland
(Aasen) ; ON. mult, a snout, the mouth of beasts, a jutting
crag (Vigfusson) ; MLG. mule, the mouth of a beast
(Schiller-Lubben) ; G. maul. See Mull, sb?]
MOOL, sb.^ Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Also written moul- Sc.
(Jam.) N.Cy.^ ; mtde Sc. (Jam.) [miil.] pi. A disease of
the heels ; broken chilblains. Sh.I. S. & Ork.^, Cai.', s.Sc.
(Jam.), N.I.' Hence Mooly-heel, sb. a heel affected with
chilblains.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (i88a) 157 ; (Jam.) Fif. Kickin'
VOL. IV.
the neist to garr him gae, On's mooly-heel rapt horny tae, Tennant
Papistry (i83'])2o'j. Gall.MACTAGGART^Mg'c/. (1824). N.I.^N.Cy.'
[Knowll tais nor mowlis, Dunbar Poems (c. 1510), ed.
Small, II. 128. Fr. mules, kibes (Cotgr.).]
MOOL, MOOLD, see Mould, sb.', Mould, sb.^
MOOLER,!/. Sc.Nhb. [mu'lsr.] To crumble, 'moulder.'
Cf. muller, v.
Fif. The vera dead men's mooler't banes, That i' the kirk-ayle
lay at rest, Tennant Papistry (1827) 8. Nhb.^ To mooler a piece
of bread. ' The frost'll seun mooler the clods doon.'
MOOLET,z^. Sc. Also written moolat (Jam.), [mu'lst]
To whine ; to sob ; to murmur.
Cld. (Jam.) Ayr. We heard what we thocht at first was the
mooletin' and greetin' o' a bairn i' the field, Service Dr. Duguid
(ed. 1887) 231.
MOOLEY, see Moiley.
MOOLIE-PUDDING, sb. Sc. A schoolboys' game;
see below.
Gall. One has to run with the hands locked, and taen the others,
Mactaggart Encycl, (1824).
MOOLIGRUBS, see MuUygrubs.
M00LS0N,s6. Hrf.' Also written moulson. A donkey.
(R.M.E.), Hrf.2
MOOLTER, see Multure.
MOOLY, sb. n.Cy. Nhb. Also written mouley- N.Cy.*
[mu'li.] The mole, Talpa Europaea. Also in comp. Mouley-
rat. N.Cy.', Nhb.' (s.v. Moudy). See Mouldywarp.
Hence Mouleyrat-hill, sb. a mole-hill. N.Cy.'
MOOLY, see Mouly.
MOON, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Aus. Also written meean n.Yks.° ; meun(n Cum.'*;
meyun Nhb.';_ mune Dev. ; miine Sh.I.; myun Nhb.'
[mun, meen, miin, muin.] 1. sb. In cow/, (i) Moon-beam,
in phr. mild as a moon-beam, said of a particularly mild
and placid person ; (2) -belief, a fickle or unstable belief;
(3) -broch or -brough, a halo round the moon ; (4) -calf, a
fool, idiot, simpleton ; (5) -call, obs., the nightingale,
Daulias luscinia ; (6) -chonce, silly, foolish ; (7) -daisy, the
ox-eye daisy, Chrysanihemiim Leucanthemuni ; (8) -dark,
money saved by awife unknown to her husband; (9) dog,
see below ; (10) -eyed, [a) having a white spot or blemish
on the eye ; {b) said of any one whose eyes show that he
has been tipsy or sleepless ; (11) -flower, [a) the greater
stitchwort, Stellaria Holostea ; (b) the wood anemone,
Anemone Nemorosa ; (c) see (7) ; (12) -penny, (a) see (7) ;
(6) the moon; (13) -raker, {a) a very foolish person, applied
esp., though not exclusively, to a native of Wiltshire ; see
below; (b) one engaged in smuggling; see below; (14)
-raking, ' wool-gathering,' absent-minded ; (15) -rider, obs.,
a barren ewe ; (16) -shaft, a ray of moonlight ; (17) -shine,
{a) a mere pretence, nonsense ; in gen. colloq. use ; (b)
smuggled spirits, spirits on which duty has not been paid ;
(18) -shiner, a beast that will not fatten ; a diseased beast
driven over to the butcher's yard by night ; (19) -strucken,
moonstruck, mad ; (20) -time, the time when the illuminated
side of the moon is turned towards the earth ; (21) -wort,
(a) the fern, Botrychium lunaria ; {b) see (11, a) ; (c) the
plant honesty, Lunaria biennis.
(i) Nhp.i (2) Wm. I wish that Christians wad . . . net come to
the kirk with a moon belief, Hutton Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 132.
(3) Sh.I. Halos round the sun or moon (called sun or moon brochs)
were unwelcome sights, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 115 ; Saw ye da
mune brough 'at he wis da last ook ? Sh. News (Mar. 24 1900).
Kcb. (W.G.) (4) Sc. That mooncalf, Gregory, hallooed the dogs
upon the knobbler, Scott Waverley (ed. 1829) Append. II. to Gen.
Pref. ; ' Now, you see, you moon-calf,' said Ballantrae, ' why we
made four packets,' Stevenson Ballantrae (1889) iii. Dmb.
Something to make a handle against this moon-calf. Cross
Disruption (1844) xxxii. Der.' Rarely used. Colloq. Standing
gaping at her like a mooncalf as I am, Dickens B. Rudge (1841)
vi. (5) w.Yks. N. & Q. (1868) 4th S. ii. 22. Nrf. 'Ware when
the cuckoo swells its throat. Harvest flies from the mooncall's note,
Flk-Lore Rec. (1879) II. 58 ; A'. &- Q. ib. i. 614. (6) Der.=, nw.Der.i
(7) e.Yks., Chs.'3, War.s, Wor., se.Wor.', Shr.>, Glo.i, Oxf.
(G.O.), Oxf.' MS. add. Brks. Druce Flora (1897) 286. Snr.
Wil. The great white 'moon-daisies' fell before them, Jefferies
Gt. Estate (1881) 26 ; Wil.' A very gen. name, esp. in n.Wil. (8)
X
MOON
[154]
MOONLIGHT
Chs.'s (9) n.Yks. At Whitby, . . when the moon is surrounded
by a halo of watery clouds, the seamen say there will be a change
of weather, for the ' moon-dogs ' are about, Gent. Mag. (Aug.
1880) 185. (10, a) sw.Lin.i Old Jane, his first wife, was moon-
eyed. When folks are moon-eyed, they have to gleg at you [look
askance] out of the corner of the eye. (b) e.Suf. (F.H.) (11 a, b)
Wor. (c) Wor. (W.C.B.) (12, a) w.Yks.2, Chs.i^, Der. (b)
■w.Yks.2 Moon penny, bright as silver. Come and play with little
childer. (13, a) w.Yks. Said to have originated from the fact that
some natives of Slaithwaite raked the ' cut ' [canal] to secure the
moon which was reflected therein, and which was mistaken for a
cheese (B.K.). Hrf.2 The Wil. men were formerly regarded by
the Hrf. men as fools. Oxf. (CO.), Hmp.i Wil. Slow Gl. (1892) ;
No grand jury — no, not one composed of Wiltshire 'moonrakers'
—would ever have returned a true bill, 5a/. Review (1888) LXVI.
521, col. 2; 'Wiltshire moonrakers.' A joke upon some rustics
of Wiltshire, who, seeing the figure of the moon, attempted, it is
said, to rake it out of the pond, Ray Prov. (ed. i860) 223. {b)
Hmp. Sometimes they [smugglers] had the worst of it, and then
in their flight they would pitch the goods into one of the numerous
ponds, . . returning some night to have them up again. Thus
arose the well-known expression 'moon-rakers,' Heath Eng. Peas.
(1893) 135. s.Hmp. He've been getting ready for the moonrakers
at the great pool, Verney L. Lisle (1870) xiii. (14) I.Ma. Have
the lad's wits gone moon-raking, I wonder? Caine Manxman
(1894) pt. I. ix. Dev. My wits were gone moon-raking, Blackmore
io)-«a i)oo«c (1869) xvii ; Farmer. (15) e.Yks. And then is shee
called (of the shepheards) a moone-rider, Best Rur. Econ. (1641)
a. (16) Dev. They turned intu the black wudes all laced wi' mune-
shafts, PHiLLPOTTsZ)a;'/w«ooj-(i896) 201. (17,0) n.Cy. Holloway.
■w.Yks.i A matter or mouthful of moonshine. Der.^, nw.Der.^
Nhp.i It's all moonshine. War. All a bag o' moonshine (J.R.W.).
Hnt. (T.P.F.), s.Cy. Holloway. CoUoq. What moonshine! as if
ten miles behind their stroke are worth two behind Jervis, Hughes
T. Brown Oxf. (1861) xiii. {b) N.Cy."- Sus. White-brandy Sussex
smugglers call moonshine, Nairne Tales (1790) 52 note, ed. 1824 ;
Sus.i2 Sns., Ken., Hmp. Holloway. Hmp.i, I.W.i Som. Well
enough he knew the smell of a toothful of moonshine, and liked it
the better because no duty had been paid, Raymond Af«« o' Mendip
(1898) ii. w-Som.! There were several farm-houses near the coast
which were said to be never without a keg or two of moonshine.
Cor.I've got a prime dropof moonshine brought in to-night, Forfar
Pentowan {i85g) iv; Cor.'; Cor.^ Woll'eehaa a drop uv moonshine?
(18) Sus.i (19) n.Yks.2 (2o) n.Lin.1 She went oS'n her head
becos, you see, it was moon-time. (21, a) Bnflf. Gordon Chron.
Keith (1B80) sgg. (A) n.Yks. (B. & H.) (<r) Wil. ' Moonwort '. . .
is one of the class of picture names, for it must allude to the seed-
pod of this flower, with its white, silvery disk, like a full moon,
Tennant Vill. Notes (1900) 114.
2. In phr. (i) a good moon, a moon that gives much light;
(2) either at the moon or the midding, said ofpersons subject
to a great variety of temper ; (3) the moon lies sair on her
back, (4) the moon on her back holds water, (5) the moon's on
ov her back, (6) the moon will not had in, see below ; (7) till
the moon come never, for ever ; (8) to make one believe the
moon is tnade of green cheese, to make one believe im-
probabilities ; (9) to shoot the moon, to decamp, make off
by night; see Moonlight; (10) upon the moon, light-headed,
delirious.
(i) nw.Lin. ' It'll be dark enow; my chap mun yoak oot, an' I'll
be goin'.' ' There's oceans o' time,' ses th' Squire, ' don't ye knaw
there's a good moon?' (E. P.) (2)Cum.i4 (3) Sc. It is considered
an almost infallible presage of bad weather, if the new moon lies
sair on her back, or when her horns are pointed towards the zenith
(Jam., s.v. Mone). (4) e.An.i A sign of rain. (5) Sc. (A.W.) Nhb.i
' We'll he' bad weather, aa doot ; the myun's on ov hor back' — ■
said when the crescent lies aslant. (6) ib. ' It's gan ti be wet ;
the myun winna had in ' — said when the horns point so as to give
the appearance of a tilted barrel in such a position as not to hold
in water. (7) Dmb. Auld Migummery may stand between you and
the young leddy till the moon-come-never if ye send word to her
through the post. Cross Disruption (1844) vii. (8) w.Yks.', Nhp.i
(9) Not.', Lei.i (s.v. Moonshine). e.Suf. To-night the blessed
family Are going to shoot the moon (F.H.). Slang. Nobody was
allowed to shoot the moon ; public opinion was against it, Besant
& Rice Mortiboy {1812) xl. (10) Mid. Got a chill from being frozen
to a hicicle, and his head upon the moon, which goes for nothing,
Blackmore iCi/(i89o) II. ii.
3. A lunar month ; a month.
Ayr. Indeed I maist coud sit a moon To hear the fiddle, Fisher
Poc»«5 (1790) 136. Lnk.Ilkday'samoontomeSaesairllangforMary
Beeton, Rodger Poems (1838) 83, ed. 1897. Slang. I went on all
straight the first few moons at costering, HoRSLEYyort!«^s(i887) i.
4. The ox-eye daisy. Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum.
See also Moon-daisy.
se.Wor.i, s.Wor.i, Glo. (A.B.), Glo.i OKt Science Gossip (1882)
165. Brks., Bck., Cmb., Nrf., n.Ess., Wil.i, n.Wil.
5. pi. The corn-marigold, Chrysanthemum segetum. Nhp.
(B. & H.), Nhp.' 6. V. To loiter about in an aimless,
absent-minded fashion ; to dream, stare vacantly. In gen.
coUoq. use.
e.Sc. He's mooning about Muiredge Farm, Setoun R. Urquhart
(1896) xxii. Gall. He was shy and thoughtful, prone to moon in
corners, Crockett Sticliit Min. (1893) 83. Ir. Sure et 'ud disgust
you to see him moonin' along like an ould donkey strayed out of
a fair, Barlow Lisconnel (1895) 85. Nhp.^ How he goes mooning
along ; Nhp.^ War .2 ; War.^ How he moons about. w.Wor.
Then moon on to the cow-house, S. Beauchamp Graniley Grange
(1874) II. 13. Glo. The most onandiest, nothingly child you ever
see — always a-scribblin', and a-messin' and moonin', Longman's
Mag. (May 1900) 40. Mid. Where the deuce are you gone
mooning? Blackmore Kit (1890) I. vii. Nrf. He got up . . . and
went off to moon aimlessly about the park. Haggard Col. Quaritch
(1888) III. ix. n.Wil. (G.E.D.), (E.H.G.) Som. There, don't
bide moonen about, Raymond Gent. XJpcott (1893) 114. [Aus. I
couldn't do anything but moon about and smoke, Boldrewood
Robbery (1888) III. xv.]
MOONGE, see Munge, v}^
MOONIED, pp. Wil.i In phr. moonied up, coddled
and spoilt by injudicious bringing up.
Gells as be moonied up bean't never no good.
MOONLIGHT, sb. and v. Van dial, and slang uses in
Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also in form miun-leet Lakel.^ 1. sb.
Used attrib. in comp. (i) Moonlight-flight, (2) -flit, (3)
-flitting, (4) -march, (5) -touch, (6) -walk, an escape or re-
moval [of household furniture] bynight to defeat or defraud
creditors, esp. to escape paying rent ; a secret departure.
(i) e^Suf. He took a moonlight flight instead of staying and
payinghisrent (F.H.). (2) Lakel.= w.Yks. [Fine for] onnyboddy
mackin a mooin-leet flit, ta cheat t'landlord aght ov hiz rent, 55. od.,
Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ana. (1847) 29; w.Yks. '^ s.Stf.
When the landlord threatened 'em, they just made a moonlight
flit, PiNNocK Blli. Cy. Ann. (1895). nw.Der.i sw.Lln.' They made
a moonlight flit on it from their last place. War.^ (3) Sc. He
has e'en made a moonlight flitting, like my lord's ain nevoy, Scott
Redg. (1822) ii. Abd. At last they aften hae a moonlight flittin'
ta'en, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 9. Slg. They maun tak' to the
bent By a sly moon-light flittin', E'er Whitsunday, Galloway
Poems (1792) 49. Lnk. He bundled up his clothes and made a
'moonlight flitting,' Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 182. Lan.i Aw
met a cart i' th' loan — they wouldn't speyk — it wur some'dymakkin
a moonleet-flittin'. n.Lan.i, e.Lan.', nw.Der.', Nhp.', War.3, Hat.
(T.P.F.), Sur. (LJ.Y.), Dev.s Slang. Farmer. (4, 5) e.Suf. ' I
shan't give my landlord a moonlight-touch' (or 'moonlight-march').
Very common (F.H.). (6) He'll take a moonhght-walk (i'6.).
2. Phr. (i) bred in the moonlight, bred or brought up to
smuggling ; (2) to take foot the moonlight road, to decamp
in the night to avoid paying rent, &c.
(i) Or.I. [The smuggler's] crew consisted of thirty 'crack' hands,
who had been bred in the ' moonlight ' from boyhood, Vedder
Slietches (1832) 61. (2) Lnk. I've seen a bigger barrowfu' The
moon-licht road tak' foot, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 36.
3. Smuggled spirits. N.Cy.' 4. v. To leave a house
or decamp in the night to avoid paying rent. Hrt. (G.H.G.),
Dev.^ Hence Moonlighter, sb. one who decamps or
makes off at night to avoid paying rent, &c. e.Suf (F.H;)
5. To commit agrarian outrages by night.
Ir. The prisoners . . . were arrested on a charge of moonlighting
in County Clare,/))'- Chron. (Jan. 17, 1888) (Farmer); He had
deposed to his experience of being moonlighted in the thigh-
Moonlighters, it appears, generally giving a grain or two ... in
the legs of their victims, Dy. Teleg. (Nov. 21, 1888) {ib.").
Hence Moonlighter, sb. one who commits agrarian out-
rages by night.
Ir. Then there was sympathy between the League and Moon-
lighters? Standard (June 22, 1889) 5, col. 7 ; Their action was
chiefly confined to the western counties, and their raids were
nocturnal, whence the name. Their notices were signed ' Captain
Moonlight,' Farmer,
MOONOG
[155 1
MOOR
MOONOG, sb. Sc. Irel. 1. The heath, Empetrum
nigrum. Ant. (B. & H.) Cf. monnocs. 2. The red
whortleberry, Vaccinium VUis-Idaea.
Gall. A name for the cranberry or crawberry, Mactaggart
Kncycl. (1824).
[Ir. moineog, a bog-berry, a der. fr. moin, a bog, a moor
(O'Reilly).]
MOONT, see Mount, sb., v?
MOONY, sh. Sc. Nhb. Also written moonie, and in
form moon, muin Sc. The goldcrest, Regulus cristatus.
Rxb. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 25. Nhb.^
MOOP, see Map, v., Moup, v}''
MOOPLE, sb. Lei.^ Also written mewple. [miu'pl.]
An imbecile ; a simpleton.
Shays a gret mewple; shay knoos noothink, an' shay woon't
larn noothink.
MOOR, s6.i Van dial, usgs in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
written mor- w.Yks. ; more N.Cy.^ Stf.* Der.'^ nw.Der.';
and in forms meoor Cum.^ ; mbr(e Sh.I. ; muir Sc. (Jam.)
Cai.' Don. Nhb.' Wm. ; mure Sc. (Jam.) Cum.' ; murr Cai.'
[mu3(r.] 1. In comb, (i) Moor-arrand, a moor-spider ;
(2) -band, a hard subsoil composed of clayey sand and
impervious to water ; (3) -bird, a bird that nests in the
moors, esp. the common grouse, Tetrao lagopus ; (4)
-blackbird, the ring-ousel, Turdus torquatus; (5) -burn,
(a) the burning of the heather and rough grass, to clean
the ground for the growth of fresh grass ; (b) fig. an out-
burst of passion, fit of temper ; a strife, contest, dispute ;
(6) -burning, see (5, a) ; (7) -buzzard, the marsh-harrier.
Circus aeruginosus \ (8) -caavie, a hen-coop ; a contemptu-
ous term for a small moorland cottage ; (9) -cling, see
below ; (10) -cock, (a) the red grouse, Lagopus Scoticus ;
(6) the black grouse, Tetrao teirix ; (11) -coot or -cot, the
moorhen, Gallinula chloropus ; (12) -duck, the wild duck,
Anasboscas; (13) -edge,(i4)-end,75^.rustic, rude, unrefined ;
(15) -everlasting, the cat's-ear, Gnafhalium dioicum ; (16)
■evil, an illness among cattle and sheep ; (17) -fael, a turf or
sod cut off the moor ; (18) -fowl, see (10, a) ; (19) -fowl egg,
a species of pear ; (20) -gallop, a sudden squall across the
moors ; (21) -game or -gam, see (10, a) ; (22) -gloom, the
sundew, Drosera roiundifolia ; (23) -golds, the golden
asphodel, Narthecium ossifragum ; (24) -grass, (a) see (22) ;
(b) see (23) ; (25) -grieve, the overseer or custodian of a
pasture or moorland ; (26) -grime, (a) the clouds as they
rest on the peaks and sides of the hills in the moors ; (b)
a misty rain or drizzle ; a ' Scotch mist ' ; (c) the black
dirt found in the fleece of sheep which graze on the edge of
moorlands ; (27) -hags, the moor or moss-holes from which
peats have been dug out ; broken, rough moorland ; (28)
■hays or Morrises, portions of garden-ground, enclosed
from the moor ; (29) -hen or Moornen, (a) the female of
the red grouse, Lagopus Scoticus ; (b) the water-hen,
Gallinula chloropus; {c) the common guillemot, Lomvia
troile ; (30) -hen's foot, a club moss ; (31) -house, a hut in
which miners keep their tools ; (32) -ill or MirrUl, a disease
among cattle ; also called Red water ; (33) -lamb, the
common snipe, Gallinago caelestis ; (34) -land, the higher
and uncultivated part of a district, as opposed to ' dale-
land' ; (35) -lander, an inhabitant of the moors or heaths ;
(36) -man, {a) see (35) ; {b) an inhabitant of Dartmoor, esp.
one whose duty it is to watch over the cattle, sheep, &c.,
turned out on the moors, in his ' quarter ' ; see below ;
(37) -myrtle, the sweet gale, Myrica Gale; (38) -palm,
-palms, or -pawms, (a) flowers of the Carex<ys: sedge tribe;
(6) the flowers of the Eriophorum or cotton-rush ; (c) the
dwarf sallow, Salix aurita ; (39) -pan, see (2) ; (40) -peep,
the titlark or meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis ; (41) -poot,
•powt, or -pot, {a) the young of moor-birds, esp. young
grouse; {b) the peewit, l^anellus vulgaris ; (c) fig. a. young
person ; an ignorant clown ; (42) ■rigs, the risings or ridges
of the moors ; (43) -sick, (44) -sickness, an illness among
sheep ; (45) ■silk, see (38, b) ; (46) -silk besom, a broom
made of long moor moss ; (47) ■spade, a spade for cutting
heath soil or peat ; (48) -stepper, a spirit haunting a
moor ; (49) -stone, [a) a large stone embedded in the soil
of the moor with its upper surface exposed ; (6) granite ;
(50) -teek, a parasite found adhering to dogs ; (51) -throstle,
see (4) ; (52) -tidy, (53) -tite, see (40) ; (54) -titling, (a) see
(40) ; (b) the stonechat, Pratincola rubicola ; (55) ■whin,
the needle genista, or broom.
(i) Yks. Jle came loping down Norton like a moor arrand, Vfc.
Life and Character, 203. (2) Bwk. Some [muirs] are ... of a thin
surface of peat moss, wasted to a kind of light black earth, often
mixed with sand, upon a subsoil of impervious till, or a compacted
clayey sand. . . This peculiar species of subsoil is provincially
called Moor-band, Agric. Surv. 32 (Jam. ). Nhb. Usually the wash
of the boulder clay gravel ; applied also to a residuum of iron-ore
from the same source (R.O.H.); Nhb.i n.Yks. What is here
called a moorband. . . This stratum, which is from six inches to a
foot thick, is of a ferruginous ochreous appearance, probably con-
taining much iron, and wherever found is attended with great
sterility, Reports Agric. (1793-1813) 12; There is some, cold thin
clay upon what is here called a moorband, Tuke Agric. (1800) 10.
(3) Gall. The moor-birds, whaup and snipe, plover and wild duck,
cheeping and chummering in their nests, Crockett Standard
Bearer {iSg8) 3. n.Yks. Ah kens a' aboot t'moorbo'ds an' wheea
fell'd 'em, Atkinson 1,05/ (1870) XXV ; n.Yks.i w.Yks. There one
does not meet a soul for miles — unless the 'moorbods' and the
sheep have souls, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 25, 1896). (4) Sc,
n.Yks. SwAiNsoN Birds (1885) 8. (5, a) Sc. In describing the
rapid diffusion of opinion, or influence of example, an allusion is
often made to the progress of fire through dry heath. ' It spreads
like mure-burn ' (Jam.). Cal.', Inv. (H.E.F.) Abd. Strife is like
a muirburn, the mair it's thrashed the hicher it glows, Michie
Deeside Tales (1872) 117. Gall. They are firing the heather and
bent and it will run like February muirburn in this dry easterly
wind, Crockett Raiders (1894) viii. ib) Dmb. Everybody aboot
the hoose kens o' the muirburn that the mistress raised on you
yestreen, Cross Disruption (1844') ii. Rnf. Picken Poems (1788)
Gl. (Jam.) (6) Sc. As heath constitutes a principal food of the
mountain sheep, muir-burning improves the heath for food,
Stephens i^srm £/t. (ed. 1849) II. 161. n.Yks.' (7) Cum.* Cor.
RoDD Birds (1880) 315. (8) Sli.I. He . . . made but light of our
northern fogs and sea-gust, our smothering moor-caavies, Sh. News
(Feb. 12, 1898). (9) Dev. Cattle and sheep on Dartmoor 'become
hide-bound and costive, what is called the moor-cling,' Reports
Agric. (1793-1813) 54. (10, fl) Cai.i Nhb. The muircock in the
heather, Coquetdate Sngs. (1852) 73; Nhb.', w.Yks.^ (6) n.Yks.
(I.W.), w.Yks.2 (11) Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825);
W. & J. Gl. (1873). (12) Slg. Swainson ib. 156. (13) n.Yks.' ;
n.Yks. 2 ' Moor-edge manners,' our rusticities, as compared with
town refinements. (14) n.Yks.' Ye mun't luik forowght na' better
fra sike moor.end chaps as yon ; n.Yks.^ (15) Nhb.^ (16) Oxf.
Sheep are subject to the rot and the larger cattle to a disorder
called moor-evil, Marshall Review (18 14) IV. 449. Hrt. They
call it the moor-evil, because they conceive it is bred in a sheep or
Iamb by its lying on cold moory ground, Ellis Shep. Guide (1750)
321. (17) Sh.I. The unburned parts were deposited under a mOr
fael, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 159. (18) S. & Ork.' Inv. This
parish abounds much more with moor-fowl and black game than
Kirkhill, Statist. Ace. XIII. 514 (Jam.). Per. The muirfowl will
be crying to each other, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 151.
Nhb.l Lan. An' then you chaps mun mey moore-feawl chirps,
Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) III. 79. (19) Sc. The
muirfowl egg is another pear of good qualities, said to be origi-
nally Scottish, Neil Hortic. Edb. Encyct. 212 (Jam.). Rnf. That
pear tree called the Muirfowl Egg, Hector y«rf(c. Rec. (1876) 42.
(20) Dev. (Hall.) (21) Nhb.', n.Yks.^ w.Yks. T'oade moorgam
wad cackle, Blackah Sngs. (1867) 38 ; w.Yks.' Trailin i' th'
ling efter't' moorgam, ii. 299 ; w.Yks.2 (22) w.Yks. Lees Flora
(1888) 157. (23) ib. 44T. (24, a) Cum.", Yks. (B. & H.) (A)
Hrt. Ellis Shep. Guide (1750) 321. (25) Nhb.' (26, a) w.Yks.
Sheffield Indep. (1874); w.Yks.2 (A) w.Yks. (W.F.S.) ; w.Yks.2
Used in this sense about Deepcar ; w.Yks.^ (c) w.Yks. ^ Sheep
which graze on lands adjoining the moors are soon made black by
the mists or clouds, which contain smoke or other black matter.
They are then said to be covered with moor grime. (27) Gall.
The moor-hags were wide — but he sten'd them, Nicholson Poet.
Wks. (1814) 194, ed. 1897 ; Wi' him in rags, owre the muir-hags,
I wad beg happilee, Mactaggart Encyct. (1824) 118, ed. 1876.
(28) Som. So called at Axbridge (W.F.R.). (29, a) Cai.', Nhb.'
(6) Shr.', GI0.2, Ken.i [mooTneen], Sus. (F.A.A.) (c) Don. Murr-
yan, Swainson ib. 218. (30) Ant. (W.H.P.) (31) Cor.2 (32)
Sc. He helped Lambride's cow weel out o' the moor-ill, Scott
Blk. Dwarf {1816) x; A disease to which black cattle are subject ;
as some affirm in consequence of eating a particular kind of grass,
X 2
MOOR
[156]
MOORAWAY
which makes them stale blood (Jam.) ; The muir-ill is supposed to
be caused by eating a poisonous vegetable, or a small insect com-
mon on muir grounds, Prize Ess. Highl. Soc. 11. 217 (ib.). Hdg.
It is infested with that distemper so pernicious to cattle, called
the Wood-ill or Muir-ill, Statist. Ace. VI. 160 {ib.). Ant. Bally-
mena Obs. (1892). [That it arises from cows eating some noxious
plant, and is called the muir-ill, cannot be well-founded, Stephens
Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) I. 520.] (ss") [In some parts of England [it
is called] Heather Bleater and Moor Lamb, Smith Birds (1887)
43°-] (34) Sc. (Jam.) (35) Sc. (Jam.) Gall. Mactaggart ^Mg/f/.
(1824).^ (36, a) Cld. (Jam.) Gall. About the Lammastide when
the muir men are wont to be out, Crockett Grey Man (1896) 84 ;
Moormen forsook him too, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 24, ed.
1876. (b) Dev. The moormen most commonly convey their peat,
and all things else, on what is called a crook, Bray Desc. Tamar
and Tavy (1836) I. 23; A moorman is a man who has taken a
quarter of the moor from the Duchy of Cornwall, and is respon-
sible for the sheep and cattle turned out upon the waste to pas-
ture and graze through the summer, Baring-Gould Idylls (1896)
203 ; The forest of Dartmoor— a forest without trees — is divided
into four quarters, and over each quarter is placed a moorman. The
VenviUe tenants turn out their ponies, bullocks, and sheep on the
commons, and the moormen demand a certain sum for every beast
thus turned out. The sum is small, and the moorman undertakes
in return that the beast shall be recoverable, and that no wilful
damage shall be done to it, ib. 204. (37) Yks. (B. & H.) (38, a)
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; (B. & H.) e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1788). w.Yks. Lees Flora (1885) 470. (6) n.Yks.^ e.Yks. Mar-
shall Rur. Econ. (1796) ; (B. & H.) (c) w.Yks. Lees Flora
(1888) 406. {39) n.Yks. (I.W.) (40) w.Yks.2 The cuckoo sucks
the moor peep's eggs, lays its own in the nest, and the moor peep
hatches and rears the young cuckoos. (41, a) Sc. Thae English
churls think as muckle about a blade of wheat or grass as a Scotch
laird does about his maukins and his muir poots, Scott Midlothian
(1818) xxix ; To whost and hirple o'er my tree My bonny moor-
powt is a' I may do, Ramsay Tea-Table Misc. (1724) I. 130, ed.
1871. Slk. I will . . . smoor the transgressors like as mony moor-
pots, Hogg Tales (1838) 622, ed. 1866. n.Yks. A yeom. of Ingle-
ton in the County of Durham for kiUing twenty moorpoults at
Bowes, Quart. Sess. Rec. (July 13, 1680) in N. R. Rec. Soc. VII. 36;
n.Yks.2, m.Yks.i w.Yks. An' hundreds ov' maorpots we saw
cumin heeame, Blackah Sngs. (1867) 38; w.Yks.', ne.Lan.' (6)
■w.Yiis. Lucas Stud. Nidderdale [c. 1882) Gl. (c)n.Yks.2 w.Yks.l
Nobbud see how that rough tike gangs of his fit, he waddles for
ail t'ward like n moor-poot. (42) Wm. (K., s.v. Riggin). (43)
Cor. Sheep pastured on these moors will not remain there healthy
more than a month or two at a time, but become what is called
moor-sick, Marshall Review (181 7) V. 532. (44) Sh.I. A pining
or wasting, provincially called the moor-sickness, afifects sheep,
chiefly in autumn, Agric. Surv. 66 (Jam.). (45) w.Yks. Lucas
Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 10. (46) w.Yks. (E.G.) (47) Sh.I.
Yirdin' me tusker an' miiir spade in under da fales i' da graff o' da
bank, Sh. News (.May 29, 1897) ; Lat's see what shape doo haes
wi' da mare spaed, ib. (May 19, 1900). (48) Dev, All round . . .
lay these wild moorlands for miles upon miles ; every rock and
streamlet of them once tenanted by its especial water-sprite or
moor-stepper, Madox-Brown Dwale Bluth (1876) Introd. ii. (49, «)
n.Yks. ' 1,6) Dev. Granite, or what is generally called moor-stone,
Bray Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) I. 279 ; (Hall.) Cor. The
rocks all around this place are granite, or moorstone as commonly
called in Cornwall, Bond Hist. Looe (1823) 203 ; Another stone of
a coarser texture — the moorstone or granite, Marshall Review
(1817) V. 530; Cor.i2 (50) Nhb.' It is large and hard-shelled,
and remains firmly fixed to the skin. (51) w.Yks. Lucas Stud,
Nidderdale (c. 1882) 285. (52) Cam."> {sz) ^-'^s. Flk-Lore Rec.
(1879) II. 63. (54, a) n.Yks.'" w.Yks. Swainson ib. 45. (6)
Nhb. (R.O.H.) (55) Nhb.i
2. Phr. to wed over the moor, to marry some one at
a distance. See Mixen, sb. 3.
Dor. ' Well, better wed over the mixen than over the moor,' said
Laban Tall, Hardy Madding Crowd (1874) xxii.
3. A heath, a heathy waste ; any unenclosed land ; a
wilderness.
Sc. These hills and heughs and mosses and muirs that he is sae
keen after, Scott 7V!^«/(i822)ix. Cai.'Mjur. Frf.Underahugecairn
in the E. moor [heath] of Ruthven, their dead are said to be buried,
Statist. Ace. XII. 298 (Jam.). Fif. The heaths and upland muirs,
and fallows. TENNANTy4«s^er(i8i2) 47, ed. 1871. Nhb. AndCoquet's
streams are glittrin, as they rin frae muir to main, Coquetdale
Fishing Sngs. (1852) 96. Dur. Raine Charters Finehale, &c. (1837)
81. Cum.' Cum., Wm. Nicolson (1677) Trans. R. Lit. Soc.
(1868) IX. Wm. Tho' four lang miles was he fra heayme, Besides
a muir to cross. Whitehead Leg. (1859) 27. n.Yks.'; n.Yks."
' It's a bare moor that he gans ower, and gethers nought,' it is a
naked affair indeed if he cannot extract a profit from it. w.Yks.*,
Suf. (Hall.)
4. A hill, down.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; (K.) ; N.Cy.' e.Yks. Phillips Rivers
(1853). Stf. Ray (1691) ; Stf.', Der.'z, nw.Der.'
5. Wet, marshy, swampy land ; a rough, swampy piece
of pasture land.
Chs.', Shr.', Glo.^2^ Ken.'" Som. Then where are the moors?
. . . Oh, but I do not call these moors at all. This is quite a fraud.
A moor ought to be covered with heather and rough ponies. I
call these fens, 'RKymotiT) Misterton' s Mistake {18BS) 296. w.Som.'
Not used to express waste or common land as such. The fens of
Som. are nearly all called ' moors,' as North-moor, Stan-moor, &c.
nw.Dev.'
6. A low, marshy meadow by the water-side.
Shr.' The term is used generically — ' So and So has a good crop
of hay ofT his moors,' the hay itself being, nevertheless, called
* meadow-hay.'
7. Peat mud and ooze.
Sh.I. Geordie wis up an' cleestr'd da side o' Aandrew's heid wi'
da weet muir, an' aff he set, Sh. News (May 7, 1898) ; Dir legs
clatch'd wi' moor ta da afi"cuttins, ib. (Feh. 19, 1898).
8. Peat ; peaty ground.
e.Yks. Phillips Rivers (1853). Lin. Peat is always called turf
ormoorintheFens, Miller & SKERTCHLYio?«/a«rf(i878)xv. Nhp.*
9. The ling or heather, Calluna vulgaris, esp. when in
blossom. Yks. (B. & H.), n.Yks.' 10. The roots of the
silver-weed, Potentilla Anserina. Also in comb. Moors-
corn, Moor-grass.
Sc. (Jam., s.v. Moss-corns). Cai.' Uls. The inhabitants who use
the English tongue call it Moors-corn, Threlkeld in (B. & H.).
Yks. (B. & H.)
MOOR, v.' and sb.'^ Sc. Also written moar S. & Ork.^
[mur.j 1. V. To snow heavily, esp. when the snow is
drifted thickly by a vehement wind. See Mooracav,
Mooraway. S. & Ork.' Or.I. Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 793.
Hence Moorin, ppl. adj. of snow : drifting ; falling
heavily.
Sh.I. An drave trough da yard lek da moorin snaw, Junda
Klingrahool (1898) 7 ; S. & Ork.'
2. sb. A dense cover of snow.
Or.I. A moor had fa'en a' the whole day, Ellis ib. 792.
MOOR, V? Yks. [mijr, moa(r.] 'With up : to smother,
\ smoor,' cover up ; to crowd to suffocation ; also Jig. to
impede, hamper.
n.Yks. T'machine spout was moor'd up wi cooarn (I.W.) ;
n.Yks,' 2 ra.Yks.' Moor thyself up well; it's a cold evening.
w.Yks.5 Tha'U moor that barn up wal shoo can't breathe I ' Moor'd
up reight here, hahivver ! ' (middle one of five in a bed loquitur).
MOOR, v.^ Yks. Lan. Of cattle : to be afflicted with
a disease in which the water is mixed with blood.
w.Yks. Watson Hist. Hlfx. (1775) 543 ; Dyer Dial. (1891) 77 ;
w.Yks.' When cattle are inflicted with a disease which occasions
bloody urine, they are said to be moored. This term may be
derived from the strong resemblance the bloody urine may have
to the dark water flowing from the moorish earth. . . A sudden
removal from a limestone to a grit soil, and vice versa, will frequently
occasion it. Some attribute it to coarse grass in marshy grounds,
interspersed with alder and underwood ; w.Yks.*, ne.Lan.'
MOOR, see More, sb., Mort, sb."^
MOORACAV, sb. Sh.I. Also in form moorakavie
S. & Ork.' A thick fall of drifting snow. See Moor, v}
{Coll. L.L.B.) ; Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 76; S. & Ork.'
[With moor (mur) cp. Icel. tnor, fine dust ; see Aasen
(s.v. Mor). The element cav (kavie) repr. Norw. dial.
iave, a heavy snowfall (Aasen).]
MOORAGH, s6. I.Ma. Waste land on the shore.
The childher went out for a walk on the mooragh there Brown
Yarns (1881) 313, ed. 1889.
[Ir. murbhach, a murragh, a flat marshy piece of land
by the sea (Joyce).]
MOORAPS, MOORATOOG, see Morraps, Mooratow.
MOORAWAY, sb. Sh.I. (Jam.) A thick shower of
drifting snow. See Moor, w.'
MOORISH
[157 J
MOOT
MOORISH, adj. Sc. Som. Also written murish Sc.
Of or belonging to a moor or heath ; of water : having an
earthy, peaty taste.
e.Lth. The murish soil ... is of considerable extent, Agric. Surv.
283 (Jam.). w.Som.' All the water they've a got comes from the
hill, and sometimes 'tis terrible moorish [moa'ureesh].
MOORIT, adj. Sh.I. Also written moorat S. & Ork.^ ;
mooret, moorrit, murrit ; and in form naurid. Brownish,
heather-coloured, applied esp. to wool.
They [sheep] are of different colours, as white, grey, black,
speckled, and of a dusky brown called moorit, Edmonston Zeil.
(1809) II. 210 (Jam.) ; Tree moorit gimmers an' a lock o' white
anes, Stewart Tales (1892) 244 ; Round her shoulders she wore
a little Shetland wrap-shawl of a ' moorit' colour, Burgess iowra
Biglan (1896) 17 ; Sheep ... of a pecuhar brownish shade, termed
by the natives murid, Cowie Sh. (1871) 162 ; Doo kens da murrit
gimmer atween me an' Betty o' da Lees, Sh. News (July i, 1899) ;
Mooret means reddish brown, and has reference to the reddish-
brown colour of dry moorland. . . Both ' mooret ' and ' shaila ' are
colours applied to sheep-wool, ] akobsen Dial. (1897) 36 ; ib. Norsk
in Sh. (1897) 134 ; S. & Ork.i
[Dan. dial, murret, used of a mixed colour not quite
clean (Molbech); ON. mb-rauir, yellow-brown, of sheep
and wool ; lit. red like the red of moorland ; mbr, a moor,
heath -f raucfr, red (Vigfusson).]
MOORK, V. Sh.I. To work patiently; to pore over
one's work. S. & Ork.^
MOOR-MASTER, sb. Cum. The superintendent of
the mines.
The superintendent (not captainjof the mines, Linton Lake Cy.
(1864) 308 ; Cum.*
MOORRATOW, sb. Sh.I. Also in forms merratoo,
mooratoog. An ant ; a small species of spider found
among the dry moors.
Merratoos ! whaur deil ir dey come frae ? Sh. News (July 28,
1900) ; Her skin as rid as bluid, an' shii said hit wis Merratoos 'at
sha wis sitten among, ib. ; (Coll. L.L.B.) ; S. & Ork.i
MOORS, sb. pi. Obs. I.Ma. The bailiffs of the lord
of a manor.
A name given to the bailiffs of the lord of the manour, who
summon the courts for the several sheadings ; every moor having
the like ofiSce with our bailiff of the Hundred, Phillips (1706) ;
(K.)
[Ir. maor, a steward, bailiff (O'Reilly) ; Gael, maor, an
officer of justice or of estates ; Lat. maior (Macbain).]
MOORT, see Murt, sb}
MOORY, adj. Sc. Pem. Som. Also in forms moary
Edb. ; mory Sh.I. ; miiiry Sh.I. 1. In comp. (i) Moory-
hen, the water-hen, GalUnula chloropus; (2) -land, a black,
light, loose earth without any stones, and with very little
clay or sand intermixed ; (3) -pinnock or -pinack, {a) the
meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis ; {b) a little bird, com-
monly in attendance on the cuckoo, prob. Jynx torquilla.
(i) s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421. (2) Nlip.2 Morton Nat.
Hist. (1712) 36. (3, a) s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421;
(W.M.M.) {b) Pem. (W.H.Y.)
2. Heathy, of the nature of a heath or moor.
Sh.I. Tak' der wye troo a hill fou o' yarfs, myres, erthiles,
muiry dubs, an' muckle burns, Sh. News (May 29, 1897) ; Four or
five miles o' gaet, fou o' raOry yarfs, ert byles, an' coorse hedder,
ib. (Dec. 15, 1900). s.Sc. They hae broken up the brake o' the
moory ha, Watson Bards (1859) 6. Edb. Let grovling shrubs
stick in their native mire. Rot on the moary dale, and ne'er look
higher, Pennecuik Helicon (1720) 92.
3. Of a brown colour, resembling a heath or moor.
Sh.I. As for da pones, dey'll laekly no geng, for dey're sowder'd
tagedder in a sQtie, moorie hivik, Sh. News (Dec. 4, 1897).
4. Marshy, swampy.
w.Som.i Thik there piece o'ground'ont never be no goodavore
he's a guttered ; he's that moory now arter so much rain, nif tidn
a do'd purty quick he'll urn all to rexens.
MOOSE, MOOSEN, see Meuse, Mouse, Moozen.
MOOSH, MOOSIE, see Mush, s6.=. Mosey, adj.^^
MOOSK, sb. Sh.I. Also in form moosker. [musk.]
A haze.
Haze is called . . . ' moosk,' ' moosker,' slightly different from
' ask,' which is generally windy, Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 37.
Hence Moosket, adj. dusky, ib.
[CP;
,_ . Dan. dial, muske, to drizzle (Molbech) ; NFris.
muskig, ' in der Luft oder im Wetter, wenn die Luft ganz
dick u. grau ist, u. ein feiner Staubregen fallt, welch sie
muske nennen ' (Outzen).]
MOOST, see Must, sb.^*
MOOSTER, v.^ Glo. Som. Dev. Also written monster
Glo.' Som. •[mii-st3(r), m(E-st3(r).] 1. To move quickly,
to go actively ; to stir, be moving.
Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i Come, look sharp'm moos-
tery 'long. s.Dev. Time to mooster. Fox Kingsbridge (1874).
2. To clear out, e.g. to clear beasts out of a field, to clear
out a wasp's nest. Glo.^
[1. The same word as lit. E. muster; cp. Shaks. M.for
Meas. II. iv. 20 : Why does my blood thus muster to my
heart ?]
MOOSTER, V?- and sb. w.Som.' [mcE-sta(r).] 1. v.
A woollen-making term ; see below.
A piece of cloth is ' made up,' that is, rolled or folded up ; but
in finishing that process the end is doubled back and then brought
to the front to show the forrel ; to perform this latter part of the
work is to mooster the piece. A skilful hand at the work is said
to be able to moostery well.
2. sb. The fold of a piece of cloth which shows the
' forrel.'
It is carefully brought to the front to show that the ' piece ' is
entire, and has not been cut.
MOOT, sb. and v} Wor. Hrf. Glo. Oxf. Ken. Hmp.
I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms moat
Dev.i ; mot Cor.^ ; mote Hmp." Dev.^ ; mott Cor.^^ ; miite
Dev. [mtit, w.Cy. also moet.] 1. sb. The stump left in
the ground after a tree has been felled ; a large block of
wood. Cf. mock, sb}
Glo.', Oxf.i Ken.' The root or stump of a tree, which, when
felled, is divided into three parts ; ist, the moot ; 2nd, the stem ;
3rd, the branches. Hmp. Sailors dredging . . . drew up great logs
of wood locally known as ' mootes,' Wise New Forest (1883) 150 ;
Hmp.", I.W.2, WiU n.Wil. That's a main girt moot, yennit?
(E.H.G.) Dor.i Inzide a weak wi' a holler moot, 170. Som. The
girl got upon an old ' moot' or end of a tree, and rocked herself
to and fro (W.F.R.). w.Som." If a tree be blown down, it is
' butted,' that is, sawn off at the bottom— all the root part so sawn
off is the moot. Dev. I got wan or two whacking gert ulkers ov
mutes, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev." ; Dev.* There is an owl
on the mote down the yard ; Dev.*, nw.Dev." Cor. At stons, an'
mots, an' pooks we'll loff, Pengelly Verbal Pronunc. (1875) no;
Cor.i ; Cor.= A large block of wood, such as is used for a Christmas
fire.
2. Comp. (i) Moot-axe, an axe specially shaped for
cutting tree-stumps; (2) -earth, earth got from tree-
roots ; (3) -end, the roots of a tree ; Jig. the buttocks of a
man ; the ' backside.'
(i) Cor.3 (2) Dev. Moot earth is the earth for geraniums,
Reports Provinc. (1897). (3) I.W." Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777)275.
3. V. To root up ; to grub up (as pigs, dogs, &c.) ; to
turn over soil.
s.Wor. (H.K.), Hrf.!2, Glo." Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng.
(1825). w.Som." Dev. Mooted up, Grose (1790) Jl/5. arfrf. (M.)
n.Dev. Moot ivry brack about un. Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 84.
Hence Mooting-axe, sb. an axe used for grubbing up
the roots of trees. Glo.", w.Som."
4. To take root ; to ' tiller ' ; freq. with about or oul.
Dev. The corn didn't motty well this year. Reports Provinc.
(1897) ; I like to see the grass moot out, ib. (1884) 24 ; Morton
Cycle. Agric. (1863). nw.Dev."
[1. EFris. mot, mofe,'Sttick od. Theil, Schnitt, Scheibe,
&c.' (Koolman) ; Du. moot, shce, piece.]
MOOT, v.^ Sc. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also in form meawt
n.Yks. [mtit.] To mention, suggest, hint. Cf. mute, v.
Cat." To moot a thing aboot. Abd. She wad be unco fain Gin
she could only gi'e me pain By mootin' him whase dead an' gane,
Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) "^8. Lakel.2 Ah'll moot it tuU
him. Cum.i* Wm. He never mooted a word (B.K.). n.Vks. He
niver meawted thou was ill, Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 285.
[OE. mbtian, to speak, discuss (B.T.).]
MOOT, v.^ Wor. Hrf. Glo. [mtit.] To move, to shift
one's position ; to labour to no purpose.
s.Wor. It bean't no good mooting issend about in the wet ; it do
more harm nor good (H.K.). Hrf. (W.W.S.), Glo."
MOOT
[158]
MOP
MOOT, see Mote, sb.\ Mought, Mout, Murt, sb}
MOOTEN, V. Sh.I. [mu-tan.] To grow mouldy.
S. & Ork.i
MOOTENED, pj>l. adj. Sc. [mu-tand.] Moulted. See
Mout, V.
e.Lth. Hully an' hairse as a mootened hoody craw, Lumsden
Sheep'head {i^g2) 2^'].
MOOTER, sb. Hrf.2 [mH-t3(r).] A plough that cuts
a double furrow, used in sowing turnips.
MOOTER, see Moulter, v}'^, Multure.
MOOTH, adj. Sc. Nhb. Also in forms moth, muith
Sc. (Jam.) [mdejj.] 1. Damp and warm ; misty. Cf.
meeth, adj?^
n.Sc. A mooth day (Jam.). Lth. {ib.) Rxb. A muith morning,
a close, dull, warm, foggy morning {ib.). Nhb.i It is a mooth neet.
2. Soft, calm, comfortable. Rxb. (Jam.) 3. Cheerful,
jovial. Lnk., Rxb. {ib.)
[1. Cp. ON. moSa, the condensed vapour on glass and
the like caused by breathing on it, mist, haziness (Vig-
fusson).]
MOOTH, see Mouth.
MOOT-HALL, sb. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Not. Nhp.
Also in forms meut(t-ho' Cum.^*; mooit-hall w.Yks. ;
moot-ho' Lakel.i2; mote Cum.; muit-ho' Lakel.^ The
Town Hall ; the place for the transaction of municipal or
public business.
N.Cy.i The ancient hall of the castle of Newcastle. Nhb. The
morrow I went into the moot-hall, . . making a proclamation in
the King of England's name, Jones Nhb. 91 ; Nhb.i, Lakel.i"
Cum. The hall in which the assizes are held at Carlisle, still goes
by the name of the mote, or moot-hall, Hutchinson Hist. Cum.
(1794) I. 253 ; Cum.i ; Cum.* T'main street . . . wad be a varra
good street if it wassent for a girt ugly building caw't Meut-haw,
Richardson Talk (187 1) 113, ed. 1886. Wm. I will meet you on
the moot-hall steps at Appleby (B.K,). w.Yks. T'owd Mooit
Hall clock popt suddan inta view, Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla
Ann. (1854) 49; w.Yks.i Not. The name of an old house in Not-
tingham (L.C.M.). Nhp.i
[Thanne kny^tis of the iustice token Jhesu in the moot
halle, Wyclif (1388) Matt, xxvii. 27. OE. mot, a meeting,
conTt->r heall, a hall (B.T.).]
MOOTHER, see Multure.
MOOTHU, sb. Cai.i [mii-Su.] A dial, form of
' mouthful.'
MOOTIE, adj. Lth. (Jam.) Parsimonious, niggardly.
MOOTLE, see Moutle.
MOOTNAFEE, v. Sh.I. Also written mootnifee.
{mu'tnif i.] To ' mortify,' decay, rot.
If doo winna sell da boat, daa, doo can shflrely gie her ta Tamy
for naethin'. Shiis only lyin' yonder apo' da knowe mootnifeein',
Sh. News (June 4, 1898) ; Dey wir been mendin' da byre door, an'
dey wir a mootnafeed fael 'at dey wirhuv'd bye, ib. (Feb. 3, 1900).
MOOTOR, MOOTRE, see Multure.
MOOTY, ai^; Won [mti-ti.] Of soil : clayey, sticky.
The ground turns up mooty (H.K.).
MOOYSEN, MOOZE, see Measen, Mose, v., Muse, v}
MOOZEN, V. Obs. Yks. Lan. Also written moosen
ne.Lan.'' To guess by the handful.
w.Yks. HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781). ne.Lan.^
MOOZHE, see Mose, v.
MOOZLES, sb. Lin. Lei. War. [mu-zlz.] A slow,
stupid, slovenly person.
Lin. Miller &Skertchly i^sK/a«rf (1878) iv. n.Lin.i sw.Lln.i
She's no-but a poor moozles.
Hence Moozling, ///. adj. doing things helplessly, or in
a confused, slovenly manner.
sw.Lin.' She's a great moozling thing. Lei.^, War.^
[Cp. Dan. dial, mosle, musk, to be slow in one's work
(Molbech) ; LG. musseln, to be slovenly in the house or
in one's dress (Berghaus).]
MOOZY, see Mosey, adj}^
MOP, s6.i and v. Van dial, uses in Erlg. Also written
mopp I.W.^ Dev. [mop.] 1. sb. In comp. Mopstail or
•stale, a mop-stick ; a mop-handle.
w.Yks. (J.W.), Not.', Lei.i, w.Som.i
2. pi. Phr. to be, or feel, all mops and brooms, to be
bewildered : to feel out of sorts ; to be intoxicated.
Dor. There is not much doing now being New Year's Eve, and
folks mops and brooms from what's inside 'em, Hardy Tess (1891)
288, ed. 1895. Dev. He's all mops and brooms, Reports Provinc.
(1877) 127 ; Dev.^ Duee be quiet, my head's mazed — I be all mops
and brooms to-day. nw.Dev.'
3. A term of contempt for a woman.
s.Not. Get out wi' yer, yer sap-'eaded mop ! (J. P.K.)
4. A napkin. Glo.' Dev. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
5. The gall of the wild rose.
Shr.i The village school children give the name of mop to the
pretty rose-gall, because they use it as such, for the purpose of
cleaning their slates. ' We'n tak' dog's leave an' g66 through the
coppy this mornin' to 'unt mops to clane our slates w'en we bin
loost out o' school— 66n'ee come alung ? ' ' Aye, I'll come, but we
mun tak' car' as the keeper dunna see us ; 'e'U gie us mops else,
an' be'appen stalls as well.'
e. A tuft of grass. Wil.' Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
w.Som.' 7. In the game of hide-and-seek, the one who
stands with his eyes covered until the signal comes to
seek the others. Cor.^ 8. v. To clean the floor with a
damp mop.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. I mopt fust thing for t'have it done wi',
Brierley Fratchingtons (1868) ii.
9. With q^or up : to drink ; in gen. colloq. use.
Lakel.2 w.Yks. He Sams houd at t'mug a beer t'first at dinner
an mops it clean off, Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1872) 41.
nw.Der.i He did mop it up. Lon. I have seen the youngest ' mop
up' his half-quartern as well as I did, Mayhew Land. Labour
(1851) III. 250, ed. 1861. Sus. I think'd ur for't, mopped up de
beer, an off agin went I, Lower Tom Cladpole (1831) st. 26. I.W.^
He mopp'd up the yeal. w.Som.i Did'n er jis mop it up ! 'twas
jis the very same's zids down drue a gutter-hole.
Hence (i) Mopped,/i//. adj., (2) Moppy, adj. tipsy. Wan^
10. To wrap up the head with a scarf or comforter ; to
blindfold ; fig. to hoodwink.
Dev. Horae Subsecivae {im) 277 ; Dev.' I think I shu'd know
the way if I was a' mop't. nw.Dev.' I wudn go about wi' my 'aid
mopt up like that, eef I waz you. s.Dev. Fox Kingsbridge (1874).
Cor.^ These hardy young cattle . . . would often wander away for
miles, . . in spite of all their spanning or steeping or mopping by
a piece of board hung before the eyes, Bottrell Trad. 3rd S. 159.
Hence Mopper, sb. a handkerchief tied over the head
and under the chin ; a muffler.
Som. (Hall.) Dev.' ; Dev.^ Putt on thee mopper, Tom, you'll
find et mortal cold coming 'crass the Moor. nw.Dev. (R.P.C.)
11. In the game of hide-and-seek : to stand with the
eyes covered waiting for the signal to seek the hiders.
Dev. 'Tisyour turn to moppy. Reports Provinc. (1887) 11. Cor.^
Hence Mop-and-heedy, or -andhide-away, s^. the game
of hide-and-seek. Dev. (Hall.), Con'^^
[1. Pannatore, a maulkin, a map of clouts or rags to rub
or cleanse withal (Florio). 4. OFn ma/i^e, 'nappe' (La
Curne) ; Lat. mappa, a napkin.]
MOP, sb? Midi. Lin. Lei. Nhp. Wan Wor. Shn Hrf.
Glo. Oxf Brks. Hnt. I.W. Wil. [mop.] A ' statute ' fair
for hiring servants and farm-labourers ; also in comp.
Mop-fair.
Midi. N. (Sr^ Q. (1851) ist S. iv. 190. Lin. An immense number
of country servants attended the ' Mop ' on Friday last, Stamford
Merc. (May 24, 1878). Lei.' A yearly assemblage held a mouth
after the ordinary Statutes, in order to give a second chance to
masters and servants, who after a month's trial put an end to their
contract. Nhp.' A yearly assemblage, after Michaelmas, . . of
those servants who remain unhired from the statutes wliich are
held before Michaelmas. It is also made an occasion for a holiday,
by servants, before entering upon their new duties ; Nhp.2 War.
The ancient mop fair at Stratford-on-Avon yesterday was attended
by thousands of persons. . . This fair has been in existence several
hundred years, and was originally a statute fair for the hiring of
servants, agricultural and domestic. Of late years it has become
little more than a huge pleasure gathering, but a little hiring is
still done. Contracts made at the mop fair are legally binding for
twelve months. Six oxen and fourteen pigs were roasted whole
on spits at fire-places erected in the streets, Dy. Mail ^Oct. 13,
i8g8); That time-honoured, if unruly, institution. Kings Norton
Mop, is evidently to die hard, B'ham Dy. Mail (Mar. 5, 1896) ;
War.3 This is applied to the primary as well as secondary statutes.
w.Wor.', se.Wor.', s.Wor.', Shr.' Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc.
(1876) ; Hrf.' I hired Mary last Lemster mop, and she staid with
MOP
[159]
MORAL
me two year. GIo. Er wudden't gie I no kerecter to go to Mop
wi', BucKMAN Darke's Sojourn (i8go) vi ; At Cirencester these
take place twice in October. . . The word ' mop ' is derived from
an old custom which ordained that the maid-servants who came
to find situations should bring their badge of ofBce with them
to the fair. They came with their brooms and mops, Gibbs
Cotswold Vill. (1898) 287 ; Glo.i There are three mops in
Gloucester held on the three Mondays after 'Barton Fair,'
the 28th Sept. The third is called the ' runaway' mop, because
the men and girls who were hired at the previous mops come to
be hired again. A shilling is paid when the bargain is struck, and
the engagement is for twelve months. The men and girls are
called 'Johnnies and Mollies.' Oxf. The first of the Michaelmas
hiring fairs, or ' mops,' as they are familiarly called, was held on
Wednesday [at Chipping Norton]. The ' mop ' has developed
into a pleasure fair. Wednesday's fixture was little more than a
village fair, Oxf. Chron. (Oct. 10, 1899) ; The first mop or statute
fair was held on Saturday [at Burford], Oxf. Times (Oct. 17, 1896).
Brks.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.) I.W. Cope Gl. (1883). Wil. As a rule he
kept only one man, whom he hired for a year at a time, at the mop
or hiring fair held yearly in the next town, Ewing Jan Windmill
(1876) iv ; Wil.i
MOP, V. and sb.^ Sc. n.Cy. Yks. e.An. Sus. Hmp.
[mop.] 1. V. To behave affectedly and fantastically ; to
fidget about.
n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.^ w.Yks. Willan List IVds. (1811). Sus.,
Hmp, A horse that continually moves his head about in a stooping
manner is said to mop-about, Holloway. Cor.^ ' Every fit and
turn, mopping about together,' spoken of a young man and woman
supposed to be courting.
2. Phr. (i) to mop and mow, to play fantastic tricks and
to make faces. e.An.* ; (2) mopping and popping about, a
fantastical and conceited carriage. n.Cy. Grose (1790).
3. sb. A grimace.
Cld. Wi' mop an' mowr, an' glare, an' glowr, Marvnaiden of
Clyde in Edb. Mag. (May 1820) (Jam., s.v. Mowr).
[1. To moppe, maw, mouere labia, Levins Manip. (1570).
2. (i) Mopping and mowing, Shaks. K. Lear, iv. 1. 64. 3.
Each one, tripping on his toe, Will be here with mop and
mow, ib. Temp. iv. i. 47.]
MOP, see Map, v.
MOP-CAP, sb. e.An.* 1. A kind of Tam-o'-shanter
hat. 2. A hasty-tongued person, a tartar, (s.v. Mob-cap.)
MOPE, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Not. Also in forms maap Cum."* Wm. ne.Lan."^ ; mahp
s.Wm. ; maup N.Cy.* Nhb.* w.Yks.* ; mawp Cld. (Jam.)
Lan. ; moap w.Yks. [mop, m9p, map.] 1. v. To wander
about thoughtfully; to grope; to go about in a vacant, aim-
less, stupid fashion.
Cld. (Jam.) Ir. And I seen granny mopin' about wid the fright
puckered up in her face, Barlow Bogland (^iSgsi) 130, ed. 1893.
n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.*, Nhb.' Wm. We farmer fooak May maap
an' tooak, Bowness Studies (1868) 63 ; He mopes aboot frae yah
pleeace ta anudder (B.K.). w.Yks. Batchillor — is wun at goaze
moapin abaht wi hiz shoolders stuck up az heigh az hiz hat, Tom
Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1873) 35 ; w.Yks.' I mopt a piece
farther, ii. 356. Lan. When th' funeral sterted, Joey [who had been
drinking] wur rayther mawpin un unstiddy, Staton Loominary
(c. 1861) 120. ne.Lan.* s.Not. A moped about i' the pond, but a
couldn't find it. A moped about i' the dark, till a were sick on
it (J.P.K.).
Hence (i) Moped, ppl. adj. silly, imbecile ; (2) Moping,
(3) Mopy, sb. a dull, hstless, dreamy fellow ; one not over-
bright in intellect.
(i) Lakel.^ (2) Wm. Thoo lahl silly mopin, what for hes thoo
net browt my bacca frae t'shop? (B.K.) (3) Cld. (Jam.) Lan.
A girt maapy, seesta, to ga an lick t'lad, Piketah Fomess Flk,
(1870) 33.
2. To talk foolishly ; to speak in an affectedly constrained
manner.
Cum. They mop'd out feyne words, Rayson Misc. Poems (1858)
67, ed. 1859; Cum.", s.Wm. (J.A.B.)
3. sb. An irresolute person ; a fool.
Wxf.* Licke a mope an a mile, he gazt ing a mize, 88. Lakel,^
A body's 'at's nut ower mich to deea, an' niwer gits 't diun.
MOPEMENT, MOPES, see Mapment, Mopse.
MOP-EYED, adj. n.Yks." [m'op-id.] Near-sighted.
[Mopsical,mop-ey'd, which cannot see well, Coles (1677).]
MOPHREY, MOPHRODITE, see Morfreydite.
MOPPER, 56. Cor. [mo-p3(r).] One of the players in
the game of ' rounders.'
The ' mopper ' selected the old pier, which meant he would
rather have Matthew his side than Phillip, Cornishman (Xmas
1881); Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 119.
MOPPET, sb. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Lin. Suf.
[mo'pit.] A term of endearment applied to a child or a
young girl ; an affected child ; a doll ; also used of a pet
lamb. Cf. mopsy.
N.Cy.* Cum.i I hed a laal moppet I pot in my pocket. And fed
it wi' corn and hay ; Theer com a Scotch pedder and swore he
wad wed her And stole my laal moppet away ; Through the kirk-
yard she ran, she ran ; O'er the broad waiter she swam, she swam ;
And o' the last winter I lost my laal twinter, And than she com
heamm wi' iamb, wi' lamb. n.Yks.^ w.Yks. Thah little knows,
young moppet, Ha aw'st have to tew for thee. Hartley Z)!W. (1868)
15. Lan. Whirling and skipping ' moppets,' Brierley Layrock
(1864) V. n.Lan.* e.Lan.* An old-fashioned child. Chs.* It's a
little moppet, it is ; bless it little heart. s.Chs.i,nw.Der.*,n.Lin.*, Suf.*
[I . . . had then a full view of the dear moppet from head
to foot. Sped. (1712) No. 277.]
MOPPLE, V. and sb. Yks. Hrf. Also written moppil
w.Yks.^ [mo'pl.] 1. V. To confuse ; to puzzle.
w.Yks. Some on 'em gate moppled an' started o' singin' 'Tory
O'More,' Hartley Clock Aim. (1869) 27; w.Yks.3 Drop it mun ;
tha moppils me.
2. sb. Confusion, a state of disorder.
Hrf.° Of an overgrown hedge. ' In such a mopple.'
3. A blunder ; a mistake. Yks. (Hall.)
MOPS, sb. Cor. Also written mopse Cor.^ ; and in
form mopses w.Cor. [mops.] A horse's blinkers ; a
bridle for a cart-horse to which blinkers are attached.
Cor.^ w.Cor. (M.A.C.)
MOPSE, V. Not. Suf. Dev. Also in form mopes Dev.
[mops.] To mope.
Not.' n.Dev. He didn't hold it a good thing for a man to be
mopesing in over the fire with no person but Tom Fool to speak
to, Chanter Witch (1896) iii.
Hence Mopsical, adj. moping, low-spirited, drooping.
Suf. (Hall.), Suf.*
MOPSE, see Mapse.
MOPSTICK, sb. War.2 In phr. to look like death on a
mopstick, to look very miserable.
MOPSY, sb. Yks. Lan. Lin. e.An. [mo-psi.] 1. A
diminutive person, a doll ; a term often used to girls and
children by way of endearment. n.Yks.°, n.Lan.*, n.Lin.*
Cf. moppet. 2. A slattern. Lan.*, e.An.*^ e.Suf. (F.H.)
MOPUS, sb. Lan. Slang. A drone ; a dreamer.
Lan. Wheer's that mopus ov a lad gooan, Ferguson Moudy-
warp, 7. Slang. Mopus [a cant word], a drone, a dreamer. I'm
grown a mere mopus, Swift, Bailey (1755) ; Farmer.
MOPUSES, sb. pi. Lan. Lm. Nhp. War. Slang. Also
written mawpuses Lin.* [mo'pssiz.] Cash, coin, money.
Lan. It uU be a guarantee to th' mestur, or hooever draws th'
mopuses, that we're not wawkin off wi a shillin's wuth insoide, un
but payin sixpence fort, Staton B. Shuttle Manch. 26. Lin. (Hall.) ;
Lin.* I asked him for some mawpuses, and he was not the man to
say me nay. Nhp.* Have you got any mopuses ! War.^^ Slang.
Barr{:re.
MOR, V. Sh.L [mor.] In phr. he can neither mor nor
swaal, he is incapable of doing anything. S. & Ork.*
[Lit. he can neither work nor play. Norw. dial, maura,
to work diligently (Aasen).]
MOR, see Maw'r, Murr(e.
MORAL, s6.* In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
written morril e.Yks.* [mo'rl.] The exact likeness,
counterpart ; model, pattern.
So. (A. W.) Ir. The back av it was the very moral av an ould sack,
Blackburne Stories, 14 ; You're the moral of a Methodist preacher,
Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 425. w.Ir. Afine big girl she
was, just the moral of that Grania there, Lawless Crania (1892)
I. pt. II. viii. Don. Private families . . . known an' respected as
morals of family affection. Cent. Mag. (Nov. 1899) 42. N.Cy.*
Dur.* The varra moral of a man. n.Yks. He's t'varry moral on him
(T.S.). e.Yks.* He's varry moral of his fayther. w.Yks.^ Lan.
An' yo're th' very moral on him, Burnett Haworth's (1887) xii.
Chs. Just the moral on him. Sheaf (1885) III. 207 ; Chs.* Der .2
Very moral of its dad. nw.Der.' Dhu'rjs th) moru'l u') dhi')
MORAL
[i6o]
MORE
muudhu'r dahyn u't Waili' [Ther's th' moral o' thy mother dahyn
(down) at Whaley]. Not.i n.Lin.i She's the very moral o' her
faather boath in her looks and her speaks. Lei.' Loike 'isfaither?
Whoy, a's the very moral on 'im. Nhp.' W a.r.B' ham Wkly. Post
(June 17, 1893) ; War.i=3 w.Wor.i Jack's the very moral uv 'is
father. s.Wor. Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 14. Shr.i That little
wench is the very murral on 'er Gran'mother ; Shr.^ A moral of a
man. Mid. PEGGE.<4Kci:rfo&5 (1803) 63, ed. 1844. Ken. Ourgarden
it wasn't much of a one for size, but for flowers— there ! it was a
perfect moral— cram full it was, Longman's Mag. (July 1891) 266 ;
The whole moral of his dad, Nairne Tales (1790) 57. Suf.i The
very moral on 'em. e.Suf. She is the very moral of her mother
(F. H.). Wil. His tiny fingers steered the pencil into cunning lines
which made pigs. ' The very moral,' as William declared, Ewing
Jan Windmill (1876) xv ; Wil.l Som. She was the very moral of
her mother, as they say, Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) iv.
w.Som.i He's the very moral of his brother, I never didn zee two
so much alike. Cor.12
[Fooles be they that inveigh 'gainst Mahomet, Who's but
a morral of loves monarchie, Constable Sonnets (1590)
Dec. 4 (Farmer).]
MORAL, sb?- Pern. A child's game : ' Tick, tack, toe.'
s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421.
MOR AL-LEGGER, sb. Sc. A variety of boy's marble,
hard, ring-streaked, and sometimes piebald.
Lth. Marbles, stanies, frenchies, moral-leggers, doggies, &c.,
Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 33 ; (A.W.)
MORANT,56. Shr. [moTant.] The moorhen, GaZ/ww/a
chloropus. SwAiNsoN Birds (1885) 178 ; Shr.^
MORAY COACH, phr. Bnff. (Jam.) A cart.
MORBAN,56. Shr.i [m9-b3n.] A silly, foolish person.
Whad a crazy owd morban it is.
MORBID, adj. Sc. Unhealthy, causing disease.
Ayr. To that foul scheme upon the hill Whaur morbid water she
maun swill, Laing Poems (1894) 34.
MORBLEU, int. Dor. Cor. Also in form marblue Cor.
In phr. to sing out, Morbleu, to cry out, to make a great noise.
Dor. A rustic gave me a most entertaining account of how he
had recently watched a stoat attack and kill a rabbit. ' The rabbit,'
he went on to say, 'was singing out "Morbleu" like anything,'
N. 6^ Q. (1893) 8th S. iv. 468. Cor. I can remember sixty and
more years ago at Launceston, the expression being used if a boy
were whipped, that he ' sang out Morbleu ' ; and it has frequently
been employed in my hearing since, «6. (1894) 8th S. v. 34 ; Listen
to my Johnnie —he is singing out Marblue, Cornwall Twice
Rescued, 211 ; (M.A.C.)
[Fr. morbleu ! ' sorte de jurement en usage meme parmi
les gens de bon ton, euphemisme de prononciation pour
mort Dieu .' ' (Littre) ; cp. God's Death ! 'Sdeath .']
MORCAN, MORD, MORD DE CfflEN, see Mawkin,
sb., Mort, sb.^, Mortersheen.
MORE, sb. and v. Wor. Glo. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor. Som.
Dev. Cor. Also written mor Dev.^* n.Dev. Cor.^ ; and in
forms mar Wil.^ Som. ; maur Glo. Dev.'* nw.Dev.' Cor.**;
mawer Dev.* ; mawr Cor. ; mawre, moar Dev. ; moer
Dor.; moirWil.'; moor Hmp. Dor. w.Som.* Dev.' nw.Dev.*
Cor.* [mo3(r), mua(r).] 1. sb. The root of a tree or
plant, esp. the fibrous roots of a tap-root ; a runner.
Wor. I've 'eerd folks sahy scores o' times when a wuz a plantin'
trees, ' Be suer an' pu' the mores out.' Thur yean't no vi'lets nur
no mores (H.K.). Glo. A strawberry-maur, Grose (1790) ; Gl.
(1851); Glo.' A violet more; a strawberry more; Glo.* Hmp.
A witness in the Tichborne trial spoke of ' the more ' of a tree,
Oliphant Standard Eng. (1873) 1 1 ; De Crespigny & Hutchinson
New Forest {i8g^) 113; Hmp.' I.W. Lazily sorting the mores and
the logs, Moncrieff Dream (1863) 1. 12 ; (J.D.R.) ; I.W.'* Wil.
Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.' A strawberry more ; fern mars ;
cowslip mars, See, Jefferies Amateur Poacher (iS'jg)^!!. n.Wil.
A mar of violets (R.H.C.). Dor. There's a moer across here
(C.V.G.) ; Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in N. (y Q. (1883) 6th S. viii.
45 ; Dor.' Wi' thy long more vrom the bottom dim, 141. Som.
' Nettle-mars,' the tangled roots of nettles (W.F.R.) ; (J.S.F.S.) ;
Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.' The several branching
roots and rootlets of a tree, which grow out from the moot. ' The
moors o' thick there el-em be a-urned all over thick there cornder.'
Dev. MS. Prov. ; Dev.' A quat down upon the mors of the tree, 2 ;
Dev.-* n.Dev. Tha luve that hath a jillus mor' '11 bear a bitter vruit.
Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 20. nw.Dev. The root or stub of an
uprooted tree ; a residual stump after lopping, not a live root of a
live tree, N. & Q. (1887) 7th S. iii. 186; nw.Dev.' w.Dev. Mar-
shall/?Mn i'coM. (1796). s.Dev. Fox Kingsbridge (i8j4). Cor.
(F.L.H.); We' a great maur of furz, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial.
(1846) 45 ; Cor.12, w.Cor. (G.F.R.)
Hence (i) more and moot, phr. root and mould, root and
branch, entirely ; also used Jig. ; (2) -loose, adj. loose at
the root.
(i) Dev. The way to get a good stave is to go into a 'ood, and
pull up a young ground-ash mor'n mool. Reports Provinc. (1877)
134; Ef yil puU'th like that, yti'll tear'n up moar-an'-mewl. 'Er's
combing thick cheel's 'air za 'ard, 'er'U puU't out moar-an'-mewl,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). nw.Dev.' To pull up a plant maur an'
mool. Cor.' w.Cor. N. & Q. (1854) ist S. x. 320. (2) Hmp.*
[Lisle (1757).]
2. The turnip, Brassica rapa, var. depressa.
Dev. N. & Q. (1870) 4th S. vi. 259 ; In many districts turnips
are spoken of agriculturally as 'roots' (B. & H.).
3. A stump of a tree, a bole.
Glo.' Hmp. The stump of a tree sawn off the roots (H.E.).
Wil.' Som. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Cor.*
4. A gen. term for a flower, plant, or shrub.
Dev.* I've got a fine more of that in my garden.
5. Growing herbage, wheat when first it appears above
the ground.
w.Som.i ' There'll zoon be a good moor o' grass here.' This was
said of a newly laid down pasture and implied that the various
grasses had well rooted and were growing rapidly. nw.Dev.'
' That's a good whait maur,' or ' That's a good maur o' whait.'
6. The fangs of a tooth.
Dev. Iss, the tooth he out, but I zim he's left the mores naish,
Reports Provinc. (1887) 12 ; Dev.^
7. V. To take root, to form roots.
Glo. Grose (1790) ; Gl. (1851). Som. (J.S.F.S.) ; Jennings Obs.
Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.' Nif you plant withen pitches the
right time o' the year, 'tis winderful how quick they'll moory.
8. To uproot. Glo.' Hence Moreing-axe, sb. an axe for
digging up or cutting the roots of trees.
Glo. Grose (1790) ; Horae Subsecivae (jTn) 277 ; Baylis Illus.
Dial. (1870) ; Gl. (1851) ; Glo.'*
[1. She that was the soothfast crop and more Of al his
lust, Chaucer Tr. &-= Cr. v. 25. OE. more, moru, an edible
root, a carrot, parsnip (B.T.).]
MORE, adj. and adv. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. AlsoinforrnmairSc. Nhb. n.Yks.*ne.Yks.' [mo3(r),
Sc. and n.Cy. mer.] 1. adj. In phr. (i) more cost nor
worship, not worth the trouble or expense ; see Cost,s6.' ;
(2) — nor or than a bit, a good deal ; extremely ; (3) —
than middling, very superior ; (4) no more about it, without
more ado ; (5) no more than owt, nothing at all ; (6) to have
more need, ought to.
(i) w.Yks.*; w.Yks.s A child who teazes its mother for bread,
is replied to, ' Th'art more cost nur worship.' A man marries a
person whose health continues to be precarious, when she is said
to be 'more cost nor worship tul him.' Chs.'^ (2) w.Yks. (J.W.),
Hrf.* (3) N.I.' His mother was more than middling. (4) Fif. Nae
mair about it : up he sprang Upon his weir-steed wi' a bang,
Tennant Papistry (1827) 164. (5) ne.Yks.' Ah knaw na mair 'an
owt. (6)Sc. (AW.) n.Yks.*Ihadmairneedwark. w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. Greater.
Abd. The mair sinner, the mair welcome, Macdonald D. Elgin-
brod (1863) I. 97. w.Som.' Twadn nothin' near all o'm — I count
the more part was a left arterwards.
3. adv. In phr. (i) more all alike, more consistently ; (2)
— and so, moreover, besides ; lit. ? more than so ; (3) —
attour or atour, see (2) ; (4) — belike, more especially ; (5)
— by token or betoken, (a) see (4) ; (b) see (2) ; (6) — furth,
see (2); {-]) —holy nor godly, of a gSiTment: torn, tattered ;
(8) — so, see (2) ; (9) the more, although ; (10) to the more
meen token, see (4).
(i) n.Yks. Spin them ropes mair all alike (I.W.). (2) w.Som.'
He 'ont never be able vor do it, an' more-n zo he 'ant nobody vor
t'elp'-m. n.Dev. And more an zo there's no direct to hot tha tell'st,
Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 149. nw.Dev.' (3) Sc. And mair attour, als
we maun grant, That sic ane number cannot want, Rogers
Reformers (1874) 61. Or.I. That's just gin ye hae sillar eneugh;
an' mair atour, naebody in their seven senses wad pu' doon sic a
bonnie house as Yarpha, Vedder Sketches (1832) 20. Bch. An
mair attour I'll tell you trow. That =.' the moggans are bran new,
MORE
[i6il
MORGT
Forbes 5/10/1 Bill (1785) 11. Abd. And mair attoure, his mind
this mony day, Gatelins to Nory there, my dother, lay, Ross
HeUnore (1768) no, ed. 1812. Fif. Tennant Papistry {iBzq) 77.
(4) n.Yks.2, w.Yks. (J.W.) (.5, a) Sc. Ana suldna speak ill o' the
dead — mair by token, o' ane's cummer and neighbour, Scott Anti-
quary (1816) xl. Frf. More by token they said if your mother had
not took him in hand you would never have kent the colour of his
night-cap, Barrie Tommy (1896) 36. {b) Ir. It's the fancy she
has, and more-betoken, I think bad of me lettin' the little goat
swally the weeny bit she had on her. Barlow Lisconnel (1895)
99. N.I.i Uls. And forby Paddy Shales isn't paid yet For makin'
the coat that I'm wearin', More betoken, it wants to be mended,
Uls.Jrn. Arch. (1858) VI. 42. w.Ir. And more betoken, he said
mass for his soul, Lover Leg. (1848) I. 16. (6) Fif. Mairfurth,
their wembes had sic a wecht, Walkin' to them was but a fecht,
Tennant P«/(i/;7( 1827) 139. (7) N.I.i, w.Yks. (J.W.) (8)Dev.i
One of his laming vendeth oceans of things that pleaze en . . . and
more zo, mayhap 'tis es way to zay es prayers out a book, 3. (9)
N.I.1 He did it, the more he said he wouldn't. (10) n.Sc. ' To the
mair meen taikin,' a phr. commonly used when one wishes to give
a special mark of anything that is described (Jam., s.v. Takin).
Ags. (Jam.)
4. Used redundantly to form double comparatives.
Nhb. We'll consithur thaw luve mair nicer nor wine, Robson
Sng. Sol. (1859) i. 4. w. Yks. I would do that more slighter (J.R.).
s.Not. That's more liker it (J.P.K.). yv&r.'^ Introd. Sur.i Added
to make it more emphatic. ' More longer,' ' more upstandinger.'
w.Som.i Used by way of duplication, but without increasing the
force. ' Thick there's more firmder'n tother.' ' There idn no more
vore-headeder gurt mump-head in the parish.' Dev. An' tiddn'
the wealth o' the spendrif er miser Can mek em moore happier,
bedder, er wiser, Pvlman Sketches, 67, in Elworthy lVd.Bk.(i88S).
5. Longer, any more.
Sh.I. Shil . . .grat lang an' sair till sh(l cudna greet mair, Stewart
Tales (1892) 113. Bch. We're double sib unto the gods ; Fat needs
him prattle mair? Forbes Ulysses (1785) 16. Abd. Ye'll no be
troubled wi' me mair, Michie Deeside Tales {iS-js) 26. Ayr. Never
perhaps to greet old Scotland more. Burns Lines on a Bank Note,
I. 10. Gall. He ne'er again, at Kirk or fair, Durst ever taigle wi'
her mair, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 46, ed. 1897.
Hence Mairly, adv. more, longer.
Cld. I wish I were deid. Or she in the raools to torment me nae
mairly, Nimmo Sngs. (1882) 118.
6. Of size, length, or dimension : again, once repeated.
Keii.1 ; Ken.'^ As big more. Sur.i Sus.' As long-more. 'Tis as
fur more from here to Hellingly as what it is from here to Hailsham.
MORE, see Maw'r, Moor.
MOREEN, sb. Sc. Yks, [marrn.] A coarse variety of
woollen or worsted cloth.
Sc. (A.W.) w.Yks. Such as window curtains (M.F.) ; Moreen
and lace, las. id. Making a curtain of it before the organ, 14s.
irf., Bradford Parish Ace. {l^g^).
MOREISH, adj. Yks. Lan. Der. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War.
Wor. Glo. Oxf. e.An. Wil. Som. Cor. Also written
morish w.Yks.' ne.Lan.' w.Som.'; and in forms mairish
n.Yks.* ; mareish e.Yks.^ ; moorish e.Yks.' nw.Der.^ Lin.'
Lei.-' se.Wor." Glo. ; morrish, murrish Cor.' [mosTiJ,
Sc. and n.Cy. me'rij.] 1. Larger, greater.
n.Yks.2 He'll be for t'mairish lot.
2. Of food : appetizing, palatable, relishable ; producing
a desire for more.
e.Yks.i W.Yks. It's more-ish (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.' 'To taste
morish,' said of meat or drink. ne.Lan.' Midi. ' 'Tis moreish,
though, an' theer be on'y one waay to put that roight' — and he
helped himself to anotherjorum, Bartram People of Clopton {zSg-f)
228. nw.Der.', Nhp.' War.^ There's a moreish smack about this;
War.', Wor. (H.K.) s.Wor. To taste moreish, Porson Quaint
Wds. (1875). se.Wor.i Glo. Zammon teasted moorish, Roger
Plowman, 40. Oxf.' MS. add., e.An.' 2 e.Suf. That's moreish
(F.H.). Wil.' Viggy pudden be oncommon moreish. w.Som.i
' Oncommon good trade this here, missus ; I zim tas'th morish.'
This is a frequent way of ordering more drink. Cor.' This pudding
eats morrish.
3. Hungry, ready for more. Also used advb.
e.Yks.', nw.Der.' Lin.' The noyeau was so good, that they felt
moorish. n.Lin.' I feel mooreish yit, I can tell y6 ; I've nobbut
hed one plaateful. Lei.' A's oUus a moorish un, aour Edwin is.
War.' I feel very moreish. Cor.' He ate morrish.
VOL. IV.
MOREL(L, s6. n.Cy. Yks. Nhp. L Wbs. The fungus,
Morchellaescuknta. n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.' [Bailey (1721).]
2. The Jew's ears, Pesiza coccinea. Nhp. (B. & H.)
MOREOVER, adv. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Wm. Yks. Lan.
e.An. Also in forms maarower w.Yks.'; mairower
n.Yks. ; mairowre Sc. ; mareower Nhb. ; meearower
Wm. In phr. (i) Moreover and above, moreover, besides,
in addition ; (2) — nor that, [a) see (i) ; [b) notwithstand-
ing ; (3) — than that, see (i).
(i) ne.Sc. He was mair owre-an'-aboona douce, elderly, sensible
man, Grast Keckleton, 139. (2, a)Nhb.Thouisbonny,mawbeluived,
eigh, canny ; mareower nor that, wor bed is green, Forster Newc.
Sng. Sol. (1859) '• '6. Wm. Meearower ner that a telt ye sum-
mat, S/>«(r. Dial. (1877) pt. i. 29. w.Yks.i Maarower ner that, ii.
337. (*) Uls. Uls. frn. Arch. (1858) VI. 54. (3) n.Yks. He was
expensive. Mairower than that, he gat beggared (I. W.). ne.Lan.',
e.An.', e.Suf. (F.H.)
MORESBY HO' FOWK, phr. Cum.'* L People of
quality. 2. Court cards.
MORE, sb. Shr.' [in9f.] A thick, tangled crop.
Of hair, weeds, &c. ' Whad a morf o' yar that fellow's got ! it
looks as if 'e'd c6omed it 60th a three-futted stool.'
MORFREYDITE, sb. Yks. Lin. e.An. Also written
morfradite cAn."* ; and in forms moffery Nrf ; mophrey
Lin. ; mophrodite Yks. n.Lin.' ; morfery e.An.' ; morfra
Nrf. ; morfrey Nrf. e.Suf. ; morphrey sw.Lin.' Nrf
1. A hermaphrodite ; also used^^.
w.Yks. Nani war a nasti muki mofradait (J.W.). n.Lin.' Nrf.
A malformed sheep. Arch. (1879) VIII. 171. e.Suf. Of a human
being, not of a beast. Used by the old only (F.H.).
2. A farmer's cart, capable of being used as a wagon.
Cf maffie.
Lin. For sale, a new cart and mophrey, 3J inch wheel, Lin.
Oij-OK. (Sept. I, 1888). n.Lin.', sw.Lin.i e.An.' ; e.An.2 A kind of
agricultural carriage, capable of being used with four wheels, or
with two, either as cart or waggon. Nrf. Ashe had no waggon he
used a morphrey (W.H.) ; Athenaeum (P"eb. 4, 1888) 145 ; Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 56 ; 1 eatched the rope. ' Make your
end fast to the forerunners of the morfra,' Emerson Son of Fens
(1892) 150. e.Suf. A four-wheeled vehicle for carting straw or
hay (F.H.).
MORGAN, see Margon.
MORGAN RATTLER, phr. n.Cy. Lin. Cor. Slang.
1. A hard or reckless fighter, a good boxer.
Lin. The chap advanced, a Morgan rattler. Brown Lit. Laur.
(1890) 17 ; Lin. N. & Q. II. 86.
2. A cane or stick with a knob of lead at one or both
ends, and short enough to be carried up the sleeve.
n.Cy. [In] an account of a conflict between two bodies of sailors
in a seaport in the north of England, among the weapons and in-
struments used mention was made of ' morgan rattlers,' N. & Q.
(1866) 3rd S. X. 290. Slang. It was used by garroters as a weapon
of offence. It was also carried for defensive purposes as a life-
preserver. It differed from the constable's staff, which was rigid,
for it was a stalk of cane or steel or other supple material, and its
loading was a heavy bulb of lead. Its effect was often deadly
(R.O.H.).
3. Anything good or striking of its kind.
Cor. A regular morgan-rattler, N. & Q. (1866) 3rd S. a. 290.
MORGANS, sb. pi. Ant. A kind of boots put on the
feet of fowls to prevent them scratching. (S.A.B.) See
Moggan.
MORGE, sb. ne.Lan.' Also written merge. Mud,
slush, dirt, sludge. Cf murgeon, s6.' 3.
MORGEN, see Murgeon, s6.'
MORGIL, 56. w.Cor. A jelly-fish. (M.A.C.)
MORGIN, see Mawkin, sb.
MORGLE, V. Obs. Bdf. Also written morguyl. To
maul, beat. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 138;
(Hall.)
MaKGOZ'D,pp. 1 Obs. Sc. Made a confusion of.
Gall. Anything put into disorder, so that it cannot be righted, is
said to be morgoz'd, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 350, ed. 1876.
MORGS, sb. pi. Lin.' [m9gz.] Money.
He has plenty of morgs. He owes me morgs, and I shall scotch
it from his aidlings.
MORGT, see Mort, s6.'
Y
MORGY(E
[162 J
MORNING
MORGY(E, sb. Cor. Also in form murgy Cor.'^
[m9'gi.] 1. The dog-fish, ScylUum canicula.
Jrn. R. Inst. Cor. (1886) IX ; Cor.12
2. Fig. An ill-looking girl. Cor.''^
[1. OCor. morgi, a sea-dog, a dog-fish (Williams).]
MORK(-, see Mawk, 56.', Mirk, adj.
MORKIN, sb. Obs. Sc. Also written morken (Jam.).
A dead sheep : a sheep that has died afield ; in pt. the
skin of a dead sheep ; also used attrib. Cf murkin.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Ayr. Braxie, a morkin sheep, Burns Poems
(1786) Gl.
[Could he not sacrifice Some sorry morkin that un-
bidden dies .'' Hall Satires (1507) m. 4 (Nares). ON.
morkinn, pp. rotten, decayed, of meat, fish (Vigfusson).]
MORKIN, see Mawkin, sb.
MORK-SHRIEK, sb. e.An.» Mockery, humbug; a
foolish old wife's tale ; lit. a shriek in the dark.
MORLAN-FAIR, sb. Cum. An annual fair held at
Keswick on the 2nd of August.
Clark Lakes (1787) 63 ; Cum.^
MORLEY GAWBIES, phr. Chs.» A nickname given
to the inhabitants of Morley. See Gaby, sb.^
MORLOCK, MORM, MORMAID, see Marlock, Malm,
Mermaid.
MORMAL, 5^1. Obs. N.Cy.^ A virulent boil or sore.
[On his shine a mormal hadde he, Chaucer C. T. a.
386 (see Skeat's note). Cp. MLat. malum mortuum, a
disease of the shins (Ducange).]
MORN, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Chs.
Suf. Ess. Ken. Also in forms marn Ken. Som. ; mearn
Chs. ; moan e.Yks.^ ; moarn Sh.I. Wm. Ess.' ; mooan
n.Yks. ; mooarn Wm. ; moorn Nhb.' n.Yks.'^ ; morren
Suf. ; mworn Cum. [morn, m93n.] 1. The morning.
Nhb. Guid morn, guid wife, blithe Watt he cries, Graham Moor-
land Dial. (1826) 64 ; Nhb.' Wm. He seaaved me fra th' gallows,
aye that varra moarn, Wheeler Dial. (1821) 115; Or what I was
sayin' or duin that mooarn, Spec. Dial. {i8tj) pt. i. 45. n.Yks.'
m.Yks.' Aa" su'I- gaan" uv u muo'h'n [I shall go on a morn].
w.Yks. As et it moan [I shall have it in the morning] (J.W.).
Chs. Why measter, you'll be clean demented ere th' mearn ! Banks
God's Providence H. (1883) 5. Suf. e.An. Dy. Times (1892) ; She
got into the bed . . . an' there she lar till the morren, Tison Merry
Suf. (1899) 53. Ess. Nice morn, morns a-gittin now (H.M.M.) ;
I shain't git up to-morrar moarn, Clark /. Noaltes (1839) st. 168 ;
Ess.i Ken. Terrible wet 's marn (G.B.).
Hence (i) Mornie-morning or Morn-i'e-morning, sb. the
early morning after light dawns ; (2) Mornless, adj.
without a morning; (3) Mornty or Morrety.w/. a morning
greeting : good morning to you ; also used subst. ; (4) the
morn is but glancing in one's eye, phr. to be only half awake.
(i) GaU. As the Freetraders gaed by afore the mornie-mornin',
Crockett i?ai'rfi?re (1894) xxxvi; The morn, i.e. morning, in the dead
of winter, begins not until near eight o'clock, Mactaggart £kc)ic/.
(1824). (2) Rnf. They set oot, ne'er to return. That mirky morn-
less nicht, Young Pictures (1865) 14. (3) Ess. (H.M.M.) Dor.
Here comes I, little Dame Dorothy, I wish you all a very good
morrety, From a mumming play in Flk-Lore Rec. (1880) HI. pt. i.
108. Som. SwEETMAN Wincanton Gl. (1885). (4) Sc. Come hand
thy tongue, thou silly wench ! The morn's but glancing in your ee,
Scott Minstrelsy (1802) I. 425, ed. 1848.
2. To-morrow. Dur.' 3. Phr. (i) Mom at morning,
to-morrow morning ; (2) — at night, to-morrow night ;
(3) -s morrow, the day after to-morrow ; (4) the morn, to-
morrow ; (5) -s afternoon, (6) — at afternoon, to-morrow
afternoon ; (7) -'s morn, (8) -s morning, see (i) ; (9) -s
night, see (2) ; (10) to morn, see (4) ; (11) — at morn, (12)
^at morning, see (i) ; (13) — at night, see (2) ; (14) —
come never, the ' Greek Calends,' never ; (15) — of morn or
— of the morn, see (i).
(i) e.Yks.' Moant-mawnin. (2) Cum. He'll look in morn-at-neet
when t'owd fouks is gone to bed, Dalby Mayroyd (1880) II. 189,
ed. 1888. (3) N.I.' (4) Sc. He wad be glad if I wad eat a reisted
haddock ... at breakfast wi' him the morn, Scott Rob Roy (1817)
xxiii. Sh.I. When a cat washes abUne her lug ; dan it's for fresh
fish da moarn, Sh. News (Oct. 21, 1899). "'Sc. We hae a brother
condemned to death And the very morn must hanged be, Buchan
Ballads (1828) I. 109, ed. 1875. Cai.' e.Sc. I lippen the morn to
Him, Setoun Sunshine (1895) 293. Abd.Gae to the Place an' see
Sir Simon 'imsel' the morn, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xvii.
Frf. Ay, Bell, the morn's the Sabbath, B/vrrie Licht (188B) viii.
Per. Worrying yoursel' to the bane as to what's gaun to happen the
morn. Sabbath Nights (1899) 37. Dmb. Salmon Gowodean (1868)
15. Ayr. She wished ye would come the morn after breakfast,
Galt Lairds (1826) xxi. Lnk. Dae ye no ken the mSrn's the
Sabbath-day? Hamilton Poems (1865) 219. Lth. Lumsden Sheep-
head (1892) 264. Edb. Hae ye mind, The morn's the first 0' May,
M"DowALL Poems (1839) 40. GaU. Lauderdale Poems (1796) 37.
N.Cy.' Nhb.' He'll be there the morn. Are ye gan the toon the
morn? Cum. What's theer for the mworn's dinner? Surn Fireside
Crack (1886) TO. (5) Sc. And just the promise of a . . . jiggot o'
mutton the morn's afternoon. Whitehead Daft Davie (1876) 3304
ed. 1894. Abd. MacdonaldZ). f/stMArorfCiSes)!. i86. (6) Nhb.i
The morn at efterneun. (7) Sc. Ye'll hae to wait till the morn's
morn, Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 253. Per. By sax o'clock the
morn's morn, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 270. n.Ir. A maun
be ower the morn's morn till see them, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan,
81. (8) Sc. Till the morn's morning, Scott Antiquary (1816) xi,
Sh.I. Geng de da morn's mornin', Stewart Tales (1892) 85. Ahd.
Ye'll jist gang fit-for-leg the morn's morning owre to Clyacks-
neuk, Greig Logic o' Buchan (1899) '9°- ^^- Ye'll be gaein' up
to the manse to arrange wi' the minister the morn's mornin',
Barrie Licht (1888) viii. w.Sc. I'm going off the morn's morning
again, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 157. Ayr. He will be here
betimes the morn's morning, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) Ix. e.Lth.
Twa' men hand to be aff th? morn's mornin', Mucklebackit
Rhymes (1885) 237. Slk. I'll come and see't, sir, the morn's
mornin afore breakfast, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 157.
Gall. I can make this place so that the man what built it wunna
ken it the morn's morning, Crockett Cleg Kelly (1896) 72. Nhb.*
Aa'll be there the morn's mornin, aall be well. (9J Sc. Ye'll be
gaun to bide the morn's nicht wi' Sandy, Swan Gates of Eden (ed.
1895) xvi. Sh.I. I'll truly geng up da moarn's nicht, never du be
faerd, Nicolson Aithstin' Hedder (1898) 27. e.Sc. We'll be seein'
ye at the kirk the morn's nicht, Setoun R. Urquhart (1896) xxii.
Frf. Ay, Jamie, I'll no hae ye to sit aside me the morn's nicht,
Barrie Thrums (1889) ^^' Gall. We'll meet the morn's nicht,
Crockett Cleg Kelly (1896) 131. (lo) Nhb. Were Aw te morn a
king mysel', Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 26. Dur. Now he's
coming here to-morn, Longman's Mag. (Oct. 1896) 585. n.Yks.' ^
w.Yks. (J.W.) ; w.Yks.' I'll come to morn an I can ; w.Yks.^,
ne.Lan.i (11) n.Yks.'^ (12) e.Yks.' (13) n.Yks. Thou will te
mooan at neet, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 22; n.Yks.'^,
w.Yks.^ (14) w.Yks.' (15) Cum. To mworn-o'-mworn, i' this
seame pleace we'll hae the stwory out, Anderson Ballads (1805) 3.
m.Yks.' Aa- su'l' gaan'uv 'u muo'h'n — aap-u'n tumuo'h'n ut maoh'u
[I shall go on a morn-happen to-morn o' t'morn]. w.Yks. (J.W.)
MORNING, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in forms mamen Dor. ; marnin Sur. Dev. [moTnin,
mqs'nin, s.Cy. ma'nin.] 1. In comb, (i) Morning's bit,
refreshments taken before breakfast ; (a) — • blink, the
early morning light, the first glow of daylight; (3) — bout,
a morning walk or stroll ; (4) — gift, obs., a gift conferred
on the wife by her husband on the morning after their
marriage ; (5) — mun, the dawn, the gradual increase of
the morning light ; (6) — part, morning, the early part of
the day; (7) —piece, see (1); (8) -'s pride, a slight shower
of rain, or a mist in the early morning of a day that
promises to be fine; (9) — side, the east side; (10) • — star,
the star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum umbellatum.
(i) Dor. (W.C.) (2) Frf. This morning-blink's ne'er seen by
City spark, Morison Poems (1790) 118. (3) Frf. Ye're right early
out, I trow ye're gain to tak' your morning-bout, ib. 118. (4) Sc.
The gift of gudes moveable or unmoveable, quhilk the husband
gives to his wife the day or morning after the marriage, Skene
Difficill Wds. (1681) 41. Abd. He has wooed the young Countess
. . . An' given her for a morning gift, Strathboggie and Aboyne,
Maidment Garland (1824) i, ed. 1868. (5) S. & Ork.' (6) Wor.
I felt better the morning part o' the day nor I do now (H.K.). (7)
Lan.' When aw come deawn stairs aw awlus foind mi mornin'-
piece on th' table. (8) Lan. N. ^ Q. (1867) 3rd S. xi. 529. Mid.
X suggested . . . that the hazy misty appearance of the atmosphere
betokened rain . . .'No, sir,' he said, ' it's only the morning's pride,'
ib. 457. Ken. ib. 529. (9) Lan. An' a pratty bit o' garden greawnd
O' th' mornin' side o'th fowd, Waugh Sngs. (ed. 1870) 143. (10)
Hmp. (W.M.E.F.); Nature Notes, No. 3; Our gardin be full o'
, mornin' stars (W.F,).
MORODE
[163 1
MORRIS
2. A morning greeting : good morning. Gen. in phr.
morninfftoyou.
Sur. Marnin', Miss— How be 'ee ? Bickley Sur. Hills (iSgo) II.
XV. Nr£ We met him, and I say, ' Morning to you, Master Josh,'
Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 165. Dev. Marnin' to 'e, Blackmore
Chrisfowell {1881) ii.
3. A morning draught or glass of spirits taken before
breakfast.
Sc. Having declined Mrs. Flockhart's compliment of a morning,
Scott Waverley (1814) xliv ; He always for his morning teuk
A quaich of usquebae, Ford Thistledown (1891) 177 ; Not only in
the Highlands, but by many Lowlanders, who pretend that this
shocking custom is necessary to whet their appetite (Jam.). Cai.^
Bnff. Up we get an' take our mornin' O' water sometimes mair
than cornin', Taylor Poems (1787) 178. Per. Aifter a while they
tak a mornin' wi' a freend, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 187.
Slg. A' gaping for our morning, Galloway Poems (ed. 1795) i8.
Lnk. That dram constituted his ' morning,' Gordon Pyoishaw (1885)
139. Edb. Not only 'meridians,' but ' mornings,' were common,
even among the higher classes, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1878)
III. Ir. Are ye ready for your morning? . . I put it to my lips,
and found it to be capital milk punch, \.z\tb. Jack Hinton (1844) iv.
4. A slight repast taken on rising before the formal
breakfast.
Sc. I must . . . see that Gustavus has his morning, Scott Leg.
Mont. (1818) vi. Sh.I. Bread for the Mason's mornings, Sh. News
(May 29, 1897). Cai.', Dmf. (Jam.) Gall. The farle of oat-cake
she had brought with her for her ' morning,' Crockett Standard
Bearer (1898) 104.
5. pi. Used advb. : in the morning.
Dev. Before he got out of his bed mornings, O'Neill Dimpses
(1893) 28 ; Marnin's, my dear sawl ! ther beant no time tfi pray,
Salmon Ballads (1899) 70.,
MORODE, V. Irel.-^ [maro'd.] To rove in quest of
plunder, to ' maraud.'
w.Ir. "The mangy mongrels goes about airly in the sayson,
moroding through the corn, Lover Leg. (1848) I. 211.
Hence Morodin, ppl. adj. marauding.
For the morodin' thief spint all his, ib. 202.
MORPHREY, see Morfreydite.
MORPHUS, sb. w.Yks. rm9'fas.] A machine for
damping, straightening, and finishing cashmeres, silks,
&c. (J.J.)
MORPIN, sb. e.Yks. [mg-pin.} A scarecrow. (Miss
A.) See Mawkin, sb.
MORPUSSES, sb. pi. Not.^ [mg-pssaz.] A term
connected with a disease to which horses are liable.
A horse is said to have these when his gums grow over his teeth.
MORRABS, MORRAN, see Morraps, Marram.
MORRAPS, sb. pi. Cor. Also in forms moorabs;
morrabs Cor.' Low-lying pastures near the sea ; waste
land on the sea-shore.
Moorab, the name for a certain part of Penzance, built over what
was formerly such pastures (J.W.); Cor.' Now used as a proper
noun.
MORREL HEN, phr. Yks. The common skua, Ster-
corarius catarrhades. Smith Birds (1887) 539.
MORRIAN, sb. N.I.' Also in form murran-. A sea-
fish, the ballan wrasse, Labrus maculatus ; also in comp.
Murran-roe. See Bavin, sb?-
MORRIL, see Moral, sb}
MORRIS, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Not. Lin.
Lei. Nhp. War. Won Glo. Oxf Hrt. e.An. Hmp. Cant.
Also written morrice Sc. Lan.' Der.' Hrt. Cant. [moTis.]
1. sb. A country dance ; see below. Gen. in comp. Morris-
dance.
Dmf. Never glisk o' faery face. Nor morrice dance, nor witchin'
spell, Reid Poems (1894) 57. w.Yks.^ Lan.^ My new shoon they
are so good, I could dance Morris if I would ; And if hat and sark
be drest, I will dance Morris with the best, Bamford Early Days
(1849). Der.i, nw.Der.' Lei.' On Plough Monday it was the custom
for some of the villagers to dress in grotesque masquerade and
perform morris-dances before all the houses where they were likely
to get money or drink (s.v. Plough-bullocks). Nhp.' Still continued,
in some parts of the country, as a Whitsuntide amusement, when
different parties go from village to village, performing their various
evolutions. A set consists of six or eight young men, one of whom
generally represents Maid Marian, or Molly, as she is now
degenerately called; another personates the clown, or fool ; and
the remainder are without their coats and waistcoats, and with the
cleanest and best shirts they can procure, gaily bedizened with
pendant ribbons and rosettes of various colours . . . The fool is
variously, but always grotesquely, attired, sometimes with a cow's
tail at his back, sometimes covered with skins ; and, in the neigh-
bourhood of Brackley, he is called the squire or fool, and has a
gridiron and fish drawn on his back. He always carries the
usual badge in his hand, an inflated bladder with beans, fastened
to a staff about two feet long, or a bladder is attached to one end
of a short stick, and a calf's tail at the other. He rattles and beats
the bladder about to clear the way for their performance, or plays
tricks for the amusement of the company ; Molly carries a ladle in
her hand, with which she solicits money from the spectators.
The dance consists of a variety of manoeuvres, rapid changing of
postures, striking first the toe, then the heel on the ground, which
occasions great jingling of the bells ; repeatedly clapping their
hands, then their knees, and each other's hands. They sometimes
dance with sticks, flourishing and brandishing them about ; then
placing them on the ground, with the points all meeting in the
centre, they dance round them in a circle. This is called Bedlam
Morris ; Nhp.'' The morris dance is performed by six or eight
young men, gaily decked out with ribbons, buttons, &c., and with
a great number of little bells attached to their legs ; each carries
in his hands a strong round stick, of about a yard in length. The
dance. . . consistsof a series of rapid evolutions, changes of posture,
&c,, accompanied with brandishing and clashing of the staves and
flourishing of kerchiefs. The clown or Tom Fool has generally an
old quilt thrown over him, plentifully hung with rabbit-skins; his
cap is ornamented with a feather, and in his hand he holds a stick
with an inflated bladder attached to the end by a cord. This,
together with the piper, completes the set. War.^, se.Wor.'
Glo. Hed a morris-dance in the market-pleace. Gibes Cotswold
Vill. (1898) 91. Oxf. (G.O.)
Hence (i) Morris-bell, sb. a small bell worn by those
who take part in the morris-dance ; (2) -dancer, (a) one who
takes part in the morris-dance ; [h) the Aurora Borealis ;
(3) -dancing, sb. the performance of the morris-dance.
(i) Hrt Tie a morrice bell about the neck of a rat, Ellis Mod.
Hush. (1750) IV. i. 185. (2, a) w.Yks.= Fifty years ago and later
morris-dancers used to assemble in great numbers on ' The Cross '
at Cold Aston. They were decorated with a great profusion of
gaudy ribbons. Chs.' It is a pretty sight to see the dancers,
fantastically dressed with gay ribbons hanging from their arms
and legs, dancing in a sort of procession, with the cracking of
carters' whips, and to a quaint tune the notes of which I have not
been able to pick up. . . Some fifteen or sixteen years ago I saw
these Morris Dancers parading through Stockport to a very peculiar
tune played on fifes, which had quite a traditional ring about it.
Wil. Men dressed up ; some in white shirts and others as women,
who come round dancing at Whitsuntide (L.C.M.). Lin.' Plough-
boys who dress themselves fantastically on Plough-Monday. Nhp.'
The set of morris dancers attendant at the Whitsun Ale often
consisted of six couple. . . They were dressed in scarfs or belts of
broad ribbon, one over each shoulder, crossing in the centre,
ornamented with bunches of blue and red ribbons, or blue and
orange ; five rosettes were placed on the scarf before, and five
behind, with one on each hip. Their hats were also decorated
with rosettes and streamers of the same coloured ribbons. On
their legs they often had as many as six rows of bells, six in a row,
of different sizes graduating from the knee to the ankle. They
were attended by a fool, but a piper was substituted for Molly,
who had a whistling pipe in his mouth, and a tambourine-drum
suspended from his wrist or elbow, upon which he played with a
stick. They danced chiefly on their toes with a spring, all keeping
time together, and flourishing either handkerchiefs or sticks in
their hands. War.^ Chimney-sweeps used to dress as morris-
dancers in Birmingham, and dance in the streets on May-day,
levying toll on passers-by, certainly later than 1855, but the custom
led to abuses and was suppressed by the police. se.Wor.' In the
neighbourhood of Pershore the morris-dancers go out for about
ten days at Christmas-tide, accompanied by their musician and a
' tom-fool.' The ' tom-fool ' carries in one hand a bladder tied to
a stick, and in the other a kind of wooden spoon or bowl, in which
he collects the contributions of the spectators. In addition to this
duty, he is supposed to amuse the bystanders with funny sayings
and antics. . . He also runs after the boys and (if he can catch them)
strikes them with his bladder. Besides being ornamented with
ribbons rather more fantastically than the dancers, the fool carries
a small bell concealed somewhere about his person, which keeps
up a constant tinkling. Sometimes also his face is painted after
Y 2
MORROCH
[164 J
MORT
the fashion of the ordinary stage clown. The morris-dancers go
through certain figures, country dances, ' the figure of eight,' &c.,
and at certain parts of the tune stand face to face and mark the
time with short sticks — one of which each man carries in his right
hand — striking them together with a pleasant and not unmusical
sound. In someof the dances each man carries, instead of the stick,
a large coloured handkerchief, which at given parts of the tune
he swings over his shoulder ; and this action being performed
simultaneously by all the dancers, the effect is picturesque and
pretty. Oxf. On Whit Monday, 1899, the Headington morris-
dancers performed in the streets of Oxford (CO.). (6) Or. I.
The North- Light ... is by reason of its desultory motion called
Morrice-Dancers, Merry Dancers, and Streamers, Wallace Desc.
Or. I. (1693) 156, ed. 1883. (3) Chs.i At Cheadle Wakes the
ancient morris-dancing is still one of the attractions. In former
times there was also morris -dancing at Wilmslowat the rush-bearing.
2. The game of Nine Men's Morris (q.v.). Cf. merrils.
Nhp.'- A game played by two people on a board, whereon are
marked three squares, one within another at equal distances, and
connected with each other by a line at each angle drawn from the
inner to the outer square and again by lines in the middle of each
side of the square, the area of which is denominated ' the pound.'
At each intersection of the lines a spot or hole is made ; as it is
sometimes played with pegs, sometimes with bits of paper or wood
or stone (s.v. Merills). e.An.^ Shepherd's boys and other clowns
play it on the green turf, or on the bare ground ; cutting or
scratching the lines, on the one or the other. . . In towns, porters
and other labourers play it, at their leisure hours, on the flat pave-
ment, tracing the figure with chalk. . . The figure is to be fouud on
the back of some draught-boards. . . On the ground, the men are
pebbles, broken tiles, shells, or potsherds ; on a table, the same as
are used at draughts or backgammon. Nrf. N. if Q. (1867) 3rd S.
xii. 254. e.Suf. (F.H.)
3. Comp. Morris-apple, an apple with very red cheeks.
Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.' 4. A large family of boys, twelve
or thirteen boys.
Oxf. ' We shall soon have a morris, as we say when they're all
boys.' ' How many is that ? ' ' Twelve — and thirteen with the
fool!' (M.A.R.)
5. V. To move off quickly, to decamp, march off.
War.23 se.Wor.i Now you bwoys you'd better morris. e.An.'
He is morris'd. Cant. Life B. M. Carew (1791) Gl.
MORROCH, V. Sc. [moTSx.] See below.
Gall. When anything is trampled in a gutter, we say it is mor-
roch'd, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) ; The dell the scart I had got,
though I had morroch'd through the raids o't, ib. 420.
MORROT, see Marrot.
MORROW, sb., int. and v. Sc. Irel. Also in forms
morie Sc. ; morra N.I.' Don. [mo'ra.] 1. sb. In phr.
(i) the morrow, to-morrow ; (2) — come never, the ' Greek
Calends,' never ; (3) — 's morn, (4) — morning, to-morrow
morning ; (5) — night, to-morrow night.
(i) Don. It isn't twelve o'clock the morra yet, Pearson's Mag.
(July igoo) 50. (2) N.I.' (3) Gall. Saunders, there'll be nae
word o' this when the clock strikes five the morrow's morn,
Crockett Stickit Min, (1893) 117. (4) Sc. I'll get thae idle hizzies
to soop oot the spare chamber the morie mornin', Keith Indian
Uncle (iSge) 10. Don. ' The morra mornin',' says he, 'an' plaise
God, I'll be able to buy stickin'-plasther,' Cent. Mag. (Feb. 1900)
606. (5) Dor. Afore this time the morra night, Pearson's Mag.
(Mar. 1900) 313.
2. int. A greeting, good morning.
n.Ir. ' Morrow, Rabin,' sez he, ' what wae ir ye ! ' Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 80. Ant. A young man will say to another who meets
him, ' Morrow boy,' and the reply will simply be, ' Morrow,' Bally-
mena Obs. (1892).
3. V. To borrow a horse for the day on the understand-
ing that one lends a horse in return the next day.
Tyr. A poor fanner who has but one horse will get a neighbour
to lend him his one horse to plough or harrow ; and then on the
next day he will lend his in return. This they call ' morrowing,'
N. dj- Q. (1876) 5th S. v. 513.
MORROW, MORSE, see Marrow, sb.^". Moss, sb.^
MORSEL,56. Sh.I.Yks.I.Ma. Der. Wor. Brks. Sur.Sus.
Som. Dev. Cor. Amer. Also in forms mosel Som. Dev. ;
mossel I. Ma. Der. Brks. Sun' w.Cy. Cor.* Amer. ; mossil
se.Wor.' ; mossle Brks.' Cor." [mgasl, mo'sl.] 1. Fig.
A scrap, a very small piece of anything, very little, the
least bit. In gen. colloq. use.
I.Ma. The faver was on him, and talkin like mad, And never
knowin the father a mossel, Brown Yarns (1881) 92, ed. 1889.
Der. They mun think that I hanna a mossel of sense in me, Verney
Stone Edge (1868) vi. Brks. 'Tis narra mossel o' use for we to try
his 'goriums [Gregorians], Hughes T. Brown Oxf. (iSeit xviii;
Brks.i T'yent a mossle o' good axin' muh, vor I tells 'e I wunt.
Sus. He lay like a log for weeks, without a morsel of sense in his
noddle, Cornh. Mag. (July 1893) 44. Sur.' On bad scenting days
our old huntsman used always to say, ' There's not a mossell of
scent.' w.Cy. It warn't a mossel o' use him foolen round, Cornh.
Mag. (Apr. 1895) 394. Dev. Tidden nar' a mo'sel o' good
setten up no longer vor vather, Longman's Mag. (Dec. 1896) 153.
Cor. Dick, 'twill cheer 'ee up a mossel, T. Towser (1873) 63.
[Amer. Once in a while Polly'd give me a mossel o' comfort,
Westcott D. Harum (1900) xix.]
2. Comp. Morsel-bit, a morsel, particle, atom ; fig. the
least bit ; freq. in phr. one morsel-bit.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Som. There was plenty enough left to make for
Patty, without skimping one morsel-bit, Raymond Men o' Mendip
(1898) i ; An I don't believe she do care one mo'sel-bit, ib. Try-
phena (1895) 18. w.Som.' Her've a cleared up all her mate, every
mossle-bit. I'd let ee have it in a minute, but there idn one
morsel-bit a-left. There idn one morsel-bit o'sense in the heado' un.
3. A slice of bread and butter or of cake, &c.
Cor. My man has his hoggan, and the chiel her mossel (F.H.D.) ;
Cor.s, w.Cor. (G.F.R.)
4. A slight meal ; food taken between meals.
Sh.I. Janey wis gettin' ready some kind o' morsel, Clark N.
Gleams (1898) 56. se.Wor.' A person chancing to make a call
upon a neighbour at meal-time, would probably be invited to par-
take of his hospitality thus : ' We be a gwain to 'ave a mossil o'
fittle look ; ool yu come in un jine us ? ' Cor.^ A bit o' mossel.
5. Iron. Food spoilt in cooking.
Doo'U better notice, mam, der sot fa'in. If a lump fa's i' da pan
da gruel 'ill be a morsel, Sh. News (Apr. 28, 1900).
MORSING-HORN, sb. Obs. Sc. A powder-flask.
Buff-coats, all frounced and broider'd o'er. And morsing-horns
and scarfs they wore, Scott Lay of Last Minst. (1805) canto iv.
St. 18.
[Cp. Fr. amorcer, to bait, to prime a gun ; amorce, powder
for the touch-hole (Cotgr.).]
MORT, sb.''-, adj} and adv. In gen. dial, use in Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms maut Cmb. ; ? morgt n.Dev. ; mot
Ken.'^; mwort Cum.' [mort, m^t.] \. sb. A quantity,
a great deal ; abundance ; a large number, a great many ;
also used advb. in phr. a mort, much. Cf. merth.
Ant. A mort of money (W.H.P.). n.Cy. (J.L. 1783). Cum. And
she's sent the bairns sec a mwort o' feyne things, Blamire Poet.
Wks. (c. 1794) 217, ed. 1842 ; Cnm.i A mort o' fine things. n.Yks."
It did me a mort o' good. w.Yks. (F.M.L.); w.Yks." A mort o
folks; w.Yks.* Lan. Yo're in a mort of trouble, Sammy, Burnett
Lowrie's (1877) xvi ; Lan.' Chs.' He's gett'n a mort o' brass ;
Chs.23 Stf. Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) Der.l Obs. Not. He's
got a mort o' money (J. H. B. ) . Lin. Morts of hours wasted (J .C. W.) ;
The sea's telled her a mort o' strange things, Gilbert Rugge (1866)
II. 67 ; Lin.' There was a mort of folks there. Lei.' Wan or few's
a few ; three's a mainy ; foor's a mort. Nhp. Hodge went drunk
to bed, and morts Of things were done, Clare Village Minst. (1821)
29 ; Nhp.' There's a mort 0' fruit in the garden this year. I've
been deadly bad, but I'm a mort better; Nhp." "Wax. B'ham Wkly.
Post (June 17, 1893) ; War.'"^ Shr.' To have ' made away wi' a
mort o' money' one's self, was to be regarded as a man of parts
and of no inconsiderable spirit ; Shr.2 A mort of it. Glo.'* Brks.'
When I met 'un a zimmed in a mort of a hurry. Bdf. The mede-
cinedid me a mort' of good (J.W.B.) ; There has been a mort of
sickness (W.W.S.). Hrt. I've a mort o' things (H.G.). Hnt. I
mind the time when hogfeast cost a mort o' money, N. &> Q. (1865)
3rdS. vii. 295 ; (T.P.F.) e.An.'" Cmb. The rain would do a maut
of good (J.D.R.) ; There's been a mort o' sickness t'year (M.J.B.).
Nrf. He hev had a mort o' trouble (E.M.) ; That great town where
there's a mort o' shops and paaple, Sph-iang Johnny's Jaunt (1879)
iv. Suf. Sitch amort of folks began 'To eat up our good cheer, Bloom-
field The Horkeym Garland {1818) 340; Suf.' Ess. Ovwisitors a
mort, Clark J. Noakes (1839) st. 89 ; There is a mort of apples in
that basket (E.F.) ; Ess.' Ken. With a mort of halfpence she en-
riches The pockets of his new-made breeches, Nairne Tales (1790)
57, ed. 1824 ; Lewis /. Tenet (1736) ; Ken.'" Sus. Sich a morto'
patients 'twould taak me up a wick to talk 'bout um all, Jackson
Southward Ho (1894) L 200; Sus.iYes, I've gota mort of children;
Sus." Hmp.' He's in a mort of trouble. Wil.' Her talks a mort
MORT
[165]
MORTAL
too vine, Dark (1892) x ; I stuck up to her a mort 0' Sundays, ib.
XV. Dor. I minds what a mort' o' work her did, Hare Vill. Street
(1895) 41. Dev. He axed I a mort o' questions, Longman's Mag.
(Dec. 1896) 161. n.Dev. Dame, gie's a morgt vor thy house-
waarming, Koas. Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 69. Cor. Of which then,
plase sure, there's a mort, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 16;
Cor.i2
2. adj. Many, very great.
Lin.i * Oxf. Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 119. Brks.^
3. adv. Obsol. Very.
e.Suf. I am mort tired this morning (F.H.).
[1. Then they had a mort o' prisoners, Plautus made
English (1694) (Nares). Fr. (Norm, dial.) mort, in phr. a
mort, en grande quantite : Le prunier a des prunes a mort
(Moisy) ; ON. mart, a great quantity, margr, many
(Fritzner).]
MORTjSi.'^andafC/'.^ Sc.Irel.Glo.Nrf.Som. Also in form
moor- Ir. [mort, mqt.] \. sh. In cow/, (i) Mort-cloth,
a funeral pall; (2) -head, {a) a death's head; a hollow
turnip cut in the form of a face and lighted with a candle;
(b) the death's-head moth ; (3) -safe, a frame of cast-iron
with which a coffin is surrounded, to prevent robbery.
(i) Sc. The mort-cloths kept to be laid on the corpses of the poor
were probably of coarse black woollen cloth ; but those used at
the funerals of well-to-do people were, as a rule, of richer and
more handsome material, Andrews By^owe Ch. Life (1899) 247;
It is a corpse that has run off with the mort-cloth ! Scott Nigel
(1822) xxxvii. Sh.I. At John Davidson's funeral the 'new velvet
mortcloth' was used, Willcock Sh. Minister (1897) 141. ne.Sc.
Grave-yards and all connected with them, the earth, . . the cofiSn,
and the mortcloth were looked upon with awe, Gregor Flk-Lore
(1881) 215. Mry. ' Scravie' . . . got a shilling for carrying back
the 'mort-cloth,' Hay Lintie (1851) 73. Bnff. In pt of payt of the
mortclothe, Gordon Keith (1880) 85. Abd. Above the coffin a rich
mortcloth of black velvet, whereon was wrought two white crosses,
Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 53. Fif. Robert called on the mort-
cloth man, Robertson Provost (1894) 32. Slg. The fund for their
support and relief arises from . . . the weekly collections on Sun-
days (about 8s. at an average), mortcloths, proclamation money,
Statist. Ace. XI. 452 (Jam.). Rnf. The coffin was borne on spokes
covered with a mortcloth, Wallace Schoolmaster (^iSgg) 151. Ayr.
A cloud, like the blackness of a mort-cloth, hung over our camp,
Galt Gilhaize (1823) xviii. Lnk. Graham Writings (1883) II.
n6. Lth. The controversy about the ' mort-cloth ' dues had made
it not uncommon to do without one. . . There were generally two or
three mort-cloths, and the charges varied according to their quality,
Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 242. Hdg. Ritchie St. Baldred
(1883) 60. Dmf. Wad ance that winsome Carle Death, But rowe
her in his black mort-claith, Cromek Remains (1810) 82. Gall.
Some gaed awa' back to the kirk for the bier-trams and the raort-
claiths to carry the corpse to the manse, Crockett Standard
Bearer (1898) 122. Ir. The eldest son . . . holding in his hand the
corner of a sheet or piece of Unen, fastened to the mort-cloth,
called moor-cloth, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) 1. 229. (2, a) Sc
This is carried about under night, by mischievous boys, as an ob-
ject of terror (Jam.). Bnff. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882)
135. Abd. Weel, boys, fat think ye o' a mort-heid an' a white
sheet at his window, Abd. Wily. Free Press (Dec. 29, igoo). (6)
Sc. Francisque-Michel ib. (3) Fif. (Jam.) ; If there was any
danger of the body being disinterred to make, in vulgar pronuncia-
tion, an atomie, the coffin was encased in a mort-safe, Francisque-
Michel Lang. (1882) 154.
2. The skin of a sheep that has died a natural death. Cf.
murt, sb.^
Sc. He'll be unco busy amang the morts this season, Scott Blk.
Dwatf(i&i6) i. Rxb. Agric. Surv. 259, note (Jam.). [Cheth. Soc.
XLI. 253.]
Hence Mort-wool, sb. the wool from the skin of a sheep
that has died a natural death. Rxb. (Jam.)
3. The blast of the horn blown at the death of the stag.
Glo. That was the country fellow that turned up when we
sounded the mort by Coln-Dene, Gibes Cotswold Vill. (1898) 263.
Som. The triumphant note of the ' mort,' Palmer Mr. Tnieman
(1895) 93- w.Som.i A couple of hundred sportsmen who had
converged to this spot to witness the coup de grace and to hear the
mort sounded, w.Som. Free Press (Aug. 30, 1879).
4. adj. Ill, unwell.
Nrf. I am very mort to-day, Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 39.
5. Phr. a mort cold, a deadly cold, an extreme cold, that
may occasion death. Cf. merth, 2.
Sc. Ruddiman (1773) (Jam.). Sh.I. The most serious forms of
disease were ' mort-caald ' and ' inbred fever,' Spence Flk-Lore
(1899) 157 ; Doo's gaun neesin'an' cravin'aboot da boos lack ane
at da hicht o' a mort cauld, Sh. News (June 12, 1897) ; S. & Ork."-
[1. Fr. mort (f. morte), dead ; mort, death. 2. The
saddler . . . makes the leather of them of morts or tan'd
sheep's skins, Greene Quip (c. 1580) (Dav.). 3. The blewe
a mort vppone the bent, Chevy Chase (c. 1500) in Child's
Pop. Ballads (1889) III. 307.]
MORT, sb.^ and v. s.Cy. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms
mart s.Cy. ; mord nw.Dev.^ Cor.'^ e.Cor. [moat.] 1. sb.
Lard, pig's grease.
s.Cy. (Hall.) w.Som.i Nif anybody-v a got a bad leg or ort,
there idn no fineder thing Vor-t-n mort-n chalk. Dev. Ta boil
down tha English and Vrench ta mak mort, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett.
(1847) 40, ed. 1858 ; Horae Subsecivae (1777) 277 ; Poor vokes'
chillern be fo'ced tQ ayte burd-an'-mort now times be za bad,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.^ 15 ; Dev.^ The fat which overlays
the kidneys and intestines of the pig. A ' blow of mort.' n.Dev.
The corbetts be wi' beacon vuU, Bezides dree stanes o' mort. Rock
Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 16. nw.Dev.' s.Dev. Paid for two pound
oimon,E.Btidleigh Ch'wardens' Acc.{i'}62-2,). Cor.i ; Cor.^The
fat of the pig from which lard is melted out. e.Cor. N. & Q. (1870)
4th S. vi. 72.
Hence Morded, ppl. adj. supplied with lard.
nw.Dev.i A pig is said to be well morded when there is a large
quantity of fat over the kidneys, &c.
2. V. To turn to fat, to put on fat ; to digest.
Cor.i; Cor.^He takes no exercise and consequently is mortingfat.
MORT, 56.* Som. Dev. [mot, most.] Mortar.
w.Som.i Masons and bricklayers when wanting mortar, alwayiS
shout ' mort ! ' to the tender. nw.Dev.'
MORT, sb.^ Cum. Yks. Sus. A young salmon.
Cum. A sentinel heron . . . rises. . . Woe to the luckless mort or
trout that comes within reach of his formidable pike, Watson
Nature Wdcraft. (1890) ii. w.Yks. One year old salmon, Baines
Yks. Past {iZqo) z^z. ne.Lan.' Sus. Their sprods are but scurves,
their morts greys, Ray Corres. i^dii) 127. [All migratory fish of
the genus salmon . . . bluepole, forktail, mort, peal, herring peal,
Stat. 24 & 25 Vic. (1861) c. 109. § 4; Mort, a. salmon in its third
year (Webster).]
MORT, see Murt, sb}
MORTABLE, adv. Glo.^ Very. See Mort, sb} 3.
MORTACIOUS, adj. and adv. n.Cy. Chs. e.An. Ken.
Sus. Also written mortashus Suf.^ [m^te'Jas.] 1. adj.
Bad, terrible, troublesome. Chs.' 2. adv. Extremely,
exceedingly, ' mortal.'
n.Cy. (Hall.) Chs. This is a mortacious foine sect, Clough
B.Bresskiitle{i8'jg)g; Chs.^ ; Chs.z Mortacious bad ; Chs.3 Suf.i
I am mortashus hungry. Ken. Grose (1790). Sus. He was so
mortacious hungered he tumbled in de street, Jackson Southward
Ho (1894) I. 251 ; Sus.i My old sow's mortacious bad, surelye !
MORTAL, adj., adv. and sb. Var. dial, and colloq.
uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also written mortal
e.An.'' ; mortle e.An.^ Dev. ; mortul Dev. ; and in forms
martal Wil. ; martel Wor. Dor. Som. ; martil Wil. Som. ;
martle Wil. ; morshulTip. ; morthal I. Ma. ; mortialN.I.'
w.Cy. ; mortyel n.Ir. ; mwortal Cum.* [mortl, mq'tl,
mqa'tl, ma-tl.] 1. adj. Used as an intensitive : great,
extreme, serious ; fine, grand.
Abd. The mortal idiot ... Fa' ever heard o' the like, Alexander
Ain Flk. (1882) 161. Ayr. Ye have a mortal lot o' grand things
in this hoose, Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 221. N.I.^ A mortial
lot. Don. It would be a mortal pity to waste such a fine fella in a
ditch-stench, Pearson's Mag. (May 1900) 476; 'Gentlemen,' siz
Micky in mortial alarm. Harper's Mag. (Oct. 1899) 746. w.Yks.
(J.W.) I.Ma. The mortal brass plate upon the door, Brown Doctor
(1887) 140. Nhp.i It's a mortal shame. There was a mortal sight
o' people, and a mortal deal o' fun. w.Wor. It be a mortal sort o'
comfort, sure-ly, S. Beauchamp iV. Hamilton (1875) I. 92. Hrt,
Shr. He's worth a mortal deal of money. Bound Provinc. (1876).
Oxf.i MS. add. Brks. Mrs. B. took mortal delight in the dog
(W.W.S.). Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.An.i A man is in a ' mortal passion ' ;
e.An.2 A mortle sort of folks. Suf. A mortal sight, Cullum Hist.
Hawsted (1813). e.Suf. A mortal passion. In mortal fear of (F.H.).
Dor. 'Tis a mortal sight o' taters as is here among ye, Cornh.
Mag. (Sept. 1900) 313. Dev. I wis tole thit a mortal baloo Wis
MORTAL
[i66]
MORTERSHEEN
aun, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (ed. 1858) ist S. 24 ; Dev.^I be in
a mortal-vrisk til catch the train tU Ex'ter.
Hence Mortal rags, phr. tatters, shreds.
w.Cor. ' Her dress has gone to mortal rags.' Sometimes apph'ed
to over-cooking, as ' The meat has boiled to mortal rags ' (M.A.C.).
2. Single, individual ; any ; very, actual.
Fif. He kens nae mortal body here, Heddle Marget (iSgg) 74.
Ant. I'll send you to bed this mortial minute (S.A.B.). w.Yks.
(J.W.) Lin.i So long as I can do it in any mortal way I shall prove
victor. n.Lln.i I shall do it ony mo'tal how I can. He cam hoame
drunk, an' brok iv'ry mo'tal thing e' th' room. Dor. Every martel
note had his name of A, B, C, at that time. Hardy Tou'er (ed.
1890)11. Som. They had ' Hunt the squirrel' and the handkerchief
dance, and every mortal thing they could think of, Ravmond Men
o' Mendip (1898) xiii.
3. Complete, whole, full.
Fif. Breathin ilk ithers' breaths for twa mortal hours, Robertson
Provost (1894) 20. Ir, That's a mortial fac, Barlow Kerrigan
(1894) 114. Wor. The pore mon 'e gits all the martel good on it,
OuTis Vig.Mon. inBerrow's Jrn. ; For amoTtallum, Evesham Jm.
(Oct. 31, 1896). Sus. I stood there for four mortal hours, and
not a soul came nigh me, Cornh. Mag. (July 1893)48. [Amer. I'd
give ye anythin' on the face o' this mortal globe ! Westcott
D. Harum (1900) xx.]
4. Dead drunk, hopelessly intoxicated.
Sc. (Jam.), Cai.^ Frf. He doesna strike me except when he's
mortal, and syne I can jouk him, Barrie Minister (1891) xxiv.
Gall. He was often carried home to his crue, on a hand-barrow,
just mortal, Mactaggart Encycl, (1824) 54, ed. 1876. Nhb. The
Pilgrim was drunk when he went oot, and he came back mortal,
Longman's Mag. (Feb. 1897) 327 ; Nhb.^ He cam in mortal. n.Yks.^
He was fairly mortal.
Hence (i)Mortallacious,a^'. dead drunk, in an advanced
state of intoxication ; (2) Mortallious, adj. drunk, in-
toxicated.
(i) Nhb. She boldly charged the charging ofEcer with having
been drunk, and not only drunk but ' mortallacious,' Newc. Even.
Chron. (Aug. 8, 1898). (2) n.Cy. Everybody who attends the
Newcastle Court, and, for that matter, most other police courts in the
North, is familiar with the finely expressive word ' Mortallious,' (A.
5. Comb, (i) Mortal-clay, (2) -drunk, (3) -fou, dead drunk.
(i) Nhb.^ When aa saa him he wis mortal-clay. (2) Sc. (A.W.)
Dmb. The mistress o' the house was ' mortal drunk ' in bed, Cross
Disruption (1844) xxvi. (3) Peb. Mortal fou ye came away,
Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 125.
6. adv. Used as an intensitive : very, exceedingly, ex-
tremely, greatly.
Ayr. The wife is geyan carefu' wi' the crockery : . . she is mortal
grippy, Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 82. Lnk. A' that week I was
drinkin' and mortal the waur o't, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 92.
Gall. Mortal weary (A.W.). Ir. Thin the wife tuk sick, an' was
mortial bad, Barlow Bogland (1892) 58, ed. 1893. n.Ir. A hope
no, a'm shair, but it luks mortyel like it, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan,
108 ; N.I.l Ant. The song at night is mortial hard to raise, O'Neill
Glens (1900) 6. Don. The Head Inn's dinners was iver the very
best, an' smelt mortial fine, Cent. Mag. (Nov. 1899) 41. s.Ir. The
night was mortal cold, Croker /.«§■. (1862) 287. Tip. The first dose
was morshul shtrong, Longman's Mag. (Aug. 1899) 331. n.Cy.
Thee's been mortal kind to t'little Mawrie, ib. (Apr. 1889) 611 ;
(J. L. 1783). Lake). 2 Ah's mortal near chowk't wi' stoor an' muck.
Cum. Ah'se mortal coald i^E.W.P.); Cum.^* w.Yks.i A soap a
mortal good drink, ii. 300. Lan. This bacca's mortal strung, Ack-
woRTH Clog Shop Chron. (1896) 45. se.Lan. Aw thowt if th'
passon were mortal bad it meight be tried, Cornh. Mag. (Dec.
1898) 851. I.Ma. Faith an' you English ones are mortal slow,
Rydings Tales {i&g^) 23; Ould Betty scraming and crying morthal,
Caine Deemster (1887) 141, ed. 1889. Chs.i A mortal hard brick ;
Chs.3 Aura mortal glad thou'rt come. Der.^, nw.Der.i, Nhp.*
War.^ This is mortal poor beer; War.^* Shr. We used to hear
the poor frog whooping and coughing, mortal bad, for days after,
Black Flk-Medicine (1883) ii. Shr., Hrf. That's a mortal savage
dog, Bound Provinc. (1876). Hrf.^, Pern. (W.H.Y.) s.Pem.
(W.M.M.) ; Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421. Glo. That boy'll be
mortal cold, crow-keeping such a day as this (A.B.) ; The first as
come was the doctor, and he looked so mortal wise, Leg. Peas.
(1877) 105 ; Glo.' 2 Oxi.^MS. add. Brks. I feels mortal bad here
when I tries to move, Hughes T.Brown Oxf.{i86i) xviii ; Brks.'
1 be a-gwaain to get zome doctor's stuff, vor I was a-veelin' mortal
bad awhile back. Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 138.
Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.i Suf.' I am mortal hungry. Ken. (G.B.) ;
A mortal good doctor, Grose (1790). Sur. One thing I'm going
to tell ye, a most mortal strange it is too, Cornh. Mag. (Nov. 1888)
529 ; Sur.i Hmp.' It's mortal hot. I.W.^ That's a mortal vine
cow. w.Cy. Oh dear 1 we vemales be mortial queer, Cornh. Mag.
(Sept. 1898) 379. Wil. It's a martle long way. Banks Glory (i88i)
38 ; An uncle wur za martil plazed. Slow Rhymes (1889) 99 ;
Vishes be martal timersome, Akerman Spring-tide (1850) 22. Dor.
Zure passon had'n never a-kep we zo mortal long as that? Hare
Vill. Street (1895) 76 ; (A.C.) Som. A martil gert big name,
Frank Nine Days (1879) 30 ; Alfy, he'd look martel grave, an' zay
' rhain vrom east, two days at least,' Leith Lemon Verbena (1895)
43. w.Som.i Maister's mortal queer s'mornin ; where was er to,
last night ? Dev. I be most mortle plazed wi' yer vury 'anzome
an' tlzevul weddin pressent yu've a-zend me, Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892) 24 ; Uv cus ha rand moast mort'l quick, Nathan Hogg
Poet. Lett. (ed. 1866) 2nd S. 16. Cor. I must ax'ee to bear a hand
wi' thicky portmanty o' yourn, 'cos 'tes mortal heavy, 'Q.' Troy
Town (1888) V. [Amer. By being mortal strict in his religious
notions, Cent. Mag. (May 1883) 71.]
7. sb. Anybody, any human being.
e.Suf. I won't do it for mortal (F.H.).
8. The body ; the mortal remains.
Lth. A gowpenfu' o' gray, win-strewn ase — a' that was left o'
the mortal o' Auld Red, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 208.
9. A term of reproach, applied to persons or animals.
Lei. Look, they [two cows] fighting, ah! youmortal you (G.H.G.).
Sus.* What a young mortal that is ; he's always at something !
Dor. Bother them little martels [bees]. . . There's two a-stinging
wi' all their might now. Hardy Greenwd. Tree (1872) pt. iv. ii.
10. Phr. by the mortial, an expletive.
Ir. Be th' mortial ! ye could ha' rung parspiration out o' the hair,
Yeats Flk. Tales (1888) no.
MORTALLY, adv. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc.
and Eng. Also written mcrtilly Dev. ; and in forms
mortly w.Yks. Brks.' e.An.^ e.Suf ; mottley n.Yks. Very,
greatly, exceedingly.
Frf. Finhaven was mortally drunk, and ... all bespattered with
dirt, LowsoN Guidfollow (1890) 276. Fif. Neifs flew, like shot
impell't by powther, Mortallie fast frae ilka showther, Tennant
Papistry (1827) 154. Lakel.^ A thing Ah mortally hate is ta see
fooak 'at's seea prood an' throssen up. n.Yks. Ah mottley hate
him (T.S.). w.Yks. I hate it mortly, Rogers Nan Buni (i8$g)
13. Brks.' I be mortly aveard a wunt hev the money to paay up.
e.An.* A thing may be mortally good, or mortally bad. If we
hear that a sick man is mortally ill, we do not understand by it
that he is in any danger ; e.An.* I am mortly glad to see you. e.Suf.
(F.H.) Ken. Grose (1790). Dev. Plaize yer Hi'ness the rawds
be mortally thick Wy mud up to ankles, Tozer Poems (1873) 52 ;
Ha zidd'nly com pin a thing thit ha naw'd Wiz tha wan thit zo
mortilly spred Mai abraud, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (ed. 1866)
2nd S. 14.
MORTAR, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Nhp. 1. In comp.
Mortar-spit, the board which holds the mortar for sup-
plying the 'hawk.' Nhp.' 2. A coarse clay of a reddish
colour.
Sc. (Jam.) Per. That coarse red clay, called mortar, is the basis
of all the grounds in this part of Strathmore, Statist. Ace. XIX.
339 ('■*•)•
3. Obs. Loamy soil beaten up with water, formerly used
in building ordinary walls in contradistinction to lime and
sand or cement.
n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy.' e.Yks. Marshall ifjo-.JSTcow. (1788).
MORTAR, i;. Not. Lin. [m9'ta{r).] To trample with
dirty feet, to tread into the mud.
s.Not. The bosses mortared the seed into the ground. What
are yer mortaring about on the garden for ? A won't have yer
mortaring in and out of the house (J.P.K.). sw.Lin.' The bairns do
mortar about so.
MORTATION{S, adj. Yks. e.An. Also written
mortashun Suf.' [m9te-j3n(z.] Used as an intensitive. .
e.Yks. A mortation lot, lump, &c. (R.S.) e.An.' Suf. A
mortation sight, Cullum Hist. Hawsted (1813) ; Suf.' There was
a mortashun sight a people.
Hence Mortationly or Mortationsly, adv. very, ex-
ceedingly. e.An.'
MORTERSHEEN, s6. Obs. Sc. Also in forms mord
de chien Sc. ; mortichien Abd. A disease in horses ;
that species of glanders which proves most fatal.
Sc. And now he's tane the mortersheen. See how he runs at
MORTER-STONE
[167 J
MOSEY
nose and een, Duff Poems, 86 (Jam.) ; The debate betwixt Mr.
James Home and James Strahan anent the horse infected with
the mord de chien, Fountainhall (1759) I. 406 (Jam.'). Abd. Many
of the horses dead in the mortichien, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792)
II. 275.
MORTER-STONE, sb. Obs. Sc. A stone formerly
used for preparing barley by separating it from the husks,
serving the same purpose as a mortar in which sub-
stances are beaten.
Sc. (Jam.) Rnf. Ane morter-stone and ane mell yrto, Invent.
(1696) in Hector Judic. Records (1876) 304.
[Mell-heidit lyk ane mortar-stane, Dunbar Poems (c.
1510), ed. Small, II. 214.]
MORTH, sb. e.An.' [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] A corpse.
MORTH, MORTHER, see Merth, Murth, Mawther.
MORTHEN, sb. Hrf.^ [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] ? The field scabious, Scabiosa arvensis.
MORTHLING, see Hurling.
MORTICE, sb. e.An.^ [m^-tis.] A corpse.
MORTIFY, V. Sc. Yks. Der. Shr. Hrf. Glo. Oxf. Som.
[mp'tifai, Sc. moTtifi.] 1. To tease, vex, annoy; to
disappoint.
Yks. (J.W.), nw.Der.^ Shr.i Stop till the vestry-meetin', w'en
'e gets afore Mr. Jackson an' Dickin, they'n mortify is ambition
fur 'im, yo'n see. Hrf.i, Glo.i, Oxf.' MS. add. w.Som.i Drat
the cheel! her's enough to mortify [maur-tifuy] anybody out o'
their life.
2. To terrify.
w.Yks. Ah'm that mortified, when he comes home drunk Ah
hardlee know what to du, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 25, 1895J.
3. To depone lands or money to any corporation for
certain uses from which there can be no alienation of
property, to give in mortmain ; to bequeath, leave as a
legacy.
Sc. My father mortified A field of about ten acre, Outram Lyrics
(1887) 81 ; It is not leasum to ony man to mortifie ony part of
his lands to the Kirk without consent of the King, Skene Difficill
Wds. (1681) 82. Or.I. Touching their enjoyment of the vicarage
teinds and others particularly of new mortified to them, Peterkin
Notes (182a) 139 ; Thomas Bishop of Orkney, who founded and
mortified something for the maintenance of the Quiristers in the
Cathedral Kirk, Wallace Desc. Or. I. (1693) 65, ed. 1883. Mry.
The gifts o' pious men . . . Who mortified their cash, To mortify
their heirs. Hay Lintie {iSe,i) 31. Bnff. In the year 1647, Alexander
Ogilvie of Edindeach, Clerk to the Signet, mortified his lands and
mill of Edindeach, ' for building and upholding a school-house,
and maintaining a schoolmaster in the Parochin of Keith,' Gordon
Chron. Keith (1880) 16. Abd. He mortified the lodging wherein he
dwelt to the professors after him, Spalding Hist. Sc, (1792) I. 296.
Lth. Mrs. Carmichael . . . mortifyed 1C70 sterling for educating and
providing books for poor children, Statist. Ace. III. 197 (Jam.).
Hence (i) Mortification, sb. the act of leaving money
or property for certain public or charitable uses ; money
or property thus bequeathed as an endowment; also used
attrib. ; (2) Mortifier, sb, one who bequeaths money or
property for certain charitable or public uses ; (3) Master
of mortifications, phr, an officer appointed for the control
of such funds.
(i) Sc. We have lately got a mortification here. . . Yes, a very
considerable mortification : an old miser died the other day, and
left us ten thousand pounds to build an hospital, Scoticisms (1787)
119 ; A small mortification Just keeps my wife in clothes, Outram
Lyrics (1887) 79 ; A ' mortification ' is the term applied to land,
vested in perpetuity in trustees or otherwise, for payment of
the annual income or produce to such persons, or for such
purposes, as may be directed in the deed of mortification, ib. 212.
Sh.I. It is gratifying to know that this ' mortification ' still exists
and is applied to the charitable purposes for which it was left,
WiLLOCK Sk. Minister (1897) 52. ne.Sc. Wee Johnny's claim to
a 'mortification' ofeightbollsof meal, or the value same in money,
made by a certain Robert Scott for the maintenance at the Parish
School of ' ane poor scholar belonging to the parish,' Grant
Keckleton, 99. Inv. There are £400 sterling of a fund for them,
;^200 of which is a mortification by Archibald Macneil, Statist. Ace.
XIII. 340 (Jam.). Bnff. He enjoys annually 300 merks Scotch from
a mortification, Gordon Keith (1880) 16. Frf. They have some
public revenue, and a good deal of mortifications to their poor,
Maidment Spottisieoode Miscell, (1844-5) !• 321. Rnf. Mortifications
already given, as bursaries, hospitals, Wodrow Carres. (1709-31)
II. 242, ed. 1843. Ayr. She left ten pounds to the poor of the
parish, as may be seen in the mortification board that the Session
put up in the Kirk, Galt Ann. Parish (i82i)xix. Lnk. Tennant's
mortification in 1739 for the relief of widows, Statist. Ace. V. 524
(Jam.). Hdg. They have funds, part whereof are mortifications,
sufHcient for the maintenance of all the poor, Ritchie 5^. Baldred
(1883) 40. Wgt. Whether no they had any mortifications?
Answered, They had none, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 104. (2) Sc.
The founder of the charity is . . . called mortifier, Carr Caled.
Sketches (1807) 212 (Jam.). Abd. Which library hath been
augmented in its books by several mortifiers, Turreff Gleanings
(1859) 5. (3) Abd. In the city of Aberdeen there is a considerable
amount of property so destined which is under the charge of a
civic officer, who is there styled the master of mortifications,
Outram Lyrics (1887) 212 ; At Aberdeen the manager of certain
public funds who is chosen annually is called the master of
mortifications, Scoticisms {I'jSi) 56.
MORUM, sb. Wor. Shr. [moTsm.] A vagary, freak,
antic, whimsical peculiarity ; a method or ' nostrum.'
s.Wor. If the chimbley still smokes, I'll take a morum of my own
for it, PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 23 ; s.Wor.l se.Wor.i Boyish
tricks, if somewhat clever or ingenious, are frequently called
' morums.' Shr.^ Please, sir, 'e's makin' morums at me.
MORUNGEOUS, see Maroonjous.
MORVA(H FAIR, phr. Cor. In prov. three on one
horse like going to Morva{h fair, see below.
Her mother had been promising her a new frock that she might
go off' as smart as the rest, ' three on one horse to Morva Fair,'
Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 121, ed. 1896; Courtney Cor,
Feasts (i8go) 67 ; Cor.s Until the last few years the fair at the
little village of Morvah was so largely attended that the horses
and vehicles were insufficient to carry the people, 'Busses were
crowded, and more than one person would ride on a horse. The
prov. is used in connection with any overcrowded vehicle, even a
railway carriage.
MORY, see Moory.
MOSE, V. and sb}- Sc. Chs. Nhp. 'War. 'Wor. Hrf. Glo.
Bck. Also written moze s.Chs.^ Nhp.^= 'War.^^ Bck. ;
and in forms mause s.Wor. ; moarze Nhp.'^ ; mooze
Glo.' ; moozhe Cai.' [moz, muz.] 1. v. To smoulder ;
to burn slowly without flame.
Chs.'- s.Chs.' Aay, it)s bin moa'zin iiwee" dheeflr fiir li tdo'iithri
dee'z naay [Ay, it's bin mozin' awee theer for a tooathry dees nai].
Nhp. ^2 xhe fire mozed a long while before it broke out. War.^a^
w.Wor.l s.Wor. The fier 'on't burn, a on'y mauses (or moses)
(H.K.) ; s.Wor.i, Hrf.i, GIo.i, n.Bck. (A.C.)
2. To rot, become mouldy. Cf. mosey, adj}
Cai.i Of hay, straw, &c., from not having been dry enough when
stacked. w.Wor.i
3. Fig. With about; to go about in a dull, stupid manner.
s.Wor. A gooas a mausin' about jus' as if a worn't quite right
(H.K.).
4. sb. In phr. to be all of a mose, to smoulder.
Glo.i The fire's all of a mooze. w.Cy. (Hall.)
5. Dry rot. S. & Ork.'
[1. Norw. dial, mosa (seg), to warm (oneself) ; mosen,
warm, close, sultry (Aasen).]
MOSE, s6.= Pem. ? Food.
s.Pem. 'To the bidding we bee yielding For the sake of mose,
Wedding Sng. (W.M.M.)
[Du. moes, meate, pottage, or pulse (Hexham) ; MHG.
muos, essen, malzeit, speise, bes. breiartige speise, gemuse
(Lexer).]
MOSE, see Moss, sb.^
MOSES, sb. Sc. Nhp. Brks. Ken. 1. In phr. to say
Moses, to make a matrimonial offer. Nhp.' 2. Comb.
Moses' table, a kind of granite.
Bnff. At Portsoy is found that singular kind of granite called
Moses' Tables, which, when polished, resembles the Hebrew
characters on a white ground, Gazetteer of Sc. (1806) Introd. 13.
3. A name for a mouse.
Brks.i Come an' look yer, I got moses by the taail an' a can't
get into his hawle.
4. A young frog. Ken. (G.B.), Ken.'
MOSEY, adj} and sb. Sc. Yks. Chs. Stf. Lin. Lei. Nhp.
War. Wor. Shr. Hrf. Glo. Brks. Ken. Sus. Hmp. Also
written mosy Shr.'' Hrf.' ; mozey War.'' ; mozie Sc. ;
MOSEY
[i68]
MOSS
mozy w.Yks.^ s.Chs.^ Stf. Lei.^ Nhp.' War.^; and in forms
mausy s.Wor. ; mawsey s.Wor.^ se.Wor.' Glo.' ; mawsy
Glo. ; mawzy s.Chs> ; moisey, moisy s.Wor. ; moosie
Sc. (Jam.) ; moosy n.Lin.' Brks. Ken. Hmp. ; moozy
n.Yks.=* ne.Yks.' ; mouzy ne.Yks.^ [mo'zi, mu'zi.]
1. adj. Mouldy, rotten, decayed ; of fruit, vegetables,
&c. : over-ripe, soft, woolly.
Rnf., Ayr. (Jam.), Chs.^^ s.Chs.^ Juiceless, tough, as apples,
pears, turnips, &c., are when frostbitten. Stf. This pear is getting
mozy (E.F.). LeU, War.^s, w.Wor.i s.Wor. Porson Quaint
Wds._ (1875) 21; (H.K.); s.Wor. i se.Wor.i'As mawsey as a
turmit,' is a common expression of contempt for a foolish person.
Shr.' Them goose-apples bin the sort to keep till Chris'mas, these
yallow uns gwun as mosey an' pithy — like an owd turmit ; Shr.^
Hrf. (W.W.S.); Duncumb Hist. Hrf. (1804-1812); Hrf.12 qIo.
The pears are not nice, they are mawsy (A.B.) ; A mosey potatoe,
Gl. (1851) ; Glo.l, Sus.i, Hmp.l
Hence Moisified or Mausified, adj. rotten, over-ripe,
soft ; insipid, tasteless.
Wor.The turnips'U perhaps be a bit mausified uvthefrost(H.K.).
2. Faded, dingy in appearance.
■w.Yks.2 A calf whose skin is of a dirty grey colour is said to
have ' a mozy look.'
3. Of the weather : damp and warm, muggy, close ;
hazy, foggy.
n.Yks.2 ; n.Yks.* ' Moozy meean,' a hazy moon. ne.Yks.i Used
of the moon when it looks thick and hazy. n.Lin.i, Lei.', War.^
Brks. When the sun has not been hot to-day, it's been sort of
muggy and moosy like (W.H.E.). Ken., Hmp. {ib.)
4. Of a fire : smouldering, burning slowly. s.Wor.
(H.K.) See Mose, v. 1. 5. Confused, bewildered ; out
of sorts, uncomfortable ; stupefied with liquor.
s.Chs.i Mi yed)z n bit mau-zi [My yed's a bit mawzy]. Dhis
pudh-uri wedh-iir mai-z mi feyl rae'dhur mauzi [This puthery
weather mays me fell rather mawzy]. Nhp.' s.Wor. I fils mausy
like to-dahy, I rickons as it be the weather (H.K.).
6. sb. A person of soft intellect, an idiot, fool.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). se.Wor.i You great mawsey.
[1. A der. of OE. mos (dat. mose), a marshy place (B.T.) ;
cp. Du. mose, a morass (Kilian) ; EFris. mosig, 'faulig,
sumpfig ' (Koolman).]
MOSEY, adj.^ Sc.Yks. Nhp. e.An. Also written mozy
Nhp.' e.An.'; and in forms moosie Sc. (Jam.); moozy
n.Yks.'24_ne.Yks.' e.Yks.' ; mouzy n.Yks.* ne.Yks.'
[mo-zi, mu-zi.] Covered with much soft hair about the
face and body, downy.
Rnf., Ayr. Covered with thin, soft hair as a young bird (Jam.).
ne.Yks.' e.Yks.' Jack's gettin quite moozy about chin. Nhp.'
e.An.' The clown, who shaves but once a week, is of course very
mozy when he comes under the barber's hands. Ess. Har hddle
mosey nevvys, Clark /. Noakes (1839) st. 164 ; My arm is mosey
(W.W.S.) ; Ess.1
Hence Moozy-faced, adj. downy-faced, with reference
to the incipient stages of the growth of the beard.
n.Yks."^*, ne.Yks.'
[Inctpiens barba, a younge moocie bearde, Elyot (ed.
I559)' Cp. mossy, adj., which was forrnerly used in
the sense of covered with down. A stripling that having
passed 14 yeares beginneth to have a mossie beard,
Nomenclator CNakes). Prob.the same word as Mosey,arf7'.']
MOSH, MOSHECKLE, see Mush, sb., Molesheckle.
MOSHIN-HOLE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also in form motion-
hole Edb. The touch-stone of a piece of ordnance. See
Morsing-horn.
Sc. (Jam.) Edb. The piker for clearing out the motion-hole,
MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) xii. Gall. ' Pike the moshin-hole,' say
we to those who are for firing a gun, when, on being snap'd, it
burns priming ; which means, to clean out the touch-hole, Mac-
taggart Encycl. (1824) 350, ed. 1876.
MOSKER, V. Sc. n.Cy. Wm. Yks. Lin. Also written
moskar w.Yks. ; moskur Wm. [mo'sk3(r.] 1. To
decay, rot ; to moulder or crumble away.
Rnf., Ayr. (Jam.) n.Cy. (K.); Grose (1790); N.Cy.^ Wm.
T'steeans er moskuring away (B.K.). e.Yks. [Wilfes] will rotte,
mosker and bee hollow within, Best Rur. Econ. (1642) 122. w.Yks.
Crumbling stone is said to be moskerin' away, Banks Wkfld, Wds.
(1865); w.Yks.^^*; w.Yks.5 Moskering like an owd tree trunk.
Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 345. n.Lin. It [a building]
's been caingein' an' moskerin' awaay (M.P.); n.Lin.' Th' ohd
elmin-tree stump's all moskerin' awaay.
Hence (i) Moskered,///. adj. rotten, decayed, crumbled
away ; (2) Moskering, ppl. adj. mouldering, crumbling ;
withering.
(i) n.Cy. (K.) ; Grose (1790) ; N.Cy." A moskerd tree, a mos-
kerd tooth. w.Yks. Agean t'moskard walls wor hungsoards, shields,
&c., Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1859) 41; w.Yks.^ A
mosker'd owd wall. (2) w.Yks. Whear creaking doors an moskerin
lime daan fall, Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1853) 45.
n.Lin. Wi'oot hevin' to creep doon among moskerin' leaves an'
stuff. Peacock Tales (1890) 2nd S. 59.
2. To smoulder, to burn slowly.
w.Yks. Well-known in the Holmfirth valley, Yks. Wily. Post
(Sept. 15, 1900J ; w.YkE.3
3. To peel oif, to cause to crumble away or peel off.
Lin.' I have moskered all the bark from the oak trees.
[1. Cp. Dan. dial. m,usk, mustiness, mouldiness ; musken,
mouldy (Molbech).]
MOSS, s*.' and v.'^ Sc. Cum. Yks. Not. War. Glo.
Also in form mose w.Yks.'^ Glo. 1. sb. In comp. (i)
Moss-besom, a broom made of the moss, Polyiricum com-
mune ; (2) -crowker, (3) -hawk, the nightjar, Caprimulgus
Europaeus ; (4) -owl, (a) the short-eared owl, Asio
brachyotus ; (b) see (3) ; (5) -seat, a mossy seat, a seat
composed of moss; (6) -thrush, the missel-thrush, Turdus
viscivorus.
(i) Cum.' (2, 3) Cum.i (4, a) Frf. Swainson Birds (1885) 129.
{b) Cum.* (5) Lnk. Upon a moss-seat Jamie sits alone, In pensive
guise, Black Falls of Clyde (1806) 139. (6) s.Not. (J.P.K.)
2. The biting stonecrop, Sedum acre. War. (B. & H.)
3. V. Obs. To thatch with moss.
w.Yks. 1667. July 23 — Pd. to Womsley in part for mosing ye
church, iCoo 04s. 6rf., Ace. Bradford Prsh. Chwardens. ; w.Yks."
' 18 days worke of mosing,' referring to the putting of moss under
or between slates. Glo. To William Webbe, the tyler, upon a
bargin for mosing and tiling and pynting of the church house and
pentises, viJ5., Chwardens^ Ace. Minchinhampton (1591) in Arch.
(1853) XXXV. 436.
Hence Moser, sb. one employed in thatching with moss.
w.Yks.2 Edmundus Litlewood de Totley, Moser.
MOSS, sb.^ and v.^ In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and n.
counties to Lan. Chs. Der. Also Shr. Also in form
moze n.Cy. n.Yks.'" e.Yks. 1. sb. A bog, swamp,
marshy ground ; a peat-bog, a place where peats may be cut.
Sc. Ane o' our lads has been out wi' his gun at the moss — ye
used to like wild-fowl, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) xii. Cai.' A
flat moorland. Bnff. The Dens . . . are found to branch out into
various lesser Dens, until they become lost in the moors and
mosses of the interior, Smiles Natur. (1876) viii. Abd. Frae the
Causey moss For full three weeks there hadna been Ae cartload
[of peats] at the Cross, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 103 ; The
fuel commonly used is peat and turf obtained from mosses in
general within its bounds. But the mosses are greatly exhausted,
Statist. Ace. VI. 472 (Jam.). Frf. Carry fire to rich an' poor, Baith
peats an' truffs, frae moss an' muir, Piper of Peebles {iig^) 5. Dmb.
At moss, or heugh, thro' stany roads, Dinna oppress wi' heavy
loads, Taylor Poeras (1827) 77. s.Sc. Even the moss, which was
long supposed to be irreclaimable, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 281.
Ayr. We think na on the lang Scots miles. The mosses, waters,
slaps, and styles, Burns 7am o' Shanter (I'jgo) 1. 7. Edb. Re-
moving the surface soil with the roots of heath, or ling, growing
on it (called the tirhng of the moss), Pennecuik JVks. (1715) 71,
ed. 1815. Gall. Across the base of the triangle there ran a moss,
Crockett Grey Man (1896) 83. N.I.', N.Cy.' Nhb. There's nae
private road over Whinstun Moss, Clare Love of Lass (1890) I.
'34 ; Nhb.' Dur. It was one summer's morning, as I went o'er the
moss,DixoN5K^s.£'>i!g-.Pras. (i846)23o,ed.i857. Cum.Sol way Moss
(E.W.P.) ; He's guided them o'er moss and muir, Gilpin Ballads
(1874) 103. Wm. Mebbe thae thowt thaed meeak ma looas mesel
be maandran ontet moss. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 2. e.Yks. Owre
moss an' moor, Browne Poems (1800) 160. w.Yks. Peaty hill
surface, Phillips Rivers (1853) ; w.Yks.'; w.Yks.s Harden-Moss,
Holm-Moss. Lan. (P.R.) ; Chat-Moss is the name of a bog over
which the Liverpool and Manchester Railway passes, Holloway.
ne.Lan.' Chs.' Lindow Moss, Adder's Moss ; Chs.s, s.Chs.', Der.'
Obs. Shr. So he goes wandering up and down the moors and
mosses, Burne Flk-Lore (1883) iv ; Slir.' Whixall Moss, Brown
Moss, &c.
MOSS
[169]
MOSS
Hence (i) Mosser, sb. a border cattle-thief, a moss-
trooper ; (2) Mossy, adj. boggy, full of peat-bogs.
(i) Cum. Dettham Tracts (ed. 1892) 176. (2) Ayr. Wild mossy
mountains sae lofty and wide, Burns Yon Wild Mossy Mountains,
1. I. Wm. Ye mun gang oor a bit ev mossy ground, Lonsdale Mag.
(1821) II. 289.
2. Comb, (i) Moss-ban, the edge or boundary of a peat-
bog; (2) — Bess, a woman or child with a peculiar style of
walking ; (3) -boils, large moorland fountains, the sources
of rivers ; (4) -break, an opening or fissure in a bog ; (5)
•brock, a swamp, bog ; (6) -dirt, (7) -earth, peat soil ; (8)
-fall, any building in a ruinous state ; (9) -fallen, of trees :
fallen into a bog, fallen and covered with soft mud ; (10)
-farmer, the tenant of a moorland farm ; (11) -fog, mosses
growing in bogs and swamps ; (12) -hag, a pit or hollow
in a bog ; a place where peats have been cut; (13) -laird,
the owner of a moorland farm ; (14) -land, boggy land ;
(15) -oak, bog-oak, oak found buried in a bog ; a seat
made of bog-oak ; (16) -reeve, a bailiff or reeve appointed
to regulate claims for land on the mosses ; (17) -room, a
narrow plot of land on a peat-bog allotted to each house
from which peats might be taken ; (18) -stock, see (23) ;
(19) -trooper, a border freebooter; (20) -trooping, belong-
ing to the border freebooters, marauding ; (21) -water-
cake, an oatmeal cake ; {22) -wether, a moorland sheep ;
Jig. a slovenly or unkempt man ; (23) -wood, bog-wood,
trunks and stumps of trees found in morasses.
(i) N.I.^ (2) w.Yks. Hey up ! lewkaht, ther's Moss Bess comin' !
Shoe's a real Moss Bess, at is '00, bless her ! (B.K.) (3) Gall.
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (4) Cum.* (5) s.Dur. Sheep are
sometimes lost in moss-brocks (J.E.D.). (6) Chs.' (7) Lnk. Ex-
tensive tracts of land, covered with moss earth, Patrick Plants
(1831) P;-e/ XX. (8) Fif. (Jam.) (9) n.Sc. AppUed to trees, which
have been hewed down or overthrown by tempest or inundation
and gradually covered with moss, as lying where a morass has
been formed (Jam.). (10) Per. A simple Moss-Farmer, originally
from Kilbryde, Monteath Dunblane (1835) 73, ed. 1887. (11)
Lnk. Extensive tracts of land, covered with moss earth, . . yielding
chiefly Heather . . . and Moss-fogs, such as Sphagnums, Bryums,
Polytrichums, and other common heath plants, Patrick Plants
(1831) Pre/. XX. (12) So. A sour fit o' the batts wi' sitting amang
the wet moss-hags, Scott Old Mortality (1816) viii ; In a moss-hag,
Stevenson Catriona (1893) xviii. Ayr. He led me furrit to the
moss-hag whaur he had been casting peats, Service Dr. Diiguid
(ed. 1887) 246. Lnk. He splash'd thro' dubs, owre hillocks loupit.
Till in a deep moss-hag he coupit, Thomson Musings (1881) 62.
Gall. Who know better how to loup a moss-hag than how to make
a courtly bow, Crockett Bog-Myrtle {li^^) 50 ; Where only rocks,
moss-hags, clints, garries, gall, and heather were to be seen,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 45, ed. 1876. Nhb.i- (13) Per. A rich
Moss-Laird paid his humble respects to Bessy, Monteath Dunblane
(1835) 72, ed. 1887. (14) s.Chs.' (15) Ayr. A swirlie, auld moss-
oak. Burns Halloween (1785) St. 23. Gall. He sat on the greater
outer bench of moss-oak by the door-cheek, Crockett Standard
Bearer (1898) 188 ; He claps his auld bum down on the raossaik
by the cheek o' the chaumer door, Mactaggart £mc)/c/. (1824) 23,
ed. 1876. (16) Chs.i (17) Chs. Each farm, where there was a
peat-moss in the township, had its moss-room allotted to it, Mar-
shall Review (1818) IV. iii ; Chs.' Formerly allotted for turbary
to each house in the township in which the moss was situated.
Each person was restricted to width, but might work towards the
centre of the moss as far as he liked ; consequently the Moss-rooms
in time became long, narrow strips. In many cases they have been
drained, enclosed, and cultivated ; so that in the neighbourhood of
the peat-bogs there are, at the present day, a great number of ex-
traordinarily long and narrow fields. (18) w.Sc. At last I lichtsat
the botttom and in atween the clefts o' a moss-stock ane o' my feet
gets wadged, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 163. (19) Slg. The
moss-troupers were in the night-time seeking for me at my house,
WoDROw Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 187. Ayr. No man of
that time was more famous among roisters and moss-troopers, for
the edge and metal of his weapons, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xii. Edb.
Moss-troopers were robbers, so called from their usually sheltering
themselves among the hillocks in mosses, Pennecuik Wks. (1715)
263, ed. 1815. Bwk. They took one Richardson, a moss-trooper, . .
to be a guide to some party out of England, Maidment Spottiswoode
il/wcetf. (1844-5) II. 165. N.Cy.i Nhb. The Scottish mosstroopers
and the regular soldiery . . . made perpetual inroads . . . upon the
English lands, Jones Nhb. 157 ; Nhb.i The Border trooper of old
VOL. IV.
time was accustomed to traverse the wide and trackless mosses of
the march lands. Cum. When veyle moss troopers bworderbred.
To reeve and pillage flock to arms, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807)
61 ; Denham Tracts (ed. 1892) 176 ; Cum.^ ; Cum.* In the old days
of the mosstroopers men were not buried in Bewcastle, C. Patr.
(May 4, 1894) 6, col. 2. Wm. Mosstroopers and thieves fra the
border. Whitehead Leg. (1859) 5. (20) Sc. A stark moss-trooping
Scott was he, As e'er couched Border lance by knee, Scott Lay of
Last Minst. (1805) c. i. st. 21. (21) Curas* Made with butter,
lard, cream, or other shortening material. The inappropriate name
would seem to have been given by way of abating the idea of ex-
travagance. (22) w.Yks.3 (23) ne.Lan.i
3. Comb, in names of plants : (1) Moss-berry, the cran-
berry, Vaccinmm Oxycoccos; (2) -corns, the silverweed,
Poteniilla Anserina ; (3) -crop, [a) various species of cotton-
grass, esp. Eriophorum vaginatum and E. polystachion ;
also called Mosscrops and cutthroats ; [b) see (2) ; (c)
the marsh lousewort, or red-rattle, Pedicularis palustris ;
(rf) the tufted club-rush, Scirpus caespitostis ; (4) -flower,
see (3, c) ; (5) -mingin, see (i) ; (6) -thistle, the marsh-
thistle, Carduiis palustris ; (7) -whin, the needle genista,
Genista anglica ; (8) -wiUow, probably the Salixfusca ; (9)
•wythan, the sweet gale, Myrica Gale.
(i) Cum.i (2) Slk. For all his exertions, he found nothing to
eat save one or two mosscorns, and a ground walnut, HoGcBrownie
ofBodsbeck (1818) II. 269 (Jam.). (3, a) Sc. (Jam ) s.Sc. Light-
foot Flora (1792) 1080 (Jam.). Edb. Their [sheep] earliest spring
food is a plant bearing a white cotton head, vulgarly designed
'Moss-crop,' Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 53, ed. 1815. Rxb., Nhb.
YouNG^wn. Agric. (1784-1815) XXVll. 181. Nhb. Agric. Surv.
(1793-1813) 20. Cum.i The flowering stems. Wm. (B. & H.)
w.Yks. Sheep feed greedily on the flowers of the moor-silk, or, as
it is termed in the dale, ' Mosscrops and cutthroats,' Lucas Zoolo-
gist (1879) 3rd S. III. 356 ; w.Yks.^ Lan. They wur eavvt i' eawr
yard, bleachin', nearly a fortnit, till they wur as white as a moss-
crop, Waugh Owd Blanket, iii ; Lan.i e.Lan.' The white down
which surrounds the seed of cotton-grass. nw.Der.i (A) Sc.
(Jam.) (e) w.Yks.^ id) w.Yks. Lees Flora (1888) 455. (4)
Chs.i (5) Cld. (Jam.) (61 Gall. There are five kinds of thistles
common in Scotland — the burr or horse thristle; . . the moss
thristle, Mactaggart Encycl (1824) 104, ed. 1876. (7) Nhb.' (8)
Per. Lichen, and liver grass. And the moss willow curtain the
narrow pass, Spence Poems {1898) 60 ; (G.W.) (9) Cum.*
4. Comb, in names of birds: (i) Moss-bluter, (a) the
common snipe, Gallinago caelestis ; (6) the bittern, Botaurus
stellaris; (2) -bummer, see (i, A) ; (3)-cheeper,(4)-cheepuck,
(5) -chilper,the meadow pipit, A nlhus pratensis; (6)-drum,
see (i, b) ; (7) -duck, the wild duck. Anas boscas.
(I, a) Rxb. (Jam.) (A) Gall. (J.M.) (2) s.Sc. (li.) (3) Sc.
Swainson Birds (1885) 45. sw.Sc. In descending the Urioch
hill, I found the nest of a titlark or moss-cheeper, Fleming Tour
in Arran (Jam.). Dmf. Sweet is the lilt o' the moss-cheiper's
sang, Reid Poems (1894) 98. n.Ir. (J.S.), N.I.i Nhb.i Trill thy
sweet lay, thou wee moss-cheeper, Armstrong Friar John (,1879).
Cum. Hutchinson Hist. Cum. (1794) I. 96; Cum.i (4) n.Ir.
Swainson ib. 45. (5) Cum.' (6) Cum. Hutchinson Hist. Cum.
(1794) I. 455. (7) Abd., Rnf. Swainson ib. 159.
5. Peat.
Sc. The material of peats, and not the peats themselves. It is
to peats what clay is to bricks. Monthly Mag. (1800) I. 237. Cai."-
N.Cy.i Peat in a soft state. Nhb.i, w.Yks.^
6. Phr. neither moss nor sand, neither one thing nor the
other.
w.Yks. Ah could mak nawther moss ner sand on him (J. R.) ;
w.Yks."^ I can make nothing of him, 'neither moss nor sand.'
ne.Lan.l
7. An unwooded hill. Yks., Lan. Grose (1790) MS.
add. (M.) 8. A lake overgrown with weeds, &c. n.Cy.
Grose (1790). e.Yks. Rur. Econ. (1788).
Hence (i) Moss-ball, sb. a ball composed of confervae,
found at the bottom of a lake ; (2) Mozed, ppl. adj. of a
pond or lake : having the surface overgrown with duck-
weed, &c.
(i) Shr.i Peculiar to this mere [Colemere] ... are the green
moss-balls, and brown balls composed of firleaves. It is supposed
that the bottom of the mere is troubled with conflicting eddies and
currents, caused no doubt by springs, and that these currents
catch up the fir leaves that fall from the trees on the south side of
the mere, and roll them up, together with particles of confervae,
MOSS
[170]
MOST
into balls of different sizes, even up to two feet in diameter. The
moss-balls are composed entirely of confervae. The currents
convey these balls to the opposite side of the mere, and there they
may be found in thousands at a depth of three or four feet. The
cohesion of each ball is perfect, Mounlain, Meadow, and Mere (ed.
1873) 21. (2) n.Yks.i2
9. Various species of cotton-grass, esp. Eriophorum
vaginatum and E. polystachion.
Rxb. Early in spring, sheep in marshy districts feed much upon
the Eriophorum vaginatum, called by the farmers and their shep-
herds 'moss,' Agric. Surv. 108 (Jam.). Rxb., Nhb. Young seed-
stems, Young Ann. Agric. (1784-1815) XXVII. iBi. Wa!o. Reports
Agric. (1793-1813) 20 ; Nhb.i Dur. The flowers only (B. & H.).
['The moss,' or hare's-tail cotton-grass, has been in perfection,
Armitage Sheep (1882) 25.]
10. V. To work in a peat-bos, to cut and prepare peats.
Bnff.i, w.Sc. (Jam.)
Hence Mosser, sb. one employed in cutting and prepar-
ing peats, (ib)
MOSS, sb.^ Chs. Dev. Also in form Morse Dev. In
prov. As Moss caught his (or the) mare.
Chs.' ; Chs.2 To catch a person napping as Moss caught his
mare ; Chs.^To catch a person sleeping, as Moss caught his mare.
s.Dev. There is a song sung among the farmers, of which the last
line of each verse is ' As Morse caught the mare,' N. &= Q. (1850)
1st S. i. 320.
[The cobler preaches, and his audience are As wise as
Mosse was, when he caught his mare, Taylor Swarme of
Sectaries (1641) Title-page, in Works (ed. 1870) I. No. 6 ;
The merry fifes and drums, trumpets and clarions, hoping
to catch us as Moss caught his mare, Translation of
Rabelais, bk. iv. c. 36 (Nares).]
MOSS, MOSSEL, see Mouse, sb., Morsel.
MOST, adj., adv. and sb> Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng.
and Amer. Also in forms maast w.Yks.'; maistSc. N.I.'
Nhb.Cum.'n.Yks.i2*ne.Lan.i; maiyast ne.Lan.'; measst
Cum.^ ; meast Win. ; meeast n. Yks.^ e.Yks. ; moast
Cor.= ; mooast Lan. ; mos- Ess. ; must Suf. ; mwoast
Brks.' ; mwust se.Wor.' ; myast Cum. ; myest Nhb.
1. adj. In comb, (i) Most feck, the greater part ; (2) —
hand, the most part ; also used advb. nearly, chiefly ; (3)
— part, (4) — times, generally, usually. '
(I) Sc. (A.W.), N.I.1 (2) n.Yks.i Maist-hand all ; n.Yks.2 For
t'maisthand; n.Yks* (3) Not.' Lei.' A moost paart goos abaout
ha'faffter twelve. War.3 (4) Brks.', Ken.i,Hmp.i,Sur.i Dor.They'm
middlin good children most times, Hare Vill. Street (1895) 203.
w.Som.i I most times takes a little bit of a night-cap like, avore I
goes to bed. There idn a more williner maid in the wordle, than
her is, most times. Dev. Yu speyk'th tha truth by accident most-
times, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) s.v. Titched ; He stood down 'pon
the bridge most times, Bllz. and White (June 27, 1896) 824 ; Dev.^,
nw.Dev.'
2. Chief, principal.
Rnf. The maist thing that troubled the bodies, I think was their
hungry wames, Webster Rhymes (1835) 4.
3. adv. Used redundantly with superlatives.
Abd.Which is the maist youngest o' them horses ? (G.W.) N.Cy.'
Most highest, most wisest, &c. n.Yks.2 ' Meeast-best,' the best
by far. ' Meeast-neest,' the nearest. w.Yks." The most sweetest.
Not.' Lei.' Almost always redundantly used. Nhp.' The most
wretchedest. yfax.^ Introd. w.Som.'Tiiz dhumoo-eesbeo-teepeo-
lees [sic'] soa-urt u tae-udeez livuryiie zee'd-n yur luyv [It is the
most beautifulest sort of potatoes you ever saw in your lifel.
4. Used with monosyllables to form superlatives, instead
of the superl. suffix -est.
s.Sc. The maist auld stories in the parish, Wilson Tales dSqei
HI. 258.
5. Mostly, for the most part.
Abd. Though the hoose be fun't upo' a rock, it's maist biggit o'
fells, Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxxiii. Lth. Nae crummie noo.
As in past time was seen maist, Lumsden Sheep-Head (1892) 72.
6. Almost, nearly.
Sc. One maist might span her when she's laced, Cunningham
Sngs. (1813) 45. Elg. Fifty years, I've been a floater, Wadin'
Spey maist a' my life, Tester Poems (1865) 149. Abd. My feet
were swelled maist out of size, Beattie Parings (1801) 6, ed. 1873.
Ags Maist dead seldom helps the kirkyard(jAM.). Kcd. He maist
gied life the slip. Grant Lays (1884) 31. Frf. He cam' to oor cot
door maist like to drap doon. Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 16. Per.
That put me in an eerie fricht — I maist did swoon. Ford Harp
(1893) 95. w.Sc. There was the thing, maist rubbing claes wi'
me, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 164. Fif. Lichtin' on the
cauld flure-stane, [She] Maist dislocate her heuchle-bane, Tennant
Papistry (1827) 49. Dmb. The stocking o' the mailin is worth maist
as muckle mair, Cross Disruption (1844) xviii. Slg. I'm maist
like to greet, MuiR Poems (1818) 266. Rnf. Her modest blush
maist gied consent, Clark Rhymes (1842) 4. Ayr. Ye maist wad
think, a wee touch langer. An' they maun starve o' cauld and
hunger. Burns Twa Dogs (1786) 81. Lnk. A lintseed Saturday
. . . Was maist as guid's a fair, Watson Poems (1853) ^4- Lth.
Thy mither wails the crumpled lace, While I maist smoor thy
sweet wee face, Ballantine Poems (1856) 50. Edb. Gar your
Sauls maist quat their hools, LearmontPo«>«5(i79i) 4. Feb. How
grumphy he maist killed, Lintoun Green (1685) 26, ed. 1817.
Dmf. Terrified maist out o' sense, Johnstone Poems (1820) 91.
Gall. We're maist come to the yett : Ye'd better turn, Nicholson
Poet. Wks. (1814) 56, ed. 1897. Nhb. When I was at wark I was
maist as still an' quiet as the board I sat on, Jones Nhb. 50 ; Ah
maist think Ah'll be pleased to hev him for a maisterman, Clare
Love of Lass (1890) I. 113. Cum. Mess lad! t'ou desarves maist
to hang, Gilpin .Bfl/Zarfi (1874) 155 ; Cum.' s.Wal. There's times
she did go 'most crazy, Longman's Mag. (Dec. 1899) 144. Glo.',
Suf.(F.A.A.),Ken.(G.B.) Hmp.Wemostall'us does it (H.C.M.B.).
Dor. A country moast eat up alive wi' varmin, Dorica (1888) 163.
Som. (F.A.A.) w.Som,' Often placed at the end of a sentence.
' I be most mazed, way one thing and tother, 'tis 'nough to make
anybody urn away, most.' Dev. The smell o' the rose in church
most made me scream out more'n wance, Pall Mall Mag. (Apr.
1900) 440. s.Dev. Have you most finished? (F.W. C.) Cor. I
wasn't trusted furder then, Tho' I wor 'most a man, Forfar
Poems (1885) 3 ; Cor.^ Et's moast done. [Amer. She'd have signed
most anythin' at that pertic'ler time, Westcott D. Harum (1900)
xvii.]
7. In comb, (i) Mos'n always, generally, usually, almost
always; (2) Most an end, (a) generally, usually; con-
stantly, continually, without intermission ; {b) almost at an
end, almost over ; (3) — in deal, (4) — in general or in
generally, see (i) ; (5) —like, (6) — likelins, probably,
very hkely ; (7) — to once, almost immediately ; (8) —
ways, (9) — what, (10) — wise, see (i).
(i) Brks. (E.G.H.) (2, a) w.Yks.'; w.Yks.^ It rains most^an
end. ne.Lan.',e.Lan.i, Chs.' s.Chs.' Dheeur)z uwd Jaibus 60s
got-n maa-rkit-fresh ugy'en-. Aay, ahy rek-n ee duz it moa-st iin
end [' Theer's owd Jabez Hoose gotten market-fresh agen.' ' Ay,
I reckon he does it most an end ']. se.Wor.' Oxf. They most an
ind has a cart (M.R.). Bdf. Fron. Mostneen. ' I've been mostneen
better sin I saw you last; but now and tan worse' (J.W.B.);
They are most an iynd there, BATCHELOR^Ka/. Eng. Lang. (1809)
138. Hrt. We most a neen dine at noon (H.G.). Ess. She mosa-
nin bake her bread well. ' Does he scold her every day ! ' ' Mosa-
neen' (H.M.M.). (6) e.Suf. My working-days are most an end
(F.H.). (3) Wil. 'Where do you live?' 'Most-in-deal at the
Vise ' [Devizes], Britton Beauties (1825) ; Akerman Spring-tide
(1850) 166; Wil.i (4) Not.', Rut.', Lei.' War.^ I go on Monday,
most in general; War.s*, s.War.', se.Wor.', Glo.', Oxf.' MS. add.
Brks. (E.G.H.) ; We mos'n generally calls him Manny, Cornh. Mag.
(Nov. 1900) 653 ; Brks.' I mwoast in ginral goes to chapel at Comp-
ton o' Zundays. Sus.' I most-in-ginral goos to church, but I goos
to chapel otherwhile when 'tis so slubby. Wil.' Most in gen'ral I
catches sight of you when I goes by wi' the horses, but you wasn't
in thegarden this afternoon. Dark (1892) i. (5) e.Yks.' Ah sal meeast
like cum an see ya at Kesmas, MS. add. (T.H.) War. 2 (6)
n.Yks.-* Maist leyklings we sa'll seean be related. (7) Cor. Good-
ness gracious! dedn't a ache. . . then a stopped most to once,
Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 417, ed. 1896. (8) Glo. When us
does 'ave a bit I'm most ways sorry to see th' end o' it, Buckman
Darke's Sojourn (1890) iii. (9) w.Yks.', ne.Lan.', nw.Der.' (10)
n.Yks.2 Dev. Mostwise nort but dry bread, Baring-Gould Furze
Bloom (1899) 100; Dev.3 I mostwise go'th tu Haccombe Church.
8. sb. The greater part, the majority.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) n.Ir. Like the maist o' lasses
m them days, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 45. Nhb. The myest of
which was left belaw, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 27. Cum.
T'myasto'them,A^.io«srffl/cMo^. (Feb. 1867)311. Wm. It's rained
fe t'meast of a week. T'meast-on us us hez o' t'watter on ta mak
beath ends meet an tie (B.K.). w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. As mooast o'
folk, Brierlev Layrock (1864) iii.
MOST, s6.= Rnf. (Jam.) A dial, form of ' mast.'
MOSTED
[171]
MOTE
MOSTEB, ppl. adj. Obs. Sc. Crop-eared.
Mry. The elf-bull is small compared with earthly bulls, of a
mouse-colour; mosted with short corky horns, N. Antiq. (1814)
405 (Jam.).
MOSTEST, superl. adj. and adv. Ken. Cor. Most.
Ken.* The mostest that he's bin from home is 'bout eighteen
miles. Cor. 'Tes the bestest lookin' young women do get the
mostest of prayin', Longman's Mag. (Feb. 1893) 380.
MOSTLIN(G)S, adv. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lin.
Sus. Also in forms inaistlin(g)s Sc. N.Cy.^ Nhb.' n.Yks."
w.Yks.'; meeastlin(p)s n.Yks."* e.Yks.' ; nioastlin(g)s
n.Yks.* Lin. 1. adv. For the most part, generally, usually.
Sc. (Jam.), N.Cy.', Nhb.' n.Yks. T'weather's meeastlins rainy
now (I.W.) ; n.Yks.i24 ne.Yks.' Ah meeastlins gans. e.Yks.
(C. F.) ; Ah's meeastlin's 'appy, Wray NesiUton (1876) 41 ; e.Yksf.i,
m.Yks.' w.Yks.' ; w.Yks.s He'll rue ivvry hair on his head ; sich
fowks moastlings does. Lin. Ah, he would be a big one ! . . them
at gets away mostlings is, Fenn Dick o' the Fens (1888) x ; But
Dicky, the Ghoast moastlins was nobbut a rat or a mouse, Tenny-
son Owd Rod (1889). n.Lin. Them clever-headid foaks is moast-
lins that witterin', 'at iv'rybody wishes thaay'd deed (M.P.) ;
n.Lin.' I moastlins goas to chech e' th' efternoon, an' to chapil
at neet. Sus. (J.W.B.)
2. Almost, nearly.
Sh.I. We hanvayged aboot fir maistlins an ooer, Spence Flk-Lore
(1899) 248. Per. Fell an' maistlins smashed my harns, Stewart
Character (^iB^'j) 170. Fif. Sir Tullidafif. . . Was maistlins smother't
up, and chokit, Wi' heaps that owr him flew and flockit, Tennant
Papistry (1827) 153.
3. sb. The most part. n.Yks." We're thrang for t'meeastlins.
MOSTLY, adv. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in forms maistly Sc. N.Cy.* Dur.'ne.Lan.' ; meastly
Cum.* ; meeastly Wm. n.Yks. e.Yks. ; mosly LMa. Ess.' ;
mostlys m.Yks.' ; mwoastly Brks.' 1. For the most
part, generally, usually.
Sc. (Jam.), Cai.' Ayr. They're maistly wonderfu' contented,
Burns Ta/aZ'o^s (1786) 1. 84. N.Cy.', Dur.' Cum.^ An meastly
maks answer wid M'appen May, 37. Wm. T'fooak whiles cooed
ma Peeat Gooardy, bet meeastly Brigsteear Gooardy, Spec. Dial.
(1885) pt. iii. I. n.Yks. T'best meeastly gans t'fost, Tweddell
Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 56. e.Yks. Meeastly you'll finnd 'at they'll
tak' t'hint, Wray Nesileton (1876) 6g. m.Yks.', ne.Lan.' I. Ma.
Lookin down, is the way it was mos'ly I'll be bound, Brown
Doctor (1887) 45. nw.Der.', Not.' Lei.' A's wan o' his own to
christen wanst a year moostly. Nhp.', War.*, Hrf.', Brks.', Hnt.
(T.P.F.) Nrf. Drink mostly, and something bothering his mind
mostlier, Gibbon Beyond Compare (1888) lU. xi. Ess. So stiff
That bosses mosly kitch a whop Frum drivers in a tiff, Clark
/. Noakes (1839) st. 7 ; Ess.', Hmp. (H.C.M.B.)
2. Comb. Moastly always, almost always, generally.
Brks.' Thaay mwo-ast-ly alius has ther dinner avoor'um sterts.
3. Almost, nearly.
Sc. Wi' grief and spite she maistly brast, Jamieson Po/i. Ballads
(1806) I. 51. Abd. What a drouth ! Wi' heat I'm maistly choket.
Cock Strains (1810) II. 118. Kcd. The wife o' Littlefield Maistly
clawed the souter's croon. Grant Lays (1884) 73. Per. [She]
jokes the gudeman. Till his face grows sae red that he maistly could
ban, NicOLL Poems (ed. 1843) 93. Lth. I . . . maistly had paid for
my het-headed blunder, Ballantine Poems (1856) 117. Edb.
James Batter mostly blinded both his eyes, looking ... in the book
of Martyrs, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) i. Ir. I lay in a dead
swoon for mostly an hour, Yeats Flk. Tales (1888) 11 1.
MOT, sb} Lan. Chs. [mot.] A word ; an opinion.
Cf. motty, sb?
Lan. (Hall.), Lan.' n.Lan.' Thow's nea 'casion to put thy mot
in. Chs.2s (s.v. Motty).
[The word, or mot, was this, untillhe comeih, Harington
Ariosto (1591) XLi. 30 (Nares). Fr. mot, a word (Cotgr.).]
MOT, 56.2 Sc. Nhb, Dur. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der.
Not. Lin. Nhp. War. Wor. Shr. Ken. Also written mott
Lin. War. ; and in forms mottey n.Cy. ne.Lan.' ; mottie
Sc; motto w.Yks.' Lin. Shr.'; motty Dur.' Lakel.^
w.Yks.2 Lan. Der.'i* nw.Der.' Nhp.' War.'" s.Wor.'
se.Wor.' Shr." [mot, mo'ti.] 1. A mark ; a dot, esp.
the mark aimed at in the games of quoits, pitch-and-toss,
&c. ; the line on which the ' dumps ' are placed in a game
of marbles ; an aim. Cf. matty, sb.
Abd. E'en though our pitcher was nearest the mottie, . . We left
wi' a shout the best chance or first shottie, Cadenhead Bon- Accord
(1853)356. n.Cy. (Hall.) Nhb.' Usually a white speck or piece
of boody. Dur.i, Lakel.", n.Yks.", e.Yks.' w.Yks. Ah tewk a
mot at it an' fell'd it t'first aim (jE.B.) ; w.Yks.' This is sometimes
a button, a small white pebble, or anything conspicuous; w.Yks."^;
w.Yks.s In the game of quoits, very often, what is called a 'mot'
is set up, or fixed in the ground, which serves as the thrower's
goal. It consists, in the game of ' Pinch,' of some small object,
generally a copper placed upon the head of a nail, or piece of
wood, fixed in the ground. Where there is no nail or wood come-
at-able, in the game of quoits, a piece of white pot is sought for,
and sunk flat into the ground till it is even with the surface, and
this is their ' mot.' ne.Lan.', e.Lau.' m.Lan.' Generally a bit o'
papper stuck i' th' clay. Chs.'*, s.Chs.' Der. Grose (1790) MS.
add. (P.); Der.'", nw.Der.' Not. On the mot (J.H.B.). Lin.
Brookes Tracts Gl. n.Lin.', Nhp.', War. (J.R.W.), War.'^s^
s.Wor.l, se.Wor.', Shr.'", ne.Ken. (H.M.)
2. A game played with white stones ; ? ' duckstones.'
War.'* 3. A colliery term : the badge, ^en. of metal,
which a miner puts on his corve to identify it as his.
w.Yks. He never touched the motty but his brother did, Yks.
U^kly.Post (Dec.i6, 1896) ; At top on it stands a corf filled we coils,
picks, shuvals and mottles, Toai Treddlehoyle Trip to Lunnon
(1851) 25 ; w.Yks." Pieces of wood cut with notches. Lan. When
a coal-heaver has filled a corve, he places his motty on the load,
and the truck having reached the pit bottom, the number of the
motty is taken, and the coal with which the corve is loaded is
placed to the miner's credit, Northall Gl. (1896).
Hence Mottying, vbl. sb. the practice of removing a
miner's ' motty ' from his corve, and affixing another.
w.Yks. Charged at the police court with mottying, Yks. Wkly.
Post (Dec. 16, 1896).
[1. Fr. motte, a butt to shoot at (Cotgr.) ; OFr. mo/e,
' butte artificielle ' (La Curne).]
MOT, sb.^ Chs. Nhp. War. Ess. Wil. [mot.] 1. A
'moat'; a small pond. Chs.'"*, Nhp.'", War.", Ess.
(H.H.M.) See Moat. 2. Co>«/. Mot-hen, 065., the moor-
hen, Gallinula chloropus. Wil. Smith Birds (1887) 445.
MOT, sb.* Dur. A glass of some kind of beverage.
Gibson Up-Weardale GL (1870).
MOT, see Moot, sb., Mote, si.'", v."^, Mort, sb.^
MOT A, sb. Obs. n.Cy. A castle or fort. Bailey (1721).
MOTCH, V. and sb. Bnff.' [motj.] L v. To eat little
slowly and quietly, and secretly ; to consume or waste
imperceptibly. Hence Motching, ppl. adj. fond of dainties,
with the idea of eating in secret. 2. sb. Slow quiet eating,
with the idea of fondness for good living ; imperceptible
use, with the notion of thriftlessness.
MOTE, 56.' and i;.' Sc. Irel. Yks. LW. Wil. Dor. Som.
Dev. Cor. Also written moat- w.Sc. n.Yks. ; and in forms
maute Wil.' ; moot Sh.L ; mot Dmb. Ayr. Wxf ' ; mothe
Wxf.' [mot.] 1. sb. A particle, an atom, a very minute
quantity; also used^p-. of a very small creature. Cf. molt.
Sh.I. In cam' Sibbie wi a moot o' a lamb i' ivery oxter, Sh. News
(Apr. 30, 1898) ; Twa peerie moots. Burgess Rasmie (1892) 79.
Dmb. Ye see it is bow'd awa' to the left side o' the twa mots [tea
leaves], Cross £)/sr«/i/io« (1844) xxiii. Rxb. (Jam.) Wxf.' Par-
ticles in milk, butter, &c. LW.', Wil.' Som. You did feed un
wi' your vinger an' thumb like lollipops, a mote to a time, I
spwose, Raymond Saw a«rfSa6wa (1894) 116. w.Som.'An atom of
earth, or paper, or stone, or any non-fibrous substance would never
be called a mote, while a minute splinter of wood might be so
termed.
Hence Motey or Motty, adj. (i) full of minute creatures,
or extraneous matter ; (2) tiny.
(i) w.Sc. If I could get a bargain n' some butter, although it
was a wee auld-tasted, or moatie, it might do weel enough for
servants, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 209. Ayr. All in this
mottie, misty clime. Burns Vision, st. 4. n.Yks. This waiter's
varry moaty ; throw it out (I.W.). (2) Sh.I. A peerie mootie
bot. Burgess Rasmie (1892) 37 ; Cuddle close and hear me sing
peerie mootie lammie, Sh. News (July 23, 1898).
2. Phr. he that seeks motes gets motes, he that pays too
much attention to trifles will never achieve a fortune. Sc.
Ramsay Prow. (1737). 3. A single straw or a single stalk
of hay ; a part of a single straw ; a slender twig.
Sc.Lang straes are nae motes, Ramsay Prof. (1737I. Wxf.' Dor.
He hadn't given the pony a mote of hay (C.V.G.) ; Dor.'Astramote.
Som. A bit of straw or hay between joint and joint (W.F.R.).
Z 2
MOTE
[172]
MOTHER
■w.Som.' Applied in this sense only to the stalks of grasses or grain.
The word implies slenderness. Dev. (Hall.) Cor, Against the
bite of an adder a piece of hazel wood, fastened in the shape of a
cross, should be laid softly on the wound, and the following lines,
twice repeated, . . ' Underneath this hazelin mote, There's a braggoty
worm with a speckled throat,' Black Ftk. Medicine (1883) viii.
4. Fig. A flaw, a drawback (from Matt. vii. 3).
Abd. Satan Se blin's fouk, that ha'in bastards now Is monie times
nae mote in Their marriage-day, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 104.
Ayr. The ragged coat o' the callant was ne'er a mot in the man's
marriage, Galt Sir A. IVylie (1822") vii.
5. V. To pick ' motes ' out of anything ; to remove lice
from one's person. So. (Jam.) 6. Fhr. to mote the blankets,
see below.
n.Sc. When a patient endeavours to pick imaginary specks from
the bed-clothes, he is said to mote the blankets, which is regarded
as a prognostication of immediate death. ' When I . . . saw
her moting the blankets, I cried. . . "Will naebody run for a
minister"' (Jam.).
[1. As thikke as motes in the sonne-beem, Chaucer
C. T. D. 868. OE. mot, an atom (B.T.). 3. OE. mot,
'festuca' (Matt. vii. 3).]
MOTE, sA.2 Yks. Chs. Nhp. War. Shr. Hrf GIo. Also
informs motGlc; moughtNhp.^Shr.'^; moult Lei. 'Nhp.°;
mout w.Yks.^ ; mowt Chs.' [m5t.] A moth, esp. the
clothes-moth, Tinea tapetzella.
w.Yks.i, Chs.i, s.Chs.i, Lei.i, Nhp.i=, War.z Shr.i The Missis
says the motes han ete the Maister's top-coat all in 'oles ; Shr.^
Shr., Hrf. The large white moth. Bound Provinc. (1876). Hrf.*
Glo. Northall Gl. (1896) ; Glo.i
[Moughtes in the shepes flees anoyeth to the clothes,
Chaucer C. T. b. 2187 ; Where ruste and mou3te destrieth,
Wyclif (1388) Matt. vi. 19. OE. mohde, a moth {Matt. vi.
19). Cf. moch, shi\
MOTE, V?- Obs. Sc. Yks. Also in forms mat, met,
mot Sc. 1. May.
Sc. God mot thee save, brave Outlaw Murray, Scott Minstrelsy
(1802) I. 379, ed. 1848 ; An ill death mot he die I Jamieson Pop.
Ballads (1806) I. 74 ; Here's your health and mine, Jamie, I wish
weel mote ye thrive, Kinloch Sa/Zarfs (1827) 155. n.Sc. Aguid
death mat he dee, Buchan Ballads (i8a8) I. 2, ed. 1875. Bch. Ill
mat ye fare ! Forbes Dominie (1785) 33. Abd. 'Aunty, lang mat
ye had yer heal,' Quo' I, an' drinks, Beattie Parings (1801) 8.
Per. Thankit mote thou be for thy gude will, Haliburton Dunbar
(1895) 84. Edb. Guid mornin', Rob, lang mat ye live to see The
sun blink our this morn an' happy be, Learmont Poems (1791)
191. Slk. An ill deide met ye dee, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 14.
n.Yks. The grizzliest beast that ere mote bee, Dixon Sngs. Eng.
Peas. (1846) 130, ed. Bell.
2. Might.
Bnff. A colt . . . Yode to a herd o' jet black nowt, That he mote
lear their artfu' rowt, Taylor Poems (1787) 106.
[1. In hell condampnit mot he be ! Barbour Bruce (1375)
IV. 26. OE. mot, 3 pr. s. (B.T.) ; cp. G. mussen.'\
MOTE, pp. Sc. See below.
GaJl. When siller is chynged, it is said to be soon mote or mitle
away, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 348, ed. 1876.
MOTE, see Moot, sb., Moot-hall.
MOTE-HEARTIT, a<^'. Cum.i Timid, cowardly.
MOTH, sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. [mo]?.] In comb, (i) Moth-
eat, to injure as by moths ; -ased fig. ; (2) -hawk, the night-
jar, Caprimulgus Europaeus ; (3) -ullet, a small butterfly,
the moth-owlet ; see Howlet, 4.
(i) Lnk. Did either motheat, or too much suffer to be motheaten
by the vulgar the reputation of such who did not follow their way,
WoDROW Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 499, ed. 1828. w.Yks. (J.W.) (2)
Frf. SwAiNsoN Birds (1885) 97. (3) Lan.'
MOTH, see Mauth, Mooth.
MOTHA, MOTHE, see Mawther, Mote, sb}
MOTHER, sb.^ and v.^ Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms midder Sh.I. ; mither Sc. ; mudder
Cum." Wm. ; muthor Nhb. [mu-(Sa(r, mBcS3(r, Sc. mrtSar.]
1. sb. Income. (i)Mother('s bairn, a child that resembles
its mother ; a spoilt child ; (2) -coal, soft mineral charcoal,
occurring between brighter laminae of coal ; (3) -di, the
wave undulations which roll landward ; see Moder ; (4)
•few-claes, the httle grebe, Tachybaptesfluviatilis; (5) -gate,
the principal road of a coal-pit ; the continuation of the
' rolley-way ' into the workings ; the place in the workings
which will at some future period form a ' rolley-way ' ; (6)
-gill, a main road driven narrow in the coal by which coals
are conveyed from the workings on either side ; (7) -hill, the
native hill ; (8) -home, native place ; (9) -in-law, [a] a step-
mother ; in gen. colloq. use ; (6) a ewe which suckles a
lamb not her own ; (c) a mixture of beers ; (10) -land,
native land; (11) -law, a mother-in-law; (12) -mop, a
game ; see below ; (13) -naked, stark naked ; destitute ;
(14) -of-law, see (11) ; (15) -of-the-mawkins, see (4) ; (16)
-of-the-mine, obs., a ferruginous rock ; (17) -'s pet, the
youngest child of a family ; (18) -sick, homesick ; (19)
•stone, a concretion of many small blue pebbles ; (20)
•wife, a wife and mother.
(i) Sc. Of me, in our country speech, it used to be said that I was
'a mother's bairn,' Lang Monk of Fife (1896) 3. w.Yks. (J.W.)
n.Lln.i A real muther bairn, he's just like her. (2) s.Wal. He
would have discarded a piece of coal which was shown to him as
being unmarketable, because a thin line of what was termed
'mother coal' ran through it. Western Mail (Mar. 22, 1900).
[Woodward Geol. Eng. and Wales (1876) 95.] (3I Sh.I. Da mother
di was the name given to the undulations that roll landward even
in calm weather, and by means of which the old hafmen could find
his [sic\ way in the thickest fog without the aid of a compass, Spence
Flk-Lore (1899) 119. (4) Nhb.i (5) N.Cy.i, Nhb.i Nhb., Dur.
Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). (6) Cum." (7) Gall. It is the
nature of sheep to return if they can to their mother-hill, Crockett
Standard Bearer (1898) 6. (8) e.An.' The keeper at Scoulton,
where the little gulls congregate annually, told me that the mere
waslikeamotherhometothem. {<j,a)%ii.Scoticisms{x'fi-j)^^. w.Yks.
N. tf Q. (1866) 3rd S. ix. 247 ; Very common (J. W.). Oxf.i Dev.
N.t:-Q.il>.3s6. (6)Hrt.ELLisJ)/orf.i/Ms6.(i75o)IV.i.ii5. (c)Yks.
It is illegal for a man to sell what they call in Yorkshire a pint of
mother-in-law, old and bitter mixed ? S.mith Commission on Licen-
sing Laws (1896) Question 1987. (10) s.Sc. He played the touch-
ing airs of his mother-land, Wilson Tales (1836) II. 114. (11)
Shr.i Obsol. I toud 'im if 'e couldna afford to tak' a 'ouse to lave me
w'eer 1 wuz, fur I wunna gwei'n to no mother-law. Glo.', Brks.',
n.Wll. (E.H.G.) w.Som.' The 'in' is always omitted in this and
similar relationships. (12) Hmp. All the players, except one,
stand two by two in front of each other, the inner ones forming
an arch with their hands united — this is called the 'oven.' The
odd child is ' Mother Mop.' She busies herself with a pretended
mop, peel, &c., after the manner of old-fashioned bakers, making
much ado in the valley between the rows of children. The oven
soongetsdemolishedand the last child vanquished becomes ' Mother
Mop ' the next time, Gomme Games (1894) I. 396. (13) Sc. Last
they'll shape me in your arms A mother-naked man, Aytoun Bal-
lads (ed. 1861) 1. ID. Sh.I. Doo'd been gaein' stark midder nakid
wi dy careless wye o' wirkin' wi' dy ain bits o' claes, Sh. News
(Oct. 9, 1897). Slk. I've been a mother-naked man, in my machine
here, for mair than ten minutes, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II.
I. Gall. Sawnie, loath to have his clothes steeped, flung them off
his back, bundled them in his plaid, and skelped home mither
naked, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 382, ed. 1876. N.I.', n.Yks.'
I.Ma. Let the girl marry a mother-naked man at once, Caine Manx-
man (1894) I. vii. [Amer. The children . . . were ' mother-naked '
until they were ten, twelve, or fourteen years of age. Cent. Mag.
(May 1883) no.] (14) Nhb. Orpa kist hur muthor-o'-law, Robson
Bk. Ruth (i860) i. 14. (15) Slg. i.e. Mother o' the hares, awitch,
or uncanny person. ' Applied ... to the dabchick, from its diving
capabilities and the way in which it suddenly disappears when
pursued,' Swainson Birds (1885) 216. (16) Cum. Rhomboidal
spathose, iron ore combined with galena, &c., Aldstonmoor, mixed
with argillaceous earth, Bole ; this is of every gradation of hard-
ness, from the reddle, called by the country people clayey iron
ore, rud and smit, and used by them for marking their sheep, to
the hardest bloodstone. . . Miners call it ' mother of the mine,'
Hutchinson Hist. Cum. (1794) L App. 52. (17) Cai.i Gall. Mac-
taggart Encycl. (1824). (18) Sur. I couldn't stop no longer in my
place, 1 was mothersick, N. & Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 239. (19) Lei.'
The belief that stones grow in size by degrees is almost universal,
and the small pebbles found in conglomerates are generally re-
garded as ova, which under favourable auspices will ultimately be
developed into boulders. Hrt. Hunter Georgical Essays (1803-4)
I. 506 ; N. (f Q. (1887) 7th S. iv. 22. (20) Edb. Mither wives,
and laddie weans, Attack them whiles wi' clods an' stanes, Bal-
lantine Deanhaugit (1869) 45.
2. Comb, in plant-names : (i) Mother-dee or •die, (a) the
red' campion, Lychnis diurna, or the white campion, L.
MOTHER
[173]
MOTHER
vespertina ; {b) the hedge-parsley, Torilis Anthriscus ; (2)
■'s heart, the shepherd's purse, Capsella Bursa-pastoris ;
(3) -'s nightcap, the snapdragon, Antirrhinum majus ; (4)
— of a thousand, the ' hen-and-chicken daisy,' Bellis
perennis, vax.prolifera ; (5) — of corn, the clover, Trifolium;
(6) — of millions, {a) the ivy-leaved toadflax, Linaria
Cymbalaria ; (b) the soft-leaved cranesbill, Geranium molle;
(c) the creeping saxifrage, Saxifraga sarmentosa ; (7) —
of thousands, (a) see (6, a) ; {b) see (4) ; (c) see (6, c) ; {d)
the creeping campanula, ? Campanula rapunculoides ; (e)
the yellow-flowered fumitory, Corydalis (Fumaria) lutea ;
f8) — of thyme, {a) the wild thyme, Thymus Serpyllum ;
(A) the wild basil, Calamintha Acinos; (9) — Shimble's
snick-needles or -'s snick-needle, (10) -'s thimble, the
greater stitchwort, Stellaria Holostea; (11) -wood, the
southernwood, Artemisia Abrotanum ; (12) -wort or
■worth, (a) the creeping loosestrife, Lysim,achia Nummu-
laria ; {b) the mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris.
(i, a) Cum. Red campion is called 'mother-dee' at Cocker-
mouth, and to pluck it means ill to one's parents, Newcastle Wkly.
Chron. (Feb. 11, 1899) ; Cum.* A superstition exists that should a
child pick the flowers of the red species it will soon lose its father
by death ; if the white flowers be taken, then the mother will die.
(i) Chs.i (a) s.Sc. , n.Cy. Children have a sort of game with the
seed pouch. They hold it out to their companions, inviting them
'to take a haud o' that.' It immediately cracks, and then follows
atriumphant shout, 'You've broken your mother's heart,' Johnston
Botany (1853) 37 in (B. & H.). Lan., Glo.i Mid. Sclioolboys
offer to their uninitiated companions a plant of the shepherd's
purse, and request them to pluck off one of the heart-shaped
seed-pods, which done, they exclaim, 'You've picked yourmother's
heart out!' Flk-Lore Rec. (1878) I. 159. (3) Nhb."- (4) Nhp.i
(5) Hrt. Cloveris in some parts . . . called the mother of corn because
it kills weeds, prevents exhalations, hollows the earth, and leaves
so many large long roots behind it as to become a sort of dressing
to it, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) II. i. 7. (6, a) Hrt., e.Sus.,Dev.*
n.Dev. Handbk. (ed. 1877) 336. Cor. (6) w.Yks. Lees Flora
(1888) 180. if) Dev. Mother-of-millions, with its numerous small
drooping flowers. Bray Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) Lett, xviii.
(7, a) Sc, n.Cy., Cum.^, e.Yks. Chs.^ ; Chs.^ Known for its
profusion of lilac flowers. s.Chs.i, Der., Wor., Ken.', Wil.i, Dor.
(.C.W.), w.Som.', Dev., Cor. (6) Nhp., War.3 {c) Mid., Wil.i,
Dev. (rf) w.Som.', nw.Dev.^ (e) Dev., Dev.* (8, a) Ir. Cum.
Upon the banks of Eden grows an herb called mother of thyme,
said to be medicinal, Hutchinson Hist. Cum. (1794) II. 525 ;
Cum.l, Wor. (6) Som. (9) Wil. Sarum Dioc. Gazette (Jan.
1891) 14, col. i; Garden Wk. (1896) III. 76; WU.i (10) Wil.
Garden Wk. ib. (11) n.Lln.' (12, a) Hmp. Longman's Mag.
(Mar. 1892) 536. Dev.* By confusion with moneywort, the
common name of this plant. (6) e.Yks. Ray (1691) (s.v. Mugwort).
3. Phr. (i) a clock's midder, a brood hen ; (2) Mother and
daughters, the game of ' milking-pails ' (q.v.) ; (3) Mother,
may I go out to play ? a game ; see below ; (4) Mother,
mother the pot boils over, a game ; see below ; (5) the mother
of a ling, (6) the mother of all mischief, an originator of great
harm ;' (7) to have one's mother's milk in the nizz, to behave
like a baby ; (8) to have the mother in one, to resemble one's
mother.
(i) Sh.I. A lauchter o' as pretty shikens is could rin wi' a
clocksmidder, Sh. News (June 19, 1897). (2) Shr. Burne Flk-Lore
(1883-6) 515. (3) [One child is chosen to act as ' Mother,' the
rest of the players pretend to be her children, and stand in front
of her not in a line, but in a group. One of them, very frequently
all the children, ask her the first question, and the Mother answers.
When she gives permission for the children to go out they all
curtsey three times, and run off and pretend to play. They then
return, and the rest of the dialogue [s.u. the different counties] is
said, the Mother asking the questions and the children replying.
At the end of the dialogue the Mother chases and catches them,
one after the other, pretending to beat and punish them, Gomme
Games (1894) I. 395.] w.Yks. ' Grandmother, grandmother grey.
May I go out to play ? No, no, no, it is a very wet day. Grand-
mother, grandmother grey. May I go out to play ? Yes, yes, yes,
if you don't frighten the geese away. Children, I call you. I
can't hear you. Where are your manners ? In my shoe. Who
do you care for ? Not for you,' ib. Nhp. ' Please, mother, please,
mother, may I go out to play ? No, child, no, child, 'tis such a
cold day. Why, mother, why, mother, I won't stay long. Make
three pretty curtseys and off you run.' In the Nhp. . . game
there appears to be no chasing, ib. Lon. ' Mother, may I go out
to play ? No, my child, it's such a wet day. Look how the sun
shines, mother. Well, make three round curtseys and be off
away.' [Child goes, returns, knocks at door. Mother says,
' Come in.'] ' What have you been doing all this time ? Brushing
Jenny's hair and combing Jenny's hair. What did her mother
give you for your trouble ? A silver penny. Where's my share
of it? Cat ran away with it. Where's the cat? In the wood.
Where's the wood ? Fire burnt it. Where's the fire ? Moo-cow
drank it. Where's the moo-cow? Butcher killed it. Where's
the butcher ? Eating nuts behind the door, and you may have
the nut-shells.' . . Only two children are mentioned as playing.
When the Mother is chasing the girl, she keeps asking, ' Where's
my share of the silver penny ? ' to which the girl replies, ' You
may have the nut-shells,' ib. 390-1, 395. Nrf. ' Please, mother, may
I go a-maying? Why, daughter, why ? Because it is my sister's
birthday. Make three pretty curtseys and walk away. Where
is your may ? I met puss, and puss met me, and puss took all
my may away. Where is the puss ? Ran up the wood. Where
is the wood ? Fire burnt it. Where is the fire ? Water quenched
it. Where is the water ? Ducks have drunk it. Where are the
ducks? Butcher killed them. Where is the butcher? Behind
the churchyard, cracking nuts, and leaving you the shells,' ib. 391.
Sus. ' Pray, mother, pray, May I go out to play! No, daughter,
no, daughter, Not every fine day. Why, mother, why? I shan't
be gone long. Make a fine curtsey, And glad git you gone. —
Wait for your sister.' In the . . . Hurstmonceux game there
appears to be no chasing, ib. 395. Dor. ' Please may I go out to
play ? How long will you stay ? Three hours in a day. Will
you come when I call you ? No. Will you come when I fetch
you ? Yes. Make then your curtseys and be off.' The girls then
scamper off . . . and as they run about the field keep calling out,
' I won't go home till seven o'clock.' . . The Mother calls Alice
(or whatever the name may be) to come home, when the one
addressed will run all the faster, crying louder than before, ' I
won't go home till seven o'clock.' Then the Mother commences
to chase them until she catches them, and when she gets them to
any particular place in the field where the others are playing, she
says — ' Where have you been ? Up to grandmother's. What
have you done that you have been away so long ? I have cleaned
the grate and dusted the room. What did she give you ? A piece
of bread and cheese as big as a house, and a piece of plum-cake
so big as a mouse. Where's my share ? Up in higher cupboard.
It's not there. Up in lower cupboard. It's not there. Then the
cat have eat it.' [The remainder of the dialogue is similar to the
Lon. version], ib. 393-4. Cor. ' Mother, mother, may I (or we)
go out to play? No, child! no, child! not for the day. Why,
mother? why, mother? I won't stay long. Make three pretty
courtesies, and away begone. One for mammy, one for daddy,
one for Uncle John. Where, child ! where, child ! have you
been all the day ? Up to granny's. What have you been doing
there?' [The answer to this is often, 'Washing doll's clothes,'
but anything may be mentioned.] ' What did she give you ? '
[The reply is again left to the child's fancy.] ' Where's my
share ? The cat ate it. What's in the box, mother ? Twopence,
my child. What for, mother ? To buy a stick to beat you, and
a rope to hang you, my child,' Flk-Lore Jrn. V. 55-6 ; When the
mother has caught one of the children, she beats her and puts her
hands round the child's throat as if she were going to hang her,
GoMME ib. 396. (4) Der. A number of girls choose one of their
number to represent a witch, and another to be a mother. The
Witch stands near the corner of a wall so that she can peep round.
Then the Mother counts the children by the seven days of the
week, . . and appoints another girl to act as guardian over them.
She then pretends to go out washing. . . As soon as the Mother
has gone, the old Witch comes and says, ' Please can I light my
pipe ? ' Then the children say, ' Yes, if you won't spit on t'
hearth.' She pretends to light her pipe, but spits on the hearth,
and runs away with the girl called Sunday. "Then the Guardian
. . . pretends to rush downstairs, and . . . calls out, ' Mother,
mother, t'pot boils over.' The Mother replies, ' Put your head
in'; the Guardian says, ' It's all over hairs'; the Mother says,
' Put the dish-clout in ' ; the Guardian says, ' It's greasy ' ; the
Mother says, 'Get a fork'; the Guardian says, 'It's rusty'; the
Mother says, ' I'll come mysen.' She comes and begins to count
the children . . . and missing Sunday, asks ' Where's Sunday ? '
The Guardian says, ' T'old Witch has fetched her.' The Mother
answers, ' Where was you ? ' ' Upstairs.' The Mother says,
' What doing ? Making t'beds. Why didn't you come down ?
Because I had no shoes. Why didn't you borrow a pair ?
Because nobody would lend me a pair? Why didn't you steal a
MOTHER
[174]
MOTHERING
pair? Do you want me to get hung?' Then the Mother runs
after her, and if she can catch her thrashes her for letting Sunday
go. Then the Mother pretends to go out washing again, and
the Witch fetches the other days of the weelc one by one, when
the same dialogue is rehearsed, Gomme ib. 396-7. Lon. [The
game begins in the same way as in Der.] The Witch . . . catches
hold of Monday and runs off with her ; and at this moment the
pot boils over. The child who is the pot makes a ' hissing and
fizzing' noise. The daughter calls out — ' Mother, mother, the pot
boils over. Take the spoon and skim it. Can't find it. Look on
the shelf. Can't reach it. Take the stool. The leg's broke,
Take the chair. Chair's gone to be mended. I suppose I must
come myself? ' The Mother here wrings her hands out of the
water in the washing-tub and comes in. She looks about and
misses Monday. 'Where's Monday? Oh, please, mother, please,
I couldn't help it ; but some one came to beg a light for her pipe,
and when I went for it she took Monday off. Why that's the
Witch.' The Mother pretends to beat the eldest daughter, tells
her to be more careful another time, and to be sure and not let
the pot boil over. The eldest daughter cries, and promises to be
more careful . . . The same thing occurs again. The Witch comes
and asks — ' Please, will you lend me your tinder-box? ' , . While
the tinder-box is being looked for she runs off with Tuesday.
Then the pot boils over, and the same dialogue is repeated. . .
This is repeated for all the seven children in turn, different
articles, gridiron, poker, &c., being borrowed each time. Finally,
the eldest daughter is taken off too. There is no one now to
watch the pot, so it boils over, and makes so much noise that the
Mother hears it and comes to see why it is. . . She goes after
her children. A dialogue ensues between the Witch and the
Mother. . . ' Is this the way to the Witch's house ? There's a
red bull that way ! I'll go this way. There's a mad cow that
way.' . . She then insists on entering the house to look for her
children. The Witch will not admit her, and says — ' Your boots
are too dirty. I'll take my boots off. Your stockings are too
dirty. I'll take them off. Your feet are dirty. I'll cut them off.
The blood will run over the threshold. I'll wrap them up in a
blanket. The blood will run through.' This enrages the Mother,
and she pushes her way into the . . . house and looks about, and
calls her children. She goes to one and says — 'This tastes like
ray Monday.' The Witch tells her it's a barrel of pork. ' No,
no, this is my Monday; run away home.' Upon this Monday
jumps up . . . and runs off, followed by all the others and their
Mother. The Witch tries to catch one, and if successful that
child becomes Witch next time, ib. 397-400. (5) Sh.I. Dey wir
monie a gude muckle midder o' a ling taen 'uto him, Sh, News
(Sept. 17, i8g8). (6) Lnk. She was the mither of a' the mischief
that happened, Graham Writings (1883) II. 16. Wm. She's
t'mudder ov 0' mischief is yon auld clash-bags. Drink's t'mudder
ov o' mischief (B.K.). (7) Abd. You're grown like John Tamson's
man — a' in a fizz. Or else your mither's milk is i' your nizz,
Guidtnan IngUsmaill (1873) 37. (8) Wgt. She has owre muckle
o' the mither in her, Feaser Wigtown (1877) 72.
4. The womb of any animal.
w.Som.i The usual name amongst butchers. ' 'Tis a ter'ble
complaint 'bout ewes, 'most everybody hereabout 've a 'ad bad
luck. I've a lost a lot sure 'nough ; the mother [mau'dhur] o'm
do come out.'
5. Of ewes : the after-birth. e.Suf. (F.H.) 6. The origin,
cause.
Lnk. My mouth's the mither o't, sae ha'd your tongue, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 22.
7. A root ; an old potato.
Sh.I. If doo's gaen tu gie him [a pig] blaedig wi' dis fiishinless
dirt [bad potatoes], auld wattery midders, . . doo sail get da
feedin' o'm dysel, Sh. News (July 30, 1898). Lakel.^ Wm. He
went wi t'mothers ano' [said of a mower who had taken off some
of the swarth] (B.K.).
8. V. To take care of.
S11S.' I doant mind mothering the dog for you for a week or two.
9. To pick out from a flock the mother of any particular lamb.
Cum. I was shepherding for Gasgarth, and his missus said to
me, ' Jem, mother that 'un,' and I went reight intill middle o'
t'flock and browt out t'mother on it, Helvellyn in Cornh. Mag.
(Oct. 1890) 386 ; Cum.* This can only be done by having a perfect
knowledge of the faces of all the sheep.
MOTHER, sb.'^ and v.'^ In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written muther Wil.'^ [mu'(S3(r, mB-tS3(r.]
1. sb. The thick mould which forms on the top of some
liquids, esp. on vinegar ; yeast.
Sc. (Jam.) Ant. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Lakel.^ w.Yks.i*;
VB-.Yks.* The ropiness sometimes found in vinegar. Chs.i, s.Chs.^
Rut.i I kep' the mSther in a saucer o' purpose to show you. Lei.i
Nhp.i It is not uncommon to apply the term, when heating elder
wine. ' It'll soon boil, the mother comes up.' War.^, se.Wor.i,
Shr.i Lon. The atmosphere of the place has a peculiar sour smell
blended with the mildewy or fungous odour of what is termed
'mother,' Mavhev/ Prisons of London (1862) 39. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
Nrf. Fungus, which appears on pickles and jams when fermenta-
tion has set in, Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 53. Snf.i,
e.Suf. (F.H.) Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Cor.2
Hence Mothery,a<^'. of liquids or bread: mouldy; sour;
of the weather: hot, close, stifling.
•w.Yks.i^j Chs.i Lin.' What mothery weather we have had
lately,hke. sw.Lin.i, Lei.', Nhp.12, War.^.Brks.' Suf. (E.G.P.) ;
Suf.i It's all mothery. Ken.' The beer's got pretty mothery,
seeminly. Sur.', Sus.'^ Hmp.' Mothery wine. WU. Slow G/.
(1892); Wil.'
2. The uncrystallizable residuum left at the bottom of the
pan in salt, alum, or alkali works. Also used in pi.
Nhb.' n.Yks. They scoop out the liquor (which they call the
mother) into a cistern, Ray (1674) ig.
3. Phlegm from the stomach. w.Yks.^ 4. v. To thicken
as vinegar does ; to stick ; to adhere.
w.Yks,2 Flour mothers when it adheres together in lumps.
s.Stf. PiNNocK Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
Hence Mothering, (i) ppl. adj. of bread or beer : ropy,
stringy ; (2) sb. the white mould in vinegar, beer, and other
liquids.
(i) Lin.' I don't know how it happens, but we have got
mothering bread in the house. (3) Nhb. (R.O.H.), Shr.2 Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873).
[1. Du. modder, the mother of wine or beere (Hexham) ;
LG. moder, 'der Hefen des Weins, Biers, Essigs, Ols'
(Berghaus).]
MOTHER, sb.^ Won Shr. w.Cy. [mB-tS3(r).] 1. A
round piece of leather on the bladder inside a football.
Shr.'^, w.Cy. (Hall.) 2. A large stone used in the game
of ' quack.' se.Wor.'
MOTHER, MOTHEREN, see Mather, int., Mawther.
MOTHERING, sb. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Lei. Nhp.
W^r. Won Shn Hrf. Rdn. Mon. Glo. Sus. Som. Dev. Also
written motheren Som. ; and in form mawthering Dev.^
1. The custom of visiting one's mother on Mid-Lent
Sunday ; the food presented or eaten on this occasion.
Lan.' Shr. 'Shrewsbury Simnels'. . . are eaten by many who
do not heed the pious habit of ' mothering ' which they were
intended to celebrate, Burne Fik-Lore (1883-6) 325 ; Shr.^ Glo.
Cake was not the only attraction of Mothering Sunday at the
' Swan Inn,' Wotton-under-Edge, . . there was wine also for all
the servants, who were at liberty to bring their friends and
sweethearts. . . The old landlady who nearly twenty years ago
dispensed these 'motherings' was then over ninety, N. & Q.
(1888) 7th S. V. 316.
Hence (i) Mothering-cake, sb. a cake given by children
to their parents on Mid-Lent Sunday ; (2) — Sunday, phr.
Mid-Lent Sunday ; see below.
(i) Hrf. Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 167 ; Hrf.2, Glo. (S.S.B.)
w.Som.' Zee Dundry's Peak Lucks like a shuggard motherin-cake,
Collins Misc. (1762) 114, (2) Yks. Harland & Wilkinson
/^/A-Z,o?-« (1867) 222. e.Yks.' Ofoo/. w.Yks.2, Lan.' Lan., Chs. It
was originally called ' Mothering Sunday,' from the ancient usage
of visiting the mother or cathedral churches of the dioceses, when
Lent or Easter offerings were made. . . The name of Mothering
Sunday is still retained, a custom having been substituted ... of
those who have left the paternal roof visiting their natural mother,
and presenting to her small tokens of their filial affection, in money,
trinkets, frumenty, or cakes. In some parts of Lancashire, the
particular kind of cakes have long been fixed by old custom, being
what are called ' Simnels,' Harland & Wilkinson ib. nw.Der.'
Lei.' A family festival, when the scattered members of the village
household expect leave to go home for the day to eat veal and
furmety with their mothers in the flesh. Nhp.' On Mothering
Sunday, above all other. Every child should dine with its mother.
War.' And in several towns a great quantity of prepared wheat is
brought to market, and provided at cooks' shops against the day,
furmety or frumenty being always a part of the fare upon the
occasion ; and the custom of children assembling at the houses of
their parents is much in use ; War-^S", s.War.' s.Wor. Porson
MOTHERING-STONE
[175]
MOUDIE
Quaint Wds. (1875) 21. Shr. Sunday last being Mid-lent, or
what is . . . called . . . Mothering Sunday, . . a considerable number
of lads and lasses observed the feast in Ludlow and its neighbour-
hood. A good sprinkling of young people came into the town
[the butchers' shops were stocked with veal in preparation for the]
veal and rice-pudding, the family dish always placed before the
young folk according to tradition on Mothering Sunday, Shrewsbury
Jm. (Mar. 26, 1879) ; At Pulverbatch [the veal] was customarily
supplemented by a dish of custard and ' the last of the mincemeat.'
... At Stottesden ... in the early years of the present century,
the Mothering Sunday supper consisted of 'fraises' — thick pancakes,
more solid than those of Shrove Tuesday, eaten with sweet
sauce, BuRNE Flk-Lore (1883-6) 324; Shr.12 Hrf. Flk-Lore
Jrn. (1886) IV. 166; Hrf.2 Rdn. N. ^ Q. (1888) 7th S. v. 316.
Mon. I happened to reside last year near Chepstow in Monmouth-
shire ; and there for the first time heard of Mothering Sunday. . .
The practice thereabouts was, for all servants and apprentices, on
Midlent Sunday to visit their parents, and make them a present of
money, a trinket, or some nice eatable, Gent. Mag. (Feb. 1784)
343 ; Brand Pop. Antiq. (1873) I. 93. Glo.i On this day servant
girls are supposed to visit their mothers ; Glo.^ Midlent Sunday :
when cakes were presented to children or friends. Som. Never
missed a Zunday since I virst said amen . . . 'pon Motheren Zunday,
Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894) 107. w.Som.i Doubtless so
called from pre-Reformation days, when the mother churches
were visited in turn by the faithful. Dev.^ Peculiar kinds of cakes
are made, and generally sold by the clerk or sexton of the parish.
2. The service for the churching of women.
Sus.i It is considered most unlucky for a woman after giving
birth to a child to cross the high-road, or to pay a visit before she
has been to church to return thanks. . .'If a man be the first that a
woman meets after she comes out of the Church, when she is
newly churched, it signifies that her next child will be a boy ; if
she meets a woman, then a wench is likely to be her next child.'
Hence Mothering-pew, sb. the pew reserved for women
who desire to be churched.
An elderly maiden lady once found her way by accident into
the mothering pew in a strange church, and joined devoutly in
the service, which included that appointed for the churching of
women, but did not discover that she had herself been churched
till the clerk handed her the alms-dish for her offering, ib.
MOTHERING-STONE, s^i. Lei.^ Conglomerate. Cf.
mother-stone, s.v. Mother, sb.^ 1. (19).
MOTHERISH, a^'.i Oxf. Sick with longing for one's
mother. (Hall.) See Mother-sick.
MOTHERISH, adj."^ Oxf.^ [mB-tSariJ.] Of egg-flip:
curdled.
MOTHERT, MOTHIEWORT, see Mouldywarp.
MOtVSG, ppl. adj. e.Lan.^ Written motin. Pondering.
MOTION, sb. s.Wor. In phr. to go through the motion,
togo through the usual form. Porso:^ Quaint IVds. (1875)21.
MOTION-HOLE, MOTT, see Moshin-hole, Moot, sb.
MOTTIE, adj. Bnfif.^ [mo-ti.] Profane.
MOTTLED,/i//.arf7'. Not. [mo'tld.] Muddled; stupefied.
s.Not. Cm sure she gies the child summat ; it alius looks mottled,
see it what hour o' the day yer may. He'd got drunk the night
afore, an' wor a bit mottled i' th' mornin' (J.P.K.).
MOTTLEY, MOTTO, see Mortally, Mot, sb."
MOTTOW, s6. Obs. Stf. A parcel of ground. (Hall.)
MOTTY, s6.i Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. War. Also written
mottey ne.Lan.' nw.Der.^ [mo'ti.] A word ; talk, speech;
an uttered opinion ; gen. in phr. to put one's motty in, to
interfere impertinently in conversation, to give an uncalled-
for opinion. See Mot, sb}
w.Yks. It wor Drychuckle at put hiz motty in this time, Tom
Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1893) 25. Lan. Thou'rt al'ays out
wi' thy motty, Roby Trad. (1829) II. 104, ed. 1872 ; Lan.^, ne.Lan.i,
e.Lan.', m.Lan.^ Chs.i What art puttin thy motty in for ? Chs.* '
None of your motty ; Chs.3 s.Chs."- Ey must au'viz bi put-in iz
mot-i in, tin au-rdrin evrithin [Hey must auvays be puttin' his
motty in, an' orderin' everythin']. nw.Der.* Aw wush tha'd owd
thi motty. War. That's my motty (J.R.W.).
MOTTY, sb.^ Lan. Also written mottey. [mo'ti.]
An aggregate of small deposits of money, a small money
club.
Davies Races (1856) 272 ; Lan.i s.Lan. It is not an un-
common thing for some dozen or twenty women to agree to
deposit each a certain small sum weekly, commencing at Christmas
and ending at the annual wakes in August. Then the money is
divided, and spent, gen. in new clothes for the winter, or in a
pleasure trip to Liverpool or the sea-side, Bamford Dial. (1854) Gl.
MOTTY, a^'. 1 Obs. Sc. Spotted. See Mot, sd.*
So. Than ony lass in burrows-town Wha mak their cheeks with
patches mottie. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) I. 224. Rnf. How curst
am I aboon the lave That in yon mottie forest wave, Finlayson
Rhymes (1815) 28. Edb. Safe you may dwell, tho' mould and
motty. Beneath the veil o' under coatie, Fergusson Poems (1773)
201, ed. 1785.
MOTTY, MOTTYOCH'D, see Mot, sb?. Moot, sb.,
Muttyoch'd.
MOTTY-SUN, s^i. Sc.Cum. Also in form moty- Cum.>
Theappearancewhen sunbeams shine through an aperture
and show atoms of dust floating. See Mote, sb}
Abd. In a clap, as thick 's the motty sin, They haraphis'd her
wi' unco fyke and din, Ross Helenore (1768) 67, ed. 1812. Per.
Like midges i' the motty sun, Ford Harp (1893) 156. Ctmi.'
MOU, sb. Or.I. [mu.] 1. The notch in the end of
the beam into which the rope used in drawing an old-
fashioned plough is fastened. S. & Ork.^ 2. Comp.
Mou-pin, the pin which fastens the rope to the beam of a
plough, ib.
MOU, see Mouth, Mow, sb."
MOUCH, V. Yks. Lin. Brks. Also written mooch Yks.
[mtitj.] To eat greedily or ravenously.
w.Yks. Aw seed him moochin a thick buttercake (D.L.). Lin.
(Hall.) ; Lin.i I never saw a man mouching so in all my born
days. Brks.i
[To mouche, eate, mandere, Levins Manip. (1570).]
MOUCH, MOUCHE, MOUCHER, see Moch, s6.,Moich,
Much, v}. Mooch, sb}, v.'^, Moocher, sb.^
MOUCHING, ppL adj. Lin.' [mii-tjin.] Shy, timid.
See Mooch, v."
MOUD, sb. Obs. Sc. A moth.
Slk. His coat was thred about wi' green. The mouds had wrought
it muckle harm, Hogg Mountain Bard (1807) 193 (Jam.).
MOUD, see Mould, sb}
MOUD(E, sb. Obs. Wxf ^ A crowd ; a throng.
Joud an moud vrem earchee ete, 84.
MOUDER, V. Yks. Lin. Also written mohder n.Lin.' ;
andinformmudderYks. 1. Tomoulderaway; tocrumble.
\'ks. A. . . farmer having some cattle affected by foul orfellen...
The owner . . . was to . . . grave a turf at the foot of the apple tree.
... As the turf muddered away, so would the disease . . . leave the
animal, Monthly Pkt. (1862) 548. w.Yks.5 Moudering to nowt.
n.Lin.l
MOUDGEN, see Midgen.
MOUDIE, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Also
written mowdi(e Sc. Lakel.^ Cum.^ e.Yks.^ ; and in form
moody Sc. Nhb.^ [mou'di, mu'di.] 1. sb. The mole,
Talpa Europaea. See Mouldywarp.
Per. There field mice and moudies litter, SpE^•CE Poems (1898)
186. Lnk. It's the cataract that mak's me as Win 's a mowdie !
Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 50. e.Lth. No' like her enemies wha
worked below-grund like moudies, Hunter/. Inwick (1895) 130.
Slk. The moudies cheepit below the swaird, Hogg Poems (ed.
1865) 329. Dmf. Bessie's sleek as ony mowdie, Cromek Remains
(1810) 105. Gall. Like a moudie in a midden, Howkin' 'mang the
dirt and glaur, Kerr Maggie o' Moss (1891) 36. Kcb. Frae his
hillan the poor mowdy whups, Davidson Seasons (1789) 6. Nhb.',
Cum.^, ne.Yks.i
2. Camp, (i) Moudie-hill, (2) -hillan, (3) -hillock, (4)
-hoop, a mole-hill ; (5) -man, a mole-catcher ; (6) -poke,
a bag in which to put moles ; (7) -rake, an implement for
spreading the mole's castings with ; (8) -rat, a mole ; (9)
-rattan, {a) a mole ; (b) a shrewmouse ; (10) -skin, a mole-
skin; (11) -trap, a mole-trap.
(i) Sc. He has pitched his sword in a moodie-hiU, Aytoun
Ballads (ed. 1861) II. 217. Nhb.i, Dur.', n.Yks.i", m.Yks.i (2)
s.Sc.(jAM.) Gall.MACTAGGART£Kcyrf. (1824). Kcb. Rouud a tam-
mock wheel, an' fleggin toss The moudy-hillan to the air in stoor,
Davidson Seasons (1789) 25 (Jam.). (3) Sc. A wee moudie hillock
appears, Currie Poems (1883) is. (4) Sc. (Jam.) (5) Sc. Carr
Gl 1,1828). Gall. The mowdieman cuist down his petals and
trap, Mactaggart £«o''^/. (1824) 78, ed. 1876. Lakel.^ (6) Nhb.
He had a moudie poke an' spade, Donaldson Poems (1809) 54.
(7) n.Yks.i" (8) N.Cy.i, Nhb.i, n.Yks.i (9 a, b) Nhb} (10) Sc.
The shilling moves the prison hold within. And scorns the limits
MOUDIEWARP
[176]
MOULD
of the mouldy-skin, Vill. Fair in Blackw. Mag. (Jan. i8ai) 425
(Jam.), (ii) Nhb. Bout Moudie-traps an' Habs Ye chime away,
Donaldson Poems (1809) 214.
3. A mole-catcher.
Lnk. The raoudie clutched the candle up, Syne clapt it to his
pipe, Orr Laigh Flichts (1882) 37. Lth. He was known as the
' Mowdie,' Strathesk BUnkbonny (ed. 1891) 93. Nhb.i Tell
Jack the moudy to come n' Monday. e.Yks.i Generally, Awd-
mowdie. w.Yks.i
4. V. To spread the mole-hills about the fields with a
rake for manure. n.Yks."^
MOUDIEWARP, MOUDIEWART, see Mouldywarp.
MOUDY -BOORD, sb. Nhb.^ The ' mould-board ' of a
plough. See Mould, sb} X (i).
MOUE, see Mow, sb.'^
MOUEL, sb. Dor. A field-mouse.
Monel [sic\ N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 45 ; Barnes Gl. (1863).
MOUFIN, MOUGH, see Muffin, Mow, sb.^
MOUGHT, V. Irel. Yks. Lan. Stf Lin. Lei. Nhp. War.
Wor. Hrf. Brks. Suf. Wil. Som. Amer. Also written
mowt Lan. Lin. ; and in forms moot Lan.^ e.Lan.' ; mote
s.Stf War.^ s.Wor. ; mught w.Yks. [mout, mot, miit.]
Might. Cf mith, mud, v.'^
Wxf.i e.Yks.i Mought'n't, ib. MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. I
mought, bud I we'nt (C.A.F.) ; I mught as weel tell him that at
t'same time, Bronte Shirley (1849) viii. Lan. Yo' mowt be hand-
somer, Burnett Lowrie's U877) x]i; Lan.*, e.Lan.^ s.Stf. 'Nias
an' Sapyra mought ha' picked up summat, Murray Rainbow Gold
(i886) 79; He mote ha' drapt 'em word to say he was comin',
PiNNOCK Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Lin. I mowt 'a liked tha as well,
Tennyson Spinster's Sweet-arls {1S85). Lei.^ Still common, though
not so common as 'moight.' Nhp.* In freq. use in our rural dis-
tricts. 'He mought ha' dun it if he would.' War. (J.R.W.),War.23
s.Wor. The doctor said her might get better, or her mOtent, Por-
SON Quaint Wds. (1875) 31. Hrf." I mought han said it. Brks.i
Suf.* Yeow mought as well a' duntasnae. Wil. 'B^B.lT^ON Beauties
(1825). Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825) ; W. & J. Gl.
(1873). [Amer. I mout, and then again I moutn't. Dial. Notes
(,1896) I. 71.]
[Thai did me till moste wrechednes that thei mought,
Hampole (c. 1330) Ixxxvii. 6; Quen felauscipe ne broijjer-
hede Mought te drau frafelon dede. Cursor M. (c. 1300) 1160.]
MOUGHT, MOUGILDIN, see Maught, Mote, sb.^,
Mooguildin.
MOUGRE, V. Sc. To creep over.
Arg. It buitie be an ogly thing That mougres thus o'er me, Col-
VILLE Vernacular (1899) 5.
MOUIZEN, see Measen.
MOUL, V. ? Obs. Sc. Yks. Der. To become mouldy ;
to crumble away.
Fif. A kebbuck moul'd an' mited, Douglas Poif>«5 (1806) 96.
Ayr. Your pickle cash will ly an' moul, Sillar Poems {1789) 120.
Slk. The pence in the kist that lay mouling, Hogg Poems (ed.
1865) 437. w.Yks.*, nw.Der.*
[Lat US nat moulen thus in ydelnesse, Chaucer C T. b.
32 ; 0¥er leten ))inges muwlen o¥er rusten, Anc. Riwle
(c. 1225) 344. Norw. dial, ntygla, mugla, to become mouldy;
mugla, mould (Aasen) ; ON. mygla (Vigfusson). See
Mould, adj^
MOUL, see Matil, v.^, Mool, sb}^^
MOULD, s6.* and v.* Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Lin. Rut. War. Wor. Shr. Glo. Oxf Mid. Suf. Sun
Cor. Also in forms mohd n.Lin.* ; mold Lnk. ne.Yks.
Lin.*; mold Sh.L ; mood m.Lan.* Der.*; moold Frf ;
moud Rxb. Cum. n.Yks.^ m.Yks.* w.Yks.* n.Lin. ; mowd
Cum. Lan. Glo. ; mowuld Oxf.' ; miild Sh.L [moud, mod,
mud.] 1. sb. In comp. (1) Mould-board, the part of a
plough which receives the shce of mould from the plough-
share, turns it gradually over, and deposits it at the proper
angle, the ' breast ' ; (2) -breaker, (3) -bruster, a clod-
crushing implement.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) Sh.I. Such an education as might put him above
the slightest thought of sacks, coulters, stilts, mould-boards, or any-
thing connected with the . . . plough, Scott Pirate (1822) iv. e.Lth.
Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) I- *5°- N'*''- ^^^ ^^^^ '^ covered
in by going once over with a light harrow or by a double mould-
boardplough,MARaHALL/?fOTVa'(i8o8)I.79. w.Yks. (J.J.B.) s.Cbs.*
Muwld-bboiird. n.Un.*, Shr.* Sur. The weight of an ox, or
the twist of an improved mould-board, Hoskvns Talpa (185a) 214,
ed. 1857 ; Sur.i (2, 3) n.Yks.2
2. The ground, earth, soil, esp. the earth for a grave,
• hence: fig. the grave ; freq. in pi. See Mool, sb.'^
Sc. Sae mony days and weeks it has been since I thought ye
were rotten in the moulds, Scott St. Ronan (1824) xxviii. Sh.L
Dey're dear coft tatties ta dee, puir bairn, if dey wir as guid as iver
came oot o' mflld, Sh. News (Sept. 4, 1899). Abd. A cloth of gold
To keep the Lady and her maidens From treading on the mould,
Maidment Garland (1824) 28, ed. i868.- Frf. The kindly custom
o' seein' ony respectit neebour decently happit in the moolds, WiL-
1.0CK Rosetty Ends (1886) 142, ed. 1889. Per. We'll hae to hap
her in her muckle tartan plaid. An' aiblins she'll be a' the warmer
e'y moulds for that, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 11, ed. 1887. Fif.
Tennant Anster (1812') 75, ed. 1871. Ayr. She's gone to the
mould, Aitken Lays (1883) 86. Lnk. Gae bring to me as stark a
steed As ever stepped on mold, Motherwell Poems (1827") igz.
Rxb. The friendly breeze an' nippin frost The mouds assail'd, A.
Scott Poems (ed. 1808) 192. Gall. We got it [coffin] to fit at last,
and in wi' the moulds on't, Mactacgart Encycl. (1824) 265, ed.
1876. Cum. Cover't wi' mowd, wi' sods, and wi' clay, Gilpin
Pop. Poetry (1875) 224. w.Yks.* Lan. Wur leyd e that greawnd,
id bi reawkin eawt oth' moods loik o wurm e o sheawr, Scholes
.Tim Gamwattle (1857) 53. m.Lan.*, Der.* Obs. Lin.* Foety meat
buried in the molds is rendered sweet and fit for food. n.Lin. He
shuvels mouds into graave again. Peacock Tales and Rhymes
(1886) 74 ; n.Lin.* sw.Lin.* A few moulds. The moulds fall on
to the pad. I have putten on a good few more barrow-loads of
moulds. Suf. (C.L.F.) Cor. His awnly son not three hours under
the mould, Quiller-Couch Ship of Stars (1899) 278.
Hence Mouldie, adj. earthy ; savouring of the grave.
Sh.I. Shu huv'd a weet mOldie kishie, half foo o' grice mites,
apo' da flor, Sh. News (Oct. 20, 1900). Lnk. Cough a mouldie
kirk-yaird spittle, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 20. Lan. There is
a mowdy air about him, that gies one the shivers to see, Ains-
worth Lan. Witches (1848) I. ix.
3. Comb. Mould-sark, the winding-sheet or grave-clothes.
Sh.I. Du'll be pleased whin du sees my miild sark on, Stewart
Tales (1892) 42.
4. Phr. (i) abune the mould, above the mould (of the
grave), alive ; (2) not to be satisfied till one gets the mouthful
of mould, not to be satisfied till one is buried ; to grumble,
be discontented.
(i) Sh.I. Sic a sea is no been seen by ony ane abune da mold,
Sh. News (Feb. 24, 1900). {2) n.Yks. Thou'l niver be satisfied til
thoo gets thi moothful a moud (W.H.).
5. V. Of land : to break up furrows after the winter's
frost. m.Yks.^ Hence (1) Molding-sledge, sb. an imple-
ment for smoothing the soil ; (2) Moudin-rake, sb. the tool
used to break up furrows.
(i) ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) 1. 262. (2) m.Yks.*
6. To earth up ; to cover with mould ; gen. with up.
Cum. Taties mun be moudit up, Willy Wattle (1870) 3. War.''
se.Wor.i s.Wor. If you moulds taties such weather as this you'll
loose the drowth into 'em (H.K.). Glo. Thur'll be avrostdyneet. ..
Thee mun git and mowd thaay taSters arter ta, Buckman Darke's
Sojourn (1890) xiii. Oxf.* MS. add. w.Mid. (W.P.M.I, e.Snf.
(F.H.)
Hence Moulding-plough, sb. a small circular plough
of steel at the end of a long handle, used to throw up
earth round potatoes, &c. War.^
MOULD, s*.2 and v.^ Sc. Wm. Yks. Chs. Lin. Nhp.
Shr. Oxf. Suf Dor. Cor. Also in forms meel Sc. Bnif.* ;
mohd n.Lin.'; mold n.Lin.*; mood w.Yks.= s.Chs.* ; mool
Sc. Cor.; mowl w.Yks.^* ; mowld Suf; mowuld Oxf.*;
mule Sc. (Jam.) Cor.*^ [moud, mod, miid.] L sb. In
phr. (i) to be all of a mould, to possess a strong family
likeness ; (2) to be a good (or real) mould, of children or
young animals : to be well-shaped and plump.
( i) Suf. I knewyou, foryou be all of a mowld (M.E. R.). (2) e.Snt
Your baby is a real little mould. That filly is a good mould (F.H.).
2. The small piece of bone round which cloth is wrapped
to form a button.
Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.* Ayr. Babee dozen button mools Are little
thought of in my skules, Fisher Poems (1790) 125.
3. Comp. Mould-button, a button made of cloth wrapped
round a piece of bone.
MOULD
[177]
MOULDYWARP
Cai.^ Rnf. Our fathers following in their short grey coats, with
black mool buttons, Gilmour Pen-Flk. (1873) 50.
4. A candle made in a mould instead of being dipped ;
also in comp. Mould- candle.
s.Sc. Is that the penny mould ye've lightit? Wjlson Tales
(1836) II. 164. Wm. (B.K.) nXin.i Fo'st raohd can'les 'at I boht
at this shop runn'd awaay all to noht, an' did n't bon ten minutes.
5. The embryo ; the first rough beginning of anything
(as of a knife, chisel, &c.). w.Yks.= 6. The skull ; the
opening of the suture of an infant's skull. Nhp.\ Dor.^
7. V. To make dough into loaves ; to cut out pieces of
bread and make them into cakes.
Yks. (Hall.), w.Yks.^*, Chs.i s.Chs.' Lend mi ii ond, iin wi)n
taak-)th dof aayt ii dhaan-dur tub, iin mood it iip ; it)s gy'efin
tahym wi wiln setin in [Lend me a hond, an' we'n tak th' doff ait
o' thander tub, iin mood it up ; it's gettin time we wun settin' in].
Shr.i Yo' met'n begin to mould up, the oven 661 be ready agen yo'
bin. Oxf.i MS. add. Cor. A raooling of the bread, Thomas Ran-
digal Rhymes {i8g^) 12; Cor.'*
Hence Molding-board or -table, sb. the table on which
a baker forms his loaves. n.Lin.'
MOULD, sb.^ and v.^ Nhb. Yks. Not. Lin. Rut. War.
Bdf. Also in forms mo'd s.Not. ; mode Not.; mohd, mohld
n.Lin.' ; moud Nhb.^ w.Yks.' ; mowd e.Yks. [moud, mod.]
1. sb. The mole, Talpa Europaea. See Mouldywarp.
Not. (J.H.B.) n.Lin.i I've catched mohds for you an' your
faather better than thoty year. Rut.'
Hence Moulden-catcher, sb. a mole-catcher.
War.^ The moulden-catcher was, until the abolition of Church
rates, a recognized parish ofiBcer, paid for his work from the rates.
2. Comp. (i) Mould-heap, (2) -hill, a mole-hill ; (3) -man,
a man who kills moles ; (4) -rat, a mole ; (5) -trap, a
mole-trap.
(i) w.Yks.i, s.Not. (J.P.K.), n.Lin.' (2) e.Yks. MARSHALLi?Mn
Econ. (1788). w.Yks. Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 267 ;
w.Yks.' (3) n.Lin. Where Billy Peart, th' mould man lives. Pea-
cock R. Skirlaugh (1870) I. 36. (4) Bdf. Grose (1790). (5) s.Not.
(J.P-K.)
3. V. Obs. To level mole-hills ; to spread the earth of the
mole-hills, dung, &c. over the fields as manure.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Nhb.' e.Yks. Marshall /f Mni'coK. (1788).
4. "To catch moles.
n.Lin.' Rustling ewst to mohd fer m6, but noo Lyon hes th' job.
MOULD, adj. Sc. Yks. Lan. Also written mouled
w.Yks.'; and in forms maald w.Yks. e.Lan.'; marled
w.Yks. ; mawlt Lan. ; meauld e.Lan.' ; meawlt Lan.
[w.Yks. maid, Lan. meld.] 1. Mouldy.
Lnk. Maggy's milk is a' mould, salt and sapless langsyne, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 36. Edb. Safe you may dwell, tho' mould and
motty, Beneath the veil o' under coatie, Fergusson Poems (1773)
aoi, ed. 1785. w.Yks. Aw'm feear'd awst grow maald. Hartley
Puddin' (1876) 135; w.Yks.' Lan. Hur temper '11 ne'er be
meawlt wi'keepin, Brierley Tales (1854) 25. e.Lan.'
Hence Mawlt -looking, ppl. adj. mouldy and damp in
appearance.
Lan. He wur so weet an mawltlookin ut aw'm blest iv his own
faythur ud o known him, Lahee Owd Yem, 9.
2. Fig. Ill-tempered, testy. Cf. mouldy, 2.
w.Yks. He is maald, Prov. in Brighouse News (Sept. 14, 1889) ;
(J.W.); I want a new hat, but I daren't mention it yet, for he's
as marled as muck just now (,M.N.) ; Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 13,
1889).
[1. Mouled, mucidus, Levins Manip. (1570) ; Mowled
(v.r. mowlde), mucidus, Cath. Angl. (1483) ; see Moul.]
MOULDARD, see Mouldywarp.
MOULDER, D.' Glo. Bdf Som. Dev. Also in forms
moulter Glo.' ; muldur Bdf. [mo-lda(r).] To smoulder,
burn slowly.
Glo.' Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 138. w.Som,'
A maid-servant speaking of the logs burning slowly said, ' They
still moulders away.' nw.Dev.'
MOULDER, v.^ nw.Dev.' To become mouldy; to
mildew. Cf milder.
The boots waz moulder'd all auver Doan' ee car' th' 'ay
to-day, maister ; 't wuU sure to moulder.
Hence Mouldery, adj. mildewed.
MOULDERY, adj Nrf Of the soil : easy to work,
friable. (A.G.F.) Cf. moulter, v.*
VOL. IV.
MOULDS, sb. pi. Rut. (B. & H.) The ground-ivy,
Nepeta Glechoma.
MOULDY,a^". Yks.Lan.Stf Suf Alsoinformsmawldy
Suf ; meawldy Lan. L In comb, (i) Motildy-head, one
whose hair has grown grey in patches ; (2) -pudding, a
slattern. See Mould, adj.
(i) s.Stf. PiNNOCK Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). (2) Yks. (Hall.)
2. Melancholy ; sullen ; irascible ; also in comb. Mouldy-
tempered.
w.Yks. Very common (J.W.). Lan. Some folk are so crusty
un meawldy, Wood Sngs. 23. Suf. You look right mawldy, you
do, FisoN Merry Suf. (1899) 39. e.Suf. (F.H.)
MOULDY-BAND, sb. Nhp.' An ant-hill.
MOULDYWARP, sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Chs. Stf Der. Not. Lin. Rut. Lei. Nhp. Shr. Brks.
Suf. Also in forms maalwarp e.Lan.'; meaudiwarp,
meauldiwart, meawdewart Lan. ; modeywarp Not. ;
modiwarp w.Yks.* Lan. Not.' Suf. ; modiwart Sc. ;
modywarp Not. ; modywart Sc. ; mohdiwarp n.Lin.' ;
moldewarp w.Yks. Der.' ; moldewort Bnff. ; moldwarp
Yks. ; moldywarp w.Yks. Not.'^ ; molerywarp e.Yks. ;
molewarp w.Yks. s.Not. Suf.'; moleywarp w.Yks.;
moleywhaup Not.*; moliwarp s.Not.; moodiewart,moodie-
wort Sc. ; moodiwarp w.Yks.* nw.Der.' ; moodywarp
Nhb.' Lan.; moolywarp Nhb.'; mothertn.Yks.*; mothie-
wort Bnff.' ; moudewarp n.Cy. Lan. Der. ; moudewort
Sc. ; moudiewarp n. Yks. ; moudiewart, moudiewort Sc. ;
moudiwarp Slk. Dur.' n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' n.Lan.' ; moudi-
wart Sc. ; moudiwort Nhb. ; moudwarp w.Yks.' ;
moudwort Nhb.'; moudywarp N.Cy.' Lakel.' m.Yks.'
w.Yks.'^ e.Lan.' Der.* Lin.'; moudywart Nhb.' ; moudy-
wort Per. ; mouldard e.Yks. ; mouldewarp w.Yks. ;
mouldiewarp n.Yks.' ; mouldiwarf Not.' Lei. ; mouldi-
warp N.Cy.' n.Yks.' w.Yks.* Midi. Not.' n.Lin.' Lei.' Shr.'
Brks. ; mould'ort Shr.* ; mouldwarp Sc. n.Cy. w.Yks.
Lan. Stf.' s.Not. Lei.' ; moulywarp sw.Lin.' ; mounde-
warp e.Yks. ; mouther e.Yks. ; mowdawarp s.Dur. ;
mowdhat e.Yks.' ; mowdiewark Sc. (Jam.) ; mowdie-
warp e.Yks.' ; mowdiewort Sc. ; mowdiwark Sc. ;
mowdiwarp Lakel.* Cum. Wm. n.Yks. Chs.' n.Lin. ;
mowdiwart Sc. ; mowdwarp w.Yks. ; mowdywark
Cum.'* ; mowdywarp Nhb.' Cum.'** Wm. n.Yks.* Lan.' ;
mowlewarp Chs.' ; mowlwarp w.Yks.^ Suf ; mowthad
e.Yks.' ; muddywarp Chs. ; mudwart Slk. ; muUiwark
Cai.' 1. The mole, Talpa Europaea.
Sc. A moudiewort needs nae lantern, Henderson Prov. (183a)
66; The moudewort wants the een. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) II.
201 ; Like modywarts, below the grund, Had dug a secret way,
Ballads and Poems (1885) 209. Cai.', Bnff.' Frf. Moudiewarts
begin to howk And bore the tender fallow. Smart Rhymes
(1834) no. Per. Ae moodiewart there was that socht To mine
an' mak' a gain o't, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 149; Ye've
seen a boar by moonlight snoukin'. Pounce on a moudy-wort
thrang houkin, Spence Poems (1898) 197. Fif. Poor human
mouldwarps, doom'd to scrape in earth, Tennant Anster (1812)
29, ed. 1871. s.Sc. Left me without as much grund as wad mall
the hillock o' a moudiwart, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 123. Dmb.
It's jist as gude grun as ever a modiwart bor't a hole in, Cross
Disruption (1844) xxix. Ayr. Did ye ever see such a modiwart
like thing? Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) xi. Edb. Working like
moudiewarts in the dark, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) xv. Slk.
Puir blinded moudiwarp, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 130 ;
With drumble and mudwart impure, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 290.
Rxb. The mould-warp and worm crawling dark in the clay,
RiDDELL Poet. Wks. (ed. 1871) II. 85 ; ib. I. 245. Gall. Blind of
eye hke a grey mowdiewort, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xvi.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; (J.L. 1783) ; N.Cy.' Nhb. Rejoice ye cats,
an' foumets too. Ye moudiworts, Donaldson Poems (1809) 88 ;
Nhb.i, Dur.', s.Dnr. (J.E.D.), Lakel.'* Cum. A hill thrown up by
mowdiwarps, Richardson Talk (ed. 1876) 15 ; Cum.' ; Cum.* Snod
as a mowdy-warp, 39 ; Cum.* Wm. It . . . teeakus inta lile hooals
undthert grind, ameeast like mowdiwarps, Spec. Dial. (1877)
pt. i. II ; A skin as soft as a mowdy-warp (B.K.). Yks. (K.)
n.Yks. (G.M.T.) ; The mole-catcher keeps down the moudiewarps
all right, Atkinson Moorl. Parish (1891) 332 ; n.Yks.' =*, ne.Yks.'
e.Yks. Thompson Hist. Welton (1869) 168; (Miss A.); (G.C.) ;
Nature Notes, No. 4 ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks. Scatcherd Hist.
Morley (1830) 170, ed. 1874; (S.P.U.); N. 6- Q. (1872) 4th
A a
MOULIE-DROPS
[178I
MOUNT
S. ix. 149 ; Like a mould-warp underneath, Yksmati. (iS'je') 15 ; It
be a moley-warp (W.F.) ; Dyer Dial. (1891) 95 ; Sheffield Indep.
(1874); w.Yks.i23*5 Lan, Bigger than a modiwarp, Waugh
Chim. Com. (1874) 170, ed. 1879; Mould-warps, bats, an' owls,
Standing Echoes (1885) 29 ; Leavin' th' moodywarps a bit mooar
o' ther oun way, Mullins Johnny, i ; Yon moudewarp knows
how to work things better than we dun, Brierley Cast upon
World (1886) xviii ; He popt eawt o' th' seet Kke a meawdewart,
ib. Old Radicals, 14; Come, owd meaudiwarp, here's luck to yor
deeafness, ih. Marlocks (1867) iii ; Lan.i, nXan.', e.Lan.i chs.
You're the first muddywarp catcher I ever met as was teetotal
(G.M.G.) ; Chs.*23 Miiii, Jhe very mouldiwarps 'ud coom oop
oot o' their holes, Bartram People of Clapton (1897) 46. Stf.*
Der, There's a moudewarp ma's no end o' wark. . . Why ha'n't
ye set a trap till it? Verney Stone Edge (1868) I. 17 ; Ellis
Pmnunc. (1B89) V. 328; Der.' M(5odi,waa"(rp. nw.Der.' Not.
As blind as a modeywarp (W.H.S.) ; Not.^ As fat as a modiwarp ;
Not.=, s.Not. (J.P.K.), Lin.l nXin. That blind, money-grubbing
mouldiwarp. Peacock M. Heron (1872) III. 36; Sutton Wds.
(1881) ; n.Lin.i We mun hev them mohdiwarps kill'd upo' th'
beck bank. sw.Lin.' Our cat brings in a moulywarp nows and
thens. Rut.^ A mouldiwarp rootled oop the white clematis.
Lei.', Nhp.i Shr.' 'E's as slike as a mouldiwarp ; Shr.^ Brks.
(.M.J.B.), Suf. (E.G.P.)
Hence Mowthadin, vbl. sb. the act of catching moles.
e.Yks.' He's teean ti mouthadin for a livin'.
2. Fig. Used of a short dark person with a profusion of
hair ; also as a term applied to children.
Sc. 'If I catch ye, ye young moodiewort,' is often a mother's
threat, Montgomerie- Fleming ^ofcs ok /a>K. (1899). Bnff.'
3. Comp. (i) Mouldywarp-burd, the part of a plough
which turns up the furrow ; cf mould-board ; (2) -hill or
-hillock, a mole-hill ; (3) -hole, a ,mole-hole ; (4) -man, a
mole-catcher.
(i) Fif. (Jam.) (2) BnfF. A moldewort hillock and muild out of
the Churchyard, Gordon Keith (1880) 56. e.Yks.' MS. add.
(T.H.) Lan. We shall be swept away like meauldiwart-hills,
Brierley Cotters, iii. (3) Lan. I munt bryed mowdywarp-holes,
Tim Bobbin View Dial (1740) 11. (4) Not. We'd better send for
the mo'dywarp man (L.C.M.).
4. A mole-hill.
n.Cy. HoLLOWAY. Nhb.' Bella, hinny, gan an' spreed oot them
moudywarts. Suf.'
[1. A. Forms orig. ending in -warp : A molwarppe (v.r.
moldewarpe), talpa, Cath. Angl. (1483) ; Moldewarpes,
taupes, BiBLEswoRTH (c. 1325), in Wright's Voc. (1857)
166. Norw. dial, moldvarp (Aasen) ; Dan. muldvarp
(Larsen) ; Du. mulworp (Kilian) ; G. maulwurf. B.
Forms orig. ending in -wart: A molwart, talpa, Levins
Manip. (1570) ; Every modywart hyll, Douglas Eneados
(1513)) ed. 1874, III. 148. Cp. also Sw. mullvad, a mole
(Widegren).]
MOULIE-DROPS, sb. pi. Sc. The drops left at the
bottom of a glass.
Abd. Nae moulie draps, noo — clean-cap-oot a' roun', Guidman
Inglismaill (1873) 38.
MOULIGH, V. Ayr. (Jam.) To whimper, whine.
MOULLEEN, MOULSON, MOULT, see Moil, sb.\
Moolson, Mote, sb.'^
MOULTER, v.i Rut. Lei. War, Glo. Oxf. Wil. Som.
Dev. Also written mowlter Glo.' Oxf.' ; and in forms
mootery w.Som.' ; mouter n.Dev. ; mowder Dev. To
change the feathers, to moult. See Mout, v.
RuL' We alius reckons it's best for the hens to moulter early in
the season. Lei.', War.^ Glo. The poultry are not looking well,
they are moultering (A.B.) ; Glo.' Oxf.' That thar 'en's a mowl-
terin. Wil.' w.Som.' Mfeo'turee. Dev. ' My hens be all mow-
derin' (first syllable rhymes with cow), Reports Provinc. (1889).
Hence (i) Moultering, vbl. sb. the act of moulting ; (2)
-time, sb. moulting-time.
(i) n.Dev. Tha moutering o' the dove, Rocx/fw ««' Nell (1867)
St. 134. (2) w.Som.' Tez meo'tureen tuym wai" um.
MOULTER, v.^ Sc. Nhb. Yks. Chs. Lei. Nhp. War.
Shr. Glo. e.An. Also in forms molter Nhp.' War.' ;
mooter Nhb.'; mouter Sc. (Jam.) w.Yks.' Shr."^; mowter
s.Chs.' [mau't3(r), mii'tsr.] 1. To crumble with decay ;
to moulder ; of soil : to become friable ; to fall off in con-
sequence of friction.
Lth. (Jam.), Nhb.l, w.Yks. (S.P.U.), w.Yks.^ s.Chs.' Muwtfir.
Lei.' Nhp.' The mortar comes moultering down the chimney;
Nhp.2 War.3 ; War.* It'll moulter down nicely after these frosteses.
Shr.' I dunna think the stillige safe fur a big barrel, the sides bin
moutered as well as the legs ; Shr.'^ Moutering away. Glo.' Bricks
also are said to moulter with the frost.
Hence Moultry, adj. of soil : easy to work ; mellow ;
fine on the surface. Cf mouldery.
e.An.'2 Nrf. The soil is moultry, Cozens-Hardy Broad Ntf.
(1893) 25.
2. To take away piecemeal. Sc. (Jam.)
MOULTER, MOULTIN, see Malter, v., Moulder, i/.»,
Multure, Malting.
MOULY, adj. Sc. Nhb. Chs. Also written mooly Sc.
Nhb.' ; moully Sc. ; and in forms mahly Chs.' ; maily
s.Chs.' [mti-li.] L Mouldy. See Moul.
Sc. Moully siller in Wylieland, Chambers Pop. Rhymes (ed. 1870)
244. Frf. Wi' the clinking O' mooly bawbees in auld breeches,
Johnston Poews (1869) 184. Per. Her pouch doesna clink wi' a
moulie bawbee, Stewart Character (1857) 18. Dmb. Wee were
met on the mooly stairs by Mr. M"^Corkle, Cross Disruption (1844)
xxix. Ayr. He hated aye the mouly store. And moth's sad devas-
tation. Smith Poet. Misc. (1832) 96. Nhb.' A bit mooly cheese.
Chs.i They ayten bread at owd Robert Ward's so mahly that it
smooks eawt 0' their maiths. s.Chs.' Farm servants, when about to
leave a place they are dissatisfied with, repeat the following lines :
Maayli bred, iin maayli pahyz, sky'im-Dik- fill liahyz ; biitiirmilk
listid" ii b^edr, ahy)m saaTtin ahy shaa)nu stop eeur [Mally bread,
an' mally pies, Skim-Dick full o' eyes; Buttermilk astid o' beer,
I'm sartin I shanna stop here].
2. Comb. Mooly penny, a nickname for a miser.
Rnf. The schulemates at their play . . . Ca'd me . . . ' vile mooly
penny,' an' sic like, when I'd, forsooth, my coppers keep. Young
Pictures (1865) 150.
MOUM, MOUN, MOUNCH, see Malm, Maun, Manch.
MOUND, sb. and v. Nhp. War. Wor. Glo. Oxf. Brks.
e.Cy. Ken. Wil. Also written maund Ken."^ [maund,
meund.] 1. sb. In comb. Mound-of-hay, a hay-cock.
Ken.' 2. Any kind of hedge or fence used as a boundary.
Nhp.i, War.34, s.Wor. (H. K.) Glo. Complained that the mounds
were bad and other cattle got in (S.S.B.); Glo.'2, Oxf.', Brks.
(M.A.R.), e.Cy. (Hall.) Wil. This small green mead walled in
by trees and mounds so broad as to resemble elongated copses,
Jefferies Wild Life (1879) '^ZTt Wil.'
3. V. To hedge in ; to enclose.
Oxf. I was here before the land was mounded in (A.L.M.).
Wil.' The Churchyard ... to be mounded partly by the manor,
partly by the parish and parsonage except only one gate to be
maintained by the vicar, Hilmarton Parish Terrier (1704).
4. To put up, or repair a post and rail fence.
War.3 ; War."* I bea guining a mounding tomorrow ; them beasts
of ourn have busted all them old posteses and rails.
MOUNDEWARP, see Mouldywarp.
MOUNGE, V. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Der.
Not. Lin. Shr. w.Cy. Also in forms meawnge Lan.';
mewnge Lan. ; monge Shr.* w.Cy. [maung, m^ng,
mung.] 1. To munch ; to chew ; to eat greedily and
noisily. See Manch, Maunge, v}, Munge, v.^
Cld. (Jam.), n.Yks.'**, ne.Yks.' w.Yks.s What's tuh mounging
thear at when ther's await' wark to du ? Lan. C quartur un o'
peck o' cakes, to mewnge at to morn, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819)
32 ; Lan.', Shr.*, w.Cy. (Hall.)
2. To mumble ; to grumble in a low tone ; to whine,
complain; to threaten in an undertone; to low. See
Munge, v.^
Slk., Rxb. To gae moungin' about (Jam., s.v. Munge). N.Cy.'
What are you mounging about ? Nhb. She muttered and mounged,
RiTSON Garl. (1810) IV. 69; Nhb.', n.Yks.'z*, s.Not. (J.P.K.)
3. With about: to go about in a listless, dispirited, dis-
satisfied manner. Lakel.* Hence Moungy, adj. sleeov,
dull. Der.*, nw.Der.' "^ ^'
MOUNT, sb. and v} Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Lakel, Nhp.
Cth. Also in forms moont Nhb.'; munt Sc. [maunt,
miint.] 1. sb. In comp. Mount-caper, the marsh orchis,
Orchis latifolia. Ir. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 175, ed.
1876. 2. A horse-block. N.Cy.', Nhb.', Dur.', Nhp.'
3. V. In comb, (i) Mount-the-Kitty or Mounty Kitty, a
boys' game, see below ; (2) -the-tin, a game, see below.
MOUNT
[179I
MOURNING
(i) Nhb. Sides are taken (3 or 4 on a side). If three play on a side,
those who are in ' make backs' in a line. Then the first boy of
the off side (in leap frog style) must leap clean over to the furthest
boy's back, the second to next, and the third mounting in the rear
calls out 'Mount the kitty one, two, three.' All may then step
off. If a boy's foot touches the ground whilst this is being done
the sides change (R.O.H.) ; Nhb.^ Lakel.^ Mounty kitty, mounty
kitty, yan, tweea, three. (2) Cth. One child throws a tin to some
distance, and then walks towards it without looking round. The
other children, in the meantime, hide somewhere near. The child
who threw the tin has to guard it, and at the same time try to find
those who are hiding. If he sees one he must call the name, and
run to strike the tin with his foot. He does this until each one
has been discovered. As they are seen they must stand out. The
one who was first found has to guard the tin next time. Should
one of the players be able to strike the tin while the keeper is ab-
sent, that player calls out, ' Hide again.' They can then all hide
until the same keeper discovers them again, Gomme Games (1894)
I. 401.
4. To arrange, fix ; to equip, furnish ; to trim, dress up.
Sc. To make ready, to make preparations for setting off (Jam.).
Abd, The pipes a' fine muntit wi' red an' blue ribbons, Alexander
Johnny Gib6{i8Ti)x\. Ayr. (J.F.) Lnk. The old woman bestowed
a vast of presents on Tom, and mounted him like a gentleman,
Graham Writings (1883) II. 79. Kcd. Claid was he in honest
hodden. Woven in his ain true leem, Made and mounted by a
tailyour, Grant Lays (1884) 38. Nhp.l
Hence (i) Mounted, ppl. adj. equipped, furnished,
adorned ; (2) Mounting, sb. furnishing, equipment ; a
trousseau ; trimming ; gen. in pi.
(i) Ayr. The mortclaith-like goons she puts on gie her a swamp,
cauldrife, and fuU-m'unted appearance, Service Dr. Duguid (ed.
1887) 159. {a) Ayr. A bride's muntin's (J.F.). Lnk. O' muntin'
I hae plenty o't, O' claes I am na scant, An' I hae siller i' the
bank, Thomson Musings (1881) 45. Gall. (A.W.)
5. Weaving term.
Rnf. Sae mony odds and en's 'Tween lings and strings, and
sticks, and stanes. . . It's wonnerfu' how the bodies kens The way
to mount them, Webster Rhymes (1835) 151.
Hence Mounting, sb. a mount in weaving.
Making our mounting, tail and tapwark To operate weel, ib. 132.
MOUNT, v.'^ Yks. Chs. Shr. Suf. Also written mownt
s.Chs.^ ; and in form moont e.Yks.^ [maunt, munt.] To
moult or cast the feathers. See Mout, v.
e.Yks.^, s.Cbs.' Shr.i What a pelroUock that peckled 'en looks
now 'er's a mountin'. e.Suf. (F.H.)
MOUNTAIN, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Chs.
Der. War. Shr. Wil. Dor. Som. 1. In comb, (i) Moun-
tain-blackbird, (2) -coUey, the ring-ousel, Turdus tor-
quatus ; (3) -dew, whisky ; (4) -dulse, the mountain
laver, Ulva Montana (Linn.) ; (5) -flax, -flox, or -vlix,
(a) the dwarf-flax, Linum cathariicum ; (b) the centaury,
Erythraea Centaurium ; (c) the corn spurrey, Spergtua
arvensis ; (6) -flower, the wood geranium. Geranium syl-
vaticum ; (7) -folks, the sect of the Cameronians ; (8)
-men, see below ; (9) -sage, (a) the wood-sage, Teucrium.
Scorodonia; (b) the common lungwort, Pulmonaria
officinalis; (10) -snowdrop, the summer snowflake,
Leucojum aestivum ; (11) -spate, a stream which pours
down the mountain-side, after rain or snow; (12) -throstle,
the missel-thrush, Turdus viscivorus ; (13) -thrush, {a) see
(12) ; [b) see (2).
(i) Sc, n.Yks. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 8. Wil. It sufficiently
resembles it [the blackbird] to be called provincially the ' Mountain '
Blackbird, Smith Birds (1887) 137. (a) Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
(3) Sc. The shepherds, who . . . were collected together (not with-
out a quech of the mountain-dew). Lights and Shadows (1822) 37a
(Jam.). Abd. A ' greybeard ' jar of the real Glengillodram moun-
tain dew is emptied in, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 247. Frf.
Mountain-dew shall wet each eye. Sands Poems (1833) ig. Per.
O whisky! miscall'd ' mountain dew,' Stewart Character (1857)
Ixxvii. s.Sc. Cup of your own purer mountain-dew, Wilson Tales
(1836) II. 3. Edb. He tossed off the quaich of mountain dew,
Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 58. Slk. A draught of moun-
tain dew, Hogg 7o&5(i838) 321, ed. 1866. Gall. What brings on
a quicker, or a happier intoxication, than the pure Mountain dew?
Mactaggart Encycl, (1824) 3, ed. 1876. Nhb. Now a ' caulker,'
the finest of rich mountain dew, Newcastle Fishers' Carl. (1840)
137- (4) Sc. (Jam.) (5, a) Cum. ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1796) II. 114. Chs.l, Der., Shr. (6) Cum.l (f) n.Yks., Shr.l
Dor. Spurious flax, resembling dwarf or mountain flax (C.W.).
(6) Nhb."^ (7) Rnf. The mountain folks, as they were called, who
did not join in hearing till they gave in a written testimony against
the indulgence, hearing conformists, paying of cess, the toleration,
and some other of their common topics of objection at that time,
WoDROw Carres. (1709-31) I. 520, ed. 1843. (8) Sc. Scotch Presby-
terians who do not acknowledge the lawfulness of the present
civil government, as adhering to the principles of those who dis-
owned the authority of Charles II and James (Jam.). N.I.' That
sect of dissenters called 'Covenanters,' McSkimin Carrlckfergus.
(9, a) sw.Cum., Chs.^ (i) Cum.* (lo") War. (11) SIk. A few
mountain-spates, or twa-three glooms o' thunner and lichtnin, Chr.
North iVori«5(ed. 1856) III. 133. (12) Cnm.* \fm. Nature Notes,
No. 10. (13, a) Cum.* The mountain thrush is a very shy bird,
w.Cum. Times (July 29, 1892) 7. (6) Kcb. Swainson ib. 8.
2. Uncultivated, unenclosed land ; moorland.
w.Yks. The land isn't worth much ; it's only mountain (S.K.C.).
MOUNTAINY, adj. N.I.^ Mountainous.
Mountainy people. Mountainy land.
MOUNTING, ppl. adj. Dev. [meu'ntin.J In comb, (i)
Mounting-lark, the skylark, Alauda arvensis. nw.Dev.^ ;
(2) -stock, a horse-block. Reports Provinc. (jSSg).
MOUP, v} Sc. Also written moop. [mup.] 1. To
nibble ; to ' mump ' ; gen. used of children or of old people.
Cf map, V.
Sc. Twa crocks that moup amang the heather, Ramsay Tea-
Table Misc. (1724) I. 175, ed. 1871 ; The heron wi' her lang neb.
She moupit me the stanes. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (ed. 1870) 28.
Edb. Mice may moup, an' say my name Is the kirk's salamander,
Forbes Poems (1812) 57. Gall. (A.W.)
2. Phr., obs., to moup and mell, — or mell, to live at board
or bed with any one, as a wife with a husband.
Ayr. Ay lieep mind to moop an' mell, Wi' sheep o' credit like
thysel. Burns Death of Mailie, 1. 55. Slk. Neuir ane katt in all
the lande Durst moop or mell wyth hir, Hogg Pofws (ed.i86s) 172.
3. To keep company with.
Ayr. Moop wi' the servant hizzie. Burns Guid Ale, st. 2.
[1. For fait of fuide constrenyt so thai war, . . The
paringis of thair breid to movp wp sone, Douglas Eneados
(1513). ed. 1874, in. 88.]
MOUP, v.^ ? Obs. Sc. Also written moop (Jam.
Suppl.). To moult ; to drop ; to cast oS;Jig. to fail in health.
Ye have been bred about a mill, ye have mouped a' your
manners, Ramsay Prov. (1737) ; He's beginning to moup (Jam.).
Hence Moupit-like./i^/.ai^'. drooping in ill-health. (Jam.)
MOUPER, V. Rxb. (Jam.) To nibble continuously.
Cf. moup, v.^
MOURE, sb. ? Obs. Som. A turkey. (Hall.)
[A Turky cock, Port, gallo Mourisco, Minsheu Ductor
(1617).]
MOURIE, sb. Sc. A gravelly sea-beach ; gravel
mingled with sand. Mry. (Jam.), Bnff.^
MOURN, V. and sb. Sc. Lakel. Yks. Wor. Oxf. Also
written moorn Oxf.' ; murn(e Sc. Lakel." w.Yks.'^ [Sc.
Lakel. msrn.] 1. v. To moan ; to complain ; to be
peevish.
Cai.' Of cattle, to utter sounds implying illness or hunger.
w.Yks.2 Lakel.^ When fooak's sair hodden wi' pain they murn
cot wi' 't. w.Yks.2, w.Wor.i, s.Wor. (H.K.) Oxf.i That poor
baby do moorn.
2. sb. A murmur ; a murmuring sound.
Per. The water rins by wi' a waefu' murn, Ford Harp (1893)
297. Fif. The bick'rin' burn. In curlin' eddies gently played, Wi'
pleasin' mourn, Gray Poems (181 1) 45.
MOURNFUL, adj Sus. Dev. In comb, (i) Mournftil
sparrow, the butcher-bird, Lanius excubitor, or L. collurio
[not known to our other correspondents] ; (2) — widow,
(a) the sweet scabious, Scabiosa airopurpurea ; (b) the
field scabious, S. arvensis.
(i) Sus. (F.E.S.) (2, a) Dev. From its extremely dark colour
(B. & H.) ; Dev.* (6) Dev.*
MOURNING, ppl. adj. Sc. Yks. Lan. In comb. (1)
Mourning string, a streamer worn round the hat as a
sign of mourning ; (2) — widow, the dusky crane's-bill,
Geranium phaeum.
(i) Dmb. Put on a mourning string, Since he's awa that yer
bell did ring, Taylor Poems l^x^'zi) 48. (2) Yks., Lan. (B. & H.)
A a 2
MOURNINGS
[i8o]
MOUSEY-POUSEY
MOURNINGS, sb. pi. Sc. [maTninz.] A mourn-
ing garb.
Sc. Glasgow Herald (Apr. 3, 1899). Fif. She . . has to put on
' mournings ' when a bereavement occurs, Colville Vernacular
(1899) 3. Rxb. For you, poor beast, I'll mournings wear,
W. Wilson Poems (1824) 14.
MOURY, adj. ? Obs. Sc. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] ? Mellow.
Make the land moury and soft, and open the same before it be
sown with any sort of seed, Trans. Antiq. Soc. (1792) II. 154 (Jam.).
MOUS, see Mows.
MOUSE, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms maase w.Yks. ; meawse Lan. ; moos S. &
Ork.* ; moose Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.^ ; moss Dor. ; mousey
Cor.^ [maus, mous, Sc. and n.Cy. mils, w.Yks. mas,
Lan. mis, s.Cy. meus.] I. sb. Gram, forms : pi. (i)
Meazon, (2) Mece, (3) Meece, (4) Mees(e, (5) Meesen, (6)
Meeze, (7) Mese, (8) Meses, (9) Mousen.
(i) Sur. (Hall.) (2) Suf. Raven Hist. Suf. (1895) 260. (3)
e.An.i=, Cmb. (J.D.R.) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893)
54. Stif.i, e.Suf. (F.H.), Ess.i, Ken.12, Sur.i, Sus.i (4) Suf.
(M.E.R.) Dav. Where nine mees ate a happord o' cheese,
O'Neill Idyls (1892) 97. (5) Suf. e.An. Dy. Times (1892). (6)
nw.Dev.'^ I'd make mun look so small as meeze. Well chow'd by
our ould cat, Pindar Mid. Election. (7, 8) Ess. (J.M.) (9) Glo.'
e.Snf. Obsol. (F.H.)
II. Dial. uses. 1. sb. In comh. (i) Mouse-back, a
small weed ; (2) -corner, a secret place ; (3) -crop, run
over by a mouse ; (4) -fa', a mouse-trap ; (5) -hawk, the
short-eared owl, Asio brachyotus ; (6) -hole nuts, nuts
taken from the nests of mice or squirrels ; (7) -hound, (8)
•hunt or -hunter, the smallest animal of the weasel tribe,
possibly only the young of the stoat or weasel ; (9) -lug,
a small kind offorget-me-not, A/yoso&an/ewsis; (10) -milk,
the sun-spurge, Euphorbia Helioscopia ; (11) -neeze or
-nest,75§'. a dishonest action ; a knavish trick ; (12) -nook,
odd corners in which the accumulation of dirt and dust
do not get disturbed ; (13) -pasty, a cure for children who
wet their beds ; (14) -'s peas, the tufted vetch, Vicia Cracca ;
(15) -pie, see (13) ; (16) -snap, see (4) ; (17) -tails, a kind of
grass, lAlopecurusagrestis ; (18) Mice-dirt, the dungof mice ;
(19) -'s mouths, the yellow toad-flax, Linaria vulgaris.
(i) Ken. I'm getting mouse-back to make into a drink for my
children, who are ill (D.W.L.). (2) w.Yks. I am used to speaking
plainly ; there are no mouse-corners in my mind, Barr Love for
an Hour, 39. (3) n.Dor. (S.S.B.) [Mouse-crope, a beast that is
run over the back by a shrew mouse, is said to be so, Bailey
(1721).] (4) S. & Ork.i (s) Nhb.i Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad
Nrf. (1893) 51. (6) w.Cy. A few experts would still supply the
markets by robbing the squirrels and mice of their winter's store.
Such were called ' mouse-hole ' nuts and commanded the highest
price (A.W.). (7) e.An. (Hall.) (8) e.An.i Nrf. Emerson
Birds (ed. 1895) 348. Suf.i e.Suf. Female weasel, e.An. Dy.
Times (1892). Hmp. N. & Q. (1854) 1st S. ix. 385. (9) Lin.
(J.C.W.) (10) n.Yks. (B. & H.) (11) w.Yks. He has no mouse-
nests about him (S.P.U.). Lan. I think eh meh guts ot teers
meawse-neezes omung sone on urn, os weel os omung other fok,
Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 57. (13) w.Yks. Wuther's
abaght as if it wor detarmined to clear all th' maase nooks aat,
Hartley Ditt. (1868) ist S. 83. Lan. (S.W.) (13) Cor.2 You
bad child, I'll give you some mousey-pasty. [A mouse baked to
a dry powder, and administered to the child, is believed to be
a certain cure for this complaint (G.E.D.).] (14) Nhb.i (15)
w.Yks. (^J.W.l, w.Som.i (16) Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng.
(1825). w.Som.i (i7)Wil.i (18) Sc. ' Had I as muckle black
spice as he thinks himself worth of mice-dirt, I would be the
richest man of my kin.' Spoken satyrically of proud beaus, whom
we suspect to be highly conceited of their own worth, Kelly
Prov. (1721) 153. (19) Wil.i
2. Phr. (i) the mouse and the cobbler, a game ; see below ;
(2) to make mice feet of, to overcome completely ; to destroy.
(i) Ken. One girl stands up and personates a mother, another
pretends to be a mouse, and crouches behind a chair in a corner.
The mother says to another player, ' Go and get your father's
shirt.' This player goes to the chair to look for the shirt, and is
tickled or touched by the one hiding. She rushes back and calls
out, ' Mother, there's a mouse. Go and get your father's coat.
There's a mouse. Go and get your father's watch and chain.
There's a mouse.' The Mother then goes to see herself. The
second time she is scratched and chased. When caught she takes
the Mouse's place, Gomme Games (1894) I. 401-2. (2) Bnff.i
3. The outside fleshy part of a leg of mutton ; the bulb
of flesh in the shank; a small piece of meat under the
spare-rib of a pig.
Sc. (Jam.), Oxf.i Wil. Pig-meat— such as spare-rib, griskin,
blade-bone, and that mysterious morsel, the 'mouse,' Jefferies
Amaryllis (1887) xii.
4. Comp. (i) Mouse-buttock, the fleshy piece which is
cut out from a round of beef; (2) -end, the end of a leg of
mutton in which the ' mouse ' is situated.
(i) Nhp.i (2) Edb. A mutton bone . . . fleshy enough at the
mouse end, MoiR Mansie IVauch (1828) xxv.
5. A muscle in the leg or under the blade-bone of a pig,
rabbit, &c.
Nhp.i The strongest muscle in the shoulder of a pig ; which,
when drawn out quickly from the flitch, makes a squeaking noise ;
and children often say to the butcher, 'Come, let's hear the
mouse squeak.' It is believed that this muscle will not take the
salt. Wil. Believed to taint the meat, if not cut out before
cooking. Should a ham not keep well, people will say, ' You
should have taken the mouse out' (G.E.D.) ; Wil.^
6. V. To run quickly and stealthily like a mouse.
Lan. Watch the boggarts . . . mouse over the clough like a
dreamy ogre that preferred to steal abroad at the time when ' all
cats are gray,' Brierley Cotters, ii. n.Lin. Them little jinties does
moose along i' th' hedge-boddum (M.P.).
MOUSE-EAR, sb. Sc. Yks. Shr. Dev. 1. The mouse-
ear cbickweed, genus Cerastium, esp. C. triviale.
Lnk. There grew a' the wee wildin' flowers o' the year — The
speedwell, the violet, the yellow mouse-ear, Nicholson Idylls
(1870) 37.
2. The garden woundwort, S/acAj/s ^«r»«a«/ca. Shr.^
3. The woolly woundwort, 5. lanata. Dev.* 4. Comp.
Mouse-ear grass, the oat-grass, Bromus mollis. w.Yks.
Lees Flora (1888) 494.
MOUSELL, w. s.War. To eat. (H.K.)
MOUSER- WITHY, sb. w.Som.^ A kind of willow
which grows in hedges or dry places.
w.Som.' Maew'zur-wudh-ee makes capital binds from its
toughness, and is much sought after by thatchers.
MOUSE-TRAP, sb. Yks. Nhp. In phr. (i) every man
to his mouse-trap, every man to his own business, or to his
accustomed occupation. Nhp.^; (2) not to have sense to
bait a mouse-trap, to show oneself very ignorant or in-
expert. w.Yks.^
MOUSE- WEB, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Also in forms
mass-webb Yks. ; moose-wab Cai.^ ; moose-web Sc.
(Jam.) ; moose-'wib Sh.I. ; moose-wob ne.Sc. ; mouse-ivob
Abd. ; mus-web Cum. n.Yks.* ne.Yks.^; muz- web n.Cy.
n.Yks.^ ne.Yks."^ w.Yks.^; muz-wipe n.Yks.^ [mii-s-,
mu'z-web.] Gossamer ; a cobweb ; phlegm ; also used^^.
Sc. Just pit a bit mouse web till't. It was ay what I used when
ony of the bairns gat broken brows, Saxon and Gael (1814) III.
80 (Jam.). Sli.I. A corn o' dis'U tak da moose wibs aff your
stammicks, Sh. News (Jan. 29, 1898). ne.Sc. Spiders were
regarded with a feeling of kindliness. . . Their webs, very often
called moose wobs, were a great specific to stop bleeding, Gregor
Flk-Lore (1881) 147. Cai.^ Abd. Inside a den O' mouse-wobs
and dirt, wi' a but an' a ben, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 15. Per.
A tapestry of mould and ' mouse-webs ' fitting the angles, Hali-
BURTON Furth in Field (1894) no. Fif. Tennant Papistry (1827)
197. Edb. Synd your mouse-webs wi' reaming stout. While ye
hae cash, Fergusson Poems (1773) 148, ed. 1785. n.Cy. (Hall.)
Cum. We are all mortal dry, . . we'll wash the muswebs out
of our throats, Dalby Majvwyrf (1888) II. 90. Yks. Mass webbs,
and cock webbs, like dainty laace, Fetherston T. Goorkrodger
{;i.^ia) 78. n.Yks.i; n.Yks.* Ez femmur ez a musweb, 239.
ne.Yks.i In Cleveland generally applied to gossamer, but not in
the south of the North Riding. w.Yks.i
Hence Mouse-webbed, ppl. adj., obs., covered with cob-
webs.
Bnff. In a wee hut mouse-webb'd, an' far frae clean, Taylor
Poems (1787) 3.
MOUSEY-POUSEY, s6. Irel. A child's name for the
mouth.
n.Ir. Luk at him's wee . . . mousey-pousey Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 64.
MOUSKIT
[i8i]
MOUTH
MOUSKIT, adj. Sh.I. Mouse-coloured. S. & Ork.^
MOUSTER, V. Hrf. To moulder, asp. for compost.
Bound Provinc. (1876). Hrf.i ; Hrf.^ The ground wants to
mouster a bit.
MOUSTER, see Mooster, v?-
MOUT, V. and sb. Sc, Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Won Shr. Nrf. Also in forms maatw.Yks.^e.Lan.^;
maight Chs.^ ; mart w.Yks. ; meaut e.Lan.^ ; meawt
w.Yks. m.Lan.i; moot Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.^ Dur.^ Cum.'
n.Yks.2 e.Yks.i m.Yks.i; mowt Chs.' Shr.^; mute Sc.
(Jam.) Nrf. [Sc. n.Cy. mut, w.Yks. mat, Lan. met.]
1. V. To change the feathers, to moult ; to have one's
hair come oi.t.
Sc. (Jam.) Slk. The hens are no laying the noo — they're
mootin, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. iii. N.Cy.', Nhb.',
Dur.*, Cum.', e.Yks.i w.Yks. A gooise meawts iwery year.
Hartley Clock Aim. (1889) 26. w.Yks. [Of human hair] Aye,
it's been marty aboon a month, if it doesn't give ower a s'll
mart misen bald (jE.B.) ; Wright Gram. Wndhll. (1892) 66;
w.Yks.'* Lan. He's as rag'd as a robbin when it's raoutin'.
Eavesdropper Vill. Life (1869) 18. e.Lan.', Chs.', nw.Der.',
w.Wor.i, Shr.2
Hence (i) Mouting, ppl. adj. moulting, out of condition ;
(2) Moutit, ppl. adj. of a person : wasting away ; (3)
Moutit-like, see (i) ; (4) Mouty, adj. moulting ; out of
condition ; of the hair : having short ends, falling out.
(i) Fif. He hasna as muckle on a Monday mornin' as wad buy a
pouther for a moutin' canary, McLaren Tibbie (1894) 17. Lan. A
meautin sparrow, Clegg Sketches (1895) 427. (2) Sc. (Jam.) (3)
Slk. A poor bit black mootit-like corbie, Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck
(1818) II. 134 (ii.). (4) n.Yks. Our hens is mooty (I.W.).
w.Yks. He's bin varra poorly an' he nobbut lewks a bit mati yut
(B.K.) ; Human hair that has many short lengths in it is here
called marty. ' Aye, it's been marty aboon a month ' (jE.B.).
2. Comb, with prep, and adv. : (i) Mout away, to take
away piecemeal ; to diminish ; (2) — out, to break out into
holes ; (3) — through, to break through, become visible.
(i) Sc. Bread is said to be moutit awa' when gradually lessened.
It especially respects the conduct of children in carrying it away
piecemeal in a clandestine manner (Jam.). w.Yks.' (2) n.Yks.
This gown's mootin' out i hooals (I.W.) ; n.Yks.' 2 As cloth that is
worn to thinness. ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. 334.
m.Yks.' (3) m.Yks.' As the large head of a nail will be likely to
do through thin wall-paper.
3. sb. The state of moulting, gen. in phr. in the mout,
moulting ; Jig. in a state of melancholy.
Nhb. Like ony chicken efter moot, Wilson PiVwax'i Pay (1843)
43 ; Nhb.' n.Yks. They wer i' t'moot, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes
(1875) 53. e.Yks.' Your bod's getten moot. w.Yks. If a woman
comb her hair and it come out on to the comb in large quantities,
it may cause the remark, ' Ah think thi hair's i' t'mart, lass ' (jE.B,).
Lan. As mopin' as an owd hen i' th' meawt, Brierley Irkdale
(1868) 46. m.Lan.' Them young chaps as is i' th' meawt through
being crossed i' love. Nrf. ' I hope I shall get over the mute by
springtime ' (said by a man who had had all the hair on his face
burnt off), Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 723.
[1. Mowtyn, as fowlys, deplumeo, Prompt. Lat. mutare,
to change ; cp. LG. ntuten, ' sagt man von den Vogeln,
wenn sie im Juli oder August die Federn verlieren u.
neue bekommen ' (Berghaus) ; G. m.ausen.'\
MOUT, MOUTAR, MOUTCH, see Mote, si.", Multure,
v., Mooch, v.^
MOUTEN, z/. Bnff.' To melt.
MOUTER, sb. War.2 A kiss on the mouth.
Come his little ways, and give papa a mouter.
MOUTER, V. Hrf.2 [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] To take no notice. ' Go moutering along.'
MOUTER, see Moulter, v.^^
MOUTH, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in forms maath w.Yks. ; maith Chs.' ; moo Sc.
Bnfif.' ; mooth Sc. Nhb.' Cum.* e.Yks.' nw.Lin. ; mou Sc.
Nhb.'; mow Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.' [mau}>, moujj, Sc. and
n.Cy. mujj, mu, w.Yks. majj, Lan. me)?, Chs. maijj, s.Cy.
meujj.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Mouth-band, (a) a halter ;
(b) speech, utterance ; a word ; (c) to articulate, pronounce;
to mention ; to comprehend ; (2) -bit, a morsel ; food ;
(3) -cue, a twisted halter used for curbing a young horse ;
(4) -frachty, agreeable to the taste ; palatable ; (5) -ful, a
meal ; a scanty livelihood ; a small quantity of anything
to eat or drink ; (6) -ful of a prayer, a short prayer ; (7)
-groves, short levels, gen. entering upon the crop of a
coal ; (8) -hause, a trap-door opening ; (9) -high, as high
as one's mouth; (10) -hod, grass for cattle; (11) -maul,
to talk loudly and abusively ; to drawl ; to speak indis-
tinctly ; to sing out of tune ; (12) -organ, a jews'-harp ;
(13) -pock or -poke, a horse's nosebag ; a meal-bag ; (14)
-speech, speech.
(i, a) Ayr. (Jam.) (b) BnfF.' Nae ae moo-bann aboot fat A've
tellt ye. Abd. An' they cud but get mou'ban' wi' 'er, an' hear
Jean pit cot'er breath upon 'im, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 171.
(c) Sc. That I to mowband wad blush, Jamieson Pop. Ballads
(1806) I. 295. e.Sc. I wonder how their fathers an' mothers mou'-
banded them when they were bairns, Setoun R. Urquhart (1896)
iii. Abd. Never raouband till her onie man, Ross Helenore (1768)
42, ed. 1812. Frf. Without moubandin' A single word, he claps
my hand in His iron loof. Sands Poems (1833) 122. Slk. I hae
the maist of it i' my head but I canna mouband it, Hogg Tales
(1838) 24, ed. 1866. Nhb.' 'Aa canna mowband that.' It means
literally to get the mouth about, as in the expression, ' Wait a bit ;
thoo canna mowband that big word yit.' (2) Edb. They gar their
mou'-bits wi' their incomes met, Fergusson Poems (1773) 183,
ed. 1785. (3) Rxb. (Jam.) (4) n.Sc. (*.) (5) Elg. They [oxen]
ken the ev'ning mouthfu's sweet, Couper Poetry (1804) I. 88.
Abd. The taverns are shut, an' he can't get a ' mou'fu',' Ogg Willie
Waly (1873) 196. Per. She toil'd and she swat for a mouthfu',
Ford Harp (1893) 190. Cld. D'ye think we'd be waur o' a mouth-
fu' O' gude nappy yill and a bun ? Nimmo Sngs. (1882) 196. Gall.
She gethered her mouthfu' alang the road-side, Kerr Maggie o'
Moss (1891) 39. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) (6) Kcd. Ilka nicht I'se
gether them. An' hae a chapter read. And gie them ... A mou'fu'
o' a prayer, Grant Lays (1884) 58. (7) Nhb.' (8) Rnf. Up the
mou hause she flew in anger, Jenny, ye gawky, come down to Jock,
Webster Rhymes (1835) 41. (9) Ayr. My heart yet loups Mouth
high for fear, Fisher Pcie»»s( 1 790) 66. (io)n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.'
Good mouth-hod. (11) Shr.' If I could get at 'im I'd gie 'im sich
a mouth-maulin' as 'e never 'ad afore. Yo' may call it chantin' or
whad yo'n a mind, but I call it mouth-maulin', fur nobody can tell
whad they sen. Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Glo.', Oxf.i
(12) e.Yks.' (13) Sc. (Jam.) Lth. They were like horses' black
raooth-pocks, Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 113. Bwk. We
fairly seemed to revel When the moothpock's rinnin' owre,
Calder Poems (1897) 259. Nhb.i, Cum.'* (14) w.Som.i Can't get
no mouth-speech out 0' her. Dev. I have been to the house, but
can get no mouth-speech of anybody. Reports Provinc. (1885) 100;
Dev.', nw.Dev.' Cor.' Hav' 'ee lost your mouth-speech ? Cor.*
His mouth-speech went from en hours before he died.
2. Phr. (i) don't open your mouth so wide, don't ask such
an exorbitant price ; (2) glib in the mouth, glib ; (3) God
never sends mouths hut He sends meat, God provides for all
the children ; (4) stop your mouth, hold your tongue ; (5)
to be all mouth and eyes, to be much excited ; to be full of
wonder ; (6) to give mouth, to cry loudly, ' to give tongue ' ;
(7) to have a mouth on one, to be hungry or thirsty ; (8) to
have a mouth on one like a torn pocket, a common com-
parison ; (9) to hold in an animal's mouth, to feed up, to
fatten ; (10) to m,ake a mouth, to sulk ; to complain ; (11)
to one's mouth, of food : to one's taste ; (12) to open one's
mouth and let it say what it likes, to talk violently, wildly,
and without deliberation ; (13) to wet the mouth, to drink ;
(14) what goes to the m,ou myeks the coo, a prov. ; (15) with
one's fnouih, with one's vocal powers.
(i) Nhp.i (2) Edb. Dominie Davis, sae glib i' the mou, Mac-
lagan Poems (1851) 175. (3) w.Yks. Prov. in Brighouse News
(Aug. 10, 1889). (4)War.S (5) e.Suf. (F.H.) (6) e.Yks. When
they tooted the hawboy, an Billy ga mooth, ' Here we cum wi'
the soond o'the hohn,' Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 40. w.Yks. Ah'll
mak thee gi' maath if ah get hod on theh (iE.B.). (7) N.I.' He
niver as much as axed me if A had a mouth on me. (8) ib. (9)
Sh.I. A'm haudiu' i' da cock's mooth ta see an' fatt'n him fil afor
Yol ta send doon ta da boy, Sh. News (Nov. 24, 1900). (10) Cai.'
Ayr. Allan forsooth had better skill than mak his mow, or tak it
ill, Sillar Poems (1789) 235. (n) Ir. Is the tay to your mouth ?
Paddiana (ed. 1848) I. 151. (12) nw.Lin. Cud S — — was as steady
goin' punct'rl a man as hv'd except when 'lection times com round ;
then he oppen'd his mooth an' let it say what it liked (E.P.). (13)
Frf. Join for whisk' their mous to weet, Morison Poems (1790) 77.
MOUTHER
[182]
MOW
(14) Nhb.i (15) Per. Roar for help . . . Doun to the braehead wi'
your mooth An cry them in, Halieurton Ocftil Idylls (1891) 42.
3. A mouthful.
Sc. It's good mows that fill the wame, Henderson Prov. (1832)
126. Sh.I. ShQ's able ta clair wis a mooth o' maet, an' dat's a
mercy in a hairst day, Sh. News (Sept. 30, 1899).
4. A rocky cove.
n.Dev. Such is the ' Mouth ' — as those coves are called, Kings-
ley Westward Ho (1855) 47, ed. 1889.
5. A trap-door opening. See Mouth-hause.
Rnf. Jenny made wonderfu' light o' Johnny, Syne in her glaiks
crap up the mou', Webster Rhymes (1835) 40.
6. The portion of a spade which goes into the soil ; the
bowl of a spoon.
Sh.I. Sk, News (Feb. 29, 1898). Chs.^ Aw mun send th' shoo to
th' smithy to have a yew maith.
7. An expression of contempt. N.I.i You're a mouth.
8. V. To speak ; to proclaim.
Ayr. I heard a queer story, though I never moothed it to a leevin',
Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 223 ; Wag-wits nae mair can have
a handle To mouth ' a Citizen,' a term o' scandal, Burns Brigs of
Ayr (1787) 1. 183.
8. To make faces ; to grin. Cf. mow, v?
s.Stf. He mouthed at me till I was afeard (T.P.).
10. To crave ; to feel hungry. S. & Ork.'
MOUTHER, see Multure, Mouldywarp.
MOUTHY, a(^; Ken. Wil. [meu-^i.] Saucy, impudent;
abusive.
Ken. He is the mouthiest fellow I know (W.F.S.). Wil.^
MOUTLE, V. Sc. (Jam.) Also written mootle. To
take away piecemeal ; to nibble, to fritter away. Cf.
moulter, v.^
Cld., Lth., Rxb. A child is said to mootle its piece.
MOUTRE, MOUZE, see Multure, Mows.
MOUZLE, V. Chs.^* To mess ; to make untidy.
MOUZY, see Mosey, adj}'^
MOVE, V. and sb. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Suf. Dev.
[muv.] 1. V. In phr. (i) to move off the board, see below ;
(2) move all, a juvenile game, something like ' my lady's
toilette.'
(i) Nhb.i When any question has been discussed and arranged
it is said to have been moved-off-the-board, (2) Suf."-
2. To make a bow, to curtsey.
Yks. ' Did you move to Mrs. Chose?' ' No, for she did not move
to me,' N. & Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 278. w.Yks. Aa wur baa'n
b:aa"y, un-i me'h'd u muo'v, soa' Aa muo'vz misen [I were bown
by, and he made a move ; so I moves mysen] (C.C.R.). Lan.
N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 273. s.Chs.^ Not. He moved to me,
but I didn't know who he was (L.C.M.). Dev. N. & Q. (1883)
6th S. viii. 354.
3. sb. A bow, curtsey. s.Chs.' 4. Phr. a high move,
insolent behaviour, an arrogant proceeding. w.Yks."^
MOW, v.^ and sb} Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
[mou, m^, ma.] I. v. Gram, forms. 1. Present Tense :
(i) Ma(a, (2) Maw(e, (3) Meauw, (4) Mew.
(i) Sc. Murray Dial. (1873) 206. Cum.i Wm. It wed spaar a
deel a varra hard waark maain it fer em. Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii.
4. w.Yks.i A ginny e goud at I adled last year wee maing, ii.
357. n.Lan.', ne.Lan.^ (2) Sc. I am sure ye are right about the
sawing and the mawing, Scott Midlothian (1818) ix. Sh.I. Du
didna maw da half o' dy girs, Stewart Tales (1892) 17. n.Sc. It
fell about the month o' May, When meadows were a mawing,
BucHAN Ballads (1828) II. 27, ed. 1875. Cld. (Jam.) Ayr. Hae
ye been mawin. When ither folk are busy sawin ? Burns Dr. Horn-
book (1785) St. 8. Gall. He could . . . thresh, and dike, and ditch,
and maw, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 42, ed. 1897. N.Cy.i,
Dur.i, Wm. (K.), w.Yks."- n.Lln.i You'll hev to gie five shillin' a
aacre for th' seads-cloase mawin. Brks.^ 12. Hrt. Ellis Mod.
Husb. (1750) III. i. 167. Suf. He's goin' a raawan, e.An. Dy.
Times (iSgs). Ken.^ Som. jEtimtics Dial. w.Eng. (i86g). Dev.
I had been mawing with vive or zix others, Burnett Stable Boy
(1888) xxvii. (3) Lan. Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) II.
213. (4) Lakel.' Mewen hay's yan o' t'warmest jobs. Ess.'
2. Preterite : (i) Mawed, (2) Mew [meu, miu].
(i) Gall. He mawed her rig wi' manfu' arm, Nicholson Poet.
Wks. (1814) 137, ed. 1897. Dur.i, Brks.^ 12. (2) Sc. Meuw,
Murray Dial. (1873) 206. N.Cy."^, Dur.i, Cum.K, n.Yks.^^'',
ne.Yks.i, e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i w.Yks. Wright Gram. Wndhll. (1892)
139; w.Yks.i He mew maar ner an acre to-day; w.Yks.^^
n.Lin.' I mew th' gress afoore th'raain caame. sw.Lin.' I mew it
last year. Cmb. Peacock Gl. (1889). Suf.i I mew that there filld.
Ess. Where'er he sew,or rep, or mew, Clark J. Noakes (1839) st. 25.
3. Pp. : (i) Maan, (2) Mahn, (3) Mawed, (4) Mawn, (5)
Meowun, (6) Mew.
(i) So. Murray Dm/. (1873) 206. w.Yks.l (2) w.Yks. We've
mahn our gerss an' housed our hay, Twisleton M. Harman
(1867) St. n. (3) Brks.i 12. (4) Sc. Your breath was sweet as
new-mawn hay, Outram Lyrics (1887) 99. Ayr. The meadows
were mawn, Burns Heather was Blooming, st. i. Nhb. The new-
mawn hay, Coquet Dale Sngs. (1852) 96. w.Yks. (J. W.) s.Not. A
don't call that wheat ill mawn (J.P.K.). (5)e.An.i (6)e.Suf. (F.H.)
II. Dial. uses. 1. v. In comp. (i) Mow-dargue, obs., a
day's work of mowing ; (2) -hawk, obs., a piece of an old
scythe fixed in a long handle ; (3) -man, obs., a mower.
(i) Nhb.i Each tenant is to perform yearly a mow-dargue,
Hodgson Nhb. 11. III. 144. (2) Hrt. Ellis ATorf. Husb. (1750)111.
i. 167. (3) Hrt. Indifferent mowmen, ib. V. iii. 51.
2. sb. A single sweep of a scythe. Cld. (Jam.) 3. A
meadow.
Dev. [Jv Mucksy Lane, thare ez a bend Thit layd'th intu a lot
a mowze, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. 2nd S. (ed. 1866) 40.
MOW, sb.^ and v.' In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng.
Also written mough w.Yks. Lan. ; mowe Sc. e.Yks. ; and
in forms maww Cum.^* ; meaf m.Yks.^ ; mew Nhb.i
Cum." n.Yks.i^" ne.Yks.^ e.Yks.' m.Yks.' War.^ n.Dev. ;
mie Mtg. ; moo Cai.' Cum.* Wm. w.Yks.' ^^ Lan.' e.Lan.'
m.L^n.' ; moof Lan.' ; mou Sc. Nhb.' Oxf.' Dev. ; moue
Sc. ; mu Cum. ; muff nw.Der.' ; mye Hrf.^ [mou, mau,
mil ; meu, miu.] 1. sb. A pile of unthreshed grain ; a
loose heap of hay or straw housed in a barn ; a corn or
hayrick; aheap. Cf. barley-mow, corn-mow, hay-mow.
Sc. I hae a stook and I'll soon hae a mowe. Chambers Sngs.
(1829) I. 134. Cai.', Bn£f.' Abd. Come ilka ane an' carry that
can win — The loon an' I will bring the mou' within, Walker
Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 456. Kcd. Bere an' aits . . . Ther'out
in rucks, or i' the barn Weel biggit in a mow, Grant iays (1884)
3. w.Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. I had angert sair my doo By fa'ing soun'
asleep wi' her, When in the barley mow, Ainslie Land of Burns
(ed. 1892) 143. Lnk. Down came the bed with a great mou of
peats, Graham Writings (1883) II. 15. Bwk. By the side o'
Ringan's mow, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 58. Slk. Ayont
the mow amang the hay, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 276. Gall,
From the haymow in the barn, where he had been making a
pretence of work, a retainer appeared, Crockett Standard Bearer
(1898) 338. Nhb.' A stack carried to a barn before threshing is
built up in divisions called mows, occupying the breadth between
two roof principals. Dur.' s.Dnr. We've been makken' t'mow
(J.E.D.). Cum. lied their cworn ; she fork't me sheaves to
t'mu', Gilpin Pop. Poetry (1875) 207; Cum.* There crouching
upon the mew he espied what he took to be a large fox, w. Cum.
Times (Xmas No. 1892) 4. Wm. T'moo smook't, en yan wes offen
freeten't ev fire brekkan oot. Spec. Dial. (1885) 39. Yks. Ellis
ProMKMC. (1889) V. 537. n.Yks.i^* e.Yks. Marshall /?«/-. fcoM.
(1788) ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks. Cudworth Horton (1886) Gl. ;
w.Yks.' T'black hawer-strea moo, ii. 286 ; w.Yks. ^3 Lan. Awll
show the a prime mough 0' hay, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740)
44 ; The hay was all got into mows ready for the hay-cart (S. W.) ;
Lan.', s.Chs.i, Der.2, nw.Der.', n.Lin.', Nhp.12, War.^ se.Wor.'
I wans a mon to 'elp mil to thresh a mow o' whate, 73. Shr.i A
cluster of standing sheaves — generally six or eight. Glo.', Oxf.i,
Brks.' Hrt. If hay is cut over ripe ... it will become black in
the mow, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) IV. i. 102. Hnt. (T.P.F.),
Sur.i, Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.' Dor. I thote if squire woud allow,
I'd put they in a faggot mow, Eclogue (1862) 25 ; Dor.' 'Tis all up
siafe in barn ar mow. Som. Some familiar homestead, with its
thatch and yellow mows, Raymond Tryphena ( 1895) 76. w.Som.'
A stack or rick of corn. A heap in a barn is never a mow
[maew] nor is a hay-rick. Dev.' w.Dev. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1796). sw.Dev. Thare ha lide in wan tha mouz, Pengelly
Verbal Pronunc. (1875) no. Cor. It [the corn] is generally taken
to the homestead and made into oblong mows, Quiller-Couch
Hist. Polperro (1871) 118.
2. Comb, (i) Mow-barton, the stack-yard ; (2) -breast,
obs., the side of a stack ; (3) -burn, of hay : to become
over-heated in the stack ; (4) -burnt, of hay or corn : over-
heated in the rick because it has been stacked before being
properly seasoned ; (5) -cock, a stack ; (6) -collars, circular
slates, surrounding the supports of a ' mow-stead ' to
MOW
[183]
MOWS
prevent rats and mice climbing up ; (7) -fen, obs., a fen
which yields fodder for cattle ; (8) -hat, hay or corn over-
heated in the stack ; (9) -hetten, see (4) ; (10) -plat, see
(i) ; (11) -staddle, the framework or stone upon which a
stack is built ; (12) -stead, (a) the place where the rick
stands ; the stand or supports which raise the rick from
the ground ; (b) the space between the threshing-floor
and the end of the barn ; the threshing-floor ; (c) a mass
of hay or corn ; (13) -stones, (a) large stones placed upon
a rick to keep the thatch on ; (b) the stone supports of
a ' mow-stead.'
(i) Som. The cow-stalls and mow-barton full of yellow stacks,
Raymond Tryphena (1895) 8. w.Som.i Every farm has its mow-
barton, but of late years, owing to the employment of steam-
thrashers, the stacks are oftener made in the harvest-field, and
consequently mow-bartons are less used. Dev. I want two long
gates for the mowbarton, Reports Provinc. (1883) 88. (2) e.Yks.
Lette them lie at the mowebrest all night, Best Rur. Econ. (1641)
75- (3) Hrt. Coarse sedgy hay . . . will mowburn, Ellis Mod.
Hush. (1750) IV. i. loi. (4) Cum.i*, n.Yks. (T.S.), n.Yks.a-*,
ne.Yks.i, e.Yks.^ Chs.'^ ; Chs.^ The smell of this sort of hay is
most fragrant, but the, quality is supposed to be injurious to its
consumers. s.Chs.^ Ee sez yaan'diir bit ti ee')z got'n muw-
buurnt i dhfl staak' ; bur ah du)nu pursee'v it misel', iin it semz
tii d6o wel fiir)th ky'ey [He says yander bit o' hee's gotten mow-
burnt i' the stack ; bur ah dunna perceive it mysel, an' it seems
to do well for th' key]. Shr.i Bill says 'e thinks the 'ay's toasted
a bit too much, but the cattle aten it, an' dun well — it's none the
worse fur bein' a bit mow-burnt. Hrf.2, w.Mid. (W.P.M.), Sus.i,
Hmp. (H.C.M.B.^, I.W.i, w.Som.i (5) Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb.
(1750) IV. i. 109.' (6) nw.Dev.i (7) Nhp.2 (8) w.Yks.l (9)
w.Yks.* (10) w.Som.i (ii) Som. A conical stone with a flat
circular cap, used for the support of a mow, W. & J. Gl. (1873).
w.Som.^ These frameworks are usually supported upon stone or
wood posts about two feet from the ground, and having large flat
caps on the top, upon which the timber framing rests. The
object is to keep the corn from the damp earth, and the caps are
to prevent rats or mice from climbing up the posts. n.Dev. Witch
ellem timbers vor mewstaddle, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 71.
(12, a) Cum.!* Hrt. Previous to the mowing wheat sheaves, . .
a mowstead should be prepared to lay them on, Ellis Mod. Husb.
(1750) V. i. 2. Dev. (Hall.), Dev.'^ n.Dev. I'd rayther awn her
purty mou' Than ha our mewsteads beggest mow, Rock Jim an'
Nell (1867) St. 32. nw.Dev.i (6) Cum. Morton Cyclo. Agric.
(1863). (c) Cum.' ; Cum.* 3^ Mowsteads of oats in Dutch Barn,
w.Cum. Times (Feb. 25, 1899) ^> <^°'- 4- ("^3? "i ^) nw.Dev.'
3. The unboarded space at each end of the threshing-
floor where the corn is heaped for threshing; a raised
stage in a barn in which the threshed corn is kept ; a
'bay' of a barn; the wooden division separating the 'bays';
also in comp. Mow-end.
Bwk, They were engaged in carrying his corn from the stack
in the barn-yard to the mow in the barn, Henderson Pop,
Rhymes (1856) 91. ne.Yfcs. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. 40.
m.Yks.i, s.Not Obs. (J.P.K.), n.Lln.i, War. (J.R.W.), se.Wor.»,
Oxf.i MS. add., Bdf. (J.W.B.), Sus.> (s.v. Toss), Hmp.', Wil.i
4. V. To stack or pile up hay or corn ; to stir up straw
or hay ; z\s,ofig. to heap up ; to cover.
Sc. Ye maun moue it in yon mouse-hole, Kinloch Ballads
(1827) 148. Bwk. Some one remarked that he had not mowed it
very well, that is, not piled it up neatly at the end of the barn,
Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 65. Nhb.' To ' mou the stree,'
to build up the straw at threshing. Cum. They actewilly mew up
ther plates wih meat an taties ... an puddins an pies, Sargisson
Joe Scoap (1881) 127. Wm. When dykes are moo'd wi frozen snaw,
Stewart if/iymcs (1869) 7. ne.Yks.' e.Yks. The foreman, whose
office is to mowe and place the sheaves aright. Best Rur, Econ.
(1641) 46. w.Yks. Chaps 'at's mooed up a bit o' brass, Yks. Wkly,
Post (Mar. 14, 1896) ; w.Yks.' I mooded mysell upp an set out
ageean, ii. 357. Lan.' s.Chs.* Wun yil muw, iir pich- ! [Wun
y6 mow, or pitch ?] Mtg. (E.R.M.) Hrf.^ I must raye it properly.
Sur.' Som. The last sheaf was hauled home to mow, Raymond
Tryphena (1895) 69.
Hence Mowed-out or -up, ppl, adj, overcrowde'd, en-
cumbered with rubbish ; also \xs&Afig,
n.Yks. Ahz fair mewed up our things (T.S.) ; n.Yks.* Ther war
ower raonny fau'k i' t'room ; Ah war that mew'd up Ah c'u'd
hardlings breeathe. Sha's gitten all her things mew'd up tigether,
whahl sha'll 'a'e straange deed ti git 'em all ti reets again. e.Yks.'
Nog Betty's flitted tiv a lahtler hoos, she's fairly mew'd up wiv
her founither, an hez it ya peeace upon another. w.Yks.' Ye can
hardly stir yer fit, t'roum's seea mood up ; w.Yks.* A house is
said to be mood up when it is filled with furniture ; w.Yks.^
When a tradesman has more than an ordinary amount of work
on hand, more than he knows how to get through, he says that
he is ' mooed ' or crowded ' out.' Lan. We'n bin moo'd eaut wi
friends comin, Clegg SfefcAfs (1895) 116; Lan.' Articles laid by
to be out of the way are said to be mooed up. e.Lan.', m.Lan.',
Chs.', nw.Der.' Not. We're mowed up (J.H.B.). Lei.' Thee're
so rich thee're daown-right maowd-aowt wi' money. Ye're
reg'lar maowed-aouti Nhp.' I'm so mowed up, I can't stir.
War.^ We were mewed up in the pew until we could hardly
move. This candlestick is mowed up with grease. Wor. Isn't
the 'ouse mowed up with all them boxes? (J.B.P.)
MOW, v.^ Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Chs. Shr. Also in forms
meow Chs.' Shr.' ; mue w.Yks.' ne.Lan.' [mou, miu.]
To make grimaces. See Mows.
Edb. Thereafter every man began to mow at his neighbour, and
the meeting broke up, IJeatty Secretar (1897) 419. Nhb.' w.Yks.
What's ta duing there, mumping an' muing, Prov. in Brighouse
News (Aug. 10, 1889) ; w.Yks.', ne.Lan.', Chs.' Shr.' 'E bats
'is eyes an' myows 'is mouth like summat kyimet
[I mowe with the mouthe, I mock one, Jefays la moue,
Palsgr. (1530) ; To mowe, cachinnare, narire, Cath, Angl.
(1483)-]
MOW, v.* Sc. Yks. Lan. e.An. Also in forms maaw
Lan. ; maw Lnk. [mau.] Of a cat : to mew ; Jig, to
murmur, to complain.
Lnk. She sat mawing, always turning herself about, coming her
nose with her foot, Graham Writings (1883) II. 68. w.Yks.*
That's nowt to mow about ! Lan. Two cats — one ut catches moice
an' another ut does o th' maawin, Brierley Fratchingtons (i858)
iv. e.An.' It was mowin the bitterest.
MOW, see Maa, sb}, Mouth.
MOWD, MOWDAWARP, MOWDER, MOWDHAT,
see Mould, 56.'^, Mouldywarp, Moulter, i;.', Mouldywarp.
MOW(E, V. and sb, Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Slang, [mou.] 1. v. To copulate, rem cum muliere habere.
Sc. Lex Balaironiatm (1811). n.Cy. He mow my Meggy (K.) ;
N.Cy.', Dur.' Cum.* To copulate (of animals). Wm. (B.K.)
w.Yks. WiLLAN List Wds. (1811). Slang. Farmer.
2. sb. The act of copulation. Wm. (B.K.)
[1. Will Leno mowit me, Lyndsay Kitteis Confessioun
(c. 1550) 16 (Farmer).]
MOWHAY, sb. Dev. Cor. Also in forms mowie Cor. ;
mowy s.Dev. ; muify Dev. A stack-yard. See Mow, sb?
Dev. You've frum the mufiy got to bring in barely, Daniel
Bride of Scio (1842) 176. nw.Dev.', s.Dev. (Miss D.) Cor. The
stalks of wheat brought down by the last sweep of the scythe are
brought home in thankful triumph, . . and in the evening taken
into the mow hay, Flk-Lore Rec. (1879) I'- 2°^ ; (F.R.C.) ; Cor.'
Out in the mo-ey close ; Cor.* e.Cor. ' The neck'. . . is carried
to the mow hay, Flk-Lore Jrn, (1886) IV. 248.
MOWING, ppl, adj, and sb, Sc. Yks. Lan. Wil. Also
in forms maain' ne.Lan.' ; maing w.Yks.' ; mawin(g Sc.
(Jam.) 1. ///. adj. In comb, (i) Mowing-grass, meadow
grass ; (2) -machine bird, the grasshopper warbler,
Locustella naevia,
(i) w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Threspassin i' th' mowin grase, Clegg
Sketches (1895) 206. (2) Wil. Known as the mowing-machine bird,
in allusion to its remarkable note. Smith Birds (1887) 154 ; Wil.'
2. sb. The extent of land, about three roods, which a
man can mow in a day ; also in phr. a day's mowing, the
quantity of grass which can be mown in a day.
Sc. We will hae twa mawins in that meadow (Jam.). w.Yks.',
ne.Lan.'
MOWL, see Meowl, Mole, sb,\ Mool, s6.', Mould, s6.*
MOWLE, MOWLEWARP, MOWLY, MOWNT, see
Mool, s6.', Mouldywarp, Maul, v.*. Mount, v."^
M0WR,s6. Obs. Sc. Aflout, mock, jeer. Cfmow,j;.'
Cld. Wi' mop an' mowr, an' glare, an' glowr. Grim faces girn
ower the •vi&v&&,MermaidenofOydeva.Edb.Mag. (May 1820) (Jam.).
MOWS, sb. Sc. Nhb. Also written mous, mouze Sc. ;
mowes Sc. Nhb.' ; mowis Per. ; mowse Bnflf.' ; and in
form mawse Sc. A joke ; a jest, esp. in phr. no mows,
no matter for jesting ; also used aitrib, Cf. make, v} 2 (51).
Sc. Affront your friend in mows, and tine him in earnest, Ramsay
MOWSENT
[184]
MUCH
Prov. (1737) ; To hear sic things day and night is no mouze,
Cobban Andaman (1895) xxxv ; Mony an ane would hae gane
deleerit. Faith ay, it's no mawse, Roy Horseman's Wd. (1895) iii.
Bnff. I'm come to wooe your Dochter Tib, To lie alane is far frae
mows, Taylor Poems (1787) 63 ; Bnff.* That's nae a mowse ploy
it the bairns are at. Bch. Ye may laugh at me fan ye read this,
but I wat it was na mows, Forbes /r«. (1742) 15. Abd. It's nae
mows matter, man, to jibe Your jeer cuts at the sweet fac'd tribe,
Skinner Poems (1809) 29. Frf. It's hardly mous to think how
uncanny they are, Barrie Minister (1891) viii. Per. It was but
in mowis that he spake anent Mr. William's hanging, Maidment
Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) H. 283. Ayr. To die an be laid i'
the till, Indeed's nae mows, Fisher Pofm« (1790)63. Lnk. It's
nae mows to be a married wife, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) 35,
ed. 1783. Edb. It is nae mowes.to pace Amang leed ba's, Lear-
MONT Poems (1791) 23. Nhb. Wi' merriment and mowes, Richard-
son Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VI. 246 ; Nhb.i
[Was at this tyme a certane Italian with the king, of
quhais mirrines and mowis he mekle delytet, Dalrymple
Leslie's Hist. Sc. (1596) II. 124 ; The fulis fonde in theflet,
And mony mowis at mete on the flure maid, The Howlat
(c. 1447) 831, in Sc. Allit. Poems (1897) 75. OFr. moes,
' mine dedaigneuse ' ; moe, ' grimace ' (La Curne).]
MOWSENT, adj. Nhb.» Also in form mowsend.
Fusty, mouldy, musty, damp-smelling.
That smells a mowsent.
MOWT, see Mought, Mote, s6.=, Mout.
MOWTER, see Moulter, v.'^, Multure.
MOWTH, sb. Oxf. [mou^.] A mowing ; the width
of ground mown by one sweep of the scythe.
A man's mowth is reckoned at a scratch acre, Stapleton Three
Parishes (1893) 309 ; When you wrote to Sir H. Dashwood you
did not know that there were ' commons' after the mowth, ib. 310 ;
Oxf.i MS. add.
MOWTHLE, sb. s.Chs.^ [mau})l.] A dial, form of
' mouthful.'
MOWULD, see Mould, sb.^^
MOWY, sb. w.Wor.^ [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] [mou'i.] A rough, unkempt child.
MOWY, MOX, see Mowhay, Mawks.
MOX, sb. Der.i [moks.] A moth.
MOY, adj. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. [moi.] 1. Affecting great
moderation in eating or drinking.
Sc. ' A bit butt, and bit bend, make a moy maiden at the board
end.' A jocose reflection upon young maids when they eat almost
nothing at dinner ; intimating that if they had not eaten a little in
the pantry or kitchen, they would eat better at the table, Kelly
Prov. (1721) 31.
2. Demure ; coy ; reserved ; unsociable ; gentle, mild.
Sc. (A.W.) n.Cy. Grose (1790). n.'Xks.^^ e.Yks. Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1788). m.Yks.i
3. Of the weather : muggy.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). e.Yks. Marshall ib.
[1. Moy in older Sc. meant gentle, mild, soft : — Venus
with this, all glaid and full of joy . . . rycht niyld and moy,
Douglas Eneados (1513), ed. 1874, iv. 220. Fr. mou, mol,
' qui cede aisement ' (Hatzfeld) ; Lat. mollis.]
MOYAR, 5^1. ? Obs. Cor. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A blackberry. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.)
[OCor.moyar,hernes (Williams) ; Wel.mwyarjclustered
berries.]
MOYDER, see Moither.
MOYEN, sb. and v. Sc. Also written iroyan Bnff.
[moi'an.] 1. sb. Means; ability, power; influence; means
for attaining an end.
Sc. Moyan does mickle, but money does mair, Ramsay Prov.
(1737). S. & Ork.* Bnff. Sometimes the puir man's moyan is as
gude, if nae better, than the great man's micht. Leg. Sirathisla
(1851). Frf. Charlie Stuart, the vile Pretender, Made moyen to be
our Faith's Defender, Beattie Arnha (c. 1820) 17, ed. 1882. Edb.
Deceit, by moyen now. Hath cast me in captivity, Pennecuik
Wks. (1715) 405, ed. 1815.
HenceMoyenless,ai^. powerless; inactive. S. & Ork.'
2. Phr. to lay moyen, to use means.
Abd. His purpose being to lay moyen for a placie, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) xxxix ; I mith hae moyens laid to win wi' you,
Guidman Inglismaill (1873) 30.
3. V. To accomplish by the use of appropriate means ;
to manage or bring about ; to bring a person to a desired
object by the use of influence.
Abd. I moyened him to a situation (G.W.) ; Luckie brings the
drucken bite— saut beef an' breid, To moyen ben anither bowl o'
toddy, Guidman Inglismaill (1873) 44.
[1. With Monsier then he moyen maid, Bp.St. Androis
(1584) 800, in Sat. Poems, ed. Cranstoun, I. 380 ; Some
vther moyen sone he socht, ib. 827. Fr. moyen, a means
(CoTGR.). 3. The best part thought it meittest to . . . moyen
maters, Melvill Autobiog. (1598), ed. 1842, 441.]
MOYL(E, see Moil, sb}, v.
MOYLE, sb. Dev. Cor. Also written moil nw.Dev.*
s.Dev. e.Cor. ; moile Cor. [moil.] A mule.
Dev. Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) III. 365 ; Dev.i n.Dev. A
buzzom-chuck'd haggaging moyle, Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 502.
nw.Dev.i, s.Dev. (Miss D.) Cor. But the old peer of moiles hant
been water'd to-day, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 30 ; Cor.*^
As stubborn as a moyle ; Cor.^ ; Cor.^ So wicked as a moyle. e.Cor.
(Miss D.)
['Twould wind-break a moil. Ford Fancies (1638) 11. ii.
(N ares) ; His mulettour that kepeth an other mans moyles,
RoBYNSON Mare's Utopia (1556), ed. Lumby, 51.]
MO YS, MO YSED, MOYTE, see Moise, v.^. Mazed, Moit.
MOZE, see Mose, v.. Moss, sb.^. Muse, v?-
MOZIE, adj. Sc. (Jam.) 1. Swarthy, dark in com-
plexion. Sc. 2. Sharp ; acrimonious ; ill-natured ; sour-
looking. Ayr.
MOZIL, sb. Obs. Dev. A stirrup-cup. (Hall.)
MOZZLY, afi^'. Lan. [mo'zli.] Ofthe weather: muggy.
Cf. mosey, adj.^ 3.
Lan.i He never knew such bad-keeping weather as there has
been this back-end, it has been so moist and mozzly, and it turns
the meat foist.
MPS, adv. Som. Dev. Yes.
w.Som.' One of the very commonest forms of non-emphatic ^«.
No vocal sound is perceptible, but merely the vocal tn followed by
ps. nw.Dev.^
MU, see Mow, sb.^
MUA-SICKNESS,s^i. Sh.I. The rot, a disease in sheep.
See Moor-sickness, s.v. Moor, sb.^ 1 (44).
The Mua sickness, or rot, is also one of the diseases with which
the Zetland sheep are affected, Edmonston Zetland (1809) II. 224
(Jam.) ; S. & Ork.i
MUBBLE, sb. m.Yks.^ [mu-bl.] A loitering crowd,
where everybody is in every one else's way.
MUCE, see Meuse.
MUCH, adj., adv. and sb. Var. dial, uses in Eng. Also
in forms mich Cum.* e.Yks.' w.Yks.'^ ne.Lan.' Chs.'^^
nw.Der.i ; mitch n.Yks.'^ w.Yks.' Lan. [mBtJ.mutJ, mitj.]
1. adj. In phr. (i) much good man to you, (2) — goodmay
it do you (mitchgodeet), a {riend\y wish ; (3) — o/a mak, (4)
— of a muchness, very similar, very nearly the same ; in
gen. colloq. use ; (5) — thing, much good ; (6) so much, (a)
enough, sufficient ; (b) a certain quantity, a small amount.
(i) Ess. Trans. Arch. Soc. (1863) II. 185; (W.W.S.) (a) Lan.
Whau mitch-go-deet o with um sed hoo, Tim Bobbin View Dial.
(ed. 1806) 60. (3) Wm. Every Jack must have his Jen, as the
saj'in' is, and they was much of a mak, Rawnsley if «>«m. Words-
worth (1884) VI. 182. (4) n.Yks.'^ They're mitch of a mitchness.
e.Yks. (Miss A.); e.Yks.i w.Yks.^ 'Is thy husband better?'
'Nay, he's mich of a michnesse.' Lan. (S.W.), Chs.^^s^ Der.2,
nw.Der.i, Lin.', Lei.i, Nhp.i War.2 These two lots of plums are
much of a muchness; War.s, Oxf.' MS. add., Hnt. (T.P.F.),
e.An.i, Ken.i, Sur. (L.J.Y.), Sns.^ Sus., Hmp. Holloway.
w.Som.i Whe'er you do do it or no, 'tis pretty much of a muchness.
(5) Brks. Our well-water ain't much thing (A.C.). (6, a) w.Soin.'
Mex the birmstone way zo much laud [lard] eens mid make a sauf
[soft] ball, {b) ib. Nif the dog 've a-got any worms, you must
have zo much ragonet [areca nut] and put 'long way ut.
2. Used of the health ; see below.
Ken.' ' How are ye to-day 1 ' ' Not much, thank ye.'
3. adv. In phr. (i) much and more, very much, greatly;
(2) — as ever, (3) — as hardly, hardly, scarcely ; only just ;
(4) — at one, much the same ; (5) — he did if, a phr. used
to express disbelief that the person spoken of did it ; (6)
by far and much, by a great deal ; (7) to much matter, with
MUCH
[185 J
MUCK
neg. : to dislike, disapprove of; (8) to think much, to
hesitate, not to like.
(i) Lan. He swore mich and moore, Waugh Owd Cronies
(1875) 221. (2) Ken.i ' Shall you get done to-day 1 ' ' Much as
ever.' Sur.^ It's much as ever he'll clear up to-night. (3) Ken.
(W.F.S.) (4) w.Yks.i Shoe hods mitch at yan like, ii. 291. (5)
s.Chs.i (6)w.Yks.3 (7) w.Yks. (J.W.), Lin.i n.Lin.' Sum foaks
says he's a good preacher, bud I doant much matter him. I doan't
much matter hevin' to goa afoore th' Winterton magistraates on a
soft earand like that. sw.Lin.^ I've been weshing him, and he
doesn't much matter it. (8) n.Yks. He wad think mitch ti hinder
them [he would not like to hinder them] (I.W.).
4. Cowi. (i)Much-aboiit, just about; used intensitively ;
(2) -about-much, much alike ; (3) -but or Mich-bod, prob-
ably; (4) -how, indeed, surprising, extraordinary, used
as an exclamation ; (5) -like, (6) -one, (7) -what, much
the same, very similar, alike ; also used redundantly.
(i) Brks.i Ther was much-about a lot o' rats in the whate
rick as us took in to-daay. Wil.' I was never one to go bellockin',
though I've alius had much-about raison to murmur. (2) Nhb.
We're much-aboot-much, as the deevil said to the watch (R.O.H.).
(3) Lan. Thornber Hist. Blackpool {i^if) 109. (4) Dev. (Hall.) ;
Dev.i Much-how a coud leke zuch a zokey molkit, 'such an un-
southerly malkin, 7. (5) w.Yks. (J.W.), ne.Lan.i (6) Sus.*
e.Sus, HoLLowAY. (7) w.Yks.i Lan. I understood the living had
gone ... to Sir J. Arderne's brother and so my matter was much-
what defeated, Newcome Auiobiog. in Cheth. Soc. Publ. (1852)
XXVI. 161 ; The rest of my employment was much-what the
same with that in the company. Life A. Mariindale (1685) 38, ed.
1845 ; I think eawer kese is mitchwhot th' same, "W alker Plebeian
Pol. (1796) 29, ed. 1801.
5. sb. A strange thing, a marvel, wonder, used esp. in
phr. it is much or it is much if. Also used advb.
Cum.' It's much if he gangs at o' now. w.Yks. It's much if he
seesower it [His recovery is very improbable] (S.K.C.) ; It's much
to me if he issent converted. It's much if he catches his train,
Shevvild Ann. (1854) 12 ; w.Yks.' It's mitch they dunnot
come; w.Yks. 2 Chs.' It's mitch if he comes now ; Chs.^a It is
much if such a thing were to happen. s.Chs.' It,s much iv ey diiz
fizeysez [It's much if he does as he says]. nw.Der.i Nlip.' ' It's
much if it happens.' A sceptical expression. Wil.' ' It's much if
he don't,' most likely he will. n.Wil. (E.H.G.) w.Som.i 'Tis
much you boys can't let alone they there ducks. 'Twas much he
had'n a been a killed.
MUCH, V.' Lin. Hrf. Ken. I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev.
Also written mutch Dev. ; and in forms mooch Som. ;
mouch w.Cy. [mutj, m^tj.] 1. To make much of ; to
pet, fondle, caress ; to appease by making much of.
Hrf.i Ken.i 'However did you manage to tame those wild
sheep ? ' ' Well, I mutched 'em, ye see ' ; Ken.^ To much a child,
to fondle it when it is peevish. I.W.'^ WU.' ' Her do like muching,'
i.e. being petted. w.Som.' To pet, if applied to children. To pay
attention to, to have in honour or consideration , if applied to adults.
' I sim her do much thick boy to much by half.' n.Dev. Aw, do 'e
strive vor much en down, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 83.
2. To smooth or stroke gently with the hand ; to
smooth, stroke.
LW.2, w.Cy. (Hall.), Dor.' Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i
Nearly always used in speaking to children. ' Poor pussy ! much
her down.' Dev. I put in me han jist ta much down es tail, Nathan
Hogg Poet. Lett. (ed. 1858) ist S. 11 ; An zmooth'd es veace, an
much'd es hair, ib, 65 ; Ef yii will mutch thickee cat down awver
tha veace an' eyes za offen 'er'U scratch thee zaf 'nuff, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892).
3. To grudge, envy. See Think.
sw.Lin.i She envies them and muches them for everything.
They're sure to much one another.
MUCH, tr." War." [mutJ.] To frighten.
UXSCUX, adj. 05s. Wxf^ Big.
MUCHER, adj., adv. and sb. Suf. [m-B-tj3(r).] 1. adj.
and adv. Obsol. Much. e.Suf. (F.H.) 2. sb. In phr. (i)
fare a mucher, used of the health ; (2) not to be a mucher,
not to be much of a man.
(i) e.An. Dy. Times (1892). (2) He aint a mucher (C.T.).
MUCHETY, sb. Dor. [mB-tJsti.] In phr. much of a
muchety, very similar, very much aUke. (G.M.G.)
MUCHIN, see Muckin.
MUCHLY, arfK. Obsol. Suf. Much.
e.Snf. I don't think muchly of that (F.H.).
VOL. IV.
MUCHNESS, sb. Yks. Chs. Peni. Also in form mich-
ness n.Yks."; mitchness Chs.'"^ [mutjnas, mitjnas.]
1. A quantity, amount.
s.Fem. A wonna do that muchness o' good to any wan. A little
bit that muchness will do it (W.M.M.).
2. Equality, resemblance. Also in phr. much of a much-
ness (q.v.), s.v. Much, adj. 1 (4).
n.Yks." 'There's a michness about 'em. Chs.'^s
MUCK, sb., V. and adj. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and
Eng. Also written nioock StfT Lin. ; muk Lan. ; and in
forms mucks Mid. ; mug Rnf (Jam.) [muk, m'ek.] 1. sb.
Dung or manure in a wet, moist state ; mud, mire ; dirt
or filth of any kind.
Sc. ' Ye're just fit to mak muck o' meal,' good for nothing but to
consume food, lit. to convert it into dung, said to one who is re-
garded as a drone in society and a burthen to others (Jam.). Elg.
Feuch! fiU'd his loof wi' shamble muck. Tester Poems (1865)
131. Abd. Oliver and Willie Buck Sit o'er the lugs in smeekie
muck, Walker Bards Bon-Accord {iH&i) 182. Slg. The very hens
cou'd scrape his muck, MuiR Poems (1818) 15. Rnf. He's nane o'
j'our common clodhoppers, That hauls nicht and day amang muck,
Barr Poems (1861) 130. Lnk. I sail marry you and yence my
father's muck were out, Graham Writings (1883) II. 11. Lth.
The cottar's muck and single straw, Thomson Poems (1819) 147.
Hdg. Weel-toned down wi' muck an' mire, Lumsden/'o«>«5(i896)
14. Bwk. Our hind's daughters . . . are set to . . . fill muck-carts,
drive the same, spread muck, drive the harrow, &c., Henderson
Pop. Rhymes (1856) 80. Feb. 'Midst muck and soil, Lintoun
Green (1685) 32, ed. 1817. Gall. They have laired themselves in
muck, Crockett Anna Mark (1899) xxii. Nhb. Aa put on a lot i'
muck. . . There's nowt like muck — plenty o' gud muck, sor, Dixon
IVhittingham Vale (1895) 280 ; Nhb.' Wor Barrasford land's muck
for Humshaugh, N. Tyne saying. Dur.i, Lakel.' Cum. We
carry't t'muck i' hots, Richardson Talk (1876) 2nd S. 57 ; ' Lost
in muck,' said of a house 'or family, means disgracefully dirty
(M.P.); Cum.''' Cum., Wm. Nicolson (1677) Trans. R. Lit.
Soc. (i868) IX. Wm. Omast lost i muck an dirt, Spec. Dial.
(1877) pt. i. 27. n.Yks.'; n.Yks." As mean as muck. Som hae
luck, An some stick i' t'muck; n.Yks.s", ne.Yks.' e.Yks. It's
nobbut a bit o' cleean muck, at weean't hot neeahbody, Nicholson
Flk-Sp. (1889) 95; Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788); e.Yks.'
w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781) ; We've baath lime an'
cooals to leead, An' gaps to wau, an muck to spreead, Twisleton
Poems (c. 1867) III. 5 ; ' Ta wed t'midin fo t'muk an bi puizand
wi t'stii)k,'a common prov. expression used of a man who marries
for money and whose wife turns out to be a scold (J.W.); w.Yks.^*
Lan. Laden with ' muck' of rich hue and powerful aroma, Francis
Frieze (1895) 141 ; Thou 'ud never notice if th' place wur a foot
deep in muck, Longman's Mag. (Nov. 1895) 65. I.Ma. Cuttin the
stones and the muck out of them. Brown Doctor (1887) 19, ed.
1891 ; That muck of divils that was suffered to go into the pigs
that was feedin away — muck to muck ! lek a body might say, ib.
Witch (1889) 131. Chs.' 3 Midi. Our bosses splashes the muck
over ye, Bartram People of Clopton (1898) 105 ; Marshall Rur.
£co«. (1796) II. Der.', Not.' n. Lin. 'Where there's muck there's
money.' . . ' Muck ' is our common name for road-mud, which im-
plies heavy cartage, i.e. prosperity; 'muck' is also the common
local name for farmyard manure, which again implies prosperity,
Comh. Mag. (Jan. 1899) 84; n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' They're leading
muck outen the crew. Rut. A cottager when I asked him to walk
into my study, politely excused himself by pleading that he was
' all over muck.' . . A farmer's dream of heaven was that of a place
where there were ' heaps o' muck,' N. & Q. (1878) 5th S. ix. 6 ;
Rut.' I bain't fit to coom into your house : I've all over muck.
Lei.' War.3 Come out of the muck. Killed wi' the upsetting of
a load of muck. Shr.', Hrf.' s.WeiI. Earthen compost, Morton
Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Glo. Baylis Illus. Dial. (1870). Oxf.',
e.An.' Nrf. I dug up the foul grass round the gooseberry bushes,
and dug plenty of muck in, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 288.
e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). Suf.' Sur. The expression
of thankfulness, echoed by all at our tea-table, that none of them
had ' got to eat such frenchified muck as that,' On Sur. Hills ( 1891)
258. Sus., Hmp. Dung and straw in a fresh or half-rotted state,
HollOway. Hmp.', Wil.' w.Som.' In this district rather a new
word in the sing. Dev.' n.Dev. Cleaning up muck in the yard.
Chanter Witch (1896) 25. s.Dev.(MissD.) Cor. I picked a silver
teaspoon with the crest on it out of the muck, Baring-Gould
Curgenven (1893) xxii. e.Cor. (Miss D.)
2. Comb, (i) Muck-adrowd or -adrowy, dust ; see Drow,
V? ; (2) -bee, a small bee that frequents dung or manure-
B b
MUCK
[i86]
MUCK
heaps ; (3) -bing, a manure-stead, with a low wall round
it ; (4) -bird, (a) in phr. to sing like a muck-bird, to emit a
continuous mournful sound in a minor key ; [b) a jakes-
man ; (5) -cart, a manure or dung-cart ; a cart for refuse
street sweepings, &c. ; (6) -carting, manure carting ; (7)
•cheap, as cheap as dirt ; ' dirt cheap ' ; (8) -cloth, (9)
■clout, a duster, floor-cloth ; a cloth used for dirty pur-
poses ; (10) -coop or -coup, a dung-cart that tilts out its
lading; (11) -creel, a large basket or hamper used for
carrying out dung into the fields ; (12) -crome, a manure-
fork ; (13) -drag, a fork with two or three prongs set at
right angles to the handle, used for dragging manure out
of a cart ; (14) -dragger, a remover of night-soil ; (15)
■fail, sward mixed with dung, used as manure ; (16) -ily,
a fly that frequents dung-heaps; (17) -foodie, boastful,
braggart ; (18) -fork, (a) a fork used for spreading manure
on land, cleaning out stables, &c. ; (b) pi. in phr. to rain
muck-forks tines downwards or — three-tined muck-forks, to
rain very hard ; (c) pi. the hands or fingers ; (19) -gager,
see (14) ; (20) -gripe, see (18, a) ; (21) -grub, (22) -grubber,
a sordid or avaricious person ; a miser ; (23) -grubbing,
sordid, avaricious ; (24) -hack, (a) see (18, a) ; {b) fig. a
doer of dirty work ; (25) -hawk, see (18, a) ; (26) -heap,
(a) a dung or manure-heap or hill ; {b) a very dirty person,
used as a term of reproach ; (27) -heap-lie-on, {a) a
higgledy-piggledy heap ; (6) a children's game ; see
below ; (28) -hill, (a) see (26, a) ; {b) see (26, b) ; {29) -hill
weed, the white goosefoot, Chenopodium album ; (30) -hole,
a dirty, filthy place ; {31) -hook, see (18, a) ; (32) -hot(t,
•hut, or Muckot, {a) a tub or vessel carried between two
men, and used for bearing manure to hilly ground ; {b)
a term of derision or opprobrium; (c) pi. panniers for
conveying manure on horseback ; id) heaps of manure
or lime in a field ; (33) -house, a dung-shed ; a privy ;
(34) -jury; a body assembled to inquire into public nuisances ;
(35) -kishie, see (11) ; (36) -kite, one who eats voraciously
of all kinds of things ; (37) -kited, mean ; of low habits ;
{38) -lather, a profuse perspiration or sweat ; (39) -luck,
a sign of prosperity ; see below ; (40) -man, a dustman ;
a remover of refuse, dirt, &c. ; (41) -mense, a defiler of
decency ; (42) -midden, -midding, or -middink, see (26, a) ;
(43) -midden breward, upstarts of low origin ; (44)-midden-
steed, see (26, a) ; (45) -pies, mud-pies ; (46) -plugging,
filling carts with manure ; (^7) -peak, {a) an animal's
dung-bag ; [b) a term of derision ; (48) -ra-duff, a coward,
duffer ; (49) -rake, (a) see (18, a) ; {b) pi. see (18, b) ; (50)
-raker, see (22) ; (51) -riddance, the removal of a nuisance;
(52) -rife, diseased with filth from dirty habits ; (53) -ripe,
over-ripe ; rotten ripe ; (54) -robin, a term of opprobrium
often used to boys who are always whistling and disturb-
ing their elders ; (55) -roke, a line of dirt left on the neck
after washing ; a dirt-mark on the skin ; (56) -rotten, (a)
quite rotten ; {b) see (52) ; (57) -scraper, a road-scraper ;
(58) -scutcheon, a dirty person ; (59) -seek, see (47 a, b) ;
(60) -shade, twilight ; (61) -shod, covered with mud or
dirt ; (62) -sick, see (52) ; (63) -sluff, a worn-out garment ;
an overcoat put on to cover the defects of one's under-
clothing ; (64) -slut, an untidy, slatternly woman ; (65)
•snipe, see below ; (66) •spout, (a) a drain or outlet ; (b)
the nose ; (c) a gen. term of abuse, applied esp. to those
who use bad language ; (67) -spreading, spreading manure
on the land ; (68) -stack, the rubbish-heap or spoil-bank
of a colliery ; (69) -stead, see (26, a) ; (70) '•stricken, (71)
-struck, (72) -strucken, utterly or completely struck with
astonishment ; aghast ; (73) -sucker, a greedy fellow ; (74)
-suttle, one who is very dirty or who enjoys doing dirty
work ; (75) -swat or -sweat, (a) see (38) ; (b) a state of
alarm or great anxiety ; (e) a fidgety condition ; a hurry ;
(76) -trough, (77) -tub, a hog-trough ; a slop-pail ; also
used fig.; (78) -vent, [a) a sewer; (b) the anal orifice of
an animal ; (79) -wash, see (38) ; (80) -water, slops ; (81)
•water-drain, a dunghill trench ; (82) -weed, (a) see (29) ;
(b) ?the pondweed, Potamogeton crispum; (83) -wet or
weet, sopping wet, wet to the skin ; (84) -wheel, a large
wheel having backets on an endless chain, for the purpose
of washing dirty ' slack,' which is afterwards made into
fire-bricks ; (85) -worm, (a) see (22) ; {b) an upstart ; (86)
-yard, the yard in which the manure from the farm build-
ings is shot.
(i) Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). (a) e.Suf. (F.H.) (3) n.Lin.i
(4, a) War.2 {b)ib. (5) w.Yks. (J.J.B.),Not.', n.Lin.i, sw.Lin.',
Lei.i, War.3 (6) s.Wor. (F.W.M.W.) (7) n.Yks.^*, e.Yks.i
w.Yks. Cauliflahrs es muck cheap nah (.S.B.) ; w.Yks.i Lin.
Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 345. (8) sw-Lin."- I want the
muck-cloth to clean the trough out. (9) n.Yks.^^ (10) N.Cy.2,
n.Yks.2 (11) Sc. (Jam.) (12) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf.
(1893)3. Suf.i, e.Suf. (F.H.) (i3)Dur.\n.Yks. (I.W.), n.Yks.2,
w.Yks.i (14) w.Yks.* (15) n.Sc. (Jam.) Abd. The practice of
cutting up sward for manure or muck-fail was prohibited ... so
long ago as 1685, Statist. Ace. XV. 456 note (ib.). (16) n.Yks.^
e.Yks. A muckflee ti gi' tiv a tooad or a frog, Nicholson Flli-Sp.
(1889)41. w.Yks. (J. W.), e.Suf. (F.H.) (17) Chs.' I cannot abide
to hear him ; sitch muckfoodle talk he's full of. (18, a) Ayr. Like
the heft 0' a muck fork frae a midden-stead, Ainslie Land of Bums
(ed. 1892) 99. Cum.*, n. Yks. 2 w.Yks. He coom aght wi a spade
an a muckfork, Hartley Clocli Aim. (1889) 37; Sheffield Indep.
(1874). Chs.i, s.Chs.', nw.Der.i Lin. He hit young master with
the handle o' the moock-fork, Fenn Cure of Souls (1889) 24.
n.Lln.i,sw.Lin.i,Lei.i,War.3, e.Suf. (F.H.) (5) n.Lin.l (c) Slang.
Keep your muckforks off me, N. if Q. (1878) 5th S. ix. 263. (19)
w.Yks. Ylis. Wkly. Post (May 8, 1897) ; w.Yks.s (20) n.Yks.12*
(2i)n.Yks.2 (22) e.An.i, Sus.i (23) e.An.i (24, a) N.Cy.i Nhb.l
A many-pronged fork with the grains bent round. Lakel.^, Cum.' *,
n.Yks.2 (6) n.Yks.'^ n.Lln.' 'I'm noht bud a muck-hack noo,
whativer I maay hev been.' Said by a woman who worked in a
brick-yard. (25) Hdg. Wi' poles an' muck-hawks they a' did rin,
LuMSDEN Poems (1896) 229. (26, a) Rnf. Upon yon muck-heap's
black location [I] Fell belly flaucht, Young Pictures (1865) 128.
n.Yks.2 e.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.), Not.i, sw.Lin.l, Lei.', Brks.l,
e.Suf. (F.H.) (i) n.Yks. Get out, thou greeat muck-heeap, thou ;
n.Yks.^, e.Yks.l w.Yks.' A girt muck-heap ; w.Yks.* (27, a)
Nhb.' (b) ib. A game played by children, who pile themselves on
the top of each other, shouting as they do so, ' Muck-heap-Iie-on.'
(28, a) n.Yks. 2 Not.^ There's a man standing on yon muck-hill.
sw.Lln.' If the muck's in the crew-yard you get nowt for it ; if it's
on the muck-hill it's so much a yard. War.3 (b) Nhb.', n.Yks.2
(29) War. (B. & H.) (30) w.Yks. It's varry loikly that befooar
long yo'll be laid sprottlin e some muckhoil or another, Shevvild
^M«. (1851) 5. (31) Chs.i, s.Chs.', Lei.i (32, a) Lan.i (|5) Nhb.l
Gen. applied to a dirty woman. ' Get away, ye greet muckhut.'
Lan.i A name given in derision to a naughty boy. (c) Cum.'*
Wm.i Paniers for carrying manure on to the land before the use
of carts on the fells. Obs. (rf) Cum.'* (33) Ayr. (Jam.) (34)
n.Yks.'2, m.Yks.' (35) Sh.I. If dis snaw waers awa', da muck
kishie 'ill tak a' dis maderim oot o' dee, Sh. News (Mar. 24, 1900) ;
Hit's a ruinashen ta hang up muck kishies 'ithoot scraepin' dem,
ib. (Mar. 11, 1899). (36, 37) n.Yks.2 (38) n.Yks.* e.Yks. He
was all ov a muck-lather, Spec. Dial. (1887) 25 ; e.Yks.i (39)
n.Yks.2 As a muddy shop-floor bespeaks an amount of trafSc, —
according to the saying, ' Where there's muck there's money.'
(40) ib. (41) ib. 'Thou ugly muck -mense,' applied to a dog who
had fouled a clean apartment. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May
p5> 1895). (42) Sc. (Jam.) Abd. A third chiel, too, gin ye
incline, In the muck-midden, Shirrefs Poems (1790) Introd. 17.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.', Nhb.', Dur.' Cum., Wm. (M.P.)
n.Yks. '24 e.Yks. Sweeatin like a pig iva muckmiddin, Nichol-
son Flk-Sp. (1889) 36 ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w. Yks.To mak thi belly
into a muck-middin, Hartley Paris, 99 ; w.Yks.' ^ Lan. They're
fit for nout boh th' mukmiddink, Walker Plebeian Pol. (1796) 37,
ed. 1801. Chs.i, Der.2, nw.Der.' (43) w.Yks.' (44) Nhb.' (45)
w.Yks. Hlfx. Courier (May 29, 1897). (46) sw.Hn.' We've been
muck-plugging all day. (47) n.Yks.2 (48) w.Yks. Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (May 31, 1884) 8. (49, a) n.Yks.2 Nrf. Every day he
asked Farmer Mason if he didn't want a muck-rake, Emerson
Marsh Leaves (1898) 80. (b) n.Yks.^ (50) ib. (51) ib. ' It's a
good muckriddance,' a desirable removal of a nuisance ; that is,
of an obnoxious person. (52) ib. (53) Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and
£)a««s (1885) 345. n.Lin.i (54) Chs.' s.Chs.' Uwd yiir nahyz ;
It au-viz ree-nz wen miik'-robinz wis'ln [Howd yur noise ; it auvays
reens ( = rains) when muck- robins whistlen]. Muck-robin is taken
by Chs. people to mean the ordinary robin, ' acos it's auvays
hoppin' abowt the mexen an' whistlin'.' (55) w.Yks. Hlfx. Courier
(May 22, 1897). (56, a) Sc. Yon hide is been muck rotten ye an'
faider bought fir wir voar waer [wear], Sh. News (Apr. 29, 1899).
(A) n.Yks.2 (s7) Midi. Wi' a muck-scraper over his shoulder,
Bartram People of Clapton (1898) 63. (58) Lin. (Hall.) (59, a)
MUCK
[187]
MUCK
n.Yks.2 (A) (A. Thou ugly muckseck ! (60) n.Cy. (Hall.) (61)
w.Yks. Beeath wet an' muck shod, Blackah Sngs. (1867) 36.
(62, 63) n.Yks.2 (64) ib., w.Yks.^ (65) Lon. I was a muck-snipe
when I was there — why, a muck-snipe, sir, is a man regularly done
up, coopered, and humped altogether, Mayhew Land. Labour
(1851) I. 259. (66 M, A) n.Yks.2 (c) e.Yks. Nicholson Ftt-5/).
(1889) 4 ; e.Yks.', nw.Der.l, c.An.i (67) Not.^ A farmer on being
asked in Court when the event occurred, said, ' It wor abaout
three weeks afore muck spreading.' (68) w.Yks. (S.J.C.) (69)
ii.Yks.2, n.Lin.1 (70) w.Yks. 'Is missus ca'ed 'im, an' 'e wur fair
muck-stricken (F.P.T.). (7i)w.Yks.2; w.Yks.s To think 'at he
could goa saay that afore ray faace after heving done what I hev
for him ! — Barn, ah wur fair muck-struck ! — yuh mud 'a' fell'd muh
wi' a bean. (72) w.Yks. He's muck-strucken, Ptov. in Brighouse
News (Sept. 14, 1889). (73) n.Yks.^ (74) Lin. Streatfeild Lin,
and Danes (1884) 345. n.Lin.' Ohd George an' William fell to
arglin which on 'em hed feighed oot th' moast privies e' the'r time ;
soa I tell'd 'era thaay was a cuple o' rauck-suttles, an' thaay was
to hohd the'r noises boath on 'em. (75, a) Nhb.^ He wis in a muck
sweat. n.Yks. (I.W.), n.Yks.2* e.Yks.l w.Yks. Aw'm all ov a
muck sweeat, an' mi throit's us dry as a baxton. Hartley Clock
Aim. (Sept. 1869) 23 ; Hlfx. Courier (May 29, 1897). n.Lan.i,
Chs.i Der. Monthly Mag. (1815) II. 297. nw.Der.l s.Not. Ah
were all of a muck sweat (J.P.K.). sw.Lin.i War.^ Why what
a muck sweat you are in. e.An.i, e.Suf. (F.H.) (A) w.Yks. Aw
wor nivver i' sich a muck-sweeat afooar sin aw wor born, Hartley
Diit. (1868) 143 ; A chap at's . . . nivver as mich as thowt o'
weddin' natterly feels in a muck-sweeat when he's browt faace to
faace with that question, Cddworth Dial. Sketches ( 1 884) 34. Lan.^
I wur o' of a muck-sweat to know what'd coom ov her. (c) n.Yks.''
w.Yks. Yks. IVkly. Post [May 8, 1897). (76, 77, 78) n.Yks.^ (79)
e.An.l e.Suf. I'm all of a muck-wash (F.H. ). (80) n.Yks.^ (81)
e.Yks.i (82, a) Nhb.', n.Yks.2, Glo. (S.S.B.) Nrf. Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) loi ; (Hall.), e.Suf. (F.H.) (A) Nhp.
(B. & H.); Nhp.i (83) Nhb.l, Cum.i* w.Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post
(May 8, 1897) ; w.Yks.^ Come an' lowse my boits a bit, an' let me
goa up staars to chaange me things, fur am muck-weet. (84)
n.Stf. (J.T.) (8s, a) N.Cy.l, n.Yks.^ Nbp.i, War.s (A) N.Cy.l
(86) War.a
3. Phr. (i) a heap of muck, a term of opprobrium applied
to a dirty woman ; (2) as cheap as muck, very cheap indeed,
' dirt cheap ' ; (3) as drunk as muck, very drunk ; (4) as
wet as muck or 50 wet as a muck, wet through, sopping,
saturated ; (5) down in the muck, discouraged, out of heart;
(6) in one's muck, in a state of dirt or confusion ; (7) to
think oneself no muck, to have a good opinion of oneself
and one's own doings ; (8) to throw muck at a person, to
vihfy or scandalize one.
(i) Nhb.l She's just a gannin heap o' muck. w.Yks. (J.W.)
(2) Nhb. A pedlar or other dealer will commend his wares to his
customers as being as ' cheap as muck,' N. & Q. (1878) 5th S. ix.
73. w.Yks. Cabbidges is as cheap as muck nah-a-days (jE.B.) ;
Prov. in Brighouse News (July 20, 1889). (3) s Sc, Nhb. A
drunken man on both sides of the Border is termed as ' drunk as
muck,' N. & Q. ib. Cum. Our parson he got drunk as muck,
Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 7. Cum., Wm. (M.P.) (4) s.Sc.
If a Scottish southland shepherd comes soaking wet from the hill,
or a farmer from the plough in the same condition, each will
describe himself as being 'wet as muck,' N. &= Q. ib. Slg. A'
saft an' soaket, wet as muck, Muir Poems (181B) 26. Cum.,
Wm. (M.P.') War.* ' When shall we get into our new offices? '
' Not till March is past, they are still as wet as muck.' Som.
Made him so wet as a muck, Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894)
215- (5"; n.Yks. A's nut doon i't muck aboot it (W.H.). (6)
n.Lin.l When she's in her muck she's varry mucky. Oh yes
miss, I'm alus 'e my muck, bud I could n't be no comfortabler.
(7) Abd. I trow they thought themselves nae muck, Nor yet their
dolls, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 214. (8) w.Yks.i
4. pi. Mud, dirt, mire.
w.Som.i You can't go Pound-lane way, he's all to a mux, over
shoe-deep. Dev. Zom in the mucks, and pellum sprawlin, Peter
Pindar Royal Visit (1795) pt. i. st. 3 ; A young lady once inquired,
' What is mucks ? ' when a countryman replied : ' Why, pillum
,a-wet, missy ! ' Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). Dev.i My coats was a
dugg'd up and my shoes heal'd in mux, 19. n.Dev. Tha mux
A-tap the draxel's up ta hux, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 2;
Thy shoes oil mux, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 204. nw.Dev.l
5. Fig. Money, wealth.
w.Yks.i What's all his muck good tul ? ne.Lan.' Cant. Life
B. M. Carew (1791) Gl.
6. A state of dirt, confusion, or disorder ; anything dirty
or disgusting. Also used 7?^. of anything obscene or in-
decent.
Lakel.=, w.Yks. (J.W.) Stf. Gi' rae no more of the moock,
Saunders Diamonds (1888) 29. n.Lin.i 'I doant let my bairns
read sich muck as that.' A person offering prayer in a chapel
said : ' We thank Th6 for th' good sarmon 'at we've heard aboot
herse-raacin' an' gamlin' an' sich muck, if I maay ewse sich an' a
wo'd to Thee, Lord.' 'As happy as pigs e' muck,' means having
one's fill of sensual pleasure. Hnt. A woman . . . complained to
me of the schoolboys, ' They owdacious boys make muck all over
the Church,' A^. &■ g. (1878) 5th S. ix. 6. e.An.i Suf.i How yeow
haave put yar clothes on — why yeow look all ov a muck. Sur.i
I'm ashamed you should come in, we are all in a muck. Dor. He
shall stay with we avore he shall go into thik muck ov a place,
Windsor Mag. (Feb. 1900) 387. Dev. Yii beastly dugged-tailed
little varmint. Zee whot a muck yd be in ! Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892) 75 ; I'll be jiggered efyu'm agwaine til clam en about zo ;
yii'U make'n muck awl awver ! ib. 62. Cor. Don't keep sheddin'
such a muck o' dust on your betters ! Quiller-Couch Ship of
Stars (1899) 38.
7. Perspiration, sweat, esp. in phr. all of a muck or a
muck of sweat.
Yks. I shook him till I were all of a muck wi' sweat, Baring-
Gould Oddities (1875) I. 238. w.Yks. (J.W.) Not. In a rauck of
a sweat, Prior /f««iW (1895) 177. War.^ s.War.i I'm all of a
rauck. Brks.i, e.An.^ Hmp. I am all in a muck of sweat. Hollo-
way. Dor. (A.C.) w.Som.i I know you rode the mare ter'ble
hard, Master Charley, vor her was all to a muck o' sweat.
8. Rain or snow ; bad or ' dirty' weather.
n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.^ ' It hovers for muck,' it threatens. ' T'moon
wades araang muck,' is obscured by the clustering clouds. e.Yks.'
It's varry murky weather, we sal hS sum rauck o' sum sooart
afoor lang. m.Yks.^
9. A disagreeable or worthless person ; a term of dis-
paragement often applied to children.
Per. Unless ye her restore, ye're a raere rauck, NicoL Poems
(1766)93. e.An.i You young muck you. Suf. You little muck you
(M. E.R.). Cor.^ You're a blooming muck, that's what you are !
10. Rubbish, refuse ; nonsense. Also used in pi.
Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). Yks. (J.W.) Suf.
' Ha' ye got a brick or two handy ? '. . ' There should be some more
somewhere by rights, but they're they nasty clumsy old mucks,'
e.An. Dy. Times (1892). Ess.'
11. The refuse from the apple-press ; crushed apples
from which all the juice hasbeen extracted. Som. (W.F. R.),
w.Som."- 12. A busy person.
Ken.1 De squire was quite head muck over this here Jubilee job.
13. V. To manure ; to spread with dung or manure.
Sc. The tittles and tattles that hung frae her tail Wad muck an
acre of land, Kinloch Ballad Bk. (1827) 42, ed. 1868. Sh.I. Saw
doo no what da Johnson breider did ta der toon wi' muckin' wi'
waar? Sh. News (Mar. 4, 1899). Frf. To muck the riggs in ilka
field, Piper of Peebles (1794) 5. Rnf. Rake the gotts frae paddock
ride To muck the Ian', Picken Poems (1813) II. 40. Rxb. But
mow she's [a dog] gane to muck the land, Ruickbie Wayside
Cottager (1807) 177. Nhb. A man's temper is like t'grund : ye
may muck it and mak't better sae far as t'top gans ; but there's
still t'seame boddora, S. Tynedale Stud. (1896) Robbie Armstrong ;
Nhb.-"- That land's aa winter rauckeet. n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' Hez
Sammy gitten his swath garth mucked ower yit ? e.Yks.^ Ah
mucks mi land weel. w.Yks. (J.W.), Lan.' Chs.' Mucked to
deeath, overmanured. nw.Der.i, n.Lin.* sw. Lin. ^ The trees want
mucking round. I was reckoning of mucking the rasps. Lei.'-
Shr.i ; Slir.2 A farmer talks of mucking his land. Hrt. They
plow well and muck well, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) IV. ii. 81.
14. To clear away dung from a stable, &c. ; to cleanse,
turn out thoroughly. Also with out. Also used fig. to
help a person out of a difficulty.
Sc. (Jam.), S. & Ork.i, Cai."- Abd. I'll traivel yer stallions or
notice yer kye. Or muck them an' milk them at sunset an' dawn,
Ogg Willie Waly (1873) 147. Fif. Her bordel-house maun down be
plucket, Her huge Augean stable muckit, Tennakt Papistry
(1827) 21. Ayr. I used often to muck the byres for her, Hunter
Studies (1870) 20. Rnf. Gi'e me the lass can milk a cow, . . Or
drive a cart or muck a byre, M'Gilvray Poems (ed. 1862) 49.
Lnk. Graham Writings (1883) II. 19. Edb. I'll muck the byre,
I'll milk the kye, Maclagan Poems (1851) 141. Bwk. She
mucked the byre, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 75. Feb.
Lintoun Green (1685) 164, ed. 1817. Dmf. Clarty . . . work is
B b 2
[UCK
[i88]
MUCKINGER
mucking byres, Wallace Sc/iooImasUr (iSgg) 33g. N.Cy.' Nhb.
Gan an' muck the byre, Chatt Poems (1866) 86 ; Nhb.^ Had-
away, muck the byre, lad. Dur.' Cum. A sairy weyfe, I trow,
she'd mak, At cudn't muck a byre, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808)
3 ; Cum.* Wm. They hev mucking and threshing, Huiton
Bran New IVark (1785) 1. 39 ; Yan may muck-oot fer some fooak
tell they leukferyandiunont alius (B.K.). n.Yks.(T.S.); n.Yks.i
Muck-about, to clean an apartment or room, &c., by the use of
besom and duster ; n Yks.'^ ' That stable must be muck'd out,' the
dirt must be removed. ' A regular mucking out,' a thorough
cleansing; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' Noo, be sharp an' git t'pig-sty
muck'd oot. e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.'
m.Yks.i To ' muck up,' is to clean up. Go and muck the pantry
out a bit. I's mucking down. Where there's many there's muck,
and I'm going to muck after nobody. w.Yks. Iz getan iz-sen inta
a mes, an am nuan ban ta muk im at (J.W.) ; w.Yks.' Leavin . . .
his wife an barns to muck and milkt' beos, ii. 325 ; w.Yks. ^
s.Not. Ah've got five an' twenty bullocks to muck out (J.P.K.).
n.Lin.i When our mester goas fra hoam missis alus hes his sittin'-
room muck'd oot. sw.Lin.' I've mucked out the pig-stye mysen.
Shr.2 Muck the cowhus. Mid. All the things was put back again
after mucksing out the rooms, Blackmore Kit (1890) xiv. Sur.
I'll muck all the cuttings out of the greenhouse to-morrow (T.T.C.).
Sus.i I doant think that old house has been properly mucked-out
for the last ten years.
Hence (i) Mucker, sb. one who cleans out stables, &;c. ;
{2) Mucking-holes, sb. pi. holes left in a ' mistal ' to throw
manure out of ; (3) Muckit, ppl. adj. cleaned out, cleansed ;
(4) Muck-the-byre, sb. a contemptuous name for a farmer
or other rustic person ; also used attrib.
(i) Sc. An ewe-milking maiden, and mucker of the byre,
Conningham Sngs. (iSis) 73. (2) w.Yks. (J.J.B.) (3) Lnk.
The rest were half fed an' half watered. An' ne'er gat a clean
muckit byre, Rodger Poems (1838) 149, ed. 1897. (4) s. Sc. I
■wad think shame to tell that I belanged to sic a muck-the-byre
set, Wilson Tales (1836) II. 161. Lnk. Ane o' them married on
a muck-a-byre's daughter, Graham Writings (1883') II. 54.
15. To void excrement ; to soil, dirty, defile ; to mess,
put in a state of confusion or disorder. Gen. with up.
Also-usedy?^.
Rnf. Muggin, soiling oneself, using dirty practices in whatever
way (Jam.). Nhb.i, Dur.i n.Yks. Deeant muck yer mouth wi'
onny lee, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 54 ; n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.2
' Muck'd up,' daubed or defiled. e.Yks.' Deeant muck thi slip.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Midi. Gets me sittin' on a stool, an staarts
muckin' me aboot, Bartram People of Clopton (1898)58. s.Not.
I was disgusted at 'im seeing me so mucked up (J.P.K.). sw.Lin.'
I never seed a place so mucked up. They muck the house up,
going in and out. Rut.' If my daughter don't coom soon I shall
be mucked to death. Lei.' s.Oxf. Their mother . . . did not
approve of ' mucking the place up with they weeds,' Rosemary
Chilterns (1895) 54. e.Sur. (F.H.) Ken.' I lay you never see
such a place as what master's study is ; 'tis quite entirely mucked-
up with books. Sur. And mucks the earn all over the plaace,
Jennings i^jVWPatts (1884) 82; Sur.' It mucks me about lifting
these great logs. Sus.' I doant know as you'll find a seat, for we be
all so mucked-up this morning. e.Dev. The poor Colonel had . . .
even let him muck up their liveries, Blackmore Perlycross{i8g^)yL\.
16. To scrape together money or wealth ; to hoard up
in a miserly way. See Mucker, 3.
Wil. He as's ever mucking goold, An want a varden gie, Slow
Rhymes {i6&g). s.Wil. (G.E.D.)
17. To work hard ; to drudge, slave, toil.
n.Yks. 2 ' Mucking about the day tiv an end,' at drudgery work
the day through. Ken.' He's most times mucking about some-
where's or another. Sus. (S.P.H.) ; Sus.' She's mucking about
from morning to night.
18. To carry, push, draw.
Ken. Able to muck that along (D.W.L.).
19. With out : to turn or drive out.
Sus. Ydu will freq. hear one person saying to another, ' I'll
muck you out,' or ' If you don't mind what you're at, and mend
your ways, the master will pretty quick muck you out,' N. tf Q.
(1878) 5th S. ix. 239. I.W.'^ He was muck'd out on't neck and
crop, sharp.
20. With up : to give up in a cowardly way ; to throw
up an engagement dishonourably. n.Yks. (T.S.), n.Yks.'',
e.Yks.' 21. adj. Obs. Moist, wet.
n.Cy. Bailey (1721). Lin. Skinner (1671) ; Ray (1691);
Muck weather (K.); Grose (1790).
MUCK-, see Mirk.
MUCKA-BUCKET, s6. Brks. A bucket in which lard
has been kept as sold by grocers. (E.G.H.)
MUCKAFY, V. Sh.I. To make dirty; to defile.
S. & Ork.'
MUCKEDY, MUCKENDER, MUCKENGER, see
Muckery, Muckinger.
MUCKER, V. and sb. Yks. Chs. Stf. Der. Nhp. War.
Shr. Brks. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Cor. Slang. Also written
muckre nw.Der.' [mu'k3(r, m'E'k3(r).] 1. v. To be
dirty ; to besmear with dirt ; to live in a comfortless,
slovenly way ; to do things in a confused, purposeless
manner, without method. Gen. in prp.
s.Chs.' Kiim, naay, wot bin yu dcjo'in dheeur, miik'iirin [Come,
nai, what bin yO doin' theer, muckerin] ! Ahy)l aa non ii dhem
wen'shiz miik'iirin libuwt mahy mil"k-ponz [I'll ha' none o' them
wenches muckerin about my milk-pons]. Shr.^ The clothes were
muckered in the wash tub. Brks.', w.Cy. (Hall.)
Hence Muckering, ppl. adj. dirty, slovenly; shiftless,
comfortless.
Shr.' I like plenty o' clier waiter throwed down the dairy;
none o' yore muckerin' work, moppin' about the milk-pons ; Shr.2
He lived always in a very muckering way.
2. To get in the way ; to hinder by disorder ; to worry.
n.Yks. 2 Mucker'd up, encumbered with soil or rubbish. s.Chs.'
Dheyz chil'durn bin au'viz miik'urin i)dhu roa'd [These childern
bin auvays muckerin' i' the road]. s.Stf. Now do' yo' mucker me,
I've got a del to do, Pinnock Bik. Cy. Ann. (1895).
3. To hoard or heap up as a miser. n.Yks.^, nw.Der.'
Hence Muckeren, ppl. adj. miserly, covetous.
Nhp.' A muckeren old fellow. War.^ ; War.^ Only used of a
miser whose penurious habits led him to live in a condition of
mucker — that is, with no one to keep his house in order or tidy.
4. s6. A state of dirt and confusion. Also used_/?^.
s.Chs.' Ahy)m in il ter-ubl miik-iir, iiz dh)uwd mon sed i)th
pil'pit [I'm in a terrible mucker, as th' owd mon said i' th' pilpit].
This refers to some Methodist local preacher, who was candid
enough to confess to his flock that he was in a fog. s.Stf. Herd
got the reum all in a mucker wi' hauf finished sewin' an sich,
Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). War.^ Don't make a mucker of
it [fold it up neatly]. I cannot ask you to come in; we are brewing
and everything is in a mucker. Shr.'
6. A failure, muddle, ' mess.'
War.2 I know'd I should mek a mucker o' this job. Brks.' A
maayde a mucker on't. Hmp.' LW.^ I louz 'tes a mucker wi' he
this time, you. Cor. They are sure to make a mucker of it, when
they do try to get above other people, Tregellas Tales (i860) 139.
6. A miserly person. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.'
[3. ME. mokeren, to heap up as a miser. 6. Mokerer, a
miser (Chaucer).]
MUCKERAGE, sb. n.Yks.'^ [mukeridg.] Sewerage.
MUCKERED, ppl. adj Shr.' [niBkad.] Of milk :
having acquired a bad flavour, although not sour, by
being kept in a close place.
Bessie, this milk 66nna do fur the child, it's muckered — I doubt
yo'n 'ad it i' the cubbert, else it dOdna a gwun like this.
MUCKERY, adj. Wor. Shr. Also in form muckedy
w.Wor.' [niB-kari.] 1. Of the weather: cold, wet, 'dirty.'
w.Wor.' 2. Of the weather : damp, close, ' muggy.'
Shr.' This muckery weather's despert bad fur the corn, it'll
mak' it spurt.
MUCKETER, s6. Shr.' [mB-k3t3(r).] A child's pina-
fore. Cf. muckinger.
[Baverette, a mocketer to put before the bosom of a
slavering child, Cotgr. ; Moccaidro, a mucketer, Florid ;
A mucketter, a bib, Baret (1580).]
MUCKIN, sb. Shr.' Also in form muchin. A pig.
I've bought a fresh muckin [mukh-i'n, Clun ; muk-in, Wem],
wun'ee come an' see 'im.
[Wei. mochyn, a pig.]
MUCKINGER, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Lin. War. Glo.
Suf. Ess. s.Cy. Ken. Dor. Also written muckenger
N.Cy.' ; muckinja, muckinjer Suf; and in forms muck-
ender N.Cy.' n.Lin.' Dor.; muckinder n.Cy. Chs."^^
War.'2 s.Cy. e. & s.Cy. Ken. [muk-, mB-kin(d)g3(r.] A
pocket-handkerchief. Cf. mucketer.
n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy .', n.Yks.' 2, Chs.' 2 3^ n.Lin.', War.' 2,
MUCKLE
[189]
MUD
Glo.^, Suf.i Ess. His 'baccar-box, an' muckinger wor all the
scamps had gain'd, Clark/. Noakes (1839) st. 133 ; Gl. (1851);
Ess."^ <j. & s.Cy. A doth hung at children's girdles to wipe their
noses on, Ray (1691). s.Cy. Holloway. Ken. (K.) Dor. Obs.,
Charnock Gl. (1880).
[Be of good comfort ; take my muckinder And dry
thine eyes, Jonson Tale of a Tub (1633) in. i, ed. Cun-
ningham, II. 457.]
MUCKLE, sb. and v} Nhp. e.An. Sus. Hmp. I.W.
Wil. [mB'kl.] 1. sb. Manure, long straw from the
stable; refuse or rotten straw; a heap of manure or com-
post. Cf. mulch, mullock, sb} 1.
Suf.i Sus., Hmp. Dung or straw in a fresh or half-rotted state,
Holloway. Hmp. (H.E.), I.W.i" Wil. Long dung from the
stable, here called muckle, Davis Gen. View Agric. (181 1) vii ; Wil.'
2. V. With over : to cover up plants with long straw as
a protection in cold weather. Cf. mudel.
Hmp.' Driver View Agric. (1794) 73. Wil. To muckle [winter
vetches] over with loose strawey dung, to preserve them from the
frost, Reports Agric. (1793-1813) 51 ; Wil.'
3. To disarrange, disorder. e.An. (Hall.)
Hence Muckling, ppl. adj. dirty, slovenly, disorderly.
Nhp.i They live in a muckling way.
MUCKLE, v.^ ? Obs. Dev.' With down : to stoop, go
down on one's knees.
Come,sisshe, muckle down on your marrow-bones and haul off
my stocking. . . Dame muckled down and jist touch'd en, whan a
scream'd out, ao.
MUCKLE, see Mickle.
MUCKLE-BRED, adj. Nhp.' Low-bred.
MUCKLER, sb. Qox? [mBkl3(r).] A very large
' borier ' or iron bar with a wedge-shaped end, used in
granite quarries and works.
MUCKLY, sb. Sc. [mE'kli.] The fair 'Muckle
Friday,' the great day of the year in Thrums. See Mickle,
adj 2 (6).
Frf. I've often thocht maiterimony is no onlike the lucky bags
th' auld wifies has at the muckly, Barrie Licht (1888) xi.
MUCKMENT, sb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Lin. [mu-kment.]
L Dirt, mud, filth; anything dirty or filthy; rubbish,
trash, anything worthless. Also used in pi.
Cum.' A heap o' muckment ; Cum.*, n.Yks.'^* e.Yks. Nichol-
son Flk-Sp. (1889) 4 ; (C.V.C.) ; e.Yks.l, m.Yks.' w.Yks. Sam
all weet an streaked wi' ashes an all sooarts o' muckment, Hartley
Tales, and S. 147 ; Ah'm fair capped at the spending thi time wi
sich muckment as that (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.' Its nout bud muckment ;
w.Yks.5 What's tuh geen for that muckment pretha, now ? ib.
Ah nivver can fancy t'muckment at ther puhr in at public-harses,
19. ne.Lan.' Lin. Streatfeild Zj'k. a«rfZ)««e5 (1884) 345. n.Lin.'
2. Disreputable persons or characters.
e.Yks.' Ah weeant gan on road wl sike muckment as thoo.
m.Yks.' w.Yks.* Thah sud nivver paay no gaum to what sich a
muckment as her hes to saay.
MUCKSEN, see Mixen.
MUCKSON, sb. Obs. s.Cy. Ken. Dev. In phr. muck-
son up to the huckson, with dirt up to the hocks. The
same word as Mizen (q.v.).
s.Cy. Grose (1790). Ken. (K.) Dev. Ray (1691) ; Bailey
(1721) ; Horae Subsecivae (1777) 279. [Muckson up to the huckson,
Condylorum tenus lutosus, lutofoedatus, Coles (1697).]
MUCKY, adj., v. and sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Eng.
and Nfld. Also in forms moocky Hnt. ; mucksy Nfld. ;
muxy Nhp.** w.Som.' Dev.' nw.Dev.' ; myckie Cld. (Jam.)
[mu'ki, mB-ki ; mB-ksi.] 1. adj. Dirty, muddy, filthy,
foul ; messy, untidy, slatternly.
Sc. A dirty or slatternly woman or girl is termed a 'big heap,'
a ' mucky heap,' and, superlatively, a ' great mucky heap,' N. & Q.
(1878) 5th S. ix. 73. Nhb. Up mucky chares, Keelman's Ann.
(1869) 25. Dur.' Wm. Scwores o mucky becks, Whitehead
Leg. (1859) 18. Cum.s Hoaf cover't up wid mucky strea, 67.
n.Yks.' T'rooads 's desper't mucky. ' Mucky deed ' ; of very dirly
walking, or if the house be encumbered with dirt and dirty things ;
n.Yks.2* e.Yks.' 'As mucky as muck,' said of dirty roads, &c.,
Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 20. w.Yks. Thrawin mucky waiter upa
wran anuther's doorstans, Tom Treddlehoyle Exhibition (1857)
35. Yks. A hungary dog is fain ov a mucky pudding, Prov. in
Brighouse News (July 20, 1889) ; w.Yks.^i Lan. Tha drunken
filth — that's as mucky as a weet soot bag, Donaldson Queer Supper
(1886) 12 ; Happen my feace is very mucky, Saunders Abel
Drake, ix. nw.Der.' Not. (J.H.B.) ; The air's mucky, Renie;
you'll come back yaller, Vkior Renie (1895) 76 ; Not.' ; Not.^ You
mucky beggar. Lin. Their bottles o' pap, an' their mucky bibs,
Tennyson Spinster's Sweet-arts (1885). n.Lin. YS maay tek mucky
owd land. Peacock Tales (1886) 71 ; n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' Of all the
lost mucky holes, it's the most lost mucky hole as ever I seed.
Used as a common term of abuse, ' The mucky thing! ' Rut.', Lei.'
Nhp.' A child makes its hands and clothes mucky, by playing in
the dirt ; Nhp.* Glo. Baylis Illus. Dial. (1870). Oxf.' Not fit to
be eaten ; not cleanly cooked. s.Oxf. Down I goes, an' that were
mucky down there, Rosemary Chiliems (1895) 74. Brks.' The
ro-ads be maain mucky jus' now. Hnt. When 1 said to an old
farmer ' What a state the roads are in ! ' he lifted up his hands (as
well as his voice) and exclaimed, ' Moocky, moocky, wonderful
moocky,' N. & Q. (1878) 5th S. ix. 6; (T.P.F.) e.An.' Cmb.'
You had that tidy on clean this morning, and now it's mucky. Nrf.
Will a mucky duck swim! Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 298. Sn£.
Wot d'yer mean by lettin' 'em sit in the mucky watter like that ?
Pall Mall Mag. (Nov. 1900) 401. e.Suf. Mucky currants [half-
decayed and crushed] (F.H.). Ken. The roads are so mucky
(D.W.L.). w.Som.1 Muuk-see soa-urtv-u juub*, aa-n ee,
Tau'mus! [{You have) a dirty piece of work, have you not,
Thomas ?] Dev. I were a-taking off my mucky shoes not to make
no dirt on the planches, Neill Idyls (1892) 27 ; I reckon 'tis
mucky again now. Reports Provinc. (1889) ; Dev.' n.Dev. Thy
hozen muxy up zo vurs thy gammerels, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 153.
nw.Dev.i [Nfld. Trans. Amer. Flk-Lore Soc. (1894).]
2. Comp. (i) Mucky-fit, a ploughman, an agricultural
labourer ; (2) -house, a privy ; (3) -mouthed, addicted to
foul or obscene language; (4) -rout, a deep, muddy wheel-
rut ; (5) -white, of the complexion : sallow.
(i) Bnfl:' (2) Cld. (Jam.) (3) n.Yks.2 e.Yks.' MS. add.
(T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.) (4) w.Som.' He [the horse] put hisvoot
down in a nasty muxy-rout, and scat me all over. (5) n.Cy. (Hall. )
3. Fig. ' Dirty,' mean, cowardly, dishonourable, base ;
obscene, vile.
Cum.'*, n.Yks.'* ne.Yks.' Thoo mucky beggar, ger oot o'
t'rooad ! e.Yks.' It was a mucky thing tl promise ti see him
thruff, an leeave him ti get oot on't as he could. w.Yks. (J.W.)
n.Lin.' Ther' can't be a muckier action then to goa an' ax for
a farm awaay fra a wida' woman. sw.Lln.' It's a mucky trick to
serve a man this-a-way. Nrf. Mucky rascals, Emerson Son of
Fens (1892) 187 ; Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 17. e.Suf.
Mucky conduct. A mucky slink, a vile, low fellow (F.H.).
4. Of the weather : wet, rainy, ' dirty.'
n.Yks.' A mucky deea, as ivver Ah seen. e.Yks. An' i' mucky
weather yoo can hae mah hoose, Wray Nestleton (1876) 36.
w.Yks.', ne.Lan.' n.Lin.' A real mucky haay-time, maaster.
6. Of land: weedy, not clean, dirty.
n.Lin.' Land's that mucky its noa good thinkin' aboot ony
sweades if them wicks isn't getten oot.
6. V. To dirty, soil ; to defile, make foul or dirty.
Dur. Ah've wesh'd me feet ; how sail ah muckey them ? Moore
Sng. Sol. (1859) V. 3; Dur.', e.Yks.' w.Yks. Covered it wi'
some seckin for fear his britches should be muckied. Hartley
Seels Yks. Lan. (1895) x ; w.Yks.', ne.Lan.' s.Chs.' Yoa)n miik'id
dhu fais ii mi waach- [Yo'n muckied the face o' my watch].
7. Phr. to mucky one's ticket, to sully or injure one's
character.
w.Yks. Aw'd nivver muckied mi ticket i' mi life, Hartley
Clock Aim. (1881) 51 ; (S.P.U.)
8. sb. A privy. Cld. (Jam.)
MUCKYDAM, sb. Lon. A corruption of ' macadam '
from association with ' mucky ' ; macadamized pavement.
I can't abide this muckydam, Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) II.
470, ed. 1861.
MUCT, see Mute, sb>
MUD, sb>, v} and adj. Sh.I. Irel. Lan. Not. Lin. War.
Brks. Lon. e.An. Ken. Hmp. Wil. Som. Aus. [mud,
mBd.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Mud-and-stud, mud and
straw forming a cob-wall (q.v.), s.v. Cob(b, sb? ; (2)
•crome or -croom, a large hook with three flat prongs
and a long wooden handle, used in draining land;
(3) -fat, very fat indeed; (4) -fever, a complaint
among horses in which the heels are chapped ; (5) -fish,
fish salted in barrels ; (6) -lark, (a) a navvy who works
at muddy embankments or excavations; (b) a dirty
child ; {c) the skylark, Alauda arvensis ; (rf) the rock-
MUD
[190 J
Mud
pipit, Anthus obscurus; {e) a river-thief; see below; (7)
-larking, carrying on the occupation of a river-thief; (8)
-nozzler, a ' stay-at-home ' ; a ' stick-in-the-mud ' ; (9)
-pattens, wide, flat pieces of board, strapped on the feet,
used to walk over the soft mud deposited in harbours ;
(10) -patties, a boys' game ; see below ; (11) -plover, the
grey plover, Squatarola helvetica ; (12) -scutcheon, a dirty
person, one who likes dirt ; (13) -snipe, the green sand-
piper, Helodromas ochropus ; (14) -splashers, wooden
paddles worn by those who go out ' winkling' in the mud,
to prevent them sinking; (15) -suckle, see (12).
(i) Lin.i Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). (2) e.Nrf. Marshall Rur.
Econ.(ii8'])U.']g. Snf.RAiNBiKD^^nc. (1819)296,6(1. 1849; Suf.i
e.Suf. (F.H.) (3) N.I.iThe grass here is that good, that in six
weeks a beast will get mud fat on it. [Aus. This fine body of
veal, mud-fat, and tender as a chicken, Boldrewood Sydney-side
Saxon (1891) viii.] (4) Not.2 (5) S. & Ork.l (6, a) N.I.i (A)
War.3 wil. Slow Gl. (1892). (c) Hmp. Bunt-larks is rare, but
mud-larks is vary common hereabouts (W.M.E.F.) ; Nature Notes,
No. 2. (d) 'S.ti. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 45. («) Lon.
There is another class vi^ho may be termed river-finders, al-
though their occupation is connected only with the shore ;
they are commonly known by the name of 'mud-larks,' from
being compelled, in order to obtain the articles they seek, to
wade sometimes up to their middle through the mud left on the
shore by the retiring tide, Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) II. 155,
ed. 1861 ; Mudlarks, or those who steal pieces of rope and lumps
of coal from among the vessels at the river-side, ib. IV. 26 ; Men
and boys, known by the name of mud-larks, who prowl about,
and watch under the discharging ships when the tide will permit,
and to whom they throw small parcels of sugar, coffee, &c., Col-
QUHOUN Police (1796) 58. (7) Lon. He had been three years mud-
larking, Mayhew ib. II. 156. (8) Ken. They sounded wild to
some of the mud-nozzlers, as the stay-at-home ones were called
in the marshes, Ann. Fishing Vill. (ed. 1892) 113. (9) Hnip.
(Hall.) (10) Brks. This mound was the weekly scene of terrific
combats, at a game called by the queer name of ' mud patties."
The boys who played divided into sides under different leaders,
and one side occupied the mound. Then all parties having
provided themselves with many sods of turf cut with their bread
and cheese knives, the side which remained at the bottom pro-
ceeded to assault the mound, advancing upon all sides under
cover of a heavy fire of turfs, and then struggling for victory with
the occupants, which was theirs as soon as they could, even for
a moment, clear the summit, Hughes T. Brown (1856) iii. (11)
Nrf. Cozens-Hardy ib. (12) Lin.i (13) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy ib.
(14) Ess. What do you mean coming to a house of worship in
mud-splashers? Baring-Gould Mehalah (1885) 320; ib. note.
(15) Liii.1
2. V. To lie dormant in mud, esp. during the winter, as
eels are said to do.
Nrf. A mass of beautiful silver eels lay wriggling at the bottom.
. . . ' Eels ? ' I said in surprise, . . ' I thought they mudded,'
Fishing Gazette (Feb. 14, 1891) 85 ; Should a bream catch sight
of you, if in a shallow, he will dart off', and ' mud,' reappearing
later on, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 365.
3. adj. Muddy, confused, muddled. ne.Lan.^
MUD, s*.= Sc. Nhb. Dur. Yks. [mud.] A small nail
or tack used by shoemakers for the soles of boots or shoes.
Lth. It differs from what is called a tacket, as having a very
small head (Jam.). n.Cy. N. C/ Q. (1888) 7th S. v. 213 ; N.Cy.i,
Nhb.l, Dur.i, n.Yks.^
MUD, v.^ Sc. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Der.
Not. Lin. Lei. Shr. Pern. Glo. Oxf. Brks. Hmp. I.W. Wil.
Dor. Som. Dev. Also in forms mad Sc. Lakel.^ Cum.'^*
w.Yks. Pem. Glo.i= Oxf.^ Brks.' Hmp. LW.'^ Wil.i Som. ;
meed Lei.'; met Lan.' e.Lan.' Chs.' Shr.'; mid s.Chs.'
s.Oxf. s.Hmp. Wil' Dor.' w.Som.' Dev. ; mit s.Chs.' Stf.
Dev. ; mod n.Lan. ; moud n.Yks.' ; mut w.Yks.'^ Lan.'
e.Lan.' nw.Der.' Not.' sw.Lin.' Lei.' [mud, mad ; med,
mid ; mut, mat, mit.] 1. May.
Lei.' Meed n't. Shr.' Met, pi. met'n. Yo' met'n [may] g66
after milkin. Metnad-1 ? Metnad-a? Metna we c»-yo'? Metnad-a
or metna-they ? Introd. 66. Glo. I med be right an' arl you med
be wrong, now, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) 29 ; Glo.'
Oxf. Ellis Pronunc. (1885) V. 128; Oxf.i, Brks.' Hmp. Ellis
ib. 97. LW.'2 Wil. Ye mad laugh both of ye, Ellis ib. 44;
Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.' n.Wil. Come back, as we med look upon
'ee. Kite Sng. Sol. (i860) vi. 13. Dor. Blow on my gearden,
that the smell mid flow out, Barnes Sng. Sol. (1859) iv. 16 ; That
I midden be a-hemm'd in by the vlocks o' your feliors, ib. i. 7;
Dor.' We now mid hope var better cheer, 283. e.Dor. Ellis ib.
76. Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825); Ellis ib. 88.
w.Som.' A master of otter hounds was asked, ' Are you going to
draw the Barle again this season ? ' The answer was, ' Mayhap
mid ' — i.e. possibly I may. Aay kn goo- nif aay bee u muyn tiie,
mud-n ur? [I can go if I wish, may I not?] Dev. 'E mid or 'e
midden go, jist as tha maggot bit'th, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ;
' Vather, mid 1 'a' a new pair of bates ? ' ' 'Ess, thee midst if thee
widst,' Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Let yer lite zo zhine bevaur men,
thit thay mit zee yer gud wurks, Baird St. Matt. (1863) v. 16.
e.Dev. Blaw deun 'pon my gird'n that th' spaices mid smill,
PULMAN Sng. Sol. (i860) iv. 16.
Hence Midhap or Mudhap, adv. maybe, perhaps.
e.Yks.' Hmp. Mid hap it will be (H.C.M.B.).
2. Might.
Dur.' Lakel.* It mud hev bin war. Cum. I mud gang wid him,
Lonsdale Mag. (Feb. 1867) 309 ; Cum.' Medn't, mudn't ; Cum.^
A blinnd body med see that, 8 ; Cum." Wra. Yan mud think thars
summit et donnet in her, Close Satirist (1833) 158. n.Yks.i
' Could you not do so and so at the same time ? ' ' Ay, mebbe Ah
moud, bairn.' ' I wish James knew.' ' Whah, Ah mud gan an'
tell him'; n.Yks.* ' I mud gan,' might chance to go; n.Yks.^''
ne.Yks.' Yan mud as weel gan. e.Yks. Seeah as neeah-body
mud see him . huggin it heeam, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889") 36 ;
e.Yks.' It mud happen seeah. m.Yks.' Muod-,/K^rorf. 37. w.Yks.
Mud or mad, Wright Gram. Wndhll. (1892) 153 ; Women mut
a sitten comfortably, Shevvild Ann. (1848) 9; w.Yks.' I mud a
swapt him wi' Jammy Tennant, ii. 289 ; w.Yks.* An weel they
mut; w.Yks.S; w.Yks.^ It mud a bin done easy eniff. Becos' he
wur a bit laate he muddant goa at awal ! Lan. Yo met set
potitos in her neck-hole, Waugh Chim. Comer (1874) 27, ed.
1879; Aw mut see her, Brierley Layrock (1864) viii ; If luvmud
heve its way, Harland Lyrics (1866) 305 ; Lan.' n.Lan. It mod
a' been, Lonsdale Mag. (July 1866) 9. ne.Lan. I mud as weel
tell tales abaat him, Mather Idylls (1895) 46 ; For if they mutn't,
talk they'd scrat, ib. 47 ; ne.Lan.', e.Lan.' Chs. Aw met a bin,
Clough B. Bresskittle (1879) 19; Chs.' s.Chs.^ Mif)nu or
mid')nu, 90. Stf. Her mit say what her'd a moind, Knighfs
Quart. Mag. (1823) 299. nw.Der.', Lin.' n.Lin. I'm that hot ye
mud wring my shet out, Peacock Tales (1886) 71 ; n.Lin.' Thoo
mud hev getten hoam afoore this time o' neet if thoo'd tried
fairly. Pem, A med ha' done it, now you tell me, but a had no
mind for't (E.D.). Glo.'; Glo.* ' Med'nt ur?' might he not?
s.Oxf. Joe mid turn out well, an' then agen 'ee midn't, Rosemary
Chiltems (1895) 60. Erks. 'Tis my belief as you med amost hev
it for the axin, Hughes T. Brown Oxf. (1861) xviii; Brks.i I
tawld 'un a med do't if a wanted to't. s.Hmp. As if she were at
home, one mid say, Verney L. Lisle (1870) x. I.W. You med get
into church if you'd got ar a kay, Gray Annesley (1889) I. 114 ;
I.W.* I med a ben there if I'd minded to. w.Cy. Whosomdever
I med leave un to, Comh. Mag. (Dec. 1895) 603. Wil. Slow Gl.
(1892) ; WiL' Dor. When I vound ye without I mid kiss ye,
Barnes Sng. Sol. (1859) viii. i ; Poll went woone night, that we
midden vind her, Barnes Poems (1879) 85 ; Dor.' To have a little
bit o' fun as long as tha mid stop, 162. Som. When vather do go
out there's no knowing but what all creation mid cum home wi'
un, Raymond Men 0' Mendip (1898) i ; It middent come azy at
vust, Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 6 ; I mid or I mid'n', W. & J. Gl.
(1873) ; Thou medst if wouldst, ib. w.Som. Aay miid-n zee- 6e
gin u Zun-dfie tu chuurch, Elworthy Gram. (1877) 70. Dev. It
midden be, Salmon Ballads (1899) 48.
Hence in phr. (i) mid been, might have been ; (2) mud
happen be, might possibly or perhaps be ; (3) as thus mud
E do, see below.
(i) Som. Yo remembers Betty ? She mid bin a Turk, Agrikler
Rhymes (1872) 48. (2) w.Yks. Th' owdest mud happen be ten,
Th' young en be hauf on't. Hartley Ditt. (1868) 7. (3) w.Yks.'
It signifies the doing anything according to the usual custom,
without any design or consideration.
3. Must.
Sc. Med, mud [older]. Almost obs. ' Aa mud gang,' Murray
£>;■«/. (1877)217. Cum. He thought that he mud treat ye, Blamire
Poet. Wks. (c. 1794) 215, ed. 1842 ; Cum.' Wm. A thowt a mud-
dant ga throv Beeathal Green, fer ivvery-body kentma Vae.ear,Spec.
Dial (1885) pt. iii. 7. e.Yks. Last Munda ... he cudn't let pass.
Bud what he mud mak a greeat feeal ov oor lass, Nicholson Flk-
Sp. (1889) 45. w.Yks. Shoo mud bear it like a man, Binns Vill.
to Town (1882) 109; The weak form 'mad,' which gen. means
MUD
[191]
MUDGE
' might,' is also used as a preterite of ' mun,' as ' Su sed 3e mad oaSar
eit ^at a diu bat out,' she said they must either eat that or do with-
out anything, Wright Gram. Wndhll. (1892) 151 ; w.Yks.2 Lan.
Dick thowt for sure it mud be another o'th feawl things, Stand-
ing Echoes (1885^ 16 ; He mut take his turn, Waugh Heather (ed.
Milner) I. 21 ; Lan.^ ne.Lan. He said I mut remember, Mather
Idylls (1895) 226 ; ne.Lan.^, nw.Der.' Not. 'A felt a mut go when
he war dying (L.C.M.); (J.H.B.) ; Not.i, s.Not. (J.P.K.) Lin.
Why, it mud be fifty-seven year ago, Gilbert Rugge (1866) H.
309 ; Lin.i n-Lin.^ Mester said we mudn't smooke e' th' stackyard.
sw.Lln.i He raut be telhng a lie. I mutn't be clean without tea
this Mayda'. Lei."- Fur Oi mut marry Peggy, 35.
MUD, V? Hmp. I.W. Wil. [mBd.] To bring up a
child by hand ; to pamper and spoil a child. Gen. with
up. See Muddle, v.'^
Hmp. Not that she'll ever come to good spoiled and mudded up
as she is, Gray Heart of Storm (1891) I. 55 ; Hmp.^ Don't e mud
that boy so. I.W. (C.J.V.) ; I.W.^ Don't mud the bwoy up so.
Wil. BRiTTONB«a«<;«s(,i825) ; WU.i s.Wil. 'Mud the child up,
dooke.' Bring up the child by hand, Monthly Mag. (1814) l\. 114.
Hence (i) Mud-calf, sb. a calf brought up by hand ; (2)
•foal, sb. a foal brought up by hand ; (3) -lamb, sb. a lamb
brought up by hand.
(i) Hmp. Wise New Forest (1883,) 284 ; Hmp.i I.W. [The] mud
calves were fed, Moncrieff Dream (1863) 1. 8; I.W.^^ (2) Hmp.
De Crespigny iV«2(; Forc5i (1895) 1x3. (3) s.Cy. (Hall.) Hmp.
Wise ib. I.W.2
MUD(D, sb. I.W. [mBd.] A silly, thoughtless, stupid
person.
(Hall.) I.W.^ ; I.W. ^ Gen. applied to a child. 'Ah, yezote
mud, don't da that.'
MUDDER, sb. Sh.I. Fine dust or powder; small
articles such as small potatoes, ' sillocks,' &c. Jakobsen
Dial. (1897) 47 ; S. & Ork.' Cf. mur(r, sb.
MUDDER, see Mother, sb.\ Mouder.
MUDDIAGHS, MUDDIES, see Mudyees.
MUDDLE, v.\ sb. and adj. Sc. Irel. Yks. Glo. Oxf. e.An.
Ken. Sus. AVil. ■ [mu'dl, mB-dl.] 1, v. With about : to
do a little work.
Oxf. (G.O.) Ken.^ As long as I can just muddle about I don't
mind. Sus.i I'm ever so much better, and I shouldn't wonder but
what I shall be able to muddle about in a day or two.
2. With in : see below.
w.Yks. Clay soils have not been dry enough for working in a
thoroughly satisfactory manner since the frost broke up, so that it
is to be feared that some corn has been ' muddled in ' where the
drills have been busy, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 23, 1889) 8.
3. To be busy in a clandestine way ; to work secretly.
Ayr. I'll gang warily and cannily mysel', and muddle about the
root o' this affair till 1 get at it, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) xxxv.
4. To get potatoes out of the ground, with the hands,
surreptitiously.
N.I.i Ant. To raise potatoes without disturbing the stem, a
mode sometimes practised by stealth, the earth being smoothed
again to conceal the theft, Grose (1790) MS. add. (C. )
5. To have carnal knowledge of a female. Sc. (Jam.)
6. To tickle a person, at the same time lying upon him
to keep him down. Sc. iib) 7. To meddle, interfere.
Glo. I won't ha' you a-muddlin' wi' 'er, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(1890) 20O.
Hence Muddle-fuss, sb. a persistent meddler with other
people's affairs. Wil.'-
8. To catch. Gen. with up.
Nrf. 1 heard of another [polecat] being muddled up beneath alow
bridge over a water-dike and killed, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895)
344 ; If a good quanter goes in after him, he will soon 'muddle ' him
up; for he [the pike] easily loses his head, and can be caught, ib.
375 ; We'd all holler and run arter him and muddle him in among
the shooves, and tumble on him, ib. Son of Fens (1892) 138.
9. To fatigue ; to be overcome with fatigue. Gen. in pp.
e.An.2 John is quite muddled with walking so far. Suf. The
roads was so heavy the bosses was muddled to dead (C.G.B.);
Suf.i I'm muddled ta dead amost. e.Suf. (F.H.)
Hence (i) Muddled, ppl. adj. fatigued, tired ; distressed
in mind ; (2) Muddling,///, adj. fatiguing, tiring.
(i) Nrf. N. (j- Q. (1850; 1st S. ii. 217, 365. (2) e.Snf. A mud-
dling job (F.H.). ^
10. 56. Fatigue.
e.An.i; e.An.^ Oh ! I was in such a muddle. e.Suf. (F.H.)
11. adj. Untidy.
Nrf. That tree du fare to have a muddle head, Cozens-Hardy
Broad Nrf {i8g3) gz. Suf. (H.H.)
MUDDLE, t;.2 Hmp. [mBdl.] To bring up or rear
by hand ; to fondle, caress. See Mud, v.^
Wise New Forest (1885) 284 ; (H.E.) ; Hmp.'
MUDDLER, sb. Yks. A puzzler. w.Yks. (R.H.R.) ;
Rare (M.F.).
MUDDLING, adj. Not. Of the weather : warm and
damp, close, oppressive. (J.H.B.) Cf muddly.
MUDDLY, adj. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Shr. Also written
mudly n.Yks.'' Shr. [mu'dli.] Of the weather : thick,
foggy, rainy ; close, oppressive. Cf. muggy, adj. 1.
n.Cy. (Hall.), n.Yks.^, w.Yks.'^*, ne.Lan.i Shr. Darlington
Flk-Sp. (1887) 17.
MUDDOCK, sb. Sc. A pet name for ' mother.'
Ayr. Wad 'ou meddle muddock's mutch ? Service Dr. Duguid
(ed. 1887) 104.
MUDDY, adj. and v. Sc. Cum. Yks. Stf. Lin. Nhp.
War. Wor. [mu'di, mB-di.] 1. adj. Thick, not clear.
Also us&d jig.
Cld. His style is never muddy, O, Nimmo Sngs. (1882) 169.
Rnf. A muddy divine and mystical philosopher, Wodrow Corres.
(1709-31) II. 317, ed. 1843. n.Lin.^ Said of beer or other such
fluids.
2. Half-drunk, muddled or confused with liquor.
Edb. Maister Gtegory had forgat what every jolly ruffler, even
when muddy pated, is a stickler for, Beatty Secretar (1897) 136.
w.Yks.i, Nhp.i
3. Obs. Saturated with water, esp. applied to slaked lime
when very wet. Cum." 4. v. To make muddy or dirty.
Sc. (A.W.), Yks. (J.W.) Stf., War., s.Wor. The rain'll muddy
the water in the well (H.K.). s.Wor. The rain'll muddy the
paths {ib.).
MUDDYWANT, MUDDYWARP, MUDE, see Moody-
want, Mouldywarp, Mood, sb}
MUDEL, V. Wil.' With over : to cover up plants
with long straw as protection in cold weather. Cf.
muckle, v.'^ 2.
MUDFANG, sb. n.Lin.' [mu'dfai).] See below.
When two properties are divided from each other by a hedge
only, without a ditch, the hedge has usually been planted at the
extreme limit of one of the properties ; and in that case the owner
of the hedge has a right to a mudfang, if it be an old enclosure ;
that is, a certain portion of land, usually two feet wide, in which
the roots of the hedge grow. These mudfangs are rare except as
the boundaries of gardens, or enclosures on dry land where
ditches are not required. The earth in which a hedge grows, and
about two feet on each side, even when there is no division of
property, is sometimes called a mud-fang.
MUDGE, sb.^ Chs. Stf. Der. Lei. Wor. [mudg.]
1. Sludge, mud. Stf.l, Der.2, nw.Der.i, Lei.i, s.Wor. (H.K.)
2. Comp. Mudge-hole, a dirt-hole ; a soft, boggy place.
Chs.' ; Chs.3 Oo were welly marred in a mudge-hole. s.Chs.^
Th)biiz-iik got iz ahynd-legz in u miij--oa-l iipu Bik-h Mos; nn ey
siingk an sungk, iin it tai'd iiz au-1 ur tahym tu gy'er im aayt
iigy'en [Th' buzzock got his hind-legs in a mudge-hole upo' Bickley
Moss ; an' hey sunk an' sunk, an' it tayd us all ur time to ger im
ait agen].
MUDGE, V. and sb.^ Sc. Nhb. [mBdg.] L v. To
stir, move, ' budge ' ; to shift. See Moodge.
Sc. Thai dare na mudge for fricht, Scott Minstrelsy (1802) IV.
344, ed. 1848 ; Nowther fleechan nor whippan could mak him
mudge a fit, Edb. Mag. (Sept. 1818) 155 (Jam.). Cai.i Abd. In
spite o' a' they could do they couldna mudge the brig, Mitchie
Deeside Tales (1872) 120. Ayr. I durstna mudge on the King's
highway without meeting revile and molestation, Galt Lairds
(1826) viii. Lnk. The wheels wadna mudge, nor the ban's wad
they gang, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 25. Slk. He mudged and
leugh, Hogg Tales (1838) 363, ed. i866. Nhb.i You must not
mudge. Aa canna mudge 'd ; it's ower hivvy.
2. To rumour in a secret manner. Also with about.
Bnff.i Fouck are mudgin' it he is jist at the horn.
3. sb. A movement, motion, stir.
Sc. (Jam.), Cai.' Frf. The least mudge on the pairt o' ony o'
the bairns after the licht was oot, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886)
132, ed. i88g. Per. There wasna ane o' them made a mudge, Ian
Maclaren Bonnie Brier Bush (1895) 43.
4. A rumour. Sc. (Jam.), Cai.', Bnff.'
MUDGEL-HOLE
[192]
MUFFLEMENTS
MUDGEL-HOLE, sb. Obs. Hrt. A dunghill, 'mid-
den.' Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) I. i. 9.
[Myddyl or dongyl, forica, Prompt. (Winch. MS.) With
mydd- cp. midden (Dan. m^g-dynge) ; the element -yl is for
hill.']
MUDGELLY, adj. s.Cy. (Hall.) Sus.^^ Of straw :
broken, short, as trodden by cattle. Cf. mudgetty.
MUDGEN, see Midgen.
MUDGEON, V. Suf. To turn over a gravel-walk, &c.
e.Suf. (F.H.)
MUDGEONS, sb. pi. Sc. (Jam.) Motions of the coun-
tenance denoting discontent, scorn, &c. s.Sc, Rnf., Dmf.
See Mudge, v., Murgeon, sb.'^
[With mudjons and murgeons, Montgomerie Flyting
(ed. 1629) 495.]
MUDGEROON, MUDGERUM, see Muggeroon,
Midgerum.
MUDGETTY, adj. I.W.= [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Of straw : broken, short, as trodden by cattle.
MUDGEUK, sb. and v. Hrf. Also in form mudyeuk.
1. sb. A mess, litter ; confusion, disorder.
A' ov a mudyeuk (H.K.) ; (J.B.)
2. V. To make a mess in cooking. (J.B.)
MUDGIN, sb. Nhp. e.An. Also written mudjen(-
Nhp.^ Suf; and in forms madgin e.An.^*; mudgeon
Nrf. Suf. [mB-dzan.] 1. Rubbish of chalk and ruined
buildings, mixecTwith lumps of clay, broken straw, &c.,
used for buildingpurposes and for manure. See Margin, s6.
e.An.^^, Nrf.^, Suf* Hence Mudjenearing, prp. building
walls of road dirt or a mixture of clay, rubble, and straw.
Nhp.' 2. Fine chalk.
Nrf. A kind of chalky clay used for daubing (Hall.) ; Nrf.^
Nrf., Suf. Morton Cydo. Agric. (1863). e.Suf. (F.H.)
MUDGY, adj. w.Yks.^ [mu'dgi.] Broken, fragmentary,
in small pieces. ' That salmon's all mudgy.'
MUDJICK, sb. Sh.I. Also written mudgeick S. &
Ork.' MS. add. [mB-dgik.] A midge ; a midget.
Den dey ca' me da Mudjick fira tu-name, Stewart Tales (1892)
243 ; S. & Ork.i MS. add.
MUDLER, sb. N.I.' Cum.' [mu'dlar.] A small metal
stamper, used in public-houses, &c., to crush the lumps
of sugar in punch or toddy.
MUD-SHEEP, 56. Obs. n.Cy. Yks. Sheep of the old
large Teeswater breed.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). cYks. Marshall Rur. Earn. (1788).
MUDVITE, sb. pi. Sh.L Also in forms mudveetick,
mudvyeetties. [mB-dvIt] Swine. (Co//.LL.B.),S.&Ork.i
MUDYARN, sb. Irel. Also in form muddha arran.
The bread-stick ; a forked stick with three legs, which
supports the oat-cake till it is gradually baked.
Ir. He never was laid to the muddha arran, Carleton Traits
Peas. (ed. 1843) 259. UIs. Uls. Jrn. Arch. (1B58) VI. 54. Ant.
There is bread toasting at the mudyarn, Hume Dial. (1878) 24.
[Ir. maide, a stick -f- araw, bread (O'Reilly).]
MUDYEES, sb. pi. Irel. Also in forms muddiaghs
S.Don. ; muddies Ant. Wooden tongs ; rude tongs made
of bent rod or hoop-iron ; also in camp. Muddie-breesties.
N.I.* Ant. Another . . . extemporises a pair of mudyees, Hume
Dial. (1878)24; Ballymena Obs. {iSg2). s.Don.SiMMONsG/.(i89o).
[Ir. maide-brisde, a bent stick used for tongs (O'Reilly).]
MUDYEUK, MUE, see Mudgeuk, Mow, v.^
MUFF, sb.^ and v.^ Sh. and Or.I. Also written muiflf
Or.I. [mBf.] 1. sb. A close, oppressive, suffocating
heat ; a disagreeable smell. S. & Ork.S Or.I. (S.A.S.)
2. V. To oppress with heat. Sh.I. {Coll. L.L.B.)
MUFF, ».=, sb.' and adj Yks. Lei. War. [muf.]
L V. To make a sound or slight noise; fig. to speak.
Used with neg.
w.Yks. T'clark nivfver mufft when they proposed to due this,
Yksman. (Oct. 1878) 278; For a long time na-wther on 'em muft,
PudseyOlm. (1889)26; He never muffed (S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.a 'The
catpass'd me, and ne'er muff'd.' Of a child scalded, 'We tookhis
hand, held it under the tap, and wrapp'd a wet cloth about it, and
he never mufTd.'
2. sb. A sound, the least or slightest sound.
w.Yks. He niwer made a muff all t'time (jE.B.) ; As sooin as
they pop into th' hive o' St. Stephen's yo' niver hear a muff.
Hartley Clock Aim. (1869) 27.
3. Phr. (i) to say muff, (2) to say muff nor mum, with
neg. : to say nothing, say neither good nor bad.
(i) n.Yks. Wen I gat afuar majastrets 1 kudnt sS muf. Sum kan
hadli se muf an sum kan klatar awe (W. H.). (2) Lei.' A didn'
sey no moor, nayther moof nur moora. War.^
4. adj. Quiet, noiseless ; dumb, silent ; dull, stupid.
w.Yks. Sittin' az muff and quiat az if ah diddant hear wot wor
goin on, Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1863) 40 ; Mind thou
keeps muff (S.P.U.). Lei.'
MUFF, see Mow, sb?
MUFFATEE, sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Der.
Not. Lei. Nhp. War. e.An. Lon. Sur. Also written
mufatee Lakel.'^ ; muffetee Gall. Dur. nw.Der.' Nhp.' ;
mufHtee Sc. (Jam.) S. & Ork.' e.An.' [mu'f-, mB-fsti.]
L A cuff, gen. of wool or fur, worn on the wrist in cold
weather.
S. & Ork.i, Or.I. (Jam.) Ags. Made either of leather or of
knitted worsted, worn by old men, often for the purpose of
keeping their shirts clean (ib.). Gall. Knitting stockings, muffe-
tees, and loofies, Mactaggart £'«cj'c/. (1824) 209, ed. 1876. Nhb.'
s.Dur. A've been knitted a pair of muffettees (J.E. D.). Lakel. ^,
Wm. (B.K.),w.Yks.2, n.Lan.',nw.Der.', Not.', Lei.l, Nhp.l, War.^,
e.An.i, Lon. (A.L.M.), Sur. (L.J.Y.)
2. A muffler, worn round the neck.
Lan. He'd a thick, red wool muffatee reawnd his neck, Waugh
Heather (ed. Milner) I. 35.
MUFFED, ppl. adj ? Obs. Sc. Of a hen : crested,
tufted. Cf. mufty.
Edb. Our seven hens — two of them tappit and one muffed, Moir
Mansie Wauch (1838) xix ; Finding the head of the muffed hen . . .
lying in a bye-corner, ib. xx. se.Sc. My hen she was a shining
brown, Wi' mufiB'd head, Donaldson Poems (1809) 40.
MUFFETY, adj. Som. [mB-fsti.j Of cats : long-
haired, applied to Persian or half-bred Persian cats.
(W.F.R.)
MUFFIE-WREN, sb. Rnf. The willow-warbler,
Phylloscopus trochilus. Swainson Birds (1885) 26.
MUFFIN, sb. Yks. Lan. Der. A^so in forms moofin
w.Yks.* ; moufln, mowffin Lan. [mu'fin.] 1. A wheat-
cake baked upon a ' bake-stone ' over the fire ; tea-cake
in general.
w.Yks. Bread baked in small round cakes as distinct from
ordinary loaves (S.K.C.) ; They stopped at a house and asked for
some muflSns and water. Peel Luddites (1870) 133 ; Thoresby
Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.* Lan. He brought eaut some bakstone
moufins, Clegg Slietches (1895) 331 ; ' Mowffin,' a generic name
for tea bread in all its varieties, Fothergill Leverhouse (1888) xviii.
2. Comb, (i) Muffin-dough lads, a nickname given to a
volunteer corps ; (2) -head, a stupid person, a dolt.
(i) w.Yks. T'Huthersfield volunteers, nicknamed t'Moofindoaf
Lads, were bein put threw ther exercise, Saunterer s Satchel {iS^-j)
33. (2) Der. Yo good for nowt, yo muffin yed, yo donkey. Ward
David Grieve (1892) L v.
MUFFIT, sb. Slg. The whitethroat, Sylvia cinerea.
Swainson Birds (1885) 23.
MUFFLE, sb. Sc. Yks. Chs. Lin. Wor. Pem. [mu-fl,
mB-fl.] 1. A mitten, a warm cover for the hand.
Sc. (Jam.) Cai.' A muffle has only two divisions; one for the
thumb, and the other for the four fingers.
2. A bunch of feathers under a hen's throat. n.Lin.'
Hence Muffled, ppl. adj. (i) of a hen : tufted or having
feathers protruding under the throat ; (2) covered with
feathers. Cf. muflFed.
(i) Chs.' Hens with top-knots or with feathers puffing out under
their throats are said to be muffled. s.Chs.' {2) w.Yks.* A fowl
is said to be muffled down to its feet. Wor. Birds muffled down
to their very claws (W.C.B.).
3. pi. Fetters for sheep. s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888)
421. 4. The kiln in which china is finally burnt after
being painted, &c. w.Wor.'
MUFFLE, see Maffle, Murfle.
MUFFLE-GREENS, sb. pi Nhp.' Brussels sprouts.
Also called Buffle-greens (q.v.).
MUFFLEMENTS, sb. pi. Lan. [mu-flments.] Over-
clothes ; mufflers, wraps.
Tak thoose mufflements off, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) II. 36.
MUFFLER
[^93]
MUG
MUFFLER, 5*. Oxf. The great crested grebe, Podi-
ceps cristatiis. Aplin Birds (1889) 214.
MUFFS, s6.j5/. Obs. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Mitts, mittens.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788);
w-Yks.', ne.Lan.i
MUFFY, see Mowhay.
MUFTED,#. w.Yks.5 [mu-ftid.] Muffled, wrapped up.
■w.Yks.5 Well, mufted up to t'chin th'art reight eniff, 47.
MUFTY, sb. Sc. [m-e-fti.] A fowl with a tufted or
crested head. Also used attrtb.
Sc. A mufty tufty bantam cock. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (1870)
158. Slk.What'n a cleckin she's gotten ! . . Mufties, too, I declare;
— are they ggem ? Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 252.
MUG, sb}, v} and adj. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
[mBg, mug.] \. sb. In com/i. (i) Mug-butter, butter sold in
earthenware mugs ; (2) -house, {a) a pottery ; [b] an ale-
house ; (3) -pot, (a) a pint pot ; a small mug of common
earthenware, holding three gills or a pint ; [b) the long-
tailed tit, Acredula rosea ; also called Jug-pot (q.v.) ; (4)
-shop, an earthenware dealer's shop ; (5) -wife, a female
dealer in earthenware ; see Mugger, sb.
(i)Lan. Eawr Betty varraoft bi'smug butter ova Friday, Ferguson
Preston Eggsibishon (1865) vi ; For a number of years prior to the
seventies a large quantity of Irish butter in red mugs was imported
to England, but about 1875 was discontinued, as the mugs got broken
and claims were so frequently made against the various railway
companies that they refused to carry it. It was much cooler and
sweeter than in any other form (S.W.). (2, a) Shr.^, w.Cy.
(Hall.) (b) Dev. When a young gallant begins to squabble at
village mug-houses, Baring-Gould Uriih (1891) I. xv. [Hone
raW« 54.(1827)276.] (3, a) w.Yks.2 3 (i) s.Not. (J.P.K.) (4)
Lan. (A..C.) ; (F.K.) (5) N.Cy.i
2. Phr. another double mug is broke, said when a new
misfortune or disaster has occurred. Nhp.^ 3. A drinking
\&sse\, gen. but not necessarily made of earthenware.
Cum.", n.Yks. (W.H.), w.Yks. (J.H.B.) Clis.' A silver tankard
would be called a mug ; so would a half pint pot of earthenware.
nw.Der.i Brks.i A cup of the same size round from top to bottom.
e.An.'^ Cor. A quart or large vessel for holding drink, N. &= Q.
(1854) 1st S. X. 320.
4. A jug; a ewer.
Yks. (J.W.) Lin.i An ale jug. Suf. (F.AA.); (C.G.B.) ;
e.An. Dy. Times (1892). Sur. I never thought to wipe out the
mug [speaking of the china ewer], N. (2r= O. (1878) 5th S. x. 222.
Sus. (S.P.H.)
6. Any large earthenware vessel or bowl ; a ' pancheon.'
Lan. The large earthenware utensil used for laundry purposes
is known as a ' mug,' Tit-Bits (Aug. 8, 1891) 280, col. i ; Any kind
of rough earthenware vessel. ' Bread-mug,' large pan for kneading
bread (J.H.B.) ; A basin in which milk is set to stand to prepare
for churning (M.B.). nw.Der.i
Hence Mugful, sb. a bowlful.
Lan. Pusht th' owd woman uv hur bustle in a mugful o' dowf,
Staton Lootninary (c. 1861) no.
6. The hole into which a ball is rolled or thrown in
certain games ; a game of marbles.
Per. The best o' them a' was a game at the bools. The ' mug ' or
the 'ring' wi' its wonderful rules, Edwards Lyrics (1889) 34.
CId. (Jam.)
7. V. To supply with beer or liquor ; to give beer, &c.
as a bribe.
Lan. (J.F.M.) Nhp.i A farmer said to his wife, 'Come! mug
the girls, and they'll get on with their work ; mug 'em, Missess,
mug 'em 1' s.Wor.i To enlist a man by drink for towing a boat.
e.Ken. (G.G.) [Having . . . mugged, as we say in England, our
pilot, Ingelo Remin. (1830) II. 479.]
8. To drink ; to get drunk ; to treat oneself to drink.
Not. He's muggin hissen (J.H.B.). s.Not. She'd got some
money, so she wor muggin hersen yisterday (J.P.K.). - Dor. Not
goo muggin' of our paat, And runnin' scores up on the z\as.t, Dorica
(1888) 161.
9. To put a ball into a hole in certain games ; to strike
or ' buck ' a ball out from a wall, as is done in the game
of ' wa' baw.' Cld. (Jam.) Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
10. adj. Made of earthenware or crockery in contra-
distinction to china, &c. See also Muggen.
Lan. A mug teapot (A.C.) ; (F.K.) Clis.i
VOL. IV.
MUG, s6.2 and v.' Sc. Lan. Stf. Not. War. Shr. e.An.
[mBg, mug.] 1. sb. A fog or mist ; a slight rain or
drizzle ; a damp, dull, gloomy state of the atmosphere.
See Muggy, adj.
Abd. (Jam.), ne.Lan.i Stf. Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) 50 ;
'Twas nothin but mug agate, And wouldn't rain, White Wrekin
(i860) XXX ; (K.) War. B'ham Wkly. Pos^ (June 17, 1893);
War.' 2 Shr.l Theer wuz sich a mug this mornin', yo' couldna see
'afe-a-dozen yards afore yo'. e.An.' A mug is damp gloom, neither
rain nor fog, but insinuating itself even into stout garments, some-
what in the manner of that which is in England called a Scotch
mist (s.v. Muggy). Nrf.' Snf. RAiNsiRD^^nV. (1819) 296, ed. 1849.
2. V. To rain slightly, to drizzle.
Abd. Muggin' down in gentle drappies Ambrosial vivifyin' dew,
Davidson Poems {iQ^i) 93 ; We say ' it's muggin ' (G.W.) ; (Jam.)
s.Not. It mugs a little ; yer can't call it rain (J.P.K.). e.An.'
[1. Norw. dial, mugg, drizzling rain (Aasen) ; ON.
niugga (Vigfusson).]
MUG, sb? and v.^ Nhb. Cum. Yks. War. Glo. Lon. Suf.
Slang, [mug, mBg.] 1. sb. A fool, simpleton ; a stupid,
inexperienced person.
Nhb.i Wadn't he he' been a mug if he'd gyen, noo ? Cum.* The
master had bothered her on the road from Carlisle, and she was
not going to be ' made a mug of by him,' C. Pair. (Nov. 30, 1894) 3,
col. 4. n.Yks. Thoo ez a mug to let 'em du like that wi' tha(W. H.).
w.Yks. (J.W.) War.2; War.3 Whois themug? Glo.(H.S.H.) Lon.
We sometimes have a greenhorn wants to go out pitching with us
— a ' mug,' we calls them, Mayhew Loud. Labour {li^i) III. 193,
ed. 1861. Slang. I was taken by two pals to an orchard to cop
some fruit, me being a mug [inexperienced] at the game, Horsley
Joltings (1887) i.
2. Phr. (i) to be any one's mug, to be any one's slave ;
(2) to have one for the mug, to make into a laughing-stock ;
to be the victim of a practical joke.
(i) w.Yks. I'm not going to be your mug (S.K.C.). (2) n.Yks.
Yo see they hev him fer't mug (W.H.). w.Yks. It strikes me 'at
yor havin me for th' mug, Hartley Seets Yks. and Lan. (1895) ;
(J.W.)
3. V. To deceive, make a fool of ; to cheat ; to make fun
of, to expose to ridicule.
w.Yks.^ We did mug him. Lon. Then he underwent the
operation of mugging him, Mayhew Z,ok£^. Labour(\^$i) III. 193,
ed. 1861. e.Suf. Don't yeou come a muggin of me (F.H.).
Hence Muggar, sb. a cheat ; used attrib.
Yks. A lot of chaps I didna altegithir like— horsey, joackey, . .
muggar sort ov fellars, Fetherston T. Goorkrodger\\?>'i6) 61.
MUG, sZ>.* In gen. dial, and slang use in Sc. Irel. Eng.
and Amer. [mug, msg.] 1. The mouth ; the face,
countenance.
Lth. Len's yer lug, Whyles I a friendly neb an' mug In its grim
portals deftly plug, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892') 117. N.I.^, Nhb."-
Cum. (J.D.) ; Cum.i ; Cum.^ That ugly mug o' thine, 10. n.Yks.*
w.Yks. He couldn't ha' pool'd a faaler mug, Hartley Clock Aim.
(1891) 40; Swipe 'im in t'mug, Jem, swipe 'im in t'mug (W.M.E.F.);
w.Yks.25 Lan. Fettle his mug wi' thi' clog I Banks Manch. Man
(1876) xxxiii ; He's getten a good-lookin' mug o' his own, Burnett
Lowrie's (1877) xii. m.Lan.i s.Lan. He's getten an ugly mug
(S.W.). s.Chs.' Not. Yer quite spoil yerself with that mug,
Prior 7?fKi'« (1895) 78; (J.H.B.); Not.12 Lin.i I knew him by
the cut of his mug. Lei.i Mid. He won't dare to show his mug
there, Blackmore Kit (1890) II. xxi. Hmp. Holloway. Yfil.
Slow Gl. (1892). w.Som.i, Cor.3 Slang. Bobbing your ugly old
mug in and out there like a jack in the box, Hughes T. Brown
Oxf. (1861) iii. [Amer. Hold your mug, you old nigger, Sam Slick
Clockmaker (1836) ist S. xx.]
Hence Mugged, />/!/. adj. faced, countenanced.
w.Som.i Yah! yu huug-1-muugud suun- uv .. beexh [Yah!
you ugly-faced son of a bitch].
2. A grimace, contortion of the face.
s.Chs.i Ah)l tel)th skdo-gy'aafur dhaa)t piil-in miigz iit mey
[Ah'll tell th' schoo'-gaffer tha't puUin' mugs at mey].
3. A sulky person. N.I.^ . , ,tt n r-r
WUGySb.^ Dev. The rump of an animal. (Hall.) Cf.
muggle, sb}
MUG, 5*.^ Cum.i [Not known to our correspondents.]
A term of endearment.
MUG, v.* and sb.'' Nhb. Yks. Chs. Not. Lm. Wil. Slang,
[mug, rn^Bg.] 1. V. To beat, thrash, chastise.
Nhb'. Her man pop'd in. An' he mug'd poor Bobby the cure,
c c
MUG
[^94]
MUGGIE
Tyneside Siigs. (^1872) 66 ; Nhb.' Aa'U mug ye if ye taak like that.
w.Yks.5 Gi'e ower mugging him I saay ! Th'art bunching an'
mugging him wal he's down ! It'll tak some mugging to mak him
give in — he'll be mugged a week afoar he'll du it ! Not. (J.H.B.),
Not.2 s.Not. Ah'll mugyer mouth,o>-yer ear-'ole (J.P.K.). Slang.
Suppose they had mugged you ? Done what to me ? Mugged you,
slogged you, you know, London Misc. (May 5, 1866) 102 (Farmer).
Hence Mugging, sb. a beating, thrashing.
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June 8, 1895). Chs.^ ; Chs.s ' To
receive a muggin ' is to be beaten. Lin. Miller & Skertchly
Fenland (1878) iv ; Lin.^ I gave him a sound mugging, he was so
chappy.
2. To exhaust, tire, wear out.
Wil. That hot weather very nigh mugged I (G.E.D.).
3. sb. A blow, esp. a blow on the mouth.
s.Not. Ah'll gie yer a mug i' the mouth (J.P.K.).
MUG, v.^ Glo. Brks._ [mBg.] 1. With together: to
crowd, huddle together in a confined space.
Brks. They are all, father, mother, and children, mugging
together in one room, N. & Q. (1878) 5th S. ix. 84.
2. To meddle with. Glo.^
MUG, MUGEROM, see Mog, v.'^, Muck, sb.'^, Midgerum.
MUG(G, sb. Obs. or obsol. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan.
1. A breed of sheep, having a great deal of wool ; see
below. Also used attrib.
Sc. A wig like the curled back of a mug-ewe, Scott Monastery
(1820) Inirod. Ep. Bwk. The sheep formerly in this county,
called Muggs, were a tender, slow feeding animal, with wool over
most of their faces, from whence the name of Muggs, Statist. Ace.
VIII. 73 (Jam.). Dmf. I saw bonny mug sheep wi' a good coat o'
woo, Shennan Tates (1831) 82. Gall. Sheep all white coloured.
Lowland sheep, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Kcb. There is the
long legged English Mug, with wool, long, fine and fit for combing,
Statist. Ace. XV. 86 (Jam.). Nhb.i A breed of sheep of very
inferior kind. s.Nhb. The long-woolled sheep called mugs,
probably from their faces being covered with a muff of wool,
Marshall Reports Agric. (1818) I. 99. Cum.^ The white-faced
breed from which the improved Leicester originated. Obs. ; Cum.*
n.Yks. Mug tupe, a ram of the large breed, freq. put among
Scotch yows, thereby producing half-bred lambs (W.H.). w.Yks.
Ye'U see wer oade Mugs, Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) v ;
Leicester tups [sheep], called in the dale mugs, Zoologist (1879)
3rd S. in. 356.
Hence Mug-yam, sb. wool from a ' mugfg' sheep.
Gall. A pokeful of purns of mug-yarn for Davie M'Lamroch the
weaver, Gallovidian (1900) II. 59.
2. A sheep without horns. w.Yks.^, ne.Lan.^ Hence
Mugged, ppl. adj. without horns.
w.Yks.' Neen gimmer mugg'd hogs, ii. 289.
MUGGAN, see Moggan.
MUGGARD, adj. Obsol. Som. Dev. Sullen, morose ;
displeased, discontented. See Muggaty.
w.Som.i Rare. n.Dev. Grose (1790) ; Why, than tha wut be
a prilled or a muggard,£'xOT. 5coW. (1746)1.194; Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 279.
MUGGATY, adj. Som. Dev. Also written muggetee
Dev. ; andinformmuggeted w.Som.^ [mB-gati.] Sullen,
morose ; discontented, displeased. See Muggard.
w.Soni.i Said of a person in a bad temper. Dev. Us dawnt git
on well tiigether, 'er's a very muggetee-tempered body, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892). n.Dev. Grose (1790) Suppl. ; Grose (1790) MS.
add. (M.)
MUGGEN, a^'. Lan. Chs. [mu'gan.] Made of earthen-
ware in contradistinction to china, metal, &c. See
Mug, adj. 10.
Lan. A muggen teapot. Is it muggen or china ? A rauggen doll
is a doll with a pottery or china face and limbs (F.K.) ; (A.C.)
s.Chs.i 'A muggen egg' is the name for a manufactured article
used as a nest-egg.
MUGGER, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Yks. [mu-g3(r.]
1. An itinerant dealer in earthenware vessels ; a tinker,
travelling hawker.
Sc. The staple occupation now affected by the gipsies is that of
' muggers,' or menders of pots, pans, and similar ware, Abd. IVkly.
Free Press (June 4, 1898) ; His rivals the muggers who dealt in
earthenware, Scott Old Mortality (1816) Introd. ; Their common
appellation is Muggers, or what pleases them better, Potters.
They purchase, at a cheap rate, the cast or faulty articles, at the
different manufactories of earthen ware, which they carry for sale
all over the country, Edb. Mag. iMay 1817) 157 (Jam.). s.Sc.
Watson Bards (1859) 9. Hdg. Hauling pair cadger muggers'
ruchles, Lumsden Poems (1896) 22. Bwk. Muggers, gipsies, &c,,
travelling the country, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 124. n.Cy.
The ' potters ' and ' muggers ' of the northern counties are almost
certainly of gipsy origin, N. 6^ Q. (1885) 6th S. i. 49; N.Cy.'
Nhb. It wes nae bettor than a muggor's life, elwis wanderin' frae
one place tiv anuther, an' nae brass iv it at aal, Newc. Dy. Leader
(June I, 1897) 5, col, 3 ; One part of the ' toon gyet' near where
the Pant stands, was entirely taken up with the ' muggers,' Dixon
Whittinghani Vale (1895) 184 ; Nhb.'- Originally a travelling
hawker of mugs and earthenware, but often applied to the whole
tribe of itinerant hawkers indiscriminately. ' Tinklers an
muggers.' Cum." n.Yks.' [They are for the most part 'muggers,'
or dealers in pottery, Standard (Jan. 15, 1891) 5, col. 3.]
Hence (i) Mugger's cart, sb. a special kind of cart upon
which a cover or hood can be placed as a shelter to the
occupants. Nhb.' ; (2) Muggerishlike, adj. having the
appearance of a travelhng hawker, dirty and ragamuffin
in appearance, ib.
2. Phr. to sweat like a mugger's cuddy, to work very hard. ib.
MUGGER, V. n.Yks.^ [mu-gsr.] To save, hoard ; to
huddle. Also with up. Cf. mug, v.^
MUGGEROON, sb. Wil. Also in form mudgeroon.
[mB-gariin.] A mushroom.
(K.M.G.) ; Wil.i n.Wil. Thurs a turrible sight o' muggeroons
to year (E.H.G.).
[Muscheron, boletus. Prompt. Fr. mouscheron, a mush-
rome (Cotgr.).]
MUGGERT, 56. Sc. Irel. Cum. Also written muggart
Bnff.' sw.Sc. Gall. ; and in form mugger Ayr. (Jam.)
[mB-gart, mu'gart.] 1. The mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris.
Bnff.i, Abd. (,G.W.), Ayr. (Jam.) sw.Sc. Garden Wk. (1896)
No. cxiv. 112. Gall. Frae clinty moors wi' muggart croon, Mac-
taggart Encycl. (1824") 348, ed. 1876. Don. (B. & H.)
2. Comp. Muggart-kail, a dish composed of mugwort.
Bnfif.' 3. The ragwort, Senecio Jacobaea. Cum. (B. & H.),
Cum.i*
MUGGERT-UP,^//.a^'. Nhb.' Worn out, completely
exhausted. ' Aa's fair muggeret-up.'
MUGGERUM, see Midgerum.
MUGGET, sb. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written muggat
Dev. ; muggit s.Dev. ; muggot n.Dev. Cor. ; niuggut
Dev. [mB-gat.] 1. A sheep or calf's intestines or entrails ;
a calf s pluck. Gen. in pi. Cf. midgen.
Som. (W.F.R.) ; Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.'
Dev. Us be gwaine tu 'ave ca'ves' mugguts vur dinner tu-day,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; I'm a poor botching tailor for a court,
Low bred on liver, and what clowns call mugget, Peter Pindar{ed.
1830) 192 (Dav.) ; A calf's muggut, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 279;
Dev.' n.Dev. Grose (1790). s.Dev. (F.W.C.) Cor. Made from
sheep's entrails [muggets], Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 116; Cor.'^
Hence (i) Mugget-fat, sb. a calf s intestines or pluck ;
(2) Muggett-pie, (3) Muggetty-pie, sb. a pie made of sheep's
or calves' entrails.
(i) Som. (J.S.F.S.), (F.A.A.) (2) n.Dev. Doo let me help'e . . .
vrom thease muggett pie. Rock Jim an Nell (1867) St. 17. (3)
Cor. With roast pork, and boiled pork, and muggoty-pie, Forfar
Poems (1885) 72; Squab pie, rauggetty pie, conger pie, sweet
giblet pie, 'Q.' Three Ships (1890) vi ; I made for his supper, a
muggety pie, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 44 ; Muggetty pie,
made from sheep's entrails (muggets), parsley and cream, Flk-Loie
Jm. (1886) IV. 116; Cor."3
2. //. Obs. The bosom ruffles of a shirt.
Dev. From the resemblance they seem to bear to a calf's
muggat, when wash'd clean, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 87 ; A shirt
with mugguts, Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
Hence Muggaty, adj. of a shirt : having rufifles at the
bosom. Dev. Grose ib.
MUGGETED, see Muggaty.
MUGGIE, sb.^ and v. Sc. Nhb. 1. sb. A small mug,
vessel, or can. See Mug, sb.''-
Sh.I. A'm gotten twa muggies o' eel creesh, Sh. News (Mar.
10, 1900). Lth. Tinklers rang their earthen muggies, Ballantink
Poems (1856) II.
2. A small marble made of glazed earthenware. Nhb.'
3. A game of marbles ; the hole into which a ball is
rolled or thrown in certain games. See Capie-hole.
MUGGIE
[195]
MULCH
Cld. (Jam.) Rnf. An at ' muggie,' losh, my sirs, Johnnie aften
brags Hoo he sends his neebors up for their nippy ' nags,'
Neilson Poems (1877) 93. Lnk. (Jam.) Bwk. We played at
ba' or muggie, Calder Poems (1897) 68.
4. V. To Strike or ' buck ' a ball out from a wall, as is done
in the game of ' wa' baw.' Sc. (Jam.)
MUGGIE, s*.^ Sh.I. [m-B-gi.] The stomach of a fish,
esp. a fish's stomach filled with liver, &c. and boiled. See
Moggi(e.
He never wis diine eatin' liver muggies, Stewart Tales (1892)
27 ; Nutritious dishes, such as . . . mooguildin, hakka muggies,
and slot, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 177 ; Beautiful muggies spleetin'
wi' gree, ib. 179 ; I cam ta da restin' shair wi' ane o' da brismak
muggies reekin' i' my haand, Sh. News (July i, 1899) ; (W.A.G.)
MUGGIN, see Moggan.
MUGGLE, sb?- Som. Dev. [m-e-gl.] That part of a
horse's back which lies in a line from hip to hip.
w.Som.i I don't like thick there 'oss ; he's t-'igh [too high] in
the muggie for me. nw.Dev.^
MUGGLE, v.^ and sb? Yks. Lan. Stf Glo. Brks. Hmp.
w.Cy. Wil. Som. Dev. Also in form miggle ne.Lan.^
[mu'gl, mB'gl.] 1. V. To muddle along, to live in a
muddling, haphazard way.
w.Cy. Most on us 'ud a precious sight rather work fora faermer
like the old measter, an have our Saturday night reg'lar, than go
muggling the best way we could, an' take our chance, Bayly
/. Merle (1890) xxxvii. Wil.'- Som, Wedmore Chronicle has
now muggled along through 7 years, Hervey Wedmore Chrori.
(1887) I. Pref. ; Thay muggled along and wer lusty and strong,
Agrikler i?Ay>K«5 (1872) 67; (J.S.F.S.) ; Sweetman Wincanion
Gl. (1885).
Hence Muggled, pp. in phr. muggled and huggled, all in
confusion. Stf.^
2. To move about restlessly.
Som. ' To muggie about,' said of one moving restlessly in bed
(W.F.R.). Dev. (Hall.)
3. To skulk away unobserved. ne.Lan.^ 4. To eat
or nibble anything.
n.Yks. To muggie away at a biscuit, to eat, as a toothless
child (I.W.).
5. sb. A muddle, confusion, mess, disorder.
Brks.i The children had nobody to look ater 'um an' hev maayde
zuch a muggie as you never zee. Hmp.i w.Cy. He've been an'
made a muggie on it, Bayly /. Merle (1890) viii. Wil. Here we
be, ael in a muggie like, Akerman Tales (1853) 137 ; Britton
Beauties (1825) ; Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.'^
Hence Mugglement, sb. a state of muddle or confusion.
Glo. The corn is all down, and in such a mugglement we can't
cut it noways, Buckman Darkens Sojourn (1890) 195 ; Glo.^
MUGGLE, v.'^ and sb.^ Sc. Yks. Chs. [mB-gl, mu-gl.]
1. V. To drizzle, rain slightly ; to become damp or misty.
See Mug, v?-
Sh.I. Da wind had dauchin'd a guid dael, an' muggled 'im inta
a stumba o' weet daag, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 239. Abd.
(Jam.), Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.*
2. sb. A drizzling rain. Abd. (Jam.)
Hence Muggly, adj. of the weather : thick, close, damp,
foggy ; drizzling. Abd. (Jam.), s.Chs.^ See Muggy, adj.
MUGGLE-PIN, sb. Wil. Som. The pin in the centre
of a mole-trap. Wil.', Som. (W.F.R.)
MUGGLETON, sb. I.W.^ An old name for a rat, prob.
only used in nursery stories.
MUGGLETONY, sb. Obsol. s.Cy. (Hall.) I.W.' An
outre or mongrel animal.
MUGGONS.s*.//. Sc. Also written muggins. [mB-ganz.]
The mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris.
Sc. Muggons or mugwort, and a decoction of nettles, form a
favourite prescription for consumption among the common people,
Chambers Pop. Rhymes (1870) 331. Rnf. If they wad drink
nettles in March And eat muggons in May, Sae mony braw
maidens Wadna gang to the clay, ib. ; Swainson Weather Flk-
Lore (1873) 60.
MUGGY, sb} n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Nhp. [mu-gi.] 1. The
whitethroat, Sylvia cinerea.
n.Cy. Swainson Birds (1885) 23 ; N.Cy.l, Nhb. (W.G.), Nhp.i
2. The lesser whitethroat, Sylvia curruca. Nhb."^
3. A moth. n.Yks. (I.W.) Cf. meggy-owler, s.v. Meggy.
MUGGY, sb.'^ N.I.i A hand-basket made of well-
twisted straw rope.
MUGGY, adj. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. [mu'gi, mB-gi.] 1. Of the weather : damp,
foggy, misty ; drizzling ; close, warm, oppressive ; dull,
gloomy. See Mug, sb.''
Abd. (Jam.), Gall. (A.W.), N.I.i, Lakel.^, Cum.", n.Yks.l^S"
w.Yks. Law! what'n a muggy dayit be(W.M.E.F.) ; w.Yks.* Lan.
DAviEs7?aces( 1856) 236. n.Lan.i,Chs. (F,R.C.),Chs.i,Stf.(H,K.),
nw.Der.i Not. (W.H.S.) ; I don't reckon this muggy weather at
all healthful (L.C.M.). Lin. (W.W.S.) Nhp.i A close, hazy day
would be called ' a muggy day ' ; Nhp.2 War. Sloppy, muggy
weather, Midi. Cties. Herald (Dec. 14, 1899) ; (J.R.W.) ; War.3,
Shr.i, Oxf.i Brks. It's been sort of muggy and moosy like
(W.H.E.) ; Brks.', Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.i Nrf. Holloway. Suf.
Rainbird Agric. (1819') 296, ed. 1849. Ken. (W.H.E.), Sur.
(L.J.Y.), Sus. (F.E.), (F.A.A.) Hmp. Holloway; Hmp.i, LW.i
Wil. Britton Beauties (1825) ; Slow Gl. (1892). Dor.i Som,
Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885). w.Som.^, Dev.i
Hence (i) Muggy-hot, (2) -vfrarm, adj. hot and close.
(i) Wor. It went cold in the morning, and then it went muggy-
hot towards noon (H,K.) . (2) s.Wor. A fils thundery weather like,
muggywarm, Outis Vig. Mon.
2. Moist, wet, damp.
Nhp.i Moist, damp hands are said to be muggy. War.^ Your
clothes are quite muggy.
3. Tipsy, half intoxicated.
Sc. (Jam.) Ess. They're rayther muggy oft, Clark /. Noakes
(1839) St. 9 ; Gl. (1851) ; Ess.'
4. Mouldy. m.Yks.', Nhp.* 5. Sweet, mawkish.
Brks.' A thing is said to taayste ' muggy,' when it has a flavour
the reverse of acid.
MUGHT, see Mought.
MUGOREEN, sb. Irel, The fruit of the sweet briar,
Rosa rubiginosa.
She got nuts and mugoreens, Yeats Flk. Tales (1888) 281,
MUGS, see Mogs.
MUGWEED, sb. Chs. [mu-gwid.] The mugwort,
Artemisia vulgaris. (B, & H.), Chs.*^
MUGWET, sb. w.Cy. The garden form of guelder-
rose. Viburnum Opulus. (B. & H.)
MUGWOOD, sb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Shr, [mu'gwud.]
The mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris.
Dur,' Used sometimes for making a kind of tea. Cum., Yks.,
Shr. (B, & H.) Shr.' Mugwood seems to be a hybrid form, due
probably to some confusion between the respective names,
Mugwort and Wormwood.
MUIFF, MUIL, see Muff, sS.\ Moil, sb.^, Mool, sb.'^
MUILCIONN, sb. Sc, The plant spignel, Meum
athamanticum. Cf michen.
Per. The Athamanta meun (spignel), here called moiken or
muilcionn, grows in the higher parts of the barony of Laighwood,
and in the forest of Clunie, Statist. Ace. IX. 238 (Jam., s.v.
Michen).
[Gael, muilceann, muilcionn, fell-wort (M. & D.).]
MUILS, s6. //. Obs. Sc. Slippers, cloth or list shoes.
He seldom wore shoon, unless it were muils when he had the
gout, Scott Redg. (1824) Lett. xi.
[A pair of mools on his feet, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1644),
ed. 1792, n. 218, Fr. mules, moyles, pantofles, high shppers
(COTGR.).]
MUIN, MUIR, MUIST, see Moony, sb.. Moor, sb.'^.
Mure, Must, s^>.*
MUITH, MUIT-HO', see Mooth, Moot-hall.
MUKLE, MUL, see Mickle, Mool, s6.", Mull, 5^>.^
MULBERRY, sb. Sc. e.An. Som. [mBlbari.] 1. The
blackberry, Rubus fruticosus ; also in comp. Mulberry-
bramble,
Nrf, The universal name among the lower orders; they talk of
going mulberrying, never of going blackberrying (B. & H. ). e.Suf,
(F.H,), Suf., Ess. (B. & H.)
2, The flax dodder, Cuscuta Epilinum.
Som. From the form and appearance of its bunches of pale, pink
flowers (jb.).
3, The white beam-tree, Pynis Aria. Abd. (ib.)
MULCH, sb., V. and adj Yks. Chs, War. Wor. Bdf
e.An. Sus. Dor. Som. Also written mulsh n.Yks.* e.Yks.'
w.Yks.* Chs,^ Suf.' ; and in form much s.Cy, [mulj, m^lj".]
c c 2
MULD
[196]
MULL
1. sb. Half-rotten straw or hay ; 'long litter' put round
plants and delicate trees and shrubs to keep the frost out.
e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.), Chs.", War.a Bdf. Written mulsy,
Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 138. e.An.'A rich compost of
rotten leaves, litter, raking of roads, common sewers, &c. In Suf-
folk, 'mulch' isconfinedentirelyto long litter; strawsaturatedwith
the dungand urine of cattle, but notrotted. Suf.'Thick mixture of earth
and water for moistening roots of shrubs, &c., when removed or trans-
planted. Any thick, slabby semi-liquid. Ess. Their hay becums
too oft but mulch. When wet, Clark/. /Voafes (1839) st. 44 ; Ess.i
s.Cy. Grose (1790). Sus. (K.) Dor. The maids walking in pattens
... to keep their shoes above the mulch of the barton. Hardy
Tess (1891) 138, ed. 1895. Som. (W.F.R.)
2. V. To put litter round the roots of plants or trees to
keep the frost out.
w.Yks.2 War.^ This loose straw will do to mulch the straw-
berries with. Wor. (H.K.)
3. To soften, make moist ; to water the soil while planting
the roots of a shrub. n.Yks.'^, w.Yks.^ 4. adj. Of the
weather : 'soft,' damp, drizzling. Chs.' Cf. melch, ai^'.'^
[1. Cp. LG. mollsch, 'weich, angefault, von verdorbenem
Obstgesagt'(BERGHAUs); (Gottingen) wd/sc/ii, 'wasanfangt
zu faulen od. morsch zu warden, vom Obst, aber auch
vom Holze' (Schambach).]
MULD, see Mould, sb?-
MULDER, V. and sb. Sc. Yks. Lin. Nhp. e.An. Also
in forms multa Suf ^ ; multer Nhp.'^ e.An.^ Suf. [muld3(r,
mB-ld3(r, mB'lta(r).] L v. Tomoulder; toturntodust;
to rot away ; to crumble. Cf. mull, sb?
S. & Ork."- Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). n.Yks.^, Lin.i,
Nhp.i2, e.An.i Nrf. Lay it in a hape to multer (W.H.). Suf.
Land is said to be laid to multer when it is laid in ringes exposed
to air and frost that it may become pulverized, Rainbird Agric.
(1819) 246, ed. 1849 ; Suf.l
Hence Muldery or Muldry, adj. mouldering ; of soil :
soft, mellow, pulverized by frost.
n.Yks. T'wall is nobbut muldery (I. W.). e.An.i ^TxLe.An.Dy.
Times (1892). e.Suf. (F.H.)
2. sb. Small crumbs, bread dust. S. & Ork.^
MULDUR, see Moulder, v}
MULE, sb. Irel. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Der. Ken. Som. Dev.
Also written meule w.Yks. ; and in form muUey s.Dev.
[miul.] L In comp. (i) Mule-gate, the space in which a
self-acting spinning-mule runs ; (2) -hole, the room in
which the spinning-mules are placed ; (3) -minder, a
person employed to look after a spinning-mule ; (4) -rawt,
the distance that a mule's bray can be heard.
(i) w.Yks. (J.M.) (2) w.Yks. Worn't ther a malak i' t'mule-
hoil, CuDWORTH Dial. Sketches (1884) 14 ; If pahr-loom an' spinnal
lords says it's no goa They'll get pawsed aht o' t'mule-hoil by
Odgers & Co., Preston Poems (1864) 30, ed. 1881. (3) w.Yks.
(J.W.) Lan. As a mule-minder Johnty got good wages, Ackworth
Clog Shop Chron. (1896) 165. (4) w.Yks. There's two bonny bits
o' waste land within mule-rawt o' ahr hahse, Preston Musins in
Yksman. (1878) 25.
2. Phr. there's a mule in the garden, something unpleasant
is going on.
w.Yks. Doesn't ta know what folk mean when they say there's
a mule i' th' garden 1 They mun there's a bit of a dust i' th' hoil,
that's all, mun, Hartley Clock Aim. (1870) 51 ; Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (June 8, 1895).
3. An ass, donkey.
w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; w.Yks.3*, Der.2, nw.Der.i
s.Dev. Fox Kingsbridge (1874).
4. Any cross-breed between animals or birds of different
but allied species.
w.Yks. (J.W.) w.Som.' The commonest mule bird is the cross
between a canary and a goldfinch.
5. The scaup, Fuligula marila. Wxf. (J.S.) ; Swainson
Birds (1885) 159. 6. A boat between a 'coble' and a
fishing-boat, with a sharp bow at both ends.
Nhb.i Used exclusively for herring fishing. It is similar to the
coble used for white fishing along the Northumberland coast, but
with this difference, that it is much larger and has a sharp stern,
similar to the stem, but not so much raised. It has only been in-
troduced in late years, being found more suitable than a keel boat
for a flat, sandy beach, as it draws less water n.Yks. °
7. A three-pronged pin, with plate at the bottom. Ken.
Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863).
MULE, see Mewl, Moil, v., Mool, sb}^^, Mould, sb?
m[JL,^J),ppl.adj Yks. [miuld.] Sulky, obstinate as a
mule, angry. Cf. muley.
w.Yks. When shoe's muled, shoo sews at that As quiat as a
maase, Preston Poems, &c. (1864) 9 ; (J.W.)
MULERE, sb. Som. A weasel. (Hall.)
MULET, sb. Yks. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A mule. (Hall.)
[Fr. mulef, a moyle, mulet, or great mule ; mulette, a
Httle mule (Cotgr.).]
MULETISHARE, sb. Yks. A scramble ; lit. ? a mule
to share.
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June 8, 1895) ; We 11 hev a muleti-
share, Yks. Wkly. Post (Feb. 15, 1896).
MULEY, adj. Yks. [miu'li.] Sulky. Cf. muled.
w.Yks. Yks. Mag. (1871) I. 28 ; (J.W.)
MULEY, see Moiley.
MULFERED, ppl adj. Lin. [mulfsd.] Exhausted,
worn out with heat ; also in phr. mulfered and faldered.
Cf smulfered.
1 be quite mulfered with the heat (M.B.K.) ; Lin.i This is a very
melch day, and I am mulfered and faldered. sw.Lin. When I've
a fire in the room all day, 1 get clean mulfered up by night (R.E.C.).
MULFERING,/'//.a<^'. Lin. Also written mulferring.
[mu'lfarin.] Of the weather : sultry, close. (T.C.W.) ;
Brookes Tracts Gl. 8.
MULGRONNICK, sb. Cor. Also in form mulgranoc
The butterfly-fish or shanny, Blennius pholis. Cf. bul-
granack.
I can shaw ee oal the mulgronnick pools, Tregellas Tales
(1868) 68 ; Chambers Cyclo. (1788) (s.v. Blennius). [The Mul-
gronook, Pholis, piscis gutiurosus. Coles (1679).]
MULGRUBS, see Mullygrubs.
MULHARTEN, sb. Irel. A kind of fleshworm in the
toe. S.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890).
MULIE, adj. Sh.I. Listless, languid as in sultry
weather; slow, inactive ; weak from want of food. {Coll.
L.L.B.), S. & Ork.i
MULL, sb.^ and v.^ Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Lei. e.An. Dev. Cor. Also written mul- Sc. Wm. [mul,
m'Bl.] 1. sb. Dry, fine mould, esp. small broken pieces
of peat or turf ; dust; rubbish. Cf peat-muU. See Mool,
sb.^, Mould, sb.^
n.Cy. Trans. Phil. Soc. (1858) 164 ; N.Cy.l, Nhb.l Lakel.2 Smo
peat at t'boddum at t'stack. Cum.i* Wm. If she hedn't new laid
on a lock o mul he wod hae been saarly burnt, Wheeler Dial.
(1790) 55 ; An a gat t'peeats amackily gidthred up as weel as a
cud, bet thae were lile bet mull, fer thae wer short moss, Spec.
Dial. {1885) pt. in. 6. n.Yks.i24, m.Yks.l w.Yks. Hutton 7om>-
to Caves (1781) ; w.Yks. ' Our chimla's seea smoored up wi mull an
brash, ii.285 ; w.Yks.^ Lan. I sodded the turf stack top, and dressed
the mull from beside it, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 30 ; Lan.i,
n.Lan.', e.An.i, Nrf. (Hall.)
Hence Mully, adj. mouldy, powdery. Nrf. Trans. PhiL
Soc. (1855) 34.
2. V. To crumble ; to crush fine ; to grind to powder ;
to rub ; to squeeze ; to bruise ; also MstAJig.
Cum.i* n.Yks.2 w.Yks. (J.S. D.) ; w.Yks.2 Dusting ; as birds do
when they rub themselves in the sand. Lei.' That child mulls his
tongue [i.e. sucks it]. w.Cy. (Hall.) n. Dev. Grose (1790).
Hence (i) Mulled-bread or Mullen-bread, sb. oatmeal
broken into crumbs ; (2) MuUer, sb. (a) obs., an instrument
for crushing sugar in a glass of toddy ; [b) a stone used
to reduce tin ore to powder ; (3) Mullin, [a) sb. a crumb ;
(b) ppl. adj. of pain : aching, nagging, grinding.
(i) N.Cy.l, Nhb.i (2, a) Cum.'* (,6) Cor.i (3, a) Sc. The dogs
eat o' the mulins whilk fa' frae their maisters' table, Henderson
St. Matt. (1862) XV. 27. Frf. Grind them to mullins, Barrie
Tommy (1896) xxii. Dmb; In this poortith they will gie 'Twa three
mullins frank and free, Taylor Poems (1827) 70. Ayr. Little was
stown then, and less gaed to waste. Barely a mullin for mice or
for rattens, Boswell Poet. Wks. (ed.'i87i) 15. Gall. We had still,
however, some mullins ... in our jacket pooches, Gallovidian
(1899) I. 153. (A) Lei.i Ah've a sooch a mullin' peen i' my 'ead.
MULL
[i97l
MULLOCK
3. Of a plough : to gather up the soil instead of cutting
clean through it.
s.Chs.i Aay dhis pMo mulz [Hai this ploo mulls].
Hence Mully, adj. of soil : sticky, cleaving to the sides
of the plough-share, ib.
MULL, sb? Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp. [mul.] The name by
which milkmaids call their cows ; the call for cows, oxen,
or calves ; also in comp. Mull-cow. Cf. mully, sb.
s.Not. (J.P.K.), n.Lin.i, Lei.i Nhp. That rural call, 'Come Mulls!
Come Mulls! ' From distant pasture grounds, Clare Poems (1820)
32; Nhp.i2
[Cisly durst not milk the gentle mulls, Satyr ag. Hypo-
crites (1689) (Nares).]
MULL, s6.^ and t;.2 Sc.n.Cy. Nhb. [mnl, mul.] 1. 56.
The mouth, asp. of a horse or cow, or a big, down-hanging
mouth.
Sh.I. He is hangin' a soor mull, Jakoesen Dial. (1897) 39.
Cal.i A children's word.
2. pi. The lips, esp. the lips of a sheep ; also used con-
temptuously of a man.
Sh.I. ' Lat's get a grip o'm bi da mulse.' Wi' dat, William yokid
da gaut ower da triinnie wi' sic a grip, Sh. News (Aug. 20, 1898) ;
S. & Ork.' N.Cy.^ Awl slap yor mulls. Nhb.i
3. V. To eat with relish ; to feed from the mouth. Sh.L
{Coll. L.L.B.), S. & Ork.i, Cai.^ Hence MuUins, s6.//.
eatables. S. & Ork.'^ 4. To kiss. ib.
[L Norw. dial. mule,the mouth or lips of a beast (Aasen) ;
see Mool, sb.' 4. Norw. dial, ntulast, to kiss.]
MULL, sb.* Sc. Also in form maoil (Jam.). A pro-
montory. See Mool, sb.'
Or.I. Near the very top of the mull and the boundary of the
mainland to the north-east, Barry Hist. Or. I. (1805) 25 (Jam.).
Arg. Maoil of Kintyre, Maoil of Galloway, Maoil of Cara, &c..
Statist. Ace. VIII. 57, note (Jam.).
MULL, sb.^, v.^ and adj. In gen. dial, and colloq. use
in Irel. and Eng. [mul, mBl.] L sb. A blunder ; a
failure ; a mess ; a muddle ; anything spoiled. Cf mul-
lock, sb.^ 3.
N.I.i Cum.i He meadd a mull on't ; Cum.*, w.Yks.' n.Lan.
When a person is in vexing circumstances, we also say that 'he's
in a mull ' (G.W.). nw.Der.'- Nhp.' You've made a sad mull of it.
War.2 I've med a nice mull o' this job ; War.^ Oxf. He tried to
hold the ball, but made a mull of it (G.O.). Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.Suf.
He made a mull of that job (F.H.).
2. Comp. Mull-head, a dull, stupid fellow ; one who
makes a mess of everything he attempts.
Brks.l Dev. Horae Subsecivae {x']l'l) 279.
3. V. To make a mess of anything; to spoil by bad
workmanship.
e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 75 ; e.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.),
Erks.i, e.An.i
4. adj. Mixed, used contemptuously.
s.Chs.i 'A mull lot,' of a lot of dowdy people.
MULL, sb.^ 'iObs. Suf. Sus. A term used in top-
spinning ; see below.
Suf.^ If the top fly away out of the hand without spinning it is a
mull. ' Tha's a mull— yow lah in.' The penalty is depositing the
faulty top in the ring until pegged out by the adversaries. w.Sus.
When boys play at peg-top, a ring is formed on the ground, within
which each boy is to spin his top. If the top, when it has ceased
spinning, does not roll without the circle, it must remain in the
ring, to be pegged at by the other boys, or he redeems it by putting
in an inferior one, which is called a ' mull,' Holloway.
Hence Mulled, adj. of a top : remaining within the ring
after it has ceased to spin. w.Sus. ib.
MULL, sb? War.^ [mul.] A scrimmage; esp. in
Rugby football.
After the various streets had been visited the ' mull ' commenced,
and different gangs attempted to secure the ball and get it safely
away from the crowd, B'ham Dy. Gazette (Mar. 3, 1897).
MULL, sb.^ Brks.^ [mBl.] A profuse perspiration.
MULL, MULLA, see Maul, v.', Mull, sb.\ Mellow.
MULLACH, sb. Cai.' A term of endearment ; ' my
dear,' used by women of the lower class when conversing
familiarly.
[Gael, muileach, dear, beloved (M. & D.).]
MULLED, pp. Sc. Lakel. Yks. Der. Lin. Also written
muU't Cum.i [muld.] Made hot and beaten up with
eggs, spices, &c. ; esp. in comb. Mulled ale.
Abd. Beer, Well mull'd with egg to make it thicker, Meston Poems
(1723) 22. Lakel. =, Cum.>, n.Yks. (W.H.) w.Yks. Bill tuk two
pint pots o' mulled ale off th' hob, Hartley Clock Aim. (1891) 5.
nw.Der.i n.Llii. A egg mulled in tea is what she taks (M.P.).
MULLEIN-DOCK, sb. Nrf The great mullein, Ver-
bascum Thapsus. (B. & H.)
MULLEN, sb. Nhp. War. Won Shr. Glo. Oxf. Wil.
Also written muUin Nhp.^ se.Wor.^ Shr.^ Oxf.* Wil.'; and
in form mollin Nhp.^ [mulsn, -in.] 1. The head-gear
of a horse ; the bridle of a cart-horse.
Nhp.i Nearly obs. ; Nhp. 2, War.^* s.War.i w.Wor.i The
prisoner put the muUen on the mahr. s.Wor.^, se.Wor.', Glo
(A.B.), Glo.i, Oxf.i Wil.! The headstall of a cart-horse: some-
times extended to the headstall and blinkers of a carriage horse.
2. Comp. Mullin-bridle, a kind of bridle with blinkers
used for cart-horses.
Shr.i Tak the muUin bridle an' bring up the owd mar'.
MULLER, sb.^ Som. A muddle ; a mess. See
Mull, sb.^
Of tha zay you've made a muller, Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 70.
MULLER, V. and sb.' Sc. Nhb. 1. v. To crumble.
Cf mooler. Sc (Jam.) Nhb.i Yor muUerin the breed.
2. sb.pl. Crumbs ; mould, earth, small clods.
Sc. A pouch . . fou o' mullers and chuckystanes, Hislop
Anecdote (1874) 124. Nhb.'
MULLERS, see Mallace.
MULLET, sb. n.Yks. The puffin, Fratercula arctica.
SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 220. [Johns Birds (1862) 549.]
MULLET-HAWK, sb. Sus. Hmp. The osprey, Pan-
dion haliaetus.
Sus., Hmp. Known as the Mullet Hawk for its partiality for
that fish, Smith Birds (1887) 68. Hmp. In the month of May the
osprey or mullet hawk is rare in this locality, Cornh. Mag. (Apr.
1893) 371-
MULLEY, sb> Cor.^ [mBli.] The butterfly-fish or
shanny, Blennius pholis. Cf. mulgronnick.
MULLEY, sb.' e.Suf. [mB-li.] A child's term of
endearment for its mother. (F.H.) Cf. muUy, sb.
MULLEY, see Mule.
MULLIACK, sb. Sh. and Or.L Also in form mullio
Or.L A bundle of gleanings. (S.A.S.), S. & Ork.*
MULLICRUSH, see MoUicrush.
MULLIES, sb. pi. Lin.i [mu'liz.] Ill-temper. Cf.
muUygrubs. ' He's got a fit of muUies.'
MULLIGRUMPHS, see MuUygrubs.
MULLIN, sb. Som. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Beer made from honey ; ' metheglin.' W. & J.
Gl. (1873) ; (Hall.)
MULLIO, see MulHack.
MULLION, sb. 1 Obs. Sc. A shoe made of untanned
leather, a ' ruUion.' See Muils.
(Jam. Suppl.) ; A pair o' rough muUions to scuff through the dew.
Chambers Sngs. (1829) I. 223.
MULLIWARK, see Mouldywarp.
MULLOCK, sb.''-, v.''- and adv. In gen. dial, use in Sc.
Eng. and Aus. Also written muUak w.Yks. ; muUok
Chs. Stf Shr.2; mulluck w.Yks. War. Hrf. Glo. ; mulluk,
muluk Bdf ; and in forms moUock s.Chs.' Hrf ° Glo. ;
mollocks Hrf 2 Glo. ; molluck Rut.' ; muUoch Mry.
(Jam.) War. Hmp. [mulsk, m^-lak.] 1. sb. Dirt, a
heap of rubbish ; refuse. Also used^^.
Mry. The crumbled offal of a peat stalk, Agric. Surv. Gl. (Jam.)
n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.2 Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 308. w.Yks.
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 11, 1896); w.Yks.^ Lan. Davies Races
(1856) 236 ; Lan.i A bundle of dirty clothes. Broken turf. Chs.is,
s.Chs.i s.Stf. I fun the drain choked up wi' mullock, Pinnock
Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Der. Addy Gl. (1888). Nhp.' We extend
it, metaphorically, to silly, nonsensical talk ; Nhp.^ War. Clear
that mullock away(N.R.}; War.234^ w.Wor.i, se.Wor.i Shr.
Bound Provinc. (1876) ; Shr.' Whad bin 'ee gwein to do 66th all
this mullock? Shr.^ Hrf. Among th' dad'duck un mulluck {Coll.
L.L.B.); Hrf.i2 Glo. Mould under a faggot-stack is call'dmoUock,
from its wetness or dampness, VzcGZ Kenticisms {i-j^S) ; A dad-
derky mullock (E.R.D.); Glo.' (s.v. Haymaking). Brks.', n.Bck.
MULLOCK
[198]
MULTA
(A.C.) Bdf.BATCHELOR^«n/.£«^.Z,aH^.( 1809") 138. Hnt.(T.P.F.)
Hmp. Wise New Forest (1883) 163 ; Hmp.i What a mullock you
have. Wil. Brixton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.'- [Aus. Mine rubbish.
' I . . . listened patiently to one of his long-winded yarns, hoping
amongst the heap of mullock to find a grain of gold,' Clarke
Valley Council (1891) ii.]
Hence (i) MviUocky, adj. dirty, untidy ; of land : full of
weeds and rubbish ; (2) MuUucky-straw, sb. straw which
has been lying in the wet until it is rotten ; straw of an
inferior quality.
(i) s.Chs.' Nhp.i AmuUocky mess. A mullocky place. War .3,
Shr.i, Hrf.i (2) Glo. (S.S.B.)
2. Phr. all [of) a mullock, all of a heap ; esp. to come
down all of a mullock, to fall all of a heap.
w.Wor.i s.Wor. Th' ark come down all o' a mullock, Outis
Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (1896). Glo. Down er went on ers
back arl a-muUock in the middle on't, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(i8go) vii.
3. A muddle ; a mess ; a state of confusion ; also used
fig. Cf mull, sb.^
Nhb.i He's myed a mullock o' his wark. Lakel.^ Thoo miad a
mullock on't ta gang an' liver t'wrang bullocks, min. Yks. (J.W.)
e.Yks.i He framed si badly at job. Ah thowt he wad make a mullock
on't, MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. What an ill mullock I had made
of my life, Snowden Web of Weaver {z6g6) 157; (R.H.R.) ; w.Yks.^
Chs. Sheaf (1878) I. 37 ; Chs.^ s.Chs.i Untidy places are said to
be ' aw of a mullock.' Stf.^, nw.Der.' Nhp.' The house is in a
strange mullock. War.'^, Wor. (W.C.B.) s.Wor. You've
ketched me in a deouced mullock (H.K.). Hrf. (R.M.E.), Hrf.^
Glo. A greai moUock, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 275 ; Glo.i, Bdf.
(J.W.B.), Hnt. (T.P.F.) Dev. Mortimer Tales Moors (1895) 113.
4. An untidy woman.
Wor., Hrf. (R.M.E.) Hrf.^ That ere wench she's a regular
mollocks. Glo. Baylis Illus. Dial. (1870). [Aus. Setting a good
example to us poor ignorant lower-class mullocks, Boldrewood
Miner's Right (1890) I. iv.]
5. V. To mess ; to soil ; to make a litter ; to do things
in an untidy way ; to waste ; to spoil.
m.Yks.^ My clothes are as good as new yet ; they are none
mullocked a bit. w.Yks. You are always muUakin something
(J.S.J.) ; w.Yks.s What's tuh muUocking thear at! s.Chs.i
Dheeur ee woz, mau-lin un mau-ksin un miil-ukin it til it Idoktau-
liv a mes [Theerhe was, mauhn' an' mawksin' an' mullockin' it till
it looked aw ofa mess]. Rut.^ I wouldn't take it upwithmyfingers,
for fear I should moUuck it. Nhp.i How the things lie muUocking
about ! War. Money may be mulloched away (J.W.R.) ; War.^a
Wor. House was all mullocked up (W.C.B.). w.Wor.i, se.Wor.l
Hence Mullocking, ppl. adj. untidy, slovenly, messing ;
dawdling ; idling away time.
w.Yks.sHe's gotten a muUockingwife. s.Chs.' A mawksin', mol-
lockin'owdthing. s.Wor.(H.K.),Wor.,Hrf.(R.M.E.),Bdf.(J.W.B.)
6. To make a blunder. w.Yks.^ 7. adv. In a heap.
Glo. 'Ee'sh a-fell down mullock alongzidesh 'osses, Buckman
Darke's Sojourn (i8go) 82 ; He knocked me down mullock
(E.R.D.); (S.S.B.)
[1. like fruit is ever leng the wers, Til it be roten in
mullok or in stree, Chaucer C. T. a. 3873.]
MULLOCK, sb.'^ Sc. A cow without horns. Ayr.
Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863).
MULLOCK, V? Ken.' 2 [mB-lak.] To damp the heat
of an oven.
MULLOXED, ppl. adj. Yks. Der. [mu'lakst.] Tired,
overcome. w.Yks. (J.W.), Der.'^, nw.Der.'
MULLUM, adj. Dor.^ [mB-lam.] Soft, crumbling, as
of cheese. Cf mull, sb?-
MULLY, sb. Der. Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War. Hrf. Oxf.
Hnt. Suf. Also in form molly War.^ [mu'li, mB-li.] A
child's name for a cow or calf; also used aitrib. See
Mull, sb."^
nw.Der.i Not.(J.H.B.);Mully-cow(L.C.M.). n.Lin.i Call to calves
and cows. Lei.' Nhp,' Come, let us go and see the pretty mully-
cows; Nhp.2, War.3, Hrf.', Oxf. (CO.), Hnt. (T.P.F.),Suf. (Hall.)
[Leaue milking and drie vp old muUey thy cow, Tusser
Husb. (1580) 135.]
MULLY, V. Nhp. e.An. [muli, mB'li.] To make a
sort of sullen, half-suppressed growling, like a dog before
he barks, or a bull before he roars ; to grumble.
Nhp.' She goes muUying about ; Nhp.^ How that keow mullys.
e.An.' Suf. Don't fear, a woll mully, mully, mully, but a 'ont
run (Hall.). e.Suf. Used of cows, calves, and bulls (F.H.).
MULLY, MULLYCRUSH, see Maul, v."^, Mollicrush.
MULLYGRUBGURGIN, sb. Obs. w.Cy. Dev. Also
written mulligrub-gurgin w.Cy. Dev.' A meal grub
that feeds only on ' gurgeons ' ; also used as a term of
contempt.
w.Cy. Grose (1790). Dev.^ n.Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777)
279 ; Oh ! a plague rat tha ! — Ya mulligrub gurgin I Exm. Scold.
(1746) 1. 165.
MULLYGRUBS, 5^. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in
Sc. and Eng. Also written mulligrubs Chs.''^^ War.^
Shr.' Brks.' Mid. e.An.' Wil.' Dev.'; and in forms marly-
grubs w.Yks.^ ; molligrubs Sc. (Jam.) Cum.' War. Som.;
moUigrumphs Sc. ; mollygrubs Frf. e.Yks.' Oxf.' Wil.' ;
mooligrubs Dmb. ; mulgrubs n.Cy. Sus. Hmp. ; mulli-
grumphs Rxb. (Jam.) ; muUygrub Dev. ; muUygrumps
e.Fif. ; muUygrups Not.' ; murdiegrups Cld. (Jam.) ;
murlygrub w.Yks. ; murlygrubs n.Cy. n.Yks. w.Yks.'
Sus. Hmp. [muli-, mB-li-, ma"rli-, mali-.] L A stomach-
ache ; the colic ; any imaginary ailment ; also fig. a fit of
ill-temper or of sulks ; esp. in phr. io be in the mullygrubs,
to be out of temper, or low-spirited and sulky.
Sc. (Jam.) ; Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on fam. (1899).
Frf. When there was an east wind Geordie was sure to be in the
mollygrubs, Willock Roseity Ends (1886) 82, ed. 1889. e.Fif.
I'm the sport 0' the mullygrumps, sorrow and care, Latto Tarn
Bodkin (1864) xxi. Cld. (Jam.) Dmb. If it was a disease o' the
body like the mooligrubs or cholic. Cross Disruption (1844)
xxix. Rxb. Waes me, the mulligrumphs she's ta-en, A. Scott
Poems (1811) 19 (Jam.). n.Cy. (J.W.), Lakel.2 Cum.i She's in
t'molligrubs to-day. n.Yks. ' What's t'niatter wi t'lad ? He leuks
varra gleumy.' ' A doont kno, he's oil i't murlygrubs ower summat'
(W.H.). e.Yks. Sha's been iv a mullygrubs ivver sin then,
Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 47 ; e.Yks.' w.Yks. A chap suffers
moor when he's getten th' murly grubs in his mind nor when
they're in his belly, Hartley Clock Aim. (1896) 11 ; w.Yks. "2;
w.Yks.s To be ' int' merlygrubs ' is to have an internal ailment
which evidences itself by contortions of the features ; hence,
timid, nervous persons are oftenest in the 'merlygrubs.' Chs. 123^
Not.', Lin.i War. (J.R.W.) ; War.^ She is quite in the mulligrubs
to-day. Shr.' Oxf.' 'Er's got the mollygrubs, MS. add. Brks.'
w. Mid. Well! you're precious cross to-day. What's the matter
with you — got the mulligrubs ? ( W. P. M. ) e.An.' Nrf. Holloway.
Suf.' Why yeow fare to ha' got the mully-grubs and can't eat
chopt hay. Ess. None seem'd te ha' the mulligrubs, Clark
/. Noakes (1839) st. 91. Sus., Hmp. Holloway. Wil. Slow Gl.
(1892) ; Wil.' Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885). w.Som.'
1 niver didn zee no jish a old doke, he's always down in the
mully-grubs [muul-i-gruub'z]. Dev. Reports Provinc. (1885) ;
Dev.' Cor.^ Jacob ate about a gallon of the peas, ready or raw,
and, that he mightn't have the mully-grubs, took an extra glass
of brandy, Bottrell Trad. 3rd S. 168.
2. An ill-natured, sulky person.
w.Yks. I'll pay fold murly grub off too, Tom Lee (1875) 157 ;
Hah iz ta owd merly-grubs ? Yksman. (1875) 38. Dev. Her's a
proper old muUygrub ; her niver spakes a civil word to nobody,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
[Peter's successour was so in his muUiegrums that he
had thought to have buffeted him, Nashe Lenten Stuffe
(1599) (Dav.).]
MULLY-PUFF, s6.' Hrt. The puff-ball, genus Lyco-
perdon. (G.H.G.)
MULLY-PUFF, s6.= e.Yks.' [mu'li-puf.] A sweat.
Why, thoo's all of a mully-puff.
MULLY-PUFFLED, ppl. adj Lin. Muddle-headed,
confused.
Folk thereabout , . . was all that muUy-puffled as it passed
saying. MuIly-pufBed ! That meant confused, I supposed. Yes,
dim-headed, like, he said ; like as if their heads was stuffed with
feathers, Murray Nov. Note Bk. (1887) 249-50
MULOCK, sb. Sc. (Jam.), (A.W.) A crumb.
MULP, D. and s6. e.An. [m-elp.] L •y. To be sulky;
to pout. e.An.', e.Suf. (F.H.) Hence Mulpy, adj. sulky.
ib. 2. s6.j*/. Afit ofsulkiness. e.An.'
MULREIN, s6. Sc. Th.^ ixQg-^s'n, Lophius piscatoriusi
Fif., Edb., Hdg. Neill Fishes (1810) 23 (Iam.).
MULSH, MULTA, see Mulch, Mulder.
MULTAD
[199]
MUM
MULTAD, adj. Obs. Dev. Closely rubbed; tightly
squeezed. n.Dev. Grose (1790).
MULTER, see Mulder, Multure.
MULTH, sb. Obs. Wxf.^ The practice of giving doles
at funerals. See Mool, sb.^ 5.
MVhTH, pp. Obs. Wxf.l Milked. 'Na speentobemulth.'
MULTIPLES, sb. pi. Sc. [mB-ltiplz.] Folds of
the dress.
Bnff. Another party . . . irritated these left-hand ' Ribs "... by
cautiously enshrining within their multiples, a wayfaring bodle-
pin, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 166.
MULTIPLYING-GLASS, sb. Som. [Not known to
our correspondents.] A magnifying-glass.
I'd make a vortune by showing he thro' a multiplying glass,
Wilson Dialogues (1855) 10.
MULTURE, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Der. Also in forms molter N.Cy.'^; moolter
w.Yks.23*; mooter Sc. N.Cy.^ Nhb.^ Dur.^ Lakel.^ Cum.^*
Wm. n.Yks.2 m.Yks.^ w.Yks.^^^ i^^^i n.Lan.^ ne.Lan.i
e.Lan."^ m.Lan.^ ; moother Ant. ne.Yks.^ e.Yks.' ; mootor
n.Yks.^ ; mootre Cai.' ; mootther N.I.i ; moulter Sc.
n.Cy. w.Yks.® ; moultre Lan. ; moutar Nhb. ; mouter
Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.^ Nhb.i Cum. n.Yks.' w.Yks.^ ; mouther
e.Yks.' ; .' moutner s.Dur. ; moutres.Don. Der.'^nw.Der.^;
moutur Sc. ; mowter e.Yks. ; multer Sc. ; muter Sc.
n.Cy. Nhb. ; mutter, mutur, muture Sc. [mu't3(r.]
1. sb. The toll of meal taken by the miller as payment
for grinding the corn. Also usedy?^.
Sc. Millers take ay the best mouter wi' their ain hand, Ferguson
Prov. (1641) No. 643. Cai.^ Bnff. The heritors, however, think
proper to oblige their respective tenants to grind at their own
mills, the multures of which vary ; sometimes the loth, sometimes
the i6th part is exacted, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 14. Abd.
A lick oot o' that wife's puock, An' a lick o' the mutur, Paul
Abd. (i88r) 123. Frf. Each'melder. . . had to pay mutter, this
mutter signified a fortieth part of all the grain ground into meal,
LowsoN Guidfollow (i8go) 161. Ayr. The mill may weel stan'
still Has neither grist nor muter, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed.
1892) 250. Lnk. In houses, biggings, &c., mills, multures, &c.,
WoDROw Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 77, ed. 1828. Lth. He maun hae
his mouter, Ballantine Poems{iB^6) 218. Edb. Fergusson Poems
(1773) 15O) ed. 1785. Feb. Tell the miller to take his mooter
(A.C.). Gall. If the melder be six bolls, the mutter is about the
fortieth part, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). N.I.^ Ant. Ballymena
045.(1892). S.Don, Simmons G/. (1890). N.Cy.^^ Nhb. Ye tak'
your muter, Proudlock Borderland Muse (1896) 209 ; Nhb.' The
miller's wages taken in kind ; as a quart for grinding a bushel,
or a bushel for grinding a quarter. Two different multures were
formerly used — the ' gowpenful,' that is, two handsful ; and the
'handful.' In more recent times the mooter allowed was more
clearly defined, though each mill had its own scale of charges.
Dur.i, s.Dur. (J.E.D.) Lakel.* In maut er meal t'miller mun hev
his mooter. Cum. He thowt he was teakin' his mouter, Anderson
Ballads (ed. 1808; 131 ; Cum.i* Wm. The miller will have his
mooter (B.K.). Yks. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). n.Yks.i^a^
ne.Yks.^ e.Yks. His mowter of the corne, Best Rur. Econ. (1641)
105 ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.i w.Yks. Willan List Wds. (1811) ;
w.Yks.^''^''5 Lan. There was near 13 Settle pecks with the
mooter, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 65 ; Lan.', n.Lan.^, ne.Lan.',
e.Lan.^
2. Comb, (i) Multure-chest, the chest in which the miller
keeps his tolls ; (2) -dish, a round, conclave wooden
dish, about seven inches in diameter, in which the miller
takes his toll ; (3) -free, without having to pay toll ; (4)
-gatherer, one who purloins small articles, esp. cotton ;
(5) -meal, oatmeal taken by the miller as toll ; (6) -and-
knaveship man, (7) -the-melder, a miller.
(i) w.Yks.2 Shoo rams it into t'mooter chist. (2) Nhb. The
moutar dish was nearly fou, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk.
(1846) VII. 136 ; Nhb.i Cum. To steddy his mouter-dish, Dickin-
son Cumbr. ( 1876) 253. (3) n.Sc. When ye come to my father's
mill, Ye shall grind muture free, Euchan Ballads (1828) 120, ed.
1875. (4) Lan. Whose astuteness, habits of poaching, stealthy
evasion of the law, as 'moultre' gatherers, Kay-Shuttleworth
Scarsdale (i860) III. 57. (5) Der.2 nw.Der.i (6) Ayr. The old
drunken multure and knaveship man, Ainslie Land of Bums
(ed. 1892) 66. (7) s.Sc. Into the house I went, however, . .
Meeting auld mooter-the-melder, Wilson Tales (1836) II. 322.
3. Phr. (a) double mulhtre, more than the miller's fair toll.
Lth. Gae hame to Babbie's Mill ... an tak' double mouters out
o' ither folk's sacks to fill yer ain, Strathesk Blinkbonny (ed.
i8gi) 100. Edb. I'll gi'e you double multer. Gin ye'U ding Jelly
Ben, Forbes Poems (1812) 163. ne.Yks.^
4. A miller.
Rnf. The lang mouter, mysel' an' the souter, Hae aften for-
gather'd, Clark Rhymes (1842) 4 ; There's men mair notorious to
fame, Mair greedy than me or the muter, Webster Rhynies
(1835) 76.
5. Obs. Weft remaining over after weaving which was
not accounted for to the manufacturers by the hand-loom
weavers. Also in comp. Mooter-weft.
Lan. There was the question of ' mooter,' a burning one in
those days. . . It was impossible to 'put out' just as much weft
as was required to produce a certain number of pieces. . . In one
way or another it often came to pass that they had yarn 'over,'
which the fewhonestreturnedandthemany dishonestappropriated.
This cabbaged yarn, known in the trade as ' mooter,' was sold
secretly to roguish dealers and scampish manufacturers. . . It was
a much-mooted question whether the surplus weft belonged to master
or man, manufacturer or weaver, WESTALLO/rf/flrfor)',xiii. m.Lan.'
6. V. To take toll for grinding corn ; fig. to defraud.
Sc. It is good to be merry and wise. Quoth the miller when he
mouter'd twice, Ramsay Prov. (1787). Ayr. Here lie the banes
o' Johny Stock Wha wrang'd right mony honest fock Wi'
knavery an' stealin', Wha mouter'd ilka execution, SillarPo«>«s
(1789) 112. N.Cy.i ne.Yks.i Ha'e ya mootther'd oor corn ? Wa
mostlins mootthers oor bit n' stuff. e.Yks.^ When suspected of
helping himself too liberally, the miller is said ' to knaw hoo ti
moother.' Obs. w.Yks.', ne.Lan.^
Hence (1) Mooterage, sb. the toll taken by the miller ;
(2) Multurer, sb. the taxman of a mill ; a miller ; (3)
Multuring, sb., see (i).
(i) n.Yks.'^ They tak mooterage by gowpens. (2) Sc. Fran-
ciSQUE-MicHEL Z,a«^. (1882) 169. Per. (G.W.) (3)Nhb.i e.Yks.
Nicholson Flk-Lore (1890) 40.
[To agree and compone with the miller for the multer
(de mullura), Skene Expos, (ed. 1641) 66.]
MULVATHER, v. Irel. L To confuse, bamboozle.
w.Ir. For it was only mulvatherin people they wor, Lover Leg.
(1848) I. 3. Myo. He was so much mulvathered at the shnake pre-
sumin' to sthay, afther he tould thim all to go, that for a while he
didn't think it quare that he could sphake at all, Stoker Snake's
Pass (1891) ii.
Hence Mulvathered, pp. confused with drink, in-
toxicated.
w.Ir. I knew the viUian was mulvathered. Lover Leg. (1848)
I. 196.
2. To play the fool.
n.Ir. It's wastin' my time I've been many a day, In stayin' at
home here and idly mulvatherin'. Lays and Leg. (1884) 32.
MUM, sb.^ War. Suf. [mum, mBm.] 1. A child's name
for ' mother.' Cf. mam. War.^ Suf.' Where's your mum?
2. A grandmother.
War.^ My old mum. ' Here's an old mum,' said of a lady dressed
in the costume of 50 years ago, by a street-boy watching the
arrival of guests at a fancy dress ball.
MUM,5*.2 s.Cy. (Hall.) LW.'^ [mBm.] Any small
insect ; a beetle ; a louse.
MUM, sb.^ Sc. n.Cy. Dev. 1. Obs. A strong kind of
beer ; ale brewed with wheat.
Sc. A glass of a sort of beverage called ' mum,' a species of fat
ale brewed from wheat and bitter herbs, of which the present
generation only know its name by its occurrence in revenue acts of
parliament, coupled with cider, perry, and other excisable com-
modities, Scott Antiquary (1816) xi ; A reference to the Act. Pari.
Scot, gives the result that there were Acts relating to this beverage
from 1663, c. 13, ' To encourage home manufactures foreign mum
not to be imported,' down to 1696, c. 2, 'Additional excise laid on
mum.'A^. fe'©. (i88i)6thS. iv. 37. N.Cy.' (s.v. Mome). [Mumme,
Cerevisia generosa Brimsuicensis, Coles (1679). ^°r the receipt for
' mum,' copied from the archives of Brunswick in 1681 and printed
in Houghton's collections on Agriculture and Trade, see N. b" Q.
(1883) 6th S. vii. 35.]
2. Smuggled liquor.
Dev. I shude a sed thit he'd got a small barrel of ■ mum,' or
smuggled licker, n.Dev. Jrn. (Aug. 20, 1885) 6, col. 4.
MUM
[200]
MUMCHANCE
[1. LG. mumnte, ' beruhmtes, nur in Braunschweig
gebrautes, sehr starkes, syrupartiges, gewiirzhaftes Bier
von siisslichiem, angenehmem Geschmack, hat seinen
Namen von Christian Mumm, welcher dieses Getrank
zuerst gebraut hat, 1492 ' (Berghaus).]
MUM, V.' and s6.* Yks. Rut. Nhp. War. Oxf. Brks. Lon.
Sus. Wil. Cor. [mum, m-em.] 1. v. To go about acting or
masquerading at Christmas time. w.Yks. (J.W.),w.Yks.^
Hence (i) Mummer, sb. [a] one of a company of mas-
queraders who go from house to house at Christmas time;
see below ; {b) a strolling actor ; (2) Mumming, sb. (a)
the play or drama formerly acted at Christmas time ; (b)
strolling playing; (3) Mumming-bcoth, sb. the tent or
canvas theatre of a companj' of strolling players.
(i, a) w.Yks. In the West Riding the singers are dressed in the
most fanciful attire, and are called ' mummers,' Henderson Flk-Lore
(1879) 'i ; ScATCHERD //j's/. y!fo>-/f_y (1830) G/. ; w.Yks.*; w.Yks.s
Parties of juveniles who go about several weeks before Christmas,
and during the week, acting the play of St. George, in the public-
houses. Rut.^ The Edithweston mummers performed in Lyndon,
near Oakham, on Saturday, December 22, 1888. Nhp.' The
Mummers consist of young men, gen. six or eight, who during the
Christmas holidays, commencing on the eve of Saint Thomas, go
about in the rural districts disguised, personating different charac-
ters, and performing a burlesque tragedy at such houses as they
think will recompense them for their entertainment, 429 ; Nhp.2,
War.3, Oxf. (G.O.),Brks.i,n.Wil.(E.H.G.) (i) Lon. We call stroll-
ing acting ' mumming,' and the actors ' mummers,' Mayhew Land.
Labour {i&si) III. 139, ed. 1861. (2, a) Nhp.i Christmas is the grand
season for this performance [mumming]. . . It was formerly general
throughout the county, though it now only lingers in a few de-
tached villages, 429. n.Wil. The young men for weeks previously
have been practising for the mumming — a kind of rude drama.
They dress in a fantastic manner with masks and coloured ribbons,
Jefferies Wild Life (1879) 99 ; (E.H.G.) (A) Lon. We call
strolling acting 'mumming,' Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) III.
130, ed. 1861. (3) w.Yks. Ther wor a actin show, or as some
fowk call 'em, a mummin booth. Hartley Tales, 2nd S. 10. Cor.i
2. sb. A play acted by masqueraders at Christmas time.
Sus. The last character did not occur in the regular 'mum,' but
was added to draw coin, Flk-Lore Jm. (1884) II. 7.
[1. Du. mommen, to goe a morning, or in a maske ; een
Mom, mommer, a mommer (Hexham).]
MUM, v.^ Wil. [mem.] With up : to make much of,
to pet, pamper, spoil.
(W.C.P.) ; Wil.i A granny-bred child's alius a-mummed up.
MUM, adj., int., v.^ and sb.^ In gen. dial, and colloq.
use in Sc. Eng. and Amer. [mum, niBm.] 1. adj. Still,
silent, dumb. Also used advb.
Abd. Be mum, as you value your life, Anderson Rhymes (ed.
1867) 79. Per. Ye can tell fine though they be mum as a mouse,
Sabbath Nights (1899) 34. Rnf. I dinna mean the modest Rab,
Wha was sae meek and mum o' gab, Webster Rhymes (1835)
105. Ayr. Meek and mum We trintl'd doon to hide oor doze
Deep i' the Plumb, White Jottings (1879) 241. Lth. Sit mum,
until yer story is finished, Ldmsden Sheep-head (1892) 257. Edb.
He sat as mum as an owl after a night at the mice, Beatty Secretar
(1897) 134. n.Cy. (J.W.) Lakel.2 What's wrang wi' thi, thoo
sits as mum as a moose. w.Yks. (J.W.), s.Not. (J.P.K.), Nhp.i
War.3 Keep mum. Hrf.^ Quite mum. Brks.', Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.Suf.
I'm mum on that subject (F.H.). Ess. Mary still seem'd rayther
mum, Clark /. Noakes (1839) st. 151 ; Gl. (1851) ; Ess.^ Sus.,
Hmp. Holloway. Slang. Farmer. [Amer. I knew the first house
would keep mum, Cent. Mag. (Feb. 1885) 553.]
2. int. Hush !
Sc. But, mum — There comes my two cousins, Pitcairn Assembly
(1766) 10. Sus., Hmp. Holloway. Dev. 'Mum!' Tonks had
said by the closed grave to Facey, and Facey had put his finger to
his lips and had repeated ' Mum ! ' Baring-Gould Furze Bloom
(1899) 27.
Hence Mum's the word! phr. still's the word ! keep
quiet !
Fif. Mum's the word, or everything'll be spoilt, McLaren Tibbie
(1894) 54. Lnk. Wheesht, Betty, wheesht ! mum's the word,
Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 18. Dor. Mum's the word, mind. Go
straight hwome, Windsor Mag. (June igoo) 68. Slang. Mum's
the word, dy'e see? Black Three Feathers, xxxix. [Amer. He
puts his finger on his nose, and says he, ' Mum is the word,' Sam
Slick Clockmaker (1836) ist S. xiii.]
3. V. To make a low, inarticulate sound ; to mutter.
Bnff.i Applied to speaking, reading, singing, &c. Per. I . . .
naething say, but raaunt and mum, When you begin to thunder,
Nxcol Poems (1766) 57. Cld. (Jam.), n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
Hence Mummer, sb. one who reads, speaks, or sings in
a low, inarticulate tone. Bnff.\ Cld. (Jam.)
4. sb. A low, inarticulate sound ; a mutter.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Ye sit sae dumb An' never open mou', to say
a mum, Ross Helenore (1768) 38, ed. 1812.
6. Secret anger. Ess. Gl. (1851) ; Ess.^
[1. The citizens are mum and speak not aword, Shaks.
Rich. 111., III. vii. 3. 2. Well said, master ; mum ! and
gaze your fill, ib. T. Shrew, i. i. 73.]
MUMBLE, V. Sc. Irel. Lakel. Cum. Yks. Lan. Lin. Glo.
Wil. Amer. Also in forms mummelLakel.^Cum.; mummle
Sc. ; mumple Lan. [mu'm(b)l, mB-m(b)l.] L To gnaw
or chew without teeth ; to munch. Cf. mump, v}
Ayr. Rough banes in a pock, which she sat and mummied when
she wasna sleepin'. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 22. GaU.
Mumbling and bolting away as fast as he was able, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 453, ed. 1876. Lakel. ^^ What's tamummelin'aboot?
Is thi teeth gitten bad? Cum. Me teeth's seah bad ; an' ah mum-
mel-mumel on, Farrall Betty Wilson (1886) 62, w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lan. When one has to mumple everythin' beaut teeth a good
dinner's no trate, Brierley Cast upon World (1886) 71 ; Mi owd
moather mumblin ith' nook, ib. Layrock (1864) iii. Lin. (W.W.S.)
n.Wil. ' How d'ye get over they nuts ? ' ' Aw, they wants a deal
o' mumblin ' (E.H.G.).
Hence Mumbly, adj. chewing or gnawing badly.
n.Yks. He's a mumly eater (I.W.).
2. Phr. mumble the peg, a boys' game ; see below.
Ant. A game, consisting in a trial between two or more
which shall soonest go through a certain routine of motions with a
common table-fork, so that each time the fork is thrown from the
hand, the mouth, over the head, &c., it shall stick with the prongs
in the earth. The task imposed by the conqueror consists in
obliging the others to draw out with their teeth a wooden peg
several inches long, driven into the ground with as many blows of
the fork-handle as they had motions to go through in the game at
the time he had done. Hence the name of the game, as the losers
have often to mumble some time before they succeed, Grose
(1790) MS. add. (C.) [Amer. He resolved to pretend that they
had been playing mumble-the-peg, Cent. Mag. (Apr. 1882) 889;
Bartlett.]
3. To eat without appetite. Glo. (W.H.C.), Glc^
MUMBLE, see Momble.
MUMBLING,///. a<^'. Lin. [mu-m(b)Un.] Fumbling,
awkward. Cf. momble.
n.Lin. My fingers gets very mumbling, it's oud aage, I expect
(M.P.).
MUMBLY, adj Hmp. Som. [mB-mli.] Of stones
used in building : shapeless, awkward, rounded, likely to
fall, having no flat surface ; crumbly.
Hmp.*- w.Som.i Very common. Can't make no good work wi'
they gurt mumbly [muum'lee] things; they be so ugly's a 'oss's
head.
MUMBUDGET, v. Dor. In phr. to come mumbudget-
ing, to come clandestinely, secretly.
You were quite sure he'd never come mumbudgeting to see ye,
just as you were in the middle of your work. Hardy Greenwd.
Tree (1872) pt. 11. ii ; Now, don't come mumbudgeting so close
again, ib. pt. iv. ii.
[Mumbudget was formerly a slang word implying
silence: Nor did I ever wince or grudge it, For thy dear
sake. (Quoth she) Mum-budget, Butler Hud. (1664) 1.
iii. 208.]
MUMBY, sb. e.An.'2 [mB-mbi.] A species of pear,
the Rousselette.
MUMCHANCE, adv., sb. and v. Yks. Chs. Der. Nhp.
War. Shr. Oxf. Brks. Bdf. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Som. Dev.
Cor. Also written mumpchance Dev. [mu'mtjans,
mB-mtJans, mu-mtjons.] 1. adv. Stupidly or stolidly
silent.
Chs.i Shr.iW'ydunnayo' spake, lad? an' nod stand mumchance
theer like a dummy in a draper's shop. Sus., Hmp. Holloway.
Som. Why do'ee sit there so mumchance! (F.A.A.) Cor.* To sit
mumchance, to sit silent.
MUMGE
[201]
MUMP
2. sb. A stupid, silent, stolid person. Cf. num-chance,
s.v. Num(b, 2.
w. Yks. HuTTON Tour io Caves (1781") ; To sit like ' Mumchance,'
who was hung for saying nowt, Old saying (F.K.). nw.Der.i,
Sus.l Sus., Hmp. HoLLOWAY. I.W.'2 w.Cy. One who is for
the most part stupid and silent, rarely spealting to the purpose,
Grose (1790) Suppl. Som. Why, 't have a-made un a proper
mumchance, sim-zo, Raymond Sam and Sabina (1894) 155.
■w.Som.i There her zit-th, a proper mumchance, no gettin' a word
out o' her. Dev. Hewett Pras. Sp. (1892) ; Bowring Lang. (1866)
I. pt. V. 36; Dev.i What did God malce tha vor? speak, mum-
chance, 16. Cor.^
3. Silence.
War.2 The silence of a whole company ; but sometimes applied
to that of an individual.
4. A chance ; an accident. Cor.° 5. Obs. A supposi-
titious child, a fool dropped by chance, or by the fairies,
a changeling. n.Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 300.
6. V. To sit stupidly and sullenly silent.
w.Yks. What's ta' sittin mumchancing there for ? (F.K.) Nhp.^
Why don't you speak ? What do you stand mumchancing there
fori War.'' Don't sit mumchancing there by yourself; War.^
Read the newspaper aloud, do not mumchance. Oxf.' Brks.'
What was he a mumchancin' about I wonner? Bdf. (J.W.B.)
I.W.'' A zet there mumchanced up in a corner.
Hence Mumchancer, sb. in phr. to sit like Mumchancer
who was hanged for saying nothing, a saying. War.^
[Mumchance was formerly the name of a game of chance
played with cards or dice, at which silence was essential
(Nares). Cp. Bavar. dial, mummschanz schlagen, ' per-
sonatum aleatorios nummos ponere, iis positis lacessere
coUusorem ' (Schmeller) ; Du. mom-kantse, momme-cans,
a sort of game played by masked persons (Oudemans).]
MUMGE, V. ? Obs. Sc. To grumble, fret, complain.
Cf munge, v?
Slk. Gae away when I bid ye — What are ye mumgin at ? Hogg
Brownie of Bodsbsck (1818) 1. 5 (Jam.). Rxb. Gen. apphed to
children when any request is refused (Jam.).
MUMLERS, 56. pi. Nhb.^ [mu'mlarz.] Mummers,
masqueraders.
MUMLUCK, MUMMACKS, see Mamlock, Mammock.
MUMMED, pp. Bwk. (Jam.) Benumbed, tingling.
Used to denote that disagreeable sensation which one has in
the hands, when one warms them too quickly after being cold.
MUMMER, MUMMET, MUMMICKS, MUMMLE, see
Mammer, Mommet, Mammock, Mtimble, v.^
MUMMLER, sb. Nhb.^ [mu-mlar.] An agricultural
implement for breaking down the rough surface of a field.
MUMMOCK, MUMMUCK, see Mammock.
MUMMY, sb} Sh.I. Cum. Wm. Yks. I.Ma. Not. Der.
Lin. Nhp. War. Won Hnt. Ken. Som. Also in form
mommy Nhp.^ War.^ se.Wor.^ ; mumy n.Yks. [mu'mi,
mB-mi.] 1. A soft, shapeless mass ; a pulp, pulpy mass.
Cum.* Freq. with the idea of moistness. A man who has been
fighting and been severely 'punished' may be said to have his
face 'o' mashed to a mummy'; apples are reduced to mummy
when making them into sauce. Wm. That folks can co themsells
Christians efter . . . braying to mummy ought of their awn likeness,
HuTTON Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 165. n.Yks. 3 girt stian
tumid ont, on it woz masht ta a mumi (W.H.). e.Yks.' When
we teeak apples oot o' cart, they we' posht all tiv a mummy.
•w.Yks. N. & Q. (1890) 7th S. X. 147 ; w.Yks.* Any friable
substance when crushed may be said to be ' mushed to mummy.'
I.Ma. Clane bet and feelin rather rummy, . . And my face in
mummy, Brown Doctor (1887) 175. Der. 2, nw.Der.i s.Not. He
knocked the wheat about wi' the pestle, till't wor all of a mummy.
Ah don't like my taters boiled to a mummy (J.P.K.). Lin. At an
inquest at South Reston, . . a farm labourer . . . said . . ' her face
appeared to be mashed to a mummy,' Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 28,
1890) 5, col. 7, in ;V. ey Q. (1890) 7th S. X. 147. Nhp.i ' It's all of a
mommy.' Any one beaten very severely, till much bruised, is
said to be ' beaten to a mummy.' War.^ se.Wor.^ That good-
fur-nothin' mon uv 'ern cum wum drunk an' knocked 'er about
an' kicked 'er 't'U 'er face wus all uv a mommy. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
Ken. A snail is said to be crushed to a mummy when trodden on
(G.B.). w.Som.' Very commonly used in the phr. 'beat to a
mummy.'
2. Phr. in mummy, in pieces, bits, fragments.
Sh.I. Oh my mercy, daa, dat's da lamp gless in mummy ! Sh.
VOL. IV.
News (Dec. 25, 1897) ; Doo haes Him ta tank 'at mi hushapan is
no laid in mummie an' I a cauld corp i' da brucks o' him, >6.
(Aug. 28, 1897).
MUMMY, sb.'^ Mid. [mT3-mi.] A boys' game similar
to 'duck' or ' duckstone' (q.v.).
w.Mid. Still played by boys, and old people say that it was
familiar to them in their youth (W.P.M.).
MUMMY, sb.^ War. e.An. [mu-mi, niB-mi.] A pet
name for ' mother.' Cf. mammy.
War .3 Nrf. Grose (1790). Suf. Cullum Hist. Hawsted (1813) ;
Suf.l Ess. Wor I to 'list. My mummy, how 't 'ood shock her!
Clark /. Noakes (1839) st. 137 ; Gl (1851) ; Ess.i
MUMMY, adj. I.W. [m-B-mi.] Dusk, dark ; twilight.
It begins to get mummy (J.D.R.); I.W.l ; I.W.^ 'Twas gitten
mummy avore I come away.
MUMMY-DARLING, sb. Suf. A comical person,
e.Suf (F.H.)
MUMMYDIDDLE, sb. Suf Also in form mummy-
diddy. [mBmididl.] A stupid, silly person. e.Suf (PMi.)
MUMNESS, sb. Lth. (Jam.) Numbness, a want of
feeling in any part of the body.
MUMOCK, see Mammock.
MUMP, sb} GIo. Som. [mBmp.] L A lump ; a pro-
tuberance ; a swelling. Also usedyrg'.
Glo.i A little fat mump of a child. Som. (Hall.) w.Som.l
Could-n ate nort, could-n eri well, was able to put gwain a gurt
mump o' bread and cheese then, in a quick stick. I'd a got a
mump 'pon the top o' my head so big's a hen-egg.
Hence Mumpy, adj. lumpy.
Glo.i A mumpy piece of meat.
2. A lump of turf ; the depth of a spade in digging turf.
Som. A spit's depth in digging (W.F.R.) ; The coin was in the
turf about 7 mump deep, Hervey Wedmore Chron. (1887) I. 378 ;
Mumps, turf cut into small blocks (M.A.R.).
3. A stump, root ; a great knotty piece of wood.
Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 300; Gl. (1851) ; Glo.l
MUMP, sb.^ e. An.^ A hop and a jump.
MUMP, v} and sb.^ Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in form mamp Rnf. [mump, m^mp.] 1. v. To
mumble ; to speak low and indistinctly ; to move the
jaws without articulate speech.
Sc. (A.W.) Cum. She coughs and granes, and mumps and
talks, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 86. n.Yks.^
Hence Mumping, ppl. adj. mumbling.
Cum. And Middlegate mumping auld Matty, That's scarce got a
tuith in her head, Rayson Poems (1839) 29 ; (J.Ar.)
2. To nibble; to gnaw or chew as a person does without
teeth ; to munch.
Sc. Flesh, fish, and fowl, by turns they mumpit, Wilson Poems
(1822) Twa Mice. Frf. Wi' her teethless chafts she mumpit,
Beattie Amlia (c. 1820) 22, ed. 1882. Per. The rotten wouldna
mump her meal, Spence Poems (1898) 181. e.Fif. Laito Tarn
Bodkin (1864) X. Rnf. Picken Poems (1788) Gl. (Jam.) Edl). A
. . . wee cuddy . . . quietly mumping some green blades, Ballantine
Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 8. Nhb.i Old people often say ' Mumpin
an' eatin.' Cum. Ferguson TVoj-^Awm (1856)189; Cum.*, n.Yks.'^*
m.Yks.^ w.Yks. Toud chap has na teeth, sooa if he cahnt mump
it he ma suck it, Bywater Sheffield Dial. (1839) 16; (J.W.)
s.Wor. (H.K.) e.Suf. Don't keep mumping your food about your
mouth, but eat it up (F.H.). Cor. (_G.B.R.B,)
Hence (i) Mumpers, sb. pi. the jaws ; (2) Mumping,
ppl. adj. chewing, gnawing ; (3) Mumping-time, sb.
meal-time.
(i) n.Yks.2 (2) Sc. The moudiewort, the moudiewort, The
mumpin' beast the moudiewort. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (1870)
23. (3)n.Yks.2
3. To eat in a rude, greedy manner ; to swallow
eagerly and greedily ; to eat heartily.
e.Yks. (E.F.), ne.Lan.i s.Not. She soon mumped all the pudding
into 'er (J.P.K.).
4. To make grimaces, screw up the mouth ; to mimic ;
to speak affectedly.
Sc. The King . . . began to amble about the room mumping,
laughing, and cracking jests, Scott Nigel (1822) xxxvii. Lnk.
You thump, you mump, with face awray, Graham Writings
(1883) I. 246. Slk. (Jam.); He nodded his hea^, and said to
himsel, ' Now, if I hae nae mumpit the minister, my name's no
John Gray o' Middleholm,' Hogg Wini. Tales (1882) I. 334 (Jam.).
D d
MUMP
[202]
MUMPHAZARD
Rxb, On their way they began for to mump, with A twing
twang, ding dang, derry derry down, Ruickbie Wayside Cottager
(1807) II. Nhp.i To draw in the hps, to screw up the mouth
with a smile ; expressive of exultation in the possession of some
secret intelligence. ' She mumps up her mouth ; she knows
something.'
5. To speak querulously ; to complain, murmur.
Rnf. Whiles my plaint I mamp an' mumrale, Picken Poenis
(1813) I. i88. Bwk. Let them mump an' grieve wha like it,
Calder Pofws (1897) 225.
Hence Mumpus, sb. grumbling, angry talk. Dor. (J.H.)
6. To sulk ; to mope ; to go about in a moody, sulky
manner.
Edb. Mumping ower the fire at night, Ballantine Gaherlunzie
(ed. 1875) 84. Cum.i*, m.Yks.i w.Yks. What's ta duin' thear
mumpin' an' muin'? Brighonse News (July 23, 1887); w.Yks.^
Goas mumping abart t'daay through, — ther's nivver a mouthful
o' comfort whear shoo is ! What's tuh sitting there mumping
at ?— gehr awaay art wi' thuh ! A person fast declining in health
is apt to be 'sitting mumping by t'fire t'daay through.' ne.Lan.^,
e.Suf. (F.H.) Wil.i How ter'ble mumping she do look!
Hence (i) Mumpish, (2) Mumpy, adj. sulky, gloomy ;
depressed, out of spirits.
(I) ? Ken. Well yees, yer Riv'rence, Nellie here's got mumpish
und crumpish loike, so here we be, Kentish Wedding ; (W.G.P.)
(3) Wm. (B.K.), w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. What's made yer so
raumpy this mornin? (J.F.K.)
7. Obs. or obsol. To hint, aim at ; to speak indirectly of.
Sc. We may ken your meaning by your mumping, Ramsay Proi;.
fi737) ; (Jam.) Abd. Ye may speak plainer, lass, gin ye incline.
As by your mumping, I maist guess your mind, Shirrefs Poems
(1790) 94. w.Sc. Macdonald Settlement (1869) 131, ed. 1877.
Rnf. I canna mump thy merits, Ma'am, Webster Rhymes (1835)
167. w.Yks. 2 Used only in the phr. ' I know your meaning by
your mumping.'
8. To beg.
Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873); (W.F.R.) w.Som.i There, I'dzoonder
work my vingers to bones'n I urn about mumpin', same's her do.
Dev. Dawntee gie thick feller nort, he'th abin mumping about drii
tha village awl day, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; A hadn't got the
heart To give his family a peart Zo zent mun out a mumping,
Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) IV. 201. Cor. There's that old go-
'bout woman. . . I'd stop her coming mumping, Thomas Randigal
Rhymes (1895) 23, Slang. Farmer.
Hence (i) Mumper, sb. (a) a beggar ; one who lives by
begging ; (6) an uninvited and unwelcome guest ; a
' sponger ' ; (2) Mumping, ppl. adj. begging given to
begging.
(I, a) Som. (W.F.R."); W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som." Why, her
'ant a-do'd a day's work 'is ten year — her's a proper old mumper,
and her dooth well by it too, by the look o' her. Cor. A vast
improvement, at any rate, on the mumpers' lodgings I had been
used to for many months, * Q.' Three Ships (1892) 263. w.Cor,
They are a family of mumpers (M.A.C.). Slang. Orig. beggars of
the genteel kind, but since used for beggars in general, Grose CI.
Diet. (1823). (i) Nhp.i Dev. Reports Provinc. (1886) 79. (2)
w.Som.^ Her's the falsest, mumpin's (i. e. mumpingest) old bitch
ever was hanged. Dev. Lord Grenville and his mumping wife,
Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) IV. 200.
9. To go round begging for corn or alms on St. Thomas's
day.
n.Lin. Sutton Wds. (1881). sw.Lin.^ Going round on St.
Thomas' Day, begging for money or corn. ' She came mumping
on Friday.' Glo.' Where's your mother?' ' She's gone mumping,
ma'am ' (A.B.).
Hence (i) Mumper, sb. [a] one who begs for alms on
St. Thomas's day; {b) a Christmas 'wait' or mummer;
(2) Mumping, vbl. sb. the custom or practice of begging
for corn on St. Thomas's day ; (3) Mumping-day, sb. St.
Thomas's day, Dec. 21 ; (4) -wheat, sb. wheat given in
alms on St. Thomas's day.
(I, n) n.Lin.i Hrf. N. & Q. (1884) 6th S. ix. 278. e.'An.' Not
applied to beggars in general, but to those only who go in troops
from house to house, in some places on St. Thomas's day, in others
on St. Stephen's. (6)Lin.BouND Proi/mc. (1876). Glo.' Lads dressed
up, who enact a traditional tale in one's hall on St. Thomas's Day
or at Christmas. e.An.i Commonly used in Norwich for the waits.
is) Hrf. The practice of collecting alms in the shape of corn was,
a quarter of a century ago, prevalent in many parts of s. and w.
Herefordshire, and is prob. in some remote places hardly extinct.
It was called mumping or gooding, and the mumpers were not
widows only, but married women with their families. Sacks of
wheat and barley were placed at the door of the farmhouses, and
the dole was served in a basin, workpeople on the farm or
parishioners having the preference, N. & Q. ib. Mon. The custom
still prevails in the neighbourhood of Monmouth, ib. Glo.i On
Dec. 2ist (St. Thomas's Day), the old women go round to the
gentry and farmers to receive presents in kind. This is called
mumping, and is done by decent people who would not beg. (3)
Lin. (W.W.S.) n.Lin. Sutton Wds. (1881). Hrf. Bound Provinc.
(1876). Glo. (A.B.), w.Som.i (4) n.Lin.i
10. To cozen, cheat ; to get money by begging or im-
posture ; to sponge.
Som., s. Dev. The idea of imposture is ^^«. included — particularly
the pretenceof beingill. Reports Provinc. (1885) 100. Dev. I tellee
whot 'tez, they be alwes a-muraping 'pon zomebody or nuther,
Hewett Aas. S/i. (1892) 151. nw.Dev. (R.P.C.), Cor.^ w.Cor.
'They mumped her out of a good deal of money.' Common
(M.A.C.).
11. To loaf about.
Dev. Old Varmer Smart dawnt dii nort but mump 'bout vrom
'ouze tii 'ouze, jist tu zee what 'e can cadge, Hewett P«a5.S/>. (1892).
12. sb. pi. The sulks, sulkiness ; a sulky mood.
Cum. He's sec a divil as Ah nivver saw, he's alius in t'mumps
f J. D.). w.Yks.2 She's in the mumps ; w.Yks.^ One 'al be i' t'mumps
fur a week together. Lan.', Nhp.i, War.2, Hnt. (T.P.F.)
13. A whisper, surmise. Ayr. (J.M.) ; Gl. Surv. 693
(Jam.). 14. A beggar ; a cheat, impostor. Dev. Madden
MS. Gl. Cor.^ 15. fl. Alms or doles begged for by chil-
dren before Shrove Tuesday ; see below.
Dev. The children in this neighbourhood [Okehampton] have a
custom of going round to the different houses in the parish, on the
Monday before Shrove Tuesday, gen. by twos and threes, and
chanting the following verses, by way of extracting from the in-
mates sundry contributions of eggs, flour, butter, halfpence, &c.,
to furnish out the Tuesday's feast : ' Lent Crock, give a pancake
Or a fritter for my labour. . . Trap, trapping throw. Give me my
mumps, and I'll be go [gone],' N. & O. (1852) ist S. v. 77.
MUMP, z;.2 and sb." Nhb. Dur. Yks. Lan. Stf. Den
Not. [mump.] 1. v. To beat, thump, strike, esp. to
strike the mouth or face with the closed fist.
n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy."^ Nhb. And mump on the slack o' yor jaw
(W.G.). Dur.i n.Yks. Ah'l mump thi gob fo' tha (T.S.) ; n.Yks.12,
ne.Yks.i, m.Yks."^ w.Yks. When he cum hooam at neet he mumpt
her.BvwATER Sheffield Dial. (1877) 145 ; It's me organization wot's
compell'd me to mump the a. that way, Shevvild Ann. (1854) 19;
w.Yks. 2 Nooa man shall be allowed to mump his woif. Lan. He'd
ne'er let onny o' th' men mump his arrand lads, Ferguson Moudy-
warp, 10; Lan.l, e.Lan.i, m.Lau.', Stf.', Der.^, nw.Der.l s.Not.
Esp. to strike the hinder parts with the knee. 'If yer don't gie
ower, ah'll mump yer' (J.P.K.).
Hence (i) Mumped, ppl. adj. beaten, struck with the
fist ; (2) Mumping, sb. a thrashing.
(i) n.Yks.i Ah'll gie thee a mump'd mouth an ye deean't heed;
n.Yks.2 (2) s.Not. A gen 'im a pretty good mumping (J.P.K.).
2. sb. A blow on the face or mouth with the fist or back
of the hand.
n.Yks. (T.S.), n.Yks.* ne.Yks.^ He gav him a mump ower
t'mooth. e.Yks. Ah gav him a mump ower gob, Nicholson Flk-
Sp. (1889) 27 ; e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i
MUMP, v.^ ? Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) To hitch, to move by
jerks. Hence Mump-the-cuddie, sb. a children's game ;
see below. Cf. curcuddie.
A play of children, in which they sit on their hunkers or hams
with a hand in each hough, and retaining this position, hop or
hitch forward ; he who arrives first at the fixed goal gaining the
prize.
MUMPCHANCE, see Mumchance.
MUMPER, sb. Yks. Also in form mumpin n.Yks.
[mu-mp3(r.] A very small sweet apple of the codling
kind; a small unsaleable apple. n.Yks. (I.W.), e.Yks.^
m.Yks."^ Cf. crumpling, sb.^
MUMPER, V. e. An. To murmur ; to talk low. Hol-
LOWAY. See Mump, v.^
MUMPHAZARD, 56. Chs. [mn'mpazad.] In phr. /o
stand like Mumphasard, to remain stolidly silent. Cf.
mumchance.
Northall Wd-bk. (1896) 153 ; N. if Q. (1852) ist S. vi. 386.
MUMP-HEAD
[203]
MUN
MUMP-HEAD, sb. Som. Dev. [mumped.] 1. A
kind of cask made to taper only in one direction. w.Som.'
2. A term of abuse, a dull, stupid person.
w.Som.i Dev. Out o' this, mumphead ! Whot art up tu now ?
Zome o'yer vQle's errants again, I rel<kon, HEWE-rrP^ai. Sp. (1892) ;
Er's awnly a poor tottling old mump'ead, Phillpotts Dartmoor
(1896) 209; There's mumpheyds to [sic] purteynd to vish, An'
bet about et too, Pulman Sketches (1842) 19.
Hence Mump-headed, adj. stupid, thick-headed.
Dev. 'Yer mump-headed fool.' Used by keeper to dog at
Churchstanton. Very common, Reports Provinc. (1893).
MUMPIN, see Mumper, sb.
MUMPLE, w. Sc. [mB-mpl.] 1. To seem as if going
to vomit. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). 2. Phr. io
ntumple in the mouth, to chuckle, laugh immoderately.
Slk. Maist laithsome ... to hear him mumplin in the mouth at
sic a sicht, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV. 64.
MUMPLE, see Mumble, v.
MUMPOKER, sb. n.Cy. I.W. An evil spirit; the
name of a bogey, used to frighten children.
n.Cy. Denham Tracts (ed. 1895) II. 77 ; Obs. (J.W.) I.W.' I'll
zend the mumpoker ater ye ; I. W.2 If you don't gee off squinnyen
wold Mumpoker 'ill come aater ye.
MUMPOLE, t^. Hmp.i To beat. Cf. mump, i;.''
MUMPSING, ppl. adj. War.^ [mumpsin.] Eating
fastidiously from want of appetite ; picking a bit here
and there. ' He is a mumpsing eater.'
MUMPUS, adv. Glo.i [mB-mpss.] Full length.
' She fell down mumpus on the patch ' ; said of a child with
epilepsy.
MUMRUFFIN, sb. War. Won Shr. Hrf Pem. Glo.
Also in form mommyrufBn War.^ [mu'mrufin, niB-m-
rBfin.] The long-tailed titmouse, Acredula rosea.
War.3 Wor.SwAiNSONS!>rfs(i885)3i;(W.K.W.C.) w.Wor.
It ain't put up amiss, but it took us both a month to build it — same
time, youm say, as a mumrufEn, Berrow's Jm. (Mar. 10, 1888) ;
w.Wor.i s.Wor. PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 14 ; s.Wor.i,
se.Wor.l Slir. Swainson ib. ; Shr.', Hrf.^ s.Pem. Laws Little
Eng. (1888) 421. Glo. (A.B.), Glo.i
MUMT-LIKE, adj. Lth. (Jam.) Having the appearance
of stupor. Cf mummed.
MUMY, see Mummy, sb.^
MUN, sb.^ Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Nhp. War. Slang. Also written munn Gall. ; munne
N.Cy." ; and in form mund Lth. (Jam.) w.Yks. [mun,
m^n.] 1. The mouth.
N.Cy.^* Lakel.2 Very rarely used. Cum. Ferguson Northmen
(1856) 189; Cum." Wm. Bluz'd'im i' iz mun,BLEzARD5K^5. (1848)
34. s.Wm. (J.A.B.) n.Yks. Oppen thi mun (W.H.). w.Yks.
HuTTON Tour to Cavesi^fj&i) ; Willan List Wds. (1811) ; w.Yks.*,
Lan.i, n.Lan.l, ne.Lan.', Chs.'^^a Nhp.' One a penny, two a
penny, Hot cross buns, Sugar 'em and butter 'em And stick 'em in
your muns. War. B'ham Wkly. Post (June 10, 1893) ; War.'^^
2. pi. The ' chops ' ; the face.
Slk. The hollow behind the jaw-bone (Jam.). Ant. Grose
(1790) MS. add. (C.) n.Cy. Bailey (1721). Hmp. I'll give you
a slap in the muns, Holloway. Slang. Toute his muns, look at
his isiCe.,Lex. Balatronicum (1811) ; Eng. Rogue (1665) (Farmer).
3. Phr. /'// gie you i' the munds, I will give you a stroke
on the mouth. Lth. (Jam.) 4. An old person with a
very little face. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
[1. Norw. dial, munn, the mouth (Aasen) ; ON. munnr
(Vigfusson).]
MUN,s6.2 Cor. fniBii.] Decaying fish used as manure;
also in camp. Mun-fish.
I bought some mun down to the Cove, Thomas Randigal
Rhymes {zQg=,) 6 ; Cor.l"
MUN, sb.^ Cor." [m^n.] A mining term : any fusible
metal.
MUN, v} Sc. and in gen. dial, use in Eng. down to
Oxf. Brks. Also Nrf SulT .' Sun Sus. Hmp. ? Dev. Also
in forms men Sh.L Cum.* Wm. ; min Sh.L Nhb.' ; mont
Wan*; moon Den" w.Won'; munt Lan. fmun, man.]
1. Must. See Maun, v.^ [For preterite see Mud, t/."]
Sh.I. Hit min just be borne wi', Stewart Tales (1892) 81 ; Dey
men be boiled bi dis time, Sh. News {Nov. 13, 1897). Wgt. Ye
mun haekeepityersel' unco abeigh ! Goorf i^rfs. (1881) 403. n.Cy.
Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.i Nhb.* ' Aa mun he'd '—must have it. ' Aa
min be careful.' Dur. Thoo, O Solomon, mun hev a tlioosend,
MooKE Sttg. Sol. (1859) viii. 12 ; Dur.i, Lakel.i" Cum. Thou mud
as weel come suin For come thou mun, Gilpin Sngs. (1866) 23 ;
Gl. (1851) ; Cum.* Cum., Wm. Nicolson (1677) Trans. R. Lit.
Soc. (1868) IX. Wm. Vi^ha dea think mun haait? Wheeler Dial.
(1790) 113, ed. 1821; Even lasses men hev hed quite enuff,
Wilson Old Man's Talk, 90; (E.G.) s.Wm. (J.A.B.) n.Yks.i
Weel, Ah mun gan ; n.Yks."34 ne.Yks.' Yan mun deea as weel
as yan can. e.'Xks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788); e.Yks.' 'Ah
mun be off heeam.' Used almost entirely with a future force.
m.Yks.i w.Yks. Strong form mun, weak man which expresses a
necessity dependent upon the willof aperson,as : A man get miwak
duin bi ta-nit. Mun i gua wi ja? Wright Gram. Wndhll. (1892)
151; w.Yks.i We mun teugh an addle summat, ii. 289; w.Yks." ^*^
Lan. Mun I fotch it now? Brierley Cast upon World (1886) 14 ;
I asht 'im whot way eh munt gooa ? Tim Bobbin Wks. (ed. 1750)
47 ; Lan.' ne.Lan. Mun I tell him, Enoch ? Mather Idylls (1895)
49. e.Lan.l Chs. Aw mun do summut, Croston Enoch Crump
(1887)11; Chs.i"3 s.Chs.i 'Mun' and 'must' are both in use in the
folk-speech, with a well-defined difference of meaning between
them. ' Mun 'denotes physical, 'must' moral, necessity. Yoa'miin
goa- [Yo mun go]. Yoa' mils bi u foo [Yo must be a foo']. s.Stf.
Yo' mun wake an' call me early, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1892)
42. Der. Yer mun be co'd, Hall Hathersage (1896) i; Der.' ;
Der." Thou moon'st loike grin and abide (s.v. Grin). Not. You
mun pull off your skin too, Prior Rente (1895) 72 ; (L.C.M.) ;
Not.i ; Not." Ye mun run or y'U be catched. Lin. A cat may looOk
at a king thou knaws but the cat mun be clean, Tennyson Spinster's
Sweet-arts (1885). n.Lin. This mun be kept very squat, Peacock
R. Skirlaugh (1870) I. 184 ; n.Lin.', Lei.' Nhp.' I mun do't, I sup-
pose; Nhp." War."3 ; War.* Don't hinder me, my boy. I mont
finish the howing to-night. w.Wor.' I mun, or mOOn. Shr.
We mun dew what we can, White Wrekin (i860) xxiv; Shr.'"
Glo. If we'd any doubt 't all in the matter we mun let the pris'ncrs
aff, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) 27. Nrf. You mun shoot
them so they fall on ter the ice and not into the wake, Emerson
Son of Fens (1892) 282. ! Sur. Go and get drunk at the ' Cock' if
thou mun be a beast, Bickley Sui: Hills (1890) I. i. ? Dev. Her
mun be fastin' and I'll bless her and give her summut as'll make
she all well, Sunday Mag. (Apr. 1895) 243 ; I mun goo to father, and
you can't wait, Dalzell 'Anner in CasselTs Fam. Mag. (Apr.
1895) 332 ; Zimon lad, thee mun goo to bed to onst, Longman's
Mag. (Dec. 1896) 153.
Hence Mun-be, sb. an unavoidable event. w.Yks. (J.W.),
w.Yks.'
2. With neg. : see below.
(rt) Sh.I. Doo menna laugh, Bawby, Sh. News (May 12, 1900).
n.Cy. Thoo munnot gang, Grose Suppl. (1790). Nhb. Ye munet
stor up, nor weakin maw luve, Robson Sng. Sol. (1859) viii. 4 ;
I minna care aboot hisbein' amang the greet yens, Jones Nhb. 19 ;
Nhb.' Ye munna gan that way. Ye munnet eat ony. Ye munnit
abuse the lad. Dur.' Lakel.' Munnet ; Lakel." Thoo munnat.
Cum. Thou munnet expect to see me, Lonsdale Mag. (Feb. 1867)
31a; Cum.* Wm. But thare er other enemies which I munnet
pass over sleightly, HuTTONjBraw A'ew Wark {I'jS^)]. 264. n.Yks."*
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). m.Yks.' Munnot. w.Yks.
Ah munnot cum witha, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. 3, 1891) ; Yah
munnut glower at mah, Littledale Crav. Sng. Sol. (1859) i. 6.
Lan. He munnot co' it Pontius Pilate, Waugh Chim. Corner
(1874) 33, ed. 1879; Nay, nay, mother, you munnut do so,
Hamerton Wenderholme (1869) Ixxi ; Yo' munno give over yet,
Brierley Layrock (1864) ill. Chs. Tha munner gen moor nor a
shellingk for 'un, Clough B. Bresskittle (1879) 5 ; You monna do
that (E.F.); Chs.' Munna, munner; Chs."; Chs.^ Yo munnah.
Der.' Lei.' Mowna, 31. Nhp.' He munna do't. w.Wor.' Munna
I, munna us. Shr. Ye munna go where bur's a gwine. White
Wrekin (i860) viii ; Shr." Munna, munnod. Hrf," Munna. Sur.
But we munna part an' a-had no worship, Bickley Sur. Hills
(i8go) III. xvii. (6) n.Cy. Moant, Grose (1790) Suppl. Lakel."
Ah wad liked te hev gone t'et hunt but ah mont es t'yowes is
starten te lam. Cum. Thoo moant be seiin da'nted, Gwordie
Greenup Anudder Batch (1873) 12 ; Cum.' I moon't sit by an' see
him. Wm. I moant forget ta tell tha, Robison Aald Taales
(1882) 7 ; Thoo mont be droont in a peeat dyke, Spec. Dial. (1885)
pt. iii. 8. n. Yks. Thoo maunt paart wi't (T.S.); They mooan't
tell me, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 43 ; n.Yks.' Mau'n't ;
n.Yks." Moant ; n.Yks." Maun't, mocun't. ne.Yks.' Maun't.
e.Yks. Ah moan't grummle, Wray Nesthton (1876) 41; Dhu
maunt gan yam yit (Miss A.); Moant, Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1788); e.Yks.' Moant 0;- maunt. Thou moant tell. w.Yks. Yo
maunt forget ta call. Senior Smithy Rhymes (1882) 45 ; Yo mo'nt
D d 2
MUN
[204]
MUNDLE
laff at are toke, Bywater Sheffield Dial. (1839) i ; Thah moan't
go wi' him (^.B.); w.Yks.^ Tha mooant pull his tail i' that
rooad ; w.Yks.* Tha moant do it; w.Yks.^ Moant thuh goal
Lan. Thou mont believe o' ta hears, Eavesdropper Vill. Life
(1869) 61. s.Stf. Yo' mo'nt talk to me like that, Pinnock Blk. Cy.
Ann. (1895). Not. Ye maunt do that, or ye'U get larruped '
(L.C.M.) ; Yer mont talk (J.H.B.); Not.i You moant do that;
Not.2 You mon't do that. s.Not. Yer moan't do that (J.P.K.).
Lin. Says that I moant 'a naw moor aale, Tennyson TV. Farmer^
Old Style (1864) st. i ; Lin.' I moant go. n.Lin. She moan't be
left wi' her-sen, Peacock Tales (1890) 2nd S. 26 ; n.Lin.i Moant,
mon't, mun't. You mun't be oot efter ten o'clock, mind that.
sw.Lin.i We moan't do at that how. Lei.i Moun't, 31. Nhp.^^
Maunt. War.2 Yo' mOnt open that gate ; War." You mont do
that. m.Wor. Mont, moant (J. C). s.Wor. Mont (H.K.). se.Wor.i'
Mawnt. s.Oxf. You maun't talk o' bein' in nobody's way, Rose-
mary Chilterns (1895) 173. Brks.^ A zes I maunt go to Vaair
athout I works awvertime vor a we-uk avoorhand. Suf. There,
Miss Mary, I marn't goo on all dar, only what I sar is, we han't
no mander of squat, FisoN Meriy Suf. (1899) 54. Sus. There's
a road going to Midhurst to right, but ye maun take he {R.B.).
Hmp.' We maunt let 'un bide more than a day.
3. May, can. See Mud, v."^
Lakel.2 Mun Ah ride t'gallawa oot ta-neet? w.Yks. Mun,
man is sometimes used to express may, can, as t5a man ))ir)k wot
ta laiks bed Sal e ta diut, you may think what you hke, but you
will have to do it. Mun Oa stop ? may mean either must they
stop? or may they stop? Wright Gram. Wndlill. (1892) 151.
Lan. Mun I cum in? Ackworth Clog Shop Chron. (1896") 23.
ne.Lan. As thaa said I mun hev it, I'll tak it, Mather Idylls
(1895) 320.
4. With 7teg. : may not.
War.24 Maunt, s.War.i Maunt. s.Wor. Monte or maunt,
PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 7. Brks. Maunt, mohnt (W.H.Y.).
5. Shall, will.
Wm. What I mean to give ye, gentlemen, mun be delivered in
hamely manner, Hutton Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 14. w.Yks.
Mun e read it the? Bywater Sheffield Dial. (,1877) 128; (J.W.)
Not. (J.H.B.)
[1. Gif thai assalje, we mon defend, Barbour Bruce
(1375) IX' 31- ON. mumt, 3 pr. pi. will, shall, see Vig-
FUssoN (s.v. munu). 3. pat \e. men of Medi man, be joure
leue, Lang all in cure lawe, Wars Alex. (c. 1450) 1681.]
MUN, sb." and v? Sh.I. [mBn.] 1. sb. A difference
in size or quantity. S. & Ork.' 2. v. To show a differ-
ence in size or number. ' It niwer muns,' ib.
[1. Norw. dial, mim, something which has significance
(Aasen) ; ON. 7nunr, the turn of the balance, the difference
(Vigfusson). 2. ON. muna, to make a difference.]
MUN, v.^ Yks. [mun.] A threatening expression
used by colliers, to ' skin.'
w.Yks. Keep off or I'll mun tha, Local Notes in Brighousc
News (1887).
MUN, /row. Som, Dev. Cor. Also in forms men Dev.^
Cor. ; min Dev.'' [man, min.] 1. Them.
nw.Som., n.Dev. Mun is the commonest form of 'them' in
North Devon, and the Exmoor district of Somerset, but it is never
emphasized. When emphasis is required, it is laid on the
preposition or verb. Tu mun, vraum mun, Sen mun, paun mun,
oa mun, wai mun, gee mun [to, from, in, on, of, with, give
them], Elworthy Gram. (1877) 37 ; The common objective pi.
There can be no doubt but that in the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries it came about that to 'hym,' representing both the
accusative singular and plural, the terminal inflection ' en ' was
added in the plural to mark the difference. Hence we have
'hymen' occurring in the poem oi Sir Ferumbras over a hundred
times. Subsequently the 'hy' was dropped and the modern 'men'
remained. This subject is treated at length in the Transactions
of the Devon Association, 1881, p. 324, et sq. Where dids' zee
mun? Take and car mun up in the tallet, ib. Wd. Bk. (1888).
Dev. Let mun go; to put mun in, Horae Subsecivae (1777) ; Never
mind the cows, I'll take a rad and draive mun in the howze,
T)AiiiEL Bride of Scio (1842) 176; Wan awmin [of them] drap'd
pin Jin Vaggis's gown, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett, (ed, 1865) 48;
I gi'd mun all they asked. 'Twas no good for mun to pretend.
Reports Provinc. (1881) 14; They'm a driving hard, sure enow;
and he home to the tails o' mun, Mem. Rev. J. Russell (1883) vi ;
Gie mun tii me, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.' Put mun in the
house ; Dev.^ Gee' min ta me. n.Dev. Tes wor twenty nobles a
year and a puss to put min in, Exm. Crtshp. (1746) I.418 ; Grose
(1790) Suppl. nw.Dev.' Cor. Dest a like men? J. Trenoodle
Spec. Dial. (1846) 28; I mind the first time I seed mun, 'Q.'
Wandering Heath (1895) 41.
2. Him, it.
Dev. Let min alone, Horae Subsecivae (1777) ; Ha let min zee
tha whit- witch vust, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (ed. 18581 ist S. 70;
Tha babby's a-valled intii tha plump-traw. 'What chell I dij way
min? Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 69; 'Twould sarve un right if I
telled the parson of mun, O'Neill Idyls (1892) 67 ; Drow mun in
again, Mr. M'Cuss ; 'tes but a moor-ged, Globe (Feb. 23, 1895)
1, col. 4. Cor. At last Jeames took'd up 'e's wheel and trundled
mun along, Pasmore Stories (1893) 7.
3. Any one.
Dev. Grose (1790) AfS. arfrf. (M.) ; Don't 'ee be zo quick to crow
over min agen, Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 163 ; Dev,^ Used at end
of sentence with no particular meaning, as ' don't know min.'
nw.Dev.'
MUN, MUNANDAY, see Man, sb.^, Monanday.
MUNCH, 56.' w.Som.^ Also in form munchy. [niBntJ.]
A short thick-set kind of pig.
Dhai muun-cheez oa'n diie-vuru poo'ur mae'un — lid'-n groa'uth
nuuf een um [Those munchies wont do for a poor man ; (there) is
not growth enough in them].
MUNCH, ui and 56.= Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Not. Lin. Nhp.
Shr. Hrf. Glo. Oxf Hnt. e.An. Som. [mun(t)J, mBn(t)J.]
1. V. To gnaw ; to masticate with difficulty as one wanting
teeth. Cf. manch.
Sc. She munches wi' her wizened gums, Outram Lyrics (1887)
30. n.Yks. A cow munches at a bone (I.W.). w.Yks. (J.W.)
s.Not. My teeth's so bad, a can on'y munch ma food (J.P.K.). Nhp.'
Glo. Baylis Illus. Dial. (1870). Oxf. (G.O.), Hnt. (T.P.F.)
2. To eat ; to eat ravenously.
Frf. Leeby was at the dresser munching it from a broth-plate,
Barrie Thrums (i88g) iv. Nhb. (W.G. ) Nhp.' It is not un-
common to tell children to ' munch their dinners up quick.' Shr.^,
c.An.i
Hence munching and eating, phr. the habit of eating at
any hour of the day instead of having fixed meals. n.Yks.
(I-W.)
3. To mumble ; to grumble. Rxb. (Jam.) 4. To steal
household provisions. Hrf.= 5. sb. Something to eat ;
a meal ; a lunch.
N.Cy.' Nhb. Wiv a' the stravagin aw wanted a munch, Midford
Coll. Sngs. (1818) 69; Nhb.' Som. Then at noon the pitchers,
rickmakers, and the freckled child who led the horse, sat out of
sight in the narrow shadow ... to eat their bit o' munch, Raymond
Tryphena (1895) 15.
MUNCH, vP- and sb."" Stf. War. 'Wor. [muntj.] 1. v.
To hurt by petty cruelties ; to ill-treat ; to punch.
s.Stf. Yo' con nuss the kitten, if yo'n a mind, but munch yeryo'
sha', Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). War. (J.R.W.) ; War.^;
War.3 It's a pity a lad should be munched like that, Evesham Jrn.
(May 2, 1896). w.Wor.' See that limb uv a b'y [boy], 'ow 'e
munches the poor cat ! s.Wor. You comes in 'ectoring and seems
to think yourself the Queen, and you munches and pinches ine
about (H.K.).
2. sb. A cruel person ; one who slyly hurts another.
War .2 She's a cruel munch to her children ; War.^ He is a
spiteful munch.
MUNCHIES, see Mongs.
MUNCHING, //./.arfy. Stf.' [mu'njin.] Idling: loafing
about, 'mouching.'
MUNCHY, see Munch, sb.^
MUND, sb. Sh.L An occasion, moment ; a spell of time.
We'r a' seen a attrie mund comin' oot o' da laek o' dis Spence
Flk-Lore (1899) 241.
MUND, see Maund, sb., Mun, sb.^
MUNDLE, sb. n.Cy. Chs. Stf. Der. Lei. ^Wor. Shr. and
Nfld. [mu-ndL] 1. A stick with a broad, flat piece of
wood at the end, used for various purposes of stirring; a
pudding-slice. See Mungle.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Chs. The masher used for mashing potatoes
(E.F.) ; Chs.' A round piece of wood, gen. made of ash, to stir
porridge or pigs' food with. s.Chs.' Used for stirring whey.
s.Stf. It's like gi'in a mon broth an then fetchin him a smack wi
the mundle, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Der. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (M.) ; Der.2, nw.Der.' Lei.' A wooden instrument like
MUNDLE
[205 J
MUNGY
a rammer, used in washing potatoes or other roots. w.Wor.i A
flat piece of wood used to stir up cream before it is churned. Every
one who enters the dairy is expected to stir the cream to l^eep out
the fairies. Shr.i The term is most often heard in the dairy, where
the mundle is in constant requisition for stirring the cream in the
deep ' steans ' in which it is gathered for the churn. A cream-
mundle is a flattish piece of wood sometimes divided at the lower
and broader end in such a way as to admit of the cream passing
through it ; Shr.^ [Nfld. For stirring meal when boiling for
porridge, Patterson.]
2. Comp. Mundle-dirt,_/?^. a dirty, clumsy woman.
Chs.' A woman like a mundle, which is often fouled with the
batter it stirs.
3. Phr. (i) have a little, give a little, let neighbour lick the
mundle, one must look after oneself first ; (2) /'// have a
lick 0' the mimdle if I burn my tongue, I will have my
pleasure even if I have to suffer for it ; (3) to lick the mundle,
to curry favour.
(i) Chs.i (2) Shr. The simile is derived from tasting hot jam
in course of making, Burne Flk-Lore (1883) 589. (3) Chs.i That's
th' lad as licked th' mundle.
[1. ON. mondull (qs. mundull), a handle (Vigfusson).]
MUNDLE, V. Chs. Shr. [mu-ndl.] To bungle ; to do
a thing awkwardly ; to be hampered or bothered in doing
a thing.
s.Chs.i Dhii mes'tur kiln gy'et ndo tahym fur nuwt ; dhis ky'-
aaz-urdli wedh'ur ky'ee"ps im mim-dlin i)dhii ee\ Mundle o'er a
job. Shr.i Dear 'eart alive ! 'ow yo' bin mundlin' o'er that bit ov
a job; 'ere, gie it me if yo' canna do it no better.
MUNE, see Moon.
MUNEY, adj. Midi, [miu-ni.] Of children: weak
and sickly from the time of their birth.
It wor awlis muney, N. Er O. (1887) 7th S. iv. 286.
MUNG, V. and sb. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Der. Not. Lei. Wor.
e.An. Also in form mong Not. [muq.] 1. v. To mix;
to knead dough. Cf. mungcorn, munge, v?
Wor. Grose (1790). Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nif. (1893) 17.
2. sb. A mixture of coarse meal with milk or pot liquor
for dogs, pigs, and poultry ; mixed food for horses ; barley-
meal, oatmeal, bran. See Mungcorn.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. arfrf. (P.) w.Yks.^ Der. 1 Oats ground,
husk and all together, for dogs. Not. (J.H.B.) Lei.' Mung and
horse-corn sold here. Wor. Grose (1790). e.An.^
3. A crowd of people ; a rabble. Chs. (K.), Chs.'^
MUNG, MUNGAR, see Munge, v.^, Munger, sb.
MUNGCORN, sb. n.Cy. Chs. Der. Lei. Wor. Shr. Hrf.
Wil. Som. Also in forms mong-corn Lei."^ w.Cy. ; monk-
Shr. Hrf. Wil. ; mun- n.Cy. Chs.i'^ Der.' Shr.i Hrf.'
w.Som.* [mu'q-, mB-q-.] 1. A mixture of different seeds
sown together so as to come up in one crop ; wheat
ground with rye or barley. Cf. mung.
n.Cy. (K.), (Hall.), Clis.'^s s.Chs.i Mahy fai-dhur ydost
mik's u pek li rahy wi threy peks ii weyiit ; fin wen yii took it tu)th
mil, yu)d tel um it wfiz miingk'urn, un dhen _dhai)d noa- aay
grahynd it. Der.', Lei.i Shr.i ; Shr.^ Oats and barley mixed.
Hrf. Morton Cydo. Agric. (1863); Rye, which with an equal
proportion of wheat constituted the bread corn used in religious
houses before their suppression, is now sown but sparingly, but
grain thus mixed in flour during a time of scarcity still retains the
name of monk-corn, Marshall Review (i8i8) II. 324. w.Cy. ib.
334. Wil. (K.), w.Som.i
.2. Comp. (i) Mungcorn-bread, bread made of wheat and
rye mixed ; (2) -crop, a mixture of different seeds in one
crop ; (3) -team, a team of horses and oxen mixed.
(i) Wor. Grose (1790). Shr.^ Muncorn bread's very sweet an'
good, but theer's nuthin'hke a bit o' good w'eaten flour. (2, 3) Hrf.i
[1. Mong corne, mixtilio, Prompt. 2 (i). Mene mong-
corn bred, P. PL Crede (c. 1394) 786.]
MUNGE, v.i and sb.'^ Sc. Irel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Fit. War.
Shr. Glo. Bdf. e.An. Wil. Dev. Cor. Also in form nioonge
e.Yks.^ [mung, m^ng.] 1. v. To munch, chew ; to
masticate with difficulty as one without teeth ; to eat ; to
eat greedily and by stealth. Cf maunge, v}
Cld. (Jam., s.v. Maunge). Ant. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.)
e.Yks.^, m.Yks.i w.Yks. Eit thy meit reit ; doan't munge it i' that
waah, Banks WliJId. Wds. (7865) ; w.Yks.i, Lan.i, n.Lan.i s.Chs.i
Oo maan-ijiz tu miinzh u bit u rahys-piidin. War.^ Shr.' That
girld's al'ays mungin', 'cr never gwuz i' the buttery athout 'elpin'
'erself — 'er met never get a meal's-mate, an' look at 'er munge,
munge, mungin'; Shr.^ (s.v. Munch). Glo.', Bdf. (J.W.B.), e.An.*,
Wil. (K.), Dev.3, nw.Dev.i, Cor.'^
2. sb. The mouth. Fit. (T.K.J.), e.An.'
MUNGE, j;.2 and s6.= Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. ?Lon. Also
in forms moonge e.Lth. Nhb.' Cum.'* [mung, msng.]
1. V. To moan, bellow ; to grumble in low, indistinct
tones; also in co;«6. Munge-munge. Cf. mounge, mumge.
Ayr. I'm sure wi' care I do ye keep, Baith frae the caul', the
win' an' weet, An' yet I hear ye munging, Fisher Poems (1790)
114. e.Lth. She moonges, she mummies, she grumphs and she
grummles. An' orders me roond wi' a tongue like a knife. Lumsden
Sheep-head (zSgs) S06. Slk. What are ye mungin at? Hogg 7a/cs
(1838) 2, ed. 1866. Nhb.i Jack's bad to please ; he's elwis gan
moongin aboot. Ye manna mind wor wife ; she's aye moonge-
moongin on aboot nowt. Cum. Gowks that grummel At weasten
teyme, an' munge an' mummel, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1805) 139 ;
Cum.l Munjan and creunan like a bull in a pet ; Cum.*, m.Yks.'
!Lon. I sold small articles of Tunbridge ware, perfumery, &c., and
by ' munging' over them — sometimes in Latin — got a better living
than I expected, Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) I. 247.
Hence Mungy, adj. of a grumbling disposition ; petted.
Cum.*
2. To mention, betray a secret.
Cld. Don't you munge (Jam.).
3. sb. The bellowing of cattle ; a complaint ; a moan.
Nhb.' 'Aa've sitten here wivoot ivver a moonge.' It is especially
applied to the low grunt of cattle. Cum. Gl. (1851).
MUNGE, v.^ and sb.^ Chs. Shr. Cor. [mung, mBng.]
1. V. To mix ; to knead dough. Cf. mung.
s.Chs.' Gy'et it on li pai'pur, ijn miinzh it au' up tugy'edh'ur
[Get it on a paper, an' munge it aw up together] — of mixing coff'ee
with chicory. Shr.l Cor.' Munge your dough well.
2. sb. A porridge-slice ; a piece of wood used to stir
porridge. Chs.^ Cf. mungle.
MUNGE, t;.* Cor. [mBng.] To maul; to pummel.
Cor.' He did not strike me; he munged me upon my side with
his knee when I was on the ground ; Cor.^
MUNGEL, V. Lei. War. [m^-ngl.] To murmur. See
Munge, v.'^
Lei.' A's ollus mungelin' an' groomblin'. War.^
MUNGELLING, />;>/. a(^'.' War.^ Dark,obscure,tortuous.
Amungelling | mun-jel-in] cellar wheeryo' can't feel and can't find.
MUNGELLING,/!//. «rf/.2 War.^ [mB-r)l-in.] Bungling.
MUNGER, sb. Cor.'^^ Also written mungar Cor.'-'^
[m'B-r)3(r).] A horse-collar made of twisted straw.
MUNGER, z/.' n.Cy. Lan. Der. Wor. Shr. Hrf. Also
written munjer Hrf [mun(d)g3(r, mB-n(d)g3(r).] To
mutter to oneself; to grumble; to speak indistinctly.
See Munge, v.^
n.Cy. (Hall.), Lan. (K.) Der.' Obs. nw.Der.', s.Wor.' Shr.
Grose (1790); Shr.' Wy dunnayo' say whad yo'han to say? — an'
nod munger about the 'ouse athatn, like a 'umbly-bee in a churn. Hrf.^
MUNGER, v.^ Chs. [mu-n53(r).] 1. To do a thing
awkwardly ; to work aimlessly and without result ; to
act in a stupid, perplexed manner.
Chs.' What art mungerin at it a that'ns for, astead o' doin it
properly? Chs.^ s.Chs.' Wot ii yii dcioin dhdeiar miin-zhiirin ?
2. To confuse, perplex.
s.Chs.' Ahy)m dhaaf miin'zhiird, ahy sky'ai's noa' wedh'iir
ahy)m ston'din iipii mi yed iir mi eylz.
MUNGEY, see Mungy.
MUNGLE, sb. Chs.' [mu'gfg)!.] A round piece of
wood, gen. of ash, used to stir porridge or pigs' food. Cf.
mundle, sb.
MUNGO, sb. Yks. [mu-r)go.] Old woollen material
and rags, opened out by a machine, called a 'garnet,' for
the purpose of being manufactured into cloth.
w.Yks. The manufacture of ' mungo ' was introduced into the
Dewsbury district about the year 1813. It is the produce of worn-
out broad or similar cloths of fine quality, as also of the shreds and
cUppings of cloth, iV.erO. (1867) 3rd S.xii. 431; w.Yks.^ [Mungo,
waste wool and fragments used for inferior cloth (Weale).]
MUNGY, adj. Lakel. Nhp. Bdf Ess. w.Cy. Cor. Also
written mongy Ess. ; mungey Nhp.' [mu'iji, m'B-q(g)i.]
1. Of the weather : warm, damp.
Lakel.2 Wm. It's a cloose mungi neet (B.K.). Nbp.' The meat
won't keep well, we have such mungey weather. Edf. The day
MUNI(E
[206]
MURCHY
was so mungy that I sweat welly a pail-ful. We cannot make
lace when our hands are mungy (J.W.B.) ; Batchelor Anal. Eng.
Lang. (1809) 138. Ess. Foggy, Monthly Mag. (1815) I. 125.
w.Cy. (Hall.)
2. Of fruit: soft, over-ripe.
w.Cor. I coud'n eat the strawberries, they looked so mungy
(M.A.C.).
MUNI(E, sb. Sh.I. Also in forms mbnie, mony.
[nice'ni, mii'ni.] Tiie spinal marrow or cord.
Day tak' a narrow sharp shiss'l, an' set him i' da hole o' da
koo's neck, behint her head, . . an' wi' a straik apo' da heft wi' da
loff dey send him doon an' cut da mOny an' da koo fa's, Sh. News
(Nov. 4, iSgg) ; Dat's da mCnie 'at ye're cut noo. . . I ken be da
mirrin' 'at's i' da yow's legs, ib. (Jan. 13, 1900); Jakobsen Norsk
in Sh. (1897J 124; (A.W.G.); S. & Ork.i
[ON. mcena, the spinal marrow (Vigfusson).]
MUNJER, see Munger, v}
MUNK, V. Sc. [mBijk.] 1. To diminish ; to bring
anything below the proper size. Cld. (Jam.) 2. To cut
the hair of the head very short. Cai.^
[1. Cp. Norw. dial, minka, to make less (Aasen) ; ON.
minnka (Vigfusson).]
MUNKER, sb. Obsol. Shr.i Mixed corn ; wheat and
rye grown together as one crop for grinding into bread-
meal. See Mungcorn.
It is said that the old practice of sowing wheat and rye together
. . . arose, primarily, from a doubt whether the land would produce
a good crop of wheat, therefore the rye — which was not so likely
to fail — was sown also.
MUNKIE, sb. Rnf. (Jam.) A short rope with a loop
at one end for receiving a piece of wood lastened to the
other, used for fastening up cattle in a cow-house.
MUNKS, sb. Sc. [m^rjks.] A halter for a horse.
Fif. (Jam.) e.Fif. Had my faither been content to trust to
Bawsie's sagacity, her natural instinct would probably hae led her
to her ain stable ; . . but rizzen or nane, he held gaun ruggin' an'
rivin' at the munks, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) ii.
MUNLJEPPIN, ppl. adj. Sh.I. Sulking ; lit. making a
big mouth or lip.
He was unccn munljeppin i' de mornin, JakobsenZ^m/. (1897)39.
MUN(N, sb. Obs. Sc. Also in form ? munsie. 1. A
short-handled spoon.
Sc. * Sup with your head, the horner is dead, he's dead that made
the munns.' Spoken to a child when he calls for a spoon for any
liquid thing, advising him rather to take it out of the pipkin with
his mouth, Kelly Prov. (1721) 295; Sup wi' your head, your
horner is dead ; he's dead that made the munsie, Henderson
Prov. (1832) 137. Gall. Each person of the family had a short
hafted spoon, which they called a munn, with which they supped,
and carried it in their pocket, or hung it by their side, Statist. Ace.
IX. 326 (Jam.). Kcb. Donald, tir'd wi' lang-kail in a mun At 's
ain fire side, Davidson Seasons (1789) 12.
2. A small and trifling article. Cld. (Jam.)
MUNN(E, MUNNONDAY, MUNNYFADS, see Mun,
sb.^, Monanday, Manifold(s.
MUNSE, i". and s6. m.Yks.^ [munz.] 1. i;. To tease ;
to ' chaif.' 2. sb. Teasing talk, ' chaff.'
MUNSHETS, sb. w.Yks.^ Also written munshits.
[mu'njits.] A boys' game ; see below.
It is played by two boys in the following manner : — One of the
boys remains 'at home' and the other goes out to a prescribed
distance. The boy who remains ' at home ' makes a small hole in
the ground, and holds in his hand a stick about three feet long to
strike with. The boy who is out at field throws a stick in the
direction of this hole, at which the other strikes. If he hits it he
has to run to a prescribed mark and back to the hole without being
caught or touched with the smaller stick by his playfellow. If he
is caught he is 'out' and has to go to field. And if the boy at
field can throw his stick so near to the hole as to be within the
length or measure of that stick, the boy at home has to go out to
field. A number of boys often play together ; for any even
number can play. . . In principle [the game] resembles cricket,
and looks like the rude beginning of that game.
MUNSHOCK, sb. Per. (Jam.) The red bilberry, Viiis
Idaea. See Monnocs, Moonog.
MUNSIE, sb. Sc. [mB-nsi.] 1. A person made a
spectacle by ill-treatment ; a contemptible figure.
Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.i He ga' 'im a gueede lickin', an' sic a munsie's
he wiz. Abd. He was an awfu' munsie that nicht, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) xxxiii ; A person of strange appearance is
described as ' a bonnie munsie ' (G.W. ) ; Your braw new bonnet's
dung a' ajee. Eh losh ! it's an awfu' munsie, Abd. IVkly. Free
Press (Dec. i, igoo).
2. Phr. (i) to make a munsie of a person, to punish him
soundly ; to render him contemptible ; (2) — of a thing,
to spoil it.
(ij Bnff.i They ga' 'im drink, an' made a munsie o' 'im. Abd.
I'll make a gey munsie o' ye {G.'^.'). (2) Abd. (G.W.)
3. The knave in a pack of cards. Bnff.', Abd. (G.W.)
MUNSIE, MUNSWEAR, see Mun(n, Manswear.
MUNT, s6. tObs. Stf. Shr. An inferior kind of fire-
clay. N. 6- Q. (1851) ist S. iii. 413.
MUNT, V. Sc. [mBnt.] To go off, depart. Cf.
muntle, v.
Frf. Aaron flung open the door. 'Munt!' he said, and he
looked so dangerous that she retired at once, Barrie Tommy
(1896) xiii ; She had no business to munt without my leave, ib. xxvi.
MUNT, see Mint, v., Mount, sb.
MUNTIN(G, see Munton.
MUNTLE, sb. Wor. Shr. Glo. Also written muntel.
[mB-ntl.] A Severn salmon-fishing term : one of the
lines attached to the net ; see below.
Glo.i The debut line is the name of the first line thrown out of
the boat to a man on the bank, as the boat is pulled across the
river, casting out the net all the way. When the boat reaches
the opposite bank, the line attached to the other end of the net is
thrown from the boat to a man on the top of the bank called a
muntleman, this line being called the muntle.
Hence Muntleman, sb, the man to whom the ' muntle'
is thrown.
Wor., Shr., Glo. N. &' Q. (1879) 5th S. xi. 126; Glo.i The
muntleman drags the net till he comes to the landing-place or
float ; he then throws the line into the river, and the next line the
belche is used immediately to pull the net over to the place of
landing, and by this process shuts up the mouth of the net, and
encloses any fish swimming within the bag of the net as it floats
down stream.
MUNTLE, V. Hrf.2 [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] To wander. See Munt, v.
Where are going muntling off to ?
MUNTLING, see Mantling.
MUNTON, sb. Yks. Nhp. Lei. Ken. Som. Also in
forms muntin Nhp.^ Lei.'; munting w.Yks.^ w.Som.'
[mu'ntan, -in, mB-ntin.] The muUion of a window ; an
upright bar in joine^J^
w.Yks. The middle upright bar in the framework of a door
(J.J.B.); w.Yks.2, Nhp.l, Lei.', Ken.i w.Som.i Frequently applied
to the upright wooden divisions of the hghts in an ordinary cottage
window. ' There must be a new frame altogether, the muntins be
proper a-ratte'd.'
[ Fr. montant, an upright beam or post in building(CoTGR.).l
MUNUNDAY, see Monanday.
MUNZ-WATCHER, s6. Yks. See below.
n.Yks. One of those sneaks who make a practice of watching the
movements, &c., of sweethearts on their nightly walks, and if any
impropriety is witnessed, demanding ' hush money ' to keep the
matter secret (T.S.).
MUOPE, see Mawp, sb.^
MUPPED,//. Nhp.i Crowded, inconvenienced from
want of room.
I'm very glad you've moved. Ma'am ; you must have been quite
mupped up in that there other house.
MUR, sb. Dev. Cor. [ma(r).] A mouse ; a dormouse.
Dev.(HALL.) Cor. 1 They are sleeping like two little murs; Cor.^
MUR, MURBLED, see Murre, Murmled.
MURCHY, sb. Dev. Cor. Also written merchie Dev.'' ;
mirchy Dev.' ; murtchy Dev. [mg-tji.] 1. Mischief.
Dev. Thickee young hoseburd ova squire is up tQ a burned sight
more murchy than 'isvather wuz, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; What
murtchy tha tode ev made thare, Hare Brither Jan (1863) 23, ed.
1887 ; Dev.'; Dev.2 What merchie is that boy up to? Cor. Ah,
you was a murchy makin' young rascal, you was ! Pasmore
Stories (1893) 3 ; Cor.3 What murchy are you up to now!
Hence Mirchivus, adj. mischievous.
Dev.i ' I don't think they have their peer.' ' Mall hath'n, I'm,
zure, for a mirchivus hizzy,' 7.
MURDER
[207]
MURGEON
2. A name given to the devil. See Mischief, 4.
Dev. The Old Murchy take you, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 300.
MURDER, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Oxf. Sur. Also in form
murther Sc. n.Ir. [maTdar, maTcSsr, m5"d3(r).] 1. sb.
In phr. (i) like blue murder, in deadly earnest, absolutely ;
(2) to play murder come up with, to make havoc of, to play
the deuce with.
(i) Sh.I. I'll be blide ta hear ony thing ye're pleased ta say ta me,
an' I'll keep it like blue murder till da time ye tell me ta speak o'
it, Stewart Tales (1892) 8. (2) Oxf. When they childer gets in
they plays murder-come-up wi' un (J.Ar.).
2. V. To kill by accident.
Fif. It was wonder-luck, That wi' the smashery o' stane, Man,
wife, nor bairnie, there was nane Murder't, or maimit, Tennant
Papistry (1827) 222.
3. To harass, trouble, distress.
Elg. I'm murthered, ye ken, drinkin' caul' water noo, Tester
Poems (1865) 145. n.Ir. The ghost. . . murthered them clean wi'
the fright, Lays and Leg. (1884) 7.
4. With away : to die by slow degrees.
Sur.^ A cottager, speaking to me of the bad honey season, said,
' I took two of the hives right off, 'cos they shouldn't murder away
and die.'
MURDERER, sb. Or.I. An instrument used in
catching fish.
There is a method of catching deep sea fish ... by means of an
instrument called a ' murderer,'. . consisting of a long bar of lead
measuring about eighteen inches, with numerous hooks attached,
and suspended at the end of a long strong line. This instrument
is towed at the stern of the fishing boat, and by its means many a
large cod bids farewell to the Pentland Firth, Fergusson Rambles
(1884) 137.
MURDERFUL, adj. n.Yks.=^ m.Yks.^ Vengeful,
murderous.
MURDERING, /*/. adj. and adv. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Nhp.
Wor. 1. ppl. adj. In comp. Murdering-pie, the great
grey shrike or butcher-bird, Lanius excubitor.
N.Cy.», Nhb.i, Nhp.i w.Wor. Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 3, 1888).
[SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 47 ; Forster Swallows (ed. 1817) 68.]
2. adv. Extremely ; very.
Lns. I was up, you see, murdering late last night, Croker Leg.
(1862) 242.
MURDIEGRUPS, see Mullygrubs.
MURE, sb.^ Obs. N.Cy.= The husks or chaff of fruit
from which the juice has been pressed. Cf. murk, sb.'^
[EFris. mtir, mur, ' schlamm, dreck, moder, &c.' (Kool-
man) ; LG. mur, muur, murre, ' der schlamm, schlick,
moder' (Berghaus).]
MURE, s6.* Obsol. Dev. A barrel-stand, a 'jib.'
A Bideford tradesman, aged 55, informs me that his father always
used this word. I find it in a valuation made in 1836, Reports
Provinc. (1895).
MURE,!;. Sc. Yks. Cor. [miu'3(r.] To confine, as within
prison- walls ; to stifle, jam up, to thrust against a wall ;
to squeeze.
Sc.(A.W.), n.Yks.'^ Cor. Then mur'd my side, J. Trenoodle
Spec. Dial. (1846) 24 ; Cor.^ He mured meupagen the wall ; Cor.^
[Fr. murer, to inclose, or shut up between two walls
(COTGR.).]
MURE, adj. e.An. Also in forms mew Nrf. e.Suf. ;
mewee Suf ' ; muir e.An.^ Nrf. Suf. [miu-a(r).]
1. Modest, demure ; meek, soft. e.An. (Hall.), Suf.'
2. Comp. (i) Mure-heart, (2) -hearted, soft-hearted, sensi-
tive, easily moved ; timid ; faint-hearted ; (3) -mouthed,
using soft words.
(i) e.An.i (2) e.An.l Nrf. I recollect when I was drawn for
the Militia in 1820, and sent to Yarmouth, how mure-hearted the
other men was, Co?-«A. iWa^. (June 1900)816 ; (G.E.D.) ; Cozens-
Hardy 5roflrf iV;/. (1893) 99. Suf. Grose (1790). e.Suf. (F.H.)
(3) e.An.i
[1. Fr. meur, ripe, mature, mellow ; also, discreet, con-
siderate, advised, setled, stayed (Cotgr.).]
MURE, see Moor, sb}
MURELY, adv. Obsol. Cor. Nearly, almost.
I war murely ready to dance where I stood, J. Trenoodle Spec.
Dial. 29; O'DoNOGHUE St. Knighton's (1864) Gl. ; Cor.'^
MURENGER,s6. Obs. Chs. Shr. An officer appointed
to keep the walls of a city in repair.
Chs. The name given to two officers in the city of Chester,
chosen every year out of the chief aldermen, to see that the city-
walls were kept in good repair, Phillips (1706); On the western
side of the Watergate — ' In theXXIXyear of the reign of Geo. III.
. . this gate was erected. — Thomas Cotgreave, Edward Burrowes,
Esquires, Murengers.' And on the Bridgegate — ' This gate was
begun April mdcclxxxii. — Pattison EUames, Mayor, . . Thomas
Cotgreave, Esq., Henry Hesketh, Esq., Murengers,' N. 6" Q.
(1872) 4th S. ix. 540 ; Chs.123 Shr. A nominal appointment to
the ofSce of Murenger still takes place annually at Oswestry, though
the active duties of the ofBce have long ceased, Municip. Report
(1835) 2827 (CD.).
[The older form was Murager : The charter of Henry
VII provides that the mayor and citizens of Chester 'may
yearly choose from among the citizens of the aforesaid city
two citizens, called Muragers, Municip. Report (1835) 2622.
Murager is a der. of OFr. murage, ' impot leve pour la
reparation des murs d'une ville ' (La Curne).]
MURFEY, see Murphy, sb.^
MURFLE,s6. Dev. Cor. Also in form? muffle Dev.'^
Cor.^ [me'fl.] A freckle ; gen. in pi.
Dev. 'E ant w'at I call perticklerly goodlookin', 'cos he've got
murfles 'pon 'is vace, Stooke Not Exactly, i ; (E.A.P.) ; Horae
Subsecivae {jll']) 300. Cor. Her face was full of murfles, Thomas
Randigal Rhymes (1895) 25 ; Cor.'^^s
Hence (i) Murfled, (2) Murfly, adj. freckled.
(i) Dev. 2 Did you notice how muffied that man's face was?
Cor.i2 (2) Cor.2
[Prob. conn, with lit. E. morphew. Morphew, bran de
Judas (i.e. freckles) (Sherwood).]
MURG, see Marg.
MURGEON, sb.^ Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Also written
mergin s.Chs.'; morgan n.Lan.'; murgin Chs.^^ [ma'dgin.]
1. Obs. A wet bog, a quagmire. Chs. (K.), Chs.'^
2. Obs. Earth thrown aside in digging peats.
Wm. A noise struck my ear.like the crumpling of frostymurgeon,
HuTioN Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 333. w.Yks. Hutton Tour to
Caves (1781). ne.Lan.i
3. Mud, dirt ; gen. applied to the roads.
n.Lan.' T'rwoads er o' in a morgen.
4. Comp. Mergin-hole, a hole into which sewerage is
drained. s.Chs.'
[1. Many fetch moore-earth or murgion from the river
betweene Colebrooke and Uxbridge, and carry it to their
barren grounds in Buckinghamshire, Harfordshire, and
Middlesex, eight or ten miles off, Norden Surveiors Dial.
(1610) (Nares).]
MURGEON, sb.^ and v. Sc. [maTdgan.] 1. sb. pi.
Grimaces, wry mouths ; violent gestures or twistings of
the body. Cf. mudgeons.
Sc. Folk are no obliged to girn and laugh and mak murgeons and
wish joy to these hellicat quality, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819)
xxxiv ; Neither shall Cuddie Headrigg, . . at least wi' his auld
mither's consent, make murgeons or jennyflections, ib. Old Mor-
tality (1816) vii ; He keeps a curn o' quainies, and gars them mak
murgeons, Ramsay Remin. (ed. 1872) 122. Slk. Making a' thae
fine murgeons to throw glamour in your e'en, Hogg Tales (1838)
362, ed. 1866 ; (Jam.)
2. Comp. Murgeon-maker, one who indulges in postur-
ings, exaggerated gestures, &c.
Sc. Doun cam masons and murgeon-makers, and preachers and
player-folk, Scott St. Ronan (1824) ii.
3. pi. Murmurs, grumblings.
Ayr. Whiles wringin his hands, and whiles makin' murgeons as
if he was speakin', Galt Lairds (1826) xxx. Lnk. By rude un-
hallow'd fallows. They were surrounded to the gallows, Making
sad ruefu' murgeons, Ramsay Poems (ed. 1800) II. 361 (Jam.).
Rxb. Meg wast the gate [west the way] wi murgeons prim, Quo'
she, that straught an' tall is, A. Scott Poems (ed. 1808) 120.
4. V. To make faces ; to mock ; to mimic.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Fif. The furious folk n' Fife
At Paip and idol in their strife Were murgeonin' and mockin',
Tennant Papistry (1827) 15. Ayr. When he was hung up i' the
woody, Instead o' mournin', I raurgeoned him, Sillar Poems
(1789) 109.
MURGIS
[208]
MUR(R
5. To murmur, grumble, complain ; to utter in a low,
murmuring voice.
Sc. (Jam.) s.Sc. How he . . . murgeoned his Cameronian aiths,
Wilson Tales (1836) III. 304.
[1. With mud3ons and murgeons, Montgomerie Flyting
(ed. 1629) 495.]
MURGIS, sh. Or.I. [msTgis.] A disturbance,
noise, fuss.
Sic a wark, an' sic a murgis, thoo never saw a' thee born da3'S,
Fergusson Rambles (1884) 185.
MURGLING, adj. Der.^ nw.Der.^ [mi-glin.] Miserly.
MURGULLY, see MarguUie.
MURGY, sb. Shr.* [ma'gi.] A contemptuous term
for a miner or collier.
MURGY, MURID, see Morgyfe, Moorit.
MURK,s6.i Nhp.^ [mgk.] A secret hoard of money.
Hence Murking, ppl. adj. saving, penurious, miserly.
MURK, s6.= Obs. Hrt. The husks or chaff of fruit
from which the juice has been pressed. See Mure, sb}
The lees or murk of the pressing walnuts, Ellis Mod. Hush.
(1750) VII. ii. 124. [Bailey (1721).]
MURK, MURKIE, see Mirk, Mirky.
MURKIN, adj. Sh.I. Also written murken S. & Ork.^
[msTkin.] Mouldy, musty, spoilt by keeping; gen.
applied to grain. (Coll. L.L.B.), S. & Ork.^ Cf morkin.
_ [Sw. murken, mouldered, rotten (Widegren) ; Norw.
dial, morken, mouldered, somewhat rotten (Aasen).]
MURL, v.^ and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Also written murle Bnff^ Abd. ; murrle Cum. (Hall.);
and in forms merl(e s.Wm. Yks. w.Yks.^; mirl Sc. Lakel.^
w.Yks. [mgrl, mal.] 1. v. To crumble, reduce to
powder ; to crumble or moulder away ; also used^?^.
Sc. Ne'er a throuch-stane marks out whare they're murling wi'
their mither clay, Edb. Mag. (Apr. 1821) 352 (Jam.); Mirl it a'
doun to wee crumbs, Hunter /. Armiger (1897) ii. Abd. I dinna
like the verse 'at ye can murle oot atween yer lips an' yer teeth,
Macdonald Malcolm (1875) I. 185. Per. The pyramids . . . They're
either murlin'doun to meal Or fog-enwrappit, Halibhrton Horace
(1886) 45. n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy .12^ Dur.i s.Dur. It was
that soft a' could murl't up i' my fingers (J. E.D.). Lakel.^ Cum.
T'oald chap murled off a crumb, Whitehaven News, Sauce for Goose;
Cum.'"*, s.Wm. (J.A. B.) Yks. This V-tool's too quick ; if you tried
to sharp it the stone would all merle away (F.P.T.). n.Yks.i234
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). m.Yks.i, w.Yks. (S.P.U.),
■w.Yks.15, ne.Lan.i
Hence (i) Murling, (a) ppl. adj. crumbling, mouldering ;
(b) sb. a crumb, fragment ; {2) Murlock or Murlick, sb., see
(i, b) ; (3) Murly, (a) adj. friable, crumbly, soft, decayed ;
(6) sb. a crumb, fragment ; any small object ; a fondhng
term for an infant ; (4) Murly-fikes, sb. an infant.
(i, a) Fif. Frae 'neath the burial-stanes. He disinterr'd their
murlin' banes, Tennant Papistry (1827) 76. {b) Bnflf., w.Sc. (Jam.)
N.Cy.i, Cum." (2) Bnif.i Abd. She'll just fling't awa' in murlocks,
Macdonald Alec Forbes (ed. 1876) 408. w.Sc. (Jam.) (3, a) Bnff.i,
w.Sc. (Jam.) Cum.i As murly as a short ceakk. w.Yks. Mother
wants some mirly cheese, not whangley (H.L.); Hlfx. Courier{May
29, 1897). (A) Ags. (Jam.) (4) ib.
2. To eat slowly and in small quantities.
Bnff.i She's eye murlin' at something fin she's comin' oot n'
the toon.
Hence Murlin, ppl. adj. eating in a slow, quiet manner ;
dainty, fastidious in eating.
She's a murlin', pootchin' bodie, ib.
3. To burn slowly, smoulder. w.Yks.^ 4. To muse,
to think with great attention. Cum. (Hall.), Cum.^
5. sb. A crumb, fragment ; fine dust or powder ; dry,
fine mould.
Bnff.i Per. The chackit daidle, or bit brattie ... Is smear'd wi'
murls o' mony a tattie, Stewart Character {iS^i) 65. w.Sc. (J am.)
Lakel.2 Smo peat at t'boddum at t'stack. n.Yks.*, m.Yks.^
6. The act of eating in a quiet, slow manner. Bnfif.^
MURL, t;.'^ Yks. [mal.] A term in marbles : to steal,
pilfer.
w.Yks. I have never heard the expression excepting with boys
when playing marbles, then it is common ; when playing at
'chuck' (throwing marbles for odd or even into a hole in the
ground) the lads speak of the last throw up in such a game as
' grubs.' At the ' grubs ' it used to be common for boj'S watching
the game to ' murl ' as many marbles as each could grab of this last
throw up {JE.B.).
Hence Murlin, vbl. sb. the act of stealing or pilfering.
w.Yks. Ther'smurlin'sup at t'grubs (jE. B.) ; Ther's noa murlin's
at t'dubs, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June 22, 1895).
MURLAIN, see Murlin, sb}
MURLDER, sb. m.Yks.' Fine powder or mould ;
a crumb.
MURLE, V. ? Obs. To murmur or ' croodle ' as an
infant ; to hum a tune ; to talk to oneself in a low tone.
Ayr. (Jam.)
Hence (i) Murling, sb. a soft murmur or hum, a gentle
noise. Ags. {ib.) ; (2) Murrlin, sb. a very froward child,
ever whining and ill-natured. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824).
[Fr. murler, to low, to bellow (Cotgr.).]
MURLIN, sb} Sc. Also written murlain. [ma-rlin.]
A round, narrow-mouthed basket.
Sc. Lightsome be her heart that bears The murlain and the
creel, Jamieson Pop. Ballads (.1806) II. 354. Abd. Hazel wands
for making creels and murlins, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 210.
Frf. When ance wi' murlin by myzide Down to the zands I gaed,
Beattie Ketty Pert (c. 1820).
MURLIN, sb?- Irel. [maTlin.] The badderlocks or
hen-ware, Alaria esculenta. Ant. (B. & H.)
MURLING, sb. Sc. Also in form morthling. The
skin of a young lamb or of a sheep soon after it has been
shorn. Gl. Sibb. (1802) (Jam.).
MURLOCH, sb. Sc. 1. The young dog-fish, Squalus
acanthias.
Arg. There is a very delicate fish that ma}' be had through the
whole year, called by the country people murloch. It is very long
in proportion to its thickness and in shape resembles the dog-fish ;
it is covered with a very rough skin like shagreen, of which it
must be stripped, Statist. Ace. XII. 322 (Jam.).
2. The smooth-hound, Mustellus laevis. e.Sc. Neill
Fishes (1810) 24 iib.).
MURLYGRUB(S, see Mullygrubs.
MURMELL, V. 1 Obs. Cld. (Jam.) To murmur, to
' croodle ' like an infant.
[And, for till saif us fra murmell, Schone Diligence
fetch us Gude Counsell, Lyndesay S. P. R. 11. 223 (Jam. J.
G. murmeln, to murmur.]
MURMET, see Mommet.
MURMLED, ppl. adj. Sc. Also in form murbled.
[Not known to our correspondents.] Lamed, halting.
s.Sc, Ltti. A man or beast is said to be murmled about the feet,
when going lame (Jam.).
MURMURATION, sb. Sc. Also written murmurashen
Sh.I. Murmuring.
Sh.I. Afore we laanded we could hear da murmurashen o' da
wives apo' da broo n' da banks, Sh. News (Apr. 23, 1898). Abd.
Great murmurations and rumours of warres shall indeed be heard
of, TuRREFF Gleanings (1859) 72.
MURN(E, see Mourn.
MURNE, V. Yks. [Not known to our other corre-
spondents.] To split up and crumble. See Murl, v}
There's soom brown oak, it's se rotten, it regular murnes away
(F.P.T.).
MURPHY, sb} In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc. Irel.
Eng. Col. and Amer. Also written murfey War.'^ se. Won'
Oxf.' [maTfi, ma'fi.] A potato.
Rnf. Our lack o' murphies an' pease-meal, Finlayson Rhymes
(1815)39. Lnk. (Jam.),N.I.i w.Yks. Banks frAy?rf. fJ^rfs. (1865) ;
(S.K.C.) Lan. It doesn't follow that because a chap has a taste
for murphies, Staton B. Shuttle Bowtun, 13. Lin.', War.^s^
se.Wor.', Oxf.i MS. add., Cor.^ Slang. Lex Balatronicum (1811) ;
Farmer. [Col., Amer. Common in New England, New "STork,
and Canada, Bartlett.]
[So called from the Irish surname ' Murphy.']
MURPHY, s6.2 Sc. [ma-rfi.] Morphia.
w.Sc. Ye got quat o' the preminitory symptoms wi' strong brandy
an' murphy, Macdonald Settlement (i86g) 21, ed. 1877.
MUR(R,s6.^ Sh.&Or.I. [mar.] L Anything small ;
fine rain ; a little child.
Sh.I. A' da idder sma' mur wis standin' aboot him, Burgess
Sketches (2nd ed.) 75. Or.I. (S.A.S.), S. & Ork.i
MUR(R
[209 J
MUSEY
2. Phr. a lock ofmurr, see below. Cf. mb.
Sh.I. ' A lockof murr,' applied to small things (potatoes, 'sillocks')
originally : smallparticles, dust particles, Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 47.
MUR(R, V. Sc. [mar.] To purr, to make a low, mur-
muring sound. Cf. marr.
Sc. Applied also to infants (Jam.). Cai.i Abd. Ay, mur an'
pur, my pretty puss, Ogg Willie Waly (1873) 38. Frf. Ower the
fire he murrin' sat. Or streekit lay. Ye never saw a statelier cat,
Smart Rhymes (1834) 126. Slk. Like baudrons murring i' the
bed at e'en, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 96.
MURR, sb. Obs. Dor. A severe cold in the head.
Haynes Voc. (c. 1730), in N. &" Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 45.
[Ye murre, grauedo, Levins Manip. {1570).]
MURR, see Moor, sb}
MURRAIN, sb} and v. Sc._Nhp. Wor. Hrf. Pern.
Also written murrin Pem. [maren.] 1. 56. A nuisance,
a ' plague ' ; freq. used in imprecations and execrations.
Edb. We are beaten, and weel beaten too — a murrain tak'them,
Beatty Secretar (1897) 402. Nhp.i What the murrain ails the
thing? s.Pem. Ben got to pay £2 and costs, that's a murrin' to 'n
(W.M.M.).
Hence Murrainous, adj. horrible, detestable, filthy.
Hrf.2 It is a murrainous smell, 42.
2. V. To cause a pestilence to, to bring disease upon.
Wor. The mud in the lane is enough to murrain us (H.K.).
[1. A murrain on't ! I took this for silver ! Shaks.
Cor. I. v. 3.]
MURRAIN, s6.2 Yks. Nrf. Hmp. I.W. Also written
murren Nrf. 1. The chickweed, Siellaria media. w.Yks.
Lees Flora (1888) 783. 2. The white bryony, Bryonia
dioica. Nrf. (B. & H.) 3. Comp. (i) Murrain-berries,
{a) the black bryony, Tamus communis; (b) the white
bryony, Bryonia dioica ; (2) -root, the root of the bryony.
(i, a) I.W. (C.J.V.), I.W.'2 (A) Nrf. (B. & H.) (2) Hmp.
Sometimes kept in a pig-tub as a prophylactic (H.E. ).
[1. Fr. mourron, the herb called pimpernell ; some also
term chickweed so ; m.ourron bastard, bastard chickweed ;
mourron blanc, ordinary chickweed (Cotgr.) ; mouron,
' Stellaria media ' (Joret).]
MURRAM, MURRAN-, see Marram, Morrian.
MURR{E, sb. Sc. Irel. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written
mar Dev.; mur w.Som.^ nw.Dev.^ Cor.'^; and in form
mor Cor.^^ [mar, m9(r),] 1. The common guillemot,
Lomvia troile.
Crk., Dev. SwAINSON Birds (1885) 217. Dev. (W.L.-P.) Cor.
Johns Birds (i86a) 550 ; Zoologist (1854) XII. 4255 ; Cor.12
2. The razor-bill, Alca torda.
Sh.I. Manson Aim. (1900) 107. n.Sc. (R.H.H.) Cor. Bray
Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) I. lett. xx. 354; Swainson ib. 217 ;
Johns Birds (1862) 550; Zoologist (1854) XII. 4255.
3. The puffin, Fratercula arctica,
w.Som.i Dev. She sails like a mur on the mountain wave,
CAPERN5a//a«fe (1858) 187. nw.Dev.i s.Dev., e.Cor. (Miss D.)
MURRELLS, MURREN, MURREUNGEOUS, see
Merrils, Murrain, sb.^, Maroonjus.
MURREY, adj. Midi. War. [ma-ri.] In comp. Murrey-
coloured, having a dark reddish brown colour.
Midi. The coat was a murrey coloured cloth, Bartram People of
CloptoH (1897) 107. War.3 A murrey-coloured cow, is a cow of
an unusual tone of red.
[The cover of the book was of murrey colour, Holland
Ammianus (1609) (Nares). OFr. more, ' de couleur brune'
(La Curne) ; Sp. morddo color, murrey, darke colour ;
mora, a mulberry (Minsheu).]
MURRICK,56.i Sh.L [moTik.] An esculent root or
vegetable. (Coll. L.L.B.), S. & Ork.» See More, sb.
MURRICK, s6.2 Cor.i2 [ma-rik.] A sloven.
MURRIE, MURRIN, MURRISH,MURRLE, see Merry,
adj.. Murrain, sb.\ Moreish, Murl, v.'^
MURROCH, sb. Ayr. (Jam.) [Not known to our
correspondents.] Shell-fish in general.
[Ir. and Gael, maorach, a gen. term for all kinds of shell
fish (Macbain).]
MURRY, see Merry, adj
MURSE, sb. Cor. The guillemot, Lomvia troile.
Swainson Birds (1885) 218. Cf. murr(e.
MURT,s6.> Sh.L Also in forms moort, moot S&.Ork.';
mort. [mart.] A small person or thing. Cf mort, sb.''
A coal fish six months old (Coll. L.L.B.) ; A little child, Jakob-
sen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 67 ; S. & Ork.l A small fish.
[Norw. dial, tnurl, a small fish ; murla. to catch small
fish (Aasen) ; ON. murta, a kind of small trout, as also
of any small fish ; murtr, murii, a nickname = a little
fellow (Vigfusson).]
MURT, sb."^ Sh.L A disagreeable smell, a 'stink.'
{Coll. L.L.B.)
MURT, s6.3 lObs. Sc. The skin of a young lamb or
of a sheep soon after it has been shorn. Gl. Sibb. (1802)
(Jam.). Rxb. (Jam.) Cf. mort, sb.^ 2, murling.
MURTH, s6. tObs. Sc. Also in form morth. Murder.
Gl. Sibb. (1802) (Jam.).
MURTH, see Merth.
MURTHER, V. Sc. To murmur softly as a child.
Abd. Hear the bairn murtherin (G.W.). Cld. (Jam.)
MURTHER, see Murder, Muther.
MURYAN, sb. Cor. Also written meryan Cor.= ;
meryon Cor.^ ; myryan w.Cor. [ma'rijan, ma'jan.]
1. An ant.
The ant is called by the peasantry a Muryan. Believing that
they are the small people in their state of decay from off the earth,
it is deemed most unlucky to destroy a colony of ants. If you
place a piece of tin in a bank of muryans at a certain age of the
moon, it will be turned into silver. Hunt Pc'/>. Rom.w.Eng. (1865)
I. 131; Cor.*2. Cor.^ Some years ago explaining Exodus ix. 3,
'There shall be a very grievous murrain,' one of the Sunday
scholars remarked (as I then thought irrelevantly), ' Ants is awful
things, aint 'em.' w.Cor. Mate ! there's a green myryan on thy
nudack, Bottrell Trad, 3rd S. 184.
2. A term of endearment.
Cor,^ She's fa3'ther's little meryon.
[1. OCor. murrian, ants (Williams) ; Wei. morion,
' formicae ' (Davies) ; Breton (L^on) merien, ' fourmis,'
Du RUSQUEC]
MUS, see Must, sb>
MUSCH, 56. Bnff.' Also in form mushik. [mBj.] A
person of small stature having a shock of dark hair, gen.
applied to women.
MUSCHIN-, see Mischant.
MUSCLE-PLUM, s6. Brks.^ [mB'sl-plBm.] A particular
kind of plum.
A long shaped plum, sweet but without much juice, which
separates very widely from its stone when ripe.
MUSCOVY, s6. tObs. Dev. The musky heron's-bill,
Erodium moschatum.
The nosegays which deck our market-stalls [are not] considered
perfect without a branch of Muscovy, Bauks Fl. Plymouth (1830) in
(B. & H.).
MUSE, v.^ and sb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Nhp. Also in forms
meause n.Yks. ; meawse Lan. ; meuse n.Yks.* ; mooize
w.Yks. ; mooze Nhp. ; moze Nhp.^ ; mwose Cum. 1. v.
To dream, to ' moon about,' to go about in a listless
manner ; to doze, sleep. Cf. mease, v.^
Cum. Nar the auld thworn he wad sit and keep mwosen, Ander-
son Ballads (ed. 1808) 134. Yks. (C.CR.) n.Yks.* Ah think
t'lass is lovesick, sha gans meusing aboot seea. w.Yks. He'll
mooize abaat all t'day if Ah'U let him, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May
18, 1895). Lan. Aw reckon theaw keawrt meawsin i' th' work o'
day, Brierley Tales (1854) II. 152. Nhp. While in peace cows
eat and chew their cuds Moozing, cool sheltered, Clare Village
Minst. (1821) II. 74; Nhp.^ What do you stand mozing there for?
2. To Study, contemplate ; to admire ; to wonder.
n.Yks. Thy father'l meause, whore we are all this while, Meri-
TON Praise Ale (1684) 1. 36 ; You meause, wife, as ye use, Ise neay
sike man, ib. 1. 651 ; Meause as you use, when onejudgeth another
according to their own doings, ib. Gl. ; n.Yks.*
3. sb. A State of sadness or melancholy. Yks. (C.CR.)
[2. ME. muse, to gaze intently, consider (Chaucer) ;
Fr. muser, to muse, dream, study (Cotgr.).]
MUSE, v.^ Som. To amuse. Jennings Dial. w.Eng.
(1869).
MUSE, see Meuse.
MUSEY, adj. Shr.^ [miu'zi.] Inquisitive. See Muse,
v} 2. ' Tak' car' whad yo' bin about, 'er's very musey.'
E c
MUSH
[210]
MUSHROOM
MUSH, sb.^ and v.^ Sc. Nhb. Dun Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Stf. Der. Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War. Cmb. Also in forms
mosh Not. Lei.' War.^ ; musk Sc. (Jam.) ne.Lan.' [muj,
mBj.] 1.5^. A mash ; anything in a soft, pulpy condition,
slush ; crushed or bruised refuse.
Sc. Boil all these very well till the grain is reduced to u musk,
Maxwell Sel. Trans. (1743) 146 (Jam.). Nhb.' The streets wis
aall mush. Cum."* Wm. T'taties hes o' gone ta mush (B.K.).
n.Yks.* Them to'nips is neea good, tha're all iv a mush. e.Yks.^
w.Yks. A womman lets t'potatiz boil all ta mush, Tom Treddle-
HOYLE Bairnsla Ann. (1852) 40 ; w.Yks.', ne.Lan.i Not. Fell all
of a mosh (J.H.B.). s.Not. Yer mun cree the wheat till it's all of
a mush (J.P.K.). sw.Lla.i
2. Dusty or powdery refuse, crumbled matter ; a mass
of dry fragments.
Gall. A vast of matters tossed together, such as straw, grain, hay,
chaff, &c., Mactaggart Encyd. (1824). N.Cy.i, Dur.l, Lakel.2
Cum.i; Cum.* ' There's laal but mush left,' said when passing the
site of a peat-stack. n.Yks.' =34^ ne.Yks.i, e.Yks.i, ra.Yks.i
3. Comp. (i) Mush-meat, food in a pulpy condition ; (2)
•mouthed, soft-spoken, mealy-mouthed.
(i) ne.Lan.i (2) Cmb.' She's a reg'lar stuck-up, mush-mouthed
thing.
4. The best kind of ironstone. n.Yks. (L"W.), Stf. (K.),
Stf.' 5. The slow, constant use or consumption of any-
thing. Bnff.' 6. V. To crush, pulverize, crumble ; to
mash, to reduce to pulp ; to crumble or decay away.
Cum. T'croon on't was oa musht in eh t'teaah side, Sargisson
yoc Scoo/> (i88i) 52 ; Cum.* T'sour leaven hed t'top pared ofif't;
than it was mushed away amang t'barley meal, C. Pacq. (June 29,
1893) 6, col. 3. n.Yks.' 2_ ne.Yks.', m.Yks.i w.Yks. Musht em
wi a tatey- crusher, Yisman. (Apr. 7, 1877) 11, col. 2 ; Hutton
Tour to Caves (1781) ; w.Yks. 2*, ne.Lan.', e.Lan.', Der.^, nw.Der.^
Not. 2 To mush potatoes. s.Not. She put the berries in 'er pocket,
soft-like, an' they was all mushed up (J.P.K.). Lin.' He fell to
mush all the things in the house. n.Lin.' It mushes to muck th'
fo'st time a heavy load goas oher it. Lei.', War.^
Hence (i) Musher, sb. a hammer, pestle, an instrument
for crushing anything ; (2) Mushment, sb. the dirty refuse
of any dry substance ; (3) Mushy, adj. mashed, soft, de-
caying ; dry, powdery, crumbly.
(i) w.Yks. O'd give him such a drubbin we mo intellectual
musher as should mak him remember it, Bywater Sheffield Dial.
(1839)50. (2) ne.Lan.' (3) Nhb.' A mushy bog. Mushy coal is
soft coal having the appearance of being crushed or mashed to a
pasty condition. n.Yks. This ling is mushy (I.W.) ; n.Yks.'
T'coontry coal nobbut mak's a. mushy fire efter a bit; n.Yks. 2*,
ne.Yks.', m.Yks.^ s.Not. When we oppened the pie the taters
was all mushy ; there wasn't a sound un among 'em (J.P.K.).
7. To beat cruelly ; to subdue or break the spirit of any
one by harsh treatment.
Lei.' Ah thowt shay'd 'a moshed her children then an' theer.
Nhp.' Most frequently applied to children. War.' Usually apphed
to children ; War.'^^
Hence Mushed, ppl. adj. subdued, depressed, crushed.
War. You're a young man for all you look so mushed, Geo.
EnoT S. Mamer (i86i) 121.
8. Of cattle : to dwindle, lose flesh, to pine away. Nhp.'
9. To consume or use by slow degrees with the idea of
waste. Bnff.' Hence Mushy, adj. small, little.
n.Yks. This is a little mushy cow (I.W.). w.Yks. (J.W.)
MUSH, sb.^ and adj. Sc. Nhp. Shr. e.An. Also in form
moosh Shr.'^ [muJ.] 1. sb. A muttered sound, a whisper,
hint.
Sc. She ne'er loot a mush oot, Donald Poems (1867) 23. Frf. I
never heard the cannons pappin'. Nor heard a mush, till just at
Wappin, Sands Poems (1833) 106.
2. Phr. neither hush na mush, not a single whisper. Ags.
(Jam.) See Hush, sb} 4. 3. adj. Cautiously silent, quiet.
Nhp.i Shr.2 Remained mush like. e.An.' As mush as a mackerel.
MUSH, V?- and sb? Sc. [mBj.] 1. v. To cut out
with a stamp, to notch, scallop, ' pink ' ; to make into
flounces.
Sc. It is commonly applied to grave-clothes. ' His clothes were
all mush'd And his body lay streek'd,' OldSng. (Jam.) S. & Ork.i
To scallop or plait the edges of a woman's cap, &c.
Hence Mushin, sb. scalloped or crimped work ; cloth
thus ornamented. Cld. (Jam.)
2. sb. A nick or notch, esp. one made with scissors.
Sc. (ib.)
MUSH, 5i.* Fif. (Jam.) One who goes between a lover
and his mistress, in order to make up a match.
[Cp. Fr. moucker, ' aller de ga, de la, comme les mouches ;
espionner' (Hatzfeld).]
MUSH, see Mooch, v.^
MVSH.A, ini. Irel. [mu-Js.] An exclamation express-
ing asseveration, various emotions or passions.
Ir. Och, musha, not a glass is under the roof wid me, Carleton
Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 95 ; Sure, musha, wan's thoughts is lii<e
beads off a thread, Barlow Bogland (1892) 117, ed. 1893. n.Ir.
Musha, yes, it's as true, sor. As I've been toul'. Lays and Leg.
(1884) 5. Ant. Musha ! don't tell me ye'U be married to-morrow,
O'Neill Glens (1900) 8. Don. 'Musha!' Nelly said sharply, 'I
wish to goodness Mister Haraghey, ye would take yerself off,
Harper's Mag. (Jan. 1900) 212. w.Ir. Musha, thin, do you tell me
so ? Lover Leg. ( 1848) I. 3. Qco. Augh then ! Musha ! Musha ! the
owld times ! Barrington Sketches ( 1830) I. iii. Wxf. Musha ! if a
man is a little light in the head itself, Kennedy Banks Boro{iB6f) 49.
[Ir. maiseadjii so it be, then, therefore, i.e. ma is se
(O'Reilly).]
MUSHEL, MUSHIK, MUSHIN, see Mussel, Musch,
Mischant.
MUSHLE, V. and sb. Sc. Also written muschle Bnff.' ;
and in form mussle Ayr. (Jam.) [mB-Jl.] 1. v. To throw
into a state of confusion ; to mix confusedly and clumsily.
Cai.', Bnff.', Ayr. (Jam.) 2. To be connected by inter-
marriage and blood. Bnff.' 3. To use slowly and in
small quantities, to consume slowly ; to eat slowly.
We've a gueede puckle streh, bit wirbits o' beasties 'ill muschlet
awa', or the weentir be our, ib.
Hence Muschlin, sb. one who is fond of dainty food
eaten secretly, ib.
4. sb. Confusion. Cai.' Bnff.' A' thing's in an unco muschle.
5. Slow and constant use or consumption of anything ;
the act of eating slowly. Bnff.'
MUSHOCH, s6. ^Obs. Sc. A heap of grain, threshed
and laid aside in a corner for seed. Gall. Mactaggart
Encyd. (1824). Hence Mushoch-rope, sb. a thick rope
confining the 'mushoch.'
This grain is confined into as small a bulk as possible, by sur-
rounding it with mushoch-rapes, thick ropes twisted on purpose, ib.
MUSHROOM, sb. Van dial, forms and uses in Irel.
and Eng. I. Dial, forms : (i) Masheroon, (2) Mashroon,
(3) Mesheroom, (4) Masheroon, (5) Misheram, (6) Mish-
eroon, (7) Mishroom, (8) Mushamer, (9) Musharoom, (10)
Musharune, (11) Mushelroom, (12) Musher, (13) Mush-
erooin, (i4)Musheroon, (15) Musherroon, (16) Mushroon.
(i)N.Li (2)Ken.(G.B.) (3,4)010.' (5 ) w.Yks. Banks fF,4/?rf.H^rf5.
(1865). (6) Ken.i,Sus.i (7)Hrf.' (8) Cum.' (9)Nrf. Rye Hist. Nrf.
(1885) XV. (10) Suf.' (11) Dev. I zay, maister, how much du'e ax
voryer mushelrooms a pound 1 Reports Provinc. (1895). (12) Hmp.
(J.R.W.),Hmp.i (i3)e.Suf.(F.H.) (i4)Ir. (B.&H.) e.Suf.(F.H.)
Ken. I see yesterday plenty of musheroons in the meshes (H.M.) ;
Ken.i, Sur.i, Som. (W.F.R.) w.Som.' Muush-ureon. (15) Ir.
(A.S.-P.) Glo.Themthurbean'tmusherroons,theybean't nought else
beseps toadstools, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) xvii. (16) Ken."
n. Dial. uses. 1. In comp. (i) Mushroom-hall, a name
given to a hastily-built house or hut, esp. one built to
establish a claim to land ; (2) -hitch, an inequality in the
floor of a mine ; (3) -ring, a ' fairy-ring,' a circle of darker-
coloured grass in the midst of a field.
(i) w.Yks.2 Sur. It was a notion held among the peasantry in
olden times thathe who could inonenighterecta'mushroom hall,' or
a 'now-or-never,' without hindrance from the officials of the manor,
had obtained a copyright to the land. Heath Eng. Peas. (1893)
145. (2) N.Cy.' Nhb.' Occasioned by the projection of basaltic
or other stony substances. (3) Lin. The utilitarian inhabitants call
them ' mushroom rings,' Miller & Skertchly Fenland (1878) x.
2. An anchor with a central shank and a head like a
mushroom.
Cor. She was moored to a couple of anchors, one of them a ' mush-
room,' Baring-Gould Rich. Cable (1889) 9.
3. An overhanging head of snuff in a candle. Wil.
(G.E.D.) 4. The tansy, Tanacetum vulgare. Dev. Science
Gossip (1873) 235.
MUSIC
[211]
MUSSEL
MUSIC, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
in forms maizick Sc. ; moosick Suf.^ 1. In phr. a piece
of music, a musical instrument.
n.Lin.'^ I thoht that cabinet wi' gilt on it was a peace of music
afoore you oppened it. e.An.' w.Som.' Our Jim Ve a got a piece
o' music [meo'zik, not m-yiie'zik] what he calls a concertainer.
2. Comp. Music-tunes, church music ; psalm-tunes.
Lth. ' Maizick tunes,' as I ca' kirk maizick, should be sung slow,
slow, Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 223.
3. Instrumental music in churches in contrast to vocal
music alone. Gall. (A.W.) 4. A musical instrument,
esp. in phr. to play on the music.
Nhp.i, War.24, s.War.i, GIo.i, Hnts. (T.P.F.) Mid. Pray, Miss,
who learns you to play upon the music? Pegge Anecdotes (1803)
115, ed. 1804. e.An.i, Suf.i, Cmb. (J.D.R.) Sus. Let me go fetch
ray music (R.B.); Sus."- Dor. To play upon music (A. C).
Hence (i) Music-duffer, sb. a dishonest seller of bad
musical instruments ; {2) -duffing, sb. the dishonest selling
of musical instruments.
(i) Lon. A music-duffer, assuming the way of a man half-drunk,
will enter a public-house, . . saying, ' Here, I must have money, . .
and so I may as well sell my old fiddle,' Mayhew Lond. Labour
(1851) II. 19, col. -J, ed. 1861. (2) What I have called the 'dis-
honest trade ' is known among the street folk as ' music-dufiSng,' ib.
5. The ' tail ' side of a coin ; the call of ' tails ' in the game
of 'pitch and toss.'
Ir. [From the harp on the Irish coin.] '"Music!" says he.
" Skull i " says I — and down they come three brown mazzards,'
Edgeworth Bulls (1802) 129, ed. 1803.
6. Of a horse : spirit, go.
Cum. Best keep a steady rein on her for t'first mile or two for
t'aud mear has a lot of music in her yit (J.Ar.).
MUSICIANER, sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng.
Also written musicliener w.Yks. ; musicioner Nhb. ;
muscioner Yks. [miuzi'j3n3(r.] A musician, a player
upon any musical instrument, an accompanyist ; a music-
seller.
Per. (G.W.) Lth. Then lo! the musicianers— Mab ! a glorious
band is hers, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 115. Nhb. Whereas the
company of waites and musicioners of Newcastle upon Tyne are
and have been time out of mind an ancient company, Waite's
Ordinary (Sept. 18, 1677) in Brand Hist. Newc. II. 717. Yks.
And ax'd all the village muscioners, Ingledlw Ballads (i860) 310;
Aw've borrowed one ov a musichener 'at keeps a shop, Hartley
Clock Aim. (1869') 44 ; w. Yks.^ A musitioner told us. Lan. A rook
o' musicianers, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) I. 159; Lan.', e.Lan.^
I.Ma. Musicianers — Punch and Judy divils. Brown Doctor (1887)
41. Lin. (W.W.S.) Shr.' Who 'ad'n'ee fur a musicianer at the
daincin' ? s.Pem. An accompanyist. Never applied to a soloist
(W.M.M.). Glo.i Lon. One that does them is a musicianer, May-
hew Z,o«rf.ia4o«r(i85i) II. 273, col. I. e.Suf. (F.H.) Ess. Nicely
there, had Mary hard, Musicianers ded play, Clark J. Noakes
(1839) St. 120; Ess.i w.Som.' I've a yeard he's a capical musi-
cianer [meo'zish-unur''. Cor. The Church musicianers can't march
with their music, 'Q.' Wandering Heath (1895) 67; Cor.^^
MUSICKER, sb. Sc. Lin. Wor. Sus. Wil. Som. Dev.
Also written musiker w.Som.'^ [miuzika(r.] A musician,
a player upon any musical instrument.
Rnf. Wi' bands o' musickers to play. As weel behind's before,
Webster Rhymes (1835) 38. Ayr. The shout got up that . . . the
musickers were coming. GALT£«/ai/ (1823) Ixi. Lin. The musickers
they played up loud. Brown Lit. Laur. (1890) 46. Wor. The
I' others on 'em aint sich good musickers as Lizer be, Outis Vig.
Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (1896). Sus. Please, sir, the French
musickers be here again (R.B.). Wil. (G.E.D.) Som. Her was
a vine musiker an' daancer, Leith Lemon Verbena (1895) 69.
■w.Som.' He's a musiker by trade. Dev.^
MUSK, sb. and adj. Sc. Yks. Glo. Hmp. Also written
muse Sc. [mBsk, musk.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Musk-
almond, a particular kind of sweetmeat ; (2) -button, the
Michaelmas daisy, Aster tripolium ; (3) -weed, the musk
root or moschatel, Adoxa Moschatellina.
(i) Ayr. The muscalmonds were declared to be as big as doos'
eggs, Galt Sir a. Wylie (1822) iv. (2) Glo. (F.H.) (3) w.Yks.
Lees Flora (1888) 266.
2. adj. Perfumed with musk. w.Yks.^
MUSK, V. Nhp.i [musk.] Of pigs : to rout about
among and pick up loose or stray corn .
To send pigs to musk, is to turn them out, to glean or pick up
the loose or stray corn after harvest, or when a rick is removed.
' The pigs musk about, and pick up the loose corn.'
MUSK, see Mush, sb.^, Must, sb}
MUSKAWN, MUSKEL, MUSKEN, see Miscaun,
Maskel, Mutchkin.
MUSKER, sb. Sh.I. [mB'skar.] A small piece or
quantity. S. & Ork.^
MUSKERIN, sb. Sh.I. Occasional slight showers of
rain. S. & Ork.'
[Cp. Dan. dial, muske, mitskregne, to drizzle (Molbech) ;
Norw. dial, muska (Aasen), so Sw. dial. (Rietz).]
MUSLIN, sb. Sc. [mB-zlin.] In comp. (i) Muslin-kail,
broth composed simply of water, shelled barley, and
greens; (2) -mouth, afine, delicate, prim mouth; used altrib.
(i) Aba. Shirrefs Poems (1790) Gl. Slg. Tho' whiles I may
get mislin kail, Content I'll be, Taylor Poems (1862) 97. s.Sc.
Substantial the prebend's broth and the bishop's a hantle thicker,
But muslin kail to the curate they deal, Wilson Tales (1836) III.
75. Ayr. I'll sit down o'er my scanty meal, Be't water-brose, or
muslin-kail. Burns To J. Smith (1785) st. 24. Lnk. Whare now
was a' his muslin' kail, An' oil of slae, baith seem'd to fail, MuiR
Minstrelsy (1816) 72. (2) Lnk. With barbers or bakers they
might be buckled, because of their muslin-mouth and pinch-beck
speeches, Graham Writings (1883") II. 148.
MUSROLL, sb. ? Obs. w.Yks.' The nose-band of a
horse's bridle.
[Fr. muserolle, a musroll for a horse (Cotgr.).]
MUS(S, sb.^ Yks. Lan. Der. Lin. Also in forms mussa
w.Yks.*; mussy w.Yks.^e.Lan."^; muz Lan. [mus, muz.]
The mouth ; gen. used in conversation with, or when
speaking of, infants.
■w.Yks. Thi bonny little lips circlin' thi muss, Binns Orig. (1889)
No. i. I ; -w.Yks.i ; w.Yks.* A little short pipe in her mus she did
screw ; w.Yks.s Wipe its mus ! Oppen its mussy then. Lan.
Monthly Mag. (1815) I. 127. e.Lan.i nw.Der.i Oppen dy mus.
Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 715 ; Lin.i
Hence Mussy-teeth, sb.pl. a child's term for the teeth.
w.Yks.s
MUS(S, sb." Ken. Sus. [m^s.] A term of address
used by a labourer to an employer.
Ken.' ' Where be you goin'. Mass Tompsett ? ' ' Well I be goin'
cross to Muss Chickses.' Sus.' Mus Smith is the employer, Master
Smith is the man he employs.
MUSS, sb.^ and v. Irel. n.Cy. Lin. Lei. War. Suf. Amer.
Also in form muz Lin.* [mus, muz.] 1. sb. A state of
confusion ; a bungle, mess.
e.Suf. You have made a muss of that matter. Obsol. (F.H.)
[Amer. (F.H.) ; 'My head aches,' said he: 'they have put my
mind and body both into a confounded muss,' Mrs. Child Lett.
129 (Bartlett).]
2. A scramble.
n.Cy. Holloway. Lei.', War.* [Amer. Green Virginia Flk-Sp.
(1899).]
3. A disturbance, uproar, squabble, quarrel.
Wmh. N. & Q. (1879) 5th S. xi. 49. Lei.i, War.3 [Amer.
They came across a gang of b'hoys, with whom they came in
collision, and, as that class of individuals are always inclined to
have a bit of a ' muss ' that result was very soon accomplished.
New York Spirit of the Times (Bartlett) ; Green j6.]
4. V. To crumple, rumple.
e.Suf. Don't muss your clothes so (F.H.). [Amer. (F.H.); I hate
to ride in an omnibus because it musses my clothes, Bartlett ;
To muss one's hair, Green ib.']
5. To scramble for, to take forcibly and by surprise. Lin.
Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 715 ; Lin.*
[2. Of late, when I cried ' Ho ! ' Like boys unto a muss,
kings would start forth, And cry 'Your will?' Shaks.
A.&'C. HI. xiii. 91.]
MUSS,s6.* Cum. [mus.] The ' smalls ' or dust in a
tobacco-pouch. (H.B.)
MUSS, MUSSA, see Must, sb."^, Mus(s, sb.^
MUSSEL, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written mussle Gall.; and in form mushel Nhb.*
[mu'sl, mB-sl.] 1. In co?«/.(i)Mussel-brose, broth made
from mussels; (2) -dumb, a rake used in gathering mussels;
(3) -crow, the carrion crow, Corvus corone ; (4) -draig,
E e 2
MUSSELLED
[212]
MUSTER
see (2) ; (5) -duck, the scaup, Fuligula ntarila ; (6) -ebb,
the mussel-ground exposed at low tide ; (7) -mou, a mouth
resembling a mussel and closing tightly ; (8) -mou'd,
h a ving a mouth resembling a mussel ; (9 ) -pecker or -picker,
the oyster-catcher, Haematopus ostrilegus ; (10) -scaup,
a bed of mussels, the rocks to which mussels adhere in
clusters.
(i) Edb. Tak o' fat pandors a prieven, Ormussel brose, Fergus-
son Poems {-L'n'i) 125, ed. 1785 ; On the holy day he cooled his
stomach with a dish of mussel-brose at Newhaven, Haliburton
Furth in Field (1894) 58. Gall. These shell-fish are boiled in their
own sap, and this juice, when warm, is mingled with oatmeal,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (2) Dev. Two fishing-boats, nets,
mussel-clumbs, and other fishing-tackle. To be sold by auction.
Reports Provinc. (1893). (3) [Smith Birds (1887) 232.] (4) Sh.I.
My mussel-draigs, my lempit pick, An' sae my lempit cuddie,
Stewart Tales (1892) 92; Four ling huiks, like mussel draig, Wi'
lead an' string for lowerin", ib, 98. (5) Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post (Dec.
31, 1898). Nrf. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 159; The mussel ducks
allerslay offthe North Beach in the dead of winter, Cozens-Hardy
Broad Nrf. (1893) 48 ; Johns Birds (1862) 517. (6) Arg. The
Anachan and Brollochan, they love the mussel-ebb, Colville
Vernacular (1899) 8. (7) Abd. Grim death has clos'd his mussel
mou, KiNLOCH Ballad Bk. (1827) ix, ed. 1868. (8) Abd. Known
by the name of ' mussel-mou'd Charlie,' from a singular protusion
of his nether lip, in the form of a muscle, ib. iii. Lnk. Mussel
mou'd Harry, the skull-maker, Graham Writings (1883) II. 237.
(9) Frf. SwAiNSON ib. 188. Fif. The mussel scaups and lagoons,
dear to the flounder and the heron, the mussel-picker and the
whaup, Colville Vernacular (1899) 9. n.Ir. (J.S.), N.I.l Ant.
SwAiNSON <i. 188. Cum.* (10) Fif. Colville 16. n.Yks. (T.S.),
n.Yks.2 Nrf. In the maze of Sandbanks and 'mussel scaups' laid
bare by the ebb tide, Cornh. Mag. (Mar. 1899) 313.
2. A layer in a coal-measure. Also in comp. Mussel-
bands, -beds, or -scalp.
Nhb.i Seldom more than a few inches in thickness, consisting
almost entirely of the shells of Anthracosia — a genus of molluscs
allied to the mussels of our rivers, Lebour Geol. Nhb. and Dur.
(ed. 1886) 43.
MUSSELLED, ///. adj. Yks. Lan. Also in form
musselt Lan. Poisoned by eating mussels improperly
dressed.
w.Yks. Mind tha takes out t'bits o' moss or tha'll be musselled an
that'll end all thi troubles (H.L.). Lan. He wur so feort o beein
musselt, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 75.
MUSSIT, sb. Suf. [mB-sit.] A gap in a hedge
through which hares and rabbits pass, a ' meuse.' e.Suf.
(F.H.j
[The many musets through the which he goes Are like
a labyrinth to amaze his foes, Shaks. V. 6-= A. 683. OFr.
mussette, ' cachette ' (La Curne).]
MUSSLE, see Mushle, Mussel.
MUSSOCKY, a,^'. Wor. Also in form musky. [mBsaki.]
Matted, close, said of roots. s.Wor. (H.K.)
MUSSY, adj. Sc. Messy ; slippery.
Gall. The smell of the spilt ink, the mussy gritty slates and
smutty copy-books, Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 151.
MUST, sb."- War. Wor. Shr. Hrf. Glo. w.Cy. Also in
forms mast s.Wor.^ Hrf.= ; mus(s Glo.; musk s.Wor.
Hrf.2 [must, mBst.] The refuse of apples or pears after
the juice has been pressed out for cider or perry.
War.°3 Wor. There can be no doubt about the must being highly
acceptable in a winter of food scarcity [for cattle], Evesham Jrn.
(Jan. 16, 1897). s.Wor. (H.K.) ; Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 15 ;
s.Wor.', Slir.' Hrf. Used as fuel, Bound Provinc. (1876) ; Reports
Agric. (1793-1813) 40; Hrf.i2 (JIq. 'Pur-mus' is used to put on
fires and will burn well ; apple mus is no good — it will only
moulder like coke. Apple mus is excellent to feed pigs with — if
no water has been put to it to fetch out the last cider (S.S.B.) ;
Glo. 12 -w.Cy. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863).
Hence Must-tub, sb. the tub into which the apple pulp
is put in the process of cider-making. Shr.^
MUST, s6.2 Wil.i [mBst.] A children's game ; see
below.
A small stone — ' a meggy ' — is placed on the top of a large
one, and bowled at with other ' meggies,' of which each player
has one.
MUST, sb.^ and v.'^ Sc. Brks. Also in forms moost,
moust Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) [m-est, Sh.L must.] L sb. A
disagreeable smell. S. & Ork.^ 2. v. To mildew.
Brks.' Them pots o' jam be beginnin' to must.
Hence Musted, ppl. adj. musty, mouldy, covered with
must or mould. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
[2. Heudrir, to must, corrupt, putrifie, to spoyle or marr
by ill keeping or want of airing, Cotgr.]
MUST, sb.* and v.'^ Sc. Nhb. Also in forms moost,
moust, muist Sc. 1. sb. Obs. Musk.
Nhb. Their necks deep pierced with must abound, Richardson
Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VI. 272.
2. Hair-powder, flourusedforthe purpose of hair-powder.
Sc. (Jam.) 3. v. Obs. To powder the hair, to dust the
hair with flour as powder.
Sc. Would ye creesh his bonny brown hair . . . and then moust
it like the auld minister's wig ? Scott Antiquary (1816) x ; Sae I
ge'd my wa' hame, musted my head and made ready a clean oerly,
Blyd Contract, 4 (Jam.). Edb. A' the claith that they can tak . . .
winna better them a plack. To muist their head. Complaint (1795)
5. Dmf. The' muisted is your carrot pash, Mayne Siller Gun
(1808) 66.
Hence (i) Musted, /i/i/. adj., (2) Musty, adj. powdered,
covered with hair-powder.
(i) Sc. Ay, ay, muisted hair, braidclaith o' the best, Scorr Redg.
(1824) Lett, x; What's that you laugh at, you there wi' the moosted
twa-tailed wig and the lang rufHes, Magopico (ed. 1836) 29; Yon
birkie i' the toun Wi' ruffil't sark and moosted croun, W. Watson
Poems (1877) 32 (Jam. Suppl.). (z) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
[1. Thy smell was sa fell, and stronger than muist,
MoNTGOMERiE Ffyting (ed. 1629) 15.]
MUST, v.^ Var. dial, uses in Eng. and Amen [must,
mBst.] L In phr. (i) must be to do anything, must do
anything ; (2) well must ye, to wish success or good speed
in any undertaking.
(i) Wor. When was that hedge cut? He 'ant never been cut
afore. We must be to wait till this side be growed up a bit, and
then cut the t'other (H.K.). (2) Hrf. Obs. (K.)
2. Used neg. to express probability.
w.Yks. They mussent hev no larks i' that country [they probably
have no larks (birds) in Australia]. They mussent 'a' knawn t'tahm
for 't funeral (J.T.F.).
3. May.
Der.' I will go if I must. nXin.^ Must I goa oot wi' Jaane,
muther ; we'll be back e' time to get tea ready.
4. Shall.
e.Dur.i Would you like your milk to drink, Mr. P. ? Must I
bring you 't, then ? [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 376.]
MUSTACHINS, sb. pi. Dev. Moustaches.
An'roun'eslipsmustachins, Pulman Sketches (\?,iifi) ■^^, ed. 1853.
MUSTARD, 5^>. Sc.Yks.Chs. Hrf.Dev. Also in forms
mustart Bnff.^ ; musterd Chs.' [m-Bst3(r)d, mu'stad.]
In comp. (i) Mustard-ball, (2) -bullet, a ball used for
grinding mustard-seeds ; (3) -cress, the cultivated or salad
mustard, Sinapis alba ; (4) -poppies, weeds ; (5) -stone,
see (2) ; (6) -whirle, obs., a vessel in which mustard-seeds
are crushed.
(i) w.Yks. ^ A leaden ball used in making sauce from sorrel and
in bruising mustard seeds, &c. (2) Bnff.' (3) Dev.* (4) Hrf.
Upon the best lands we find the thistle, nettle, . . wormwood and
wild mustard poppies, Marshall Review (1818) II. 278. (5) Sc.
A large round stone used in some parts of the country, by way of
pestle for bruising mustard seed in a stone or wooden vessel (Jam.).
(6) Chs. A bottom of musterd whirles. Inventory (i6ii) In Local
Gleanings (Jan. 1880) VII. 266 ; Chs.i
MUSTER, v} and sb} Yks. Glo. [mu-sta(r), mB-st3(r).]
1. V. To prepare for departure. Also with up.
Yks. It's getting late ; I mun be mustering. Now then, muster
up, and away (C.C.R.). w.Yks.^ I'd a stopp'd a bit long-er bud
it's time fur me to be mustering, 7.
2. sb. In comb, (i) Muster-roll houses, certain dwellings
set apart for aged or disabled seamen or their widows ;
(2) -roll money, an allowance of money made to such sea-
men or their widows.
(i) n.Yks.2 In Whitby, obtained under certain conditions. (2) ib.
3. A commencement, a start.
w.Yks. It's time tha made a muster, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 8,
1884)8.
MUSTER
[213]
MUTE
4. A litter.
Glo."- Ees zow 'ave ad a muster of pegs — eighteen — all alive
and kyind*
MUSTER, z^.2 and s6.2 Cld. (Jam.) 1. v. To talk volubly.
Hence Musterer, sb. an incessant talker. 2. sb. Ex-
cessive loquacity.
MUSTY, adj. Cum. [mu-sti.] Sour-looking, gloomy.
Fadder leuckt varra musty, an niver oppent his gob, Sargisson
Joe Scoap (1881) 12 ; Cum.^
MUS-WEB, see Mouse-web.
_MUT, z;.i Yks. [mut.] To suck ineffectually ; to dally
with the nipple of the breast, as a baby does when it is
tired ot sucking.
w.Yks. She's only mutting, she's not sucking at all (S.O.A.).
MUT, v? Cor. [mBt.] To be cross or glum ; to sulk.
Cor.^ Don't sit mutting there.
Hence Mutty, adj. moody, silent, sulky. Cor.'^
MUTCH, sb. Sc. Nhb. Cum. I.Ma. [mutj, mBtJ.] A
woman's cap, esp. one worn by an old woman ; an infant's
cap ; occas. used of a man's head-covering ; also in comp.
Mutch-cap.
Sc. Still it wears it's baby-mutch, Allan /.!&( 1874) 171; (Jam.)
ne.Sc. The elderly females with 'white close mutches,' Green Gor-
donhaven{ii,8i)']-]. Cai.i Mry. Hay imfe (1851)62. Elg.CofBn'd
in a woman's mutch. Tester Poems (1865) 151. Bnff. Mutches
with a dashy ribbon round the bord, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880)
p. vi. Abd. Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 218. Kcd. Grant Z,a)i5
(1884) 94. Frf. Stiffen wasna sought, nor blue To mutches,
Piper of Peebles (1794) 6. Per. Wi' her veil an' her parrysol and
the gumflowers in her mutch, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) iii,ed.
1887. w.Sc. A bit of a trunk where Kate kaips her mutches,
Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 59. Fif. Barefoot lasses tricked in
their Sunday mutches edged with lace, Tennant Anster {1813) 28,
ed. 1871. Slg. Some orra hats, a few white mutches. Towers
Poems (1885) 123. s.Sc. Her round-eared mutch that served the
purpose of bonnet and coif, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 161. Dmb.
Taylor Poems {i82'])^-j. Rnf.Wi'weel airn'd mutch, an' kirtle clean,
PiCKEN Poems (1813) I. 79. Ayr. Johnston Glenbuckie (i88g) 88.
Lnk. Bords roun' yer mutch Wi' stuffin' an' plaits, Watson Poems
(1853) 46. Lth. Putting on ... a black worsted cap or 'mutch,'
with a crimson border (for she wore a bonnet on Sundays only),
Strathesk iJ/m^ioMK)/ (ed. 1891)45. Edb. As white's her mutch
her haffets grew, Tint Quey (1796) 15. Slk. She wore a quoif or
mutch upon her head, Hogg Tales (1838) 16, ed. 1866. Dmf. I
want to hear you touch Upon the woman wi' the mutch, Shennan
Tales (1831) 79. Gall. The many-pleated mutch of the douce
matron, Crockett Standard Bearer (1889) no. Kcb. Aft ye rug
your daddie's held. An' my guid mutch be crumplin', Armstrong
Ingleside (1890) 143. Wgt. A common cotton cap, or mutch, as it
was called, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 228. n.Cy. Border Gl. (Coll.
L.L.B.) Nhb.i Ye've toozlt a' me mutch, lad ! Cum. Their
gaudy mutches, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 143. I.Ma. An old
woman ... in her long blue cape and her mutch, Caine Deemster
(1887) 163, ed. 1889.
Hence (i) Mulched, ppl. adj. dressed in a cap ; (2)
Mutch-string, sb. the string of a woman's cap.
(i) Fif. Chatting with two white-mutched wives, Robertson
Provost (1894) 148. (2) Sh.I. Poo'ed da mutch-string slacker,
Burgess Rasmie (1892) 24.
[EFris. muise, mitts, ' Mutse, kopfbedeckung' (Kool-
man) ; MhG. mutse, musse, 'koptbedeckung' (Schiller-
LiJBBEN).]
MUTCH, MUTCHER, see Mooch, v.^, Moocher, sb."
MUTCHIT, sb. Rxb. (Jam.) Also in form moutchit.
A disrespectful term apphed to children.
MUTCHKIN,s6. Sc.Nhb. Lan. Also written mutchken
Lnk. ; mutckin Bwk. ; and in form musken Rnf [mB-tJ-,
mu'tjkin.] 1. A liquid measure equal to an English pint.
Sc. Whilk is a dribble in comparison of our gawsie Scots pint
and hardly a mutchkin, Scott Midlothian (1818) xxviii. n.Sc.
Dang't gif they're warth a single mutchkin o' the critur, Gordon
Carglen (1891) 36. Cai.^ The old Scottish gallon contained 8
pints, 16 chopins, 32 mutchkins or 128 gills. Inv. (H.E.F.) Elg.
First ae mutchkin, then anither. Tester Poems (1865) 150. Abd.
Nane . . . kent sae weel the way to share A mutchkin amo' three,
Murray Hamewiih (1900) 11. Frf. For the tither mutchkin ring,
Morison Poems (1790) 78. Per. Surely a mutchkin o' the stock,
's weel wair'd upon them, Haliburton Horace (1886) 10. w.Sc.
Let's see half-a-mutchkin o' yer best whisky, Carrick Laird of
Logan (1835) 72. e.Fif. Nae less than a half-mutchkin o' Glenlivet
was disposed o' atweesh the twa o' them, Latto Tarn Bodkin
(1864) V. Drab. He drank a mutc[h]kin ilka day, Taylor Poems
(1827) 112. Rnf. 2 casks of brandy containing 55 pints and half a
musken, Hector /jjrfjc. Rec. (1876) 344. Ayr. The deil at other
times gies . . . his agents a mutchkin o' mischief, but on this night
[Hallowe'en] it's thought they hae a chappin, Galt Gilhaize (1823)
xvii. Lnk. A mutchken, Jo, let's tak our fill, Ramsay Poems
(1721) 39. Lth. A good half-mutchkin o' the clear, A hearty stoup
o' good strong beer, Thomson Poems (1819) 30. Edb. At the
ransom of a halfpenny the mutchkin, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) 8.
Feb. Another half mutchkin it made us mair happy, Affleck Poet.
Wks, (1836) 66. Gall. The Bull of Earlstoun could not keep sleeks or
count mutchkins with Peter McGaskill, Crockett ilfos5-ii/a^s (1895)
viii. Nhb.i Lan. Fetch a mutchkin of ale, Clegg SWcAes (1895).
2. Comp. (i) Mutchkin-botle, (2) -bowl, (3) -cup, (4)
-stoup, a vessel large enough to contain a ' mutchkin.'
(i) Bwk. 18 dozen chopin botles, one dozen and ten mutckin
botles, Edb. Antiq. Mag. (1848) 64. (2) Lth. Chappin-tankards,
mutchkin bowls, Toddy jugs for drouthy souls, Thomson Poems
(1819) 73. (3) Ayr. A smith came in for a mutchkin-cup of ale,
Galt Gilhaize (1823) v. (4) Sc. Emptying together a mutchkin
stoup of usquebaugh, Scott Abbot (1820) xxxiii. n.Sc. Inter-
minable stories, the main of which danced around ale barrels and
mutchkin stoups, Gokdon Carglen{j8gi) 210. ne.Sc. The mutchkin
stoup stood on the table and each player had a glass which was
replenished from the stoup as it was emptied, Gregor Flk-Lore
(1881) 164. Kcd. Some country chiels . . . Forgathered o'er the
mutchkin stoup, Jamie Muse (1844) 70. Per. Out of a mutchkin
stoup They drank twa chappin, sowp for sowp, Haliburton
Dunbar (1895) 88. Lnk. Up he cowp't the mutchkin stoup, Mur-
doch Doric Lyre (1873) 69. Ayr. Paint Scotland greetin owre her
thrissle j Her mutchkin stoup as toom's a whissle, Burns Author s
Cry (1786) St. 7. Gall. The mutchkin stoup is aften toom, Lauder-
dale Poems (1796) 36.
[1. A chopin of the new met ordanit ix. pyntis and thre
mutchkinnis. Acts Jas. I (1426) c. 80, ed. 1566 (Jam.). Du.
een Mudseken, the halfe pint of paris measure, that is
sixeteene ownces, our halfe common pinte (Hexham) ;
Flem. een Mudseken, 'Chopine, demy pinte' (Plantin).]
MUTE, sb.^ Lakel. Lin. Glo. Suf. Dev. Cor. Also in
form muct Lin.^ [miut.] 1. A mule whose sire is a
horse. LakeL=, Lin. (Hall.), Un.\ Glo.\ e.Suf. (F.H.)
2. A mule whose sire is an ass. nw.Dev.', Cor.''^
3. A cross between a rabbit and a hare.
e.Suf. It looks more like a large rabbit than a small hare. It
has a rabbit's body and a hare's ears and legs (F.H.).
MUTE, V. and sb."^ Obs. or obsol. Sc. Yks. 1. v. To
complain ; to mutter discontentedly. Cf. moot, f.^
Sc. This was read openly in the face of the Assembly, and in
the ears of the Independents, who durst not mute against it,
Baillie Lett. (1775) I. 438 (Jam.).
2. To muse : to turn a thing over in one's mind.
Yks. (C.C.R.) n.Yks.2 I mute it as I sat.
3. sb. A whisper; a hint; a quarrel; anything which
causes grief.
Sc. Ye may make the best out of your joys ye can, albeit ye find
them mixed with mutes, Rutherford Lett. (1765) I. lett. 1. (Jam.)
Fif. (Jam.)
MUTE, a^'. and s6.^ Sc.Lan.Glo.Brks. [miut.] \. adj
In phr. to run mute, of a dog : to pursue game without
giving tongue.
Glo. They [foxhounds] are running ' mute,' with their noses
several inches off the ground, Gibbs Cotswold Vill. (1898) 125.
Brks.'^ [Mute [amongst Hunters], hounds or beagles are said
to run mute when they course along without opening or making
any cry, Sportman's Diet. (1785).]
2. sb. A little utensil made of brass, ivory, or other
material, so formed that it can be fixed in an erect position
on the bridge of a violin, or similar instrument, in order
to deaden or soften the tone.
Rnf. Ye fiddlers a' your mutes put on And play a spring in eerie
tone . . . Since Wilson's dead, Webster Rhymes (1835) 145.
3. pi. A band of musicians who go round in the night
about Christmas time, the ' waits.'
Lan. Early each morning for some weeks previous [to Christ-
mas] their morning was refreshed by a band of young men, known
by the name of ' Mutes,' who roused the slumbering to their devo-
tions, Thornber Hist. Blackpool (1837) 91.
MUTE
[214]
MUZZLE
MUTE, MUTER, see Moot, sb., Mout, v., Mtilture.
MUTH, see Meeth, adj.\ Merth.
MUTHER, sb. Sc. (Jam.) Also in forms murther Fif.;
myter Per. A term denoting a great number. See
Multure. Sc. A muther o' beasts. A muther 0' folk. Per., Fif.
MUTHER, MUTHIR, MUTL, see Mother, 56.^=, Muttle.
MUTTER, v} Sur. Hmp. Som. Dev. Also in fprm
mutteryw.Som.i [m-E-ta(r}.] 1. Of the soil: to crumble ;
to moulder away.
Sur. (G.L.G.) Hmp.l Clods will mutter after a shower.
w.Som.'^ A bank of earth which was inclined to slip down, and
seemed to be kept up by the roots of plants in it, was described
. . . thus — Ee-2 uunee u-uung'd au'p bee dh-apur u dh-ai'd, ee'ns
miid zai' : ee keepth au'n muufureen, un kau'm aard raa'yn
daew'n-1 vaal.
Hence Muttery, ad?, of the soil : crumbling. s.Sur.
(T.T.C.)
2. To smoulder.
w.Som.'^ I've a knowed a heap o' couch bide and muttery tor a
week, and then zdon's ever you store ut, t'll bust out. Dev. Th'
vire wiz muttering long avore 't show'd 'zull, Pulman Sketches
(1842) 117, ed. 1871.
3. To splutter ; to waste in burning.
w.Som.^ How the can'l do muttery.
MUTTER, v.^ s.Chs.^ [mu-t3(r).] Of the weather:
to grow close and sultry.
Wei, Tiim'us, shun wi aa ree-n? — Ahy noa-)nfl ; bur ah thingk-
itjs miifiirin fur yet [' Well, Tummas, shan we ha' reen ? ' 'I
knowna ; bur ah think it's mutterin for yet '].
Hence Muttery, adj. of the weather : dull.
Dhii wedh'ur)z veri miit'uri dhus mau'rnin [The weather's very
muttery this mornin'].
MUTTER, MUTTI-COFE, see Multure, v.'', Mutty-calf.
MUTTIE, sb. Sc. [mB'ti.] The vessel, used in a mill,
for measuring meal ; its contents amount to half a stone
weight.
ne.Sc. Fess naither cog nor yet the mutty, Gregor Flk-Loie
(1881) 161. Lth. (Jam.)
MUTTLE, sb. Sh.I. Also written mutl. [mB'tl.] A
small knife.
Da gutters awa' at Baltasound left da cran boxes, . .
lipprin' wi' herrin', an' widna left a muttle bekis der time wis up,
Sh. News (Aug. 11, 1900) ; (A.W.G.) ; S. & Ork.i
[Norw. dial, mutel, a small knife (Aasen).]
MUTTON, sb. Sc. Irel. Midi. Lin. Shr. Brks. Hmp.
Suf. Dor. and Amer. [mu'tan, mB'tan.] 1. In comb, (i)
Mutton-chops, (a) the young tops or shoots of the white
goosefoot, Chenopodium album ; (b) the young shoots of
the goose-grass, Galium Aparine ; (2) -ham, a leg of mutton
cured like a ham ; (3) -head, of human beings or animals :
a stupid thing; a fool; (4) -headed, stupid, easily out-
witted; (5) -kail, mutton-broth ; (6) -making, killing sheep
for mutton ; (7) -tee, see (2) ; (8) -tops, (a) see (i, a) ; (b)
see (i, b).
(i, a) Dor.i (i) Dor. (B. & H.) (2) Sc. Ye'll get a slicy o' a
dishy nicey, An' a sweety wiggy, an' a mutton ham, Paul Abd.
(1881) 128. Ayr. The shackle-bane o' a mutton-ham, Galt5!>^.
Wylic (1822) Ixxxviii. Lnk. The kitchen ceiling darkened with a
goodly array of mutton-hams, Fraser IVhattps {i8g^) 221. Edb.
Beef or mutton ham, Forbes Poems (1812J 22. Gall. He rode
past, bung full of brandy and goodmuttonham, Crockett ^05s-//ct^5
(1895) xlvi. (3) Brks. Yonder goes mutton-head, look (W.H.E.).
Hmp. A shepherd speaking to his dog, ' Go along an' lay down,
you great mutton-head' (z'A.). (4) Midi. He were sich a mutton-
headed fool theer were no valley in outwittin' him, Bartram
People o/Clopton {iSg-]) 4g. [Amer. Some mutton-headed carpenter
had been there during the day mending the rustic chairs in the
porch, and he must have put his glue-pot down on the spot where
I sat, Adeler Hurly-Burly (1878J viii.] (5) Fif. Plenty o' dainty
Ait-cakes an' mutton-kail, Douglas Poems (1806) 120. (6) Qco.
' My flock 1 ' said Father Murphy. . . ' Arrah ! ' said Keereen, . .
' we're not sheep to-night : . . time enough for mutton-making,'
BARRiNGTON5fefc/!«s (1830) I. ii. (7) S. & Ork.^ (8, a) Dor. Some-
times boiled in the spring for food, Barnes Gl. (1863). (b) Dor.
(B. & H.)
2. Phr. (i) as dead as mutton, of persons or things : very
dull, inanimate; (2) Mutton, look at your tail, (3) Mutton,
mutton / used in scolding a dog, prob. in allusion to the
offence of sheep-worrying.
(i) e.Suf. (F.H.) (2) n.Lin.i (3) Slir.= ' Ah mutton, mutton,'
implying that the dog is addicted to run after, or kill sheep.
MUTTY-CALF, sb. Yks. Also written mutti-cofe
w.Yks. ; mutty-cauf w.Yks.*; mutty-cawfw.Yks. [mu'ti-
k§f.] A young calf, also fig. a simpleton ; a childish
person ; a ' cry-baby.' See Mut, v.'^
Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. Wot just looks as pleasant as a mutticofe's
dadda, Bywater Sheffield Dial. (1839) 191 ; Go on, tha gurt mutty-
cawf (H.L.); w.Yks.^ss
MXiTTYOCii''D,ppl.adj. Sc. Also in form mottyoch'd.
Matted together.
Gall. When sheaves of corn grow together, after being cut in
moist weather, we say they are muttyoch'd, or matted together,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
MUTUR, MUTURE, see Multure.
MUTY-HEARTED, />/>/. a«^'. Dev. [mu'ti-.] Sensitive;
unhappy.
I always wuz a soft and muty-hearted zort o' chap, Salmon
Ballads (1899) 6r ; Her's a poor muty-hearted little thing, and
I'm afraid her will be crying a goodish bit to-night, Hewett Peas.
Sp. (1892). s.Dev. (F.W.C.)
MUXEN, MUXON, see Mixen, Muckson.
MUXTER-MAXTER, sb. Sc. A heterogeneous collec-
tion, a confused heap. See Mixty-maxty.
Abd. The front green was like ony roup, wi' piles o' bulks, pic-
turs, furnitur, siller plate, an' fat not — a' muxter-maxter, Abd.
Wkly. Free Press (Oct. 20, 1900).
MUXY, MUZ, see Mucky, Mus(s, sb.'^, Muss, 5*.^ Muzz.
MUZ-WEB, MUZ-WIPE, see Mouse-web.
MUZZ, 5*. and v. Yks. Der. Hmp. Dev. Cor. Also
written muz Cor.^ [muz, tobz.] 1. sh. A state of mental
confusion. Cf. muzzy, adj.
Dev. I can't wittle a bit o' stick but mai hed is all of a muzz,
an' I feels properly fentliake — most drove clean crazed wi' hevin'
nothin' to okkipy my miand, Cassell's Mag. (Apr. 1895) 336.
2. Camp. Muz-head, a person with so much to do that
he is always hurried and confused.
Cor.3 He's a mighty smart fellow, but he do undertake so much
he's a regular muzhead.
3. V. To act in an absent, drowsy, stupefied way. Der."^,
nw.Der.* Hence Muzzed, ///. adj. confused ; stupid ;
half-intoxicated.
n.Yks.'^ s.Hmp. What wi' prevenent grace and pedestrination
. . . I'm quite muzzed, Verney L. Lisle (1870) xix. Dev. I had
one cold atop o' another, so as I were a'most muzzed. Good fVds.
(1881) 845.
MUZZEL-THRUSH, sb. Sc. The missel-thrush,
Turdus viscivorus. Swainson Birds (1885) i.
MUZZLE, sb. and v.^ Sc. Yks. Der. Lin. Shr. Brks.
Som. Dev. Cor. Slang, [mu'zl, mB-zl.] Ls6. The face;
esp. the lower part, the mouth and chin ; also used attrib.
Dmf. Wearin' faces aince wad fleyed ye, Ghastly muzzles filed
wi' blue, QuiNN Heather (1863) 241. w.Yks.' Der.^ White in
the muzzle. nw.Der.i w.Som.i Yah black-muzzle osebird, I'd
g'in and have a ha'p'orth o' zoap and a pen'orth o' razor, nif I was
thee ! Slang. Farmer.
2. V. Of pigs : to root with the snout.
Shr.i Send a dozen rings fur the little pigs, they bin beginnin'
to muzzle, I see. Brks. They are climbing the pole in another
part of the field, and muzzling in a flour tub in another, Hughes
T. Brown (1856) ii. Dev. (Hall.) ; Dev.i I . . . took the boy way
me to . . . ruise away the pegs from muzzling in the corn, 18.
Cor. Most of the time they were found In my Uttle quellat a
muzzling, Thomas Randigal Rhymes (1895) 7.
3. Of church bells : to muffle. w.Yks.* 4. To drink
in a voracious manner. w.Yks.', Lin. (Hall.) Hence
Muzzling-drunk, adj. very drunk. Cor.*
MUZZLE, V?- Yks. [mu-zl.] To trifle; to skulk.
(Hall.), w.Yks.^
MUZZLE, V? Sur.i [m^-zl.] To get twisted or en-
tangled ; used esp. of mowing-grass when it is wet and
impedes the machine.
MUZZLE, v." Dev. Cor. [mB-zl.] To knock down ;
to fight or box in an unscientific or unsportsmanlike way.
Dev. J. G. began to muzzle him about ; I mean by rubbing his
nose against the ground, Reports Provinc. (1885) ; Ef 'e wid fight
MUZZLE-WEED
[215]
MY
like a man twidden be za much odds, but tu go an' scrammellee
about and muzzle a feller like that, why tidden right I zay,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). Cor. They've a-been a-muzzling the
house. There was a core o' men here, Baking-Gould Curgenven
(1893) xxix.
MUZZLE-WEED, sb. Nrf. A plant [not identified].
Biting the tops off the ' muzzle-weed,' Emerson Birds (ed.
1895) 384.
MUZZOCK, s6. s.Chs.i [mu-zak.] The mouth. See
Muzzle, sb.
Ah)l piinsh dhi miiz-ak in [Ah'll punch thy muzzock in].
MUZZY, sb. Obs. N.Cy.2 A quagmire. Cf. mizzy.
MUZZY, adj. and v. In gen. dial, and coUoq. use in
Sc. and Eng. Also written muzy Nhb. [mu'zi, mB-zi.]
1. adj. Muddled with drink ; dazed ; stupid ; drowsy.
Per. It was not unusual for matrons to get muzzy, nay fou on
such occasions, Monteath Dunblane (1835) 71, ed. 1887. Rnf.
He's got so muzzy here to-night, You'll find it hard to wake him,
Picken Poems (1813) I. 183. Gall. Being still muzzy with my
clouted sconce, Crockett Anna Mark (1899) xli. Nhb. Tom
Paddock, aw suin sent him muzy, Tipton Slasher aw knocked out
o' time, Tyneside Sngs. (1872) 37. n.Yks.^ (s.v. Muzz'd), w.Yks.'
Lan. Deawn went his muzzy yed again, Clegg Sketches (1895)
326; Lan.i Sit. Monthly Mag. {1&16) I. ^g^. nw.Der.i Not.i A
wasna drunk but a was a bit muzzy. Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston
(1856)715. Nhp.i,War.2 Shr.^ So muzzy that he could na under-
stond. Brks.i,Hnt.(T.P.F.),e.An.2 Sus., Hmp.HoLLOWAY. Hmp.',
I.W.^ Tiev. Horae Sttbsecivae {iTj-j) ^00. Slang. Farmer.
2. Of the weather : misty, foggy, ' muggy.'
Brks.^ Nrf. Muzzy weather a coming — wind and rain from the
sutherly, Emerson Wild Life (1890) 97.
3. V. To go about in a dull, drowsy, low-spirited manner.
Lakel.2 He wad muzzy aboot fer days wi' hardly ivver a word
fer t'cat. Thoo'll sit rauzzeyen ower t'fire tell thoo'll be as grey
as a loose.
MWEEAL, MWILE, MWOPE, MWOSE, see Moil,
sA.', v., Mawp, s6.', Muse, v.'^
MY, pron. and int. Var. dial, forms and uses in Sc. Irel. Eng.
and Amer. [mai, moi, ma ; unstressed mi, ma.] I. pron.
Dial, forms : (i) Ma, (2) Mah, (3) Mai, (4) Maw, (5) Me,
(6) Mea, (7) Meh, (8) Mey, (9) Mi, (10) Mo, (iij Moi,
(12) Moy.
(i) Sc. I shuck ma pock clean toom, St. Patrick (18T9) I. 71
(Jam.). ne.Sc. Ye can mak' ma crookit prayers straught. Green
Gordonhaven (1887) 78. Cal.', N.I.^ Nhb. Reach doon ma fiddle,
Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 31 ; Nhb.' Lan. Theaw'rt fair, ma
love, Staton S«^. So^. (1859) i. 15. I.Ma. Betsy ma veg! Brown
Yams (1881) III, ed. 1889. Dev. Ma moather's childern wur
angry way me, Baird Sng. Sol. (i860) i. 6. (2) n.Yks. Mah
sixpence is as good as ony fine laady's, Linskill Betw. Heather
and N. Sea (1884) i; n.Yks.2 Mah awn sel. e.Yks.' Gen. used
where emphasis is required. w.Yks. (J.W.) (3) e.Dev. Mai
beleuved, Pulman Sng. Sol. (i860) ii. 3. (4) N.Cy.' Nhb. Maw
pet, maw canny lass, Robson Sng. Sol. (i860) ii. 10. Dnr.'
Lan, Wat me un maw mistris seede un yerd, Ormerod Felleyfro'
Rachde (1864) Title-page. (5) Sh.I. I hae me waands ta luik til,
Sh. News (July 30, 1898). Or.I. Tae me sonsy bairn, Fergusson
Rambles (1884) 168. Ir. It's no place to take me daughter to,
Paddiana (ed. 1848) I. 96. Ant. I'm fear'd to give up me way,
O'Neill Glens (1900) 8. Nhb. His left ban's anunder me heed,
RoBSON Sng. Sol. (i860) ii. 6. Dnr. Me mudder's bairns wer
cross wih mah, Moore Sng. Sol. (i860) i. 6. Cum. Me broon
stufi" goon, Farrall Betty Wilson (1886) 10. Wm. I greapt me
breeks pockets, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 15, ed. 1821. n.Yks. Me
memory's fail'd, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 41 ; n.Yks.^,
e.Yks."^ w.Yks. Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 266. Lan. Oi
wur ne'er so feyn i' me loife, Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale
(i860) II. 168. Midi. Oi grit me teeth, an' got me senses back,
Bartram People of Clapton (1897) 222. Der. It's on me conscience,
CusHiNG Voe (1888) I. ix. War.3 Glo. Ard enow to bate the
claasafmeback,LYSONS r'M/^a>'7'o«^Me(i868)46. Wil. I can't do me
sewing now, Tennant Vill. Notes (1900). Dor. I've put me trust
in Providence, Cornh. Mag. (Sept. 1900) 316. Dev. Me brists
like towers, Baird Sng. Sol. (i860) viii. 10. (6) w.Yks. Mea
noose and mea mooth, Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) Gl, (7)
Wm. Meh e'en's gy'n ooer winkin, Blezard Sngs. (1848) 17.
Lan. Meh mind misgives meh, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 37,
ed. 181 1. (8) Cum. A shelter to cover mey heid, Anderson
Ballads (ed. 1840) 7, w.Yks. Me'y fewt, an' me'y noose, Lucas
Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 267. (9) Lakel.' w.Yks. Yksman.
Xmas No. (1888) 23. Lan. Off to mi loom, Brierley Layrock
(1864)1. e.Lan.i (10) w.Yks. Momuther's childer, Bywater 5«g-.
Sol. (1859) i. 6. (11) w.Yks. Moi oi ! Bywater Sheffield Dial.
(1839)2. Chs.i3 (12) Chs. Moy weife lemme go to Thrutcham,
Clough B. Bresskiitle (1879) 3 ; Chs.i Lin. I done moy duty
boy 'um, Tennyson N. Farmer, Old Style (1864) st. 3. e.Suf. (F.H.)
II. Dial. uses. 1. pron. In phr. (i) my blessed, (2) — certte
or — certies, exclamations or mild expletives ; (3) — comely,
an affectionate term of address ; (4) — day, all my life ;
(5) — dear, a term of address not implying aflfection ; (6)
— dearest a tne, (7) — deary me, exclamations of surprise
or annoyance; (8) — eyemers, (9) — eyes, (10) — eyes and
limbs, (11) —fcTii, (12) — Gd, (13) —good grief, (14) —
grief, (15) — heart, see (2) ; (16) — hearty, a form of address ;
(17) — iverinos, (18) — ivers or hivers, (19) — joes, see (2) ;
(20) — lady's pincushion, \}<\& common lungwort, P«//ho;!-
aria officinalis; (21) — lord, (a) 'haggis' (q.v.) ; (b) a
hunchbacked man ; (22) —logus, (23) — mercy, see (2); (24)
— nabs, see (16) ; see Nabs ; (25) — O, (26) — 00ns, see (2) ;
(27) — own cheek, entirely to myself; (28) — respects, used as
a toast, ' your good health ' ; (29) — sake or sake
alive, (30) — sang or sangs, see (2) ; (31) — sart, of a
certainty ; verily ; (32) — sarty or sartis, (33) — shacks,
(34) — 50«^, see (2); (35) — sow's pigged, a game of cards;
(36) — torture, (37) — vernos, see (2} ; (38) — woman, my
wife ; (39) — word, see (2).
(i) s.Stf. 'My blessid?' said Isaiah. . . ' Why, missis, you ought
to be ashamed of yourself,' Murray John Vale (1890) xxx. (2)
Sc. Ghaists ! my certie, I sail ghaist them, Scott St. Ronan
(1824') xxviii. Frf. ' My certie,' he roars, ' there's the shine frae
Heaven on that little minister's face,' Barrie Minister {i8gi^ iii.
Gall. My certies! Janet would gie them the door, Crockett Cleg
Kelly (1896) 176. Nhb. My certys! but that was a shift, Oliver
Sngs. (1824) 16. Cum. My certie, but they're sair raistaen,
PowLEY Echoes Cum. (1875) 140; Cum.' (3) Nhb. Maw comely!
aw like thoo as weel, Tyneside Sngstr. (1889) 20. (4) N.I.' He's
the wee-est man ivir A seen in ma day. (5) Cor.^ I have freq.
heard a judge on the bench so addressed by witness and party.
(6) n.Lin.i My dearest a me, how the foaks do drink. (7) ib. My
deary me, here's Maason's bill cum'd in, an' it's poonds moore
then I was ware on. (8) w.Sora.' Muy uymurz! Much commoner
than ' my eyes.' (9) w.Som.' Dev. My eyes ! down urn'd
tha zwet In big draps moast purfuz, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett.
(ed. 1866) 2nd S. 52. (10) w.Yks. =,w.Som.i (ii)Edb. Mefcjy! he'd
pawn a pair o' shoon Did Satan quirk, Learmont Poems (1791)
43 ; Mafoy ! ye'll dwindle to a den, ib. 143. (12) War.'' (s.v.
Oaths). (13, 14) w.Yks.5 (15) Sur. A bite six feet wide I my
heart ! who was it took that. Sir! Hoskyns Talpa (1852) 177, ed.
1857. (i6)Sc. (A.W.) e.Yks.i Hoo gooas it, my hearty? w.Som.'
Often used in a depreciating way. ' I tell thee what, my hearty, nif
I catch thee aneast my orchet again, I'll gi thee such a hidin's
thee't mind vor one while.' (17) Cor.' (18) Dev. My ivers, ha's
gone in awacking girt cloud ! Nathan HoggPo«<. Lett. (ed. 1858)
ist S. 19 ; My hivers ! up th* old Humman zot, ib. 60; When ees
got ta tha wurks, than mi hivers ! deer Beel, Us zeed sitchey gurt
bangin I water-wheel. Hare Brither Jan (1863) 12, ed. 1887.
nw.Dev.' Ivers rhymes with divers. Cor.''^ (19) Nhb.' My joes
I fear Yon is a parlish ingeneer, Joco-Serious Disc, (1686) 71.
(20) Chs.' The spots on the leaves resembling pin heads. (21, a)
s.Sc. Prob. from the idea of its being the chieftain of the pudding-
race (Jam.), {b) N.I.' (22) Lan. Mi logus I how I knock'd up
and down, Cty. Gaby in N. tf Q. (1869) 4th S. iv. 72. (23) Sh.I.
'My mercy, Mr. M^Leodl' shu said, Sh. News (Oct. 13, 1900).
(24) se.Wor.' I had some suspicion as 'e took some a thu eggs, so
I took un 'id [hid] myself in the 'ens'-roost, an' I just ketched ' my
nabs ' in thii act. I.W.2 Now, my nabs, I've got a boaan to pick
wi' you. (25) N.I.' (26) Shr.' (27) e.Yks.' Ah'd a quayt o' yal
all ti mi awn cheek. w.Yks.(J.W.) (28)Chs.' (29)Chs.'; Chs.sMoi
sake alive! I'll trim thy jacket for thee. (30) Fif. Such expressions of
surprise as, 'my certe,' ' my san,' Colville Vernacular (1899) i8.
Edb. My sang, Peter, ye wad hae nae chance wi' her, Ballantine
Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 85. Nhb. Ma sangs! but ah'll be clean
loosin' coont o' time if ah gan on this gait, S. Tynedale Stud.'
(1896) iv; Nhb.' (s.v. Basang). Lake]." My Sang! but thoo'll
cop it when thi fadder cu's hiam fer that'n. n.Yks. Mhisang b't
that's a grand aifair, is'nt it? (W.H.) ; n.Yks.2 (31) n.Yks.2 (32)
Cum. My sartees ! when yeh cannot answer meh sec easy questions
as that, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 77; Cum.'; Cum.^ My
MYAAT
[2l6]
MYZERT
surty ! he's nin o' t'deein' mak' isn't fadder, 8; Cum.* (33)
w.Yks. Leeds Olm. (1875) 9. (34) Cum.2 ; Cum.^ My song ! but
this is a bonnie welcome to give a fellow, 12 ; Cum.*, n.Yks.^*
ne.Yks.i Mah song ! bud ah will smack tha. m.Yks.', Chs.'
(35) n.Lin.i (36) Sc. My torture ! are we beggars then ? Steven-
son Catriona (1893) xxiii. (37) Cor.2 (s.v. My ivers !) (38)
s.Wor. (H.K.) (39) Sc. (A.W.) e.Dur.i Answers to 'indeed,'
' well, I'm sure,' of other parts. ' My ward, thoo'U get wrang.'
w.Yks., Lan. (W.F.S.)
2. Mine.
Lakel.i Suf. If you want a broody hen I'll lend you my,
Macmillan's Mag. (Sept. 1889) 357. Ess. This is my, that's your
(H.H.M.).
3. int. An exclamation of astonishment or surprise.
Sh.I. My, William, is yon ye? Sh. News (Nov. 24, 1900). Abd.
But, my, fat a strappin' chiel ye're grovvin' ! Greig iog-«o' Biichan
(1899) 180. Rxb. (Jam.) Wgt. O my! when she'd chance tae
bestow me a glance O her bonnie bit faceock, Fraser Poc»«.s (1885)
63. n.Ir. My ! the heecht o' the hooses ! An' the lenth o' the
streets ! Lyttle Paddy McQuillan. Dwn. My, he wuz terble lang-
heided, ib. Ballycuddy (1892) g. w.Yks. (W.H.) [Amer. My!
Did he take you up? Westcott David Harum (1900) ii.]
4. Phr. (i) my be here, a pathetic exclamation ; (2) My !
oh my.' (a) an exclamation of great surprise; {b) see (i).
(i) Sc. My be here, life's but a glaik on the wa', we're auld afore
we ken ! Ko-^ Horseman's Wd. {iS^$) ix. (2, a) Cai.i (6) Dwn.
My-oh-my ! wha wud think that a wur born in this hoose an'
rockit in my mither's erms in this very cher, Lyttle Ballycuddy
(1892) 13.
MYAAT, sb. Cai.i [mjat.] The short, faint mew of
a cat. Cf. meout, mewt.
MYACH, MYAK, MYARTER, MYAUT, MYAUVE,
see Maught, Make, sb.^, Martyr, Meout, Miauve.
MY AWL, see Meowl.
MYCHIN,/r/. Lan. Also written michin. [mi-tjin.]
Out of humour, pining, dissatisfied. Davies Races (18=^6)
236; (W.M.), Lan.i
MYCKIE, MYE, MYED, MYEG, see Mucky, Mow,
sb.^, Mead, sb}, Maeg.
MYEL, MYELN, MYEN, MYER, see Meal,56.S Mailin,
Mean, adj., Mire, sb.
MYGHIN, sb. I.Ma. Mercy.
' If^s not much myghin you'll get,' says the sisther, and hushed
the childher a bit — ' myghin indeed I ' Brown Yarns (iHSj) 176,
ed. 188^
MYGINICH, sb. Sc. [mi-ginix.] A ' fugie ' or
beaten one.
Abd. Let them dunt it out i-now, just a fair shake an' the best
man i-most, an' myginich to the newmost, Ellis Pronunc. (1889)
V. 774.
MYID, see Meeth(e.
MYLIES, sb. pi. Sc. (Jam.) The small links on a fish-
ing-rod, through which the line runs.
MYND(E, sb. and v. Sc. Cum. Lan. [maind.] 1. sb.
A mine in which metals or minerals are dug ; iron-ore,
the produce of a mine. Also used attrib.
Twd. (Jam.), Cum.* n.Lan. Gert weltin fortuns hes bin meadd
i' Ferness amang thor red mynd pits, R. Piketah Forness Flk.
(1870) 20.
2. V. To dig in a mine. Twd. (Jam.)
MYOGRE, V. Cai.i [mjS'gar.] To bungle ; to work
in a dirty or clumsy way, so as to spoil a piece of work.
Cf. martyr, v.
MYOWWOW, adj. Chs. [mjau'-wau.] Ill-balanced.
s.Chs. (T.D.) Cf wee-wow.
MYPE, V. ? Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) 1. To speak a great
deal. 2. To be very diligent. Hence Myping, ppl. adj.
busy, very diligent.
A mypin' bodie, one who is constantly engaged or eydent.
MYRE, see Mear, sb.
MYRRH, sb. sw.Cum. The sweet cicely, Myrrhis
odorata. (B. & H.)
MYRTLE-BEE, sb. Sur. A bird (unknown to natural-
ists), about half the size of the common wren. A^. 6^ Q.
(1854) 1st S. ix. 205, 602 ; ib. X. 136.
MYRTLE-BERRIES, sb. pi. Obs. Cum. See below.
The plants of Skiddaw are the myrtle-berries, generally called
blackberries, the Vitis Idaea of Dioscorides, moss-berries, great
variety of mosses, Gent. Mag. (1751) in Hutchinson Hist. Cumb.
(1794) II. 217.
MYRYAN, MYSART, MYSEL, see Muryan, Miserd,
Meazle.
MYSELF, pron. Irel. Won Glo. Also in form meself
Ir. L In phr. in myself, in my general health. Cf.
herself, 1.
s.Wor.^ I be better in myself, sir ; but my poor leg 'ave got that
swelth in 'im as I couldn't get 'im along to the top of the town, 34.
Glo. (A.B.)
2. I ; used emphatically.
Ir. Myself would as soon strike my owld mother, Barrington
Sketches (1830) III. xviii ; But it's meself that stuck to her, Paddiana
(ed. 1848) I. 95. n.Ir. Och, Barney, machree ! it's meself that was
fooled. Lays and Leg. (1884)20. Ant. When we lived in ould
Glenann Meself could hft a song ! O'Neill Glens (1900) 16.
MYSEL(L,/ro«. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Chs. Der. Nhp. War. Also in forms meezil Wxf ^ ;
mesel(l Nhb. Cum.^ Wm. Yks. ne.Lan.^ ; misel Wm.
e.Lan.' ; missel Lan. [mise'l.] Myself. See Mysen.
Sc. I might as weel tell ye mysell, Scott Leg. Mont. (1818) iv.
Ant. 'A'm no mysel since,' means I have been greatly frightened
about something and am still suffering from the effects of the fright,
Ballymena Obs. (1892). VVxf.^, N.Cy.^ Nhb. Says aw ti mysel,
Oliver Sngs. (1824) 5 ; Aw cannet buy'd for mesel, Robson Bk.
Ruth (i860) iv. 6. Dur.^ Cum. As pale as death i' th' fyace like
me sell, Lonsdale Mag. (Feb. 1867) 311 ; Cum.^ 16. Wm. Bet,
hawivver, thowt I ta mesell, Spec. Dial. (1877) pt. i. 16; I like ta
kna summat fer misel, Kendal C. News (Sept. 22, 1888). n.Yks.
Ah cud pleease mesel', Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875)67; (T.S.);
n.Yks.2 w.Yks. Let me shak mesel, Howson Cur. Craven (1850)
115 ; w.Yks. 1^ Lan. Saime toime aw knoed missel lung sin,
Ormerod Felley fro' Rachde (1864) i. ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.l, Chs.'^s^
Der.=, nw.Der.i Nhp.i I . . . talk'd to mysell, Clare MS. Poems.
War.* I lives by mysell.
MYSEN, pron. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Midi. Der. Not. Lin.
Nhp. Sur. Also in forms meseln w.Yks.; mesen Yks.
Midi. Der. ; misen w.Yks. [mise'n.] Myself See Mysel(L
Nhb. Ah's lived sae lang by mysen ah's lossin me senses,
S. Tynedale Stud. (1896) iv. n.Yks. (T.S.) ; Ah fell and leeam'd
me-sen, Castillo Poems (1878) 18. e.Yks.i Ah mun dee it mysen.
w.Yks. Ta tell the t'honest trewth, ah'm capt Ta fynd meseln alive,
Preston Poems (1864) 7 ; Aw sed to misen, God help fowk this
weather, Hartley DM. (1868) 8 ; Ah whent ta bed we mesen,
Tom Treddlehoyle Trip ta Lunnan (1851) 55; w.Yks.^^s Lan.
I should ha' said t'same mysen, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) I. 80.
Midi. I wouldn't moind for mesen, Bartram People of Clapton
(1897) 93. Der. For mesen, I've kept it close for twenty years,
CusHiNG Voe (1888) I. ix ; Der.=, nw.Der.i, Not (J.H.B.), Not.12
s.Not. (J.P.K.) Lin. Let ma' 'ear mysen speak, Tennyson
N. Farmer, New Style (1870) st. 2. n.Lin.i, Nhp.i Sur. I be
brought up on the heath, and can stand up for mysen, Bickley
Sur. Hills (1890) I. iii.
Hence Mysenwards, adii. towards myself.
m.Yks.l Whenever I make a mistake it's to mysenwards.
MYSH, MYSTALL, see Mash, v., Mistal(l.
MYSTERIOUS, adj. Der. In comb. Mysterious plant,
the mezereon, Daphne Mezereon.
I was admiring a fine plant in a cottage garden, and asked the
old woman what she called it. . .' We call it the mysterious plant
sir, because its flowers come out before its leaves,' Ellacombe
Plants (1870) in (B. & H.).
MYSTIFICATION, sb. Sc. Mystery.
Whaur did ye learn a' that ? It's a perfect mystification to me,
Swan Gates of Eden (ed. 1895) vii.
MYTER, see Mitre, Muther.
MYTH, sb. >.Obs. Slk. (Jam.) Marrow. Hence
Mythie, adj. of or belonging to marrow.
A mythie bane, a marrow-bone or a bone full of marrow.
MYTH, V. Sc. To measure. Black Did. (184s).
MYTHER, see Moither.
MYTING, sb. Ags. (Jam.) A fondling designation for
a child.
MYZERT, see Miserd.
[217]
N
The n- in many of the words beginning with this
letter is-inorganic. In many words it has arisen partly
from the n of the indef. art. an, and partly from the n of
the poss. pron. mine ; the latter is especially the case in
words denoting relationship.
N, sh. Irel. In phr. from N to one, from end to end.
Uls. Vis. Jrn. Arch. (1853-62) VI. 282 ; (M.B.-S.) Cf.
/rom end to one, s.v. End, sb} 1 (8).
NAjtnt. Sc. [na..] 1. An exclamation, ^i?m. of surprise.
Abd. ' Na ! sic a chance ! ' he cries, Guidman Inglismaill (1873)
47. Ayr. Na ! that goon o' yours sets you aff ! Service Dr.
Duguid {ed. 1887) 170. Lnk. Na, what do you think ? Nicholson
Idylls (1870) 53.
2. Phr. (i) na an' noo, (2) — an' there noo, (3) — sirs, ex-
clamations of surprise.
(i) ne.Sc. ' Deil a bit!' ' Na, an' noo!' 'Aweel, there,
aweel 1 ' burst from various voices in the throng, Gordon North-
ward Ho, 134. (2) ' Na, an' there noo ! ' cry the three together,
ib. 314. (3) ne.Sc. Na sirs, Peggie, fat i' the name o' Gweed tals's
ye here this time o' nicht? Green Gordonhaven (1887) 52.
NA, neg. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and n. counties to
Der. Also Shr. ? Sur. Also in form nor Lan. [na.]
Not ; used end. with verbs.
Sc. Beggars shou'd na be choosers, Ramsay Prov. (1737). Cai.i
Abd. Nae, man, he tyeuk-na naebody, Alexander v4m i^tt. (1882)
16. s.Sc. Oh, hae na ye heard o' the great Maister Badman ?
Allan Poems (1887) 64. Ayr. A wooer like me maunna hope to
come speed, Burns Rob. Morris, st. 3. Nhb. Thou dis na leuk
varra pleasd, Bewick Tyneside Tales (1850) 13 ; Nhb.'^ Aa winna.
n.Yks. Could na (T.S.). w.Yks.i Needna. Lan. Whoi didst na
tell thi mother ? Harland Lyrics (1866) 76 ; If that isnor enoogh,
Brierley /j-irfa/e (1865) 130, ed. 1868; Has nor it comm thrue?
ib. Layrock (1864) iii. e.Lan.^ Needn. s.Chs.^ 77, nw.Der.i, Shr.i
? Sur. Such goings on, Tummus, mustna be, Bickley Sur. Hills
(1890) III. vii.
NA(A, see No, adj.
NAABAR, sb. Sh.I. Also in form naavar. The
upper vertebra of a sheep's neck ; the nape of the neck.
S. & Ork.i
NAAG, see Gnag.
NAAGHEN, adj. Obs. Wxf.' Naked.
NAAK, sb. Sc. Nhb. Also in form nock Nhb. [nak.]
The great northern diver, Colymbus glacialis. Sc. Swain-
son Birds (1885) 213. Nhb. (R.O.H.)
NAAR, NAAVAR, see Near, adv., Naabar.
NAB, sb.^ Sc. [nab.] A man of importance ; a con-
ceited person. See Knab(b.
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. A nab's twa dogs, Anderson Poems (ed.
1826) 12. Lth. The nabs will say, that duddy soul Shall no sit
near, nor taste our bowl, Thomson Poems (1819) 29. Edb. Haps
some day yet you may turn rustj'. An' yer auld nabs, care nothing
foiiyou, LiDDLE Poems (1821) 88. Gall. A' the fat nabs through
the countra, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 75.
Hence (i) Nabbery or Nabrie, sb. the lower class of
gentry ; (2) Nabby, adj. (a) well-to-do ; of rank or posi-
tion ; (b) neat, trim, well-dressed ; pretentious, dressed
above one's station ; (3) Nabity, (a) adj., see (2, b) ; (b) sb.
a well-dressed, trim person.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) (2, a) w.Sc. (Jam.) Lnk. A knowin' class wha
come to woo Our Lairds an' nabby renters For polin' days, Wat-
son Poems (1853) 2, (6) w.Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. A seam o' teeth she
VOL. IV.
had, nae doot, Richt nabbie, for ball or route, White Joltings
(1879) 185. (3 a, b) Cld. (Jam.)
2. Phr. half nab, a pretentious person ; one claiming to
be genteel.
Lth. Upo her back the wauchty creels, She thraws as eithly in
a spell : As yon half-nabs do their mantels, Lumsden Sheep-head
(1892) 62.
NAB, sS.2 Cld. (Jam.) A slang name for the head. Cf.
nob, sb} 3.
[Sw. dial, nabb, the head (Rietz).]
NAB, sb.^ Wm. [nab.] A knuckle. Kirkby-Stephen
and Appleby Messenger (Apr. 1891).
NAB, v.^ and 56.* In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc.
Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also written knab N.I.* Lakel.*
Wm. Lan. nw.Der.^ Not.^ Sus. Hmp. [nab, naeb.]
1. V. To take, catch, seize; to steal; to take into custody.
Sc. He took leg-bail for it, but I nabbit him (Jam.). Or.I.
(S.A.S.), Bnff.i Abd. Whiles he wad nab some wild, ill-tricket
loun, Wha gat ae nicht in jail, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 9.
Frf. The captain of the soldiers is confident he'll nab every one o'
you, Barrie Minister (1891) v. Per. Temptation eithly nabbit me
back to my auld cursed habit, Spence Poems (1898) 170. Cld.
(Jam.) Slk. Now thieves will be nabb'd by the thousand, Hogg
Poems (ed. 1865) 437. Edb. Your turkey That was nab'd wi'
what was in her, Liddle Poems (1821) 30. Gall. He determined
to ' nab theyoung scamp and take him along,' Crockett Stichit Min.
(1893) 155. Ir. We mayn't have much chance of nabbin' them if
they've took off at loose ends through the bog in this light, Bar-
low Idylls (1892) 127. N.I.i Nhb. Some of the boys had tried to
'nab' him. Pease 7afes(i899) 136. Lakel.^ Ah'll knab thi if thoo
co's here. He's knabb'd my knife, Ah believe. Cum.i ; Cum."
A policeman nabbt em, teaak themfra em and lockt em up , Sargisson
Joe Scoap (1881) 211. Wm. He was transported for horse-nabbin'
(B.K.). n.Yks.23 . n.Yks.* Thoo mun watch him or he'll nab
summat. e.Yks.i Jack Robins went oot las' neet ti nab a hare ;
bud keepers nab'd him. w.Yks.12 Lan. Th' keeper's knabb'd him
for poachin' last neet, Lahee Acquitted (1883) x. LMa. Nabbed
at the bobbie. Brown Doctor (1887) 61. Midi. Ye ha' to be
smaart to nab 'em, Bartram People of Clapton (1897) 24. nw.Der.',
Not.^ s.Not. 'E ups wi' 'is 'and an' nabs it (J.P.K.). Lin. I'll nab
that there fellow next time he steals my cherries (J.C.W.). Lei.^,
Nhp.^, War.23 Shr.^ The ' Bobbies ' 'an' bin lookin' out for them
poachin* chaps a good wilde, but they nabbed 'em at the far.
Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Oxf. He was soon nabbed by
the bobby (G.O.). Brks.^ I nabbed 'un jus' as a was a-maaykin'aff
wi' the taayters on his shawlder. w.Mid. Some one's nabbed my
mole-traps (W.P.M.). Lon. Mr. nabs the chance of putting
his customers awake, Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) I. 51. Hnt.
(T.P.F.) e.An.i; e.An.2 I nabb'd him at last. Nrf. If I could
nab them knowin' chaps, Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 19.
e.Suf. (F.H.) Ess. They ha' nabb'd my gold, Clark J. Nbakes
(1839) St. 132. Sus., Hmp. HoLLOWAY. Dor. I veil, or I should
have nabbed one ov 'em, Windsor Mag. (June 1900) 70. w.Som.i
I wish I knowed where anybody could nab a good sort o' cabbage-
zeed. Cor. We should ha' ben nabbed frail ... for the boat was
near upon us, Forfar Kynance (1865) 22. [Amer. Among the
rest that they nabbed was two brothers, Sam Slick Clockmaker
(1836) 3rd S. vii.]
Hence (i) Nabber, sb. a pilferer ; a thief. Cld. (Jam.) ;
(2) Nabbery, sb. theft, {ib)
2. Phr. (i) to nab hold, to take hold quickly ; (2) to nab it, to
receive unexpected punishment ; to ' catch it ' unawares ;
(3) to nab the rust, (a) see (2) ; {b) to get the worst of a
Ff
NAB
[218]
NACKED
bargain ; to be worsted in anything ; (c) to be angry or
sulky.
(i) s.Not. As soon as ah seed the apple ah nabbed ho'd on't
(J.P.K.). Oxf. (G.O.) (2)Nhp.i You've nabbed it, my lad. (3, «)
War., Sus., Hmp. Holloway. (6) Sus., Hmp. Holloway. (c)
e.Suf. (F.H.\ I.W.i
3. To cheat ; to trick.
Lakel.2, n.Yks.^ Shr.i Some of you, calling yourselves honest
men, go to the fair . . . and when you come back, you boast that you
' nabbed the chap.'
4. sb. A snatch, a seizure ; theft ; profit which is the
result of sharp deaUng.
Cld. (Jam.) Wm. What he wad hev a fair good knab cot o'
that swappen deea Ahs warnd him (B.K,).
NAB, v.'^ and sbJ^ Sc. 1. v. To peck at, strike ; to
punish. Dmf. (Jam.) See Knab, v.'^ 2. sb. A peck ; a
smart stroke ; a blow on the head.
Slk. Ane o' them gave me a nab on the crown that dovered me,
Hogg Perils 0/ Man (1822) III. 416 (Jam.). Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
NAB, V? Wor. Hrt. Dev. [nsb.] To nibble ; to bite
gently and playfully. See Knab, v.'^
s.Wor. (H.K.) Hrt. The sheep may nab and eat, Ellis Shep.
Guide (1750) 232. nw.Dev.i 'Ow they 'osses kip nabbin' to wan
tether ; they do't out o' play, I s'pose ?
NAB, v.* Sc. To speak in a mincing, affected manner ;
to attempt to speak fine English. See Knap, v}^ 6.
Heb.I. One of the cutters' captains, nabbing his English, Tytler
Macdonald Lass (1895) 58.
NAB, see Knab, sb}, Nap, adj.
NABAL, sb. and adj. Sc. Also written nable Dmf. ;
and in form nabble Gall. 1. sb. A narrow-minded,
greedy, laborious person ; a ' dog in the manger.'
Abd. To have refused to lend pails would have fixed the odium
of an ungracious nabal on one so doing, Anderson Rhymes {ed.
1867) 213. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
Hence Nabalish, adj. covetous, grasping. Sc. (Jam.)
2. adj. Surly, ill-natured ; stingy ; narrow-minded.
Abd. Dawvid was not nabal wi' me the streen, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) xix ; He's main nabal (G.W.). Dmf. Oh
baud back frae nable Johnny, Quinn Heather (1863) 38.
[1. From 'Nabal,' the Scripture character (i Sam. xxv).]
NAB(B, sb. Sc. Yks. [nab.] 1. A nail or peg on
which clothes are hung.
Cld. (Jam.) w.Yks. 1694. Pd. by the vicar order for 3 nabbs,
Bradford Par. Ace.
2. Phr. (i) by hab or by nab, by hook or by crook ; (2) by
habs and nabs, at odd moments, or in intervals of leisure,
piecemeal. See Hab, adv.
(i) w.Yks. If t'place is full, he'll get in bi ab or hi nab (S.K.C.).
(2) e.Yks.i
[1. Norw. dial, nabb, a nail or peg in a wall on which to
hang anything (Aasen).]
NABBER, see Napper, sb.^
NABBITY, adj. e. An. [nas-biti.] Of a woman : short
in stature but full grown. (Hall.), e.An.^
[Cp. Fr. naboi, an ill-favoured dwarf; nabote, nabotte, a
woman dwarf (Cotgr.).]
NABBLE, v?- Nhp. Wor. Glo. e.An. Sus. Hmp.
[nae'bl.] To gnaw ; to nibble. See Knab, v?
Nhp.i, s.Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.i, Glo. (A.B.), Glo.l e.An.l A
stronger word than ' nibble.' Mice nibble and rats nabble our
victuals, and hares and rabbits our growing vegetables. Nrf., Suf.
Holloway. Suf.', e.Suf. (F.H.) Sus., Hmp. Holloway.
Hence Nabble-trap, sb. the mouth.
Sus. If dey didn't shet der nabble-traps, Lower Tom Cladpole
(1831) St. 105 ; Den de ole man had to shet de nabble-trap, Jack-
son Southward Ho (1894) I. 338.
NABBLE, v."^ and sb. Ken. Sur. Sus. Hmp. Also
written knabble Sus.'' Hmp.i [nae'bl.] 1. 1;. To chatter;
to gossip ; to idle about. Sus.^ Hence Nabbler, sb. a
gossip ; a mischief-maker ; an argumentative, captious
person.
Ken.i Sus. Dere wos a law chep as wur a bit ov a nabbler,
Jackson Southward Ho (1894) I. 432 ; Sus.'=, Hmp.i
2. sb. An argument ; a quarrel.
Ken. (W.F.S.) Sur.i I heard a nabble going on.
NABBLE, see Nobble, v.^
NABBLY, adj. Nhb.i [nabli.] Having the appear-
ance of an apple in size. See Nobbly.
A nabbly clod is one the size of an apple.
NABBOCKIN, sb. n.Lin.» [na-bskin] A small
corner of land left by a railway, road, or drain, which has
been carried across enclosures.
You'll hev to mak them raailwaay foaks tak to them theare bits
o' nabbockin's, thaay'll be to noa mander o' ewse to you noo.
NABERT, NABIGATOR, see Nebert, Navigator.
NABLE, sh. Yks. Lan. Der. e.An. and Amer. Also
written nabel w.Yks.^ ; nayble s.Lan. ; and in forms
neeable e.Yks.^ ; nibel, nobel e.Suf.; noble e.An.^ Suf.*
[ne-bl, nia-bl.] The navel.
e.Yks.' w.Yks. Thah nable's loik a rahnd goblet, Bywater
Sheffield Sng. Sol. (1859) vii. 2 ; w.Yks.^s, e.Lan.l s.Lan. Bamford
Dial. (1854). nw.Der.i, e.An.i Nrf. Yar noble is like onto a
round beaker as don't want no licker, Gillett Sng. Sol. (i860)
vii. 2. Suf.', e.Suf. (F.H.) [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I, 74.]
[With the e.An. form noble, cp. Prompt. : Novyl or navyl.]
NAB-NANNY, sb. e.An. A louse. e.An.', e.Suf.
(F.H.) Hence Nab-nanny-trap, sb. a fine-toothed comb.
e.Suf. (F.H.)
NABOCKLISH, int. Irel. Also written naboclish
Wxf. ; naboklish Ir. Never mind 1
Ir. Arrest him — nabocklish — catch a weasel asleep, Lever
Ch. OMalley (1841) ii ; But, naboklish ! what'U ye have, Carleton
Traits Peas. (1843) I. 341. Wxf. But, naboclish, we will find our-
selves in the wrong box, maybe, Kennedy Banks Bora (1867) 129.
[Ir. na, not + bocadh, discussion -t- /«s/!, with it, let there
be no discussion about it]
NABOR, sb. Irel. A wooden instrument for breaking
flax. Wxf. Hall Ir. (1841) II. 164. Hence Nabor-
head, sb. a dunce, a blockhead, ib.
NABREED,s6. w.Yks.3 Also written naybreed. ? a kind
of nemesis. Only in such a phr. as Watch fnabreed.
Watch t'nabreed, it comes round once in seven years and gives
somebody a hipe.
NABS, sb. Yks. Lan. War. Wor. Lon. Nrf. Suf. I.W. Dor.
[nabz, nsebz.] Used with a^oss. /row. A vain, pretentious,
or impudent person ; a term of familiarity. See Knabs.
e.Yks.^ He begun ti talk big, but Ah seean sattled his nabs.
w.Yks.2 Lan. My nabs sung like a nightingell, Brierley Cotters,
xiii. m.Lan.l War.2 ; War.^I caughtmynabsintheact. se.Wor.l
(s.v. My). Lon. We call everybody ' his nabs,' or ' her nabs,' i&Ay-
HKW Lond. Labour (1851) III. 139, ed. 1861. Nrf. I do a bit of
stuffing, and as sure as I get gutting a bird, in come my nabs and
steal some, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 203. e.Suf. ' I wonder
where my nabbs has got to.' Used particularly of a husband
(F.H.). I.W.2 (s.v. My). Dor. • Ay, my nabs,' I think to myself,
' more know Tom Fool, &c.,' Hardy Ethelberta (1876) i.
N-ABSY, sb. Nhp.i Brks.* Also in form napsy Brks.'
[nee'bsi.] An abscess. See Apse.
NACE, adj. Sc. ? Destitute.
Abd. The sin o' a peer nace nyaukit creatur, Alexander Johnny
Gibb (1871) xxi.
NACHE-BONE, see Aitch-bone.
NACK, sb.^ Yks. Shr. [nak.] A child's name for a
pig; a call-word to a pig. m.Yks.', Shr.* (s.v. Call-words
to animals). Hence Nacky or Nacky-pig, sb. a young pig ;
a sucking-pig ; also usedj^^.
e.Yks. 'Earl de Grey nacky pigs,' was formerly the term given
to the Yks. yeomanry, commanded by Earlde Grey (R.S.). m. Yks.'
N-ACK, sb.^ Wor. The fruit of the bullace or wild
damson, Prunus instititia. (E.D.R.) The same word as
the hack in hackberry, s.v. Hag-berry.
NACK, sb.^ Cor. A collection of useless or worthless
things ; anything of little value.
Here's a brave how-dy-do 'Bout a few old taties and turmuts, —
they are a nawble nack too, Thomas Randigal Rhymes (i895)»7 ;
Cor.2 'A nack of rubbish,' as descriptive of poor fruit. A foolish
sermon is described as ■ a nack of rot.'
NACK, V. War.= [naek.] To strike with a missile ; a
dial, form of ' knock.'
NACK, see Knack, Knock, v., Neck, sb.'^
NACKAN, NACICEN, see Necking.
HACKED, ppl. adj Cor.^ [naekt.] Of a mine : stopped
working. The same word as Knock, v. (10).
NACKENDOLE
[219]
NAFF
NACKENDOLE, see Haughendole.
NACKER, sb} Lin. Nhp. Hnt. e.An. Also written
knacker Lin. Nhp.^^Hnt.e. An. s.Cy. [na-k3(r),nae-k3(r).]
L A saddle or harness maker.
Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 712; Lin.i, Nhp.^^, Hnt.
(T.P.F.), e.An.i Nrf. The knacker's mawther was cothy (W.R.E.).
Suf. (C.T.) ; Ray (1691) ; Suf.i e. & s.Cy. Ray (1691).
2. Phr. knacker's brandy, a sound tlirashing.
e.An.i Suf. Rainbird Agric. (18 ig) 295, ed. 1849.
[1. Cp. Icel. hnakkur, a man's saddle (Zoega) ; see Vig-
FussoN (s.v. Hnakkr).]
NACKER, 56.2 n.Lin.i [na-k3(r).] A drum.
[ME. naker, a kettledrum (Chaucer). OFr. nacaire,
anacaire, ' sorte de timbale, instrument de musique' (La
Curne) ; Byzantine Gr. auoKapov (Ducange).]
NACKER, sb.^ Cor.^^ [nae-k3(r).] A handkerchief.
Cf, ncckinCi
NACKER, sb* Cor.^'^ [nEe'k3(r).] The bird called
the wheatear, Saxicola oenanthe.
NACKER, see Knacker, sb., v.
N-ACKEREL, sb. Nhb.^ An acorn. The same word
as Ackerel (q.v.).
NACKET, sb} So. Also written nackit Frf. [na'kit.]
An impertinent, mischievous, or wicked child ; applied
also to a precocious child. Cf. knacket, sb. 2.
Sc. When he felt the touch of Snip's satire he would rest
content with the revenge of referring to him as a 'nacket,'
Haliburton Fields (1890) 135. S. & Ork.i MS. add. Bnff. He's
a gey bit nacket o' a loonie ; Sic a bonnie nacketie n' a quynie,
Gregor Notes to Dunbar (1893) 150. Frf. In there comes a httle
nackit, Red as a labster, and humph-backit. Sands Poems (1833)
121. w.Sc, s.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
[Sic ballis, sic nackettis, and sic tutivillaris, Dunbar
Poems (c. 1510), ed. Small, IL 83. Fr. naquet, the boy that
serves or stops the ball after the first bound at tennis
(Cotgr.) ; see La Curne (s.v.).]
NACKET, sb.'' Sc. [na'kit.] 1. A piece of wood,
stone, or bone, used in the game of ' shinty.' Sc. (Jam.)
2. A small roll of tobacco.
Sc. (ib.) Lnk. The twa snipes baith had oor pipes — An' me —
a wee bit nacket, WARDROpy. Mathison (1881) 67.
NACKET, sb.^ BnflF.i [na'kit] A sharp blow.
NACKET, NACKEY, see Knacket, Nocket, Knacky.
NACKIE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. A loaf of bread ; a small
cake. Ayr. Picken Poems (1788) Gl. (Jam.) Cf. nocket.
NACK1N(G, NACKLE, see Necking, Knackle.
NACKLE-ASS, adj. w.Som.^ [nse-kl-as.] Of per-
sons and things : poor, mean, inferior, paltry.
Wuy s-n buy dheezuul' u nuyv waeth' oa'urt, neet keep
ubaew't jiish naak-l-aa's dhing-z dhik dhae'ur? Miis zai-n u
mae'un baewt dhik dhae-ur juub ; tud'n noa geo'd vur tu puut a
skraam- naak'1-aa's fuul'ur lig ee- ubaew'd ut.
NACKLETON, see Haughendole.
NACK-REEL, sb. Yks. [na'k-ril.] The same word
as Knack-reel, s.v. Knack, 2 (6).
n.Yks.i; n.Yks.2 A thin wooden wheel about three feet in
diameter, pivoted against a perpendicular stem, and with a
breadth of rim sufficient for admitting several skeins of thread-line
on to its circumference, to be ' balledofif' forweaving purposes. . . In
the course of the wheel's revolutions, the apparatus emitted a stroke
with its hammer or ' nack,' and then it was seen by an index and
pointer fixed at the top of the stem, what quantity of the thread
material had been so far wound off. m.Yks.'
NACKS, sb. Sc. Nhb. Also written gnacks Nhb.' ;
knacks Sc. (Jam.) ; and in form nauks Sc. (Jam.) [naks.]
A disease, causing wheezing and breathlessness, to which
poultry fed on too hot food are subject.
Lth. The vulgar cure is to smear the nostrils with butter and
snuff (Jam.). Rxb. (ib.) Nhb.i Supposed to be cured by drawing
a quill feather from the fowl affected, pushing the quill through
the nostrils, and drawing the feather through them.
NACKT, see Nak'd.
NACKY, sb. Cum. Wm. Yks. [na'ki.] A nursery
term for a child's fundament.
Cum.* Wm. 'Od love it laal nacky (B.K.). w.Yks.'^
[Cp. lit. E. nock, in Butler Hudibras (1664) i. i. 285.]
NACKY, see Knacky.
NADDER, sb. Sc. Nhb. Wm. Yks. Chs. Der. War.
Hrf and Cor. Also in forms natter n.Yks.^; neddar Sc.
(Jam.); nedder N.Cy.^ Nhb.^ Wm. nw.Der.^ ; neddir Sc.
(Jam.) ; needer n.Yks.*; nether Sc. Nhb.^ Chs.^^ [na'd3(r,
ne'd3(r, ne'S3(r.] 1. An adder; a snake.
Sc. (Jam.), Cai.i Per. It's stinging like a nether, Haliburton
Dunbar (1895) 60. n.Cy. (K ), N.Cy.2 Nhb.i If ye fetch't a
switch ower the back the nether's deun for. Wm. (K.), n.Yks.^*,
Chs.i3 Der. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) nw.Der.i, War.
(J.R.W.), Hrf.l Cor.3 A great nadder.
2. Comp. (i) Nadder-servant, a dragon-fly ; (2) -stone,
an ' adder-bead ' (q.v.).
(i) Rdn. (J. M.) (2) Cai.i A dozen or more adders met together
and by united efforts bored a hole in a pebble. The ' king ' of the
party then carried off the pebble on his tail. A nether-stane
hung by a string to the neck of a beast protected it from being
elf-shot.
[1. ME. naddre, neddre, an adder (Chaucer); OE. ncedre,
nceddre.l
N ADDLE, see Noddle.
NADEKIT, sb. w.Yks.^ The same word as Knadekit,
s.v. Knead.
N-ADGE, sb. Yks. [nadg.] An adze.
w.Yks. Jackson & Co. hed a rattlin' lot a rasps, files, hatchits,
an' nadges,ToM Treddlehoyle Fr. Exhibition (c. 1856) 33 ; w.Yks.^
[An ax and a nads, Tusser Hitsb. (1580) 36.]
NADGER,s6. Irel. [na'dgar.] ? An ill-tempered person.
Don. The lan'Iord of the Head Inns, though, was a cantank'rus
nadger. The Lord Mayor . . . somehow managed to pull along
wi' the oul' nadger, Cent. Mag. (Nov. 1899^ 41.
N-ADGERS, sb. pi. Dev. 1. The boys' game of
notching pocket-knives by striking their edges together
at right angles. Reports Provinc. (1895). 2. Ari expres-
sion used when a coin, in tossing, falls upon its edge,
neither head nor tail up. nw.Dev.^
NADING, /irj*. Yks. [ne'din.] Fidgeting.
n.Yks. Thou gaest nading an' dithering aboot loike a Kirkgarth
ghaist, Fetherston Smuggins Fam. 76.
NADKIN, sb. Sc. (Jam.) Also in form natkin Rxb.
[na'd-, na'tkin.] The taint which meat acquires from
being kept too long ; any close, strong, disagreeable odour
or taste. Cld., Lth., Rxb. Jock's brought in a natkin wi' him.
NAE, NAEDTHRE, NAEG, see No, adj., Neither,
Nag, v.^
NAEKINS, adj. Yks. Also in form neeakins n.Yks.^
Of no kind ; of no repute ; none at all.
n.Yks.i Ah can't heeaf te t'spot naekins form [I can't settle in
my new place] ; n.Yks.2 A. neeakins body ; n.Yks.*
NAEL, NAEPTEEN, NAE-SAY, see Nawl, sb.^. Nap-
kin, Nay-say.
NAESLIN, ^r/i. Or.L 1. Rubbing or pushing vvith
the nose, as of horses. (J.G.) See Nuzzle. 2. Fitting
into each other, working or pulling well together, as in
double harness ; also used as a ppl. adj. well-matched.
(Jam. Suppl.)
NAET, NAETHER, NAETIE, NAEW, see Neat,
Neither, Natty, Know.
NAF(F, sb. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Not. Also in
forms knaff w.Yks.^ ; neaf Cum.^ [naf.] 1. The nave
or hub of a wheel.
N.Cy.l, Nhb.i, Dur.i, Lakel.'^ Cum.l^ ; Cum.* Wheels with naffs,
spokes, and felloes, Carlisle Patriot (Apr. 13, 1824) 3. Wm. The
wheels want new nafs (B.K.). n.Yks.»2* ne.Yks. Marshall
Rur Econ. (1796) II. 334; ne.Yks.i, e.Yks. (Miss D.), e.Yks.i,
m.Yks.l -w.Yks. T'wheels wor up tut naff i' t'sludge, Tom
Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1849) 30 ; w.Yks.i It tacks cart
up tot knaff ommost iv'ry yerd, ii. 286 ; w.Yks.^, Not.^
2. Comp. Naf-thret, the iron hoop with which the nave
of a wheel is bound and strengthened.
w.Yks. T'naf-thret's come off (B.K.).
3. The navel.
n.Yks.'2, m.Yks.i w.Yks. Fowks talks abate feightin i blooid
up tut naff, Dewsbre Olm. (1866) 13.
[L OE. nafu, nave of a wheel.]
NAFF, V. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Also in form
nyaff Sc. (Jam.) [naf, Sc. also njaf.] 1. v. To bark ;
to yelp; to talk in a pert, senseless way; to argue
F fa
NAFFER
[220]
NAGGART
snappishly, esp. of children and persons of diminutive
appearance. Sc. (Jam.), Cai.^, Cld. (Jam.) Hence (i)
Naffing, (a) ppl. adj. chattering ; peevish ; haggling over a
bargain; (Zi) s6. idle talk, prattle ; (2) Nyaflfet, s6. a diminu-
tive, conceited chatterer.
(i, d) Ayr. He had a bit nyafKn' voice in the heid o' him that
was aye cUppin' cloots wi' somebody, Service Dr. Duguid (ed.
1887) 253. Lth. (Jam.) n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ib)
Sc. (Jam.) w.Sc. Carrick Laird of Logan (ed. 1878) 519; (Jam.
Suppl.) (2) w.Sc. ib.
2. To vsrork in a weak, trifling manner ; to trifle, be
frivolous. Bnff.i Nhb.i They were just naffin on.
Hence (i) NafF-head, (2) Naffln, (3) NaflFy, sb. a simple-
ton ; a blockhead ; an idiot ; cf. niify-naflfy ; (4) NyafBng,
ppl. adj. idle, contemptible.
(i) n.Yks.'24 ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. 334;
ne.Yks.i Thoo greeat naff-head ; what's ta deeain ? m.Yks.^ (2)
n.Cy. Grose (1790). (3) m.Yks.^ (4) Lth. Had your tongue, ye
nyaffing thing (Jam.).
3. To walk with short steps. Bnff.^ 4. sh. The yelp
of a small dog ; frivolous prattle ; an angry dispute about
a trifle. Sc. (Jam.), Cai.',Cld. (Jam.) 5. A pert, talkative
person. Cal.i A silly nyafif.
NAFFER, V. e.Yks.i [na-far.] To talk through the
nose ; to talk indistinctly. MS. add. (T.H.)
NAFFLE, v} Sc. Nhb. Yks. Chs. Also written nafle
ne.Yks.' ; and in form nyafHe Bnff.' [na'fl, Sc. also nja-fl.]
1. To trifle away time ; to potter about ; to loiter ; to act
foolishly. Cf naff, 2.
Bnff.i, Nhb. (R.O.H.), n.Yks.i* ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(T796) II. 334 ; ne.Yks.i He gans naaflin' aboot. m.Yks.^ s.Chs.^
Oo)z i)th ky'ich-in au')th mauTnin, naaf'lin iibuwt, bur 60 rae'li
diiz nuwt [Hoo's i' th' kitchen aw th' mornin', nafilin' abowt, bur
hoo raly does nowt]. To nafHe one's time away.
Hence (i) Naffler, sh. a person busy about trifles; one
who accomplishes little ; (3) NafHing, /■//. adj. (a) trifling;
loitering ; {b) occasioning loss of time ; (c) of a child :
contemptible ; insignificant ; {d) in phr. najjling and
shuffling about, gossiping.
(i) w.Yks.3 (2, a) Bnff.i, n.Yks.2 (b) s.Chs.l ' A nafHin' job '
is one that takes a long time to accomplish. If a person has to
work without proper tools, it is said that ' it'll be very nafflin' for
him.' (c) w.Yks.s Tha' little nafflin thing, {d) n.Yks.2
2. To walk with short steps.
Bnff.i The shultie cam nyafflin' up the rod.
NAFFLE, v.^ Sc. [na'fl.] To rumple ; to mess.
e.Fif. Gin ye had na rubbit my facesae cruelly wi' yerhard beard
an' naffled a' my veil an' ruggit at my shawl, Latto 7am Bodkin
(1864) XXX.
NAFFLIN, s6. Yks. Lan. One almost an idiot. w.Yks.
HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781). ne.Lan.i Cf mafHin.
NAFFY, adj Sc. [na-fi.] Affable, friendly, on good
terms.
s.Sc. We took wine thegither . . . we waur that nearing naffy,
Snaith Fierceheart (1897) 149.
NAG, sb} Sc. Cum. Der. War. Won Oxf. Cor. [nag,
nseg.] 1. In comb. (1) Nag-back, horseback ; (2) -ridden,
troubled with nightmare.
(i) Cum. Thirty gang to t'kurk o' nag-back, RiTSON Borrowdale
Lett. (1787) 5, ed. 1849. (2) Cor.12
2. Phr. to go on a nag often toes, to walk. Oxf MS. add.
3. A saddle-horse, as distinguished from a cart-horse.
Sc. Dalrymple Gl. (c. 1800) 26. Midi. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1796). Der.i, nw.Der.i, War.^", s.War.i, s.Wor. (H.K.), Oxf.i
MS. add.
Hence (i) Nag-horse, sb. a saddle-horse. s.Wor. (H.K.) ;
(2) -saddle, sb. a saddle used for riding in contrast to the
saddle or pad used for driving horses, ib.
NAG, sb."^ N.Cy.i Nhb.^ [nag.] A sour taste ; an
unpleasant flavour ; gen. of liquor.
NAG, sb? Yks. The same word as Knag, sb.^ (q-v.)
Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863).
NAG, sb.'' Sc. Irel. [nag.] A wooden ball used in
various games such as ' shinney.' Cf knur(r, nigg.
Abd. It matter'd nae whether the bools or the buffets, The
gird, tap or pear, at the time was the play. We gladly relinquish'd
the nags or the cuffets, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 256. N.I.i
Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892).
NAG, V. and sb.^ Sc. Lakel. Cum. Yks. Lin. Oxf Hmp.
Also written knag Cum. ; nagg s.Hmp. ; and in forms
naeg w.Yks. ; naig Lake!.'' ; narg Abd. ; nayg Lan. ;
neg Sc. (Jam. Suppl) ; niaag, niag S. & Ork.' ; nyarg
Bnff.^ Abd. (Jam.) [nag, naeg, neg, neag.] L v. To
bite ; to snap ; to mark with tlie teeth ; to seize. w.Sc,
s.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) See Gnag. 2. To nick ; to notch or
hack with a sharp instrument ; to chip ; to slit. w.Sc,
s.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.), Lin. (Hall.) 3. To strike smartly ;
to beat. Lnk. (Jam.) Hence (i) Naggin, vbl. sb. the act
of striking the knuckles with a marble in the game of
' nags.' Abd., Cld. (Jam.) ; (2) Nags, sb. a game of marbles,
in which the loser has his knuckles struck a certain
number of times with the marbles of the other players.
(ib.) 4. To find fault with continually ; to carp at ; to
quarrel peevishly ; to fret ; to worry. See Gnag.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.), S. & Ork.i Bnff.i xhe twa dee nocht bit
nyarg wee ane anither. Abd. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882)
293. w.Yks. Tha naegs me to deeath, Hlfx. Courier (May 29,
1897). s.Oxf. Not like some as 'ud ha' bin always naggin' at 'im,
Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 127. e.Suf. (F.H.) s.Hmp. To have
a tongue to nagg folk's lives out, Verney L. Lisle (1870) xxvii.
Hence Nagging, ppl. adj. finding fault continually and
peevishly ; fretful. S. & Ork.i, BnfF.'
5. To jeer, taunt. Abd. (Jam.) Hence Nyargie, adj.
jeering, ib. 6. Of pain : to keep up a dull ache.
Lakel.^ Mi' teeth naig and wark.
7. To labour persistently and painfully; to repeat an
action with irritating frequenc}'. See Gnag, 4.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.), S. & Ork.i w.Yks. He's aulus nagin at his
wark(D.L.). Lan. 'Heawareyogettin on?' ' O none so weel, bud
aw keeps naygin at it, us ard us aw con,' Manch. Cy. News (Jan.
10, 1900).
8. sb. A bite ; a snap. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) 9. A nick ;
a hack ; a notch ; an indentation made with a sharp
instrument, {ib.) 10. A stroke in the game of ' nags.'
Abd., Cld. (Jam.) 11. A snappish retort ; continual fault-
finding ; peevish quarrelling.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl), Bnff.i cum. Aw' knag, an' clash, Gilpin
Sngs. (1866) 275 ; Cum.*
NAG, s6.s Dev. [naeg.] See below.
n.Dev. There is a local legend that this and a like boulder on
Dare-down were used by the giants, in the days when giants lived
in Devonshire, as ' Nags' or Quoit pins, Hand-bk. (ed. 1877) 53.
NAG, see Gnag.
NAG AS, sb. Lan. [na-gas.] An abusive term for a
greedy, stingy person. Lan.', n.Lan.i
[Nyse nagus, nipcaik, Dunbar Flyting (1505) 177.]
NAGER, V. Lan. Chs. Wor. Hrf. Glo. Also written
nagur Lan. ; and in forms nauger Hrf.^ ; nayger Lan.
Chs. ; neger Hrf ^ 1. To work hard ; to work laboriously
and clumsily. Cf nigger, s6.^ 3.
Lan. We'n naygert an' teighlt uppo th' loom, Ramsbottom
Son-owin' in Cy. Wds. (1866) III. 40; I started this mornin afore
six o'clock, an' nagurt at it o day, Brierley Waverlow (1863) 61,
ed. 1884 ; Bo as lung's aw con nayger aw'U ne'er be a beggar,
Harland Lyrics (1866) 240 ; If a bell at a works rang say five or
seven minutes late at meal times it was called naguring, Manch.
Cy. News (Dec. 29, 1900). Chs. (S.W.) s.Wor. Porson Quaint
Wds. (1875) ; s.Wor.l, Hrf.2 Glo.l
Hence Nagering, />/■/. adj. hard-working.
Glo.l < I never seed sich a nagering man ' ; said of the school-
master sawing wood after the day's work was over.
2. A weaving term ; see below.
Lan. In common use among handloom weavers. To ' naygur '
was to give a few turns to the cloth roller and wind on the
finished portions of the cloth immediately in front of the slay.
This was absolutely necessary at intervals to enable the weaver
to continue 'shedding,' Manch. Cy. News (Jan. 4, 1901).
NAGER, see Nagger, Nauger, Nigger, sb.^
NAG(G, sb. Sc. The same word as Knag, sb} 2 (q.v.).
Gall. Hung carefully upon some nag, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
45, 357, ed. 1876.
NAGGART, sb. Der. [na-gat.] A term of reproach.
Cf gnag, 2. Der.2 Nasty naggart. nw.Der.i
NAGGER
[221 J
NAIL
NAGGER, V. Yks. Lan. Brks. Also written nager
Lan. [na'g3(r).] To complain continually ; to find fault
with ; to tease. Cf. gnag, nag, v. 4.
m.Yks.i Lan. They nagert me fro' morn to neet, Mullins
Thrums from Spindle, 7. Brks. (W.H.Y.)
NAGGETY, adj?- Chs. Shr. Also in form naggedy
Shr.2 [na'gsti.] Snappish. Chs.^, Shr.^ Cf. naggle, v}
NAGGETY, a«//.2 Not. [na-gsti.] Of a horse : spirited,
wild and tricky. s.Not. (J.P.K.)
NAGGIE, NAGGIN, see Nog, s3.=, Noggin, sb.
NAGGLE, v} Sc. Yks. Sus. Som. [na'gl, nse'gl.] To
fret continually ; to pain continuously. The same word
as Gnaggle (q.v.).
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) m.Yks.^ w.Sus. If you 'ad the ticks
[rheumatism], which niggles and naggles in your back, like I have,
you might cry out, Gordon Vill. and Doctor (iQgi) 248. Som. To
keep on fretting and grumbling, without coming to an open
rupture, Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885).
Hence Naggly, adj. touchy, fretful, sarcastic, quarrel-
some ; ill-natured. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
NAGGLE, v.'^ Glo. e.An. [nffi'gl.] To walk tossing
the head in a stiff and affected manner, esp. applied to
females. e.An.^ Cf. niggle, v} 4. Hence Naggling,
ppl. adj. mincing. Glo. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
NAGGLE, see Gnaggle.
NAGGLED, ppl. adj Cum. Oxf. Also written naggelt
Cum.* 1. Bothered, annoyed. Cum.* See Gnaggle.
2. Tired. Oxf. (Hall.)
NAGGY, adj Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Chs. Wor. Shr.
Also written knaggee Wxf.' ; knaggy Cum. ; and in form
knaigyw.Yks. [na-gi, w.Yks.nes'gi.] L Cross, snappish,
querulous ; irritable ; sarcastic. Cf gnag, 2, knag, sb.^
Sc. As naggy as a thorn stick (Jam. Suppl.). Wxf.* Co Jone zo
knaggee, 84. n.Cy. (Hall.) Nhb. If aw be naggy, Nanny's smile
Suin myeks me blithe as ony lark, Wilson PiVmaw's Pay (1843)
13 ; Nhb:^ Cum. Yen pruiv'd the apple o' mey e'e. Ne'er knaggy,
Anderson Ballads (ed. 1840) 80 ; Cum.^, n.Yks.234 w.Yks. Shoo
is a knaigy owd thing, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Aug. 4, 1894). Chs.'^
s.Chs.i Dhur)z n(3o pee-s i dhil aays wi dhaat- wiim-un, bo iz sii
naag'i wi evVibod'i uz goz neeurur [There's noo peace i' the ha'ise
wi' that woman, hoo is s6 naggy wi' everybody as gos near her].
w.Wor.i, Shr.2
2. Aching with a dull pain. Chs.^ Cf. gnag, 3.
NAGH, NAGHENDAL, NAGHENDOLE, NAGHLE-
TON, see Gnag, Haughendole.
NAGNAIL, NAGRE, see Nangnail, Nigger, sb}
NAGUE, NAGUR, see Gnag, Nigger, 56.' ==
' NAH, NAIDER, NAIDGEL, NAIFLE, see Know,
Neither, Nichil, v., Nifle.
NAIG, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. _Also in
forms naigie Sc. N.I.* Nhb.^ ; neg Rnf Nhb. [neg.]
1. sb. A dial, form of nag.'
Abd. In quest o' fother, To sup his naigies, Cock Strains (1810)
I. lao. Per. Ford Harp (1893) 164. Fif. The very naig that he
bestrides, Tennant Papistry (1827) 60. Slg. Towers Poems (1885)
• 171. Rnf. Was it sic a thing's a neg? Neilson Poems (1877) 40.
Ayr. Saddling his naig. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 260. Lnk.
Young naigs that wantit nail or shoe, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873)
25. Lth. LuMSDENS/ic«/-/!earf( 1892) 163. Edb. Fergusson Poems
(1773) 176, ed. 1785. Hdg. LuMSDEN Poems (1896) 13. Rxb.
Naigs their line that traces Back to dams wi' furious paces, Murray
Hawick Sngs. (1892) 26. Dmf. What's that ye're doin' amang the
naigs? Shennan Tales (1831) 54. Gall. I rade af on my naig,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 109, ed. 1876. N.I.^ N.Cy.i A little
hack-horse, not a mare. Nhb. Riding upon negs, Richardson
Borderer's Table-bk. (1896) VI. 265 ; Nhb.i Cum. I've fodder'd the
naigs, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 6; Cum.'*
2. Comp. Naig-graith, harness.
Gaai. He . . . fettles the naig graith, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
417, ed. 1876.
3. A staUion. Sc. (Jam.) 4. v. Phr. to naig awa', to
move like a horse that has a long, quick, and steady pace.
Fif. (ib.)
NAIG, see Gnag, Nag, v.
NAIGER, NAIGGER, see Nauger, Neggur.
N-AIGLET, 56. Nhb.' Also in form neglet. [ne'glat.]
1. The metal tag on the end of boot-laces. The same
word as Aglet (q.v.). 2. Comp. Naiglet-hole, the eyelet
hole in the front of a boot.
NAIGUR, see Nigger, sb.^
NAIL, sb.^ and v. Var. dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. Irel.
Eng. and Amer. Also in forms naail Brks.'; nal Brks.
[nil, neal.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Nail-hags, the little bits
of skin which turn back near the finger-nails ; (2) -horn,
a nail ; (3) -pie, an attack upon a person with the finger-
nails ; (4) -springs, (a) see (i) ; (b) a superficial whitlow;
a small splinter of a finger-nail.
(i) Lan. (R.P.C.) (2) Edb. Gien o' yer guts a jerk, Wi' their
nail-horn, Liddle Poems (1821) 51. (3) Lan. Tongue sauce an'
nailpie, Brierley Layrock (1864) v. (4, a) Dev. (R.P.C), Dev.^,
Cor.i2 (5) Dev.' So called from the edge of the nail springing off
and involving the soft parts. Cor.^
2. Phr. (i) not to be able to say black's his nail, to be unable
to impute blame to any one. w.Yks.^ ; (2) not to care the
black before on^s nail for any one, to have the lowest
possible opinion of any one. ib. ; (3) to be at anything
tooth and nail, to use every possible effort, ib. 3. Comp.
(i) Nail-bit, a gimlet ; (2) -box, a top-hat ; (3) -flopper, a
workman who makes the heads of nails by striking them
in a die or mould ; (4) -napes, (5) -parcel, see (i) ; (6)
-passer, [a) see (i) ; {b) a brad-awl ; (7) -paster or -pastor,
(8) -percer or -piercer, (9) -presser, see (i).
(i) Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Glo.' (2) e.Snf. (F.H.) (3)
w.Yks.= (s.v. Flop). (4) Nhp.i Not frequent. (5) s.Chs.i a. cor-
ruption of nail-piercer. (6, a) n.Yks.i, chs.', Der.=, nw.Der.'
n.Lin.i A gimlet or pricker. Lel.^, War.^s^ se.Wor.l, s.Wor.
(F.W.M.W.), s.Wor.i, Shr.i=, Hrf.'^ Glo. Nails, nail-passers,
and such-hke, were poked in between the beams and the boards
of the floor above, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) xviii ; Glo.',
Brks.' Wil. Thuck ben't a kay ; . . that's nothing but a nail-passer,
Akerman Tales (1853) 44 ; Wil.' (A) Not. (J.H.B.), War.^, Brks.
(M.J.B.), w.Som.i (7) Oxf.', Cmb. (W.M.B.) (8) Hrf.' (9) Hrf.
Bound Provinc. (1876).
4. Phr. (i) as hard or as jed as a door-nail, very hard ;
(2) off at the nail, neglectful of all sense of propriety ; mad,
wrong-headed ; (3) off the nail, tipsy ; (4) on the nail, (a)
at once, ' on the spot,' esp. of money payments ; in gen.
colloq. use ; {b) obs., see below ; (5) the auld nail, the
original taint of evil, the old Adam ; (6) to call in the other
nail, to go on drinking ; (7) to call the nail in, to tinker at ;
to finish off, bring to an end ; (8) to go off at the nail, to
disregard all propriety of conduct ; see (2) ; (9) to have a
bad ov a good nail in one, to be of a bad or good disposition ;
(id) to hit the nail, to be successful ; (11) worn down to the
nail, worn out ; almost at an end ; (12) like nails, a com-
parison for anything very hard ; (13) to hear the cart on the
nails, see below.
(i) Der.= (s.v. Door nail). (2) Sc, n.Sc. (Jam.) Edb. That
woman's aff at the nail, Beatty Secretar (1897) 400. (3) Sc. I was
what you would call a thought aff the nail. Steamboat (1822) 300
(Jam.). (4, a) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.), Cai.' s.Sc. He insists on haein
the money doun on the nail to the last farthin, Wilson Tales
(1836) II. 316. Dmb. I'm no acquaint wi' bills, and I wad far
raither ha'e the siller doon on the nail, Cross Disruption (1844)
xviii. Lnk. ' I beg to deffer wi' ye there 1 ' cried the old man, ready
for an argument on the nail, Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 48. Ir.
Answer me that on the nail I Carleton Fardorougha (1848) xviii.
Don. [He] ped for it on the nail. Cent. Mag. (Feb. 1900) 601.
Lim. An ample piazza under the Exchange was a thoroughfare ; in
the centre stood a pillar about four feet high, and upon it a circular
plate of copper about three feet in diameter; this was called the
nail, and on it was paid the earnest for any commercial bargains
made; which was the origin of the saying, 'Paid down on the nail,'
N. & Q. (1854) 1st S. ix. 196. w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lia. He . . .
hedn't paid for it as he should owt to ha' done up o' th' nail,
Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870) II. 117. Glo. We have heard it
stated that this phrase first originated in Bristol, when it was
common for the merchants to buy and sell at the bronze pillars
(four) in front of the Exchange— the pillars being commonly called
Nails, N. & Q. ib. 384. [Amer. I ain't jist prepared to pay you
right down on the nail in hard pewter, Sam Slick Clockmaker
(1836) 3rd S. xii.] (A) Hrt. In dry weather carts are drawn, as
we call it, on the nail without damaging their arable lands, Ellis
Mod. Husb. (1750) VI. i. 73. (5) Cld. He's the kindest man alive,
but when he's fou, the auld nail sticks out (Jam.). (6) Elg. We'se
NAIL
[222 ]
N-AIN
hae a jolly jug o' ale, Or Linkie's best ; An' aye ca' in the ither
nail, Tester Poems (1865) 98. (7) Ayr. The kettle o' the kirk and
state. Perhaps a claut may fail in't ; But deil a foreign tinkler loon
Shall ever ca' a nail in't, Burns Dmf. Volunteers, st. 3. Lnk. I
think I'll close my lay, An' ca' the nail in a' I've said Wi' Hech !
me, the day! Murdoch Z)onci.7re (1873) 76. (8) Sc. Taken from
scissorswhen the two sides go asunder, Kelly Prov. (1721) 173-
4. Ayr. I see ye're terrified, and think I'm going off at the nail,
Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) xlvii. (9) S. & Ork.i There's a gude
nail in him. (10) Gall. [He] Had lang been gaping for a patron ;
Yet somehow ne'er the nail could hit. But mis't it ay just at the bit,
Nicholson Poet. IVks. (1814) 46, ed. 1897. (11) Lnk. The day
was worn doun to the nail, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 26. (12)
Lakel.2 It's freezen like nails. (13) n.Lin.' ' I hear that cart's on
the nails ' is a common remark. It refers to the noise made by a
particular jolt given by a cart in frosty weather, when the whole
wheel does not bite the ground, but only the large-headed nails
with which the several lengths of the tire are fastened.
5. Obs. A trigger.
Bnff. He spy'd a hare in yonder shaw, Than took his gun, . .
An' whan wun near, the nail did draw, Taylor Poems (1787) 91.
Q. pi. Loose locks of wool.
Abd. The waft was chiefly spun by old women, and that only
from backings or nails, Statist. Ace. XIX. 207 (Jam.).
7. A weight, gen. eight pounds, of beef, pork, cheese, &c.
Cf. clove, sb.^
Suf. Bailey (1721). Ken.i^ Sus. The weight of ten pounds,
Ray (1691) ; Sus.i ; Sus.^ Paid 75. to the hemp-dresser, for 14 nail
of hemp-dressing, Arch. Coll. IV. 24. Hmp.^
8. Phr. give somefowk an inch Mi they'll take a nail, give
them an inch and they'll take an ell. w.Yks. Brighouse
News (Sept. 14, 1889) ; Very common (J.W.). 9. An im-
postor ; a cheat ; one who ' takes in ' another.
War .3 He is a dead nail. -w.Wor. He's the deadest nail in all the
country, S. Beauchamp Grantley Grange (1874) I. 121.
10. V. To seize, get possession of; to hold fast; to catch,
esp. to catch unawares ; to arrest ; to steal ; in gen.
slang use.
Sc. Bob hadna been nailed yet ony way, Campbell Deille Jock
(1897) 51. Bnff.' Sh.I. I nailed my harrow within his ane,
Stewart Tales (1892) 249. Per. I see a cocker's cart Comin' pell-
mell, I'll maybe nail't. Ford Harp (1893) 34S- Slg. The whole
city was nail'd fast asleep ; Old porters and beggars slept under
the walls, Galloway Posms (1804) 82. Lnk. Wee laddies nailing
neeps or beans, Orr Laigh Flichts (1882) 35. Lth. Gin e'erye're
beglommered wi' love or wi' drink, Ye'll be nailed by slee Patie
the packman, Ballantine Poems (1856) 107. Rxb. The cook wi'
muckle worry Nailed the nugget, '^vnn. ay Hawick Sngs. (1892)
26. Gall, A girl when she gets pregnant of a spurious child, is
said to be nail'd, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). n.Ir. Some revil'd
the artisan Who nail'd their cash. Lays and Leg. (1884) 40. Nhb.
The poUis foaks wis nailin, Chater Tyneside Aim. (i86g) 36;
Nhb.' Cum. Her sangs aye nails the senses, Anderson Ballads
(ed. 1881) 159. e.Yks.i Ah nailed him just as he was comin oot
o' hoos. w.Yks. If they nail thi bits o' traps An sell tha dish and
sp&oin, Bill o'th Hoylus End Poems (1867) 17, ed. 1891 ;
w.Yks.s Gotten naaled fur what he did at me. Midi. My tarrier
Pincher . . . nails Scotty by the leg, Bartram People of Clapton
(1897) 191. Not.' Ah nailed him trying to steal my pigeons.
nw.Der.' n.Lin. I shouldn't wonder if yo never hev a chance o'
nailin' him agean, Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870) III. 91. Brks.'
I managed to naail the rat by the taail. Lon. At last he was
' bowl'd out ' in the very act of ' nailing a yack,' Mayhew Land.
Labour (1851) II. 51, ed. 1861. w.Som.' 1 meet thick yeffer going
in to market, and I like'n so well I nailed 'n to once. Slang.
BARRi:RE & Leland.
11. To bind ; to fix a person to a bargain, esp. in phr. to
nail the bargain.
w.Sc. Ye sud see the laird as sune's ye can, and nail the bar-
gain, Macdonald Settlement (1869) 25, ed. 1877. Lnk. My time
had come to nail him wi' the house for another month, Roy General-
ship (ed. 1895) 40. Nhp.' I've nailed him to it. War.^, Hnt.
(T.P.F.) Sus., Hmp. I nailed him, Holloway. w.Som.'
12. To take advantage of in a bargain.
Lakel.i^ He bowt a stag at Brough Hill an' gat sowenly nailt wi'
't. n.Yks. He's nail'd you in his bill (I.W.). w.Yks. Like ivvery
uther benevolent chap er institution they get nail'd varry oft, Tom
Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1881) 17. War.3 He nailed him
in that deal.
13. To clench an argument ; to overcome, esp. to over-
come a disputant in a controversy, ' to put into a fix.'
Ayr. Ev'n ministers, they hae been kenn'd. In holy rapture, A
rousing whid, at times to vend. And nail't wi' Scripture, Burns
Dr. Hornbook (1785) st. i. Lakel.^ Ah sez, sez Ah, Ah can pay
twenty shillin' ta t'pund, an' that nailed him, he couldn't come
again. e.Yks.' He said Ah sud nivver win if Ah bet o' Sundah,
an Ah said saatanlye yan on us must win, an that nailed him.
w.Yks. She nailed him, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (1884).
14. To strike from a distance and with sure aim ; to hit
a mark ; to kill.
Bn£f.', w.Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. I'll nail the self-conceited Sot As
dead's a herrin, Burns Dr. Hornbook (1785) st. 30. Gall. We say
when we see a hare shot that she's nailed, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824). N.I.' Nhb.i ' That nails her,' said of a shot that has hit
the mark. n.Yks. (I.W.), w.Yks. (J.W.)
15. To Strike ; to stun ; to flog.
Cld. (Jam.) Nhb.' He up wiv his nief an' nail'd him. Cum.^
e.Yks. Jack Wilson lad brak oor windher wiv a cobble-steean, an
Bob did nail him fo't, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 28; e.Yks.',
w.Yks.5
16. With off: to say rapidly.
Sc. Tam . . . Nails them aff a short petition Wi' a lang seceder
face, Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 130.
NAIL, 5^.^ Sc.(Jam.) a particular pain in the forehead.
NAILBOURN, see Eylebourn.
NAILER, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Yks. Chs. Som. [ne-l3(r,
ne3'l3(r).] 1. In phr. as busy as a nailer, extremely busy.
n.Ir. Paddy wuz kep' as busy as a nailer cuttin' cheese, Lyttle
Paddy McQuillan, 77. Don. Kilgar's man, Thady, . . bein' kept
as busy as a nailer thrinnlin them off away to Sthranorlar,
Harpers Mag. (Sept. 1899) 510.
2. A hard, grasping person. w.Yks. (J.W.), s.Chs.'
3. Anything of superior or surprising quality, esp. a
surprising lie ; a ' clincher.'
Frf. To finish, like a story-teller, Makin' ilk word a downright
nailer. Sands Poems (1833) 134. Per. There's a nailer for ye, lad,
Monteath Dunblane (1835) 104, ed. 1887. Nhb.' That's a nailer
for him. e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 31 ; e.Yks.' MS. add.
(T.H.) w.Yks. Hiz 9 neakr an reit on oal (J.W.). Som. Herb
zaid ' this yer's a nailer, Yer's zome wi' bajjes on thur zleeves the
zame as enny sailer ! ' Frank A^we Days (1879) 36.
4. A shot that hits its mark. n.Yks. (LW.) See Nail,
V. 14. 5. A sharp blow. See Nail, v. 15.
Nhb.' With brickbats he got many a nailer, Newcastle in Uproar
(1821).
NAILING, ppl. adj. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. War. 1. ppl.
adj. Of superior quahty ; of large size, great. Cf. nailer, 3.
e.Yks. A nailin stooary, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 30 ; e.Yks.'
MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.) War. Skimmed on at a regular
nailing pace, B'ham Dy. Gazette (Nov. 3, 1896) ; War.^
2. sb. A beating, punishment. See Nail, v. 15.
Cai.i, n.Cy. (J.W.), e.Yks.' w.Yks. Tha'U get a nailin, lad,
when thah gets hoame, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 6, 1895).
NAILING-ON, s6. Obs. Yks. The horizon.
w.Yks. As if the sky were drawn down to it and there fastened,
Hamilton Nugae Lit. (1841) 354.
NAILS, 56.//. Wil.' The daisy, Bellis perennis.
NAILSIN, see Nelsin.
NAILSTRING, 56. Sc. See below.
Per. Do his hammers strike with might. Or doth he with a nail
string fight? Smith Poems (1714) 24, ed. 1853. Slk. 'As hetas
nailstrings,' cried the smith, Hogg Tales (1838) 365, ed. 1866.
N-AIN, adj. Sc. n.Cy. Also written nane Lth. Edb.
[nen.] 1. Own ; only used after poss. prons. Cf. nown.
Sc. Just guide the gully as best suits her guid and yer nain
glory. Ford Thistledown (1891) 20. Sh.I. Shil's gaen ta fry up
puddings o' her nain, Sh. News (Dec. 22, 1900). Cai.' Bch.
Where may be had. For their nain wear. The starkest hose that
can be made, Forbes Shop Bill (i^S^) 12. Abd. Ilka ane had their
nain, Alexander /oA«)y Gibb (1871) ii. nw.Abd.Wer nain bees,
fernyer, never keest, Goodwife (1867) st. 29. Kcd. To oor nain aul'
Pairis' kirk We kept oor nain jog-trot, Grant Lays (1884) 54.
Frf. There's mony a bonny place in my nain bonny toon, Barrie
Tommy (1896) ix. Rnf, Mony a fu-fed nowt, his nain, Picken
Poems (1788) II. 13. Edb. Cut their fur, and tak' their share O'
their nane rig, Har'st Rig (1794) 11, ed. 1801. Slk. He had been
sookled at the breist o' his nain mother, Chr. North Nodes (ed,
1856) III. 115.
NAINT
[223]
NAME
Hence (i) Nain-folk, sb. accustomed associates ; (2)
Nainself or Nainsel(l, pron. own self; in plir. her nainsell,
an expression used by a Highlander to indicate himself,
hence a jocular name for a Highlander.
(i) Edb. The stout-anes now a' dounae bear, Wi' silly feckless
anes to shear, But maun hae their nain-folk, that's clear ; And
they'll no part, Har'st Rig (1794) 40, ed. 1801. (2) Sc. Thou kens
best thy nainsel' how the case stands between thee and auld
Eppie, Ford Thistledown (i8gi) 20 ; Should the scarecrow of
Loyalty, Heaven or Hell, Make a man such a fool as forget him
nain-sell, Maidment Pasquils (1868) 314. Cai.i Abd. Her nain-
sell wi' mony a knock Cried, ' Furich, Whigs awa',' man, Walker
Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 115. w.Sc. Rory More, the rattling . . .
big-fisted Highlandman, that keeps what her nainsell calls the
' Travelling Emporium,' Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 39. e.Fif.
Her nainsel maun hae a bit toothfu' tae to mak us a' neibor-Iike,
Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) vii. Dmb. Alake ! her nainsel will
think lang, Taylor Poems (1827) 18. Lnk. Her nainsel into
Glasgow went, An errand there to see't, Graham Writings (1883)
I. 257. Lth. A durk, ance by her nanesell worn, Thomson Poems
(1819) 112. Edb. Her nanesel maun be carefu' now. Nor maun
she be misleard, Fergusson Poems (1773) 156, ed. 1785. n.Cy.
Border Gl. (Co//. L.L.B.)
2. Phr. by one's nain, by oneself Cf lone, adv. 6.
Abd. An' he war latt'n aleen b"s nain, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) xii.
NAINT, NAINTER, see Naunt, sb}, Nointer.
NAIP, sb. Obs. Sc. The highest part or ridge of a
roof. Cf knap, sb}
Abd. Some peep of reek out at the naip appears, Ross Helenore
(1768) 82, ed. 1812.
NAIPKIN, NAIPRY, see Napkin, Napery.
NAIRN, NAISE,NAISH, seeNorn,56.,Neese,s^i.i,Nesh.
NAIST, V. Yks. [nest.] To tease ; to worry ; to
remind one to do something disagreeable.
n.Yks. Deea't when Ah tells thee, and then Ah needn't naist
thee about it. Mother naisted me to begin work (I.W.).
NAIST, see Neist.
N-AIT, sb. Won An osier-bed. The same word as
Ait, sb} (q.v.) v,
s.Wor. I 'eerd 'em wen a wuz i' the groun' agen the nait,
OuTis Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (i8g6).
NAITHE, see Nathe.
NAITHERANS, adv. and conj. Sc. Also in forms
nedderin, netherans. In no case, by no means ; neither.
S. & Ork.i, Bnff.i Abd. He not nae leems tiU't, nedderin, Alex-
AiiDER Johnny G«'M(i87i)xv. w.Sc. Itwasnalike them netherans
I thought again, St. Patrick (1819) I. 167 (Jam.). Rnf. I dinnalike
it naitherans, Picken Poems (ed. 1813) Gl.
NAITHER(S, NAITHLESS, NAITIE, see Neither,
Natheless, Natty, adj.
NAITSHEL, naive, see Nichil, v., Naive.
NAK'D, ppl. adj. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Der. Not. Lin.
Also in forms nackt w. Yks.^ ; naekt Not. ; nakt n.Yks."
ne.Yks.^ w.Yks.^^ nw.Der.' ; neak'd Cum. Wm. Lan. ;
neakt Lakel.^ Cum. ; neeak'd ji.Yks. ; neeak't Wm.
e.Yks.i ; nek'd, nek't w.Yks. [nekt, neakt, niakt.]
1. Naked ; the pp. of the obs. v. ' nake,' to make naked.
Lakel.i Cum. I was neak't an' bare, Richardson Talk (1876)
2nd S. 14 ; A lal neak'd lad wi' a bow an' arrow, Gwordie Greenup
Yance a Year (1873) 5. Wm. An 0' steayne neak'd . . . But dei!
a bit o' sham there's i' 'em. Whitehead Leg. (1859) 41 ; Six er
sebbm hungry barns rooarin fer summat ta it, hofe neeak't. Spec.
Dial. (1880) pt. ii. 16. n.yks. (T.S.), n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i T'chetch
steeple leeaks varry naakt. e.Yks.i w.Yks. Lucas Stud. Nidder-
dale (c. 1882) 269; Piper Dial. Sheffield (1824) 20; w.Yks.i=3
Lan. His poor barns they'r hofe hunger'd and neak'd. Eaves-
dropper Vill. Life (1869) 3. nw.Der.i, Not. (J.H.B.) s.Not. He
wor starknak'd (J.P.K.). sw.Lin.i He'll be nearly nak'd when
he comes back. It won't look so nak'd when the leaves are out.
2. Comb. Nak'd light, an unprotected hght.
sw.Lin.i We don't reckon to take a nak'd light into the yard.
NAKE, V. Sc. [nek.] To bare, malie naked.
Ayr. He naked his swurd, an' swure he would thole't nae
langer, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 258.
[Why nake ye youre bakkes .' Chaucer Boethius, bk.
IV. met. vii. 45. OE. nacian (B.T.).]
NAKED, adj. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also in
forms nakit Cld. ; nakket Sh.L [ne'kid, nea'kid.]
1. In comb.{i) Naked bed, (a) stark naked; dressed only
in night-clothes ; (b) obs., in phr. in on^s naked bed, in bed
without one's clothes ; (2) — boys, {a) the meadow saffron,
Colchicum autuninale; (b) the naked-flowering crocus,
Crocus nudiflorus ; (3) — corn, thin-eared corn ; (4) —
crocus, see (2, a) ; (5) — gull, any unfledged bird ; (6)
— Jack, a small suet dumpling; a crock dumpling; (7)
— ladies or lady, see (2, a) ; (8) — light, an unprotected,
open light; (9) — man, an old, decayed, leafless tree; (10)
— Nanny, see (2, a) ; (11) — snail, a slug ; (12) — truth,
pure spirits ; whisky neat ; (13) — virgins, see (2, a).
(i, «) N.Cy.i (s.v. Naky-bed). n.Yks.i (s.v. Nak-i-bed). (/5)Abd.
They found the said Thomas Grant with his bastard brother,
lying in their naked beds in a friend's house near by, Spalding
Hist.Sc. (1792) I. 50 ; No aye in his nakit bed, for I fan' him ance
mysel' snorin' upo' the flure, Macdonald Warlock (1882) vii. (2, a)
Hrf. (B. & H.), Nrf. (M.C.H.B.) Wil.i Meadow saffron, the
flowers and leaves of which do not appear together, Aubrey iVa^
Hist. (ed. 1847) 51. (6) Chs.i (3) Sli.1. Jakobsen Dial. (1897)
46. (4) n.Yks. (R.H.H.) (5) Chs.i^ {6) Hs-v. Reports Provinc.
(1897). Cor.2 (7) Lakel.2 Yks., Lan., Agl. (B. & H.), War.a,
Wor. (B. & H.), Shr.i -w.Som.i Nae-ukudlae-udee. Cor. (B. &H.)
(8) Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (9) Hmp. (J.R.W.),
Hmp.i (10) Wil.i (11) Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) V. iii. 13.
(12) Cld. rUjist take the nakit truth if ye like (Jam.). (i3)Chs.i3
2. Phr. naked as a robin, quite naked ; gen. of an un-
dressed child. War .2 3 shr.i W'y yo bin as naked as a robin.
3. Without the outer garment ; unprotected, bare ;
scanty, insufficient.
Edb. O ! it's hard that in our sark We use sic cleading. For
we're no us'd to siccan stark And naked bedding, Har'st Rig
(1794) 34i ed. 1801. Wor. (W.C.B.) w.Som.i 1 told'n he should'n
ha car'd a suvren in his naked [nae-ukiid] pocket ; he ought to a
had a good long puss. Dev. Reports Provinc. (1883).
4. Obs. Unarmed ; defenceless.
Abd. The Highland men, they're clever men. At handling sword
and shield. But yet they are too naked men, To stay in battle
field, Maidment Garland (1824) 18, ed. 1868. Rnf. We are under
fears every day of the rest of the Spaniards landing in the West,
where we are perfectly naked, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) II.
440, ed. 1843.
[1. (i, b) Who' sees his true-love in her naked bed,
Shaks. V. Sr' A. 397.]
NAK-I-BED, adj. n.Cy. Yks. Also written naky-bed
N.Cy.^ ; nake-i-bed w. Yks.^ Stark naked ; dressed only
in night-clothes. N.Cy.^, n.Yks.\ w.Yks.^ Cf naked bed.
NAKIT, see Knead, Naked.
N-ALE, sb. Glo. [nel.] An ale-house.
Gl. (1851) ; Glo.i ' Where's Bill ? ' ' He's gone to nale ' ; Glo."
[Ich am occupied eche day, haly day and other With
ydel tales atte nale, and other-whyle in churches, P. Plow-
man (c.) viii. 19.]
NALE, NALL, see Nawl, sb}, Neal.
NALLY, sb. Cum.* [na'li.] A nursery term for a
child's fundament. Cf natty, sb}
NAM, V. Rxb. (Jam.) [nam.] To seize quickly, esp.
to seize with violence and to the consternation of the
victim ; also used Jig. Cf. nim, v.
Aha ! I've nam'd ye there, my lad.
N- AMBLE, V. Lakel. Yks. Suf. Also in forms nam'le
Lakel.= ; nawmle w.Yks. [na-m(b)l.] 1. To amble.
e.Suf (F.H.) 2. To walk as if in pain ; to turn in the
toes, to ' bamble.'
Lakel. 2 Wm. Ah can hardly nam'l an' gang i' these clogs
(B.K.). w.Yks. T'owd vicar com nawmlin up abaht t'usual time,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Sept. 3, 1892). e.Suf. (F.H.)
NAME, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
in forms naam w.Yks.^ ; neame Wan* [nem, neam,
niam.] 1. sb. In cow/i. (i) Name-daughter, a girl, ^e«.
a god-daughter, who bears one's name ; (2) -father, the
person whose Christian name one bears ; (3) -son, a boy
who bears one's name.
(i) Sc. Can you tell me . . . what kind o' like bairn wee Kirsty,
my ain namedochter is! Whitehead Daft Davie (1876) 216, ed.
1894. (2) Cai.' I.Ma. He'd have been your name-father too if
NAMELY
[224]
NAN
it had been a boy you'd been, Caine Manxman (1894) pt. vi. iv.
(3) Edb. He has some fifty namesons in the village, Ballantine
Deankaugh (1869) 22.
2. Phr. (i) a nice name to go to bed with, an ugly name ;
(2) in the name of all, an expletive, gen. of impatience ; (3)
in the name of no time, almost immediately ; (4) name of
goodness, (5) — of thunder, see (2) ; (6) to bite one's name
in any drink, to take a very full draught ; (7) to make a
person not to know his own name, to knock the sense out
of him.
(i) War.2 Just fancy, to christen the poor child Pharaoh : that's a
nice name to go to bed with. Oxf. (G.O.) (2) Abd. ' I' the name o'
a' !' cried her great-grandmother, Macdonald Warlock (1885) vi.
(3) e.Fif. In the name o' nae time, I grew as cosy as a pie, Latto
Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxv. (4) Wal. Now, name o' goodness, let's
have some breakfast ! Beale Gladys (1881) ii. (5) Cor. ' I think
him a fool.' ' Name o' thunder,' 'Q.' Three Ships (1892) no. (6)
Nhp.i I don't like to drink with that fellow, he bites his name in
the beer too much. (7) Lei.i Oi'U mek ye as ye wunna knoo yer
oon neeam. War.'^
3. A collection of persons bearing the same name ; a clan.
Abd. There was a meeting of the name of Gordon at Strath-
boggie, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 210.
4. A reputation ; report ; insinuation, gossip.
Sh.I. What wye shii wid try ta get da lasses oot o' da name o'
raelly biddin' da boys, Sh.News (Dec. 3, 1898). Gall. Sic beauty,
and the name o' siller Gart wooers flock like wil' -geese till her,
Nicholson Poet. Wks.{j8jn) 41, ed. 1897. War." Get along with
yer ; I wants none of your neame in my house. Lon. Now, this
piece of tape would cost me seven farthings in the shop, and
I sells it at six yards a penny. It has the name of being eighteen
yards, Mayhew Lond. Labour (zS^i) I. 385.
5. V. Phr. (i) to half name, to baptize privately ; see Half-
named, s.v. Half, 8 (19) ; (2) to name one person to another,
to couple their names together ; to spread a report that
they are engaged, or that one is courting the other ; (3)
to name to, to name after.
(i) e.An.'- (2) Kcd. He joked an' flirted wi' the queans, But
aye wi' twas an' threes ; He joked wi' a', was named to nane. He
was so sly and douce, Grant Lays (1884) 92. (3) Dev. Here's to
the health of the little maid who's named to grandmother,
O'Neill Idyls (1892) 5.
6. To baptize, esp. to baptize privately.
Sc. Obsol. (A.W.), w.Yks.i n.Lin.i Oor Mary has been naamt,
bud we've not hed her christen'd yit, i. c. Mary has been privately
baptized, but not as yet received into the congregation. Rut.'^
This un's not been named yet. e.An.^ Nrf. No, sir, my gal was
never baptized, I can assure you ; she was onl3'- named (W.R.E.).
Wil. He wasn't ever christened, only named (G.E.D.).
7. To mention, tell, relate.
w.Yks. (J.W.) e.An.^ He niver named nothing about it. e.Suf.
(F.H.)
NAMELY, adj. Sc. Famous.
ii.Sc. A term used by Highlanders, when they condescend to
speak Saxon (Jam.) ; Sky was always namely for witches, Clan
Albin (1815) I. 206 (16.). Arg. Had he not the smart style at the
game of camanachd ? He was namely for it in many places, Neil
MuNRO Lost Pibroch (1896) 250.
Hence Nameliheid, sb. glory.
Sc. What setten haist thy nameliheid abune the hevins, Waddell
Ps. (1871) viii. I.
NAMIE-AND-GUESSIE, s6. Sc Also in form namers-
and-guessers Bnff. A game ; see below. Cf. foolie, 3.
Bnff. GoMME Games (1894) I. 409. Abd. The children . . .
select one to be ' Namie ' and another to be ' Guessic.' Guessie
goes far enough away not to hear what is going on, while Namie
gives each child a name, e.g. Daisy, Lily, Pot, Pail, Cat, Dog, &c.
(Favourite names on Donside are ' mousie amo' the meal,' ' the
burnt witch,' ' the hen on the hot girdle,' &c.) All being named,
Namie calls out, ' Luckie, luckie, yer breid's burnin', Gin I had a
gully, I'd be turnin'.' Guessie hereupon comes up, spits three
times on the ground, and Namie says, ' That's aneuch. Come
choise me oot, come choise me in, come choise me in to Daisy.*
If Guessie hits on the right person, that person goes to Guessie's
side, otherwise to Namie's side. This goes on till all are divided
except one. Then a name is chosen for the last one, unknown to
Guessie. ' Apple, pear, plum, tobacco, or a drum. Or a dancin'
Jacky Tar.' If Guessie answers correctly which of these names
has been chosen, the child goes to Guessie's side, otherwise to
Namie's. The side numerically the stronger is formed into two
and two, hands joined, in line. Through this tunnel, the other
party passes singly, to undergo ' clouts ' on the head from the
others, using their caps with the loose hand. They have to run
the gauntlet three times (G.W.).
NAMMET,s6. Sc.Wal.Gmg.Pem.GIo. Brks. Sus. Hmp.
I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. Also vs^ritten namet I.W. ;
nammit Brks. Sus. Hmp.^ Wil.^ ; nammut I.W.^ ; and in
forms ammat Wal. Som. ; ammot Dev. ; anamet I.W. ;
enamet Hmp. I.W. ; ? mammit Som. ; nammert Hmp. ;
nanmeet Wal. ; neemit Lth. (Jam.) ; nemmy s.Wil. ; nim-
mach s.Pem. ; nimmet Rxb. (Jam.); nimmits Dev.;
nommet Gmg. Som.; nommit w.Som.^; nummat Cor.^;
nummet Gmg. Pem. Glo. Wil.^ Som. ; nummett
n.Dev. ; nummit w.Som.-' Dev. ; nummock Dor. ; ommet
Som. [nae'mst, no-mat, nB-mit] 1. A luncheon;
esp. one eaten in the field by farm-labourers either in the
middle of the morning or of the afternoon ; a plain meal
without meat ; food generally.
Wal. HoLLowAY. Gmg. Collins Gow. Dial, in Trans. Phil.
Soc. (1848-50) IV. 222. Gmg., Pem. Anything eaten in the hand,
N. & Q. (1852) ist S. vi. 152. s.Pem. Car' iwar nimmach with
yea to school, yea canna come home to dinner. Obs. (W.M.M.)
Glo. This nonemete ... is still the word by which luncheon was
called at Bristol in my childhood, but corrupted into nummet,
SouTHEY Commonplace Bk. I. 477. Brks. (W.P.), Sus. (F.E.),
Hmp. (Hall.), (H.C.M.B.), Hmp.i s.Hmp. He's used to seven
meals . . . nammet, crammet, and supper, Verney L. Lisle (1870)
vi. I.W. Holloway; I.W.12 wil. Slow Gl (1892); The
agricultural labourer rests his horses and sits down under the
hedge at mid-day to take his ' nammit,' Chwardens Ace. St. Edmund
Satum (1896) Inirod. 34 ; Wil.^ s.Wil. About Salisbury nammet
is the 12 o'clock dinner (G.E.D.). Dor. Evening meal at 6 o'clock
(C.V.G.) ; Dor.i Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825) ; Horae
Subsecivae (1777) 310; (J.Ar.) ; Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.)
w.Som.i I zim I must catch a bit o' nommit vore we starts, else
shan't git nort vore up dree clock. Dev. Car out tha nimmits tii
tha meyn za quick's yil can, else they'll be famished tii death and
dry jist chucked, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Stay-bit and breakast,
ammot and dinner, Mumpit and crumpet, and a bit arter supper,
BowRiNG Lang. (1866) I. v. 38 ; Forg-bit and breakfast, Rear-bit
and dinner, Nummit and crummit, And a bit after supper, O'Neill
Idyls (1892) no. n.Dev. Take, soce, a sliver as a nummett. Rock
Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 93. nw.Dev.^, Cor.^
2. Comp. (i) Nammet-bag, a luncheon-bag ; (2) -time,
the time at which the ' nammet ' is eaten.
(i) I.W.^ A straddlebob craalun in the nammut bag, 50. WiL^
(2) I.W. 2 We shan't git the wheat in hile by nammet time. Dor.
It was not till ' nammet '-time, about 3 o'clock, that Tess raised her
eyes. Hardy Tess (1891) 431, ed. 1895.
3. Dinner. Lth., Rxb. (Jam.)
[L Merenda, breakefast or noone meate, Thomas It.
Gram. (1548) ; Nunmete, merenda. Prompt. ; A nvne mete,
antecena, Cath. Angl. (1483). OE. non-mete, ' merenda '
(B.T.).]
NAMMONIE, sb. Or.I. Also in form nanmonie
(Jam.), a little while. S. & Ork.\ (Jam.)
NAM-NAM, adj. Rnf (Jam.) A child's expression for
something good to eat.
NAMPLUSH, see Amplush.
N-AMSHACH, v. and sb. Bnff. [nB'msax-] 1. v. To
injure severely. Bnff.' 2. sb. A misfortune, accident.
(W.G.) See Amshach.
NAN, sb.^ n.Cy. Yks. I.W. [nan.] 1. In comb, (i)
Nan Clappison's dose, a good thrashing ; (2) -piannot,
the magpie. Pica rustica; (3) -pie, (a) see (2); (6) the
common peony, Paeonia officinalis.
(i) e.Yks. Ah'd ha' gi'n him bell-tinker an paddy-whack sauce.
Ah'd ha' gi'n him a teeast o' Nan Clappison's dose, Nicholson
Flk-Sp. (1889) 41. (2) n.Cy. Holloway. w.Yks.i (3, a) n.Cy.
Holloway. n.Yks.i24j ne.Yks.i w.Yks.i Thou chatters like
onny Nanpie, ii. 308 ; w.Yks.s (i) Yks. (B. & H.)
2. A she-goat. I.W.^
NAN, sb."^ Cum. Yks. Also in form nanny w.Yks.
[nan.] A quarry term : a fault ; a division in coal or
stone. w.Cum. (S.K.C.), w.Yks. (J.P.)
NAN, sb.^ Dev. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A small earthen jar. (Hall.)
NAN
[225]
NANNY
NAN, int. Dur. Yks. Shr. Bdf. Ken. Sus. Som. and
Amer. Also in form non Dur.^ [nan, naen.] What did
you say? A mode of expressing that the hearer has
failed to catch the speakers meaning. See Anon, int.
Dur.i, w.Yks.i, Shr.12 Bdf. Obsol., Batchklor Anal. Eng. Lang.
(1809) 138. Ken. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Sus.'' Som.
Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896)
I. 327-]
NAN,NANBERRY,NANBURY,seeAnon,m/.,Anbury.
NANCY, sb. Yks. Chs. Der. Lin. Shr. e.An. [na-nsi.]
1. In comb, (i) Nancy-none-so-pretty, the London pride,
Saxifraga umbrosa. Lin. (B. & H.) ; (2) -wild, a nar-
cissus. Chs.'* 2. Phr. a Miss Nancy, an effeminate,
insignificant man. w.Yks.', nw.Der.' See Miss, sb.^ 3,
nancying. 3. The head.
Lin.i He gave him a crack over the nancy.
4. The pudding in a pig which is next in size to the
paunch. Shr."^ 5. A small lobster. e.An.'
NANCYING, ppl. adj. Der.^ nvv.Der.' [na-nsi-in.]
Effeminate. See Nancy, 2.
NANCY-PRETTY, sb. Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Lan.
Som. Dev. [na'nsi-priti.] 1. The London pride, Saxi-
fraga umbrosa.
Sc. Appleringie, speerimint, tailors' garters, and nancy-pretty,
Wright Sc. Life (1897) 59. Nhb.', Lakel.z, n.Yks. (I.W.),
e.Yks.*, w.Yks.' ne.Lan.^ The lesser London Pride. w.Som.'
Nan'see-puur'tee. Dev.*
2. Love-lies-bleeding, Amaranthus caudatus. Lakel.^
NAN(E, NANE, NANES, see None, Nain, Nonce.
NANG, V. and sb. Lakel. Yks. Ken. Sus. Dor. Som. Also
written gnang w.Yks.* Sus.' Dor.; and in form neng
w.Yks.^ [naq, nseq, w.Yks. ner).] 1. v. Of a pain : to
gnaw ; to keep up a dull, continuous aching.
w.Yks. Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 268 ; (J.W.) ; w.Yks.*
This old tooith is gnangin' at it agean.
2. To complain ; to cry like a fretful child ; to worry,
' gnag.'
Yks. Thou has never done nenging me for somthing or other ;
mun I get tha t'raoin ? (M.N.) w.Yks.3 ; w.Yks.5 ' Awalus gurning
an' nenging' — whining and complaining. ' What in the world keeps
that barn nenging soa ! '
Hence (i) Nanging, ppl. adj. worrying, ' gnagging ' ;
ill-tempered ; (2) Nangly, adj. grumbling, cross-grained,
quarrelsome.
(i) w.Yks. Is t' weary naagin, nengin turn, 'At plagued poor
Natterin Nan, Preston Poems (1864) 4 ; He wor trudgin on i'
this nengin humour, ib. Musings (1878) 153. (2) Lakel. ^
3. To gnash or grind the teeth ; to make half articulate
sounds by wagging the jaw in mockery. Cf. gnaxng.
ne.Ken. He keeps on nar|ii) at me (H.M.). Sus. But de hoss
stud still, an Pinder he wur in a hem of a stodge an gnanged an
named, and belver'd, Jackson Southward Ho (1894) L 3B9 ; Sus.i
Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863) ; Dor.' Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl.
(1885).
4. sb. Phr. be on the nang, of pain : to ache intermittently.
w.Yks. My tooith's bin on't nang all t'day, Leeds Merc. Suppl,
(July 6, 1895).
N-ANGNAIL, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Wm. Yks. Lan. Der. Lin.
Also written gnangnail w. Yks.^* ; knangnail w.Yks. ;
and in forms nagnail w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Wm. Lan.'
sw.Lin.'; nengnail Yks. [na"r)nel, nagneL] 1. A loose
piece of skin at the base of the finger-nail ; a sore at the
root of a finger-nail. See Agnail.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Lakel." w.Yks. Banks
IVkfld. IVds. (1865); Very common (J.W.). Lan. Davies Baces
(1856) 378. n.Lin.i
2. A long finger-nail. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May
31, 1884) 8. 3. A corn ; a bunion ; an ingrowing nail.
See AgnaiL
Sc, w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) n.Cy. Holloway. Wm. Ferguson
Northmen {x6=,6) 20a. n.Yks.i" v.Y'ks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. {Aug.
4, 1894) ; I cured Sir Harry of a nang-nail, almost fifty-five yards
long, Mummers' Play, St. George ; w.Yks.i Shoe ollas pleeans
feafuUy o' nang-nails, ii. a88; w.Yks.2S45j Lan.', Der.' 2, nw.Der.',
n.Lin.', Lin. (J.C.W.) sw.Lln.* Some calls them nagnails, and
some calls them corns.
VOL. IV.
4. Camp. Nangnail-salve, a black, resinous ointment,
sold as a cure for corns. n.Lin.' 5. Fig. An ill-
tempered, troublesome person ; a tyrant. Lan. Davies
Races (1856) 278 ; Lan.'
NANICK, see Nannick.
NANK, V. w.Yks.2 [naqk.] To knock.
' Tha'll nank it agen f wall, lass ! ' In the game of marbles a boy
is said to nank another boy's knuckles with his taw.
Hence Nanks, sb. a game of marbles in which the
'taws ' are knocked against a wall.
NANMEET, NANMONIE, see Nammet, Nammonie.
NANNICK, V. and sb. Glo. e.An. Also written nanick
Suf. ; nannack e.An. ; nannak Suf ' ; nannock e.Suf ;
nannuck Suf ; and in forms nonek e.An.' ; nonnak
Suf.' ; nonneck, nonnock e.An.' ; nonnuck e.An.^
[nsE'nsk, ncnak.] 1. v. To play the fool ; to play when
one should be working; to idle away one's time; to fidget.
Glo. (F.H.) eAn.'; e.An.° Don't nonnuck now. Suf. Tliem
booeys ollus fare to keep a nanickin' (C.G.de B.) ; (C.T.) ; Suf.i
Come, stare, stare, don't keep nannaken yar time awah. e.Suf.
To nannick about (F.H.). Ess. Now children, no nannicking, sit
still at table ! (H.MM.)
Hence Nannicking, ppl. adj. full of apish tricks ; trifling.
e.An.' Ess. Monthly Mag. (1815) L 125.
2. To do light, irregular work ; to change one's employ-
ment frequently.
Suf. (C.T.) ; Suf.' 'A eent able to dew a day's work — 'A nonak
about now and ten.
Hence Nannucken, ppl. adj. changing about.
Suf. A man is called ' Nannucken' Jack ' on account of his never
staying long in one situation (C.T.).
3. sb. An idle whim ; a childish fancy or fear: a jibe.
e.An.1 Suf. He's alius full of his nannicks (ME.R.); Suf.'
Come, none 'a yar nonnaks now. e.Suf. (F.H.)
4. Light, irregular work. Suf 5. A valueless trifle,
a nicknack. e.An. (Hall.), e.Suf. (F.H.) 6. A bungler,
e Suf. (F.H.)
NANNIKIN, ppl. adj. Ess. [nae-nikin.] In comb.
Nannikin-job, a piece of work requiring neatness and
delicacy. (S.P.H.) Cf nannick.
NANNLE-BERRY, NANNUCK, see Angleberry, Nan-
nick.
NANNY, sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. and. Eng. Also in
form nunny Wil.' [na'ni, nae'ni.] 1. In comb, (i)
Nanny Button-cap, the name of a fairy ; (2) -catch, an
apparition ; a mischievous sprite ; (3) -cock-a-thaw^, a
spark; see below; (4) -cratty, (a) an inquisitive, meddle-
some, foolish, weak-minded person ; (b) foolish, weak-
minded, childish; of small account; ^e«. used of persons,
but also of a conversation or work; (5) -fodger or -fudger,
(a) Bl meddlesome, prying person ; [b) the wren, Troglo-
dytes parvulus ; (6) -fudget, obsol., a nervous, effeminate,
fidgety person ; (7) -goat, a foolish girl or woman ; gen.
in phr. to play the nanny-goat, to behave like a fool ; to
play foolish tricks ; (8) -hammer, a foolish person ; see
Ninnyhammer ; (9) -hole, a cave ; a culvert ; (10) -nine-
holes, the river lamprey, Petromyzon fluviatilis; (11) -pie,
a kind of oats, partly black in the husk ; (12) -reed-tail,
(13) -ring-tail, the redstart, Ruticilla phoenicurus ; (14)
-sull, obs., an old-fashioned wooden plough ; (15) -viper,
(a) a caterpillar ; (6) an imaginary snake ; see below ;
(16) -wag or -wagtail, the pied wagtail, Motacilla lugubris;
(17) -washtail, the grey wagtail, Motacilla meianope.
(i) w.Yks.2 The following lines are repeated by children : 'The
moon shines bright, The stars give light. And little Nanny Button-
cap Will come to-morrow night.' (2) Cum.* A certain house
bears the name of Nanny catch House. (3) e.Lan. When playing
at forfeits, it was usual to hold either a piece of paper or wood
which had been burnt, and on which a spark still remained.
Before the spark went out, we were obliged to repeat the follow-
ing: 'Nanny Cock-a-Thaw, Nine sticks, nine stones Shall be o'
thy bones If thou let Nanny Cock-a-Thaw faw.' Of course, if the
spark went out before the lines were repeated, a forfeit was
demanded, N. V Q. (1866) 3rd S. ix. 87. (4, a) Cum. Tak neah
nwotish on her, she's an old nanny-cratty (J.D.); Cum.* (6)
Cum.* (5 a, b) WiH (6) Wil. N. & Q. (1881) 6th S. iv. 106. (7)
Dor. You gurt clumsy wooden-head vooil, do 'eo think thease be
NANT
[226]
NAP
the time to play the zilly nanny-goat ? Windsor Mag. (Sept. 1900)
432. e.Suf. (F.H.) (8) Nhb.i Cum. If yeh'd nobbut seen thur
two nanny-hammers when ah'd finisht sayan that, Sargisson Joe
Scoap (1881) 72. (9) Wm. A curious circumstance in connection
with this culvert or nannie hole is reported in the papers, Curwen
Kirkbie- Kendal (1900) 59. (10) Shr.i (11) ne.Lan.^ (12) Cum.*
(13) Nhb.i (14') w-Som.! Dev. I win'd the champion prize to
Broadhembury ploughin match nort but a old farshin nanny-zull,
Reports Provinc. (1884). (15, a) Cor.12 ij,) w.Sus. A snake
supposed to inhabit stomach of -sick person, who grows thin in
spite of a huge appetite. The snake may be decoyed out by milk
and killed. ' Nothing she ate or drank did her a bit of good, for
the nanny-wiper took it all,' Flk-Lore Rec. (1878) I. 49. (16) Not.
SwAiNSON BzV-rfs (1885) 43. s.Not. (J.P.K.) {ifi-vi.DoT. Berrow's
Jrn. (Mar. 3, 1888). Ess. Flk-Lore in Monthly Pkt. (Oct. 1862) 435.
2. Phr. (i) hey my nannie., a goat ; (2) high or long in the
legs like Nanny Banter's hens, used of a thin, starved-
looking person ; (3) Nanny pinch-pot, a penurious person ;
a covetous, miserable wretch ; (4) Northern Nanny, a cold
storm of hail and wind from the north.
(i) Lnk. He sprang frae Kirsty's side and danced like hey-my-
nannie, Wardrop/. Matfiison (1881) 13. (2) Cor. Hunt Po^. Rom.
».£«.§•. (1865)425, ed. 1896. Cor.3 (3)Nhb.l (4) Dev. 'I reckon there
be anither o' them Northern Nannies a-coming on us.' . . A Northern
Nannie is one of those explosions of ice-cold rain in a driving
blast that was being threatened by the lowering sky, Baring-Gould
Dartmoor Idylls (1896) 71. Cor. We shall have dirty weather;
Northern Nannies, maybe, drifts of storm and hail, ib. Rich. Cable
(1889) 442.
3. A she-goat.
Sc. (Jam.) Lnk. What gars thee sae fleg an' fling Tuggin' at
thy tether-string, My pet Nannie! Nicholson Idylls (1870) 84.
Lan.i, I.W.1
4. The whitethroat, Sylvia cinerea. Cum.* 5. The
heron, Ardea cinerea. ib. 6. A stingless humble-bee.
Nhb.^ Cf. canny-nanny. 7. The stomach. Shr.'
8. A small three-wheeled cart ; a ' dobbin.' Hrf.^
NANT, NANTHERINS, NANTHERS, see Naunt, sb>,
Noint, Anauntrins, Anaunters.
NANTIPIE, 56. Obs. n.Cy. Yks. Also in form nant-
pie. The magpie, Pica rusiica. n.Cy. Grose (1790).
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
NANTLE, V. n.Cy. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Lin. Rut.
Lei. Nhp. Also in forms nauntle w.Yks.'^ Nhp.^" Lin.
Midi. ; nontle w.Yks." [na-ntl.] 1. To raise ; to
elevate gently.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Nhp. The daisy nauntles up its head, Clare
Poems (1820) 183.
Hence Nauntling, ppl. adj. towering, lofty, as of a crag
or church steeple. Lin. (J.C.W.)
2. To hold oneself erect ; to go about in a mincing, con-
ceited, affected fashion.
w. Yks. He who nantles, acts in an effeminate manner, Hamilton
Nugae Lit. (1841) 356 ; w.Yks.as, Rut., Lei. (E.S.), Nhp.12
Hence (i) Nantling, sb. a foppish person; {2) Nauntly,
adj. conceited, jaunty.
(i) w.Yks.5 (2) Nhp. Not far behind him struts the nauntly
crows, Clare Shep. Calendar (1827) 29.
3. To caress, fondle ; to nurse in a playful manner ; to
toy with anything.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks. Stuck befor t'sceenin [seeming] glass,
t wistin an nantlin wi ther curls, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann.
(1874)23; w.Yks.'s^ ne.Lan.i
4. To work feebly, languidly, or imperfectly ; to potter
about ; to move slowly and feebly.
n.Cy. (Hall.), Dur.i, s.Dur. (J.E.D.) Lakel.= Nantle aboot
t'garden fer days. Wm. He will nantle with it till he gets it to his
mind (B.K.). n.Yks.* e.Yks. (S.K.C.) ; He can nobbut just
nantle a bit (M.C.F.M. ) ; e.Yks.i He's gettin past work noo, poor
awd chap, bud he nantles aboot a bit in his garden. w.Yks.^ I
can nantle about a bit still.
Hence Nantling, (i) sb. (a) petty, jobbing work ; {b)
gossiping or trifling matters ; {2,) ppl. adj. of work : light,
trifling ; done for amusement.
(i, a) Lakel. 2 (i) Cum. (J. P.) (2) s.Dur. A man who applied
to the manager of the Lead Co. for ' a nantle-en ' job at a pund
a week (J.E.D.) ; Making a cork model is eminently a ' nantling'
job (F.K.).
N-ANTRIES, sb. pi Pem. Cart-harness. s.Pem.
(W.M.M.) The same word as Hame-trees, s.v. Hame,
sb} 2 (7).
NANTY, NAO(D, NAOH(N, NAOWF, see Noint,
Know, Oaf.
NAP, sb} Sc. Cum. Yks. Lan. Midi. Shr. [nap.] 1. In
comb. Nap-at-noon, (i) the salsify, or purple goat's-beard,
Tragopogon porrifolius ; (2) the yellow goat's-beard, T.
pratensis ; (3) the star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum um-
bellatum.
(i) w.Yks. 1 Lan.i The purple goat's-beard, which opens its
flowers only in the fore-noon, after which they close. ne.Lan.i
(2) Cum.i* ^idX. Poetry of Provinc. in Cornh. Mag. (1865) XII.
34. Shr. (B. & H.) (3) Shr.i
2. Fig. A soporific, soothing.
Edb. Dinnae quat the chearin' hopes Religion gies, for ony naps
Ye get frae cavillin' chappies' draps. Lethal an' mirk, Learmont
Poems (1791) 44.
NAP, sb.'^ Sc. Chs. Oxf. Suf. and Amer. Also written
nappe Chs.^ ; and in form nappie S. & Ork.^ Rnf. (Jam.)
Amer. ; nappy s.Sc. Amer. [nap.] 1. A wooden
vessel, esp. one used for milk ; a small kettle. Cf. knap,
sb} 10.
S. & Ork.i s.Sc. The nappy reek'dwi' mantling ream, Wilson
ra/«s(i839) V. 57. Rnf. PicKEN Poems (1788) Gl. (Jam.) Dmf. I
saw the coopers show their naps, Shennan Tales (1831) 32. Gall.
The milk-made she scrubbed and scyringed her naps, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 78, ed. 1876. [Amer. A round shallow crockery
dish used for baking pies. A square vegetable dish was billed as a
nappie. Dial. Notes (1895) 391.]
2. Fig. ? Obs. The head. Cf. napper, sb}
Rxb. I'll lay my gude Kilmarnock cap, A better never grac'd a
nap, RuiCKBiE Wayside Cottager (1807) iii. e.Suf. Used only by
the old (F.H.).
Hence Napache, sb. headache. e.Suf. (F.H.)
3. The head or foam on a glass of ale ; ale, strong beer.
Cf. nappy.
Abd. Nor did we drink o' gilpin water. But reemin nap, Tarras
Poews (1804) 24 (Jam.). Chs.i Ofo. Oxf. (G.O.)
[1. peilke])athalt))enenaphehinedrinkeSup, Lajamon
(c. 1205) 14332. OE. hncep, ' ciatus ' (jElfric).]
NAP, 56.^ Sc. [nap.] 1. A joke, jest ; fun.
e.Lth. A bitter carle was he, nae doubt, Wi's naps and jeers,
Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 232.
2. Phr. to take a nap off any one, to play a trick on him ;
to befool him.
Cai.i w.Sc. It is quite plain that the individual in the gallery
who said, ' All round my hat,' wished to take his nap off the
Presbytery, Macdonald Settlement (1869) 103, ed. 1877. Lth. If
I kent wha dared to tak' their nap aff me, I wad gie them what
they wad mind a' their days, Strathesk Blinkbonny (ed. 1891)
96. e.Lth. ' Me an elder ! ' says I ; ' g' wa wi' ye, minister, ye're
taken yournapaff me,' HvnTERj.Inwick (1895) 46. Dmf. Wallace
Schoolmaster (1899) 350.
NAP, si.* Sc. [nap.] A shin of beef. Stephens
Farm Bk. (ed. 1851) H. 692.
NAP, v} n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Not. Nhp. Dev. Also written
knap Not. [nap, naep.] 1. To catch ; to lay hold of ; to
seize ; to steal. Cf nab, v}
n.Cy. (Hall.), n.Yks.* Not. He was knapped (J. H.B.). s.Not.
A just napped 'im stealin' th' apples. Jack's not gone, for a
napped 'im yesterday, crossin Brett's close (J.P.K. ). Nhp.2 Dev.
Next morn us ups an' naps 'em [crabs] nicely, Longman's Mag.
(Oct. 1897) 512.
2. With it : to receive punishment, to ' catch it.' Cf.
knap, v." 9.
w.Yks. Dyer Dial. (1891 ) 73 ; w.Yks.s Thah'll nap it lad ! He's
nap'd it reight this time. Not. He knapped it (J.H.B.).
3. To stop, frustrate. Cum.* 4. To prowl; to go about
with dishonest intentions.
ne.Yks.^ Ah see'd him nappin' aboot.
NAP, t;.^ Sc. Dev. [nap, naep.] 1. A fishing term ;
see below.
Bnff.i A fishing term. When a line becomes entangled on the
bottom, it is pulled with as great a strain as possible, and then
suddenly let go. The recoil commonly causes the hook to spring,
and the line is said to nap.
NAP
[227]
NAPPY
2. To burst.
A man said of his child, ■ If he gets much fatter, he'll nap,"
Reports Provinc. {iZii).
[1. He knappeth the spear in sunder, Ps. xlvi.g (Prayer
Blc. Version). Du. knappen, to knap or to crack (Hexham).]
NAP, v.^ Yks. [nap.] To ' frieze ' cloth ; see below.
■w.Yka.s To raise the wool and twist it into knots ; the smaller
the knots and the finer the nap. Heavy over-coatings, where
there are plenty of substance, as Witneys and Pilots, are only
treated with this process.
Hence Naps, sb. the raised part of ' friezed ' cloth.
w.Yks. Then he had to pull forward the other portions, hook
them on to the shear-boards, and 'raise the naps' ready for the
shears. Peel Luddites (1870) 10.
NAP, adj. Sc. Yks. Also in form nab-, [nap.]
1. Expert, clever ; particularly good at one's trade, or at
any game of skill.
Sc. (Jam.), Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. He is what is termed a nap
skater, Yksman. (1881) 74.
Hence Nap-hand, sb. a clever workman ; one expert at
any business or at a game of skill.
■w.Yks. Halifax Courier (May 29, 1897) ; The printin' wor done
by one o' th' other lads 'at wor a nab-hand at it, Hartley Clock
Aim. (1887) 39; w.Yks.= He's a nap hand at his traade !
2. Ready, eager, desirous. Sc. I'm nap for breakfast (Jam.).
[1. LG. knapp, geschickt, klug, gescheit (Berghaus).]
NAP, see Gnap, Knap, sb}'^, v.^, Knop, v.^
NAPE, s6.' n.Cy. Yks. Also in forms neap N.Cy.^
m.Yks.' ; nape n.Cy. [nap, nip.] 1. Obs. or obsol. A
piece of wood with two or three legs used to support the
fore-front of a loaded wagon, or the shafts of a vehicle.
Cf. nava, 2.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.^ m.Yks.^ Constructed of natural
branches.
2. The nave of a wheel. m.Yks.^
NAPE, sb.^ Dev. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A hole or fracture. (Hall.)
NAPE, V. ? Obs. e.An.^ To cut a branch partly through
so that it can be bent down and used in ' laying ' a hedge.
NAPE,NAPERON,NAPERTY,seeKnap, sb}, Napron,
Knapperts.
NAPERY, sb. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Cum._ Also Sus. Also
written naipry Ayr. ; napryN.Cy.^ [ne'p(3)ri.] 1. Table
and bed linen, occas. including blankets ; also used attrib.
Sc. A grand plenished house, . . well stocked with both napery
and blankets, Whitehead Daft Davie (1876) 297, ed. 1894. Abd.
Stately insight and plenishing, sic as bedding, napery, vessels,
Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 198. Frf. Treasured up in the
napery chest, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 151. Rnf. Sofas, couches,
hair mattresses. Rugs, feather beds, and napery presses. Young
Pictures (1865) 165. Ayr. They've ta'en the naip'ry braid an' wide.
The sarks, the sheets, an' a', Ainslie Land of Bums (ed. 1892)
221. GaU. (A.W.) Uls. A set of bed, table and personal linen,
which a young maiden was expected to have spun before she was
considered fit for marriage, Uls. Jrn. Arch. (1853-62) V. 175-6.
N.Cy.i, Cum.i*, Sus.i
2. The press or room in which household linen is kept.
Cai.i
[1. OFr. naperie, 'lingerie ' (La Curne).]
NAP-HEEAD, sA. n.Yks. [na-p-iad.] A simpleton. (I.W.)
NAPHEW, 56. tObs. Shr. The winter rape, .Sras5;ca
Napus. (B. & H., s.v. Navew.)
[Fr. naveau, the Navew gentle, French Navew (Cotgr.).]
NAPKIN, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Also in forms ? naepteen
Sh.I. ; naipkin Lnk. ; naepkin Sc. ; njaepkin, nypkan
Sh.I. [na-pkin.] A pocket-handkerchief; a kerchief
used to cover the head, or to tie round the neck.
Sc. She wore a white silk napkin on her head, Mitchell Scotti-
cisms (1799) 60. Sh.I. An stick his pocket naepteen in his mooth
ta stifle da soond, Clark N. Gleams (1898) 56 ; Da muckle red
nypken foo it he hed in his pock, Sh. News (June 12, 1897) ; Dere it
is i' da njaepkin, ib. (Apr. 2, 1898). Cai.i Bch. Napkins, as good's
in a' the land To dightyour nib, Forbes Shop Bill {i 185) 13. Abd.
His napkin white she ties wi' cantie care, Still Cottar's Sunday
(1845) 22. Kcd. She startit, wi' her napkin Pressed to lovely nose
an' een. Grant Lays (1884) 87. Per. Down wi' her head, an' up
wi' her neepkin, like's a' the minister was sayin' was for her,
Cleland Imhbracken (1883) 63, ed. 1887. Dmb. Keepin' ye lip in
stockings, sarks, and pocket napkins. Cross Disruption (1844) ii.
Ayr. A pocket-picker whuppet the napkin out of my pouch, Galt
Sir A. tVylie (1822) xiii. Lnk. They sabb'd an' pu'd their naipkins
oot Their e'en to dicht, Coghill Poems (1890) 63. Edb. With a
napkin brush my silken hose, Pennecuik Coll. (1787) 37. Feb.
Can it my pouch hae picket O' mill, o' napkin? Lintoun Green
(1685) 79, ed. 1817. GaU. Frae her wee lozzen waves awa Ane
pocket napkin on a staff, Mactaggart i'Kcyc/. (1824)362, ed. 1876.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.i, Yks. (P.R.) w.Yks. Ray (1691).
NAPLINS, see Knaplins.
NAPOLEON, sb. Suf. LW. The crimson trefoil,
Trifolium incarnatmn; also used in i>l. e.Suf. (F.H.),
LW. (B.&H.)
NAPP, see Knap, sb.'^
NAPPAN, sb. Pem. [na'pan.] The head, esp. a head
well furnished with brains. See Nap, sb.^ 2.
s.Pem. A's got a good nappan on 'n (W.M.M.).
NAPPART, sb. n.Yks. (R.H.H.) The same word as
Knapperts (q.v.).
NAPPATANZER,sA. s.Chs.^ A comic term of deprecia-
tion applied to a person or animal.
Kiim ca'r, uwd naap'utaan'zur [Come o'er, owd nappatanzer].
NAPPE, see Nap, sb.'
NAPPER, sb.^ Cum. Yks. Der. War. Suf. Hmp. Dev.
[na'ps(r, nae'p3(r).] The head ; also in comp. Nappar-case.
See Nap, sb."" 2.
Cum. Meir broken nappers, seylan snouts, Stagg Misc. Poems
(ed. 1807) 134. w.Yks. T'poor bairns al get sum larnin fur ther
nappers, Tom Treddlehoyle Ba!V«5/a Ann. (1892) 54; w.Yks.*
He'd mooast sartinly feel for meh napper ; w.Yks.^ Mind thee
napper ! Der.2,nw.Der.i, War.^, e.Suf. (F.H.) Hmp. Holloway.
Dev. Ef 'e idden quiet purty zoon Til vatch 'n a dap in 'es napper-
case, Hewett Peas. Sp. (189a).
NAPPER, s6.2 Dev. [nae-p3(r).] A boy. Cf. nipper.
Yer's bones vur thee, napper ; they be gflde 'nuff vur bwoys,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Zilly, dawy, beardless napper ! Salmon
Ballads (1899) 76.
NAPPER, sb.^ and adj. Irel. Cum. Also in form
nabber N.I.^ [na'psr.] 1. sb. Anything large and good
of its kind. N.L' Cf. nap, adj. 2. adj. Clever at any-
thing. Cum.*
NAPPER, sb.* Sc. (Jam.) A beetle, mall. The same
word as Knapper (q.v.).
NAPPER, NAPPERN, NAPPERY-WARE, see Knap-
par, Napron, Knappary-ware.
NAPPIE, s6. Yks. The magpie, Pica rustica ; .'from
nan-pia by assimilation.
n.Yks. An twea 'r three nappies chatt'rin ower her heeaid, Sngs.
in Broad Yks. 63.
NAPPIE, see Knappy, Nap, sb.'
NAPPLE, sb. Sc. The bitter vetch or heath pea,
Lathyrus macrorrhizus, esp. the root. Also in comp. Napple-
root. Cf. knapperts.
Gall. The black knotty root of an herb, diligently digged for and
greedily chewed by boys, its taste being rather pleasant, Mactag-
gart Encycl. (1824) ; Hinnie suckles, bluidy fingers, Napple roots,
and nettle stingers, ib. 115, ed. 1876 ; Root tubers said to wardoif
hunger (J.M.). Kcb. Where now the pied napple rankly grows,
Davidson Seasons (1789) 44.
NAPPLINS, NAPPRON, see Knaplins, Napron.
NAPPY, adj. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Nhp. War. Hrt. Wil. Dev. Also written knappy Edb.
[na'pi, nae'pi.] 1. adj. Of ale or beer : having a head
or foamy surface ; of any liquor : strong, fresh, 'heady.'
Sc. Thou hes a wyfe both blythe and sappie, A bottle that is
both whyte and nappie, Maidment Pasquils (1868) 409. Abd.
They ca'd about the nappy cup, To keep their wanton spirits up,
Shirrefs Poems (1790) 214. Kcd. Nappy was the beer, Burness
Thrummy Cap (c. 1796) 1. 221. Frf. LowsoN Guidfollow (1890)
53. Per. Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 108, ed. 1887. se. Sc. I mean
to weet your gab Wi' nappy liquor, Donaldson Poems (1809") 95.
Rnf. To reap twalpenny worth o' wits Frae nappy drink, Web-
ster/?Ajvmes (1835) 106. AyT. Ballads and Sngs. (1846) I. 120.
Lnk. Parker Misc. Poems (1859) 68. Lth. The nappie ale to warm
the bluid, Bruce Poems (1813) II. loi. Edb. Liddle Poems
(1821) 225. Peb. The Smith . . . Served round the nappy ale,
Lintoun Green (1685) 91, ed. 1817. Slk. You wha bouze the wine
sae nappy, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 96. Dmf. The reaming cogs
G g2
NAPPY
[228]
NARROW
o' nappie ale, Mayne Siller Gun (1808) 40. Gall. Gin the brew be
nappy, Crockett Bog-Myrtle (1895) 230. Nhb. Spirits strong and
nappy beer, with bread and cheese, Gilchrist Sngs. (1824) 7 ;
Nhb.i Cum. Nanny Newton's nappy liquor, Gilpin Pop. Poetry
(1875) 143 ; Cum.4 Yks. Good ale so nappy for the nones,
Archaic Wds. in Yks. Wkly. Post (July 14, 1883^. Nhp.^, War.^
Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) V. iii. 146. Wil. Chill 20 wet those
whiskers of thine in nappy ale, Masque (1636) 10.
2. Slightly intoxicated, exhilarated by drink.
Sc. The carles grew nappy. Herd Coll. Sngs. (I'iiS) 11. 191
(Jam.). Abd. [We] met wi' there ... A ha'f a score, I wat, an'
mair, To get themsel's fu' nappy, Cock Strains (1810) II. 119.
Edb. Rab has got a gay bit drappy An' found himself right unco
happy . . . and getting nappy, Liddle Poems (1821") 158. Fif.
"While nappy he's happy, Gray Po«k5 (181 1) 37. w.Yks. Willan
List Wds. (1811). Lan.i
3. Of a person: strong, vigorous.
Sc. A nappie callan (Jam.). Per. Nappy, knoity Donal' Mac,
A gentle an' a kind loon, Stewart Character (1857) 47.
4. sb. Strong, ' heady ' ale ; any alcoholic drink.
Sc. Noo pass the nappy, my canty loon, Vedder Poems (1842)
141. Bnif. Baith we ca'd down wi' some nappy, Taylor Poems
(1787) 71. Abd. Birl'd it roun', owr throats to weet Wi' reamin'
nappy. Cock Strains (1810) J. 97. Frf. Boosin' at the nappy,
Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 151. w.Sc. Ower my third tumbler of
double nappy, Catluick. Laird of Logan (1835) 278. Fif. Weil had
they taen tent To bring up nappies Strang and nice, Tennant
Papistry (1827) 83. Dmb. Salmon Gowodean (1868) 99. Rnf.
She . . . Bad me sit down, an' prie the nappie, Picken Poems
(1813) II. 3. Ayr. Whyles twalpennie worth o' nappy Can make
the bodies unco happy, Burns Twa Dogs (1786) 1. 115-6. Lnk.
Siltin' owre a pint o' nappy, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 43. Lth.
Of a' your nappies, cheap or dear, Frae champagne down to tip'ny
beer, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 142. e Lth. A tumbler of well
watered nappy, Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 205. Edb. We're
kindly met, an' warmly set, An' streams o' nappy rinnin' by, Glass
Cal. Parnassus (1812) 20. Dmf. Talking o'er the nappy, Shennan
Tales (1831) 48. Gall. Our wooer was na happy, Though fully
half and half wi' nappy, Nicholson Poi;/, Wks. (1814)44, ed. 1897.
Nhb. Seldom seen the warse o' nappy, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843")
35 ; Nhb.i w.Yks. Willan List Wds. (181 1). Lan. The 'nappy'
was constantly frothing at their lips, Brierley Tteadlepin, ix.
Chs.i On a tombstone in Prestbury Churchyard to Thomas
Bennison . . . are these lines : ' The joys of his heart were good
hounds and good nappy, Oh ! wish him for ever still more and
more happy,' Earwaker E. Chs. III. 202 (s.v. Nappe). Nhp.
While I've sixpence left I'll spend it In cheering nappy, Clare
Poems (1820) 96 ; Nhp.^ n.Dev. Nelly, in this yer nappy, I wish
th' a merry honey-mune, Rock Jim ait' Nell (1867) St. 94.
NAPPY, see Knappy, Nap, sb.'^
NAPRON, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Not. Nhp.
War. Hrf. Cor. Also written nappron n.Yks.'^ ; naprin
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) ; and in forms naperon Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) ;
nappern N.Cy.^ Nhb.' Lan.' s.Not. Nhp.' [na'pran,
na"pa(r)n.] An apron. w.Sc, s.Sc. (Jam. S«^^/.), N.Cy.',
Nhb.', n.Yks.=, Lan.', s.Not. (J.P.K.), Nhp.', War. (J.R.W.),
Hrf.', Cor.3
[ME. napron, apron (Stratmann) ; OFr. naperon, ' petite
nappe' (La Curne).]
NAPRY, see Napery.
NAPS, sb. Ant. [naps.] A small lump in linen yarn.
(W.H.P.) Cf. nepps.
NAPS, see Naps, sb. pi}
NAPSIE,s6. Sc. A small fat animal, esp. a sheep. Gall.
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Cf. knabsie, s.v. Knab, sb.^
NAPSY, NAR, see Nabsy, Never.
NARCHER, sb. Cor.^ [na-tj:a(r).] A term appl. to a
lad, gen. to one of mischievous disposition.
' Ee's a nowld narcher on tha move.' The word is variably
applied to a lad for shrewdness, depraved wickedness, or for a
funniness of disposition.
NARDER, NARE, see Nearder, Near, sb>
NARE-A-ONE, NARE-ON, see Never a one.
NARG, NAR- HAND, see Nag, v., Near-hand.
NARK, V. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Not. Won
? Brks. [nark, nak.] 1. To annoy, vex, irritate, ex-
asperate. Cf. knark, 2.
Lakel.2 It narks yan a bit ta see sec wark. Cjuu. That's just
what he's ta'en to him for, just to nark Mayroyd, Daley Mayroyd
(1888) II. 45. w.Yks. Tha'd better dew as he tells tha or tha'll
nark him (S.K.C.). Not. (J.S.J.) Wor. In card-playing one will
say to his adversary when he plays a successful card, ' I narked
'ee thur' (H.K.).
Hence (i) Narked or Narkt, ppl. adj. vexed, angry ; (2)
Narky, adj. vexed, ill-tempered. Cf. newky.
(i) Nhb.' He wis very narkt at what he say'd. Lakel.2 Wm.
HewarnarktAhcouldsee(B.K.). n.Yks. (T.S.), n.Yks.* e.Yks.
Ahwasa bitnarked abootit(T.H.). w.Yks. He was narked about it
and would hardly speak (M.N.); w.Yks.^ He wor narked about
it. Lan. Aw feel a bit nark'd, mi thowts are a bit warped, Dottie
Rambles (1898) 12. Not. (J.S.J.), Wor. (W.K.W.C.) (2) Lakel.2
He war a bit narky ower t'trottin' do. Wm. A narky auld thing
(B.K.). n.Yks. (T.S.) w.Yks. Doan't let's get narky ower it,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 13, 1895). IBrks. (H.R.H.)
2. To grate ; to cut against the grain. Cum.*
[2. LG. knarken, to grate (Berghaus).]
NARK, adj. Wor. Delicate, tender.
s. Wor. Rare. 'Those fowls [a peculiar sort] are so nark' (H.K.).
NARLE, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Nhp. Glo. Also in forms
norle Bnff.' Cld. (Jam.) ; nurl(e Cld. (Jam.) n.Cy. (Hall.)
[narl, nal.] 1. sb. A knot in a tangled skein of silk or
thread. Nhp.' Glo. Grose (1790). See Gnarl, s6.', Knurl,
4. Hence Narled, ppl. adj. knotted, tangled. n.Cy. (J.L.)
2. A lump ; a tumour. Bnff.', Cld. (Jam.) Hence Nurly,
adj. of wood : lumpy, knotty ; fig. ill-tempered. n.Cy.
(Hall.) See Knurly, s.v. Knurl, 2. 3. v. To strike so
as to produce lumps. Bnff.^ 4. To become knotty, to
rise in lumps or knobs. Cld. (Jam.)
NARLE, NARLINS, see Gnarl, sb.\ Nearlin(g)s.
NARN, see Anon, int., Never a one, Norn, sb.
NARNCE, adv. Dor. Never once ; not once.
' How many times ha' you a-slipp'd down ? ' ' Narnce ' (W.B.).
NARON, NARRA, NARRATION, see Never a one,
Never a, Noration.
NARR(E, NARRER (A, see Gnar(r, v., Never a.
NARRISH, adj. Nhb.' [na'rij.] Somewhat narrow,
' narrowish.'
NARROW, adj Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Not. Nhp.
Sus. Dev. Cor. Also written narra Nhb.' e.Yks.' [na'ra,
nae'ra.] 1. In cotnb. (i) Narrow-board, a coal-pit term :
an excavation of the same length as a wide board, driven
two yards wide; (2) -chined, thin-faced ; also^^. niggardly,
greedy; (3) -fisted, greedy, grasping; (4) -gutted, of
horses : weak in the loins ; (5) -harsed, narrow-minded ;
mean, stingy; barely honest ; (6) -nebbed or -nippit, (a)
sharp-nosed ; Jig. stingy, cunning ; {b) narrow in one's
religious views; superstitiously struck; apt to take offence;
(7) -pin-whiles, coarse cloth made at Totnes ; (8) -racket,
a narrow lane between high walls in which passing foot-
steps produce an echo, or racket ; (9) -souled, parsimoni-
ous, ungenerous ; (10) -work or -working, an excavation
in a coal-pit ; see below.
(i) Nhb. Proudlock Borderland Muse (1896) 93 ; Nhb.' Nhb.
Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1888) (s.v. Board). (2) n.Yks.
(T.S.) e.Yks. Ah ! y'u'U get nowt oot ov him. He's a narra-
chined an, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 91 ; e.Yks.' Af5.arfrf. (T.H.)
(3) n.Yks. (T.S.), w.Yks. (J.W.) (4) Not. A narrow-gutted brute
(J.H.B.). (5) Cum." (6, a) n.Yks.2 e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.)
(b) Sc.(Jam.); Anarrow-nebbit teetotaller, Montgomerie-Fleming
Notes on Jam. (1899). (7) Dev., Cor. (R.H.H.) (8) e.Yks.'
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 13, 1895). (9) n.Cy. (Hall.),
w.Yks.' (10) Nhb. Wi' sharp and shinin' gear They now begin
their narrow-workin' [cutting up meat], Wilson Pitman's Pay
(1843) 59; Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. Excavations, varying from 6 to 10
feet wide, for which a price of so much per yard is paid in addition
to the score price. Narrow places are driven for the purpose of
ventilation or for passages, Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
2. Phr. (i) as narrow as a drink of water, of a person :
excessively thin ; (2) to look narrow, of the eye : to wear
a somewhat inebriated expression.
(r) Nhb.' (2) I thought you'd been some weer, your eye look'd
so narrow, ib.
3. Parsimonious.
Ayr. He was a narrow ailing man, Galt Ann. Parish (1821) iii.
w.Sus. It ain't as I was a narrer man. I may be what 3'ou like,
but! hain't mean, Gordon Vill. and Doctor (1897) 72.
N-ARROW
[229]
NATCH
4. Obs. Close, searching.
Sc. I think Christ is taking a narrow view of His followers at
this time, Thomson Cloud of Witnesses {I'jn) 141, ed. 1871. Lnk.
A second general search was made : it was very narrow and began
about eleven of the clock, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) III. 496, ed.
1828.
N-ARROW, 5*. Suf. An arrow.
e.Suf. Give me that narrow. I've got a bow and narrows (F.H.).
NARROWDALE-NOON, 5^-. Obs. Stf. One o'clock;
sXao fig. anything done late in the day ; see below.
The top of Narrowdale hills ... is so high, that the inhabitants
under it, for one quarter of the year never see y" sun, and when
it appears again, they see it not till one by the clock, which they
call thereabout the Narrowdale noon, using it proverbially when
they would express a thing done late at noon (K.) ; Stf.*
NARROWED, ppl. adj. Chs. [na'rad.] Reduced,
straitened.
Chs.* We sometimes say a man's circumstances are narrowed ;
or he has been narrowed in his circumstances ; Chs.^ He's bin
narrowed lately.
NARROW-WRIGGLE, sb. e.An.* An earwig.
NARRUN, NARRY, see Never a one. Never a.
NA'RS'HA, sb. Dor. A contracted form of never such
a one.' Barnes Gl. (1863).
NARSIN, NARTH, NARUN, see Neer-sen, North,
Never a one.
NARVICAL, adj. Cor. [na'vikl.] Nervous.
She got narvical and wud taake et all in, Thomas Aunt
Keseiah, xx ; We 'm turned narvical all to wance. Parr Adam and
Eve (1880) II. 48.
NARY, adj. Lakel.^ Also written gnary. Stout and
strong. ' He's a nary fellah.'
NARY (A, NA-SAY, NASE, see Never a, Nay-say,
Neese, sb}
NASEBY -CHILD, sb. Nhp.^ An aged person.
' Naseby children ' is a term proverbially applied to the aged
here, from the frequent instances of their surviving the mental
powers, 192.
NASEN, see Nest, Neezen.
NASH,.s6.i Sc.Nhb. [naj.] L Pert, insolent talk.
Sc. (Jam.) The same word as Gnash (q.v.). 2. Comp.
(i) Nash-gabbit, talkative, gossiping ; (2) -gob, obs., an
impertinent, ill-natured fellow.
(i) Lnk. For shame, ye auld nash-gabbit gled ! Sic tongues as
yours sood aye be croupit, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 46. (2)
Nhb. The nashgob of a creature, Tom Fenwick, wins the haggis,
Richardson Borderers Table-bk. (1846) VI. 116.
NASH, sb.'^ Chs.' [naJ.] Weaving term : the course
of the shuttle along the lathe.
NASH, adj. Den- nw.Der.* [naJ.] Firm, stiff, hard.
NASH, see Nesh.
NASHAG, sb. Cai.* The bearberry, Ardosiaphylos
Uva-ursi. Cf. gnashicks.
[Gael, cnaimhseag, the bearberry (M. & D.).]
NASK, sb. Obs. Sc. A withe for binding cattle.
Cai. The tenants . . . paid so many nasks (binders made of birch
twigs), to secure the laird's cattle in the byre,^^nc.S«>-i'.4i(jAM.).
NASLE, NASSEL, see Nestle, Azzald.
NAST, sb. Cum. Lan. Chs. Der. War. Wor. Hrf. Glo.
Suf. Som. [nast, nsest] 1. Dirt ; filth ; also fg. ob-
scenity.
Lan. Thir's nowt loike a bit o' elba greos fur fotchin' th' nast off
clooas, Ferguson Preston Eggsibishun (1865) vi ; I don't care about
rooting and pottering among nast, Westall Old Factory, xxiv.
e.Lan.i, m.Lan.* s.Chs.* Dhur)z siim foa-ks kijn tau-k fl nuwt bu
naas't [There's some folks con talk o' nowt bu' nast]. nw.Der.*
War.2 ; War.^ Take off your shoes — you have been walking in
some nast. w.Wor.', se.Wor.* s.Wor. Porson Quaint Wds.
(1875). Hrf.i Glo. Grose (1790) ; Glo.*
Hence (i) Nasten, {2) Naster, v. to soil, befoul; to
render nasty ; (3) Nastment, sb. filth, nastiness.
(i) Som. ^Hall.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.* Mind
and take care o' the paper, and nit nasten it all over. (2) Suf. I
naster everything I touch, Fjson Merry Suf. (1899) 21-2. (3)
Cum. There's ower much nastment in the weather yet, Caine
Hagar {I88^) I. 45; Cum.** w.Som.* Don'ee mind thick night,
hon we was bird-boitin, how you tum'ld all along in the nastment
[naas-munt].
2. Weeds in fallow land. Glo. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1789) I. 330 ; Glo.* 3. Phlegm.
s.Wor. I can't get shut's this nast upon my chest (H.K.).
NASTIC, adj Dev. [ns-stik.] Asthmatic, short-
winded. (Hall.), Dev.*
NASTIFIED, adj. Sc. Som. 1. Nasty ; disgusting.
Slg. The deck presented such a nasty heap — A scene so nastified,
Galloway Sutor's Mag. (1810) 27.
2. Dishonourable, tricky, ungentlemanly.
w.Som.* I zim Mr. was a little bit nastified [naa'stifuyd]
like, vor to watch me away, and then shut my tame birds.
NASTRY, s6. Glo.* [ns-stri.] Filth.
NASTY, adj. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms naisty Abd. Brks.* ; nastaw.Yks. [na-sti,
nas'sti.] 1. adj. In cowZ>. (i) Nasty-nice, over-fastidious;
(2) -off, in a bad plight ; awkwardly situated ; (3) -pasty,
disagreeable.
(i) w.Yks. It means nowt if th' mustard an' th' pickled onions
have getten on th' apple-pasty. . .They're noan nasty nice. Hartley
Ditt. (c. 1873) 2nd S. 142. (2) Som. (Hall.) (3) n.Yks. Ah'ave
no nasty-pasty pride about me (R.H.H.).
2. Dirty.
N.Cy.* w.Yks. If ther shirts get nasta, Bywater Gossips, 23.
s.Stf. This is a nasty table cloth, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
3. Ill-tempered, obstinate, saucy, petulant in manner ;
also in comb. Nasty-tempered ; in gen. colloq. use.
Abd. The tyrannical, naisty, ill-livin' creatur, Alexander y. Gibb
(1871) xix. N.Cy.* n.Yks.'' He war varra nasty aboot t'job.
ne.Yks.* When ah ax'd him he wer varry nasty aboot it. e.Yks.*
w.Yks. He was rather nasty till I explained it (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.*
s.Stf. Yo' needn't be nasty wi' me, I ca' help it, Pinnock Blk. Cy.
Ann.{i&g=,). nw.Der.* Not. Heseems so nasty with her(L.C.M.) ;
Not.* n.Lin. He's that nasty he'd think noht o' hornin' th' Lord
Mayor, that bull wo'd n't (M.P.) ; n.Lin.* He was that nasty I could
mak noht on him. sw.Lin.* She's a strange, nasty-tempered cat.
Lei.* Shay got quoite nassty ower it. Nhp.* She's a nasty-tempered
thing. War.^s Pem. He spoke real nasty (E.D.). Brks.* A zims
inclined to be naisty toward us. Hnt. (T.P.F.) c.An.* He was
very nasty about it. n.Wil. WuU, you needn't be so nasty wi' 't
(E.H.G.). w.Som.* Maister was ter'ble nasty s'mornin 'bout the
ducks ; he zess how 'twas all your faut.
4. V. To defile, soil.
w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lan. I've wesht me feet; how shall e nasty um?
Phizackerley Sng. Sol. (i860) v. 3. Nrf. Gillett Sng. Sol.
(i860) V. 3.
5. Obs. To commit a nuisance.
Bnff. If any person shall be convicted before the session of
nastying within the walls of the churchyard, he or she so offending
shall be liable in the sum of one merk, Rec. Keith Kirk Scss. (1749)
in Cramond Church of Keith, 55.
NAT, sb.^ Sc. Irel. Also in form nyatt Bnif.* [nat]
A person of short stature, esp. one of short temper ; lit.
.' ' gnat.'
Bnff.* n.Ir. ' A wee nat of a man about as high as two lurf and
a clod.' [Turf is] usually cut in pieces about 12x4x4 in.. A'. & Q.
(1873) 4th S. xii. 479.
NAT, sfi.'^ Obs. n.Cy. Yks. Lin. Nrf A straw-mattress;
a mat.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). n.Yks.^ e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1788). Lin. Skinner (1671). n.Lin.* Nrf. Paid for a natt for
oneof the stooles in the Churche,vjrf..O!Zt'arrfcws'.^fc. (1608) SAPf/fr
Mancroft, Norwich, in Ant. Misc. II. pt. ii. 338.
[Natte or matte, storium. Prompt. ; A natte, storium,
Cath. Angl. (1483). Fr. natte, a mat (Cotgr.).]
NAT, 56.^ Cum. [nat] A light, quick knocking; also
in comp. Nat-natting.
Cum.'» He heard a nat nat natting, as if one of the spokes was
broken, Carlisle Patriot (Dec. 29, 1893) 7 (s.v. Nattle).
NAT, NATARNAL, see Knit, v.. Knot, sb}, Netarnal.
NATCH, sb} and v. Sc. Irel. Yks. Chs. Not. Won Ken.
[natj, naetj.] 1. sb. A notch.
Sh.I. An' sorrow a thing wis haadin' dem bit rust an' da peerie
bit o' natch 'at wis cut in a bit, Sh. News (Jan. 15, 1898). Cai.»,
Abd. (G.W.) n.Yks. Whahl careless lads i' t'singing pew Wer
cuttin natches, Castillo Poems (1878) 24. se.Wor.'
2. ? The notch or incision made by a tailor when cutting
cloth.
Ayr. Hae mercy wi' your natch, your bodkin's bauld, Burns
r
N-ATCH
[230 J
NATIVE
Answer, St. i. Dmf. By my needle, book, and natch, Soon the
house shall get a raising, Johnstone Poems (1820) 112.
3. A peg cut in the solid wood. m.Yks.^ 4. A cog on
awheel. s.Chs.^ 5. The side of a box-bed furthest from
the wall.
Wxf. His thin ashy hair, and his head on the natch there,
Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 47.
6. pL The battlements of a church tower. Ken.^ 7. v.
To notch. Abd. (Jam.) 8. To loop, sling.
Slg. Dick natched a rope round both . . . And haul'd them
dripping on the welcome deck, Galloway Poems (1806) 20.
9. To seize, lay hold of; to arrest. n.Sc. (Jam.) 10. Phr.
to natch oneself about, to make short, quick, irritated move-
ments ; to fidget about.
s.Not. When ah telled 'im that, 'e begun to snuff an' natch hissen
about (J.P.K.).
[1, 7. A natche, incisura ; to natche, incidere, Levins
Manip. (1570).]
N-ATCH, s6.2 Obs. n.Cy. Yks. The 'aitch-bone ' (q.v.).
n.Cy. HoLLOwAY. w.Yks.^
NATCHED-HEAD, sb. Yks. The recess cut in the
stone to receive the window-frame. w.Yks. (J.J.B.)
NATCHELL, see Notchel, sb}
NATE, V. Obs. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Also written
nait Cum. To use, employ.
Cld. (Jam.), N.Cy.=, Nhb. (K.), Nhb.i Cum. Nor tek sec preesin.
To nait our awn, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1805) 140; Cum.^
Cum., Wm. Nicolson (1677) Trans. R. Soc. Lit. (1868) IX.
[Lat se now, getis 50W a name, & naytis jour strenthe.
Wars Alex. (c. 1450) 2468. Norw. dial, nfyta, to use, em-
ploy (Aasen) ; ON. neyta (Vigfusson).]
NATE, ppl. adj. ? Obs. Wxf.i Also in form naate.
Prepared ; intended. Cf. anate.
Th' cowlee-man, fausteen, zey well' twas ee-naate, 86.
NATE, NATER, see Nought, Neat, Nature.
NATERFUL, adj. Lan. [netaful.] Good-natured,
lit. ' natureful.' (C.W.D.)
NATH, sb. ? Obs. Cor. The puffin, Fratercula arctica.
Puffins, or naths, abound on the north coast of Cornwall, about
Boscastle, Bray Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) I. Lett. xx.
NATHAN, s6. War.^ [ne'jjsn.] The stinking chamo-
mile, Anthemis Cotula.
NATHE, sb. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Midi. Stf. Der. Not.
Also written naithe Lan. ; and in form nath N.Cy.^ Nhb.^
w.Yks.''^ [ne)7, naf>.] The nave of a wheel.
N.Cy.i Nhb.^ Byeth wheels cam ti bits ; an' nath, spyeks, an'
fellies wis aall lyin' iv a heap. w.Yks.^s, Lan. (S.W.) Midi.
Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796). Stf.i, nw.Der.i, s.Not. (J.P.K.)
[The restlesse spokes, and whirling nathes, Phillis of
Scyros (1655) (Nares) ; Wheles be made of nathes, spokes,
fellyes, and dowles, Fitzherbert Husb. (1534) 14.]
NATHELESS, adv. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Also written
naithless, nathless Sc. Nevertheless.
Sh.I. Natheless it is ill travelling on a full stomach, Scott Pirate
(1821) xi. Per. Naithless, some waggish trickster loon Aye put
the Baihe off the tune, Spence Poems (1898) 86. Lnk. Nathless,
nane scathless May climb Parnassus brae, Nicholson Idylls (1870)
73. Wgt. Nathless, it's no the way to talk, maister. Good Wds.
(1881) 558. Nhb. Natheless, he has lost his own [way], Jones
Nhb. (1871) 124. w.Yks. Natheless he would have done it,SNowDEN
Web 0/ JVeaver (i8g6) xii.
NATHELY, adv. Som. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Nearly.
e.Som. Baby is nathely pining away, W. & J. Gl. (1873).
NATHER,NATHERAL,NATIF, see Neither, Natural,
Native.
NATION, sb.^ Sc. A division of students according
to their place of birth, as in the Universities of Aberdeen,
St. Andrews, and Glasgow.
In the Universities of Aberdeen, St. Andrews, and Glasgow,
students are divided into four ' nations,' named gen. from districts
from which they are drawn. At the present day they vote for the
Lord Rector by 'nations' (A.W.) ; There like a wayward boy I
took more pleasure in the battles of the ' nations '. . . than divine
learning, Lang Monk of Fife (1896) 4.
NATION, sb.^, adv. and adj. In gen. dial, use in Eng.
and Amer. Also written nashon Der. Dor.'; nashun
Chs.sGlo.Sus. LW.'Wil.iSom.Dev.Cor. ; nayshinWil.;
nayshun Lan. Wil.' ; and in forms naashun Hnt. ; naation
Nrf. Cor.^ ; naaytion Brks.' ; neation Stf ; ? neeshum
w.Dor. ; nition e.Suf. fne-Jan, nes'Jan.] 1. sb. An
expletive used as an oath or imprecation; a disguised
form of ' damnation.'
Midi. What the nation's the matter now ? Bartram People of
Clopion (1897) 193. Dor. O nation! . . if I were a man, Hardy
Laodicean (ed. 1896) 487. Som. 'Nation seize the King's sodgers !
Raymond Smoke of War, 10. w.Som.i Nation-seize thee ! where's
a-bin bidin about to ?
2. adv. Used as an intensitive : very, exceedingly, ex-
tremely.
w.Yks.i That's a nation good cow n' yours. Lan. Settin' his
bare feet washt, for they lukkt nayshun durty, Chapman Widder
Bags/law's Visit [iS-]-) 3. Chs.i ; Chs.^ Dim nashun fond o' thee,
owd wench. Stf. A' neation good feller he is tew. Quart. Mag.
(1823) 298. Der. A nation big gooseberry (H.R.) ; Der.^ Nation
mad. nw.Der.i, Not.i Lin.* It's a nation hot day. sw.Lin.'
Yon's a nation neist [nice] horse. Lei.', Nhp.' War. I feel nation
bad (J.R.W.) ; War.^, se.Wor.i s.Wor. A nation big horse,
PoRioN Quaint Wds. (1875) 10. Shr.' Nation cowd. Hrf.^Lugg's
nation cazulty. Glo. Tha screecht and hoUerd nashun loud. Leg.
Peas. (1877)23; Glo.'; Glo.' Nation vine weyther. Bdf. Batchelor
Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809"! 139. e.An.* Nrf. Lunnen is a naation
rum plaace, Spilling Giles (1872) 6. Suf. Cullom Hist. Hawsted
(1813). Ess. 'Tis nation coad, Clark J. Noakes (1839) st. 4;
Ess.' se.Cy. A nation long way, Lex. Balatronicum (1811).
Sus. So Sal 'hav'd nashun well te dem. Lower Towi Cladpole
(1872) St. 4. Hmp.i Nation strange. I.W.' He's a nashun bad
buoy. Wil. Twur a nayshin purty zite, Slow Rhymes (1889) 93 ;
Wil.' Nation dark. Dor. They seem 'nation fond of one another.
Hardy Trumpet- Major {i88q) xiv; Dor.' w.Dor. Neeshum cross,
Roberts Hist. Lyme Regis (1834). Som. Ben wer nashun strong,
Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 8. w.Som.* I considers 'tis nation
[nae'urshun] poor sport. Dev. I'm 'nation zorry ! Hewett Peas.
Sfi. (1892) 55; Dev.' n.Dev. I wur most nation taysed, Rock
Jim an' Nell (1867) St. 31. Cor. Though tes nashun shght feeding
fur sartin, Daniel Bride of Scio, &c. (1842) 231 ; Cor.' 'Tis nation
nice; Cor.^ I'm naation jealous 'bout 'et. [Amer. I'm 'nation
sorry for you, Cent. Mag. (Feb. 1885) 546,]
Hence (i) Nationish, adv. extremely, ' precious ' ; (2)
Nationly, adv. very, extremely ; (3) Nation-seized, ppl.
adj. extremely bad ; most unpleasant ; also used advb.
(i) Lan. Hoo'l tak' nationish good care theaw duz no' see her
th' wust side eawt, Brierley Tales (1854) II. 173. (2) Midi. Ye
fidget me most nationly, Bartram People of Clopton (1897) 67.
e.An.i e.Suf. That's nationly onfair (F.H.). (3) w.Som.' Well
I'll be darned, if this idn a purty nation seized sort of a job ; here
be we a-comed all this yur way and brought all our things and
that, all vor nort. Dev. I hates a boss, ver I've ben drow'd
Vrem all that ever I've a-rode. An' zo I sez. Sir, I shall vail, Ver
your's is nation-seyzed tall, Pulman Sketches (1842) 57, in
Elworthy Wd. Bk. (1888).
3. adj. Used as an intensitive, esp. before nouns of
quantity or number.
w.Yks.' There wor a nation seet o' folk at kirk. nw.Der.i
Not. It's a nation sight too bad (J.H.B.) ; Not.i Nlip.' A 'nation
sight o' folks. Brks.' I'd a naaytion zight zooner hev dree gals
to bring up nor one bwoy. Hnt. A naashun lot of money (T. P.F.).
e.An.i tirf^ suf. A nation deal, Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.)
e.Suf. He's a nation chap to spout (F.H.). Ess. Gl. (1851) ; Ess.'
Ken. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Sus. A nation fool, N. & Q.
(1870) 4th S. vi. 38. I.W.' A nashun deeal o' rain, Wil. I
might not have been in such a nation hurry. Banks Glory (1881)
59. Dev. Sitch a nashun zite o' time, Daniel Bride of Scio (1842)
191. [Amer. They asked me a nation sight of questions, Sam
Slick Clockmaker (1836) ist S. xxii.]
NATION-GRASS, sb. W\\} The tussock grass, Aira
caespitosa.
NATIVE, adj. and sb. Sc. Dun Yks. Chs. Der. Lin.
Wor. Shr. Hrf Glo. e.An. Ken. Sur^Sus. Hmp. Cor. Also
in form natif s.Wor.' Hrf ^ Glo.' [ne'tiv, nea'tiv.] 1. adj.
In comb. Native soil, natural element.
Cor. ' Well, that's the brightest thing I've heard,' Says Jim
Penglaze, ' this day, That fish shud live in their native soil That's
fifty miles away,' Forfar Poems (1885) 22; (M.A.C.)
2. sb. A birthplace; also occas. the home, the place
to which a person is thoroughly accustomed.
NATKIN
[231]
NATTY
Per. (Jam.) Dmf. Near the famed camp of Burnswark . . .
which is my dear native where I do abide, Hawkins Poems
(1841) I. a8. Ayr. Jenny'll be packing up to gang to her native,
somewhere awa' doun aboot Paisley, Gwr Lairds (1826) xxxix.
Edb, Wearying ... to be home again to Lauder, which she said
was her native, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1838) vi. e-Dur."- w-Yks.
I am going to my native, Hamilton Nugae Lit. (1841) 352.
s.Clis.^ Chorley's my native. nw.Der.^ Lin. They resided for
some years at Baston, which was her ' native,' Lin. Chron. (Feb.
a6, 1898). w.Wor.i W'ahr is your native ? s.Wor. I have been
here some years, but it's not my natif (H.K.) ; s.Wor.'^, Shr.'^
Hrf.2 I never heard what his natif was. There's her native when
she's a wum. Glo.', e.An.'^ Nrf. When he come back to his
native at Yarmouth he knew no one, Cornh. Mag. (June 1900)
815. Suf. Stonebridge is rare and fine, but that isn't my native,
GuRDON Memories (1897) 47. e.Suf. Mawlsa is my native (F.H.).
Ken.l Timblestun is my native, but I've lived in Eastry nearly
forty years come Michaelmas. Sur.'- The place where any one
has lived in service, and so knows the way of it. Sus."^ Hmp.^
He went back there 'cause 'twas his native.
3. Native speech.
s.Chs.i Yoa)n auviz aav H bit ii Chesh-iir i yiir tau'k, koz it)s
yiir nai'tiv [Yo'n auvays have a bit o' Cheshire i' yur talk, 'cos it's
yiir native].
NATKIN, NATLE-, NATLIN(G)S, see Nadkin, Nattle,
v., Knottings.
NATOMY, sb. Oxf. The same word as Anatomy
(q.v.). (A.P.)
NATTED.ppl.adj. Obs. Dev. Of sheep and cattle :
hornless.
n.Dev. Tha cortst tha natted yeo now-reert, Exm. Scold.
(1746) 1. 210; Horae Subsecivae (1777) 301.
N-ATTER, sb.^ Yks. [na-tsr.] The sting-fish, Trachinus
vipera. n.Yks. (T.S.) See Atter-pile.
NATTER, V. and sb.^ Sc. Cum. Yks. Also in forms
atter n.Yks. m.Yks.^ ; nyatter Cai.^ [na-t3(r.] 1. w. To
work continuously at something which makes a slight
noise ; to clatter ; to work a person hard ; to drive. See
Gnatter.
Cum.* Natteran up t'rwoad in her clogs. n.Yks. He alters his
servants sair (I.W.).
2. To be busy in a trifling manner.
m-Yks."^ He was altering about it, doing nought.
3. To rain slightly while there is a high wind. Cai.'
4. sb. A woman who works constantly at something
which makes a slight noise, such as knitting. Cum.*
6. A fault-finder, ib. 0. A loafer, ib.
NATTER, NATTERABLE, see Gnatter, Nadder,
Naturable.
NATTERJACK-TOAD, sb. Irel. Nrf Sur. The toad,
Bufo calamita.
w.Ir. You are shown places to which and no further St. Patrick
is said to have gone, and . . . said, ' I'll bless yees to the west, but
the deil a foot I'll put among you.' This is told of Teragh, West
Kerry, which accounts for the Natterjack toad being found there,
Flk-Lore Rec. (1881) IV. 119. Nrf. Natterjack toads and common
toads I never pass by, sir, for many folks like them in their
gardens and their greenhouses, Patterson Man and Nat. (iZ^^
83. Sur. Distinguished from the common toad by a bright buff
line down the middle of its back, Forest Tithes (1893) 117.
NATTERLY,a<^". Yks. Also in form nattly. 1. Neat,
' natty.'
n.Yks. Used by an old shoemaker repairing fishing brogues.
•It'll do, but it's noan so natterly' (R.H.H.).
2. First-rate, ' rattling.'
n.Yks. This is a nattly job (I.W.).
NATTERY, NATTHER, see Gnattery, Gnatter.
NATTLE, sb} Yks. [na-tl.] 1. A gland, or ' kernel,'
in the fat of meat, esp. of beef.
n.Yks.i!^ ne. Yks. Marshall /?«>-. E'coK. (1796) II. 335. m.Yks.'
w.Yks. T'meit ad a gat nail int (J.W.).
2. pi. Kidney-coloured spots about the 'lisk' or groin
in butcher's meat. n.Yks. (I.W.)
[Cp. Dan. dial, gnat^ an atom, a small particle (Molbech).]
NATTLE, v., adj. and sb? Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Lan. Nhp. War. e.An. Also written knattle N.Cy.^
Cum.i* Wm. e.Yks.i Lan. ; natle- Nhp.' War.« [na'tl.j
1. V. To nibble ; to chew with difficulty ; to gnaw ;
to nip.
Rxb. To naltle a rose (Jam.) ; They clomb on his snaws and
their teeth sae employ't. That the branches were naltled till no
worth a doit, Riddell Poet. Wks. (1871) II. 203. N.Cy.^, Yks.
(K.), m.Yks.i
2. To make a noise like that of a mouse gnawing a board ;
to rattle ; to tap ; as a coal-pit term : to make a crackling
noise in a ' creep.'
N.Cy.i Nhb."- What are ye nattlin there 1 Nhb., Dur. Green-
well Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). Cum. His nees wer nattlin' tagidder
like a mill hopper, Farrall Betty Wilson (1886) 96; Cum.' He
knattel't at t'window ; Cum-Z^^ wm. (J.H.) n.Yks.i; n.Yks.^
Hark how it nattles ; n.Yks.* e. Yks. ' There's a moose nattlin i'
closet. m.Yks.^
Hence (i) Nattling, (a) sb. a tapping ; a light rattling
noise ; (b) ppl. adj. rattling, tapping, esp. of one who
knocks his heels together while dancing ; (2) Nattling-
stone, sb. a polishing stone.
(i, a) fcum. There had never been a death in her own family
without some warning — a ghostly 'nattling' or tapping at the
door, Linton Lizzie Lorlon (1867) xiv. (b) Cum. He's a nattlin
dancer (M.P.) ; Cum.* A 'nattling' noise (s.v. Nattier). (2)
N.Cy.i, Nhb.i
3. To be bustling and stirring about trifles ; to be very
busy in doing nothing at all.
Lakel.2 e.Yks.^ Awd fellow nattles aboot a bit yet. ne.Lan.',
e.An.^
Hence Natling, />/!/. adj. trifling, fanciful, ornamental.
Nhp.i She's always making little natling things. War.3
4. To speak in a quick, chiding way. Wm. (J.H.)
5. adj. Quick to take offence, touchy, irritable, cross.
w.Yks. He's as nattle as owt soa ha' nowt to do wi' him (D.L.).
Lan. He's a quare un, is Dick. Terrible nattle betimes, Waugh
Sneck-Bant (1868) ii ; Lan.^, e.Lan.^
e. sb. A light, quick knocking ; a rattling sound ; as a
coal-pit term : the crackling noise made in a ' creep.'
Nhb.i Cum.i She gev a knattle on t'flags wid her heel ; Cum.*,
n.Yks.i
NATTLED, ppl. adj> Lan. Also written nattle't.
[na'tlt.] Cross, ill-tempered. Cf nattle, adj. 5.
A nattle't owd fuzzock, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) II. 281.
m.Lan.i Id teks a lot to mek me nattled.
NATTLED, ppl. adj? Som. Dev. Cor. [nse-tld.]
L Knotted, tangled. Cf. knottle.
w.Som.' How's anybody vor to quill this yur yarn ? On'y zee
how tiz a nattled up.
2. Of persons or animals: starved; stunted in growth;
pinched with cold ; freq. with up.
w.Som.i Dev. Us be nattled up wi' tha coald, Hewett Pras.
Sp. (1892) ; Dev.3 Cor. N. ey Q. (1854) ist S. x. 358.
3. Of animals, esp. sheep : affected with liver-rot. Dev.
Reports Provinc. (1892).
NATTLER, sb. Cum. [na-tlar.] 1. A player on the
' bones.' Cf nattle, v. 2,
Cum. Nattlers that fuddle for nowte, Anderson Ballads (ed.
1808) 170 ; Cnm.* A player on the bones ... or short pieces of
sheep rib bone which when properly held between the fingers and
shaken, produce a ' nattling ' noise ; two pieces of wood are often
used but not with so good an effect ; dancing is often accompanied
by the music of these bones nattled in proper rhythm.
2. One who is active with hands, feet, or tongue ; an
expert.
Cum. (M.P.) ; Cum.* A good hand with a sickle may be said to
be a nattier. ' He was a gey nattier at wrustlin'.'
3. One who gets his living by doing odd jobs. Cum.*
4. A rap over the knuckles ; also usedy?^. ib. 5. pi.
Bits of wood or bone used as ' bones.'
Cum.* Bits of wood, burnt at t'ends for clackers or nattlers,
Cum. Pacq. (Oct. s6, 1893) 6, col. i.
NATTLEY-GR0UND,s6. N.Cy.^Nhb.^ [na'tli-grund.]
Gravelly ground.
NATTLINGS, NATTLY, see Knotlings, Natterly.
NATTLIN-PIE, 56. Cor.'' A pie made ofa pig's entrails.
See Knotlings. „, .. ,
NATTY, sb.^ Wm. [na'ti.] The fundament, esp. of
children. Cf nally.
Whya it's bits o' duds hardly cover it natty (B.K.).
NATTY
[232 J
NATURE
NATTY, sb? Yks. [na-ti.] 1. The subscription
paid to a trades union.
w.Yka.2 Usually paid weekly ; about 3^.
2. Comp. (i) Natty-boxes, the contribution paid by
workmen to their branch of a trades union ; (2) -money,
the allowance granted by a trades union; the contribution
levied by one.
(i) Yks. (Hall.) (2) Yks. They canna git thur natty munny,
Fetherston T. Goorkrodger {x%']o) 115. w.Yks.^
NATTY, adj. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc. and
Eng. AlsowrittenknattyChs.'^; andinformsnaetieSh.L;
naitie Cai.' ; naty Sh.I. [na'ti, nae'ti.] 1. Neat, tidy ;
spruce, smart; trimly made; esp. of a small person; also
used advb.
Sh.I. As da auld sayin' is, ' I wis peerie bit naetie,' Stewart
Tales (1892) 242 ; {Coll. L.L.B.) Cai."- Neat at handiwork —
especially at jobbing. n.Cy. (J.W.), Dur.i s.Dur. She's a natty
little body (J.E.D.). Lakel.2 A natty lal bonnet abiun a natty lal
fiase. Cum.i w.Yks. Foaks look natty, Tom Treddlehoyle
Bairnsla Ann. (1870) 40; w.Yks.i A natty boy ; w.Yks.^ Lan.
Sam was a short — but very natty man, Ackworth Clog Shop
Chron. (1896) 65 ; Lan.i, e.Lan.i, Stf.i s.Stf. Her'd got sich a
natty little jacket on, Pinnock Blh. Cy. Ann. (1895). Der.2,
nw.Der.i, Not.i, Lei.i Nhp.i A very natty little man. Shr., Hrf.
Bound FrawMir. (1876). Oxf.>, Brks.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.An.^ Bob
is a natty young chap. e.Suf. (F.H.), e.Ken. (G.G.) Dev.^ Zee
how natty her'lh a put on her clothes to-day.
2. Handy, deft ; industrious ; clever, ingenious.
Sh.I. (Coll. L.L.B.) Cum.* He's a nottable chap is Bob, an
varra natty wi his fing-ers. n.Yks.^ w.Yks. Onny day you mud
see him weshin up, or scarin t'assoil or dewin sum natty job for
Mary, Pudsey Olm. (1888) 21. Lan.^ He's a rare mon to have
abeawt th' heawse — he's so natty at a bit o' joinerin' an' that soart
o' wark. m.Lan.i Chs.i A natty fellow; Chs.^ Thee'st got a
natty fist, young mon. e.Ken. (G.G.) w.Som.i I don't know a
more nattier, clever little 'umman 'an her is.
Hence (i) Nattily, adv. fittingly ; dexterously ; (2)
Nattiness, sb. neatness ; handiness ; cleverness ; suita-
bility ; (3) Natty-body, sb. a tidy, well-conducted person.
(i) n.Yks.2 (2)n.Yks.=,w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. She had a 'natti-
ness abeawt hur,' Brierley Treaddlepin, ii. (3) Der.^, w.Yks.
(J.W.), nw.Der.i
3. Round. Dur. Gibson Up- Weardak Gl. (1870).
NATTYING, ^r/. n.Yks.^ [na-ti-in.] With about:
setting things to rights.
NATURABLE, adj. Cum. Yks. Lan. Der. Nhp. Also
written naterable Cum.* ; nattarable w.Yks. ; natter-
able Cum.' w.Yks. nw.Der.'; natteruble Lan.; natt'rable
n.Yks.^* ; natturable w.Yks.' ; and in form nayturable
Nhp.' [na-t(3)r3bl.] 1. Natural.
Cum. An' it's naturable to beg, rayther nor starve, Gilpin
Ballads (1874) 175 ; Cum.'* n.Yks.i She takes on sadly after her
poor lost bairns. It's nowght but natt'rable, howiver ; n.Yks.*
w.Yks. O reckon it's natterable, Shevvild Ann. (1848) 4 ; w.Yks."-
If shoe nobbud could git a. bit a naturable rist, ii. 291 ; w.Yks.^
One man said it was ' Vary gooid.' Another caught him up in-
dignantly, ' Gooid ! Au mean to say it was perfectly naturable ' ;
w.Yks.s It comes naturable tul her. Lan. Us luk't us natteruble
us iv they'rn in o feelt, Ormerod Felley fro Rachde (1851) iii.
nw.Der.i, Nhp.'
2. Of a kindly disposition ; benevolent ; homely.
n.Yks.i A canny, natt'rable weean as ony Ah kens. w.Yks.
Shoo'd as nattarable a way wi her as onnybody 'at I ivver saw,
Yksman. Comic Ann. (1877) 3; w.Yks,'
NATURAL, adj., adv. and sb. Van dial, and colloq.
uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also written nateral Sc. ;
natral Chs.' n.Lin.' Oxf.' Dor.' ; natteral Cum.»* Dev. ;
naturall Gall. ; and in forms naiteral Sc. ; naitral Sc.
Bnff.' ; naitral Sc. ; natal Som. ; natheral e.Yks.' ;
nathural Ir. ; naturl Cor. ; neatril Lan.^ [na't(3)ral,
ne't(a)r3l.] 1. adj. In comb, (i) Natural bairn or bayn,
an illegitimate child; (2) — bob, a dog born bob-tailed; (3)
— grass, {a) the black medick, Medicago lupulina ; (6) the
bird-grass, Poa trivialis ; (c) the smooth-stalked meadow-
grass, P. pratensis ; (4) -hearted, {a) kind, affectionate ;
simple-hearted; {b) of soil : rich, fertile ; (5) -heartedness,
kindness, affection.
(i) Cai.i, e.Yks.' (2) Nrf. A lurcher is a dorg bred betwixt a
bobtailed Smithfield an' a greyhound bitch. Sevral pups will coam
with natural bobs and sevral with longs — keep the natural bobs,
Emerson Yarns (1891) 79. (3, a) Sc.I. (B. & H.) {b, c) s.Sc,
n.Cy. {ib.) [Grasses generally, except Ryegrass, are often so
called by seedsmen, because they are found in old or ' natural '
pastures {ib.).'] (4, a) Cai.^, Bnff.' Abd. A richt naitral-hertet
creatur [she] was a' her days, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 34.
Cld. (Jam.) (6) Bnff.' (5) ib.
2. Due to birth, not to accident.
Abd. Wi' a naitral heich shooder, an' a muckle limp, Alexander
Ain Flk. (1882) 191. Ayr. Dousie, an idiot natural, ran up the
street, Galt Provost (1822) xxiv.
3. Phr. a natural fool, a born idiot.
Lan.', n.Lin.' Nhp.' Why, you're quite a natural fool. [A
natural fool, morio, Coles (1679).]
4. Affable, familiar, gentle ; guileless ; of the weather :
genial.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Fif. Miss Jean cam', who's as nateral as a peat,
Meldrum Margtedel (1894) 222. Bdf. (J.W.B.)
5. adv. Quite ; entirely.
Dor. G/. (1851) ; Dor.i Som. It's natal cold (J. S.F.S.). w.Som.'
I 'sure ee, sir, the timber was natural [naat'rul] a-ratted like's ever
you zeed ort in your life. The things [stock] 'ont eat it, 'tis
natural a vinne'd droughout.
6. Very nearly ; almost.
Som. I was natal frozen (J.S.F.S.).
7. sb. Phr. in my natural, in my life.
Sur.i I was never on good terms with her in my natural. Sus.
(E.E.S.)
8. An idiot ; an imbecile ; a half-witted person.
Sc. ' What picture, you natural ? ' said his father. ' I used to
think you only a scape-grace, but I believe you will turn out a
born idiot,' Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) xviii. Cai.' Abd. I have
also a great predilection for the conversation of originals, or what
the world calls naturals, Ruddiman Sc. Parish (1828) ig, ed.
1889. Frf. Of course we had oor naiteral. He was known as
Daft Jamie, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 125. Fif. Worst trial of all
was that heavy handfu', the helpless naitrel or harmless loonie,
Colville Vernacular (1899) 19. Edb. He was a kind of a sort of
a natural, Moir Mansie IVauch (1828) x. Dmf. Fey as a nateral
aneththe mune, Reid Poems (1894) 79. Gall. Mactaggart ^Mcyc/.
(1824). Wgt. Bob Irving was a natural of a variable disposition,
Fraser Wigtown (1877) 232. Ir. D'you think the lad's a born
nathural that he's not got the wit to step the lenth of a bit of a
gangway widout blundherin' overboard. Barlow /rf)'//s(i892) 214.
w.Ir. In Ireland the fool, or natural, or innocent, . . is very much
the fool that Shakspere occasionally embodies, Lover Leg. (1848)
I. 106. Cum.3 She keep't eggin him on to dee his oan turns, an'
let fwoke see 'at he wasn't sec a natteral as he was co't, 32;
Cum.*, Yks. (J.W.), e.Yks.' Lan. Aw deawt team mayin' a parfit
neatril on yo, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 33 ; Lan.i, Chs.'-
n.Lin.'- Noabody but a real nat'ral would hev dun sich an' a thing.
Nhp.', Oxf.i MS. add. w.Som.' I calls it a very wisht thing, that
out o' dree chillern nother one idn no better-n a nat'ral. Dev.
They think us proper natterals, Salmon Ballads (1899) 78. Cor,
Thee arn't sitch a naturl as that I shud hope, Daniel Dial.
[3. He is a natural foole, neither hath he any lustinesse,
activity, or spirit in him, Bernard Terence, 171. 8. That
a monster should be such a natural, Shaks. Temp. iii.
ii- 37-]
NATURALITY, sb. } Obs. Sc. Also in form
naturalty. Natural feeling.
Sc. Circumstances have naething altered the naturality of my
heart, 5c. Haggis, 161. Frf. Tho' there be that naturalty in us to
pity both, WoDROW Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) H- 73- Ayr. I
was vexed when I thought he was dead, and that I should have
so little naturality, Gt^viSir A. Wylie (1822) xcix.
NATURALLY, adv. Dev. See below.
An old fisherman said ' My fingers are naturally burnt,' meaning
the burn was not a superficial one, but that it affected the deep
structures of the fingers. Reports Provinc. (1877).
NATURE, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc, Irel. and Eng.
Also in forms naitir Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.' ; nater Cum.'*
Wm. ; natur Dur. Cum. w.Yks. Chs.^ s.Stf. Not. n.Lin.'
Dor.' ; natyr Sc. (Jam.) ; nayter m.Lan.' [ne-t3(r,
nea'ta(r.] 1. In comp. (i) Nattire-clover, clover growing
naturally; (2) -fool, a born idiot ; a simpleton; (3) -grass or
•grasses, rich grass growing naturally ; (4) -ground, land
that produces rich grass abundantly without having been
NATURENESS
[233]
NAUMPEY
sown with any seed ; {5) -hay, rich hay produced by the
ground spontaneously ; (6) -widd, wood growing natu-
rally ; (7) -wool, (a) fine wool ; {b) wool that has been
pulled off a sheep's back and not shorn.
(i) Bnfr.^, Cld. (Jam.) (2) Dev. A servant girl, aged about 16,
being shown how to do some simple operation, exclaimed, ' Think
anybody's a natur' fule then ? ' Reports Provinc. (1893). (3) Bnff.^
Tack oot yir coo, an' gee 'ir a pluck o' naitir-girs. w.Sc, Cld.
(Jam.) Ayr. When they see a field carpeted with rich grasses, or
those that grow luxuriant, they say that field produces nature
grasses, Agric. Surv. 291 (ib.). Rxb. (jb.) (4) w.Sc. {ib.) (5)
w.Sc, Rxb. {ib.) (6) Bnff.i, Cld. (Jam.) (7 a, b) Rnf. {ib.)
2. Phr. in this nature, in this manner or way. Ken.^^
3. Natural substance, strength ; essential qualities ; of
plants : sap ; of food : nourishment ; of cloth or flax :
softness ; kindliness in working.
N.I.' This flax is hard and birsely.it has no nature. Don. Those
high medowses of his are fairly choked up wi' thistles. - They've
taken all the natur' out of the grass, Longman's Mag. (Oct. 1896)
575. Cum. He's middlin' bad I doubt. Feel till his coat — there's
not a bit of natur in't [of a horse or beast] (J.Ar.) ; Cum.* It's
fairly lost its nater. Wm. (B.K.) n.Yks.i Hay exposed to much
rain in the process of making has had ' a' t'natur wessh'd out in't' ;
n.Yks.* Ther 'ez been that mich wet, whahl t'gess'U a'e lost all
t'nater oot on it. w.Yks. It's took all t'natur out of it, LncAS
Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) ; (J.W.) Lan.i It's a noice bit o' cloth
this, mon ; there's some nature in it. Aw wouldn't gi' tuppence
a pound for stuff loike that. It'll fill no bailies ; there's no nature
in it. m.Lan.i Chs.' Timber which is perished from age, and
has lost its toughness, has no nature in it. Land which has be-
come impoverished has no nature in it ; Chs.^ The nature is worn
out. s.Chs.i Dhis laan-d semz tii aav nc5o naichiir in it [This land
seems to have noo nature in it]. nw.Der.^ Not. That wood's o'
no use, there's no natur' in it (L.C.M.); Not.i s.Not.Our folk will
say of washed hair, which for the time being becomes limp,
' There's no nature in it' (J.P.K.). n.Lin.iThis here meat's been
boil'd till all th' natur's goan oot on it. sw.Lin.i His blood was so
poor there was no nature in it. Lei.i All the neetur's gone out 0'
the peent. Shr.' A shopkeeper observed to one of his customers
[1872] that, having tried the Australian meat, he found he could
not recommend it, for it was ' so overdone, there seemed to be no
nature left in it.' Dor. I believe there's more nature in oil-cake,
but he holds with cotton-cake (C.V.G.) ; Dor.i w.Som.i Hon they
do gee us a little bit o' mait, 'tis a-bwoild and a-bwoild gin there
idn neet one bit o' natur a-lef in it. Dev. ' Her'd got no nature in
her,' speaking of a girl who was very weak, Reports Provinc.
(i88g). nw.Dev.i
4. Natural feeling ; affection ; kindliness.
Cum.i He hesn't a bit o' nater for owder dog nor man ; Cum.*,
Wm. (B.K.), Yks. (J.W.) Shr.^ There's often more nature in
people of that sort, than in those as yo'men call their betters.
e.An.^ A simple old woman, as a reason for loving one of her
daughters more than the others, said she had more nature in her.
5. Kindred.
e.An.i; e.An.2 One can't help preferring one's own nature.
6. Maturity; perfection.
s.Stf. My iron's just comin' to natur', Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann.
(1895)-
7. The pudendum of a mare. Hrt. Ellis Mod. Hush.
(1750) IIL 175.
NATURENESS, s6. w.Sc. (Jam.) Of soil : fertility in
spontaneously producing rich herbage ; of spontaneously
produced grass : richness, exuberance.
NATURLY, adv. Yks. Lin. Som. Dev. Also written
natally Lin. ; naterly Yks. ; natterly w.Yks. ; and in
form nat'ly n.Lin.^ sw.Lin.i [na'tali.] 1. Naturally.
Yks. If there be a vacant table, any new comer will naterly go
to it, Fetherston Farmer, 6. w.Yks. A chap at's getten to be
thirty year owd, an's niwer as mich as thowt o' weddin', natterly
feels in a muck-sweeat when he's browt faace to faace with that
question, Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884) 34. n.Lin.i
2. Really, positively, certainly.
Lin. I nat'ally can't do it (J.T.F.). ii.Lin.1 I'm nat'ly stall'd wi'
talkin' to them two ; th' ohd un's craazy, or next door tul it, an'
tuther tells noht but lees. sw.Lin.l The doctor said he nat'ly
mut go out. w.Som.i I naturly [naaturlee, naa-tlee] widn gee
another varden, have em or no. They wrid nat'ly a-car'd em all
away, nif I 'adn a-stap'd em. nw.Dev.'
VOL. IV.
NATY, adj. Dev. Cor. Also written natey Cor.'^
[ne-ti.] Used of meat in which the fat fibres are much
mixed with those of the lean, so as to be in good order
for eating. Dev. (Hall.) Cor. N. &= Q. (1854) ist S. x.
359; Cor.' =
NAU, see No, adj.
NAUCHLE, sb. ? Obs. Cld. (Jam.) Also written
nyauchle. A dwarf Cf nyaff. Hence Nauchlie, adj.
dwarfish, small and ill-shaped.
NAUGER, sb. and v. Lan. Chs. Der. Shr. Also in
forms nager Shr.^; naiger s.Chs.'; noagur Lan.'; noger
Lan. Chs.' Der.'^ nw.Der.' [n5-g3(r), ne-g9(r).] 1. sb.
An auger ; a mining tool.
Lan.', Chs.', s.Chs.' Der. Made of round cast steel, o"-85 dia-
meter, with strongly curved cutting edges ; the striking ends are
drawn to a diameter of o"-6, Bauerman Mining Models (1865) 22 ;
Der.2, nw.Der.', Shr.' 2
2. A borer used by cheese-factors for tasting cheese.
Chs.' A good cheese should stick to the noger.
3. V. To bore (as with an auger).
Lan. They shud'n begin to bore un noger my nob, Paul Bobbin
Sequel (1819) 5.
[1. Terere, wymble, nauger, Biblesworth (c. 1325), in
Wright's Voc. (1857) 170. OE. nafegar, 'terebellum'
(.iELFRIc).]
NAUGHT, see Nought.
NAUGHTAFEE, v. Sh.L To make naught of
Naughtafeein' what abodyhaes ta sell, Sh. News{Feh. la, 1898).
NAUGHTY, adj. Sc. Yks. Lan. Stf War. Shr. Bck. e. An.
Sus. Som. Also in forms natty Som. ; nochtie, nochty,
nouchtieSc. [no'ti, Sc. ncxti.] 1. In <:om6.(i) Naughty-
back, a term of gentle reproof; gen. used to children ; (2)
—man, the devil ; (3) — man's cherry, the deadly nightshade,
Atropa Belladonna ; (4) — man's oatmeal, the cow-parsley,
Anthriscus sylvestris ; used also of other hedge Umbelli-
ferae ; (5) —man's plaything, (a) the stinging-nettle, Urtica
dioica ; ib) the shepherd's purse, Capsella Bursa-pastoris ;
(c) a name given to any hedge Umbelliferae ; (6j -pack, a
bad child or person.
(i) e.An.' (2) s.Stf. Her said her knowed he'd come whoam if
the naughty mon stood in the gap, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann.
(1892) 59. (3) Bck. (B. & H.) (4) War. 3 (5, a) Sus.' {b) War. I
remember when at school at Birmingham that my playmates mani-
fested a very great repugnance to this plant. . . Very few of them
would touch it, and it was known to us by the . . . bad name
' Naughty man's plaything,' Science Gossip (iS^e) 94, in (B. & H.).
(c) War.2 A country boy told me that these plants are so called ' if
you pick 'em an' throws 'em away again,' which at once suggested
the old rhyme : ' Give a thing and take a thing. The naughty-
man'splaything.' But I believe the name is given really to indicate
the noxious qualities of these plants. (6) w.Yks.', ne.Lan.'
2. Valueless, good-for-nothing, insignificant, trifling ;
small and contemptible in appearance.
Sc. He's a nouchtie body (Jam.). Cai.' Only applied to persons.
Abd. Of an instrument : bad, unfit for any purpose (Jam.) ; The
farmers did not wish to have a Highland cow, and the coupers
who passed sneered at it as a ' nochty beastie,' Alexander Ain Flk.
(1882) loi. Ags. She's a nochtie creature (Jam.). e.Flf. In super-
feecial extent, it was exceedin' nochty, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) i.
Rnf. He lifts his mole-like een,Wi'anochty nose between, Webster
Rhymes (1835) 203. Shr.' Obs. It's very naughty waiter, it inna
fit to drink, else theer's plenty on it. Som. She be a natty cow,
Wilson Dialogues (1855) 10.
Hence Naughtiness, sb., obs., deficiency, faultiness.
e.Yks. Come that is scattered through the naughtiness of the
mowers cradle. Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 46.
NAUKIE,arf;'. Sc. [na'ki.] Asthmatical, short-winded.
Lth., Rxb. He wheezes like a naukie hen (Jam., s.v. Nacks).
NAUKS, see Nacks, Norks.
NAUKY, adj. N.L' [na'ki.] Cunning.
NAUL, see Nawl, sb}
N-AULS, s6.//. Oxf [n9lz.] Belongings ; the same
word as Alls (q.v.).
NAUM, sb. Slk. (Jam.) [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] A heavy blow with a bludgeon.
NAUMPEY, sb. Wil.' [nq-mpi.] A weak, foolish-
minded person.
Hh
NAUN
[234]
NAWL
NAUN, NAUNS, see Norn, sb., Nonce.
N-AUNT, sb.^ n.Cy. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Der.
Wor. Shr. Glo. Oxf. Som. Also in forms naint se.Wor.'
Shr.' ; nant Wm. Oxf. Som. ; nanty Lan. ; noan Lan.^ ;
noant Wm. w.Yks.^ Lan.; nont w.Yks.'^'*^ Der.^^nw.Der.^
[nant, nent, nont.] An aunt ; also a title of courtesy
applied to an elderly woman. See Aunt.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Wm. Gane toth berrin of my noant son's
wife's gronde, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 53 ; Afoar me nant Debby
deet, Briggs Remains (1825) 139. n.Yks.2 w.Yks. I had a fre-
quent entertainment given me by ' t'owd nont,' Binns Fill, to Town
(1882) 128 ; w.Yks.i2345 Lan. Nanty [is an old word] for aunt,
and [is] used as a mere term of courtesy, without reference to
relationship, N. (s' Q. (1868) 4th S. ii. 99; Eigh, so seys meh
Noant Margit, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 31 ; Lan.i,
s.Chs.i, Stf.i, Der.i Obs., Der.2, nw.Der.i, w.Wor.', se.Wor.i
Shr.i An' tell yore naint I'm gwei'n to Soseb'ry ; Shr.^, Glo.i
Oxf. HoLLOWAY. Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
NAUNT, 56.2 Sur. Nothing.
I doan't member naunt about it, I doan't, Son of Marshes On
Sur. Hills (1891) 180 ; I don't want a lot of folks as I know naunt
about looterin' round, ib. 209.
NAUNT, V. Not. Lei. War. [nont.] To assume a
dignified or offended air ; to bridle up, esp. of a woman.
Cf. nantle, 2. Not.i Lel.i She naunted so at me. War.^
NAUNTLE, see Nantle.
NAUNTY, adj. War.^ [nQ-nti.] Wanton, licentious.
NAUP, sb. and v. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Not. Lin. Nhp. Also written nawp n.Yks.* w.Yks.
Lin. ; nawpe n.Yks. ; norp Yks. ; and in forms noap
w.Yks. ; nope n.Cy. Nhb.i Lakel.^ Cum." Wm. e.Yks.'
w.Yks.'^" Lan.' ne.Lan.' Not. n.Lin.^ Nhp.^ ; noup Chs.^ ;
nowp Chs.i Lin.i [nop, nop.] 1. sb. The head ; the
top part of a pig's head. Cf. knaup, sb. 2.
ne.Yks.i e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 75. w.Yks. Very
common (J.W.).
2. A blow, esp. a blow on the head.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Lakel.2 T'han'le flew off an' catcht him a
nope on t'nooase. Cum. She hat him a nope, Silpheo Billy
Brannan (1885) 3 ; Cum.* Wm. The sidesmen . . . give iwery
sleeper a good nope, Hutton Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 157.
n.Yks. Hit him a nawpe, Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 389;
n.Yks.124 ne.Yks.>, e.Yks.i, m.Yks.l w.Yks. Having had eight
or ten noapes wi't flail, Hallam Wadsley Jack (1866) ii ; w.Yks.i ^4
Lan.i, n.Lan. (W.H.H.), ne.Lan.l, Lin.i, n.Lin.' Nhp.' Give him
a nope on the head.
3. V. To strike with a stick or other implement, gen. on
the head ; to beat.
n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy.' Nhb. To strike with a hammer
(R.O.H.) ; Nhb.i, Dnr.', Cum." n.Yks. She'll nawpe and nevel
them without a cause, Meriton P>-fli«.^/« (1684)1. 603; n.Yks.'"*,
ne.Yks.' e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 75 ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.'
w.Yks. He used to nawp wi' his stick if ' he could catch 'em,'
Hartley Pwrfrfm' (1876) 302; w.Yks.' s, ne.Lan.' Chs.'; Chs.^ If
they dunna be quiet, yermun noup'm. Not. He noped me (J.H.B.).
Lin. At skittles, too, I had a shy, . . and foaks that see'd me,
standing by, Sed ' Dang I owd buttons nawps 'em well,' Brown
Lit, Laur. (1890) 50. Nhp.'
Hence (i) Nauper, sb. {a) a verger ; cf. knock-nobbier,
S.V. Knock, V. 3 ; (6) a blow on the head ; fig. bad, dis-
heartening news; (2) Nauping, 56. a thrashing, cudgelling;
a chastisement ; (3) Naup-stick, sb. a short, thick stick ;
(4) Naupy, adj. of a person : inchned to strike.
(i, a) w.Yks. 2 (i) w.Yks. He gav' him a nauper fair at heead,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 13, 1895) ; ib. (Nov. 8, 1884) 8. ne.Lan.l
(2) n.Yks.'4, ne.Yks.1, e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks. Thou'lt get a
norpin vyhen thy fayther corns hoam (W.F.). (3) w.Yks.= T^'chap
wants his head shaaving wi' a naup-stick, 36. (4) m.Yks.' If thou
gets a stick in thy hand thou's never long before thou's naupy
with it.
4. To hit the mark, to succeed.
Yks. Used in effecting a small object, such as drawing a difficult
cork :— I've norped it, says Madam Downs, N. & Q. (1869) 4th
S. iv. 500, 575.
NAUPER, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Also in form neper N.Cy.^
[n9-pa(r.] Anything large of its kind, a ' whopper.'
N.Cy.i n.Yks.2 ihat is a nauper. e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.)
NAUPHEAD, sb. n.Lin.' [ng-piad.] A stupid person.
I nivver mind bein' suck'd in wi' a clever chap, bud to be dun
by a nauphead like thoo, is oher bad for oht.
NAUPING, ppl. adj. Yks. Of large size, ' whacking.'
Cf. nauper.
n.Yks.2 A nauping lot. e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.)
NAUPINS, see Knawpins, Nawpin(g)s.
NAUST, NAUTHER, NAVAL, see Noust, Nowther,
Nevel.
NAVE, sb. Nhp. Shr. Oxf [nev.] 1. An arrange-
ment of sticks or a wooden instrument used in thatching
as a foundation for the bundles of straw. Nhp.^, Oxf (K.)
See Knave, sb? 2. A prop to support the shaft of a
loaded cart. Cf nape, s6.' L
Shr.' It is made of a strong oak-branch having three forks,
which serve for feet — the branch being inverted.
NAVE, see Neive.
NAVEL, sb. Yks. Lei. Wor. In comp. (i) Navel-hole,
the hole in the centre of a millstone, into which the grain
is cast by the hopper. w.Yks.' ; (2) -wort, the wall
pennywort. Cotyledon Umbilicus. n.Yks. (R.H.H.) Lei.,
Wor. (B. & H.)
NAVIGATION, 56. Lei. War. Oxf Brks. [neevige-Jan.]
An artificial waterway ; a canal.
Lei.' Run, John, the masster's hulled his-sen i' the navigeetion.
War.s Ox£ (A.L.M.) Brks. ' The Kennet Navigation ' — a very
old canal which connects the waters of the East with those of the
West country, Academy (July 6, 1889) 13.
NAVIGATOR, sb. Wil. Som. Also in form nabigator
w.Som.' 1. An ' excavator,' a ' navvy,' a rough labourer.
w.Som.' Nab-eegae-utur. The word evidently refers to the
time when canals were being cut, in various parts. [I daresay
you should drop down into a navigator, or a shoeblack, or some-
thing in that way, Hughes T. Brown Oxf. (1861) xli,]
2. A drain-maker's spade with a stout, narrow, gouge-
like blade ; a ' graft.' Wil.'
NAVUS-BORE,s6. 1 Obs. Sc. Also in forms nawus-,
nawvus- Abd. (Jam.) A hole in timber caused by a knot
having fallen out.
Bnff. A navus bore . . . was thought to be a. peep-hole for the
witches, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 58. Abd. (Jam.) ; He
staps wi' strae ilk navus bore. An' ilka crevice darns, Beattie
Parings (1801) 24.
NAVVY, 56. and w. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Midi. Nhp. [na'vi.]
1. sb. An artificial waterway ; a canal. Also used atlrib.
See Navigation.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks. Ah'd go to't navvy, or to t'dam, An
draand'mesein ta neet, Preston Poems, &c. (1864) 7 ; w.Yks.' ;
w.Yks.5 Let's hev a waw-ak up t'navvy-side. m.Lan.', Nhp.'
2. V. To work as a ' navvy.'
Midi. I started navvyin', Bartram People of Clapton (1897) 75.
3. With on : to struggle on through difficulties.
w.Yks. We sail be like to navvy on somehah, Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (July 13, 1895) ; Ye can manage to navvy on, Preston
Musins in Yksman. (1878) 73, col. 1.
NAW, see Know, No, adj.
NAWD, NAWDER, see Know, Nowther.
N-AWK, sb. Yks. A hawk. Yks. Wkly. Post (Dec.
31, 1898).
N-AWL, s6.' Irel. Stf. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf Glo. Oxf.
Suf. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written nail Suf.' ; naul s.Stf.
Oxf ; and in forms nale nw.Dev.' Cor.' ; noil Wxf. ; pi.
noU^s Wxf.' [ngl, w.Cy. also nel.] An awl ; a tool of
any kind.
Wxf.' s.Stf. I no suner spoke than he drapt his nauls an'
vifalked off (T.P.). War. (J.R.W.), se.Wor.' Shr., Hrf. Bound
Provinc. (1876) ; Hrf.', Glo. (F.H.), Oxf.' Snf. Whole bridle and
saddle, whitleather, and nail. Garland (1818) 346 ; Snf.' e.Suf.
(F.H.) Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. wJEng. (1825). Dev. White
C'yman's Conductor {i^oi) 127. nw.Dev.', Cor.' "
[A naule, idem quod aule. Levins Manip. (1570) ; Nail
for a souter, alesne, Palsgr. (1530).]
NAWL, sb.'^ Sc. Som. Also in forms nael Sc. (Jam.
Suppl.) ; null Sc. 1. A dial, form of ' navel.'
Sc. Thy nuil is like til a roond goblet that lacksna licker,
Robson Sng. Sol. (i860) vii. 2. Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng.
(1825). e.Som.W. &J. G/.(i873). w.Som.' Naa-ul. Com.pronun.
NAWMLE
[235 J
NAZZET
2. Comp. (i) Nawl-cut, butcher's term : a piece cut out
of the belly ; (2) -string, the umbilical cord.
(i) Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J.
Gl.{i8q3). w.Som.' Naa-ul-kuut. (2) w.Sc, s.Sc. (Jam. S«///.)
Gall. Mactaggart Encyd. (1824).
[L ME. ttaule, the navel (P. Plowman) ; Thi nawle is as
a round cuppe, Wyclif (1388) Sng. Sol. vii. 2. OE.
nafela, the navel (B.T.) ; cp. NFris. nawel (Outzen).]
NAWMLE, NAWN, see Namble, Norn, sb., Nown.
NAWN-STEER, sb. Ken.*= [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A small steer.
NAWP(E, see Naup.
NAWPIN(G)S, sb. pi. Yks. Lan. Lin. Also written
naupins n.Lin.^ ; and in form nopings w.Yks. [nq'pinz.]
Perquisites. The same word as Knawpins (q.v.).
w.Yks. Our Jack's got a job at the hall, he gets 55. a week and
nopings (M.A.) ; w.Yks.^ An' shoo gat two pahnd a week art on
'em beside t'nawpings. Lan. Noather rest nor nawpins, Clegg
Sketches (1895) 397. n.Lin.' Bill's gotten fo'ty pund a year an'
naupins, soa he's not badly off.
NAWPY, sb. Lin."^ [ng-pi.] A new pen.
Ask the schoolmaster for a nawpy.
NAWPY, _arf/'. Cum.'* Lin.* Also in form nopy
Cum.i* [n9'pi> no'pi.] Clever, inteUigent, shrewd ;
excelling.
NAWSIN, NAWT, see Nelsin, Nowt, sb>
NAWTHER, NAWTHUN, NAW(V)US-BORE, see
Nowther, adj.. Nothing, Navus-bore.
NAWXIOUS, adj. Suf. Nauseating ; ' noxious.'
e.Suf. That medicine has a nawxious taste (F.H.).
NAY, adv. and sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written naay Wxf.' n.Yks.* he.Yks.* [ne,
nea.] 1. adv. No ; occas. used as exclamation without
any sense of negation.
Edb. Neither the laird nor myself said nay or yea, Beatty
Secretar (1897) 75. Wxf.i n.Cy. Grose (1790). e.Dur.* Nae-,
aa'zh shuwu dhaz nae- paalh hae-u. Lakel.* n.Yks.^ I's a bad
sayer o' nay when like 's i' t'rooad [I cannot say no, when
inclination comes in the way]; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.* Naay! ah
deean't knaw (s.v. Neea). e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks. Nay, Polly,
len's hod (.^.B.). Der.i Nay, I don't know. Not. (J.H.B.)
n.Lin.^ sw.Lin.' Nay, he says he know^ed better nor that. Ken. 2
Hence Nay-yea, adj. half-silly ; hardly able to answer
yes or no to a question.
Nhp.i A poor nay-yea thing. War.^, Hnt. (T.P.F.)
2. Phr. (i) nay be far, (2) — but, (3) — for sure, excla-
mations of surprise; (4) — 'n deed e nawther, an exclamation
of dissent or surprise ; ' well I never ' ; see Nowther, adj. 4
(3) i (5) — marry, no, indeed ; (6) — sure or surely, an
exclamation of surprise, coupled with sorrow or anger;
(7) — then, an exclamation of wonder, doubt, disappoint-
ment, sympathy, or remonstrance ; (8) to say a person nay,
to refuse his request ; to contradict him.
(i) Lan. Nay be far that caps o, KavShuttleworth Scarsdale
(1860)11.214. (2) n.Lin.i (3) Wm. 'Your Will's drunk.' 'Nay
fer sewer, he nivver is, is he ? ' (B.K.) (4) w.Yks. ' Did ta join in
t'procession ? ' ' Nay 'n deed E nawther,' Leeds Merc, Suppl. (July
13, 189s). (5) m.Yks.i (s.v. Marry). w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.' Naay
marry, not I, Sir Robbud, I doant care which awaays it goas. (6)
Lakel.^ Nay sewer, he's neea thowt fer nin o' huz. n.Lin.i ' He'll
be to'n'd oot'n his plaace all thriff that theare game-keaper.' 'Naay
sewerly.' (7) Cum.i; Cum.* 'Forgitten Jobby Banks?' sesjwohn,
' Nay than. Gocks-on, ah can just see J obby Banks as fair as ah can
see that pint-pot,' W.C.T.X. (1894) 12, col. 2. w.Yks.i Der.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; Der.2, nw.Der.*, n.Lin.i, Nhp.i (8)
n-Yks.* He dare n't say her nay. e.An.^ Don't say me nay.
3. Not.
e.Suf. Let me know whether you will do it, or nay (F.H.).
4. sb. In phr. to give the nay of anything, to give the first
refusal. e.An.*
NAY AH, NAYBREED, see No, adj., Nabreed.
NAYDER, NAYG, see Neither, Nag, v.
NAYGER, NAYGUR, see Nager, Nigger, sb.^
NAY-SAY, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lin.
e.An. Also written nae-say Edb.; na-say Sc. (Jam.)
[ne'-se.] 1. sb. A refusal ; the power or option of
refusing.
Sc. ' Nineteen nay says of a maiden is but half a grant." Spoken
to encourage those who have had a denial from their mistress to
attack them again, Kelly Prov. (1721) 268. AM. He wud hae
na-say, Alexander /oA«My Gibb (1871) xvii. Per. Get a naysay
to their face For want of a discerning ee, Haliburton Dunbar
(1895) 66. Edb. Now I see that my nae-say Maun be with
speech revokit, Learmont Poems (1791) 220. n.Cy. (Hall.),
Nhb.i Lakel.'^ He's neea nay-say wi' him when he starts. Cum.**
Wm. The best in the house will be laid on the table ere you can
put in a nay-say, Close Leg. (1862) 97. n.Yks.* ; n.Yks.* I
should like to have the nay-say of that bargain ; n.Yks.* Ah've
bowt it, bud then Ah've hed t'naay-saay on't foor lang eneeaf.
m.Yks.* w.Yks.*'^ ; w.Yks.* He would take no nay-say. e.An.*
Give me the nay-say of it.
2. Phr. (i) to be said nay-say, to be refused ; (2) — give a
person the nay-say, to offer him resistance ; (3) — keep a
good nay-say, to possess decision and moderation of
character, inclining to hardness ; (4) — put one's nay-say
to everything, to give one's decision, as a man of influence.
(i) Nhb.i He waddent be said naysay. (2) Per. Johnnie has
gi'en a' the Police the na-say, Maintainin' his grund on the croon
o' the cawsey ! Stewart Character (1857) 72. (3) Cum. (M.P.)
(4) n.Yks.2
3. Contradiction.
n,Lin.* I shall hev it dun, soa ther' nead n't be no3 moore
naay-saay aboot it.
4. That which cannot be denied or gainsaid.
Edb. When death comes wi' his snell nay says, The mask fa's
aff, Learmont Poems (1791) 54.
5. V. To refuse, deny ; to contradict.
Sc. (Jam.) e.Fif. The evidence in oor favour was ower strong
an' conclusive to be nae said, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xv.
Edb. Our Deacon wadna ca' a chair. The foul ane durst him
na-say, Fergusson Poems (1773) 169, ed. 1785.
Hence (i) Na-saying, sb. a refusal ; (2) Nay-sayer, sb.
one who denies.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) (2) Sc. A sturdy beggar should have a stout
naysay er, Kelly Prov. (1721). ■*
NAYSHIN, see Nation, sbP^
NAYTHER, NAYTURABLE, see Neither, Naturable.
NAY-WORD, sb. n.Cy. Chs. War. Wor. Shr. Glo.
e.An. 1. A by-word ; a common saying.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). s.Chs.* Aay, uwd Bil-i kiim til iz wuurk
won dee' wi u yilv wi oa'ni won taangg" tdo it; (in it)s bin u
sau'rt uv u nai --wnurd widh Cm evur sin : ' uwd Bill Won 'taangg '
dhi kau-n im [Ay, owd Billy come to his work one dee wi' a yilve
wi' o'ny one tang to it ; an' it's bin a sort of a nay-word with 'em
ever sin : ' owd Billy One-Tang ' they cawn him]. War.*^,
se.Wor.i s.Wor. 'Twuz alius a nay-word (H.K.) ; s.Wor.*
Shr. I fiflnna be the first to be married at the new church ; I
amma gwein to be a nay-word to all the parish. Glo.* That's
a nay-word about us. e.An.*
2. A watch-word ; a pass-word. e.An.*
N-AZARD, sb. Dur. Yks. Der. Also in forms nazart
Der. ; nazzart s.Dur. n.Yks. ; nazzet w.Yks. [na'zsd,
na'zat.] A peevish, wayward, mischievous child ; the
same word as Azzard (q.v.) ; also used attrib.
s.Dnr., n.Yks. Git out o' my road, thow little nazzart (J.E.D.).
w.Yks. Yks. WUy. Post (Aug. 22, 1896). Der. (Hall.) ; Der.*
Us'd to a calf or any other young thing, meaning silly or simple.
NAZE, V. Obs. w.Yks.* To bevel ; to take off at
an angle.
NAZEN, NAZLE, see Nest, Nazzle, sb.
NAZLY, adj. e.Yks.* [na-zli.] Drowsy-looking.
See Nazzle, v.
It's time bayn was teean ti bed ; he leeaks varry nazly.
NAZY, see Nazzy, at//'.*"
NAZZ, sb. Obs. Lan. To do or perform with energy.
They'r'n pooink at t'one eend an weer'n pooink at t'other, as
hard as o kudd'n nazz, Chs. Chron. (Mar. 27, 1795) in Walker
Plebeian Pol. (1796) 60, ed. 1801.
NAZZALD, NAZZARD, NAZZART, see Azzald,
Azzard, Nazard.
NAZZED, ppl. adj. Yks. [nazd.]^ Partly intoxicated ;
upefied. n.' ' " '
nazzy, adj.^
D, ppl. adj.
stupefied. n.Yks.*"*, ne.Yks.* (s.v. Nazzled), m.Yks.* Cf!
azzy, ad
NAZZET, see Nazard.
H h 2
N-AZZLE
[236I
NEAR
N-AZZLE, sb. e.An.^ Also in form nazle. [nse-zl.]
? A ludicrous dim. of ' ass.'
NAZZLE, V. Yks. [na'zl.] To be in a dreamy,
stupid, abstracted state. n.Yks.^ Gying nazzling alang.
Hence Nazzled, ppL adj. slightly intoxicated, unsteady.
n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.i Cf. nizzle.
NAZZLE, see Azzald.
NAZZ-NOWL, sb. n.Yks.'^ Also written -noil n.Yks.i
An imbecile ; a person whose wits are confused. Cf.
nazzy, adj?-
NAZZY, adj> Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Also
written nazy w.Yks. [na"zi.] 1. Peevish, ill-tempered,
irritable ; low-spirited. Cf. azzy.
w.Yks. Didta ever yer sich a nazzy thing i' thi loife ? (D.L.) ;
Ah felt quiet nazy (F.P.T.). Lan. (S.W.) ; Lan.i Dunnot speyk to
him — he's as nazzy as he can hutch, Chs.^ s.Chs.^ Uwd goz u
naaz'i uwd thingg- [Owd gos a nazzy owd thing]. nw.Der.'
2. Comb. Nazzy-an-snar, hard and biting in character.
Lakel.2 What's tasa nazzy an'snar aboot thoogurnen auldhemp?
NAZZY, adj.^ n.Cy. Yks. Also written nazy n.Cy.
[na'zi.] Slightly intoxicated ; stupefied. Cf. nazzed.
n.Cy. (Hall.) n.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Dec. 20, i8go) ;
n.Yks.>24 e.Yks.i m.Yks.' A bit nazzy.
NEADER, NEAF, see Nearder, Neither, Naf(f, Neive.
NEAGER, NEAHN, see Nigger, sA.'^, None.
NEAK, NEAK'D, NEAKT, see Nook, Nak'd.
NEAL, V. Sc. Yks. Won I.W. Also written neeal
I.W.^ ; and in form nale w.Yks.^se.Wor."^ [nil,nel.] To
anneal ; to soften or toughen iron ; also used^?^.
Slk. Till that hard and cruel heart of yours be nealed to an
izle, Hogg Tales (1838) 300, ed. 1866. w.Yks.2, Wor. (W.C.B.),
se.Wor.^, I.W.^ [To neal or anneal, to bake or heat in the fire, as
to neal glass, metals, &c., Phillips (1706).]
NEALD, see Needle.
N-EAM, sb. Obs. or obsol. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Stf. Der.
War. Also written neame w.Yks.*; neem n.Yks. ; neme
n.Cy.w.Yks.*Lan. Stf. War. The same word as Earn (q.v.).
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) n.Yks. A bay stagg of my
neem's, Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 102. w.Yks.* Lan. He
met his neme Ron'el, IVarri't'n Fair, st. 2, in N. if Q. (1868) 4th S.
ii. 100. Stf. Bailey (1721). Der.i Us'd in speaking of or to old
men ; thus, ' my neam Dawson.' War. Ray (1691).
NEAMLE, NEAOUS, see Nimble, Newst.
NEAP, sb. Sc. Irel. I.W. Also in form neeap LW.i
[nip, nisp.] A neap-tide. LW.^ Hence (i) Neaped-in,
ppl. adj. of a vessel which cannot get out of a harbour in
consequence of tides or winds causing the water to be
shallow ; (2) Neapit, ppl. adj. of tides or waves : low.
(i) N.I.i (2) Fif. Aboon the brig the lludes stand heapit ; Below
they're rather laigh and neapit, Tennant Papistry (1827) i6r.
[OE. nep in nep-flod, ' ledona,' Voc. (c. 1050) in Wright's
Voc. (1884) 182.]
NEAP,ac/y. Nhb.i [nip.] New.
She's gi'en us some claes an' thor quite neap.
NEAP, see Nape, sb}, Neep.
NEAPED, ppl. adj. S. & Ork.^ Pointed ; terminating
in a peak. MS. add. Cf. kneep, 2.
[Cp. Norw. dial, knip (ii), a mountain top with steep
sides, also in form net'pe (Ross).]
NEAPENS, sb. pi. Obs. n.Cy. Yks. Also written
neapons w.Yks.' Both hands full.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.i They licked up to-a-three neapons o'
meol, ii. 300.
[A der. of ON.hnefi, a 'neive,' a fist; for the ending
-pen, cf. gowpen.]
NEAPHLE, see Nyaff.
NEAR, s6.i Sc. Nhb. Dun Cum. Yks. Chs. Not. Lin.
War. e.An. Also written neerSc.Cum.'w.Yks."^ ; nere
Chs.12^ ; and in forms aiyah Suf.' ; neir N.Cy.' n.Yks.= ;
niere Dun w.Yks. ; nire e.Suf ; niyah Suf.' ; nyre Nrf.
Suf [nir, ni3(r.] 1. A kidney ; the fat surrounding the
kidneys. Cf ear, sb.^, inear, nurses.
Sc. Nowts neers, Hislop Anecdote (1874) 158. Sh.I. 1 took
howld o' da flail staff an' drew her ower da neers, Sh. News (Mar.
26, 1898). Cal.i Abd. A dish 0' nears, Macdonald R. Falconer
(1868)21. Gall, MACTAGGART£'«9irf. (1824). n.Cy. Grose (1790)
(s.v. Inear) ; N.Cy.i, Nhb.i, Dur. ( W.T.), Cum.', n.Yks.' =*, ne.Yks.i
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). m.Yks.i w.Yks. Will you
eat a part of the niere? HAMiLTONA^«<g-a«Z.!V. (1841) 348 ; w.Yks.';
w.Yks. 2 A bullock . . . was found to contain a near or fat enveloping
one kidney, to the . . . weight of six stones, Sheffield Dy. Telegraph
(Feb. 14, 1887) ; w.Yks.^s, Chs.'^^, Not. (J.H.B.) Lin. Streat-
feild Lin. and Danes (1884) 346. n.Lin.', e.Lin. (G.G.W.), War.
(J.R.W.), e.An.i Nrf., Suf. Holloway ; Suf.', e.Suf. (F.H.)
2. Comp. (i) Near-end, of a loin of veal : the part next
the kidneys; (2) -fat, the fat about the kidneys; (3)
■strings, the strings connected with the kidneys ; (4) -suet,
see (2).
(i) Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 346. n.Lin.^ (2)
Cum.l (s.v. Ear-fat). Lin. Streatfeild (6. n.Lin.', sw.Lin.l (3)
Gall. Neer-strings, those strings which are connected with the
kidneys, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (4) w.Yks. Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (July 20, 1895). e.Suf. (F.H.)
[1. Neare, roignon, Palsgr. (1530) ; Neere of a beest,
ren, Prompt. ON. nyra (Vigfusson) ; OHG. niero
(Graff).]
NEAR, sb.^ w.Som.^ [ni3(r).] In phr. what's the near,
what's the use or purpose.
What's the near to tell up such stuff's that ?
[This word prob. repr. obs. E. ttre, use (Nares) ; It is
taken by custome and vre, Seager Schoole ofVertue (1557),
in Meals and Manners, ed. Furnivall (1868) 236. OFr.
eure, 'opus' (Roquefort).]
NEAR, adv., prep, and adj} Var. dial, and coUoq. uses
in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amen Also in forms naar Sc.
w.Yks.^ ; nah e.Yks. ; nahr n.Yks. ; nar Sc. n.Cy. Nhb.'
Lakel.== Cum.'* Wm. n.Yks.'* ne.Yks.' w.Yks.'^* Lan.'
Chs.'^ Den' nw.Den' n.Lin.' ; nare Dun' ; narr n.Yks.'
e.Lan.' ; narre Hmp. ; naur Sc. w.Yks.^ ; neary Con'^;
near Dwn. n.Yks. ; neir, ner, nere Sc. (Jam.) [nir, ni3(r,
na(r.] 1. adv. In comb, (i) Near-about, (2) -aways,
nearly, almost ; (3) -begaun or -begawn, (4) -begone, (5)
-behaddin, niggardly, miserly ; (6) -bludit, closely related ;
(7) — by, {a) close to ; (Z>) near at hand ; (c) nearly, almost ;
thereabouts ; (8) -fisted, (g) -gangan, (10) -going, -gaun,
■gawn, or -gaan, see (5) ; (11) — now, just now; a little
while ago ; (12) -run thing, a close shave ; a narrow
escape ; (13) — til, see (7, a).
(i) Ayr. A towmond nearabout has run Sin' last we saw thy
face, AiNSLiE Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 357. n.Yks. It's neer-
about dinner-time (I.W. ). w.Yks. (J. W.) (2) n.Ir. Bejabers, they
[potatoes] be nearaways burstin the rig, Lays and Leg. (1884) 52.
(3) Sc. In the matter of food and drink there never was so near-be-
gawn a creature as Elizabeth Inglis, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897)
205. S.&Ork.i Per. 'Sanear-be-gaunan'niggartloon^ Haliburton
Dunbar (1895) 70. Ayr. Two ancient yew trees which the near-
begaun major and his sister had left to go to ruin, Galt Ann.
Parish (1821) vii. Edb. He's sic a hard, near-be-gawn miser. He
likes his saul less than his gear, Fergusson Poems (1789) II. 158
(Jam.). (4) N.I.' Near begone people disn't give the workers
mate enough sometimes, an' that's a burnin' shame. (5) Rxb.
(Jam.) (6) Sc, Cld. {ib.) (7, a) Sc. Nerby Glasgow («6.). Frf.
Lads and lasses wauk the clais, Narby yon whinny hicht, LowsoN
Guidfollow (1890) 242. Gall. Never saw thy wil' kail-seed near
by the poet's houseless head, Nicholson Poet. Wis. (1814) 51, ed.
1897. n.Lin.' He lives near by th' Calvin capil, a bit o' this side,
(i) Abd. In a friend's house near by, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I.
50. Lnk. A farmer who lived near by, Graham Writings (1883)
II. 228. N.I.' Do you live near by? e.Yks.' w.Scm.' ■ How far
is it to Blagdon?' 'Oh, you be near by, tidn no ways herefrom.' (c)
Sc. I was nerby dead (Jam.) ; Here I am after a trot o' sixty mile,
or nearby, Scott G«)/;l/.(i8i5)xlv. (8) War.2, Shr.' (9) Cum.'*
(10) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.' Edb. Shall Man, a niggard, near-gawn elf!
Rin to the tether's end for pelf? Fergusson Poems (1773) 216, ed.
1785. Don. Without, I thrust, bein' either niggardly or near-goin'.
Cent. Mag. (Feb. igoo) 607. Cum.'* Wm. He was ower nar
gaan ta be menseful (B.K.). (ii)e.An.i Nrf.RAY(i69i) ; (P.R.)
(12) s.Not. 'E worn't drownded dead, but it wor a near-run thing
(J.P.K.). (13) Sc. (Jam.)
2. Phr. (i) ax near, sell dear, see below ; (2) by near,
pretty nearly ; (3) to grind near, to grind all the bran
possible among the flour.
(1) n.Lin.i ' Ax near, sell dear.' Ask near the value of a thing at
once, not far too much, if you would sell dearly. (2) n.Yks. Ha
NEAR
[237]
NEAR-HAND
knows by neer (I.W.) ; I know the right direction by near,
Simpson Biggersdale (1893) 126. (3) n.Lin.i
3. Nearly, almost.
Sc. He near missed it ; aye gae near (Jam. Suppl.). Sh.I. My
cup is no naur foo, Sh. News (Aug. 27, 1898). Abd. A chap or
twa, naar grippit braid i' the crood, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) xviii. Frf. He prays near like one giving orders, Barrie
Minister {iS^j) iii. Per. I was near like to gie her a raging, but
I hadiia the heart, Sandy Scott (1897) 60. Fif. A' nature is naur
in a lowe, Robertson Provost (1894) 13. Edb. The laft near
comes doon, Maclagan Poems (1851) 65. Dwn. She jist stappit
Hke a shot, an' very neer sent me ower her heid, Lyttle Robin
Gordon, 79. Cum. It's varra nar twenty 'ear sen, Farrall Betty
Wilson (1886) i. Wm. An flay'd poor Brittons nar to death,
Whitehead Leg. (1859) 6. e.Yks.^ Ah'd nah fawn, MS. add.
(T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.) w.Som.^ You baint no-ways near a-come,
not 'eet, i.e. you are not yet nearly arrived.
4. Closely ; exactly. Sc. (Jam.) 5. Narrowly.
Fif. Acquentin' him . . . How near he 'scap't frae bein' stabbit,
Tennant Papistry (1827) 67.
6. Sparingly; exactingly. Sc. (Jam.) 7. Nearer.
n.Cy.(HALL.), n.Yks.i w.Yks. THORESBYifW. (1703); ■w.Yks.'^'*
Lan. Never gettin no nar, Clegg Sketches (1895) 6 ; Lan.^, e.Lan.^,
Chs.i!22, Der.^, nw.Der.l Hmp. Holloway.
8. Nearest. w.Yks.^ 9. prep. In phr. (i) near the bone,
niggardly, sparing ; (2) — the day, a miner's term : near
the surface ; (3) — the water, easily moved to tears,
emotional ; (4) — the way, {a) see (i) ; (b) poorly, meanly,
penuriously ; (5) to be near oneself, to be very niggardly
and tenacious of one's property, to look to one's own
interests ; (6) to look near anything, to pay close attention
to anything.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.' He's unco near thebane wee a' thing it he
gees. (2) Cor.2 (3) 'Win. Thoos varra nar t'watter, thers nowt
ta yewl aboot (B.K.). (4, a) He was varra nar-t-way wi owt he
bed ta deea wi (ib.'). (b) They leev'd varra nar-t-way mainly
what. Sairey things they'd ta gang varra near-t-way e' ther duds
an' shun (ib.). (5) Sc. He is very near himself (Jam., s.v. Near-
gawn) ; I'm no a man that's near mysel — walth^I wad like to
use in moderation, Saxon and Gael (1814) III. 59 (I'A.). w.Yks.'
(6) Lth. Mauchless, dowff, and sweer aye To look near his farm
or wark, Macneill Poet. Wks. (1801) 136, ed. 1856.
10. adj. In comb. (1) Near chance, a close shave ; (2)
— cut, a short cut ; a shorter method than the one usually
employed ; (3) -dweller, a comparative stranger dwelling
in one's vicinity; (4) — friend, (a) a first cousin; (6) closely
related or connected ; (5) -foot-afore, of a horse : the left
fore-foot; (6) — gan,see (i); (7) -go, a niggard ; (8) — miss,
(a) almost a miss; {b) almost a hit; (9) -points, extremely
near ; in phr. to come to nearpoints, to come very near an
agreement; (lo) —side, a driving term: the left side,
whether of horse or road ; (11) -ways, economically.
(i) w.Som.i, nw.Dev.i (2) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.', n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
(3) s.Wor. A wuzn't no nahibors to we : a wuzn't nothin' but
near-dwellers, Outis Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (1896) xvi.
(4, fl) Wmh. (A.S.-P.) (6) Sc. (Jam.) (5) Dor. Smart is lame in
his near-foot-afore. Hardy Greenw. Tree (1872) II. 79. (6)
e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) (7) n.Yks.2 (8 a, b) Sc. (Jam.) (9)
m.Yks.i Two persons will come to nearpoints about a bargain.
How far is it from here? — Why, I reckon of it nearpoints a mile.
The place was nearpoints full. (10) Sc, Rnf. (Jam.), Nhb.i, Dnr.S
Lakel.'^ Wm. Pu' t'nag ta t'nar side (B.K.). n.Yks. 1 was alias
telld ta keep at t'nahr side ov a boss ta put geeir on (W.H.) ;
n.Yks.l", ne.Yks.i, ^.Yks. (J.W.), nw.Der.i, n.Lin.i, Brks.>
w.Som.i The left side is always so called, because the driver
always walks on that side of the team. Frequently used in
reference to persons and places, but in such connection it is
rather horsey. (11) e.Yks.i Ah hS tl gan as nearways as Ah can
tl mak ends meet, MS. add. (T.H.)
11. The left, of animals and vehicles. Cf. near side.
Sc. (Jam.) Cum.* The left-hand or nar horse walks on the
land, when ploughing two abreast. n.Lin.^ A boss we was a
gettin' ready for Ho'dSn brok his nar fore-leg.
12. Narrow.
Kcd. Johnny made a nar' escape Frae droonin' in his bed.
Grant Lays (1884) 9.
Hence Narly, adv. narrowly.
Lnk. You nar'ly scap'd a bloody grave, MuiR Minstrelsy
(i8i6) no.
13. Stingy, miserly, pinching, greedy, covetous ; in gen.
colloq. use ; also frugal.
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. A close-loofed, near kin' o' man he was,
Macdonald Warlock (1882) vii. Fif. The furthie housewife had
nothing near about her hospitality, Colville Vernacular (1899)
18. Gall. She's an awsome near woman, Crockett Cleg Kelly
(1896) vii. Wgt. Another penurious bachelor . . . was even more
' near,' Fraser Wigtown (1877) 376. N.I.' n.Cy. He is a very
near man, Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Nhb. (R.O.H.), Dnr.i
s.Diir. Ye need'nt expect owt fra' him— he's ower near (J.E.D.).
Lakel.i2 n.Yks.^ ; n.Yks.* He's ti near ti even wish yan weel.
ne.Yks.i e.Yks.' Ah he' ti gan a varry nah way ti mak ends
meet, MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. Ah heap at foaks at hez onny
spice-cake al not be near we it, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla
Ann. (Dec. 1854); w.Yks.i^; w.Yks.s He's as near as near wi'
ivvrything ; ah nivver saw t'likes on him. Lan. (F.R.C.) m.Lan.'
Near fooak ne'er gi' nowt. Chs.i s.Stf. He was allays very
near wi' the housekeepin' money, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
Der.=, nw.Der.i Not. He's that near he won't allow himself
enough to eat (L.C.M.) ; Not.i Shay's that near shay don't give
hersen proper vittles. s.Not. She's that near she meks quite
a to-do ower a ha'p'ny CJ.P.K.). n.Lin. My wife 'at's as near as
near aboot owt that'll bring her in a bit o' butter-money, Peacock
Tales and Rhymes (1886) 82 ; n.Lin.i She's soa near she watches
iv'ry moothful one eats. sw.Lin.' He's oftens been very near,
and kep' us very near. Nhp.'2, War.=*, s.War.', w.Woii,i,
se.Wor.i Ehr.i They bin so near an' grindin'. Hrf.'° Oxf.'
'Ee's that near 'ee'd skin a flint for a aipmey if a spwilt a knife
wuth a penny a-doin' an't. Brks.' A mus' be wuth a good bit
o' money vor a alius was near. n.Bck. He's a near old skinflint
(A.C.). Lon. Some of the quality pay me handsomely — some are
very near, Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) III. 213, ed. 1861.
Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.i Nrf. He's rarely near (W.R.E.). Ess.
He's wonerful near (H.H.M.). Sus.i n.Wil. He's alius just
about near, he is (E.H.G.). w.Som.i A's to near vor to be
honest. Dev.° Yti wunt git much out o' 'er, er's precious near.
Cor.13 [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 227.]
Hence Nearness, sb. niggardliness.
Ayr. Truly she was a woman of great nearness in her giving to
the cause of rehgion, Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 285. n.Cy.,
Yks. (J.W.)
NEAR, arf;? Yks. Of food : underdone in cooking.
n.Yks., e.Yks. A varra nice ham but a bit near if owt (R.S.) ;
e.Yks.i
NEAR, a^'.^ Obs. s.Cy. Empty. (Hall.)
NEAR, NEARAMOST, see Never a, Nearmost.
NEARDER, adv. Irel. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also Som.
Also written neader n.Yks. ; neeader Wm. ; and in forms
narder Cum.i^ Wm. ; nearther m.Yks.' ; neather w.Yks.
[ni3-(r)(S3(r, ni3-d3(r.] 1. Nearer; formed from 'near'
with the sufF. -der, -ther. See Far, I. 2.
Ant. (W.H. P.) Cum. We're narder to gud here, Gilpin
Ballads (1874) 76; Cum.' ; Cum.^ Mebbe I wad be narder t'truth,
31. Wm. Nea neeader te heaven, Wilson Old Man, 87. n.Yka.
01 mi bans iz alang we of ma. A sud slaikt sumonem ta abin
a bit niadar hiar (W.H.). m.Yks.' w.Yks. Ah wish the'y wark
laid neather heame, Blackah Poems (1867) 15; Very common
(J.W.). w.Som.i 'Tis nearder thick way-'n tother.
Hence (i) Nearderest, adv. nearest. m.Yks.' ; (2)
Neardermost, adv. nearest, used only when personal
contact is implied. m.Yks.'
2. Phr. to get nofarder nor narder, to remain at a stand-
still, to make no progress.
Wm. This remark is applied to one who does not grow, or
learn ; also is of frequent use when criticizing some one who
does not get on, or who does not get his work done (B.K.).
NEARDEST, adv. Irel. Yks. Som. Also in form
nearthest m.Yks.' Nearest. N.I.', m.Yks.', w.Som.'
NEAR-HAND, adv., prep., adj. and sb. Sc. Irel. n.Cy.
Lakel. Yks. Lin. Lei. Nhp. Bdf. Wil. and Amer. Also in
forms nah-hand e.Yks. ; nar-hand Lakel.' ^ Cum.* ; near-
ban, near-hatin, neer-han, neer-haun Sc. [ni3T-an(d.]
1. adv. Near, hard by ; also in comb. Near-hand by.
Cai.' Per. As he gets near-hand, says I to mysel', ' I dinna
ken ye, but I ken the way ye walk,' Sabbath Nights (1899) 21.
Ayr. A' the hirsle neerhan' by, Sillar Poems (1789) 195. Rxb.
(Jam.), n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.), Lei.' [Amer. A lady that had a
p"lantation near hand to his'n, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836)
ist S. xii.]
NEARLES
[238]
NEATH
Hence (i) Nearer-hand, adv. nearer, closer ; (2) Near-
handness, sb. nearness ; a short distance.
(i) Sc. Crap in nearer hand, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xv.
n.Cy. (J.W.) Cum. They've tried manya scheme, but have never
got nearer hand (E.W.P.). Yks. (J.W.) (2) Bnff.i, Cld. (Jam.)
2. Nearly ; almost.
Sc. I have sat up baith with the dying and the dead, and no
been nearhand say gastly-thoughted as I was that night, White-
head Daft Davie (1876) 244, ed. 1894. Inv. The pleasure strikes
me near hand dead. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) I. 301. Abd. Ye
micht be her father, near-han', Abd. Wkly. Free Press (June 25,
1898). Per. If ye touch't, it near-hand sindry comes. Ford Harp
(1893) 364. Slg. They near-hand lost the heat, man, Galloway
Poems (1792) 59. Rnf. Jock, late yestreen, saw at the hallan,
A sight, that nearhand swarf'd the callan, Picken Poems (1813)
I. 120. Ayr. To fill the mug no near ban' fou, Fisher Poems
(1790) 61. Lnk. It ne'er-haun gars me swear, Nicholson /rfy/Zs
(1870) 88. Edb. My sun is right far wast. An' nearhand set,
Crawford Poems (1798) 54. Rxb. (Jam.) Gall. Near han' half
a mile, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 17. N.I.' The rope was not
near hand long enough. N.Cy.i Cum.* Barney. . . was nar-hand
oot of his senses, W.C.T.X. (1898) 24, col. 2. n.Yks.i My
wame says it's near-hand dinner time ; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i It cost
near-hand fahve pund. e.Yks.^ It's nah-hand 0' thotty year sin
me an raah weyf w6 wed, MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. So t'Spicy
Man did varry weel Fur near hand awf a year, Preston Poems,
&c. (1864) 12 ; w.Yks.15, Lei.i
3. Probably ; certainly.
Lei.i Nhp,* ' I shall near-hand finish my work to-morrov? ' :
I fully expect it. ' I shall near-hand do it ' : I shall certainly do
it. Bdf. He'll come near hand, Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang.
(1809) 139.
4. prep. Near, close to.
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. We war near-ban the hoose, Macdonald
R. Falconer (i858) 149. Per. His granny 'at's lyin' near hand
her end, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 10, ed. 1887. Edb. They
fiU'd it near ban' the brim, iV«w Years Morning (1792) 13. N.I.i
Not a shot came near hand us. Cav. The cattle are grazing
near-hand the lake (M.S.M.). n.Cy. (J.W.) Lakel.i ; Lakel.^ It
was nar-hand tierm-time. Cum.^ If you gang near hand yon dog
it'll bite; Cum.*, n.Yks.i* ne.Yks.^ He nivver comes near-hand
ma noo. w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.^ Doa'nt thoo go near-hand Ned,
he's gotten th' itch. Wil. (G.E.D.), (W.C.P.)
5. adj. Neighbouring ; close at hand.
Sc. (Jam.) Lnk. Bairns frae the near-haun' streets War mixin'
in wi' the thrang, Thomson Leddy May (1883) 13. n.Cy., Yks.
(J.W.) Nhp.' The near-hand stubble-field, with mellow glower,
Showed the dimmed blaze of poppies still in flower, Clare Rur.
Muse (1835) 158.
6. Comb, (i) Near-hand gate, the nearest way ; (2) —
road, a short cut.
(i) Lnk. Wha . . . The nearhaun' gate to hell hae taen. Watt
Poems (1827) 53. (2) Lnk. Those wha took nearhan' roads across
the green, Muir Minstrelsy (1816) 10.
7. Niggardly. Rxb. (Jam.) Hence Near-handness, sb.
niggardliness. Cld. (ib.)
8. sb. In phr. at the near-hand, see below.
Sc. In many incorporations and charitable societies the son of a
member is admitted for, say, iCs 3s., as at the near-hand. Others,
not sons of members, have to pay say ts 5«., as at the far-hand,
Montgomerie-Fleming TVote on Jam. (1899).
[2. Nerhand had wond in hell my saule, Hampole
(c. 1330) Ps. xciii. 17. 4. God is nerehand his lufers, ib.
Ps. Ixx. 12.]
NEARLES, see Nirls.
NEARLIN(G)S, adv. Sc. Cum. Yks. Also in forms
narlins Cum.* ; neirlins, nerlins Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
[niaTlinz.] Nearly, almost.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Ayr. She cam' ben, An' nearlins fainted
Clean out, Fisher Poems (1790) 146. Cum. Set me narlins
heame, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1840) 80; Cum.*, n.Yks.i^*
e. Yks.i Ah'd nearlins fawn, MS. add. (T.H.)
[For the suff. -lings cf. halflins, aveling(s.]
NEARMOST, adv. Irel. Yks. Der. Also in forms
narmest nw.Der.^ ; nearamost n.Ir. 1. Nearest, next,
asp. when personal contact is implied. m.Yks."^ (s.v.
Nearder), nw.Der.^ 2. Almost.
n.Ir. Herself wis near-most away kilt wid the fright, Lays and
Leg. (1884) 47 ; An' nearamost shov'd Billy out av the gate, ib. 84.
NEARP, V. War. Wor. Also in forms neurp, nurp
Won [niap, nap.] To pinch with cold.
War.3 The east vvind has nearpt the child's face. Wor. He
looks neurp'd up. His nose looks quite nurped (E.S.).
NEARRE, fl<(7'. Obs. Lin. Nether, lower. Ray (1691) ;
Grose (1790).
NEARSOME, adj. n.Yks.^ Closely related.
' Van's bairn's yan's nearsome collop,' one's child is as one's
own flesh.
NEARST, adv. Yks. [niast.] Almost ; nearly.
w.Yks. Ah'd nearst a won t'first prize (iE.B.) ; Ah'd nearst hae
said Buffet, Yks. Wkly. Post (Dec. 5, 1896) ; (J.W.)
NEARTHER, see Nearder.
N-EAR-WIGGLE, sb. Suf. An earwig. e.Suf. (F.H.)
See Earwig, Narrow-wriggle.
NEARY, NEAST(E, see Near, adv., Neist.
NEAT, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Stf. Not. Lei. Nhp. War.
Shr. Suf Wil. Som. [nit.] 1. An animal of the ox-tribe,
esp. of horned or black cattle ; also used attrib. Cf.
nowt, sb}
Sc. A man kens little till he's driven a spreagh of neat cattle
(say) ten miles through a throng lowland country, Stevenson
Catriona (1893) xi. n.Yks.i'^, ne.Yks.i, m.Yks.^ (s.v. Nowt).
Stf. A good plant for neat beasts which they are fond of when
young, Marshall Review (1814) IV. 42. Not.i, Lei.*, War.s Obs.
Suf.' Neat-beasts, neat-cattle. Wil. Bull, cow, calf: one-yearling
heifer or bull, first year ; two-yearling heifer oi bull, second year,
Davis Agric. (1813) I. 37.
2. Comb, (i) Neat-geld, obs., cornagerent, originally paid
in cattle ; a horn tax ; (2) -herd, a herdsman ; (3) -'s-tongue,
an ox-tongue ; (4) -shippon, an ox-stall.
(i) N.Cy.' (s.v. Nout-geld). (2) w.Som.i Obsol. (3) Nhp.',
Shr .2 (4) n.Yks. Atkinson Whitby (1894) 15.
NEAT, adj., adv. and v. Sc. Irel. Yks. Nhp. Ken. Sus.
Dor. Som. Also in forms naet Abd. ; nate Lnk. In ;
neaty, neatty Abd. [nit, net.] 1. adj. Obs. Pleasing
to the eye, pretty.
Sc. A neat house, is a pretty house ; a neat picture, a masterly
picture, Monthly Mag. (1798) II. 435.
2. Of live stock : free from taint and coarseness, trim,
well-shaped. Som. (C.M.R.) 3. First-rate, excellent.
Don. As the wages is nate ... I might go further and fare worse,
Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 161.
4. Exact ; mere ; precise, identical. Cf. netty, adj.
Abd. Wha were they, but the same neaty three. That with the
raips gard him the dolour dree ? Ross Helenore (1768) 49, ed. 1812 ;
Her heart with neatty grief began to rise, ib. 86. Lnk. Jist say a
nate sixpence worth, Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 71. Dmf.
Splittin o' peas to gie neat wecht, Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 333.
5. Complete, thorough.
Nhp.i Always used in a bad sense, as ' He's a neat rascal.'
Hence Naetly, adv. completely.
Abd. Sax an' thirty plates naetly full't o' milk pottage, Al.exander
Johnny Gibb (1871) xl.
e. adv. Exactly. Cf. net(t.
Sh.I. Herlespun' o' butter weighed saxteen pund neat, Stewart
Tales (1892) 113. Per. It cam tae the hundred neat, Ian Maclaren
Brier Bush (1895) 201. Sus.' 'Tis ten rod neat, no more nor no less.
7. V. To make neat and clean.
Ken.' ; Ken.2 She neats about.
8. Obs. To yield a net return.
ne.Yks. It would have neated only zd. a foot, Marshall Rur.
Ecan. (1796) I. 231.
NEATH, prep. Sc. Also in forms neith, neth. [nif),
nefj.] Beneath ; also used Jig.
Cai.' Bnff. Grannie's crown fu' well he claw'd. An' 'neath her
kirtle, E'en wi' the spurtle, Taylor Poems (1787) 25. Abd. Frae
'neath the song o' Highland braes A rustic minstrel seeks to
please, Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 369. Per. I fand my
faither 'neth the yird, Ford Harp (1893) 162. s.Sc. Watson
Bards (1859) 37. Rnf. Slay them neath a shower of rock, Fraser
Chimes (1853) 36. Lnk. 'Neth the brainches o' a hazel, hidden
frae the sunshine bricht, Coghill Poems (1890) 15. Edb. Liddle
Poems (1821) 210. Feb. Twa glimmeran' pinky een, That blink
frae 'neath his brow, Lmtoun Green (1685) 25, ed. 1817. Dmf.
Thom Jock o' Knowe (1878) 43. Gall. Tykes wad bask . . . neath
the auld arm-chair, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 352, ed. 1876.
NEATHER
[239]
NEB
Hence Neathmest or Neathmost, adj. lowest, under-
most.
ne.Sc. Three feet eemist, cauld and deed, Twa feet nethmest,
flesh an bleed, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 79. Abd. The vera neth-
most shall o' the lamp's dry, Alexander /oAkmjv Gibb (1871) xiv.
Frf. Garter height the neith'most clout, Is bang'd wi' awfu force,
MoRisoN Poems (1790) 27. Ayr. Expectin' to see the corpse o'
him lyin' on the neathmost step. Hunter Studies (1870) 280.
Slk. (Jam.)
NEATHER, see Nearder, Neither.
NEAT-HOUSE, sb. e.An. Also in forms neathus, net-
house Suf. ; nettas Suf.'; nettus e.An.'^ Suf.^ ; nittus
Suf. [nl-t-as, ne't-3s.] A cattle-shed, a building for kine
or ' neat ' cattle. See Neat, sb.
e.An.l2 Suf. (H.H.) ; In tha' nittus, e.An. Dy. Times (1802) ;
(H.P.E.); Suf.i
NEATS-FIRE, NEATION, NEATRIL, see Need-flre,
Nation, sb.'^, Natural.
NEAUST, NEAVE, NEAVIL, NEAVY-NACK, see
Newst, Neive, Nevel, Neiveie-nick-nack.
NEAW, NEAYGHEN, see Know, Aichan.
NEAZLE, V. m.Yks.' [nia-zl.] To make the noise
which accompanies a sneeze. See Neeze.
NEB, sb, and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written kneb w.Yks. Lan. ; nebb Sc. ne.Yks.^ [neb.]
1. sb. A bird's beak ; also, humorously, the nose ; the
mouth ; occas. the whole face. Cf. nib, sb.''-
Sc. Ye breed of Saughton swine, your neb's ne'er out of an ill
turn, Ramsay Prov. (1737) ; I dinna like his looks : he has a gae
dour neb (Jam. SuppL). Sh.I. Da cock is furt wi' a flooer bannik
in his neb, Sh. News (May 26, 1900). Or.I. (S.A.S.), Cai.' Abd.
His lang nails — as lang's birds nebs, Macdonald R. Falconer
(1868) 336. Frf. Twa . . . doos . , . sittin' an' beckin' an' crossin'
nebs, LowsoN GuidfoUow (1890) 82. Per. She took robin up, and
she kissed its neb, Spence Poems (1898) 45. w.Sc. Gart me turn
up my neb in scorn, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 283. Fif. The
young gorbets were fed on crowdie till their gaebies, if not their
nebs, called, 'Hold! enough!' Colville Vernacular (1899) 12.
s.Sc. The snell frost-win' made nebs an' een To rin right sair,
T. Scott Poems (1793) 323. Rnf. The eagles and maws . , . may
sharp their nebs, ony way, Fraser Chimes (1853) 33. Ayr.
Napoleon, Did grunt and groan, An' prim'd his neb, Goldie Poems
(1822) 113. Lnk. His nose was like a bublie-cock's neb, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 57. e.Lth. His neb cockit in the air, Hunter
J. Inwick (1895) 14. Edb. The very moment I put my neb within
the door, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) vii. Peb. Lintoun Green
(1685) 53, ed. 1817. Slk. As weel tell me that a pawrot, when it
chips the shell has a strecht neb, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856)
III. 305. ' Dmf. Yer wee heart loups tae yer neb wi' fear, Reid
Poems (1894) 182. Gall. Foul fa' thee, vile unchancie docken.
That e'er thou set thy neb in Scotlan', Nicholson Poet. IVks,
(1814) 127, ed. 1897. N.I.i Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). Dwn.
(C.H.W.) s.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890). N.Cy.i Nhb. Aw's shoor
ta crack thaw lug when thoo feyls to wipe thaw neb on't, Robson
Evangeline (1870) 351; Nhb.i Ugly neb. Dnr.', s.Dnr. (J.E.D.)
Lakel.^ ; Lakel.' Sis'ta thoo's thi' neb i' iv'rybody's business.
Cnm. He's got a . . . neb like onie lobster, Anderson Ballads
(ed. 1808) 77 ; Cum.i3* Wm. He sharpen'd his neb, did t'craa,
BowNESS Studies (1868) 14. n.Yks.iss*, ne.Yks.i e.Yks. The
right side of the nebbe (of a swan). Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 123 ;
e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i w.Yks. He's putten t'cat a kneb on, Pogmoor
Olm. (1895) 63; w.Yks.14 Lan.i A little, light-haired lass, holding
up her rosy neb to the soup-master, Waugh Home Life (1867) vii.
n.Lan.i Not. (J.H.B.) ; Not.i This bud's short in the neb. Lin.
Coot the band close to his neb, Fenn Dick 0' the Fens (1888) x.
n.Lln.' sw.Lin.' There were six chickens had their nebs out.
Nhp.i, w.Wor.i, Snf.i, Ken. (K.)
_ 2. Comb, (i) Neb-and-feather, completely ; (2) -bucking,
jutting out awkwardly ; (3) -cap, the piece of iron put on
the toe of a shoe or clog ; cf. cap-neb ; (4) -fu', a beakful ;
the least possible amount ; (5) -plate, see (3).
(i) Rxb. She's dinkit out neb and feather (Jam.). (2) Lin.i A
nasty neb-bucking corner. (3) Slk. (Jam.) (4) Per. A nebfu'
baith we sanna want, Haliburton Horace (1886) 59. Kcb. Na !
naebody left wi' a nebfu' o' wit Wad reject sic a sonsy wee
steadin', Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 178. (5) Cum.^ (s.v. Snoot-
band) ; Cum.*, Wm. (B.K.)
3. Phr. (i) a black neb, a man who takes a striker's place
during the strike ; a ' blackleg' ; see Black, adj. 4 (12) ;
(2) more red nebs than midges, a phr. used in very cold
weather; (3) the neb of the mire-snipe, the last extremity ;
(4) to cock [up) one's neb, to lift up one's face ; to ' turn up
one's nose ' ; (5) to dight the neb, to wipe one's nose or
one's mouth; (6) to dight the neb and flee awa or up, of
birds : to wipe the bill on the ground and then fly up to
roost ; fig. to take one's departure ; (7) to gie a thinga neb,
to make it pungent ; (8) to keep a man's neb at the grunstane,
to keep him under ; to keep him hard at work; (9) to poke
the neb into other folk's porridge, to pry into other people's
affairs ; (10) to wet on^s neb, to take a drink ; (11) to dab
nebs with any one, to kiss, ' bill and coo.'
(i) Sc. (A.W.) (2) N.I.i (3) Slk. I was just gaun to bring the
screw to the neb o' the mire-snipe, Hogg Tales (1838) 7, ed.
1866 ; It was come fairly to the neb o' the mire-snipe with me, ib,
(4) Lnk. Cock up his neb wi' the lave at the schules, Nicholson
Idylls (1870) 26. Nhb.i Cock yor neb. Cum . I saw the' . . .
Cock up thy neb to his! Richardson Talk (ed. 1876) 135.
Yks. Yer friend ... '11 cock up her neb at yey when she sees
what sort yey are, Macquoid Patty (1877) x. e.Yks.i Cock
up thi neb an let's kiss tha. Lan. Hoo should cock her neb, an'
waggle her flounces, Waugh Chim. Comer (1874) 27, ed. 1879.
(5) Sh.I. Dicht his peerie neb, Burgess Sketches, 25. Lnk. Puir
you and me May dicht oor nebs and leave the kirk, Stewart Twa
Elders (1886) 8. Gall. Then Rab would come oot, dichting his neb
frae the byre, belike whaur he had been preein' the sweet milk-
can, Crockett Raiders (1894) xlvi. (6) Sc. ' You may dight your
neb and flie up.' You have ruined and undone your business,
and now you may give over, Kelly Prov. (1721) 390. Frf. The
birds had dichtit their nebs to flee up, Willock Rosetty Ends
(1886) 183, ed. 1889. Fif. Ye dinna gar him dicht his neb an' flee
awa, Robertson Provost (1894) 114. Ayr. Dicht your neb and
flee up when you like. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 77. Lnk.
When plain folks dicht their nebs an' try To flee like leddies, up,
Murdoch Doric Lyre (1B73) 41. Edb. Nothing remained for
them but to dight their nebs and flee up, Moir Mansie Wauch
(1828) ii. (7) n.Sc. (Jam.) (8) Sc. (jfe.) (9) n.Yks.2 (10) Nhb.i
(11) Lnk. When ye sit where nae body sees you, you may tak her
head in your oxter, like a creesh pig, dab nebs wi' her now an'
then, but be sure ye keep a close mouth, when ye kiss her, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 51.
4. A projecting hill, a prominent headland, a point of
land jutting out into a lake, a ' bill.'
Nhb.i Cum. The local name of these spits [points of land jutting
out into Ulswater] is nebs, a word denoting the bill of a bird, and
therefore not inaptly describing their form, Hutchinson Hist. Cum.
(1794) I. 434 ; Cum.11
5. The tip or point of anything, esp. the peak of a cap or
bonnet, the toe of a shoe ; also used^^.
Sc. Yonder's the Ration Skerry [a rock] — he aye held his neb
abune the water in ray day, Scott Antiquary (1816) vii. Sh.I.
Takkin a drap oot o' da neb o' a horn spiine 'at Sibbie ran da gin
intil, Sh. News (May 14, 1898). Bnff. The twa nebbs of their
fingers meeting together, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 56. Frf.
Shod at the apex with a good steel or iron neb, ground to a fine
point by the proud possessor, Inglis ^m Flk. {iSg$) 94. e.Fif.
Tak' care o' your mits or I'll maybe ding the neb o' my heuk into
them, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxix. Dmb. Deil than your
tongue were hookit neb and root, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 10.
Lnk. Making his way to the ' neb' of the boat, so as to avoid cabin
complications, Murdoch Readings (1895) II. 82. Lth. Lumsden
Sheep-head (1892) 208. Edb. Writers, your finger-nebbs unbend,
And quat the pen, Fergusson Poems {t-TIS) 143, ed. 1785. Peb.
Lintoun Green (1685) 25, ed. 1817. Gall. They [their shoes] dinna
gree well wi' the moss-broo ava — thae sort wi' the narrow nebs
and single soles, Crockett MoM-//a^5 (1895) xxiii. N.Cy.i Nhb.i
Half-an-inch afront o" their beut nebs, Dixon Shrovetide Customs,
5. Cum.i* Wm. He had a cap wi' a neb to it, Rawnsley Remin.
Wordsworth (1884) VI. 184. n.Yks. (W.H.), n.Yks.*, m.Yks.i
w.Yks. He saw a man wi' a brass band on his cap neb. Hartley
Sects Yks. and Lan. (1895) iii ; w.Yks.2* Lan. A billycock wi' a
kneb at th' back, Clegg Sketches (1895) 359 ; Da vies Races (1856)
272 ; Lan.i ' What soart of a cap had he on 1 ' ' Blue cloth, -vn' a
shoiny neb.' m.Lan.', s.Lan. (F.E.T.) Lei. N. & Q. (1870) 4th
S. v. Sgg. Nhp.i
6. The point of a pen ; the nib.
Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. Thou's got -i tongue in thy pen neb, Galt
Gilhaize (1833) i. Edb. The words just at the pen-neb hung like
new peel'd eggs, Crawford Poems (1798) 48. Slk. Mendin the
NEBBARD
[240]
NECESSITY
slit in the neb o' his pen, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 104.
w.Yks.'», Suf.i
7. The pole of an ox-cart ; the peg used to fasten the
pole of an ox-plough to the yoke ; a peg used in snipe-
fowling.
Lan. Fastened to 4 pegs called Nebs, Macpherson Hist. Wild-
fowling (1897) 458. s.Cy. (Hall.), Ken.i Sus. Morton Cydo.
Agric. (1863); Sus.l2, Hmp.i
8. Part of the handle of a scythe ; see below.
n.Cy. (Hall.), ne.Yks.i, w.Yks.12, n.Lin.i Lei.i The ' tang' or
shaft at the butt-end of a scythe-blade, by which it is afifixed to
the 'snead' or wooden shank. It is a continuation of the rib
which runs along the back of the upper side of the blade, and is
about five inches long. About half its length is bent at right angles
to the blade, so as to lie along the ' snead,' to which it is made fast
by a ring which clips both the neb and the ' snead.' By pegging
the neb, the angle of the blade in relation to the ' snead ' can be
sHghtly altered so as to suit the mower. Oxf. A short wooden
handle with iron ring inserted at the end to slip over the snead,
which is held by two nebs (J.E.). Sus.^
9. An edge, a rim ; asp. the edge of a cake. Lan. Davies
Races (1856) 272 ; Lan.^ 10. A dish made of oatmeal and
water ; see below.
Edb. ' Some times at night ere we gaed to our beds, [We] Join'd
neivefu' about to mak' twa or three nebs.'. . Oatmeal and water
mixt up together in a wooden dish, rolled up like cucumbers, and
boiled, . . but when the water is boiling when you mix them in
the dish, it is a great improvement to the nebs, Forbes Poems
(i8i2) 135.
11. ? Obs. The time between dawn and sunrise ; also in
comb. Neb of the morning.
Gall. There are few who do not love to keep the bed until the
neb gangs aff the morning ; . . it is when the neb is on the morning
that the hoar-frost is produced, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
12. Of liquor : pungency.
Edb. Next Linton linn [whisky], . . Wi' gay strong neb, but
stronger colour, Forbes Poems (1812) 67.
13. V. To peck viciously ; fig. to scold ; to miscall.
Cld. (Jam.) n.Yks.* He'd neb thi breeaks.
14. To kiss, caress.
Sc. Near him let his Grace of Gordon stand, For these two
drakes may neb, go hand in hand, 'Hogg Jacob. Rel. (ed. 1874) I.
241. Ayr. Robin Cummell came across usae day at Peggy Boyd's
corner, and juist said in the byegaun, ' I see, Johnnie, you're
nebbin' ! ' Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 102. n.Cy. (Hall.)
n.Yks.* Did ta neb her afoor thoo let her gan ?
15. To make a goose-quill into a pen-nib.
Bnff. The goose-quill reigned supreme in 1835 ; when every
Academic must be able to neb and make the pen, and also be the
owner of knife, pencil, ruler, ink, rubber, &c. Any caught nebbing
the pen on the desk, and not on the thumb, might look out for a
ticket, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 6g.
16. To put one's ' neb ' into a discourse or argument in-
trusively or impertinently.
Nhb.i He com nebbin up, as if he hed ony business wi'd. The
jackanyeps nebbed alangside.
[1. Neb or byl of a byrd, rostrum, Prompt. OE. nebb,
' rostrum, facies, vultus ' (B.T.).]
NEBBARD, NEBBER, see Nebert, Nobbut.
NEBBED, ppl. adj. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Lin. Also
written nebbit Sc. ; neb'd Nhb. e.Yks.^ ; nebed Gall,
[ne'bd, ne'bit.] 1. Having a beak or nose ; gen. in comp. ;
also usedy?^. See Neb.
So. (Jam.) Cld. A dour-lookin' red-nebbit chiel, Nimmo Sngs.
(1882) 39. Lth. There's a brood o' chickens, lang-leggit, sharp-
nebbit things, come to me that I never set, Strathesk Blinkbonny
(ed. 1891) 98. Edb. Ye wee, black nebbit, writhing thing,
M'^Dowall Poems (1839) 153. Gall. The mavis and the yellow-
nebed blackburd, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 29, ed. 1876. n.Cy.
(J. W.) Nhb. He's no dyin' o' age, but some lang-nebbut affaiction
o' the hairt, Graham Red Scaur (1896) 244. Cum. Blue-nebb'd
Wat, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 79. e.Yks.i Witches an war-
locks, an lang-neb'd things. w.Yks. (J.W.) sw.Lin.i Those long-
nebbed ones.
2. Pointed ; edged ; of a staff: having a hooked head.
Sc. (Jam.) Fif. Ettle fiercely at his life Wi' Calvin's lang
sharp-nebbit knife, Tennant Papistry (1827) 11. Nhb. No long
neb'd shoes or bootes, Jones Nhb. (1871) 204.
NEBBIN(G, vbl. sb. and sb. Nhb. Cum. Yks. [ne'bin.]
1. vbl. sb. In comb. Nebbin-time, feeding-time.
Nhb. Thinks aa, ma bord it's nebbin time just noo, Chater
Tyneside Aim, (1869") 14.
2. sb. The bill of a bird ; the nose ; also the peak of a
cap. Cum.*, n.Yks.' 3. A tete-a-tete.
Nhb. An' fine nebbin they had, Keelmin's Ann. (1869).
NEBBOCK, sb. Sc. [ne'bak.] The nose. See Neb, 1.
Lnk. Sneeshin mills to feed their nebbocks, Nicholson Kilwuddie
(1895) 26.
NEBBUT, NEBBY, see Nobbut, Nibble.
NEBBY, arfy. Sc. Irel. Nhb. [ne-bi.] Sharp, ill-natured;
interfering ; impertinent.
Lnk. I cood tellAnebbietaleortwaHoo pride will sometimes mak'
a slip An' get an awkward fa', Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 41.
S.Don. Simmons Gl. (i8go). Nhb.' (s.v. Neb).
Hence Nebbily, adv. sharply.
Ayr. ' When are they gaun to bury your mother ? ' ' No till she
dees, I hope,' says the lassie nebbily, for she thocht the man was
jokin', Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 178.
NEBERT, sb. Sh.L Also written nebirt S. & Ork.' ;
and in forms nabert, nebbard, nebir S. & Ork.^ ; neburd.
[ne'bsrt.] The necessary quantity offish-bait.
We hae a guid nebert o' haddicks, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822)
224, ed. 1891 ; Da skoags, an' da glaan wir a' laid i' da nabert
locker i' da eft room, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 244 ; I wisna lang
fir we hed a nebbard an' a half, an' I didna hunger da huik, Sh.
News (Dec. 9, 1899) ; Other haaf-terms are : to snee or snae de
neburd: to cut the fish-bait, JakobsenZ)!.!!/. (1897) 29 ; S.&Ork.'
[Icel. niitirbur'Sur, a quantity of fish-bait let down into
the sea (Jakobsen I.e.).]
NEBSY, sb. and adj. Sc. Nhb. [ne'bsi.] 1. sb. An
impudent old woman. Rxb. (Jam.) 2. adj. Ill-natured,
sharp in manner ; impertinent.
Nhb. Simon's wife's a nebsy clatterin body, Grauau Red Scaur
(1896) 273 ; Nhb.i A clarty nebsy body.
NECESSAR, adj. and sb. Sc. [ne-sesar.] L adj.
Necessary.
ne.Sc. A' vera weel an' becomin' an' necessar' in a minister o'
the kirk, Gordon Northward Ho, 160. Abd. Some said he had
sellt himself but I'm thinkin' it was na necessar, Macdonald
Warlock (1885) xxix. e.Fif. It has sometimes been necessar' to
clap an adjective to the word, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) ii. Dmb.
It's haflins necessar for this corn to be at the mill as sune as
possible, Cross Disruption (1844) "• Lnk. All things are provided
that necessar be, Maidment Ballads (1844) 6g, ed. 1868. Edb.
Adversity is necessar If it's not too severe, Liddle Poems (1821 ) 50.
2. sb.pl. } Obs. Necessary things.
Sc. New dresses and ither necessars for our domestic establish-
ment, Sc. Haggis, 150. Or.I. The carpenter having neglected to
take some necessars with him for the boat's reparation, Peterkin
Notes (1822) 221.
[1. All things, quhilkes ar necessar or proffitable,
Dalrymple Leslie's Hist. Sc. (1596) I. 6. Fr. ne'cessaire]
NECESSARY, sb. and adj. Yks. Lei. I.W. Som. Cor.
[ne'sasari.] 1. sb. A privy, a water-closet ; also in comp.
Necessary-house.
n.Yks. (I.W.) Lei. A small garden necessary-house (CD.).
I.W.', w.Som.i
[OFr. necessaire, 'prive, chaise perc^e' (La Curne) ;
It. necessario, a privy, a house of ease (Florio).]
2. adj'. Suitable. Cor. Hammond Car. Parish (1897) 343.
NECESSITAT,^//.a(^'. Obs. Sc. Necessitated, com-
pelled.
Per. Ye make my pen gust in my nose, That I'm necessitat to
close. Smith Poems (1714) 65, ed. 1853. [Being a colonell in the
shyre vas necessitat to be in Aberdein, for keeping the randivouz
for resauing his men, Presbytery Bk. (1631-54) 175, ed. 1843.]
NECESSITOUS, arfy. Sh.I. [nese'sitas.] Necessary.
Yes, very necessitous, both for da fishing and so for da crops,
Burgess Tang (1898) 5a.
NECESSITY, sb. Obs. Som. Dev. A spirit illicitly
distilled from cider-dregs.
w.Som.' w.Dev. A vile spirit which is drawn . . . from the
grounds and lees of the fermenting room. These dregs are dis-
tilled (of course illegally) by means of a porridge pot, with a tin
head fixed over it, and communicating with a straight pipe, passing
through a hogshead of water; the liquor being passed twice through
NECHRAM
[241]
NECK
this imperfect apparatus. It ... is drunk . . . under the appropriate
name of ' necessity,' Marshall Rur. Econ, (1798) I. 326.
NECHRAM, sb. Obs. Sc. Horse-leather.
Slg. That chield . . . Wha first did tan Neat Nechram dress,
Galloway Poems (1792) 16.
NECK, sb} and v} Var. dial, and colloq. uses in Sc.
Irel. and Eng. Also written nek Sc. Lan. [nek.] 1. sb.
In comb, (i) Neck-about, a woman's neckerchief; a collar;
(2) — and crop, (3) — and heels, altogether ; bodily; head-
long ; with force ; in gen. colloq. use ; (4) -break, (a) ruin,
destruction ; also used aitrib. ; (b) an amusement for
children ; see below ; (c) headlong ; {d) impetuously ; at
headlong speed ; (5) -clout, a neckerchief ; (6) -cutter, an
executioner ; (7) -deep, up to the neck ; (8) -hankercher,
see (5) ; (9) -hapses, see below ; (10) -headland, headlong,
esp. in phr. to fall headland ; (11) -hole, (a) the nape of the
neck ; the space between the neck and the collar ; [b) in
phr. to get round a man's neck-hole, to wheedle and coax
ibr a favour; (12) -less, of a button: without a shank ;
(13) — of the foot, the instep ; (14) -oil, ale ; drink of any
kind ; (15) — or no joint, see (4, d) ; (16) — or nought,
(a) entirely, altogether ; without stint ; [b) see (4, d) ; (c)
see (10) ; (d) risky, venturesome ; (17) -rope, a wooden
collar by which a cow is attached to the upright poles in
the cow-house ; (18) -rope and clops, the whole device
for attaching cows to the poles ; see below ; (19) -shawl,
a small shawl pinned under the chin ; (20) -towel, a small
cloth used for drying crockery ; (21) -verse, obs., the first
verse of the 51st Psalm ; see below ; (22) -weed, the
common hemp, Cannabis saiiva.
(i) n.Cy. Bailey (1721) ; N.Cy.i, Yks. (P.R.),n.Yks.i2, m.Yks.i
w.Yks. Ray (1691). Der.i O65. s.Cy. Holloway. (2) Nhb. We
teuk her up, byeth neck an' crop, Wilson Tyneside Sngs. (i8go)
400. n.Yks. He fell down neck and crop (I.W.). w.Yks. Th'
guard shoved in a woman neck an crop. Hartley Tales, 2nd S. 67 ;
w.Yks.2 Lan. If tha interrupts agen wi shall tumble thi neck un
crop eawt o' th' place. Wood Hum. Sketches, 6. nw.Der.^, Not.i,
Lel.i Nhp.' He was thrown down stairs neck and crop. War. 3,
Hnt. (T.P.F.) s.Cy. Holloway. w.Som.i He vailed in neck-n
crap. Cor. Nothin' but neck-an'-crop would do for Tresidder,
' Q.' Three Ships (1892) 135. (3) n.Cy. Holloway. Lakel.^ Ower
Ah went, neck an' heels, intul t'sump. nw.Der.i Nhp.^ He fell
over the stile neck and heels. War.^ Glo.i If there be another
'lection, they'll be obligated to go out neck and heels. Bdf.
Bowling him neck-and-heels, Free Foresters (1895) 47. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
s.Cy. Holloway. (4, o) Sc. Beware of Scripture for you may be
your own neck-break; for there's many brings out of Scripture
that wounds them in thir days, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 274.
n.Cy. Holloway. Nhp.^ It's neck-break work. e.An.i- e.Suf.
He's got the neck-break (F.H.). (6) e.An.^ ; e.An.^ A game for
children with two short splines, having a third between them,
fixed so as to move in a curious way on a ceiling, which makes
the neck ache to look up long at them, (c) e.Yks.' He went along
at a neck-brek pace. w.Yks. (J.W.) (rf) n.Yks. He ran neck-
breeak down t'hill (I.W,). e.Yks.^ w.Yks. He's going at it,
neck-breck, Prov. in Brighouse News (Sept. 14, 1889). (5) m.Yks.i
(6) Lnk. Of his death he was right vain, Gave his neck-cutter
guineas ten, Graham Writings (1883) I. 236. (7) Lnk. I'm neck-
deep in an ugly fix, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) ii. (8) m.Yks.i
w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865). e.Suf. Neck-hanasher, neck-
hancha (F.H.). I.W.i w.Som.i Will Moles 've a-brought our Liz
a new silk neck-ang-kichur. (9) w.Som.'^ Dev. The irons put
round the necks of the ' under-horses ' to support the bodkins of
the front ones, Pulman Sketches (1842) 162 in Elworthy Wd. Bk.
(1888). (10) Wil.'- n.Wll. A vuU neck headland into thuc pit
(E.H.G.). (11, a) n.Cy. (B.K.") w.Yks. Some chaps teemed a lot
of trade on his heead an dane his neckhoyle, Dewsbre Olm. (1865)
10 ; w.Yks.2 Lan. Hoo's so itter't wi dirt that yo met set
potatoes in her neck-hole, Waugh Chim. Comer (1874) 27, ed.
1679 ; Lan.l Put that umbrella deawn — th' waater's runnin' into
mi neck-hole. Chs.i s.Chs.' Dhee-ur eestiid, uz wett iiz thaach",
loz-iikin ilgy'en- dhu wau-, wi)dhii wai'tiir of dh)ee-zinz drop'in
daayn iz nek--oa"l [Theer he stood, as wet as thatch, lozzackin'
agen the wall, wi' the waiter off th' eezins droppip' dain his
neck-hole]. Der. I'll put soom o' that watter down yor neckhole,
Ward David Grieve (1892) I. viii. nw.Der.^ It keeps the hair out
of the neck-hole. Not.^* s.Not. A snowball in the neck-'uU's
non so pleasant (J.P.K.). n.Lln.^ If I was to walk to Willerton
across th' cloases a daay like this I should be weet up to th' neck
VOL. IV.
hoiile. Lei.i, War.=3, Shr.i {b) Wax:^ (12) Fif. Their master
does na mind the cost A single neckless button, Douglas Poems
(1806) 148. (13) w.Som.i Did'n hurt-n much ; there was a bit of
a risin' like jist 'pon the neck o' the voot like, where the wheel
urn'dover'n, Cor.i (14) Stf.i, Nrf. (P.H.E.) (15) Lan. He tlapt
th' spurs to th' tit, an rid off nek or no joint, Walker Plebeian
Pol. (1796) 46, ed. 1801. (16, a) Lan.l Literally up to the neck
or not at all. ' Aw'm in for it neaw — neck-or-nowt.' Dev.^ (A)
e.Yks.i He gans at it, neck or nowt, MS. add. (T.H.) (c) w.Yks.2
T'choild tumbled neck-or-nowt reit slap into t'assnook. (d) n.Yks.
It's neck or nought, so he had great pay (I.W.). (17) Dev. A
wooden bow to come round the neck of a bullock, and fastned
above to a small beam, by which bullocks are fastned with a cord
or rope in the linney, when tied in during winter, //o«jc Subsecivae
(1777)302. nw.Dev.'The neck-rope is connected to an iron ring,
called a riddle (q.v.), which slides up and down on the zaltrees.
(18) nw.Dev.i It consists of a wooden collar (neck-rope), similar
to that of a yoke, and a wooden latch or clasp (clops), connecting
the ends of the collar above the cow's neck. (19) Wgt. In her
thin coat and small tartan neck-shawl, Fraser Wigtown {i^-jj)
228. (20) Lin. (Hall.), n.Lin.i (21) N.Cy.i Nhb. His neck
verse would gain him unbounded applause, Richardson Borderer's
Table-bk. (1846) VII. 280. [When a criminal was about to be
executed claimed ' benefit of clergy ' he had to prove his claim by
reading aloud the verse of a Psalm, generally the first verse of Ps. li,
Miserere mei, &c. This was called the neck-verse, N. E^ Q. (1887)
7th S. iii. 356.] (22) n.Cy. Holloway. n.Yks. (R.H.H.), e.An.i
2. Phr. (i) to be nobody's neck, to be nobody's business ;
to be of no consequence ; (2) to fall on the neck of anything,
to follow it quickly ; (3) to have a neck, to show impudence
or presumption ; (4) to hop in a person's neck, to have
revenge on him.
(i) w.Yks. It's naabody's neck if yan be rayther laat, Twisle-
TON Husband and Wife (1867) II. 3 ; Don't freeat abaht it fer
it's noabdy's neck (.iE.B.). (2) n.Lin.' One bad job alus falls on
th' neck of anuther. (3) Nhb.i What a neck ye hev efter aa' !
Lakel.^ Thoo hes a neck ta ass seek a question, 'at hes ta. Cum.*
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 20, 1895). (4) s.Chs.i
3. The piece of a coat which covers the neck and the
shoulders ; the ' cape.'
So. The neck-piece of a coat is in Scotland called the neck, and
in England the cape, Scoticisms (1787) 61.
4. The throat.
Dor. I'll never pour that stuff down my neck (C.K.P.).
5. Obs. Part of a plough.
Bdf. The tendency of the point of the share is, in common
ploughs, resisted by the land-side of the neck, Batchelor Agric.
(1813) 173.
6. The iron pivot or mill to which the sails are attached.
Nrf. I think you'd better give the old mill a little more grease. . .
Now I shall have to go to the neck, Emerson So« 0/ Fens {18^2} 347.
7. The part of a blacksmith's fire at the end opposite to
the blast. Nhb.^ 8. Weaving term : see below.
Rnf. 'Tween beads, and broads, and leads, and mails, 'Tween
horl boxes, necks and tails, Webster Rhymes (1835) 151.
9. V. To break the neck ; to kill ; to break in any way.
Gall. Mony a ane they necked after the battle was at an end,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 420, ed. 1876. n.Cy. I'll neck tha if I
catch tha (B.K.). Cum.* If thoo gahs coasten doon broos like that,
thoo'll . . . neck thisel', W. C. T. X. (1898) 5, col. i. w.Yks.2 A'
man who had broken a fork said, 'Look here, how I've necked
this ! ' Shr.i To kill fowls by pulling their necks out, or rabbits
by giving them a blow on the back of the neck.
Hence Neck't, ppl. adj. broken-necked. Cum.^*
10. Of barley : to have the heads bent down and broken
by the wind ; to lose the heads from over-ripeness.
w.Yks. 2 Wheat is sometimes necked by hailstorms or rough
winds. n.Lin.i sw.Lin.i The barley's come so queer, there some
fit to neck, and some quiet green.
Hence Necked, ppl. adj. having the heads bent down
or broken off by wind or rain. Cum.*, w.Yks.', ne.Lan."-
11. To squeeze the neck ; to put the arm round the neck ;
fig. to court.
Cld. (Jam.) Ayr. I'm muckle mista'en if I haena seen him neckin'
wi' the said Betty, Service Notandums (1890) 82. Wgt. When
sufEciently near him, she necked her supposed partner, greeting
him with the following affectionate salute, Fkaser Wigtown (1877)
272. e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.)
I i
NECK
[242]
NEDDARCAP
Hence Necking, vbl. sb. courting ; in phr. to be at the
necking, to be courting.
Cld. (Jam.) Ayr. ' You were oot courtin' last night, ye rogue ? '
' Ay ; I was at the nekkin' a wee ' (G.W.).
12. To catch and shalje a person ; to strike on tlie baclc
part of the neck.
\.I.^ Lan. Or else Jacob would be in, an' he's sartan to neck
the, Donaldson Neddys Crtshp. (1888) 11. e.Yks.i MS. add.
(T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.)
13. To drink ; to swallow.
n.Lin.i He neck'd a good share o' beer that neet o' th' jewbilee.
14. To catch ; to steal.
Nhb.' Devil a thing cud be left on the deck. But Geordy, as sure
as a gun, wad it neck, Allan Coll. (1863) 165.
NECK, sh? Yks. Pem. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written
nek Cor.'^ ; and in forms knack, nack Dev. [nek.]
1. The last sheaf of corn in the harvest-field ; see below.
s.Pem. (W.M.M.) Som. The reapers, each one with his reap-
hook overhead as high as his bare arm could reach, were drawn
around in a ring. In the middle stood the last sheaf as big as
three, and tied about with three binds ; and close to it long Jims,
holding up a knitch of ruddy corn— a double handful tightly bound
just below the ears, with the straw plaited together smooth and
round into the shape of a bee-butt. Then they hallooed again and
again, 'We have a-done. An' all a-done ; A neck — a neck— a neck,'
and danced and whooped 'Hurrah! Hurrah!' until they were
hoarse, Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) xvi ; The harvest supper
was spread, and midway down the table stood the neck. Not a
drop had touched it, that was the main thing, for the harvester
who got it wet was not to drink that night, and all the women in
the house might lie in wait, however they could, to throw water
by the bucketful at any who came in, ib. xvii. w.Som.i It is still
the custom at the cutting of the last field of wheat on a farm, to
take a large handful of ears and plait the straws into a fanciful
shape, . . called the neck. This is still to be seen in many West
country farm-houses, usually hanging to the kitchen ceiling or the
bacon-rack until supplanted by a new one at the next harvest.
Dev. At Werington when a farmer finishes his reaping, a small
quantity of the ears of the last corn are twisted or tied together
into a curious kind of figure, which is brought home with great
acclamations, hung up over the table, and kept till the next year.
It is called 'a knack.' The reapers whoop and hollow, 'A knack!
a knack ! well cut ! well bound ! well shocked ! ' Brand Pop.
Antiq. (ed. 1813) I. 442 ; Bray Desc. Tamar and the Tavy (1836)
I. Lett. xix. n.Dev. We've hailed tha neck. Rock Jim an' Nell
(1867) St. 3; One of the party had the 'nack' secreted on his
person. A member of the farmer's family tried to discover the
possessor before he entered the kitchen, in order to drench him,
or, as they said, ' wet the nack ' with a bucket of water ; failing to
do this a larger quantity of beer had to be supplied to the men,
N. &= Q. (1878) 5th S. X. 359. Cor. Fetch along my second-best
glass, under the Dook o' Cumberland's picter i' the front parlour,
'longside o' last year's neck, 'Q.' Three Ships (i&go) i; Cor.^ Neck,
a miniature sheaf of wheat with four plaited arms, intertwined with
everlastings, and the more durable of flowers. The stalks of
wheat brought down by the last sweep of the scythe are brought
home in thankful triumph, and woven as described. In the
evening the sheaf or zang is taken into the mowhay, where are
assembled all the harvest party. A stout-lunged reaper proclaims :
' I hav'en ! I hav'en ! I hav'en ! ' Another loud voice questions :
'Whathav'ee? Whathav'ee? Whathav'ee!' 'A neck! A neck!
A neck I ' is the reply ; and the crowd take up, in their lustiest
tones, a chorus of ' Wurrah.' General merriment follows, and
the draughts of ale or cider are often deep. The neck may be
seen hanging to the beam of many of our farm-houses between
harvest and Christmas eve, on which night it is given to the master
bullock in the chall.
2. Phr. (i) to call, cry, or hollo the neck; see below ; see cry
the neck, s.v. Cry, 12 (19), see hollowing the neck, s.v. Hollo,
1 (6) ; (2) to carry the neck, to finish the harvest ; (3) to cut
the neck, to cut the last handful of corn ; see cut the neck,
s.v. Cut, i/.i 3 (18).
(i) T>sv. Hartland Forest (1871) 115 ; The reapers then proceed
to a high place, . . to use their own words, to 'holla the nack.'
The man who bears this offering . . . elevates it, whilst all the
other labourers form themselves into a circle about him : each
holds aloft his hook, and in a moment they all shout . . .' Arnack,
arnack, arnack, wehaven, wehaven, wehaven.' This is repeated
three several times, Bray Desc. Tamar and the Tavy (1836) I.
Lett. xix. n.Dev. The curious old custom of 'calling the nack.'
The reapers were gathered round a pond, where they sang three
times, first in low tones, gradually increasing in loudness, the
words : ' Arnack, arnack, arnack, We haven, we haven, we haven,
God send the nack,' N. (y Q. (1878) 5th S. X..3S9. Cor. N. & Q.
(1878) 5th S. X. 51 ; Cor.'^ This crying of anek is a harvest
ceremony, probably of Very great antiquity. . . The reaper, having
cut with his reaping hook a last handful of wheat, held and
waved it high over his head, as with a loud and joyful voice he
cried, ' I have et, I have et, I have et.' On which the other
harvesters standing around shouted, ' What have 'e? What have'e?
What have 'e ! ' And then arose the triumphant cry, ' An6k, An^k,
Anek. — Hooraa!' (a) n.Dev. They carried the neck a Tuesday
backalong, i.e. the harvest was finished, N. & Q. (1878) 5th S. x.
51. (3) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 11, 1896).
[1. Norw. dial, nek, a sheaf (Aasen), so Sw. dial. (Rietz);
Dan. neg (Larsen) ; see also Dan. dial, treneg (Molbech,
s.v. Heelkicerv).]
NECK, V.' Lan.* e.Lan.* [nek.] To beat or tick as a
watch or clock. See Knack, v. 1.
NECKATEE, sb. N.Cy.i Nhb.' [ne-kati.] A necker-
chief.
NECKED BARN ACLE,;>^r. Dev. The goose barnacle,
Lepas anatifera.
Necked Barnacles, so long believed by our ancestors ... to be
legitimately descended from, and to be in turn the regular and
normal parents, of a certain species of goose, Good Wds. (1864)891.
NECKERCHER, sb. Nhb. Ken. Som. Cor. Also
written neck-curchor, neckerchor Nhb.' ; and in form
neckycher Som. [ne"k3(r)tj3(r.] A neckerchief; a
necktie.
Nhb.i,Ken. (H.M.) Som. In stuff gownd and neckycher white,
Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 106 ; Let I wipe your forehead and
your cheeks with the corner o' my neckercher, Raymond No Soul
(1899)324. Cor. Him wi' the red neckercher, 'Q.' Troy Town
(1888) iv.
NECKING, sb. n.Cy. e.An. Dev. Cor. Also in forms
nackan Cor.'; nacken Dev. Cor. ; nackin Cor.'^; nack-
ing Cor. [ne'kin, nas'kin.] A handkerchief; a necker-
chief; a necktie.
n.Cy. HoLLowAY. e.An.' Dev. What bissens have they to
rant and stare. And hoist their nackens in the air! Peter Pindar
fVks. (1816) IV. 183. Cor. (Hall.); Weth a whit nacken tied
round hes throat, Forfar Jan's Crtshp. (1859') st. 17 ; Cor.'^^
NECKINGER, sb. n.Cy. Yks. e.An. [ne'kindgafr.] A
neckerchief; a cravat ; a collar. n.Cy. Holloway. n.Yks.'^,
m.Yks.', e.An.' See Necking.
NECKLATH, sb. Cum. Yks. Also written neckleth
Cum.*; and in forms necklaf, neckluf w.Yks. [ne'klajj.]
A neckcloth ; a pocket-handkerchief.
Cum.* What ah couldn't eat ah put in me neckleth, w.Cum.
Times (Apr. 9, 1898) 2, col. 5. w.Yks. Aw pools aht mi awn
bottle . . . an' wipin t'bottleneck wi' mi neklaf. Hartley Clock
Aim. (1874) 30 ; Wipin' ther een wi ther necklufs, Yks. Wkly.
Post (May 16, 1896) ; Wiaz mi nekb])? (J.W.)
N-ECKLE, sb. I.W.= [ne-kl.] A house ; a dwelling.
See Hackle, sb? 2.
NECKLE, t/.' Lan. [ne-kl.] To clatter.
Ut last I made bow'd to neckle ut th' dur, Paul Bobbin Sequel
(1819) 39 ; Nanny's pattens were heard to be ' neckling' over the
flags, Brierley Irkdale (1865) ii ; Lan.'
NECKLE, K.2 Sc. ? To entangle.
Bwk. If your heart in love's fond mesh is fairly neckled, Just
ca' canny, Calder Poems (1897) 220.
NECKLETH, NECKLUF, see Necklath.
NECKUM, sb. Ess. [ne'kam.] The first of the three
draughts into which a jug of beer is divided. Monthly
Mag. (1814) I. 498 ; Ess.' Cf. sinkum, swankum.
NECKYCHER, see Neckercher.
N-ED, sb. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) War.= Dev.' [ned.] A
donkey. Cf. neddy, 2.
NED, NEDACK, see Knead, Knodden, Need, Niddick.
NEDCULLION, sb. N.L' The wood anemone, Ane-
mone Neniorosa.
[Cp. Ir. Head cailleach, wood anemone (O'Reilly).]
NEDDARCAP, sb. Sc. (Jam.) Also written nedder-
cap. An ill-natured, cross person, esp. a child. Cf.
atter-cop.
NEDDER
[243]
NEED-FIRE
NEDDER, see Nadder, Neither, Nether, Nither, z;.'^
NEDDERIN, NEDDICK, see Naitherans, Niddick.
N-EDDY, sb. Var. dial, and coUoq. uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in form niddy Lan. Chs.' w.Sotn.^ Dev. [ne'di,
ni-di.] 1. In comp. (i) Neddy-Beecham, a silly fellow ;
(2) •grinnel, the dog-rose, Rosa canina ; (3) -hommer, see
(i) ; (4) -rack, egg and bacon pie.
(i) Lakel.'^ (2) se.Wor.^ (3) Lan. Aw ajn sich an owd niddy-
hommer betimes, BRiERLEYi?«rffF<«rf. (i868) ii. Chs.i (4) e.Yks.^
2. A donkey ; in ^en. colloq. use ; also in comp. Neddy-
ass ; Jig. a fool, a simpleton. Cf eddy.
Lnk. That noise might terrify A tinkler's neddy , Watson Poems
C1853) 27. Dmf. Neddy o' the whin and grass, Wad,blushin', shun him,
QuiNN Heather {1863) 25. Cum. Theer was bits o' things wi' their
neddys,GiLPiNS«^5. (1866) 383. Chs.2S(s.v. Eddy). s.Chs.'.Der.a,
nw.Der."^ Nhp.' What a neddy you must be, to do that ! War.^a
Hrf. Bound PfowW. (1876). Glo.', Brks.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Suf.,
Ess. Gent. Mag. (1793) 1083. Sur. If you has a Neddy you must
take tickler care as he don't walk about on the roads o' nights,
Comh. Mag. (Nov. 1888) 530. I.W.* Som. They . . . druv on the
neddy before um, Agrikler Rhymes (187a) 38. w.Som.' Thee
must be a purty niddy vor to go down same purpose vor to vatch
the hook, and then come away wayout-n. Dev. (Hall.), Dev.'
n.Dev. They"m laughing at us, keper, they neddies, Kingsley
IVestward ijo {1655) 122, ed. 1889. Cor.2
Hence Neddyish, adj. silly, foolish. Nhp.'
3. A girdle cake.
Nhb. She had made a ' Neddy,' or girdle cake, to celebrate the
occasion, Graham Red Scaur (1896) 8.
NEDEUM, sb. and v. .' Obs. Sc. 1. sb. A gnawing
pain ; also used^^.
Gail. A nedeum gnaws her ay within ; For aye she's gleboring
to hersell, And cursing some to gang to hell, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 362, ed. 1876; When a person considers himself injured
by the world, and is seen to shun society, foster melancholy and
misanthropic feelings, that being is said to have a nedeum gnawing
his inwards, ib, 363.
2. V. To gnaw ; said of a biting pain.
When a corn is biting a toe grievously, that toe is said to be
nedeuming, ib.
3. To mutter curses to oneself.
When a person is heard to curse and utter wicked imprecations
to himself, he is then nedeuming, ib.
NEE, NEEADER, NEEAF, NEEAGUR, NEEAKINS,
see Nigh, Nearder, Neive, Nigger, sb.^^, Naekins.
NEEAK'T, NEEALD, see Nak'd, Needle.
NEEAN-SICCAN, NEEAN-SIKE, see Non-such.
NEEAP, w. n.Yks.'* [niap.] To raise on end, as in lifting
the shafts of a cart.
NEEASE, see Neese, sb}
NEEB, V. Sh.l. [nib.] To nod, esp. to nod from
drowsiness.
He wis sitting neebin' ower his fingers when dey heard da rumble
o' da yard-deck, Stewart Tales (1892) 256 ; Da gimmer lamb . . .
wis staandin' neebin' wi' its nose i' da fliier, Sh. News (May 14,
1898) ; S. & Ork.i »
NEED, v., sb. and adv. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [nid.] I. v. Gram, forms. 1. Present Tense, znd
pers. sing. : (i) Nees, (2) Nist.
(i) n.Dev. I'll warn thee neesn't vear o' Bess, Rock Jim an' Nell
(1867) St. 21. (2) WU.' Thee nist'nt hoopy at I— I can hyar as
well as thee, Jefferies Greene Feme Farm (1880) iii.
2. Preterite : (i) Ned, (2) Nid.
(i) Lan.i We took no thowt wi' th' childher ill, Bo geet em what
they ned fro' th' teawn, Ramsbottom Rhymes (1864) 51. e.L.an.'
s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854). s.Chs.i 82. s.Not. (J.P.K.) (2)
Som. Ef ther wer no roagues, ther niddent be no laa, Agrikler
Rhymes (1872") 22.
3. pp. : (i) Ned, (2) Ned'n.
(i) Lan.> s.Lan. I hanno ned it, Bamford Dial. (1854.) (2)
s.Chs.i 8a.
II. Dial. uses. 1. v. Phr. (i) as need be, as possible ;
(2) one would need, one must of necessity ; one ' had
ought to.'
(i) Ant. A girl that was counted a catch, An' as ugly as need be,
O'Neill Glens (1900) 50. (2) Abd. ' Do you know how to manage
a sail boatr ' I wad need, my lord,' M acdonald il/ato/m (1875)
JI. 15a.
2. To be obliged of necessity.
Sc. They concluded that if Katie died, . . John's sister Susan
would just need to return to her old post of housekeeper, Swan
Gales of Eden (ed. 1895) i. w.Yks. They need leuk well, fer
they've nowght to du but eyt an laik, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 27,
1895); (J.W.)
3. Phr. one will no need to do anything, one must not do
anything, one will regret it if one does do anything.
Cal.i He'll no need to dae 'd.
4. To use. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) 5. sb. In comb, (i)
Need(s-be, a necessity ; an expediency ; (2) -made-up,
anything hastily prepared because immediately required ;
also used attrib. ; (3) -turn, an immediate requirement ;
(4) Needs{'-end, difficulties ; short commons ; (5) -time, a
fitting time ; a suitable opportunity.
(i) Sc. He afterwards saw a remarkable providence in it, and
need-be for it, Walker Peden (1727) 69 (Jam.). Nhb. When yen
has a needs-be tae pass owre near the place in the twilight, Jones
TOA. (1871) 142. n.Yks.2 (2) Abd.(jAM.) (3) n.Yks.^ ' Yan'sa
put-off job, t'other's a need-turn,' the one can be deferred, the
other is an immediate requirement. (4) e.An.i (5) n.Yks.'^
6. Phr. to do one's needs, (i) to do that which is necessary;
(2) to void excrement.
(i) Gall. He knew how to shut them up till we had done our
needs on our foes, Crockett Grey Man (1896) vi. (2) w.Yks.',
Der.i, I.W.i
7. Parturition, travail.
e.An.i ; e.An.^ A woman will say, ' She was a good narbor to
me in my need.' e.Suf. I was with her in her need (F.H.).
8. adv. Of necessity. m.Yks.'
NEEDCESSITATE, v. Obs. Sc. To force, necessi-
tate. Cf. needcessity.
s.Sc. Ae half o' the kirk was needcessitated to come oot that
they micht keep decent, Wilson Tales (1836) 111. 83.
NEEDCESSITY, sb. Sc. Irel. Yks. Som. and Amer.
[nidse'siti.] 1. Necessity ; a state of need.
Sc. That I should be an instrument to help my poor sister in
this extremity of needcessity, Scott Midlothian (1818) xxviii.
e.Sc. It's a case o' needcessity, Setoun G. Malcolm (1897) ii.
Abd. We maunna be sairer upo' him, nor the needcessity laid upo'
hiz, Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxvi. Per. It's needcessity for
ye to hae a new pair, and there's aye siller for what's needcessity.
Sabbath Nights (1899) 41. w.Sc. Our house would, as a matter of
needcessity, be turned upside doun, Carrick Laird of Logan
(1835) 273. Dmb. It's partly for needcessity and partly for the
sake o' a bonnie lass, Cross Disruption (1844) ii. Rnf. Neither the
circumstances of poverty nor needcessity can tempt to sick heinous
cryme. Hector Judic. Rec. (1876) 193. Ayr. Compassion for
gentle blood come to needcessity, Galt Entail (1823) ii. Ir.
There's no needcessity for blowin' it about to every one I meet,
Carleton Fardorougha (1848) ii. N.I.* Don. It's a case iv need-
cessity, an' the divil a sin it is, Pearson's Mag. (July 1900) 5a.
n.Yks.' w.Som.' There wadn no needcessity [nud-sas'utee] 't all
vor you to a-paid, I'd a settled, and a-paid em avore. [Amer.
Pass through the fields as a way of needcessity, Sam Slick Clock-
maker (^1836) ist S. viii.]
2. pi. Necessities of life.
Abd. Contreebit to the needcessities o' the hoose, Macdonald
Warlock (1885) xxiii. Don. They'd deny themselves the very
needcessities, an' work the flesh off their bones, to put enough in
young Neil's pocket, Pearson's Mag. (May 1900) 477 ; Getting
together a lot of wee needcessities, eatables and drinkables and
clothes, Macmanus Chim. Comer [ligg) 201.
NEEDER, see Nadder, Neither.
NEED-FIRE, sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also
written neid- Sc. (Jam.) ; and in form neats- s.Sc. [nid-
fai3(r.] 1. Ignition produced by the friction of two pieces
of wood, esp. used as a charm against murrain and other
cattle-diseases ; see below. Cf. forced fire, s.v. Forced (2).
Sc. (Jam.) ne.Sc. When the quarter ill made its appearance the
muckle wheel was set in motion and turned till fire was produced.
From this virgin flame fires were kindled in the byres. . . Such a
fire was called need fyre, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 186. Cai.
In those days [1788], when the stock of any considerable farmer
was seized with the murrain, he would send for one of the charm-
doctors to superintend the raising of a need-fire. . . Upon any small
island, where the stream . . . ran on each side, a circular booth
. was erected, of stone and turf, . . in which a semicircular . . .
couple of birch . . . was set. . . A straight pole was set in the centre
I i 2
NEEDFUL
[244!
NEEDLE
of this building, the upper end was fixed by a wooden pin to the
top of the couple, and the lower end in an oblong trink in the
earth. . . Another pole was set across horizontally, having both
ends tapered, one end of which was supported in a hole at the side
of the perpendicular pole and the other in a similar hole in the
couple leg. The horizontal stick was called the auger, having
four short . . . levers fixed in its centre. . . As many men as could
be collected . . . set to work with the said auger . . . constantly
turning it round by the . . . levers, and others occasionally driving
wedges of wood or stone behind the lower end of the upright pole,
so as to press it the more on the end of the auger : by this constant
friction and pressure, the ends of the auger would take fire, from
which a fire would be instantly kindled, and thus the need-fire
would be accomplished. The fire in the farmer's house, &c., was
immediately quenched with water, a fire kindled from this need-
fire, both in the farm-house and offices, and the cattle brought to
feel the smoke of this new and sacred fire, which preserved them
from the murrain, Agric. Surv. 200-1 (Jam.). Bnff. A kindred
superstition was the kindling of neid fyre for curing diseased cattle.
Presbytery Bk. (1631-54) xv, ed. 1843. s.Sc. The custom of
passing cattle through the ' need-fire' or ' neats-fire,' as it is some-
times called, is' still remembered on the Scottish border, although
no longer practised, N. 6" Q. (1866) 3rd S. ix. 263. Slk. While
neid-fire kyndlit in hys ee, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 79. Rxb. An
old shepherd at Singden . . . used to tell how on the last occasion,
■when the ' need-fire ' was dehvered to him ... he set the burning
token on the top of a dry stone dyke, and let it go out ; declaring
he would further such a superstitious observance no longer, N. if Q.
ib, n.Cy. This fire . . . was carried from place to place all through
this district, as a charm against cattle taking the disease, Hender-
son Flk-Lore (1879) v ; N.Cy.* This fire is vulgarly supposed to be
caused by an angel striking the wood. Nhb.* It was formerly
raised in one village and hurriedly carried on from village to village.
s.Dur. (J.E.D.), Lakel.* Cum.* ; Cnm.^ During the cattle plague
of 1841-a the need-fire was kindled, and for weeks the fire was
kept alive and the cattle were driven through the smoke, W, C. T. H.
(1893) 13, col. 3. Wm. People used to cure them [cattle] with the
smoke of the 'need fire.' I well remembermy father going off on
horseback to fetch the fire one evening. He had to go a long way,
for he did not get back till quite morning. I think he went some-
where into Yorkshire. . , It was produced by the friction of a
steel spindle against wood. They spread barley straw in heaps
over a large field . . . and set it alight with the need-fire, N, ^ Q.
ib. 175. n.Yks. Denham Tracts (ed. 1895) 50. w.Yks, Wilj.an
List Wds. (1811) '.s.v. Toad-bit).
2. A beacon fire.
Nhb. The far distant need-fire or be?con light, Richardson
Borderers Table-bk. (1846) VII. 15. n.Yks. T'were in t'tiroe o'
need-fires, afore talegraf (R.H.H.).
3. Phr. (i) to be at a thing like need-fire, to do anything
■with great effort or industry ; (2) to go like needfire, to go
with great speed ; (3) to work for need-fire, to show great
industry or restless activity.
(i) n.'Wm. (B.K.) (2) Lakel.^ (3) n.Cy. To work as tho' one
was working for need fire, Denham Tracts (ed. 1895) II. 50.
Lakel.2, Cum. (M.P.), n.'Wm. (B.K.)
[Cp. LG. (Gottingen) nddfUer, 'das Nothfeuer, . . das
Feuer war durch starke Reibung eines Holzes auf der
Drechselbank hervorgebracht ' (Schambach) ; LG. nood-
fiir (Berghaus).]
NEEDFUL, adj. and sh. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Also in forms
needfa Nhb.* ; needfil Sh.L ; needfu Sc. Nhb.* L adj.
Needy, necessitous ; also used subst.
Sh.I. Laek wirsells dir mony a ane very needfil, Sh. News (May
6, 1899). Per. I wish they wad a' mind an' gie her. For needfu'
is Jenny Whitelaw, Ford Harp (1893) 190. Rnf. We never hear
o' . . . poor folk roupit to the door To pay the needfu' laird, Barr
Poems (1861) 62. Ayr. What's to prevent some other needfu'
gentleman from making up to Miss Shoosie? Galt Lairds (1826)
xii. Lnk. They'll no be owre nice, but gay needfu', Whaever tak's
you for a man, Thomson Musings (1881) 45. Edb. Needfu' folk
are seldom nice, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 74. Gall.
Scanty needfu's vex'd his noddle, Kerr Maggie 0' the Moss (1891)
32. Nhb.* ' Not nice, but needfa,' said of a man who has married
a slattern. n.Yks.* Ah felt needful, an' Ah gaed t'get a bite o'
breead ; n.Yks.* Wa mun all deea a bit ; sha's varra needful, ther's
a lot o' bairns. Aye, it's wivoot doot a maist needful case.
2. sb.pl. Necessaries.
Dmf. Nelly may't on needfus wair For back or wame, Quinn
Heather {im^) 84.
NEEDLE, sb. and v. Var. dial, forms and uses in Sc.
Irel. and Eng. [ni'dl, nia'dl ; nn(d, ni3l(d; nild.] 1.
Dial, forms: (i) Nail, (2) Neal, (3) Neald, (4) Neeadle,
(5) Neeald, (6) Neel, (7) Neeld, (8) Neele, (9) Niddil, (10)
Niddle, (11) Nield, (12) Nild, (13) Nill.
(I) Cor. N. & Q. (1854) ist S. X. 358 ; Cor.l (2) -Wxf.i (3)
Dev. White Cy. Mans Conductor (1701) 127. (4) Cum.i (5)
n.Dev. Grose (1790). (6) Som. Monthly Mag. (1814) 11. 127.
w.Som.* Lai'n-s dhuy paak-een nee'ul, wut'? Dev.* (7) w.Yks.
Watson Hist. Hlfx. (1775) 543 ; w.Yks.*, Lan.*, e.Lan.i, Chs.*23
Der.i NSe-ld. Obs.; Der.=, nw.Der.*, Lei.*, Shr.12, gns. (S.P.H.)
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873V (8, 9) Cor.2 (10) -War.a, s.'Wor.*,
Glo. (A.B.), w.Som.i, Cor.^^ (11) Chs.2 (12) ne.Wor. Nild and
thread (J.W.P.). se.'Wor.*, s.Wor.* Shr.* Sewed 66tli a wut
nild an' a burnin' thrid ; Shr.« (13) s.-VVor. (H.K.) Som. White-
chapel nills all sizes, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825) 166.
II. Dial. uses. 1. sb. In camp, (i) Needle-dumper, a
seamstress ; (2) -fish, the horn-fish or sea-needle, Belone
vulgaris ; (3) -points, the shepherd's needle, Scandix Pec-
ten- Veneris ; (4) -rush, some kind of rush [not identified] ;
(5) -speed, the utmost speed; (6) -tick, the game of 'thread
my needle ' (q.v.) ; (7) -weed, see (3) ; (8) -whin, the petty
whin. Genista anglica.
(i) Sc. It's no unlike she'll be some needle-dumper frae Scuttle-
brig, TwEEDDALE Moff (1896) vii. Abfl. A girl below the rank of
lady's maid, who is seamstress in the family, or she might be a
tailor's needle-dumper. Common (G.W.). (2) Sc. (Jam.) [Sat-
CHELL (1879).] (3) Ess. (B. & H.) (4) Som. The pond 'twas
edged wi' withy waands an' needle rhushes, Leith Lemon Verbena
(1895) 96; The bare patch . . . where the brown knotted grass
an' the needle rhush won't graw, ib. 106. (5) Abd. He . . . bids
them gang to Thimble-ha, 'Wi' needle speed, Keith Farmer's HcC
(1774) St. 14. (6) Hrt. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) (7) Nrf.
Grose (1790) ; Cozens-Hardy Broad Ntf. (1893) loi. (8) n.Yks.
(B. & H.)
2. Phr. (i) a needle of differ, the least possible difference;
(2) in a needle's e'e, in a nutshell ; (3) the devil's needle, an
instrument used by the devil ; a term of reproach ; (4)
through the needle e'e, (a) a game resembling ' oranges and
lemons ' ; see below ; (b) a. game resembling ' thread the
needle ' ; see below ; (5) to get the needle, to be completely
cheated.
(i) Lnk. They ivarna a needle o' differ between their dadies,
Graham Writings (1883) II. 34. (2) Ayr. Here's the worth o'
Broughton In a needle's ee. Burns Excellent New Sng. (1796) st.
3. (3) Gall. He has ruin'd me the deil's needle. He has kfU'd
puir Mary Lee, Whan awa my heart he did weedle, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 411, ed. 1876. (4, a) Abd. The formula sung in
Fraserburgh . . . is — 'Clink, clink through the needle ee, boys.
One, two, three. If you want a bonnie lass, Just tak me.' After
the tug of war the victors call out, ' Rotten eggs, rotten eggs,'
GoMME Games (1898) II. 289. s.Sc. Two children form an arch
with both hands. The rest, who hold each other by the skirts
following in ,a line, attempt to pass under the arch. The first,
who is called the king, is sometimes laid hold of by those who form
the arch. . . Generally . . . ^he attempt . . . [is] reserved for the
last. . . As soon as he is made captive he takes the place of one of
those who formed the arch, and who afterwards stand by his side,
ib. 290. Ayr. The callans were playing at ... ' Through the needle-
e'e, boys ! ' Service Notandums (1890) 75. Rxb. 'Two stand to-
gether, facing each other, having their hands clinched and lifted
above their ' breath,' so as to form an arch. Under this perhaps
twenty or thirty children pass holding each other by their clothes.
When all have passed save one, the arms of the two, like a port-
cullis, fall down and detain this individual as prisoner. He or
she is asked in a whisper, ' Will ye be Tod or Fern-buss? ' If Tod
is the answer, the person takes one side, and must wait till all are
caught one by one. This being done, the Tods draw one way,
and the Ferns another, the two candidates still keeping hold of
each other's hands ; and he who can draw the other and his party
to the opposite side of the street, and separate their hands, gains
the victory (Jam.). Nhb. Gomme ib. 289. (6) Sc. A play among
children, in which a circle being formed, each takes one of his
neighbours by the hands, the arms being extended ; and he who
takes the lead, passes under the arms of every second person,
backwards and forwards, the rest following in the same order,
while they repeat a certain rhyme (Jam.). Abd. Wi' their hey-
jing-go-ring and their through-the-needle-e'e, Cadenhead Bon-
Accord (1853) 251. Abd., Rnf. A number of boys stand with joined
NEEDLER
[245 J
NEEP
hands in a semicircle, and the boy at one end of the link addresses
the boy at the other end of the line : ' A B — , if
ye were mine, I wad feed you with claret wine ; Claret wine is
gude and fine, Through the needle-ee, boys.' The boy to whom
this is addressed makes room between himself and his next neigh-
bour, as they raise and extend their arms to allow the opposite
boy to run through the opening, followed by all the other boys still
linked to each other. If in running through the link should be
broken, the two boys who are the cause suffer some punishment,
GoMME ib. 290. (5) Per. (G.W.)
3. The shuttle, or half shuttle, with which nets are made.
n.Yks. He's nettin' wiv a needle (I.W.).
4. A short beam laid across two upright balks of timber
to receive the weight of a wall that is to be under-pinned.
Cum." The platform rested on needles driven into the lining of
the furnace, W. C. T. (Apr. 29, 1899) 2, col. 7. Not. The ' needle '
is the short balk of timber passing from the head of one upright
pile through the house wall to the head of the other upright pile
in underpinning the wall of a house, &c. (W.H.S.) ; Item for a
tree, the hewyng and sawyng in neldes, vs., Not. Rec. (1512), ed.
Stevenson, IV. 452. e.An.^
5. A piece of wood driven into the ground by the side
of a post to strengthen it. e.Suf. (F.H.) 6. A small
piece of iron used in blasting rocks. Shr.^'^ 7. A hot
particle which burns or pricks when it touches the skin.
Sh.I. If a spark o' watter, or a needle o' gruul comes near a man,
ye wid think he wis rossn, Sh. News (July i, 1899).
8. The space of time required to knit the stitches off one
knitting-needle ; a short inten^al.
n.Yks.* Swat te down, man, sex needles, sed he, An tell us
what seets te saw thar, 3.
9.The shepherd's needle, Scandix Pecten- Veneris;gen. inpl.
n.Lin.i A weed with sharp needle-like seed-pods. e.An.^, Nrf.
(B. & H.), Hmp.i
10. A fallen leaf of the Scotch fir, Pinus sylvestris.
Sc. (A.W.), War.^ e.Suf. (F.H.) Cf pins-and-needles.
11. The shepherd's purse, Ca/5e//fl5Mrsa-/asfom. e.An.^
12. V. To work with a needle.
Lnk. Four bonnie lassies were needlin' an' steekin', Hamilton
Poems (1865) 146.
13. To work backwards and forwards.
Wgt. His favourite dance, in the progress of which, he used
adroitly to needle a stick backwards and forwards between his
legs, Fraser Wigtown ii^ii) 231.
14. To thread one's way through.
Abd. The dancers lichtly needle thro', Murray Hamewith (1900)
81. Rnf. A' [fairies] sae nimbly, They needled grumphy's legs be-
tween, Webster Rhymes (1835) 24. Slk. He rainbowed the
hawthorn, he needled the brake, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 290.
NEEDLER, sb. N.Cy.^ Nhb.^ [ni'dlar.] A keen,
active, thrifty person ; a niggard.
NEEDLESS, adj.^ n.Cy. Shr. Shiftless, helpless;
' heedless,' unruly.
n.Cy. (P.R.) Shr.i I'm despert sorry fur that mon, 'e's got sich
a needless [need'lis] piece for a wife — 'is wages bin gwun afore
'e 'as 'em — an' 'e's right tidy 'isself.
NEEDLESS, adj.^ Obsol. Shr.^ Of an unbaptized
infant : nameless.
' Whad'n'ee call that child ? ' ' Oh, it's needless yet, poor thing,
it hanna bin chris'ned.'
NEEDLING, sb. Nhp.^ [ni-dlin.] A builder's term :
perpendicular studding to part off the acute angle of a roof.
NEEDLINS, adv. Yks. [nrdlinz.] Of necessity;
advisedly. Cf needly.
e.Yks."- Thoo'd needlins be shamm'd o' thi-sen ti talk sike talk,
MS. add. (T.H.)
NEEDLY, arfz». Yks. [nrdli.] Of necessity. e.Yks.'
MS. add. (T.H.) Cf. needlins.
NEEDMENT, sb. Sc. Cum. Yks. Som. [nrdment,
•mant.] A necessary ; a requirement ; gen. in pi.
Rnf. If I am set in judgment on the needments of others, I
maun do sae wi' clean hands, Gilmour Pen-Flk. (1873) 39. Slk.
What Heaven has been pleased to give me of this world's need-
ments, Chr. North Noctes (ed. 1856) III. 176. Cum.* The in-
struments and other needments were kept on a shelf, Clare Rise
of River (1897) 274. Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post (July 14, 1883).
n.Yks.*, w.Yks. (J.W.) w.Som.i Poor old blid ! her 'ant a-got
the needments [needmunts] vor to keep body and soul together —
her's jist a-starved to death.
NEEDSOME, arfy. Hmp. Needy.
s.Hmp. For I am a needsome woman now, without e'er a one
o' 'um, Verney L. Lisle (1870) xxviii.
NEEF, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also written neif Abd. Diffi-
culty ; need. Cf. kneef, 4.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Bch. I'm seer I hae nae neef
To get fat cou'd be ettl'd at, Forbes Ajax (1742) 3. Abd. The
farmers had nae neif to mak' An orrow penny, Beattie Parings
(1801) 12.
NEEF, NEEGAR, NEEGER, see Neive, Niggard,
Nigger, sb.^'^
NEEK-NACK, adv. Bnff.' [nl-k-nak.] Rapidly
moving in and out, backwards and forwards, as in a game.
The mice wer playin' neek-nack oot an' in o' the hole.
NEEK-NACK, NEEL(D, NEEM, see Knick-knack,
Needle, Earn.
N-EEMEST, at^i/. Wxf.^ Foremost.
NEEMIT, see Nammet.
N-EEN, s^i. //. Obs. Yks. A dial, form of ' eyes.'
Yks. (Hall.) n.Yks. I'se greet out both my neen, Meriton
Praise Ale (1684) 1. 10.
N-EEN, adj. and adv. Hrf. Cor. [nin.] 1. adj.
Straight, direct. Hrf.^ See Even, adj. 4. 2. adv. In
■p\ir. jist neen, almost, nearly. See E'en, adv.
Cor. That daay with ale and cakes, at three o'clock, Thees
stuff'd me so, I jist neen crack'd me dock, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng.
(1865) 460, ed. 1896; Haw kiss't Aant Blanch, and jist neen
touched my face, ib. 461 ; Cor.^
NEEN, see None.
NEE-NEE-NESS, sb. Yks. A name given by boys to
the lamprey. n.Yks. Tweddell Hist. Cleveland (1873) 40.
NEEP, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. n.Wal. Hrf Hrt.
Suf. Cor. Also written neap Sc. (Jam.) Cor.'°; neape
Wxf ^ ; nepe Hrf. Hrt. ; and in forms neip Sc. ; nep
n.Cy. ; nip Suf ; nype n.Wal. [nip.] 1. sb. A turnip.
Sc. The callants a' fear John Tod : If they steal but a neap, the
laddie he'll whip. Chambers Sngs. (1829) I. 95. Sh.I. Planted
neeps a' kael, Stewart Tales (1892) 234. n.Sc. The honest neeps
tae which we' a' hae been sae lang accustomit, Gordon Carglen
(1891)119. ne.Sc. Awa to the neeps wi' ye, Grant iC^cAWoM, in.
Cai.i, Inv. (H.E.F.) Elg. Ye're as welcome's a shower to the
neeps, Tester Poems (1865) 133. Abd. Cadenhead Bon-Accord
(1853) 190. Kcd. The neeps an' kail were green. Grant Lays
(1884) 52. Frf. LowsoN Guidfollow (i8go) 89. Per. We've
raw'd oor neeps, an' made oor hey, Haliburton Ochil Idylls
(1891) 46. Fif. Grant Six Hundred, vii. se.Sc. I'm ay sae
thrang Wi' hoeing neeps an' minding cattl«, Donaldson Poems
(i8og) 162. Dmb. Salmon Gowodean (1868) 70. Rnf. Fraser
Chimes (1853) 65. Ayr. We spak o' startin' tae the neeps in a
day or twa. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 230. Lnk. Big neeps
we'll howk for Hallowe'en, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 36. e.Lth.
Man, ye've a heid like a neep. Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 12. Edb.
Round as a neep, I cou'd never stand still, Forbes Poems (181 2)
137. Slk. Roun' as a neep we'll gang toddhn' hame, Chr. North
Noctes (ed. 1856) III. 223. Wgt. Did I bid him come when I'm
oot amang the neeps. Good Wds. (1881) 403. n.Cy. Grose
(1790) MS. add. (P.) Nhb. Neeps are rotting in the fields,
Proudlock Borderland Muse (1896) 321 ; Nhb.l n.Wal. Science
Gossip (1875) 22. Hrf. (P.R.), Hrt. Bailey (1721), Suf. (Hall.),
Cor.i2
2. Comb, (i) Neep-brose, a kind of porridge made of
turnips ; (2) -cutter, a turnip-slicer ; (3) -ground, the
ground in which turnips are planted ; (4) -hack, (a) _ a
pronged mattock for taking turnips out of the ground in
frosty weather; (b) a turnip-rack from which cattle are
fed during the winter; (5) -head, a turnip-head ; used/^.
for a stupid person ; (6) -headed, stupid, dull ; (7) -like,
resembling a turnip,/^, stupid, dull ; (8) -reet, growing
turnips ; (9) -seed, (a) turnip-seed ; {b) the time for sowing
turnips ; (10) -shaw, a turnip-top.
(i) Sc. For the evening meal during the winter months neep-
brose holds an important place. Jokes (1889) ist S. 11. (2) Frf.
A finger that was chacked clean aff wi' a neep-cutter, Willock
Rosetty Ends (1886) 67, ed. 1889. (3) Sh.I. Can doo come an' help
wizwi'wirneepgrundaMoninday? S/!.yV«a(s(June2, 1900). (4,0)
Ags., Rnf. (Jam.) (b) Sc, Cld. ifb.) (5) Bnff. Not that a large
NEEP
[246]
NEG
neep-head contains much brains, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880)
14a. (6) Edb. Ballantine Gaberlunsie (ed. 1875) Gl. (7) Edb.
Bonny, whose neip-like face at that moment was contorted,
Beatty Secretar (1897) 201. (8) Abd. He found him as third
horseman at the plough in a field o' 'neep-reet,' Alexander
Ain Flk. (1882) 221. (9, a) Sh.I. Na, bit aboot neep seed ?
Sh. News (June 10, 1899). Abd. We ken no more . . . than that
neep-seed there kens what a neep is, Macdonald D. Elginbrod
(1863) I. 281. (6) Abd. The Whitsunday term had come and
gone, the ' neep seed ' was finished, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882)
138. (10) Nhb.i Armstrong Another Sang (1872).
3. A parsnip. Wxf.^ 4. Fig. A bulky, old-fashioned
watch.
Sc. Consulting his ' neep,' Tweeddale Moff {iBgS) xxii. Bnff.i,
Cld. (Jam.)
5. A person of disagreeable temper ; anything ugly of
its kind. Bnff.^ 6. pi. The time between the final
hoeing of the turnips and the beginning of harvest.
Per. Ye micht wile him awa tae the saut water atween the
neeps and the hairst, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 289.
7. V. To serve cattle with turnips.
Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.' See it ye neep the caur richt.
[1. IVIE. nepe, 'nauet' [Alphita) ; OE. «^/, 'napus' (B.T.).]
NEEP, NEEPID, NEEPKIN, NEEPOUR, see Kneep,
Nipped, Napkin, Neighbour.
NEEPYUN, s6. Sc. A handkerchief. See Napkin.
Dmf. Ye wud see I've my neepyun aboot my head. Ponder
Kirkcumdoon (1875) 59.
NEER, NE'ER, NE'ERN, see Near, sb., adv., New-
Year, Never a one.
NEER-SEN, adv. n.Cy. Yks. Nhp. Also in forms
narsin n.Cy. Nhp.^ ; neer-sine n.Yks." [ni(r)-sen, -sin.]
Never since ; not since.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). ii.Yks.!^, w.Yks. (J.W.) Nhp." I bent sin
un narsin istray.
NEES, see Need.
NEESE, sb> and v. Sc. Irel. Cum. Yks. Lan. Also
written neeze Sc. (Jam.) Cum.* ; and in forms naise Sc. ;
nase Sc. e.Lan.' ; neease n.Yks.* ; neis, nis, nise Sc. ;
niz Sc. Bnff.' Wxf ^ ; nize Wxf.' ; nizz, nizzey Sc. [niz,
nez ; niz.] 1. sb. The nose.
Sc. She had a neis upon her face Was like an auld pat-fit,
Kinloch Ballad Bk. (1827) 42, ed. 1868 ; Grose (1790) MS. add.
(C.) Elg. Tibb snyted Madge's muckle nizz, Couper Poetry
(1804) II, 61. Abd. The wabster's nise was dung ajee. Cock
Strains (1810) II. 136 ; They gart me curl and cock my nizzey Sae
wondrous sair, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 256. Kcd. Here her
Tammie, fairly foonert, Lies wi' broken niz an' neck. Grant Lays
(1884) 44. Rnf. Pic^^EN Poems (1788) CI. (Jam.) Lnk. Ramsay
Gentle Shep. (Scenary ed.) Gl. Edb. The clout wi' whilk ane
dights his niz, Crawford Poems (1798) 86. Wxf.' Zim dellen
harnothes w'aar nize, 86. nw.Cum. (E.W.P.) n.Yks." T'young
'uns to'n up ther neeases, 154. e.Lan.^ Obs.
2. Comp. (i) Nis-bit or Niz-bit, that part of a bridle
which passes over a horse's nose ; (2) -wise, having or
pretending to have an acute sense of smell ; fig. quick in
perception, far-seeing ; also used iron.
(i) Baff.' Ags. The iron that passes across the nose of a horse
and joins the branks together (Jam.). (2) Sc. With neg. it implies
ignorant, in the dark ; as ' I didna mak him neis-wise,' I did not
enlighten him (Jam.). Abd. Ye're a' nis-wise : but ere ye sleep,
this night, Ye'll maybe see wha's far'est in the right, Shirrefs
Poems (1790") 138.
3. A twitch for a horse's lip ; also in comp. Neeze-pipe.
Cum.* 4. V. To apply a twitch to a horse, ib.
[1. The nese it droppes, Cursor M. (c. 1300) 3572. Cp.
Dan. noese, nose (Larsen) ; Sw. ndsa (Widegren).]
NEESE, sb.'^ Yks. Also written neeze w.Yks. [niz.]
A noose ; wool and silk trade term : a loop in the ' heald '
through which the end of the warp passes. m.Yks.',
w.Yks. (S.A.B.), (W.T.) Cf. nooze.
[OF. neus, pi. of neu, ' nceud ' (La Curne).]
NEESEN, NEESH-, see Neezen, Neeze.
NEESHIN, V. n.Sc. (Jam.) [ni-Jin.] Of an animal :
to desire the male. Cf. eisin.
NEEST,si. Sh. & Or.I. Also in form nist Or.I. [nist.]
A spark of fire, a live coal ; a very small fire.
S. & Ork.i Or.I. As on his rigin' he fell ower The ilka nisi o'
fire did sower, Paety Toral (1886J 1. 94, in Ellis Pronunc.
(1889) V. 794.
[Norw. dial, gneiste, neisie, a spark (Aasen) ; Dan. gntst
(Larsen) ; ON. gvieisti (Icel. neisti) (Vigfusson).]
NEEST, see Neist.
NEESTER, V. Sh.L Also written neister. [nrstsr ]
1. To throw off sparks; to crackle. (Jam.) 2. To
creak. Cf kneister.
I hears da chair crackin' an neisterin', Stewart Tales (1892)
262 ; Da very twartbauks is neest'rin', Sh. News (Feb. 24, 1900) ;
S. & Ork.'
Hence Neesterin, (i)s6. a creaking noise; a squeaking;
(2) ppl. adj. creaking, esp. of boots.
(i) He wis shiirely aware o' Jeemie's fit comin' in, or dan da
neesterin' o' da sharle-pins o' da door, Sh. News (July 23, 1898).
(2) Somean wi neesterin bUts, Burgess Rasmie (1892) 9.
[Norw. dial, gnistra, to crackle, to creak (Aasen).]
NEET, sb.^ Abd. (Jam.) A parsimonious person, a
niggard.
NEET, si.^ ? Obs. ne.Lan.^ Five sheaves of grain
set upright.
NEET, see Nit, sb}
NEETY, adj. Sc. Irel. Dur. Also in forms natie S. &
Ork.' ; nittie Sc. (Jam.) [ni-ti.] 1. Miserly, stingy,
niggardly. Cf neet, sb.^
Sc. (Jam.), S. & Ork.' Ant. He is a neety body, very wee in
his turn, Ballymena Obs. (1892).
2. Comb, (i) Neety-cud, a low fellow who commits mean
actions ; (2) -neck, a rascal.
(i) Gall. IWactaggart Encycl. (1824). (2) Dur. Ah'll gie tha't
when ah catch tha, thou little neety-neck. Obsol. (R.O.H.)
[1. Sw. ^«e/«]§', saving (Widegren).]
NEEVE, see Neive.
NEEVER, sb. Cai.' [ni'var.] In comp. (i) Neever-
day, New Year's day ; (2) -even. New Year's eve. Cf.
new-year.
NEEVIE NEEVIENICK-NACK, NEEVY-NACK, see
NEEZE, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Shr. Also Dev. Also written neese Sc. (Jam.)
N.Cy.* Chs.'^; and in forms neease n.Yks.* ; neesh- Sc.
(Jam.) ; neze Shr."^ [niz.] 1. v. To sneeze.
Sc. (Jam.) Sh.I. Doo's gaun neesin' an' craxin' aboot da hoos
laek ane at da hicht o' a mort cauld, Sh. News (June 12, 1897).
Cai.' Lnk. A waif frae the door gars her 'neeze, Nicholson
Idylls (1870) 64. N.I.i, n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.i Nhb.i Aa've neezed
three times even runnin. Dur.i, Cum.'*, n.Yks.i24 e. Yks. Mar-
shall Rur. Econ. (1788). w.Yks.' ; w.Yks.^ Used to express the
whistling sound in breathing through the nose, when one has
a cold. Lan. Da vies Races (1856) 272. e.Lan.', Chs,'*^, Shr.'^,
nw.Dev.'
Hence (i) Neeshin, (a) vbl. sb. sneezing. Sc. (Jam.) ;
{b) sb. snuff, (ib.) ; (2) Neeshinmill, sb. a snuff'-box. (ib.) ;
(3) Neezing-bout, 56. a prolonged or violent fit of sneezing.
n.Yks.'
2. sb. A sneeze. Sc. (Jam.), Bnff', Cum.*
[1. Nesyn, sternuto, Prompt. Norw. dial, njosa, to
sneeze (Aasen) ; ON. hnjosa (Vigfusson).]
NEEZE, see Neese, s6.'=
NEEZEN, V. Chs. Lei. Nhp. Shr. e.An. Also written
neesen Shr.' ; and in forms nasen e.An.^ ; nesen Suf ;
neisen s.Chs.' [nrzan.] To go birds'-nesting ; gen. in
prp. See Nest, I.
s.Chs.' To go a neisenin' [neyznin]. Lei.' Nhp.' Are you
going a bird's neezening ! Shr.' e.An." I have been a birds'
nasening. e.Suf. He's gone a bud-nesenin (F.H.).
NEEZLE, V. Chs.'^s Suf.' [nrzl.] To nestle; to
insinuate oneself into some good situation or snug position.
NEEZLE, see Nizzle.
NEFFIT, sb. ? Obs. Sc. (Jam.) A puny creature ;
a pigmy.
NEFLIN, sb. Cor.'" Also in form nifQin Cor.^
[ne-flin.] Dried cod from Newfoundland.
NEG, sb. Cor. Also in form neggy. A baby's tooth.
N. &- Q. (1854) ist S. X. 359.
NEG, see Gnag, Nag, v}
NEGGAR
[247:
NEIGHBOUR
NEGGAR, NEGGLE, see Nigger, sb.^, Niggle, v}
NEGGUR,s& Cor.^2 Also written negger Cor.^; and
in forms naigger e.Cor. ; niggur Cor.^ [negs(r).] A
donkey. See Assinego.
NEGLECTION, sb. Glo. Suf. [negle'kjan.] Neglect.
Glo. Gl. (1851) ; Glo.i, e.Suf. (F.H.)
[Sleeping neglection doth betray to loss The conquest
of our scarce cold conqueror, Shaks. i Hen. VI, iv.
iii. 49.]
NEGLET, NEGUR, see Naiglet, Nigger, sb}
NEICHER, NEID-FIRE, see Nicker, v., Need-fire.
NEIDNAIL, V. Sc. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] To fasten securely by nails which are clinched.
A window is said to be neidnail'd, when it is so fixed in the
inside that the sash cannot be lifted up. This is an improper sense.
NEIF, NE1F(E, NEIFFE, see Neef, Neive.
NEIGHBOUR, sb., adj. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc.
Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also in forms nabor w.Yks. ;
naibor Lei.^ ; nayber Cum.^* ; nebber, nebbour Wm. ;
nebbur Lakel.^ Chs.' ; neeber, neebir Sh.I. ; neebor,
neebour Sc. ; neebur Chs.* ; neepour Abd. ; neiber Sc. ;
neibor Sc. Nhb.^ ; neibour Sc. ; neiper Bnff.^ Bch. Abd.
(Jam.) ; niber Sc. Uls. n.Yks. ; nieber Cum.* ; nipour
Sc. ; nyber Cum.^* [ne-b3(r, ne3'b3(r, nrb3(r, ne-b3(r.]
1. sb. In comb, (i) Neighbour's fare, the same fate or
luck; (2) -hood, friendship, social relations, conduct
towards one's neighbours, gen. qualified by an adj., e.g.
^ood neighbourhood; (3) like, like one's neighbours, adopt-
mg the same habits and manners as one's neighbours ;
friendly, sociable ; (4) -row, a company, social circle ; a
neighbouring row of houses ; neighbourhood,
(i) Sus.i We've got neighbour's fare, for we've neither of us
got an umbrella. .{2) BnEf.i He's in gueede neiperheed wee
a' bodie. Abd. There's never been nae ill neepourheid roon
here aboot, Alexander /oAMKy Gibb (iSti) xxiv. Per. Some vain
or cantankerous ploughman would only settle into what was called
' good neibourhood ' after he had endured one or two ' good
lickings,' Haliburton Furth in Field (1894) 19. w.Sc. (Jam.),
Cum.* Wm. A true calendar of his thoughts concerning good
nebberhood, HurroN Bran New Wark (1785) Title-page; It is bad
nebbourhood, when a body is not suffered to say his prayers quietly,
»6. 1.147. n.Yks. (I.W.) (3) Sc. The useful proverb 'Neighbour like
ruins half the world ' (Jam., s.v. Nychbourlike) ; Often implying the
ideaof assimilation in criminahty. ' I am just thinking of the greatest
rascal in the universe. . . It is that scoundrel Neighbour-like . . .
who has ruined more than all other rascals put together ' (Jam.) ;
He'll be glad to carry me through and be neighbour-like, Scott
Guy M. (1815) xliv. Sh.I. Doo canna gang 'ithoot bein' a kind o'
daecent an' neeber laek, Sh. News (Oct. 37, 1900). Frf. To gar
our bed look hale and neighbour-like, Morison Poems (1790) 157.
w.Sc. (Jam.) (4) Nlib.' Where a party of friends are sitting
together one is asked to join them by the invitation, ■ Come into
neibor-raa.' Dur. You are out in the cold there, do come into
neighbour row (A.B.). Lakel." Come up inta t'neighbour-row an'
sit ye doon, tell t'mistress laits ye a glass. Cum.' ; Cum.* Cum
into nayber-row. Meat was given to the herd by nayber row, i.e.
by each farm-house in rotation. Wm. The barns of the nebber-
raWjHuTTONSroKAfewff'arA (1785) 1.35. n.Yks. (I.W.) w.Yks.
The circuit within which custom has prescribed the bidding to a
funeral. A usual form of neighbour-row is that in which it applies
to a family circle around the fire, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 27,
1895) ; w.Yks.^ In most country districts a certain distance is laid
out by custom within which persons are bidden (from each house)
to a funeral — called as above.
2. Phr. (i) a below neighbour, one who lives on a lower
story of the same house ; (2) neighbour, I torment thee, a
game ; see below.
(i) Lnk. She lived in the top flat of a five-story East-end tene-
ment, and had for a below-neibor a certain Mrs. Sooty, Murdoch
Readings (1895) 1. 21. (2) Stf. Played with two hands and two
feet and a bob, and a nod as I do (Hall.).
3. A companion, comrade ; a good friend.
Abd. The best o' nipours o'er the barrel, Shirrefs Poems
(1790) 241. Kcd. Baith the rifles were ta'en doun, Twa trusty
neebours to a [farm] toun, Jamie Muse (1844) 100. w.Sc. (Jam.)
Rnf. Johnnie aften brags Hoo [at ' muggie'] he sends his neebors
up, Neilson Poems (1877) 93. Lnk. Nae rogues then would fash
us wi' grip an' wi' grab, But a' wad be neebours, Rodger Poems
(1838) 33, ed. 1897. s.Wor. Thay be not neighbours, sir. Thay
be near-dwellers, Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 23.
Hence (i) Neighbourliness, sb. friendship, companion-
ship ; (2) Neighbourly, adj. friendly, sociable, kindly dis-
posed ; (3) Neiperty, sb. companionship.
(i) Ayr. Drinking to their greater neighbourliness, Johnston
Glenbuckie (1889) 175. (2) w.Sc. He's a neeborly body (Jam).
Rnf. Thou'rt a neibourly body . . . An' ca'st at my study, Young
Pictures (1865) 56. Lakel.^, Clis.i (3) Abd. (Jam.)
4. A partner ; a fellow-servant ; a bedfellow.
Bnff.i Fah's yer neiper in the chop noo ? Abd. It depen's a
gweed hantle on a body's neebors, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871)
viii ; Ae nicht i' the spring time that me an' my neebour hedna
been wuntin' to gae to oor beds, ib. Ain Flk. (1882) 209. w.Sc,
(Jam.)
Hence Neiperty, sb. partnership, Abd. (Jam.)
5. A husband or wife.
Bnff.i She's awa noo, an' for fifty year she's been a gueede
neiper t' me. Abd., w.Sc. (Jam.)
Hence Neiperty, sb. the embrace of the sexes in the act
of generation. Bnif.^
6. A match, equal ; the corresponding one of a pair.
Sh.I. Dis is a saeson 'at we may live a' wir lives an' never see da
neebir o' again, Sh. News (Sept. 9, 1899) ; Tell Jeemson hit's da
neeber o' da gless 'at I got frae him last, ib. (Dec. 25, 1897).
e.Sc. I mind o' her gettin' the neighbour made to it in Edinburgh,
Setoun R. Urquhart (1896) xxvii. Dmb. If onybody thinks me a
fule for that, I'm no sure, Maister Jimes, but they might ca' you
my neebour. Cross Disruption (1844) ii. Ayr. The stockins werna
neebors, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 213. N.I.i A'm lookin'
for the neighbour of ma shai. w.Yks. ( J.W.)
7. adj. Neighbouring, adjacent ; fellow.
Sc. Me and my neiber lassie lies on cauff, Leighton Wds. (1869)
9 ; Most part borrowed from the niber parishes, Kirkton Ch. Hist.
(1817)359. Sh.I. Dey bed twartree neebor lasses wirkin'tu. Burgess
Sketches (.2nd ed.) 89. Bch. 1 dinna like to tell ill tales Upo' my
neiper man, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 27. Abd. The interlocutors in
this dialogue were Sprottie's wife and her neighbour woman,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 67. Per. There 1 ran Wi' the ither
neebor bairns, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 75. Slg. Frae . . . mony
a nei'bour parish roun', MuiR Poems (i8i8) 41. Ayr. Tells how
a neebor lad cam o'er the moor To do some errands, Burns Cotter's
Sat. Night (1785) St. 7. Lnk. The lasses syne, atween the reels
. . . Ay botherin' at their neibor chiels To haun them owre their
fairin', Watson Poems (1853) 42. Lth. Neebour bairns gather'd
around our Men hearth, Ballantine Poems (1856) 14. Gall. Jock
wad to a neebor farm To get mair aid, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
499, ed. 1876. Uls. A niber boy 'at wus on the police force cam'
hame on a holiday, M'Ilroy Craiglinnie (1900) 27. n.Cy., Yks.
(J.W.) .
8. V. To associate with, consort ; to be on intimate
terms ; to visit ; to go about gossiping.
Lth. Wha wad I neebour but thee ! McNeill Preston (c. 1895)
91 ; Will you neighbour us in the smoking-room ? Lumsden
Sheep-head (iSg2) 224. Lakel.^ They're varra prood an' bee, an'
nivver nebbur wi' nin o' buz. w.Yfcs. Goin a naborin, an not
forgettin, for three or four haars, t'road hoame, Tom Treddlehoyle
Bairnsla Ann. (1859) 30 ; Ah lived i' t'same street wi' her for mony
a year but we nivver neighboured (S.K.C). Lan. Aw've bin eawt
neighbourin a bit (S.W.). nw.Der.', s.Not. (J.P.K.) sw.Lin.i
She was neighbouring somewhere. Lei.^ Nhp.' I've plenty to do
at home, I've no time to go neighbouring. War.^^; War,* I
never goes a neighbouring like some on em does. Wor. (W.C. B.),
s.Wor.l, Glo. (A.B.), Glo.l Bdf. I do not neighbour much with the
people (J.W.B.). Nrf. (S.P.H.) e.Suf, Your work looks
neglected ; I dare say you've been neighbouring this morning
(F.H.). Ess. 1 give them the time o' day, but I don't neighbour
with any of them (S.P.H.), Ken.i Sus. Little as Mrs. Finch
' neighboured ' with any one, O'Reilly Stories (1880) I. 253 ;
Sus,i w.Som.i I never don't urn about, nor I don't neighboury
[naa'yburee] same's some vokes. Dev. She is not one that neigh-
bours with any one, Reports Provinc. (1893). [Amer. I don't
neighbor her; she's too proud, Dial. Notes (1896) I. 421 ; He
doesn't neighbor with anybody, Carruth Kan. Univ. Quar.
(1892) I.] , . . . ,
Hence Neighbouring-day, sb. a visiting day, ' at home '
day.
Ian. Mrs. Lambert towd me 'bout it when we drove you on
neighbourin' day, Longman's Mag. (Jan. 1900).
NEIGHER
[248]
NEITHER
8. Obs. In phr. to neighbour ill, to disagree, not to suit.
Sc. It neighboured ill with the two spoonfuls of pease-porridge
and the kirn-milk, Scott Abbot (1820) xxvi.
10. To work together, co-operate ; to act as partners.
Bnff.i He neipers in wee Tarn this spring. w.Sc. (Jam.) Gall.
There's Jocky an' Jamie, Twa lads that I neiboured lang syne,
Irving Lays (1872) 228 ; I will need some one to neebor wi' me
to get through the wark quickly (A.W.). N.I.^ To give mutual
assistance in farming, by lending and borrowing men and horses.
NEIGHER, see Nicker, v.
NEIL, sb. Sc. In phr. (i) Auld Neil, (2) his Neilship,
humorous terms applied to the devil.
Per. For ilka year Auld Neil took ane, And if a wight they
hadna cabbit, Ane 0' themsels his Neilship nabbit, Spence Poems
(1898) 188.
NEINT, NEIP, NEIPER, see Noint, Neap, Neighbour.
NEIRLINS, NEIS, see Nearlin(g)s, Neese, sb}, Ness.
NEISEN, NEISHT, see Neezen, Nest, Nesht.
NEIST, adj., adv. and prep. Sc Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Lan.
Der. Nhp. Shr. Hmp.Wil. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms
naist n.IDev. ; neahst w.Yks. ; neast Gall. ; neaste Dev. ;
neest n.Cy. Nhb.i Lakel.= Wm. n.Yks.^^* ne.Yks.' e.Yks.
m.Yks.' Lan. ne.Lan.^ nw.Der.^; neis Cor.^; nest Nhp.^
Shr.i'' Cor. ; neyst e.Lan.' ; niest Sc. Nhb. Hmp.^ WiU
Dev. ; nist Som. Cor. ; nyst Wil.^ Cor.'' [nist, nest.]
1. adj. Nearest, nighest, next.
Sh.I. Wha's neist, Bawbyl Stewart Tales (1892) 90. n.Sc.
The neist time ye bring within these walls trash like this, Gordon
Carglen (1891I 34. Elg. We yok'd the sheltie in the hearse neist
day, Tester Poems (1865) 113. Bch. The dispute stands not here
o' blude, Nor yet fa's neist o' kin, Forbes Ulysses (17851 16. Frf.
Niest afternoon he was inter'd Amang poor fouk in the kirk-yard,
Piper of Peebles (1794) 18. s.Sc. Toha'e niestyear A glorious crap
o' tatties, Watson Bards (1859I 74. Dmb. The neist's a chiel set
prim, Wi' elwan' back. Salmon Gowodean (1868) 82. Rnf. Niest
mornin', whan o'er hill an' brae. The beardit kids war strayin',
PiCKEN Poems (1813') II. 125. Ayr. The neist time ye gang o'er
the muir. Ballads and Sngs. ( 1846) I. 49. Lnk. It's the niest thing
to the chief end o' woman, Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 2. Lth.
[He] is weirdit to be marrit neist week, Lumsden Sheep-head
(18921 293. Edb. Grane a' niest day dull, wearie, languid, Lear-
MONT Poems (1791I 59. Bwk. Neist day, Henderson Pop. Rhymes
(1856) 57. Slk. The weavers — they're the neist class, ye ken,
Hogg Tales (18381 293, ed. 1866. Rxb. Niest morn, as soon as
chanticleer Proclaim'd that it was day, W. Wilson Poems (1824)
9. n.Cy. (K.) ; ( J.L. 1783). Nhb. The vera niest day afore Tam
gied off for letters, Jones Nhb. (1871) 84 ; Nhb.i, Lakel.2 Cum.
He try'd him wud neist letter, Silpheo Billy Brannan (1885) 4 ;
They got nae mair meat t'the neist meal, Gilpin Sn^s. (1874) 94.
Wm. Ther's neeatellin which on us '11 be t'neest (B.K.). n.Yks.';
n.Yks.2 Meeast neest [the nearest] ; n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.'- e.Yks.
Marshall i?wy. £fOK. (1796) 11.335. m.Yks.i w.Yks. (C.W.D.);
Leein is neist door to steyling, Prov. in Brighouse News (July 23,
1887) ; w.Yks.^, ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.^, nw.Der.i Shr.^ Nest dure
neighbour. Hmp. (H.E.), Hmp.i Wil. Slow G/. (1892). n.Dev.
Now vor tha naist. Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 37.
Hence (i) Neistmost or -mest, adj. next ; (2) Neist-
ways, adv. nextways, i.e. in a short time after.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) EnfF.i Dinna tack the ane neist ye, bit the neist-
most. (2) Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Nhp.'^
2. adv. Next.
Sc. The Blue room is the best, and they that get neist best, are
no ill aff, ScoTT St. Ronan (1824) ii. Bn£f. Neist I thought on
Meg White-teeth, Taylor Poems (T.'fii) 56. Abd. I fear what ye
micht say neist, Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxx. Kcd. The
Tailor's health was neist proposed Amang the lightsome crew,
Jamie Muse (1844) 72. Per. The bride's health maun gae round ;
The bridegroom's niest, Nicol Poems (1766) 52. w.Sc. Napier
Flk-Lore (1879) 30. Peb., Slk. When the wind's in the east,
Cauld and snaw comes neist, Swainson Weather Flk-Lore (1873)
220. Dmf. Shennan Tales (1831) 45. Gall. Neast, to a place
mair on tae east, He was let ha'e a view, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 121, ed. 1876. Wgt. Fraser Poems (1885) 219. Shr.i
Hence neist to, phr. next to, nearest to.
Nhp.2 Nest to that. n.Wil. I catched the one as was niest to me
(G.E.D.). Dev.i The puggen end of the linney neist to the peg's-
looze geed way, 3.
3. Almost, nearly, all but ; gen, in phr. neist to, neist upon.
Cf. newst.
w.Yks. Tha'd neahst to done it, Hlfx. Courier (May 29, 1897).
Wil.' ' I be nyst done up,' i. e. over tired. Dev. I knaw he'th
abin a bedlier niest upon vorty year, Hewett Peas, Sp, (1892)
51. Cor.2
4. prep. Nearest to, next to ; on this side of.
Sc. Lay her neist the wa', Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) II.
159. n.Sc. And I'll ly niest the wa', Buchan Ballads (1828) I.
256, ed. 1875. Bnff.i Dinna tack the ain neist ye. Ayr. Neist
my heart I'll wear her. Burns My wife's a winsome wee thing, st.
2. Edb. Weaver Andrew, niest the yate, Forbes Poems (1812)
34. Gall. Was E'nbro' 'yont or neist the Forth? Nicholson
Poet, Wks. (1814) 42, ed. 1897.
5. Phr. to take anything neist the heart, to take anything
on an empty stomach.
Nhb.i Tyek the physic neest the heart i' the mornin.
6. Near to, nigh.
Som. (J.S.F.S.); (F.A.A.) ; Jennings Obs, Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
Dev. Tiz trubbl'd zo Thit neaste tha spot thay dars'n go, Nathan
Hogg Poet, Lett, (1847) 38, ed. 1866; I'll niver go a niest that
'ouze again za long's I liv'th, Hewett Peas, Sp, (1892) 106. Cor.
Not wan of 'em went 'nest Sally Polwhele, Longman's Mag. (Feb.
1893) 380; I waant go nist her no more, Higham Dial, (1866)
5; Cor.23
[1. pat neist was ... An hali child ))at hight abell, Cursor
M, (c. 1300) 1053. OE. (Angl.) ne(h)st, 2. Here neist sal
be sijjen teld Hu Joseph was bath boght and seld, ib, 141.]
NEIST, NEISTER, NEITH, see Nicet,Neester, Neath.
NEITHER, pron, and conj. Var. dial, forms and uses
in Sc. Irel. and Eng. [ne-Sa(r, nrtS3(r, ni9-(S3(r.] I. Dial,
forms: (1) Naedthre, (2) Naether, (3) Naider, (4) Naither,
(5) Naithers, (6) Nather, (7) Nayder, (8) Naydhur, (9)
Nayther, (10) Naythur, (11) Neader, (12) Neather, (13)
Nedder, (14) Nader, (15) Neeaither, (16) Neeather, (17)
Needar, (i8j Nether, (19) Neyther, (20) Nidder, (21) Nither,
(22) Nyder. Cf. nowther.
(i) Wm. A's sewer I dooat, ner what at cum omma naedthre,
Spec, Dial. {1885) pt. iii. 4. (2) Ayr. I've been naether lag nor lame,
AiNSLiE Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 43. n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.i (3)
Wm. Yah may beleeve it ov aider, er naider, Spec. Dial. (1880)
pt. ii. 44. ne.Lan.l (4) n.Yks. (T.S.), w.Yks.i, e.Lan.i, War.^
(5) w.Sc. (Jam.) (6) Dur.* Wm. Spar'd nather lass nor lad.
Whitehead Leg. (1859) 36. m.Yks.', w.Yks.^^, n.Lan.' Suf.
FisON Merry Siif. (1899) 31. (7) Cum.' ; Cum.^ Nayder leet nor
few, 49; Cum.* (8) e.Yks. ^ (9) w.Yks. Nayther, fer it's nawther,
Leeds Merc. Suppl, (June 15, 1889) 8, col. 5. Lan.' Stf. Her'U
nayther be led nor drove, Murray Joseph's Coat (1882) 38.
Lei.i (s.v. Nother.) Der. Nayther be athirst no more, Good
Wds. (1881) 849. (10) n.Ir. Naythur work, nor rest. Lays and
Leg. (1884) 7. (11, 12) ra.Yks.i (13) S. & Ork.' Abd. Nedder
hame nor haul', Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 18. (14) Sh.I. Neder
ashore or aflot, J.H. Da Last Foy (1896) 4. (15) Yks. Spec, Dial,
(1879) 6. (16) e.Yks.i (s.v. Nouther.) (17) Ken. (G.B.) (18),
Dmf. Nether me nor mine. Ponder Kirkcumdoon (1875) 145.
Dwn. Nether o' us kens ye, Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 11. Dev.
Nether kin tha vlids drown it, Baird Sng. Sol. (i860) viii. 7.
(19) Lan. Neyther is Joan, Burnett iown«'s( 1877) iii. s.Stf. Ney-
ther here nor theer, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895I. (20) Sh.I. An'
nidder can win or want, Stewart Tales (.1892) 42. (21) I.Ma.
Brown Witch (1889) 62. (22) Cum.'
II. Dial. uses. 1. pron. In phr. (i) neither of both, (2)
the neither, neither one.
(i) e.Suf. Obsol. (F.H.) (2) I.Ma. The nither'd ha' seen the
other in trouble. Brown Witch (1889) 62.
2. conj. In phr. (i) neither nigh nor by, nowhere near ;
without one's leave; (2) — one's eye nor one's elbow, neither
one thing nor another ; (3) — pillow nor bolster, not in the
secret; (4) — to dance nor hold the candle, not to participate
in any amusement; (5) — to dee nor daw, to be in a doubt-
ful condition, to get neither better nor worse ; (6) to ken
neither aught nor naught about, to know nothing about ;
(7) to like neither egg nor shell of anything, to like nothing
about anything.
(i) e.An.i. (2) s.Stf. I axed her to cut out a shirt for me, but
this thing's neyther my eye nor my elber, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann.
(1895). (3) s.Stf. I ca' tell thee nothin about it, I was neyther
piller nor bo'ster, ib. (4) s.Sc. Wilson Tales (1839) V. 234. (5)
Cum.i* n.Yks. ' Hoo's t'oad coo gifting on wi? ' ' Ah c'n hardly tell.
Ah c'n see na difference ather way ; sh'l nather dee n'r dow '
NEIVE
[249]
NEIVE
(W.H.). (6) Abd. Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) vi. (7)
Yks. Spec. Dial. (1811) 6.
3. Notwithstanding, either. Used advb.
Nhp.i I lie in an easier posture, but I'm not easy neither.
Hnt. (T.P.F.) Snf. Nor yet the ode hosses nather, FisoN Merry
Suf. (1899) 31.
Hence Naithers, adv. notwithstanding, either.
Rnf. Their auld fore-fathers. Who warnae sumphs at dressin',
naithers, Picken Poems (1813) I. 123.
NEIVE, sb. and y. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Der. Not. Lin. Glo. ? Dev. Also in forms knave
w.Yks. ; knayve Lan. ; kneaf Dur. w.Yks.^ ; kneave
Wm. Lan. ; kneeaf w.Yks.^ ; kneeve Sc. ; kneive
w.Yks. Lan. ; kneove Lan. ; knive Or.L (Jam. Suppl.) ;
naive Or.L w.Yks. ; nave Sc. w.Yks. Lan. ; neaf n.Cy.
Nhb.i Dur.i Lakel.^ Wm. n.Yks.i=34 ne.Yks.^ e.Yks.
m.Yks.' w.Yks.^ Lan.^ n.Lan.' ne.Lan.^ ; neave Sc. n.Yks.
m.Yks.^ Lan.^ ; neavy Sc. ; neeaf Cum.^* Wm. n.Yks.'^''
e.Yks.^ Lin. ; neeave n.Yks."^ ; neef Nhb."^ Dur. Cum.^*
Not. ; neeve Sc. n.Ir. n.Cy. Nhb."^ Cum.^'* ; nefe Cum. ;
neif Sc. n.Cy. Nhb.^ Dun' e.Dur.' Cum. Wm. n.Yks.^*
w.Yks.3 ?Dev. ; neife n.Cy. w.Yks.'^; neiffe N.Cy.^;
neighve Lan. ; nev Sh.L Cai.^ ; neve Lan. ; ney v w.Yks. ;
neyve Lan.^ e.Lan.^ ; nief N.Cy.' Nhb.' Lakel.^ Lan. ;
niev- Sc. (Jam.) ; nieve Sc. N.L'^ Nhb. w.Yks.* Der. ;
niv Elg. Abd. ; nive Or.L Abd. Lnk. [niv, niav, nev,
neiv ; nif, nisf.] 1. sb. The fist, the closed hand ;
the hand.
Sc. Her nave wad ca to crocanition, Donald Poems (1867) 65 ;
Sairy be your meal-pock, and ay" your neive i' the neuk o't,
Ferguson Prov. (1641) 29. Sh.I. Shu wis gaein wi' a yudder
as grit as baith me nevs, Sh.News (May 5, 1900). Or.I. (S.A.S.),
Cai.' Elg. The goodwife's hand's in Willy's niv, Couper Poetry
(1804) I. 192. e.Sc. I could feel my nieves clinchin, Setoon
R. Urquhart (1896) xii. Bch. Your heavy neives guid muckle
dunts can deal, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 36. Abd. Steek yer niv
upo that (W.M.) ; This paper i' my nive, ye see, Cock Strains
(1810) I. 104. Kcd. Intil his neive, Burness Thnimmy Cap
(c. 1796) 1. 23. Frf. He's closing His neive ticht on't again,
Barrie Minister (1891) xxx. Per. Sabbath Nights (1899) 59.
■w.Sc. Wi' my rung in my neeve, in my noddle a drap, Carrick
Laird of Logan (1835) 257. Flf. McLaren Tibbie (1894) 119.
Dmb. Lettin' the proudest o' them find the weight of my neive if
it should ever come to fechting, Cross Disruption (1844) a.
s.Sc. Trade an' plenty, out an' in, Fillt the blythe neeves o' ilka,
T. ScoTT Poems (1793) 352. Rnf. Finlavson Rhymes (1815) 57.
Ayr. An honest Wabster to his trade, Whase wife's twa nieves
were scarce well-bred, Burns Death and Dr. Hornbook (1785) st.
a6. Lnk. Wee dumpy neavys an' Strang arms, M«Lachlan
Thoughts (1884) 41. e.Lth. Frae poortith's neives thy kids defend,
MucKLEBACKiT Rhymes (1885) 19. Edb. Bobe . . . had contrived to
twist his poket-naipkin roond his neaves to protect them, Campbell
Deilie Jock {i8g']) 43. Bwk. Wi' nieves ready doubl't, just likely
to fecht, Calder Poems (1897) 205. Peb. He bash'd his face
wi's steeked neeves, Lintoun Green (1685) 33, ed. 1817. Slk.
What a nieve o' airn ! Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) HI. 16.
Rxb. Heaved his neive aboon his head, Ruickbie Wayside Cottager
(1807) 113. Dmf. Wi' neeves and staffs and rugging hair,
Mayne Siller Gun (1808) 73. Gall. Ye gied the table siccan a
drive wi' your neive, Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 38. Kcb.
Shakin' his skinny neive swore sic an aith, Armstrong Ingle-
side (1890) 157. n.Ir. They kept hemmerin' the table wi' their
neeves, Lvttle Paddy McQuillan, 71 ; N.I.' n.Cy. Grose (1790) ;
(J.H.) ; N.Cy.i2 Nhb. Naphtali can fell a beast wi' a blow o' his
neive, s.Tynedale Stud. (1896) No. vi ; Nhb.^ Dur. Strikin
macheens, ta tell t'wight o' yer neef, Egglestone Betty Podkins
Visit (1877) 7 ; Me beluved put in his kneaf be t'howle ud dower,
. . an me kneaves drop'd wih myrrh, Moore Sng. Sol. (1859) v.
5 ; Dur.i, e.Dnr.' s.Dur. A' felled him wi' my neif (J.E.D.).
Lakel."' Cum. Mary shak't her neef at meh, Farrall Betty
Wilson {T&B6) 2 ; Cum.'^" Wm. (C.W.D.) ; (E.G.); Skooaly
yusta thump es owert lugg wi his lile neeaf. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt.
iii. 12. n.Yks. What a neeaf yon fella's gitten (W.H.); She'l
deal her neaves about her, I hear tell, Meriton Praise Ale (1684)
1. 599; n.Yks.'^^* neYks.i He up wiv his neeaf an' knocked
him ower. e.Yks. Seeah sha weshes her neeaves, Nicholson
F/k-Sp. (i88g) 45; e.Yks.', m.Yks.i w.Yks. Gave him a crack
ovver th' nooas wi' her naive, Hartley Budget {i&'jz) 107; He
hit me wi' t'knave over me head (W.F.) ; Doubiin his kneive an'
VOL. IV.
stampin his fooit, Yks. Wkly. Post (Sept. 12, 1896) ; Wi' thumpin'
neyvs on t'table, Yksman. (1875) 4, col. i ; A violent man threatens
to have [heave] his nave, Hamilton Nugae Lit. (1841) 336;
w.Yks.i'^^*^ Lan. Seet at black swarfy tyke wi bwoth naves,
Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1740) 25; Put your knayve in
th' trough, Brierley Layrock (1864) vii ; He up wi' his kneave,
Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) II. 155 ; My kneoves wurn
gript, Ridings Muse (1853) 18 ; Aw th' blood as aw had went into
my kneive, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 63; Us big us o' farrently
felly's neve, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 4; Lan.^ n.Lan.
(C.W.D.\ n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', e.Lan.' Der. Addy Gl. (1888).
Not. (J.H.B.) Lin. He teeak op his neeaf, An' he knocked her
doon, Anderson Po<:fe#G;«'rf« (.1874) 16; (J.C.W.) Glo.'^ ? Dev.
Come give us thy neif, and let us part in peace, Kingsley
Westward Ho (1855) 70, ed. 1889.
Hence Neivefu(l, Neffow, Niffu, or Nivvil, (i) sb. a
handful ; a small quantity ; fig. anything small and puny ;
(2) V. to deal out or take in handfuls ; (3) v. to handle,
take in the hands ; (4) adj. dexterous with the hands.
(i) Sc. To hae thri'en 'mang the southron as Scotsmen aye
thrave. Or taen a bloody neivefu' o' fame to the grave, Hogg
Jacob. Rel. (ed. 1874) II. 34 ; Used contemptuously to denote what
is comparatively little or of no value (Jam.). Sh.I. He haandit
aboot in nev-fues ta da lasses, Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 115.
Or.I. (S.A.S.), Cai.i Elg. Tester Poems (1865) 133. Abd. I
saw her . . . put a nivefu' o' siller into a leather pouch at her side,
Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Sept. 15, 1900). Frf. Inglis Ain Flk.
(1895) 133. Per. He's no muckle mair than a nievefu' o' naething,
Stewart Character (1857) 71. w.Sc. Hae, puir body, there's a
neivefu' out o' my ain pock, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 36.
e.Fif. Ilka neffow she brocht oot-ower, Laito Tarn Bodkin (1864)
xxix. Cld. A small quantity of any dry substance composed of
various parts ; as ' a neffow o' woo' (Jam.). Dmb. A nievefu' or
twa o' gey coorse common sense, Cross Disruption (i844)xxxviii.
Rnf. They had gowd an' gear in neffu's, Picken Poems (1813) I.
122. Ayr. Their worthless nievefu' of a soul May in some future
carcase howl, Burns Ep. to J. Lapraik lApr. 21, 1785) st. 17;
(F.J.C.) Lnk. Sawdust seems to hae flung a nievefu' o' his
namesake in the baith o' your een ! Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 17.
Slk. Twa neif-fu's o' darts, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 327.
Edb. I swept up two nievefuls 0' dominoes off the table, Moir
Mansie Wauch (ed. 1828) xxv. Gall. A nievefu' is as much as the
hand holds when the finger tips are pressed down on the hand as
near to the wrist as possible (A.W.). n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.'
Nhb.i He tyuk a neaf-fu oot, an' thowt aa didn't see him. Cum.
Who'll hev a neef-ful ? Gwordie Greenup Yance a Year (1873) 18 ;
(M. P.) n.Yks.i He's getten a bonny guidneaf-ful ony waays ; n.Yks. ^
Beeath neeavesful ; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' Ah rahv'd off t'hair by
neeavesful frev her heead. e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
m.Yks.', w.Yks. (J.W.), w.Yks.', ne.Lan.' (2) Sc. (Jam.), Cld.,
Lth. {ib. ) Slk. And he neifuit in, and he neifuit in, And never could
refrain, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 311. (3)Rxb. Sandie, callant, lay
down the kitlin ; Ye baggit, ye'll neffbw'd a' away, that will ye
(Jam.). (4)n.Yks.2
2. Contp. Neive-shaking, (i) the shaking of the fist,
threatening; (2) a quarrel among women, a scolding-
match ; (3) a windfall, something dropped from the hand
of another.
(i) Lan. Swagger away wi thi neighve-shaking, Clegg David's
Loom (1894) viii. (2) Sc. Sic a braw nieve-shaking's no to be got
when the warld's wind leaves the carcase of ilka uncannie carlin,
Blackw. Mag. (Aug. 1820) 508. (3) w.Sc. (Jam.)
3. Phr. (i) double neive, the clenched hand ; (2) hand for
neive, (3) — to neive, hand in glove, intimately, familiarly,
close together ; (4) to give any one one's neive, to strike
with the fist.
(i) N.Cy.^ Nhb.' He hit us wiv his double- nief e.Dur.i Cum.
About t'size o' yan's double neif (M.P.). Wm. Tha pays a penny
ta hev a shot wi thi dubble neaf et a kind ev a buffer, Taylor
Sketches {18S2) 8. w.Yks.'; w.Yks.^ Thear ah stood ower him
wi' me double neive, 30. ne.Lan.^ (2) Ayr. Your genuine wit
May mak' you sit Just han' for neive wi' Sandy Pope, Smith Poet,
Misc. (1832) 116. Rnf. Whan haun for nieve the hankies staun
Wha live by dissipation, Picken Poems (1813) I. 96. (3) Sc. They
baith gaed in and down they sat, And hand to nieve, began to chat,
R. Galloway Poems (1788) 134 (Jam.). BnfF. We sat ban' to
nieve thegither, Taylor Poems (1787) 176. (4) e.Dur.' A'll gi'
tha my neif directly. w.Yks. Aw'l gie tha ma neaf if ta doant car
quiet, Brighouse News (1887) Local Notes; w.Yks.^ Gi'e him thee
neive.
Kk
NEIVEIE-NICK-NACK
[250]
NEOWST
4. A handful.
Sh.I. Ye wid get a nev o' lozengers, Sh. News (Jan. 14, 1899) ;
He haandid his aunt a nev of white lozenger sweeties, ib. (June
16, 1900).
5. Obs. Fisticuffs, boxing, sparring.
Edb. Whan sic as us chance to fa' out. At nieves we tak a
bangin' bout, Learmont Poems (1791) 61.
6. Obs. A measure of lengtli.
Lnk, A beard five nives in length and white as driven snaw,
Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) 83, ed. 1783.
7. V. To hit with the fists ; to chastise.
n.Yks.'^ w.Yks.^ Neive intui him.
8. To handle, manipulate ; to work with the fists or
fingers. n.Yks.'^ 9. To catch with the hands, to
pinch, grip.
Or. I. (Jam. Suppl.) Gall. I also waded in a burn that ran by
beside the house, and neived beardocks, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 329, ed. 1876.
10. To lay turf on the ridge of a house in order to grip
and cover the ends of the thatch.
Or.I. I see a braw new hoos nived wi poanes, an' nae less than
twa marks o'laund, Yergvsson Rambles (1884) 162; (Jam. Suppl.)
[1. Hys left neif, Douglas Eneados (1513), ed. 1874, iv.
130. ON. hnefi, fist (Vigfusson).]
NEIVEIE-NICK-NACK, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Lakel. Lan.
Also .' Dev. Also in forms kneevie, kneevie, nick knack
Ayr. (Jam.); neavynack n.Lan.'; neevie-neevie-nick-
nack Sc. ; neevy-nack Cum.^'' ; nevie-nevie-nick-nack
? Dev. ; nievie nievie-nick-nack Sc. ; nievy-nievy-nick-
nack Nhb.^ ; nievy, navy, nick nack N.I.' ; niffy-niffy-
nack Lakel.'^ ; nivvi-nivvi-nak-kak Fif ; nivvie, nivvie-
neek-nack Sc. ; nivvy, nivvy nick nack Nhb. ; nivy-nick-
nack Sc. (Jam.) A guessing game or method of casting
lots ; see below.
Sc. Some small article, as a marble, a comfit, or other trifle, is
put into one hand secretly. The boy then comes up to a companion
with both hands closed, and cries, as he revolves the two fists
before his friend's eyes: ' Nievie-nievie nick-nack, Which hand will
ye tak ? Tak the right, tak the wrang, I'll beguile ye if I can.' The
fun is in the challenged person choosing the hand in which there
is nothing, Chambers Pop. Rhymes (ed. 1870) 117 ; I played it
awa' at neevie-neevie-nick-nack, Scott St. Ronan (1824) xxx ; To
expect . . . that a gambler at cards or dice should stop the ruin of
his own or another's fortune, by playing at nivy-nick-nack, Blackw.
Mag. (Aug. iSsi) 37 (Jam.). Bnff. At Keith this game is
played at Christmas, and by two. The stakes are commonly pins.
One player conceals a pin, or more if agreed on, in one of his hands.
He then closes both hands and twirls them over each other, in
front of the other player, and repeats the words : ' Nivvie, nivvie-
neek-nack ; Filk (or filk han") 'ill ye tack ? Tack the richt, tack the
left. An' a'll deceave ye gehn I can.' The other player chooses.
If he chooses the hand having the stake, he gains it. If he does
not, he forfeits the stake. Another form of words is ; ' Nivvie
nivvie neek-nack, Filk will ye tick-tack ? Tack ane, tack twa. Tack
the best amo' them a',' Gomme Games (1894) I. 410. Abd. (A.W.)
Frf. The article to be bartered would be held in our clenched fists,
both hands being shut, and, moving one over the other, the
following quatrain would be spoken : ' Neevie, neevie, nick nack,
Filk han' wull ye tak'? The richt or the wrang! And I'll beguile
ye if I can,' Inglis Ain Flk. (1898) 112. Fif. If it was a question
of sides in a game the lot was cast by the inevitable decision of,
' Nivvi-nivvi-nak-kak ! Which hand wull ye tak ! ' Colville
Vernacular (1899) 13. Ayr. The old rhyme common among boys
and girls . . . when puzzling each other to find which hand holds
the article wanted : ' Kneevie, kneevie, nick knack, What han'
will ye tak ? Tak the richt or tak the wrang. 111 beguile ye if I can '
(Jam., s.v. Knack). Lnk. The more advanced children . . . played
at ' Nievie, nievie, nick-nack,' Fraser Whaups (1895) iii. Edb.
Neevie, neevie, nick-nack, Stands at the door back [Nursery
rhyme], Ballantine Deanhaugh (i86g) 121. Gall. A person puts
a little trifle, such as a button, into one hand, shuts it close, the
other hand is also shut ; then they both are whirled round and
round one another as fast as they can, before the nose of the one
who intends to guess what hand the prize is in ; and if the guesser
be so fortunate as to guess the hand the prize is in, it becomes
his property; the whirling of the fists is attended with the
following rhyme : ' Neiveie, neiveie, nick, nack. What ane will ye
take ? The right or the wrang ; Guess or it be lang. Plot awa and
plan, I'll cheat ye gif I can,' Mactaggart Encycl. (1824), ed. 1876.
N.I.' ' Nievy, navy, nick nack. Which ban' will ye tak', The right
or the wrang, I'll beguile ye if I can.' The rhyme is used in a
game played with the closed hands ; in one hand of the player is
a marble, or any small object ; the other is empty. The second
player tries to choose the hand that is not empty. Nhb. 'Nivvy,
nivvy nick nack. Which hand will ye tak'. The reet or the left, or
the bonny birds' nest? ' These lines used by children in play, the
fists being held out and the guesser had to find out in which fist
was concealed the marble or plaything (J. H.) ; Nhb.'^ A coin or
other small article is placed in the leef of one hand and passed
behind the back. It may be changed into the other hand or not,
and when the two hands are brought to the front again the player
repeats ; ' Neevy, neevy, nick, nack, which wull ye tak ? The reet
or the wrang ; aa'll gie y' it if aa can.' If the guess be correct the
nick-nack becomes the property of the successful player. Another
version is : ' Neavy, neavy, knick, knack, which hand will ye tak ?
Tak the reet, tak the wrang ; aa'll beguile ye if aa can.' Lakel.
Gambling in pins, nuts, &c. The stake-holder, turning his back to
the chooser, places the stakes in one hand, then facing around he
revolves the hands around each other saying ; ' Niffy, nifiy, nack,
which will ta tack? Thee tack yan an leeve me t'tudder' (B.K.).
Cum. Brough lass laikt at neevy-nack, Gilpin Pop. Poetry (1875)
74 ; A childish way of casting lots: 'Neevy neevy nack, Which
will ye tak. The reet or the left ? Tell's in a crack ' (E.W.P.) ;
Cum.'^ Neevy neevy nack, Whether hand will ta tack, T'topmer
or t'lowmer? Cum.* Neevy neevy nack. Whether hand willta
tack, T'heemer or t'lowmer ? That's dog, that's cat. n.Lan.' Played
by children with marbles, buttons, &c. . . ' Neavy neavy nack,
whedder hand will ta tak?' ?Dev. The beadle, finding a small
unowned boy playing surreptitiously at 'nevie-nevie-nick-nack'
(with marbles), hurried the offender out of the sacred precincts,
Madox-Brown Dwale Bluth (1876) bk. 1. iii.
NEK, NEK'D, NEK'T, see Neck, sb}"^, Nak'd.
NELL, sh. Yks. [nel.] The best sort of building
stone ; block-stone, fine sandstone not laminated. w.Yks.
(S.P.U.), (T.H.H.)
NELL, V. Sc. Also in form knell Abd. To talk loudly
or loquaciously ; gen. in phr. to nell and talk.
Abd. He's knellin' an' talkin' like a pengun, is the laddie. Knell
afif what ye have to say (,G.W.). Cld. (Jam.)
Hence Nellin, ppl. adj. loud, loquacious, frivolous. Cld.
(Jam.)
NELL-KNEED, see Knell-kneed.
NELLY, sZ.. Yks. [ne'li.] An umbrella.
w.Yks. (S.K.C.) ; Can't ta tell th' difference between an owd
woman an' my nelly? Hartley Clock Aim. (1878) 29; Eccles
Leeds Loiners* Olm. (1882) 18; w.Yks.^ (s.v. Through).
NELLY LONG ARMS, phr. ? Obs. Chs.' A ' boggart,'
spirit.
This boggart was supposed to inhabit wells, and children were
told that Nelly Long Arms would pull theminif they went too near.
N-ELSIN, sb. . Dur, Yks. Also in forms nailsin,
nawsin Dur. [ne'lsin.] 1. A shoemaker's awl. ne.Yks.'
(s.v. Elsin). 2. A gimlet or nail-piercer. Dur. (K.) The
same word as Elsin (q.v.).
NELSON, ,96. n.Cy. Dur. Shr. [ne'lsan.] In comb. (1)
Nelson's balls. Shr.°, (2) -'s bullets, sweetmeats in the
shape of small balls. n.Cy. (J.W.), Dur.^
NEMIS, conj. ? Obs. Suf. Lest, for fear that. The
same word as Enemmis (q.v.).
Ding the door after you, nemis the cat should get in, and eat
the suncate, Grose (1790).
NEMMY, see Nammet.
NEMONY, sb. Lan. Lin. Rut. Glo. Som. Dev. Also
written nemeny Dev.'* ; neminie Lan.^ Glo.' ; nemmonie
Rut.' [ne'msni.] The wood anemone, Anemone
Netnorosa. Cf. emony.
Lan.', n.Lin.', Rut.', Glo.' w.Som.' They there nemonies makes
a good show, don't em ? Dev.*
NENA, sb. and adj. Hmp. Dor. [ne'na.] 1. sb. A
fool, idiot ; a ' ninny.'
s.Hmp. 'As if I'd be such a nena,' answered he scornfully,
Verney L. Lisle (1870) xxiii.
2. adj. Simple, foolish. Dor.'
NENG, NENGNAIL, NENS(T, NEOG, NEOWST, see
Nang, NangnaU, Anent, Njoag, Newst.
NEP
[251]'
NESGULL
NEP, sb.^ n-Cy. Yks. e.An. Also in form nip e.An.^
Suf. [nep.] 1. The catmint, Nepeta Cataria. Also in
comp. Nep-in-a-hedge.
n.Cy. (B. & H.) w.Yks. Lee3 Flora (1888) 356; Very common
(J.W.). e.An.' Suf. Science Gossip (1882) 214.
2. The ground-ivy, Nepeta Glechoma. Suf. (B. & H.)
[1. Seedes and herbes for the kitchen, mints at all times,
nep, TussER Husb. (1580) 93 ; Neppe an herbe, herbe de
chat, Palsgr. (1530).]
NEP, sb.^ Glo.^ [nep.] The pudendum of a sow.
NEP, V. and sb.^ e.Yks.^ [nep.] 1. v. To kiss.
2. sb. A kiss. Cf. knep.
NEP, NEPE, see Knep, Neep, Nip, v., Nape, sb}
NEPHEW, sb. Var. dial, forms in Sc. Eng. and
Amer. [ne"vi, ne'fl.] I. Dial, forms : (i) Neflfey, (2)
Neffl, (3) Neflfy, (4) Nephey, (5) Nephy, (6) Nevey, (7)
Nevo, (8) Nevoy, (9) Nevoye, (10) Nevvey, (ii) Navvy,
(12) Navy.
(i) Not. (J.H.B.) (2) Lan. I'm the Devil's neffi, Scholes Tim
Gamwaitle (1857) 34. (3) w.Yks.^, e.Lan.', m.Lan.i, nw.Der.i,
e.An.'- (4) Sur. His nephey had married a Methodist preacher's
daughter, Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) II. iv. (5) Dor. Well, nephy,
you are not gone yet ? Hauoy Trumpet Major {tQQo) v\. [Amer.
I don't want to take a nephy 'thout he's giniwine, Cent. Mag.
(Apr. 1882) 891.] (6) w.Sc. They tell me yer nevey ... is sure
tae get the parish, Macdonald Settlement (1869) 61, ed. 1877.
Sur. Think as I dun knovif as that nevey of parson's is alius at
you's heels, Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) II. i. (7) Sc. I have written
to your nevo the tresorer of Edin., Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 357.
Dmb. Div ye mean to tell me that my nevo is comin' doun thei
burnside wi' a leddy ? Cross Disruption (1844) i. (S) Sc. I hae a
braw weel grown lad of a nevoy ca'd Duncan MacGilligan, Scott
Midlothian (1818) xlix. Edb. A leather cap edged with rabbit fur
for her little nevoy, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) xxvii. (9) Dmb.
Lend your nevoye as muckle as wad bring decently through the
college, Cross Z)rsn(/>tfoK (1844) xviii. (lo)ne.Ken. (H.M.) (11)
Nhb. To bring my nevvy to say good-bye, Graham Red Scaur
(i8g6) 63. e.Dur.i, Cum.', e.Yks.', w.Yks.^s Lan. He compli-
mented his nevvy, Clegg Sketches (1895) 265. Chs.' Der. Who
hasna heard o' th' grudge Miller Boden has agen his nevvy?
Gushing Ko«(i888) III. vii; Der.^, nw.Der.i s.Oxf. I 'opes as 'is
nevvy's not like 'im, Rosemary Chiltems (1895) 171, Brks.^
Mid. The young fellow, your own nevvy, Blackmore Kit (1890)
I. iv. Ess.',Sur.l, I.W.l, Dev.s,Cor.2 (12) w.Yks.*, Nhp.l, War.2
II. Dial, meaning. A grandson.
Ken. All my sons and daughters were at my wife's funeral, and
one nephew and niece, my eldest son's children (W.F.S.) ; (P.M.)
[But if any widow have children or nephews, Bible i
Tim.v.^; You'll have your nephews neigh to you, Shaks.
Oth. I. i. 112. OFr. neveu, nepveu, ' petit-fils ' (La Curne) ;
Lat. nepos, grandson.]
NEPKIN, sb. Som. A nectarine. (Hall.)
NEPOS, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also written nepus- Ayr.
1. See below.
Lnk. In the title-deeds of an old property in St. Enoch Square,
Glasgow, . . reference is made to ' the garret room ... in the
middle or nepos of the storey,' N. (y Q. (1887) 7th S. iv. 65.
2. Comp. Nepus-gable, ? the middle gable.
Ayr. At every other place, particularly where the nepus-gables
were towards the streets, the rain came gushing in a spout, Galt
Provost (1822) xxvii.
NEPPER, see Nobbut.
NEPPERED, ppl. adj. Yks. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Cross, peevish. (Hall.) Cf. nipped, 7.
NEPPERKIN, NEPPING, NEPPIT, see Nipperkin,
Nippin(g, Nipped.
NEPPS, sb. pi. Yks. [naps.] Wool in small round
lumps. w.Yks. (J.M.) See Naps.
NEPPY, adj. Lan. [ne'pi.] Crisp, brittle. The same
word as Knappy (q.v.).
As sweet an' as neppy they are as ginsbred, Brierley Irkdale
(1865) 45, ed. 1868.
NEPS, sb. pi} Lan. Chs. Also in form naps s.Chs.^
[neps, naps.] The dried flower-buds oiX&v^'o.diev, Lavandula
vera.
Lan. There's a bunch o' neps aside on it, Waugh Chim. Comer
(1874) 4, ed. 1879; Clooas boxed up nicely wi' neps for t'keep it
sweet, Brierley Irkdale (1865) 48, ed. i868 ; Lan.' Aw've awlus
a bunch o' lavender neps i' mi clooas drawer to keep th' moths
away. e.Lan.i m.Lan.' Neps is gooin' eawt o' fashion. Chs."^
s.Chs.i Goa' iin gy'et mi siim naap's aayt u)th gy'aa-rdin [Go an'
get me some naps alt o'th' garden].
NEPS, sb.pl.^ ■>. Obs. Yks. A kind of shears or pincers
used in weeding corn-fields. See Knep, 4.
e.Yks. This [drawing up thistles by the root] is readily done by
a simple implement, a sort of pincers, which is generally used in
the corn fields for this purpose, called here ' Neps,' Farm Reports,
Scoreby (1832) 15. m.Yks.^
NERE, a^'. w.Som.i [nisfr).] Mere ;? lit. near.
'Twas a nere nothing. Poor old blid, her's a'most come to
nothin — can't call her nort but nere buckle-n thongs, 96.
NERKING, ;*//. ac^'. w.Wor.i [na'kin.] Of the wind:
harsh, keen. Cf nark.
NERLED, ppl. adj. n.Cy. Ill-treated, pinched. See
Gnarl, v.^ 4.
(Hall.); N.Cy.^ Often applied to a person under unnatural
conduct of a step-mother.
NERLINS, NERLS, NERR, see Nearlin(g)s, Nirls,
Nurr.
NERRY, sb. Cor.3 [na-ri.] A tea-kettle.
N-ERTCHARD, sb. Yks. [na'tjad.] A hedgehog, an
' urchin.' w.Yks. (J.R.)
NERTY,0(^'. w.Yks.2 [na'ti.] Irascible, short-tempered.
A nerty sort of fellow.
NERVE, s6. Sc.Suf Also in form nervie Sh.I. [nerv.]
1. Power, capacity.
Ayr. Really Mr. Pittle seems, if he would exert himself, to have
a nerve, Galt Provost (1822) viii.
2. pi. An attack of nervousness, a great state of excite-
ment.
Sh.I. He's fit ta gee a body da nerves ta tink 'at da voar is
comin' ta haand agen, Sh. News (Mar. 4, 1899) ; He'll shurely no
geng aboot da fliiir i* da nervies laek a dampest fiile fir want o' a
smok', ib. (June 12, 1897) ; Dey spaek o' tae geein folk da nervies,
an' makin' dem unhealthy an' what no, ib. (Oct. 23, 1897). Per.
In the nerves (G.W,).
3. Phr. (i) fo^e/ a «erwo«o««, to be unreasonable. e.Suf.
(F.H.) ; (2) — it on the nerve, to be demented, ib. ; (3) it
is on the nerve with such a one, such a one is demented, ib.
NERVISH, adj. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Chs. e.An. Also
in forms narvesh Cum. ; narvish n.Ir. Nhb. Cum. [ne'rvij,
nS'viJ, naTviJ.] Nervous.
Sc. If ye get had o' a nervish fleed walk body. Cracks about
Kirk (1843) I. 2. ne.Sc, I'm sae nervish aye sin' Uncle Sawnie's
boat wis lost, Green Gordonhaven (1887) 53. Abd. She was, in-
deed, nervish, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) i. Ayr. Do ye
know, Peter, I have been getting real nervish of late, Johnston
Glenbuckie (1889) 260. Lnk. He was feeling just a wee thingie
nervish himself, Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 150. Edb. The fright
that I had got made me nervish and eerie, Moir Mansie Wauch
(1828) XV. n.Ir. Trimblin' an' narvish she gripped at the pillion,
Lays and Leg. (1884) 22 ; A wuz that nervish a nippit him ower
hard, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 16. Nhb. What ails thee, Mark,
te-neetl Thoo's that narvish, Clare Love of Lass (1890) II. 22.
Cum. He teaak em up varra whietly an narvish like, Sargisson
Joe Scoap (i88i) 28 ; Weder he was narvesh or nut ah waden't
like to say, E. Cum. News (Jan. 5, 1889) 5, col. 5. Chs.', e.An.',
e.Suf. (F.H.)
Hence Nervishness, sb. nervousness.
n.Ir. A got intil a sort o' nervishness, L,YTrLE Paddy McQuillan, 70.
NERVOUS, adj. and v. War. Lon. [na-vas.] 1. adj.
In comp. Nex'vous-people, the quaking-grass, Brisa media.
War.^ 2. V. pass. To be frightened.
Lon. I was very much nervoused before I went, Mayhew Lond.
Labour (1851) 1. 465, col. i.
NERVY, adj. n.Yks." [na-rvi.] Vigorous.
NES, see Ness, Nest.
N-ESAKTLY, adv. w.Som.^ Exactly.
Aay kaa-n tuul-ee nuzaaklee wuur ez" [I cannot tell you exactly
where he is]. Also pronounced ruzaaklee, luzaak'lee, udzaak-lee.
NESCOOK, sb. Obs. n.Cy. Also in form nescock.
1. An unfledged bird. (Hall.) 2. A 'tenderhng,' a
mollycoddle. N.Cy.^ Cf nestle-cock, s.v. Nestle, 2 (3).
[A Nescock, Nest-cock, Delicatulus, molicellus, mam-
mothreptus. Coles (1679).]
NESEN, NESGULL, see Neezen, Nest, Nisgal.
K k 2
NESH
[252]
NESS
NESH, adj., adv. and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Eng.
and Amer. Also written nesch Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) ; and in
forms gnash Hmp.' ; naishSc. (Jam. Suppl.) N.Cy.' Nhb.*
Stf. Der. Not. Nhp.^ Lei.^ War. Wor. Glo.' Wil.i Som.
Dev. ; nash Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) N.Cy.^ Nhb.^ Cum.> Wm.
w.Yks.i Stf. Not. Nhp.i2 Lei.^ War. Wor. Hrf.' Pern.
Hmp.^ Wil.^ w.Dor. w.Som.' Cor.^'^^ Amer. ; neesh Dor.;
niash, nish Dev. [nej, naj, naej.] 1. adj. Soft to the
touch, delicate to the taste ; of food : juicy, succulent, tender.
n.Cy. Nesh grass (K.). -w.Yks. Applied chiefly to vegetation.
' It's that nesh, it scahrs cahs like newt' (M.F.). m.Lan.i Iv beef-
stakes were olez nesh there'd be moor plezzer eytin' 'em. Not.^
Of unripe grain. Hmp. Young grass which is tender is called ' nesh '
(H.C.M.B.) ; (H.E.); Hmp.i Wil.i Applied to lettuces. Dor.
The vines ha' neesh grapes, Barnes 5kj'. Sol. (1859) ii. 15 ; Dor.'
This meat is nesh. Som. [Of beans] They're too nesh to gather
yet awhile (W.F.R.). Dev. N. & Q. (1873) 4th S. xi. 493. [The
first spring-grass, which was luscious and gnasl). Lisle Husb.
(1757) 250-]
Hence (i) Nesh-coated, adj. of a horse : having a soft,
delicate coat. Som. (W.W.S.) ; (2) Neshly, adv. softly,
noiselessly. n.Yks.'^
2. Brittle, easily broken ; crumbly, esp. of coal.
Nhb.' Like coal when it is soft, crumbly, powdery. ' Hard or
nesshe.' Cura.i w.Yks." ; w.Yks.^ Steel is sometimes said to be
nesh when it is not sufficiently hard. Glo.i Applied to soft coal in
the Forest of Dean.
Hence Nashy or Neshy,a(3^'. brittle, easily broken. Cum.**
3. Of the weather : wet, damp, chilly.
Wm. (J.M.), Stf.i, Shr.2, Hrap.i Wil. ^iLiTzon Beauties (1825) ;
Wil.i, Som. (W.W.S.), Cor.2
4. Delicate in health, weakly, sickly, susceptible to cold ;
effeminate.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.), n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.i nw.Cy. Ray (1691).
Lakel.^ Sitten' i' t'hoose maks yan nesh. Cum. Aye, poor laal
thing ! he was nobbut nesh like alius (J.Ar.) ; T'cofe's nut a
Strang an, it's nobbut nesh (E.W.P.) ; Cum.'* Wm. I am as nesh
as a carrot (B.K.) ; A nash family, e.g. dying early (J.M.).
n.Yks.i'', w.Yks.i2345 La„ You're neither of you nesh folk
about taking cold, Gaskell M. Barton (1848) i ; Lan.i Oh, he's
too nesh for owt ; they'n browt him up that way. n.Lan.*,
ne.Laa.i, e.Lan.i I.Ma. Their own little room . . . where no fire
burned lest they should grow ' nesh,' Caine Deemster (1887) 37,
ed. i88g. Chs. He's been so nesh in his inside for some time
past (E.M.G.) ; It's a cowd neet . . . an' hask enough to make
nesh folk shiver, Croston Enoch Crump (1887) 8; Chs.i^a
s.Chs.i Ahy d<3o sil swee-t fit u neyt, mai"z mi nesh [I do s6 sweet
at a neight, mays me nesh]. ' Nesh kitlin' is a frequent word of
contempt for a delicate person, or one unable to endure pain.
Fit., Dnb. Hallam Four Dial. Wds. (1885) 45. Stf. She is better,
but still nesh (H.R.) ; Stf.' s.Stf. Yo'n mak' yerself nash wrappin'
up as yo' done, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Stf., Der. (J.K.)
Der. Out upon you ! — you will be quite nesh and girlish, Howitt
Clockmaker, vi; Der.12 Not. (L.C.M.) ; Not.i; Not." His hands
are very nesh. s.Not. Y'uU mek the lad nesh, gell, if yer lap 'im
up so much (J.P.K.). n.Lin.' She's a sight oher nesh aboothersen,
scarcelins soa much as goas to th' ash-hoale wi' oot her bonnet
on. sw.Lin.i Alderney cows are so nesh for the winter. Nhp.^
Of a sickly child, ' It's flesh is so nesh, I don't think it will live ' ;
Nhp.^ Lei. I was out on a cold evening . . . and the chilliness
caused me to shiver slightly. I was immediately told I was nesh,
N. & Q. (1870) 4th S. V. 599; Lei.i War. They're nash things,
them lop-eared rabbits, Geo. Eliot Floss (i860) I. 42; War.^^
Wor. The rector seems rather nash (Chr.W.); (W.K.W.C.)
w.Wor.i, s.Wor.\ se.Wor.^ Shr.i It wunna likely as a poor little
nesh child like 'er could do. Yo' lads be off out o' doors, . . yo'n
be as nesh as a noud 66man ; Shr." A poor nesh cratur. Sljr.,
Mtg. (M.H.C.) Hrf. (W.H.Y.) ; Hrf.i ; Hrf." The sheep be doing
fairish, but some of the lambs be very nesh this time. Rdn,
Morgan Wds. (1881). s.Wal. A poor nesh body like her,
Longmans Mag. (T)ec.i.8gg) ii\'}. Pem. (W.H.Y.) s.Pem. Always
used predicatively, never attributively (W.M.M.) ; Laws Little
Eng. (1888) 421. GIo. How you do mess with that child, you'll
make him quite nesh (A.B.) ; Spoken of a cow or horse, Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1789) ; GIo.l", Hmp.i Wil. Bkitio-s Beauties (1825);
Wil.^ Dor. (C.W.) ; He'll make her as nesh as her mother was,
Hardy Woodlanders (1887) I. iv. w.Dor. Roberts Hist. Lyme
Regis (1834). Som. Agrikler Rhymes (1872) Inirod. 7. e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' I don't never keep thick munchy
sort o' pigs, they be so nash. Dev. Zince 'er 'ad tha fayver 'er's
za niash I'm foced tU kep 'er warm, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ;
(W.Ll.-P.) ; You will make yourself naish if you stand too near
the fire, Reports Provinc. (1883) 88. Cor. (C.F.R.); Cor.i^a
[Amer. Still a living word amongst the descendants of the English
settlers of southern Pennsylvania, N. & Q. (1870) 4th S. vi. 249.]
Hence (i) Neshness,s6. delicacy, tenderness; (2) Neshy,
adj. fragile, tender.
(i) Lan. To be born of a woman declares weakness of spirit,
neshenes of body, and fickleness of mind, Wilson Art of Rhetoric
in Gaskell Lectures Dial. (1B54) 20. Dor. I should be inclined
to think it was from general neshness of constitution, Hardy
Madding Crowd (1874) xli. (2) Cum.l*
5. Dainty, fastidious, squeamish ; scrupulous.
w.Yks.^ Lan. There was niver nought nesh about 'er same
as there is about most women, an' specially ladies, Castle Light
ofScarthey{l8^5)^6■,{7.'R.C.') Stf.i, Not. (L.C.M.),Nlip.2 Lei.i
■The meer's a naish feeder. War. Hurs naish enough for a leddy,
White Wrekin (i860) xxiv. Hrf.i, Lon. (F.R.C.) [Amer. Dial.
Notes (1896) I. 227.]
Hence Nesh-stomached, ppl. adj. having a delicate
stomach, said of one who can eat little food. Stf. Harts-
HORNE Antiq. (1841).
6. Timid, cowardly ; poor-spirited, lacking energy, un-
decided.
w.Yks. Hamilton Nugae Lit. (1841) 354. Shr.* 'Er's a nesh
piece, 'er dunna do above 'afe a day's work, an' 'er's no use at all
under a cow.
Hence Nesh-phizzed, ppl. adj. timid-faced, used of a
man who will not fight for fear of bruises. Stf. Harts-
HORNE Antiq. (1841I
7. adv. In phr. (i) to die nesh, to give in easily, to give
up an enterprise readily ; (2) to run nesh, of a dog : to run
lightly and softly.
(i) w.Yks. Yo mon't dee nesh, wumman, Bywater Sheffield
Dial (1839) 157, ed. 1877 ; Sheffield Indep. (1874). (2) Not. A
greyhound is said to run ' nesh' (W.H.S.).
8. V. With it: to 'funk it,' to act timidly.
w.Yks." When it came t'point shoo neshed it, but t'other's
gone by hersen. s.Chs.i Wen it kum til gy'etin iip fit fahyv
uklok' liv u kuwd win'tiirz mauTnin, 60 nesht it [When it come
to gettin' up at five o'clock of a cowd winter's mornin' hoo nesht
it]. Stf., Der. (J.K.) Der. I'm thinking you've on'ynaished it on his
account. Gushing Voe (1888) I. ix. Lei.i Shay's a gooin' to be
married, an' it een't o' noo use 'er neshin' it.
[1. Bulltedd brsed f)att bakenn wass inn ofne, t) smeredd
wel wibbelessew ] makedd fatt ] nesshe, Ormulum (c. 1200)
995. OE. hnesce, soft (B.T.).]
NESHT, adj. and adv. Sc. Irel. Wm. Tks. Lan. Also
in forms neesht s.Wm. ; neeshte Wxf.^ ; neisht Abd.
Wm. ; nishte Wxf.* [nejt.] A dial, form of ' next.'
Abd. There will be sold, . . on Tyesday neisht, a quantity of
haberdash, Paul ^6rf. (1881) 46. Wxf.i Wm. We set doon that
titter up sud coe tudder up neisht mornin. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt.
iii. 47. s.Wm. Neesht mwornin we hed our brekfast, Southey
Doctor (1848) 560. w.Yks. LuQAS Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) ;
w. Yks.i To mack her think on . . . how she com theear nesht time,
ii. 288. Lan. Where nesht wi' t'ghoost thou went that neet,
Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867) 60. ne.Lan.i
NESP, V. and sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Lin. [nesp.] 1. v.
To bite, snap. Cf. knep.
Lin.i Nesp him if he does not lose his hold. n.Lin.i Th' dog
nesp'd hoh'd o' th' rat as it run roond th' hoose corner.
2. To pick off the heads and tails of gooseberries.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781) :
Obs. (J.W.) n.Lan.i, ne.Lan.i
3. sb. The calyx of the gooseberry. ne.Lan.*
NESS, sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. I.Ma. Lin. Shr. Ken. Also
written nes I.Ma. ; and in form neis Fif. [nes.] A pro-
montory, headland.
Sh.I.The nesseswere generally enclosed forpasturage.jAKOBSEN
Dial (1897) 57 ; For mony a day ta come, Ibbie wis ta be fan' ipo
da Ness, Clark Gleams (1898) 39; That none keep scarsheep
except it be in holms of nesses diked in, and properly belonging
to themselves, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 185, ed. 1891. Abd.
Certane scholars . . . carried them down to the Ness with a coal
of fire, there to have burnt them altogether, Spalding Hist. Sc.
(1792) I. 64. Fif. An auncient brogh o' some renown, Near to the
NESS
[253]
NET
neis o' Fife, Tennant Papistry (1827) 21. n.Yks.^ ; n.Yks.2 ' An-
choring in the ness,' within the recess afforded by the land's pro-
jection ; n.Yks.* e.Yks. Phillips i?!wre (1853). ne.Lan.^ I.Ma.
Used in local names both of long, low points and high cliffs, but
usually of the former, as in Langnes (S.M.). n.Lln. I should say
he would likely gallop like mad down the Warps to the ness,
Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870) II. 87. Shr.^ Ken. Used in place-
names : Dungeness, Shellness (D.W.L.) ; Ken.i^
[ON. nes, a ' ness ' projecting into the sea or a lake
(Vigfusson) ; EFris. nes, nesse, ' Landzunge ' (Koolman).]
NESS, see Nest, Nuce.
NESSARY, adj. Obs. Hrf. Near, convenient. Ray
(1691) MS. aM. (J.C.)
N-ESSCOCK, sb. Sc. Also in forms nesscockle
(Jam.) ; nistiecock S. & Ork.^ A small boil or pimple.
S. & Ork.\ Cai. (Jam.) The same word as Esscock (q.v.).
NESSEL, 56. Cor.i2 [ne-sl.] A snood of twisted twine
fastened to a hook, and used in fishing for smaller fish.
Hence Nessel-taker, sb. a small engine or contrivance
for making a ' nessel ' fixed to the beams of a fisherman's
cottage.
NESSEL, NESSEN, NESSES, see Nestle, Nest.
NESSY,s6. Cum.Yks. [ne'si.] A privy, a 'necessary';
also in comp. Nessy-hole.
Cum.*, Yks. (H.W.) w.Yks. It's our turn to clean t'nessy this
week(H.L.).
NEST, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
in forms neest Suf.^ ; nes- N.Cy.'' ; ness n.Cy. Not. [nest.]
I. sh. Gram, forms : pi. (i) Nasen, (2) Nayzen, (3)
Nazen, (4) Neasteses, (5) Neesen, (6) Neeses, (7) Neests,
(8) Neezen, (9) Neezes, (10) Neisen, (11) Nesen, (12)
Nessen, (13) Nesses, (14) Nessis, (15) Nestes, (16) Nestles,
(17) Nestsesses, (18) Nisses, (19) Nlsts.
(i) e.An.12, Suf. (C.L.F.), (E.G.P.) (2) Lei.i, War.s (3) Nrf.
(G.E.D.) Suf. Raven //«;. 5m/ (1895) 260 ; (C.T.) (4) War.*
Mind, my child, that yer doesn't rob the robins' neasteses. (5)
Shr. I looked all through the neesen (A.J.M.) ; Shr.i Neesen is
chiefly employed by the aged folk. e-An."^ Nrf. Them long-legged
critters built their neesen by them trees out hinder, Patterson
Man and Nat. (1895) 61 ; Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893') 7.
Suf. They was birds' neesen, I reckon (C.G.B.). (6) Lan. For I'st
go reaund buildin' birds neeses, Ashton Basin of Soup, g. Chs.^,
nw.Der.i (7) Shr.^ (8) Lei.^ Nhp.i Have you found any neezen?
(9) Lan. If I'd thowt yo'd bin after lark neezes, Brierley Cast
upon IVorld (1886) 160 ; Cubbort so bare ut th' mice took up their
bits o' neezes, ib. Out of Work, ix. (10) s.Chs.^ (11) Suf. (Hall.),
e.Suf.(F.H.) (i2)Rut.i, s.Wor. (H.K.) (13) Rut.i, Nhp.', War.2,
s.Wor. (H.K.), Shr.i2, Glo.i w.Som.i They there bwoys be arter
the bird's nesses ageean! (14) Nhb. Still they beeld nessis,
Chater Tyneside Aim. (1869) 12. (15) Nlip.i Hrt. There be a
mort o' rooks' nestes in the trees yonder (H.G.). Wil. Tennant
Vill. Notes (1900) 47. w.Som.l (16) Cmb. (J.D.R.) Lon. The
birds'-nesties I get from id, to ^d. a-piece for, Mayhew Land.
Labour (1851) II. 72, col. 1, ed. 1861. (17) Sus. (K. L.) (18, 19)
Shr.i
II. Dial, uses, 1. sb. In comp. (i) Nest-bub, a young
unfledged bird, a nestling, also the smallest bird in the
nest ; (2) -gtilp, the smallest and weakest of a brood of
nestlings ; cf nlsgal.
(i) Not. (J.H.B.), (W.H.S.) s.Not. They took it when it wora
ness-bub (J.P.K.). (2) e.An.i Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf.
(1893)48. Suf.i
2. Phr. (i) nest of drawers, a number of drawers made to
fit into a particular place ; (2) — of hens, a. mimh&r of little
girls ; (3) to get upon the nest, of a woman : to begin to
have a family about her ; (4) to look over the nest, to begin
to act for oneself, to begin to be less dependent upon others.
(i) Nhp.i, War.s, Oxf. (G. O.) (2) w.Yks. Sich a nest o' hens wor
nivver seen, Hallam Wadsley Jack (1866) ii. (3) Chs.^ (4) Sc.
(Jam. Suppl.)
3. A collection, gathering of any kind.
w.Som.^ You never didn zee no jich nest o' rummage in all your
born days. There was Jack Billings and Ned Cowlin and a purty
nest o'm in there.
4. V. To nestle, to coil up like a dog.
w.Som.^ Refers to the way a dog turns round, before he lies
down. ' He ness'd hissel down 'pon the cold ground like.'
NEST, see Nelst.
NESTLE, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Eng. [ne'sl.j
Also written nessel n.Cy. w.Yks.' Gmg. Pem. Hmp.' Wil.^
Som. Cor.i2 ; nessle e.Yks. w.Yks. ne.Lan.' Dor.' ; and in
forms nasle w.Won' ; nissel s.Dev. e.Con ; nistle Dev.*;
nussel Wil.' ; nuzzle s.Dev. 1. sb. The youngest pig
in a litter. w.Wor.' Cf nisgal. 2. Comp. (i) Nestle-
bird, (2) -bub, (3) -cock, the smallest bird of a brood or
nest ; the youngest child of a family ; a pet, favourite ; a
' molly-coddle,' one who is fond of staying at home ; (4)
-draught, -draft, or -draff, a weakling, the smallest and
weakest of a brood or litter, the youngest child of a family,
a weak, puny child ; (5) -dris, the smallest of a brood ; (6)
•ripe, -trip(e, see (4).
(i) Lan. Hoo's olez bin a sort of a ncstle-brid at their heawse,
Waugh Dead Man's Dinner, 346. Cor.' The youngest of a family
left at home, when the others have gone into the world ; Cor.2
(2) n.Cy. Grose ( i 790) Af5. orfrf. (P.) Der.' Goo aayt mon,dun-ii
bi^ sich u naes''lbiib' [Go out mon, don't besuchanestlebub]. (3)
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; Jago Gl. (1882) (s.v. Nessel-
bird). w.Yks. He wer' the nestle-cocli, you see, and his mother
made a deal on him (A.C.) ; w.Yks.^ Lan. He're like the nestle-
cock at eawr heawse, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) I. 20 ; I tell o'
what, this nestle-cock 'S a wick un, I con see, Sphinx (1868) 133 ;
Lan.', Der.' [Made a wanton or nestlecock, delicately bred and
brought up, Ray Prov. (1678) 322.] (4) Dev. Bowring Lang.
(1866) I. pt. V. 36; Horae Subsecivae (1777) 302 ; Dev.' He was
the nestle-draft, and coud but jist tottle whan his mother died, 16;
Dev.^ Jones had four pigs — one sucker, two barrows, and one
nistle-draff. n.Dev. A panking, pluffy nestledraff, Rock Jim an'
Nell (1867) St. 87. nw.Dev.i (5) s.Dev., e.Cor. tMiss D.) (6)
Gmg. Collins Gow. Dial, in Trans. Phil. Soc. (1848-50) IV. 22a.
Pem. Jago Gl. (1882) (s.v. Nessel-bird). e.An.i Nrf. N. & Q.
(1856) 2nd S. i. 75. Wil.' Dor. Being the youngest they used
to call him the ' nestleripe,' Hardy Trumpet-Major (1880) ii ;
Dor.' Som. Tha youngest of aal, tha pet and tha nesseltripe,
Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 119 ; Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885) ;
Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som, W. & J. Gl. (1873).
w.Som.' In dealing for a ' varth' of pigs, it is very common for the
buyer to say, ' Well then I 'ont gie the same for the nestle-tripe,'
or ' you shall drow out the nestle-tripe.' Dev. Yu wunt miss 'n,
'e's nort but tha nestletripe, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892); Horae
Subsecivae (1777) 302. s.Dev. (F.W.C.)
3. Phr. (i) at nestle, (2) on the nestle, (3) upon the nestle,
restless, fidgety, in a state of excitement or uneasiness.
(i) w.Yks.' Thouz ollas at nestle, ii. 308. (2) sw.Lin.' Bairns,
they're always on the nestle. (3) Lin.'
4. V. To be restless or uneasy ; to fidget, be on the
move ; to bustle about.
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Ecoh. (1796)11.335; e.Yks.' m. Yks.
Ah slipt on mi clogs, then ah shoved an' ah nestled, Blackah
Poems (1867) 18. w.Yks. It's this 'ere job at they're nesslin'
about (S. O. A.) ; w.Yks.' ; w.Yks.^ That barn's badly am siire ; it's
done nowt bud nestle await' neet. ne.Lan.' sw.Lin.' We're
beginning to nestle [to prepare to move house]. The mare nestles
about in the stable with hearing the machine agate. Sur.', Sus.'
Hence Nestly, adj. fidgety, restless.
e.Yks.' We mud as weel be startin ; meear's gettin varry nestly.
5. To trifle ; to do light work or odd jobs. Also with
about.
Nrf. Father is an old man, sir, but he is wunnerful kedge ; he is
always a nettling [_sic'\ about arter sufBn (W. R.E.). Sus.' I aint
done naun but just nestle about house for the last three weeks ;
Sus.2, Hmp.i
NESTLING, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Lan. Lin. Nhp. Som. Also
written nesslin Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) [ne'slin.] 1. The
smallest and weakliest bird of the nest.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) n.Cy. Grose (1790). ne.Lan.', Lin.', Nhp.'
2. The smallest pig of the litter. Som. (W.F.R.)
NET,s6.' Ken. [net.] A knitted woollen scarf. (G.B.),
Ken.'
NET, 56.= and w.' Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lin. Nrf. [net.] 1. sb.
In comp. (i) Net-roper, one of the crew of a fishing-boat ;
(2) -stucken, stakes driven into the ground on which nets
are stretched to enclose sheep.
(i) Nrf. When the nets are pulled alongside, the hawseman
unbends the seizings and passes them to the net-roper (P.H.E.) ;
The master, mate, hawseman, wheelman, net-roper and me, lived
aft in the cabin, Fmerson Son of Fens (1892) 58. (2) Nlib.'
NET
[254]
NETTLE
2. The omentum or cawl which covers the intestines.
Sc. (Jam.), w.Yks.^ 3. v. With on: to enclose by nets.
Sc. (A.W.) Nhb.i Applied to sheep when netted upon a
' brick ' (or break) in a crop of growing turnips.
Hence Netting, sb. nets for enclosing sheep. n.Lin.^
[2. OFris. nette, ' netzhaut, omentum' (Richthofen).]
NET, v.^ and sb? n.Cy. Dur. Yks. Lan. Der. Not. Lin.
Lei. [net.] 1. v. To wash or rinse out in clean water.
w.Yks. Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.* [(Of the Scotch mode
of washing linen.) They trample it with their feet (never vouch-
safing a hand to nett or wash it withal), Breretok Travels (1634-
5 in Chelh. Soc. (1844.) I. 106.]
Hence (i_) Netting, sb. (a) soap and water mixed and
then made into a lather ; (b) stale urine used in washing ;
(2) Netting-out, vbl. sb. the process of washing or rinsing ;
used attrib.
(i, a) Dur.' Used for washing prints and coloured dresses.
(6) n.Cy. (K.); Grose (1790); N.Cy.2 w.Yks.i Rarely used.
Lan. Shall not inany wiseflingedoune. . .any undecenteornoysome
thinge as pisse bool, water nettinge or ffylthe. Court Led Rec.
Manor of Manchester {j.^'j'O I. 40. ne.Lan.', Der.l^^ Not.^, s.Not.
(J.P.K.) Lin. Miller & SKERTCHLYFOT/a«rf (1878) iv; Lin.iShe
threw a pail of netting over me. n.Lin. Sutton Wds. (1881);
n.Lin.' It was formerly preserved in large jars, to be used in
washing coarse clothes. It was believed to make the water soft.
sw.Lin.i She killed her two swaarms of bees ; she poured netting
on the hives. Lei.^ (2) w.Yks.^ After linen has been washed
it generally has to undergo the 'netting-out' process.
2. sb. A rinsing in fresh water, a supply of clean water
for rinsing.
w.Yks. A washerwoman's term for each separate lot of clean
water that she puts the clothes through. ' I think we'll give these
another net.' A ' blue net ' is water tinged with blue for the
white things (H.L.) ; Hamilton iVw^ne iiV. (1841)356 ; Thoresby
Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.*
[1. Cp. Fr. net, clean ; nettoyer, to cleanse (Cotgr.).]
NET, see Knit, v., Nit, sb.'^
N-ETARNAL, adj. Irel. Also in form natarnal. Used
as an intensitive to express abhorrence. The same word
as Eternal (q.v.).
Oh, the netarnal villains! Carleton Fardorougha (1848) vii.
Don. Saize him, the natarnal rascal ! Harper's Mag. (Oct. 1899) 746.
NETCH, NETH, see Nitch, sb}, Neath.
NETHER, adj. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Nhp. Hnt. Som. Also in forms nedder S. & Ork.*
n.Cy. ne.Lan.-"; neddher ne.Lan.' ; nidder Sc. (Jam.);
nither Sc. (Jam.) w.Yks. [ne'S3(r.] 1. Lower. Used
chiefly in place-names. Cf. nither, v}
Sc. (Jam.), S. & Ork.i Abd. At the nethergate wall By Saint
Mary's aisle, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 172. w.Sc. The piper
surely wants muckle that wants the nether lip, Carrick Laird of
Logan (1835) 92. Slg. (Jam.) Edb. Thunners crash the clouds
aboon, And vex the nether sky, Learmont Poems (1791) 12 ; The
nasty gutters of the Netherbow, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) vi.
Rxb. For deil a button's frae the throat, Down to the nether end
on't, RuiCKBiE Wayside Cottager (1809) 158. Wxf.' n.Cy. Grose
(1790) ; The nedder flower (K.). Nhb. Nether Hp (W.G.).
w.Yks. 2 Nether Edge, name of a suburb of Sheffield. ne.Lan.i
Nedder Kellet, Nedder Wyresdale. Chs.i Nether Knutsford,
Nether Peover, Nether Alderley. nw.Der.i Used only in topo-
graphy ; including names of fields; of outbuildings, as Nether
Barn ; of farms, as Nether Booth ; of hamlets or townships, as
Nether Padley. Nhp.' The nether side of a loaf. Used also to
distinguish towns of the same name, as Nether-Heyford, Nether-
Benefield. Hnt. (T.P.F.) Som. Be we to begin at the nether
end, Mr. Coombes? Raymond Misterton's Mistake (^1888) 302.
Hence (i) Neddliermer, adj. lower; (2) Nethermost,
sb. the lowest part.
(i) ne.Lan.i (2) Slk. George's shop was the nethermost of the
street, HoGG Tales (1838) 316, ed. 1866.
2. Comp. Nether-end, the posteriors.
Kcb. Two herds . . . straught down on tammocks clap their
nether-ends, Davidson Seasons (1789) 5 (Jam.).
3. Nearer, next.
Slk. (Jam.) w.Yks. We used to posst letters at t"staation, becos
it wur nither than t'posst-ofSce (F.P.T.) ; (J.W.)
Hence (i) Neddhermer, adj. nearer. ne.Lan.i; (2)
Nether-side, sb. the side at which a horse is mounted, ib.
NETHER, see Nadder, Neither, Nither, v.^
NETHERANS, NETHERCROP, see Naitherans,
Nethercap.
NETHERWAGG, sb. Sus. Hmp. [netSawseg.] The
common black cocktail, Ocypus olens.
Sus. (E. E. S.) ; An old West Ha rting woman said to another who
wasgoingout, 'Comeback, granny.beforethe netherwaggsareout'
(J.C.) ; w.Sus. Gazette (May 22, 1895). Hmp. Looked on as a
favourite form for witches to assume. . . An old countryman said,
after describing his sending an old hag away, ' An wen I went
oop stairs there was a girt netherwagg a crawlin over the bed-
cloathes.' . . Used occasionally by real New Foresters, but not
often, w.Sus. Gazette (May 22, 1895).
NETHERY, NET-HOUSE, NETLENS, see Netterie,
Neat-house, Knotlings.
NET-SILK, s6. Sc. Used a^/n'i. : made of knitted silk.
Rnf. She has put on her net-silk hose, And awa to the tryste,
has gane, Rnf. Harp (1819) 286.
NET(T, adv. Sc. [net.] Exactly. Cf. neat, adv. 6.
Frf. The tail that at the dragon hang, Was nett ae mile three
quarters lang. Sands Poems (1833) ^^9- Lnk. It was just net
four minutes frae the time they crossed the threshold, Roy^
Generalship (ed. 1895) 43.
Hence Netly, adv. exactly.
Rnf. I stand exactly five feet seven, And netly weigh twelve
stones eleven, M°Gilvray Poems (,ed. 1862) 11.
NETTAS, see Neat-house.
N-ETTERCAP, sb. Sc. Yks. Also in form nether-crop
w.Yks. A spider. The same as Attercop (q.v.).
e.Sc. I gang by the busses an' nettercaps maistly, .Setoun
R. Urguhari (i8g6) iv. w.Yks. (D.L.)
N-ETTERIE, adj. Sc. Nhb. Also in form nethery
Nhb.* Ill-natured, sarcastic. See Attery, 2.
Twd. (Jam.) Nhb.' Aa dinna ken what ails wor maister ; he's
awfa nethery.
NETTLE, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in form nittle Bnff.' [ne'tl.] 1. sb. In comp. (i)
Nettle-broth, broth made from nettles ; (2) -butterfly, the
small tortoiseshell butterfly, Vanessa urtica ; (3) -earnest,
in phr. in nettle- earnest, not disposed to bear jesting, serious,
in deadly earnest; (4) -foot, the hedge woundwort,
Stachys sylvatica ; (5) -house, a privy, jakes ; (6) -kale or
-kail, see (i) ; (7) -porridge, gruel with the leaves of young
nettles boiled in it ; (8) -spring(e, nettle-rash ; (9) -sprung,
(a) see (8) ; {b) having the nettle-rash.
(i) Sc. (Jam.), Nhb.' (2) Cum.* (3) Slk. Ane canna speak
a word but it's taen in nettle-earnest, Hogg Tales (1838) 49, ed.
1866. (4) Chs.' (5) n.Cy. (Hall.) (6) Sc. Scottish folks have
never taken kindly to nettle kale, Sh. News (Apr. 15, 1899).
s.Sc. The laich herd's hoose, Where I suppit nettle-kail, Watson
Bards (1859) 195. Cum.' (7) w.Yks.^ (8) e.An.' Suf. Raven
Hist. Suf (1895) 263; (C.L.F.) Sur.i, Sus.' (9, a) w.Yks.^
' It's none t'measles, it's nobbut t'nettle-sprung, woman I ' It is
regarded as a disease of the blood, and a decoction of nettles is
considered to be a good remedy. (6) nw.Der.'
2. Comb, in names of birds : (i) Nettle-bird, the white-
throat, Sylvia cinerea; (2) -creeper, {a) see (i) ; (b) the
golden warbler, Sylvia hortensis ; (3) -monger, (a) see (i);
(6) the blackcap, Sylvia atricapilla ; (c) the reed bunting,
Emberiza schoeniclus.
(i) Lei. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 23. Nhp.' (2, a) Cum.*
n.Yks. SwAiNSON ib. Oxf. Aplin Birds (1889) 214. Hmp.
(J.R.W.) ; De Crespigny & Hutchinson New Forest (1895') 112 ;
Hmp.i, Brks.', I.W.2 wil. Thurn Birds (1870) 61 ; Smith Birds
(.1887) 160; Wil.' (6) Wil. Smith Birds (1887) 160; Wil.*
(3, a) n.Yks., Hmp. Swainson ib. (A) e.Yks. Nicholson /"//&- Z.o;-«
(i8go) 133. [Forster Swallows (ed. 1817) 78.] (c) Nhp.^
3. Phr. (i) nettle in, dock out, (2) — out, dockin in, a charm
repeated for the curing of a nettle sting ; see Dock, 56.' ;
(3) on nettles, (a) in a restless, impatient condition, anxious,
in suspense ; (b) ill-humoured, peevish ; (4) to have p — d
of a nettle, to be cross and ill-tempered.
(i) Nhb. Children use friction by a dock-leaf as the approved
remedy for the sting of a nettle, or rather the approved charm ;
for the patient, while rubbing in the dock-juice, should keep
repeating: 'Nettle in, dock out. Dock in, nettle out, Nettle in,
dock out. Dock rub nettle out,' N. & Q. (1851) ist S. iii. 133.
Yks., Lan., Chs. (J.W.), n.Lin.' (2) Nhb.' On receiving a stin^
from a nettle a dock leaf is immediately rubbed on the part, and
NET(T-UP
[255]
NEVER
the cure is effected by repeating rapidly the words, ' Nettle oot ;
dockin in.' (3, a) Cai.i To be on nettles about something. Bnff.i
Abd. Mrs. Middleton wis kept on nettles the hale nicht thro' wi'
the M^Corkindale'remeenissensis, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (May 19,
1900). Lnk. I'm aye on nettles a' the time Till the fire's nicely
dressed, Stewart Two Elders (1886) 80. (6) Bnff.i (4) w.Yks.i
4. V. To gather nettles, only used in prp.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Thou's never bin nettlin' of a Sunday
again, hasto ? Waugh Taitlin' Matty, i ; Lan.i
5. To Sting with nettles.
n.Yks.' Chiefly used in the passive. ' Puir lahtle chap ! He's
getten hissel' nettled o' baith legs.' w.Yks. Da muant gua niar am,
Sel netl Sa (J.W.). Not. Their face, neck, and hands are well
'nettled,' Flk-Lore Jm. (1884) II. 381.
6. To irritate, vex, anger, provoke, pique ; gen. in pp.
Sc. Nettled at this hit at his national tongue, Ford Thisthdown
(1891) 215. Elg. CouPER Tourifications (1803) II. 114. Abd.
Argyle and his sister's son, . . hearing thir speeches, were nettled,
Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 306. SIg. Galloway Poems (1804)
Luncarty, 32. Dmb. James felt a little nettled at the rustic's
freedom, Cross Disruption (1844) ii. Ayr. I was fairly bam-
boozled, and not a little nettled forbye, that I couldna fin' oot his
trouble. Service Notandums (1890) 17. Lnk. Nicholson Kil-
wuddie (1895) 173, Edb. She nettled twa or three, And gar'd
them gloom, Har'st Rig (1794) 15, ed. 1801. Gall. Crockett
Standard Bearer (1898) 133. Nhb. She had not been consulted
about this arrangement, and she felt nettled, 5. Tynedale Stud.
(1896) Robbie Armstrong. Dur.^ s.Dur. A' was real nettled, but
a' manished to baud my tongue (J.E.D.). Lakel.^ Ah war that
nettled when he said oor barns was mucky, 'at Ah dudn't know
which end Ah stiud on. n.Yks. Ah nettled him sair by saucing
him (I. W.). w.Yks. He nettled him sadly, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(1884); This nettled me, Saunterer's Satchel (1876) 29. Lan.
Bo, awm nettled for aw that, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 117.
nw.Der.i,Nhp.', Oxf.(G.O.),Brks.l,Hnt.(T.P.F.) Snf.l'Awasrudeti
my — 'a nettled me. Ess. Tell he came, that day, some twig'd She
had seem'd rayther nettled, Clark J. Noakes (1839) st. 74. Dor.
Barnes Gl. (1863). w.Som.' I was that a nettled, I could a up
wi' my vice-n hat-n down.
Hence (i) Nettlesome, (2) Nettlie, adj. ill-humoured,
peevish, quarrelsome, exasperating,
(i) Lnk. When Maggie grew nettlesome the spry wee tailor
would . . . hop across the floor in the direction of his handy stick
leg, Murdoch Readings (1895) II. 125. Glo."- (2) e.Sc. (Jam.)
7. With up ; to become angry, to fly into a rage.
Lan. Sally blushed and nettled up, Waugh Owd Cronies (1875)
ii. Nhp.i She nettles up. w.Som.^ I zaid to un, s' I, Tidn no
good vor to nettly up like that there about it.
NET(T-UP, ppl. adj. Sur. Sus. Hmp. Also in form
nit-up Sus. [ne't-Bp.] Cut up, pinched, exhausted,
' shrammed.' Cf. eat, II. 1 (2).
Sur.i Sus. Nit up with cold (E.E.S.) ; Sus.i I be quite nett-up
this weather (s.v. Nestle-about). Hmp.i I'm net up wi' cold.
NETTY, sb.^ n.Cy. Nhb. [ne'ti.] A privy or water-
closet.
n.Cy. A common name, amongst the working classes (S.L.P.W.).
Nhb. In common use. In my recollection it was looked upon as a
euphemism (R.O.H. ).
NETTY, sb.^ Slk. (Jam.) A woman who traverses the
country in search of wool.
NETTY, adj. Obs. Sc. Mere, sheer. Cf. neat, adj. 4.
Abd. Exceptitbe fornetty drouth, 1 take a drap to wet my mouth,
Beattie Parings (1801) 38, ed. 1873.
NEUCE, NEUCHELD, NEUCK, NEUCLE(D, NEUD-
LIN, see Newst, New-cal', Nook, New-cal', Newdling.
NEUF, sb. Dev. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A blaze. (Hall.)
NEUGH, V. N.I.^ [niux-] To catch or grasp a person.
NEUGLE, sb. Sh.I. Also in forms niogle S. & Ork.^ ;
njtiggle. The water-kelpie.
The Finns were said to be the only beings vvho could safely
ride the Neugle, . . a water deity that appeared in the form of a
sfeek horse, having an erect mane and tail hke the ' rim o' a muckle
wheel,' Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 23; Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 42;
S. & Ork.i The Niogle generally makes his appearance in the form
of a horse and vanishes in a ' blue lowe,' MS. add.
[A der. of ON. nykr, the water-goblin, mostly appearing
in the shape of a gray water-horse (Vigfusson) ; see
Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 54.]
NEUK, see Nook.
NEUKATYKE, sb. Fif. (Jam.) A collie or shep-
herd's dog. ' He shook him like a neukatyke.'
NEUKIN, NEUKY, NEULL, NEULTY, NEURP, see
Nookin, Newky, Nool, sb., Newelty, Nearp.
NEUSS, NEUST, NEV, NEVE, see Newst, Naive.
N-EVAL. Cai.i [ne-vl.] Only used in phr. to fa'
a-neval, used of an animal when it has got on its back in
some place whence it cannot rise without help.
{A-neval repr. on aval, see Awald, ppl. adj.]
NEVEL, V. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Also
written nevell Sc. n.Cy. Dur. e.Yks.^ ; and in forms naval
Sc. ; neavil n.Yks.'* ne.Yks.' ; neffle Sc. (Jam.) ; neval
Cai.'Cum.^*; nevil n.Cy. m.Yks.' ; nevill n.Yks.'^e.Yks.
w.Yks.s ; nevvil Nhb. n.Yks.'' ; niefle Cum. : nievle Sc. ;
nivell S. & Ork.' ; nivvel S. & Ork.' n.Sc. (Jam.) ; nivvil
n.Sc. (Jam.) [ne'vl, ne-vil.] 1. v. To strike with the
fist, to pommel, beat, buffet. Cf. knevell.
Sc. The husban'men teuk his servan's, an'nevellet ane, Hender-
son St. Matt. (1862) xxi. 35. n.Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. The laddie
weans nevelled it to death with stones, Galt Ann. Parish (1821)
X. Edb. He .. . nevell'd me sae sair, that for a vreek I cou'd nae
draw my breath, Learmont Poems (1791) 339. n.Cy. Grose
(1790) ; N.Cy.i Nhb. Aa haad me hands ti ye, as tho' aa'd like ti
nevvil ye, Chater TjvKfsjrfc^/w. (1869) 14. Dur.l, Cum.^ n.Yks.
She'll nawpe and nevel them without a cause. MERiToti Praise A le
(1684) 1. 603; n.Yks.' 24 ne.Yks.i He nevilled him weel. e.Yks.
Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 75 ; e.Yks.i, m.Yks.», w.Yks.s
Hence (i) Neviller, sb. a knock-down blow ; (2)
Nevilling, sb. a pommelling, a beating inflicted with
the fist.
(i) w.Yks. Gocks ! That war a neviller, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan.
3, 1891). (2) Cai.i, n.Yks.i = *, ne.Yks.l
2. To take hold of with the fist ; to grasp, pluck out.
Sc. (Jam.) Gall. The e'en out o' her pow they'll naval. And sae
devour her, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 35, ed. 1876.
Hence Nievling, sb. a method of milking cows.
Sc. Nievling is done by grasping the teat with the whole hand,
Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1849^ I. 524. [Of the four methods in
use ... he thought the squeezing or 'nievling' was most suitable,
and with it might be combined the wet or the dry method, .<4^nc.
Gazette (June 17, 1895) 539, col. 2.]
3. To knead well, to leave the marks of the knuckles on
bread. Ayr. (Jam.) Hence Nevel't,/i//. adj. well-kneaded.
Rnf. Thick nevel't scones, bear meal or pease, Picken Poems
(1813"! I. 129.
4. To pinch with the fingers. S. & Ork.' 6. To handle
or finger things awkwardly so as to soil or disarrange.
Cum. (M.P.) 6. sb. A blow with the fist, a heavy blow.
Sc. And gave his cheeks some dainty nevels, Drummond Mucko-
machy {1846) 17. n.Sc. (Jam.), CaU Bch. An' gin ye speer fa'
got the day, We parted on a nevel, Forbes Ajax (1742) 9. Per.
Some wi' nevels had sare snouts, Nicol Poems (1766) 50. Fif.
Was naething gain but knocks and nevels, Tennant Papistry
(1827) 154. Lnk. Wi' nevels I'm amaist fawn faint, Ramsay Poems
(1721) 108. n.Cy. (K.) Nhb. But he got on the lug such a nevel,
Bell ifA)i>«fS (1812) 42 ; Nhb.i Dur. Henderson /7A-Z,or« (1879)
ix. Cum. Roger . . . fra the lasses manny a neval gat, Gilpin
Pop. Poetry (1875) 203 ; Cum." Ol>s.
NEVER, adv. and sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms nar Dor.; ne'er Sc. Ant. Nhb.'
Cum."* n.Yks.i'^* Lan. Nhp.'; niver Jr. Wm. s.Wor. Dor.'
Som. ; nivva Suf.' ; nivver Lakel.^ Cum. Wm. n.Yks.^
ne.Yks.' e.Yks.' w.Yks. Lan. Nhp.' Suf.' [ne-va(r,
ni-va(r, nir, ni3(r.] 1. adv. In comb, (i) Never-
begot, unearthly ; (2) -be-licket, not a vestige ; (3) — but,
only ; (4) -ceasing, a continuous effort in one direction ;
(5) -come-oflf, an unlikely occurrence ; (6) -do-good, (7)
-do-weel, a good-for-nothing fellow ; in gen. coUoq. use ;
also used attrib. ; (8) -heed-em, thoughtless, wild ; (9)
-heed-um-street, an unknown place; nowhere; (10) -mass,
a time which will never come ; (11) — odds, no matter ;
(12) -sweat, (a) an idle, lazy fellow ; (b) a penurious per-
son ; (13) -to-beheard-tell-of, unheard of, preposterous.
(i) Ant. You neerbegotte devil you, Ballymcna Obs. (1892).
(2) Sc. But ne'er-be-licket could they find that was to their pur-
pose, Scott Antiquary (i8i6) ix. (3) Dor. 'T 'ud nar' but worret
NEVER
[256]
NEVER A ONE
un, Hare Vill. Street (1895) 71. (4) Lakel.^ Wm. He was alius
at it, talkin' aboot his nags wi a niver-ceasin' (B.K.). (5) w.Yks.
Well, here wor a bonny nivvercome off, Hartley Clock Aim.
(1889) 13. (6) Sc. Ye drunken ne'er do good, Scott Waverley
(1814) XXX. (7) Sc. Her ne'er-do-weel father, Scott Guy M.
(i8i5)xxxix. ne.Sc. The graceless neer-do-weel, Gordon A^orM-
ward Ho, 214. Abd. Ruddiman Sc. Parish (1828) 66, ed. 1889.
Kcd. Grant Lays (1884) 21. Frf. Willock Rosetty Ends (1886)
42, ed. 1889. Per. Thy bairns a' ne'er-do-weels, Stewart CAa^'flrfs?'
(1857) 128. Flf. Heddle Marge/ (1899) 37. s.Sc. A weirdless
cretur an a ne'er-do-weel, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 53. Lnk. Cog-
hill Poems (1890) 73. Edb. Fergusson Poems (1773) 132, ed.
1785. Slk. What kind of an answer is that to make to Mr. North,
ye neerdoweels ? Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV. 227. Wgl.
He was just a bit o' a neer-do-weel, . . naebody's enemy but his
ain. Good IVds. (1881) 775. n.Ir. He's a drunken niver-dae-weel,
Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 49. Nhb.i, Cum.i*, n.Yks.i24^ e.Yks.i
Lan. Hoo'U wed a ne'er-do-weel, Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale
(i860) II. 34. (8) w.Yks. Hur husband beein a nivver-heed-em
sort oy a chap, Dewsbre Olm. (1865) 4. (9) w.Yks. All rogues
want tein to cannon mahths an' blawin to Nivver-heed-um-street,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. 3, 1891). (10) Edb. They prorogu'd to —
Nevermass, Pennecuik Helicon (1720) 99. (11) Wm. ' Ah've
missed t'post [man] wi' your letter.' ' Nivver odds, it'll deea ta-
moorn' (B.K.). (12, a) n.Yks. Now work away, awd nivver-sweeat
(I. W.) ; n.Yks.2 A warzUng nivver-sweeat. e.Yks. Bob's a reglar
nivver-sweeat ; he's awlas lewkin oot all ways fo' Sundas, Nichol-
son Flk-Sp. (1889) 91 ; e.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.R.) Rdn. Morgan Wds.
(1881). Oxf. (G.O.) Lon. Flare up, my never-sweats, Mayhew
Land. Labour (1851) I. 419. {b) w.Yks.^ (13) Ayr. The manifest
indiscretion o' Dr. Lounlans' never-to-be-heard-tell-o' connection,
Galt Lairds (1826) xii.
2. Phr. (i) never in the, or this, world, never ; (2) — no
more, never again ; see below ; (3) — off a person's back,
never ceasing to advise, scold, or look after him ; (4) —
the near or the narder, (a) none the nearer, not more for-
ward ; (b) to no purpose, useless ; (5) — the nigh(er, see
(4, a) ; (6) — to heed, never to mind, to take no notice of ;
gen. in imp. ; (7) — to ken, not to know ; (8) to-morrow
come never, never ; (9) with a never give over, without
ceasing.
(i) Som. But there, he'll never in this world let Sabina go, Ray-
mond Sam and Sabina (1894) 79 ; It 'ud never in the world do, ib.
112. (2) w.Yks. (J. W.) Chs.i A very frequent expression to de-
note that the speaker never intends to have anything more to do
with a person or thing ; that having been once taken in, he is not
to be caught again ; Chs.^, Rut.i, Oxf.' MS. add. (3) N.I.l (4)
Cum. Fwoke guesst an' guesst agean. But nin was nivver th'
narder, Gilpin Sngs, (1866) 278. Lei.i Nhp.^ I've worked all
■ day, and am nivver the near. Dor.^ (6) Wil.^ I cwourted she ten
year, but there, 'twer aal niver-the-near. Som. Bit 'tis niver tha
near ta bear malice, Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869) 140. e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i Her ten' un and her watch'n jis the
very same's off 'tvi/as her own cheel, but there, twadn never the
near, he never did'n get no better. Dev. Bowring Lang. (1866)
I. V. 36 ; Dev.^ I can't live so, 'tis never the neer to tell o' at, 22.
(5) Lei.>, Dor.i (6) n.Yks. He teld him to niwer-heed (I.W.) ;
n.Yks. ° It was nivver heeded. ne.Yks.^, e.Yks. 1, m.Yks.^
w.Yks. Well, nivver heead ! If ther isn't mich moor to luk forrad
to ther's plenty to luk back at, Hartley Clock Aim. (1896) 2;
w.Yks.'' Lan.^ Tha mun never-heed what Assays to thi. nw.Der.i
Lin.i You have good sense, so never heed their circumbendibus
stories. (7) Cai.' (8) Nhp.' ' To-morrow come nivver, when
two Sundays meet,' is a phrase often used to check the in-
terrogatories of a child as to the time when some promised pleasure
is to be realized. Suf.^ (9) n.Yks."
3. Used redundantly, or instead of ' ever,' with another
negative ; in gen. dial. use.
Sc. Milk out o' a maiden's breast That bairn had never nane,
Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) I. 93. Wm. Is nivver at rest, ner
nivver will be, Hutton Bran New Wark (1785) 76. w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lan. Nowt nivver feared me, Burnett Lowrie's (1877) i. Wor.
He is the only one as never did me no good, N. Cj* Q. (1879) 5'h
S. xi. 275. s.Wor. Noa, I 'an't niver sin 'im (H.K.). w.Som.' I
on't never zee un again, not so long's I do live.
4. Elliptical use : never did.
w.Mld. 'You bin an' 'it my 'ead !' ' No, I never' (W.P.M.).
5. sb. In comb. Never's-tide, never ; esp. in phr. next
never's-tide.
Dor.i That'll be nex' niver-stide. Som. Sweetman Wincanton
Gl. (1885). w.Som.i It is common to say to children, that they
shall go somewhere next neverstide ; or that they shall have a
silver new nothing next neverstide.
NEVER A, phr. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Amer. Also in forms nar Wil. ; nar a I.W. Wil. Dor.^
Som. Dev. ; narra Nhp.^ Brks. Dev. ; narrer Glo. ;
narrer a s.Hmp. ; narry w.Cy. Som. Cor. ; nary Ken.
Amer. ; nary a Ir. ; near Lin. ; ne'er a Sc. War.'^ Shr.^
Ken.^ Sus. ; ner a Pern. ; nerra Ir. ; nivver a e.Yks.^ ;
nor a Som. ; norra Cor.''^ ; norrah a Don. ; norry Som.
Cor. ; nory Dor. ; nur a, nurra Glo. ; nurry e.Som.
[na'ra, na'ri.] 1. No.
Ayr. At brooses thou had ne'er a fellow For pith an' speed,
Burns New Year Salutation, st. 9. Ir. Nerra thing but the big
pudden, Yeats Flk. Tales (1888) 189; So I just lay still where I
was, and nary another stir I heard. Barlow Idylls (1892) 74.
Don. Arrah, the norrah so badly off a woman 'ud be in the winter
in Pathricks, Pearson's Mag. (Mar. 1900) 312. e.Yks.' Hezn't
neeabody seen nowt o' nivver a hat neeawheear? w.Yks. It's a
long loin 'at's nivver a turn, Prov. in Brighouse News (Sept. 14,
1889). War.^3*, s.War.i, Shr.' Pern. There aint ner a body
here (E.D.). Glo. Horae Subsecivae^iTji) 305; I've had nur a bite
this two days, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) xvi. Brks. I beant
engaged to narra young man, Hughes Scour. White Horse (1859)
vii. Sus. A han't got ne'er a young man, Miss (S.P.H.). Hmp.'
She's got never a sweet-heart. s.Hmp. There ayn't narrer an
orchat any where as this 'un, Verney L. Lisle (1870) iv. n.Wil.
Thur's nar a spot in 'ee, Kite Sng. Sol. (c. i860) iv. 7. Dor;
Nory trifle less at all ? Flk-Lore Rec. (1880) III. i. 107 ; Dor.i Nar
a cow. Som. I got nar a cooat, Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 21 ; Han't
got nar a vriend, ib. ; We got all as we laiked it an' narry over-
charge, Frank Nine Days (1879) 33. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
Dev. Tidden nar'a mo'sel o' good setten up no longer vor vather,
Longman's Mag. (Dec. 1896) 153. Cor. What do keep that theere
house, what haan't got narry sign ? Tregellas Tales, Penna's
Van, 105 ; I've seed un scores of times, but norry time the saame,
Higham Dial. (1866) 10; Cor.2 [Amer. Past noontime they
went trampin' round An' nary thing to pop at found, Lowell
Biglow Papers (1848) 28.]
Hence (i) never a bit, phr. not at all, by no means ; (2)
— body, phr. nobody ; (3) — deal, phr. not much ; (4) —
morsel, phr., see (i) ; (5) — once, phr. not once ; (6) how
the norra, (7) what the norra, phr. expletives.
(i) Ayr. The ne'er a bit they're ill to poor folk. Burns Twa
Dogs (1786) 1. 184. I.W. As though I wasn't nar a bit better than
they. Gray Annesley (1889) I. 116. Wil. Dree battles I wur in
out there, We courage nar bit cool, Slow Rhymes (1889) 97. Som.
But twaden norry beet o' good, Frank Nine Days (1879) 14. (2)
Dev. I never expects narrabody to harken to me, Blackmore
Christowell (i88t) xxix. (3) Not.' Lei.' Ah dooii't keer nivver-a-
dale abaout hewin yew i' the aouse. Nhp.', War.^ (4) wil. We
appetite nar mossel coy, Slow Rhymes (1894) 5th S. 1 16. (5) Ken.i
(6) Don. How the norra the markets was goin' this wurrl', Mac-
MANDS Bend of Road (1895) 48. (7) Och, nobbut ax me what the
norra isn't the matther, ib. 65.
2. Neither.
Ir. Nary a daughter nor a son has poor ould Dan, Lawson
Sacrifice (1893) 175. Lin. (Hall.) Nhp.^ Narra you nor I. Glo.
'Er touched nar a won o' narra zide o' ut, Buckman Darke's
Sojourn (1890) xiii. Ken. (G.B.)
NEVER ACK, see Rack, v.
NEVER A ONE, phr. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms nair-a-one, nairun s.Stf. ; nar-a-one
Ir. War. Glo. Oxf ^ Wil. Som. ; nare-a-one Sus. ; nareon
s.Wil. ; narn Der.^ Nhp.' Shr. Hrf. Glo.^ Oxf.> Brks.*
n.Wil. Som. ; naron Glo.^ ; narra-one Nhp.'' Brks.*
Hmp.' Wil.='; narrun Nhp.'' Brks.*; narry-one Som.
Cor.^ ; narun Nhp.* ; nary-a-one Cor.^ ; nary -one Bdf.
Hrt. ; near o' ane w.Sc. (Jam.) ; ne'er-a-one War.^ Shr.*
Oxf. Sur.* ; ne'ern War.^ ; ne'er -un War.* s.Wor. Shr.*
Glo.* ; nere a yan n.Yks.* ; nern Glo.* ; nerrun w.Wor.
se.Wor.* ; norn Nrf. e.Som. ; nor one I.W.* ; norra-one
Nhp.* Wil. Som. Cor.^ ; norry-one Som. Cor. ; nurran
Glo. ; nurra-one w.Wor.* s.Wor.* Hrf.* Glo. ; nurrun Glo.
Not one ; neither one.
w.Sc. The near o' ane o' them did it (Jam.). Ayr. Ne'er a ane
mistak' her. Burns IV. Chalmers, st. 3. Ir. (A.S.-P.), n.Cy. (J.W.)
n. Yks.2 Nere a yan. s.Stf. Theer was nairun 0' the gaffers about,
PiNNOCK Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Der.* (s.v. Arn), Nlip.**, War.
NEVEY
[257]
NEWALTY
(J.R.W.),War.23 w.Wor. A full horn or nerrun, S. Beauchamp
N. Hamilton (1875) I. 125. w.Wor.i, se.Wor.i s.Wor. I arn't
niver sin ne'er un or another (H.K.) ; s.Wor.i Shr> Introd. 51.
Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. ( 1876). Hrf.2 Glo. Thay bean't so main
plentiful as I can't 'ford to lose nurrun, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(1890) iii; GI0.12 Oxf. Ne'er-a-one shan't catch me (G.O.) ; Oxf.i
'Twuzn't narn an um, I dun't keer for nar-a-one-an-ee. Brks.^
Ther bent narn ther. Bdf. There was no one after the farm, ' nary
one,' Ward Bc«5« Cos/re// (1895) 4. Hrt. (J.W.) Nrf. Everyone
on 'em ha' tweens, and norn on 'em is gast, Gillett Sng. Sol.
(i860) iv. a. Sur.i I never touched ne'er a one. Sus. Nare a
one among em is barren, Lower Sng. Sol. ( i860) iv. 2. Hmp.^
I.W.* I can't zee , nor one. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892) ; Brixton
Beauties (J825) ; Wil.= n.Wil. Kite Sng. Sol. (c. i860) vi. 6.
s.Wil. Hatnt thee got nareon ! Monthly Mag. (1814) II. 114. Som.
SwEETMAN Wincanton Gl. {1885); Jenniucs Dial. w.Eng. {i86g).
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Cor. I arn't goin' to norry one of they
plaaces. Jemmy Trebilcock (1863) 8; I . . . shaant go for norra
waun, Tregellas Tales (1865) 29; Cor.^ Narry one nor tother.
NEVEY, NEVIENEVIENICKNACK, see Nephew,
Neiveie-nick-nack.
NEVIL-STONE, sb. } Obs. Sc. The keystone of
an arch.
Altho' it be a vault, it hath no nevil-stone to bind it in the
middle, Balfour Z.e«. (1700) 137 (Jam.).
NEVIS, sb. n.Yks.2 [ne-vis.] A wart.
NEVISON, sb. Yks. [ne'visan.] A bungler, any one
awkward at doing anything. Prob. a special use of the
proper name ' Nevinson.'
w.Yks. Ger at at ruad ja g5t nevisan, a niva 35 onibodi fream
laikja(J.W.).
NEVI"!", ppl. adj. Chs.^ [ne-vit.] Compact.
A neat little woman would be spoken of as ' a nice little nevit body.'
[Nevit is prob. a pp. form of neve, neive, to press with
the fist, used in Sifig. sense. See Neive.]
NEW, adj., adv. and sb. Var. dial, and colloq. uses in
Sc. and Eng. [niu, nju, nti.] 1. adj. In comb, (i) Nevr
bread, a novelty ; (2) -chapel-flower, the broom rape,
Orobanche major; (3) -cheese, a sort of pudding made
from the milk of a newly-calved cow ; (4) ■land(s, newly-
ploughed land which has previously lain long untilled ;
(5) -land hay, clover hay ; hay from a new-sown pasture ;
(6) -lay or -ley, see below ; (7) — light, a term applied to
certain parties in the Scottish Church ; see below ; also used
attrib.;{8) — mine, lumps ofiron ore; (9) -nothing, see below;
(10) — pan, a second husband; (11) — potato, a term of
endearment ; (12) -qut- and- jerkin, a game at cards ; (13)
■take, a newly-enclosed piece of moorland ; (14) -take
wall, a wall enclosing a piece of moor; (15) — un, a fresh,
vigorous person ; lit. new one ; (16) — weed, the water-
thyme, Anacharis Alsinastrum.
(i) Cai.' 'At's nae new bread. (2) Nhb. Turner Herbes (1548) ;
Nhb.i (3) Abd. (Jam.) (4) Ess. (W.W.S.), Ess.' Ken. Lewis
/. Tenet (1736); Ken.12 (5) Nhb.' (6) Nrf. In many cases the
smaller, and I expect the larger, farmers sow the land with barley
and grass, clover, &c., after the turnips are taken off — the grass,
clover, &c. , being sown between the barley. The barley is
harvested and the stuff cut down and the land let lie all the
winter, and in the spring the grass grows up afresh and is cut in
June and made into hay. The land becomes a ' new-lay ' directly
the barley is cut (P.H.E.) ; The snow had not quite gone —
patches still lay on the ' new-lays,' Emerson Lagoons (ed. 1896)
62 ; First year's clover, Sandiingham Estate. (7) Sc. Speaking
generally, ' New Light ' describes the liberal or progressive party
in a Church. In Burns' time 'New Light' was the designation
given to those clergy of the Established Church who were lax in
their confessional views, not evangelical in doctrine, and not very
devout in their lives. To their views Burns inclined. But among
dissenting churches the New Lights represented liberalism in views
tending towards voluntaryism in the relation of Church and State.
Towards the middle of the 19th century the term came to represent
a difference in one of the Scottish dissenting churches as to the
extent of the Atonement, the New Lights representing the reaction
against the 'limited' theory associated with Calvinism (A.W.).
Frf. The congregation, which belonged to the body who seceded
from the Established Church a hundred and fifty years ago, had
split, and as the New Lights (now the U.P.'s) were in the majority,
the Old Lights, with the minister at their head, had to retire to
VOL. IV.
the commonty, Barrie Licht (1888) iii. Ayr. You bade me write
you what they mean By this New-Light, 'Bout which our herds
sae oft have been Maist like to fight, Burns W. Simpson (1785)
St. 19; But new-light herds gat sic a cowe, ib. 27. (8) War.
White Wrekin (i860) xxvi. (g) Nhp.' When children are
importuning their parents or friends to tell them what fairings
they will bring them from the fair, it is often said in joke, to
repress curiosity, 'If you'll be good children, I'll bring you all a
new-nothing to hang on your sleeves,' i.e. nothing at all. War.^
A silver new-nothing to hang on your arm. (lo") Rnf. 'Soon your
brass Will buy me a new pan.' ' Aweel, aweel, That may be when
I'm deid,' Barr Poems (1861) 12. (11) Dor. Like 'ee, my new
potato? Like 'ee ! I love 'ee just about, Windsor Mag. (May
1900) 744. (12) Som. In a more refined dialect new-coat and
jerkin, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). (13) Dev. The tenants
of these holdings [on Dartmoor] enjoy great rights by custom.
The heir of each and every one, on the death of each and every
tenant, has by custom the privilege of enclosing eight acres of the
forest or waste ground, paying therefor one shilling annually to
the Three Feathers ; and this enclosure is called a new-take,
Baring-Gould Drtm. Idylls (1896) 106; Portions of the Moor
are frequently granted by the Duchy to persons willing to farm
them. These are known as ' newtakes,' Page Explor. Drtm.
(1889) ii. (14) Dev. Fowks . . . dismissed him, and said he would
finish his new-take wall by himself with his own men, Baring-
Gould Furze Bloom (1899) 18. (15) Nhb. And Peel, as drunk as
he can stand, Reeling and dancing like a new-un, Wilson Pitman's
Paji(i843)22; Nhb.' (16) Miller & SKERTCHLY/««/««rf(i878) x.
2. Phr. whafs new with you ? what has happened to you
of late ? what news have you .'
Ayr. What's new wi' you the day? I never thocht ye would
hae ventured oot, Service Notandums (1890) 114.
3. adv. Newly; freshly; just; in ^(«. colloq. use.
Abd. Firhill's clean, new-pipet mutch, Cadenhead Bon-Accord
(1853) 170. Nhb.' Ye'U fin him roon the corner: him an' me's
new pairted. Wm. If she hedn't new laaid on a lock a mul,
Wheeler Dial. (1790) 55. e.Yks.' We've just new getten that
coo [cow], MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. As smart as a new-scraped
carrit, Prov. in Brighouse News (Aug. 10, 1889). Lan. If I wurt
tell 'em what yo'n towd me, they'd cry like new-byetten childer,
Brierley Weaver, 20 ; When we're wed he'll ha' th' heawses
new-fettled an' sowd, Harland Lyrics (1866) 133. Dor.' Friths
ar lops Vrom new-plesh'd hedge, 64. n.Dev. A new-fardelled Bible
vrom es gaffer. Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 66.
4. Comb, (i) New-catched, inexperienced, raw; (2)
-come, fresh, newly arrived ; (3) -faw'n, newly calved ;
(4) -get, to gain afresh ; (5) -laid, a field laid down for grass,
which has recently been under tillage ; (6) -layed, newly
repaired with an added piece of material ; (7) -melched
cow, a cow which has recently calved ; (8) -mown-hay,
the sweet woodruff, Asperula odorata; (9) -on, new, fresh ;
esp. of clothes ; (10) -out, newly out ; fresh ; (11) -slain,
a disease to which wheat is subject ; (12) -woke, newly
risen ; (13) -won, of milk : fresh from the cow.
(i) n.Yks. Sike new-catched workers as thou (I.W.). w.Yks.'
Said of newly-married people. Lan.' They'll make him believe
owt. He's a new-catch'd un. (2) Ayr. It chanc'd his new-come
neebor took his ee, Burns fin]gs of Ayr (1787) 1. 87. Nhb.', Lan.'
(3) w.Yks. Lit. newly fallen (J.W.) ; w.Yks.^, Chs.' (4) n.Yks.'
When they newget their feathers. (5) Dnr.' (6) Nhb.' (7)
War. (J.R.W.) (8) Not. A little white star-like flower, which
we call new-mown-hay but others woodruff, Prior Renie (1895)
ii. (9) w.Yks. (J.W.), w.Yks.2 Lan.' He's got everythin'
new-on — it met be Ayster [Easter] Sunday. Oxf. iG.O.) (10)
w.Yks. (J.W.), w.Yks.2 (11) Ess. Scarcely any meldew and
but very little new-slain, Marshall Review (i8ii) III. 522. (12)
Dmf. Red lowed the new-woke moon, Cromek Remains (1810)
235- ('3) Her hand like new-won milk, ib.
5. sb. Phr. in the new, anew.
Wgt Tae get this gentleman's coat-neck padded in the new, . .
his present coat-neck is dune. Eraser Wigtown (1877) 274.
NEW, V. Sc. Also in form nyow Bnff.' Abd. (Jam.)
[nju.] "To oppress, keep under, master ; to curb ; to maul.
Abd. (Jam.) ; 'Bout then-a-days we'd seldom met wi' cross, . .
But now the case is alter'd very sair, And we sair new'd and
caim'd against the hair, Ross Helenore (1768) loi, ed. 1812.
Hence Nyowan, vbl. sb. a severe beating. Bnif.'
[Cp. ON. knyja, to press, knock (Vigfusson).]
NEWALTY, see Newelty.
l1
NEWANCE
[258]
NEWKT
NEWANCE, s6. Sc. Irel. I.Ma. Also written newans
N.I.*; and in forms newins Cai.* n.Ir, Ant.; newings
n.Ir. [niu-ans.] L A new thing ; a novelty ; anything
unusual.
GaU. We had, of course, no stiver o" siller in any of our pockets,
but that was no ' newance,' Gallovidian (1899) I. 153. n.Ir.
(M.B.-S.) ; N.I.i ' It's new-ans to see you down so early.' ' Ye'r
behavin' yerself for new-ans,' i.e. you are behaving well for
a novelty. Uls. He was at church to-day, that's newance (M.B.-S.).
Ant. Newins aye comes yinst a year. It's newins tae see a licht
o' you, Ballymena Obs. (1892). Dwn. Knox Hist. Dwn. (1875).
I.Ma. A sort of a newance, you see. Brown Doctor (1887) 73.
2. Phr. to give the newins of anything, see below.
Cai.i A child on getting a new garment put on is said to give
the newins of it to the person first kissed thereafter.
NEW-BARE, adj. Not. Lin. Also written new-bear
sw.Lin.' ; and in forms new-baa'd n.Lin.* ; newber, newby
s.Not. [niu'-b3(r).] In phr. a new-bare cow, a cow that
has lately had a calf.
s.Not. A newber cow gives the most milk (J.P.K.). Lin.
Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 716 ; Lin.' This is new-bare cow's
butter. n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' Pronounced Newber or Newby, with
the accent on the first syllable. ' They reckon to have two newber
cows a year.'
NEW-CAL', ppl. adj. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Also in forms neucheld Per. (Jam.) ; neucle, neucled
N.Cy.'Nhb.'; new-ca'd Sc. (Jam.) ; newcawven n.Yks.= ;
newkeld N.Cy.' Nhb.'; newkel't Cum.'*; new-killed
Nhb. ; ni'akald Dur. ; niukled Lakel.* ; nuckelt Cum.' ;
nuckle Sc. ; nuikkel, nuikkelt Wm. & Cum.' [niu-kl,
niukld.] 1. ppl. adj. Used of a cow that has lately
calved ; lit. ' new-calved.' Also used subst.
Sc. He-rd Coll. Sngs. {iTiS) Gl. Bch. (Jam.) Abd. A new-cal'
cow to fill my byre, Beattie Parings (1801) 67, ed. 1873. Ayr.
While new-ca'd kye rowte at the stake, Burns Ep. to J. Lapraik
(Apr. 21, 1785) St. I. Lnk. Nuckle kye stand rowting on the
loans, Ramsay Po«ms (1721) 179; As mony newcal in my byars
rowt, ib. Gentle Shep. (1775) 77, ed. 1783. Lth. (Jam.), N.Cy.'
Nlib. She struck oot wi' her hind leg like a new-killed heifer,
S.Tynedale Stud. (1896) Robbie Armstrong; Nhb.' Dur. Tea's
t'stuff', when it hez a ni'akald cow's milk in't er a sup cream,
Eggleston Betty Podkins' Visit (1877) 12. Lakel.'^ Cum. As
good to him as a nuikkel't cat, Gilpin Sngs. (1866) 276; Nobbut
just gruntit summat aboot fat-swine, an' neucklt-kye, Sargisson
Joe Scoap (1881) 89 ; Cum.'*, Wm. & Cum.', n.Yks.^
2. With calf, a term applied to a cow that is pregnant.
Per. (Jam.)
NEWCASTLE, s6. n.Cy. Nhb. In fo»?6. (i) Newcastle
cloak, obs., a tub put over the head of a drunkard and
worn like a garment; (2) — hospitality, hospitality which
kills with kindness.
(i) N.Cy.' Nhb. The common drunkard was led through the
town as a spectacle of contempt, covered with a large barrel,
called a Newcastle Cloak, one end being out, and the other
having a hole through it of sufficient size to allow the offender's
head to pass through, by which means the vessel rested on the
shoulders, Denham Tracts (ed. 1892) 294 ; Nhb.' (2) The saying,
no doubt, alludes to the ancient drinking customs of Newcastle. . .
No one was permitted to leave the room until he fell dead drunk
under the table, Denham ib. 296 ; Nhb.'
NEWCAWVEN, NEWDLE(S, see Newcal', Noodle.
NEWDiCLE, sb. Obs. e.An. Something new.
(Hall.); e.An.' A fanciful and licentious fabrication, perhaps
never used at all seriously.
NEWDLING, sb. Cum. Wm. Also written neudlin
Cum.; newdlin Lakel.'^ Cum.'*; and in form nuddling
Wm. A simpleton, a demented person. Cf noodle.
Lakel.'^ Cum. It 'ill nut mell o' the', thoo neudlin, thoo,
Richardson Talk (ed. 1876) 33 ; Cum.'* (s.v. Newdles). Wm.
He's a lal silly newdling (B.K.) ; Gibson Leg. and Notes (1877) 94.
NEWELTY, sb. Nhp. Oxf. Bdf. Hnt. e.An. Som.
Also written newalty Nhp.' Bdf. Hnt. Cmb. ; and in forms
neulty Oxf. ; newlity Bdf. [niu'alti.] A novelty ; a
dainty.
Nhp.i I aint had a bit of pig-meat so long, it's quite a newalty.
Oxf. (K.) Bdf. Coff"ee will be quite a newlity to me (J.W.B.).
Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.', Cmb. (F.M.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
w.Sora,' Well ! there idn very much newelty in thick there
contraption like, he's something same's a old ewe a dressed up
Iamb-fashion.
[Novella, a tale, a parable, ora neweltee, Tuouas Italian
Grammar (1562) (Nares).]
NEWERY, sb. Dur. Yks. Also written newry Dur.
[niu'(a)ri.] In comb, (i) Newery-day, New Year's day;
(2) -'s morn. New Year's morning.
(i) n.Yks. 'Ah'll start wi' Newery Day!' ' Newery Day —
That's fost day i' t'New Year,' Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) i.
m.Yks.' (2) Dur. Whatever you do on Newry's Morn you'll do
all the rest of the year, Longman's Mag. (Oct. 1896) 587.
NEW-FANG, sb. Cor. Also in form new-vang Cor.'^
Anything new-fashioned ; a new fancy ; gen. used satiri-
cally. Cor.' ; Cor. 2 That's one of his new-fangs.
NEWFANGLE,56.andarfy. Sc.Yks.Lan. [niu-fag(g)l.]
1. sb. A novelty.
Sc. Like mony newfangles, ye're brisk, New Year ! Wright
Sc. Life (1897) 75. e.Lan.'
2. adj. Fond of novelty ; pleasant to strangers.
Bch. For fear she shou'd say that I was newfangle, Forbes
Jm. (1742) 17. Abd. Nor are they to incomes [incomers] new-
fangle. Until acquainted wi' their character, Anderson Poems
(ed. i8s6) 8.
3. New-fashioned, novel.
Edb. Nae doubt the twae were baith newfangle, Liddle Poems
(1821) 193 ; Newfangle grown wi' new got form, Fergusson
Poems (1773) 138, ed. 1785.
Hence Newfanglement, sb. a modern innovation.
Yks, The old gentleman must ha' turned in his grave to see all
these here new-fanglements, Fletcher Wapentake (1895) 155;
(J.W.)
NEWFANGLED, ppl. adj. Sc. Irel. Dur. Yks. [niu'-
fa-5(g)ld.] 1. Much taken up with some new thing;
pleased with novelties.
Edb. My auld, new fangled dame, Wha's just as ready as the
lave To spend what I am bound to save, Macneill Bygane Times
(1811) 17. N.I.' s.Dur., n.Yks. He's new-fangled wi his job
(J.E.D.). n.Yks.* Bairns diz git new-fangled wi' owt at's fresh.
2. In a new and strange situation.
Rnf. Altho' at first it was new-fangled. At last it fand itsel'
entangled, Webster Rhymes (1835) 162.
[1. More new-fangled than an ape, Shaks. As You, iv. i.
152 ; Newe fangled, nat constante and stedy of purpose,
muable, Palsgr. (1530).]
NEWFANGLEDNESS, sb. Sc. 1. Obs. Love of
novelty.
Lnk. Soon as his newfangledness is gane, He'll look upon you
as his tether stake, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1775) 32, ed. 1783.
2. An innovation ; a novelty.
ne.Sc. I put down my fit at ance on sic newfangledness, Grant
Keckleton, 133. Wgt. So averse was he to titles and ' new-
fangledness,' as he used to call it, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 361.
NEWGATE, sb. Shr.^ In phr. as false as Newgate,
very false.
NEWHAVEN-GILL, s6. Wbs. Sc. A measure : two
gills.
Edb. It tak's near sax Newhaven gills To weet their throats
aroun', Auld Handsel Monday (1792) 20.
NEWIL-FOST, sb. Yks. The bottom baluster of a
staircase, the ' newel.'
w.Yks. Sittin' up at' newil poast, he turn'd hiz head raand tut
congregashun, Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (iSsSj 23.
NEWILTRY, sb. ? Obs. Suf.' An annuity.
' Well, how is poor naabar Smith ? ' ' Purely well — why he's
come into a newiltry.'
NEWIN(G, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Ess. Yeast ; barm.
Sc. It is a fairy brewing that is na good in the newing, Ferguson
Prov. (1641) No. 482. Ess. Trans. Arch. Soc. (1863) II. 186;
Ess.' [Newing (barm), spuma or jlos cerevisiae, Coles (1679).]
NEWIS, adj. Sc. Also written newys, and in form
newous (Jam.). Keeping under, holding in, parsimonious;
covetous, greedy; earnestly desirous. Lth. (Jam.), Slk.
(J.F.) See New, v.
NEWK, NEWKIN, see Nook, Nookin.
NEWKELD,NEWKEL'T,NEWKILLED,seeNew-cal'.
NEWKT, adj Obsol. Cum.* Curious, strange; lit.
' nooked ' or put in the corner.
NEWKY
[259]
NEW-YEAR
NEWKY, adj. and sb. Yks. Also written neuky, and
in form nooky. [niu'ki.] 1. adj. Cross, ill-tempered,
ill to deal with ; lit. ' nooky.'
w.Yks. Shoo's said soa monny newky things, Yksman. {^l^^$)
44, col. I ; When t'new parson coram, he gate a bit nooky
(J.N.L.); (S.P.U.)
2. sb. A cross child. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. (Nov. 8, 1884) 8.
NEWLINS, adv. Sc. Also written newlans, and in
form newlin. [niu'linz.] Newly, recently.
Sc. He cam on purpose for to court me, Wi' his auld beard
newlin shaven, Chambers Stigs. (1829) II. 525. Abd. At the
skreek o' day The mist had newlans hfted, Murray Hamewith
(igoo) 47. Frf. The pat's but newlins on the fire, Watt Poet.
Sketches (1880) 10. Ayr. The sun was neulins doun the lift,
Fisher Poems (1790) 144.
[Ensew thai landis quhilkis war for ws provide Alanerly
newlingis on that wther syde, Douglas Eneados (1513),
ed. 1874, II. 141.]
NEWLITY, see Newelty.
NEWLYN-BUCCA, sb. Cor. A Newlyn fisherman,
so called from their custom of throwing one fish out of a
good catch into the sea to propitiate the ' Bucca ' (q.v.).
Flk-Lorejrn. (1883) I. 364.
NEWMOST, adj. Sc. [nju-mast.] Lowest; nether-
most ; also used subsf.
Bch. My side happen'd to be newmost, Forbes Jrn. (1742) 3.
Abd. Let them dunt it out i-now ; just a fair shake, an' the best
man i-most, an' myginich to the newmost, Ellis Pronunc. (1889)
V. 774.
NEWOUS, adj. ? Obs. Cld. (Jam.) Newfangled ; full
of novelty ; fond of what is new. Hence (i) Newouslie,
adv. in a newfangled way; (2) Newousness, sb. 'new-
fangledness.'
NEWOUS, NEWRY, see Newis, Newery.
NEWS, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
written newse Sc. Not. [niuz, njtJz, nuz.] 1. sb. In
comb, (i) News-bag, a gossiping person ; (2) -bell, a singing
in the ears supposed to portend bad news ; (3) -gizzened,
empty of news ; (4) -hugger, a news-carrier ; a gossip ;
a newspaper seller; (5) -lassie, a newspaper girl; (6)
■poak, a gossip.
(i) e.Suf. (F.H.) (2) e.Suf. (F.H.) Dor. I've had the news-bell
ringing in my left ear quite bad enough for a murder. Hardy
Madding Crowd (1874) viii. (3) Abd. To the news-gizzened rustic
a lounge about the merchant's shop door ... is inexpressibly
grateful. He can see and hear as much as will furnish topics to
keep himself . . . ' newsin ' for several days, Alexander Johnny
Gibb (1871) xxxiii. (4) n.Yks.^, w.Yks. (J.W.) (51 Lnk. Wha
does na ken the wee news lassie's cry? Nicholson Idylls (1870)
106. (6) w.Yks. Sho's a reg'lar newspoak an knaws everybody's
bis'ness better than they know it thersens (H.L.).
2. Gossip ; talk, conversation ; the subject of talk.
Abd. Aw wud 'a been owre bye to hae a newse wi 'im, Alexan-
der yoAMWy Gibb (1871) XXX. Kcd. I would be news out o'er a
gill. When they do weet their wizzens, Jamie Muse (1844) 31.
Ayr. ' I see : then there'll be news, I don't misdoubt.' ' News !
I'm black affronted the wye we have been used by thae women,'
Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 160. n.Lln.'
Hence (i) Newsfu', adj. full of gossip ; (2) Newsy or
Newzy, adj. talkative ; full of gossip ; scandal-loving ;
inquisitive ; (3) Newsy-breeches, sb. pi. a gossip ; a busy-
body ; an inquisitive person.
(i) Ayr. The sharpen'd sock Maun to the newsfu' smiddy gae,
Taou Amusements (iBia) 35. (3) Cal.' Abd. ' Owre new,' said
Willie, who was turning newsy, 'On stuff like this may we get
aften boozy," Ogg Willie IValy (1873) 14. Lakel.^ What's thoo
shutten thi neb in for 1 Thoo's as newsy as an auld woman. e.Yks.^
w.Yks. Sho's too newzy bit hauf for mi brass (H.L.) ; w.Yks.s A
newsy body. s.Not. The barber's is a very newsy place (J.P.K.).
n.Lin.' She's th' newsiest carry-taale e' all Waddingham ; I doan't
care who t'uther is. sw.Lin.i I think she's a bit newsy. Oxf.'
MS. add. Brks. I didn't ask how he was a queer un. I didn't
want to be too newsy (W.H.E.). Hmp. He sims pretty newsy
this morning (I'A.). Wil. (G.E.D.) w.Som.i There idn nort to
choose 'twixt em, he's so newsy's ever her is ; other one o'm' 'ud
talk a butt o' bees to death. (3) w.Yks. I wouldn't tell that newsy-
breeches anything (H.L.) ; (J.W.)
3. A newspaper.
Ayr. Your News and Review, sir, I've read through and through,
sir, Burns Capt. Riddel, st. i. w.Som.^ Our Tom's a good
scholard ; why, most every night they zends vor-n to come into
the Barley Mow vor to read out the war 'pon the news.
4. V. To tell as news ; to chat ; to gossip.
Sh.I. We set wis till an' news'd awa, Clark Gleams (1898) 93.
Cai.l e.Yks.' There was neeabody there bud three awd gossips,
newsin tegither ower a dish o' tea. s.Not. She newses all mornin
(J.P.K.). e.An.i It was newsed at market yesterday. Nrf. Hollo-
WAY. Sns.i It was newsed about. Hmp. Holloway. Dev.i; Dev.*
'Ot iwer beyou twoadoingof? Newsing again I'lewarndee. You
ban't fit for nort else — newsing, newsing from marning to night.
Hence (i) Newsed, ppl. adj. mentioned in the news-
paper ; (2) Newser, sb. a gossip, retailer of news ; (3)
Newsing, vbl. sb. gossiping.
(i) e.An.i Suf.i Ta maJi as well be news'd a' tonce. (3') Abd.
I'm a grand newser, an' country folk . . . dinna ken fat's goin' on,
Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Oct. 6, 1900). (3) w.Yks. T'woman wor
alius runnin in an aht at nabors' hahces i' newsin, Tom Treddle-
HOYLE Bairnsla Ann. (1873) 26. n.Lin.' She never sticks to her
wark, she's oher fond o' newsin' for that. sw.Lin.' There's a deal
of newsing goes on in that row. She can't live without newsing.
5. To advertise that one will not be responsible for
another person's debts.
e.Suf. I mean to news my wife (F.H.).
NEWSE, see News, Newst.
NEWSNER, sb. n.Lin.i An inspector of nuisances ; a
corruption of ' nuisancer.'
Th' newsner's alust a-cumin' an rowtin' aboot wheare foaks duz
n't want him, just as if that wo'd do ony good. Feavers wo'd n't
cum if thaay was n't sent.
NEWSPAPER, s6. Sc. In co»2;&. (i) Newspaper-billy,
a reporter for the Press ; (2) -man or -woman, a man or
woman who is a great reader of newspapers.
(i) Frf. Twa newspaper billies cam' doon, sharpened their
keelyvines, an' clickit doon a' thing aboot the shipwrack, Wil-
LOCK Rosetty Ends (1886) 190, ed. 1889. (2) Lth. Say that yer
dear young mistress at hame is a great newspaper woman, Lums-
den Sheep-head (1892) 260. Gall. (A.W.)
NEWST, prep, and adv. Hrf. GIo. Oxf Brks. Hmp.
I.'W. 'Wil. Dor. Som. Also written neust Brks. I.W.^
■Wil.' ; and in forms knawse 'Wil. ; neaous Hrf ^ ; neaust
Oxf. ; neoust Wil.^ Dor. ; neowst Wil. ; neuce I.W.' ;
neuss Dor. ; newse Oxf ; noist e.Som. ; noost Brks.^ ;
noust 'Wil.' ; nuost Som. [nius(t.] 1. prep. Near to,
nigh. See Anewst.
Som.}zKmiiGsObs.Dial.w.Eng. (1825'). e.Som. W.&J. G/.(i873).
2. adv. Near, hereabout. Wil. N. &^ Q. (1881) 6th S. iv.
106. 3. Nearly, almost, pretty much. See Anewst.
Hrf.l (s.v. Aneaoust). Glo. Gl. (1851). Oxf. (K.), Brks.
( W. W.S.) Hmp. Anybody med newst so well be made love to by
a owl. Gray Heart Storm (1891) I. 192. I.W. ' How are you to-
day?' 'Newst the same, thank you' (J.W.); I.W.* Neuce the
seyam. Wil. I'm neowst tired on't (A.H.) ; Wil.' Neust alike
(s.v. Aneoust). Dor. (W.C. c. 1750) ; (C.W.)
Hence (i) Newstness, sb. in phr. neivst of a newsiness,
much about the same, almost alike ; (2) Newst-one, adj.
much the same ; (3) newst the matter, phr. nearly right.
(i) Glo. Gl. (1851); Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Brks. Ray
Prov. (1678) 235. Wil. N. (f Q. (1881) 6th S. iv. 106 ; Wil.' (3)
s.Cy. (Hall.) (3) Oxf. (K.), I.W.'
NEWTED, ppl. adj. n.Yks.^ In comb. Newted-whye,
a young cow which has had one calf
NEW-YEAR, sb. Sc. Shr. Ess. Also in forms ne'er
Sc. ; newer Sh.I. ; nur Sc. (Jam.) In comb, (i) New-year-
day, (a) New Year's day ; [b) a present given on New
Year's day ; (2) -day bottle, a bottle of spirits for exercis-
ing hospitality at the New Year ; (3) -'s gift, the winter
aconite, Eranthis hyemalis ; (4) -'s tide, the beginning of
the year.
(i, a) Sh.I. Hit's hard ta say wha sees anidder Yol or Newer-
day, Sh. News (Jan. 19, 1901). w.Sc. (Jam.) Rnf. Bra canty
chiels are a' asteer, To glad their sauls wi' Nurday cheer, Picken
Poems (1788) 14 {ib.). (b) Sc. I am again visiting my grannie
to get my ' ne'erday,' which meant in my young days a daud
of shortbread and currant-bun and a ' bawbee,' Wright Sc Life
(1897) 15. (2) Sh.I. If hit no been 'at dey wir a drap efter o'
L 1 2
NEXT
[260]
NIB
da Newerday bottle, alang wi' twa or tree draps o' essence o' pepper-
mint, Sh. News (Jan. ig, 1901). (3) Ess. Because generally in
bloom on New Year's day (G.E.D.). (4) Shr.i A couplet which
sets forth that the days attain a slightly increased length at this
season runs as follows : ' New-yis-tide A cock-stride.'
NEXT, adv., adj. and prep. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also in form nex Shr.^ Sus.' Dor.^ [nekst.]
1. adv. In comb, (i) Next-never, (2) -never-come-day,
(3) -never-come-time, never.
(i) w.Som.' ' I haven't any change now, but I will remember
you when I see you again.' ' Ugh ! thank'ee vor nort ; that'll be
next-never I count.' (2) Som. That mid be a longful while, Next-
never-come-day, mayhap, Raymond No Soul (1899) 112. (3)
w.Som.i ' When b'ee comin' to zee us again ? ' ' Oh, I count that'll
be next-never-corae-time.'
2. adj. In comb, (i) Next day, the day after to-morrow ;
(2) -day morn(ing, the next morning ; (3) -day night, next
night ; (4) — thought, on mature consideration ; (5) -to-
next, consecutively ; (6) -way(s or -wise, directly ; soon.
(i) Sus. (S.P.H.), Sus.i, I.W. (J.D.R.), I.W.i (2)Nrf. Cozens-
Hardv Broad Nif. (1893) 60. e.Suf. I was there next day morning
(F.H.). (3) e.Suf. He came next-day night (F.H.). (4) Chs.i (5)
Shr.i Three nights nex'-to-nex'. (6) Lei.' Ah shall goo Nels'n
nextus. Nhp.i I'm coming next-ways ; Nhp.2 War. B'ham Wkly.
Post (June 17, 1893) ; War.123 . War." Set about that job next
ways, or I shan't be pleased. Bdf. I will go next ways home,
Batchelor Anal. Ettg. Lang. (1809) 139.
3. Phr. next {of) kin to anything, almost equal to ; ' next
door ' to ; similar to.
GI0.2 Whitewash would be next of kin to milk. A Justice of the
Peace is next of kin to a Judge, 18. Wil.' I cudden get un to
take next akin to nothin', 212. Dor.' If tidden robben oone, 'tis
nex-kin to it. w.Som.^ The young Squire idn much o't ; they zes
how a's next-kin to a fool. Anybody can't live by it, 'tis next-kin
to starvin' anybody to death.
4. Most direct, shortest ; nearest in space.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Chs. Your next way will be by th' field
path i,C.J.B.); Chs.' Th' next road; Chs.^, Stf.i Stf., Der.
(J.K.) Der. (C.J.B.), Nhp.' Nrf. Holloway.
6. Next but one. Sc. Mitchell Scotticisms (1799) 59.
6. prep. In phr. to take food, &^c., next the heart, to take it
fastmg.
Suf. Shall I take the medicine next my heart? e.An. Dy. Times
(1892).
7. Near. N.I.i Are you going next the quay ?
NEXTEN, adj., adv. and prep. Sc. Yks. Lin. Hrt. e.An.
Also written nex'n e.Yks. ; nexon Lin. ; nextan n.Sc. ;
nexun Hrt. ; and in forms nexing, nexting e.An.^
[ne-kstan.] 1. adj. Next ; also used as adv. and prep.
Sc. The nexten bower that he came till, Jamieson Pop. Ballads
(1806) I. 32. n.Sc. The nextan pain that strake sweet WiUie It
was into the head, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 97, ed. 1875. e.Yks.
Ah sat nexen Jack, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Aug. 10, 1895) ; e.Yks.i
Ah sat nex'n Jack, MS, add. (T.H.) Lin. I nex'on hed some fowl
and tongue, Brown Lit. Laur. (1890) 69.
2. Very near ; also used as prep, near to, about as large as.
Hrt. ' Nexun an apple,' about the size of an apple, Cussans Hist.
Hrt. (1879-1881) III. 320. e.An.i
[1. For the -en d. firsten. This suffix annexed to the
definite form of the superl, of the adj., or to ordinals, seems
to be an=one.'\
NEXTER, adj. Won In form nixter. Next again,
next but one.
w.Wor. Loikewise the nixt an' the nixter, S. Beauchamp N.
Hamilton (1875) III. 191.
NEXTING, NEXUN, see Nexten.
NEYARES, 56. /■/. I.W. The nostrils.
I.W.i- [Nares, the nostrils of a hawk (Hall.).]
[There is a Machiavelian plot, Tho' ev'ry nare olfact it
not, Butler Hudibras (1664) l i. 742.]
NEY(E, NEYGAR, see No, adj.. Nigger, sb}
NEYPSIE, adj Cld. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Prim ; precise in manners.
NEYST, NEYV(E, see Neist, Neive.
NEZE, NEZZLE, NI, see Neeze, Nizzle, No, adj.
NIAFF, V. Sh.I. Also written njaf. [njaf.] To
grumble, fret.
To geng njafan aboot, Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 67;
S. & Ork.i
[Cp. Dan. gnave, to gnaw, to grumble (Larsen).]
NIAG, NI'AKALD, NIAND, see Nag, v}, New-cal',
Nigh-hand.
NIAS, sb. n.Yks.* [niss.] A young hawk.
[Niard, faulcon niard, a nias faulcon, Cotgr. OFr.
niais, ' qui n'est pas encore sorti du nid, qu'on a pris au
nid' (La Curne).]
NIASH, see Nash.
NIB, sb} and v?- Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
written nibb n.Yks.^* n.Lin.' Nhp.^ se.Won' Hrf.''; and
in form niv Sh.I. [nib.] 1. sb. A beak, bill ; also,
humorously, the human nose ; occas. the whole face.
Cf. neb.
Bnff. Streek out his nib to let a dird At stranger me, Taylor
Poems (1787) 7. Elg. I'm doon to Tib wi' sweatin' nib. Tester
Poems (1865) 106. Abd. He feeds the nout an' keeps their
houses clean, Wi' watery nib, an' nieves as caul's a stane. Walker
Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 455. Frf. Sic a nib, and sic an e'e,
Upon a beast I ne'er did see, Sands Poems (1833) 89. Edb.
I couldna fin' as meikle [snuff] on't . . . As pit my grainin nib in
trim, Crawford Poems (1798) 86. Lan. Thorneer Hist. Black-
pool (1837) 109.
2. Phr. to dight the nib, to blow the nose. Bch. Forbes
Shop Bill (1785) 13. 3. A long, jutting-out headland ; a
narrow strip of land.
Sh.I. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 92. Abd. The wastmost intoon
shift rins in wi' a lang nib, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xlii.
4. A point.
Bch. He shook the blade, an' wi' a wap Set the heft to the
ground. The nib until his breast, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 38.
5. A projecting piece of wood, seen in a log partially
sawn through and then broken off.
s.Chs.i Ahy aad" tii wee't fur dhil nib' tii buurn of, ufoa'r ahy
kad gy'et it tii lahy flaat- upfl)th fahy iir [I had to weet for the
nib to burn off, afore I could get it to lie flat upo' th' fire].
6. The shaft of an ox-cart; the draught-tree of a wagon;
the back part of the under- carriage ; see below.
s.Cy. (Hall.) w.Sus. Holloway. w.Som.i jjjg draught-tree
or strong pole of a wagon, or especially of a timber-carriage,
which connects the axle of the hinder wheels to the fore-carriage.
In a timber-carriage it is used as a strong lever in loading, to
raise up the tree under the axle, and to keep it suspended there.
Hence it gives its name to the entire back part of an under-
carriage consisting of two very high wheels, having an arched
axle between them, with the nib proper projecting at right angles
to it, and with a strong iron bow or eye fixed on the end, by
which, when leary, to attach the nib to the front wheels.
Hence Nib-chain, sb. a strong chain belonging to a
timber-carriage ; see below.
w.Som.i It is that used to suspend the tree under the axle of
the hinder wheels. It has a slip-hook, by means of which the
chain can be unfastened and the tree let fall without loosening
the chain.
7. A stout stick, hooked at one end and pointed at the
other ; see below.
nw.Dev.i Used for securing the ends of straw ropes in mows or
ricks, or for fastening reed against the cut face of a stack which
has been partially thrashed.
8. One of the pair of handles jutting out from the long
shaft of a scythe ; gen. in pi. See Knib, 2.
Nhb. A rest on the nibs after sharping was allowed to the mower,
Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VI. 213; Nhb.i, Cum.',
Wm. (J.H.), n.Yks. (I.W-), n.Yks.i34, Der.2, nw.Der.l, n.Lin.»,
Lei.i, Nhp.i, ^e.-Vyor.i, s.Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.i Hrf.2 That nearest
the blade is called the advantage njbb, the other the straight nibb.
Glo.i, Hmp.l, Wil.l
9. A gas-burnen Glo.' 10. A snapping bite; a nibble.
Hdg. The younkers o' the stud . . . tak slee nibs at neibors'
necks. Or rive an pilfer frae their hecks, Lumsden Poems (1896)
13. m.Yks.i
11. V. To nibble ; to graze ; to nip.
Nhb. Up stackered Larty for a blaw. Fair on Ham's jug'Iar
nibb'd him, Robson Evangeline (1870) 357. m.Yks.i Sur. You
has to let 'em nib by the road [of geese], Cornh. Mae. (Nov.
1888)530.
NIB
[261]
NICE
NIB, s6.2 and v? Sc. Yks. Lin. Dev. [nib.] 1. sb. A
very small piece or quantity of anything.
Dev. I dawnt want no big nibs [of coal], cuz I wants a glide
yett til cuke thease ulking gert piece of mayte wi', Hewett Peas.
Sp. (1892) ; Dev.2 Please could you lend mother a nib of salt ?
Hence Nibawae, adj. diminutive and meagre. Abd.
(Jam.)
2. Phr. nibs and nabs, bit by bit ; by piecemeal ; in a
desultory manner. e.Yks.* 3. v. To cut up in small
portions. Lin. (Hall.), Lin.^
NIB, sb.^ Oxf. [nib.] A smartly-dressed fellow.
' Isn't he a nib ! ' Said of any one putting on a smart appearance
for some special occasion (CO.).
NIBALD, sb. Sh.I. [ni'bld.] A stingy person, a
niggard.
Ta tell you da trOth, he's a nibald, as weel as a ill-faurd skunner,
Sh. News (Jan. 6, 1900) ; Dey say 'at he's as heard as nails — a
nibald, ib. (Oct. 27, 1900).
NIBBIE, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Also in form nebby
n.Cy. Cum.^* [ni'bi, ne'bi.] A walking-stick having a
hooked head ; a shepherd's crook ; a nut-hook. Cf.
nib't-stick.
s.Sc. John the Baptist wad be a youngish man . . . wi' abig nibbie
in ane han', Cunningham Broomieburn (1894) xiv. Lnk. He
made for the door in the crack o' a whip, but Jock took the legs
frae him wi' his nibbie, Fraser Whaups (1895) xiii. Edb. By
help o' their nibbles they fittet it weel, Glass Cal. Parnassus
(1812) 53. Rxlj. Gin I get had o' my nibbie, Fse reesle yer riggin
for ye (Jam.). Dmf. She did get an auld black nibby, An' did me
chop, Hawkins Poems (1841) V. 26. n.Cy. (J.L. 1783". Cum.^
(s.v. Kebby stick) ; Cum.*
NIBBITS, sb. pi. ? Obs. Sc. Two pieces of oatcake
buttered and put face to face.
Rnf. Braw butter'd nibbits ne'er wad fail, To grace a cog o'
champit kail, Nowadays, Picken Poems (1788) Now-a-days.
NIBBLE, sb. Sc. Yks. [ni-bl.] 1. The nipple of a
woman's breast.
n.Yks. Her paps hez good nibbles (I.W.); n.Yks.'*, ncYks."^
e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. The nipple of a gun. n.Yks.'* e.Yks.' MS. add.
(T.H.) 3. The stump of a pen's nib.
se.Sc. My pen's just worn ay till a nibble, Wi' point as blunt as
ony dibble, Donaldson Poems (1809) 121.
[1. Neble of a woman's pappe, bout de la mamelle,
Palsgr. (1530).]
NIBBLE, V. Sc. [ni-bl.] 1. To fidget about with the
fingers.
Slk. The hem of the garment which she was nibbling with her
hands, HoGG Tales (1838) 323, ed. 1866.
2. With up : to snatch up stealthily.
Dmf. Tae slide him doon an' nibble up His black bag fu' o'
'tatoes, QuiNN Heather (1863) 249.
[L To nibble with the fingers, as unmannerly boies
do with their points, when they are spoken to, Baret
(1580).]
NIBBLE-NABBLE, v. Not. To do anything by pieces,
to do anything in a desultory manner.
s.Not. A don't care to nibble-nabble at my hay-mekking (J.P.K.).
NIBBLER,56. n.JLin.' [ni-bl3(r).] A miserly person.
NIBBLES, sb. pi. Cor.^ [ni-blz.] Nebulous clouds.
NIBBLINS, sb. pi. Lan.* [ni'blinz.] Small round
lumps of coal. Cf knaplins.
NIBBLY, adj. Dev. [ni'bli.] Small ; in small round
pieces ; esp. of coal. Cf nibblins, nobbly.
Gie me a bucketvul or tu ov nibbly cawl, Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892) 106.
NIBBY, sb. Hrf.2 [ni'bi.] A foal; a colt. Cf.
nobby, sb.^
NIBBY-GIBBY, sb. Cor. [ni-bi-dgibi.] A narrow
escape ; a ' touch and go.' Also used attrib.
At the end of the train was hitched an empty clay-truck. . .
Quick as thought the Twins, . . with one timely heave sent him
flying into this. 'That,' said Peter, ..' was nibby-gibby,' 'Q.'
Troy Town (1888) xxv ; It was nibby-gibby with him, N. if Q.
(1854) ist S. X. 359 ; Cor.'2
NIBEL, see Nable.
NIBELTY, s^i. iObs. Cum. A novelty.
Wi' nibelties as good as neyce, In strange confusion blended,
Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 142 ; Cum."-
NIBER, see Neighbour.
NIBHOOK, V. Sur.i [ni-buk.] To overlap.
' It nibhooks over so,' said the brickmaker, speaking of a
roof-tile.
NIBLET, s6. Yks. [niblit.] A small portion at a time.
w.Yks. 'T warst on't is it'll hae to be read i' niblets, Yks. Wkly.
Post (Nov. 28, 1896) ; (J.W.)
NIBLEYKIN, sb. Dor. [ni-blikin.] A ' wee ' drop.
I was just going to have a nibleykin of rum hot, Hardy
IVoodlanders (1887) III. 65.
NIB'T-STICK, sb. Cum. A walking-stick with a
hooked head ; a shepherd's erook. Cum.' (s.v. Kebby-
stick), Cum.* Cf nibbie.
NICE, adj. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
in forms neyce Cum.* n.Yks.* ne.Yks.^; nise w.Yks.*
[nais, nois, neis.] 1. Over-particular ; fastidious, esp.
with regard to food ; precise in manner ; sensitive.
Sc. Nae doubt ye wad be owr nice for to spin. Shepherd's
Wedding (1789) 10. BnfiF. Gin a man ask you, binna nice, Taylor
Poems (1787) 84. Abd. Gin she be saucy, ye sud e'en be nice,
Shirrefs Poems (1790) 104. Frf. Morison Poems (1790) 120.
Per. Ye're a' sae nippit an' sae nice, Ye 're a' gane wrang thro'
covetice, Haliburton Dunbar {iSg$) 6g. s.Sc. I was rather nice
to please, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 273. Dmb. Lairds ware
obliging, for they warena nice, They let their lan' at a moderate
price, Taylor Poems (1827) 90. Rnf. It does a' very weel at
elections, Whan folk mauna be unco nice, Barr Poems (1861)
183. Ayr. Divers loose characters, that were nae overly nice of
their company, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xvi. Lnk. They'll no be
owre nice, but gey needfu", Whaever tak's you for a man,
Thomson Musings (1881) 45. Edb. The lasses o' the Cannogate,
O, they are wondrous nice. They winna gie a single kiss, But
for a double price, Sharpe Ballad Bk. (1823) 9, ed. 1868. Slk.
Ranald gave me some very nice marks of the pony, Hogg Tales
(1838) 381, ed. 1866. n.Cy. (J.W.) Cum. Some feckless fwoak
At luikt to be owr neyce, At nobbit nibblen peyket an eat, Stagg
Misc. Poems (ed. 1805) 132 ; Cum,* Wm. Ah wad'nt bi seea nice
as ta spUt a taty, min (B.K.). n.Yks.^ ; n.Yks." Ah deean't leyke
fooak 'at's sae neyce aboot what tha eat. Ah's a bit neyce aboot
what fooak saay o' ma. ne.Yks.^ Noo, deean't be neyce; help
yoursells. e.Yks. Sheeah's si nice sha weeant it puddin meead
o' rice, Dial. (1887) 31. w.Yks. He's mooar nice ner wise (B.K.) ;
w.Yks.*, Chs.i sw.Lln.i The mare won't be nice about kicking
this morning. Shr.' 'E shall shift 'is fit from under my table, 'e's
got'n so despert nice, theer's nuthin' good enough fur 'im. Mtg.
I'm not so nice as all that (M.H.C.). Oxf. (G.O.) w.Som.i I
tell ee hot 'tis, nif you be so nice as all that there, you'll come
to want one o' these yur days. Dev. I should get it back again
were I you, and not be too nice about the means, Baring-Gould
Spider (1887) xvii.
2. Comb, (i) Nice chance, a narrow escape, a ' near
chance ' ; (2) -gabbit, (3) -mouthed, dainty.
(i) w.Som.i Dev.3 'Twas a nice chance that you hadden
broked your neck. Cor.i 'Twas a nice chance I didn't throw it
in the fire; Cor.2 (2) Sc. It sets ye weel to be sae nice-gabbit,
HisLop .,4««crfo/« (1874) 146. Fif. (Jam.) (3) War.* None of my
children be nice-mouthed ; I alius brought them up to ate what
was set before them. Wor. They be too nice-mouthed now to
eat barley bread (W.C.B.).
3. Obs. Difficult, critical, ' ticklish.'
Rnf. You know my itch after accounts of your proceedings, and
the true state of things at this nice juncture, Wodrow Corres.
(1709-31) I. 195, ed. 1843. Edb. Ay right gleg, whan things are
out o' joint. At sattlin' 0' a nice or kittle point, Fergusson Poems
(1773) 109, ed. 1785.
Hence Niceness, sb., obs., a difficulty, critical nature.
Rnf. He excused it a little from the importance of what was
before us, and the niceness and tenderness of some things we had
been on, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) II. 193, ed. 1843.
4. Obs. Strange, out-of-the-way.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks. Nisework,THORESBYZ,c«. (1703); w.Yks.*
5. Handsome, pretty, ' bonny ' ; fine.
Ayr. Of nice education but sma' is her share. Burns Wild
Mossy Mountains, st. 4. Cav. Kate is a well-mannered girl, but
not nice (M.S.M.). n.Cy. (J.W.), Cum.*, w.Yks.(J.W.) n.Lan.
I'm black, but nice, O ye dowters a Jeruslem, Phizackerley Sng.
Sol. (i860) i. 5. Der. Grose (1790) MS. add, (P.) ; Der.*, nw.Der.l
NICELIES
[262]
NICK
6. Phr. (i) a nice few, a fairly large number ; (s) nice as
nip, just the thing ; to a nicety.
(i) n.Yks.2, ne.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.) War.3 There were a
nice few up at the finish, Mordaunt & Verney War. Hunt (1896)
I. (2) nw.Der.i, Nhp.', War.^
NICELIES, arfz/. ? Ofo. Sc. Nicely.
s.Sc. Ye ken nicelies how till make love to Betty Aitchison,
Wilson Tales (1836) II. 323.
NICELY, adv. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Der. Nhp. Brks.
Hnt. Suf. Hmp. Som. Also in form neycely n.Yks."
[nai'sli.] L Well or improving in health ; in gen. colloq.
use ; in good order.
N.Cy.i Nhb.i ' Hoo are ye thi day?' 'Oh, aa's nicely.'
Dur.', e.Dur.i Cnm. Are they aw nicely at your house? Rigby
Midsummer to Martinmas (1891) xvii ; Cum.* When a sick person
is practically dying, you may be told that he is ' nicely,' that is to
say ' as well as can be expected,' ' very well for him,' ' about the
same' (s.v. Nice). n.Yks. (I.W.) ; n.Yks.* Ah's neycely noo.
e.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.), Der.^, nw.Der.i, Nhp.i Brks.i To be
' doing nicely' is to be getting better after illness. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
Suf. He's quite nicely, e.An. Dy. Times (1892). Hmp. ' How's
your garden getting on ? ' ' He's nicely, thank'ee, sir' (H.C.M.B.).
Som. Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894) 122.
2. Exactly; accurately.
Ayr. Some o' you nicely ken the laws To round the period an'
pause, Burns Author's Cry (1786) st. 12. Nhb. Aw mind nicely
o' what happent, Richardson Boniferej-'s Table-bk. (1846) VII. 136 ;
' Hoo can aa tell it's my rabbit ? ' ' Why, nicely, he says,' Pease
Mark o the Deil (1894) 40. w.Yks. (J.W.)
NICEPLE, see Nisbil.
NICET, adf Yks. Not. Lin. Rut. Lei. War. Also
written neist, niced sw.Lin.' ; nic't w.Yks. ; nist n.Lin.';
niste w.Yks.* Not.' Lin. Lei.' War.*^ ; nyst Not. ; and in
form noist w.Yks. Not.' Rut.' Lei.' War.^ [naist, noist.]
1. Nice ; agreeable ; a dial, form of ' nice ' with ex-
crescent -t.
Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. Piper Dial. Sheffield (1824) 20 ; Made
some at noistest custards, Bvwater Gossips, 11 ; w.Yks. * Not.
I never see a niceter child (J.H.B.) ; If Bella hasn't a nyst voice,
she's a nyst way with her, Prior Renie (1895) 21 ; Not.' Lin.
Thou was es soaber es daay, wi' a niced red faace, Tennyson
Spinster's Sweet-arts (1885) st. 12 ; An' coffee all soa niste and
smooth, Brown Lit. Laur. (1890) 45. n.Lin.' Thoo's gotten a
straange nist bairn. sw.Lin.' I reckon it's very niced. No one
could be neister than they are. Rut.', Lei.', War.^^
Hence (i) Nicetish, adj. nice:; (2) Nistly, adv. nicely;
well in health.
(i) Nhb. She has a nicetish bit o' land, Graham Red Scaur
(1896) 322. Lin. Wi' lots o' munny laaid by, an' a nicetish bit o'
land, Tennyson N. Farmer, New Style (1870) st. 6. sw.Lin.' It's
a nice-tish place. Lei.', War. ^ (2) Not.' ' How are you ? ' 'Ah'm
nistly, thank ye.' n.Lln.' She duz her patch-work nistly for a little
bairn.
2. Phr. a niddfew, a fair number. See Nice, 6.
sw.Lin.' There was a nic'd few folks there (s.v. Good few).
3. Particular, fastidious. See Nice, 1.
w.Yks.'' sw.Lin.' I reckon they're more niced than wise.
Folks seem so niced, they waant do this, and they waant do that.
NICETY, sb. Sc. A nice thing ; a dainty.
Lnk. The night o' the pairty comes, an' I had a' my bits n'
niceties laid out, Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 7.
NICEY, sb. Suf. Cor. [nai'si.] A cake ; sweets ; a
child's word.
e.Suf. (F.H.) Cor.l a ha'pord of nicey; Cor.^ He's pale from
eating too much nicey.
NICH, V. n.Cy. [Not known to our correspondents.]
To stir a fire slightly. (Hall.)
NICH(E, NICHER, see Nitch, sby. Nicker, v.
NICHIL, sb. Obs. Chs. Hrf Glo. w.Cy. 1. //. In
phr. nichils in nine nooks or pokes, nothing at all. Chs.
Ray Prov. (1678) 261. Cf. nickle, sb.^
[In common law, Nihils or Nichils are issues or debts which the
Sheriff, who is opposed, says are nothing worth, by reason of
the insufficiency of the parties that should pay them, Phillips
(1706).]
2. A person who pays nothing. Hrf.' Glo. Lewis Gl.
(1839). w.Cy. (Hall.)
NICHIL, V. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also in forms naidgel
Wm. ; naitshel Cum.* [ni'tjl.] To castrate by ligature ;
fig. to overcome, defeat. The same word as Knidgel
(q.v.). Cf. gnidge.
Cum.'* Wm. 'Nidgel' or 'naidgel' means to take away the
testicles and also the containing bag from lambs by means of a
string or irons. This operation is not now used (J.W. O.). w.Yks.'
NICHOLAS, sb. Nhb. War. Glo. Cor. Also in form
Nicklas War.'* [ni-k(a)las.] \. In -phr. {i) like Nicholas
Kemp, he's got occasion for all, %e&h&\ow, (2) [St.] Nicholas
day, the 6th of December ; see below ; cf. barring-out.
(i) Cor. Nicholas was said to be a voter in a Cornish borough,
who was told to help himself (so that no one should have given
him a bribe) from a table covered with gold, in the election com-
mittee-room. Taking off his hat, he swept the whole mass into it,
saying, ' I've occasion for all,' Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865)
424, ed. 1896. (2) Nlib.' The 6th of December, on which the
schoolmaster found the schooldoor locked in his faceand barricaded
with forms to prevent his entrance until the scholars within
obtained from him in writing a list of holidays for the ensuing year.
The custom is almost obs.
2. Among children a cry for a truce in a game ; see
below. Cf. Nick, sZ>.'
War. B'ham Wkly. Post (June 10, 1893) ; War.* This very
common exclamation in this county amongst boys at play is
evidently of great antiquity, and had its origin in times before the
Reformation, when St. Nicholas was considered the tutelar saint
or patron of children. . . When a boy is hard pressed in any game
depending on activity, and perceives his antagonist gaining ground
upon him, he cries out ' Nicklas,' upon which he is entitled to a
suspension of the play for the moment ; and on any occasion of
not being ready, wanting, for instance, to fasten his shoe, or
remedy any accidental inconvenience, the cry of ' Nicklas' entitles
him to protection or safeguard. This was often expressed in the
words ' I cry Nicklas.'
3. A name given to the smallest pig of the litter. Glo.
N. &> Q. (1881) 6th S. iii. 249.
NICISH, adf Yks. War. Wor. Also written niceish
Wor. ; and in form neycish n.Yks.* [nai-sij.] 1. Civil,
pleasant ; good-looking, nice.
n.Yks.* Wor. He's a niceish boy (H.K.) ; Over a niceish bit
of countrj', Evesham Jm. (Feb. 27, 1897).
2. Phr. a nicish few or lot, a considerable number.
n.Yks.*, w.Yks. (J.W), War.^
NICK, s6.' Nhp. War. [nik.] A boys' call when
a truce is required in a game ; see below. Cf.
Nicholas, 2.
Nhp.' If a boy is hard pressed, in any game depending upon
activity, . . and perceives his antagonist gaining ground upon him ;
or if he stops to fasten his shoe, or remedy any other accidental
inconvenience, and cries out ' Nick ! Nick ! ' he is entitled to
protection, and a temporary suspension of the game. . . ' Nick !
Nick ! ' is therefore an abbreviated invocation to St. Nicholas, the'
patron saint of children, for protection, and is now used without
the most remote idea of its import. War.^
NICK, s6.* Sc. Also Sus. [nik.] 1. A name for the
devil. Cf. Old Nick, s.v. Old, 1.
Sc. Courtiers . . . Wha fast to Nick are sinking, Nicoll Poems
(ed. 1843) 177. Per I felt my Hps together stick. As dry as I had
been wi' Nick, Spence Poems (1898) 166. Frf. Him an' his book
they'd send to Nick, Morison Poems (1790) 5. Ayr. O thou !
whatever title suit thee, Auld Hornie, Satan, Nick, or Clootie,
Burns Address to Deil (1785) st. i. Lnk. He look'd sae wild, I
daresay he believ'd me Nick himsel', Black Falls of Clyde (1806)
179. Dmf. The Laird maun ha' wished . . . That Nick the auld
had brunt the law, Thom /ocA o' Knowe (1878) 22. w.Sus. ' Nick'
himself sits before you in the middle of the table, and winks his
fiery eye upon you, Gordon Vill. and Doctor {iZgf) 301.
2. Comb. Nick's-tar, see below. [Not known to our
correspondents.]
Sc. Ouse-John . . . cramm'd his guts wi' ram-brose, O' Nick's-
tar neist he gae'm a dose, Taylor Poems (1787) 106.
NICK, sb.^ and v.^ In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng.
Also written knick Lei. [nik.] 1. sb. A hollow cut ;
an indentation, a notch ; j^g. a score, a mark.
Sc. Ye wad hae thocht there cou'dna been a hale nick in either
wheel or pinion, Sc. Haggis, 44. S. & Ork.' MS. add. Abd.
Routh o' swourds an' dirks a' nicks an' slaps, Murray Hamewiih
(1900) 8. Per. MoNTEATH Dunblane (1835) 71, ed. 1887. Ayr.
NICK
[263J
NICK
Peter was gaun to rough-cast the face 0' auld Frost's hoose, he
said, and cut a nick on the corner o't, to mark the level of the
great spate, Service Notandums (1890) 42. Nhb. Bid 'a cut on
the head or a nick o' the jaw, Robson Evangeline (1870) 345 ;
Nhb.i It is a common practice to mark the ownership of a stick,
&c., by a peculiar series of nicks cut on the surface, or of a sheep
by a 'lug mark' or nick in the ear. e.Yks.^, w.Yks. (J.W. ),
Der.' Lei. If a Norfolk sheep is examined, the bone will always
be found to rise ridge like ; instead of this ridge the new Leicester
sheep are now breeding to have a furrow there, which is called the
knick, Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815) XVI. 567. se.Wor,'
w.Som.^ Tell how many nicks is 'pon thick there tally-stick. 'The
Swan with Two Necks ' is really the swan having the mark of the
owners, viz. two nicks on the web of the foot. Dev. Our cock
hath had a nick ; . . His droat is cut, and there he lieth, Peter
Pindar Wks. (1816) IV. 206.
Hence Nickit, sb. a small notch. Sc. Sibbald Gl.
(1802) (Jam.).
2. Phr. (i) a nick in or on the horn, a notch marking the
period of a year, used fig. for a year of life ; (2) to have a
nick on the head, to be wanting in wits.
(i) Dmb. He'll be a marrit man before he has anither nick in
his horn, for he tanks about Shusie continually, Cross Disruption
(1844) xxxiv, ed. 1877. Rnf. May . . . ilka new nick on her horn
Some added pleasure yield her, Picken Poems (ed. 1813) I. 156.
Lnk. Sair she rued her pridefu' scorn. Ere thretty nicks had
marked her horn, Rodger Poems (1838) 16, ed. 1897. Edb,
There's ower mony nicks in her horn, I doot, Ballantine Gaber-
lunzie (ed. 1875) 172. (2) Lin.' We've always said that he had a
nick-on-the-head.
3. Comb, (i) Nick-and-brick, a game ; see below ; (2)
•ninny, a simpleton ; (3) -stick, (a) a tally ; (b) in phr. to
have lost one's nick-stick, to be out in one's reckoning of
time ; esp. used of pregnant women ; (4) -stick-bodie, one
who acts always by rule ; see below.
(i) Stf. NoRTHALL Flk-Phr. (1894). War.3 A game played by
tossing a coin in the air and before it falls on the floor calling an
opponent to name ' nick' or ' brick.' If the coin ultimately rests
on the space between the bricks or quarries of the floor it is a
' nick,' if clear of these spaces it is a ' brick,' and if the result has
been rightly named by the opponent the coin becomes his. War.,
Won, Glo. A variation of chuck-farthing, the dividing line between
two bricks in a pavement affording the mark, Northall Flk-Phr.
(1894). (2) s.Cy. (Hall.) (3, a) Sc. He was in an unco kippage
when we sent him a book instead 0' the nick-sticks, whilk, he said,
were the true ancient way o' counting, Scott Antiquary (1816)
XV. Edb. With her the baker required to keep no nickstick, the
butcher no chalkboard, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 170.
n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.); N.Cy.i Nhb. Eh! 'nick-sticks!
nick-sticks ! ' what are they? O ! now aw hae'd : — they're used at
hyem. And when kept decently in play The branks was but an
empty nyem, Allan Tyneside Sngs. (1891) 294; Nhb.', n.Yks.*,
Nhp.i (6) N.Cy.l, Nhb.\ n.Yks.2 (4) Rxb. As, if he has had one
to dine with him, he will not ask him again without having a
return in kind (Jam.).
4. A cleft ; a very narrow passage ; a groove.
S. & Ork.' The angle contained between the beam of a plough
and the handle. s.Sc. (Jam.) Gall. His grimy little fingers found
a purchase in the slightest nicks, Crockett Cleg Kelly {i8g6) ii.
N.Cy.' The perpendicular groove in the sides of a ' jud,' which,
with the ' kerve,' makes it ready for blasting. Nhb.' The small
grooves on the periphery of the driving wheel of a spinning wheel
and on the pirn are called nicks. . . The great basaltic escarpment
in South Tynedale appears like a huge ridge in which a regular
succession of gaps have been made. . . The gaps are called nicks,
and the ridge is called ' the nine-nicks.' Cum. O my pigeon, 'at's
in t'nicks o' t'rock, Dickinson Sng. Sol. (1859) ii. 14. m.Yks.'
w.Yks. To mak' sure at it's safe in its nick. Hartley Ditt. (c. 1873)
and S. II. Mid. ' If you're game for a bit of sweet'artin' on the
sly, I'll show yer the very nick for it.' He pointed to a gate
between two old trees, and overhung with ivy, Blackmore Kit
(1890) xvi. w.Som.' I voun un in a bit of a nick in the wall 0' th'
old barn.
Hence to keep the {wheel)-band in the nick, phr. to make
steady and uninterrupted progress in one's work or
one's life.
Nhb.' w.Yks. Keep th' band i' th' nick if aw can, Hartley
Puddin' (1876) 186.
6. A cutting ; a drain.
e.Yks.' A drain cut by a member of the Bethel family, of Rise,
Holderness, went by the name of Bethel nick.'
6. A hollow pass through moors.
Edb. Ending in a swelling know, Formed by King Charlie's
Nick, Carlop Green (1793) 112, ed. 1817. Gall. Mactaggart fMcyc/.
(1824). Lan. The drivers of strings of gals with lime sacks o'er
the nick of Pendle, Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) I. 117.
7. pi. The knuckles. Edb. Ballantine Gaherlunsie
(187s) Gl. 8. V. To make a notch or small incision ; to
cut slightly or irregularly ; to chap, crack.
Sc. That ye gallop the stang Till your hurdles are nicket,
Stewart CAaracfer (1857) 69. S. & Ork.' JlfS. arfrf. Bnff. (Jam.)
Abd. I'd ha'e my throat nicket. Ere I war sae tricket, Shirrefs
Poems (1790) 56. Fif. Cardinal Beaton's craig was nicket,
Tennant Papistry (1827) 10. Old. (Jam.) Rnf. The lines o't [a
song] were nicked and nucket, In a manner I scarce can explain,
Webster Rhymes (1835) 13. Ayr. His brow is nicket wi' care,
Ballads and Sngs. (1847) II. 77. Lnk. It's getting auld, Its horns
are nicked sair, man, Stewart Twa Elders (,1886} 146. Edb. I'd
rather be By sword or bagnet stickit, Than hae my crown or body
wi' Sic deadly weapons nickit, Fergusson Poems (1773) 134, ed.
1785. Slk. They nickit the auld man, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 16.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Nhb.' When a miner is going to make a jud or top
in his bord in the whole (or hyel) he corves some coal out at the
bottom of the seam and then nicks it up the side to make it ready
for blasting or wedging. This is done to the depth of two or
three feet. m.Yks.' My hands are nicked with the frost. w.Yks.
(J.W.) s.Not. He hasn't cut his throat, but he's nicked hissen
(J.P.K.). Som. I nick'd un out, zur, vrom the teaty ground,
AGRiKLERi?/!_yM«5 (1872)51. w.Som.' I'vc a-ulck'd myknife again.
Hence (i) nick (nicked or nick't) at head, phr. a silly per-
son ; (2) Nicked, ///. adj. notched, cut ; (3) nicked at or in
the head, phr. rendered temporarily foolish or insane ; (4)
Nicker, sb. a steel tool used for making a groove across a
stone before breaking it ; (5) nicket in the horns, phr. old ;
(6) nick't at teal head, phr., see below ; (7) to be nick't fer the
simples, phr. to be treated as foolish or insane ; see below.
(I) Lakel.2 Fooak '11 say thoo's a nick-et-heed, an' they'll nut
be far wrang. Cum, He glowered like a nicked-at-heed, Joe and
the Landlord, 6; Cum.* (2) Per. Wi' the great enemy o' life
We'll wauge this e'en a merry strife : We mayna stop his nicket
knife, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 42. n.Cy. Border Gl.
{Coll. L.L.B.) (3) Cum. They sysal about leyke geese nick'd i' the
head, Rayson Misc. Poems (1858) 55; Cum.^ I thowte ye war
rayder nick't i' t'heid, 13; Cum.* w.Yks. 'E's a lile bit nickt i'
t'heead tha knaws (F.P.T.). (4) w.Yks. (W.H.V.) (5) Lnk. I'm
owre weel nicket in the horns by this time to let a Cockney tak'
a laugh oot o' me, Muhdoch Readings (1895) III. loB. (6) Cum.*
Very fat, and refers to the depression felt at the root of the tail
of a fat sheep ; is used in praise of an animal, but in derision of a
man. ' Fat ! aye, he is that, wey he's fairly nick't at teal heed ! '
(7) Wm. ' T'gurt daft feeal, he owt ta be nickt fer t'simples.'
Connected with the very common operation of cutting into a
sheep's head when it is affected with 'sturdy' (B.K.).
9. To bite. Lnk. Ramsay Poems (1721) Gl. 10. To
knock off a small fragment. Brks.' 11. To dock a
horse's tail.
Cum. I can . . . nick a naig's tail, Anderson Ballads {ed. i88t) 61.
Hence Nicky, sb. a short-tailed horse. nw.Dev.'
12. To castrate a hog.
Cum. He wad ride . . . through mist or fog to nick a sturdy hog,
Dickinson Scallow Beck (1866) Merry Charley, 1. 8.
13. Fig. To cut short a game ; to hinder, thwart.
Lnk. May I be licket Wi' black mischanter's gnarled rung, Gif
your wee game, I dinna nick it, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 45.
14. With of: to deprive of.
Sc. 'Tis to be hop'd we'll spoil their fun, And nick them of their
fishing, Maidment Pasquils (1868) 349. Lnk. E'en some o' the
maist worthy men O' it [wealth] 's been nicket. Watt Poems
(1827) 18.
15. Phr. to nick the thread, to sever the thread with one
cut; gen. used_/?^. : to put an end to hfe.
Sc. If mortal means could nick her thread, Sma' crime it wad
appear to me, Outram Lyrics (1887) 34. Cld. Whene'er you
want to nick the thread. Just try oor Glaisca Whisky, Nimmo
Sngs. (1882) 234. Rnf. Roar an' bellow [like] grumphie, when
the butcher's knife Is nicking its sma' thread o' life. Young Pictures
(1865) 155. Ayr. Has Death e'en come, wi' silent spell. To nick
yer threed? White Jottings (1879) 194. Lnk. Wi' rage an' spleen
NICK
[264]
NICKER
the thread he's nicket, Watt Poems (1827) 90. Dmf. Oh nick the
threed that me detains That I may rise, Quinn Heather (1863) 35.
NICK, sb." and w.^ Sc. Irel. n.Cy. War. Wor. Glo. e.An.
Ken. Som. Cor. [nik.] 1. sb. In phr. (i) at or in the
nick, at the critical moment ; (2) in nick of need, at the
moment when help is most urgently required ; (3) nick at
need, at a pinch ; {4) on the nick of, on the point of; (5) up
to nick, in first-rate condition.
(i) Sc. That work you did so gloriously begin, and had atchieved
so happily, if you had not been deserted in the nick, Maidment
SpoU. Miscell. (1844-5) I. 216. Per. They warstle up, an' i' the
nick Roar oot their greetin', HALiBURTON//ora«(i886) 11. Gall.
Vera well ye did behave Just at the nick, Lauderdale Poems
(1796) 64. n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Cor. He came at the very nick
(M.A.C.). (2) Fif. Ohphant . . . Rax'd his lang arm in nick o'
need. And.. . upheez'd him safe again, TENNANTPn/is/ry (1827) 88.
(3) War.'' I'm nothing to him at ordinary times, but he's glad
enough of me nick-at-need. (4) Sc. Ance or twice I was on the
nick of coming forrit, Sc. Haggis, 94. Fif. In a band, the weel
kend gale They're on the nick o' takin Hame owre, Douglas
Poems (1806) 152. (5) s.Wor.l 35, Glo.^
2. V. To act at precisely the right moment.
e.An.i Nrf. I nick'd it, Ray (1691). w.Som.i I nick'd it rezactly,
in two minutes more twid-n a do'd at all.
3. Phr. (i) nick and go, (2) nick my near, a narrow escape ;
a close shave ; (3) to nick the nick, to hit the critical
moment.
(i)N.I.i It was just nick and go with him. (2) /A. (3)Ken. (K.)
NICK, sb? and v? Sc. n.Cy. [nik.] 1. sb. A wink.
Abd. The boy laughed and nodded, and, as Janet said, the
bairn's nick was guid's the best man's word, Macdonald S/'?- Gibbie
(1879) XXV. n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.^
2. A retort ; a jibe, jeer. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) 3. v. To
answer in a mocking or insulting manner. \ib.)
NICK, v.'^ and sb.^ Sc. and Amer. [nik.] 1. v. To
make a clicking sound. S. & Ork.^ The same word as
Knick, v.^ (q.v.) 2. To hit a marble smartly, asp. by a
sudden movement of the thumb and fore-finger ; to hit
the mark.
Sc, Cld. (Jam.) Lth. At bools thou nicks, at paips thou praps,
Thou birls bawbees, thou dozes taps, Ballantine Poems (1856)67.
Hence Nicker, sb. the marble which the player aims at
another. Cf. knicker.
Frf. The nicker . . . was a ' pigger ' which had been partly
vitrified in the fire, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 94. Gall. (A.W.)
[Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 62.]
3. sb. A creaking sound, ; a click.
S. & Ork.' Lth. Ye'U bend yer forelegs wi' a' yer pith, and
straucht them back again wi' a nick like the spring 0' a gardener's
knife, Strathesk Blinkbonny (ed. 189 1) 184.
4. Phr. to play nick, to make the sound of something
giving way.
Per. You . . . turn round quick, Then something plays ' nick,'
And you end in a cursing style, O ! Ford Harp (1893) 268.
NICK, 5*.' Cor.^ [nik.] Skill in doing anything ;
knack.
NICK, v.^, sb.^ and int. In gen. dial, and slang use in Sc.
Eng. and Aus. Also in form nix Som. [nik.] 1. v. To
steal. The same word as Knick, v? (q.v.)
Abd. Tkeir sillar an' their watches nickit, Anderson Poems (ed.
1826) 69. Gall. We dinna steal. We only nick things whiles,
Crockett Cleg Kelly (1896) xvii. s.Chs.i When a person finds
anything which he is disposed to appropriate, he repeats the
following lines : Nik" it, naak' it ; fahynd it, taak' it [Nick it, nack
it ; Find it, tak it] . Lon. 'E 'ad two bushels o' beans he had nicked
from my guvnor, Altrincham Guardian (Aug. 29, 1896). Nrf. The
law locks up the man or woman As steals a goose from off a common,
But lets the bigger robber loose As nicks the commonfrom the goose,
Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 62. Cmb.' Please, teacher, he's
nicked some of my cherry-cobs. w.Sus. To-night ain't the first
time you have nicked a thing or two, Gordon Vill. and Doctor
(1897) 79. [Aus. You and I will nick a couple of the best horses,
NisBET Bail up! (1890) vii.]
2. To deceive, cheat ; to overreach.
Sc. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl. Abd. I was never naarer nicket
i' my life, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xxxix. Fif. Gif they
shou'd nick you wi' this trick, Ne'er break your heart. Gray Poems
(1811) 148. Lnk. Ramsay Poems (1721) Gl. Edb. O' a' ha'f days
pay they're sure, D — d gleg ! to nick us, Learmont Poems (1791)
180. N.Cy."^ e.Yks.' He chayged tha fahve shlllins fo't, did he?
Weel, he's nick'd tha this tahm. w.Yks.' Nhp.' He nicked me
out of it. Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Cor.i I've
nicked him ; Cor.''
3. Obsol. To play truant. ne.Yks. (W.W.P.) 4. To
seize ; to catch ; to touch an opponent in a game.
Abd. I nicket him tho', at the hinderend, Wi' the thirty croons
he couldna spend, IMurray Hamewith (1900) 33 ; A rhyme of my
schooldays gives another meaning (characterizing the qualifica-
tions of a farm-servant): 'I can sa,ma, muck a mare, nick an egg, an'
fecht ony man or wife in a' Cromdale o' ray ain wecht' [I can sow,
mow, clean a stable, seize a horse (an egg? = a naig)] (G.W.).
Lnk. Auld Jock o' the ha'. Wham fell Death has nickit awa', Orr
Laigh Flichis (1882) 53. Gall. (A.W.) War.^ If a dispute arose
the umpire would say, ' He nicked you,' or ' He did not nick you.'
w.Wor. We'll nick him yet, S. Beauchamp Granlley Grange (1874)
I. 247.
5. Phr. to be nicked in for, to be ' let in ' for, to be com-
mitted to.
Lan. Heawever, as aw're nicked in for it, aw gav' in, Dottie
Rambles (1898) 83 ; (S.W.)
6. sb. Stolen goods.
Lon. I can get it from the man who brings the ' nicks ! ' Record
Tower Hamlets Mission (Apr. 1890) VII. 8.
7. An act of trickery or deceit. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
8. Phr. to play the nick, obsol., to play truant. ne.Yks.
(W.W.P.) 9. A policeman.
Lnk. The policeman . . . was familiar to him as 'the nick,'
Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 78.
10. int. The cry raised by a player in a game when he
has seized or touched an opponent. War.^ Cf. nick, sb.^
NICK, v.^ ? Obs. Sc. To drink heartily.
Sc. He nicks fine, Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl. Lnk. We . . .
nicked round our toasts, Ramsay Poems (1721) 31.
NICK, see Nicky, sb.^
NICKALIE-TAES, sb. pi. Sh.I. Long, small, slender
toes. S. & Ork.'
NICKED, ppl. adj. Obs. Wm. Got with child, preg-
nant; also, of fruit-blossoms, set. (J.H.)
NICKELTY, sb. Sc. Lakel. [ni-klti.] 1. The word
for which the letter N on one side of a teetotum stands;
see below ; also in comb. Nickelty-nowt.
Frf. Should N appear ... an exultant cry arose from the players
of ' N — nicklety, naething,' Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 97. Lakel.'^
Cnm." On four sides of a tee-to-tum are inscribed the letters P., A.,
T., N. If the tee-to-tum after spinning comes to rest with P.
uppermost, then the spinner must put into the pool double the
original stakes, cherry stones, marbles, &c. ; if T. (t-tak-up-oa)
turns up, then the spinner takes the pool ; if N. (nickelty-nowt)
then nothing is taken or given, and the play passes on to the
next person ; but when A. appears, then one stake is removed
from pool.
2. A term used in the game of Neiveie-nick-nack ' (q.v.)
when the guesser makes a wrong choice. Cum.*
NICKELTY -POD, v. Cum.* Also in form niggelty-.
[nrklti-pod.] A term in marbles : to ' knuckle-down.'
Nickelty pod. Hard by t'sod.
NICKEM, NICKEN, see Nickum, Nickin(g.
NICKER, s6.i Sc. Yks. Cor. [ni-ka(r.] 1. A water-
sprite, a ' neugle ' (q.v.).
Sh.I. A water deity that appeared in the form of a sleek horse,
having an erect mane and tail like the ' rim o' a muckle wheel,'
Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 23.
2. A name for the devil; freq. in -phr. old Nicker. w.Yks.^
3. A gnome or mine-fairy, heard working before the
miners. Cor.^'^
[1. OE. nicor, a hippopotamus, also, a water-monster
(B.T.). ON. nykr (gen. nykrs), a water-goblin, appearing
in the form of a gray water-horse (Vigfusson). 2. LG.
nikker, 'der Teufel ' (Berghaus).]
N-ICKER, s6.2 n.Cy. Chs. Not. Lin. [ni-k3(r.] 1. The
woodpecker, ' hickwall,' esp. the green woodpecker,
Gecinus viridis ; also in comp. Nicker-pecker.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Not. Swainson B(V^ (1885) 100. sw.LIn.l
Those nickers are calling out ; they reckon it s a sign of wet.
Hence Nicker-hole, sb. a hole made by a woodpecker.
sw.Lin."^ There's a nicker hole in yon tree.
2. The goldfinch, Carduelis elegans. Chs. (E.F.), Chs.^
NICKER
[265]
NICKIN(G
NICKER, V. and sb.^ In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written nikker Sh.I. ; and in forms neicher,
neigher Sc. ; nicher Sc. Ir. Nhb.' ; nigger Nhp.^ War.*
e.An.^ Suf.' ; nigher Sc. Ant. Suf.^ ; nucker Ken. Sur.^
[ni'k3(r, Sc. also ni'xar.] 1. v. To neigh continuously ;
to whinny.
Sc. Little may an auld nag do that mauna nicker, Ferguson
Prov. (1641) 23 ; He's an auld horse that winna nicher when he
sees corn, Henderson Prov. (1832) 30, ed. 1881. Cai.' Mry.
Up started his guest On all fours — an' nicker'd in shape o'a beast,
Hay Liniie (1851) 57. Elg. Blithe would she nicker ' Gweed
e'en ' to her fellows. For brawlie she kent a' the horses o' Kellas,
Abd. Wkly. Free Press (June 25, 1898). Abd. I thocht I wad lat
her nicher on her tether a while, Paul Abd. (1881) 107. Fif.
The very naig that he bestrides Seems neicherin' too for joy,
Tennant Papistry (1827) 60. Dmb. Our dapple Mat . . . Flew
nicherin' aff, Salmon Gowodean (1868) i. Edb. Her foal, loud
nighers for't, left in The stable lockt behind, Carlop Green (1793)
175, ed. 1817. Hdg. But cheep about it neer before Have I heard
thee aince nicher owre, Lumsden Poems (1896) 20. Slk. The
yauds were standing nickering at the manger, Hogg Tales (1838)
186, ed. 1866. Rxb. Punch nicker'd, cock'd his lugs an' lookit,
A. Scott Poems (ed. 1808) 41. n.Ir. They heard such a wil'
nicherin' an' neighin', they knew that some horse was convaynient
at hand, Lays and Leg. (1884) 21 ; N.I.i Dwn. Puir Judey put
her held ower an' nichered at me, Lyttle Robin Gordon, 80.
n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy.^, Nlib.' Dur. He nickered and whin-
nied, Bishoprick Garl. (1784) 42, ed. 1834. Cum. 'Twad mek an
auld naig nicker, Stagg Misc. Poems (,ed. 1807) 140. n.Yks.i^^*,
m.Yks.', Lin.i, Nhp.^ Suf.' Ye needna nigher that gait. Ken.
(W.F.S.), Sur.i
Hence Nicherin, i;3/.s6. neighing ;_/7^. money; see below.
Abd. Farm servants thirty years ago had a saying, on the term
day, 'There'll be nicherin' the day for the horses to win oot,'
meaning the money to be taken from the drawers in payment of
serving men and maids. Either on account of St. George's steed
on the gold, or owing to, say, the unicorn on our paper notes,
this saying derived its origin (G.W.).
2. Fig. To laugh in^a half-suppressed way ; to snigger.
Cai.'- Frf. Quhihher by thaim doun the stream, Loud nickerin'
in a laugh, Lowson GuidfoUow (1890) 242. Per. I see naething
to nicker at, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 173, ed. 1887. Rnf.
We'll tak' a spring, And neigher at the warld again, Finlayson
Rhymes (1815) 107. Ayr. 1 could but look in her cleer een and
neigher like Willie Gouk, Galt Lairds (1826) vii. Lnk. I'll botch
wi' mirth, an' nicher in my sleeve, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 90.
e.Lth. Up to the neck in the cauld water loch, Gar't Jack and
Sam nicher fairly, Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 124. Ant. What
are you nigherin at? Ballymena Obs. (1892). N.Cy.^ Nhb.
A cumpny nickrin at sum shabby mean remark, Wilson Tyneside
Sngs. (1890) 42 ; Nhb.i, Lakel.^, Cum.* Wm. There he was
nickering like a fool (B.K.). Lan. (S.W.), Lin.i, Nlip.', War.=a
se.Wor.i Nickerin' an' grinnin. s.Wor.^
3. sb. The neighing of a horse.
Sh.I. Spence Flk.Lore (1899) 164. e.Sc. I've heard ye gie'in a
bit nicher yoursel when I was bringin' ye a feed, Setoun R.
Vrquhart (1896) ii. Frf. Kelpie's nickers flayed his nag, Lowson
GuidfoUow (1890) 234. Ayr. (F J.C.) Wgt. Wi' mony a nicker
but an a neigh, £rf6. .i4«^!?. il/«^. (1848) 59. Nhb.' Dur. Settin
up a great nicker and a whinney, Bishoprick Garl. (1784) 42, ed.
1834. m.Yks.', Lin.i, e.An.1 Nrf. HoLLOWAY.
4. Fig. Light laughter ; a snigger.
Sc. When she came to the harper's door, There she gave many
a nicker and sneer, Scott Minstrelsy (1802) I. 85, ed. 1803 (Jam.).
Abd. There was a nicher o' a lauch at this, Abd. Wkly. Free Press
(Aug. 18, 1900). Per. Auntie Lillie she just leugh, an' gae a kin'
o' ghnt o' the e'e, an' syne she gae the ither nicker, Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) 210, ed. 1887. w.Sc. Ye mind his bit nicher,
Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 264. Lnk. Wi' a nicher an' nudge
o' his knee, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 152. e.Lth. An' syne
he gied a queer kind "' nicher o' a lauch, Hunter /. Inwick
(1895) 249. Edb. Nane of yer mongrel nichers, but a ringin
rattlin roarer, Smith Hum. Stoiies (1877) 3rd S. 3, ed. 1882.
Nhb. There was sic a queer eiry nicher, Richardson Borderers
Table- bk. .{1846) VII. 137 ; Nhb.i Immoderate or startling laughter.
e.An.' A sneering contemptuous giggle.
NICKERBORE, sb. Yks. Also written nicka-, nico-
w.Yks.^ ; and in form nicky- ib. [iii'kaboa(r).] See below.
w.Yks. O should as sooin a thowt a oud Nickabore prayin as
him, Bywater Gossips, 5 ; w.Vks.* This precisely represents the
VOL. IV.
name, often heard in the discourse of the common people, of
a poor half-witted man, who would sometimes act and talk
shrewdly enough. In Stannington people say : ' Tell Nickybore,
don't tell me,' which is equivalent to saying, 'tell that to your
grandmother ; tell it to the marines.' When two people are
walking together, another will say, ' There they go : like Nicker-
bore and Mally Bent that went agateards all neet!' ' Nickerbore'
is probably a water-goblin. Amongst the tales told about him is
one which relates how he sat on the wrong side of a branch
which overhung a stream to saw it off, and how, in consequence,
he fell into the water.
NICKERERS, sb. pi. Sc. [ni'kararz.] A slang name
for new shoes, from their making a creaking noise. See
Nick, v.''
Sc. Scotch nickerers are made of horse leather, Richardson
Borderer's Tablebk. (1846) VI. 235. Rxb. (Jam.)
NICKERIE, sb. } Obs. Lth. (Jam.) A term of en-
dearment for a child.
NICKERPECKER, sb. w.Yks.^ [nik3pek3(r).] A
file-cutter.
NICKER-PIT, sb. Ken. Also written nickopit Ken.' ;
nicopet. [nrkspit.] A deep hole in a dike ; a bog, quag-
mire. (D.W.L.), (G.B.), Ken.' Cf. nuckar-hole.
NICKERS, sb. pi. sw.Lin.' [ni'ksz.] The larger
branches of tree-tops cut up for firewood.
1 never get nickers mysen ; I never get no't but kids. I can't
hew nickers up.
NICKER Y, a<^y. Sc. [ni-kari.] Knavish. See Nick, z/.^ 2.
Kcb. Folk whiles maun try some nickery trick To keep abune
the groun', Armstrong Ingleside (1890') 42.
NICKET, sb. w.Cy. Glo. Also in form niggut Glo.'
[ni-kit] A small, short faggot. w.Cy. (Hall.), Glo.' See
Nicky, sb}
NICKETTY-NEED, adj. ? Obs. War.^ Stingy, mean,
penurious. See nick at need, s.v. Nick, si.'* 1 (3).
He is a nicketty-need fellow.
NICKETY-KNOCK, adv. Cor. [ni-kiti-nok.] With
throbbings ; with palpitations. See Knickity-knock.
There es somefin theere goin nickety-knock, T. Towser (1873)
14; Cor.2 IWy heart's gwain nickety-knock.
NICKIE, s6.' Sc. [niki.] 1. The devil ; also in comp.
Nickie-ben. See Nick, sb.^
Frf. Grim auld carlins . . . Scauld, an' ca' ye ' Nickie Ben,'
Watt Foet. Sketches (1880) 63. w.Sc. Nickey's bairns . . . remain
longer upon earth, as a rule, than better behaved ones, Mac-
donald Settlement (1869) 149, ed. 1877. Fif. To cheat an' lie is
just the trade They learn'd in Nicky's cellar, Douglas Poems
(1806) 81. Lnk. That auld dyvour— Nickie-ben, Murdoch Doric
Lyre (1873) 75. Edb. Nicky Ben will some day skelp ye, Liddle
Poems (1821) 184. GalL Nickie Ben will prize ye. And yomf ye
head foremost to hell, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 447, ed. 1876.
2. Phr. ane ta Nickey, ' devil a one.'
Sh.I. Fir my share, ane ta Nickey A'm seen yet at sood geng
aroond me sae aisy, Sh. News (May 21, 1898).
NICKIE, s6.= Sc. I.Ma. [ni-ki.] 1. A small fishing-
vessel having a certain style of rigging.
I.Ma. The nickies are said to have first been brought to the
Island by Cornishmen. So many of these men were called
Nicholas that the Manxmen dubbed their style of boat Nickies
(S.M.).
2. Comp. Nicky-frog, a contemptuous term for a French-
man.
Ayr. Duncan from the Nore, That made old Nicky Frog to
roar, Thom Amusements (1812) 19.
NICKIN(G, prp. and sb. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Not. Also
written nicken Nhb. [ni-kin.] 1. /r/. With ow : scoring
at cricket by means of notches cut on a stick. ne.Yks.'
See Nick, v.^ 8. 2. sb. A method of keeping count by
cutting notches on a stick. n.Yks."* 3. The practice of
cutting the underside of a horse's tail.
n.Yks. Marshall Review (1808) I. 487.
4. The preparatory operation for bringing down the ' jud '
or top of a mine. Cf kerving, s.v. Kerve, 1.
Nhb. For what he gat was varry sma', Frae out the kirvens and
the nickens, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 27.
5. A vertical cutting in the side or nook of a working
place in a coal-mine. Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl.
(1888). 6. pi. The battlements of a church. s.Not.(J.P.K.)
NICKING
[266]
NIDDERLING
NICKING, adj. Som. Convenient. (Hall.)
NICK-KNACK, NICKL AS, see Knick-knack, Nicholas.
N-ICKLE, sb} Dnb. Not. Lin. Also written nickill
n.Lin. ; nickolDnb. [ni'kl.] 1. Tlie green woodpecker,
Gecinus viridis. Cf. nicker, sb? ; see Hickwall.
Not. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 100. n.Lin. (E. P.)
2. PTiie goldfincii, Carduelis elegans. Dnb. (E.F.)
NICKLE, sb? Sc. n.C}^. [nikl.] In comp. (i) Nickle-
naetliing, (2) -nowt, notiiing at all. Cf. nichil, sb.
(i) Per. When I down to dust return Shall I be a nickle
naething ? Spence Poems (1898) 70. (2) n.Cy. (W.T.)
NICKLE, v.'^ w.Cy. Som. Dev. [ni'kl.] To move
hastily along in an awkward manner ; to take short steps.
Cf. knuckle, 13.
■w.Cy. (Hall.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Dev. Whotiver be
yu nickling along- like that vur? Duee stap out, or us shan't git
'ome avore dark, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
NICKLE, v.'^ and sb.^ Sc. [ni'kl.] L v. To strike
with a smart blow ; esp. to strike off a marble by a sudden
motion of the thumb and first finger. Cf. knuckle, 7.
Sc. (Jam., s.v. Nick). BnCf.l Nane o' yir tipplan ; nickle hard.
2. To handle, manipulate, as in setting up type.
Lth. Wi' glorious wages ilka week For deftly nicklin' Latin,
Greek, An' Gaehc by the yard. Smith Merry Bridal (1866) 39.
3. sb. A sharp stroke ; esp. the stroke which impels the
'pitcher.' Bnff.i, Cld. (Jam.) 4. A player at marbles.
Bnff., Cld. He's a good nickle (Jam,).
NICKLE, see Knickle.
NICKLED, ppl. adj. Nhp. Suf. Entangled ; of corn :
beaten down. Nhp.', e.Suf (F.H.) The same word as
Knickle (q.v.).
NICKLE-NACKLE, sb., adj. and adv. w.Som.' [nikl-
neekl.] 1. sb. A tangle ; also used attrib. See Knickle.
Why, thee's a-got the skein all to a nickle-nackle. However's
anybody gwain to toze out this yur nickle-nackle consarn?
2. adj. Of persons : namby-pamby, pottering.
Don't let me catch thee here no more, ya nickle-nackle osebird.
3. adv. In a confused, tangled way.
NICKL Y-THIZE, sb. Sc.I. The harvest-home supper.
Ftk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 248 ; N. if Q. (1899) 9th S. iii. 414 ;
Courtney Gl. (1880).
[For the element -thize, cp. -dize {-thize), s.v. Guldize.]
NICK-NACK, adv. ? Obs. Sc. n.Cy. 1. With steady
motion ; with a regular ticking sound.
se.Sc. So may your pickers gae nick-nack, Just like the pend'lum
o' your clock, Donaldson Poems (1809) 137.
2. Phr. to play nick-nack, to make a sound as with
castanets or ' bones.' See Knick-knack, 3.
n.Cy. Every rib i' the auld wife's side Played nick nack on the
wa', wa', Dixon Sngs. Eng. Peas. (1846) 77.
NICK-NACK, NICK-NACKET, see Knick-knack,
Knick-knacket.
NICK O' FIDGE, phr. Lin.i A term of jocularity
applied to a baby.
NICKS, V. Rxb. (Jam.) Also written nix. To set up
anything as a mark and throw at it ; to take aim at any-
thing near. ' To nix at a bottle.'
NICKUM, s6. Sc. Also written knicumAbd.; nickem
Bnff. ; nickim Fif. (Jam.) [ni'ksm.] A rogue, a scamp ;
a mischievous boy ; occas. used as a term of endearment.
ne.Sc, A black-heidit, ill-tricket nickum, Green Gordonhaven
(1887) 23. Bnff. ' Oh, the nickem,' said Tom's mother, ' surely
he's dead wi' cauld by this time,' Smiles Natur. (1876) i ; ' My
bonnie nickem,' is equivalent to ' my little dear,' ih. note. Abd. To
gar the knicums dance an' squeal, Edwards Mod. Poets,'8th S.
171. Fif. (Jam.) Gall. A gang of the most high-toned nickums,
Crockett Cleg Kelly (i8g6j xvii.
NICKY, s6.i Dor. Som. Dev. Also in form nick
w.Som.' A bundle, esp. a small faggot of thorns and
other hedge prunings ; also in comp. Nicky-wad. See
Knitch.
■w.Cy. (Hall.), Dor. (C.V.G.), Dor.i Som. His grandfather,
when sending corn to Bristol, used always to send a cartload of
nickies on before to fill up the ruts (W.F.R.); (F.A.) e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). ■w.Som.' Let Jim take the mare and go down
in the Bottom-mead arter they nickies what Joe 've a-tied up.
Dev. These are used to make the brick ovens hot, which are built
in back-kitchen chimney corners, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
NICKY, sb.^ Suf. A foolish person, a ' ninny.' Also
in comp. Nicky-poop. e.Suf. (F.H.) Cf. nocky.
NICKY, V. Cor.s [ni'ki.] Of plants : to grow thick
in the stem instead of at the root.
Thai annyuns wen't bowly naw — thai well onny nicky.
NICKY-N ACK, s6. Nhb.^ [ni'ki-nak.] A boys' guessing
game ; see below. Cf. neiveie-nick-nack.
A game of guessing the hand in which an article is hid. ' Nicky,
nicky, nack, which hand de ye guess? The reetor the left, or the
bonny bord's ness ? '
NICKY-NACKY, adj Sc. [ni'ki-naki.] Gimcrack ;
trifling, useless ; troublesome ; speaking in an affected or
mincing manner.
Slk. A treyfling nicky-nacky bwody he wos, Hogg Poems (ed.
1865) 371 ; 'That vile nicky-nacky language they call English, ib.
Tales {1838 ■ 80, ed. 1866. Wgt. What will you say ifl bring you
a daughter-in-law that can't understand the half of your nicky-
nacky clipping English ; will you learn to understand her ! Good
Wds. (1881) 335.
NICKY-NAN-NIGHT, sb. Cor. Also written nicka-
Cor.^ The evening preceding Shrove Tuesday ; see below.
On the day which precedes Shrove Tuesday, about the dusk of
the evening, it is the custom for boys, and in some cases for those
above the age of boys, to prowl about the streets with short clubs,
and to knock loudly at every door, running off to escape detection
on the slightest sign of a motion within. If, however, no attention
be excited, and especially if any article be discovered negligently
exposed or carelessly guarded, then the things are carried away,
and on the following morning are seen displayed in some con-
spicuous place, to expose the disgraceful want of vigilance
supposed to characterise the owner. The time when this is prac-
tised is called ' Nicky-nan-night,' and the individuals concerned
are supposed to represent some imps of darkness, that seize on,
and expose unguarded moments, Reports R. Instil. (1842), in Couch
Hist. Polperro {1811) 151 ; On the following eve [Shrove Tues-
day], the clubs were again in requisition ; but on this occasion
the blows on the door were in time to the following chant —
' Nicky nicky nan. Give me some pancake, and then I'll be gone.
But if you give me none I'll throw a great stone, And down your door
shall come,' Couch ib. 152; Cor.'^
NICOBORE, see Nickerbore.
NID, V. Sc. I.Ma. Som. Cor. [nid.] To nod slightly ;
to bob about ; gen. in comb. Nid-(nid-)nodding.
n.Sc. The locution of our grey-haired pastor is sufSciently
soporific. Quite a score of heads may be seen ' nid-nid-noddin','
Gordon Carglen (1891) 53. Ayr. We're a' noddin, nid nid noddin,
Burns Gudeen, kimmer, st. i. I.Ma. Niddin and noddin, just like
ould Jemmy Ballavoddin, Brown IVitch (1889) 8. Som. A' nid-
nodden' her white sun bonnet, Leith Lemon Verbena (1895) 1 15.
Cor. Mark the flowers 'pon the bonnet nid-nodding like bees in a
bell, ' Q.' Three Ships (1892) 13.
Hence (1) Niddy-noddies, sb. pi. assumed airs, fine
manners ; (2) Nid-noddy, adj. falling asleep ; (3) to play
niddy-noddy, phr. to shake with age or palsy.
(i) Lnk. To think yon birkies o' the town, Wi' ruffel't sark and
moostet crown. Play siccan tricks on countra bodies, Wha're tent-
less o' yer niddy noddies, Watson Poems (ed. 1877) 32 (Jam.
Suppl). (2) Sc. (Jam., s.v. Nod). (3) Lnk. Ere we're half gate
wi' our life Our head plays niddy noddy, Watson Poems (ed.
1877) 38 ; (Jam. Suppl.)
NID, see Need.
NIDDER, sb. ? Obs. Sc. The second shoot made by
grain when growing.
Gall. In dry seasons it never bursts the nidder, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
NIDDER, see Neither, Nither, d.i =
NIDDERING, ppl. adj Sc. Also written nidering.
Weak, cowardly.
Sc. Faithless, mansworn, and nidering, Scott (CD.). Gall. I
that have been weak and niddering, CROCKETTMos5-/fa^5(i895)xxu
NIDDERLING, sb. Sc. Lin. Also written niderling
Lin.i 1. A coward, a weak, silly person.
Gall. I'm no nidderling to be afraid of powder, Crockett Grey
Man (1896) 25 ; The men of the broad bonnet were neither cowards
nor nidderlings, ib. Moss-Hags (1895) xxiii.
2. A parsimonious man.
Lin.i He is reputed to be wealthy, but he is a niderling.
NIDDICK
[267]
NIFF
NIDDICK, sb. Pern. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written
niddiks.Dev.e.Con; and in forms nedacks.Pem.; neddick
Con; nudack Fern.; nuddick Cor.*^^; nudeck Cor.^
[ni'dik.] The back of the neck, the nape ; occas. the
back of the head ; the whole head or skull. See Nod,
sb.\ Noddle.
Pem. (W.H.Y.) s.Pem. Laws Litile Eng. (1888) 421. e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.* The bwoy's a-hat mortal hard —
there's a gurt hump 'pon the niddick o' un so big's a duck-egg.
Dev. I wuz za 'ot yii cflde 'ave bowled a egg in my niddick, Heweit
Peas. Sp. (1893) ; Dev.i A geed en sich a wap in the niddick that
strambang a het es head agin the clovel, an made a bump in es
brow, 19. n.Dev. Chad a crick in ma back and in ma niddick,
Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 555. nw.Dev.i s.Dev. (Miss D.) Cor. I
shu'd a given he a good blow as 'ud a skat his neddick, Baring-
Gould Curgenven (1893) xxix ; Cor.i''^^ e.Cor. (Miss D.)
[Borespeares long they whirle or foining forks, Their
nuddocks bolstred ben, Phaer Eneidos (1558) 175.]
NIDDIL, NIDDLE, see Needle.
NIDDLE, sb. Dev. [ni'dl.] The nape of the neck.
See Noddle, 2.
n.Dev. It blowth cold this early ; I feel it in my niddle, Reports
Provinc. (1883).
NIDDLE, V. Sc. Irel. [ni'dl.] 1. To work quickly
with the fingers ; to trifle.
Sc. (Jam.) Per. They whiddled about, they niddled about.
They chirm'd, they kiss'd, an' caress'd, Ford Harp (1893) 319.
Fif. The wyres were gowden, braw to see, Wharewi' her fingers
prettilie Did niddle i' their play, Tennant Papistry (1827) 15. Dmf.
"Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351. Ant. Whut are you niddlin
about? Ballymena Obs. (1892).
Hence Nidling, ppl. adj. trifling.
Sc. Hoots awa', ye dowffie chiel, yer but a niddlin' bodie, Allan
Lilts (1874) 372.
2. To overcome and rob. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824).
NIDDLENOD, v. Irel. [ni'dl-nod.] To bend or in-
cline with a quick motion.
For ye'd see the grand bonnits begin niddle-noddin' together to
whisper, Barlow Bogland {i8g2) 161, ed. 1893.
NIDDLE-NODDLE, v. and sb. Yks. War. [ni'dl-nodl.]
1. V. To do anything in a dreamy, bewildered way ; to
walk slowly ; to dawdle.
e.Yks.i He gans niddle-nodlin aboot as if he didn't knaw what
he was deeahin on. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. 3, 1891).
2. sb. A foohsh person.
'War.'* Come, Joe, doant be a niddle-noddle. I wants the man
as I marry to be different from tha'at.
3. Anything wavering or unsteady ; also used advb.
w.Yks.* Little Robin Redbreast Sat upon a rail, Niddle noddle
went his head, And wag went his tail (s.v. Noddle).
NIDDLETY-NOD, sb. Not. [nidlti-nod.] A foolish
person. (J.H.B.)
NIDDLETY-NODDLETY, sb. Lan. [ni'dltinodlti.]
A term of endearment.
Then turning to Billy, who was standing upon the dresser, she
said, 'An' as for thee, thae little saucy niddlety-noddlety,' 'Waugh
Sneck-Bant (1867) 91.
NIDDY, see Neddy.
NIDDY-NODDY, sb. Yks. I.Ma. [ni'di-nodi.] An
idiot ; a simpleton.
w.Yks.2 I.Ma. Some niddy-noddy of a poor craythur you'll be
seein still on the country grin. Brown Witch (1889) 131.
NIDE, sb} and v. War. Hrf. Ken. Wil. Also in form
nythe Wil.^ [naid.] 1. sb. A brood of pheasants, an ' eye.'
Cf. nye.
■War. (J.R.'W.), Hrf.i Wil.^'A nythe o' pheasants'; always
used by gamekeepers. [Nide, a brood ; as, a nide of pheasants, a
flock of them, Bailey (1755) ; A nide of pheasants, Phasianorum
pullities, Coles (1679).]
2. V. To occupy a nest.
Ken. If a boy were speaking of a bird's nest, he would say more
often than not, 'She nides there,' Son or Marshes Ann. Fishing
Vill. (ed. 1892) 21.
[2. Fr. nid, a nest ; Lat. nidus.l
NIDE, s6.2 War. Hrf. [naid.] An adept, a dab at
anything. War. (J.R.W.), Hrf.'
NIDERING, NIDERLING, see Niddering, Nidderling.
NIDGE, V. Nhb.i [nidg.] To squeeze ; to bite. The
same word as Knidge (q.v.).
NIDGE, NIDGEL, see Knidge, Nitch, sb.\ Knidgel.
N-IDGET, s6.i Lan. Stf Lin. Nhp. e.An. Also in forms
nidiot n.Lin.' ; nidyart Lan. ; nidyed e.Lan."^ [ni'dgit,
ni'djst.] 1. An idiot ; a fool.
Lan. He fancied that th' chap wur a nid3-art, un nuthin better,
Staton Lootninary (c. 1861) 36. eXan.*, Stf.* n.Lin.' He's sich
'n a nidiot as I niver heard tell on i' all my born daays. Nhp.*
2. A cowardly coxcomb. e.An.*
[1. A very nodypool nydyote myght be ashamed to say
it, More Works (1557) 709.]
N-IDGET, s6.^ Hrf Ken. Sur. Sus. Cor. [ni'dgit, -at.]
A ' shim ' or horse-hoe with nine irons, used for cleaning
the ground between the rows of hops or beans. Cf. idjit.
Hrf.2 Ken. Farmer's Jrn. (Sept. 8, 1828) ; Ken.*, Sur.*, Sus.*
e.Sus. Holloway. Cor. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863) ; Cor.^
NIDGET, sb.^ Sus.* [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] A small bug.
NIDGET, V. Lon. e.An. Also in forms nipget e.Suf. ;
nigit Lon. [nidgit.] To assist a woman in her travail.
e.An.* Hence mgeting, prp. fetching midwives, nurses,
and gossips for one in labour.
Lon. Poor labouring men . . . are obliged to get up, put on part
of their cloaths and go a nigiting. Low Life (1764) 29. e.An.*
e.Suf. To go niggeting (F.H.).
NIDIOT, see Nidget, sb>
NIDITY-NOD, adv. Sc. [ni'diti-nod.] Bobbing up
and down ; shaking.
Lnk. Her paps plays nidity nod when she gangs, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 51.
NIDYART, NIDYED, see Nidget, sb}
NIDY-CORN, sb. N.Cy.* Weak, unproductive corn.
NIE, see Nye.
NIECE, sb. Ken. [nis.] A granddaughter.
One nephew and niece, my eldest son's children (W.F.S.).
[The Duchess of York, mother of the Duke of Clarence,
speaks of Clarence's young daughter as ' my niece Plan-
tagenet,' Shaks. Rich. Ill, iv. i. i.]
NIEF,NIEFLE, NIEGRE, see Neive, Nevel, Nigger, sb}
NIELD, NIENT, NIERE, NIEST, see Needle, Noint,
Near, sb}, Neist.
NIEV(E, NIEVLE, NIEVY-, see Neive, Nevel, Neiveie-
nick-nack.
N-IF, conj. Som. Dev. [nif] If; a contracted form
of ' an if.' See An, conj} 3.
Som. I da thenk, nif I war a gennelman, that I'd vine better
sport than huntin, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825) 130. e.Som.
■W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.* Nif th' old mare didn put along fit
to tear up the very stones (s.v. If). Dev. Nif so be I shouldn't be
able vor to come. Reports Provinc. (1885) 98. n.Dev. Nif tha
com'st athert Rager Hosegood, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 198.
NIFF, sb} and v. Shr. Glo. Sur. Sus. Som. Dev. Cor.
Also written nif Cor. ; niffe Dev.* [nif.] 1. sb. A
quarrel ; a silent, sullen feeling of resentment ; gen. in
phr. to take a niff, to take offence ; to scorn.
Glo.* w.Som.* Let her alone, her've o'ny a-got a bit of a niff,
her'll zoon come o' that again. Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 303 :
Dev.* Cor. The woman took a nif, and for a long time never spolje
to our John, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 318, ed. 1896; Cor.*
w.Cor. You're taking the niff (AL.M.).
2. V. To quarrel ; to be offended.
Shr.2 Sus. I wunt niff wid won as cud arg wud a Pharisee,
Jackson Southward Ho (1894) I. 251 ; Sus.*
Hence (i) Niffed, ppl. adj. offended ; ' put out' ; not on
friendly terms ; (2) Niffy, adj. offended, apt to take offence.
(i) Sur. Ye wunt feel niffed like when we meets ye, if we
gives ye plenty o' elber-room, mister, Forest Tithes (1893) 99.
Dev. ■Whet's niffed about now than ? I ant a dued nort tu 'fend
thee, tu my knolledge, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.* Don't be
a nift, 3. Cor.* She's gone away niffed ; Cor.^a (2) Cor. There's
no call to be niffy, ' Q.' Three Ships (1892) 274.
[2. LG. niffen, naseweise Bemerkungen machen, viel
zu meistern und zu tadeln haben (Berghaus).]
NIFF, 56.= Sus. A smell ; a ' sniff.' (A.F.N.) Hence
Niffy, adj. odorous, (ib.)
M m a
NIFFER
[268]
NIGGARD
NIFFER, V. and sb. Sc. Yks. Also in forms neiffar
Sc. (Jam.) ; neifer, neiifer Sc. [ni"f3(r, Sc. also nrfar.]
1. V. To exchange, barter.
Sc. He neiifers for the better, Ferguson Proj;. (1641) 17; I'll
no stand niffering wi' ye, ScotT Midlothian (iSiS) xvi. S. & Ork.^
Abd. I've a. shaltie to nififer, Murray Hamewith (1900) 15. Frf.
I wouldna neifer Grizel for the lot of them, Barrie Tommy (i8g6)
xxxi. e.Fif. If we could niffer e'en wi' oor neebors noo an' than,
Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xviii. Slg. They niffered lovers' airls.
Towers Poems (1885) 175. s.Sc. Niffering brandy and glass
beads for the skins o' foumarts, Wilson Tales (1836) III. 258.
Dmb. I wadna niffer you for fifty Miss Migummeries, Cross
Disruption (1844) xxvi. Rnf. Deils their black glaumer Hae
niffert wi' auld wives, Cla.-rk Rhymes (1843) 4. Ayr. Meiklemyre
has been drinking and niffering on the Sabbath, Johnston Kil-
mallie (1891) I. 153. Lnk. Cuffs an' kicks they freely niffer't,
Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895') 74. e.Lth. I wadna niffer wi' you,
Jims, elder though ye be. Hunter /. Inwick (1895) 65. Edb.
There being but small difference in the value of the cloth I caused
them to niffer, Mom Mansie Wauch (1828) xxi. Slk. Niffer
plates at ance — though yours is clean, Chr. North Nodes (ed.
1856) III. 173. Rxb. The Smith an' he did niffer mills, A. Scott
Poems (ed. 1808) 141. Dmf. They wha niffer counsels at will wi'
fate, Thom Jock o' Knowe (1878) 30. Kcb. I would not niffer or
exchange Christ's prison, bonds, and chains, with the gold
chains and lordly rents, and smiling and happy-like heavens of
the men of this world, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 200. Yks.
He was ' niffered off' or bartered by the proprietor of his pit for
a pony, Yks. Wkly. Post (Dec. 15, 1894).
2. To haggle, to bargain in a tenacious or hard spirit.
s.Sc. (Jam.), n.Yks.^' 3. sb. An exchange ; a barter.
Sc. Deil a boddle is to be had, save on the auld terms of giff-
gaff. It is just niffer for niffer, Scott A^z^j^e/ (1822) xxxi. Abd. It
oucht in the niffer to gie them the freedom, Macdonald Sir Gibbie
(1879) xl'v. Ayr. Ye see your state wi' their's compar'd. And
shudder at the niffer. Burns Address to the Unco Guid (1786) st.
3. Lnk. The project succeeded, it cam' to a niffer, Watson
Poems (1853) 49. Lth. At ilka bit niffer or coupin'. The moment
ye ca' the gill-stoup in, You're sure to see Tarn an' his drum,
Ballantine Poems (1856) 134. Edb. It's better aye to halve the
difference at a niffer than to part as ye met, ib. Gaberlunzie
(ed. 1875) 84.
[1. Prop, to exchange what is held in one ' neive ' for
what is held in another, to pass fr. one ' neive ' to another.
For the element -fer (-far), ON. /or, see Chaffer, sb.^]
NIFFLE, sb. .? Obs. e.An. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A spur for a horse. (Hall.)
NIFFLE, V. Nhp. Bdf. Suf. [ni-fl.] 1. To whine ; to
' sniffle.' Suf.i, e.Suf. (F.H.) 2. To swallow hastily.
Nhp.^ Bdf. (Hall.)
[1. Fr. (Norm, dial.) nifler, ' flairer avec bruit, en parlant
d'un chien ' (Moisy).]
NIFFLE, NIFFLIN, see Knifle, Neflin.
NIFF-NAFF, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Also
written nhiff-nhaff s.Don. ; nififnaf Lnk.; nif-naf Nhb.;
and in forms niffy-naflFWgt. ; nif-niffAyr. [ni'f-naf.]
1. sb. A trifling thing or matter; a knick-knack; anything
very small. See Nyaff.
Sc. (Jam.) Slk. Whaten a niff-naff of a glass is this? Hogg
Tales (1838) 320, ed 1866. s.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890). N.Cy.i
Nhb. Take a little of my nif-naf, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk.
(1846) VI. 212. Dur. Gibson Up-Weardale Gl. (1870). e.Dur.i,
n.Yks.'*, ne.Yks.', w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. A small person; one who has not attained full strength.
Slk. ' Wha's this stripling that rides the . . . mare ? ' ' That's my
bit niff-naff of a callant,' Hogg Perils of Man (1822) II. 299 (Jam.).
3. Fussiness of disposition. Sc. (Jam.) Hence Niff-
naffy, adj. fussy, over-fastidious.
Sc. She wad rather lock up a hail ward than be fiking about
thae niff-naffy gentles that gae sae muckle fash wi' their fancies,
Scott Guy M. (1815) xliv.
4. V. To trifle ; to toy ; to take finicking pains ; to talk
or act foolishly or aimlessly.
Sc. To had thy wooer up ay niff-na65n, Ramsay Tea-Table Misc.
(1724) I. 72, ed. 1871. Ayr Nif-niffin' at her apron strings, An'
watchfu' as a Untie, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1893) 318. Lnk.
Ramsay Gentle Shep. (ed. 1733) Gl. Wgt. Dick neither 'set
himself up' in his ways, nor 'niffy-naffed ' with his tongue, Good
Wds. (1881) 403. NUb.' He niffnaffed on at the job. n.Yks."
NIFFY-NAFFY, sb., v. and adj. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan.
e.An. [ni-fi-nafi.] 1. sb. An insignificant, fussy person ;
a worthless, conceited fellow. See Niif-naff.
n.Cy. Holloway; N.Cy.', Cum. (M.P.), m.Yks.^ w.Yks.i He's
a reiglit niffy-naffy.
2. Extreme simplicity. Nrf Holloway. 3. v. To do
anything listlessly or perfunctorily ; to busy oneself with
unimportant errands ; to walk with dainty steps, e. Yks.',
m.Yks.^ e.An.' 4. adj. Trifling, undecided and hesitating
in action ; insignificant, mean.
Nhb.i, Cum. (M.P.), n.Yks.' ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1796) II. 335. w.Yks. 1 He's a niffy-naffy fellow. ne.Lan.*
e.An.2 A niffy-naffy fool of a fellow.
NIFFY-NIFFYNACK, see Neiveie-nicknack.
NIFLE, V. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Lin.
Nhp. Wor. e.An. Dev. Also written naifle n.Lan. ; nyfle
Lan.' n.Lin.' ; and in form niffle Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.' Nhb.
Nhp.' e.An.'= Dev.^ [naifl, ni-fl.] 1. v. To trifle time
away, or spend it in doing trifling things ; to play with
one's work. Also in comp. Nifde-naffle. Cf nafSe, v?
Sc. (Jam.), Nhb. (R.O.H.) n.Yks.'^ ; n.Yks.* Thoo nifles on,
an' nivver gits nowt deean. m.Yks.' Lan. Grose (1790) MS.
add. (P.) Nhp.', s.Wor.i se.Wor.' To nifle about, is to go from
one job to another and to make little progress with either.
e.An.' ; e.An.^ He's always niffling and naffling after her. e.Suf.
To niffle at one's work (F.H.).
Hence (i) Nifle-pin, sb. a pretended occupation serving
as an excuse for idleness ; (2) Nifling,///. adj. (a) trifling,
petty ; insignificant ; {b) in phr. to be on the nifling-pin, to
be idle.
(i) se.Wor.' e.Wor. He doesn't really want to go, it's only a
nifle-pin (J.W P.). (2, a) He's a nifflin' body (Jam.). w.Yks.
Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865). Nhp.' A poor little niffling thing. Dev.
MS. Prov. (b) s.Wor. Ef I wuz alius on the nillin' pin like 'im,
an' 'adn't nothin' to do, OuTis Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jm. (Mar.
9, 1895) 4, col. 3 ; s.Wor.'
2. To pilfer articles of small value.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.', Cum. (M.P.) Wm. Nimming and
nifling whativver he can lig his fists on, Hutton Bran New Wark
(1785) 1. 305. w.Yks. ScATCHERD Hist. Morley (1830) 170, ed.
1874 ; w.Yks.' I'll nifle 'em fray him, an ayther feeal 'em er
thraw 'em intot' fire, ii. 299 ; w.Yks.^^, n.Lan. (C.W. D.),
ne.Lan.' n.Lin.' It's to noa ewse hevin' apple-treas i' hedge-raws.
Th' bairns alus nyfles all th' apples afoore thaay're mella'.
Hence Nifler, sb. a sly thief w.Yks.^
3. To walk with short steps ; to shuffle along. e.Suf.
(F.H.) 4. sb. A trifle; a small delicacy ; a thing of no
importance.
N.Cy.' Yks. Hone Table-bk. (1828) II. 525. n.Yks.i* w.Yks.'
Lan. She then took Betty's basket and crammed it with fruit, and
with all sortsof sweet 'nifles,' WAUGH5Me(rA-i3a«/( 1868) 89; Lan.'
5. pi. Obs. Glandules, kernels covered with fat. w.Yks.
Thoresby Lett. (1703). 6. A whim, fancy; fussiness.
Dev.2 Mary G. has a lot of niffles.
7. Phr. to be on the nijle, to be idle. s.Wor.'
[1. Fr. (Norm, dial.) niveler,^ ' perdre son temps a des
futilites ' (MoisYj ; Niveler, to trifle away the time (Cotgr.).]
NIG, sb. Sc. Ess. Also written nigg Ess.' [nig.]
1. A small piece. Ess. N. if Q. (1853) ist S. vii. 366 ; Ess.'
2. Phr. nigs and naws, oddments, knick-knacks. Cf.
nig-nag.
Rnf. They can describe wi' souple jaws, The weaver's trant-
lums, nigs and naws. Each various effect an' cause They can
explain, Webster Rhymes (1835) 151 ; Ither nigs and naws sae
querious Wad ding philosopher delirious, ib. 179.
NIGARDICE, s6. Obs. Hrt. Stinginess.
They had a peak against him on account of his nigardice, Ellis
Mod. Husb. (1750) VI. i. 28.
NIGG, s6. 1 Obs. Glo. A bafl of tough wood used in
the game of ' Not ' (q.v.). Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.)
NIGG, V. Sh.L War. [nig.] To complain, fret; to
scold; to chatter. S. & Ork.', War. Holloway. Cf. gnag.
NIGGARD, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Lon. Also in forms neegar Cum." ; niggar Sc.
(Jam.) ; niggart Nhb.' Cum."* ; nigger Irel. n.Cy. w.Yks.
Lon.; niggert Lan.'aLan.'; niggetts.Wm. [ni-g3(r)d,
ni-g3(r)t, ni-g3(r.] I- Fig. A movable piece of iron or
NIGGEDY-NAGGETY
[269]
NIGGLE
fire-brick put in the side of a grate to economize fuel, or
to block the flue of the oven or boiler ; a false bottom to a
grate,
Rxb. (Jam.\ Ir. (A S.-P.) n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; (Hall.) Nhb.J,
Cum.'*, s.Wm. (J.A.B.) w.Yks. LeedsMerc. Suppl. (Aug. 17, 1895).
Lan.i, n.Lan.', e.Lan.i Chs.l Movable side to a kitchen grate,
which can be wound up with a handle, so as to make the fire
narrow or wide according as it is required. Lon. Mayhew Land.
Labour (i8$i) II. 6.
2. Comp. Niggart- plate, a piece of sheet-iron put between
the ' niggard ' and the hob. Cum.'*
NIGGEDY-NAGGETY, adj. s.Chs.' Irritable, bad-
tempered. Cf. nigg, V.
Oo)z ter'ilbli nig'iidi-naag'uti wi)th chil-durn [Hoo's terribly
niggedy-naggety wi' th' children].
NIGGEL, NIGGELTY-POD, see Niggle, v}, Nickelty
pod.
NIGGER, sb} Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Yks. Not. Lon. Suf. Dev.
and Amer. Also written niggar Sc. (Jam.) ; and in forms
nager N.I.'; nagre w.Yks.' ; nagur, naigur, naygur In;
neager, neagre N.Cy.'; neeagur e.Yks.'; neeger Sc.
(Jam.) e.Suf. ; neggar Dev. ; negur Lon. ; neigre Sc.
(Jam.) ; neygar w.Ir. ; niegre Sc. ; nigre Sc. (Jam.)
[ni'g3(r, ni'g3(r, ne'g3(r), ne'g3(r.] A niggard; a mean,
contemptible person ; a lout ; a reckless fellow.
Sc. (Jam.), Cai.', Bnff.' Slg. An illiterate kintra niggar Blest
wi'a smart external figure, Galloway Poems (1792) 19. Lnk. Ay
saunt'rin' like a dolt ane's lain A niegre daubit, Watt Poems
(1827) 72. Rxb. What stored the auld niggar's hive, A. Scott
Poems (1811) 122 (Jam.). Ir. The divil a ha'penny have / parted
with to the old nagur ! Smart Master of Rathkelly (1888) II. vii.
N.I.' w.Ir. The bishop, they say, was a neygar, Lover Leg. (1848)
I. 88. S.Don. Simmons Gl (1890). N.Cy.', e.Yks.' w.Yks.';
V7.Yks.^ A fawning and servile domestic, from unworthy motives,
acts the 'nigger' for his master in regard to those who are under his
control. Lon. Feather dresser to an out-and-out negur, Mayhew
Lond. Labour {1851) II. 231, ed. 1861. e.Suf. (F.H.) Dev. Th'
oal' neggar wud'n gee ma wan bit, Reports Provinc. (1895). [Amer.
Dial. Notes (1896) I. 398.]
Hence (i) Niggerality, (2) Niggerliness, sb. meanness,
niggardliness ; (3) Niggerly, adj. niggardly.
(i) Ayr. Every farthing shall be paid . . . just to wring thy heart
n' niggerality, Galt Entail (1823) xci. (2) Ir. If anybody had
asked for direct proof of Kerrigan's ould naygurliness, I doubt
whether his neighbours would have made many charges more
specific. Barlow Kerrigan (1894) 5. N.I.' (3) Ir. The imputa-
tion of a narrow, or, as he himself terms it, ' undacent ' or 'nagerly '
spirit, Carleton Traits Peas. (1843) I. 171 ; A state of painful in-
decision which would account for his black looks and naygurly
unsociable ways, Barlow Kerrigan (1894) 42. s.Not. (J.P.K.)
NIGGER, sb.'^ Sc. Yks. Lan. Ess. Also in forms nagur
Lan. ; neager w.Yks. ; neeagur e.Yks.' ; neeger Gall,
[ni-gafr, nrg3(r.] 1. In comb, (i) Nigger-driver, an
exacting employer of labour ; (2) -driving, exacting, hard
on one's subordinates ; (3) -head, a white cowrie.
(i) e.Yks.' (2) w.Yks. T'day al be boath ta short an ta narrow
for sum neager-drivin' foaks, 'Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann.
(June 24, 1856). (3) Sc. ' Do you ever find niggerheads about
here now ? ' . . He took the tiny cowrie of dazzling whiteness she
handed him by way of answer, Steel Rowans (1895) x.
2. A man who looks after the fire at a gas and coke works.
Ess. A lad who was brought before the Romford Board of
Guardians described his father as a nigger, and on being asked to
explain what this meant, said that 'a nigger was a man who
looked arter the fire at a gas and coke works,' Ess. Cy. Chron.
(Dec, ID, 1897) 5, col. I.
3. A hard worker ; an adept. Cf. nager.
Gall. Jock is a fair neeger at baith languages, and as for Laitin
Dominie MacFadyen says that he canna learn him ony mair,
Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 234. Lan. Applied to a workman
whobegan his work some minutes before the fixed time or continued
working a few minutes after stopping time, Manch. Cy. News (Dec.
29, 1900).
NIGGER, NIGGERT.NIGGET, see Nicker, v.. Niggard,
Nldget, V.
NIGGLE, u' and sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng.
Also written niggel Dev. ; nigle n.Cy. Cum.' w.Yks.
s.Not. ; and in forms neggle Lan. ; njiggle Sh.I. [ni'gl.]
1. V. To gnaw ; to nibble ; to eat mincingly. Cf. gnaggle.
Lakel.2 T'rattans hes niggled his britches boddums. w.Yks.',
ne.Lan.', w.Cy. (^Hall.) w.Som.' Could'n catch no fish, they
wid'n only jist niggle like, 'thout bitin' proper.
2. To hack ; to notch, as with a blunt instrument.
Sh.I. Wha wid rusk njigglin da hide o' der sheep wi' a pair o'
shears laek what A'm seen masons cuttin' sheet lead or zinc wi'?
Sh. News (Aug. 7, 1897) ; I tink he [a knife] '11 njiggle aff his [a
pig's] head, ib. (Dec. 22, 1900). Lakel.^ T'guUy was blunt,
but Ah've niggled a collop off t'shooder as weel's Ah cud. w.Yks.
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 31, 1884) 8 ; w.Yks.' ; w.Yks.= To cut,
or pare down wood, after a rude fashion. Der,^, nw.Der.' n.Lin.'
Ned, you're nigglin' that theare meat a shaame to be seen. Nhp.'
3. To play with one's work ; to trifle ; to work steadily
and yet from various causes to make little progress ; to
spend too much time over unimportant details ; to ac-
complish anything by a series of small efforts ; to change
about.
Cum.* You hed to niggle, niggle away to git say sebenteen to
twenty stooks, Cum. Pacquet (Aug. 31, 1893) 6, col. i. n.Yks.'^,
e.Yks.' w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865). Lan. Somebody
keeps negglin at that sneck, Waugh Heather {e.A. Milner) II. 193.
ne.Lan.', Der.'', nw.Der.' Nhp.' How you are niggling over your
work ; it is not worth the time. War.^ Cmb.' It's not so particular —
you needn't niggle about it like that. Ess. Trans, Arch. Soc.
(1863) II. 186. Ken. ' Oh,' said one woman, in reply to a question
as to in which garden she had that morning been picking hops,
'we've been nig'ling about all day,' N. fT" Q. (1894) 8th S. v. 395.
Sus., Hmp. Holloway. w.Cy. (Hall.) w.Som.' Why's-n do
thy work like a man, not bide there niggling way it, like a zow
'pon a holiday?
Hence (i) Niggler, sb. (a) a botcher; a person fussily
occupied with trifles ; (b) obs., a busy, industrious person
or animal ; a clever, dexterous person ; (2) Niggling,///.
adj. trifling, petty ; small ; troublesome on account of
smallness ; in gen. colloq. use.
(r, a) Cum.* Thoo's a niggler, bit thoo'U mak a warkman some
day. n.Yks.z, w.Yks. (J.W.) (6) n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy.',
Cum.' w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781). (2) n.Cy., Yks.
(J.W.) Nhp.' A suppressed laugh is ' a little niggling laugh ' ; a
pen, that does not move freely would be called a ' niggling pen.'
War.' ; War.* That's a nice bed of onions sure and sartain. There
be hardly a niggling one in the whole bed. Ken.' There, I tell ye,
I ain't got no time for no sich niggling jobs.
4. To dawdle ; to loiter ; to walk with short mincing
steps ; of a horse : to trot slowly.
n.Cy. (Hall.'i, w.Yks.', ne.Lan.' s.Chs.' Yi miin bi gy'aa'rdfiil
aay yi run'un dhu os fost paa-rt u)th juu'rni, ky'ai's yijn got'n u
liingg wee- fur goa', yi mun rimem'bur ; just goa- nig'hn iilungg'
big's paa-rt u)dh roa'd [Ye mun be guardful ha'i ye runnen the
boss fost part o' th' journey, case ye'n gotten a lung wee for go,
ye mun remember ; just go nigglin' alung the big'st part o' th'
road]. Suf.' Ka there — how she niggle along. Ess. An' long
she'd niggle at har glass, Clark J. Noakes (1839) st. 62 ; Ess.'
Hence Niggling, adv. mincingly. Glo. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (M.)
5. To deal out grudgingly or in minute portions ; to eke
out with extreme care ; to be greedy over small things ;
to haggle over a bargain ; to cheat by some underhand,
niggardly trick.
n.Cy. Holloway. n.Yks.'* m.Yks.' Don't go and let him niggle
and Haggle it away from thee. ne.Lan.', Stf.', Nhp.' e.An.' He
niggled him of his money. Nrf. Holloway. Suf.' We make but
poor outs of our 'lowans — we niggle it out as well as we can.
e.Suf. Obsol. (F.H.) Sus., Hmp. Holloway.
Hence (i) Niggler, sb. one who haggles over a bargain,
or who does things in a mean, niggardly way ; (2) Niggling,
ppl. adj. paltry ; contemptible ; mean ; niggardly ; (3)
Niggly, adj. close-fisted ; niggardly.
(i) m.Yks.' Sus., Hmp. Holloway. (2) w.Yks. (J.W.),
ne.Lan.', War.2, Won (J.R.W.), Glo.', w.Cy. (Hall.) w.Som.' A
nigglin' old thing ! can't get nort out o' her — her'd skin a vlint by
her mind. Dev. So-and-so has such niggelling ways, Reports
Provinc. (1895) ; Dev.' (3) Lakel.'^ He was as niggly ower a
penny as many a yan is ower a pund. w.Yks.^ Ah doant want to
live soa as fowks could cawal us niggly, 40. s.Not. Of all the
nigly things she's the one. She's too nigly to live (J.P.K.).
NIGGLE
[270]
NIGHT
6. To fret ; to worry, find fault constantly ; to pick holes
in anything ; to grumble ; to pain continuously and
wearyingly.
War.2 Them children's al'ys nigglin' and cryin. Glo. Baylis
Illus. Dial. {iQ-jo); Glo.i w.Sus. If you 'ad the 'ticks [rheumatism]
which niggles and naggles in your back, like I have, you might
cry out, Gordon Vill. and Doctor (1897) 248. Wil. (G.E.D.),
Dor.i Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885). w.Som.i Her'd
niggle anybody's live out 0' ern, nif they'd let her to.
Hence (i) Niggel't, ppl. adj. bothered ; annoyed ; (2)
Niggly-naggly, adj. of pain : dull, gnawing.
(i) Cura.i* (2) Dev. 'Tis a nasty niggly-naggly pain is tooth-
ache, Mortimer Tales Moors { 1895) 15.
7. sb. In phr. (i) to be on the niggle and the grind, to haggle ;
to try to cheapen ; (2) to be on the niggle with a person, to
be always worrying or finding fault with him.
(i) s.Wor. PoRsoN Quaint Wds. (1875) 19. (2) w.Som.' Her's
always 'pon the niggle way un.
8. A short mincing gait or pace ; a jog-trot.
s.Chs.i Wi wen'tn iit u bit ilv u nig'l [We wenten at a bit of a
niggle^. Suf.i
NIGGLE, v.^ e. An. To cuddle ; to snuggle close together.
e.An.i Nrf. Still in use, as of animals — pigs e. g. niggling down
close to one another to keep each other warm (M.C.H.B.).
NIGGLE, v.^ Sh.I. [ni'gl.] To ensnare ; to entrap
by means of an ambuscade. S. & Ork.^ Hence Niggler,
sb. the player in any boys' game who lies in wait to catch
the others, ib.
NIGGLE, see Gnaggle.
NIGGLED, ppl. adj. Cor.^ [nigld.] With down : ex-
hausted, tired out.
I was that niggled-down I cud hardly crawl home.
NIGGUR, NIGGUT, see Neggur, Nicket.
NIGH, adj., adv., prep, and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also in forms naigh e.Dev. ; nee Lan.' e.Lan.'
nw.Der.' ; neegh n.Yks. Lan. ; neeghe Wxf.' ; nei w.Yks.
Der. ; neigh w.Yks. Der.' ; nye Lin.^ ; conipar. nier
Wil. ; nire Hmp.^ Wil. [nai, ni, nei.] 1. adj. Near.
e.Yks.i Which is nighest rooad ti BoUiton ? Nighest way isn't
awlas gainest. Hmp.'^ w.Som.i 'Twas the nighest chance in the
wordle, eens the gurt piece o' rock had-n a-eome down tap o' my
'ead. Cor.^ That's the nighest way.
2. Phr. to gan through by the nighest, to do anything in a
hurried, slovenly manner. Nhb.^ 3. Stingy, miserly,
mean. Cf near, adj} 13.
nw.Der.i Lin. Thompson //«/. 5os/ok(i856) 716; Lin.' Although
holding a good position in the county, he is a nye man.
4. adv. Near.
Sc.(A.W.), Wxf.i Nhb.i Aawis nighlossinmehat. n.Yks.He
was gettin' neegh te t'brig, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 44 ;
n-Yks,* Ah gat nighest tiv him ov onny on 'em. w.Yks. Wright
Gram. Wndhll. (1892) 54. Lan. (S.W.), Lan.i, e.Lan.i, Der.i,
nw.Der.i, m.Der. (T.H.) Shr.' 'E never come nigh, fur all 'e
promised. Wor.(H.K.) s.Oxf. Here, Tom, reach me that bottle,
and put those glasses nigher, Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 40. Nrf.
I got nighest so I went first, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 8.
Sur.i It's just as nigh, take which road you will. Sus. (G.L.G.)
Wil. Slow Rhymes (1889) Gl. n.WU. Caam nigher to I, wuU ee !
(E.H.G.) w.Som.^ e.Dev. Veed yer young nanny-goats naigh
by th' shipperds' teynts, Pulman Sng. Sol. (1866) i. 8. Cor.
Step a bit nigher, for there's lashins o' room, ' Q.' Three Ships
(ed. 1892) 123.
Hence (i) Nighish, adv. rather near ; (2) Nighly, adv.
nearly.
(i) w.Yks. (J.W.), Nhp.i, War.3 (2) Dev. Varmer Wright's
time was nighly op in the place 'e 'add, Burnett Stable Boy
(i888) viii. [Amer. I've been a preacher of the Gospel for nighly
twenty year, Cent. Mag. (Apr. 1882) 887.]
5. Phr. nigh as a toucher, very near. w.Yks. (J.W.),
OyS} MS. add. 6. Comb.{\) Nigh-abouts, nearly ; (2)
■again, most likely, probably ; (3) — at hand, close to,
near by ; (4) — gone, of years or hours : nearly com-
pleted ; (5) — on (for, see (i); (6) -sighted, near-sighted ;
(7) —upon, see (i) ; (8) Nighest-about, the nearest way.
(i) s.Hmp. I'm nighabouts twice eighteen, Verney L. Lisle
(1870) X. (2) Lei.i It's the wet weather, noigh-agen. Ah shall
goo Shapy noigh-agen. War.3 (3) Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks.*, w.Yks.
(J.W.) (4) n.Dev. So all the folk waslherc, even to Granfer Lock,
nigh gone eighty-four. Chanter Witch (1896) ii. (5) s.Oxf. We
be nigh on twenty, Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 147. e.Suf. That
pig weighs nigh on twentystones (F.H.). w.Cy. I've nigh on cured
her, Cornh. Mag. (Dec. igoo) 751. (6) Sc. The half-penny, which
Willie held close to his eyes, being nigh-sighted, Sc. Haggis, 147.
(7) Sc. (A.W.) e.Yks.i You'll find it nigh uppa six mahl. Snr.
' How old are you ?' I asked. 'Nigh upon eighty,' Jennings Field
Paths (1884) 7. w.Sora.iNif they wadn everyone o'm there, I'll take
my oath 'twas nigh upon it. (8) n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ;
N.Cy.* Lei.i It's a del the noighest-abaout. Nhp.', War.*
7. Nearly, almost.
Nhb. That ye tell him aw's verra nigh deed, Robson Evangeline
(1870) p. viii; Nhb.^ It's nigh sixty 'ear sin syne. n.Yks.'*,
w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Very nee ten o'clock, Brierley Layrock
(1864) ix. w.Wor. He be now nigh as bad off as a piefinch,
Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 10, 1888). Glo.' Snf. He nigh kitched her,
e.An. Dy. Times (1892). Ken. It's getting nigh dinner time
(D. W. L.). Sur. Nigh ten mile a day, Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) i.
n.Wil. Thur was pretty nigh a hunderd on era (E.H.G.). Dev.
Git out, yii gert viile, thee'st a-skeard me tii death, purty nigh !
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 123. n.Dev. For nigh forty year.
Chanter Witch (1896) i.
8. prep. Near to.
w.Yks. Trawden nigh Colne, Giggleswick Par. Registers (1782) ;
Very common (J.W.). Lan. It wur gettin' nee bed-time, Waugh
Heather (ed. Milner) I. 222. Shr.' Draw up nigher the fire. 'E
st6od at the top nighest the Maister. Ess. Thar 't be, nigh t'gate
(H.H.M.). Hmp.Theonenighthat'eretree(H.C.M.B.). LW.Nighst
th' old gallybeggar, Moncrieff Dream (1863) 42. Som. I'll never
come a-nighst any o' 'ee again, Raymond No Soul (1899) 120.
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
9. Phr. not to be nigh nor by one, not to come near one.
Nrf. He ha'nt been nigh nor by me for more than a year, Arch.
(1879) VIII. 171.
10. V. To get close to ; to touch.
n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.i2 w.Yks. I did not neigh it, Thoresby
Lett. (1703). Nhp.', Hnt. (T.P.F.)
NIGHER, see Nicker, v.
NIGH-HAND, adv. and prep. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks.
Lan. Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp. Bdf. Hnt. and Aus. Also in
forms neegh- Lan. ; niand Not. ; nigh-han' N.L^ ; nigh-
haunSc. ; nind Lin.^ Lei. ; nyndNot. Lei. [nai'-, ni'-and ;
naind.] 1. adv. Near, harci by.
N.Li n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; N.Cy.^ Nhb.' It's
a lonesome pleyace ; not a hoose nigh- hand. e.Yks.^ It's noo
nigh-hand upo' three year sin Ah com to this hoos. w.Yks.
(J.W.) n.Lin. Nigher-hand I gets, wo'ser I likes job, Peacock
Tales (1890) 2nd S. 75. Nhp.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.)
2. Nearly.
Rnf. Owre [her] deep furrowed broo Hae sped, nigh-haun, four-
score-an'-ten O' towmontsauld and new. Young Pictures (1865) 11.
N.I.i w.Ir. The king was nigh hand broken-hearted. Lover Leg.
(1848) I. 5. n-Cy. (J.W.) Nhb.l He wis nigh-hand lossin his
job. Yks. (J.W.) n.Not. Nynd yon lad was run ovver, N. £7" Q.
(1888) 7th S. vi. 66. n.Lin.' It's nigh-hand time to go to bed.
[Aus. He just slept till nigh hand daylight, Boldrewood Colon.
Reformer (1890) I. vii.]
3. Possibly ; probably ; most likely.
Not. Well niand I may (J.H.B.). n.Not. Nynd I shall, nynd I
shan't, N. &= Q. (1888) 7th S. vi. 66. s.Not. He nynd knows
better nor that, N. & Q. ib. 174. Lln.i Nind when the devil
drives. Lei. Shall you go to the Fair? — I should think I nind
shall (T.W.) ; Lei.l Are you going to reap to-day ? — Ah, noigh-'and.
Yo'll noigh-'and goo by treen ? — Ah noigh-'and shall. Nhp. ' ' I
shall nigh-hand call, when I go your way.' ' Nigh-hand you will ! '
You think you will do it, but I will take care you shall not ; Nhp.*
He'll come nigh-hand to-night. Where be you goin to-day? — To
Oundle nigh-hand. Bdf. Shall you go to the Feast? — Nigh-
hand I shall. Obs. (J.W.B.) Hnt. (T.P.F.)
4. prep. Near to.
Nhb.i He nivver come nigh-hand us. Lan. It was neegh-hand
Whitsuntide (B.K.). n.Not. He lives nynd us, N. & Q. (1888)
7th S. vi. 66. n.Lln. Sum'ats 'ats been nigh-hand death on all
parish. Peacock Tales (1890) 2nd S. 37.
NIGHT, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms neat Nhb.^ Wm. ne.Yks.' e.Yks. w.Yks.
Lan.^ n.Lan.^ e.Lan.' m.Lan.' nw.Der.^ n.Lin.' ; nicht Sc.
(Jam.) [nait, nit, Sc. nixt.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Night-
a-teenie, see below ; {2) -bat, a ghost ; (3) -bird, (o) the
NIGHT
[271]
NIGHT
moorhen, Gallinula chloropus ; (6) the Manx shearwater,
Puffinus anglorum ; (4) -blind, unable to see on account
of surrounding darkness ; (5) -bower, a bedchamber ; (6)
•bussing, a nightcap ; (7) -cap, (a) a glass of wine, ale, or
spirits, taken just before going to bed ; in gen. colloq.
use ; (b) a pig's stomach ; (8) -caps, (a) the great bind-
weed. Convolvulus sepium ; (b) the garden columbine,
Aquilegia vulgaris; (c) the purple orchis, Orchis maculata;
(9) -coal, a coal put on at night to keep the fire burning
until morning ; (10) -coore or -corps, a mining term : the
gang or shift who work at night ; (11) -courtship, see
below ; (12) -cowl, see (6) ; (13) -cowled, covered with a
nightcap ; (14) -creaker, a watchman's rattle ; (15) -crow,
(a) the goat-sucker, Caprimulgus Europaeus \ [b) any bird
which flies by night ; also Jig. a person fond of sitting up
late; (16) -fad, a fold for cattle, &c. to sleep in; (17)
■gloom, the gloaming ; (18) -halter, the leather head-stall,
with chain attached, with which horses are fastened in
the stable ; (19) -hawk, (a) see (15, a) ; (b) any bird that
flies in the twilight ; also fig. a person who ranges about
at night ; {c) a large white moth which flies about hedges
on summer evenings ; (20) -hawking, addicted to nocturnal
wandering ; (21) -hunter, a poacher ; (22) -jacket, a short
calico jacket worn over the chemise to sleep in ; (23)
■light, a lamp ; (24) -man, a fairy ; (25) -mutch, see (6) ;
(26) -nighty, a very friendly good-night ; also used generally
to young children ; (27) -nobby, a commode ; a night-
stool ; (28) — o' the greeance, see below ; (29) -rail, a
nightdress ; a covering for the head worn at night ; (30)
•rakes or -rakers, wild fellows ; (31) -rere, see (25) ; (32)
■rider, a pixy which rides a horse at night ; (33) -ripe, of
corn : ripened too soon, so that there is no proper grain ;
(34) -ripen, of corn : to ripen without forming grain ; to
be blighted ; (35) -shift, see (10) ; (36) -shrieker, a spirit
whose shrieks are audible to those who are soon to die ;
(37) -side, in phr. in the night-side, during the evening ;
(38) -singer, the sedge-warbler, Acrocephalus phragmitis ;
(39) -spell, obsol., a prayer for angelic guardianship during
the night ; (40) -stalker, obs., one who walks by night ;
(41) -stead, night-time ; (42) -tig, see below ; (43) -times,
at night ; (44) -violet, the greater butterfly-orchis,
Habenaria chlorantha ; (45) -warbler, the reed-warbler,
Acrocephalus streperus; (46) -watch, a night patrol.
(l)Lnk. He thinks na o'bairnies,nor their nicht-a-teenies; Whit
cares he for fun, or a Hallowe'en nicht? M«Lachlan Thoughts
(1684) 60 ; This I take to be ' night-at-even,' meaning nights at
which children are allowed to play or sit up perhaps later than
usual, or to romp when lessons are over (A.W.). (2) n.Cy.
(Hall.) (3, o) Sus. From its dark plumage, Swainson Birds
(1885) I'jS. (i) Skellig I. ib. 212. (4) Midi. Well, oi be claane
noight-bloind, oi reckon, Bartram People of Clapton (1897) 232.
(5) Sc. There the sweetest music play'd Till we did for nicht-bouer
call, KiNLOCH Ballad Bk. (1827) 59, ed. 1868. (6) Slk. Her
mutch ornight-bussing, as she called it, Hogg Tales (1838) 34, ed.
1866. (7, a) Sc. It [whisky] was called in to act as an 'eye-opener,'
and to serve also as a 'night cap,' Ford Thistledown (,1891) 126.
Heb. The stalwart defenders . . . had swallowed their ' night-
caps,' S. Tytler Macdonald Lass (1895) 103. Frf. Provost
Binnie had swallowed what he called a ' nightcap,' which con-
sisted of a stoup of mulled claret well spiced and fortified with
a glass of brandy, Lowson Guidfollow (1890) 65. Gall. They had
their nightcap together, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) 1. n.Cy.
(J.W.) w.Yks.5 A night-cap is generally used when there are
visitors, and seldom at any other time. Lan. He drank his
'nightcap' at his own fireside, Doherty N. Barlow (1884') 34.
m.Lan.i, nw.Der.i, Lin.', Nhp.l, War.^, Brks.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.)
w.Som.i I be next-kin to a taytotal, I be, but I sim I can't slape
vitty, nif I han't a-got my little bit of a night-cap like, avore I
goes to bed. (A) se.Wor.' Oxt.^ MS. add. (8, a) Lin. (B. & H.),
Wil.i (*) Wil.i (c) Der. ^B. & H.) (9) Nhb.i (10) Cor. O'DoNO-
GHUE St. Knighton (1864) Gl.; He was upon ' night coore,' and
consequently had the whole day at his disposal, Longman' s Mag.
(Feb. 1893) 383. (11) Cum. A Cumberland peasant pays his
addresses to his sweetheart during the silence ... of midnight. . .
On his entrance into the kitchen . . . cream and sugared curds are
placed before him. . . Next the courtship commences. . . Nothing
more facilitates the designs of the seducer, than these night-
courtships, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 203-4. (12) Sc. Ye'll no'
get out o' your nicht-cowl, Scott Antiquary (1816) viii. (13)
Per. I'm nicht-cowl'd for the nicht. An' bedded too, Stewart
Character (1857) 140. (14) n.Yks.^^ (15, a) w.Yks.i Nhp.
Swainson ib. 97; Nhp.', Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.i, w.Som.^ Cor.
RoDD Birds (1880) 315 ; Cor.2 (b) Lan.' What a neet-crowth-ou
art ! Get thee to bed ; tha'll never grow if ta stops up o' this
way. e.Lan.i, nw.Der.i ^^jg-) tjhb.i (17) Lan.' (18) w.Som.'
Nai-t-aultur. nw.Dev.' (19. a) Nhb.', Lan.', n.Lan.', Shr.^
Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 44. Hmp. (J.R.W.),
w.Som.' n.Dev. The whirring of the night-hawk a-wheeling
round and round, now far, now near, then gone, Chanter Witch
(1896) 38. Cor. Swainson ib. 97. (6) Cld. (Jam.), I.W.i (c)
CId. (Jam.) (20) Cld. {ib.) (21) s.Lan. Bamford t)ial. (1846).
w.Som.i Th' old Jack in the Box, eens they calls'n, 's the worst
night-hunter hereabout. Thick there dog hot he've a-got's a
proper night-hunter. (22) Chs.'^ (23) Sc. Night-light till my
feet is that word o' yer ain, Waddell Psalms (1871) cxix. 105.
(24) Lan. Yo' miss your neet-mon ? Bowker Tales (1882) 57.
(25) Sc. (Jam., s.v. IMutch). Cai. Ma broo hes never feelt ony-
thing bit ma bonnet an' ma nicht-mutch, Horne Countryside
(1896) 109 ; Cai.' Elg. Tied a nicht-mutch roun' his head, Tester
Poems (1865) 151. Abd. Her nicht mutch nae aff, Alexander
Johnny Gibh (1871) xvii. Dmf. Even her night-mutch did appear :
The vera plaits aboon her brow, Shennan Tales (1831) 75. (26)
Brks.i (27) Cor.i (28) ne.Sc. This meeting [between the
parents respectively of the young couple] goes by the name
of the 'beukin nicht,' or the 'nicht o' the greeance,' GREGORi7i-io)-^
(1881) 97. (29) Sc. Her apron took fire, set her night-rail and
Stein-Kirk afire, and has burnt her to death, Wodrow Soc. Sel.
Biog. (ed. 1845-7) II. 511. n.Yks.^When the shade of St. Hilda
is seen in Whitby Abbey . . . she appears in a nightrail. Dor.
Packing . . . your Mis'ess's night-rail and dressing- things into the
cart, Hardy Tess (1891) 289, ed. 1895. (30) w.Yks. If neet-rakes
hez owt to du wi a crop o wild oats, Pudsey Olm. (1877) 26 ;
When yo get acquainted wi a lot a drinkers and neet-rakers,
Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1872) 63. (31, 32) Cor.^*
(33) Lin.' sw.Lin. They cut a sheaf or two that was night-
ripening, but it was like deaf corn (R.E.C.) ; sw.Lin.' There's
a deal of corn night-ripe, so there'll be a many deaf ears. (34)
n.Lin.' (35) Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
(36) n.Yks.2 (37) Sh.I. If Willie id been some boys, diel wird
he'd sung i' da nicht side, Sh. News (Dec. 10, 1898) ; Dis kirn is
no laek ta brak i' da night side, ib. (May 26, 1900). (38) Ir. It
continues its song after dark and through the night, Swainson ib.
28. (39) n.Yks.2 (40) n.Lin.l (41) m.Yks.' (s.v. Folkstead).
(42) e.Yks.i When the evening games are over, and the boys are
about to separate, each one endeavours to give one or more his
neet tig. This causes some fun, as the boy who is tigged always
endeavours to return the tig, and generally succeeds many times,
and the tiggeronly finally succeeds in evading its return by taking
to his heels, MS. add. (T.H.) (43) w.Som.' I goes to work, but
I goes to school night-times. Dev. I da veel dreffal bad night-
times, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 137. (44) Wil.i n.Wil. Sarum
Dioc. Gazette (Jan. 1891) 14, col. 2. (45) w.Wor. Berrow's Jrn.
(Mar. 3, 1888). (46)n.Yks. (T.S.)
2. Phr. (i) all night things, see below ; (2) all night with
you and a file of the morn's morning, a slang form of saying
' good-night ' ; (3) night you go, good-night to you ; (4) the
night, to-night ; (5) to look for night, to be idle, counting
the moments to the time for leaving off work ; (6) at nights,
at night ; each night.
(i) Abd. ' Widyegangoot for the a' nicht things, lassie 1 ' . .The
girl understood the order, and went away for water and peats,
Greig Logic 0' Buchan (1899 , 99. (2) Abd. Alexander Ain Fik.
(1882) 207. (3) Nrf. 'Well, night you go.' ' Night you go,' and I
shoved home, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) loi. (4) Sc. I am as
sick a lady the nicht As e'er lay a bower within, Jamieson Pop.
Ballads (1806) 1. 86. Frf. May be ye'll dot the nicht, Barrie
Licht (1888) viii. Lnk. Ye'll hae to bide here the nicht, at ony
rate, Gordon Pyoishaw (1885) 256. (5) n,Lin.' Well, he was
honist, I will saay that of him as is dead an' goan, bud no sooner
did I start him on his wark than he begun looking for neet, an' he
fun it sooner then uther foaks an' all, for if I did n't see efter him
he wod slot off hoam by foher o'clock. (6) Wm. At neets when
'twas meun leet, Whitehead Z.f,^'. (1859)5. w.Yks. (J.W.) Laa.
Stay wi' her at neets. Eavesdropper Vill. Life (1869) 108.
3. Any time after noon, esp. the time after the day's
work is over ; the evening.
Sc. (W.C.) e.Dur.i Heard a woman parting from another at 3,30
NIGHT-FALL
[272]
NIL(L
p.m., say, 'Good night.' ne.Yks.i Beginning from Mowzin tahm,'
about 5 p.m. w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.' We'll drop it, maates, it's
goan six, it's neet. w.Som.i ' I'll do it vor ee m' bye night,' even
if said in the summer, would mean 'this evening after six.'
4. A ' curtain-lecture.'
Sh.I. I gat me a night frae Girzzie, or dan Guid haud his haand
aboot a', SA. News (May 29, 1897).
5. pi. Obs. or obsol. Used instead of ' days ' in reckoning
time.
Der.i Ashbourn Fair, Oct. 9, they call the nine nights' Fair;
i.e. nine nights after Mich'.
6. pi. Used as adv. : at night ; every night. Cf. day, 9.
Wor.John goes to-days, but comes home nights, N. & Q. (1879)-
5th S. xi. s.Wor. 'Er's pretty well now, but 'er complains at times
nights (H.K.). Glo. I . . . went to school nights, Roger Plowman,
13. Som. I d' be zcar'd t'hear 'em or zee 'em nights now, Leith
Lemon Verbena (1895) 74.
7. V. To darlien ; to cover with night.
So. The sun 'clipse nichted a' the Ian' (Jam.).
Hence Nighted, ppl. adj. (i) benighted ; also used Jig. ;
(2) darkened ; covered with night.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. An nighted trav'llers are allur'd To their
destruction, Burns Address to Deil (1785) st. 12. e.Lth. Then
shall he lichten a' the ways O' each puir nichted dreamer, Muckle-
BACKiTi?/i>'w)^5(i885) 57. Edb. Hail! nighted stranger, sweet, . .
Come and partake of nature's bower, Learmont Poems (1791)
227. Dmf. Some nichtit traveller, storm-sted. Was lairt ayont
the hill, Reid Poems (1894) 64. Slk. She had been nightit and
stayed there till day, Hogg Tales (1838) 187, ed. 1866. (2) Fif.
Abroad the signal of dispersion blew that the wide multitude
Should now break up its mass, and leave the nighted ground,
Tennant Anster (1812) 126, ed. 1871.
8. To spend the night ; to lodge for the night.
Abd. They nighted for their own pay in the Old town, Spalding
Hist.Sc. (1792) I. 291. Slk. You an' I shall never night thegither
in the same house, Hogg Tales (1838) 56, ed. 1866.
9. To spend the evening with ; to visit after dark.
Sc. 'How often did he come to see you?' . . ' He nichted me
twice a week regularly,' Tweeddale Moff (iSg6) iv.
10. To stop work for the day ; to cease from labour when
daylight closes. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Hence Nichting-
time, sb. the time when daylight closes and outdoor labour
ceases during the winter season, {ib.)
NIGHT- FALL, s6. Wil.i Of horses : a humour in the
fetlock, recurring until it produces incurable lameness.
Witness . . . told him his animal was very lame, and asked what
was the matter with it. He replied, ' Nothing, it is only " night-
fall," and it comes on several times during the year,' Wil. Cy.
Mirror {Oct. 27, 1893).
NIGHTINGALE, sb. Sc. Cum. Bck. Hrt. Ess. Hmp.
Wil. 1. In comb, (i) Nightingale flower, the cuckoo-
flower, Cardamine pratensis ; (2) -'s friend, the sedge-
warbler, A crocephalus phragmitis ; (3) — maggot, see below.
(i) Hmp.(G.E.D.) (2) Cum.* (3) Hrt. The nightingale maggot
that turns to a black-wing'd insect that feeds upon and corrupts
the flower [flour], Ellis Cy. Hswf. (1750) 193.
2. A moth. Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351.
3. The greater stitchwort, Stellaria Holostea. Wil.^
4. pi. The cuckoo-pint, Arum maculatum.
Ess. Cuckoo flowers are called ' nightingales,' Monthly Pkt. (Oct.
1862)435; i^C.W.P.)
5. Th.e.h&rh'RohtrtjGeranium.Robertianum. Bck.(B.&H.)
NIGHTSHADE, sb. Ken. A species of goosefoot,
Chenopodium. (B. & H.)
NIGHTY, adj. Oxf. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Dark. (Hall.)
NIGHTY NIGHTY, phr. War. Oxf. [noi-ti.] Good-
night.
War.'^ Spoken to children, ' Nighty-nighty, God Almighty,'
Flk-rhyme, meaning ' Good-night, I commend you to God.' Oxf.i
A phrase used by very old people.
NIG-MA-NIES, si. //. Sc. Sundry trifles; unnecessary
ornaments.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824^. Wgt. They need wee nig-
ma-nies tae start, An' keep them gaun, Fraser Poems (1885) 222.
NIG-NAG, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also in form nig-nac Abd.
A knick-knack ; a worthless trifle. Cf. nig-nay.
Abd. What nig-nacs a bride wad need. Provide yoursel' with a'
your speed, Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 281. Lnk. Wi'
their nig-nags ay cheatin' folk, Watt Poems (1827) 66. Rxb. (Jam.)
NIG-NAY, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Also in forms nig-naw
Sc. ; nig-noy N.I.^; nig-nye Sc. [ni'g-ne.] 1. sb. A
trifle ; a knick-knack ; a plaything.
Sc. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl. Rnf. Naething now fills the
bole or pantry, But some nignye that crams the gentry, Picken
Poems (ed. 1813) I. 124; Numerous Nig-naws from New Zealand,
Webster Rhymes (1835) 195. Lnk. Poor Pousies now the daffine
saw Of gawn for nignyes to the law, Ramsay Poems (ed. 1733)
231. Ant. Ballymena Obs, (1892).
2. pi. Useless, profitless doings. N.I.^ 3. v. To do
what is useless ; to do anything without good result ; to
show reluctance ; to make much ado about anything.
Bnff.' He nignays ass lang aboot a' thing he diz it a wid far
raider nae seek 'im. N.I.i
Hence Nignayin', ppl. adj. full of whims. Bnff.'^
NIGNEY-KNUR, sb. Obs. or obsol. Yks. A wooden
ball used in the game of ' knur and spell.'
w.Yks. A thurd man . . . handed him a nigney-knur, Tom
Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1860) 51.
NIKKER,s6. Sh.I. [ni'kar.] A'haaf term for a horse.
Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 121.
[Cp. LG. nikkel, ' ein junges Pferd ' (Berghaus).]
NIKKER, see Nicker, v.
NIKKIENOW, sb. Obs. Sc. A term of reproach.
Cf. nitty, adj., s.v. Nit, sb.^
He should have a hail pow that calls his neighbour nikkienow,
Ray Prov. (1678) 370.
NILD, sb. and v.'^ Or. I. Also in form nile (Jam. Suppl.).
1. sb. Mould, fungus, mildew.
Blue or green mould or fungus as on cheese (Jam. Suppl.) \ Not
restricted to cheese, but used e.g. of old boots when covered with
mould through lying damp, &e. (J.G.)
2. V. To become mouldy. (J.G.) Hence Nilded or
WiXed., ppl. adj. mouldy. (J.G.), (Jam. Suppl.)
NILD, v.'^ Sh.I. [nild.1 To beg importunately. {Coll.
L.L.B.)
NILD, see Needle.
NILD ERIN G, />/>/. arf/'. Yks. [ni'ldarin.] Nice, exact,
particular ; trifling.
n.Yks. This is a nildering job, Ah's tired on't (I.W.).
NILDER-NALDER, sb. and v. Yks. [nildsr-naldsr.]
1. sb. Vacillation, hesitation, indecision. n.Yks.^* , 2. v.
To idle, to waste time ; to pace along idly. n.Yks.^, m.Yks.'
N.ILE,s6.i Wor. Shr. Hrf Glo. [nail.] That part of
a flail which is swung round and beaten against the straw,
the ' threshel.' See Hile, v.^ 2.
se.Wor.i, s.Wor.' Shr.' Corve Dale, Ludlow. A piece of strong
leather . . . laced by thongs ... to the two parts of a flail re-
spectively, viz. to the swipple and the handstaff (s.v. Caplin) ;
Shr.2 A swepple. Peculiar to Corve Dale. Hrf.^, Glo.i
NILE, sb.^ Sc. Also in form nyl Sh.I. [neil.] A
plug in the water-hole in the bottom of a boat, which is
taken out when the boat is being drawn up on land, to
allow any water to be run off".
Sh.I. Lat me see if I can find da bit o' nile, Sh. News (June 25,
1898) ; Push tight the nile, ib. (Dec. 3, 1898) ; (A.W.G.) ; S. &
Ork.i, Cai.l
Hence Nile-hole, sb. the hole in the bottom of a boat into
which the nile is fitted. S. & Ork.', Cai.'
[Norw. dial, nygla, the plug in the bottom of a boat
(Aasen) ; ON. negla, the bung to close a hole in the bottom
of a boat which lets out the bilge-water (Vigfusson).]
NILE, see Nild, sb.
NILE-BIRD, sb. Brks. Bck. The wryneck, lynx
torquilla. Swainson Birds (1885) 103.
NIL(L, v. Sc. Yks. Nhp. War. e. An. [nil.] 1. To be
unwilling. w.Yks.' ¥i.enc^ {z) Nildywildy,phr.vihet\\eT
one would or not, willy-nilly ; (2) Nilling, ppl. adj. un-
willing ; (^3) Nilly-willy, adj. undecided, wavering.
(i) e.An.' (2) n.Yks.2 (3) Nhp.' She's a poor nilly-willy thing;
she never knows her own mind. War.^
2. Phr. (i) nillye, will ye, whether you wish or not, with-
out consulting you ; (2) — they, will they, obs., whether they
wish or not.
(i) Sc. I've twall men at the door'll gar ye do't, nil ye, wull ye,
NILL
[273 J
NIN
Magopico (ed. 1836) 13 ; An' that I'll do, nill ye, will ye (Jam.
Suppl.). (a) Fif. The quhilk they sail drink, nill they will they,
Melvill Auiobiog. (1610) 383, ed. 1842. Slg. They are compelled
nil they will they, in uther speaches of the like sorte, to acknow-
ledge ane figure, Bruce Sermons (1631) iii, ed. 1843.
[1. OE. nyllan, to be unwilling (B.T.).]
NILL, see Needle.
NIM, v., sb.\ adj. and adv. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Stf. Der. Not. Lin. Nhp. Lei. War. Ken. Som. Dev.
Slang, [nim.] 1. ;;. Obsol. To catch up quickly; to
take or catch up on the sly ; to filch, steal.
Sc.(Jam.) n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.', Nhb.i Wm. Nimming
and niftering whatiwer he can try his fists on, Hutton Bran New
W'af-i (1785) 1. 305. n.Yks.i2,ne.Yks.',m.Yks.l w.Yks.TnoRESBY
Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.2* Lan. (W.T.) Stf. Ray (1691) MS. add.
(J.C.) Lei.i ' Ah nimmed it off on 'im,' would be as applicable to
an open as to a surreptitious taking away. War.^ Ken. They
nim a pig, a duck, or fowl, Nairne Tales (1790) 37, ed. 1624.
Slang. To nim, to steal or pilfer. Lex. Balatronicum (1811).
Hence Nimmer, sb. a thief, pilferer.
Nhb.* Obs. Lan. How many gentle trimmers Won't steal, nor
filch, but will be plaguy nimmers, Byrom Poems (1773) I. 77.
Som. The carrion crow has here ' a local habitation and a name ' —
as a nimmer of chicken and ducklings, Compton Winscombe Sketches
(i88a) 103. Slang. Then you have a sly pilfering trick. Your
schoolfellows call you the Nimmer, Hood Poems (1862-3) Trim-
Mel's Exercise.
2. To walk with quick, short steps ; to walk briskly and
lightly or mincingly,
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) n.Cy. (J.L. 1783); N.Cy.', Cum.» n.Yks.
She is a capital walker : she nims along famously (T.K.); n.Yks.';
n.Yks.2 Nimming along. ne.Yks.' He can nim awaay at a bonny
speed. e.Yks.' m.Yks.' The old lady does nim along. Lin.
InouFSo-n Hist. Boston {i%56)'ji6; Lin.i Lei.' Nim to the corner,
an' see if a's a-coming. Shay nimmed off loike a shot. War.^
3. To fidget ; to play the ' devil's tattoo,' tapping the foot,
or swinging one leg over the other.
Der. (H.B.), Not. (W.H.S.) Lei.» Doon't ye nim soo !
4. sb. A very slow trot. n.Lin.' 5. adj. Nimble, active,
agile, quick.
n.Yks.12* w.Yks.* Nim eniff fur his years am sure. e.Dev.
Fear he hain't nim' enough, Blackmore Perlycross (1894) xxxv.
Hence Nimmy, adj. of women : nimble, active, agile.
e.Yks.' MS. add (T.H.)
6. adv. A nursery term ; see below.
Nhb.i The ladies they ride nim, nim, nim ; The gentlemen they
ride trim, trim, trim ; The farmers they ride trot for trot ; An' the
hinds they ride clot for clot ; But the cadgers they ride creels an'
aa, creels an' aa, Old Nursery Rhyme. w.Yks.'^ Used in hushing
a child to sleep. The nurse takes the child on her knee, and says,
' Nim, nim, nim.' Not. (W.H.S.), Lin.' n.Lin.' ' My lady goes to
London, nim, nim, nim ; Gentlemen follow after, trot, trot, trot ;
Baby goes gallopy, gallopy, gallop.' Song of a mother nursing
her infant. While the first line is being said, she moves very
slowly, rather more rapidly at the second, and very fast at the
third. Nhp.' The ladies go to market nim, nim, nim ; The gentle-
men go to market jim, jim, jim. Then after comes the country
clown. And brings his horses to the town. With a hobbledy gee,
hobbledy gee, hobbledy gee, Gallop te, gallop te, gallop. [This
is the way the ladies ride, nim, nim, nim, A nursery rhyme
(A.B.C.).]
[L OE. niman, to take.]
NIM, sb.'^ Cor. [nim.] In phr. to be neither Nim nor
Doll, to be undecided. Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865)
425, ed. 1896.
NIMBLE, adj. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms neamle w.Yks.^ ; nimmel Nhb.
w. Yks." ; nimmle w.Som.' [ni-m(b)l.] 1. adj. In comb.
(i) Nimble-chops, a chatterbox ; (2) — Dick, a species of
horse-fly or gad-fly ; (3) -going, quick, nimble ; (4)
-tailor(s, (a) the long-tailed titmouse, Acredula rosea ; {b)
a variety of field-pea, Pisum sativum, var. arvense.
(i) War.s Often used as a warning to a loquacious person sus-
pected to be about to betray a confidence. ' Now then nimble-
chops.' (2) Ken,' (3) Dmf. She has a bit nimble-gawn tongue,
Carlyle Lett. (1823). n.Cy. (J.W.) (4, a) Shr. Swainson .SiVrfs
(1885) 3a; Shr.' w.Som.' Niim'l taa-yuldur. (6) Nhp,', Hnt.
(T.P.F.), w.Som.>
VOL. IV.
2. Phr. (i) a nimble nine, the brother of a sack, very coarse
linen ; (2) — ninepence is better than a dead, or slow, shilling,
a quick return or active trading is better than money lying
idle ; freq. abbreviated into ' a nimble ninepence ' and
used jig. for anything quick ; (3) as nimble as a cat on a
hot backstone, active, nimble, lively ; (4) — as a cow in a
cage, awkward, slow, clumsy ; (5) — as a flea, see (3) ; (6)
— as a mowlwarp, see (4).
(i) Uls. The fineness or coarseness of the linen being estimated
by the number of threads to be counted on examining the texture
through a magnifying glass of a standard size, Uls. Jm. Arch.
(1857) V. 103. (2) s.Stf. No nimble ninepence was afield to
tempt the chase, Murray Rainbow Gold (1886) 103. w.Som. So
well known that both parts are commonly used separately. A
very common phrase when accepting a lower price than asked is,
'Well there! tak'n along, I likes a nimmle ninepence' (F.T.E.);
w.Som.' [A nimble ninepence is better than a slow shilling. Old
Prov. in N. & Q. (1851) ist S. iv. 234.] (3) w.Yks.' ii. 6. (4)
w.Yks. Prov. in Brighouse News (Aug. 10, i88g\ (5) Nhb. Aw lap
up nimmel as a flea, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 24. (6) w.Yks.^
Introd. 9.
3. Obs. Clever, astute.
Sc. You may be as nimble as you're able. For I'm but a servant
may, Kinloch Ballad Bk. ( 1827) 38, ed. 1868 ; For the nimble
trick to the Friar she play'd, ib. 29.
4. Exorbitant in price, dear.
Bdf. Lady Burgoyne makes a gentle protest when the ' fringe-
man is a little too nimble,' Longman's Mag. (Nov. 1894) 88.
5. V. To move quickly, to hurry.
Nhp, Then nimblingdown again, Clare Poems (1827) 195; OhI
here he comes, nimbling along (C.A.M. .
N-IMETIC, sb. Irel. An emetic.
Don. To tell them what the name of the poison was till they'd
give him a nimetic, Harper's Mag. (Jan. 1901) 328.
NIMKINGANG, see Nimpingang.
NIMM, adj. and int. Sh.I. [nim.] 1. adj. Pleasant
to the taste. S. & Ork.' 2. int. An exclamation of
pleasure at agreeable food. ib.
NIMMACH, NIMMIT, see Nammet.
NIMMY NIMMY NACK, phr. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Also
in form nimmy nimmy nack nack Nhb.^ A guessing
game, the same as ' neiveie-nick-nack ' (q.v.).
Nhb.' A game of guessing the hand in which an article is hid
(s.v. Nievy-nievy-nick-nack). e.Dur.' ' Nimmy, nimmy, nak.
Which hand will tha tak' ! The reet or the left, Or the bonny bord's
[bird's] heft?' Counting-in rhymes recited in starting around
game. Cum.* Nimmy, nimmy nack. Whether hand will ta tack,
T'heemer or t'loumer? That's dog, that's cat (s.v. Neevy-nack).
NIMP, sb. Sc, Nhb. [nimp.] A very small piece, Sc,
(Jam., s.v. Nip.)' Nhb. (R.O.H.)
N-IMPINGALE, sb. Cor. [nimpingel.] A whitlow.
N. &= Q. (1857) 2nd S, iii. 240 ; Cor.'* The same word as
Impingall (q.v.).
[The element -gale (gall) is prob. the same as Gall, s6.°]
N-IMPINGANG, sb. Som. Dev. Also written nymping-
gang Dev. ; and in forms nimkingang Dev. ; nippigang
e.Som. w.Som.'; nymphing-gang Dev.' [ni'mpingaer).]
A gathering or abscess ; a whitlow ; a fester under the
finger-nail.
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' I 'ant a-bin able vor to do
nort 'is wik-n more — I got a nippigang [niipeegang] 'pon my 'an'-
wrist. Dev. 'Er 'th agot a nimpingang 'pon 'er vinger, an' tha
'flammation is urned up tQ 'er elbow, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ;
Polly, poor maid, her's got a nymping-gang, O'Neill Idylls (1892)
49 ; TV. <&■ Q. (1857) 2nd S. iii. 189; Dev.' T'other day a had a
nymphing-gang : — a hath always wan glam or other, 20. n.Dev,
Nance 's got a nimpingang, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 10.
nw.Dev. (R.P.C.) s.Dev. Fos. Kingsbridge {iB^ 4).
NIMPY-PRIMPY, Wi^. Cum.* [ni'mpiprimpi.] Af-
fectedly, mincingly.
Said of a mincing walker, that he or she is going nimpy primpy.
NIMSHIE,s6. Suf. [ni'mji.] A flighty girl. e.Suf.(F.H.)
NIN, V. Cor. Also in form ninny, [nin.] To drink ;
see below.
Used chiefly towards children, in a coaxing way, to entice them
to drink, N. &' Q. (1854) ist S. x. 359. [The word that children
call their drinke by, as our children say ninne or bibbe. Florid, 64
(Hall.).]
N n
NIN
[274]
NINE
NIN, see None.
NINCUM, sb. Wil. Cor. Also written nincom Cor.
Inrrjkam.] A fool, booby ; a ' nincumpoop ' (q.v.).
Wil. (G.E. D.) Cor. 'Tis a grand match you'm makin', an' you
may call me a nincom, but 1 wish ye wasn', 'Q.' Three Skips
(1890) iv.
NINCUMPOOP, sb. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc.
and Eng. Also written nincompoop Brks.' Slang ; nink-
coompoop Wil. ; ninkumpoop se.Won' ; and in form
? ninycompook Ayr. [ni'r)k3mptip.] Afool, booby; a silly,
empty-headed person.
Ayr. ' Daidlin ninycompook ! ' was all the gardener said, John-
ston CoK^atow's Z.«g'af)'( 1896) 297. n.Cy. (J.W. ) w.Yks.^Come
here, young nincumpoop. Der.^, nw.Der.', Nhp.', se.Wor.l, Brks.^,
e.Ken. (G.G.) w.Sus. That young sawney nincompoop as stayed
with the Seebrights last summer, Gordon Vill. and Doctor (1897)
154. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892). w.Som.' Git out wi' thee ! 's think
I'd have zich a poor little nincumpoop [ning'kumpeo'p] 's he?
Colloq. Ackerman would have called him a snob, and Buckland a
nincompoop, Bahham Ingoldsby (ed. i&6^) Jerry Jarvis.
NIND, see Nigh-hand.
NINE, adj. Van dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. Irel. Eng.
and Amer. 1. In cowA. (i) Nine-bauble-square, anything
of an irregular form, an indescribable figure ; (2) -bob-
square, (3) -bobble-square, out of shape, irregular ; dis-
torted, bent ; (4) -bones, the game of Five-stones ; (5)
•corns, a small pipe of tobacco, as much tobacco as will
half fill a pipe ; (6) -een or -eyes, {a) the lamprey,
Petromyzon marinns, P. fluviatilis, and P. branchialis;
(b) the butter-fish or gunnel, Blennius gunnellus [not
known to our correspondents] ; (c) the medicinal leech ;
(7) -eyed eel, see (6, a) ; (8) -galley-west, see (3) ; (9)
-holes, (a) the game of 'Nine-men's morris' (q.v.) j (b)
a game ; see below ; (c) the cut of beef below the brisket
or breast ; {d) see (6, a) ; (lo) -killer, the red-backed
shrike, Lanius collurio ; (11) -meals, a long fork used for
lifting up sheaves or bats to the top of a stack ; (12) -men's
morris, a game; see below; (13) -mothers' meat, see
below ; (14) — o'clock bell, the curfew bell ; (15) — O's,
a game ; see below ; (16) -peg morris, see (12) ; (17) -pegs,
the game of ninepins ; {18) -penny marl or merels, (19)
-penny morris, see (12) ; (20) -share plough, a particular
kind of plough ; (21) -tail(ed cat, (22) -tails, the cat-of-
nine-tails, the hangman's lash ; (23) -trades, nine trading
companies in Newcastle.
(i) Nhp.l (2) Lin. (W.W.S.), n.Lin.^ (3") Hmp.^ (4") I.W.^
The Roman game of 'Five Stones' is played with a difference,
with nine knuckle-bones. It is called 'Nine Bones' and it requires
some dexterity in playing, 64. (5) Lin.' If I have time, I'll just
have nine corns. n.Lin.' Shr.^ I'll g66 an' a my nine-corns, an'
then I'll be off to bed. (6, a) Lan. 5a«!ce Goss;^ (1886) 164. Shr.^
So called from having a number of spiracles on each side, or
branchial orifices in a lateral groove. Found profusely in the
Ledwick brook near Ludlow. Hmp. (W.M.E.F.), I.W.i Dor.
iV. &= Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 146. ib, Cor. (CD.) [Satchell
(1879).] (c) Hmp. (W.F.); Nature Notes, No. 2. (7) e.Sc. The
popular name . . . arises from the spiracles being taken for eyes,
Neill F/'sfes (1810) 30 (Jam.,s.v. Eel). Nhb.' (8j Hmp.' (9, «)
Sc. (Jam.) Hdg. Playing at the nine-holes on Sunday, 12th May,
1650, Ritchie St. Baldred (1883) 86. Lan. Nine-holes was a
boyish game played at the beginning of the 17th century, Harland
& Wilkinson Leg. (1873) 133. Hrt., Lon. Arch. Jrn. XLIX, 320,
in GoMME Gaww (,1894) 1. 414. Suf.i Wil.' Mentioned among the
' illegal games' in the Castle Combe records (1576), Wil. Arch. Mag.
(1852) III. 156. {b) Nhp.' Played with along piece of wood or
bridge with nine arches cut in it, each arch being marked with a
figure over it, from one to nine, in the following rotation : — vii. v.
III. I. IX. II. nil. VI. VIII. Each player has two flattened balls,
which he ^ims to bowl edge- ways under the arches ; he scores the
number marked over the arch he bowls through, and he that attains
to forty-five first wins the game. e.An.' In one [game] nine
round holes are made in the ground, and a ball aimed at them from
a certain distance. . . In our other game of nine-holes, the holes are
made in a board with a number over each, through one of which
the ball is to pass, (c) Sc. Denominated from the vacancies left
by the ribs (Jam.) ; The two runners, with the nine-holes, make
good salting and boiling pieces ; and of these the nine-holes is
much the best, as it consists of layers of fat and lean without any
bone, Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1855) II. 693. Cai.*, Gall. (A.W.)
(d) e.An.' (10) Oxf. From a notion that it always kills and
impales nine creatures before its meal, Swainson Birds (1885) 47.
(11) n.Lin.i (12) n.Yks.' (s.v. Merls). e.Yks.' (s.v. Merrils).
Midi. A game still played by the shepherds, cow-keepers, &c., . .
as follows : — A figure (of squares one within another) is made on
the ground by cutting out the turf ; and two persons take each nine
stones, which they place by turns in the angles, and afterwards
move alternately as at chess or draughts. He who can play three
in a straight line may then take off any one of his adversary's,
where he pleases, till one, having lost all his men loses the game,
Gomme Games (1894) 1.418. Nhp.' (s.v. Merells). War.'' Now
played on a board instead of the turf. ' Ploughmen use white
and black beans to distinguish their men ; the great object being
to get three of them in a row, or, as it is called, to have a " click-
clack and an open row." In order to do this you are allowed to
take up your adversary's pieces as at draughts, or else to hem them
up until they cannot move,' Wise Shakspere (i86r) ; War.^ Played
either with slate and pencil, with stones, or on morris boards,
which, I am told, were often kept in s.War. by the village black-
smith, around whose hearth the young men of the village played
the game, certainly in quite recent years, and probably still play
it. se.Wor.i Each competitor has nine ' men,' which may .consist
of stones, pegs, blocks of wood, &c. A board called a morris
board is generally used for the game, in which holes are bored (to
a geometrical pattern) in which to place the ' men.' Nrf. Hone
Every-day Bk. (1826) II. 1661. Hmp.i (13) Sh.I. The mother is
further instructed to ' tig the nine mothers' raaet ' for the bairn's
restoration — i.e., nine mothers whose first born were sons are each
solicited for an offering of three articles of food, to be used during
the convalescence of the patient who has been thus snatched from
the power of the trows, Spence Fik-Lore (1899) 148. (14) Cmb.'
At Wisbech. ' Missus did alius then unto me tell, " Be in by the
sound of the nine-o'clock-bell.'" (15) Sc. Played by two. Nine
O's are arranged on a slate or slip of paper in three parallel rows.
A player asks his opponent to draw a line connecting any two of
the O's which the player selects. This he does until all the O's
are connected with lines. But the opponent, in drawing lines, must
not cut or cross lines already drawn. If he succeeds in connecting
the nine O's without doing so, he gains the game. Each O can
only have two lines, or be used only twice to start from or arrive
at with a line. The player may render it difficult if not impossible
for his opponent to connect all the O's with crossing lines (A.W.).
(i6)Nhp.i(s.v. Merells); Nhp.2 (17) w.Yks. (A.C. ) (i8)n.Yks.i
(s.v. Merls). Wil. Hone Every-day Bk. (1826) II. 983. (19)
n.Yks.' (s.v. Merls). Glo. Largely practised by boys and even
older people over thirty years ago, but is now, as far as I know,
entirely disused. Two persons play. Each must have twelve
pegs or twelve pieces of anything which can be distinguished.
The Morris was usually marked on a board or stone with chalk, and
consists of twenty- four points. The pegs are put down one at a time
alternately upon any point upon the Morris, and the first person
who makes a consecutive row of three impounds one of his
opponent's pegs. The pegs must only be moved on the lines.
The game is continued until one or other of the players has only
two pegs left, when the game is won, Midi. Games, ist S. 120, in
GoMME ib. 417. (20) Dor. Very much used on the wrhole of the
chalky district for the purpose of making hollows or drills on land
which has been long ploughed and baked down by the fold,
Marshall Review (1817) V. 272. (21) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Ayr.
Hark, how the nine-tail'd cat she plays, Burns Ordination (1786)
St. II ; But baud your nine-tail cat a-wee, ib. Epit. on Holy Willie,
St. 3. (22) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) (23) N.Cy.' Three of wood, three
of thread, and three of leather.
2. Phr. (i) nine days, ' ten days ' ; see below ; (2) like a 9
with the tail cut off, good for nothing ; (3) up) to the mne(s,
to perfection, to the uttermost, first-rate ; grandly, splen-
didly.
(i) Shr.2 Salopians invariably, when speaking of an indefinite
length of time between a week and a fortnight express it by the
phr. of a week or nine days. (2) e.Dur.l (3) Cai.' Frf. She was
naturally a bonny bit kimmer rather than happit up to the nines,
Barrie Minister (1891) vi. w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Ayr. Thou
paints auld Nature to the nines, Burns Past. Poetry, st. 7 ; 'Twad
please me to the nine, ib. Answer to Verses (1787) st. 5. Lnk. My
ain wife Betty. . . dressed up tae the nines, Wardrop/. Mathison
(1881) 17. e.Lth. Ye wad let a cratur like Pringle tak ye in, an'
flatter ye up to the nines, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 209. Wxf.
She would dress herself to the nines, Kennedy Evenings Duffrey
(1869) 394. w.Yks. We can sewt yo up to th' nines, Hartley
NINEPENCE
[275]
NINNYHAMMER
Clock Aim. (1888) Pref. ; w.Yks.^ Chs.^ There aren't more than
two or three in Runcorn as can dress a cawf up to th' nines.
s.Chs.' Dor. When she's dressed up to the nines for some grand
party, Hardy Elhelberta (1876) I. i. [Amer. Praisin' a man's
farm to the nines, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) ist S. xv.]
CoUoq. I sees my covey in the private bar, togged up to the nines,
Murray Nov. Note Bk. (1887") 62.
NINEPENCE, s6. Sc. Not. Lin. Lei. Oxf. Suf. Dor. Cor.
Also in form noimpns Lei.^ [nai'n-, noi'npsns.] In phr.
(i) as nice as ninepence, very nice ; (2) as right as ninepence,
unharmed ; (3) ninepence to the shilling, (4) not more than
ninepence, below the average in intelligence, 'not all there';
(5) not to pay the old woman her ninepence, to be too low a
price to receive for anything ; (6) not worth ninepence,
good-for-nothing; (7) only ninepence, see (4) ; (8) to a nine-
pence, exactly, ' to a tee.'
(i) Lei.i As noist as noimpns. (2) e.Suf. (F.H.) Cor. Then
find the cheeld right as ninepence, Quiller-Couch Ship of
Stars {iBss) 147. (3) s.Not. (J.P.K.) n.Lin.i How's Mr. !
Thaay do saay as he's nobut nine-pence-to-th'-shilling. (4)
s.Not. (J.P.K.) (5) Oxf. A man in declining a job will say,
' It won't do for me ; that won't pay the old woman her
ninepence' (CO.). Dor. 'That won't never pay the old woman
her ninepence,' seems to be a formula . . . for refusing too low a
price for an article, N. & Q. (1866) 3rd S. x. 245. (6) e.Suf. He
is not worth ninepence (F.H.). (7) s.Not. The lad's on'y nine-
pence ; there's no accountin' what 'e says (J.P.K.). (8) Sc. A
brother whose complexion fitted Magopico to a ninepence, Mago-
pico (ed. 1836) 26.
NINES, see Nonce.
NINESOME, adj. Sc. Consisting of nine.
Ayr. She had an auchtsome or a ninesome family, Service Dr.
Duguid (ed. 1887) 224.
NINET, NINETED, see Noint, Nointed.
NINETEEN, sb. Sc. Nhp. War. Wor. Oxf. Hnt. 1. In
phr. (i) nineteen to the dozen, too fast or too much ; (2) in
one's nineteen, in one's nineteenth year.
(i) Nhp.* Your tongue runs nineteen to the dozen, there's no
getting in a word with you. War.^ ne.Wor. Her tongue goes
nineteen to the dozen. She talks nineteen to the dozen (J.W.P.).
Oxf. (G.O.), Hnt. (T.P.F.) (2) s.Oxf. You see I'm in my nineteen
now, Rosemary Chilierns (1895) 88.
2. A nineteen years' lease.
Abd. Saunders Malcolmson had sat for the greater part of a
'nineteen' in the possession of Skellach Brae, Alexander Ain Flk.
(i88a) 15.
NINETER, NINETY-BIRD, see Nointer, Nointed.
NINETY-KNOT, sb. Shr. The knot-grass. Polygonum
aviculare. (B. & H.)
NINEY EEL, phr. Nhb. The lamprey, Petromyson
marinus and P.fluviatilis. See Nine-eyes, s.v. Nine,l (6, a).
A smaller sort known as ' niney eels,' which was thought to
have nine eyes, and to have originated from horse hair, Dixon
Whittingham Vale (1895) 269.
NING-NANG, sb. Lakel. Yks. Lan. [ni-q-nar).] 1. A
worthless or troublesome person ; a fool ; also used
attrib.
Lakel.2 Tak nea nooatis o' t'lal ning-nang. Cum. He looks par-
lish like a riing-nang, Hodgson Poll Bk. Whitehaven (1832) 34 ;
Cum.* Wad teh believe't noo, t'ning-nang can nowder read ner
write, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) i8g. w.Yks. A troublesome
person, constantly complaining or grumbling, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(May 31, 1884) 8.
2. A sorry horse, a jade. ne.Lan.'
Nil NI! w/.i n.Cy. Nhb. An exclamation of surprise
and pleasure on seeing a very fine thing ; gen. a children's
word.
n.Cy. An exclamation expressing amazement on seeing anyone
finely dressed, Grose (1790); N.Cy.i Nhb. Ni, ni— what bonny
buttons ! Gilchrist Sngs. (1824) 7 ; Nhb.i
NI! NI! m/.* Nhp.i Night ! night ! for ' Good-mght ! '
addressed to little children.
NINNEYHOMMER, see Ninnyhammer.
NINNY, sb.^, adj. and v.^ In gen. dial, and colloq. use
in Sc. and Eng. Also in forms nonny w.Yks.'' e.An.*
e.Suf. ; ntinny Wil.^ Dor. [ni-ni, noni, neni.] 1. 56.
A fool, simpleton, a stupid person. Also used j?^.
Sc. Ye're a low stupit ninnyi Outram Lyrics (1887) 165. Cld.
What a ninnie is he ! Nimmo Sngs. (1882) 53. Ayr. The Turks,
who are ninnies, to drink never dare, Boswell Poet. IVks. (1803)
26, ed. 1871. Nhb. Te them hus i' th' North were buf ninnies,
Allan Coll. Tyneside Sngs. (1891) 47. Lakel. ^ Thoo gurt ninny,
wheea wad deea like that ! Cum. I . . . gowl'd like a ninny,
Gilpin Sngs. (1866) 57 ; Cum.* w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(1884) ; w.Yks. 2 Lan. I am sich a ninny sometimes. Brier-
ley Out of Work, ii. s.Chs.l, Not.* Glo. Baylis Illus. Dial.
(1870). Lon. Baumann Londinismen (1887). Suf.', e.Suf.
(F.H.) Ess. Oh ! you ninny ! . . you should take the bread to
the oven, and not pull the oven to the bread, Flk-Lore Rec. (1880)
III. pt. ii. 156. e.Ken. You ninny ! (,G.G.) Wil. Slow G/. (1892).
Dor. ' Don't be a ridiklus ninny,' zes I, Agnus Jan Oxher (1900)
264. w.Som.*, Dev.l Cor. Men are all ninnies, ' Q.' Three Ships
( 1 892) 104. Slang. To be able to win or lose a matter of a hundred
pounds without making a ninny of himself, Smedley H. Coverdale
(1856) 219.
2. Comp. (i) Ninny-cracky, (a) a foolish, weak-minded
person ; {b) foolish, weak-minded, childish ; of small
account ; (2) -fudging, nonsense ; (3) -fudgy, a poor-
spirited person, with no ' go ' in- him ; (4) -noddle, see
(i, a) ; (5) -nonny or -nanny, (a) see (i, a) ; (b) see (t,b);
(6) -watch, (a) a disturbance, a state of confusion, excite-
ment, or of longing expectancy; a quandary; {b) to get
into a state of confusion or excitement.
(l a, b) Cum.* (2) Wil.' That's all nunny-fudgen. Nearly obs^
(3) ib. A nunny-fudgy chap. Used only by old people. (4)
w.Yks. Ther's sooa monny ninny noddies i'th taan at caan't
abide name ov a theyatur, Bickerdike Beacon Aim. (i873\ (5, a)
w.Yks.2 Nine ninny-nonnies who tried to nail up nonsense. Lin.'
Don't go out with him, he's such a ninny-nonny. n.Lin.' (6)
w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; w.Yks.2, Lin. (Hall.) (6, a)
Dor. After kicking up such a nunnywatch and forbidding the
banns, Hardy Return of Native (1879) bk. i. iii ; An old woman
told me that she had received some news of her son which had put
her into a terrible nunnywatch, N. & Q. (1866) 3rd S. x. 245.
Dor. Barnes G/. (1863). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.'
The women was all to a ninny-watch gin they zeed the boats
comin' back. Dev.* n.Dev. Why thee art in a ninniwatch e'ery
other torn, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 36; Horae Subsecivae (1777)
304. (6) Dor. If I've a-seed anybody in ar a bit of a bumble about
his work — a-peepin about in a kind of a stud-like — I've a-heerd 'em-
say, 'What be you got nunny-watching about 1' N. <5r= Q. (i865)
3rd S. X. 245.
3. Nonsense, trifling, ' tomfoolery.' e.Suf. (F.H.)
4. A pet name for a grandmother, granny. s.Chs.*
5. adj. Soft, foolish, silly. e.An.' 6. v. To trifle ; to
play the fool.
A young woman who received a serious injury from an accidental
blow, said it happened when she was nonnying with Robin B.
Chiefly applied to the fondling and toying of sweet-hearts, ib.
NINNY, v.'^ and sb.'^ Sc. Yks. [ni'ni.] 1. v. Of a
horse : to whinny. m.Yks.' 2. Comp. Ninny-niawing,
whinnying.
Dmf. [The horse] took to the trick they call ' scouring,' — in a
sullen windless ninny niawing, Carlyle Lett. (1842) in Atlantic
Monthly l,Oct. 1898) LXXXII. 458.
3. sb. A whinny, the neighing sound made by a horse.
m.Yks.i
NINNYCOCK,s6. Yks. Alsoinformnintycockn.Yks.^'*
[ni'nikok.] A young lobster.
Yks. White Month in Yks. (i888) viii. n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.2 A
small kind of lobster, with a peculiarity in the size of the large or
fore-claws ; n.Yks.*
NINNYHAMMER, sk In gen. dial, and colloq. use in
Irel. and Eng. Also written niniamer Hrf. ; and in
forms ninneyhcmmer Lan. ; ninnyhommer e.Lan.' Chs.
Der. [nini-ama(r, -£em3<r).] A fool, simpleton ; a stupid
or weak-minded person. Also used attrib.
Wxf. A pair of ninnyhamroers, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867)
201. Nhb.i Lakel.2 Thoo's warse ner a ninny-hammer, an' that's
nine times warse ner a fiuL Cum. He's a decent, quietish, hevvy
heedit, ninnyhammer, Hodgson Roll Bk. Whitehaven (1832) 34 ;
Cum.* Wm. Wioot sick maezling, mafflin ninnyhammars about
yans hoose. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 6. n.Yks.^s, e.Yks.' w.Yks.
Wha yo stupid ninny hammer, ToM Treddlehoyle Bai')-«s/a..4M«.
(1859) 18. Lan. Theaw tawks like a seely ninneyhommer, Tim
Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 20 ; Lan.', e.Lan.' s.Lan. Why, you
ninnyhammer, you might have told me at once, Bamford Traveller
N n 2
NINNY-NEENO
[276]
NIP
(1844) 44. Chs. (E.F.) Der. An a lot o' ninny-hommer's talk,
Ward David Grieve (i8ga) I. ii ; Der.^, nw.Der.^, n.Lin.' Hrf.
Them as jaberz too fast iz niniamerz {Coll. L.L.B.). Glo.^ Oxf.
The man is weak, a regular ninnyhammer (M.A.R.). Wil.*
w.Som.i Usually qualified by ' great ' or ' Httle.' Git aewt ! iie-s
dhingk-s gwain vor ae-u jish guurt niin-ee-aam-ur-z dhee- aart?
Dev. Git along wi"t! I niver did zee sich a gert ninny-hammer in
awl my life ! Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.i Don't 'ee think I be
sich a ninny-hammer as to desire et, 23 ; Dev.s n.Dev. 'Tis ninny-
hammer's work I say, To graunge an' guddle all tha day, Rock
Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 61. Slang. Ninny, or ninnyhammer, a
simpleton, Lex. Balalronicum (1811). [A ninny, ninny-hammer,
vaceira, Coles (1697).]
NINNY-NEENO, sb. s.Chs.' An improvised musical
instrument ; see below.
A nin-i-nee'noa is improvised by holding the leaves of certain
plants against the teeth or a comb, and blowing through.
NIN-SICH, NINT(E, NINTYCOCK, see Non-such,
Noint, Ninnycock.
NINUT, s6. Not. [ni-nat.] The ma.gpie, Pica ruslica.
SwAiNsoN 'Birds (1885) 76.
NINYCOMPOOK, NIOG, NIOGLE, see Nincumpoop,
Njoag, Neugle.
NIP, V. and sb} Var. dial, and coUoq. uses in Sc. Irel.
Eng. Aus. and Amer. Also in form nap n.Yks.^ m.Yks.'
w.Yks.^ [nip.] 1. v. In comb, (i) Nip-cheese, (2) -curn,
(3) -farthing, (4) -fig, a miserly, niggardly person, a skin-
flint ; one who gives short measure ; (5) -fit, a tight fit ;
(6) -hazel, a greedy person ; (7) -kite, one who starves
himself or others from covetousness ; (8) -louse or — the
louse, a tailor ; (9) -lug, (a) in phr. to be at nip-lug, to
quarrel and be at the point of blows ; (b) a teacher, school-
master ; (10) -nails, the fruit of the dog-rose, Rosa canina ;
(11) -prune, (12) -raisin, see (4) ; (13) -roll, a baker who
gives short weight in bread; (14) -scart, a cross, peevish,
ill-tempered person ; a niggard ; (15) -scrat and bite, a
scramble ; also used attrib. ; (16) -screed, (17) -screw, see
{4) ; (18) -shot, obs., aslant, backward ; in phr. to play nip-
shot, to give the slip ; (19) -sicker, captious, ill-natured ;
severely exact ; (20) -skin, (21) -skitter, see (4) ; (22)
-switch, a frolicsome animal ; (23) -wir, a buzz or slap ;
also used advb.
(i)N.Cy.i, \hb.>, n.Yks.2, w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.^, e.An.», Ken. (A.M.),
w.Som.i (2) n.Cy. He's a regular nip-curn (B.K.). ra.Yks.i
w.Yks, Said of persons who are so stingy that they would nip
a currant in two (J.W.) ; He's a grand gleid yond ; a bonny
nipcurn, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. 3, 1891). (3) n.Yks." (4)
w.Yks. You'll be half starved if you go there. She's a regular
nip-fig (H.L.); Banks fF*/7rf. fFrfs. (1865); w.Yks ^ (5) ne.Lan.i
Said of any garment that fits tightly. (6) n.Yks.^ (7) n.Yks.2
(8) Sc. (Jam.) (9, a) Sc. (Jam.) (6) Cld. ib. (10) Chs. Grose
(1790) il^5. flrfrf. (M.) (ii)w.Yks.i (i2)n.Yks.i2,m.Yks.i (13)
n.Yks.2 (14) Cld. (Jam.) Ayr. She . . . leeves by her lane, a
nip-scart o' a body wi' a paurrit and a cat. Service Notandums
(1890) no. Rxb. (Jam.) (15) w.Yks. A nip-scrat-an-bite feight
wi three women, Dewsbre Olm. (Oct. i, 1865) 14 ; w.Yks.^ A
children's game in which nuts, pence, gingerbread, &c., are
squandered ; w.Yks.3 (16) N.Cy.', n.Yks.'^, m.Yks.' (i7)w.Yks.
Oh! Manuel's a reglar nip-screw ^W.C.S.). e.Suf. (F.H.) (18)
Sc. Our great hope on earth, the city of London, has played nipshot,
Baillie Lett. (1775) H. 198 (Jam.). Fif. Of thir Canons, one said
merrilie, that . . . they would misgive, and shoot nipshot. Row Ch.
//<s/. (1650)395, ed. J 842. (i9)S.&0rk.' (2o)n.Yks.'2, m.Yks.'
(21) n.Yks. (T.S.), n.Yks.2,e.Yks.i (22) Der. (L.W.) (23) Hrf.2
2. To press tightly, cut into ; to squeeze or bruise. Also
with upon.
Sh.I. Doo's no ta geng an' nip apo' me, Sibbie, doo kens A'm
no cairin' fir fashen, Sh. News (Jan. 5, 1901). e.Yks.', w.Yks.
(J.W.) Lan. Th' hinder-quarter's nipt in like a greyhount whelp,
Waugh Winter Fire, 25. Lin. As a string when drawn tight
round the waist, Hollo way ; Lin.' n.Lin.^ Th' band that tied it
up hes nipp'd that tulip tree till its dead. Nhp.^
3. To cut short or close ; to snip.
se.Sc. He was na able for to nip A bit o' claith, Donaldson
Poems (1809) 193. Lnk. Till heaven nips the twine, Wardrop
/. Malhison (1881) 24. Dmf. What treasure was set on the
young life nippet sae sune, Reid Poems (1894) 200. w.Yks.i He
then nepp'd a lile wee hookin on't, ii. 300. Oxf, To cut the skin
of sheep while shearing them. 'I have nipped him' (M.A.R.).
Brks.i 'To ' nip ' off a small piece of loose skin with scissors.
4. To bite, nibble ; to graze.
Flf. The flocks an' herds are spreadin' seen. The fragrant suckles
nippin', Douglas Poems (1806) 21. Edb. The milk-cows were
nipping the clovery parks, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xxii. Feb.
Lintoun Green (1685) 37, ed. 1817. s.Wm. I saw . . . two bease
nippin ith Blackdyke, Hutton Dial. Storih andArnside (1760) 1. 23.
Yks. (J.W.) War. 'The rabbit ' nips the top off some early choice
flowers,' Midi. Counties Herald (Apr. 9, i8g6). [Amer. That durn
brute was shakin' his ears and nippin' grass unconcerned as a can
o' green corn, Cent. Mag. (Dec. 1900) 300.]
5. With at: to eat daintily or affectedly. Sc. (Jam.), BnfF.'
6. With up : to eat hastily, swallow greedily.
e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.), Not. J.H.B.) Lin.»
Here is some custard, nip it up.
7. To taste sharp or pungent. Sc. (Jam.) 8. To smart,
ache ; to tingle with cold.
Sc. Ye're new risen and your young heart's nipping, Ramsay
Prov. i^izi)- Elg. Words that nip like plasters. Tester Poems
(1865) 9. Fif. O I but my heart nips for the pair, While thro' the
green she wanders, Douglas Poems (1806) 26. N.I.^ Ma toes is
just nippin'. Uls. Uls. Jm. Arch. (1858) VI. 40.
9. To be niggardly or parsimonious ; to stint, starve ;
to cheat.
Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.i He fairly nippit 'im wee the trochan o's coo.
n.Cy. (J.W.), e.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Aw ne'er geet wed to
be nipped an' humbugged same as aw have bin this dozen year
back, Clegg David's Loom (1894') v ; Deawn reet nippin' o' poor
foke ! Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 42. Nhp.', Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.'
10. T<o snatch, pick up hastily ; to catch suddenly ; to
snap ; to pilfer, steal, purloin ; gen. with away or up.
Sc. Ye was set aff frae the oon for nipping the pyes, Ramsay
Prov. (1737) 87 (Jam.). Abd. At last the hungry hawk doun scours,
An' nips 't awa. Still Cottat's Sunday (1845) 143. Frf. Or we
would have been nipped in our beds, Barrie Minister ( 1891) v ; A
maukin rinnin' owre a field that could be easily nippit, Willock
Rosetty Ends (1886) 105, ed. 1889. Per. He juist nippet up his
verbs, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 25. Ayr. Having his
arm nippit by the fly-wheel of the new engine. Service Dr. Duguid
(ed. 1887) 139. Bwk. Nip it up,Tibby Redpath— Take it a', Nelly
Shaw, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 90. Dmf. Watching his
gins, he nips his hares, Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 102. N.Cy.i
Nhb.i He nipped up his crowdy in a jiffy. Cum.^ ; Cum." She
nip't threepennorth o' brandy up gay sharp, Farrall Betty Wilson
(1886) 146. Cum., Wm. NicoLSON (1677) Trans. R. Soc. Lit. (1868)
IX. n.Yks.'* e.Yks.' All eggs 1 mahkit w6 nipt up i neeah tahm,
MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. Jopy nipt up't quairt, an whip't it all off
at a swig, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1843) 15 ; (J.W.) ;
w.Yks.i He nip it up and ran away. Lan. Hoo nipt th' skirt out o'
Sarah's bond, Waugh Taltlin' Matty, 25 ; They made no moor ado
bur nipt up th' owd stoo, Harland Ballads (1865) 225. ne.Lan.^,
nw.Der.J, Not.^^ s.Not. Ah offered the lad a pear an' yer should
a seed 'im nip ho'd on't (J.P.K.). n.Lln.' He nipp'd up his hat an'
went his waay afoore I could speak. sw.Lin.^ She nipped up the
bairn in a moment. Rut.i Lei.' Shay nipped oop 'er bassket, an'
off shay roon. Nhp.i ' He nipped it away before I could look at it.'
War.= Nip up your playthings, and come indoors; War.3 Shr., Hrf.
Bound ProwMf. (1876). Hnt.(T.P.F.) w.Som.'Herniptupthecheel
and away to go, so vast as ever her heels could car her. [Aus.
Another hundred might, perhaps, be ' nipped ' from old Smith's
scrubs, NicoLS Wild Life (1887) I. x.] Slang. One of 'em put the
half-sovereign between the shoulder-blades, and I nipped it fast,
Murray Nov. Note Bk. (1887) 142.
11. To piove quickly or nimbly ; to hasten ; to slip away,
go suddenly ; to run or walk hastily.
Fif. Aff sae they skeygit . . . and nipt them hame, Wi' vengeance,
hurry-scurry, Tennant Papistry (1827) 52. Nhb. They nip in for
their gills, Bagnall Sngs. (c, 1850) 7 ; Nhb.i Just nip away afore
he sees you. Wm. Nip up ta thi fadder's an ass them fer t' cross-
cut. They nipt up an' gat wedded e neea time (B.K.). n.Yks.^
Nip off; n.Yks." Nip upstairs an' fetch mah hat down. ne.Yks.*
Nip off. Nip across, e. Yks.' Awd woman nips aboot like a young
lass. w.Yks.235 Lan. He nipt onto hb feet, Waugh Hermit
Cobbler, viii; Nip away, hopper, Brierley Cas/«/ioK World {1886)
160. e.Lan.i Nip up, to get up and go away suddenly. Chs.'Nip
off; Chs.s He nipped off like lightnin. s.Chs.' Dhis tit u mahyn)z
u rum)iin tu nip- uliingg-. Der. Ye can come up the back o'
tha Edge, and so nip home, Verney Stone Edge (1868) vii; We
wor towd he'd just nip'd aut ta get his tee, Robinson Sammy
NIP
[2771
NIP
Twitcher (1870) 21 ; Der.2 Nip along. nw.Der.i Not. (H.B.) ;
Not.i ; Not.2 I nipped round. s.Not. Wlien 'e seed the gaffer, 'e
nipped into the stable. She nipped up an' run to the winder
(J.P.K.). Lin. 'E nipped up, an' started a-leatherin' the old ass,
Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 298 ; Lin.' Nip-it, fetch a nail-passer.
n.Lin.' Th' foal nipp'd thrif th' yaate on us "afoore we was aware.
Noo then, nip off an fetch yon hoss. sw.Lin.i He can nip about
anywhere now without his sticks. Rut.' She nips along down
the road. Lei,' Ah should ha ketched holt on 'im, beout a'd
nipped threw the 'edge. Nhp.l ' He nipped away in a jiffey.'
War.23 Wor. You used to nip over the styles like a fly (H.K.).
s.Wor.l I nips athirt the ground, and gives 'im the meetin'.
se.Wor.' Shr.' Wen I 'card the w'istle, didnad I nippit ? Hnt.
(T.P.F.) e.An.l (s.v. Nipper). Nrf. Then we nipped the other
side, Emerson Son of Fens (189a) 147 ; Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf.
(1893) 40. Suf. That fared s'cowd, we took and nipped off hoom.
He nip along a good tidy stroke (M.E.R.). e.Suf. (F.H.) Ken.
He had to nip off sharp (D.W.L.). Hmp. I nipped round wi' it at
once and saw it there all safe (W.H.E.). Som. We'll nip in an
zit down so quiet as mice, Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894)
108. w.Som.' The young osebirds nipt off avore I could come
aneast em — drat their heads. Dev. Dr. Zmallgood cries, • Lord
love a duck ! ' an' nips off like a tail-piped tarrier ! Stooke Not
Exactly, ii. Cor. Her warn't too badly wounded to nip roun' the
knap o' the hill, ' Q.' Troy Town (1888) xix.
Hence nip and tuck, phr. at full speed.
[Amer. They had it, nip and tuck, for five mile or more, the old
man a-gaining all the time. Cent. Mag. (Dec. 1884) 275.]
12. With out : to wash partially.
Nhp.i If a dress is soiled or splashed in one particular place,
and just that part is washed, it is called ' nipping it out.' When
it is not convenient to have a large wash, it is usually said, * We
must nip a few things out.'
13. In cricket : to hit a ball to the off-side. War.''
14. sb. In phr. (i) as clean as nip, very clean or tidy, smart ;
completed ; (2) — near as nip, very niggardly ; too greedy
to be honest ; (3) — nice as nip, very nice ; completely,
easily ; (4) — tight as nip, a saying, expressive of superior
quality or adaptability, &c. ; (5) — white as nip, very white,
very clean ; (6) nip for new, an exclamation accompanying
a pmch given to any one wearing new clothes ; (7) to get
a nip of any one, to^play a trick on any one.
(i) Cum.* s.Chs.' Uz kleeun uz nip- [As cleeafi as nip]. (2)
n.Yks.'' (3) n.Yks. Just teean 'em in az nice az nip, by sleeght ov
hand, Castillo Poems (1878) 58. w.Yks. Prov. in Brighouse
News (Aug. 10, 1889) ; w.Yks.^ It's rare to be thee, lad; as nice
as nip, — ast think thall feel soa nah, 47. Lei.' (s.v. Niste). (4)
e.Yks. Here we are as tite as nip, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 91 ;
e.Yks.i This box '11 hod mah cleeas as tight as nip, MS. add.
(T.H.) (5) Lan. As white as nip, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 96.
Chs. ' It soon goes very nice, it washes as white as nip ' ; some
people when they see a flower or anything else that is beautifully
clean and white, will exclaim ' Eh ! why it is as white as nip ! '
Chs.N.VQ. (1882) II. 13a. e.An.iThe herb cat-mint, which
being covered with a fine white down, has given rise to a common
simile, ' as white as nip.' Nrf. A long wide stone passage, with
a floor as white as nip, Spilling Molly Miggs (1873) 20. w.Nrf.
I sawr my son as white as nip, Orton Beeston Ghost (1884) 5.
(6) Nhb.' n.Wm. A new article of wearing apparel entitles the
wearer to a pinch from any associate who perceives it, saying at
the same time ' nip for new ' (B.K.). Yks. (J.W.) (7) Abd. He's
tried hard several times sinsyne to get a nip o' Sandy i' the
market in a quaet wye, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 180.
15. A pinch or squeeze, not necessarily with the fingers
and nails ; a smart tap ; a bruise.
Sc. (Jam.), e.Yks.', Chs.' Lin.' I have had a nip of the finger.
w.Som.' I meet way a nip in the drashin'-machine.
16. A bite or sting ; a bite in fishing.
Sc. (Jam.) Frf. Ye'U find it smarter then an adder's nip,
Morison Poems (1790) 190. Nhp.' Oh what a nip it gave. Hnt
(T.P.F.)
17. The pain caused by a pinch, bite, or smart tap. Sc.
(Jam.) 18. Fig. A misfortune, trial.
w.Som.i 'Twas a purty hard nip for 'ee, lostin' thick there
gurt zow.
19. A sharp, pungent flavour ; a burning, biting taste ;
also ased^g.
Sc. Bread, and esp. cheese, is said to have a nip, when it tastes
sharp or pungent (Jam.). Frf. Lads, humour's what gies the nip
to speakin', Barrie Thrums (1889) v. Fif. Man, it heats whaur
it gangs, an' hisna a nip wi't. I dinna like whiskey wi' = nip,
Robertson Provost (1894) 62.
20. A keen, biting feeling in the air.
Abd. There's a nip in the win', early an' late 0' the day, Abd.
IVkly. Free Press (Oct. 27, 1900). Lnk. Ae nicht the win' was
geylies snell Wi' frosty nip, Coghill Poems (1890) 25. Lan.
One o'th grand owd-fashioned Kessmasses, with a bit o' howsome
nip in it, Waugh Winter Fire, 11.
21. A small piece of anything, a pinch, a minute quantity ;
a slight refreshment.
Sc. As much as is nipped or broken off between the finger and
thumb (Jam.) ; Not a single ait, Nor yet a spike o' barley. Nor
nip o' meal, Outram Lyrics (1887) 89. Sh.I. Aa aboot his nip o
croft, Burgess Rasmie (1892) 84. Lnk. Ramsay Gentle Shep. (ed.
1733) Gl. Dmf. The wee nips that had been clipped Aff ilka live
thing, on bein' shaped By her foreman, Quinn Heather (1863)
134. Nhb.i A nip of cheese. Cum. It wasn't a nip 6' trubble
gaun wid him, Farrall Betty Wilson (1886) 47. m.Yks.' There
isn't a nep left. w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan.' A small portion of food or
drink taken between meals. ne.Lan.' n.Lin.' You mun put a nip
o' salt in, Mary, to bring oot th' taaste. Gie me a nip o' 'bacca,
I ha'n't noan e'my box. Nhp.' A small bit of anything pulverised,
as 'a nip of salt.' As much as can be nipped up between the
finger and thumb. Hnt. (T. P. F.) w.Som.' Her used 'most always
to tell me to come in the kitchen and have a bit of a nip.
22. A niggardly, parsimonious person, a stingy fellow ;
a close and sharp bargainer.
e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) e.An.' Nrf. Grose (1790). e.Nrf.
Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). Sus."^
23. Advantage, esp. in bargaining. Bnff.' 24. A
hurried departure.
Nhb.' He seun teuk his nip, Thompson Nanny's Advice (1886).
w.Yks. (J.W.)
25. A young fellow. Cf nipper.
Lan. To meet eawr train an' th' missin' nips, Dottie Rambles
(1898) 174. Sus. Long cum two cheps fram Lunnon. . . Deas
lither nips dey sees de ol' fellur, Jackson Southward Ho
(1894) I. 433.
26. A part of the machinery used in wool-combing ; see
below.
w.Yks. The ' nip,' which is a piece of mechanism very much
resembling the human hand, draws the wool from the fallers,
and lays it on the comb, Cudworth Worstedopolis (1888) 45.
27. A mining term ; see below.
N.Cy,' A sudden denudation or nipping out of a coal-seam,
caused by the roof and the thill coming together. Nhb.' The
thinning out of a seam of coal where the deposit has become
attenuated ; also, the crush or squeeze of coal pillars produced by
a creep or by any severe pressure. Nlib., Dur. The effect
produced upon coal pillars by creep ; a crush or squeeze. Also,
an approach of the roof and thill of a seam of coal towards each
other, found naturally ; the seam having, for a short distance,
been caused almost to disappear, Greenwell Coal Tr, Gl. (1849).
28. pi. The hips or fruit of the wild rose, Rosa canina.
Chs.'* 29. pi. An exclamation used before pinching
any one for stale news. s.Lan. (F.R.C.)
NIP, s6.2 Sc. Nhb. Cum. Lan. Chs. Midi. Stf Hnt. Dor.
Slang. Also written nipp Dor. [nip.] A small quantity
of spirits or liquid, a small drink.
So. He likes his nip of whisky (H.W.) ; A coal-hawker in
D was fonder of his nip than his \iorse., Jokes, ist S. (1889)
75. Sh.L I'm just hed da wan nip dis morning. Burgess Lowra
Biglan (1896) 54. Cai. It [bottlej wis fu', I jist took one nip oot
o't masel, Horne Countryside (1896) 160. w.Sc. Gen. half a glass
(Jam.). Slg. Towers Poems (1885) 123. Lth. Lumsden Sheep-
head (1892) 124. e.Lth. If a man Stan's ye a nip, or sends
ye his phottygraph ... he losses his seat, Hunter J. Inwick
(189s) 198. Nhb.' 'A nip of spirit,' a small wine-glassful.
Cum.* Lan. He'd slip Doun to the bar to snatch a furtive
' nip,' Doherty N. Barlow (1884) 51. Chs.' A small glass
of neat spirit ; Chs.^ Midi. We had a nip, Bartram People of
Clopton (1897) 187. Hnt. A half of a pint (T.P.F.). Dor. A half
pint pott (W.C. c. 1750); (A.C.) Slang. Mr. Carew . . . had a
mind to refresh himself with a nip of punch, Life B. M. Carew
(1791) 88.
Hence Nipper, sb. a small quantity of strong drink.
Bnff.' Edb. Will you have a raw nipper or a glass of hot, Jock?
Ballantine Dcanhatigh (1869) 258.
NIP
[278]
NIPPERKIN
NIP, sb.^ n.Cy. Yks. Nhp. Hnt. Sur. Cor. [nip.] A
steep ascent of a road ; a hill.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.i That nip at loan heeod hoins t'horses
sadly. Nhp.i This is a sharp nip for the horses. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
Sur. Up to the top of the nip, Cent. Mag. (Mar. 1884) 775. w.Cor.
You need not get out of the carriage, it is only a short nip (M.A.C.).
[I se, as me thinketh, Out of the nippe of the north
. . . Rijtwisnesse come rennynge, P. Plowman (b.) xvin.
162. Norw. dial, knippa, a mountain-top (Aasen) ; Sw.
dial. knippa,'& hill (Rietz).]
NIP, see Neap, Nap, sb.^
NIPE, sZ>.i Obs. Lan. A trick.
Whot wud'n yoah ha sed iv any Painite had bin katcht e sitch a
nipe? Walker Plebeian Pol. (1796) 37, ed. 1802.
NIPE, V. and sb.'^ Yks. Also in form gnipa. [naip.]
1. V. To crop or nip off with the teeth herbage, &c. in
short lengths. n.Yks."^, w.Yks.^ The same word as
Knipe, v. (q.v.) 2. sb. The beak of a bird. e.Yks.'
NIPICK, see Nippock.
NIPKIN, sb. Sc. [ni'pkin.] A pocket-handkerchief.
Cf. napkin.
Wgt. Wi' yon nipkin flichterin' here an' flichterin' there, Good
Wds. (1881) 402. "
NIPOUR, see Neighbour.
NIPPED, ppl. adj. Sc. Lakel. Yks. Lin. Nhp. Hnt. e.An.
Cor. Also written nippid Sh.I. ; and in forms neepid
Sh.I. ; neppit Lth. ; nippet Nhp.^; nippit Sc. ; nipt
Lakel.'^ Nhp.> Hnt. e.An.* [ni-pid, ni pit, nipt.] I. Short
in size or measure, small, scanty, sparse ; of clothes :
tightly fitting, pinched in, narrowed.
Sc. Often applied to clothes. ' A nippit dinner ' (Jam.) ; Ye . . .
have introduced into your universities . . .a fashion of pronouncing
like unto the ' nippit foot and clippit foot' of the bride in the
fairy tale, Scott Nigel (1822) ix. Sh.I. I ken his deelers troosers,
der dat nippid aboot him, Sh. News (Apr. 28, 1900) ; A' dead in
green ciaes, just neepid inta da skin, Stewart Tales (1892) 88.
Cai.i Ayr. The craturs would really divert ye wi' . . . their
stiltit heels and nippit taes. Service Notandums (1890) 77.
Hence (i) Nippeting, (2) Nippety, adj. small, insignifi-
cant, scanty.
(i) Nhp.i What a little nippeting bonnet you've got on. (2)
How nippety they've made your gown, ih.
2. Pinched, starved-looking ; bleak, pallid, sickly.
Per. Drums never complained as if he had been nippit in the
Sooth, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 232. Lakel.^, w.Yks.
(J.W.),Nhp.i, Hnt. (.T.P.F.)
3. Of a hare : hard run, exhausted with running. e.An.^
e.Suf. (F.H.) 4. Griped, having the internal organs
deranged.
w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.' A local preacher once said in the
middle of his discourse, ' You mun excuse me a bit, if yg please,
my friends, I feal raatherly nipped.'
5. Parsimonious, niggardly, stingy; close, addicted to
giving short measure or weight.
Sc. Lord, I kent that thou art a nippit man, shearin' whare thou
hastna sawn, Henderson S. Matt. (1862) xxv. 24 ; Na, na, I ne'er
likit to be nippit or pinging ; gie me routhrie o' a' thing, Saxon
and Gael {1814) I. lai {Jaw.). Cai.', Ags. (Jam.) Per. An' let
that churlish Nawbal o' a fermer, Oor nippit neebor, hear, Hali-
BURTON Horace (1886) 33. Edb. They're a' that nippit and nice,
they wee bodies nae use to themsels or ony ither body, Beatty
Secretar {iSgi) no.
Hence Neppitnass, sb. parsimoniousness, stinginess.
Lth. Sic nearily neppitness beats a' that iver I h'ard o', Ellis
Pronunc. (1889) V. 724.
6. Strict, narrow-minded.
Sc. ' Why don't I like him ? Oh ! because he's jist a nippit
"U.P."' A Nippit Teetotaller is a common expression, Mont-
gomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899).
7. Snappish, curt ; vexed, annoyed, in an ill-temper.
Dmf. She . . . speer'd, in a shairp an' nippit way, what I mean't
by screamin' Na ! Na! Ponder Kirkmmdoon (1875) 18. Lin.i I
asked her a question, and she was nipped. Cor. Her's nipped
about somethin'. Parr Adam and Eve (1880) HI. 76 ; Cor.*
NIPPEN, sb. n,Cy. A ' boggart.'
The Dunnie, Brag, and Hedley Kow are probably the same
as the Nick or Nippen, Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) vii.
NIPPENCE, sb. Dev. [ni-psns.] Ninepence.
Eggs be awnly nippence a dizen tU-day in tha market, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892).-
NIPPER, sb. Van dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. and
Eng. Also written knipper e.Suf. [ni-p3(r.] 1. A small
boy, a lad, youngster ; esp. a lad employed as an assistant
or to run errands.
n.Cy. The strike of lurry boys or 'nippers,' as they are more
generally known, has been of but short duration, Manch. Evening
Mail {July 28, 1897). n.Yks.-* w.Yks. The name given to a boy
when he first begins working at the Quarry (W.H.H.) ; w.Yks.^
A boy who runs to different offices to see whether there are any
goods for the station. Lan.^ A carter's assistant ; a lad who
accompanies a lurry or cart. s.Chs.i Specifically a waggoner's lad.
s.Stf. Here's a little nipper to go arrands for yer, Pinnock B/;5.
Cy. Ann. (1895). Der. Her mother died when I was a mere
nipper, Gushing Voe (1888) HI. v. Not. Well nipper, what is
it? (J.H.B.) Lin.' Where are you off to, nipper? sw.Lin.' Come
and Stan' agen these gates, nipper! War. (J.R.W.) ; War.*;
War.^ He's a smart young nipper. w.Wor.i, s.Wor. (H.K.),
se.Wor.i, Hrf.2, Glo.i, Oxf. (G.O.), Oxf.i MS. add. Brks.i That
young nipper 'uU never be a man if a dwoant larn how to
handle his prong better. Hrt. (H.G.) Lon. Such lads, how-
ever, are the smallest class of costermongering youths ; and are
sometimes called ' casal'ty boys,' or ' nippers,' Mayhew Land.
Labour (1851) I. 33, col. 2. Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.* Cmb.'
There was us two, and Thompson's nipper. Nrf. When I was a
nipper, hen-harriers and marsh-harriers wasn't so scarce as now,
Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 99. e.Suf. (F.H.) Ken. Poor
little nipper (D.W.L.) ; Ken.^ A nickname given to the youngest
or smallest member of a family. e.Ken. (G.G.) Sus. (F.E.);
Sus.i A common nickname for the youngest member of the family,
or for one who is unusually small for his age. Hmp. The nippers
are playing cricket (T.L.O.D.); Hmp.', I.W. (J.D.R.\ LW.l
Wil. One 'nipper' never did it correctly, Swinsteap Par. on
Wheels (1897) 81 ; Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.i Som. Sweetman
Wincanton Gl. (1885). w.Som.' I mind hon I was a nipper I was
fo'ced to work hard ; ees, and live hard too. Dev. Whpt murchy
be yu up tu now, nipper ? Hewett Pras. Sp. (1892) 128. nw.Dev.i
Cor. Hullo, nipper! Did you ever see a ship of stars ? Quiller-
CouCH Ship of Stars (1899I 27.
2. A sharp, quick person ; a wily, tricky person or
animal ; a sharper.
Chs.i Sometimes used as a soubriquet, as ' Nipper Trimble.'
War. The wily nippers [foxes] , S'Aaw Z)y. Gazette (1898) Hunting
News. w.Wor. Though he's a good horse he's a nipper, S. Beau-
champ Grantley Grange (1874) 1. 75. Som. Sweetman Wincanton
Gl. (1885). nw.Dev.'
3. A niggardly, parsimonious person ; a miser.
Rnf. E'en though lank puirtith be a nipper, You should be
vauntie, Fraser Chimes (1853) 183. n.Cy. (J.W.) Wm. Thee
noant Margery's a nipper, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 63, n.Yks.*
Those exactors whom the old women call ' shoort-yveighters.'
e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i w.Yks. He alius wor a nipper. Hartley Parfrfm'
(1876) no; w.Yks.i, nw.Der.l, Nhp.i, Nrf. (E.M.), I.W.'
4. Anything excellent of its kind, a ' stunner.'
Nhb.i I'hame boots is a pair n' nippers. n.Lin.i That shire-bred
mare o' yours is a nipper an' noa mistaake ; I wodn't part fra her
at noht if she was mine. Lei.', War.^
5. A tooth.
Edb. The marks on his nippers were a' clean gone, Campbell
Deilie Jock (1897) 67. [At two years and a half old it changes two
on the top and two on the bottom, which are called the Nippers,,
Knowlson Cattle Z)orfo>- (1834) 150.]
6. An iron bar with which stakes are driven into the
ground. Oxf.' 7. Comp. (i) Nipper-crab, the swimming
crab, Polybius Henslowii ; (2) -nails, the fruit of the dog-rose,
Rosa canina ; cf. nip, v. 1 (10).
(i)Sus. MERRiFiELDAfa^i/is/.Sn^A/oK, 10; (F.E.S.) (2)Chs.i'
8.//. Pincers, forceps ; tongs. s.Sc. (Jam.), n.Cy. (J.W.),
n.Yks.'' 9. pi. A ' grab-hook ' or grapnel used for
recovering buckets from a well. Wil.*
NIPPERKIN, sb. Sc. Also Dev. Cor. Also in form
nepperkin Cor.*= [ni'parkin, nipakin, ne-pskin.] 1. A
small measure of liquor ; the eighth part of a pint ; a
small draught, a ' nip.' Cf. nip, sb.^
Sc. Father Crackenthorp, bring a nipperkin of brandy, Scott.
Redg. (1824) XX ; Let Tim send the ale, and the sack, and the
nipperkin of double-distilled, ib. Nigel (1822) xxiii. Ayr. We juisL
NIPPERREN
[279]
NIRL
liae time for a nipperkin o' yuill, and then Willie has to go, Ser-
vice Notandums {i8qo) 77. Dev., Cor. Here's a health to the
barley-mow ! The nipperkin and the jolly brown bowl, Dixon Sngs.
Eng. Peas. (1846) 159. Cor .1 We'll drink it out of the nepperkin,
boys. Here's health to the Barley Mow, The Barley Mow ; Cor.^
2. A mere morsel. Cld.,'Rxb. (Jam.)
NIPPERREN, sb. ? Obs. Sc. A small quantity ; ? a
misprint for ' nipperkin.'
Rnf. Tippence-worths his little grate supplies, An' double price
he every nipperren buys, Finlayson Rhymes (1815) lao.
NIPPERTY, adj. Sc. Gmg. [ni-parti.] 1. Mincing,
affected.
Abd. Bonny big strides, . . sae different from the nipperty
mincin' stippety-stap o' the leddies ye see upo' the streets here,
Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) ^'vi.
2. Cow^.Nipperty-tipperty,affectedly neat or exact; light,
unstable; of rhymes or tunes: quick and rattling in rhythm.
Sc. Crackbrained and cockle-headed about bis nipperty-tipperty
poetry nonsense, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xxi ; (Jam.)
3. Lively, convalescent. Gmg. Collins Gow. Dial, in
Trans. Phil. Soc. (1848-1850) IV. 222.
NIPPET, sb. Suf. Ess. [ni-pit.] A small quantity.
e.Suf. Esp. of corn, in gleaning (F.H.). Ess. Monthly Mag.
(1814) I. 498; Gl. (1851); Ess.i
NIPPIGANG, see Nimpingang.
NIPPIN(G, sb. and ppl. adj. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks..Der.
Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War. Brks. Hnt. Suf. Also written
nippen Cum.* ,»Brks. ; and in form napping m.Yks.*
[nipin.] 1. sb. A smarting pain ; a tingling. Sc. (Jam.)
2. A small remaining part. m.Yks.^ 8. A scrap of
useless metal ; a small nugget.
Cum. The sharp points twisted off the nails in horse-shoeing
(M.P.) ; Cum.* 'What is young lasses meade on ! Nippens an'
nails, an' foomert tails.' Used in the saying ' deed as a nippen ' —
stone dead. m.Yks.^
4. pi. Waste yarn in spinning ; the short ends of thread
nipped off when a join is made. w.Yks. (J.M.), (W.T.)
5. pi. A bird's claws. Brks. (M.J.B.) 6. ppl. adj.
Sharp, pungent to the taste ; smarting, tingling, aching.
Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.' Han' me a kneevlack o' that nippin' cheese.
7. Cold, freezing, sharp.
Lnk, A rale nippin' December nicht, atweel, Murdoch Readings
(1895) II. 9. Gall. Cauld an' nippin was the air, Mactaggart
£ko'<^/. (1824) 236, ed. 1876. Yks. (J.W.),nw.Der.l, Lin.' War.^;
War.* Nipping weather this, maister ; but as it be dry, it woant
hurt the poor cattle.
8. Short in size or weight. Cai.' 9. Parsimonious,
economical ; sparing, saving ; tricky, addicted to giving
short weight or measure.
Sc. (Jam.), Cai.i Gall. A wily, spruce, and nipping blade Wha
made the penny aye his trade, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 57,
ed. 1897. w.Yks.i, nw.Der.i, Not.* Lin.^ They are on the nipping
tariff. nXin.i Well, he wasn't a bad soort on a man, bud nippin',
y6 knaws, real nippin'. Lei.' Shay's the moost nippingest wumman
iwer oi knoo. Nhp.' What a nipping bit of cheese you've given
me. Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.Suf. (F.H.)
10. Skilful, clever ; superior, first-rate, excellent.
Nhb. There's Atkisson hails frae the West and Rea frae by the
sea, Baith awfull keen and nippin hands wiv worm as weel as flee,
Harbottle Fishin' Club (1884). Lei.'
NIPPLE, sb. Ken. Sus. [ni-pl.] In comp. (i) Nipple-
rings, echinoderms of the genus Cidaris ; (2) -wort, the
navel-wort. Cotyledon Umbilicus.
(i) Ken. In the chalk quarries about Gravesend, N. & Q. (1877)
5th S. vii. 116. (2) Sus. Warter P«TOcA. Fragments (1853) 192.
NIPPLED, ppl. adj. Wor. [ni'pld.] Notched.
s.Wor. Nippled like a little saw (H.K.) ; s.Wor.i
NIPPOCK, s6. Sc. Also written nipick Bnfr.> [ni-pak.]
A very small piece. Bnff.', Cld. (Jam.)
NIPPY, adj. and sb.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
[ni'pi.] 1. adj. Sharp, pungent to the taste, acid, biting ;
-smarting, causiflg to smart or tingle.
Sc, That cheese— sae fine and nippy, Smith Jenny Blair (ed.
1871) 71 ; (Ja.m.) Bnff.i Rnf. Johnnie aften brags Hoo he sends
his neebours up for their nippy ' nags,' Neilson Poems (1877) 93.
Ayr. She . . . lay in need o' a guid nippy poultice to bring her tae,
Service Notandums (i8go) 21. Lnk. The nippy taw Comes
whiskin' whiles athort us a', Watson Poems (1853; 28.
2. Keen, biting, cold.
Som. You'll vind the wind nippy 'pon the moor, Raymond Sam
and Sabina (1894) 11.
3. Comp. Nippy-nose, a child's name for the frost.
e.Yks.i Thoo moant gan oot, or else Nippy-nooase '11 get hod o'
tha, MS. add. (T.H.)
4. Sharp or bitter in speech.
Sc. Jam Niven's tongue '11 no be so nippy, Setoun G. Malcolm
(1897) vii. Per. She has what ye'd ca' a nippie tongue, Fergusson
Vill. Poet. (1897) 26.
5. Hungry.
s.Hmp. ' You don't see Lettie squealin' and squallin' after her
vittles like that.' ' Nay, but she ain't so nippy as I be,' Verney
L. Lisle (1870) xi. Dor. N. & Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 157 ; Gl. (1851) ;
Dor.i Why I be nippy ; what is ther to eat ? 232. w.Som.' Well,
I sim I be getting purty nippy ; hot's the clock, soce? nw.Dev.'
6. Scanty, tight in fit, too small in size or weight ; short
in measure. Cai.', Nhb.' 7. Niggardly, parsimonious,
stingy ; close, apt to take advantage in money matters,
tricky.
Sc. I'll get but little penny-fee, for his uncle, auld Nippie Miln-
wood, has as close a grip as the deil hirasell, Scott Old Mortality
(i8i6)vii. Cai.',Bnff.', Cld. (Jam.) Nhb. Graham i?crfScaM>-(i896)
153; Nhb.' He's that nippy he canna gi' ye full weight. Lakel.^
They war varra nippy an' nar i' some things, but O I man, a better
boddy niverwasner them fer a mial. n.Yks. He's a nippy fellow
(I.W.). n. Lin.' He's a nippy old skin-flint. Oxf. She's very nippy
(G.O.). I.W. (J.D.R.), LW.' Wil. Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.'
8. Of plants: delicate, slow-growing. e.Suf. (F.H.)
9. Sharp, active, quick ; smart, keen.
Lakel.2 Lewk nippy wi' tha. Wm. Nippy, clean en trig, Blezard
Sngs. (1848) 41. n.Lin.' Ohd Mrs. M is a wunderful ohd
laady, she's oher ninety, an' as nippy as ony thing. War. (J.R.W.)
Wil. See's terble nippy on young rabbits, Kennard Diogenes
(1893) vi. Dor. What nippy looks friend Daniel wore, Barnes
Pofws (1863) 117. Som. Sweetman IVincanion Gl. (1885).
Hence Nippily, adv. smartly, sharply.
Gall. Duncan will gie ye your pawmies the morn richt nippily!
Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 91.
10. sb. A very small bit. Cld. (Jam.)
NIPPY, 56." Dev.' A nursery term for the membrum
virile.
NIR, sb. Sc. Anything small or stunted in growth,
used as a term of contempt. The same word as K.nur(r,
5 (q.v.).
Ayr. Does ony bit nir o' a critic want a ggem at blin -stam
amang the books ? Service Notandums (1890) 125.
NIRE, NIRKER, see Near, s6.'. Nigh, Nurker.
NIRL, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Yks. Lan. [narl, nil.] 1.
sb. A knot. The same word as Knurl (q.v.). n.Sc.
(Jam.), w.Yks.', ne.Lan.' Hence (i) Nirlock or Nurlock,
sb. a small hard lump or swelling ; (2) Nirly, adj. knotty,
pebbly.
(i) Sc. An induration on the skin ; mostly on the feet or bands
(Jam. Suppl.). (2) w.Yks.'
2. A fragment, crumb ; a small piece.
Sc. Ay better's a nirl wi' the right nor the rowth o' warkers o'
wrang, Waddell Psalms (1871) xxxvii. 16; No a nirl o' what's
fause I'se lat stan', ib. Isaiah (1879) i. 25. Lnk. Ye micht bring
something hame to me, wer't but a nirl o' cake, Nicholson
Kilwuddie (1895) iig.
3. A puny, dwarfish person. Cf. knurl, 5.
Sc. Sic a whey face ! — a perfect nirl ! As I sail answer, I've seen
as tJbardly a chiel in a glass bottle upon a doctor's shelf, Lockhart
R. Dalton (1823) III. 119 (Jam.). n.Sc. A weary nirl Jam.).
Hence (i) Nirlie, adj. (a) stunted in growth, small ; (b)
fig. niggardly; (2) Nirlyheaded, ppl. adj. of wheat : having
a small head.
(i,fl) s.Sc.(Jam.) Lth. That's puir nirlie grain as ever I saw (16.).
(4) Lth. A nirly creature {ib.). (2) s.Sc. Nirlie-headed wheat {ib.).
4. V. To pinch with cold ; to cause to shrink or shrivel.
Lth. Thai pickles [grains of corn] hae been nirled wi' the
drowth, or wi' the frost (Jam.).
Hence (i) Nirled, ppl. adj. shrunken, shrivelled, stunted
in growth ; (2) Nirling, ppl. adj. keen, nipping, biting ;
frosty, drying. Also usedj^^.
(i) Per. A nirled stot (G.W.). Fif. Gloomy alders, whereon
hung last years nirled cones, Colville Vernacular (1899) 14.
NIRLS
[280]
NIT
Ayr. Their gruesome figures, lang and nirl'd, White Jottings
(1879) 205. Lth. Applied to trees (Jam.). (2) Lth. Misfortune
came wi' nirling blast, An' forc'd my Sandy far to roam, Frae his
fond Jean, Bruce Poems (1813) II. 95. Ant. A dry nirlin' win',
or very nirlin' weather, Ballymena Obs. (189a).
NIRLS, sb. pi. Sc. Irel. Also written nerls Ant. ; and
in form nearles Uls. [nirlz.] A disease characterized by
an eruption of the skin ; a species of measles or chicken-
pox. The same word as Knirls (q.v.).
Sc. Ramsay Remin. (ed. 189a) 115; Said to be the Rubeola
variolodes of Dr. CuUen. In the nirles, the pimples are distinct
and elevated, although smaller; in the common measles they are
confluent and flat (Jam.). Fif. A glisk o' cold or a grousin . . .
foreboded the nirls, Colville Vernacular (1899) 18. Ayr. Wi'
the pocks and the keenkhost, the nirls, and the branks, there's
been sic a smasherie o' the bit weans n' the parish, Service
Notandums {iSgo) 4. Uls. (M.B.-S.) Ant. Ballymena Obs. {1893) ;
Science Gossip (1882) 278.
NIRP, V. Sh.I. [nirp.] To stint, spare.
I ken hit widna 'a been his will 'at's lyin' yondir 'at ony thing
sood be nirpid, Sh. News (Jan. 7, 1899^ I wis tellin' dee dat,
he [it] '11 be far ower nirpid, ib. (Jan. 5, 1901).
NIRR, see Nurr.
NIRRANGE, sb. Sc. ? An orange.
Kcd. Laummer [amber] nirranges gie oot a scent, Edwards
Mod. Poets, 8 th S. 362.
NIRRUP, sb. Dor. [na-rap.] A donkey.
Mirrup [sic], N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 45; Gl. (1851) ; Dor.i
NIRSS, adj. Sh.I. Harsh and disagreeable to the
taste. S. & Ork.i
NIRT, sb. Sc. [ni-rt.] A very small piece. S. &
Ork.^, Cld. (Jam.) Hence Nirty, adj. small.
Sh,I. A nirty corn o' da smearin gets intil her e'e, Stewart
Tales (1892) 7.
NIS, see Neese, sb.^
N-ISBIL, sb. Pern. Also in forms niceple, nysebill.
[ni'zbl, nai'spl.] A hedgehog.
s.Pem. My'I terrier killed a niceple to-day (W.M.M.) ; Laws
Little Eng. (i888) 421 ; (E.L.)
[Ylespilles felles ( = hedgehog-skins), Anc. Riwle (c.
1225) 418. ME. iles pil, lit. the quill of a hedgehog ; OE.
li, igil, a hedgehog -I- /!?/, a dart ; G. igel, a hedgehog.]
NISCAL, NISE, see Nisgal, Neese, sb>, Nice.
NISGAL, sb. Wor. Shr. Hrf Mon. Glo. Also in forms
nesguU Wor. Glo.*; nesquaw Mon. ; niscal Hrf.'; nis-
gal Hrf.* ; nisgill w.Wor." ; nisgle Hrf.^ ; nisgol Hrf. ;
nisguU se.Wor.> Hrf. Glo.* [ni-zgl.] 1. The smallest of
a brood of poultry. Cf. nest-gulp, s.v. Nest, II. 1 (2).
w.Wor.i, se.Wor.*^ Shr.' I've nussed this poor lickle nisgal in
661 this two days an' nights. Hrf. Fine work I ad to get em out
again, specially the nisguU {Coll. L.L.B.); Hrf.i, Glo.i
2. The youngest, smallest, and weakliest pig in a litter,
the ' dilling-pig.'
s.Wor. PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 15 ; s.Wor.' Shr. Bound
Provinc. (1876) ; Shr.i* Hrf. Fine work I had to get the pigs
out again, specially the nisgol, Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 177 ;
Hrf.2, Mon. (A.L.M.)
3. Fig. Used of undersized or weakly offspring generally.
Wor. Often applied to the young of any flock ; hence a ' cade
lamb' is sometimes referred to as a 'nesguU,' — a poor ' nesgull
thing ' ( J.C.). se.Wor.i Applied to weak or undersized persons.
Hrf.^ The son kept longest at home. Glo.' A puny person.
4. One who pays nothing. Hrf., Glo. Lewis Gl. (1839) 72.
NISH, see Nesh.
NISHANY, adj. e.An.' [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Very positive.
NISHING,//'/. ais?;'. Nrf. Stupid,valueless, of no account.
Them magnatic stones fare ter me to be nishing fooleries,
Emerson Wild Life (1890) 19 ; A man or woman is often called a
• nishing fool ' (P.H.E.).
NISHTE, see Nesht.
NISIK, sb. Sh.I. Also written nissac S. & Ork.'
[ni'sak.] A porpoise.
There was no sound but the occasional puff-puflf of a ' nisik '
passing in the voe. Burgess Tang (1898) 59 ; Jakobsen Norsk in
Sh. (1897) 54 ; S. & Ork.l
[A dim. of ON. hnlsa, a dolphin (Vigfusson).]
NISLY, NISSES, see Nizzly, Nests.
NISSLE, V. Sc. Also in form nizzle. To beat with
the fists. Cld. (Jam.) Hence Nissling, sb. a beating,
thrashing, ib., Ayr. (J.F.)
NIST, NIST(E, NISTIE.COCK, NISTLE, NISY, see
Need, Nicet, Ness-cock, Nestle, Nizy.
Nil", sb} In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
in forms neet Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Lnk. Gall.; nite Lnk.
[nit, Sc. also nit.] 1. The egg of a louse ; a louse.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Lnk. Rats, mice, lice, flaes, neets and bugs,
Graham Writings (1883) II. 154 ; Their old shirts, with nites and
lice, ib. I. 186. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). N.I.', n.Cy.
(J.W.), n.yks.* w.Yks. Dixon Crawew jDate (1887) 3aa. Lan.',
s.Chs.', nw.Der.', Not.^ sw.Lin.' She never has no nits in her
head — never a louse nor yet a nit. Glo.' Oxf.' MS. add. e.Suf,
(F.H.), Ken.i Dor.' Why cassen hit A blow hafe hard enough to
kill a nit, 129. w.Som.', Dev.^
Hence (i) Nit-saw, sb. a salve for cleansing the head ;
(2) Nitty, adj. lousy, having nits or lice.
(i) Abd. Fand ye ever sic a smell o' brimstane and nit saw?
Beattie Parings (1801) 30, ed. 1873 ; (G.W.) (2) Sc. He would
need a heal pow that calls his neighbour nitty now, Ferguson
Prov. (1641) 15. Hrf.2 Acton Beauchamp, the poorest place in
all the nation, A lousy parson, a nitty clerk, and a shabby con-
gregation.
2. Phr. (i) as dead as a nit or as nils, quite dead ; (2) —
poor as a nit, very poor.
(i) n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) Lan. It wud o' kilt me us deeod us
o' nit in e had, Paul Bobbin Sequel (18 [9) 16. n.Lin.> It was the
packman ; his box behind him ; his face smashed in, and as dead
as nits, Cheny Ruth and Gabriel, I. 27. Glo.', Ken.' w.Som.'
' So dead's a nit' is one of the regular similes commonly used as
the superlative absolute of ' dead.' Dev. Thay kin nack thur, 'tis
zed, down za daid as a nit, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (ed. 1865)
45- (2) w.Yks. I've to keep at it, an's as poor as a nit, Dixon
Craven Dales (1881) 322 ; (J.W.)
NIT, sb.^ Sc. Cum. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written nitt ;
and in form net Dev. [nit.] 1. A nut, esp. the hazel
nut. Also used Jig.
Sc. (Jam.) Sh.L He sell'd his nits an' oil. His feathers white
an' grey, Stewart Tales (1892) 235. Bnff. Where grow the
woodbines, nits, an' slaes, Taylor Poems (1787) 18. Abd. The
white and sappy neepies— they were as sweet as ony nit, Caden-
HEAD Bon-Accord (1853) 191. Trf. Deaf nits, I true, ne'er set
that carlin by, Morison Poems (1790) 191. Ayr. I had only a
neffow o' nits. Service Notandums (1890) 30; Burns Halloween
(1785) St. 2. Lnk. The braes . . . Where aft he had . . . pu'd nits
and slaes, Thomson Musings (1881) 18. Gall. Twa azle fangs
but clean unfit The nits o' sense to crack, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 40, ed. 1876. Cum.i w.Som.' Sight o' nits about de year
—never know'd em thicker. Dev. I went down inta the gearden
uv nits ta zee tha vrewts uv tha vally, Baird Sng. Sol. (i860) vi.
II ; Dev.* n.Dev. Ees, fegs, I thort my nits wur deeve, Rock
Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 52. Cor. The wreck's scat abroad, . . an'
the interpretation thereof isbarrilsan' nits, ' Q.' Three Ships {1692)11.
2. Comp. (i) Nit-all, the hazel, Corylus Avellana ; (2)
-barrow, a barrow filled with nuts for sale ; (3) -garden,
a garden or copse of nut-trees ; (4) -great, of the size of a
nut ; (5) -hals, hazel-rods ; (6) -wood, a wood of nut-trees
or hazels.
(i) Dev. MS. Prov.; Dev.* (a) Lnk. Swettie Stan's an' lang
nit barrows, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 71. (3) e.Dev. Ai went
deun ta th' nit-gird'n to leuke at th' freute in th' bodd'm, Pulman
Sng. Sol (i860) vi. II. (4) s.Sc. (Jam.) (5) Dev. Like wethies
zum, and zum like net-hals tough, Daniel Bride of Scio (184a)
177. (6) Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
[Formed from the OE.pl. form hnyle.]
NIT, sb.^ Bnff.' [nit.] A wanton female ; also in
dimtn. Nittie.
Nn,ad/. Sh.I. [nit] In phr. mV/resA, ? quite fresh.
Der no mony i' da sooth, I tink, 'at's iver tastid fish nit fresh, as
we ca' hit, Sh. JVews (Aug. 25, 1900) ; If we got ony [swabbie's
eggs] abool dat time, dey wid be nit fresh, ib. (May 19, 1900'.
[Prob. Norw. dial, nyl, fit, usable (Aa^en) ; ON. nylr
(Vigfusson).]
NIT, adv. w.Cy. I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. Also written
neet Wil.' Som. [nit.] Nor yet ; sometimes wrongly
defined as ' not yet.'
w.Cy. (Hall.) L W.a ' What time es it, you ? ' ' Oh tedden't
one o'clock nit near it.' Wil, Britton Beauties (1825) ; WU.' I
NIT
[281]
NITTER
han't got no money nit no vittles ; Wil.^, Dor.* Som. Jennings
Dial. w.Eng. (i86g).
NIT, NITACK, see Not, adv., Nittack.
NITCH, sb.^ and v. Cum. Hrf. Glo. Brks. Hmp. I.W.
Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Also written nich Hrf. ; niche Wil.^
n.Dev. ; and in forms natch s.Dev.; nidge Hmp.' ; nutch
Dev. [nitj.] I. sb. A bundle; ^^«. of hay, straw, wood,
&c. The same word as Knitch (q.v.).
Glo.i Brks.i A bundle to be carried on the back, as ' a nitch of
stray' for night littering for horses. Hmp. A loosely tied bundle
of firewood, as brought in by the children when they have been
'a wooding' (J.Ar.) ; The stolen bush borne by the Man in the
Moon is still called the ' nitch,' Wise New Forest {1883) 177 ; Hmp.i
I.W.2 He can cart a smart nitch, I can tell 'ee. Wil.' Dor. A
bundle not of reaped corn but of threshed straw (H.J.M.).
w.Som.i Usually of firing, either sticks or furze, such as a man
would carry home on his back.
2. A definite quantity of hay, corn, or reeds.
Hmp. Wheeler's Hmp. Mag. (1828) 481 ; Less than a jobbet,
Grose (1790J ; Hmp.' Som. 300 nitches of good hand-made reed
for sale, tVellingion Wkly. News (Dec. 2, 1886) in Reports Provinc.
(1887) 12. Dev. I've uzed tu coal um nitches; now thay'm
sheefs. Reports Provinc. (1887) 12 ; Two bundles [of reed] about
40 lb., N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 166; 1712. Laid up of Reed
upon the Church house 50 nutches, 95. od., Littleham Chwar-
dens' Ace. ; Dev.' s.Dev. 1773-4. For 3 reed netches, 7|rf., E. Bud-
leigh Chwardens' Ace. ; A nitch of reeds used for thatching is a
bundle weighing 36 lb. (W.C.P.)
Hence Niching, ppl. adj. of reeds : suitable for a bundle.
n.Dev. I'd, 'stead of daysent niching reed, Dra' popples wi' a
Malley, Rock Jim an' Nell (,1867) st. 35.
3. A load or burden.
Brks. Of a cat that was ill : ' Wt.ll, he used to be a good nitch when
I took him up and carried him out to put him to bed ' (W.H.E.).
Som. SwEETMAN fFmrawtoK G/. (1885). e.Som. W. &J. G/. (1873).
4. Fig. As much liquor as one can carry ; gen. in phr.
to get a nitch, to be intoxicated.
Wil. Britton Beauties (1825). Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863).
5. A family, gang, set.
Cum.' They're a bad nitch, the heall lot o' them.
6. V. In phr. to nitch the pin, said of a man who will
take as much liquor as he can carry.
Hrf.^ Cider cups [had] pins or pegs inside. The use of these
large goblets or cups gave rise to several expressions. A man who
would take his utmost share of cider would be said to ' nich the
pin,' 47.
NITCH, sb.^ Sc. Sus. [nitJ.] A notch, an incision.
Frf. Having seen the sword ... he perceived a nitch in it,
LowsoN Guidfollow (1890) 282. Sns. Children cut a number of
slices from an apple extending from the eye to the tail, broader
on the outside than on the inner, which reaches nearly to the
core. One piece . . . has an incision made in it, but none cut out ;
this is called Nitch ; the pieces when thus marked are replaced,
and the game consists in one child holding the apple and pointing
to one of the pieces, and asking another child which he will have,
Nitch, Notch, or No-Notch ; if he guesses right he has it and eats
it ; if wrong the other eats it, Holloway.
NITCH, adj. .? Obs. Dor. Neat. Gl. (1851).
NITCHET, sb. Suf. A small quantity, esp. of gleaned
corn. e.Suf. (F.H.) See Nitch, sb.^ 2.
NITE, V. Sc. To rap; to strike with a sharp blow.
See Knoit, v.
SIk. If it warna for the blood that's i' your master's veins, I
wad nite your twa bits o' pows thegither, Hogg Brownie of Bods-
beck (i8i8) I. 117 (Jam.).
NITE, NITEM, NITH-, see Nit, sb}, Item, Knit.
NITHER, v} Sc. Also in form nidder (Jam.). 1. Obs.
To lower, depress, keep under ; to straiten. Cf. nether.
Sc. (Jam.) Bch. Like Sisyphus That's nidder'd sae in hell, Forbes
Ajax (1742) 5 ; Deil ane has glacked my mitten for as sair as I hae
been nidder'd wi' them, ib.Jrn. (174a) 13. Abd. Sairare weniddered,
that is what ye ken, Ross Helenore (1768) 54, ed. 1812. Rnf.
They wi' wantwar nither'd sair, Picken Poems (1813) I. 61. Lnk.
While we're oblig'd to nither our spacious sauls immense desires,
Ramsay Poems (1721) 272. Rxb. A. Scorr Poems (ed. 1808) 30.
2. To undervalue ; to depreciate. S. & Ork.'
[1. On sender syde ar the Rutuhanis rude, Nyddris our
boundis, Douglas Eneados (1513), ed. 1874, m. 184 ; Be
Natur netherit ane Owle noyuss in nest, Howlat (c. 1447)
VOL. IV.
251, in Sc. Allit. Poems (1897) 55. OE. nii(e)rian, to lower,
humiliate (B.T.) ; ON. nitra (Vigfusson).]
NITHER, V? and sb. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. War. Wor-
Hrf. Glo. Also in forms ether Nhb.'; nedder Cum.^
n.Yks. ; nether N.Cy.^ Nhb.' n.Yks.'^* m.Yks.' ; nidder
Sc. S. & Ork.' N.Cy.i Cum.' n.Yks.'* ne.Yks.' m.Yks.' ;
nitter Sc. [ni-S3(r, ne"tS3{r.] 1. v. To shiver and shake,
esp. with cold.
Hdg. The theme is Sae loomin', lairge, an' hie, I nither an
swither, Lumsden Poems (1896) 62. n.Yks.* Ah nithered an'
dithered an' trumml'd all ower. e.Yks.' War.^ There is no
occasion for you to nither. Wor. The cattle as I came by this
morning was all stood nithering from the cold (H.K.). s.Wor.',
se.Wor.', Glo.'
Hence (i) Nithered, ppl. adj. starved with cold; (2)
Nithering, ppl adj. shivering, trembling with cold ; (3)
Nithery, adj. all of a tremble ; (4) Nitherty-notherty, [a)
adj., see (3) ; (6) sb. a simpleton.
(i) Sc. Tho' nither'd whiles wi blasts that blaw, Currie Poems
(1883J 6. n.Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Shirrefs Posms (1790) G/. Ags.,
s.Sc. (Jam.) Lnk. Her taes were nittered wi' cauld, Watts
Bundle o' Clouts, st. 5. Lth. (Jam.), N.Cy.'^ Nhb.' Aa's just
nithered-up wi' the caad. n.YkB.'^ ne.Yks.' e.Yks. Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1788). m.Yks.' I am nithered with cold. (2) ne.Yks.'
Nitherin lambs. (3) n.Yks. (I.W.), n.Yks.2 (4, a) e.Yks. Leeds
Merc. Suppl.iAug.au, 18^5). (*) He's a regular nitherty-notherty, li.
2. To pine, fret, to be in a withering condition.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Cum.'
Hence (i) Nithered, ppl. adj., (2) Nithery, adj withered,
wasted, feeble.
(i) Lnk. Conscience dosent, dry, and nither'd. Watt Poems
(1827) 69. (2) Rxb. Nitherie corn, that which is so feeble that it
can scarcely be cut (Jam.).
3. To pinch with cold ; to blast and bite, as by frost or
a bitter wind ; to stunt in growth.
Rnf. Winter nithers a' below, Harp (1819) 71. Lth. Thy
sma' limbs sae slim and slender. Thus niddered bare, Ballantine
Poems (1856) 72. Rxb. (Jam.) Nhb.' How the frost hes nethert
the bagie shaws [turnip tops].
Hence Etherish, adj. keen, cold, biting.
Nhb.' It's an etherish mornin'.
4. sb. A trembling or shivering fit, a shiver ; gen. in phr.
all of a nither.
s.Wor.' Hrf. I'm all o' the nither (W.W.S.). Glo.'
[1. Icel. gnotra, to shiver, shake as with cold (Vigfus-
son) ; cp. Norw. dial, gnetta, also gnita, knita, nila, to shake
(Aasen).]
NITHER, see Neither, Nether, Nitter.
NITHING, ppl. adj. Obs. n.Cy. In phr. he is nithing
of his pains, he is very sparing of his trouble. Coles
(1679); (K.); Grose (1790); N.Cy."^
[ME. mien, ' aemulari,' Ps. xxxvi. 8 (Stratmann) ; cp.
G. neiden, to envy, to grudge.]
NITLE, adj. n.Cy. Der. Lei. Nhp. e.An. Also in form
nittle N.Cy.'^ e.An.' [naitl, nitl.] Handy, sharp,
clever ; neat, handsome. The same word as Knightle (q.v.).
N.Cy.'2, Der.' OAs. Lei.' Eulogistic epithet generally. ' A's a
noitle chap.' ' A noist, noitle body." Nhp.' A nice nitle lad ; Nhp. 2
A nitle chap. e.An.' [Nitle, manu promptus, agilis, concinnus,
Coles (1679).]
NITTACK, sb. Sh.I. Also written nitack (Jam.).
[ni-tak.] A little saucy girl. (Jam.), S. & Ork.'
NITTER, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Yks. Lei. War. Wor.
Glo. Also in form nither e.Yks.' War.= se.Wor.' Glo.'
[ni-t3(r.] 1. V. To be constantly grumbling or muttering
complaints. See Gnatter.
Cld. (Jam.) Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892).
Hence (i) Nitteret, (a) ppl. adj ill-natured, sulky ; {b)
sb. an ill-natured expression of countenance ; (2) Nitterie,
adj., see (i, a) ; (3) Nittering, ppl. adj grumbling, fault-
finding, captious.
(I, a) Cld. (Jam.) (6) S. & Ork.' (2) Cld. (Jam.) (3) Lel.l The
missus '11 bay ivver so nitterin' ovver it. War.^
2. To titter or giggle involuntarily with an effort to
suppress or conceal the hilarity.
n.Yks. Sheea tonn'd away, nitterin' an lafEn' at mah, Tweddell
Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 37 ; n.Yks.*, e.Yks.', m.Yks.', se.Wor.'
o o
NITTER
[282]
NO
3. To grin as a dog. s.Wor. Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 15.
4. To make grimaces. War.^, s.Wor.\ Glo.' 5. sb. A
grimace. s.Wor.^
NITTER, see Nither, v.'^
NITTERS, sb. Sc. 'A greedy, grubbing, impudent,
withered female.' Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Cf.
nitter.
NITTING, 56. Sc. Tape. See Knitting, 3.
Per. So called by old people (G.W.) . Edb. Long muslin frockies
. . . drawn round the waist with narrow nittings, and tucked five
rows about the tail, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) vii.
NITTLE, adj. w.Som.' Little.
Extremely common amongst children, and consequently among
nurses and others addressing them, as — Yuur, Bul-ee ! lu-mee
waursh yiie mid 1 anz [Here, Billy! let me wash your little
handsl. Bee yur nud'l veet koa'l? [Are your little feet cold ?]
NITTLE, see Nettle, Nitle.
NITTLES, sb.pl> Sc. The string fixed to a bag for
holding grain, with which it is tied. See Knittle.
Per. Ye'll hae plenty o' twine for nittles? (G.W.)
NITTLES, sb. pi?- Cld. (Jam.) Horns just appearing
above the skin on the head of an animal ; the small
stunted horns of sheep. Hence Nittled, ppl. adj. having
such horns. \Nittle is prob. a dim. oiknot^
NITTUS, see Neat-house.
NITTY, s6. lObs. Sc. Aknave, rascal; a term of abuse.
Abd. Fowks will say it was na pretty . . . And ca' you but a
twa-fac'd nitty, Wi' a' your wit, Skinner Poems (1809) 105.
NITTY, adj Sh.I. Nhb. Der. War. Shr. Hmp. Also
in form nity Der.i [ni'ti.] L Clever, agile, smart, neat;
small. Cf. natty, adj.
S. &Ork.' Nhb.i A bit nitty bairn. Der.> Hmp. Holloway.
2. Of ale : bright, sparkling.
War.23 shr.i Wen I poured it i' the glass it wuz nitty, an' as
clier as sack.
[1. O dapper, rare, complete, sweet, nittie youth,
Marston Satires (Nares).]
NITTY-NATTER, v. w.Yks.= To be always com-
plaining. See Nitter. Hence Nitty-nattering, ppl. adj.
complaming.
' A nitty-nattering body ' is a person always complaining,
reason or no reason ; ' Whining t'day in an' t'day out.'
NITUMS, arfi/. Wil. At night. (W.C.P.)
NIT-UP, NIV, NIV(E, see Net(t up, Nib, sb>, Neive.
NIVEL, V. Glo. Oxf [ni-vl.] To sneer ; to turn up
the nose in disdain ; to make a face as children do.
Glo.i A boy asked the meaning of ' disdain,' when Goliath dis-
dained David, answered ' He nivelled at un.' Oxf. N. If Q. (1894)
8th S. V. 248.
[Thenne a-waked Wratthe with to white eyen, With a
nyuylynge nose nyppyng hus lyppes, P. Plowman (c.) vii.
104. Fr. (Norm, dial.) n^er, 'flairer avec bruit, en parlant
d'un chien ' (Moisy).]
NIVELL, NIVER, see Nevel, Never.
NIVLOCK, sb. Bnff. Abd. (Jam.) A bit of wood
around which the end of a hair-tether is fastened for
holding by. See Knewel.
NIVVIL,NIVVI.NIVVI.NAK-KAK,seeNevel,Neiveie-
nick-nack.
NIVVLE, sb. Suf. [ni-vl.] The nipple of a woman's
breast. e.Suf. (F.H.)
NIX, int. Lan. I.Ma. Chs. Slang. Also written nicks
Lan. [niks.] 1. An exclamation of warning : Cave !
Look out !
Lan. Heard in Manchester Grammar School, Farmer Public
School Wd-bk. (1900). I.Ma. You are to shout Nix if you see
any one (S.M.) ; Nix is nix, wherever you'll be. Brown Witch
(1889) 28. Chs.3 A Macclesfield term used when boys are in
mischief, and either a policeman or farmer suddenly appears.
The word is a signal for Sauve qui peut:
2. Phr. to keep nix, to keep guard, to be on the look out.
Lan. (F.K.) LMa. Bill will keep nix on the road, and I'll keep
nix on the house (S.M.) ; And keepin' nix, and list'nin for each
other's picks. Brown Doctor (1887) 16. Slang. When an ap-
prentice enters a shop he will in all probability be taught
to keep nix before he is told the names of the tools, ' Engineer'
Habits of Working Classes, 84.
NIXIN, sb. Rxb. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A game ; see below.
A play in which cakes of gingerbread being placed on bits of
wood, he who gives a certain sum to the owner of one of the
cakes, has a right to throw at a given distance, with a rung about
a yard long, and to claim as many cakes as he can displace, or
clean ones in lieu of them.
NIZ(E, NIZZ, see Neese, sb.'
NIZY, sb. Yks. e.An. Ken. Slang. Also written nisy
e. An.^ Ken.^ [nai'zi.] A soft, simple fellow ; a dunce.
n.Yks.*, e.An.i, Ken.i Slang. A soft simple fellow; also a
dim. of Isaac, Lex. Balatronicum (181 1) (s.v. Nickin).
NIZZELIN, ppl. adj. Sc. Niggardly, parsimonious;
spending time upon trifling matters, esp. from avarice.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Per. He's a nizzlin beggar ; he wad grudge to
spend a ha'penny (G.W.).
NIZZER, V. Sc. Also in form nisser (Jam.). To con-
tract ; to become dried or stunted in growth. Cld. (Jam.)
Hence (i) Nizzart, sb. a lean person with a hard, sharp
face. Bnflf.' ; (2) Nizzert or Nizzart, ppl. adj. contracted,
dried up. Cld. (Jam.) ; (3) Nizzertit, adj. stunted in
growth. Lnk. (ib.)
NIZZEY, see Neese, sb.^
NIZZIN, vbl. sb. Sc. Also written nizzan Bnff.*
[ni'zin, -an.] A drubbing ; exposure to severe weather.
BnSf.i He got a gey nizzan comin' our the hill. Abd. The wife
got jist a richt nizzin for ance i' the wye o' ill jaw, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) xv.
NIZZLE, V. n.Cy. Yks. Also written nizzel w.Yks.' ;
and in forms neezle n.Cy. w.Yks. ; nezzle w.Yks. [ni'zl.]
To be slightly intoxicated, to be the worse for liquor ;
to be unsteady ; gen. in pp.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). n.Yks." ne.Yks.' Ah seed him nizzled
wi drink. They gan nizzlin aboot. w.Yks. (G.H.); Hutton
Tour to Caves (1781); w.Yks.^
NIZZLE, see Nissle.
NIZZLE-TOPPIN, sb. m.Yks.* [ni-zltopin.] An
actively inclined but weak-minded person.
NIZZLY.arfy. n.Yks.* Chs.' » Also written nisly n.Yks.'
[ni'zli.] Showery, inclined to rain, drizzly ; foggy.
NJAAVE, V. Sh.L To chew, gnaw.
Yon's what dy faider is fun, a uncan cat njaavin apon i' da barn
enoo, Sh. News (Mar. 26, 1898).
NJAEPKIN, NJIGGLE, NJIRR, see Napkin, Niggle,
v.\ Gnar(r, v.
NJITTLE, V. Sh.L Also in form nyttl. To pick at,
pluck, pinch. S. & Ork.'
NJOAG, sb. and v. Sh.L Also written niog ; nyoag
S. & Ork.' ; and in form neoag. 1. sb. The nasal sup-
pressed sound made by cattle, the cry of a calf.
Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 164 ; I could hear da njoags o' da kye
whin I cam' frae da waal, Sh. News (Feb. 10, 1900) ; S. & Ork.*
2. V. Of cattle : to low, moan. S. & Ork.' 3. Fig. To
fret, scold, chide. (A.W.G.)
NJUGGLE, see Neugle.
NO, adj., adv., conj. and sb. Var. dial, forms and uses
in Sc. Irel. and Eng. [no, noa, nou, n?, na, ne, nia ; un-
stressed na, na, ni.] I. Dial, forms : (i) Na, (2) Naa, (3)
Naah, (4) Nae, (5) Naha, (6) Naow, (7) Nau, (8) Naw, (9)
Nawe, (10) Nayah, (11) Ne, (12) Nea, (13) Neaa, (14) Neah,
(15) Nee, (16) Neea, (17) Neeah, (18) Ner, (19) Ney, (20)
Neye, (21) Ni, (22) Noa, (23} Noah, (24) Noo, (25) Nooa,
(26) Nor, (27) Nou, (28) Now, (29) Nowe. [For further
examples see II below.]
(i) Sc. Na, nat ane, Riddell Ps. (1857) xiv. 3. Cal.*, s.Sc.
(A.W.), Wxf.i, N.Cy.i, Nhb.i, Dur.i, Cum.2, ne.Yks.i w.Yks. Fur
t'widda eard na moor, Preston Poems, O'c. (1864) 14 ; w.Yks.'
Lan. They kept na road, Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867)
60. Chs.i, Lin.i, Hrf.», e.An.i, Suf.i (2) Cum.* Wm. Naa
cunning fox, Hutton Bran New Work (1785) 1. 21. w.Yks.'
n.Lan. Thaar iz naa spot in tha, Phizackerley Sng. Sol. (i860)
iv. 7. Ess.i (3) n.Yks.2 (4) Sc. Better sma' fish than nae fish,
Ramsay Prov. (1737). Cai.i Abd. A man wi' nae gifts, Alex-
ander Johnny Gibb (1871) vii. Fif. Tennant Papistry (1827) 10.
w.Sc, Cld. (Jam.) Rnf. Young Pictures (1865) 171. Ayr. We
fear nae evil. Burns Tarn o' Shanter (1790) 1. 107. Bwk. Hen-
derson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 16. n.Ir. Lyttle Paddy McQuillan,
NO
[283]
NO
10. Nhb. Nae mair we'll fish the coaly Tyne, Coquetdale Sngs.
(1852) 46. Cum. She nae mair was hersel, Rayson Misc. Poems
(1858) 10. 'Vim. Spec. Dial. (1877) pt. i. 7. n.Yks. Howitt Rur.
Life (1838) I. 31S. Lan. Oi'U hae nae moor loives to anser for,
Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) II. 300. (5) Wm. He'd
naha pertikler objection, Robison Aald Tales (1882) 4. (6) Chs.^
(7) e.Dev. Nau lack o' liquor, Pulman Sng. Sol. (i860) vii. n.
(8) n.Ir. Naw ! not for the wealth av the goold in the mint. Lays
and Leg. (1884) 49. Wm. There's naw cakes. Ward R. Elsmere
(1888) I. ii. n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.', w.Yks.3 Lan. Naw ; aw wont
ni comb, Laycock Billy Armatage, 6. Lin. Naw, nor a meant to
Robins, Tennyson N. Farmer, Old Style (1864) st. 15. e.Dev. He
gid me naw answer, Pulman Sng. Sol. (i860) v. 6. (9) Lan.
Nawe, aw winno swear, Brierley Layrock (1864) ix. (10) Wm.
I sah he'd nayah chance, Blezard Sngs. (1848) 34. (11) Abd.
Ye ken I like ne fash, Beattie Parings (1801) 43, ed. 1873. Slg.
In argument ne papist e'er could ding him, Galloway Poems
(1804) 69. N.Cy.^ Nhb. Ne bettor meyd, Robson Evangeline
(1870) 320. Cum. Hez t'ne broth ? Mary Drayson (1872) 22 ;
Cum.* Used as an assent to a negation : ' We'll nit git hyem
to-night! Ne'; Cum.* w.Yks. (J.W.), Lan. (S.W.) I.Ma.
Johnson Isle-iad, a. Hmp. (H.E.) (12) Cnm.i ; Cum.^ I mead
nea words aboot it, 2 ; Cum.* Wm. Nea answer she hard,
Whitehead Leg. (1859) 7. n.Yks. Nea wunder, Linskill Haven
Hill (1886) xii. w.Yks. She answered ' Ne-a,' Howitt Rur. Life
(1838) I. 289. (13) Cum.i, n.Lan.1 (14) Cum.i* (15) Cum.l
(16) Lakel.** Wm. Ast hae neea luck we nowt, Spec. Dial.
(1885) pt. iii. 3. n.Yks.' »*, ne.Yks.i w.Yks. Lucas Stud. Nidder-
rfo/e(c. 1882) 268. (17) n.Yks.2 ne.Yks. In answer to a negative
question, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. 335. e.Yks.' (18)
Chs.' When the next word begins with a vowel. (19) Nhb. Ney
ships at Tosson, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VI. 168.
(20) Nhb. T'ou hos neye grete berth, ib. 198. (21) e.Yks. Ni
help cud he get, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 42; e.Yks.' MS. add.
(T.H.) (22) Nhb. Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 30. n.Ylcs.*
w.Yks. Noa daht, Preston Poems, iSr^c. (1864) 3; w.Yks.i Lan.
He's noa gran'son o' moine. Banks Manch. Man (1876) v.
nw.Der.i, n.Lin.i Glo. Noa, I'll never be well again, Gissing
Vill. Hampden (1890) I. i ; Glo.i Snr. Noa, I thank you, Bickley
Sur. Hills (1890) I. iv. Wil. Noa! I says, Tennant Vill. Notes
(1900) 49. (23) Lan. "An they been sellin' a mill?' 'Noah,'
Hamerton Wenderholme (1869) Ixiv. n.Lin.i (24) Dor.i (25)
n.Yks.*, w.Yks.* (26) Chs.i Nor aw theer [used before a following
vowel]. (27) w.Yks. Nou, not sooa, Bywater Sheffield Dial.
(1839) 3 ; w.Yks.*, Der.i, nw.Der.' (28) w.Yks.' ^ Lan. Now oi
hannot, Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) II. 168 ; Lan.',
m.Lan.*, Chs.^, nw.Der.' (29) Lan. Nowe. It's too hard wark
for me, Clegg Sketches (1895) 169. e.Lan.'
II. Dial. uses. \. adj. a.nd adv. Incomi. (i) No canny,
(2) — chancy, dangerous, unlucky, ' uncanny ' ; (3) —
count, of no account ; (4) — far, near ; (5) — fashion,
badly, ill-contrivedly ; (6) -gait(s, nowhere ; in no wise ;
(7) — gift, stupid ; ' not all there ' ; (8) — holm or home,
the butcher's broom, Ruscus aculeatus ; (9) -knowledge,
ignorance; (10) — matters,(a) nothing to boast of; nothing
of importance ; not very well, poorly ; see Matter, 1 (16) ;
(6) not particularly ; (11) -mere, of persons : supernatural ;
(12) -notch, see below ; (13) -noughts, see below ;
(14) — other, otherwise ; (15) — otherways, nothing but ;
(16) — outs, a bad, unprofitable job ; (17) -pips, a particular
kind of apple which has no pips ; (18) -reason, an in-
sufficient reason ; (19) — road, in no way ; (20) -sided,
foolish; queer; (21) -ways, (a) at no distance ; (6) never;
(22) -when, at no time ; (23) -wise, foolish, thoughtless,
insane ; (24) -wit, a blockhead ; (25) -witted, stupid, ' not
all there.'
(i) Ayr. I thought at times there was something no canny about
him, Galt Ann. Parish (1821) xxii. N.I.' (2) s.Sc. Yon beast's no
chancy to come near, let alane to ride, Wilson Tales (1839) V.
270. (3) Glo. Nearn o' they wimin can beake not no' count,
BucKMAN Darke's Sojourn (1890) vi. Hmp.' (4) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.', nw.Der.i (5) w.Som.* Thick's a purty
thing sure 'nough, why he idn a made no fashion. nw.Dev.' (6)
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. You naegait 'ithin my sight or my cry, or the
hearin o' my ears, Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxvii. n.Cy.
(J.W.) (7) Hrf.2 He's no gift. (8) Sus. (S.P.H.) (9) Sus. Not
willin dat de fellur shud fin' out der no-knowledge, Jackson
Southward Ho (1894) I. 433. (10, a) n,Yks.i 'Has he getten a
vast fra t'au'd lady ? ' ' Neea, neea-matters : nat mich, iv owght ';
n.Yks.*, w.Yks.' n.Lin.' 'How's thy rauther?' 'Thank you,
she's noa matters.' e.An.' The squire is no-matters of a shot.
Nrf. 'How d'you fare?' 'No matters' (W.B.). Suf. I ain't no
matters [I am poorly] (C.G.B. ); Suf.' 'A don't behave to
me no matters. e.Suf. (F.H.) (A) n.Yks.' Neea-matters wise
like. (11) Sc. They had misca'ed him, makin' a no-mere man
o' the craytur, Roy Horseman's IVd. (1895) xxxix. (12) Sus.
Children cut a number of slices from an apple, extending from the
eye to the tail, broader on the outside than on the inner, which
reaches nearly to the core. One piece has a part cut out, making
a notch, this is called Notch ; another is not cut at all ; this is
called No-Notch ; while a third has an incision made in it but
none cut out, this is called Nitch ; the pieces when thus marked
are replaced, and the game consists in one child holding the
apple, and pointing to one of the pieces, and asking another child
which he will have, Nitch, Notch, or No-Notch ; if he guesses
right, he has it and eats it; if wrong the other eats it, Holloway.
(13) e.Yks.' If two boys are walking together and one picks up
some article, he shouts ' neeah-nowts,' and keeps the whole of it.
(14) Sc. (A.W.) Yks. She can't do no other, cause she mun look
respectable, Taylor Miss Miles (1890) ii. w.Yks. Common ( J.W.).
(15I w.Som.' All o' un idn no otherways 'n a zog. (j6)Suf.' (17)
Dev.* (18) Abd. Gang frae hame for sic a naerizzon as that I
Macdonald Warlock (1882) Ixv. (19) w.Yks. (J.W.) _ Lan. For
what theau gi'es 'em t'ate thy hens '11 lay, Bu' feedin' loafers no
road winnot pay, Doherty N. Barlow (1884) 37. Suf. (S.J.)
(20) Lan. She used to think he wurno' quite as breet as he owt
ha' bin. He'd a deealo' no-sided ways about him, Brierley Cast
upon IVorld {1886) 79. (21, a) w.Som.'They don't live no-ways
herefrom. (6) Glo. (W.H.C.), Glo.', n.Glo. (J.D.R.) (22) Dor.i
(23) Cai.' Ags. That's like a no-wyss body (Jam.). (24) n.Yks.*
(25) They're o' t'neeawitted soort, ili.
2. Phr. (i) if no more, if not more ; (2) no door, a failure ;
see below ; (3) — faith or fay, no, by my faith ; (4) —fear,
without question ; (5) — fit to draw a herring off the brander,
in the last stage of weakness ; (6) —for nothing, not dis-
posed to buy anything ; (7) — good of or on, good for
nothing ; of no use or value ; (8) —great cracks, (9) —
great matters, (10) — great things, nothing to boast of; (11)
— makkins, no matter ; (12) — Marrey, no, by St. Mary;
(13) — more than, except that ; (14) — one way, not in any
way ; (15) — one wheres, nowhere at all ; (16) — ought or
have no ought, ought not ; (17) — place or place else, nowhere;
(18) — quarterings, no halfings, no pick-a-daniels, phr. used
by boys when they find anything; (19) — sense, (a) no
good ; poor ; unwell ; (6) not properly ; (c) nothing to
signify; (20) — sense else, of no use; no good unless;
always placed at the end of the sentence ; (21) — sense of
a job, not a good job ; (22) — two ways about, or in, a thing,
no doubt about a thing ; only one method of accomplishing
anything ; (23) to have no principle, not to pay one's debts ;
(24) to have no who with one, to be never satisfied ; (25) to
wish no thanky a hang'd, to regret the refusal of a good
offer ; (26) it will no be telling one, one will ' catch it,' there
is no saying what will be done to one.
( i) Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' There'll be a scoore on 'em if no
mair. w.Yks.(J.W.) (2)Chs.'Theexpressionhasitsorigininacustom
formerly very prevalent at Shrovetide, of shooting for tea kettles
with bullets out of a common gun at a door for a target. If the
shooter missed the door altogether, the bystanders shouted ' Noo
dur.' (3) Dev. ' Be y Q agvvaine tu tha zarvints' ball tu Powderham,
Jane?' 'No fay,' Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). (4) w.Som.'^Used
constantly, but with no kind of connection with the subject. ' 'Twas
a rare shear o' grass, no fear ! and I hope we shall zee the fuller
o' un next year.' (5) N.L' (6) Sc. I'm no' for naething the day ;
awa' ye go ! Swan Gates of Eden (1895) i. (7) Glo.' Oxf.' Tha's
no good an t'l. Brks.' Drew them things I hev put in the bucket
to the pegs, thaay beant no good on. (8) Cum.'; Cum.* Fwok
jibes aboot Whillimoor cheese, An' mebby it's nea girt cracks,
Dickinson Lit. Remains (i888) 193. Wm. (B.K.) (9) e.An.' ■ Is
the parson a clever churchman ? ' ' No great matters.' (10) Cum.'*
Thou's neah girt things, min. Wm. (B.K.) w.Cor. She's no
ge'at things of a character {M.A.C.). (11) n.Yks. Neea-makkins !
we's see wheea's gowk ! Atkinson ios^ (1870) xxvi; n.Yks.2 (12)
n.Yks.2, w.Yks. (J.W.) (13) Brks.' I likes un vurry well no
nioor'n I vinds un a bit akkerd at times. ( 14) Sus. I've tried all I
know and I can't make her cross no oneway, EgertonF/A. and Ways
(1884) 76. (15) Sus.' She couldn't find that young nipper no-one-
wheres (16) Ken.' The doctor said I no ought to get out Sur.'
You had no-ought. Sus.' (17) Dev. N. & Q. (i88o) 6th S. i.
0 0 2
NO
[284]
NOB
340. e.Dev. Ai did leuke, but ai no place ked vaine en, Pulman
5k^. So/, (i860) iii. 2. (i8)Cor.i (19, a) nw.Der.i Nhp.iApoor
no-sense thing ; Nhp.^ I don't feel no sense to-day. Hnt. (T.P.F.),
Ess.i, w.Cy. (Hall.) (6) Sus, The walking is dreadful, you can't
get there, no sense (S.P.H.). (c) Ken.i It don't rain; leastways,
not no sense. (2o)Hinp.We must wait while all roots be up afore
we manures garden, it won't be no sense else (W.M.E.F.). (21)
nw.Der.i, Nhp.*2 Bdf. Batchelor ^«a/. Eng. Lang, (1809) 139.
(22) Sh.I. Der no twa wyes aboot hit, 'at da fude o' every laand is da
best an' maist sQitable for da folk 'ats born an' brought up intil it,
Sh. News {Mar. 12, 1898). n.Yks.'Thoo'zgittent'sackhardeneeaf,
Jim,' sed Ben. ' Ther 'z neea tweea ways aboot that,' Tweddell
Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 85, ed. 1892. w.Yks. (J.W.) w.Wor.*
Commonly used to end an argument. Hrf.^ w.Som.i Zo I zess.
Jinny, s'l, there idn no two ways in it, otherways you must vind
the money, or you must g'in and zee Mr. Bond yerzul, and zay you
be very zorry. (23) Ken. ' I tell 'e you no ought to pay, old Simon
right to pay ; but he aint no principle, not nohow.' Sometimes a
person's name might be mentioned and the laconic remark ' no
principle ' thereby extracted from a bystander (W. F.S.); Ken.'
(24) Der."- 'Who' is the sound made to stop a horse, and 'tis as much
as to say, he never bids himself stop. (25) w.Som.' Aay bee t-oa"l
vur tu goo' un wee-sh noa dhang'kee u-ang'd [I am too old to go
and wish ' no thanky' hung]. Qev. Reports Pyovinc.{^.8tS^')2^. (26)
Ayr. If ye dare to look into the smiddy as ye pass, it'll no' be
tellin' you, Johnston Kihnallie (1891) I. 42.
3. Used with another negative : any ; in gen. dial, use in
Eng.
Ntib. Nivver cum ne mair, Chatt Poems (1866) 54. e.Yks.
(T.H.) w.Yks. CuDWORTH Dial. Sketches (1884) 15. Lan. Naw ;
we never see'n no boggarts neaw, Waugh Birthplace Tim Bobbin
(1858) ii. Not. 1 Not-no-more. Lei."- Un. An' weant nivir git naw
'igher, Tennyson N. Farmer, New Style (1870) St. 7. War.^ I
wouldn't take no price for him. w.Wor. A oona sloice it not no
more, S. Beauchamp N. Hamilton (1875) III. 90. GIo. Not no
better at all, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) xii. Sus. She han't
got no brestes, Lower Sng. Sol. (i860) viii. 8. Cor. Sng. Sol.
(1859) viii. 8.
4. adv. Not.
Sc. Courtesy is cumbersome to them that ken it no, Ramsay
Prov. (1737). ne.Sc. By-and-by he was 'nae himsel' at a', at a','
GoROONNorthward Ho, 81. Abii,MACDonAi.T> R.Falconer(i86S) 81.
Frf. Do you no see? Barrie Tommy {i8g6) ii. Per. Had it no
been for yir health, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) igo. w.Sc.
Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 131. s.Sc. Did I no think!
Wilson Tales (1836) III. 233. Ayr. No without both sense and
capacity, Galt Provost (1822) xix. Lnk. Watt Poems (1827) 93.
Lth. It's unco sair when ye tyne your heart, Anither no to find,
Ballantine Poems (1856) 53. Bwk. Henderson Pop. Rhymes
(1856) 15. Slk. Hogg Tales (1838) 12, ed. 1866. Gall. Me no
here to listen, Crockett Raiders (1894) ii. N.I.^ I'll no do it.
Nhb. We'se no repine, Coqueidale Sngs. (1852) 100. w.Yks. I'll
nae gie it thee, Howitt Rur. Life (1838) I. 312. Lan. It'll noa
freeze mich, Brierley Layrock (1864I iv. Chs.' Der.^ Yo' mun
no' goaa. Shr.* I carna w'ether yo' dun it or no. Hrf.' Suf.'
Wuthar 'a wool 'a na. Hmp. He ne came (H.E. ). w.Som.^ Ax
Bob whe'er he's comin' or no.
Hence (i) Na ca deed /, phr. I will not ; (2) No-see-ems,
sb. pi. midges ; (3) no that, phr. not so very.
(i) S. & Ork.i (2) Sur. The nosee-'ems, or midges, annoyed
me. Cent. Mag. (Mar. 1884) 780. (3) Sc. Nae wonder she is no
that weel settled, Scott St. Ronan (1824) xv. e.Sc. I heard it
no that lang afteryeleft, SETOUNi?. Urqiihart (1896) xi. Abd. It's
no that mony hours sin' I fand it oot, Macdonald D. Elginbrod
(1863) I. 47-
5. Used elliptically for ' would one not,' ' did one not,' &c.
Abd. He wud be sair affeckit no? — he liket the laddikie,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 199.
6. conj. Neither ; also in phr. ne . . . ne, neither . . . nor.
Sc. To dance wi' thee ne dare I, ne may, Jamieson Pop. Ballads
(1806) I. 220. I.Ma A minstrel ne infirm nor old, Johnson
Isle-iad, 2.
7. sb. In phr. to give the na, to grant the first refusal. Cf.
nay.
e.An.i When you want to sell that horse I wish you would give
me the na of him.
N-O, w. Hmp. To care. The same word as Ho, w. (q.v.)
s.Hmp. I didn't know, and I didn't no anything about what you
was doing, Verney L. Lisle in Comh. Mag. (1869) XIX. 119.
NOABRY, NOADER, see Nobry, Nowther, adj.
NOAG, V. and sb. Lan. Also in form nogre. [nog,
no3g.] 1. V. To hit the knuckles by ' flirting' a marble
against them. See Knog, v. (q.v.)
The last player, left in the game of 'noag,' is 'nogued''by all
the others, i.e. he holds his knuckles on the ground and each boy
comes within a few inches and flirts his own tawvsnth all the force
he can against the boy's knuckles two, three, or four times, as may
be agreed upon by the boys when they begin to play (S.Vy.) ; Lan.'
2. sb. A game at marbles ; see below ; also in camp.
Noag-hole.
A game of marbles played by two or more boys, who first
make a small hole in the ground, and then by ' flirting ' at a distance
of about three feet each boy tries to put his own taw into the hole
and to keep the others out of it. They toss or ballot in some form
for place, and then play in turns ; if one boy in pla3ang hits the taw
of another, he goes on again continuously trying to drive all the
other taws away from the hole, then plays for the hole ; if he
succeeds in getting into it he is out ; and so on till all the boys are
out except the last (S.W.) ; (C.J.B.) ; Lan.i
NOAGUR, see Nauger.
NOAH, sb} Sc. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Not. Lin. Nhp.
Rdn. Gmg. Hnt. e.An. Sus. Dor. Som. [no, noa.] In
comb, (i) Noah's ark, (a) streaks ofthin white cloud, some-
what in the shape of a boat ; cf. ark, sb.^ ; (b) the Great
Bear, Ursa Major \ (c) the monkshood, Aconitum Napellus;
(2) — flood stuff, black deposit containing trees, bones,
&c., found below clay in a marsh ; (3) — wood, hgnite.
(i, a) Sc. If it extends from south to north, it is viewed as an
indication of good weather ; if from east to west, a squall of wind
or rain is certainly looked for (Jam.). Slk. Stephens Farm Bk.
(ed. 1849) II. 21. Dmf. The Robin Redbreast has carolled from
the house-tops, and Noah's Ark been seen in the heavens, Dmf.
Courier in Edb. Evening Courier (Sept. 18, 1817') (Jam.). Gall.
When the sky is clear and weather frosty, curious light grey clouds
in the shape of ribs will oft arise from a point in the horizon, and
stretch over the sky to its opposite on the other side ; these cloudy
ribs narrow in bulk towards the horizon, and are at the widest
right over our heads. . . The ark is a great thaw sign, and brings
commonly with it enough of water. It is from its appearing some-
what in the form of a boat, and from its being attended by a deluge,
that it has been termed the ark, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 21,
ed. 1876. Cum. A Noah's ark north and south denotes rain. A
Noah's ark east and west denotes fine weather. Saying (E.W.P.) ;
Cum.* Wm. In weather lore it is held that if the Ark remains
three days the wind will pass to one of the quarters to which the
Ark points. South for rain ; North for cold ; East for all that is
ill ; and West to everybody's gain (B.K.). e.Yks.', ne.Lan.i, Not.
(L.C.M.) n.Lin.'- If the end point to the sun, it is a sign of rain ;
if contrary to the sun, of fine weather ; if across the wind it is also
a sign of rain or wind. Nhp. By certain signs to judge the weather
right. As oft from ' Noah's Ark ' great floods descend, Clare
Village Minst. (1821) II. 27; Nhp.i=, Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.i Nrf.
There is a skyey appearance called ' Noah's Ark ' (i.e. two small
clouds facing each other and resembling two crescents), e.An. N.
&» Q. (1866) II. 156. Suf.i, e.Snf. (F.H.), Sus. (C.F.R.) (A)
Rdn. N. & Q. (1878) X. 105. (c) Gmg. (B. & H.) (a) Som.
(W.F.R.) (3) Dor. Found in Worbarrow Cliflf, sometimes used as
fuel by the fishermen who pick it up when it rolls on to the beach.
' That's not coal, it's Noah's wood : I might have carried home a
knitch of it if I would' (C.W.).
NOAH, sb.' ? Obs. e.An.i |^Not known to our corre-
spondents.] The foot or swing plough.
NOAL, V. Sh.I. [n51.] To nail.
She was noalin' down Sholma's stalk wi' a stane, Sh. News
(Sept. 3, 1898).
NOAN, V. Lei.i [non.] To toll, as a bell.
The bell noans, the've doon choimin'.
NOAN, NOANCE, NOANES, NOANS(E, NOANT,
NOAP, see None, Norn, sb., Nonce, Naunt, sb.^, Naup.
NOARDRIN, ac^'. Sh.I. Northern.
An dan da voice o' wir noardrin sea is sad, an' is hit ony
winder? Clark N. Gleams (1898) 39.
NO A-SHIP, NOAST, NO ATHER, see Noe-ship, Noust,
Nowther, adj.
" NOB, sb.^ and v.'^ In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc.
and Eng. Also in forms nub w.Yks. I.Ma. Not. War.
Shr.^ Suf ; nubb Der.'^ [nob.] 1. sb. A bump; a lump,
esp. a lump of coal. The same word as Knob.
Nhb. Cheps can tell what's i' yor heed Wi' keejiin at the nobs
NOB
[285]
NOBBUT
without, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 55. w.Yks. Dyer Dial.
(1891) 60. I. Ma. Her hair ... It was black as nubs, Brown Yams
(1881) 77, ed. 1889. War.3 Shr.^ A nub of the loaf.
Hence Nub-footed, adj. clilb-footed. s.Not. (J.P.K.)
2. A rounded hill.
Ayr. We lads that live up in the nobs . . . We're handy at neat
little jobs Such as chopping and hewing and grubbing, Ainslie
Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 343. Der. I seen thee comin' ower th'
nob a while back, Good Wds. (1881) 845.
3. A slang word for the ' head.' See Knob, 4.
Stf.', Der.2, nw.Der.i n.Lln.i I'll crack thee nob for thee. Nhp.',
War.* Lon. There he would engage at a ' bob a nob,' Mayhew
Land. Labour (1851) I. 313. Oxf. Rap on the nob ! Blackmore
Cripps (1876) Iv. Dev. MS. Prov.
4. Cotnp. Nob-ache, a headache. e.Suf. (F.H.) 5. A
slang word for the ' nose.' See Knob, 9.
GeiU. Aft his nob was near the gravel, Lauderdale Poems
(1796) 34. Cum. Jen' lips curlt roun, tow'rtschin an nob, Ander-
son Ballads (ed. 1840) 98 ; Cum.'* Lan. Give him one on his
nob ! Westall Old Factory, v.
6. The toe. See Knob, 10.
Edb. His huge, heavy shoes, full of nails from nob to heel,
Ballantine Deanhaugh (1869) 276.
7. pi. Brussels sprouts, Brassica oleracea gemmifera.
Suf. (C.T.), s.Dev. (G.E.D.) 8. pi. Tanners' bark after
it has been used. Der.' Cf. knobble, 5. 9. v. To strike,
esp. to strike the head.
n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.', Lan.^ s.Lan. For kickin' or nobin',
Bamford Rhymes (1864) 182.
10. To form buds.
Suf. Them crokers are a nubbin for the bloomth (C.T.).
NOB, s6.2 n.Lin.' Hrf.' [nob.] A young colt. Cf.
nobby, sb?
NOB, sh? and v? Sc. [nob.l 1. sb. A ' blackleg' ;
an interloper in a trade. See Nob-stick.
Ayr. They ha'e a strong society, the clergy, and hate nobs such
as me. Hunter Studies (1870) 136. Lnk. Nae mercy for the nobs,
the blackleg crew, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 174.
2. V. Phr. to nob on a person, to interfere with his trade ;
to take his place.
Lnk. Gor first-class ban's maun seek some ither job, Sin' fiends in
human shape begin tae nob On us, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 174.
NOB, V? n.Lin.^ [nob.] To drink with a companion ;
to hob-nob.
NOB, see Knob.
NOBBER, sb. Cor. A collector of money, &c.
w.Cor. The band nobber came back with three coins in his hand,
Comishman (Dec. 29, 1900).
NOBBERD, see Nobbut.
NOB-BERRY, sb. Sc. Also in forms nobe-, nub- (Jam.).
The cloud-berry, Rubus Chamaemorus.
Sc. (J.H.B.), Slk. (Jam.) Dmf. Upon the top of this hill, grows
a small berry, commonly called the Nub Berry, Statist. Ace. XIII.
i243 {ib.).
NOBBIN, sb. n.Yks.* [no-bin.] The hair on the
crown of the head.
He teeak her biv t'nobbin an' pulled her backkards waay ower.
NOBBINS, sb. pi. Yks. [no'binz.] Fleshy portions
of dried salt fish, small enough to be sold by measure.
n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^ Codnobbins are the fleshy bits cut from the
neck of the cod-fish when the head is removed in preparing the
body for salting. The skate and the coalfish yield their proportion
of nobbins, and perhaps the ling also.
NOBBLE, sb. and v} n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Der. Not. Lm.
Nhp. War. Shr. Suf. Also written knobble Not. ; nobill
w Yks. ; noble Der. Shr.^ ; and in form nubble Der.^
nw.Der.' War.2 [no-bl, nu-bl.] 1- sb. A lump of any-
thing ; a small piece of coal. The same word as Knobble
Der'.2, nw.Der.i Nhp.i Bring a few little nobbles (s.v. Nobby).
War. 2
2. The round head of a walking-Stick. _
■w.Yks. Heng it if ah hevn't goan an' smash'd t nobiU off mi
stick end, yfemoM. (1888) 223, col. 13.
3. V. To Strike, esp. on the head ; to pelt with stones, &c.
Nhb A common schoolboy's term (R.O.H.). e.Yks.', nw.Der.'
Not. He knobbled me (J.H.B.). n.Lin.' To hit on the head with
a club or thick stick. Shr.*
Hence Nobbier, si. (i) a church beadle; see below; (2)
anything of superior size or quality.
(i) Der. The church beadle who walks among the pews, and
with a long wand nops upon the head of those whom he sees
disposed to be drowsy, or otherwise inattentive to the service,
Grose (1790) 7lfS.arfrf.(C.) Shr.^ (2) e. Yks. Nicholson F/i-S/i.
(1889) 31.
4. To rub. n.Cy. (Hall.)
NOBBLE, t;.2 Lakel. Yks. Lan. War. Brks. Som. and
Aus. Also in form nabble Lakel."* [no'bl.] To steal ;
to get hold of by stealth ; to acquire possession of; to seize
suddenly ; to cheat.
Lakel.2 Cum. Sir James nobbled the sheriff, who rejected a
large number of votes, Ferguson i/is^ Cm»«. (1890) xii. e.Yks.^
w.Yks. Ah thowt ah'd tak a wauk an nobble a few specimans for
me-sen, Tom Treddlehoyle Ba/ras/a ^««. (1892) 32; w.Yks. 3,
e.Lan.i War.^ Blest if it [the duck] didn't nobble the old woman's
tea, B'ham Dy. Mail (Aug. 29, 1896). Brks.' Jus' as a nobbled a
apple out o' my jackut pockut I nobbled he. w.Som.^ Zomebody
've a nobbled the barrow again ; drat their heads, I did'n care nif
they'd on'y bring un back again. [Aus. We're bound to be nobbled
some day. Why not cut it now, and stick to the square thing !
Boldrewood Robbery (1888) xi.]
NOBBLE, v.^ Fern, [no'bl.] To peel turnips or
potatoes ; to take the bark off a piece of stick.
s.Pem. Maary is in the pantry, nobbling turnops (W.M M.).
NOBBLE, v.* Won [no-bl.] To hobble about ; to
' rub along.'
I've been ill this week or more, but I haven't laid by ; I've kept
nobbling on (H. K.).
NOBBLE, see Knobble.
NOBBLETY, adj. Shr.' [no-blti.] Big, clumsy (as
of the head of a walking-stick).
NOBBLING, sb. Yks. Nhp. War. Glo. Wil. Also
written nobblin w.Yks. ; and in forms nubblin Glo.' Wil. ;
nubbling War.= 3 [no-blin, nB'blin.] LA lump of any-
thing, esp. a small round piece of coal ; gen. in pi. See
Knoblings.
Nhp.' When a fire is getting low, it is very commonly said,
'Bring. . . a few nobblings' (s.v. Nobby). War.^s, Glo.', Wil.
(G.E.D.)
2. pi. Pieces of iron broken off by a hammer.
w.Yks. A place where the pieces of iron beaten out by the
hammers we have just left (which pieces are technically styled
' nobblins') are re-heated and re-hammered, and three or four of
them welded into one huge block, Phases Bradford Life, 93.
NOBBLY, adj. Yks. Der. e.An. Wil. Dev. Also in
forms nubbly w.Yks.^ Der.'^ nw.Der.' e.An.'^ ; nubly Dev.
[no-bli, nu-bli, nB'bli.] 1. Full of lumps ; of ground :
rough, uneven, stony. See Knobbly.
w.Yks.2, e.Suf. (F.H.) Wil. It [the ground] was too nobbly—
they [the seeds] coulden' grow long, 'cos the earth warn't deep
'nuff, SwiNSTEAD Parish on Wheels (1897) 78.
2. In small pieces ; small. Dev. Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
3. Of pebbles, &c. : round. nw.Der.' 4. Of bread :
crusty. Der."^ A nice nobbly loaf. nw.Der.', e.An.2,e.Snf. (F.H.)
NOBBRY, see Nobry.
NOBBUT, adv., conj, prep, and sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur.
Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Not. Lin. Lei. War. Glo.
Bdf Hnt. e.An. Hmp. ? Dev. Also written nobbat Wm. ;
nobbet Cum.' Wm. ; nobbit Nhb.' ; and in forms na-but
Sc. (Jam.) Nhb. ; nebber nw.Der.' ; nebbut Hnt. ; nepper
nw.Der.'; nobberd n.Lin.^; nobbud w.Yks.'^ e.Lan.';
nobbur Chs.'; nobt Lan.; nobut Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
Cum.3 Wm. w.Yks.s* n.Lan.' Der.^ nw.Der.' Not.' n.Lin.'
sw.Lin.' Lei.' War.^ ; nubbut s.Not. [no-bat, no-bad.]
1. adv. Only ; nothing but ; lit. not but.
Sc. (Jam.) ; {jb. Suppl.) Don. Och, nobbut ax me what the norra
isn't the matther, Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 65. N.Cy."-
Nobbut let me go. Nhb. A' that's na' but nonsense, Jones Nhb.
(1871)123; Nhb.' Thor wis nobbut him an' me there. Dut.Gibson
Vp-Weardale Gl. (1870); Dur.i Lakel.= It's nobbut me. Cum.
Thou's nobbet leyke mony, Rayson Poems (1839) 56; Cum.i
Wm. If yal nobbat whist a lile, Gooardy Jenkins ; 'Twas nobbet
last neet, Blezard Sngs. (1848) 33 ; 'Twas no'but a lile I'd geean
fra' them, Richardson Sng. Sol. (1859) iii. 4. n.Yks.i^a*
ne.Yks.' They're nobbut just cum'd. e.Yks. Nobbut bi dhribs an
dhrabs, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 93 ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks.'
NOBBY
[286]
NOD
I nobbud wish to shew'th girt folly ; w.Yks.^ I've nobbut one ;
w.Yks.3''5 Lan. Nobt wait a bit, Brierley Layrock (1864) iv;
Lan.i, n.Lan.i, eXan.', m.Lan.', Chs.i23, s.Chs.i Der. Nobbut a
small koind 0' plaaee, Hall //a^trsa^e (1896) iii ; Der.% nw.Der.i,
Not.' s.Not. She's nubbut a child (J.P.K.). Lin. It's nobbut
but a gosling blast, Brown Lit. Laur. (1890) 56. n.Lin.' He's
nobberd haaf rocked, poor chap. sw.Lin.' I'm no-but among
the middlings. Glo.' There's nobbut a shattering of apples on
them trees. Bdf. ' I niver did,' he said, ' nobbut to Eliza,' Ward
Bessie Costrell {iBg5) gs,. Hnt. It's nebbut me (T.P.F.). e.An.'
Mr. Smith is a good master, nobbut he is too strict. Hmp.'
? Dev. It's nobbut Wil Kenyon, Dalzell 'Anner in Cassell's Mag.
(Apr. 1895) 332.
2. Phr. as near as nobbut, as near as possible. n.Yks.''
3. conj. Unless. e.Yks.' Ah weeant gan nobbut thoo dis an all.
4. If only.
n.Yks.' He'll come, nobbut he can. n.Lln.' He said he'd cum
nobud it kep fair.
6. prep. Except.
Wm. Thar was nahabody left nobbut Lord Robison en me,
Kendal C. News (Sept. 22, 1888). w.Yks. Ne'er saw nowt nobbut
ice, Aim. (1881) 25. Lan. Aw've nowt to leov nobbut mi cloas,
Wood Hum. Sketches, 5. Lei.' Theer weean't a sool i' th' aouse,
nobbut the doog. War.^
6. sb. In phr. nobbut else, nothing else.
Lan. If tha's nobbut else to tawk abeawt, Widder Bagshaw^s Trip
(c. i86o) 16.
NOBBY, sb} and adj} Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Nhp. [no-bi.]
1. sb. A lump of anything ; a small round piece of coal.
Nhp.i Cf. nob, sb} 2. The head.
Nhb. Clutcht the side locks on Tom's nobby, Chater Tyneside
Aim. (1869) 8.
3. The nose, esp. of children. Cf. knobby, 4.
Lakel.2 Does it's laal nobby kittle ? Cum.'*
4. A little person, whether boy or man.
n.Yks. Nobby went wi' t'cart (LW.).
5. The game of hockey. w.Yks. (S.P.U.) 6. adj.
Having ' nobs,' rounded. See Knobby, 1.
w.Yks. All aboot t'green nobby hills, Blackah Poems (1867) 25.
NOBBY, s6.* Dev. Cor. Also written knobby nw.Dev.'
[no'bi.] A small cake or bun ; also in comp. Nobby-cake.
nw.Dev.' Cor. Whilst you were away the nobbies [buns] came
in without figs [raisins]. . . I ate four nobbies and got but one fig,
Baring-Gould Gaverocks (1887) xxv.
NOBBY, sb.^ Lin. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf Glo. Oxf e.An.
Dev. [no'bi.] 1. A pet name for a young colt ; gen. used
as a call-word. Cf. nob, sb."-
n.Lin.' (s.v. Nob), War.*, s.Wor.' Shr.' A sucking foal. Glo.',
e.An.' nw.Dev.' There's a purty little nobby.
2. Comp. (i) Nobby-colt, a pet name for a young colt ;
(2) -horse, a child's name for a horse.
(i) se.Wor.', Hrf.' Glo. Gl. (1851). Oxf.'il/S. add. (2) Oxf.'
MS. add.
HOBBY ,sb.* I. Ma. [no'bi.] Thenameofthesmallestofthe
three classes of fishing-boats in the island, the names of
the other two classes being 'luggers' and 'nickies.' (S.M.)
NOBBY, adp and sb.^ Sc. Yks. Lin. e.An. [no'bi.]
1. adj. Handy, clever.
n.Yks.*, w.Yks. (J.W.) Lin. He's a nobby fellow, I'll a-warrant
(J.C.W.).
2. sb. A rich man ; a ' swell ' ; a ' nob.'
Lth. Gin ye a hearty lass wad win Dinna coort her like a nobby,
M'Neill Pteston (c. 1895) 93.
3. A fool. e.An. (Hall.), e.An.'
NOBEBERRY, NOBEL, NOBERRY, NOBILL, see
Nob-berry, Nable, Nobry, Nobble, sb.
NOBLE, 56.' ? Obs. Sc. The armed bullhead, Aspido-
phorus Europaeus. Edb. Neil Fishes (1810) 9 (Jam.).
NOBLE, adj. and sb.'^ Nhp. Pem. Som. Cor. Also in
form nawble Cor. 1. adj. Big, fine. Also used iron.
Pem. Them's noble chickens (E.D.). Cor. Bout a few old taties
and turmuts. They are a nawble nack too, Thomas Randigal
Rhymes (1895) 7-
2. sb. In phr. to bring the noble to ninepence, to spend
lavishly ; to live extravagantly. Nhp.', w.Som.'
[2. The ' noble ' was a gold coin of the value of 65. 2>d.
One noble in season bestowed theron May save thee a
hundred er winter be gon, Tusser Husb. (1580) 40.]
NOBLE, see Nable, Nobble, sb., Nowl.
NOB-NOL, sb. Yks. [Not ! known to our correspon-
dents.] A rich man ; a ' nob ' ; a ' swell'
w.Yks. If a chap at's rich or belongs to onny ov these gurt
nobnols, Dewsbre Olm. (1865"! 2.
NOBRY, sb. Lan. Chs. Oxf. Som. Also written
noabry e.Lan.'; noberry Oxf.'; nobery w.Som.'; and
in forms nobbry Lan. ; noobry s.Chs.' ; nubry Lan.
[no'bari, no'bri.] A dial, form of ' nobody.'
Lan. Nubry seems to see 'em neaw-a-days, Bowker Tales (1882)
50 ; Aw dunnot owe a farthin for neawt to nobbry, Widder Bag-
show's Trip (c. i860) 7 ; Lan.', e.Lan.', m.Lan.' s.Chs.' Noobry '11
give a poor mon a meal's-meat (s.v. Meals-meat). Oxf.' Uuy
iievuur sez nuthn tii noa'buuri. w.Som.' I don't care vor nobery
[noa'buuree], nor nobery don't care vor me.
NOBSON, sb. Obs. n.Cy. Yks. A blow. n.Cy.
(Hall.), w.Yks.'
NOB-STICK, s6. Lan. [no-b-stik.] A ' blackleg '; a
rascal. The same word as Knob-stick, 2 (q.v.).
s.Lan. As great a nobstick as ever lived, Bamford Walks
(1844) 192.
NOBT, NOCHIL, NOCHT, NOCHTIE, see Nobbut,
Notchel, sb}. Nought, Naughty.
NOCK, sb} Cai.' [nok.] The corner or extremity of
a sailyard, the point of attachment of the weather or lee
earing.
[LG. nokk, ' das Nock, das ausserste Ende, die Spitze
eines Dings ; im Schiffswesen das ausserste Ende der
Rahen, Segelstangen ' (Berghaus) ; Dan. nok, a yard-arm
(Larsen).]
NOCK, s6.2 Sc. Also written nok Rnf. [nok.] A
small metal hook on a distaff.
s.Sc. Ane lint quheill, half ane stane of nockis, rokis, spindillis,
Scotsman (Oct. 23, igoo). Rnf. Ane spindill wantand ane nok,
Harp (1819) loi. Lnk. Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) GL, ed. 1733.
[NFris. noke, ' die kl. Haken oder Widerhaken an dem
Flick bei einem Spinnrade ' (Outzen) ; ON. hnokki, the
small metal hooks holding the thread in a distaff (Vig-
fusson).]
NOCK, i;.' Yks. Sus. [nok.] To notch; to keep
count by cutting notches on a stick.
n.Yks.* Sus. A penny, Sir, and twopence if he don't nock it,
Egerton Flk. and Ways (1884) 133.
[Sw. dial, nokk, an incision or cut in timber (Rietz).]
NOCK, v? Bnff.' [nok.] To exhaust ; to tire out.
He fairly nockit himsel wee the first day's cuttan.
NOCK, NOCKER, see Knock, sb}, v., Naak, Knocker.
NOCKET, s6. Sc. Nhb. Also written knocket Nhb.';
knockit, nockit, nokket Sc. (Jam.) ; and in forms nacket,
noggit Sc; ocket Nhb.' [no'kit.] 1. A slight repast taken
between breakfast and dinner ; a midday meal or lunch.
Sc. Mackay (s.v. Nugget) ; The young gentleman's nacket
looked good, Scott PiVa^c (1821) xi. s.Sc. (Jam.) Bwk. A'. &^Q.-
(1870) 4th S. vi. 516. Rxb. Wi' hamely cottage fare regal'd to be
At nocket-time, A. Scott Poems (1811) 160 (Jam.). Dmf. Apiece
of bread, eaten at noon as a luncheon (Jam.). Gall. Up the fell
his son was climing, Wi' the nocket in his han', Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 6, ed. 1876. Kcb. The gazing crowd together ran,
O'er cranes o' nackets jumpin, Davidson Seasons (1789) 78 (Jam.).
Nhb.' A farm servant's meal, 9.30 to 10 a.m. Ocket, a chance
meal taken in the field or between spells of work.
2. A small cake or loaf; esp. one baked for children.
Rxb. (Jam.)
NOCKLE,NOCKLT Y-WHOL, NOCKUS, see Knockle,
Knuckle, Knuckley-hole, Knockus.
NOCKY, sb. e.An. [noki.] A foolish person ; a
ninny. e.An.'^, e.Suf. (F.H.)
NOCULATE, V. Hmp. To fertilize ; an improper use
of ' inoculate.'
Them pansies comes that way 'cause of bees noculatin' 'em to-
gether (W.M.E.F.).
NOD, sb} Ken. Sur. Sus. Hmp. Also in form node
Hmp. [nod.] The nape of the neck. Cf. noddle, sb. 2.
Ken. Kennett Par. Attiiq. (1695) ; Ken.', Sur.' Sus. A bit of
hair from the ' nod,' Egerton Flk. and Ways (1884) 113 ; Sus.' It
catched me right across the nod of my neck. Hmp. Holloway
(s.v. Niddick).
NOD
[287]
NODDY
NOD, V. and sb? Sc. n.Cy. Lakel. Yks. Not. Lin. Lei.
Nhp. War. Oxf. [nod.] 1. v. To fall asleep in one's
chair ; to sleep. Cld. (Jam.), n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) Hence
(i) Noddy, (a) adj. sleepy ; {b) sb. a sleepy person ; (2)
Noddy-head, sb., see (i, b) ; (3) Noddy-headed, adj. sleepy ;
dazed with drink.
(i, a) Not.i Lei.' You're gittin quoite noddy. War.^ You are
getting noddy, you had better go to bed. (6) Cld. (Jam.) (a)
Cld. (>A.) (3) Cld. (ib.') War.* Bin drinlcing parsnip wine, have
ye ? No wonder yer summat noddy-headed. Oxf. (Hall.)
2. Obs. To go on one's way cheerfully and carelessly.
Edb. Gif good or ill the warl bodid. He ne'er toolc tent, but on-
ward nodded, Learmont Poems (1791) 57 ; They soom athort the
sa't sea water, An' hameward nod, ib. 141.
3. sb. A nap ; a short sleep, esp. one taken in a sitting
posture.
Gall. Fear o' robbers on the road, Or breaking in my house o'
sod. Did never discompose my nod, Or gie me fret, Lauderdale
Poems (1796) i8. n.Cy. (J.W.) Lakel.* Ah'U hev a nod whel
t'nag baits. w.Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post (IVIay 15, 1897). Nhp.i
4. Phr. (i) to go to nod, to go to bed ; (2) to play nod, to
begin to nod drowsily ; (3) to slip to nod, to go to sleep ;
also^^. to die ; (4) friend nods, sleepiness.
(i) Lin.i (2) Lnk. Sleep their winkers baith let fa'. An' they
play'd nod, Thomson Musings (1881) 118. (3) Bnff. He the bizzy
roun' hath trod. An' quietly wants to slip to Nod ; . . Then he
may to Astraea soar, Or trudge to Pluto's gloomy shore, Taylor
Poems (1787) 36 ; Ten' my flocks the live-lang day. At e'enin
than I slip to Nod, ib. 42. (4) Gall. But while they were at a' this
odds, By lucky chance comes on friend nods, Lauderdale Poems
(1796) 74.
5. A hint. In phr. on the nod, on long credit ; see below.
w.Yks. On t'nod, signifying a purchase at an auction sale, or,
one bought on credit, with a hint, if the latter, that it may be some
time before payment is made. ' He gat a new suit, an Ah dar be
bun he gat it on t'nod ' (B.K.). [The defendant in a case tried in
the Lord Mayor's Court, in which he was sued for £6, advanced to
him while he was playing baccarat at a club, . . deposed that he
lost over £30 by taking the bank, and that then the players agreed
that he might go ' on the nod,' which meant that he might owe
what he lost, Dy. Telegraph (Oct. 23, 1889) 5, col. 5.]
NOD-COCK, sb. Som. A simpleton. (Hall.)
NODDER, V. and sb. Yks. Also in form nother n.Yks.'^
e.Yks.' [no'd3(r, no'Sar.] 1. v. To tremble or shake
from cold, age, or palsy. n.Yks.'*, m.Yks.^ Hence (i)
Noddered, ppl. adj. chilled or trembling with cold ; (2)
Noddering, sb. a palsied shaking of the head ; (3) Noddery,
adj. trembling, snaky.
(I, 2) n.Yks.i^ (3) n.Yks. He is old and noddery (LW.).
2. sb. A trembling or shivering fit ; esp. in phr. to be all
of a nother. e.Yks.' Hoo cawd it is ; Ah's all of a nother.
[1. Cp. Bavar. dial, notteln {nodln), ' sich hin u. her
bewegen ' (Schmeller).]
NODDER, see Nowther, adj.
NODDING, sb. Rut.' [no'din.] Shortbread made
with dripping or butter in a pan. Cf. knodden.
Put in a bit of nodding into the ooven. ,
NODDING ISABEL, phr. Lan. The great quaking
grass, Briza maxima. (B. & H.)
NODDLE, sb. and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written nodle m.Yks.' Cor. ; and in forms
naddleDev.^;nuddlee.An. Suf,' [nodi.] L^*. Thehead;
gen. used humorously, contemptuously, or to children.
Sc. Confound thy stupid Scotch noddle, Sc. Haggis, 52. Elg.
'What's in a name,' an' a noddle, maybe too. Tester Pocm5 (1865)
145. Bnff. Taylor Pocws (1787) 6. . Abd. Stii.1. Cottar's Sunday
(1845) 160. Frf. Lay all your noddles together. Smart Rhymes
(1834) 221. Per. NicoL Poems (1766) 39. Fif. Grey hairs on
your nodle, Douglas Poems (1806) 73. Slg. MuiR Poems (1818)
II. Dmb. Here lies James, a pedantic fool. Whose noddle gaed
wrang when at school, Taylor Poems (1827) 112. Rnf. M"Gilv-
RAY Poems (ed. 1862) 283. Ayr. Baith humour and lair in his
noddle had he, Ballads and Sngs. (1847) IL 74. Lnk. Crammin'
wi lear their wee noddles, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 79. Lth. Bal-
lantinePo«>ks(i856)50. Edb. LiddlePo«>«s (1821) 67. Feb. Af-
fleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 68. SIk. The Tweedies gart their noddles
crack, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 91. Dmf. Shennan Tales (1831)
80. Gall. Forbye the wee drap in his noddle, Nicholson Poet.
IVks. (1814) 194, ed. 1897. Don. Lookin' as an oul' crow that
was turned grey in the noddle with roguery, Macmanus Bend
of Road (1898) 209. n.Cy. (J.W.), Lakel.*, Cum.'* Yks.
Wod's in a men's noddle there's nobry con tell, Townley
Sngs. 4. eiYks. Thoo's soft i' thi noddle, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889)
75. m.Yks.i w.Yks. Wun neet a thowt into me noddle cum,
Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1854) 48; w.Yks.* Lan. A
thowt coom int' meh noddle, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 13.
m.Lan.', nw.Der.', Not.', n.Lin.' Lei.' The part of the head
covered by the hair. Nhp. On future luck my noddle dances,
Clare Poems (1820) 14 ; Nhp.' Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876).
Brks.i A caught ut on the noddle. Hnt. (T.P.F.), Suf.' Sns. He
lay like a log for weeks, without a morsel of sense in his noddle,
Comh. Mag. (July 1893) 44. w.Som.' Cor.' I'll pommel thy
noddle to browse (s.v. Browse).
Hence Noddle-araid, adv. head foremost. Rxb. (Jam.)
2. The nape of the neck. Cf. nod, sb}
e.An. (Hall.) Sut In the noddle o' the neck, Macmillan's
Mag. (Sept. 1889) 358; e.An. Dy. Times (1892) : Suf.' But a lock
of hair from the nuddle of the neck. e.Suf. (F.H.)
3. Fig. The temper.
Edb. His noddle gets up like a tap o' tow, but his bark's waur
than his bite, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 29.
4. V. To shake the head, as from old age ; to nod.
Nhb.' She'll noddle her head. Lakel.* Thoo may noddle thi
heed, but it's true. Cum.'*, n.Yks.' m.Yks.' To nod, with
a quick convulsive motion. w.Yks.' ; w.Yks. ^ Tha goes noddlin
to thy grave. Oxf.' 'Ow a noddles is 'ead. Brks.' Dev.' Thee
cast'n think what hanticks and items a had; naddling his head,
drowing out his hands, 2. Cor. Shaking her finger and ' nodling '
her head, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 334, ed. 1896.
Hence (i) Noddling, (a) ppl. adj. nodding ; (b) sb. an
absent-minded person ; (2) Noddly, adj. weak, trembling.
(I, a) w.Yks.3 Tha's bin a noddlin fooil all thi lawf. (6)
m.Yks.' (a) Hmp.'
5. Comb, (i) Noddle-block, a silly fellow; (2) -box, the
head ; (3) -yed, a person of loose, unsteady head or brain.
(i) Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). (a) n.Lin.' (3) Lan.'
Der. Howd your tongue, noddle-yed, will yo? Ward David
Grieve (189a) vi.
NODDLING, vbl. sb. Lan. [no'dlin.] Stretching yarn
after it has been dyed.
Four women were summoned for not wearing respirators
while engaged in ' noddling ' — that is stretching yarns after they
had been dyed by yellow chromate of lead. Labour Gazette (Nov.
1896) 344.
NODDY, s6.', adj.^ and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and
Eng. Also in forms audie Sc. (Jam.) ; nuddy Oxf
[no'di.] 1. sb. A simpleton ; a stupid, careless fellow ;
an oddity.
NaL Gl. Surv. (Jam.) Cld. (Jam.) Nhb. Sic was the com-
pensation whilk We'd frae these thowtless noddies, Wilson
Pitman's Pay (1843) 84. Lakel.* Thoo mun be a noddy ta lowse
t'bit oot o' t'nag mooth. Cum. But sackless, senseless noddies,
Rayson Poems (1839) 46; Cnm.* Wm. April-noddy's past an
gone, An thoo's a noddy fer thinken-on (W.H.H.). s.Wm.
April noddy (J.A.B.). e.Yks.', w.Yks.' Lan. Thou'rt a gradely
noddy, Francis Fustian (1895) 189; Don't think that I's sic
a noddy as to feight wi' a blackguard Hke thee. Eavesdropper
Vill. Life (1869) 59. I.Ma. You ignorant noddy. Brown Yams
(1881) 75, ed. 1889. Not.', Lei.', Nhp.', w.Wor.', Hnt. (T. P.F.I,
Suf.' w.Som.' You never did'n zee no jich slack-ass gurt noddy
in all your born days.
2. Comb, (i) Noddy-cap, (2) -pate, (3) -pol(l, a simpleton.
(i) n.Yks. You ma' be suer he's a noddicap er he niver wud
a acted sa fondly (W.H.). (a) w.Yks.' (3) n.Lin.', w.Som.'
3. The knave at cards. Glo.' 4. A game of cards,
resembling cribbage ; also in comp. Noddy-fifteen.
Cum. She . . . lost nineteen pence at noddy, Gilpin Pop. Poetry
(1875) 68; Cum.'*, w.Yks.', Suf.' [Noddy is now played as
follows : Any number can play ; the cards are all dealt out ; the
elder hand plays one . . . saying, ' There's a good card for thee,'
passing it to his righthand neighbour; the person next in suc-
cession who holds its pair covers it, saying, ' There's a still better
than he ' ; and passes both onward ; the person holding the third
of the sort . . . puts it on with ' There's the best of all three ' ;
and the holder of the fourth crowns all with the emphatic — ' And
there is Niddy-Noddee.' — He wins the tack, turns it down, and
begins again. He who is first out receives from his adversaries
NODDY
[288]
NOG(G
a fish (or a bean, as the case may be) for each unplayed card
(Hall.).]
5. adj. Weak, ailing.
Brks. I were main noddy all the summer (A.C.). Wil.'
e. V. To act foolishily. Oxf.^ MS. add. 7. With it : to
omit counting a point at the game of ' noddy.' Cum.'*
fl. She will not understand him ! gull, noddy, Jonson
Alchemist (1610) iv. ii, ed. Cunningham, II. 56. 4. Master
Frankford, you play best at noddy. Woman Killed with
Kindness, vii. 295 (Nares).]
NODDY, sh.'^ Sc. [no-di.] 1. A four-wheeled covered
carriage with the door at the back.
Sc. Drives hame at night in the factor's auld noddy, Vedder
Poems (1842) 79. w.Sc. A noddy and a pair of horses drew up
at our door, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 275. Rnf. The late
coach owner, . . Who sold his cabs and noddies, M'^Gilvray
Poems (ed. 1862) 28. Edb. Weir rade a midnight coach. 'Twas
said, 'Twas o' auld mouldy coffins made ; White windin'-sheets
the curtains spread O' this black noddy, Maclagan Poems (1851)
156. Dmf. Contrast the gentry i' their noddy, Rantin' aboot an'
drinkin' toddy, Quinn Heather (1863) 74. Kcb. The deil drave
him aff in a noddy, Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 215.
Hence Noddyful, sb. a carriageful.
e.Lth. The second cargo was a noddyful of Truehearts, . . father,
mother, &c., Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 137.
2. Phr. on Shanks' noddy, on foot, on ' Shanks' mare.'
Sc. Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899). Lnk. Gie
me a sax-mile stretch o' road On auld John Shanks's noddy,
Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 77.
N-ODDY, arfy.2 m.Yks.' Also in form anoddy. [no-di.]
Alone.
So Noddy-cob Hall, a certain cabin built of naturally rounded
stones, or ' cobbles ' or ' cobs,' and in a lonely place.
NODE, see Nod, sb.''
NODGE, t).i and sb?- Sc. n.Cy. 1. v. To push, jog ;
to strike with the knuckles. n.Sc. (Jam.), N.Cy.'
2. sb. A push or stroke ; esp. one given with the knuckles.
Ayr. Mrs. Pringle gave me a nodge on the elbow, and bade me
look at an elderly man. Steamboat (1822) 253 (Jam.).
NODGE, v.^ and sb.'^ Sc. Cum. Wm. [nodg.] 1. v.
To sit or go about in a dull, stupid way. Slk. (Jam.)
2. With about : to travel leisurely. Dmf. {ib.) 3. sb. A
kind of slow trot. Cum., Wm. (M.P.)
NODGET, see Nugget.
NODIE, sb. Obs. Sc. The head.
Sc. Beastly bodies, senseless nodies, venemous todies, Kirkton
Ch. Hist. (181 7) 199. Edb. Ye hae nae mair sense i' your nodies
Than serves to work amang the clodies, LEARMONT/'oei«5(i79i) 2.
NODLE, NODLOCK, see Noddle, Knodlock.
NOESHIP, sb. Yks. Also written noa-ship n.Yks.*
A pecuhar arrangement of the clouds somewhat resem-
bling the ribs of a ship. Cf. Noah's-ark, s.v. Noah, s6.'
n.Yks.' They lie in long lines diverging from one point of, or
near, the horizon, and converging to that opposite. ' Noe ship
points Ummer' ; n.Yks."
NOG, 56.' and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng. Also
written knog s.Wor. ; nogg Gall. ne.Lan.' Chs.^ Hrf.*
Dev. [nog.] 1. sb. A small log, or rough block of wood.
w.Yks.^ Wil.', w.Som.' Cf. nug, s6.' 2. Hence (i) Nog-
head, sb. a blockhead ; (2) Nog-headed, adj. stupid,
' wooden-headed ' ; (3) Nogman, (a) sb. a simpleton ; a
clumsy workman ; (b) adj. clumsy, awkward, fumbling at
work ; (4) Noggy, see (i).
(i) Wil. Wosbird and noghead were the epithets bestowed,
Kennard Diogenes' Sandals (1893) xiii ; Wil.i Som. You didden
think he wur ridden house did ee, young nog-head? Ray-
mond Gent. Upcott (1893) g. Dev. Zounds ! what a noghead
and a fool ! Peter Pindar IVks. (i8r6) IV. 287. Cor. Hould thy
paice, thee noghead, do, T. Towser (1873) 55 ; Cor.^ (2)
War. (J.R.W.) Hmp. Matt Meade's that nog-headed ... I'd
rather die a old maid than put up with such a dunch chap, Gray
Heart Storm (1891) I. 35-6. Som. Muttering complaints in which
the words ' pig-headed,' ' nog-headed,' constantly recurred, Ray-
mond Gent. Upcott (1893) 117. (3, a) War. (C.T.O.), War.^,
Hrf.2, Glo.i (A) Hrf.!2 (4) Cor. Look as simple as any noggy,
Baring-Gould Curgenven (1893) xlvi ; Cor.'^s
2. A linch-pin ; a wooden peg or small block used for
various purposes ; see below.
Dmf. A very large peg driven through divots, to keep them in
their proper place on the roof of a cottage (Jam.). Nhb.i Square
bits of wood piled to support the roof of coal mines. Dnr. A nail
for securing a cross-tree to an upright post, Gibson Up-Weardale
Gl. (1870); (J.J.B.) Cum.* Pegs of strong willow eighteen
inches or so long, which are used to fasten down the thatch in
combination with the symes. ' T'lads gat oot their scys ; saw . . .
if t'nogs were set square an' fast on t'shaft,' Cum. Pacquet (Aug.
17. 1893) 6, col. I. n.Yks.^ 4. w.Yks.^ A piece of wood for
supporting the gudgeon or bearing-ends of a grindstone. e.Lan.',
Chs.' s.Chs.' Pieces of wood built into a brick wall. Der. (Hall.),
nw.Der.i n.Lin.i The small piece of wood which fits into the hole
in the axle-tree ofa wheel through which the linch-pin is drawn out.
Hence Knogged, adj. a building term ; see below.
s.Wor. Said of a half-timbered house, in which brick panes
have been substituted for the original wattle and dab or daub.
Sometimes called ' brick-knogged ' (H.K.).
3. A knob or projection such as the stump of a branch ;
a stake driven into the wall and having a hook on which
to hang things. See Nug, sb} 1.
Sc. (Jam.), n.Cy. (J.W.) Nhb.l A tree they cut, with fifteen
nogs on each side, To dim up the wa' o' Newcastle toun, Jock o'
the Syde. w.Yks.^ The projection at the back of a sportsman's
knife in which a hook, iScc, may be fastened. Lin. The chain
was tied in a knot below the nog. Immediately the nog dropped
off, Lin. Chronicle (Dec. 21, 1889).
4. One of the pairs of small projecting handles on the
shaft of a scythe or shears.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 366. Cum.** w.Yks. It was
much easier for the man than if he worked the shears himself by
means of the ' nog,' Peel Luddites (1870) 10. Chs.'^, Hrf.^, GIo.',
s.Wil. (G.E.D.), Som. (W.F.R.)
5. A child's name for a clog.
s.Chs.i Kum taak- dhi nogz of [Come, tak thy nogs off].
6. A piece of elastic iron used in wool-weaving ; see
below.
w.Yks.3 Pieces of elastic iron shaped like the letter L, formerly
used in woollen weaving to put on the beam to hold the warp ;
as the piece progressed they fell out one by one. They are not
much used now, but ' flanges ' instead.
Hence Nog-end, sb. the end of the loom where the
' nogs ' are attached.
Lan. Nog-eend ofa loom-pawst, Brierley Layrock (1864) vii.
7. A wooden ball used in the game of ' shinny.'
Midi. A'. &Q. (1853) ist S. vii. 366. Not. (J.H.B.) s.Not. 'E
gor 'it on the nose with the nog, playin at shinny (J.P.K.).
8. A lump of bread, cheese, &c. Wil.'
9. pi. The game of ninepins. See Knogs, 2.
n.Cy. N. & Q. (1853) ist S. vii. 366. Lakel.*, w.Yks.", ne.Lan.i',
m.Lan.'^
10. V. With out: to hew out. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.]
Dev. He was away 'nogging out' gate-posts, Baring-Gould
Purse Bloom (1899) 105 ; You must nogg out two more [granite-
posts], ib. Ill,
NOG, sb.^ Sc. n.Cy. Wor. Also in forms naggie Sc.
(Jam.) ; noggie Gall, [nog.] A small wooden vessel ; a
pot ; a mug ; a cup. Cf. noggin, sb.
Bnff. Withoutten whawkie or a nog o' ale, Taylor Poems (1787)
3. Lnk., Dmf. (Jam.) Gall. A piece of furniture in kitchens for
holding plates, bowls, noggies, &c., Mactaggart Encycl (1824) 185,
ed. 1876 ; A wooden vessel with upright handle at one side only.
A house with one chimney so nicknamed (J.M.). s.Wor. Cutis
Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jm. (1896).
Hence Noggy, adj. slightly intoxicated. n.Cy. (Hall.),
w.Yks.'
NOG, see Knog, sb., Nug, v.
NOGER,t^. s.Chs.' [n5-g3(r).] To bungle.
Y6 clowisite I what are yO nogerin' at ? (s.v. Clowisite).
NOGER, see Nauger.
NOG(G, s6.i Obs. Nrf. A sort of strong heady ale.
Dog W — laid a quart of nog on't. Swift Horrid Plot (1723), in
Wks. (ed. I745~i V. 45; Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787); Hone
Table-bk. (1827-8) II. 849 ; Seems to be peculiar to Norwich. Forby
Gl. (1830).
NOG(G, sJ.i^ Chs.War.Wor. Shr. [nog.] 1. A knot
or any unevenness in the stalk of flax. w.Wor.' 2.
Hemp, esp. coarse or refuse hemp or flax ; tow ; -een. in
pi. Chs.S War.3, Shr.'2 See Knog, sb. 4. Hence (i)
NOG(G
[289]
NOHOW
Noggen, (a) adj. made of coarse flax or hemp ; (b) sb. any
garment made of hemp ; (2) Noggy, adj. of flax : full of
knots and unevenness ; (3) Nog-man, sb. a country
weaver ; a man who beats out knots from the flax.
(i,a)Shr.i,w.Cy.(HALL.) (6) Shr.2 (2)w.Wor.i (3)w.Wor.l
Shr.i Ods. ' The nog-man called to beg a spot o' drink : it's 'ard
times 66lh 'im now nobody spins,' Sometimes a rope-maker was
called a nog-man.
NOG(G, sb.^ and v. So. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. [nog.]
1. sb. The knee. The same word as Knogs (q.v.).
■w.Yks. As sooin as shoo saw ma stop shoo dahn on her noggs,
Yksman. (May 17, 1879) VH- 3^°\ ■w.Yks. '^
Hence Nogged, adj. in phr. to be well nogged, of cattle :
to have strong legs or joints. n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.^
2. The angle of a stream. ne.Yks.^ 3. v. To stroll ;
to jog on ; to walk slowly nodding the head the while.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). w.Yks.^ Lan. We nogged
on up Penny-street, T. Thrapdlepin Sam 0 Ben's (1878) 10.
NOGGEN, adj. Yks. Chs. Stf Not. War. Wor. Shr.
Also written noggan War. ; noggin Not. [no'gan, -in.]
1. Clumsy, awkward ; clumsily made. The same word as
Knogging, sb. 2.
n.Yks.", s.Chs.i, Stf.l War. N. &> Q. (1885) 6th S. xi. 46.
Wor. 'E've got a 'oss 'an cart (but 'e's a noggen un), Outis Vig.
Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 9, 1895) 4, col. 3. se.Wor.' Shr.^
A noggen mother's better than a gowden faither. w.Cy. (Hall.)
2. Comb, (i) Noggen-yed, a blockhead ; an obtuse per-
son ; (2) -yedded, stupid, thick-headed.
(i) Not. Hole Memories (1892) 193. (2) s.Chs.i, Shr.^
NOGGER, adj. War. Dor. Som. [no-g3(r).] 1. Made
of rough pieces.
s.Wor. Arthur [Orthurl Reeves has bought Joshua Lampitt's
cart, it's a nogger un (H.K.).
2. Comb. Nogger-head, a blockhead. Cf. noger.
Dor. Gl. (1851) ; Dor.' Yanoggerhead ! laste year thee miad'st a
rick, 127. w.Som.i Call he a good-looking fuller ! I ealls'n a gurt
hugly noggerhead [naug-uraid\ and s'ignorant's a 'oun.
NOGGERLY, orfy. Hrf.^ [nogali.] Thrifty.
A hard-working noggerly woman she was.
NOGGETY, adj. Shr.^ [no-gati.] Big, clumsy (as of
the head of a walking-stick) ; also in comb. Noggety-
yedded.
' Han yo' sid my stick V ' No ; whad sort wuz it— a 'ooked un ?'
'No; a noggety-yedded un.'
NOGGIN, sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Amer. Also written noggan Sc. n.Cy. ; and in forms
naggin Sc. (Jam.) N.I.^ ; nuggeen Wxf.' [no'gin.] 1. A
small wooden vessel for liquids ; a mug. See Nog, sb.^
Abd. To part wi' his frien' o'er a noggin' o' grog, Cadenhead
Bon-Accord (1853) 206. Ayr. What the devil ! Not take off my
noggin o' nappy? Boswell Poet. Wks. (ed. 1871) 207. Lnk.
(Jam.) Edb. We'll gladly prie Fresh noggans o' your reaming
graith, Fergusson Pofws (1773) 153, ed. 1785. Dmf. (Jam.) Gall.
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Ir. Only share of two naggins wid
my brother, CARi-ETOfi Fardorougka (1836) 79. N.I.' A wooden
vessel with a handle, smaller than a ' piggin.' Porridge and milk
used to be eaten out of noggins. n.Ir. Fetch forrit the toddy. An'
missure it out with a noggin or bowl. Lays and Leg. (1884) 45.
Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). w.Ir. Away they run with pails and
noggins. Lover Leg. (1848) I. 103. Wxf. The milk supplied in
plentiful looking noggins, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 191 ;
Wxf.i N.Cy.2 A little piggin holding about a pint. Lakel.2, Wm.
(E.G.), n.Yks.i24 m.Yks.i lan. A small mug or wooden pail
(J.D.). Chs. A wooden kit or piggin (K.); Chs. 13 s.Chs.i These
noggins were formerly much used to hold beer. Der.', nw.Der.i
Lin.i Give him a noggin, for he's siled the milk. n.Lin.i, Lei.',
Nhp.i, War.3 Hrf.2 A wooden quart used for carrying milk or
toastand cider to workmen. e.An.i "[Amer. A wooden dipper, ZJj'a/.
Notes (1896) I. 383.]
2. A small measure of liquid ; a quarter of a pint or
under ; esp. of spirits.
N.I.i Uls. Short for a naggin of whiskey, Uls. Jrn. Arch. (1853-
62) VI. 42. Ant. Grose (1790) MS. add. (G.) Wxf. Take his choice
between a tumbler of spirits and a noggin of mixed milk, Kennedy
Evenings Duffrey{i&69)^S. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.) Dur.'
s.Dur. A noggin o' rum (J.E.D.). Cum. Gilpin Ballads (1874)
125; Cum.* His mooth just held a noggin, an' that was a fair
dose at a time, Cum. Pacquet (Nov. 16, 1893) 6, col. i. n.Yks.'^*
e.Yks.J One eighth of a pint. m. Yks.^, w.Yks.^s Lan.i 'What does
VOL. IV.
ta say to a drop o' rum in us [our] tay ? ' ' Aye sure, let's have
a noggin between us.' n.Lan.i, e.Lan.', m.Lan.i, Chs.', nw.Der.i
Lei.i A noggin o' gin in a woin-glass. War.3, e.An.i, e.Suf. (F.H.)
Hmp. HoLLOWAY. w.Som.i, Cor.i
NOGGIN, ad>-. s.Chs.i [no-gin.] Pert, lively.
NOGGIN(G, sb. Yks. Chs. Midi. Not. Lin. Nhp. War.
Bdf. e.An. Ken. Sur. Sus. Som. Cor. Also in form
nuggin s.Not. [no'gin.] 1. The clay and sticks, or
bricks used to fill the interstices of half-timbered houses ;
courses of brick put between the timber frames of houses;
lumps of refuse stone used as fillings for a wall. See
Knogging.
Chs.'23 Nhp.i Bring a few noggins to fill in. e.An.^ Nrf.
Hollow AY. Suf.^, e.Suf. (F.H.) Ken. Its less euphonious desig-
nation in the Weald is a noggin, Barham Ingoldsby (ed. 1864)
Jarvis's Wig. Sur.' Bricks laid in a projecting course under the
eaves of a building. Sus.i w.Som.i^ Usually brick-noggin.
2. Camp, (i) Noggin(g-ends, see below; (2) -haisen, old
half-timber houses ; (3) -panes, the filling up of the
squares in old timber buildings ; (4) -wall, a wall built of
rough stone.
(i) Not. The noggingends unconverted are brought into my own
yard and burnt, Marshall Review (1814) IV. 161. (2) s.Chs 1
(3) Chs.i (4) Cor.i
3. A lump ; esp. a large, clumsy piece of anything edible.
Midi. A noggin of bread, N. &• Q. (1853) ist S. vii. 366. s.Not.
(J.P.K.), Lin.i n.Lin. A noggin o' pie, Sutton IVds. (1881) ;
n.Lin.1 Put a noggin o' coal upo' th' fire. sw.Lin.^ Gie him a good
noggin, and ha' done. Nhp.i A hungry boy would say, ' Give me
a good noggin.' Should a butcher send a ; mall piece of meat, with
a heavy bone, we should complain that he had sent such ' a noggin
of bone." War. (J.R.W.) Bdf. Gorner crust of loaf (F.R.C.).
4. A truss. e.Yks. A noggin o' sthreea, Sfec. Dial. (1887) 40.
NOGGINTLE, sb. Chs.^^s g.chs.i [no-gintl.] A
' nogginful.'
NOGGIT, see Nocket.
NOGGLE, V. Yks. Shr. Pem. Hmp. Cor. Also written
nogleShr.^ [no'gl.] To manage anything with difficulty;
esp. to walk with difficulty because weak or heavily laden.
s.Pem. I was main weak, I could hardly walk, but I noggled it
somehow (W.M.M.).
Hence (i) Noggle-head, sb. a blockhead, a young fool ;
(2) Noggleheaded, adj., obsoL, thick-headed, stupid ; (3)
Noggler, sb., obsol., see (i) ; (4) Noggling, ppl. adj. (a)
having a heavy, wriggling gait ; (b) obsol., blundering ;
bungling ; (5) Noggly, adj. weak, trembling.
(i) Cor.i2 (2) Shr.' 'Ee's a noggle-yedded auf—nuthin' better.
(3) Shr.i Yo' knowed as I wuz nuthin' but a noggler afore I
started ; Shr.^ (4, a) w.Yks.i (6) Shr.^ Well, yo' han maden a
nogglin' job o' that, any ways. (5) Hmp.i My knees be so noggly.
NOGGY, 56.' Cum. Wm. Lan. [no'gi.] 1. Coarse
thread. Cum.^^* See Nog(g, sb? 2. Comp. (i) Noggy-
wife, (a) strong, coarse thread, esp. linen thread ; {b) a
maker of coarse thread ; (2) -wife-thread, see (i, a).
(I, «) nXan. (G.W.D.), ne.Lan.' (i) Cura.»* (2) Lakel.2 He^s
shirts wi'oot buttons, an' as fer his britches, They'd drop off his
back, but fer two or three stitches, C noggy-wife-threed, just to
keep hissel tidy. n.Cum. (M.P.) Wm. Th wire leakd nae thicker
then noggy wife thread, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 82. n.Lan."^
NOGGY, s6.2 s.Chs.' [no-gi.] A clog. See Nog, s/i'.i 5.
NOGLE, see Noggle.
NOGLER, sb. Obs. Yks. One who haggles in
bargaining.
w.Yks. An bowleg'd it bargain ; an yo see, if that wor't caise, id
happan get call'd a Sheffild nogler az long az he liv'd, Tom Treddle-
HOYLE Mally Muffindoaf (1843) 34 ; Gent. Mag. (1777) 166, ed.
Gomme.
NOGRE, NO'HN, see Noag, Norn, sb.
NOHOW, adv., adj. and sb. Yks. Lan. Der. Not. Lei.
War. Suf Sus. Dor. Also in forms nohows n.Yks. Not.^
Lei.' War.=3 Suf Sus.'; noohow Dor.' 1. adv. In phr.
(i) nohows {in) the world, by no manner of means ; (2) to
be nothing and nohow, to be nothing to boast of; to be very
uncomfortable.
(i) Sus. I can't swallow it nohows in de wurreld, EgertonF/A.
and Ways (1884) 34 ; Sus.' (2) Sus. ' Well, Sir, it isn't nothing,
and itarn't nohow ' [describing the discomfort of an invalid obliged
to stay at home during hopping], Egerton ib. 68.
pp
NOID
[290]
NOISE
2. No matter how.
n.Yks. Nay, marry, that weeant fit, nohows ye can frame it,
Atkinson Lost (1870) xxv. w.Yks. (J.W.) Suf. We haven't
fared nohows, but faredto thrive, Dickens D. Copperfield {i8$o) Ixiii.
3. Unsatisfactorily ; in a confused, untidy manner ; after
no regular mode or shape.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Facing noways, standing no how but fixt
lilie James o' Joe's loom-ka-waawe, Brierley Day Out (1859^ '^^■
nw.Der.i Not. Don't put your hat on like that, all nohow (L.C.M.) ;
Not.',Lei.i War. 2 ' How did you do at market wi' th' pigs? ' 'Oh,
nohow ' ; War.^ w.Sus. They be ins and outs, all nohow! Gordon
Vill. and Doctor (1P97) 105. Dor.^ DeOs rick's a meade noohow.
4. adj. In confusion, unsettled.
Not.*, Lei.i War.^ I wunt ask yo' in now, Tom ; the place is
nohow ; War.^
5. sb. Phr. (i) a nohow, hy any means; anyhow; (2) to be
a nohow, to be in an unsatisfactory way.
(i) Der.2 I couldna' insense him a no-how. (2) It's a no-how, ib.
NOID, V. Yks. To nod ; of corn : to hang the head.
n.Yks. (I.W.)
Hence Noidy, adj. of corn : hanging the head ; small,
inferior, poor.
n.Yks. Theeaze is noidy heeads o' cooarn (I.W.). ne.Yks. The
apples this year are only small and noidy (J.C.F.).
NOIE, see Noy, v.
NOIENCE, sb. Yks. [noi-ans.] Annoyance.
n.Yks. T'sem az if it pliaz'd am ta giv yan sum koz far noience
(W.H.); n.Yks.4, w.Yks. (J.W.)
[The single and peculiar life is bound ... To keep itself
from noyance, Shaks. Hamlet, m. iii. 13.]
NOIL,s6. Yks. Lan. Lei. Nhp. e.An. Som. Also written
noyl w.Yks.^ ne.Lan.' ; noyle e.An.^ [noil.] L The
short wool left after combing ; the refuse of wool or silk ;
gen. m. pi.
w.Yks. The small remnant after the sliver has been drawn after
straightening the wool (J.T.) ; (E.G.) ; It was necessary to comb
out the tangled fibres, and clear them from the broken and stumpy
hairs and the finest short ones ( technically called noils) , Cudworth
Worstedopolis {iZ&&) ^g \ w.Yks.*^, ne.Lan.*, Nhp.* w. Som.* Noils
are regular and well-understood articles of commerce through-
out England. . . There are both coarse and fine noils. Short-
ness of staple or fibre is the characteristic of noils, and not quality
of wool. In the West . . . noil is quite a late importation from
the North, along with combing-machines. [While (the wool)
is undergoing the operation of combing, it breaks off, and leaves
a large quantity of what is called nolle, or waste wool, in the comb,
Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815) XLIII. 506.]
Hence Noil-nook, sb. the bin or place where the noil is
kept. w.Yks. (E.G.)
2. pi. Coarse refuse locks of wool of which mops and
' dwiles ' are made. Lei.', e.An.*
[2. No person shall put any noyles, thrums, &c., or
other deceivable thing into any broad woollen cloth,
Statute Jas. I, in N. &= Q. (1884) 6th S. x. 86.]
NOINT, V. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Chs. Nhp.
War. Shr. Hrf. Bck. e.An. LW. Wil. Dor. Som. Also
written noynt Sc. (Jam.) w.Cy. ; and in forms nant(y
w.Yks.2 ; neint Shr. Hrf. ; nient LW.* ; ninet Nhp.*
Bck. ; nint Hrf. e.Suf. Wil.* ; ninte Shr.' LW.* [noint,
m. and s.Cy. naint.] 1. v. To anoint. Sc. (Jam.), w.Yks.*
Chs.*2^ LW.S w.Cy. (Hall.) Hence Nointment, sb.
ointment. Sc. (Jam.), n.Yks.^ 2. To thrash, beat
severely. The same word as Anoint, 1 (q.v.).
Nhb. 'Noint her wiv a twig o' yeck, Wilson Pitman's Pay
(1843)11. Lakel.2, Cum.* n.Yks. Aw'U noint thathi rig (T.K.) ;
ii.Yks.*,w.Yks.= 3, Chs.i23jS.Chs.*,War.3, Shr.i Shr., Hrf. Bound
Provinc. (1876). Hrf. N. & Q. (1865) 3rd S. viii. 547. e.An.*,
e.Suf. (F.H.), Wil.*, Dor. (W.C. c. 1750), w.Som.*
Hence Nointing, (i) sb. a thrashing ; (2) ///. adj.
deserving of a thrashing. See Anointing.
(i) Cum.* He gev him a good nointin'. Wm. (B.K.) s.Chs.*,
Nhp.* Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). e.Suf. (F.H.) (2)
Bck. (A.C.)
3. To run, hurry away. The same word as Anoint, 2
(q.v.).
w.Yks. T'owd chap catched him i' t'apple garth, bur he gor off,
an did'nt he noint, Yks. Wkly. Post (Apr. 11, 1896); w.Yks.^
Shr.* They wun corain' alung as fast as the pony could ninte. Shr.,
Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). e.Su£ He's wholly ninting along
(F.H.).
4. sb. A rogue, a good-for-nothing fellow. e.An.^
[1. She fetch'd to us Ambrosia . . . which she nointed
round Our either nosthrils, Chapman Odyss. (1616) bk. iv,
ed. 187s, 331.]
NOINTED, ppl. adj. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin. Rut. Lei.
Nhp. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf. Ken. LW. Som. Dev. Con
Also in forms neignted s.Lan. ; nineted Nhp.* War.*
se.Wor.* Shr.* Hrf.* Ken. LW.' ; ninted Hrf.* [noi'ntid,
m. and s.Cy. nai'ntid.] Thoroughly bad, wholly given up
to evil courses. The same word as Anointed (q.v.).
n.Yks.**, m.Yks.* s.Lan. A neignted young rogue was common
. . . some years ago. It is seldom, if ever, now heard, Manch. Cy.
News (Feb. 8, 1896). Chs.**, Lin.', Rut.*, Let* Nhp.* A common
termapplied to a., mischievous boy. 'He's a nineted one.' War.*3,
se.Wor.* Shr.* 'E's a nineted pippin. Hrf.* Ninetedum [nineted
one]. A ninted yarb. Ken. A nineted young rascal (W.G.P.).
LW.*, w.Som.*, nw.Dev.* Cor. She wor a nointed piece, weth
her crinolines and hoops, T. Towser (1873) 25.
Hence Ninety-bird, sb. one addicted to evil ways.
se.Wor.*
NOINTER, sb. Lakel. Yks. Chs. Stf. War. Wor. Glo.
Oxf. Bck. Nrf. Suf. Sus. Wil. Som. Cor. Also in forms
nainter s.Oxf. ; neinter Chs.'^; nineter War.* Won
Glo.* Oxf.' Sus. Wil.' Som. [noint3(r, m. and s.Cy.
nai'nt3(r).] 1. A scapegrace, a mischievous fellow.
The same word as Anointer, 1 (q.v.).
Lakel.* Thoo's a nointer. w.Yks. (J.H.B.), Chs.*a s.Stf. Pin-
nock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). War.* m.Wor. A precocious, head-
strong, and dare-devil sort of boy or youth or girl (J.C.). w.Wor.
That lad's a nineter, sir, Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 10, 1888). Glo. A
precocious, artful youngster, Northall IVd. Bk. (1896) ; Glo.*,
Oxf. (G.O.), Oxf.* MS. add. s.Oxf. David Loveday names his
dog ' Nainter' because it is troublesome, Flk-Lore Jm. (1884) II.
i88. Bck. (A.C.) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 35.
e.Suf. (F.H.) Sus. She [a cat] is a reg'lar nineter for birds,
Longman*s Mag. (July 1889) 266. Wil.* A nineter young rascal.
Som. SwEETMAN Wincanton Gl. (1885). Cor. (F.L.H.), Cor.^
2. Something said which causes perplexity or surprise.
The same word as Anointer, 5 (q.v.).
n.Yks. By Go ! but that's a nointer (T.K.) ; When anything was
related or told that was of an extraordinary nature the reply would
be, ' Aye, nu that's a nointer,' or anything told that was doubtful,
' Nu that's a nointer, A'l bi bun for't' (W.H.). w.Yks. Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (May 31, 1884) 8.
NOINTER, see Anointer.
NOISE, sb. and v. Yks. Chs. Den Lin. Rut. Nhp. Hrf. Hnt.
e.An. Ken. Dor. Som. Cor. Also in forms naise Don' ;
nyze Chs. [noiz.] 1. sb. A quarrel, disturbance, row.
Hrf.' There was a great noise in the house. Ken. I saw there
was goin' to be a noise (D.W.L.).
Hence to drive a noise, phr. to make a disturbance or noise.
Don' See Drive, II. 1 (8).
2. A scolding, reproof, fault-finding ; esp. in phr. to make
a noise.
w.Yks. (J.W.) nw.Der.* To make a noise at one. n.Lin.* He's
alus makin' a noise aboot sum'at ; you should nobbut hev heard
him 'cos he couldn't find th' kerk-screw. Nhp.* If I go out with-
out leave, my mistress will make such a noise at me. Hrf.* I shall
get a noise for this. Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.*, Dor.* w.Som.* Dhur
ul bee u puurdee nauyz neef mae-ustur shiid zee- ut [There will
be a pretty noise if master should see it]. Ded miis'us maek u
nauyz kuz aay waud-n rad'ee? Cor.* I said there would be a
bitter noise when Missus know'd you'd brok un.
3. A scandalous report, rumour, ' bruit.'
w.Som.* There's a purty noise 'bout th' old Jack Hill's wive ; he
turned her to doors torectly he vound out, eens her was gwain on.
There'll be a noise wi' the police nif tidn a finished avore ten o'clock.
4. pi. Sounds supposed to have been heard before the
death of any person.
w.Dor. [Such as] the crowing of the cock by night, and the
death-watch, Roberts i/w^. Lyme Regis {i&^^).
5. V. To make a noise or disturbance.
n.Lin.* I doan't like Drewry's Raw an' th' Skreeds, ther's alus
sich ana many bairns noisin' aboot. Nhp. Rook, crow, and jackdaw
noising loud, Clare Shep. Calendar (1827) 4, in Peacock Gl.
(1889). Nrf. Don't keep noising about here. Arch. (1879) VIII. 171.
NOISING
[291]
NOMINY
6. To scare or frighten away with a noise.
Chs. The two boys were in the kern nyzing the brids away,
Green Knutsford, in Chs. N. &' Q. (^1881) I. 170.
7. Of birds : to sing.
Nrf. I heard them a noising rarely first thing in the morning
(M.C.H.B.).
8. To scold, find fault with.
Rut.i She's been noising me : she's alius noising me. e.An.'
w.Som.' Her's noisin wi' zomebody or nother vrom Monday
morning to Zadurday night.
8. To spread a report ; to gossip.
e.Yks.^ He gans noisin aboot toon astead o' mindin his bisness ;
ib. Tom's getten wrang, an it's getten noisin all ower toon,
MS. add.
[1, 2. Fr. noise, a brawl, wrangle, squabble, chiding,
scoulding (Cotgr.). 3. Behold the noise of the bruit is
come, Bible Jer. x. 22. 8. Fr. noiser, to chide, scold
(Cotgr.). 9. My office is To noise abroad that Harry
Monmouth fell, Shaks. 2 Hen. IV, Ind. 29.]
NOISING, sb. I.Ma. Nrf. Also in form nisin I.Ma.
[noi'zin, nai'zin.] 1. Noise.
I.Ma. AH the nisin of the land going into one, Brown Doctor
(1887-) 52.
2. The song of several species of birds.
Nrf. A term given by Norfolk marshmen to several species of
birds frequenting their native swamps. They apply it particularly
to the song of the Nightjar, Grasshopper, Reed and Sedge
Warblers, Forby Gl. (ed. 1895).
3. The croaking of frogs. Nrf. (M.C.H.B.)
NOISOME, a,^'. Obsol. So. Noisy.
Abd. Ye used to row your gird wi' us, as noisome as a caird,
Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 189 ; (Jam.) Edb. Some cHm, wi'
noisome glee, the stile, M' Dowall Poems (1839) 46.
NOIST, see Newst, Nicet.
NOIT, sb. So. Irel. 1. A projecting knob upon the
foot. Also called Noityon or Nutyon. The same word
as Knoit, sb.^ 2 (q.v.). Cf. note, sb.'^
Ayr. (Jam.) Ant. A projecting knob from some of the joints of
the feet, esp. from the root of the big toe, Ballymena Obs. (1892).
2. Fig. A 'numskull,' blockhead ; an insignificant person.
N.I.' A noit of a crayture.
3. A small rocky hill, any small rocky rise.
Gall. Owre the hags and noits does Willie leap, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 476, ed. 1876.
NOIT, NOITHER, see Knoit, v.. Note, sb.^, Nowt, sb.^,
Nowther, adj.
NOITLED, ppl. adj. Obs. Gall. Intoxicated with
spirits. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
NOKETT, NOKKER, see Nooket, Knocker.
NOKKIN, sb. m.Yks.' A nugget of solid ore. Cf.
knockin(£:, 3.
NOKKIT, NOLE, see Nocket, Knoll, sb.'^, Noll.
NOLL, V. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Sus. Also
written nol Sh.I. ; and in forms nole Sh.I. ; nowl Sus.
1. V. To strike ; to beat ; to press with the knuckles ; to
stumble against. See Knoll, v.^ 2.
Sh.I. Could ye no a pu'd a stane oot o' da wa', an' nold her i' da
skult [sic] wi'? Sh. News (Dec. 24, 1898) ; He nol'd his fit i' ane
o' dem, ib. (Jan. 7, 1899). ne.Sc. (Jam.) Nhb. Ha nolled him
(R.O.H.). e.Dur.>, w.Yks.s
Hence (i) Nolled, ppl. adj. put out of temper, vexed ;
(2) Nowling, vbl. sb. a thrashing.
^I) w.Yks. He was nolled when I showed him that we knew
about his trickery (M.N.). (a) Sus. He suffered the penalty of
a good nowling, Lower Siray Leaves (1862) 91.
2. sb. A strong push or blow with the knuckles. ne.Sc.
(Jam.)
NOLL, see Knoll, sb}, Nawl, sb}, Nowl(e.
NOLLED, ppl. adj. e.An. Knotted, matted ; also
with up.
e.An.' (s.v. Noils). Nrf. Of hair copiously greased : ' His hair
was all nolled up' (M.C.H.B.).
NOLT, see Nowt, sb}
NOLUM WOLUM, phr. Wil. Dev. Also in form
nolus bolus Wil. Whether one likes it or no, nolens
volens. Cf oilins boilins.
n.Wil. I be gwain nolus bolus (E.H.G.). Dev. Here us must
baide, nolum wolum, Blackmqre Christowell (1881) iii.
NOLUS BOJ^US, see Nolum wolum.
NOM, see Nominy, Num.
NO-MAN, sb. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin. Sur. Also in forms
knowmon Lan. ; nouman w.Yks. ; nowman w.Yks.
Lan. Chs.'; nowmon e.Lan.' ; nowmun Lan.' [no'-man,
nou'-msn.] 1. In comb. No-man's-land or -locality, a
small portion of land without an owner, or where all have
right of pasturage. n.Lin.' Sur. Son of Marshes Sur.
Hills (1891) 59. 2. A stupid person ; a fool ; a blockhead.
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Sept. 14, 1895) ; The recognized
half-witted fellow of a village or district was known as ' th'
Nouman.' 'Eh, see thee, th' Nouman's comin I ' (KB.) Lan.
What a knowmon I must be, not to ha' seen that afore, Brierley
Fratchingtons (1868) Frap 5 ; To feight away like a nowman,
Clegg Sketches (1895) 428 ; Lan.', e.Lan.', Chs.^
NOMBLES, 56.k ? Ofo. Sc. Lan. The entrails of a
deer; also used of other animals.
Sc. That's the haunch and the nombles, Scoti Monastery [iRso)
xvii. w.Sc. Farmers' wives are bargaining with the butcher for
the materials to furnish a good haggis : a sheep's bag and
nombles being principal elements thereof (Jam. Suppl, s.v.
Noumbles). Lan. A poor man . . . had fetched . . . the head and
nombles, . . and stewed some of it in the oven, Walkden Diary
(ed. 1866) no.
[Fr. (Norm, dial.) nomble, ' ventre des betes a comes,
les organes qu'il renferme. C'est une alteration du vieux
mot lomble qui s'est dit pour lombes ' (Moisy) ; Fr. nombles
d'un cerf, the numbles of a stag (Cotgr.).]
NOMET, sb. Yks. [nomit.] The final decision or
verdict.
w.Yks. I told him the nomet, if I caught him at it again, he
would have to go before his betters (M.N.) ; (J. W.)
NOMINEE, sb. Chs. [no-mini.] A term used by
' marlers ' ; see below, and Marl, v} 4. See Nominy.
Chs.i 1 suspect Leigh [Chs.^] is in error in this explanation,
and that the ' nominee,' or as I think it should be written ' nominy,'
referred to the words the men shouted and not to the person
who gave the money ; Chs.^ The giver of a present to the lord
of the pit for "himself and his men, is called the ' nominee,' and
when the money is spent in drink afterwards at the public house,
the lord and his men 'shout' the name of the nominee.
NOMINEY, adj. Ant. In phr. by the Nominey King, a
petty oath. (W.H.P.)
NOMINY, sb. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Nhp.
Also written nomeny nw.Der.' ; nominay Lan. ; nomine
w.Yks.' ; nommany, nomminee w.Yks. ; nomminy Lan. ;
nomony w.Yks.^ Lan. Chs.' ; and in forms nom w.Yks. ;
? noming w.Yks. Der.° [no-mini, no'msni.] 1. A form
ofwords, a rigmarole; along,ramblingtale; along, wordy,
tiresome speech.
s.Dur. She tellt [told] a fair nominy about it (J.E.D.). e.Yks.
It was a village lovefeast, and, of the two speakers, one was
eloquent and fluent, while the other was all hesitation. The
former was said ' ti knaw his nominy, like a chotch clerk : bud
tuther chap hadn't getten his nominy off,' Nicholson FlkSp.
(1889) 7 ; e.Yks.i ' He gets weel thruff his nominy,' is said of
a town-crier, w.Yks. At last the nomony wor begun. Hartley
Clock Aim. (1889) 13 ; He telled her all t'nom, Yks. Wkly. Post
(Mar. 7, 1896); Hold thy nomminee, Hamilton A'«^aci-iV. (1841)
358 ; The crier at Quarter Sessions, on opening or adjourning
the Court, uses ' some mack on a nommany,' beginning with
'Oyez! Oyez ! ' Banks Wkjld. Wds. (1865); w.Yks.'^'s Lan.
This felley has bin tellin a greyt nominay abeawt mi, Lahee Owd
Yem, 23 ; Th' Justice sed a nomony to th' felley, Tim Bobbin
View Dial. (ed. 1740) 39 ; Lan.i, e.Lan.i Chs.' If owd Pennington
had been here, he'd a gen us a nominy ; Chs.' s.Chs.' Ey
went of wi sich- ii nom'uni. Der.^, nw.Der.i
2. A rhyming formula or folk-rhyme ; a wassailing or
mumming rhyme ; comphmentary doggerel made at
weddings ; uncomplimentary doggerel at the ceremony
of ' riding the stang.'
Nlib. Pray remember the Nominy sayer, Richardson Borderer's
Table-bk. (1846) VIII. 160. Yks. At the ' riding of the stang ' he
repeats a speech, or what they call a nominy, which is here
subjoined : ' With a ran, tan, tan, On my old tin can, Mrs.
and her good man, She bang'd him, she bang'd him, For spending
a penny when he stood in need. She up with her three-footed
stool ; She struck him so hard, and she cut so deep. Till the blood
P p 2
NOMMET
[292]
NONE
run down like a new stuck sheep,' Costume of Yorkshire (1814) 63,
in Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1849) II. 188. n.Yks> ne.Yks.i A'e
ya t'nomminy off! e.Yks. When boys go Christmas boxing they
have a set form of words. . . Should the boy be unable to recite
this rhyme, he would be told he didn't know his nominy, Nichol-
son Flk-Sp. (i88g) 8. w.Yks. When a boy sneezes anv man
companion says, ' Say your nominy.' The sneezer then exclaims,
' Bob wood,' &c., Globe (Apr. 21, 1890) ; N.^ Q. (1870) 4th S.
V. 599 ; Th' wassailing or mumming rhymes are all nominys,
Yks. Wkly. Post (May 15, 1897) ; w.Yks.i Complimentary verses,
addressed to a bride, immediately after the marriage ceremony in
the church, by the first boy in the school, who expects from the
bride a present in return. Should she refuse the accustomed
gift, instances have been known when the young petitioner, aided
by his school-fellows, has taken off the left shoe of the bride ;
■w.Yks.5 When ' riding the stang,' the stang-rider says his
' nomony,' or repeats the customary doggrel rhymes. In ' going
a Christmasing,' the juvenile must always patter over his ' nomony,'
either into the key-hole, or outside the house, before the bread
and cheese and gifts are handed him. Lan. I said a two-thri
words of a nominy ut my gronmother towd me for t'keep varmint
and trouble away, Brierley Waverlow (1863) 172, ed. 1884.
Chs. A doggrel rhyme, sung in ' riding the stang,' Chs. N. tf Q.
(1881) I. 7. Nhp. A knitting nominy used by girls is as follows : — ■
' Needle to needle, and stitch to stitch. Pull the old woman out
of the ditch. If you ain't out by the time I'm in, I'll rap your
knuckles with my knitting pin,' Globe (Apr. 21, 1890).
[1. Nominy repr. the Lat. nomine, in the formula ' In
Nomine Patris, &c.,' the invocation to the Holy Trinity,
used by the preacher before the sermon.]
NOMMET, NOMMIT, see Nammet.
NOMPION, sb. Lan. [no-mpian.] A leader, a great
man.
One who is possessed of more knowledge than the common
people (Hall.) ; Lan.i
NON, adv. n.Yks.* [non.] Presently, immediately,
'anon.'
NON, J/. Sh.I. Also in forms niin, nunn S. & Ork.'
[nden, niin.] To hum ; to sing softly.
Hit nOns ta da sang o da smootin burn, Junda Klingi-ahool
(1898') 14; Dawaandrin breezes niin, Burgess if(is»»« (1892) 88;
(A.W.G.); S. &Ork.i
[Dan. nynne, to hum, croon (Larsen).]
NON, see Anon, int., Nan, int.. None.
NO-NATION, adj. and adv. Yks. Lin. Hmp. Wil. Sora.
Also in form no-notion Wil.^ 1. adj. Strange, remote,
out-of-the-way ; uncivilized, rough.
n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^ No-nation spot. Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston
(1856) 716. n.Lin.i I'd sooner go to Gaainsbr' Ewnion then let
mysen to live in a no-naation-plaace like that. Wil.^
2. Difficult to be understood ; stupid ; incoherent, wrild.
Wil.' A no-notion chap. Som-^EtiifiiiGsObs. Dial.w.Eng. (1825).
3. adv. Very, extremely. Hmp. Holloway. Cf. nation,
adv. 2.
NONCATE, sb. Yks. [nus-nkeat.] A silly person, a
foolish, unmanly, or thoughtless individual.
w.Yks. Tha noncate, witta hod thy tongue ? Preston Poems
(ed. 1881) 4.
NONCE, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Der. Nhp. Hnt. e.An. Ken.Sus.
Hmp. I.W. Cor. Also in forms nanes Fif. ; nauns,
nines Cor.^; noanceCor.'^; noanes, noans(e Cor. ; nones
Cor.'^ ; nooance I.W.' ; noonce Suf.' ; noonst e.An.^
[nons, nSns.] In phr./or the nonce, (i) for the particular
occasion or purpose, for the present ; (2) designedly, on
purpose.
(i) Cai.' To say a thing 'far en aince,' usually, as a kind of joke,
not quite seriously. The three syllables are heard as one
word. Fif. To rebut and schue awa Thir damnit faes that
siege our wa' Wi' wappens for the nanes, Tennant Papistry
(1827) 106. Edb. The game was up for the nonce, Beatty
Secretar (1897) 260. N.Cy.', Der.^, nw.Der.' Nhp.' It'll serve
for the nonce. Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.2 Ken.', Sus.12, I.W.i
Cor. He did it for the nonce. Let us have a song for the nonce
(W.S.); O'DoNOGHUE St. Knighton {1864.) Gl. ; Disfigure their-
selves so for the noans, T. Touiser (1873) 22 ; Cor.' Dressed up
for the nones ; Cor.^ (2) e.An.' Suf. Owd women, loitering for
the nonce, Stood praising the fine weather. Garland (1818)
343 ; Suf.' A did it for the noonce. e.Suf. He jossed up agin me
for the nonce : 't wa'n't a accident. Obsol. (F.H.) Ess. An' for
the nonce Had gut John in this hobble, Clark /. Noakes (1839)
St. 145; Monthly Mag. (1814) I. 498; Gl. (1851) ; Ess.', Ken.
(K.), Ken.'*, Sus.2 Hmp. Cooper Gl. (1853) ; Hmp.', I.W.'
Cor. The seat all to midjans and jouds for the noanse, J. Tre-
noodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 43; Cor.' He gove me a scat on the
chaks for the nonce. He didn't do it for the nauns.
[(i) And that he calls for drink, I'll have prepared him
A chalice for the nonce, Shaks. Hamlet, iv. vii. 161. (a)
De industria, for the nonce, of purpose (Gouldman).]
NON-COMPEARANCE, sb. Sc. A legal term : non-
appearance in answer to a citation.
Sc. The remeid is to summon the principal and put him to out-
lawry for non-compearance, Stevenson Catriona (1893) ix ; Fined
them for non-compearance, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 404. Per.
To puind Andrew Mercer for non-compearance of his nurse,
Lawson Bk. of Per. (1847) 132. Lnk. That his noncompearance
might not wro*hg the cause ... he wrote a letter to the chancellor,
WoDRow Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 405, ed. 1828.
NONDGE, s6. Not. [nondg.] A knob or lump. (J.H.B.)
NONE, adj., pron., adv. and sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc.
and Eng. Also in forms naan w.Yks.' Lan. ; naane Wm.;
nan w.Yks.^ ; nane Sc. ; neahn Nhb.' ; neean n.Yks.'^'*
e.Yks.'; neen Abd. ; nin Cum.^* Wm. ; noan n.Yks.*
w.Yks. Lan.' e.Lan.' n.Lin.' Dev. ; noane Lan. ; non
n. Yks.'' w.Yks.* Lan. s.Not.; nSnes.Wor. ; nooan e.Yks.'
w. Yks.^ I.W.' ; noon Wil' ; nuon Lan. ; nyen Nhb. [non,
noan, non, nin, nian.] 1. adj. With another neg. : any.
Sur. There waarn't none caards in my young daays, Bickley
Sur. Hills (1890) II. vi.
2. pron. In comb, (i) Noon-naw, a stupid fellow ; an idiot ;
2) -so-pretty, (a) the London pride, Saxifraga umbrosa ;
b) the Virginia stock, Malcolmia maritima ; (c) the Sweet
William, Dianthus barbatus.
(i) Wil. He was ' a gurt hummocksing noon-naw,' Jefferies Gt.
Estate (1881) iv ; Wil.' (2, a) s.Sc. Lnk. Patrick Plants (1831)
192. Gall. I should like to plant lads' love and none-so-pretty on
her grave, Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 272. n.Cy., Nhb.',
n.Lin.i, Nhp., Glo.i, e.An. e.Suf. OAso/. (F.H.) Dev.» (6) w.Som.',
Dev.4 {c) Ken.'
3. Phr. (i) wow« 0/' 60/^, neither ; (2) — of em both, neither
of them ; (3) — of one's chairs at home, not quite sane ; (4)
— o' me, not I ; (5) — or both, (6) — the two, see (i) ; (7)
— un's, none of us.
(i)e.An.' (2) Ken.' 2 (3) Lan. Poke met get it hinto ther yeds
us aw'd noane o me cheers owhomme, Ormerod Felleyfro Rachde
(1864) ii. (4) Yks. 'So ye're going wi' him!' 'None o' me,'
Taylor Miss Miles (1890) ii. w.Yks. It's noan o' me. Banks
Wkfld. Wds. (1865). (5) Ess. None or both cud leave their wark,
Clark /. Noakes (1839) st. 77 ; Ess.' (6) Fif. An assumed tone
o' gratification, the deception o' whilk nane the twa seemed to
tak' ony notice 0', M'Laren Tibbie (1894) 19. (7) LW.'
4. Not one ; no one.
Abd. Nane o' that has mair nor twa, Alexander fohnny Gibb
(1871) ii. Nhb. There's nyen to blame, Richardson Borderer's
Table-bk. (1846) VIII. 49. Cum.^ Nin was mead o purpose, 47.
Wm. Hes naane of ye seen a young thing ? Hutton Bran New
Wark (1785) 1. 142. n.Yks. (I.W.) w.Yks. Ah'm noan o' them
At calls at t'time by t'clock, Preston Poems (ed. i88i) 3. Dev.
Noan is barren among them, Baird Sng. Sol. (i860) iv. 2.
5. Nothing.
n.Yks. 2 w.Yks. 'Tha mended mi jacket all reight.'. .'Aw
mended nooan on it,' Hartley Clock Aim. (1872) Pref.
6. With another neg. : any ; in gen. dial. use.
Sc. I want naething from nane o' ye, Scott Midlothian (1818)
xviii. e.Yks.' Ah weeant h6 neean. Lin. Sweet-arts ! thanks to
the Lord that I niver not listen'd to noan ! Tennyson Spinster's
Sweet-arts ( 1885) st. 3. n.Lin.' I hev'n't noan. s.Wor. They never
uses none (H.K.).
7. adv. Not ; in no wise ; by no means ; with another
neg. : by any means.
Sc. By my advice ye will quarrel nane, Scott Pirate (1821)
xviii. Abd. Neen, neen— jist sax i' the ane an' half-a-dizzen i' the
ither, Alexander fohnny Gibb (1871) xiii. Ayr. I would weary
nane, Service Notandums (1890) 3. Frf. I wouldna hae been nane
angry if she had telled Enoch, Barrie Minister (1891) xiv. Lnk.
I would be nane fear't to try, Roy Generalship (ed. 1895)84. Edb.
I'll gang nane to bed, Ballantine Deanhaugh (1869) 69. Slk. The
beggar could run none, Hogg Tales (1838) 303, ed. 1866. Gall.
Ye micht hae preachen nane at Cauldshaws this nicht, Crockett
NONEAR(E
[293]
NON-SUCH
Stickit Min. (1893) 71. Nhb. Thou's neahn deef, Bewick Tales
(1850) la. Cum." He's none forgetting, Clare Rise of River {iQgi)
138. Wm. Thy neeav'l's like a roond bowl, 'at's nin stinted for
Igquor, Richardson Sng. Sol. (1859) vii. a. n.Yks.i He's none
failed ; ii.Yks.2 ; n.Yks.* He'll neean ho'd back. e.Yks.i Neean-
seeah ! he'll nut deeah it. He weeant budge ti deeah it this hauf-
hoor, nooan-he. w.Yks.i I naan want it ; w.Yks.'^ ; w.Yks.^ He's
noan baan to do that. Lan. Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore
(1867) 60 ; Her arm's non brokken, Hamerton Wenderholme
(1869) Ixvii; I'm nuon easy cheated, Westall Old Factory {iS&^
174 ; Lan.i, e.Lan.' s.Chs.> Hoo wonna none soft, 92. Der.^ He
none osses at it. nw.Der.' Not.' ; Not.'^ He'll none do it. s.Not.
'E's non so well off (J.P.K.). n.Lln.i You'll noan get him to speak
if he duz n't want. sw.Lin.^ I'm feeling none so well mysen. LeL^
'Teen't non so nassty. Nhp.', War.^ s.Wal. Hearts doant break
none so easy, Longman's Mag. (Dec. 1899) 144. e.An.i jt jg none
too late. Suf. (C.G.B.) Sur. 'Ee'U none come now, Bickley
Sur. Hills (1890) III. xvii. Som. Who are those two ? . . None
o' Stow, Raymond Tryphena (1895) 11. Hmp. Holloway.
8. Comb, (i) None-dow day, an unlucky day ; a day on
which nothing will prosper ; (2) -fat, a name applied to
any lean person or animal ; a bachelor in lodgings ; an
effeminate person.
(i) n.Yks.2 (2) w.Yks. A lean [poor] horse is frequently spoken
of as a ' naan-fat.' I have often heard the expression, when poor
unfed chickens have been killed, 'They are a lot of naan-fats,'
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (1884) ; Shoe's a nan-fat, and lives on tea and
pancakes (F.K.) ; w.Yks.^
9. Phr. (i) none all there, not all there; (2) — knows I,
I don't know and I don't care.
(i) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Aug. 24, 1895). (2) m.Yks.'
' Where's t'goodman, dame?' 'None knows I— t'day -work's done,
and he'll be landering again some o' t'gates.'
10. For a very short time ; ' next to no time.'
s.Chs.i Ahy aa)nu bin non uwee". w-Wor.' Shr.^ I want yo'
to run a narrand for me, an' yo' mun be none away, else the
Maister 661 be 'ere afore yo'. Hrf.^ Hadna bin gone none when
you come in.
11. sb. A cypher. n.Yks.'^ 12. //. The commonality, ib.
NONEAR(E, adv. Obs. Nrf. Not earlier, not sooner,
just now.
T. Browne Tract viji (c. 1680), in IVks. (ed. Wilkin) III. 333 ;
Ray (1691) ; (K.)
[The cause that I wrote to you non er than I dyde,
Paston Letters (1465) II, 225.]
NONEK, see Nannick.
NONENTITY, sb. Sc. Yks. 1. A sinecure.
Ayr. I could . . . render the provostry in your lordship's name
a perfect nonentity, Galt Provost (1822) xi.
,2. Obs. Phr. to be at a nonentity, to be nonplussed, to be
at a deadlock.
Rnf. We are yet at a nonentity as to our Assembly. We have
no account of our Commissioner, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) 1. 307,
ed. 1843.
3. An eccentric person. e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.)
NONE-SUCH, see Non-such.
N-ONFALL, sb. Nhb. A mishap. The same word as
Onfall (q.v.).
Maw muthor t'yuk a nonfall an' fell oot o' bed, Chater Tyneside
Aim. (1869) 39.
NON-GAIN, adj. Obs. Stf.^ Deficient in intellect.
NONGLE, V. and sb. s.Chs.^ [no-qkl.] 1. v. To nod.
Cf. nontle. 2. sb. A nod.
NON-HEEDED, ///.«</?'. Obs. n.Yks.^ Notremembered
or respected.
NONNAK, NONNECK, NONNOCK, see Nannick.
NONNOCK, V. e.An.i [no'nak.] To imitate, resemble.
NONNY, see Ninny, sb.^
NO-NOHTLY, adj. n.Lin.^ [no'-noutli.] Worthless,
evil. Cf. no, v.
I alus knew he was a no-nohtly soort on a man, bud I did n't
think he'd hev been up to a trick like this here.
NO-NOTION, see No-nation.
NONPAREIL, sb. Lon. A kind of confectionery.
Sugar constitutes the base of an almost innumerable variety of
hard confectionary, sold under the names of lozenges, brilliants,
pipe, rock, comfits, nonpareils, &c., Mayhew Land. Labour (1851)
I. 204, col. 1. [To Guildhall coffeehouse, where I drank a dish of
coffee and ate six nonpareils, but indifferent ones that I had bought
for twopence, Byrom Remin. (1735) in Cheth. Soc. XXXIV. 597-]
NONPLISH, see Non-plush.
NON-PLUNGE, sb. Lin. e.An. [no'n-plung.] 1. A
nonplus, dilemma, difficulty. e.An."^ 2. Phr. all of a
non-plunge, suddenly, in a hurry.
Lin.i He fell sick, all of a non-plunge.
NON-PLUSH, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Dur. Chs. Nhp. War.
Shr. Hnt. Cmb. Nrf. Suf. Sus. Hmp. Som. Amer. Also
in forms non-plish w.Som.' ; -plutch Hmp. [non-pluj,
-plBj.] 1. sb. A nonplus, dilemma, difficulty ; surprise ;
gen. in phr. at, or on, a non-plush.
Fif. She is at anon-plush, Colville F«»-Ma(r«/a»-(i899^ 2. Dar.i,
Chs.', Nhp.i War.^ He told me sich a tale, I was at a non-plush.
Shr.' 'E 66dna see a poor neighbour at a non-plush fur a bit o' coal,
or anythin' else as men or 'orses coulden do. Hnt. (T.P. F.),
w.Som.i Nrf. He can eat anything that cum of a nonplush-like,
Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 64. e.Suf. It happened quite
a nonplush to me (F.H.). Sus.' Hmp. I was taken all on a non-
plutch (T.L.O.D.). [Amer. They have caught me at a nonplush,
that's certain, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) 2nd S. xi.]
2. V. To nonplus, to put in a difficulty or at a dis-
advantage.
Abd. As I am as broad as lang, I would be non-plushed to keep
my seat, Ruddiman Sc. Parish (1828) 132, ed. i88g. Don. They
were a wee bit non-plushed, Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 77.
Nhp.' I was quite nonplushed, I didn't know what to say, or how
to act. w.Som.i Hon I come fax o' un hot business he'd a-got
there, he was proper a-nonplisht.
NONPOWER, sb. w.Som.^ The position of a sheep
when on its back and unable to get up.
Fat sheep at the time when their fleeces are at the fullest growth
very often get upon their backs, and having nothing to kick against
are unable to turn. The situation is dangerous, inasmuch as the
animal's struggles soon bring on inflammation of the bowels. This
position is called a nonpower [naun-paawur]. ' I vound two o'
they yoa'z [ewes] to a nonpower z'mornin', but they wad'n hurted.'
[ME. nounpower, lack of power (Chaucer).]
NONSICAL, adj. Shr. Hrf Glo. Som. Dev. [no-nsikl.]
A shortened form of ' nonsensical ' ; eccentric.
Shr.i Never 'eed whad that fellow says, 'e's al'ays on 66th 'is
nonsical talk. Hrf. Bound Prow'w. (1876); Hrf.' 2, Glo.' w.Som.'
Terr'ble nonsical [naun'sikul] sort of a man, never can't do nort
same's other vokes do do. Dev. Reports Provinc. (1891). nw.Dev.'
NONSKYEP, sb. Obs. or obsol. Nhb. Yks. Also in
form nunscape m.Yks.' In phr. a nonskyep (anunscape),
in a state longing or hankering after change. SeeAnonsker.
Nhb. This spreed o' lare sets high and law, A nonskyep efter
owt that's new, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 55 ; Nhb.' m.Yks.i
An alarming occurrence in a locality where relatives dwell will
' set ' a person ' all o' t'nunscape,' to go there. Or, having little
time to catch a train, a person will be on the nunscape to be off.
' Our lad's anunscape about going to the fair.'
NON-SUCH, adj and sb. Sc. Dur. Wm. Yks. Lan. Nrf.
Sus. Hmp. Wil. Som. Also Amer. Also in forms neean-
siccan, neean-sike n.Yks.^ ; ninsich Wm. ; none-such
Sc. (Jam.) Sus. Hmp. 1. adj. Obs. Unparalleled.
Sc. This would have discovered our iniquity, . . preventing that
day of none-such calamity, M'Ward Contendings (1723) 88 (Jam.).
2. sb. A peerless person; a prodigy; ^e«. used ironically
of a stupid, conceited person ; a dandy ; also used attrib.,
and in comb. Non-such-as.
Sc. If that non-such amongst mere men, the meek and zealous
Moses, might have his spirit provoked, M'Ward ib. Heb. As for
your Prince, now that I've seen him and spoken with him . . . he's
not a nonsuch, S. Tytler Macdonald Lass (1895) 172. Abd. His
braw Invincibles he thought That they were a' nonsuches. Cock
Strains (1810) II. 132. Lnk. Bords roun' yer mutch, Wi' stufBn'
an' plaits, like a very nonsuch, Watson Poems (1853) 46. Edb.
She's a non-such, the maid of my heart, Learmont Poems (1791)
100. Gall. There never was a nonsuch like our .Spurheel, Crockett
Grey Man (1896) ii. Wm. But ninsich Geordie does rejoice I'
oceans deep o' learnin' choice, Sewart Rhymes (1869) 44. n.Yks.^
w.Yks.'! I expected to find her a nonsuch-as. Lan.' [Amer.
Where onder the sun will you find a nonsuch like what you
describe? Sam Slick Cloctmaier {18-^6) 3rd S. ix.]
3. The black medick,Medicagolupulina,occas.the lucerne,
M. saliva.
Nrf. He sows it with nonsuch and finds it more profitable.
NONT
[294]
NOOK
Marshall Review (1811) III. 393. Sus., Hmp. (B. Si, H.) Hmp.i
Wil. Davis Gen. View Agric. (1811) vii. s.Wil. Ray grass, with
usually an intermixture of hop-clover (otherwise trefoil, or nonsuch)
on the high lands, Marshall Review (1817) V. 223. w.Som.i
4. A variety of apple. Dur.^, w.Som.'
NONT, NONTLE, see Naunt, sb?-, Nantle.
NONTLE, V. Not.i [no'ntl.] To nod the head. Cf.
nongle.
NONTY-NIDDLETY, s6. w.Yks.^ [nonti-nidlti.] A
silly fellow.
N00(A,N00AN,NO0ANCE,seeNo,a£^:, None,Nonce.
NOOAS(E, NOOAZ, NOOBRY, see Nose, Nobry.
N-OOD, sb. w.Som.' [nold, niid.] A wood, for ' an
'ood ' ; esp. in phr. so thick as a nood.
Neef wuz vur tu lat ut uloa'un, dhu vuuz wud km aup'-m dhik
dhae'ur vee'ul u graewn zu thik- liz u neo-d [If (one) was to let
it alone, the furze would come up in that field of ground so thick
as a nood].
NOODLE, sb. and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Eng. and
Amer. Also in forms newdel Cum.i* ; newdle Lakel.^
Cum. Wm. e.An.^; newdles Cum.'^*; noodles Lin.^ ;
nudel Cum.^* ; nudels Cum.^ [nvi-dl, niu'dl, w.Cy. noe'dl]
1. sb. A simpleton ; an awkward person ; a trifler.
Lnk. [She] was gey an' lang o' bein' married, an' took a noodle
o' n man i' the hin'er-en', Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 5. Cum ' ;
Cum.3 An oald newdles wid a creuk't nwose, 12; Cum." e.Yks.'
MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. A . . . noodle loike thee, Shemnld Ann.
(1852) II. Lin.i Rebecca always said that the girl was a poor
noodles. Nhp.i Shr., Hrf. Bound P>-ootW. (1876). Brks.i,Hnt.
(T.P.F.), e.An.2, e.Snf. (F.H.) Sur. If thou hadn'st bin a noodle
'ee'd a-left it till mornin', Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) III. i. w.Som."-
Neo-dl. Implies silliness of character rather than density of
intellect. [Amer. Puss-proud folks . . . who are jist as big noodles
as they be themselves, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) ist S. xxxi.]
Hence Noodly, adj. foolish.
s.Wil. An old woman at Salisbury said she wanted a proper
bonnet, not one of the little 'noodly' fashionable things in the
shop-windows (G.E.D. ).
2. A slang name for a man belonging to the Northumber-
land Yeomanry or Volunteers.
Nhb. The Noodles have ne'er been at battle as yet, Allan
Tyneside Sngs. (1891) 201 ; Nhb.i
3. V. To act foolishly ; to saunter about aimlessly ; to
waste time.
I.akel.2 He's alius newdlen aboot t'public hoose efter some cheap
yal. Cum.' He nudels away his time. Nhp.* What do you do
noodling there ! War.^ Wil.' Noodle along, Jo move drowsily
and heavily, as a very spiritless horse.
Hence (1) Newdel't or Newdled, ppl. adj. bewildered ;
confused through excessive drinking ; (2) Noodling, ppl.
adj. awkward, stupid.
(i)Cum.i* Wm. He's newdled wi drink (B.K.). (2)Cnm.Thoo
silly, newdlin, jealous ass, Richardson 7a/A(ed. 1876) 171. s.Chs.i
4. To hum idly.
Sh I. Sha wis noodlin' a bit o' a fiddle tun till hersel', Sh. News
(July ID, 1897).
NODDY, V. Oxf.i [nii-di.] To fret, feel melancholy.
I an' my daater lives longways, so I dunt know whether 'er's
nOSdyin', MS. add.
NOOER, see Newer.
NOOF, adj. and v. Sc. Also in forms nufe (Jam.) ; nuif
Gall. [nuf.J 1. adj. ? Obs. Sheltered from the weather ;
snug.
Gall. The frien'ly firs, they keep it noof, Frae Boreas' baul'est
devel, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 123, ed. 1897; Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
2. Neat, trim.
Dmf. (Jam.), Gall. (A.W.), (J.M.) Kcb. His wife was always
bra' an' unco noof, Davidson Seasons (1789) 65.
3. V. To enjoy oneself leisurely, to be snug and comfort-
able.
Lnk. The laird sat noofan o'er his glass, Baith rum and brandy,
Naething less. Stood sparkling on the table, M'Indoe Poems
(1805") 140.
N-OOFY, adj. Sc. [Not known to our correspondents.]
? Silly, ' feckless.' See Oof.
Bwk. Get up, you noofy bitch, and stick them wi' the graip !
stick them a', you noofy bitch ! Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 85.
NOOH, NOOIKIN, NOOININ(G, see Nough, v., Nookin,
Nooning.
NOOK, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Der. Not. Nhp. War. Won Also in forms neak Wm.
w.Yks.; neeak Cum.' Wm. ; neuckSc. N.Cy.'; neukSc.
(Jam.) Nhb.i Dur. Lakel.' Cum.^ n.Yks.i^^* ne.Yks.'
w.Yks." ne.Lan.^ ; neukk Cum.' ; newk Sc. e.Yks.' w.Yks.'
Nhp.'; niuk Lakel.^ ; nuck Sc. ; nuick Nhb.'; nuik Sc.
N.Cy.i Nhb.i Dur.' Lakel.' Cum. ; nuke n.Yks."^ w.Yks.'
Nhp.'; nyukNhb.' [nuk,n.Cy. Yks. niuk, niak; Sc. also
njtik.] 1. sb. A recess ; an interior angle ; a crevice ;
a niche ; a corner-seat, esp. a corner-seat by the fire ; a
remote, out-of-the-way place. Cf. ingle-nook, s.v. Ingle,
5A.' 4 (12).
Sc. An agreement to take a' the idolatrous sants out o' their
neuks, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xix ; We're better here by the ingle
newk, Roy Horseman's IVd. (1895) i. Sh.I. A auld man sittin'
hurklin' i' da chimley neuk, Stewart Tales (1892) 70. n.Sc.
There is no fairy fiddler in the neuk to skirl out encore ! Gordon
Carglen (1891) 145. ne.Sc. Grant Keckleton, 77. Cai.' Mry.
Hay Lintie (1851) 26. Elg. Tester Poems (1865) 108. Bnff.
Thou . . . puts four stanes in the four nooks of the Ward, and
charms the samen [same], Gordon ChroH. Keith (1880) 54. Bch.
Hard by the house o' Robie Mill, Just i' the nuik, Forbes Shop
Bill (1785) 14. Abd. Jist luik i'th nuik there ahin the door,
Macdonald R. Falconer {1868) 55. Kcd. Grant Lays {1884) 16.
Frf. Smart Rhymes (1834) 136. Slg. In that same dark sooty neuk
Anaith the cadger's plaiding pock, Muir Poems (1818) 8. Rnf.
PiCKEN Poems (ed. 1813) I. 63. Ayr. I'll take a nook in the
carriage wi' you as far as the road lies in my way, Galt Sir
A. Wylie (1822) xlix. Lnk. MuiR Minstrelsy (1816) 30. Lth.
Ballantine Poems (1856) 287. Edb. Pennecuik Wks. (1715)
399, ed. 1815. Hdg. A search-licht that Their dark neuks made
as clear, Lumsden Poems (1896) 66. Bwk. We sat at that humble
fireside in Tibby's neuk, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 91. Rxb.
Ilk nuik frae end to end on't, Murray i/aroacA Sngs. (1892) 18.
Dmf. I stapped her in the neuk o'my den,CR0MEKi?«ma!Ks(i8io)
86. N.Cy.' Nhb. Tell them hoo ta gaird their troosers-pocket
neuks, Chatt Poems (1866) 88 ; Nhb.', Dnr.', Lakel.' Cum. My
fadder started i' the nuik, Anderson Ballads i^ed. 1881) 51; Cnm.'^
Wm. In a neeak sic ez thissen, Wilson Bit ev a Sang, 97. n.Yks.'
' Ye'U finnd him i' Mr. W.'s neuk' ; a meadow of angular shape,
and almost shut in by the windings of the beck; n.Yks.'23 4^
ne.Yks.' e.Yks. Carefully bed iv a newk ov a dhrawer, Nicholson
Flk-Sp. (1889) 42 ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks.' He does nout but
sit i'th nook; w.Yks.^^^^ Lan. No more will I keawer i' th'
aleheawse nook, Wood Recitations (1879) 86. ne.Lan.', s.Chs.',
Der.' nw.Der.' Sit dhy down i' th' nook an warm dhy. Nhp.'
2. A projecting corner ; an exterior angle ; the corner
of a garment or piece of material.
Sc. Caught the standard by the neuk, Scott Minstrelsy (1802)
I. 322, ed. 1848. Sh.I. Set him doon on da neuk o' a eggbox,
Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 88. Cai.' Abd. I' the neuk o' his plaid,
Alexander/oAmmjv Gibb (1871) x. Frf. Sud we e'en slip oor wa's
to be oot when he ca's, Roun' the first nook we gang he'll be
standin'. Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 113. Fif. Tennant Papistry
(1827) 10. Ayr. Ye turned a neuk, IBurns Miss Ferrier, st. 4. Lth.
Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 173. Dmf. Quinn Heather (1863)
41. Nlib. For dishclout serves her apron nuik, Wilson Pitman's
Pay (1843) 10 ; Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. Also the corner of a pillar of coal,
Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). Cum." The sloping part of the gable
of a thatched roof ; sods or turf were placed along the ' rigging ' or
' ridge ' and also down the sloping part of the gable to keep down the
thatch. Noggs are put through the sods or flacks to keep them in
position. . . In Bewcastle it is quite common to say ' going round the
nook,' that is the corner of the gable. n.Yks. 'Ya see yon neuk.
dooantya?' 'Aye.' 'Thenyouhev taturnatthatneukan'you'l be
all-reef (W.H.) ; n.Yks.', ne.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks. A bleak
shoulder, or ' edge,' a bold sharp feature running along the side of
a dale, a ridge, Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 113. s.Not. A
corner of a stack or ofa load of hay or corn (J.P.K.).
Hence (i) Nooked, ppl. adj. [a) having corners; (b)
crooked ; also Jig. short-tempered, sharp ; (2) Nuikey,
adj., see (i, a).
(j, a) Sc. The twa-neukit moon, Glasgow Herald (Apr. 3, 1899).
Per. Thae shapeless, mony-nookit blocks . . . Were hirsled frae
the impending rocks, Stewart C/iarac/ej- (1857) 118. Rnf. Web-
ster Rhymes (1835) 194. Lnk. The corn riddle fu' of the three
nucket scons, Graham Writings (1883) II. 41. Lth. The wild
NOOKET
[295 J
NOONING
roving rogue has the gled in his ee, Twa three-neukit ee-brees
aye louping wi' glee, Ballantine Poems (1856) 99. Edb. Bare-
banes made his [trenchers] four-nooked, Mitchell Tinklarian (ed.
i8io) 12. Slk. A three-neukit stane Uke a cockit hat, Hogg
Winter Even. Tales in Denham Tracts (ed. 1895) II. 201. Cum. My
three-nuik'd hat, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1881) 94. n.Yks.* ' Four
neuk'd,' square. Lan. A three-nooked crinoline hung onto th'
end ov a clooas-prop, Accrington Times (May 16, 1868). (6) Abd.
What made you sae neuket wi the man ? Ye spak' rael neuket to
her. Ye winna force me wi yer neuket wye o' speakin' l^G.W.).
s.Wor. (H.K.) (2) Sc. (Jam., s.v. Nuikit).
3. Comp. (i) Nook-end, the furthest extremity of a corner;
(2) -shop, a corner shop ; (3) -staves, the corner stays
attached to the projecting ends of the cross-bars in the
frame of a cart bottom ; (4) -stone, a corner-stone ; (5)
-stower, the iron work of a cart to which loads are
attached ; (6) -time, twilight ; (7) -window, a small square
window generally found in old farm-houses in the corner
nearest the fireplace of the sitting-room.
(i) n.Cy. Grose (1790). w.Yks. ib. MS. add. (P.) {s) n.yks."
m.Yks.i w.Yks. You mun get it at t'neuk shop. Archaic Wds. in
Yks. Wkly. Post (June 23, 1883). (3) w.Yks. (J.J.B.) (4) Sc.
That our douchters maye be as nuik stanes, polishet efter the like-
niss o' ane paelice, Riddell Ps. (1857) cxliv. 12. (5)Lakel.2
(6) w.Lth. In reference to its being the season for pastime or gos-
siping among the working people (Jam.). (7) Cum. They put her
in a great armchair and wheeled her into her place by the neuk-
window, Caine Shad. Crime ^1885) 118 ; Cum.i*
4. Phr. (i) in the nook, (a) delicate, only fit to sit by the
fireside ; (b) in child-bed ; (2) the capstane of the nook, the
corner-stone ; (3) the far nook, the extremity of anything ;
(4) to do one's nook, to do one's fair share, esp. of work ;
(5) to hold, or keep, one in his own nook, to keep a person
under, or in awe ; (6) to stand one's nook, to take one's
proper share ; to stand treat ; esp. a card-player's term ;
cf. to stand one's corner, s.v. Corner, 4 ; (7) to turn a nook
upon, to outwit, overreach.
(i, a) w.Yks.s Shoo'l awlus be i' t'neuk. (6) Gall. He was sent
to Wigtown for a bottle of wine ... to comfort a few gossips who
were attending his first wife, then in the neuk, Caled. Merc. (Mar.
3, 1823) (Jam.). (2) Sc. The stane whilk the biggers rejeckit is
become the capstane o' the neuk, Henderson S^MaW. (i862)xxi. 42.
(3) Sc. I trow instead of waiting many a one of us be come to the
far nook of our patience, Bruce Lectures (1708) 48 (Jam.). (4)
w.Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post (May 15, 1897). m.Lan.i These cares as
we let mek us ill Wod disappear like smook, Iv we but faced 'em
wi' a will, An' friends wod do their nook. (5) Abd. (Jam.) (6)
Lakel.2 ^^7) Abd. (Jam.)
5. A small field or farm.
Cum. An old legal term for 12J acres of land ; still in use at
Alston (E.W.P.) ; Cum.*
6. A portion ; quantity.
Wm. Tak thor twea or three heaam wie yee, theyl be a neak of
a novelty for yee, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 63, ed. 1821. s.Chs.' U
gild nook u dhfl miin'i wuz gon.
7. A damaged short length of cloth. w.Yks. (J.M.)
8. V. To conceal in a corner; to hide anything.
War. He heard them talk about ' nooking ' the boots, by which
he understood they meant to hide them. He went to a cellar next
day and found the boots had been nooked there, B'ham Dy. Post
(Apr. 29, 1899) ; War.*
9. Obs. To check, put down, humble.
Abd. How of late they you and me did nook, Ross Helenore
(1768) 88 (Jam.).
10. To trick, outwit, take in. Abd. (Jam.)
NOOKET, sb. Yks. War. Wor. Ken. Sur. Also written
nookit Ken.' ; and in forms nokett War. ; nucket w.Yks.*
[nu'kit.] A nook ; a corner ; a small projection.
w.Yks.*, War. (Hall.), s.Wor. (H.K.), Ken.' Sur." ' The stone
changes just beyond that nooket,' said the quarryman, pointing to
a small projection in the face of the quarry.
NOOKIN, sb. n.Cy. Dur. Yks. Der. Lin. Also in forms
neiikin n.Yks.'^ e.Yks. m.Yks.' w.Yks.^ ; newkin nTks.*
e.Yks.'Der.= nw.Der.'; nuikin Dur.'; nukin Yks. [nukin,
niu'kin.] 1. A nook ; a recess, esp. the corner seat on
either sideof an old-fashioned fireplace; aprojectingcorner.
n.Cy. HOLLOWAY. Dur.', n.Yks.'^a e.Yks. Seated in his former
place by the neukin, Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) i ; e.Yks. iJl/S.
w. Rnoi, a Dump, khod ^ vviui£tiKisiN;.j
, V. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lin. Cor. Also
lull Sc. (Jam.) e.Dur.' Lin. [niJl.] 1. To beat,
with the knuckles. n.Sc. (Jam.), Cor.^= The
add. m.Yks.i w.Yks.' He nipp'd a lile wee nookin on't, ii. 300 ;
w. Yks.^ Tak t'brush an' sweep t'house a wal darn , an' doan't be flaad
to goa intul awal t'neukins. De:.^, nw.Der.i Lin.' I've lost a bob,
look in the nookins. n.Lin.' The corners of a stack.
2. A nickname given in schools to a culprit who is made
to stand in the corner. Yks. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.)
NOOKSHOTTEN, ppl. adj. Chs. Stf. Shr. 1. Shot
into a corner ; stationed as a matter of idle habit in the
chimney-corner.
s.Chs.i Gen. used of cheese put aside from the rest as inferior.
Shr.' Sich a neuk-shotten thing inna wuth 'er saut.
2. Having many sharp turns and angles ; out of the
square ; crooked ; not level.
Chs.i, Stf. (Miss E.) Shr.i An old farmer cautioned a certain
person against taking a short cut across some fields because the
way was very ' neuk-shotten.'
3. Extending from corner to corner, as a path through
afield. Stf.' 4:. Fig. Perverse, 'crooked ' in temper
as the result of disappointment or of a mistake. Chs.'''*
[1. In that nook-shotten isle of Albion, Shaks. Hen. V,
III. v.]
NOOL, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Cum. Also in forms kneul
Cum.'; neuU, null Sc. (Jam.) A small horn, esp. one
attached to the skin on the heads of cattle, and not con-
nected with the skull-bone ; also used attrib., and in comp.
NeuU-horn. See Kntile.
Ayr. lU-willy kye suld hae neuU horns (Jam.). Rxb. {ib.') Gall.
May dew, and fumarts' tears, Nool shearings, nowts' neers, Mac-
TAGGART Encycl. (1824) 115, ed. 1876. Kcb. Laughing wi' himsel
At seeing auld brawny glowr and shake his nools, Davidson Seasons
(1789) 45. Cum.'
Hence Nooled, adj. having mere stumps of horns. Ayr.,
Rxb. (Jam.)
[Cp. Sw. kndl, a bump, knob (Widegren).]
NOOL,
in form null „ ,
to strike with the knuckles. n.Sc. (J/ .
same word as Knool (q.v.). Hence (i) Nooled, ppl. adj.
curbed, broken-spirited ; dazed ; (2) Nooling, sb. a beating.
(i) n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.i Nhb.' It is applied to a person
whose appearance indicates fear or over-anxiety. ' The man's
fair nooled like.' ' The poor bairn's fairly nooled.' It is also
applied to an animal that has had its spirit broken by hard usage,
or that has a cowed look through being conquered in fighting
with its kind. 'A poor nooled dog.' 'He's a nooled-leukin'
beast.' Cum. Linton iafe Cy. (1864) 308. (a) Cor.' 2
2. To benumb, to allay or assuage pain.
Nhb.' Noo give us sumthin' to nool this pain. e.Dur.' Mr. R.,
an invalid, rubs his legs to ' null the pain.' w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.
That'l null pain if owt will. Peacock Tales and Rhymes (1886)
97 ; n.Lin.' Mary's tooth stangs soa, I'm gooin' to gie her sum
lodlum to null it.
NOOL, see Knool, Knule.
NOOLE-KNEED,a(i5?: N.I.' [nu-l-nid.] Knock-kneed.
Cf. knule-kneed, s.v. Knule, 2 (i).
NOON, sb. and v. Cum. Yks. Shr. Also in forms
neean Cum.' n.Yks.^ ; neunn Cum.' ; noin, nune w.Yks.
[niin, nuin, nian.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Noon-spell, the
labourers' luncheon-time. Shr.' ; (2) -stead, the point of
noon. n.Yks.'^, m.Yks.' (s.v. Folkstead). 2. Dinner-
time. Cum.' 3. The mid-day meal, dinner.
w.Yks. It's good anuf at a nune, but an huz wimmen muddent
hev a sup a Te we mud be hungard, Ellis Provinc. (1889) V. 612.
4. V. To eat one's dinner.
w.Yks. He can't come ; he's noining (H.W.).
[1. (2) Now it nigh'd the noonstead of the day, Drayton
Mooncalf (Nar^s)^
NOON, NOONCE, NOONCHINE, see None, Nonce,
Nuncheon.
NOONING, sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. e. An. Amer. Also written
noonin Lan.' Suf.' ; and in forms nooinin w.Yks.*;
nooining w.Yks." [nu'nin.] 1. Noon ; the time of rest
allowed to the labourer at noon ; the dinner-hour.
w.Yks. Am ban ta si t'navi Sis nuinin (J.W.); w.Yks.'*, Lan.'
e.Nrf. Marshall Hur. Econ. (1787). [Amer. You take Your
nooning in the shade of bush and brake, Longfellow Birds of
Killingworth. ]
NOON-MEAT
[296]
NOR
2. Comp. (i) Nooning-hour, the dinner-hour ; (2) -piece,
a piece of bread eaten as luncheon ; (3) -scaup or -scope,
{a) a labourer's resting-time after dinner ; cf. noon-
scape ; [b) a slight luncheon taken at noon.
(i) w.Yks. (E.G.) (2) Gall. She gave him her nooning piece of
bread to stay his hunger, Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 198.
(3, a) w.Yks. Watson Hist. Hlfx. (1775) 543 ; w.Yks." (6)
w.Yks. Dyer Dial. (1891) 78.
3. A workman's dinner, esp. the dinner of reapers ; gen.
in pi.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Why art thou absent from thy nooning ?
RoBY Trad. (1829) I. 464, ed. 1872. e.An.i Nrf. Grose (1790).
Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 296, ed. 1849; Suf.i, Ess. (F.H.)
NOON-MEAT, see Nammet.
NOON-SCAPE, sb. Lan. Also in forms nocnscawp ;
noonscawpe Lan.' [ni3"n-skep, -sk§p.] The time when
labourers rest in the middle of the day.
In theau'll cum dewn sum nocnscawp o' keawrink weh Seroh,
un meh o' bit, I'll tell th' moor obewt it, Paul Bobbin Sequel
(1819) 25 ; Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; Lan.i
NOONSHUN, NOONST, see Nuncheon, Nonce.
NOONY, sb.^ Sc. A luncheon ; a meal taken between
breakfast and dinner.
Slk. Breakfast, noony, denner, four-hours, and supper a' in ane,
Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 215.
NOONY, s6.= and v. Not. Nhp. War. [nti-ni.] 1. sb.
A simpleton.
s.Not. You are a noony to believe tales like them (J. P.K.). Nhp.',
War.s
2. V. To behave like a simpleton.
Nhp.i He goes noonying about.
NOOP,s^>.' Sc.n.Cy. Nhb. Also written knoop N.Cy.';
and in forms knopeNhb. ; knupe Nhb.'; nup Dmf. ;
nupe Cai.' [noep, nup.] The fruit of the cloud-berry,
Rubus Chamaemorus ; also in comp. Knope-berry.
Cai.' Dmf. We have Nupberry hill in Closeburn — well named,
for there the plant grows, Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351.
N.Cy.i Nhb. Cloud-berries are numerous. . . The shepherds call
them knout, or knope-berries. White Nhb. (1859) 355 ; Nhb.' I
was up in good time, and pulled a fine lot of noops, or cloud-
berries, Crossing the Cheviots.
[Norw. dial, njupa, also nvipe, a hip, the fruit of the wild
rose (Aasen) ; cf. choop.]
NOOP, s6.= Sh.L Also in form nup. [niip.] A lofty,
peak-shaped headland ; a mountain top.
The moon hangs over the Noop of Noss, Junda Klingrahool
(1898) 13 ; (A.W.G.) ; S. & Ork.i A lofty headland, precipitous
towards the sea and sloping towards the land.
[Norw. dial, nup (uu), a high mountain-top with steep
side (Aasen) ; ON. gnupr {nupr), a peak, freq. in local
names (Vigfusson).]
NOOP, sb? ■>. Obs. Sc. Also in form nupe (Jam.). A
rounded projection, a protuberance.
It's just like the noop of my elbow, it whiles gets a bit dirl
on a corner, Scott Midlothian (1818) xvii ; (Jam.)
NOOP, V. ? Obs. Sc. To walk with downcast eyes
and nodding head.
Gall. The Major, wi' the drink that he Had tooted frae the
bicker, Began to swing, and noop, and jee, Mactaggart Encyd.
(1824) 499, ed. 1876.
NOOPE, sb. Chs.'^ [nup-] The run of a hare or rabbit.
NOOSLE, see Nuzzle.
NOOSLY, a«/i/. Obs. Sc. Handsomely.
Kcb. The Deil, Wha said he'd noosly crown the tap o' 't,
Davidson Seasons (1789) 38.
NOOST, sb. ? Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) The action of the
grinders of a horse when chewing.
NOOST, see Newst, Noust.
NOOT, sb. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) The ball or piece of
wood that is struck in the game of shinty. The same
word as Knout (q.v.).
NOOTY, sb. Sus. [nii-ti.] A donkey; also used
attrib. (E.E.S.), (R.H.C.)
NOOVER, sb. Sur. A manoeuvre.
I wonders what noover ye be up to now, Son of Marshes
Sur. Hills (1891) 75.
NOOWUR, see Nower.
NOOZE, sb. Yks. Silk-trade term: a loop in the
' heald ' without the metal disk, through which the end of
the warp passes. w.Yks. (S.A.B.) Cf. neese, sb.^
NOOZLE, see Nuzzle.
NOP, sb. and v.^ Lakel. Yks. [nop.] 1. sb. The head
or top of anything. e.Yks.* The same word as Knop, sb.
(q.v.) Hence Noppy, adj. many-headed, ib. 2. The
rounded head of a flower.
Noo then, can't thoo find nowt betther ti deeah than knock
thissle-nops off? ib.
3. Wool-trade term : cloth, the surface of which is
covered with small lumps of raised wool. w.Yks. (J.M.)
4. V. To crop ; to nip off the end of gooseberries,
currants, &C. Lakel.^ We're thrang noppin berries. Cum.'
5. To snuff a candle. Lakel.^ Nop t'can'le.
6. To set with precious stones.
n.Yks. As gowld rings nop'd wi' the beryl, Robinson Whitby
Sng. Sol. (i860) v. 14.
NOP, Z/.2 Not. [nop.] Of clothes : to dry roughly or
partially. The same word as Knop, v.^ (q.v.).
s.Not. The clo'es is gettin nicely nopped ; but they may hing
a bit longer (J.P.K.).
NOP, see Knop, sb.
N-OPE, sb.^ Nhb. Lan. Stf. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf. e.An.
Cor. Also in form nopen Stf. [nop.] 1. The bullfinch,
Pyrrhula Europaea. The same word as Alp (q.v.).
Nhb. (R.O.H.) Stf. In some parts, N. £/ Q. (1858) 2nd S. vi. 29.
VfSiT.B'ham Wkly. Post (June 10, 1893); War.'^^ w.Wor. Berrow's
Jrn. (IMar. 3, 1888). Shr. Swainson Birds (1885) 66; Shr.l ;
Shr.2 The nope's a deuced mischievous bird. Hrf.°, e.An.' ' Nrf.
Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 45. Suf. Ray (1691) ; Suf.l
Cor. RoDD Birds (1880) 315 ; Cor.^
2. A name given to any bird of the titmouse {Pants)
family. Lan. Science Gossip (1882) 164.
[A Nope (bird), rubidlla, Coles (1679); Chochepierre, a kind
of nowpe or bullfinch that feeds on the kernels of cherri-stones,
COTGR.]
NOPE, sb.^ Stf Nhp. [nop.] The hinder part of the
neck, where the head unites with the vertebrae. Stf.
Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) Nhp.' The same word as
Knaup, 2 (q.v.).
NOPE, NOPER, see Knaup, Naup, Nauper.
NOPES, sb. pi. Obsol. Shr.' Children. A term em-
ployed among the mining population.
NOPINGS, see Nawpin(g)s.
NOPPET, sb. e.An. [no-pit.] 1. A small quantity
of anything, whether solid or liquid. e.Suf. (F.H.) The
same word as Knoppit (q.v.). 2. A bunch of wood or
straw. e.An.'
NOPPET, adj. Gmg. Lively ; convalescent.
Collins Gow. Dial, in Trans. Phtl. Soc. (1848-50) IV. 223.
NOPPIT, 56. w.Yks.^ [no-pit.] A donkey.
When milk was brought to Shefiield in barrels, fifty years ago,
hung on each side of a donkey, that animal was called a noppit.
N-OPPLE, sb. se.Wor.i (s.v. N.) An apple.
NOPPLESACK, sZ>. Lan. [no-plsak.] A knapsack.
They put a nopplesack a. top o' my back, Pearson Ballads,
No. 286.
NOPPS, sb. Cum. [nops.] A washing-tub. (J.H.)
NOPPY, s6. Lakel.2 [no-pi.] A child's name for the
head. Cf. nop, sb. 1.
NOPPY, adj} Yks. [no-pi.] Slightly intoxicated.
Cf. nappy, 2.
m.Yks.' w.Yks. [It] made us noppy, Nidderdill Olm. (1879).
NOPPY, adj.'^ Cum. [no-pi.] Tidy, neat.
Cum.' Ey, a varra noppy laal body ; Cum.*
NOPY, see Nawpy, adj.
NOR, V. and sb. Sh.L [nor.] 1. v. To snore. S. &
Ork.' 2. sb. A snore, tb.
NOR, conj. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amer.
Also in forms na Sc. n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' w.Yks.^ Lin.' ; nar
Sc. s.Wor.; ner Cai.' Cum.'*Wm. n.Yks.* w.Yks.' ne.Lan.'
Glo. ; nir Sc. ; nur w.Yks.^ Lan. Wil.' [na(r.] 1. After
comparatives : than ; in gen. dial. use.
Sc. Yin that's better nir the hale crew o' ye, Magopico (ed.
1836) 13. Sh.I. I can do little mair nor read a shapter i' da
Bible, Stewart Tales (189a) 4, n.Sc. Wha dinna like sermons
NOR
[297]
NORFOLK
preychit mair nor aince, Gordon Carglen (1891) 51. ne.Sc. Nae
farer gaen nor yesterday, Grant Keckleton, iii. Cai.^, Inv.
(H.E.F.) e.Sc. Waur nor the beasts that perish, Setoun R.
Urquhart (1896) i. Bch. Tenfaul' praise Belangs him, mair nor
ye, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 34. Abd. Beattie Parings (1801) 10,
ed. 1873. Kcd. Grant Lays (1884) 8. Frf. Morison Poems
(1790) 155. Per. Better nor maist, Cleland Inckbracken (1883)
10, ed. 1887. w.Sc. There's naething easier nor gettin' acquant
wi' her, Macdonald Settlement (1869) 20, ed. 1877. Fif. Heddle
Marget (1899) 22. s.Sc. He's nae mair nor a gommeril, Snaith
Fierceheart (1897) 134. Dmb. I've spaed her fortune mair nor
ance. Cross Disruption (1844) viii. Rnf. They toolzied mair
na tongue can tell, Picken Poems (ed. 1813) I. 130. Ayr.
Nae mair sense nor that bottle, Galt Lairds (1826) iii. Lnk.
Graham Writings (1883) II. 43. e.Lth. Hunter/. Inwick (1895)
194. Edb. Crawford Poems (1798) 31. Peb. Affleck Poet.
Wks. (1836) 128. Slk. A hantle better nor onything ye'U say,
Chr. North Noctes (ed. 1856) III. 35. Gall. Him nae better nor
a bairn, Crockett Sunbonnet (1895) iv. Ir. Many another man
would put salt wather between himself and yourself sooner nor
become a battin'-stone for you, Carleton Traits Peas. (1843) I.
386. n.Ir. There wusnae less nor twenty horses, Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 10. Uls. Mair nor welcome tae, M°Ilroy Craig-linnie
(1900) 26. Ant. Richer nor the Jews, O'Neill Glens (1900) 5.
Bwn. It did him mair guid tae see them enjoyin' it nor if he had
et it himsel', Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 11. Lns. The mistress
managed it better nor all that, Croker Leg. (1862) 243. Kid.
Yeer handle is longer nor mine, Barrington Sketches (1830)
11. V. N.Cy.i2, Nhb.i,Dur.i,e.Dur.i, Cum.i* Wm. Nicer ner enny
pickter, RoBisoN ^«W Taa/cs (1883") 3. n.Yks.'^* ne.Yks.' Na
mair na nowt. e.Yks.i, w.Yks.i2345 Lan. Foalk are sharper
a deal nur they used te be once, Laycock Sngs. (1866) 57 ; Lan.i,
ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.i, ra.Lan.i, Chs.i^ s.Stf. I'd rother ha Tom's
hoss nor Bill's, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Der. Ah loikeem
better nor onny o't tothers, Robinson Sammy Twitcher (1870) 18.
Der.12^ nw.Der.', Not.''^ Lin. Ye be wuss nor the men-tommies,
Tennyson Spinster's Sweet-arts (1885) st. 14; Lin.', n.Lin.i,
sw.Lin.', Lei.i, Nhp.', War.' =^3 n.War. The lard cakes turned
out better nor common, Geo. Eliot S. Marner (1861) 124.
w.Wor.'^ s.Wor. Better goo to sarvice in the country nar goo
into the town, Outis Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (1896) xvii.
se.Wor.i, Shr.', Hrf.12 gio. He sed 'twer moor ner a pound to
pay, Gibbs Cotswold Vill. (i8g8) 91 ; Glo.', Oxf.i s.Oxf. No older
nor I be, Rosemary Chiltems (1895) 92. Brks. He said as the
farmers went agin givin' more nor an acre to any man as worked
for them, Hughes T. Brown Oxf. (1861) xix ; Brks.i Bdf. Worse
folk nor Bessie, Ward Bessie Costrell (1895) 6. Lon. Bill can
read faster nor a dog can trot, Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) II.
148, ed. 1861. Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.i Nrf. She be larger nor the
cock, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 206. Suf. Can't you gon we no
more nor that? FisoN Merry Suf. (1899) 43. Sur. Better nor
nought, Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) I. ii ; Sur.i Hmp. The're a lot
mare for'arder nor the other was (W.M.E.F.). Wil. Better nur
that, Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.' Dor. You'd ha' had more
sense nor to be workin' samplers, Longman s Mag. (Sept. 1900)
453. Som. I'll give you summat harder nor words. Palmer
Mr. Trueman (1895) 104. Dev. I raws tha kuntry better nor yu
du, Burnett Stable Boy (1888) vii. Cor.^ He guv moor nor
tuppence for that. [Amer. He is taller nor me. Dial. Notes
(1896) I. 380.]
2. Phr. (i) better nor like, better than might be expected ;
(2) nor better, better than ; more than.
(i) w.Yks. Varry oft he did better nor like, to say 'at he had to
do it aght ov his own heead. Hartley Clock Aim. (1869) 43. (2)
Sur. I've bin postee these two years nor better, Bickley Sur. Hills
(1890) i.
3. ? Obs. Elliptical use in such phr. as God nor, the deil
nor, little would one care although.
Sc. Deil nor it were hewn down for me, To puddin' pricks, Pen-
NECUiK Coll. (1787) 10 ; Fean nor they were a' sent to France, ib.
13 ; God nar my boat were i' the bottom of the sea if I be not
paid, PiTCAiRN Assembly (1766) 16. Ayr. Then down ye'll hurl,
deil nor ye never rise ! Burns Brigs of Ayr (1787) 1. 125. Lnk.
Deil nor they were screw'd in a box of gude hard birk, MuiR Min-
strelsy (1816) 49. Edb. Deil nor they were a' horned nowte, Lear-
MONT Poems (1791) 55. Peb. Sorrow nor the drink wad chock ye,
Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 125.
4. Although; if; that.
Abd. Aw dinna won'er nor ye sud be gey concern't aboot her,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 34. Per. Nae wonder nor you're
VOL. IV.
thin, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891') 92. Edb. I dinna doubt nor
we'll agree, Crawford Poems (1798) 92.
NOR, NOR A, NORAD, see Na, neg., No, adj., Never
a, Norward.
NORAL, V. Lakel.= [noTl.] To hit on the head with
a stick. ' Ah'll noral thee, thoo nasty paddock.'
NORALEG, sb. Sh.I. Also written norraleg S. &
Orlc* [noTaleg.] 1. A needle with a broken eye, or
without an eye.
Sibbie wis i her kist hunsilin for a norraleg ta rin a string troo
da baandi o' a cot till her midder, Sh. News (Mar. 25, 1899) ; To
cross witches above the breath, i.e. on the forehead, so as to draw
their drOrie [blood] with a steel noraleg, deprived them of Iheir
power to hurt, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 123; Jakobsen Dial.
(1897) 45 ; "S. & Ork.l
2. The lower leg-bone of a swine.
S. & Ork.i Used in making a ' snorick.'
N-ORATE, V. Nhp. War. Sus. [nore't] To chatter,
gossip ; to talk over the news of the town. Cf. noration.
Nhp.i Don't stand thei;e norating. War.^ Sus.' It very soon
got norated about all down the street.
[The same word as orate, to make a long speech (used
gen. humorously or contemptuously).]
N-ORATION, sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written noraaytion Brks.' ; norration N.I.' Nhb.'
Cum.^*; norrayshun e.Yks. ; and in forms narration Sc.
Wil.' ; nurration Wm. [nore'Jan, norea'Jan, norei'Jan.]
Loud or prolonged talking, a great noise or clamour ; a
disturbance, fuss.
Ayr. [He] was roarin' wi' the pain o't like a sticket pig, . . and
in very shame at sic a narration in the castle, I spak bauldly oot.
Service A'otoMc^Mms (1890) 28. N.I.' Uls. "What's the manin' ov
all this norration ? Uls. Jrn. Arch. (1858) VI. 40. Don. Mac-
manus Chim. Corners (1899) 165. Wxf. I don't care a pig's
bristle for your norations, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 71.
s.Ir. To hear Tatther the Road make a noration, Lover Leg. (1848)
II. 369. N.Cy.' Nhb.' Whee's myekin all that norration, aa
wonder? e.Dur.' s.Dur. There was syke a noration yaw couldn't
hearyanssel' speak (J.E.D.). Cum.^ This was a langish norration
for a body wid t'breath leavin him, 31 ; Cum." Five minutes efter
we gat in it began to mak a norration. Wm. They kickt up
sick a nurration, Clarke TReysh Bearin (1863) ; Wm.' Ther
seems to be a girt noration gaen on up j-onder. n.Yks.'^*,
ne.Yks.' e.Yks. The biggest norrayshun at ivver was seen,
Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 38. w.Yks. Ah'm glad they're not
goin' to rive the drains up an' make a girt noration ovver it
(F.P.T.) ; w.Yks.^ n.Lan. Ther' wos sic a noration as niver wos
seen, Morris Invas. U'ston (1867) 4. nw.Der.' War.^; War.^ I
heard a noration and went down stairs to see what the noise was
about. w.Wor.', s.Wor.', se.Wor.' Shr.' Theer'U be sich a nora-
tion all o'er the pleace if we letten 'er doi wi'out annyun. Glo.'
Oxf.' Polly Long a ran away from Tom, and there's sich a noration
about it, MS. add. Brks.' e.An.' ; e.An.* They make a great
noration about norn at all. e.Suf. (F.H.) Ken.' What a noration
there is over this here start, surelye ! Sur.' He made quite a
noration down the valley from public house to public house. Sus.'
You have no-ought to have made such a noration about nothing.
Hmp.' There's a noration for he. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.' He
do alius make such a narration about anythin'. Som. A grate
noration, a nation naise tha nawtice made, Jennings Obs. Dial.
w.Eng. (1825) 137. w.Som.' There's a purty noration, sure 'nough,
'bout the taties. Volks do zay they baint a worth diggin' some
places.
NORDEN, sb. Sh.I. The northern part of an island or
district. S. & Ork.' Cf. nourn.
[ON. nordan, from the north (Vigfusson) ; cp. Dan.
norden, the north (Larsen).]
NORDERT, see Norward.
NORFOLK, sb. Yks. e.An. Wil. In comb, (i) Norfolk
dumpling, (a) a particular kind of dumpling made in
Norfolk; {b) an inhabitant of Norfolk ; (2) — plover, the
stone curlew, Oedicnemus scolopax.
(i, a) w.Yks. Thear wor az much yist az ad raiz'd all t'Norfolk
dumplins ats made in a year, Tom Treddlehoyle Trip ta Lunnan
(1851) 51. e.An. 2 A small loaf or cake of dough boiled instead of
baked. Nrf. They are the simplest of puddings, compounded of
flour, water, yeast, and a dash of salt, ' biled twenty minuets —
nayther more nor less,' Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 138. (A)
Nrf. 'Tis a pity we Norfolk dumplin's can't make good use on em
NORGAN
[298]
NORTHLAND
when we've caught 'em [freshwater fish], Patterson ib. 86. {2) Nrf.
Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 45. 'Vi iLTuvRii Birds {l&^o) 89.
NORGAN, sb. Dor. [np-gan.l A monkey-jacket.
(C.W.B.) L V6 J J J
NORIE, sb} Sc. Also written norrie. [noTi.] A
whim, fancy. See Orra, adj}-
Sc. The order of the vegetables in the kail-pot, and such like
nories, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 94. Bnff. Let nae daft norie sae
biass us As gar us dread, Taylor Poems (1787) 5. Ayr. 'Twas the
reckless inward goad O' norries sent my banes abroad, Ainslie
Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 214. Lnk. Wha does he think . . . wad
pray for sic new-fangled norries as yon ? Wardrop /. Mathison
(1881) 31. Edb. Be done wi' a' the nories, Leave them a' to the
Whigs and Tories, Liddle Poems (1821) 214. Slk. What can hae
put sic a norie i' your head as that? Hogg Tales (1838) 2, ed.
1866. Rxb. Though we fu' many things could tell That might be
deemed norie, Riddell Poet. Wks. (ed. 1871) IL 167. Dmf.
Wallace Schoolmaster (^^Qgci) 351.
NORIE, sb.^ Sh. & Or.I. The puffin, Fratercula
ardica. Cf. Tommy Norie.
S. & Ork.^ Or.I. Among these we may reckon . . . the pick-
ternie, the norie, and the culterneb, Statist. Ace. VIL 546 (Jam.).
NORISH, NORIT, see Nourice, Norward.
NORKS, 56.//. n.Yks.2 Also written nauks. [npks.]
The knuckles. ' I'll gie thee my norks' [a rap on the head].
NORL-, NORLE, see Knurl, Narle.
NORLOC, sb. n.Sc. (Jam.) A cyst or large lump
growing on the head of some persons even to the size of
an orange. See Knorlack, s.v. Kntirl.
NOR'LOCH TROUT, phr. Obs. Sc. A joint or leg
of mutton ; see below.
Edb. A cant phrase formerly denoting a joint or leg of mutton
ordered for a club of citizens who used to meet in one of the closes
leading down to the North Loch. The invitation was given in
these terms, ' Will ye gang and eat a Nor'loch trout ? ' This was
the only species of 'fish' which the North Loch on which the
shambles were situated could supply (Jam.).
NORMAN, sb. Yks. Shr. Oxf. Suf. [ng-msn.] 1. A
tyrannical person.
Snf. Near Ipswich I heard a farm-labourer say respecting a
master, who was credited with tyrannical conduct, ' Ah, he's a
reg'lar Norman, he is' (F.R.).
2. Comb, (i) Norman Gizer, see Gizer, (2) — thrush, the
missel-thrush, Turdus viscivorus.
(i) Oxf. Aplin Birds (1889) 47 ; In the neighbourhood of
Banbury, N. & Q. (1887) 7th S. iv. 106. (2) w.Yks. Swainson
Birds {1885) 2. Shr. A'. &- £>. (1887) 7th S. iv. 105. Oxf. Aplin
ib. ; Science Gossip (1882) 165. n.Oxf. N. tf Q. (1899) 9'h S.
iv. 112.
3. The missel-thrush, Turdus viscivorus. Oxf Aplin ib.
NORMANDY WHEAT, /i/^r. Obs. Ken. Red wheat.
Bled rouge, ordinary red wheat ; called by some Kentish men
Duck Wheat and Normandy Wheat, Cotgrave (1611).
NORMOUS, adj. Lin. Som. [npmas.] A shortened
form of ' enormous.'
n.Lin.i w.Som.' Normous sight o' stock to fair.
NORN, sb. and pron. Shr. Hrf. e.An. Ken. Sur. Sus.
Som. Also written naun Suf Sur.' Sus.' ; nawn Suf
Sus. ; and in forms nairn Shr." ; narn e.An.' ; noan
ne.Ken. ; no'hn e.An.' [n9n,nan.] 1. sb. ?A dial, form
of 'nothing'; with another negative : anything.
Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876J. e.An.' I don't know no'hn
about it ; e.An.^ ' What have you got there ? ' 'I ha'n't got norn.'
Nrf. If 'twont du for nor'n else. Spilling Gi'te (1872) 6. Suf. The
pore people think nawn o' me. Raven Hist. Suf. (1895) 261 ;
(Hall.) e.Suf. That's nawn o' yowr bus'ness (F.H.). ne.Ken.
(H.M.) Sur. I know naun about flowers, Jennings Field Paths
(1884) 44. Sus. He couldn't do naun but doddle about, Gent.
Mag. (May 1890) 464 ; (F.E.) ; Sus.'
2. Comb. Norn-but, only ; without possible alternative.
e.An.i I can't, sir ; I narnbut must go to-morrow. Sur.' Ex-
presses somewhat of contempt, pity. ' He's naun but a upstart.'
Sus.' I should have gone to Lewes market naunbut I hadn't got
naun to take there.
3. Phr. naun the more, none the more ; after another
negative : any the more.
Sus. I'm not goin to have my cat killed naun the more just
because they think he poaches, Egerton Flk. and Ways (1884) 9.
4. pron. Neither.
Shr.2 Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Som. Norn o'ra,
Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
NORN, adj. Sh.I. Norse, Norwegian.
S. & Ork.' A norn veesick [ballad].
[ON. norrcenn, Norse (Vigfusson).]
NORNIGIG, sb. Dev. [n^-nidgig.] Also in form
nornig-. A simpleton, a foohsh trifler.
Dev.3 Git out o' ra' zight yu stflpid gert nornigig, ca-'s-n'tee ?
Hence Nornigging, ppl. adj. foolish, stupid.
A nornigging gert lout. Reports Provinc. (1895).
NORP, NORPINGS, see Naup, Knawpins.
NORRA(H, NORRID, see Never a, Norward.
NORRIE, sb. Sc. [no'ri.] A name for a sow ; prop,
a pet form of the name Eleanor.
Lth. Norrie in the cruive I tend, Crummie in the byre, McNeill
Preston (c. 1895) 96.
NORRIE, NORRIT, see Norie, Norward.
NORRY, adj. s.Chs.' [no'ri.] Sturdy, muscular. Cf.
knur(r.
Ahy neviir seyd sich- u nor'i yuwth ; ey)z uz aard uz nee'lz.
NORSEMAN, sb. Yks. [no s-, no-zman.] A poor
kind of subsoil consisting of hard stony clay.
e.Yks. Extending fora few miles towards the north-west of Pock-
lington. Nothing will grow whose roots touch this substance(R.S.).
NORT, see Nought.
NORTH, adj., adv. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and
Eng. Also in form narth se.Wor.' [nor}), nojj, se.Wor.
naj>.] 1. adj. In comp. (i) North-bye, towards the north ;
(2) -cock, the snow-bunting, Plecirophanes nivalis; (3)
-countryman, one from a district north of the speaker ;
(4) -Crawley, awry, crooked ; (5) -eye, (a) a squint ; [b)
see below ; (c) in phr. to have one's north eye on any one,
to look with suspicion at any one ; {d) to squint ; (6)
-light, obs., the Aurora Borealis.
(i) Per. There wes a man in a glen north-bye, Ian IWaclaren
Auld Lang Syne (1895) 247. (2) Abd. Swainson Birds (1885) 7a.
(3) e.Dur.i One from Northumberland or over the Border. (4)
Nhp.' How North-Crawley her bonnet stands. (5, a) w.Som.'
Ees, he's a good-looking young chap enough, nif he had'n a-got
thick there bit of a north-eye like. nw.Dev.', Cor.* {b) w.Crk.
In w.Crk. the points of the compass are generally used instead of
' right,' ' left,' &c. Thus, in an assault case, complainant said
defendant hit him ' in the north eye' (G.E.D.). (c) e.Suf. I've got
my north eye on you (F.H.). (rf) Suf. (Hall.) (6) Or.I. The North-
Light is . . . by reason of its desultory motion called Morrice-
Dancers, Wallace Desc. Or. I. (1693) 156, ed. 1883.
2. adv. In phr. to have been as far North as any one, to
know as much as any one, to be no more of a simpleton
than any one. se.Wor.^ 3. v. Of the wind : to blow
from the north. Bnff'
NORTHER, see Nowther, adj.
NORTHERING, ppl. adj. Som. Dev. Also in form
northern e.Som. [ng'tSarin.] Wandering ; slightly de-
ranged ; incoherent.
Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl.
(1873). w.Som.i Hotever's the matter wi' missus? her zimth all
northering [nau-dhureen] like. Dev. Moore Hist. Dev. (1829) I.
354. n.Dev. Quid, northering, gurbed, hadge-tacker Dick, Rock
Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 75.
NORTHERN, adj Sc. Nhb. Yks. [noT($3(r)n.] In
comb, (i) Northern gad, obs., a spear ; (2) — hareld, the
long-tailed duck, Harelda glacialis ; (3) — thrush, the field-
fare, Turdus pilaris.
(i) Nhb.i (2) Abd. Swainson Birds (1885) 162. (3) e.Yks.
Nature Notes, No. 4. w.Yks. (W.F.)
NORTHISH, adj. Nhp.' [ng-jjij.] Overreaching,
grasping.
NORTHLAND, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Also in forms norlan(d
Sc. n.Cy. ; norlin Sc. [noTl3n(d.] 1. The North country;
gen. used attrib.
Bnff. A Norlan' bard, o' speech unkempt, Taylor Poems (1787)
136. Abd. This norlan' blast Ye maunna face again, Still Cottar's
Sunday (1845) 91. Frf. Trees, Whase waly taps wag i' the stout
norlin' breeze. Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 58. Per. Edwards
Strathearn Lyrics (i88g) ii-]. Slg. Mvir Poems {1818) 26. Dmb.
Winter blaws her norlan' breath, Taylor Poems (1827) 25. Rnf.
Young Pictures (1865) 169. Ayr. Erskine, a spunkie norland
NORTHLINS
[2991
NOSE
laddie, Bvrt^s Author's Cry and Prayer (1786" st. 14. Lnk. Watson
Po«m5(i853') 105. Lth.Wither'd bythenorlan'breeze, Ballantine
Poems {1856) 223. Edb. The northland folk, that come from
beyond Tay, Mitchell Tinklarian (ed. iSio) 10. Bwk. Tho' a'
oor mates are scatter'd wide In caiild nor'land or southern sphere,
Calder Poems (1897) 64. Slk. Gae stemm the bytternorlan gale,
Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 79. Rxb. Ruickbie Wayside Cottager
(1807) 172. Dmf. Bleezin' splendours o' the norlan' nicht, Reid
Poems (1894) 29. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.)
Hence Norlander, sb. one who lives in the north.
Sc. They met with a bold Norlander of Aberdeenshire, Maidment
Spottiswoode Miscell. ( 1844-5) II. 449.
2. One who lives in the north, a north-country man.
Sc. ' Come in,' quo' she, ' let's chat a while. You strapping
sturdy Norlan ! ' Sharpe Ballad Bk. (1823) 123, ed. 1868. Edb.
Kirsty was a Norlan' bred, Crawford Poems (1798) 27.
3. Phr. Norlan' Nettie, obs., a term applied to a Highland
woman who bartered small articles of dress for wool. Slk.
Hogg Tales (1838) 273, ed. 1866. See Netty, sb.'
NORTHLINS, adv. Obs. Sc. Northwards, in the
direction of the north.
Abd. Nae meiths they had, but northlins still to gae, Ross //elenore
(1768)82, ed. 1812. Fif.Henorthhnswagg'dhiswappen, And down
the hill the host gaed stappin', Tennant Papistry {i8s-j) 74.
NORTHUMBERLAND, sb. Nhb.^ In comb, (i) Lord
Northumberland's Arms, a black eye ; (2) Northumber-
land pipes, a small kind of bagpipes.
(i) Lord Northumberland's Arms has for the last two hundred
years been synonymous with a black eye. We may doubt whether
the notion arose in the black and red which filled the spectacles-
like badge of Percy or in the fusils, Arch. ALliana, New S. IV. 164.
(2) Peculiar to the county of Northumberland. They are played
with a pair of bellows, which are ' oxtered ' in the right arm.
There were formerly four, but are now three drones and a chanter.
In the three-drone pipe the largest and smallest drones are tuned
in octave, whilst the intermediate drone is tuned in fifth above the
lowest drone ; they thus sound the notes G, D, G, or their equiva-
lents. The chanter is closed at the end ; and, in playing, each
hole is covered except the one which sounds ; the lifted finger has
consequently to be put down and another finger raised, in order
to produce the succeeding note; hence the s^acca/o effect which
gives a peculiar character to the pipe tunes.
NORTING, adj. Dev. [n^tin.] Empty-headed ; stupid,
careless, good-for-nothing ; a derivative of ' nought.'
Whot's take notice ov zich a norting gert theng as 'er is vor 1
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 9 ; Reports Provinc. (1895).
NORWARD, adv., adj. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Dun Lan. Sus.
w.Cy. Som. Also in forms norad Som. ; norard w.Cy. ;
norart Gall.; nordert Sh.L ; norit Ayr.; norrard Sh.I.
Dur.'' Lan. ; norrid N.Cy.^ Nhb.^ ; norrit Nhb.^; norrud
w.Som.^; northart Rnf. ; norwart N.Cy.* [norad.]
1. adv. Northward, towards the north.
Ayr. They're landed, and norward they're corain', Boswell
Poet. Wks. (1803) 31, ed. 1871. N.Cy.', Nhb.>, Dur.' w.Cy. The
wind be up a bit more nor'ard, Cornh. Mag. (Dec. 1900) 743. Som.
Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869).
2. adj. Northern.
Rnf. The Northart cauld To distant climes had ta'en its way,
PicKEN Poems (ed. iSis) I. 16.
3. sb. The north; the direction of the north.
Sh.I. We keepit ta da norrard, Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 93 ;
Ir ye gaein ta da nordert? Sh. News (July 7, igoo). Ayr. The
wind began to wear away from the sou-west into the norit, Galt
Provost (1822) xxiv. Gall. Blowing from the Norart, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824). Nhb. It's gaily to the Norrid yet, Charnley
Fisher's Garland (1843) 7. Lan. You second to the norrard,
Gaskell M. Barton (1848) xxviii. w.Som.i 'Tis lookin' ter'ble
black away to norrud — I zim we shall ha znow.
NORWASTERT, sb. Obs. Sc. A bitter blast ; fig.
anything of a rude cold nature. Gall. Mactaqgart Encycl.
(1824).
NORWAY, sb. Sc. Irel. Yks. Nrf^Som. Dev. _Also in
formsNorawa',Nor-a-waSc. [noTwe, -wei; n9'we.] Lin
comb, (i) Norway barnacle, the barnacle goose, Bernicla
leucopsis ; (2) — crow, the hooded crow, Corvus comix ;
(3) — duck, the scaup, Fuligula marila ; (4) — thrush, the
redwing, Turdus iliacus ; (5) — wifie, the little auk, Mer-
gulus alle.
(i) Ir. SwAiNSONBiVrfs (1885) 149. (2) w.Yks., Nrf. ib. 86. (3)
Ant. (6. 159. (4) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broorf AV/; (1893)45. (5)
Bnff. The bird is known in our locality by the curious term of the
' Nor-a-wa-wifie,' from the supposition that it comes from Norway,
Smiles Natur. (1876) xii.
2. Phr. to have a voice like a Norawa' bull, to have a loud,
roaring voice.
Enf. This Will has a voice like a Norawa' bull, Webster Rhymes
(1835) 42.
3. A stone used for sharpening tools.
w.Som.^ A kind of stone, cut into a long finger-hke shape. It is
never to be confounded with a whetstone. The latter is a rough
grindstone grit for sharpening scythes, while a norway is finer in
grain, more of the texture of a hone or oil-stone, but is used dry.
Dev. (Hall.)
NORWEGIAN TEAL, /Ar. Bnff. The scaup, F«%M/a
marila. Swainson Birds ( 1885) 159.
NOR- WORD, sb. Lei.' War.^ A by-word ; a nickname.
NORY, see Never a.
NOSE, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Eng. and Amer.
Also in forms nooas Lan. ; nooase Lakel.'' Yks. ; nooaz
n.Yks. ; noze Lan. [noz, noaz.] L sb. In comb, (i)
Nose-bag, {a) a net or covering used to protect horses
from the ' nose- fly ' ; (i) a feast, feed ; (2) -band, of a lead-
stone : a loop of stout cord to which one end of the lead-
stone is attached, the other being fastened to the line ;
(3) -bleed, (a) a bleeding at the nose ; (b) the common
yarrow, Achillea Millefolium ; (c) the common feverfew,
Pyrethrum Parthenium; (4) -clout, a pocket-handkerchief ;
(5) -ender, a blow on the nose ; (6) -feast, a storm ; (7)
•fly, a very small fly which gets into the noses and ears
of horses ; (8) -gig(g, a toe-piece to a shoe ; (9) -gristle,
(10) -hole, the nostril ; (11) -nipping, of the weather : cold ;
freezing ; (12) — of wax or Nosy w^ax, a pliable fellow ;
anything flexible or accommodating ; (13) -pike, the part of
a work-horse's bridle that passes over the nose above the
bit; (14) -rag, see (4); (15) -specks, spectacles; (16)
-wise, having, or pretending to have, an acute sense of
smell ; s\so fig. pryingly acute.
(i, a) Hmp. Holloway. {b) w. Som.' Hon I zeed zo many o'
they there whit-neckangkecher fullers comin', I thinks to mysul,
there's a bit of a nose-bag a-gwain on in there. (2) S. & Ork.'^
(3, a) s. Wor.i, Glo.* [Amer. Put your hank'chif up to your nose 's
if you had the nose-bleed, Westcott David Harum (1900) xxiv.]
(A) Nhb., Suf., Sus. (B. & H.) [The old English name of the
plant, Nose-bleed, may have been bestowed upon it either because
' the leaves being put into the nose do cause it to bleede, and
easeth the paine of the megrim,'. . or because, on the contrary,
' assuredly it will stay the bleeding of it,' Flk-Lore Rec. (1879) I.
156.] (<r) Ken. (B. & H.) (4) Yks. Soon his nooase claght he
dipped inta t'spring, .<4rfj;cMfe7-5 « iMMMM« (1862) 21 ; (J.W.) Lan.
Hee'd a whoite noze kleawt, Sam Sondnokkur^ 11. (5) Lakel.^
(6) Abd. Ye'U get a nose-feast to-night, for that's a snell wind
(G.W.). (7) Hmp. White Selborne (1788) 293, ed. 1853. (8)
w.Cy. (Hall.) w.Som.' The little tip on the upper edge of the toe
of a horse-shoe, which helps to keep the shoe in place. Dev.i
n.Dev. Grose (1790). (9) e. Yks. Betwixt eyebrow and the nose
grissles. Best ifK>-. &0K. (1642) i. (10) Lakel.^ n.Wm. T'bees
hes teng'd t'nag an' t'nooase-whols is biath swell'd up (B.K.).
Yks., Lan. (J.W.) s.Chs.i Si)dhi lit dhaaf ky'aay bleydin
raaynd)th maayth ; 60 miist u hobd siim'ut in iir noa'z-oa'l.
nw.Der.i s.Not. Pur a bit o' woddin' up yer nose-'oles (J.P.K.).
n.Lin.*, War.^, Oxf.', Sus.* (11) Lnk. Is it possible ye're
oot in sic a nose-nippin' nicht as this ? Murdoch Readings
(1895) II. 9. (12) Sc. A plain undesigning nose o' wax, a cat's
paw, a straw wisp, Magopico (ed. 1836) 15. Frf. At his back
a nosy wax, Fam'd Aberbrothock's pride. Sands Poems (1833)
63. Fif. The easily imposed on simpleton was a ' cuif,' or a ' nose
o' wax,' CoLviLLE Vernacular (1899) 17. Ayr. Her ladyship said
I was a nose-of-wax and that she would never speak to me again,
Galt Ann. Parish (1821) xii. Slk. An evendown nose-o-wax not
possessing half the sense . . . that's in my one eye, Hogg Tales
(1838) 160, ed. 1866. Nhp.* Shr., Hrf. Bound Prowmc. (1876).
(13) Nhb.* A riding or carriage horse has no nosepike. (14) Lan.
Waauvin' his nooas-rag lahke mad, New Wkly. (Jan. 5, 1895) 7,
col. 2. (15) Per. She . . . stared Johnny through her nose-specks,
Monteath Dunblane (1835) 91, ed. 1887. (i6) Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.
On the pride of a Nose-wise S . . . er, Taylor Poems (1787) 174.
N.Cy.i, Nhb.l
Q q 2
NOSENY
[300]
NOT
2. Phr. (i) to have the nose on the grindstone, to meet with
the fate of an improvident person ; (2) — look at one's nose,
to frown, seem out of temper ; (3) — make a bridge of a
person's nose, to pass him by in drinking ; see below ; (4)
— make a person's nose swell, to make him jealous or mis-
trustful ; (5) — shoot through the nose, to supplant another
in love ; (6) — measure noses, to salute.
(i) Sc. CJam. Stippl.), N.Cy.i (2) Ess. When they hard she'd
nut, They'd so look at their nose, Clark /. Noakes (1839) st. 164.
(3) w.Yks.i A phrase used amongst a party of topers when they
are drinking together out of a common mug or other vessel. Thus,
if the first drink, and by way of joke, offers to give the mug to the
third, the second will exclaim, ' Stop thear, thou sall'nt mak a brig
o' my noaz.' (4) Shr., Hrf. Bound Pcootmc. (1876). (5) w.Som.'
He used to go 'long wi' th' old Bob Jones's maid, till Bill Hookins
shut-n drue the nose. (6) w.Yks."^
3. The end, point or projecting part of anything ; a
promontory, neck of land.
S. & Ork.' ' Nose of a pier,' the extreme end that fronts the sea.
Nhb.i Culler Nose. s.Wor. The projecting tread of a stair (H.K.).
s.Cy. (Hall.) w.Som.^ The nose of a shaft ; the nose of a pick-
axe ; the nose of a pitcher.
4. The outer rim of any round object.
■w.Som.' The nose of a wheel — i. e. the edge or outer rim of the
nave ; the nose of a cask — i.e. the chine or rim.
5. The eye of an apple ; the dead blossom on the end of
a gooseberry or currant.
n.Yks. Cut their nooazes and gooaks out (I.W.). s.Chs.'
6. An odour, esp. a fragrant odour, gen. used of hay.
e.An.i That hay have a buetiful nose. Nrf. It is a good thing,
and even necessary, that hay should heat to a certain extent, for
otherwise it would lack ' nose ' and flavour, Haggard Farmer's
Year in Longman's Mag. (May 1899) 47. w.Mid. Those meadows
grow pretty good hay, it's always got a nice nose to it (W.P.M.).
e.Dev. The room was like a barn after a bad cold harvest, with a
musty nose to it, Blackmore Perlycross (1894) viii.
7. V. To smell ; to scent out.
Midi. I shall nose it out in the end, Bartram People of Clapton
(1897) 56. Shr.2 I nosed it afore it cummed on the table. Hrf.
DuNCUME Hist. Hrf. (1804-12). Lon. While the bawlers are
holding forth, they are critically handling and nosing the fish, and
chaffering as to prices, Sunday Mag. (iStJ) 53. Sur. He can nose
Dickey half a mile down-stream, Son of Marshes On Sur. Hills
(1891) 127. s.Hmp. ' How can ye go for to be so venturesome 1 '
. . ' They're as little like to nose me here as anywhere,' Verney
L. Lisle (i87o)xxiii. w.Som.l Not stink 1 tak'n nose it, that's all.
8. To pry ; to shove oneself in when not wanted ; to dog
a person.
Lakel.2 He was nooasen hissel in wi' tellen lees aboot udder
fooak. Ah mak nowt o' fooak 'at's alius nooasen efter udder
fooak's bits o' fam'ly aflfairs. Dor. It be Lucy Thatcher up to the
Hall he be nosen round, Windsor Mag. (Sept. 1900) 432.
9. To rub with the nose ; to suck.
Gall. A lamb bleated, and in the quiet I could hear it run
pattering to nose its mother, Crockett Standard Bearer (1898)
172 ; How many millions ither nosing, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
335, ed. 1876.
10. To reproach.
n.Lln.' He's alus noasin' him wi' it, meet him wheare he will.
I'll noase him wi' it, you may depend, as soon as he cum's oot o'
prison.
ll.Withoi;«r: todomineerover. Oxf {HALL.),e.Suf (F.H.)
12. To take the blossoms off gooseberries or currants.
s.Chs.i Oo)z got'n Q grae 't baaskitl u koriinz tu noa'z iifoar <5o)kn
stuur aayt u)dh aays. Shr.i We nosed about eight quarts o'
black curran's after milkin' time, an' then theer wuz a great side-
basket o' gooseb'ries to nose.
13. To renew the projecting tread of 3 stairr s.Wor. (H.K.)
N-OSENY, V. Som. [n9'z(a)ni.] To divine, predict,
forebode. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). The same word as
Halsen (q.v.).
NOSE-THYRL, sh. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lin. Also written
nose-thurle Lin.^ ; and in forms nose-tirl S. & Ork.^ Cai.' ;
nose-tirrel Nhb.*; nostirle Sc. [no'z-, noaz-, nos-tirl,
•tiral, -jjal.] A nostril.
Sc. At the blastin' o' the breseth o' thy nostirles, Riddeli. Ps.
(1857) xviii. 15. S. & Ork.', Cal.* Nhb.* In very common use.
■w.Yks.i Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 716; Lin.* He is
very broad in the nose-thurles.
[ME. nose-thirle, a nostril (Chaucer) ; OE. nos-pyrel,
nos-terle, nostril (Sweet).]
NOSEY, ai^'. Dev. Cor. Also written nosy Dev. [no'zi.]
Impertinent ; disdainful ; intrusive. See Nose, 8.
Dev. She might be nosy next time we meet, Sharland Ways
Village (1885) m. Cor.2
NOSHIGIRT, adj. Sh.I. In phr. a noshigirt Hug, a
very small person, esp. a small child. Jakobsen Dial.
(1897) 49.
NOSIE-NAPPIE, sb. Sc. A nursery name for the nose.
Abd. Warm him frae the tae to tappie — Brinkie-brow and
nosie-nappie, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 252.
NOSRO(U, NOS(S, see Nossro, Nurse, sb.^
NOSS, sb. Sh.I. [nos.] A peak; a nose-shaped
promontory. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 93 ; S. & Ork.' Cf.
nose, 3.
[Norw. dial, nos, a nose, a promontory (Aasen).]
NOSSET, sb. and v. Som. Dev. [no-sit.] 1. sb. A
dainty dish suitable for an invalid. Som. (Hall.) e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). 2. V. To carouse secretly. Dev.
(Hall.)
NOSSOCK, s6. Sc. [no'sak.] A dram ; a good drink
of liquor.
Lnk. Come, come, co' Sawny, and I'll gie you a nossock to heat
your wame, it's a cauld day, Graham Writings (1883) II. 54.
N-OSSRO, sb. Chs. Stf. Shr. Also written nosro
s.Chs. ; nosrou Chs.^ ; nossrow Chs.*^ and in forms
nurserowStf.'; nursrow Chs.* ; nussrow Shr.* [no'sro.]
1. The shrew-mouse. See Ard-srew, Harvest-shrew.
Chs.i3, s.Chs. (E.F.), s.Chs.*, Stf. (K.), Stf.* Shr. If yow see
a . . . nussrow yow must cross your foot or yow will suffer for
it, Burne Flk-Lore (1883-6) 213 ; Shr.*
2. The field-mouse. Chs. N. &-» Q. (1853) ist S. viii. 538.
NOST,56. 'i Obs. n.Sc. (Jam.) Noise ; talking ; specula-
tion about any subject.
NOSTIRLE, NOSTRIL, see Nose-thyrl, Nowstril.
NOT, sb} Sc. Glo. Suf Som. Also written nott Sc.
{]au. Suppl.) [not.] 1. A knob; a ball; alsoyJg-. a point,
conclusion. Sc. (Jam. Suppl., s.v. Note). The same word
as Knot, 56.* 2. Obs. A game ; see below.
Glo. A game . . . where the parties, ranged on opposite sides,
with each a bat in their hands, endeavour to strike a ball to
opposite goals. The game is called Not from the ball being made
of a knotty piece of wood, Grose (1790) ; Glo.*
3. A head. Sc. (Jam. Suppl., s.v. Note.) e.Suf (F.H.)
Hence Not-ache, sb. headache. e.Suf. (F.H.) 4. A
flower-bed. Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
NOT, sb.'^ Hmp.* [not.] A dial, form of ' gnat.'
We ought to have 'un painted afore the nets be about. They
nots be so terrifying.
NOT, adj., sb.^ and v. Glo. Brks. Ess. Sus. Hmp. I.W.
Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written knot Glo. Hmp.*
w.Som.* Dev.* Cor.^; nott Wil. Dor. w.Som.* Dev. ; and
in form nat Dev. [not.] 1. adj. Of sheep or cattle ;
polled, hornless.
Glo. Grose (1790); Glo.*; Glo.^ Because in such cases the
brow is thickly knotted with hair. Brks. A not sheep, Nichols
Bibli. Topog. (1783) IV. 56, ed. 1790; Brks.* A not cow. Ess.
Ray (1691) ; Ess.* Sus.* He's been and bought some more of
these here not-cows. w.Sus. Holloway. Hmp. Wise New
Forest (1883) 186; Hmp.i, I.W.*2 Wil. Slow Gl. (1892); Wil.*
Dor. As nott cows will keep it back as well as the horned ones.
Hardy Tess (1891) 141, ed. 1895; Dor.* w.Som.* Knot-bullock.
Dev. Varmer Bowden 'th been out to Simonsbath, an' bought a
sight ov nat-sheep, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.i Cor.* Knot
cow, a cow without horns, having a little knot or knob on the
head instead.
2. Smooth, in good condition ; of a field : well-tilled.
Brks. That field is not, Gl. (1852) ; Brks.* That ther vield be
not, be-anta? Ess. G/. (1851) ; Ess.* Hmp.* Not corn.
3. sb. A hornless cow or sheep.
Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885). Dev. A cross of the
new Leicester with the Hampton nott, Pengelly Verbal Pron.
(1875) 113. [Sheep without horns, Young Annals Agric. (1784-
1815) XXIII. 414.]
Hence Nott-wool, sb. wool obtained from a hornless
breed of sheep. w.Som.* Dev. Elworthy ff'rf. B/i. (1888).
NOT
[301 J
NOTCHEL
4. V. Obs. To poll ; to shear. Ess. (K.); Bailey (1721).
Hence Notted, ppl. adj. polled, shorn, hornless.
Glo.»=, Ess. (P.R.) Hmp.i Knotted sheep. n.Dev. Tha cortst
tha natted yeo now-reert, or bet leetle rather, Exm. Scold.
(1746) 1. 210.
[1. He massacred 3 whole flocke of good nott ewes,
Metamorph. ofAjax, Prol. 2 (Nares). OE. knot, ' mutilum,
mutilatum ' (B.T.). 4. To notte his haire, Comas recidere,
Baret (1580) ; He caused his beard to be notted and no
more shaven, Stowe Annals (1535) (Nares). For further
information on this word see Skeat's Notes to the Canterbury
Tales (a. 109),]
NOT, adv. and sb.* Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in forms neat w.Som.^ ; nit s.Cy. w.Som.^ ; nut
n.Yks.* w.Yks.^ Lan. [not, nat, nit.] 1. adv. In comb, (i)
Not-payment, non-paynient ; (2) -well, unwell ; (3) -wise,
half-witted ; (4) -withunderstanding, notwithstanding.
(i) Abd. He was charged, d^epounced, and registrate for not
payment thereof, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 98. (2) Rut.' I'm
very not-well, thank you I Lei.* Nhp. She is very not well
indeed (E.S.). Hnt. She has been very not-well, Tuesday will be
a week, N. & Q. (1868) 4th S. i. 364. (3) Ant. (W.H.P.) (4)
I.W. (Hall.)
2. Phr, (i) not a blow, not at all ; (2) — a founded, nothing
at all ; (3) — almost, nothing like it ; not to be compared
with it ; (4) — at himself, not in good health ; insane ; (5)
— a will, not voluntarily ; (6) — but what, although ; not-
withstanding that ; (7) — can, not to be able to ; (8) —
expected, not expected to recover from an illness ; (9) —
fit, not able ; (10) — to be named, breeches ; (11) — to fail,
without fail ; (12) to be not to, not to be particular to.
(i) ton. He pever works himself — never — not a blow, Mayhew
Land, Labour (1851) III, 275, ed. i86r. (2) N.I.i (3) s.Cy.
(Hall.) w.Som.i Shan't zell mine vor no less'n Mr. Gilham.
Well then you can keep em — vor yours baint so good, nor neet
a'most. (4) N.I.i (5) Edb. The ^hearers now come not-a-will,
But maun be sought, Har'st Rig (1794) 38, ed. 1801. (6) w.Yks.
(J. W.) Lan. Not but what every one likes it, Gaskell M. Barton
(1848) iv. Oxf.i MS. add. e.An.' Sur. Not but what if they did
the poachers would soon have them, Jennings Field Paths (1884)
182 ; Snr.i (7, 8) N.I.i (9) Oxf.i MS. add. (10) Ayr. Edie'was
boring into thesilvermineof his not-to-be-named'sin search of specie
to take on John's bet, Ainslie Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 116.
(11) n.Yks.2 Saturda' fo'st, not to fail ; n.Yks." (12) Not. Call 'im
Yaller-ochre if yer like ; I'm not to a shade. Prior Rente (1895)
250. s.Not. (J.P.K.)
3. Used redundantly with another negative; in gen.
dial. use.
N.I.' Not by no manper of means. w.Yks.i n.Lan. Nay, nay !
this is na moor, nut it, Lonsdale Mag. (July 1866) 7. Lin. I niver
not wish'd fur childer, Tennyson Spinster's Sweet-arts (1885) St. 13.
Glo. 'T won't be not no use, Buckman Darke' s Sojourn (1890) xv.
w.Som.' There idn nit above zix a-left.
4. Used elliptically : will not.
s.Not. 'Y'ull coom out o' theer, not yer? ' 'Ah not' (J.P.K.).
5. sb. Phr. there wasn't a not in the case, there was no
denial in the matter. n.Yks.'^
NOTABLE,flc^l Sc.Nhb.Cum.Yks.Lan.Glo.Sus. Also
written nottable Cum.'* e.Yks.' Glo.' Sus.' [no'tabl.]
Of a woman : active, industrious, thrifty ; clever in
manipulating trifles.
Sc. (A. W. ) Nhb.i She's a notable woman. Cum. Nottable wid
her needle (M.P.) ; Cum.'", e.Yks.' Lan. Hoo's a notable body
is Margaret, Longman's Mag. (Nov. 1895) 67. Glo.' Sus. Of a
woman, esp. a housewife : very clean (E.E.S.) ; Sus.' Mrs.
Allbones she be a nottable ooman, surelye !
NOTANDUMS, sb. pi. Sc. Notes, memoranda.
Abd. Militia lists, scholars' entries, notandums of our Friendly
Society, Ruddiman Sc. Parish (1828) 9, ed. 1889. Ayr. In this
notandums I do not intend to taigle the reader owre lang. Service
Notandums (1890) 7.
NO TANNY BYE, NO TANO BY, see No tino.
NOTAR, sb. Obs. Sc. n.Cy. Also written noter
Sh.I. ; nottar Abd. X. A notary.
So. George Martin was a ' Notar,' i. e. a notary-public, and
reader at Dailly, Thomson Cloud of Witnesses (1714) 319, ed.
1871. Sh.I. Filled with all the clauses and quirks that the lawyer
and noter could invent, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 61, ed. 1891.
Abd. Alexander Innes, nottar public in Elgin, cruelly slew Robert
TuUoch, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 8. Lnk. All writers to the
signet, n\\ public notars, and other persons employed in writing
or agenting, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) III. 296, ed. 1828. Edb.
Gin a notar shou'd be wanted. You'll find the pillars gayly
planted, Fergusson Poems (1773) 151, ed. 1785.
2. An attorney. n.Cy. Border Gl. [Coll. L.L.B.)
[1. Fr. notaire, a notary, a scrivener (Cotgr.).]
NOTCH, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Lan. Not. Lin. Rut. Lei.
War. Brks. Bdf Hrt. e.An. Ken. Sur. Sus. Hmp. [not;.]
1. sb. In comp. Notch-geers, an iron cock with notches
at the end of the beam of a plough. Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb.
(1750) VI. i. 58. 2. Phr. to take the notches out of the scythes,
to give money to mowers in' the harvest-fields, when out
shooting. Hmp.' 3. A run at cricket.
w.Yks. In the early stages of cricket the notches or runs would
be counted on a notched stick, Yks. Wkly. Post (Jan. 2, 1897).
Lan. (S.W.), Not.'s s.Not. How many notches have yer got?
(J.P.K.) Lin. (W.W.S.), Rut.1, Lei.', War.s Brks.' How many
notches did 'e maayke ? Bdf. Free Foresters (1895) 52. Sur.',
Sus.' Hmp. Obsol. How many notches are you ? Holloway.
4. A term used in a children's game for the piece of
apple which has a bit cut out ; see below. Cf. nitch, sifi.'=
Sus. Children cut a number of slices from an apple ; . . one piece
has a part cut out ; this is called Notch. . . The pieces . . . are re-
placed and the game consists in one child holding the apple, and
pointing to one of the pieces, and asking another child which he
will have— Nitch, . . Notch, or No-Notch ; if he guesses right he
has it ; . . if wrong the other eats it, Holloway.
5. V. To score, esp. in the game of cricket.
War.3 He notched one there. Sur.' The old method of scoring
at cricket was by cutting notches with a knife on a twig, and hence
runs are even now called notches. I have seen this method of
scoring adopted at rustic matches.
6. With up: to reckon, count ; also us&dfig.
Elg. My mother had kindly notched me up as a tenth muse,
Couper 7b«n7j(ra<!OMS (1803) II. 34. Ken.'; Ken.^ Alluding to the
custom or method of reckoning at cricket, where they take a stick,
and cut a notch or nick in it, for every time they run.
7. To dock a person of his wages.
e.An.' ' He notched me half a day,' viz. deducted so much from
my wages.
[3, 5. Fr. oche, a nick, nock or notch, the cut of a tally ;
ocher, to nick, nock, notch, to cut as a tally (Cotgr.) ; MLat.
occare, ' secare, scindere ' (Ducange).]
NOTCHEL, sby and v} Yks. Lan. Chs. Also written
knotchel Lan. Chs.'^s ; knotchell w.Yks. ; notchell e.Lan.'
Chs.^; notchil Chs.'^; and in forms natchell e.Lan.';
nochil, nochild Lan. [no-t^l.] 1. sb. In phr. to cry
notchel, to give notice that a certain person or persons wiU
not be responsible for the debts of another.
w.Yks. A'll cry thee notchel ! (K.B.) Lan. To cry a woman
knotchel, Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) ; Cry'd no child, Lewis Gl.
(1839) ; Lan.i e.Lan.' When a wife or a husband leaves home in
consequence of domestic disagreement, and the partner left declines
publicly to be responsible for her or his debts, it is said to be
' crying his or her natchell.' Chs.' (s.v. Cry) ; Chs.^ Crying his
wife a notchell.
Hence (i) Notchel-crying, sb. the practice of declaring
that one is not liable for another person]s debts; (2)
■notice, sb. the advertisement that one will not be re-
sponsible for another person's debts.
(i) Lan. On Wednesday there was at Accrington an extra-
ordinary instance of the disgraceful practice of ' notchel crying,'
N. & Q. (1866) 3rd S. X. 108. (2) ib. (1889) 7th S. viii. 268.
2. V. To punish a person by advertising that one will
not be responsible for his debts.
w.Yks. When a man advertises that he is not responsible for the
debts ofa person, he knotchells them, Hamilton /V«^ae/.i/. (1841)
356. Lan. He is thus said to ' notchel' her, N. & Q. (1889I 7th ■
S. viii. 268. Chs.' ; Chs.^ When a man publicly declares that he
will not pay his wife's debts, which have been contracted since
some fixed day, she is said to be ' knotchelled ' ; Chs.^
[1. Will. The first I think on is the king's majesty (God
bless him !), him they cried nochell. Sam. What, as
Gaffer Block of our town cried his wife ? Dial, on Oxford
Parliament (1681) in Harl. Misc. II. 114 (Dav.).]
NOTCHEL
[302]
NOTIFIED
NOTCHEL, v.'^ and sb.^ Yks. Lan. Nhp. Also written
knotchel Nhp.^ [notjl.] 1. v. To cut unevenly.
■w.Yks. (J.W.) Nhp.i How you knotchel the cloth !
2. sb. pi. Fragments, broken meat, leavings of a feast.
Lan.i
NOTCHET, sb} Obs. e.An.i A notable feat ; some-
thing that deserves to be marked or recorded.
NOTCHET, s6.2 Suf. Ess. [no-tjit.] 1. A small
quantity of anything. e.Suf (F.H.) 2. Obs. Used con-
temptuously of anything insignificant. Ess. Monthly Mag.
(1815) I. 125.
NOTE, sb.^ Sc. Yks. and Aus. [not, nest, not] 1. In
phr. (i) a clinking note, £\ in gold ; {2) to take note of, to
pay attention to ; (3) to tell notes, to repeat the remarks of
some worthy.
(i) Enff. I'll spur the steed for clinkin notes, Taylor Poems
(1787) 5. (2) Frf. Rab an' his spouse took nae note o' their havers.
Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 27. (3) Cai.i It is the practice of some
old women to move from parish to parish to attend sacramental
occasions. These often group together in some hovel, and after
the service tell notes.
2. A spoken remark ; a saying.
Ayr. He was a great oddity, and had some very droll notes.
Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 49.
3. A bill ; an invoice of goods.
e.Yks.' The term bill is not usually made use of for a statement
of account. ' Ah've cum ti sattle mi note.' vir.Yks. (J.W.)
4. A bank-note for ^i.
Sc. The note, the auld scounrel, your grandfaither stole frae me,
Sc. Haggis, 93. Elg. Gin I get twa-three notes, they'll get sarkies
an' coats, Tester Poems (1865) vi. Abd. I' the locker, in a clout.
Was safely row't a hunner notes, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867)
19. Kcd. The litter wad 'a paid the rent, An' left a note, or near,
Grant iajys (1884) 12. Frf. W att Poei. Sketches {1880) sg. Per.
What was't ye gae her, sir 1 was na't a note ? Cleland Inchbracken
(1883) 228, ed. 1887. Lnk. I'se warrant 'twad cost a poun' note,
Ilka groat, Nicholson Idylls {1810) 18. Gall. Lauderdale Poems
(1796) 66. [Aus. ' I'll take two pounds for him.' ' No you won't.
I'll chance a note for him, and that's about our last shilling,'
BoLDREWooD Colon. Reformer (i8go) ix,]
5. Notice.
Slk. As on some things below her note, Hogg Poems (ed.
1865) 103.
NOTE, sb.'^ Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) 1. A knob, ball ; a head ;
also Jig. a point, conclusion. See Knoit, sb.^; cf. noit.
2. Phr. to the note, to the head or point ; to the hammer,
axe, &c.
NOTE, sb.^ and v} Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dun Cum. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Der. Also in forms noit w.Yks.^^ ne.Lan.' e.Lan.' ;
not(t Sc. (Jam.); noyt w.Yks.; nwote Cum.'* [not,
w.Yks. noit.] 1. sb. State, condition ; business, em-
ployment.
w.Yks. We're at a bonny noyt wi yond alterations, Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Sept. 14, 1895) ; Tha'll keep me at this noit all day. Om
always at this noit, Hlfx. Courier {W.s.y 29, 1897) ; John Smith has
been on the spree, and lost his job — he's made a sad noit on't
(M.A.) ; He's at a poor noit (G.H.) ; -w.Yks.^ What noit are ye at!
We sud be at the same noit as before. Lan. (Hall.)
2. Of cows : the period during which a cow gives milk ;
the time of calving when milking begins.
N.I.^ A cow is said to be ' commin' forward to her note ' when
the time of her calving draws near. ' For sale, a Kerry cow, five
years old, at hernote in May,' Belfast Paper {iS'js). n.Cy. (Hall.)
Cum.i She'll be up to her nwote at April day ; Cum." w.Yks. A
cow's milk for one year. They hire a cow for a summer at so
much a noyt (K.) ; Banks IVkfld. IVds. (1865) ; w.Yks.'^^ Lan.
Davies Races (1856) 278. ne.Lan.*, e.Lan."- Chs.i If a cow is
expected to calve pretty soon, it would be said, ' Oo's for an early
note ' ; Chs.^ In bills of sale a cow is often mentioned as an ' early
note,' viz. one that will calve soon. nw.Der.'
3. Phr. in good note, said of a dairy of cows when all the
cows come into milking at the best time for cheese-making.
Chs.°3 s.Chs.' Wot noa-t)s 60 fuur? — Oa-, (5o kiimz in i prit-i
gild noa't.
4. A single milking.
w.Yks. She gave two gallons a noit (S.P.U.).
5. Necessity ; occasion for. n.Sc. (Jam.) 6. v. To use,
employ, have occasion for ; to enjoy.
n.Sc. He notes very little (Jam.). Ags., Rnf. He would note it
{ib.). N.Cy.2, Nhb. (K.), Dur. (Hall.)
[1. The next day be be none new note rysys. Wars
Alex. (c. 1450) 3025. OE. notu, use, profit, advantage,
employment (B.T.). 2. Cp. ON. nyt, the profit or produce
of kine, milk,/e//a saman nytina is said of a cow that is in
profit or gives milk all the year round till she calves again
(Vigfdsson). 6. ME. notien, to employ {Ormulum) ; OE.
notian, to employ, enjoy (B.T.).]
NO'TE, v.'^ Obs. n.Cy. Lan. To push or gore with
the horns, as a bull or ram. Cf knoit, v.
n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.' Lan. Ray (1691). [To note (run at), Cornu-
peto, impeto, Coles (1679).]
NOTE, V? Obs. Wxf.^ A contraction for I ne wot,
I know not.
Note vidy [I do not know where]. Note will we dra aaght to-die ?
NOTE, see Nowt, sb}
NOTELESS, adj. Sc. e.An. [no'tlas.] 1. Obs. Un-
known, unnoted.
Abd. Shirrefs Poems (i-jgo) Gl. Rnf. Wi' ilka noteless flower
that blaws, Finlayson Rhymes (1815) 8. Ayr. A bard of rustic
song, Who, noteless, steals the crowds among, Burns Bard's
Epitaph, St. 2.
2. Not taking notice, esp. used of old people with failing
powers.
e.An.' Ess. A woman said of her aged father-in-law, ' He lies,
as you may say, just like a noteless pig' i^S.P.H.) ; Ess.'
NOTH, see Nowt, sb}
NOTHER, pron. Som. Dev. Another.
w.Som.' Zome man or nother 've a-bin yur, 'cause can track'n
all drue the field. I s'pose can get zomebody or nother to do it.
nw.Dev.'
NOTHER, NOTHERGIS, see Nodder, Guess, sb?
NOTHING, sb. and adv. Var. dial, uses in Irel. and
Eng. Also written nothin Ant. s.Chs.' Oxf.' Sus. ; and
in forms naethin' N.I.' ; nawthun Cor. ; nothink Glo.
[nufin, n'B-jjin.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Nothing's nest, a
thing of no value or importance ; (2) -tearing, nothing
extraordinary, (i) War.2 He's found a nothing's nest. (2)Dev.3
2. Phr. (i) an empty nothing, a vain, conceited person ;
(2) a thing of nothing, a mere trifle ; (3) nothing ava,
nothing at all; (4) — but, nothing to hinder that; (5) to
nothing, exactly, thoroughly.
(i) Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). (2) s.Chs.' Ahy pik't yaan'dur
Iit-1 tit- ii mahyn up fur fl thingg- ii nuthin. (3) N.L' (4) Lan.
I told her I knew nothing but I could come and assist at that time,
Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 86. (5) Chs.^ So and so's clothes will
fit D — to nothing. Why, I beat him all to nothing.
3. With another negative : anything.
Glo. Never buy nothink I Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) iii.
Oxf.' Didn't see nothin' at all, MS. add. Ess. I don't know nothing
(W.W.S.). Snr.' I didn't know nothing where ne'er a nest was.
Sus. I hadn't done nothin', 'E.gertos Flk. and Ways (1884) 11.
Cor. I cuddn't be nawthun else, Longman's Mag. (Feb. 1893) 375.
4. adv. Not at all ; by no means ; in no wise ; with
another negative : by any means.
sw.Lin.' There's nothing so many goes out as did. The snow
wastes nothing. I don't feel nothing as strong as I did. e.An.'
Nothing so large. w.Som.' He idn nothin' so large as this. Dev.
Reports Provinc. (1881) 14.
NOTICE, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Wor. Dor. [no'tis.]
1. sb. In phr. to take notice, to take care, pay attention.
UIs. Ellen was aye one that liked to be taken notice to, Hamilton
Bog (1896) 50. w.Wor.' This gardener sims to tak' a dill more
notice than th' other 'un wuz use to do.
2. V. To attend to, take care of.
Abd. I'll traivel yer stallions or notice yerkye,Or muck them
an' milk them at sunset an' dawn, Ogg Willie Waly (1873) 147.
3. To give notice of dismissal or leaving.
Dor. Notice me so much as ever ye like, I'll not clean them pigs
out afore Saturday! Francis Fyander's Widow (1901) pt. i. v ; I
be come to tell 'ee, Mrs. , as I wish to notice ye for Saturday
week, ib.
NOTIFIED, adj Yks. Rut. Nhp. War. Bdf e.An. Also
in forms nooatified n.Yks.^ e.Yks. ; notrified Nhp.' War.^
[no't-, nog-tifaid, -fid.] Well-known, distinguished,
celebrated.
n.Yks.'2; n.Yks.* Aye, he war a nooatified chap yance ower.
NO TINO
[303]
NOUGH
e.Yks.iil/S. arfrf. (T.H.) m.Yks.i Riit.iMy good mans a notified
man for mowing. Nhp.i He's a very notrified singer. War.^
Bdf. Notified folk lived in Ootun once (J.W.B.). e.An.i
NO TINO ! phr. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms no
tanny bye Cor. ; no tano by, no-tany by Dev. ; no tino
by w.Som.' Dev. ; notsino Cor.' ; no zino w.Som.^
[no tai'nS, — zai'no.] An emphatic negative ; see below.
w.Som.i An emphatic negative = ' not that I know.' (Very com.l
Often varied to ' no tino by ! ' ' Did 'ee meet wai un to last ? '
' No tino ! [noa tuynoa !] th' osebird was to shuttle vor me.'
(Equally com.) = ' Not as I know.' ' Be you gwain to fair to-mar-
row ? ' ' No zino ! [noa zuy -noa !] I 'ant no stock to part way, nor
neet no money to spend.' Dev. ' I zay, Bill, yQ bant agwaine tu
church thease marning, be 'e ? ' ' No-tany-by ! tidden wo'th while
tii go t(i listenee tU sich a old drummeldrane as 'e is,' Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892). nw.Dev.i Cor. ' Set fast here for hours.'. . ' No
tanny bye,' exclaimed the good man, Lyall Donovan (1882) xx ;
Cor.l
NOTION, sh. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Wm. Yks. I.Ma. Not. Lin.
Also in forms nooashin n. Yks. ; nooashun Wm. ; noshin
Nhb. [no-Jsn, noa'Jan.] In phr. (i) like Morky's ducks,
born without a notion, see below ; (2) taking the notion,
conceiving a fancy, the first stage in love-making ; (3) to
haveaverypoornotion,to prove oneself of little practical use;
(4) — have, or take, a notion of, to have a fancy for ; to fall
in love with ; (5) — have no notion of anything, to fail to
make a right or full use of it ; (6) — take the notion, to make
up one's mind ; to form one's opinion.
(i) Not. Spoken of some one on the occasion of his committing
a stupid action. A public-house at Sneinton . . . had been kept
by generations of Morleys, and one of them, in answer to a
complaint of their straying into a neighbour's garden, said his
ducks were ' born without a notion,' N. &• Q. (1878) 5th S. x. 10.
(2) Gall. In the regular routine of a matrimonial transaction;
first, taking the notion; secondly, courting, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 226, ed. 1876. (3) Wm. He's a varra poor nooa'shun if
yan gangs hi his plewin (B.K.). w.Yks. (J.W.) (4) Sc. I hae
lang, altho' I didna tell, Had a Strang notion o' the lass mysel',
Shepherd's Wedding (1789) 14. Sh.I. Tinks doo does he hae ony
scarr iv a notion o' her ava? Burgess Sketches (and ed.) 28. Abd.
She hed aye a kin' o' notion o' the loon, Alexander Ain Flk.
(1882) 131. Per. Ilka ane yonder 'ill hae a' thing he's a notion
o', Sandy Scott (1897) 49. Fif. I've an awfu' notion o' that coat,
Robertson Provost (1894) 137. Rnf. Wha in the douce happy
days o' lang syne Wad e'er taen a notion o' fleein' ? Picken
Poems{(iA. 1813) II. 44. Ayr. Service Notandums (1890) 50. Luk.
Dame Fortune . . . Whiles tak's a notion o' a chiel, Orr Laigk Flichts
(1882) 38. Wgt. A spinster in the neighbourhood had a ' notion '
of him — was, in fact, only waiting till he would 'speer' her,
Fraser Wigtown (1877) 338. Don. Don't you go for to tell me . . .
that the Masther hadn't a notion, an' a mortial powerful notion,
of the Widow's Mary, Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 18. Nhb.
Aw belangs te maw troo-luve, an' he hes a keen noshin on us,
RoBSON Sng. Sol. (i860) vii. 10. n.Yks. Bill had a bit of a
nooashin o' ma, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 59. I.Ma. I
never took notions on Betsy Lee, Nor no more did she, I suppose,
on me. Brown Yarns (1881) 5, ed. 1889. (5) Lin. 'Th' boss has
no notion of his feet.' Said of an animal that slipped and stumbled
frequently (M.P.). (6) Per. If our young Captain has wance
ta'en the notion, they may save their breath to cool their ain
parritch, that would gainsay him. He'll gang his ain gate, Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) 92, ed. 1887.
NOTIONABLE, adj. Wm. Also in form nooashun-
able. Having a fancy or inclination to a thing.
He's garn ta wed t'hoose-keeper. She's bin nooa'shunable a
gay lang time (B.K.).
NOTIONATE, adj. Sc. (J.W.) N.I.' [no'Jsnat.] Ob-
stinate ; self-opinionated ; fanciful.
NOTIONED, pp. n.Yks.2 Also in form nooation'd.
In phr. to be nooation'd upon, to be based upon (an idea).
NOTISH, sb. and v. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Also in
forms nooatig-e n.Yks." ; nooatish n.Yks.'* ; notage
m.Yks.' ; notidge Yks. ; nwotish Cum.^ [no'tij, noa'tij,
nos'tidg.] A dial, form of ' notice.'
N.I.i Nhb. Bliss him that teuk notish o' the', Robson Bk.
Ruth (i86o) ii. 19. Cum.s When i' t'market neets she'd nwotish
Signs o' drink i' Cursty Benn, 168. Yks. I is to gie notidge.
Spec. Dial. (1800) 14. n.Yks.i24_ m.Yks.i
N0TLINGS,s6.//. Som. Also written notlins, nottlins.
[no'tlinz.] A pig's ' chitterlings.' The same word as
Knotlings (q.v.).
SwEETMAN Wincanton Gl. (1885) ; Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng.
(1825). w.Som.'-
NOTMATOT, sb. Glo.i [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A hobbledehoy.
An old woman hearing of the marriage of some very young
couples, said, 'Well, what notmatots shall we have married next ? '
NOTOMIZE, NOTOMY, see Anatomy, Nottomy.
NOTOUR, a^'. Obs. or obsol. Sc. Also written nottour,
noture. Notorious.
Sc. For Peter Brown, that notour loon, Escap'd, Herd Coll.
Sngs. (1776) I. loi. Rnf. A public declaration of some of the
more notour branches of them as grievances in the Claim of Right,
WoDROw Corres. (1709-31) I. 208, ed. 1843. Ayr. Among other
notour and celebrated places. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 64.
Lnk. Matters of fact, abundantly notour in the time I am writing
of, but nowperhaps not so much known, Wodrow Ch.Hist. (1721) I.
88, ed. 1828. Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351. Gall.
Her children were well kenned and notour rebels, Crockett
Moss-Hags (1895) XXX vi.
Hence Notourly, adj. notoriously.
So. This was notourly known in the time, Thomson Cloud of
Witnesses (1714) 331, ed. 1871. Sh.I. Murderis and murdereris
notourllie known, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 285, ed. 1891. Rnf.
The Earl and his rebels are likewise noturely perjured, Wodrow
Corres. (1709-31) II. 92, ed. 1843. Ayr. He was nottourly kent
through a' the kintra-side as ane sicker warlock man. Service
Notandums (1890) 105. Lnk. Things notourly known in this
period I am describing, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 334, ed. 1828.
[Fr. notoire, notorious (Cotgr.).]
NOTRIFIED, NOTSINO, see Notified, No tino.
N0T(T, v. Sc. [not.] Pret. and pp. form of ' need.'
Elg. They nott na idle, meanless-toil To meet the ev'ning fare,
CoupER Poetry (1804) I. 117; I wat she is a sair-not wife, Cor
wife Bell, Tester Poems (1865) 106. Bch. (Jam.) Abd. Timmer
was the only thing I not, Macdonald D. Elginbrod (1863) I. 148 ;
Tho' he whiles wad gi'e a snarle, Ye notna heed, Shirrefs Poems
(1790) 241 ; Fan soor scones were nott at Yeel, Goodwife (1867)
41 ; As t could aye dae my ain turn, the siller wisna nott, Abd,
Wkly. Free Press (Aug. 6, 1898). Frf. ' She's awfu' determined
like." ' Ay, that she'd nott to be,' Paton Inveresk (1896) 83.
NOTT, sb. ? Obs. Sc. In comb. Nott-and-loopwork,
? part of the process of weaving.
Rnf. There's A-m sae active at our shopwark. In doctoring our
draughts an' doupwark, Wha jinks about his nott an' loopwark
Just like an eel. Making our mounting, tail and tapwark To
operate weel, Webster Rhymes (1835) 152.
NOTTAMY, NOTTIMIZE, see Anatomy.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE-TIDE, sb. n.Lin.' The fresh
water of the Trent after rain or snow, as distinguished
from the tidal water.
When there is a Nottinghamshire tide our clew-head doors at
Butterwick don't open, sometimes, for a week together.
N0TTINGS,s6./i/. Chs. AlsowrittenknottingsChs."^;
nottins s.Chs.' [no"tinz.] Thin, inferior corn.
Chs.i Wheat which remains in the husks after threshing and is
separated in winnowing. Used for feeding poultry; Chs.'^
s.Chs.i Wheat which refuses to be separated from the husks in
threshing.
NOTTLED, />//. arf;'. Hmp. [no'tld.] Ofcattle: stunted
in growth. Holloway. The same word as Knottled,
s.v. Knottle.
NOTTOMY, s6. Nhp.Dev.Cor. Also in form notomize
Dev. Cor. [no'tami.] A skeleton. The same word as
Anatomy (q.v.).
Nhp.i Wasted to a nottomy. s.Dev., e.Cor. (Miss D.)
NOUCHTIE, see Naughty. *
NOUGH, sb. Irel. A hillock. n.Ir. N. &- Q. (1873)
4th S. xii. 480. Cf knoll, sb.^
N-OUGH, V. Sc. Also in forms nooh Sc. ; now Cld.
1. Of the wind : to blow gently. See Hough, v.^
Sc. O Lord, we pray thee to send us wind, no a rantin', tearin'
wind, but a noohin' [noughin'] soughin' winnin' wind, Ramsay
Remin. (ed. 1867) 26.
2. In phr. to now and talk, to talk loudly, loquaciously,
and foolishly. Cld. (Jam.) Hence Nowan, ppl. adj. of a
talker: silly, loquacious, ib.
'NOUGH
[304]
NOUGHT
'NOUGH, adj. Obsol. Suf. In phr. not 'nough
CT^oM^A, of bread : not properly baked. e.Suf. (F.H.) See
Enough, 2.
NOUGHT, sb., adj., adv. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc.
Irel. and Eng. Also written naught w.Yks.^ Clis.°^ Shr.^
Con; nort War. Suf. w.Som.' Dev.^ Con^; nowght
Yks. Lei.^ ; and in forms naet Dmf. ; naght Hmp.' ;
naowt Chs.^ ; nate Ken.^ ; neat Don' ; neawt Lan. ;
noat n.Yks. ; nocht Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.' Lan. ; noght
Sc. ; noht n.Lin.' ; noot s.Not. ; no't sw.Lin.' ; note
Not.i Lin.i ; noth Abd. (Jam.) ; noucht Sc. (Jam.) Wxf.' ;
nout N.I.' Cum. n.Yks. w.Yks.' n.Lan.' e.Lan.' s.Chs.
Not.'2 Lei.i Nhp.i Wan" Hnt. Suf. ; noutt Yks. ; nowt
Rxb. n.Cy. Nhb.^ Dun' Lakel.^ Cum.* Wm. n.Yks.^^*
e.Yks.i m.Yks.i w.Yks."^ Lan.' e.Lan.' m.Lan.' Chs.'
s.Chs.i s.Stf. Der.= nw.Den' Not. Lin.' sw.Lin.' Rut.^
Nhp.i Shn' Glo. Brks.' Nrf. Sun Sus. s.Hmp. ; nowte
Cum.^ ; nurt w.Som. [n^t, nat, nout, Sc. noxt.] 1. sb.
Nothing.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Cal.' Elg. 'Tis nocht but
richt, in summer nicht, A lassie watch her somebody, Tester
Poems (1865) 220. Bnff.', Abd. (Jam.) Kcd. Nocht save fear-
some tales o' ' Bonny ' Ran the country roon. Grant Lays (1884)
33. Per. Haliborton Z)M«6flr (1895) 17. Frf. We hae noucht
to gie, Johnston Poems (1869) 100. s.Sc. Watson Bards (1B59)
105. Rnf. Webster Rhymes (1835) 214. Ayr. Nocht but dule
and dolour pruve, Service Notandtims (1890) 91. Lnk. Ye've
nocht in yer pouches but dirty green rags, Hamilton Poems
(1865)46. Lth. LuMSDEN5te/>-/;eoa;(i892) 85. Edb. M"Dowall
Poems (1839) 40. Bwk. Chisholm Poems (1879) 58. Slk. Saw
you nocht? Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV. 89. Rxb. I'm
seeking nowt but what I've rowt for, Ford Thistledown (1891)
186. Dmf. Thou hast nae't frae thy mammie, Cromek Remains
(1810)30. Gall. Irving Lays (1872) 63. Wgt. Fraser H^!]g'to»«
(1877) 209. N.I.i I got it for nout. n.Cy. Grose (1790). Nhb.
I want for nowt that she can gie me, Wilson Pitman's Pay
(1843) 13 ; Nhb.i, Dur.i, e.Dur.' Lakel.'^ Ah'll hev nowt ta deea
wi' 't. Cum. We had nout better to drink, Ritson Borrowdale
Lett. (1866) 4; There's nowt sae queer as folk, Old saying {}. Ax.) ;
Cum.* Wm. That 'ats nowt's nivver e niich danger. Old saying
(B.K.). n.Yks.12; n.Yks.^ Had ribbins for varra near nowt, 3 ;
n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i Ah knaw nowt aboot it. e.Yks.i What Ah diz
is nowt ti neeabody bud mysen. m.Yks.' w.Yks.' ii. 285 ;
w.Yks.234 ; w.Yks.5 Tha'U take nowt an' gi'e nowt. Lan. Ey knoas
neawt abowt him, AiNswoRTHia«. IVitches {ed. 1849) i; Ahne'ersee,
nocht like itl(F.P.T.); Lan.i, n.Lan.l, e.Lan.', m.Lan.', Chs.' '
s.Chs. I've got nout for thee (E.F.) ; s.Chs.' Midi. I think nowt
on it, Bartra!,! People 0/ Clapton (1897) 140. s.Stf. I had nowt to
do wi' that job, Pinnock Elk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Der.i ; Der.2 Now't
but a tinker'd consarn (s.v. Tinkered). nw.Der.' Not. He waent
do it for note (J.H.B.) ; There's noat like laziness for comfort,
Prior Rente (1895) 248; Not.i Lin. Thoort nowt o' a noorse,
Tennyson N. Farmer, Old Style (1864) st. i ; Lin.' n.Lin.i She
was sittin' by th' fire doin' noht. sw.Lin.' I can't do no't, to
mean o't. Rut.i It's nowt o' the kind ! Lei.l Nhp.' It all means
nout. War. (J.R.W.), War.23, Shr.i Glo. I can ride whoam
free and fur nowt, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) vii. Brks.'
All as I do's this year zims to come to nowt. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
e.Sut. I don't know nort about it (F.H.). Sur. He could'na leave
me nowt i' his will, Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) III. xvi. Sus. It
was nowt but a field, Jennings Field Paths (1884) 37. Hmp.'
s.Hmp. I thowt as it weren't for nowt as I heerd the old ash-tree
a-groaning, Verney L. Lisle (1870) III. 37. Dor. ' To play var
neat. w.Som.', Dev.'^ n.Dev. That's nort to nobody, Exm.
Crtshp. (1746) 1. 621. Cor. I b'lieve I be nort but a dead man,
T. Towser {i&'jo,') 10 ; Cor.^ What's good for nort comes to no hort.
Hence (i) Noughtless, a^'. good-for-nothing, valueless ;
(2) Noughtlike, adj. of inferior quality, unsatisfactory ; (3)
Noughtness, sb. nothingness, wickedness ; (4) Nowter,
sb. ' a fool's errand.'
(i) n.Yks.2, Suf. (CD.) (2) n.Yks.2 A nought-like fellow.
e.Yks.' Jack's nowt like at plewin [ploughing] wheear Bill cums,
MS.add.iT.n.) Lan.'(s.v. Owt-like). (3) n.Yks.= (4) nw.Lin.
' I thowt it wod all turn out a nowter.' Said ... in reference to
boring in search of water in obedience to the direction of a person
who professed to find water by aid of a divining-rod (E.P.).
2. Comb, (i) Nought-at-dow, (a) worthless ; of no
account ; (i) a worthless, thriftless, or unsuccessful
fellow ; (c) nothing good ; wickedness ; (2) -penny.
bringing or earning no pay ; (3) -penny job, work done
without pay ; (4) -penny love, disinterested affection ;
(5) -vent, a speech which is little to the point.
(i, a) n.Cy. (Hall.) Lakel.'' He's nowt-at-dow. Cum. What is
she!— nought'atdow,ANDERSONi3a//arf5(i8o5)2; Cum.* (i)Nhb.',
Wm. (W.H.H.) n.Yks. Tak no noatish ov a fella like that, he's a
reglernout-ot-dow (W.H.) ; n.Yks.'i^ n.Lan. He's a sad shaffelin
ev a fella is Jack Todd, a girt nowt-et-dow (W.H.H.). (c) Wm.
An nowt et dow wed cumomma, Ci-arv.^ Jonny Shippard's Juma
(1865). n.Yks.2 He's efther nowt o' t'dow. (2) n.Yks.', m.Yks.»
(3, 4) n.Yks.2 (5) ib. It was all a nought-vent.
3. Phr. (i) all a piece of nought, all nonsense, humbug ;
(2) all to nought, {a) completely, entirely ; {b) exactly ; (3)
as (if) nought were, as if nothing had happened, as if there
was nothing to do ; (4) as near as nought, nearly, almost ;
(5) a thing of nought, a valueless trifle ; (6) at nought, on
no consideration whatever ; (7) nought or nothing to mean
aught or nought, nothing of any importance ; (8) nought
a deal, not much ; (9) — altnost, almost nothing ; (10) —
at (the) mack, (11) — at sort, nothing of the sort; (12)
— boiling over, of an indifferent quality or character ; (13)
— but well, nothing but what is good ; (14) — good to, good
for nothing ; (15) — in a manner, see (8) ; (i6j — in sport,
only in jest ; (17) — marchantable, not well ; not up to
the mark; (18) — nobbut, nothing but, nothing except;
(19) — no less nor, nothing less than ; (20) — cf clock, of no
account ; (21) — of a fellow, a fellow not good for much ;
(22) — of all noughts, anything thoroughly bad ; esp. a
depraved and worthless person ; (23) — of (the) sort,
nothing of the sort ; (24) — that dows (for ought, of no
profit or advantage ; (25) — that's ought, of no good what-
ever; (26) — to crack on, nothing to boast of; (27) — to
mean ought, nothing to speak of; (28) — to nail to, of
health : nothing to build upon ; (29) — to nobody, of no
consequence to anybody but the speaker ; (30) • — to one,
not related to one ; (31) — to speak on, see (27) ; (32) that
that's nought, the devil ; (33) to be a person to nought, to
resemble him closely ; (34) — be nought with, to be guilty
of an act of impurity with ; (35) — call (all) to nought, to
abuse violently ; (36) — make nought on, to make no
account of ; (37) up to nought, valueless.
(i) w.Yks. An' when ah gat ta t'spot, it wor all a piece o' nowt
(J.R.). (2, a) w.Yks.' He beat him au to naught. (6) ib. It fits
au to nout. (3) w.Yks. I was walkin quietly, with a cabbage under
my arm, as nowt wor, Saimterer's Satchel (1877) 21 ; What should
they see but th' same noisy beggar peearked o' th' wall, just as if
nowt wor, Hartley Clock Aim. (Dec. 1871), in Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Sept. 14, 1895). Lan. Th' lass . . . pood eawt a pair o' tungs,
pickt up th' bowt wi' um, placed it on th' anvil, an' then walkt off
to her play amung th' durt as if nowt wur. Wood Hum. Sketches, 82.
(4)w.Yks.(J.W.) sw.Lln.'Asnearas nowt done. (5") n.Yks. (I. W.)
(6) n.Yks. He didn't like it at nowt (I.W.). w.Yks.' He could not be
counselled at naught; w.Yks-S Can't come it at nowt [Can't
accomplish it by any means]. (7) w.Yks. (J.W.), Not. (L.C.M.)
(8) n.Lin.' ' What have you been doing to-day ? ' ' Why noht a
deal, it's rain'd oher hard.' (9) n.Yks. (I.W.), w.Yks. (J.W.)
(10) Lakel.^ ' Dud thoo tell me that ye wanted a whelp oot o' oor
bitch ? ' ' Nowt-at-t'-mack, we've mair dogs ner we know what ta deea
wi'.' Wm. ' Nowt ett'mak,'ses Lib, Robison Aald Taales (1882) 6.
w. Yks. ( J . W. ) (11) w.Yks. Ah think tha'U do nowt at sooart. Hart-
ley Clock Aim. (1896). (12) Wm. He's nowt-boilin-ower is t'auld
beggar nut, er else he wad'nt treat his wife e that way (B.K.).
(13) n.Yks.' Ah nivver beared nowght but weel ov 'im; n.Yks.*
Ah can saay nowt bud weel on him. (14) n.Cy. Grose (1790).
(15) Cum.'* (16) w.Yks. A'a John, yer nowt i spooart, aw'U pay
yo in a while, Bickerdike Beacon Aim. (1875). (17) w.Som.',
Dev. (Hall.) n.Dev. ' How dost try I ? "... ' Why fath . . . nort
marchantable,' Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 327-9. (18) w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lan. There's bin nowt nobbut wars sin' these Georges started gaf-
ferin, Clegg David's Loom (1894) ii. (19) vi.YTis. Aim. (t88i)
25. (20) w.Yks. He's nowt o'clock. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ;
Their present St. George was nowt o'clock wi' t'sword, Burnley
Sketches {lS^5) lz^. (21) n.Yks. (I.W.) (22) w.Yks.' Lin.Ibeant
sich a Nowt of all Nowts as 'ull hallus do as 'e's bid, Tennyson
Owd Rod ( 1889). n.Lin.' Him a preacher ! a real noht o' all nohts
like him ! (23) Cum.', w.Yks. (J.W.), Not.' Lin.' Yah may tell me
so, but I knows it's nowt o' sort. n.Lin.' I niver said noht o' th'
soort e' all my life. (24) e.Yks.' (25) Yks. Grose (1790) MS.
NOUGHT
[305]
NOVITY
add. (P.) w.Yks, (J.W.) ; w.Yks.' Nout at's out can come o sike
like wark ; w.Yks.^ Th'art nowt 'at's owt. nw.Der.' n.Lin.i Fling
it upo' th' fire, it's noht 'at's oht. (26) Cum. There's nowte here
to crack on, N. Lonsdale Mag. (Nov. 1866) 188 ; Cum.*, w.Yks.
(J.W.) Der.'^ He's nowt to crack on. Not.^ It is a wicked deed
and nout to crack on. (27) w.Yks. Leave me onny brass ? Now !
nowt to meean owt (^E.B.). (28) n.Lin.' Noa, I doant get noa
better. You see, I've noht to naail to. The doctor said, if he'd
hed a good constitution he could hev reighted him up, bud you sea
he'd drunk soa hard, ther" was noht to naail to. (29) w.Yks. It's
nowght to nob'dy what I du, an' Ahs't just suit misen abaht it,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Sept. 14, 1895). (30) w.Yks. (J.W.), w.Yks.i
Lan, Yo're nowt to me — we're noane akin, Clegg Sketches (1895)
204. Nhp.* He's nowt to me. (31) w.Yks. ' Is ther ony meyl i'
t'bin lass ? ' ' Now [no], nowt ta speyk on' (S.K.C.). (32) w.Yks.'
(33) Chs.i He's his fayther to nowt. (34) w.Yks.i (35) w.Yks.',
Chs.^ (36) Nrf. If so bein' a man had gan all his houseful for
love, 'twud be right made nowt on, Gillett Sng. Sol. (i860) viii. 7.
(37) n.Yks.* It's up ti nowt neea waay.
4. Anything quite worthless.
w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.i It's a noht, chuck it up o' th' fire.
5. A person of no importance ; a worthless person ; a
ne'er-do-weel.
Cum. Thoo brazzen-feaced nowt, Caine Hagar{zZZ'j) viii. Wm.
A girt nowt ev a fella (W.H.H.). n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.* He's a nowt.
w.Yks.Great hectoring nowts like yond' Irish Peter, Bronte S/uV/ry
(1849) V ; (J.W.) Lan. Dick, th's nobbut bin a nowt ov a lad, Fer-
guson Moudywarp, 11. se.Lan. The whole gamut of Lancashire
epithets was wasted on him. ' A ornery beggar,' a ' nowt,' Comh.
Mag. (Nov. 1898) 697. Chs.' s.Chs.' A naughty child is often
addressed as ' Yd little nowt.' s.Not. (J.P.K.), n.Lin.'
6. pi, A game of marbles at the conclusion of which each
player retains his own stakes. e.Yks.^ (s.v. Keepins).
7. A cry which forbids a player at marbles to place his
' taw ' near the ring. Lan. Manchester City News (Oct. 10,
1896). 8. adj. Worthless, good-for-nothing, bad, vicious ;
cross, nasty.
Rxb. N. & Q. (1865) 3rd S. viii. 537. n.Cy. A man may spare,
And still be bare. If his wife be nowt, ib. ix. 117. Wm. Hee's
fearful nowt, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 14, ed. 1821. n.Yks. Ah'U
tell tha what, he's nowt, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Dec. 20, 1890). m.Yks.'
w.Yks. (B.K.); w.Yks.''; w.Yks.^ Introd. 18. Lan. She's th'nowtest
owd piece i' Christendom, Burnett Haworth's (1887) xxx ; Lan.',
e.Lan.i Chs.' He's a nowt lad ; Chs.za, ^chs. (E F.), s.Chs.'
Der.l ; Der.* He's nowt. nw.Der.', n.Lin.^, Shr.', Ken.'
9. No ; none.
Wxf.' Cor. You've naught occasion to say I be stealing,
Baring-Gould Curgenven (1893) xiv.
10. adv. Obs. In no wise.
Sc. Wi' good white bread, and farrow-cow milk, I wat she fed
me nought, Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) I. 166.
11. V. To abuse violently. Chs."
NOUGHT, see Nowt, s6.'
NOUKER, sb. Hrf.'^ [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] A sharp fellow. ' He's a nouker.'
NOUL, NOUNCE, see Nowl(e, Nous(e.
NOUNSE, sb. Dor.' The eyelet hole of a rope.
NOUP, see Knop, sb., Naup.
NOURICE, sb, Obs. or obsol. Sc. Also written
nooriss ; nouris (Jam.) ; nurice ; and in forms nprish,
nurish, nurrish. A nurse ; also used attrib.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) ; Mony a ane kisses the bairn
for love of the nurice, Ramsay Prov. (1737) ; A year a nurish,
seven year a da, Ramsay Remin. (ed. 1872) 139. Sh.I. Its wan
lips it pressed to the nourice cauld breast. But nae milk had the
nourice ta gie, Stewart Tales (1892) 241. n.Sc. I bare a bairn
ere he came hame And set it on the nourice knee, Buchan Ballads
(1828) I. 56, ed. 1875. Elg. Couper Poetry {1804.) I. 98. Abd.
Ten thousand crowns to Lady Jane, Sat on the nourice knee,
Walker Bards Bon-Accotd (1887) 68. Per. Where ye had but
ae nourice. Your young son shall hae three, Sharpe Ballad Bk.
(1823) 5, ed. 1868. Slk. Mithers and nourices will hush the bab-
bies on their breists wi' the cry o' ' the Ganner,' Chr. North Nodes
(ed. 1856) III. 267.
Hence (i) Nourice-fee, sb. the wages given to a wet
nurse ; (2) -skap or -ship, sb. (a) the place or situation of
a nurse ; (b) the fee given to a nurse.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) Or.I. I'll come back an pay the norish fee, Fer-
GussoN Rambles (1884) 243. n.Sc. I paid the nourice fee As an
VOL. IV.
honest woman wou'd, Kinloch Ballad Bk. (1827) 83, ed. 1868.
Abd. Gin she had but milk, Then sud she gae frae head to foot
in silk ; Wi' castings rare, and a gueed nooriss-fee. To nurse the
king of Elfin's heir, Ross Helenore (1768) 68, ed. 1812. (2, a) Sc.
(Jam.) ; ' Who this woman is, and what is her connexion with the
former proprietor's family ? ' ' O, it was something of a nourice-
ship, I believe,' Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) iii. (A) Sc. (Jam.)
[The industrie of his nurice, Dalrymple Leslies Hist,
Scotl. (1596) 1. 146. Fr. nourrice, a nurse (Cotgr.).]
NOURISHMEN'T, sb. Chs.' [narijme'nt.] Wine or
spirits given medicinally.
' How's Betty to-day ? ' ' Oh, 00 conna live lung, 00 tay's nowt,
neaw, bu' nourishments.' There is a strong accent on the last syllable.
N0URN,s6. Sh.I. The north. S.&Ork.' See Norden.
NOUS(E, sb. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc. and
Eng. Also written nowce Dev. ; nowse Chs.' Brks.' ;
and in forms ? nounce Not.'' ; nouss Not. [naus, s.Cy.
neus.] Sense ; discernment ; ability ; tact ; acuteness.
Sc. Wi' yer auld strippet coul. Ye luke 'maist like a fule ; But
there's nouse in the linin', Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam.
(1899). Cum. Ferguson A^oWAjkcm (1856) 218. w.Yks.' ; w.Yks."
Used . . . sixty years ago. Lan. Theau'd alius nouse to find thy
road about, Doherty N. Barlow (1884) 66 ; Lan.' Sense and
ability, combined with quickness of apprehension ; cleverness,
combined with common sense. . . Similar in meaning to the word
gumption. Chs.' Not. (J.H.B.) ; Not.'; Not." He'll none do;
he's no nounce. Lin.', Nhp.', War.^ Glo. She's sure to make some
mistake, she has no nous (A.B.). Oxf. She has no nous about her
(M.A.R.). Brks.' T'yent no good to ax he to do't, vor'eayent gotno
nowse. Hrt. (H.G.), Hnt. (T.P.F.) Suf.' Ah 'a don't want for nouse.
w.Som.' Th' 'ead o' un's a put on vitty — there's some nouse about
he. Dev. Plenty o' nowce in hee's heyde, Pulman Sketches
(1842) 119, ed. 1871. Colloq. Nor fancy, because a man nous
seems to lack, That, whenever you please, you can ' give him the
sack,' Barham Ingoldsby (ed. 1864) St. Medard.
Hence Nousy, adj. sharp, bright. Hrt. Hrt. Merc.
(iVlay 19, 1888).
[A word borrowed direct fr. the Gr. vovs, mind.]
NOUST, sb. Sc. Also in forms naust (Jam.) ; noast
Cai.'; noost Sh.I. [ntist, nost.] A landing-place for
boats ; a slip either natural or artificial into which a boat
is drawn up for protection.
Sh.I. My boat i' da winter noust, Stewart Tales (1892) 54;
He venter'd aif mony a time whin it wis a temptin' o' Providence
ta lave da noost, Clark N. Gleams (1898) 34 ; S. & Ork.' Or.I.
Ferguseon Rambles (1884) 167. Cai.'
[Norw. dial, naust and n^st, a boat-house (Aasen) ; ON.
naust (Vigfusson).]
NOUST, see Anewst, Newst.
NOUSTER, sb. Or.I. A landing-place. (S.A.S.),
S. & Ork.' See Noust.
NOUSTY, adj. Obs. w.Yks.' Peevish.
NOUT(S, NOUZLE, see Nowt, sb}. Nuzzle.
NOVATION, sb. Obs. Sc. The introduction of some-
thing new, an innovation.
Sc. Nouations in a church, even in the smallest things are
dangerous. Sermon (1618) in Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell.
(1844) I. 65. Abd. Mr. Andrew Cant being minister at Aberdeen
. . . began to bring in novations, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 28.
NOVEL, sb. Suf. The navel. e.Suf. (F.H.) See
Nable, NowL
NOVELS, sb. pi. Obs. Sc. News, tidings.
Rnf. When you favour me with a line, I'll be glad to have your
thoughts of it, with all your novels, Wodrow Carres, (1709-31)
in. 167, ed. 1843.
N-OVER, sb. Obsol. Sus. High land above a pre-
cipitous bank of a river. See Overs, sb, pi?
Sus.' I goos across the nover now-and-agin (s.v. Now-and-
agin) ; Sus.^ e.Sns. Holloway.
NOVICE, sb. Yks. Also written nuwis w.Yks.
[nu'vis.] A term of reproach, used of a person who is
awkward in manner or procedure.
A clumsy child who has damaged an article, will be called,
angrily, a 'great novice' (C.C.R.); Very common (J.W.).
w.Yks. Thah nuwis, Bywater Sheffield Dial. (1839) 196.
NOVITY, sb. Obs. Sc. A novelty.
Mr. William huffed at the novity, Fountainhall Decisions
(c. 1700) Suppl. III. 146, ed. 1759 (Jam.).
R r
NOW
[306]
NOWT
NOW, adv., int. and sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms naa w.Yks.^ ; nah w.Yks. ; nau, neaw
Lan. ; noo Sc. Cum.>* Wm. n/^fks.^^* ne.Yks.' e.Yks.'
n.Lan. [Sc. n.Cy. nil, w.Yks. na, Lan. ne, s.Cy. neu.]
1. adv. In comb. Now-or-never, a name given to a house
or hut hastily built to establish a claim to land.
Sur. It was a notion held among the peasantry in blden times
that he who could in one night erect a ' mushroom hall ' or a
' now-or-never' without hindrance from the officials of the manor
had obtained a copyright to the land, Heath Eng. Peas. (1893) 145.
2. Phr. (i) ae now, very soon ; cf. enow, adv.^ ; (2) by
}WW, just now ; (3) how now? (a) how do you do now? (6)
what is the matter ? (4) now abouts, about this time ; (5)
• — and nan, now and then, occasionally; (6) — and so,
unsettled ; (7) — days,_ nowadays ; (8) — for you, a salu-
tation on meeting a friend ; {9) — just, a moment ago, just
now ; (10) MOW ! now ! {now ! an exclamation command-
ing silence ; (11) now right, immediately, at this moment;
(12) — then, see (8).
(i) Sc. Jean will be wi' us ae noo, Roy Horsematis Wd.
(1895) i. (2) Som. I seed un by now, Miss Urs'la, so I did,
Raymond A^o 5om/ (1899) 46. (3 a, 6) Der.i (4) n.Yks. T'show
will begin nowabouts (IW.). e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks.
(J.W.) (5) Abd. To glance at it noo an' nan, Good Wds. (1878).
(6) Sh.I. A' Sunday da wadder wis noo an' sae — a kind 0' wasterly
rod, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 239. (7) Per. Noo-days, nae flesh
kind can we keep But chockit kye, an' braxy sheep. Ford Harp
(1893) 347. w.Yks. (J.W.) (81 n.Yks. Noo f6 ye! Good
mooanin, John (I.W.I. (9) Lan. Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale,
Schofield Mill {iS,6o) I. 52. War.2 He can't be fur off; he was
here now just. Shr.l (10) nw.Der.l, Nhp.i, War.= (11) w.Cy.
Grose (1790). w.Som.' I'll do un away vor ee now-right, avore
1 goes to dinner. Dev.' 3. n.Dev. Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 488.
nw.Dev.i (12) ne.Yks.^ Noo ! Noo then ; wheer's ta forr ? w.Yks.
He dropped in every day for twenty years with the laconic
Cry of Nah then ! ' Snowden Tales Wolds (1894) 153.
3. Presently, in a short time, just.
Pern. I'll come now, I've a got my frock off. ' Now at onst ' is
the expression when they mean really 'now' (E.D.). Suf.He's now
a-coming (S.J.).
4. int. A form of salutation, equivalent to ' How do you
do?' n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.', w.Yks.* 5. An exclamation of
discontent.
Sc. He was never pleased with his work who said, Now,
when he had done with it. ' Now,' at the having done a thing,
is a word of discontent, Kelly Prov. (1721) 143-4.
6. sb. In phr. (i) in (the) now, see Enow, adv."^ ; (2) the
now, just now, at present ; at once ; directly ; (3) at, or
by, nows and thens, at odd times, occasionally ; (4) nows
and again(s, (5) — and nans, (6) — and then(s, now and
then, occasionally.
(i) Sc. Ye may laugh brawly i' the now, Nicoll Poems (ed.
1843) 298. ne.Sc. Green Gordonhaven (1887) 96. Abd. The grun'
's het i' the noo, Macdonald R. Falconer (1868) 150. Yks. I'se
be there i' now, Taylor Miss Miles (1890) xii. Lan. His chimbley
uU want to be swept i' t'neaw, Lahee Owd Neddy, 12. (2) Sc. No
the now ; wait till after worship, Dickson Kirk Beadle (1892) 78.
ne.Sc. Ah'm awfu' bad the noo. Green Gordonhaven (1887) 112.
Abd. I'm thinkin' he'll be at hame the noo, Macdonald D. Elginbrod
(1863) III. 127. Frf. The servant gaed in to Duff's the noo, Barrie
Thrums (1889) ii. Per. A' be come straicht the noo frae the doctor's
study, Ian Maclaren Auld Lang Syne (1895) 38. w.Sc. Carrick
Laird of Logan (1835) 88. Fif. I dinna ken hoo she lives the
now, Heddle Marget (1899) 10. Ayr. As for the courtin', — I'm
no' i' the tidd the noo. Service Noiandums (1890) 48. Lnk.
Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 9. e.Lth. Ye're no' at ane o'
your prayer-meetins the noo, Hunter /. Inwick (1895) 63.
Gall. "Tell my mither I'll be doon the noo ! Crockett Raiders
(1894) V. Nhb. She 'ill be at Morpeth the now, Jones A^AA. (1871)
'23' (3) w.Sc, s.Sc. He jist comes at nows and thens (Jam.
Suppl.). n.Yks. 1 Wheea, she's dune it at noos an' thans, at
neeght-tahms an' holidays. m.Yks.' He comes at nows and thans.
(4) Kcb. Ye can come an' gie's a han' noo's an' again, Armstrong
Kirkiebrae (1896) 49. n.Yks." (5) Abd. Noo, only noos and
nans. Good Wds. (1878) 385. Frf. Tam drank nows and nans,
Barrie Tommy (1896) x. Gall. A gless or twa noos an' nan's,
Crockett Sunbonnet (1895) xxvii. (6) Or.I. Fergusson Ratnbles
(1884) 248. Abd. There are some folk in this worl' . . . that's
better o' tak' doon noos an' thans, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Oct.
20, 1900). w.Sc. Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 282. Fif.
Jist tak a nibble at it noo's an' than's, Robertson Provost
(1894) 30. Ayr. I find that scarting [writing] a bit note noos
an' t'ans doesna fatigue me to the same extent. Service Dr.
Duguid (ed. 1887) 242. Lnk. They . . . took a sip o't noos an'
than — But never fell fu', Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 54. Nhb.
I had noos an' thens a coat o' a great man tae make, Jones Nhb.
(1871) 33. Dur. Letting the better part o' them primroses die for
want o' a sup o' water nows and thens, Longman's Mag. (July
1897) 265. e.Dur.i, Cum.'* Wm. Yusta wallap es noos an thans,
Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii. 9. n.Yks.' ^ ; n.Yks.* Yan sees him noos
and thens. ne.Yks.* e.Yks.' Ah'U cum tl see ya, noos an thens,
MS. add. (T.H.) m.Yks.' I see him nows and thans. w.Yks.
An' that wor only nahs and thens, Hallam Wadsley Jack (1866) i ;
w.Yks.i n.Lan. A bit of a laugh noos an' thans at aid Bamthet,
Gibson Flk-Sp. (1869) 78. ne.Lan.' 8.Not. His work's on'y
novys an' thens (J.P.K.). n.Lin.^ He could have a labourer; if
not always, nows and thens to help him, Cheny Ruth and Gabriel,
i. sw.Lin.', Wor. (H.K.) s.Oxf. Rosemary ChiUems (1895) 113.
Sur. I gives 'ee a bit nows and thens, Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) II. i.
NOW, NOWCE, see Nough, v., Nous(e.
NOWCH, sb. and v. Der.> [nout/.] 1. sb. A swelling
on the forehead or head, caused by a blow.
By Gum, he had a fine nowch o'er t'yead. That wor a nowch
an' no mistak'.
2. V. To give a blow which causes a swelling on the head.
He did nowch him.
NOWD, NOW(E, see Knowd, No, adj.
NOWER, adv. Yks. Oxf. Also written nooer, noowur
Oxf.' [no'W3(r).] A dial, form of 'nowhere.'
w.Yks.3 Oxf.' I ben't agwain nooer [noo-uur],
NOWL, 56. ^Obs. e.An. The navel. e.An.' Nrf.
HoLLOWAY. Cf. nawl, sb.^
[ME. noule, the navel (Stratmann).]
NOWL, see Knoll, v.^
NOWL(E, sb. Yks. War. Wor. Suf. Som. Cor. Also
written noul War. ; and in form noil w.Som.' [noul,
nol.] The crown of the head, the ' noddle.'
w.Yks. Archaic Wds. in Yks. Wkly. Post (July 14, 1883). War.
Wise SAafes/iere (1861) 155. se.Wor.', Suf.' w.Som.' Jim, how
did thy noil zee the bursh last? I'd comb un out nif I was thee.
Cor.' A pig's head ; Cor.^ Used satirically.
[With hard nol . . . je withstoden eueremore the Hooli
Goost, Wyclif (1388) Deeds vii. 51. OE. hnol, 'vertex'
(iELFRic) ; OHG. ' sinciput' (Graff).]
N-OWN, adj. Sc. Yks. Lan. Oxf. Also in forms nawn
m.Yks.' w.Yks.^ Oxf. ; nyawn Ags. (Jam.) [Yks. 11911,
n9an.] Own ; only used after poss. pron. Cf. nain.
Or.I. (Jam. Suppl.) Ags. His nyawn (Jam.). m.Yks.' Thou's
my nawn bairn. Thou's a nawn pet. w.Yks.' Lan. Meh nown
broother, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1746) 41. Oxf. (K.)
NOWP, NOWSE, see Naup, Nous(e.
NOWSE, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Dur. Also written nouse
Sc. Nhb. Dur. [nouz.] 1. Nothing. Cf. aughts, owse.
se.Sc. Nouse on him we now can graff Sin' he is dead,
Donaldson Po^>«s (1809) 213. n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.' Nhb. They
say dry bargains stand for nowse, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843)
52 ; Nhb.' Nowt and nowse are indifferently used.
2. Phr. nouse and ouse, nothing and something. Nhb.,
Dur. (J.H.)
NOWSTRIL, sb. Lin. Also written nostril Lin.
[no'stril.] A blow on the head, a ' knowster.'
n.Lin. Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 312 ; n.Lin.'
NOWT, si.' Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. e.An.
Also written knout Sc. Nhb. ; knowt, knowte Sc. ; nolt
Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.' Cum. e.An.' ; nought Gall. ; nout Sc.
(Jam.) N.Cy.' Nhb.' Cum. Wm. ; nowte Sc. Cum.* ; and
in forms nawt Sc. n.Cy. w.Yks. ; noit- w.Yks. ; note
n.Cy.; noth n.Yks.^; nouts Bch. e.Yks. ; nowts Edb.
ne.Yks.' m.Yks.' [nout] 1. Cattle, esp. black, horned
cattle ; occas. sing.
Sc. ' And whae has got my skins, baith sheep and knowte ? ' put
in the butcher, Tweeddale MoJ' (1896) 139. n.Sc. Buchan
Ballads (i8a8) II. 26, ed. 1875. ne.Sc. Fin the nout begins to
fleck and gehr, Ye may lat oot the byre mehr and mehr, GregoR
Flk-Lore (1881) 132. Cai.i Mry. Fruits, an' flowers, an' fusky
stills, black nout an' wavin' corn. Hay Lintie (1851) 53. Bnff.
Success to horses, nowt, and sheep, Taylor Poems (1787) 21.
NOWT
[307]
NOWTHER
Bch. Forbes Ulysses (1785) 34. Abd. The animals fittest to be
employed in this are young nolt, Alexander Notes and Sketches
(1877) 37. Kcd. Grant Lays (1884") 3. Frf. That canna bring
a yark, without A' sweatin' like a burstin' nowt, Sands Poems
(1833) 105. Per. He's growin' like his nowte awee, Haliburton
Horace (1886) 51. e.Fif. Havin' coom sooth . . . wi' a drove o'
Heelan' nowte, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xiv. Dmb. Salmon
Gowodean (1868) 49. Rnf. Tell how mony knowt ye hae, Barr
Poems (1861) 103. Ayr. They wha begin wi' steaHng needles and
prins, may end wi' horned knout, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) ii.
Lnk. I've got knocked ower by a nout or stirk, Ewing Poems
(189a) 15. Lth. Herds had ca'd the heavy nout in Frae the snaw-
clad drearie bent, Bruce Poems (1813) II. 168. Edb. Nowts and
horse their foods maun ha'e As weel as ithers, Har'st Rig (1794)
26, ed. 1801. Bwk. Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 126. Slk.
Five hundred head of good English nolt, Hogg Tales (1838) 627,
ed. 1866. Dmf. Shennan Tales (iSsil 38. Gall. Foddering the
nought among the biels, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 333, ed. 1876.
Wgt. What we stan'in' stanes ca', Were set up nowt tae claw,
Eraser Poc>«« (1885) 46. n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.i Nhb. As long
as grund grows grass, And knout grows hair, Roddam of Roddam
for evermair, ZJ^wAflwj Tracts (ed. 1892) I. 16; Nhb.^, Dur.' Cum.
Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 308 ; Cum.' Gan* an' fodder the nowt ;
Cum.", Wm. (M.P.), n.Yks.i*, ne.Yks.i e.Yks. Thompson Hist.
IVelton (1869') 171. m.Yks.i
Hence Noiter, sb. a cattle-keeper, a neat-herd. w.Yks.
Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865).
2. Comb, (i) Nowt-beast, an animal of the ox tribe ; (?)
-doctor, a veterinary surgeon ; (3) -fair, a cattle-fair ; (4)
•foot, calves'-foot ; cow-heel ; (5) -foot jeel or -foot jelly,
calves'-foot jelly ; (6) -foot oil, (7) -foot saim or -foot
same, oil obtained frojn the feet of cattle ; (8) -geld, obsol.,
cornage rent, originally paid in cattle ; a horn tax ; (9)
-head, a blockhead ; a coward ; (10) -herd, a keeper of
cattle; (11) -hide, ox-leather; (12) -horn, a cow-horn ; in
fihr. cold enough to pierce a nowt-horn, excessively cold ;
13) -leather, see (11) ; (14) -market, a cattle-market ; (15)
-tath, luxuriant grass growing from dung ; (16) -tongue,
an ox-tongue.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) Abd. [He] mith ken aboot a nowte beast weel
aneuch b' gues? o' ee, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 107. s.Sc. A
palin' round aboot. To keep the kye an' nout beas' oot, Watson
Bards (1859) 72- CiaM. Mis-caa'ed Alick for a muckle nowt-beast,
Crockett Cleg Kelly (1896) 207. Nhb.^ When a single animal is
spoken of it is not uncommon to say ' a nout beast.' (2) G&U.
It is reduced by nowt doctors to a fine powder, and blown
through the hollows of quills into cattle's eyes which have motes
in them, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) lag, ed. 1876. (3) Dur.^
' Nowt Fair' is held at Darlington on the first Monday in March.
Cum. The word is retained in Nout-fair, the name of the Fair hill
above Penrith (M.P.). ne.Yks.' (4) Sc. Cauler nowt-feet in a
plate, Ramsay Tea-Table Misc. (1724) I. 86, ed. 1871. Slg. Mall
brings barley-kail in, Wi' great nowt-feet and sing'd sheep-heads,
Galloway Poems (1804) 66. N.Cy.i NUb.' A boiled nout-foot is
a common accompaniment to the sheep's trotters and the minch-
meat of the tripe-wife's stall. (5) Sc. (Jam.) Lth. Partans,
nowt-feet-jeel, stew'd rabbits, Smith Merry Bridal (1866) 13;
Nhb.l (6) n.Cy. Grose (1790). Nhb,i, Lakel.2, Cum. (M.P.),
Cran.l 'Vy^m. Put some nowt-fpot oil on't (B.K.). n.Yks. (T.S.)
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). (7) w.Yks. Thoresby Lett.
(1703). (8) N.Cy.'2, |fhb.i Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 308;
Cum.* Rent paid by certain customary lands towards the cost of
a person to watch for, and give notice, by blowing a horn, of the
approach of an enemy. n.Yks." A term still occasionally heard.
(9) Sc. (K.); Ca'd him a nowt-head and a snool, Drummond
Muckomachy (1846) 6. n.Cy. (Hall.) (10) Sc. (Jam.) Slk.
Wee Willy the iiout-herd, Hogg Tales (1838) 26, ed. 1866.
n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.i, Nhb.', n.Yks.* e.Yks. The nout heard wages
weare for every beast ak, Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 119. w.Yks.
Thoresby Lett. (1703). (11) Sc. Nae brunt-taed tawse o' strong
nowt-hi^e Need they for paumies, Stewart Character (1857) 58.
(12) Sc. (Jam.) ; A niuckle nowt-horn to rowt on had he, Jamieson
Pop. Ballads (1806) I. 302. (13) Rnf. Ye war o' as guid nowt
leather, As e'er was ken'd to rax a tether, Picken Poems (1813) I.
33. (14') Abd. He had first visited the nowt market, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) xx. (15) Sc. (Jam.) (16) w.Yks. It wor a
boiled nawt tung at shoo tewk, Pudsey Olm. (1877) 19.
3. Fig. A stupid fellow ; a blockhead ; a lumpish, in-
active man.
Sc. What garr'd ye blaw out the crusee, Davie, ye stupid nout ?
St. Kathleen (1820) III. 159 (Jam.). Cai.l Mry. Surv. Gl. (Jam.)
Elg. He truly is a nowte, Jock Hack, Tester Poems (1865) 128.
Abd. They're nowt, but I'm nae a nowt, Paul Abd. (1881) 62.
Lnk. You ugly nowt ! Swithe ! frae my sight, ye filthy ragged
cowt! Black Falls 0/ Clyde {1806) 195. Edb. The feghtan', staran'
stirk ; And his big brother nowt, That kicks his muckle brosy
wife, Carlop Green (1793) 118, ed. 1817. Gall. A great, strong,
kindly, hard driving ' nowt' of a man, Crockett Standard Bearer
(1898) 82. ? n.Cy. He's just a great soft nowt, . . and now he's
wanting to get married, Shipton Bearing the Yoke, vii. e.An.'-
Hence Noltish, adj. stupid.
Gall. Better than any noltish Galloway Laird, Crockett Grey
Man (1896) xiv.
[1. Nout or flockis of scheip or gait, Dalrymple Leslie's
Hist. Scotl. (1596) I. 7 ; Ba))e nowwt ■) shep, Ormulunt
(c. 1200) 15558. ON. naut, cattle, oxen (Vigfusson).]
NOWT, s6.2 Stf.War. [naut.] A dial, form of 'newt,'
Triton cristatus.
s.Stf. Her welly had a fit when her fun a nowt in the cellar,
PiNNOCK Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). War."
NOWT.z;. Sc. Toinjure, hurt; to beat, strike. Macicay.
See Knoit, v.
NOWT, see Nought.
NOWTERER, sb. Obsol. ne.Yks.^ A cattle-keeper.
See Nowt, sb.'^
' Canst ta tell ma wheer t'beeos is ! ' ' Naw, bud mebbe t'nowt-
therer can tell ya.'
NOWTHER, adj., pron., conj. and v} In gen. dial, use
in Sc. Eng. and Amer. Also in forms nauther w.Yks.'
n.Lin.'; nawder ne.Lan.'; nawther w.Yks.'^; noader
m.Yks.' ; noather m.Yks.' w.Yks.' Lan.' e.Lan.' m.Lan.'
Chs.' ; nodder Sc. ; noithpr w.Yks.' ; noother Sc. ;
norther w.Yks. Suf ; npther w.Yks.'"4 Lan,' Den'
nw.Der.' Not.' Lei.' Nhp.' Sus. Dor.' w.Som.' nw.Dev.'
Amer. ; nouder Wm. ; nou'ther Sc. N.Cy.' Lei.' ; nowder
Lakel." Cum. Wm. n.Yks.* m.Yks.' ne.Lan.' ; nowdir
w.Yks.' ; nowdther Cum. ; nudder Ken. ; nutha Suf.' ;
nuther Brks.' Nrf. Ken.' Sun' Sus.' Hmp.' Dor.' Som,
Dev. Cor." Amer. [n9-tSa(r, n93-ty3(r), no-03(r), nB-S3(r).]
1. adj. No, not any.
w.Som. Ee ad-n u-gau-t aun nuudh-ur aa-t [He had not got on
any hat]. ' Noa ' would usually be used with general or pi. nouns;
and 'nuudh'ur' with those of the definite or personal class, as
' nuudhur koaut,' Elworthy Gram. {i.8-]i) 25.
2. pron. Neither ; after a neg. : either.
Lakel." They're nowder o' them neea gurt catch. Cum. Nowd-
ther on 'em's natur, Farquhar Shilling for Thoughts (i8go) 8.
Wm. Mappen nouder ev us. Close Satirist (1833) 159. w.Yks.
(J.W.) Chs.' ' Which on 'em did it ? ' ' Noather on em.' Nhp.'
I wont ha' nother on 'um.
3. Comb, (i) Nother-nother, (a) never another, noother;
(b) never a one, not one ; (2) — pne, see (i, b).
(i, a) w.Som. 1 I've a-brokt my bizgy-stale, and I an't a-got
nother-nother nif was to gee a guinea vor'n. We shan't never
meet wi' nother-nother 'oss, nit a bit like th' old Colonel, (i)
ib. Cas-n vind nother-nother screw bigger-n thick? There idn
nother-nother lemon vor to be had in the town, nit vpr love nor
money, zo Mr. Baker zess. (2) ib. Lai"n-s dhee nai'v, Bee'ul,
wiit? — Aay aan u-goa-ut nuudh-ur wau'n vur tu lai-n dhee [Lend
me thy knife, Bill, wilt ? — I have never a one to lend thee].
nw.Dev.'
4. conj. Neither ; freq. used at the end of a sentence
after a neg. for ' either.' Cf. neither.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Bnff. I nowther tastit grief
nor wae, Taylor Poems (1787) 49. Abd. Well I can tell you
nowther mair nor less, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 50. Per. NicoL
Poems (1766) 21. s.Sc. T. Scott Poems (1793) 349. Rnf. Picken
Poems (1813) I. 78. Ayr. We noother hae stable nor hay for
her. Ballads and Sngs. (1847) II. 119. Lnk. For nouther bread
npr butter, Hamilton Poems (i88o) 59, ed. 1885. Edb. Sche
nodder saw, nor heard him, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (Scenary ed.)
717. Dmf. Thom Jock o' Knowe (1878) 46. Gall. Nowther like
I the yallow-wyin'd-ask, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 410, ed.
1876. N.Cy.' Nhb. There's nowther holes nor steanes to crack
on, Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 63. Dur.' Cum. I nowther
heed house, Ian, or siller, Anderson Ballads (1805) 79 ; Theer 'ill
be feiils up theer, as theer is doon here, an' mebby neah mair
o' them nowder, Richardson Talk (1871) ist S. 131, ed. 1886.
Wm. I can mak' nowt n' ya', nowder back nor edge, Warp
R r 2
NOWTHER
[308]
NUCKLE
Ji. Elsmere (1888) blc. 1. ii ; Nowther caff bed ner blanket, Wheeler
Dial. (1790) 115, ed. 1821. n.Yks.^*, ne.Yks.', e.Yks.', m.Yks.i
w.Yks. I can look for norther horse nur man, Bronte Wuthering
Hts. (1847) ix; w.Yks.i2S4 Lan. Noather th' lad nor th' rum
turn't up, WAtJGH Heather (ed. Milner) II. 46 ; ' Well then, quick
march?' 'Nay, I cannot do that nother,' Gaskel Comic Sngs.
(1841) 48 ; Lan.i, ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.i, m.Lan.i Chs. To see if aw
were asleep or dreamin', but aw were noather, Croston Enoch
Crump (1887) 13 ; Chs.i Der.i Noa'dhii-r. nw.Der.' Nather here
nor there. Not.i n.Lin.' Naudh-ur. Lel.i Brks.i ' No, a wunt
nuther!' ' Nuther' is only used for 'indeed' in such cases as
the above, coming thus at the end of a sentence to make it more
emphatic. Nrf. Where I come from is nuther here nor there.
Spilling Giles (1872) 8. Suf. Noo, tain't that norther, FisoN
Merry Suf. (1899) 25 ; Suf.i Ken. (G.B.) ; Ken.i Giving an
emphatic termination to a sentence. 'And I'm not going to it,
nuther.' Sur.^ Sus. No, nor yet Jerusalem nother, Egerton
Flk. and Ways (1884) 45 ; Sus.', Hmp.' Dor.i ' You can't do it.'
'Nor you nother.' Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
■w.Som.' Nif thee art'n gwain, I baint gwain nother. Dev. I tellee
1 bant agwaine tii ayte your orts, nuther ! Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892)
109. nw.Dev.i Cor. Nor I nuther, ' Q.' Three Ships (ed. 1892)
88 ; Cor.2 [Amer. It don't seem to hang very well together nother,
Sam Slick Clockmaker {iQ^S) 3rd S. v.]
5. Phr. (i) nowther to dee nor daw, of a sick patient : to
remain in the same condition, to neitiier recover nor get
worse ; (2) — end nor side, no meaning, sense, no con-
nexion ; (3) no, indeed I nowther, an exclamation of strong
dissent or surprise : not I, indeed ! ' well I never ' ; cL
nay, 2 (4).
(i) Cum. ' Nowther dee ner dow' expresses the tediousness of
long illness to lookers-on, and the apparent perversity of those
who neither die nor thrive (M.P.). (,2) Chs.i There's noather
eend nar side to his tale ; aw can rnak nowt on't. (3) w.Yks.
Nay'n deed E nawther, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 28, 1896). Lan.
• Birch, leave this room.' ' Nowe, indeed aw nother,' Lahee Owd
Yem, 14.
6. V. To browbeat, undervalue.
n.Yks.2 ' He nowthers his men ower mitch,' as being good
' neither for one thing nor another,' by way pf exacting more labour.
[OE. na-hwceper, nawper, ndpori\
NOWTHER, v.^ Yks. [n9-tS3r.] Of wind : to veer
round to the north. Cf north, 3.
n.Yks. T'wind's Nowtherin (T.S.).
NOWTIT, ppl. adj. Abd. (Jam.) Of a potato : having
a hollow in the heart.
NOWZEL, see Nuzzle.
NOY, sb?- Pem. 1, A kneading-trough ; a chest used
in pickling pork.
n.Pem. A shallow oblong chest, withput a Jid or cover, uspd in
pickling meat, more especially pork (W.M.M.).
2. A wash-tub. [Not known to our other correspon-
dents.] s.Pem. (E.D.) ; Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421.
NOY, V. and sb.^ Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Also written ngie
n.Yks. [noi.] 1. v. To annoy.
n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.i n.Yks. A duant thint't a varra niberli
act ta noie yan anudar ar a mebi kad av noid dhem misel (W.H.).
Hence Noying, ppl. adj. vexatious, worrying. n.Yks.*
2. sb. Annoyance ; harm, mischief.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang, (1882) 293. Or.I. At first he
played de notes o' noy . . . An' dan he played da nptes o' joy,
Fergusson Rambles (1884) 206. n.Sc. She's fa'en into shame,
and lost her good name, And wrought her parents noy, Buchan
Ballads (1828) II. 196, ed. 1875. Fif. Tennant Papistry (1827)
188. n.Yks.4
[1. Men, 5e ben britheren ; whi noyen je ech othere ?
Wyclif (1388) Deeds\i\.2,6 ; Noyen aphetic form oianoyen,
to annoy (Chaucer). 2. Is none to nyrnen hym nere his
noye to amende, P. Plowman (b.) x. 0o.]
NOYES, adj. } Obs. Ken.^ [Not knpwrn to pur corre-
spondents.] Noisome ; noxious ; dangerojis ; of roads :
bad to travel on. See Noy, v.
[pat we be delyuered fro noyous and yuele men, ( WycuF)
2 Thess. iii. 2. An aphetic form of ME. anoyous (Chaucpr).]
NOYL(E, NOYT, NOZE, NO ZINO, see Noil, Note, sb.^,
Nose, No tino.
NOZZLE, sb. Yks. Lan. Lin. Nhp. Brks. Hnt. Som.
[no'zl.] The nose. Cf nuzzle.
w.Yks. (J.W.), Lan.i, n.Lin.i, Nhp.i Brks.* The nose of ahorse.
Hnt. (T.P.F.) w.Som.i Holloa, Bill ! hot's a-do'd to thy nozzle?
hast a-trode 'pon un? [Nozle, the nose, Johnsrn (1755).]
NOZZLE, V. Yks. [no'zl.] To strike or hit violently ;
to do anything with great vigour.
w.Yks. Baz nozld Sat krakit bgal an reit an Qal. A did nozl
Sat paint a drii)k (J.W.).
NOZZLE, see Nuzzle.
NUB, sb.^ and v. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. [nub.] 1. sb. A
nudge. The same word as Knub (q.v.).
Cum. Ah gev me comred a nub noo, ^ARGissoNyb^ Scoap (i88i)
184 ; Cum.l* m.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.) '
2. V. To nudge ; to jog, shake ; to beckon.
n.Cy. To give a person a hint or signal by a private touch with
the hand, elbow or foot, Grose (1790). Cum. When they't
finished t'cards my matey nubbt meh eh me bed, Sargisson Joe
Scoap (i88i) 234 ; Cum.'*, n.Yks.3, m.Yks.i, w.Yks.^
NUB, sb.'^ e.An. [Not known to our correspondents.]
The nape of the neck. (Hall.), Sufi
NUB(B, see Knob, Nob, s6.i
NUBBIE, sb. Sc. An unsociable person, who is
worldly, yet lazy. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
NUBBIE, see Knobby.
NUBBIN, sb. Lei. Nhp. [nu'bin.] The stump of a
tree left after the trunk has been felled.
Let.' Applied also to the wood or piece when used for firewood.
l^hp.2
NUBBLE, u Nhp.* [nu'bl.] To double up the fingers,
and press them down with the thumb.
NUBBLE, see Knobble, Nobble, sb.
NUBBLETY, sb. Yks. [nu'blti.] A novelty ; some-
thing fresh and dainty.
n.Yks. This show will be a nubblety ti t'bairns (I.W.).
NUBBLIN(G, see Nobbling.
NUBBLING, a«^'. Midi, [nu'blin.] Awkward ; fumbling.
(E.S.) See Knobble.
JJUBBLIN(G)S, NUBBLY, see Knoblings, Nobbly.
NUBBOCK, sb. w.Yks.2 [nu'bsk.] A lump. Cf;
knoblock.
He's got a gret nubbock on his neck. File then} nubbocks off'
NUBBUT, see Nobbut.
NUBBY, sb. Yks. [nu'bi.] A npvice. w.Yks. Dyer
Dial. (1891) 60.
NUBBY, see Knobby.
NUBBY- JOE, s6. LW." [nu'bi-dgp.] A walking-stick
having a large knob at the end. See Knobby, 3.
If I onny gits 'long zidp on 'en wi' my nijbby Joe hp'U zoon be
^feared o' me.
NUBLY, NUBRY, see Nobbly, Nobry.
NUCE, adj. Obs. Sc. ' Also in form ness. Destitute,
in very necessitous circumstances.
Abd. A nuce or ness fajpily means a destitute family. Statist. Ace.
XVI. 385 (Jam.).
NUCH, V. Obs. Nhb. To tremble. (Hall.), Nhb.'
NUCHID, adj. Obsol. Shr. e.Cy. s.Cy. Also in form
^ush'd e.Cy. s.Cy. [nu'tjid.] Of animals : stufited in
growth in consequ.ence of neglect ; starved in tjie up-
bringing.
Shr.i 'That pig o' Mplly Robe'ts's is nuchid ; it'lj never come to
nuthin'. e.Cy., s.Cy. Ray (1691).
NUCK, V. Sc. [Not known to pur correspondents.]
To notch, hack ; to ijiake nooks or angles ; usedyfg-.
Rnf. The lines o't [a song] were crucket, and nicked and nucket,
In a manner I scarce can explain, Webster Rhymes (1835) 13.
NuCKAR-HOLfi, s^>. Sus. See below. Cf. nicker-pit.
There are certain pools South and Easf of Arundel . . . called
by the people thereabout Nucjcar holes. They are vpry deep, and
considered bottomless, because such strong springs rise in them,
that they never require to be . . . emptied and cleaped out. A
mystery. . . attaches to them amongst the cpmmon people, who seem
to have a vague notion of their cpnnexipn with anpther bpttomless
pit, iy. t/ Q. (1855) ist S. ?;ii. 501.
NUCKELT, see New-cal'.
NUCKER, NUCKET, see Nicker, v., Nooket.
NUCKLE, sb. n.Cy. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Trifling work ; uncertain and unprofitable em-
ployment. (Hall.)
NUCKLE
[309]
NUGGIE
NUCKl/E, see New-cal'.
NUCKY, sb. Sc. Also written nuckie S. & Ork.^
[nB'ki.] 1. Obs. A tiny corner. See Nook.
Lth. If it but touch of you a nucky, It will you fell, Thomson
Poems (1819) 130.
2. The tassel of a cap, the knob on the top of a night-cap.
S. & Ork.i 3. A fish-hook. Sh.I. (Coll. L.L.B.), S. & Ork.^
NUP, V. and sb. Sh.I. Chs. [nud.] 1. v. To nod
with the head ; to butt with the head.
Chs.i s.CIjs.' Ah shouldna like be nudded by that mon (viz., a
bull) as wi hai) i' th' shippin.
Hence Nudding, vbl. sb. the forward jerking motion of
the head made by a calf when sucking. s.Chs.^
2. sb. A violent shock or impetus.
Chs.3 Oo come wi' such a nud roight o' the top o' ray yed.
3. The pull of a fish on a fishing-line. Cf. nug, sb.' 3.
Sh.I. He feels a heavy weight and knows it to be the nud o' a
fish, i.e., a halibut, which is never named, but always spoken of
as da fish, or da glyed shield, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 135.
NUDACK, JIUDDICK, see Niddick.
NUDDLE, i/.i Yks. Nhp. Suf. [nu-dl, n'p-dl.] 1. To
press closely or snugly, as an infant to its nurse's bosom ;
to press close as for wgrmth. See Nvizzle, 3.
n. Yks.i e.Yks.' They wer all nuddled up iv a coo^ner, MS. add.
(T.H.) Nhp.i
2. trans. To press close, as 3 nurse presses a child to
her bosom ; to squeeze together or compress, as a bundle
that is carried under the arm.
n.Yks.i* w.Yks. Nuddlin't choild e the arms, Bv^'ater Shef-
field Dial. (1839) 188; w.Yks.2
Hence Nuddled, ppl. adj. squeezed ; freq. with up.
n.Yks,* As a parcel carfied in the h^nd is apt to be squeezed out
of shape. e.Suf. As in sitting in a 'tight place ' (F. H.).
3. To press whe^t into the earth with a roller in spring
to prevent the frost from rooting it up. w.yks.'^
NUDDLE, W.2 Yks. Chs. Nhp. e.An. Sus. [nu'dl,
n'B'dl.] 1. To hang down the head ; to walk in a careless,
half-stupid manner.
w.Ykg.i Nhp.i To hang doTyn the head, elevating the shoulders,
so as to contract the rjeck, when walking. ' How )ie goes nuddling
along.' e.An.i, e.Sijf. (F.H.) Sus. She kept all-on nuddling about
till she got behind for the trafn, N. & Q. (1881) 6th S. iii. 513.
2. With off: to go away. s-Chs."^
NUDDLE, NUDDLING, see Noddle, Neiydling.
NUDDLY, arf;. Sus. [nB-dli.] Having a sensation of
fullness in the head.
She wasn't swimy but nijddly, iV. & Q. (1881) 6th S. iii. 369 ;
«■*• 513-
NUDDY, JfUDEL(S, see Noddy, sb.\ Noodle.
NUDGE, s6.' s.Chs.i [nudg.] A gnat.
Dhu niij'iz bigy'in'un tfi bahyt ut neyts.
NUDGE, sb.^ and w.' Sc. Yks. Chs. Not. Lin. [nudg,
nBdg.] L sb. A slight push.
w.Yks. (J.W-) s.Not. Ah caught his foot by the heel an' gen it
a nudge up, ap' 'e fell ower on hisWck (J.P.K.).
2. Fig. A hint.
Chs.i I did give you a bit of a nudge yesterday, bijt you did not
seem to take it.
3. A slight movement, exertion. Cld. (Jai?.) 4. Molesta-
tion ; annoyance ; sorrow ; pair}.
Bnff.i The death o's wife nivver ga' 'im a ni)dge.
5. V. To move ; to stir oneself.
Bnff.i He didna nudge oot o' the cprner. Cld. (Jam.)
6. To follow after closely.
iLLin.^ Mr. goas his sen to th' shop, if it be but for a pen-
n'o'th o' salt, bud he aJus hes his sarvant lass nudgin' a hint him,
to hug it hoam.
7. To molest, cause inconvenience to. BnfF.^
NUDGE, v." Nhp.i [nudg.] To hang down the head,
elevating the shoulders so as to contract the head when
walking. Cf. nuddle, v.^
NUDGE, see Nug, sb.^
NUDGEL, sb. Dev.= [n^'dgl-] A lump of any hard
substance. ' Isn't that a fine nudgel of coal ? '
NUDGELING, adj. Lei. Nhp. [nu'dglin.] Hearty,
robust, tough in constitution.
Lei.* ' Shay's a moor noojlin' caow nur to' other.' ' What do you
mean by nudgeling!' ' Moor 'aardy loike, 'ull ate anythink, an'
too'n the weather,' i.e. turn the weather, stand the rain. Nhp.^ A
nudgelin chump of a boy.
NUDGER, 56. Lan. [nu'd^aM.] L The head. se.Lan.
(B.K.) 2. A hat. lb. ^
NUDGING, adj. ^ Obs. e.An.' [Not known to our
correspondents.] Cheerless ; solitary ; living in obscurity
from penurious habits.
NVBGING, vbl.sb. Lei. War. [nu-dgin.] Inphr. logo
a-nudging, to go birds'-nesting ; to hunt after birds or
small animals.
Lei.' Ah'm gooin' a-noodgin'. War.^
NUDYAN, 56. N.L' [nB-djan.] A bunion.
NUENTY, NUFE, see Nunty, Noof.
N-UFFEN, adj. Lin. [nu-fan.] Of food : well done,
sufficiently cooked. (Hall.), Lin.' See Enough, 11. 2.
NUFFIN-IDOLS, sb. pi. Glo. Wil. Also in form
numman-idles Glo.' Pansies, Viola tricolor.
Glo.' A corruption of Love-in-idleness. Wil.' (s.v. Love-an-
idols). n.Wil. The old people commonly called, and some still
call, pansies by this name (E. H.G.I.
NUG, s6.' Yks. Wil. Som. Dev. Also in forms nudge
n.Dev. [nug, nBg.] 1. A knot ; a protuberance ; a
bunch of hair. Cf. knudge, nog, s6.' 3.
Dev. Didee iver zee zich doomshaws as tha maidens be ? they
dii 'th their 'air pin tap ov their 'eads in nugs ! wan awver tuther,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.' That was to show their high-
kick'd lo^dy heads, prink'd out in the tip of the mode, way a
lamming wallige of hair bevore and a vumping nug beheend, 8.
2. A lump ; a block ; a rough, unshapen mass of anything.
Wil. A small piece of bread, cheese, &c. (G.E.D.) e.Som. W.
& J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' Usually quahfied by ' great.' 'A gurt
nug o' timber.' n.Dev. Here, chiel, 's a nudge of kissing-crust,
Rock Jim an' tiell (1867) st. 126.
Hence (i) Nug-head, sb. a blockhead ; (2) Nug-headed,
adj. stupid.
(i) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' A gurt nug-head.
nw.Dev.' (2) w.Som.' Ya gurt nug-headed son of a bitch !
3. pi. Weaving term : angular iron plates inserted at
the edges of the warp when being wound on the yarn-
beam to keep the outside sections in position. w.Yks. (D.L.)
NUG, V. and sb? Sh.L Dev. Also written nugg S. &
Ork.' Dev. ; and in form nog nw.Dev.' [nBg.] 1. v. To
nudge ; to jog with the elbow ; to knock, strike.
S. & Ork.' Dev. To nugg a person's head, i)£S. Pros/. nw.Dev.'
2. To nod.
Sh.L ' Dat doo may say, Sibbie,' Girzzie answer'd, an' Tamy
juist nuggid his head, Sh. News (May 20, 1899) ; S. & Ork.'
3. sb. The pull of a fish upon a fishing-line. Cf nud, 3.
Sh.I. Hit's hirsel'. I ken be her nuggs apo' da line, Sh. News
(July 21, 1900).
4. Comb. Nug-o'-da-taft, seat for pulling in a fishing-boat.
Sh.I, Each man had his ' ain lug o' da taft,' . . and this order was
never altered, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) iii ; Mr. Spence speaks,
apropos of the boat, that each man had his ' ain lug o' da taft.'
The correct expression is ' nug,' Sh. News (Oct. 21, 1899) 5, col. 3.
NUGET, NUGGEEN, see Nugget, Noggin, sb.
NUGiGET, sb. Sc. Irel. Som. Cor. and Aus. Also
written nuget Sc. (Jam.) ; and in form nodget Ir. [ne-git.]
1. A lump of anything. Cf. nug, s6.'
Sc. 4 nugget ofsugar, N. &= Q. (1853) ist S. vii. 393. Som.
(W.F.R.) Cor. Casy put his hand in his pocket, and, taking out
the nugget of cake, held it timidly out to his rival, Pearce Esther
Pentreaih (1891) 239.
2. A short, thick-set person or animal. Cf knudge.
Sc. N. £/ Q. ib. 366. s.Sc. (Jam.) Ir. I knew a great able
nodget once in the Co. Wickla, Spectator {'Dec, 23, 1899) 950, col. :i.
[Aus. A small thick bullock, N. if Q. ib. viii. 481 ; We brand^.d
the little red heifer first — a fine fat six months old nugget she was,
BoLDKEWooD Robbery (1888) ii.]
NUGGIE, sb. Cor. [nB-gi.] 1. A gnome ; a fairy said
to be heard working in the tin-mines. Cf. nicker, s6.' 3.
The ' spirits of the mine '. . . are almost as much dreaded by the
•Cornishman as the manes of his ancestors by the Chinaman. . .
They call them ' nuggies ' or ' knockers,' Hammond Parish (1897)
359; Cor.i"
2. The knocking sounds heard m the tm-mines, attributed
to the ' small people.' w.Cor. (M.A.C.)
NUGGIN
[310]
NUN
NUGGIN, sb. Sh.I. [nB-gin.] A slight repast, a
luncheon. S. & Ork.^ Cf. nocket.
NUGGIN, see Noggin(g.
NUGGLING, vbl. sb. Dev. The slow, lazy trot of a
horse. MS. Prov.
NUGGY, adj. e.Yks.i [nu-gi.] Of dough : light and
elastic.
NUIF, adj. Sc. Intimate. Slk. (Jam.)
NUIF, see Noof.
NUIKKEL, NUIKKELT.NUIL, see New-cal', Nawl,56.=
NUISANCE-MAN, sb. Oxf,' A sanitary inspector.
The nuisance-man 661 be round this wik, MS. add.
NUISANT, afi?/ Obs. Sc. Hurtful, harmful.
Edb. Those nuisant useless drones, That lordly stalk like petty
kings, LiDDLE Poems (i82i> 104.
[Fr. nuisant, hurtful (Cotgr.).]
NUIST, V. and sb. ? Obs. Sc. 1. v. To beat ; to bruise.
Lnk. (Jam.) Gall. When two are boxing, and one gets the
other's head beneath his arm, he is said to nuist him with the other
hand, Mactaggart Encycl. (i82<j).
2. To eat or munch continuously. Rxb. (Jam.) Cf. noost.
3. sb. A blow. ib. 4. A greedy, ill-disposed, ignorant
person. Mactaggart ib.
NUKIN, NULE, see Nookin, Knool, Knule.
NULL, 56. Cor." [nBl.] A dry crust.
NULL, V. Obs. Sc. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] To finish off; to reduce to nothing.
Gall. The eater nulls the hearty lunch, Mactaggart £'«cyc/. (1824)
113, ed. 1876.
NULL, see Nool, sb., v.
N-ULLET, sb. n.Yks.* Also written ntdlot. An owl.
See Howlet.
NULLING, si. w.Yks.'^ Also in form nulsing. [nu-lin.]
The fine ornamentation on the ' slope ' or the ' nog ' of a
knife.
NULLS, s6.//. Sh.I. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] A game. S. & Ork.^
NULLY, i^. Obs. Sc. To nullify.
Edb. There's ither bars to nuUy your pretence, Learmont Poe«s
(1791) 274.
NULSING, see Nulling.
NUM, V. n.Lin.i Also in form nom. [num.] To make
a circle of earth round the breach of a Trent bank.
When th' Trent bank brust, it wesh'd a grut hoale, an' thaay'd
it to nom roond afoore thaay could stop it.
Hence Num-bank, sb. a circle of earth round the breach
of a Trent bank.
When a breach happens in a bank, it is often impossible to make
another bank on the exact spot where the old one stood ; in that
case, a circle of earth is made round the breach which is called a
' num bank.' ' For making num bank 20 roods at is. 3d.,' Bottes-
ford Moors Ace. (18 12).
NUM(B, adj. Sh.I. Cum. Yks. Lan. Nhp. e.An. Also
written numm Nrf. [num, nBm.] 1. Clumsy ; stupid ;
dull, heavy, insensible.
Cum. I very near cut my thumb-end off. . . I thought it was a
very num trick (E.W.P.) ; Cum.*, n.Yks.i* ne.Yks.' Aw dear!
what a numb lahtle lad thoo is. e.Yks.i w.Yks. He's as numb
as a hagstock (C.W.D.). Lan.^ He's oather new at his job, or a
bit numb. ne.Lan.^, e.Lan.', m.Lan.', Nhp.i e.An.^ As num as a
post. Nrf. My old head fare as numb as a beetle, Emerson Son
of Fens (1892) 349. e.Suf. (F.H.)
Hence Numness, sb. stupidity.
Lan. One o' th' natives o' Unsworth, who is oather plagued wi'
numness or nowtiness, . . began to alarm his neighbours, Wood
Hum. Sketches, 66.
2. Comb, (i) Num-chance, (a) a stupid person who does
not answer when spoken to ; cf. mumchance, 2 ; {b) luck,
in contradistinction to skill ; (2) -cleut, a clumsy person ;
an indifferent workman; (3) -customer, a dull, stupid
person ; (4) -hand, see (2) ; (5) -head, see (3) ; (6) -headed,
stupid ; (7) -luck, see [i, b) ; (8) -thumbs, see (2).
(i, a) e.An.* She niver offered to do a hand's tu'n, but stood
garpin an' starin' just like a numbchance. Nrf. Cozens-Hardy
Broad Nrf. (1893) 99. e.Suf. He stood like numchance (F.H.).
(A) Cum.i He dud varra weel, bit it was o' num chance ; Cum.*
(2) Cum.* (3) Lan. He is a numb-customer, Clegg Sketches
(1895) 457. (4) n.Yks.i Nobbut a numb hand. (5) n.Yks. This
joiner's a numb-head (I.W.). e.Yks.i, w.Yks.' Lan. They're
awlus lettin' us see what num-yeds their feythers are, Dottie
Rambles (1898) 85. (6) ne.Yks.' They wean't a'e ti be varry
numb-heeaded uns for that job. (7") Cum.'*, n.Yks.' (8) Cum.i*
3. Slow in sailing, almost motionless.
Sh.I. Wir boat wis as gude as could keel saut watter, whin her
head wis loose, bit shu wis numb whin shtl wis inunder a closs
reefed sail, Sh. News (Sept. 24, 1898).
NUMBED, ppl. adj Nhb.' [numd.] Clumsy, awkward.
What a numbed woman she is 1
NUMBER, sb. Obs. Sc. A statement of quantity.
Abd. The cordiners of both Aberdeens . . . were commanded . . .
to give up the number of their leather, and to make up . . . their
portion of 20,000 shoes, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 264.
NUMBLEDY, adj. Wm. [nu'mldi.] Rickety, unsteady
through weakness.
But he was numbledy in t'kneas, walked numbledy ye kna,
Rawnsley Remin. Wordsworth (1884) VI. 169.
NUMBLING, adj. w.Yks.' [nu-mlin.] Awkward,
unhandy, fumbling.
NUMBLY, a(^'. Sus. Numb.
w.Sus. My legs feel numbly already, Gordon Vill. and Doctor
(1897) 14.
N-UMBRELL, s6. Lan. Also in form numberell. A
dial, form of ' umbrella.'
Sayroh . . . did . . . feel summat . . . keep twitchin at hur num-
berell, Staton B. Shuttle Bowtun, 65. e.Lan.*
NUMBY, adj. and sb. Nhb. Not. Nhp. Also written
nummy Nhb.* s.Not. [nu'mi.] 1. adj. Benumbed by
frost ; clumsy. Nhp.* 2. sb. A dolt ; a numskull.
Nhb.* Co'by ! ye numby. s.Not. He is a nummy, 'e can't larn
noat (J.P.K.).
NUMER, s6. Wbs. e.An.* A dial, form of ' number' ;
see below.
Not that we substitute it in general usage for number. We use
that word as other people do. It seems, in fact, as if, having got
the word ' numerous,' we looked back to find the substantive
belonging to it, not knowing ' number ' to be so. And when we
have got it, give it a stronger signification ; for by ' numer ' we
always mean a great number. ' What a numer on 'era there was ! '
[Nowmere, numerus, Prompt.^
NUMERATE, v. n.Lin.* [niu-maret.] To increase in
number.
Them primroases numeraates fast, Miss. Bud a few year sin
ther' was hardlins one to see e' th' wood, an' noo ther's cloods
on 'em.
NUMEROUS, a«fi/. Obsol. Wil. Very, exceedingly.
n.Wil. I be numerous fond o' puddin (E.H.G.) ; (G.E.D.)
NUM'LED, ppl. adj. m.Yks.* [nu'mld.] Benumbed.
m.Yks.* My fingers is fair num'led.
NUMMAN-IDLES, NUMMAT, see Nulffin-idols,
Nammet.
NUMMATIN, sb. Dev. [nB-metin.] A luncheon ; a
slight repast. See Nammet.
She would have 'zummut good for nummatin,' by one o'clock,
Blackmore Kit (1890) xi ; Now missis, 't is time for your num-
matin, Reports Provinc. (1887).
NUMMET(T, see Nammet.
NUMMIL, s6. Not." [nu-mil.] A clumsy fellow.
NUMMIT, NUMMOCH,NUMMY, see Nammet,Numby.
NUMP, V. ? Obs. Sc. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] ? To nibble. Cf. mump, v.* 2.
He maun hame ... To nump his neeps, his sybows, and leeks.
And a wee bit bacon to help the broo, Hogg Jacob. Rel. (ed.
1874) I. 97.
NUMPINOLE, sb. Wil.* [nB-mpinol.] The pimper-
nel, Anagallis arvensis.
NUMPKINS, sb. Suf. [nB-mkins.] A dolt ; a num-
skull. e.Suf (F.H.)
N-UMPOST, sb. ? Obs. e.An. A corruption of
' imposthume.' e.An.* Snf.* A numpost i' the hid.
NUMPS, sb. Nhp. War. Dev. [numps, nBmps.] A
dolt, a fool. Nhp.*, War.^ Dev. (Hall.)
NUN, s6.* Sc. Lan. Not. e.An. Hmp. [nun, nBn.] 1.
The blue titmouse, Parus caeruleus.
Edb. Pennecuik IVks. (1715) 106, ed. 1815. Hmp. The blue
titmouse, or nun, is a great frequenter of houses. White Selborne
NUN
[311]
NUR
(1788) 84, ed. 1B53. \^Mesange nonneUe, a little titmouse, called
the Nun, because she seems to wear a nun-like fillet about her
head, Cotgr. (1611).]
2. The adult male of the smew, Mergus albellus. e.An.
(R.H.H.) 3. pi. The green-winged orchis, Orchis Mono.
Not. (B. & H.) 4. The hardy Indian balsam, Intpaiiens
glanduUgera.
Lan. The flowers being supposed to resemble a nun's cap in
shape (<6.).
NUN, sb.'^ se.Wor.^ [nun.] A small piece of wood
used in the game of ' bandy ' (q.v.).
NiJN, NUNC, see N6n, Nuncle, Nunk.
NUNCH, s6.' Der. Nhp. War. Wor. Glo. Suf. Hmp.
Wil. Dor. Som. and Amer. Also written nunche Dor.'
Amer. [nunj, nBnJ.] 1. The intermediate refreshment
between breakfast and dinner, lunch. See Nuncheon.
Der. 2, nw.Der.i, Nhp.', War. (J.R.W.) Wor. A mid-morning's
lunch of cider. ' Shove the barrel here, and I'll have my nunch '
(W.B.). se.Wor.i s.Wor. Porson Quaint IVds. (1875) 15.
GI0.1, Suf.' Hmp. N. & Q. (1854) ist S. X. 120 ; Hmp.i WU.
They'll make a vamous nunch for me, Akerman Tales (1853) 97 ;
WU.1 Dor. Meal at 9 o'clock (C.V.G.) ; Dor.i There, -vn nunches
all a-spread. The hay-miakers ... Da smile, 137. Som. Johnny
from his hut of hurdles looked up from his bit o' nunch, Raymond
Love and Quiet Life (1894') 100. [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 380.
Nfld. Patterson Trans. Amer. Flk-Lore Sac. (1894).]
2. Food taken between regular meals, at any time of
the day. w.Som.' Come on, soce ! let's have our bit o' nunch.
NUNCH, sb.^ Wil. [nBnJ.] A poor, weakly creature.
n.Wil. He bain't nothen but a nunch (G.E.D.).
NUNCHEON, sb. In gen. dial, use in Eng. Also written
nunchen Dor.'; nunchin Nhp.= se.Wor.' Glo. Brks.' Wil.'
w.Som.' ; nunchion n.Cy. Nhp.' s.Wor.' Nrf. ; nunchun
I.W.' ; nunshon m.Yks.' ; andm forms noonchine Hmp. ;
noonchion n.Cy.; noonshun n.Yks.^ War.*; nunching
Brks. [nu'n-, nB-nJan.] 1. A luncheon; a slight repast
taken between meals, either in the fore- or afternoon.
n.Cy. (K.) n.Yks.2 It was n't a dinner, it was only a bit of
a noonshun. m.Yks.', Midi. (E.S.), Der.^, nw.Der.', Lei.', Nhp.12
War.* You'll be glad of a bit of noonshun. Wor. Nunch, a mid-
morning's lunch of cider. If with bread and cheese called
' nuncheon' (W.B.). w.Wor.', se.Wor.', s.Wor.' Glo. How
I remember those days in the corn-field when thou didst sit down
for thy ' nunchin ' in the burrow of the hedge, Buckman Darke's
Sojourn (1890) xii ; Glo.'=, Oxf.' Brks. A table was laid out for
luncheon or ' nunching,' as the boots . . . called it, Hughes Scour.
White Horse (1859) iv ; Brks.' Nrf. Gent. Mag. (1830) 156, ed.
1884. Ken.'2 Sus. A meal taken at 4 o'clock (F.E.). Hmp.
Their lunch or noonchine consists of bread and cheese, with the
small beer they take in their kegs to the field, Marshall Review
(1817) V. 335 ; Hmp.', I.W.' Wil.' About Salisbury Nuncheon is
between 10 and 10.30 a.m., and again at 4 p.m., and is a very
small meal, merely a piece of bread and glass of beer, while
Nammet is at 12, and is equivalent to dinner. n.Wil. They wunt
be whoam afore night ; thaay got thur nuncheon wi' um, Jef-
FERiES Gt. Estate (1880) ix. Dor.' The chaps, Wi' bits o' nunchens
in der laps, 130. Som. She was to send a ' nunchin ' out into the
field, Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) xvi. w.Som.'
2. Comp. Nuncheon-bag, the bag in which ploughmen
and others carry their luncheon ; in phr. to have no
nuncheon-bag, of a horse : to be deficient in ' barrel.'
Brks. (M.J.B.) Wil. Jan was hungry. He had bartered the
fciod for his ' nunchin-bag ' at dinner-time for another child's new
slate pencil, Ewing Jan Windmill (1876) 74 ; Wil.'
[ME. noneschenche, a donation for drink to workmen; see
Skeat Etym. Diet. (s.v. Nunchion).]
N-UNCLE, sb. and v. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Lei.
Wor. Shr. Glo. Hmp. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Also written
nunkle Lei.' ; and in forms nunc m.Yks.' Dor. ; nunk
w.Yks. ; nunks Dev. ; nunky Lan. [nu-qkl, nB-qkl.] 1.
sb. An uncle ; also used as a familiar term of address to
an elderly man.
n.Cy. HoLLOWAY. n.Yks.^ Nuncle an naunt. m.Yks.' w.Yks.
Sum teld us he'd a nunk it East, A dried-up wizen'd tyke,
Preston Poems, &c. (1864) 12 ; w.Yks.i234 Lan. The'ill be first
though nunky, Roby Trad. (1829) II. no, ed. 1873. s.Chs.',
Der.' Obs., Der.2, nw.Der.', se.Wor.i Shr.' Dun yo' call yore
Nuncle a noud mon? Shr.2 (s.v. Naunt.) Glo.', Hmp.' Wil.
Britton Beauties (1825). Dor. Well, nunc, how do you feel?
Hardy Trumpet-Major (1880) vi. Som. Jennings Obs. Dial.
w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' How be
you, Nuncle Jim? Dev. Ha, old nunks, I told thee so ! (R.D.B.)
2. pi. The magistrates.
s.Chs.' Jack Done'sbin up afore his nuncles again (s.v. Random-
shot).
3. V. To cheat ; to impose upon.
n.Cy. HoLLOWAY. Lei.' Yo' shain't noonkle may. Som. Jen-
nings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
w. Som.'
[1. Nuncle Lear, nuncle Lear, tarry and take the fool
with thee, Shaks. K. Lear, i. iv. 338.]
NUNDER, /r«/. Nhb.' Under; a shortened form of
Anunder (q.v.). ' It's nunder the tyeble.'
NUNITY, adj. Glo. Friendly.
ne.Glo. Thee an' um be getting full nunity, it seems to I, House-
hold Wds. (1885) 142.
N-UNK, sb. Oxf. s.Cy. Also written nunc s.Cy.
[nBnk.] A large shapeless piece of anything ; esp. of
bread. Oxf.' MS. add. s.Cy. (Hall.) The same word
as Hunk, s6.' (q.v.)
NUNK, NUNKLE, NUNKS, see Hunk, sb.\ Nuncle.
N-UNKUT.arfy. Obsol. s.Chs.' [nu-qkat.] Awkward,
clumsy. The same word as Unked.
Owd Mester used to say abowt annybody as was very
clumsy, ' They bin very nunkut.'
NUNKY, NUNN, see Nuncle, Non.
NUNNING, prp. Hrf [nB-nin.] Passing the time in
a solitary, uninterested manner ; see below.
I went in one evening after dusk and found my old aunts
sitting together silent . . . and asked, ' Well, what are you at ? '
' We are just sitting nunning here ' (N.G.).
NUNNY, NUNSCAPE, NUNSHON, 'NUNST, see
Nanny, Ninny, s6.', Nonskyep, Nuncheon, Anent.
NUNT, V. Obs. n.Cy. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] To make an effort. (Hall.)
NUNT, adj. Not. [nunt.] Close, compressed, tidy.
Cf. nunty, 3. ' How nunt she looks ' (J.H.B.).
NUNTING, adj. Nhp. e.An. Sus. [nu-ntin, nB'ntin.]
1. Curtailed in dimensions, so as to have an appearance
of scantiness ; awkward-looking. Cf. nunty, 2.
Nhp.' Applied almost exclusively to articles of female dress,
more particularly to a cap or a bonnet. A small unbecoming
bonnet would be called 'a nunting little thing.' Sus. (Hall.),
Sus.'* e.SuS. HOLLOWAY.
2. Sullenly angry. e.An.' Cf. nunty, 6.
NUNTY, adj. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp.
War. Shr. e.An. Ken. Sus. Also in form nuenty N.Cy.'
Nhb.' [nu-nti, nB'nti.] L Of dress : stiff, formal, old-
fashioned ; dowdy.
Cum.'* Applied to female dress only. m.Yks.', n.Lin.', Nhp.'
e.An.' Applicable to female dress only. Sus.'
2. Ofdress : mean, shabby, scrimp, scanty. N.Cy.', Nhb.',
Cum.*, Nhp.' 3. Precise in dress, neat, trim, dapper. ^
Not.' Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 716 ; Lin.' He is very
nunty in his dress. Lei.' A nunty little man. A nunty cap. War.^
4. Handy, convenient.
Shr.' Ah ! they 'adna sich nunty things to get on a6th the work
forty 'ear ago.
5. Stout, combined with shortness of stature.
n.Yks.2 A little nunty lass. e.Yks.'
6. Of persons : ill-tempered, cross, sulky.
Ess. (W.W.S.) Ken. That made him look nunty (D.W.L.).
Sus. De mistus ool huff an hang de jib an be hem nunty fer a
purtty bit, Jackson Southward Ho (1894) I. 339 ; Sus.' Ye be
middlin' nunty this marnin' seemingly ; I doant know naun what's
putt ye out.
NUON, NUOST, NUP(E, see None, Newst, Noop, sb.^"^
NUPPIT, sb. Yks. [nu-pit.] A simpleton. w.Yks.
(G.H.), w.Yks.'
NUR, sb. Chs. War. [n3(r).] 1. A hard knot of
wood ; used Jig. of a rough, hard-working man. The
same word as Knurr, 1.
s.Chs.' Ey)z ii reyt-daayn nuur iiv il fel'u ; slai-vin frflm mau-rnin
dhun neyt, un weM nahy wuu-rkin iz fingg-urz tii dhii biSofln.
2. The head. War. (Hall.) See Knur(r, 4.
NUR
[312]
NUT
NUR, NUR A, see Knur(r, Never a.
NURBLE, V. and sb. Wm. [na'rbl.] 1. v. To wear
away slowly. ' Thoo's nurbled thi shun off at t'teeas ' (B.K.).
2. sb. Anything wasted or worn away slowly, ib.
N-URCHIN, sb. Yks. [nstjin.] A hedgehog. w.Yks.
(G.H.) The same word as Urchin (q.v.).
NURDY, sb. Wor. [ni-di.] The smallest pig of a
litter ; also a small, unhealthy creature ; a weakling.
s.Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.^ The same word as Knurdy (q.v.).
NURG, adj. N.I.i [nsrg.] Miserly, stingy.
NURGLE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also in form nurg. A short,
squat, little, savage man. Gall. lliACTAGGh-RT Encycl. (1824).
NURGLING, sb._ .' Obs. Sc. A person of a ' nurring '
or cat-like disposition. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
NURICE, NURISH, see Nourice.
NURITY, sb. Ken.i [niuTiti.] The nourishing
quality, the goodness of a vegetable.
The bruts run away with all the nurity of the potato.
NURK, s3. Wil.i [nak.] The worst pig of a litter.
NURKER, sb. Yks. Stf. Lei. Nhp. War. Shr. Also
written nirker Lei.' Nhp.' War.^^ [n5-k3(r).] 1. Of
persons : one difficult to outmatch whether in excellence
or wickedness.
e.Yks.i s.Stf. Yo' keep yer eye on 'im, he's a nurker, Pinnock
Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). War.2
2. Of things : anything difficult to outmatch, the finishing
stroke, the last blow, a ' clincher.'
Lei.i ' That's a nirker ! ' is a phrase applicable when the ace of
trumps is laid down at whist. Nhp.' That's a nirker. War.°3
Shr.i ' Whad sort'n a milker's that cow, Maister ? ' ' Whad sort'n
a milker ? W'y 'er's a reg'Iar nurker.'
NURKIN, adj. e.Yks.' [na-rkin.] Of superlative
excellence. Cf. nurker.
Mine's a nurkin watch ; it beeats chotch clock bi hauf-an-hoor
a day.
NURLE, NURP, see Narle, Nearp.
NURPIN, sb. Hrf. [napin.] A person of small
stature. Bound Provinc. (1876) ; Hrf.'
NURR, V. and sb. Sc. Also in forms nerr (Jam.) ;
nirr S. & Ork.' ; nyrr Sh.L ; nyurr Gall, [nar.] 1. v.
To snarl or growl as a dog. Cai.', Rxb., Gall. (Jam.)
2. To purr like a cat.
S. & Ork.i Gall. Auld CrumwhuU wad straik his back . . . Than
wad he cock his tail fu' straught, And nyurr awa wi' glee, Mactag-
gart i'wcjic/. (1824) 149, ed. 1876.
Hence Nurring, ppl. adj. feline, catlike in disposition.
GaU. A person of a nurring, or cat disposition, ib. 367.
3. To fret, to be discontented. Abd. (Jam.) 4. sb. The
sound made by a cat. Sh.L Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 164.
NURR, NURRA, see Knur(r, Never a.
NURRAL, sb. Obsol. Suf. [na'ral.] The neck.
e.Snf. Look out, or I'll wring your nurral (F.H.).
NURRAN, NURRA ONE, NURRATION, see Never a
one, Noration.
NURRING, adj. Chs.^^ [na-rin.] Active; clever;
painstaking; striving, enduring.
NURRIS-BRAID, arfi/. Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) Of working:
too eager and furious to be long kept up.
NURRISH, NURRUN, NURRY, see Nourice, Never a
one, Never a.
NURSE, sb.'' and v. Sc. Irel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Nhp.
War. Oxf LW. Dor. Som. Also in forms nos n.Yks. ;
noss s.Chs.'; nuss LW.'^ [nars, nas, nas.] 1. sb. In
comb, (i) Nurse-bairn, a child put out to nurse ; (2) -child
or -chilt, (a) see (i) ; (6) an illegitimate child ; (3) -tend,
to nurse ; (4) -tender, a sick or monthly nurse ; (5) -'s-
vails, obs., a nurse's clothes when penetrated by nepial
indiscretions ; (6) -wench, a nursery-maid.
(i)n.Yks.2 (2, a)Chs.i s.Chs.i Nos'-chahylt. War. (J.R.W.)
w.Som.i Nuus--chee-ul. (A) Der.", nw.Der.i (3) s.Chs.' Wot)s
dhaat' big' faay wensh u dhahyn d6oin naay, Bil !■ — Oa', dolz gon
aayt ii)nos-tendin [' What's that big, fa'i wench o' thine doin' nai.
Bill?' ' Oh, hoo's gone ait a-nosstendin' ']. I.W.' w. Som.' To
* nurse ' or ' nursing ' are not used alone in the ordinary sense.
' How is it you are not at school?' 'Plaise, sir, I be a-fo'ced to
bide 'ome to mind the baby, 'cause mother goes out nusstendin'.'
(4) N.I.' w.Ir. 'There's none in the room, dear,' says the nurse-
tindher. Lover Leg. (1848) I. 102. Lau. Aw sot loike a nurse-
tender, as quiet as quiet, Lahee Owd Yem,ia. I.W.^, Dor. (W.C),
w.Som.' (5) Oxf. (Hall.) (6) s.Chs.' 6o)z livd widh um evflr
sin do fost went aayt saarvis ; 60 wuz nos'-wensh fflr)th chil-dum
fost goa- of.
2. A hardy tree planted to shelter a more tender one.
Slk. ' There has been much planting of trees lately in the forest ? '
' To my taste, rather ower muckle — especially o' nurses,' Chr.
North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 219.
3. V. To spoil with tender care ; to fondle ; to pay
attention to from interested motives.
n.Yks. Ah think the mudder's spoilt tha, lad ! Sheea's nost tha
all the life, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1892) 81. Ntip.' She's
nursing the old gentleman up, with the hope of getting his money.
NURSE, s6.== Sh.L An onset. {Coll. L.L.B.)
NURSEROW, see Nossro.
NURSERY, sb. Yks. Lan. Shr. Also in form nuzzery
e.Lan.' 1. A plantation of trees ; esp., but not exclu-
sively, of young trees. n.Yks.'*, e.Lan.' 2. A nurseling.
Shr.'
NURSES, sb. pi. Obs. ne.Lan.' The kidneys. See
Near, sb.'
NURSING, ppl. adj Not. Also in form nuss. In phr.
a nursing and seaming school, see below.
Little girls of eight or so often go out to nurse a baby, and have
to stitch while the baby is asleep in the day, and they are kept to
stitch after the baby is put to bed. This is called a ' nussing and
seaming school,' Good IVds. (1865) 125.
NURSPELL, sb. Lin. A boys' game, (Hall.) The
same word as Knur-spell, s.v. Knur(r, 3 (2).
NURSROW, see Nossro.
NURT, V. Sur. Sus. [nat.] 1. To nurture ; to train
or bring up ; to pet, give extra care to.
Sur.' Speaking of the young cattle, the stockman said, 'We
must nurt 'em along a little bit through the winter.' Sus.'
2. To entice ; to allure.
Sur.' The cat got up in the tree and we did all we could to nurt
her down. It's the little dog which nurts the other away hunting.
Sus.' He got linked-in with some chaps as wasn't no good, and
they nurted him away, and he never come back nuther.
NURTRUS, adj. Sh.L Cold, disagreeable, inclement.
S. & Ork.'
NUSE, sb. Oxf. [nius.] In comb. A nuse, (i) near,
hard by ; in phr. a ttuse the matter, nearly right, handy,
ship-shape ; (2) nearly, approximately. 'The same word
as Anewst (q.v.).
(i) Oxf.' To have things a bit a nuse the matter, MS. add. (a)
What a nuse is the price o' nutmegs ? ib.
NUSE, V. Sc. To knead. Brown Did. (1845).
NUSENESS, 56. Obs. e.Cy. A nuisance. (Hall.)
NUSH, sb. Cum.* [nuj.] A big and rather offensive
bullying person.
NUSH'D, see Nuchid.
NUSK, sb. Som. [Not known to our other correspon-
dents.] A mess. ' If s such a nusk here ' (W.W.S.).
NUSLE, NUSSLE, NUSS, NUSSEL, NUSSROW, see
Nuzzle, Nurse, sb}, Nestle, Nossro.
NUSTHMA, ab. w.Som.' [n^-sma.] A dial, form of
' asthma.'
Mrs. Hookins is a ter'ble a-troubled wi the nus'ma [niis'mu].
NUT, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sh.L Irel. and Eng. Also
written knut Lakel.^ [nut, net.] 1. In comb, (i) Nut-
brown, ale ; (2) -buss, a hazel-bush ; (3) -cracker, the
nut-hatch, Sitta caesia ; (4) -crack face, a face in which the
nose and chin approach each other owing to the loss of
teeth ; (5) -crack night, All-Hallows' Eve ; see below ;
(6) -crome, a nut-hook ; (7) -deaf, very deaf ; (8) -jobber,
see (3); (9) -knacker, a nut-cracker ; (10) — Monday, the
first Monday in August; formerly the first in September;
(11) — Nan, a supernatural appearance; a 'boggart'; (12)
-poke, a bag for carrying nuts ; (13) -rags, the male catkins
of the hazel-nut, CorylusAvellana ; ( 14) -sherd, a nut-garden ;
(15) -stembles, the shoots from the stock of a hazel-bush
after it has been cut down ; (16) -stinger, a grub which
bores a hole in nuts ; (17) -tree, the hazel, Corylus
Avellana ; (18) -white, of a pale colour.
NUT
[313]
NUZZLE
(i) Lan. Whether the parson would have cared to leave the
•nut-brown,' Brierley Marlocks (1867) 121. (2) Nhb.l (3") Shr.
So called from the bird's habit of striking and splitting with its
beak filberts or hazel-nuts, Swainson Birds (1885) 34 ; Shr.i (4)
Cum.i'' (5) n.Cy. (Hall.)> N.Cy.^ Nhb.i The anxious lover
on this night places two nuts side by side in the fire. One is his
or her own representative, and the other that of the loved one.
If the two burn quietly together, the augury of a happy wedded
life is inferred. If, on the contrary, the nuts crack and fly apart,
it omens ill for the future of the couple. Dur.i, n.Yks.^ (6)
e.An.i, Ess. (W.W.S.), Ess.i (7') Not. Whoever has not observed
this is nut-deaf and sand-blind, Hooton Bilberry Thurland (1836).
(8) War.3 Andeeton Lett. Cy. House (1891) 134. Brks. Swainson
<*• 35- (9) Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 238. (10) Wm. Nut
Monday is still a great occasion in Kendal, Quart. Rev. (1867)
CXXII. 380. (11) Lan. After dusk, each rustle of the leaves, or
sigh of the night wind, . . to the timid wayfarer heralded the . . .
appearance of old wizards and witches, ' Nut Nans' and 'Clap
cans,' Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867) 52 ; I'd back it
again oather witch, fairy, clapcan, Nut Nan, Jenny Green-teeth . . .
or the dule hisself, Waugh Owd Cronies (1875) ii. (12) Wm. As
black as Auld Nick nut-pooak. Old saying (B.K.). (13) Chs.i ;
Chs.3 Hanging like rags on the bush. (14) Nrf. I went down into
the nutsherd to look over the fruits o' the walley, Gillett Sng.
So/. (iBee-) vi. II. (15) Nhp.i (16) Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.i (17)
Nhb.i (i8) nw.Der.l
2. Phr. (i) as sweet as a nut, very sweet ; fresh ; un-
tainted ; (2) to have neither nut nor gall in one, to have no
spirit.
(i)Ant.(W.H.P.) w.Yks. T'meits 3Z swit 3z 3 nut (J. W.). (2)
w.Yks. Prov. in Brighouse News (Sept. 14, 1889).
3. The head ; in gen. coUoq. use.
Sh.I. Next door to cranky; soft in the nut, Sh. News (Jan. 15,
1898). n.Cy. (J.W.), Lakel.2, Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Like new milk,
doesn't split one's nut like, Brierley Cotters, xiii. Chs.^, s.Chs.i
s.Stf. He welly broke his nut wi' a stick, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann,
(1895). s.Not. (J.P.K.), n.Lin.i, War.3, se.Wor.i, e.Suf. (F.H.)
w.Som.1 War ! Mind thy nut. Cor.^ A crack on the nut.
Hence Nut-ache, sb. a headache. e.Suf. (F.H.)
4. Phr. (i) to be off one's nut, to be demented ; (2) —
crack a person's nut, (3) — warm a person's nut, to punch
his head ; (4) — work one's nut, to think.
(i) w.Yks. If ivver a taan went cleean off it nut, Bradforth did.
Hartley C/oci^^/w. (1883) 19. e.Suf. (F.H.) (2) s.Chs.i Ah)l
kraak- dhi niit fo)dhi [Ah'U crack thy nut fo' thee]. s.Not. Ah'U
crack yer nut for yer if yer don't keep quiet (J.P.K.). Snf. If
there's any more nonsense ... 1 shall just catch 'old of a bit o'
timber an' crack their nuts for em. Pall Mall Mag. (Nov. 1900)
403- (3) n.Lin.', se.Wor.i (4) s.Chs.^
5. The cavity in the head just below the ear; a
gland, esp. a gland under the ear. n.Lin.\ e.An.'^
Hence to put one's nuts up, phr. to press with the fingers
behind the lobes of the ears. n.Lin.^, e.Suf. (F.H.) 6.
The pancreas, esp. of veal or Iamb ; a lobe of fat in a
slaughtered animal.
e.An.i Nrf. Jim had bought a pig's fry. . . I ate of all parts, the
' nut ' and the ' mint'. . . were really good, Emerson Lagoons (ed.
1896) 76. e.Suf. (F.H.), Dor.i v
7. The nave or axle of a wheeP.'
War. (J.R.W.) I.W.2 The waggon wheels got stuck up to the
nuts. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wll.', Dor.* Som. Sweetman
Wincanton Gl. (1885). w.Som.' The wheel mid do nif the nut o'
un wad'n a ratted. n.Dev. His reply was dubious— 'The ruts be
up to the nuts of a leary putt, an' it would take a good plough to
draaw'n through,' Jefferies Red Deer (1884) x.
8. A shrewd, hard-headed man.
s.Stf. He's a reglar nut, it'll tak yer all yer time to get o'er him,
Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
9. A troublesome, disobedient boy ; a foolish fellow.
Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. He's a little nut and gets war every day
(H.L.).
NUT, V. Not. With up : to push or move slightly ;
to nudge.
s.Not. A took 'im by the collar, rammed my knuckles down 'is
neck, an' nutted 'im up. He dug 'is knuckles into my neck-'ole
an' said, ' Now then, nut up ! ' (J.P.K.)
NUT, see Not, adv.
NUTCH, s6. Not. [nutj.] A notch.
s.Not. Who's cut a nutch i' this stick? (J.P.K.)
VOL. IV.
NUTCH, see Nitch, sb.^
NUTHALL, sb. Dev. Cor. Also written nutall Dev.' ;
nuthal nw.Dev.' ; nuttal Dev. ; nuttall Cor.° ; nuttol
s.Dev. e.Cor. ; and in form nuthalse nw.Dev.^ [nutl.]
The hazel, Corylus Avellana ; also used attrib. and in
comp. Nuttal-bush. See Hall, sb.^, and Halse, sb.^
Dev. A fishing-rod made of hazel is generally called ' a nut-all
rod,' Reports Provinc. (1877) 135 ; Dev.*, nw.Dev.' s.Dev. (B.
& H.) ; (Miss D.) Cor.'s, e.Cor. (Miss D.)
NUTIL, adj. Obs. n.Yks.^ Useless ; effeminate.
NUTMUG, sb. e.Yks.i w.Yks.^ [nu'tmug.] A nutmeg.
[ME. notemuge, a nutmeg (Chaucer).]
NUTTEN, sb. I.W. Som. Also in form niithen e.Som.
1. A donkey.
I.W. (Hall.) ; I.W.^ They drove the waggon right into the
donkey and keert and beeat the poor nutten's voot off.
2. A great stupid fellow. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
NUTTER, V. Oxf Brks. [n-B-t3(r).] To whinny
softly, as a mare and colt to one another. Oxf Cf gnatter,
2. Hence Nuttering, vbl. sb. the whinnying of a colt; the
hard, discontented noise made by a horse before whinny-
ing. Oxf 1, Brks.i
NUTTERY, sb. Suf [nB-tsri.] The hazel-tree,
Corylus Avellana. e.Suf (F.H.)
NUTTING, ppl. adj. Sc. Cum. Wm. Chs. Lin. Brks.
Suf. Dor. Som. Cor. Also written nutin Wm. ; nutten
Dor.i; nuttin Cum. [nu-tin, nBtin.] In comb, (i)
Nutting-bag, a bag for carrying nuts ; in phr. as black as
the Devil's nutting-bag; (2) -crook, a nut-hook; (3) -day,
see below ; (4) -hook, («) see (2) ; {b) a hooked nose ; (5)
-tyne, see (2).
(i) Cum. Her smock's leyke auld Nick's nuttin bag, Gilpin Sngs.
(1866)393. Wm. Wheeler ZJi'a/. (1790) 16. Lin., Brks. iV. fj" Q.
(igoo) 9th S. V. 38. e.Suf. (F.H.) Som. N. & Q. ib. (2) Dor.l
Beaky nuttto-crooks to pull The bushes down, 177. (3) Cor.
There was a curious custom in the town of Penryn. . . On some
particular day in September or October . . . about when the hazel-
nuts are ripe, the festival of nutting-day is kept. The rabble of
the town go into the country to gather nuts, returning in the
evening with boughs of hazel in their hands. Hunt Pop. Rom.
w.Eng. (1865) 401, ed. 1896 ; The ceremony of choosing a mock
mayor ... at Penryn ... in September or October, when hazel-
nuts were ripe, and ' nutting day ' was kept by the children, Flli-
Lore Jm. (1886) IV. 241. (4 a, b) Chs.i (5) Sc. My daddy left
me gear eneuch ... A nebbed staff, a nutting-tyne, Chambers Sngs,
(1839) II. 581.
NUTTOL, see Nuthall.
NUTTY, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Dev. In comb, (i) Nutty-cock,
obs., a term of endearment ; (2) -crack night, the ninth
night before Martinmas Day ; cf nut-crack night, s.v.
Nut, sb. 1 ; (3) -white, white as the kernel of a nut.
(i) n.Cy. Brenky my nutty-cock, Brenk him away ; My nutty-
cock's nivver Been brenk'd to-day : What wi' carding and spinning
on t'wheel. We've niwer had time to brenk nutty-cock weel : But
let to-morrow come ivver so sune. My nutty-cock it sail be
brenk'd by nunc, Denham Tracts (ed. 1895) II. 53. (2) n.Yks.
Nutty-crack neet Ah mooant forget, Tweddell Clcvel. Rhymes
(1875) 5; n.Yks.* A feast of apples and nuts is indulged in. (3)
Dev. A glass vessel containing nutty-white celery in it, the leaves
at the top not unfolded, not green, but of the colour of pale
butter, Baring-Gould Spider (iSSq) vii.
NUTYON, see Noit, sb.
NUVITOUS, adj Obsol. Shr.^^ Also in form
nuvituous Shr.^ Nutritive.
NUVITUOUS, sb. ? Obs. Shr.' A rarity ; a dainty.
I went to see poor owd Mrs. Farley o' Wren'all, an' 'er gid me
a piece o' Marigold-cheese — it wuz a nuvituous ; I hauna sid one
fur 'ears.
NUVVIS, see Novice.
NUZ, sb. War.' 2 [nuz.] The ball of hard wood used
in the game of ' shinty.' The same word as Knuz (q.v.).
NUZZLE, V. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Chs. Nhp. Glo.
Brks. Suf Sur. Som. Dev. Cor. Amer. Also in forms
noosle Bnff.' ; noozle Sc. w.Som.' Cor. ; nouzle Cor. ;
nowzel Brks.'; nozzle Lnk. Nhb.' Lan.' Suf Sur.;
nusle w.Yks. ; nussle e.Lan.' [nu-zl, nB-zl, nczl.]
L To push or poke about with the nose. Cf nozzle, sb,
s s
NUZZLER
[314 J
NYZE
Suf.i Alius a nuzzlin about. Sur. The carp and tench roll,
nozzle, and root there, Son of Marshes Sur. Hills (1891) 211.
Dev.i Vease away the pigs from nuzzling [muzzling, ed. 1837] in
the corn, 30, ed. Palmer.
2. Fig. To spend time on trifles; to loiter. n.Cy.
(Hall.), w.Yks.^, ne.Lan.^ Cf. nestle, 5. 3. To push in
the nose, as an infant into the nurse's bosom ; to creep
closely or snugly ; to nestle closely for protection or
warmth. Cf. nuddle, v.'^
Sc. Davie all this while lay with his nose almost in the fire,
nuzzling among the ashes, Scott Waverley (1814) Ixiv. w.Yks.
Hlfx. Courier (ilay 29, 1897) ; w.Yks.i Lan. Like a child nozzling
up to his soft nest, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) I. 123 ; Lan.',
ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.i Chs. Sheaf (1878) I. 37 ; Chs.i Nhp. Who
nuzzling sat with brooding breast, Clare Remains (1873) 162;
Nhp.', Glo.^ Brks.'Zee how the puppy an' the cat nowzels down
together avoor the vire this cawld weather. Cor. (W.S.) [Amer.
N. (y Q. (1870) 4th S. vi. 249 ; Green Virginia Flk-Speech (1899).]
4. trans. To poke anything with the nose ; to root with
the snout as a pig ; gen. to press, poke, push ; also
vtse-Afig.
Rxb. Ye' re still but a young man yet, son, an' experience may
noozle some wit intil ye, Hogg Winter Tales (1820) I. 14 (Jam.).
s.Chs.i Taak" Mes'tur DaaTlitnz poa'ni in't£i)th baak' os'-boks, lin
gy'iv im ii bit li kuurn tii niizl [Tak Mester Darli'ton's pony into
th' back hoss-box, an' give him a bit o' curn to nuzzle]. Suf.^
Let um alone, he'll nuzzle it out [said of a dog]. w.Som.^ Said of
pigs : to root with the snout. ' They pigs must be fresh a ring'd,
they be nuzzlin the field all over. I never didn zee no sich pigs
as they be vor to nuzzly.' Said of a dog or other animal. To
arrange the straw for his bed with the nose, as most animals do
before lying down. If a dog be put into a place with fresh straw, he
will first noozle [neo'zl] out a hollow. Dev. They there pegs be out
inthagearden anuzzlingup awltha tatties, HEWETT/'ras. 5^. (1892)
108. Cor. Ever since that I noozled the nepple, J. Trenoodle
Spec. Dial. (1846) 33.
5. To seize by the nose ; fig. to catch, assail, to expose
to stormy weather.
Bnff.' Lnk. An approaching storm which was likely to nozzle
us between Stobcross Docks an' Partick, Murdoch Readings
(1895) II. 85. Nhb. He nozzl't a rabbit or twa, Armstrong Wanny
Blossoms (1876) 74 ; Nhb.'
Hence Nuzzler, sb. (i) a peg in a mole- or mouse-trap,
which when touched by the mouse, releases a spring.
s.Chs.^ ; (2) a mouse's nest caught up on the teeth of a
mowing-machine, ib.
[1. See howe this sowe nosylleth in the grounde, auisez
comment ceste truye fouille du museau en la terre, Palsgr.
(1530). 3. She nuzzleth herself in his bosom, Stafford
Niobe (1611) 199.]
NUZZLER, sb. Nhp.^ [nu-zl3(r).] A square of
flannel for covering or wrapping round an infant, till it
attains sufficient strength to be carried upright.
[A der. of obs. E. nussle, to nurse. Julian nuzzled in
the manners of Asia, Holland Ammianus (1609) (Nares).]
NWOTE, NWOTISH, see Note, sb?, Notish.
NYABOK, sb. Sc. A diminutive, talkative person.
Gall. (J.M.)
NYAFF, sb. Sc. Also in forms neaphle Dmf. ; nyaffle
Bnff.^ ; njafak, njafin Sh.I. A trifle, a thing of no value ;
anything small of its kind. The same word as Gnaff (q.v.).
Cf. naff, nauchle, niff-naif.
Sh.I. ' A njafin njafgk,' a little child foolishly brought up,
Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 67 ; (Jam.) Bnff.', Dmf. (Jam.)
NYAFF, see Naff.
NYAFFLE, v. Obs. Bdf. Written nyafl. To eat in
a hasty, gluttonous manner. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang.
(1809) 139.
NYAFFLE, see NafHe.
NYAGIRjSA. Sfti.I. The. hBl\hut,Hippoglossus vulgaris.
(Coll. L.L.B.)
NY AM, V. and inl. Sc. Also written nyum. [njam.]
L V. To chew. Slk. (Jam.) 2. int. In comb. Nyum-
Nyum1 a child's expression of pleasure at anything good
to eat.
Sc. Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899). Lnk. To ilk
ither we wad wink, An' whisper N'yum ! n'yum ! Nicholson
Kilwuddie (1895) 153.
NYAP, see Gnap.
NYAPH, sb. pi. Sc. The female nymphae, clitoris
pubes, &c. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
NYAPPY, adj. Irel. {nja'pi.] Hungry. Ant. Bally-
mena Obs. (1892). See Gnap.
NYARB, V. and sb. Sc. [njarb.] 1. v. To fret ; to
be discontented. Abd. (Jam., s.v. Nyarr). Cf. nyirb.
Hence Nyarbin', ppl. adj. fretful, peevish.
Abd. He's a coorse nyarbin sorra o' a mannie, Abd. Wkly. Free
Press (Dec. 29, 1900).
2. sb. A fretful, peevish complaint or quarrel. BnflF.^
NYARG, sb. Sh.I. A short, dangerous, or troublesome
sea. (Co//. L.L.B.)
NYARG, see Nag, v.'^
NYARGLE, v. and sb. Obs. Sc. 1. v. To wrangle.
Gall. Mactaqgart Encycl. (1824) ; (J.M.) 2. sb. A foolish
person, fond of disputing.
GaU. That being is a nyargle, who — 'Whenever there gets up
dispute. Will still change sides, and try confute,' Mactaggart ib.
NYARR, V. Sc. [njar.] 1. To growl or snarl as a
dog does. Cai.^ The same word as Gnar(r, v. (q.v.)
Cf. nurr. 2. To cry like an angry cat.
Gall. She nyarr'd whan she gat him as he'd been a mouse,
Mactaggart ^Kcyc/. (1824) 413, ed. 1876.
NYATT, NYATTER, NYAUCHLE, NYAWN, see
Nat, sb.^, Gnatter, Natter, v., Nauchle, Nown.
NYBER, NYDER, see Neighbour, Neither.
NYE, sb. Der. War. Won Hrf. Brks. Ess. Sus. Hmp.
Also written ni Brks.' Sus.'^ Hmp. ; nie Der.^ nw.Der.'
[nai.] A brood of pheasants. Cf. eye, s3.^; see Nide, sb.^
Der.2, nw.Der.i, War. (J.R.W.), Wor. (H.K.), Hrf.l, Brks.l
Ess. Trans. Arch. Soc. (1863) II. 186. Sus.12 Hmp. Holloway;
Hmp.i [Nye of pheasants (among fowlers), a flight, or great
company of those birds, Phillips (1706) ; A nye of feasants,
Phasianorum grex. Coles (1679).]
[OFr. ni, ' nid ' (La Curne).]
NYFEL, NYFLE, see Knifle, Nifle.
NYIGG, z;. Sh.I. [njig.] To tug.
He's nyiggin at dee redder sair, Burgess Rasmie (1892) 36.
NYIM, sb. Sc. Ir. Also in form nymmie Sc. [njim.]
A very small piece or quantity. Lth. (Jam.), Ant. (W.H.P.)
NYIRB, sb. BnfF.' Great peevishness. Cf. nyarb.
NYIRR, see Gnar(r, v.
NYIT, V. and sb. Fif. (Jam.) Also in form nyat. 1.
V. To give a smart stroke with the knuckles. The same
word as Knoit, v. (q.v.) 2. sb. A sharp stroke with the
knuckles. ' He gae me a nyit i' the neck.'
NYL, see Nile, sb.'
NYLE, sb. Fif. (Jam.) 1. A dial, form of ' navel.'
2. Phr. her nyle's at her mou, of a woman : far advanced
in pregnancy.
NYMMIE,NYMPHING-GANG,seeNyim,Nimpingang.
NYND, NYOAG, see Nigh-hand, Njoag.
NYOD, int. Sc. A disguised form of the word ' God,'
used in exclamations ; a modified oath.
ne.Sc. Nyod, Ah'm nae seer but Ah did the same, Green
Gordonhaven (1887) 54. Abd. Nyod, didnin he tak' a gey fling?
Alexander /oAwKy Gibb (1871) iv.
NYOW, NYPE, NYPKEN, see New, v., Neep, Napkin.
NYRE, NYRR, see Near, sb.\ Nurr.
NYSE, V. Sc. To beat ; to pommel ; a boys' word.
The same word as Knuse (q.v.).
Lth. (Jam.) Edb. A word in use among the boys of the High
School of Edinburgh. ' I'll nyse you,' I'll do you a mischief,
Mackay Diet. (1888).
NYST, NYTE, NYTHE, NYTTL, see Neist, Nicet,
Knoit, v., Nide, sb}, Njittle.
NYUCKFIT, sb. Cld. (Jam.) The snipe, Gallinagq
caelestis.
A name supposed to be formed from its cry when ascending.
NYUK, NYUM, NYURR, NYZE, see Nook, Nyam,
Nurr, Noise.
[315]
o
Or. Apart from the influence of neighbouring
• sounds, OE. o in closed syllables has generally
become open 9 in the modem dialects.
II. In Sc, Irel. and Eng. n. of the Humber, OE. o in
open syllables has generally become o or respectively us.
In w. and s.Yks. and in the district round about
Blackburn in Lan., it has become 9i. In the remaining
parts of Eng. it has fallen together with OE. a, that is,
it has become 0, or ua (oa) ; see Vol. I. i.
III. The normal development of OE. 5 is : —
1. Long u in Lan., I. Ma., Chs. (see 6), n.Stf , Der. (also
iu, ■en), Not., Lin., Rut, Nhp., War. (also iu), Wor. (also
iu), Shr: (see 4), Pern., Glo., Oxf., Brks., Bck., Bdf , Hrt.,
Hnt., Cmb., Ess., Ken., Sus., Hmp., I.W., Wil., Dor.,
e.Som.
2. In ne.Sc. it has become 1; in the remaining parts of
Sc. i^ has_generally become ii (rarely ii) or respectively ce.
3. fl or ce in Nrf , Suf , w.Som., Dev., Cor.
4. iu in Cum. (also ia), Wm., nw.Yks., ne.Lan. (see 1),
Fit., Dnb., Stf. (except e.Stf.), s.Der., Lei., w.War., n.Wor.,
ne.Shr.
5. 13 in Nhb. (rarely iu), Dur. (also iu), Cum. (also iu),
n., ne., m. and se.Yks.
6. ui in w. and s.Yks. 7. oeu in s.Chs. 8. bu in
sw.Der., e.Stf
O, sb} Irel. Nhb. In phr. (i) a round O, a stupid, silly
fellow, a ' softy' ; (2)fickly O's, a game played on a slate
or on paper ; cf fickle.
(i) N.I.^ (2) Nhb. A broken slate with a game of ' fickley O's '
never rubbed out, Graham Red Scaur (1896) 134.
O, sb." ? Obs. Sc. Yks. Also written oe. A small
island.
Sc. The husbande biggit now on his Oe, R. Jamieson Elfin Gray
in Scott Lady of Lake (1810) note XLIX, ed. 1894 ; Oe, an
island of the second magnitude; an island of the first magnitude
being called a ' land,' and one of the third magnitude a ' holm,' ib.
n.Yks.^ We sail'd round a bit of an O.
[Dan. f, an island (Larsen) ; Sw. 6 (Widegren) ; ON.
ey (Vigfusson).]
O, sb? Der.i [o.] A dial, form of ' ewe.'
O, sb* Lan. A dial, form of ' hall.'
Albeit dignified by the rustics of the neighbourhood as ' th' O,'
in point of size and accommodation it was little more than a large
cottage, Westall Old Factory (1885) xxii.
O', adj. A dial, form of ' all ' (q.v.).
O, see Of, Oh, On, Owe, Oy(e, Who.
OACHENIN, sb. Cai.^ [o-xanin.] The early dawn,
the part of the night before daybreak.
OACHERING, frp. Wbs. w.Yks.^ Also in form
ochering. Lavishing.
OAF, sb. and v. Var. dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. and
Eng. Also in forms aowf se.Wor.^ ; hoaf Glo. ; naowf
se.Wor.^ ; olf Glo.^ ; oof Sc. (Jam.) ; ooff BnfF.^ ; ouf n.Cy. ;
.' cup n.Cy. w.Yks. ; ouph Sc. Hrf.^ ; ouphe Sc. Yks.
[of, 9f.] 1. sb. An elf; a goblin. The same word as
Awf (q.v.).
Fif. The tricksy kindly ouphes that hail'd them heretofore,
TENNANT.i4Ms/f>-(i8i2) 141, ed. 1871. Lth. They tirl the neebors'
snecks Like ouphes this nicht, LvasDEn Sheep-head (iSgs) ^^. n.Cy.
Oup [sic'], Grose (1790). Yks. Yis. Wily. Post (May 19, 1883).
w.Yks. Oup [«'c], HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781). Der.i Obs.
Hence (i) Ouphish, (2) Ouphish-like, adv. elvish, elf-like.
(i) Lth. An imp-like, ouphish ditty Made the vera Leech grow
witty, LuMSDEN Sheep-head (iSgs) 115. (2) Quo' he to hisself Wi'
ouphish-like lauch an' jibe, tb. 146.
2. In gen. colloq. use : an idiot, a fool ; a dolt, blockhead,
a stupid fellow ; the clown of a circus.
Fif. (Jam.) Edb. Not like grinnan' oaf, Carlop Green (1793) 173,
ed. 1817. N.Cy.^ Cum. He canna help what he's deunn, he's
nobbut an oaf (E.W.P.) ; Cum.i, n.Yks.2, e.Yks.\ m.Yks.i Lan.
What are you standing there for, you great oaf? Francis Yeoman
Fleetwood (ed. 1890) 240. Chs. (F.R.C.), Chs.^^s^ stf.i, Der.2,
nw.Der.i, Not.', Lei.'- Wor. I was an oaf for eating that apple
(W.C.B.); In the remote parts of Worcestershire the clown at a
circus is still called the oaf. . . The writer heard a native . . . give
a verbal description of rope dancing, one of the incidents of which
was that ' the oaf cum an' choaked 'is fit ' — that is, the clown came
and chalked the feet of the dancer, N. & Q. (1882) 6th S. vi. 353.
s.Wor. PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 15. se.Wor.', Shr.' Shr.,
Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Hrf.^ The most bitter character that
can be given of a man is by describing him as a prodigal half oaf,
or as a rogue oaf. Glo. What an oaf that fellow is (A.B.) ; Mary
told him ' to sit down and be quiet, and not to go and make a hoaf
of himself,' Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) 88. e.An.' s.Cy.
Grose (1790).
Hence (i) Oafish, adj. half-witted, foolish, silly ; cf.
awvish ; (2) Oafishly, (3) Oafly, adv. foolishly, absurdly ;
(4) Oaf-rock, sb. a half-witted, weak-minded person ; (5)
-rock'd, adj., see (i) ; (6) Oof-looking, adj. having a look
of stupidity.
(i) n.Yks.i=* (2, 3, 4) n.Yks.2 (5) n.Yks.^* (6) Bnff. (Jam.)
3. A miser. Der.'^, nw.Der.^ 4. An animal whose
face is so covered with hair that it can scarcely see. Fif
(Jam.)
5. V. To walk stupidly ; to act in a foohsh, childish
manner ; to play the fool ; also with about.
Bnff.i, n.Yks.2, m.Yks.' Wor. Always used of grown-up
people. Persons who are romping about and behaving in a silly,
childish fashion are said to be ' oafing about,' N. & Q. (1882) 6th
S. vi. 198. Glo.^ They was oafin', and sparrin' some time. They
kep olfing with one another.
Hence Oa&ng, ppl. adj. stupid, foohsh. n.Yks.'*, m.Yks.*
OAF, see Olf.
OAFF, adj. ? Obs. Ayr. (Jam.) Also in form ooff.
Decrepit, worn down with disease.
OAFFIS, see Oaves, sb. pl>
OAG, V. Sh.I. [5g.] To crawl, creep, scramble ; to
wriggle.
Time is oagin laek a wirm. Burgess Rasmie (1892) no ; I gat
me in an' oagit awa ta bed, Clark N. Gleams (1898) 94 ; I oags
ta da broo, best I cood, Sh. News (Aug. 20, 1898) ; S. & Ork."-
S S 2
OAGARHIUNSE
[316]
OAK
Hence Oagin, vbl. sb. the moaning of the wind.
I couldna stand yun oagin troo da stroods at nicht, Burgess
Lowra Biglatt (1896) 50,
OAGARHIUNSE, see Ogerhunch.
OAK, sb, Var. dial, forms and uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [ok, oak, ek, isk ; jak, jek ; w5k, wuk.] I. Dial,
forms. 1. sing. : (i) Aac, (2) Aak, (3) Aik, (4) Ak, (5)
Auk, (6) Eac, (7) Eak, (8) Eake, (9) Eike, (10) Eke, (11)
Oche, (12) Whoke, (13) Weak, (14) Week, (15) Week,
fi6) Wok, (17) Woke, (18) Wuck, (19) Wuk, (20) Yaak,
(21) Yack, (22) Yak, (23) Yeack, (24) Yeck, (25) Yek,
(26) Yik.
(i) n.Cy., Yks. (B. & H.) (2) m.Yks.' w.Yks. T'aak coomed
aat afore t'esh (F.P.T.) ; w.Yks.i (3) Sc. Good aik timber,
Scott Pirate (1821) v. Gall. Wi' the aik kibblings I'd never
fight mair, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 68, ed. 1876. Dwn. The
aiks the knowes hae shaded, Savage-Armstrong Ballads (1901)
152. Nhb.i, Dur.i, n.Yks.2, w.Yks.i (4) ne.Yks.i Pronounced yak.
(5)m.Yks.iAoh'k,ao-k. (6) n.Cy. (K.) (7)1*, m.Yks.' Ih'lc. (8)
n.Yks. (W.H.) (9) n.Cy., Yks. (B. & H.) (10) n.Cy. /A. (11)
n.Yks.2 (12) Der. Drive him aneath th' tawest whoke-tree,
Gushing Voe (1888) I. ix. (13) w.Yks.3 Glo. When I'd a-hung
un up in th' woak tree, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) xiv. Wil.
Slow Gl. (1892). Dor. As we wer catchen vrom our laps Below
a woak our bits an' draps, Barnes Poems (ed. 1879') 78. (14)
Soni. Jennings Obs. Dial w.Eng. (1825'). (15) e.Som. W. & J. Gl.
(1873). (i6)w.Yks.3 (17) Hmp.i This pronunciation, though not
general in n.Hmp. now, used to be so. (i8) e.Som. W. & J. Gl.
(1873). (19) Shr.i The Squire's levellin' the wuk this 'ear. Glo.i
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). (20) Cum.i (21) n.Cy. Holloway.
Wm. If 't ash tree buds before 't yack, Gibson Leg. and Notes (1877)
50. n.Yks. Awd stiff yack nut eeasy bended, Castillo Poems
(1878) 25. e.Yks. Marshall Rttr. Econ. (1788). m.Yks.' (22)
n.Cy. (B. & H.), Dur.l Cum.i Ya'k cubbert. Wm. Double yak
deurs, Whitehead Leg. (1859) 5. s.Wm. (J.A.B.) n.Yks.2 Me
grannum's aud yak-kist. Yak-bink [oak bench]. ne.Yks.', e.Yks.i,
w.Yks.iSj n.Lan.i, ne.Lan.' (23) ne.Lau.' (24) Nhb. Then 'noint
her wiv a twig o' yeck, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 11. Dur.
It's a' green hills en big yeck trees, Egglestone iJeWjv /'orf&'«s'
Visit {i&Tj) 9. Cum. The yeck kist cried out murder, Rayson
Poems (1839) 8. (25) Nhb. His leg pletted o.ure his Yek Pleught,
Bewick Tyneside Tales (1850) 11. Lakel.1 Yek cubbert. Cum."-
•w.Yks. Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 291. (26) Cum.i
2. pi. ■ (i) Akis. n.Cy. (B. & H.) ; (2) Oaken. Hrf.^
II. Dial. uses. 1. In comb, (i) Oak and nettle day.
May 29 ; (2) -apple, a sprig of oak or maple ; (3) -apple
day, see (i) ; (4) -atchern, an acorn ; (5) -ball, an oak-
apple or oak-gall ; (6) -ball day, see (ij ; (7) -bee, the
cockchafer, Melolontha vulgaris ; (8) -berry, see (4) ; (9)
-billet tunber, small oaks, crooked oak, not good enough
for timber ; (10) -crammel, a knotty branch of oak, an
oak cudgel; (11) -day, see (i) ; (12) -dotteril, a pollard
oak; (13) -eggar, a moth; (14) -fern, the common bracken,
Pteris aquilina ; (15) -fork, an oak stem forked naturally
at one end; (16) -gnar, an oak-knot ; (17) -heir, a young
oak-tree left growing when a wood is cleared ; (iBj
-leather, a kind of fungus found in old oaks ; (19) -lungs,
the pearl moss, Chondrus crispus ; (20) -marble, see (5) ;
(21) -mass or -mast, see (4) ; (22) -prod, an oak-peg ; (23)
-snag, a thick oak-branch ; (24) -stake, (25) -stob or
-stoup, an oak-post ; (26) -tree clay, (27) -tree loam, the
Kimmeridge clay ; (28) -web, -cub, -ub, or Ocop, see (7) ;
(29) -wood, a forest of oak ; (30) -wright, obs., a worker
in oak.
(i) Not. A custom now dying out existed ... on the twenty-
ninth of May, or ' Oak and Nettle day,' as it is termed. The
rising generation sally out in the morning, their caps and button-
holes adorned with sprigs of oak. They also provide themselves
with a bunch of nettles. They request all persons they meet with
' to show your oak.' . . Supposing they are unprovided . . . their
face, neck, and hands are well nettled, Flk-Lore Jrn. (1884) II.
381. (2) Dev.* There need be no apples on the sprig. (3) Nhp.^
On this day it was formerly the custom for all the principal
families in the town of Northampton to place a large branch of
oak over the door of their houses, or in their balconies, in
remembrance of the restoration of Charles the Second. The
oak -boughs are gradually disappearing; but the corporate body
still goes in procession to All Saints' church, accompanied by the
boys and girls of the diiferent charity schools, each of them having
a sprig of oak, with a gilt oak-apple placed in the front of their
dress ; and, should the season be unpropitious, and oak-apples be
scarce, small gilded potatoes are substituted. . . Some villagers in
the country notice the day, by decorating their houses with
branches of oak, or by children carrying them about in their
hands. War.^ Houses were decorated with boughs or sprigs of
oak bearing oak-apples. Boys wore the latter in their coats.
Those who neglected or were unable to provide themselves with
this decoration were whipped about the hands and face, by their
fellows, with stinging nettles. Hnt.(T.P.F.) Dor. The 29th of May,
Oak-apple Day, was called Shicsack Day, when all loyal urchins
were expected to display a bit of oak in their hats or caps,
Longman's Mag. (Mar. 1889) 517. w.Som.i It is still the custom
for all the public-houses, and many private ones, to fasten a green
bough of oak at the side of the outer door. When they can be
got, oak-apples are stuck on this bough, often covered with
gold-leaf. . . Farm boys also stick sprays of oak with oak-apples
if procurable in their hats, while the horses always have to be
'trimmed' with oak on King Charles's day. (4) Chs.^^ s.Chs.i
Oa-k-aachurn. (5) s.Chs.i Oa'k-bau. War.3 (6) Shr. On this
day, branches of oak bearing ' oak-apples ' or ' oak-balls ' are hung
at the doors of many houses in Shrewsbury ; about Newport the
cart-horses are adorned with oak-boughs, and in many places the
railway-engines are similarly decorated. Many people in all ranks
keep up the custom of wearing sprays of oak with ' balls,' if
possible, on this day. Young men and lads wear an oak-ball and
a few leaves in their hats, and about Market Drayton 1 am told
that a boy who shows himself without a bit of oak is apt to
receive some sort of chastisement from his companions. The
National school children in many places beat those who wear no
oak with stinging nettles, Burne Flk-Lore (1883-1886) 365.
War.2 It is the custom to wear an oak-ball in the hat or buttonhole
on May 29, and to decorate horses with the same. (7) Hrt. The
darr or oak-bee, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) VI. i. 67. (8) Yks.
(B. & H.) (9) Nrf. He has recently brought down a cargo of
oak-billet-timbers in three or four feet lengths of the more slender
boughs, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 66 ; Small oaks, or the
arms of oak timber-trees, are cut into short lengths and used for
smoking herrings with (M.C.H.B.). (10) n.Yks. (T.S.) ; n.Yks.^
A stunt yak-crammel. (11) Not. The locomotive engines are
sometimes decorated with oak leaves. School children nettle
those among them who are not wearing oak leaves on the 29th of
May (L.C.M.). sw.Lin.i (12) Nhp. The knarled oak-dotterel,
Clare Rur. Muse (1835) 77. (13) Sc. Watching ... an oak-eggar
moth settle lazily on a moss cushion. Steel Rowans (1895) 144.
Som. CoMPTON Winscombe Sketches (1882) 140. (14) Nrf. From
the appearance of the section of the vascular bundles in the
rhizome (B. & H.). w.Som.^ Oa-k-vee-urn. (15) n.Yks.2 Used
for various country purposes. (16) ib. (17) Hmp. A number of
oak-heirs and ash-tillows are left at each cutting, Marshall
Review (1817) V. 329. (18) Ir. (B. & H.) (19) Lon. Sold in
Covent Garden market under this name, Loudon's Gardenet^s Mag.
(1832) Vlll. 94, in (B. & H.). (20) Dev.* When ripe is used for
the game of marbles. (21) Dev.^ Old crooked oak is loaded with
oak-mass. nw.Dev.^ Cor. I'd rethur tamp wilkies an' toads in
ma belly, Ur oak-masts an' bittles, Daniel Bride of Scio (1843)
231 ; Cor.2 (22) n.Yks. 2 (23) Sc. He'll glower at an auld warld
barkit aik-snag as if it were a queez-maddam in full bearing,
ScoTT Rob Roy (1817) xxi. n.Yks.^ (24, 25) n.Yks.2 (26)
Wil.' Britton Beauties (1825) III. (27) Wil. The deep oak-tree
loams about Mere ... a low flat tract of land under the foot of
the chalk-hills, of a strong deep loam, with a substratum of clay,
over a very thick vein of blue marble. The soil is very sour, as
appears by its abundant and spontaneous production of oak trees,
Davis Gf«.P'(ezt;^^)'!c.(i8ii)xii; Wil.' (28) s.Ir.(A.S.-P.) -w.Cy.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Dor. N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. viii.
358. Som. West of the Parret this insect is called ' wock-web,'
because it infests the oak, and spins its web on it in great
numbers, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.' They rooks
be doin' purty well vri' they there oak-'ebs. Dev. A brown
beetle, that feeds much upon the leaves of oak, Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 309 ; I zay, Polly, diiee put a pin dru thease oakweb's
tail, an' yu'U zee 'ow 'e'll buzzee when I spin 'th'n roun' my 'ead
wi' thease bit ov coord, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892); Science Gossip
(1874) 263; Dev.2 The weather is going to change, there are so
many oak-webs about to-night. nw.Dev.' w.Dev. Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1796). Cor. N. & Q. (1851) ist S. iii. 259. s.Dev.,
e.Cor. (Miss D.), Cor.' -(zg, 30) n.Yks.2
2. Phr. to go 'twixt the oak and the rind, to make fine dis-
tinctions, to split hairs, to quibble.
w.Som.' Hence the phr. has come to mean the quibbling by
OAKABELL
[317]
OAT
which a trimmer agrees with both sides, ' runs with the hare and
hunts with the hounds.' nw.Dev. We usually add to the phrase
' where the devil can't go ' (R.P.C.) ; nw.Dev.^
3. An oaken cudgel.
Lnk. ' Hand me out yon muckle oak.' She brought the stick,
MuiR Minstrelsy (1816) 31.
4. pi. The suit of clubs in cards.
Som. Jennings O/is. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.i The parish
clerk . . . after having been playing cards late on Saturday night,
dozed during the service next day, and , . cried out, ' Oaksbe trumps,
Mr. Hosegood.' An old distich is, ' Oaks be trumps in Horner
'ood, There they growed, and there they stood.' Dev. There,
I'm beggared ef hoaks bant trumps again ! Why, that's dree
times urning, Hewett Peas. Sfi. (1892) 88 ; Dev.i From the
resemblance which they bear to the oak- leaf. nw.Dev.i
Hence Oak-wuck, sb. the club at cards. e.Som. W. &
J. Gl. (1873).
5. The maple, Acer campestre.
Dev.* I have been astonished to find how constantly the Maple
is called Oak.
OAKABELL, see Okabel(l.
OAKEM, sb. Dev. [o-ksm.] The cockchafer, Melo-
lontha vulgaris. Cf oak-web, s.v. Oak.
n.Dev. Oakems, ticks, longcripples '11 do, Rock Jim an' Nell
(1867) St. 124.
OAKEN, adj. Suf. Som. In conib. (i) Oaken-apple
day, (2) -bough day, May 29. Cf. oak-apple day, s.v. Oak.
(i) Suf. Moor MS. (Hall.) (2) w.Som.i (s.v. Oak-apple day.)
OAKIE, sb. Cai.* [o'ki.] The common guillemot,
Lomvia troile.
OAKUM, sb. Yks. [S'kam.] Ochre.
n.Yks. I'll colour t'walls wi yalla oakum (I.W.).
OALAMINT, sb. Sh.I. Element ; used attrib.
He flauchtered up i' da oalamint air wi' da ting o' a shiken
spriklin' an' pleepin' in his neb, Sh. News (June 19, 1897).
OALIK, OALPH, see Olik, Olf.
0AM, sb. and v. Sc. Dur. Also written ome Dur. ;
and in forms com, owme Sc. (Jam.) ; uim Or.I. ; yoam
Per. ; youm Bnff.^ ; yowm Abd. [5m.] 1. sb. Steam,
vapour ; a blast of warm air ; a warm aroma.
Sc. Oam of the kettle (Jam.). Sh.I. Francisque-Michel Lang.
(1882) 424. Or.I. (SA.S.) Bnff.i Fin a set ma nose in at the
kitchy door, a fan the youm o' the dainner. Abd. (Jam.) ; I'm
sere ye'U fin the yowm, Goodwife (1867) St. 3. Per. Oor strath is
noo a' fu' o' yoam Like bilin' saut, Fergusson Vill. Poet (1897) 151.
e.Fif. Naething seen but speeritual oam ascendin' to the ceilin',
Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxv. Dur. The ome of salt pans (K.).
2. V. To blow with a warm, close air. Bnff.'
[Norw. dial, ome, smoke, the smell of something burning
(Aasen).]
OAM, see Holm, sb}
OAMLY, adj. n.Yks." [o'mli.] Unpleasant or hurtful
to the feelings.
[Norw. dial, aumleg, also omit, poor, wretched, miser-
able (Aasen) ; ON. aumligr (Vigfusson).]
OAMPLE, see Hamble.
OAMY, adj. Nrf. [Not known to our correspondents.]
Light, porous ; gen. used of ploughed land. (Hall.)
OAN, sb. n.Yks.'* An awn, the beard of barley.
Hence Oantling, sb. an awn. See Awntlings.
OAN, see Own, v.'^
OAR, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Wil. 1. sb. pi. The arms:
Nhb.i A cant term. ' Drop swingin yor oars, man.'
2. Comp. Oar-cock, obs., the water-rail, Rallus aquaticus.
Wil. Smith Birds (1887) 222. 3. v. To row, ferry.
Slg. Come oar me o'er, to row like you there's nane, Galloway
Poems (1804) 56. Gall. It was my daft Maxwell lass . . . that
was oaring the wives across, Crockett Raiders (1894) iv.
OAR(E, OARFIS, see Ore, s6.". Oaves, sb. pi}
OARLI, sb. Sh.L Also in form wurli. [oTli.] The
gate of a burn or brook. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 45.
[ON. dr-hlid, the gateway or gap of a river; see Jakob-
sen (/.c.).]
OARTINS, see Ortin(g)s.
OARY, adj. Stf." [orij In comp. Oary-floor, a divi-
sion in the nether coal.
OAS-, see Oaze.
OAST, sb} Yks. Glo. Sun Sus. Ken. s.Cy. Dev. Also
in forms haust Sus.^^ Ken. ; host s.Dev. ; cost e.Yks.
w.Yks. Glo. ; ost e.Yks. w.Yks. ; oste Ken. ; oust Ken.
[5st.] 1. A kiln for drying hops. Cf. east, sb}
e.Yks. (W.C.S.) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Stippl. (July 11, 1896).
Sur.i Sus. Oast's on fire ! O'Reilly S/ones (1880) II. 302. Ken.
Grose (1790) ; Ken.12 s.Cy. Ray (1691). s.Dev. (F.W.C.)
Hence (i) Oast-hair, sb. the hair-sieve used in oast-
houses ; (2) -house, sb. the house containing the kiln for
drying hops ; (3) -man, sb. the man employed in drying
hops.
(i) Sus.^ [Wear and tear of oast hairs, and hop bins, &c.,
Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1855) II. 319.] (2) Sur.' Ken. When
an excess duty was charged on hops, the letters ' O. H.' had to be
painted on all oast doors, signifying 'Oast House' (W.G.P.) ;
After picking, the hops are removed to the ' oast-houses,' in
which they are dried. These are for the most part built of brick,
and perfectly circular up to a height of 14 or 15 ft., whence they
terminate in a cone, surmounted by a cowled chimney, peculiarly
shaped, to allow the vapour from the hops to escape, Murray
Handbk. Ken. (1892) Introd. 13; N. Gt' Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 195 ;
Sus.12 (3) Ken. N. & Q. (1874) 5th S. ii. 153.
2. Obs. A kiln for drying malt. Glo. Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 310. Hence Oast-cloth, sb., obs., the coarse hair-
cloth upon which the malt was spread to dry upon the kiln.
Ken. (K.) _
[1. OE. ast, ' siccatorium ' (^lfric). 2. Du. ast, a place
where barley is dried to make malt with (Hexham).]
OAST, s6.2 Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also in forms
boast Cum.* Wm. ; ost n.Cy. ; woast Cum.* ; wost
n.Cy. [ost.] The curd for cheese before it is taken from
the whey.
n.Cy. It is sometimes called ' cheese-ost ' or ' wost,' I suppose
to distinguish it from the fleeting curd of the whey of new milk
(after the cheese-curd) which is the basis of that old country
dainty curds and cream, N. &■ Q. (1879) 5th S. xi. go ; N.Cy."-
Nhb.i So called when it begins to scum over the whey. Cum.
Ferguson Northmen (1856) 181 ; Cum.^* Wm. She hed just
takenth hoast awt oth whey, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 66, ed. 1840;
(J.H.) -w.Yks.!
[Dan. Sw. ost, cheese ; ON. osir (Vigfusson).]
OAST, see Oss.
OASTE, sb. Obs. Nhb. The name given to the
mariner or stranger who came to buy coals at Newcastle.
See Hoastmen.
Nhb.i The vendors of coal, &c., were the Incorporated Com-
pany of Hoastmen, and their clients or customers were ' oastes.'
The ' seal of the fraternity of the Ostmen of the town of New-
castle-upon-Tyne ' represents an oaste advancing, hat in hand, to
meet the coal merchant. The Hoastman extends his right hand
to grasp that of the oaste, with the salutation ' Welcome, my
oste.' ' It appears from the earliest entries in the books of this
society (the Merchant Adventurers), that the stranger arriving at
the port of Tyne to buy coals is called "the oaste",' Brand Hist.
Newc. (1789) II. 270 note.
OAT, sb. and v. Var. dial, forms and uses in Sc. and
Eng. [See Oak.] I. Dial, forms : (i) Aet, (2) Ait, (3)
Ate, (4) Awt, (5) Eet, (6) Oath, (7) Owet, (8) Uet, (9)
Wat, (10) Wet, (11) Whet, (12) Whoat, (13) Whooat,
(14) Whot, (15) Whut, (16) Woat, (17) Wot, (18) W^t,
(19) ?Wud, (20) Wuet, (21) Wut, (22) Wutt, (23) Yait,
(24) Yeat, (25) Yet, (26) Yett, (27) Yit. [For develop-
ment of OE. a, see A, III.]
(i) Sh.I. Ir ye shorn muckle o' da aets? SA.iVwe's (Sept. 29,1900).
(2) Sc. There was some half-fouso'aits,ScoTTiJnrf^o/'Z.aw. (1819)
vii. Bwk. HendersonPo/. ifAy»jes(i856) 45. Nhb.^, Cum.i, n.Yks.2
(3)Sh.I.MANSON^/>«. (1900)126. (4)Lan. (B.&H.) (5)m.Yks.»
Ih'-t (s.v. Groats). (6) Wxf.i (7) Dev.i 69. (8) m.Yks.i (s.v.
Groats). w.Yks. Wright Gram. Wndhll. (1892) 45. Rut.^ (9)
n.Yks. (W.H.) e.Yks. Carr Craven Gl. (1828). m.Yks.i Waats
(s.v. Groats). w.Yks.i (10) Dev. Mind yu dawnt vurgit ta gie
tha 'osses their wets, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). n.Dev. An' stay
vor wimb a strik' 0' wets, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 37. (11)
Dev .1 69. (12) n.Yks.!*, ne.Yks.i, w.Yks.5 Lan. Moore's folk
are eawt i' th' fields cuttin' whoats, Banks Manch. Man (1876) xxxv.
Chs.123^ Stf.l, Der.2 (13) w.Yks.2 (14) n.Yks.*, w.Yks.25,
s.Lan. (S.B.), n.Lin.i (i5)Lan.i Sur. At the stam o' the whuts,
Son of Marshes Within an hour of Lond. (ed. 1894) 57. Sus.
OAT
[318]
OAT
(F.A.A.) (16) Cum.i, Chs.i, sw.Lin.i, Dor. (C.W.) Som. Ray-
mond Geni. Upcott (1893) 152. (17) Lakel.^, Cum.i, n.Yks.*,
e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i (s.v. Groats), w.Yks. (C.V.C), nw.Lin.i, Hmp.i
(18) m.Yks.i (s.v. Groats). (19) Lan.^, Chs.^ (20) m.Yks.i
Wuoh''ts (s.v. Groats). (21) w.Yks. Lucas Stud. Nidderdale
(c. 1882). e.Lan.', Chs.123 Der.i OW wilt's [morf. ^roM. wuuts] ;
Der.=, nw.Der.i,n.Lin.i, Rut.i, War.^*, s.War.i, Shr.', Glo.i, Brks.',
Hrt. (J.W.), Cmb. (W.M.B.), Ken.i Sur. The wuts were not
much better, Cent. Mag. (Mar. 1884) 775. Sus.i, Hmp. (H.C.M.B.),
I.W.i Wil. Slow Gl. (1892). -w.Som.', Dev.*, nw.Dev.i (22)
Dev. Blackmore Slain by Doones (1896). (23) Cum. (B. & H.),
m.Yks.i (s.v. Groats). (24) Nhb. And saved me both yeats, hay
and grass, Ritson N. Gar!. (1810) 51. m.Yks.' (s.v. Groats).
(25) Nhb. Grose (1790). Dur., Cum., e.An. (B. & H.) _ (26) Nhb.
Come here, Mary, an' kill thur yetts, an grind thim, Dixon
Whiitingham Vale (1895) 36. Dun, Cum., e.An. (B. Si. H.), Dev.i
(27) Sc. A year famous, chiefly for its short corn and dear oatmeal
and yits, Ochiltree Redburn (1895) ii. Nhb. A' kinds iv grain
but yits, Richardson Borderei's Table-bk. (1846) VII. 136.
II. Dial. uses. 1. sb. In comb, (i) Oat-brush, oat
stubble ; (2) -bursten, oats dried over a fire ; (3) -cake,
{a) a thin cake made of oatmeal and water ; [b) in phr.
oat-cake folk, poor people ; (4) -cart, to carry oats in har-
vesting; (5) -clump, ?a clump of growing oats [not known
to our correspondents] ; (6) -farle, one of the divisions of
a cake of oat-bread ; (7) -flight, (8) -flyer, the chaff of
oats ; (9) -fowl, the snow-bunting, Plectrophanes nivalis ;
(10) -hulls, see (8) ; (11) -land, land on which oats are culti-
vated ; (12) -leave or Aitliff' crop, a crop of oats ; (13)
■rive, a group of corn-sheaves set up in a field to dry; (14)
■seed, the sowing of oats, the season appropriated for the
sowing of oats ; (15) -seed bird, the grey wagtail, Mota-
cilla tnelanope; {16) -shafl', a sheaf of oats ; (17) -skeiters,
the wild angelica, Angelica sylvesiris; (18) -sowing, see
(14) ; (19) -straw, the straw of oats ; (20) Oats and beans
and barley, a singing game ; see below ; (21) — and
vetches, a mixture of oats and vetches sown together to
mow green for horses.
(i) Lei.i (2) Sh.I. We packed up aboot a half lispond o' da
best ate bursten, Manson Aim. (1900) 126. (3, a) n.Yks. Cake
made of watmeeal, soat, an' watter, an' hardend afoor t'iire (W.H.).
■w.Yks. Stif brawes, thick wot-cakes, an' cheese. Senior Smithy
Rhymes (1882) 34 ; w.Yks. ^ Lan. Keep him eawt o' th' seet
o' wutcake, Brierley Traddlepin, xii ; Lan.^, e.Laii.i Chs.^ Seen
still about Macclesfield, but not much used elsewhere, unless in
the N. East corner of Chs. ; Chs.^, Der.2 Hmp. A light cake
made of oat-flour ; which is toasted and buttered when eaten,
Holloway. (A) w.Yks. Oat-cake folk, while they's pie-crust,
Gaskell Sylvia (1863) III. 131, ed. 1874. (4) n.Wil. (E.H.G.)
(5) Dev. All of me in the water but my face, and that stuck into
a wutts-clump, Blackmore Slain by Doones (1896). (6) Sc. Wi'
whauks o' gude ait-farle cowins, A. Wilson Poems (1790) 91
(Jam.). (7) e.An.i Much lighter than that of any other sort of
grain. Suf. Used by the poor for stuffing beds, Raineird Agric.
(1819) 297, ed. 1849 ; Suf.i (8) w.Mid. More liable to be blown
about than that of other corn. ' I thought there was summut
a'matterwith that bullock; 'e's got an oat-flyer in'is eye' (W.P.M.).
(9) Sh. & Or.I. Neil Tour (i860) (Jam. Suppl). Or.I. A small
bird, rather less than a sparrow, resorts here in winter, supposed
to be the same with what is by some called the Empress bird
in Russia, and is called by the people here Oat-fowls, because
they prey on the oats. Statist. Ace. VII. 461 (Jam.) ; Swainson
Birds (1885) 72 ; S. & Ork.i (10) Wil.i Pronounced Wut-hulls.
(11) Slg. Bob over the oatland swift roams thro' all Scotland,
Galloway Poems (1802) 71. (12) Sc. The crofting consists of
four breaks, whereof one after a year's rest is dunged for bear, . .
the third oat-leave, Maxwell Sel. Trans. (1743) 213 (Jam., s.v.
Bear-lave). Ayr. In the old husbandry the crop after bear or
barley (Jam.). (13) e.Lan.i (14) Sc. Quhan did that happen? —
During the aitseed (Jam.). Cai.^ Abd. Gin ye war throu' wi'
the hurry o' the ait-seed, ye maun jist tak' twa days' leasure,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 35; The 'ait-seed' was not even
begun, and almost sixvireeks would in all probability elapse before
it could be carried into execution, ib. (15) Nhb.i Yks. Swain-
son ib. 44. [The yellow wagtail . . . resorts to . . . newly sown
ground, where one ofits country names is theOat-seed Bird,il/o«;/i/y
P/^;. (May 1855) 385.] (x6) n.Yks.z (17) Mry. Children shoot oats
through the hollow stems (B. & H.). (18) Cai.i (19) Cai.i
Cld. He'll ride nae mair on ait-straw sunks, Nimmo Sngs. (1882)
98. e.Yks. That had teed up his slops wiv a lang wot-sthreea
wisp, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 39. Som. A han'vuU of woat
straw, Raymond Gent. Upcott (1893) 152. (20) Abd. Oats and
beans and barley grows Not so fine as the farmer sows. You nor
I nor nobody knows Oats and beans and barley grows. This is
the way the farmer sows. . . Here he stands and takes his ease,
Stamps his foot and claps his hands. And turns around to view
the land. Waiting for a partner, waiting for a partner, Open the
ring and take one in, And kiss him (or her) as he (or she) enters,
GoMME Games (1898) II. 8-9. Yks. See the farmer sow his seed.
See he stamps and takes them in. Stamps his foot and claps his
hand. And turns him round to view the land. O ! waiting for
a partner. Open the ring and take one in. Now you're married,
&c., ib. 8. w.Yks. Waitin' for a partner, Waitin' for a partner,
Open the ring and take one in. And now you've got your partner.
. . . Now you're married you must obey, &c. In the Wakefield
version, a little boy is placed in the centre of the ring first ; he
chooses a girl out of the ring at the singing of the third line, and
kisses her. They stand hand in hand while the others sing the
next verse, ib. 9 ; In a Sheffield version, . . four young men stand
in the middle of the ring with their hands joined. These four
dance round the first lines. After ' views his lands,' these four
choose sweethearts, or partners, from the ring. The eight join
hands and sing the remaining four lines. The four young men
then join the larger ring, and the four girls remain in the centre
and choose partners next time, ib. Lan. ib. 3. I.Ma. Oats and
beans, barley and groats, &c. . . Slip the ring and take one in.
And kiss her when you get her in. Now you're married you
must agree, &c. . . When the kiss is given all the children forming
the ring clap their hands, ib. 5, 6-10. n.Stf. In the Tean version,
the children turn round with their backs to the one in the centre,
and stand still when singing 'waiting for a partner,' ib. 9-10.
Not. Oats and beans and barley-corns, you or I or any one else,
You or I or any one else, oats or beans or barley-corns, &c., ib. 5.
Lin. The children in the Lincolnshire Wold village playing . . .
and dancing round as they sang the following words : ' A- waitin'
fur a pardner, A-waitin' fur a pardner. You an' I an' iv'ryone
knows How whoats an' beans an' barley grows. Fost tha farmer
saws 'is seed, Then he stans an' teks 'is ease. Stamps 'is feet an'
claps 'is 'ands. And turns him round to view tha lands. A-waitin'
fur a pardner, &c. . . Now you're married you must obaa. You
must be true to all you saa. You must be kind and very good.
And help y'er wife to chop tha wood. A-waitin' fur a pardner,'
&c. In the dance the boys and girls form a ring. A boy stands
in the centre, singing with the rest, as they dance around. There
is no particular order, but generally at the second singing of the
chorus the ' gentleman ' chooses a ' lady ' partner, and both stand
in the centre, singing with those composing the ring, ' Now
you're married,' &c. Sometimes ' gentleman ' kisses partner.
When the whole song is finished, sometimes the gentleman makes
one of the ring, and the lady remains in the centre and chooses a
partner ; sometimes both join the ring and a fresh boy goes into
the centre and waits for a partner. . . The children in the neigh-
bourhood of Horncastle yet play at this game. It is probably
common to other parts, A^. &= Q. (1891) 7th S. xii. 493. nw.Lin.
In a version from Kirkby-on-the-Bain : . . ' There is no proper
commencement of this song. The children begin with "A-waitin'
fur a pardner," or " Oats and beans," just as the spirit moves them,
but " A-waitin" is the usual beginning here,' Gomme ib. 10. Nlip.
Does you or I or anie one knowe Where oates and beanes and
barlie growe, The farmer comes and sowes ye seede, &c. . . Open
the ringe and take mee in. Make haste and choose your partner,
&c., Nhp. N. & Q. I. 163 in Gomme ib. 3. Shr. Form a ring,
with one in the middle ; move slowly round, and ' suit the action
to the words ' in italics. Chorus. Oats and beans and barley
grow ! Oats and beans and barley grow ! Do you or I or any one
know How oats and beans and barley grow ? First the farmer
sows his seed. Then he stands and takes his ease. Stamps his foot
and claps his hands. Then turns round to view the land. Waiting
for a partner, waiting for a partner ! Open the ring and take one
in ! (Another girl enters the ring, they close up and move round
again.) Chorus. Now you are married you must obey, You
must be true to all you say. You must be kind, you must be good.
And help your wife to chop the wood ! Burne Flk-Lore (1883)
608. Nrf. Hops or beans or barley corn, You or I or anyone all :
First the farmer sows his seed, &c. Waiting for a partner, a
partner, a partner, He opened the ring and called one in. And
now he's got a partner, &c., Gomme ib. 7. Hmp. Oats and beans
and barley corn, &c.. Waiting for a partner. Open the gate and
let her come out, And see the one you love the best. Now we're
merry and wish you joy. First the girl and then the boy, Seven
OAT
[319]
OBITCH'S COWT
years after, seven years past, Kiss one another and go to your
class, ib. 6. I.W. Where the wheat and barley grows, You and
I and nobody knows, c&c, ib. 7. (21) Chs."-
2. V. To turn oats. Sus. (S.P.H.)
OAT, see Aught, pron.
OATH, sb. and v. Sc. Stf. Wor. Hrf. Glo. Suf. Also
in forms aith(e Sc. ; oth Sh.I. ; othe Suf. [op, Sc. ejj.]
1. sb. In phr. to give on^s oath, to take an oath ad-
ministered to one.
Sc. (A.W.) Abd. Quha sail give thair aithes that the said
armour belangis to thame thameselfes, Turreff Gleanings (1859)
70. Per. Assigns to the said John Monday next to give forth his
aith thereupon, Lawson Bk. of Per. (1847) 122. Cld. Auld Mysie
says she can gie her great aith, Nimmo Sngs. (1882) 103.
2. V. To swear ; to take an oath as to anything.
Sh.I. ' Dat's whin I say sic a weighty oth.' 'Doo can oth
lesser,' Sh. News (Feb. 3, 1900). Stf.i s.Wor.i I'll oath it.
Hrf.2, Glo.i Suf. (Hall.) ; Sufii 'Tis true, I'll oath it.
OATHER, GATHERS, see Other, adj}^. Others.
OATMEAL, sb. Yks. e.An. Hrt. Also in form wot-
meeal n.Yks.'' 1. Grits ; oats husked and split but not
ground.
e.An.i We never reduce our oats to meal, though we use the
name. We . . . only use what we improperly call meal in the com-
position of gruel, or of puddings in time of scarcity.
2. Comb, (i) Oatmeal crowdy, (2) — kale, oatmeal gruel ;
(3) — kernel, a thin ear of wheat.
(i) n. Yks. We eat wotmeeal crowdy (I.W.). (2) n.Yks.^ (3)
Hrt. A thin, or what we call an oatmeal kernel, Ellis Mod. Husb.
(1750) VI. i. 45.
OATTY, sb. and adj. Nhb. Yks. Also in forms wotty
n.Yks. ; yittie Nhb.^ 1. sb. Oats of very short stalks.
Nhb.i 2. adj. Mixed with wild oats. n.Yks. (I.W.)
OAVE, see Hauve, v?
OAVES, sb. pi} Gmg. Pern. Ess. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil.
Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms auvis nw.Dev.^ ;
oaElis Dev. ; oarfis Dev.^ ; oavis Ess.^ n.Dev. ; office
s.Pem. Som. w.Som.^ Dev. ; offis Dev.' ; ovees Cor.' ;
overs Hmp. ; oves Sus. Hmp. Dor.' Som. ; ovess Sus. ;
ovice Gmg. Cor."^ ; ovis Som.; ovus I.W.'^'^; ovvice
Cor.^ ; owls Dev.' Cor.' [ovz, o'vas, o'vis, 9'fis.] The
eaves of a building or of a rick ; also used attrib.
Gmg. Collins Gow. Dial, in Trans, Phil. Soc. (1848-50) IV. 222.
s.Pem. Laws Litlle Eng. (1888) 421. Ess. Gl. (1851); Ess.',
Sub. (F.A.A.), (F.E.), Hmp. (H.C.M.B.), (H.E.), I.W.12 Wil.
Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.' Dor.' The pea that rangled to the oves,
133. Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885) ; Jennings Obs.
Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' Quite
distinct from a projecting roof, in which the wood framework
forms the projection or eave, and which must have an [au'fees]
projecting from it, sufficient to carry the rain-water into the
shuting or clear of the wood-work. OfBce tiles or slates are the
first row on the bottom of the slope of a roof. Dev. DUee lukee
zee how tha conkerbils be ahanging tQ tha oafBs, Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892)64; Reports Provinc. (1877) 135; 1646. Pd. for nayles and
timber for an Ouis bord, iiijrf., Woodbury Chwardens' Ace. ; Dev.'^
n.Dev. Grose (1790). nw.Dev.', Cor.'^^
Hence Office-dropping, sb. eavesdropping.
■w.Som.i The legal or customary right to so much space beyond
a wall, where the adjoining property belongs to another person
than the owner of the roof, as will permit the rain dropping from
the eaves of a roof.
[ME. ovese, eaves (Stratmann) ; cp. MLG. ovese
(Schiller- LiJBBEN) ; EFris. ose (Koolman).]
OAVES, sb. pi? Wil. The chaff of oats, ' oat-hulls.'
Wil.i, n.Wil. (G.E.D.) Cf. oaze.
OAVIS, OAVVER, OAXTER, see Oaves, sb. pl.\
However, Oxter.
OAZE, sb. Shr.' nw.Dev.' Also written oas- Shr.'
[oz.] In pi. light grains that are winnowed out, covered
with the husk or chaff. Also in camp. Oaze-corn. Cf.
oaves, sb. pl."^ The same word as Hose, sb} 3.
Hence Oasins, sb. pi. chaff mixed with light grain.
Shr.i Jack, yo' hanna 'afe winnud that corn ; I got a blind-
sieve full o' oasins out on a strike.
OB, see Hob, sb.^^
OBADIAH, sb. e.An. Lon. [obsdai-a.] A game ; see
below.
e.An. The players stand in a row. The child at the head of
the row says, ' My son Obadiah is going to be married, twiddle
your thumbs,' suiting the action to the word by clasping the
fingers of both hands together, and rapidly ' twiddling ' the thumbs.
The next child repeats both words and actions, and so on all
along the row, all the players continuing the ' twiddling.' The
top child repeats the words, adding (very gravely) ' Fall on one
knee ' ; the whole row follows suit as before (still twiddling their
thumbs). The top child repeats from the beginning, adding, 'Do
as you see me,' and the rest of the children follow suit, as before.
Just as the last child repeats the words, the top child falls on the
child next to her, and all go down like a row of ninepins, Gomme
Games (i8g8) II. 13-14. Lon. ib. 14.
OBB, OBBLY-ONKER, see Abb, Hoblionker.
OBBUT, int. Lan. Lin. [o'bat.] An asseveration :
' oh ! but.' See Aye but.
ne.Lan.i n.Lin.' Child : ' I sha n't.' Mother: ' Obbut you will,
or I'll leather you as long as I can stan' oher you.'
OBDER, sb. Sh.I. [o-bdsr.] A porch or portico ; the
cross-piece over the door. Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897)
56 ; S. & Ork.i
[ON. ofdyri, the ' over-door,' the lintel (Vigfusson).]
OBEDIENCE, sb. Sc. Not. Lin. War. Glo. Oxf Brks.
Hrt. Suf Ken. Sur. Sus. Hmp. Also in forms bedence
Suf.; obadience Brks.^ [abi'dians, sbrdjsns.] A curtsey,
bow ; gen. in phr. to make on^s obedience.
Abd. She started, stopped, made an obedience to the minister,
Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xliv. Edb. ' If ye'll no take it amiss,
sir,' said I, making my obedience, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828)
viii. Not. Now, make your obedience to the lady (L.C.M.).
s.Not. I hope you showed your obedience when you met her
ladyship. Now then, do your obedience to the gentleman, like
a good gell (J.P.K.). Lin.'- I saw his reverence and made my
obedience to him. n.Lin.' You mun alus mak yer obedience to
th' parson. sw.Lin.' I always larn them to make their obedience.
War.^*, s.War.i, Glo.' Oxf.' Make your obedience to the lady,
MS. add. Brks. (E.G.H.) ; Brks.i A labourer's little girl . . . would
receive orders from her mother, ' maayke yer obadience to the.
laaydy.' Hrt. I made her my obedience (G.H.G.). Suf. I made'
my obedience to him (C.G.B.) ; Now then make your bedence
(M.E.R.) ; All the widders get up and make their obedience,
Fison Merry Suf. (1899) 51. Ken.' Now Polly, make your obe-
dience to the gentleman; there's a good girl. Sur.', Sus.', Hmp.'
OB-EE, int. n.Yks.^ A call for geese.
The call or summons for the geese which, having spent the day
a-field are wanted at home in the evening to be fed and housed
for the night. At the first sound of the call they put themselves
into instant motion.
OBEED, see Oobit.
OBEISANCE, sb. and v._ Yks. Lin. Hrt. Also in form
'beisance w.Yks. Hrt. [sbe'ssns.] 1. s6. A bow, curtsey.
w.Yks. Now, then, honey, go to t'school and mind and make a
'beisance to t'master (C.C.R.). sw.Lin.' Now then, children,
where's your obeisance ? Hrt. If I should happen to meet yer
any time, and shouldn't make my 'beisance to yer, Geary Rur.
Life (1899) 76.
2. Compliance ot manner, deportment.
w.Yks. There's not much 'beisance about him (C.C.R.).
3. V. To curtsey, make a bow.
sw.Lin.' Well, there he was obeisancing at me again.
OBEN, see Oven.
OBERING, sb. ? Obs. Sc. A hint, an inkling.
Gall. I gat the obering o' a wadding that's to happen soon,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 367, ed. 1876. Wgt Dinna ye mind,
wife, thon nicht that you an' me had the first obering o' what
was like to be, Good Wds. (18B1) 563.
OBERINS, s6.//. N.I.' In phr. zy^eo5m«5, trifling work.
OBEY ANT, a^: Obs. n.Yks.^ Obedient.
OBFUSTICATED, ppl. adj. Brks.' Also written
obvusticaayted. [Not known to our correspondents.]
Confused from any cause ; somewhat stupefied by drink.
[A corr. form of lit. E. obfuscated, darkened, clouded,
obscured, muddled (CD.).]
OBGESTER, see Opgester.
OBIT, sb. ? Obs. Ags. (Jam.) The name given to a
particular length of slate.
OBITCH'S COWT, phr. Shr. A legendary colt ; see
below. See Forty, 2.
OBJECT
[320]
OBSTROPOLOUS
Shr.i ' Forty sa' one, like Obitch's cowt.' A common expression
. . . applied to persons of a ' certain age ' who affect youthful
manners ; Shr.^ There wuz wunst a laady dhed, un a burrieden
her in her jewels. An there wuz a mon, a callen him Obitch,
as went to her grave i' th' dhead o' the niht and taked away her
jewels off her : and ivir ater he was always hainted by a cowt. . .
They usen to say if ivir ony body was a gween to be married, if
a wuz any thin aged like, ' Her wuz as ould as Obitch's coult,
forty sa' one.'
OBJECT, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Wm. Yks. Lin. Dor. Cor.
Also written objekd Sh.I. ; and in forms objeck Abd. ;
objick Sh.I. Cor. [o-bdgekt.] 1. A deformed or diseased
person ; an imbecile ; a miserable creature. Also used
atfrib.
So. ' He's a mere object,' he's a perfect lazar (Jam.). Sh.I.
I'm a piiir deein' objekd wi' da life just blatterin' in, Stewart
Tales (1892) 42 ; What aboot da objick ting o' calf? S/t. News
(Feb. 10, 1900). ne.Sc. He an' his faither hae kept alive, an'
nearly free frae pain, that puir object, Bobbie Ettles, Grant
Keckleion, 37. Cai.i Abd. He'll mak' the laddie an objeck
for life, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) x; Weel, weel; it cud
'a never been naething but an objeckie, ib. Ain Flk. (1882)
199. Ayr. The auld man, if we were to forsake him now, would
be a perfec object, Galt Lairds (1826) xxx. Lnk. A twisted-
lookin', bowley-leggit, wee handfu' o' humanity like your insig-
nificant bit object o' a man ! Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 23.
Edb. Poor helpless object, prest wi' care, That racks her mind,
M'DowALL Poems (1839) 33. Ir. Do you see that ' innocent ' or
'unfortunate' or 'object'? Flk-Lore Rec. (1881) IV. 113. Don.
Tackling the two objects, that it was a moral to see, into the
plough, Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 171. Nhb. Thrawin'
her in the teeth o' that dressed-up object, Graham Red Scaur
(1896) 126. w.Yks. (J.W.), n.Lin.i Dor. You're not an object,
Mr. Locke. Dear no, not at all an object. I think a body 'ud soon
get used to — to one side bein' a little different from t'other,
Longman's Mag. (Apr. igoo) 530. Cor. An objick, that's what
we do call ould Meary, The Telescope,
2. Comp. Object-man, a noticeable person, a man of
dignified mien and manner.
Wm. [Wordsworth was] poorly dressed. . . But for aw that, he
was quite an object man, Rawnsley Remin. Wordsworth (1884)
VI. 163.
OBLIGATE, V. In gen. dial, and coUoq. use in Sc.
Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also written oblegate, obligat Sc. ;
and in forms hobligaate s.Wor. ; obolygate Amer.
[o'bliget, -est.] To oblige ; gen. in pass, to be obliged,
to be under moral compulsion, to be indebted, to be
engaged in necessary work.
Sc. I was oblegated to tak a stap doun to the cross, Sc. Haggis,
90. Cai.i Abd. Ye hae been unco guid to me, an' I'm mair
obligatit till ye nor I can say, Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxiii.
Frf. I . . . was obligat that way to hae them, Sands Poems (1833)
106. Ayr. He was obligated to take the benefit of the divor's
bill, Galt Provost (1822) vi. Edb. He had been obligated to leave,
MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) i. Gall. When she came to New
Milns she was obligated to go to the Scots kirk with Sir James,
Crockett Anna Mark (1899) xl. Don. I'll be happy to obligate
ye, Macjianvs Bend 0/ Road {i8g8) 73. n.Cy. (J.W.) -w.Yks.i
Ye'U feafully obligate Yower hummle, bud illified sarvent, Hannah
Bickerdike, ii. 355. Lan. Went on the 4I thing signified by the
bread in the Lord's Supper, what it obligates the receiver to,
Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 14 ; In use at the present time amongst
Freemasons (S.W.). Not.i, Lei.i, Nhp.i, 'SVar.3 Wor. I was
obligated to get me a donkey, for a man throwed a stone and
broke my pony's leg (H.K.). s.Wor. Au wuz hobligaated to
scrobble about. Cutis Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jm. (i8g6) XV.
Hrf.i ; Hrf.2 A man excused his absence from church by saying,
' I've been much obligated lately.' Glo.^ Hrt. I don't care to be
obligated to him to put the horse up (E.H.G.). Hnt. (T.P.F.);
When you killed a pig, you was obligated to part with all the
best joints, to buy salt with, N. £/ Q. (1865) 3rd S. vii. 295. Lon.
We is obligated to steal it, Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) II. 76,
col. I, ed. 1861. Sur. He might appear to credit your assertion,
' jest to obligate ye,' as our country folks say. Son of Marshes
Within an hour of Lond. (ed. 1894) 196. w.Som.i Rather a ' fine'
word, used chiefly in narrating to a superior — usually in a depre-
cating or apologetic sense. ' I could'n come no vaster, 'cause I
was obligated vor to bide gin the gun was a-do'd.' Dev. I refused
at first, but I did it afterwards because I was obligated to. Reports
Provinc. (1885) 100. [Amer. Speach finally begins witch nobuddy
needn't feel obolygated to read, Lowell Eiglow Papers (ed. 1866)
377-]
OBLIGEMENT, sb. Sc. Irel. Also in forms obledge-
ment N.I.^ ; obleegement, obleegment Sc. [abli'dgment.]
A kindness, service, favour.
Sc. This is an obleegement, Seatoun G. Malcolm (1897) II. 29.
Sh.I. When doo's diine dat dey'U tink 'at der diine dee obleege-
ment forby, Sh. News (Mar. 4, 1899). Abd. Tae remind him o'
the obleegement he rendered twelve months afore, Abd. Wily,
Free Press (Mar. 16, 1901). Per. It would be a great obligement
gin ye would tell us a' your experience, Sabbath Nights (1899) 80.
Rnf. It's no often I seek an obleegment, Good Wds. (1878) 244.
Gall. The bailie's wife, that had taen twa seats in his kirk juist for
obleegement, Crockett Stickii Min. (1893) 13. N.I.^
OBLIONKER, OBOON, see Hoblionker, Aboon.
OBRIGDT, sb. ? Obs. Sh.I. An altered mark upon
an animal. S. & Ork.'
OBS-BOBS, int. Oxf^ In phr. obs-bobs and buttercups,
an exclamation of surprise. MS. add.
OBSCURE, adj. and v. Obs. Sc. 1. adj. Secret,
concealed.
Abd. In effect we had no certainty where he went, he was so
obscure, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 294.
2. V. To conceal, hide.
Lnk. He being withdrawn, and obscuring himself, as also making
refusal to yield obedience to his majesty's commands, Wodrow
Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 65, ed. 1828.
OBSERVE, V. and sb. Sc. Also in form obsarve.
[obseTv.] 1. v. To watch, guard.
Sc, When the multitude arrived at the Cowgate Port, they . . .
made it fast, and left a small party to observe it, Scott Mid-
lothian (1818) vi.
2. sb. An observation, remark.
Sc. Lord Melfort . . . would be doubtless very pleased to have
the advantage of my observes, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xii.
Per. Granny Speirs said a guid obsarve o' him no lang syne,
Fergusson Vill. Poet (1897) 45. w.Sc. I shall be bauld to mak
this observe, CARRicKZ.fl!>rfo/Z,o^fl«(i835) 281. Rnf. Upon the
whole of your observes, I desire to be further confirmed in the
solid impressions of a peculiar conduct of the Spirit of Christ,
WoDROw Corres. (1709-31) I. 90, ed. 1843. Ayr. I may juist mak
the observe. Service Notandums (1890) 7. Lnk. I shall only
make an observe or two, to set matters ... in their due light,
WoDROw Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 399, ed. tSaS. Edb. I thought the
body a wee sharp in his observes, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828)
xviii. Slk. You've made a maist excellent observe, Chr. North
Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 274. Gall. A maist sensible an' just observe,
Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xxiii ; Obsol. (A.W.)
OBSHACKLED, see Hobshackled.
OBSTEER, a(^'. n.Lin.^ [o-bsti3(r).] Stubborn, sulky,
awkward.
Charlie's a real obsteer man, bud he's noht so bad as his faather
ewsed to be.
[A dial, form of ' austere,' the ob- being due to the first
syllable of ' obstinate.']
OBSTIC, sb. Obs. Sc. An obstacle, objection.
Edb. Gif we soud mak ony obstic Our dams wad clank us wi' the
kail-stick, Learmont Poems (1791) 58.
OBSTRACKLOUS, ««(?. m.Yks.^ [obstra-klas.] Ob-
streperous, wayward, masterful.
He's obstracklous past biding.
OBSTROPOLOUS, adj. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel.
Eng. and Amer. Also written obstropalous Sc. Cor.^ ;
obstropilous Lan. nw.Der.^ Hmp. ; obstroppelus Brks.^ ;
obstroppulus Oxf.^; obstropulous Ir. w.Yks. e.Lan.^
Nhp.^ Hnt. ; and in forms obsthropalus e.Yks.' ; ob-
strapulous Sc. ; obstroplus Wil. ; opstropolous w.Som.^
[obstro'pglas.] A corruption of ' obstreperous ' ; un-
manageable, unruly ; refractory, obstinate.
Ayr. Nog dinna ye be obstropalous, or tak the huff. Service
Notandums (i8go) 58. Ir. What they call obstropulous, Bar-
rington Sketches (1830) III. xviii. N.Cy.' Cease such obstrop'lous
roar. Nhb. He'll suen sattle obstropolous Billy, Oliver Local
Sngs. (1824) xii. n.Yks. (T.K.), e.Yks.' w.Yks. Cumin' up to
his horses, he'd turn'd obstropulous, Hallam Wadsley Jack (1866)
X ; (J.W.) Lan. If he hauses t' be obstropilous, he shall smell at
this timber, Brierley Waverlow (1863) 216. e.Lan.i, nw.Der.',
Not.' Lin.' He is a very obstropolous lad. n.Lin,', Nhp.' War.3
OBSTRUCTIVE
[321]
OCH
He is a most obstropolus child. Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc.
(1876I. Oxf.i MS. add. Brks. An obstropolous gentleman
(W.W.S.) ; Brks.i The bwoy was got maain obstroppelus an' zo
I zent 'un to schoold to be broke in a bit. Hnt. (T.P.F.) Suf.i
I was going my rounds, and found this here gemman werry
obstropolus. Ess. Yit, some wor so obstropolus, Clark /. Noakes
(1839) St. 108 ; Ess.i Ken. Don't be obstropolous (H.M.). Hmp.
HoLLOWAY. I.W.i Wil. Slow Gl. (1892). Som. Sweetman
Wincanton Gl. (1885). w.Som. ^They there boys be that there
opstropolus [aup-straup'ulus], there idn no doing nothin' vor em,
nor neet way em. Cor.^ [Amer. When ... he got obstropolous,
he got another ticklin' with the nettles, Sam Slick Clockmaker
(1836) ISt S. XXV.]
Hence Obstrapulosity, sb. obstreperousness, restive-
ness, resistance.
Edb. If ye show any symptom of obstrapulosity, MoiR Mansie
Wauch (182B) xxiii.
OBSTRUCTIVE, arfy. w.Cy. Disobliging.
I never was obstructive ; I always likes to oblige a friend,
Cornh. Mag. (Dec. 1900) 753.
OCCASION, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Clis. Nhp. GIo. Brks.
Suf. Cor. Also in form occagion Chs."^^^ [ake'gan,
ake'Jan, Chs. ake-dgan.] 1. sb. Cause, necessity, motive,
reason. See Casion.
Rnf. I'm out o' my reason, as I hae occasion, Barr Poems (1861)
25. Chs.123 Glo. What's the occasion of hurrying ? (G.S.)
2. Needs, necessities.
Sc. I will have no objection in life to take Mr. Tyrrel's place
and serve your occasion, my boy, Scott St. Ronan (1824) xiii ; If
a little spell of siller and a great deal of excellent counsel can
relieve your occasions, ib. Nigel (1822) xxxv. Cor. Provide and
supply the occasions of such persons as are or shall become
chargeable to the said parish, Hammond Parish (1897) 79.
3. The requirements of nature ; gen. in pi.
Brks. He has only gone to do his occasions (J. W.). Suf.' Gone
for his occasion.
4. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
Sc. It is no uncommon thing for servants when they are being
hired, to stipulate for permission to attend at so many sacraments
— or, as they style them in their way — occasions, Lockhart
Peter's Lett. (,1819) III. 306 (Jam.) ; I'm gaun to Haddington for
the occasion, Ramsay Remin. (ed. 1872) 18. Or.I. To attend
sacramental ' occasions ' in the open air, Vedder Sketches (1832)
89. Abd. Was not that a noble holding forth that he gave us on
the afternoon o' the last occasion, Ruddiman Parish (1828) 21,
ed. 1889. s.Sc. We will get the people warned for the occasion
to-morrow, Wilson Tales (1836) II. 306. Ayr. Falling from his
horse in coming from the occasion, Galt Legatees (1820) viii.
5. pi. Obs. Business, affairs.
n.Yks. If the said Hanley, his wife, or any of his family doe abuse
the said Hutchinson, his wife, &c. (they going about their occasions).
Quarter Sess. Rec. (Oct. 6, 1609), in N. R. Rec. Soc-.(i884) I. 173.
6. V. To do temporary or occasional work; to apply for
such work.
Chs."^ I occagioned all the masters in the town, but could notget
any work. Nhp.' When trade is flat, and a shoemaker's master
cannot give him full work, he goes about occasioning, i.e. he takes
a specimen of his work, and applies to other masters for occa-
sional or temporary employment.
OCCASIONALLY, adv. Yks. Chs. Lei. Suf. Also in
form occagionally s.Chs.^ [3ke-23n(3)li, Chs. ake-dgsnali.]
On occasion, if necessary ; as a makeshift, for the occasion
or present necessity.
w.Yks. ' I cannot go on Wednesday, but I can go on Friday
occasionally.' Suppose a man is making a wheel . . . and by some
mistake it is made too small, he would say, ' Well, it is too small
for a gig, but it will do for a phaeton occasionally,' N. & Q. (1876)
5th S. v. 226. Chs.i ' Can you make shift with this axe ? It's not
very sharp.' 'Yoi, it'll do occasionally'; Chs.^ s.Chs.i It i)nil
wot yu mi kau- iS ek'stri gy'ai'n tool, biir it)l ddo iikaijuniiU [It
inna what yb may caw a extry gain tool, bur it'll do occagionally].
Lei.' It's packed as it'll goo to Coventry, or Birnigam , or Liverpule,
ockesionally. I shall not permit any boys to go harvesting this
year without a note from their parents to say that it is occasionally.
Suf. I asked a man if he was going into the village that day and
he said, ' No, sir, but I could do, occasionally' (C.T.).
OCCUPATION, sb. Cum. Yks. Chs. 1. Obs. A salt-
house or holding. Chs.^ 2. Comb, (i) Occupation lonnin,
(2) — road, a by- road or lane ; see below.
VOL. IV.
(i) Cum.* A by-road or lane laid down for the beneficial occupa-
tion of the lands bordering on it, leading generally to fields or a
farm ; it is kept in repair by the neighbouring tenants. ' He met
M about sixty yards down the occupation lonning,' C. Patr.
(Oct. 26, 1894) 3, col. ■^. (2) There was an occupation road
through a field of his father's, and other people besides the defen-
dant had a right of way over it, ib. (Oct. 18, 1895) 7, col. 3.
■w.Yks.2 A road neither turnpike nor parochial, but the common
though private property of those who have made it for themselves
and tenants.
OCCUPIER OF WALLING,//;n Obs. Chs. An officer
in salt-works ; see below.
Four sworn officers chosen yearly to see equal deahng [in the
salt-works, Namptwych] between lord and tenant, Ray Mining
(1691).
OCCUPY, v. Sc. Wor. 1. Obs. To be busy with.
Abd. Lasses, occupy your wheel, And strait the pin, Keith
Farmer's Ha' (1774) st. 15 ; He thocht that if he would occupy his
book well, TuRREFF Gleanings (1859) 27.
2. Obs. To work, labour.
Per. Permitting their servants to occupy on the Sabbath-day, as
well as on the rest of the week, Lawson Bk. of Per. (1847) 171.
3. To operate, as medicine does.
s.Wor. The doctor sent the stuff, but it aint occupied yet, Porson
Quaint Wds. (1875) 30.
OCEANS, sZ>.^/. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in S_c. and
Eng. Also in forms awceans Brks.' ; oachansLan. [o'Janz,
oa-Janz.] A large quantity; an abundance, multitude,
more than enough. Also used advb. Cf. lotions.
Sc.(A.W.),n.Cy.(J.W.) n.Yks. We hev oceans of waiter (I.W.).
w.Yks. (J. W.) Lan. There'll be oachans o' butties for Tommy an'
Fred, Harland Lyrics ( 1866) 293. Not.' If you give me a dozen it
will be oceans. n.Lin.'Ther'soaceanso' taaters hereto-year. Nhp.i
A mistress complaining to her cook that the gooseberries in a pie
were not sufSciently baked, she replied, 'Oh ! ma'am, they were
oceans done.' War.°3 Brks.' ' That was a vine baskut o' plums
'e zent I this marnin'.' ' Eese an' ther be oceans moor wher thaay
come vram.' Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.An.^ The squire has got oceans of
money. Sus.2 w.Som.' There's oceans [oa-ushunz] o' worts 'pon
the hill, nif you mind to pick 'em. Nit another drap, thank ee,
I've a-'ad oceans. Dev.' One of his larning vendeth oceans of
things that pleaze en that other vokes see nort in, 3.
OCH, int. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. LMa. Wal. Also in form
ogh LMa. ; oh- Sc. n.Cy. ; oich Sc. [ox-] 1. An exclama-
tion of sorrow or regret.
Sc. Ay, ay, those were days indeed. . . But noo— Oich ! oich !
Sc. Haggis, 123. Abd. The horrors, och, an head-aches seize Us
the neist day, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 68. s.Sc. Yet och !
that a wa' should be made The bone o' the deadliest strife, Allan
Poems (1887) 94. Dmb. Och, Willie, it hurts me sair. An empty
pouch, Taylor Poems (1827) 87. Rnf. But, och ! it wadna dae,
Young Pictures (1865) 9. Lnk. Och ! I'll awa' hame to my mither,
I will, Rodger Poems{iSz^) 78, ed. 1897. Ir. ' Och, botheration,'
said Patsey, Lever Jack Hinton (1844) xxxix. n.Ir. Och ! his
lake wasn't known Throughout all Innishowen, Lays and Leg.
(1884) 6. Ant. Och ! golden leaves are flyin' fast, O'Neill Glens
(1900) 2. Don. ' Och-och ! och, och, och ! ' says poor Rody,
Pearson's Mag. (July 1900) 53. I.Ma. Ogh! the chree was crying
like to break her heart, all I could get out of her was, ' Ogh ! ogh !
lave me alone' (S.M.).
Hence (i) Och-och, (2) Ochone, v. to exclaim ' och.'
(i) Don. What are ye och-ochin' about, Rody? Pearson' s Mag.
(July 1900) 53. (2) Don. Keening and ochoning one louder nor
another, Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 190.
2. Comb, in exclamations of regret, sorrow, &c. : (i)
Och-and-anee, (2) -an-ee, -a-nie or -on-ee, (3) -anee anee,
(4) -an-heigh-ho, (5) -hey or -hey, hum, (6) -hon(e, -aine,.
•or Ohon, (7) -hon(e-a-ri(e, ■hon(e-orie, or -on-a-righ, (8)
-hon-ee or -honey, (9) -hone, ochone, ochree, (10) -hon(e
ochrie or -hone achrie, (11) -how, (12) -och-anee, (13)
■ony oh, (14) -ra, (15) -rig in di, (16) — thin.
(i) Ir. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) (2) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.') Cai.i
Ochanee got [quoth] I. A strong expression of shock to the
feelings. Rnf. As for my wisdom, och-on-ee ! Witness me haverin'
to a flee, Young Pictures (1865) 175. Ayr. A cheek, smooth as
the polish'd stane — But, och-an-ee ! the rose was gane, Ainslie
Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 187. Peb. My Peter dying ! Oh anee I
Lintoun Green (1765) 71, ed. 1817. Gall. ' Ochanee — ochanee!'
she said softly to herself, using the old half-Erse keening cry of
Tt
OCHERING
[322]
OCKSHUNS
Galloway, Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 128. N.I.l Ant. Och
anee I wi' ne'er a voice to cry, Like the weary cloud or drownin'
moon it sank, O'Neill Glens (1900) 24. (3) n.Ir. Och, anee, anee,
it's no lang till it's oot o' sicht, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 11. (4)
Don. Och an heigh-ho 1 I wis iver an' always unfortunate, Cent.
Mag. (Oct. 1899)954. (5)Per. Buried grief aft finds relief in 'Och,
hey, hum,' Ford Harp (1893) 375. Rnf. Och hey ! Johnnie lad !
Mi^GiLVRAY Poems (ed. 1862) 323. Lnk. Och hey! how bauld is
Betty, Rodger Poems (1838) 42, ed. 1897. (6) Sc. Ohon, that I
should have lived to see the day! Scott Blk. Dwarf (r8i6) vii.
n.Sc. Ohon, alas ! says Patrick Spens, That bodes a deadly storm,
BucHAN Ballads (1828') I. 2, ed. 1875. Cai.i Elg. Och hon ! och
hon ! that I sud clink The elegiac screed, Tester Poems (1865) 93.
Bnff. This letter than read grave Mess John, An' cried, ' O wow !
Ochon I Ochon!' Taylor Poems (1787) 95. Bch. Ohon! how
well I might have kent . . . How a' would be, Forbes Dominie
(1785) 34. Abd. Ohon ! ohon ! the want o' siller, Walker Bards
Bon-Accord (1887) 606. Kcd. Alas I ohon ! ohon ! That ever I
should come to this, Burness GatTon Ha' (c. 1820") 1. 452. Frf.
The body's warrant's come at last, Ohon ! Ohon ! Sands Poems
(1833) 27. Per. Och hone, och hone I I'm surely to dee this
mornin', Stewart Character (1857) 131. Dmb. Ochon, ochon ! I
fear that's far away, Salmon Gowodean ('1868) 118. Rnf. Ohon I
quo' I, O shame, O fye, O what a sicht to see ! Barr Poems
(1861) 85; Ochone for the dool they've been hearin', Neilson
Poems (1877) 56. Ayr. Ochon for poor Castalian drinkers. Burns
Ep. to Major Logan (1786) st. 10. Lnk. We'll be for nae mair use,
I fear, To him, och hon ! Rodger Poems (1838) 174, ed. 1897.
Lth. Oh, hon ! for the wearie beginning o't ! Macneill Poet. Wks.
(1801) 220, ed. 1856. Feb. They'll moan o'er Grumphy's fa',
Ohon! Ohae ! Lintoun Green (1685") 86, ed. 1817. Slk. Ochone,
ochone ! quod the poor auld man, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 308.
Hdg. Ochone ! gif my dreid fears come true, Lumsden Poems
(1896) 178. Ir. ' Och hone ! ' says poor Biddy, crying out, Pad-
diana (ed. 1848) I. 60. n.Ir. Then cum the weddin' day, an'
ochone ! but that's the tryin' time ! Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 6i.
n.Cy. Border Gl. (Coll. L.L.B.) Wal. Och hone ! what will I do ?
Beale Gladys (1881) xxiv. (7) Sc. O hon-a-ri ! O hon-a-ri !
what'll she do now ? Scott Rob Roy (1817) xxii. Per. Och on a
righ ! Och on a righ ! Why should she lose King Shames, man !
Ford Harp (1893) 53. Rnf. As for mysel', och hone a ree, I'm
toiling on wi' little glee, BarrPocww (1861) 153. Edb. Alas, and
ohon orie ! they lose the sweetest, completest, dearest, truest
pleasure that this world has in store, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828)
vi. (8) Lnk. Och-hon-ee ! one misty night Nainsel will lost her
way, man, Rodger Poems (1838I 8, ed. 1897. n.Ir. Ochone! an'
och honey, Ye'd plenty av money, Lays and Leg. (1884) 52. (9)
Abd. The fleas are dead for want o' meat — ochone ! ochone !
ochree ! Ogg Willie Waly (1873) 151. Ayr. Och-on, Och-on,
Och-rie, Burns Highland Widow, st. i. Dmf. Thae nocht left me
ava, Ochon, ochon, ochrie, Cromek Remains (1810) 199. (10)
Elg. His bonny wife — Och hon ! a-chree ! What can I do for
thine and thee ? Tester Poems (1865) 96. Lth. Och-on och-rie !
Och-on-och-rie ! I'm weary, sad, and lone, Ballantine Poems
(1856) 272. (11) Ayr. But och how! this was tlie last happy
summer that we had for many a year in the parish, Galt^k;j.
Parish (1821) xiv. (12) Kcb. Och, och, anee ! just see thae breeks,
Sae dirty, ragg'd, an' torn, Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 141. (13)
Wxf. Ochony oh ! we will have that dudherer of a MacCracken
bothering our lives out again, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 243.
(14) n.Ir. Ochra, none ov your oul' wumman's notions for me,
Lays and Leg. (1884) 20. (15) Per. Och rig in di ! Och rig in di !
She shall break a' her banes, then, Ford Harp (1893) 53. (16)
Ir. Such phrases went round as ' Och, thin,' Lever H. Lorr.
(1839) vi.
OCHERING, see Oachering.
OCHIDORE, sb. Dev. ? The shore crab.
Oh ! the pchidore I look to the blue ochidore ! Who've put
•ochidore to maister's poll! Kingsley Westward Ho (1855) 44,
ed. 1887.
OCHIE, sb. Sc. Also in form oghie Ags. (Jam.) [o'xi.]
In phr. neither eechie nor ochie, neither one thing nor the
other; nothing. See Eechie.
Abd. Ichie nor ochie now ye winna hear, Ross Helenore (1768)
56, ed. 1812. Ags. I can hear neither eeghie nor oghie (Jam.,
s.v. Eeghie). Frf. Neither eechie nor ochie had a single creatur'
to speak aboot, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 4, ed. 1889.
OCHT, sb. and adj. Sc. Irel. Also in form oucht Sc.
[oxt.] \. sb. Anything. Thesame word as Aught, /row.
Sc. I'm wantin' to see gin he wants ocht in my line. Ford
Thistledown (1891) 155. Abd. They've dun ocht but befrien'et
the people, Alexander Johnny Gibb (i.i>ii) vii. Per. When ye
ask for ocht. Let it be seasonably socht, Haliburton Dunbar
(1895) 64. Dmb. Ye ne'er ha'e oucht but a crap o' windle-
strays or rashes. Cross Disruption (1844) xxxvii. Rnf. Fraser
Chimes (1853) 23. Ayr. Service Notandums (1890) 57. Lnk.
As sure as ocht tae her I'll lift my han', Nicholson Kilwuddie
(1895) 117. Edb. M'^DowALL Poems (1839) 46. Slk. Saw nae-
body ocht? Ckr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV. 89. Dmf. Ocht
frae that quarter Wad gledden yer heart, Reid Poems (1894) 43.
Gall. Hae ye ocht ye wad like to bring wi' ye ? Crockett Cleg
Kelly (i8g6) 97. Wgt. Fkaser Wigtown (1877) 183. 01s. Dis 'e
niver say ocht aboot 'is ain folk? M'Ilroy Craiglinnie (1900) 123.
Dwn. He didnae say ocht, Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 12.
2. Phr. (i) neither aucht nor ocht, neither one thing nor
another ; (2) no ae ocht, not a whit, nothing at all ; (3) ower
ocht, beyond everything, surprising, extraordinary.
(i) Abd. Nidder aucht nor ocht, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) vi. (2) Sh.L No ae oucht haed we bit twartree gaupins
o' kleepie stanes, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 249. (3) Sc. (A.W.)
n.Ir. It's ower ocht hoo muckle waens can eat, Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 11.
3. A person of consequence, a ' somebody.'
Lnk. Mony mair o' laich degree. That ne'er were ocht, and
ne'er wad be, Deil's Hdllowe'en (1856) 17. Dmf. Jock Aitken,
Lowrie, and Jim Paton, Are ochts amang them, Quinn Heather
(1863) 58.
4. adj. Any.
Lnk. Ocht ill aboot him nane daur say, M^Lachlan Thoughts
(1884) 46. Lth. Scarce a donkey's load is O' oucht kind grain,
Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 160. Hdg. Thack an' rape Secure
a sonsy well-won crap Against the rains, an' ocht mishap, ib.
Poems (1896) 93.
OCHT, see Ought, v.
OCK, sb. Yks. [ok.] A small brass button.
w.Yks. Such as are worn on the waistcoat, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Sept. 21, 1895).
OCK-, see Hawk, v}
OCKER, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Also written occur,
ockar Sc. ; oker n.Cy. ; okir Sh.I. ; okkir S. & Ork.^
[o'ksr.] 1. sb. ? Obs. Interest on money, usury ; increase.
Sc. Be the aulde law of this realme is called ocker and usurie,
Skene Difficill Wds. (i68i) 138. Sh.L (Coll. L.L.B.) Fif.
Taking of ockar besyd conscience and guid lawes, Melvill
Autobiog. (1610) 350, ed. 1842. Edb. I borrow silver dear for
ocker To them that are in debt and grief, Pennecuik Wks. (1715)
393, ed. 1815. n.Cy. (K.)
Hence Ockerer, sb. a usurer, an exchanger of money.
Sc. Thou sudst hae putten my money to the ockerers, Hen-
derson S. Matt. (1862) XXV. 27 ; Lat the ockerer rax owre ilk haet
that was his, Waddell Ps. (1871) cix. 11 ; They may be punished
as ockerers, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 122. Fif. All the man-
swering merchants and occurrars amangs the Burrowes, Melvill
Autobiog. (1610) 400, ed. 1842.
2. V. To increase, to add to. S. & Ork.'
[1. Thai sal paye ocker till the fende, Hampole (c. 1330)
Ps. Ixxi. 14. ON. okr, usury ; cp. OE. wocor, G. wucher.'\
OCKER, OCKERD, see Hacker, v.. Awkward.
OCKERDOCKER, s6. War.^ [o-kadok3(r).] A black
pebble striped with some other colour.
A greasy-looking black pebble, striped with some other colour,
regarded as a lucky stone. I do not think the word is of old
standing in War.
OCKERIL, sb. Obs. Nhb.^ A little cabin or resting-
place where the men at a rolling-mill had each his own
seat for resting, and eating chance meals between heats.
OCKET, see Nocket.
OCKEY-INDEY-BERRIES,56.;>/. War.= Thecocculus-
indicus plant, Anamirta cocculus.
[Ok'-e-in'-de-ber'-iz] ; used to adulterate beer, or to stupefy
or destroy pigeons, &c.
OCK-NAME, sb. Sh.I. A nickname. Cf. eke-name,
s.v. Eke, sb.^
This was the origin of the ' Ock-name' of tarry wumple, which
clave unto the Moad family ever after, Sh. News (Feb. 5, i8g8).
OCKSHUNS, s6././. Dev. [o-kjanz.] In^tvr.tofrinder
up to ockshuns, see below. Cf. auction, frinder.
An old lady, . . speaking of another friend who had excited
OCKSTER
[323]
OD
herself in a little wrangle, said, ' She was frindered up to ockshuns,'
Reports Provinc. (1891).
OCKSTER, OCKSTHER, see Oster.
OCKY, adj. and v} Irel. Chs. [o'ki.] 1. adj. Dirty,
nasty ; gen. used of or by children. Ir. (A.S.-P.) 2. v.
Of a cow : to void ordure. s.Chs. (T.D.)
OCKY, v.'' Yks. Lan. Also in form ok- Lan. ro-ki.1
To lie ; to tell untruths.
n.Yfcs. He's ockyin (I.W.). Lan, I'm sure if thoos ut lyn ur
okin to owd Harry, theu'rt his none broother sed I, Paul Bobbin
Sequel (1819) 35.
Hence Ockyer or Ockier, sh. a. liar, ' fibber.'
n.Yks. Ah nivver knew him to be a ockier (I.W.).
OCOSE, OCTION, see Acause, Auction.
OCTOBER-SUMMER, s6. Lin.i Fine weather occurring
in October, St. Luke's summer.
OD, sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also written
odd Sc. N.Cy.i Nhb. Cum. Wm. e.Yks. w.Yks.^ Lan.'
Chs.13 Dgj.." nw.Der.i n.Lin.i Brks.i I."W.i Dor. w.Som.i
Dev.^ ; and in forms ad Sc. Nhb.' w.Yks. w.Som.^ n.Dev.
Cor.' ; oad Nhb. e.Yks. ; odds Sc. Der. ; ord w.Yks.^ ;
ud Cum. [od, ad, aed.] 1. A corruption of ' God,' used
as an oath or exclamation.
Sc. Odds, man, I dressed him up Uke a Highlandman, Sc. Haggis,
8g. Elg. Od, I feel yawfu' drowsy — I'll e'en tak' a sleep, Tester
Poems (1865) 135. Bnff. Od man, I wunner ye dJnna think shame,
Gordon Chron. Keith (1880") 71. Abd. Od, ye're ayei' the richt,
Macdonald R. Falconer {1868) 140. Kcd. Od, bundle up, and come
away, Jamie Muse (1844) 93. Frf. Od, 'ooman, can ye no guess ?
Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 168. Per. For — 'od ! I kenna what, It
gars a thoughtless lassie think, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 299.
■w.Sc. 'Od ! he maun surely be an unca auld man I Carrick Laird
of Logan (1835) 57. Fif. 'O'd, what a word ! McLaren Tibbie
(1894) 10. s.Sc. Odd man, I think wi' ha'f an e'e A body may
th' oppression see, T. Scott Poems (1793) 329. Dmb. Odd,
Mr, M'Cheatrie, ye're weel named, Cross Disruption (1844) xviii.
Rnf. Odds, mistress, I'd fain introduce ye tae Jean, Neilson Poems
C1877) 52. Ayr. 'Od, it really looks like a serious affair ! Johnston
Glenbuckie {i88g) 26g. Liik. O'd, but I was in a fix, Wardrop
/. Mathison (1881) 13. e.Lth. ' Od,' quoth I, . . ' od, Maggie, the
precentor did it geyan weel,' Muckleeackit 7?/i_y>Kf5 (1885) 235.
Edb. Od, ye hae a fine time o't, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875)
239. Feb. Od ! I'll may be skail the bike, Affleck Poet. Wks.
(1836) 178. Slk. Od, I wadna gie ye for the hale o' them, Hogg
Tales (1838) 59, ed. 1866. Dmf. Odd, it should be a lang while
afore I wud offer him a snuff oot n' my box, Wallace School-
master (1899) 334. Lan. Odd, boh yoarn bobbersome, on awnsurt
him awvishly too-to, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 28.
s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854). Der. Odds ! it's a shame. La Fanu
Uncle Silas (1865) I. 271. w.Som.' n.Dev. Ad ! chell ream [I
will stretch] my heart to tha afore Ise let tha lipped [escape],
Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 17.
2. Comb, in oaths and exclamations : (i) Od bin, (2)
-'s blastnashun, (3) — bless one, (4) -'s blood, (5) -'s bobs,
(6) -'s bobs and butter-cakes, (7) -'s-bodikins, (8) -'s bods,
(9) — bon it, (10) -'s breawns, (11) -'s breed, (12) — burn,
(13) — go's it, (14) -'s daggs, (15) — dal, (16) — damn
('ort, (17) -(s dang it, (18) — deyannashun, (19) — die-
bon, (20) — doll it, (21) — drab it, (22) — drabbut it, (23)
— drat, (24) — drot it, (25) — dy, (26) -(s fish, (27) -'s
flesli, (28) — hang-leet-on-one, (29) -'s heart or Odsart,
(30) -'s heft, (31) — Kirst, (32) -'s like, (33) -'s me, (34)
■'s mine, (35) -'s my life, (36) — name it all, (37) — nation,
(38) -'s niggers, (39) — ounds, (40) —plague one, (41)
— rabbit(s, rappit, or Odds rabbet, (42) — rabbit lit on
one, (43) -'s rackit, (44) — rat, (45) — rot, rots, or rut,
(46) — rottle, (47) -'s sake, (48) -'s sang, (49) — save,
(50) — scosh, (51J -'s scurse, (52) — sink, (53) — smash,
(54) —so or zo, (55) — spittkins, (56) — splet, (57) —
stock, (58) —swinge, (59) —ton, (60) -'s wender(e)-
kins, (61) — white or wyte, (62) -('s white light on, (63)
— woth, (64) -'s wowks, weawks, wux, or wucke, (65) -'s
wounds (and death, (66) -'s wunters, (67) — zooks or
sooks, (68) — zookers, (69) — zose or zoes, (70) —
zounderkuns hauw, (71) — zounds.
(i) Cum.-* (2) I.W.i Odds blastnashun ! My mind nothun doant
zim to vaay noohow to-night. Append. (3) w.Sc. ''Od bless me ! '
saidhe, CARRicKZ,a!Vi/o/Z,o,g-a«(i835)58. w.Yks. (J.W.) (4)Lan.
Odds blid, I'd a bin like th' king o' Prusho, Walker Plebeian Pol.
(i796)33,ed.i8oi. (5) N.Cy.i Exclamation of surprise. Cum. 4 Yks.
' Odsbobs, my lass,' says she, ' Ah'll gang wi' thee to t'world's
end,' Spec. Dial. (1800). e.Yks. 'Odd's bobs!' said the startled
hedger, Wray Nesileion (1876) 20. w.Yks.^s n.Lin.i Odds
Bobs ! who wo'd ha' expected to see you a weet daay like this.
Nhp.i ne.Wor. A favourite exclamation of surprise or pleasure.
' Od's bobs, titty-me-'obs ! ' (J.W. P.) Som. 'Odds bobs!' she
laughed. ' An' when you be down, the tongue o' ee can't zo much
as go "tick",' Raymond Men n' Mendip (1898) xiv. w.Som.i
Aud-z baubz ! Interj. of pleasure. (Very common.) Often it
is ' Odds bobs, here's fun ! ' (6) w.Yks.2 Lan.i A humorous
expression of surprise. ' Odds-bobs-an'-buttycakes, here's a bonny
mess ! ' (7) w.Yks.s Lan. 'Ods bodikins, Nic, . . and that's a
parson's oath, Roby Trad. (1829) II. 207, ed. 1872. (8) n.Yks.
' Odsbods, my lass,' says she,Broarf yfo. 19. w.Yks.^ (9) w.Yks.
(J.W.),n.Lm.i (10) Lan. Odz breawns, boah if I'd bin oz Mr. Windy,
Walker Plebeian Pol. (1796) 8, ed. 1801. (11) Cum. Udsbreed !
the French are coming, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 82 ; Cum."
(12) w.Yks.2 Od burn thee, come home, or I'll dit up thy sight ;
w.Yks.s One reproaches a dog, day after day, in the same never-
varied phrase, "Ord burn thee fowl coiti' (13) n.Lin.' (14)
Wm. & Cum.i 'Ods daggs ! he'll be a darter, 202. (15) Lakel.^,
w.Yks. (J.W.) (16) w.Sc. Od, dam 'ort ! I know there's a lemon
about the house, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 41. e.Lan.i
(17) Cum. Od dang't! waur than that, when I greap'd my breek
pocket, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 142 ; Cum.*, w.Yks. (J.W.)
Dev. BowRiNG Lang. (1866) I. pt. v. 36 ; Dev.i Ods dang et, I
wish I had the trimming o' an, 15. (18) I.W.i Odd deyannashun
seyze thee ! Append, (ig) Lakel.^ (20) w.Yks.'', Der.^, nw.Der.i
(21) w.Yks. (^.B.) (22) Brks.i (23) Lakel.2 w.Yks. Od
drat that cat ! ah'd nearst a-trodden on't (.lE.B.). Lan. Od drat
yo an' yo'r hair oil, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) II. 267. ne.Lan.',
Brks.i (24) w.Yks. (.^.B.) (25) Cum.* (26) Elg. Odd, fish,
Geo., I wish, Geo., Ye wad stap ower the hill. Tester Poems
(1865) 131. Lan. Odds fish, they're partly like karron crows, mon,
Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) To the Reader, 7. (271 Lan.
Ods flesh, mon ! I've hardly any pashonse, when e think att.
Walker Plebeian Pol. (1796) 21, ed. 1801 ; If theaw has ale or
punch, Oddsflesh, aw'U ha' my tay, Ridings Muse (1883) 19.
(28) Wm. (B.K.) (29) n.Yks.i=, m.Yks.' w.Yks. Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Oct. 17, 1885I I ; w.Yks.i Ods heart, Bridget, thou gat
into a feaful hobble, ii. 294. Lan. Odds heart, howd teh tung,
Meary, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 24. (30) N.Cy.i^ Nhb.
Ods heft ! what a seet for Bob Cranky, N. Minstrel (1806-7) P'- 'V.
77. (31) Dmb. 'Od Kirst, if ane Had wun' like yours I do believe
he might, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 8. (32) Lan. Odds-like, boh
that wur o good neatert Justice, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806)
28. (33) Lan. Odds me, Meary! whooa the Dickons wou'd o
thowt o' leeting o thee? ib. 15. (34) Lan. Odds mine on didney
let hur gooa, ib. 22. (35) Dmf. Ods my life, I think you are a
guid sowl yet, Good Wds. (1882) 497. w.Yks.^ Says Mr. Moore,
' Ods my life. You shall not beat your wife.' .(36) Dor. ' He has
sold his soul to the wicked one.' ' 'Od name it all,' murmured
the timber-merchant. Hardy Woodlanders (1887) I. iv. (37) Dor.
Odd nation dang my old sides if he couldn't ! ib. Eihelberta (,1876)
I. i. (38) LW.^ Oddsniggers, you mos'nt do that. [The landlord'
. . . cried, 'Odds niggers! there is the commodore,' Smollett
P. Pickle (1751) ii] (39) Wm. Od ounds, lad, but ther was
kittle wark eh them times, Gibson Leg. and Notes (1877) 66.
(40) Dor. Od' plague you, you young scamp, Hardy Blue Eyes
(ed. 1895)4. (41) Cum.* n.Yks.'* Od rabbit 'em. e.Yks.' m.Yks.i
Od-rabit him ! w.Yks.^; w.Yks.s 'Od-rabit' thuh ! thou's awlus i'
mischief! 'Od-rabit that lad! ah wonder he hes n't tummel'd
i' t'fire an' burnt hizsel ! ne.Lan.', CUs.'^, nw.Der.', Lin.', n.Lin.',
Nhp.i, War.s, s.Wor. (H.K.), Ken.' Ess. 'Sides, od rabbet it!
I hate to see sich trapesin' through the dart, Clark /. Noakes
(1839) St. 52. Som. Odds rabbet 'un, he's so quick's a bird,
Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) i. Dev. Bowring Lang. (1866)
I. pt. v. 36; Dev.' Cor. ' Ad-rabbat thee, Jan,' said the maid,
' I'm all-flushed,' Forfar fan's Crtshp. (1859) st. 4 ; Cor.' ; Cor.^
(s.v. Rabbet et !) (42) n.Yks. (I.W.) ; n.Yks.' 2 Od-rabbit-lit o'
them! God's wrath alight on them. m.Yks.' Od-rabbit-lit o' t'like.
(43) Kcb. There's Jess o' the Glen, Ods rackit, she'd make me
a marrow, Armstrong /K^fairfe (1890) 219. (44) Wm. Od rat, barn,
ther was some queer folk lang sen, Gibson Leg. and Notes (1877)
66. n.Yks.' Od rat 'em. m.Yks.' w.Yks.^ 'Od-rat-em ! ah
wish ad nivver knawn 'em ! 'Od-rat-it ! have forgotten to bring
my clean appron darn staars wi' muh ! Snf.', Dev.' n.Dev. 'Od
rat it, you've Smal time to git things vitty, Rock fim an' Nell
T t 2
OD
[324]
ODD
(1867) St. 3. Cor. ' Ad rat those Cornish maids,' says he, ' They
can't be quiet a minute,' Forfar Poems (1885) 19. (45) Cum.
Odd rots! the Deil may tecli her, Rayson Poems (1839) 45;
Cum.", e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks. An shaated in a red-faced rage,
Od rot it, hod the din, Preston Poems, &c. (1864) 7. Lan.',
ne.Lan.', e.Lan.i, s.Chs.', n.Lin.i, Nhp.i, War.3 Glo. 'Od rot ers
Httle kearkiss, Buckman Darke's Sojourn fi89o) 49. I.W.i Cor.
Od rot tha body, Saundry, who said so ? Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng.
(1865) 460, ed. 1896. (46) Lan. Od rottle the ; whot seys to !
Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) To the Reader, 11. (47) Sc.
Od's sake, I was fleyed for him, Dickson Kirk Beadle (1892) 102.
Frf. Od sake, and that was the famous Dr. Guthrie, Inglis Ain
Flk. (1895) 30. Per. Odd sak ! my heart fairly lap i' my mouth,
Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 65, ed. 1887. Rnf. "Odsake, ay, the
flees mak' o' yer milk a guse-dib, Neilson Poems (1877) iii.
Lnk. Odsake, hoo the bodies did tease me, M"=Lachlan Thoughts
(1884) 21. Lth. Odsake, lass, They'll very soon be here, M'^Neill
Preston (c. 1895) 2. (48) Lakel.^ (49) Sc. 'Od save us a', Swan
Aldersyde (ed. 1892) 175. (50) s.Chs.i (51) Lakel.2 (52) Cum.*
n.Lin.i 'Od sink it. (53) Nhb. 'Od smash ye ! let's heave out
wor planks on the ice, Midford Coll. Sngs. (1818) 3; Nhb.^
(54) Lan. Oddzo then, . . I'd hav' o pash at Piggin if e pede for
garthing, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) To the Reader, 7.
Brks. Od so ! if she don't marry some one soon, Macquoid Brks.
Lady (1879) pt. i. v. [Odso ! I have but sixpence about me,
Fielding Wks. (ed. 1784) II. 8.] (55) Fif. Oddspittkins ! how with
poise exactly true, Clean forward to the ribbon'd pole they
sweep, Tennant ^Kstef (1812) 76, ed. 1871. (56) Cor. Adsplet
hes ould head, T. Towser (1873) 83. (57) w.Yks.^ (58) Lakel.2
Cum. Odswinge, lad, there will be rare drinking, Anderson
Ballads (ed. 1808) 7 ; Odswinge ! this is brave ! ib. 184 ; Cum.*
' Odswinje ! lads,' sez ah, ' it mun surely be this Hebrew,'
SARGissoNyos 5(roa/> (1881) 213. ne.Lan.i Dev. Odswinge! my
lord, we weer long jaws, Peter Pindar IVks. (1816) IV. 198.
(59) Nhb. Od ton, man ! Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846)
VI. ig8 ; Oad, ton! they say, Tib, tou's a wutch, ib. 394. (60)
Dev. BowRiNG Lang. (1866) I. pt. v. 36 ; Dev.l Ods-wenderekins !
speak ; I'll dawl thee jaws for thee, 14. (61) N.Cy."- Cum. And
he bledder'd, od-white te', tous broken my shins, Henderson
Flk-Lore (1879) ii ; Cum.* Wm. Oddwhite justice an king teea,
Wheeler Dial. (1790) 16 ; She dud flite an sed ' Odd white tae,'
Spec. Dial. (1877) pt. i. 19. w.Yks. (C.W.D.), ne.Lan.i (62)
Lakel.2 Cum. Theer whee sud I see, but Watty the laird — Od
wheyte leet on him I Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 6. Wm. &
Cum.i 'Od wheyte leeght on you a', 177. Wm. (J.B.) (63)
e.Yks.i Oad woth it, Ah can't get it reet, MS. add. (T.H.)
w.Yks. (J.W.) (64) n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Cum.
Odswucke, man ! doff that durty sark, Anderson Ballads (ed.
1808) 183 ; Cum.* s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854). (65) Lakel.2
Cuin.3 Od's wuns an' deeth, that's what I' forgitten ! 26 ; Cum.*
'Ods wons ! t'grunstane splat ebben in two ! Richardson Talk
(1871) ist S. 34. s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854). (66) Lakel.^
Cum. Odswunters I I says, what ye divent ken me ! Anderson
Ballads (ed. 1808) 141 ; Ods wunters ! it was as black as tudder
was white, Richardson Talk (1876) 2nd S. 6 ; Yen cryt out
' od's wonters,' Gilpin Pop. Poetry (1875) 71 ; Cum.* (67) Sc.
Appear the bouncin' lasses ; Whase shape, adzooks. An' killing
looks, A. Wilson Poems (ed. 1876) 83 (jAM.Suppl.). Ayr.Odsooks!
ye greedy monk, . . I wonder'd you took sic pain. Ballads and
Sngs. (1847) II. no. Cum.*, ne.Lan.i, w.Som.', Dev.i [Ad-
sooks ! you baggage (cried the lover), you shouldn't want a
smock nor a petticoat neither, Smollett P. Pickle (1751) Ixxxvii.]
(68) Cum.* I.W.i- Oddzookers, a contraction of 'God succour
us!' [Odzookers! I have hit o't, Fielding T. Jones (1749)
bk. XVIII. ix.] (69) Wm. Od zose, exclaimed an old man,
Briggs Remains (1825) 118. ne.Lan.i (70) LW.i Oddzounder-
kuns hauw, what dost do that vor? (71) n.Yks.i^, m.Yks.'
w.Yks.5 'Odzounds ! wah is it awal that? Lan. Ods zeawns,
Tum! Walker Plebeian Pol. (1796) 19, ed. 1801. w.Som.', Dev.'
OD, ODAL, see Hold, v., Hud, sb.'^, v.^, Udal.
ODD, adj., adv., v. and sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng.
and Amer. [od.] 1. adj. In comb, (i) Odd and eve(n,
a game ; see below ; (2) — cart, a cart used for odd jobs ;
(3) — child, an illegitimate child ; (4) -come-short-lies, an
occasion or day close at hand ; (5) -come-short-lums, (6)
•coma-shorts, small miscellaneous articles ; odd frag-
ments ; the dry droppings of animals; (7) • — end, the odd
trick at whist ; (8) — horse, a horse used for odd jobs of
carting ; (9) — laddy, a boy kept on farms to do odd jobs ;
(10) — lads, the order of Odd Fellows; (11) -like, odd-
looking ; (12) — man, [a) a man employed on a farm to
do odd jobs ; a workman who does odd jobs ; (b) a game ;
see below ; {c) a game of cards ; {d) to cheat ; (13) —
mark, that portion of the arable land of a farm set apart
for a particular crop as it comes in order of rotation in the
customary cultivation, land that is being prepared for
seed ; (14) — number, a mistake, an error of judgment, a
disadvantage ; (15) — one, (a) an eccentric person ; {b)
the extra pig of a litter ; (16) — or even, (17) — over
even, see (i); (18) -strucken, eccentric; (19) — talk,
chatter, gossip, trifling dialogue ; (20) — time, leisure,
spare moments ; a time by chance.
(i) w.Yks. (J.W.) War.^ The contents of the closed hand are
guessed as odd or eve. If the guesser in reply to the question
'odd or eve?' says 'eve,' and an odd number is found in the hand, he
makes the contents eve by contributing the necessary marble or
nut or other article of boyish commerce. If, on the contrary, he is
right, he takes one of the articles held. Also used as a substitute
for tossing for precedence in games. Hrt. Shoot in the ring, odd
and even, and pitch in the hole, are the leading games, Wickham
Bluecoat Boy (1841) x. [Amer. What do you say to a game at all-
fours, blind-hookey, odd and even ? Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836)
3rd S. xi.] (2) Nhb.i (3) Yks. Oliphant New English, II. 104.
w.Yks.^ (4) Sc. She is to be married and off to England ane of
thae odd-come-short-lies, Scott 5i'. 7?o«a« (1824) xvii ; She'll sing
out some of these odd-come-shortlies, ib. Guy M. (1815) xxviii.
(5) Nhp.i (6) Nhp.i, Oxf. (G.O.) Som. A^. & Q. (1873) 4th S.
xii. 93. [' Odd-come-shorts ' I have heard applied, but not so gener-
ally, I think, to the dry droppings of animals, ib. (1888) 7th S. vi.
136-] (7) n.Lin.'- (8) Nhb."^ Ken. They take the odd horse for
that (D.W.L.). (9) Nhb.i (10) w.Yks.3 (11) Rnf. Sae many
odd-like beuks, Webster Rhymes (1835) 23. Nhb.i Th' aad meer
hes an oddlike leuk gan i' the field her lyen. (12, a) Chs.i s.Not.
Gen. an inferior workman, and the expression is sometimes used
contemptuously to imply such inferiority. ' Ah niver tho't as Jack
ud suit yer; 'e's noat but a hodd-man ' fJ.P.K.). Oxf. (G.O.),
Oxf.i MS. add. Brks. Wanted, — An Odd Man to help in Garden,
take charge of horse for Mowing Machine, and work Oil Motor,
Oxf. Times (Feb. 10, 1900) i. Hrt. What we call an odd man,
or one that is to set his hand to any common business, Ellis il/orf.
Husb. (1750) IV. ii. 132. Ken. Alfred's to be odd man ; the old
man won't come back to work any more (D.W.L.). Dor. William
Privet used to be their odd man. Hardy Wess. Flk. in Harper's
Mag. (Mar. 1891) 599. {h) w.Sc. A game played by two or three
hundred persons who form a circle ; everyone places his stick in
the ground before him by way of barrier. A person called the odd
man stands in the middle and delivers his bonnet to any one in the
ring. This is nimbly handed round and the owner is to recover
it ; and on succeeding takes the place of the person whom he took
it from, and that person takes the middle place. Pennant Voyage
to Hebrides, 231, in Gomme Games (1898) II. 449. (c) Lin.! (d)
It is a common expression to say we ' odd-man'd him,' ib. (13)
Shr.i Obsol. A farm on the ' four-course ' system, having 200 acres
arable land, apportioned into equal parts for grain and green crops
— as wheat followed by turnips, barley or oats by clover or vetches
— would have 50 acres odd-mark. Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876) ;
Almost one third of the arable land is constantly under the culture
of wheat, and that third during its preparation for the seed is termed
the odd-mark, Marshall i?OT!«OT (1818) II. 325; If a farm com-
prised 150 acres, under tillage, it was divided, according to the old
mode of husbandry, into three equal parts ; one under fallow,
another under wheat, and a third under Lent grain ; the odd-mark
particularly applies to the fallow, as under preparation for wheat,
DuNCUMB Hist. Hrf. (1804-1812) ; Hrf.i I have sown rather more
than my oddmark of wheat and barley this year ; Hrf.^ The quantity
of land which an outgoing tenant is allowed to sow with wheat,
&c. Generally one-third of the arable land on the farm. (14)
Wil. Well, ye see, it's an odd number to displease parsons, Swin-
STEAD Parish on Wheels (1897) 26. (15, a) Cum. An' went where
nobbut odduns durst, Gilpin Ballads (1874) 172. w.Yks. (J.W.)
Chs. N. tf Q. (1882) I. 224. (b) Chs. When a sow farrows her
litter of young pigs, and there should happen to be more mouths
than teats ; then the extra one is called the ' oddin,' odd one, ib.
(16) Sc. (A.W.) N.I.i A boy shuts up a few small objects, such
as marbles in one hand, and asks his opponent to guess is the
number odd or even. He then either pays or receives one, ac-
cording as the guess is right or wrong. w.Yks. (J.W.), Lan.i,
Lin.i (17) n.Lin.i (18) s.Chs.i Dhai)n sflm despurt od'-striikn
wee'z tibuwt um [They'n some despert odd-strucken wees abowt
'em]. (i9)n.Yks.2 (20) Sc. (A.W.), Cum, (M.P.) n.Yks.^ At
ODD
[325]
ODDS
an odd-time. e.Yks.^ Ah can't see aboot it noo, bud Ah sal hev
a bit ov odd time next week. w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. Occasional.
Ayr. I felt it a duty to put my hand to, and do any odd turn that
would leave my wife and the serving-woman freer, Johnston
Glenbuckie (1889) 282. Lnk. Lasses for an odd transgression
Afore them made a forc'd confession, Thomson Musings (1881)
320. Ir. Poor Andy missed an odd taste of it so bad. Barlow
Lisconnel (1895) 21. Cum. (M.P.), w.Yks. (J.W.)
Hence Oddly, adv. occasionally, now and then, here
and there. Rut.^ You only see hares in the Field now oddly.
3. Solitary, single ; lonely, out of the way, sequestered.
Elg. In an odd neuk in Elgin's auld kirkyaird, Tester Poems
(1865)113. Cum. An odd house. An odd body, a person sitting
alone (M.P.). n.Yks.^, n. & e.Yks. (M.C.F.M.), e.Yks.i, m.Yks.l
w.Yks. Aw stopt to have an odd gill. Hartley Tales, 2nd S. 32 ;
w.Yks.25 Lan. By th' side of an odd cup o' tea, Waugh Sngs.
(ed. 1871) 75. ne.Lan.i, Der.'', nw.Der.^ Not. You'll see an odd-
house just past the lane-ends (L.C.M.). Lin.^ n.Lin.' An odd
hoose, odd tree, odd kitlin'. He lives e' a odd hoose upo' th'
Warpin' Bank side. sw.Lin.i It was a niced house, but it was so
odd ; there wasn't a place of worship within three mile. Lei.
Sternberg Dial. (1851) ; Lei.^, War.^
Hence an odd one, phr. a single one, one among manj'.
Cum. Theer* nobbut oddens better leiikin', Richardson Talk
(■1876) 2nd S. 148 ; Thoo'd clear the platter o' the odd 'en. Burn
Poems (1885) 385 ; I may have kilt an odd an or two i' my time,
Dickinson Ckw4>-. (1876) 93. s.Wm. (J.A.B.) w.Yks. Just an
odd 'un (J .T.F.) ; w. Yks.s ' How monny hes tuh ? ' ' An odd un.'
n.Lan. T'odd un (G.W.). n.Lin.i Oor parson ewsed to keap two
curates, bud noo he's a gooin' to mak' shift wi' a odd un. Shr.'
In counting at cards, one is ' the odd un,' Introd. 45.
4. Different. Not.\ Lei.^ 5. adv. Out of the usual
course, singularly, strangely.
Per. Whae'er of silken gouns shall bode Will get a sleeve, or
things gae odd, Spence Poems (1898) 195. Rnf. You could not think
on sitting odd 'Mong decent men, M'=GiLVRAYPoe>«3(ed.i862)i57.
e. Differently. Not.\ Lei.^ 7. v. To work at odd jobs.
Lan. Joe . . . was a well-known hanger-on at loose jobs, ' odded
about' at sales and removals, &c.,Brierley Cotters, y ; Hoo then
crope off to bed leovin' Jimmy oddin abeawt wi' soidin up, Staton
Loominary (c. 1861) 126.
8. To redress an inequality. See Odds.
e.Lan.i The pastime of New Market fell on inconvenient days,
and was odded by changing the date on which it should occur in
future.
9. sb. A point ; a small point of land or promontory.
Sh.I. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 95. ne.Lan.i 10. Phr. (i) to
go to the odd, to be lost ; (2J to make odd of, to make a
difference for, to treat differently.
(i) Sc. ' He'll let nothing go to the odd for want of looking after
it.' Spoken of scraping, careful people, Kelly Prov. (1721) 165.
(2) Don. The naybours was axed in, an', Donal, we'll be makin
nowise odd o' you, Macmands Chim. Corners (1899) 181.
11. In golf: one stroke played more than the opponent ;
the handicap given to a weaker opponent.
Sc If your opponent has played one stroke more than you, i.e.
'the' odd,' your next stroke will be 'the like,' Golfer's Hndbk.
(ed. 1881) 35 (Jam. Suppl.) ; ' An odd,' ' two odds,' &c., per hole,
means the handicap given to a weak opponent by deducting one,
two, &c. strokes from his total every hole, ib.
ODD, see Hold, sb.
ODDENLY, adv. Lakel.* [o-danli.] Continuously,
without intermission. The same word as Hoddenly (q.v.).
Them tweea's gian tagidder oddenly fer twenty year, an' afoor
that, ivver sen they war barns.
ODDER, ODDIE-DOD(DIE, see Other, adj}, Hoddy-
doddy.
ODDISH-LIKE, ac??'. Nhb.^ Odd-lookmg.
ODDLE, sb. Or.I. Also in form oddler. [o'dl.] A
sewer. (S.A.S.), S. & Ork.^ See Addle, 56.1
ODDLE, ^. Yks.War. [o'dl.] To go about m an un-
certain or useless way ; to trifle. Cf. hoddle, w. _
w.Yks.2 There's a beast yonder not right ; it s oddlin to itsen.
War.* The gaffer wunt 'ave a chap oddling about the place.
Hence Oddling, ppl. adj. trifling, uncertain, dallying.
I don't like his oddling way of doing business, tb.
ODDLIN(G, sb. Yks. Chs. Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War.
Shr. Also written odlin(g m.Yks.^ Lin.' n.Lin.' Nhp.'
War.^ [o'dlin.] 1. Any person or thing standing alone,
or differing from others ; the last remaining survivor of
a family or community, the last article of a set ; a re-
mainder.
e.Yks. >• Apples is ommost deean, bud Ah think we've a few
oddlins left. m.Yks.' Two odlings of lambs. w.Yks. Nivver havin
seen, ner been ta t'sea, I began ta feel Hke an oddlin, T. Toddles'
Aim. (1870) 23. Not. The only one left of a clatch or litter
(J.H.B.). s.Not. Her father an' mother's dead ; she's got no brother
nor sister; she's an oddling (J. P.K.). Lin.' It's a poor wankling
thing, it's an odlin. n.Lin.' ' My wife's dead, an' all my bairns is
dead, an' I'm noht noa better then a odlin' noo.' A single chicken
or duck of a brood, when all the others have died. sw.Lin.' Let'
Often said with reference to the propensity of parents to spoil an
only child—' the oddlin' 's allays the dillin'.' Nhp.' One differing
from the rest of a family, brood, or litter ; gen. applied to the
smallest, or to one with any peculiarity. War.*
2. In pi. form : a solitary house, a house standing by
itself remote from others. Lei.' They live at an oddlins.
3. pi. Things of diverse sorts or sizes.
Lei.' ' Stuck about wi' oddlins,' was the description of a cap
decorated with old scraps of ribbon. Shr.' Them 'tatoes i' that
wisket's oddlin's.
4. An odd or eccentric person.
e.Yks.' s.Chs.' ' One o' God's oddlin's' is a common expression
for an eccentric person.
h. pi. Particulars, details. n.Yks.^Itell'd'emt'oddlingson't.
ODDLINS, adv. Yks. [o-dlinz.] Here and there,
occasionally. (C.W.D.) See Oddlin(g.
ODDMENT, sb. In gen. dial, use in Eng. Also written
odment Dun' w.Yks.' Stf.' Not. Lin.' War. Lon. e.An.'
Hmp.' w.Som.' [o-dment, -mant] L A scrap, frag-
ment, remnant ; a trifle ; the smaller edible portions of a
pig ; gen. in pi. : odds and ends ; also used attrib.
N.Cy.' Nhb. The oddments tee, beat boil or fry. Provided
geussy be a good un, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 26 ; Nhb.'
Apphed also to the sundry edible portions of a goose or a pig.
Dur.' s.Dur. A've been putten t'pig oddments away (J.E.D.).
Cum. An old woman as a witness in a law court said ' she sold
sweetmeats, and all kinds of oddments.' Sometimes the small
portions of a pig's carcase are called oddments (M.P.) ; Of aw his
bit oddments A shottle the baiHes hae taen, Anderson Ballads (ed.
1808) 117 ; Cum.' n.Yks.' Ah was laiting up a few oddments
(payments of small debts, or bills due) an' Ah said, Ah'U hug
t'priest his bill on an' a' ; n.Yks,^* e.Yks. He saw a fellow stanin
atop ov a teeable, sellin keeal pots, pooakers, oddments, an'
keltherment, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 35 ; e.Yks.i w.Yks. A
toathree herrings, a pot o' marmalade, an ahnce 0' bacca, an' a few
other oddments, Cudworth Dial. Sketches {x?&\) 123 ; w.Yks.'^a
Lan. Clooas an' oddments bought an' packed, Clegg Sketches (1895)
86 ; Lan.1, n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', e.Lan.i, Chs.i, s.Chs.', Stf.', nw.Der.'
Not. (L.C.M.) ; Split the odment (J. H.B.); Not.'* Lin.'Youmay
keep the odments for yourself. n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' When the odd-
mentofpotatoes were offered by auction. Lei.' Nhp.' If a person
gives little sums on account, he is said to pay his debt off ' by odd-
ments'; Nhp.2 War. (J.R.W.) ; Trading as grocer, general
oddment business, coal dealer, &c., B'ham Dy. Gazette (Oct. 27,
1900) ; War.3, s.Wor. (F.W.M.W.), s.Wor.' Shr.' The Maister
bought a lot o' oddments at the sale at Betchcot. Hrf.2, Glo. (A.B.) ,
Glo.i Lon. In the Waterloo Road, at an ' omnium gatherum '
shop, I saw the above word [odments] written in legible
characters upon a piece of pasteboard suspended in the windows,
N. £7* Q. (1856) 2nd S. i. 433. e.An.' Suf. The rose looking in
at the window has povirer to banish rags and oddments, Fison
Merry Suf (1899) 5°- Hmp.', s.Wil. (G.E.D.), (E.H.G ) Som.
Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.' ' Purty good sale up
to Yercombe, was itl' 'Ees; zold ivrything— wadn nort but a
vew odments a-left.'
2. Phr. to an oddment, to a fraction.
w.Yks. It's just nah twenty year sin, to an oddment, Tom
Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1858) 3.
3. One slightly defective in mental power. LakeL^^
ODDNER, adj. War. Also in form hodner. Odder.
No hodner sight this many a day, Mordaunt & Verney Hunt,
II. 288; War.3 ,r J- , • c
ODDS, sb. pi; adj., adv. and v. Var. dial, uses in be.
Irel. Eng. Aus. and Amer. Also written ods Cum.' ;
ODDS
[326]
ODIN
odz(e Hrf.'' ; and in form oods Sh.I. [odz.] 1. sb. pi.
Inequality, difference ; change ; balance ; different kinds ;
consequence, matter.
Sc. The omission of a point sometimes makes great odds in the
sense, Scoticisms (1787) 64. Sh.I. Gibbie is luikin' fine, Sibbie,
doo'll see a great oods apon him, Sh. News (Oct. 28, 1899). Bnff.
Nae oddo tho' rack rents fin' a scheme To mak them doucer,
Taylor Poe»«s (1787) 11. Bcli. There's odds twixt handhng pens
with ease And a firelock, Forbes Dominie (1785) 30. Abd.
' Which is Willie Todd's ane, and which is mine ? ' ' There's nae
odds ; tak' which ye like,' Abd. Wkly. Free Press (June 25, 1898).
Per. There's this odds atwixt us and the folk in the parable,
Sabbath Nights (1899) 92. Tif. That rain we had last week made
a michty odds on them, Robertson Provost (1894) 19. Rnf.
Wha' gets their wife or gets their gear, It maks but little odds,
Barr Poems (1861) 12. Ayr. There's an unco odds atween doing
a service and becoming a slave, Galt Lairds (1826) xiv. Lnk.
Experience mak's a' the odds betwixt the man an' bairn, Nichol-
son Kilwuddie (1895) 105. Edb. Gif they frown, sair broken
heads Is gi'en them, to mak up the odds, Learmont Po^ms (1791)
48 ; There's an unco odds on ye, miller, sin' I saw ye last,
Ballantine Deanhaugh (1869) 128. Gall. But fourscore years
mak an unco odds o' the times, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 25, ed.
1876. N.I.^ Uls. Maybe it wouldn't make much odds, Hamilton
Bog (iScfi) 84. Dwn. A begood till see there wuz a quer odds
in weemen, Lyttle Robin Gordon, 25. Nhb. What odds is't
what Watson says? Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 31; HoutsI
what odds of a ferret? Lilburn Borderer (1896) 383. Cum. It
maks a varst o' odds atween earnin' a croon an spennin five
shillin', Farrall Beiiy Wilson (1886) 144; If there is (summat
wrang), what odds is't to thee? Dickinson Cumbr. (1876) 115;
Cum.i Wm. It'll mak neea odds to me (O.K.) ; Fooak . . . tell
enny mack a lees, it's lile odds tuUem whilk, Spec. Dial. (1885)
pt. iii. 26. w.Yks.s ' What odds is that to thee ? ' ' Odds enifif al
hersiire yuh.' ne.Lan.*- I, Ma. There's odds of women and odds
of men. Brown Yams {tS,8i) 139, ed. 1889. s.Chs.' Oo)l fahynd
dhfl odz wen 60 goz iiwee* thrum wom [Hoo'll find the odds
when hoo gos awee throm wom]. s.Stf. What odds which way
it's done? Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Not.', Lin.^ n.Lin.'
What's the odds noo, how thoo was treated when thoo was a
bairn ? Lei.^ There is no great odds or difference, at the least-wise
in the number of the words. Nhp.^ War.^ There's odds in
children. It's no odds to me what you do. War.^ Wor. It's no
odds how soon that be done (H.K.). s. Wor.'- There's an odds in
childern. se. Wor. ■■ What odds is it to you ? Shr.i Yo'n find the
odds w'en yo gwun to another plack. Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc.
(i&lS). Hrf.i^ Gio. Rather cold, Joice ; but this scarf do make
a vast odds, Gissing Vill. Hampden (i8go) I. vii ; Glo.^ Oxf.'
I says t' ee, ' What odds ? ' Ghent noa odz tii yoo [Ghent no
odds to you]. s.Oxf. 'Tain't no odds whether 'ee do or whether
'ee don't, Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 97, Brks. There aint much
odds atwixt em, Hughes T. Brown Oxf. (1861) xix ; Brks.^
What thaay do's yent no odds o' mine nor yourn nether. Hnt.
(T. P.F.) Hmp.i Tweren't no odds to he that he lost it. Wil.'
That don't make no odds to I. Dor. I mid het she wi' a be.som-
stake and t'ooden be no odds. Hare Vill. Street (1895) 47 ; Dor.'
Som. Well, I suppose it isn't much odds, Raymond Gent. Upcott
(1893) 98. w.Som.i You mind your own business, tid'n no odds
to you. Dev. He do worrit an' plague hesell 'bout no end o'
things as idden no odds to we, LongmarC s Mag. (Dec. 1896) 154.
n.Dev. Why, thare odds betwe' sh — ing and tearing won's yess,
Exm. Scold, (1746) 1. 294. [Aus. Ah, your mammy was English ?
. . . Well, that ought to make an odds, Nisbet Bail up (1890) vii.
Amer. All deacons are good, but there's odds in deacons, Lowell
Biglow Papers (ed. 1866) 199.]
2. The exact opposite of anything, the reverse.
•w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Cbs.i Yoa' bin dhu odz ii mey, iv yoa lahykn
stond iip, wen yoa)kn rest yiir legz [Yo bin the odds o' mey if yo
liken stond up, when yo con rest your legs]. Lei.' 'Are ye stiff'
an' toired ? ' ' Noo I ' ' Then ye're the odds o' may.' War.2
You're the odds o' me ; I like to get my work done in good time.
3. Result. n.Yks.2 What's t'odds on't ?
4. Phr. (i) odds and evens or ebms, a betting game ; (2)
by odds, by far, considerably ; (3) by odds and bobs, piece-
meal, at odd times ; (4) in odds with, at odds with, at
variance with ; (5) little odds of or a leet odd of, just about.
(i) Per. Ye who have often played with Will At odds and
evens for a gill, Spence Poems (1898) 93. Lakel.^ (2) w.Som.i
Where's thick I bought ? he's better'n tother by odds. We shall
want a sight o' stuff, you 'ant a-zen' enough by odds. (3) Lin.
I done it by odds and bobs, White Eng. (1865) II. 21. (4) Abd.
The JafTrays in Aberdeen, whom ... he fell in odds with, did
him no good, but were the ground of his death, Spalding Hist. Sc.
(1792) II. 220. (5) w.Som.i ' How many was er there ?' ' Well
I count was little odds o' vower score.' Dev.' I'll meet tha here
a leet odds of two o'clock, 10. nw.Dev.'
5. In double pi. form : odds and ends, small miscel-
laneous articles ; the change or balance of money.
Wil.' n.Wil. 'Teant nothing but a lot o' oddses (E.H.G.).
Som. Now boy, pick up the oddses (W.F.R.) ; Fifty pound and
the oddses be the duty, Raymond Gent. Upcott (1893) 116.
6. adj. Different. Also in double pi. form Oddses.
Shr.I Yo' bin odds to me if yo' can drink Sich belly-vengeance
as this. Glo. Er's harmless enow when he comes yereby, er
'oodn't do none mischy, but 'tis oddses to that when er's whoam.
Bookman Darke's Sojourn (1890) xvi.
7. Strange, remarkable.
w.Som.' 'Tis odds to me however they buUicks could a- went in
thick way. 'Tis odds eens our Jan can't do it so well's he.
8. adv. More in quantity or number, over.
w.Som.'^ ' How much stuff have ee got — dree or vower load! '
' No, tid'n 'boo one or a leetle odds.'
9. V. To balance an account. s.Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.'
10. To alter, remedy, redress ; to undo.
s.Stf. I'll sune odds that, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Der.
Whichever way 'twere . . . we can't odds it, Verney Stone Edge
(1868) vii. War.2 Her's master an' missis as well, just now ; but
I'll odds it after a bit ; War.34 s.War.i It'll all be odds'd in a bit.
Wor. We've oddsed the greate a bit (H.K.). ne.Wor. (J.W.P.)
w.Wor. Thin odds it, says I, S. Beauchamp Grantley Grange (i8t^)
I. 30. w.Wor.' We're sorry as we ever shifted ; but we canna odds
it now. s.Wor.i, se.Wor.' Shr.' We mun odds this, it Odnna do
to lave it athatn. Hrf.i ; Hrf.^ Only a twelvemonth ago I gave
you a guinea to marry me, and now I'll give you two to odze it.
Glo. I wishes as thaay as odds'd un had a-waited till arter I'd
a-got whoam, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) viii ; Glo.^ Oxf.
It can't be oddsed (H.R.H.). s.Oxf. Us cu'n't odds it no'ow this
time, mother, Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 20. Brks. It'll be oddsed
in a bit, 'ooman (W.H.Y.) ; Let it be as it will, we can't odds it
(E.G.H.). Hmp."- s.Hmp. But what's the use of talking? you
can't odds it with me, 'Verney L. Lisle (1870) viii. Wil.' Ill soon
odds that, Wil. Arch. Mag. XXII. 112. n.Wil. (W.C.P.) Som.
I ought to have put more earth there when I dug it over first, but
I don't see how to odds it now (W.F.R.).
11. To fit, make even ; to manage, contrive.
Slir.2 ' Odds this bhwoard.' A carpenter's term. w. Som.' I tried
all I know'd how, vor to make it out way the reed I'd a-got, but
I could'n odds it nohow. You can odds it very well nif you be
a mind to.
12. To matter, signify. Suf. That don't odds a sight (C.T.).
ODDS, see Od.
ODDY, adj. Oxf. Brks. Wil. [o-di.] Strong, vigorous,
hearty ; lively. Oxf. (Hall.), Brks.S Wil.' The same
word as Hoday, adj. (q.v.)
ODIN,s6. lObs. Or.I. lm^hT.{j) the black stone of Odin,
a large black stone ; see below ; (2) the promise of Odin, a
promise of marriage supposed to be particularly binding.
(i) Towards the north side of the island [of Shapinshay], and by
the seaside, is another large stone, called the Black Stone of Odin.
Instead of standing erect like the one above mentioned, it rests its
huge side on the sand, and raises its back high above the surrounding
stones, from which it seems to be altogether different in quality.
Statist. Ace. XVII. 235 (Jam.). (2) At some distance from the semi-
circle, to the right, standsa stone by itself, eight feet high, three broad,
nine inches thick, with a round hole on the side next the Lake. . . A
young man had seduced a girl under promise of marriage. . . The
young man was called before the Session ; the Elders were
particularly severe. Being asked by the minister the cause of so
much rigour, they answered, ' You do not know what a bad man
this is ; he has broke the promise of Odin.' Being further asked
what they meant by the promise of Odin, they put him in mind
of the stone at Stenhouse with the round hole in it, and added
that it was customary, when promises were made, for the con-
tracting parties to join hands through this hole ; and the promises
so made were called the promises of Odin, Trans. Soc. Antiq. Sc.
I. 263 {ib.) ; S. & Ork.i A particular sort of contract, accounted
very sacred by some of the inhabitants of Orkney, the contracting
parties joining hands through an orifice in the ' black stone
of Odin.'
ODIOUS
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OF
ODIOUS, adj. and adv. Sc. Irel. Also in forms ojious,
ojus Don. [o-dias.] 1. adj. Used as an intensitive, in
the same way as ' terrible ' ; exceedingly great.
Sh.I. In October, e nicht he cam on ta blaw Wi a odious tOmald
o' rain, Junda Klingrahool (1898) 7 ; I'm gotten an odious lodd
o' da caald, Burgess Sketches (2nd ed. ) 15. Rnf. (Jam.) Don,
It'll be ojus the desthruction he'll make among the birds. Harpers
Mag. (Sept. 1899) 509; Willie's pile of money was by no means
as big as what it used to be, but there was an odious pile of it yet,
Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 98. Cav. Yon odious crop of
praties will stand us through the winter (M.S.M.).
Hence Odiously, adv. greatly.
Sh.I. Lord bless dee for da sid 0' tea, fir it's revived me odiously,
Stewart Tales (1892) 48.
2. adv. Exceedingly.
Sh.I. Robbie was said to be an odious gude amous-bairn,
Manson Aim. (1900) 122 ; Du seems ta be takin odious grit
draws, Clark Gleams (1898) 49 ; S. & Ork^ Odious good or bad.
Don. Me poor mother used to suffer ojious with it. Harper's Mag.
(Jan. 1901) 328.
ODIT, sb. Cor. [o'dit.] An adit ; a passage for carry-
ing off water from a mine. Used attrib.
Billum and I belonged together driving the odit level, Tregellas
Tales^ Tremuan, 8.
ODMEDOD, see Hodmandod.
OpOCITY,s6. Rut.i [odo-siti.] Ability, 'gumption';
spirit, energy. The same word as Docity (q.v.).
I seems as if I hadn't the odocity to work or to eat or anything.
OE, see O, sb.'^
0£L, sb. Sh.I. Haze, vapour.
I dOna lack dis end o' haet, wi' da Oel risin' oot o' da grund,
Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 240.
O'ERHING, V. Sc. To overhang.
A rock hangs nodding o'er its chrystal stream. And flowers.
Narcissus-like, its waves o'erhing, Poet. Museum (1784) 45 (Jam.).
OERTENS, see Ortin(g)s.
OERTS, adv. Shr. In phr. oeris as, in comparison to.
Cf. over, 10.
Shr.i The corn's frummer i' the yed oerts as last 'ear ; Shr.^
Mrs. Smith's gownd is dear oerts as thisn.
O'ERWART, OEY, see Overthwart, Oyfe.
OF, prep. Var. dial, forms and uses in Sc. Irel. Eng.
and Amer. [av, a.] I. Dial, forms. 1. (i) A, (2) Aa,
(3) Af, (4) Av, (5) Er, (6) Ev, (7) I, (8) Iv, (9) O, (10) Oh,
(II) Ov, {12) Uv.
(i) Wm. T'saame way a thinkin', Robison Aald Tales (1882) 3.
w.Yks.i A bit a natural rist. n.Lan. T'beams a our house, Phiz-
ackerley Sng. Sol. (i860) i. 17. Lin.' Out a work. n.Lin. ',
Nhp.', Suf.i, I.W.^ w-Som.' What manner a man. Dev. Let's
drink drap a ale, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (1847) 49. (2) Cum.'
(3) Wxr."- (4) Ir. The whole time av prayers, Lever H. Lorr.
(1839) vi. Wxf.i n.Lan. A peas av a pomegranaat, Phizackerley
Sng. Sol. (i860) iv. 3. Ken.i I ha'ant heerd fill nor fall av him.
(5) Ken. A plug er terbacker, Comh. Mag. (Jan. 1899) 92. (6) Wm.'
About a quarter ev a mile, Lonsdale Mag. (1821) II. 289. w.Yks.
(J.W.) n.Lan. Ise be varra fain at tell ye ought ette be evany use,
N. Lonsdale Mag. (Jan. 1867) 270. (7) Don. Which i' yez is to go on
for the priest? Pearsons Mag. (May 1900) 476. (8) Nhb. The
greatur pairt iv a cake, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846)
VII. 136; ' O" is changed into 'iv' before a vowel, as 'iv a',' of all,
RoBSON Newc. Sng. Sol. (1859) Notes. (9) Sc. Speak about what
ye ken something 0', Scoit Midlothian (1818) ix. Wxf.i Nhb.
The preposition 'of is . . . pronounced ... 6' short, the vowel
retaining its English sound, Forster Newc. Sng. Sol. (1859) Notes,
iii. e.Dur.i, Cum.i Wm. Will ye tak a drop o' whisky ? (B.K.)
n.Yks.^, e.Yks.i, m.Yks.l w.Yks. One o' thera 'at Ben Preston
tells abaht, Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884) 1. Lan.', n.Lan.i,
e.Lan.i, m.Lan.i I. Ma. A gate o' the teethin, Brown Doctor (1887)
4. Der.2 s. Not. Before consonants and A. When it is used before
a vowel the letter is commonly aspirated to avoid the hiatus.
' Power peck o' happles ' (J.P.K.). Lin. Thoort nowt o' a noorse,
Tennyson N. Farmer, Old Style (1864) st. 1. War. All a bag o'
moonshine (J. R.W.). w.Wor.' Glo. Ye' ve a power o' gumption,
GissiNG Both of this Parish (1889) I. 115. Brks.' A vine lot o'
ship. Sur.',Wil.' w.Som."Of' becomesshorto [m] whenfollowed
by a consonant or a long vowel, not alone. ' A ter'ble sight o'
stones*' ' Of becomes long o [oa-'\ when followed by a short
vowel, provided that vowel is the initial of a syllable. ' Now thee's
a-at oaf th' aid oa" un.' ' Of becomes [pa], medial length, when
standing alone at the end of a clause. ' They never don't know
hot her's a-doin' o'.' Cor. None o' your genteel slices na, Forfar
Pentowan (1859) i. (10) Nhb. Aw was up at the Mistrisses . . .
ith howl oh wounter, Bewick Tyneside Tales (1850) 9. (11)
Wxf.' Nhb. His heels poppin out ov his clogs, Bewick Tyneside
Tales (1850) 10. Cum.i, n.Yks.° e.Yks.^ Used before vowels.
w.Yks.T'screamsovit, Yksnian.{\W?>)Xmas.No. 23. e.Lan.',Rut.\
Ess.l w.Som.i It retains its final w sound only — (a) When followed
by a short vowel standing alone, such as the indef adj. a, even
though in rapid speech it may sound like the initial of a syllable.
Beet uv-u skad- u kaewnt [Bit of a scad, I countl. (b) When
followed by a long vowel standing alone. Uur ded-n waunt
noa'urt uv ee- [She wanted nothing from himl. (12) Lan. Th'
feaundations uv a church, Bowker Tales (1882) 65. War.° Dev.
Tha zong uv zongs, Baird Sng. Sol. (i860) i. i.
2. Var. contractions : (i) O'd, ofit; (2) Oiye, of you ; (3)
O'm, of them ; (4) Omma, (5) Omme, of me ; (6) O'n, of
him; (7) O's, of us ; (8) O't, (a) see (i); (6) of the; (9)
O'th, see (8, b) ; (10) Oven, of him or it ; (11) Ovt, (12) Ud,
(13) Uth, see (8, b).
(i) Sc. Tirin' o'd, Swan Gates of Eden (ed. 1895) v. (2) w.Yks.i
I sa nout oiye, ii. 17. (3) Ayr. In to the mooth o'm. Service
Notandums (1890) 14. WU. Slow Gl. (1892). w.Som.^ (4)
Yks. It's all at's left omma, Spec. Dial. (1800) 25. (5) w.Yks.' (6)
w.Cy. (J.W.) Wil. Slow GA (1892). Dor. I'll pull the heair o'n,
Barnes Poems (1869-1870) 3rd S. 58. e.Dev. Tek hold o' th'
limbs o'n, Pulman Sng. Sol. (i860) vii. 8. (7) Dor. Barnes Gl.
(1863). (8, a) Sc. That were the warst o't, Scott Leg. Mont.
(1818) iv. Dmf. A clout to rowe the feetie o't, Cromek Remains
(1810) 30. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892). Sora. Jennings Obs. Dial.
w. Eng. {i8z^). (6) n.Yks. Ony yanst lot al diu (W.H.). w.Yks.
It coorse ot week, Spec. Dial. (1800) 32. n.Lin.' Get oot o' t'hoose
wi' the, thoo loongin' theaf. (9) Cum. Out oth fwoald, N. Lons-
dale Mag. (Feb. 1867) 309. e.Lan.i One o' th' better sort. (10)
Barnes Gl. (18631. (11) n.Yks. A duant laik ony gvt lot (W.H.).
(12) Dnr. T'lilley ud valleys, Moore Sng. Sol. (1859) ii. i. (13)
Lan. Aw cud'nt fur shame sho me yed eawt uth dur, Ormerod
Felleyfro Rachde (1864) ii.
II. Dial. uses. 1. In phr. (i) about of, about ; see
About, 9 ; (2) difference of, difference between ; (3) just
of, just about, just ; (4) of course, used redundantly or as
a mere expletive ; (5) to be of it, to be about it, to be the
fact; to be near the truth; (6) what's this ofitt what is
this about ? what is the matter ?
( i) w Som.i I picked up about of a basket full. I s'pose there was
about of a score o'm. (2) Dmb. As it's gloamin' he wad ne'er ken the
difference o'us, Cross Disruption {16.^^) ix. (3) s.Stf. Her sot justo'
heer, an' I stood just o'theer,PiNNOCK.S/A.Cy..<4H«. (1895). War.^I
sid 'im jist uv 'ere. (4) Chs.^ ' He asked me for some money, and of
course I gave him some.' This does not necessarily intimate that
there was any cogent reason for giving the money. Hmp. Of
course our Jim went over to Southbourne to get some work yester-
day ; and of course it's a long way to walk. Of course the baby
is teething now (H.C.M.B.). (5) Dev. 'Do you dare to tell me
my landlord positively refuses to have the well cleanedl ' ' That's
ov it, Maister Jan Pawkinharne,' Stooke Not Exactly, i. (6) Sc,
' Eh whow ! ' ejaculated the honest farmer, as he looked round upon
his friend's miserable apartment and wretched accommodation —
'What's this o't! What's this o't!' Scott Guy M. (1815) xlv ;
What's this o't now, Mr. Sampson, this is waur than ever I ib. xlvii.
2. Used with a pers. pron. to form a genitive instead of
the possess, adf.
Sc. A paper about the neck o't to show which of the customers
is aught it, Scott St. Ronan (1824) ii ; Instead of ' yts heid,' ' yts
han'le,' 'yts ayn,' are generally used 'the heid o'd,' 'the han'le
o'd,' 'the ayn o'd,' or 'ayn o't.' ' Luik at the ein o't,' Murray
Dial. (1873) 192. Ayr. The dyvour's pappin' twa into the mooth
o'm for every ane that goes into the dish. Service Notandums
(1890) 14 ; I wad hae thrawn the neck o' him. Hunter Studies
(1870) 189.
3. Used to form names : the son of
w.Yks. Sam o' Bill's o' Jacky Tordoff's, Cudworth Bradford
(1876) 51 ; ' D,:;ak a Bil a Bobz,' means that Bob is Jack's grand-
father. This mode of expressing ' the son of is very common in
those parts of w.Yks. bordering on Lan. (J.W.) Lan. Did ye see
Long Tom o' Sally's on t'road? (F.P.T.) ; Ike-o'-Sams, Standing
Echoes (1885) 8; Owd Yethurt o' Grunsho, Harland & Wilkin-
son Flk-Lore (1867) 55.
4. Used redundantly after prp. and gerunds.
Sc. Even the tender and the old behoved to serve, notwith-
OF
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standing of their infirmities, Scoiicisms (1787) 117. n.Yks. Ah sal
be tiring o' tha, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 50. w.Yks.
1668. Mending of the font, iCoo 00s. o6d., Ace, Bradford Par.
Chwardens; (J.W.) Not. The new medecine's a doing of him a
deal of good (L.C.M.). s.Not. (J.P.K.) sw.Lin.i It doesn't pay for
sending of them to Lincoln. Mr. B. is doctoring of him. Nhp."-
He's always a teasing of the dog. Suf. What were that you was a
singunof? FisonA/c;-;^' 5m/ (1899) 10; Suf.i He is leaving of him.
Ess. You carn't help likin' of hira all the saime, Downe Ballads
(1895) 33. Sur. Be you a makin of a chronology, sir? Jennings
Field Paths (1884) 40. w.Som.' ' What do er keep on hattin' o' me
vor ? ' ' He wadn hattin' o' ee, he was on'y pushin' o' ee.' n.Dev.
' What be doing of up there ! ' she cried, Chanter Witch (1896) xii.
5. Used redundantly after certain trans, verbs. The
examples given below are only a few specimens out of a
great number.
Sc. I dinna mind o't, Maggie, Whitehead Daft Davie (1876) 339,
ed. 1894. m.Yks.' Winnot thou let t'baby cuddle o' thee ? Lin.
He . . . enticed me to go and accept of the place, De la Pryme
(1698) 187, in Surtees Soc. Publ. Suf.^ Taste of it. I missed of
him. Sur.i After several verbs, e.g. bring, clean, find, mend, &c.
'I'll clean of it presently.' 'I can't find of it.' Som. I have done
o't, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.i Twadn her faut,
her could'n help o' it. I never didn tich o' un. Dev. He is turned
of seventy, O'Neill /rfy/s (1892) 32; 1 could not touch of it, Reports
Provinc. (1877) 135.
6. From, out of; in consequence of.
Sc. Free of (W.C. c. 1750). e.Sc. The air came breathing in of
the fields, Setoun R. Urquhart (1896) iv. Frf. Sometimes no very
free o' fear, Piper of Peebles (1794) 6. Per. My granny's gotten
her death o't a', Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 11, ed. 1887. Slk.
Ah ! let us alane o' her, Hogg Tales (1838) 329, ed. 1866. Gall.
My mither o' him dreads aye skaith, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814)
46, ed. 1897. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) n.Yks.* That meer he gat of
t'broon meer's deean weel. w.Yks. 2 I bought a rare good knife
of him. s.Not. 'E's took a penny of our Sally. He'll borrer of
anybody (J.P.K.). Nhp.^ I bought the fowls of the butter woman.
•w.Som.' Uur ded'n wau'nt noa'urt uv ee' [She wanted nothing
from him]. [Whether you do boil snow or pound it, you can have
but water of it, Ray Prov. (1678) 24.]
7. On, upon.
Sc. I will wait of you, Scoticisms (1787) 64. Cum. He up ov
his legs an' says, Gwokdie Greenuf Jinudder Batch (1873) ^3 !
Three-to-one again the Ginger pile — evens of the duck-wing,
Daley Mayroyd (1880) I. 6, ed. 1888. e.Yks.^ All ov a sahd [all
on one side], MS. add. (T.H. ) m.Yks.' Iz' uv aos-baak [He is of
horseback]. Yaan-muon'ut dipin-d uv im [One must not depend
of him]. w.Yks. Ther's somedy traidin' ov us heels, Hartley
Budget (1869) 76 ; w.Yks.* Lan. Ov eawr weddin day, Brierley
Layrock (1864) xiv ; Well, Billy, aw think aw hit uv a plan. Lay-
cock S«^s. (1866) 28. Not.' s.Not. As soon as 'egor up of 'is feet,
'e runned away (J.P.K.). Lin. Thou's rode of 'is back like a
babby, Tennyson Owd Rod (1889). n.Lin.i sw.Lin.' I only set
her of ten eggs. It seemed to press of it overmuch. Rut.' He
happened ov his ooncle in Stahmford. Lei.', War.^ Wor. 'E
'elps the coachman, manages the 'orses, waits uv '«m, and sich as
that (H.K.). s.Wor. He had no hair 'uv his head, Porson Quaint
JVds. (1875) 8. Hnt (T.P.F.) Cor.s Of purpose.
Hence of a fire, phr. on fire, alight.
e.Lan.' Siif.' 'Twas all of a fire in a moment. Ess. They things
are near of a fire, they'll get bunt up (W.W.S.) ; Ess.'
8. In.
e.Yks.'il/S. arfc?. (T.H.) w.Yks. He's noane poarlyovhissen; he's
nobbut sprained his enkle, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Oct. 5, 1895) ;
Ah'm all reight o miseln, but this [a cancer] 'uU finish ma sooin
(B.K.). Lan. (S.W.) n. Lin.' OA«. That none shall keep commons
but those that are resident of their house which they keep commons
for, Hibbaldstow Court Roll (1613). Wor. (H.K.) Suf. A-
walking . . . right of the middle o' the road I FisoN Merry Suf.
(1899) 47.
Hence /o«^q/"(foOT^a«j/'^m^,/^r.long in doing anything.
Sc. Ye wadna be lang o' tirin' o'd onyway. Swan Gates of Eden
(ed. 1895) V. Ayr. Him and his man werena lang o' howkin' a
grave. Hunter Studies (1870) 283. n.Cy., Yks. (J.M'.)
9. Of time : on ; in, in the course of.
Frf. So long as women sit up of nights listening for a footstep,
Barrie Minister (1891) xl. Nhb. The cuckoo comes of mid March,
Flk-Lore Rec. (1879) II. 50. n.Yks. He drahves up ov a neet,
Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 38. w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Who's
to find it all over a moor like this of a neet ! Hamerton Wenderholme
(1869) i. n.Lin.' It happen'd of Christmas Daayneet five-an-tho'ty
year sin. sw.Lln.' He'll come of Saturda'. Nrf. You see them
mostly of a night and morning, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 205.
Som. Only of a morning did she display any excitement, Raymond
Tryphena (1895) 69. w.Som.' I baint saafe what day 'twas, but I
do think 'twas of a Thursday. Der. 'Er'd ride a bit tu vox-hounds
ofa morning, Salmon Ba//arf5 (1899) 48; I think t'was of a Thursday,
Reports Provinc. (1885) loi.
10. Of duration of time : for, during, throughout.
Yks. It very frequently happened that I did not see him of a
day, TrialofW. Dy on {182S) 15. n.Yks. Ah cahntdeea'tuviiwahl
(I.W.). ne.Yks.' Of a long while, of a good bit, &c., 38. w.Yks.
He has not written of a long time, Sheffield Indep, (1874). Lan.'
He's not been here of ever so lung. Chs.' We'n not heeard on
him of ever so long. Not. He's never been near us of a fortnight
(L.C.M.) ; Not.' sw.Lin.' I haven'thad any medicine ofafortnight.
It's not been done of a many years. Lei.' Ah shain't be theer of
a dee or tew. Nhp.' I can't go of a week. War.^
11. For, on account of, in behalf of; in proportion to.
Gen. in phr. to wait of.
Sc. My toe is something the worse of my walk to the top of
Belvidere, Scott St. Reman (1824) iv ; His great longing ... to
be able to write something of which not only himself, but others
in the world, would be the better. Swan Gates of Eden (ed. 1895)
xii. Abd. That's twa wauchty beasts o' their age, min' ye, Alex-
ander Ain Flk. (1882) 155. Per. He wudna be the waur o' a
doctor, Ian Maclaren K. Carnegie (1896) 352. Ayr. Grown
gilpies o' lassocks and tumfies o' servant callants aboot the hoose
were fleyed o' their vera life to gang doon the auld wood in the
gloamin'. Service Notandums (1890) 52. e.Lth. There was never
a great measure o' reform cairrit yet, withoot somebody bein nane
the better o't. Hunter/. Inwick (1895) 158. Slk. Something she
had been the waur of, Hogg Tales (1838) 330, ed. 1866. e.Dur.'
To wait of any one. He's shootin' of us [he's shouting for us].
Cum.^ Faith was hardly fowerteen — stiddy aneuf of her yeage, 18.
Yks. I was up waiting of my master until two o'clock. Trial ofW.
ZiyoM (1828) 8. w.Yks. Will you call of me, 5Ae^«/rf/«rf^/i. (1874);
(J.W. ) Lan. Wait of me a minute, Fothergill Probation (1879)
i. Not. The gells wait of each other coming out of church
(L.C.M.) ; Not.' s.Not. We shan't wait much longer of him
(J.P.K.). Lin. We've been waiting of you ever so long (W.F.S.).
n.Lin.' I've been hoUerin' of thee for th' last hairf hoor. sw.Lln.'
The childer wait of each other at the lane-ends. Lei.' Barton
waited of Farmer Elborough. Nhp.' Call of him to-morrow. War.^
Hrf. E waz a winin away, er said, of all the world lik a child az iz
simple. Why John {Coll. L.L.B.).
12. With, as regards ; in company with, together with.
Gall. Wha winna be content wi' this Is ill to please o' wardly
bliss, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 44, ed. 1897. Nhb. 'Lisbeth's
goin' to get me ma tea, and ye'll, mebbe, tak' a cup along of us,
5. Tynedale Stud. (1896) Ruined. Yks., Lan. (J.W.) s.Wor. I
seen him along 'uv his wife. He used to walk 'uv a big stick,
PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 8 ; Ov a light in mah 'ond, Outis Vig.
Mon. in Berrows Jrn. (1896). Glo. Thease 'ere road . . . have
a-run'd away o' we, and us can't stop un nohow, Buckman Darkens
Sojourn (1890) vii. Suf. What's amiss of John, that he doesn't go
to work? (F. H.) Sur. You never shook haands o' me, Bickley
Sur. Hills (1890) III. xvii. Ken.'; Ken.^ I have no acquaintance
of him. Hmp.' Wil.' You just come along o' I ! Som. Have
you finished of it? (J.S.F.S.); Theer wa'n't nothin' the matter o'
the Union, Murray Nov. Note Bk. (1887) 255. Dev. Ginger 'e'd
got un for to come an' live 'long o' Liza, Country House (Apr. 1896)
82. [Amer. What's the matter of him? Dial. Notes(i8g6) I. 421.]
13. At. ^
Rnf. She's as gude o' the dinging as he's o' the driving, Webster
Rhymes (1835) 44. Don. Who looks in of the barn door with a
snicker of a laugh, Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 164. w.Yks.
T'wife begins o'meagean, Yksman. (1888) XmasNo. 23. w.Som.'
I wadn a larfin' oa- 'er. Tidn nort to larf o'.
14. Of time : to, before.
Sc. (A.W.) Sh. & Or.I. It is common to say '5 minutes o' ten'
for 5 minutes to ten (J.M.).
15. As ; like ; esp. in phr. of a rule.
N.I.' The same of that. e.Dur.' Or onything 0' that. w.Yks.
(J.W.) I.Ma. You see, of a rule, A fellow doesn like to look like
a fool, Brown Yams (1881) 11, ed. 1889. Wor. He does it of a
rule (H.K.).
OFF, adv., prep., adj., sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc.
Irel. Eng. and Aus. Also in forms aflf Sc. Bnflf.'; of Dur.
Cum." w.Yks. Lin. ; orf n.Yks.' ; oft Cum.' [of] 1. adv.
OFF
[329]
OFF
In comb, (i) Off-break, a schism; (2) -cast, an outcast,
castaway ; (3) -come, {a) the termination or result of any
affair ; the reception met with ; {b) an excuse, pretence,
evasion ; an apology ; a strange speech ; (c) a stranger ;
one who is not a native of the district ; (4) -comed, from
a distance, strange, foreign ; (5) -comer, see (3, c) ; (6)
-fall, a dropping, a scrap fallen off; (7) -faller, one who
declines from any course ; an apostate ; (8) -falling, {a)
a falling off, decline ; a deterioration ; {b) obs., a scrap,
anything cast off and thrown on one side ; a perquisite ;
(9) -fend, obs., to ward off ; (10) -gang, (a) an outlet ; (b)
a commencement, start, outset ; (11) -ganger, one who
journeys outwards ; (12) -gangin', (a) the amount or pro-
portion of a crop due to the out-going tenant of a farm
who leaves while the crop is growing ; {b) of a tenant :
out-going, leaving ; (13) -gate, [a) an outlet, exit ; a sale
or market for goods ; (b) an excursion from home ; (14)
•go, see (10, b) ; (15) -going, (a) a departure ; death ; (b)
see (10, b) ; (16) -kessen, cast off; (17) -lat, {a) see (10, a);
(6) a great display ; (18) -locked, locked up ; (19) -put, (a)
a delay, postponement ; a pretence for delay, an evasion ;
a feint ; {b) one who delays or procrastinates ; (c) a make-
shift, esp. a hasty meal ; (20) -putten, dilatory, delaying,
trifling ; (21) -putter, a loader of coals into a vessel at a
staith or spout; the agent of a colliery at a shipping quay ;
(22) -putting, {a) a putting off; delay, procrastination ;
(b) see (20) ; (23) -scrout, offspring ; (24) -scum, refuse,
off-scouring ; the rabble ; (25) -set, (a) see (10, b) ; (b)
a hindrance, delay ; anything that causes delay ; an
illness ; the time wasted by any hindrance ; (c) dis-
mission, the act of putting away ; an excuse, pretence ;
{d) an ornament; an attraction, recommendation, the crown
or best of anything ; (26) -sprig, (27) -sprout, an offspring ;
(28) -start, [a) see (10, b) ; (b) to begin, commence ; {29)
-take, (a) the deduction made from the wages of a miner
for fines, &c. ; {b) that part of the stock or outfit of a farm
which the tenant removes when leaving; (c) in mining:
the place or point at which boring or pump-rods are dis-
jointed ; (d) a jeering or jesting remark, ' chaff' ; (e) one
who exposes others to ridicule, a wag; a mimic, one who
takes off others ; (30) -take drift, a drift driven from low
ground into a shaft ; (31) -take joint, the joint by which
the pump-bucket is fastened to the spears or rods ; (32)
-taking, [a) jeering, ridicule, ' chaff' ; (b) ' chaffing,'
joking, waggish ; (33) -winning, a festivity held at the
finishing of a piece of work.
(i) BnfF.' The Free-kirk's an aff-brack fae the Aul' Kirk. (2)
Abd. He winna care fat the affcasts dee, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) xii. Slg. He will thinke him to be a reprobate, to be ane
offcast, Bruce Sermons (1631) ^, ed. 1843. (3, a) Sc. I had an
ill aff-come (Jam.). Fif. How are ye ? It's an ill affcome ye've had,
Meldrum Margredel (1894) 21. Cum.^ (6) Sc. A gude offcome,
prudently and creditably handled, may serve a nobleman and his
family. Lord kens how lang! Scott Bride of Lam. (1819"! xxvi ;
That's a puir aff-come (Jam.); For the further clearing of them or
giving us the fairer off-come in the eyes of the world, Shield
Contendings (1780) 179 (ib.). Lnk. The king signifies that ... he
meant ' such of them as did not take the test, or -any other oath' ;
which is a silly stretch and offcome, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) IV.
425, ed. 1838. n.Yks.2 What an off-come ! [a singular speech].
(c) Lakel."- In the Fell dales, those who are not natives of a dale
or district, or who have lately come into it, are called offcums, and
it is sometimes very long ere they are looked upon as possessing
the full freedom and social privileges of the dale or district. Wm.'
Nivver mell wi em, they're nobbet offcomes ! Lan.^ T'landlord
thenk'thim, . .praisin' t'off-cumchap o't'while,R. 'PiKErAS Ferness
Flk. (1870) 58 ; Morkim Bay ye off-comes ca't', Bigg A. Staunton
(i860) 6. n.Lan. The Burtons were ' offcomes,' for the name does
not occur in the older register, Cowper Hawkshead {iZi^) ; n.Lan.',
ne.Lan.i (4) Wm. Ise nivver fergit them two off-cumt chaps singin,
Taylor Sketches (18821 27. n.Wm. He's an off-comed un thoo can
tell bi his twang (B.K.). w.Yks. Yonds a off comed un, Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Sept. 28, 1895); (W.C.S.) n.Lan. (C.W.D.) (5)
n.Wm. They're baith off-comers — neabody knows mich aboot them
(B.K.). (6) Sc. The little morsel of mutton, with a portion of
accompanying off-falls, was duly approved of, Francisque-Michel
Lang. (i88a) 63. (7) Sc. Me, who am . . . bitterly shot at, by all
VOL. IV.
ranks of off-fallers from the cause of God, Shield Contendings
(1780) 40 (Jam.). (8, a) Sc. Often used of one who declines in
health or external appearance. Also in a moral sense (Jam.). (6)
Sc. Her kist was well made up wi' aff-fa'ins, Blyd ContractQAM.).
Edb. A' ye my retainers Wha frae my aff-fa'ens hae been gainers,
Learmont Poems (1791) 162. Kcb. O how many rich off-fallings
are in my King's house, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 70. (9)
Fif, The faemen wham he fac'd And frae the yettaff-fendit, Tennant
Papistry (1827) 176. (10, a) Bnff.i Thir wid be nae yse in pittin'
in drains there, for thir's nae aff-gang for the wattir. (6) Cum.i-
He coh squaren up teh me . . . thinkan teh freeten me eh te off-
gang, Sargisson foe Scoap (1881) 109 ; Cum." At t'varra furst
offgang. Wm. T'first offgang t'gallawa ran away (B.K.). (11)
n.Yks.2 (i2,n) Sc.(Jam. S«//i/.), ne.Lan.i (i) Sc. The off-gangin
tenant (Jam. Suppl.). (13, a) Lth. An aff-gate for goods (Jam.).
Nhb.' Several truncks and coale staithes, with on-gates and of-
gates to and from the sand, Article of Agreement (Mar. 20, 1704).
Cum. If a flood of water gathers, men are sent to ' mak an offgeate
for it.' A shopkeeper will continue his business if he has any off-
geate for his goods (E.W.P.). Yks. The auction mart system
offers such a handy offgate for stock (W.C.S.). (6) Cum. When
people's business was mostly cond ucted at home it was not desirable
to have many off-gaits, and the aged would say, ' What ! another
offgait ! ' (M.P.) (14) Per. He's plainer an' easier tae follow then
he wes at the affgo, Ian Maclaren K. Carnegie (1896) 305. (15, a)
Sc. He'll get a sudden and sharp off-going and ye will be the first
that will take the good news of his death to heaven, Walker Z,;/^
R. Peden (1727) 35 (Jam.). (6) Lnk. It wad fit him better tae mak'
awa' wi' that d — d fower-in-hand, at the first aff-gaun, Gordon
Pyotshaw (1885) 117. (16) n.Yks.2 (17, a) Bnff.i The wattir hiz
nae aff-lat. (b) Fin they geed in o' thir new hoose, they hid a
great aff-lat o' a faist, ib. (18) Hmp. The chancel door is off-locked,
Blackley Wd. Gossip (1869) 157. (19, a) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.i Nhb.i
Ye'r jeest an off-put o' time, laddy. Cum. It was just for an offput,
Gilpin Sk^s. (1866) 57; (M.P.) (6) Bnff.i, Nhb.i (c)Cai.i, Nhb.i
(20) Sc. Lisbeth H., ye aif-pitten body, . . hoo daur ye bide there
clashin', Swan Aldersyde (ed. 1892) 207. (21) Nhb.' No person
shall be capable of acting as off-putter or off-putters at any coal
staith upon the said river until he shall have taken and subscribed
an oath to the effect following, Tyne Skippers' and Keelman's Act
(1788). (22, «) Sc. Sweet at the on-taking, sour in the aff-putting,
Ramsay Proy. (1737). Bnff.i (4) Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.' He's varry off-
puttin. (23) n.Yks.2 (24) Cum. He is just e'en the offscum o' the
country, Rayson il/w. Po^ms (1858) 56 ; Cum.', n. Yks. ^ w.Som.'
The roughest lot ever I zeed, the very off-scum o' the country, I
should think. (25, a) Sc. A fine affset to ye takin' the bairn — eh ?
Lawson Sacrifice (1892). 37. n.Cy. (J.W.) w.Yks. Yks. Wkly.
Post (May 15, 1897) ; w.Yks.^ Shoo sud a started wi' him at t'off-
set an' then he wodn't ha' bin a trouble tul her i' her owd aage.
Out o' fettle throught' offset. (6) Sc. We've ha'en an affset every
month this simmer. . . Last pay my affset was three days (Jam.
Suppl.); John's ha'en a sair affset this while; it was a fivver.
Aye, he'll fin' that affset (i. e. the effects of it) for mony a day {ib.).
{c) Abd. Nor will sic affsets do the turn with me, Ross Helenore
(1768) 93, ed. 1812. id) Sc. That window o' flours is a gran' affset
to the room. That's his best pictur', it's the affset o' a' the lave
(Jam. Suppl.). Bnff.i The bow-windows are jist the aff-set o' the
new hoose. Lnk. One mov'd beneath a load of silks and lace,
Another bore the off-sets of the face, Ramsay Poems (ed. 1800) I.
40 (Jam.). (26) w.Ir. Her little offsprig was turned out body and
bones, Lover Leg. (1848) II. 547. (27) n.Yks.^ (28, a) n.Yks.2,
m.Yks.i (6) m.Yks.' A book 'begins' by off-starting with its
preface. (29, a) N.Cy.', Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr.
G/. (1888). (6) n.Yks.2 (c) Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. Sunk to this depth
for offtake. Borings (1881) II. 3. id) Sh.I. If doo wid gie him less
aff-taks, he widna taer dee sae muckle, Sh. News (Aug. 18, 1900) ;
Nane o' dy afftaks, ib. (Apr. 28, 1900) ; S. & Ork.', Cai.', Fif.
(Jam.) (e) BnfF.i Nhb. He's a reg'lar offtyek (R.O.H.). (30)
Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. Water pumped up a shaft is . . . delivered into
a drift or adit driven from low ground into the shaft. This is
called a delivery or off-take drift, Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (ed.
1888). (31) Nhb. Mining Gl. (1852); Nhb.' (32, a) e.Fif. I cud
thole their jeerin' an' aff- takin' nae langer, Latto Tam Bodkin
(1864) xiv. (i) Cai.' Bnflf.' A dinna like 'im ; he's a mokin' aff-
tackin' smatchit. Lnk. Dinna bother me wi' yer aff-takin remarks,
Murdoch Readings (1895) III. 71. (33) Sh.I. Hand dy tongue, . .
an' den ye'U get da affwinnin', Sh. News (Oct. 29, 1898) ; We just
bed tree days o' bereseed an' a day o' taties ta wirk, an' den we
were won aff. Sae we wir ta hae wir affwinnin' apo Setterday,
Stewart Tales (1892) 246; Dat wis da neist thing dat happened
within wir affwinnin' ouk, ib. 248.
U U
OFF
[330]
OFF
2. Phr. (i) off and on, {a) uncertain, unsettled; vacillat-
ing, undecided ; (6) of health : fluctuating slightly, so as
to remain in the same condition as a whole ; in the usual
state of health ; (c) lodging on the same floor of a house ;
{d) intermittently, at intervals ; irregularly ; occasionally ;
\e) more or less, thereabouts ; on an average ; (2) — and
on about, (3) — and on of, about, nearly ; {4) — at, off', from,
from off; (5) — at hooks, out of temper ; unwell ; (6) — at
the knot, (7) — at the nail, (8) — at the side, at side, or
at a side, deranged in mind, insane ; (9) — nor on, neither
one thing nor another ; uncertain, vacillating ; (10) — of
or off a(y, see (4) ; (11) — of on^s tongue, from memory ;
(12) — of the hooks, shabby, worn out, ailing ; (13) — of the
side, see (8); (14) — on offan or offen, see (4) ; (15) — 011
hand, out of hand, off one's hands ; (16) — on it, (a) poorly,
out of sorts, unwell ; (b) disappointed ; (17) to be eaten
off of one's feet, to be the victim of; (18) to be off (doing)
anything, {19) — from doing anything, (20) — of doing any-
thing, to avoid, prevent, help doing anything ; geti. in
neg. ; (21) —of one's feet with, see (17J ; (22) — on any one,
to despair of doing any one good ; (23) — or on, to make
up one's mind, to be decided, settled about anything ; (24)
— to gan, to be about to go ; (25) to blame off to, to put the
blame on ; (26) to get off of the spot, to get along, to walk ;
(27) to go off, to go on ; to take place, occur.
(i, a) Sc. I'll hae na off-and-on bargain; settle 't now (Jam.
Suppl.). Cai.^ To be aff an' on wi'd [in bargaining]. Cum.^
n.Yks.i Wheea, he's nobbut an off-an'-on soort o' chap, tak' him
at t'best ; n.Yks.^*, w.Yks.^, Lin.i n.Lin.^ He's niver steady, alus
off and on like a weather cock in a strong wind. Nhp.' They're
off and on, sometimes friends, and sometimes not. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
(6) Sc. A sick person is also said to be * aff and on,' as he was,
when there is no discernible difference in his situation (Jam.).
Cai.^ Bnff.l Oo i, a canna complaine ; jist aff an' on aboot the aul'
ordinar. Frf. ' Hoo are ye, Jess ? ' ' Muckle aboot it,' answered
Jess ; 'juist aff an' on,' Barrie Thrums (iSSg) vii. n.Cy. (J.W. )
w.Yks.i 'How's your mother?' 'I knaant hardly, shoe's seea
offan on.' (c) Sc. fjAM.) (d) Sc. We had moonlicht off-and-on
a' nicht (Jam. Suppl.). Cum. Ah was off an on wih t'seaam priest
till ah was turnt yan an twenty, SARGissoNyoi? Scoap (1881) 174.
n.Yks.*; n.Yks.'^ It off an on rains. w.Yks. Ah went three year
oflF an on. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; w.Yks.^ Lan.' He's bin
courtin' that lass off-an'on, now, for ten year. n.Lin."^ I doant do
it at noa set time, bud offan' on like. Oxf.^ MS. add. w. Som.^
I 'ant no reg'lar work like, but I goes to Farmer Tristram's oa'f-m-
au-n [off and on] like, {e) Sc. It lasted about twa hours off-and-
on (Jam. Suppl.). Cai.' Abd. Fat wud ye wauger but he's layin'
by half a rent, aff an' on, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 16. N.I.',
Cum.^ w.Yks. 1 It is so many miles to such a place off-and-on.
(2) Sc. Aff and on about twenty (Jam.). Cum.^ ' When's J won to
come beam ? ' ' Off an' on about May day.' (3) n.Yks. Off and
on of a pund (T.S.). e.Yks.i There was off an on o' twenty. It
was off an on o' Kesmas, MS. add. (T.H.) (4) w.Yks. T'chairman,
after jumpin of at table an sittin dahn, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla
Ann. (1847) 39, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Oct. 5, 1895). (5) ne.Lan.i
(6) Abd. Shirrefs Poems (1790) Gl. (7) Bnff.i (81 n.Cy. Grose
(1790). Cnin. Linton iflfe Qy. (1864) 308 ; Cum.* He was looked
upon with a little distrust, as not 'all there' — 'off at side,' ib.
Lizzie Lorton {1861) ]. 40. w.Yks.' Lan. They tell'n me that he
wur clen off at th' side for a while, Waugh Chim. Corner (1874)
121, ed. 1879. ne.Lan.', e.Lan.l (9) w.Yks.', Nhp.i (10) ne.Sc.
Gae doon affa that seat eynoo, ye limmer, Green Cordonhaven
(1887)96. Cai.' I wiz noor aff o' ma feet sin 'e mornin. Abd. Aff
o' the chingle, ALEXANDERyo/!»««)' GiJi (1871) vi. Ir. She'll be very
apt to not get e'er a chuck or a chucken off of me. Barlow Liscotinel
(1895) 6. Nhb.» The hat blew off of his heed. e.Yks. Bob got up
offa creeal, wheear he'd been liggin, Nicholson FlkSp. (1889) 34;
e.Yks.' ' Offa,' before a consonant, ' offav,' before a vowel. ' Ah
tell'd em ti pull apples offa yah three,' MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks.
O'm nivver off a me feet, Bywater Gossips, 3 ; He connot for-
shame To lift up his een off o' th' graand. Hartley Clock Aim.
(1868) 31, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Oct. 5, 1895) ; w.Yks.= Come,
lad, jump off o' f'cart. Not.' s.Not. She tumbled off o' the table
(J.P.K.). Lin. No market-town of less than eight miles of of it,
Pkyme ( 1696-7) in Surtees Soc. Fubl. 122. Rut.' She got it off of
Mr. Clarke. Lei.' Nhp.' Take your hands off of the table. He
bought his horse off of a farmer. War.^^ Suf. She never so much
as took a penny off of anyone, Fisott Merry Suf. (1899) 63. Wil.'
Thuck thur white-veaced un as Measter bought offa ole Collins
laas' yer. w.Som.' I bought'n in to market off o' th' old Jan Bale.
Dev. The cup fell off of his handle, Reports Provinc. (1877) 135.
(11) Bnff.'He leesht a kenna fou muckle o' Burns' aff o's tung. (12)
Lei.' My waste-band's wasted, and my doublet looks Like him that
wears it, quite off o' the hooks, Cleaveland Revived, 52. (13)
w.Yks. Yo'll see fowk i' th' street ivvery day 'at's off o' t'side, Yks.
Wkly. Post (May 15, 1897) ; Ah think yond chap's a bit off o' t'side.
Aws't goa off t'soide if they doan't mak' a less din, Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Oct. 5, 1895) ; w.Yks.5 (14^) Edb. Wiping the sawdust
affin't with my hand, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) x. n.Yks.* It
tumm'l'd offen t'shelf. ne.Yks.' He's rahv'd t'reeaf offen t'hoos.
Tak t'top offen t'pot. e.Yks. Ti get keeal pot offan his heead,
Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 37 ; e.Yks.' They pulled em offan em
beeath. w.Yks.Ah wasn't aboon a yerd ofif-on him at t'time (B.K.);
w.Yks.^ One on em pawn his shoes offen his feet. Not. He looks
very poor, he's just come oflfon a journey (L.C.M.) ; Not.' s.Not.
They live a good bit off on uz (J.P.K.). Lin. The sweat hales of 'n
me o' nights, Streaifeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 335. n.Lin.i If
yg fall off 'n that stee you'll kill yer sen. sv/.Lin.' She's never had
it off on her head. They've gotten a deal of money offen it. Lei.',
War. 22 [Anier. He's tore three aprons and two dresses offen me
this week, Cent. Mag. (Mar. 1901) 676.] (15) s.Not. They soon
get their children ofif'n hand (J.P.K.). (16, a) n.Yks.' My hus-
band's desper't off on't, Sir ; n.Yks.^ Strangely off on't. m.Yks.'
He had begun to pick up a bit, but to-day he's off on't again.
w.Yks. Of any one in a state of decline, we say they are 'gooin'
off on't,' but we don't use the term of any other ailment than
consumption, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Oct. 5, 1895). [b) n.Yks.* He
was sadly off on't when tha telled him o' Mary's trouble. (17)
Bnff.i (18) Glo.' He can't be off it ; GI0.2 17. Ess. He's such a
nice pleasant gentleman no one can be off loving him (A.S.-P.),
Wil.' A can't be off puttin' up a covey o' pa'tridges, if so be as a
goes whoam athert Four-Acre. [Aus. When we came to think of
it, they couldn't be off knowing us, Boldrewood Robbery (1888)
I. xiii.] (19) Sus.' I doant see how anyone can be off from mis-
agreeing with these here people (s.v. Misagree). Ken,' I couldn't
be off from going, he made such a point of it. (20) Lei.' A could'nt
be off o' knooin' it, 303. Oxf.' Um kyaant bee auf u injau'yin
dhuursel'vz ['Em can't be off o' injoyin' therselvesl. Brks.' If 'e
goes athirt the vield o' vallers, e' cant be off a zeein' the haayre.
Ess. No one could be off of loving that child (A S.-P.). (21) Bnff.'
He'sjist aff o's feet wee real rotlensweerta. She's afFo'hir feet wee
doonricht pride an' canker. (22)w.Yks.Ah'mreightoifonhim(J.R.).
(23) Sc. It is desired that one should be either aff or on ; . . as in
merchandise that he should either strike the bargain or entirely
break it off i,Jam.). Cai.' Knf. I'll be affor on wi'her. And that this
very nicht, Barr Poems (1861) 170. (24) e.Yks.' Ah's off ti gan.
(25) Dor.' He done it, and now da bliame it off to me. (26)
w.Yks. He's not as young as he once was, and cannot get off o'
t'spot so well (H. L.). (27) ib. A bit o' summat goin' off (J.T.F.).
3. On the right-hand side ; to the right.
w.Som.' ' To keep off' in driving.
4. Past, beyond.
Edb. The cornet's horse was just five [years] aff, Campbell
Deilie Jock (1897) ^^ ; ' Risin' sax.' 'Sax aff, I think ye mean,
gey weel aff,' ib. 69.
5. Up.
Nrf. It's reed-cuttin' in winter, mixin' it off with a little eel-
pickin, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 22.
6. prep. In phr. (i) off book, extempore, without book or
MS. ; see Book, sb. 4 (3) ; (2) —health, out of health ; (3)
— it, [a) insane, mad; (b) mistaken ; (4) — one's bat, see (2) ;
(5) — one's fodder, without appetite owing to a temporary
or slight illness; (6) — one's foot, weak, unfit for work;
(7) — one's know, out of one's mind, forgetful from a failing
memory; (8) — one's meat, s&& (5); (9) — one's ordinary,
not in one's usual state of health ; (10) — one's stomach,
(11) — one's tommy, see {5) ; (12) — the drink, sober ; (13) —
the hooks, (a) unwell, ailing ; shabby, worn out ; (b) dead ;
(14) — the side, see (3, a) ; (15) — the stick end, direct,
straight away ; (16) — the turn, ceasing to swing.
(i) Sc. He preached off book to shun offence, Dickson Auld
Milt. (1892) 116. (2) Cum. He was nivver off hilth a day in his
life, Richardson Talk (1876) and S. 73. (3, a) w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lan. I believe thou'rt gooin off it, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner)
II. 251 ; Lan.' He's gooin' off-it, sure enough— tha should yer
him talk. ne.Lan.', e.Lan.', Chs.' {b) Lan.' Nay, tha'rt off-it
this toime— tha mun try again. Chs.' (4) Cum.' (5) Wm.
(B.K.) (6) Sc. I never saw him sae sair aff his fit as now (Jam.),
OFF
[331]
OFFAL
(7) n.Yks.2 (8) Wm. (B.K.), w.Yks. (J.W.) (9) Ayr. Jean . . .
admitted that her man was off his ordinar', Johnston Kilmallie
(,1891) II. 28. (10) Nrf. Come boy, what's the matter? Yd\i're
off your stomach this morning (W.P.E.). (11') Wm. (B.K.) (12)
Lnk. When aff the drink he was sae kin' — fell Drink ! Nicholson
Idylls (1870) 117. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) (13, a) w.Yks.2, Not.^,
Lei.', War.^ (6) w.Som.' Look'd shockin bad, did'n er ; I count's
gwain off the hooks 'vore long, poor fuller. (14) w.Yks. If his
happiness had lasted long he'd ha gooan cleean off th' side,
Hartley Clock Aim. (.1877) 11. (15) w.Yks. I'd rather give a
body ten shillings off stick end nor owe such a chap as that
a single shilling, Tom Lee (1B75) 155. (16) Lnk. I canna get
doein' a han's turn for them ; the door's never off the turn wi'
them, Fraser Whaups (1895) 183.
7. Indicating source : from, of; out of.
Sc. I could show ye letters frae his father that was the third aff
Glenstrae, Scott Roh Roy (1817) xxvi; We can't keep Marget off
/C60, Swan Aldersyde (ed. 1892) 59. Per. To support Marjorie
off the wages she earns, Ian Maclaren K. Carnegie (1896) 44.
Nhb. Or mischiefe off our kye or sheepe, Richardson Borderers
Table-bk. (1846) VI. 312 ; Off sic she feeds the bairns and me,
Wilson PitmarCs Pay (1843) 10 ; Nhb.' Aa'l borrow'd off ye.
Cum.2 A foal off yon meear, 225. n.Yks.i He's getten anither
foal off t'aud meear. w.Yks. (J.W.) Chs.' He took it off me.
s.Stf. I bought this off the mon at the corner, Pinnock Blk. Cy.
Ann. (1895). Not. I bought it off him (L.C.M.) ; Not.i Rut.' Oi
bought it off Mr. Berridge. Lei.' Ah bought it off 'im. Nhp.2
War. 2 I bought these fowl off a badger ; War.^" s.War.' I bought
'em off Rosey Ann. Wor. He has a couple of fowl off the carrier
(C.W.). w.Wor.i Shr.i ; Shr.2 I heard it off Mr. Chose. Hrf.^
Glo. He ordered a load of coal off the defendant, Evesham Jm.
(Mar. 6, 1897) ; Glo.i
8. From, from the direction of.
Sc. (A.W.) Fif. The wind is aff a dry airt, Robertson Provost
(1894) 19. I.Ma. Be dasent for all, as becomin' one comin' off
Ballacowin, Rydings Tales (1895) 116.
9. Besides, in addition to ; different to.
w.Yks. (J.W.) ; w.Yks.3 You will want some off the scholars.
10. Concerning. Stf ^ 11. adj. In comb, (i) OfiF-corn,
? obs., refuse corn, inferior grain ; (2) -cuit, the right ancle ;
(3) -side, the further or right side.
(i) Dur. Raine Charters Finchale, &c. (1837) p. xxix. Nrf. Arch.
(1879) VIII. 171. Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 297, ed. 1849;
Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). [Such ofcorne as commeth giue
wife to hir fee, Feede willingly such as do helpe to feede thee,
Tusser Husbandrie (1580) 176.] (2) Edb. Twice wounded— once
in the aff-cuit, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xxviii. (3) Sc. (Jam.),
Nhb.i, ii.Yks.=, Brks.i w.Sora.i The right side of a horse, a
carriage or road is the ' off side.'
12. Distant, far, remote, at a distance.
Cum.' Used in the boundary roll of Aspatria. Wm. She went
ta Kendle, er Peerath, er enny er thor off pleeaces. Spec. Dial.
(1872) pt. i. 22. e.Yks.i A off barn, stable, shed, pasture, &c.,
MS. add. (T.H.)
Hence (i) Off-country, adj. from a distance, strange ;
(2) -farm, sb. a farm held by a tenant who does not reside
on it ; see Ofif-hand, 4 ; (3) -man, sb. a stranger, one from
(i) e.Yks.i (2) Ess. A bailiff on an off-farm (S.P.H.). (3)
n.Yks.2, ne.Yks.l
13. Not being used, at a standstill, turned off.
Nhb. The boiler had been off, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk.
(1846) V. 172. w.Yks. T'wotaz bin of far a lot) wail (J.W.).
14. Deranged in mind, insane.
Bnff.' He wiz lang jummlet; bit he's aff athegeethir noo.
n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
15. Sad, sorrowful, regretful.
e.Yks.' Sha was sadly off aboot poor Bessy deeath, MS. add.
(T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Chs.i Mis-is will bey of wen 00 eyurz.
16. Learnt, committed to memory ; gen. in phr. to get or
have off. See Get, 4, Have, III. 1 (3).
Sc. (A.W.) e.Dur.i (s.v. Get). Cum.His questin was rang, or
his task was'nt off, Farrall Betty Wilson (1886) 35 ; His lessons
niwer was off (E.W.P.) ; Cum.* Have you got your lessons off?
' The next thing we gat, was ivvery yan a gay lang task to git
off i' t'hellidays,' Richardson Talk (1871) ist S. 19. ' He'd nobbet
a single letter of,' Silpheo Billy Brannan (1885) 4. Wm. Willie
had a gae bit off, fer he went tel skooal tel t'maester sed he
cud laarn him neea fardther, Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii. 3. n.Yks."
Ah've gitten my task off. Ah've gitten him off noo [I know all
about him now]. w.Yks. Get that poetry off bi heart bi to-morn
at neeght, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Sept. 28, 1895) ; When we've getten
th' lesson off by heart, we find th' advantage on it, Hartley Ditt.
(1868) ist S. 87 {ib.). n.Lin.i (s.v. Get.)
17. sb. A descendant; offspring; one of a progeny or
family ; fig. a young shoot of any kind.
n.Yks.i; n.Yks.^ She's a off o' aud Nanny's. m.Yks.' Is this
little one of the off too, then?
18. An outing, excursion, a day off.
w.Yks. Awm sewer he'd enjoy th' off. Hartley Grimes' Visit
(1892) i ; Very common (J.W.).
19. In marbles : the Hne from which the marbles are
shot at the beginning. Dor.' 20. Phr. to be for off, to
be about to go, to be going off.
Sc. (A.W.) w.Yks. It flashed upon me that he was for off,
Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) xvi ; (J.W.)
21. V. To go off or away.
Sc. (A.W.) Cum.* They off wi' a brattle, 'mang sticks and
hats waving, Rayson Bmff Reaces, st. 5. Yks. (J.W.) I.Ma.
She offs with him to town (S.M.) ; ' I'd better,' says Nessy, . .
and offs with him, Brown Witch (1889) 18.
22. With with : to take off, doflf.
Per. Gin there be a bit shower she offs wi' her bonnet, and
puts it aneath her shawl, SoMrfv Sm« ( 1897) 82. Cum. I off wi'
my clogs, an as whisht as a mouse, Clavert up to the window,
Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 6. Yks., Lan. (J.W.) s.Chs.'
So 'e off with 'is shoe, 103. Stf. He offs wi' his coat an' wanted
to fight, Cornh. Mag. (Jan. 1894) 41. Nrf. So I jest off wi' my
butes an' stockins, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) i39' Suf.
She offed with her cap of rushes, Fison Merry Suf (1899) 24.
OFF, see Ought, v.
OFFAL, sb.\ adj. and v. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Stf Der. Not. Lin. Lei. War. Wor. Shr. Glo. Oxf.
Hnt. Hrf. Mid. e.An. Ken. Wil. Dor. Also written offil
n.Yks.= s.Chs.' n.Lin.' se.Wor.' Shr.' ; ofBe e.Lan.' s. Wor.'
Glo.'; and in forms auffol Nrf ; hoffiln.Lin. ; hofiBe Der.^
nw.Der.' ; hoffol s.Not. [o'fl.] 1. sb. The inferior
portions of meat; the refuse of slaughtered animals;
occas. in pi.
Sc. (A.W.), n.Cy. (J.W.) Yks. ' Butcher's offal ' is the usual
term in respect of the flesh of cattle, as is ' pig-offal ' of swine
(C.C.R.). e.Yks.' Thecuttingsofporkwhenapigiskilled. 'We
sail he' plenty ov offal noo we getten her killed.' Chs.' The offal of
an animal does not particularly mean the intestines, but those por-
tions which, in selling by weight, become the butcher's perquisite ;
such as the head, feet, skin, internal fat, liver, &c. Market prices
are often quoted as 'sinking the offal,' that is, selling the carcase,
but giving the above portions in. s.Chs,' The offil of a pig includes
everything except the bacon, even the pork. Ahy kijd ddo wi)th
bai-kn, bur ahy du)nu noa- wot d<5o wi)dh ofil [I could do wi' th'
bacon, bur I dunna know what do wi' th' ofBl]. Der.^, nw.Der.'
n.Lin.' Pig's feet, ears, &c. se.Wor.' The liver, heart, lungs, &c.,
of a pig. Shr.' Every part of a carcase that does not come under
the recognized category of the larger pieces and joints, — as of
a pig, all but the flitches and hams. ' I dunna like to see the
flitchen cut afore May-day, an' it nee'na be, if the offil is used
earful.' Oxf.' w.Wid. Those parts of a carcase of mutton, beef,
&c., which are removed before it is weighed. Besides the entrails
it includes the head, feet, &c. (W.P.M.) Wil.' Pig-meat, i.e.
spare-rib, griskin, &c. — as opposed to bacon (G.E.D.). Dor. We
got a lot ov offal for to fry, Barnes Poems (ed. 1879) 30.
Hence Offal-pork, sb. all the joints of a pig which are
not bacon, hams or ' hands.' Chs.'
2. The small or inferior kinds of fish.
e.An. On the east coast of England ... the trade divide the fish
into two classes — ' prime and offal.' . . The second chiefly haddock,
plaice, and whiting, N. &> Q. (1867) 3rd S. xii. 283. Nrf. The
bill in a box aboard the cutter. That said . . . offal — haddocks and
such like, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 39 ; The ' boys ' fried the
' auffol,' as they call all fish taken in their nets except smelts.
Fishing Gazette (Dec. 13, 1890) 320, col. 2. Lon. In the London
fish market, N. &> Q. (1867) 3rd S. xii. 283.
3. The refuse part of grain after winnowing or grinding ;
bran ; the sweepings of a granary or loft ; fig. rubbish,
refuse of any kind. Also in pi. and in comp. Oflfal-corn-
wheat.
N.I.' w.Yks. A corn-dealer's offal is . . . the small, faulty,
grub-eaten grains which are separated in the process of winnowing,
and are sold as ' beer corn,' Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 26, 1896) ;
U U 2
OFFAL
[332]
OFF-HAND
w.Yks.^ Chs.i The lighter grains winnowed from the marketable
samples, and used for feeding fowls. s.Chs.i s.Not. 'E gies 'is
pig noat but later an' sich-like offals. The bosses won't eat them
offals ; it's good for noat but litter (J.P.K.). n.Lin.i s.Lin.
There's a sack of offals ready (F.H.W.). Ken. (D.W.L.)
Hence OfBings, sb.pl. the refuse in winnowing. Glo."^
4. Waste wood.
s.Not. Do yer want a bit of offal wood ? (J.P.K.) w.Wor.i, Glo.i
5. The non-essential portion of the stock, the etceteras
of a dairy-farm, everything excluding the herd of milking
cows.
s.Chs.i Ahy mai'd)th rent aayt ii'jdh of il [I made th' rent ait
o' th' ofRl], i.e. from the pigs, 'turn-off' cows, and the like.
6. adj. Inferior, superfluous ; dirty, untidy ; ftg. worth-
less, disreputable, vile, contemptible ; in ill health.
Yks. An offal fellow (C.C.R.). e.Yks.i Oflfal-fella. m.Yks.i
w.Yks.^ He's an offal fellow. n.Stf. I'll neer want to do aught
but th' offal work as she wonna like to do, Geo. Eliot A. Bede
(1859) II. no. s.Stf. I consider him a offal sort o' chap, I ca' see
what her con see in him, Pinnock Blh. Cy. Ann. (1895). s.Not.
'E's a hoffal man ; 'e's good for noat (J.P.K.). n.Lin.^ She's
a sore offil lookin' creatur as onybody could leet on in a twelve-
munth. ' How's your wife to-day, Smith ? ' ' Well, thank you,
sir, she's nobbud offil, very offil, I doant think as iver she mends
oht.' sw.Lin.i Trade's better now, so that'll mak' work for some
of the offal men. She'd only the offal birds to' sell. Lei.' War.
He's an offal creatur as iver come about the primises, Geo. Eliot
Floss (i860) I. 42 ; War.^ Oxf.i ' Offal 'ay,' ' offal straw.' Hrt.
Light offal kernels, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) III. i. 155.
Hence (i) Offald, adj. inferior, worthless ; untidy, ugly ;
disreputable, vile ; also used advb. ; (2) Offaldment, sb.
anything of no value ; a mean, worthless person ; (3)
Offaldy, (4) Offaling, adj. of the nature of refuse ; rubbishy,
worthless ; (5) Oifalment, sb. (a) the intestines of animals ;
(b) see (2) ; (6) OfFalous, adj., (a) see (i) ; (b) in bad health ;
(7) Offaly or Offally, (a) adj., see (i) ; (b) adv. ill, badly.
(i) w.Yks. Dat an ofld liukin sliqk (J.W.) ; w.Yks.i He's an
offald fellow ; w.Yks.^, eXao.^ Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) III.
i. (2) n.Yks.i w.Yks.i He's some offaldment I'll uphod him, ii.
17- (3) n.Yks.l (4) s.Chs.i Dhur)z nuwt left bu sum of'ilin stuf,
iiz iz nbo ydos tii nbo'bri [There's nowt left bu' some ofEIin' stuff,
as is noo use to noobry]. s.Wor.i (5, a) n.Yks." (b) n.Cy.
HoLLOWAY. n.Yks.', w.Yks.35 (6^ a) w.Yks. He wor sich an a
little bit ov an hofalas-lookin chap, Tom Treddlehoyle Exhibition
(1857)24. n.Lin.i He's a offilous chap. (6) n.Lin.^ (7,0) n. Yks.*,
e.Yks.l m.Yks.i He'd a nasty good-to-nothing offaly look with
him. {b) n.Yks.i In composition, as 'offally-made,' ' offally-
looking'; n.Yks.^ An ofBly made man; n.Yks.* Offaly putten
together. m.Yks.i
7. V. In phr. it {he) offals well, said when the appurten-
ances of the slaughtered animal are good in size ; ulso Jig.
of one who has left much property or ' cut up well.'
Cum.i Hes he offal't weel ? n.Yks.2
[4. Offal, that ys bleuit of a thynge, as chyppys or ojier
lyke, caducum. Prompt.]
OFFAL, s6.2 Yks. [o'fl.] A shank of beef. The
same word as Houghle, sb.^ (q-v.)
w.Yks. Either the fore or the hinder — preferably the latter — leg
of a bovine when killed and cut up for meat is so known in Wils-
den. It is used especially for making beef-tea, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(May 2, 1896) ; w.Yks.' The shank of beef, frequently though
erroneously called offal (s.v. Houghle).
OFFENCE, V. N.I.i [afe'ns.] In phr. no offence, a
rejoinder when one's pardon has been begged.
OFFEND, V. Nrf. [sfe'nd.] In pass. : to regret, grieve.
John is offended that he left you so soon (U.W.).
OFFER, V. and sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in form hoffer Wm. [o-f3(r.] 1. v. To attempt ;
to make an effort or start ; to show intention or promise of.
Ayr. I'm tauld he offers very fairly, Burns Lett, to J. Tennant.
Lnk. I kent they would bite if I offered to steer, Nicholson Idylls
(1870) 38. N.I.i Don't offer to do it. n.Cy. (J.W.) Cum. This
frost offers to feed on a bit yet. ' It cannot offer to walk '—said
of an animal suddenly seen to be lame (M.P. ). Wm. I hofferd tae
git up, but I cudnt stand, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 40> ^d. 1820.
w.Yks. Thah mud a done it long sin but thah's nivver offer'd,
Banks Wkjld. IVds. (1865) ; w.Yks.s m.Lan.i Tha offers badly.
sw.Lin.i He mut lig on the bed, and sit up on end a bit, afore he
offers to walk. Oxf.' I telled 'n to go, but a never offered to muv.
MS. add. Wil.i He offered to hit I. w.Som.* He'd offer very
well but he can't nezackly come it. Dev.^ Why, quoth I to en agen,
you want offer to zay so ! 14.
Hence Offering, sb. a small quantity ; an imperfect
performance.
Abd. ' I have covered it.' ' You have not ; you've only gi'en 't
an offering' [of earth] (G.W.).
2. To hold up or display for the purpose of testing the
appearance of anything ; to try ; to experiment with.
Gen. with up or on.
Nhp.i Shall I offer up, or offer on, that frame, to see if it will fit
the picture ? Suf. Let's offer the door up again afore hanging it ;
'haps that want a little moreeasingyet (C.G.B.) ; e.An.Dy. Times
(1892). Ken.i I once heard a master paperhanger say to his
assistant, when a customer was inspecting some wall-papers, 'Just
offer this paper up for the lady to see." e.Ken. I will offer the
shrubs before planting them (G.G.). Hmp.i 'Let's offer un up.'
Of a picture, or looking glass, or such like.
3. To offer up ; to sacrifice ; to surrender.
Yks. He did nothing but offer himself for her for so long as she
lived (CC.R.). m.Yks.i Go and offer thyself before thou's made.
4. With out : to challenge any one to fight.
w.Yks. (J.W.) ; w.Yks.s He offered muh art [outj an' I tuke him.
5. sb. Obs. Choice ; disposal.
Sc. If I had vast wealth in my offer, I would not accept of it,
Scoticisms (1787) 62 ; I had much in my offer. Monthly Mag. (1798)
II. 437 ; If I had never so much in my offer, I would not do it,
Mitchell Scotticisms (1799) 60.
6. An attempt.
Ir. He makes a very good offer at it. Tho' you can't do it you
can make an offer at it (A.S. -P.). N.I.i w.Som.i In practising any
athletics, or aiming at a mark, it is very common to hear, ' That
was a good offer, then ! ' ' They sheep be gwain to break out,
they've a-made two or dree offers a'ready.'
7. An occasion, opportunity.
w.Ir. The first offer afther I make her as good as new, Lover
Leg. (1848) I. 9.
8. A small knob on the top of a stag's horn.
w.Som.i The offer is the rudiment, not always found, which in
the succeeding year develops into the perfect point. n.Dev. We
sent for a boat, and he was taken at about half-past seven with
Chorister on his back. B. T. 2. B. T. Up : with two strong offers,
Rec. n.Dev. Stag. 57, in Elworthy Gl. (1888) ; Little knobs appear
on the beam like points about to grow, which are said to be ' offers,'
asifapoint had offered to grow there, Jefferies if «ar£)«CT' (1884) iv.
9. A projecting or overhanging bank. Cf. overs, sb. pl.^
Rxb. ' Offer of a brae,' the projecting part of the bank of a river,
that has been undermined by the action of the water (Jam.).
OFF-HAND, adv., adj. and sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc.
and Eng. Also in forms aff-han(d Sc. ; a£Sn-hand Ags.
(Jam.) [o-fa-n(d.] 1. adv. Without premeditation or
delay, instantly, forthwith ; lately.
Sc. 'Gree wi' thine adversary affhan' whiles thou art in the way
wi' him, Henderson St. Matt. (1862) v. 25. Cai.i Ayr. Let us
get this executed aff-hand, Galt Entail (1823) xlvii. Lnk. Wer't
my case, ye'd clear it up aff-hand, Ramsay Poems (1800) II. 154
(Jam.). Edb. Ere they flinch they will aff-hand E'en gae their
ways, Hai'st i?i^ (1794) st. 108. Nhb.i, Yks. (J.W.) s.Chs.i Aay
lung)z yur weyf bin jed? — Jus naay, of-aan-d ['Half lung's yurweif
bin jed?' 'Just naii, off-hand']. Hnt. (T.P.F.) w.Som.i I mid
do it, arter a bit ; but I 'on't do it not now, off-hand [oa'f-an-].
Hence Off-handed, adj. written or done on the spur of
the moment.
Per. Awa gangs the following epistle or aff-handit letter, Stewart
Character (1857) 38.
2. Phr. to farm off-hand, to hold a second farm without
residence on it ; of land : to be farmed by a tenant who
does not reside on it. Also called to farm off-handed.
Nrf. The land had been farmed ' off-hand,' that is to say, the
tenant did not live on the farm, but put in a working bailiff. Hag-
gard Farmers Year in Longman's Mag. (Sept. 1898) ; He farms
off-hand. Arch. (1879) VIII. 171 ; When a man has a second farm
at a distance from his house, he is said to farm it off-handed
(W.P.E.). Suf. (Hall.)
3. adj. Plain, honest, blunt; free-spoken. Sc. (Jam.),
Cai.i Hence Off-handed, adj. stiff, haughty ; brusque.
w.Som.i I've a-zeed-n ter'ble off-handed likeway zome what don't
know their place. s.Dev. They were not so off-handed as they
were last year, Reports Provinc. (1883) 90.
OFFICE
[333]
OH
4. Of a farm : owned by a tenant who does not reside
there. Also called Off-handed.
Nrf. (W.R.E.) ; The labourer in charge of an ' off-hand' farm,
Haggard Farmers Year in Longman's Mag. (Sept. 1898). Ess.
Looker, a man in charge, a bailiff on an off-hand farm (S.P.H.) ;
Ess.i
5. sb. Any colliery workman, except a hewer or putter.
Also in comb. Off-hand man.
Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (i888).
Hence Offhanded, adj. not engaged in hewing and
putting coal in a pit.
N.Cy.' Workmen about a coal-pit are said to be off-handed. Nhb.i
Off-handed men.
OFFICE, see Oaves, sb.pl.^
OFFICIAR, sb. Obs. Sc. Also written officier. An
officer ; an official.
Sc. The said officiar did execute and proclaime the brieve, Skene
Difficill Wds. (1681) 24. Abd. Ilk ofBcier beside his own baillie,
TuRREFF Gleanings (iSsg) 28. Per. Ordains John Jack and Archi-
bald Steedman, their ofBciars, to make intimation, Maidment
Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) I'. 279. Fif. The officiar of the kirk
was cassin in preasone, Melvill Auiobiog. (1610) 131, ed. 1842.
Hdg. All others His Majestie's judges, ofEciars and ministers of the
lawes, Ritchie St. Baldred (1883) 59.
OFFIL, OFFIS, see Offal, sb}. Oaves, sb. pl>
OFFISH, adj. Sc. Yks. Lin. Brks. Dor. Som. Dev.
Amer. [o'flj.] 1. Distant in manner, unapproachable ;
reserved, shy, unsocial. In gen. colloq. use.
n.Yks.2 n.Lin.^ He Stan's no chanch o' gettin' into Parliament ;
he's oher offish. Brks.' At vust I tried to maayke vriends wi' 'un,
but I vound 'un maain ofEsh an' zo now I lets 'un alawne. Dor,
She's not fond of him — quite offish and quite careless, I know.
Hardy Madding Crowd (1874) Hi. w.Som.' Her's very well like
to the poor vokes, but I zim her's a little bit offish like. Dev. He
was ofEsh o' I, Pulman Sketches (1842) 120, ed. 1871. [Amer. He
aint a bit offish. Cent. Mag. (Apr. 1882) 927.]
Hence OfSshness, sb. hauteur, reserve.
Ayr. A kind of placid and amiable 'offishness' that strove to repel
familiarity, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) Memoir 15.
2. Unwell, out of health.
n.Yks." I've been offish o' leeat.
OFFLE, V. Yks. Nhp. To walk in a lazy, slouching,
aimless manner ; to shuffle. See HofQe, v.
Nhp.' See how that poor man goes offling along, he won't be
here long. e.Yks. He gans offlin' aboot toon all day like an awd
shackling (R.S.).
OFFLE, see Offal, sb?-
OFFMAGANDY, sb. s.Chs.^ The best and choicest
of delicacies. See Hough, sb} 2 (6).
Rich, stiff cream would be described as ' real offmagandy ' [of--
miigy'aan'di].
OFFWARD, adv. Sc. Ess. Mid. Also in forms af-,
aff- Sc. [o-fad.] 1. Obs. Away, off.
Enf. (Jam.) Feb. He stole affward sly, Lintoun Green (1685) 23,
ed. 1817.
2. To the right or off side.
Ess. I notched my plough offward and toward. Trans. Arch. Soc.
(1863) II. 186; (W.W.S.) -w.Mid. Used of leading horses when
ploughing, &c. To plough offward, is to turn to the right at the
end of the furrows. ' Hold offw^ard,' turn to the right. Opposed
to ' toward,' to the left (W.P.M.).
0FI,s6. Ayr. [o'fi.] A privy, an out-house, lit. ? office.
(F.J.C.)
O-FISH, sb. Sc. The cuttle-fish, Septa loligo. Lth.
(Jam., s.v. Hose-fish.)
OFT, adv. and adj. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Lan.
Der. Also Dev. Also in forms aft Sc. ; auf Dev. [oft.]
1. adv. Often, frequently ; esp. in compar.
Sc. A sinking master makes aft a rising man, Ramsay Prov.
(1737). Sh.I. A supper 'at wid be better fir da young an' auld
baith, if dey wid hae it after, Sh. News (Aug. 26, 1899). Nhb.i
He gans ofter ti the public nor's good. Dur.', Lakel.'^ Cum.
I hae telt thee oft, Andersou Ballads (1805) 27 ; Cum.', n.Yks.124
e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. What has oftest come back into
my mind is a fearful shout that one of them gave, Snowden Web
of Weaver (1896) 11 ; w.Yks.' ; w.Yks.s ' Hes tub bin ten times? '
' Aye, ofter nur that.' n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', e.Lan.', nw.Der.' Dev.
Wy du us an tha Varazees vast auf? Baird S. Matt. (1863) ix. 14.
Hence Oftish, adv. repeatedly, very often.
N.Cy.i n.Yks.2 Ower oftish. e.Yks.' .A/5. arfrf. (T.H.) w.Yks.
(J-W.)
2. adj. Frequent, numerous, repeated.
Sc. And the parson can tak' a glass for his oft infirmities, Steel
Rowans (1895) 84. Dmb. Wi' empty kite and dirdums aft and
dour, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 12.
Hence Ofttimes, adv. often.
Sc. Afttimes the cautioner pays the debt, Ramsay Prov. (1737).
OFT, see Ought, v.
OFTEN, adj s.Chs.' [o'fn.] Frequent. Cf. Bible
I Tim. V. 23.
OFTEmSU,adv. N.Cy.' Very often.
OFTENS, adv. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Lan. Lin. Also in
forms hoffens Lin.; hoftens Lan. ; ofensn.Lin.' ; ofFance
w.Yks. ; offens N.Cy.' Dun' e.Yks.' w.Yks.^ ; offense
e.Yks. Lin. ; offlnsNhb.'; ofFns n.Yks.* ; offuns w. Yks.^
[o'fanz.] Often.
N.Cy.i, Nhb.', Dur.', e.Dur.', n.Yks.'" ne.Yks.' Ah off'ns
thinks aboot it. e.Yks. At was laid i' middle o' rooad, as sike
fond things offense diz, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 33 ; e.Yks.'
He offens gets a sup ower mich. w.Yks. Thare varry offance
t'warst pairtners, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1838) 9;
w.Yks. '25 Lan. When they'n spiled ther stummucks wi' gin-an'-
water, an' weakened ther digeshtion, they'll hoftens go 'bout
breakfast, Hamerton Wenderholme (1869) i. Lin. An I'm offense
used, N. &> Q. (1865) 3rd S. viii. 503 ; The little gells bobs to
ma hoffens es I be abroad i' the laanes, Tennyson Spinster's
Sweet-arts (1885) ; Lin.', n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' How oftens it is they
are cutten off in a moment.
OGADOO, sb. Sh.L [o'gadti.] A weed which grows
among corn ; also applied jocularly to mean, thin, lean
corn. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 46.
[Cp. MDan. agerdun, ' tomentum pratense ' (Kalkar).]
OGAGOT, sb. Sh.L [o-gagat.] A pet term for a
little child ; a jocular name for a very small person or
child. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 49.
OGENAGH, sb. N.L' [o-gansx.] A simpleton.
OGERHUNCH, sb. Sh.L Also in form oagarhinnse
S. & Ork.' [o'gar-hans.] An animal in a very poor con-
dition ; any frightful or loathsome creature, esp. a bat,
Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 63 ; S. & Ork.'
OGERTFUL, adj Obs. Sc. Also in form ugertfow.
Affecting delicacy of taste ; squeamish.
Bch. It was enough to gi' a warsh-stamack'd body a scunner,
bat ye ken well enough that I was never werra ogertfu', Forbes
Jrn. (ed. 1785") 3. Abd. They're grown sae ugertfu' and vaunty,
Bealtie's Address, st. 11, in Ross Helenore (1768) 5, ed. 1812.
[A der. of obs. Sc. ogart, pride, arrogance. Na ogart na
pryd is J>e with-in. Leg. Saints (c. 1400), ed. Metcalfe, H.
105. Cp. ME. augard, proud {Wars Alex. (1450) 2343).]
OGGERY.MAW, -MOW, see Hoggerdemow.
OGH, OGHIE, see Och, Ochie.
OGIE, sb. Sc. Also written oggie. [o'gi.] The opening
before the fireplace in a kiln, a ' killogie.' The same word
as Logie (q.v.). See also Kiln-hogie, -logie, -ogie, s.v.
Kiln, sb}
Sc. The oggie of a kiln is often large enough to afford sleeping-
room to houseless waifs, N. & Q. (1872) 4th S. x. 380. Lnk.
Ogie is commonly used in the higher parts of Lnk., often without
the term ' kill ' being prefixed (Jam.).
OGLET, sb. Obs. Sc. A term applied to a theodolite,
as something to spy with.
Ayr. John Angle, wi' a rueful countenance, gathered up the
catastrophes of his oglet, Galt Lairds (1826) viii.
OGNEL, adj. Hrf^ [o'gnl.] Ugly, awkward, dis-
agreeable.
OGOS, sb.pl. Cor.'2 [o'gSz.] Caves along the shore,
cliff caves. See Fogo, sb.^
[OCor. ogo, a cave, cavern (Williams) ; Wei. ogof,
' cauea ' (Davies).]
OGREATH, see Graith, 4.
OGRIE, sb. ? Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) An ogre ; a giant with
large fiery eyes supposed to feed on children.
OH, int. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
written o. [o.] In comb, (i) O ! ah 1 an exclamation of
surprise ; (2) — ay, yes ; (3) -brave, (a) an exclamation
OH
[334]
OKABEL(L
of commendation ; see Brave, 5 ; {b) an act of impudence
or effrontery ; (4) — ■ cri, an oath, exclamation ; lit. oh
Christ; (5) — shon, alas ; (6) — then, oh ! indeed ; (7) —
whan, 'man alive,' an exclamation of surprise.
(i) w.Yks. ' O ! ah,' said ah, Tom Treddlehoyle Trip ta
ZKM«a« (1851) 48. (2) Ayr. (J.M.) Som. Oh, ay ! Mrs. Joshua
Pettigrew she would show the room, right enough, Raymond
Tryphena (1895) i. (3, a) se.Wor.i ' Look father, 1 a lazed thase
'ere six ontle's o' whate.' ' O brave ! ' Dor.', w.Som.'- (s.v.
Brave.) (b) Glo. Don't let's 'ave any o' yer obraves, my lad, or
you'll get a tannin' when yer father comes, Northall Wd. Bk.
(1894). (4) Dev. Grose {,1790) MS. add. (M.) (5) Abd. The
warle is at a height Wi' folly an' vice — oh shon ! Anderson
Poems (ed. 1826) 104. [6) N.I.i (7) Or.l. (Jam. Suppl.)
OH, see Ho, v., Och, Of.
OlXENjprep. n.Lin."^ Also in form ohern. Over.
He was cuvered wi' spots all ohen him. It's hoern that
theare wall.
OHN-, see On-, pref.
OHRISH, adj. n.Lin.^ Wet, dirty, muddy. Cf. howery.
OHT, see Aught, pron., Ought, v.
OI(E, OIEET, see Oy(e, Oct, int.
OTL,sb.^ and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
written oyl Sc. ; and in forms eel Sh.I. ; hoil Cum. ; ile
Sc. Suf. [oil.] \. sb. In co»«Zi.(i) Oil-a-coil, (a) coal-tar ;
(b) to cover with coal-tar ; see Oily-coil ; (2) -bags, bags
woven from coarse wool which have been used in the
extraction of oil from rape-seed, linseed, &c. by pressing ;
(3) -coat, an oilskin coat ; (4) -muggie, a vessel for holding
oil ; (5) — of birch, (6) — of hazel, a beating, thrashing ;
(7) — of malt, whisky ; (8) — of man, see below ; (9)
■ — of oak, (10) — of strap, see (6).
(i, d) w.Yks. Wun a Wombwell's caravans, at that elefant
rides in, an' dun ovver we oil-a-coil, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla
Ann. (1846) 43. (b) w.Yks. Shoo oii-a-coild chimley jaum,
Rogers Nan Bunt (1839) 2. (2) w.Yks. (M.F.) (3) Sh.I.
Buttinin' his oilcot an' luikin' aboot him dooncas'n laek, Sh. News
(Sept. 24, 1898). (4) Daa, rise an' haand her da eel muggie aff
o' da wa', ib. (Nov. 13, 1897). (5) w.Yks. ^ Ignorant boys are
frequently sent on the ist of April to ask for these refreshing
stimulants. (6) Sc, (Jam.) Bwk. 'The oil of hazel' has been
famous in all ages as an approved application to the backs of
obstinate dames, and mischievous, ill-contrived boys, Henderson
Pop. Rhymes (1856) 100. n.Cy. When oil of hazel, . . and other
nonsensical pleasantries were in successive requisition, Flk-Lore
Rec. (1879) II. 84. Dur. I can bear witness ; having been duly
sent, . . to the chemist for a pennyworth of oil of hazel, and
receiving it . . . from the stout hazel stick hidden behind the
shopman's counter, Henderson Flk- Lore {i&qoi) ii. Cum. Brockett
Gl. (1B46) ; Cum.i Lan. Oil o' hezzel 's stuff to cure that com-
plent, Barber Fomess Flk. (1870) 33, in Prevost Gl. (1899). (7)
Bch. A plague upo' that oil o' malt, That dreary drink is a' their
fault, Forbes Dominie (1785) 42. (8) Dev. ' Her'll die for need
of oil of man.' . . ' Oil of man he rubbed 'pon the heart, or be burnt
like a candle. In that shape 'tis a torch held up fortheni wanderin'
in the world to come home to others as yearns for 'era. Both
ways be precious deeds. Theer han't none wanderin' she wants;
so us must rub it 'pon her heart against this fit she'm suffering
from,' Phillpotts Sons of Morning (1900) 264 ; Concerning this
weird medicament, it is only necessary to state that memory of
the nostrum lingers yet in ancient and bucolic minds ; while the
tradition, now nearly extinct, is nevertheless founded upon matters
of fact from a recent past. . . Moses Charras, author of a Royal
Pharmacopoeia, published two hundred years ago, indicates the
nature of its preparation, and declares how that the skulls of
healthy men, slain in full flush of their strength by lead or steel,
best meet its requirements, ib. 268. (9) Ayr. Gie their hides a
noble curry Wi' oil of aik, BuRnsAdamA — 'sPrayer. (lo)n.Lin.i
It is the custom on All Fools' Day to send boys to the saddlers or
shoemakers for a pennyworth of oil of strap,
2. Phr..Saec/2M50z7,ciis., spirituous liquor, wine, whisky, &c.
Per. Bacchus oyl Thy brain confused all this while, Smith Poems
(1714) 98, ed. 1853.
3. A lotion or linament of any description. Gen. m pi.
n.Lin.i We've oaceans o' boss-oils, he mun tek a to'n at them ;
he's not agooin' to slatter munny away wi' docterin'. e.Lin. He
knows of a good oil. Elliman's Embrocation is called an oil
(G.G.W.). S.Lin. Red oils is good for horses, white oils for us'n
(F. H,W. ). Shr.i w,Som.i A dairyman's opinion upon a swelling on
a cow's chest was, ' Nif I was you, sir, I should rub in some oils.'
■ What kind ? — " Devonshire Oils " ? ' ' No, sir, they baint strong
enough.'
4. pi. In phr. a few ties, a little oil. Suf. (C.T.) See
Few, adj. 5. v. Phr. (i) to oil on^s lug, to make flatter-
ing speeches ; to pay compliments ; (2) — the wig, to
become intoxicated.
(i) Edb. Oiling my lugs wi' your sHppery tongue, Ballantine
Ga6«!-/««3K (ed. 1875) 29. (2) Nhb.i Acant term. Obs. 'Hiswig
was oil'd completely,' Wilson Oiling of Dicky's Wig.
6. To anoint. Nhb. Robson Bk. Ruth (i860) iii. 3.
7. To thrash, beat ; cf. the use of 'anoint' (q.v.) 1.
s.Not. He tackled the mester, an' 'e did oil 'im too (J.P.K.).
Hence Oiling, sb. a thrashing, beating.
Lakel.2 Sis'ta thoo's laiten an oilin an' thoo'll git yan if thoo
gahs on. Cum. T'scheul maister gev him a hoilin (J.D.).
8. With up : to hasten; cf. the use of 'anoint' (q.v.).
w.Yks.2 Oil up, owd lad.
OIL, s6.° w.Yks.^ Also in forms aual, aul. [oil.] A
term applied to those circular and raised portions of grass
left by horses when pasturing in a field.
OIL, see Ail, sb.^
OILAN-AUK, sb. Sc. Irel. Also in form allan hawk
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) N.I.^ 1. The red-throated diver, Colym-
bus septentrionalis. N.I.', Ant. (S.A.B.) 2. The great
northern diver, C. ^/ia!«a//s. s.Sc. (Jam. -Sm^/i/.), N.I.^ Cf,
Holland hawk, s.v. Holland.
OILED, ppl. adj. n.Lin.' In phr. to have oiled slippers
on, to be much pleased or in great glee at anything.
He's been upo' Crossby Common an' fun' a flint arrow-head.
He hes gotten his oil'd slippers on, you maay depend o' that.
OILER, s6. Cor, [oi'l3(r),] A waterproof mackintosh ;
an oilskin.
Taffy wore a suit of oilers, of which he was mightily proud,
' Q.' Ship of Stars (1899) 69; Cor.i
OILET, sb. Cor. [oi'lit.] A frying-pan ; a gridiron.
Oilet (gl. fnxorium), Stokes Gl. in Trans. Phil. Soc. (1870)
207 ; Cor. 2
OILINS BOILINS, phr. Cum. Whether you like it
or no, noletis volens. Cf. nolum wolum.
When a woman is sending off an' unwilling urchin to school,
she will say: ' Oilins boiUns, but thee shall go,' N. & Q. (1855)
ist S. xi. 143.
OILY, adj. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Yks. e.An. Also in form
iley Nrf. [oi-li.] 1. adj. Inco»2/i.(i) Oily-coil or -coylle,
coal-tar ; {2) -frock, an oilskin coat ; (3) -pig, a jar for
holding oil.
(i) w.Yks. Sheffield Indep. (1874) ; w.Yks.2 (2) Nrf. Won't
you put an oily frock on? Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 343.
(3) Ltb. Sauce-boats, saut-fits, oily-pigs, Thomson Poems (1819) 74.
2. sb. An oilskin coat, an oiled smock or canvas jersey.
Nhb.i Made of material waterproofed with linseed oil. e.An.^
Nrf. An' ain't we a rough, unkempt lot in our sous an' ileysl
Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 128.
OINDALEG, adj. and sb. Sh.I. Also in form oindalie
S. & Ork.i 1. adj. Peculiar, strange, odd in manner.
(A.W.G.) ; Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) iii ; S. & Ork.^
2. sb. A peculiar disease, distemper.
Dey wir some Oindaleg 'at fell apon him, an' deel thing he wid
lip, Sh. News (May 14, 1898) ; If der ony Oindaleg fa'n apo' dee
dan, ib. (Aug. 27, 1898).
[1. Norw. dial, underleg, strange, peculiar (Aasen). 2.
Cp. Norw. dial. tmda(r)legheit, a mysterious attack of ill-
ness {ib.).'\
OINDROCH, see Undoch,
OINT, V. Cum. [oint,] To thrash, beat. The same
as Anoint (q.v.).
Cum.* Should, however, the youth at this age [12] receive
scholastic and not paternal correction, he is said to be ointit,
W.C.T.H. (1894) 12, col. 4. I will oint thy back with hazel oil
if I catch thee.
OISEN, see Ousen, sb.
OISIE, int. Gall. (Jam.) An exclamation of wonder,
or as a note of attention.
OIT, OxYE, 0K-, see Hoit, sb}, Ort, Of, Ocky, v.""
OKABEL(L, sb. w.Yks,= Also written oakabell.
[o'kabel,] A name given to the fourth finger.
OKE
[335]
OLD
The fourth finger is sometimes described as ' Httle oakabell.'
In this word the final syllable 'bel' comes out clearly. In
counting the fingers to children ' okabell' is usually repeated two
or three times (s.v. Fingers).
OKE, sb. Sh. & Or.I. The razor-bill, Alca tarda.
Neill Jour (1806) (Jam. Suppl.\ [Naturalists are now almost
agreed that the Oke is not a distinct species but merely the
Razor-bill in the winter plumage of the first year, Rennie Notes in
Montagu Omith. Did. (ed. 1831) (j'6.).]
OKE, OKER, see Hawk, v?-, Ocker.
OKERMATUT, s6. Yks. [o-ksmstst.] 'Putty-powder';
see below. The same word as Ackermetut (q.v.).
w.Yks. A cant name used amongst marble-masons so as to keep
the nature of the real article used a trade secret (H.L.).
OKEY, OKEY,OLLY,;iAr. Yks. A children's game.
■w.Yks. Similar to ' hide and seek,' with this difference ; that if
any player is seen by the seeker it ensures his being victimized
(S.K.C.).
OKIR, OKKIR, see Ocker.
OKRABUNG, sb. Sh.I. [o-krabBn.l The oat-grass,
Bromus mollis. Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 21 ; S. &
Ork.i
OKRIGARTH, sb. Sh.I. Also in forms okragarth
S. & Ork.' ; okrigaard, orkrigaard. [okrigarjj.] A
corn-field enclosure; a stubble field.
The ' okrigarth ' was slipped, that is : the animals were allowed
to come in on the 'toons ' or crofts and eat the remaining corn-
stubble with the grass among it on the fields, Jakobsen Dial.
(1897) 59 ; Sh. News (Aug. 13, 1898I ; Da orkrigaard 'ill no be
muckle wirt if dis [storm] laests, ib. (Oct. 20, 1900) ; S- & Ork.i
[ON. akra-gerSi, akr-gerdi, an enclosure of arable land ;
garSr, an enclosed space (Vigfusson).]
OKUM-SNIFFY, sA. Cor. [o'kam-snifi.] A small but
strong glass of hot grog.
(M.AC.) ; An then I do smill som'times okum-sniffy, T. Towser
(1873) 145 ; Cor.2 Woll'ee haa a drap uv okum-sniffey ?
OLAK, OLD, see Olik, Wold.
OLD, adj.., adv. and sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng.
Colon, and Amer. Also in forms aad Nhb.^ Wm.'
ne.Lan.^ ; aal Cai.^ ; aald Sh.I.; aid Wm.^ n.Lan.^ ; aud
N.Cy.12 Nhb.i Dur.i e.Dur.' n.Yks.i= e.Yks. m.Yks.^
w.Yks." ne.Lan.1 Chs.'^ Lin.^ Nhp.i Suf ; aul Cai.' Bnff.i
N.I.i Cum.; auld Sc. N.I.^ N.Cy.i Cum. Wm. n.Lan.
Shr.i; awd Nhb.' n.Yks.^ e.Yks.^ w.Yks. ; awld Brks.' ;
head s.Not. ; oad Nhb.^ n.Yks. s.Not. ; oal Cum.^* ; oald
Cum.'^* ; ode s.Stf. Lin. ; ohd n.Lin.' ; ole Dev. ; oud
w.Yks.^ e.Lan.^ Chs.^ nw.Der.' ; oul N.I.' ; ould Sc. Ir.
Nhb.i w.Yks.* I.Ma. Midi. Hrf.= Cor.; owd Yks. w.Yks.^*^
Lan.' Chs.'^ s.Chs.^ Der. nw.Der.' Not. n.Lin.^ w.Wor.i
Shr.^ Suf."^ ; owld s.Wor. ; -woald Dor. ; wold Dor. Dev. ;
wuld I.W. [ould, oud, ad, 9d.] X.adj.zxiAadv. In comb.
(i) Old a' ill thing, a name given to the devil ; (2) — a lady,
Lady-day, as reckoned by the old style; (3) — ancient,
ancient, antique, old-fashioned ; (4) — aunt, a hare ; (5)
■ — auntie, a great-aunt ; (6) — Bags, a name given to the
wind; (7) — Baker, a 'boggart,' demon, apparition; (8)
— ball, (a) a favourite name for a cart-horse ; (b) in phr.
playing old ball, an Easter custom ; (9) — Bendy, see (i) ;
(10) — Bess(y, a gun ; (11) —body, the Old Wesleyans ;
(12) — Bogey, the devil ; an apparition, spectre; (13) —
bones, in phr. to make old bones, to live to a good old age ;
(14) — botheration, see (i) ; (15) — boy, {a) see (i) ; (b)
a bachelor; (16) —buck, 'cheek,' impudence; gossip;
abuse ; (17) — carle, see (i) ; {18) — carley , a boys' game ;
see below; (19) —chap, (20) — child, see (i) ; (21) —
Christmas (day, Christmas day as reckoned by the old
style ; (22) — Clem, a figure dressed up to represent St.
Clement ; see below ; (23) — Cloots, see (i) ; (24) — coat
and jerkin, a game of cards ; (25) — Cornwall, Cornwall
and Devon as far as the eastern edge of Dartmoor ; (26)
— cranny crow, a game resembling ' hen and chickens ';
(27) — crone, a sheep that has lost its teeth ; (28) — dad,
see (i) ; (29) — dame, a children's game ; (30) — day,
the day after a festivity when no work is done ; (31) —
Delph Will, see (7) ; (32) — Emily, see (10) ; (33)
— England, the provinces as opposed to London; (34)
-farran(d or -farrant, old-fashioned ; ftg. knowing, pru-
dent, wise ; of children : precocious, grave beyond their
years ; also used subst. ; (35) -farrantly or -farrendly, {a)
see (34) ; {b) old-fashionedly, like an old person ; (36)
•fashioned, knowing, cunning, intelligent ; precocious ;
also used advb. ; (37) — father, (a) one who gives away
the bride at a wedding ; (b) a grandfather ; (38) — fellow,
see (i) ; (39) — file, a miser ; (40) — fog, coarse old grass
not eaten by the cattle ; (41) — folk, parents ; (42) —
folk's night or folk's Saturday, a social gathering ; see
below ; (43) — foot one, a game at pitch-back ; (44) —
gentleman, see (i) ; (45) — girl, an old maid ; (46)
— Goggle, see (7); (47) — grass, old .sward as opposed
to artificial grasses ; (48) — ground, virgin soil, land that
has not been disturbed; (49) — gunners' point, distorted,
bent; (50) -hand, to deceive, delude ; (51) — Hangie, see
(i) ; (52) — Harry, (a) see (i) ; (b) a colour-mixer in dye-
works ; (53) — hat(s, part of a power-loom ; see below;
(54) -headed, shrewd, sagacious ; (55) — Hob, (a) a
custom ; see below ; {b) see (7) ; (56) — Hooky, (57) —
Hornie, see (i) ; (58) — horse, (a) a hobby-horse ; (b)
unconformable, curled rock; (59) — house thack, see
(6) ; (60) — hunderd, an old-fashioned person or child ;
(61) — hunx, a dirty old man ; a miser ; (62) — iron, obs.,
a weaving term : see below ; (63) — Jenny Greenteeth,
see (7) ; (64) -ket, carrion ; (65) -killed, listless, squeam-
ish [not known to our correspondents]; (66) — kirk,
whisky ; (67) — lad, {a) see (i) ; (b) a healthy old man ;
an old man who wears well ; (68) — Lady-day, see (2) ;
(69) — lang syne, old acquaintanceship, former friendship ;
see Auld lang syne; (70) — lant, stale urine; (71) —
light or licht, a term applied to the conservative party in
a church ; (72) -like, having the appearance of age ; (73)
— ling, see (70); (74) —Lob, see (7); (75) — Mahoun,
see (i) ; see Mahoun ; (76) — maid, (a) a horse-fly ; [b)
a large pincushion, weighted with lead ; (77) — man, [a)
a husband ; {b) a father ; (c) to age ; (d) to get the better
of in a transaction ; (e) see (i) ; (/) an ancient or pre-
historic miner ; see below ; (g) a name given to the old
workings of a mine ; an exhausted vein of metal or one
that is left unwrought for some reason ; [h) base minerals
or rubbish, collected in exhausted veins ; (i) the asthma ;
(J) a- game among boys ; (k) a gnat ; (/) a particular kind
of apple ; (m) ? a dye ; («) a difficult job ; (o) a strong
piece of wood, used when lifting millstones for re-dress-
ing ; (78) — man's beard, the mossy excrescence formed
on rose-bushes ; (79) — man's fold, a portion of ground
devoted to the devil; (80) — man's milk, a composition
of cream, eggs, sugar, and whisky ; (81) — man's work,
see (77, g) ; (82) — mare, a large rake used to gather up
the stray ears of corn after harvest ; (83) — mares' tails,
long, white, fleecy clouds ; (84) — Mary, see (70) ; (85) —
May-day, the 12th of May; (86) — men's backs, (87)
— men's workings, see (77, g) ; (88) — Michaelmas-day,
the Michaelmas quarter-day reckoned by the old style ;
(89) —Midsummer-day, the Midsummer quarter-day,
reckoned by the old style ; (go) — milk, skim milk ; (91)
— milk penny, an old penny of the time of the Georges ;
(92) —moss, see (7); (93) -mou'd, sagacious in speech;
(94) — Ned, a steam-engine ; (95) — Nick, Nicker, or
Nickie, (96) — Nickie Ben, see (i) ; (97) — Noah, partially
carbonized wood dug out of the ' carrs ' of Holderness ;
(98) -noited or -nointed, of a cow : past the time of calving,
going dry; (99) —one, (a) see (i) ; (b) see (77, n) ; (100)
— Pack, see (7) ; (loi) -particulars or parties, very old
friends ; (102) — peg, an inferior kind of cheese ; old
cheese; (103) — pelt, worn-out horse-shoes which are
worked up into new ones ; (104) — Pharaoh, very strong
ale; (105) —pig, the game of 'whinny'; see below ; (106)
-rafant [for -farant by metathesis], precocious, prema-
turely wise ; (107) — rag, a name given by quarry-men
to the limestone of the Fuller's earth formation ; (108) —
rest piece, a piece of land which has not been ploughed
for a considerable time; (109) -Roger is dead, a game ;
see below; (no) — rufBer, the ace of spades ; (in) —
OLD
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OLD
said-say, an old saying; (112) — Sally, see (4); (113)
— Sam, see (i) ; (114) — Sarah, see (4) ; (115) — Sarbot,
a fictitious personage ; see below ; (116) — Saunders,
Sanners, or Sanny, (117) — Scrat(t, (118) —Scratch,
(119) — Scratchem, see (i) ; (120) — Shock, a goblin dog or
calf; (121) — shoon, a cast-off sweetheart; (122) — shop, a
prison;(i23)—Smith,{i24)—Smoke,see(i); (125) —soldier,
(a) a deceitful person, one who shams illness ; (b) a red
herring ; (c) a game ; see below ; (126) — song, a trifle ;
(127) — soogh, a customary cant or whining mode of
speaking ; (128) — Sooty, (129) — Soss, see (i) ; (130) —
sow, a wood-louse, millepede ; (131) — standard, an old-
established resident, a person of old standing ; an old
family ; (132) — stag, a gander ; Ji£^. a contemptuous
term for a woman ; (133) — stick, (a) an eccentric per-
son ; (b) the usual condition, the same state of health or
circumstances ; (134) — St. James, St. James' day, by
the old st3'le of reckoning; (135) — stock, a familiar term
used in greeting an aquaintance or old-established resi-
dent ; (136) — stocking, a secret hoard ; (137) — street,
an old highway, esp. the Ermine Street ; (138) — take,
a long lease taken out, when the lands were cheap ; (139)
— thief, see (i) ; (140} — thing, an exhausted or unwrought
vein ; see (77, g) ; (141) — thrift, wealth accumulated by
the successive frugality of a long race of ancestors ; (142)
— toar, grass discoloured by age ; {143) — Tom, gin ;
(144) — uncle, a great-uncle ; (145) — warrior, a term
applied to any article that has seen much service ; a
veteran ; (146) — wash, (a) see (70) ; (b) a boys' game ;
(147) — weetin, see (70) ; (148) — whengsby, a hard kind
of cheese ; (149) — wife, (a) an old woman ; a talkative,
gossiping person ; (b) the ballan wrasse, Labrus maculatus ;
(c) the cowl or cover of a chimney-can used as an aid-
vent ; (150) — wife-hake, obs., see (42); (151) — wife's
necessary, a tinder-box; (152) — wives' Saturday, see
(42) ; (153) — witch, {a) obs., in phr. burning old witch, a
custom; see below; {b) a cockchafer; (154) — woman,
{a) a familiar term for a wife ; (6) the breast-plough ; (c)
see (149, c) ; {d) in phr. the old woman picking her geese, a
snowstorm, the falling of snow; (155) — woman's luck,
having the wind in one's face both going and returning ;
(156) — woman's poke, a card-term : see below ; (157) —
word, a proverb, saying, saw; (158) — works, such as
are fallen in or stand unwrought ; (159) — wunt, a habit
more or less objectionable ; (160) — year, in phr. to wauk
the old year into the new,to watch theoldyearout and the new
year in ; (i6i) — young, middle-aged ; (162) — youth, see
(67, b) ; (163) — Yule (day, see (21) ; (164) Older end,
those of more mature years, the older ones of a company.
(i) Ayr. O ! I'm fear't, for I doubt he was the Auld a' 111 Thing,
Spaewife (1823) II. 243 (Jam.). (2) Suf. Between this and 'old a
Lady,' for then half a year's rent will be due, Strickland Old
Friends, (fc. (1864) 274. (3) Sc. The old ancient true name of this
place, Stevenson Catriona (1893) x. Chs.i Rut.' You might like
to see this old-ancient book, sir? Lei.' My house it is built in a
rock, It is built in an old ancient style, Stockham Gamekeeper.
w.Wor.i Anybody'd think as 'er 'adna a penny piece ! Such a
owd-anshent gownd as 'er wears. Cor. Very common, Hammond
Parish (1897) 343. (4) Nrf. The hare is familiarly called ' old
aunt '. . . by the marshmen, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 325. (5)
CJd. (Jam.) (6) I.Ma. Give me the little gel [boat] that'll kiss Ould
Bags in his teeth, and spin on her heel. Brown Yarns (i88i) 163,
ed. 1889. (7) w.Yks. Old Baker, on Delph Hill End, Shaw
Recent Poems (1824) Shantooe Jest, in A^. & Q. (1870) 4th S. v.
156. (8, a) Lan. Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867) 235.
(b) A representation is made of a horse's head, to which is fixed a
sheet of sacking-cloth, under which the operator capers about like
a horse, ib. 234. (9) N.Cy.i (10) Nrf. I had my traps in a bag,
along with my old bess, Emerson i3n-rfs (ed. 1895) 206; Potter
had a long-barrelled gun, his old Bessy, ib. Marsh Leaves (1898)
164. (11) Lan. Thou met ha' joined th' ' Owd Body,' Waugh
Heather (ed. Milner) II. 270. (12) Midi. As if I were old Bogey
hissen, B f^wiR aw. People of Clapton {zSg-f) 146. Lei.' (s.v. Bogey).
Nlip.i (s.v. Bogie). War .3 (13) Midi. Oishaant mek ould booans
neither, unless Oi be diff'rent to them as went afore me, Bartram
People of Clopton (1897) 191. Nrf. He'll niver make old bones
(E.M.). I.W. 'I never yeard o' nobody returning thanks vur the
buryen.' .. ' No, Josh Baker, and I war'nt you never will, wuld
boans as you med make,' Gray Annesley (1889) I. 109. (14) Dev.
Es cum'd out ta stashin, A urnin an zwettin like ole botherashin,
N. Hogg Poet. Lett. (ed. 1858) ist S. 15. (15, a) Ir. Parson—
' Now can any girl give me another name of the devil ? ' Girl —
'The old-boy, sir' (A.S.-P.). Wxf. If you were the old boy him-
self, Kennedy Evenings Dujrey {i86g) 354. [Amer. As we must
do, or go to the old boy, Sam Slick Clockmaker {1836) ist S.xxix.]
{b) Cav. You two brothers are old boys over eighty years of age
(M.S.M.). Pem. (E.D.) (16) w.Yks. And I don't want any of
your old buck either. He's been giving me his old buck till I
could bide it no longer (H.L.) ; Ther's binmooar owd buck abaht
yond lass ner enif (B.K.). (17) n.Sc. May the auld carle get me,
if it hasna brought about puir Amos's doonfa, Gordon Carglen
(1891) 103. (18) w.Yks. Let lads be lads says I, and hurrah for
ringtaw, and ' owd Caarley, ' Cudworth Z)/a/. Sketches {iW^) log;
A game played by lads who belaboured another lad with knotted
handkerchiefs, &c. , whilst he was supposed to be in charge of a
keeper for protection (W.C). (19) n.Lin.l (20) Per. (G.W.)
(21) Sc. (A.W.) n.Cy., Yks. Obsol. (J.W.), ne.Lan.i Nhp.' The
quarter-day as reckoned by the old style. [Amer. The day is re-
membered by those who never heard of Twelfth Night or Epiphany,
Dial. Notes (1896) I. 373.] (22) Sns.' A figure dressed up with a
wig and beard and pipe, and set up over the door of the inn where
the blacksmiths held theirfeast in honour of their patron saint on St.
Clement's day (23rd November). [It is customary in some places
to personate 'Old Clem, 'particularly in the Government dockyards,
Flk-Lore Jrn. (1884) II. 327.] (23) Ayr. An' now, auld Cloots, I
ken ye're thinkin, Burns Add. to Deil (1785) st. 20. (24) Som.
Called also five cards, Jennings Obs. Didl. w.Eng. (1825). (25)
Dev., Cor. Devonshire, as far east as Exeter — the tract of country
which was known as ' Danmonium,' or even more recently as ' Old
Cornwall,' Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (ed. 1896) 28. (26) Lon. I
cannot recollect more of Old Cranny Crow than that she entices
children one by one out for a walk, and steals them from their
supposed mother. The mother is then invited to dine by Old
Cranny Crow, and has a pie (one of her children) set before her,
with pepper and salt, which she pretends to eat, and when doing
so discovers it to be just like her Tommy (or other child's name).
Then Cranny Crow puts another pie before her; this she discovers
to be just like her Katy. She finds all her children one by one,
and they come to Hfe again and run home, Gomme Games (1898)
11.449. (27) Suf. (C.L.F.) {28) vr.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. {Nov.
9i 'Sgs") ; w.Yks.5 (29) Yks. One child sits upon a little stool.
The others march round her in single file, taking hold of each
other's frocks. They say in a sing-song manner the first two lines
[' I'll away to t'beck to wash my neck. When I get there, I'll ask
t'ould dame what o'clock it is ? '], and the old woman answers by
telling them the hour [' It's one and you'll be hanged at two '].
The questions and answers are repeated until the old woman says,
' It's eleven and you'll be hanged at twelve.' Then the children
all run off in different directions and the old woman runs after
them. Whoever she catches becomes old woman, and the game
is continued, Gomme tb. 15. ['To Beccles, to Beccles, To buy a
bunch of nettles, Pray, old dame, what's o'clock? One, going for
two.'. . And so on until ' eleven going for twelve' is said, then the
following : ' Where have you been ? To the wood. What for ?
To pick up sticks. What for ? To boil my kettle. What for ?
To cook some of your chickens,' Halliwell Nursery Rhymes, 229,
'*•] (30) Bnff.i The day after a marriage, feast, ball, market, or
such like occasion when no work is done, and a good deal of
strong drink is consumed. ' A met 'im o' the go ; he's haudin' the
aul' day.' (31) w.Yks. Shaw Recent Poems (1824) Shantooe Jest,
in N. er Q. (1870) 4th S. v. 156; A year or two ago, one of the
parochial overseers kindly furnished me with ... an official list of
the personal names and haunts ... of the ' feorin ' believed in when
he was young. These comprise — ' Old Delph Will, . .,' N. (f Q. ib.
(32) Nrf. But should his ' old Emily ' miss, and it sometimes does,
Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 313. (33) Oxf.' Tom Wilsdon went to
Lunnun, and stopta wik, and when a come back a said, Giv'I Old
England. (34) Sc. Ye're o'er auld farran to be fley'd for bogles,
Ramsay Prov. (1737) ; This auld man ... is very skeely and auld-
farrant about mony things, Scott Antiquary (1816) xlii. Cai.^
Boh. At threeps I am na sae perquire Nor auld-farren as he, Forbes
Ajax (1742) 4. Abd. The auld folks sat behind our backs An'
grinn'd awa auldfarren cracks, Beattie Pon«^s (i8oi) 11. Frf.
' I'm a gey auld-farrant-looking dear, I doubt,' said Nanny, rue-
fully, Barrie Minister (1891) xxiii. Per. He's an auld-farrent lad,
Ian Maclaren Auld Lang Syne (1895) 12. Ayr. A chap that's
damn'd auld farran, Buhns Authors Earnest Cry (1786) St. 14.
Lnk. These people, right auld-farran, will be laith To thwart a
OLD
[337]
OLD
nation, Ramsay Poems (ed. 1800) I. 55 (Jam.). Lth. A shilpit
wee auld-farrant dowg, Smith Merry Bridal (1866) 33. Edb.
Dressed in a droll auld-farrant green livery coat, Moir Mansie
Wauch (1828) XI. Bwk. Bonny, winsome, auld-farrant pets,
Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 45. Gall. ' Listeners hear nae
guid o' themselves,' is an auld-farrant say, Crockett Moss-Hags
(1895) xxiii. N.I.1, N.Cy.i2, Nhb.', Dxir.', e.Dur.i, Cum.i n.Yks.i
Ay, he's an aud-farrand aud chap : he's oop tiv ought. A-but
she's an aud-farrand lahtle lassie ! She's like a lahtle gran'mother !
n.Yks.23 e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i
w.Yks. So drop that scythe owd-farren deeath, Bill o'th Hoylus
End Poems (ed. 1891) 48; w.Yks.i^*, ne.Lan.i Chs.i A regular
aud-farrant piece o' goods ; Chs.^ Lin. Straange an' owd-farran'd
the 'ouse, Tennyson Owd Rod (1889) ; Lin.'^ n.Lin.^ Ther's a
real ohd-ferrand stoan walled i'to Creole chech. He's a ohd-far-
rand bairn he is ; he'd mak a pig laugh when he's up to his gams.
(SSi «) Sc. (A.W.) w.Yks.i Hees a gay sponsable, oud-farrendly
fello^y, ii. 307. (6) w.Yks. A three- year old child whom he saw
smoking as awd-farrantly as a man of three-score, Thoresby Diary,
in HoLDERNESs Gl. (1877). (36) Sc. (A.W.), N.I.i Don. The trouts
and other fishes in this river iDegun to get so 'old-fashioned' for him
that when they'd find him fishing on one side of the river they would
all swimtotheotherside,MACMANUsCA;m.Cor«i?ra{i899)2Sg. Nhb.i,
Cum.* Yks. A sleep-walker. .. began o'tunin'on't, as owd-feshioned
as if his een had been wide oppen, Yks. Comet (1844) 18. Chs.i ;
Chs.3 A very steady child is said to be 'that oudfashioned, he
moight a bin o' the earth afore.' s.Not. She's a hoad-fashioned un,
she is ; there's not much as is said escapes her (J.P.K.). n.Lin.i
Our 'Liza Jaane's that ohd-fashion'd 'at one wo'd think her head
hed been roahhn' aboot e' a chech yard for a hunderd year afoore
she was iver born. sw.Lin.' For a shepherd-dog he's the most
old-fashioned I ever saw. The pony was a bit old-fashioned, and
could open the gate with his mouth. (37, a) w.Yks. Dick's
promised to be t'old father, so we shan't stick fast (H.L.). Sus.'
Among the labouring classes it is not the custom for the bride to
be accompanied to church by her father. The bridal procession . . .
consists usually of four persons only — the bride and bridegroom,
the bridesmaid, and the old father, who is usually the sweetheart
of the bridesmaid if she is a single woman (which is not necessarily
the case). (6) w.Sc. (Jam.) (38) Sc. (A.W.) Don. The Ould Fella
in the Lower Counthry could be no match for Donal, Macmanus
Chim. Corners (1899) 181 ; I'm not more displaised with the Ould
Fella below than I am with ye, ye villain ye ! ib. 185. w.Som.^
(39) ne.Lan.i (40) s.Not. If yer'd sprittle some salt on that oad
fog, the cattle ud eat it up (J.P.K.). (41) Sc. (A.W.) Dmf. He
would get her. At length, wi' the auld fouk's good will, Shennan
Tflfc (1831)59. Gall. The auld folks now were out o' sight, . . His
arms he laid around her waist, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 49,
ed. 1897. Cum. Th' auld fwok they talked, Anderson Ballads
(1805) 161. Wm. I mounted black filly, bad God bless auld fowk,
Wheeler Z)!a/. (1790) 114, ed. 1821. Yks. (J.W.) Lan.i While
th' owd folk bear as best they con. An' th' young uns o' forget to
play, Ramsbottom TJAywes (1864) 42. (42) Cnm.i 'Oald fwok's
neet.' In the country married people assemble on some appointed
evening, soon after Christmas, at the principal inn in the parish, to
partake of a roast beef and sweet pie supper, and to enjoy them-
selves with dancing, and formerly cards ; to be succeeded in a night
or two by a similar meeting of young people, called the ' young
fwok's neet' ; at both of which considerable sums are spent. ' Oald
fwok's Setterday.' On the first Saturday in the year the country
people assemble at theirrespective woast-houses or inns at Keswick ;
the heads of the houses taking their wives, or sometimes a daughter,
to dine and make merry in the evening with other friends for the
benefit of the house ; Cum.^ An assembly for feasting, dancing, and
cardplaying, held at the rural public-houses; once probably confined
to married people, but now open to, and attended by, young and
old, 216. (43) War.2 (44) Sc. (A.W.), n.Lin.i, Nhp.i, War.s
Hrt. Geary Rur. Life (1899) 66. Hnt. (T.P.F.) Slang. And
how to the day of their death the ' Old Gentleman ' never
attempted to kidnap them more, Barham Ingoldsby (ed. 1864) Lay
of St. Nicholas. (45) Cav. Yon old girl is seventy-five years of
age (M.S.M.). Pem. (E.D.), Shr.i (46) e.Yks. A sprite which
has charge of the orchards, and children are afraid to go there
after dark, for fear Awd Goggie shall get them, Nicholson Flk-
Lore (1890) 79 ; Oor Dick was flaid o' gannin intiv ooachad las'
neet ; he sed Awd Goggie wad get him, ib. Flk-Sp. (1889) 95.
(47) e.Yks. A well-sheltered field of old grass, near the farm-yard,
. . is the best situation for them. Farm Reports, Wauldby (1833)
114 ; It is impossible to carry the system forward with advantage
orP strong tenacious soils, without a full proportion of what is
termed ' old grass,' ii. Ridgemoni (1833) 145. (48) w.Som.i Oal-
VOL. IV.
graewn. [N.S.W. Pig-rooting a man's very prospecting claim, as
if it was ' old ground,' Boldrewood Milter's Right (1890) II. xix.]
(49) Hmp.i (50) w.Yks. Ah owd-handed them an' went bi t'train
(B.K.). (51) Ayr. Hear me, Auld Hangie, for a wee, Burns Add.
to Deil (1785) St. 2. (52, a) Sc. (A.W.) Nhb., Dur. Brand Pop.
Antiq. (ed. 1777) 115. n.Yks. Old Harry's a rare strong chap
(W.H.). w.Yks.' 25 Lan. Hoo'd as leaf o' seen two Owd Harries
OS two pynots, Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867) 144. Nhp.*-
War.^ This hail-storm will play Old Harry with the growing com.
Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Erks.i ' To plaay Awld Harry '
is to perform wild pranks, or commit wilful damage. Hnt. (T.P.F.),
w.Som.l (i) w.Yks. (J.S.) ; Aman whose business it is to prepare
dye stuffs in the first instance. As a rule not more than one ' Old
Harry' is employed at each dyeworks(R.S.). (53) w.Yks. A tin,
the shape of a Welsh hat, round which the sliver of slubbing is
wound to make it into a ball (S.A.B.). Lan. A cast-iron piece
used in the power loom, attached to the picking shaft of overpick
looms, of hat shape, with a hole in the top (O.S.H.). (54) Cai.',
Cld. (Jam.) (55, a) Chs. It consists of a man carrying a dead
horse's head covered with a sheet, to frighten people. This frolic
is usual between All Souls' Day and Christmas, Hone Every-day
Bk. (1827) II. 1371 ; Chs.'^ (6) w.Yks. There are several localities,
however, in the neighbouring township of Saddleworth, once,
according to popular notions, infested with ' Old Hobs,' Shaw
Recent Poems (1824) Shaniooe Jest, in N. & Q. (1870) 4th S. v.
156. (56) N.Cy.i (57) Ayr. Auld Hornie, Satan, Nick or Clootie,
Burns Add. to Deil (1785) st. i. (58, a) w.Yks.^ (6) s.Lan.
(W.H.T.) C59) Nrf. 'First comes David, then comes Chad, And
then comes Winneral as though he was mad, White or black Or
old house thack.' .. The prov. means that at this period there will
be either snow, rain, or wind, which latter is intended by ' old
house thack,' Garland (1872) II. 155. (60) Cor.i What an old
hunderd she es. (61) n.Lin.i (62) Chs.i Pilfered weft sold to
weavers in a small way who made their own cloth. (63) Lan.
TV". V Q. (1870) 4th S. V. 22. (64) e.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.) (65)
n.Cy. (Hall.) (66) Lth. Now what will you tak' ? A glass of
wine, or a wee drappie of the ' Auld Kirk ' 1 Kiltlegairy Vacancy
(1885) 6. (67, a) Wm.i A was that fleyt wen a seed em, he luikt
just like t'aad-lad ! n.Yks. (I.W.), n.Yks.i 2 w.Yks. Takin' back
an' givin's owd lad livin [said by children], Prov. in Brighouse
A'czfs (July 23, 1887) ; w.Yks.' ^ Lan,' If th' owd-lad were in him,
he couldna be worse. e.Lan.' Chs. A whistling woman and a
crowing hen Will fear the old lad out of his den, N. & Q. (1873)
4th S. xi. 475 ; Chs.' It is often said of a mischievous boy ' Th'
owd lad has thrown his club o'er him.' s.Stf. What the ode-lad
bin yer doin'? Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). n.Lin.', War.*
Shr.i Jack, 66n yo' g66 a narrand fur me to-night 1 — yo' fiiinna be
afeard o' the Owd Lad ketchin' yo'. (A) Der. Grose (1790) MS.
add. (P.) ; Der.2, nw.Der.' (68) Nhp.' (69) Ayr. For auld lang
syne, my dear. For auld lang syne ; We'll tak a cup o' kindness
yet. For auld lang syne, Burns Auld Lang Syne, Chorus. (70)
Lan.' Formerly much used by Lancashire cottagers for scouring or
cleaning blankets and other woollen cloths ; also for sundry
medicinal purposes. In every yard or garden would have been
found a receptacle for storing it. n.Lan.' Used for washing clothes,
(71) Sc. Speaking generally 'Auld Light' described the orthodox
or conservative party in a Church. Among dissenting Churches
the Auld Light represented conservatism in ecclesiastical politics,
while the New Lights represented liberalism in views. Towards
the middle of the 19th century the terms came to represent a
difference in one of the Scottish dissenting Churches as to the
Atonement, the New Lights representing the reaction against the
'hmited' theory associated with Calvinism (A.W.). ne.Sc. He
believed she was what was called an ' old light seceder,' Grant
Keckleion, 100. Frf. The congregation, which belonged to the
body who seceded from the Established Church a hundred and
fifty years ago, had split, and as the New Lights (now the U. P.'s)
were in the majority, the Old Lights, with the minister at their
head, had to retire to the commonty (or common) and hold service
in the open air until they had saved up money for a church. . .
The Auld Licht kirk will remain open so long as it has one member
and a minister, BARRiEZ,!c/;<(i888)iii. Ayr. Some auld- lichtherds in
neebor towns, Burns To IV. Simpson {i']8$)st.zg. (72) Sc.(A.W.)
n.Yks.i . n.Yks.= To leuk varry audlike. e.Yks.' MS. add. (.T.H.)
(73) Yks. Lewis /. Tenet (1736) (s.v. Sig). (74) Lau. Two bog-
garts which flourished . . . about the second decade of this century
and bore the attractive names of ' Old Lob ' and ' Old Jenny Green-
teeth,' ^A''. if Q. (1870) 4th S. V. 22. (75) Ayr. And ilka wife cries
'Auld Mahoun, I wish you luck o' the prize, man,' Burns The
Deil's awa' wi' the Exciseman, st. i. (76, a) s.Wor.', se.Wor.'
Glo. The old-maids are stinging the horse badly to-day (AB.) ;
X X
OLD
[338]
OLD
Glo.i (i) Nhp.i (77,a)n.Liii.',War.2 (s,v. 'Oman). [Araer. My
old man is plowing, Dial. Notes (1896) I. 373.] (6) Nrf. My old
man is Josh Windmill, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) i. (c) s.Chs.^
Aaz-)i bigiin- til uwdmon- aan-i 1 [Has he begun to owdmon anny?]
(oT) w.Yks. They owd man'd him that time (B.K.). («) n.Lin.i,
Shr.i (/) w.Yks.i When miners have got into some old works of
which they had previously no knowledge, they say . . . ' T'oud
man's been there.' Dev. Scarce a stream but is bordered with
piles of refuse, and half-overgrown pits and trenches where the
' old men,' as they are called, sought the precious metal, Portfolio
(Jan. iBSg) 11. Cor. There is scarcely a spot in Cornwall
where tin is at present found, that has not been worked over by
the ' old men,' as the ancient miners are always called, Hunt Pop.
Rom. w.Eng. (ed. 1896) 341 ; Cor.2 (j-) Nhb.i The more modern
workings have often suddenly holed into the old mine wastes, . .
which had been already excavated by the industry of the ' Old
Man,' as such ancient workings are called, Taylor Arch. Coal Tr.
(1852). Cum. A new belly was happily discovered before the fore-
head of the Old Man, which proved so rich that in less than
twenty-four hours they had filled several sacks with fine and
clean-washed mineral, Lett, of Bishop Nicholson (1710) in Hutchin-
son Hist. Cum. (1794) II. 214. w.Yks. (T.E.) ; w.Yks.i When
miners have got into some old works, of which they had previously
no knowledge, they say they have got into an old man or dead
man. Der. Sent his son, to dose the sick owd mon, Furness
Medicus (1836) 62 ; In old deserted mines, where people search for
the recovery of what former adventurers have left behind them ;
and when the ancient gates or passages are opened and the new
adventurer comes where the old miners have wrought, then it is
customary to say they have found the Old Man, Mander Miner's
Gl. (1824) 47 ; In working an old man, Manlove Lead Mines (1653)
1. 64 ; A term constantly used in bills of directions for veins by
the grand jury ; it signifies an old vein that has either been
exhausted or remains for other reasons unwrought, Tapping Gl. to
Manlove (1851). (A) Der. When miners get large quantities of
mineral substances ... in which is no ore, they lay as much of
these, being rubbish, as they can in the empty spaces of their veins
or works which have been cut and the ore gotten. . . Whenever
the 24 are called and put down into any such mine, upon any
doubts or contests, such rubbish is required by them to be removed,
in order to discover the truth. It is by them called ' Old Man ' ;
so that in such sense. Old Man and rubbish are synonymous terms,
Mander Miners Gl. (1824') 47; Tapping Gl. to Manlove (1851).
(«)CIis.i3 (/) Cum.i Oxf. The 'old man' chases the other boys, and
the first boy he touches becomes ' old man,' and so on without varia-
tion until they tire (CO.). {k) Hmp. (J.R. W.), Hmp.i (I) w.Yks.^
A rough apple with a little tinge of red on one side like an old
man's cheek. n.Lin.i {m) Sh.I. To last bed rugs with wool dyed
in blue Ht, skrottie, kurkalit, aald man, or yellowin' girs, Spence
Flk-Lore (1899) 195. {n') s.Chs.l (o) Nhb. Theaad man prevents
the upper stone from falling accidentally (R.O.H.). (78) Wil.^
Dev." (79) So. (Jam.) Abd. The old man's fold, where the druid
sacrificed to the demon for his corn and cattle, could not be violated
by the ploughshare, Statist. Ace. XXI. 148 lib.'). (80) Sc. Used
by the Highlanders after a drinking- match (Jam.) ; Flora made me
a bowl of ould man's milk, but nothing would bring me round,
Saxon and Gael (1814) II. 78 (iS.). Abd. Happy with a few
kindred spirits o'er his cappie o' auld man's milk, Walker Bards
Bon-Accord (iSa-j) s-j^. (81) Der.=, nw.Der.l (82) Lakel.^ Thoo
mun gang an' trail t'auld mear ta-day. (83) w.Yks.^ (84) w.Yks.
(J.G.) (85) N.I.i (86) Cor.2 When these are explored or worked
again, miners say they are ' scratching the old men's backs.' (87)
ib. (88, 89) Nhp.i (90) n.Cy. Grose (1790); N. &^ Q. (1886)
7th S. i. 368. n.Yks. (I.W.) e.Yks. Marshall Rur.Econ. (1788) ;
e.Yks.i w.Yks. We seldom have rice puddings; old milk is so bad
to get (H.L.). nw.Der.i, n.Lin.^ Cmb.i Go to W 's for some
old milk. (91) w.Yks. Formerly added to the standard weights
to give good weight (S.K.C.). (92) w.Yks. Old Moss, the Fairy
Queen, Shaw Recent Poems (1824) Shantooe Jest, in N. &^ Q.
(1870) 4th S. v. 156. (93) n.Sc. Sometimes implying the idea of
craft (Jam.) ; She looks ill to ca' And o'er auld-mou'd, I reed, is
for us a', Ross Helenore (1768) 97, ed. 1812. (94) Lan. Owd Ned
un' lung chimblies, Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867) 56.
(95) Sli.I. Auld Nickey, as da saying is, is aye kind till his ain,
Stewart Tales (1892) 255. Abd. I' the Howburn he chanced to
fa' in wi' auld Nick, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 11. Ayr.
Straught to auld Nick's, Burns Ep. to J. Rankine (1784') st. i.
Lnk. He sleeps wi' candle licht Tae keep Auld Nick awa' at nicht,
Orr Laigh Flichts (1882) 43. Edb. By the help of Old Nick this
Clydesdale warlock is there reported to have done many wonderful
featSj Pennecuik IVks. (1715) 197, ed. 1815. Dmf. Thus, despite
Auld Nickie's thraws. His tapsail reef, Quinn Heather (1863) 102,
n.Cy. Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1777) 115. Nhb. Whe wad hae
thowt now that iver awd Nick Wiv wor canny town wad hae
gettin see thick? Oliver Local Sngs. (1824) 5. n.Yks. Fully
convinced it wor awd Nick, Broad Yks. 15. e.Yks.^ w.Yks. It's
paving mi way to Old Nick, Hartley Ditt. (1873) 2nd S. 45 ;
w.Yks.i ; w.Yks.2 Owd Nicker (s.v. Nicker). Lan. ' Old Nick ' is
said to lurk under shady willows which overhang deep water,
Harland & Wilkinson /VA-iore (1867)80. nw.Der.',Lin.i,n.Lin.',
Nhp.i, War.3 Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Hnt. (T.P.F.),
Suf.i, w.Som.i Dev. Urn, thee zany, watt be veard on ; Wold
Nick or his dam ? Longman' s Mag. (Feb. 1898) 371. (96) Fif.
Auld Nicky Ben niver prospers long, Heddle Marget (1899) 43,
Ayr. But fare-you-weel, auld Nickie-ben ! Burns Add. to Deil
(1785) St. 21. Lnk. Dismal, on an eternal plain, Was set auld
Nickieben's domain, Deil' s Hallowe'en (1856) 11. (97) e.Yks. In
the carrs, or lowlands, of Holderness, there are often turned up
huge trunks, stumps, and roots of immense trees, black as coal.
The prevalent belief is that all these trees were brought down by
the Flood, and the common name for the wood is Awd Nooah,
Nicholson Flk-Lore (1890) 127 ; e.Yks.l (98) w.Yks. Banks
Wkfld. Wds. (1865) (s.v. Noit); w.Yks." (s.v. Nointed) ; w.Yks.3
(99, a) Per. (G.W.) Edb. Said to have dealings wi' the Auld Ane,
Beatty Secretar (1897) 248. Nhb.i Ye he' the impittence o' the
aad'un. Wm.', e.Yks.', w.Yks.i,Der.i, n.Lin.i, Suf.i Ess. A firm
belief in 'the very old un,' as a real and ever-present personage,
was a most distinctive article of the rustic creed, Longman's Mag.
(Jan. 1893) 310. (6) s.Chs.i (100) w.Yks. Shaw Recent Poems
(1824) Shantooe Jest, in N. &= Q. (1870) 4th S. v. 156. (loi)
w.Yks. Wiv bin oud patiks far moni a jia (J.W.). n.LIn.' Him an'
me's ohd partic'lers ; we've knaw'd one anuther for sixty year.
(102) N.Cy.' Made of skimmed milk, also aptly called leather
hungry. Nhb.' A very tough and thrifty sort of food. Dur.',
Wm.i, w.Yks.i (103) w.Yks. (B.K.) (104) n.Yks. Meriton
Praise Ale (ed. 1697) 3. \_N. tf Q. (1885) 6th S. xii. 167.] (105)
w.Yks.* It commences by a single boy, who, starting from an
appointed place, pursues his playfellows with clasped hands until
he has succeeded in touching or ' tigging ' one of them. The
two again retreat to their den, whence, having given one warning,
they again start with joined hands till they succeed in catching
another, who joins them in like manner. Thus the chain becomes
gradually longer, while the number of those at liberty is continually
diminishing. But as the chain becomes more extended, it becomes
also more unwieldy, and the tactics of the pursued are not only to
escape from it by flight, but, as opportunity offers, to rush in upon
and break through it, in which case all those composing it are
compelled to make a precipitate retreat, pursued by the others, who
lay upon them with knotted handkerchiefs. (106, io7)Nhp.i (108)
Chs.i (109) [A ring is formed by children joining hands ; one
child, who represents Sir Roger, lays [s«c] down on the ground
in the centre of the ring with his head covered with a hand-
kerchief. The ring stands still and sings the verses. When
the second verse [' There grew an old apple-tree over his head']
is begun, a child from the ring goes into the centre and stands by
Sir Roger, to represent the apple-tree. At the fourth verse
[' There came an old woman a-picking them up '] another child
goes into the ring and pretends to pick up the fallen apples. Then
the child personating Sir Roger jumps up and knocks the child
personating the old woman, beating her out of the ring. She goes
oflT hobbling on one foot pretending to be hurt, Gomme ib. 22.]
Ant. Poor Toby is dead and he lies in his grave, &c., ib. 21. Yks.
Old Rogers is dead and is laid in his grave. Laid in his grave, Laid
in his grave. Old Rogers is dead and is laid in his grave. He, hi I
laid in his grave. There grew an old apple-tree over his head,
&c. The apples grew ripe and they all fell off, &c. There came an
old woman a-picking them up, &c. Old Rogers jumps up and he
gives her a knock, &c. He makes the old woman go hipperty-
hop, &c., ib. 16-17. Stf. Old Roger is dead and Hes in his grave,
urn, ah ! lies in his grave. There grew an old apple-tree over his
head, &c. The apples are ripe and ready to drop, &c. There
came an old woman, picking them up, ib. 17. Der. Cock Robin is
dead and lies in his grave, Hum-ha ! lies in his grave. Place an
old apple-tree over his head, &c., Flk-Lore Jrn. I. 385, in Gomme
ib. 21. Not. In the Ordsall game the children dance round when
singing the verses instead of standing still, the action of the game
being the same, ib. 22 ; The Newark version is played as first
described. Poor Roger being covered with a cloak or an apron,
and laying down in the middle of the ring, ib. Lin. Sir Roger is
dead and he's laid in his grave. . . There grew a fine apple-tree
over his head. . . The apples were ripe and they all fell off.' . .
There came an old woman and picked them all up. . . Sir Roger
OLD
[339]
OLD
jumped up and he gave her a push, . . Which made the old woman
go hickety-hock, ib. 18. Shr. In the Tong version, the action seems
to be done by the ring. Miss Burne says the children go through
various movements, finally all limping round, ib. 22. Nrf. Poor
Johnnie is dead and he lies in his grave, &c., ib. 19 ; There was
an old woman, we buried her here, Buried her here, buried her
here ; There was an old woman, we buried her here, He-ho !
buried her here, ib. 22. Ken. Cock Robin is dead and has gone
to his grave, &c., ib. 20. Hmp. A Southampton version has
additional, features— the ring of children keep their arms crossed,
and lay their hands on their chests, bending their heads and bodies
backwards and forwards, in a mourning attitude, while they sing,
ib. 22. Som. In the Bath version, the child who personates the
apple-tree during the singing of the third verse raises her arms
above her head and then lets them drop to her sides to show the
falling apples, ib. [For further information and rhymes, see Gomme
»A.] (iio)Shr.i (in) w.Yks.iIt'sanoud said sayandatrueyan.
(112) Nhp.i Nrf. Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 325. (113) n.Lin.^
(114) Suf. (Hall.) (115) War. But 'Old Sarbot' sa.ys, B' ham
Dy. Mail (Apr. 17, 1896) ; War.3 Old Sarbot or Sarbot was far
more frequently quoted ten years ago or more, as the authority for
a statement for which no other authority could be given, than he
nowis. (ii6)Cld. (Jam.Sm/>/>/.) (ii7)n.Yks. Oh.thoo'sabadden;
Oad Scratt 'el be heving hod o tha if ta duz'nt mind (W.H.) ;
n.Yks.i3, e.Yks.i, m.Yks. (W.W.P.) w.Yks. Adam an Eve wor
tempted be Owd Scrat, Tom Treddlehoyle Trip ta Lunnan (1851)
16 ; -w.Yks.^^s Lan sf^^ gj-e no strangers to Old Scrat and his
doings, Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867) 91. Chs. Thah's
getten a yure o' Owd Scrat in thi, Clough B. Bresskittle (1879) 6 ;
Chs.l, Der.2, nw.Der.i, n.Lln.', War.3, Shr.l (118) ne.Lan.i, Nhp.',
Suf.i, w.Som.i (iig) Cum. And temper't leyke auld Scratchem !
Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 193. (120) e.An.i A mischievous
goblin, in the shape of a great dog, or of a calf, haunting high\vays
and footpaths in the dark. Those who are so foolhardy as to
encounter him, are sure to be at least thrown down and severely
bruised, and it is well if they do not get their ancles sprained or
broken ; of which instances are recorded and believed. Nrf. Much
connected with the Danes ; walks the coast road ; last imagined to
be seen at North Repps, in 1853, Trans. Phil. Soc. (1855) 34. (121)
Cum.s Does te' think I'll tak' up wid Ann Dixon's oald sheiin ? 41.
(12a) Lin.i He has been to the old shop. (123) Abd. Tak' an
order o' the aul' smith, an ye like, Alexander Johnny Gibb {i8-]i)
49. (124) Sur. Why, he's playing Old Smoke with hisself, N. & Q.
(1878) 5th S. X. 222. (125, a) w.Yks. Get up, you lazy rascal,
don't Iig there acting t'old soldier (H.L.). s.Dev. Fox Kingsbridge
(1874). ib) Lan. Sum praties moistent wi' th' greos ov an owd
sowjer wur th' banquit uz lots hed to feed on, Ferguson Moudy-
warp, 3. (c) Cum.* One dresses up as an Old Soldier and coming
into the room asks ' Have you got anything to give to a poor old
soldier?' of each of the company individually. According to a
rule previously decided upon without the knowledge of the beggar,
a certain word such as No or Yes, Black or White, is not to be
mentioned in the replies. The use of the forbidden word entails
the payment of a forfeit (J.Ar.). In a variation of this game, the
Old Soldier tries to force the forbidden words from the players
(J.W.B.). Lan. Here comes an old soldier from Botany Bay,
Have you got anything to give him to-day? Gomme Games (1898)
II. 24. Shr. One player personates an Old Soldier and begs of all
the others iu turn. Whoever uses the word Yes or No (some add
Red or Blue) in answering him must pay a forfeit, Burne Flk-Lore
(1883) 526. Lon. The ' Old Soldier ' begins his appeal with the
words ' Here comes an old soldier from Botany Bay, And what
have you got to give him to-day ? ' If the player whom he
addresses makes use in his answers of the words Yes or Yea, No
or Nay, Black, White, or Gray, he becomes the Old Soldier
(A.B.C.). Sus. (E.M.) [One player personates an old soldier,
and begs of all the other players in turn for left-off garments or
anything else he chooses. . . The questioned child replying must
be careful to avoid using the words Yes, No, Nay, and Black,
White, or Grey. These words are tabooed and a forfeit is exacted
every time one or other is used. The old soldier walks lame, and
carries a stick. He is allowed to ask as many questions, talk as
much as he pleases, and to account for his destitute condition,
Gomme ib. 24.] (126) ne.Lan.i, nw.Der.' Nhp.i ' You may buy it
for an old song,' is often said of an unsaleable article. War.^,
Hnt. (T.P.F.) (127) Sc. When a person or thing retains the same
character, temper, or mode without variation, it is said, ' He, or It,
has aye the auld soogh yet' (Jam., s.v. Souch). (128) Lan. Th'
wimmen seet up a skrike ... as if Owd Sooty had popt his burns
in at th' dur, Brierley li'kdale (1865) 31, ed. 1868 ; Dost meean
Owd Sooty? j6, il/af/ocAi (1867) 30. (129) m.Yks.^ (130) s.Not.
(J.P.K.) Nhp.i The species which roll up on being touched, and,
if swallowed in that state, are believed to possess the medicinal
virtue of curing the ague. Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.An.i Used as pills,
they are believed to have much medicinal virtue in scrofulous cases,
especially if they be gathered from the roots of aromatic potherbs,
mint, marjoram, &c. Suf.i (131) Nhb. Robert Willis, an old
standard in the village, and wlio was very highly esteemed among
his fellows, Newc. Dy. Chron. (Oct. 29, 1900). Cum.i, w.Yks.
(J.W.) Not. Many an old ' standard ' will be missing from his
accustomed spot. Not. Guardian (May 28, 1895) 5, col. 6. s.Not.
Them old standards say, where the wind is at Martlemas eve, there
it remains for three months, (J.P.K. ). n.Lin.i Ohd standards ewst
to call th' plaace e' Bottesford chech, wheare }'our laadies sits, th'
Paapist quere. They had been there quite long enough to be
counted among the ohd standards by the rustics around, M. Heron
(1872) I. 56. Oxf.i I and Master Viner be the uny two old stan-
dards left. (132) Yks. Ows gat awae fra em, and . . , trade an
owd steg to deeath. Spec. Dial. (1800) 24. e.Yks.' (133, a)
w.Yks.2 A queer old stick. Nhp.i, Hnt. (T.P. F. ) (6) Lei.i ' How's
your wife, Martin ? ' ' Whoy, shay's much abaout the o'd stick,
ther een't much odds in 'er.' War.^ (134) w. Yks. ^ That of St. James
the Apostle, July 25th, is probably meant. (135) N.I.' Well, old stock,
how are ye the day? m.Yks.^ He's one of the old stock. What
cheer ! aud stock, what cheer ! (136) w.Yks. Aw'U bet tha's a tidy
little lump in a old stockin somewhear. Hartley Tales, 2nd S. 59.
(137) n.Lin.i Brks. There is a Roman road in Berkshire, between
Wantage and Thatcham, called the Old Street-way, Arch. XV.
184, in Peacock Gl. (1877). (138) Ir. They might have lived very
independently, having held a farn» on what they call an old take,
Carleton Traits Peas. (1843) I. 198. (139) Cai.i Slk. Their
faces were by this time flushed with shame . . . that they should
be thus cuffed about by the auld thief, Hogg Perils of Man (1822)
III. 38 (Jam.). (140) Der. Manlove Lead Mines (1653) 1. 44 ;
Tapping G/. ^ MaK/oz/« (1851). (i4i)N.Cy.i (142) w.Mid. There
ain't much old toar left in the meadow this spring (W.P.M.). (143)
Lon. But most of the scavagers, he thought, liked Old Tom best,
Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) II. 228, col. i, ed. 1861. (144)
CM. (Jam.) (145) s.Not. This hoe's a oad warrior, mester. Can't
yer spare uz a better ? It'sa oad warrior, that wudd is ; yer don't
often 'ear it nowadays (J.P.K.). (146, a) w.Yks. (J.G.), w.Yks.=3
{b) w.Yks. (S.P.U.) (147) w.Yks. We'd duck all sich lowse
stockins e owd weetin, Dewsbre Olm. (1865) 8; w.Yks.^ (148)
e.Yks.^ (149,0) Sc. Auld wives and bairns make fools of physicians,
Ramsay Prov. (1737); (Jam. Suppl.) Ayr. An auld wife's tongue's
a feckless matter To gie ane fash, Burns Poefs Welcome, st. 3.
Nhb.i An aud wife cries, ' Wor on the Bar,' Corvan Warkworlh
Feast. Wm.i T'aad wife's nobbet badly, {b) N.I.i [Satchell
(1879).] (c) Sc. So called on account of its likeness to an old
woman's head enveloped in a flannel cap. . . Where the ventilation
is imperfect, the tap is removed and an auld-wife substituted.
During high winds both ' old wives ' and ' pig-taps ' are apt to be
thrown down. . . Hence the severity of a storm, and one's courage
in braving it came to be represented by the expression, ' raining
auld-wives and pig-taps,' which became corrupted into ' raining
auld-wives and pike-stafis' (Jam. Suppl.). (150) Lakel.' It took
place at some village or country inn during the Christmas holidays.
n.Lan. Christmas and New Year's tea parties and dances are called
'Auld Wife Hakes,' Harland & V^i-lkihson Flk-Lore (1867) 216;
n.Lan.i Yearly gatherings, or convivial meetings, held about
Christmas. Young and old of both sexes attend, and the evening
is sp^nt in tea drinking, card-playing, and dancing. ne.Lan.^
(151) s.Sc. Gipsy language (Jam.). (152) Cum.-* On the first
Saturday in the year the country people assemble at their respec-
tive woast houses or inns at Keswick ; the heads of the houses
taking their wives, or sometimes a daughter, to dine and make
merry in the evening with other friends, for the benefit of the
house. (153, o) e.Yks. An ancient custom, once observed in the
northern parts of the Riding, was ' bonnin awd witch.' On the
last day of the harvest, a fire of stubble was made in the fields,
and peas parched therein. These were eaten with a plentiful
allowance of ale, Nicholson Flk-Lore (1890) 28. (6) e.An.', Suf.i
(154, a) w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Let's go daan stairs and see what
my owd woman says about it, Westall Birch Dene (1889) I. 291.
n.Lin.i When me an' my ohd woman was wed, an' th' parson an'
th' clerk was paaid, we'd nobbut a ha'p'ny atween us. War.^ ;
War.3 The old woman is very bad this morning. Brks.i My awld
'ooman 'ooll hev dinner jus' ready vor us. w.Som.i There wad'n
nobody home but me and th' old 'umman. Cor. What'll my poor
ould 'umman do ? Forfar Pentowan (1859) i. [Amer. Dial. Notes
(1896)1.373.] (6) GIo. (S.S.B.) (c) Slk. There goes an auld
woman frae the chumley-tap, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV,
X X a
OLD
[340]
OLD
178. (rf) se.Woi-.^ Oxf.i There's the old domman a picking her
geese And sellin' the feathers a penny a piece, MS. add. (155)
Lin.i, n.Lin.i, Oxf.i MS. add. (156) War.2 After cards are shuffled,
it is not unusual for the shuffler to push the central cards length-
wise out of the even pack, and place them at the top. Sometimes
called 'The lucky poke.' (157) Arg. And that's our own Gaelic
oldword, 'There are few lapdogs fn a fox's litter,' Monro Lost
Pibroch (1896) 87. (158) Der. Tapping Gl. to Manlove (1851).
(159) nw.Der.i (160) Cai.i To wauk the aal'-year into the new.
Dmf. ' To wauke the auld year into the new,' is a popular and
expressive phr. for watching until twelve o'clock announces the
new year, Cromek Remains (1810) 46, (161) Sh.I. Bena was an
auld-young lass, Clark Gleams (i8g8) 53. (162') Der. He's a fine
old youth, Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.); Der.2, nw.Der."- (163)
Sh.l. Frae Hallamas ta auld Yiile Day, A gay time aye wis den, O,
Stewart Tcdes (1892) 97. Per. On good Old Yule, at night's
drear noon. We hear the symphony, Spence Powks (1898) 113.
(164) w.Yks. Wheer's th' owder end all this time ? Bickeedike
Beacon Aim. (1873).
2. adj. In comb, in names of plants ; (i) Old English pop-
lar, the black poplar, Populus nigra; (2) — granny's night-
cap, the monkshood, Aconitum Napellus ; (3) — lad's
corn, the greater stitchwort, Stellaria holostea ; (4) — lad
pea-cods, the fruit of the laburnum, Cytisus Laburnum ;
(5) — man, (a) the southernwood, Artemisia Abrotanum ;
(b) the wild clematis, Clematis Vitalba ; (c) the rosemary,
Rosmarinus officinalis ; {d) the scarlet pimpernel, Ana-
gallis arvensis ; (6) — man's beard, (a) see (5, b) ; (b)
various species of horsetail, Equisetum ; (c) the mare's-
tail, Hippuris vulgaris ; (rf) the creeping saxifrage, Saxi-
fraga sarmentosa ; (e) the large-flowered St. John's wort,
Hypericum calycinum ; (7) — man's flannel, the white
mullein, Verbascum Thapsus; (8) — man's love, see (5, a);
(9) — man's mustard, the yarrow, Achillea Millefolium ;
(10) — man's nightcap, the great bindweed. Convolvulus
septum; (11) — man's plaything, the burnet saxifrage,
Pimpinella Saxifraga ; (12) — man's woozard, see (5, b) ;
(13) — owl, the down-weed or clod-weed, Filago ger-
manica; (14) — rot, the cow-parsnip, i/erac&ww Sphon-
dylium; (15) — sow, {a) the sweet trefoil, Melilotus
caerulea; (1^) the white everlasting, Antennariamargaritacea;
(16) — wife's darning-needles, the shepherd's needle,
Scandix Pecten-Veneris ; (17) — wife-huid, see (2) ; (18) —
wife threads, the creepers of the buttercup, Ranunculus
repens ; (19) — wives' tongues, the aspen, Populus
tremula ; (20) — wives' tow, the bog-moss, various species
of Sphagnuin ; (21) — woman, (a) see (2) ; (i) the silvery
wormwood, Artemisia argentea ; {22) — woman's bonnet,
the water-avens, Geum rivale ; {23) — woman's needle,
see (16) ; (24) — woman's nightcap, [a) see (2) ; (6) a
species of bell-flower. Campanula ; (25) — woman's
orchis, the Lady-orchis, Orchis purpurea; (26) — woman's
pincushion, the spotted orchis, Orchis maculata ; (27) —
woman's purse, the wild balsam, Impatiens Noli-me-
tangere ; (28) — woman's snuff-box, a fungus containing
a dry powdery substance.
(i)Suf. (2)Oxf. (s'jShr.i (4) w.Yks. Tha'll be puzzumed [5!c],
if tha eyts them Owd Lad peycods, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Nov. g,
1895)- (5, «) Yks. Possibly a rose-tree, and 'old man ' growing
in the midst, Gaskell Sylvia (1863) I. i. Lan. One plump hand
. . . toying with her posy of roses and ' old man,' Longman's Mag.
(Jan. 1900)258. Chs.'2; Chs.^ ' Old man tea ' is a favourite cure-
all in the Chs. pharmacopoeia. sw.Lin.^ Rut.i (s.v. Lad's Love),
Nhp.i, War.3, Wor. (W.C.B.), se.Wor.l, Shr.i, Oxf. (G.O.),
Oxf.i MS. add. Lon. Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) I. 137, col. 2.
Cmb., Nrf., Ess., Ken.* Sus. As familiar as the scent of the ' old
man' at her waistbelt, O'Reilly Stories (1880) III. 174. Hmp.i,
Wil.i, Dev.", Cor. (J.W.) {b, c) e.Sus. (rf) Wil.' (6, a) Gall.
The boughs were feathered with long dank drifts of Old Man's
Beard, Crockett Anna Mark (1899) xxxi. Nhp. And old-man's
beard, that wreath'd along the hedge Its oddly rude, misshapen
tawny flowers, Clare Village Minst. (1821) II. 134; Nhp.i More
commonly applied to the plant when in seed in winter, from its
white hoary appearance. War. Glo. Covered by sprays of
crimson black -berry, mingled with the lluify greyness of ' old man's
beard,' Longman's Mag. (July 1899) 270. Oxf., Bck. Hrt. Ellis
Mod. Husb. (1750) IV. i. 67. Hnt. (T.P.F.), Suf. ne.Ken. Used
by boys for smoking (H.M.). Sus. Wil. There are traces of ' old
man's beard," the white fluffy relics of clematis bloom, stained
brown by the weather, Jebteries Open Air (1885) 148; Wil.*
Dor. Greenish white with wild clematis— here called ' old-man's-
beard,' Hardy Woodlanders (1887) II. xi ; (C.W.) Som. The
traveller's joy puts on its wooly mantle, and appears as Oldman's-
beard, Compton Winscombe Sketches (1882) 147. e.Som. W. Sc J.
Gl. (1873). Dev. BowRiNG Lang. (1866) I. pt. v. 17 ; Dev.*, Cor.
(i) Glo.'- -w.Som.i Oo-l-mai-nz-bee-urd. (c) Dor. Barnes Gl.
(1863); w.Gazette (Feb. 15, 1889) 7, col. 2. {d, e) Dev.* (7)
Som. (8) Nhb., Brks.* Suf. Science Gossip (1883) 113. (g) Lin.
(10) Sus.i (11) Shr.i (12) s.Bck. (13) -w.Suf. (14) e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). (15, a) Wil.i From its peculiar odour. Science
Gossip (Nov. 1868). [Has a singular porcine odour, and is the
plant which gives the pecuUar flavour to Schapziger cheese,
Morton Cycle. Agric. (1863) II. 425, in (B. & H.).] (A) Nrf. (16)
n.Yks. (17) Cum. (18) -w.Yks.i {ig^BjAi. Science Gossip {li-jS)
39, in (B. & H.). (20) n.Ir. In the north of Ireland, they, byway
of Joque, call it old wives tow, and curse them that buryed it,
when it hinders them in cutting the turf (c. 1684), in Trans. Phil.
Soc. XV. 950 (B. & H.). (21, a) n.Lin.i (6) Shr.i (22) Wil.
Garden Wk. (i8g6) New S. No. cxi. 76; Wil.i (23) Hmp.
(J.R.W.), Hmp.i (24, n) n.Yks. (I.W.), Oxf., s.Bck. (6) Shr.
(25) Ken. From the fancied resemblance of the flower to a lady
dressed in a poke-bonnet with a best bib on and wide sleeves.
(26) Wil. Garden Wk. (1896) New S. No. cxi. 76; Wil.i (27)
Cum.* (28) Oxf.i MS. add.
3. Comb, in names of birds : (i) Old bulting, the corn-
bunting, Emberisa miliaria ; (2) — fellow, the sedge-
warbler, Acrocephalus phragmitis ; (3) — maid, the lapwing,
Vanellus vulgaris; (4) — man, the spotted flycatcher,
Mttscicapa grisola.
(i) Yks. Yks. IVkly. Post (Dec. 31, i8g8). (2) Lan. Science
Gossip (1882) 164. (3) Wor. Swainson Birds (1885) 184. -w.Wor.'
(4) Chs. Science Gossip (1865) 36 ; Chs.i This, like the robin, wren,
and swallow, is considered a sort of sacred bird, and its nest and
eggs are respected by the schoolboy ; Chs.^
4. Phr. (i) Old Johnny Hairy, crap in, a game ; see below ;
(2) an old ewe dressed lamb-fashion, an elderly woman
dressed in a juvenile style ; see Ewe, sb} 3 ; (3) — thing
and a young thing both of an age, a saying ; see below ; (4)
as old as one's tongue and older than one's teeth, an answer
often given in reply to a question as to one's age ; (5) the
older and the madder, a saying applied to an old couple
who get married.
(i) Ltr. All players sit round the fire and put out their right
feet. The master of the game repeats — 'Onery, twoery, dickery,
dary, Wispy, spindey, spoke of the lindey. Old Johnny Hairy,
Crap in.' Each word is repeated to a man ; and when the leader
comes to 'Crap in,' the man specified draws in his foot. When
all have drawn in their feet but one, this one must then kneel
down, and his eyes being blindfolded, the master of the game puts
his elbow on his back and strikes him with his elbow or fist,
saying — ' Hurley, burley, trump the trace. The cow ran through
the market-place. Simon Alley hunt the buck, How many horns
stand up ? ' at the same time holding up several fingers. The man
kneeling down has to guess the number. If he guesses correctly,
the master of the game takes his place. If he fails to guess, he is
kept down and another man goes and strikes his back, and so on,
GoMME Games (i8g8) II. 44g-5o. (2) se.Wor.* (3) Chs.^ Like
a young girl of eighteen, who sold a very old gander to a purchaser.
He reproached her with having told him a lie in saying the bird was
young. ' Why, you don't call me ould ? ' said the girl ; ' and
mother allis said gander was hatched the same day I was born.'
(4) -w. Yks.5 ' How owd maay tuh be, lass V 'As owd as me tongue
an' owder then me teeth ! ' is the reply. (5) -w.Yks. (S.K.C.)
5. Eldest, oldest. See Auld.
Sc. He gave his auld son kisses three, Child Pop. Ballads (ed.
1882) I. 79 ; The second of them she's to the wood gane To seek
her old sister, ib. 175; This her old sone, and true born heir,
Maidment Pasy«!75 (1868) 370; Still common (Jam. Suppl.).
6. Of bread : stale. Sc. Monthly Mag. (1800) I. 239.
7. Musty, rotten ; foetid.
w.Som.i Ter'ble old sort of a stink, I zim. Thick there cask
zmellth old like.
8. Over-due, late in payment.
Lnk. Let oor rents be three days auld, Ye'U quately take the
law an' sned it, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 44.
9. Customary, usual.
Sc. (A, W.), w.Yks. (J.W.) Lin. Doctor's a 'toattler, lass, an' a's
OLD
[341]
OLESS
hallus i' the owd taale, Tennyson N. Farmer, Old Style (1864) st. 17 ;
Yar've been at the ode game agen, hev ye? Gilbert Rugge (1866)
11. 102. e.An.'^ If we are found out, we shall have old scolding and
storming. There will be old cramming and tipling at the hawkey.
10. A term of endearment, familiarity, or contempt ; freq.
used as a meaningless epithet.
Yks. He's as glum as a sperret, sheea's a 'cute awd lass,
Macquoid Doris Barugh (1877) Prol. 4. w.Yks. Nah then, owd
lad, hah art ta blowin? (B.K.) ; An' sit i' th' arm-cheer bith', owd
lass, Hartley Ditt. ist S. (1868) 13. Lan. Th' owd lad's gan us
a good sarmon, Waugh Chini. Corner (1874) 18, ed. 1879. Der.,
Not. The word is . . . applied to everything, young, old, good, or
bad. The word is, however, as often used as a term of endearment,
in such ways as ... ' My good owd darlin,' ' My brave owd chap,'
N, & Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 197. sw.Lin.i The general epithet
applied to a hare. ' I reckon they've letten that old boy of ours off
easy.' 'They fun an old hare, apped up in a dyke bottom.' 'She'd
an old hen seat hersen in the hedge ; I said for sureness the old
fox would get her.' Shr.i 'E's a reg'lar auld bad un. Brks.^ Nrf.
The usual designation of hares about E. Dereham. ' I ha' seen several
old heres about' (W.R.E.) ; I'm afraid there's going to be a funny
old night, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 347. Suf. Ibowt a little owd
dawg this mornin(C.T.); That do fare a dear little aud baby, that do,
e.An.Dy. Times (1892). Cmb. I have often heard a Cambridgeshire
gardener complain of ' them old birds ' for eating his crops and
'them old boys' too, N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 197. Ken.'
Constantly applied to anything or anybody without any reference
to age. Dor. I never cared 'bout it avore, wold girl ; but when I
zeen 'ee in thik wold vrock in the chapel I felt what a wold vooil
I've bin, Windsor Mag. (Mar. 1900) 420 ; I shall never have a wold
Jack hare fried, Flk-Lore Rec. (1880) III. pt. i. 112. s.Dev. I can't
tell why the infernal old children make their noise at my door,
N. & Q. (1877) sth S. viii. 46 ; The use of ' old ' as a term of
depreciation is common, ib. w.Cor. Almost always used to express
disapprobation. ' There's ould bugs in that house.' ' Nasty ould
trade' (G.F.R.).
11. Used as an intensitive : great, abundant, famous, fine.
Sc. Used as characterizing what is deemed quite unreasonable
or absurd ; always as expressive of the greatest contempt. ' Here's
an auld wark about naething.' ' Auld to do,' a great fuss or pother
(Jam.) ; ' Here's auld ordering and counter-ordering,' muttered
Garschattachin, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xxxii. n.Cy. Here has been
old doings (J. L. 1783). w.Yks.* Chs.i; Chs. 2 Old doings signify
great sport, great feasting, an uncommon display of hospitality ;
Chs.^ s.Chs.^ It)s li praat'i uwd wee" tu Mau-pus [It's a pratty
owd wee to Maupas]. ' A pratty owd tap ' means a great speed.
Der. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) LeMTheer wur a noist o'd nize
when shay 'eerd on it. Foin o'd dewins. Nhp.^ There was old
doings at the wedding. War. B'ham Wkly. Post Qune 10, 1893) ;
War.i There will be old work about it ; War.* Shr., Hrf. Bound
Provinc. (1876). Hnt. (T.P.F.) Dev. A proper old fuss about
whitewashing, Eng. Illus. Mag. (June 1896) 258.
12. In games : first and best. See Atild.
e.Cy. That is the auld bowl (Hall.).
13. Wise, serious, thoughtful ; of a child : precocious,
staid, demure. Also used advb.
s.Not. The little oad thing sat as quiet as a mouse (J.P.K.).
s.Wor. My missus er thought as er wuz despirt owld, Outis Vig.
Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (1896) XVIII. Brks. ' He looked very old
about it.' A precocious child would almost invariably be described
as 'little and old' (M.J.B.).
14. Cunning, crafty, sly, knowing ; suspicious.
w.Yks." He's too oud for you, ii. 21 ; w.Yks.s I wur ower owd
for 'em, 6. s.Not. 'E tho't to get the best on me, but ah were too
oad for 'im (J.P.K.). War.s s.Wor. (H.K.) ;s.Wor.i Esp. as
applied to children. Shr.i I wuz too auld fur 'im — I bested 'im.
Glo.i, Oxf. (G.O.) w.Som.i I count th' old man was fold vor you,
wad'n er ! he's a proper old hand.
Hence Olden or Oldun, sb. a wise or knowing person ;
a cunning person ; lit. old one.
Yks. Ay! a did t'tax-man; a wur an owdun (F.P.T.). War.
Well, Fred, what will the weather be? we all know you're an
oldenabouttheweather,ica»«!«^/o«Co«n'«>-(Feb. 27, 1897); War.*
15. adv. Craftily, knowingly ; distrustfully, askance ;
angrily.
War. 2 s.Wor.i He looked very old at rae. Shr.i Our young
Tum looked pretty auld at me w'en the pass'n said 'e supposed
theer'd be a Chris'nin' fur 'im afore lung. Hrf.^, Oxf.^ Suf. He
looked rarely old at me (C.T.) ; He looked very old at me when I
told him I'd heard this (C.G.B.). Sur. Aye, sir, folks does look
so old at you, if you don't give them nothing, N. & Q. (1881) 6th S.
iii. 318.
16. sb. Must.
Cor.i It tastes of old. The clothes smell of old.
OLDEN, V. Yks. Also in forms atiden n.Yks.'^ ;
awden e.Yks. j oaden, owden n.Yks. [ou'dan.] To grow
old ; to age, feel the effects of increasing years.
n.Yks. (T.S.); n.Yks.i; n.Yks.^ I feel te auden fast. He's sair
auden'd o' leeat ; n.Yks.* e.Yks. Awd man gets ti gan varry mitch
astoop : he's awdened a vast leeatly, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889)
89; e.Yks.i Awd man's awdened a vast latly, MS. add. (T.H.)
ra.Yks.', w.Yks. (J.W.) [He oldened more than he had done for
fifteen years before, Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xviii.]
OLDEST, adj. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Also in forms aldest
n.Lan."^ ; aulest Sc. ; awdest Nhb. ; owdest Lan.^ ; owdst
w.Yks. Lan. Eldest.
ne.Sc. Yer aulest loonie '11 seen be able t'gang to the sea. Green
Gordonhaven (1887) 58. Nhb. There was eleeven o' us an' me the
awdest, Longman's Mag. (Feb. 1897) 324. w.Yks. T'owdst lad o'
Jan Beartha, Yksman. Comic Ann. (1890) 31, col. 1. Lan. Eaur
owdst lad, Clegg Know Hill (1890) 50 ; Lan.' Some owdest son
may stayle for bread. Some owdest dowther sink to shame,
Ramseottom Rhymes (1864) 43. n-Lan."-
OLDHAM, sb. Lan. Also in forms Owdam, Owdum.
In comb, (i) Oldham chap, (2) — mon, (3) — rough-head,
names given to the inhabitants of the town of Oldham.
(i, 2) Lancashire denominates her sons as ... ' Owdum mon'
or ' Owdam chap,' N. ^ Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 226. (3) N. & Q.
id.; (F.E.T.)
OLDHOOD, sb. Ken. Advancing years, the latter
period of middle age. (A.E.C.)
OLDISH, adj. Yks. Lan. Wor. Also in forms oudish
Lan. ; ouldish s.Wor. Cunning, knowing.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Thornber Hist. Blackpool (1837) 109.
s.Wor. Thahy cowts be rather ouldish like (H.K.).
OLD-LAND, sb. n.Cy. Nhb. Glo. e.An. Also in forms
alien Suf; oUand Nrf Suf.; oUond, ollunt Nrf. [oland.]
1. Ground that has lain untilled a long time, and is now
ploughed up ; arable land which has been laid down in
grass more than two years.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Glo. Gl. (1851). Nrf. His [the Red-
wing's] little chicken-like ' weeping ' voice near the bottoms of
stacks, or upon newlays and oUunts close by the marsh. farm-
house, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 8; One might think that the
present ruinously low price of wheat would prevent any farmer
from sowing a single kernel, but such is not the case, as already
several oUands have been ploughed, Nrf. Dy. Standard (Oct 13,
1894) 3, col. a ; It was the land ploughed out of grass (outland),
which was known as 'ollands.' Latterly any grass land being
prepared for wheat has become known as ' ollands,' but originally
this meant the portion of the field land which was to be taken
out of grass and into cultivation, N. & Q. (1882) 6th S. vi. 406 ;
Land is sometimes sown with corn, grass, and clover together.
After the corn and grass have been gathered, the clover which
remains is fed off, and such land is called ' olland' (N.W.) ; Land
is called ' ollunt' after the hay is taken off (P.H.E.). Nrf., Suf.
Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863); Ray (1691) ; Rainbird Agric.
(1819) 287, ed. 1849. Ess. Gl. (1851) ; Ess.l [OUond or lay of
two years, Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815) IX. 429.]
2. Comp. Old-land-hay, hay from a permanent pasture
which has been ' hained ' (q.v.) for the crop. Nhb.'
OLDNESS, sb. Yks. Wor. Som._Dev. Also in forms
audness n.Yks.^ ; awdness e.Yks. [o'ldnis, Yks. ou-dnss.]
1. Old age.
n. Yks.2 ' It's teuf frae t'audness on't ' : spoken of meat. e.Yks.^
MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.) w.Som.» Oa-ldnees. Dev. Bobby
[horse] don'tshowhisoldness, do 'er, sir? Reports Provinc. (1886) 98.
2. Cunning.
n.Yks. (I.W.), w.Wor.l s.Wor.i Especially of children.
OLDSTER, sb. Cor. An old person.
The wind is sharp for ' we' oldsters, Lowry Wreckers (1893)
208; The oldsters drap in durin' the ebenin'. Parr Adam and
Eve (1880) III. 86 ; Brothers they were, oldsters of about fifty-five
and fifty, ' Q.' Wandering Heath (1895) 180. [I know oldsters
who have a savage pleasure in making boys drunk, Thackeray
A Night's Pleasure, i. (CD.)]
OLE, OLEIT, OLESS, see Hold, v., Old, Evleit, Owlas.
OLF
[342]
OMFRY-FLOOR
OLF, sb. e.An. Also in forms oaf Suf. ; oalph, ulph
Nrf. [olf.] A finch, esp. the bullfinch, Pyrrhula Europaea.
See Blood-alp.
e.An.i Blood-olf and green-olf. Nrf. (G.E.D.) Suf. Science
Gossip (1882) 214; (M.E.R.) ; (C.T.) e.Suf. Swainson Birds
(1885) 66.
OLF, see Oaf.
OLGET-HOLE, sb. e.An. Also in form algate- Nrf.
L A hole left in the side of a barn for fight and ventila-
tion. See Olyet. e.An.i Nrf. Arch. (1879) VIII. 171.
2. A small recess in a wall within a chimney near
the fire.
Nrf. [In it] is deposited the tinder-box, matches, brushes, &c. ;
sometimes it is the receptacle for salves, ointments, and other
[things], Wright.
OLIED, OLIGHT, see Evleit.
OLIK, sb. Sh.I. Also written click S. & Ork.' ; and
in forms oalik, olak. [o'lik, o'lik.] A young ling. Lota
molva.
Shu flang twa half-grown oliks, a brismik, an' a muckle bar-
gultik, Sh. News (Feb. 24, 1900) ; Juist as Robbie took in da
oalik, ib. (Feb. 25, 1899) ; {Coll. L.L.B.) ; S. & Ork.i
[Cp. Norw. dial, vallonga, a little ling (Aasen).]
OLIPHANT, s6. Cor.2 [o-lifant.] An elephant.
[ME. olifant, an elephant (Lajamon) ; OF. olifant
{Roland}.]
OLITE, see Evleit.
OLITORY, sb. ? Obs. Yks. A kitchen garden. Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (July 11, 1896).
[None of the productions of the olitory affect finery, Hervey
Meditations, I. 79 (CD.).]
[Lat. olttor, a gardener, seller of herbs ; oliioriits, belong-
ing to herbs (Cole).]
OLIVE, sb. Ess. Also in form olaf. [o-liv, o-laf.]
The oyster-catcher, Haematopus ostrilegus.
Christy B. Essex, 238, in Newton & Gadow (1896) 655;
Swainson Birds (1885) 188.
[Supposed to be named after Olave (ON. Oldfr), the
sainted Danish king ; see N. & G. {I.e.) ; but there is an
obs. Fr. word olive, the name of some kind of bird ; see
CoTGR. and La Curne.]
OHVED, adj. Irel. [alai'vd.] Active, lively, ener-
getic ; the reverse of lazy.
Ant. ' You're a lazy hipel,' would be answered probably, ' Well,
you're olived,' Ballymena Obs. (1892).
[A der. of lit. E. alivei]
OLIVER, Si^i.i Lin.Shr. [o-liv3(r).] ln^hT.{i) Oliver,
Oliver, follow the King, a game ; see below ; (2) it caps old
Oliver, and he capped Long Crown, it beats everything, it
excels or surpasses everything.
(i) Stir. Form a ring and move round. Chorus : ' Oliver,
Oliver, follow the king ! Oliver, Oliver, last in the ring ! ' [They
curtsey, or ' donk down' all together, and the one who is last
has to tell her sweetheart's name.] Chorus : ' Jim Burguin wants
a wife and a wife he shall have, Nelly he kissed at the back-cellar
door, Nelly made a pudding, she made it over-sweet, She never
stuck a knife in till he came home at night. So next Monday
morning is our wedding-day. The bells they shall ring, and the
music shall play ! Oliver, Oliver, follow the King ' {da capo),
BuRNE Flk-Lore (1883) 508. (2) Lin. It beats old Oliver [Crom-
well], and he beat the Cavaliers, called high or long crowns, from
the shape of their hats, Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 732.
OLIVER, sb.^ Dev. [oliva(r).] A small eel. Dev.^
[Satchell (1879).]
OLLAND, OLLATH, OLLEN, OLLER, see Old-land,
Evleit, HoUin, AUer.
OLLET, sb. e.Cy. s.Cy. Sus. Wil. Also written ollit
Wil.* ; and in form ollards pi. Sus. [o'lit.] Decayed
branches of trees or small pieces of wood used as fuel for
warming furnaces, &c. ; fuel. See Elet.
e.Cy., s.Cy. Ray (1691). s.Cy. Bailey (1721). m.Sns. (A.F.N.) ;
(W.C.R.) Wil. Skinner (1671); Aubrey, in his MS. Nat. Hist,
of Wilts, tells us that cow-dung and straw was used for fuel at
Highworth and called by that name (Hall.) ; Wil."- [Grose
(1790) ; (K.); A bundle or quantity of ling, gorse, or fern, used
for burning land when the flag is not suflBciently fibrous to burn
of itself, WoRLiDGE Syst. Agric. (1669) 63.]
OLLICK, see Hollick.
OLLIE, sb. and adj. Sc. Also written olie Sh.I. ; and
in forms ooly Fif. ; oulie Sc. ; iillie Sh.I. ; ulzie n.Sc.
Slk. [Sh.I. oe-li.] L sb. Oil. Also used attrib.
Sc. They wha were fulish teuk their lamps, an' teuk nae oulie
wi' them, Henderson St. Matt. (1862) xxv. 3. Sh.I. I fetches da
collie a racket wi' da end o' da waand, an' sends her, iillie an' a',
oot o' his haand, Stewart Tales (1892) 257. n.Sc. Ulzie clear as
usquebaugh. Miller Scenes and Leg. (ed. 1853) xvii. Bnff.
Enbrugh shone wi' ulzie light, Taylor Poems (1787) 176. Fif.
Nor to the Greenlands cauld elope To fish for ooly, Douglas
Poems (1806) 45. Slk. Bonny Miss Jean had squeez'd it to
ulzie, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 279.
2. Comp. (i) Ollie-bunki(e, a vessel for holding oil ; (2)
-collie, an oil lamp ; (3) -hoilk, see (i) ; (4) -poitik or
-pootyek, an oil-pit ; (5) -roobel, see (i) ; (6) -truggel, a
vessel for holding liver-oil.
(i) Sh.I. Da Ollie bunkie 'ill be rinnin ower wi' kQddie bi dis
time, Sh. News (Nov. 13, 1897) ; Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 34. (2)
Sh.I. Noo we hae na da blink o' a iillie collie, Stewart Tales
(1892) 28. (3) Sh.I. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 34. (.4) In the North
Isles, ib. (s) ib. (6) Esp. when partly broken, ib.
3. adj. Oily, greasy.
Sh.I. Hit'll only dil wis gude sittin' i' da OHe '00', Sh. News
(Feb. 26, 1898).
OLP, OLT, OLUS, see Alp, Hold, sb., Owlas.
OLYET, sb. Obs. ne.Lan.' An eyelet.
[Olyet, made in a clothe, ftbularium, Prompt. Fr.
oeillet, a little eye, also, an oilet-hole (Cotgr.).]
OLY-PRANCE, sb. Nhp. [o'li-praens.] A merry-
making, rough boisterous merriment ; a romping-match.
See Molly-prance.
Grose (1790) ; Nhp.* When a party of young people go out
gipsying or gathering violets, and have been very merry, and
have had a day of great enjoyment, they will return home, and
say * We've had a nice oly prance.'
Hence Oly-prancing, ppl. adj. boisterously merry.
Oly-prancing doings, Grose (1790) ; Nhp.* It is not uncommon
after great feasting and rude mirth, to say, ' There was fine oly-
prancing doings.'
[The same word as ME. o/z^raz«w«, vanity, fondness for
gay apparel, pus in pryde & olipraunce his empyre he
haldes, Allit. P. (c. 1360), ed. Morris, 75.]
OM-, see Holm, sb}
OMADHAUN, sb. Irel. I.Ma. Also written omadhawn
Ir. ; and in forms amadan Ir. ; omadaun Ant. ; omadhan
Wxf. ; omathaun I.Ma. [o'matSan, ■9n.] A stupid per-
son ; a simpleton, fool.
Ir. You had better not be mentioning his name, you omadhaun,
Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) '• 191 > Just wait, ye big oma-
dhawn, standin' there star-gazin' like a stuck pig, Barlow Idylls
(1892) 64 ; Why, ye amadan, didn't ye come back and say ye
wanted it? Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 218. n.Ir. The ghost
av Fannet . . . made omadhauns of the valiant three, Lays and
Leg. (1884) 10. Ant. We shall specially avoid an omadaun, Hume
Dial. (1878) 22. s.Ir. Whisht, you omadhaun ! or I'll cut the
tongue out o' you, Lover Leg. (1848) II. 330. Wxf. It fell to the
big omadhan of a ploughman, Kennedy Evenings Duffrey (1869) 69.
Tip. Don't be makin an omadhaun of yourself, Thickham Knock-
nagow, 246. I.Ma. Hould your dirty tongue, you gobmouthed
omathaun ! Caine Manxman (1894) pt. 1. v ; You great blethering
omathaun, ib. pt. iii. xxi.
[Jr. amadan, fool ; Gael, amadan (Macbain).]
OMARY-, see Ordinary.
OMBER, sb. Stf. Der. [o-mb3(r).] A horse-collar.
The same word as Hamburgh (q.v.).
Stf., Der. (J.K.) Der. Put irons on his shackles, a omber
o' hemp around his neck, . . and drive him aneath th' tawest
whoke-tree, Cushing Voe (1888) I. ix ; Der.^, nw.Der.l
OMBER, see Hammer, sb}, Oumer.
OMBLE, V. Not. [o-mbl.] To walk slowly and with
difficulty ; to totter or stagger on. See Amble, 2, Hamble.
s.Not. 'E's gettin' oad ; 'e can on'y just omble about. A knocked
'im down ; but 'e managed to get up an' omble off (J.P.K.).
OME, OMER, see Holm, sb?, Oam, Oumer.
OMFRY-FLOOR, sb. Obs. Stf. In a coal-mine : the
fourth parting in the nether coal.
At Wednesbury in the nether coal as it lies in the mine, the
OMICK
[343]
ON
fourth parting or laming is called the omfry-floor, two foot and
a half thick (K.) ; Stf.i
• OMICK, sb. Sh.I. [5-mik.] A handful. S. & Ork.^
OMINY, sb. Hrf.2 [o-mini.] A fad or fanciful con-
trivance. The same word as Nominy.
What new Ominy's this ?
OMLIGUS, sb. Som. A corruption of ' omnibus.'
WiSom. Aay zee'd u aum'liguus veol oa oa'l soa'fljurz [I saw
a omnibus full of old soldiers], Elworthy Gram. (1877) 29.
OMMA, OMMARY, OMMET, see Of, On, prep.,
Ordinary, Nammet.
OMMOST, adv. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Not. Lin.
Nhp. Also written ommaist n.Yks.* ; ommast w.Yks. ;
ommust s.Not. ; omost Der.^ ; and in form ? onmost Chs.^
[o'mast.] 1. A dial, form of ' almost.'
Cum. (Hall.) n.Yks.'* It often carries a stronger sense with
it. ' Will to gan wiv uz ? ' ' Aye, Ah ommost think Ah will,'
would mean, ' Aye, I certainly think I will.' w.Yks. An we'n
ommast getten into't heart of another winter, Shevvild Ann.
(1849) 3 ; w.Yks.^, ne.Lan.i Chs.^ Oim onmost clemd. Der.i,
s.Not. (J.P.K.) Lin.l Poor thing, it's ommost done for. Nhp.i
2. At all, altogether.
n.Yks.i ' Ha' you onny partridges ommost, this year ? ' Farmer :
' Amaist nane.' In the question the accent was on the first
syllable ; in the answer, on the last.
OMNIGAD(D)RUM, sb. Obs. Sc. Also in form
omnigatherum. A name given to the unincorporated
craftsmen of a burgh.
In the larger burghs of Scotland. there were three classes of
burgesses : the merchants or guild brethren, the incorporated
^ craftsmen, and the unincorporated craftsmen. The last named
were deemed a lower order by the other two sections and when
spoken of as a class were called the ' Omnigatherum.' In the
burghs generally this name was only occasionally used, but in the
royal burgh of Stirling it was almost the only name given to that
class during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Jam. Suppl.);
The toun sail pay yeirlie £4, guild brethren £20, the crafts ;£^20,
the maltmen £10, and the omnigadrum, viz. the wrichtis, mais-
sones, coupares, litstares . . . the soume of ten pundis yeirlie,
Burgh Rec. Stirling (1642) (ib.').
[The same word as coUoq. E. omnigatherum, a miscel-
laneous collection of persons or things.]
OMOST, OMPER, see Ommost, Hamper, v}
OMPERLODGE, t;. Obs. Bdf. To contradict. Batche-
LOR Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 139. See Omperlogies.
OMPERLOGIES, sb. pi. Obs. or obsol. Nhp.'
Apologies for not undertaking a work, difficulties urged
in excuse.
A countryman one day said to the steward of a neighbouring
nobleman, ' I couldn't" get on with him, he made so many omper-
logies.'
[This is a contaminated form, compounded of apology
and hamper (to hinder, embarrass), q.v.]
ON, prep., adv. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel.
Eng. Amer. and Colon. Also in forms an w.Yks.^ Not.
Nhp.' 2 oxf.' Ken.i Sus.' Wil. ; en w.Yks.^ ; o m.Yks.' ;
om- Sh.I. ; un I.W.' [on, an, 3.] I. prep. Dial,
forms : Var. contractions : (i) Ome, on my ; (2) Omma,
(3) Omme, on me ; (4) Ommy, see (i) ; (5) Onner, on our;
(6) Onnum, on them ; (7) O'th, (8) O'tha, on the ; (9) Un,
ofit, ofhim; (10) Uth, see(8). ^ ^,
(i) Dur. Be neat ome bed ah sowght 'im, Moore Sng. Sol.
(1859) i"- '• (2) Wm. An a dud prae . . . 'Marcy omma,' Spec.
i)i«/.(i885)pt.iii.8. (3)w.Yks.iImunendays,antersneetbeomme,
ii. 290. (4) I dropt ommy knees, ib. ii. 302. (5, 6) ib. (7)
Clap it o'th table, *. eXan.' (8) Cum.' (9) I.W.' Ghee me
a bit un. (10) Lan. Her see im . . . lien stretched ud full length
uth ground. Why John {Coll. L.L.B.).
II. Dial. uses. 1. prep. In phr. (i) on zV, situated,
circumstanced, 'off' ; (2) —one's keeking, in hidmg from
the officers of the realm; (3) —oneself, on one's own
account, independently ; (4) —the club, drawing pay from
a sick-club or friendly society ; (5) — the hill, in a hori-
zontal direction ; (6) — the lay of ii, in the humour of it ;
(y) — the minute, at once; (8) to blame on, to lay the
blame on.
(i) n.Lin.i He's sorely on it yit, 'cause his wife s runn d awaay
fra him. sw.Lin.i Two or three days ago I was strangely on it.
(2) Uls. Uls. Jni. Arch. (1853-1862). (3) Frf. The fishmonger
had lately started on himself and was doing well, Barrie Licht
(1888) ii. m.Yks.i 'What took him to go?' 'He went on
himself.' w.Yks. (J.W.) (4) w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. 'E's bin on
the club a month wi' a bad 'and (J.P.K.). (5) w.Yks. Yoh mun
carve that bit o meyt on-t-hill, nut dahn t'hill. Draw a stroke
dahn-t'-hill an' anudder on-t-hill an' it'll be an L (B.K.). (6)
S. & Ork.i (7) Cav. The child is crying, go to it on the minute
(M.S.M.). (8) Gall. This omission he blamed on Ned Kenna,
Crockett Bog-Myrtle (1895) 182. Ir. (G.M.H.), w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lin. I blamed it on to their ignorance (T.F.). Lon. He blamed
his failure on me (F.H.).
2. Used redundantly after verbs, esp. after a prp.
e.Yks. I asked them what they were doing on here, Trial of
W. Dyon (1828) 10 ; e.Yks.' Thrawin on em doon. Puttin on
em inti pot. w.Yks. Wot ata diuin on ia ? (J.W.) s.Not. He was
alius a fingerin on't (J.P.K.). n.Lin.' I can do as well agean if
I nobbut knaw what I'm doin' on. s.Lin. What ar' y'r a doin' on ?
Do drop y'r clatter (T.H.R.). sw.Lin.' I begged and prayed on
him to stay. Lei.' It's eeged 'im very sadly, his loosin' on 'er
(s.v. Age). Brks.' The swain may sometimes attempt to put his
arm round the girl's waist ; this is called ' handlin' on her.' Lon.
Wot a image you're a-making on yourself! Mayhev/ Land. Labour
(1851) I. 193, col. 1. Nrf. My watch-glass broke ... a little time
after, when I was winding on it up, Emerson Marsh Leaves
(1898) 125. Ess. But what was I a tellin' on yer ? Downe Ballads
(1895) 23. n.Wil. I be afeard to touch on 'em (E.H.G.). Som.
I a done ont, Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869). [Amer. What ye
duin' on? Hayin' on't? Mr. can't come jes' now; he's a
shavin' on him, Dial. Notes (i8g6) I. 342.]
3. Used redundantly with the words ' to-morrow ' and
' yesterday ' and the days of the week.
N.I.' I'll do it on to-morrow. [Amer. To-morrow's on a Saturday,
Dial. Notes (1896) I. 373.]
4. On to, upon.
Per. Ye'll gang twenty mile afore ye'U come on the GaeUc,
Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 108, ed. 1887. Fif. Lord Prior James
got on a chair, Tennant ]Pa/>!i;ry (1827) 100. Rnf. Ye flee like
ravens on his tap, Webster Rhymes (1835) 8. n.Cy. (J.W.)
Cum.' A morgidge is sair on-lig on a house. w.Yks. (J.W.)
5. On the point of.
Dwn. He is just on dying (C.H.W.). N.L' They say he's just
on dying. w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. It's just on boiling (J.P.K.).
e. In.
Sc. The dearest youth on life to me, Jamieson Pop. Ballads
(1806) I. 57 ; On Lunnan or on Emburgh street, Drummond
Muckomachy (1846) 6. Frf. David is much affected also, but it is
not so well known on him, Barrie M. Ogilvy (1896) 38. Per.
There's a gey odds on some folk, Tom, Sandy Scott (1897) 14.
Nhb. The storm was on their favour, Richardson Borderer's
Table-bk. (1846) VI. 120. w.Yks. Tee it on a bunch (B.K.).
Nhp.' The roses are all on flower. Hrf.', Hnt. (T.P.F.) Suf.
You will find it on my room. The apple-tree is on blossom
(M.E.R.) ; (C.T.) Hmp.' On mistake. Via. I run agen un on
th' street, Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.' Dor. ' I see'd it on
the paper,' or ' I read it on the paper,' Times (Jan. 6, 1900).
Som. It was on the paper this morning. She said so on the letter
she sent yesterday (W.F.R.). n.Dev. I suppose he put on the
letter just what mother told him, Chanter Witch (1896) 31.
Guer. I saw it on the paper (G.H.G.). [Can. The City Hall in
his street, or ' on,' as the Canadians would say, Vincent New-
foundland (1892) iii.]
Hence on a mistake, phr. in mistake, by mistake.
Wil.' He come on a mistake.
7. About, concerning ; as regards ; in the matter of
Sc. He couldna sleep for thinkin' on't. I'll tell your mither
on you (Jam. Suppl.); Yon auld, belt, clear-headed man that
spake sae bonnie on the angels, Dickson Auld Min. (1892) 88.
n.Sc. Liars will lie on fell gude men, Sae will they do on me,
BucHAN Ballads (1828) I. 18, ed. 1875. Abd. Twa o' Robin
wadna raatch'd him On the spade or on the pick. Still Cottar's
Sunday (1845) 37- P^''- ^e ken I'm skilly on kye ! Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) 241, ed. 1887. Fif. Tam was sittin' . . .
thinkin' on the mony happy days o' langsyne, McLaren Tibbie
(1894) 19. Rnf. [Their] clatter was a' on their claes, Webster
Rhymes (1835) 5. Ayr. Why should I be frightened in thinking
on what everybody . . . will approve? Galt Entail (1823) xvi.
e.Lth. Are ye gaun to eat the coo an' worry on the tail ? Hunter
J. Inwick (1895) 174. Cum."* He just bet three shillings and not
crowns or half-crowns as you tell on, C. Patr. (Dec. 15, 1893)
ON
[344]
ON
3, col. 2. n.Yks.* Sha war despert freet'n'd 'at Ah war gahin ti
tell on her. w.Yks. Here is what fairly set me thinking on it,
Snowden JVeb of Weaver (1896) 3 ; It's nout ts breg on (J.W.) ;
w.Yks.2 He told lies on me ; w.Yks.* Lan. Glad ta finnd 'em
speakkin so weel on her, R. Piketah Forness Flk. (1870) 5.
Chs.3 n.Stf. Happen ye'd get something to think on, Geo. Eliot
A. Bede (1859) I- 8. sw.Lin.i I do believe that on her. w.Wor.
That baynt much to brag on, Berrow^sjrn. (Mar. 10, 1888). Oxf.
I don't want to speak on it (G.O.). Sur. That's a' you varmin'
folk thinks on, Bickley Sur. Hills (i8go) I. i ; The more I thinks
on it, Jennings Field Paths (1884) 6. Slang. The Knight of the
Rose, and the Knight of the Dragon, The newspapers tell us did
little to ' brag on,' Barham Ingoldsby (ed. 1840) 20.
8. Of; freq.usedwith/i«rs./iroM.insteadofthe/iosses5. /row-
Sc. Hold it back again, For Errol shall not drink on't, Sharpe
Ballad Bk. (1823) 94, ed. 1868. Per. What was yon ... 'at he
took sae muckle tent on ? Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 20, ed.
1887. s.Sc. His sark tail too, a part on't, Scorn'd within his
breeks to stay, T. Scott Poems (1793) 359. Lnk, Ye'll soon
make an end on't, Rodger Poems (1838) 63, ed. 1897. e.Lth.
Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 205. Gall. The dool-string I should
soon get rid on, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 156, ed. 1897.
Nhb. Strenkle a leapyt ov sugar ont, Bewick Tyneside Tales (1850)
10 ; Nhb.i ' On't,' constantly used for the personal pronoun its.
In speaking of a horse, instead of its head, its foot, the expression
is : ' The heed on't,' ' the foot on't.' Dur.He maade t'pillers ont uv
silver, t'boddom ont uv gowld, Moore Sng. Sol. (1859) iii. 10;
Dur.i They mak a deal on him. e.Dur.i Cum. It . . . wad kick
an' throw him ower t'heed on't, Silpheo Billy Brannan (1885) 6 ;
He wad tell em that in t'hearin on us oa, Sargisson Joe Scoap
(1881) 2 ; Cum.2 ; Cum.3 A gay lang nwose at wasn't set varra
fair atween t'e'en on him, x. Wm. Warst on't was, Jim Hutcheysen
Med o' th' wimmen sham, Blezard Sngs. (1848) 42; Nea dout
t'hauf ont's lees. Whitehead Leg. (1859) 26. n. Yks.' 2 ne.Yks.i
Sum o'n 'em. e.Yks. Nowther on 'em ul teyl mah, Marshall Rur.
Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.^ That's end on't. w.Yks. Thade browt hauf an
a pig nearly, Tom Treddlehoyle Thowts, &c. (1845) 6; w.Yks.';
w.Yks.3 What sort en ? w.Yks.^ Len us hod on't ! Lan. It 'ud luk
better on you, Dottie Rambles (1898) 18 ; As big as Gather on
yo, Waugh Snowed-up, iii; Lan.' ne.Lan.' Mek mich on him.
e.Lan.i I was aback on him. Chs.'^ Midi. I'm not a froightened
on ye, Bartram People of Clopton (1897) 140. s.Stf. Theer's tu
many on 'em for we to tackle, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
Der.' U baad' soa'ut un u bod'i [A bad sort on a body] ; Der.^
There's a pretty cletch on 'em (s.v. Cletch). Not. I yerd nothin
an it (L.C.M.); I've hed enough on it (J.H.B.); Not. 2 Are you
quite sure on 'em. Lin. We boath on us thinks tha an ass,
Tennyson Northern Farmer, New Style (1870) st. 3. n.Lin.i Some
on 'em cum'd past here, bud I did n't see noan on 'em. sw.Lin.'
Harvest Song, ' None on 'em laem, and none on 'em blind, And
all on their tails hanging down behind.' Nhp.' None an um ;
Nhp.2 I yerd nothin an it. War.' Her cut a bit out on it ; War.^^
Shr.i They tooken out on 'im, or else 'e'd a o'er-got 'em. Hrf.
You and him maiy both on yo laugh at this tale of moine, Why
John {Coll. L.L.B.) ; Hrf.i He hanna left us a drop on it ; Hrf.2
We've puck the frummest on 'em (s.v. Puck). Glo. Thur wur arl
we tenants, ivery one on us, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) ii ;
Glo.' 2 Oxf.' Bwuth an um bee ugwai'nin tii Stuns-fl [Bwuth an
'em be agwainin' to Stunsful]. s.Oxf. My wife to take keer on 'er,
Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 174. Erks. He . . . listened at the chest
on um, Hughes T. Brown Oxf. (1861) xviii ; Brks.' I zee a
wondervul zight on 'um out at ve-ad last night (s.v. O). Hrt. There's
always more on 'em about, sir, Geary Rur. Life (1899) 35. Hnt.
(T.P.F.) e.An.' I ha' read some on it. Nrf. The other critters
the rooks are fond on, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 27 ; I
thought I'd do something to be spoken on, Emerson Son of Fens
(1892) 18. Suf. When they come out on the oven, FisoN Merry
Suf. (1899) 9 ; There was a hunderd on em (C.T.) ; Snf.' The
whole toot on em. Ken.' I thinks I wunt have no more an't.
Sur. You can prove a' on't from Scripter, Bickley Sur. Hills
(1890) I. V ; Sur.' Sus. If you could get rid an 'em for me,
Egerton Flk. and Ways (1884) 33; You've tapped the dropsy on
it for one thing, Hoskyns Talpa (1852) 92, ed. 1857 ; Sus.' If you
wants to be rid an him, you lend him a sixpence. Hmp.', LW.'
Wil. Every one on em declared He had hisself well blown. Slow
Rhymes (1889) 63 ; Us . . . cuts his ears and tayl off and made
a maastif an him, Akerman Spring-tide (1850) 80 ; Wil.' I never
did thenk much on 'en. Som. Let's go allonce [let us go all of
us], Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869) ; The claas on un, Agrikler
Rhymes (1872) 25. Dev. My old man was always so much
thought on, O'Neill Idyls (1892) 12. nw.Dev.' [Amer. Le's |
wait till both on us git cool, Lowell Biglou) Papers (1848) 28 ;
Dial. Notes (1896) I. 342.]
Hence the sel on it, phr. itself.
Nhl). It's a thing that gans up by the sel' on't, Tyneside Sngstr.
(1889) 113.
9. From, away from.
w.Yks. O sent to borrow a shillin on her, Bywater Gossips, 6 ;
w.Yks.2 John Holingworth indebted to Thos. Ellin for a Barjan
of slate which he had on me, (Ci o o. s.Not. It's not far off on 'ere
(J.P.K.). sw.Lin.' I begged a sup of beer on the mester. [Amer.
I won't take it on him, Dial. Notes (1896) I. 373.]
10. For, esp. in phr. to wait on.
Sc. O sister dear, come to the door, Your cow is lowin on you,
Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) I. 133 ; To see gin my love will on
me rue, Kinloch Ballads (1827) 61. Lnk. O'd, Davie, man, wait
on a bit. Eraser Whaups (1895) xii. Nhb. ' Promise me thoo'It
wait on me ? ' . . ' Ah'U wait on thee, even if thoo's forty years
gone ! ' S. Tynedale Stud. (i8g6) v. Dur. Waitin' on her comin'
back, Egglestone Betty Podkins' Visit {iS-j-j) 3. Cum.'' She's a
waitin' on him at t'lonnin-feut. w.Yks. Wait on him ; he'll noane
be long a-comin', Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Oct. 14, 1899). s.Not. Was
yer waitin' on me! (J.P.K.) [Can. Wait on me, Dial. Notes
(1896) I. 421.]
11. To, esp. in phr. io marry on.
Sc. My mother was . . . crying on me to come and rescue her
from drowning. Whitehead Daft Davie (1876) 137, ed. 1894.
Abd. Sure ye'll wait and see Tam Keith marrit on my lass, Bram
Stoker Walter's Mou' (1895) 31. Frf. Rintoul is to be married
on a young leddyship, Barrie Minister (1891) iv. Per. It cam a'
back on me, when I seen Tibbie greetin' an' carryin' on e'y kirk,
Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 66, ed. 1889. Lnk. Ay after that they
scorned me that I wad be married on a you, Graham Writings
(1883) II. 10. e.Ltb. A frien o' my ain, bein' mairrit on the wife's
auntie, Hunter/. Inwick (1895) 37. Slk. Unless she be married
on him, Hogg Tales (1838) 370, ed. 1866. Nhb. Her who got
married on Jack Jefferson, Pease Tales (1899) 81. N.I.' Who did
it on you? I. Ma. You haven't a chance to put a word on her,
Caine Manxman (1894) pt. 11. xv.
12. At.
Sc. When Johnnie look'd the letter on, Kinloch Ballads (1827)
80. Per. Whiles at e'en to our cheek He comes, an' sleelie winks
on me, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 97. CId. Ae thing on the back
o' anither (Jam.). Ayr. So I flourished on the morn. And so was
pu'd on noon. Burns Banks o' Doon, st. 3. w.Yks. He can put up
wi owt for t'dinner on a pinch (B.K.); (J.W.) Nrf. You grind
the scythes. You're a better hand on it than I am, Emerson Son
of Fens (1892) 248. nw.Dev. The pain tak'th her on times (R.P.C.).
13. To the disadvantage of; against.
Per. I wuss he mayna be findin' out the dram on me, Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) 247, ed. 1887 ; I'se no believe the like o' him
or ony ither minister, till it's pruived on him, ib. 67. Ir. The raison
was maybe that we'd ate it all on her. Barlow Lisconnel (1895)
65 ; The only one I had, he took and died on me, ib. 204. N.I.'
Don't break it on me. Uls. (M.B.-S.) w.Ir. For letting her fine
springchickensbedrownedonher,LAWLESsGrama;(i892)I. pt.iLiv.
14. By means of.
Per. They micht hae leuten her turn a penny on the bairn,
Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 64, ed. 1887.
15. adv. In comb, (i) On-bearing, a superincumbent
weight ; (2) -befall, to befall, happen to ; (3) -carry, a
stir, bustle ; merriment, frolic ; (4) -cast, (a) a misfortune,
burden ; (b) the first row of loops in knitting ; the casting
or forming of a row ; (c) to form the loops for the first
row in knitting, to begin knitting; (5) -come, (a) approach,
coming; the beginning of anything, the first attack; (6) a
heavy fall of snow or rain ; (c) an illness the cause of
which is unknown, a mysterious disease ; (6) -cost, extra or
additional expense ; also used a//n6.; (7)-ding, (a) see (5, 6);
{b) to rain ; (c) an attack ; oppression ; turmoil ; (8J -dinging,
(a) see (5, b) ; (b) fig. a torrent of words, vehement
reproof; (9) -draw, a wrapper or garment for occasional
use ; (id) -fall, (a) see (5, b) ; (b) see (5, a) ; (c) an attack,
onslaught ; {d) see (5, c) ; (11) -gang, (a) the starting or
setting in motion of machinery ; (6) conduct, behaviour ;
proceedings ; (12) -gangings, see (11, b) ; (13) -gate, the
road or way to a place ; (14) -gear, the stock on a farm ;
the dwellings and other appurtenances; (15) -getting, wel-
fare, manner of getting on ; (16) -go, a stir, tumult, 'to-do' ;
(17) -going, {a) see (11, a); {b) an event, affair, proceeding;
ON
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ON
conduct, behaviour ; gen. in //. ; (18) -hing, patient expec-
tation ; the act of meanly and lazily staying in a place ;
(19) -lat, the setting in motion of machinery, the act of
allowing water to flow to turn machinery ; (20) -lay, {a)
see (5, b) ; (b) a surfeit ; (21) -layan, the act of beating
severel}^ ; (22) -lig, a burden, a heavy imposition or
responsibility ; {23) -louping, the act of mounting a horse ;
(24) -marrow, a sharer in a joint concern, a partner ; {25)
■plush, a standstill ; (26) -plust or Omplust, a gale,
breeze -jfig. a rush, hurry ; (27) -put, in mining : the over-
lay of beds, &c., above an outcrop ; also used attrib. ; (28)
■putting, dress, garments ; (29) -set, {a) a start, com-
mencement ; {b) an addition to a building, an out-house ;
a farm-house with the out-buildings, a small cluster of
houses ; (c) a small portion of yeast retained to furnish a
fresh fermentation ; {d) to attack ; (^e) in mining : to set
on ; to place a colliery tub in position for hoistmg ; (30)
•setten, (a) assumed ; {b) a contemptuous epithet : dwarf-
ish ; (31) ■setter, in mining : the man in control at the
bottom or at an intermediate working seam in a pit-shaft ;
(3a) ■settin, ugly, not handsome in appearance ; (33) -side,
the surface nearest one ; (34) ■stand, {a) rent paid for the
standing crops of a farm when it changes hands ; {b) that
which the outgoing occupier of a farm leaves on the land
for the incoming tenant ; (35) -standin, determined, im-
movable ; (36) ■tack or -tak, a bustle, fuss, stir ; airs,
assumption ; (37) -taking, {a) see (5, a) ; {b) assuming,
taking airs upon oneself; [c) buying or taking on credit ;
reckless, regardless of money; dishonest ; (38) -waar or
-waur, (a) expenditure, outlay, trouble, labour ; {b) see
below ; (39) -waiter, one who waits patiently for anything in
the future; (40) -waiting, attendance ; patient expectation ;
also used attrib. ; (41) -wal, interest or profit on capital ;
(42) -wyne, the left hand ; in phr. wyne and onwyne, to
the right hand and to the left, everywhere ; (43) -wyner,
the foremost ox on the left-hand side in a yoke ; (44) -wyte,
(a) an expectant wait ; (6) attendance on a sick person ;
(45) -wytin, see (44, b).
(i) Shr.^ That beam's despertwek for sich aonbearin'. (s^n.Yks.
We deean't know what may onbefall us (I.W.). (3) Sh.I. Naethin'
bit weddin's an' onkerry, Burgess Slietches (2nd ed.) 73. Abd.
They been haein' a gey on-cairry at the Ward, Alexander Johnny
Cibb (1871) xvii. Ayr. Sae much for the beef, let us speak o' the
rest O' the wond'rous oncarries, Laing Poems (1894) iii. (4, a)
Sh.I. He's been a oncast, an' naethin' idder, dat's what he's been,
SA. iVezvs (Aug. 28, 1897). (A, c) Ayr. (Jam.) (5, n) Sc. They just
dee aff like flies at the first oncome o' cauld, Keith Prue (1895)
273. Kcd. Shawin the oncome o' the spate, Grant Lays (1884) i.
Fif. The commencement of a business, especially of one that
requires great exertion (Jam.) ; I'm for the good oncome, Tennant
Card. Beaton (1823) 256 (ib.). (b) Sc. (Jam.), N.Cy.i Nhb.i He
gat away afore the oncome catcht him. (c) Sc. The pretended
cures which she performed, especially in oncomes, as the
Scotch call them, or mysterious diseases which baffle the regular
physician, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) xxxi. (6) Sc. Under-
ground workers : miners and oncost-men. .. Coal miners and oncost
workers, Z.aio«;-Gaac^^c (Apr. 1901) 124. Fif. (Jam.) ClcAvery
small return to the coal-master, on account of the overpowering
contingent expenses known in collieries by the name of oncost,
Agric. Surv. 401 {ib.). Lth. Expense before profit, as that which
is laid out on land before there be any return (Jam.). (7, a) Sc.
The word is sometimes used distinctively. Thus it is said,
' Onding's better than black weet,' i. e. snow is to be preferred to
rain (Jam.) ; On-ding o' snaw, father, Scott Midlothian (1818) vii.
n.Sc. They inform the rest, with inward sorrow, that it is still ' a
terrible ending,' Gordon Carglen (i8gi) 142. Abd. Honest luckie
does protest That rain we'll hae, Or on-ding O' some kind at least,
Keith Farmers Ha' (1774) st. 19. Frf. That awfu on-ding began
when we was on the Bellies Braes, BARRiEil/mis/'e»-(i89i) xxxviii.
Per. It may be on-ding o' sleet, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891)
III. Gall. The shower was surely slacked and the on-ding over-
past, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xxvi. (6) Bnff.' ' Is't ondingin' ? '
' Ooi, it's jist poorin'.' (c) Sc. I hae thol'd yer on-dings an' kenna
nae langer how till dree, Waddell Psalms (1871) Ixxxiii. 15.
Gall. She should hear all the on-ding of their ill tongues, Crockett
Raiders (1894) iv. (8, a) Sc. There'll be a heap o' ondingin (Jam.).
(6) Abd. The cauld glafif of that ondinging has not left my inward
parts to this blessed hour, Ruddiman Sc. Parish (1828) 40, ed.
VOL. IV.
1889. (9) Sh.I. Wha is carin', hit's only fir a ondraw, Sh. News
(July I, 1899). (10, a) Rnf. Winter's onfa's frichtfu', Neilson
Poems (1877) 44. Ayr. The snow lay thick on the ground at the
time; but the on-fall had ceased, Ayr Courier {Yeh. 1, 1821) (Jam.).
Cum., Wm. (M.P.) (6) Rxb. But or the onfa' o' the nicht She fand
him drown'd in Yarrow, Old Song (Jam.), (c) Sc. I was all strung
up to meet and to resist an onfall, Stevenson Cairiona (1893) x.
(rf) Sc. (Jam.) (ii, a) Bnff.i The drum broke jist at the on-gang
o' the mill. Cld. He was na in at the ongang o' the mill (Jam.).
(A) Bnff.' The on-gang it they keepit wee ane anither wiz jist
ugfou. Cld. Their ongang yestreen was na bonnie (Jam.). (12)
Dmf. The Richt Honourable Gentleman has, mibbe, never heard
o' the ongangings o' the Factor, Paton Castlehraes (i8g8) 132.
Gall. Me no done speakin' to your grandfather aboot your on-
gangin's, Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 64. n.Yks.2 (13) Nhb.i
(14) n.Yks.2 (15) Frf. The twa . . . had their cracks about their
mutual ongettin' frae the time they had last seen ane anither,
WiLLOCK Rosetty Ends (1886) 125, ed. i88g. (16) Abd. A sad
ongae they made o't, Alexander yoAMKjy Gibb (1871) xviii. (17, a)
Cld. (Jam.) (A) Sc. He puts me past patience with his ongoings,
KEnH Bonnie Lady (1897) 10. Sh.I. Dir been great ongaainsower
at da shop da nicht. Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 55. ne.Sc. The
ongaens 0' the lairds wi' their grouse, an' their deer-forests, Grant
Keckleton, 40. Cai.' e.Sc. There's an awfu' ongaun there, Setoun
Sunshine (1895) 133. Abd. Any incidental requirement emerged
in connection with the ongoings of the farm, Alexander Ain Flk.
(1882) 23. Frf. The resident ganger saw fit to wink at some of
Geordie's ongoings, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 6. Per. Abody canna
keep a calm sough a'thegither in sic like ongaeins as we're hearing
tell o' noo, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 146, ed. 1887. Fif. King
Dauvid was no' to be followed in a' his ongaeings, Heddle Marget
(1899) 91. Ayr. She saw the whole ongaun from behind her ain
window screen, JomiSioi'i Kilmallie (i8gi) 1. 162. Lth. In order
to allay or restrain his unconscionable ongoings, Lumsden Sheep-
head (1892) 318. Edb. I thought such shame to be an eye-witness
to sic on-goings, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xvii. Gall. But one
of whose on-goings I own it diverts me to hear, Crockett Grey
Man (1896) 71. Kcb. I long exceedingly to hear of your on-going,
Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 68. Wgt. The on-goin's o' the Town
Councillors, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 186. N.Cy.i, Nhb.', n.Yks.'',
■w.Yks. (J.W.),Nhp.i War.I can't abide your on-goings, Jane, they
makes you quite conspicuous, Leamington Courier (Feb. 27, 1897) ;
War.", Hnt. (T.P.F.) (18) Bnff.i (ig) Bnfif.», Cld. (Jam.) (20, a)
Sh.I. Is dis [snow] gain ta lest ? Faeder tinks hit's a new onlay,
Sli. News (Feb. 16, igoi). (A) Bnff.i (21) Bnff.i (22) Lakel.2
Cum., Wm. The window-tax was considered a ' varra girt onlig *
(M.P.). Cum.i ; Cum.* Jakep's been a sair on-lig sen he brak his
leg. (23) Abd. At hisonloupingthe Earl of Argyle . . . had some
private speeches with him, Spalding Hist. Sc. (i7g2) I. 91. Hdg.
To Andrew Erskine to give to the poor at my lady's on-louping,
I2S., Ritchie S/. Baldred {18S3) 62. (24) Rxb. We're on marrows
wi' ane anither (Jam.). (25) Cor. Ev'rybody was put to a onplush
be thes time, T. Towser (1873) 114. (26) Sh.I. What inunder da
sun is pittin' you furt wi' sic a onplust ? Sh. News (Dec. 4, i8g7) ;
Wis hit no curious 'at wi' a omplust frae da soodest, whin a boat
wis ower deep, 'at dey wid a hiived ling, bit no a turbid, ib. (July
10, i8g7). (27) Nhb.i Th« on-put of the hill. The on-put of the
beds. An on-put seam of coal. (28) Gall. It consorts but ill with
your onputting, Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 36. (29, d) Lakel.
(B.K.) e.Yks."^ Ah weean't hS neeah mare nonsense, seeah Ah'll
tell tha at onset, i/S.arfrf.tT.H.) w.Yks. (J. W.) n.Lin. Sutton
Wds. (1881). sw.Lin.i At the first onset I tell'dhim how it would
be. It wasn't so cold at the first onset this morning. (A) Sc.
(Jam. Suppl.) Gall. Steding o' houses, the ground on which an
onset is built, Mactaggart ^Hcyc/. (1824) 438, ed. 1876. N.I.i A
small cluster of houses: ' McCuIlough's onset.' N.Cy.' Nhb.
Burning 800 onsets valued at £3000 Scots, Jones Nhb. 185. s.Dur.
All t'onset was out to see them off. I ordered him off t'onset
(J.E.D.). Lakel.2 Cum. O' that town-Hggin onsett by fair Eden
side, Powley Echoes Cum. (1875) 148; Lai thowte er neist
mwornin, That aw our heale onsett wad be in a lowe, Anderson
Ballads (1805) 25 ; Cum.', ne.Lan.i (c) Nhb.' {d) Lth. Ready
the silvery loupin' plunder To onset wi' his growl 0' thunder,
Lumsden 5Aee/>-Aeaa? (1892) 105. («) Nhb.' (30, «) n.Yks.^ (A)
N.Cy.i (31) N.Cy.' Nhb.' With his assistants he clears the cage
of empty tubs on its descent, and pushes in full tubs in their place.
He is responsible for signals to bank to move the cage, and for
regulating the ascent of men. Nhb.,Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr.
Gl. (1849). (32) Rxb. (Jam.) (33) n.Yks.2 (34, a) n.Cy. The
rent paid by the in-coming to the out-going tenant, for such land
as the latter has rightfully cropped before leaving the farm, Grose
Yy
ON
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ON
(1790). Yks. Supposed to be for parish rates, Morton Cyclo.
Agric. (1863). n.Yks. Rent paid by the out-gone tenant for the
right of leaving his growing wheat until harvest, Tuke Agric.
(1800) 74; n.Yks.i A proportion of the rent of a farm paid by the
out-gone tenant in consideration of the away-going crop, and
depending on it as to amount. e.Yks. Paid by the outgoing to
the incoming tenant for such land, as the former has rightfully
cropped before his leaving the farm, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
(i) n.Yks.2 (35) Sc. (Jam. Snppl.), S. & Ork.l (36) Sh.I. Sibbie
is in dat an a ontack aboot da supper, Sh. News (Aug. ir, 1900) ;
Fader kens 'at less dress an' ontak could a diine her, ib. (Aug. 4,
1900). (37, a) Sc. Sweet at the on-taking, sour in the aff-putting,
Ramsay Prow. (1737). (A) S. & Ork.i (c) Cld. He's an ontakin
body ; he's aye ontakin ; dinna trust him (Jam.). (38, a) Sh.I.
View ye dat, efter a' my onwaur! Sh.News (May 14, 1898) ; I nivcr
ken if folk is iver rewardid fir der trouble an' onwaar, ib. (May 5,
1900). (i) Sh.I. Most forms of illness were supposed to be either
an ' evil onwaar,' or ' hurtid frae da grund.' The former was the
result of the evil prayer or wish of some wicked person skilled in
the black art, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 154. (39) Kcb. Submissive
on-waitingfor the Lord, shall at length ripen the joy and deliverance
of his own who are truly blessed on-waiters, Rutherford Lett.
(ed. 1765) No. 134 (Jam.). (40) Sc. After presenting his petition
and long and expensive cnvjfaiting, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) II.
255 (Jam.). Abd. His own faction . . . had allowed him 4000
merks for his onwaiting charges and expenses, Spalding Hist.
Sc. (1792) I. 335. Kcb. On-waiting had ever yet a blessed issue,
Rutherford Lett. (ed. 1765) No. 127 (Jam.). (41) Abd. Lyin i'
the bank wi' nae owreturn, an' only a trifde onwal at the year's
en', Alexander ^m P/A. (1882) 99. (42) Abd. Seek wyne and
onwyne, miss na height nor how, Ross Helenore (1768) 47, ed.
1812. (43) Abd. (Jam.) (44, a) Bnff.i We hid an unco on-wyte
for thim. (A) Abd. She's bed a weary on-wyte, nicht an' day, this
month an' mair, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882") 199. (45) ne.Sc.
The change wis brocht aboot by mair judicious feedin' an' onwytin,
Grant Keckleton, 126.
16. Phr. (i) on and endways, continually ; {2) on and off,
with slight intermission ; (3) — by the wallop, by rule of
thumb ; (4) — for, inclined for, ready for ; about, near to ;
(5) — of, ov, or a, on, upon ; (6) — off, at a distance ; {7)
— on, see (5) ; (8) — with, [a) even with, revenged upon ;
{b) immediately, at once ; (9) still and on, all the same,
however; (10) to be on, (a) to be agreed, resolved ; to con-
sent; (6) to scold, nag; to be started in a scolding humour;
(11) to be on to, (12) to be on with, to scold, nag, find fault
with ; to treat harshly ; (13) to be on with oneself, to be in
a disturbed or agitated state of mind ; (14) to make on a
fire, to make up a fire.
(i) Lakel.2 He's yan o'this mack; owt he tacks up he's at it
- on-an' en'was. (2) Lakel.2 He leev'd at yah spot, on an' off, o'
his life varra nar. Yks. (J.W.) (3) Wm. (B.K.) (4) Sh.I. Arty
wis maistly aye mair on fur fun dan earnest. Burgess Slietches
(2nd ed.) 76. Fif. He's mair on for pansies, though he had a braw
calceolaria last 'ear, Robertson Proz/05/ (1894) 30. N.I.'^ n.Yks.
He's on for a spree (I.W.). -w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan.^ What's that
lad on-for neaw ? Some mak o' mischief. (5) Nhb. Andra . . .
weypt his nwoase on ov his kwoat kuff, Bewick Tyneside Tales
(1850) 10 ; Nhb.i (6) Hrf.2' Where's your daughter now?' 'Oh,
her's been on off now some time.' (7) Sc. Very common among
the vulgar. 'The lint putten ae gait, anitherthe tow, Synon on a
rock wi't and it taks a low,' Ross Rock and Wee Pickle Tow (Jam.).
(8, a) n.Lin.' I'll be on wi' him th' next time he gies me a fair
chanch. (6) w.Yks. He started onwith (S. P. U.). (9) Sc. Still an'
on, there's some that are yet sae simple that the least bit laddie
could answer them, Dickson Auld Min. (1892) 127. e.Frf. Still
and on, ye ken, folk maun live, Latto Tayn Bodkin (1864) xxxi.
(10, a) Inv. Are you on? (H.E.F.) n.Yks.* 'Will ta gan wiv
\iz\' ' Noa, Ah weean't be on at a gam o' that soart.' Oxf.
(G.O.) [Aus. I'm half a mind to tell Warrigal to go back and
say we're not on, Boldrewood Robbery (1888) I. xi.] {b) w.Yks.
(J.W.),Not.i Lei.i 'Shay's on r implying that the person referred
to is energizing in her normal manner, ferreting about, bargaining,
scolding, or the like. War.^ w.Som.i Missus is on again. Now
her's on 'bout the clothes. (11) w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. Y'are
alius on to one. Why don't yer say summat to him? (J.P.K.)
n.Lin.i His foaks was alus on to him aboot it till th' poor bairn
could hardlins beiir his sen. Lei.^ Shay's on to the gel. Oxf.
Who are you a-getting on to? (G.O.) (12) Lei.^ Shay's ollus
on wi' may. Shr.i 'E's bin on 06th me agen about that cowt
gettin' i' the fild. w.Som.' Well, then, what b'ee always on way
me vor? (13) e.Yks.i He's nicely on with hissen. (14) Nhb.
Made on the fire, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) V. 240.
17. Present, on the spot, here ; there.
n.Yks.i Ah aims he'll be on afore neeght. He wur on a week
sen, an' at me aboot 't ; n.Yks.'* He's cumin' on ti-neet. Will ta
be on ti-neet? ne.Yks.i He'll be on efther a bit. w.Yks. (J.W.)
18. Continually, without stopping.
Sc. Work on, hing on, play on (Jam.). N.I.' They would sit
there and eat on. w.Yks. (J.W.)
19. Busy, engaged in, at work ; bustling about. Also
with with.
Nhb.' He's on plooin. The maistor's on win a big job yenoo.
Lakel.2 We're on at t'hay. Wm. Nowt but hersell was on maken
resh cannels. Whitehead Leg. (1859) i, ed. 1896 ; ' Neddy's
slashing t'meedow doon rarely.' ' Aye ! He's on bi t'gurt ' (B.K.).
n.Yks.' They's on wi' shearing, by noo ; n.Yks.* Ah's be on wiv it
ti morn at morn. ne.Yks.' They're on lukin' yonder. e.Yks.',
w.Yks. (J.W.) Shr.' They wun on all day lung. Now yo' bin
on, bin 'ee ? w.Som.' ' There you be again, always on wi' your
items.' ' I wad'n on wi' you, 'voreyou was on wi' me,' i. e. playing
pranks ending in a quarrel.
Hence on for, phr. employed by, working for.
w.Yks. ' Who are teh on for nah ? ' ' Aw, ah'm workin' for Bill
Jackson' (^.B.). Oxf. (G.O.)
20. In movement or action ; in commencement.
Sc. Implying commencement, beginning. 'Set themillon.' 'I'm
gaun on the morn ' [I'm to begin work to-morrow] (Jam.) ; I'm
sure ye ken that my temper's nae sooner on than it's off, Dickson
Kirk Beadle (1892) 66. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
21. On the fire, cooking, boihng.
Per. My pat's on this twa hour, Clei-and Inckbracken (1883) 28,
ed. 1887. Ayr. The fire's black out, and the parrich no on, Aitken
Lays (1883) 135. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
22. With speed or force.
Ayr. Come thro' the port a wee bit on — A bowler you ! ye're
thro', man, White Jottings (1879) 237.
23. Without payment, on credit.
Sc. He's ta'en 't on, but he'll ne'er pay't (Jam.).
24. Friendly, courting, ' keeping company ' ; gen. in phr.
to be on with.
Dmf. She's on wi' creeshy Pate Graham, Wallace Schoolmaster
(1899) 196. Lakel.2 Yon tweea's on, thoo can see that wi' hauf a
ee. Wm. Ah izzant on wi him noo (B.K.). n.Yks.' Folk says at
Mally's rued, an' he's on wi' t'ither lass ; n.Yks.* He's dropped
Sally an's on wiv Jin. w.Yks. A gurt butcher lad, at wanted ta
be on wi Tilda, put his heead inta t'shop, Bickerdike Beacon Aim.
(1874) 42. Der.2
25. Drunk, tipsy ; engaged in drinking.
Sc. He's weel on (Jam.). Wm. Thi fadder's on. Ah think. He
com heeam an' he was fairly on (B.K.). w.Yks. (J.W.), Der.^,
nw.Der.'^ n.Lin.' He was a bit on last neet, bud ther' wasn't much
matter for him like. Nhp.' A little on. Hmp. He was a little on
(T.L.O.D.). w.Som.' Well, I should'n like to zay how he was
drunk, but you zee he'd a-bin to market, and he was a little bit on
like. [Aus. We were both a bit on, Nisbet Bail up (1890) xvii.]
Hence Onnish, adj. slightly drunk.
w.Yks. I saw Ingham coomin' acoortin', bud 'e lewked rayther
onnish (F.P.T.) ; w.Yks.' ne.Lan.' He was onnish like i' drink.
26. Of a woman: pregnant.
sw.Lin.' I doubt she's on again, poor lass.
27. Of a female: ' maris appetens.' Chs."'^ 28. v. To
get on to ; to mount.
Abd. He warsles up, an' on the creatur's back, Guidman
Inglismaill (1873) 47. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
29. With with : to put on, place on.
Per. For fear she suld tak the cauld, he juist on wi' her tila pownie,
Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 106, ed. 1887. n.Cy. (J.W.) Cnm.*
Ah on's wi' my cwoat an' off teh wark. w.Yks. (J.W.) Nrf. I on
wi' my best close. Spilling Giles (1872) 6 ; I on with the pan
and fried the fish, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 39.
ON, conj. Irel. Than. The same word as An, conf^
When the lad there wasn't scarce the height of that stool, and
a less size on his brother. Barlow Lisconnel (1895) 204.
ON-, pref. Sc. Also written ohn. [on.] Without;
used in connexion with the prp. or pp. of a verb.
Sc. Couldna ye mind on being tauld sa aften ? (Jam.) n.Sc.
Onmakin, without making. Ondoin, not doing {ib.). Bn£f.' He
widna been on deen't, for a' it a cud say. He widna been on
spoken back. Abd. Wad ye hae a fellow-cratur live to a' eternity
ON
[347]
ONCE
ohn been ashamed o' sic a thing's that ? Macdonald Sir Gibbie
(1879) xxii ; They had never known a storm last so long 'ohn'
ever ' devallt,' ib. D. Elginbrod (1863) I. 184 ; I'm nae responsible
to gae onhed ray papers, Alexander Johnny Gihb (1871) xlii; I
did not think it richt that he sud be latt'n sit doon amon's as a
neebour onbeen enterteen't or ta'en some notice o', ib, Ain Flk.
(1882) 139.
ON, ON-, ONARY, see Hone, v?, Un-, Ordinary.
ONBARE, ONBEAR, see Unbear.
ON-BEAST, sb. Sc. 1. A monster ; a ravenous animal.
Cai.^ Abd. Has the onbeast your lambie ta'en awa ? Ross
Helmore (1768) 13, ed. 1812.
2. Fig. Anoxiousmember of human society. Ags.(jAM.)
3. A raging toothache, ib.
ONBETHANKIT, ppl. adj. w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Un-
thanked, unacknowledged.
Here am I onbethankit for a' I've done for her.
ONBRAW, adj. Cld. (Jam.) Ugly, not handsome;
unbecoming. Hence Onbrawness, sb. ugliness.
ONCE, adv. and sb. Van dial, forms and uses in Sc.
Irel. Eng. and Amer. [wBns(t, wuns(t ; ens, ians, ins ;
jans(t, jins(t.] I. Dial, forms : (i) Aince, (2) Aincin, (3)
Ains, (4) Ainst, (5) Ance, (6) Ance-en, (7) Anes, (8) Eance,
(9) Eence, (10) Danes, (11) Onced, (12) Oncest, (13) Oncet,
(14) Oncst, (15) Onct, (16) Onect, (17) Ones, (18) Onest,
(19) Onst, (20) Ownct, (21) Wance, (22) Wans, (23)
Wanst, (24) Waunce, (25) Wonce, (26) Wonst, (27)
Wunce, (28) Wunst, (29) Yance, (30) Yanst, (31) Yence,
(32) Yince, (33) Yinst, (34) Yunce.
(i) Cai.'^ Per. They've a' been little anes aince, Sabbath Nights
(1899) 26. Yks. If he is na ill hurt, why not tell us sae at aince ?
HowiTT Hope On (1840) iv. s.War.i (2) Slk. He'll ride very
weel, gin he were aincin to the road (Jam.). (3) Sc. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (C.) (4) Sc. (Jam.) (5) Sc. Naebody . . . can do twa
turns at ance, Scott Midlothian (1818) v. Nhb. We will try them
ance again, Coquetdale Sngs. (1852) 58. n.Yks.', ne.Yks.^ (6)
Bxb. If ance-en ye could warpel throwe, Riddell Poet. Wks. (ed.
187 1) I. 193. (7) Sc. Anes paid never craved, Ramsay Prov.
(1737). Nhb.i (8)w.Yks.Foreance,THORESEYifff.(i703); w.Yks.'*
(9)Sh.I.SpENCEFtt-Z.or«(i899)246. Abd.fA.W.) (lo)Wxf.i (11)
Lin. In wi' un at onced, Fenn Dick 0' the Fens (1888) x. (la) Sus.'-
Shunhimoutof thefoi"e-dooratoncest(s.v.Shut-o£r). (13)80. (Jam.
Suppl.) Ir. Oncet ye go through ye'r gone, Paddiana (ed. 1848)
I. 73. Lan. Dun gentlefolk aulus covart two at oncet ? Brierley
Irkdale (1865) 123, ed. 1868. Chs.'- w.Cy. He comes down oncet
a month, Cornh. Mag. (Apr. 1895) 387. Dor. I have went there
oncet, Agnus Jan Oxber (1900) 288. [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896)
I. 421.] (14) Wm. He niver oncst said owt, Rawnsley Remin.
Wordsworth (1884) VI. 164. (15) Lnk. ' We're bound to gang aifter
them, men.' ' Ay, Doghip, at onct too,' Gordon Pyotshaw (1885)
238. Lan. Yo' did me a good turn onct, Burnett Lowries (1877)
X. [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 375.] (16) Nrf. Onect I had a
liggerin' match along with a gentleman as liked liggerin'. Fishing
Gazette (Feb. 28, 1891) 122, col. 2. (17) e.An.i (18) Sc. (Jam.
Suppl.) Ant. When one'st I'm out this workin' hive, O'Neill
Glens (1900) 6. Yks. Christmas comes but onest a year, Gaskell
Sylvia (1863) I. xii. Lan. I always do it onest a day (G.H.G.).
Nrf. Onest my old woman blew down the gun, Emerson Lagoons
(ed. 1896) 52. (19) Ir. I was here onst, Lever Davenport Dunn
(ed. 1872) XV. Nhb. Pease Mark o' Deil (1894) 27. w.Yks.
Couldn't ye ha' said soa, at onst? Bronte Wuthering Hts.
(1847) xiii. Lan. I onst had a seet 0' one on 'em, Bowker
Tales (1882) 50. ne.Lan.', Chs.i^ Der. Best stamp out fire at
onst, Verney Stone Edge (1868) vii. s.Oxf. 'Ee've never give me
a rough word, not onst, Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 151. Brks.^
Ken. We might do it onst or twice, Longman's Mag. (July 1891)
267. Sur. I axes ye all onst agin. Son of Marshes Sur. Bills
(1891) 217. Dev. Thee mun goo to bed to onst, Longman's Mag.
(Dec. 1896) 153. (20) s.Wal. I will learn him to be steady ownct
we be married, Longman's Mag. (Dec. 1899) 143. (21) Sh.I. Sh.
News (June 2, 1900). w.Ir. His own cousin wance removed,
Lover Leg. (1848) II. 417. Dev. Me and my father had to look
out vur work at wance, Burnett Stable Boy (1888) xxv. (22)
Dev. Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (1847) 27, ed. 1865. (23) Ir.
Repeat the words at wanst, Carleton Fardorougha (1848) iv.
N.L'- LMa. Jack . . . bore it wanst, and bore it twicet. Brown
Witch (i88g) 80. (24) Cor. So here we are, waunce more, comrades,
Forfar Poems (1885) 2. (25) w.Yks. He sed at hah he wer wonce
bahn up t'oud Park Wood, Bywater Sheffield Dial. (1839) 4. (26)
Ir. (A.S.-P.), ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.i, ni.Lan.l Lin. I looOkt out wonst at
the night, Tennyson Owd Rod (1889). (27) Lan. Aw ot wunce
ey spies a leet, Ainsworth Lan. Witches (ed. 1849) Introd. iii.
(28) Glo.i Dor. I zee at wunst it be potry, Windsor Mag. (July
1900) 205. (29) Ayr. A' at yance I'll e'en engage To send relief.
White Jottings (1879) 186. n.Cy. (K.) Nhb. Yance he gits
there, Clare Low o/'Z.ns5( 1890) I. 7. Dur.^ Cura.'^ ; Cum.^ Part
at yance an foriver, 43. Wm. She yance bed horns, Hutton Bran
New Wark (1785) 1. 163; Whitehead Leg. (1859) 7. n.Yks.'^*,
ne.Yks.*, e.Yks.', w.Yks.', Lan.', n.Lan.', ne.Lan.l (30) ne.Lan.'
(31) Lnk. Till yence my guidame plotted him wi' the broe, Graham
W^«V!«^s(i883)II. 10. Nhb.i Cum.G/. (1851) ; Cum.i (32) Sc.Yer
banes are no juist sae soople as yince they were, Keith Indian
Uncle (1896) 252. Dmb. I wad tak' him by the nose at yince.
Cross Disruption (1844) xxix. Rxb. To press yince mair the
Waster heather, Murray Hawick Sngs. (1892") 25. Gall. No even
when yince there was twa trains, Crockett Cleg Kelly (1896) 202.
n.Ir. Christmas only comes yince a year, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan,
1°' (33) Lnk. If ye groan again till yinst I'm oot o' the hoose,
Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 38. Wgt. We yinst had a Castle at
Wigtown toon, Fraser Poems (1885) 41. Uls. (M.B.-S.) (34)
w.Yks. 1 Ye mud astite at yunce, ii. 293.
II. Dial. uses. 1. adv. In phr. (i) once and away, (2)
— awhile, now and again, once in a way, at intervals ;
(3) — in a day, formerly ; (4) — ;';; a while, see (2) ; (5) —
MOW, at once ; (6) — over or ower, at one time, formerly ;
for a time ; (7) — passing, after, when once past ; (8) —
since or onesin, see (6) ; (9) — that, when, as soon as ; (10)
— to bed, a saying used to any one who begins to yawn ;
(11) — while, see (2) ; (12) for the once, unusual, unprece-
dented ; (13) to once, at once ; (14) not to be able to hit twice
in a place once ninnin, to make bad shots.
(i) Sur. Well, I ain't w'in doin' a neighbourly thing once and
awaay, Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) III. vii. (2) s War.' (3)
Dmb. I wasna that ill-fa'ured mysel' ance in a day. Cross Dis-
ruption (1844) i. (4) Don. Every wanst in a while Neil wanted
a little more an' a little more, Pearson's Mag. (May 1900) 479.
(5) Sur. Then look at it, once now, Baring-Gould Broom Squire
(1896) 95. (6) s.Dur. She leeved here yance ower when she was
a young woman (J.E.D.). n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i It started ti raan
yance ower. w.Yks. He offered me 't once o'er, but I don't
think he'd gie me 't now (S.P.U.) ; I once over thought I would
not go (C.F.). (7) Sh.I. A'll come ta ony o' you wance passin'
Tiesday, Sh. News (June 2, 1900). (8) n.Yks. A nivsr thaut
yansin at A sad a tian oni intrast i dialect spich (W.H.). w.Yks.
There wer ea tree stood here one sin (S.P.U.). (9) Sh.I. Girzzie
'ill no tak paece wance 'at shii begins ta loss paeshens, Sh. News
(Dec. 9, 1899) ; What's da Ose o' irpin aboot a thing eence dat
it's done? Spence /7/&-io)-e (1899) 246. (10) Cum.i (11) s.Wor.
OuTis Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (i8g6) XVII. (12) s.Chs.'
U thing* fu dhu wins [A thing for the once]. (13) w.Cy. You
turn out your pockets to wance. I'll be your purse in future,
Cornh. Mag. (Dec. 1900) 741. Dor. If this cart is large enough,
I can do it to once (C.V.G.). [Amer. He works the hull on 'em
to once sometimes, Westcott David Harum (1900) i.] (14)
Suf. (C.G.B.)
2. Comb. Once-errand or One's errand, an errand or
journey for a special purpose ; often used advb. expressly,
purposely.
Sc. 'Tell John . . . that I wish to see him particularly.' 'I'll
make a once-errand of it,' Montgomerie- Fleming Notes on Jam.
(1899) ; I gaed ane's errand to tell her mysel', Keith Indian Uncle
(1896) 244; To gae, to come, to send anes errand (Jam.); My
uncle Mr. Andro, c&c, and I, . . past ower to Edinr. annes earend
to visit him, Melville Diary, I. 278 (Jam.). Lnk. My mither
cam' in frae Kilwuddie Ance eeran', expecting to see Her young
folks, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 124. Kcb. To go up thither once-
errand, and on purpose to see, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 211.
Nhb.i He went yence-eerand for'd.
3. Sometime, at one time or another.
w.Yks. I'll come once in an hour, 'Watson Hist. Hlfx. (1775)
544 ; w.Yks.*, Glo.i, e.An.* Hmp. I will pay you once this week,
'Wise New Forest (1883) 284 ; ' Once to-day,' in the course of the
day (H.C.M.B.); Hmp.i 'Wil. Britton Beauties (1825); Wil.*
Once before ten o'clock. s.Wil. Send it once this morning, dooke,
Monthly Mag. (i8i4)-II. 114.
4. An asseveration or meaningless expletive.
■Wil.' I don't once think as you'll catch un. w.Som.' Often
used at the end of an assertion as a kind of asseverative. ' I took
good care to let'n know my mind about it, once I ' Dev. Tacked on
Y y 2
ONCEST
[348]
ONE
to a sentence like ' I say,' ' I tell you.' 'Well, thick [rabbit] 's
VLiU grow, once ! ' Repotts Provinc. (1886) 98.
6. sb. A moment, instant.
Dev. Vrim tha vury zame wans, hur wid ha' a bad name,
Nathan Hogg Poet, Lett. (1847) 27, ed. 1865.
ONCEST, prep. Dev. Except.
AUthegardenistilledoncestthat piece, ^e/io/'/sProuwc. (1884)25.
ONCHANGE, ONCHUCK, see Unchange, Unchoke.
OND, sb. Sh.I. See below.
I dOna lack dis 6nd o' haet, wi' da Oel risin' oot o' da grund,
Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 240 ; I dOna laek yon Ond alang da nort'
banks, ib. 245.
OND(E, />/. 06s. Yks. Som. Also inform ornd Som.
Fated, destined, ordained. w.Yks. Watson Hist. Hlfx.
(1775) 544 ; w.Yks.* Som. Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869).
The same word as Aund (q.v.).
ONDEEMAS, see Undeemis.
ONDUS, flrfi^. O65. Wm. .? Further.
He went a lile bit ondus, Eriggs Remains (1825') 140.
0'NE,Hum.adj.,inde/.aii.,sb.,pron.and v. Van dial, forms
and^uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amer. [wen, wun ; en, isn,
in,e, ia; ja, je, jan, jen, jin; unstressed form an.] I. Dial,
forms : (i) Aa, (2) Aan, (3) Ae, (4) Aen, (5) An, (6) Ane,
(7) Ea, (8) Ean, (9) Een, (10) En, (11) In, (12) Oan, (13)
Oon, (14) Gone, (15) Un, (16) Wan, (17) Waun, (18) Won,
(19) Wone, (20) Wonn, (21) Woone, (22) "Wuon, (23) Ya,
(24) Yaa, (25) Yae, (26) Yah, (27) Yahn, (28) Yan, (29)
Yane, (30) Yaw, (31) Yea, (32) Yean, (33) Yeh, (34) Yen,
(35) Yin. [See A, num. adj., An, pron.]
(i) ne.Lan.i Aa cow (s.v. An). (2) w.Yks. Twisleton Picnic
(1867) xxvii. (3) Sc. Ay, ay, we maun a' gang ae gate, Scott
St. Ronan (1824) ii ; Before a noun the form eae [ae] is used ;
thus, ' hae haes eae bairn leevan' only eane ' [he has one child
alive only one] ; . . ' yt's mayr as eae-buodie's wark ' [it is more
than one person's woric], Murray Dial. (1873) 173; ib. i8r;
' Ae ' denotes an object viewed singly and as alone ; as ' ae swallow
disna mak a simmer' (Jam.). S. & Ork."^ Cai.^ ' Ae' is not used
as a numeral. Dmb. It's no in a' his beuk ae path to tread,
Salmon Gowodean (1868) 13. Edb. Hae for ae night's kind pro-
tection, Macneill IVaes 0' War (1797) pt. ii. Dmf. Last wages
ye wan ye wair'd on ae claithing, Johnstone Poems (1820) 130.
n.Cy. (J.L. 1783), Nhb.i, n.Yks.2, w.Yks. (C.A.F.) (4) Abd.
Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 13. (5) Cum. Git up, my leuvv, my
fair an, Dickinson Sng. Sol. (1859) ii. 10. s.Wra. A dunnan and
a black an, Hutton Dial. Siorth and Amside (1760) 1. 23. n.Yks.
T'reetan, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 37. e.Yks.' ' Wee
ans.' One, a person or object, is always un or an, never yan,
ib. (s.v. Un). w.Yks.i, Shr.2 (6) Sc. I wonder how Queen
Carline wad hae liked to hae had ane of her ain bairns in
such a venture, Scott Midlothian (1818) iv ; Eane [ane] is an
absolute form used without a noun, Murray Dial. (1873) 173 ;
ib. 181 ; ' Ane ' marks a distinction often where there is a number ;
as ' I saw three men on the road ; ane o' them turned awa' to the
right hand' (Jam.). Bnff.i Abd. Ilka ane had their nain, Alex-
ander Johnny Gibb (1871) ii. Bwk. In ane o' thae places,
Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 12. Nhb.i, Dur.^ Cum. Linton
iafe Qc. (1864) 296. n.Yks,i,ne.Yks.i w.Yks. Ane day, Howson
Cur. Craven (1850) 115. (7) Slg. The three persons, ea God,
Bruce Sermons (c. 1631) i, ed. 1843. n.Cy. (J.L. 1783). w.Yks.
Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882). (8) se.Sc. Donaldson Poems
(1809) 56. (9) S. & Ork.i (10) Cum. It's t'hen egg for t'duck
'en. Burn Ballads (ed. 1877) 131. Wm. Two er three nu ens,
RoBisoN Aald Taales (1882) Title. w.Yks. Yks. IVily. Post (Mar.
27, 1897). (11) n.Yks.* (12) Wxf.i Yks. Taylor Miss Miles
(1890) xviii. (13) Dor., e. & w.Som. Most usual in Dor. and
E. Som., but also heard commonly in the vale of West Som. about
Bishop's Lydeard, Elworthy Gl. (1888). (14) Som. Where there's
many or oone'U come to beg o' ee, Raymond Gent. Upcott (1893)
40. (15) Nhb. Pease Mark o' Deil{i8g^) 73. Wm. My unsoil'd
un, Richardson Sng. Shi. (1859) vi. 9. n.Yks.* e.Yks.' One,
a person or object, is always ' un ' or ' an,' never ' yan.' w.Yks.
Dosey awned tuv its bein' a yung un, Cudworth Dial. Sketches
(1884) 24. Laii.', e.Lan.', Chs.', nw.Der.i n.Lln. Our best cow,
she was a red fleck't poll'd un. Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870)
II. 108. Oxf. (G.O.) Lon. He's a jolly good 'un, Mayhew Lond.
Labour (1851) II. 237, col. ii, ed. 1861. Suf.', Sur.^ Wil.
Rize up, my love, my fair un. Kite Sng. Sol. (i860) ii. 10.
(16) Lnk. In wan moment, Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 35.
Ir. His Riverence buried thim both in wan grave, Tennyson
Tomorrow (1885). Don. Her wan son Jack, Macmanus Chim.
Corners (1899) 244. s.Wal. There wass wan gall he wass keep
company with, Longman's Mag. (Dec. 1899) 144. w.Som. ^
In the Hill district. Dev. Wan gude lady come i' tha marnin,
Salmon Ballads (1899) 71. Cor. 'Twas past wan. Parr Adam
and Eve (1880) II. 191. (17) w.Som.' Waun. Cor. Patch up
the owld waun, Higham Z)«a/. (1866) 7. (18) n.Lin."- LeL^Won-
noi't, I. War.'^, e.An.'^, Suf.i (19) Glo. Smyth Lives Berkeleys
(1066-1618) III. 26, ed. 1885. n.Dev. Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 312.
(20) 'E reads wonn sarmin a weeak, Tennyson N. Farmer, Old
Style (1864) St. 7. (21) Dor. Gi'e woone cheer, Longman's Mag.
(Sept. 1900) 447. Som. Woone o' these days, Raymond Love
and Quiet Life (1894) 136. (22) Som. Theow hast a-ravished moi
heart wi' wuon o' thoine ize, Baynes Sng. Sol. (i860) iv. g. (23)
Cum.^ ; Cum.^ ' Ya ' is used when the noun indicated is named . . .
' How many fwoke was theer ? ' ' No'but yan man ! ' Wm. Ya
bonny summer neet. Whitehead Lyvennet (1859) 3. n.Yks, A'l
tel ya ya thiq (W.H.). e.Yks. (G.C.), w.Yks. 1, Lan.i, ne.Laa.i-
(24) n.Yks. (WH.) e.Yks. With the substantive expressed,
'yaa man,' 'yaa horse,' Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). (25) Frf.
Grippit the man wi' yae hand, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 78. Dmb.
Mair than yae kind of learnin'. Cross Disruption (1844) ix. Ayr.
She gave me yae kiss, White Jottings (1879) 176. Lnk. The cow
had yae haf o' the smiddy, Hamilton Poems (1865) 147. Edb.
Nor care yae strae aboot the morn, Fergusson Poems (1773) 235,
ed. 1785. Gall. I could fecht a bobby wi' yae hand, Crockett
Cleg Kelly (1896) 42. Wgt. As yae loving britherhood. Eraser
Poems (1885) 55. Cum.i (26) Dur.i, Lakel.^ Wm. Throo yah
lobby after anudder, Kendal C. News (Sept. 22, 1888). n.Yks.i234
ne.Yks.' ' Yah ' is a numeral adj. and always has a word agreeing
with it, e. g. ' yah pleeace.' ' How many are there ? ' ' Nobbut
yan.' e.Yks.^ 'Yah' requires to be followed by a substantive
(which it qualifies). Thus, we say, ' yah fellow,' but we cannot
say, ' give us yah,' or ' yah on 'em ' ; it must be, ' give us yan,' or
' yan on em.' m.Yks.^ w.Yks. A corner tav hissen i yah end,
Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 216. (27) n.Yks. Lucas Stud.
Nidderdale (c. 1882). (28) n.Cy. (K.) Nhb. Yan o' these days,
S.Tynedale Stud. (1896) Robbie Armstrong. Dur.', Lakel.^, Cum.i
Wm. Last Monday but yan, Blezard Sngs. (1848) 17. n.Yks.*234
ne.Yks.' 'Yan' is an indef. pron. and a num. adj. when used
singly, the noun being understood. ' Yan said yah thing.' e.Yks.^
' Yan ' may or may not be followed [by a substantive]. Thus we
say 'yah fellow' or ' yan fellow' indifferently, but we cannot say
' give us yah ' ; it must be ' give us yan.' m.Yks.i, w.Yks.',
Lan.', n.Lan.' ne.Lan.' Sick ayan. n.Lin.' (29) Ayr. To count her
heads I hadna min', Yane, twa, or three, White Jottings (1870)
184. N.Cy .2 (30) Wm, Let us alaan yaw wee bit, Hutton
Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 242. (31) Lnk. Yea nicht, Ewing
Poems (1892) 13. n.Cy. Grose (1790). w.Yks, Hutton Tour to
Caves (1781). (32) n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; Hutton Tour to Caves
(1781). (33) Rxb. Yeh Monanday at morn, Murray Hawick
Sngs. (1892) 16. (34) Nhb.' Yen should dee'd yensel. Cum. Sec a
yen, Anderson Ba/Ws (1805) 3 ; Cum.' (35) Sc. Cleanliness is a
fine ilka-day virtue, an' yin that the Gordons hae never been behind-
hand wi', Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 74. Dmb. Yin of his elders.
Cross Disruption (1844) xxxiv. Ayr. I'll gie ye yin, Ainslie
Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 151. Gall. A' but yin, Crockett Cleg
Kelly (1896) 60, N.I,' Uls. No' yin ava, MiilLROY Craiglinnie
(1900) 19. Nhb. The new yin, Longman s Mag. (Feb. 1897) 325.
Cum.i
II. Dial. uses. 1. num. adj. In phr. (i) one a time, a
gambling game ; see below ; (2) — and bread, a sausage
with a slice of bread sold at stalls ; (3) — and onepettce, a
shilling and a penny ; (4) — and thirty, a game of cards ;
(5) — arm'd landlord, a cant name for a pump ; (6) — beast
tree, a swingle-tree by which only one horse draws in
ploughing ; (7) — bit, at all ; (8) — bout ridge, a ridge formed
by a single ' bout,' or the length of a furrow, in ploughing ;
(9) — catch all, a game of touch ; (lo) — dog, one bull, fair
play ; (11) — ends errand, on particular or special purpose ;
see Once-errand, s.v. Once ; (12) — eyed, a term of con-
tempt or disapproval ; inconvenient, out of the way,
neglected ; (13) — eyed stake, a Yarmouth bloater ; (14) —
fur, having all the soil turned over by the plough in one
direction ; (15) —fur-brae, (16) —fur-land, ground which
admits of being ploughed in one direction only on account
of its steepness ; (17) — handed, single-handed ; (18) —
hole leaser, a game of marbles ; {19) — how or other, some-
how or other ; (20) — lamb's wool, the wool from the fleece
ONE
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ONE
of one lamb ; see below ; (21) — meal {wonmell, wonmil)
cheese, cheese made of the unskimmed milk of a single
' meal ' (q.v.) ; (22) — o'clock, {a} the downy seed-head of
the dandelion, Leontodon Taraxacum ; [b) the goat's-beard,
Tragopogon praiensis ; (c) the greater stitchwort, Stellaria
holostea ; (23) — of me{self, used with neg. : an emphatic
expression for ' P ; (24) — of the both, one of the two ; one
or other ; (25) — pitch, a section of a meadow, divided and
arranged for the purpose of irrigation ; (26) — pointed
grass, a species of sedge-grass or Carex; (27) —purpose,
on purpose; (28) — sAear, of sheep : between one and two
years old, having been once shorn; (29) — side, on one
side, a side; (30) — stay, one line of thought ; (31) —
swifted scribbling machine, a particular kind of scribbling
machine [not known to our correspondents] ; (32) — tether,
one another ; (33) — thing, the same thing, identical ; (34)
— through by tother, one from the other ; (35) — time, at
one time, formerly ; (36) — time and another, irom time to
time ; (37) — to nickie of, an expletive : ' devil a ' ; (38) —
to tother, see (32) ; (39) — way drink, beer of medium
quality ; see below ; (40) — waysull, a plough which only
turns over a furrow in one direction ; (41) • — while, a long
time ; for a long time to come ; (42) — with tother, on the
average, without choice or selection ; (43) — woman man,
a man attached to one woman only ; (44) all to the one side,
like the handle of a jug, leaning to one side, having an
inclination to one side ; {^^) for one and all, a Cornishman's
motto ; (46) the one of them, each one, every one ; (47) the
one off two, three, &c., a golfing term ; see below ; (48)
fone . . . t'other, thetane . . .the tother, the one . . . the other;
(49) to be one, to be in accord, to be of the same mind or
purpose ; to be good friends ; (50) — one with, to be even
with ; (51) to make at one heat, to steal ; (52) to put on one
side, to decline, reject ; to throw over.
(i) Lon. They meet in some secret back place, about ten, and
begin playing for ' one a time'^that is, tossing up three half-
pence, and staking is. on the result, Mayhew Land. Labour
(1851) II. 120, col. I, ed. 1861. (2) Oxf. That old-established
feature of St. Giles' fair, the ' one and bread ' stall, the ' delicacy '
to all appearances being as highly appreciated as ever, Oxf. Times
(Sept. 8, 1900) 8. (3) Lnk. The maisters want to break wages
yin-an-yinpence a day, Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 116. (4) War.^
e.An.l Much resembling vingt-et-un. It was, many years ago,
called ' one-and-thirty ' turntail, and ' one-and-thirty ' bone-ace.
It is still played by children. Hmp. Holloway. (5) -w.Som.^
Nif I was thee, I'd keep away vroin th' old Phil, and make in wi'
the one-armed landlord, s'now. (6) S. & Ork.', Or.I. (Jam.)
(7) Sc.(A.W.), w.Yks. (J.W.) w.Som.i Doa'n drawee wau-n bee"t
[It (i.e. the atmosphere) does not dry at all]. Uur waud-n neet
wau-n bee-t luyk ur mau'dhur [She was not at all like her mother].
Dev. I can't zee wan bit awver yer thease zide ov tha tabul,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 125. nw.Dev.i (8) Edb. After cross
ploughing before winter, and liming in spring, Turnips on one-
bout ridges, without dung, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 56, ed. 1815.
Nhb. Marshall Review (1808) I. 86. n.Yks. The land being
previously set out in one-bout ridges with the plough, Tuke
Agric. (1800) 151. (9) Nhp.'- ' Coward3' ! cowardy! costard!'
repeated by children playing at the game of ' One catch all,' when
they advance towards the one who is selected to catch them, and
dare or provoke her to capture them (s.v. Cowardy). [The words
used were, as far as I can remember, ' Cowardy, cowardy custard.
Eat your father's mustard, Catch me if you can.' . . The rhyme
was supposed to be very efficacious in rousing an indifferent or
lazy player when playing touch, Gomme Games (1898) II. 25.]
(10) Shr.i (n) N.I.i He went yin ends erran' for it. (12) Ken.i
That's a middlin* one-eyed place. I can't make nothin' of these
here one-eyed new-fashioned tunes they've took-to in church.
Sur.' I come from C — m, it was a one-eyed place. Dor. I shouldn't
care for such aone-eyed benefit as that. Hardy Z.ao(^j'«fl»2 (ed. 1896)
487; A one-eyed place (J.A.B.). (13) Oxf. (G.O.), e.An.i (14)
Cld., Slk. (Jam.) (15, 16) Ground in which only one furrow can
be drawn, as the plough always returns without entering the
soil (<'6.). (17) w.Sc. They wadna be a jiffy o' gripping ye hke
a gled, they're no sae ae-haun't, St. Patrick (1819) I. 220 (Jam.).
(18) Nhb. What a chap aw was for one-hole-teazer then ! Allan
TynesideSngs. (1891) 396. (19) Lei.^ Wan-aow, or oother. Wan-
aows, or anoother. Nhp.' One how or other. War.^, Hnt.
(T.P.F.) (20) Lan. Boggarts appear, however, to have been more
numerous than they are now, . . when working people wove
what was called ' one lambs wool ' in a day ; but when it came
to pass that they had to weave ' three lambs wool ' in a day . . .
boggarts . . . began to flee away, Harland & Wilkinson Flk-
Lore (1867) 62 ; The necessity for using this expression owing to
the introduction of machinery and the consequent decay of hand-
looming weaving has died out forty or fifty or more years ago
(S.W.). (21) e.An.i2 Nrf. She talked about her 'one-meal'
cheeses, Spilling 'Arry and'Arriett (1880) 20. Suf. Rainbird
Agric. (1819) 296, ed. 1849; Suf.^ (22, a) Lan. Science Gossip
(1882) 164. Chs.i, s.Chs.i Dev. We have . . . the one o'clock,
the very dial of poetry, Bray Desc. Tamar and the Tavy, I. lett.
xviii. (i) Dev.* (c) s.Dev. (G.E.D.) (23) Ant. The sorra one of
me can tell What about it was at all, at all, O'Neill Glens (1900)
23. Don. The norra wan of meself well knows how are they
gettin' along at the larning, Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 71 ;
Whether he was some sort of a missionary, . . or what else, the
sorra wan of me knows, Harper's Mag. (Jan. 1901) 326. (24)
Pem. (E.D.) (25) Wil. Marshall Review (1817) V. 196. (26)
So. Carex, ae-pointed gairss, blue-grass (B. & H.). Lnk. The
points of its blades are sharper and much more stiff than those of
rich succulent grass (Jam.). (37) N.I.^ (28) w.Yks.^, Nhp.i, Suf.'
Oxf."- MS. add. (29) Cor. Wheere es thy beloved gone waun
side ? Sng. Sol. (1859) '^'' ^- ^3°) w.Yks. He was never at ' one
stay 'in reference to subject, Everett S. Hick (1837) iv. (31)
w.Yks. Horse-ppwer was brought in for working a one-swifted
scribbling machine, Cudworth Bradford (1876) 466. (32) n.Dev.
Round shaving wone tether, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 312. (33)
w.Yks. A vaunter an' a liar is boath ya thing, Prov, in Brighouse
News (July 23, 1887). (34) w.Yks. Aw know nowt abaat thi
props an couldn't tell one through bi tother, Hartley Tales,
2nd S. 152. (35) n.Yks. Yah tahme (T.S.). Oxf.i I used to knit
one time, but I dun't now, MS. add. w.Som.^ I mind there used
to be a public-house there one time, but he bin pulled down 'is
gurt many years. (36) So. There they bring my father one time
and another, STEvENSON-Ca/n'owa (1893) i. (37) Sh.I. Gude feth
an' he could faa i' my haands, ane ta Nickie o' a hug iver he sood
up draw agen ! Sh. News (July 24, 1897). (38) Glo. Gurls if
yever you do love. Love one to tother, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(1890) viii. (39) Shr.i Beer which contains the full strength of
the malt and hops apportioned to it — no ale having been first
drawn, nor weaker beer afterwards made, from the brew. ' Tak'
a jug an' draw some one-way-drink for the wilrit.' (40) w.Som.i
A two-way-zull, eens can plough vore and back in the same vore,
is a handy thing like, but can't make such good work way un's
can way a proper good one-way-zuU. (41) Slk. He stared one
while at the gun, Hogg Tales (1838) 330, ed. 1866. Ir. But
a matter o' ten year back belike ; anyway 'tis wan while ago.
Barlow Bogland (1892) 155, ed. 1893. w.Yks. (J.W.) Oxf.i
I shan't go to see our Dick's wife agen this one while I can
tell ee, MS. add. Brks.i Ater what I zed to'n a wunt try to
argy wi' I one while I warn. w.Soni.^ I 'count he 'on't ax
vor no more o' thick sort vor one while, howsomdever ! (42)
Sc. (A.W.), w.Yks. (J.W.) Oxf.i I rickons thase pigs '11 weight
about 8 scur a piece, takin' one wi' t'other. You must take one
wi' t'other if you buys um at all, MS. add. w.Sora.^ Is forty
bushells an acre, one way tother, all over the farm, else idn a
peck. ' How d'ye zill your apples. Missus? ' 'Zix a penny one
way tother.' (43) LMa. I'm a one-woman man, Kate, Caine
Manxman (1894) pt. i. ix. (44) Ant. 'A' tae the yin side like
the handle o' a jug.' A remark that would be made if a corn-
stack, load of hay. Sec, had been built badly, Ballymena Obs.
(1892). (45) Cor. 'Twor ev'ry body for his-self, And we, for
' one and all,' Forfar Poems (1885) 12. (46) Ir. The sorra resaive
the one of them, Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 130. (47) Sc.
If your opponent has played . . . two strokes more . . . your next
stroke will be ' the one off two ' ; if three more, ' the one off three,'
and so on. Golfers Hndbk. (ed. 1881) 35 (Jam. Suppl.). (48)
Abd. The ta'en a lang lug'd beagle was, . . The tother was a
cunning tyke, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 12. Per. The tane did
to the tither complain, Haliburton Dunbar (1895) 87. se.Sc,
What wi' the tean, an' what the tither, Dick lost his senses a'
thegither, Donaldson Po^ms (1809) 56. n.Yks.i'T'ane' replied to
by 't'ither'; but, more frequently, 't'tane'or the 'fane,' answered
by ' t'tither ' or the ' tither.' ' Tak' thou the fane, an' Ah'll tak' the
tither.' ne.Yks.i w.Yks. They sit t'aan clooas to f other, Twisle-
TON Picnic (1867) xxvii ; T'ae or fither (C.A.F.). (49) Sc.
(Jam. Suppl.), Sus.' (50) Lan. He'll crom yo' as full as a fitch
afore he's one with o', Ab-o'-ih'-Yate, Oddlad {iS8^) 4. Nrf. I'll
be one wi ye presently. Spilling Giles (1872) 24. (51) w.Som.i
The allusion is to the forging of a horse-shoe or other iron-work,
ONE
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ONERLY
which could not possibly be done by only once heating the iron ;
hence an article made at one heat must have been stolen ready
made. ' Where's meet wi' thick there bisgy ! ' ' Au ! I made
thick.' ' Ees I count ! to one yeat!' (52) n.Lin.i He showed me
a lot o' cheap pots beside them I boht, bud I put 'em on one side,
for I didn't want 'em. Thaay was to hev been married this here
Martlemas, bud he put her one side, when he fun he'd a chanch
wi' Mary Ann.
2. Only.
Sc. Thou kill'd my brethren three, Whilk brak the heart o' my
ae sister, Hogg Jacob. Rel.{i8ig) II. 33. Ayr. I ammymammie's
ae bairn, Burns I'm Owre Young, st. i.
3. Singular. Lei. (Hall.) 4. Obs. Used with super-
latives in an intensitive sense.
Sc. Thou art the ae saftest thing a hizzie fond o' daffin can sew
in the hem o' her smock, Blackw. Mag. (Aug. 1820) 513 (Jam.).
Ayr. The ae best fellow e'er was born. Burns Elegy on Capi. M.
Henderson, st. 2.
5. indef. art. A.
Sc. Ane Psalm o' David, Riddell Psalms (1857") iii ^ ; Monie
ane time hae thaye aflSicket me, ib. cxxix. 2. I.W.^ He had the
deuce of one crop of barley ; I.W.^ He kicked up the deuce 0' one
row about it.
6. sb. In phr. (i) all by one, all the same ; (2) at one, (a)
in accord, agreed ; reconciled ; (b) as usual, in the same
condition ; (c) decided, determined, consistent ; (3) in one,
(a) united, whole, in one set or piece ; (b) see (2, c) ; (4)
into one, in collusion ; (5) muckle about one, of one mind
or purpose ; (6) on one, see (2, b) ; (7) our one, a term
applied to any near relative or to a sweetheart ; (8) ones
by ones, one by one.
(i) Der.i All by one, since I saw him last. Obs. (2, a) n.Yks.^
They're nut at yan on't. Nhp.* (A) n.Yks.'' She's just at yan.
w.Yks.'- Nivver at yan. Much at yan. (c) w.Yks.', Sus.'- (3, a)
Sc. The pairts were a' in ane when ye got it (Jam. Suppl.). Per.
He pat a' the pieces in ane (G.W.). (A) Sc. (Jam., s.v. In). (4)
Abd. Yon twa's been inta ane, Ogg Willie IValy {1813) 80. (5)
Sc. Muckle aboot ane, as the deil said to the cobbler (G.W.).
(6) Bnfif.^ He's eye on-ane ; nivver oot o' humour. Cld. (Jam.)
(7) w.Sc. Applied to husband, wife, son, daughter, lad, lass, or
sweetheart, instead of the name, and sometimes as the name of
him or her. ' Oor ane boght me a gran' goun at the fair.' A
common salutation by a country lad to his lass on giving her a
presentis: 'Hael that'sforye'rourane' (Jam. S^Jp/i/.). (8) n.Yks.
He counted them out yans by yans (I.W.).
7. A woman, female.
Cai.' Corresponding to the masc. word Chiel. 'She's a brave ane.'
8. //. People.
Lnk. Hey, you yins, let me ower, Gordon Pyotskaw (1885) 21.
N.I.' What's the reason, sir, that Tomson's ones always sends them
kind o' coals? Nhb. Hiz yins, Graham Red Scaur (1896) 131.
I.Ma. The Bigode's ones was very fond of such, Brown Doctor
(1887) 68.
9. One degree, a step.
Lnk. A good fu fat farmer's son, but ae laigher nor a laird,
Graham Writings (1883) II. 33.
10. A blow ; a rebuff; in gen. coUoq. use.
Ayr. I gied her ane the day, I'm thinkin', that she'll no forget.
Service Notandums (1890) 44. Edb. He saw me coming, and
fetched me yin ower the held wi' his cudgel, Campbell Deilie Jocli
(1897) 75. n-Cy., Yks., Lan. (J.W.) Nrf. We had a bit of a
scuflBe and I dropped him one, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 182.
Mid. Get at him I couldn't, to give him one for himself, Blackmore
ii:(<(i89o) II. xiv.
Hence to do one one, phr. to outdo, trick ; to forestall.
Not. I'd quite meant to have been your fust client, but she's done
me one. Prior Rente (1895) no.
11. indef. pron. Some one, somebody.
w. & s.Sc. Sae, ane telt me to gae up by (Jam.). Yks. George,
lad, ther's yan at t'deear, Macquoid Doris Barugit (1877) Prol. 1.
Lei. There was one as used to live this way (C.E.).
12. Phr. (i) a one, one, one of a kind ; (2) one of a sort,
an inferior specimen or object; (3) — to hissel, an un-
sociable, reserved person.
(i) e.Dur.i ' I saw a one yesterday.' This would only be used,
but always, where ' one ' was not used numerically, as opposed to
any other number, but merely as a unit. (2) w.Yks. (J.W.) e.Lan.
' That's a queer load tha's getten on. Jack ! ' ' Yi, id's one of a
sooart,' Almond Watercresses, 16. (3) Wm. Wudsworth , . . was
a man who was quite one to hissel, Rawnsley Retnin. Wordsworth
(1884) VI. 182.
13. V. To make single or lonely.
n.Yks.2 'It quite yand him,' the loss of his wife made him feel
lonely.
ONE-, ONECT,ONEDER, see Hone, s*.. Once, Undern.
ONEDER, adv. Obs. Chs.i Behind.
ONE-ERIE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Sur. Also in form een-erie
n.Sc. (Jam.) A nursery word used in 'counting-out'
rhymes. See Anery.
n.Sc. Een-erie, two-erie, tickerie, &c. (Jam.) Lth. One-erie,
two-erie, tickerie, seven. Alibi, crackerie, ten or eleven : Pin, pan,
muskiedan, Tweedle-um, twaddle-um, twenty-one, ib. Sur. One-
erie, two-erie, tickerie, seven, AUabone, crackabone, ten or eleven ;
Pot, pan, must be done, Tweedle-come, tweedle-come, twenty-
one, ib.
ONEISH, afi^'. n.Yks.'' Only in forms yahish, yannish.
[ja-ij, ja'nij.] At one point, of one kind, the same.
' She's just about yannish,' neither better nor worse. ' All of a
yahish mak.'
ONELIN, sb. s.Chs.i An only child.
Yoa' mun maar'i sum won-lin [Yo mun marry some onelin'].
Hoo's a despert marred kithn' ; it's wi' bein' a onelin' (s.v. Mar).
ONELY, adj. and adv. Irel. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Der. Also
written only Ir. nw.Der.^ ; and in forms oanly ne.Lan.^ ;
ooanly w.Yks. ; ownly w.Yks.; wonley e.Lan.^; yanly
n.Yks.^ [5'nli, oa'nli.] 1. adj. Lonely, solitary.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks. Sa ooanly ah neer wor afoar, Preston
Poems, &c. (1864) 24; (S.P.U.); w.Yks.i Black-hill Crag, that
feaful onely plat, ii. 301 ; w.Yks.^^^ Lan. Aw'm onely when
theaw art n't theer, Waugh Sngs. (1866) 8, ed. 1871 ; Lan.',
ne.Lan.*, e.Lan.', Der.'^, nw.Der.l
Hence (i) Yanliness, sb. loneliness ; (2) yanly off, phr.
in a single condition, unmarried, without connexions.
(i) n.Yks.'' Yanliness an mawks. (2) ib. She's nobbut yanly off.
2. Comp. Onely-sided, doubtful, peculiar.
n.Yks.* It's nobbut a onely sahded gahin on.
3. adv. Alone, singly.
Ir. Left only in the reare (S.A.B.). n.Yks.=
[1. Thai errid in anly stede {in solitudine), Hampole
(c. 1330) Ps. cvi. 4. OE. dnlic, solitary.]
ON-END,at/v. In^««. dial, use in Sc. and Eng. Alsoin
forms an-een Som. ; an-eend Chs.'^^ s.Chs.' Not. Nhp.'''
Shr."Hnt.;an-endDur.'Cum.3ne.Lan.iStf.'n.Lin.'Nhp.i
War.123 e.An.i Sus. Hmp. w.Som.' Cor.i^; anind Shr.'^;
aninnd Nrf Suf.'; on-eend Chs.'^ [o'n-end, sne'nd,
3nin(d, anrnd.] 1. In an upright or erect position ;
perpendicularly ; in a sitting position. Also usedT?^.
Sc.(A.W.) e.Yks.iSittinonendi'bed. w.Yks.(J.W.),ne.Lan.i,
Chs.'°3 s.Chs." Miy(3oiir[hair] stiidunee-nd.' ' I stoodaneend,'!
stood on my head. Not.(L.C.M.) Lin.' When I got in, although she
was ailing she was on-end. n.Lin.' You'll find them pohls in on
end agean th' bat-stack. He's on end yet ; bud if he duzn't tak'
care, he'll soon be e' th' bed-boddum. Nhp.' The horse reared up
an-eend ; Nhp.^ Set it aneend. War. B'ltam IVkly. Post (June 10,
1893); War.'^a siir. The horse reared anind. Bound Provinc.
(1876) ; Shr.' The mar aived 'ertwo for' fit i' the ar an' stud anind
bout uprit ; Shr.^, Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.' Nrf.i Rise the ladder up
aninnd. Suf.^ A reared up aninnd. Som. Not at the bottom lyin
down But up aneen, Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869) 136. w.Som.J^
Bob waudn proper drunk tho— nif he's riglur drunk, he d'always
Stan' un ee-n [stand on the head]. Cor. He was tail an end for it
(old saying), Quiller-Couch Hist. Polperro (1871) 172 ; Cor.'^
2. Straightforward, direct, onwards.
Dur.', Cum. (M.P.), n.Lin.i Nhp.' To go right an-end. e.An.*,
Nrf.i Sus., Hmp. Holloway.
3. Immediately, forthwith ; without stop or intermission,
perpetually, in succession.
Nhb.i Cum.3 Whiles, for hours an' hours an' en'. In their shandry
sat she waitin', 170. w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.^Hesworeather fer ten
minutes stright on end. Chs.'^; Chs.^ He's plaguing me aneend.
Stf.' Lei.' A golloped down a score 0' eggs roight on end. Dev.
I be going to die right on end, Baring-Gould/. Herring (1888) 77.
4. In phr. most on end, generally, usually.
Nhp.' I most an-eend call when I go that way. War.'^
ONERLY, adj. w.Yks.' Lonely, retired. The same
word as Anerly (q.v.).
ONEROUS
[351]
ON-0-NENA
ONEROUS, adj. Obs. Sc. The opposite of gratuitous,
sufficiently advantageous, paying.
When it is said, ' Mr. A. B. sold his estate for an onerous cause,'
Sir John Sinclair says that the meaning is, he sold it for money,
and that a sufficient price is implied, Scoticisms (1787) 63 ; An
onerous contract, as buyingand selling, barter, &c., is for the advan-
tage of both the contracting parties : a gratuitous contract, as
borrowing and lending, is for the advantage of one of them, ib. ;
An indorsee, who has paid the value of the bill indorsed to him, is
called an onerous indorsee, ib. 64.
ONFEEL, see Unfeil.
ONFRACK, adj. Lth. (Jam.) Not active, not alert.
See Freck, adj. 1.
ONION, sb. Van dial, forms and uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [■B-njan, u'nian, u-njan, ai'njan, i'nin, i'rjsn, i'njan,
i-nisn.] I. Dial, forms: (i) Einyun, (2) Hingin, (3)
Ingan, (4) Ingen, (5) Ingeon, (6) Inggun, (7) Ingin, (8)
Ingon, (9) Ingun, (10) Ingyun, (11) Inian, (12) Inin,
(13) Inion, (14) Iniun, (15) Injen, (16) Injyen, (17) Innin,
(18) Innion, (19) Innon, (20) Inon, (21) Inun, (22) Inyan,
(23) Inyon, (24) Own-ion, (25) Unjun.
(i) s.War.* (2) Dev.2 (3) Bnif. Wi' ingans, spice, an' meal,
Taylor Poems (1787) 141. Abd. A dealer in cabbage an' kale,
Neeps, ingans, an' leeks, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 13. Per.
In ilka yaird ye pu' an ingan, Spence Poems (1898) 185. Ayr,
The wife being thrang with the ingans. Service Dr. Duguid {ei.
1887) 148. Lnk. What dae ye say noo to an ingan or a bit carrot ?
Fraser Whaups (1895) xiii. Edb. Frae meals o' bread an' ingans,
Fergusson Poems (1773) 167, ed. 1785. Slk. They were a' hung
in a strap like ingans, Hogg Tales (1838) 59, ed. 1866. Suf.i
Lon. Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) I. 94, col. i. Dev. Horae
Subsecivae (1777) 229 ; Dev.' w.Cor. N. (f Q. (1854) ist S. x.
319. (4) Nrf. A penny loaf and a hapor' o' ingens, Spilling Giles
(1872) 72; Cozens-Harvy Broad Nrf. (1893) 6. (5) Dev. A rasher
o' bacon and ingeons, Baring-Gould Dartmoor Idylls (1896) 45.
(6) Lon. Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) I. 94, col. i. (7) Frf. She
had an ingin to her tea, Barrie Towwy (1896) 202. Rnf. Horse-
drappin's for oor ingin' beds, Neilson Poems (1877) 47. Dev.
There was the ingin stuffin' too, Baring-Govj-O Dartmoor Idylls
(1896) 91. (8) Abd. Kail an' ingons an' pitawtas, Macdonald
Warlock (1882) xxix. Ken. (G.B.) Hmp. Grose (1790)^5. flrfrf.
(M.) (9) rif. Yer inguns seem to be thrivin', Robertson Provost
(1894) 22. Lon. Ing-uns a penny a quart, Mayhew iowrf. Labour
(1851) I. 53, col. I. ne.Ken. I Uke inguns with my brem-cheese
(H.M.). w.Som.i e.Cor. Some like cake, some like inguns
(M.A.C.). (10) e.Suf. (F.H.) (11) Dev.i (12) GI0.2, n.Wil.
(E.H.G.) Som. A bifstake, hot, and zmotheredwi inin, Agrikler
Rhymes (1872) 35 ; Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). (13) Nhb.i
Lei.' Diff'rent people have diff'rent 'pinions. Some likes apples an'
some likes inions. Nhp.i, Shr.' Hrt. Quite time enuff to plant
yourinions, Geary Rur.Life{\8^t)) 33. l,on.MAyHEvf Lond. Labour
(1851)1.94,001.1. e.An.i Hmp. HoLLOWAY. (14) Hmp.' (15,
16) Lon. Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) I. 94, col. i. (17) Glo.
(B. & H.) (18) Glo.^ (19) Lon. MAYHEvr Lond. Labour (1851)
I. 94, col. I. (20) Nhp.i 2, War.=, s.Wor.', Hrf.2, Glo.', Brks.',
Hmp.l, I.W.i Wll. Britton Beauties (1825). Dor.' (21)
se.Wor.i He said he'd tromple my inun bed all to pieces. (22)
w.Ir. Stuffed with pratees and inyans. Lover Leg. (1848) I. 16.
(23) Chs.i Cot. Thomas Randigal Rhymes {i8g5) Gl. (24) Dev.*
(25) n.Lin.i
II. Dial. uses. 1. In comp. (i) Onion-broth, (2) -cole,
a kind of broth or porridge made from onions, oatmeal,
&c. ; (3) -couch, the tall oat-grass, Avena elatior; (4)
-gelding, the process of removing the seed-stalks from
onions intended for the market ; (5) -grass, see (3) ; (6)
-rope, a rope on which onions are hung.
(i) War. Leamington Courier (Mar. 6, 1897). s.War.i (2)
Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 8, 1884). (3) Glo.i w.Cy. In
allusion to the tuberous onion-shaped nodes of the root-stock
(B. & H.). (4) Bdf. (B.K.) (5) s.Bck. In allusion to the'
tuberous onion-shaped nodes of the root-stock (B. & H.). (6)
Dor.i Their boughs, lik' Inon-ruopes a-hung, Be all a-trigg'd to
year wi' props, 246.
2. Phr. (i) the peeling of an ingan, anything very light
and easily blown away ; (2) to be sair stressed stringing
injans, to be busy about nothing, to make much ado
about little.
(i) Sc. Come and see the auld tower blaw up in the lift hke the
peelings of an ingan, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) xxvi; I could
have blown him away like the peeling of an ingan, ib. Leg. Mont.
(1818) ii ; He fought his ship till she blew up like peelings of
ingans, ib. Guy M. (1815) xi ; (Jam.) (2) n.Sc. Expressive of high
contempt, ' Ye' re sair stress'd stringing injans ' (Jam.).
3. Any bulb having the appearance of an onion, as a
snowdrop or a hyacinth. n.Lin.^ 4. The melt or wart
inside a horse's legs.
Chs.' ; Chs.^ It has a very strong smell, and dogs are particularly
fond of it.
ONION-PENNY, s6. Obs. Hmp. A Roman coin dug
up from the ground ; see below.
At Silchester they find great plenty of Roman coins which they
call Onion-pennies, from one Onion whom they foolishly fancy to
have been a giant, and an inhabitant of this city (K.).
ONKER, sb} Oxf [o'r)k3(r).] 1. pi. A game played
with horse-chestnuts. See Conker, sb} 2.
One boy challenges another with the cry, ' Iddy-iddy onker,
my first conquer, Iddy-iddy O, my first go.' Whoever says this
first takes first knock, and alternate blows are struck until one of
the nuts is cracked or conquered (G.O.).
2. A horse-chestnut, esp. one usedin the game of'onkers.'
Daddy, look what a lot of nice onkers I've picked up in the
Park (G.O.) ; (A.B.C.)
ONKER, 56.== Obs. Arg. (Jam.) A small portion of land.
Being only a little onker of land not worth the rentalling,
Law Paper.
ONKER, see Hanker, v.
ONLIEST, superl. adj. Chs. Hmp. Som. Cor. Amer.
Also in forms awnliest Cor. ; onlest Amer. [5nli-ist,
w.Som. o"nlis.] 1. Only.
Chs.123^ Hmp. (H.E.) [Amer. I'm the onlest father them boys
has got, Cent. Mag. (Apr. 1885) 846 ; That's the onliest one
there. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 234.]
2. Best, most approved.
Chs.' ; Chs.'' The onliest way to do a thing is the best way; Chs.^
3. Most extraordinary, oddest. See Only, 1.
w.Som.' Most commonly in a depreciatory sense. ' Nif that
idn th' aun-lees [onliest] bit n' work ever I clap my eye over.'
' 'Twas th' aun'lees [onliest] instance ever I yeard tell o'.' Cor.
Theere wor tha onliest sight I'd seed for many a day, T. Towser
(1873) 79 ; The awnliest peepul, Thomas Aunt Keziah's Visit, v.
ONLIGHT, V. Nhp. Glo. Suf Hmp. Dor. Som. Dev.
[cnlait.] To ahght ; to dismount from a horse or carriage.
Nhp.',Glo.',Suf. (C.T.) Hmp. Holloway. Dor.' Som. Jennings
Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825) ; (W.F.R.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
■w.Som.' Law 1 how 'tis rainin, do ee plase t' onlight an come in
a bit. Dev. Now, Mrs. Bright, duee plaize tii onlight ! Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892). nw.Dev.'
ONLY, adj., adv., conj. and prep. Van dial, uses in Irel.
and Eng. [5'nli, w.Som. o'nli.] 1. adj. Extraordinary,
odd. See Onliest, 3.
w.Som.' Most commonly in a depreciatory sense. ' He's a on-ly
looking fuller, I zim, don't you? '
2. adv. Before a superlative : very.
s.Chs.' Dhu oa-nli best thing' fur iiz tu ddo iz tii bi thingk'in
iibuwt ur finish [The only best thing for us to do is to be thinkin'
abowt iir finish].
3. conj. Except, but ; but that ; gen. after neg.
n.Ir. A heeve that nearly knockit me aff my feet, an' only fur
Sauny a think a wud a fell, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 20. Lan.
I should have done it, only I forgot, N. & Q. (1878) 5th S. ix.
505 ; For many years the following notice was painted up at
Bolton railway station, ' Do not cross the line only by the bridge,'
ib. (1887) 7th S. iii. 501. Chs. Mr. T. doesn't want only what
is right, ib. 501. n.Lin.' He caame, only you was gone. Oxf.
(G.O.) Suf. Lilly won't do only what he likes, N. &^ Q. (1879)
5th S. xii. 338. Dev. He'd been here, on'y I telled him how bad
you was, Good Wds. (1881) 850.
4. prep. Except, but.
Yks. N. &" Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 82. Nrf. 'There are none only
this,' said a Norfolk man . . . when handing to me a solitary
letter that had come by post, ib. (1879) 5th S. xii. 518.
ONLY, see Onely.
ONMARK, sb. Cai.' [o'nmark.] A troublesome or
refractory person or animal.
[Cp. Norw. dial, andmarke, cattle, cows (Aasen).]
ON-0-NENA, adv. Lan. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Always. (Hall.)
ONRICHT
[352]
OON
ONRICHT, ONRIG, ONSENSE, ONSETTER, see
Unright, Unrig, Unsense, Aunceter.
ONSHOOTY, adj. Shr.^ [o'njuti.] Of vegetables :
coming up irregularly in the rows. See Shooty.
' Ow bin yore turmits this time ? ' ' Well, they bin mighty
onshooty ; they'n missed five or six buts together.'
ONSTEAD, sb. Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Also in forms
onesteead n.Yks.'^ ; onsteed Nhb.^ [o'nsted, -stied.]
A group of farm-buildings, a ' steading ' ; a homestead.
Sc. [He] demolished the peel- house at Westburn-flat, and built
in its stead, a high, narrow onstead, Scott Blk. Dwarf {1S116)
xviii. Lth. At oor onstead, loon an' lonely, Lumsden Sheep-head
(1892) 315. Edb. On which howm or plain near the onstead,
Patie and Peggy met, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 130, ed. 1815.
Bwk. [He] was engaged in tending her cows, about half a mile
from the onstead, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 50. Gall. In
the days when the onstead of Black Dornal was being built,
Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) ^5- n.Cy. (J.L. 1783) ; N.Cy.'
Nhb. I reached the onstead end, Proudlock Borderland Muse
(1896) 337 ; Nhb.i The onsteed is the group of on-buildings used as
stables, hemmels, byres, granary, barn, milkus, &c. Lakel.^,
Cum.i n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.^ It burnt down the whole onsteead.
ONTER, V. Obs. Sc. Of horses : to rear.
Sir Patrick's horse entered with him, Pitscottie Hist. Sc.
(1728) 104 (Jam.).
ONTER, see Aunter.
ONTIL(L, prep. Sc. Irel. Yks. Also in form ontul
w.Yks. [cntil, -tul.] 1. Upon, on to, on the top of.
Cai.' Gall. A jaw ontell him like Jonah's whale, Crockett
Moss-Hags (1895) 235. Dwn. It jumpit up ontil the dyke, Lyttle
Robin Gordon, 14. w.Yks. Ontul her nagglin' tongue, Yksman.
(1888) XmasNo. 23.
2. Unto. Cai.i
ONTLE, see Hantle.
ONTO, prep. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Not. Nhp. e.An.
Sus. Hmp. Also in forms onta Nhb.' Cum. ; ontiv Nhb.'
[o'nts, Nhb. also o'ntiv.] 1. Upon, on, on the top of.
Cai.i Nhb.' Bang onta the horse an' ride for the doctor.
Cum. And was laid onta him as a snapin', Dickinson Cumbr.
(1875) 221. w.Yks.' I cannot now git onto horseback ; w-Yks.*
Lan. He nipt onto his feet, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) I. 146 ;
Sum 'am an' eggs uz wur frizzlin' onto th' fire fur supper, Fer-
guson Moudywarp's Visit, 3. s.Not. Put it onto the table (J.P.K.).
Nhp.' Sit onto the chair. e.An.' I will lay my stick onto you.
2. Adjoining.
Sus., Hmp. I will build the lodge on-to the barn, Holloway.
3. Unto, to.
Cal.' Ess. That's how it was telt onto me, and so I tell it
onto you (H.H.M.).
ONTORIOUS, adj. N.I.' ? A mispronunciation of
' notorious.'
ONWARDS, prep. Nrf. [o'nadz.] Towards, helping
to fill up.
'I'll give you two bob to help me.' 'All right, that's all
onwards my time,' Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 214.
ONWEEDY, adj Shr.' [onwrdi.] Soon finished,
soon exhausted.
Missis, that flour's bin mighty onweedy ; it's done a'ready.
ONWITTINS,a<ii^. Obs. or obsol. Ags. (Jam.) Without
the knowledge of; without being privy to.
GO, see Hoc, v.'^, pron., Ou, "Wool.
OOANLY, OOAVL, see Onely^ Hovel, sb.^
OOB, V. and sb. Sh.I. [iib, oeb.] 1. v. To howl,
moan, wail.
To . . . maybe oob an' greet, Sh. News (July 30, 1898) ; He [a
dog] wid rin a bit afore me oobin'as he guid, ib. (Apr. 2, 1898) ; Da
midder's head cam' abiine da watter, an' sh(i . . . dan pat up hir
fore flipper an' oobid, ib. {Max. ■^, 1901) ; S. & Ork.'
Hence Oobin, ppl. adj. moaning, howling.
He detected a steady increase of the wind, at first a weird ' oobin'
sound, NicoLSON Aitksiin' Hedder (1898) 44 ; O ! da oobin, winter
wind ! Burgess Rasmie (1892) 65.
2. sb. A low moaning sound.
I heard da oobs o'm [a dog], as he made fir da waastird, Sh.
News (Oct. I, 1898) ; Sounds made by other animals were . . .
'cob' — by the seal, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 164.
[2. ON. op, a crying, shouting (Vigfusson); cp. OE.
wop, a clamour, outcry, lament (Grein).]
OOBADES, see Ubaadous.
OOBIT, sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Der. Also written oubit
Sc. Nhb.' Dur. ; and in form obeed Der.'^ nw.Der.' [u'bit.]
The ' woolly bear ' or long-haired caterpillar of the tiger-
moth ; jig. a ragged, unkempt, hairy person. See Hairy-
(h)oobit, -Hubert, s.v. Hairy (5), Woubit.
Sc. Rarely used without the adjective ' hairy.' It ... is used
figuratively for a rather shabby hirsute person. I remember a poor
old French fencing-master being so st3'led, N. Ej" Q. (1885) 6th S.
xi. 217. Bwk. The reekit oubits o' the Press, Gang skirlin' a' the
day, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 38. Rxb. A hairy worm,
with alternate rings of black and dark yellow. When it raises
itself to the tops of the blades of grass, the peasantry deem it a
prognostic of high winds (Jam.). Nhb.' Get away, ye clarty oobit !
Nhb., Dur. The hairy oubit, N. & Q. (1885) 6th S. xi. 217. Der.z,
nw.Der.'
[ME. wolbede, ' multipes ' (Ortus) ; see Skeat's note in
TV. 6^ Q. (1890) 7th S. X. 324.]
OOBREGD MARK,;{i/;r. Sh.I. A particular mark cut
in the ears of sheep ; see below.
Every one knew his own sheep by the marks cut in their ears. . .
If any one got a lamb from another, an oobregd [off-break] mark
must be put thereon, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 176.
OOD, sb. Ken. [ud.] Sea-weed. (G.B.), Ken.'
OOD, see Hood, sb.'', Will, Wood.
OODEL-DOODEL,'arfw. Cor.^ [iidl-dudl.] Helter-
skelter.
And runned off" oodel-doodel.
OODLE, OODS, see_ Huddle, Odds.
OOEY, int. Not.* [u'i-] A cry used to drive away pigs.
OOF, see Oaf.
OOFF, V. Bnff.' [Crf.] See below. Cf. caff.
Applied to peaty soil in which oats die out before coming to
maturity.
OOFF, see Oaf, Oaff.
OOGH, adj. Lin.' [u.] Crooked.
The woodman said that the stuff was kind, but all I've seen was
oogh inclined.
[Cp. OE. woh, crooked.]
OOIN, OOK, seeHoin, Ouk.
OOL, V. Sc. [ul.] To treat harshly ; to treat as an
oddity.
Sh.I. Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 61 ; S. & Ork.' Bnff. He's
been ooled a' his days but isna' he comin' up better noo ? (W.C.)
Hence Ooled, ppl. adj. ill-treated.
Abd. Trotting along the street ... as lean and ' ooled ' as any
married man, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 206.
OOL, OOLAT, see Oor, Will, Wool, Yule, Howlet.
OOLD, V. Sh.I. To tie round ; to bind together with
string. S. & Ork.'
OOLERT, OOLF, see Howlet, Wolf.
OOLIT, sb. Sh.I. [u-lit.] A dwarf. (Coll. L.L.B.)
OOLLENLY, adj Obsol. Shr.' Simple-minded,
credulous.
I al'ays liked Tummas as a neighbour ; 'e wuz a good-natured,
6611enly mon.
OOLY, OOM, see Ollie, Oam, Oven.
OOMER, OOMERS, see Oumer, Hummers.
OOMIK, sb. Sh.I. [iTmak.] A jocular term used to
denote a very small person, esp. a small child. Jakobsen
Dial. (1897) 49 ; ib. Norsk in Sh. (1897) ^1-
[ON. umagi, a helpless being (Vigfusson).]
OOMSKIT, adj. Sh.I. [ii-mskit.] Dusky, smutty-
coloured. S. & Ork.'
OOMUND, sb. Sh.I. A presage, presentiment, omen.
I toucht dat I saw do oomund o' sometin' i' da ask bewast wis,
Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 248 ; A fisherman while holding his hand-
line says that he had ' the oomund o' a fish,' i.e. by certain signs
he concludes that there is a fish at his bait, though he has not got
a bite (J.S.).
OON, adj. Sc. Cum. w.Cy. [un.] In comb. Oon egg,
a soft egg without a shell, a 'wind egg.'
w.Sc. O how he turn'd up the whites o's een like twa oon eggs,
Mary Stewart (1801) 46 (Jam.). Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 308 ;
Cum.*, w.Cy. (Hall.) [Diseases in fowls. . . Oon, lush, or soft
eggs, Stephens Farm. Bk. (ed. 1849) I. 361.]
OON, see One, Oven.
OONCE
[353]
OOZE
OONCE, V. e.Yks.^ [uns.] To drive away ; to send
about one's business. The same word as Hoonce (q.v.).
Donee that dog oot.
OONDEEMAS, OONDOMIOUS, see Undeemis.
OONFERSELL, adj. Sc. Inactive, inert, not lively.
See Fersell.
Abd. He's nae that oonfersell again, Alexander /oAkkjv GiM
(187 1) xlix.
OONLEEDFIL, adj. Sh.I. Wanting in diligence or
industry. See Leedfu', s.v. Leed, sb.^
Glide troth, dat's a muckle lee, Mansie ! Da lasses is no sae oon-
leedfil, Sh. News (Aug. 6, 1898).
OONS, see Hones.
OONSHUGH, sb. Irel. A foolish woman.
Tip. Don't be makin' an oonshugh uv yourself, Thickham
Knocknagow, 61.
[Ir. oinseach, a foolish woman ; Gael, oinnseach (Mac-
bain).]
OONT, OONTIMEOUS, see Want, Untimeous.
OONTY, adj. Obs. Dev. Also in form ownty n.Dev.
Empty. Dev."^ n.Dev. Grose (1790).
OOP, V. ? Obs. Sc. Also written cup (Jam.). To bind
with a thread or cord ; to splice. The same word as
Wop (q.v.).
A hank, but not a haill ana — the full years o' three score and ten,
but thrice broken, and thrice to oop, Scott Guy M.{iQi$) iv; That
hasna been dight, nor oopit right, nor seepit wi nae kindly sa',
Waddell Isaiah (1879) i. 6 ; The smith, he can oop it with links o'
siller, ib. xl. 19 ; CI. Sibb. (1802) (Jam.).
OOR, V. Sc. Also in form ool- S. & Ork.^ [iir.] To
creep, crouch, cower ; to move slowly and feebly.
Sh.I. {Coll. L.L.B.) ; To sit oorin or koorin half asleep owerde
fire, Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 39 ; S. & Ork.i ' Ooran ower the fire.'
' He's oolen over the fire,' [said of] a person so unwell as to be
barely able to move about.
Hence Oorit or OoraX, ppl. adj. cold, shivering; weak,
puny, drooping, miserable.
Frf. Tho' oorit and black the wee jade could mak' A sang an ell
lang on Lucifer's grannie, Johnston Poems (1869) 133. Lnl. Oh
boast na' the bairnie sae oorit and cauld, Edwards Mod. Poets
(1882) 4th S. 188. Ayr. (Jam.) Lth. Applied to animals when
from cold or want of health the hair stands on end, ib.
OORA, see Orra, adj}
OORACH,s6. Sh.I. Also written ourach (Jam.) ; and
in form oorack S. & Ork.^ [u'raX'] A name given to
potatoes.
It's terrible, I can get nae ither meat sep da warry gad and de
watery ourach (Jam.) ; S. & Ork.i
OORE, see Ore, sb.^
OORIE, adj. Sc. Irel. Also written orie Gall. ; ourie
Sc; oury Sc. Ant. ; owrie Sc. [uTi.] 1. Apprehensive,
superstitiously afraid, in dread of spirits, ' eerie.'
Sh.I. I niver wis sae oorie a' my days, Stewart Tales (1892)
251 ; Ir ye no oorie sitten yoursel doon here ! ib. 4.
Hence Ooriesam, adj. timorous. S. & Ork.^
2. Sad, melancholy, dismal, depressing.
Sh.I. Noo, oorie ower da stubbly rig, Burgess Rasmie (1892)
88. Per. The winter rain-drap owrie fa's, Nicoll Poems (ed.
1843) 82. Rnf. Picken Poems (1788) Gl. (Jam.) Ayr. Who felt
already some of the ourie symptoms of a henpecked destiny, Galt
Legatees (1820) viii. Lnk. Oot on the laigh door-stap An oorie fit
was heard to fa', Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 14. Lth. The
shadowy fields, and owrie bields Whare lonesome flocks repose,
Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 47. Edb. Ballantine Caberlumie (ed.
1875) CI. Gall. In the dark and dreary mine 'Mang orie craigs for
yell, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 247, ed. 1876.
3. Sickly-looking, weakly ; drooping.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Rnf. Picken Poems (1788) Gl.
(Jam.) UIs. (M.A.C.) Ant. Grose ib.
Hence Oorie-like, adj. languid, having the appearance
of being much fatigued. Dmf. (Jam.)
4. Bleak, cold, chill. Sc. (Jam.) 5. Chilly, shivering.
Sc. Having the hair on end like a horse overcome with cold,
Gl. Sibb. (1802) (Jam.). Abd. The herds pen in the owrie cattle.
Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 363. Rnf. The oury cattle's
winter fare. Young Pictures (1865) 13. Ayr. I thought me on the
ourie cattle, Burns Wittier Night (1785) st. 3. Lnk. Ourie and
heartless they swarm on the lea, Macdonald Poems (1865) 170.
VOL. IV.
Hence Ooriness, sb. chilliness ; a tendency to shivering.
Sc. (Jam.)
OORIK, sb. Sh.I. [5Tik.] A weak, puny creature,
a starveling.
Winderin' ower a oorik o' a moorit midderless lamb, Sh. News
(Aug. 7, 1897).
OORLICH, adj. Sc. [uTlix.] Cold, chilly, ' oorie.'
Abd. Oorlich shoo'ers o' drift an' hail, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) xviii ; Mony an oorlich nicht I've lien In caul' kill-barns,
Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 47.
OORMIK, sb. Sh.I. Also in form oorniel. [u-rmik.]
Jocularly applied to a very small person or child. Jakob-
sen Dial. (1897) 49, 50.
[Oonnik and oormel means lit. ' a little worm,' bemg
dimin. of ON. ormr, a worm.]
OOSE, sb.'^ Obs. Nhb. Juice, gravy.
Two whole fat beeves are barbecu'd, So go and cram your gorges
there. Your mouths will water at the sight ; The oose your un-
shaved chops run down, Newc. Swineherds' Proclamation (1821) ;
Nhb.i
[OE. wos, juice, as in ofetes wos, juice of fruit (.^Elfric).]
OOSE, sb.^ Shr. Som. Dev. Also written ooze Shr.^
Dev. ; ouse Shr.= [iiz.] A dial, form of ' noose.'
Shr.2 A running ouse. w.Som.i Applied generally to a rope or
heavy cordage ; the same if made of string or wire is called angle-
bow. ' Nif you be a mind vor to tie thick load eens he shan't muv,
you mus' make a oose.' Dev. Mus' mak' a ooze tother eend o' the
coard, Reports Provinc. (1893).
OOSEN, see Ouse, sb.
OOSER, sb. Dor. Som. Also in form oose Dor.' A
grotesque mask. Cf. hooset.
Dor. Made of wood with an under-jaw open and closed by
pulling a string, and surmounted by a cow's horns and hair. This
was made to be worn by a mischievous person to frighten people
(C.W.) ; Dor.' A mask with opening jaws, put on with a cow's
skin to frighten folk. Som. Near Yeovil, Dor. and Som. N. Ej* Q.
(1891).
OOSLY, OOSS, see Oozly, Ooze.
OOST, see Hoost, sb., Oast, sb.^, Ouse, v.
OOSTED, sb. Shr.' [ustid.j In phr. like the oosted,
very quickly.
' They wenten like the 66sted.' ' They growen like the aSsted.'
The notion of a ball of worsted set free in rapid motion as it falls
and rolls away from a knitter is said to be implied in this curious
expression.
OOSTER, see Ouster.
OOT, int. Not. Won Hrf Also in form oieet s.Not.
1. A call to horses to turn to the right away from the
driver. Also in comb. Oot again.
s.Not. When a plough-boy reached the end of the furrow, he
used to call ' Oieet agen ! ' if the team was to turn to the right
(J.P.K.). w.Wor.i (s.v. Calls).
2. A call to horses to go forward.
Hrf. They allays said to the 'osses, ' Oot ! Boxer ! ' when um
wanted um to go on (Coll. L. L.B.).
OOT-,!;. Sh.I. [St.] To deprive of S. & Ork.'-
OOT, see Hot, Out.
OOTERAL, adj. Sh.I. Strange, foreign. S. & Ork.'
OOTERIN, adj. Ayr. (Jam.) Also in form ootrin.
Outward, from without.
OOTH, sb. Slk. (Jam.) A dial, form of ' worth.'
Keep it till it bring the full ooth.
OOTIDGE, OOTLINS, see Outage, Outlins.
OOTMAIST, adj. Sc. Outermost.
Dmf. I barr't the ootmaist door And hapt me fiel and warm, Reid
Poems (1894) 62.
OOTWAIL, OOTWEAL, OOTWYLE, see Outwale.
OOVEN, sb. Yks. [u'van.] The hip. ne.Yks.',
w.Yks. (J.W.) Cf. hubbon, huggin.
OOZE, sb. Sc. Also written ouze (Jam.) ; and in form
coss Cai.' [iiz.] 1. Cotton or fibrous substance put
into an inkstand to prevent the ink from spilling.
Cai.' In my schooldays, when ink was dear and each pupil
brought his own ink and inkstand, we always put ooss [us] in the
bottle. Per. (Jam.)
2. The nap or 'caddis' that falls from yarn, cloth, &c.
Ayr. (Jam.)
z z
OOZE
[354]
OPEN
OOZE, see Hooze, Oose, sb.^
OOZEN, sb. Mid. [{J-zan.] The ' weasand.' See
Hoozen.
w.Mid. One of the bullocks 'as got a bit 0' oil-cake stuck in his
cozen (W.P.M.).
OOZLE, sb. Dev. Cor. Also in forms hoozle Cor.= ;
oazle nw.Dev.^ ; ozel Cor.^^ ; uzzel Cor.^ ; uzzle Cor.'
w.Cor. [u'zl, o'zl.] The windpipe. Also in comp.
Oozle-pipe.
n.Dev.Wi'the tripes 'E pored down es poor oozle pipes, Rock/!«<
aK';V«//(i857)st. 125. nw.Dev.i Cor. What shall I do ? My uzzle's
feerly chuck'd, T. Towser (1873) 124; Awnly you give to me the
ticklin' o' her ozel-pipe, Parr Adam and Eve (1880) III. 133 ;
Cor.i23_ w.Cor. (M.A.C.)
[Cp. Bavar. dial, waisel, ' Schlund wiederkauender
Thiere ' (Schmeller) ; Swiss dial. (Appenzell) wdsel
{weisel), ' bei Fleischern, die Speiserohre ' (Tobler).]
OOZLE, V. Glo.'^ [u'zl.] To wheeze. See Hoozle, v}
OOZLE, see Ousel, sb}
OOZLING, adj. n.Cy. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Hairy. (Hall.) See Oozly.
OOZLY, adj. and adv. Sc. Nhb. Also written oosly,
ousley Nhb."^ ; and in forms oozely Nhb.' ; ouzily Gall. ;
ozelly Lth. (Jam.) [fl-zli.] L adj Slovenly, unkempt ;
miserable, broken-down. Also in comp. Oozly-looking.
Gall. A person is said to be oozlie-looking, when he has on
a long beard, unbrushed clothes, and dirty shoes, as the case with
those who love the 'late debauch,' Mactaggart Encycl. (1824);
A bleer-e'ed, hirpling, silly ass, an oozly tyke, ib. 347, ed. 1876.
Nhb.i ' He's a little ousley leukin' chep.' AppUed to an animal
that is ill-thriven and unkempt. ' It's an oosly beast.'
Hence Oozlieness, sb. slovenliness, slothfulness. Sc.
(Jam.)
2. Dark of complexion. Lth. (Jam.) 3. adv. In a
slovenly condition.
Gall. Mony a drunken chiel ouzily did iy A bumphng wi' the
bonello, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 79, ed. 1876.
OOZY, adj} Chs. Shr. Dev. Also in forms hoozey
Chs.^ ; hoozy s.Chs.' [u'zi.] 1. Soft, spongy, not firm.
Chs.i A field had been ploughed which had a great quantity of old
rough grass upon it, consequently the furrows did not lie solid by
reason of the grass underneath. I was told, ' I did not expect
the oats to come up so well i' th' Church Field ; it's so hoozey.'
s.Chs.i Said of cheese, marshy land, &c. ' It)s p(3o-ur, do'zi
laan'd — iz Bik-li Mos.' n.Dev.' Twas an oozy nasty place for the
horses, Chanter Witch (1896) 5.
2. Of hay : light and poor.
s.Chs.i This hee comes ait terrible hoozy an' fantome (s.v.
Fantome).
3. Lazy, sluggish ; dull.
s.Chs.i Yaap's iipon- yu fur ii hdo'zi taalukin brivit. I wunna
dim mysel' to keep a hoozy mon like thee, id. (s.v. Clem). Shr.^
That wench dunna seem to oss very well, 'er's that oozy 'er
hanna won bit o' stir in 'er — 'er's as lazy as Ludlam's dog that
laid 'im down to bark.
Hence Hoozy-poozy, adj. wasting time.
s.Chs.' Aaz' Dik- gon aaf-tur dhaat- misin ef-ur? Wey, won
ii dhfl litl laad'z mit u faach't ur. It iz su 6o'zi-p(5o'zi tfl bi ddo'in
u)dhaatn2, wen ey mit)ii bin gy'efin on wi)dhu mifkin.
OOZY, adj.^ e.Lan.i [ii-zi.] Woolly. See Ooze.
OPE, v., sb. and adj. Sc. .' n.Cy. Glo. Suf. Som. Dev.
Cor. Also in forms aup Dev. ; opp Dev."^ [op-] !• v-
To open.
ne.Sc. 'Get up an ope the door!' 'If it shudna be oped this
hunder year, it'll no be oped by me,' Gordon Northward Ho, 88.
Frf. Soon may Reason's golden key Ope wide your e'en, Douglas
Poems (1806) 44. Ayr. Lord Gregory, ope thy door. Burns Lord
Gregory, St. i. Suf. She upped and oped it, Fison Merry Suf.
(1899) 12. Som. The thief tore ope the door 'pon inside, Ray-
mond Men o' Mendip (1898) ii. w.Som.i What, idn the gate ope ?
Urn, Jim, and ope'm. Dev. A chap opes a little bit of a gate- in
the middle of a big wan, Blh. and White (June 27, 1896) 825.
nw.Dev.^
2. sb. An opening; the distance between bodies arranged
in order; a narrow passage between houses.
Glo.i Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i There was a gurt ope in the zide
o' the carriage eens could shut your head in. Dev. YU zee, mum,
I keep's thews yer cabbages straight an' vittee in line, by planting
um wan in t'other's ope. ' Mr. James B. Babb begs to remind his
Pupils that . . . their entrance to the Drawing Class will be from
the Princess Street Ope,' W. Morning News, Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892) ; Dev.i 'Opp' has only one application, viz. in dibbling, to
indicate by the opps or spaces in one row the proper spots where
the dibble should be applied in a succeeding row, 69. Cor. The
visitor will observe our many courts, or ' opes ' as they are called
locally ; they branch out of the main streets especially, and are
quite a feature of the town [St. Austell], Hammond Cor. Parish
(1897) ; Cor.i A narrow covered passage between two houses.
Hence (i) Opement, sb, an opening, a crack ; (2) Ope-
way, sb. an entry, passage ; an opening.
(i) w.Som.i J count another gurt piece o' the cliff '11 vail down
purty quick ; I zeed a gurt long opement s'morning eens you
could shut your hand in. (2) w.Som.' He went into thick there
opeway, gwain into the George stables. You'll zee the door 'pon
the left-hand zide in th' opeway. Dev. In that big opeway,
Reports Provinc. (1883) 90; Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; I have
heard it used especially of an opening in a hedge, a gap, unpro-
vided with any barrier (R.D.B.); Goo up the skip to aupway,
Blackmore Christowell (1881) xv.
3. adj. Open ; also used advb.
Per. Yet is the door of mercy ope' To such a waeful one,
NicoL Poems (1766) 240. w.Som.i What, idn the gate ope ? take
and post un ope. nw.Dev.^
4. Coarse in texture, coarse-grained ; of a saw : having
the teeth too open.
■w.Som.' That there cloth 'on't never wear, 'tis t'ope by half ;
why can look droo it. Thick sieve idn find enough, he's t'ope by
a lot. That stuff [wood] idn fit, 'tis s'ope's a sponge. Can't cut
it like this ! the zaw idn ope enough, he's to close by half. This
means that the teeth are not ' set ' enough, and so do not cut
a kerf sufficiently open for the plate of the saw to pass readily.
5. Comp. Ope-land, obs., land in constant till, ploughed
up every year; ground that is loose and open, 'hookland.'
1N.Cy.2 Suf. Ray (1691); (K.) s.Cy. Grose (1790).
[1. And winking Mary-buds begin To ope their golden
eyes, Shaks. Cymb. 11. iii. 27. 3. Now the gates are ope,
ib. Cor. I. iv. 43.]
OPE, see Alp, Up.
OPEN, adj. and sb} Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms apen Gall. ; oppen Nhb.^ Lakel.^
Cum.'* n.Yks.^ e.Yks.^ w.Yks.^ Chs.' n.Lin.^ sw.Lin.i
[o'pan, o'pan.] 1. adj. In comb, (i) Open buttery, open
house, the free run of a public-house or larder; (2) -cast,
veins or beds of stone or coal worked at the top or
bottom of an open cutting ; (3) -gob, a talkative person,
one who reveals secrets ; (4) -gobbed, talkative, loqua-
cious, outspoken; (5) -gowan, the marsh-marigold,
Caltha palustris ; (6) -grated, open-grained ; (7) -heart,
the fruit of the medlar, Mespilus germanica ; see Open-
arse ; (8) -mouthed, (a) see (4) ; (b) coarse in speech,
foul-mouthed ; (9) -steek, a particular kind of stitch in
sewing ; used Jig. to denote a similar ornamentation in
buildings ; (10) -tide, 06s., see below; (11) -works, see (2).
(i) Lakel.2 We'd oppen buttery; iv'ry thing ta gah at as we
liked. (2) Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
Der. Mawe Mineralogy (1802) ; The heaps on the sides of these
open-works or open-casts increased, Marshall Review (1814) IV.
no. (3) e.Yks.i (4) n.Yks. Ah's oppen-gobbed an soft hke,
Broad Yks. 34 ; (T.S.) (5) Cum.i (6) Nhb.i Applied to sandstone.
' Open-grated post,' Borings (1881) 282. (7) n.Lin.i (8, a)
n.Yks.3, w.Yks. (J.W.) (A) Dev. Ov awl the ciise open-mouthed
hussies that ever lived her beats tha lot ! Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892)
87. (9) Sc. Nane o' yer whigmaleeries and curliewurlies and
opensteek hems about it, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xix ; (Jam.) (10)
Oxf. The time between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday, wherein
marriages were pubhckly solemniz'd, was on that account formerly
call'd ' Open-tide.' But now in Oxfordsh. and several other parts
the time after harvest, while the common fields are free and
open to all manner of stock, is call'd Open-tide (K.). (11) Der.
Marshall Review (1814) IV. no.
2. Of the weather : mild, not frosty ; without snow.
Frf. The winter up to that time had been an open ane, Willock
Rosetty Ends (1886) 71, ed. i88g. Per. Ye whissle awa', Be it
open and sunny, or gloomy wi' snaw, Edwards Stratheam Lyncs
(1889) 116. N.I.', w.Yks.', Chs.i Stf.i, nw.Der.' Nhp.', Hrf.^,
Hnt. (T.P.F.)
OPEN
[355]
OPPONE
3. Of land : porous, allowing water to pass quickly
through it.
sw.Lin.i You see the land's oppener, it drSuns thruff it. [A porous
or open soil or subsoil, Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) I- 92']
4. Of a sow (more rarely of a heifer) : unspayed.
Sc. N. &= Q. (1856) 2nd S. i. 417. Dmf. Bullocks, and heifers,
and some open queys, Shennan Tales (1831) 82. Gall. A young
cow with calf, that is to say an open quey, will not speave,
Mactaggart £Mcyc/. ( 1824) 432, ed. 1876. w.Yks.', Chs.^, e.An.'
Nrf. Grose (1790). e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). Suf.',
Sus.^, Sur.i Hmp. Holloway.
Hence Open-gilt, sb. an unspayed sow. Cum.*, w. Yks.^*,
sw.Lin.'-
5. sb. An opening ; a gap.
Abd. The ministers convoyed out the letters to him at ane
small open in the gate, Forbes Records (1606) 513, ed. 1846.
Edb. Which sent its reek, in columns black. Out thro' an open i'
the thack. Tint Quey (1796) 14. e.Lin. A gap in the sand-hills
through which wheeled carriages can get from the road to the
beach (J.T.F.).
6. The front suture of the skull.
Sh.I. Shfl's gotten a sair brfise i' da open o' her head, Sh. News
(Aug. 28, 1897).
7. Phr. the open, an open or unsheltered place.
w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.i It's very cohd e' th' oppen.
8. pi. A large open space ; large caverns.
Der. Mawe Mineralogy (1802). nw.Der.^
OPEN, sb.'^ s.Chs."^ [6-pan.] A loud bellowing noise.
Oo mai-d sich" u oa'pn [Hoo made sich a open].
OPEN, V. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also in
forms oppan Wm. ; oppen Nhb.^ n.Yks.* Lan. s.Not.
n.Lin.^ [o'pan, o-pan.] In phr. (i) to open a baby,
to undo its nether garments ; (2) — one's mouth, {a)
to speak one's mind freely ; (6) to ask a high price ; (3)
— the ball, to make a beginning, esp. of a quarrel ; (4) —
the roads, to prepare a field of grain for the reaping-
machine ; (5) — out, (a) to open ; {b) to expose ill deeds ;
to censure, reprimand ; to use violent language, abuse,
cry aloud ; (c) to reveal one's true character ; (d) to begin,
make a start ; in reaping : to mow a portion of grass or
corn for the purpose of making a starting-place for a
reaping-machine to begin work ; (6) — to, to tell, reveal.
(i) Oxf.i You open that baby and warm its legs, MS. add.
(2, a) Suf. He open his mouth very wide about it, e.An. Dy. Times
(.1892); (C.G.B.) (6) Suf. (C.T.) (3) s.Not. As soon as Jack
coom'd back she oppened the ball. My eye, she did dress 'im down
(J.P.K.). (4) Sc. He's openin' the roads on Edom's Laund,
Swan Gates of Eden (ed. 1895) xxi ; A few yards round the field
are cut down vdth the scythe, and a wider space to allow the
horses to turn — otherwise, the crop at the side where the machine
enters and where they have to turn would be destroyed by the
horses' feet. ' Have you begun harvest yet ? ' ' Yes, Vve were
opening roads yesterday ' (G.W.). (5, a) e.Dur.i Of parcels, new
buildings, c&c. Wm. Saafer fer baath thee en me ta neet if we war to
oppan it oot to see, Robison Aald Taales (1882) 6. w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lan Aw'st ne'er see th' chapil oppened aat, Ackworth Clog Shop
Chron. (1896) 330. (6) Nhb.i n.Yks. He oppend them out
desperately (I.W.); n.Yks.* If thoo sez mich mair, Ah'll oppen
oot a bit mysen. s.Chs.i Oo wiiz kwai-ut tinuf- tin dhi tuwd ur
ilbuwt dh) uwd mon gy'efin mau-ld tin mom-ukst u)dhaat-n ; iin
dhen 60 did oa'pn aayt un faach' iip u bel'ilk. n.Lin. It wants
oppenin' oot to th' public (M.P.) ; n.Lin.i He did oppen oot at
Brigg at th' 'lection time ; I really couldn't hev beleaved it on him
if I'll [«c] not heard it. (e) Nhb.i n.Yks." Ah think he's a verra
canny chap sen he's oppen'd oot a bit. (d) Lan. Wot hymn we mun
oppen aat wi' o' Sunday, Ackworth Clog Shop Chron. (1896) 260.
n Lin.i (6) Lon. I knew then that Selby had got a bit more
[money] than he opened to me, Dy. News (Jan. 4, 1895) 3, col. 7.
OPEN- ARSE, sb. Chs. Lin. War. Wor. Glo. Nrf. Som.
Cor. Also in forms open-ass Wor. w.Som.^ Cor.' ^ ; -erse
e.Som. ; oppen-arse n.Lin.^ [o-pan-, o-psn-as.] The fruit
of the medlar, Mespilus germanica.
Chs.i, n.Lin.l, -War.a, Wor. (B. & H.), Glo.', Nrf. (J.H.) e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). -w.Som.i This fruit used medicinally is said
to be aperient. Cor.^^
rOpynars a kynde of frute, neffle ; Opynars tree, nefflier,
Palsgr. me. open-ers, the fruit of the medlar (Chaucer) ;
OE.opencers, 'mespila' (iELFRic).]
OPENING, 56. Lin. A gap in sand-hills through which
wheeled carriages may be pulled on to the beach.
About Saltfleet they are openings, often named from some farm
or village, e. g. Charles Stubb's Opening, Theddlethorpe Opening
(J.T.F.).
OPENTIE, sb. Wbs. Knr. (Jam.) An openmg, a
vacancy.
OPER, sb. Obs. n.Cy. A full glass of anything.
Grose (1790) Suppl.
OPERATE, V. Obs. Sc. In phr. to operate payment,
to procure or enforce payment. Scoiicisms (1787) 64.
OPERY, sb. Sc. [Not known to our correspondents.]
Belongings, tackle, odds and ends.
Wha was this but Dan, an' his creels an' his coffin, an' a' the
rest o' the opery, Lawson Sacrifice (1892) 162.
OPGESTER, sb. Sh.I. Also in form obgester S. &;
Ork.^ A legal term ; see below.
There was a law in Shetland empowering the possessors of
udal lands, with the consent of their heirs, to dispose of their
patrimony to any person who would undertake their support for
life. Such disposers were then received into the house of their
maintainer under the name of his opgester, Hibeert Desc. Sit. I.
(1822) 128, ed. 1891 ; S. & Ork.i The designation given to the
person receiving permanent support, according to ' opgestry.'
OPGESTRY, sb. Sh.I. A legal custom ; see belovv.
According to this custom persons in age, infirmity, or pecuniary
difficulty made over their whole lands or means, of whatever kind,
to other persons, who undertook, in exchange for a formal transfer
of their property, to harbour and maintain them for the whole
remaining period of their natural life, Sh. News (Feb. 19, 1898) ;
The law by which estates could be alienated from the udal-born
for such a purpose, was named the custom of opgestery, Hibbert
Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 128, ed. 1891 ; S. & Ork.i A custom according
to which an udaller might transfer his property, on condition of
receiving a sustenance for life.
OPIGNORATE, v. Sc. A legal term for ' to pledge.'
We opignorated in your hands certain jewels of the Crown, for
a certain sum of money, Scott Nigel (1822) xxxi ; Which advance
being repaid gives us right to repossession of the thing opig-
norated, ib.
OPINE, V. and sb. Sc. 1. v. Obs. To think, suppose.
Sc. Do you, Maister Francis, opine that ye will re-estabhsh your
father's credit by cutting your kinsman's thrapple ? Scott Rob Roy
(1817) xxv.
2. sb. Opinion.
Rnf. Aye sin' then, 'tis my opine, There lives within a mither's
love For bairnies gane, a force divine, Young Pictures (1865) 28.
[1. Fr. opiner, to opine, deliver his opinion (Cotgr.).]
OPINIATED, adj. Not.^ Lei.^ Nhp.^ War.^ se.Wor.'
Hnt. (T.P.F.) [opi-ni-etid.] Opinionated, self-confident
in maintaining an opinion.
OPINION, sb. and v. Yks. Chs. e.An. [spi-nisn.]
1. sb. In phr. to be of opinion to think, to be inclined to
the opinion. w.Yks. (J.W.), Chs.^ 2. v. To opine, to
be of an opinion. e.An.^ I opinion so.
OPhOPlS.ppl.adj. Sh.I. Uplifted, excitable ; jumping
at hasty conclusions ; easily angered.
Sibbie . . . wi hir oplopin' wyes luit da graemid coo stramp oot
da life o' twa o' dem i' da byre, Sh. News (June 19, 1897) ; (J.S.)
OPLUSE, V. Sh.I. Also written oplose. To present,
bring forward or exhibit anything that has been under
cover or in concealment.
To oplese oneself is to come forward out of hiding (J .S.) ; Ance
apon a time a wife could opluse wimmen'ssox, or spencers, or for
dat maiter ony kind o' band 'at shii had ta sell i' da shops i' da
countrie or in Lerwick, Sh. News (Aug. 14, 1897).
OPOLUS, sb. w.Som.i [o-palas.] A corruption of
' obelisk.'
Common name of the Waterloo monument on the Wellington
Hill. 'The lightnin' 've a-strookt the tap o' th' Opulus again.'
OPP, OPPETN, see Ope-, Open, adj., v., Happen(s.
OPPLE-SCOPPLE, ?^. Shr.i [o-pl-skopl.] To scramble
for sweetmeats.
OPPONE, V. Obs. Sc. To oppose; to bring forth
evidence against a prisoner at a trial.
Sc. I had not opponed their present practice and violence,
Thomson Cloud 0/ Witnesses (1714) 308, ed. 1871 ; The advocate
could not find a just way to reach me with the extrajudicial con-
Z z 2
OPPORTUNITY
[356]
ORCHARD
fession they opponed to me, Crookshank Hist. (1751) I. 342
(Jam.). Per. Against the whilk he to his latter breath opponed
himself with such wisdom and zeall, Wodrow Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed.
1845-7) I. 78. Slg. He opponed himself to his brother, Bruce
Sermons (1631) 73, ed. 1843. Lnk. He doth oppone the petition
itself, WoDROW Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 182, ed. 1828.
OPPORTUNITY, sb. Obs. n.Cy. In phr. of strange
opportunity, whimsical. Grose (1790) Suppl.
OPPOSITION, V. Yks. To compete with, to set up
in opposition to.
w.Yks. It ad a bin better if yod a minded yor awn bizness, an'
not a goan an opposishand a lot a poor fellaz, Tom Treddlehoyle
Thowts, &c. (1845) 18.
OPPROBRY, sb. Obs. Sc. Reproach, opprobrious
language, scornings.
Sc. More frequently spelt opprobrij and opprobrii, Montgomerie-
Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899). Per. She . . . injured and defamed
. . . Mr. George Ruthven, with many and divers opprobries and
slanders, Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) 260. Edb.
There is a ground of all their opprobry, Rollock Works {x^tj^') \\.
190, ed. 1844-9.
OPPY, OPSTROPOLOUS, see Houpy, Obstropolous.
OPTICS, 56. ;!>/. ScLon. Slang, [o-ptiks.] The eyes.
Abd. My optics grew misty, Ogg Willie Waly (1873) 41. Ayr.
So far as they could see wi' their carnal optics, Hunter Studies
(1870) 49. Lth. A boy on a pony, who, as soon as I became
cognisant to his keen young optics, held up his hand, Lumsden
S/teep-head {i8g2) 235. Edb. The night was mirk, his optics dim,
Liddle Poems (1821) 165. Lon. Baumann Londinismen (1887).
Slang. BarrJ;re.
OR, prep, and conj. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Der. Lin.
Glo. Som. Also written ore Edb. ; and in forms aur
Dev. ; er Cum.^ w.Yks.^ ; ir Sh.I. [o(r, 9(r, 9(r, a(r.]
1. prep. Before. See Ere, adv.^ 2.
Sc. I'll be there long or that, Stevenson Catriona (1893') xii.
n.Sc. And fear I'll die or day, Buchan Ballads (ed. 1875) II. 32.
Bnff. Unless ordeath you grow sincere, Taylor Poe»«5 (1787) iii.
Abd. He may be in Shoreditch or this, Macdonald D. Elginbrod
(1863) III. 127. Per. The meeting doesna commence or half-eight,
Sabbath Nights (1899) 9* Rnf. Or an owk or twa, Picken Poems
(1813) I. 2r. Ayr. Lang or noon, Burns / dream-'d I lay, St. 2.
Lth. Tho' ilka button it should break, Or this day towmont by the
neck, Thomson Poems (1819) 28. Hdg. Lumsden Poems (1896)
237. Gall. The Doon that should run so red or sunset, Crockett
Grey Man (1896) 83. Nhb.^ Aa canna be there or Monday neet.
Cum.* Cuckoo'U nut come or April. Der.'
2. Until, till.
Sc. Bide or next week, when the thrang o' the land 'II be by,
Swan Gates of Eden (ed. 1895) ix. Per. She'll maybe no live or
mornin', Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 11, ed. 1887. Lnk. Wait or
the moon at een. Watt Poems (1827) 60.
3. conj. Before.
Sc. He that marries or he be, wise will die e'er he be rich,
Ramsay Prov. (1737). n.Sc. The morn, or I eat or drink, Young
Waters I'll gar kill, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 17, ed. 1875. Abd.
Macdonald D. Elginbrod (1863) I. 143. Per. Ay, ye may traivel
the warld ower or ye see his marrow, Ian Maclaren K. Carnegie
(1896) 212. Rnf. Sodgcrs may shoot ... Or ye wad shrink,
Webster /fAjywes (1835) 8. Lnk. Graham Writings (1883) II. 33.
Lth. I wad lay it at his feet or he'd coont three, Lumsden Sheep-
head (1892) 60. Edb. He . . . swithered lang 'Ore he durst venture
near, Carlop Green (1793) in, ed. 1817. Slk. Or it was lang, he
saw a white thing and a black thing comin' up, Hogg Tales (1838)
3, ed. 1866. Dmf. Or I wan up she did o'ertak' me, Quinn Heather
(1863) 41. Gall. Earn two hundred pounds or all were done,
Crockett Bog-Myrtle (1895) 49. N.Cy.* Nhb.i It'll be lang or aa
gan agyen. Cum. A weddin we'll hev or it's lang, Anderson
Ballads (ed. 1808) 7 ; Cum.i w.Yks. He that fishes before the net,
lang fish or he fish get, Prov. in Brighouse News (July 23, 1887) ;
w.Yks.i23 Lin. Skinner (1671). Glo.^^ w.Som.i Not com., but
heard amongst old people pretty frequently. ' The train 'U be a-
started or you be there, nif yon don't look sharp.'
4. Comb. (1) Or once, (2) —ever or ere, before; (3) —
ever lang, before long.
(i) e.Lth. I wanted to keep my mind open, as I had promised to
Pringle, or aince I had heard what Tod Lowrie had to say. Hunter
J. Inwick (1895) 164. (2) Sc. Or ever Monday morning begins,
Scott Rob Roy (1817) xxii. Rnf. I'm here that's aften won my
bonnie Thretty white shillins frae sic folk Or ere my beast was oot
the yoke, 'Young Pictures (1865) 166. Ayr. Or ere the hurry it
was o'er, We scrambled up the brae, Ballads and Sngs. (1846) I.
94. Lnk. Or e'er hairst had begun, Snaw fell sae thick. Lemon
St. Mungo (1844) 50. N.I.i It's twelve or ever you're in bed.
Nhb.i Or ivver aa wis awar. Cum. Ye'U have a' the broth spilt, or
ever it finds its way down auld John's throat, Clare Davie Arm-
strong, 109. w.Som.* Or ever I'd be a-sar'd lig that there I'd zee
em to the devil. Dev. Aur iver I was aware, ma zaul meade ma
like tha charyits uv Aminadib, Baird Sng. Sol. (i860) vi. 12. (3)
Frf. May the flames get her banes tae pike, an' that or iver lang,
LowsoN Guidfollow (1890) 155.
5. Than.
Sh.I. Der no a thing 'at I Jaek better ir a rosn tattie, Sh. News
(Oct. 29, 1898) ; Wis dere no a kail runt ... or onything better or
a clod 1 Stewart Tales (1892) 258. Nhb.i Aa wad raather thoo
went or me.
6. Until, till.
Sc. Jock gaed far and far and farer nor I can tell, or he cam to
a king's hoose. Chambers 7'o/>. Rhymes [ed. 1870) 104. Per. Bide
or ye see, lad, Sandy Scott (1897) 43. s.Sc. Ye maun juist content
yoursel awhile or I get a spade, Wilson Tales (1839) 95. Lnk.
Whisht awee, Kirsty, or I'm dune, Wardrop J. Mathison (1881)
43. Lth. Wait or ye see the Bill, Hunter /. Inwick (1895) 140,
N.I.* Nhb.' Wait or aa come.
[1. Shal no Soneday this seuene jer be . . . That ich ne
shal do me or (v.r. ar, er) daye to the dere churche, P.
Plowman (c.) viii.66. 4. (2) Or ever I had seen that day,
Shaks. Hamlet, i. ii. 183 ; I would Have sunk the sea
within the earth or ere It should the good ship so have
swallow' d, ib. Tempest, i. ii. 11.]
OR, int. Nhp.2 Also in form whor. A call to the fore-
horse of a team to bear towards the driver.
OR A, ORA, see Orra, adj.^, Orra, adj}
ORAFU', adj. Or. I. [oTafu.] Gluttonous, greedy.
(S.A.S.), S. & Ork.»
ORANGE, 56. Lin. Lon. Dev. [oTing.] In comp. (i)
Orange-blossom, (2) ■flower-ti'ee, the large-flowered
mock-orange, Philadelphus coronarius ; (3) -pips, pippins
and oranges ; (4) -willow, the lemon tree, Lippia citriodora.
(i) Dev.* The flowers only. (2) n.Lin.l From the shape and
perfume of the flowers bearing some resemblance to those of the
orange-blossom. (3) Lon. ' Pippins,' and, in the times of Charles
II, and subsequently, oranges were sometimes cried as ' Orange
pips,' Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) I. 8, col. 2. (4) Dev.*
GRANGER, sb. Sc. An orange.
Sc. Atweel, Jean, ye'se no want a sweet oranger, aye twa,
Saxon and Gael (1814) 1. 129 (Jam.). Abd. 'An orange, you mean.'
'Ay, ay, a oranger,' Macdonald Settlement (1869) 51, ed. 1877.
Ayr. I had only a neSbw o' nits . . . and the lith of an oranger.
Service Notandums (1890) 30. Edb. Orangers, and apples sour
That worms leave in the wame, Carlop Green (1793) 133, ed. 1817.
Dmf. Angell Jenn wi' an oranger frae wee Jimsie, Paton Castle-
braes (1898) 15.
[Fr. oranger, an orange tree (Cotgr.).]
ORATION, sb. Yks. Lan. Nhp. Won Suf. Ken. Sus.
Hmp. [ore-Jan, orei'Jsn.] 1. A confused noise or
uproar ; a clamour, disturbance ; noisy public talk or
rumour. Cf. noration.
n.Yks.* w.Yks.i For seur, barns, what an oration ye mak.
This robbery hes maad a feaful oration i'th country, ii. 20. Lan.
(G.B.R.B.), ne.Lan.i Nhp.' The rogues would have been taken,
if there had not been such an oration about it. 'Wor. Don't say
anything about it, 'cause folks '11 make such an oration about it
(H.K.). Suf.i, Ken.' Sus.' He makes such an oration about
anything. Hmp. He made a great oration (T.L.O.D.).
2. A large number ; a long row.
w.Yks.^ There's walls enough to build an oration of cottages
for poor folk. Au saw an oration of people.
ORCH, V. Dev. [g'tj.] To push or gore with the
horns. See Horch.
S. H. explained the reason of a young bullock's lying down,
which had evidently been damaged by some other animal, by
saying, ' Er orch'd un.' The proprietor of the damaged bullock
shortly afterwards explained the occurrence more circumstantially
by saying the drangway was too narrow, and ' er orch'd un,'
Reports Provinc. (1897).
ORCHARD, sb. Var. dial, forms and uses in Eng.
[9'tj3il, -at; a-tjad, -at; wo'tjat.] I. Dial, forms: (i)
ORCHEN
[357]
ORDINARY
Archard, (2) Archat, (3) Archert, (4) Archet, (5) Archit,
(6) Archud, (7) Archut, (8) Erchut, (9) Orchat, (10)
Orchert, (11) Orchit, (12) Orchut, (13) Otchut, (14)
Worchat, (15) Worchet, (16) Wotchat, (17) Wotchut,
(18) Wurchet, (19) Wurtchard, (20) Yotchud.
(i) Sus. Yer plants be an archard of pomegranates, Lower
Sng. Sol. (i860) iv. 13. (2) Hrf.2 s.Hmp. Lettie was in the
archat, Verney L. Lisle (1870) vii. (3) w.Wor.i, Hrf.^, Glo.
(A.B.) (4) Hmp.i Wil. Slow G/. (1892). n.Wil. ' Wur's Jim ? '
' Out in th' archet ' (E.H.G.). Dor.i In the archet that did stratch
To westward, 74. (5) Dev. All ban's in archit busy be, Pulman
Sketches (1842) 32, ed. 1853. (6) se.Wor.l (7, 8) Brks.i (9)
Cum.', s.Wor. (H.K.) Hrf. Duncumb Hist Hrf. (1804-1812).
(10) Lan. Oamfrey's orchert i' Warston lone, Ainsworth Lan.
Witches (ed. 1849) Inirod. iii. (11) N.I.^ Hmp. Holloway.
Som, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Etig. (1869). Dev. Ef I catch thee in
my orchit again, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 73. (12) Lan. Owd
Smithie's orchut, Brierley Waverlow (1863) 36, ed. 1884. Hrf.'^
(13) Hrf.2 (14) Cnm.i (15) Cum. Our meedow sud be a feyne
worchet, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1840) 33. (16) n.Cy. Grose
(1790). Nhb.i, n.Yks.2 e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
(17) Cum. She'll be somewheres aboot i' t'wotchut, Caine Hagar
(1887) i. (18) Cum. A gud wurchet, Farrai.1. Betty Wilson (1886)
36. (19) Wm. A wurtchard o' pumgranates, Richardson Stig.
Sol. (1859) iv. 13. (20) w.Yks. Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) vi.
II. Dial, meanings. 1. In comp. (i) Orchard-grass, a
coarse kind of grass found in orchards, probably the
Dactylis glomerata ; see Orchis grass ; (2) -man, a man
who attends to orchards.
(i) w.Som.' The term is common enough, but I am unable to
identify any particular species. [A frequent book-name (B. & H.).]
(2) Hrf. Marshall Review (1818) IL 293.
2. Phr. to give an apple where there is an orchard, to give
a present where there is already plenty, ' to carry coals
to Newcastle.'
Nhp.i Old Fortune, like sly Farmer Dapple, Where there's an
orchard, flings an apple, Clare Rur. Life, 114.
ORCHEN, see Urchin.
ORCHESTON GRASS, /lAn Wil. An elongated form
of many British grasses, esp. Agrostis stolonifera and
Poatrivialis. So called from their place of growth (B.&H.).
ORCHEY, s6. Dev.* [g'tji.] An orchis.
ORCHIS GRASS, phr. Obs. Glo. A broad-leaved
grass, probably the Dactylis glomerata. Cf. orchard-grass,
s.v. Orchard.
Mr. Peacey has likewise cultivated the orchis grass, a broad-
leaved grass, that springs directly after the scythe, in mowing
ground, Repotis Agric. (1793-1813) 15 ; The description points to
Dactylis glomerata, L., which is most remarkable for shooting up
into tufts directly a meadow is mown. It will grow an inch or
two in a night, ib. note (R.H.) ; Glo.'
ORCHLE, sb. Rnf. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A porch.
ORD, see Od.
ORDAIN, V. Sc. War. Wor. Hrf._Som. Dev. Cor. Nfld.
Also in form ordeen Sh.I. [o(r)de-n.] 1. To order,
rule, keep in order; to set to rights; to give orders or
instruction to.
Wor. That child wants ordaining (H.K.). s.Wor.l Hrf." I'll
ordayn y'u. w.Dev. Marshall Rur. Econ. (i796)-
2. To intend, purpose ; to arrange to do a thing.
War.2 I have ordained to go away from home next week.
I have ordained to have the whitewashing done on Monday.
Som. I ordained that I should lie beside her, but my son he
buried his child beside she (W.F.R.). e.Som.W. & J. Gl. (1873).
w.Som.i I ordain to a went last night, but 'twas so wet I could-n.
Well, sir, we ordain to a dig'n up a Zadurday. Dev. Maaster
Applebird ordained as the picter should be done in a tallet outside
the inn, Blk. and White (June 27, 1896) 824. nw.Dev.'
3. To design or intend for a particular purpose.
Sh.I. Tell me fir da sake o' Him 'at ordeen'd dee, Sh. News
(May 12, 1900). Cor. Brought into a great room ordained for
that purpose, Carew Survey in Pengelly Provinc. (1875) 116.
[Nfld. I ordained that piece of wood for an axe helve, Patterson.]
4. Phr. to ordain the beadle, a custom ; see below.
Hdg. At one time it was customary to ' ordain ' the beadle by
giving him a bit of the bell-rope. This was sometimes laid upon
the table of the presbytery upon the induction or ordination of
a clergyman. Sometimes the tongue of the bell was also laid on
the table, Ritchie St. Baldred {im^) 118.
5. Of trees : to prune. s.Wor. Porson ^wam/ J^ia^s. (1875).
ORDER, s6.i and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
[oTdar, 9-da(r), 93-ds(r).] 1. sb. In phr. (i) in middlin
or a tidy order, in a bad temper ; (2) to take {an) order with
a person, to compel a person to do orderly or rightly ; to
punish.
(i) Ken.' When the old chap knows them cows have been out
in the clover he'll be in middlin' order. Sur.i He seemed in a
tidy order about something. Sus.' He's in middlin' order, I can
tell ye. (2) Abd. The Lothian regiment raised a mutiny and
would not suffer . . . their commanders or captains to take order
with them, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) IL 292. w.Yks.i I'll tak
an order wi' him, ii. 20. n.Lin.' It does not necessarily signify to
punish, though punishment may be often included in its meaning.
2. pi. In schools : a written authority for a hohday ; see
below. Cf. (St.) Nicholas day, s.v. Nicholas.
n.Cy. A north country custom at schools. In September or
October the master is locked cut of the school by the scholars,
who previous to his admittance, give an account of the different
holidays for the ensuing year, which he promises to observe and
signs his name to the orders, as they are called, with two bonds-
men. The return of these signed orders is the signal of capitula-
tion ; the doors are immediately opened ; beef, beer, and wine
deck the festive board ; and the day is spent in mirth (Hall.).
Nhb. On St. Nicholas' Day, Dec. 6, the schoolmaster was barred
out of school and kept there until he had passed orders in writing
beneath the door, authorizing a holiday for the rest of the day.
Until the institution of School Boards the practice was still in
use at country schools (R.O.H.).
3. V. To arrange, set in order ; to manage ; to determine ;
to settle with a person.
Sc. [He] found enough to redd and order to keep him from
eating his heart out with anxiety, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 69.
w.Yks. Ah ha'e noa change on mah just nah, so Ah'U order wi'
yo' at after, Leeds Mete. Suppl. (Nov. 2, 1895). Suf. Freely used
about here in regard to alterations or arrangements of fixtures
and movable things — posts, pictures, &c. ' I'll order it presently,'
i.e. put it in order (C.J. B.). e.Suf. (F.H.) Som. Paid for ordering
the old battlements of the porch, Hervey Wedmore Chron. (1887)
1.85. w.Som." How be gwain t'order [t-oa'udur] 'bout haulin'
the things ? ' An educated person would say, ' They've sent the
tablecloths, but they are too short ; however shall we order ? '
Dev. I expected to find Polly there, ' ordering up the place ' for
Sunday, O'Neill Idyls (1892) 49.
ORDER, sb."^ w.Cy. Som. [9a'da(r).] Confusion,
tumult, larking, pranks.
w.Cy. (Hall.) Som. Can't bear to see any order in church
(W.F.R.); (J.S.F.S.); (F.A.A.)
ORDERATION, sb. Yks. [93-d3reij3n.] Ordering,
management.
w.Yks. If he'd had th' orderation on it, they should ha had
some better shelter, Hartley Clock Aim. (1878) 28 ; Them that
governs mun find a way to help us : they mun mak fresh ordera-
tions, Bronte Shirley (1849) viii ; Very common (J.W.).
ORDINANCES, sb. pi. Sc. The administration of the
Lord's Supper and the|services held in connexion therewith.
Rs. This is the week of the ordinances, and a great many
people have come to them. Good Wds. (1881) 236.
ORDINARY, adj., adv. and sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc.
Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also in forms arnary se.Wor.'
Dor. ; arnery Wil. ; omary Hmp.' ; ommary Hmp. ;
onary e.Ken. ; ordinar Sc. Bnff.' ; ordiner Sc. (Jam.
Suppl.) ; ordiny Suf. ; ordnar Sc. Dwn. ; ornar Sc. ;
ornary Dwn. e.Yks.^ Lan. Chs.' Nhp.' Shr.'^ Hrf.^ Glo.
Oxf.i Brks.' Ken.' Sus.' Hmp.' w.Som.';_ orner Sc. ;
ornery e.Lan.' Nrf. Ken. Amer. [^-dinari, pnari, a'nari,
Sc. also o-rdinar.] 1. adj. Usual, customary; freq. in
phr. more than ordinary.
Edb. Else there's mair than ordinar be the matter, Learmont
Poems (1791) 284. n.Yks. It being very ordinarie with them to
make drinkinges on the Sabaoth dale, Quarter Sess. Rec. (Oct. la,
1621) in N. R. Rec. Soc. III. 125. s.Hmp. There's summat doing
more nor or'nary, Verney L. Lisle (1870) xvii.
Hence Ordinary-like, adv. in the usual way.
Cor. I've knawed weaker baabies that was fed more ordinary
like, LowRY Wreckers (1893) 7.
2. In a depreciatory sense : inferior, of poor quality ;
ORDINARY
[358]
ORGAN
used of things ; and of persons whether as to appearance,
health, or disposition.
N.I.i D-wn. Knox Hist. Dwn. {i8t5). e.Yks.^ That last floor
[flour] we had was varry ordinary. Lan. If aw hadn't sitch a
saucy, ornary chap to do wi as theaws getten into, Staton
Loominary (c. 1861) 85 ; It's ornary enough, Clegg Sketches
(1895) 338. e.Lan.i, Chs.i n.Lin.^ Ohd taaters gets very ordinary
afoore new 'uns cums in. W — S — is nobbut very ordinary
noo. I doant think my sen he's long for this warld. Nhp.'
Shabby, mean, as applied to everyday apparel ; plain, common,
as applied to cakes, or puddings. ' Come, take a bit of cake, you
needn't be afraid on't, its very ornary.' se.Wor.i^ Shr.i' I thought
'e went to the Bonk.' 'Aye, but the hvin' theerwuzso ornary the
bwoy couldnastop ' ; Shr.= A ornary looking homan. Hrf.i, Glo.i
Oxf.i Yoo shuod'nt kaul uur uug'li, tiz wik'id, kauz us bee aul uz
God Umuuyti maid us ; yoo shuod Eai au'rnuuri [You shouldn't
call her ugly, 'tis wicked, 'cause us be all as God Almighty made
us; you should say or'nary]. -w.Mid. When pigs are fed with
beans, the meat becomes so hard as to make very ordinary pork,
but good bacon, Middleton View Agric. (1798) 193 ; The bands for
binding trusses are made of the most dusty, coarse, and ordinary
hay, ib. 245 note. Nrf. Wonnerful ornery weather. He's a
wonnerfully ornery chap. Obsol. (R.H.H.) Euf. A very ordiny
sample o'barleys (C.T.). Ken. (G.B.) ; Used of health: 'Terribly
ornary '(J.A.B.);Ken.i Them wuts be terr'ble ornary. ne.Ken.(H.M.)
e.Ken. ' How are you, mate ? ' ' Terr'ble o'nary, thank you, mate ! '
(G.G. ) Sur.i Sus.i The old sow's hem ornary (s.v. Spannel).
Hmp.i Wil. Slow G/. (1892). w.Som.i I calls her a very ornary
sort of a bullick. Ter'ble ornary, poor farm, sure 'nough. [.Amer.
It was pretty ornery preaching — all about brotherly love, and such
like tiresomeness. Cent. Mag. (Dec. 1884) 275.]
Hence Arnary-cheese, Ornary- or Ommary-cheeEe, sb.
an inferior sort of cheese made irom skimmed milk.
Hmp. Wise A'fzo/orei^ (1881)284, 285; Hmp.' Dor. G/. (1851).
3. Phr. (i) by ordinar, out of the common, unusual,
extraordinary; also used advb.; see By-ordinary; (2)
for ordinary, ordinarily, usually ; see For, 1 (24) ; (3) out
o' ordinary, (4) past ordinary, see (i).
(i) Sc. bhe's nolhing by-ordinar that I can see, Keith Lisbelh
(1894) XX. Abd. That's . . . by-ordinar fowk, Macdcnald
/?. Falconer (1868) 138. Per. The rail is by ordinar' fateegin', Ian
Maclaeen Brier Bush (1894) 143. Fif. Playmates were by-ordinar
thrang, Colville Vetmacular (1899) 13. Ayr. My certy, there's
something by orner adae, Aitken Lays (1883) 128. Lnk. It was
naething by ornar, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 124. Hdg. This last
jar Is a mischance by-ordinar, Lumsden Poems (1896) 22. (2)
Sc. Mitchell Scotticisms (1799) 37. Ayr. I'm gey deaf for
ordinar, Hunter Studies (1870) 192. Lth. A calf's head is for
ord'nar plottit, Steathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 85. Wgt. Their
schoolmaster, when they had one, performed that work for
ordinary, Feasee Wigtown (1877) 103. D-wn. We got a better
sermon than we dae for ordnar', Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 16.
(3) Brks.i I got zome tayters I be a-gwaain to zend to Shaw, thaay
be quite out o' ornary like. (4) Ayr. Michaelmas day was, both
for wind and wet, past ordinar, Galt Provost (1822) xxii.
4. adv. Ordinarily, fairly ; somewhat, rather.
Cai.i He's ornar tired. Per. She liket ye rael weel ance, an'
she may again, gin ye're juist ordnar gude til her, Cleland Inch-
bracken (1883) 274, ed. 1887. Dmb. He was lookin' grimmer than
ordnar, Ceoss Disruption (1844) v. Lnk. I was mair than or'nar
glad, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 64.
5. sb. Custom, habit ; usual course.
Es. Ther ordinar is to have all things comon, Maidment Spottis-
woode Miscell. (1844-5) H- 339- ^^^- ^'^- Patrick preached his
ordinar, preaching upon the twenty-eighth of Matthew, Wodeow
Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 80. Ayr. My faither took his hedge-
knife, as was his or'nar', Seevice Notandums (1890) 61. Lnk.
It's no like your ordnar, Goedon Pyotshaw (1885) 212 ; He was
like a' the lave 0' the menfolk on that occasion — a wee safter
than his ordinar', Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 2.
6. The usual state of health.
So. Ill would it become me [a sexton] to ca' an' ask about the
health o' onybody that's off their ordinar, Dickson Kirk Beadle
(1892) 126; He's just in his ordinar (Jam.). Bnff. Thank you,
Geordie, I'm jist about my ordinar', Goedon Chron. Keith (1880)
415. Bnff.i ' Fou's a' yir fouck?' 'They're i' thir aul' ordinar.'
Ayr. Hoo's a' wi' you the day ? Are ye aboot your or'nar ?
Service Notandums (1890) 39. Lnk. Thank'ee; I'm about my
or'nar, which is fashed a wee, but gey weel on the whole,
Murdoch Readings (1895) III. 9.
ORE, sb.^ n.Cy. Cor. [o9(r).] In comp. (i) Ore-
dresser, one who superintends the dressing operations
of a mine ; (2) -hearth, a furnace used in the reduction of
lead ore ; (3) -plot, the place for depositing the dressed ore.
(i) Cor.2 (2) n.Cy. The ore-hearth is a small square furnace
having a low shaft built of rectangular blocks of cast iron set in
masonry, Bauerman Cat. Mining Models (1865) 183. (3) Cor.^
ORE, s*.2 Gmg. e.Cy. s.Cy. Ken. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Dev.
Cor. Also written oar Gmg. Dev. ; oare Ken.' ; oore
e. & s.Cy. [o3{r).] Sea-weed, sea-wrack washed ashore
by the tide. Also in cow/. Ore-weed or -wood. See Ware.
Gmg. Common ofoargrowinginthesea, Baker & Francis Sj/j-wj's
of Gowerand Kilvey (1870) 154. e. & s.Cy. Ray (1691). Ken.' To
forbid and restrain the burning or taking up of any sea oare within
the Isle of Thanet, Lewis /. Tenet (1736) 89. Sus.12^ Hmp.i,
I.W.i Dev. Here is the narrow crumpled blade of the Oarweed,
of a rich yellow-brown. Good Wds. (1864) 277. Cor. Used as
manure, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 310 ; I wants you to take the
dree jackasses an' go to beach for ore-weed, 'Q.' Troy Town
(1888) xi ; The ground is manured chiefly with farm-yard dung,
and the oreweed which the storms of winter throw upon the
beach, Quiller-Couch Hist. Polperro (1871) 116; Cor.'*
Hence (i) Ore-mongel, sb. sea-weed ; (2) -stone, sb.
the name of some large, single rocks, in the sea not far
from land ; (3) Ory, adj. tasting or smelling of sea-weed.
(i) Cor. Oreweed (commonly called at Looe Ore Mongel), Bond
Hist. Looe (1823) 80. (2) Cor. N. tf Q. (1854) ist S. x. 359;
Cor.i (3) Cor. N. & Q. (1854) ist S. x. 359 ; Cor.i Some fish
are said to taste ory, some things to smell ory.
[OE. war, sea-weed (Napier).]
ORE, sb.^ Obs. Hrf. Also written oar. A fine kind
of wool made in Leominster.
The term ' ore ' to signify wool, is found in old descriptions of
this part of the country. ' To whom did never sound the name
of Lemster ore ? ' White Wrekin (i860) xi ; The name ore or oar
for wool is well-known at Leominster, celebrated in former times
for its production of that commodity. In the tithe award of that
parish are specified Leominster 'oar tithes,' and 'petty oar small
tithes,' by those designations, N. & Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 260; As
for the wooll in this county, it is best known to the honour thereof
by the name of Lempster ore, being absolutely the finest in this
county, and indeed in all England, Fuller Worthies, 33, in N. if Q.
ib. ; The ore of Lemster, Py Cot, is uver a sempster That when he
is spun or did Yet match him with herthrid, Antidote to Melancholy
(1661) 47, in N. & Q. ib. ; A bank of mosse . . . Farre more soft
than the finest Lemster ore, Herrick Desc. Oberon's Palace, in
N. (y Q. ib.
ORF, sb. Lth. (Jam.) [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] A puny creature, one who has a contemptible
appearance.
ORF, see Hurf, Off.
ORFLING, prp. Yks. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Shuddering, shivering. e.Yks. (W.W.S.)
ORF-WOOD, sb. Wor. Also in form arfwood. The
woody nightshade, Solanum Dulcamara. See Half-wood,
s.v. Half, 7 (11, a).
A poisonous plant growing in hedges (W.C. B.) ; Very common
and used medicinally among village nurses, &c. for abscesses
(R.M.E.).
ORGAL, sb. Cor.''^ [9'gl-] The herb penny-royal,
Mentha Pulegium. See Organ.
ORGAN, sb. Wor. Hrf. Pem. Hmp. Wil. Dor. Som.
Dev. Cor. Also in forms argan n.Dev. ; organy Wor.
Hrf. Hmp.' Wil.' Dev. ; orgin Dor. Dev.* e.Cor. [9-g3n(i.]
1. The herb penny-royal, Mentha Pulegium. Gen. in pi.
s.Wor. (H.K.) Hrf. Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) s.Pem.
(W.M.M.), Hmp.i Wil. Beitton Beauties (1825); Wil.' Dor.
w.Gazette (Feb. 15, 1889) 7, col. 2; N. ^^ Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 45.
w.Som.i Much grown as a flavouring. ' A vew broth be always
better vor a bit o' organ in 'em.' The herb is supposed to be
good for colds. Dev.* n.Dev. Gie'r a few Strang argans arter,
Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 13. nw.Dev.' s.Dev. Fox Kings-
bridge (1874). Cor.'2, e.Cor. (Miss D.)
Hence (i) Organ-broth, sb. a concoction made from
penny-royal ; (2) -tea or Organ's-tea, sb. tea made from
penny-royal.
(i) w.Som.'This herb ... is chopped small and put into a mess
called ' Tea-kettle broth' (q.v.), which is also often called 'Organ
ORGANIZE
[359]
ORRA
broth,' Cor. Gin and trikle — rum and honey — organ broth,
Tregellas Tales, Luke Martin, 21. (2) Dev. Mother Strick, as
makes anise and dill water an organy tea, and various caucheries
for ills in man and beast, Pall Mall Mag. (Feb. 1900) 151 ;
Organtay sweentened wi' 'oney is a cabbical cure vur a cold, ef yil
putt 'th a drap ov zomtheng short in 't, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ;
Dev.^ I wish 'twas cry'd treason to drink ort but organ tay, 4.
2, The wild marjoram, Origanum vulgare.
Wor. Allies Antiq. Flk-Lore (1840) 304, ed. 1852. Wil.i, Dev.i*
[1. The storke having a branch of creamy Can with
much ease the adders sting eschew, Heywood Troia
(1609) (Nares). 2. Fr. origan, Garden Organy, Spanish
Origan, EngUsh wild Marjoram (Cotgr.)-]
ORGANIZE, V. Hrf.^ To give orders or instruction.
ORGANS, sb. pi. Lei. Nhp. e.An. [^-ganz.] The
musical instrument, the organ.
Lei.i Theer wur o'd John Goadby, him as had use to plee o' the
horgins. Nhp.'^ Come, play upon the organs ! e.An.i
[I was brought up at Hogge Norton, where pigges play
on the organs, Nash Apol. Pierce Penilesse (1592) (Nares).
ME. organs, the organ (Chaucer).]
ORGIN, see Hurgin, Organ.
ORGLON, ORIE, see Haggle, sb.'^, Oorie.
ORIGIN, sb. Sh.I. A dial, form of ' orange.'
Here's apples an' origins, an' mam, view doo dat currin' loaf,
Sh. News (Jan. 22, 1898).
ORIGINAL, adj. and sb. Sc. Lin. [ari-dginl.]
1. adj. In phr. original sin, (i) a cant term for a debt
lying on an estate to which one succeeds. Cld. (Jam.) ;
(2) the living proofs of youthful incontinence. Sc. (ib.)
2. Used in a complimentary sense ; see below.
n.Lln.i This epithet of ' original ' is frequently made use of in the
Isle [of Axholme], to designate anything highly esteemed. It
has arisen probably from its being applied to the old inhabitants
to distinguish them from the Dutch settlers. So even now, we
have it perpetually used when a man gets a little joyous over
his cups, 'You are my original friend,' Stonehouse Hist. I.
Axholme, 244.
3. sb. Origin, birth, parentage.
Ayr. He was in his original, a lad of the place, who had gone
into Glasgow, Galt Provost (1822) xxv.
4. An eccentric character, an oddity.
Sc. Don Quixote and Sancho, presented not a greater contrast
than did these pair of originals, Sc. Haggis, iig. Bnflf. The Land-
lord was an ' Original,' Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 443. Abd.
I have also a great predilection for the conversation of originals,
or what the world calls 'naturals,' Ruddiman P«nsA (1828) 19,
ed. 1889.
[3. We are their parents and original, Shaks. M. N.
Dream, n. i. 117. 4. A man may be an original, Wycher-
LEY Plain Dealer (1677) (CD.).]
ORISHEN, sb. Obs. Gall. A term of reproach for a
savagely-behaved individual. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
Cf. oshen. [Prob. repr. Fr. ourson, a bear's cub (Cotgr.).]
ORKRIGA ARD, ORLACHE,ORLAGE, see Okrigarth,
Orloge.
ORLANG, sb. Ags. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A complete year, the whole year round.
[Norw. dial, aar, ye&r + lang, long (Aasen),]
0RL(E, ORLED, see Arl, Uried.
ORLEY, ORLING, see Orrel, Uriing.
ORLOGE, sb. Sc. Som. Also in form orlache Sc.
(Jam.) ; orlage Lnk. 1. A clock. e.Som. W. & J. Gl.
(1873). 2. The dial-plate of a church or town-clock.
Sc. (Jam.), Ayr. (J.M.) Lnk. To paint the orlage often might
soon burden the royality. . . We maun fix a gude stane bonnet on
th' orlage o' the steeple, M'^Indoe Poems (1805) 17.
[1. ME. orloge, a clock (Chaucer). 2. Fr. horloge, a
clock or dyal (Cotgr.).]
ORMALS, s6.//. Sh.I. [oTmlz.] Fragments, remams.
Why ill belt dues doo no tuss trow yon winderfil dickshinar n'
dine. Da ormals o' her is some wye aboot da hoos yet, Sh. News
(Dec. 18, 1897) ; See if doo can fin da ormals o' a gut flee row'd
in a bit o' paper, ib. (June 18, 1898) ; S. & Ork.i
[Norw. dial, aarmole, mostly in pi. remains, also aur-
mola{r), ifrmol (Aasen) ; ON. ormul, remnants (Vig-
fusson).]
ORMER, sb. and v. Guer. [9-m3(r).] 1. sb. A
shell-fish.
The women gather ormers. Lane Clarke Guer. Guide (1852).
2. V. To gather shell-fish.
He's gone ormering (G.H.G.).
ORMING, ppl. adj. Not.^ [g-min.] Tall and awkward.
ORMOT, sb. Obs. Mid. See below.
[In Middlesex] . . . they begin to sow their Hotspur pease in
October, or the ormots, as they call them here, and the masters in
drills, are two feet asunder, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) II. i. 61.
ORM Y-GORM Y, s6. s.Chs.^ [5-mi-g9mi.] A simpleton.
OR'N, ^ro«. t Obs. Som. Either of two persons.
' Orn o'm,' either of them, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
[Or is a contracted form for ME. other, either. OE.
bw^er, d-hwce^er ; see Either.]
ORN, ORNAR(Y, see Horn, Ordinary.
ORND, ORNDORNS, see Ond(e, Undern.
ORNIFIED, ppl. adj. Oxf. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Adorned. (Hall.)
ORNSUPPER, sb. Obs. n.Cy. A slight refreshment
taken after supper. (J.L. 1783.) See Undern.
ORNTREN, see Undern.
ORP, V. Sc. [orp.] 1. Obs. To weep with a con-
vulsive pant.
Sc. Herd Coll. Sngs. (j.'nS) Gl. Lnk. A wean that for some
feckless whim will orp and greet, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) 28,
ed. 1783.
2. To repine, fret ; to chide.
Sc. It more generally denotes an habitual practice of repining or
of chiding (Jam.). Abd. Egg Eppie's loon begood to dwine. An'
Elbe's lassie orp an' pine, Edwards Mod. Poets, 2nd S. 373.
Hence Orpit or Orpiet, ppl. adj. querulous, fretful, peevish .
Sc. You seeme to be very earnest here, but all men may see it
is but your orpit or ironic conceit, Galloway Dikaiologie, 143
(Jam.). Abd. Benjie was an orpiet, peeakin little sinner, Alex-
ander Johnny Gibb (1871) xiv. Rxb. What ails the orpit doytered
stycke? Telfer Border Ballads, ifc. (1824) Kerlyn's Brocke.
[1. Cp. ON. varpa,io throw, cast, varpa ondinni, to draw
a deep breath ; verpa (pp. orpinvi), to throw, verpa ondinni,
to draw a deep sigh (Vigfusson).]
ORPHAN-JOHN, sb. e.An.* The orpine, Sedum
Telephium.
ORPHARE, sb. Obs. Sc. Embroidery.
Hir cropoure was of orphare, Thomas Rymer, in Child Pop.
Ballads (1882) I. 326,
[ME. orfrays, gold embroidery (Chaucer); OFr. orfreis,
'bordure brodee d'or' (Hatzfeld).]
ORPH'LIN, sb. Obs. Sc. An orphan.
O' the orph'lin an' widow He stoops, Waddell Psalms (187 1)
cxlvi. 9.
[ME. orphelin, orphan (Chaucer) ; OFr. orphelin (La
Curne).]
ORPINE, sb. Sc. Chs. Hrt. Hmp. I. Dial, forms :
(i) Alpine, (2) Arpent, (3) Orpey, (4) Orpie, (5) Orpy.
(i) Chs.i (2) Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) III. ii. 177. Hmp.
(B. & H.) (3) sw.Sc. Garden Wk. (1896) New S. No. cxiv. 112.
(4) Sc. (Jam.) (s) Rxb. Science Gossip (1876) 39. Gall. Mactag-
gart En(ycl. (1824) ; (J.M.)
II. Dial. uses. In comp. (i) Arpent-weed, (2) Orpy-leaf,
the orpine, Sedum Telephium.
(i) Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) III. ii. 177. Hmp. (B. & H.)
(2) Sc. Wedderburn Vocab. (1673) 19 (Jam.). Rxb. Science
Gossip (1876) 39.
[Fr. orpin, plante a feuilles charnues qui croit sur les
toits, les murs (Hatzfeld).]
ORRA, adj}, adv. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Also written era
Sc. ; and in forms oora Dmf ; orrie Frf ; orrow Sc.
[oT3.] 1. adj. Unmatched, odd, one of a pair of which
the other article is wanting. See Orrals.
Sc. ' An orra merchant.' A shop kept by an eccentric personage,
who exhibited a sign bearing this singular inscription, ' Orra
things bought and sold,' which signified that he dealt in odd articles
such as a single shoe buckle, one of a pair of skates— in short,
any unpaired article, Hislop Anecdote (1874) 61 ; Ane orrow
buckle (Jam.). Frf. A native . . . described a set of tea china as
embracing twelve cups and saucers and an orra cup, meaning that
ORRA
[360]
ORRALS
it was unmatched — that is, without a saucer corresponding to it,
N. & Q. (1876) 5th S. V. 416.
2. Occasional, casual ; used of one doing odd jobs, also,
of one having no fixed occupation.
Sc. A half-witted natural who did orra jobs about the station,
Jokes, ist S. (1889) 124. e.Sc. Doing orra jobs of one kind or
another, Setoun Sunshine (1895) 142. Abd. Walker Bards Bon-
Accord (1887) 373. Frf. Her man does the orra work at the
Tappit Hen public, Barrie Tommy (1896) vii. Per. I wish
Sandy would ... no just enlarge on ony orra subject that comes
in his way, Sandy Scoit (1897) 70. Dmb. I . . . sent mony an
ora cheese and pickle meal to ye. Cross Disruption (1844) ii.
Rnf. Neilson Poems (1877) 16. Ayr. I can be puttin' an orra
steek or twa in my sampler beside ye. Service Notandums
(■1890) 62. Lnk. We'll maybe hae an orra chance To corner-
kick it yet, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 40. e.Lth. There
was . . . mebbe an orra ane here an' there o' the workin folk,
Hunter J. Inmick (1895) 14. Edb. Our worthy host ... Is gaun
to gie his ora mite To help baud up the merry night, M'Dowall
Poems (1839) 220. Dmf. An oora coggie o' brose frae the pan,
Thom Jock 0' Knowe (1878) 43. Gall. Crockett Cleg Kelly {T&g6) 306.
3. Phr. (i) at an orra time, (2) — orra times, at a spare
moment, occasionally.
(i) Sc. At an orra time, I can gang a day without it, Scott
Antiquary (1816) xxi ; May be catching a dish of trouts at an orra
time, (A. i%OT>-/e_y (1814) ix. e.Sc. A dizzen eggs here, an' a dizzen
there, an' maybe a hen at an orra time, Strain Elmslie's Drag-net
{1900) II. Per. Juist a gless at an orra time, Ian Maclaren Brier
Bush (1895) 187. e.Lth. Whan I socht a dram at an orra time.
Hunter /. Inwick (1895) 74. Edb. Not seeing the Adverteezer
Newspapers . . . save and except at an orra time, Moir Mansie
Wauch (1828) XXV. (2) Sc. Somewhat addicted to a glass at orra
times, HiSLOp^Mfcrfo<«(i874)46. Dmb. Salmon Gowodean (1868) 3.
Lnk. A wee bit bread at orra times, Hamilton Poems (1865) 103 ;
If it wisna for a happening visitor looking in at orra times, Fraser
Whaups (1895) xii.
4. Superfluous, extra; unoccupied, unemployed, not
engaged.
Sc. ' Ane orrow day,' a day on which one has no particular work.
A person is said to be orrow, when he has no particular engage-
ment (Jam.). Abd. Aye a han', tho' seldom orra. Charitable deeds
■ to do, Still Cottar'' s Sunday (1845) 35. Frf. Smart Rhymes (1834)
135. Per. This was done, which had the effect of blowing off their
orrow wind before their return, Monteath Z)m«W««c(i835)57, ed.
1887. Fif. Whan I've an ora moment, I'll steal out, Douglas Poems
(1806) 30. Ayr. A merry core O' randie, gangrel bodies, In Poosie-
Nansie's held the splore, To drink their orra duddies. Burns /o/Zy
Beggars (1785) 1. 8. Lnk. Forbye an orra corner left for e'en a
wee clock, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 99. Lth. Drouthie cronies
meet to birl Their ora placks at e'en, Bruce Poems (1813) II. 15.
Edb. Come an' spend a' ye're orrow hours 'Mang groves an' glades,
Learmont Poems (1791) 185. Dmf. Forth came our Trades some
ora saving To wair that day, Mayne Siller Gun (1808) 14. Gall.
Collogue overly long with all the orra serving-men, Crockett Grey
Man (1896) 77.
5. Comb, (i) Orra beast, (2) — horse, an extra horse
kept to do occasional work or odd jobs ; {3) — lad, (4) —
loon, a boy employed to do odd jobs ; (5) — man, a man
employed upon a farm to do odd jobs, or work of various
kinds, in contradistinction to those who have a stated duty.
(i) Frf. He'll hae smeddum enough, ere a towmond gae bye, To
work some orra beast, Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 59. (2) Frf.
Geordie worked two pairs of horses with an orra horse for the gig
and odd jobs, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 217. Per. A two-plough farm
has . . . two pairs of work-horses. . . If there is a fifth work-horse,
he is an orra-horse, N. dr= Q. (1876) 5th S. v. 415. (3) Per. It
would be fine to be ta'en on as an orra lad there, Saiidy Scott
{1897) 10. (4) So. There was not a livin'soul about the place but
Jamie, the orra-loon, Roy Horseman's Wd. (1895) xx. (5) Sc.
Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). n.Sc. There set on stools Jock the
'orra' man, Jim the 'baillie,' Willie the herd laddie, Gordon
Carglen (i8gi) 134. Cai.^ Of recent introduction to Cai. and is
only used on a few large farms. e.Sc. I was but a hafHin at the
time, a kind o' gardner an' orra-man wi' a family out frae Milndour,
Setoun R. Urquhart (1896) iii. Abd. ' Losh I ' cried the orra man,
with a face bewildered to shapelessness, Macdonald Sir Gibbie
(1879) xxxvi. Kcd. Sorra tak' the orra man ! Grant Lays (1884)
17. Frf. Henders had no fixed occupation, being but an 'orra
man' about the place, Barrie Licht (1898) ii. Per. He was then
known as an ' orra-man ' — one who turned his hand to any work
that was 'going about,' Haliburton Furth in Field (1894) 107 ; A
two-plough farm has . . . two men. . . If there is, part of the year,
a third man, he is the orra-man, N. & Q. (1876) 5th S. v. 416.
s.Sc. I propose to send the orra man to do it (A.C.). Ayr. An
answer I received from the orra man at William Dickie's, John-
ston Glenbuckie (1889) 142. Lth. (Jam.) Gall. They are wantin'
an orra man, Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 197.
6. Miscellaneous, sundry.
Sc. Donald Caird finds orra things Where Allan Gregor fand
the tings. Chambers Sngs. (1829) I. 57. Abd. For sic orra trash
he took care to be paid, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) g. Kcd.
He bed a seet or twa to mak'. An' orra things to men'. Grant
Lays (1884) 27. Frf. Wi' mony an orra queer nick-nacket The
pouch was fou, Smart Rhymes (1834) 102. Per. His pouches, like
a broker's shop, are crammed wi' orra things, Ford Harp (1893)
152. Fif. Baby-linen, and orra goods-packets o' paper, Heddle
Margei (1899) 254. Slg. Some orra hats, a few white mutches,
Towers Poems (1885) 123. Ayr. It was juist a roup o' orra things
frae a' pairts, Service Notandums (1890) 50. Lnk. Wi' orra scraps
I filled yer bags, Thomson Leddy May (1883) 103. Edb. The
farmers' daughters and servant lassies buy orra laces an' ribbons
frae me, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 239. Rxb. A. Scott
Poems{ed. 1808)62. Gall. I had the gatherin' in o'thae orra laddies,
Crockett Anna Mark {i8gg) xxvi. Wgt. Fraser Wigtown (1877) 281.
7. Idle, vagabond, worthless, base, low.
ne.Sc. A puckle o' you idle, orra chiels, Green Gordonhaven
(1887) 144. Abd. We dinna like orra stragglers, wi' four feet or
twa, Comin' aboot's oonkent an' uncarin', Alexander Ain Flk.
(1882) 83. Frf. Where tinkers and poachers, and ' orra folk '
generally, found it convenient to camp, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895)41.
Per. Ye canna expect onything else frae thae 'orra craturs,' Ian
Maclaren Auld Lang Syne (1895) 120. Fif. My hard-earned
siller is my ain, no every orra body's for the asking, Heddle
Marget (1899) 245. Ayr. Siclike orra dyvours, Service Dr. Duguid
(ed. 1887) 40. Bwk. Should they gang a wee thocht wrang An'
chum wi' orra weans, Calder Poems (1897) 207. Gall. Against
the tongues of orra folk that you have only to stand for a while at
a time, it is altogether infallible, Crockett Raiders (1894) iv.
Hence Orra-like, adj. disreputable-looking, vagabond,
not neat.
Frf. The folk wha saw them could hardly say which o' the twa
was the maist orra-like character, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886)
44, ed. 1889 ; Hire some o' the Saxon dames, sae orrie like and
queer, Johnston Poems (i86g) 216.
8. Strange, unusual, out of the common.
Sc. Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899). Lnk. Orra
men an' things are seen When daft folks gang abroad, Murdoch
Doric Lyre (1873) 78.
9. adv. Oddly, peculiarly ; unusually.
Frf. A tasty stocky, but gey orra put on, Barrie Minister
(1891) vi. Lnk. Bess was braw, an' Meg was fair, An' Kate was
orra sweet, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 94.
10. sb. Anything that is left over ; a fragment, scrap ;
in pi. odds and ends.
Sc. Such as fragments of cloth that remain after any piece of
work is finished (Jam.). Elg. They had some orras to buy, Abd.
Wkly. Free Press (June 25, 1898). n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.)
ORRA, adj.^ Nhp. Hrf. I.W. Som. Cor. Also in forms
or a I.W.^ ; orry Som. Cor.'^ ; ory Cor. ; urra Hrf.^
[oT3.] Any, either. See Ever a.
Nhp.i Or'ra one. Hrf.2 I.W.^Oraone. Som. Jennings ZJiuA
w.Eng. (1869). Cor. I cud clemb and jump . . . with orry man I
ever seed, Tregellas Tales (1865) 99 ; I would'n live in ory wan
of em, T. Towser (1873) 43 ; Cor.^
ORRA, int. Irel. [oT3.] An exclamation, a disguised
oath. See Begorra.
n.Ir. Orra, Barney, your pinance already begins. Lays and Leg.
(1884) 21.
ORRACK, sb. Cor. Also in form orrach. [oTak.] A
dung-heap, cesspool ; a dirty mess.
Cor.^ w.Cor. There's a perfect orrach here outside the door
(M.A.C).
ORRALS, sb. pi. Sc. Also written orrels (Jam.).
[oTalz.] Anything that is left over, refuse ; odds and ends.
Abd. Ye'U hae to find A place for ony orrals, Ogg Willie Waly
(1873) 74 ; (Jam.) Ags. Such as fragments of cloth that remain
after'any piece of work is finished (ib.). Kcd. {ib.)
[Sw. tirwal, refuse, ' recrementum ' (Serenius).]
ORREL
[361]
O'S'MIVVER
ORREL, sb. Cor. Also in form orley. [oTal.] A
raised wooden porch or balcony of a house above the
cellar, and approached by outside steps.
The steps led up to the wooden orrel, or balcony — at that time
a common adornment to the Polperro houses, Parr Adam and
Eve (1880) in. 140 ; QuiLLER-CoacH Hist. Polperro (1871) 180 ;
The dwelling part reached by a flight of stone steps, the landing
place covered over by a continuance of the roof . . . covering an
upper landing place is called an Orley, perhaps a corruption of
O'erlop, Bond Hist. Looe (1823) 3a ; Cor.i The ground-floor of a
fisherman's house is often a fish-cellar, and the first floor serves
him for kitchen and parlour, which is reached by a flight of stone
steps ending in an orrel or porch ; Cor.^
ORRIL, adj. Lan. [oTil.] Mad, frenzied.
Davies Races (1856) 237. s.Lan. He's quite orril, Bamford
Dial. (1854) ; PicTON Dial. (1865) 11.
ORRIS-PIECES, sb. pi. War.« See below. See
Arris, sb.
Timber sawn wedge-shape, with two sawn sides, and the bark
left on the third.
ORRUCK-HOLES, 56.//. Nrf. [oTsk-olz.] Rullocks
or oar-holes.
As distinct from tholc-pins, which are less used in our boats,
Trans. Phil. Soc. (1855) 34.
ORRY, ORSE, see Orra, adj.'^, Oss.
ORSIN,s6. Mtg. [p-sin.] An appearance; a symptom;
also in pi. ' There's no orsin of it ' (M.A.R.).
ORT, sb. and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Amer. Also in forms aught Cum. Hrf. Sus.'^; awt Lan.;
hart Hmp.i ; oart w.Yks.^ ; cit w.Yks.* ; ot w.Yks. ; ott
w.Yks.^ ; ought Hmp.^; out War."^" s.War.^ ; wort s.Sc.
(Jam.) Nhb.^Cum.i; wot Lakel.^ Cum.i Wm. [ort, qt,
ot, wot.] 1. sb. pi. Leavings of any description, rem-
nants, SGraps, fragments, esp. of food, broken victuals; the
refuse fodder left by horses or cattle ; also usedy?^.
So. Mak nae orts o' gude hay, Henderson Prov. (1832) 15, ed.
1881. Bnff.i Laddie, gang an' tack a puckle horse orts, an' bed
the pigs. Kcd. Jamie Muse (1844) 88 ; Grant Lays (1884) 77.
Frf. The light corn blown aside by the thrashing and winnowing
machines, N. & Q. (1857) 2nd S. iv. 19. w.Sc. E'ening orts mak
guid mornin' fodder (Jam.). s.Sc. E'ening's worts are gude
morning's foddering {ib.). Ayr. A depository for fish offal and
other orts of the town, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 58 ;
(J.M.) Dmf. They jib theirkye,feed them on 'orts' and locks,WAL-
LACE Schoolmaster (1899) 339. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824$.
Nhb.i, Lakel.2 Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 296 ; Cum.i Wm.
I'll not take other people's wots (B.K.). w.Yks. (W.F.S.); w.Yks.i
ii. 300 ; w.Yks.s Newt but t'oits left I— tak it awaay. Lan. Crom-
ming o'th Leawp-hoyles 6n th' Slifters ith Leath Woughs full o
awts, Tim Bobbin View Dial (ed. 1806) 21. ne.Lan.i, Chs.i^
s.Chs.^Ah'mnurgooin' eat yo're orts. n.Stf. 'lam not going to eat
thy orts,' a common phrase in the Staffordshire Potteries, Archaic
Wds. in Yks. IVkly. Post (May 5, 1883). s.Stf. Throw yer orts
wheer yo' throwin' yer love an throw in bigger pieces, Pinnock
Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Der.12 Not. N. & Q. (1875) 5th S. iii.
514; (J.H.B.) ; Not.3 To leave proud orts of one [to be dainty in
eating]. Lin.^ nXin.' Esp. the waste left in spinning. sw.Lin.i
Lel.i Shay'd use to gi' me 'er orts and sups. Nhp.i War.
Besides, their feasting caused a multiplication of orts, which were
the heirlooms of the poor, Geo. Eliot 5. Mamer (1861) iii;
War.!^34 s.War.iIdon'thave to eat their outs. -w.Wor.i I puck up
ahl them arts o' yourn this marnin', miss ; but mind yii, yd 'oona
cotch m& a doin' it agin. s.Wor. (H.K.) Shr. Oysters would be
profitable food if the servants could eat the orts, Burne Flk-Lore
(1883) xxxvi ; Shr.i Fragments that are left— not, like 'mammocks,'
in a worthless state— but fit to be eaten. ' Yo' bin too^ nice, a
power ; if yo' canna ate good orts from the Maister's table ' ; Shr.^
Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876) ; Hrf.i Come, pick up your orts and
away with you. Glo. ' Hee's well served, for hee hath oft made
orts of better hay.' . . Applyed to man or woman who refusinge
many good offers in maryage, either in greatness of portion or
comhness of person, at last it makes choice of much lesse or worse,
Smyth Lives Berkeleys (ic66-i6i8) III. 29, ed. 1885 ; GI0.12, Brks.i
Bdf. The quantity [of hay] that was taken back, appears to be such
as is called orts, Batchelor Agric. (1813) 91. Hrt. Ellis Shep-
herd's Guide (1750) 213. e.An.i ; e.An.^ Esp. of wool. Cmb. I'm
not agoing to eat your orts (W.M.B.) ; Cmb.i, Nrf. (E.M.), Suf.',
e.Ken.(G.G.),Sur.l,Siis.i2, Hmp.i Dor.(W.C.); Dor.i Waste hay
left by cows fed a-field, being dirtied or spoilt by their treading
VOL. IV.
on it. Soni. (W.F.R.) ; Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885'). e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i The shells of turnips left by sheep
are always so called. ' Tak'n give they hogs a move, and then
tak'n dig up th' orts and let in the yoes.' Dev. I've just been
giving the young things the orts. Reports Provinc. (1884) 25 ; Dev.'
This is your orts a-fried up for me, 13 ; Dev.^ Save up those orts
for the cat. nw.Dev.' s. Dev. Fox A'zM^sin'rfg's (1874). Cor. The
both of us is takin' what's another's orts. Parr Adam and Eve
(1880) III. 277 ; Cor.i2 [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 380.]
Hence Orts-and-ends, sb. pi. odds and ends. e.An.^
2. V. To pick out the best part of food and leave the
rest ; to crumble or waste food ; also used _/?§-.
Sc. (Jam.) n.Sc. A child is said to ort his bread {ib.). w.Sc.
' The lasses nowadays ort nane of God's creatures ' ; the reflection
of an old woman as signifying that in our times young women are
by no means nice in their choice of husbands {ib.). Ayr. When a
father givesaway any of his daughters in marriage without regard to
theorderof seniority, he is said to ort his dochters(!'6.). N.I.' Ant.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Nhb.i Cattle cribs -are worteet.
w.Yks.i Shr.i The pig orts 'is mate. w.Som.i Thick there yeffer's
ter'ble taffety — 'er d'ort 'er mate ter'ble. Be sure not to gee her
to much hay to once, he 'on't on'y ort it.
[1. One that feeds on . . . orts, Shaks. /. Caesar, iv. i.
37 ; Ortus, releef of beestys mete, Prompt. ; Ortys, farrago,
Calk. Angl. (1483). EFris. ort, ' Abhub, Abfall, Brocken
Reste von Speise od. Putter ' (Koolman) ; MLG. ort,
' was Menschen (namentlich Kinder) und Vieh von der
Speise tibrig lassen, als nicht essbar oder nicht schmack-
haft verwerfen' (Schiller-Lijbben). 2. EFris. orten,
' (beim Essen) Reste lassen, die vorgesetzte Speise ver-
schmahen u. (iberlassen ' (Koolman).]
ORT, see Aught, pron., Ought, v., "Wort.
ORTCH, sb. LMa. A term of contempt.
She's an ortch of a thing, that's what she is ; I thought Tom had
more sense than to be seen walking with an ortch like yandhar
(S.M.).
ORTCH, see Horch.
ORTHERING, sb. Yks. [g-Sarin.] 1. A dial, form of
' ordering.'
w.Yks. If there's to be fresh ortherings — just when I getten used
to two maisters, Bronte Wuthering Hts. (1847) xiii.
2. A settlement, will.
w.Yks. He's made an ortherin'(J.R.).
ORTIN(G)S, sb. pi. Irel. Lakel. Cum. Nhp. Also
written oartins N.I.' ; oertens s.Don. ; ortens Lakel. '^ ;
and in forms wottens Lakel.^ ; wottins Cum. Leavings
of food ; also usedy?^. See Ort.
N.L' Other weemen's ortins shan't be Sally's pick. Dwn.
(A.L.M.) S.Don. Simmons G/. (1890). LakeL2,Cum. (M.P.),Nhp.i2
ORUL, V. w.Cy. [Not known to our correspondents.]
To have a longing for. (Hall.)
ORVE, ORY, see Hauve, v}, Orra, adj.'^
ORZELON, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also in form oslin
(Jam.), a species of apple ; also in comb. Oslin pippin.
The Oshn pippin is sometimes called the ' Original,' and some-
times the ' Arbroath pippin." . . The Oslin has been for time
immemorial cultivated at St. Andrews and Arbroath, Neill
Hoiiic. Edb. Encycl. 209 (Jam.).
OSBORN IRON, phr. Obs. Mon. Small square bars
of iron, used for making wire at Tintern.
They take little square bars, made like bars of steel, which they
call Osborn iron, wrought on purpose for this manufacture [wire-
work], Ray(i69i) 16; (K.)
OSBUD, OSEL, OSENY, see Hosebird, Ossil, Halsen.
OSHEN, sb. Obs. Gall. A person of a mean dispo-
sition. Mactaggart Encycl. (1876). Cf. orishen.
OSHEY, sb. Hrt. [o'Ji.] Soft, low-lying meadow-land.
Not so soft as the words swampy or marshy would imply,
CusSANS Hist. Hrt. (1879-1881) III. 320.
OSIER-HOLT, sb. Not. Nhp. Oxf. Brks. Hnt. An
osier-bed. Not. (L.C.M.), Nhp.'^ Oxf, Brks. Druce
Flora (1897) 46. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
OSKALLATER, sb. Cum.* The eyed hawk-moth,
Smerinthus ocellaius. A corruption of ' ocellata.'
OSKEN, OSKIN, see Oxgang.
OSLIN, OSMAL, O'S'MIVVER, see Orzelon, Ozmilt,
Howsomever.
3 A
OSNABURGH
[362]
OTHER
OSNABURGH, sb. Obs. or obsol. Also in form osen-
brug. A kind of coarse linen or ticking.
Sc. Ae time I was in Glasgow, wanting some tyking or Osen-
brugs, or what the fiend ye ca' them, what ye mak' pillows and
bowsters o', Sc. Haggis, 133. Ags. Named from its resemblance
to that made in Osnaburgh in Germany (Jam.). Flf. The brisk
times of the great war, when Osnaburgs kept all hands busy,
CoLViLLE Vernacular (1899) 9.
OSNEY, see Halsen.
OSS, V. and sb. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Fit.
Stf. Der. Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Won Shr. Hrf. Rdn. Mtg.
Oxf. Also written osse N.Cy.'' w.Yks.' Chs.'^; and in
forms ause w.Wor.^ Shr.^ ; aust Lei.^ ; awse e.Lan.' ;
hos Der. ; hoss Der.° ; host Lan. ; oast Lei.' War.^ ;
orse Lan. War. ; est Stf. Lei.' Nhp.'' [os, 9s.] 1. v. To
attempt, try, endeavour ; to begin, set about doing. Also
with at. Cf. hawse, v}
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; (K.) Cum.2 Wm. Soa yee see Ise ossin
towart hausekeepin, Wheeler Dial, (1790) 64. w.Yks. When a
fellow tried to do a difficult thing he was said to ' oss' (C.V.C.) ;
■w.Yks.'^^ ; w.Yks." He ossed but failed ; w.Yks.^ He nivver
osses to du owt 'at I sehr him tul — nivver. Lan. Duz teaw orse
for t'turn eawt another drift o' thees pigs again ? Walker P/«i«8«
Pol. (1796) 5, ed. 1801 ; When he awst to don it on it slipt o'er
his sow, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 25 ; Hoo ost to speyk un
hoo cud no do, Paul Bobbin Sequel {iBig) 33 ; He should never
awse to dee, Waugh Sngs. (ed. 1871) 49; It is no use hosting
when you've forgotten owt, Westall Birch Dene (1889) II. 147 ;
Lan.', ne.Lan.' e.Lan.' When a man offers a woman his hand,
he is said ' to awse at her.' Chs. He doesna oss for t'go (E.M.G.) ;
Chs.3 s.CUs.' Nai, du)nu yoa' os tu reyd non, Jon [Nai, dunna
yo oss to reid none, John]. Fit. Yo dunna oss to do it,
Hallam Dial. Wds. (1885) 61. Stf.' Der.= He none osses at it.
nw.Der.', Nhp.^ -w.Wor.' ' I roiid this 'ere pouny ahl the waay to
Bewdley, an' 'e never wunst aused to shy.' Seldom used but
when the attempt is unsuccessful. ' 'E ossed to jump the bruck,
but 'e couldna do't ; t'warn't likely ! ' Shr.' 'Er'll never oss to
put anythin' in its place as lung as 'er can get through 'em.
Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1B76). Hrf.', Rdn.'
Hence (i) Ossing, vbl. sb. the act of attempting or
trying ; (2) Ossment, sb. an attempt, essay.
(i) Chs. Ossing comes to bossing, i.e. courting and wooing
brings dallying and doing, Ray Prov. (ed. i860) 46 ; Chs. N. & Q.
(1885) V. 48. Der.' Shr. Bound Provinc. (1876). (2) Shr.'
I doubt 'e'U never do no good — I dunna like 'is ossment.
2. To dare, venture.
N.Cy.^ ' I did not osse to meddle with it,' i. e. I did not dare,
Ray (1691). w.Yks. (J.W.), Lan. Obsol. (H.M.) s.Stf. Do' yo'
ost to touch me, or I'll ha' the law on yer, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann.
(1895). Lei.' Yo' doon't aust to dew noo such a thing. Shr. He
does not oss to do it, Hrf. Gl. (1839).
3. To design, intend ; to intend to do.
n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.2 w.Yks. Hutton Tom?- to CaW5 (1781). Lan.
' Eh Mary, w'ereta for ? ' ' O'm ossin' t'goo t'Eccles,' Hallam Dial.
Wds. (1885) 60. Chs. Bailey (1721) ; Chs.' 'Why did Noah go
into the ark ? ' ' Please, teacher, because God was ossin for
t'drown the world.' Der. Aw'm ossin t'goo t'Buxton, Hallam
Dial. Wds. (1885) 58.
4. To offer ; to offer to do a thing.
w.Yks. He oss'd ta feit, but nooa body wod bodder wi' him
(B.K.) ; They owe fer cannels, an' meyle, an' nivver oss to pay,
Bickerdike Beacon Aim. (1875) 41. Lan. An' nobody ossin' to
do it. Axon Black Kt. (1870) 56. Chs. He ne'er osses pay me,
Clough B. BresskiUle (1879) 4. Der. (L.W.) Wor. Tom Stokes
'e ossed to goo an ketch 'er, Outis Vig. Mon. m.Wor. He stood
up and 'ossed' to fight me (J.C). Wor., Mtg. Getting less
common (H.K.). Oxf. Holloway.
5. To show promise ; to ' shape.'
Chs.' ' He osses badly ' would be said of a man who began a job
in a clumsy manner. s.Chs.' Yoa- bin)u os-in tu dbv dhaat- [Yo
binna ossin' to do that]. Der. A workman is said to 'hos' when he
shapes badly or well at his work (J.B.) ; 'Ow does th' newsarvant
mon oss ? Hallam Dial. Wds. (1885) 58. War. It is very commonly
said, that such a man orsed well, meaning that he began well
or attempted well, A^. b" Q. (1872) 4th S. ix. 404. Shr.' I think
the chap knows his work, 'e osses pretty well. Shr., Hrf. A new
servant is said to oss well. Bound Provinc. (1876). Hrf.*
6. To incline, lean ; to push or thrust in any direction ;
Jig. to show an inclination or leaning in any direction.
Chs.3 It osses to rain. Der., Not. In common use. I have
heard a small farmer during a long drought say : ' Dun you
know if the glasses is ossing to sattle ? ' [Is the mercury in the
barometer beginning to fall?], N. & Q. (1872) 4th S. ix. 492.
Lei.' 'A oos'ses to this side,' said of a horse : also, 'A costs so
loongeous,' when violently tugging. ' The top n' the wall osts
ovver welly a foot.' War.^
7. To recommend a person to something good.
Chs.23 s.Chs.' Ahy)l os yii tu ii giid ef ur [I'll oss y6 to a good
heifer]. Fit. I ossed [or osst] 'im to that place, Hallam Dial,
Wds. (1885) 61. Shr. I ossed 'er to a place, ib. 60.
8. sb. An attempt, essay.
w.Yks. He made an oss at it an missed (D.L.).
[1. Cp. pus answars Jiam J)aire aid gode, & osses on J)is
wyse, Wars Alex. (c. 1450) 2263.]
OSSELL, adv. Obs. Yks. Perhaps. w.Yks. Thoresby
Lell. (1703) ; w.Yks.*
OSSIGER, sb. Or.L Also written ossiegar and in
form oziger. The condition of a fowl when moulting.
A fowl moulting is ' in ossiger,' and one beginning to moult is
' gaun in ossiger' (J.G.) ; (S.A.S.) ; S. & Ork.i
OSSIL, sb. Sh.L Also written osel. A short line to
which a fish-hook is attached.
Osels, cork, cutch, rods, reels, flies, and every requisite for sea
and loch fishing, Sh. News (Aug. 12, 1899) ; S. & Ork.'
OSSLE, see Hostle, Hustle.
OST, see Oast, sb.^% Oss.
OSTED, adv. Lan. [aste'd.] Instead. See Astead.
Osted o hawsin fur to lay summut by fur o rainy day, Ormerod
Felly fro Rachde (1864) i.
OSTENTATE, v. ? Obs. Sc. To make a display or
exhibition.
Ayr. Merchants were enabled to vie and ostentate with the
better sort of lairds, Galt Provost (1822) xxxiv.
Hence Ostentation, sb. display, exhibition ; used^^.
There was rather an overly ostentation of spice in yon muggle-
catawny soup, ib. Lairds (1826) xxiii.
OSTRAY, sb. Yks. [o'strea.] A long, low bench for
putting lumps of warp on. w.Yks. (J.G.) See Horse, 6 (2).
OSTRIL, sb. Nrf. Also written orstril. [o'stril.]
The osprey or fish-hawk, Pandion haliaetus. Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 46.
OSWIL, s6. Sh.L [8-zwil.] Usual thing; a dial, form
of ' usual.' ' Dat's juist da auld oswil,' Sh. JVews (Dec. 9, 1899).
OSY, sb. Sc. An easy-going, good-tempered person.
Gen. in comb, with easy. Also used attrib.
Sc. ' O Lord, what are we this mornin' but a parcel o' easy
osies? ' HiSLOP Anecdote (1874) 592. Bnff.' A parcel o' easy, osy
sooter bodies. Cld., Lth. He's an easy, osy creature (Jam.).
Dmf. (J.Ar.)
OT, pron. and conj. Lan. [at.] 1. pron. That. See
At, rel. pron.
A chap in Germany, ot had a sister in Omerica, Gaskel Sngs.
(1841) 16. s.Lan. Picton Dial. (1865) 24.
2. conj. That. See At, conj.
O woman ot could swear ot our family wur o kin to theirs,
Gaskel Sngs. (1841) 16. s.Lan. Theaw seys ot this tit's thy tit,
Picton Dial. (1865) 24.
OT, OTCHEN, see Ort, Urchin.
OTEN, adv. Som. Often. (Hall.)
OTH(E, see Oath.
O'THEM, phr. Sc. Some of them.
Cld. O' them faucht, C them fled (Jam.).
Hence Othem Upothem, phr. cold flummery, used
instead of milk, along with boiled flummery ; see below.
Abd. 'Of them,' as well as 'upon them,' i.e. the same sort of
substance used at once both as meat and drink, or in a solid and
fluid state (Jam.).
OTHER, adj}, pron}, adv. and sb. Var. dial, forms and
uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. [u-cS3(r, •B'(53(r, u-dtSa(r, u-da(r,
i-tS3(r.] I. Dial, forms : (i) Idder, (2) Idur, (3) Ither, (4)
Oather, (5) Odder, (6) Oder, (7) Udder, (8) Udthre, (9)
Wither, (10) Worther, (11) Wother. See Tother.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) Sh.I. Ony idder truss dey cud get, Stewart
Tales (1892) 7. Bnff.' (2) Yks. It's t'way wiv yaal t'lassies, ain
cannot abide t'idur gin sheea's bonnier, Macquoid Doris Barugh
(1877) xiii. (3) Sc. Like ither folk, Scott St. Ronan (1824) xxviii.
OTHER
[363]
OTHERSOME
ne.Sc. Fa the itlier ane wis Ah cudna tell, Green Gordonhaven
(1887) SI- Cai.i, Bnff.i Uls. It'll no b' lang till ye get it back
again, an ony ither twa-three pun a may hae scrapit up, M'Ilroy
CraigUnnie (1900) 153. Nhb. Ye should ha . . . sent some ither
chap heame, Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 7. Yks. Skeeal-
maisters has their notions as weel's ither fooaks, Macquoid
Doris. Barugh (1877) Prol. i. (4) Ess.i (5) Edb. T'odder syde,
Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) 708, Scenary ed. ne.Lan."- (6) Ken.
(G.B.) (7) Cum.^ He wad gi' ma udder five shilling, 3. Wm.
Somehoo ur udder. Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii. 42. n.Yks. Tha
mun mak inrooads on udder's dominions, Castillo Poems (1878)
55. m.Yks.i Lan. Udder useful things. Eavesdropper Vill. Life
(1869) 8. (8) Wm. Es mickle reet tult es udthre fooak, Gooardy
Jenkins. (9) Som. I drenk tha sporklin cyder. An wish ^aw wither
wine, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (t&z^) 129. (10) Dev.' (11)
Dev. To one the wother they tipped the sign, Peter Pindar
Royal Visit (1795) 156, ed. 1824.
II. Dial. uses. 1. adj. In phr. (i) other pears to pull,
(2) other tow to tease, obs., other things to do, ' other fish to
fry'; (3) the other end of himself , his counterpart.
(i) Edb. We maun part — we've ither pears to pou', Learmont
Poems (1791) 268. (2) Nhb.i n.Yks. Sheea had udder tow te
teeaze, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 36. (3) Ir. There was . . .
a young woman named Sally Lowry who was just the other end
of himself, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 85.
2. A, ever a ; also in phr. other one, ever-a-one.
■w.Som. Construed in this sense, with singular nouns only. As
u-gau'iit uudhur pau'gut? [Hast got ever a pocket?], Elworthy
Gram. (1877) 27 ; w.Som.^ 'As a-got other knive ? Dids zee other
buUick comin along ? Where's thy angkecher ? 's a-got other
one? Plase to len' una dipper, nif you'd a-got other one. nw.Dev.i
3. Any.
w.Som.i [Let it] 'be tried by other farmer you mind to ' is the
commonest form ofoffering to refer a dispute. ' I'll back my Pinch
vor a vive pound note, to draw a fox or a badger way other terrier
in the county,' ib. (s.v. Draw).
4. Additional ; successive, following in succession ;
' another.'
Frf. Auld Ebenezer toddled out an' in, gettin' aye the ither bit
troke dune for hira, Willock Rosetiy Ends (1886) 141, ed. i88g.
Dmb. As the win' blew the ither thud. He thought the diel was in
the wood, Taylor Poems (1827) 72. Edb. The king was turn'd
canty with the other gill, Mitchell Tinklarian (ed. 1810) 10.
e.Dur.i We had a sale of work and made {,20, also a social and
dance, and made other twenty. n.Yks.^ 'Give me other two,'
two more. w.Yks. If they'd as't me other seven-an-sixpence I'st
ha' paid it, Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884) 6.
5. Next, succeeding.
Slk. A young soldier . . . come to Innismore the other year,
Hogg Tales (1838) 383, ed. 1866. N.I.i ' Other morrow,' the day
after to-morrow.
6. pron. Each other, one another.
Sc. Murray Dial. (1873) 177 ; How cheerily our wark gaed on.
How pleased we were wi' ither, Outram Lyrics (1887) 99. Cai.'
'Ey tell ilka thing till ither. Elg. They got sae fou, they kentna
ither, Tester Poems (1865) 150. Abd. Fechtin' wi' ither i' the
gutters, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 10. Frf. The tott'ring chairs
on ither clink. Piper of Peebles (1794) i3- Fif. Wi' joy unfeigned
they'll ither greet, Gray Poems (1811) 25. Rnf. Since we kent
ither, Clark Rhymes (1843) 16. Ayr. Hear their absent thoughts
o' ither, Burns Twa Dogs (1786) 1. 221. Lnk. The pair were
wondrous fond o' ither, Murdoch Doric Lyre {i&qz) 102. Edb. To
tak their drap an' crack wi' ither, Liddle Poems (1821) 157. Bwk.
Meetings at other's ingles, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 84.
Dmf. They . . . struck at ither feckless blows, Shennan Tales
(1831) 36. N.I.i If they take out the gun they'll shoot other.
Dwn. The returneys fell oot an' ca'd ither names, Lyttle Robin
Gordon, 72. Cav. Them cocks fought yesterday and hurted other
(M.S.M.).
7. adv. Otherwise, else.
Sh.I. We Ot dem, av coorse. What idder wir we gaen ta du?
Sh. News (Mar. 10, 1900).
8. sb. In phr. der nae idder for hit, there was no other
way or thing for it.
Sh.I. Der nae idder for hit, bit toil an' drag while der braeth 1
da body, Sh. News (Mar. 10, 1900).
OTHER, adj.'^, pron?- and conj. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks.
Lan. Chs. Nrf. Som. Dev. Also in forms oather s.Chs.^ ;
othur Lan.; outher Edb. Nhb. Cum.; owder Cum.;
owther s.Sc. Yks. ; uther Nrf. ; wother n.Dev. [BSa(r,
9-S3(r), au-(S3(r.] 1. adj. Either. See Awther, Either.
w.Som.i Other one o'm 'U do. Dev. Aw 'es, yii can 'ave other
wan aw'm. I bant perticler whichee 'tez, Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892). nw.Dev.'-
2. pron. In phr. of other, of the two.
s.Chs.i Wei, naa much dif-runt ; ahy thingk- &e)z iiv oa'dhur
gy'et-in wos [' Well, Mrs. Clutton, how's your husband ? ' ' Well,
na' much different ; I think he's of oather gettin' woss '].
3. Each one, each of the two.
Cum. Nought there's a wanting. Save summut they lang for —
that's outher a man, Rayson Poems (1839) 54. w.Yks. (J.W.)
4. conj. Either.
s.Sc. O' ye'r love 'twill owther men' ye. Or a wee deceive the
time, T. Scott Poems (1793) 358. Edb. When fock are outher
late or sune Ramjee'd wi' whisky, Learmont Pof»!5 (1791) 172.
Nhb. I dinna ken that outher, Jones Nhb. (1871) 64. Cum. (J.A.)
Yks. To run off wiv owther t'bairns or t'brass, Simpson Biggersdale
(1893) 56. Lan. Othur be hooke ur be krooke, Gt. Eggshibishim
(1856) II. ne.Lan.l Nrf. [They] doant b'leeve in uther God or
devil, Spilling Giles (1872) 76. w.Som.i At the end of a clause.
I tell ee hot I'll do, I'll call in myzul, or Jim can come, other. Take
other one o' th' 'osses you mind to, or the poney'U go there nif a
shall, other. n.Dev. Exni. Scold. (1746) 1. 307.
OTHER, see Hotter, v.
OTHEREN, adj. Wor. Glo. Also written otherin
Glo.i [B-Saran.] Other; alternate,esp.inphr.ewrji'o^A«r««.
s.Wor. That tree bears every otheren year (H.K.); s.Wor.^
se.Wor.' ' Every otheren one,' every alternate one. Glo.*
OTHERGATES, adv. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Lan. War.
Also written othergaits N.Cy.' n.Yks.' ^ w.Yks.^ War.'^^ ;
and in_ forms othergeeats n.Yks.^ ; uddergeatts Cum.^
[u'tSagets, -giats.] Otherwise.
N.Cy.l, Cum.l, n.Yks.' = *, ne.Yks.', m.Yks.^, w.Yks.l, Lan.i,
ne.Lan.l -war. B'ham TVkly. Post {June 17, 1893); War.i = 3
OTHERGUESS, adj and adv. Cum. Yks. Wil. Som.
Dev. Slang. Amer. Also in forms othergais, -gaz w.Yks.' ;
-gize n.Wil. ; -guise w.Yks.' Wil.' [u'tSages, B'tSsges.]
1. adj. Of another kind or variety.
Cnm. 'Tis for otherguess noddles than thine, Gilpin Sngs. (1866)
53 ; Cum.* w.Yks.' Them words hez quite an clear an othergaz
meeanin, ii. 319. Slang. It's other guess work When a man has to
do with a Pilgrim or Palmer, Barham Ingoldsby (ed. 1864) S. Gen-
gulphus ; If I had been there, I believe I should have done other-
guess things, Fielding /. Andrews (1742) bk. 11. vii. [Amer.
N. & Q. (1870) 4th S. vi. 249, 328.]
2. adv. Otherwise, on the contrary.
w.Yks.' Othergais ye wodn't a put in't' vara saam skits, ii.
354. Wil.' n.Wil. Thuryou caant expect no othergize (E.H.G.).
Som. As works some wunderful cures, or otherguess miakes
girt slaughter, Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 40. Dev. Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 312.
OTHERGUIZ'D, ppl. adj n.Yks.'^ [u'tSagaizd.] Dis-
guised ; in a character different to the real one.
OTHERKINS, adj Yks. [u'tSakinz.] Of another
kind or sort.
n.Yks.'; n.Yks. = ' Otherkins fooaks,' a separate set. 'They
have gone anotherkins geeat,' a different road to the one supposed.
OTHER-LUCKER, a^'. 1 Obs. Dev. Of another kind.
Dev.' It be other-lucker books us ha' vrom the Pason, 3.
[ME. oierluker, otherwise, differently. He kidde o=Ser-
lukerhismihte, Horn. Trin. MS. (c. 1250), ed. Morns, 97.
OE. oSerhcor, otherwise (B.T.).]
OTHEROUS,«fi??: Glo.' [B-Saras.] Otherwise, different.
Things is dull enough now, and last summer wasn't much
otherous.
OTHERS, sb. Yks. Also in forms oathers e.Yks. ;
odhers e.Yks.' [g'tSaz.] Way, fashion ; method ; lit.
? orders. ,
e.Yks. Ah deean't knoa what we'r gannin' te deea wi t fooaks
if they keep cummin' i' this oathers, Wray Nestleton (1876) 41 ;
(C.A.F.) ; e.Yks.' Ah's not boon ti stan by an see poor lad knock't
aboot i that odhers.
OTHERSOME, pron., adv. and adj. Sc. Nhb. Cum.
Yks. Lan. Not. Lin. e.An. Ken. Sur. Sus. Also written
uthersumn.Lin.; and in form odersome Sus. [u-S3(r)sam,
■B-Sasam.] 1. pron. Others, some others.
Cld. NiMMO Sngs. (1882) no. Bwk. When old John Knox,
3 Aa
OTHERTEHOY
[364 J
OUFF
and other some Began to plott the bags of Rome, Henderson Po/i.
Rhymes (1856) 71. N.Cy.l Nhb.' In constant use. Cum." Some
flowers is blue, and othersome yellow ; Cum." ne.Yks.i Sum'U
mebbe deea t'job, an' othersura weean't. e.Yks. Sum fooaks is
wahse ti pleease then other sum, Nicholson /"tt-S/>. (1889) 76;
e.Yks.' Some say it is, other-some nut. m. Yks.i, w.Yks.' 2^, Lan.i,
ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.', Not.', Lin.' n.Lin. Sum on 'em was dead an'
uthersum next door to it (M.P.) ; n.Lln.' Sum I sell'd afoore
Christmas at twelve shillin' a seek, uther sum I kep' while
May-da'. swXin.', e.An.' Nrf. Well, sir, you see, some do, and
other some don't (W.R.E.) ; Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893)
99. Ken.i, Sur.i
2. adv. Sometimes, other times.
Lan. Sometimes it went 'Tong ! ' an' othersome 'Tingle-ingle ! '
Clegg Sketches (1895) 466. Sus. Sumwhiles a dey's turmut hoein,
an othersum a dey's tan flawin, Jackson Southward Ho (1894) I.
251 ; Sus.i Sometimes my old gal's better than what she be other-
some, but she be hem ornary again to-dee.
3. Sometime.
Sus. But dappen I wol be round odersome de nix wick, Jackson
Southward Ho (1894) I. 200.
4. adj. Of another sort, various.
n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.^ 'An othersome lot,' as a better sample, for
instance, than the rest. ' At othersome times ' ; n.Yks.*
5. Contradictory, ' touchy.'
■w.Yks. T'gaffer's a bit other-some to-day (B.K.).
OTHERTEHOY, sb. e.YIcs.i [u-(5eti-ol.] A silly,
blundering person ; one who tallcs foolishly. See Hotter-
poke, s.v. Hotter, v. 9.
OTHER W AY(S, a^z;. Not. Dev. Also in form wother-
n.Dev. Otherwise.
s.Not. Do as ah tell yer, otherways y'uU do wrong (J.P.K.).
n.Dev. Or wotherway twel zet e-Iong, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 275.
OTHERWHERE{S, «(/w. Sc. Yks. Lin. Ken. Sus. Also
in form ither- Sc. 1. Elsewhere, in some other place.
Cat. His mind's aye itherwheres fan it should be here, Horne
Countryside (1896) 48. Ayr. There's wit there, ye'll get there,
Ye'U find nae other where, Burns Ep. to Davie (1784) st. 7.
Lnk. I may find some other where Ane mair kind, although less
fair, Rodger Poems (1838) 72, ed. 1897. w.Yks. Tha'rt as
welcome as otherwheer, Snowden Web of Weaver (,1896) 180.
n.Lin.' I've been lookin' for it all oher an' can't find it ; mester
mun hev hidden'd it uther wheare. Ken. (G.B.), Sus.'
2. Phr. otherwhere else, elsewhere. Ken.'
OTHERWHILE(S, adv. Sc. Yks. Lin. Ken. Sur. Sus.
Hmp. 1. At other times.
Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks.2, e.Yks.' n.Lin.' Sumtimes I goas oot
taatiein', utherwhiles I mak' a bit by knittin'.
2. Sometimes, now and then, occasionally.
s.Cy. Grose (1790). Ken.' ' Every otherwhile a little,' i.e. a
little now and then ; Ken.^, Sur.' Sus. Otherwhile we catched
so many, Lower Stray Leaves (1862) 42 ; (S.P.H.) ; Sus.' I has
a horn of beer otherwhile, but never nothing to do me no hurt ;
Sus.2, Hmp.i
OTHERWISE, arfy. Yks. Out of sorts, poorly.
n.Yks. Ah's all otherwus (T.S.). w.Yks. Not very common.
' How'syar Mary ?' 'I'm flared shoo'snobbut otherwise' (S.P.U.);
In use in Craven and Nidderdale (R.B.).
OTMILLO, sb. War. [otmU5.] A children's game ;
see below.
A kneels with his face on B's lap ; the other players standing
in the background. They step forward one by one at a signal
from B, who says to each in turn — ' 'Otmillo, 'Otmillo, where is
the poor man to go ? ' A then designates a place for each one.
When all are despatched, A removes his face from B's knees,
and, standing up, exclaims ' Hot ! hot ! hot ! ' The others then
run to him, and the laggard is blinded instead of A, Northall
Flk-Rhymes (1892) 401-2.
OTMOOR,s6. Obs. Oxf In phr. O/woor^w'/, a disease
among cattle. See Moor-evil, s.v. Moor, sb} 1.
There were here [at Oddington] two minerals springs, one
a specific against ' Otmoor Evil,' a disease which used to attack
cattle feeding in the swamps of Otmoor, Murray Handbk. Oxf.
(1894) 94-
OTOMY, OTT, see Anatomy, Ort.
OTTER, sd. ScCum. [otsr.] L In com;!', (i) Otter-
coke, (2) -grains, the dung of the otter ; (3) -pike, the
common or lesser weever, Trachinus vipera.
(i, 2) Cum." (3) Fif. Draco sive Araneiis minor; I take it to
be the same our fishers call the Otter-pike or Sea-stranger,
SiBBALD Hist.' Fif. (1803) 127 (Jam.).
2. The barb of a fishing-hook; an illegal fishing imple-
ment used by poachers.
Lnk. The secretary thought he'd try the Brown, For illegal
was the otter, Stewart Twa Elders (1886) 143. Dmf. The barb
part of a hook, . . it being like an otter, apt at catching fish,
Wallace Schoolmaster (iSgoi) 355.
OTTERDOCKEN, sb. Obsol. Cum.* Also in form
hotterdockin. A little, insignificant, ill-disposed person.
Cf. hotter-dockin, s.v. Hotter, v.
OTTERLINE, sb. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) A cow in calf
during her second year. Also used attrib. See Etterlin.
OTTIMAZE, see Anatomy.
OTTOMALL, sb. Or.I. (Jam. Suppl.) Also written
ottomail, and in forms ottom, ottum. A portion of
outfield or pasture land, newly put under cultivation.
OTTY-MOTTY, s6. Chs. Der. [o'ti-moti.] Suspense.
Chs.' Keepin him in otty-motty, an noather tellin him one
thing or another — it's enough to vex annybody. Der.^, nw.Der.'
OU, int. and v. Sc. Nhb. Also written ow Sc. ; and in
form 00 Sc. Nhb. [ii.] 1. int. Oh !
Sc. ' Reasonable charges ? ' said the sexton ; ' ou, ther's grund-
mail, — and bell-siller,' Scott Bride of Lam. (i8ig) xiv. ne.Sc.
Ow, it's easy for you t' say so. Green Gordonhaven (1887) 114.
Abd. Ou, fat's the eese o' that? Alexander yb/jK«jy Gibb (1871) i.
w.Sc. ' Weel, Jamie, boo are ye the day ? ' ' Brawley, ou brawley,'
Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 46. Edb. Oo, it suits the like o'
me fine, Campbell Deilie focli (1897) 216.
2. Comb, (i) Ou ay(e, an asseveration : oh ! indeed,
yes ; (2) — losh, an exclamation of surprise : indeed.
(i) Sc. Gen. used indiscriminately. At other times expressive
of some degree of impatience or dissatisfaction, as when one is
told what seems unnecessary (Jam.) ; ' A fine evening, sir.' . .
' Ow ay ! sir, a bra' night,' replied the lieutenant, Scott Waverley
(i8i4)xxxix. Cai.' tj-ai. e.Sc. ' Ou ay,' his mother answered,
Setoun Sunshine {1^^^ 189. Abd. Ou aye, Abraham's or Beelze-
bub's, ye ken, sirr, they're baith Scriptur' names, Paul Abd.
(1881) 29. Frf. ' Ou, ay,' she said, 'they're expectin' veesitors at
the lawyer's,' Barrie Thrums (1888) ii. Per. Ou ay ! a' lawfu'
eneugh, Joseph ! Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 147, ed. 1887.
w.Sc. ' Now, Jamie, have you plenty to eat and drink!' ' Ou ay,'
Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 46. Fif. Oo ay. It would be
a michty shame if they didna, Robertson Provost (1894) 22.
Ayr. What was't he said I micht speak o' ? Ouay ! there was
something about huntin', and courtin', Service Notandums (1890)
48 ; (J.M.) Lnk. Ou-aye, . . here's for ye, Wardeop J. Mathison
(1881) 19. Slk. What's this I was gaun to say ? Ou ay. A man's
real character, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 262. Gall. Ow
aye, ye wonder at me, Crockett Standard Bearer (1808) 189.
Nhb. Oo ay, it's just a bit present frae yer ould friend, Jones
Nhb. (1871) 128. (2) ,Frf. 'Ay, ay, ou losh 1' she said, as if
surprised, ' it was just the cloak,' Barrie Minister (1891) viii.
3. V. To ejaculate, to say ' ou.'
Lnk. John oo'd and nicher'd like a stallion, M=Indoe Poems
(1805) 145.
OU, OUBIT, OUCH, see Hoo, pron., Oobit, Ough.
OUCHILS, sb. pi. Som. Dev. [au'tjilz, B'tjilz.] Out-
side slabs of wood ; the uneven rounded pieces, sawn on
one side only from the outsides of trees. Cf. outshells, s.v.
Out, adv. 1 (62).
w.Som.' Dev. Tid'n no ways particular; ouchils are good
enough for that job. Reports Provinc. (1884) 25. nw.Dev.'
OUGHT, see Ocht.
OUDER, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also written owder (Jam.).
1. A light mist or haze, such as is sometimes seen on a
cloudy morning when the sun rises.
Slk. A cloud of light haze, or (as the country people call it)
the blue ouder, Hogg Tales (1838) 33, ed. 1866.
2. The flickering exhalation, seen to arise from the
ground in the sunshine of a warm day, ' summer-couts,'
' king's weather.' Slk. (Jam.)
OUER, OUF, see Over, Oaf.
OUF-DOG, sb. Sc. A wolf-hound.
Slk. Then came their coUarit phantom tykis. Like ouf-dogs
an' like gaspin gfiews, Hogg Hunt ofEildon, 322 (Jam.).
OUFF, sb. and v. Sc. Also written owfE Abd. [auf.]
1. sb. The sound of a dog barking.
OUGH
[365]
OUK
Gall. 'Ouff!' quoth Ashie protestingly, deep in his stomach,
Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 9 ; ' Ouff-ouiT! ' barked Royal
behind him, ib. Kit Kennedy (1899) 153.
2. w. To bark.
Abd. Curly-haired doggies thatbowff, wowff, owff! Cadenhead
Bon-Accord (1853) 249.
OUGH, int. and sb. Sc. Irel. and Amer. Also written
ouch Gall. Amer. [uX-] 1. int. An exclamation of pain
or disgust.
Gall. There's rats in this hoose, I'll be bound ! Ouch, I see
one ! Crockett Raiders (1894) v ; All he had said was ' Ouch ! '^
in the circumstances, a somewhat natural remark, ib. Kit Kennedy
(1899) 300. Qco. Ough, by the hokys ! Harrington Sketches
(1830) I. i. [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 234, 236.]
2. sb. The sound made when expelling the breath forcibly.
Ayr. [He] heard the ' ough ' of the colliers, as they drave their
picks into the wa', Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 135.
Hence Oughing, ppl. adj. of the wind : sighing, blowing
gently.
Sc. An' oughin', soughin', winnin' wind. Ford Thistledown
(1891) 48.
OUGHT, V. Van dial, forms and uses in Sc. Irel. and
Amer. [9t,out,Sc. axt, oxt,w.Cy. 9f(t,of.] I. Dial. forms:
1. (i) Aight, (2) Aucht, (3) Auf, (4) Aufght, (5) Auft,
(6) Aught, (7) ?Har, (8) Hoft, (9) Ocht, (10) Off, (11) Oft,
(12) Oht, (13} Ort, (14) Oughts, (15) Owght, (16) Owt.
(i) w.Yks.* (2) Cai.i Abd. Alexander Johnny Gibb (1873)
xlv. (3) w.Som.i Uur niivur dud-n au-f tiie u-wai'nt [She never
ought to have gone]. (4) Dev. A vox . . . aufght to be killed on
the Sabbath, as on the weekday, Cornh. Mag. (Nov. 1887) 515.
(5) Dev. Ha auft ta took et like a man ! N. Hogg Poet. Lett. (ed.
1865) 54. (6) Sc. Scott Nigel (1822) v. e.An.i (7) Nrf. We
har tew hev, Rye Hist. Nrf. (1885) xv. (8) Cor. Our cheldurn too,
as well as we. Like granden people hoft to be, Tregellas Farmer
Brown (1857) 4. (9) Cai.^ Abd. Mair interested in you than she
ocht to be, Greig Logie 0' Buchan (1899) 48. w.Sc. He ocht tae
be oor minister, Macdonald Settlement (1869) 31, ed. 1877.
Ayr. Ballads and Sngs. (1847') 11. 83. Lnk. It ocht to mak' ye
blush wi' shame, Orr Laigh Flichts (1882) 83. Dmf. Quinn
Heather (1863) 40. n.Ir. Them an' the lump o' beef ocht tae fill
up the far-Ian, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 65. (10) w.Som.i ' You
off to a told me o' it.' In the present ' off' is the regular form,
'ought' the exception. (11) s.Dev. Fox Kingsbridge (1874).
Cor. We should think that he oft for to knaw, Forfar Cousin
Jan (1859) St. II ; Cor.12 [It oft to be to every one, Fielding
T. Jones (1749) bk. vii. i.] (12) nXin.' (13) nw.Dev.^ Cor.
Well, I reckon and so he ort, Baring-Gould Curgenven (1893)
xxxvii. [Amer. You ort to've hed the law on him, Westcott
David Harum (1900) i.] (14) Stf. Her oughts to stay till her's
got him i' the boat, Knight's Quarterly Mag. (1823) 299. (15)
n.Yks. One owght te saay, Linskill Haven Hill {1BZ6) xxi. (16)
Wm. Yur owt ta been duing yur larful business, 'Ward R. Elsmere
(1888) bk. I. ii. e.Yks. I isn't what I owt to be, Wray Nesileton
(1876) 70. w.Yks. Net gettin' t'food as a owt sooin made mha feel
varra unweel, Yks. Factory Times (Aug. 2, 1889) 8, col. 6. Lan.
Mrs. Wolcombe owt to be telled, Saunders Abel Drake (1862) i.
Lin. An' I thowt 'a said whot a owt to 'a said, Tennyson N. Farmer,
Old Style (1864) st. 5. Suf.i
2. Var. contractions and comb. : (i) Ochtna, ought not ;
(2) Ortter, ought to ; (3) Ouchtna, see (i) ; (4) Oughter,
see (2) ; (5) Owdant, (6) Owtan't, see (i).
(i) Cal.i (2) [Amer. "You'd ortter've known, Westcott ZJaw/rf
Harum (1900) xxiii.] (3) Abd. I ouchtna to hae interuppit it,
Macdonald R. Falconer (1868) 261. (4) s.Oxf. Rosemary Chil-
tems (1895) 22. Brks. You oughter be proud of un, Cornh. Mag.
(Nov. 1900) 657. Bdf. If you'll 'elp— an you'd oughter, Ward
Bessie Costrell (1895) 123. Hrt. I oughter 'ave looked arter her
more, Geary Rur. Life (1899) 151. Nrf. Haggard Col. Quaritch
(1888) III. v. Hmp. (H.C.M.B.) Dev. They oughter carry me,
Salmon Ballads (1899) 47. [Amer. He oughter know a body. Cent.
Mag. (Dec. 1884) 276.] (5) w.Yks.s (6) ib. He owtan't tul a done
sich 'na thing.
II. Dial. uses. 1. Used after the aux. do, have, and
shall. Gen. in pret.
Not.i n.Lin.i Thaay shouldn't ought to press a strlght-gooin'
man for his rent up to th' very daay. Now, Master Edward, you
doan't ought to talk in that waay. I shouldn't have ought to ha'
dun it. Lei.i I did ought to ha' thought o' that. War.^ Hrf.
Thou had ought to a come afore, Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 166.
s.Oxf. Rose had ought to get married, Rosemary Chilterns (1895)
172. Bdf. You'd oughter put it in the bank. Ward Bessie Costrell
(1895) 9- Nrf. I calls on you to cease living as you didn't oughter,
Haggard Col. Quaritch (1888) III. v. Sur. Onybody as wants to
try to learn summat good did ought ter go, Geary Rur. Life
(1899) 129. Sus.^He hadn't ought to. Hmp. He didn't oughter;
did he 1 (H.C.M.B.) Dor. That's jist how things did ought to be,
Young Rabin Hill (1867) 12. -w.Som.i Always construed with
* did' in negative or conditional sentences, and occasionally even
when affirmative. ' You never did'n ought to a-went aneast the
place.' ' The jistices zaid how that they did ought vor to pay me.'
Dev. A heathen, bewitched thing, as . . . did ought by rights to
have been dust an' ashes long since, Pall Mall Mag. (Apr. 1900)
440. nw.Dev.^ s.Dev. You didn't oft to do so. Fox Kingsbridge
(1874). ''°''- You should oft for to be ashaamed of yourself,
T. Towser (1873) 31. [Amer. It don't seem to me that I had
ought to be made a fool on in that book, Sam Slick Clockmaker
(i836)/«;>-orf.]
2. To own, to be possessed of; gen. as a pret. See
Aught, pp.
Sc. I am answerable for her to those that aught her, Scott
Blk. Dwarf (1816) ix ; Only used with the interrogative and
relative and some indefinite pronouns. 'Thaim at's auwcht it.'
' Ther maun bey sumbodie auwcht it,' Murray Dial. (1873) 193.
Cai.^ Abd. The poor men that ought them followed in, Spalding
Hist.Sc. (1792)1. i6g. Frf.Themanas ocht Jerusalem greets because
the fair Circassian winna take him, Barrie Tommy (i8g6) 202.
3. To owe, be indebted to ; gen. as a pret.
Sc. We aught him the siller, Scott Nigel (1822) v. Abd. Fat
was auchtin you for fat ye laid oot ? Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) xlv. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. i, 1884) 8 ; Watson
Hist. Hlfx. (1775) 531 ; -w.Yks.* Lan. Paying a deal of money
that he ought. Life of A. Martindale (c. 1685) 213, ed. 1845 ;
Burton, on the other hand, said he ought him nothing, ib. 231.
e.An.i He aught me ten pounds. Suf. He never ought she
anything (C.G.B.).
OUGHT, sb. Sc. Yks. Dev. Also written owght Sc.
A cipher, nought. Also \ise.Afig. See Aught, sb.*
Sc. For suredly an owght I were To bide her taunt or cheek,
Aytoun Ballads (ed. i86r) I. 295. Yks. (J.W.) Dev. Oughts
are nothing unless they've strokes to them, N. & Q. (1854)
ist S. ix. 527.
OUGHT, see Aught, pron., Ort.
OUGHTLINS, adv. and sb. Sc. Also written ought-
lens, oughtlings ; and in form ochtlins. [o'xtlinz.] 1.
adv. At all, in the least, in any degree. See Aughtlins.
Sc. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl. Per. If Annie's self can
oughtlins me inspire, NicoL Poems (1766) 175. Ayr. If he was
grown oughtlins douser. Burns Kind sir, Tve read your paper
through, 1. 33. Lnk. Had I been thowless, vext, or oughthns
sow'r, Ramsay Poems (1721) 177.
2. sb. Anything at all.
Per. Can oughtlins better please the gods than this. Or ought-
lins mair augment our happiness? Nicol Poems (1766) 179;
Though you shak the napkin oot, Ye'U no find ochtlins i' the
cloot. Ford Harp (1893) 201. Lnk. Does Tam the Rhymer spae
oughtlings of this ? Ramsay Poems (ed. 1800) 53.
OUGSUM, OUGY, OUIZLE, see Ugsome, Howgy,
Ousel sb?"
Ouk, sb. Sc. Also in forms ook Sc. S. & Ork.i ;
owk, owke, uke Sc. [uk, uk.] A dial, form of ' week.'
Sc. Settle the wordy Mas John Magopico amang us the neest-ook,
Magopico (ed. 1836) 13. Sh.I. Fir ouks [I] cudna sup mair den ae
plate o' gruel i' da mornin', Stewart Tales (1892) 246 ; S. & Ork.i
Or.L This court is appointit to be current for the dyis of this owk,
and forder, Peterkin Notes (1822) Append. 38. Elg. For days and
ouks To keep you stent at bed and board, Couper Poetry (1804)
II. 221. Bnff. My beard an owkhad grown, TaylorPo«>«5 (1787)
4. Abd. Ye met last owke, Robb Poems (1852) 188 ; Till that day
uke we hand us merry At playin' carts, Anderson Poems (ed.
1826)23. Kcd.Tak'anook to think. Grant ioys (1884) 87. Per.
Left us to oorsel's for ooks, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 45.
Fif. Soon — within an owk or twa, Douglas Poems (1806) 105.
Dmb. It was last ouk ae stormy day, Taylor Poems (1827) 71.
Rnf. Some guidwives . . . Should hae a flittin' ilka ouk. Young
Pictures (1865) 162. Ayr. For sax owks or mair. Service
Notandums (1890) i. Lnk. A day they ca'd Sunday came anes o'
the ouk, Graham Writings (1883) II. 133. e.Lth. Twal ooks it is
sin oor naigs drew in a pleugh, Mucklebackit iJAjymw (1885) 166.
Edb. Last ouk but ane I was frae hame, Fergusson Poems (1773)
108, ed. 1785.
OUKLE
[366]
OUR
Hence (i) Ouk-day, sb. a week-day ; (2) Oukly, adv.
weekly.
(i) Sh.I. Rin efter dem here an' dere trow da ouk-days, Stewart
Tales (1892) 27. (2) Abd. Ookly we'll join the jovial thrang,
Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 67. Fif. The exerceise of the minis-
terie was keipit ouklie then in Montrose, Mewii.l A utobiog. (1610)
22, ed. 1842. Edb. An owkly meeten was set up, Macneill Scot-
land's Scaith (1795) 7; If there's spent in owkly drinkin What keeps
wife and weans alive, ib. Poet. Wks. (1801) I. 19 (Jam.).
[All the folk of thar host war Refreschit weill ane owk
or mair, Barbour Bruce (1375) xiv. 132. Sw. dial, uka, a
week (RiETz) ; Norw. dial, viku, vuku, uku (Aasen) ; cp.
Dan. uge.l
OUKLE, sb. Obs. Lan. A small green or purplish
tuber formed in the axils of the lower leaves of the stems
of potatoes.
Crabs or oukles which grow upon the stems of potatoes, Reports
Agric. (1793-1813) 3°-
OUKS, int. Som. Dev. [eu'ks.] The cry used to
drive pigs.
w.Som.'^ Followed by turrh ! ' Aew'ks ! — tuur-uh ! ' nw.Dev.^
OVLA-ySb. Yks. Also written ouler. [vila.] In phr.
fare thee well, Oida, a prov. expression used when parting
from something one is not likely to see again.
Parting with something which he never expected to see again,
say a guinea lent to an old woman, . . he would say it was — ' Fare
thee well, ouler,' N. & Q. (1869) 4th S. iv. 500. n.Yks.^ When
they got all they could, it was ' fare thee well, Oula.'
OULESS, see Owlas.
OULGIT, adj. Sh.I. Of meat or fish : tainted. (Coll.
L.L.B.)
OULIE, OULUD, see Ollie, Howlet.
OUMER, sb. and v. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Also written comer Cum.^^^w. Yks. ; and in forms aumar
w.Yks. ; autner w.Yks.' ; homer Lan.' ; hoomer Cum.'*;
howmer n.Lan.'; ember Lan.; omer w.Yks.; cumber
Chs.'^^ ; cwmer w.Yks. Lan. [o'ma(r, 9'm3(r, u'm3(r.]
1. sb. Shade ; a shadow.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.'^, Nhb. (K.) w.Yks. Hutton Tour
to Caves (1781). Cum. (M.P.) ; Cum.' ; Cum.^ A house ligs la an'
leansome theear, doon in that oomer dark, 93. Cum., Wm.
NicOLSON (1677) Trans. R. Soc. Lit. (1868) IX. Lan. (Hall.)
Chs.123 (s.v. Umber).
2. A grassy slope by the side of a river ; a swamp, wet
land. Cum.* 3. The umber, or grayling, Thymallus
vulgaris. w.Yks.' 4. v. To shadow, shade ; to over-
shadow.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Cum.'; Cum." It was a bonnie spot i'
summer time, bit rayder ower much hoomert wid trees, W. C. T. H.
(1893) 4, col. J.. w.Yks. (W.C.S.); In Craven, when trees over-
hang a road or garden, the spot is said to be too much ' oomered,'
N. c5r= Q. (1871) 4th S. vii. 475; w.Yks.' Snaggin off some boos
at aumered t'gait, ii. 303. Lan. T'leaves on t'trees, they owm'ered
t'land, Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore {iQ6-ii) 50 ; Lan.' n.Lan.
N. & Q. (1871) 4th S. vii. 550; n.Lan.', ne.Lan.'
Hence (i) Ocmert or Owmered, sb. a place shaded by
trees ; grass or vegetation grown under the shadow of
trees ; (2) Owmering, ppl, adj. overshadowing.
(i) Cum.' w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 23, 1895). (2)
w.Yks. The branches of the owmering yew, Dixon Milkin' Time
(1872).
5. To stand in one's light ; to incommode. Lan. (J.D.),
Lan.'
[1. Fr. ombre, a shadow, also, a shade or covert.]
OUNCE, sb. Obs. Sh. and Or.I. Cor. 1. A measure
of land ; see below.
Sh.I. Shetland, as part of the earldom of Orkney, must have
been originally divided into ounce and pennylands. . . An average
mark would be the fourth part of a pennyland ; and as a ' last ' of
land contained eighteen marks, a last was 4.\d. land, i.e. the fourth
part of an ounceland. A markland was divided into eight ores,
or ounces, Sh. News (Apr. 30, 1890).
Hence Ounce-land, sb. a denomination of land so
measured.
Sh.I. A mark of land had [sic'] thus divided into eight ures or
ounces ; each ounce-land into eighteen penny-lands, Hibbert
Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 121, ed. 1891 ; S. & Ork.' Or.I. The lands of
Orkney had been early divided into ure or ounce-lands, and each
ounce-land into eighteen penny-lands, Agric. Surv. 31 (Jam.);
The meaning of ounceland is that each subdivision of that name
paid to the Earl money or produce to the value of one ounce of
silver, Antiq. Soc. Sc. (1883-4) 258-9 {ib. Suppl.).
2. The sixteenth part of any property.
Cor. As our resident fishermen knew nothing of the practical
management of a sean, they procured a master from Mevagissey,
and, I believe, gave him the i6th part of it, called an ounce, as his
reward, Quiller-Couch Hist. Polperro (1871) 109; Cor.'
OUNCLE- WEIGHTS, sb. pi. ? Obs. Sc. A general
name for all the weights that are used about farm-houseSj
for the purpose of weighing ; these weights are gen. sea- ,
stones of various sizes, regulated to some standard. Gall. ^
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
OUNDER, see Undern.
OUNIN, sb. Obs. n.Cy. A young boy ; a weak,
spoilt boy. (K.), (Hall.)
OUNKIN,a<^'. Sh. and Or.I. Strange, uncommon, foreign.
S. & Ork.', Or.I. (Jam.)
OUNSEL, sb. Obs. Yks. A term of reproach, some-
times applied to the devil. w.Yks. Thoresby Le/^. (1703);
w.Yks.*
OUNSEL, see Auncel.
OUP, OUPH(E, see Oaf, Ocp, Up, Oaf.
OUR, poss. adj. Var. dial, forms and uses in Sc. Irel.
Eng. and Amer. [eu'a(r), u(r, a(r), e(r).] L Dial. forms:
(i) Aar, (2) Ahr, (3) Air, (4) Ar, (5) Awr, (6) Awwer, (7)
Eaur, (8) Eawer, (9) Eawr, (10) Er, (11) Eur, (12) Ewar,
(13) Ir, (14) Ocar, (15) Oor, (16) Or, (17) Ur. [See War.]
(i) e.Lan.' (2) w.Yks. (B.L.) ; Asr, Wright Gram. IVndhll.
(1892) ; w.Yks.= s.Chs.' Aa-r, 68. (3) Lei.' (4) w.Yks. Ar Sal
al sooin be wed, Preston Poems, tfc. (1864) 6. Lan. What did
Bill Barnes throw stones at ar pussy for? Banks Manch. Man
(1876) vii. Der. One of ar parson's cherabums, Howitt Rur. Life
(1838) I. 354. (5) Wm. It is the height of awr fun, Hutton Bran
New Warli (1785) 1. 8 ; Awr lass hestaenher tow, Wheeler />!«/.
(1790) 113, ed. 1821. w.Yks.' (6) Cum.' (7) e.Lan.' (8) Lan.
Eawer Dof's top coat, Brierley Layrock (1864) v. (9) m.Lan.'
Chs. Croston Enoch Crump (1887) 8. (10) n.Yks. Remimber
Christ er Saveyer, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes (1875) 41. Lan. Er
Johnny gi's his mind to books, Harland Lyrics (1866) 200 ; Lan.'
nw.Der.' Unemph. (11) e.Dev. Th' thirt-ban's o' eur heuze, Pulman
Sng. Sol. (i860) i. 17. (12) Lan. Sit an' rock ewar little Bob,
Laycock Sngs. (1866) 17. (13) Lan.' (14) Cum.^ Cockerm'uth's
ooar reg'lar market, 17. (15) Sc. When not accented, Murray
Dial. (1873) 192. Abd. The tae half o' oor lairds, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) ii. Wxf.', Cum.'* Wm. It wes neea use oor
stoppan theear. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. ±. n.Yks.^" ne.Yks.'
Gen. when beginning a sentence. ' Oor maasther com'd an' tell'd
ma.' e.Yks.' w.Yks. Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 270. Lan.
Oor John was not easy daunted, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) I.
106. (16) w.Yks.' (17) w.Som. Elworthy Gram. {iSt]) 40;
w.Som.' Lat-s ae- ur nau'meet [Let us have our luncheon].
IL Dial. uses. 1. In comb, (i) Our Lady's elwand,
the constellation, Orion's girdle ; (2) — Lady's hen, (a)
the lark, Alauda arvensis ; (6) the wren. Troglodytes
parvulus ; (3) — Lord's flannel, (4) — Saviour's flannel,
(a) the viper's bugloss, Echium vulgare ; (b) the great
mullein, Verbascum Thapsus ; (5) — side, one's own part
of the country.
(i) n.Sc. (Jam., s.v. Elwand). (2, a) Sh.1. Swainson Birds
(1885) 92 ; S. & Ork.' Or.L Brand Desc. Or. I. (1701) 61 (Jam,).
(b) Sc. Obs., Swainson ib. 35. [Cotgrave (161 i).] (3 a, b) Ken.
(B. & H.) (4, a) Ken. So called at Bridge, near Canterbury {ib.) ;
Ken.' {b) Ken. At Faversham (B. & H.) ; Ken.' (5) Cum.'
2. Belonging to the speaker's family or household ; gen.
used before proper names.
Sc. (A.W.) Nhb. He's . . . that ta'en up wi' oor Phyllis, Clare
Love of Lass (1890) 28. e.Dur.' Mothers may be heard shouting
at the top of their voice, ' Har away, oor Jeane Marry Lizzie ' (all
Christian names are generally given, as here, referring to one child).
Used indiscriminately by boys to one another. ' Dinna do that,
our Fred.' Cum. Mak reum for oor 'i'vios&y, Mary Dray son (1872)
10 ; Cum.' ' Oor wife,' seldom heard ; Cum.* Oor wife will be
terrable pleast teh see theh, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 6.
ne.Yks.' Oor Bet. e.Yks.' He's nat yan of oor fooaks ; Ah deeant
knaw wheear he cums fra. w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Aw'll no put
th' same temptation i' th' way of eawr Bess, Banks Manch. Man
OUR
[36.7]
OUSEL
(1876) vi ; Goo lad, eawr Dick, Harland Lyrics (1866) 98. Chs.
By th' time that eawr Kestir had t'go, Croston Enoch Crump
(1887)8. Not.i Lei.i 'Our missus," Our Joo.' Of a servant, 'Our
chap,' or ' Our wench.' Nhp.i War.^ Now then, our Jack, leave
me alone; War.^* s.War.'^ Have you seen our Fred? Wor.
There now, our Johnny, you've knocked down my 'orse, and I'll
tell our mother of ee (H.K.). Hrf.2 Our Tom. Glo.i Our master.
Ourmother. Oxf. (CO.), Hnt. (T.P.F.) w.Som.i What d'ye mean
our Turney Payne, or he down t'Exter ? Our jistices. Our pa'son.
Hence our ones or uns, phr. one's own family.
N.I.'- Our ones all goes to meetin'.
OUR, OURACH, see Over, Oorach.
OUR(E, V. Lth. (Jam.) To overawe, cow.
OURHEDE, adj. Bnff.' Also written ourhehd. Un-
tidy, showing a want of neatness.
OURN, pron. In gen. dial, use in the midl. and s.
counties from Lan. and Chs. Also Amer. Also in form
ourns Lei.^ [eu'sn.] 1. disjunc. pass. pron. Ours, our
own. Cf. hern, hisn.
Lan. Oh, he's an old cove 'as lives in next street to ourn,
Hocking Dick's Fairy (1883) i. Chs.^ ' Whooa's in that pikel ? '
' Ourn.' s.Stf. There never was such a trade as ourn, Murray
Rainbow Gold (1886) 96. Der.=, nw.Der.i, Not. (W.H.S.), Not.i
Lei.i Teen't non o' aourns. Nhp.i, War. (J.R.W.), War.a",
s.War.i, se.Wor.', Hrf.^- Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 3; Glo.^
s.Oxf, The 'ouse is ourn, Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 60. Hnt.
(T.P.F.) Brks. 'Wer be'em, then ?' ' Aal amang wi' ourn in the
limes,' Hughes T. Brown Oxf. (1861) xxiii ; Brks.^ w.Mid.
You'd like your way, and we'd like ourn (W.P.M.). Ken. (G.B.),
Ken.i, ne.Ken. (H.M.), Sus.i Hmp. 'Whose pig is that?' 'It's
our'n' (H.C.M.B.); Hmp.^ s.Hmp. And ourn be but stammerin'
lips, Verney L. Lisle (1870) xi. I.W.i Wil. Slow Rhymes
(1889) 4th S. Gl. n.Wil. (E.H.G.) Som. Jennings Obs. Dial.
w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). [Amer. We have
used ourn up, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) ist S. xvii.]
2. Used by women of their husbands, ' my husband.'
s.Stf. I have no trouble wi ourn, he allays gets whoam sober,
VmsocK Black Cy. Ann. {i&g^). Glo.^ n.Wil. ' Ourn be just like
un, as contrary as the wind.' She alluded to her own husband,
Jefferies Gt. Estate (1880) iv.
OVKS, poss. pron. Cum. Wm. Yks. Nrf. Suf. Ess. Also
in forms ahrsw.Yks.^; arsw.Yks.^; awrsWm. 1. Used
of any near relative : my husband, wife, or child.
Cum.i The wife instead of saying ' my husband ' calls him
'ours.' Wm. When awrs an I wor wed we cud but meaak neen
shillin between us, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 22, ed. 1821. w.Yks.
(C.C.R.) ; w.Yks.2 Tha should see ahrs ; w.Yks.^ Am siire ah
cawal ars [her husband] black monny a time, 9.
2. The house of the speaker.
Nrf. Be he coming to ours to-day? Gibbon Beyond Compare
(1888) I. vi. Suf. He rid past ours (M.E.R.) ; (C.T.) ; Suf.i We
shall be glad to see you at ours. Ess. (CD.)
OURY, see Howery, Corie.
OUSE, sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also
written ows Yks. w.Yks.*; owse Sc. n.Yks.^ ne.Yks.^
w.Yks.* Lan. ; and in forms owce n.Yks.^ e.Yks. ; pi.
awsen n.Cy. ; oisen w.Yks.* ; oosen m.Yks.' ; ousen Sc.
(Jam.) N.Cy." Nhb.^Dur.'m.Yks.iw.Yks.iLan.' ne.Lan.^;
oussen Sc. (Jam.) ; owcen n.Yks.^ e.Yks. ; owsen Sc.
N.Cy.i Nhb. Cum.Wm. n.Yks.^ ne.Yks.^ m.Yks.^; owssen
Sc. (Jam.) [aus, pi. au-san, au'zsn.] 1. A dial, form
of ' ox.'
Sc. Pasture eneugh for pleugh horses and owsen, Scott Rob
7?o)'(i8i7) xxvi; Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Cai.l Elg. Yon
oussen mix'd their reeking strength, Still, wi' the morning dew,
Couper Poetry (1804) I. 76. Bnff. Taylor Poems (1787) 42.
Abd. He could draw back a plough wi' four owsen in yoke,
Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 11. Kcd. To buy some ousen, some
graith, and some bows, Kinloch Ballad Bk. (1827) 70, ed. 1868.
Per. Twenty owsen feed outbye, Spence Poems (1898) 16. s.Sc.
I'm flung out frae mailin, frae owsen and kye, Allan Poems
(1887) 127. Dmb. Now like owsen out we're cast, Salmon
Gowodean (1868) 31. Rnf. Webster Rhymes (1835) 157. Ayr.
He has gowd in his coffers, he has owsen and kine. Burns Auld
Rob Morris, st. i. Lnk. Thomas has loos'd his ousen frae the
pleugh, Ramsay Poems (1721) 178. Edb. Four Strang owsen draw
my weel ga'en pleugh, Learmont Poems (1791) 266. Hdg. Needfu'
owsen, dowg or cat, Lumsden Poems (1896) 86. Slk. Auld
ousen or auld naigs, Hogg Tales (1838) 592, ed. 1866. Dmf. I
had sax owsen in a pleugh, Cromek Remains (1810) 91. n.Cy.
Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.) ; N.Cy.i 2 Nhb. He blessed her daughters,
blessed the cake, Blessed owsen, sheep, an' geese, Proudlock
Borderland Muse (1896) 207 ; Nhb.^ Ousen were used in ploughing
in Northumberland in living memory. Dur.^ Cum. Leyke mad
owsen, Stagg Miscell. Poems (ed. 1807) 17 ; Four and twenty
gude owsen, Gilpin Ballads (1874) 116. Cum., Wm. Nicolson
(1677) Trans. R. Soc. Lit. (1868) IX. Wm. Heard used a few years
ago by old people in the neighbourhood of Kirkby-Stephen and
Brough (B.K.). n.Yks. Yondersourowse, isloppeno're theyate,
Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 353 ; n.Yks.^^, ne.Yks.^ e.Yks.
Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). m.Yks.i w.Yks. Watson Hist.
Hlfx. (1775) 544 ; Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.i I'se i' some
meser foarced to fest owte two ousen, ii. 289; w.Yks.^* Lan.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; Lan.i, ne.Lan.'
2. Comp. (i) Ouse-beeas, a 'boose,' an ox-stall ; (2) -bow
or Ousen-bow, a collar used for draught oxen ; (3) -harrow,
a large kind of harrow ; (4) -house, an ox-house, byre ;
(5) -John, a name given to a cow-herd ; (6) -nobbles, large
potatoes given to cattle; (7) -prod, an ox-goad; (8) -stead,
see (i) ; (9) Awsen-hack, a dib for foddering oxen ; (10)
Ousen-milk, sowens or flummery not boiled ; (11) -staw,
see (i).
(i) Yks. Freeten'd awd cock doon inte t'ows-beeas, Spec. Dial.
(1800) 24. (2) n.Sc. When heather cows grow owsen bows I
winna langer tarry, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 226, ed. 1875.
Cai.i The bent iron fixed to the yoke by which the animals draw.
Behind this was a straw collar called a wazz. Rxb. A piece of
curved wood put round the necks of oxen, as a sort of collar to
which the draught is fixed. Now rarely used (Jam.). n.Yks.'
The sort of collar used in yoking an ox, which passes round his
neck and through the yoke ; n.Yks.* The wooden one for the
neck when the animal is yoked. (3) m.Yks. Used for breaking
the clods when the ' fur ' has been turned back, after a field has
been fallowed a season. (4) n.Yks.'2 Ows'us. (5) BntT. Ouse-
John, the master of the pack, Taylor Poems (1787) 106. (6)
n.Yks.2 (7) ib. A stick or pole with a point at the end for urging
the yoked oxen. (8) ib. (9) n.Cy. (K., s.v. Hack, 2). (10) Dmf.
Used in various parts of Sc. by the common people, instead of
milk, along with their pottage (Jam.), (ii) Sc. She sought it in
the owssen-staw. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) II. 146 {ib.).
OUSE,z/. Sc.n.Cy.Yks.Lin. Alsowrittenous-,ouzSh.L;
ouze S. & Ork.'^ Or.I. (Jam.) ; owse Sh.L n.Yks.' n.Lin.';
owze n.Yks.2 e.Yks.' ; and in forms houze n.Cy. ; howse
n.Yks.'* ; howze ne.Yks.' e.Yks. ; cost Sh.L [auz, ouz,
iiz.] To empty out liquid ; to bale out a boat.
Sh.I. Strik da head oot o' da drink kig and ouse da boat,
HiBBERT Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 224, ed. 1891 ; As GUd ... is owsin
oot ta me. Burgess Rasmie (1892) 45 ; Shil ows'd da kirnin'
watter apo' da kirn wi' a shappin' can, Sh. News (July 23, 1898) ;
(W.A.G.) ; S. & Ork.', Or.I (Jam.) Cai.' To ouse o'er. To swish
over. n.Cy. Grose (1790). n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^ Somebody must
owze the long boat ; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' A'e ya owz'd t'watther
oot on't? e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.'
Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 347. n.Lin,'
Hence (i) Oivse-rooni or Oost-room, sb. the compart-
ment of a boat whence water is baled ; (2) Howsing-can,
sb. a can for baling.
(i) Sh.I. He lint him apo' da shiv'l i' da owse room, Sh. News
(Sept. 17, 1898) ; The boat was divided into six compartments,
viz., forehead, . . oost-room, Spence Elk-Lore (1899) 127 ; The
oost-room was always kept empty for the purpose of ousing or
discharging water, ib. 128. (2) n.Yks. (F.K.)
[Norw. dial, ausa, to bale water out of a boat (Aasen) ;
ON. ausa, to pump, esp. a ship ; ausa, a ladle (Vigfusson).]
OUSE, see Dose, sb.^, Owse.
OUSEL, sb.'- Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Der.
Also written oozle Lan. Der.' ; ousell Cum. Wm. ; ouzel
n.Yks.'^* m.Yks.' Lan.' ne.Lan.' ; ouzell w.Yks.^ ; ouzle
n.Cy. s.Lan. ; and in forms ouizle w.Yks. ; owsel Gall. ;
uzzle n.Cy. n.Yks.= e.Yks. [ii-zl, u-zl.] 1. The black-
bird, Turdus merula.
Sc. To hawk at ousels, Scott Abbot (1820) xviii. Gall. The
owsel on the tree, Gallovidian (1900) II. 76. n.Cy. Grose (1790).
Cum., Wm. Nicolson (1677) Trans. R. Soc. Lit. (1868) IX.
n.Yks.'2 e.Yks. Marshall i?«i-.£co«. (1788). m.Yks.' w.Yks.
Scatcherd Hist.Morley{i?>2,o) Gl. ; w.Yks. "^ Lan. It's nomooar
loike that then a oozle is to a helefunt, Ferguson Moudywarfs
Visit, 8 ; Lest some critic thinks my Ouzel's flown. And from a
OUSEL
[368]
OUT
Blackbird 'tis a Bearbait grown, Tim Bobbin Blackbird (i']^')) 118,
ed. 1811 ; Lan.i, ne.Laii.'^ sXan. Bamford Poems, 202. Der.'-
2. The ring-ouzel, Turdus iorquatus. n.Yks.*
OUSEL, sb?- w.Yks.2 A spark or smut from a chim-
ney. See Izle, sh?
Look at them black ousels coming out 0' that chimney !
OUSEL, sh? Peb. (Jam.) Also written ouzel. A term
used for the Sacrament of the llord's Supper.
OUSEN, OUSING, see Ouse, sb., Housing, sb?
OUSKERRY, sb. Sh.I. Nhb. Also written ouskerie
Sh.I. ; and in forms auskerrie Sh.I. ; howskelly,
howskilly Nhb. [au'sksri.] The utensil for bahng water
out of a boat.
Sh.I. Ouskerri as a name for a boat-scoop is not yet obsolete, but it
is growing obsolete. In some places in Shetland it is now chiefly
applied to a big clumsy woman [a great ouskerri n' a wife] and
very little used in its original meaning, Jakobsen Dial. (1897)
51 ; A scoop or kind of ladle for baling out a boat (W.A.G.) ;
Hand quick the auskerrie, Sh. News (Dec. 3, i8g8). Nhb. Baling
at the water with a pair of shoes for a hows-kelly, Richardson
Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) V. 44; A small wooden dish with
a handle (R.O.H.).
[A dimin. of Norw. dial, auskjer, the scoop for baling
out a boat (Aasen) ; ON. ausker (Vigfusson) ; cp. Dan.
il)sekar.'\
OUSLEY, OUST, see Oozly, Oast, sb>
OUSTER, sb. Sh.I. Also written owster S. & Ork.^ ;
and in form ooster. [austsr, u'star.] The water baled
out of a boat ; the act of baling.
Whin we get her dried dan I sail poo da nyle an' rin oot da
ooster, Sh. News (Feb. 11, 1899); ' Shiis no sae tight as I wid
laek,' William said, as he heard da pilticks plashin i' da ooster,
ib. (June 25, 1898) ; {Coll. L.L.B.) ; S. & Ork.l
Hence Owster-room, sb. the compartment of a boat
whence the water is baled out. S. & Ork."-
[ON. austr (gen. austrar), the act of drawing water in
buckets; austr-rwn, th& part of a vessel's hold near the
stern where the pump is ; der. fr. ausa, to pump.]
OUT, adv., adj., prep, and sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel.
Eng. and Amer. Also in forms aat e.Lan.^ ; aght, aht
w.Yks. ; autS. &Ork.^; awt Chs.'^; eaut e.Lan.^ ; eawt
Lan.i; oot Sc. S. & Ork.i Bnff.i Nhb.^ Lakel.i^ Cum.i^*
Wm. n.Yks.=^* ne.Yks.^ e.Yks.^j outh, udh Wxf.^;_and in
comb, urrov I. Ma. [Sc. n.Cy. ut, w.Yks. at, Lan. at, midl.
out, aut, s.Cy. eut.] 1. adv. and adj. In comb, (i) Out-
a-derks, -decks, or -o'-dykes, outside or beyond a wall or
dike, in an unfenced pasture ; {2) -art, to outscheme,
cheat; (3) -avid, out of the way, solitary, strange; (4) -baits,
common for pasture ; (5) -bang, to surpass ; (6) -Isarring,
excepting ; (7) -bearing, (a) endurance to the end ; (b)
blustering, outrageous, monstrous ; (8) -bird, -burd, or
-burg, a term in peat-cutting ; see below ; (9) -bock, to
pour or vomit forth ; (10) -bounders, obs., ratepayers who
paid rates in a parish in which they did not reside ; (11)
■bowed, overcome or oppressed with too much food or
work ; sickened ; (12) -brave, to surpass ; to persevere
the longest ; (13) -burthen, obs., to overburden ; (14) -ca',
(a) a small enclosure for cattle to feed in during the day ;
(b) a wedding feast given by a master to his favourite
servant; (15) -catch, to overtake; (16) -clip, to outdo,
surpass; (17) -comer, (18) -comlin, -cumlin, or-cumbling,
a stranger, one who comes from another part of the
country; (19) -craft, to excel in workmanship or con-
trivance ; (20) -crush, a press of people in a doorway ;
(21) -dightings, the refuse of grain ; (22) -done, overdone ;
(23) -dubs, small outlying pools connected with a larger
bodyofwater; pools of water on a common; (24) -end,(a)a
projecting end, an extremity ; the latter part ; [b) an
outlet, exit, way out ; (c) to survive, endure longer ; (25)
-faring, lying outside the borough ; (26) -farm, an outlying
farm on which the tenant does not himself reside ; (27)
-fight, to fight to the last, to confront ; (28) -flow, the ebb-
tide ; used attrib. ; (29) -foot, to outrun ; (30) -force,
external agency ; (31) -foul or -fool, wild-fowl ; (32)
-harrow, to excel in horror ; (33) -head, to overtop ; to
surpass in argument ; (34) -hedge, obs., a hedge which
divided the enclosed fields or the ploughed strips from
the commons ; (35) -lieel, (a) see (29) ; (b) a projecting
heel ; (36) -helps, assistance from outside quarters ; (37)
•holl or -hawl, to scour a ditch ; (38) -house, an outbuilding
of any kind attached to a house ; (39) -hoy, obs., an
outcry ; (40) -hurling, obs., a country sport ; see Hurl, v.^ ;
(41) -keek, to peep out; (42) -kitchen, a scullery or out-
side kitchen ; (43) -knave, to exceed in roguery, to cheat,
deceive ; (44) -labour, to exhaust by too much tillage ;
(45) -lack or -laik, a superabundant quantity in weight or
measure ; (46) -lese, -louse, or -louze, the privilege of
turning cattle out to feed upon commons ; (4^) -maagit,
weary, tired, fatigued ; (48) -man, a dweller in the out-
skirts of a place, one living outside a city ; (49) -mense,
to excel in manners ; to outshine ; (50) •me-town(er, a
dweller out of a town, a country visitor; (51) -moucht
or -mucht, see (47) ; (52) -partners or -parters, obs.,
thieves ; see below ; (53J -parts, suburbs ; (54) -play, to
beat at play ; (55) -pour, a heavy fall of rain or snow, a
downpour ; (56) -powl't, defeated, beaten ; {57) -rate, to
outnumber ; to outdo, outrun ; (58) -relation, a distant
relative ; (59) -rook, the backward wash or undercurrent
of a wave after breaking ; (60) -roope or -rop, an auction
[not known to our correspondents] ; (61) -rug, see (59) ;
{62) -shells or -shills, outside slabs of wood sawn on one
side only ; cf ouchils ; (63) -siftings, see (21) ; (64) -sole, an
outer sole of a boot ; (65) -speaking, unreserved in speech,
outspoken ; (66) -speeched, of wheels : sloping outwards ;
(67) -speed, to outstrip in a race or contest ; (68) -spend,
to exhaust ; (69) -spew or -spue, see (9) ; (70) -spout, to
pour or spout out ; to dart out ; (71) -spreaded, dressed
in full display; (72) -step, out of the way; (73) -stomached,
see (11) ; (74) -stragglers, the scattered houses in the
suburbs of a town ; wanderers; (75) -streak, to outstretch
a corpse ; (76) -stretch, to exaggerate ; (77) -striking, an
eruption on the skin ; (78) -taken, except ; (79) -talk, to
outdo by talking ; (80) -tell, to outnumber, exceed ; (81)
-thing, any object out-of-doors ; (82) -thruffer, any one
who is superlative of his kind, an 'out-and-outer'; (83)
•top, to overtop ; (84) -track or -treeak, a path diverging
from the main road ; (85) -trees, cross-pieces of wood
supporting the material of a door ; (86) -trick, to outdo
by tricking ; (87) -turn, (a) finish, end, result ; (b) increase,
productiveness ; (88) -vent, an outlet or orifice ; (89) -vie,
see (12) ; (90) -view, outlook, prospect ; (91) -wag, to
wave, hold out ; (92) -wairin, wearisome ; (93) -watch, an
outpost, picket, scout ; (94) -way(s, uncommonly, ex-
tremely, to the uttermost ; (95) -wen, backwater, the ebb
of the tide ; water at the side of a river flowing contrary
to the stream ; superabundant water in a mill-dam ; (96)
•window, a bay window ; (97) -woman, a female employed
in outdoor work ; (98) -worthy, to excel ; (99) -wright,
a commercial traveller, a travelling dealer.
(i) Sh.I. A'm been dat angry apo wir Bawby fir laying dem
[cattle] oot-a-daeks, Sh. News (May 5, 1900) ; We min try dem
oot-o-daeks noo, or dan dey'll fant, ib. (May 22, 1897) ; S. & Ork.i
(2) n.Yks.2 (3) Sh.I. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 48 ; S. & Ork.i Ap-
pUed to a personwho shuns the company of others. {^)ib. (5)Wm.
He . . . outbang'd em o forwardly cunning, Hvnoii Bran New Wark
(1785)1.322. (6) n.Yks.2 (7,0) Ayr. If there be not new strength
and furniture, there will be no out-bearing, Dickson Writitigs {1660)
I. 69, ed. 1845. *(6) Abd. (Jam.) n.Lin.^ It's a straange oot-bearin'
thing fer onybody to saay as thaay can raaise the sperrits of dead
foaks. W — was the oot-bearin'est man onybody ivercum'd across ;
it's a good thing as he's e' prison. (8) Sh.I. A strip of peat-moss
is stripped of the surface turf and smoothed ready for cutting. . .
The peats are cut out in rows and the number of peats in one row
is called an oot-burd (J.S.) ; Still tryin to hok oot a ootbird or
twa, Sh. News (May 19, 1900) ; Dey'll no be mair dan tre or fower
pacts i' da ootburg ferby da skjumpik, id. (May 7, 1898) ; Da paets
o' da upper-mOr ootburgs, ib. (June 10, 1899). (9) Fif. Ever and
aye his mou' outbockit The waters he had taen, Tenj^ant Papistry
(1827) 8g. Lnk. While blood out boaked, Ramsay Poems (1721)
104. (10) Sus.' Used in old parochial account books. (11) Wm.
Ah was oot-bowed wi' t'darrak he set mi. Missis, ye've oot-
bowed mi wi dumplin (B.K.). (12) n.Yks.^ (13) Abd. Thus is
this miserable country outburthened with grievous taxations,
OUT
[369]
OUT
Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 142. (14, a) Dmf. A place conveni-
ent for pasture to which cattle are caw'd or driven out (Jam.).
Call. Mactaggart Ettcycl. (1824). (6) Gall. Mactaggart ib. (15)
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; (Hall.) (16) Nhp.i Used in
the northern parts of the county, but not general. War.^ (17)
Lan.^, e.Lan.i- (18) w.Yks.' Sud onny outcumlins ivver awn this
plat, Pre/. Lan. Ey knoas fu' weel that t'eawtcumbling felly robt
me ot prettiest lass i' aw Lonkyshiar, Ainsworth Lan. Witches
(ed. 1849) Introd. i ; One o thees seame hauve clemm'd eawt
cumblings, Scholes Tim Gamwattle (1857) 55; Lan.i (19,30)
n,Yks.= (21) Rxb. (Jam.) (22) w.Yks. (J.W.), Der.2, nw.Der.i
(23) Cum.4 A large number of ducks had assembled on the outdubs,
a continuance of Esthwaite Lake, i^3«Ka, 270. (24, a) n.Yks.12
e.Yks.i Ah was only there at oot end o' tahm, MS. add. (T.H.)
m.Yks.i (i5)n.Yfcs.i4^m.Yks.i ((;)n.Yks.= Heoot-ended him. (25)
Som. (Hall.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). (26) Abd. They had got
'flitted' away to the out-farm of Patrick Ellison Scurr, Esq.,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 14. (27) Per. Scorning death, so
bravely did outfight it, That the beholders greatlie wer affrighted,
Ford Harp (1893) 6. (28) Or.I. He was an oot-flow rock, that
ye could only gang tae dry-shod wi' low water, Fergusson
Rambles (1884) 247. (29, 30) n.Yks.2 (31) Sh.I. {Coll. L.L.B.) ;
S. & Ork.i (32) n.Yks.2 That teeal oot-harrows all t'others. (33)
ib. Oot-heead me that if you can. (34) w.Yks.'^ Every person . . .
shall make his out hedges before the first day of May. (35, a)
n.Yks.2 They oot-heerd us. (A) Nhb. The natives of this district
[Lorbottle] are proverbial for their big shapeless feet, out-heels
[laverock-heels] and turned intoes, Denham 7>flris(ed. 1891) 1. 262.
(36) n.Yks.2 (37) e.An.i Nrf. Grose (1790) ; Morton Cydo.
Agric. (1863). e. Nrf. Scouring out the ditch for manure ; without
returning any part of the soil to the roots of the hedgewood,
Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787) I. loi; I am determined hencefor-
ward to stem, if possible, the vile practices of out-holling and
cutting kid, ib. II. 76. Suf.^. (38) Sc. A stable, cow-house,
cellar, &c. (Jam.) Lakel.^ A shade, penthouse, or porch, Cum.^
Farm buildings, not dwellings. e.Yks.^ A tool-house. w.Yks.
(J.W.) (39) Sc. Oyez . . . ane hoyes or crie used in proclamations.
. . It is called also an outhoy or crie, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681)
65. (40) Dev.i [On the 13th July, 1659, the House of Com-
mons ordered ' that a proclamation be issued prohibiting all horse-
races, . . out-hurlings, . . and other meetings of like nature until the
first day of October next,' A'. &' Q. (1873) 4th S. xii. 517.] (41) Gall.
Their hips outkeeking did declare They cared na much for gaudery
To shine that day, Mactaggart ib. 266. (42) Sus. Leading from
the kitchen were the dairy, scullery, and ' out-kitchen.' The latter
had only a mud floor, and contained an old bake-oven. In a dark
corner one could just discern a goodly pile of wine-barrels, Cent.
Mag. (Sept. 1885) 710. (43) n.Yks.2 (44) Abd. (Jam.) (45) Sc.
Gl. Sibb. (1802) {ib.). (46) n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.i (47)
S. & Ork.i (48) Cum. No outman was to bring flesh to the market
unless he also brought the skin. Outmen were not to buy corn
till after 12 o'clock, Ferguson Hist. Cum. (1890) xiii. n.Yks.^
(49) n.Yks.'', m.Yks.' (50) s.Not. There was a good few out-
me-towns at the service (J.P.K.). (51) Or.I. Like ain ootmoucht,
Paety Toral (1880) I. 133 in Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 795 ; A
laich an' maist peetifu' meen, as gin he'd been a bothy ootmucht i'
a bought o' the wark, Fergusson Rambles (1884) 245. (52) Nhb.i
Thieves and felons, called intakers and out-partners, dwelling
within the franchise of Redesdale, where the king's writs runneth
not, Complaint (1421) in Hodgson, pt. 11. 1. 60. (53) n.Yks.2 (54)
Gall. When one of the gamblers stands, that is to say will play,
and is lented, which is outplayed by those who stood and played
also, Mactaggart ib. 37. (55) BnBf.i Kcd. This ooncommon oot-
poor fell Fae skies as black as ink. Grant Lays (1884) 2. (56)
Cnm.i (57) Per. I was fairly ootrated for he finished an hour
afore me. We tried a bicycle run an' I was ootrated by twenty
minutes (G.W.). e.Lth. They doubly can ootrate the men,
MucKLEBACKiTi?/!j'W«s(i885)27. (58) N.I.^ (59) Cal.i (6o)n.Cy.
(Hall.), Ken.i (6i) Sh.I. Spence /7y6-Lo>-« (1899) 120. Nhb.> A
floating object is often kept off the shore by the ootrug. (62) Dev.
In answer to my query about the curious appearance of a fence,
T. C. said, ' Yes ; it is made of out-shills, I expect,' Reports Provinc.
(1893). (63) SI1.I. When sifted the meal fell into three divisions
— meal, groats, and ootsiftins, from the last of which that delicious
food called sooans, and that healthy tonic beverage known as
swats, are made, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 174; He's gotten
shappid tatties an' ootsiftins ivery day sinsyne, Sh. News (Dec. 22,
1900). (64) se.Sc. In-soles an' welts baith firm an' stout, Out-
soles an' heels like ony boots, Donaldson Poems (1809) 189.
(6s) Dmb. Ye're an ill-bred out-speaking gomeral, Cross Disrup-
tion {iB^^)' yiy^vu (66) s.Wor. (H.K.) (67) n.Yks.^ (68)
VOL. IV.
n.Yks.2, m.Yks.i (69) Lnk. Mrs. Nashgab's tongue Oot-spewin'
a' the spite that's in her, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873") 44. Gall.
Mactaggart ib. 267. (70) Fif. He his parle out-spoutit, Ten-
NANT Papistry (1827) 26. Gall. Whan outspouted e'er a mouse
Frae 'mang the grain, Mactaggart ib. 400. (71) n.Yks.^ (72)
Dor. You see, Mr. Manston, an outstep place like this is not like a
city, Hardy Desperate Remedies (ed. 1896) 328 ; Dor.i Som. It's
pleasant to be altogether in such an outstep place (W.F.R.). (73')
Lakel.2 He was oot-stomach'd wi' t' thowts on't. (74, 75) n.Yks.2
(76) n.Yks. You perhaps may think I have outstretched, but if you
please to come your eyes will convince you to the contrary, Lett.
(1753) in Sedgwick Mem. Cowgill Chapel (1868) 44. (77) Sc.
(Jam.) (78) Sc. I question if there's onybody in the country can
tell the tale but mysell — aye out-taken the laird though, Scorr
Antiquary (1816) xxiv. S. & Ork.i (79) I.W.i (80) n.Yks.2
(81) Per. Of out-things he took special care, NicoL Poems (1766)
98. (82) n.Yks.2 (83) Sc. It is ordinarie for princes to have
their oune feares and jealousies, when one subject out-topes the
rest, Jl/cm. 5omfm«ci (1815) I. 160 (Jam.). w.Yks. (J.W.) (84)
n.Yks.2 (85)w.Yks.3 (86) Gall. Death can out-trickye, Mactaggart
ib. 397. (87, a) Abd. Rahab . . . made a bad beginning, but she had
a fine out-turn, . . she married Salmon, Paul Abd. (1881) 20.
(6) Ags. Wheat will not have the out-turn of last year's as the
greater part of it is rather thin, Caled. Merc. (July 7, 1823) (Jam.).
(88, 89, go) n.Yks.2 (gi) Gall. While his hat on his staff he out-
wagged, Mactaggart ib. 60. (g2) S. & Ork.i (g3) Abd. His out-
watches took in the Mearns, Spalding Hist. Sc. (i7g2) I. 170.
(94) Lin. Tim sed the ale was outways prime, Brown Lit. Laur.
(1890) 74. Sus. (S.P.H.) (95) n.Lin.l (g6) n.Yks.^ Cor.
There es some with out-wenders as laarge as the housen, J. Tre-
NoODLES/fC.ZJi'a/. (1846)16; Cor.isPron.-wender. (97)Bnff.i (^3)
Abd. A' thing doon here maun dwin'le, ootworthied by reason o' the
glory that excelleth, Macdonald Warlock (1882) Ivii. (99) Nhp.^
Also the journeymen of a master carpenter who go out to the
various farms for employment.
2. adv. In comb. -wiitiprep., adv., &c.: (i) Out-about, out-
of-doors, outside, abroad ; also used attrib. ; (2) — abroad,
outside the house ; (3) — along, out, outside ; (4) — among,
away from; (5) — away, extraordinary; (6) —back,
back foremost ; (7) —in, out of; (8) —long, (a) out ; (b)
among; (9) —of, (a) going beyond, exceeding; (b) with-
out, bereft of, destitute of ; (10^ — on or Outen, (a) there-
after, by-and-by ; (b) out of; (11) —over, o'er, or owre,
(a) outside, over, away, abroad ; {b) out from, over, across,
beyond ; (12) — over by, at a considerable distance ; {13)
— through, throw, or thruff, (a) thoroughly, completely,
quite; (6) completely through, throughout ; (14) — upon,
advanced in; (15) —with, (a) outwards, without, on
the outer side ; (b) outside ; besides ; (c) outlying, more
distant ; also used subst. the outlying parts ; (16) — yond,
beyond.
(i) Sc. She canna just bear to do out-about wark wi' the lave
o' the lassies, Glen/ergus (1820) II. 155 (Jam.). Cai.i Abd. I hear
that when ye gang oot about, ye tak' mair drink than's good for
you, Paul Abd. (1881) 62. (2) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf.
(1893) 27. (3) GIo. Git thee out along and wipe 'em agin the
bissom, do, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) ii. (4) Abd. She's
far awa", an' oot amo' kent fowk, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 34.
(5) w.Yks. (J.W.), Sus. (F.E.) (6) Gall. Coming through the bore
outback, MACTAGGART£KO''^/.(i824)499,ed. 1876. (7)n.Yks.iIshall
beabletoget a coat anda waistcoat out in that piece of cloth. There's
no getting nowght out in him. Nrf. He on't get nothing out in me
(W.P.E.). Suf. (C.T.) (8,«)Dev. Would 'e'avehany of these 'eer
youngsters go out long'fore Dick? Phillpotts Dartmoor (1896) 175.
{i) Cor. Out long they I shud feel small, Tregellas Tales, Farmer
and Squire, 9. (9, a) Lnk. The colonel, and those with him, did
not think they were out of their duty, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721)
II. 29, ed. 1828. ib) Dmf. A mickle boy and youngish lass Had
danc'd till he was out o' brass, Shennan Tales (1831) 37. Ir.
The shop is out of pencils (A.S.-P.). w.Yks. Soa he wor aght ov
a job. Hartley Clock Aim. (1888) 19 ; w.Yks.i i_]via. Why, you
were shouting out of mercy at the lad, Caine Manxman (1894)
pt. ii.xi. (io,o)S. &Ork.i, Cai.i (6) Abd. I've gotten httle gweed
ooten't, weel-a-wat, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Dec. i, 1900). Nhb.i
Thor wis oney three gude yows oot on the lot. He had nee chance,
hewiscleanooton't. e.Y-k.s.^MS.add.{i:.\l.) w.Yks.(J.W.) Stf.
Oi got a grin outen her at last, Comh. Mag. (Jan. 1894) 40. Der.
If they met to-night, the miller 'ud cuss him outen his sight,
Gushing Voe (1888) II. vii. sw.Lin.i If I were you, I should get
outen it. [Anier. His own Jack to be taken outen his hand,DE Vere
3B
OUT
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Americanisms (1872).] (11, a) Sc. He ventured out ower,
Donald Poems (1867) 4 ; To stand out ower, to stand completely
without the inclosure, house, &c., Edb. Mag. (Oct. 1818) 327
(Jam.). Bnff. In hamely cot Out-owre frae din an' bustle, Taylor
Poems (1787) 86 ; Bnff.i- Sit oot-our-fae the fire. e.Sc. He loups
outower an' bangs it down wi' pen and ink, Setoun R. Urquhart
(1896) xviii. Abd. At length the farmer steals out o'er frae
Kittie's side, Beattie Parings (1801) 33, ed. 1873. Cld. Come in
oot-oure [come in to the tire] (Jam.). Ayr. The wife . . . wanted to
gang awa hame again ootowre to her ain folk, Service Dr. Duguid
(ed. 1887) 118. Lth. BALLANTiNE/'oe>«s(i856)23. N.I.i n.Yks.^
Oot-ower by yonder. Dev. Let us take the youngster out over
a bit, Mortimer Tales Moors (1895) 95. n.Dev. Father'd been
out over exercising the puppies, Chanter WUch (1896) 50. (i)
Sc, Ye'll be thinkin' o' gettin' out-owre the bedstock yin o' thae
days, Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899). Sh.I. Shii . . .
dan tied a white njaepkin oot ower a', Sh. News (Feb. 10,
rgoo). Cai.i Oot-o'er 'e hill. Elg. Couper Poetry (1804) I. 129.
Bnff. I . . . coost my hough out-owre a beast, Taylor Poems
(1787) 56. Bch. Forbes Dominie (1785) 29, Abd. Ance out
ower a dyke I watch'd him. Still Cottar's Sunday (1845) 37.
Frf. MoRisoN Poems (1790) 19. Per. Tak yer guttery shune out
ower the clean kitchen, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 262, ed. 1887.
Fif. Tenuant Papistry (1827) 182. Rnf. Barr Poems (1861) 145.
Ayr. The rising moon began to glowr The distant Cumnock hills
out-owre, Burns Death and Dr. Hornbook (1785) st. 4. Lnk. Whan
met out-o'er a gill. Watt Poems (1827) 25. Lth. She'll win
awa' . . . Out o'er the rigs, Thomson Poems (1819) 131. Edb. He
should not gang out owr our door, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 398,
ed. 1815. Slk. At the second step — plump outower head and
ears, like a pearl-diver or water-hen, Chr. North Nodes (ed.
1856) IV. 180. Dmf.QuiNN/7raM«;- (1863) 146. Gall. Nicholson
Poet. Wks. (1814) 50, ed. 1897. Kcb. Armstrong Ingleside (i8go)
49. N.Cy.l, Nhb.i Cum.^ ; Cum.* He leeves oot ower Shank
bridge way. Dev.^ Out over the field. (12) Bnff.i The gueed-
man's oot-our-by amo' the red laan. (13, a) Abd. Pity anes mair,
for I'm outthrow as clung, Ross Helenore (1768) 7, ed. 1812.
Ags. Inthrow and outthrow, in every direction (Jam.). Lnk.
Drookit oot-through wi' the rain, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895)
106. n.Yks.^ {b) n.Sc. They dived in thro' the wan burn-bank,
Sae did they outthro' the other, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 120,
ed. 1875. Abd. Out-throw the rest my Aunty gecket, To see
which way she was dissecket, Beattie Parings (iBoi) 10, ed.
1873. s.Sc. The hares in mony an' am'rous whud Did scour the
grass out-through, T. Scott Poems (1793) 376. Cld. The arrow
gaed outthrough his braidside. He gaed outthrough the bear-Ian'
(Jam.). Lnk. Nicholson Idylls {i&'jo) 36. Edb. Wha wad glowr
the scene outthrough. That pleas'd his e'en ? M°Dowall Poems
(1839) 32. Dmf. Cromek Remains (1810) 48. Gall. [He] shewed
me a' before we stentit, out through the house, Nicholson Poet.
Wks. (1814) 60, ed. 1897. (14} Sh.I. Hit wis weel oot ipo da day
afore I wan ta my destination, Clark N. Gleams (1898) loi.
(15, a) Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Freens fae the teeth ootwuth, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) xli. (i) Sc. Bastard, an bairne unlauchfullie
gotten outwith the band of marriage, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681)
16. Or.I. Rais letters in ony sort outwith the countrie, Peterkin
Notes (1822) Append. 42. Abd. A creatur' 't's never seen ocht
nor flee ootwith a stob-thackit hoose, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882)
161. Per. All those that lived outwith the Castle Gavil Port,
Lawson Bk. of Per. (1847) 299. Ayr. The landward part of the
parish outwith that boundary, Western Suppl. (Feb. 2, 1895).
(c) Sc. Fesh my hawks sae fleet o' flicht, To hunt in the outwith
Ian', Edb. Mag. (July 1819) 256 (Jam.). Abd. He's respeckit to
the ootwith, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 98. (16) n.Yks.2
3. Phr. (i) out a gates., out of the common fashion,
eccentric ; (2) — and in, (a) within and without, deeply ;
(Jo) close, intimate ; (3) — and out, (a) entirely, completely,
altogether; extremely, absolutely; in gen. coUoq. use;
(6) without after-claims, once and for all ; (c) thorough,
complete ; {d) excellent, first-rate ; (4) — and outer or —
and outener, anything superlative of its kind ; anything
very extraordinary ; one who does extraordinary things ;
in gen. colloq. use; (5) — and under, a term applied to
one who takes care of his own interests without regard to
others ; (6) — at elbows, (a) in declining circumstances, in
debt ; (b) offended, in disagreement ; (7) — at heels, shabbily
dressed ; (8) — at ley, (9) — at tack, of cattle or horses :
feeding in hired pastures ; (10) — of all sense and reason,
quite unreasonable ; (11) — of ash, to have had the banns
of marriage published three times ; see Out-ask; (12) —
of core, at odd times, out of the regular course ; see Coor ;
(13) — of course, beyond comparison, beyond measure ;
greatly ; (14) —of cm or kew, out of health ; not in good
humour ; (15) — of door, in the open air ; also used attrib. ;
(16) — of doors, {a) lonely, bleakly situated; {b) out of
fashion, extinct ; (17) — of gate, out of the way ; fig. dead
and buried ; (18) — of hand, forthwith, immediately ; (19)
— of harr, obs., out of joint, off the hinge ; (20) — of heart,
(a) down-hearted, dispirited ; (b) of land : in an im-
poverished, exhausted state, out of condition ; (21) — of
ither, disjointed, smashed up ; (22) — of jimmers, out of
working order ; (23) ^ of ken or kenning, beyond recogni-
tion ; (24) — of liquor, sober; (25) — of mercy, exceedingly;
(26) — of on^s head, delirious, mad, out of one's mind ;
(27) — of one's time, (a) in advance of one's age, birth, &c.,
out of one's station ; (b) out of one's apprenticeship,
having served one's time ; (28) — of order of a cold, a very
bad cold ; (29) — of sight, to watch till the object is no
longer in sight ; (30) — of sorts, out of humour, in a bad
temper; (31) — of that, at once, the moment, instantly;
(32) — of the bag, of wheat : in ear ; (33) — of the cold,
having the chill off, moderately warm ; (34) — of the face,
straight through without stopping; (35) — of the gate, see
(17) ; (36) — of the head, entirely, from top to bottom ; (37)
— of the house, the down-stroke of a pit pumping-engine ;
(38) — of the road, see (17) ; (39) — of the way or de-way,
(a) dead and buried ; (b) remarkably, exceedingly ; (c)
exorbitant, extravagant ; {d} vicious ; irregular ; un-
seemly ; (e) annoyed, troubled ; (/) out of joint, dislocated ;
(g) wrong, in error ; (40) — the gate, {a) out of the way,
out of reach, gone off; along t)ie road ; [b) honest, fair in
words or actions ; (41) — the high gate, see (40, b) ; (42) —
the way, uncommonly ; (43) — to end, finished, done ;
come to an end ; (44) to be out {with, to be angry with, to
fall out, quarrel ; (45) to call out of one's name, (a) to call
by the wrong name ; (b) to quarrel with, abuse ; (46) to
cut out one's hair, to cut off one's hair ; (47) to fall out of
conceit, (48) to get out of, to get a dislike to ; (49) to lie out
of doors, to exist ; to continue ; (50) to make poorly out, to
be unfortunate and unsuccessful ; (51) to want out, to wish
to go outside ; (52) week out and week in, taking one week
with another, on a weekly average.
(i) S. & Ork.'^ MS. add. (2, a) Ayr. Duncan sighed baith out
and in. Burns Duncan Gray, st. 2. (6) Lnk. A few of her out an'
in neighbours, Watson Poems (1853) 34. (3, a) s.Sc. Did the
rascal harry ye oot an' oot ? Wilson Tales (1839) V. 18. Cld.
He drank the glass out-an'-out (Jam.). n.Cy. (J.W.), w.Yks.i^
Lan.i He's out-an-out th' best hand at puncin', as we'n getten i'
this shop. e.Lan.', Chs."^ Not. I'll take twenty pound out
and out (J.H.B.) ; Not.i Lin.i The last circus in the town beat
all the others out-and-out. Lei.i Nhp.i He's an out and out good-
for-nothing fellow. War. 3, Oxf.i MS. add., Brks.i w.Som.i Her's
out and out the best maid vor work ever I meet way. Dev.^, Cor.^
(A) Oxf.i I sells un out and out if I sells un at all, MS. add. Stis.,
Hmp. I sold the horse out-and-out, Cooper Gl. (1853). w.Som.i
No, I on't never warrant nothing ; if I sells'n, I sells'n out and
out. (c) e.Lan. 1 w.Som.^He's th' outand outest [aewt-naewts]
young osebird you ever had the hidin' o'. Dev. 'Er's a out-an'-out
towser, 'er is ! Hewett Peas. S^ (1892) . (rf) Lei.' Sur.i He's a
out and out farmer. They tell me that the last turkey I sent in
was a out and out 'un. (4) Lth. He was a Man of men — an out-
and-outer, as he expressed it, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 178.
n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.), Not.^, Lei.'^ War. The Warwickshire hounds
are what they always have been — ' out and outers,' Mordaunt &
Verney War. Hunt (1896) 1. 102 ; War.^ Oxf.i MS. add., Brks.^
Sus.' He's an impersome young chap, a proper out-and-outener
(s.v. Ill-conditioned). Sus.,Hmp. He is an out and outer, Cooper
Gl. (1853). w.Som.^ Zeed our new dog-cart? proper out and
outer, I can tell 'ee. w.Cor. A bad character ! She's an out and
outer. I never knew such a liar, he's an out and outer (M.A.C.).
Colloq. The out and outerest old flint that ever drawed breath,
Dickens N. Nickleby (1838) xli. (5) S. & Ork.i (6, a) Cum.»
Nhp.i He won't go on much longer, for he's quite out at elbows.
War.s, Hnt. (T.P.F.) (6) I.W.2 They be all out at elbows, now.
(7) Nhp.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.) (8)Shr.2 (9) Shr.i (10) w.Yks.(J.W.),
Oxf.i MS. add. (11) Sus.^ (12) Cor. He . . . farmed a few acres
of land, and, ' out of core,' he and his daughter worked on it, Hunt
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Pop. Rom. vo.Eng. (1865) 104, ed. 1896 ; Cor.' ; Cor.^ ' To work out
of core,' to employ one's spare time after the regular period of work.
(13) n.Yks.4, ne.Yks.i (14) Cum.i, Wm. (B.K.) (15) w.Yks.i
Dev. 'Twas night an' out o' door, Pulman Sketches (1842) 25, ed.
1853. (16, a) Der.2, nw.Der.i {b) Ken.i As for poor old David,
he's quite entirely put out o' doors. Snr.i Farming has gone out
o' doors nowadays. (17) Nhb.i He's tyen his nip away oot-o-gyet
someway. Cum.i Wm. An rowls the cobbles out o' gait, White-
head Leg. (1859) 25. n.Yks.2 An oot 0' geeat spot. e.Yks.i
ri.Lan. Udder spots they knew on out ageatt, R. Piketah Fomess
Flk. (1870) 46. (18) Sc. Come pay me out o' hand, Jamieson Pop.
Ballads (1806) I. 176. Fif. Be ilk tow'r and turret mann'd Wi"
michty warriors out-o'-hand, Tennant Papistry (1827) 107. Nhp.i,
Hrf.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.) w. Som.' Nif you'll zen un down a dinner-
time, he shall be a-do'd out o' hand. (19) Wxf.i (20, a) Suf.i
Ess. Now I am Put still more out o' heart, Clark y. Noakes (1839)
St. 35. (4) w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.i, Nhp.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Ess. Clark
J. Noakes (1839) Gl. (21) Sc. Awa, he'll no win ower't. He's a'
fair out o' ither, Roy Horseman's Wd. (1895) xxxii. Abd. (G.W.)
(22) e.Yks.i (23) n.Cy. Grose (1790). n.Yks.^ Grown out o'
kenning. (24) Sc. I wish ye luck, Baith in and out o' liquor,
Vedder Poems (1842) 100. (25) I.Ma. 'Deed I've read til! I'm tired
urrov-massy. Brown Witch (1889) 112; Aisy-goin urrov messy,
ib. 63. (26) Sh.I. Come aif shak' him aff or A'U be oot o' me head,
Sh. News (Aug. 27, 1898). n.Yks. He's out of his head (I.W.).
m.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.) (27, a) Edb. She was mair gentle-man-
nered than it behoved a cottar's lass to be ; deed, it aften kam
ower me that she was a thocht oot o' her time, Beatty Secreiar
(1897) 213. (A) w.Yks. Alfred Breamer wor aght ov his time at th'
joiner's shop. Hartley Clock Aim. (1888) 19. War.^, Oxf. (G.O.)
(28) Lan. Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 107. (29) Ess. I out-of-sighted
him, Trans. Arch. Soc. (1863) II. 186 ; Ess.^ (30) n.Cy., Yks.,
Midi. (J.W.), Not.i, Lei.i, War.^, Nhp.i w.Som.i Hot ail'th
maisterl ter'ble out o' sorts, idn er? a call'd me but everything
'cause the zaddle wad'n 'pon the mare 'vore he com'd out.
nw.Dev.i (31) Ir. Go asleep out of that, you bold brat. Go along
out of that, you impudent rascal (A.S.-P.). (32) w.Cor. The wheat
is out o' the bag (M.A.C.). (33) War." Don'tmake that milk very
hot: I only want it just out of the cold. Ken.i^ (s.y. Cold). (34)
N.I.i, Uls. (M.B.-S.) (35) Sc. (Jam.), Wm. (B.K.) w.Yks. Cum
aht o' t'gaate (S.K.C.). Lan. Aw mun wait eautside whol th'
mappin's getten eaut o' th' gate, Clegg Sketches (1895) 219. (36)
n.Yks.2 They bought it oot o' t'heead. (37) Nhb.i (38) Wm.
(B.K.) n.Yks.i An oot o' t'rooad, deeafly spot. Ah aims we'll
get dune byneeght, an' a' t'muckment an' owght oot o' t'rooad an'
a' ; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.^ Wa've gitten t'poor au'd dog putten oot o'
t'rooad. w.Yks. (J.W.) (39, a) Wm. (B.K.) (6) s.Not. He
wasn't out-o'-the-way late (J.P.K.). Sus.i I never did see such
tedious out-de-way larmentable poor ground in all my borns. (c)
Cum. His charges are oot o' t'way otogidder (E.W.P.). w.Yks.'
Nhp.' What an out o' th' way price. Hnt. (T.P.F.) Ess. Thrip-
punce for sich stuff as that, 'Twas quoite out ov the way, Clark
/. Noakes (1839) st. 95. (d) n.Cy. (J.W.) e.Dur.i He's been an
out of the way man iv his time. Cum.* She can expect nowt
better ov hersel', for she's led an oot-o'-th'-way leyfe, Rosenthal,
230. Cor.^ («) Cum.* A was that sair putten oot o' t'way when
a heeard tell on't, Mary Drayson, 6. (/) Nrf. Have ye heerd that
young Smith ha' put his shoulder out of the way? (W.R.E.)
Suf.i A put 'a's sheowda out o' the wah. (g) Snf.' I think yeow
ar werry much out a the wah if ye sah so. (40, a) Sc. He failed
an' now he's aiT an' out-the-gate (Jam. ). CM. I'll jist tak a dauner
out-the-gate till ye're ready (ib.). (4) Sc. (ib.) (41) Sc. Out the
high gate is ay fair play. Downright honest is both best and safest,
Kelly Proz/. (1721) 273. (42) Sus. (S.P.H.) (43) w.Som.i I be
out to end wi' thick job. Can er zend vor some more lime ? we
be quite out to end. (44) Gall. There's nane exempit frae; life's
cares. And few frae some domestic jars ; A' whiles are in, and
wiiiles are out, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814') 76, ed. 1897. s.Don.
Simmons Gl. (1890). n.Yks.*, w.Yks.' e.Dev. My awn brithers
an' sisters was out wi' me, Pulman Sng. Sol. (i860) i. 6. (45, a)
Lnk. Calls everything oot o' its proper name, Gordon Pyotshaw
(1885) 125. N.I.i He called me out of my name. Lan. He'd never
go fur to call ony lady out o' their name, Longman's Mag. (Apr.
1897) 535. s.Not. My name's Smith, and I won't be called out of
my name (J.P.K.). (6) Wor. I called him out of his right name
(H.K.). Cor.3 He called me out of my name. (46) Sc. Cut out
your hair, and get a wig, Scoticisms (1787) 19 ; Nay, more as that,
they cut out his hair, ib. 119. (47) w.Yks. It's just as easy to mak
him fall aght o' consait. Hartley Clock Aim. (1877) 23. (48)
w.Yks. Ah've getten rayther aht o' him, lat'ly, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Nov. 9, 1895). (49) Sus. On this here farm as long as ever it lies
out o' doors, HosKYNS Talpa (1852) 90, ed. 1857. (50) w.Yks.'
(51) Lnk. Jenny, are ye wantin' oot 'Mang the knowes to frisk
aboot? Nicholson /rfy//5( 1870) 10. Gall. Often used by children
when they wish to go out of school for a minute or two (A.W.).
(52) Per. Week out an' week in, it's liker twenty shillin's, Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) 250, ed. 1887. n.Cy., w.Yks. (J.W.)
4. Absent from home on an expedition or visit.
sw.Lin.i Of a person away from home on a holiday. ' It was
when we were out in the summer.' Shr.' I shall be out for three
weeks. Glo.' ' When are you going out ? ' means, when are you
going to take your summer holiday? Suf. I wonder if George is
out for a week (M.E.R.).
5. Of a meeting, congregation, &c. : dispersed, dis-
missed ; over.
Sh.I. ' Da kirk is oot, I tink,' said Kirstie, Burgess Lowra
Biglan (1896) 22. Dmb. In that whimp'ling burn when the school
was out, I've seen us gindle baith for parr and trout, Taylor
Poems (1827) 91. Gall. The kirk is out (A. W.). w.Yks. T'skuilz
at (J.W.).
Hence to come out, phr. to be dispersed, to be over.
Frf. Juist afore the kirk came oot she couldna stand it nae
langer, Barrie Thrums (1889) xix. w.Yks. (J.W.)
6. Of the wind : blow^ing from the north or east.
Ken. N. (y Q. (1852) ist S. vi. 388; ^W.F.S.); Ken.' The wind
is out to-day ; Ken.^
7. Of a river : flooded.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Not. They tell me the Trent's out again. The
water's out all over Mr. G.'s meadow (L.C.M.). sw.Lin.' They
say the Trent is out.
8. Obs. Projecting, humped, curving outwards.
Edb. Elritch Girn-again, Goblin, Wi' back out, and breast in,
Carlop Green (1793) 128, ed. 1817.
9. Published abroad, current.
Feb. Frae house to house she's clashin'. Gathering a' the news
that's out, Affleck Poet. IVks. (1836) 86.
10. Aloud.
w.Yks., Lan. (J.W.) Chs.' Shall I read it out? Brks. Read
un out, gal, ther's nothen but not arra body med year, Comh. Mag.
(Nov. 1900) 658.
11. Of a bell : tolling.
Nrf. Who is the bell out for! Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 60.
12. Forward, onwards ; far off in point of time.
w.Ir. From that day out, the sojer was an althered man. Lover
Leg. (1848) I. 44. w.Soni.i Tidn same now's 'tis out to Kirsmas.
Tidn no good to look vor they flowers vore out in July or August.
We shan't be gwain vore out in February. The use of this word
rather conveys the idea of a considerable interval of time as well
as difference in season.
13. Fully, completely, quite ; throughout ; also in comb.
All out.
Frf. Count them out, baith birds and brutes. Feathers and bees,
and horned clutes, Sands Poems (1833) 88. Per. I'm fifty oot . . .
yet I'm juist as yap an' yauld As e'er was youth, Haliburton
Ochil Idylls (1891) 40. n.Yks.' ' How old is she 1' ' Not three
years out.' w.Yks. (J.W.) ne.Lan.' All-out. Nhp.' It is not all
out so good as it should be. War. Not ten all out (J.R.W.).
Wor. 'Er wasn't out eighteen when 'er 'ad Bessie (H.K.). Hrf.'
14. Accomplished, . fulfilled ; finished, ended ; gone,
empty.
Abd. Now my pirn is out, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 147. Kcd.
Mair nor that, ye've droon't the drink ; The fushion o't is oot,
Grant Lays (1884) 20. Frf. As he is noo ane, it may be supposed
he got his ettle oot, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 170, ed. i88g.
Fif. (A.W.) Dmb. 'Is his lease maist oot?' 'Yes, the rinnin'
lease o' the Fat-holm is just oot at the next term,' Cross Disruption
(1844) xxxiii. Ayr. Ere anither year is out, I'll hae a lassie to
mysel'. Ballads and Sngs. (1846) 1. 120. Lth. Auld Charlie's deid,
his yokin's out, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 97. Edb. At ilka
toast they drank cap out, Auld Handsel Monday (1792) 21. Gall.
Is your cup out? (A.W.) Nhb. Their chance of success was
altogether out, Richardson Borderers Table-bk. (1846) V. 296.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Nrf. Is the beer out ? Emerson 5o« o/fcMs (1892)
205. sw.Cy. N. & Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 285.
15. See below.
Cum.' It was customary for the bowl of poddish to be placed
on the table, and the family to sit around and each use his spoon ;
a rule prevailed that if any let three drops and a long slatter fall
on the board he was ' out ' and could not come again (s.v. Lowse).
16. Worn out, worn through, torn.
Abd. The knees o' ray breeks and my elbocks a' out, Cadenhead
3B 2
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[372 J
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Flights of Fancy (1853) 204 ; My coat's out at the hem (G.W.).
Per. Their shoon is out at the taes, Sandy Scott (1897) 42. n.Cy.,
w.Yks. (J.W.)
17. Of an apprentice : having served his time.
Lin.^ sw.Lin.i The blacksmith's boy, he was out yesterday, so
they had a bit of a do.
18. Of the banns of marriage : published, called for the
last time. Wil.^
19. Mistaken, wrong. In gen. colloq. use.
Sc. ' One would think we lived in a midden.' ' 'Deed, an' ye're
no' far oot,' Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 73. Rnf. My wightman
. . . appeared to be out in two or three important facts he advanced,
WoDROw Corres. (1709-31) III. 130, ed. 1843. Edb. Either the
Bible tells a lie, Or ye're a' out, Fergusson Poems (1773) 191,
ed. 1785. s.Ir. He wasn't far out in sayin' that same, Lover Leg.
(1848) II. 476. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) Der. You're out there;
'twas she told me, Le Fanu Uncle Silas (1865) I. 298. Not.',
Lei.i, War.* w.Som.i Yow'm out there, Robert ; twadn he ;
I zeed who 'twas. Colloq. ' You're out,' says Dick ; ' 'Tis a lie,'
says Nick, Sngs. Eng. Peas. (1846) 165, ed. 1857.
20. Widely diverging in opinion.
■VT.Som.i ' I yeard em zay how they was a brave ways out in
their figures, and how that they wad'n nit a bit like vor t'agree.'
Said of two agents respecting a farm valuation,
21. Used as an intensitive : extant ; possible.
w.Som.i Well then, I'll ha' the leastest bit out. They oils be
the bestest thing out, vor information or ort. The wo'st job out
is 'bout the taties ; they be proper rattin in the groun'.
22. adj. Outer, outside.
m.Yks.i A load of sheep came withering down the lane, and
one of ours was among the outens [out ones].
23. Of a fire : extinguished, gone out.
Ayr. They cam' hame to an out fire, Hunter Studies (iSto) 145.
24. prep. Beyond ; more than.
Rnf. What he has felt 'tis out our power to say, M^Gilvray
Poems (ed. 1862) 82. Wor. (H.K.)
25. Along. n.Sc. Out the road (Jam.).
26. Without ; free from, exempt from.
Rnf. Wark bodies are ne'er out the guddle Frae their cradles
till laid in the mools, Webster Rhymes (1835) 19. Dev.'- Mayhap
'tis es way to zay es prayers out a book, 3.
Hence Out-witten(s or -wittins, adv. without the know-
ledge of.
Bnff. Whiskie we had smugglins brewn Outwittins n' the
guager, Taylor Poems (1787) 143. Ayr. I thought me on a time,
Outwittens of my daddie, 'To fee mysel' to a Highland laird,
Ballads and Sngs. (1846) I. 33 ; You might ha'e come to me
yoursel Outwitten o' onybody, ib. 34.
27. sb. An excursion, pleasure trip, a holiday.
n.Yks.i I hope you have had a pleasant out ; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i
Sha mun ev a neyce oot. w.Yks.'- Ye've hed a fine out. Lan.
It's mony a long yer sin we had a nice eawt, Laycock Sngs.
(1866) 28; The two cronies promised each other a jolly 'out' of
it, BRiERLEY/rfrfafc (1865) 271, ed. 1868. ne.Lan.' Chs.* Chester
is a nice place for an out, that's for sure. Der. John is having his
out this month (R.O.). nw.Der.l
28. Result, success, progress ; gen. in phr. to make good,
poor, &c., out{s.
w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Chs.' Ah did)nu think yi)dn u mai'd sich
pdoiir aawt. sw.Lin.i I don't think he mak's much outs. We
made sore outs last week. Nhp.i He made a good out of that
speculation. se.Wor.i Making a goodish out. Oxf.^ They made
a poor out an't. Brks.' I zet un to do zome gardnin', but 'a
maayde but a poor out on't. e.An.' Cmb. When a man has done
some work badly, 'tis said : ' Ah ! he's made no outs on't '
(W.W.S.). Nrf. I made a bad out with my bullocks this year.
Arch. (1879) VIII. 171. Wil.iA offered vor to do some draishin',
but a made a ter'ble poor out on't. Cor. He'd see the out of all
this, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 88, ed. 1896.
29. A turn, attempt.
s.Chs.i Wi)sn aa)tu aa too ur threy aawts aat- it flfoa-r wi dun it.
30. A tide.
Cor. 3 The lowest out is spring tide at low water.
31. pi. In phr. (i) outs and ins, (a) details, particulars, ins
and outs ; {b) a game somewhat similar to ' rounders ' ;
(c) misshapen, inside out ; (2) a gentleman with three outs, a
contemptuous term for any one ; see Gentleman ; (3) at
outs, at variance, in disagreement.
(i, «) Sc. (Jam.) Dmb. We . . . canna pretend to understaund a'
the oots and ins o' the Kirk question, Cross Disruption (1844)
xxxix. Ayr. There's no need for ye gieing us a' the oots and ins,
Johnston Glenbuch'e (1889) 74. Lnk. I am not going to fill my
book, as some authors do, wi' a' the outs and ins o' a dinner
party, Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 113. Edb. He's weel vers'd in
a' the laws, Kens baith their outs and ins, Fergusson Poems
(1773) log, ed. 1785. (b) Dmf., Gall. Peculiar to the low countries of
Scotland. A circle is drawn and neatly divided into six parts ; on
one of these is cut another circle of ten feet diameter, — this is
called the 'Ins' and the large circle the 'Outs.' A stone, or
branch of a tree, is set up at these marks in the large circle ; — these
are termed ' Dools.' The boys divide in equal numbers and cast
lots for the Ins, which is the seat of glory and heroism. The for-
tunate party all step into the Ins and the other party run to the
Outs ; a boy then steps forth from either side. To begin the
game — the boy in the Outs throws a ball of yarn covered with
leather or party-coloured thread so as gently to light on the
other's hand, who stands with it open, and in a swinging attitude,
in order to strike the ball. This he does with great dexterity,
avoiding the outer party and preventing them from catching it as
it flies : which should one of them catch loses the Ins. The boy
on striking away the ball runs to the first dool and touches it with
his foot. One of his fellows stands forth in the Ins, striking back
the ball, while his partner gains another dool, and so on till he re-
covers the Ins. "The other one who struck away the ball in his
absence runs the same career. But should the ball be caught, or
while he is running to reach his dool should he be struck by the
ball from the outer party, the Ins are lost and the enemy rushes
in to the evacuated dominions, CROMEKif«j«flm5(i8io) 253-4. (c)
Lth. He's a' outs an' ins, he's a' heads an' thraws, He's a sharp-
pointed humph on his back, Ballantine Poems (1856) 107. (3)
Shr.2 Him! a gentleman! a gentleman with three outs, neither
wit, money, or manners. w.Som.i Slang. Jerry Juniper was
what the classical Captain Grose would designate a 'gentleman
with three outs ' ; . . although he was not entirely without wit, nor
his associates avouched, without money, nor, certainly, in his own
opinion, had that been asked, without manners, Ainsworth Rook-
wood (1834) bk. III. V. (3) n.Yks. They were at outs wi yan an-
other (I.W.). w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.^ n.Lin.'^ Thaay fell at oots last
Brigg fair was three year, an' hev'n't hed a good word for one
anuther sin'. [Amer. An appearance somewhat at outs with
Hogarth's line of beauty, Sat. Globe (Feb. 16, 1901) XX. 2, col. 5.]
32. pi. Rates and taxes, outgoings.
Cor.* Rent £^o and outs.
33. pi. Weekly pocket-money.
Hrt. When the outs, that is the weekly allowance of pocket
money given to the boys by their parents, became due, Wickham
Bluecoat Boy's Recoil. (1844).
OUT, V. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Lan. Lin. Nhp. War.
Hnt. I.W. Amer. Also in forms aht Yks. ; oot Sc. Nhb.'
n.Yks.*^ e.Yks.^ 1. To eject, oust, turn out.
Sc. I'll keep my place merely to despite my colleague, who
would have me outted, Pitcairn Assembly (1766) 31. Or.I. Lop-
ness was outed, and succeeded by Sir Alexander Brand, Wallace
Desc. Or. I. (1693) 240, ed. 1883. Ayr. If the prelatic reprobation
now attempted on the kirk gang nae farther than outing her minis-
ters from their kirks and manses, Galt Gilhaise (1823) xvi. Wgt.
Pastors . . . Were ' outed ' from the kirks they loved so well,
Fraser Pofiws (1885) 174. n.Yks.°, w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. They
resolve to out me. They looke upon mee as makeing a faction in
the congregation, Newcome Diary (1662) in Cheih. Soc. (1849)
XVIII. 70; Still in use (S.W.). n.I.in.i Matthew Emerson was
ooted fra his farm thrif poisonin' Dr. Parkinson's pheasants.
Hence Outed, ppl. adj., ? obs., ejected.
Sc. Mr. James Kirkton, one of the outed ministers, Kirkton
Ch. Hist. (1817) 367. n.Sc. I took up my chamber in a godly
man's house, an outed minister, Wodrow Soc, Set. Biog. (ed.
1845-7) II- 190. I*-"*- The maintenance of the then outed clergjf,
ib. Corres. (1709-31) I. 597, ed. 1843. Lnk. Their affection to
their outed ministers, ib. Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 323, ed. 1828. Gall.
His lady, who notoriously harboured outed preachers, Crockett
Moss-Hags (1895) XX. Wgt. Mr. Hamilton was the 'outed'
minister of Wigtown, Eraser Wigtown {18'n) 133. Lan. Thaty"
outed non-conformists y» day of all others looked most cheerefully,
Newcome Diary (1662) in Cheth. Soc. (1849) XVIII. 138.
2. In games : to send or put out.
w.Yks. Ahted t'first ball. Banks Wkjld. Wds. (1865) ; (J.W.)
3. To extinguish, put out.
I.W. (J.D.R.) ; I.W.= Out the light, wull 'ee, you.
4. To despise, slight.
OUT
[373]
OUT-BY(E
n.Yks. They'll oot him iwer seea (I.W.). e.Yks.^ Beeath fay-
ther an muther ooted poor Jack.
5. With with : to pull or draw out ; to thrust out.
Cai. I oot wi' a peen fae my linens, Horne Countryside (1896)
158. Abd. Wha cud tell but he raicht oot wi' the swoord he aye
cairriet, Macdonald Warlock (1882) vii. Per. He out wi' his
siller an' gied it till me, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 240, ed.
1887. Ayr. I ran harae, and into my kist, and out wi' my whole
capital, Hunter Studies (1870) 158. Ir. I out's with my bread-
earner, Edgeworth Bulls (1802) 130, ed. 1803. w.Ir. He outs
with his knife, Lover Leg. (1848) I. 177. Nhb. Then grand-
feythor, he oots wiv his champion cock — Stingo, Pease Tales {zBgg)
15 ; Nhb.'- He oots wiv his knife, an' cut the rope. w. Yks. (J. W.),
Oxf. (G.O.) [Amer. I . . . ups with the winder and outs with my
head, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) 3rd S. x.]
6. To betray, reveal ; to divulge, tell, speak out ; gen.
with with.
Sc. Thou alsua art ane o' them, for thy speech outeth thee,
Henderson 5. Matt. (1862) xxvi. 73. ne.Sc. 'Oct wi't, man,'
said one, calling to Francie, Gordon Northward Ho, 56. Per. Out
wi't a', man! Cleland /McAAracfew (1883) 146, ed. 1887. Slk. The
fine flavour . . . soon outed the secret, Hogg Tales (1838) 363, ed.
1866. Nhb.^ Afore aa hed time ti speak he oots wi'd. w.Yks. I
mud as well aht wi't, Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884) i ; w.Yks.^-
She war gard to out we'et, ii. 297. Nhp.' Out we'et, let's hear all
about it. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
7. To become known. Nhb.i It suin outed.
8. Obs. To vent, find issue for ; to expend.
Sh.I. For outting of your malice, Hibeert Desc. Sh. I. (1822)
282, ed. 1891. Abd. This Farquhar outed his mitey meal upon
the honest people of the town, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 340.
Kcb. I can find no ways to out my heart upon Christ, Rutherford
Lett. (ed. 1765) I. No. 135 (Jam.).
9. With on : to break out upon, be angry with.
War.^ He outed on me and was quite angry with me.
10. To improve, grow.
s.Dur. He's terr'bly outed lately. A' hardly kent him (J.E.D.).
OUT, int. Sc. Yks. Lan. Der. Also in forms aught
Lan.; aute.Lan.^; awtnw.Der.^; oot n.Yks.^ 1. Begone.
n.Yks.2 Better had folks cry o' thee, oot beggar, as oot thief.
2. Comb. (1) Out alas ! alas ; (2) — ay, a strong affirma-
tion ; (3) — fy, an exclamation of reproach ; (4) — on, (5)
— upon, exclamations of reproach or anger : shame upon.
(i) Frf. But out, alas! now dene's our kipes. Sands Poems
(1833) 20. (2) Sc. (Jam.) (3) Edb. Out fy, brother, ye stain
your profession, Mitchell Tinklarian (ed. 1810) 8. (4) e.Lan.i
Aut on it. (5) Sc. Out upon you. Sir Bingo, are you mad ? Scott
St. Ronan (1824) xiii. w.Yfcs.i Sail, outoponner, girt . . . gammer-
stang, ii. 287. Lan. Aught-opo o' sitch teastrils, Tim Bobbin View
Dial. (1740) 41. nw.Der.i Awt-upon-thee !
OUT, see Aught, pron., Ort. ,
OUTAGE, sb. Yks. Also written ootage e.Yks. ;
ootidge e.Yks.^ The full particulars of anything, the full
extent; result.
e.Yks. Ah wants ti knaw t'ootage on't (M.C.F.M.) ; e.Yks.'
OUTANCE, sb. and adv. Sc. [u'tans.] 1. sb. An
outing, the act of going out. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) 2. adv.
Outside, out of doors. [Not known to our correspondents.]
Lnk. Our mare and foal were sent to pyke Alang the lown side
o' a dyke ; Or outance, ony way they like, Watson Poems (1853) 26.
OUT-ASK, V. Nhp. Lei. War. Wor. Glo. Oxf. Brks.
Hnt. e.An. Ken. Sun Sus. Hmp. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev.
Also in forms out-ax Nhp.' Lei.' Brks.' Hnt. e.An.' Suf.'
Hmp.' Dor. w.Som.' e.Dev. ; -ex Oxf.' [eu't-ask, -seks.]
To publish the banns of marriage for the third time. Gen.
in pp. See Ask, v} 2.
Nhp.', Lei.' War. Let us be out-asked by Martimas, there's a
dear wench, B^ham Wkly. Post (Apr. 29, 1899); War.234_
s.War.' s.Wor. (H.K.) ; s.Wor.' They was out-asked Sunday
was a fortnight. Glo. (A.B.), Glo.', Oxf.', Brks.', Hnt. (T.P.F.)
c.An.'(s.v.Axt-out). Suf.', Ken.' Sur. Dick Garlike and our Ann
was out-asked at church o' Sunday, M & Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 239 ;
Snr.' Sus. I agreed to marry them at eight o'clock on the Monday
after they were out-asked, Egerton Flk. and Ways (1884) 96 ; Sus.'
Hmp. Blackley Wd. Gossip {i86g) 157 j Hmp.' She were out-axed
last Sunday. Wil.', Dor. (C.W.B.) e.Som. W. & ].Gl. (1873)1
w Som.' What, bain' um a-married ! why they must a-bin out-ax'd
's two months. Som., e.Dev. N. £r Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 345.
Colloq. That all other suitors were left in the lurch, And the
parties had ever been ' out-asked ' in Church, Barham Iiigoldiby
(ed. 1864) Lay o/S. Romwold.
OUTBREAK, sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. Nhp. Hnt. Also in
forms ootbrack Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.'; ootbrak Cai.\- ootbrek
Sc. (Jam.) ; outbreak Sc^(Jam. Suppl.) w.Yks.' ne.Lan.' ;
outbrek Sh.I. Or.I. [-brek, -brek, -brak.] 1. An erup-
tion on the skin. Sc (Jam.), Cai.', Bnff.' 2. A q^uarrel
or contention. Cld., Lth. (Jam.) 3. A fit of drinkmg.
Bnff.' He jinet the tee-totle, an keepit it for a file ; bit he's hid
an awfou oot-brack a' the last oock. Nhp.' He's been a long time
without an out-break. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
4. Transgression. Sc. (Jam.) Hence (i) Outbreaker,
sb., obs., a transgressor, a breaker of the law; (2)
Outbreaking, sb., obs., transgression, sin.
(i) Abd. The principal outbreakers and malefactors, Spalding
Hist. Sc. (1792) 1. 5. (2) Kcb. I complain of my woful out-
breakings, Rutherford Lett. (ed. 1765) L No, 162 (Jam.).
5. The appearance of a vein of mineral upon the surface
of the ground, an ' outcrop.' Sc. (Jam. Suppl.), w.Yks.',
ne.Lan.' 6. Obs. Land that has only recently been
cultivated ; see below.
Sh.I.Anebuoy-land [51c] or outbrek is ane piece of land newly win
without the dykis, and payis no scatt, Hibbert Desc. Sh.I. (1822)
121, ed. 1891 ; If the quoy was near the Tun [i.e. farmstead] it was
sometimes called an ' Umbeset,' Proceed. Antiq. Soc. Sc. (1883-4)
256 (Jam. Supfil.). Or.I. ' A quoyland or outbrek is ane piece of
land newly win without the dykes,' that is a piece of land newly
improved and not yet enclosed, Peterkin Rentals (1820) No.
n. 2 («6.).
OUTBURST, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Yks. [u'tbsrst.]
1. sb. A bursting, sudden discharge.
Rnf. A' was swallowed in a trice On the outburst n' ae gran'
bubble, Young Pictures (1865) 156. Nhb.' The sudden discharge
of a large volume of inflammable gas in a coal mine.
2. An ' outcrop,' the appearance of a stratum of mineral
at the surface of the ground.
Nhb.' Coming to the outburst. ' There is an Outburst or an
appearance above ground of some vein of coal,' Compleat Collier
(1708) 10 ; ' The main coal as traced from its outburst to the dyke,'
Borings {i%Bi) loi. Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
3. V. To burst out, break forth.
s.Sc. Frae hunders o' jaws the loude guffaws outbraste, Watson
Bards (1859) 108. n.Yks.2 As an eruption.
OUT-BY(E, adv., prep., adj. and sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur.
Cum. Yks. Also written oot-by(e Sc. Nhb.' Cum.*
n.Yks.*; owt-bye Cum.; and in forms ood-by Sh.L ;
iid-be Sh.L ; yout-by Frf. [u-t-bai.] 1. adv. Outside,
out of doors.
Sc. Run out by with ye, like a good bairn, Stevenson Catriona
(1893) .XX. Sh.I. Gadder ye up da twa or tree peags o' kail, and
lay dem ud-be aside da lambs, Stewart Tales (1892) 144. Abd.
It's oot by yon'er, my leddy — no that far frae the Deid Held,
Macdonald Lossie (1877) Ixvi. Frf. Willock Rosetty Ends (1886)
45, ed. 1889. Arg. Listening to the swart Macdonalds out-by,
MuNRO Lost Pibroch (1896) 77. Per. I stappit ootby to meet
them, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 57. Ayr. Service Dr.
Duguid (ed. 1887) 221. Lnk. To think that ye hae Iain Hale
months oot bye amang the rain, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 35.
e.Lth. We've left thae beas' stan'in ootby lang eneuch. Hunter
/. Inwick (1895) 106. Slk. Rin away far outbye, Hogg Tales
(1838) 223, ed. 1866. Edb. Beatty Secretar (1897) 74. Dmf.
QuiNN Heather (1863) 212. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
352, ed. 1876. Kcb. If ye want drink ye'U hae to gang ootbye,
Armstrong Kirkiebrae (1896) 97. N.I.' Uls. Uls. Jm. Arch.
(1853-1862). Nhb. Some of the men took him out bye, Newc.
Leader (Feb. 15, 1896) 6, col. 6. Cum. When I sud fin thee
owtbye, I wad kiss thee, Rayson Sng. Sol. (1859) viii. i.
2. At a short distance ; not far off, near by.
Frf. The short poutch-pistol that had shot Him dead, out-by
a bit they got. Piper of Peebles (1794) 15. N.Cy.' Nhb,' Me
fether's just outbye — outside the house in the fields. The lads is
aal away ootbye — out of the village or farmstead but not far ofl'.
Cum.* It was a full sett coming out-by, W. C. T. (Feb. 10, igoo)
8, col. 3. n.Yks.' Ah'U call of him : he's on'y just out-by ; n.Yks.2
It isn't at York, but somewhere oot-by.
3. At a distance ; a long way off; out yonder.
nw.Abd. Oh ! mun, ye're unco far ootby ; Jist sit in to the fire,
Goodwife (1867) st. 18. Frf. Willock Rosetty Ends (i886) 192,
ed. 1889. Lnk. Do ye aye live yet, out-by, at Wood end ? Rodger
OUTCAST
[374]
OUTFACE
Poems (1838) 116, ed. 1897 ; For us outbye we never fash Wi'
news, MviK Minstrelsy {1Q16) 44. Slk. As far outbye as I live,
Hogg Tales (1838) 294, ed. 1866. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.)
Nhb. Nae doot thou hae [sic\ seen Awfu' sights when oot-by at the
warr, Proudlock Borderland Muse (i8g6) 178 ; Nhb.^ In bye and
oot by distinguish between near and far. If people speak of
anything taking place near at hand, they say that it occurred in
bye, and in speaking, say, of rough weather on the distant hills,
they would say, ' It's varra caad oot bye.' e.Dnr.i, Cum."
4. Fig. Aside, out of the way.
Cum. Mark was a fine lad, but Mark was a priest, which put
him oot-by, Linton Lizzie Lorton (1867) xxiv.
5. In mining : outwards from the colHery workings
towards the shaft bottom. Also in comp. Out-bye-side.
Nhb. Suin efter he gat crept outbye, Wilson Pitman's Pay
('843) 37 ; Nhb.i 'Gan' ootbye,' means going in the direction of
the exit, as distinguished from ' gan inbye,' Nhb., Dur. Nicholson
Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). e.Dur.^ Techn., of a miner coming towards
the ' shaft ' in order to get ' to bank.' w.Yks. (S.J.C.)
e. prep. In the direction of, near to.
Sc. (A.W.) n.Yks." He lives out by Newton.
7. adj. Out of doors, outside.
Sc. Out-by wark, esp. agricultural labour (Jam.). Lnk. Scores
o' ither outbye things It rackless bure awa". Lemon St. Mungo
(1844) 51. Dmf. The ootbye agricultural workers, Paton Castle-
braes (1898) 145.
8. Out of the way, remote ; distant.
Sc. Applied to those parts of a farm that are more remote from
the steading (Jam.). Sh.I. Da oodby pairt o' da byre glide, shael
an' a', Sh. News (Mar. 3, igoo). Rnf. I . . . found them in an outbye
stable, Webster Rhymes (1835) 182.
9. Out of the way, extraordinary.
Nhb.i He's an ootbye kind o' chep.
10. sb. An outer room.
Nhb.i The cottage is a good specimen of an inferior farm house,
the room at the entrance of which was, and still continues in
many places to be, a byer in winter and a bedroom in summer,
and is called the out-bye, Hodgson Hist. Nhb. pt. ii. I. 189, note.
OUTCAST, 5*. and v. Sc. Yks. Lin. Shr. Also
written ootcast Sc. [Sc. fl-tkast.] 1. sb. A quarrel,
contention, disagreement.
Sc. Reuben never sleeps weel, nor I neither, when you and he
hae had ony bit outcast, Scott Midlothian (1818) xlvi. Cai.i
e.Fif. Vexed though I was aboot the ootcast, Latto Tarn Bodkin
(1864) xiv. Ayr. The twa best herds in a' the wast, . . Hae had
a bitter black out-cast Atween themsel, Burns Twa Herds (1785)
St. 2. Lnk. Shakes hands for fear of an outcast, Graham IVritings
(1883) II. 10. Hdg. Ritchie St. Baldred (1883) 191. Gall. I
never had a great outcast with any, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
269, ed. 1876. Kcb. I tremble at the remembrance of a new
out-cast, betwixt him and me, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 278.
Hence Outcasten, sb. a dispute, disagreement. Sc.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.)
2. The siirplus weight or measure gained by millers and
maltsters in converting wheat and barley into flour and
malt. Shr.^^ 3. //. Obs. Inferior sheep culled out of
the rest of the flock.
n.Lin.i Fifty-two weathers and hogges, outcasts, Inventory
(1671) in Anderson Hist. Lea, 25.
4. V. To cast forth, banish. n.Yks.^
OUTCH, see Hutch, w.=
OUTCOME, sb. Sc. War. Also written ootcome Sc.
Bnff.^ 1. Appearance.
Rnf. She had a cluster o' white pearls Ere the glegest mither could
discern Their outcome in an or'nar bairn. Young Pictures {1865) 51.
2. Increase, product ; the surplus or excess beyond a
measured quantity.
Sc. (Jam.) Cai.i Much used by curers of herrings. They may
say that on certain qualities they get a certain percentage of
' oot-comes,' i.e. more barrels of cured fish than crans of 'green
fish.' On other qualities they may have no ' oot-comes.' Bnff.i
We hid twa bushel o' oot-come corn. Ayr. My father . . . has
gi'en Charlie a' the outcome frae the till, Galt Entail (182^) xxvii.
3. A coming of age, an entertainment given to celebrate
a coming of age.
War. (J.E.) ; War.2 I've bin to Joe's outcome to-day.
OUT-COMING, sb. Sc. Development, advance.
Dmb. There'll be some out-coming o' him, or my name's no Ringan
Stimperton, Cross Disruption (1844) v.
OUTCROP, sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. [ta'tkrop.] The
appearance of a stratum of mineral upon the surface of
the ground. Cf. outbreak, 5, outburst, 2.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl), Nhb.i Nhb., Dnr. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl.
(1849).
OUTCRY, sb. lObs. Sc. n.Cy. A public auction.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) N.Cy.^
OUTDACIOUS, adj. and adv. Not. Lin. Oxf. Hmp.
Som. Amer. [au't-, eu'tdejas.] L adj. Audacious, im-
pudent ; shocking, bad. A corruption of ' audacious.'
s.Not. (J.P.K.) Lin.i He's the most outdacious and obstropolus
lad I know. n.Lin. It was a outdacious trick o' that thear lad
puttin' 'is stick i' your wheel (J.T.F.). Oxf.i Ee's a outdacious
young gallus, MS. add. Som. Tryphena was the most out-
daciousest harum-scarum that ever wore out shoe-leather, Ray-
mond Tryphena (1895) i5- w.Som.l I 'sure ee, sir, the hedge is
a-brokt right down ; he's in a outdacious [aewfdae'urshus] state,
else I would'n zay nothing. I sim 'tis the outdaciousest weather
we've a-zeed 'is purty while. [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 68.]
2. adv. Very. Hmp. An outdacious bad boy (H.C.M.B.).
OUTDOOR, sb. Sc. w.Cy. Work out of doors, field
work, farm labour. Also in comb. Outdoor work.
Kcd. The out-door was now a' past, And ilka door made snug
and fast, Jamie Muse (1844) 102. w.Cy. (Hall.) w.Som.i You
zee, mum, I baint able vor to sar nort, 'cause I can't stand to no
out-door work.
OUTEN, adv., prep, and adj Sc. n.Cy. Lakel. Yks.
Lan. Der. Lin. Amer. Also written ooten Sc. Lakel.^
Cum.^* n.Yks.^; ootin Sh.I. ; and in form outand Sc.
[Sc. and n.Cy. u-tsn.] 1. adv. Out, outside, out of doors.
Sc. Then outand cam the Jewis dochter, Said, Will ye cum in
and dine? Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) I. 155. n.Cy. Grose (1790).
m.Yks.i w.Yks. Hutton 7b«?-/oCai'e5(i78i). ne.Lan.^ [Amer.
I can't get the silver outen. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 373.]
2. Comp. Ootin-under, out from under.
Sh.I. Shii . . . drew her bits o' auld injerubbers ootinunder da
restinshair, Sh. News (Oct. 15, 1898).
3. prep. Out of.
Sc. I've never sleepit a nicht ooten Fife i' my life. Swan Gates
of Eden (ed. 1895) xvi. n.Yks.* Sha tummul'd outen t'winder.
4. Comb, (i) Outen door, out of doors. m.Yks.' ; (2)
•towners, the rural inhabitants around a town. w.Yks.
Dawson Hist. Skipton. 5. Without.
[Amer. I can't go outen my sunbonnet, Dial. Notes (1896) 1. 373.]
6. adj. In comb. Outen work, obs., outdoor work. n.Cy.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Der.^ 7. Strange, foreign.
Lin.i Don't bother the poor rabbit, it's out-en to its hutch.
Hence Outener, sb. a stranger, new-comer; one who
comes from another district or parish.
Lakel.2 Cum.i; Cum." Some 'at leev't in sartin parishes were
free ; udders leevin' outsidS hed to pay, an' were cawt outners,
C. Pacq. (May 11, 1893) 6, col. i. n.Yks.z w.Yks.i I hugged
him to t'outner and sez to him, ii. 292. Lin.^ I don't see why
outners should have all the best standings in the Exchange.
n.Lin. Sutton Wds. (1881). sw.Lin.^
[ME. outen, adv. and prep, out, without (Stratmann) ;
OE. utan, outside (Sweetj. With the form outen cf.
abouten.]
OUTER, sb. Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) One who frequents
balls and entertainments.
OUTERLING, see Outlin.
OUTERLY, adv. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Also written ooterly
n.Yks.2 [u'tarli.] 1. Externally ; from without ; of the
wind : blowing from the sea. Nhb.\ n.Yks.^
2. Outwards ; of the wind : blowing from the shore.
Also used attrib.
Gall. So that an outerly wind might drive him to the coast of
Ireland, Crockett Grey Man (1896) 299.
3. Thoroughly, utterly. n.Yks.''
OUTFACE, v. Sc. Wm. Yks. Not. Ken. Also written
ootface, ootflas Wm. [Sc. u-tfes, Wm. -fiss.] 1. To
withstand, resist, overcome ; to brazen out.
Per. Yet his Courage did out-face dispair. Smith Poems (1714)
III, ed. 1853. w.Yks.Akant atfeasit (J.W.). Ken. (G.B.), Ken.i
Hence (i) Outfaced, ppl. adj. audacious, shameless ;
(2) Outfacen, ppl. adj. causing shame, frightening.
(i) s.Not. What an out-faced thing she must be, to do like that.
That cockfaightin was an out-faced job (J.P.K.). (2) Wm. It
OUTFALL
[375]
OUTGOING
mun be terble ootfacen ta ennyboddy's at's shy, Taylor Sketches
(1882) 37.
2. In pass, to be overcome, oppressed, weighed down.
Wm. Ah's oot-fias'd wi wark (B.K.).
OUTFALL, sb. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Also in forms ootfa
Sc. Bnff.i ; ootfal S. & Ork.^ [ii-tfa.] 1. An outlet,
means of escape, esp. of water.
Sc. Water that escapes from or runs over a weir or dam (Tam.').
Bnff.i
2. A fall of rain, sleet, or snow.
Bnff.i We hid an unco oot-fa* o' rain a' last oock.
3. The ebb-tide. Sh.I. {Coll. L.L.B.), S. & Ork.^
4. An incident, occurrence.
Dmf. A peerie, bullet-gun, or spoon, . . Whilk couped the ink
my sheets aboon, Wi' sic ootfa's. As maun beset the kitchen bard,
QuiNN Heather (1863) 125.
5. A quarrel, contention, dispute.
Sc. They rysed a cry as if it had been upon some outfall among
these people, crying ' Help a Gordon, a Gordon,' Pennant Tour
in Sc. (1769) 330, Append. (Jam.) Sh.I. We heard aboot Jams
an da ootfa' wi' dat lad, Sh. News (Aug. 6, 1898). Cai.i, Dls.
(M.B.-S.), N.Cy.i
Hence Outfalling, sb. a quarrel.
Abd. Private men's outfallings and broils are questioned as
national quarrels, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 188.
OUTFEEDLE, sb. Sc. [u'tfldl.] An outlying field,
the land furthest from the farm-stead. See Outfield.
Abd. Samie fest at wark that day In the ootfeedle Ian' Cam'
hame at nicht, Williams Fairmer's Tint Laddies (1900) st. 6 ;
Lay aff a bit o' oor ootfeedles, Alexander yo/jKWy Gibb (1871) ix.
OUTFIELD, sb. Sc. Cum. Wm. Chs. Also written
ootfleld Sc. Cum.i* Wm. [ti'tfild.] 1. Arable land not
kept in manure at some distance from the farm-stead ;
outlying inferior land. Also used attrib. Cf infield.
Sc, Applied to arable land, which is not manured, but cropped
till it is worn out, so as to be unfit for bearing corn for some
years (Jam.) ; With the . . . tofts, crofts, mosses, muirs — outfield,
infield, Scott Waverley (1814) xlii ; The distant part which was
solely appropriated to pasturage by the stock was called the
outfield, Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1855) II. 555. Sh.I. Da fearfil
cauld an' weet 'at he wis i' da first o' voar is keepit doon da
ootfield corn ... bit da infield corn is no ta be complained apon,
Sh. News (Aug. 14, 1897). Abd. Land was classified under three
denominations — ' infield,' or cultivated, and ' outfield ' or unre-
claimed, while pastoral districts were termed 'shepherd land,'
Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Aug. 18, 1900). Frf. The out-field labour
was gi'en o'er, Morison Poems (1790") 28. Fif. To pare turf from
the moorland or outfield, Colville Vernacular (1899) 12. Edb.
Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 69, ed. 1815. Kcb. Rutherford Lett.
(1660) No. 162. Cum.* Ootfield land, land enclosed at a later
period than the infield land, and generally inferior. Wm. A
was away it oot-field setten taties, Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 38.
Chs. The obsolete system of infield and outfield — of occasionally
plowing and cropping the inferior lands situated at a distance
from the homestead, and bringing home the produce to enrich the
better land, Marshall Review Agric. (1818) II. 30.
2. A narrow strip of land connecting a common with a
farm-yard or village. Cum.'
OUTGANG, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Also
written ootgang Sc. Cum.'* n.Yks.^ 1. sb. A departure,
the giving up of tenure. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
Hence Outganger, sb. one who goes out of a place or
country, an emigrant. n.Yks.''^
2. An outlet, egress, exit ; a road or passage from a place.
Sc. Every tenant man hae ische and entry, outgang and ingang,
to his haudin (Jam. Suppl). n.Cy. (Hall.) Cum. A passage out
from enclosed ground, usually over a waste or open pasture
(M.P.); Cum.i A narrow strip of land connecting the common
with the farmyard or village ; Cum.*, n.Yks.'** ^.Yks.i
3. The dispatch of letters by the outgoing post. Cum.*
4. Excess over a certain weight or measure.
Abd. Some ootgang o' the butter, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) vi.
5. V. To outrun. n.Yks.''
OUTGANGING, sb. Sc. Cum. Yks. Also written oot-
ganging Cum.« n.Yks.^ [utgarjin.] 1. An outgoing, a
going out of doors.
Sc. Is Peggy no come back ? . . . I dinna like outgangings at
night, Petticoat Tales (1823) I. 208 (Jam.).
2. pi. Expenses, outlay.
Cum.3 Gittin heavy incomins, . . t'rent an interest, . . an' makin
varra leet oot-gangins, 32. n.Yks.^
_OUTGANNIN(G, sb. Nhb.' Written oot-gannin.
[u'tganin.] An outgoing. See Gan, w.'
OUTGATE, sb. Sc. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also written
ootgaet Sh.I. ; ootgate n.Yks.'^ ; outgait Sc. ; and in
forms ootgaate Wm. ; ootgeeatn.Yks.^; outgaatn.Yks.*;
outgeat Cum. [u'tget, -gist.] 1. A way out ; an exit,
outlet ; an issue, opening. Also used^^. Cf ingate.
Sc. Sumtymes all out-gait seems to be closit up, Wodrow Soc.
Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 33. Sh.I. I' my upcomin' dey wirna sa
mony ootgaets ta win a penny as dey ir noo, Sh. News (Nov. 5,
1898). Abd. She failed to see any satisfactory outgate from the
dilemma in which she had been so cruelly placed, Alexander
Ain Flk. (1882) 179. Slg. A fear without an outgate, Bruce
Sermons [1.6^1.) iv, ed. 1843. Ayr. To discover if there was no
other entrance or outgate to the house, Galt Gilhaize (1823) iii.
Lnk. Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) III. 283, ed. 1828. Edb. 1 kend
where in the alley he was bound to make his out-gate, Beatty
Secretar (1897) 29. Slk. I saw nae outgate, Hogg Tales (1838) 50,
ed. 1866. Kcb. The nearest way to an outgate of all your troubles,
Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 82. Cum. At last her yammer out-
geat fan', Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 91 ; Farms . . . laid out
compact, and with outgates to the common, Hutchinson Hist.
Cum. {i.']iji,') I. 177. n.Yks.'^* m.Yks.' A short pathway, more
or less enclosed, leading outwards from any defined place. w.Yks.'
2. Phr. (i) ingate and outgate, within and without, com-
pletely ; (2) — or outgate, (a) within or without, gen. used
neg. not at all, nothing ; (b) willy-nilly, by any means
whatever.
(i) Gall. May they burn back and front, ingate and outgate,
hide, hair, and harrigals, Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 301.
(2, «) w.Yks.i Mostly used when speaking of something that is
lost which, after the most diligent search cannot be found. ' I
lost a sheep last week but I can mak nayther ingate ner outgate
on't.' (b) Wm. He wad hev her, ingaate er ootgaate, Robison
Aald Taales (1882) 3.
3. Visiting, gadding about ; ostentatious display, show.
Ayr. Jeanie was fonder of ootgait and blether in the causey
than was discreet of one of her uncertain parentage, Galt Provost
(1822) ix ; She was a fine leddy — maybe a wee that dressy and
fond o' outgait, ib. Sir A. VVylie {1822) xxviii.
4. Comb. Outgate folks, travellers away from a place,
emigrants. n.Yks.^ 5. A demand, market.
Cld. There's aye a ready outgait for a' the claith I can mak (Jam.).
OUTGET, sb. Sc. Also in form ootgit Sh.I. 1. Obs.
A way out, a deliverance.
Rnf. I bless the Lord for any outget you have got from your
depths, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) I. 319, ed. 1843.
2. Demand, opening, opportunity.
Sh.I. He gead ta Lerrick ta ship for Greenland. But dere wis
nae ootgit for men dat year, Manson Aim. (1900) 125.
OUTGIE, sb. Sc. [ti'tgi.] Expenditure, outgiving.
(Jam.) ; Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899).
OUTGO, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Shr. Also written cot-go
n.Yks.* ; and in form outgae Sc. 1. sb. Outlay, expendi-
ture. Sc. Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899).
2. V. To run away from ; to outrun.
n.Yks.2 Shr. Soon outwent his master, Burne Flli-Lore (1883) x.
OUTGOING, sb. and ppl. adj. Sc. Also written ootgoin
Cai.'; and in forms ootgaein Sh.I.; ootgaun Sc. ; cut-
gain Sc. (Jam.) ; outgaun Sc. 1. sb. A going out of doors.
Sh.I. I wiss doo mayna repent dy ootgaein' wi da load o' cauld
'at wis apo' dee afore, Sh. News (Dec. 4, 1897).
2. A departure, removal, exit.
Sc. May the Giver of all good things keep ye in your outgauns
and incomings, Scott Midlothian (1818) xxxix. Sh.I. Dy ootgaein'
'ill gie me a sair haert, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 241. Cai.i
Removal to another house or farm. Per. Notin' your outgauns
an' your entry At village inns, Stewart Character (1857) 85.
Edb. Tell us a' the outgauns, incomings, doonpoorins and aff-
coupins in the parish, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 23.
3. The entertainment given to a bride in her father's or
master's house before she sets out to that of the bridegroom.
Sc. (Jam.) 4. pfl. adj. Expiring ; departing, removing.
Sc. The outga'in tenant (Jam.). Lnk. Try tae roose Again tae
flames the outgaun spark O' Scottish muse, Thomson Musings'
OUTGONE
[3761
OUTLER
(1881) 114. e.Lth. All matters in dispute should be settled not
between the outgoing and incoming tenant, but between the
farmer and the proprietor, Agric. Surv. 62 (Jam.).
OUTGONE, pp. Sc. Also in form -gane. Beyond,
past, more than.
s.Sc. Jock, wha was scarcely outgane nineteen, Wilson Tales
(1839) V. 51. Slk. Superior to those of most girls outgone thirty,
Hogg Tales (1838) 667, ed. 1866.
OUTH, OUTHERANS, see Out, adv., Owtherins.
OUTHERY, adj. Bwk. (Jam.) A term applied to
cattle, when from their leanness, roughness of skin, and
length of hair it appears that they are not in a thriving state.
OUTING, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Not.
Lin. Nhp. War. Won Lon. Hnt. Also written cotin
Cum.'* ne.Yks.' ; and in forms ahtin w.Yks. ; awtin
Cum.^* ; ooten S. & Ork.^ ; owtin n.Lan. [Sc. n.Cy.
u'tin, w.Yks. a'tin, Lan. i'tin, Midi, au'tin, s.Cy. eu'tin.]
1. The act of going out of doors, a walk ; an airing.
S. & Ork.i Visiting, making calls. Ayr. [She] would not have
been sorry to see him taking a little outing now and again,
Johnston Glenbuckie (i88g) 134. Lth. She's an idle quean, she'll
do anything for an outing (Jam.). Edb. My inner man sharp set
by reason of my outing, Beatty Secretar (1897) 20.
2. An excursion, a pleasure-trip ; a holiday, jaunt ;
rejoicings.
Cld. A collection of people of different sexes met for amusement
fjAM.). Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). N.Cy.^ Cum.i ;
Cum.* This is the thurd ootin' I've hed to her this week. Burn
Rosenthal (1891) 242. n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i He's had a lang ootin'.
•w.Yks. Banks WA/?rf. Wds. (1865); -w.Yks.iWhatthou's tacking an
outing. n.Lan. Weel satisfy t wi' me day's owtin, R. Piketah
Forness Flk. (1870) 16. Chs.i^s^ Der.2, nw.Der.i Not. (L.C.M.) ;
Not.' So I took t'missus for a bit of a outing to Skegsnest. Lin.'
I'm going for an outing this back-end. Nhp. The long string of
merry games, That at such outings maketh much ado, Clare
Village Minsi. (1821) I. 42 ; Nhp.12, War.s Wor. The village
choir had their annual outing, Evesham Jm. (Oct. 2, 1897).
Lon. After the feasting feature of the rejoicing comes the ' outing '
phase of it, Sunday Mag. (1877) 614. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
3. An entertainment given by an apprentice at the ex-
piration of his apprenticeship. Also in comp. Outing-feed.
N.Cy.', Lin.', Nhp.' War.^ 'You will come to my outing.'
Extinct, or nearly so, with the loss of the system of apprenticeship.
4. An evacuation, a letting out. n.Cy. (Hall.) 5. The
open sea.
Cai. In the outing furious waves fight and plunge, Horne
Countryside (1896) 10.
OUTISH, adj. Cld. (Jam.) Showy, fond of going to
places of amusement.
OUTLAID, #/. £j^'. Wbs. Sc. Expended.
Feb. The proprietor pays all the outlayed money for materials
and wages of workmen, Agric. Surv. 38 (Jam.).
OUTLAND, sb. and adj. Sc. Wm. Also written Got-
land Sc. ; and in form autland Wm. [ti'tland.] 1. sb.
An alien, a stranger ; an incomer to a borough or parish ;
one who lives beyond the bounds of a borough.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Fif. She treats him like an outlan. He's
used like a mere outlan about the house (Jam.).
2. //. Foreign parts.
Wm. Sic north-country folks, as maybe flown into the autlands,
HuTTON Bran New Wark (1785) I. a.
3. adj. Outlying, distant, remote.
Edb. May finer verdure busk ilk outland bent, Learmont Poems
(1791) 261.
4. Strange, alien, wandering.
Frf. An ootland creater [a tramp] (W.A.C.). Lnk. Outland
poor beggars, and other poor that have not been burgesses' bairns,
WoDROw Ch. Hist. (1721) IV. 346, ed. 1828.
OUTLANDER,s6. Sc. (Jam.Sw#/.) Cor.'^ A stranger,
alien, foreigner ; an incomer to a borough or parish ; one
who lives beyond the bounds of a borough.
OUTLANDISH, adj Sc. Irel. Nhb. Yks. Lin. Wor.
Shr. Hrf. Dev. Cor. Amer. Also written ootlandish
Nhb.' 1. Foreign, alien. Also used advb.
Sc. He was a kind 0' a stranger, for he had lived in some
outlandish part. Sabbath Nights (1899) 38. Abd. Where Angus
was in authority the outlandish was not to be suffered, Macdonald
Sir Gibbie (1879) xxvi. Ayr. A race outlandish fills their throne,
Burns On Stirling, I. 6. Kcb. Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887)
394. Ir. He'd a right to go thry his fortin somewhere outlandish.
Barlow Lisconnel (1895) 17. N.I.' Such as ships belonging to
foreign countries. Nhb. If he's outlandish, we'll ken biv his tauk,
MiDFORD Coll. Sngs. (i8i8) 61 ; Nhb.' w.Yks.' Outlandish tongues
i' fureign parts, ii. 318.
Hence (i) Outlandisher, (2) Outlandishman, sb. a
foreigner, stranger.
(i) Dev. She would express her opinion . . . concerning the
wild 'outlandisher,' as she called her mistress, Madox- Brown
Dwale Bluth (1876) bk. 1. i. [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 392.]
(2) Nhb. They'll see mounteybanks, rope-dancers, jugglers, and
quacks, Outlandishmen, tee, with their bear and their fiddle,
Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 71 ; Nhb.' Cor. I have often heard
in the mining villages ... a man from a distant country, termed
' an outlandish man,' Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 347, ed. 1896.
2. Clownish, ill-mannered. Shr., Hrf Bound Provinc.
(1876). 3. Distant, remote ; far away, out of the way.
Edb. Siller's sae scarce in some o' the outlandish corners o' the
kintry, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 166. n.Lin, Yon is a
strange outlandish place for a doctor to live in (M.P.). se.Wor.'
[1. No marchaunt yit ne fette outlandish ware, Chaucer
Minor Poems (ed. Skeat) 381. 1. (2) Some said they were
Fools, some they were Bedlams, and some they were
Outlandish-men, Bunyan P. P. (1678) 123.]
OUTLAY, sb. Sc. Nhb. [ii'tle.] 1. In comb. Outlay
gear, a stock of furniture, implements. [Not known to our
correspondents.]
Rnf. Our dwellings an' our outlay gear Lie smoking an' in ruin,
Allan Poems (1836) 72.
2. The height to which the top of a winning pit is raised
above the surface of the ground.
Nhb.' It is elevated so as to make a tip for the material raised
from the pit, generally from twelve to twenty feet. ' Outlay from
the swarth five feet, metal from the swarth four feet,' Borings
(1881) 79.
OUTLAYER, sb. Sc. Also written cutlair (Jam.).
[u'tlear.] 1. An egg laid by a hen out of the regular nest.
Gall. Kit was in the habit of taking occasional tribute from the
official nests in the outhouses, in order, that after a day or two he
might find them as ' outlayers,' Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 169.
2. A stone not taken from a quarry but lying out in the
field in a detached state. Sc. (Jam.) See Outlier, 2.
OUTLAYING, ppl. adj Sc. War. [u't-, au'tle-in.]
1. Of hens : laying eggs out of the regular nest.
Gall. Kit got a halfpenny a dozen from his grandmother for
the eggs of 'outlaying' hens — that is, of hens which, disdaining
their appointed nests, wandered off and laid in the woods,
Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 168.
2. Outlying, distant.
War. To look for an outlaying fox, Evesham Jm. (Jan. 29, 1898"].
OUTLEAP, sb. Sc. [u'tlip.] An outbreak, outburst.
He waited for the outleap of her anger, Keith Bonnie Lady
(1897) 76.
OUTLEETS, 56.;5/. Obs. Ess. See below.
In the overseers' account-book of the parish of Wakes Colne,
lists of the rate-paying inhabitants are given for the years 1681
and 1682, and after the names of the residents are added a few
more names under the heading 'outleets.' This clearly means
that the persons thus designated lived outside the parish, but had
holdings in it for which they were liable to the rates. The
parishes in which they resided are put in the margin, N. & Q.
(1888) 7th S. vi. 146.
OUTLER, sb. iObs. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Also
written outlar Kcb. 1. Applied to cattle not housed but
left in the fields in winter. Also used attrib.
Ayr. The Deil, or else an outler Quey, Gat up an' gae a croon,
Burns Halloween (1785) st. a6. Gall. If every ewe had twa. If
grass wad gar the outlers sell, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 42,
ed. 1897. Kcb. Should the guid man's son Come o'er the hill to
count the outlar queys, Davidson Seasons (1789) 26. N.Cy.'
Nhb. Sin last our outler nowt was fother'd, Graham Moorland
Dial. (1826) 8.
2. One who is out of office.
Edb. At length the Outlers grew sae mad Against ilk Inler
purse-proud blade, Learmont Poems (1791) 160.
3. An outstanding debt. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Yks. (Hall.)
OUTLESS
[377]
OUTRAKE
OUTLESS, conj. Yks. Also written ootless n.Yks.^
[u-tles.] Unless. Yks. (K.), n.Yks.^
OUTLET, s6. and t;. Chs. Oxf. Lon. Suf. Ken. [eu'tlet.]
1. sb. A small channel or passage for water cut through
the side of a road.
Suf. Pd. Robt. Baker for 3 days opening the outlets, Little
Comard Highway Ace. (1799-1800) ; The channels cut through
the turf at the sides of roads to let off water into the ditches (C.D.) ;
(C.L.F.); (H.R.)
2. A field adjoining the farm-yard into which cows are
turned. Cf. boosing-field.
Chs. After the cows have been turned into the outlet, as soon
as they show a desire of being taken in again they are let into the
yard and housed, Marshall Review (i8i8) II. 39; Reports Agric.
(1793-1813)33; Chs.iJn leases and farm agreements outlet is the word
generally used ; Chs.^ The field reserved by the tenant for watering
purposes and turning out his cattle (when he gives up the land on
leaving the farm on the 2nd of February) ; and he has the use of this
field until he leaves the farm house and building altogether in May.
3. The uncovered portion of a pig-sty.
Oxf.'^ The pigs keeps in th' outlet mustly adays, an' g66s in th'
stye a nights, MS. add.
4. //. Projecting wooden frames used to enlarge the
carrying capacity of a wagon.
Ken. They project horizontally from the top rail and overhang
the front and back. They are employed in harvesting operations
(D.W.L.).
5. V. To empty.
Lon. It is not, however, merely the sewage collected in the
precincts of the City proper, which is ' outletted ' (as I heard a
flusherman call it) into the Thames, Mayhew Land. Labour (1851)
II. 406, col. 2, ed. 1861.
OUTLETTING, 56. Obs. Sc. Also written outleting.
A letting forth or breathing upon, an emanation.
Fleming 5cnj6?«>'«s (1726) ; Such an unsuitable generation should
have so many precious outlettings of the Lord towards them,
King's Sermon, 30, in Shield Faithful Contendings (1780) (Jam.).
OUTLIER, 56. Sc. Cum. Also written ootlier, ootlyer
Sh.I. ; outlyer Ayr. [ii-tliar, -laiar.] 1. An animal
that is not housed during the night or winter. See Outler,
Outligger, 1.
Sh.I. I ken ower weel what he is ta dell oot snaw'd sheep. He's
a puir ootluik fir a' 'at haes ootlyers, Sh. News (Apr. i, 1899). Ayr.
It wauken'd burdies frae the bough. An' outlyers frae their lair,
AiNSLiE Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 37. Cum. Young horses and
cattle requiring no tendance and looking shaggy and wild (M.P.).
2. A Stone not taken from a quarry but lying out in the
field in a detached state. Sc. (Jam.)
OUTLIG, V. and sb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also written
ootlig Cum. [u'tlig, w.Yks. atlig.] 1. v. Of horses or
cattle : to lie out in the fields during winter.
Cum. His horses out-liggan, and lean, Dickinson Cumbr.
(1876) 242.
2. sb. Expenditure, outlay.
Cum., Wm. Much used when people are stocking a farm or
furnishing a house (M.P.). w.Yks. (J.W.)
OUTLIGGER, sb. Cum. Yks. L An animal that is
not housed during the night or winter. Cum. (M.P.),
Cum.* See Outlier. 2. Obs. In reaping : one who lays
out the corn and puts it into sheaf with the band ready to
fasten it.
e.Yks. We hire . . . one boy for an outligger, Marshall Rur.
Econ. (1641) 48.
OUTLIN, sb. Sc. Also written ootlin Sc. ; and in
form outerlm(g Or.I. w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) [u-tlin.] An
alien, stranger ; an outcast.
Sc. For aye an outlin' wi' its kith and kin, Leighton Wds.
(1869) 13. Or.I. The weakling of a brood or family ; the despised,
neglected, or ne'er-do-weel member of a family who is treated like
an outsider (Jam. Suppl.). Ags. (Jam.) Frf. M<^Gill was an ootlin'
at hame. Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 54. w.Sc. (Jam.) Fif. A
tear fill'd his ee, Ane outlin tae what was ay wringing his bosom,
MS. Poem {ib.). Dmf. The man's a kind o' ootlin' yet, and sudna
be treated like a kent face amang us, Ponder Kirkcumdoon
(1875) 82.
OUTLINS, sb. pi. Sc. Yks. Also written ootlins
e.Yks.' ; outlans, outlens Ayr. (Jam.) 1. Liberty to go
in and out at will, freedom ; holidaying, recreation. Ayr.
VOL. IV.
(Jam.) 2. The full particulars of anything, the full extent.
e.Yks.i
OUTLOUP, V. Obs. Sc. To leap out.
Fif. The finny folk, as if in daffin', Out-loup upon his eebrees
baffin', Tennant Papistry (1827) 138.
OUTLY, sb. Sc. (Jam.) The time that money lies out
of the hands of the owner either in trade or at interest.
OXi1Xn,adv. Sc.Yks. [iitli.] 1. Externally. n.Yks.'^
2. Fully, completely, thoroughly.
Abd. Three haill days were outly come and gane, Ross Helenore
(1768) 45, ed. 1812. n.Yks.l2 m.Yks.' That brush bides in the
hand a long time, lass, so we'll look for something being outly
well done when it leaves it.
OUTLYING, ppl. adj. Sc. Also written ootlying.
1. Not housed, lying out in the fields at night or in
winter. See Outlier.
Lnk. Ootlyin' beasts to seek their bite. Are wadin' deep, 'maist
lairin', Thomson Musings (1881) 49. Gall. An outlying beast
(A.W.).
2. Of distant relationship.
Lnk. There's no anither woman . . . that I respeck haff so mutch
as I do my deer oot-Iying frien' and blood relashun, Murdoch
Readings (1895) I. 34.
OUTPUT, sb. and v. Sc; Nhb. Dur. Yks. Also written
cot-put n.Yks.'^ [xi-tput.] 1. sb. The quantity or weight
of anything produced in a given time.
Cld. Used by miners (Jam.). Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. The quantity
of mineral raised or drawn, Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). Yks.
The amount of ore or coal lifted from a mine in a given time (J. S.R.).
2. A projection from a building. n.Yks.'^ 3. An
announcement or handbill, ib. 4. Appearance, ' get-up.'
e.Ltb. His general physique, manner, and output recalled to my
mind the portraits of A. Lincoln, Mucklebackit /f/ymes (1885)216.
5. V. Obs. To dismiss, eject.
Sc. Chalmerlanes in-put and out-put be the comptroller, for
quhom he sud be answer, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 13; The
said Lord robert hes wraguslie and violentlie eiectitand output the
said gilbert fra his posshioun, Edb. Aniiq. Mag. (1848) 61.
6. Obs. To furnish, equip.
Abd. They shall be obliged to make up their number by out-
putting of men in their place, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 274.
Hence Outputter, sb. (i) one who furnishes equipment
to a soldier ; (2) an employer, instigator.
(i) Abd. If it shall come to knowledge who hath or shall outrigg
soldiers . . . that these outrigged by them are disbanded and fled
frae their colours, the said out-putters of them shall be obliged to
search for and apprehend the saids fugitives, ib. (2) Sc. Sir
Robert Gordon . . . wes blamed by the Earle of Catteynes for this
accidentall slaughter as an outputter of the rest to that efi"ect,
Gordon Hist. Earls ofSuth. 317 (Jam.).
7. Obs. To issue coin.
Sc. Penneis, falshe cuinzeit and stampit; quhilkis wer output
be him in grit quantitie, Pitcairn Crim. Trials (1829) pt. i. 64.
Hence Outputting, vbl. sb. the issuing of coin for cir-
culation.
Sc. Acquit him of all outputting of onye other fals hard heidis,
ib. 65. Rnf. The importing of black money and the venting or out-
putting thereof being a species of falsehood by law severely
punishable, Hector Judic. Records (iS^S) 134.
OUTRAGEOUS, afi?/'. Won Bad-tempered, cross, angry.
s.Wor. A wur despert outrageous 's marnin', a gone swahrin'
an scawtin' about, 't wuz summat orfu' (H.K.).
OUTRAKE, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Shr.
Also written ootrake Cum.'*; and in forms ootreeak
n.Yks.= ; outrack Shr.' [-rek, -risk, -rak.] 1. sb. Obs.
An excursion, outing, expedition. See Rake, v.
Nhb. Yett had I neuer noe out-rake, Nor good games that I cold
see. Child Pop. Ballads (1889) III. 413 ; Nhb.i
2. A free passage for sheep from enclosed pastures into
open grounds.
Sc. An extensive walk for sheep or cattle, Gl. Sibb. (1802) (Jam.).
N.Cy.i Cum. A privilege for cattle on common lands (M.P.) ;
Cum.i A free way or rake for sheep from the enclosures to the
common ; Cum." Obs. since the commons were divided, about
1811.''. . The rough land is called a cattle-rake ; an ootrake is when
they are let out every day and taken in at night. w.Yks. Willan
List Wds. (1811). Lan.', n.Lan.i, ne.Lan.i Shr. Of very rare
occurrence. . . The late Rev. W. A. Leighton . . . found the name
3C
OUTRAY
[378]
OUTSET
applied to lands lying outside the lord's demesne at Moreton
Corbet. The records of the Court Baron of Holgate twice mention
an outrackjShyedsand Patches {]une26,i88g); Shn^The name still
lingers on, but the outrack, as such, is a thing of the past. There
were three outracks in the parish of Church Pulverbatch, viz.,
Pulverbatch, Wilderley, and Wrentnall. They were uninclosed
lands leading from the cultivated ground to open common. . . The
farmers held the privilege of turning their animals— sheep, cattle,
or ponies — into these outracks, and from thence to the hills or
common. When the flocks and herds were taken off the common,
they were driven into the outracks, which were then closed at the
opposite end by a gate or barrier of some kind, in order to keep
the animals within bounds, while the work of separating them
was carried on by their respective owners. The outracks are now
enclosed.
3. An enclosure surrounding a pig-sty. N.Cy.^ 4. v.
To wander, ramble, stroll. n.Yks.^ Hence Oot-
reeaker, sb. a stroller, ib. 5. To let cattle out once a
day on rough land or moors. Cum. (E.W.P.)
OUTRAY, V. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also written ootray
Cum.i Wm. n.Yks.2 [ii'tre.] 1. To be outrageous; to
exceed propriety. Cum.^ Wm. Lonsdale Mag. (1820) I.
147. 2. To excel. n.Yks.=, m.Yks.^
[1. ME. oM/nyew, to be outrageous (Chaucer). 2. OFr.
ouireer, to surpass (Godefroy).]
OUTRED, sb} Obs. Sc. A military expedition, an
'out-raid.'
He . . . leapt out and made sundry out-reds against the king,
Scot Staggering State (1754) 153 (Jam.).
OUTRED, w. and s6.2 Obs. Sc. 1. w. To disentangle,
extricate; to clear from incumbrances by a complete
settlement of accounts ; to finish any business. (Jam.)
2. sb. A clearance, finishing.
Abd. Had o' the bargin we made an outred, We's no be heard
upo' the midden-head, Ross Helenore (1768) 93, ed. 1812.
3. Rubbish, that which is cleared out. Sc. (Jam.)
[1. Sw. utreda, to extricate, disentangle (Widegren).]
OUTREIKE, sb. Obsol. or obs. Sc. Also written
ootreike e.Fif. Outfit, equipment.
Sc. That there be a moneths pay advanced for their outreike
and furnisheing their horses, Acts Chas. /(ed. 1814) VI. 74 (Jam.).
e.Fif. Hoo did ye no tell me yesterday ye were to hae on that oot-
reike? Latto 7am Bodkin (1864) xi.
OUTRIDE, sb. and v. War. Wor. Glo. Oxf. Som. Dev.
[au-t-, eu-traid.] 1. sb. A commercial traveller.
War. (J.R.W.), War .2, se.Wor.i, Glo.i Oxf. N. & Q. (1879)
5th S. xi. 379 ; Oxf.i Hall's outride calls to-day, MS. add. Som.
Mr. B. I reckon he's a kind o' outride for they (W.F.R.). w.Som.i
He's doin' well 'nough — he've a-got in out-ride vor Mr. Jones up
to Bristol, ziUin o' hats and that. nw.Dev.'
2. The district of a commercial traveller. War.^, s.Wor.^
3. V. Toactascommercialtraveller,tobeatravellingagent.
w.Som.i He d'outride vor Mr. Hanniball, ziUin crockery and
shop-goods. nw.Dev.*
OUTRIDER, sb. Chs. Lei. War. Shr. Brks. Som.
[au't-, eu-traid3(r).] 1. A commercial traveller.
s.Chs. ' Lei. Mr. M. was some years out-rider and clerk to Mr. W. ,
Marshall Review (1814) IV. 230. War.23 siir.i 'E's gwun to
be outrider to some Lunnon 'ouse. Brits. That's Mr. So-and-So's
outrider (M.A.R.).
2. Obs. A highwayman. Som. (Hall.)
OUTRIGG, 51^. and v. Sc. Also written ootrig.
[u'trig.] 1. sb. Equipment ; appearance ; preparation.
Sh.I. We'll see what comes o' a' dis ootrig o' dine, Sh. News
(Oct. 21, 1899). Ayr. Leal hearts, esteem, a' we can gie, Nae sham
ootrig. White Jottings (1879) 190.
2. V. To equip.
Abd. If it shall come to the knowledge who hath or shall outrigg
soldiers, horse or foot, that these outrigged by them are disbanded
and fled frae their colours, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 274.
OUTRIGGER, sb. Wil. An addition to a wagon to
increase its carrying capacity. Cf overlayer.
Wil.i The waggons . . . seldom have any overlayers or out-
riggers, either at the ends or sides, Davis Agric. (181 1) xxxviii.
(s.v. Overlayer).
OUTRING, sb. Sc. A curling term : an outward bias
given to a stone by touching the outside of another. Cf.
inring, outwick.
Sc. Blue represents stones of one side or rink — red represents
opponents. By striking the blue stone on outer edge to drive it
towards the tee, the played stone would fly off at a tangent and the
other go towards the tee. This is known as an 'outring' (C.H.E.).
Gall. To take an outring is generally allowed to be more difficult
than taking an inring, Mactaggart ^wcyc/. (1824) 369, ed. 1876;
A point on the periphery of a curling stone on the side furthest
from the tee. To ' take the outring' of astone is for the curlerto
propel the stone he is instructed to play so as to strike such a
point on a stone already lying in position near the tee — altering
such position, as also the course of his own stone after impact
(J.M.).
OUTRUN, V. and sb. Sc. Also written ootrun Cai.'
1. V. Obs. To runout;7?^.toexpire,cometoatermination.
So. Until zeire and daie be out-run, Skene Difficill Wds.
(1681) loi. Fif. Hurryin' frae their doors [They] Out-ran in
thousands to the Scores, Tennant Papistry (1827) 135.
Hence Out-running, sb. expiration, termination.
Sc. Endis and ceasis after the ischue and out-running of the said
three termes, Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 90.
2. sb. Pasture land attached to a farm.
Sh.I. The term ' scathold ' familiarly applied to the pasture-land,
held in common with a certain number of other crofters, in
distinction to the 'outrun,' or enclosed arable land which surrounds
the homestead, and over which each crofter has exclusive rights,
Sh. News (Dec. 3, 1898) ; Some ancient people, presumably the
. Picts, have occupied the pastures and outruns of Shetland in a
manner never subsequently attempted, Spence Flk-Lore (1899)
20. Cai. ^
buTRUNNINGS,s6.//. Ken.' [eu-trBninz.] Straggling
wood beyond a hedgerow, not measured in with the part
to be cut.
OUTS, int. Sc. An exclamation of impatience. See
Hoot(s.
Outs, brother Covenant, hold your tongue of that, Pitcairn
Assembly (1766) 13.
OUTS, see Owts.
OUTSCOLD, V. Obs. Sh.I. To scold excessively or
loudly.
Ye outscoldit him and wer verie angrie, Hibbert Desc. Sh.I.
(1822) 283, ed. 1891.
OUT-SEAM, adj. Bnff.^ Written oot-seam. [u't-sim.]
Incow6.0otseani-awl,aparticularkindofawl. Cf.inseam.
OUTSELL, V. w.Yks.5 [a-tsel.] To undersell.
Ther's noa telling hah them furriners grows ther stuff: they . . .
bring it reight awaay darn tul a bit on a market-hoil like this an
outsell us when awal's done — its a maaster.
OUTSET, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Dun Yks. Also Sun
Also written ootset Sc. Bnff.^ [u'tset. Sun eu'tset.]
1. sb. A start, beginning ; the commencement of a jour-
ney or business.
Sc. It's maybe a wee thing dear at the outset, Keith Lisbeth
(1894) vi. Kcd. Robbie had described The minister's ootset.
Grant Lays (1884) 60. Frf. Morison Poems (1790) 83. Lnk.
On one outset we went straight up to the celebrated well, Roy
Generalship (ed. 1895) 91.
Hence Outsetter, sb. an emigrant Yks. (Hall.)
2. An outfit ; a start in life ; the provision made for a
child when leaving the house of a parent. Sc. (Jam.)
3. The publication of a book. (26.) 4. An ornament,
an improvement to the appearance of anything, an offset ;
an ostentatious display of finery.
Sc. Often used sarcastically. ' She had a grand outset ' (Jam.).
Cai.', Bnff.i Lnk. Her gracefu' form an' modest air Micht be an
ootset tae a queen, Thomson Musings (1881) 179.
5. An addition made to a room or building for the pur-
pose of enlargement, an outhouse. Sc. (Jam.) 6. Land
brought under cultivation which has hitherto been waste ;
small patches of newly- cultivated land.
Sh.I. When a part of the common is enclosed and farmed, the
enclosure is called an ' outset ' ; but the outsets are never
included in the numeration of merks of rental land, Edmonstone
Zetland (1809) I. 147-148 (Jam., s.v. Ontjeth) ; If your faider hed
taen a bit o' a ootset fur thertie-five shilhns, or mebbie twa pound,
an efter wirkin' lack a slave for years an' years, . . da first wird
'at he gets frae da laird is dat his bit o' croft is sae muckle better
dat he maun pay fower pound ten for it ? Sh. News (May 29, 1897) ;
It was soon afterwards blown over with sand, and nothing now
remains to mark its site, but a sandy desert, and some small
OUTSHIFTS
[379]
OUTSTROPOLOUS
patches called outsets or pendicles, Sinclair Statist. Ace. in
CowiE Sk. (1871) 107; S. 8e Ork."-
7. Ground raised above the natural surface at the mouth
of a pit.
Nhb.i The height of the elevation at the mouth of pit measured
from the surface of the ground. ' From the outset to the soil
depth one fathom,' Borings (1881) 252. Nhb., Dur. An artificial
elevation of the ground, or an erection of timber or stone, round
the mouth of a sinking pit to facihtate the disposal of the debris
produced in sinking, Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
8. V. To set out ; to start.
Dmf. Outsettin' in quest o' a wife, Quinn Heather (1863) 212.
9. To set off ostentatiously, to make a tawdry display of
finery. Sc. (Jam.) 10. To balance ; to set one thing
against another. Sur.^ 11. A mining term : see below.
Nhb.i To outset water is to put in a column of tubbing, behind
which a feeder of water will rise to its level, and require no
further dealing with, Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1888) ; Outset crib
two feet, Borings (1881) 140.
OUTSHIFTS, s6.//.' Nhb. Dur. [u-tjifts.] In mining:
shifts worked by sinkers outside the shafts, for which a
less wage is paid. Nhb.^ Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal
Tr. Gl. (1888).
OUTSHIFTS, si. //.2 e.An.i [eu'tjifts.] Boundaries,
outskirts, extreme limits.
He lives somewhere in the outshifts of the town.
OUTSHOT, sb. and adj. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan.
Also in forms ahtshot w.Yks. ; ootshot Nhb.^ Cum.^*;
outshut w.Yks.^ [Sc. n.Cy. ut-, w.Yks. a-t-, Lan. e'tjot.]
1. sb. A projection of a building or wall ; an outbuilding
adjoining a house ; a lean-to.
Sc. From the outshot or projecting window, Scots: Monastery{ 1 820)
xiv ; (Jam.) Slk. An outshot from the back of the house, called
the Old Room, Hogg Tales (1838) 13, ed. 1866. Gall. A bilge in a
wall, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). N.Cy.i A projection of the
upper stories of an old house. There used to be several of these
outshots in Newcastle. Nhb.'- Cum.i A projection of an upper
storey or window in an old house, or of a wall or fence. w.Yks.
Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; w.Yks.i^, ne.Lan.i
2. Pasture lands on a farm, rough untilled ground. Abd.
(Jam.) 3. The ebb-tide. S. & Ork.^ 4. A visible
attack of illness.
Sc. That our knowte may be brawly thriven, neither outshot
nor in-win amang them, Waddell Psalms (1871) cxliv. Cum.*
5. adj. Projecting outside, detached ; esp. in comp.
Outshot-window, a bay-window.
Edb. Friendless wretches, seated on outshot shelving stairs,
Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 54. N.Cy.i, Nhb.^ Cum.
Their hoose will be cemented roond, an' hev two ootshot windows,
Dickinson Lit. Rem. (1888) 173. w.Yks. ^ An out-shot kitchen.
OUTSIDE, sb., adj., adv. and prep. Var. dial, uses in
Sc. and Eng. Also in forms ahtside w.Yks.' ; ootside
Sc. Cum.^ eiYks.^ 1. sb. In phr. the outside of the loof,
the back of the hand.
Sc. ' The outside of the loof to ye,' is a phrase that signifies a
wish on the part of the person who uses it to reject the friendship
or drop the acquaintance of the person to whom it is addressed.
' If ye'U no join the Free Kirk . . . ye'U hae the outside o' my loof
and never see the inside o't again,' Mackay.
2. The further side of anything ; fig. the heart or root
of the matter.
Abd. It jist taks me twise as lang as ither fowk to see to the
ootside o' a thing, Macdonald D. Elginhod (1863) I. 36.
3. The utmost extent ; the extreme limit ; the most.
Sc. (A.W.) Cum.i He's nobbet six feut hee at t'oot side. n.Yks.
Three punds was t'outside (I.W.). e.Yks.' Ther mud be three, bud
tliat's ootside. w.Yks.'- There warn't maar neer a score at outside.
Nhp.* ' That's the outside I'll give you,' is a frequent expression in
making a bargain. Hrf. It is worth £s at the outside, Bound
Provittc. (1876). Oxf.' Uuyl gidh'u seb-n puuwn faa'rn, un dhas
dhii uuwytsuuyd uuy kyaan giv [I'll gi' tha seben pown far 'n,
an' tha's th' outside 1 can give]. Hnt. (T.P.F.) w.Som.' That's
the very outzide — I on't gee a varden more.
4. adj. In comp. (i) Outside click, (2) —stroke, a
wrestling term ; (3) — worker, a field worker.
(i) Cum., Wm. So called because the click has efiect on the
outside of the opponent's foot or leg (B.K.). (2") Cum.* A chip in
wrestling . . . lifting your man, striking outside his knee with
yours, and dropping him down, W.C.T. (Nov. 5, 1898) 6, col. 4.
(3) Lth. They are mostly all outside workers, and they do not
intermarry with us, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 187.
5. Solitary, lonely, retired.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.' What an outside platt is this ? ne.Lan.'
Nhp.i What an outside place ! Hnt. (T.P.F.)
6. Extreme, excessive.
w.Yks.2 He gave an outside price. Not.* Lei.' He gave an
outside price for the horse. War.^
7. adv. In phr. (i) outside of, outside ; (2) the outside best,
the very best, the uttermost.
(i) Sc. (A.W.) Cum. He . . . nivver been ootside o" Lunnon,
Richardson Talk (1876) 2nd S. 37. w.Yks. Ahtside o' omney-
busses, BiNNS Orig. (1889) No. i. 6 ; Common (J.W.). (2)
Sc. I'll do the outside best that's in me to be nae loss to you,
Strain Elmslie^s Drag-net (1900) 27.
8. prep. Beyond the usual course of.
Sc. He thocht this by-ordinar and outside the creature's habits,
Stevenson Catriona (1893) xv.
OUTSIDER, s6. Sc. Also written ootsider. [ii-tsaidsr.]
A stranger, one who is not a relative.
Sh.I. I wid set mysel ta mak her as comfirtable as an ootsider
cood, Clark N. Gleams (i8g8) 41. Per. It's gey an' yerksome to
see the minister's family gae by the door, an' dale wi' outsiders,
Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 172, ed. 1887.
OUTSIGHT, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Goods or implements
used out of doors, in contradistinction to household goods.
Gen. in comp. Outsight plenishing. Cf. insight.
Sc. In what is called outsight plenishing, or moveables without
doors, the heirship may be drawn of horses, cows, oxen, Erskine
Instit. bk. iii. T. 8. § 18 (Jam.) ; When they not only intromitted
with their whole goods . . . outsight and insight plenishing, Scott
Waverley {iSn) xv. Abd. He destroyed the haill Raws of Strath-
boggie, corn field lands, outsight, insight, horse and sheep, and
all other goods they plundered whilk they could get, Spalding
Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 247. Ayr. I saw nae wanworths gaun either
in the outsight or insight plenishin', Ainslie Land of Burns (ed.
1892) 6g.
OUT-SIZE, sb. Suf. Cor. [eu'tsaiz.] A large heavy
person.
Cor. Indeed, she was ' rather an out size,' as they say in the
Duchy, and weighed something over eleven stone, ' Q.' Troy Town
Revisited in Eng. Ilbts. Mag. (1894).
Hence Out-sized, ppl. adj. large, heavy.
Suf. He was what is sometimes called an ' outsized man,'
large-handed, heavy-footed, imposing in appearance, commanding
in voice and gesture. Good Wds. (1880) 46.
OUTSPECKLE, s6. Obs. Sc. A spectacle, laughing-
stock.
'Whae drives thir kye?' 'gan Willie say, 'To make an out-
speckle o' me? ' Scott Minstrelsy (1802) II. 9, ed. 1848.
OUTSTAND,?;. Sc. Ken.Sus. Hmp. [s.Cy. eu'tstaend.]
To stand out against ; to oppose firmly, resist ; to contra-
dict stubbornly.
Sc. (A.W.) Ken.' He outstood me that he hadn't seen him among
de currants ; Ken.^ Sus. Dey mounted de ride-haussesses but dess
wot hed bin racked up, outstud, an stomped, an poached, but
woodn't ower de rife, Jackson Southward Ho (1894) I. 389 ;
Sus.' He wanted to have the calf for three pound ten, but I out-
stood him upon that. Hmp.' She out-stood me wi' that 'ere lie.
Hence (i) Outstander, sb., obs., an opponent; a firm
opposer; (2) Outstanding, 56., 065., resistance, opposition.
(i) Abd. He was a papist, and outstander against the good
cause, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 223. (2) Abd. Banff payed
severely for his out-standing, ib. 195.
OUTSTANDING, ppl. adj. Sc. [utstandin.] Con-
spicuous, great, enormous. (F.J.C.)
OUTSTROKE-RENT, sb. Nhb. Dur. [utstrok-rent.]
A mining term : see below.
Nhb.' A payment for the privilege of breaking the barrier in
a colliery, and working and conveying underground the coal from
an adjoining royalty. ' Instroke ' is the passing out of a working
royalty into another royalty. ' Outstroke ' is the act as regarded
by the lessor of the entered royalty. Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal
Tr. Gl. (1888).
OUTSTROPOLOUS, adj. Obs. Sc. Also in forms
outstrapalous, outstrapolus. Outrageous, unruly, ob-
streperous.
Ayr. Ye're an outstrapolus neer-do-weel, Galt Entail (1823) xv ;
3 C2
OUTSUCKEN
[380]
OVEN
We sorely felt the consequences of the outstropolous and gal-
ravitching Englishers, ib. Provost (1822) xxix ; Your own out-
strapalous obstinacy, ib. Sir A. Wylie (1822) xli.
OUTSUCKEN, adj. Sc. A legal term : pertaining to
a district not restricted to a particular mill ; gen. in comp.
Outsucken- multure.
Opposed to the state of being thirled to a mill (Jam.) ; The
duties payable by those who come voluntarily to a mill are called
' outsuken ' or ' out-town ' multures, Erskine Instit. bk. ii. T. 9. §
20 (Jam.) ; The rate of outsucken multure, though it is not the
same everywhere, is more justly proportioned to the value of
the labour than that of the insucken, ib.
OUT-TAK,s6. Sh.I. Also written oot-tak. [u't-tak.]
1. Goods bought on credit, outlay.
Whin Jeemson giide ta read oot her oot-taks dan shQ swOre 'at
sho niver got, or yit sent for da things 'at Arty's boy got, Sh.
News (July 22, 1899) ; 1 hae twa shillins an peuny-hap'ny an' me
ootaks [sic] auchteen-pence, ib. (Aug. 26, 1899).
2. Yield, return, substance.
S. & Ork.i ' There's a great outtak in it,' — applied to anything
that lasts longer than can be expected, or than appearances
justify. 'There's no muckle outtak in it,' — applied to corn when
not expected to yield much meal, or to anything not likely to give
good returns.
OUTTHRUST, sb. and v. Yks. Also written cotthrust
n.Yks.^ [iftfirust.] 1. sb. An expulsion ; a thrusting
out. n.Yks.^ 2. A projection; a projecting part of a
building. n.Yks.^^, m.Yks."^ 3. v. To thrust out, pro-
ject ; to expel.
n.Yks.2 They oot-thrast ivvery yan on 'em. m.Yks.'
Hence Out-thrusten, ppl. adj. projecting ; expelled,
thrust out. n.Yks."*
OUTTIE, adj. Dmb. (Jam.) Addicted to company,
much disposed to go out.
OUT-TOWN, sb. Obs. Sc. 1. An outlying field on
a farm. Abd. (Jam.) 2. Comb. Out-town multures,
duties payable by those who came voluntarily to a mill.
Cf. outsucken.
Sc. Erskine Instit. bk. ii. T. g. § 20 (Jam.). Sh.I. About in-
town and out-town multures, Scott Pirate (1821) xi.
OUT-WALE, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Also
written oot-wael S. & Ork.^ ; cot-wail, ootwale Nhb.^ ;
out-wail Sc. (Jam.) N.I.^; out-waile Sc. ; and in forms
cot-weal Cum. ; oot-weel Cum.^ ; cotwyle Bnff.^ ; out-
wyle Sc. [iit-wel.] 1. sb. Refuse. Gen. in pi. See
Wale, V.
S. & Ork.i, Cal.i Slk. The out-wale, wallie, tragle kind o'
wooers, Hogg Tales (1838) 362, ed. 1866. N.Cy.i Cum. The
refuse of fruit, potatoes, &c., when the choice portions have been
taken or picked out (M.P.) ; Cum.i
Hence Out-walins, sb. pi. refuse, leavings, things of
little value.
Sc. (Jam.), N.I.^ Nhb.^ In a heap of potatoes the small ones
picked out are the ootwailins.
2. V. To select. Bnff.i
OUTWARD, adj. Sc. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Der. Lin.
Som. Also written ootward Cum.^ ; and in forms oot'ard
Lakel.^ ; outwart Cum. [Sc. n.Cy. ti'tsrd.] 1. In comp.
Outward-girl, a girl in a farm-house who does farm work.
Lin.^ 2. Dissipated, irregularin conduct, wild, spendthrift.
Lakel.'^ As oot'ard a fellow as ivver ye met. Cum. Jerry was
as ootward a carakter as yan '11 see in a three days travel, Farrall
Betty Wilson (1886) 143 ; In wild outwart ways I spent time,
PowLEY Echoes Cum. (1875) 149 ; Cum.' ' He's led a varra ootward
life' is often said of a drinking, idle fellow. Wm.^ w.Yks. He's
stiddy now, but 'e was varra outward at one time (F.P.T.).
n.Lan. (W.H.H.), Der.2
Hence Outwardly given, phr. dissolute, immoral. w.Som.*
3. Cold, reserved, distant in behaviour. ^ Rxb. (Jam.)
Hence Outwardness, sb. coldness, unkindness. ib.
OUTWICK, sb. Sc. Also in form cutweik Lnk. A
curling term : an outward bias given to a stone by touching
the outside of another. Cf. outring.
Sc. (C.H.E.) Lnk. Mony a nice out-weik's been ta'en, M«Indoe
Poems (1805) 56.
OUTWORK,56. Sc. Also written octwark. [ii'twark.]
Outdoor work, field work.
Abd. The deem that had the ' oot-wark,' Greig Logie o' Buchan
(1899) 106. fiwk. Implying the idea of its being done by those
whose proper province it is to work within doors (Jam.) ; What
is called 'outwork,' as helping to fill muck carts, spreading the
muck, setting and hoeing potatoes, &c., are [sic'] mostly per-
formed by women and young people of either sex, but mostly
girls, Agric. Surv. 420 {ib.).
Hence Outworker, sb. a field worker, one who does
outdoor work.
Lth. Cot-workers, they, wi' toggery gay. The lads wi' lasses
swap, LuMSDEN Sheep-head (1892) 45. Bwk. One who is bound
at certain times to labour out of doors, but is generally employed
in domestic work (Jam.) ; It was customary to have a few other
cottages upon the large farms, let to weavers chiefly, and their
occupiers bound to shear at the ordinary wages, and to supplj-
certain outworkers when wanted, Agric. Surv. 420 (ib.).
OUTWYLE, see Outwale.
OUW, sb. Obs. I.Ma. The penny rot, Hydrocotyle
vulgaris.
A particular vyeed, common in many pastures, called in the
language of the country, ' ouw.' The leaf of this herb destroys
the liver, and causes the animal's death in the course of twelve
months. On opening the sheep, this leaf is found attached to the
liver, and transformed into an animal having apparent life and
motion, and retaining its shape as an herb. Reports Agric. (1793-
1813) 27.
OU-WHER, adv. w.Yks.^ Also in form awer. Any-
where. ' Tha'U nooan faund it awer near theer.'
0UZ(E, OUZE, OUZEL, see Ouse, v., Ooze, Ousel, sb}°
OUZILY, OV, OVAL, see Oozly, Heave, Of, Ovil.
OVE, OVEES see Hoaf, Oaves, sb. pi?-
OVELONG, adj. w.Yks.^ [ovlor).] Oblong. See
Avelong (q.v.).
[Norw. dial, avlang, oblong (Aasen) ; Dan. aflang
(Larsen).]
OVEN, sb. and v. Var. dial, forms and uses in Sc. and
Eng. [u'van, tin, jiin.] I. Dial, forms : (i) Ai'n, (2)
Awn, (3) Ean, (4) Een, (5) Ewin, (6) Ewn, (7) Hoom, (8)
Hoon, (9) Hooun, (10) Oavm, (11) Oben, (12) Oom, (13)
Oon, (14) ?Open, (15) ? Owem, (16) Own, (17) Ubben, (18)
Une, (19) Uven, (20) Wen, (21) Yaewn, (22) Yewn, (23)
Yoan, (24) Yoin, (25) Yoon, (26) Youn, (27) Yown, (28)
Yubban, (29) Yubbem, (30) Yubben, (31) Yun, (32) Yune,
(33) Yuven, (34) Yuvvin, (35) Yuwn.
(i) m.Yks.' (2) Dev. My buzzum's like a hotted awn, Salmon
Ballads {i8gg) 64. (3) m. Yks.' Used by old people. (4) Abd., Rxb.
(Jam.) Cum., Wm. Nicolson (1677) Trans. R. Lit. Soc. (1868) IX.
(5) Lin. (F.P.T.) (6) n.Cy. Grose (1790). n.Yks. The ewn, for lack
of dittin, hes slake'd all 'th heet, Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 187.
m.Yks.i w.Yks. Only the stean ewn can bake, Lucas Stud. Nidder-
rfa;« (c. 1882) 191. (7) Yks. (Hall.) n.Yks. Heard twentyyears ago
in the upper reaches of Wensleydale and Swaledale (R.B.). (8)
s.Lan. (S.W.), Chs.^ (g) Wm. Awe us wimmen creap intoth neak
beeth hooun, Wheeler Z);«/.(i79o)69, ed. 1821 ; Wm.i (10) Som.
(W.F.R.) w.Som.' One o' these yer cloamin' ovens [oa-vmz]. (11)
I.W.i^ Dor. 1 Hot batch ... a-reek6n vrom the oben door, 165. (12)
n.Cy. Grose (i7go) Suppl. w.Yks. Summat nice it oom, Preston
Poems (1864) 19 ; w.Yks.^ (13) Edb. A guid pye is ready for the
oo'n, Learmont Poems (1791) 199. w.Yks. (D.L.) ; (S.K.C.) ;
w.Yks.'- Lan. Awmootasweelhabininaoon,TiMBoBBiNKjra)Z)!a/.
(1740)23; Lan.i, ne.Lan.i,e.Lan.i, m.Lan.i,Chs.i=3,s.Chs.i Der.
Addy G1. (1891). (14) Dev. She put Job's lethern burches into
th' open ta dry 'em, Pulman Sketches (1842) 70, ed. 1871. (15)
w.Yks.2 (16) Stf., Der. (J.K.) Der.=, nw.Der.i Dev. White Cy.
Maris Conductor (1701) 127. (17) n.Lan. She shov'd t'barn intil
an aid brek ubben, Morris Siege o' Bruton (1867) 5. Cor.2 loo.
(18) Sc. (Jam.), S. & Ork.i (j^g) wm. T'pi' war tekkon oot a
t'uven, RoBisoN Aald Taales (1882) 9. n.Lin.i (20) e.Yks.i
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 2, 1898). (21) m.Yks.' (22)
Yks. Joanie Pickergill yeats yewn to neit, Spec. Dial. (1800) 14.
n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i T'yewn isn't yat yit. w.Yks. Lucas Stud.
Nidderdale (c. 1882) 16. (23, 24) m.Yks.i (25) n.Cy. (J.L. 1783) ;
(K.) e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (17881 ; (Miss A.) m.Yks.'
w.Yks. Black-leeaded t'fender an' t'yoon, Blackah Sngs. (1867)
27. (26) n.Yks. (W.H.) (27) n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^Asyat asayown.
ne.Yks.' (s8) Cum. If ye hed hearts that wad full a town yubban,
Rayson Poems (1858) 66. (2g) Cum. Her mouth's as weyde as
onie town yubbem, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 123 ; For hettin
ayub'morbeddin abyer, Dickinson Cumbr. (1876) 245. (30) Dur.
Wehev a varra bad yubben, Egglestone Bfif^yPorf&W Z.rtA (1877)
OVEN
[381]
OVER
la. Cum. His shun was as breet as oor yubben dooar, Gwordie
Greenup Anudder Batch (1873) 15 ; Cum.^ (31) m.Yks.i (32)
n,Yks. This is to gie notice 'at Johnny Pickersgill yats [heats]
t'yune to-neet, Addy Gl. (1891) 42. e.Yks. (W.W.S.), e.Yks.i
(33) Nhb.i It's a yuven compared tiv a limekiln, Sng., Canny
Shields. (34) Dur.i (35) m.Yfcs.i Most heard in market-town
speech northward.
II. Dial. uses. 1. sb. In comb, (i) Oven-arse, the
convex exterior of a brick-oven, gen. covered with
plaster or mortar; (2) -bird, {a) the willow-warbler,
Phylloscopus trochilus; (6) the British long-tailed titmouse,
Acredula rosea ; (c) the chiffchafF, Phylloscopus rufus; (3)
-builder, see (2, a) ; (4) -cake, {a) a cake, made of oatmeal
and yeast, and baked in an oven ; (b) a loaf, baked in an
oven, without tin or dish ; (<;) half a loaf, baked at the
oven's mouth ; (5) -fanged.burnt in the oven ; (6) -honey,
the dregs of the honeycomb, which are drawn out when
the empty comb is put in a warm oven ; (7) -lug, a long
pole or stick used as a poker in an oven ; (8) -'s nest, the
nest of the British long-tailed titmouse ; see (2, b) ; (9)
-peel, a pole with a flat piece of wood at the end of it, used
forputting loaves, pies, &c.,into a brick-oven, ortaking them
out again; (10) -pikel, a fork with a long handle and a long
iron neck above the prongs, used to supply a brick-oven
with fuel; (11) -pile, see (9) ; (12) -rake, a rake for clearing
the ashes aside in a brick-oven; (13) -rubber, a stick with
a cloth attached to it, for clearing out the embers or
stirring the fire in an oven before baking ; (14) -side, the
side of the fireplace next the door of the oven ; (15) -slice,
an iron shovel for taking the ashes out of the oven ; (16)
■stone, the stone which closes the mouth of an oven ; (17)
■stopliss, obsol., the old wooden lid of an oven ; (18)
■swab, (19) -sweep, (20) ■swoop, a mop or swab used to
mop out the oven before putting in the bread ; (21) ■tit,
see (2, a).
(i) s.Chs.^ (2, a) Nrf. His nest is just like an oven ; hence he
is called the ' oven-bird ' in the fenlands, Emerson Birds (ed.
1895) 37 ; SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 26. Suf. Science Gossip (1882)
215; (G.E.D.) (A) Nhp.i ■w.'V/ov. Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 3, 1888).
e.An.i (c)Suf. (G.E.D.) (3) Slg. Swainson A 32. (4,a) Abd.,Rxl).
(Jam.) Fif. The saft o'en cakes in mony a stack, Are set in order
rarely, Douglas Poems (1806) 147. e.Fif. Oon cakes an' cheese in
wechtfu's, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxix. Nhb. The oven-cake
I learned her to make as dry as a cinder, Graham Red Scaur
(1896) 124. Lan. Sometimes applied to oat-cakes made of oat-
meal and very thin in distinction to those baked on the backstone
(S.W.). (6) w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Oat-cake and Oon-cake new
baked that day, Waugh Tattlin^ Malty, 6 ; Mostly cakes which
are baked on the oven bottom made of dough, i.e. flour (S.W.);
Lan.l (c)Wil.i (5) w.Yks. (S.P.U.) (6) Hrt. Not worth selling,
being what we call oven-honey, Ellis Mod. Hush. (1750) V. i.
112. (7) WU.1 (8) Nhp. SwAiNSON ib. 32 ; Nhp.', e.An.i (9) Chs.i,
s.Cbs.^ Shr.i Strong fire-shovel and poker, and oven-peel. Auc-
tioneer's Cat. {i.^'\i). (10) Chs.i, s.Cbs.S Shr.l (11) Hmp.i (12)
Sns.l (13) Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hrap.l, I.W.12 (14) n.Lin.l (15)
Sus.l (16) Cum.^ Chs.i A flag, square at the bottom and rounded
at the top, to fix against the mouth of a brick oven when the bread
is baking. To prevent all escape of heat, it is plastered round or
stopped with clay, so as to close up every crevice; Cbs.^ (17)
ne.Wor. Rarely seen now (J.W.P.). se.Wor.i (18) w.Som.i
Oa-vm-zwaub. (19) Sbr.'^ If yo' putten the oven-sweep o' the
dairy-pegs, yo'n a the Missis after yo'. (20) ib. (21) Nrf. So
called from the shape of its nest, Swainson ib. 26.
2. Phr. (i) to go to oven, to bake ; (2) like stopping an
oven with butter, said of a purely useless attempt ; (3) the
old woman would never have looked in the oven for her
daughter, if she had not been there herself, prov.
(i) Ken.i" (2) Chs.i (3) Nhp.i Still in common use.
3. See below.
Dmf. Applied to a large shallow pan [metal pot] with suitable
lid, in which the guidwives make loaves. Glowing peats are
heaped on the top of the lid, Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351.
4. A slang word for ' mouth.' Lin.' 5. The oppressive
closeness that meets one on opening the door of a room
that has been shut up for a long time. S. & Ork.'
6. A halo.
Suf. One man spoke of a halo round the sun as an oven, e.An.
N, (f Q. (1861) I, ed. 1864.
7. V. Obs. To bake in an oven.
Feb. The first I bought . . . Was o'ened and buttered weell Wi'
walth o' carries on its tap, Lintoun Green (1685) 65, ed. 1817.
OVEND, adj. Lin. Dried up, parched ; ' ailing.'
(Hall.) ; Lin.i The eddish is very ovend.
OVER, prep., adv., adj. and v. Var. dial, uses in
Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also in forms auver LW.'*
Wil. Dor.' Som. Dev.' ; awver Brks.' n.Wil. Dev. ; hover
Dev.'; oar Sh.L n.Lan. ; o'er Sc. e.Yks. w.Yks.^* Lan.
e.Lan.i m.Lan.' Chs.'^ s.Chs.' s.Stf. Not.' Lei.' War.^
Shr.''^ Bdf ; oher n.Lin.'; ooer Cum.^ Lan.; oor Cum.';
ore Lan. ; ouer Sc. S. & Ork.' ; our Sc. (Jam.) e.Yks.
w.Yks.' ; ovver Wm. Yks. Not. Nhp.^ ; ower Sc. Ir.
N.Cy.' Nhb.' Lakel.2 Cum.'* Wm.' n.Yks.'^* ne.Yks.'
e.Yks.' m.Yks.' w.Yks.'^ Not.^ n.Lin. sw.Lin.' s.Wor. ;
owr Sc. Cum. ; owre Sc. UIs. n.Cy. Cum. ; owwer
n.Yks. ; uvver n.Cy. Dur.' n.Yks.'^ e.Yks. w.Yks.^* Den'
Not.' Lei.' Nhp.' se.Wor.' Shr.' ; uvvor w.Yks. [o'v3(r),
9'v3(r), o'va(r, u'V3(r, ou'3(r, 5(r, o3(r. In the compounds
of over- the tendency in all the dialects is to put the chief
stress of the compound on the first element, whatever
may be the nature of the second element.] 1. prep. In
comp, (i) Over.back, a cow which has received the bull
but has not had a calf when three years old ; (2) — Bogie or
Boggie, a term applied to a marriage which is performed
at a magistrate's and not at a church ; also used as a w. ;
(3) ■clover, a boys' game : a variety of ' touch ' ; (4)
■crown, a particular kind of cap ; see below ; (5) ■end, (a)
erect, upright ; in a sitting position ; {b) excited, elated ;
excited with anger ; (c) to set on end, to turn endwise ;
{d) to be turned topsy-turvy; (6) -hip, a method of striking
a blow with a hammer over the arm ; (7) -knee, a long
gaiter buttoned over the knee ; (8) ■measure, obs., one in
twenty given over and above in the sale of corn ; (9)
•noddles, a somersault ; (10) ■side, overboard ; (11) ■tail,
head over heels ; (12) ■top, a roof ; (13) ■top-teels, see
(11) ; (14) -way, on the opposite side of the street or
road ; (15) -week, to outstay the limits fixed for a visit ;
to stay longer than intended ; used reflex. ; (16) -weekit,
of meat : kept too long.
(i) Slg. (Jam.) (2) Sc. I will awa' wi' her Tho' a' my kin had
sworn and said I'll o'er Bogie wi' her, Ramsay Tea-Table Miscell.
(1724) I. 65, ed. 1871. Abd. A proverbial phr. used in regard to
a marriage which has been celebrated by a magistrate and not by
a clergyman. ... It is supposed that some accommodating magis-
trate, at some time or other, resided on the opposite side of the
river Bogie from that of the town or village inhabited by the
lovers who desired to be joined in the bonds of matrimony without
subjecting themselves to the sometimes inconvenient interrogations
of the Kirk, Mackay. Gall. People are said to be married in an
owre boggie manner, or to have an ower boggie wedding when
they do not go through the regular forms prescribed by the
national kirk, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (3) Oxf. They have a
song used in the game commencing — ' Over clover Nine times over'
(Hall.). (4) BnfiF. The 'heech [high] cawled mutch' was worn
on Sundays, the ' overcrown mutch ' during the week. They
disappeared from CuUen thirty years ago. The overcrown mutch
was cut so as not to require a crown inserted. It had a seam in
the centre which went right over the back. It was in one piece ;
no bonnet was required. It had borders — the fore front of fine
muslin, the edge of fine lace. It came in with three plaits in front
of the forehead as far as the hair and over the crown, and fastened
at the back with ' sma" ribbon (W.C.) ; Women adorned in
scarlet cloaks and 'ower-croun mutches,' Gordon Chron. Keith
(1880) Introd.6. (5, a) Sh.I. Wi his hair owerend, an' hadin'
his head ower ta wan side, Sh. News (Oct. i, 1898). e.Yks.' ' Can
he get ower-end ? ' i. e. sit up in bed. w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.*-
What hair he had on his head stood over end, Gainsburgh News
(Apr. 24, 1875) ; Set them sheaves oher-end, its cumin' up fer
raain. He's that badly he can nobbut sit oher-end for a few
minutes at a time. (A) e.Yks.^ He's nicely ower-end aboot his bit o'
fottun. (c) Cal.' Lth. Spoken of things that have greater length
than breadth or thickness (Jam.). n.Yks.° As a cask on one end.
' Now it's ower-ended.' e.Yks. Ah'll ower end ye in a minnit
(B.K.). (rf) Ayr., Lth. I could hear the muckle amrie, stenning
an' o'erenning down the brae, Blackw. Mag. (Nov. 1820) 20a
(Jam.). (6) Ayr. The brawnie, banie, ploughman chiel. Brings
hard ovvrehip, wi' sturdy wheel, The strong forehammer, Burns
OVER
[382]
OVER
Sc. Drink (1786) st. 10. (7) Sus, He sells straw hats and over-
knees, Lower row C/arf/>o/e (1831)31. 17; (G.A.W.) (8)Ken. (K.)
(9) Cum.* (10) Gall. He hove his barrels overside, fixed to a thick
rope, and sank them, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (11) e.Yks.
Jack rolled doon hill, an towpled ower-tail, Nicholson Flk-Sp.
(1889)96. (i2)n.Yks.2 (13) s.Chs.i To turn o'er-topteels. (14)
e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) (15) Tev. He who has staid in a place
longer than was intended, is said to have our-weekit himself, esp.
if he has not returned in the same week in which he went (Jam.).
(16) Butcher meat, too long kept in the market, is called our-
weekit meat, and sold at a lower price (»'i.).
2. Phr. (i) over ocht, beyond comparison, surpassing
everything ; (2) — the door or a door, (3) — the door-sill,
out of doors ; (4) — the left, (a) an expression of dissent or
disbelief; not at all; in gen. colloq. use; see Left; {b)
the wrong way ; (c) in debt ; at a loss, having the dis-
advantage in a bargain ; (5) — the line, intoxicated ; (6) —
the matter, excessive ; (7) — the moon with oneself, rejoicing
beyond reasonable control ; beside oneself with joy ; (8)
— the moor, (a) living at or situated in a place at the other
side of the moor-district ; (b) on a journey, away ; (9) —
the stairs, either up or down stairs ; (10) to be over, to set
store by, to be fond of, or particular about ; (11) to come
over one, (a) to get the better of one ; to cozen ; (b) to come
into one's mind or recollection ; (12) to give one over the
way, to rebuke, reprove one ; (13) to go over a corpse, of a
coroner : to hold an inquest upon a corpse ; (14) to have
one over the hip, to have the upper hand of one ; (15) to
take (a house, farm, &c.) over one's head, to dispossess an
established tenant by offering a higher rent ; see Head,
2 (44)-
(i) Gall. (A.W.) Dwn. ' Man, WuUy,' sez I, • but yer ower ocht,'
Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 20. (2) Abd. Fat can the creaturs dee fan
they canna get leuket owre a door? Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 204.
Dmb. Don't steer owre the door the day yoursel', Cross Disruption
(1844) xxii. Hrf.i To put a man over the door [to turn him out].
(3) War. (J.R.W.) (4, a) w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan.i ' Has he raised
thi wages ? ' ' Aye, o'er-th'-left — he's bagg'd me.' Chs. (F.R.C.) ;
Chs.i ' Dun yo think he likes you ? ' ' Aye, he likes me — o'er-th'-
lift.' Lin.i Slir.2 Ah ! that's over the left, (i) w.Yks.^ To go
o'er t'left. (c) w.Yks. 2 If a man has lost anything by making a bad
bargain he is said to be ' o'er t'left.' n.Lin.i He's gotten sorely
oher-the-left wi' his farm, as a good many besides him hes e'
thease times. (5) St£ Monthly Mag. (1816) I. 494. (6) Rxb.
(Jam.) (7) Cum." (8, a) n.Yks."- So and so is 'an ower t'moor
body.' (b) ib. 'Where's t'e boun, Willy?' 'Ah's gannan' ower
t'moor f'r a bit.' (9) Dev. He went up, or down, over the stairs.
I flew over the stairs [down stairs], Reports Provinc. (1877) 135 ;
Dev.^Down over the stairs. Up over the stairs. (10) w.Som.i
Her's winderful over thick there boy. Mr. Venn's ter'ble over's
buUicks. There, I baint gwain to be over a bun'l o' straw. Dev.
Mother used to be very much over them Jerusalem seeds. Reports
Provinc. (1884) 25. (ir, a) Nhb.^ Ye'll not come ower me i' that
way. {b) ib. Aa laft mysel ti deed ivvery time it cam ower us
agyen : sic a joke it wes. (12) n.Yks.^ ; n.Yks.^ I gav 'em ower
t'way wi"t. (13) e.An.i (14) ne.Lan.' Orig. a term in wrestling.
(15) Slg. Wha cheats our honest lairds. Or tak' our houses o'er
our heads, Galloway Poems (1792) 51. Dmb. A black crime
indeed To tak a neibour's mailin owre his head, Taylor Poems
(1827) 90. Gall. They'd threaten'd to tak' the auld hoose owre
oor held, Kerr Maggie o' Moss (1891) 30. Kcb. There is none
that can overbid or take my lodging over my head, Rutherford
Lett. (1660) No. 325. n.Ir. He wuz aye grabbin up Ian' whauriver
he cud get it, an' takin' it ower ither fowk's heids, Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 104.
3. Upon, on, on the top of.
Kcd. Natur's sel Creeps feckless o'er a rung, Grant Lays (1884)
135. Per, Gin the earth swallied a' body 'at spak unadveesedly
. . . There's no mony wad be left stan'in' ower grund, Cleland
Inckbracken (1883) 49, ed. 1887. Lnk. Ae stagger, my blade, and
we're owre ye, Rodger Poems (1838) 54, ed. 1897. w.Yks. He
hat me ower t'faace. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; Very common
(J.W.).
4. On account of, because of, through ; concerning, re-
specting.
Sc. Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 106. Per. The gentles was
crackin' ower't ae forenicht, Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 65,
ed. 1887. w.Yks. Shoe's alius brayin' that barn ower summat
(iE.B.); w.Yks.^ He com ower a boat. s.Clis.' I got a splent i'
my hand o'er pleachin' a hedge. He lost his place o'er gettin
drunk, 94. Stf., War., Wor. There have been several meetings
over the business (H.K.). Dev. They'm all like wild cats auver
Rattenberry gittin' off, Norway Parson Peter (1900) 176.
5. Across, on the other side of
Cai.! Abd. His nibour Jock came o'er the gate [wayl, Wi'
guid intent to see 'im. Cock Strains (1810) H. 64. Kcd. Grant
Lays (1884) II. Per. Fallin' starns That o'er the lift glint
silentlie, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 147. Ayr. Service Notandums
(1890) 52. Lnk. A farm, too, he had owre the water, Rodger
Poems (1838) 148, ed. 1897. Lth. [A bridge] Sae narrow, a barrow
It's risky owre't to whirl, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 135. Dmf.
QuiNN Heather (1863) 224. Kcb. My short legs could not step
over this lair, or sinldng mire, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 112.
Gall. He'd aft invite them owre the burn, Nicholson Poet. Wks.
(1814) 49, ed. 1897. n.Yks.'* Owert'street. Owert'dale. ne.Yks.'
Ower t'brig. w.Yks. (J.W.)
6. Beyond, past, through.
Sc. One of the women can do it for you when they're over the
throng of their work, Keith Lisbeth (1894) ii. Fif. She's a wee
owre her time, but no muckle, Robertson Provost (1894) 179.
Ir. Five or six pound . . . which will pay me rint, and help to
bring me over the winter. Nineteenth Cent. (July 1900) 81.
n.Yks.*, w.Yks. (J.W.), ne.Lan.^
7. After, in the course of.
m.Ess. Sir, we shall want some hay over a few days (H.M.M.).
8. Opposite, over against. Hrt. Over the public house (T.W.).
9. To, in the direction of.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Ken. (G.B.) ; Ken.' I'm gooing over Oare.
[Amer. He lives over Meriden way. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 421.]
10. Compared with ; more than, beyond ; also in phr.
over as.
s.Stf. This does look suitable o'er as that 'un (T.P.). Hrf. This
thing is far better over that, Duncumb Hist. Hrf. (1804-1812).
Glo.'- Bdf. There's a sight of taters t'year over common. I am
better over you (J.W.B.).
11. adv. In comp. (i) Over-cant, an upset from a vehicle ;
(2) .clad, covered thickly, overspread ; (3) -clash, see (i) ;
(4) -cow'd, subdued, overruled ; (5) -ding, (a) to push
down ; (b) a push down ; (6) -fret, decorated all over ; (7)
-galf, to cloud over, overcast ; (8) -gathin, fainting ; (9)
-gilt, gilded over ; (10) -gloor, (a) to look searchingly ;
ip) a searching look ; (11) -hap, to overclothe or cover
up ; (12) -harl, to turn over, to examine roughly ; {13)
-hawk or -hork, of a bull : to gore the ground beyond its
victim ; (14) -hold, to hold over ; (15) -hulled, overthrown,
overcast; {16) -leat or -leet, anything that is folded or
laid over another ; (17) -led, led away ; (18) -ligger, a
support over which calico, &c., is laid while bleaching in
the fields; (i9)-master, to overrule, subdue; (20) -matched,
hardly able, incapable; (21) -pick, a pitch over; (22) -pull,
to pull over ; (23) -put or -pitt, to recover from, get the
better of, to survive; (24) -spade, to trench land by cutting
it into narrow trenches and heaping the earth upon an
equal quantity of land not raised ; (25) spang, to pursue,
overleap ; (26) -sped, overtaken, overcome ; (27) -tirvie,
to overcome, upset ; (28) -towp, see (21) ; (29) -tramp, to
trample upon, oppress ; {30) -trod, a footpath across a
field; a street crossing; (31) -warp, to overcast in sewing;
(32) -whemmle, {a) to overturn, upset ; to throw topsy-
turvy ; {b) an arch ; (33) -wing, to outwit.
(i) n.Yks. ^ (2) Fif. The roofs, ilk spire, the great mid-steeple,
Were buzzin' and.owrclad wi' people, Tennant Papistry (1827)
168. (3, 4) n.Yks.^ (s, a) ib. They owerdang me. (b) ib. (6)
Fif. The gifts o' Cardinals and Paips, Owr-fret wi' spanglet
gowden-caps, Tennant Papistry (1827) 201. (7) s.Sc. When
cluds owregaff my sky, Allan Poems (1887) 23. Rxb. A term
applied to the sky when it begins to be beclouded after a clear
morning (Jam.). Nhb.^ Of an overcast sky after sunshine it is
said ' W'or ganna hae rain ; the day's a' owergaffen.' (8) Nhb.'
Stop, aa'm ower-gathin. (9) Sc. Ana hairt of silver owrgilt,
PiTCAiRN Crim. Trials (1829) pt. ii. 386. n.Yks.^ (10 a, 6) ib.
(11) Wra. That rubbish heap o' steaynes, Owerhaps the mightiest
chieftain's beaynes. Whitehead Leg. (1859) 54, ed. 1896. n.Yks.'^,
w.Yks. (J.W.) (12) Cld. (Jam.) (13) Som. He [a bull] were
kneeling on me, and thought he were hurting me, but he over-
hauled me all the while (W.F.R.). (14) w.Yks." A grinder is
said to ' o'er houd ' a knife when he is grinding it roughly. (15)
OVER
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sw.Lin.^ The yow was over-hulled, and the lamb was dead. (16)
Lth. (Jam.) (i7)s.Wor. (H.K.) (18) w.Yks. (S.K.C.) (i9)n.Yks.2
(20) n.Yks. He'll be ower-matcht to thrive (I.W.) ; n.Yks.*
(21) n.Yks.2 (22) Lan. Au wur resolv't o'erpoo him, Tim Bobbin
View Dial. (ed. 1806) 35. (23) Sc. I am all crushed, and I'll ne'er
o'erpitt it, Magopico (ed. 1836) 12. Lth. (Jam.) (24) Abd. (Jam.) ;
All garden grounds . . . are half-trenched, provincially over-spaded ;
that is, narrow ditches, about 15 inches deep and two feet wide,
are laid upon an equal breadth of untilled land ; and in that
. situation exposed to the winter's frost, Agric. Surv. 361 («A.).
(25) Sc. Lat the fien-loon owre-spang my saul, Waddell Psalms
(1871) vii. 5. Fif. The Sun . . . Owrspangit at ae single stend
The gowden keystane o' the pend, Tennant Papistry (1827) 75.
(26) Cum. A' the lave, by sleep owersped, Were round us sittin,
Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 51. (27) Fif. If their priev'd
knight owr-tirvie me, Tennant Papistry (1827) 105. (28) n.Yks.2
(29) Slk. Auld Wat's no gaun to be o'er trampit wi' nane o'
them, Hogg Ta/es (1838) 7, ed. 1866. (30) n.Yks.^ (31) w.Yks.
Ah towd tha to owerwarp them seams (F.P.T.). (32, a) n.Yks.12
w.Yks.s Keep off o' that can, lad, thah'll owerwhemmle it ! Bdf.
Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 139. (6) n.Yks.^ (33)
n.Yks.'* He aims 'at he knows a bit, bud Ah'll owerwing him
onny tahm iv a boss deeal.
12. Comb, with prep, or adv. : (i) Over ahint, down
behind ; (2) — anent, anenst, nen(s)t, or Overant, {a)
opposite, over against, across ; cf. anent ; (6) Jig. equal
to; (3) -beyond, away, yonder, far off; (4) — by(e, {a)
across, over the way, away but at no great distance ; also
used as a w. ; {b)Jig. away for ever, past and gone, dead ;
(c) at, across ; (a) a privy ; (5) -by-yon, yonder ; (6)
— fornenst, see (2, a) ; (7) — ginst, against, up to, in prepa-
ration for ; (8) — long, over, at, away at ; (9 ) — nigh, near
to, close up to ; (lo) — right, see (2, a) ; (11) — through,
across the country ; (12) — to, towards, in the direction of ;
(13) — with, finished with, done with.
(i) Cum.^ T'lang ends on't hung ooer ahint his shou'der, 86.
(2, a) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Cum. The yeks and the eshes that grew
owre anent the kurkwaw, Anderson fiaWflj/s (ed. 1808)91. Wm.i
Ower anenst t'yak. n.Yks.^^ ne.Yks.^ He wer set ower anenst
us. e.Yks. It was ower anenst floor-mill, Nicholson Flk-Sp.
(1889) 50; e.Yks.i w.Yks.^*; w.Yks.^ Necessarily on the
opposite side of the way. ' When tub gets horf waay up t'loin by
t'pit hill, ower-anenst t'owd esh thear.' Lan. Awd loike to hit o
yung ladi, ut wur ore anenst mi, i' th' face, Sam Sondnokkur, pt. i.
5. e.Lan.^, m.Lan.i s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854). Chs.i^
s.Chs.'^ Ahy sit jiis't-ii-meet oaT-unen"st im. n.Lin.i Th' hohle is
reight ohernenst Butler's stack-yard. Shr,"- Glo. Grose (1790) ;
Baylts Illus. Dial. (1870) ; Glo.^ Ess.^ To go overant [to cross
the river]. (A) Chs. He was o'er anenst me, just as if oi'd been
his equal. Sheaf (1879) I. 211 ; Chs.i (3) Ir. I wondher if ye'll
iver gi' me a thought at all when I'm over beyant, Francis Fustian
(1895) 43; He heard Mr. Harknessover beyond there has a mind
to part wid his black mare, Barlow Kerrigan (1894) 119. m.Yks.^
(4, d) Sc. Some canny boys waitingfor me down amang the shaws,
owerby, Scott Blk. Dwarf (1816) vi. Cai.i e.Sc. Ye wasna
owerby last nicht, Seatodn G. Malcolm (1897) iv. Abd. ' Whaur
come ye frae?' ' Frae ower by,' Macdonald Sir Gibbie {i^ig)
xxxiii. Frf. He promised to look owre-by early in the forenicht,
WiLLOCK Rosetty Ends (1886) 28, ed. 1889. Arg. They told me
at the ferry over-by that strange carry-on, Munro Lost Pibroch
(i8g6) 279. e.Fif. A drucken collier chiel hailin' frae some o' the
coal heuchs owerby, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) ix. Ayr. He was
just thinking of taking a stap ower bye to see me, Galt Lairds
(1826) xxxix. Edb. I had seen ... the bloody gulleteening over-
bye among the French blackguards, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828)
xxi. Slk. Mr. David Ballantine, that noo leeves owerby yonner,
near the Hermitage, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 6. Gall.
' I am going over-by to Earlstoun,' I said, Crockett Standard
Bearer (1898) 147. N.Cy.^ Nhb.' Aa's just gan ower by, an'U be
back thereckly. Cum.'; Cum.-* He was here nut lang sen, but
mebbe he's ower by in't Croon an' Thistle. (A) Fif. Dauvit flitted
past them during the night and went owre-bye, Robertson Provost
(1894) 30. Ant. I mind the day that's over-by, an' bless the day
that's here, O'Neill Glens (1900) 45. (c) Fif. He brak St. Ayle
owr by the neevil, Tennant Papistry (1827) 7. id) Cum.* (,5)
Not.i Lei.i Ah'n lived o'er-by-yon foor an' forty year come
Michaelmas. War.s (6) N.Cy.i (7) Som. W. & J. Gl (1873).
(8) Cor.^ ' Where are'ee living ! ' ' Overlong to Portreath.' (g)
Cor 2 Ower nigh by the doar. (10) Crk. You see that bit of a
lake overright us, Flk-Lore Jrn. (1883) I. 318. Nhp.i Oxf.' 'E
lives overright we. Brks. Overright the stable door (M.J.B.);
Brks.' I left the rabbuts as I shot awver-rlght a crooked bache tree.
w.Nrf. Yow couldn't see its face, sur, t'war kivered up wi' a kinder
cowl like, but it riz up over-right his tumb-stun, Orton Beeston
Ghost (1884) II. Sur.^ Hmp. He's over right the window
(H.C.M.B.); (H.E.) I.W.i= Wil. Jist auverite tha village church,
%\.o-^ Rhymes (1889) 30 ; Wil.^ n.Wil. He do live awver-right the
Paason's gSat (E.H.G.). Dor. Mrs. H what leeve overright
the Gearge (C.V.G.) ; Dor.' Droo mead wi' Dicky auverright The
mill, n6. Som. There by the little stile over-right the pit, Ray-
mond Gent. Upcott (1893) 71 ; (W.F.R.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl.
(1873). w.Sora.'- You turns into a gate over-right a blacksmith's
shop. Dev. There's zummut white a-hidin' Over right the clam,
Longman's Mag. (Feb. 1898) 370. (11) Sc. (Jam.) (12) Cum.
I'll away owre to Whitten, Anderson Ballads (1805) 61. Der.l I
shall go over to Wirksworth. (13) Sh.I. Over with the peats now,
I suppose? Sh. News (May 27, 1899). n.Cy., w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lan. ' Let 'em get it o'er wi,' David said, Clegg David's Loom
(1894) V.
13. Phr. (i) all over, sick, qualmish ; (2) — over alike,
seized with cold ; (3) over all, surpassing, beyond, above ;
(4) — and above or aboon, {a) verj', particularly, very
much ; {b) used neg. : not very sharp, not having all one's
wits ; (5) — and beside, in addition to ; (6) — and up again,
more than once, over and again ; (7) times over, many
times ; (8) to have anything over, to discuss, talk over
anything.
(i) n.Ir. ' Hoo dae ye feel?' 'Man, a feel a' ower," Lyttle
Paddy McQuillan, 19. (2) Wm. Ah feel o' ovver-alike frae mi heed
ta mi teeas (B.K.). (3) N.Li That's over all ivir A heerd. (4, a)
w.Yks. He wornt considered to be ower an' aboon plumb. Hartley
Clock Aim. (1884) Pref. ; (J.W.) s.Not. The house isn't over and
above roomy (J.P.K.). Lei."- Ah doon't loike it ower an' aboov.
Suf. He don't seem goin' so over and above well, du ee? e.An.
Dy. Times (1892). (6) s.Not. He's not over and above, but he
knows better than that (J.P.K.). (5) e.Laa.i (6) n.Yks.'' (7)
Abd. I hae times ower been i' the gran' drawin'-room, Macdonald
Warlock (1882) xxiii. (8) ne.Yks.^ Him an' me's had it ower
tigither. Oxf. They've been having you over finely at the meeting
to-night (G.O.).
14. Above; overhead.
ne.Lan.i e.Lan.' Seldom used except on the borders of the
locality. Wil. It come from over. I heerd it come from over, and
as I went along it went too, Tennant Vill. Notes (1900) 60.
15. Across.
Sc. He gaed over (Jam.). Abd. Canna ye come ower? Mac-
donald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxx. Ayr. Ance ye were streekit owre
frae bank to bank! Burns Brigs of Ayr {1161) 1. 92. Nhb.i,
w.Yks. (J.W.)
16. Off. Sc. Set our [put off] (Jam.).
17. Asleep, ' off.'
Sc. I'm such an awful sound sleeper . . . that when once I'm
ower, I ken nothing about what I'm lying on. Whitehead Daft
Davie (1876) 133, ed. 1894. N.I.' The chile's just over.
18. Too ; too much.
Sc. He that hews over hie, the spail will fall into his eye,
Ferguson Prov. (1641) 13. ne.Sc. It's an ower true tale. Green
Gordonhaven (i&B'j) 116. Cai.i, Inv. (H.E.F.) Elg. Seek na oure
soon yon bonny cloud, Couper Poetry (1804) 43. Bch. Forbes
Ulysses (1785) 21. Abd. To bide owre lang i' the same place,
Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) viii. Kcd. Grant Lays (1884)
133. Frf. I'm owre fond o' the fresh air an' the bonnie green fields,
Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 3, ed. 1889. Per. Ford Harp (1893)
238. w.Sc. It's ower true, tho', Macdonald Settlement (1869) 38,
ed. 1877. Fif. Meldrum i/aj-^rsi^e/ (1894) 178. Dmb. She mauna
think Kamshaty's heir Owre guid for you, Salmon Gowodean
(1868) 3. Rnf. It's owre true, Picken Poems (1813) I. 33. Ayr.
I'm troubled to think ye may be owre late, Galt Gilhaize (1823)
i. Lnk. Like Heelan' whisky, — A wee ow'r hot, DdVs Hallowe'en
(1856) 15. Lth. Mony a sic-like instrument— owre fashious here to
style, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 68. Edb. Campbell Deilie Jock
(1897) 141. Dmf. Shennan Tales (1831) 61. Gall. There is no
service in being over-gleg in the hearing with such, Crockett
Moss-Hags (1895) xlvi. Wgt. Don't put the gas doon ower low,
Eraser Poems (1885) 125. n.Ir. I wuz that nervish a nippit him
ower hard, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 16. Uls. Owre near, Vis.
Jm. Arch. (1853-1862). Dwn. Ye . . . shudnae be ower prood,
Lyttle Robin Gordon, 66. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.) Nhb.
Ye're none over auld to lam, honey, 5. Tynedale Stud. (1896) No.
V ; Nhb.i He hes far ower much ti say for hissel. He gat there
OVER
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OVER
ower suin. Nhb., Dur. ' Ower-greet,' too familiar, gen. in a bad
sense, Brockett G/. (1846). e.Dur.i,Lakel.2 Cura.* Two on ye's
ower many, Rigby Midsummer (1891) 3. Wm. Oor rent's far
ower heeh, Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 40. n.Yks.'- T'hoos' 's ov/er-
big for us ; n.Yks.^* ne.Yks.^ T'maastther weean't be ower weel
suited. e.Yks.i w.Yks. He treated me over much like a younlcer,
Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) v ; w.Yks.^ It'l be our lang to
wait. n.Lan. I gat . . . ooer leeat for t'dinner, R. Piketah Forness
Flk. (1870) 14 ; He was oar greedy, Lonsdale Mag. (Jan. 1867)
270. Not.= He's ower clever by eif. s.Not. (J.P.K.) n.Lin. He
couldn't craw plaain yit, he was ower young, Peacock Tales and
Rhymes (1886) 106; n.Lin.i sw.Lin.i The roads are over-soft.
Shr.'^ O'er good by one half. Dev. I'm the last to say or set a
hand to any awver-bitter speech, Phillpotts Sons of Morning
(1900) 382.
19. Comp. (i) Over-corned, of a horse : overfed ; fig.
elated with prosperity ; (2) -cropped or -crapped, sur-
feited ; (3) -dog, to chase too much ; (4) -driven, of
persons : overworked, oppressed or crushed with worii ;
(5) -egg, to over-urge, overdo ; also in phr. to ower-egg
pudding, to defeat one's purpose by overdoing anything ;
(6) -fick, to raise a needless struggle in any matter and
so lose the object ; (7) -foughten, over-exhausted, pros-
trate ; (8) -fragg'd, overstocked, overfilled ; (9) -full,
intoxicated; (10) -grip, to strain, break; (11) -grow, to
outgrow one's strength ; (12) -handed, having too many
workers for the amount of work to be done ; (13) -heeze,
to lift up or elate too much ; (14) -kedge, to overeat, sur-
feit ; (15) -keep, to overfeed ; to keep too luxuriously ;
(16) -lig, to lie too long in bed, to oversleep oneself; (17)
■made, of hay : overdried in the field before being
carried ; (18) -man, to have more strength than is
necessary ; (19) -many, too many, too strong, not to be
resisted, more than a match ; (20) -maul, to overstrain
or fatigue ; to exhaust ; {21) -mickle or -muckle, too
much ; (22) -nice, too particular, too dainty, fastidious ;
shy, backward ; (23) -rack, -rax, or -reak, to overreach ;
to overstrain ; (24) -reckon'd, overrated ; overcharged ;
(25) -scutch, (a) to whip too severely ; {b) to do slightly ;
(26) -sess, to overdo, overstock ; (27) -steeaden, pro-
crastinated ; (28) -stop, to stay too long ; (29) -stressed,
see (7) ; (30) -thrussen, filled too full, overcrammed ;
(31) -to, too ; (32) -tool, to have too heavy a tool ; see
(18) ; (33) -very, too ; (34) -werret, to worry too much ;
(35) -wrought, overworked.
(i) n.Yks.2 (2) Dev. (Hall.), Dev.i (3) n.Yks.^ Oor man has
a dog, an he owerdogs t'bais at fawding time. (4) Per., Cld.
Applied to persons (Jam.). (5) n.Yks.'Heower-egg'd hismarket.
e.Yks.i Ower egg pudding, MS. add. (T.H.) (6) n.Yks.2 ' Itwas
owerfick'd,' when zeal outran discretion. (7) n.Sc. I would even
have been content to have lain still perpetually, my spirits were
so overfoughten, WoDRow Soc. Sel, Biog. (ed. 1845-7) !!■ 213.
(8) n.Yks.2 T'heead's big eneeaf, but nut owerfragg'd wi' sense.
(9) e.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 16, 1895) ; e.Yks.i MS. add.
(T.H.) (10) Sh.I. He's owergrippit his shacklebane wasshn' wi'
da lasses, Sh. News (May 15, 1897). (ii)n.Lin.iPoor thing oher-
graw'd hersen, an' went off e' a decline, when she was e' her teens.
(12) n.Yks.2 e.Yks. Oor fooaks is undher-handed rayther then
ower-handed, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 91 ; e.Yks.' MS. add.
(T.H.) (13) Ayr. Letna the flatt'rin' ghaist o'erheeze you, Sillar
Poems (1789) 55. (14) ne.Yks.i He's ower-kedg'd hissen (s.v.
Kedge). (15) w.Yks. He's under wrought an' ower-kept, Prov.
in Btighouse News (Sept. 14, 1889). (16) n.Yks.^ He owerligg'd
his time. e.Yks.l MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.» I
oher-ligg'd my sen, an' when th' missis she com' doon, I hed n't
gotten a thing dun. (17) s.Chs.^ (18) w.Som.i 'Tis better to be
over-manned than over-tooled [The tool should be rather light
than heavy in comparison with the man's strength]. (19) Sc. Ye
are ower mony for me to mell with, Scott Nigel (1822) ii ; He's
owre-mony for you (Jam. Suppl.). n.Yks.^; n.Yks.^ If a man
outdoes another in argument, he is declared to be ower monny for
the vanquished. If food disagrees with him, it was ower monny
for his stomach. If he died of an illness, it proved ower monny ;
n.Yks.* e.Yks.' Jack's ower-monny fo' ma at beeaks, bud Ah's
ower-monny for him at a bit of fisty-cuffin, MS. add. (T.H.)
m.Yks.i It was one owermony for him. w.Yks. (J.W.) (20)
Lei.' Th' o'd OSS got casst i' the steeble, an' a ovver-mauled his-sen
agen the wall. (21) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) e.Sc. They're keen 0' a
grum'le that grum'le about ower muckle, Setoun Sunshine (1895)
59. Per. There was muckle, owre muckle, Stewart Character
(1857) 25. Ayr. Boswell Poet. Wks. (1816) 149, ed. 1871. Lnk.
Rodger Poems (1838) 54, ed. 1897. Wgt. Fraser Wigtown (1877)
376. N.Cy.' Nhb. Robbie, though hardly what, to put it brutally,
is styled ' drunk,' had decidedly had what his countrymen call ' a
drap ower mickle,' 5. Tynedale Stud. (1896) Robbie Armstrong ;
Nhh.', n.Yks.'^, m.Yks.' (22) Sc. Dinna be owre-nice now, but
mak' yersel at hame (Jam. Suppl.). n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.'' ' Noo you
munnot be shy an owernice, but mak a lang airm to what you like
best,' — the farmer to his table guests ; n.Yks.'', m.Yks.', w.Yks.
(J.W.) w.Som.i Middlin' sort of a man, but over-nice 'bout the
vokes. They that be s'over-nice '11 come to want it, one o' these
yer days. (23) Sh.I. Doo'U be owerrackin' dysel agen, Sh. Neivs
(Oct. 9, 1897). Dmf. Saw That knaves owrerax'd na the limit o'
the law, Reid Poents (1894) 76. w.Yks.' (24) n.Yks.^ (25, a)
n.Yks.* He's ower-scutched t'lad this tahm. (6) Lan. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (C.) (26) s.Chs.' Tel yur mes"tiir ee miin)fl send mi noo
mdoiir wiif-strau' yet ii weyl, iSr els de)l oa-'rses- mi. (27) n.Yks.2
(28) w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Chs." I've bin at sichan'sichaplace, an'o'er-
stopped mysel,' or ' o'erstopped my time.' (29) n.Lln. I can't leave
a woman 'ats been ower-stressed all her time, as she hes. Peacock
Tales (1890) 2nd S. 53 ; At neet I was that overstressed I could
not get a wink o' sleep (E.P.). (30) n.Yks.^ T'pooak's sair ower-
thrussen. (31) Yks. Ower to' much. Ower to' slow (C.C.R.).
(32) w.Som.' (33) n.Yks. Deean't dig ower varry deep (I.W.).
(34) s.Wor. It be Hkeas this, I owerwerrets (H.K.). (35) n.Yks.2
e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.)
20. Very, extremely, particularly.
Sh.I. Ye canna be ower warm at dis time o' da mornin', stann-
din' i' da cauld water, Stewart Tales (1892) 33. w.Yks. (J.W.) ;
w.Yks. 2, Not.', Lei.' Nhp.' I am over fond of such a thing.
They were over civil to me. War.3 Nhp.^ Over-long ago. Hrf.^
' It's a cold morning.' ' Well, it ain't over hot.' Dev. 'Taint auver
warm this morning, Mortimer Tales Moors (1895) 27 ; Dev.' 'Tis
a thousand pittes, vor a is a hover good man, 3.
Hence (i) Over-great, adj. very intimate; (2) -sure, adj.
certain, quite sure.
(i) Nhp.' (2) Dev. I wasn't over-sure neither that I hadn't,
against my intention, broke the neck of Larry Nanspian, Baring-
Gould Spider (1887) xxxvii.
21. adj. Upper, higher.
Sc. Overest (Jam.). Edb. Here stands ... an herd's house called
Blair-bog, and then Rommano Grange, over and nether, Pennecuik
Wks. (1715) 171, ed. 1815. n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.', n.Yks.'^
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). w.Yks. Blithe nuncle Tim,
throo t'uvver gate, Senior Smithy Rhymes (1882) 42 ; Thoresby
Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.' Th' uvver side o'th Gill, ii. 288 ; w.Yks.^*,
ne.Lan.' Der. In place-names. Over Haddon and Nether Haddon.
Also in names of fields, Addy Gl. (1888) ; Der.' Uwer end, Over-
Hartshorne, Over-Langworth. nw.Der.' Not. The ower one of
the two (L.C.M.); Not.' Lei.' ' A's oop i' the uvver furlong.'
Sometimes used as a term of distinction between adjacent villages
of the same name, in which case the lower-lying one is called
' Nether,' as in Overseal and Netherseal, now gen. written Over
Seile and Nether Seile. Nhp.' ' Give me a bit of the uvver crust.'
' The be-ast are gwon a' th' uvver side of the clus.' Used as a
distinctive appellation where two adjoining villages bear the same
general name, as Uvver Heyford ; Nhp. 2 The ower one of the two.
War.2 Used in place-names, but not in conversation. Wor. (H.K.),
se.Wor.' Shr.' Who lives i' the uwer 'ouse now ? Hnt. (T.P.F.)
22. Obs. Great, important, material.
n.Dev. And chave an over arrant to tha mun, Exm. Crtshp.
(1746) 1. 396 ; I have an over errand to you, Grose (1790).
23. Superior as to power. Sc. (Jam.) 24. In comb, (i)
Over-bank, a roof-beam, rafter ; (2) -bow, an arch ; (3)
■burden, the rubble or ' dead ' ground which overlies a
stratum of tin-ore, &c. ; (4) -chass, extreme hurry ; (5)
■clay, fire-clay ; (6) -clothing, outer garments ; (7) -course,
the track or direction of the road ; (8) -crust, upper crust ;
(9) -feed, a surfeit ; (10) -fold, the part of a stocking that
folds over or is turned down ; (11) ■force, the power of
the rulers over one ; (12) -frost, hoar-frost, surface frost
which does not penetrate far into the soil ; (13) -gate, (a)
a stile ; steps in a wall or a gap in a hedge to allow a
passage through; {b) stepping stones over a river; a ford;
(c) an air-way overhead in a pit ; (14) -grace, over-praise,
exaggerated commendation ; (15) -hap, a great-coat ; a
wrapper ; (16) -hurry, needless haste ; (17) -keep, good
OVER
[385]
OVERBODY
living, luxury ; (18) -leather, the upper part of a shoe ;
(19) -lip, the upper lip ; (20) -mills, remnants, the remains
of anything ; (21) -mind, a ' great mind,' a strong inclina-
tion ; (22) -minded, much inclined ; {23) -pace, too quick
a walk or rate ; (24) -peer, a superior, one who excels ;
(25) -press, extra credit ; (26) -rods, the overhanging
rails on the sides of a wagon ; (27) -sark, an overshirt,
a coarse linen frock worn by draymen ; (28) -say, the
commanding word, the final decision ; (29) -slipper-floor,
a division in a coal-mine ; (30) -span, see (2) ; (31) -time,
a leisure period ; an odd moment, spare time ; (32) -tree,
the stilt or single handle of a plough ; (33) -wales, the
refuse left after the best of anything has been selected ;
(34) -ward, obs., the upper district of a county ; (35)
-wight, a superintendent ; (36) -woman, a female arbiter
or umpire.
(i, 2) n.Yks.2 (3) Cor.'^ In china clayworks it is the top ground,
from the surface to the bed of clay which lies below (s.v. Burden).
(4) n.Yks.'^ We've owermickle owerchass. (5) Glo. Fire clay, Coal
Measures : locally [in the Forest of Dean] termed ' over clay,'
with impressions of ferns, Ramsay Rock Spec. (1862) 69. (6, 7)
n.Yks.2 (8) Nhp.i (9) n.Yks." Our coo gat an owerfeed. (10)
Gall. The bonny ' rig-an'-fur ' stockin' that I knitted mysel' frae
the cast on o' the owerfauld to the bonny white forefit, Crockett
Sunbonnet (1895) iv. (11) n.Yks.^ (12) Lei.^ (13, a) n.Yks.^
The stone stile of the country. Stones sufficiently long to project
eleven or twelve inches beyond either face of the wall — which is
constructed without lime — are built into it, at convenient relative
distances, and thus form steps or stepping-places for the passen-
gers; n.Yks.2* ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. 336;
ne.Yks.i, m.Yks."^ (i) n.Yks.'^ ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1796) II. 336. (c) Nhb.i Where one air-course is carried by a
bridge over another. (14) n.Yks.* You munnut give 'em ower-
mickle owergrace. (15) !6. (i6)(S. Deeantbei' sican owerhurry.
(17) w.Yks. There's more killed wi' ower keep nor under keep,
Prov. in Brighouse News (July 23, 1887); w.Yks. ^ (18) s.Sc.
(Jam.) Slk. When the sole of a shoe's turned uppermost, it
maks aye but an unbowsome overleather, Hogg Brownie of Bods-
beck (1818) II. 202 {ib.). n.Cy. (J.W.), Dur.l, w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lan. The upper leathers of clogs, the hind parts which lap over
the fronts and secure the clogs to the feet, usually with buckles
(S.W.) ; At last, James Corner came with a pair of clog over-
leathers for my Ann, Walkden Z);fl;5'(ed. 1866) 58. Nhp.^ (19)
n.Cy. Grose (1790). n.Yks.^ e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1788). w.Yks. His hair . . . spraated aht fro' t'uvvor lip I't
manner ova cat, Preston Po«(«s (1864) 10. Nhp.' Shr.^ Mother's
got a despert bad coud, an' 'er uvver-lip's swelled as big as two.
(20) Sh.I. {Coll. L.L.B.) (21) n.Cy. He hath an over-mind to such
a thing, Grose (1790) Suppl. (22) Not. (L.C.M.) Nhp.i I was
over-minded to go ; Nhp.'^ He warn't overminded to du't. (23)
n.Yks.^They gan at an owerpeeace. (24) Sh.I. Der owerpeers ir no
ta be fune ony idder place 'at I ken, Sh. News (July 9, 1898). (25)
n.Yks." ' I'll mak thee pay for owerpress,' for trespassing beyond
the time for payment. (26) I.W.^ (27) n.Yks.2 (28) n.Yks.
T'maister had t'owersay. T'umpire had t'owersay (I.W.) ; n.Yks.^
(29) Stf.i (30) n.Yks.2 (31) tb. You might come an see us at an
owertime. (32) Or.I. (Jam.), S. & Ork.i (33) Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824). (34) So. In the shire of Clydesdale, Lanerk is the
head borough of the overward for holding courts, and registering
diligences, Erskine Instil, bk. i. tit. 4 (Jam.) ; In the over ward of
Clyddisdaile there is a hill or mount, whereout spring three rivers,
MoNiPENNiE Chron. (1612) 148. Edb. The overward of Clidsdale,
in the Sheriffdom of Lanrick, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 42, ed. 1815.
(35) n.Yks.2 (36) Sc. A female chosen to give the casting voice
in a cause in which arbiters may be equally divided. Used only
by old people (Jam.).
25. V. To go or jump over ; to cross.
Ayr. Our billie's gien us a' a jink An' owre the sea. Burns On
Sc. Bard, st. i. w.Yks. 'E says—' Yon's a fit beeas,' an' 'e ovvers
t'wa' to look at it (F.P.T.). War.^ ' Lower your back, I cannot
over you.' ' I overed him at the highest back he could make.'
Phr. used in playing leap-frog. ' He overed the fence in good
style.' Sus.' You must over the bridge and keep straight on a-head.
26. To run about.
VToT. They cattle haven't had a bit of rest, they've been overing
all day because of the flies. They ship 'ave overed the meadow
all night (H.K.).
27. To cease, finish, come to an end ; to be over with ;
gen. in pp.
VOL. IV.
n.Yks. Th' fairs is ower'd (R.H.H.) ; n.Yks.i Weel, it's ower'd
wi' 'm noo, puir au'd chap ; n.Yks.^ 'It ower'd a bit' ; said of
rain ; n.Yks.* T'meeting's owered, t'chapel lowsed, an't chetch 'ez
cum'd out. ne.Yks.i Ah doot it'll varry seean be owered wi poor
au'd Tommy. e.Yks.i Harvest's aboot owad. m.Yks.i It [the
rain] will ower inow. w.Yks. Sabbath not oe'red, . . and ye darr
be laiking ! Bronte Wuihering Hts. (1847) iii ; w.Yks.s Its awal
ower'd wi' him. n.Lin.^ Oherd,
28. To endure, last through, surmount ; to get over, re-
cover from.
Slg. He never over'd the loss of that bairn (Jam.). Ir. He lent
Larry two guineas, which . . . enabled them to over their diffi-
culties, Carleton Traits Peas. (1843) I. 86. n.Cy. I am afraid
he'll not over it, Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; N.Cy.i Poor thing,
I'm sadly afraid she'll never ower it. n.Yks. If he owers this
illness. If he owers thirty, he'll be better (I.W.) ; n.Yks.' He
wur desper't bad, for seear. Ah thowght he cou'd nivver ha'
owered t'neeght ; n.Yks. ^ There'll be some trouble te ower.
I've ower'd lots ; n.Yks.* It'll tak him all his tahm to ower
t'neet. e.Yks. 1 He's owered a bad time lately. w.Yks.' I'se
flaid he'l nut ower it.
29. reflex. To do without help ; to manage for oneself.
Dmf. I wiss I may be able to owr mysell in the business (Jam.).
30. reflex. To control oneself.
Gall. He could not 'owre himsell,' Mactaggart Sngr/. (1824).
31. To say over ; to repeat again and again.
Wor. I overed the words several times (H.K.). s.Wor.'
OVER, see Hover, v.^
O'VERALL, sb. Lan. [ou'srql.] An additional pair
of white trousers worn to protect ordinary trousers from
grease, dirt, &c. Also used attrib.
White overall trousers, when newly washed, the mechanic's
pride, Brierley Out of Work, i.
OVERANCE, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Also in
forms owerance Sc. Cum.' n.Yks."^* ne.Yks.' m.Yks.' ;
owrance Sc. N.I.' Nhb.' [ouTans, ou'arans.] Control,
command, mastery ; superintendence, direction.
So. That butler body . . . hasna as muckle owrance o' himsel'as
win up on the feet o' him, St. Patrick (1819) II. 266 (Jam.).
Abd. Mirth got owerance o' ilk bird, Shelley Flowers (1868) 56.
Lth. (Jam.) Slk. Or it get the owrance o' auld Wat Laidlaw, od
it sal get strength o' arm for aince, Hogg Tales (1838) 7, ed.
1866. Kcb. Ye hae need o' some sensible body to keep an
owerance o' your duds, Armstrong Kirkiebrae (1896) 234. N.I.',
Nhb.', Com.' n.Yks.' She had t'owerance o' t'au'd man's money ;
n.Yks.2 His wife haes t'owerance ower him; n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.'
(s.v. Ower-hand). m.Yks.' He's no overance o' t'lad.
OVER-ATH'WART, see Overthwart.
OVERBALANCE, t;. Obs. Sc. To get the better of ;
to outnumber.
Abd. In the end he overbalanced the earl, do what he could,
and wan his point, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 335.
OVERBID,!). Obs. Sc. To outbid, make a higher offer.
Kcb. There is none that can overbid, or take my lodging over
my head, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 325.
OVERBLOW, V. and sb. Sc. Lakel. Yks. Chs. Also
in forms o'erblaw se.Sc. ; owerblaw Cum. Wm. ; ower-
blow Lakel.2 Cum.* Wm. [-bl?, -bla.] L v. Of a storm:
to blow over, pass away.
Lnk. Here they remain'd for nights two, Until the storm did over-
blow, Graham Writings (1883) I. 171.
2. To blow hard, to be very stormy. Chs.'^ 3. To
cover with drifted snow ; gen. in pp.
se.Sc. r winter when the snaw did fa' The wind wad ay the
sheep o'erblaw, Donaldson Poems (1809) 176. Lakel.^ Cum.*
The poor sheep . . . have been found in great numbers — over-
blown and dead, Powley Fells, 180. Cum., Wm. As often happens
to sheep on the fells (M.P.).
4. sb. A Storm of drifting snow.
w.Yks. He war out when it wer that overblow (A.C.).
OVERBODY, sb. and v. Yks. Lan. Der. [ou-abodi.]
1. sb. Obs. The bodice of a dress.
n.Yks. In stealing ... a woman's overbody, Quarter Sess. Rec,
(July II, 1615) in N. R. Rec. Soc. (1884) II. 98. nw.Der.'
2. V. Obs. To put a new bodice to an old skirt. Lan.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Hence Over-bodyt, sb. a. new
bodice or jacket put to an old skirt.
Lan. Boh whot thoose fawse Lunnoners sed'n abeawt te jump
3D
OVERBREAK
[386]
OVERDROW
ot's new overbodyt, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) To the
Reader y 10,
8. To warm up cold meat, to cookit over again. w.Yks.^
OVERBREAK, v. Not. To get over, recover from.
He got the rheumatiz that night, and he never over-broke it all
his life (L.C.M.).
OVERCAP, If. Obs. Sc. To overhang or project over.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Inv. The coping, whether sod or triangular stone,
ought to overcap two inches on each side of the wall, Agric.
Sum. 118 {ib.).
OVERCAST, V. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Lakel. Yks.
Lan. Not. Lin. Nrf. Also in forms o'ercast Sc. ; o'erkest
Lan. ; overkest s.Not. ; owercast Sc. Cum.*; owercest,
owerkes m.Yks.^; owerkests.Dur. Lakel.* Cum.''n.Yks.^''
e.Yks. m.Yks.^ Lan. s.Not. ; owr(e)cast Sc. [-kast, -kest.]
1. V. To overturn, overthrow.
Lnk. Theekit stacks the bangster blast Had shaken as 'twad
them owrecast, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 7. n.Lin.* Run an'
reightle yon yoh, she's gotten her sen oher-cast, an' '11 soon dee
this hot daay.
2. To cloud over ; to become dark and gloomy ; gen. mpp.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Edb. A' the lift does soon
o'er-cast, Har'st Rig (1794) 26, ed. 1801. n.Cy. (J.W.) s.Dur.
T'sky's terr'bly ower-kessen (J.E.D.). Lake!.* Cum.* It hed
gitten a bit owerkest an' t'wedder seem't like brekken, W.C.T.H.
(1894) 6, col. 3. n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.* It's owerkessen for wet.
e.Yks. It owerkests fo' rain, MS. add. (T.H.) m.Yks.i, w.Yks.
(J.W.) Lan. Th' sky wur o'erkest, "Waugh Heather (ed. Milner)
I. 34. n.Lan. T'sky was ower-kessen, R. Piketah Fomess Flk.
(1870) 37. s.Not. How it overkesses ivry now an' then I (J.P.K.)
Nrf. It's overcasting for rain (A. B.C.).
3. To overlay.
Sc. His stamach is like til bricht ivory owercassen wi' sapphires,
RoESON Sng. Sol. (i860) V. 14.
4. Obs. To recover from, get over.
Sc. Diccon Thorburn, who never overcast the wound that he
took from a buck's horn, Scott Monastery (1820) xiv.
5. sb. A term of reproach, a castaway, outcast.
Dmb. Gipsy ow'rcast . . . found stickin' in the fen, The pookit
waif o' some jook-halter crew, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 70.
6. An arrangement carried overhead for the purposes
of ventilation.
Nhb.i Specially applied to an air-crossing in a pit. Nhb., Dur.
Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
OVERCATCH, v. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Lei. War. Som.
Also in forms o'ercatch Lan. ; o'erketch s.Chs.^ ; ower-
catch n.Yks. [-katj, -ketj.] To overtake.
n.Yks. Ah can't owercatch him (I.W.). w.Yks.^ Lan. It ud
o tak'n a hunter to o'ercatch him, Lahee Owd Yem, 9. s.Chs."^
Iv yoa')n shaa'rpn liliingg-, yoa')n oa'Tkyech- im ufoa'r ee gy'ets
Rik'siim brij*. Not.i Lei.^ Ah couldn' o'erketch 'im. War.^,
Som. (W.F.R.)
OVERCOME, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Stf Also in forms
o'ercome Sc. ; outcome Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.^ ; owercome Sc.
Nhb.^ n.Yks. '^I owrecome Sc. [or-, ou'arkBm, -kum.]
1. sb. A passage, voyage ; a journey by land or sea.
Also called Ourcoman.
Bnff.i We hid a gey ourcome fin we cam haim fae America.
Cld. We had a wild ourcome fae America (Jam.).
2. Obs. Outcome, issue.
Ayr. Heaven only knows what'Il be the o'ercome o' this visita-
tion, Galt Sir a. Wylie (1822) 1.
3. A faint, swoon ; a sudden illness.
Ayr. Mrs. Balwhidder thought that I had met with an o'ercome,
and was very uneasy, Galt Ann. Parish (1821) xviii. Gall.
(A.W.)
4. Surplus, superabundance ; that which is left over,
remains. Also used attrib.
Per. Wi' twa' pund ten how could I sleep ? Sic owrecome
fashes folk to keep ! Spence Poems (1898) 166. Dmb. My braw
beil I selt, and paid whate'er was barrow'd, The o'ercome ye kept
it sicker, Taylor Poems (1827) 105. Fif. Prize ilk hour that
passes by,. . For owre-come then ne'er fash. Gray Poems (18 11) 37.
s.Sc. The owre-come bread o' the funeral 0' her faither may grace
a waddin bought wi the price o' his life, Wilson Tales (1836)
III. 239. Lnk. Grit o'ercome's unco ill to keep, Watt Poems
(1827) 72. Lth. I promised to marry a bloomin' young maid
To share o' the o'ercome when a' thing was paid, Strathesk
Blinkbonny (ed. 1891) 36. Nhb.i, n.Yks.2
5. A refrain, burden of a song; a hackneyed phrase or
byword. Also used7?g-.
Sc. ' We'll ding the Campbells yet ! ' that was still his overcome,
Stevenson Catriona (1893) xvii ; The grace o' a grey bunnock is
the baking o't. That was aye her o'ercome, Saxon and Gael (1814)
I. 108 (Jam.). e.Sc. That's a favourite owercome o' yours i' the
pulpit, Setoun R. Urquhart {i8g6) xxvi. Abd. The o'ercome o'
ilka sang's the same, Murray Hamewith (1900) 43. Fif. Aye the
owrecome o' his sang is, 'Bauldie will come back,' Robertson
Provost (1894) 167. Ayr. The burden and o'ercome of his weari-
some speeches, GALTPro»05^(i822) xxvi. Lnk. The ever-recurring
owrecome o' my thoughts was, how grateful I ought to be to God,
Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 47. Dmf. As the dear auld owercome
tirld atween Han' gruppit han' sae leal, Reid Poems (1894) 30.
6. V. To overpower, prove too much for ; to baffle.
ne.Sc. The vera smell o' the plants amaist gart me faunt, it wis
sae owercomin'. Green Gordonhaven (1887) 50. Kcd. His wife's
attempts to wauken him Owercam' her skill and mettle, Grant
Lays (1884) 19.
Hence Overcome, ///. adj. intoxicated. Stf. Monthly
Mag. (1816) L 494.
7. To revive, recover ; to recover from.
Sc. I fell into a sound ; and when overcame again, they were
standing about, looking on me, Thomson Cloud of Witnesses
(1714) 420, ed. 1871. Abd. Sick, sick, she grows, syn after that
a wee When she o'er-came, the tear fell in her e'e, Ross Helenore
(1768) 25, ed. 1812. Kcd. I do believe 'twis full a raith Ere we
owercam' the blow. Grant Lays (1884) 22.
OVERCOUP, V. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Also in forms
o'er-Sc; ower-Nhb.^n.Yks.°; owr(e-Sc. [oT-,ou"3rkoup.]
1. V. To upset, overturn.
Bch. Lasses over-coup Upo' their keels, Forbes Dominie (1785)
27. Per. Dribble-dribblin' aye in drams, Owre-coupin' sober
reason, Stewart Character (1857) 47. Lnk. The wee'st thochtie
tak's my held. An' feckly me owre-coups, Murdoch Doric Lyre
(1873) 53. Edb. Lurdane sloth O'ercoups them a' 'mang savage
swarms, Learmont Poems (1791) 32.
2. Obs. To retch, heave.
Edb. Wi' maw owrcoupin' like to spue, Maist ilka glisky, Lear-
mont Poems (1791) 172.
3. To transfer grain from one bag to another.
Nhb.i The act of inverting a bag so as to pour down its contents
is called ' owercoupin't.'
4. sb. An upset from a vehicle. n.Yks.'^
OVERCROW, V. Sc. 1. To overpower, overcome ;
to exult over.
Edb. A hard thing for a grown man to be thus o'er-crown by
a boy, Beatty Secretar (1897) 165. [Fairly overcrowed, as
Spenser would have termed it, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xvii.]
2. To overlook, command a view, building, &;c.
Sc. Your house is over-crowed, . . or commanded by yonder
round hillock, Scott Leg. Mont. (1818) x.
OVERDAY, sb. Wor. e.An. 1. The day before.
Won (W.C.B.) 2. In comp. Overday-goods, refuse stock.
e.An.i
OVERDO, V. Nhb. Yks. Stf Lin. Oxf Also in forms
oherdo n.Lin.' ; ovverdo w.Yks.; owerdeea n.Yks.°;
owerdo w. Yks.^ 1. To overcome with fatigue or trouble,
to exhaust ; to exert oneself too much.
Nhb. What wi' yen trouble, an' what wi' another, the poor
thing's most overdone wi' it, Jones Nhb. (1871) 140. n.Yks.'^ My
ailment 's boun te owerdeea me. Sairly owerdeean. w.Yks.
He's ovverdone hissen wi' workin' so hard, an' soa long, latly
(jE.B.) ; w.Yks.' n.Lin.' He oher-did hissen wi' warkin' e'
th' harvist field, an' was niver reight efter.
2. To have too much or too many of anything ; to injure
by taking too much.
w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.' I soon underfun"at I'd oher-dun mysen
wi' pills as druggister gev me agaain indisgest'on. Oxf.i 'They
be overdone wi' 'ens.
Hence Overdone, ppl. adj. intoxicated. Stf. Monthly
Mag. (1816) L 494.
3. To overlay.
w.Yks. As waam's joost as breet hivory owerdun wi' sapphires,
Littledale Crav. Sng. Sol. (1859) v. 14.
OVERDROW, V. Glo. Brks. Hmp. LW. Wil. Som.
Also in forms auverdraw Hmp. ; auverdro LW.' Wil.
Som. ; auverdrow Glo. Hmp.' LW.'^ Wil. ; awverdraw.
OVERENYIE
[387]
OVERGIVE
Brks.' [ovsdio.] Adial. form of 'overthrow '; to upset ;
also usedj^^.
Glo. Drenk would pruv my auverdrow, Gibes Cotswold Vill.
(1898) 88. Brks.i Hmp. (J.R.W.) ; Hnip.i I auverdrow'd my
load. I.W.^ He auverdrode a looad o wuts ; I.W.^ Wil. Brixton
Beauties (1825); Slow Gl. (1892). Som. Jennings Dial. w.Eng.
(1869). w.Som.i To defeat an adversary in a lawsuit. ' I s'pose
you'vea-yeardhowMr.Langdon'vea-overdrowed the Local Board.'
OVERENYIE, sb. Abd. (Jam.) The herb southern-
wood, Artemisia Abroianum.
OVERER, sb. I.W. A settler from Great Britain.
Life of Freeman (1895) II. 51. Cf. overun.
OVERFACE, V. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Also in forms
o'erfacee.Lan.'m.Lan.'Chs.^s.Chs.^nw.Der.'; ovverface,
owerface w.Yks. [oa-, ou'3-, o-vsfes, -fess.] 1. To put
out of countenance ; to put to shame ; to daunt.
w.Yks. The parson, poor young man I was overfaced with us,
and could not preach, Everett Blacksmith (1831) gg, ed. 1834 ;
Shoo's dumb, for shoo's quite owerfaced, Preston Poems (1866)
26. Lan. It's a bit o'er-facin', this is, Dottie Rambles (1898) 9.
eXan.', m.Lan.i, Der.", nw.Der.l
2. To be too much for ; to overwhelm ; to surfeit.
w.Yks. Ah'ra fair owerfaced wi wark (_S.K.C.) ; Ah felt fair
owerfaced wi' it, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 16, 1895). Chs.i If a
cow has more food given her than she can eat, she is o'erfaced.
A man who has harder work to do than he can accomplish is
' o'erfaced wi' work.' s.Chs.' If a person gets too large a plateful
of food, he will declare it ' o'erfaces ' him ; or a housewife will
say that ' her work o'erfaces her.'
OVERFALL, sb. Nhb. Lin. Also in form owerfaa
Nhb.^ 1. A dam or other obstruction in a stream.
Lin. Between these banks [surrounding the Wash] are narrow
overfalls and sled-ways. Miller & Skertchly Fenland (1878)
viii. n.Lin. A dam or other obstruction put in a stream to hold up
the water for cattle to drink or other such purposes. These over-
falls are sometimes made by inserting a plank fitting into grooved
posts on the banks of the stream. We often hear of the overfall
of a wash-dyke (E.P.).
2. Co>M/>.Owerfaa-wheel, an overshot water- wheel. Nhb.^
OVERFALLING, sb. Sc. (Jam.) In phr. at the ourfa'in,
near the time of childbirth, about to be delivered.
OVERFANGED, ppl. adj. Cor.' Far-fetched, strained.
What overfanged notions you have.
OVERFLUSH, sb. and adj. Yks. Lin. Nhp. Oxf. e.An.
Also in form ower-flush n.Yks." 1. sb. A surplus,
superfluity. n.Yks.*, e.An.^ 2. adj. Superfluous ; super-
abounding in, having too much of.
Lin.i The fact is he was overflush of doits. Nhp.^ He's over-flush
of cash , how he wastes his money. Oxf.' MS. add.
OVERGAN, V. Yks. In form owergan n.Yks." e.Yks.
1. To outrun. e.Yks.^ MS. add. (T.H.) 2. To surpass,
excel, ib. 3. To overdose with medicine.
n.Yks." You munnot owergan me.
4. To defeat, subdue, conquer ; to override. n.Yks.'^
e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.)
OVERGANG, v. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Also in forms
o'er-gang Sc. ; our- Sc. (Jam.) ; ower-gang n.Cy. n.Yks."
w.Yks.^; ower-geng S. & Ork.^; owre-gang Sc. [5t-,
ou'3(r)gar).] 1. v. ? Obs. To overrun, overspread ; to
outstrip, outrun. Also usedy?^.
Sc. That place is all overgrown with briers and thorns, and
they'll soon o'ergang Scotland too, Pitcairn Assembly (1766) 13.
Rnf. Wha e'er wad thought our dairy wenches Wad gar their
heads o'ergang their hainches, Picken Poems (1813) I. 123. Edb.
Ne'er lat your hope o'ergang your days, For eild and thraldom
never stays, Fergusson Poems (1773) 235, ed. 1785. n.Cy. Hol-
loway. w.Yks.i
2. Of time : to pass, elapse. Sc. (Jam.) 3. To exceed ;
to surpass, excel.
Sc. The pains o'ergangs the profit, Ramsay Prov. (ed. 1776) 68
(Jam.). SI1.I. Da cost wid owergeng da honour, Sh. News (May
7, 1898) ; S. & Ork.i Ayr. The outlay I thought as likely to o'er-
gang the profit, Gk\.i Provost (1822) xxxv. Ltli. The cost's o'er-
gangin' the profit; we'll stop it, %TRKi¥L-E.SK.MoreBits{e.A. 1885) 100.
4. To overdose with medicine. n.Yks.^ 5. To get the
better of; to master, overpower; to oppress; to treat
with indignity.
Sc. Let na your bairns ourgang ye (Jam.). w.Sc. {ib. Suppl.)
Per. What ither haunt or howfif hae we When Warlds cartrs owre-
gang us ? Haliedrton Ochil Idylls (i8gi) 148. Ayr. If ye gie a
woman a' her will, Gude faith, she'll soon o'er-gang ye, Burns O
ay my wife she dang me. Edb. For fear that Truth should clean
o'ergang them, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 3gi, ed. 1815. Dmf. Gag
thae wad speak tae wrang us, And trip thae wad o'ergang us,
QuiNN Heather (1863) 202. n.Yks."
Hence Ower-gengin, ppl. adj. unmanageable, domineer-
ing. S. & Ork.'
6. To oversee, superintend. w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
Hence O'erganger, sb. an overseer, superintendent,
director of a band of workmen, ib.
1. sb. Obs. A right of way.
Or. I. All and haill his udall lands, quoylands, . . and overgangs
holden thereupon, Peterkin Notes (1822) 127.
8. Oppression. w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) 9. Superinten-
dence, ib. 10. An overseer, superintendent, the director
ofa band of workmen, ib. 11. A coat of paint or plaster ;
a washing, scouring, or whitewashing. Bnff.^ 12. A
harrowing, raking, or scraping, ib.
OVERGET, V. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng. Also
in forms auvergit Som. ; o'erget Chs.^ s.Chs.' s.Stf. Shr.' ;
ouerget Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) ; ouergit ne.Lan.' ; ourgit Cum. ;
overgit Rut.'^ Dev. ; owerget Lakel." n.Yks." ; owergit
Cum.'* w.Yks.' [-get, -git.] 1. To overtake, come up
with ; to overreach.
w. & s.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) n.Cy. He is but a little before ; you
will soon overget him, Grose (1790). Lakel." They owergat huz
afooar we gat hiam. Cum. I perswadedet t'man ... to ourgit it if he
brast his nag, Lonsdale Mag. (Feb. 1867) 310 ; Cum.*, n.Yks."*
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). w.Yks.' They macks up
tumme in a crack, an owergat me, ii. 296. ne.Lan.', Chs.'"^,
s.Chs.i, War. (J.R.W.), Sus.', Wil.' Som. Jennings Obs. Dial.
w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' I urn vor
my life, but I could'n overgit [oa-vurgif] her gin her come to the
turnpike-gate. Dev. I chell overgitee avore yii raytch Dallish
Walter, Hewett Peas. Sp. (i8g2) ; Dev.', nw.Dev.'
2. To surpass, excel.
s.Chs.' Ah)m naa su gild tit tel-in mi let'urz, bur ah kun oa'-rgy'et-
yii tit sum-in. Som. Jennings 04s. Dial. w.Eng. (1825) 184.
3. Of illness, drunkenness, &c. : to overcome, overpower.
Chs.3 'How came you to be so drunk last night, John?' 'Oi
wur overgot sumhow, measter, — oi conna tell how, oim sure.'
Wor. (W.C.B.)
4. To escape, get away from.
Chs. The pig o'er-got him, SAra/ (1878) I. 322; Chs.' s.Clis.'
Uwdimfaas't, lirSe")! oa"rgy'et' dhi [Howd him fast, ur he'll o'erget
thee]. Stf.' Sbr.' They wun jaggin 'im off to jail, but 'e managed
to o'er-get 'em.
5. To get over, recover from.
Stf. It was a blow to his parents which they didn't overget,
JllvRRAV Joseph' s Coat (1882) 122. s.Stf. I sha' o'erget the fright
for a good while, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Not. Well, he
must over-get it as well as he can (L.C.M.); Not.' Rut.' She
won't over git it, not loightly. Lei.' A's alius thinkin' o' his
woife's death. A cain't ovver-get it. Nhp.' He is so ill, he is not
expected to over-get it ; Nhp.^ He must over-get his disappoint-
ment. War. 'I haven't overgot it,' you will hear, White Wrekin
(i860) XX ; War.234j s.War,' Wor. It put me about dreadful, a'
an't niver overgot it, Outis Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 9,
1895) 4, col. 3. w.Wor.', s.Wor.', se.Wor.' Shr.' That child's
never farly o'er-got the maisles ; Shr." He unnud overget this
bout I reckon. Glo. (A.B.), Glo.'
6. To overdry hay before carrying it. Chs.' 7. To
overcast, cloud over. Cum.'
OVERGIVE, V. Or.I. e.An. 1. Obs. To surrender,
give up.
Or.I. His simplicitie in randering and overgeving of His Majes-
teis castell of Kirkwall to James Bischope of Orknay, Peterkin
Notes (1822) Append. 48 ; The disponing, renouncing, and over-
giving again to the gentlemen udallers and inhabitants of the
country of Orknay, all such udall lands, ib. 126.
2. To thaw.
e.An.' 2 Suf. That now begin to overgive a leetle, where the
sun ketch it (M.E.R.) ; Suf.'
3. To exude or ferment ; to become moist.
Suf.' Said of gingerbread losing its crispness, &c.
[1. Constrain'd that trade to overgive, Spenser Mother
Hubbard (1591) 249.]
3D 2
OVERGO
[388]
OVERLAP
OVERGO, V. Sc. Chs. Lei. Nhp. Som. Dev. Cor.
Also in forms oergae Sc. ; o'ergo Sc. s.Chs.' ; ouregae,
ourprae, owergae, owregae Sc. [o'va-, 5'3go, Sc. ou'srge.]
1. To go over ; to pass through or over.
Cai. They overwent the graveyard wall in silence, Horne
Countryside (1896) 72. Abd. Ere I bridle drew O'eryeed a' bounds
afore I ever knew, Ross Helenore (1768) 32, ed. 1812. Nhp.' It is
often said, when a person wishes to inspect a house or church, ' I
should like to over-go it ' ; Nhp.2 To over-go a village.
2. Of time : to pass, elapse ; to become overdue.
Sc. There's nae time ourgane (Jam.). Elg. My pipe will lighten
ilka heart, The hour o' wae's ouregane, Couper Poetry (1804) 1.
220. Abd. The time's lang owregane, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) xliii. Lnk. There's nae time owregane yet for schulin',
Nicholson Idylls (1870) 79.
Hence Overgone, ppl. adj. past and gone.
Sc. The ourgane year (Jam.). Hdg. Lumsden Poews (1896) 13.
3. To remove, run away from, desert ; to escape.
s.Chs.i Lei.i A's ovver-gon his children an' woife. Nhp.^
4. To overrun, overspread.
Sc. He's ourgane with the scrubbie [scurvy] (Jam.).
5. To overtake. s.Chs.* 6. To surpass, exceed.
Sc. The shots o'ergae the auld swine, Ferguson Prov. (1641)
32. Dmf. By ither foulk we're sair o'ergane, Shennan Tales
(.1831) 55. s.Chs.i
7. To overpower, overburden, exhaust ; gen. in pp.
Sc. She's quite ourgane wi' wark (Jam.). Kcd. We thocht the
warl, owergaen wi' age, Grant Lays (1884) 2. Dmf. I'se noo
desist, an' write nae mair. At least till less ouregane wi' care,
QuiNN Heather (1863) 132. Gall. A simple lad. If no o'ergane
wi' information, At least quite free frae affectation, Nicholson
Poet. Wis. (1814) 95, ed. 1897. Dev. It isn't as if he was over-
gone and got hysterical. Reports Provinc. (1891). Cor.'"
8. To domineer over ; to oppress, insult.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Abd. I'm na to be o'ergone wi' you, Ellis
Pronnnc. (i88g) V. 773.
9. To oversee, superintend. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) 10. To
forgo, dispense with.
w.Sora.i I thort I should be able to make up a quarter in a
week or two, and then p'raps you'd be so kind's t'overgo some
o' the rest o' it.
OVERGOING, sb. and ppl. adj. Sc. Also in forms
ourgaanSc.(jAM.) Bnff.'; owergaan Sc. (Jam.) ; owergain
S. & Ork.i ; owrgaun Gall. 1. sb. A passage, crossing.
Cld. He gaed by the ferry, an' lost his bonnet in the our-
gaan (Jam.).
2. The act of going or falling over; falling asleep. Sc.
(Jam.) 3. A coat of paint or plaster ; a washing, scour-
ing, whitewashing, &c. Bnff.^ 4. A harrowing, raking,
or scraping.
ib. The here got bit ae ourgaan fin' the rain stoppit 's.
5. ppl. adj. A term applied to ropes used in thatching;
see below.
Gall. ' Owrgaun-rapes,' ropes put over stacks to hold down the
thatch ; the vertical ropes into which the bridlers, or horizontals
are woven, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) ; Bridling ropes . . . are
woven into the owrgaun anes, or those which are vertical over
the concern, ib. 92.
6. Unmanageable, domineering. S. & Ork.'
OVERHAND, sb., v. and adv. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lei. War.
Also in forms ourhand Sc. (Jam.) ; ower- Nhb. n.Yks.*
ne.Yks.' ; uvver- w.Yks.^ [ou'arand.] 1. sb. The upper
hand, mastery, superiority.
Sc. I'll hae the ourhan' o' ye yet (Jam. Suppl.). ne.Yks.i
w.Yks.' ; w.Yks.2 He's got t'uvver hand of him. Lei.l, War.3
2. V. To get the upper hand of, to get advantage over.
n.Yks." Ah owerhanded him that tahm.
3. adv. In phr. to work overhand, to do anything on the
side which is not convenient to the hands, as in fiOing a
cart. Nhb. (R.O.H.)
OVERHEAD, adv. Sc. Also in forms ourhead, our-
hefd, owreheid. On an average, without distinction,
taken in the gross.
Sc. One is said to buy a parcel of cattle ourhead, when he
gives the same price for every one of them, without selection
(Jam.) ; Their bind was just a Scots' pint over-head, Scott St.
Ronan (1824) i. Abd. He had offered less for what formed really
the ' pick' of the lot than the average ' owreheid ' price to himself,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 105.
OVERHEADED, ppl. adj. n.Yks.^ Written ower-
heeaded. [ou'arisdsd.] Superseded, overruled.
OVERHEW, V. e.An.^ To overgrow and overpower.
Strong and luxuriant plants overhew those of humbler growths.
OVERHOUSE-MEN, sb. pi. Obs. Mon. Small-wire
drawers.
Ray (i6gi) ; The wire-workers at Tintern who draw out the
small rods through two or three holes into wire, are called
' liippers,' who make the two-bond wire as big as a great pack
thread, which is delivered to the small wire-drawers, who are
called Over-house-men (K., s.v. Rippers).
OVERHYE, V. Obs. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Also written
overhey Ayr. ; over hie w.Yks.^ ; overhigh Sc. (Jam.) ;
and in form o'erhie Sc. Nhb.^ To overtake.
Sc. At last one of the best mounted overhighed the postilion,
Crookshank Hist. (1751) I. 395 (Jam.). Fif. If I were once
betwixt the shoulders of my horse, . . I sail defy all the kirkmen in
Edinburgh to overhye me till I be in Fyfe, Row Ch. Hist. (1650)
453, ed. 1842. Ayr. If they be overheyed, they are turned hame
at once, Dickson Writings (1660) I. 73, ed. 1845. Edb. Dreary
was the scene That o'erhied Helen on the height, Learmont
Poems (1791) 36. Nhb.i There I o'erhied the Scottish lassie,
Armstrong Sc. Lassie (1879). w.Yks.^
OVERINE, V. Won Of the crust of a loaf of bread :
to rise so as to be parted from the crumb. Cf. over -rind.
s.Wor. Thot loaf overines, 't yenn't fit fur toust (H.K.).
OVERINED, see Over-rind.
OVERIN(G, sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Wm. Yks. Also in
forms ivverin n.Yks. ; ouerin Dur. ; ovverin Wm. ;
uvverin n.Yks. [S'vsrin, o'varin.] 1. pi. The top frame-
work of a wagon.
Nhb.^ Wm. The beading that is put around a cart's body to
strengthen it, and to enable ' shelvings ' to be put on, or ' side-
boards ' (B.K.). n.Yks. (I.W.)
2. pi. Superiority ; control. Lth. (Jam.) 3. pi. Writings
conferring legal possession. Dur. Gibson up-Weardale
Gl. {i8']o). 4:. pi. Odds and ends, remnants. Lnk. (Jam.)
5. An odd job. ib.
OVERISH, adj. Sc. Wm. Cor. In phr. all overish,
qualmish ; weak, alarmed, nervous.
Gall. (A.W.), Wm. (B.K.) Cor. There's a kind o' what-I-can't-
tell-ee about dead men that's very enticin', tho' it do make you
feel all-overish, 'Q.' Three Ships (ed. 1892) 63.
OVERITIOUS, adj Sc. (Jam.) 1. Excessive, in-
tolerable. Rxb. 2. Boisterous, violent, impetuous,
headstrong. Abd.
OVERLADE, ppl. adj. w.Yks.^ [o'valed.] Sick,
troubled, overburdened.
OVERLAND, sb. Som. Dev. [o-valsBn(d.] 1. A
particular kind of tenement ; see below. Also used fl//n'6.
Som. By Overlands or Overland Tenements are to be under-
stood all lands whether open or inclosed, which do not, nor at
any time heretofore did belong to auster, or ancient tenements,
and for which no right of common in the moors or on the hill
have been allowed. Enclosure Commissioners of Cheddar Moor
(1801) ; That Overland included such villein holdings as fell into
the hands of the Lord by way of escheat from time to time, and
after a time were regranted to the villeiny. Holmes Hist. Wookey,
53 ; ' Overland ' refers to those portions of land on the edge of
a common field, or on the boundary of a river or a manor. Hence
the term was in time given to those strips in the common fields
that fell in by death from the copyhold tenants and have to be
regarded for the half-year or year as demesne land to be culti-
vated for the lord by the customary tenants (W.F.R.).
2. Land having no farm-house upon it ; freq. used attrib.
w.Som.i Any piece of land let without farm buildings is called
' a overland' [oa'vurlan-]. Dev. (Hall.) w.Dev. Marshall i?«?-.
Econ. (1796).
3. A roofless tenement. Dev. (Hall.)
OVERLAP, V. and sb. .Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Nhp. Also
in forms o'erlap Nhp.^ ; owerlap Cum.'* w.Yks.' ; owre-
lap Nhb.^ 1. V. In slating, building, &c. : to lay one
stone, slate, &c., over another so as to partially cover it.
Sc. (Jam.) Feb. The roof is first covered with divots, laid on
overlapping like slate, Agric. Surv. 46 (Jam.). Gall. It is essential
. . . that the stones frequently overlap one another, Agric. Surv.
OVERLARDED
[389]
OVERLOOKER
88 (Jam.). w.Yks.^ When one row of slates folds considerably
over the lower tier. Nhp.i A hillyer's term.
2. To be folded over. Sc. (Jam.) 3. sb. The place
where one thin object lies over part of another.
Gall. In the manner of slates on a roof. The dykes should be
proportionately narrowed, to make the two sides connect more
firmly, and afford more overlaps, Agric. Surv. 85 (Jam.).
4. In mining : a fault where one portion of a seam of
coal has been pushed on the top of the other. Also in comp.
Overlap-fault. Nhb.^ 5. An encroachment, esp. an
encroachment by the sheep of a flock or parish on the
common of another. Cum.'* 6. A surplus.
Ayr. The overlap from my stipend alone formerly amounted to
a good wheen pounds of sterling money in the year, Johnston
Glenbuckie (1889) 179.
7. Obs. The hatches of a ship.
Sc. Fori, the overlap or hatches, Wedderburn Voc. (1673) 22
(Jam.) ; Duncan Append. Etym. (1595).
8. A relapse. Nhb.'
OVERLARDED, ppl. adj. Sc. Wor. Covered with fat.
Fif. His belly, too, o' richt guid case, His sonsy over-lardit thies,
Tennant Papistry (1827) 155. Wor. Show animals 'being over-
larded with fat,' Evesham Jrn. (Dec. 12, 1896).
OVERLASH, f. Dev. Of a horse : to strike the heel
of his fore foot with the toe of his hind foot.
' Is that horse's shoe loose ? ' ' No, ma'am ; he only seems to
overlash a bit.' The well-known technical use means ' to heap
up,' or overdo, the step of the horse's hind leg, by which he
strikes the fore foot in the way commonly known as overlashing,
Reports Provinc. (1893).
OVERLAY, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
e.An. Also in forms o'erlay Sc. w.Yks.^ Lan. ; oorlay
Sc. Cum. Wm.; ourlay_ Sc. ; owerlay Sc. n.Yks.^ ;
owrelay Sc. [oT-, ou'3(r)le.] 1. sb. A cravat, neckcloth.
Sc. It formerly signified a neck cloth worn by men, which hung
down before and was tied behind (Jam.) ; A three-nookit hanker-
cher is the maist fashionable overlay, Scott Antiquary (1816)
xxxvi. Frf. Tied round his neck an ourlay spruce, Sands Poems
(1833) 71. Per. Wi' bonnet sae vaunty, an' owerlay sae clean.
Ford Harp (1893) 164. Fif. Wi's ourlay 'bout his craigie,
Douglas Poems (1806) 94. Dmb. Taylor Poems (1827) 47.
Rnf. Meg tied on his owrelay, he luikit fu' big, Picken Poems
(1813) II. 134. Ayr. I will dress his o'erlay. Burns Ploughman,
St. 3. Lth. A three yaird owrelay is no to be had sae cannily,
Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 208. Feb. His o'erlay, pure frae
speck, Lintoun Green (1685) 157, ed. 1817. Wgt. Wi oorlay ticht,
an' warm grey plaid, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 210.
2. A coverlet or cloak. n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.' 3. A
girth ; a surcingle.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.^ It'l nut hod together bout wanteaus
an o'erlays, ii. 286. Lan. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.)
4. Surface ornamentation.
ii.Yks.2 ' Owermickle owerlay,' too much superficial decoration.
5. A particular kind of hem in which one part of a cloth
is folded or laid over another. Sc. (Jam.), Cai.' 6. v.
To hem so that one part of the material is folded or laid
over another.
Sc. (Jam.) Cum., n.Wm. In common use, Lonsdale Mag.
(1820) I. 147.
7. To belabour, beat soundly, drub. Abd. (Jam.)
8. To overreach. e.An.'
OVERLAYER, sb. Der. Wil. 1. An addition to a
wagon to increase its carrying capacity, an ' outrigger.'
Wil.i The waggons . . . seldom have any overlayers or out-
riggers, either at the ends or sides, Davis Agric. (181 1) xxxviii.
2. In mining: a piece of wood used to place the sieve
on after washing the ore in a vat. Der. (Hall.)
OVERLIE, V. w.Som.' [5-valai.] To smother by
lying upon, to overlay.
Th' old zow 've a-bin and overlied one 0' the little pigs. ' Well,
Thomas, so you have another olive branch.' 'Ees, and gone
agean. Missus overlied'n last night — he was dead s'mornin', once ! '
OVERLIGHT, sb. Hrf ^ The night before, between
the close of the afternoon and twilight.
OVERLIGHT, v. Wor. Hrf. w.Cy. [5-v3lait.] To
alight, dismount.
Wor. Will you please to overlight? (H.K.) Hrf. Duncumb
Hist. Hrf. (1804-J2) ; Hrf.12, w.Cy. (Hall.)
OVERLING, ai/?'. Sc. Also in form owerling. Covering
over.
Dmf. Wi' his surtout and velvet vest, An' owerling cloak,
Hawkins Poems (1841) V. 25.
OVERLINGS, at/ii. m.Yks.' In form owerlings. Over.
(s.v. Nearlings.)
OVERLIVE, V. ne.Lan.' nw.Der.' Rut.' Lei.' Nhp.'
Also in forms o'erlive nw.Der.' ; ooerleeve, ooerlive
ne.Lan.' To outlive, survive.
OVERLOADED, ppl. adj. Obs. Stf. Intoxicated.
Monthly Mag. (1816) I. 494.
OVERLOOK, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Yks. Lin. War. Shr.
Hrf Glo. e.An. Sus. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in
forms auverlook Som. ; awverluke Dev. Cor. ; o'erlook
Shr.'; oherlook n.Lin.'; overluke Lin.; owerlook Sc.
[6t-, ou'3(r)-, 5"V3(r)luk, -liik, -liuk, w.Cy. -lolk.] 1. v.
To bewitch ; to look on with the ' evil eye.'
Sc. Wha kens what ill it may bring to the bairn, if ye owerlook
it in that gate ? Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) xii. Edb. He's be-
witched, possessed of a deevil. . . Sure, my lord has been over-
looked, Beatty Secretar (1897) 137. Ir. If his child became con-
sumptive, it had been overlooked, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed.
1843) 1. 383. N.I.' s.Ir. The cows were elf-stoned, or overlooked,
Croker Leg. (1862) 299. Yks. The wise woman, when consulted
by her father in extremis, declared that she was ' overlooked,' Yks.
Character, 41. Lin. Oi du naterally b'lieve she hev been overluked,
an Oi thought mebbe as thou ud saa a few wuds over her, or lend
us a bit o' yon wicken as graws in thy garding, Lin. N. fj* Q. 56.
n.Lin.' Th' doctors maay saay what thaay like aboot that bairn, I
tell the its oher-look'd an' noht else. sw.Lin.' If they were badly
or owt, they reckoned folks had overlooked them. When you
thought you were overlooked, you got a piece of wicken-tree.
War. Haywood maintaining that Tennant had * overlooked ' or
bewitched him, as she had also bewitched other people, Lee Glimpses
in Twilight, 257. Shr.' I should think we wun o'er-looked to lave the
Green an' come 'ere — we'n 'ad nuthin' but ill-luck ever sence.
Hrf. Duncumb Hist. Hrf. (1804-12) ; Hrf.'^, GI0.2, e.An.' Nrf.
The firm belief in being ' overlooked ' is very much more common,
and very much more deep-seated than is generally supposed, Jes-
sopp Arcady (1887) ii. Sus. I have never actually known more
than one person who complained of being overlooked, Egerton
Flk. and Ways (1884) iii. Wil. I have no great quarrel with the
milkmaid who throws a piece of silver into the churn to make the
butter come, but why in the name of sense should a stray gipsy be
able to interfere with it by overlooking, Swinstead Parish on
Wheels (1897) 32 ; Wil.' Rare. Dor. (C.W.) ; Barnes Gl. (1863).
Som. 'Most everybody was a-feared o' 'er, 'cause they knowed 'ow
'er could overlook 'em, Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 152 ; (W.F.R.) ;
Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). ra.Som. The woman, it is
said, made him believe that he was * overlooked,' Flk-Lore fm.
(1883) 1.228. w.Som.' They knows her wad'n a-starved ; her's
overlooked, and they knows, and zo do I too, who 'tis. Dev.
Folks do say she can overlook a body and tain't safe to anger she,
O'Neill Idyls (1892) 24; Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892); Dev.i,
nw.Dev.' Cor. I'll tell'y what tez, Richard, Primrose has been
overlooked by old Betty Spry, Baring-Gould Vicar (1876) vi ;
Cor.' 2 w.Cor. Witch powders to be cast over such children or
cattle as may be ill-wished, begrudged, or over-looked, Bottrell
Trad. 3rd S. 191.
Hence (1) Overlooked, ppl. adj. bewitched ; fig. de-
ceived, deluded, mistaken ; (2) Overlooker, sb. one who
has bewitched another.
(i) Hrf.2 (s.v. Overseen). Cor. A ill-wished, awver-luked body
for wife, Phillpotts Lying Prophets (1897) 139. (2) Cor. The
girl could never recover unless three burning sticks were taken
from the hearth of the 'overlooker,' and the child was made to
walk three times over them when they were laid across on the
ground, and then quench the fire with water. Hunt Pop. Rom.
w.Eng. (1865) 211, ed. 1896.
2. sb. An omission, oversight.
Lnk. This yarn she had, by some overlook, left in the cats' w 13',
Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 34.
[1. Vile worm, thou wast o'erlook'd even in thy birth,
Shaks. Merry W. v. v. 87.]
OVERLOOKER, sb. Yks. Also in form owerlooker.
[o'va-, ou'aliuk3(r).] A man employed to superintend
the working of a certain quantity of machinery and work-
people in a spinning or weaving factory.
w.Yks. (F.R.) ; His duties gen. include the apportionment of
OVERLOUP
[390
OVERPLUSH
the work, and keeping the machines in order, so far as this does
not require a skilled mechanic (F.J.N.) ; Such a person is known
as a weaving overlooker or spinning overlooker, as the case may
be (J.T.).
OVERLOUP, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Also in forms
ourlop, ourloup Sc. (Jam.) ; owerloup Sc. Nhb.' n.Yks.^
[oT-, ou'srloup.] 1. sb. A trespass, a slight encroach-
ment upon a neighbour's property.
Sc. How could she hinder twa daft herapie callants from taking
a start and an owerloup ? Scott St. Ronan (1824) iii. Nhb.i Ap-
plied to the intrusion and trespass of cattle.
2. Excess, occasional self-indulgftice, a sudden lapse in
conduct.
Fif. Though I'm a man o' little drink, I wadna been sae doons
perjink; But taen an over-loup for sport, T^^^iAiiT Papistry {i^z-])
100. Nhb."^
3. An exaggerated statement. n.Yks.'' 4. The stream-
tide at the change of the moon.
Fif. At the stream, which is at the change of the moon, which is
call'd here the overloup, Siebald Hist. Fif. (1803) 88 (Jam.).
5. V. To over-estimate, exaggerate. n.Yks.^
OVERLY, adj. and adv. Sc. Irel. e.An. Sus. Amer.
[5'V3(r)U, ou'srli.] 1. adj. Excessive, too great, too
much.
Sh.I. I don't approve of overly drinkin' miself. Burgess Lowra
Biglan (i8g6) 54. s.Sc. Overly world's care, Wilson Tales (1836)
n. 305-
2. Overbearing, masterful.
e.An.i Nrf. Yow ginerally find that little men are werry overly
(W.R.E.).
3. Obs. Superficial ; careless, remiss in the performance
of any action.
Sc. Scoiidsms (1787) 63 ; We may find in a very slight and
overly search and enquiry, many procuring causes, Shield's Notes
(1709) 4 (Jam.). Sh.I. Applied to work done {Coll. L.L.B.). Lnk.
Sir John Cochrane did make a very overly motion to me, for fifty
pounds sterling by way of charity to the earl of Argyle, Wodrow
Ch. Hist. (1721) IV. 139, ed. 1828.
4. Incidental, chance. Cai.' 5. adv. Excessively, very ;
too, too much.
Sc. No to be overly hard on that poor donsie thing, Meg Miliken,
Blackw. Mag. (June 1830) 26 (Jam.) ; Meddle na overly wi' them,
Roy Horseman's Wd. (1895) x. Or.I. Miss EfBe is neither braw
nor bonnie, an' no overlie weel-natured, Vedder Sketches (1832)
17. Per. Though overly proud, she was bonnie an' young, Nicoll
Poems (ed. 1843) 128. Ayr. Although ... my first attempts at
antiquarian research had been anything but fortunate, I was not
overly discouraged thereby. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 58.
Lth. Their cooks were very frank — rather overly, Strathesk More
Bits (ed. 1885) 277. Edb. I never was overly ambitious, Moir
Mansie Wauch (1828) xxiv. Gall. Have we overly many of them
in this accursed land? Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) vii. N.I.i That
meat's overly much done. Uls. You're not overly fond of setting
at home when there's sport going, Hamilton Uls. Bog (1896) 4.
[Amer. Ahab Meldrum was one of these superfine overly good
men, Sam Slick Clockrnaker (1836) 3rd S. iv; In speaking of
health, &c. Not overly good, gen. in neg. use. Dial. Notes (1896) I.
332 ; He is awful conceited, and not overly polite, Farmer.]
6. Obs. Superficially, hastily.
Rnf. I reasoned with them only very overly and for my own in-
formation, WoDRow Corres. (1709-31) I. 15, ed. 1843.
7. By chance, incidentally.
Sc. (Jam.), Cai.' BnfF.i A had it overly.
8. Opposite. Sus. (J.W.B.)
[3. A hawk . . . after many careless and overly fetches,
to toure up unto the prey intended, Hall Quo Vadis
(c. 1600) § 15 (CD.).]
OVERLYING, vbl. sb. Sc. Also in forms ourliean
Bnff.'; ourlyin Sc. (Jam.) In phv. at the ourfym, ready to
lie down or fall from fatigue.
Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.i A wiz jist at the ourliean or we wan haim.
OVERMAN, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Also in
forms oversman Sc. ; owerman N.Cy.' n.Yks.'^ [ou'ar-
man.] 1. A foreman, overseer, esp. the overseer of a pit.
w.Sc. (Jam.) Lnk. He had no desire to see the oversman until
after he had interviewed Batchy, Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 86.
N.Cy.i Nhb. In a few years' time he becomes a depity, a back
overman, an' finally fore overman, Pease Tales (1899) 131 ; Nhb.i
A coUiery ofiiciai, under the direction of the manager or under-
manager of a pit, having the daily supervision and responsible
charge underground of the mine or portion of the mine. He is
sometimes appointed to act as under-manager. In his absence the
responsible charge falls upon the back-overman, whose duties are
similar to those above specified, and who in addition ascertains
either that all the men and boys under his charge are safely out of
the mine, or in case any of them must remain that they are left in
charge of a responsible official. Nhb., Dur. Compleat Collier {jioii)
3; Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). n.Yks.^
2. Phr. overman of the tree, obs., a colliery official.
Nhb. I have heard the ' Overman of the Tree,' named fifty years
ago (G.C.G.) ; Nhb.' One of these two men that guides the sledges,
on the banck or surface of the earth is called the ' Overman of
the tree,' or chief banck's man, Compleat Collier {i-joS) 37.
3. An arbiter or umpire.
Sc. He who in consequence of the disagreement of two arbiters
formerly chosen to settle any point in dispute is nominated to give
a decisive voice (Jam.). Cai.' A third arbiter appointed when the
first two do not agree. Fif. They shall out of that Presbyterie
choose each of them so many brethren with an oversman. Row Ch.
Hist. (1650) 153, ed. 1842.
OVERMOST, adj and sb. Sc. Yks. Nhp. Wor. Shr.
Hrf. Also in forms ourmast Sc. (Jam.) ; ourmist Sc.
(Jam.) Bnfif.' ; owermeeast, owermost n.Yks.^ ; uvver-
most w.Wor.' Shr.' Hrf "= ; uvvermust se.Wor.' 1. adj.
Uppermost.
Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks.2 w.Yks.T'ou-amaston gm (J.W.). Nhp.',
Wor. (H.K.), w.Wor.i, se.Wor.i Shr.i Mind 'ow yo' put'n them
things i' the drawer, an' keep the Maister's collars uvvermost. Hrf.^
2. Farthest off. Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.' 3. sb. In phr. for
the overmost, for the most part.
n.Yks.2 It's rainy for t'owermeeast.
OVER-NIGHT, sb., adv. and v. Sc. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Not. Hrf Brks. Ess. Also written awver- Brks.' ; and
in forms o'er neat Lan. ; ower-neeght e.Yks. ; ower-neet
Wm. e.Yks. 1. sb. The previous night, the night before.
Wm. Oor Betty sed it was t'weshin day but she'd wesh ower-
neet seeaner ner she'd miss it, Clarke Spec. Dial. (1865) 4 ; (B.K.)
e.Yks.i If tha wants ti catch fost thrain frev Hull, thoo'll hS ti
gan ower neet, MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. Al put t'tluaz inta stip
ou-anit (J.W.). Lan. Startin' at th' o'er neet an' doancin' till welly
that time i' to' mornin', Dottie Rambles (1898) 185 ; Waugh Life
and Localities (1855) 17. s.Not. You'd best come over-night and
sleep with us (J.P.K.). Hrf.2 The night before, between the even-
ings, i.e. at the close of afternoon yet before twilight has fairly
commenced. Brks.' Mind as 'e comes to us awver-night, zo as we
can maayke a stert early in the marnin'. Ess.'
2. adv. During the night.
Slk. He would not even suffer me to remain overnight, Hogg
Tales (1838) 67, ed. 1866.
3. v. To continue or survive till morning.
e.Yks. Bob was so bad we thowt he wad'nt ower-neeght, Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 16, 1895) ; e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.)
OVEROVE, ppl. adj. Shr.' Of bread: having fer-
mented too much when in the condition of dough.
Ovu'r'oav, said of bread which has fermented too much when in
the dough, and, as a consequence, runs flat in the oven instead of
rising.
OVERPAST, ;>//. a(^'. Wor. Of time : lost, elapsed.
No time overpast (H.K.).
OVER-PEER, V. Suf.' To project, as the eaves of a
house or a coping brick.
OVERPLUSH, sb. and adv. Sc. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Som.
Cor. Also in forms o'erploish e.Lan.'; oerplush Slk.;
overplish w.Som.' ; ower-plush Lakel.^ [ou-3(r)pluJ.]
1. sb. Surplus, overplus ; that which is left over.
Slk. It isna the want o' wisdom, . . it's the o'erplush o't
Hogg Tales (1838) 353, ed. 1866. Lakel.2 Ther'll nin be seea
mich owerplush o' fodder t'year, Ah's thinken. w.Yks. (J.W.),
e.Lan.' w.Som.'- They do zay how that arter everybody's a-paid,
there on't be very much overplish [oa-vurplish] vor her and the
chillern. Cor. The best part o' the feast be the overplush, ' Q.'
Three Ships (ed. 1892) 106.
2. adv. Over and above, besides.
Cor.3 No notion of managin' a house ... an' a lazy, impident
maid overplush, Lee Widow Woman (1897) 57 ; A staid, workish
woman, with plenty o' sound doctrine, an' maybe a bit of a dowry
overplush, ib. 99.
OVERQUALL
[391]
OVERSET
OVERQUALL, v. ? Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) To overrun, to
cover with. 'Overquall'd as with vermin.' 'Overquall'd wi' dirt.'
OVERRATH(E, adj. Dev. Cor. 1. Quick, speedy.
Dev. Sher says as he'd put an overrath ind to't, Madox-Brown
Dwale Bluth (1876) bk. iv. ii.
2. Of the weather : too fine.
Cor. I be jealous about its lastin' ; for 'tis over-rathe for the time
o' year, ' Q.' Three Ships (1892) 69.
OVERREACH, v. Sc. Also written over-reatch
Or.I. 1. To overtake.
e.Lth. I overreached the couple, just as they were passing through
the first gate beyond the village, Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 235.
2. Obs. To overrate ; to assess too highly.
Or.I. His Lordship's rents are over-reatched in the last valuation,
Peterkin Notes (1822) 160.
OVERRIDE, V. Lin. Mid. 1. To ride over.
w.Mid. Them there bicycles goes along so quiet that they pretty
near overrides you afore you knows they're a comin' (W.P.M.).
2. To overflow ; to spread over.
Lin. Great floods overrode much of the low land, Miller &
Skertchly Fenland (1878) vi ; The slowly moving ice might over-
ride soft beds without disturbing them, ib. xv.
OVER-RIND, sb. and adj. Yks. Chs. Wor. Shr. Also
written overind s.Chs.^ ; overined s.Wor. ; and in form
ower-rind n.Yks.'^ [5-v3r-, ou'araind.] 1. sb. The top
crust of a loaf. n.Yks.'^ ^. adj. Said of a loaf when the
top crust is parted from the crumb.
s.Chs.i A loaf is said to be overind [ovurahynd] when it has so
risen in the oven that there is a hollow space between the top
crust or rind and the crumb of the loaf. s.Wor. When the upper
crust of a loaf of bread parts from the crumb, it is said to be
'overined.' 'The bread's a bit overined ' (H.K.). Shr.i A loaf
which has so risen in the oven is said to be over-rind [ovur'eind];
and is caused by an excess of yeast, or by unsound flour.
OVERRUN, V. Sc. Chs. Stf Not. Lin. Lei. Glo. Shr.
Ken. w.Cy. Som. Also in forms o'er-run Chs.' s.Chs.*
Shr.'; oher-run n.Lin.' ; ower-rin Sh.L I. To run over.
Ken.^ 2. Of animals: to multiply too greatly.
Sh.I. Hit's no oonpossible fir ony annamil to be a curse instead
o' a blessin', if hit's allow'd to ower-rin, Sh. News (June 3, 1899).
3. To get the better of ; to become beyond control.
n.Lin,'' Said of intangible things such as various kinds of
sickness. ' Bud thoo mun do as th' doctor tells us, my lad ; if
thoo duzn't inf'ammation '11 oher-run us, an' then we can't do oht
fer thS.'
4. To run away from, escape; to decamp, desert; to
leave unfinished.
Chs.' He's o'er-run his work ; Chs.^ A wife complaining of her
husband, said, 'If he dunna tak care, au'U o'erun him.' s.Chs.'
Ahy)m goo'in oa"r-run' dhis* kiin-tri, sey iv ahy kon)u mai' bet'iir
aayt i Mer'iki. Stf.' n.Stf. I shall overrun these doings before
long, Geo. Eliot A. Bede (1859) I. 57. Not.i, Lei.', Glo.i Shr.i
'E o'er-run me, else 'e'd ^ 'ad a good strappin'. I'v' bin despert
onlucky bflth my pou'try this 'ear ; theer's three 'ens o'er-run
thar nists after the eggs wun chipped; Shr.2, w.Cy. (Hall.)
Hence to overrun one's country, phr. to run away in order
to escape creditors, imprisonment, &c. Chs.'
5. To outrun ; to run past or beyond.
s.Chs.i 'Dii)nu let yilr jau'z oa"riin- yur klau'z,' is a proverbial
saying equivalent to ' Do not live beyond your means.' Ken.'
Som. He had seen the miller ... in his anger overrun his foe,
Raymond Smoke of War, 188. w.Som.' In hunting, the hounds
are said to over-run [oa-vur-uur'n] the scent, when they continue
running past a point where the hare or fox has turned off, and
thus have lost the scent.
OVER-RUNNER, 56. Hmp. Also in form our-runner
Hmp.' A shrew-mouse. (H.E.), Hmp.'
OVERS, sb. pi? Sc. Yks. Lan. Also in forms o'ers
Sc. ; owers n.Yks.= ; owres Sc. (Jam.) 1. Obs. Excess.
Sc. A owres spills, Prov. in Ruddiman Introd. (i773) (Jam.) ;
A' o'ers are ill, except o'er the water and o'er the hill, Ramsay
Prov. ijiyi).
2. Clog tops. w.Yks. (J.W.), e.Lan.' 3. Phr. at all
owers and shorts, at all times, at every opportunity. n.Yks.^
OVERS, sb. pl.^ Som. Also in form owers e.Som.
The overhanging banks of a river. Cf. nover, offer, 9.
Som. The perpendicular edge, usually covered with grass, on
the sides of salt-water-rivers, is called overs, Jennings Obs. Dial.
w.Eng. (1825). e.Sora. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
[OE. ofer, a border, a river-bank, the sea-shore (B.T.).]
OVERS, see Oaves, sb. pl>
OVERSAIL, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Also in forrns over-
sailyie Sc. ; owersail w.Yks.' [5'V3(r)-, ou'3(r)sel.]
1. sb. The course of masonry which is laid last and
receives the wall-plate and rafters which are to support
the roof.
n.Yks.' Of no great thickness, but each stone covering the
entire width of the wall of a house or other building. . . The
' Oversail ' really does frequently project, from half-an-inch up-
wards, beyond the rest of the masonry, but it is especially to the
part which does not project that the meaning of ' Oversail,'
strictly speaking, is limited ; n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.'
2. A projection.
w.Yks.' Let them slaates hev plenty of ower-sail.
3. V. To arch over, cover.
Sc. An act giving him liberty to oversailyie the close. Fountain-
hall 3 Suppl. Dec. 16 (Jam.). w.Yks.'
OVER-SEA, adj. Sc. Nhb. Also in forms o'er-, owr-
Sc. I. Obs. Foreign.
Per. We car'd nae scantly ae babee For o'er-sea drams, NicoL
Poems (1766) 94. Ayr. A hale black-avised man, of an o'ersea
look, Galt Gilhaize (1823) i. Edb. Our kintry sure is unco doitit,
To be wi' owr-sea fock outwitit, Learmont Poems (1791) 175.
2. Comp. Oversea-linnet, the snow-bunting, Pledro-
phanes nivalis. Nhb.'
OVERSEE, V. Sc. Also in forms o'er-, ower-. [car-,
ou'srsi.] 1. To superintend, manage. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
2. Obs. To overlook, pass over, forget.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) ; It is better till have part Weill stakit into
everie airt. Nor till have all spilt and o'irsene, Rogers Reformers
(1874) 72. Abd. The Earl of Findlater had likewise order to
uplift the laird of Banff's haill rents, who oversaw not that
business, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 236. Per. Which fault the
Ministers and Elders oversee at present, in hopes of amendment,
Lawson Bk. of Per. (1847) 179. Hdg. Confessit they had overseine
themselfis and done amiss in not coming to the kirk at that tyme,
Ritchie 5^. Baldted (1883) 166.
OVERSEEN, ppl. adj. Sc. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Nhp.
Shr. Hrf. Glo. Nrf. Suf. w.Cy. Also in forms o'erseen
Sc. s.Chs.' Shr.'; o'ersin e.Lan.'; overseeun Suf.; ower-
seen w.Yks. 1. Watched over when dying.
Lnfc. I doubt she be dead already, and naebody seen her but
ye and I oursels twa : an' she had been fair o'erseen it maksna,
I'll no had this a fair strae death indeed, Graham Writings (1883)
II. 39 ; The custom in Scotland was to have a number of neighbours
along with the members of the family [at a deathbed], ib. note.
2. Bewitched, under the influence of an evil eye. Cf.
overlook.
Hrf.2 Glo. It have brought all kind of disaster along with it.
1 must have been overseen when I took it, Gissing Vill. Hampden
(1890) II. iii; Glo.* I was quite overseen in that matter, 18.
3. Mistaken, deceived, deluded ; cheated, outwitted.
w.Yks. Ah wor rather ovverseen i' t'job, Banks Wkfld. Wds.
(1865); w.Yks.'^, e.Lan.' s.Chs.' Oo wuz ver-i much oa"rseen
in im, un aan-jbdi els kiid see ee wiiz ndo giid frum dhu fost.
Nhp.i I was quite over-seen, or I should not have bought it.
Shr.i Fur my part, I never thought 'er any great shakes, but the
Missis wuz despertly o'er-seen in 'er. Hrf.' I was much overseen
in that business ; Hrf.* Nrf. Well, poor young thing, she was
averseen — that's how I see it (W.R.E.). w.Cy. (Hall.)
4. Intoxicated, drunk, overcome with drink.
w.Yks.2 Lan. All were afraid of being overseene in drinke,
Newcome Diary (1662) in Chet. Soc. (1849) XVIII. 91. ne.Lan.i
Stf. Monthly Mag. (1816) 1. 494. Nhp.' When a small quantity of
liquor unexpectedly intoxicates a person he would say, ' I was
quite over-seen.'
5. Overcome, astounded, confused.
Suf. Poor man, he looked that overseeun he didn't fare to know
what to say, FisoN Merry Suf. (1899) 39.
OVERSET, V. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Lin. Also in forms
o'er- Lan. ; oher- n.Lin.' ; ower- w.Yks. ; ower- Sc.
n.Yks.'** ne.Yks.' e.Yks. m.Yks.' w.Yks.'; owre- Sc.
Nhb. [6"(r)-, ou'a(r)set.] 1. To upset, overturn, disorder.
Per. He died in nae choleric pet, Nor was his stomach owerset,
NicoL Poems (1766) 99. Lnk. Her vessel was like to overset by
the weight of herself, Graham Writings (1883) II. 68. Gall.
OVERSHADOW
[392]
OVERTURE
Sillar's aye the root o' woe. . . It is the miser's wretched foe,
And oversets the rake, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 166, ed. 1876.
n.yks.^ T'chap's getten's cart owerset, Ah'll lay; n.Yks.* Ah
owerset t'au'd lass' stall. w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. Fig. To upset mentally or physically ; to overdo
one's strength ; to overcome, overpower.
Gall. She . . . Can clean owreset the senses a', Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 17, ed. 1876. n.Yks.2 ncYbs."- Deean't owerset
yoursen wi t'job. e.Yks.i Ah's ower set wi this job, MS. add.
(T.H.) m.Yks.i w.Yks. Ovversetten wi wark, Banks Wkfld.
Wds. (1865). n.Lin.i Ther was sumats e' th' letter as real
oher-set her. sw.Lin.i It has quite overset her.
Hence (i) Overset or Oversetten, ppl. adj. mentally
upset ; overcome with work or emotion ; overdone ; (2)
Owersetment, sb. over-fatigue, ill-health caused by over-
work.
(i)Ayr. Beingcowedand overset, he becomes weak in the conflict,
staggers, and falls, Dickson Writings (1660) I. 68, ed. 1845. Nhb.
Ye may say that, neebour ; I'se doonricht owre set wi' it, Jones
Nhb. (187 1) 240; Nhb.i n.Yks.' 'Is she seriously ill?' ' Neea,
nobbut ower-setten wiv gannan t'Whitby an' yamm agen same
deea'; n.Yks.^" e.Yks.^ MS. add. (T.H.) m.Yks.^, w.Yks.i
Lan. Aw'm sure tha'rt fair o'erset, Clegg Davids Loom (1894)
xviii. Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (,1856) 717. (2) n.Yks.^
T'doctor said it was an owersetment.
3. To surmount, recover from, get the better of.
Lin. He was so knocked down by the fever, that he could not
overset it for a long while (J.C.W.) ; Lin.' He has overset his last
ailment. n.Lin. To recover from a shock (generally mental), Sutton
Wds. (i88i) ; n.Lin.i sw.Lin.i I shall have to have some medicine
before I overset it.
OVERSHADOW, v. Dev. To bewitch, to ' overlook '
with the ' evil eye.'
The last witness said deceased had been ' overshadowed ' by
someone, n.Dev. Herald (June 25, 1896) 3, col. 2.
OVERSHOT, sb. Sc. Nhp. Also in forms o'ershot,
ourshot Sc. (Jam.) 1. Surplus, remainder. Sc. (Jam.)
2. The space over which the waste water flows from a
weir down a short declivity to the natural course of a
river. Nhp.^
OVERSIGHT, V. Der.^ A corruption of ' over-excite.'
OVERSKUD,s6. Sh.I. Broken or spent water, back-
wash. Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 120.
OVERSTENT(ED, ppl. adj. Obs. or obsoL Sc. Also in
form owre-. Exorbitant, overcharged.
Edb. They tell, as how the rent C sic a room was overstent,
Har'st Rig (1794) 18, ed. 1801. Dmf. Whane'er yer charges are
owrestented, An' the aggrieved try tae prevent it, Quinn Heather
(1863) 138.
OVERSTOCKED, ppl. adj. Lin. Oxf. Of a cow :
having the udder distended with too much milk.
n.Lin.i Commonly applied to the udder of a cow that has not
been milked at the proper time. Oxf.' MS. add.
OVERSWITCHT, ppl. adj. Obs. n.Cy. In phr. an
overswitcht housewife, a whore. (K.) ; Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.^
OVERTAKE, v. Var. dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also in forms o'ertake Nhp.' ; ouer-take
n.Lin.' ; overtak Sc. (Jam.) ; owertak Cum.' ; owertake
Sc. 1. To overcome, put to confusion ; to take aback.
Sc. His houghs are gane, he's a' owertane, An' fusionless as
a wether, Outram Lyrics (1837) 99. Ayr. At first I was con-
founded and overtaken, and could not speak, Galt Provost (1822)
xxxvi.
2. In pass. : to be overcome with liquor, to become drunk.
In gen. colloq. use.
Sc. Thae cockle-brained callants of the present day that would
be mair ower-ta'en with a pair quart than douce follts were with
a magnum, Scott St. Ronan (1824) i. Abd. It was easy to think
he micht hae been ance at last ower sair owertaen to win hame,
Macdonald Warlock (1882) vii. Ir. With a quiet step, and firm,
neither ' overtaken ' by liquor nor fatigued by the night's debauch.
Lever Davenport Dunn (ed. 1872) Ixxxvii. s.Ir. To drink an
honest bottle of whiskey . . . without being overtaken by the
liquor, Croker Leg. (1862) 217. Wxf. Better luck, sir, next
time you let yourself be overtaken, Kennedy Evenings Duffrey
(1869) 282. Stf. Monthly Mag. (1816) I. 494. Lin. Thompson
Hist. Boston (1856) 717; Lin.' n.Lin.' He was oher-taaken
aggan las' neet, an'U hev to goa to Winterton. Nhp.' The beer
was so strong, I was o'ertane before I was awar on't. Sus. Once
he had been ' overtaken' on a market-day, O'Reilly 5toni?s(i88o)
III. 326. w.Som.' I 'ad'n 'ad on'y two pints o' half and half 'long
wi' Jim Zalter, and hon I com'd out, whe'er 'twas the cold or
what, I was a proper overtookt. Cor. Well, well— prettily over-
took I must ha' been, ' Q.' Three Ships (1892) ii ; They were
a little bit ' overtook ' with liquor. Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865)
97, ed. 1896. [Archy M'Alpine, when he happens to be over-
taken, Smollett H. Clinker (1771) VI. 247, ed. 1800.]
3. To be able to accomplish any work or piece of busi-
ness when pressed for time. Sc. (Jam.) 4. To harm,
injure.
s.Wor. I hopes as nothing wunt overtake him, Porson Quaint
Wds. (1875) 24.
5. Obs. To strike, to reach a blow to one.
Sc. He overtook me with his steecked nieff, Wedderburn
Voc. (1673) 28 (Jam.).
6. To overcast, cloud over. Cum.'
OVERTHROW, v. Yks. Mid. 1. To upset, overturn.
w.Mid. ' Well plowed, well sowed. Well rip, well mowed. And
ne'ery load overthrowed. Hip, hip, huray. Harvest Home.' These
lines used to be sung when the last load was being brought home,
at Stanwell (W.P.M.).
2. To throw air over another air-course. w.Yks. (J. P.)
OVERTHWART, adv., prep, and adj Sc. Yks. Chs.
Lin. Lei. Nhp. War. Bdf. Hnt. e.An. Mid. Also in forms
o'erthwart War.^ ; o'erwart Lei.' Nhp.' ; overathwart
Mid. ; overthwarts Lei.' ; overtwart Suf. ; overwart
sw.Lin.' Nhp.' Hnt. Nrf. Suf.' ; overwarth Bdf. ; over-
warts Nhp.'^; overwhart e.An.'^; overwort e.An.' Nrf. ;
ovverthwart w.Yks. ; owerquaart n.Yks.^ ; owerquart
n.Yks.' ne.Yks.' ; owerthwaart n.Yks.'^ ; owerthwart
n.Yks.' e.Yks.' [-Jjwart, -Jjwat, -wat.] 1. adv. Across,
opposite, crosswise.
ii.Yks.'2 e.Yks.' Cut that beeam owerthwart. w.Yks. He
save you and me Overthwart and endlang that hang on a tre,
Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865). Lei.' Nhp.' The gooseberry trees
shoot so overwart, the gardener is obliged to cut a great deal of
the wood away; Nhp.^, War.3, Bdf. (J. W.B.I, Hnt. (T.P.F.),
e.An. '2 Nrf. Overwort, CozENS-HARDYi?)-oarfiV>/. (1893)22. Nrf.,
Suf. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Suf. e.An. N. O" Q. (1863) I. 429.
2. Phr. to plough overthwart, to plough at right angles to
the former furrows.
Nhp.', e.An.', Nrf. (E.M.) Suf. We plough our summer-land
fields overthwart, e.An. Dy. Times (1892) ; Raineird Agric. (1819)
297, ed. 1849; Suf.' Mid. The farmers in the neighbourhood of
Rislip and Pinner, seldom if ever plough their land over-athwart,
Middleton View Agric. (179B) 166.
3. prep. Across, opposite to.
Abd. A bar or great bed of sand was wrought up and casten over-
thwart the mouth of the river Dee, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I.
61. ne.Yks.' He ran owerquart t'clooas. Nhp.' He lives o'erwart
the way. Lei.' A lives joost o'er- wart the wee.
4. adj. Obs. At right angles to the furrows, crossways.
e.Yks. Puttinge into every cocke 3 overthwart rowes of Takings,
Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 56.
5. Lapped over or across. Nhp.'^ 6. Contrary, per-
verse, contradictory.
n.Yks.' Chs. Yet did he billet us at his overthwart neighbours,
Halliwell Pal. Anth. (1850) pt. ii. 31. Nrf. (H.J.H.)
Hence Overwarting, ppl. adj. contradictory, contrary.
sw.Lin.'
OVERTUNE, sb. Nhb. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Also in
forms ower-teun Cum. ; ower-teunn Cum.' ; ower-tune
Nhb.' Dur.' Lakel.^ n.Yks. [ou-3(r)tiun.] The burden
or chorus of a song ; the musical refrain of a melody ; a
hackneyed phrase or byword.
Nhb.', Dur.' Lakel.^ Chiefly used for some disagreeable memory
that is constantly referred to. ' T'ower-tune wi' him alius was 'at
he yance selt him a coo 'at hed pickt t'cauf.' Cum. Still his ower-
teiin ran . . . Git ower me 'at can, Richardson Talk (ed. 1886)
istS. 28; Cum.' n.Yks. T' organ plays some high stuifin t'ower-
tune (I.W.).
OVERTURE, sb. and v. Sc. 1. sb. An ecclesiastical
term : the opening-up or introduction of a subject to the
notice of a superior or supreme court.
Sc.The General Assembly is the supreme court of the Established
Church and also of the Free Church of Scotland. Inferior courts
can bring any question of doctrine or practice before a superior
OVERTURN
[393]
OVVER
court — gen. the Assembly, asking it to take the matter into con-
sideration. This is called an ' overture ' (A.W.). Fif. The provost
and the minister gabbled about presbyteries and synods, . . and
overtures to the General Assembly, Grant Six Hundred, v. Rnf.
Upon Monday the Assembly voted an overture, and turned it to an
act, WoDROw Corres. (1709-31) I. 5, ed. 1843. Lnk. To declare
their agreement to the overtures and materials in the sense under-
written, lb. Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 274, ed. 1828.
2. V. To bring a subject before the notice of a superior
court for discussion.
Sc. (A.W.) ; A sub-committee appointed for considering the
E. of Selcridge's business overtured, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31)
I. 9, ed. 1843.
OVERTURN, sb. Sc. Yks. In forms our- Sc. (Jam.) ;
owre Sc. [ou-artarn.] 1. A change of attitude ; a volution.
Fif. That's a queer owreturn. But I'm sure it was never my
wyte we didna gang, Robertson Provost (1894) 159.
2. Of money : use, turning over for the purpose of trade.
Abd. Lyin' i' the bank wi' nae owreturn, an' only a triiHe onwal
at the year en', Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 99.
3. The burden or chorus of a song. Sc. (Jam.) Cf
overtune. 4. An arch. n.Yks.'^
OVERTWART, see Overthwart.
OVERUN, adj., adv. and sb. I.W. [o'varBn.] 1. adj.
Coming from the mainland across the water, not native
to the island.
They'ra better than the overun ducks (J.D.R.); I.W.I; I.W.^
Overun feller.
2. adv. Over, too, very.
(J.D.R.); I.W.i 'It don't
well.
look so overun toppun,' i. e. so over
3. sb. Any person or thing that is not native to the
island ; anything coming from the mainland. Also called
Overuner or Overner.
(J.D.R.) ; I.W. 2 I wish the wind had capsized they there
overners comen across. What do they wunt over here, tryen to
take the bread out o' vokes' mouths ?
OVERWART(H, OVERWARTS, see Overthwart.
OVERWEEST, v. Chs. Shr. Also_in forms o'erweest
s.Chs.^ ; overwaist Chs.^^ [o'va-, oawist.] To com-
pletely cover with water or liquid. Gen. in pp.
Chs.i ; Chs.^ Like a ham boiling in a pot. s.Chs.^ Tai'tiiz iin
pee'z shiid bi wel oa-Tweest i wai'tiir ufoaT dhi)n bi diin reyt.
Shr.' I say, Mary, dunnayo'furgetto see as that pork's overweest
[oa'vur'weest] i' the brine.
[Cp. OE. wesan, to soak, macerate.]
OVERWEIGHT, sb. and v. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Also in
form owerweight n.Yks.'^ [ou'srweit.] 1. sb. The
difference between the standard weight and the average
weight for a fortnight when above the standard. Nhb.,
Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). 2. v. To overload.
n.Yks. This side is ower-weighted (I.W.) ; n.Yks.*
OVERWELT. V. and sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin.
Also in forms cuer- ne.Lan.^ ; our- e.Yks. ; ower- N.Cy.*
n.Yks."^ e.Yks. w.Yks.' ; ow-welt e.Yks.* [ou-3(r)welt.]
1. V. To fall and lie on the back so as to be unable to
rise ; gen. used of sheep ; to overturn. Gen. in pp.
N.Cy.*, n.Yks.* ne.Yks.* Yan o' t'yows is owerwelted yondher.
m. Yks.* A cart is welted, or upturned, to unload it ; but it is only
overwelted when quite overturned for repairs, or in mischief.
w.Yks.*, ne.Lan.*, Chs.*^^ Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856)
717 ; Lin.*, n.Lln.*, sw.Lin.*
2. sb. A fall on the back, which prevents an animal, ^^«.
a sheep, from rising without assistance.
n.Yks.* ; n.Yks.^ A sheep which gets laid on its back or in a
gutter, and cannot recover itself, as when in full fleece, is said to
have ' got an owerwelt.' e.Yks. Aud yow deed ov an our-welt
(Miss A.) ; Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.*, w.Yks. (J.W.)
OVERWHART, see Overthwart.
OVERWIN, V. and sb. Yks. Also in form owerwin
n.Yks.^ [ou-a(r)wm.] 1. v. To overcome ; to gain one's
point ; to exceed.
n.Yks.2 -Will he owerwin, think you ? m.Yks.*
2. sb. The winning of a game. n.Yks.^ That's an owerwin.
OVERWIND, V. Nhb. Dur. [ou-arwind.] To draw
the cage in a pit up to or over the pulleys. Nhb.* Nhb.,
Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
VOL. IV.
OVERWORD, sb. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Also in forms
o'er- Sc. ; ower- Sc. Nhb.*; ower-wurd Cum.'^; owre-
word Sc. Nhb. [ot-, ou-arward.] Any word or phrase
freq. repeated ; the burden or chorus of a song.
Sc. And aye the ower-word o' the thrang Was — ' Rise for
Branksome readilie,' %cott Minstrelsy {\^oa) II. 9, ed. 1848. Ayr.
And aye the o'erword o' the spring Was Irvine's bairns are bonie
a', Burns Lines written at Loudon Manse ; He's croonin' awa at a
canny bit sang, . . A' ye hear is the ower-word, the Dominie s
deid, AiTKEN Lays (1883) 123. Slk. An' aye the o'erword o' her
song, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 268. Gall. Mactaggart Encyd.
(1824) 60, ed. 1876 ; They heard the ower-word o' a gye coarse
sang raisin' up frae the clachan doon by, Crockett Standard
Bearer {j8g8) 120. N.Cy.* Nhb. Some tried unseen to press their
love, But the owreword ay was, na, Richardson Borderer s Table-
bk. (1846) VIII. 162 ; Nhb.*, Cum.*, Cum.3 38.
OVERWORKINGS, sb. pi. Nhb. Dur. The excess
beyond the quantity of coal fixed as the standard to be
annually worked from a royalty. Nhb.* Nhb., Dur.
Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
OVERWORN, /i/i/. arf/'. e.An.* [5-vaw9n.] Of clothes:
cast off.
Apparel worn as long as is thought fit, thrown aside, and given
to servants or the poor, is called ' overworn clothes.'
OVERWORT, see Overthwart.
OVERWORTLE, v. Bdf [o-vaw5tl.] To use aggra-
vating language ; to contradict, bicker, dispute. (J.W.B.)
OVERY, si.* Wil. [o'vari.] A raised causeway.
(K.lVr.G.)
OVERY, sb.'^ Sh.I. [ovari.] The last bit of leaven.
S. & Ork.*
OVER-YEAR, adj Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Bdf. Nrf.
Also in forms cuer- ne.Lan.* ; ower- Cum.* Wm. n.Yks.
e.Yks.* [ou-a(r)jia(r.] Belonging to a second year or
season. Also used advb.
Cum.* ' You have a fine pig there, Betty.' ' Ey, it's a ower year
swine. It was seah whiet, poor thing, 'at I pity't to kill't last year.'
Wm. We've some woo at we've hed on hand oweryear (B.K.).
n.Yks. Ower-year steers or stots (I.W.). e.Yks.* Ah'U keep that
pig ower-year. ne.Lan.* ' An ouer-year ham,' a ham of last year.
Bdf. Those who choose to give it [dung] repeated turnings, and
keep what is called over year muck, Batchelor ^^g-nc. (1813) 507.
Nrf. Bullocks which are not finished at three years old, if home-
bred, or the first winter after buying, if purchased, but are kept
through the ensuing summer, to be fatted the next winter, are
said to be kept dver-year, and are termed over-year bullocks,
Grose (1790) Suppl.
OVES(S, see Oaves, sb.pl}
OVEST, sb. Hmp. [o'vist.] The mast and acorns of
the oak ; the ' turn-out.'
Wise New Forest (1883) 183 ; Hmp.*
Hence Ovesting, ppl. adj. in leg. phr. Ovestingov Pawn-
age months ; see below.
Pigs may be turned out only by those who have the right, and
by them only in the legal Ovesting or Pawnage months — that is to
say, from September 25th to November 22nd, when the acorn and
beech mast have fallen to the ground of their over-ripeness, Rogers
Guide to New Forest.
[ME. ovet, fruit {Ayenbite) ; OE. ofet (Napier) ; cp. Du.
00ft, all kinds of fruits (Kexham).]
OVEY, sb. Sh.L [5-vi.] Old broken-up or refuse
wood, used chiefly for thatching.
Da byre riif wisna very strong, an' as he cam' doon ipun hit wi' a
boose the langbaands an' ovy gie wy, Clark N. Gleams (1898) 57 ;
I widna part wi her [an old fishing boat], bit if doo's ill aff for
ovey, I can still help dee, Sh. News (July 9, 1898) ; {Coll. L.L.B.);
S. & Ork.i
OVICE, see Oaves, sb. pi}
OVIL, adj Chs. Shr. Mtg. Also in form oval Shr.*
Mtg. [o'vil, 5'vl.] 1. Conceited, pert ; self-complacent,
supercilious.
s.Chs.* Aay oa'vil <3o Idoks in iir ny6o Siin-di jumps. Shr.*
Did'n'ee see Bill Jones, 'ow ovil 'e wuz in 'is new shoot? — 'e
thinks 'isself somebody now 'e's a bwun-polisher.
2. Awkward, ill-tempered.
Mtg. That's an oval sort of chap, that new waggoner (E.R.M.).
OVIS, OVUS, OVVIS, see Oaves, sb. pi}
OVN, OWER, see Heave, Hover i.', Over.
3 E
ow
[394]
OWLAS
ow, O WCE(N, OWD, see Ou, Ouse, sb., Hold, v., Old.
OWDAM, OWDANT, OWDZIMIVER, see Oldham,
Ought, v., Howsomever.
OWE, V. and adj. Var. dial, forms and uses in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also written ow Cum.'; and in forms aa Sc.
Nhb.' Cum.i ; aw Sh.I. Cum." Wm. n.Yks.'^ ; awe Dur.i
s.Dur. Cum.= n.Yks.'*_ne.Yks.i m.Yks.'; o' m.Yks.' ; oa
Cum.'; ouNhb.' [ou, 9, a.] I. Dial, forms. \. Preterite:
(i) Aad, (2) Awd, (3) Awed, (4) Eught, (5) Ew, (6) Ewe,
(7) Ewet, (8) Ewt, (9) Hewt, (10) Owe, (11) Owt.
(i) Cai.i (2) Abd. Cash colleckin' Frae country customers wha
aw'd them, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 41. (3) m.Yks.i (4)
w.Yks. Brooke Tracts Gl. ; w.Yks.' He eught me five shillings.
(5) Nrf. N. & Q. (1888) 7th S. vi. 295. Suf. I thought they ew
us five pounds, Raven Hisi. Suf. (1895) 260. (6) m.Yks.' e.An."^
He ewe me sixpence. Nrf. (W.P.E.) ; N. ^ Q. (1891) 7th S. xii.
106. Suf. I never ewe anyone anything (C.G.B.) ; Suf.' He ewe
me five pound. (7) n.Lin. Sutton IVds. (1881). (8) n.Lln.i,
e.An.2 (9) n.Lin.' He hewt his sarvant chaps o'must a year waage.
(10) Suf. Raven ffist. Suf. (1895) 260. (11) n.Yks.^
2. Pp. : (i) Aan, (a) Awen, (3) Awn, (4) Ewe, (5) Ewt,
(6) Own.
(i) Cai.' (2) m.Yks.' (3) n.Yks.' I hae neea awn brass te
come in. (4) e.Suf. (F.H.) (5) e.Yks.i (6) e.An.z
II. Dial. uses. 1. v. In phr. to owe it on to, to lay the
blame upon. Wor. He owed it on to that (W.C.B.).
2. To own, possess ; to have belonging to one.
Sh.I. Gibbie aws da half n' him wi' mi midder, Sh. News (Dec.
18, 1898) ; Is doo niver heard 'at dem 'at aws da coo min geng
nearest his tail ? ib. (July 24, 1897). Ir. You'll be a credit to them
that owes you, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) 95. Uls. Lord
help the poor woman that owes you, Uls. Jrii. Arch. (1858) VI.
41. n.Cy. (J.L. 1783); N.Cy.i Cum.' Who oa's this ? n.Yks.'"
m.Yks. Let ta awe ta, an' ta tither [let the one person own, or
possess the one, and the other person the remaining one] (C.C.R. ).
■w.Yks. He owes an house, Watson Hist. Hlfx. (1775) 544 ;
w.Yks.' Whea owes this ? w.Yks.* e.An.' Mr. Brown owes that
farm. Nrf. The man owes several cottages (W.H.) ; Vow ewe
that black hoss a sort of years (W.P.E.). Suf. Mr. Smith owe
that there little farm now, Raven Hist. Suf. (1895) 260 ; (C.T.) ;
Suf.' 'Hue owe that there hoss?' 'Mr. Johnson he owe it.'
w.Cy. He do owe it, Longman's Mag. (Apr. 1898) 544.
Hence (i) who's owe or owes ? phr. who owns ? to whom
belongs.' (2) — was owe? phr. who owned.' to whom
belonged ? See Awe.
(i) Sc. Murray Dial. (1873) 193. n.Ir. N. & Q. (1873) 4th S.
xii. 159. Nhb.i, Dur.i s.Dur. Whe's awe't ? (J.E.D.) Cum.^i
Wm. Sullivan Cum, and Wm. (1857) 98. Yks. Weaseowe they
twea kye? Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Dec. 20, 1890). n.Yks. Wheea's
ow't? (T.S.); n.Yks,i=, ne.Yks.' m.Yks. Who's owes he?
(C.C.R.") ; m.Yks.i (2) Sc. Quheae was aa thys hooseafuore yee
bowchtit? Murray £>!«/. (1873) 193.
3. adj. Indebted, owing.
Abd. I am owe. Sir, mony a pound To ither fouk, Anderson
Poems (ed. 1826) 27.
OWE, OWER, see Ewe, sb}, Over.
OWERQUAART, OWERQUART, see Overthwart.
OWERY, OWET, OWFF, see Howery, Oat, Ouff.
OWHOMME, adv. Lan. [awom.] At home. See
Ahome.
E Hkker has moore loike um owhomme, Ormerod Felley fro
Rachde (1864) ii.
OWING, prp. Sc. Nhb. Also in forms aan Nhb.' ;
aand, awin Sc. ; awn Sc. Nhb. ; yawin Abd. In phr. to
be oiuing, to owe ; to be in debt.
Sc. Aa'm aand hyra nowcht. Yee was aand yer rsent, Murray
Dial. (1873) 217. Sh.I. Doo's awin me a kjobe, Sh. News (Oct.
21, 1899). Abd. Fat was yawin 'im for the reef o' the skweel?
Alexander yo/iMK)' Gibb (1871) xlv. Per. I speer'd at him what
was I awn, Stewart Character (1857) 22. Dmb. I never said
I was awn you muckle respect, Cross Disruption (1844) xix.
Ayr. I'm awn Willie Wyth a lickin' ever sin Candlemas, Service
Notandums (1890) 115. Lnk. Wadna pay what they were awn,
Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 74. Edb. I'll be awn ye a bawbee
for that some day, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 219. Dmf.
How mony gills will ye be awn me ? Wallace Schoolmaster
(18991 334. Nhb. Div you ken what you're awn me? Graham
Red Scaur (1896) 261 ; Nhb.' What's he aan ye 1
O WKDACIOUS,a(^y. w.Yks.= A mispronunciation of
' audacious.' ' He wer the most owkdacious chap at I ivver saw.'
OWK(E, see Ouk.
OWL, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Eng. Also in forms
eawl Lan.' e.Lan.' ; oul Hrf Hmp. [Sc. and n.Cy. 51,
w.Yks. al, Lan. el, s.Cy. eul.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Owl-
blasted, obs., bewitched ; (2) -catchers, gloves of stout
leather ; (3) -catching, a kind of practical joke ; cf. to
catch the owl ; (4) -'s-crown, {a) the wood cudweed,
Gnaphalium sylvaticum ; (6) the cudwort, Filago ger-
manica; (5) -guUer, to pry, examine ; (6) -headed, applied
to Southdown sheep with no tuft of wool on the forehead;
(7) -light or -'s-light, twilight, dusk ; (8) -perch, a cock-loft ;
an attic ; (9) -thrush, the missel-thrush, Turdus viscivorus.
(i) Lan. Then the yoong girle is owle-blasted and possessed,
Harsnet Declaration (1605) in Cheth. Soc. Publ. (1845) VI. 19.
(2) Wil.' (3) Sus. As soon as it was dark they proceeded with
their friend to search the barn for owls. The holder of the sieve
they very carefully put exactly under the beam with strict orders
to stand still while they went up to turn the owls out. He had
not stood long where he was placed before the buckets were
emptied and thoroughly explained to him a yokel's idea of owl-
catching in Southover barn, Egerton Flk. and Ways (1884) 35.
(4, a) e.An.i Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) loi ; Mar-
shall Rur. Econ. (1787). (A) Nrf. (B. & H.) (5) Suf.l (6)
Sus. Young Annals Agiic. (1784-1815) XI. 198. (7) Lan. Aw
olez think there's summat fine abeawt th' eawl-leet, Waugh
Sneck-Bant (1867) i; Lan.', e.Lan. ', Nhp.' Dor. We can do
nothing by this owl's light, Hardy Wess. Tales (1888) II. 164.
Dev. Up-long in the owl-light, the owl-light, the owl-light — Up-
long in the owl-light Theer comed my maid wi' me, Blli. and
White (Mar. 14, 1896) 330. (8) Chs. 'Now you have been all over
the house, except into the owl-perch,* pointing to the trap-door
leading to the cock-loft. ... In every old Cheshire house there
was a hole left in the gable for the owls to go in and out, N. & Q.
(1878) 5th S. ix. 85. (9) Nhp.'
2. Phr. (i) drunk as an owl, dead drunk ; (2) to be all
feathers like a young owl, said of any one small in figure
but much padded out with clothes ; (3) to catch the owl, a
kind of practical joke ; see below ; (4) to live too near the
wood to be frightened by an owl, not to be deterred from
doing anything by blustering talk ; (5) to take owl o', obs.,
to be offended ; to take amiss ; to disagree.
(i) w.Som.i ' You don't mean that he drinks ? ' ' Ees, a do, sure !
two or dree times a week they puts'n to bed so drunk's a owl '
[aewul]. (2) ib. Why you be all veathers like a young owl.
Her's all eyes and veathers, same's a young owl. (3) w.Mid.
The victim would be told that there was an owl in the stable loft
and asked to help catch it. He would be placed immediately
under the entrance, with a sieve upon his head, while his
companion entered the loft, taking a pail of water to frighten out
the owl. Of course the water descended on the victim's head
(W.P.M.). (4) w.Som.' Aay du lee-v t-an-dee tu dh-eo'd vur tu
bee u-frai'tud bi u aewul [I live too near the wood to be
frightened by an owl]. (5) Dev. Sh' says thad'st henn thysel' in
ony ter chaunt she, an nif she but tak's owl o't wi' tha ! Madox-
Brown Dwale Bluth (1876) bk. 11. iii. n.Dev. Grose (1790) ; And
draw up thy noaze and take owl o', Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 162.
3. Any small white moth, but esp. the tiger-moth. Ken.,
Sus. Cooper Gl. (1853). Hmp.' 4. A white horse. [Not
known to our correspondents.]
Hrf. I have heard that in Herefordshire on the Welsh border a
white horse is occasionally called an owl (J.R.W.).
5. V. To look like an owl. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824). 6. With about: to moon about out of doors in
the dark. Wil.' 7. Obs. To smuggle wool out of the
country. Sus. Sus. Arch. Coll. X. 75. Hence (i) Owler,
sb. a smuggler ; esp. a wool-smuggler ; (2) Owling-trade,
sb. obs., export wool-smuggling.
(i)s.Cy. (Hall.) Sus. 5«5. ^rcA. Co//. X. 75. Ken.(K.) (2)Ken.
Lands very extensive in Romney Marsh — a most convenient place
for my owling trade. Baker Tunbridge Walks (1703) 45.
8. With about : to pry, examine. Suf.', w.Cy. (Hall.)
9. Obs. To henpeck, to cause to pine by ill-usage. n.Cy.
(J.L. 1783).
OWLARD, see Howlet.
OWLAS, adj. Wor. Hrf. Glo. Also written ouless
s.Wor.' ; owless Glo.' ; and in forms oless s.Wor.' ; olus
OWLDER
[395]
OWN
Hrf.^ Glo. [ou'las.] Indifferent, neglectful, unwilling to
take trouble, listless; careless, devil-may-care; idle, lazy;
thickheaded ; disagreeable. Also used advb.
s.Wor.i Er don't sim to take no delight in 'er work ; 'ers got
reg'lar ouless. Hrf.^ Glo. He's so olus, he'll never do any good
(A.B.); Baylis/««s. Dial. (1870); Glo.i
[Owlyst, desidiosus, segnis, Prompt. Norw. dial, ulyst,
indifferent, careless, having no desire (Aasen) ; cp. ON.
ulyst, a bad appetite (Vigfusson).]
OWLDER, OWLER, see AUer, sb}
OWLE, OWLERT, see Hohle, Howlet.
OWLERYEDDED,B<^-. s.Chs.i Empty-headed, foolish.
I have heard gamblers called ' owleryedded [uw'liiryed'id]
gawnies.' I think it means literally ' hollow-headed.'
OWLING, vbl. sb. WiU The custom of wassailing
orchards. See Howlers, Howling:, vbl. sb.
OWLISH, adj. Brks. Cor. [eulijf.] Sleepy, stupid.
Brks.' Hence Owlishness, sb. stupidity.
Cor. Of all owlishness that ever was, there is nothing like that
of the rural police, Baring-Gould Curgenven (1893) xlviii.
OWLY, adj. Suf.i [eu-li.] Stupid ; tired.
I *a bin up all night an fare kienda owly this morning.
OWME, OWMER, see Holm, s6.", 0am, Oumer.
OWMLY, adj. Yks. [ou'mli.] Lonely, dismal, dreary ;
lonely and spacious.
e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sfi. (1889) 76; e.Yks.i Applied to
localities ; used esp. with reference to large ancient houses, with
few inmates. ' Ah sudn't like ti sleep wT mi-sen i' that greeat
owmly hoose/ MS. add. (T.H.)
[Norw. dial, auntleg, poor, wretched, miserable (Aasen) ;
ON. aumligr (Vigfusson).]
OWN, adj. Van dial, forms and uses in Sc. Irel.and Eng.
[90, 93n, an, Sc. Ir. and n.Cy. also en.] L Dial, forms:
(i) Aan, (2) Aen, (3) Ahn, (4) Ain, (5) Ane, (6) Aun, (7)
Auwn, (8) Awin, (9) Awn, (10) Awne, (11) Hone, (12) Oan.
(l) Nhb.l, Wm.^, w.Yks.*, n.Lan.i, ne.Lan.l (2) Lan. He maun
goo his aen gate, Kay-Shdttleworth Scarsdale (i860) II. 103.
(3) Wm. 1 telt tha et thoo sud hev a taale a thi varra ahn, Robison
Aald Taales (1882) 14. w.Yks. Yan 'at minds her ahn affairs,
TwisletonZ-c^A ^o JSfofer (1867) 5. ne.Lan.i (4) Sc. A man's aye
crouse in his ain cause, Ramsay Pfow. (1737). Cai.i Abd.In'sain
place, Alexander Johnny Gikb (1871) xii. Per. It's tint . . . and
never was their ain, Haliburton Dunbar (1895) 13. Edb. At
hame. In my ain countrie, Maclagan Poems (1851) 87. n.Ir.
Hame tae her ain hoose, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 46 ; N.I.i
Nhb. He's nae son o's ain, Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 26.
Wm. Aye sair they grudg'd her of her ain. Whitehead Leg.
(1859) 24. Yks. It's mah ain fondness, Macquoid Doris Barugh
(1877) xiii. (5) Wm. My ane cusen Jacob, Wheeler Dial. (1790)
115, ed. 1821. (6) e.Yks. Me' aun bairns, Wray Nesileton (1876)
85. (7) Glo. In his auwn pleace, Gibbs Coiswold Vill. (1898) 87.
(8) Or.I. Having na sheip of hir awin, Peterkin Noles (1822)
Append. 33. Slk. He says yon Foreste is his awin, Borland
Yarrow (1890) 39. (9) Sc. Hame at their awn town let them
bide, Pennecuik Coll. (1787) 32. Hdg. Out of his awn purs,
Ritchie St. Baldred (1883) 154. N.Cy.i, Nhb.i, Dur.i, Cum.i
Wm. The Prologue . . . shewing his awn estate, Hutton Bran
New Wark (1785) headline. n.Yks.= w.Yks.i Her awn mother
hardly kenn'd her, ii. 296 ; w.Yks.* Lan. T'shopkeepers sud hev
their awn, Eavesdropper Vill. Life (1869) 5. Der. Thee didst
na think sa when thine awn were a' as thick as Cassie's, Verney
Stone Edge (1868) ii. n.Lin.i Wil. Slow Gl. (1892). Dev.
Dicky come an' married 'er, my awn Maria, Salmon Ballads
(1899)62. (10) N.Cy.i, w.Yks.i (11) w.Yks. But me hone voin-
yard o avvent kept, Bywater Sng. Sol. (1859) i. 6. (12) Cum.3
My oan oald sel, 25. n.Yks. My oan ears, Linskill Haven Hill
(1886) vii. Lin. Lond o' my oan, Tennyson N. Farmer, Old Style
(1864) St. II.
n. Dial. uses. 1. In comp. (i) Own-bom, native ; (2)
•made, self-made.
(i) Ken. I shall put my old bones down in my own-born
parish, I shall, Murray Nov. Note Bk. (1887) 285. (2) w.Yks.
Them awn-made Yorkshire chaps, Yks. Wkly. Post (Mar. 7,
1896) ; (J.W.)
2. Phr. (i) the own', the same material ; (2) to be at on^s
own fend, to support or provide for oneself; (3) — on^s
own man, to be sensible ; to have control over one's words
and actions ; (4) to do one's own turn, see (2) ; (5) to make
own and own, to sell at cost price without either profit or
loss ; (6) to one's own cheek, all to oneself, without being
shared in by others.
(i) Suf. He mended his owd coot with a bit o' the own (C.T.).
(2) Nhb. An animal is said to be at its aan fend when it has to
seek its own food in contradistinction to being 'hand fed' (R.O.H.).
(3) ne.Sc. In any case, the crofter, in the doctor's phrase, would
' never be his ain man again,' Gordon Northward Ho, 81. n.Lin.^
' I hed hed a sup o' drink, I awn that, but I was my own man
sewer enif.' A woman who had suffered from erysipelas in the
head said, * I'm not my awn woman yit, bud I am a woman to
what I was.* (4) Abd. Bein' as I could aye dae my ain turn, the
siller wisna nott, an' sae it lay in the bank, Abd. Weekly Free Press
(Aug. 6, 1898). (s) Nhp.i (6) w.Yks. Wid hev a day ta wir
awn cheek, Tom Treddlehoyle Thowts, &c. (1845) 47 ; (J.W.)
OWN, v.'- Sc. Cum. Wm. Yks. Not. Cor. Also in forms
aan Wm. ; awn n.Yks.° Cor. ; awnd w.Yks. [qn, qan,
an.] L To claim as owner.
Gall. Baith own'd the hive, tho' it was thought To neither to
belang, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 95, ed. 1876. Wm. Naedthre
on em thowt it wirth aanin. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 13. n.Yks.^
w.Yks. He'll ne'er awnd it. That strickle I found goes unawned
yet, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June 20, 1891) ; Is there one to be
owned? Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) 136. s.Not. As soon as
iver 'e seed the stick, 'e owned it an' tried to snatch it from me
(J.P.K.).
2. With to : to have a legal right to ; to have within one's
proper sphere of work.
Cor. I doan't think. Bill, that they can awn to put down our
naames, Tregellas Tales 'Lizbeth Jane, 4 ; Cor.^ Can the bailiff
own to take all my things ? I don't own to do no washing up.
3. To be accustomed to.
Cor. 3 ' I don't generally own to walk, having a carriage.'
Rarely used.
4. In pass. : to be fated, destined. See Aund.
Cum. The word owned ' has its origin in the belief of a spirit
appearing before a person's death, as that of the fetch, banshee,'
&c., Sullivan Cum. and Wm. (1857) 85 ; It's own'd, it seems to
be, And weel I waite what's own'd yen cannot flee, Relph Misc.
Poems (1747) 97 ; Cum.* It's owned to gaa. Wm. Ferguson
Northmen (1854) 190.
OWN, f.^ Van dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms aan Nhb.' Cum.* Wm.^ ne.Lan.^; ain
se.Sc. ; awn Gall. N.Cy.^ n.Yks.'^ w.Yks.i_Lin. Dev.;
awnd m.Yks.' w.Yks. ; oan Cum. '3* Wm.' [(jn, pan, an.]
L To acknowledge, confess, admit ; gen. with to or with.
In gen. colloq. use.
Abd. He winna own till't, Macdonald Lossie (1877) Ixix. Per.
He wad turn round that easy an' own til his fau't, Cleland Inch-
bracken (1883) 260, ed. 1887. se.Sc. I e'er maun ain thee Nature's
cheel, Donaldson Poems (1809) 14. Nhb.' He aan'd to beein
there hissel. Cum.^ She cudn't bide thowtes of oanin ... 'at she'd
weddit a Tommy Moakison, 32. Wm. An aaned withoot a snert
She wesh'd her feeace just yance a week. Spec, Dial. (1880) pt. ii.
40 ; Wm.' Wha did t'mischief ? Maybe mair than yan, bit Bob
aan's tull't. n.Yks. Peggy wad be tired ... if sheea wadn't awn
wi' 't, TwEDDELL Clevel. Rhymes {iS']^) 40. w.Yks. Dosey awned
tuv its bein' a yung un when he wor, Cudworth Dial. Sketches
(1884) 24; w.Yks.' They baath on 'em awn'd it, ii. 320; w.Yks.2,
ne.Lan.', Not.'^ Lin. He awn'd hissen he'd fairly lost, Brown
Lit. Laur. (1890) 87 ; Lin.' n.Lin.i I seed you steal it mysen, so
you'd as well own it. Rut.i Lei.' A niwer would own tew it.
War.s, se.Wor.l Oxf.i MS. add. Ken. Wasn't it hard when you
was fond of a person to have 'em own up a liar quite shameless
afore parson an' all! Longman's Mag. (July 1891) 272. w.Sora.'-
He own'd to it his own zul, how 'twas he what zot th'ill a vire
[hill on fire]. Dev. Gals won't awn up honest they'd sooner have
husbands than not, Phillpotts Sons of Morning (1900) 32.
2. To recognize, identify ; to acknowledge an acquaint-
anceship.
Sc. He did na own me (Jam.). Kcd. I'm herty, hale, an'
ruddy, . . Own'd at market, mill, an' smiddy, Grant Lays (1884)
79. Ayr. Whom auld Demosthenes or Tully Might own for
brithers. Burns Author's Ciy (1786) st. 14. Gall. He never awn'd
me, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). N.Cy.i You never awn us now-
a-days. Nhb. The hounds . . . were not owning the scent so
freely, Davies Rambles Sch. Field-club (1881) xxxvi. Lakel.*
What ye've altered seea sair at Ah wadn't own'd ye if ye hedn't
spokkun. Cum.* ' Don't you remember T. ? ' ' Nay, Ah niwer
3E2
OWN
[396]
OX
oaned him.' n.Yks.^ w.Yks. Ah wodn't awnd sich a chap fer
my fatther (^.B.) ; I have been at the window, 'owning' the
people as they came from church. Cent ya awn us ? (J.T.F.)
Agl. N. (r Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 156. Der. ib. vii. 393. s.Not.
I owned the man in the prison-yard (J.P.K.). n.Lin.' I
own'd 'em at once as soon as I seed 'em. Nhp.i They do
not own each other now. War. Here scent died away and it
is doubtful if hounds ever really owned a line past here, B'ham
Dy. Gazette (Dec. 25, 1899) ; War.3, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Suf.i If yar
dad o'ont own ye, Jack bawh, I wool. Ess.^ w.Som.i j meet
your brither to fair, but darn'd if I could own un to fust — I an't
a-zeed'n zo many years. Dev. I met your master at the gate and
owned him directly; as I saw him at D the other day.
Reports Provinc. (1877) 136. w.Cor. I owned her tho' I hadn't
seen her for years (M.A.C).
3. To favour, support.
Sc. This and all the other passages of that day, join'd with Sir
George owning the burghs, Sir G. Mackenzie Mem. 172 (Jam.).
4. A curling term : not to leave a stone alone, to ' sweep '
a stone.
Sc. She's weel laid doon, oh never own 'im, A fair pat-lid, Caled.
Curling Club Ann. (1886-87)348. Abd.,Per.Dinnaown'im(G.W.).
5. To resemble, to be like.
Wm.i That barn mitch oans its fadder.
6. To visit, to drop in upon.
Cum.i Ye niver oan us now ; Cum.^ n.Yks.^ T'au'd dog put
a pheasant hen aff her nest Sunday was a week, an' she's nivver
awned it nae mair. w.Yks. Why, C, you never own us now ;
why don't you call? Hamilton Nugae Lit. (1841) 308; w.Yks.i
Sud onny outcumlins ivver awn this plat, Pref. ne.Lan.l
7. To return home, come back ; also in phr. to own near.
m.Yks.i ' Has he got back yet?' 'Nay, he's never awnded.'
' Our's has never awnded yet, neither.' w.Yks. Ahr Sarah went
aht o' t'hahse abaht six o'clock, an' ah'll bet shoo'U noan awn
near wol aleven. Tom went thru home seven days sin', an' he
■ hesn't awned near sin', Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Dec. 13, i8go) .
8. With to : to countenance, to participate in.
n.Yks.2 Thoo munnot awn te ought at's bad.
OWN, v.^ Hrf. To thrash, chastise. Bound Provinc.
(1876). See Hone, v?
OWNCT, OWNDER, see Once, Undern.
OWNER, sb. Won Shr. Glo. Cor^ Also in forms
awner Cor.^^; onner Cor.^ [9n3(r), o'na(r).] 1. The
proprietor of a barge or boat ; often used as atitle of address.
s.Wor.i Do you know what's the matter with Owner Smith ?
se.Wor.i Owner Low. Wor. , Shr. Northall Wd. Bk. (1896).
Shr.i I see them three barges of Owner Lowe's bin lyin' alung
side Frankwell w'arf yet ; Shr.^ An ' Owner' is a sort of barge
captain, and is looked upon, relatively speaking, with as much
respect as the captain is by his sailors. We hear of ' Owner
Lloyd,' 'Owner Doughty,' &c. Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777)
313 ; Glo.'^ Well, Owner, how be you ?
2. A shareholder in a mine. Cor.^ 3. Comb. Owner's
count, the employer's expense ; fixed wages. Also used
atirib. ; see below.
Cor. When I was pon awners'count at Wheal Union, Tregellas
Tales (1865) 165 ; The onner's count men cracked their whips,
Camborne Attn. (1894) 95; Cor.i^; Cor.^ 'Onner's count men'
are those who, on a mine, do no work by contract, but are paid
by the day or week, or at a monthly fixed wage. Also used
gen. with meaning that employer pays. ' Hev what you like,
boys, 'tes oal pon onner's count.'
OWNERY-MARK, sb. Cum.* An ear-mark on sheep
to indicate their owner, (s.v. Lug-mark.)
OWNION, OWNLY, see Onion, Onely.
OWNSELF, adj. Som. Dev. Also in forms awnself,
awn-zel Dev. ; ownzul w.Som. Selfish ; grasping.
w.Som. Ter'ble ownzul sort of a fuller, Athenaeuni (Feb. 26,
1898) ; w.Som.i You know what an ownself [oa-nzuul] woman
your aunt is. Pev. Er's wan ov tha awn-zel zort, 'er is, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Squire, though an a'wnself man most hallus,
yet cude spare a bit o' regard for his lad, Phillpotts Dartmoor
(1896) 222.
OWN-SEN, pron. Yks. Lin. In form awn-sen. [9'n-
sen.] Own-self, an emphatic form of expression.
e.Yks.i w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June 20, 1891). n.Lin.l
' Luv daddy, luv mammy, luv awn-sen best,' a proverbial saying
used to justify or explain acts of selfishness.
OWNTY, see Oonty.
OWSY,adj. Hrf. Lazy, idle.
Get on, y'owny dog (R.M.E.) ; What a owny lout you be
(J.B.); Hrf.2
OWPPY, OWR(E, see Houpy, Over.
OWRIE, see Howery, Oorie.
OWRIM, arfw. Sc. ln-phr.owrimandowrim,seehd.o'w.
Gall. When a bandwun o' shearers meet with a flat of growing
grain not portioned out to them by riggs, the shearing of this is
termed an ' owrim and owrim' shear, or ' over-him and over-him,'
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
OWB:T,adv. Obs. Yks. Where.
Hollo, Bob Jackson, owr't the plague's thee boon? Brown Yi.
Minster Screen (1834) 1. i.
OWRTER, adv. Gall. Further over. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
OWRYISH, adj. Lin. Also in form owrish. [ouTi-iJ.]
Wet, dirty ; marshy. (Hall.), Lin.^ See Howery.
OWS, see Ouse, sb.
OWSE, pron. and adv. n.Cy. Nhb. Also written ouse
Nhb. [ouz.] \. pron. Anything. See Aughts, cf nowse.
N.Cy.^ Nhb. Then on we went as nice as ouse, Marshall
Coll. Sngs. (1819) 4 ; Nhb.i If ye de owse mair ye'U spoil'd. They
nivver i' thor lives gat owse better.
2. adv. At all ; in any way.
Nhb. If ye shud be walking owse nigh Byker Hill, Midford
Coll. Sngs. (1818) 48.
OWSE, OWSEL, see Ouse, sb., v., Ousel, sb.^
OWSEN, OWSSEN, OWSTER, see Ouse, sb., Oustir.
OWT, sb. ? Obs. Stf.i A trial.
OWT, OWTHER, see Augh.t,pron., Ought, v.,Otl-iei,adj.^
OWTHERINS, adv. Lnk. (Jam.) Also written
outherans. Either. See Eitherens.
Most gen. used at the end of a sentence. ' I'll no do that
owtherins.'
OWTS, sb. pi, int. and adv. Cum. Yks. Lan. Also
written outs ne. Yks.^ ne.Lan.^ [outs.] 1. sb. pi. Any-
thing, any considerable quantity. See Aughts.
w.Yks. (J.W.) ne.Lan.^ Hezta owts on it ?
2. int. A cry used in games of marbles.
Lan. A cry which gives one playing at marbles a right to place
his taw near the ring (J.M.) ; ' Owts ' gives the claimant the right
to place his ' taw ' close to the ring — ' nowts ' bars this claim,
Manch. Cy. News (Oct. 10, 1896).
3. adv. At all, in any degree.
Cum.4 If he stops here owts lang he'll mak them tudder fellas
as bad as his-sel, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 211. ne.Yks.^ Was
he outs nasty? w.Yks. (J.W.)
OWWER, OWZE, see Over, House, sb.'^, Ouse, v.
OX, sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. [oks.] See
Ouse, sb. 1. In comp. (i) Ox-ball, a round, hairy ball often
found in the stomach of an ox ; (2) -berry or -berry-root,
(a) the black bryony, Tamus communis ; (b) the fruit of
the wild arum, Arutn maculatum ; (3) -bird, (a) the dunhn,
Tringa alpina ; {b) the sanderling, Calidris arenaria ; (c)
the ringed plover, Aegialitis hiaticula ; (d) the common
sandpiper, Tringoides hypoleucus ; (4) -boise or -boose,
an ox-stall used in the winter; (5) -harrows, strong,
heavy harrows ; (6) -house, an ox-stall ; (7) -land, half a
hide of land ; (8) -lays, a meadow where oxen are kept ;
(9) -man, a herdsman ; (10) -money, obs., a tax ; (11) -neb
or -nib, the shaft which goes between oxen in a cart ;
(12) -nobles, a large coarse kind of potato given to cattle ;
(13) -penny, obs., see (10) ; (14) -pinded, of a horse :
having ugly, projecting hip-bones ; (15) -prod, an ox-goad ;
(16) -steddle, stabling for oxen ; (17) -tights, chains for
use with oxen ; (18) -tongue, the hart's-tongue fern, genus
Scolopendrium.
(i) Nhp.2 (2, a) Wor. Red oxberries, growing in wreaths in the
hedges, used for chilblains (W.C.B.). Shr., Hrf. (B. & H.) (i)
w.Wor.i The juice is used as a remedy for warts. (3, a) n.Lan.
(RH.H.) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 46. e.Suf.
e.An. Dy. Times (1892). Ess. Swainson Birds (1885) 193. Ken.
No one could be in the company of shore-shooters one half-hour
before hearing ox-birds^dunlins — spoken of. Son of Marshes
Within an Hour of Land. (ed. 1894) 261 ; Ken.^^ Wil. Smith
Birds (1887) 438. Hmp. Numbers of dunlins, oxbirds, or sea-
snipe, run about, Comh. Mag. (Apr. 1893) 369, (b) Ess., Ken;
ox
[397}
OXTER
SwAiNSON ib. 195. (c, d) Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.i (4) n.Cy. (P.R.),
N.Cy.2 w.Yks. Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.^ (5) Chs.i They
were formerly always used to break up the stiff clay lands which
were being summer-worked. Bare or summer fallows are things
of the past, and one seldom sees a pair of ' ox-harrows ' being
used ; but I novy and then see them advertised in auctioneers'
bills of farm sales. s.Chs.^ n.Lin.^ Harrows furnished with
hales (q.v.) and long teeth, drawn by four horses ; perhaps so
called because they are the kind formerly drawn by oxen. (6)
n.Dev. Grose (1790). (7) s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421.
(8) I.W.1 (9) Glo.l (10) SI1.I. To his immediate landlord, or to
his superior, he owes scatt, land-tax, land-maills, wattle, ox-money,
and sheep-money, Hibbert Desc. Sh.L (182a) 278, ed. 1891.
(11) Sus. So called from its shape, Holloway. (12) e.Yks.i
MS. add. (T.H.) (13) Sh.I. Collectors still come round for the
annual duties of scat, wattle, ox-penny, hawk-hens, grassum, and
land-mails, Hibbert Desc. Sh.L (1822) 68, ed. 1891 ; S. & Ork.i
(14) w.Som.i No, he idn altogether a beauty, eens mid zay ; he's
t'igh in the muggle 'and t'ox-pinded vor that ; but he's a rare good
'oss, and no mistake. (15) n.Yks.i* (16, 17) Sns.^ (18) n.Yks.
(I.W.)
2. A steer or stot of the third year. Sc. N. &= Q. (1856)
and S. i. 416.
OX, OX- A YE, see Hocks, Ox-eye.
OXED, ///. adj. Nhp.i Also written oxt. [okst.]
Fretted ; perplexed ; in a quandary. See Hocks, 5.
OXEE, OXE-GOING, see Ox-eye, Ox-gang.
OXEN, V. Obs. Der.^ To take the bull.
OXER, sb. Lei. War. Brks. [o-ks3(r).] 1. A small
log ; a short, thick stick with a lump of lead or iron at the
end. Brks.^ 2. A blow from a thick stick, ib. 3. A
post and a single rail alongside a fence to keep cattle off
the fence.
Lei. A gallop at racing speed over the pastures and the ' oxers "
of High Leicestershire, Hole Bk. Roses (ed. 1896) 207 ; The
charm which belongs so exclusively to a fast and straight run . . .
does not lie in the successful negotiation of Leicestershire ' oxers,*
GiBBS Cotswold Vill. (1898) 126. War.3 The rail of that oxer
looks stiff, and looks new, Mordaunt & Verney Hunt ( 1896) II. 20.
OXEY, adj. Glo. [o-ksi.] Ox-like ; of mature age ;
not ' steerish.' Grose (1790) ; Glo.'
OX-EYE, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written ox-aye Nhb. ; and in forms oxee Sc. (Jam.) ;
oxeyeye Nhb.' [o'ks-ai, -i.] 1. The great tit, Pari4s
Ir. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 32. n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.', Nhb.
(WG), Nhb.i, Cum.* Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post (Dec. 31, 1898).
n.Yks., Midi. SwAiNSON ib. Shr.l Brks. Gent. Mag. (1784) 332,
ed. Gomme, 1884. Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 46.
I.W. (C.J."V.) Wil. Thurn Birds (1870) 21.
2. The blue tit, Parus caerukus.
Sc."(jAM.) Dmb. Statist. Ace. XVI. 250 {ib.). e.Lth. Swainson
ib. 34. Nhb.' c- 1 ., T-u
3 The chiS-chaS, Phylloscopus rufus. w.Som.^ 4. Ihe
willow warbler, P. trochilus. ib. 5. The dunlin, Tringa
alpina. Ess., Ken. Swainson ib. 193. Wil. Smith Birds
(1887) 458. 6. A drinking-cup or glass.
Oxf Obs At Corpus Christi were drinkmg-cups and glasses,
whichj from their shape, were called ox-eyes, Doble Heame's
Coll. (1886) II. 461. ^, . ,
OXFORD-WEED, sb. Oxf. Brks. The ivy-leaved
toad-flax, Linaria Cymbalaria. ^ r , ,t, o u s r, r
Oxf. Abundant on almost every wall at Oxford (B. & H.). Oxf.,
Brks. Druce Flora (1897) 365. ,t, l -v/i t • a 1
OX-GANG, sb. Obs. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lin A so
written oxe-gang n.Yks. ; and in forms osken N.Cy.'^;
oskin n.Yks.i" g.Yks. w.Yks.; oxe-going n.Yks.; oxen-
going Rnf. A measure of land varying according to the
nature of the soil; see below. , „ n x, , -r
Sc Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899). Knt. 1 en
firlots of meal on every plough, or four oxen-gomg of land,
besides corn and straw, Wodrow Carres. (1709-31) \^- i34,
ed 1843 N.Cy.i; N.Cy." An oxgang of land which m some
places contains 10 acres, in some, more. Nhb. He gave nme
oxeangs of land to the prioress of Swine in 1242, Richardson
Borderers Table-bk. (1846) VIII. 243. n.Yks. A piece of wood-
ground called the Oxegang or Oxegoing, being accounted between
twenty and [twenty] five acres, Quarter Sessions Rec. in N.R.
Rec. Soc. VII. 255 ; n.Yks.' A quantity of land varying in different
places, as might be expected, since the quantity of produce — per
acre, say — varies widely in varying districts, and a measured
space of land which would barely keep one ox in this place might
well keep two in another ; n.Yks.2 Charlton in his Hist. Whitby,
1779, makes the oskin hereabouts to be twelve acres of pasturage.
e.Yks. An ox-gang is generally used for a certain quantity of
land, equal to twenty statute acres. Reports Agric. (1793-1813)
42 ; A quantity, or share of common field land, proportioned,
perhaps, to the size of the fields, and the number of messuages in
the given township, at the time the fields were set out, or
apportioned among the houses, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
w.Yks. An oxgang contains 10 acres in some places ; in others
sixteen, eighteen, twenty-four ; and fifty in some parts of Bradford
parish, Thoresby Lett. (1703). n.Lin.' An oxgang is an eighth
part of a Plow-land, Surv. Kirton-in-Lindsey (1787).
OXHEAD, s6. w.Som.i [oksid.] A hogshead.
Plase, sir, I be come arter th' empty oxhead.
OX-PUDDING, sb. s.Wor.' A corruption of 'hog's-
pudding ' ; a large sort of sausage ; see below.
Made from the leaf of a pig, chopped up and stewed with
cutlins, rice, rosemary, sage, leek, organy, and spice. Innovators
add sugar and currants. Sometimes coloured with blood.
OXTER, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Lan. I.Ma. Der. Suf. Also written ockster Yks. ;
oxster Sc. Ant. ; oxtar Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.' ; and in forms
oaxter Nhb.'; ocksther e.Yks.'; ouster Rnf. (Jam.);
oxthar LMa. ; oxther N.L' Dub. Wxf. I.Ma.; oxtther
Ant. ; uxter w.Yks.''; //. oxterns n.Cy. [okst3(r.]
1. sb. The armpit ; also the arm-hole of a coat or jacket.
Cf. oyster, sb.'^
Sc. Let her ladyship get his head ance under her oxter and see
if she winna gie his neck a thraw, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819)
xxiv. Sh.I. He cam' as fast as he could wi' da Bible anunder his
oxter, Stewart Tales (1892) 253. Or.I. The water raise an'
raise, cam' up abeun his knees, abeun his benches, up tae his
oxters, Fergusson Rambles (1884) 248. n.Sc. A painful boil
under my oxter, Wodrow Soc. Set. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) II. 223.
ne.Sc. There's a lump o' unbelief aneth ilk ane o' yer oxters as
hard's a steen, Green Gordonhaven (1887) 79. Cai.' Abd. If
anes your coat be thread-bare worn, The oxters and the elbows
torn. You'll soon become the alewife's scorn, Beattie Parings
(1801)45. ^^&. Screamin' in its mither's oxter. Then the bairn
is borne awa'. Grant Lays (1884) 70. Frf. The bell carefully
tucked under his oxter, Barrie Licht (1888) x. Per. Sleeves up
tae the oxters, Ian Maclaren Auld Lang 5)'«e(i895) 142. e.Fif.
I kittled his oxters, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) xxx. SIg.
Towers Poems (1885) 65. Dmb. Salmon Gowodean (1868) 100.
Rnf. (Jam.) Ayr. They were harhng the body through the mire
by the oxters, Galt Lairds (1826) iii. Lnk. Four inch aneath his
oxter is the mark, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) 67, ed. 1783.
e.Lth. Hunter / Inwick (1895) 69. Edb. Leery-light-the-lamps
was brushing about with his ladder in his oxter. Mom Mansie
Wauch (1828) X. Bwk. Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 134.
Slk. I see him pechin up the brae atween the oxters n' us twa,
Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 69. Gal). It . . . needs a sma'
alteration at the oxters, Crockett Cleg Kelly (i8g6) 311. Ir.
Nate little looking glass that was set in his oxther, Carleton
Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 27. N.I.i 'Whether would you rather
Or rather would you be, Legs to the oxther Or belly to the knee ?
Uls. I was badly taken yesterday with pains under the oxter,
Hamilton Vis. Bog (1896) 63. Ant. Patterson Dial. 23. s.Don.
Simmons G/. ( 1 890) . Dub. ' I went to school wid my Radymadaysy
undher my oxther.' In use in Dublin in the early part of the
century, though now obs. there (H.L.). Wxf. A bag that hung
under my left oxther, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 162. n.Cy.
(K.), N.Cy.' 2, Nhb.i, Dur.i, e.Dur.', w.Dur.i g.Dur. ' Mind ye gie me
plenty o' room about t'oxter,' said a daleswoman to her dressmaker
(J.E.D.). X-akel.2 it catches mi at t'oxters. Cum.'; Cum.*
Defendant got him down, and hit him below the oxter, Carlisle
Patriot (Oct. 6, 1893) 7, col. 2. Wm. Ah's as sair as can be under
mi oxters whar mi jacket rubs (B.K.). n.Yks.i^^*, ne.Yks.',
e.Yks.i m.Yks.i, w.Yks.'^ Lan. Took a little brass box fro'
u'nder'h'is reet oxter, W^augh Heather (ed. Milner) II. 284. I.Ma.
Rams it undhar his oxthar, Rydings Tales (1895) 39 ; Stupid like
in the boat, and the tiller with only their oxther to't, Brown
ZPortoJ- (189 1 ) 78. Der.i 2 Oi5. nw.Der.', Suf.'
2. Comb, (i) Oxter -bound, stiff in the arm and shoulder ;
(2) -cog, to take a person by the arm ; to walk arm in
arm ; (3) -deep, up to the armpits ; (4) -ful, an armful ;
OXTER
[398]
OZMILT
also used attrib. ; (5) -hole, the arm-hole of a waistcoat ;
(6) -pocket, (7) -pouch, a breast-pocket ; (8) -staff, a crutch.
(i) e.Dur.i (2) N.I.' They oxther-cogged you home. s.Don.
Simmons Gl. (1890). (3) Kcd. If [the burn] taks him mair than
oxter deep, An' he is fain to turn, Grant Lays (1884) 17. (4)
Ayr. When the gowan has gotten a grip o' the dew, an' the birk
buss an oxterfu' o' the gloam, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892)
14. Lnk. Watson Poems (1853) 8. Slk. Gang after your braw
callant wi' your oxterfu' ket, Hogg Tales (1B38) 68, ed. 1866.
(5) Nhb.' (6) Sc. Plunging his hand into the oxter pocket of his
jacket. Ford Thistledown (1891) 274. Frf. Protruding from
Dr. McQueen's tail pocket, and from IMr. Duthie's oxter pocket,
Barrie Tommy (1896) xvii. Rxb. Your pocket-buik Fell frae
the oxter-pocket, Riddell Poet. Wks. (1871) II. 144. Dnr. Put
t'letter i' the oxter pocket, Egglestone Betty Podkins' Lett. (1877)
16. (7) Sc. Wi' his oxter-pouches fou', Wilson Poems (1822)
Cawther Fair, st. 11. Abd. An oxter-pouch lined weal wi' honest
won siller, Walker Bards Boit-Accord [IBS']) 627. Kcd. Cramm'd
it in his oxter pouch, Burness Thrummy Cap (c. 1796) 1. 415.
Lth. LuMSEEN Sheep-head (1892) 208. (,8) Bnff. Tam Duncan,
who used 'oxter staves,' Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 71. Abd.
He knocketawa the peer man's oxter staff an' the craitur tummelt
doon (W.M.). Frf. I hirple alang on my auld oxter staff. Watt
Poet. Sketches (1880) 116. Per. He came home with the help of
an oxter staff, Haliburton Furth in Field (1894) 14.
3. Phr. (i) to come with the crooked oxter, to come with a
present ; of a wife: to bring a good dowry ; (2) — feel a
thing in one's oxter, to have hidden it under the arm ; (3)
^ give a person an oxter, to lend him an arm in walking ;
(4) wzV/j/Ae/ieafl^KWgrMfO^r/^r, with drooping, downcasthead.
(i) Sc. The wife's aye welcome that comes wi' a crooket oxter,
Henderson Prov. (1832) 28, ed. 1881 ; She had come to her man
wi' the crookit oxter. Hunter /. Armiger (1897) vii. (2) Yks.
(T.K.) (3) Cld. I'll gie ye an oxter down the street, for the
causey's rough (Jam.). (4) e.Sc. Comin' in ae day wi' his held
under his oxter, as the sayin' is, STUAiii Elmslie's Drag-net^i^oo) 13.
4. The space between the arms ; the breast, bosom.
Sc. As I in his oxter sat. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) II. ig. Elg.
Squeezed wee Willie in his oxter, Till he maist squeezed out his
breath, Tester Poems (1865) 149. Bnff. We arriv'd at Morpheus'
Cell, Into whase oxter soon we fell, Taylor Porais (1787) 177.
Abd. The 'wee things,' beddit lang afore. In ithers oxters soun'ly
snore. Still Cottar's Sunday (1845) 145. Frf. The twa sleepit in
ane anither's oxters on the mat in front o' the kitchen fire,
Willock Roseity Ends (1886) 90, ed. 1889.
5. V. To go arm in arm ; to lead or support with the
arm. Also with in.
Sc. Oxter me to his house and there's a shilling ! Hislop
Anecdote (1874) 148. Kcb. One of the boatmen seized me by the
arm, and proposed that I should oxter in with him, Sarah Tytler
Macdonald Lass (1895) 251. Cai.i Fif. Ye didna think I was
watchin' your high jinks ... or ye'd oxtered less wi' ony slut,
M'Laren Tibbie (1894) 59. e.Fif. Willie . . . had maybe oxtered
her aboot at times, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) xxviii. Slg. Ye took
the causey An' oxtert me like ony lassie, MuirPoi^wis (1818) 257.
Dmb. Oxter'd wi' his bonnie lass, Taylor Poems (1827) 13. Rnf.
Nanny was oxter'd wi' Tammy, Webster Rhymes (1835) 6.
Ayr. Honest James was obligated to cleek and oxter him the
whole way, Galt Provost {1822) xliii. Lnk. I remember Jamie
Glen and me oxtering each other up to look in at the window,
Fraser Whaups (1895) iii. Lth. Mr. Walker oxtered me in his
ainsel', Strathesk Blinkbonny (ed. 1891) 174. Edb. So Tammy
and I had to oxter her out between us, Moir Mansie Wauch
(1828) viii. Feb. The Howdy . . . And Sally Sma' wi' mooted
smock, Gaed oxteran' frae the green, Lintoun Green (1685) 63,
ed. 1817. Dmf. Quinn Heather (1863) 226. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824). Wgt. The honest farmer either 'oxtered' and
forced to run, or carried shoulder high, or sitting stridelegs across
a pole, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 275.
6. To fold in the arms, to embrace.
Bnff. To oxter fine young lady, Taylor Poems (1787) 129.
Bnff.i In the feein' markets ye may see the lads an' the lasses
oxterin' ane anither. Abd. The foreman's in wi' the Missy, sittin'
oxterin' her in the kitchie, Abd. IVkly. Free Press (Mar. 26, 1898).
7. To put under the arm.
Nhb.i When this master of minstrelsy oxtered his blether, Nhb.
Minstrels' Budget.
Hence Oxtered, ppl. adj. carried under the arm.
Abd. The whip-the-cat's aif fae hoose to hoose, Wi' his oxter'd
lap-buird lampin', Murray Hamtvoith (1900} 2.
8. To elbow, push with the arm.
Edb. He . . . oxtered his way into the crowd, Beatty Secrelar
(1897) 84. Bwk. Some may gang pushin' an' oxterin' past,
Chisholm Poems (1879) 78.
[Cp. OE. ohsta, oxta, ocusta, the armpit (B.T.).]
OX- VOMIT, sb. Chs. Amer. The drug, nux vomica.
Chs.i [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 392.]
OXY, see Hocksy.
OXY-BIRD, sb. Ken.i The dunlin, Tringa alpina.
See Ox-bird, s.v. Ox, 1 (3, a).
OYCE, see Oyse, sb.
OY(E, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Also written oey Sc. ; oi Cai.' ;
oie Sh.I. ; and in forms o Edb. ; oe Sc. [oi.] 1. A
grandchild.
Sc. The father buys, the son biggs, The oye sells, and his son
thiggs, Ramsay Prov. (1737); 'Among you be't, priest's bairns,
for 'am but a priest's oye.' Spoken when we see people con-
tending, in whose contests we have little concern, Kelly Prov.
(1721) 16. Sh.L Did ye read da letter 'at he wis gotten frae his
oie? 5A.A'ra/s(Nov. 5, 1898). Or.L (S.A.S.) n.Sc. First I courted
a gentleman's oy, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 267, ed. 1875. ne.Sc.
I convinced myself that my protege was really the 'oye,' or
grandchild of John Martin, Grant Keckleton, 99. Cai.^ Bcb. I
am The neist chiel to his oye, Forbes Ajax (1742) 5. Frf. Nane
ventured to speer Gin she was the auld man's oe, Watt Poet.
Sketches (1880) 67. Per. She gaes stappie an' stot, Wi' her oes
at her side, Stewart Character (1857) 28. Slg. Come, sit doon,
auld kimmer, and tell your o'es tale How he fared on the wreck.
Towers Poems (1885) 76. Rnf. The minister's wife, her oye, sat
beside her, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) II. 137, ed. 1843. Ayr.
And grannies danced with their oyes, Galt Ann. Parish (1822)
xlix. Lnk. My ain wee darlin' oe ! Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895)
109. Ltli. The elder'n fo'k sae sweetly smil'd. To see their
bairns, an' oe's, Bruce Poems (1813) II. 68. Edb. Our bairns an'
OS may gentle be like him ; Hae houses bien, an' in a chariot ride,
Learmont Pocws (1791) 301. n.Cy. {Coll. L.L.B.) ; N.Cy.i
2. Comp. Air-oi, a great-grandson. Cai.^ 3. A nephew.
Abd. Jock was but her oey, guidman she had nane, An' was
an auld maid gin there ever was ane, Anderson Rhymes (ed.
1867) 13.
[1. The 5oung prince his oye, Dalrymple Leslie's Hist.
Scotl. (1596) II. 150 ; The secund O he was of gud Wallace,
Wallace (1488) i. 30. Gael, ogha, a grandchild (Macbain).]
OYLYSTER, s6. w.Wor.^ An oyster.
OYNE, see Hoin, v.
OYSE, sb. Sh. and Or.I. Also written oyce S. & Ork.^
[ois.] An inlet of the sea.
S. & Ork.i Or.I. Built upon a pleasant oyse or inlett of the
sea, Wallace Desc. Or. I. (1693) 49, ed. 1883 ; Fergusson
Rambles (1884) 167.
[ON. OSS, the mouth of a river or lake (Vigfusson).]
OYSE, sb. pi. lObs. Sc. In phr. Caller oyse! fresh
oysters ! an Edinburgh street-call.
Edb. Caller oyse, caller oyse, Wale o' my caller oyse ! M'^Dowall
Poems (1839) 225.
OYSTER, sb?- Nhb. Suf. Dev. [oi-sta(r.] 1. In comp.
Oyster-scaup, an oyster-bed. Nhb.' 2. Phr. Ee-shee-
ke-le-kaul-er-oysters, obsoL, the cry of oyster-sellers in
Newcastle. Nhb. Brockett Gl. (1846). 3. A fir-cone,
the fruit of Pinus sylvestris.
Dev." Fir-cones, the scales of which, with the seeds, nearly
enough resemble oystershells to suggest the name.
4. A bunch of the common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, ib.
5. A gross, thick viscid expectoration. Suf.'
OYSTER, s6.2 OxfSus. Hmp. [oi-st3(r).] The blade-
bone of veal dressed with the meat on ; also in comp.
Oyster-end. See Oxter.
Oxf.i MS. add. Sus.^ Hmp. We've no veal left but one
oyster-end (W.M.E.F.) ; Hmp.'
[Cp. Norw. dial, osier, the lowest part of the neck or
throat, the hollow above the collar-bone (Aasen).]
OYTCH,OZELLY, OZIGER, see Each, Oozly, Ossiger.
OZLE, sA. Bnff.> [S'zl.] The line by which the cork-
buoys are attached to a herring-net.
OZMILT, adj. Sh.I. Also in form osmal. [o'zmilt.]
Dusky, grey-coloured ; ugly.
A auld osmal liiikin' auld maid, wi' a mooth laek a horse
happrick, Stewart Tales (1892) 35 ; S. & Ork.i
[399]
P, sb. Shr. Hrf. In phr. to be P and Q, to be of prime
quality. Bound Provinc. (1876).
V A, prep. Obs. Wxf.^ Upon.
' Pa ooree,' upon each other. ' Pa caw!,' upon the horse.
PA, PAA, see Pall, sb.°, Paw, sb}"^, Paw, sb}
PAAD, t/. Sh.r. [pad.] ? To inform.
Some ane paadid Paetie o' what wis gaein' on, Sh. News (May 28,
1898).
PAAGLE, PAAK, see Paigle, Paik, v., Pouk, sb}
PAAKY, PAAL, see Pawky, Pall, sb}
PAALIE-MAALIE, adj. Cai.^ [pa-li-mali.] Of a
person : sickly, not in quite good health. Cf. paulie.
PAAMUS, int. Lan. Also written paamas Lan.^ A
beggar's term : ' palm us,' ' give us alms.'
Lan.i The following is still remembered in Furness as the usual
address of beggars : ' Pity, pity paamas. Pray give us aamas ; Yan
for Peter, two for Paul, Three for God at meead us all.' n.Lan.i
PAANTIN, see Pantin.
PAAP, sb. Sh.I. Also in form pap (Jam.), [pap.]
A piece of whalebone, or a small iron rod about eighteen
inches long, connecting the ball of lead used in fishing
with the lines to which the hooks are attached. (Jam.),
S. & Ork.i
PAAP, PAAT, see Paup, Paut.
PAATIE, sb. Sh.I. Also in form pawty. [pa-ti.] A
young pig ; also in comp. Paatie grice.
I said da sam' ta wir Skotti in voar whin da pawty died. . . Lost
ye a pawty-grice? Sh. News (May 14, 1898); Gude feth, doo's
ieepit da ting o' pawty grice, Sibbie ! see ye foo his hide is turn'd
rid ! ib. (Aug. 27, 1898) ; A pet name for a pig, Jakobsen Norsk
in Sh. (1897) 92 ; S. & Ork.^
[Cp. Dan. patie-gris, a sucking-pig, /affe, a teat (Larsen).]
PAAVIE, PAB, see Paw, sb.'', Pob.
PABBLE, V. Sc. [pa'bl.] To bubble as boiling water.
Cf. pobble, popple, v.
Slk. Seein the pimples and pustules pabblin' a' ower him, as
parritch pabbles in the pat, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III.
263 ; The howe o' the lift was like a great cawdron pabblin into
the boil ower a slow fire, ib. II. 267.
PACE, sb. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lin. Also in forms
paece Sh.I. ; paise Abd. ; paiss Cai.^ ; pasch Sc. n.Lin.^ ;
peace Sc. w. Yks.* ; pearce Cum. ; pes Sh.I. ; pyessy
Nhb.' [pes, pias.] 1. Easter.
Sc. A Yule feast may be done at Pasch, Ferguson Prov. (1641)
No. 126. Frf. We gat on our summer claes. A' new at Peace,
Smart Rhymes (1834) 89. Ayr. Many a stoup of burned wine and
spiced ale they were wont, at Pace and Yule, . . to partake of
together, Galt Gilhaise (1823) v. w.Yks. Watson Hist. Hlfx.
(1775)544; w.Yks.4
2. Comb, (i) Pace-clothes, new clothes worn at Easter;
(2) -day, Easter day; (3) -even, Easter Saturday; (4)
■fines, obs., certain yearly payments made by the tenants
to the lord of the manor of Kirton-in-Lindsey ; (5)
-market, a market held at Easter ; (6) -new, new at
Easter ; (7) -old, old at Easter ; see below ; (8) -ree, obs.,
a time about Easter when storms were expected ; (9) —
Saturday, see (3) ; (10) — Sunday, see (2).
(i) Com. The lasses in their fyne pearce claes, Stagg Misc.
Poems (ed. 1805) 128. (2) Cal.^ Abd. Good Friday. . . No
preaching or communion in either of the Aberdeens, as was used
and wont, nor yet given on Pasch-day, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792)
I. 216. Per. He gave the communion on Pasch day, as he did
many tymes before without scruple, Wodrow Soc. Sel. Biog.
(ed. 1845-7) I- 94- (3) Cai.' (4) n.Lia.i (5) Abd. There was
some gay work, at the muckle Paise Market, Where wives bought
their linen an' sheets i' the spring, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 4.
(6) Nhb.i (7) ib. On Easter Sunday some new article of clothing
must be worn, otherwise the birds in flying overhead will testify
against the wearers of pyessy-aad by spattering the clothes of the
offender (s.v. Pyessy-new). (8) Sh.I. There were certain times of
the seasons when storms were specially expected. These were
called Rees. There was . . . Paece Ree, about Easter, Spence
i^f^-iore (1899) 117. (9) Sh.I. Manson ^/»:. (1893). (10) Sh.I.
Manson ib. n.Sc. Easter Sunday was another of our famous days.
But we knew it by the hallowed name of Peace Sunday. . . It was
a time-honoured custom in Carglen for mothers to allow their
children, and masters their men and maids, . . an illimitable num-
ber of fresh-laid eggs for breakfast, Gordon Carglen (1891) 279.
Per. The said 9th day of April, which is Pasch Sunday, Maidment
Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) II. 287. Lnk. We renounce . . .
Pasch-Sunday, Hallow-even, Hugmynae night, Wodrow Ch. Hist.
(1721) III. 351, ed. 1828.
[1. This Conuention . . . thay held at Pace, Sat. Poems
(1571), ed. Cranstoun, I. 182 ; Nevir is glaid at 5ule nor
Paiss, Dunbar Poems {c. 1510), ed. Small, II. 152; The
feeste of Paas, York Plays (c. 1400) 233. MLat. pascha,
the feast of the passover (Ducange).]
PACE, see Paise, v}
PACE-EGG, sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Also in forms pasag w.Yks. ; pasche-egg Cum.
Lan. ; pase- Sc. (Jam.) ; paste- N.Cy.^ Nhb.' Dun'
e.Dur.'n.Yks.^* Lan. ; paysayg w.Yks. ; pays- Sc. (Jam.) ;
paysegg m.Lan.' ; peace-egg w.Yks.^^ ; peass- Cum.'* ;
peeace- Cum. ; peeast- n.Yks. ; peyste- Nhb. ; pias- Wm. ;
pyeas- Nhb.'; pyeste- Nhb. 1. An ' Easter egg'; esp.
one stained and hard-boiled ; see below ; also an egg
given in payment of the Easter dues of the parish church.
See Pace.
Sc. (Jam.) n.Cy. Eggs, stained with various colours in boiling,
. . . are at Easter presented to children. . .These young gentry ask
for their Paste eggs, as for a fairing, at this season. Brand Pop.
Antiq. (1813) I. 147 ; N.Cy.' Nhb. Wi' what pleshure aw booled
maw pyeste eggs on the Green ! Allan Tyneside Sngs. (1891)
416 ; Ne place to bool wor peyste eggs noo, ib. 396 ; Nhb.', Dur.'
e.Dur.' Eggs, dyed in a decoction of logwood chips and onion peel.
Lakel.2 Cum. Girdle-ceake, carlins an peeace-eggs, Burn Fireside
Crack (1886) 18 ; Eggs are first wound round with various coloured
ribbons, &c., and then boiled hard — the shell is thus dyed. The
eggs are afterwards arranged neatly in baskets for show on
Easter Monday and trundled or rolled against each until one
or both break (E.W.P.) ; The capacity of youngsters for devouring
pasche eggs is something marvellous, w.Cum. Times (Apr. 8, 1899)
4, col. 3 ; Cum.* On Easter Monday the children play with the
eggs, rolling them on the grass until they are broken, when they
are eaten. At Carlisle this takes place on the ' Sauceries,' a large
field lying between the river and the castle. Wm. Please Ah've
come ta late mi pias-eggs (B.K.). s.War. (J.A.B.) n.Yks. On
Heeaster Sunda' we've Peeast Eggs, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes
(1875) 2 ; n.Yks.' 24 Lan. Houses are hterally besieged by these
juvenile troops from morning till night. ' God's sake ! a pace-egg,'
is the continual cry, Harland & Wilkinson Fik-Lore (1867) 230 ;
Lan.', e.Lan.' Chs.i During Holy Week, children, and sometimes
older people, go round to the farm-houses begging for pace-eggs.
They collect a considerable number, and have a custard pudding
PACHETTY
[400]
PACK
on Easter Sunday. Occasionally some of the eggs are boiled hard,
with bits of ribbon wrapped round them, or onion skins, to stain
them, and they are then kept for a time as ornaments ; Chs.^
Hence (i) Pace-egg-day, sb. Easter day ; (2) -egger,
sb. one who goes about singing or begging for Easter eggs
and other trifles at Christmas and on ' Collop Monday,'
as well as at Easter ; (3) -egging, vbi. sb. the custom of
collecting Easter eggs ; (4) -egging-time, sb. Easter.
(i) N.Cy.i, Nhb.', Dnr.i, n.Yks.^ (2) w.Yks. His face painted
war nor a paysayger, Hartley Puddin' (1876) 98 ; Matilda said
they'd been so bothered with pace-eggers to-night, it's Collop
Monday (F.P.T.). Chs.l (3) Lakel.2 Lan. ' We'n nobbut coom
paste-eggin'.' 'Ah, Easter Sunday to-morrow, yo' know'n,'
Francis Fustian (1895) 139 ; Connected with this great festival of
the Church are various rites . . . such as pace or Pasche egging,
Harland & Wilkinson /7y6-Zor« (1867) 227. Chs.^ In the neigh-
bourhood of Wilmslow the following song was sung by those who
were begging for eggs : ' Here's two or three jovial boys all in a
mind; We're come a pace-eggin if you will prove kind,' &c. (4)
Wm. N. &-= Q. (1871) 4th S. viii. 355. Lan. Awm sixty-seven, aw
am, come next pace-eggin' toime, Owen Good Ouid Toimes (1870) 6.
2. The mummers' play of St. George, now. played at
Christmas.
w.Yks. 2; W.Yks. 5 This play, with us, is called 'The Peace Egg,'
which term at once points out the fact of its having originated in
the church, since its connection with the religious ceremonies of
Easter is obvious (s.v. Mummers).
Hence (i) Pace-egg-clothes, sb.fl. clothes worn by the
performers in the mummers' play of St. George ; (2)
•egger, sb. a mummer ; (3) -egging, vbl. sb. mumming
both at Christmas and at Easter.
(i) Lan. Doas t'think they'll be thoose owd paysegg clooas 'ut
are i' th' box upstairs? Staton Rivals (1888) 11. (2) w.Yks.
(J.W.) Lan. He danc't up an' deawn war nor a drunken pace-
egger, Harland & Wilkinson Leg. (1873) 191 ; Lan.i (3) Lakel.^
Further back a few years, a custom existed of men going around
to the houses acting a kind of mummery, in which ' Lord Nelson,'
'Auld Tosspot,' and 'The Jolly Jack Tar,' were the principal
characters. The introductory doggerel ran after this fashion :
' The first that comes in is Lord Nelson, you see. He's a bunch of
blue ribbons tied round on his knee, A star on his breast, like
silver it shines. Ah hope you'll remember it's piase eggin times.'
Yks. We've come a pace-egging, Dixon Sngs. Eng. Peas. (1846)
181. w.Yks. We're bahn pasaging (H.L.). Lan. In Blackburn at
the present day, pace-egging commences on the Monday and
finishes on the Thursday before the Easter-week. Young men in
groups varying in number from three to twenty, dressed in various
fantastic garbs and wearing masks — some of the groups accom-
panied by a player or two on the violin — go from house to house
singing, dancing, and capering. At most places they are liberally
treated with wine, punch, or ale, dealt out to them by the host or
hostess. The young men strive to disguise their walk and voice,
and the persons whom they visit use their efforts ... to discover
who they are, Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867) 229.
in.Lan.^
PACHETTY, adj. Hrf.^ [pa'tjati.] Weak, ailing, in
bad health.
PACIFY, t<. Irel. Oxf. ■ 1. To satisfy, suffice.
Ir. Sorra a bit 'ill pacify him wid it all — not if you had the full
of it to be givin' him, Barlow Martin's Company (1896) 66.
2. To make quiet by force or punishment.
Oxf. I don't know what her [a mare] would ha' done if I hadn't
pacified her wi' giein her a good hiding wi' a prong (W.B.T.).
PACK, sb}, V. and adj. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written pak Sh.I. [pak, paek.] 1. sb. In
comb, (i) Pack-a-luge, a heavy load not easily moved ;
(2} — and fardel, (3) — and package, entirely ; ' bag and
baggage ' ; (4) — and prime road, a bridle road ; a pack-
horse road across the moors ; (5) — and prime way, see
below ; (6) -fellow, a pedlar ; (7) -gate, (a) a fence road
on which cattle may be driven ; ib) a gate on a road for
pack-horses ; (8) -goods, a pedlar's wares ; (9) -house,
obs., a warehouse for receiving goods imported or intended
for exportation ; (10) -man, (a) see (6j ; (6) a man who
has charge of pack-horses ; (c) a snail, esp. the spotted
snail. Helix aspera; (ii) -man rich, obs., a species
of barley having six rows of grain to the ear ; (12) -man
snail, see (10, c) ; (13) -merchants, small clouds driven
before the wind ; (14) -needle, a very small eel ; (15)
•racket, a species of firework constructed so as to explode
with a succession of loud reports ; a cracker ; (16) -road,
a road for pack-horses ; (17) -sack, a sack slung across a
horse ; (18) -saddle, a saddle for a pack-horse ; (19)
•saddle bell, obs., a bell for a pack-horse ; see below ;
(20) -saddle steeple, a church tower terminating in a roof
with gable ends rising above the ridge ; (21) -snail, see
(10, c) ; {22) -staff or -stave, a pedlar's staff which sup-
ports the pack on his back, and also serves to measure
his wares ; (23) -thread, nonsense ; esp. in phr. to talk
pack-thread; (24) -thread gang, a set of persons associated
for some special purpose, who are not likely to hold
together ; (25) -wall, colliery term : a pillar ; see below ;
(26) -way, see (16).
(i) Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 260. (2) Dor. There be zum
vo'ks as 'ud a' bundled she off, pack an' fardel, if herd ben
catched along o' I, Hare Vill. Street (1895) 132. w.Sora.^ They
gypsies was there again last night, but the police [poa lees] zeed
em, and zoon shift em along, pack and fardel. n.Dev. Radge
* Fuzz went slap dash, pack-an'-fardel. Rock Jim an' Nell (1867)
St. 102. (3) Nlip.i They are all gone, pack and package. (4)
w.Yks. (S.J.C.), w.Yks.2 (5) w.Yks. The price fixed upon for
the ground required was at the rate of /^6o an acre, Mr. Rawson
to have a ' pack and prime ' way thereon to and from Bradford,
CuDwoRTH Hist. Bolton, 26, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Nov. 30,
1895). e.Lan.' A prime-way enclosed with fences, and converted
to public use for packing or driving cattle. (6) Som. Aunt
Joshua did not ' care so very much about them packfellows,'
Raymond Tryphena (1895) 69. w.Sora.i I always tells my missus,
don't you never hang me up wi' noan o' they there pack-fullers ;
nif you do I on't never pay it. (7, «) e.Laa.^ (6) e.An.l Suf.
Rainbird Agric. (1819) 297, ed. 1849. Ess. Proceed under the
hedge thereof to the Pack Gate entering into Sudbury Field,
Sum. Gestingihorpe Parish (1804) 42. (8) Shr.'- I dunna think it's
wuth w'ile makin' up sich poor slaizy stuff, yo' met'n potch
straws through it — it's al'ays the case 66th pack-goods. w.Som.i
I don't like they there pack-goods ; yokes do think they be cheap,
but they be dear come to last, vor there idn no goodness nor wear
in em. (9) Sc. (Jam.) Frf. With a great house on the shore
called the Pack-House, where they lay up their merchant goods,
Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) !• 327- (10, a) Sc. The
siller ye gae to the travelling packman for the bodle, Scott
Antiquary (1816) iv. Frf. A packman . . . tells me, that last
Sabbath only the Auld Lichts held service, Barrie Lichts{iW&) i.
s.Sc. The packman lad and beggar man, Watson Bards (1859) 9.
Edb. Har'st Rig (1794) 20, ed. 1801. Bwk. Now wandering
about the country as a packman, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856)
16. n.Yks.l24 m.Yks.i, w.Yks.l, Chs.l, s.Not. (J.P.K.), Lei.l,
Nhp.i Shr.i Some folks thinken they get great bargains off the
packmen, but I dunna like thar flaunty trash. Hrf. Bound
Provinc. (1876). Oxf.i MS. add. e.An.^ Som. She purchased
it last fall of a packman, Raymond Tryphena (1895) 52. w.Som.i
e.Dev. All soarts o' packmeyn's swit sceynts, Pulman Sng. Sol.
(i860) iii. 6. (6) ? Dev. ' Well sir, you see, nothing was carried
in waggons then, but on packhorses. . . My grandfather was a
packman; those were rare times.' . . The old packmen's courses
may still be traced, Baring-Gould Cy. Life (1890) viii. (c)
S.Lin. The packmen be coming out after the rain (F.H.W.).
War.* It's sartain sure to be wet when them packmen are about.
Oxf. Science Gossip (1882) 165. (11) Abd. It [beer] is distinguished
from what, by way of eminence, is called barley, by having four
rows of corn on its stalks (and a particular species of it, called
packman-rich, has six rows), Agric. Surv. 247 (Jam.). (12)
Nhp.i 'Tis evening, the black snail has got on his track. And gone
to his rest is the wren ; And the packman-snail too, with his
home on his back, Clings on the bow'd bents like a wen, Clare
Evening. (13) ne.Sc. Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 156. Bnff., Abd.
(Jam.) (14) ne.Lan.i (15) se.Wor.i (16) Dev. From the same
point turning to the left by an old ' pack road,' n.Dev. Handbk.
(ed. 1877) 47- (17) Nhb.i Poultry were thus carried to market.
(18) w.Som.i (19) Lakel.i A curious brass bell formed of a
hollow globe, with a brass ball inside, and attached to pack saddle
horses, to guide those that followed. (20) Nhp.i (21) Lin. The
snail with shell to distinguish it from the shell-less 'slug' (J.C.W.).
(22) n.Yks.'' Studded with nails at different distances, it could be
used as a measure. Chs.^ Lei.' The common proverbial simile, ' as
plain as a pike-staff,' is here generally, ' as plain as a pack-staff.'
Shr.' As plain as a pack-staif. w.Som.i By wearing on his
journeys this stave becomes exceedingly smooth, hence our every-
PACK
[401]
PACK
day simile, ' So plain's a pack-stave,' which literature has corrupted
into ' plain as a pike-staff.' (23) Ctini.i* Wm. Thoo talks nowt
but a lot o' pack-threed (B.K.V w.Yks.2 It's all pack-thread.
ne.Lan.i (24) Lin. (Hall.), Lin.l (25) Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. Built
up of stone obtained in the mine, the large stones being placed
on the outsides and the middle filled up with the smaller ones,
Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). w.Yks. (W.T.) (26) e.An.i
Nrf. Nobbut a packway, Rye Hist. Nrf. (1885) xv. e.Nrf. Mar-
shall Rur. Econ. (1787).
2. Phr. (i) an eat the pack, a spendthrift ; (2) to eat, or
spend, the pack, to waste one's substance ; (3) to trim the
pack, to follow the trade of a pedlar.
(i) Bnff. (Jam.) (2) Bnff.i (3) Gall. In England some o'm's
gane the pack to trim, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 477, ed. 1876.
3. Property; belongings.
Rnf. Did the holy lads in black Employ you to make up their
pack, From some poor sinner's naked back, And hungry wame ?
M'GiLVRAY Poems (ed. 1862) 104. Edb. Lawyers cam' an' sell'd
my pack. . . They've left me neither horse nor cow, Crawford
Poems (1798) 5. Lth. If our Jock's but a gowk, and has naething
ava : The hale o' his pack he has now on his back, Macneill
Poet. Wks. (1801) 317, ed. 1856.
4. A measure of weight or number ; see below.
Cld. Of wool, 12 stone Scotch, Morton Cydo. Agric. (1863).
Ayr. So may his flock increase and grow To scores of lambs, an'
packs o' woo', Burns Death of Mailie, 1. 23-4. Slk., Dmf.
Morton ib. Wgt. No fewer than eighteen score of packs of cloath
have been sold thereat. Eraser Wigtown (1877) 21. Cum. A
measure of coals equal to about three Winchester bushels, Linton
Lake Cy. (1864) 308. n.Yks. Of teazles, 1350 bunches of ten
each, Morton ib. w.Yks. A measure used in selling potatoes and
= 2 bags (W.F.S.) ; 240 lb. (J.M.) Lan. Lamb's wool, 44 lbs.,
Morton ib. Chs.' Twelve score weight, i.e., 240 lbs. ; two long
hundred-weights. n.Wal. Of lamb's wool, 240 lbs., Morton ib.
Der. Thirty pecks of oatmeal, Addy Gl. (1891). nw.Der.^ A sack
of flour, 240 lbs. Shr.i Obsol. Twenty stones of flour, — a survival
probably of the old custom of conveyance by pack-horses. Glo.
Of teazles, 40 staffs = 1,000 glens = 20,000, Morton ib. Hat.
Of wool, 240 lbs., ib. Ken. Of flax, 240 lbs., ib. w.Som.i A pack
of wool is 240 lbs. ; a pack of teazles is twelve ' staves ' of twenty
' bunches.' . . The latter are always sold by the pack.
5. A heavy mass of cloud ; a thundercloud ; gen. in pi.
Cf. pack-merchants.
ne.Sc. ' Packies, pack-merchans ' — moving eastwards from south,
southwest, or west, indicate that the wind will soon blow from
south or southwest, Gregor i^A-i.o;-e (1881) 155. Bnff.' Cum.';
Cum.* When dingy packs on Criffell lower Then hoose yer kye
an' stuik yer duir. n.Lln.'
Hence Packy, adj. heavy with clouds ; cloudy.
Lakel.2 It nobbut links packy i' t'sooth. Cum.' T'sky's packy
to-day, and like thunder ; Cum.* w.Yks. Used of the appearance
of the clouds when they portend snow (W.F.S. ). Lin. (Hall.)
n.Lin.' Packy weather — when there are packs in the air. sw.Lin.'
I thought there'd be a storm, the clouds looked so packy.
6. Colliery term : a rough wall to support the roof of a
mine and to form a roadway for air. Cf. pack-wall.
w.Yks. (D.T.) ; The elder Danforth then came up, and seizing
Grice by the throat, pushed him against a pack, seriously injuring
him, Yks. Even. Post (Feb. 24, 1899).
7. A set of skittles.
w.Som.i Xhe nine skittles are always called a pack of skittles,
and spoken of as * the pack.'
Hence to have brought the pack to the pins, phr. to have
dwindled away one's stock. Sc. Kelly Prov. (1721) 368.
8. A collection of animals or birds ; esp. a brood of
moor-game.
Ir. In Ireland what is in Scotland called a ' covey ' [of grouse]
is known as a ' pack,' Gent. Mag. (Sept. 1874) 313. Nhb.i A flock
or flight of wild ducks. w.Yks.' Cbs. A large dairy of cows — a
pack of cows is the term in Cheshire, Marshall Review (1818) II.
40. w.Som.i What a pack o' rooks. There was a fine pack o'
poults in the middle common zmornin'.
9. A worthless person. n.Lin.' 10. v. In comb, (i)
Pack-andpenny day, the last day of a fair, on which
goods are sold cheap ; (2) — Monday, an annual fair held
at Sherborne ; (3) -rag day, the day on which servants
hired by the year change their places.
(i) Nhp.' Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1869). (2) Wil.
Dree year come Wednesday afore next Packmonday veaSr, Swin-
VOL. IV.
stead Parish on Wheels (1897) 55 ; 'Pack Monday ' at Sherborne
commemorates the completion of the Abbey, when the men
engaged in building it packed up their tools, and enjoyed with the
town a general holiday next day, ib. 71 ; Pack Monday — This
annual fair was held on Monday. The old custom of blowing
horns and beating tin kettles at one o'clock in the morning was
duly observed and was continued up to daybreak, N. & Q. (1866)
3rd S. X. 373. (3"; n.Yks.' The day after Martinmas Day, or 23rd
November; n.Yks.^ Martinmas day ; n.Yks.* ne.Yks. Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1796) II. 336; ne.Yks.', m.Yks.' -w.Y^s. Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Nov. 30, 1895). Lin. Old May-day (Hall.). Nhp.' Old
Michaelmas Day. War.s, e.An.' Nrf., Suf. Grose (1790) MS.
add. (P.) Wil.' October 11, Old Michaelmas Day.
11. Phr. (i) to pack it upon a person, to foist an offence
upon another ; see Patch, 10 ; (2) — or peel vaith a person,
to trade unfairly, to have unlawful or underhand dealings
with him ; (3) — the furrows, in ploughing : to lay the
furrows close together ; (4) — up one's alls, to prepare for
a removal.
(i) Nhp.' He wants to pack it upon me, but he shan't. Hnt.
(T.P.F.) (2) Sc. I am not a person to pack or peel with Jacobites,
Scott Redg. (1824) x; The Saddlers . . . were erected into an
incorporation . . . with exclusive privileges. . . Merchants in
Glasgow [1757] entered into copartnery, purposing upon their own
stock and credit, to carry on the manufactory of saddles. . . They
assumed as partners three . . . freemen of the incorporation . .
The incorporation brought an action against them, including that
the three saddlers should be discharged to pack and peel with
unfreemen, and the merchants prohibited to work in the business
appropriated to the incorporation. . . That they shall not pack or
peel with unfreemen, nor cover unfreemen's goods. Faculty Decisions
(1788) II. 30-1. (3) Abd. Not less indispensable are evenness in
' packing ' the furrows, and neatness in turning out the last narrow
strip when the ridge has been pared down, Alexander Ain Flk.
(1883) 241. (4) w.Yks.'
12. With down : to press down.
Sh.I. Pakkin' doon apo' da kail wi' da widden laedle, Sh. News
(Dec. 25, 1897) ; I pakkid doon i' me pipe wi' me fore finger, ib.
(Apr. 6, 1901).
13. Colliery term : to build walls to support the roof of
a coal-seam with stones obtained in the mine.
w.Yks. From the end of the porch I cleared out and packed an
old bord (S.J.C.) ; (J.H.B.)
14. To collect together, esp. of birds.
n.Yks. (T.S.); n.Yks.' To collect together in large flocks or
assemblages, as the grouse do in October and later on in the
season ; n.Yks.*, w.Yks.' w.Som.' Nif you do zee the poiflts
begin to packy, tidn no good to think you be gwain to get 'thin
shot o' they.
15. To meet together for an evil purpose. N.Cy.''
16. See below. Cf 11 (3).
Abd. Clutchin' at the scythe handle ... he was slamin' an' ramin'
at the barley ; hackin' an' packin', but never cuttin' a stalk, Abd.
Wkly. Free Press (Sept. 15, 1900).
17. With in : to pitch or throw underhand.
w.Som.' In the game of rounders . . . the pitcher is always said
to ' pack in ' the ball. ' Who can hat'n like that? why's-n pack-n
in vitty! Bill, thee go and pack in the balls.' Dev. Peck in a
stwone behind theck weed, WuU sed ! now hurn below, Pulman
Sketches, 60, in Elworthy Wd-bk. (1888).
18. With up : to secure any heavy weight, as it is raised,
by inserting wedges or blocks underneath.
w.Som.' Mind and pack up the piece well, fear the chain should
break.
19. With upon : to come home, or touch (as a retort).
Sh.I. ShUs paid da boys fine — an' dee tQ, daa — for payin' for her
share o' da dippin' ; dat packs apo' you a' for your mercifil duins,
Sh.News (Jan. 15, 1898) ; Tak dat, boy. Dat paks apo' dee. Ha,
ha, ha-a ! ib. (Oct. 8, 1898).
20. adj. Intimate, friendly ; of animals: tame, docile.
Sc. Him and me were never onyways pack, Stevenson Calriona
(1893) xxix. Frf. Sae thick an' pack wi' yon sour-mou'd whaup,
LowsoN Guidfollow (1890) 34. Per. Them an' me hevna been pack
thae laist twa years, Ian Maclaren Auld Lang Syne (1895) 330.
e.Fif. We grew belyve to be ' unco' pack and thick thegither,'
Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) viii. Dmb. Wha was the auld gentle-
man wi' the scuppit beaver ye were gaun wi' sae pack-like, Cross
Disruption (1844) x. Ayr. Nae doubt but they were fain o' ither,
An' unco pack an' thick thegither, Burns Twa Dogs (1786) 1. 37-
3r
PACK
[402]
PAD
8. Lnk. Thomson Musings (1881) 56. Lth. Thomson Poems
(18 19) 179. Edb. He'll jump banks hich, an' be fou pack wi' me,
LearmontPo«'»!s(i79t) 333. Dmf. Will and Jock, though maistly
pack, Kick'd up a hurry in a crack, Shennan Ta/cs (1831)69. Gall.
Nicholson Po«<. /^fo. (1814) 52, ed. 1897. N.Cy.', Nhb.i, Cum.'*,
n.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.)
Hence (i) Packlie, adv. familiarly, intimately. CId.
(Jam.) ; (2) Packness, sb. familiarity, intimacy, ib.
PACK, sb? Sc. [pak.] A dial, form of 'pact'; a
compact.
Abd. Between them twa there was a pack. To enter bobbing
Andrew, Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 71.
PACK, sb.^ Sc. Nhb. The shepherd's portion in a
flock which is allowed free grazing in return for his
services in looking after the whole herd.
Sth. The packs have marks totally different from the flock, Farm
Reports (1832) 77 ; The packs, or shepherds' lambs, are divided
into two sorts, sellers and keepers, ib. 80. Rxb.The number varying
according to the quality of the sheep-walks (Jam.). Nhb. What
does he do but scrape tegither eneuch siller to buy a ' pack ' an'
tak' a herdin' on Deadwater Fell, Pease Mark o' Deil (1893) 135 ;
Nhb.i The pack is known from the hirsel by the marking letters
being placed crosswise, whilst in the hirsel they are put on straight.
Hence Pack-ewe, sb. an ewe which a shepherd has a
right to pasture. Rxb. (Jam.)
PACK, see Pick, sb}
PACKAD, sb. Cai.' [pa'kad.] A shallow wooden
box for carrying ashes.
PACKALD, sb. Obs. Sc. A pack ; a load.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Kcb. How loath we are to
forego our packalds and burdens, that hinder us to run our race
with patience, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 191.
PACKET, sb. Sc. Chs. Bck. Dev. Also written packit
Dev. [pa-kit, paekit.] 1. In cotnp. Packet-boys, small,
well-defined, roundish masses of cloud ; a mackerel sky.
Bck. These clouds are called . . . ' packet-boys,' and are said to
be packets of rain soon to be opened, Swainson Weather Flk-Lore
(1873) 204-
2. Phr. to sell a packet, to hoax.
Dev. Yu may think, ma deer Jan, that I'm zilling a packits \_sic\
Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (1847) 27, ed. 1865 ; ' So he is really
going, to-morrow morning, Tom ? ' 'I sartinly tawld 'ee so afore,
Dactor; may depend I wusn't zellin' 'ee a packet,' Stooke Not
Exactly, v.
3. A horse-pannel on which to carry packs. Chs. (K.),
Chs.^3 4. A pannier; a small 'currach.' Abd. (Jam.)
PACKIE, sb} Sc. Lan. Also written pakky ne.Lan.^
[pa-ki.] 1. A pedlar.
Sc. Got by barter from some wandering packie, Haliburton
Fields (1890) 128. S. & Ork.i Or.I. Regularly transmuted into
hard cash on the annual return of Charlie Chance, the Elgin packie,
Vedder Sketches (1832) 46. Per. Yonder . . . Comes Packie owre
the brig ; An' country lads may noo gang braw, Haliburton
Ochil Idylls (1891) 116.
2. A very small eel. ne.Lan.^ Cf. pack-needle, s.v.
Pack sb^\ (14.)
PACKIE, S6.2" ?Ofc. Sh.I. A bundle of fishing-lines.
Forty-five or fifty fathoms of tows constitute a bught, and each
bught is fitted with from nine to fourteen hooks. It is usual to
call twenty bughts a packie, and the whole of the packies that a
boat carries is a fleet of tows, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 222, ed.
1891 ; The number of buchts contained in each packie or weicht
varied — according to the locaUty — from 12 to 20, Sh. News (Oct.
21, 1899) ; S. & Ork.i
PACKING, ppl. adj. and sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lin. Hrt. Hmp.
Som. [pa'kin, pae'kin.] 1. ppl. adj. In comb, (i) Packing-
penny day, the last day of the fair, when articles are
cheap ; see Pack-andpenny day, s.v. Pack, v. 10 (i) ;
(2) -twine, stout cord or twine used for sewing up bags of
wool.
(I I N.Cy.' Hmp. The last day of the Fair held at Portsmouth,
in July annually, which lasts for a fortnight and then removes to
Portsdown Hill, on 26th, for three days. On the last day, whilst
the business of packing is going on, good pennyworths are supposed
to be sold, Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) ; Hmp.' (2) w.Som.i
2. sb. Any material used for securing a heavy weight
by building or wedging up under it while in course of
lifting. w.Som.' 3. Colliery term: walls built up to
support the roof or gateways of a mine. w.Yks. (J.P.)
See Pack, si.' 6. 4. Part of the under-gear of a wagon ;
the wood into which iron axle-tree ends are fixed. n.Lin.^
5. Dinner. Hrt. Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 321.
PACKLED, adj Sus.' [p^'kld.] Speckled. Cf.
peckle, w.^
I . . . killed Mrs. Pankurste's gurt old packled been (s.v. Heen).
PACKT, ppl. adj. Nhb.^ [pakt.] Intimate, friendly ;
of animals: tame, docile. See Pack, a<^'. 20.
Aa wis diggin' the garden, and the robin kept at me foot aall
the time ; aa nivver seed sic a packt bord.
PACK-WACK, PACKY, see Pax-wax, Pawky.
PAD, sb."- Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Chs. Not. War.
Glo. e.An. Som. Dev. [pad, psed.] 1. A soft, stuffed
saddle.
Edb. An' farmers' wives, o'er braw to gang, Gae ridin' by on
pa.ds, Auld Handsel Monday (i-jgz) 19. Bwk. The stuffed seat or
pad, fixed to the saddle, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 78.
Nhb.' A saddle made of coarse material stuffed with straw. This
originally was the pad across which was slung the pack or burthen
of a horse. ' Spraggon sets the pads upon my back sae early in
the morn, And rides me down to Felton without either hay or
corn,' Spraggon's Auld Grey Mare. Lakel.^ Cum. Seek th' auld
grey yad. Clap on the pad, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 112;
Cum.' A kind of saddle for carrying two. It was made of canvas
or carpeting, and used with or without stirrups. Now superseded
by light vehicles. Farmers' wives had many miles to ride to
market on pads. n.Wm. A saddle with a 'crutch,' and which
is stitched after the manner of a quilt (B.K.). Chs.' a.Not. Used
in the carriage of heavy burdens (e.g. sacks of corn) on horse-
back (J.P.K.). War.* With that nice pad, master Tom, you'll
ride your pony quite comfortable like. Glo. Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 315 ; Glo.' w.Som.' Made without a ' tree ' or other -hard
foundation. Used generally for very young riders. Dev.' 70.
Hence Pad-saddle, sb., obs., something between a ' pad '
and an ordinary saddle ; a pillion. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824). Cum.*
2. A small pack or bundle.
w.Yks.' Dev. We saw [the hawker] striding up the steep hill
beyond Newbridge, with his pad at his back, Evans Tavistock
(1846) 61, ed. 1875.
3. Phr. to turn a person his pad, to turn him off"; to dis-
miss him. w.Yks.i 4. Obs. Dried cow-dung, formerly col-
lected for fuel. e.An.' 5. A weight of yarn ; see below.
w.Som.' Used by sellers of woollen yarn. The square-shaped
package of yarn in which it is generally made up for sale, con-
sisting of twelve bundles or hanks, and each bundle consisting
of a great many skeins varying in number according to the
fineness of the yarn — a skein being always a fixed number of
yards, and the ' pad ' a fixed weight. By spinners. A bundle of
yarn consisting of twenty-four small hanks, each consisting of four
skeins, each skein measuring 360 yards; consequently a pad
of yarn always represented the same number of yards, whatever
its size or weight. Before the days of machinery, but far into the
nineteenth century, the country manufacturers gave out wool to
be spun at home, by spinsters, and the size of the thread required
was fixed by ordering the pad to be spun to a certain weight,
or in other words — 24x4x360 = 34,560 yards, to be got out of
so many lbs. of wool. In some factories even now this mode is
still retained, and instead of spinning 20's or 30's they spin at so
many lbs. per pad. n.Dev. Or else tha tedst net carry whome
thy pad, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 113.
6. Wool-combing term : a piece of iron plate to which
the combs are attached.
w.Yks. (E.G.) w.Som.' Of a peculiar shape, made to screw
into a post, and used by a hand wool-comber to hold one of his
combs firmly in a horizontal position, while he works the wool in
it with the other comb, and then draws out the sliver.
7. Comp. (i) Pad-ale, ale bought for use in the combing-
shop ; (2) -heel, the stud standing out at right angles to
the ' pad-post,' and into which the shaft end of the comb
fits ; (3) -hook, a straight piece of iron turned up at the
point, driven firmly into the ' pad-post ' about 4 feet from
the floor, to hold one of the combs ; (4) -neb or -nib, the
stud at the end of the pad on to which the comb is dropped
after the shaft end is fixed on the ' pad-heel ' ; (5) -post,
a long upright post into which the pad to hold the comb
is screwed.
PAD
[403]
PADDA
(i) w.Yks. This was generally purchased by (a) fines levied
for breach of their own regulations ; (4) gifts from visitors (J.T.).
(2) w.Yks. (E.W.) (3) w.Yks. (J.T.) (4) w.Yks. (E.W.),(E.G.)
(5) w.Yks. An owd oak padpost remains to this day, Preston
Yksman. (1880) 23.
PAD, sb.' Nhp. War. Won Hnt. Ken. Sus. Hmp. Wil.
Som. [pad, paed.] A sporting term : the foot of an
animal, esp. a fox's foot.
Nhp.i Also applied to the feet of a dog. War.^ Rabbit's pad,
deer's pad. s.Wor.(H.K.), Hnt. (T.P.F.) Ken. His pads alternate
play, Nairne Tales (1790) 99, ed. 1824. Sus., Hmp. Holloway.
Wil. Country housewives still use the hare's ' pad ' for several
domestic purposes, Jefferies Gamekeeper (1878) 27. w.Som.i
The foot of a fox or otter.
Hence (i) Pad-mark, sb. a footprint, the mark of a
fox ; (2) -scent, sb. a foxhunting term : the scent from
a fox's foot.
(i) Dev. The pad-marks of some mountain fox upon the mire,
Phillpotts Sons of Morning (igoo) 411. (2) Glo. That sticky
state of soil which on ploughed land invariably follows a frost,
and in a lesser degree affects grass, causing a fox to take his pad
scent on with him, Gibbs Coiswold Village (1898) 105.
[Bremen dial, pad, 'die Fuss-sohle ' (tVtb.).]
PAD, sb.^ Nhb. Yks. Also in form pud Nhb.^ [pad.]
1. A frog. n.Yks.2, m.Yks.^ Cf padda. 2. Comp. (i)
Padpond, a pond. n.Yks.^ ; (2) -redd, the spawn of
frogs and toads. Nhb.^: (3) -stool, a toadstool. n.Cy.
(B. & H.)
[1. In straw thearlurcketh soom pad, Stan YHURST^e««zif
(1582) I. 656. Flem. padde, 'crapauld' (Plantin) ; ON.
padda, a toad (Vigfusson).]
PAD, sb." Sc. Nhb. Lan. [pad.] A nag.
Nhb. Upon his pad, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846)
V- 339- Lan. To borrow Jane Seed pad for my love to ride on
to Ellen Seed's burial, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 106.
Hence Lady-pad, sb., see below.
Sc. When a lady is seen on horseback in the rural districts, the
children of the villages follow her, crying out, ' Lady pad ! Lady
pad ! ' Mackay.
[A careless groom of mine has spoiled me the prettiest
pad in the world, Spectator {iT!.!) No. 88.]
PAD, 56.^ Nhp. e. An. Dev. [peed.] 1. An open pannier ;
esp. one made of peeled osiers. Cf ped, sb.^
Nhp.i Such as are placed on donkeys for carrying fruit and
vegetables to market, almost superseded by the market cart, but
still used for conveying turnips into the field for feeding sheep.
e.An.i, Nrf. (Hall.) e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). Dev.
At Brixham there was a better supply of fish. About eighty
trawlers landed from twenty to forty pads of common fish per
sloop, Fishing at Plymouth in Fishing Gazette (Jan. 11, 1890)
24, col. 3.
2. A kind of brewing-tub. Dev. (Hall.) [Not known
to our correspondents.]
PAD, s6.® and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Der. Not. Lin. Rut. Lei. Nhp. War. Won Brks. Hnt.
e.An. Hmp. Som. Also in form paid Abd. (Jam.) [pad,
psed.] 1. sb. A path ; also used Jig.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Abd. A wee bit off the paid. Grew there a tree
with branches close and braid, Ross Helenore (1768) 26, ed. 1812.
Ayr. A mist hovered all the morning over the pad of Neilston,
covering like a snowy fleece the sides of the hills down almost to
the course of our route, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xviii. Edb. Ilk an
must maund on his awn pad, Pennecuik Helicon (1720) 67. N.I.'
01s. Uls.Jrn. Arch. (1853-62). Ant. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.)
Dwn. He tell't us . . . fur till keep till the auld pads, an' no fur to
be lukin' aboot us fur new roads, Lyitle Ballycuddy (1892) 30.
Lakel.2 Keep on t'pad, wilta. s.Wm. (J.A.B.), w.Yks. (J-W.)
Lan. If we could nobbut get a leet, I could find th' pad in a
minute, Westall Birch Dene (1889) IIL 25. m.Lan.i, Chs.'^
Midi. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) IL nw.Der.i Path for foot
passengers on the side of a turnpike or highway. Not. The dogs
has made quite a pad on it (L.C.M.) ; Not.', s.Not. (J.P.K.)
n.Lin.i Ther' ewsed to be two pads oher th' Well-yard. It was
his reg'lar pad to goa hev a glass o' gin at th' Ewnicorn at eleven
e' th' foorenoon. s.Lln. Ye'll find the gate if ye go along yon pad
(F H.W.). sw.Lin.i I was talking Wi' him a bit afore by the pad
end. Rut.i, Lei.' Nhp. Trans. Phil. Soc. (1858) 165; Nhp.i
Keep upon the pad, or you'll injure the grass; Nhp.2 War."
Follow the pad; and yer can't miss yer way. s.Wor. (H.K.)
Hnt. A path from Stilton to Washingley Hall used to be called
' the Washerwomen's Pad,' N. If Q. (1869) 4th S. iii. 195.
2. Comp. (i) Pad-gate, (2) -road, (3) -trod, (4) -walk, (5)
-way, a footpath ; a trodden way.
(i) w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. The best thing as yo' and th' young
missus can do is to go home by th' pad gate, Westall Birch Dene
(1889) II. 287. (2) Ir. A good stout pad-road across to Scotland,
Yeats Flk. Tales (1888) 266. Nhb.i Chs.3 A pad-road anciently
ran along every field, just within the hedge, and parallel to the
road itself. s.Chs.' I)hur)z u paad-roa-d ukros' dhii feyld. (3)
Cum. (M.P.) (4) Lan. ' Whatever is there to do ? ' aw said to a
mon ut wur stonnin' on th' padwalk, Wood Hum. Sketches, no.
(5) Chs.l
3. Hatting term : a delivery of work. Chs.^ 4. v. To
make a path by walking on a previously untracked path ;
to tread down under foot ; to press down firmly and closely.
Lth. (Jam.) Lakel.^ T'gerse was padded doon fair shamful.
n.Yks. She'll pad down t'thorns, as kinlin' in t'firepleeace
(I.W.). e.Yks.i w.Yks.2 Snow is said to be 'well padded' when
a path has been trodden thereon. s.Chs.' Wi piifn siim graavil
iiliing- dhaaf roa'd biir it wiiz u lungg weyl iifoar it got wel
paad-id. Not. (L.C.M.), Not.i s.Not. When yer set the plant
pad it well round the roots. The ground's padded nicely after the
rain (J.P.K.). n.Lin.' If yS're gooin' to Yalthrup you mun walk
e' hoss-road ; snaw isn't padded upov causey. swr.Lin.'^ It'll be
better walking now the snow's gotten padded down. Lei.',
Nhp.i2, War.2* s.War.' The ground is getting padded now.
Wor. The ground turns up stiff where the horses have padded it
a-turning (H.K.). Brks. (W.H.Y.), e.An.'
5. To tread with a soft dull sound, as a person does in
shppers or stockings.
s.Chs.' Ahy put)dh eg i)th sau-spun, wen ah eyiird yii paad'in
daayn)th stae-rz.
6. To go on foot ; to move or travel slowly ; freq. with
it ; also in phr. to pad the road.
Per. Mockery rides with hand on rein ; While merit pads it on
the plain, Haliburton Dunbar (1895) 38. e.Fif. My faither
advised me to pad aff" to Dundee and strike a bargain at aince,
Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxiii. Rnf. Fareweel, ye wordiest
pair o' shoon ; On you I've paddit late an' sune, Picken Poems
(1813) I. 32. Edb. Once a robber was inform'd That such a man
design'd to pad, At a set time upon a road, Liddle Poems (1821)
118. Cum. (M.P.) w.Yks. Aw gate to Leeds i' time to find aw
wor too lat for th' last train, soa ther wor nowt for it but to pad
it. Hartley Tales, 2nd S. 80. s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854).
Chs.', Not.' s.Not. A uster think noat o' padding to Nottingham
(J.P.K.). sw.Lin.' That's what they want him for, to pad about
in the garden. Lei.' Nhp.' I shall pad it. War.3 Hmp. Hollo-
way. w.Som.' The wagon was a started . . . zo I was a-fo'cedto
pad it all the way home.
Hence (i) Padder, si. a 'footpad'; a tramp, vagrant ;
(2) Padding, ppl. adj. travelling on foot ; (3) to be paddit
off, phr. to be sent away on foot.
(I) Yks. Ours is the soldier's plunder, padder's prize. Archaic
Wds. in Yks. Wkly. Post (July 14, 1883). s.Lan. Bamford Dial.
(1854). n.Lin. You'll be gettin' hang'd some o' these days as sure
as ever a padder was. Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870) II. 104. (2)
s.Lan, None of your common padding tramps, Bamford Walks
(1844) 44. (3) e.Fif. When I reached the age of sax, it was
decreed that I sid be paddit afif to the schule, Latto Tam Bodkin
(1864) iii.
7. Workman's term : to take back finished work to the
employer; gen. in phr. padding his work. s.Lan. Bamford
Dial. (1854). Chs.'s
[1, 4. EFris. pad, 'Pfad'; padden, 'schreiten, treten'
(Koolman).]
PADAL, see Padel.
PADD, V. Nhp.'^ [paed.] To work with the paddle.
PADDA,5A. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Also in forms paddo
Sc. ; paddow s.Sc. n.Cy. Yks. ; paddy, pady, puddy Sc.
[pa'da, pa'di.] 1. A frog. Cf paddock, 56.' ; see Pad, sb.^
Sc. A paddo then came Loup-loup-louping out o' the well.
Chambers Rhymes (ed. 1870) 88 ; There lived a puddy in a well,
Sharpe Ballad Bk. (1823) 86, ed. 1868. Edb. The pady That
croak'd on bogie And try'd to swell as big the oxy, Liddle Poems
(1821) 97. Bwk. They pull'd out Jock wi' a tether o' hair, Like
a paddy they haul'd him out, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856)
134. Gall. Salmon Tam, Just like a scarte, An' paddy haul'd him
up the gait, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 25.
3 F2
PADDER
[404 J
PADDLE
2. Comp. (i) Padda-pipe, (a) var. species of horsetail,
Equisetum, esp. the smooth horsetail, E. limosum ; [b)
the common mare's-tail, Hippuris vulgaris ; (2) -red,
green shme formed on stagnant pools in warm weather.
(r, a) s.Sc, n.Cy. Johnston Bot. e. Borders (1853) in (B. & H.).
Nhb.i Common in pools where frogs abound, (b') Yks. (B. & H.)
(3) Nhb.i w V ;
PADDER, V. Obs. Sc. To tread ; to beat down by
walking. See Pad, v. 4.
Gall. A road through the snow is padderd, when it has been
often trod, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
Hence Paddert, ppl. adj. well-trodden, beaten down.
Kcb. On the padder'd green Frae doon to doon shoot forth the
penny stane, Davidson Seasons {1789) 87.
PADDICK, sb. w.Cy. Cor. Also in form pattick
w.Cy. Cor.'^ [pae'dik, pae'tik.] A small pitcher holding
a quart or two ; gen. brown in colour. Cf. parrick.
w.Cy. (Hall.) Cor, An' scat tha paddick oal to jowds, Tint.
Towsej" (1873) 127; Cor.*2
PADDICK-HAWK, sb. Cum.* The nightjar, Capri-
mulgus Europaeus.
FADDISH, V. w.Yks. [pa-dij.] To coax. Cf.
pattish, 2.
Doan't flog it ; you'd more like paddish it [a fallen horse],
Dyer Dial. (1891) 52.
PADDLE, s6.' and v.^ Sc. Nhb. Yks. Der. Nhp. War.
Wor. Glo. Oxf. Brks. Bdf. Hrt. Nrf Hmp. I.W. Som.
Dev. Cor. Also written paddal I.W.'; paddel, padel,
Oxf. ; padell Sc. ; padle Edb. ; and in form paidle Sc.
(Jam.) [pa-dl, pse'dl.] 1. sb. A species of spud with a
long handle, used by farmers for cutting up thistles or
other weeds. Also in comp. Paddle-staff.
Lth. A coal-rake an' a paidle, Thomson Poems (1819) 109.
Edb. Scythes an' shears an' a', Spades an' padles an' a', Forbes
Poews (18 12) 144. Rxb. (Jam.), Nhb.i, nw.Der.i, Nhp.l2 War.=3;
War.* I likes to see yer walking with that paddle ; you'll soon
get rid of all them fistles. s.Wor. The old-fashioned farmer, aye,
and his wife too, were seldom seen abroad without a ' paddle ' or
' paddle-staiSF.' ... It served for a walking-stick to clear away
obstructions and to root up the 'thorns and thistles' (H.K. ).
se.Wor.', Shr.i Oxf. Paid for 6 paddels, as., KidUngton Overseers'
Bis. (1783) in Stapleton Three Parishes (1B93) 164 ; Oxf.i Hrt.
The iron thistle paddle, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) III. i. 47. Nrf.
A long-handled spade used for rabbiting (M.C.H.B.). Hmp.>
Cor.i2 •
2. A small spud used for cleaning the plough. Also in
comp. Paddle-iron. Cf. pattle, sb.
Glo.^, Brks.i Bdf. A paddle or spud is used for clearing away
the dirt and weeds, Batchelor Agric. (1813) 162. w.Mid. It is
shaped something like a spade, but with a round shoulder, from
which projects a straight handle (W.P.M.). I.W.' I'll ghee thee
a dack wi' the zull paddal, 49. w.Som.' A flat-pointed iron
having a long handle, used in ploughing to free the implement
from too much adhesive soil. n.Dev. A piler, an' paddle-iron,
Rock Jitn an' Nell (1867) st, 72. nw.Dev.'
3. A httle flat piece of wood, usually stuck in the outer
leather garter, used by navvies to free the shovel from
adhering soil. w.Som.' 4. Brewing term : a wooden
spade-shaped instrument used for mashing. nw.Dev.'
5. A baker's ' peel.' Nhb.' 6. A constable's staff or
baton. w.Yks.^ 7. A portion of a sluice or flood-gate
which is drawn up or let down, to enclose or let out the
water in a mill-dam or watercourse. w.Yks. N. &> Q.
(1852) 1st S. v. 250. 8. A stake-net. Dmf Wallace
Schoolmaster (1899J 351. 8. v. To hoe ; to thin ; to cut
off with a spud.
e.Lth. Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351. Rxb. (Jam.), War.^*
s.War.' We've been a. paddling thistles. Oxf. Paid Betel's wife
for padeling thissals, 2S., KidUngton Overseers' Bks. in Stapleton
Three Parishes (1893) 164. Brks. (W.H.Y.) Bdf. Men are
said ' to paddle ' who mend the road with a great hoe (J.W.B.),
Hrt. To paddle np thistles, Ellis Mod. Hush. (1750) III. i. 47.
[In Tudor E. paddle was used in the sense of a small
spade : Thou shall have a paddle among thy weapons,
Geneva Bible (1562) Deut. xxiii. 13.]
PADDLE, s6.= Sc. Nhb. Also written padle Sc. (Jam.)
S. & Ork.' and in forms paedle Sc. (Jam.) ; paidle Nhb.'
[pa'dl, pi'dl.] The lump-fish, Cyclopterus lumpus. Cf.
cock-paddle, s.v. Cock, s6.' 3 (9).
Sh.I. Edmonstone Zetland (1809) II. 304 (Jam.) ; S. & Ork.',
Or.I. (Jam.) Rs. Gurnet, turbot and padles are found, Statist.
Ace. III. 309 (Jam., s.v. Podlie). Fif., Edb. Neill Fishes (1810)
23 (Jam.). Nhb.' The male and female of this fish are called cock
and hen paidles. [Buffetolt, the fish called a lump, or paddle, or
sea owl, Cotgr.]
PADDLE, sb.^ w.Yks.* [padl.] A huckster's cart ;
a handcart. Cf peddle.
PADDLE, sb.* Lin. [pa-dl.] A pasture. Cf. pad-
dock, sb.^
Lin.' The Cow-paddle adjoining Canwick Common has just
been cut up by the new railway from Lincoln to Honington.
s W.Lin.'
PADDLE, sb.^ Lan. [pa'dl.] The name of a rough
ceremony in locomotive steam sheds ; see below.
A rough ceremony which a 'cleaner' is subjected to on his
initiation as a workman in a locomotive steam shed. It largely
consists of having the posterior beaten with the fire-shovels, and
other rough usage (B.K.).
PADDLE, W.2 and sb.° Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written paddel Wm. ; padle e.An.' ; and in
forms paedle S. & Ork.' Edb. ; paidle Sc. (Jam.) N.I.'
[pa'dl, pse'dl, Sc. also pedl.] 1. v. To walk, esp. to
walk slowly or with short steps ; to totter ; to toddle ; to
wander about.
S. & Ork.', Bnff. (Jam.) Abd. He thro' England on shanks mare
Did paddle, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 41. CId. (Jam.) Ayr.
Forgotten a' aboot the Bailie paidlin' up and doon here like some
unco body, Ochiltree Shroud (1897) 160. Lnk. As lang's ... I
oot-owre the doors can paidle, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 44.
Edb. Mony a lang stair hae I paidled up an' down this blessed
day, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 211. Fxb. Aff the spat
she wadnastir But prance an' paidle, A. ScoTTPoe»<s(ed. 1808)164.
N.I.' A horse that is standing, and lifts his feet in an uneasy way,
is said to be paidlin'. Wra. Wi that he paddelt off' . . . doon
anudder passage, Lord Robison in Kendal C. News (Sept. 22,
1888). n.Yks.i Ah seen t'au'd man paddlin' about t'rooads
yestreen; n.'Xks.'' ne.Yks.' Ah can just paddle doon ti t'shop.
•w.Yks. Aw sooin after heeard 'em paddlin daan stairs. Hartley
Clock Aim. (1880) 28. ne.Lan.^, e.Lan.' sw.Lin.' I used to come
of a morning, paddling, scar'd for my life of falling down. Glo.'
My old man do churm, or lift a few taters. He can just paddle
about a bit. e.An. (Hall.)
Hence (i) Paddler, sb. {a) a child just beginning to
walk ; (b) a small person walking with short, uncertain
steps ; (2) Paddling, ppl. adj. {a) walking ; wandering
aimlessly ; (b) trifling, petty ; useless ; (3) Paddling-
collie, sb. a wandering dog ; (4) Paddling-walk, sb. a gait
in which the steps made are very short ; (5) Paddly, adj.
tottering, uncertain in gait.
(i a, b) Bnif.i (3, 3) Edb. Come awa, . . ye walking post-bag,
ye paidling newspaper, and tell us a' the outgauns, Ballantine
Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 23; Thinking to meet his man — paidling
Jock, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) x. (6) Ayr. He was but a
paidlin body, Burns Deuk's Dang, st. i. e.An.' My small padling
debts. (3, 4)N.L' (s^n.Yks.T' awd man's nobbut paddly (I. W.).
2. To assist in walking; to support or lead a child learn-
ing to walk.
n.Cy. (Hall ) w.Yks. Now lad, thou'll hev to paddle thi owd
father hoam (S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.'^ Lan. Alas ! poor Irish Cherch !
otho its helpt hi a state o crutches it con noather stan' nor walk.
Aw would advise th' bishops to paddle it aot every fine day,
Accrington Obs. (Feb. 16, 1895) 2, col. r. ne.Lan.'
Hence Paddlingstrings, sb. pi. leading-strings for
children.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks. Tobias and Thomas Harrison were tied
. . . with paddlingstrings, Grainge Nidderdale (1863) 125 ; w.Yks.'
3. To tramp about in wet and dirt ; to work with the
feet in any semi-liquid substance.
Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. Thro' dirt and dub for life I'll paidle, Burns
Inventory, 1. 65. Lnk. Yer tautit wame bedraigled a', wi paidlin'
through the dibs, Nicholson /rfyZ/s (1870) 115. Edb. Gang a mile o'
gate or twa To paedle back thro' drift and snaw, Macneill Bygane
Times (1811) 54. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.), Der.^ s.Not. I won't have
you paddling in and out of the house while it rains (J.P.K.). Nhp.'
What do you go paddling through thick and thin, in that way,
for? Oxf. I'll give it you, my child, if you go paddling in the dirt
PADDLE
[405]
PADDOCK
again with your feet (CO.). Hnt.(T.P.F.), e.An.iz, Sus.', Hmp.»,
I.W.', w.Som.i, Dev.i
4. To trample down a place in wet and dirt ; to mark
with wet or muddy feet.
Cum." To trample down long grass as fowls, ducks, and dogs will
when going through it. e.Yks.i Ah'd just getten gahdin graved
ower, an 1 good fittle, when pigs gat in thruff hedge an paddl'd it
all ower. s.Not. I'll hit yer if yer paddle my clean steps (J. P.K.).
n.Lin.i Them bairns hes been paddlin' yon clean floor fra end to
end. Mrs. ducks hes paddl'd them pay-raws o' oors while
noht'll graw, you'll see. Oxf.i MS. add.
Hence (i) Paddled, ppl. adj. trampled ; (2) Paddled-
rounall, so. a circular spot in a field worn bare by the
feet of oxen following one another round and round.
(i) Cum. Sauntrin' pace the paddled green, Stagg Misc. Poems
(ed. 1805) 144. (2) Gall. Mactaggart Smcjic/. (1824).
5. To make too free with liquor ; to drink heavily.
Tv.Som.' Rare. n.Dev. And as the mallard in his pools, So will
we paddle in our bowls. Snapping Mallard in Horae Subsecivae
i^ni) 315 ; Had'st tha took a shord or a paddled? Exm. Scold.
(1746) 1. 5-
6. sb. The act of wading with short steps in water or
mud ; the act of walking with short, quick steps.
Bnff.' The twa bairns keepit a paidle in the Unt-cobble catchin'
wattir-horse. Cld., Rxb. (Jam.)
7. pi. Marks, footprints. Oxf.' MS. add.
PADDLE, V? ? Obs. Sc. Dev. To finger, handle ; to
feel lovingly.
Fif. Ev'ry time he snatch'd her downy fist. With its soft
warmth to paddle and to play, Tennant Anster (1812) 104, ed.
1871. n.Dev. (Hall.)
[Didst thou not see her paddle with the palm of his
hand ? Shaks. 0th. 11. i. 259.]
PADDLE-DOO, sb. Obs. Sc. A frog which was for-
merly kept in the ' ream-pig ' amongst the cream for good
luck.
ne.Sc. A frog was kept by some in it, and bore the name of
'paddle-doo,' or 'gueede butter-gaitherer,' Gregor Flk-Lore (188 1)
194. Bnff.'
PADDLE-PAW, s6. Cor. The paw of an animal. See
Paddle, v?
A mole poked his snout and little paddle-paws out of the grass,
Phillpotts Lying Prophets (1897) 161.
PADDOCK, sb} Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Nhp. Suf. Ess. Ken. Also written paddack Lakel.'^;
paddick N.Cy.' Nhb.' Cum.'* Ess.' ; paddoc Cum. ;
padeek Nhb.' ; and in forms paddag Cai.' ; poddock Sc.
N.I.' Nhp.'2; podduck Sc. (Jam.); pottock Dwn. ; pud-
dock Sc. (Jam.) In Nhp.'^ Ken.'; pudduck Suf.' [padak,
po'dak, pB-dsk.] L A frog ; a toad. See Pad, sb.^
Sc. ' Mony masters,' quoth the paddock, when ilka tine of the
harrow took him a tide, Ferguson Prov. (1641) No. 618. Sh.I. No
paddocks are to be seen, Brand Zetland {I'joi) 77 (Jam.). n.Sc.
O seven podducks in her wyme, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 254, ed.
1875. ne.Sc. Half a poddock half a tead, Half a drap a deil s
bleed, In a May morning, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 140. Cal.',
Inv. (H.E.F.) Elg. CouPER Poetry (1804) II. 92. BnSf. The pud-
docks and asks roamed about thefloors , Smiles Natur. (1876) i. e.Sc.
Like the puddock tryin' to blaw itsel' as big as an ox, Setoun R.
Urquhart (1896) xi. Abd. Some snorin' out like paddocks in a
peel, Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 458. Frf. The paddock's
croakin' in the pool. Smart Rhymes (1834) no. Per. A burn
Whaur the jucks and the puddocks wallop in turn. Ford Harp
(1893) 216. w.Sc. You're aye sae blate, and as mim as a May
puddock, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 172. Fif. Colville
Vernacular (1899) 10. Slg. Galloway Poems (1806) 19. s.Sc.
Clocks and paddocks roun' him hapet, Wae to see the lad sae
spent, T. Scott Poems (1793) 359. Dmb. As gleg as a puddock
after a shour. Cross Disruption (1844) ix. Rnf. Barr Poems
(1861) 93. Ayr. The puddock pies or the herrin' puddin's o'
Mounseer himsel', Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 95. Lnk. To
gie the bit puddock-eatin' French bodies a fell threshin', Murdoch
Readings (1895) ii. Lth. Sprauchlin' through the Hunter's Bog
For puddock, taid, or mennin, Smith Merry Bridal (1866) 35.
Edb. Fergusson Poems (1773) 106, ed. 1785. Bwk. Henderson
Pop. Rhymes (1856) 57. Slk. Wha loupt aff the buird like a pud-
dock, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV. 84. Rxb. How else
can't be wi' them maun feed On paddock, adder, asp and snail,
Riddell Poet. Wks. (1871) I. 217. Dmf. Himsel' sprawlin' like a
puddock, unco wauf aboot the spine, Paton Casilebraes (1898) 49.
Gall. Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 131, ed. 1897. Kcb. Davidson
Seasons {i-j&g) 61. N.I.' Ant. Ballymena Ods. (i-jgz). N.Cy.'A
frog — never applied to a toad. Nhb. For long after. Mr. Ross's
adventure with the paddock was often related, Dixon Whittingham
Vale (1895) 279 ; Nhb.' Dur. A young frog (K.). Cum. N. & Q.
(1880) 6th S. i. 457 ; Cum.' ; Cum." If paddocks crowk in t'pow at
neet We may expect baith win' an' weet. Saying. s.Wm. (J.A.B.)
e.Yks. Thompson Hist. Welton (i86g) 171. w.Yks. Hutton Tour
to Caves (1781) ; (J.W.) Lan.', n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', Nhp.'=, Suf.'
Ess. Ray (i6gi) ; Ess.' Ken. Your hands are as cold as a paddock
(K.) ; Ken.l
2. Comb, (i) Paddock-beds, the spawn of frogs ; (2)
-cheek, a yellow, inflated cheek like that of a frog; (3)
-dabber, one who strikes or kills frogs ; (4) -flower, ?the
marsh-marigold, Caltha palustris; (5) -hair, the down on
unfledged birds and on new-born babies ; (6) -loup, a
game of leap-frog ; a kind of somersault ; see below; (7)
■moon, see below ; (8) -owl, the nightjar, Caprimitlgus
Europaeus; (9) -('s-pipe, (a) var. species of the horse-tail,
Equisetum; (b) the common mare's-tail, //;]^^j<>-;5 vulgaris;
(10) -pool, a stagnant pool ; (11) -spit or -spittle, ' cuckoo-
spittle,' the white froth secreted on plants by the insect
Cicada spumaria ; (12) -spue, see (i) ; (13) -stool, a toad-
stool ; occas. a mushroom ; also used fig. as a term of
reproach ; (14) -stool-bonnet, a cap shaped like a toad-
stool.
(i) Nhb.' (2) Edb. Wi' paddock cheeks, and ether's nose, Carlop
Green (1793) 135, ed. 1817. (3) Gall. The Herons are but lang-
nebbit paddock-dabbers to the Faas, Crockett Raiders (1894)
xvii. (4) n.Sc. A bonny green hillock sprekled o'er wi' gowans
and puddock-dowers. Miller Scenes and Leg. (ed. 1853) xiv. Sth.
Puddock- flowers I have often heard applied to the buttercup-like
flowers on the broadish green leaves in our ditches and swamps in
the North (H.M.). (5) Sc. (Jam.) Dmb. I foun' sax bare wee things
Wi' paddock hair upon their wings, Taylor Poems (1827) 67.
Lnk. Whether their wee gapin' gorlins are ' scuddies,' or covered
with ' puddock hair,' Watson Poems (1853) p. xi. (6) Edb. Merry
nimble feats, Queer puddock-loups o'er backs, Carlop Green
('793) 173, ed. 1817. Nhb,' A summersault turned by two boys,
each of whom lays hold of the feet of his comrade. The two then
roll round and round, and are thus supposed to imitate the leap or
movement of a paddock. (7) Nhp.^ In, or very near the month of
August, in the hottest part of the year, for about four weeks to-
gether, frogs very rarely or never open their mouths, are never
heard to croak, and their bodies appear very much swelled ; upon
which account the time wherein this usually happens has . . . the
name of poddock-moon, Morton Nat. Hist. Nhp. (1712) 441. (8)
Cum. T'Hay Fell breist's wick an' alive wid paddick owls (J. D.).
(9, a) Sc. LiGHTFOOT Flora (1792) 648 (Jam.). Lnk. I'll pu' the
puddock pipe An' fresh young ferns, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895)
123. Rxb. His turban was . . . Around wi' paddock-pipes beset.
And dangling bog-bean leaves, A. Scott Poems (1805) 100 (Jam.).
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Nhb.' Equisetum limosum,
common in pools where frogs abound (s.v. Padda-pipe\ Cum.'*
(6) Cum. Hutchinson Hist. Cum. (1794) I. App. 39. (10) Nhb.'
(11) Per. They've broucht to pass — Tattle disease an' paddock
spittle Upon the grass, Ford Harp (1893) 347. Dmf. Wallace
Schoolmaster (1899) 351. (iz) n.Sc. Puddock-spue is fu' o' een,
And every ee's a puddock (Jam.). (13) Sc. The puddock-stool of a
creature they ca' Dronascandlich, Sc. Haggis, 132. S. & Ork.',
Cai.', Inv. (H.E.F.), Bnff. (W.A.C.) Dmb. I dinna weel understand
what way your habby-horse grew a puddock-stool, Cross Disrup-
tion (1844) xxii. Ayr. Sprout like simmer puddock-stools, Burns
Verses at Selkirk (1787) St. 4. Lnk. Nicholson A'(7z</Mrfrf«c (1895)
26. Slk. Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 278. Gall. The heart
is as rotten as a yellow puddock-stool, Mactaggart £«cyc/. (1824)
268, ed. 1876. N.L', Uls. (M.B.-S.) Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892).
Dwn. (C.H.W.) n.Cy. 7"ra«s.PM.5oc. (1858)165. Nhb.', Cum.'*,
Lan.', n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', Nhp.' (14) Ayr. A blue puddock-stool
bonnet on his head, Galt Gilhaise (1823) i.
3. Fig. A term of reproach or contempt.
Sc. There was grandfather's siller tester in the puddock's heart
of him, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xv. Cai. Haud yer tongue, ye
blelherin paddag, Horne CoKM^fys/'rfe (1896)64 ; Cai.' Ayr. Your
a spiteful puddock, Gklt Legatees {^i&2c>) vii. Wm. You are a dirty
little paddock (B.K.).
4. A fungus ; a toadstool.
Lakel.2 That's neea mushroom, it's a paddack. Lan. Nature
Notes, No. 9.
PADDOCK
[406]
PADGET
5. A machine shaped like a frog, used for carrying large
stones.
Abd. A rude sort of sledge for drawing stones made of the glack
of a tree with narrow pieces of wood nailed across (Jam.). Gall.
Mactacgart Encycl. (1824).
[1. My bely crowleth, I wene there be some padockes
in it {—je pence quil y a des grenouilles dedans), Palsgr. ;
Paddocke, crapavlt, ib. ; Paddok, toode, Bufo, Prompt.}
PADDOCK, sb? Sc. A small farm. Gall. Mactag-
GART Encycl. (1824).
PADDOCK-RUD, sb. Sc. Lakel. Cum. Also written
paddick-rud Cum.' ; and in forms paddag-rud Cai.' ;
paddick-rid Cum.'; paddock-rid Cum.*; -ride, -rude Sc. ;
poddock-cruds Sc. Bnff.' ; puddock-reed Gall. Frogs'
or toads' spawn ; also used_;^^. as a term of disgust. See
Rude, sb., and Red, sb.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) ne.Sc. If the [milk] utensils
were washed in a stream or pond, great care was employed not
to allow any of the water used in washing to fall back into the
stream or pond. It "was . . . thrown on to the bank. . . This was
done lest the frogs should swallow any particle of the milk, in
which case all the milk became thick and stringy, somewhat like
'poddock-cruds,' Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 193-4. Cal.i, Bnff.'
Rnf. Rake the gotts frae paddock ride To muck the Ian', Picken
Poems (1813) II. 40. Gall. Puddock-reed is fu' o' ee'n, And every
e'e's a pow-head, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Lakel.^ Auld
Grizzy the witch, as some fwok say, Meks paddock-rud ointment
for sair e'en, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 85. Cum.*
PADDOW, see Padda.
PADDY, sb. Sc. Lakel. Yks. Chs. Der. Not. Lin. Rut.
War. Pem. Nrf. Ken. Som. [pa-di, pse-di.] 1. In comb.
(i) Paddy from home, a children's game ; see below; (2)
-house, a bothy for the use of the Irish labourers on a
farm ; (3) -'s toothache, pregnancy ; (4) -wash-dish, the
water-wagtail, 71/o/aa7/« lugubris; (5) -whack, (a) a severe
thrashing ; (b) a pet, temper ; (c) the strong tendon in the
neck of quadrupeds ; (6) -whack-sauce, see (5, a).
(i) Not., Der. ' Paddy from home has never been, A railway
train he's never seen. He longs to see the great machine That
travels along the railway.' The children form a ring, and hold in
their hands a string tied at the ends, and on which a ring is strung.
They pass the ring from one to another, backwards and forwards.
One child stands in the centre, who tries to find the holder of the
ring. Whoever is discovered holding it takes the place of the
child in the centre, Gomme Games (1898) II. 36. (2) Chs.' (3)
•w.Som.i Pad-eez teo-dhae-uk. (4) Ken. (D.W.L.); (W.F.S.)
(S, a) Lakel.2 Ah gev yon beggar paddy-whack fer his sauce, an'
he'll nut fergit it in a hurry. w.Yks. (J.W.) (A) War.^ He was
in a regular paddy-whack, (c) sw.Lln.' (s.v. Pax-wax). (6)
e.Yks. Ah'd ha' gi'n him bell-tinker an' paddy-whack sauce,
Lancaster Riding the Slang, in Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 41.
2. Phr. as broad as narrow like Paddy's plank, as broad
as long. e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 16. 3. A
bricklayer's labourer who brings him stones or bricks
and mortar.
■w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 9, 1896). s.Not. Dick was ma
paddy for above fower year (J.P.K.). n.Lin.', Nrf. (E.M.)
4. A lead figure of a man set up and pelted by boys at
Shrovetide. Pem. (G.E.D.) 6. Mowing.
Rut.i I cut my finger when I was doing a bit of paddy.
6. ? A travelling hawker.
Feb. To a paddy we were driven, Sold for three pounds, ten, or
twal, Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 58.
PADDY, adj. Ken.^^ Hmp.' [pee'di.] Worm-eaten.
PADDY, see Padda.
PADDY-FAIR, sb. Frf. (Jam.) A market held at
Brechin in honour of St. Palladius.
PADDY-LINK, sb. Yks. [pa-di-lit)k.] A large link
which can be attached to any portion of a chain to put a
hook on to for lifting by ; gen. used on teams. w.Yks.
(H.V.)
PADDY-NODDY, sb. Yks. Lin. Also written padi-
noddy w.Yks.^ [pa'di-nodi.] 1. A long, tedious rigma-
role ; a ' cock-and-bull' story ; also shortened to Paddy.
Cf. parinody.
n.Yks.'; n.Yks.* A lang paddynoddy about nought ; n.Yks.*
e.Yks.i He gat up li mak a speeach, bud sike a paddy-noddy Ah
nivver heead afooar. m.Yks.^ w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds.
(1865) ; w.Yks.5 n.Lin.' The lawyer begun to tell a straange
paddy-noddy aboot a chap thaay call'd Bywater.
2. Perplexity, embarrassment, a state of agitation and
trouble. n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.'^
[1. A corr. oi Pater nosier.}
PADDYWATCH, 5^1. Yks. [pa'diwotj.] An almanac;
also shortened to Paddy.
m.Yks. (Aa 1 set dhat duun i ma padi, Ellis Pronunc. (1889)
V. 514; m.Yks.i
PADEEK, see Paddock, sb?-
PADEL, sb. Cor.2 Also written padal. [pae'dl.] A
dish ; a pan.
[OCor. padel, a pan (Williams) ; Wei. padell, ' patella '
(Davies).]
PADELL, see Paddle, sb}
PAD-FOOT, sb. Yks. Also Cor. [pa'd-fuit.] 1. A
highway robber, a ' footpad.'
w.Yks. Sitha, Bobby's catch't a padfooit, Tom Treddlehoyle
Bairnsla Ann. (1847) 41 ; Wun on em telld a tale abaht a pad-
fooit runnin away wi Moases Pinch's sweet-heart, ib. (1892) 23.
2. The name of a terrible ' boggart ' appearing in the
night in the form of some animal.
Yks. (Hall.) n.Yks. T'padfoot, wi' saucer-eyes, used on dark
nights to come clomping and dragging a chain through Barwick
town-gate, Leeds Men. Suppl. (Nov. 7, 1896). w.Yks. The 'pad-
fooit' in this neighbourhood is a white dog like a 'flay-craw,'
Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) vii ; w.Yks.' ; w.Yks.^ Something
like a large sheep or dog . . . accustomed to accompany persons
on their night walks, much as a dog might; keeping by their
side, and making a soft noise with its feet— pad, pad, pad — whence
its name. ... To have seen it was of course a portent of various
disasters; w.Yks.^ It is said to have been customary with it to
pace in front of a house where a death was soon to happen ; and
a frequent employment was to meet those who were going to
a sick person's house by night, and go before them to the door
where the noise of its step would cease. It was said to be
sometimes invisible, but at other times both to be seen as well as
heard, padding lightly in the rear of persons. ... It is said too to
have ' roared,' — the noise made being totally unhke that made
by any other animal. It was in size said to be somewhat larger
than a sheep, and to be long and smooth-haired. Sometimes the
trail of a chain would be heard accompanying the light, quick pad
of the feet. Cor. This mysterious visitor always kept the same
distance ahead. At the cross roads, however, the padfoot — every
step of his was noiseless — vanished into thin air, Hammond
Parish (1897) 361.
3. Phr. to run the padfoot race, to run and fetch the doctor
when a woman is taken in labour.
w.Yks. Tha'U ha' to run t'padfooit race thisen someday (H.L.).
PADGE, sb} Not. Lei. War. Also in form pudge Lei.
[padg.] 1. The barn owl, Strix Jlammea ; also in comp.
Padge-owl or -owlet. Cf. madge, sb.^ 2, madge-howlet.
Not. (J.H.B.), s.Not. (J.P.K.) Lei.SwAiNsoN Birds (1885) 126;
Lei.i, War.3
2. Any large butterfly or moth, the colours of which are
variegated with white and not brilliant. Not. (J.H.B.),
Lei.', War.3
PADGE, s6.2 Cor. [psedg.J ? A dial, form of 'patch.'
Cf padgel.
w.Cor. There was the padge of dung upon my trousers,
Cornishman (Oct. 1888).
PADGEL, V. Not. Lei. War. Hrf Glo. Also in forms
pagelGlo. ; paggelHrf^; paggle War.'^ [pa'dgl, pa'gl.]
1. To mend, patch. Cf padge, sb.'^
Not.', Lei.' War.2 To paggle a hole in a stocking; War.^
Hrf.2 Paggel it up a bit. Glo. We have no chain harrows worth
calling, for they are all that pagelt up with bits of wire to keep
the loops together (E.W.P.).
2. To trifle ; to dally.
■War.2 Hrf.2 Applied to digging not carefully done, or to
fencing not thorough.
Hence Padgelling, ppl. adj. trifling, petty.
War.2 A padgelling way of paying a debt.
PADGET, s6. Nhp.' [pa'dgit.] A small piece of tow,
drawn out for the purpose of spreading ointment upon,
to bind round a wound.
' Get a padget of tow. ' A corruption of the surgical term pledget.
PADGETTY-POW
[407]
PAIGLE
PADGETTY-POW, sb. Cor. Also written padgety-
paw Cor.2 ; padgety-poo Cor.^ ; paget-e-poo Cor.^ ; and
in forms padgey-pow, padgy-paw, padzher-pou Cor.'' ;
pagedy-pow. 1. A lizard ; an eft.
The lizard rejoices in the appellation of ' Padgey-pow,' Science
Gossip (1866) 14a; Hammond Para/; (1897) 341; [He won'tjmake
me eat quilkins and pagetepooes, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846)
35; Cor.12
2. A tadpole ; a frog ; also usedjig. as a term of contempt.
I'll scat your chacks, you undersized padgetty-pow, T. Towser
(1873) 24 ; Cor.i Frenchmen with their wooden shoes Eating
snails and padgetypoos.
[Cp. OCoT.padshar, four, anApaw, foot (Williams).]
PADJANTREE, sb. Yks. Also written pageantry,
pajantree. [pa-dgsntri.] In phr. (i) to be bound up
padjantree, to be near death ; (2) to sing padjantree, to
warble the death-note.
(i) w.Yks. I fear he's boun' up padjan-tree (S.P.U.). (2) I'm
afeared he's boun' to sing pajan-tree {ib.) ; They [captive
sparrows] very soon warbled the death-note, always called here
singing padgentree, N. & Q. (1854") ist S. x. 221.
PAD JELL, sb. Obs. Sc. A veteran pedestrian who
has often been victorious in foot-races. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
PAD-LAND,s6. Obs. Dev. A parish pound. (Hall.)
PADLOG, sb. Som. Dev. Also in form -lock w.Som.'
[pae'dlog, -lok.] 1. A short piece of wood used in form-
ing a builder's scaffold ; a put-log.
w.Som.'^ One end rests on the wall, and the other upon the
* ledger ' or horizontal pole of the scaffold. Upon the pad-locks
rest the planks on which the workmen stand and place their
materials. Dev. How many padlogs hav'y got for the scaffolding ?
Reports Provinc. (i88g).
2. Comp. Padlock-hole, a hole left in a wall after the
removal of the scaffold. w.Som.^
PADROLL, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Yks. Also written
pad-rowl n.Yks. 1. v. A dial, form of* patrol.'
Lnk. Two companies padroUing went Of Sinclair's soldiers,
with intent For to disperse this rebel crew, Graham Writings
(1883) I. 88. n.Yks. (T.S.)
2. sb.pl. In phr. on one^s padrolls, on one's walks or
rounds. N.I.^
PADY, PAECE, PAEDLE, PAEK, PAEL, see Padda,
Pace, Paddle, sb."^, v?, Peck, v?-, Pail, v.
PAELAG, PAEPS, see Pellock, sb}. Papas.
PAERL, PAET, PAETH, see Pearl, sb}. Peat, sb}. Pith.
PAFFALDIN, sb. Lakel. Cum. Also written paffel-
den, paffeldin Cum. [pa-fldin.] Baggage ; used also of
a quantity of unnecessary and heavy clothing.
Lakel.^ A chap wi' tweea cooats, as many waistcooats an' sarks
on, his legs lapt up wi' symes, an' a muffler ower his lugs, wad
say he'd a gay lot o' paffaldin' aboot him ta keep t'cauld oot.
Cum. Gl. (1851) ; Linton Lalie Cy. (1864) 308; Cum.*
PAFFLE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also in form pofHe. A
small parcel of land, a 'pendicle.'
Sc. Disclaiming all intention of purchasing that pendicle or
poffle of land called the Carlinescroft, Scott Midlothian (1818)
Introd. -.i. Per. Some places are parcelled out into small pafiSes,
or farms, few of which are above 30 acres each, Statist. Ace. XIX.
328 (Jam.). Lnk. (Jam.) Hdg. In Spot itself he purchased a
pofHe or pendicle of land that brought him some marks yearly,
Longman' s Mag. (Feb. 1901) 380. Rxb. (Jam.)
Hence Paffler, sb. one who occupies a small farm.
Per. Some of these small farmers or pafBers are at times
employed with their horses and carts at the roads. Statist. Ace.
XIX. 328 (Jam.).
PAFFLE, V. Wor. [pse'fl.] L To fly.
The wild geese paffled south (W.A.S.).
2 To peck at, to scatter with the beak or feet. Cf. peffel.
s.Wor. The sparrahs paffles the sids, OuTis Vig. Mon. in
Berrow's Jrn. (1896) xviii.
PAFFLING./i/'/.a^'. Obs. n.Cy.Yks. Silly, trifling, idle.
n.Cy. (Hall.); N.Cy.' A paffling fellow. w.Yks. WiLi. an List
JVds. (1811).
PAFTY, see Paughty. ^, ^ . ,, . .
PAG V. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Not. Lin. Also in form bag
eYks.^' [pag.] 1- To carry a heavy, cumbersome
burden ; to carry a person pick-a-back.
n.Yks. Ah's fair mafted wi' huggin an' paggin this bundill (T.K.) ;
n.Yks. 2 Hawkers ' pag ' goods. e.Yks. Poor awd man ! He's
come doon a lot and noo gans pagging a basket of oranges aboot
(R.S.) ; e.Yks.i She's paggin that heavy bayn aboot all day lang.
Not. Jump on my back, and I'll pag you over (W.H.S.). Lin. He
had to pag his rags back to London, Fenn Cure of Souls (1889)
27. nXin. Shepherd hed to pag him up to th' hoose, Peacock
Tales (i8go) 2nd S. 48 ; n.Lin.i It's oher heavy, I can't pag it.
sw.Lin.^ The bairns were pagging one another.
2. Comp. Pag-rag day. May 14th, the day on which
servants changing places carry away their clothes. Cf.
pack -rag day, s.v. Pack, v, 10 (3).
Lin. They all went strag'ling down the street, They shouted out
' It's pag rag day,' Brown Lit. Laur. (1890) 72. n.Lin.i Molly
was at liberty on pag-rag-day, Cheny Ruih and Gabriel, I. 41.
sw.Lin.l
8. With off: to send, or to go, away ; esp. suddenly and
unceremoniously. e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.) 4. To pack
tightly ; to fill, stuff, stop up.
Nhb.' The wettor pipe's getten pagged up wi summat. Cum.*
Pag't wi' dirt ; Cum.*
5. With out : to fit out, to furnish, as with provisions for
a journey. e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.) 6. In pass, to be
fatigued. w.Yks. (J.T.)
PAG, see Peg, sb}
PAGE, sb} e.An. [pedg.] A boy who helps the
shepherd with the sheep.
e.An.i, Nrf. (L.C.M.) Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 297, ed. 1849.
PAGE, sb.'^ Oxf ' [pedg.] Glove-making term ; see
below.
A piece of paper with a number on it given to the gloveress by
the ' glove-master,' referring to a page in his book where her
name is to be found. To have a ' page ' is to be considered
a permanent hand.
PAGEANTRY, PAGEDY-POW, PAGET-EPOO, see
Padjantree, Padgetty-pow.
PA GEL, PAGGEL, PAGGLE, see Padgel.
PAGIL, PAGLE, see Paigle.
PAG-MAG, 56. Lakel. Yks. [pa'g-mag.] A collection
of rubbish ; odds and ends ; alsoj^^. nonsense.
Lakel. ° What's o' that pag-mag thoo hes i' thi pocket. w.Yks.
An unsavoury blend of foods would be a pagmag, Leeds Merc.
Suppl, (Dec. 7, 1895) ; w.Yks. ^ J. B. made a dish of bacon, fowls,
and greens ; . . he actually added a tallow candle. He called it
a pagmag.
PAH, int. Obs. Suf An admonitory exclamation.
PAH-, PAHKE, PAHMACITY, PAHTS, see Par, sb.,
Pouk, sb}, Parmacetty, Pawts.
PAICE, PAICK, see Paise, v}, Paik, v.
PAID, sb. Stf > [ped.] A sore.
PAID, PAIDLE, see Pad, s6.«. Paddle, sb}^, v?
PAIFERAL, sb. Cai.' [pefarl.] A stupid fellow.
PAIGHLED, ppl. adj. Sc. Overcome with fatigue.
Cf peghle.
Abd. I'm sairlies paighled wi' that lang brae (G.W.). Ags.
(Jam.), Per. (G.W.)
PAIGLE, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Lin. Nhp. Pem. Bdf.
Hrt. Mid. Hnt. e.An. Ken. Dor. Also in forms paagle
Ess.' ; pagil Ken. ; pagle Hrt. e.An. ; paugle s.Pem. ;
peagle Lin.* Bdf Suf; peggall Hrt.; peggle Ess.;
pegle Ken.''^ [pe'gl, pea'gl, pe-gl.] 1. The cowslip,
Primula veris.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Yks. As blake as a paigle, Ray Prov.
(1678) 355. n.Yks. Obsol. (R.H.H.) m.Yks.i Chs.'s Obs.
Lin.' The peagle grows luxuriantly in the fields in the Monk's
Liberty. Nhp.' Seldom used, except in the comparison, as
' yellow as a paigle.' s.Pem. They be gatherin' a posy of paugles
(W.M.M.). ■B&i. Batch^i-oil Anal. Eng. Lang. {iSog) T^o. Hrt.
(H.G.) ; CussANS Hist. Hrt. (1879-81) III. 321. Mid. (K.), Hnt.
(T.P.F.), e.An.i, Cmb., Nrf. (B. & H.) Suf. Ray (1691) ; Suf.'
Ess. Let's go and pick peggles in the long mead (M.W.) ; The
flower whence clary wine is made, N. & Q. (1869) 4th S. iii.
469; Ess.i, Ken.'2 e.Ken. Jacob P/fl«/ac (1777) inN. &= Q. (1869)
4th S. iv. 142. Dor. (G.E.D.)
2. Comp. (i) Paigle-pudding, a pudding flavoured with
cowslips ; (2) -tea, a decoction made from cowslips, con-
sidered a mild and wholesome soporific; (3) -wine,
cowslip wine.
PAIGLE
[408]
PAIL
(I'l Ess. Mother says paigle puddn tastes o' nothin' at all
(S.P.H.). (2) n.Cy. Holloway. e.An.i Nrf, Holloway. (3)
n.Cy. Holloway. e.An. N. & Q. (1875) 5th S. iii. 166. e.An.i
Nrf. Holloway.
3. A name given to various species of buttercup, esp.
tlie bulbous-rooted crowfoot, Ranunculus bulbosus, and
the corn crowfoot, R. arvensis. Suf (C.T.) ; Science Gossip
(1883) 113. 4. The cuckoo-flower, Cardamine pratensis.
Suf (B. & H.)
[Paggles, greene and yelow, Tusser Hush. (1580) 96.]
PAIGLE, see Pegil.
PAIK, sb} Sc. Nhb. Also written pake Sc. (Jam.)
[pek.] 1. A low character; a deceptive fellow. Dmf
Wallace 5(rAoo/wasfer( 1899) 351. Nhb.' Cf pack, 5^).^ 9.
2. A term of reproach for a woman, or for a female
domesticated animal or bird ; always used with an adj.
Lnk., Rxb. A cow is called an ' auld pake ' ; a niggardly woman,
a ' hard pake ' (Jam.).
\OY.. pceca, a deceiver, paean, to deceive (Sweet).]
PAIK, V. and sb.'^ Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also
written paick Sc. (Jam.) Cum. ; paike Sc. ; pake Sc.
n.Cy. Cum. ; and in forms paak n.Sc. (Jam.) ; peck Abd. ;
pex Sh.I. [pek.] 1. v. To beat, strike ; to punish.
Sc. If she comes to dunts, I have twa hands to paik her with,
Scott Nigel (1822) xxxvii. Frf. There's few but I baith pran'd
and paikit, Beattie Arnha (c. 1820) 32, ed. 1882. Ayr. Writer
chiels that sinners paik Wi' artfu' glee, White Jottings (1879)
205. Bwk. Some aiblins may paik ye thro' mischief or spite,
Chisholm Poems (1879) 78. Slk. They had been terribly paiket,
Hogg Tales (1838) 22, ed. 1866. Dmf. Douce Davie deserves to
be paikit, Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 196. Gall. Banns, and
glowers, and girns, and gaunts aye. And paiks the weans, Nichol-
son Poet. Wks. (1814) 128, ed. 1897. n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.',
Nhb.i Cum. Went heame — was paick'd agean by th' weyfe,
Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 94 ; Cum.* He lonter't on amang
t'nut trees till he was ower leat for t'skeul and gat paik't for 't.
m.Yks.i
Hence (i) Paiket,/'/'/. a(/?'.beaten, whipped ; (2) Paiking,
sb. a beating, thrashing ; a punishment ; (3) Paikment,
sb., see (2).
(i) Per. Kiss their looves — the paiket gowks ! Gude bairns to
be, Stewart Character (1857) 186. (2) Sh.I. A'U gie daa his
pexins when he comes, Sh. News (Mar. 17, 1900). Frf. He wad
likely haen to thole a paikin' that wad hae garred him pay attention
to duty for a month or two, Willock Rosetiy Ends (1886) 105,
ed. 1889. Fif. Tennant Papistry (1827) 196. Rnf. M'^Gilvray
Poems (ed. 1862) 124. Lnk. I'll juist hae to gie that wild laddie
a paikin', Hamilton Poems (1865) 47. Cum.* It meade nea
matter whedder ye'd been duin owt or nowt, reet or wrang, ye
hed to tak yer paikins, W.C.T.X. (1894) 18, col. i. Wm. He
gat a soond good paiken (B.K.). w.Yks. Grainge Nidderdale
(1863) 226. (3) Bwk. A voice oor paikment threeps, Calder
Poems (1897) 202.
2. With at: to fight with.
Cum. Laal peace can be in t'warld ... As lang as brutes, an'
fwok ur aw, Yan paiken at anudder, Richardson Talk (1876)
2nd S. 27 ; Cum.*
3. To walk steadily and continuously.
w.Sc. (Jam.) Fif. Fame gaed up and down As fast as she could
post : Her feet laigh on the causey paikin, Tennant Papistry
(1827) 94.
Hence (i) Paiker, sb. a street-walker. Gall. (A.W.) ;
(2) Paikie, sb. a female street-walker ; a prostitute. Sc.
(Jam.) ; (3) Pakit-like, adj. having the appearance of a
prostitute ; having a shabby, exhausted appearance, ib.
4. sb. Obs. or obsol. A stroke, a blow.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Abd. Mony a paick upon his
beef they laid. Till wi' the thumps, he blue and blae was made,
Ross Helenore (1768) 50, ed. 1812. Frf. Wi' niony a snell an'
vengefu' paik, Beattie Arnha (c. 1820) 14, ed. 1882. Fif. Ilk
clapper gaif ilk bell sic paiks, Tennant Papistry (1827) 48. Ayr.
Ye're a deevil at a paik when your birses are up, Gk\.t Sir A.
Wylie (1822) v. Lth. A pair o' tawse, to gie them paiks, For he
cou'd use them weel, Thomson Poems (1819) iii. Edb. Fer-
GussoN Poems (1773) 121, ed. 1785. Slk. A paik — that's a swap
or skelp, Hogg Tales (1838) 22, ed. 1866. Gall. A paik of this
Lochaber axe, Crockett Grey Man (1896) ix.
5. pi. A deserved punishment ; gen. in comb, with the
poss. pron.
Sc. But deil o' me an I wad break my heart to hear that Rob
had gien them their paiks, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xxix. Bnff.
May Frenchmen get their pakes, Taylor Poems (1787) 176.
Bch. Still may we gie our faes their paiks, Beattie Parings (1801)
13. Abd. I hae gotten njy pecks for cryin' doon my ain auld
wife, Macdonald R. Falconer (1868) pt. 11. i. Frf. Johnny got his
paiks frae Pate, and Pate got his paiks frae his faither, Willock
Rosetty Ends (1886) 168, ed. 1889. Per. We're baith truant
laddies, and maybe we'll get oor paiks, Ian Maclaren Auld
Lang Syne (1895) 151. Slg. Our heroes gae faemen their paiks,
Taylor Poems (1862) 149. Rnf, Barr Poems (1861) 126. Ayr.
Whether it was that I was but wee, and no very lang at his
schule, . . but I never got my paiks from him. Service Dr. Duguid
(ed. 1887) 30. Lnk. I'd gie a fortnicht's pay mysel', deed wad I,
to see ye get yer pakes, ye ugly scoon'ril, Gordon Pyoishaw
(1885) 21. e.Lth. Ony man wha didna support the kirk in her
hoor o' need deserved to get his paiks in this world an' a het
corner in the neist, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 128. Edb. He'd
thol'd his paiks, Learmont Poems (1791) 83. Slk. Without a
struggle submitted to my mother, who gave me my paiks, Chr.
North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV. 224. Gall. Yet we always got our
paiks for what little [religion] we had, Crockett Afoss- //a^s(i895)
xxxix. n.CY. Border Gl. {Coll. h.h.yi.); TH.Cy.''- Cum. Weel thou
desarves thy pakes, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 91 ; Cum.'*
6. Phr. to be riglit cheap of onis paiks, to deserve a beating
richly. s.Sc. Wilson Tales (1836) III. 69.
[5. How that thow, poysonit pelor, gat thy paikis,
Dunbar Flyting (1505) 70.]
PAIKIE, 5*. Rnf. (Jam.) A piece of skin doubled,
used to defend the thighs from the ' flaughter-spade '
when digging turfs.
PAIL, sb} War. Glo. Dor. Som. 1. In camp. Pail-
stake, a bough with many branches, or a series of pegs,
fixed in the ground of the dairy-yard, on which to hang
milk-pails. GIo.^Marshall Rur. Econ. (1789) I ; Glo.'
2. Phr. (i) to be in full pail, of a cow : to be in full milk ;
(2) to have come in to pail, of a cow : to have all the milk
available for the dairy after the calf is gone.
(i) Dor. Though the time of year was as yet but early April,
the feed lay entirely in water-meadows and the cows were ' in
full pail,' Hardy Wess. Tales (1888) I. 57. (2) w.Som.i
3. A bucket with one handle at the side. War. (E.A.P.)
PAIL, V. and sb.^ Irel. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Stf. Nhp. War. Wor. Shr. Glo. Also written pael
w.Yks. ; pale w.Yks.^ Lan. Chs.'^ s.Chs.' War.'' s.Wor.
Glo.'; payl w.Yks. Nhp.' War.^ Shr.'^ ; and in forms
peal Wxf.' War.^; peale Wxf.'; peel w.Yks.® Lan.;
peighl w.Yks. Lan.' ; peil w.Yks. ne.Lan.' ; pele Lan. ;
peyl n.Cy. Lakel.'^ Cum.^ Wm. w.Yks.' Lan.' ne.Lan.'
e.Lan.' m.Lan.' ; peyle Cum.* w.Yks. e.Lan.' [pel, peal ;
pil, peil.] 1. V. To beat barley ; to remove the awns of
barley with 'paling-irons.' Chs.'^, s.Chs.' Hence
Paling-irons, sb. pi. an implement used to remove the
barley-spikes. s.Chs.'
2. To strike continuously ; to beat, thrash.
Wxf.i Hea begaan to peale a cocat, 108. n.Cy. (Hall.),
Cum.2* Wm. She had peyled therfeaces black an blue, Wheeler
Dial. (1790) 29. w.Yks. (G.H.) ; Sho peighl'd it wi a hammer,
Dewsbre Olm. (1880) 11 ; w.Yks.' Cum sharp up an peyl't door,
ii. 307 ; w.Yks.^ Lan. He began a possin an peylin him, Tim
Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 25 ; I met three foos, pelink uppo three
war-tubs. Walker Plebeian Pol. (1796) 23, ed. 1801 ; Lan.',
ne.Lan.', e,Lan.', m.Lan.' s.Lan. Awv pailt him weel, Bamford
Dial. (1854). Chs.' Moy axe is so dull aw conna cut a chip,
bur aw keep on paHn at it, an aw dinge em off. s.Stf. Her set on to
pail him o'er the yead wi' the breum-hondle, Pinnock BW. Cy.
Ann. (1895). War.2 Shr. Bound Provinc. (1876) ; Shr.' If I
could raich 'im I'd payl'im black an' blue ; Shr.*
Hence PaileA, ppl. adj. beaten.
w.Yks. Tha't looking as faal as a peil'd mule, Hl/x. Courier
(May 29, 1897).
3. To trouble; to harass, weary. n.Cy. (Hall.), ne.Lan.*
4. With at, into, or on to: to ' pitch into ' any one.
Lan. They thunge't an' peel at one another full bat, Waugh
Chim. Corner (1874) 215, ed. 1879. War.* ' I'll pale into him.'
Sometimes ' it' is inserted, as ' Go and pale it on to him.' Glo.'
PAIL
[409 J
PAIR
5. To set about anything with energy ; gen. with away
or into.
Lakel.i^ He wad peyl away frae moornen ta neet an' niwer let
wit. Peylen intuit, siam as t'chap wi' t'dumplin end. w.Yks.
He'd sooin t'dish between his knees an' wor peylin' away,
Yksman. Comic Ann. (1889) 34 ; Just let me finish this bird cage,
an' I'll peyl intut an' reight an' all ! Cudworth Dial. Sketches
(1884) 125 ; w.Yks.a Lan. Aw've had to peighl away like a
nowraan, Clegg Sketches (1895) 429- ne.Lan.i
Hence Peyl-away, sb. an energetic person; a hard
worker.
w.Yks. He is a peyl-away an reight an all, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Feb. 6, 1896).
6. To hurry ; to run at full speed.
■w.Yks.5 Peel off, lad ! 3. Lan. He'ur peylinkowey, tort Rach-
daw, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 7 ; Look how he's palin away,
Brierley Old Nook, ii. ne.Lan.i, m.Lan.i
7. Of rain : to come pelting down ; of the sun : to beat
fiercely.
Nhp .1 The rain payled so agen me, it was quite uncommon. War.^
The rain came pealing down. s.Wor. The sun paled down
(H.K.).
Hence Payling, sb. a driving, beating shower. Nhp.',
War.3 8. sb. A barley-spike, an awn. s.Chs.' 9. A
hurry.
Lan. Thae'rt in a terrible peighl, "Waugh Snowed-up, i ; Lan.',
e.Lan.^
[1. Fr. peler, oter la peau d'un fruit, I'ecorce d'un arbre
(Littre).]
PAIL, PAELIE, see Pale, s6.', Paulie.
PAILLIE, sb. Lakel. Part of a snare for a woodcock ;
see below.
A small piece of wood called the paillie, to which is attached the
tome, Macpherson Hist. Wild-fowling (1897) 454.
PAILS, see Peel, sb.^
PAIN, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Chs. Lin. Also
written paine Cum. [pen, pean.] 1. sb. In comb.
Pains-of-Peg, labour pains. e.Yks. (J.N.) 2. Phr. to be
in one's pains, to be taking trouble.
Abd. See his queentra queans, An* my opinion pass on them
When they were i' their pains, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 94.
3. Trouble ; pains.
Per. Maun wi' foreign markets mell. An' gets weel bitten for his
pain, Haliburton Dunbar [iSg^) 12. Yks. (J.W.)
4. A penalty.
Sh.I. That none have more swine than four upon a last of land
over winter, under the pain of 10 pounds, Sh. News (Apr. 30,
1898). Abd.Thatnoneshouldreceipt, supply, or intercommune with
them, under great pains and peril, Spalding //('si. Sc. (1792) I. 5.
5. (Dbs. That part of the common on which it was
forbidden under penalty to cut turf. Cum.'* Hence
Pain-book, sb., obs., a register of pains and penalties in
manorial courts.
Cam. A paine book for the Hamlet of Weather Mellock, Hodgson
Century of Paines (1883) 27 ; Cum.*
6. pi. Rheumatism. Gen. used with the def. art.
Sc. (Jam.) Per. ' Why are you hmping so, Ann ? ' ' It's they
pains ; may ye never hae to thole them ' (G.W.). Fif. Grown-up
people spoke more gravely of . . . a weed, rose, the pains, Colville
Vernacular (1899) 18. Peb. Chronic rheumatism (the pains, as it
is provincially designed) is frequent among old people, Agric. Surv.
II (Jam.). Rxb. The poorer sort of people . . . have too much
reason to complain of what they call the pains, or the pains within
them. Statist. Ace. I. 2-3 («6.). Nhb. (J.H.) ; He suffers a deal
with the pains, Lilburn Borderer (1896) 25 ; Nhb.' He's just fair
crippled wi' the pains.
7. V. To hurt ; to cause bodily suffering ; reflex, to suffer
pain, to give outward signs of pain.
Cum. Aav been rayder badly, an' pain't in my back, Dickinson
Ore Carter's Wife, 1. 2. n.Yks.2 ' She pains herself,' said of a cow
as performing certain functions of nature with an effort. ne.Yks.'
He pains hissen a deal ; he diz nowt bud pleean. w.Yks. (J.W.)
Chs.' Does it pain thee ? n.Lin.' That theare yoh paains hersen,
she'll aither lamb or dee soon.
PAINCH, see Panch, sb., Paunch, sb}
PAINFUL, adj. Sc. Yks. Chs. Gmg. Sus. Som. [pe'nfl,
pea'nfl.] 1. In a state of pain.
Gmg. I am very painful to-day (E.D.).
vol- IV.
2. Causing much labour.
Chs.' I have heard sung at rent dinners a song about ' the pain-
ful plough.' w.Sora.' 'Tis ter'ble painful [paa'ynffeol] groun', 'tis
so clefty.
3. Painstaking, hardworking, active.
Per. The painful bee, with purest honey, fills Laboriously her
narrow waxen cells, Nicol Poems (1766) 205. n.Yks.'' I've been
varry painful ower't. e.Yks. A painfull fellow will not refuse,
Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 54. Chs.' ; Chs.^ Honest and painful
parents. Sus.'
[3. Such seruants are oftenest painfull and good, Tusser
Husb. (1580) 170.]
PAINSFUL, adj. Sc. Yks. Also in form painsfu' Sc.
Painful.
Abd. This has taen a heap o' time, an' a pooer n' painsfu' labour,
Macdonald Warlock (1882) xxiv. Yks. (J.W.)
PAINT, sb. Sc. Lakel. Not. Lin. Wil. Dor. Also in form
pente Lakel.^ [pent.] 1. In comp. (i) Paint-brushes,
the aglet-headed rush, Eleocharis palustris ; (2) -cote, a
court card ; (3) -kettle, a paint-pot, such as is used by
house-painters.
(i) Wil.', Dor. (G.E.D.) (2) Lakel.2 Ah hevn't a single pente-
cote, just my luck ! (3) s.Not. (J.P.K.)
2. //. The painted woodwork of a room, as the doors
and skirting-boards. Sc. (A.W.), n.Lin.'
PAINTED, ppl. adj. Yks. I.Ma. War. Wor. Oxf. Wil.
Dev. In comb, (i) Painted lady, [a) the sweet pea,
Lathyrus odoratus; {b) the flower of the French bean,
Phaseolus vulgaris ; [c] the striped crane's-bill. Geranium
striatum ; {d) a dessert apple, green one side and red the
other ; (2) — lin, coloured calico or print.
(i, a) I.Ma. What's these painted ladies doin ? Brown Yarns
(1881) 183, ed. 1889. n.Wil. (G.E.D.) (b) War.s Wor. The
gardens look very pretty when the painted ladies are out (E.S.).
(<r) Dev. n.Dev. Handbk. (ed. 1877) 306. (rf) Oxf.' MS. add. (2)
Yks. Ingledew Ballads (i860) 275.
PAINTER, sb} Nrf. One of the pretty little feathers
to be found at the angle of a snipe's wing.
Here are the snipe. . . Do pull out the ' painters ' for me. I like
to put them in my riding hat. Haggard Col. Quaritch (1888) II. xv.
PAINTER, sb."^ Nhb.' [pe'ntar.] An eminence ; the
end or shoulder of a ridge. .' Obs. except in place-names.
The word occurs in Painter Heugh in Newcastle, and in
Painter Hill, the high ground immediately below the Parish Church
at Alnwick.
PAINTICE, see Penthouse.
PAINTING, vbl. sb. and sb. Yks. Lin. 1. vbl. sb. In
comb. Painting-cratch, a painter's easel.
w.Yks. A painter jumpt reight off an hiz chair, ari' knockt hiz
paintin' cratch daan nearly, Tom Treddlehoyle Fr. Exhibition {c.
1856) 52.
2. sb. pi. The painted woodwork of a room, as the doors
and skirting-boards. Cf paint, 2.
n.Lin.' I was weshin' th' paaintin's e' th' drawin' room. M'm,
me scrawk th' paaintin's, m'm ! I know my wark better.
PAIP, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Also written pape Sc. ; and in
form pep Sc. (Jam.) [pep.] 1. A cherry-stone, esp.
one picked clean, and used in a game played by children.
Sc. A head full of hair, a kirkle \sic\ full of hips, and a briest full
of papes are three sure marks of a daw, Kelly Ptow. (1721) 2;
(Jam.) Edb. (D. MacR.) ; Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) Gl.
Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351.
2. A game played with cherry-stones ; see below ; gen.
in pi. Also called Paipie.
Sc. Three of these [cherry-]stones are placed together, and
another above them. These are called a castle. The player takes
aim with a cherry-stone, and when he overturns this castle, he
claims the spoil (Jam.). Lth. At paips thou praps, Thou birls
bawbees, thou dozes taps, Ballantine Poems (1856) 67. Edb.
(D. MacR.) Kcb. Heplaysatpeeries, papes, an' bools, Armstrong
Ingleside (1890) 142. n.Cy. The game of ' Paip ' is played with
five cherry stones, Athenaeum (Jan. 7, 1899) 8.
Hence Peppoch, sb. the store of cherry-stones from
which the ' castles ' are supphed. Sc. (Jam.)
PAIP, see Pop, v."^
PAIR, sb. and v} Var. dial, uses in Sc. Eng. and Amer.
Also written pare Cor.^; and in forms par w.Yks.';
3G
PAIR
[410 J
PAITER
peere Cor. [pe(r, pe3(r.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Pair of
gears, mining term : two upright props or spars with a
cross-piece at the top for the support of a pit-roof, &c.
Nhb.' 2. A set of anything, not hmited to a couple ; a
number.
Ayr. I doubt na, lass, that weel kenn'd name May cost a pair o'
blushes. Burns IV. Chambers, st. ii. Nhb.', Cor. (Hall.)
3. Comb, (i) Pair of bars, rails made to lift out of the
sockets, so as to admit of a cart passing through ; (2)
— of cards, a pack of cards ; (3) — of drawers, a chest of
drawers ; (4) — of moyles, a drove of mules, usually about
thirty, for carrying tin ; (5) — of puUisees, a complete
tackle of pulleys ; (6) — of stairs, a flight of stairs ; a stair-
case ; (7) — of wood, timber to support the broken roof
of a mine.
(i) Sus.i (2) Nhb.i Yks. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) (3)
Nhb.l, w.Yks. (J.W.) Lin. A'. £/ Q. (1867) 3rd S. xi. 207 ; n.Lin.i
(4) Cor.i (5) Sc. (Jam.) (6) Nhb.l, n.Yks.«, -w.Yks.^s, e.Lan.i,
nw.Der.', n.Lin.i Nhp.i He lives up two pair of stairs. War. A
staircasewith two landings (J. R.W.); War.^ It is a house with two
pair of stairs [two staircases]. Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.Som. W. & J.
Gl. (1873). w.Som.i You mind how Will . . . put up thick there
pair o' stairs, don' ee ! how he begin' d em up 'pon top and work
down ? [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 342.] (7) w.Yks.^
4. A gang of miners.
Dev. My mate, who was generally in my pair, as we call a party
of underground men, was given to odd fancies, Mortimer Tales
Moors (1895) 87. Cor. Ef Franky's peere wornt drunk, J. Tre-
NOODLE Spec. Dial. (1846) 26; Both tutwork men and tributer
work in ' pares' or companies. Burrow Mines, 23 ; Cor.^^ . Cor.^
A party of men working together in one particular operation, most
frequently on a contract in which each man is a partner. The
number of men forming a pare extends from two to as many as
twenty, but the more frequent number is four to six.
5. A single thing.
Sc. ' Pair of blankets.' This is used not only for a double blanket,
but often for a single one. Monthly Mag. (1798) H. 436 ; 'A pair
o' carritches,' a catechism. 'A pair o' Proverbs,' a copy of the
Proverbs, used as a school-book (Jam.). w.Yks. ^ There com by
me ... a par o' shay an four, ii. 349. e.Lan.i ' Pair o' looms,' one
loom. Lei.i ' Pair of organs.' I have heard it appHed to a barrel-
organ in a church, and a hurdy-gurdy in the street. Wor. A'pair'
of bedsteads, i.e. one bedstead (W.C.B.). ne.Wor. He is like a
toad under a pair of harrows (J.W. P.). Shr.^ Hmp. A truck used
for carrying luggage or workmen's materials is called a ' pair of
trucks.' Similarly, a 'pair of stilyards' means a steelyard
(H.C.M.B.).
6. pi. Obs. A card game. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 458, ed. 1876. 7. V. To marry.
Dmf. Ilka year frae they were paired, Within her spirit clearer
ran The spirit o' her lord, Thom Jock d Knowe (1878) 55.
Hence Pairing, (i) ppl. adj. matrimonial ; (2) sb. a
marriage-feast where the newly-married couple receive
presents from their friends.
(i) Kcd. Fat were wrang sud Littlefirlot Gyang an' speir her
pairin' views ? Grant Lays (1884) 79. (2) Dev. (Hall.)
8. With with : to match with, agree with.
Ayr. I'll underlie a rightfu' law That pairs wi' heav'n's decree,
AiNSLiE Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 132.
PAIR, v.-" Sc. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Der. Glo. w.Cy. Also
written pare Sh.I. Lakel.^ Cum.'* w.Yks.^ ne.Lan.^ Der.^;
and in form par ne.Yks.^ [pe(r, pe3(r.] 1. To impair ;
to change for the worse ; to diminish in weight or quan-
tity ; to take away from.
Sc. Februar, an ye be fair The hoggs'll mend, and naething pair,
Chambers Po/.^/yjMes (ed. 1870) 364. Sh.L Datcan nedder add
or pare, Sh. News (Aug. 28, 1897). Lakel.^ When t'weather
changes aboot we say it mends and pares. Cum.*'' w.Yks. He's
paired a great deal, sin' I saw him (E.G.) ; w.Yks.', ne.Lan.*
Hence (i) Pairing, sb. injury, corruption ; (2) Pairment,
sb. loss, harm, damage.
(i) w.Yks.i Obs., ne.Lan.i (3) w.Yks. A gardener will say his
plants will take no parement under such and such conditions,
Sheffield Indep. (1874); w.Yks.2
2. To grow mouldy ; esp. of cheese. w.Cy. (Hall.)
Hence (i) Paired, ppl. adj. of cheese : mouldy, having
a tendency to rottenness ; (2) Paring, ppl. adj. ? mouldy ;
(3) Pairy, adj., see (i).
(i) Glo. Horae Subsecivae {iTli) 315; Glo.i (2) Sh.L 'Hit
canna be pairin' flooer shiirely ? ' ' No, hit's frae Amerikey,' Sh,
News (Mar. 11, 1899). (3) Glo.'
3. Of a cow : to give daily less and less milk.
Cum.i* W.Yks.' Shoe pares fast, — I sail be foarced to signe her,
ii. 290. ne.Lan.i T'cow pares fearfully. Der.' Obs., D&t.^
4. To dirty. [Not known to our correspondents.]
ne.Yks.' See ya noo ! t'bairn's par'd deearst'n.
[1. Apoysende popes and peyreth holy chirche, P.
Ploivman (a.) m. 123.]
PAIRAGE, sb. n.Yks.2 m.Yks.^ [pe-ridg.] Equality ;
similarity.
PAIRIN, PAIRK, see Paring, Pouk, sb}
PAIRLESS, adj. Sc. Companionless.
Lnk. Pairless I stray by mysel', Watson Poems (1853) 74.
PAIRNS, sb. pi. Sc. (Jam. Suppl) [pernz.] The
coarsest kind of meal made from bran and the siftings of
wheat. Also in comb. Pairn-meal.
PAIROCK, PAIRTISAY, PAIRTRIC(K, see Parrock,
Partisie, Partridge.
RAISE, z^.i and sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lin. Nhp.
Glo. Hnt. Wil. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written pais Sc. (Jam.
Suppl.) ; paize Nhb.' s.Dev. ; pase n.Cy. n.Yks.' Lin.';
pay se Dev. Cor.'; payze Wil.'w.Som.'Dev.'; pazeN.Cy.'
Dur.' Cum.'°* n.Yks.'^ ne.Yks.' Dev. ; and in forms pace
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Glo.^ Som. ; paice Glo.' ; peaze Som. ;
peise Cor.° ; peize Cor.'^ ; pese Dev.; pise Cor.^; piss
Wil.' ; pize Cor.^ ; sb. pi. paysen Cor.' ; peisen Cor.^ ; peizen
Cor.'^; peysen, pizen Cor.° [pez, pes.] 1. v. To
weigh, esp. to weigh in the hand ; to estimate the weight of.
w.Sc, s.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) GalL Ein on en' he pais'd his rung,
Mactaggart fwryc/. (1824) 11, ed. 1876. Nhb.' Dev. This will
paze more than you think. Reports Provinc. (1882) 19 ; She would
assure her she had just ' pesed ' it in her hand, and the weight was
nothing, Peard Mother Molly (1889) 138; Dev.' n.Dev. Jim looked
tha chounting chap ta paise, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 115
s.Dev. They'm cheap in the money, sir, please to paize 'era,N.&Q.
(1883) 6th S. vii. 447. Cor.' ; Cor.^ I've a pized et.
Hence (i) Raiser, sb. a man who weighs tin ; (2) Pissing-
candle, sb., obs., the smallest candle in the pound put in
to make up the weight.
(i) Cor.' 2 (2) WiL Kennett Par. Antiq. (1695) (s.v. Putta) ;
Wil.'
2. To raise with a lever ; to force open ; to lift.
n.Cy.(J.L. 1783), N.Cy.' Nhb. (W.G.) ; Nhb.' Paise-up that Hag-
stone. Paise open that lock. Dur.' Cum.'^; Cum.*He waspazin
and thrustin' his hardest. n.Yks. Let's paze that heavy wood up
(J.W.) ; n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^ Paze it loose, the lock is blunder'd.
ne.Yks.' We can mebbe paze it off. Lin.' (s.v. Prise). Nhp.' The
window will do, if you paise it up. Glo.'^^ Hat. (T.P.F.) Wil.
Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.', Som. (W.F.R.) w.Som.' Only
implies the use of the lever in one way — i. e. by weighing down
the end ; it could not be used if the lever were lifted, having the
fulcrum at the point. 'Take the iron bar and payze up the end o'
un, eens can put the chain in under-n.'
Hence Raiser, sb. a lever.
n.Yks.2 e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' A heavy iron
lever used in quarrying stone, but always by weighing down
the end.
3. sb. A fulcrum, leverage ; a lever. n.Cy. (J.L. 1783),
Som. (W.F.R.) 4. Poise, balance.
Dev. MS. Prov. n.Dev. I've lost ma paise, But 'it I'll hould en
vast. Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 30.
5. pi. Weights. Cor.'=^
[1. The pound . . . peysed a quarter More than myn
auncel, P. Plowman (c.) vil 223. OFr. (Norm.) peiser,
'peser' (IVIoisy). 5. OFr. (Norm.) and Norm. dial. peis{e,
'poids' (/6.).]
PAISE, v.'^ ne.Lan.' [pez.] To walk about leisurely
or lazily.
PAISE, PAISEN, PAISE-WAISE, RAIT, see Pace,
Pea, s6.', Pax-wax, Pate, sb.'^
PAITER, V. and sb. Sc. _ Also written paitter Per. ;
pater Slk. Rxb. (Jam.) [pe'tar.] 1. v. To mutter; to
talk incessantly, to be loquacious. Cf. patter, v.^
Per. He didna' lower himsel' preachin' an' paiterin' like a mis-
sionary body, Ian MACLARENif. Carnegie (1896) 226. Rxb. (Jam.)
PAITLICH
[411]
PALE
Hence Paittering, ppl. adj. chattering, muttering.
Per. It's no very cannie tae hae onything tae dae wi' thae
preachin', paitterin' craturs, Ian Maclaren Auld Lang Syne
(1895) 323.
2. sb. pi. Chatter, talk ; a word.
e.Fif. They've an awfu' gift o' speech, they Englishers ! Hoosum-
ever, his paiters cam to an end belyve, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864)
xii. Slk. Dinna let a pater about it escape frae atween your lips,
Hogg Tales (1838) 360, ed. 1866.
3. A loquacious person ; gen. applied to a female. Rxb.
(Jam.)
PAITLICH, adj. Obs. Sc. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] See below.
Edb. They sair bemane some paitlich gown, (Some yellow
dippet stain'd wi' brown,) Which they brought claith-like frae the
town, Har'si Rig (1794) 28, ed. 1801 ; Possibly cognate with
' Pettle,' to ' pet,' and meaning favourite, or what one is pleased
with, or thinks much of, or is proud of (A.W.).
PAITLINS, PAITRIC(K, see Partlins, Partridge.
PAIXY, adj. Dev. [pe'ksi.] Untidy ; dirty.
Lor ! mum, 'tez a dirty day ; the rawds be cruel paixy, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892).
PAIZE, PAJANTREE, see Paise, v}, Padjantree.
PAKE, v} and sb. Dev. Also in form pakes-. [pek.]
1. V. To stroll about, move slowly ; to tread.
Last Vridy wis week as I pakid down droo Exter straits,
Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (1847) 24, ed. 1848 ; How those
bullocks have been pakesing about! Reports PrOvinc. (i88g);
Dev.2 Look at him paken' along.
2. sb. A quiet, easy-going fellow.
Dev.2 Jan' Slocombe, seems a regular old pake.
PAKE, v.^ e.An. [pek.] To poke about ; to potter
about ; to peep at.
e.An.i He pake about like a turkey arter dark. Nrf. He was
pakin' about, Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 14. Snf. What
are you paking at ? (Hall.)
Hence Pakenose, sb. an inquisitive person.
e.An.i Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 27.
PAKE, PAKEY, see Paik, v., Perk, Pawky.
PAL, sb. ? Obs. e.An.^ Two courses or rounds in
stocking-knitting.
PAL, V. Sc. In phr. to flag and pal in, to lay pave-
ment with curb-stones.
Lnk. The proprietors on both sides were to ' flag and pal in '
their properties facing the street, Senex Glasgow (1856) III. 631, in
Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899).
PALACE, sb. Dev. Cor. Also written pallace s.Dev.
Cor.^ [paelas.] 1. A cellar for the bulking and storing
of pilchards.
Cor. The townsfolk live on their first storeys, using the lower
floors as fish cellars, or ' pallaces,' ' Q.' Three Ships (1890) iv ; It
was built in square fashion, with a pent-roof on its four sides, for
the curing of pilchards, inclosing a central court, Quiller-Couch
Hist. Polperro (1871) 32; Cor.12
2. Obs. A landing-place enclosed by walls but not roofed
in ; a cellar or store-house underground.
Dev. All that great cellar lately rebuilt, and the plott of ground
or pallace thereto belonging lately converted into a cellar. Corpora-
tion Totnes (1719) in N. & Q. (1850) ist S. i. 233. s.Dev. At
Dartmouth in Devon there are some of these storehouses cut out
of the rock still retaining their old name of palaces, Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 317.
ri. Cp. OCoT.palas, to dig, delve (Williams).]
PALACH, PALALL, see Pellock, sb.\ Pallall.
PALANQUINS, sb. pi. Obs. Nhp.i War.^ Long
gaiters, leggings.
PALATIC, adj. I.Ma. Chs. Also written palattic
Chs.13; paUatic I.Ma. [pala'tik.] 1. A dial, form of
' paralytic'
I.Ma. His is a pallatic stroke, and it were a very common illness
(S.M.). Chs.i3 (s.v. Fallatic).
2. Paralyzed with drink.
CI1S.3 He wasna riotous, your wusships, he wur past that, he
was palatic 1
PALAULAYS, see PallalL
PALAVER, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lin. Nhp. Also in
form palaiver Bnff.' [p3la-v3(r.] 1. sb. Flattery, per-
suasive talk.
Nhb. Come, ha' done wi' palaver, Graham Red Scaur (1896)
344. w.Yks.5 Ye'll manage him wi' a bit 0' palaver. Lin.^ None
of your palaver with me. Nhp.' Let's have none of your palaver.
2. Obs. Noise ; abuse. w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves
(1781). 3. A wearisome talker ; a person of silly,
ostentatious manners.
Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.i A niver saw sic a palaiver o' a cheel. Lnk.
She's a fair palaver o' a woman, and never weary bummin' aboot
her stootness o' body, an' her want o' breath, Murdoch Readings
(1895) I. 70.
4. V. To flatter ; to talk over ; to gossip.
ne.Sc. I could palaver a customer wi' ony ane i' the county ahint
the counter like mysel', Grant Keckleion, 76. Ayr. It was not the
habit of the women-folk to palaver in this outer court, Johnston
Congalton's Legacy (1896) 72. Yks. Your father used to come
leaning over it and talking about love, and palavering her, Long-
man's Mag. (Oct. 1895) 637. w.Yks.s Palaver him a bit, an' ye'll
gehr on wi' him. Nhp.i Don't stand palavering there.
5. To behave in an ostentatious manner.
Bnff.i He palaivert up an' doon amo' the fouck.
PALCH, adj. and v. Bdf. Dev. Cor. Also written
paltch Cor. ; and in form palsh Dev. Cor."^ [pseltj,
pselj.] 1. adj. Broken down in health, very frail and
deUcate in constitution ; palsied. Cor. Hammond Parish
(1897) 341; Cor.^^ 2. V. To patch, mend; to patch
clothes untidily ; also fig. to patch up or half-cure a sick
person. Cf. palt, v.
Dev. Whyiver dawntee try tu zaw vittee, an' not go palshing
tha hawls in tha thengs up like that ! Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ;
Dev.i n.Dev. Grose (1790). Cor. Thee art paltcht oop quite
brave like, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 17.
Hence (i) Palched, ppl. adj., (2) Palchy, adj. patched
up, half-cured, always ailing, very frail and delicate in
constitution, broken down in health.
(i) Cor. The palched little smulk that 'a was! Pearce Esther
Pentreath (1891) bk. i. ii ; Cor.^ A poor palched creature. A con-
firmed invalid is said to be a palched, or patched up man ; Cor.^
He is very much palched. (2) Cor. Ae's pinikin, palchy, and
totilin, Hammond Parish (1897) 342 ; Cor.'' He is very palchy.
3. To walk softly and slowly, esp. through mud.
Bdf. 'E come palchin' right on my foot, Ellis Pronunc. (1889)
V. 208. Dev. To palch along saatly, and zartly, Horae Subsecivae
i^m) 317 ; Thickee cheel is palshing drew tha lane wi' 'er
bestest biites, wi' tha waiter purty nigh up til 'er knees, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.i n.Dev. OH vor palching about to hire
Lees, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 201. s.Dev. Her's always palching
about listening (F.W.C.) ; We'd dew best ter palch along ter th'
trend i' th'hollerhinder, MadoxSrown Dwale Blutk (i876jbk. i. iv.
[1. OCor. palch, weak, sickly, making a poor recovery
(Williams).]
PALE, sb> Sc. Yks. Not. Lin. Hrf Oxf . Suf. Dor. Dev.
Also written pail e.Yks. ; and in form piale Dor.^ [pel,
peaL] 1. A rail ; a bar of a gate or hurdle ; one of the
upright bars of a pahng.
e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (i88g) 76. n.Lin.^, nw.Dev.i
2. Comp. Pale-gate, a gate made with 'pales' placed in
a vertical position on a frame.
Dev. You'll come to a pale gate, N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 26.
3. Earth turned up by the plough ; see below.
Hrf. The plough goes along the former furrow and raises a
second deep furrow which is thrown on the top of the first,
raising thereby a pale, Marshall Review Agric. (1818) II. 285.
4. An enclosure for cattle. Lin. (Hall.) 5. pi. A paling.
Fif. The flude o' Papists brak The pales, and pour'd, wi' crash
and crack. On the rink-room their creishy pack, Tennant Papistry
(1827) 152. Ayr. Some day ye may gnaw your nails, . . That ere
ye brak Diana's pales, Burns Dream, st. 10. Not. The park
pales (J.H.B.) ; Not.' n.Lin.^ That grew o' thine jumpt clean
oher th' paales, an' was awaay agean by that. Oxf. i,G.O.) Suf.
That hooey would get up on they pales and now they've bin an'
bruk, e.An. Dy. Times (1892). Dor.^
PALE, sb? Sc. A faucet.
Lnk. Settin' every cock an' pale In ready key for pourin',
Watson Poems (1853) 40.
PALE, V. and sb? Obs. or obsol. Sc. Also in form
pale (Jam.). 1. v. To puncture ; to tap for the dropsy.
n.Sc. (Jam.) 2. To test cheese by taking a sample.
Sc. (Jam.) Lnk. The cheese he pales ; He prives, it's good ;
3 G2
PALE
[412]
PALM
ca's for the scales, Ramsay Poems (ed. 1733") 230. Edb. I believe
I paled fifteen [cheeses] in Joseph Gowda's shop, Moir Mansie
IVaiich (1828) vii.
3. 5^. A small, pointed, circular scoop, used in testing
and tasting cheese.
Sc. (Jam.) Lnk. I'se gie a cheese O' twa stane weight, the
very wale. To try itye may bring a pale, Mum Minstrelsy (i8i6) 46.
PALE, see Pail, v., Peal, v., Peel, sb}^, v?-
PALE-BLUE-CLINCH, sb. Obs. Shr. Strata in
Lightmoor Winsey pit. Marshall Review (1818) II. 199.
PALERINE, PALEY, see Pelerine, Paulie.
PALING, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Also written pailing
Abd. [pe-lin.] 1. sb. In comp. Paling-wall, a paling.
Lnk. A' roun' the bonnie wud they've raised a palin' wa',
Nicholson Idylls (1870) 133.
2. pi. Lead-mining term ; see below.
w.Yks. Small piecesof wood, 2-J^ feet long, placed perpendicularly
in the space between the ' stemples ' ; if the earth be very loose,
these are ' backed ' by ling or heather (J.E.).
3. V. To surround with a paling.
Abd. The policies a' pailin'd aff an' set, Murray Hamewtth
(1900) 25.
PALINODE, sb. Sc. Irel. Yks. Also in forms palin-
oddy w.Yks.^ ; palinody Ir. 1. Scottish law-term : a
solemn recantation demanded in addition to damages in
a libel action.
Sc. I will soon bring them to fine and palinode — I will make
them repent meddling with your good name, Scott St. Ronan
(1824) xiv ; John Colvill his palinod or recantation, wherein he
doth penitently recant his former proud offences, specially that
treasonable discourse against the undoubted and indeniable title
of king James the sixt, unto the crowne of England, Title (1604).
2. A rambling discourse, esp. one calculated to deceive
the listeners. Cf. paddy-noddy.
Wxf. The intruder thus commenced his palinody, Kennedy
Evenings Duffrey (1869) 45.
3. Agitation, embarrassment. w.Yks.^ (s.v. Padinoddy).
PALKY, adj. e.An.^ Also in form polky. Of pota-
toes : diseased.
PALL, sb.'^ and v} Sc. Also written paal S. & Ork.'
Cai.^ ; paul n.Sc. (Jam.) [pal.] 1. sb. A post or large
pole ; a mooring-post ; a fixture against which the feet are
planted when one is pulling horizontally.
S. & Ork.i, n.Sc. (Jam.), Cai.^ Frf. A vessel cam in a'tween the
heads — they threw ashore a rope round the pall, Sands Poems
(1833) 143.
2. V. To get a purchase bj' planting the feet against a
post or other fixture.
Sh.I. I pall'd me fit at da wa', an', trow put an' row, I got his
mooth open'd, Sh. News (Nov. 24, 1900). Or.I. To paal he
gloamered for a stool, Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 797.
3. Of a horse : to strike with the fore-feet. Slk. (Jam.)
[1. Norw. dial, paale, a post (Aasen) ; Svj.p&le (Wide-
gren).]
PALL, sb.^ Nhb. Shr. Also written paul- Shr.^ [pal.]
1. A windlass with a cowl-shaped top for supplying a
mine with air ; a ' cow.' Richardson Borderer's Table-
bk. (1846) V. 245. 2. Comp. Paul-windlas, a small wind-
lass used to raise or lower the mast of a barge placed on
the poop of the vessel. Shr.^
PALL, sb? Obs. Sc. Also in form pa'. A rich or
fine cloth.
Knights of great renown, And ladies, laced in pall, Scott
Minstrelsy (1802) IV. 160, ed. 1848; An she was dressd i the
finest pa. Gill Brenton in Child Pop. Ballads (1882) I. 68.
[par couertours . . . And all ))ar pauillions of pall, Wars
Alex. (c. 1450) 4178. OFr. pale, 'drap ' (Roquefort).]
PALL, v." and sb.* Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Also written
paal S. & Ork.i Nhb.^ pari e.Lth.; paul Sc. Bnff. N.Cy.i
Nhb.^ [pal, pgl, P93l.] 1. v. To puzzle, baffle, bring to
a standstill.
Sh.I. Hoo da scoondril haed da impidence ta come inta my
hoose for sic a purpose pauls me, Clark TV. Gleams (1898) 95 ;
Fader bliss me as A'm pall'd what haand ta turn me til, Sh. News
(Mar. 30, 1901) ; S. & Ork.i Or.I. Fu' sairly palt was he, Ellis
Pronunc. (1889) V. 792. Cai.i BnfiF.i That riddle pault thim a'.
Abd. Some boxie wi' a puzzlin' kick That pauls the lasses to get
aff the sneck, Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 458. N.Cy.^
n.Yks.2 It palls me. m.Yks.l, w.Yks. (C.C.R.)
Hence (i) Palled, ppl. adj. puzzled ; (2) Paller, sb. a
staggering blow ; a rude shock ; something which causes
astonishment.
(i) e.Lth. Sair she dreads her parl'd brain. This yarn will mak'
a mess o't, Muckleeackit Rhymes (1885') 56. (2) Nhb. Maw
sarties ! but he gat a pauler, Midford Coll. Sngs. (1818) 30 ; Nhb.'
2. To surpass ; esp. in phr. that palls all, that beats
everything. Bnflf.i That pauls a'. Nhb. (R.O.H.)
3. sb. A puzzle. Cai.', Bnff.^
[1. An aphetic form of lit. E. appal, to shock, discomfit.]
PALL, v.^ Lin.^ [p?!-] To satiate, surfeit.
You will pall him with good things.
PALL, v.* Obs. Dev. To turn pale.
(Hall.) ; Dev.' Mercy, how her hath a pall'd when her
hath come athort any of es playthings, 41, ed. Palmer.
PALLACH, PALLACK, see Pellock, sb.^
PALLALL, sb. Sc. Yks. Also written palall Fif ;
and in forms palaulays Frf. ; pallaldies Fif. ; pallalls Sc.
(Jam.) ; pallaly Frf ; pally-ully n.Yks.^^* [pala-1.] A
form of the game of ' hop-scotch ' ; also the piece of
earthenware or stone used in the game. Cf peever, sb.
Sc. (Jam.) Frf. There were women sitting on stones at their
doors, and girls playing at palaulays, Barrie Minister (1891)
xxvii ; The lassies . . . had games of their own, chief among which
was skipping-rope and the ' pallaly,' the latter known politely as
' playing at the pitcher,' but perhaps more universally known
as 'hop scotch,' Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 98. Fif. Girls chose the
quieter sports . . . the ever-entertaining ' palall,' Colville Vema-
cular{i8gg) 13; Mony's the time I've played the pallaldies barefit
wi' 'm on the plainstanes, Meldrum Grey Mantle (1896) 251.
Lth. The 'pickies'(or the ' beds,' or the ' pall-all ') played with
a flat stone on the pavement, Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 33.
Edb. Took her out to the back of the house to have a game at the
pallall, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) i. n.Yks.i Played ... by the
help of a small flat piece of earthenware or the like, and an oblong
figure with many angular compartments chalked or otherwise
marked out on the pavement or a piece of level ground; n.Yks.^
Child's game of chance with rounded pieces of pot the size of
a penny. Divisions are chalked on the pavement, and the ' pally-
ullies ' are impelled within the fines by a hop on one leg and a
side-shuffle with the same foot ; n.Yks."
PALLAWA, sb. Obs. Fif. (Jam.) 1. A species of
sea-crab ; a ' keavie.' 2. Fig. A contemptuous term for
a dastardly fellow.
' Will I be slairtit be sic a Pallawa ! ' Shall I be outdone by
such a poltroon ?
PALLET,si.' Sc. [pa'lat] Ahumoroustermforthehead.
Kcd. He prayed for him and a^ his wallets, That cleaned the
hats o' greasy pallets, Jamie Muse (1844) 47. Frf. Pou'd the hair
frae ither's pallets, Beattie Arnha (c. 1820) 49, ed. 1882.
[Fr./e/ofe, a tennis ball, any little ball to p lay with (Cotgr.).]
PALLET, 56.== n.Sc. (Jam.) A skin, esp. an undressed
sheep-skin ; a ' pelt.'
PALLID, fl^'. Obs. Dun Striped ; made of cloth of
different colours. Raine Charters, &c., Finchale (1837) clvi.
PALLIE, PALLO, see Paulie, Pellock, sb}
PALLY, V. and adj. Lakel. Yks. Also Som. Also
written pallee Som. [pa'li, pae'li.] 1. v. To go about in
a shuffling way.
Lakel.2 Thoo'll pally aboot i' thi barfit feet tell thoo gits tbi
deeth o' cauld, an' than thoo'll know. Palleyen aboot in a pair
o' auld carpet shun ; what good er they i' t'wet? w.Yks. He used
to pan tul an' wesh an' pally abaht like a reyt 'un, w. Yks. Aim.
(1881) 17; They don't care a straw for a chap 'at pallies abaht
for 'em, Saunterer's Satchel (1881) 50.
2. adj. In comp. (i) Pally-foot, (2) -paw, a very large
broad foot.
(i) n.Yks. Mind where thou's gannin', staupin about wi' thI
gurt pally-feet (T.K.). (2) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
PALLY-HITCH, sb. n.Yks.^ [pali-itj.] The game
of ' hop-scotch.' (s.v. Pally-ully.) Cf pallall.
PALLY-ULLY, see Pallall.
PALM, sb.^ and v.'^ Sc. Yks. Lan. Der. Not. Lin. Nhp.
War. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms pame Dev.^ ; paum
Sc. n.Yks." w.Yks.= nw.Der.i Som. Cor.^; pawm n.Yks.=
PALM
[413]
PALMY
m.Yks.' Lan. Not.' Lin.' ; poam Cor.'^^; pome Cor. [pam,
p^m, pqam.] 1. sb. In phr. to meet one with the open palm,
to be ready to shake hands.
War." He beinno wise proud, he alius meets us with the open palm.
2. The hand.
m.Yks.i Give us hold of thy pawm. w.Yks.2 Come, keep thy
paums off me !
3. The hollow of a spade. Nhp. N. &= Q. (1877) 5th S.
vii. 468. 4. V. To lay hands on ; to finger ; to handle
awkwardly ; to maul.
Fif. Aye they glampt, and aye they glaum'd. And aye the tither
teind they palm'd, Tennant Papistry (1827) 38. n.Yks. Duan't
pawm ower t'meeat seeah (T.S.). nw.Der.i Not. What are you
pawming at ? (J.H.B.") ; Not.' s.Not. She's alius pawmin' 'er new
fur (J.P.K.). Lin.i You should not pawm the child about.
Hence Paumish, adj. awkward in handling. Som.
(Hall.) ; W. & J. Gl. (1873).
5. To squeeze the hand.
Gall. While ever that ye act for me. An' paum, an' cog, an'
sconce, an' lie, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 66.
6. To rub the hands together.
Lan. Boh stood pawmin wi iz honds loik o neatril, Scholes
Tim Gamwattle (1857) 28.
7. To strike with the open hand ; to punch.
Dev.^ I'll pame thy head vor thee.
8. To pummel ; to knock with the fist.
Cor. And will so poam am, J. Trenoodle Spec, Dial. (1846)
25 ; (Hall.) ; Cor.i ; Cor.2 Poamen well.
Hence Poaming, sb. a pummelling. Cor.'^
9. To climb a tree or pole without the assistance of any
unevennesses but simply by the assistance of hands and
feet ; to swarm. n.Yks.'^*, m.Yks.' 10. To extend.
Cor. Jrn. Royal Inst. (1886) IX ; Cor.^
PALM, sb.^ and v.'^ Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written palme e.Som. ; and in forms paum n.Yks.*
e.Yks.' w.Yks.^ nw.Der.' nw.Lin. ; pawm Cum. n.Yks.'^
w.Yks.^ Lan. nw.Lin. ; pome Cum.'* n.Yks. m.Yks.'
[pam, P9m, p93m.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Palm-barley, a
kind of barley larger and fuller than the ordinary kind ;
(2) -buss, any willow which has conspicuous catkins ; (3)
-cross, a cross made on Palm Sunday ; see below ; (4)
■cross day. Palm Sunday ; (5) -fair, a fair which begins
on the fifth Monday in Lent, and lasts two days ; (6)
-grass, the reed meadow-grass, Glyceria aquatica ; (7)
•sun, see (4) ; (8) -sun fair, the fair held at Stokesley on
the Saturday before Palm Sunday; (9) -tree, (a) the wil-
low ; (6) the yew ; (10) -willow, any willow producing
catkins early ; the catkins of several species of willow,
esp. the common sallow, Salix Caprea.
(i) Nhp.' (2) Cum. (3) n.Yks.'A decorative cross, composed
of the peeled sticks of the willow, and dressed with the catkins
or ' palms.' Suspended from the ceiling, or some high projection,
about Palm-Sunday ; n.Yks.2 ' Pawm-crosses ' are made to com-
memorate the season. Small sticks of peeled willow-palm are
pin-pierced together, so as to cross equally. They are then
studded at the extremities with palm blossoms, and arranged and
attached with pins throughout a design of small circles or palm
hoops, for suspension from the ceiling. e.Yks. Marshall Rur.
£coM.(i788). m.Yks.' (4) n.Yks.'2*, m.Yks.' (5) Wgt. Fraser
Wigtown (1877) 21. (6) Nhp.i I gathered the palm-grass close to
the brook, Clare MS. Poems. (7) e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i (8) n.Yks.
Ah'll gan neea mair tit Pomesun Fair, Tweddell Clevel. Rhymes
(1875) 27. m.Yks.' (9, a) n.Yks.i, oxf. (G.O.), Wil.i (6) Ken.i
The old people in East Kent call the yew-tree the ' palm-tree,"
and there is, in the parish of Woodnesborough, a public-house
called ' The Palm-tree,' which bears for its sign a clipped yew
tree, Memorials Eastry, 116 ; Ken.^ They will sometimes on Palm
Sunday dress a church with yew-branches ; which I think very
strange, because this was always esteemed a funereal tree ; but
after they once called it the ' palm-tree ' the other mistake follow'd
as it were on course. (lo) Lei.i ? Wil. The palm-willow bears
its yellow pollen, Jefferies Hdgrow. (1889) 202.
2. //. The buds and catkins of various species of willow,
esp. of the common sallow, Salix Caprea ; also, in sing.,
the tree itself
Sc. (Jam.), s.Sc. N.I.' Supplied on Palm Sunday to persons
attending service in the Roman Catholic Churches. Ant., Dwn.
n.Cy. Chapter of Ripon, 334, in Easther GL (1B83). Nhb.', Dur.i
Cum.i; Cum.* Blossoming branches of the willow are used to re-
present palms on Palm Sunday. n.Yks. (R.H.H.), n.Yks.i
e.Yks. Worn in the hat (if the season permit) on Palm Sunday,
Marshall i?«(>-. ^con. (1788) ; e.Yks.' Carried in the hand, and
used for the decoration of rooms on Palm Sunday. w.Yks.i^as
s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854). Chs.i^s, nw.Der.i, jjot. (L.C.M.),
n.Lin.i, nw.Lin., Lei.i Nhp. Ye leaning palms, that seem to
look Pleased o'er your image in the brook, Clare Poems (1820)
62; Nhp.i^, War.3 Q,\a. The ' pussies ' or ' palms ' are beautiful
objects, Ellacombe Ga>-rfieK (1895) iii. Oxf. (G.O.) Brks. Druce
Flora (1897) 459. Hnt. (T.P.F.), Nrf., Suf., Sus.i, Hmp.i, Wil.i
Som. A switch of willow covered thick with palms, Raymond No
5ok/ (1899) 289. e.Som. W.& J. G/. (1873). w.Som.i, Dev.*
Hence Palmy, adj. abounding in catkins.
Lnk. The palmy saughs attract the bees, Thomson Musings
(1881) 92.
3. pi. The catkins of the hazel, Cotylus Avellana. n.Yks.*
4. The common yew, Taxus baccata.
Ir. The branches of the yew are blessed and given to the people
... on Palm Sunday. On that day the male peasants may be
seen returning from mass with sprigs of yew in their hats or but-
ton-holes; . .the women carry home the blessed branches also,
and on entering a peasant's cottage a tuft of yew may be seen at
the bed-head, or round the crucifix which hangs on the wall.
Hence yew-trees are almost universally called palms in Ireland,
even by persons who know the proper name for them, N. £5* Q.
(1865) 3rd S. vii. 167-8. Ant., Dwn., Dub. (B. & H.) s.Cy.
Chapter of Ripon, ^■^^.i in Easther GL (1883). Ken. Parish Gl,
(1875). Dev."
5. The silver fir, Pinus picea. Ant., Dwn. (B. & H.) 6.
pi. Small branches of the spruce fir, Abies excelsa, supplied
on Palm Sunday to persons attending the Roman Catholic
Church services. N.I.i 7. v. To gather yew twigs or
branches in order to decorate churches.
Ken. ' Going a Palming ' is a popular custom on the Saturday
before Palm Sunday (B. & H.).
PALM, see Pam.
PALMAGRAM, sb. Yks. [palmsgram.] A mixture
used to strip colour off warps or hanks. w.Yks. (J.G.)
PALIVLER,_s6.^ Hmp. I.W. Som. Also written parraer
w.Som.' [pa'm3(r).] The palmer-worm, a large kind of
caterpillar.
Hmp. Cabbage caterpillar (W.M.E.F.). I.W.' w.Som.i Let's
hev the parmer ribbed wi' gold, Th' yaller dun, an' blue. \^Eruche,
Cankers, Palmers, Catterpillers, Florio.]
PALMER, V. and sb.'^ Sc. Cum. Also in forms paumer
Abd. ; pawmer Sc. (Jam.) Bnff".' [pa'msr.] 1. v. To
wander ; to saunter about.
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Fan onything comes in's noddle aboot's nowte
beasts he canna get rest, but '11 be up an' paumerin' aboot the toon
o' the seelence o' the nicht, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 208.
Cum. A palmer'd out as chance wad heft An 'till a neybor's house
a tuok, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1805) 114.
2. To walk clumsily and with much noise.
Sc. A bonny figure I wauld be palmering about in bauchles,
Stevenson Weir (1896) i. Bnff.i
Hence (i) Palmerer, sb. one who walks in a clumsy,
noisy manner ; (2) Palmering, ppl. adj. {a) wandering ;
walking feebly ; (b) rude, clumsy.
(i) Bnff.i (2, a) Sc. Ony auld palmering body, Scotz Antiquary
(1816) xxix. (b) Bn£F.i
3. sb. Clumsy, noisy walking. BnfF.' 4. One who
goes about in a shabby, threadbare dress, either through
poverty or slovenliness. Sc. (Jam.)
[L A der. of ME. palmer, a pilgrim to the Holy Land
(Chaucer). OFr. {Norm.) paumier, 'pelerin' (Moisy).]
PALMISTER, sb. Obs. Sc. One who practises
palmistry.
In his youth a certain palmlster hade assured him he should
rise to great honors, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 67.
PALMY, sb. and v. Sc. Also written paamie Cai.' ;
pammy Edb. ; paumy Sc. ; pawmy Sc. (Jam.) [pa'mi.]
1. sb. A blow from the 'tawse' on the palm of the hand.
Sc. Mother, I wad have had my hands blistered wi' palmies
afore I wad let them ken my father was drunk, Stevenson Pud-
din (1894) 27. Cai.i Frf. He wha had made hunderg greet for
their guid wi' weel-laid-on pawmies, Willock Roselty Ends (1886)
16, ed. 1889. Per. Nae brunt-taed tawse o' strong nowt-hide Need
PALSH
[414]
PAMPOOTIE
they for paumies, Stewart Character {ib$i) 58. Fif. A forecast of
the number of pawmies to be faced in the afternoon, Colville Ver-
nacular {i8gg) II. e.Fif. Thirty years ago to every boy in East Fife
correction by the time-honoured taws was known under the name of
pawmies, Glasgow Herald (Sept. a, 1899). Ayr. There was na a day
I didna get a pawmy but ane, and on it I got twa, Galt Lairds
(1826) iv. Lth. A rousin' pawmie on the loof . . . Will waken up a
sleepy coof, Ballantine Poems (1856) 138. Edb. Nae school being
in. Our pammies o'er, syne aflf we'd rin, Forbes Poems (1812) 95.
Slk. The boy who is detected in the fact, must be punished by
palmy, or privation, or imprisonment from play, Blackw. Mag.
(Sept. 1828) 280. Gall. He had compassed the secret of how to
make one ' pawmie ' do the work of two, Crockett Kit Kennedy
(1899) 72.
2. V. To cane on the palm of the hand.
Sc. (Jam.) ; Tam was palmied for being too late for school,
Whitehead Daft Davie (1876) 106, ed. 1894.
PALSH, see Palch.
PALSHALLALS, sb. pi. Cor.^ [pae-ljalalz.] The
diarrhoea.
PALSIFIED, adj. Sc. Palsied.
She's palsified — an' shakes her head Sae fast about, ye scarce
can see't, Outram Lyrics (1887) 35.
PALSY, sb. and v. Ylcs. Nrf. 1. sb. In cojnp. Palsy-
stroke, an attack or fit of paralysis. n.Yks.^ 2. v. In
phr. to palsy one's brain, to bewilder. Nrf. (P.H.E.)
PALT, sb. Nhp. Also written pault Nhp.^ [polt.]
Refuse, rubbish. Cf pelt, sb.'
Nhp.i Foul, and unproductive land, that is covered with weeds,
is said to be full of squitch and palt. The refuse of corn that
rises, at the top of the sieve after reeing, is also termed palt ; Nhp.^
[MLG. palte, ' Lappen, Happen, Stuck ' (Schiller-
LiJBBEN) ; MDu. palt, a fragment (Oudemans).]
PALT, V. Yks. [polt.] To mend. Cf. palch, 2.
w.Yks. (J.W.) ; w.Yks.3 May be said of mending a stocking, a
coat, a cart, or indeed anything. ' Tha' a't paltin' up then.'
PALTCH, see Palch.
PALTER, v.^ Lin. Nhp. [po-lta(r).] To hesitate,
prevaricate ; to play fast and loose.
Lin. Skinner (1671) ; Lin.^ When you go before the beaks you
must not palter. Nhp.i
[These juggling fiends . . . That palter with us in a
double sense, Shaks. Macbeth, v. viii. 20.]
PALTER, v.'^ Ken. Also written paulter. [po'ltafr).]
To wreck or pilferstranded vessels and ill-use shipwrecked
sailors. Hasted Kent, IV. 293 ; (Hall.) ; Ken.i
PALTERLY, adj. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Lin. Also written
palterley N.Cy.'; paltherly e.Yks.' ; paulterly n.Lin.^
Paltry, worthless, mean.
n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.>, Cum.l, n.Yks. (T.S.), e.Yks.i, w.Yks.
(J.W.), nXin.i
PALTHOGUE, 5*. Irel. A blow.
n.Ir. The peats flew through the house, an' whack Came pal-
thogue on the farmer's back, Lays and Leg. (1884) 8.
\\t. palltog, a thump, a blow (O'Reilly).]
PA'LTING, ppl. adj Yks. [po-ltin.] Paltry, trifling.
w.Yks. Whativer he does it's alius a paltin' job he maks on't,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Dec. 7, 1895) ; Common (J.W.).
PALTRIDGE, see Partridge.
PALTRY, adj and sb. Pem. e.An. [po'ltri.] 1. adj.
Unwell, feeble, indisposed.
s.Pem. I am main paltry to-day, I canna do much (W.M.M.).
2. sb. Rubbish, refuse, trash. e.An.^ Cf. peltry, L
PALY, adj. Sc. Amer. Also written paley Sc. [pe'li.]
Pale, whitish.
Fif. Paly hen's eggs, Tennant ^M5fe>- (1812) 79, ed. 1871. Lnk.
A' the flowers on the lea Are fadin' awa to a paley bloom, Lemon
St. Mungo (1844) 77. Lth. He kiss'd my paly cheek. Smith Merry
Bridal (1866) 199. [Amer. A darkish-paly complexion, not a sign
of red in it anywheres. Cent. Mag. (Dec. 1884) 273.]
PALYU, sb. Cav. [pa'lju.] A potato cake. (M.S.M.)
PAM, sb. Sc. Lin. Brks. Som. Slang. Also in forms
paam, palm Sh.I. ; pamphie Abd. (Jam.) ; pawmie Sc.
\ib.) [pam, psem.] L In cards : the knave of clubs, esp.
in the game of loo.
Abd. (Jam.) Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 717; Lin.^,
Brks.i w.Som.' Very com. Slang. Grose CI. Diet. (1823); Lex.
Balatronicum (i&ii) ; Slang Diet. (1865).
Hence Pam-loo, s6. a game of cards in which the knave
of clubs is the winning card in the pack. w.Som.'
2. The knave of any suit in a pack of cards.
Sc. (Jam.) Sh.I. Clappin' doon da palm o' diamonds, Sh. News
(Mar. 19, 1898); Doo'll shlirely no curse 'at doo canna ken da
' paams ' be da ' kings ' noo, ib. (Oct. 28, 1899). Gall. Mactag-
GART Encycl. (1824).
[1. Ev'n mighty Pam that Kings and Queens o'erthrew
And mow'd down armies in the fights of lu, Pope Rape 0/
Lock (1714) in. 61. Fr. pamphile, ' nom du valet de trefle
au jeu de pamphile, oil il est le principal atout' (Littre).]
PAMBER, V. Not.* [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] [pa'mb3(r).] To pander.
PAME, sb. Som. Dev. [pem, pesm.] 1. A square of
fine flannel, often handsomely bound and embroidered, in
which a new-born child is wrapped ; a christening wrap ;
a blanket, mantle, square of velvet or satin thrown over
an infant that is going to be christened.
w.Cy. (Hall.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). wSom.' Dev.
'Twuz squire's fust babby that wuz a cursened tii-day. Hadden 'er
a-got a butivul pame ! By Gor ! 'twuz a satan wan, wi' gold
fernge, HewettFots. Sp. (1892) no ; Dev.' n.Dev. GR0SE(i7go).
2. A pane of glass.
Dev. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) nw.Dev.* s.Dev. Put in a
pame of glass, Reports Provinc. (1877).
3. Building term : the piece of timber that lies on the
top of the wall, to which the bottom of the rafters is
fastened, a ' pan.'
w.Som.i A pame of joists is the row or ' bay ' filling up the space
between two main supports. Used when the floor is supported by
short joists bearing upon beams or dwarf walls. Dev. Horae Sub-
secivae (1777) 319. nw.Dev.* In a carpenter's bill, 1809, occurs the
entry : ' Cutting a Piece for a Pame — Damaged, 15.'
4. pi. ' Purlins ' or side-timbers of a roof. w.Som.*
PAME, PAMEL, see Palm, sb.'^, Panel, sb.^
PAMISAMPLE, sb. Bnff.* The shell, Bulla lignaria.
PAMMENT, sb. e.An. Also written pammant Nrf.
[pae'mant.] A square paving-brick ; a pavement.
e.An.i Nrf. Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815) XXXVII. 267 ;
Red handkerchiefs dot the hard cold pamments, and sturdy knees
bow humbly, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 73. Suf. (C.G.B.),
Suf.i
PAMMY, (M^'. Lin. Cmb. [pa'mi.] Fat, thick ; having
thick, swollen legs.
Lin. Miller & Skertchly Fenland (1878) iv ; Lin.i Cmb.
Miller & Skertchly ib. iii.
PAMMY, see Palmy.
PAMP, sb. Nrf. [peemp.] In phr. to live like old Pamp,
to have a well-supplied table. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf.
(1893) 34.
PAMPER,!). Lan.Wil. [pa'm-, pse-mp3(r).] 1. To fret.
Lan. At long length hoo pampert an pined so as hoo took
gradely fll, Lahee TVaiVs ( 1887) 40.
2. To mess about so as to spoil a thing.
Wil. You're pamperin' with that lock till you won't be able to
turn the key at all presently (G.E.D.) ; Wil.*
3. In pass. : to be puzzled.
n.Wil. Thur 1 caant do so much on't, I be 'tirely pampered wi'
't aal (E H.G.).
PAMPHIE, see Pam.
PAMPHIL, sb. Abd. (Jam.) A square enclosure made
with stakes ; a small house.
PAMPHREY, 56. N.I.* [pa'mfri.] A kind of cabbage.
PAMPLE, v.^ e.An. [pse'mpl.] To trample lightly;
to toddle about.
e.An.i A child pamples about upon a walk or a bed in a garden
newly raked ; or upon a floor newly washed. Nrf. They du goo
pamplin' about i' the slush. Spilling Johnny's Jaunt (1879) i.
Suf.* Sheep trampling over a new bank, &c., are said to ' pample
it about.'
Hence Pampling, ppl. adj. fidgety. e.An.*
[MLG. pampelen, ' sich hin u. her bewegen ' (Schiller-
Lubben).]
PAMPLE, V.' Obs. n.Cy. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] To indulge, 'pamper.' (Hall.)
PAMPOOTIE, sb. Irel. Also in form pampooter.
[pampu'ti.] A kind of sandal or slipper ; see below.
PAN
[415]
PAN
w.Ir. The small feet and legs were not, as might have been
expected, bare, but clad in comfortable thick knitted stockings, with
shoes, or rather sandals, of the kind known as ' pampooties,' made
of cow's skin, the hair being left on, the upper portion sewed
together and tied with a wisp of wool in more or less classical
fashion across the two small insteps, Lawless Grania (1892) i.
Glw. The Aranites and inhabitants of some of the other Galway
islands wear pampooters, which are slippers, Flk-Lore Jm. (1884)
II. 261. s.Arran.I. Said to have been introduced some two or
more hundred years ago by an East Indian ship-captain, who
settled on the Island, ib.
PAN, sb} and v} Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
in form pen e.Lan.' Chs.' s.Chs.^ Shr."^ [pan, paen, pen.]
1. sb. In comb, (i) Pan-burn bell, the church bell, rung
about noon on Shrove Tuesday, as the signal for prepar-
ing pancakes ; see also Pancake bell ; (2) -crock, an earthen
pan or platter; (3) -dewaflf or -doaf, meal fried in bacon
fat ; water and oatmeal boiled together, sometimes mixed
with fat and baked in a pan ; (4) -dish, a round, shallow iron
dish for placing in an oven ; {5) -doulde, obs., a custard ;
(6) -haggerty, a dish, consisting chiefly of potatoes and
onions ; (7) -hoil, a place where there is a pan or boiler ;
(8) -hommerings, the markings on new pans ; (9) -jotrals,
{a) a dish made of var. kinds of animal food ; (b) the
slabbery offals of the shambles ; (10) -kail, broth made of
coleworts hashed very small, and thickened with a little
oatmeal ; (11) -loaf, a baker's loaf baked in a pan ; {12)
-mug, coarse red and black crockery used for bread, milk,
buttermilk, &c. ; (13) -pudding, a baked pudding ; a
fritter ; (14) -shovel, a shovel slightly turned up at the
sides, used for spreading lime ; (15) -soddy, a baked
pudding.
(i) Nhp. ;V. &■ Q. (1879") 5th S. xi. 141 ; Nhp.i At Daventry , the
bell which is rung is mufQed on one side with leather, or 'buffed,'
as it is termed, and obtains the name of ' Pan-burn-bell.' War.^
The bell is supposed to say 'The pan's a-burning, the pan's
a-burning.' The custom of ringing this bell is falling into disuse
in War. (2) Dev. Horae Subsedvae (1777) 319 ; Bev.^ n.Dev.
'Tes a marl ted net a vailed into tha pancrock, as ha uzeth to do,
Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 215; Grose (1790). Cor.12 (3) n.Cy.
(Hall.), w.Yks.', e.Lan.i (4) e.Lan.i (5) Som. (K.) ; (Hall.)
(6) Nht>. Once common at Winlaton-on-Tyne (R.O.H.). (7)
w.Yks. (S.P.U.) (8) Chs. (E.M.G.) (9, a) Lnk. (J*™-) W
Rxb. {ib.) (10) n.Sc. Formerly a superstitious rite pretty generally
prevailed in making this species of broth. The meal, which rose
as the scum of the pot, was not put in any dish, but thrown
among the ashes, from the idea that it went to the use of the
Fairies, who were supposed to feed on it (ib.). (11) Frf. He lat
drive at Simpson's head wi' a pan-loaf, Willock Roseity Ends
(1886) lo, ed. i88g. (12) Lan. (F.K.), (A.C.) Chs.i ; Chs.a
A girl who was taken to see Capesthorne Hall, which contains
a valuable collection of Etruscan vases, described to her mother
on her return how beautiful everything was, but that she had
been surprised to see ' the paanmoogs kept in the house place.'
Our Chs. panmugs are manufactured mostly at Buckley, in the
neighbouring county of Flint. A man with a red, coarse, blotchy
countenance is said to have 'a feace like a Buckley paanmug.'
s.Chs.i Nrf. Two old men, carrying baskets of cheap earthen-
ware. 'They have travelled these roads for years selling pan mugs,'
Emerson Lagoons (ed. 1896) 121. (13) Nhb.i Lan. I ate pan
puddings, as they called them, heartily, Byrom Remin. (1736) in
Cheth. Soc. XI. 17. (14) s.Chs.i, Shr.i (15) N.Cy.l Nhb. My
head swam round whene'er aw thought Upon a fat pan-soddy,
Gilchrist Sngs. (1824) 10 ; Nhb.'
2. Phr. (i) a pan to parch peas on, obs., see below; (2)
pan and cover cakes, currant tea-cakes kneaded with butter
and cream ; also called Fat rascals (q.v.) ; (3) brought up
or reared with the pan and the spoon, brought up by hand,
not suckled.
(i) Brks. On Shrove Tuesday children used to go round this
village [Sunningwell] in the dusk, singing — ' Beef and bacon's
Out of season, I want a pan to parch my peas on ' ; after which
they threw stones at all people's doors, which made them shut
their doors on that evening. This custom still partially exists,
but the verses are altered, Murray Handbk. Oxf. (1894) 86. (2)
n.Yks.^ (3) Cum.' When a child or young animal is brought up
without being suckled, it is reared by the aid of a pan to warm
the milk, and a spoon to be fed with ; Cum.'' Wm. He was
browt up wi fpan an' t'speun (B.K.).
3. A vessel for containing water.
n.Yks.' Not necessarily or usually shallow; for instance, the
ordinary garden water-pot is always called ' water-pan.'
4. A salt-pan ; a large vessel or tank in which the brine
is evaporated.
Nhb.' The word frequently occurs in place-names, as in
Howden Pans, Hartley Pans, &c. Chs. The pans used in
Cheshire, for the evaporating of the salt brine, are now made
of wrought iron, Marshall Review (i8i8) II. 91 ; Chs.' They
vary in size, the smaller ones being 30 feet long by 15 feet in
breadth ; large ones reaching to 100 feet in length by 30 feet in
breadth. They are set upon brick walls with a row of furnaces
at one end and a chimney at the other.
Hence (i) Pan-cutters, sb. pi., obs., officers appointed in
the salt-making towns to measure the 'pans,' to see that
they were of the standard dimensions ; (2) •house, sb. the
building in which the salt-pan is placed ; (3) -picks, sb.
pi. strong, long-headed hammers, used when the ' pan ' is
' let out,' i. e. not at work ; (4) -scale, (5) -scratch, sb. the
thick scale that forms on the bottom of a pan ; (6) -wood,
sb., obs., small coals used chiefly in evaporating sea-water
in salt-pans.
(i) Chs. '2 (2) Chs. The different pans are usually partitioned
out from each other, and there is a separate pan-house to each
pan, Marshall Review (1818) II. 92. (3, 4) Chs.' (5) Chs.
Marshall Review (1819) II. 97. (6) Sc. Great coals, chews,
lime-coal, and panwood or dross, all of them from the same
mass, Bald Coal-Trade (1808) 52 (Jam.). Frf. The small-coal
used for boiling salt is called panwood to this day, Agric. Surv.
480 (ib.). w.Lth. It is usual to divide the coal into three kinds ;
I. great coal ; -.i. chows; 3. culm or panwood, ib. 10. Nhb.'
5. A depression in a field or other land ; a hollow in
the hills.
w.Som.' Oncommon likely place vor to vind a hare, there in
the pan o' the field, Dev. Mis-tor, a height on whose consecrated
rocks there is found so large and perfect a rock-basin as to be
called by the peasantry ' Mis-tor Pan,' Bray Desc. Tamar and
Tavy (1836) I. 57. n.Dev. Another kind of hollow in the hills is
called a Pan, Jefferies Red Deer (1884) x. nw.Dev.'
6. A pond. Glo.' 7. The skull, head.
Rnf. O tuneless brain, O brainless pan ! Webster Rhymes
(1835) 108. Ayr. Ae stroke wi' sic prodigious strength. The deil's
harns frae the pan flew. Ballads and Sngs. (1847) 11. 115. Edb.
I feared the fall had produced some crack in his pan and that his
seven senses had gone a wool gathering, Moir Mansie Wauch
(1828) xxiv.
8. A piece of timber laid lengthwise on the top or posts
of a house, to which the roof is attached.
n.Sc. (Jam.) ne.Sc. Across the couples were fixed the pans, to
the number of three or four on each side of the roof, Gregor
Flk-Lore (1881) 50. Cai.' Mry. Gl. Surv. (Jam.) Abd. (Jam.),
s.Sc. (ib.) Ayr. On these [the siles] rested cross-beams called
ribs or pans, Agric. Surv. 114 (ib.). Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster
(1899)351. n.Cy. Horae Subsedvae (I'm) ^ig. w.Yks. Thoresby
Lett (1703) ; w.Yks.2* Chs.', n.Lin.'
Hence (i) Pan-piece, sb. a heavy beam thrown across
an opening in the outer wall of a building ; a mantelpiece
or 'breast summer]; (2) -tile, sb. the ordinary roofing
tile, so called to distinguish it from the common roofing
slate ; (3) -tiled, adj. roofed with tiles ; (4) pan andkaiber,
phr., a peculiarly constructed roof; see below.
(I) Nhb.' (2) Nhb. There stands the quaint seventeenth century
house, now covered with 'pan-tiles,' Dixon Whittingham Vale
(1895) 113. n.Yks. It [thatch] also affords harbours for vermin,
and is more expensive in the first cost and repairs than pantiles,
which are generally made use of on those farm-houses which
have been built of late years, Tuke Agric, (1800) 35. Oxf.'
MS. add. -w.Som.' I count you'd be gainer, vor to put up tile
'pon thick there roof; 'tis jis vleet place they there pan-tiles 'on't
never answer vor no dwellin-'ouze. (3) Nhb. Its thinly scattered
hamlets and pan-tiled farmhouses, Graham Red Scaur (1896) 2.
(4) ne.Sc. Across the couples were fixed the pans, to the number
of three or four on each side of the roof. On these, and parallel
to the couples, were laid the kaibers, pieces of trees split with
axe, or of bog-fir. Such a roof was called pan and kaiber,
Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 50.
9. A hard or impenetrable subsoil ; the bottom or bed
of the land.
Rs. In many places a black pan, hard as iron ore, runs in a
PAN
[416]
PANCAKED
stratum of two or three inches thick, Statist. Ace. VI. 184 (Jam,).
Bnff. It is a light black soil, and under it an obstinate pan. Owing
to this pan in some places the fields retain the rains long, ib. IV.
360. Lin. An agricultural term for an incrustation, ferruginous
apparently, found under the surface soil, impenetrable to tree
roots, also to water, Brookes Tracts Gl. sw.Lin.i They'll do no
good without you break thruif the pan. Nhp.^ Brks. A sort of
iron conglomerate lying between two and three feet below the
surface of the ground which has to be broken up before a crop
can be obtained, Hughes Hist. Windsor Forest. e.An.12 Nrf.
What Norfolk farmers call the pan, or that subsidence of the
niarle or clay which always forms immediately under the path
of the plough, Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815) V. 133; In
light land, the moisture is more preserved by having a pan at the
bottom, Marshall Review (i8ri) III. 338. Suf. Rainbird Agric.
(1819) 297, ed. 1849. [At first the plough ran upon the pan,
which it seemed impossible to penetrate, Stephens Farm Bk.
(ed. 1849) II. 665.]
10. V. Of land : to harden or form a hard crust on the
surface. Also with down.
w.Mid. If you get fooHng about with that runny ground in the
wet, you'll have it all pan down so as you can't do anything with
it (W.P.M.). e.An.i Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 297, ed. 1849.
PAN, sb.^ Wil. [pEen.] The drag of a cart or wagon.
n.Wil. (G.E.D.)
PAN, sb.^ Som. A tadpole or frog. (Hall.)
PAN, v.'^ and sb." Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wni. Yks. Lan.
Der. [pan.] 1. v. To fit or tally with ; to agree, match ;
to fit in, join or unite together.
Sc. (Jam.) n.Cy. (K.); Grose (1790); N.Cy.', Nhb.i Obs.,
Dur.i Wm. Pan it in ta fit t'whol (B.K.). n.Yks.^*, ne.Yks.i
m.Yks.i This coat pans well. w.Yks. We shall have a nasty job
panning this to this corner (H.L.) ; Pan it down — press an article
into its proper place, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 31, 1884) 8 ; w.Yks. 2
New boots are said to pan well when they fit well ; w.Yks.^*,
Lan.i, ne.Lan.i, nw.Der.i
Hence Pannable, adj. (i) well-adapted, suitable, likely
to fit properly ; (2) plausible, practicable.
(i) n.Yks.3 e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 76; e.Yks.i In
N., having the property of fitting better by being worn. w.Yks.i
(2) n.Yks.^ All that is very pannable.
2. Fig. To agree, get on well together; to associate
with. Also in phr. to pan with or in with.
n.Cy. Bailey (1721) ; N.Cy.° Weal and women cannot pan, but
wo and women can, Prov. Nhb. Thair wordes and deides will
never pan, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VI. 327.
Cum. He was pannin' in wid some play actor fwok, Gwordie
Greenup Anudder Batch (1873) 6; Cum.* How can te pan on
wid secafeul? Wm. That didn't pan we uz, net it. Bet then,
what could we dew? Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii. 48. e.Yks.^ Jack
an his wife didn't seem to pan tegither at fost. w.Yks. ^ Their
tempers pan sea weel, at for aut ward they're like cayter cousins,
ii. 287. Der.2
3. To suit a place or show aptitude for an occupation ;
to ' frame.'
n.Cy. He pans well, Grose (1790). w.Dur.i n.Yks.^ Thou pans
likeahentopiss; n. Yks. ^He pans badly; n.Yks.^.ne.Yks.^ e.Yks. '
He pans weel tiv his waak noo at he's getten reet tools. m.Yks.^
A servant having left an old place for a nev\^ one does not pan
well to it. w.Yks. Thou doesn't pan in to t'wark as I should like
to see thee (S.P. U.) ; w.Yks.s Thah's noa fraame in thuh ; ah
nivver saw a lad pan so badly. ne.Lan.^
Hence Panner, sb. a worker, one who sets to work well.
n.Yks. He's a good panner at his wark (I.W.). m.Yks.' A
'good panner' is one able to set well to work. ' He is a good
panner-tul when there is work to do.' w.Yks.^ What a panner
thah is !
4. With to : to begin to work ; to set to work with energy.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) Suppl. LakeL^ Thoo pans to thi wark like
a fiul. Tak thi cooat off an' pan tuU. Wm. For men ne'er pan'd
sea weel to wark, Whitehead Leg. (1859) 50, ed. 1896 ; He pans
ta his new job first rate (B.K.). n.Yks. Noo then, pan ta sum
wak on let's see tho frame for yance (W.H.). w.Yks. Pan to-l-it,
lad! (C.A.F.); w.Yks.234; w.Yks.= Shoo mud pan tul't an' get
done wi't', 17. Der.2 nw.Der.' Come, tha mun pan to naa.
5. sb. An attempt, effort.
n.Yks.2 ' He maks a poor pan,' a feeble endeavour. m.Yks.i
Thou's had a faithful pan at it, my lass !
PAN, see Pawn, sb}
PANASH, sb. Obs. Sc. A plume worn in the hat.
A top of lint for his panash, Colvil Whigs Suppl. (ed. 1796) I.
257 ; There his panash, a capon's big tail, Colvil Poems (i68i)
II. 8 (Jam.).
[Fr. panache, ' faisceau de plumes le plus souvent multi-
colores, serrees en bas, flottantes en haut' (Hatzfeld).]
PAN-BED, sb. Cor.'' The game of ' hop-scotch.' (s.v.
Hoppety Bed.)
PANBINDING, sb. Lan.' [panbindin.] Payment or
compensation for an injury.
I'se gi' thee money to pay th' panbindin'.
PANCAKE, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
in form poncake Chs.* s.Chs.' [pa"nkek, -kesk.] 1. In
comb, (i) Pancake bell, a church bell rung about noon on
Shrove Tuesday; cf. pan, sb.^ 1 (i) ; (2) — day, (3) —
Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday.
(i) Nhb.i The afternoon of the day was formerly claimed as
a half-holiday by Newcastle apprentices, and football contests
formed the chief occupation on these occasions. Yks. Richmond
and Darlington have pancake bells, also Northallerton, at which
place the same bell is used as for the curfew. The pancake bell
called the people to be shriven before Lent, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Feb. 29, 1896). e.Yks.', w.Yks.i''^ Lan. The bell rung on
Shrove-Tuesday to call Christians to be shriven, was called the
' Pancake Bell,' and some have regarded it merely as a signal to
people to fry their pan-cakes, Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore
(1867) 44. Chs.' Nhp.i It was customary for the church bell in
every parish to ring at 10 a.m. or before, to summon the people
to confess to their several priests, and be ' shrove ' or ' shrived.'
The practice of confession has ceased, but the custom of ringing
the bell still remains ; Nhp.^ War.^^ ; War.^ This was said to be
the signal for preparing pancakes. It was also the signal for
a sudden shout and rush for the school doors in the village
schools. School was then broken up for the day, and after
dinner the boys assembled and kicked a football across country
over hedge and ditch until they were tired. Brks. N. 6-= Q.
(1852) 1st S. ix. 324, 504. Bdf. (J.W.B.), Hnt. (T.P.F.) (2)
w.Yks. 5 On 'Pancake,' or 'Shrove Tuesday,' ' Pancaakes ' are
an article of universal consumption at dinner. They are gen,
eaten hot with treacle ; being served as they are taken out of the
pan. . . An hour before noon on this day, it is the practice of
juveniles to assemble in numbers, bringing with them old tin
cans, or anything in the tin line, and each a cudgel, and to go
round to all the dame and public schools in or out of the district,
and beat them before the school-house door, repeating a short
'nomony' the while, when the master or mistress allows the
scholars to leave, whereupon, re-inforcing the troop, they company
together on to other places, where the beating-out ceremony is
renewed, followed by a like result, the troop cheering lustily as
each school turns out, until the hour of noon, when they make
the best of their way home to enjoy their pancakes. The rest of
the day is a holiday, and the game of shuttlecock forms the amuse-
ment, in which others than children take part. Nhp."- War.^
School-children, demanding a holiday, say ; ' Pancake-day, Pan-
cake-day, If you don't give us a holiday, we'll all run away.'
Oxf. (G.O.), Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.An.i 111 luck betides the family in
which pancakes are not served up on that day. w.Som.^ (3)
n.Cy. I'hree days in this week had their peculiar dishes, viz.
' Collop Monday,' 'Pancake Tuesday,' and ' Fritters Wednesday,'
Harland & Wilkinson Flli-Lore (1867) 217. Nhb.i, Cum.'*
n.Yks. Pankeeak Tuesda' 's t'next te cum, Tweddell Clevel.
Rhymes (1875) 2. e.Yks.' w.Yks. Common (J.W.). Lan.',
e.Lan.i I.Wa. I 'member quite well the day before the weddin',
which happen' to be pancake Shusda', Rydings Tales (1895) 115.
Der.2, nw.Der.', Oxf. (Hall.)
2. Phr. pancakes all hot, a boys' game, another name for
'duck-stone' (q.v.). w.Yks. (M.F.), w.Yks.^ 3. A girls'
amusement ; a ' cheese ' ; see below.
s.Chs.' They turn round and round till their dresses fly out at
the bottom, then suddenly squatting down the air confined under
the dress causes the skirt to bulge out like a balloon. When
skilfully done, the appearance is that of a girl's head and shoulders
peeping out of an immense cushion.
4. pi. The fruit of the common mallow, Malva sylvestris.
n.Lin. (B. & H.) Hence Pancake-plant, s6. the common
mallow, Malva sylvestris. ib. 5. pi. The leaves of the
wall pennywort. Cotyledon Umbilicus. Dev.*
PANCAKED, pp. Lakel.2 Caught in a shower with
a lot of hay newly strewn for drying purposes.
PANCH
[417]
PANEL
Neea body likes ta be pancaikt, it liuks seea. We'd just gitten
t'lal parrack abreed when that scufter com on an' pancaikt us
gaily nicely.
PANCH, sb. Oxf. Brks. Also in forms paaynch
Brks.i; painch Oxf.^ n.Brks. [paenj, penj.] Broken
pieces ofcrockery. Gen. in pi. form.
Oxf.i Brks. Gl. (1852); Brks.i n.Brks. Teacher: 'What
things are brittle ? ' Child : ' Glass, ice, painches ' (P.H.K.).
PANCH, V. nw.Dev.i [psenj.] To prick and work a
wound to extract matter, or any foreign substance, sucli
as a bullet or prickle.
[I panche a man, I perysshe his guttes with a weapen,
Je pance, Palsgr. (1530).]
PANCH, see Paunch, sb.\ v.^
PAN-CHAFTED, «<^-. Lakel. [pa-n-tjaftid.] Having
the lower jaw projecting further outward than the upper.
Lakel.2 Wm. He was pan-chafted an' t'ladsused to plague him
aboot it (B.K.).
PANCHEON, sb. Yks. Chs. Stf Der. Not. Lin. Rut.
Lei. Nhp. War. Hnt. e.An. Cor. Also written panchion
Der. Nhp.^War.^Hnt. e.An.^; panchon e.Yks.^ ; panshan
w.Yks. Nhp.i; panshen Der. ; panshion n.Lin.* Cor.>=;
panshon m.Yks.' w.Yks.*^ Chs. Der.'^ nw.Der.^ s.Not.
Rut.i War.3; panshun w.Yks.^ Wan; pansion Der.^
[pa'njsn, pas'njan.] A large earthenware bowl or vessel,
used esp. for milk.
Yks. Grose (1790), e.Yks.', m.Yks.^ w.Yks. He browt 'em a
panshon wi sum watter an a towel, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsia
Ann. (1895) 40; Betty said at shoo'd made a great potatoe pie in
a panshan, ib. (1849) 28; (C.V.C.) ; w.Yks.234S^ chs. (C.J.B.),
Stf."- Der. A panchion (an earthen vessel that holds about six
quarts) of cream, Marshall Review (1814) IV. 69 ; Nother a
yaller porrengur nor a red panshen, Robinson Sammy Twitcher
(1870) 12 ; Der.i2, nw.Der.l, Not. (L.C.M.), Not.", s.Not. (J.P.K.)
Lin. Brookes Tracts Gl. n.Lin." An earthenware vessel glazed in
the interior, commonly, though not always, black ; used as a milk
pan. Rut.^ Lei.* A large circular pan, sometimes made of tin,
brass, or copper, but generally of earthenware, wider at top than
bottom , and used for many purposes. Nhp." A brown earthenware
vessel, with a black glazing on th€ interior ; narrow at the bottom,
and very expansive at the top, almost like the mouth of a trumpet.
In small dairies they are used for setting milk, and are called milk-
panchions; Nhp. 2, War. (J.R.W.), War.3, Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.i
Cmb." I'll never be beholden to the likes of her for a washtub —
I'll use my pancheon. Suf. She was pouring the new milk into
the great earthenware panchions that are brown without and
cream colour within, Gurdon Memories (1897) 43. Cor.'^
Hence (i) Pancheon-rack, sb. a rack on which pan-
cheons are set to drain after being washed. Lei." ; (2)
-wise, adv. in phr. to lie pancheon-wise, said of children
lying side by side, with their knees drawn up. Der.*
(s.v. Pan.)
[The pinners . . . were brought and put in a panchin
which Gudwife Medcalf had but newly poured the milk
out of, Glanville Witches, 421 (CD.).]
PANCHY, see Paunchy.
PANCROCK, sb. ? Obs. Dev. A skirt or petticoat.
n.Dev. And thy pancrock a kiver'd wi' briss and buttons, Exm.
Scold. (1746) 1. 156.
[Cp. Du. een Pandt-rock, a gowne or coate with folds
(Hexham).]
PAND, see Pawnd.
PANDER, V. Sc. Nhb. [pa-ndsr.] 1. To wander or
idle about in a silly, purposeless fashion, from one place
to another. Per., Slk. (Jam.) Nhb.i He gans panderin aboot.
Hence Panderlyet, sb. a late, loitering visitor. Nhb.*
2. To trifle at one's work. Lth. (Jam.)
PANDHEREN PARTHA, phr. Irel. In phr. by the
Pandheren Partha, an oath.
Be the Pandheren Partha, the villin it was, Carleton Far-
dorougha (1836) 249.
PANDIRT, sb. Sh.L [pa'ndirt.] A state of excite-
ment, fluster.
What med yon 'Rantin Rays' loop in sicna pandirt at yon
sooth Whiteness chap? Sh. News (Mar. 26, 1898).
PANDLE, sb. Nrf. Ken. Sus. Also written pandal
Ken. Sus. [pse-ndl.] 1. A shrimp.
VOL, IV.
Ken. SwAiNso-fi Birds (1885) 154 ; Ken.* Sus.' I be very partial
to a few pandles (s.v. Partial) ; Sus.= e.Siis. Holloway.
Hence Pandle-whew, sb. the widgeon, Mareca penelope.
Nrf SwAiNSON ib. 2. A prawn. Sus. Grose (1790).
PANDON, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Also in form Panton n.Cy.
[pa'ndan.] In phr. (i) as daft as Pandon yats, (2) as old
as Panton Gates, prov.
(i) n.Yks. (T.K.) (a) n.Cy. Very common. There is a gate
called Pandon Gate at Newcastle-on-Tyne (Hall.).
PANDORAS, sb. pi Cor. See below.
w.Cor. ' I call them regular pandoras,' applied to two very small
windows in Quay St., Penzance (M.A.C.).
PANDORE,56. Sc. Written pandoor (Jam.), [pa'ndor.]
A large oyster.
e.Lth. These caught nearest to the town are usually the largest
and fattest ; hence the large ones obtained the name of Pandoors,
i.e. oysters caught at the doors of the pans, Statist. Ace. XVII. 70
(Jam.). Edb. With a dish o' mussel-brose at Newhaven, or with
a prievin' o' fat pandores a little further east the coast, Haliburton
Furth in Field (1894) 58.
PANDY, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Also written pandie.
[pa'ndi.] 1. sb. A blow on the extended palm with a
cane or ruler, given as a punishment to schoolboys.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Cai.* A stroke with the ' tawse.' Abd. Ye hae
need to be snubbed, ye bin stinkin' for your pandies this while,
Ellis Ptokmmc. (1889) V. 773. Edb. Neitherthe mediaeval 'pandy'
of the Edinburgh boy, nor the Saxon 'loofie* was known in Fife,
CoLViLLE Vernacular (i^'j<)) 'i6. Rxb. But if for little rompishlaits,
I hear that thou a pandy gets, A. Scott Poems (ed. i8o8) 13. Ir.
(A.S.-P.), N.I.* Wxf. The fellow named was submitted to the
pandy discipline, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 24. Nhb. The kind-
hearted master, much against his will, would give the whole batch
four 'pandies,' two on each hand, Dixon JVhittingham Vale (1895)
269 ; Nhb.* Hoo many pandies did the skyulmaister gi' ye?
2. V. To give a stroke on the hand with a cane or ruler.
Frf. You are like Miss Ailie with her cane when she is pandying,
Barrie Tommy (1896) 164.
[L From the Lat.phr./iaMrf^^a/;«aw, hold out your palm.]
PANE, sb.'' and v. Irel. Chs. Lei. War. Won Hrf. Glo.
e.An. Dor. Also in form piane Don* [pen.] 1. sb. A
strip of cloth. e.An.* Hence Paned, ///. a^'. striped.
ib. Paned curtains are made of long and narrow stripes of
different patterns or colours sewed together. [Your lordship
must be content ... to wear these huge-paned slops, Scott Nigel
(1822) xvii.]
2. A section or plot of ground in a garden, orchard, &c.
N.I.*, Wor. (W.C.B.), Hrf.*2, Glo.*, e.An.* Suf. A regular
division of some sorts of husbandry work, as digging, sawing, &c.
Some are saffron-panes where saffron has been grown, Rainbird
Agric. (1819) 297, ed. 1849 ; Used by cottagers for a garden bed,
or any small piece of ground, having a defined boundary, e.An.
N. fjf Q. (1866) II. 363; Suf.* Dor.* A compartment of tedded
grass between the raked divisions.
3. One of the segments into which the exterior of the
old black and white houses is divided by the wooden
framework. Chs.*, s.Chs.* Hence pane-work houses, phr.
houses half-timbered with brick. Wan, Wor. (J.R.W.)
4. V. To panel.
Lei.* Half-timbered houses are said to be paned with brick,
plaster, &c. ' The house is timber building, one-half is rough-cast,
the other pained with brick.'
[L Pane of cloth, /aM«;'«</M5, Levins .Maw;]^. (1570). Fn
pan, the skirt of a gown, the pane of a hose, of a cloak
(COTGR.).]
PANE, sJ.2 Don Con [pen.] 1. A parsnip.
Dor. w. Gazette (Feb. 15, 1889) 7, col. 2 ; Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in
N. &■ Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 45. Cor.*2
2. Comp. Pane-seed, parsnip-seed. Con*
[OCor. panan, a parsnip (pi. panes) (Williams). Fn
panais, ' plante potagere a racines sucrees et odorantes '
(Hatzfeld). Lat. pastinaca, a parsnip.]
PANE, see Peen.
PANEL, sb} Nhb. Dun [pa-nl.] 1. One of the
divisions or districts into which a colliery is divided. Also
in comp. Panel-work.
Nhb.* Also called by the miners a ' sheth of bords.' ' A great
improvement might be effected by dividing a coUierj", in the course
of the first working, into districts, or panels, surrounded on all
3H
PANEL
[418]
PANKER
sides by barriers of solid coal. Panel-work, as it was termed, was
first introduced at Wallsend in the year 1810,' Galloway Hist.
Coal Mining (1882) 149.
Hence Pannel-working, vbl. sb. working by divisions or
districts in a colliery. Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tn Gl.
(1888). 2. pi. Tlie several strata composing a bed of
stratified rocks.
Nhb.' Chiefly used with reference to the bands of a limestone,
as, * Blue limestone with strong panels.'
PANEL, s6.^ and w. Sc. Also written pannel(l. [pa'nl.]
1. sb. The bar or dock in a court of justice.
Sc. I was brought and set in the pannel with the murderers, and
they read over my indictment, Thomson Cloud of Witnesses (1714)
137, ed. 1871.- Lnk. When tried before the justiciary, . . he was
kept in the pannel for ten hours, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) IV.
105, ed. 1828.
2. Phr. on or upon panel, upon trial at the bar.
Sc. Mr. James Mitchel was upon the pannell at the criminal
court for shutting at the Archbishop of St. Andrews, Kirkton Ch.
Hist. (1817) 384. Sh.I. The said Marion Peebles alias Pardoun,
now on pannel, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 285, ed. 1891. Ayr.
God has put the man on the pannel, and is entered in a contest,
and will condemn us, Dickson Writings (1660) I. 5, ed. 1845.
3. A prisoner or accused person on trial at the bar.
Sc. Mr. Nichil Novit was seen actively instructing the counsel
for the panel, Scott Midlothian (1818) xxi ; Do ye mean to tell me
ye was the panel's mistress? Stevenson Weir {i8g6) iii. Frf. It
was made plain that the panel should not be tried on the capital
charge, Low^son Guid/ollow (1890) 215. Kcd. No panel fears the
judge's face If once the Attorney backs his case, Grant Lays (1884)
149. Per. Like a doom'd pannel at the bar, Nicol Poems (1766)
185. s.Sc. The judge was on the point of pronouncing a sentence
of banishment when the poor pannel fainted, Wilson Tales (1839)
V. 117. Ayr. The Pannel is brought in guarded, Boswell Poet.
Wks. (i8i6) 144, ed. 1871. Lnk. The pannel and his advocates
were removed, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 135, ed. 1828. Edb.
Aloud to heaven the pious pannel cries, Pennecuik Helicon (1720)
30. Wgt. Panel promptly tabled the amount of the fine, and was
liberated, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 271.
4. V. To arraign or bring to the bar of a court for trial.
Sc. He was still in Carlisle Castle, and was soon to be panelled
for his life, Scott Waverley (1814) Ixvi. Abd. [They] also in-
structed the assize in ilk particular what they had gotten from the
persons pannelled, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 6. Ayr. Thou art
a rotten hypocrite, thou hast never pannelled thyself before God's
tribunal for sin, Dickson Writings (1660) I. 138, ed. 1845. Lnk.
Some country women were pannelled for being helpful to the wife
of one of the persons alleged to have been concerned in the
rescuing of the prisoners at Enterkin-path, Wodrow Ch. Hist.
(1721) IV. 124, ed. 1828.
PANEL, sb? Obs. Lin. Nrf. Also in form pamel
Nrf.^ An immoral woman ; one lost to all sense of decency.
Lin. Panels march by two and three. Saying, Sweetheart, come
with me. Old Ballad (Hall.) ; Lin.i She's a regular panel. Nrf.'
PANEL, adj. Won [p^'nl.] Flat-sided.
s.Wor. 'Th' 'ommer've got a panel end.' Such a hammer is said
also to be chisel-ended (H.K.).
PANG, v.^ Obs. Sc. To pain, hurt, ache.
Frf. Strive wi' lees My head to pang, MorisonPo««5(i79o) 93.
Lth. To breed sic grief in our guid town, An' set my bosom sae
a panging, Bruce Poems (1813) II. 148.
PANG, v."^ and adj. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Not.
Also in form ping Not. [par].] 1. v. To fill to the
utmost ; to cram, pack, stuff full. Also nsedfig.
Sc. Panged it wi' a kemple o' strae, Scott Waveriey (1814) Ixiv ;
The cags . . . Their bellies pang'd up to the bung, Drummond
Muckomachy {18^6) 66. Bnfif. Taylor Fo««s (1787) 176. Abd. It
was pang't wi' mony a thing, She had been gatherin' years for me,
Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 17. Kcd. Grant Lays (1884) 133.
Per. Stewart Character (1857) 104. Fif. Tennant Papistry (182-})
loi. Rnf. M«GiLVRAY Poems (ed. 1862) 90. Ayr. It pangs us fou
o' knowledge. Burns Holy Fair (1785) st, 19. Lnk. Queen's Park
Free Kirk was pang'd fu' ticht, Coghill Poems (1890) 63. Lth.
LuMSDEN Sheep-head (1892) H2. Edb. Ye birkies . . . Wha want
to pang ye'r pows wi' lair, Forbes Poems (1812) 9. Peb. Drink . . .
Pangs her fu' o' grief an' care, Afeleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 125.
Dmf. Carts were pang'd till they cou'd ha'd nae mae, Mayne
Siller Gun (1808) 88. Gall. His muse is pang'd wi' pith, Mactag-
GATiTEncycl. (1824) 16, ed. 1876. Kcb. Elder Borgue (1897) 16.
N.I.* Ant. Patterson Dial. 23. Don. The hall panged up with
footless pots, Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 68. n.Cy. Border
Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.) ; N.Cy.^ Nhb. Wi' flesh we gaily pang'd wor
hides, Midford Coll. Sngs. (1818) 6; Nhb.', Lakel.2 Cum. When
she'd pang'd her belly fou, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1881) 103 ;
Cum," Wm. When they'd pang'd their kites wi' crusts. White-
head Lyvennet (1859") 4.
2. To thrust or force on any one.
Nhb.' The man panged this poor cheese on us.
3. To push along, to press on, to hurry. [Not known to
our correspondents.]
Not. Come, pang along! Addy Gl. (1891).
4. adj. Full, close-packed, stuffed, crammed. Also in
comp. Pang-full.
Sc. Pang fu' o' gude tea, an' tobacco, an' liquor, Vedder Poems
(1842) 205. Fif. The space . . . Was crawlin' wi' sae pang a mass
You scarce could see a spat o' grass, Tennant Papistry (1827)
114. Ayr. Pang fu' o' fun they rin their tether. White Jottings
(1879) 190. Rxb. The bench is fill'd, the house is pang, Ruickeie
Wayside Cottager {iSo'j) no. N.Cy.'
PANG, si. Sc. [pai).] [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Strength, force.
Lnk. Blessings on the hearty maut . . . That fill us fou o' pith
and pang, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 30; Scatter wide your
sang-buds bonnie Wi' heartie pang, ih. 65.
PANGER, sb. Obs. or obsol. Dev. Cor. A pannier or
wicker basket.
Dev. In the time of pack-horses the following expressive saying
was so common as to be almost proverbial: 'He 'th a-got no
more manners than a boss an' pair of pangers' [rhymes with
hangers]. Of course, the saying has now lost its significance, and
has almost become obs., Reports Provinc. (1890). Cor, Fitted by
its shape to be carried on the back of fishermen, N. & Q. (1854)
ist S. X. 359 ; Cor.i
PANGLE, V. n.Yks.2 [pa'r)l.] [Not known to our
correspondents.] To pick the herbage slightly as sick
cattle do.
PANGY, sb. Yks. [pa-r)i.] [Not known to our other
correspondents.] An affectionate term for a little child.
n.Yks. Hev you seen owt of our pangy? [a little girl] (I.W.).
PANICK, sb. Obs. Stf ' A coarse grain like millet.
[OE. panic, a kind of millet (Sweetj. hat. panicum, a
grain, panick (Gouldman).]
PAN-JAMS, sb. pi. Irel. [pa'n-dgamz.] Drawers
worn by children, ' pajamas.' s.Don. Simmons CI. (1890).
PANK, V. Wor. Hrf Glo. Oxf Brks. Hmp. LW. Wil.
Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. [psegk.] 1. To beat ; to beat the
branches of an apple-tree with a long pole to bring down
the fruit. Cf. polt, v.^
s.Wor. Let's go and pank apples (H.K.). Hrf.'*
Hence Panking-pole, sb. a long pole used to shake the
fruit off apple and pear trees. Hrf."* 2. To pant,
breathe hard.
Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 320 ; Glo,', Oxf.', Brks.', Hmp.'
I.W.2 How that dog panks under the taable. Wil. Slow Gl.
(1892) ; Wil.' I'd a nauticed as he wur a pankin' tur'ble as we was
a gwain up the hill, 213. Dor. Jist hark how he do pank an'
blow. Young Rabin Hill (1864) 7 ; Dor.' Didst toss thy little head
an' pank, 62. w.Dor. Roberts Hist. Lyme Regis (1834). Som.
(W.F.R.) e.Som. W.& J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' ' Lor ! how a do
panky ! ' said an old woman at her first sight of a locomotive
drawing a train. Dev. Thickee dug's a-thist. Duee zee 'ow the
poor craycher is a-panking vur life! Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892);
Dev,' Thecca gurt vat zess and Ruth Ramson, , . panking and
whizing, 8, n,Dev. Grose (1790), nw.Dev.' s.Dev. Fox Kings-
bridge {iSt^). Cor.'2
Hence Panker, sb. a person or animal short of breath.
Som. Particularly applied to a pig, when wheezy and not doing
well, Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885).
[1. Sw. dial, panka (pakka), to knock, beat, thrash
(RiETz). 2. That made my heart so panck ever since, as
they say, Dryden Wild Gallant (1669) v. iii.]
PANK, see Pink, sb.^
PANKER, sb. e.Dur.' Also in form penker. A large
marble made of stone or iron. Hence Panker-bowdie,
sb. a game of marbles.
Each boy puts four marbles in a ring, and proceeds to knock
them out of the ring with a panker [paeng'ku]. What he knocks
out he gets ; but if he fails to knock one out, the next boy aims- at
PANKET
[419 J
PANSHARD
his panker, and so puts him out. The line from which they start,
five yards from the ring, is called the ' bye.'
PANKET, sb. e.Lan.i [pa-qkit.] A pit-measure of
coals : the sixth part of a ton.
PANKIN.si.^ n.Cy. Yks. e.An. Also in forms panchin,
panhin e.An.^ [pa'qkin.] 1. Any small earthen pan
or jar. Cf. pannikin, sb., pancheon.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
e.An.i
2. A deep earthenware vessel, gen. of a large size. Cf.
pancheon.
n.Yks,' ; n.Yks.2 A coarse earthen vessel, tall and round, for
holding water ; n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.i e.Yks. A pankin o' boiled
berries (Miss A.) ; e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i, w.Yks. (C.A.F.)
Hence (i) Pankin-dish, sb. a large deep dish of brown or
stone earthenware. n.Yks.'*; (2) -pot, s6. a large earthen-
ware vessel, ib. 3. pi. Sepulchral urns from the
ancient Celtic tumuli, or ' Hones.' n.Yks.'
PANKIN, sb.'^ Yks. [pagkin.] A rage, violent passion.
ne.Yks.i He was iv a pankin, noo. nw.Yks. (R.B.)
PANNAGE, sb. Sus. Hmp. Also in form pawnage
Hmp. [pae'nidg, pg'nidg.] The mast of the oak and
beech on which swine feed in the woods. Also called
Ovest (q.v.). Sus.^ Hence Pawnage months, phr. from
Sept. 25 to Nov. 22, when the acorn and beech mast have
fallen to the ground.
Hmp. Pigs may be turned out only by those who have the right,
and by them only in the legal O vesting or Pawnage months, Rogers
Guide to New Forest.
[Paunage or Pannage is that money which the agistors
of forrests do gather for the feeding of hogs within the
forrest : and it is also taken for all manner of mast of
trees within the forrest on which the hogs do feed,
Temtes de la ley (ed. 1671). AFr. paunage (ib.) ; MLat.
pannagiuwi (Spelman).]
PANNEL, sb} Sc. Cum. Yks. Chs. Nhp. War. Wor.
Shr. Som. Dev. Also written panel w.Som.'' nw.Dev.^ ;
and in form panniel Cum. [pa'nl, pEe'nl.] A soft saddle ;
a pillion ; the lining of a saddle.
Slk. On this stone was placed a small pannel or sack filled with
straw, Hogg Tales (1838) loi, ed. 1866. Cum. Get wop on the
top of the panniels, ib. Poems (ed. 1865) 372. n.Yks.^ As lately as
fifteen or sixteen years since long strings of mules or ponies,
each laden with a long sack of coals, slung over a pannel, used to
thread their way across the moors out of Durham into this district
(s.v. Pannierman) ; n.Yks.^*, ne.Yks.^ e.Yks. Marshall Rur.
Econ. (1796). m.Yks.i Chs.^ 'Canvice stuffed with Wool to lie
next the Horse.' Nhp.' A pad, with a ridge before and behind,
for carrying calves. War.^ A pad fitted with ridges and used by
millers for loading their sacks of corn or meal on a horse's back.
Now obs., but occas. to be seen in old-fashioned country store-
rooms. Wor. (H.K.) Shr.i Obs. a pillion. Some old people in
this Iccahty at the present day [1875] remember the pannel being
in use. w.Som.i Usually made of serge, called panel serge.
' New panel and flocking to saddle,' Saddler's Bill (Xmas, 1882).
The word does not apply exclusively to the flaps of the saddle,
though most likely it did so originally. nw.Dev.i
[Pannell to ryde on, bats,- panneau, Palsgr. (1530).
OFr. panel, 'grosse toile placee sous le bat' (La Curne).]
PANNEL, u. and s6.^ Dev. [pas'nl.] 1. v. To pain, hurt.
A native of Exeter, speaking of a man crippled with rheumatism,
said, ' It pann'led him to walk,' Reports Provinc. (1889).
2. sb. A pain, hurt.
'Twas a pann'l to him to get up, ib.
PANNELING, sb. Not. [panl-in.] A severe beating.
s.Not. 'E did gie 'er a panneling! 'E bet'er shameful (J. P. K.).
PANNIBRAD, sb. Sh.I. Also in form -brod. [pa-ni-
brad, -brod.] 1. A pot for melting fish-livers. S. & Ork.^
2. A piece of broken kettle for holding oil. Jakobsen
Dial. (1897) 34-
PANNIER, sb. Yks. Also Dev. [pa-nia(r.] 1. A
large basket used by country people going to and from
market. Dev. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) 2. Comb.
(i) Pannier-man or Pannyman, {a) a hawker offish, &c.,
who carries his goods in panniers slung over the back of
a horse or donkey ; {b) the person in charge of a pack-
saddle laden horse or company of horses ; (2) -man's
causeway, an old flagged or roughly-paved roadway
across the moors in the direction of Staithes from Castle-
ton, by which goods were formerly conveyed on the
backs of horses and mules ; (3) -market, the ordinary
vegetable or fruit, butter, and poultry market in contra-
distinction to a meat or fish market ; (4) -men's tracks,
see (2).
(i, a) n.Yks.2 e.Yks. At the present time the men who buy
the fish from those who catch it at Flambro' are called variously
' pennymen ' and ' pannymen.' Years ago these small merchants
all kept asses and met the boats on their arrival, and after buying
the fish it was loaded up on ' panniers ' on the asses to bring it on
to the mainland. They were then called ' pannier-men,' and it has
got corrupted to 'pannymen' (J. R.B.) ; (F.K.) [Mock no panyer-
men, your father was a fisher, Kxy Prov. (1678) 78.] (i) n.Yks."-
(2) n.Yks. N. &> Q. (1878) 7th S. viii. 78; n.Yks.' (3) nw.Dev.i
(4) n.Yks.2
PANNIKIN, sb. Lin. War. Shr. e.An. Also written
panakin War.^ Shr.^ [pa-nikin.] A very small pan or
jar, gen. of earthenware. Cf pankin, sb}
Lin."^ Fetch a pannikin for some beastlings. War.'^ Commonly
used to warm babies' food in ; War.3 The pannikin is usually a
small earthenware pan, but the word is also used for small tin.
saucepans. Shr.' Obsol., e.An.°, Suf.'
PANNIKIN, ppl. adj. Nrf. Suf [Not known to our
correspondents.] Fretting, ' taking on ' as a sickly or
wearisome child. Nrf.', Suf (Hall.) Cf. pankin, sb.'
PANNIONS, sb. pi. Obsol. Cum.* Also in form
pannins. The purlins of a roof
Young joiners all say ' purlins,' and do not seem to have heard
of ' pannion.'
PANNY, adj. Ken. [pse-ni.] Holding water or moisture,
like a pan.
That ere fil wher de ladikeys do grow is worry panny land
(W.F.S.).
PANS, sb.pl. ? Obs. Sc. A description of ecclesiastical
lands.
Mry. The pans at Elgin are the glebe lands which belonged to
the canons of the cathedral, Gl. Surv. (Jam.)
PANSE, V. Sc. 1. Obs. To think.
Fif. Paused how this great work might be eff"ectual to God's
glorie. Row Ch. Hist. (1650) 12, ed. 1842. Slg. Pause not upon
ane carnal receiving, Bruce Sermons (1631) iii.
2. To dress a wound.
Frf. Having paused and dressed the wound, he found it went
in about three inches and a half above the navel, Lowson Guidfollow
(1890) 281.
[1. Pausing of penuritie, Dunbar Poems (c. 1510), ed.
Small, II. 129. 2. Fr. penser, to think, muse, meditate,
examine, weigh, dress, tend, apply medicines unto ;
panser, to dress, attend unto (Cotgr.).]
PANSH, sb. Lakel.^ [panj.] A state of excitement
or fluster.
Ther's a chap gian doon t'rooad in a terrable pan sh, whati ver's up ?
PANSHARD, sb. Lon. Hmp. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev.
Also written pancherd Wil.' ; pansherd Lon. Wil. ;
panshord w.Som.' nw.Dev.' ; and in form ponshard
Hmp.' Wil.' [pae'n-, po'njad.] 1. A piece of broken
crockery.
Lon. The potsherds and pansherds, as the rubbish-carters call
them, Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) H. 284, ed. 1861. Hmp.'
Wil. Slow Gl. (1892) ; We went out to look at the hives ; they
were all in a row, each protected by large pansherds from heavy
rain, Jefferies Gi. Estate (1880) ix ; Britfon Beauties (1825) ;
Wil.' n.Wil. Drow them pan-shards out, wuU'ee (E.H.G.). Dor.
G/. (1851); Dor.' Som. Sweetman fF!«ca»!/oK G/.( 1885). w.Som.'
Never didn zee the fuller place o' this yur, vor old kettles, vryin
pans, bottles, pan-shords [pan-shoa-urdz], and all sorts o' trumpery.
nw.Dev.'
Hence (i) Panshard-day, sb. Shrove Tuesday; (2)
-night, sb. Shrove Tuesday night.
(i) w.Som.' Pan-shur-dai'. No doubt in allusion to the custom
referred to under ' Drowin' o' Cloam ' (q.v.). (2) e.Som. W. & J.
Gl. (1873)-
2. Phr. in a panshard, in a rage, out of temper.
Hmp. You have no need to get in a panshard. Wise New Forest
(1883) 284; Hmp.', Wil.' Som. Sweetman Wincaiiton Gl. (1885).
3H2
PANSHEET
[420]
PAPER
PANSHEET, sb. Nhb. Yks. Also written panshite
w.Yks. [pa-njit, -Jait.] A state of excitement, confusion,
sudden passion, &c. Cf. panshard, 2.
Nhb.i w.Yks. He wor in a panshite when he seed it wor
t'bobby 'at hed hold on him, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Dec. 14, 1895).
PANSHON, PANSHORD, see Pancheon, Panshard.
PANT, sb} Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Lin.
[pant.] 1. A public water-fountain ; a reservoir.
s.Sc. The mouth of a town-well or fountain (Jam.). N.Cy.^
Nhb. Paid Mr. Blackett, sherriffe, for a ton of wine, at the corona-
tion when the pant ran wine, zzL, Newcastle Munic. Accts. (1661) ;
Upon their vicar's pant they dwell, Wilson Oiling Dicky's Wig
(1826) 4 ; Nhb.i At these standing pipes, or pants, water used to
be sold at a farthing a skeel ; hence the name of ' fardin pant.'
Dur. Obs. (W.H.H.) ; Drawing water at the pant in the market
place, N. 6- Q. (1851) ist S. iv. 285.
Hence Pant-well, sb. a well that is covered or built up.
s.Sc. Some were arched, as the old Pant-well at Selkirk (Jam.).
2. A pool supplied by drainage from the manure-heap ;
a puddle, 'sump.'
Cum. Lang stretch'd i' th' midden pant, Stagg Misc. Poems
(ed. 1807) 15 ; He stuck in a pant 'buin the middle, Anderson
Ballads (ed. 1808) 173 ; Cum.i ; Cum.* Tae nag brak lowse frae't
tudder an whang't sel an car intat pant. Wm. A pond, a smooth
or stagnant piece of water (J.H.). Lan. Pant, in midden-pant,
meant the hollow into which the sewage of a dung-heap flowed
(J-D-).
3. pi. The ponds or sloppy places left by unusually high
tides on the foreshore, or between the sea embankments.
e.Yks., Lin. In common use by fishermen and others at Spurn
and along the coast, Lin. N. &• Q. (Apr. 1891) 180.
4.' Mud, mire.
n.Yks. In Wensleydale, I have heard the word used for soft
mud.- ' He's cuvverd all ower wi' pant ' — he's bespattered all
over with mud, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June 23, 1895) 8. Lan.^
[2. Prob. conn. w. MLat. pantanum, 'palus, stagnum-'
(Ducange).]
PANT, s6.2 Hrf.i [pant.] A hollow declivity on the
side of a hill, gen. without water.
\y<J&\. pant, 'vallis, vallicula' (Davies).]
PANT, sb.^ Obs. Sc. A back stroke.
She has an ill pant with her hind foot, Kelly Prov. (1721)297.
PANT, sb.* Oxf. A ' lark,' game, a piece of boyish
mischief.
Come on, chaps, and let's have a pant with this old man (CO.).
PANT, V. n.Lin.^ [pant.] Of manure or clay : to
rise up after it has been trodden upon.
PANTER, sb. ne.Lan.i [pa'ntsr.] A snare for birds
made of hair.
[ME. panter, a net for birds (Chaucer). Fr. pantiere,
'filet pour prendre les petits oiseaux ' (Hatzfeld).]
PANTIN, sh. Sh.I. Also in form paantin. [pa'ntin,
pa-ntin.] A slipper.
What i' Quid's name is tempid dee ta come butt owerdacauldweet
flUr 'ithoot dee pantins ? Sh. News (May 15, 1897) ; Shu .. . took
aiTh^r paantins an' set her feet up ta da fire, ib. (May 20, 1899).
[He trippet, quhill he tint his pantoun, Dunbar Poems
(c. 1510), ed. Small, II. 200.]
PANTLE, sb. and v} Lan. [pa'ntl.] 1. sb. A bird-
snare made of hair, esp. for snaring snipe. See Panter.
Lan.' w.Lan. Davies Races (1856) 237. s.Lan. In South
Furness men snare snipe by means of engines locally called panties,
Macpherson Wild-fowling {iSg']) 458.
2. V. To snare snipe. Lan.'
PANTLE, i;.2 War.Wor.GIo. [pa-ntl,p3e-ntl.] To pant.
War.2 s.Wor. Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 15 ; s.Wor.i, Glo.*
PANTLE, v.^ n.Lin.' [pa'ntl.] To patter about.
Them bairns hes been pantlin' all oher my clean steps.
PANTNEY, see Pantony.
PANTON, sb. Som. An idle fellow. (Hall.)
PANTONY, sb. Glo. Brks. Hmp. Wil. Also written
panteny Glo.' ; pantney Brks.' ; and in form panterny
Wil.' [pae'ntani.] A dial, form of ' pantry.'
Glo.', Brks.' s.Hmp. She can sleep in the pantoney place easy,
Verney L. Lisle (1870) ix. Wil.' I gotun out the berd an' cheese
out o' the panterny, 211.
PANTRON, sb. Lin. [pa'ntran.] A small earthen
pan. HoLLOwAY ; Lin.'
PANTRY, V. Obs. Sc. To lay up or store.
Kcb. Christ will not pantry up joys, Rutherford Lett. (1660)
No. 112.
PANTY, a^; n.Yks.2 [pa'nti.] Short-winded.
PAP, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. [pap,
psep.] 1. A breast, teat ; a mother's milk.
n.Sc. Mend up the fire, my fause brither, It scarce comes to my
pap, BvcHAN Ballads (1828) I. 106, ed. 1875. N.I.' A cow's paps.
N.Cy.', Nhb.' n.Wm. Coo paps er full o' warts (B.K.). w.Yks.
Ahs'll clap tha on to her bosom, theear is thi pap, Binns Orig.
(1889) 2. m.Lan.', nw.Der.'
2. Comp. (i) Pap-bairn, a sucking child ; (2) -dish, a cup
or vessel used for warming a baby's food ; a mug ; (3)
-milk, breast milk ; (4) -mouth, a soft, effeminate man ; a
childish boy or girl.
(i) Ags. Ye're behaving yoursel juist like a pap-bairn (Jam.).
(2) w.Som.' I always keeps a pap-dish vor to yit up a drap o' milk
or ort, in the night, vor the poor old man. (3) Sh.I The pap milk
'ill need ta be oot o' dy nose [You will have to act the man],
SpENCEi7/t-io;r(i899)2io. (4)n.Cy.(HALL.) n.Yks. Be quiet, pap-
mouth (I.W.). w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Dec. 14, 1895); w.Yks.'
3. Phr. pap o' the hass, the uvula. See Halse, si.' 4 (i).
Sc. Denominated perhaps from its supposed resemblance of the
nipple (Jam.) ; You have so many strange terms in this part of the
country to confuse town-bred people like myself. . . Pap-o'-the-
hause for uvula, Roy Horseman's Wd. (1895) vi ; An unco kittlin'
in the paup o' his hass, Hislop Anecdote (1874) 28. Cai.', Ayr.
(F.J.C.), N.Cy.i, Nhb.i
4. A projection from the roof of a house. N.Cy.', Nhb.'
5. Fig. The projection of the mouth.
Lth. His pap o' a wee mouth is his mither's, a' the rest stares
the daddy in the face, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 279.
6. pi. 'Two handles used to lift a sack by, formed by tying
something around them. Lakel.^ 7. A kind of batter
or paste, gen. made of flour and water, used by weavers
for dressing their linen warp or their webs, to give them
a close and thick appearance. Tev. (Jam.) See Pappin.
PAP, see Paap, Pop, ».'=
PAPE, PAPEJAY, see Paip, Pop, v}, Papingo(e.
PAPER, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in form papper Chs.^ [pepa{r.] L sb. In comp.
(i) Paper-beech, the common birch, Betula alba ; (2)
-dragon, a paper kite ; (3) -fiddler, one who is energetic
or lively in his movements ; a light-headed, thoughtless
fellow; (4) -gloryjglory only by writing, see below; (5) -lead,
sheetlead, tinfoil paper ;(6)-lord, a lord by courtesy only; (7)
•minister, a preacher who reads his sermon ; (8) -ministry,
a ministry of preachers who read their sermons ; (9)
•news, newspapers ; (10) -note, a £t. bank-note ; (11)
•sermon, a read sermon, one not preached extempore ;
(12) •skulled, silly, superficial.
(i) Wil.' (2) Mry. Green was thy gowan'd sward. Where
paper-dragons flew. Hay Lintie (1851) 62. (3) Cum. Ah could
hear em dancen aboot like a paper fiddler, Sargisson Joe Scoap
(1881) 7; Cum." He was gaun up t'rwoad like a paper fidler.
He hop'd about leyke a paper fidler. (4) Kcb. If your hand and
pen had been at leisure to gain glory on paper [by authorship],
it had been but paper-glory, Rhtherford Lett. (1660) 289. (5)
Abd. Their hair done up during the week in a dozen or two of
paper-lead packages to preserve their curls for that [Sunday]
day, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 216. (6) Sc. The auld maister
was ... a clever lawyer, . . but ye see he was nae but a paper
lord when a's said an' dune, and for a' he was Bassendean, you're
but Mistress Gordon to the day o' your death, Keith /«rf(«K Uncle
(1896) 4. (7) Sc. It's a judgment for leaving my ain godlie
Mr. Peebles at the Newton, an' comin' to hear a paper-minister,
Ford Thistledown (1891) 276. (8) Abd. Have you been . . . railing
against the paper ministry? Ruddiman Sc. Parish (1828) 132, ed.
1889. (9) Edb. He said the paper-news were cram'd 'Bout con-
tinental wars, LiDDLE -Po«»«s (1821) 204. (10) Abd. Pull out thy
pocket-book and offer him a ' paper note' in reward of his services,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 62. (11) Ayr. [He] warned me to
keep the paper on which I had the heads of my discourse out of
sight, as everybody in the loft could see it, and might think I was
giving them a paper sermon, Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 63.
(12) Dev.'
PAPERIE
[421]
PAR
2. Phr. (i) apiece of paper, a summons ; (2) the paper, the
manuscript of a sermon not preached extempore ; see
Paper-sermon ; (3) to work upon paper, to require accom-
modation bills ; to give bills and not cash.
(i) e.An.i I'll get a piece o' paper for you. (2) Sc. It was not
always plain sailing with the preacher who was a victim to ' the
paper,' Ford Thistledown (1891) 67. (3) Abd. Afore ye pay yer
inveetors, an' ae thing wi' anither, ye'll be workin' upo' paper
again for raaist part, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 136.
3. Bank notes. See also Paper-note.
Elg. I would len' them three hunner for a towmont or two ;
Sae I countit the paper ower to thingum the draper, Tester
Poems (1865) 144.
4. A notice to quit.
Chs.3 My landlord swears he will send me a papper.
5. A begging petition, written by a clergyman, justice of
the peace, or other person in authority, for any one who
has lost a cow, horse, &c., or suffered other grave misfor-
tune. Gall. (A.W.), n.Lin.^ 6. v. To enclose a ' piece ' of
cloth in paper in the ' making-up ' room. w.Yks. (R.H.R.)
PAPERIE, sb. Sc. [pep9ri.] 1. A small paper; a
short paper.
Cai.' Frf. I've explained at the beginning o' this bit paperie,
WiLLOCK Roseiiy Ends (1886) 7, ed. 1889.
2. A ' screw,' a small packet made up in form of a cone.
Cai."^
PAPERN, adj. Hmp. Wil. Som. Cor. Also in forms
paperen Cor. ; peapern Wil. Made of paper.
s.Hmp. Master Jesse a-writin' ; could ye give me a papern-
leaf? Verney L. Lisle (1870) xii. w.Cy. (Hall.) VPil. Slow
Gl. (1892). Som. (W.F.R.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.l
I baint gwain to wear none o' your [pae'upurn] papern shoes,
and catch me death way the rheumatic. w.Cor. 'Tes a paperen
bag (M.A.C.).
PAPES, sb. Lan. Chs. Also written paeps n.Lan.^
[peps.] 1. Bread and milk ; a sort of gruel made by
boiling flour and water together. Also used Jig. of any
pulpy material.
Chs.i^ When mortar is mixed too thin a bricksetter will say :
' Aw conna use this, it's as thin as papes ; it winna lie on my
trowel.' s.Chs.i
2. Fig. A foolish youth. n.Lan.^
PAPIN, sb. Sc. [pa'pin.] A beverage consisting of
small beer and whisky ; see below.
Rnf. The lads laid their lugs in the papin, And Tammy . . . Ca'd
aye for the gill and the chappin, Webster Rhymes (1835) 81.
Ayr. A ' gang o' pap-in ' was the order, which meant a wee gill
o' whisky, a chappin o' yill, and a little oatmeal in a saucer ; and,
with the aid of a teaspoon, . . they stirred up a mixture o' whisky
and meal. It was a deceiving sort o' drink : while it raised the
heart it glazed the een, Hunter Studies (1870) 273. Edb. Which
cleared his brain from the effects of that dangerous and deluding
drink, the 'pap-in,' Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xxiv. w.Sc. A
parsimonious Cork, making too free with the pap-in, Carrick
Laird of Logan (1835) 57.
PAPINGO(E, sb. Obs. or obsol. Sc. Also in forms
papejay, papingay (Jam.) ; papinjay ; popingoe (Jam.).
1. A parrot.
Sc. The king sent his lady on the first Yule day — A papingo,
Chambers Pop. Rhymes (1870) 42 ; The papinjays fast about
'gan fly, Aytoun Ballads (ed. 1861) I. 31.
2. The wooden bird or mark at which archers shoot in
a trial of skill held annually, a popinjay.
w.Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. The one is a perpendicular mark called
a ' Popingoe.' The popingoe is a bird known in heraldry. The
archer who shoots down this mark is honoured with the title of
' Captain of the Popingoe,' Statist. Ace. XI. 173 (Jam.) ; Kilwinning
is the great resort for this amusement. The mark is a bird made
of wood. This is called ' the Papingo ' (Jam.) ; I suppose the
Papingoe is the dim shadow in our peaceful times of the ancient
gatherings for deidly war, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 53.
Hence Papingo-ball, sb. the ball held annually at the
time of the shooting at the papingo or popinjay.
Ayr. Saving at the annual papingo ball at Kilwinning, she was
rarely seen beyond the boundaries of the Craiglands, Galt Sir
A. Wylie (1822) Ixxvii.
[1. pe papeioyes faste abowte gane flye, Thomas Rymer
in Thornton MS., see Child's Pop. Ballads (1884) I. 328 ;
Popeiay, a parrot {P. Plowman). 1, 2. Fr. papegay,
papegau, a parrot or popingay; also a wooden parrot (set
upon the top of a steeple, high tree or pole), whereat
there is in many parts of France a general shooting once
every year (Cotgr.).]
PARISH, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Chs. e.An. Dev.
Also written papeesh Nhb. [pe'pij.] 1. A Papist ; a
Roman Catholic. Also used aitrib.
Sc. (Jam.) Lnk. That's the Pope's doin' now — It's him sends
here, "Thae bodies, to put Christian folks in fear ; An' mak them
papishes, Black Falls of Clyde (1806) 109. Gall. He had been
a Papish priest some- gate in his youth till he turned his cassock. . .
There were some that said he hadna turned that very far, but was
a Papish as dour as ever under the black Geneva gown ! Crockett
Standard Bearer (1898) 118. Dwn. Ye ca'd him a Papish an'
a rebel, Lyttle Betsy Gray (1894) 16. Nhb. G — d whej'te her
for a papeesh b— h, Bewick Tyneside Tales (1850) 15. Dur.i,
e.Yks.i, w.Yks. 1, Chs.^, Dev. (Hall.) [They were no better
than Papishes who did not believe in witchcraft, Smollett Sir
L. Greaves (1762) vii.]
2. A nickname applied by boys to those who do not
wear oak-twigs in their hats on Royal Oak Day, May 29.
e.Yks.^ 3. A decayed pollard tree, showing white. e.An.'
PAPIST-CROSS, s6. Abd. (Jam.) Across; a ludicrous
term used by young people.
PAPISTICAL, arf?'. Obs. Sc. Popish, Roman Cathohc.
Also used subst.
Ayr. Pace and Yule, and other papistical high times, Galt
Gilhaize {1823) v; Winterton was overly outspoken against the
papisticals, calling them all kinds of ill names, ib.
PAPISTRY, sb. Sc. Dev. Also in form pappistry
Dev. [pepistri.] Popery, Romanism.
Sc. That Papistrie being supprest, Christ might be preached
east and west, Rogers Reformers (1874) 108 ; As was used in
the blindness and papistrie, Skene Dtfficill Wds. (1681) 62. Flf.
The Upper Largo and the Nether, Deem'd Papistry now but
a blether, TENNANT/'a/zs/r)'(i827) 11. Slg. Nothing but papistrie
and idolatrie, Bruce Sermons (1631) vi. Ayr. They being then
in the darkness of papistry, Galt Gilhaiee (1823) v. Dev. 'Tis
Pappistry ... an Pappistry be wurse than Nonconformies, Salmon
Ballads (1899) 49.
PAPLE, PAPPAN, see Popple, v., Peppin.
PAPPANT,fjrf7'. lObs. Sc.(Jam.) 1. Rich, rising in the
world. Ags. 2. Rendered pettish by indulgence. n.Sc.
PAPPIN, sb. Sc. (Jam.) Also in forms popin, poppin.
A sort of batter or paste,^««. made of flour and water, used
by weavers for dressing their linen warp or their webs,
to give them a close and thick appearance. See Pap, 7.
PAPPLE, see Popple, sb.^, v.
PAPPY, sb. ne.Lan.i [pa'pi.] The female breast;
the nipple ; a mother's milk.
PAPPY, adj} Yks. Chs. Lin. Sur. [pa-pi, pae-pi.]
1. Soft, soaked with milk ; of soil : sodden, sticky.
w.Yks.2 As pappy as the pith of an elder-stick. s.Chs.i When
pieces of bread are put into hot milk and left to stand, they become
soaked with the milk and fall asunder ; the milk-and-bread is thus
reduced to a sort of pulp, and is then called 'pappy.' Dhis
sup-in)z gon paap-i [This suppin's gone pappy]. Sur. (T.S.C.)
2. See below.
n.Lin.i Potatoes are said to be ' pappy ' when they have one or
more very small ones adhering to them.
PAPPY, adj.'^ Sc. Conceited, puffed up with pride;
presumptuous.
Lnk. Ye are gey pappy, an' stufT'd fu' n' pride, Ye think ye
are strong noo, an' wealthy an' a', Thomson Musings (1881) 249.
PAR, sb. and v.^ Lin. e.An. Dor. Also written pah-
Suf.' [pa(r).] 1. sb. An enclosed place for domestic
animals, esp. calves. Cf. parrock.
Lin.i, e.An.i Nrf., Suf. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Suf.
Rainbird Agric. (1819) 297, ed. 1849.
Hence Par-close, sb. a pew in a church ; (2) -yard, sb. an
enclosed yard for cattle.
(i) Suf. Raven Hist. (1895) 263. (2) e.An.i 2 Nrf. Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 27 ; (A.G.) Suf. Morton Cyclo. Agric
(1863); Suf.i
2. V. To enclose, shut up ; to confine to the house. Dor.
(W.B.) ; Barnes Gl. (1863).
[2. Ful straitly parred, Ywaine S^ Gawin (c. 1400) 3228.]
PAR
[422]
PARCEL
PAR, V? Dor. To surfeit.
s. Dor. An animal surfeited would be said to be 'parred' (W.B.).
PAR, PARA, see Pair, sb}, v?, Pirrie.
PARABLE, sb. Irel. Wm. Also in form perable
Wm. [pa'rsbl.] 1. A model, an example ; a lesson.
Don. He had his three acres in such rotation as a flower
garden, his wee patch a parable to the counthry, Cent. Mag. (Feb.
1900) 601.
2. A long speech or oration.
Wm. (B.K.) ; Tha put him et jury box wi a lot meear, en efter
a gert lang perable et he didn't understand tha gev him a book,
Taylor Sketches {1882) 20.
PARADE, sb. Sc. Also in forms paraud, parawd.
[par-, para-d.] A procession.
Sc. The old-time processions or ' parawds ' of the colliers,
Wright Life (1897) 7. Ayr. A shauchHe body like him would
mak' a sair sicht in a paraud. . . The procession will look black
enough without William Dickie, Johnston Clenbuckie (1889) 69.
Lnk. 'Tis fitter for the antiquarian squad Than to be seen 'mang
sic a gay parade, Muir Minstrelsy (1816) 7. Wgt. (A.W.)
PARADISE, sb. Yks. Lan. Glo. Som. [pa'radais.]
1. In comb. Paradise plant, the mezereon. Daphne
Mezereum. Glo. (S.S.B.), Som. (B. & H.) 2. Pepper-
mint drops ; pi. small square candy clumps flavoured
with essence of lemon.
n.Yks.2 Lan. She's goes an' buys paradise an' heyts it all by
herself, Francis Daughter of Soil (1895) 34.
PARADISE, V. Cor. To parody.
They jes' started that sarvice agen, sir, an' paradised et from
start to finish, ' Q.' Troy Town (1888) xi.
PARAFLE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also written parafBe.
Ostentatious display.
Sc. I wonder . . . whether it is of these grand parafle o' cere-
monies that holy writ says ' It is an abomination to me,' Scott
Antiquary (1816) xxi ; But touching the subject of this paraifle
of words it's not worth a pinch of tobacco, ib. Redg. (1824)
Lett. V. s.Sc. (Jam.)
PARAFLING, t;Zi/. s6. tObs. Sc. Trifling evasion.
Abd. ' Nane o' your parafling, baud up your hand and swear,
or I'll send you to prison,' said to a witness by a Buchan bailie of
Aberdeen (Jam.).
PARAGE, sb. Obs. N.Cy.^ High lineage.
[ME. parage, birth, rank (Chaucer). OFr. parage,
' noble naissance ' (Godefroy).]
PARALLELS, sb. pi. Der. [pa-ralelz.] Paralysis.
Your aunt ha' had a 'plexy stroke, or it mid be a fit o'
parallels, Verney Stone Edge (1868) xi.
PARALYSES, s6.^/. Sc.Wil. Also in form para wleeses
Lnk. [parali'siz.] Paralysis.
Lnk. She was afraid she had ' ta'en the parawleeses,' for she
' couldna move haund nor fit,' Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 74.
Wil. Dr. Smythe he come next day, and he said as how 'twere
the paralyses as were about me, Tennant Vill. Notes (1900) 64.
PARALYTIC, sb. Sc. Hrt. Also in form parlatics
Hrt. [parali'tik.] Paralysis ; a stroke of paralysis.
Ayr. Being then somewhat slackened in the joints of the right
side by a paralytic, Galt Gilhaize (1823) viii. Hrt. (H.G.)
PARAMARROW, sb. Obs. n.Cy. Der. A sow-gelder.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; (Hall.), Der.^
PARAMBLE, see Peramble.
PARAMOUDRA, sb. Irel. A large cylindrical mass
of flint.
It was introduced from Ireland by Dr. Buckland, and is con-
sidered by some to be derived from the legend of Saturn swallowing
the stone in mistake for Jupiter, Woodward Geol. Eng. and Wal.
(1876) 440. N.I.i It is said that this curious word is merely
gibberish, coined by a facetious quarryman to puzzle the late
Dr. Buckland, when he was geologizing among the co. Antrim
chalk rocks.
PARAMUDDLE, sb. n.Sc. (Jam.) The red tripe of a
cow or bullock.
PARAPHERNALS, sb. pi. Sc. Paraphernalia; a
wife's personal dress and ornaments.
s.Sc. Go and assign thee thy appurtenances and paraphernals,
Wilson 7flfe(i839) V. 5.
PARAPHRASE, sb. Sc. Irel. Also written parry-
frase Dwn. The Scotch metrical paraphrase or version
of passages of Scripture.
Sc. It is this 1781 collection of paraphrases that is still, after the
lapse of more than a hundred years, bound in Scottish Bibles
along with the metrical version of the Psalms of David, Andrews
Bygone Ch. Life (1899) 93. n.Sc. The ' paraphrase' is now sung
to a rather lively tune, Gordon Carglen (1891) 57. Abd. Plain
paraphrase, or quirky hymn. Come a' the same to Peter, Murray
Hamewith (1900) 16. Dwn. It's waur nor their harmoneyums nor
parryfrases, Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 28.
PARASOL, sb. Wil.^ The salad burnet, Sanguisorba
officinalis.
PARAUD, see Parade.
PARBOLES, sb. pi. Obs. Wxf.^ A corruption of
' parables.'
PARBREAKING, ppl. adj. Obs. Dev. Belching ;
fretful, ' stomachosus, facile in iram prorumpens.'
n.Dev. Awudha'hada coad, riggelting, parbeaking [«c], piping,
body in tha! Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 148 ; Grose (1790).
[I parbrake, Je vomis, Palsgr. (1530).]
PARCAAS, see Percase.
PARCEL, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng.
and Amer. Also in forms parshal Cum. Wm. ; passel
s.Stf War.2 Glo.i Oxf.' Brks.^ Ken.^ Wil. Dor.^ Dev.»
Cor.3 Amer. ; passell War. Som. Cor." ; passle Cor.' ;
pazil I.Ma. ; parcel n.Ir. [paTsl, pa'sl, pa'sl, pse'sl.]
1. sb. Obs. A piece ; a portion of a whole ; a part ; an
instalment. Also used attrib. a.nAfig.
Sc. I have put the business of the commission together, tho' it
was acted by parcells, and say no more of it, Kirkton Ch. Hist.
(1817) 210 ; A jester and a parcel poet, Scott Abbot (1820) iv.
Bnff. On the north of the said parcell of ground. Presbytery Bk.
(1631-54) 137, ed. 1843. w.Yks. All that parcel of ground near
to the town of Bradford, Cudworth Manningham (1896) 289.
2. A large number ; a lot, gen. used contemptuously ; a
flock, company.
Slk. Thus was I . . . sent to herd one of the parcels of sheep,
Hogg Tales (1838) 238, ed. 1866. GalL Ye will be none the
worse of the parcel o' braw lads ye saw at the barn-end, Crockett
Standard Bearer {1&C1&') 190. n.Ir. ' Yer a percel o' haythens ! '
sez I, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 23. n.Cy. (J. W.) Cum. Ah fand
they war tellan em nowt bit a parshal o' lees, Sargisson Joe
Scoap (1881) 34. Wm. A parshal a witches ust ta meet yance a
ear e thor hooals, Lonsdale Mag. (1820) I. 338. Yks. (J.W.)
LMa. She knocked two dishes and a pazil of plates there off the
dresser. Brown Witch (1889) 16 ; I had a pazil of things to carry,
but Tom met me on the road and tuk a pazil of them from me (S.M.).
s.Stf. Theer's a putty passel o' bricks in our back yard, Pinnock
Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). War. (J.R.W.), War.2 Glo. Lor, thur wur
quite a passel o' volk altogither, Bockman Darke's Sojourn (1890)
6. Oxf.i What a passel o' folk. Brks.i A passel o' vools. Nrf.
Rot 'em for a parcel of furriners, Emerson Lagoons (ed. 1896) 70 ;
The arrival and passing over of a parcel of linnets, ib. Man and Nat.
(1895) 89. Ken.i There was a passel o' boys hulling stones.
Sur.' Sub. There's nfithin I more glory in, than to go to Horsham
market, and stand about among a parcel o' old hogs (S.P.H.).
WiL Slow G/. (189a). n.WlL 'Tis nothing but a passel o' lies. A
passel o' women vawk (E.H.G.). Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl.
(1885). Dev. 'E'th agied us Butling fields, and agied out a passel ov
plots vur geardens to tha work-vokes. There's a fine passel ov vokes
gone tu tha gearden party thease arternoon ! Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892). Cor. A whole passel of things (F.R.C.) ; Cor.i A bra'
passle of people ; Cor.^^ Colloq. People would dare tell a parcel
of lies, Barham /w^o/tfei^ (ed. 1864) Witches Frolic. [Amer. They
acted like a passel o' hogs. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 383.]
3. A quantity, a great deal.
Wm. A parshal ov ootlandish stuff, Lonsdale Mag. (1820) I. 521.
Glo.i A passel better. e.An.^ ' A parcel of grub'- — a pack of non-
sense. Ken.i He took a good parcel of bread and milk for break-
fast. Sur.i He's got a goodish parcel o' land about here. Dev.
(Hall.) Cor. She ax'd about 'n a fine passle more than she wud
ef he'd ben a stranger, Forfar iCy«a«ce (1865) 43 ; Cor."
4. A quantity of tin stone of a certain weight and uni-
form quality. Cor.^ 5. A heap of hay in the field ; see
below.
Dor. The mown grass ... is put up into small cones or heaps,
called cocks. On the following morning the rollers or cocks are
thrown abroad in passels — parcels — which, after being turned, are
in the evening put up into large ridges — weals, Barnes Gl. (1863)
s.v. Haymeiiken; Dor.i Grass da stan' in pook, ar lie In long-
back'd wiales av passels, 124.
PARCENER
[423]
PARISH
e. V. To portion out ; to allot, subdivide. Also fig. to
distract, be divided in mind.
•w.Yks. He parcelled one and left the other with nought.
She's handsomely parcelled (C.C.R.). Dev. Thare wis ole men,
an yung men, an zom awmin lads, . . sar'd out in dree squads ; An
a sargent, ur wat a was, passeld ta aich, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett.
(ed. 1865) 44 ; I'm passelled quite a score o' ways an' led an igsy-
pigsy dance, Salmon Ballads (1899) 62 ; Dev.^ In constant use.
[1. I will and ordene . . . that parcel! of hem be yovin to
the seyd monastery cherche of Seynt Benettes, Paston
Letters (1459) I. 452.]
PARCENER, s6. Obs. n.Lin.^ A partner.
[Be 56 not parceneris of the trespassis of it, Wyclif
(1388) Apoc. xviii. 4. OFr. {^oTm.. parcenier, ' proprietaire
indivis de biens hereditaires ' (Moisy).]
PARCER, see Passer.
PARCHEKA, s6. Obs. Wxf.' A neat person.
PARCHESTERER, sb. Wor. A plasterer. s.Wor.
(H.K.) Cf. pargeter, s.v. Parget.
PARCY-AND, see Ampersand.
PARD, V. Suf. [Not known to our correspondents.]
[pad.] To pace up and down.
Used to pard backwards and forwards while in the act of
composing his sermons, Gregg Leaflets, Ixiv ; And as we paced (or
as he used to call it ' parded ') backwards and forwards. . . He
was a Suffolk Squire, ib. xxxix. [The word ' pard ' I first heard
used by Dr. Winslow at Eastbourne ; he said that ' parding ' was a
symptom of an unquiet mind, ib. note.']
PARDI(E, int. Obs. Sc. Also in form perd6. A
French oath : ' by God ! '
Fif. Pardi ! a sight like yon my Kingship never saw, Tennant
Anster {1&12) 99, ed. 1871 ; Perd^l he thoucht he was in's boat,
Sailin' for pastime and for play, ib. Papistry (1827) 39.
[ME. par de .' by God (Chaucer). OFr. (Norm.) per
De (Moisy).]
PARDO, sb. Pem. The great black-backed gull,
Larus marinus. s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421.
PARDOOS, sb. and adv. Bnff.i 1. sb. In phr. with a
pardoos, with violence.
He fell aff 0' the hehd o' the hoose wee a pardoos.
2. adv. Violently.
PARE, V. Sc. Yks. Chs. Der. Som. Dev. [pe(r, pe3(r.]
1. Obs. In phr. pare and burn, to cut the turf off the
ground to a depth of two or three inches, and burn it, so
as to form a manure with the ashes. Also called Burn-
beat, Denshire (q.v.).
Sc. To take off the sward of ground, esp. when it is moorish or
heathery, with a turf-spade, or with what is called a Denshiring
plough, and after these turfs are dried, to burn them on the soil
for manure (Jam.) ; The whole field may be pared and burnt.
Maxwell Set. Trans. (1743) 17 (*.). e.Yks. Marshall Rur.
Econ. (1788). Chs. The tenant is frequently restrained from
paring and burning, ib. Review (1818) II. 20. nw.Der.l
2. To prune or trim.
w.Som.' Have your staff-hook and pare up the thorn hedge.
Thick orchet o' trees do want parin shockin' bad. You wid'n
plase to let me pare up they there elems, I s'pose !
3. Fig. To thrash, beat, chastise.
Dev.3 Thickee cheel is a rigler amerago, I cant du nort wi'n, but
I've gied 'n a purty gude drashing. I pared tha back aw'n til tha
truth o' music.
4. With up : of cattle or sheep : to eat pasture up bare.
n.Yks. T'beeos iz pared up t'pasture sair. They'v pared t'pastur
up sair (I.W.).
5. Of turnip-fields : to run the plough lightly along the
drills, after thinning, so as to check the growth of weeds.
Cai.i
PARE, see Pair, sb}, v."
PARENT, a^y. Oxf. [pa-rant] Like life, true to nature.
A villager looking at a drawing or photograph will say, ' Aint it
'parent ? ' i.e. Isn't it natural ? (A.L.M.)
[An aphetic form of lit. E. apparent]
PARFIT, adj. In gen. dial, use in Irel. and Eng. Also
written parfet Nhb. Cum.^ [paTfit, pa'fit.] Perfect.
Also used advbl. Cf perfit(e.
N.I.^, N.Cy.i Nhb. A' this he diz wi' parfet ease, Wilson Pit-
man's Pay {1843)35. Dur.i Cum. Nan was a parfet beauty, Ander-
son Ballads (1805) 53 ; Cum.i n.Yks. (T.S.), w.Yks.is Lan. I
deawt team meying o parfit neatril on o ! Tim Bobbin View Dial.
(ed. 1806) 45. n.Liu.i, Nhp.^ e.An.i Som. Jennings Obs. Dial.
w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.i Thick job on't never be parfit [paar-fiit]
gin there's a culbet a-put in, to car off the water parfit like. Dev.'
Hence (i) Parfitly, oiiw. perfectly ; completely; (2) Par-
fitness, sb. perfection ; thorough adaptation.
(i) N.Cy.i, n.Yks.2 w.Yks.i It parfitly maad my heart wark
when I clapt my een on him, ii. 305. Lan. 'You understand?'
' Parfitly, squoire,' Ainsworth Witches (ed. 1849) bk. 11, i. Nhp.^,
e.An.' Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). (2) n.Yks.^
[ME. perfit, parfit (Chaucer). OFr. parfit?^
PARGE, V. and sb. Irel. Yks. Chs. Not. Lin. Nhp. War.
Wor. Ken. I.W. [pardg, padg.] 1. v. To put on a coat-
ing of mortar or plaster; to plaster, esp. to plaster the
inside of a chimney. See Parget.
N.I.i Yks. Those bricks want parging ; they are giving way
(H.W.). w.Yks. A chimney pot should be parged or embedded
in mortar to ensure its stability (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.=, Not. (H.B.),
n.Lin.i Nhp.i They've been parging the chimney ; Nhp. 2, War.^,
Ken.i2
Hence Parging, sb. (i) the lining of a chimney. War.
(J.R.W.) ; (2) a ceiling. I.W.^
2. To besmear or plaster with butter, grease, or any
soft substance.
ne.Wor. Don't parge it on so thick. To parge blacking on boots
(J.W.P.).
3. sb. Plaster.
Chs.i About Wilmslow gen. applied to plaster for the inside of
chimney flues, made of a mixture of cow-dung and mortar.
PARGET, V. and sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin. Lei.
Nhp. War. Hrf. Glo. Ken. Sur. Sus. Som. [pa-rdgit,
pa'dgit, -at.] 1. v. To plaster with cement or mortar,
esp. to plaster the inside of a chimney with cement made
of cow-dung and lime. Cf. parge.
N.Cy.i, w.Yks. ^^2^ ne.Lan.', Chs.i, n.Lin.', Lei.^, Nhp.12 War.
(J.R.W.) ; War.^ Plastered or rough-cast houses are commonly
spoken of as ' pargetted.' Glo. (H.S.H.), Sns.i Som. Jennings
Dial. w.Eng. (1869). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.'
Hence (i) Pargeter or Parjeter, sb. a plasterer. Hrf.',
Glo.'° ; (2) Pargetting, sb. (a) the plaster inside a chim-
ney flue. Hrf; (b) the figured plaster on the outside
wall of a house. Sur.-*
2. To whitewash. ne.Lan.', Lei.' Hence Pargeting,
sb. whitewash. Lei.' 3. sb. A mixture of mortar and
cow-dung, used for plastering the inside of a chimney.
Chs.', Ken.', w.Som.'
[1. To parget, crustare. Levins Manip. (1570). Fr.
(Norm, dial.) porjeter, ' crepir, couvrir une muraille d'un
enduit, d'un porjet' ; OFr. (Norm.) /ar^efer, 'projeter, jeter
et repandre en avant' (Moisy). 3. Fr. (Norm, dial.) porjet,
' toute espece d'enduit de muraille' («A.).]
PARICH, see Parrich.
PARING, />//. adj. and sb. Sc. Irel. Cum. Yks. Der. Som.
Also written pairin N.I.' [pe'rin, peaTin.] 1. ppl. adj.
In com-p. (i) Paring-plough, (2) -spade, (3) -sull, a breast
plough, a plough used for paring stubble.
(i) Der. Uses a paring-plough on his wheat and other stubbles,
Marshall ifCTjca/ (1814) IV. 139. (2) Cum.'* n.Yks. A paring-
spade, which cuts the sods about one foot in breadth and three
feet in length, Tdke Agric. (1800) 227 ; A paring-spade had a
shaft about three yds. long and a cross handle about two feet long,
so that it could be held with the hands in a line with the sides of
the parer, on the front of whom and fastened round the waist was
a piece of wood shaped like the letter V, by which the spade was
thrust. The blade was about six inches wide, with a piece turned
up about two inches at the right-hand side (W.H.). e.Yks. Mar-
shall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; ib. Review (1808) I. 513. w.Yks.* (3)
w.Som.i Pae-ureen zoo-ul. Called also a 'spader.'
2. sb. pi. Turfs pared off for burning when breaking
up new or moory lands. Cum.'* 3. pi. Thin fragments
of pork pared off the bones, in pork-curing stores. N.I.'
PARINODY, sb. Yks. [parino'di.] A rambling
statement, a long uninteresting tale. w.Yks. (S.P.U.),
(J.W.) Cf. paddy-noddy.
PARISH, sb. and v. Var. dial, tises in Sc. and Eng.
[paTiJ, psBTiJ.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Parish-candles, the
PARISH
[424]
PARLEY
stars ; (2) -house, the old poor-house ; (3) -lamp, (4)
-lantern, the moon ; (5) -pudding days, see below ; (6)
■waiter, rain.
(i) eXan.i (2) Wil. (G.E.D.) (3) m.Wor. (J.C.) (4) e.Lan.i,
nw.Der.i, Nhp.' War.^ ; War.^ 'You'll have a dark walk home.'
' Oh no, we shall have the parish-lantern directly — the clouds are
blowing over.' Wor. (J.W.P.) Bdf.BATCHELOR Anal. Eng. Lmig.
(1809) 140. w.Som.i (5) Wm. Parish-pudding-days when iis.
was the customary parish expense to be spent on drink, Curwen
Kirkbie-Kendal (1900) 177. (6) Chs.i Aw dunna loike anny parish
waiter for get into th' liquid manure tank.
2. Curling term : the ring with the tee in the centre.
Sc. (G.W.) ; He has plenty o' running to win into the parish
[to win up to the ring], R. Caled. Curling Club Ann. (1893-94) 104.
3. V. See below.
n.Lin.i A hamlet is said to parish to the place to which it is
ecclesiastically attached. ' Amcotts ewsed to parish to Authrup,
bud oher tho'ty year sin' thaay built a chech an' set it up for its
sen.' sw.Lin.'- Whisby parishes to Doddington, and Morton to
Swinderby.
PARISH, see Perish.
PARISHEN, sb. Sc. Also written parishin ; and in
forms parochin(e, perrishin. [paTiJan ; paToxan.] A
parish.
Sc. I hae kend a minister wad be fair gude-day and fair gude-
e'en wi' ilka man in the parochine, Scott Midlothian (1818) xviii.
Sh.I. Der no a boy i' da parishen waur fir dat, Sh. News (Aug. 6,
1898) ; No a wife laek her i' da hael perrishin. Burgess Sketches
(2nd ed.) 2. Or.I. To the nixt parishin, or beyond the samin, Edb.
Aniiq. Mag. (1848) 7. Per. The auld wives of the parochin Are
thinkin' him a gospel lamb, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 97- Fif. The
tither, nae less brym in zeal. In landwart parochins gaed stretchin',
Tennant Papistry (1827) 11. e.Fif. There's nane in a' the parochin
can match the lass o' Burleyrackit, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) viii.
s.Sc. He cam hame frae the sea to see his fouk wha liv'd in our
parishen, Wilson Tales (1836) II. 274. Ayr. I hae seen him on
a day The pride of a' the parishen. Burns The Cardid o't. Slk.
Get up an' raise the parishen, Hogg Tales (1838) 306, ed. 1866.
Dmf. I'd make a wadset o' an aith To feast the parishen, Jo !
Cromek Remains (r8io) 82.
[Robert Schau, quha pastour was of the parischone of
Minto, Dalrymple Leslies Hist. Scott. (1596) II. go.]
PARITCH, see Porridge.
PARITOR, sb. Lan.i n.Lin.' Also written parrator
n.Lin.* [paTit3(r).] A verger; an apparitor.
[Sole imperator and great general Of trotting 'paritors,
Shaks. Love's L. L. iii. i. 188.J
PARK, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. I.Ma. Brks.
Hmp. Wil. Dev. Cor. Also in forms pairk Nhb.^ ; perk
I.Ma. [park, perk, pak.] 1. In camp. Park-picking, the
gathering of stones off the grass in a park. Brks., Hmp.,
Wil. (W.H.E.) 2. A grass field ; a paddock ; an en-
closure.
Sc. Aunt Susan was slowly hoeing her potato patch one June
evening ... in the park at the back of the house, Swan Gates of
£rfcK(ed. i895)xvi; Everyfieldiscalledapark, AfowM/yAfa^. (1798)
II. 436. Abd. They're fine lythe parks, an' ear' tee ; beasts mith
livei' them throu' the winter naar, Alexander /o^««jy Gibb (1871)
xi. rif. The term park [is] applied to any field, large or small,
which has been for a number of years under permanent pasture,
and which there is no intention of bringing under arable cultiva-
tion in any system of crop rotations, N. C?" Q. (1893) 8th S. iv.
525. Edb. The milk-cows were nipping the clovery parks, Moir
Mansie Wauch (1828) xxii. Slk. An inclosure around the house
. . . which we denominated the park, as is common in Scotland,
Hogg Tales (1838) 143, ed. 1866. Wxf.', Nhb.i (s.v. Pairock).
n.Yks. For not repairing a certain fence called le Forefront, lying
and adjoining to the common park of the said vill. Quart. Sess.
Rec. (Apr. 19, 1642), in N. R. Rec. Sac. IV. 223. w.Yks. If yer
nut tired, ah'll tak ye doon ta t'parks, Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c.
1882) 270. Lan. All old grass fields are called parks, N. Sf Q.
(1880) 6th S. ii. 211. Dev. (Hall.) Cor. N. f/ Q. (1869) 4th S.
iv. 146; Cor.i2
3. Camp, (i) Park-breeds, the breadth of two fields or
■ parks ' ; (2) -dykes, a field-dike ; a wall or fence to a
field or enclosure.
(i) e.Fif. A bit clumpie o' trees within twa park-breeds o'
Buttonhole, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) vi. (2) Sc. Your father . . .
wad hae been sair vexed to hae seen the auld peel-house wa's
pu'd down to make ' park-dykes,' Scott Blk. Dwarf (^1816) i.
4. Enclosed common or moorland ; mountain pasture.
Cum." I.Ma. Hun'ards of sheep on the perk, Rydings Tales
(1895) 106.
5. A slang term for prison. Yks. (Hall.)
PARK, see Pouk, sb.^
PARKASEET, sb. Sc. A dial, pronunciation of ' per-
quisite'; a tip. Cf perks.
Per. Table down my parkaseet, Stewart Character (1857) 160.
PARKEN.w. Yks. [pa-ksn.] To ruffle up the feathers.
Cf. perk, 14. sw.Yks. T'wet maks t' 'ens parken (F.P.T.).
PARKGATE, sb. Chs. In phr. all on one side like
Parkgate, said of anything lopsided.
Ctis.' Parkgate is a fishing village on the Cheshire side of the
river Dee, consisting of one long street with houses on one side
only, the sea wall being on the other side. s.Chs.' ' Au- u won
sahyd lahyk Paa'Tgy'ai't * is a common expression.
PARKIN, sb} n.Cy. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Der. Also
written parken n.Cy. e.Lan.^ nw.Der."^ [pa'rkin, pakin.]
A cake made of oatmeal and treacle, ^«»«. about November
5th. Also in comb. Treacle parkin.
n.Cy. N. fj- Q. (1871) 4th S. viii. 494. Lakel. 2 n.Yks.* w.Yks.
Th' childer's all lukkin' forrad to th' plot an' parkin'. Hartley
C/ocA.<4/>M. (1878) 25 ; Often called treacle parkin. There are two
kinds : the commoner is meal parkin, composed of oatmeal, treacle
and butter; and flour parkin, not so commonly made (E.W.) ; On
the 5th of November, parkin, a sort of pepper-cake, made with
treacle and ginger, is found in every house in the West Riding,
Henderson i^/.^-Z.oye (1879) ii ; w.Yks.' Commonly called a treacle-
parkin ; w.Yks. ''^s Lan. Aw gan it some parkin', Laycock
Rhymes, 99. ne.Lan.*, e.Lan.*, m.Lan.', nw.Der.'
Hence Parkin-Sunday, sb. the Sunday within the octave
of All Saints. w.Yks. Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) ii.
PARKIN, sb? Nhb.i [pa-rkin.] The frame or stand
on which oak bark is placed to dry before stacking.
PARL, PARLATICS, see Pall, v.^, Parril, Paralytic.
PARL(E, V. and sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin. Glo. Brks.
[pari, pal.] 1. v. To talk, converse. See Parley, v.
Rnf. The Papist and the Reformed Protestant, parled together,
joined interest, and concerted measures together against the Union,
WODROW Corres. (1709-31) I. 42, ed. 1843. w.Yks. (J.W.) Lin.
Brookes Tracts Gl. n.Lin.^ We was parling together hairf a nooer.
n.Glo. In Dumbleton still freq. used. ' He parled about it ever so
long.' ' They are all parling about it ' (H.S.H. ).
2. sb. A talk, conversation.
Sc. Francisque-Michel La«^. (1882) 379. Fif. The rest, as he
his parle out-spoutit, Sat gazin', Tennant Papistry (1827) 26. Ayr.
A tocher 's nae word in a true lover's parle, Burns Meg o' the Mill,
St. 4. n.Yks. I had a parle with Mr. S. at the church door (E.L.).
w.Yks. Ann and Will 'as 'ad a long pari this forenoon (F.P.T.).
Lan. After service some of the ministry were in a pari, Walkden
Diary (ed. 1866) 17. Chs.i^ n.Lin.l Him an' me was hevin' a
parle when oot flew watter-tub tap an' wetted him to his skin.
sw.Lin.i He and the mester have had some long paries together.
Glo. (W.H.C.), Glo.i n.Glo. We had a good parle at the gate
(H.S.H.). Brks. Get a quiet dish of tea and a parle with our gossips,
Hughes T. Brown (1856) ii.
3. An argument ; a wordy war ; a controversy, dispute.
Hdg. A carle ca'd ' Gemmell ' snatchit frae the parle The Chief-
Just as he foundered, Lumsden Poems (1896) 151. s.Chs.l An old
man who had heard me arguing with a Mr. Faulkner said to me a
few days after, 'Aan-)yu aad- eviir uniidh'ur paa-rl wi Fai'kniir
sin?' [Han y6 had ever another pari wi' Fakener sin?] Not
common in this district.
[I. Patriarkes and prophetes han parled her-of long,
That such a lorde and a lyjte shuldelede hem alle hennes,
P. Plowman (b.) xviii. 268-9. OFr. /ar/er.]
PARLEY, sb> Sc. Irel. Also written parlie, parly ;
and in form pawrlie Sc. [paTli.] 1. A small sweet
cake of gingerbread, sprinkled with small sweets ;
' parliament.' Also in camp. Parley-cake.
Sc. Here's a bawbee tae ye; awa an' buy parleys wi't (Jam.).
Frf. A little boy . . . offered him a sticky parly, Barrie Minister
(1891)1. Fif.The 'gundy' of Edinburgh, 'pawrlies,'and 'ha'penny
deevils,' Colville Vernacular (1899) 14. Rnf. Shortbread cakes.
Pies, parlies, tarts and butter bakes, M-'Gilvray Poems (ed. 1862)
108. Lnk. When his van at e'en was open What were parlies
PARLEY
[425]
PARLOUS
wantin' sport, Wardrop /. Mathison (1881) 82. Edb. Broken
snaps and parleys, Smith Habbie and Madge (ed. 1881) 10.
2. A thin circular cake, gen. of oatmeal ; a ' farl(e' (q.v.).
Ir. Yeats Flk-Tales (1888) 131.
PARLEY, V. and sb.^ Sc. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin.
Sus. Also written parlie Bnff.' ; parly n.Sc. Sus.'
[paTli, pa'li.] 1. v. To speak, talk, converse ; to gossip.
See Parl(e.
Rnf. But, ere the sentence it was past, She parley'd wi' poor
Davie, Allan Po«»K5 (1836) 174. w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Afraid lest,
by parleying, the poker should cool, Donaldson Tooth Drawin' , 13.
n.Lin.* It's no good parleying noa longer, we shan't niver agree.
Sus. Monthly Pkt. (1874) 178.
2. To quarrel, bandy words, argue.
Lakel.2 They parleyed on a canny while aboot yah thing an'
anudder. Yks. (Hall.) w-Yks.* ' I'll have no parleying,' says a
schoolmaster to a boy who wanted to explain his conduct ; w.Yks.s
Doan't stand parleying wi' that fellah, thah'll nobbut mak him war
nur he is.
3. To speak French ; to talk unintelligibly.
Sus.i A fisherman said, ' I can make shift to parly a bit myself,
but deuce-a-bit can I make out when the Frenchies begins to parly
me.'
4. sb. A talk ; a long conversation.
Ayr. Lang, lang or he cou'd parley hear, BoswELLPorf. Wfo.(i8i6)
168, ed. 1871. Gall. Nae langer parley did he claim But let her
gae, and shppet hame, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 50, ed. 1897.
w.Yks. (J.W.), Chs.'3
6. A truce ; the place of truce in certain games. Cf.
barley, int.
Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.^ Abd. On his skull you might thresh wheat
or barley, Or tread the grape ere he cried parley, Meston Poet.
Wks. (1723) 7. Edb. I thought it became me, being the head of
the house, to sound a parley, MoiR Mansie IVauch (1828) xxiii.
PARLEYVOO, v., sb. and adj. Sc. Cor. 1. v. To
speak French ; to speak in a foreign language ; to talk
fine or big.
Ayr. Hand your hand 1 nane o' your parleyvooing, ye loon, Galt
Laird {i8s6) iv. Edb. I'm clean sick an' tired o' parlyvooing and
how-d'ye-doing, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 307. Cor. The
more they parleyvoo'd, the more Our maidens tongue'd away,
Forfar Poems (1885) 19.
2. sb. Speech, talk.
Sc. The bodies hae a civil way with them for a' that, and it's no
possible to be angry at their parleyvoos. Steam-boat (1822) ago
(Jam.).
3. adj. French ; foreign.
Edb. His waistcoat was cut in the Parly-voo fashion, MoiR Mansie
Wauch (1828) xi.
[1. Fr. parles-vous ? do you speak ?]
PARLIAMENT, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Chs. Lin. Nhp.
Wor. Suf. Som. [pa'rl-, paliment.] 1. sb. In comp.
Parliament-man, a member of Parliament.
SIg. I spoke not with a Parliament-man, except the Lord Kilsyth,
Bruce Sermons (1631) 131, ed. 1843. Lin. 'E's moor good sense
na the Parliament man 'at stans fur us 'ere, Tennyson Owd Rod
(1889). [All my vore-vathers have been parliament-men, Smollett
Sir L. Greaves (1762) ix.]
2. A meeting for discussion by two or more persons.
Suf. I happened o' he up there right by the direction post, so we
held a parliament as to whether it had best be repaired, or what
(C.G.B.) ; They held a parliament about it, e.An. Dy. Times (1892).
Som. Why, 'tis quite a parliament, Raymond Gentleman Upcoti
(1893) 218.
3. Whisky which has paid duty as opposed to 'potheen.'
s.Ir. It's as good parliament as ever a gentleman tasted, Croker
Leg. (1862) 258.
4. A thin, crisp gingerbread; a sweetmeat. Also in
comp. Parliament-cake.
Sc. A thin species of gingerbread, supposed to have had its name
from its being used by the members of the Scottish Parliament
during their sederunts (Jam.). Ayr. Parliament-cakes, and ginger-
bread watches richly gilded were on the stand at the fair, Galt
Sir A. Wylie (1822) iv. Edb. As for the gingerbread I shall not
attempt a description : . . roundabouts and snaps, . . parliaments,
MoiR Mansie Wauch (i8a8) iii. Nhp.^ Som, The local vendor of
lollipops , . . and parliaments, Compton Winscombe Sketches
(1882) 193.
VOL. IV.
5. A necessary house. Wor. (W.C.B.) 6. v. To parley,
treat, confer ; to talk for the sake of talking.
Sc. The Scots used also this word in the sense of intercourse,
communing, and parliamentary for conference, Francisque-Michel
Lang. (1882) 162. Fif. The king . . . resolved to parliament,
Melvill Autobiog. (1610) 223, ed. 1842. Chs.i ; Chs.^ ' He was
parliamenting a good bit,' i. e. making a long speech with nothing
in it.
PARLIAMENTER, sb. Obs. or obsol. Sc. Also
written parlamenter, parliamentar, parlimenter. A
member of Parliament.
Sc. If I'd been fluent, do you see, I'd been a parliamentar, Vedder
Poems (1842) 120. Sh.I. Dey're shOrly gaein' ta mak' dee parla-
menter fir da coonty, Nicolson Aithstin Hedder (1898) 26. Bnff.
Some Parli'mentars may tak bribes, Taylor Poems (1787) 9. Rnf.
Nor King nor Parliamentar comes. Nor local powers, Finlayson
Rhymes (1815) 37. Lnk. Our Parliamentars sadly strivin' For the
command, MuiR Minstrelsy (1816) 62. Edb. Parliamenters bicker
i' the stower, Learmont Poems (1791) 278. Feb. John he curs'd
the parliamenters, Stoppin' traffic wi' their bill, Affleck Poet. Wks.
(1836) 130.
PARLICUE, PARLISH, see Pirlicue, Parlous.
PARLOUR, sb. Yks. Lin. Shr. e.An. Also written
pahlor e.Yks.* [pa-l3(r).] 1. In comb, (i) Parlour
bread, ordinary white bread ; (2) -chamber, the spare
bedroom ; the room over the parlour ; (3) -leaser, obsol.,
see below.
(i)w.Yks.2 (a)e.An.i, Snf.(M.E.R.) (3) Shr.iAperson who—
* having a friend at court ' — has permission to glean before the field
is cleared. ' By-gum ! I shanna trouble to g66 after that leasow —
the parlour-laisers han bin o'er it.'
2. The inner room of a cottage or farm-house on the
ground floor, used either as a sitting or a bedroom.
e.Yks.^ The parlour where the master and mistress slept, the
servants occupying the bed-rooms above (s.v. Hoos). w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lin. In the cottages of poor people, if there are two rooms on the
ground floor, the best room they live in is called the house ; the
other is called a parlour, though used as a bedroom (Hall.). n.Lin.*
The cottages had only a house and parlour, the parlour being used
as a dormitory for the wholefamily,bothmaleand female, MacKinnon
Acct. Messingham (1825) 25. e.Lin. (G.G.W.)
Hence Parlour-house, sb. a house of one story. e.Lin.
(G.G.W.)
PARLOUS, adj. and adv. Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin. Wor. Hmp. Also written pahlus
e.Yks.^ ; and in form parlish n.Cy. Dur.^ Lakel.* Cum.'**
Wm. n.Yks.^ Lan.^ n.Lan.^ ne.Lan.* [pa'rlss, pa'lss ;
pa-rli_f, pa'lij.] 1. adj. ' Perilous,' dangerous ; of the
weather : doubtful, uncertain.
n.Cy. (J.L. 1783), N.Cy.', Dur.^ Lakel.^ It's varra parlous gaan
whar ther's seea mich smittle. It's parlish far yan to oppen yan's
gob tell yan knows wheea yan's talken tull. Cum. The virginity
o man was cum till a parlish pass, Dickinson Lamplugh (1856) 7 ;
Gl. (1851). Wm. He's a parhsh customer (B.K.); It wor sic
a parlish way they didn't like tae gang, for feard ea been drownt,
Wheeler Dial. (1790) Pref. 9, ed. 1821 ; It's nobbut parlish weather,
Gibson Leg. (1877) 70. n.Yks.* ' It's parlous stuff,' poison. ' It's
parlous to bide' ; n.Yks.3 e.Yks. A very parlous time forsheepe,
Best Rur. Econ. (1642) 81 ; e.Yks. 1 It's a pahlus road. m.Yks.i
w.Yks. (S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.' Th' gaite fray'th moor is seea dree,
unbane, an parlous, ii. 286 ; It's parlous ommost reeakin yans
hands to her, ii. 290; w.Yks.24 chs.'^ s.Hmp. Only esteemed
it a fresh proof of her parlous state, Verney L. Lisle (1870) iv.
Hence Parlously, adv. at great peril. n.Yks.'' 2. Used
as an intensitive : very great, extraordinary, ' terrible ' ; of
persons : clever, acute, shrewd ; bold, dashing.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; N.Cy.' Cum. Thus Harculus,
'at (ballats say) Mead parlish monsters stoop, Relph Misc. Poems
(1747) 68 ; Auld Mally was a parlish body for hens, Richardson
Talk (1876) 2nd S. 122; 'A parlous man,' an affable man. 'A
parlous sight,' a sight worth talking about. Archaic Wds. in Yks.
Wkly. Post (May 12, 1883) 6 ; Cum.' ; Cum.^ A parlish freeght we
gat, 58 ; Cum.* Wm. There's naa sort of parlish feats it will net
attempt, Hutton Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 79. n.Yks.' Used
with the special or arbitrary senses of clever, acute, ingenious ;
suspicious, or of questionable character or appearance; and the like;
n.Yks.2 ' He looks a parlous kind of body,' a fearful or si^spicious
looking fellow ; n.Yka.* Ther's been parlous deed at t'mill. Tha've
locked him up at t'last, it's nobbut a parlous ending up. T'hoos
31
PARLY
[426]
PARROCK
is iv a parlous state, bud then it's cleeaning tahm. ne.Yks.' He's
a parlous chap, i.e. a queer character. e.Yks. A parlous job
(C.A.F.). Lan.^, n.Lan.' n.Lin.^ Ben Maason was a parlous chap
for drink. He maks a parlous noise when he preaches. Wor.
The football ground was in a parlous state, Evesham Jrn. (Jan.
2, 1897).
Hence Parlously, adv. in an extraordinary manner.
Fif. That bobb'd and shak'd so parlously before, Tennant
^H5/«>- (1812) 95, ed. 1871.
3. adv. Used as an intensitive, extremely.
Cum. It was parlish sweltry, Dickinson Cumbr. (1875) g ;
Ciim.3 Ther inun be parlish few steans i' his country, 5. Wm.
Parlish tough, Bowness Studies (1868) 35 ; A parlish lang way
frae enny nebbers, Clarke Spec. Dial. (1865) 3. n.Yks.^ A
parlous good speaker. ' Parlous bad,' of pain, or of a sick person's
condition; n.Yks.'^ 'It's parlous caud,' extremely cold; n.Yks.*
He's a parlous good preacher is yon chap. e.Yks.^ Ah's pahlus
bad wi rheuraatiz. n.Lan. Parlish gert fellas, Morris Siege o'
Brou'ton (1867) 3 ; n.Lan.', ne.Lan.' n.Lin. He did lee and swear
and steal things parlous, Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870') I. 38.
[1. Thou art in a parlous state, shepherd, Shaks. As
You, III. ii. 45. 2. O 'tis a parlous boy ; Bold, quick,
ingenious, forward, capable, Shaks. Rich. Ill, in. i. 154.]
PARLY, sb. Or.I. 1. A boat of peculiar rig. Or.
Sketch Bk. Gl. (Jam.) 2. The wooden traveller used in
old-fashioned boats, (ib.)
PARMACETTY, sb. Ylcs. Suf. Also written pahma-
city Suf.' ; parmacitty w.Yks.' Spermaceti. w.Yks.
(J.R.), w.Yks.i, Sufi
[Telling me the sovereign'st thing on earth Was
parmaceti for an inward bruise, Shaks. i Hen. IV, i. iii. 58.]
PARNELL, sb. Shr. The guelder-rose. Viburnum
Opulus. (B. & H.)
PARNICKETY, see Pernickety.
PAROCHIAL, sb. Sc. Lon. 1. Obs. A parochial
or charity schoolboy.
Lon. The parochials wore the uniform of blue-bob-tailed coats,
Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) III. 113, ed. i86i.
2. "Phr. io gang on the parochial, to go on the parish, to
accept parish relief
Abd. They did their very best to get her tae gang on the
' pai-ochial,' but she wad hae nane o't, Abd. IVkly. Free Press
(Mar. 9, 1901).
PAROCHIN(E, see Parishen.
PARPIN, sb. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Nhp. Also in forms par-
pane Abd; (Jam.) ; parpen n.Yks.' [pa-rpin, pa'pin.]
1. A mason's term for a wall of a single stone in thick-
ness. Also in comp. Parpin-wall.
Nhb.i n.Yks.i The inner or partition-walls of stone houses are
usually built thus.
2. The parapet of a bridge. Also in comp. Parpan(e-
wall. Abd. (Jam.) 3. Comp. Parpin-stone, a large
stone placed at the angle of a door or window, passing
through the thickness of the wall, and showing a face on
each side. Nhp.'
[1. Fr. parpaing, 'pierre de construction, qui, tenant
toute I'epaisseur d'un mur, a ses deux parements a decou-
vert' (Hatzfeld) ; 0¥t. perpain (Varin).]
PARPIN, adj. Bnff.' [paTpin.] Perpendicular.
PARPOINT, sb. Yks. Lan. Also in form perepoint
w.Yks.^"* [pa'point.] A stone used for various purposes ;
see below.
w.Yks. A stone for paving, roughly squared but not chiselled ;
smooth on the upper surface. ' I have no " setts " by me, but
I can let yo hev "parpoints" or trim 'em up for yo'(A.C.);
These stones are somewhat like bricks, but broader and some-
times longer, ////Gr. Courier {]une 12, 1897); w.Yks. ^ A pear-shaped
stone used in building arches, bridges, &c. ; w.Yks.^ A stone of
d certain size, about that of a brick but rather thinner, used
chiefly for inner and division (party) walls. e.Lan.i Thin wall-
stone for coursing.
PAR(R, sb. Sc. Yks. w.Cy. [par, pa(r).] I. A young
salmon, Salmo salar.
Sc. Eachin resembles Conachar ... no more than a salmon
resembles par, though men say they are the same fish in a
difl'erent state, Scorr Maid of Perth (1831) xxiv; The samlet of
Berkenhout, called ... in Northumberland a rack-rider, and in
Scotland a par. Prise Essay Highl. Soc. II. 406 (Jam.). Frf. The
trout, the par, now here, now Ihare, As in a widdriin bang,
LowsoN Gmd/ollow (i8go) 240. Dmb. Taylor Po«>«s (1827) 64.
Edb. Pennecuik IVks. (1715) 107, ed. 1815. w.Cy. The parr,
samlet, or whatever the lithesome youngling might have been,
was reluctantly returned to the chilly depths of the Old River,
Globe (Feb. 23, 1895). [Satchell (1879) ; All young of the
salmon species, whether known by the names of . . . skirling or
scarfing, par, spawn, pink, last spring, . . or by any other name,
Stat. 24 & 25 Vic. (1861) cix. § 4.]
Hence Parr-trout, sb. a young trout or salmon, Salmo
salar.
n.Yks. That sort, which for want of a more appropriate name,
we may term the Parr-trout, marked with dusky spots, Tweddell
Hist. Cleveland (1873).
2. The piltock or sillock, Merlangus carbonarius.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Yks. Sillocks, known at Edinburgh (says Mr.
Neill) under the name Podleys, and at Scarborough of Parrs,
HiBBERT Desc. Sh.I. (1822) 25, ed. 1891. [Satchell (1879).]
PARRACH, PARRAGE, see Porridge.
PARRACK, sb. Cum. [paTak.] A term of abuse;
see below. See Paddock, sb.'^ 3.
Aggy contented herself with telling her that she was a ' lile
parrack ' — by which she meant a little paddock or toad — a ' downo-
canno dope ' — which meant a spiritless simpleton, Linton Lizzie
Lorton (1867) xiv.
PARRAGOAD, v. e.Yks.' [parsgod.] To talk in a
domineering or overbearing style.
PARRATCH, see Porridge.
PARRE, sb. Dev. A young leveret. (Hall.)
PARREY, see Perry, sb.^
PARRICH, sb. Sc. Also written parich (Jam.).
[paTix-] 1. A person of small stature, very neatly and
finely dressed. BnfiF.' 2. A term of endearment lor an
infant or young child.
Bnff.' Ayr. Ye're my ain wee parich (Jam,).
PARRICK, sb. Cor. Also written parrik. [pseTik.]
A little jug ; a small pitcher.
Cor.'2 e.Cor. An frum a parrik handy by ... I slapt a propur
[regular] stream, Daniel Poems.
PARRIDGE, PARRITCH, see Porridge.
PARRIL, sb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also written parral
Cum.' Wm. ; and in form pari Cum. Wm. In phr. at
on^s parril, at one's own risk ; a dial, form of ' peril.'
Cum.' It's at te parral to strike. Cum., Wm. If he duz't, it's at
his pari (M.P.). n.Yks. It's at thy parril 'at thou gans. Thou
moan't shift at thy parril (I.W.).
PARRILLE,s6. Lhi.' [paTil.] A hole.
The bees have gone in a parrille.
PARRLIE, sb. Sc. [paTli.] A small barrel.
Frf. There's a bit parrlie o' the real Glenferrichan baith sides
o' the beasties, Lowson Guidfollow (1890) 27.
PARROCK, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Glo. Wil. Dor. Som. Also written parrok Dmf (Jam.) ;
and in forms pairock Nhb.'; parrach Ags. (Jam.) ; par-
rich Bnff ' ; parrick s.Sc. Nhb.' Dor.' w.Som.' ; parruck
Wm. ; parrick Nhb.' ; purrach s.Cy. [paTsk, paTik.]
1. sb. A small field or enclosure ; a paddock.
s.Sc. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Dmb. (Jam.), N.Cy.^ Nhb.
Any little croft or enclosure near a house (K.) ; Nhb.', Lakel.^
Cum.* A small enclosure near the house a little larger than a
Garth and smaller than a Croft. Cum., Wm. Nicolson (1677)
Trans. R. Lit. Soc. (1868) IX; Ferguson Northmen (1856) 219.
Wm. I've a lal cot, and a parrock, Lonsdale Mag. (1821) II. 413;
Brockett Gl. (1846) (s.v. Paddock). s.Wm. (J.A.B.) w.Yks.
Willan List Wds. (1811) ; Hutton Tour to Caves (i-jBi) ; Obs.
U.'W.) ; w.Yks.*, Lan.', n.Lan.', e.Lan.', Glo. (J.S.F.S.) s.Cy.
Ray (1691). s.Wil. Still in use at Deverill (G.E.D.). Dor.
Down in the little parrick groun, Young Rabin //jV/ (1864) pt. ii. 9 ;
Dor.' Droo zunny parricks that da lead ... to the mead, 78.
Som. (W.F.R.) ; Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885) ; Jennings
Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.'
They cows mus'n bide in the parrick no longer, else he'll be bare
all the zummer.
2. An enclosure or small stall or partition in a lambing
or keb-house ; a place of protection or shelter for lambs,
&c. Cf par, sb. 1.
Rxb. (Jam.) Dmf. A small enclosure in which a ewe is confined
PARROT
[427]
PART
when it is desired that she take to a lamb not her own, Wallace
Schoolmaster (1899) 351. Nhb.l
3. A collection of things huddled together ; a group.
Bnff.' Mry. Gl. Surv. (Jam.) 4. v. To shut up ewes
with their lambs in a paddock to induce them to suckle.
Rxb. (Jam.), Nhb.^ 5. Fig. To crowd together in a con-
fused manner.
Ags. Sheep are said to be parrach'd in a fold, when too much
crowded. It is applied to machinery when in the same state (Jam.V
[1. Parrocke, a lytell parke, parquet, Palsgr. (1530).
OE. peatroc, a small enclosure (Boefhtus).]
PARROT, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dun Yks. Nrf. Sus. Wil.
[pa-rat, paexat.] 1. In comb, (i) Parrot-beak, the puffin,
Fratercula arctica ; also called Sea-parrot (q.v.) ; (2)
•billed Willock or Willy, the razor-bill, Alca tarda; (3)
■coal, a species of 'canneP coal which burns very clearly.
(i) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 49. (2) Sus. Knox
Ornith. Rambles, 250. Wil. Smith Birds (1887) 517. (3) Fif.
There is on the north parts of Torry, a fine parrot coal, in
thickness 4 feet, which is very valuable, Statist. Ace. VIII. 451
(Jam.). Edb. Lying sound asleep on a great lump of parrot-coal,
MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) xxv. Nhb.i So called because when
on fire it splits and cracks up with a Chattering noise, like a
parrot talking, Gresley Gl. (1883). Nhb., Dnr. Greenwell Coal
Tr. Gl. (1849).
2. The razor-hill, Alca tarda. e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Lare
(1890) 133. 3. The black guillemot, Uria grylle. Glw.
SwAiNsoN .SzVrfs (1885) 218. 4. A species of 'cannel' coal.
Sc. This coal is called ' parrot,' from the loud cracking noise
with which it flies to pieces when placed upon the fire, Ramsay
Rock Spec. (1862) 70.
PARRY, sb. Abd. (Jam.) [pa-ri.] See below.
' Whan ane says Parry, aw says Parry,' a prov. phr. signifying
that when any thing is said by a person of consequence, it is
immediately echoed by every one.
PARRY, V. Sc. To put off, delay ; to tarry, loiter.
Per. I'se doon t'ey minister, an' hae ye up afore the Kirk-
Session. . , I'm for nae mair o' yer parryin', I'se tell ye, Cleland
Inchbrachen (1883) 59, ed. 1887.
PARRY, see Perry, sb}
PARRYMYAK, sb. Sc. A match, equal.
Abd. Still remembered, but not in common use (W.M.).
PARS, see Pize, sb}
PARSED, /i^. Obsal. Wor.Hrf. Also written pa'sed
s.Wor. Married. See Parson, 9.
s.Wor. An old parishioner remembers the use of ' pa'sed ' in her
younger days but has not heard it of late (H.K.). Wor., Hrf. Not
common (W.B.).
PARSEYAND, see Ampersand.
PARSIL, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also written
parcel n.Cy. Wm. ; parsel Sc. ; and in form persil Sc.
(Jam.) [paTsil, pa'sil.] Parsley, Petroselinunt sativum.
Sc. FRANcisQUE-MicHELZ,a«^. (1882) 158 (Jam.). n.Cy.(B.&H.)
Wm. Soo hes gitten in toth garth, an shees hitten up awth turmits,
rooted up awth parcel, Wheeler Z>('a/. (1790) 26, ed. 1821. Yks.
(,B. &H.) w.Yks. Hl/x. Courier {Jilayzg, 1897); w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.'
[ME. percil, parsley {P. Plowman). Fr. persil, parseley
(Cotgr.).]
PARSLE, see Pisle, v.
PARSLEY, sb. Sc. Yks. Chs. War. e.An. Dor. Som.
Dev. [paTsli, pa-sli.] In comb, (i) Parsley bed, see
below; (2) — Ijreakstone, (a) the ladies' mafltle, Alche-
milla arvensis ; (6) the common saxifrage ; (3) — fern, (a)
the tansy, Tanacetum vulgare ; (b) the Welsh polypody,
Polypadium cambricum vulgare ; (4) — peat or peeat, (5)
— perk, (6) — Vlix, see (2, a).
(i) War.'^ Baby-land ; the place where children are created. A
euphemism for the uterus. 'Where do babies come from, mamma?'
'Out of the parsley-bed, my dear.' w.Som.^ Besides being the source
whence children are told that the little girls come, it is considered
to be fatal to one of the household if parsley be transplanted.
Parsley may be sown anywhere, but once sown must not be moved
until destroyed. (2, a) Sc. (Jam.) Or.I. WallaceZJcsc. Or. I. ( 1693)
169, ed. 1883. War.3, Snf. (B. & H.) (6) eJVn.l Nrf. ^rcA. (1879)
VIII. 171. (3a,6)Dev.'» (4) w.Yks.^ (5) Chs.i (6)Dor. (B.&H.)
PARSON, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in form passon Nrf. [paTssn, pa'san.]
1. sb. In comb, (i) Parson's barn, a receptacle for
everything; (2) -'s bell, the last bell, rung singly, before
the commencement of church service ; (3) — billycock, the
cuckoo-pint. Arum maculatum ; (4) -corn, corn affected
by the smut ; see below ; (5) -'s fool, in phr. like the par-
son's fool, likes everything that is good, proverbial saying ;
(6) -grey, dark grey ; (7) — gull, (8) —mew, the greater
black-backed gull, Larus marinus ; (9) -'s nose, (a) the
tail joint of a goose, duck, or fowl ; (b) the green-winged
meadow orchis. Orchis Morio ; (10) — pillycods, see (3) ;
(11) — rook, the Royston crow, Corviis comix.
(i)Stir. (L.J.Y.) (2)War.3 (3)n.Yks. (I.W.) (4)n,Lin."> When
tithe was paid in kind, the sheaves that had the most smuts in them
were always given to the parson, if he could be seduced into
taking them. (5) Dev. Reports Promnc. (1893). (6) Abd. My
mother . . . manufactured for me a pair of parson-grey stockings,
RuddimanSc. Pan'.sA(i828)i5, ed.1889. (7) Glw., Sus. [So called"!
from its black back, Swainson Birds (1885) 208. Sus. It is called
the ' Parson Gull ' for a supposed resemblance in its black and white
plumage to the hood and surplice of a clergyman. Smith Birds
(1887) 537 ; Knox Ornith. Rambles, 255. (8) Glw., Sus. Swainson
ib. (9, a) w.Yks.2, Not.", Lin.', Oxf.i MS. add., Brks.i, Snr. (L.J.Y.;,
Wil.», s.WU.(G.E.D.) (6)Dev. (B.&H.),Dev.4 (io)Yks,(B.&H.)
(II) Sns.i
2. Phr. (i) parson and clerk, (2) — in his smock, the wild
arum or cuckoo-pint. Arum maculatum ; (3) — in the pulpit,
[a] see (2) ; (6) the monkshood, Aconitum Napellus ; (4)
parsons and clerks, see below.
(i) Dev. (B.&H.), Dev." (2) n.Lin.i (3, a) Yks. (B.&H.),
Chs."- w.Som." Paa'sn een dhu puul'piit. Dev. Common, Reports
Provinc. (1889) ; n.Dev. Handbk. (ed. 1877) 357 ; Dev." (6) Dev.
(B. & H.) (4) Dor. The running fiery spots on burning paper are
sometimes so called by children, who watch them to see which will
run last : parsons, the large ones, — or clerks, the small ones,
Barnes Gl. (1863).
3. A black rabbit.
w.Som.i A farmer when rabbiting cried out to me : Dhae'ur-z u
paa"sn! shuut dhik'vurgau'd-sae'uk! [There's aparson! shoot thick
for God's sake !] Dev. Reports Provinc. (1887) 13.
4. A black lamb. Dor. (C.W.) 5. A large black beetle
of any kind; a cockroach. Lei.', Wan^ 6. The hake,
Merlucius vulgaris.
Sus.^ So called from the black streak on its back.
7. A signpost.
n.Lln." Glo. The peeple hereabouts call'd um ' paasons,' 'cause
thay pwinted the way an didn't kare abowt it thurzelves, Roger
Plowman, 97.
8. See below.
Wil." In carting dung about the fields, the heaps are shot down
in lines, and are all of much the same size. Sometimes, however,
the cart tips up a little too much, with the result that the whole
cartload is shot out into a large heap. This is known as a 'parson.'
9. V. Pass. To be married in church or chapel.
Wor. (W.B.), (J.B.) Nrf. 'Don't you wish you was married?'
. . . ' Don't you wish you was passoned ? ' Emerson Son of Fens
(1892) 154.
Hence parsoning work, phr. a wedding, marriage.
Wm. When we went te t'chapel for t'parsonin' wark, Wilson
Lite Bit ev a Sang, 97.
PART, sb., v., adj. and adv. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also written paart n.Yks."^ ; and in forms
pairt Sc. Nhb.-"^ n.Yks.* w.Yks. ; pait n.Yks. ; payte
e.Yks. ; peart Dev. ; potirt S. & Ork." [part, pert, pat.]
1. sb. In phr. (i) part and parcel, belonging to, of the
same kind ; (2) airt and part, (3) art or part, part of; in
collusion with ; (4) to put on parts, to give oneself airs.
(i) w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan.i He may say what he loikes ; but he's
part-an'-parcel o' th' same lot. CoUoq. It's all part and parcel of
the same thing (A.B.C.). (2) Ayr. We're baith airt and pairt in
this affair. Service Notandums (1890) 62. (3) Lnk. He is guilty
of treasonable crimes, and is either art or part thereof, and ought
to be punished with forfeiture of life, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721)
III. 236, ed. 1828. (4) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 64.
2. pi. Fractions, whether of number or quantity.
n.Yks. Tweea paits out i three [two-thirds]. That beeast's
three-paits grown (I.W.). w.Yks. (J.W.) w.Som." Two-thirds
is always ' tiie- pae"urts aewt u dree'.' Threequarters ' dree"
pae-urts aewt u vaawur.' ' Nai-n paeurts aewt u tai-n,' nine-
tenths. Three-quarters of an hour is always ' dree pae-urts uv u
3 12
PART
[428]
PARTIAL
naawur.' ' They zess how the taties be shockin' bad about ; zome
places two parts out o' dree be a ratted.'
3. Used redundantly, esp. in comb, with back.
Ken.i ' You'll be glad to see the back part of me,' i.e. to see
my back, to get me gone.
4. Place ; district ; used in sing.
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. He's been an eesfu' man i' the pairt, Alex-
ander Ain Flk. (1882) 139 ; The ill part, hell ; the gueed part,
heaven (Jam.).
5. That which becomes or is incumbent on any one.
Sc. ' It's weel my part,' it well becomes me. ' It's ill his part,' it
is inconsistent with his duty. ' It's gude your part,' it is incumbent
on you (Jam.).
6. pi. Obs. Senses, in phr. out of one's parts, o;it of one's
senses or mind.
Dev.i Poor zoul, her's out o' her parts : her's telling dwale, 56,
ed. Palmer.
7. Obs. Interest, concern, share.
Sc. Tell him what we have done for Lord Glenvarloch, in whom
he takes such part, Scott Nigel (182a) xxxiii. Ayr. My part in
him thou'lt share, Burns Farewell.
8. V. Phr. (i) to part with bairn, (2) — with child, (3) —
with Patrick, to abort, give birth to prematurely.
(i) Lnk. Maggy had parted wi' bairn, Graham Writings (1883)
II. 20. (2) Slg. He asked at the Earl what would make a woman
part with child ? Bruce Sermons (1631) 192, ed. 1843. Lnk. Beat
and abused his wife, who was with child, . . all which put her to
such fright, that she parted with child, and never recovered,
Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) IV. 153, ed. 1828. (3) Lnk. Up gets
Jockey and rins o'er the rigs for . . . the howdy, but or he wan
back she parted wi' patrick, Graham Writings (1883) II. 19.
9. To part with ; to abandon.
Per. O we maun part this lore, Willie, Sharps Ballad Bli.
(1823) 2, ed. 1868. Edb. A' the plenishing o' the wee hoose had
* been parted to pay for the funeral, Campbell Deiliejoclz (1897) 31.
Ir. He wouldn't part his wife Molly at home for all the princesses
in the world, Macmanus Chini. Comers (1899) 73.
10. To divide, separate ; to share ; to allot, distribute.
Sc. Sae mony o' us as thought oursells sib to the family when
the gear was parting. Scon Guy M. (1815) xxxviii. Sh.I. Hit's
true 'at's said, da world is ill pairtid, Sh. News (Apr. 9, 1898) ;
S. & Ork.^ Abd. The warl's wark his been, like the warl's siller,
ill pairtit, Abd. Wttly. Free Press (Sept. i, 1900). Frf. It'll tak's,
I'm sure, to get them partit, Sands Poems (1833) 89. e.Lth.
We'll hae to be thinkin hoo we'll pairt them amang us, Hunter
J. Inwicli (1895) 229. Edb. Wi' pain their pows was like to part,
Forbes Poems (1812) 24. Wgt. Pairt, to divide a dish at table.
Hence the saying 'Pairt sma', sair [serve] a" (A.W.). n.Cy.,
Yks. (J.W.) Lin. A baker charged with putting alum in his
bread said 'it made the loaves part better,' N. tf Q. (1880) 6th
S. i. 97. n.Lin. (E.P.) Lon. N. £/ Q. (18B8) 6th S. i. 97.
w.Som.i ' Mother zaid we was to part it fair.' On parish boundaries
it is very common to see, ' This parts Tolland and Stogumber.'
Hence Parting, sb. a portion, share, division, allotment.
Lnk. She said there was great parting in her siller since
Mr. Gilmour had been buying the things for the house in the
wholesale way [the money went much further, or more was got
for it], Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 172. Wgt. (A.W.)
11. To cut at cards.
Dev. Now, missis, yu ' peart ' um, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 88.
12. Obs. To side with.
Rnf. The influence of High Church in England who parted our
disaffected party, Wodrow Corns. (1709-31) II. 89, ed. 1843.
13. adj. Some ; considerable in number, large in quantity.
N.Cy.l Nhb.^ Thor wis pairt folk at the meetin' last Sunday.
He'll he' pairt fash afore he's dyun wi'd. n.Yks.^ ' There'll be
paart brass i' that,' a portion of profit to be gained ; n.Yks.* Pairt
fooak wur bidden ti' t'funeral. Ther'll be pairt fruit ti year nobbut
Jack Frost dizn't nip't bio afoor it sets. ne.Yks.i We've had
part changes in wer nighbours. e.Yks.^ Ther was payt-rain last neet.
w.Yks. They say he's worth part brass (M.F.) ; Formerly there
was part "corn grown about Chapel-le-Dale, Speight Craven
Highlands (1892) 243; w.Yks.i 'How's thy corn?' 'It's part
greens in't ' ; w.Yks.^ n.Lin.' We've part ketlocks e' th' oats yit,
bud not soa many as we ewst to hev. We've part apples this
year, trees is ragged.
14. Few, very few.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks. They are doing part broad cloths at
Huddersfield [a few] (C.J.B.). n.Lin.l ' Ther' was a many foiiks
at oor meatin' last Tuesda' ? ' ' Yes, you'd part ; ther' was three
shopkeapers, an' five or six lads thaay'd gien pennies to for
hollerin'.'
15. adv. Partly, to a certain extent, in a measure.
w.Yks. He wor sooin pairt donned. Hartley Grimed Trip
(1877) 40 ; I was part bothered (C.A.F.) ; w.Yks.' 'It rains part,'
it rains a little.
PARTABLE, adj. Nrf. Parting, dividing, forming a
division.
I mean that partable deek, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 104 ;'
' Partable deek,' the water dike that divides one marsh from
another as distinguished from the mere drainage cuttings (P.H.E.).
PARTAL, sb. Cai.' In comp. (i) Partal-door, the
door which led to the dwelling-house from the byre ; (2)
•wall, the wall separating the dwelling-house from the
byre ; see below.
Till perhaps 1850 or thereabout one saw many small holdings,
which had houses with a common front door for the cattle and
the people. The door was on the byre, but close to the Partal Wa',
through which the Partal-door led to the dwelling apartments.
Houses on this pattern are not to be seen in the county now.
PARTAN, sb. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. I.Ma. Also written
parten Sc. N.I.'; partin Sc. Dwn.; parton Sc. [paTton.]
1. The common crab. Cancer pagurus.
Sc. Half a dozen o' partans to make the sauce, Scott Antiquary
(i8i6)xi. Sh.I. (Jam.) Or.I. Lobsters, partens, mussels, Wallace
jDe5c. O;-. /. (1693) 17, ed. 1883. Cai.' Elg. CouperPoc/o'(i8o4)
II. 224. Abd. Twa three bawbee partans, Alexander Johnny
Gibb (1871) vi. Frf. A large purse ... As fou n' gowd tied wi'
a garton As e'er o' meat ye saw a parton, Sands Poems (1833)
107. Per. He had primed his proboscis till it was as 'fou as
a partin,' Stewart Character (1857) xcvi. Slg. Food, fat fish,
an' gude sweet partan, Galloway Poems (1795) 10. Rnf. Barr
Poems (1861) 148. Ltli. Saxteen oysters big an' braw, Wi'
partins twa tae back them, McNeill Preston (c. 1895) 99. Edb.
The auld cleish ma claver'l stick to us like a partan gif we bide,
Beatty Secretar (^Z^-f) 42. Slk. Sinks doun to the broon-ribbed
sand amang the crawlin partens, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856)
II. 94. Gall. Progressing, as the partan is said to do, backwards,
Crockett Raiders (1894) vii. Wgt. Eraser Wigtown (1877) 153.
n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.) I.Ma. (T.E.B.)
Hence (i) Partan-cage, sb. a crab-trap ; (2) -cartie, sb.
the empty shell of a crab, with a string attached, used as
a toy cart ; (3) -crab, sb. a crab ; (4) -full, adj. as full as a
crab ; (5) -haar, sb. a good time for catching crabs ; (6)
■handed, adj. close-fisted, stingy, grasping ; (7) -tae or
-'s-tae, sb. a crab's claw.
(i) Gall. He was wishful to do no harm, but only to set his
partan cages in Byness Bay, Crockett A. Marls (1899) xviii.
(2) Kcd. In the childish days when they dragged their partan
cairties on the bit of cobbled causeway, Abd. Wlily. Free Press
(Feb. 9, 1901). (3) Sc. A boat that was backed like a partan-
crab, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xxii. (4) Bnff. She was sae
partan-fu' o' pride, Taylor Poems (1787) 56. (5) Fif. MouT-
GOMERiE-FLEMiNGiVototoy«m. (1899). (6) Ayr. ( J AM.) ; Ye partan-
handit, grip-and-haud smiddy-vice Mammon o' unrighteousness,
Galt Entail {1S23,) ^^ii. (7) Abd. Nae mair your wine and congo
fine Can I gie you, . . Your partan taes an' a' that, Walker
Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 602. Frf. Auchmithie, famed for caulkers
An' parton taes. Sands Poems (1833) 70. Fif. Smoked with
difficulty in a partan's tae, Colville Vernacular (1899) 11. Ayr.
His nose was as red as a partan's tae, Galt Provost (1822) xxxii.
Lnk. Yer lang sharp nails can nip as weel As ony partan's tae,
Nicholson Idylls (1870) 59.
2. The shore crab, Carcinus ntoenas.
N.I.' Also called Butcher. Uls. A small crab (M.B.-S.). Dwn.
A kind of small crab very common on rocky shores, but not eaten,
as it is said to be poisonous, Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.)
3. Fig. A term of contempt. Also in comp. Partan-face.
Sc. Answer yoursell, parten-face, gin you're grown sic a wonder
o' wisdom ! Roy Horseman's Wd. (1895) xii. Frf. Tak'that, you
glowering partan, Barrie Tommy ( i8g6) 45. Gall. To tak' up
wi' a silly partan o'a bairn like this, Crockett .<4.^a)-i (1899) xx.
[Ir. partan, portdn, a crab ; Gael, partan (Macbain).]
PARTERS, 56. ^/. Wil.^ [pa-taz.] Pieces of wood in
a wagon which join the ' dripple ' to the 'bed.'
PARTIAL, adj. Sc. Yks. Stf War. Ken. Sus. [pa'Jl.]
1. In phr. to be partial to, to be fond of, have a liking for.
Sc. (A.W.), w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Stf. My mon's very partial to
pickled cungers, Pinnock Bill. Cy. Ann. (1895). War.'* I'm very
PARTIC
[429]
PARTLY
partial to mutton ; War.^ He is very partial to his children. He
is too partial to drink; War.* s.War.i I be very partial to
a few einyuns. Ken.i Sus.^ I be very partial to a few pandles.
2. Kind, fond.
War. I don't mind being ill because it makes John so partial,
Midi. Cties. Herald (Sept. 30, 1897) ; War.^
PARTIC, adj. and sb. Sc. Yks. [psrtik, pati'k.]
1. adj. A shortened form of ' particular ' ; especial.
Fif. It's michty partic' and's to be gien to Miss Margr^del
personally, Meldrum Margredel (1894) 214.
2. sb.pl. Particular friends, intimates. See Particular, 7.
w.Yks. We're bits o' parties. Common (S.J.C.) : Wir oud
pstiks (J.W.).
PARTICIPANTS, sb. pi. Obs. n.Lin.^ The original
contractors for the drainage of the Isle of Axholme and
Hatfield Chace, and those who succeeded to them in their
rights and duties.
PARTICLE, sb. Obs. Sc. A small portion of land.
Sc. (Jam.) s.Sc. Confiscation of a' gudes, gear, chattels,
particles and pendicles, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 330.
PARTICULAR, adj., adv. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks.
Lan. I.Ma. Lei. Nhp. War. Hrf. Hnt. Ken. Sus. Wil. Dor.
Dev. Also in forms partickler Yks. Hrf ^ Sus. Wil. ;
particlar Lei. ; particler Cum. Dor. ; partikkiler LMa. ;
partikler Ken. ; perticlar Dev.^ ; perticvilar Sc. [psti'k-
l3(r.] 1. adj. In comb. Particular work, fine work,
work requiring especial care in its execution. Cum.*
2. Precise, giving great attention to, attentive.
Ayr. Mistresses of a particular turn did not choose that their
maidens should spend their hours a-field, Galt Provost (1822)
xxxviii ; It was said you were particular to auld Captain Hawser
o' the press-gang, ib. Lairds (1826) xix.
Hence Particularness, sb. care, caution ; precision.
Lnk. I'm used to staundin'a'kinds o' drafts, sir. A pit life sune
tak's a' the particularness oot o' ane, Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 52.
3. Noticeable, out of the common, singular, unusual ;
conspicuous.
Cum. A vara particler man . . . was Robert Soothey, Cornh.
Mag. (May 1889) 480. Lei. A partic'lar thing happened, . . a
very partic'lar thing, Geo. Eliot 5. Marner (1861) 42. Dev.^
I bant gwaine to wear thease yer bunnet, 'e'll make me look so
perticlar. 'E's out ov fashin now.
4. Unwell, out of health.
Sus.i He's been looking very particular for some time past.
5. Quiet, harmless.
Hrf.^'Is that dog quiet!' 'Well, he aint very partickler.'
' I suppose I shall be all right going through that field ? ' ' Well,
I don't know; that cow, . . her aint very partickler.'
6. adv. Particularly ; especially. Gen. used as an in-
tensitive.
s.Sc. It's nashgab on the pairt o' him, ye ken, tae say he was
particular fou', Snaith Fierceheart (1897) 149. Nhb. Dinna be so
quick to take offence, partic'ler with an old friend, Lilburn Bor-
derer (1896) 243. w.Yks.^ They wasn't particular fast fur t'money,
88. Lan. Particular, when there's a lot o' childer, Waugh Heather
(ed. Milner) II. 198. I.Ma. You're wanted most partikkiler.
Brown i?orfo;-( 1887) 4. Ken. I don't feel partikler hearty, Cornh,
Mag. (Jan. 1894) 69. Sus. He was most partickler queer, Tennant
Vill. Notes (1900) 137. Wil. Most partickler ill I was, ib. 17. Dor.
He wanted a clean shirt Zatday and best clothes, and brushed his
hat partic'ler, Windsor Mag. (Apr. 1900) 614.
1. sb.pl. Intimate friends. Gen. in comb, viilh. 0\&..
w.Yks. (S.J.C), w.Yks.^ Nhp.i ' They are very old particulars.'
War. 3, Hnt. (T.P.F.)
8. Obs. Private or personal interest.
Sc. Some Noblemen and Councillours, who regarded their own
particulars more than his honour, Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell.
(1844-5) !• 152. Fif. When it twitched his particular, no man
could crab him, Melvill Autobiog. (1610) 65, ed. 1842. Slg. I
speak for my own particular, who am but a poor creature, Wod-
Row Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I- 202.
PARTICULARITIES, sb. pi. Sc. Details, small
points, ' ins and outs.'
Ayr. The office of dean of guild must be a very fashions one to
folks like me, no skilled in its particularities, Galt Provost (1823)
iv ; He was a great stickler for small particularities, ib. xl ; A most
full and accurate account of all manner of particularities anent the
decay of the ancient families of the west country. Service Dr.
Duguid (ed. 1887) 12.
PARTING, ppl. adj. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Stf.
Shr. [pa-rtin, peTtin, pa-tin.] 1. ppl. adj. In comp. (i)
Parting-boards, the thin boards forming the bed for the
sash to run in, in a window-frame ; (2) •coal, a stratum
in a coal-field ; (3) -shords, thin bits of old pots put
between the pottery to keep it from sticking ; (4) -stool,
see below.
(i) w.Yks. (J.J.B.) (2) Shr.i (s.v. Coal-field). (3) Stf.i (4)
? Sc. It is the parting-stool, and is always used here, Henderson
Flk-Lore (1879) i ; A three-legged stool, a foot high, covered with
about two yards of carpet, and placed at the churchyard gate after
a wedding. Every one of the bridal party jumps over it, assisted
on either side by a villager, ib.
2. sb. The division or thin layer between two beds or
strata of coal or stone.
Nht).' Partings are described according to their composition or
with reference to their thickness or character, as ' thready ' or
'seamy partings' when they present mere films of substance;
' cashy partings ' when they are soft ; ' scary,' ' seamy,' or ' scaly'
when they appear to be flaked or finely laminated. Nhb., Dur.
Grey Post with shale partings, Borings (1881) II. 4.
3. An offtake or branch road. Nhb.^
PARTISIE, adj. ? Obs. n.Sc. (Jam.) Also in form
pairtisay. Applied to anything that is done by, or which
belongs to, more persons than one ; see below.
'A partisie web,' a web wrought for several owners, each of
whom contributes his share of the materials ; ' partisay wark,'
work done by a number of persons. 'A pairtisie wa',' a wall
built at the expense of two proprietors between their respective
houses or lands.
PARTLE, V. and sb. Sc. [paTtl.] 1. v. To work
idly, to trifle, waste time.
Self that hizzy had na partlea' day out there wi'a pickle berries,
GK1.Y Misanthrope's Heir (1897) xxvii; Gang and do ray errand,
and no stand partlin' there, ib. xxv. w.Sc. (Jam.) Rnf. Picken
Poems (1788) Gl. (ib.)-
2. sb. A trifle, very little thing ; a small part. w.Sc. (Jam.)
PARTLES, sb. pi. Cum. [paTtlz.] 1. The globular
droppings of sheep. Cum.^* 2. Dried cow-dung used
for fuel. Cum.* (s.v. Purls).
PARTLESS, adv. e.An. [pa-tlas.] In part, partly.
e.An.' Nrf. We can't du them sort o' jobs all at once. We are
forced to du 'em partless at one time, and partless at another
tW.R.E.).
PARTLET, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Chs. Glo. Also in form
pallet Sc. 1. Obs. A woman's ruff or neckband.
Sc. I maun hae katlets and pallets And cam'rel heel'd shoon,
Chambers Sngs. (1829) I. 2 ; With her partlet and sleeves of
Cyprus, Scott Abbot (1820) xxxiv. n.Cy. Grose (1790); (K.) ;
N.Cy.2, Chs. 13
2. The fat on a {sig's chitterlings. Glo.*
[1. A partlet, strophium. Levins Manip. (1570).]
PARTLINS, adv. Dur. Yks. Also written paartlins
n.Yks.^ ; partlings Dur. ; and in forms paitlins n.Yks. ;
parlings m.Yks.^ Partly, in part.
Diir.(HALL.) n.Yks.T'weather's paitlins sunny (I. W.); n.Yks.',
m.Yks.i
PARTLY, adv. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der.
Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Hrf Oxf Brks. Hnt. Also in form
pertly m.Lan.* [paTtli, peTtli, pa'tli.] 1. In comb. (1)
Partly true, true in every detail or part ; (2) — what,
partly, almost, nearly ; to some extent, partially.
(i) Hrf.2 (2) n.Cy. He was partly-what to blame for any trouble
he had (B. K.). Cum. He had ' partly what ' known of our coming,
Cornh. Mag. (Oct. 1890) 380. Wm. Used in Kendal and Winder-
mere and surrounding district. 'Ey I'se partly what gitten it
dun.' Sometimes ' partly what ' is used without any qualifying or
moderating meaning ; for instance when a thing is quite finished
a man will speak of it as 'partly what done' (J.M.). Lan. Aw
partly what expected a shinty, Clegg Sketches (1895) 93 > Lan.l
' Does ta know him ? ' ' Partly-what.' ne.Lan. ' Do you always
sing at your work?' 'Partly whod,' Mather Idylls (1895) 15.
e.Lan.i, m.Lan."^ Chs:* He seet afore th' feire till he were partly-
what roasted.
2. Almost, nearly.
w.Yks. Shoe wor a nice plaln-lookin' yoong woman ; shoe wor
as tall as me partly (F.P.T.). Chs.3 If you make enquiries after a
sick person the answer will probably be ' partly the same,' i.e. no
PARTMENT
[430]
PASH
better. s.Chs.^ Th) tai-ttiz bin paaTtli au- diin [Th' tatoes bin
partly aw done]. Der.i Nhp.i Partly as usual. 'He's partly ten
years old, ' almost ten years of age. Oxf.i ' I knows partly t'll rain. '
' I knows partly 'twunt.' Brks.' I partly thinks a wunt do't at all
now a hev a-bin zo long about ut. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
3. Used as a termination to a sentence ; see below.
Not.' Lei.i An expletive used much in the same way as ' like,'
though not so commonly. Both are nearly equivalent to 'in a
manner of speakin',' and other phrases intended to round the
angles of a too explicit statement. ' Well, ah thenk a'd a coom if
his woife 'ud a let him, paartly.' Nhp.i Often used as a termination
to a sentence which conveys a positive assertion : ' The boy's as
much like his father as if he were the same over again, partly.'
War.3
PARTMENT, sb. Sur.^ [pa'tment.] A parting or
division.
PARTNER, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Also in form pairtner
Sc. n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' w.Yks. [peTtnafr, pa-tn3(r).] 1. sb.
pi. In phr. partners with, a partner of or with.
Sc. 'A is partners with B,' means that A is partner to B, or
rather A is B's partner, Monthly Mag, (1800) I. 238.
2. A husband or wife, a spouse.
Kcd. To his pairtner's angry words He answerin' word gae
nane, Grant £ajy5 (1884) 11. Frf. Janet, his pairtner, . . Keeps
his pirns aye fu, an' looks after his hame, Watt Poet. Sketches
(1880) no. n.Yks.i* ne.Yks.i T'au'd woman's a good pairtner.
vir.Yks. He cud liv o' luv, if shoo wor nobbut his pairtner, Cud-
worth Dial. Sketches (1884) 112.
3. V. To be the partner of; to be partner to.
Fif. I partnered him at whist, Meldrum Grey Mantle (1896) 249.
Gall. Do ye no min' the ball sae fine Whar ye did partner me?
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 62, ed. 1876.
PARTON, sb. Cum.* [paTtan.] In comb. Parton
pickle, a pickle made of the fresh shoots of the saltwort,
Salsola Kali.
PARTRIDGE, _s6. Var. dial, forms in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [pe'trik, petritj, pertrik, pa-tridg, pa'tridg.]
1. Dial, forms : (i) Paetrick, (2) Pairtric(k, (3) Paitrich,
(4) Paitric(k, (5) Paltridge, (6) Parridge, (7) Partig, (8)
Partrich, (9) Partrick, (10) Partrik, (11) Patrich, (12}
Patrick, (13) Patridge, (14) Patteridge, (15) Pattheridge,
(16) Pattridge, (17) Pautrick, (18) Pertrick.
(i) Frf. A covey raise, wi' sic a feugh, O' paetricks grey and
plovers green, Sands Poems (1833) 83. Slk. Shooting moor-cocks,'
an' paetricks, Hogg Tales (1838) 63, ed. 1866. (2) Sc. (Jam.)
Abd. He had gotten three pairtricks in that neep field, Abd. Wkly.
Free Press (Oct. 1900). Per. Twa pairtricks woo'd in the vale
below. Ford Harp (1893) 318. Enf. The pairtrick sung his e'ening
note, Tannahill Poems (1807) 229, ed. 1817. e.Lth. Swainson
Birds (1885) 172. (3) n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.i (4) Abd. Which
whirred like a paitric, Anderson Rhymes (ed.'i867) 20. e.Fif. A
day's sport amang the hares and paitricks, Latto Tarn Bodkin
(1864) xi. Ayr. Mourn, ye whirring paitrick brood, Burns £/. on
Capt. Henderson, st. 7 ; Swainson li. Lnk.The muircock craw'd,
the paitrick whirr'd, Hamilton Poems (1865) 80. Edb. Hares tae
kill, And paitricks, grouse, woodcocks and snipes, Carlop Green
(1792) 174, ed. 1817. Bwk. An' paitricks whirr amang the
sheaves, Calder Poems (1897) 63. Gall. Mony a puir cheel, . .
Wha had may be shot a paitric or hare, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
176, ed. 1876. Nhb. There was a rabbit or a hare or a paitrick in't,
Graham Red Scaur (1896) 150. (5) Dev. Dant ren off, an heed
away, Leek paltridges in stubble, Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) III.
253. nw.Dev.i Pal-tridge, not paul-tridge. Always. (6) Ess.'
(7) w.Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post (Dec. 31, 1898). (8) Frf. A covey o'
partrichs, Sands Poems (1833) 142. Lan. A whirrin sound i' th'
air loike a covey o' partriches fleeing off, Ainsworth Witches (ed.
1849) Introd. iii. War. Leamington Courier (Feb. 27, 1897). (9)
Elg. The partrick whirring oure their heads, Couper Poetry (1804)
I. 184. Per. The partrick whirred, Spence Poems (1898) 138.
Rnf. The partricks . . . Set up their e'ening ca', Tannahill Poems
(1807) 197. (10) Sc. (Jam.) (11) Ir. Dick Rice gave me
two curlew an' two patrich calls to-day, Carleton Traits Peas.
(ed. 1843) I. 387. War.* (12) Fif. It used to be a braw cover for
Patricks, Grant Six Hundred, vii. Lth. The patrick, muircock,
and the hare, Thomson Poems (1819) 214. Kxb. An' ilka hare an'
patrick killer, Ruickbie Wayside Cottager (1807) 108. w.Yks.,
Lan. Swainson ib. (13) Inv. Heathcock, patridges, Maidment
Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) U- 347- Frf Abundance of patridges
plivers, dottrills, ib. I. 319. Esb.', Ken. (G.B.) (14) w.Soni.*
Pat-ureej. (15) N.I.i (16) Dev. Zo plump 's a pattridge, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892) 12. (17) Dur.i Obsol. (18) Abd. Swainson ib.
II. Dial. use. In comb. Partridge-legged clover, a
species of clover ; see below.
Ess. The 'red 'land yields clover, but the plant willfatten nothing,
from (as it is said) being bitter ; stock even eat it with difficulty :
they call it partridge-leg'd clover, with red stalks and small leaves,
Young Agric. (1813) I. 8.
PART-TAKE, v. Sc. Also in form pairt-tak. [peTt-
tak.] To defend ; to take one's part, side with.
Abd. Nae mither nor daddy has he to pairt-tak him — a puir
Orphan, Davidson Poems (1861) 58 ; I'm seer I'm nae pairt-takin'
them, man, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 18; She may be wudna
like to be pairt-ta'en by naebody against her ain man, ib. 13.
PARTWAYS, adv. Yks. Dev. Partly, in part.
w.Yks. A went uam wi im peatwez (J.W.). Dev, A man always
llikes at a wumman wi an eye that be partways blind, Longman's
Mag. (Mar. 1899) 458.
PARTY, sb. Sc. In camp, (i) Party-match, a party
contest or debate ; (2) -pot, a pot owned by several people ;
cf. mean, adj. 1.
(i) Ayr. The men cast out in party-matches, Burns Twa Dogs
(1786) 1. 215. (2) Sc. A party pot never play'd even, Ramsav
Prov. (1737).
PARWHOBBLE, sb. and v. Shr. Hrf. w.Cy. Dev.
Also written parwobble Dev. [pa'wobl.] 1. sb. Obs.
A parley or conference. Dev. tiorae Subsecivae (1.777)
320. Cf. parable, 2. 2. v. To talk continuously, so as
to engross the conversation ; to talk quickly, to chatter.
Shr., Hrf Bound Provinc. (1876). w.Cy. (Hall.), Dev.^
PARZLE, PASAG, see Pisle, v., Pace-egg.
PASCH, PASE, PA'SED, PASE-EGG, see Pace, Raise,
v}, Pease, Parsed, Pace-egg.
PASEYAD, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also in forms paysyad
n.Sc. (Jam.) ; peace-yaud Frf A contemptuous term
for a woman who has nothing new to wear at Easter.
See Pace.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Frf. Ah ! wae's me for the poor Peace-yaud, Wha
naething braw to boast o' had ; While some frae tap to tae
were clad. Smart Rhymes (1834) 90.
PASH, v., sb} and adv. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Chs. Stf Der. Not. Lin. Nhp. War. Wor. Also
e.An. Dev. Also in form pesh w.Yks. Not. [paj, pej.]
1. V. To smash, shatter, break in fragments ; to dash or
throw down violently ; to knock, strike, bruise. Cf bash,
v.^ ; see Posh, sb.^ 3.
Fif. Some pash'd at ance the pow to powther, Tennant Papistry
(1827) 93. N.Cy.l Nhb.i ' Pash ' is to dash, smash, bruise — and
both ' pash ' and ' mash ' are applied to substances that have been
pounded and mixed to a pasty condition. Cnm.^; Cum.3 They
sunk 'em full't wi' leed i' flake, they pash't 'em deep i' clay, 99 ;
Cum." n.Yks. He pashed their sides in (I.W.); n.Yks.12*
ne.Yks.i They pash'd it all i' bits. m.Yks.i To ' pash ' a thing is
not necessarily to cause it to break, but to hurl or dash it violently,
from a short distance. To ' pash at ' a door, is to dash against it
violently, with the body, or the whole of the foot. w.Yks.
Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; He pashed that down in a tantrum,^''. <Sr> Q.
(1877) 5th S. viii. 298 ; w.Yks.' He wod a . . . maad her spang
whew him owert' waw, and pash'd an bray'd his harnes out, ii.
303 ; w.Yks.^* n.Lan. He pash'd it i' pieces again t'wo' (G.W.).
ne.Lan.i, Stf.' Nhp.i Pash it about. War.= Common. e.An.'^
2. To Stir or poke a fire.
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl, (May 31, 1886) 8. m.Lan.' Pashin'
at a fire meeans peylin' id.
3. Of rain or water : to come down suddenly and heavily ;
to gush out.
Lakel.2 It com doon in a reg'Iar pell ; it fair pash'd doon.
War.2 The water was pashing out of the broken spout. s.Wor.
The rahin come a palin' an' a pashin' agin the windahs (H.K.).
Hence Pashing, ppl. adj. beating, dashing.
Cnm.i A pashan shooer, a heavy and sudden pash. w.Yks.
Mennya one al wish at sun ad cum or pashin' rain, Tom Treddle-
HOYLE Bairnsla Ann. (1847) 12.
4. To walk quickly ; to hurry, rush ; to force one's way
through a crowd. Also with about.
Wm. Tom Hebblethwayte first com pashen doon t'road. White-
head iff. (1859) 63, ed. 1896. n.Yks.'; n.Yks.^ ' Pash in amang
'em,' rush into the crowd, m.Yks,' To 'pash about' is to rave
PASH
[431]
PASS
about ; to ' pash out ' at a door, is to dash out. w.Yks. (R.H. H.) ;
■w.Yks.i Let's pash away, or neet '11 be on us. I . . . pashes afoar
her, ii. 288. n.Lan. He pashes about like a mad fella (G.W.).
5. To walk, trudge about ; to walk heavily.
m.Yks.i To pash upstairs or down is to stamp heavily in walking,
but does not necessarily imply rapid walking. w.Yks.i He's oUas
pashing about ; w.Yks.^, ne.Lan.^
6. With at : see below.
m.Yks.i A woman pashes at another with her tongue, in an on-
slaught of abuse.
7. sb. A crash, smash ; a heavy fall or collision ; a blow.
Wm. Amang o' t'pash ov knives an forks Bet varra lile wes sed,
Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii. 38. n.Yks.i Ah fell doon wiv a pash ;
ii.yks.23 ; n.Yks.* T'chimley cam doon wi' sikan a pash. e.Yks.^
w.Yks. HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781) ; w.Yks.i I fell wi sike a pash ;
w.Yks.5, Lan.^
8. The fragments produced by a smash ; a great many,
a great number.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) 5«/i/i/. ; (Hall.) Dut. In Weardale and the
neighbourhood, it was applied to a great number of anything : ' a
pash of birds,' a large flock; ' a pash of potatoes,' &c., N. O" Q.
(1877) 5th S. viii. 179. n.Yks.'
9. A sudden rush or flow of water ; a gush.
I,an.DAViEs/?«c«5 (1856) 237. e.Lan.^ Chs.i 'A pash o' tears.'
If a rain-tub burst, the water would come out ' wi' a reglar pash.'
s.Chs.i Ahy nokt spig-ut aayt vi)th ree-n-tilb, un)th wai'tflr ktim
aayt sich' ii paash", dhun ahy kiid skais gy'er it in iigy'en'. Dev.
The water came down with such a pash, Reports Provinc. (1883) 90.
10. A sudden or heavy fall of rain or snow.
Nhb.i Dur. Mony a thunner pash it's been oot in, Egglestone
Betty Podkins' Lett. (1877) 13 ; Dur.^ ' Thunner pash,' a heavy fall
of rain, accompanied by thunder. Cum. Hout tout ! what's the
gude of praying for moderate rain and shooers? What we want
is a gude even-doon pash ! N.& Q. (1877) sth S. viii. 397 ; Cum.i
' Here's a wet day, John. . . Will it continue ? ' ' Nay, it may be a
bit of a splash, bit it willn't be a girt pash ' ; Cum.*, Wm. (B.K.)
luYks. It com a gurt thunner-pash (T.K.) ; n.Yks."^ ; n.Yks.* 'A
pash o' wet,' a sluice of rain ; n.Yks.^* e.Yks.' Rain com doon
in sike pashes as ommost dhroon'd us. w.Yks. (W.A.S.) ;
w.Yks.* When t'bent's snod, hask, cranchin an slaap, it's a Strang
sign of a pash ; w.Yks.^a Lan. I thought thae'd ha' bin fair sipein
after this pash, Waugh Sneck-Bant (1868) i ; Lan.i, n.Lan.*,
ne.Lan.l, Chs.*, s.Chs.* Midi. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II.
Der.2, nw.Ber.*
Hence Pashy, adj. soft, rotten, decayed ; wet, dirty,
rainy.
n.Yks. Some of theease turnips is pashy (I.W.) ; n.Yks.* Cum
awaay fra sike a pashy deed, thoo'll labber thisen all ower. w.Yks.
Fer t'weather's been pashy this spring, BlackahS«^s. (1867) 21 ;
w.Yks.* This stormy, pashy weather, ii. 355. ne.Laa.*
11. Fig. A hurry, drive.
Wm. He is always in a pash (B.K.). w.Yks. (J.W.)
12. A soft, decayed, rotten, or pulpy mass ; a state of
mud and slush ; a puddle.
N.Cy.i Nhb. Pease Tales (1899) 174; Nhb.* Cum.* 'Wet as
pash,' very wet ; Cum.* n.Yks.* ' It's a' iv a pash,' of wood
affected with dry rot ; n.Yks.* As rotten as pash ; n.Yks.* e.Yks.
Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 20; e.Yks.* m.Yks.* Not used of
every object in a state of rottenness ; nor is it in its partial use
associated with anything unbroken. A rotten apple is not ' pash '
until it is burst, exposing its state thoroughly. w.Yks. It's as soft
as pash (H.L.) ; w.Yks.^, ne.Lan.* Chs.^ That meadow's nowt
but a great pash o' wet. Not. (W.H.S.) Lin. Broken to pash,
Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 717. n.Lln.* The apples is as
rotten as pash. e.Lin. As soft as pash (G.G.W.). sw.Lin.* The
clap-post was all of a pash.
Hetjce Pash-head, sb.,fig., a simpleton, idiot, soft-headed
person.
n.Lin. If thease here pash-heads o' thine hesn't browt me miles
fo'ther than thaay'd owt, Peacock Tales (1890) 2nd S. 104.
13. An attempt, try, ' go.'
Lan. I'd hav' o pash at Piggin if e pede for garthing, Tim Bobbin
View Dial. (ed. 1806) Reader 7 ; A figurative expression meaning
' I'd have my revenge on them some way ' (S. W.).
14. adv. Phr. pash down, see below.
m.Yks.* A cart which is being tilted, at last goes ' pash down,'
conveniently, doing damage to nothing.
[1. Deth cam dryuende after and al to doust passhed
Kynges and knyjtes kayseres and popes, P. Plowman (b.)
XX. 99-100.]
PASH, si.2 Sc. Chs. [paj.] 1. The head, gen. used
in a ludicrous sense. Also \is&d fig.
Sc. ' A bare pash,' a bare or bald head (Jam.) ; Allan Ramsay, . .
referring to his double business of wigmaking and bookselling, . .
describes himself as thatching the outside and lining the inside of
' many a douce and witty pash,' Haliburton Puir Auld Scot.
(1887) 63. Rnf. You and your dead-like dormant pashes, Webster
Rhymes (1835) 105. Ayr. I soon wad crown thy witty pash,
Fisher Poems (1790) 94. Edb. Soon she crackt the curn o' brains.
Within his ramskuUed pash, Carlop Green (1793) 120, ed. 1817.
Feb. Wi' curly pash, wi' nonsense lin'd, Lintoun Green (1685) 25,
ed. 1817. Dmf. Tho' muisted is your carrot pash, Mavne Siller
Gun (1808) 66.
Hence Pashy, adj. having a good head or brain.
Rnf. Gashy Kate Macvean, pashy Kate Macvean, Clark Rhymes
(1842) 30.
2. Brains.
Chs. 'A mad pash,' a mad brain, Ray (1691); Chs.*j Chs.^
' He's moore brass till pash,' i.e. more money than brain[s].
PASHEN, see Passion.
PASHER,si5i. Cor.*2 [pae-j3(r).] A clumsy workman.
PASHIONS, sb. Obs. Yks. Chs. In phr. pashions a
life ! an exclamation of surprise.
n.Yks. Fashions a Hfe ! here'st Land-lord just at deaur, Meriton
Praise Ale (1684) 1. 477. Chs. (K.)
PASH-LEAF, sb. Pem. fpa-J-lif.] The plantain,
Plantago lanceolata. s.Pem. (W.M.M.)
PASHON., PASKEY, see Passion, Pusky.
PASMET, sb. Brks. Sur. Hmp. Wil. Som. Also
written pasmut Sur. ; and in form passment w.Som.*
[pee'smat.] A parsnip.
Brks.* Sur. Forest Tithes (1893) 79. Hmp.* Wll. Bkitton
Beauties (1825) ; Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wll.* Introd. 16. w.Som.*
Paa'smunt. Very com.
[For the change of final syllable cf. ' turmet,' dial, form
of turnip.']
PASPER, s^i. lObs. Sc. Samphire.
Gall. Muncraig's gurly shore, Whar pasper grows, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 84, ed. 1876; Pasper, samphire, when taken and
eaten green from the heuchs, makes persons as hungry as a
hawk, ib.
[Ft. penepierre, a general name for most stone-breaking
herbs, but chiefly, for those which we call Saxifrage, and
Samphire (Cotgr.) ; cp. Joret Flore Populaire (1887) 321.]
PASPEY, sb. Cai. (Jam.) A particular kind of dance,
danced at Strathmore.
[Fr. passe-pied, a caper or lofty trick in dancing ; also a
kind of dance, peculiar to the youth of La haute Bretaigne
(CoTGR.).]
PASS, V. and- sb} Var. dial, uses in Sc. Eng. and
Amer. [pas, pas.] 1. v. In phr. (i) to pass off, to
spend ; to pass ; (2) — one fair, see below ; (3) — one^s
skill, to try or prove one's skill ; (4) — the time of day, to
salute in passing, to exchange a few words with.
(i) Abd. Pass aff the time till the evening grew dark, Anderson
Rhymes (ed. 1867) 9. (2) n.Yks. Pass him fair [speak kindly to
him, not to tell him your suspicions that he is a bad one] (I.W.).
(3) Abd. Come boys, fa' to, and pass your skill, Beattie Parings
(1801) 41, ed. 1873. (4) Edb, When ae fule meets anither, it's but
havings to pass the time o' day, Beatty Secretar (1897) 194. Nhb.
He did not pause so much as to ' pass the time o' day,' 5. Tynedale
Stud. {i8g6)iv. Cmn.* Lan. He neversomichaspassed thetimeof
day to me, Longman's Mag, (July 1896) 255. I. Ma. Smilin lek, and
noddin, whenever he was meetin the merfgettin water, you know,
at the mouth of the glen, . . and passin the time o' day. Brown
Doctor (1887) 73. s.Stf. I was in a hurry soo I merely passed the
time o' day wi' him, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Not.* s.Not. A
niverstopped to speak to'im, on'yjustpassed the time o' day (J. P.K.).
Rut.* Lei.* ' Did you know him ? ' ' Well, oon'y joost to pass the
toirae o' dee, or the loike o' that.' n.Lin.* He's that prood he won't
so much as pass th' time o' daay to a working man. War.* ' I pass'd
the time of day with her, and went on.' Common ; War.3, s.Wor.*
Glo. To meet a man and say, ' Good morning, nice day,' is to ' pass the
time of day with him,' Giebs Cotswold Vill. (1898) 85. Oxf.*
Brks. That girt, ock'erd chap, as couldn't pass the time o' day, e'
wur that shy, Cornh. Mag. (Nov. 1900) 649. Hrt. (G.H.G.), Bdf.
(J.W.B.) Ken.* I don't know the man, except just to pass the
time o' day. e.Ken. (G.G.), Sur.* n.Wil. I never said nothing to
PASS
[432]
PAST
un, 'cept to pass the time o' day (E.H.G.). Dor. 'A passed the time
ofday. 'D'ye do?' he said, says he, nodding his head, 'Afineday,'
Hardy Greenwd. Tree (1872) pt. 11. ii. w.Som.i Our Squire idn no
ways proud Hke, he do always Hke to pass the time o' day 'long
wai other one o' his vokes. Cor. To pass the time o' day wi' an
aged shaken-by-the-wind kind o' loiterer they name Uncle Issy,
' Q.' Three Ships (ed. 1892) 74. [Amer. We passed the time o' day,
an' talked a spell about the weather an' all that, Westcott David
Harum (1900) ii.]
2. Contp. (i) Pass-bye, the place in a coal-mine where
the tram-lines are ' looped ' to allow the corves to pass ;
(2) -over, (a) a term applied to a word difficult to pro-
nounce ; {b) a passing shower ; (3) -through or -thruff, a
course or passage.
(i) w.Yks. A dispute arose at the pass-bye with regard to a corve,
Yks. Even. Post (Feb. 24, 1899). (2, a) Gall. At country schools,
"when the scholars were learning to read the bulk, whenever they
came to a cramp word to pronounce, the Dominies bade them call that
apassover, and 'syne skelp awa,' Mactaggart £«cyc/. (1824) 312,
ed. 1876. (b) Wil.' ' A bit of a passover,' a mere passing shower.
(3) n.Yks.^ ' I've had a weary pass-thruff,' a troublesome lifetime.
3. To let go of a thing ; to let a thing out of one's grip ;
to remit.
So. (Jam.), Cal.i Abd. He was fined a guid roun' sum, Nor wad
his honour pass ae single groat, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 34.
4. To toll the bell at the death of a person. Also
with out.
Wor. They always pass the Cathedral bell for any one of that
kind (W.B.). s.Wor.i Send Jack up to pass-out the bell. The
bell's just passed out for ould Kester. se.Wor.i Hrf.^ Send up to
pass out the bell. Glo. Have you heard the bell pass-out ? (A.B.) ;
Glo.i ' The bell is passing out' means that the passing bell is tolling.
e.An.i On the day of the funeral, the bell is not said to be passed,
but tolled or rung. The phrase alludes (with an absurd misapplica-
tion of the word pass) to what was anciently called the passing bell,
otherwise the soul-peel, rung while the sick lay in extremity, to
admonish those who heard it to pray for the soul while it was
passing — not the bell.
5. To have or finish a meal.
s.Sc. When the meal was past the company withdrew, Swan
Aldersyde (ed. i&g'i) iu. Dev. Commonly used. ' Have you passed
AinnerV Reports Provinc. (iWi) 1^. s.Dev. I've passed tea. Have
you passed tea ? (G.E.D.)
6. To tell, report. Dev. (Hall.) 7. To avoid, pass by.
Dmf. The herds wad gang five mile aboot Tae pass this lanely
brae, Reid Poems (1894) 88.
8. To surpass ; to surprise, puzzle.
Per. It passes me hoo a body wi' sae little in him hes the face
tae open his mouth, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 179. w.Yks.
(J.W.) Lan. How hoo can gi' so raich as a thought to him — nay,
it fair passes me, Fothergill Probation (1879) vii.
9. To suit, be suitable.
Oxf.i A servant, wishing to be engaged, recommends herself by
saying, ' The people says I bee likely to pass.'
10. sb. An aisle or passage in a church.
Abd. He was going along the pass to shut the door, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) xi. Ruf. William M'^Lerie has not taken his
seat, but steps noiselessly up the ' pass,' asking kindly for each as
he slips along, Gilmour Pen-Flk. (1873) 51.
11. Condition, state, circumstances.
Dur.i n.Yks. He's cum'd ti that pass (I.W.). w.Yks. (J.W.)
Nhp.^ Things are come to a pretty pass. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
12. A centre or frame on which stones rest, in forming
an arch. w.Yks.^
PASS, sb.'' Cor.* [pass.] 1. A slap ; a beating.
2. Phr. to give a person his pass, to give him his 'quietus.'
They'll give him his pass some night or other.
PASSAGE, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Dev. Cor. 1. sb. Obs.
A ferry ; a journey by water.
Dev. (Hall.) w.Dev. Marshall ^m>-.£(:o«. (1796). Cor. The
passage . . . much haunted as the highway, Carew Survey (1602)
in Pengelly Verbal Pron. (1875) 118.
2. //. A short story ; an incident.
Ir. Laughing and cracking jokes, and telling passages, to pass
the time, Macmanus Chim. Corners (i8gg) 38. Ant. (S.A.B.)
3. V. (Dbs. To progress.
Ayr. Your steps will be steady and respected, though your
passaging be slow, Gai.t Sir A. Wylie (1822) viii.
PASSEL, see Parcel.
PASSER, sb. Yks. Midi. Rut. Lei. Nhp. War. Also
written parcer w.Yks.^ [pa'sa(r).] A gimlet. Also in
comb. Nail-passer.
w.Yks.2 Midi. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. Rut.' ' The poor
beast run a passer into his fut.' 'What! You mean a gimlet?' 'A
nail-passer we calls it, your reverence.' Lei. (Hall.), Lei.i Nhp.*
In universal use with us. War. (G.F.B.)
[Parser to bore with, persover, foret, Palsgr. (1530) ; A
parsoure, /^)/ora/e, terebellum, Cath. Angl. (1483).]
PASSERS, sb. pi. Sh.I. [pa'sarz.] A pair of com-
passes. S. & Ork.*
PASS-HEMP, sb. Obs. Hrt. A species of hemp
brought from Russia. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) V. iii.
PASSIMERE, PASSIMIRE, see Pismire, sb.^
PASSING, sb. and adv. Yks. Cor. [pa'sin.] 1. sb.
A devotional service or time spent by the neighbours in
the room of a dying person. See Pass, v. 4.
ni.Yks.i w.Yks. Similar assemblages take place at deaths, called
passings, Howitt Rur. Life (1838) I. 307 ; w.Yks.* Gangin to th'
passing.
2. adv. Extremely.
Cor. If you wasn' so passin' wet, may be I'd blurt out what
I had i' my mind, ' Q.' Three Ships (ed. 1892) 123.
PASSINGLY, adv. Obs. Sc. Occasionally; tem-
porarily.
Lnk. Not having been for several years there, but passingly,
Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) IV. 97, ed. 1828.
PASSION, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Der. Also
in forms pashen- nw.Der.* ; pashon- w.Yks.* ; peshun-
w. Yks. [pa-Jan.] 1. sb. A fit, not necessarily of anger.
Ayr. She's just been wud wi' a passion 0' haste the night, Galt
Lairds (1826) xxi.
2. Comp. Passion-dock, the bistort, Polygonum, Bistorta.
Also used attrib. See Patience-dock.
n.Cy. They make a herb-pudding with passion-dock on Good
Friday, Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1870) I. 89. w.Yks. It's called
peshun-dock puddin, Preston Musins in Yksman. (1875) 232 ;
w.Yks.* The leaves of the passion dock were a principal ingredient
in herb puddings, which were formerly made and, in some
old families, are still made, in this district, about the season of the
Passion ; and, one particular day, I have been told, on which
a pudding of this kind was an indispensable dish, was either
Good Friday, or Easter Day. nw.Der.*
3. pi. Obs. The bistort. Polygonum Bistorta. Chs.*
4. V. To excite to passion or anger.
m.Yks.* What's thou go passioning about in that way for ? thou
can make no better of it. w.Yks. Don't passion thyself, pray.
I'm not one to be passioned by him (C.C.R.).
PASSIONATE, adj. Dor. An aphetic form of ' com-
passionate.'
Master's very good to his workpeople, he's so pash'nate
(C.V.G.).
PASSIVA.TING, ppl. adj. Cor. Pursuing a headlong
course, dashing along. O'Donoghue St. Knighton (1864) Gl.
PASSIVERE, V. w.Lth. (Jam.) [Not known to our
correspondents.] To exceed.
PASSMENT, PASSY(-AND, see Pasmet, Ampersand.
PAST, s6. Nhb.* [past.] The starting-point of a race;
the line drawn in a boys' game.
' Toe the past,' toe the line.
VAST, pp., prep, and adv. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks.
Lan. Not. Hrf. Brks. [past, past.] 1. pp. and prep.
Beyond ; incapable of.
Lnk. Till ance she's mine, I'll waste an' pine, For now I'm past
baith sleep an' eatin', Rodger Poems (1838) 83, ed. 1897. Nhb.*
To be 'past oneself is used commonly to describe any distracted
condition of mind. ' Thor myekin sic a noise)aa's fair past mesel.'
e.Dur.* ' He's gone past hissel,' i.e. lunatic. Cum. T'sheun ar sae
auld, they're past mendin (E.W.P.); Cum.* A bad teuthwark's
past o' bidin' ; Cum.* n. Yks.* Used with great variety of applica-
tion. ' Past holding,' not to be held or restrained, of a horse or
other animal. ' Past digging,' of the ground— too hard, or too
foul with wicks, &c., to admit of digging; n.Yks.^ ' Putten past
a preean,' a plum, or any other delicacy, — implying, that no
temptation can induce composure ; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i It's past
owt. Ah's that fuUo' paan while it's ommost pastbahdin. cYks.*
Ah was that tired wi' walkin se far Ah was past eeatin onny
dinner. w.Yks. (J.W.), Lan. (S.W.) s.Not. It was after three,
PASTATE
[433]
PAT
and I was past my dinner. I could have eaten then, now I'm
past it (J.P.K.).
2. Comb, (i) Past all, (a) beyond all, exceeding in every-
thing, beyond all bounds; unprecedented, intolerable; (b)
so overcome with grief as to be beyond consolation ; (2)
— ordinar(e, extraordinary, out of the common.
(i , fl) Sc. (A.W.) n.Yks.i Usually in a disagreeable sense, butsome-
times simply expressive of wonder or astonishment. 'Weel, that's
past a'. I nivver beared sikan a teeal afore ' ; n.Yks.* w.Yks.^
' Her temper's past au,' i.e. ungovernable, most violent. e.Lan.i
' Fair past all,' as the tailor might say who ' stitched for nothing
and found thread.' Brks.^ The waay as a goes on be paast all
puttin' up wi'. (6) e.Yks.i Ah was past-all when mah poor lahtle
bayn deed. (2) Ayr. The Doctor is a past ordinar young man,
Galt Lairds (1826) xii; A man o' past-ordinare sense, ib.
Entail (1823) Ixiv.
3. Except, with the exception of.
Hrf. Fortunately, past a profusion of soot and water, no damage
was done, Bromyard Rec. (Dec. 9, 1897).
4. adv. In phr. to lay past, to put on one side ; to save
up or lay by ; to put away anything so carefully that the
place of it is forgotten for the time.
Edb. I'm prood to think ye're layin' past siller, Stevenson Puddin
(1894) 64. Ir. It is not to lay them past to rust, Carleton
Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) 260.
PASTATE, sb. Chs.^ [pa'stet.] A pasty, a circular
piece of paste, doubled into a half-moon shape, with
apples or other fruit inside.
PASTE, s6. Sc.Yks. Chs. Not. Lin. Lei. [pest, peast]
1. Dough, esp. dough for pie-crusts, &c. ; the pastry part
of a pie or pudding, whether cooked or uncooked.
Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks.i2 w.Yks. Sheffield Indep. (1874). Chs.l,
n.Lin.l
2. Comp. (i) Paste-board, a baking-board, a board on
which cakes, &c., are made ; (2) -pin, a rolling-pin.
(i) n.Yks. Get t'peeast-booard, an' mack a keeak (I.W.). (2)
w.Yks.2, Not.i, Lel.i
_ 3. Phr. to make paste, said of a cat when it kneads with
its fore-feet preparatory to going to sleep. n.Lin.^
PASTE, V. Midi. War. Lon. Aus. Also in form paast
Midi, [pest.] To beat, thrash ; to strike on the face. Cf.
baste.
Midi. Oi paasted he, till he couldn't see oot on his eyes,
Bartram People of Clapton (1897) 204. War.23
Hence Pasting-, sb. a thrashing, beating.
Lon. He stepped up to me and gave me a regular pasting,
Mayhew Lond. Labour {1851) I. 415. [Aus. I'll give that round
face of yours such a pasting that they will not know you . . . when
you go home, Boldrewood Colon. Reformer (1890) II. xvi.]
PASTE-EGG, see Pace-egg.
PASTICUMP, sb. Lin. [pa-stikump.] A shoe-
maker's wax or heel-ball. (Hall.), Lin."^
PASTIE, sb. Nhb.i [pa'sti.] A slang term for
the hand.
PASTIME, sb. Sus. Hmp. Also written passtime
Sus.^ [pae'staim.] 1. An occupation that makes the
time pass well.
Sus.^ I likes evening school, 'tis such a pastime. Hmp. We
won't say anything more about the child's pastime ; just leave it,
mother ; I have promised that it shall take no hurt, Cornh. Mag.
(1868) XVIII. 459.
2. A period of time that has elapsed.
Sus.i He mustn't expect to get well all in a minute. I tell him
there's no passtime for that yet.
PASTRE, s6. N.L^ [pa-star.] The pastern of a horse.
PASTURE, sb. Cum. Yks. Cor. Also written paster
n.Yks. 1. See below.
Cnm.i" Paas'tthu'r'. In the mv. of the county the open
commons were all distinguished by this term, and the lands since
enclosed from the commons still retain the name.
2. Comp. (i) Paster -day, May 13 ; see below ; (2) Pas-
ture-turnip, the yellow or white-fleshed turnip as opposed
to the swede.
('i) n.Yks. ' Er ya gahin to breck yon Paster seun.' ' Na',
bigow, A mooant ; it mun be freed a bit langer. Onyhoo till
Pasterday,' i.e. the 13th of May (W.H.). (2) Cor.3, w.Cor.
(M.H.H.)
VOL. IV.
PASTY, sb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Lin. Cor. [pa'sti.]
1. A small pie or tart, containing either fruit, jam, meat,
&c., baked without a dish ; see below.
Cum.* A pasty consists of two layers of pastry of a varying
quality, between which is placed apples, gooseberries, &c., and
baked in the oven (s.v. Cakes). w.Yks. A pie made without
a dish, with the pastry rolled round the fruit or meat (S.P.U.).
ne.Lan. I baked thee a pasty, Mather Idylls (1895) 303. sw.Lin.^
Pastry with jam inside, a sort of heavy puff which children often
bring to school for their dinners. ' She'd gotten a pasty in her
hand, and tumbled flat of her back in the dyke.' Cor. Munching
his daily pasty with infinite content, holding the lower half in
a bag or piece of newspaper whilst he works away at the upper
end, Hammond ParaA (1897) 347; Cor.' A meat and potatoe or
fruit turnover ; Cor.^ A small pie of crust raised without a dish.
2. The division of an orange.
Cor. From the likeness to the shape of the Cornish pasty baked
without a dish, N. tf Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 297 ; Hammond Parish
(1897) 347.
3. Comp. Pasty-nut, a brazil nut. Cor. Hammond ib.
PASTY, adj. Sc. Yks. Not. Lin. Nhp. "War. Hnt. Cor.
Also written paisty w.Yks.* [pe'sti.] 1. Pale, sallow,
resembling paste or dough. Cf doughy, 3.
Sc. (A.W.) w.Yks.' He's pasty, or has a paisty look. n.Lin.iHe
looks that paasty, it'smyopinion he'ssumsoortona illness cumin'on.
How paasty-faaced she looks ; not a bit o' culer in her cheeks.
Nhp.i She has a pasty look. War.^, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Cor. You'm
so pasty an' round-eyed, as if you'd bin piskey-led somewheers,
Phillpotts Lying Prophets (1897) 120.
2. Swollen, puffed ; flabby.
s.Not. A've got a pasty 'and ; wi' a wasp sting (J.P.K.). War.^
PASTY-FOOT, si. Yks. [pa-sti-fuit.] A ghost, demon j
a tramp. w.Yks. Hlfx. Courier (May 29, 1897).
PAT, sb.^ sw.Lin.* [pat.] The soft part of a pig's
foot, not the horny part.
The gilt has laid on its hind pats, and laemt it.
[Fr. paite, the paw or foot of a beast (Cotgr.).]
PAT, s6.^ ? Obs. Sus.' [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] A hog-trough.
PAT, V. and sb.^ Sc. Lan. Lin. Nhp. Oxf Brks. e.An.
Som. [pat, paet.] 1. v. In comb, (i) Pat aback, a
game. n.Lin.' ; (2) -ball, a child's name for a ball ; a
game of ball. Oxf.' MS. add., Brks.' ; (3) -ball base, a
game of ' base-ball.' Oxf MS. add. 2. To beat ; to hit
frequently ; to make a succession of quick, sharp strokes
or sounds. Also ns&AJig.
Gall. To see the lass amang the clover, And gart his heart aye
thump and pat, Nicholson Pof<. Wks. (1814") 43, ed. 1897. Lan.
Oych morn, when th' pattin' ov his clogs Maks music close to th'
cottage winder, Mellor Poems (1864) 11. Nhp.' (s.v. Patter).
3. sb. A blow, a stroke. Also in phr. a pat on the poll,
see below.
Nrf.i Suf.' 'A pat i' the head,' is sometimes a serious matter.
It is more especially the punishment inflicted by a pedagogue on
the palm of unruly boys. w.Som.' A blow such as would dislocate -
the neck. Hares and rabbits when caught living are always
killed by a ' pat on the poll.'
PAT, adj. In gen. dial, and coUoq. use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [pat, past.] 1. Fit, proper, appropriate ; ready,
fluent, perfect, accurate. Also in comb. Pat-off. Also
used advb.
Abd. It's pat to the story I mean to relate, Cadenhead Bon-
Accord (1853) 264. Per. What pity friends, so pat and fain.
Should ever meet to part again ! Spence Poems (1898) 89. Gall.
[He] tauld his erran' pat and plain, Nicholson Po«^ Wks. (1814)
62, ed. 1897. Ir. The saying, 'As pat as thievin' to a tinker,' is
probably quoted among us as frequently as any other. Barlow
Lisconnel (1895) 12. Dur.' Lakel.^ It's as pat on thi tongue as
owt, is that silly tial. Cum. He hez his tasks off pat (E.W.P.) ;
Cum.* n.Yks. This clash'd on ma a bit ; Deame had gotten it
seea pat an' plain, Fetherston Smuggins Fam. 40. e.Yks.
Ray (1691). w.Yks. Pat to the purpose, Thoresby Lett. (1703) ;
As pat as a dinner o' broth (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.''^ i.Ma. He had
them pat. Brown Doctor (1887) 15. Der.^, nw.Der.' n.Lin.' He's
straange an' pat wi' his lessins. Nhp.' ' It came in very pat,' i.e.
very apropos. War.3 He said his lessons pat off to-day. Oxf.
He told me the whole yarn as pat as you like (G C). Brks.'
When I taxt 'un wi' 't a tawld muh a lie pat. Sur. (L.J.Y.)
3K
PAT
[434]
PATHERISH
CoUoq. Alas, no Captain of the Tenth To stop my steed came pat,
Hood Poems (1862-3) There's no Romance.
2. Pleased, pleasant.
Lnk. Ne'er saw I her couthie face look snugger or mair pat,
Than then it did that nicht, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 60.
PAT, see Pate, sb}. Pot, sb}
PATAGUED, pp. Nhp.i A mispronunciation of
' fatigued.'
PATAGUEINGj^i/i/.afi^'. Niip.^ Tiresome, provoking ;
a mispronunciation of ' fatiguing.'
PATCH, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in form potch Glo. [patj, psetj.] 1. sb. In phr.
not a patch on, or upon, or to, very inferior to, not to be
compared to. In gen. slang use.
N.I.i, n.Cy. (J.W.) Nhb. His son Jem is na a patch on him,
Graham Red Scaur (1896) 293. Yks., Midi. (J.W.) Hrf.2 Young
squire aint a patch on the old un. s.Pem. He's not a patch to 'n
(W.M.M.). Mid. The best liqueur you ever nosed is not a patch
upon it, Blackmore Kit (1890) H. vi. Sora. Bristol eggs an'
butter, them aren't a patch on our Pedkitt ones for freshness !
Leith Lemon Verbena (1895) 123. w.Som.i So good man's his
father? I tell 'ee he idn a patch [paa-ch] 'pon th' old man. Cor.
There was no one a patch 'pon 'en but the Dane, ' Q.' Ship of
Stars (1899) 226. Slang. Of course, it was not a patch on Vaux-
hall for any manner of means. Standard (Sept. 11, 1888).
2. The large pieces of sacking used as carpets in cottages.
Glo.i 3. A child's clout. Glo.', w.Cy. (Hall.) 4. A
garden bed or plot; a small quantityof any growing crop.
Also in camp. Garden-patch.
So. (A.W.) Chs.i A patch o' wheat ; a patch 0' potatoes. Glo. I'd's
vine a potch o' tasters 's a mon 'ud wish to zee, Buckman Darke's
So;o«w (1890) xiii ; Glo.^ n.Wil. ' Wur's Bill! ' ' Ow out on the
gar'n patch ' (E.H.G.).
5. A small grass-field, gen. lying contiguous to the house.
Shr.i Tell Yedart to fatch the mar' up out o' the patch — the
Maister wants 'er to g06 to the far.
6. A sand-bank. Wxf 7. The stone of fruit.
Dev. (Hall.) n.Dev. Oh, lawks ! I've trad upon a patch, Rock
Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 29.
8. Fig. A term of contempt; an ill-natured, disobliging
person, a 'cross-patch' (q.v.).
Ant. As ugly as need be, the dark little patch, O'Neill Glens
(■1900)50. w.Yks.s A mischievous child. Midi. (J.R.W.) e.Sns.
Used chiefly by young girls towards each other, Holloway.
9. V. Phr. to patch and dautch, to mend clothes ; also
usedy?^.
Chs.i Eh dear, missis ! how oo'l patch an' oo'l dautch an' oo'l
powler for them childer. s.Chs.' Ahy mi wae-r mahy fingg-urz
Id dhu boa-n paach'in tin dau-chin fur dhem grae-t, big tae-rbaags
n laad'z.
10. With upon : to impute blame rashly or wrongfully.
e.An.'-He patched it upon me, who knew nothing of the matter.
Nrf.i
11. To pelt with eggs.
e.Yks.i Esp. on May 29th, those who have not any oak-twig in
their hats. ' Let's patch him, he hesn't onny royal oak aboot him
— he's a Papish.'
PATCHEL, V. Nhp.i [pa'tjl.] To mend clothes.
PATCH-HOOK, sb. nw.Dev.' Cor.^' A bill-hook.
PATCHMAN, sb. Wm. A body-snatcher.
This Patchman scare was very strong in Kendal at that time,
Remin. Persons and Places (1890) 32.
PATCHY, arf/'. Brks. Hmp. [pae-t^i.] Cross, irritable,
testy, uncertain in temper.
Brks.i Hmp. (W.M.E.F.) ; Said of people who proverbially
' blow hot and cold,' Wise New Forest ( 1883) 284 ; Hmp.i
PATE, sb} Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Der. Suf Sus.
Hmp. Also in forms paate Wm. ; pat Abd. Ayr. ; peeat
n.Yks.^; pyte Nhb. [pet, peat, piat.] 1. The head.
Abd. Wi' powder'd pats; The auld blue Bonnet's laid aside,
They maun ha'e Hats, Cock Strains (1810) I. 136. Dmb. His
faithfu' heart and thoughtfu' pate, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 42.
Ayr. r the ha' right lang he sat Amang the servants, wi' bare pat,
Fisher Poems (1790) 71. Edb. Fu' dull indeed maun be the pate
That can in peace lie still, M^Dowall Poems (1839) 41. Nhb. The
pouther'd pyte is often shallow, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 36.
Cum. Bluidy pates they gat, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 14. Wm.
My addle paate, Hutton Bran New IVark (1785) 1. 88. n.Yks.2,
m.Yks.i' w.Yks. Wi' body bent, and snowy pate, Hartley Ditt.
(c. 1873) 7. Der.2 I'll crack thy pate for thee. nw.Der.', Suf.*
Sus., Hmp. Used gen. in a ludicrous sense, Holloway. [Ray
(1691) ; Grose (1790).]
2. Comp. (i) Pate-head, a silly, senseless person; (2)
-sore, crazy.
(i) Lakel.2 Thoo's a gurt daft pate-heed ta punch a peur hen ta
deeth fer skratten a bit o' muck up. (2) n.Yks.^
PATE, sb.^ n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also written
pait n.Cy. Nhb.' e.Yks. [pet, peat.] A badger.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.i^ Nhb. To Anthony Sewertis for 3
paite heades is. (>d., Ryton Church Bks. (1649) ; Nhb.* Obs.
Cma., "Wm. YY.TI.GVSO-S Northmen (1856) igo. n.Yks.^ nw.Yks.
We saw it was a pate and ah seaan catched it (R.H.H.). e.Yks.
Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). m.Yks.* w.Yks. Brocks, old
name for badgers or pates, Yks. N. £?" Q. (1888) II. 16 ; The pate
has long been extinct in Nidderdale, Lucas Stud. Nidderdale{c. 1882)
Inlrod. 22 ; w.Yks.'
PATE, sb.^ w.Yks.= [peat.] Prating, chatter.
' Hod thee paate !' is the rebuke given to a prating child.
[Cp. Dan. pjatte, to prate, chatter (Larsen).]
PATE, sb.* Sh.I. Also written paet. The piece of
ground dug or turned over at one time by the joint effort
of the workers.
We delled ower da last pate aboot sax o'clock — dat wis a piece
n' tatties, Stewart Tales (1892) 249 ; In Shetland the ground is
cultivated by digging or delving, several persons working together
(J.S.).
PATE, adj. Dev. [Not known to our correspondents.]
Weak and sickly. n.Dev. (Hall.)
PATEN(E-CUT, sb. n.Cy. Nhb. Tobacco cut up and
prepared for smoking ; lit. patent cut.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Nhb. She fills maw pipe wi' paten' cut, Wilson
Pitman's Pay (1843) 13.
PATENT, sb.- Chs. Wal. 1. In comb. Patent butter,
salt-making term : very fine heavy boiled salt, made in
circular pans with movable scrapers and other ' patent '
apparatus. Chs.' 2. A slate 2 feet 6 inches by 2 feet in
size. Wal. Stuart Architecture, II. 7.
PATER, PATERISH, see Palter, Peter, Patherish.
PATES, sb. pi. Obs. Sc. The steps at the corner of
the roofs in houses, for the easier climbing to the top.
Rnf. The garse . . . Hang wavan, shaggy, frae the pates, Picken
Poems (1788) 181 (Jam.). Rnf., Ayr. (Jam.)
PATH, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Also Dev. Also in form
peth Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.' Nhb.' [pab, pejj.] 1. In comp.
Path-field, a field-path ; a field with a path through it.
Dev. Gardener telling the story of a pedlar who was murdered.
' His ghost sits on the stile down by the pathfield,' Reports Provinc.
(1889).
2. A steep and narrow way ; a footpath on an acclivity ;
a wooded glen.
Sc. A peth is a road up a steep brae, but is not necessarily to be
understood to be a narrow or foot path. On the contrary, that the
most of peths are on public roads, as Kirkliston peth, on the high-
way between Edinburgh and Linlithgow (Jam. ). Bwk, And ere
he got far down the peth, The storm was like to stop his breath,
Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 165. N.Cy.i, Nhb.* Dur. It
occurs ... in Ragpeth, a wood near Flass ; in Brancepeth, five
miles from Durham, . . and locally as a detached word. Thus I
was told . . . that a fatal accident had occurred to a person ' going
down the peth,' a hollow wooded part of the road, N. & Q. (1855)
ist S. xii. 74.
Hence Pathlins, adv., obs., by a steep declivity.
Abd. On a high brae head she lands at last, That down to a how
burnie pathlins past, Ross Helenore (1768) 66, ed. 1812.
3. A Roman road ; gen. in place-names.
s.Cy. Used as a synonym with ridge, way, and edge, . . as in
Harepath or Herapath ; a military way, Bagpath, Reelpath,
N. Ej- Q. (1855) ist S. xii. 150.
4. Fig. Life's way, the world.
Per. The Peth's the richer for your towl, An' nane the puirer
for your verses, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 51.
FATHER- ANAVVY, see Pattheranavy.
PATHERISH, adj. Sus. Also in form paterish.
[pe'tSariJ.] Of sheep : affected with water on the brain,
silly, giddy. See Potherish.
The disorders that attack [ewes] are the red-water, and being
paterish, which last disease is never cured. Young Annals Agric.
PATHERY
[435]
PATTER
(1784-1815) XXII. 225 ; A paterish sheep appears totally deprived
of its senses, and is continually turning round instead of forward.
This disorder is occasioned by a bladder of water that surrounds
the brain, Reports Agric. (1793-1813) 64; (E.H.G.); Sus.^
PATHERY, adj. Sus.^ Of sheep : having water on
the brain, silly. See Pothery.
PATIENATE, adj. Hrf.i^ Nfld. (G.P.) [pi-Janst,
pse'Janat.] Patient, long-suffering.
PATIENCE, s6. Sc. Nrf. 1. In phr. ma/ifl&we, used
as an expletive or mild oath.
Lnk. Ma patience, that beats a' ! Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 33.
2. Used as a plural in phr. a good many patience, see below.
Nrf. One wants a good many patience to put up with such goings
on, Arch. (1879) VIII. 172.
PATIENCE-DOCK, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der.
Also in forms patient- Chs.^ nw.Der.^ ; payshun- Lan.^ ;
peyshen- e.Lan.' The bistort, Polygonum Bistorta. See
Passion, 2.
n.Cy. A corruption of the old name Passions, because eaten at
Passion-tide (B. & H.). Lan. I'm goin' down ... for a burn o'
Payshun-docks 'at I laft last neet, Waugh Chim. Comer (1874)
120, ed. 1879 ; An aw went wi hur o getherin payshun docks, an
daisys, Abrum 0' Flup's Quortin' (1886) 11 ; Lan.i, e.Lan.i Chs.
In Chs. the edible qualities of the plant are well known, but it is
there called ' patient dock,' Science Gossip (1865) 36 ; Chs.^,
nw.Der.^
Hence Patience-dock-pudding, sb. a pudding or haggis
of herbs, the principal ingredient being ' Patience-dock.'
e.Lan.^
PATIENT, sb. Obs. Sc. In phr. a patient of death, a
death-throe, death agony.
He streek't himsell 1' the patients o' dead Wi' mony a waesome
main, Edb. Mag. (May 1820) (Jam.).
PATIENTABLE, a^C/'. Dev. [pe-Jantsbl.] Patient.
It's a mercy you'm sech a patentable sort, 'Anner, CasselVs
Fam. Mag. (Apr. 1895) 333 ; Dev.^
PATIENTFULL, adj. Obs. or obsol. Sc. n.Cy. Very
patient ; waiting with patience.
Edb. Be unco patientfu' and humble. Nor mak din, Fergusson
Poems (1773) 152, ed. 1785. n.Cy. Border G!. {Coll. L.L.B.)
PA'TILER, sb. Wor. A small wooden spade used to
push back apple-must in the cider-trough. s.Wor. (H.K.)
PATISING, prp. Dev. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Splashing in water. (Hall.)
PATLE, PATLET, PATRICK, see Pattle, v., Partlet,
Partridge.
PATRICKMAS, sb. Irel. St. Patrick's day.
Don. It's now eighteen years again' Patrickmas since we were
made man and wife, Macmanus Chim. Comers (1899) 189.
PATRON, sb?- Irel. Also in forms pattern, pathern,
patthern. [pa'tarn, pa'jjsrn.] A fair in honour of a
' patron ' saint.
Ir. A boy that was likely at a future period to be able to walk
over the course of the parish, in fair, market, or patron, Carleton
Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 185. w.Ir. At patthern, or fair, or the
dance, . . Kishogue was the flower o' the flock. Lover Ze^. (1848)
II. 472 ; There has not been a finer day this season, if so be it will
last till his reverence comes next week for the pathern. Lawless
Grania (1892) I. pt. i. vi. Wkl. Formerly a large patron was
held here on May day ; but on account of the fights they engen-
dered this and the other patrons in co. Wicklow were done away
with, Flk-LoreRec. (1881) IV. 118. s.Ir. As likely ayoung man as
ever shook his brogue at a patron, Croker Leg. (1862) gi ; The
most extraordinary sight I ever witnessed was at the fair or
' pattern,' Paddiana (ed. 1848) I. 243.
PATRON, sb.^ Sc. Irel. Yks. Lan. I.Ma. Lin. Cmb.
Ess. Also written patterin I.Ma. ; pattren w.Yks.^ ;
pattron Ir. e.Lan.^ Ess. [pa-tran.] A dial, form of
' pattern,' sb.^ (q-v.)
Sc. Scotch ladies dressed in articles of apparel, the patron
[patrone] of which at least was imported from France, Francisque-
MiCHEL Lang. (1882) 71. Fif. An example and patron of guid and
godlie order to uther nationnes, Melvill Autobiog. (1610) 114,
ed. 1842. Ir. One of them blue-and-white pattron, wid the plain
black figures, Barlow Idylls (1892) ii. w.Yks.s, e.Lan.i i.Ma.
You're a beautiful patterin of a gentleman, Brown Doctor (iffgi)
206. n.Lin.' Th' manty-maaker hes a book wi' a patron o' a new
soort on a collar in it. Cmb. Peacock Gl. (1889). Ess. (S.P.H.)
PATROON, 56. Obs. Wxf.^ A patron or saint's day.
PATT, sb. Obs. Dor. A crab. Haynes Voc. (c. 1730)
in N. &> Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 45.
PATTED,//. Yks. Dev. [pa-tad, pas'tid.] 1. Marked
by the feet.
w.Yks.2 The ground is said to be patted by a hare's feet.
2. With in: said of a rash on the skin that has dis-
appeared before its time. Dev. Reports Provinc. (1893).
PATTEL, see Pattle, v.
PATTEN, sb. and v.^ In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng.
Also written paton Slg. ; pattin Lan. [pa'tan, pas-tan.]
1. sb. Obsol. A kind of clog or wooden overshoe, resting
on an iron oval ring, so keeping the foot from two to three
inches from the ground ; worn by women to keep their
feet dry. Cf. clog, sb.^ 4.
Slg. Sae sweet, sae clean, she wa'ks on patons, Galloway Poems
(1806)24. Lnk. The wood [of ^/««s ^/wrfKosa] is used for clogs
and pattens, Patrick Plants (1831) 346. Cum. But pattens, tho'
they're aften plenty. Are aye laid down wi' feet fu' tenty, Fer-
guson Plainstanes, 16. Wm. (B.K.) Yks. The Lan. clog and the
Yks. patten are not alike. The former is simply shod with iron ;
but the wooden sole of the patten is raised above the subjacent
elliptical iron on which it is supported. The wooden sole of the
clog touches the ground ; that of the patten does not, N. ^^ Q.
(1898) 9th S. i. 413. w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. They tak' a pride in
puttin' pattins on, an' makin' a clatter. Lake Longleat (1870) II.
viii. Der. Pattens are . . . another article of foot-gear for women,
and intended to enable them to go about in wet weather with dry
feet, and to ' slosh,' 'slush,' and ' swill ' indoors and out when en-
gaged in the weekly thorough cleaning-up. They consist simply
of a wooden sole with a piece of leather nailed on each side so as
to form a bow, into which the woman pushes her shod foot as far
as the instep, the bow holding the patten in position. Under-
neath in the centre of the sole, is an iron ring on two short
columns passed through the sole, and clinched on the upper part.
This raises the sole about two inches from the ground. In these
all women in my young days patted about their household work,
TV. & Q. (1898) 9th S. ii. 95. Lin."- n.Lin.i Crippled men who
have one leg shorter than the other frequently wear one patten.
War.3, Brks.i, Suf. (H.S.H.), e.Ken. (G.G.) Dor. Two or three
women in pattens brought up the rear, Hardy Madding Crowd
(1874) ix. w.Som.i Usually ' a pair o' pattens.' Now only to be
found in out-of-the-way places and on the stage. nw.Dev.^ Still in
common use. Cor. N. &' Q. (1898) 9th S. ii. 334.
2. Phr. (i) pattens and clogs, (a) the bird's-foot trefoil,
Lotus comiculaius ; (b) the yellow toad-flax, Linaria vul-
garis ; (2) as awkward as or as cockelty as a cat in pattens,
very awkward, clumsy, making a great noise ; (3) as like
as two pattens, as like as two peas ; (4) like a cat in pattens,
see (2) ; (5) to have pattens on, said of a horse when he
strikes the hind agamst the fore shoe.
(i, a) Glo.i Sus.' Also called ' pigs'-pettitoes,' and 'ladies'
fingers.' [Called by country children ' lady's-slipper ' and ' pattens-
and clogs,' Girts Own Paper (Aug. 1882) 694.] (6) Sus. (B. & H.)
(2) w.Yks. (F.L.), s.Not. (C.C.B.) (3) w.Yks. There is a country
simile . . . ' as like as two pattens.' Pattens . . . are not rights
and lefts, but adapted to either foot indifferently; they are in
appearance indistinguishable, N. If Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 191. (4)
Wm. (B.K.) (5) Nhp.i ' Poker and tongs' is sometimes used to
indicate the same action.
3. pi. Wooden skates.
Lin. Skates, still called by fen-men, pattens, Miller & Skertchly
Fenland (1878) vi. e.Lin. Commonly used (G.G.W.). Cmb.
KiNGSLEY Alton Locke (1850) xii.
4. pi. Stilts. Nrf (Hall.) 5. v. To skate. Cmb.
KiNGSLEY Alton Locke (1850) xii.
PATTEN, v.^ e.Yks.^ [pa'tan.] To mix or associate
with.
PATTER, v} and sb.^ Sc. Irel. Cum. Yks. Chs. Nhp.
Shr. e.An. Also in forms pather s.Chs.' Shr.^; paiter
Ayr. (Jam.); pedder n.Yks.^ [pa-ta(r, pa-&(r).] 1. v.
To beat with light, rapid strokes ; to fall in hasty, repeated
drops ; to pour with rain, hail, &c.
Sc. (Jam.) Cum.i It patters and rains ; Cum.* A stone thrown
in can be heard pattering as it descends. n.Yks.^ ' It pedder'd
away,' it poured of rain. Nhp.i The acorns . . . Fall pattering
down the tree, Clare MS. Poems.
3K2
PATTER
[436]
PATTLE
Hence (i) Patter, adv. with a quick succession of sharp
strokes ; (2) Pattering, ppl. adj. falling in hasty, repeated
drops, producing a quick succession of small sounds ; (3)
Patterings, (4) Patterments, sb. pi. the splashing of rain-
drops.
(i ) Bnff.* (2) Nhp. The pattering bushes hung with dew, Clare
Vill. Minstrel (1821) I. 55 ; Nhp.i (3, 4) n.Yks.2
2. With off: to be driven from work in. a stone-pit, by
reason of the falling rubbish.
w.Yks. Thah's bin rained off, snown off, blown off, an' frozen
off, nah thah's pattered off, arta ? It's 0' reight, lad, if thah wants
ta laik, laik, but dooant come wi' nooa patterin tale abaht it (B.K.).
3. To walk, go ; to walk briskly ; to walk with quick,
short steps.
Sc. (Jam.) Ir. Little old Mrs. Kilfoyle, too, might for many
years be met pattering along, Barlow /rfy//s (1892) 165. n.Yks.^
s.Chs.' Ah tuwd im ah)d shif-t im iv ey wo)nu paadh urin of.
Hence (i) Patter, adv. with quick, short, sharp-sounding
step ; (2) Patter-patter, v. to walk in and out constantly ;
to fidget about.
(i) Bnff.i (2) w.Sc, Ayr. He has just paiter-paitered out and
in a' day (Jam.).
4. To tread down ; to trample under foot.
Bnif.i The sheep pattert a' the grun intil ae puddle o' clay. Cld.,
Lth. To patter the grass (Jam.). n.Yks.i To flatten or beat down
with frequent footsteps ; as newly-tilled soil, snow, &c. ; n.Yks.*,
m.Yks."^ Shr.i Fathered the snow down i' the foud.
5. To walk through the dirt or with dirty boots over a
clean floor. s.Chs.'^ Hence (i) Pattered, ppl. adj. of a floor,
&c. : soiled with wet footmarks. n.Yks.^ ; (2) Patterings,
(3) Patterments, sb. pi. footprints ; the marks of feet in
light soil, &c. n.Yks.''^ 6. To fidget ; to shuffle about on
the feet uneasily. Shr.' 7. To walk in stockings without
boots. s.Chs.i Dii)nil goa' paadh'tirin i yilr stok-in feyt.
8. To move lightly over a surface, scarcely touching it, as
an insect does. Shr.i A fly patherin' about the child's face.
9. sb. The act of striking or beating with a succession
of quick sounds and with a light, rapid stroke.
Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.i The patter o' the hail o' the window wau-
kent me.
10. A schoolmaster's ferula or cane. See Pat, v. 2.
Nrf.i Custard, the pat on the hand inflicted by a schoolmaster's
ferula or patter, 538. Suf.i The pat on the palm of the hand,
inflicted by the pedagogue with an implement called a patter (s.v.
Custard).
11. The act of walking with a quick, short, noisy step.
Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.i 12. Dirty footmarks ; a thoroughly
trodden down state, all over footprints.
m.Yks.i It's all patter. It's patter now; it will be blather to-
morn [It will be soft puddle to-morrow], s.Chs.i Ah aad- bu just
got-n mi bongk streyt ; un naay ah)v au- dhis mes un paadh-ur tu
kleeiin iip. So in the phr. ' aw of a pather.'
Hence Pathery, adj. dirty with footmarks. s.Chs.^
PATTER, z;.2 and sb? Sc. Yks. Lon. Slang, [pa-tafr,
pffi-t3(r).] 1. V. To talk incessantly ; to speak hastily ;
to talk, esp. to talk as a showman, Cheap Jack, &c. does
in showing off his wares, &c.
Sc. Your characters . . . make too much use of the gob box ; they
patter too much, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) Introd. 19. w.Yks.'
Lon. The patterers consist of three distinct classes ; viz., those who
sell something, and patter to help off their goods ; those who
exhibit something, and patter to help off the show ; and those
who do nothing but patter, with a view to elicit alms, Mayhew
Lond. Labour{i85i) I. 309 ; i/>. 213. Slang. At his back stood the
hunchbaclc.who 'pattered' in description of the drawings as glibly
as he used to puff his own wares as a Cheap Jack, Ewing Jan
Wittdmill (iS'jG) xxxi.
Hence Patterer, sb. a man who cries newspaper
announcements, &c. in the streets ; a street-orator ; see
below.
n.Yk3.2 Lon. The ' patterers,' or the men who cry the last
dying-speeches, SiC. in the street, and those who help off their
wares by long harangues in the public thoroughfares, are again a
separate class, Mayhew ib. 6; They constitute principally the
class of street-orators, known in these days as ' patterers,' ib. 213.
2. To carry on earnest conversation in a low voice ; to
be engaged in a whispering conversation. Abd. (Jam.)
3. sb. Talk ; street talk.
Lon. I heard, also, many complaints of boys having of late ' taken
to the running patter' when anything attractive was before the
public, Mayhew ib. 222. Cant. Life B. M. Carew (1791) Gl.
PATTERIDGE, see Partridge.
PATTERN, sb."- and v. Irel. Yks. Brks. Ken. [pa-tan,
pse'tan.] 1. sb. In comp. Pattern-card, a good example.
Cf. patron, sb.^
w.Yks. An be a pattern-caird in hiz kingly duties, Tom Treddle-
hoyle Molly Muffindoaf {TS,i,'i) 34.
2. Phr. (i) to make a pattern of, to make an example of;
(2) to some pattern, to some purpose, to good effect.
(i) Brks.^ If I zees any moor zuch bad doins I'll maayke a
pattern on 'e. (2) w.Yks. He'd a whup an' he was liggin it on ta
some pattern (B. K.).
3. V. To match ; to imitate, copy.
Ir. If . . . ye'd be afther patterning yer cheek, it's hopeless,
Paddiana{^&. 1848) II. in. Ken.' I shouldn't think of patterning
my mistress.
PATTERN, sb?- n.Cy. Yks. [pa-tan.] A means of
subsistence, a pittance. Gen. used with scanty. n.Cy.
(Hall.), w.Yks.=*
PATTERN, 5^1.3 Sur. A dial, pronunciation of 'patent.'
' You ought to take a pattern out, sir.'. . ' I guess his diskivery
was too big for a pattern,' Hoskyns Talpa (1852) 178, ed. 1857.
PATTHERANA'VY, sb. Irel. Also written pather-
anavvy Don. A ' paternoster ' and an ' ave.'
Ir. Offer up a Pattheranavy for my convarsion ? Carleton
Fardorougha (1836) 232. Don. Wan Pather-anavvy more for the
slothful of body an' soul, Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 147.
PA'rTIC(K, sb. Wm. Also w.Cy. Cor. [p^-tik.] A
fool, simpleton, silly person; one who talks nonsense;
a merry fellow, a fool. Cf. partic.
Wm. Ferguson Northmen (1856) 190. w.Cy. (Hall.) Cor.
Nobody but a pattick would hoist sails to be blawed to rags out-
side a harbour, 'Noti.e\ Power of Hand (1888) I. xviii; I, like a.
great pattick. Believe all she do say, Thomas Randigal Rhymes
(1895) 23 ; A g'eat lazy, knaw-nothing pattick, Forfar Cousin Jan
(1859) St. 3: Cor.i2
PATTICK, see Paddick.
PATTIKEYS, sb. pi. Nhp.' 2 [pa-tikiz.] The seed-
vessels of the ash, Fraxinus excelsior.
PATTISH, V. Yks. Lan. [pa-tij.] 1. Obs. To plot
or contrive together. w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781).
2. To calm, appease. e.Lan. (S.B.) [Not known to our
other correspondents.] Cf paddish.
[1. To pattish, patise, pacisci, covenant, Levins Manip.
(1570)-]
PATTLE, sb. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Lan. Also in
forms petal Gall. ; pettle Sc. Cum.^ [patl, pe-tl.] A
plough-staff; a small spade with a long handle, used
principally to clear away the earth adhering to a plough.
See Paddle, 56.' 2.
So. A hand that never held pleugh-stilt or pettle, Scott Redg.
(1824) Lett. X ; The lang pettle o' his pleugh, Drummond Mucko-
machy (1846) 47. Abd. Nae the vera pattle shafts but wus broken,
Alexander Johnny Cibb (1871) xv. Frf. His pattle and plow are
his pride, Morison Poems (1790) 192. Per. Plooin' — haeye ever
been Beyond the pettle ? Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 49. Slg.
He studies their gude o'er the stilts and the pettle, MuiR Poems
(1818) 2. Rnf. Ilka heuk, and auld pleugh pettle, Webster
Rhymes (1835) 31. Ayr. I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee Wi'
murd'ring pattle, Burns To a Mouse (1785) st. 1. Lnk. Black
Falls of Clyde {1806) 200. Gall. The mowdieman cuist down his
petals and traps, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 78, ed. 1876. Nhb.'
Obsol. (s.v. Paddle). Lakel.^ Cum. Wi' speadd and wi' pettle
and prod, Dickinson Cumbr. (1876) 242; Cum.'*, Wm. (J.H.),
(B.K.) ne.Lan.' A small spade to edge sods with or clean ploughs.
[& he wenand best to do, pe patyl his hand clewyt to
pe muldebred quhen he suld mvk, Les;. Saints (c. 14.00),
ed. Metcalfe, 1. 462.] \ '* »
PATTLE, V. Sc. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also Cor. Also
written patle w.Yks.^ ; pattel Wm. [pa-tl, pse-tl.]
1. To pat gently with the hand ; to caress, pat.
Wm. I pattelt it [dog], afoor wi pot it untult pit, Robison Aald
Taales (1882) 18. ne.Lan.'
2. To move the hands backwards and forwards through
any yielding substance.
PATTY-PANS
[437]
PAUNCH
Or.I. The motion of the fins of a fish is the best illustration of
the movement, Df.nnison Gl. in Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 801 ;
He pattled i' the fire, Paeiy Toral (1880) 1. 89, in Ellis ib. 794.
Or.I., w.Sc. (Jam.)
3. To take little, short, quick steps, to go 'pit-a-pat.'
Also in comb. Pattle-pattle. Cor. (M.A.C.)
4. To creep and play about upon hands and knees, as a
child does before it can walk.
w.Yks.5 It goas patling abart on't hearth-rug wi'ther awan barn
wal shoo comes to fotch it agean.
PATTY-PANS, s6.;>/. Won [pa'ti-panz.] The yellow
water-lily, Nuphar lutea. (E.S.)
PAUCE, t;. 1 Obs. n.Sc. (Jam.) To prance with rage ;
to take long steps in consequence of thatstateliness which
one assumes when irritated. Cf. pauge.
PAUCH, see Poach.
PAUCHEL, V. Sc. To tout about railway stations for
gratuities for seeing after luggage.
The name 'tipping' is not quite understood among Scotch
railwaymen, but the word ' pauchel '. . . is known to every porter
from John o' Groat's to the Mull of Galloway. . . Men on night
shift . . . are known to remain on the platform for an extra half-
dozen hours for the express purpose of making a few sixpences by
' paucheling,' Railway Review (Sept. 30, 1898).
PAUCHLE, V. Sc. With on : to make one's way with
difficulty.
Rxb. Whan winter brings his gruesome train Ye pauchle on an'
ne'er complain, Edwards Mod. Poets, 5th S. iSg.
PAUCHTY, PAUCKY, see Paughty, Pawky.
PAUGE, V. Fif. (Jam.) 1. To prance. Cf pauce.
2. To pace about in an artful and designing way, till a
proper opportunity occur for fulfilling any plan.
3. Phr. he's neither to play nor pauge wi', he's not to be
tampered with in any way whatsoever.
PAUGH-MEALE, sb. Obs. Wxf." The harvest-home.
Cf poag(e.
[Lit. the 'kiss-meal,' the kissing time or festival. Ir.
pog, a kiss (O'Reilly).]
PAUGHTY, adj. Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Also in forms
pafty n.Yks.'^* ne.Yks.^ e.Yks. ; pauchtie Cum. ; pauchty
Sc. [p9-ti,Sc.alsopa-xti, p§-xti,Yks.pa-fti.] 1. Haughty,
proud, ' uppish ' ; consequential. Cf pawky, 2.
Bnff. It canna come frae paughty West, Taylor Poems (1787)
154. Frf. Nae mair ye'U see a paughty bailie, An' aiblins he baith
weak an' wily, Smart Rhymes (1834) 167. Fif. Let kings contend
about a crown. An' paughty statesmen seek renown. Gray Poems
(1811) 132. s.Sc. Preekt, pauchty, pudgel loons, Watson Bards
(1859) 197. Ayr. Yon paughty dog That bears the keys of Peter,
Burns Dream (1786) st. 12. Lnk. O may'st thou dote on some
fair paughty wench, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) ai, ed. 1783.
Edb. Paughty damsels bred at courts, Wha thraw their mou's, and
take the dorts, Fergusson Poems (1773) 142, ed. 1785. Feb.
The donsie dort, like pettled cade, Wi' pensy, paughty pow,
Lintoun Green (1685) 81, ed. 1817. Gall. He's but a paughty sullen
guide. His paths are no aye pleasin', Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814)
139, ed. 1897. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.) Lakel.2 Cum.
Ye're a rare pauchtie damsel. Ye might have been bred at
Court, you as can't muck a byre, Caine Shad. Crime (1885) 138.
ne.Yks.i Ah can deea nowt wiv him, he's ower prood an pafty by
hau'f. e.Yks. Jack's a sthrange pafty chap, Nicholson Flk-Sp.
(1889) 91. w.Yks.s
Hence Paughtily, adv. haughtily.
Lnk. An noddles we never too paughtily carried, Rodger Poems
(1838) 7, ed. 1897.
2. Pert, impertinent, saucy, insolent. Also used advb.
Sc. Lookit down pauchty eneuch, Jamieson Po/i. Ballads (1806)
I. 295. Nhb.i n.Yks.12 . n.Yks.* Pafty fooak putten i' t'shaad.
'3. Irritable, easily provoked, short-tempered. e.Yks.
(T.H.) 4. Discreet. Edb. Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed.
1875) Gl.
[1. Maxwell, Bishop of Rosse (that proud and paughtie
peere), Row Ch. Hist. (1650), ed. 1842, 395.]
PAUGLE, see Paigle.
PAUK, V. and sb. Cum. Lan. Dev. Also written pawk
Cum.* Dev. [p9k.] 1. v. To walk leisurely ; to walk
about awkwardly.
Cum. I'll some day suon pauk owr an' see ye, Stagg Misc. Poems
(ed. 1807) 56 ; Cum.'', ne.Lan.' Dev. 'E's pawking along wi' 'is
'ands in 'es pocket, an' 'es maid titched up tu 'es zide, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892).
2. sb. A leisurely walk taken with some object in view.
Cum. Let's tek a pauk doon by t'watter seyde as far as Silloth
(E.W.P.) ; Cum.* Let's tek a pawk ower an see aunt Ann, she
hesn't been well leately.
[1. Norw. dial, pauka, to go about with difficulty,
stamping and stumbling (Ross).]
PAUK(., PAUKERY, PAUKY, see Pawk, sb., v.^\
Pawkery, Pawky.
PAUL, sb.'^ Cor. In comb. Paul('s-pitcher-day, or
-pitcher-night, the eve of the Conversion of St. Paul ; see
below.
A curious custom ... of throwing broken pitchers . . . against
the doors of dwelling-houses, on the eve of the Conversion of St.
Paul, thence locally called ' Paul pitcher night.' On that evening
parties of young people perambulate the parishes in which the
custom is retained, exclaiming as they throw the sherds, ' Paul's
eve and here's a heave ! ' According to the received notions, the
first ' heave ' cannot be objected to ; but, upon its being repeated,
the inhabitants of the house whose door is thus attacked may . . .
seize the offenders, and inflict summary justice upon them, N. & Q.
(1851) ist S. iii. 239 ; Cor.i A miner's holyday. They set up a
water-pitcher, which they pelt with stones until it is broken to
pieces. They then buy a new one which they carry to a beer-shop
and fill, and empty it until they get drunk.
PAUL, sb.^ Obs. Ken. Sus. Also written pawl Ken.
1. A measure used in apportioning for repairs the
churchyard fences to the principal parishioners.
Ken. Henry Boniface for Sumerdean and Greendean findeth
seven pawl on to the West side and toward the South end, Ed-
burion Parish Registers (Apr. 25, 1698), ed. Wilkie, 1899.
2. A division of tenantry land at Brighton, usually con-
taining about the eighth part of a tenantry acre. Sus.^^
PAUL, see Pall, sb}'', v.'
PAULIE, adj. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Also written pallie
s.Sc. ; pawlie Sc. (Jam.) ; and in forms pailie Sc. (Jam.) ;
pailly Nhb.'; paley Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.' [P9"li, pa'li, pe'li.]
1. adj. Impotentorfeeble, applied to any bodily member;
lame, dislocated, distorted ; }ig. of the mind : feeble, silly.
Lnk. ' A pailie creature,' a silly, insipid person (Jam.). Lth.,
Rxb. ' A pawlie hand ' is one that has been dislocated and not
properly set {ib.).
Hence Paley-footed,«^'. flat-footed, splay-footed, having
the foot turned in. Sc, Lth. (ib.) 2. Poor in size and
physique, applied to lambs.
Twd. (Jam.) Slk. As for yourpaulie toop lamb, what care I for
it ? Hogg Tales (1838) 360, ed. 1866. Rxb. (Jam.) Nhb.i ' They
are a pailly lot.' Applied to the poorest of a flock of lambs after
the ' tops,' ' first shots,' second, third, and even fourth ' shots '
have been drawn out.
3. sb. One of the inferior Iambs of a flock ; a sickly or
deformed lamb ; Jig. of persons : a feeble, inanimate being.
Sth. The wedder lambs are divided into three sorts, called tups,
mids, and paleys. . . The paleys (young weak and stunted lambs)
are, under the charge of one of the principal men, sent directly to
the hay-fog or aftermath. Farm Reports {1832) 80. s.Sc. Morton
Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Rnf., Lnk. A slow, inactive, inanimate
person (Jam.). Lth. A lamb that is lame is sometimes called
Pawlie (ib.'). Slk. Geordie the flesher that took away the crocks
an' the paulies, Hogg Tales (1838) 26, ed. 1866. Rxb. (Jam.),
Nhb. (J.W.)
Hence Patilie-merchant, sb. one who travels through
the country purchasing inferior lambs. Rxb. (Jam.)
PAULING, si. Lin. [p§'lin.] A ' tarpaulin,' a cover-
ing for a cart or wagon. (Hall.), (E.P.)
[Repr. lit. E. palling, a covering ; cp. the use of pall, v. in
Shaks. : Come thick night. And pall thee in the dunnest
smoke of hell, Macbeth, i. v. 52.]
PAULK, PAULT, see Pawk, v.^, Palt, sb.
PAULTER, PAUM, see Palter, v.'^, Palm, s6."
PAUM-FLECKT, adj. Lan. Freckled. Lee MS.
Gl. (1843). Cf pawmpeckled.
PAUMPERT, sb. Obs. Stf. A milk-pan. Ray MS.
add. (J.C.)
PAUMY, see Palmy.
PAUNCH, sb."- and v} Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Not.
Glo. Suf s.Cy. I.W. Som. Also in forms paanch I.W.';
PAUNCH
[438]
PAUT
painch Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy."^ Nhb.^ ; panch ne.Lan.^ ; pench
Sc. (Jam.) LP9^J' pS-i^L penj.] 1. sb. In comp. Paunch-
guts, a person with a large belly. s.Cy. (Hall.), I.W.*
2. Phr. (o keep the painches wagging, to continue at severe
and incessant toil.
Nhb. When yence yor feet are i' the geers, Maw soul ! they
keep yor painches waggin', Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 9 ! Nhb.i
3. The stomach and intestines of all game and hunted
animals, but not of domestic animals. w.Som.'
4. Tripe ; gen. in pi.
Sc. A wame of painches teuch like plaiden. With gude May-
butter, milk and cheese. Chambers Sngs. (1829) II. 352. Ayr.
Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm, Burns
To a Haggis, st. i. Rnf. Well-scraped paunches. And brandy in
stoups and in caps, Sempill Bridal, st. 8. Lth. Roddikins, and
penches too, And mussels pickled nice wi' broo, Macneill Poet.
Wks. (1801) 171, ed. 1856. Edb. Caller cow-heel and cowpaunches,
Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Kcb. Himself wi' penches staw'd,
he dights his neb, Davidson Seasons (1789) 3 (Jam.). N.Cy.^
Nhb. Another was passin, without ony dread, Wiv a tubfull o'
painches a-top other head, Midford Cotf. Swig's. (1818) 48. ne.Lan.i
Hence Painch- wife, sb. a tripe-seller. N.Cy.', Nhb.^
5. pi. Obs. The entrails ; the ' guts ' ; the sides of the
belly. ,
Bch. She may sit and scrape her paunches, Till I gang back,
'Bkattie Parings (1801) 44, ed. 1873. Lnk. I fand an itching in
my paunches, M"^Indoe Poems (1805) 153. Edb. De'il burst its
gausy temptin' haunches. Its ruddy mou' an' yellow painches,
Learmont Poems (1791) 158. Gall. Mactaggart Encyd. (1824).
6. V. To disembowel game.
•w.Yks.2, s.Not. (J.P.K.) Glo. You must paunch the hares before
you take them up to the house (A.B.) ; GI0.2 Suf.^ Paunch that
rabbit. w.Som.'-
7. To swallow in a greedy manner.
Edb. If from paunching Bacchus' wine. Then they should a' be
made to pine, Liddle Poems (1821) 149. Gall. He . . . painched
it every drop, Mactaggart Eneycl. (1824) 385, ed. 1876.
PAUNCH, v.^ and s6.= Yks. Chs. Dev. Also in form
panch m.Yks.^ w.Yks. [p9iij.] 1. v. To handle roughly
and unnecessarily ; to knock or ' punch ' anything beneath
one ; to crush with sudden force.
m.Yks.^ W.Yks. Rarely used now (M.F.). s.Chs.^ Only used
of downward movement. We speak of ' jumpin' an' paunchin' '
on anything. Dev. Ef ytl dii paunch 'n about like that, yii'll
proper spowl 'n. Thengs bant made tu be maled about zo much,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
2. sb. A crushing blow. m.Yks.*
PAUNCHER, sb. Yks. A poker with which slag is
removed in casting metal. (W.S.)
PAUNCHINGS, sb. pi. Sc. Also in form penshens
S. & Ork.' Tripe. Cf. paunch, sb} 4.
S. & Ork.i Frf. The reputed paunchings were the clippings of a
blacksmith's apron, and some ruined pieces of corduroy, LowsoN
Guidfollow (1890) 248.
PAUNCHY, adj. Yks. Brks. Also written panchy
n.Yks. [p9'nji.] Stout ; having a large belly.
n.Yks. This beast's varry panchy (I.W.). Brks.^
PAUP, V. and sb'. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also
written pawp w.Yks. e.Lan.^ ; and in forms paap Cum.'*
Wm. ; pawps w.Yks. ; poapCum.^*n.Lan. ; pope Lakel.^
Cum.^ [P9P) P93p, pap.] 1. v. To walk about awkwardly
and aimlessly ; to muddle about ; to walk carefully as in
the dark.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Lakel." Popen aboot i' t'dark. Cum. He got up
from the table in his nervousness, and walked aimlessly across the
floor. ' Why are you poapan about? ' Caine Shad. Crime (1888)
7 ; Cum.i Popan' an' stoppan' ; Cum.^ Jwohn o' Craypless Ho' an'
me went poapin' on oorsells, 68 ; Cum.* Wm. An while a wes
glooaran an paapan aboot. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 17. w.Yks.
(S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.' Paupin an peepin about gin he wor spyin for
hares, ii. 295. n.Lan. They went poapin inta t'steebles, Morris
Invas. o' U'ston (1867) 5 ; n.Lan.i, ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.^
2. sb. A foot ; esp. a clumsy foot. w.Yks. Willan List
Wds. (181 1). 3. An awkward fellow.
■w.Yks. Yond long pawps hez cumd ageean, Illingworth
Clayton's Ann. (1878) 55.
PAUR, see Pore, v}
PAUSE, V. and sb. n.Cy. Yks. Not. Also written
pawse, pawze w.Yks.; and in form poise n.Yks. w.Yks.''*
Not.2 [P9z, P93Z, poiz.] 1. V. To kick. Cf. pouse.
n.Cy. (Hall.) n.Yks. Fetherston Smuggins Fam. 20;
n.Yks.* w.Yks. HeathclifF's pawsed his fit into t'first part o'
' T'Broad Way to Destruction'! BrontE IVathering Hts. (1847) iii;
' Did he kick you? ' ' Na, but he paused me,' Hamilton Nugae
Lit. (1841) 343 ; Pawze him aht o' t'field, Yksman. (Aug. 1878) ;
A'll pawse thy liver aght (J.T.F.) ; w.Yks.i He began o skirlin an
gloarin, an paused baath my shins black and blue wi his iron
clogs, ii. 292 ; w.Yks.^ats Not.^ I'll poise yer.
2. sb. A kick.
Yks. I gave him a fling and a poise that sent him sprawling,
Fetherston Farmer, 144. w.Yks. A gooid pawse 'at sent it flyin'
aht o' t'door, Yksman. (1888) 223, col. 2.
PAUSTY, see Posty.
PAUSY, adj. n.Lin.i [p9'zi.] Slightly intoxicated.
Slightly the worse for drink ; said of persons who combine an
amiable desire to impart information with an incapacity to call to
mind all the necessary words. ' Drunk ! naw he was n't what
you'd call drunk, nobbud he was pansy hke.'
PAUT, V. and s6. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Not. Lin. Won Suf Also written pawt Sc. Lakel.^
Cum.i* n.Yks.2 e.Yks.^ m.Yks.^ w.Yks. ne.Lan.^ Der.^
Not.13 n.Lin.i sw.Lin.^ ; pawte w.Yks. ; port w.Yks.
Not.^; and in forms paat Cai.^ Nhb.* Cum.'*; paout
se.Wor.' ; pout Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.' s.Wor. ; powt Sc.
(Jam.) Bnfif.' n.Cy. Suf [p9t, poat, pat.] 1. v. To poke
or push with the hand or a stick; to stir up; to paw,
handle, or finger things. Cf. pote.
Sc. To search with a rod or stick in water, or in a dark or
confined place. To make a noise when searching or poking in
water (Jam.). n.Cy. Grose (1790). Nhb.' Divent paat on wi'd,
or ye'U spoil'd. Cum. Children pawt when they make repeated
attempts to get things with their hands (E.W.P.) ; Cum.* A dog
pawts at the door when it wants to get in, and children pawt when
they make repeated attempts to get hold of things with their hands.
n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.^ Kneading with the fingers into a soft mass.
n.Lin. Sutton Wds. (1881) ; n.Lin.' I wish we hed n't noa cats,
really, thaay're alus pawtin' at one, when one's gettin' one's meat.
sw.Lin.i Some lasses are always pawling things about they've no
business with. s.Wor. To beat down apples, Porson Quaint Wds.
(1875) 15.
Hence (i) Pouting, vbl. sb. the practice of spearing
salmon ; also used attrib. ; (2) Pout-net, sb. a net fastened
to poles by which fishermen poke the banks of rivers to
force out the fish.
(i) Abd. In order to have a day or two at the ' pouting ' when
the river was in condition. . . The river Dee was low enough for
'pouting' purposes, Michie Deeside Tales (1872) 213. (2) Sc.
Their Association . . . have, . . for protecting the fry, given
particular instructions ... to prevent . . . their shameful destruction
at Mill-dams and Mill-leads with Pocks or Pout-nets, Edb. Even.
Courant (Apr. 16, 1804) (Jam.).
2. To move the hand uncertainly as a person working
in the dark ; to set to work aimlessly, slowly, or un-
willingly.
CM. To make short and, as it were, convulsive motions with the
hands (Jam.). Ayr., Slk. iib.). Cum.*, e.Yks.i w.Yks. Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (May 9, 1896). ne.Lan.'
Hence Powting, ppl. adj. unskilful and slow at work ;
harassed by poverty and hard labour.
Bnff.i She's a peer powtin', tyauvin' bodie.
3. To push with the foot ; to kick lightly ; to stamp ; of
a horse : to paw the ground.
So. I pautit wi' my foot, master, Garr'd a' my bridles ring,
KiNLOCH Ballads (1827) 197. Bnff.' He pautit but an' ben the
fleer. Abd., Cld., Draf. (Jam.) Gall. Mactaggart Eneycl. (1824).
N.Cy.', Dur.i Cum.' (s.v. Pote) ; Cum.* If a horse paws gently
with the fore feet, we say he pawts. Yks. To paut off the bed-
clothes, Grose (1790). n.Yks. (T.S.) ; n.Yks.'; n.Yks.* T'meer
. . . sitha hoo sha pauts t'grund. T'bairn . . . sha pauts aboot wiv
her lael feet. e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i (s.v. Poat). w.Yks. Duz he pawt?
cos a weant lig wi him if he duz, Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ;
(S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.' To paut off t'happin ; w.Yks.s, Chs.^^, Der.i
Not. (J.H.B.) ; Not.' Horses are said to ' pawt the ground ' ; Not.^
Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 347. sw.Lin.' Pawling
about he [a horse] got his foot fast in a fence.
PAUT
[439]
PAWK
4. To move about, to walk gently or leisurely ; to walk
with a feeble, heavy, or clumsy step ; to walk with an
affected gait.
Cai.i, Bnff.i, N.Cy.i, Lakel.2 Cum. 'We'll tire wi' sitten, let's
pawt about a bit.' A child beginning to walk is said to be beginning
to ' pawt about ' (E.W.P.) ; To see them paut pauten about, pits
me i' min' o' our auld gander, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1881) 122 ;
Cum.i* n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.* Sen sha's gitten long skets an' fancy
stocken's on sha diz paut along. Au'd Willie, Ah see, still
mannishes to paut about wiv a stick. Lin. They hawmed and
pawted just like cats, Wi' feet stuck in walnut shells. Brown
Lit. Laur. (1890) 49. n.Lin. Sutton Wds. (1881).
5. sb. A stroke on the ground with the foot, a kick ; a
blow, thump ; a gentle blow with the open hand ; a short
convulsive movement.
Sc. He gae a paut with his fit (Jam.). CId. ib., N.Cy.i, Cam.*
se.Wor.i A hard knock with a stick, or similar instrument, upon
a hard substance. Suf.i A gon em a right good paut i' the hid.
6. Phr. (i) to go a pawt, to move the feet ; (2) — go one's
last pawt, to die ; (3) — play pawt, to walk ; used neg. to be
very exhausted ; of. paw, sb? 1.
(i) GaU. She never gaed a pawt, Mactaggart ^Hiryc/. (1824).
(2) At length the laird o' the Bower-tree Buss, gaed his last pawt,
was straughted, dressed, cofBned and a', ib. 264, ed. 1876. (3) Cld.
He couldna play powt (Jam.). Bwk. He'll never mair play pawt
on hill or dale, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 95.
7. A heavy, weary walk. Bnflf.^ 8. A poker. s.Sc.
(Jam.) Cf pote, 15.
[1. Norw. dial, pauta, to push, poke (Ross).]
PAUT, see Pawt, sb}
PAUTAMENT, sb. s.Chs.^ [p^'timant.] A quantity
of weeds or other garden rubbish.
Dhur)z Ci praat'i pau'timiint il rub-ich tu hi wed'n aayt i yaan'dur
gy'aa'rdin ; yoa' neviSr seyd sich u ok'shin.
PAUTCH, PAUTRICK, see Poach, Partridge.
PAVED, />//. a(^'. Obs. e.An. Of clayey soil: hardened
by dry weather.
e.An.i Nrf. Holloway. Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 297, ed.
1849; CuLLUM Hist. Hawsteci {1813).
PAVEE, see Paw, sb.^
PAVEMENT, sb. Obs. Nrf A square paving-brick,
a flooring-brick ; a tile. e.Nrf Marshall liur. Econ.
(1787).
PAVER, sb.^ Sc. Irel. Chs. Dor. Also m forms pavior
Chs. ; peaviour Dor. ; piavier Dor.* [pe"va(r, pe'via(r),
pia'vi3(r).] 1. A paving-stone.
Gall. The yin that wad as muckle as lift a paver to him,
Crockett C/f^/W/y (1896) 123. UIs. (M.B.-S.) Chs. Thin agen
Stopport pavers au leet on, Stoyl Roid i'th Sixpenny Go (1840) in
Chs. N. &> Q. (1881) I. 183. Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863) ; Dor.i
Piaviers now a-getten dry Da steam below the zunny sky, 136.
2. Cow/i. Pavior -jammer, a heavy mallet used in paving
streets.
Chs. My old horse has ... a foot like a pavior-jammer, St.
George Play (1892).
PAVER, sb.^ Irel. A nail with a large head for the
strongest kind of shoes.
s.Ir. (P.W.J.) Tip. The servant-boy w^s driving a few pavers
in the toe of his old brogue, Kickham Knocknagow, 282.
PAVIE, see Paw, sb.'^
PAVING, sb. Obs. w.Yks.* A paving-stone.
PAVIOR, see Paver, sb.^
' PAW, sb.^ and v.'^ Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Colloq.
Also in forms pa Sc. ; paa Nhb.' ; paow ne.Cum.' ; po
Cum. [p9, P93, pa.] 1. sb. In gen. colloq. use : a hand ;
^g. handwriting.
Sc. Seeing glittering broadswords with a pa', man, Chambers
Sttgs. (1829) H. 364. Abd. Yer paw noo I'll thraw noo. An'
dicht my rhymin' quill. Still Cottar's Sunday (1845) 155. Per.
Smith Poems (1714) 14, ed. 1853. w.Sc. If ye had scrubbed the
house as lang as I hae done, your paws would na hae been sae
bonnie and white as they are, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835)
123. e.Fif. To atone for oor tinglin' paws, Latto Tarn Bodkin
(1864) iii. Rnf. Gie's a bit claught o' yer paw, man, Clark
Rhymes (1842) 20. Ayr. He gied you but a gentle slaik wi's
paw, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) v. Lnk. Gordon Pyotshaw (1885)
32. Lth. Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 36. Edb. Learmont
Poems (1791) 160. Gall. Nicholson Poet. VVks. (1814) 48, ed.
1897. Nhb. An ear's a ' lug,' a mooth's a ' gob,' and then a hand's
a ' paa,' Harbottle Newcassel Twang (1889). Cum.i Keep yer
dirty paws off; Cum." Especially if dirty. w.Yks.' Gang and
wesh thy mucky paws. Lan. Let us see this document. My own
paw, sure enough, Francis Yeoman Fleetwood (ed. 1890) 245.
Colloq. (A. B.C.)
Hence (1) Paa-prent, sb. a smudge ; a print of the hand;
(2) Paw-work, sb. handiwork.
(i) Nhb.i (2) Lan. Le's ha less jaw-work an' more paw-work
fro' th' gentry, Burnett Haworth's (1887) vii.
2. V. To kick when in the last extremity.
Lakel.2 Cum. Peer Jemmy I yence thought wad niver paw
mair, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 61 ; Cum.i*, ne.Cum. (M.P.)
PAW, sb.^ and v.'^ Sc. Irel. Also written pauw Slk-
(Jam.) ; and in forms pa Sc. ; paavie S. & Ork.' ; pavee
Sc. Ant. ; pavie Sc. ; peevee Gall. ; peyvee Gall. Wgt.
[p9, pa.] 1. sb. In phr. (i) to play any one a paw, to play
a person a trick ; (2) — on^s paw, to play one's part ; (3)
— paw, to move, make any exertion.
(i) Sc. For some of such had play'd a pavie, Colvil Whig's
Suppl. (ed. 1796) I. 1419. Per. They thocht the devil had been
there That played them sic a paw, man, Ford Harp (1893) 53.
s.Sc. To play sic a pavie (Jam.). (2) Sc. See wha can best play
their paws, Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) II 44 (Jam.). (3) Sc. His
neck in twa the Armstrangs wrang ; Wi' fute or hand he ne'er
played pa! Scoti Minstrelsy (1.802) II. 81. Slk. Some day when
ye couldna play paw to help yourselves, Hogg Tales (1838) 294,
ed. 1866. Nhb.i
2. A quick movement ; a ridiculous or fantastic move-
ment of the body ; a ceremonious fluster, a bustle.
Sc. He came in with a great pavie (Jam.). S. & Ork.' e.Fif.
Workin' himsel' up into an unco pavee o' a passion, Latto Tarn
Bodkin (1864) xix. Gall. Some people are always in peyvee,
throng seemingly to the last degree, yet doing little, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824). Wgt. What she would herself have termed a
* peyvee ' — a useless, unnecessary bustle, which was meant effectu-
ally to prevent any settled conversation. Good Wds. (1881) 406.
3. A conceited, dressed-up person.
GaU, The remarkable and shamelessly gaudy bonnet worn by
Mistress AUardyce, the grocer's young wife ('a fair peevee wi'
pride an' gumflooers '), Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 89.
4. V. To make fantastic postures ; to waste time.
s.Sc. There's an unco paveein an' scrapin an' booin aboot thae
sort o' places, Wilson Tales (1836) IV. 10. Ant. Ballymena Obs.
(1892).
Hence Pavean or Paveen, ppl. adj. pretentious, proud.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Or.I. The pseudo-rich are called ' pavean
bodies' (I'A.).
[1. (i) The 10 of Juhi ane man, sume callit him a juglar . . .
raid doune the tow and playit sa many pavies on it, Birrel
Diary (1598), in Pitcairn Crim. Trials (1829) pt. iv. 238.
2. Fr. pas, ' terme de danse ; les differentes manieres de
conduire ses pas ' (Littre).]
PAWCH, see Poach.
PAWCHLE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. A frail old body ; also, a
person of low stature, rather silly. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
PA WD, sb. Obs. Dor. A fat 'tun-belly.' Haynes
Voc. (c. 1730) in N. &-» Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 45.
PAWDLES, PAW-HEED, see Pordles, Pow-head.
PAWHOGGER, adj. Nhb. See below.
The skipper . . . Swore the pawhogger luggish was called Empty
Kite, Gilchrist SKg^s. (1824) 11 ; Nhb.' Apparently a nonce word,
meaning with hoggers on the paws — that is, gloves. ' Pawhogger
luggish,' genteel baggage ; a term of contempt for gentility.
PAWHTS, see Pawts.
PAWK, sb. and v.^ Sc. Yks. Also written pauk Sc.
(Jam.) w.Yks.^ [p^k, pqak.] 1. sb. A clever, sly way ; a
trick ; a wile. Cf pawky.
So. (Jam.) Edb. Yours has no the art To win about a husband's
heart. Nor kens the gait wi' saftening sound, And pawks, to bring
ilk project round, Macneill Bygane Times (1811) 18.
2. Impertinence, forwardness, precocity; insolent, im-
pertinent talk.
n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.^ ' They hev owermickle pawk for their spot,'
too much forwardness for their situation ; n.Yks." e.Yks. Noo
let's he' neean o' thi pawk, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 77 ; e.Yks.'
MS. add. (T.H.) m.Yks.i
PAWK
[440]
PAWN
3. An impertinent, saucy person. n.Yks.= Thoo young pawk !
4. V. To act proudly or conceitedly ; to show imperti-
nence, to ' sauce.' Also with at.
e.Yks. Almost extinct but not quite. . . One occasionally hears
from old people, ' Deean't thoo pawk me, thoo raggil.' Never
used intrans. (R.S.) m.Yks.^ Don't begin to pawk, now ! w.Yks.^
Goas pauking up an' down i' her Sunday cloas.
[1. Policy and perellus paukis, Douglas Eneados (1513),
ed. 1874, III. 145.J
PAWK, V? Nhb. War. e.An. [p9k.] 1. To throw
about awkwardly. e.An.', Suf. (Hall.) Hence Pawky,
(i) adj. awkward ; (2) sb. an awkward fellow ; esp. a tall
fellow.
(i) War.'' I can't help it, men ; you knows as well as I does
how stout and pawky I gets now. (2) Snf.i
2. To remove ; gen. with off.
Nhb. An' if a mouse but cross'd his way He quickly had it by
the nose, An pawk'd it off to kuel its toes, Allan Tyneside Sngs.
(1891) 311; The canny old chapel's pawk'd off in a pet, Gilchrist
Improvements (1835) ; Nhb.'
PAWK, V? e.An. Also written pauk- Nrf.; and in
form paulk e.An.^ 1. To search ; to look about with
outstretched neck, to pry.
e.An.^ Nrf. To hunt the beach for refuse or wreckage, &c.
Also said of anybody looking about with outstretched neck, as
standing on tip-toe and craning one's neck to look over a crowd,
or inquisitively prying about. ' What are you paulking about
for ? ' (M.C.H.B.) ; What are you pawking after ? Cozens-Hardy
Broad Nrf. (1893) 26.
Hence Pauky-bag, sb. a bag for collecting fragments
from a wreck. Nrf. (Hall.) 2. To climb, to stand high.
e.An.^
PAWK, i;.* Glo. w.Cy. Also written pauk w.Cy.
[P9k.] To pant. w.Cy. (Hall.), GIo.^
PAWK, see Pauk, Poke, v?-, Pouk, sb?
PAWKERY, sb. Sc. Also written paukery, paukry
Sc. (Jam.) ; pawkrie Ayr. Slyness, craftiness ; also used
attrib. See Pawky.
Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. He was sib to herself, had a spice of her
pawkrie, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xvii. Lnk. 'There's been jookery
pawkery work gaun on here, Fraser Whaups (1895) xiii.
PAWKIE, sb. •>. Obs. Slk. (Jam.) A woollen mitten.
PAWKY, adj. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Lin. Also written paucky Lnk. ; pauky Sc. (Jam.)
N.Cy.'Dur.'^w.Yks.^ne.Lan.'; and in forms paaky, packy
Nhb.*; pakey Sc. ; pokey Cum.^* Wm. Lin.'; poky Nhb.'
Lakel.^ w.Yks. [po'ki, p93-ki, pa'ki.] 1. Shrewd,
knowing, artful, cunning, sly ; insinuating ; of the eye :
arch ; wanton ; also used advb.
Sc. Fleming Scriptures (1726). Sh.I. Old Yacob . . . possessed
a considerable amount of good common sense, quiet, pawky
humour, Stewart Tales (1892) 49. n.Sc. Begone, ye proud and
pawky Scot, Your haggis shall ne'er boil in my pot, Buchan
£a«arfs (1828) II. 142, ed. 1875. Mry. Hay ii'MJ'jV(i85i) 18. Abd.
Ilka lad, wi' pawky een. Looks at his lass, Keith Farmer's Ha'
(1774) St. 64. Kcd. A sonsie pawkie quean Cam' hame to keep
his house. Grant Lays (1884) 92. Ags. (Jam.) Frf. He was
noted for his pawky sayings and shrewd keen-wittedness, Inglis
Ain Folk (1895) 128. Per. Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 40, ed.
1887. Flf. Tennant Papistry (1827) 30. Cld. The pawky auld
wife, NiMMO Sngs. (1882) 187. Dmb. That pawky, plausible
gentleman was more pawky and plausible than ever. Cross Dis-
ruption (1844) viii. Rnf. Tho' he's paukier far than we, Whatreck,
he gangs as aft aglee, Picken Poems (1813) I. 67. Ayr. Before
taking up the money, she gave a pawkie look at the stripling,
Galt Gilhaize (1823) ii. Lnk. Nicholson Idylls (1870) 14. Lth.
Keekin' pawky in her e'e, Smith Merry Bridal (1866) 3. e.Lth.
Ye're a gey pawkie chiel, Hunter /. Inwick (1895) 22. Edb.
Fergusson Poems (1773) 106, ed. 1785. Hdg. Lumsden Poems
(1896) 7. Feb. I met my lass the ither night Wi' waving locks
and paukie e'en, Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 139. Bwk. Aye sae
pawkie, sweet, an' funny, Chisholm Poews (1879) 22. Slk. Owae
to the paukie snares o' men, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 63. Rxb.
Riddell Poe/. Wks. (1871)11. 35. Dmf. Quinn i/OT^Aec (1863)
140. Gall. Yon Sans Culottes, . . That's sae d — d paukie in their
pootin, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 40. Kcb. Armstrong Ingleside
(i8go) 140. Wgt. Yae canny auld wife's pawky sense Here stood
her in guid place, Fraser Poems (1885) 156. n.Ir. The pawky
fool, Lays and Leg. (1884) 59; N.I.' n.Cy. (Hall.) Nhb. Auld
pawkie Peter MacLeod, Jones Nhb. ('1871) 65. Cum. You've sic
a pawky, coaxin way, e.Cum. News (Jan. 7, 1888) 8 ; Cnm.^ Ther'
wer' pokey oald wives aboot Harrington than, An' a varst of advice
o' free gratis he gat, 161 ; Cum.* e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1788) ; e.Yks.i w.Yks. Willan List Wds. (1811). Lin.l I shall
not be deceived, I'm pokey. n.Lin. Sutton Wds. (1881) ; n.Lin.'-
John Marcham was a nist pawky ohd man ; I could hev listen'd
to his talk for a daay thrif. sw.Lin.' What a pawky crittur he is!
Hence (i) Pawkily, adv. slyly, craftily, cleverly,
shrewdly ; (2) Pawkiness, sb. shrewdness, slyness,
cunning.
(i) Sc. If ye wad paukily succeed. Prove a rank hypocrite in-
deed, Pennecuik Coll. (1787) 32. Abd. The Robin keekit for a
bush Fu' pawkily an' slee, Murray Hamewith (1900) 41. Per.
Stewart Character (1857) 24. Rnf. How pawkily he tells his
crack When he describes poor Rab's mistak, Webster Rhymes
(1835) 146. Ayr. The doctor winked pawkily to Mr. Duff, Galt
Legatees (1820) x. Lnk. Then pauckily pretended he cou'd spae,
Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) 83, 1. 15, ed. 1783. Lth. Lumsden
Sheep-head (1892) 219. (2) Sc. He spoke in a smooth rich voice
with an infinite effect of pawkiness, Stevenson Catriona (1893') xvii.
s.Sc. Said countenance discovering a great deal of intelligence and
shrewdness, but more pawkiness than either, Wilson Tales
(1839) V. 201. Ayr. AiNSLiE Land of Burns (ed. 1892) p. xxiv.
Lth. She did her part as faithfully as she had done in Mrs. Barrie's
service, but with even, if possible, more pawkiness, Strathesk
Blinkbonny (ed. 1891) 190.
2. Proud, conceited, impudent, lively, bold, precocious,
forward, inquisitive ; esp. used of children. Cf. paughty.
se.Sc. She'll grease the bread, to cram our wame. An' keep us
unco paukie. For mony a day, Donaldson Poems (1809) 79. N.Cy.'
Nhb.' * She's a prood, paaky thing, that lass.' A work horse with
little work and much food becomes paaky. Lakel.^ Thoo's a poky
lal beggar, 'at is ta, saucen thi elders like that. Cum. Gl. (1851) ;
Cum." Grace . . . did not trouble herself about the susceptibihties
of pawky young monkeys, Linton Lizzie Lorlon (1867) II. 280.
Wm. For pokey conscience sometimes scrats A sair pleayce vi^hen
it's bare. Whitehead Leg. (1859) 13. n.Yks.' A bonny, pawky,
peert lahtle chap as iwer Ah seen ; n.Yks. ^ As pawky as a pyet ;
n.Yks.^* ne.Yks.' ' Was she disobedient?' ' Aye, an' sha wer
varry pawky an' all.' e.Yks.' A precocious pert child is said to
be a 'pawky bayn.' m.Yks.' Vf.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 9,
1885) 8 ; w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.i
Hence Pawkiness, sb. impertinence. n.Yks.^
3. Dainty, squeamish, over-particular, difficult to please.
N.Cy.', Nhb.i, Dur.', e.Dun'
PAWL, V. Obs. Sc. To claw the air, to make an in-
effectual attempt to catch ; freq. with at.
Slk. The corpse sat up in the bed, an' pawled wi' its hands,
Hogg Tales (1838) 71, ed. 1866. Rxb. (Jam.)
PAWL, see Paul, sb.'^, Pole.
PAWM, PAWMIE, see Palm, sb}"", Pam.
PAWMPECKLED, adj Lan. Chs. Also written
paumpeckled, pawmpeckl't Lan. ; and in forms pawm-
peckertChs.'; pawm-speckled Lan. ; pome-peckert Chs.'
[p9'mpekld.] Freckled, spotted. Cf. paum-fleckt.
Lan. A smaw troop o' pavirai-speckled durty-nosed lads, Staton
B. Shuttle Manch. 53 ; Lee Gl. (1843) ; We con groo nowt but
what's pawm-peckl't, Clegg Sketches (1895) 35. e.Lan.', Chs.'
PAWN, sb} Sc. Also in form pan (Jam.), [pan, pan.]
1. The curtain or drapery hanging from the frame of
a bed.
w.So. (Jam.) Lnk. Johnny yerked his head in the direction of
the bed-pawn, Murdoch Readings (1895) 1. 11. Gall. The pan o'
the bed (J.M.).
2. pi. 'The timbers in a thatched roof placed under the
' cabers,' and extending from gable to gable. Ags. (Jam.)
[1. Two pair of blanketts, and ane covering, ane stand
of courtingis, with two piece of pand, Inventory (1648) in
Spottiswoode Misc. (1844) L 370. Du. een Pandt van een
Koetse, a tressell of a bedstead (Hexham).]
PAWN, sb.^ and t/.' Sc. Lon. Dev. Cor. [p9n.] 1. sb.
In games : an article deposited by an individual player,
as forfeited for doing or omitting to do something, and
redeemable by some sportive fine or penalty imposed by
the judge ; a forfeit.
n.Dev. Bet, zee, they be tha pawns a-draying. Rock Jim an'
Nell (1867) St. 36. Cor. Flk-Lore Jm. (1886) IV. 124 ; Cor.' Here's
PAWN
[441]
PAY
a pawn, and a very pretty pawn, and what shall the owner of
this pawn do ?
2. A pawnshop ; a pawnbroker.
Lnk. Their guid claes a' gaed to the pawn, Orr Laigk Flichis
(1882) 22. Edb. Near half the plenishing went to the pawn for
drink, Campbell Deilie Jock (1897) 11. Lon. Perhaps they comes
to sell to me what the pawns won't take in, Mayhew Land. Labour
(1851) 11. 109, ed. 1861.
3. V. To palm off something that is valueless as a thing
of great value.
Lth. Twa auld sangs he swears are new, He pawns on Jock,
For an auld hod e' coals half-fou, Ballantine Poems (1856) 131.
Edb. Ye begin to pawn yere trash on the bits o' glaikit lassies, Bal-
lantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 23.
PAWN, v.^ Sh.I. To mow. S. & Ork.' Hence
Pawnee, sb. a scythe, ib.
PAWNAGE, see Pannage.
PAWN-BOTTLE, s6. Yks. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A bottle containing sugar and water ; see
below.
Children mark the day [Palm Sunday] differently ; they get
'pawne bottle,' i.e. bottles containing a little sugar, and betake
themselves to the springs and wells to fill their bottles, and suck
at them all the afternoon, Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) "•
PAWNCOCK, sb. ? Obs. Som. [Not known to our
correspondents.] A scarecrow. (Hall.) Lit. ? a peacock.
PAWNCY, V. Som. With with : to do everything for
a sick person. (W.W.S.) See Panse, 2.
PAWND, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Also in form pand
Nhb. [P9nd, pgsnd, pand.] 1. sb. Obs. A pledge,
security.
Edb. Would ye have penalties or pawnds? . . Take fair St. Giles'
just as it stands For surety till your sum be paid, Pennecuik Wks.
(1715) 339, ed- 1815-
2. V. To pledge, pawn.
Edb. Ye'll wed the better,or Ise pawnd my lug, Learmont Poems
(1791) 279. Nhb. In universal use (R.O.H.). w.Yks. (J.W.)
[1, 2. Du. een Pandt, a pawne or a gage ; panden, to
pawne (Hexham). 2. I dare paund mine immortall
soul, Livingstone Letter (c. 1660) in Wodrow Soc. Set.
Biog. (1845) L 271.]
PAWPY, adj. Yks. [pq-pi.] 1. Fat, flabby ; gen. of
a woman. e.Yks.^ 2. Conspicuous ; conceited.
w.Yks. Ah doan't like specs ; they mak a chap look so pawpy.
Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865).
PAWSE, see Pause, Pose, sb.^
PAWT, sb. n.Cy. Not. Lin. Also written paut N.Cy.^
[p9t.] A paw ; a hand or foot, esp. a clumsy foot.
N.Cy.i, Not.' Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 347 ;
Pig's paut (J.C.W.). n.Lin.i
[Dan.^o/e, a paw (Larsen) ; Sw. potar, paws (Serenius) ;
EFris. pote, ' Pfote, Hand, Fuss, Tatze (von Mensch u.
Thier) ' (Koolman).]
PAWT(E, see Paut.
PAWTLE, V. Cum.* Fpq-tl.] To trifle away time;
to be apparently busy and yet accomplish no work ; esp.
of a woman. Cf pottle, v., powtle, 2.
PAWTS, sb. pi. e.An. Also in forms pahts, pawhts
Suf.^; pights Suf. Flat boards fastened on the feet to
enable men to walk on mud or ooze.
e.An.i Nrf. HoLLowAY. Suf. (W.L.W.); Suf.i Flat boards, about
a foot square, fastened on by strings or thongs, to enable the
wearer to walk over soft mud or ooze at low water in rivers,
when pinpatching, labbing for crabs, &c.
PAWTY, adj. n.Yks.* [p9-ti.] Slovenly.
PAWTY, see Paatie.
PAWVIS, V. Sc. To dally with a girl. Ayr. Surv.
693 (Jam.).
PAWZE, see Pause.
PAX-WAX, sb. Yks. Lan. Der. Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp.
War. e.An. Wil. Also in forms pack-wack Not. Nhp.'^
Cmb.^ ; packywhack w.Yks. ; pac-wax War.^'^ ; paise-
waise w.Yks.^; paxy-waxy n.Wil. ; pise- wise w.Yks.^
[pa'ks-waks.] 1. The strong tendon or ligament in the
neck of an animal ; thick gristle left in meat. Cf fix-
fax, sb>
w.Yks. As tough as pax-wax. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ;
VOL. IV.
(H.L.) ; w.Yks.2; w.Yks.^The gristle in a neck of mutton. Also
said of what is tough. Lan. He looks as if he wur a' bone an'
pax-wax, Waugh Jannock (1874) ix. Der.i^, nw.Der.', Not.
(J.H.B.), n.Lin.i, sw.Lin.i, Lei.>, Nhp.'^ War. Bhaui Wkly. Post
(June ig, 1893) ; War.' ; War.= Sometimes called ' Paxie-waxie ' ;
War.s, e.An.i Cmb.' Put that packwack on the side of your plate
before you swallow it. Nrf. Grose (1790) ; (E.M.) Stif.' n.VSrU.
The thick gristle of beef (G.E. D.). [Ray (1691).]
2. Crusty corners of bread caused by the loaf-tins being
filled too full, and so the contents falUng over the side.
w.Yks. (H.L.)
[1. Paxwax, synewe, Prompt. An older form was fax
wax, MS. Harl. 219, fol. 150 ; cp./«;t: wex in Biblesworth
(c. 1325), see Way's note. OE. feax, hair + weaxan, to
grow ; cp. LG. haarwass, ' die grossen, starken Sehnen
im Fleische, besonders vom Rind' (Berghaus).]
PAY, V. and sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written paay Brks.' LW.'; pey Sh.L Bnff.' w.Sc.
m.Yks."- [pe, pea.] 1. v. In phr. (i) to pay attention, to
eavesdrop ; (2) — one home, to punish smartly ; to give a
home thrust ; (3) — the piper, to pay the penalty, suffer or
smart for anything ; (4) — the pepperidge, see below ; (5)
to be paid away to lull, to go to hell or everlasting destruc-
tion ; (6) to be ill paid, to be sorry ; (7) to be ivell paid, to
be pleased, satisfied ; (8) to draw pay, to be fit for work.
(i) Lln.i (a) Edb. Gude faith! ye pay'd him hame, my cock!
Macneill Bygone Times (1811) 36. (3) Abd. Ye may ' pay the
piper' for some hardened sinner's crime, Ogg IVillie Waly (1873)
80. Slg. When war comes, . . we're press'd, And kick'd about by
every viper, Tho', like the Dutch, we pay the piper, Galloway
Poems (1792) 36. Dmf. Tam Gripper . . . left His hunner lairds tae
pay the piper, Thom Jock 0' Knowe {i8-]B) 20. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
(4) Suf. (Hall.) ; Suf.' A school boy having on a new suit of
clothes is subjected to have a button pulled off unless he ' pay the
pepperidge ' by giving a douceur to his play fellows. (5) Slk. I
. . . thought I was already on my road to the Fairy Land an' to be
paid away to hell ... at the end o' seven years, Hogg Tales
(1838) 53, ed. 1866. (6) Abd. I'm verra ill paid for ye (Jam.).
(7) Sc. I'm weel paid wi' the bargain {ib.). Don. One of them
[horses] had only three legs dhrawin' pay, Macmanus Chim.
Corners (1899) 170.
2. Comb, (i) Pay-berring, a funeral at which the per-
sons attending are expected to offer some small contri-
bution towards the expenses ; (2) — Friday, the alternate
Friday on which pitmen are paid their wages ; (3) -gate,
a turnpike or toll-house gate; (4) -master, an employer
of labour ; (5) -night, the night on which farm labourers
receive their weekly wages ; (6) -rent, profitable, pro-
hfic ; paying ; (7) — Saturday, the Saturday following
on the alternate Friday on which pitmen are paid their
wages ; (8) -sheet, see below ; (9) -table day, the day
on which hop-pickers receive their wages ; \io) -way,
farewell, valedictory ; (11) -wedding, see below ; (12)
-week, the alternate week in which pitmen receive their
wages.
(i) w.Yks.2 (2) Wil. A week efter comes ' pay- Friday,' Pease
Tales (1899) 126. (3) Ken.l, Sur.' Sus. (S.P.H.) ; Sus.' I was
borned at the cottage just beyond the pay-gate (s.v. Native).
Dev.3 (4) s.Wor.', Glo. (A.B.) (5) Brks.' (6) Hrt. A payrent
crop of turnips, Ellis Mod. Husb. (i 750) IV. i. 39. w.Som.' Applied
to both crops and animals. ' I calls yours a proper pay-rent sort
0' pigs.' 'A rare pay-rent piece o' beans.' It is com. to say
approvingly of any stock, ' Very good lot 0' things ; they be
proper rent-payers, else I never didn zee none.* (7) Nhb. Next day
bein' 'pay Saturday,' Pease Tales (1899) 92. (8) Nhb., Dur.
A sheet prepared, usually by the overman, containing an account
of the amount of the work and money to which each man, or, in
the case of hewers, each pair of men is entitled, and from which
they are paid, Nicholson Coal Tr. CI. (1888). (9) Hmp. (W.M. E.F.)
(10) Ayr. Going home, after partaking of Captain Hepburn's pay-
way supper, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xiv; Given when one is leaving
a place, or for the purpose of bearing one's expenses on the road ;
used also as a sb. (Jam.) (11) I.Ma. One described the 'pay-
weddings,' where the hat went round, and every guest gave
something towards the cost of the breakfast and the expenses of
beginning house-keeping, Caine Manxman (1894) pt. in. xvii.
(12) Nhb. The very syem time it was their pay-week, Marshall
Sngs. (1829) 6. w.Yks. (J.W.)
31-
PAY
[442]
PEA
3. To beat, thrash, chastise.
Sc. There I paid her baith back and side Till a' her banes play'd
clatter, Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) I. 329. Cal.'- Bnff.^ The
maister peyed 's fingers weel till 'im. Bch. Leave the war, or
else the lads O' Troy wad pay his hyde, Forbes Ulysses (1785)
23. Abd. Ance ye're at hame, I'se gar your bacic be pay'd,
Shirrefs Poems (1790) 6i. Frf. Piper of Peebles (1794) 19. Per.
Smith Poems (1714) 24, ed. 1853. Rnf. The people came and
met him, and paid his skin to very good purpose, Wodrow
Corns. (1709-31) II. 224, ed. 1843. Lnk. Other fouk has gotten
their skin well pait, Graham Writings (1883) II. 16. Dmf.
Shennan Tales (1831) 57. Gall. They are secure of getting their
skins well paid in the next world, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895)
198. n.Cy. Chiefly now used in speaking to children, 'I'll pay
your hide' (J,L. 1783); N.Cy.i Nhb.' Aa'll pay yor hide. He
pays his wife. Dur.i Aw'l pay thy jacket. e.Dur.i ' I'll pay your
bottom, 'a common threat to children. Cum.'* w.Yks. T'maister's
bin payin yahr Tom (M.F.); w.Yks.' I paid her, and fettl'd her
reight, ii. 288; w.Yks.^s*^ Der.=, nw.Der.', Not. (J.H.B.), Lin.'
n.Lin.' Them school-lads hes been payin' oor lass. sw.Lin.' The
mare was stunt, and he paid her. She was hitting and paying
the poor lass all along the road. Nhp.' Hrt. He has been a'
payin' o' me, and I want t'sarve him out for th' insult (H.G.).
w.Mid. I'll pay you, if you gits a'walkin' on my flower-beds
(W.P.M.). Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.', Suf.i Ess. Who'd pay a hoss
when tugging on? Clark J. Noakes (1839) st. 8; Ess.i s.Cy.
HoLLowAY. I.W.' w.Som.' Maister '11 pay thee, ah'll warn un,
zoon's a knowth it.
Hence Pemmint, sb. a thrashing ; a mild chastisement.
S. & Ork.^ 4. To punish ; to defeat, overcome, conquer.
Sh.I. Shii's paid da boys fine, Sh. News (Jan. 15, 1898). Cld.
The French were hale paid at Waterloo (Jam.). Edb. Let me
hame to France again. For you hae pay'd us fairly. Glass
Parnassus (1812) 42. Rxb. He's fully paid (Jam.). Ir. They
would pay the masther, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) 116.
Nlib.' Aa can pay that chep easy. w.Yks. Tha's reight paid
[rightly or justly punished] (J.T.) ; Wormald and Marsden fate
for't championship an Wormald paid e thirty-seven minutes,
Dewsbre Olm. (1866) 3 ; w.Yks.s Which would paay dus tuh
think if thuh wur to start reight an' hev a feight? 6.
5. To suffer, smart, pay the penalty.
Sh.I. Bit da peerie cat pay'd fir hit : he [it] wis a mercy 'at shfl
wisna flattn'd oot laek a pancake, Sk. News (Oct. 8, 1898) ;
Jenny Osla made hit up for a trick, I niver keen ; onywy sha
pey'd for hit, Clark N. Gleams (1898) 55. w.Sc.A'll mak'ye pey
for yer words, sir, aboot ma hoose, Macdonald Settlement (1869)
120, ed. 1877. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
e. To run, t6 walk very quickly. Gen. with in or on.
Elg. The wee bit maukin, far afore, Pays on wi' lightning's
speed, Couper Poetry (1804) I. 175. Bnff.' Fin a met 'im, he wiz
peyin' on {or peyin on the rod) wee a's micht. se.Sc. Wi' it [he]
quickly ran away As fast as e'er he could pay, Donaldson Poetris
(1890) 205. m.Yks.' I met him coming along, peying at all ivvers.
7. With up : to work with energy.
Bnff.' The men hid t'pey up the flail three oors ilky mornin'.
8. To lay on a coat of pitch or tar ; to protect or smear
with tar, pitch, &c. ; to caulk. Also usedyzg-.
Dur. If this vessel had been well payed with genuine coal tar
no such accident could have happened, Marshall Review (1808)
I. 138. Cor.' Naut. To 'pay the decks' is to rub them over
with pitch to close the seams. Among sailors, there is a saying in
allusion to this : — ' The Devil to pay and no pitch hot,' Holloway.
9. sb. Reward, recompense ; money payment.
Kcd. They said that they would pay the fee. And that again he
would be free. Accordingly, the pay was sent, Jamie Muse (1844)
19. Per. It's a sore nicht for the pair beast, but than there's the
gude cause, an' ye'U no be forgettin' the ruch wather e'y pay, sir,
Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 12, ed. 1887.
10. A drunken bout, following on the payment of wages.
Lnk. It's no just a pay or an orra bit fuddle — Aft in a day they
guzzle an' muddle, Hamilton Poems (1865) 133.
11. pi. Miners' wages.
Nhb. In the afternoon shortly after the 'pays 'had been given
out, Pease Mark o' Deil (1894) 55.
12. //. Punishment, castigation, thrashing.
Sc. Still gen. used (Jam., s.v. Pais). n.Cy. Grose (1790).
Nhb. Ye'll get yor pays iv ye diwen't gan ti skeul (J.H.) ; Those
'pays' for which the infants had been watching were never
given, S. Tynedale Stud. (1896) No. v; Nhb.' If ye dinna stop,
bairn, ye'll get yor pays, aa can tell ye. Cum.*
PAY, PAY-COD, PAYL, see Pea, sb}, Peascod, Pail, v.
PAYMENT, sb. Lin. [pe'ment.] Damage, harm,
injury.
It will take no payment, Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 717 ;
(J.C.W.) ; Lin.', n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' They'll tak' no payment from
the rain. The corn's taking no payment at present. I'm very
healthy, so I think I'll take no payment.
PAYS, sb. Irel. Peace ! truce, ' pax.'
n.Ir. He'd throw the best av the boys, an' before you'd say
' Pays ! ' the whole fair wid jist be as quet as you plase, Lays and
Leg. (1884) 6.
PAYSANS, s6. Ess. An early kind of apple. (S.P.H.)
PAYSE, PAY-SEGG, PAYSEN, see Paise, v}, Pease,
Pace-egg, Paise, v}
PAYSHUN-DOCK, PAYSYAD, PAYT, see Patience-
dock, Paseyad, Part.
PAY- WAY, V. w.Yks.!* [pe--we.] To totter, oscillate.
A load of hay is said to ' pay-way' when it oscillates on the
wagon. The meaning seems to be ' to give way.'
PAYWEE, sb. Lan. War. Also in form pewey War.^
[pe'-wi, piu'i.] The linnet, Linota cannabina.
Lan. Science Gossip {1882) 164; (G.E.D.) ; In common use, more
esp. on the eastern side of the county (S.W.). War.^
PAZE, PAZIL, see Paise, v.'^, Pea, 56.', Pease, Parcel.
PEA, sb.^ and adj. Var. dial, forms and uses in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. [pi, pe, pei, pie.] I. Dial, forms. 1. sg. (i)
Pai, (2) Pay, (3) Peea, (4) Peigh, (5) Pey. [For further
examples see II below.]
(i) nw.Der.' Aw wur so feert dha met a' knockt me o'er wi' a
pai. (2) Cum.i, w.Yks. (E.S.A), Chs.' Nhp.' Pay-shells. Shr.2
(3) e.Yks.i (4) Lan. Lee Gl. (1843). m.Lan.' (5) e.Yks.>,
w.Yks. (J.W.), w.Yks.' 23^ n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', e.Lan.'
2. pi. (i) Paes, (2) Paeys, (3) Paise, (4) Paisen, (5)
Pase, (6) Paysen, (7) Paze, (8) Pazen, (9) Peasen, (10)
Peason, (11) Peaz, (12) Peazen, (13) Peeaz, (14) Peeazen,
(15) Pesen, (16) Peson, (17) Pesz, (18) Peyse, (19) Paz,
(20) Pezz, (21) Piz, (22) Pizz, (23) Pizzen.
(i) se.Wor.i (2) W.Yks. Pkases Bradford Life, 26. (3) War.*
Ye can have a good boihng of them paise in welcome. (4) Cor.*
(5) Wil. Slow GL (1892). (6) Cor. When we ait a good many,
we caall ut paysen, Tregellas Tales (1868) 32. (7) War.^ Wor.,
Shr.NoRTHALLH^rf.BA.(i896). Brks.' (8) Hrf.' (9) w.Wor.i,Shr.'
Glo. Horae Subsecivae (j-lTf) 321; Glo.'2 Brks. Grose (1790).
Suf.',Hmp.' Wil, Britton B«aM/«s (1825). n. Wil. Them peasen's
forrard, bean 'um? (E.H.G.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Cor.' 2
(10) n.Lin.i, Shr.2, Hrf. (N.G.) (11) Brks.' (12) Hrf.i, Brks.',
n.Wil. (E.H.G.) (13) Cum.',LW.' (14) LW.i (15) Nhb.' (16)
Cor.2 (17) n.Lan.i (18) Ags. (Jam., s.v. Peysie-whin). (19)
Dur.i, Cum.'* n.Yks. Grey pez keeak'd for t'supper, Tweddell
Clevel. Pfiymes {1815) s. (20) Lakel.^ {zi) Bwk. Monthly Mag.
(1814) I. 31. Wxf.i (22) Fif. (Jam.) (23) Wxf.i
II. Dial, meanings. 1. sb. In cowZi. (i)Pea-and-thum-
mils, a swindling game ; see below ; (2) -bluff, a tin pea-
shooter; (3) -(s-brush, pea-stubble, esp. when harrowed
or ' brushed ' preparatory to sowing wheat ; (4) -bug, the
wood-louse ; (5) -button, a small button on a pea-jacket ;
(6) -cloise, a field of peas ; esp. in phr. as silly as a pea-cloise ;
(7) -feast, a favourite entertainment among farm-servants ;
see below ; (8) -grit, pisolitic limestone ; (9) -gun, a pea-
shooter ; (10) -hill, the shell or empty pod of a pea ; (11)
-hole, a shop or booth where peas are sold ; (12) -hook,
an implement for cutting peas ; see below ; (13) -hull, see
(10) ; (14) -make, an instrument for cutting up peas ; (15)
-morning, obs., a holiday among young men and boys at the
pits when the peas came to maturity; (16) -pluffer, see (9) ;
(17) -puss-coat, see (10) ; (18) -reap, the heap into which
peas are gathered on the field when ripe ; (19) -rice, -rise,
or Pease-rice, (a) pea-straw; peas that are done with
and cut down ; (b) a stick for training peas ; (20) -riser,
(21) -rizle, see (19, b) ; (22) -saloon, see (11) ; (23) -scald-
ing, -scolding, or Pez-scodin, see (7) ; (24) -scone or
Peas-scone, a scone made of pea-flour ; (25) -shaup, (26)
-shuck, see (10) ; (27) -splitting, fig. hair-splitting ;
drivmg hard bargains ; (28) -swab or -swad, (a) see (loj ;
{b) a boys' game; see below; (29) -swad-days, young
days ; (30) -swap, the succulent, half-formed pea-pod and
P^3 ; (31) -tree, the laburnum, Cytisus Laburnum ; (33)
PEA
[443]
PEACE
Peas-and-sport, see (7) ; (33) -bannock, a bannock made
of pea-flour ; (34) -blossom damp, coal-pit term : a damp
making less noise than ordinary damp ; white-damp ;
(35) -boggle, a scarecrow set up in a field of peas ; (36)
•bolt, see (19, a) ; (37) -brose, ' brose ' made from pea-flour ;
(38) -bruizle, a quantity of field peas boiled in their pods;
(39) -clod, a roll made of pease-meal ; (40) -hallow, see
(3) ; (41) -kale, pea-soup ; (42) -kill, (a) see (38) ; also
ViS&dfig. ; (b) a confused scramble ; (c) in phr. io make a
pease-kill of anything, to squander anything lavishly ; (43)
•lilts, see (37) ; (44) -meal, fig. soft, flabby ; (45) -meal-
cobble, greenstone; (46)— Monday, the day before Shrove
Tuesday ; (47) -porridge, see (41) ; (48) -pudding, a
pudding made of pea-flour ; (49) -pudding-faced, mealy-
faced; (50) -stickeii, sticks for training peas ; (51) -straw,
the last dance at a rustic party ; (52) -swads, green peas
in the husk ; (53) -wap, (54) -willy, a very small marble,
no bigger than a pea; (55) -wisp, anything tossed roughly
together like a wisp of pea-straw.
(i) Frf. The three-card trick, or prick-the-garter, or the pea-an'-
thummiis. . . If ye see three thummils, an' suppose that ye ken
which ane o' the three the pea's aneath, juist misdoot yer judgment,
for it's seldom aneath ony o' them, Willock Roseily Ends (1886)
154-5, ed. 1889. (2) Suf. (Hall.) (3) War.^ Pea brushes too
hard to plough, Evesham Jm. (July 29, 1899). Hrf. Bound
Frot/mc. (1876) ; Hrf.l (4)Ken.l (5) N.Cy.i (6) w.Yks. (E.S.A.)
(7) n.Yks. Field peas are boiled in the pod, placed on the table
and eaten with melted butter, and the guests pelted with empty
pods (R.H.H.). (8) Glo. This bed, locally termed ' pea-grit,'
forms the base of the Inferior Oolite, over the somewhat limited
area where it occurs, Ramsay Rock Spec. (1862) 129. (9) Edb.
Cracking awa like pea-guns, Ballantine Gaberlumie (ed. 1875)
242. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) (10) n.Yks.* (11) w.Yks. Flingin darts
for toffy, or laikin' at dominoes for nuts i' Tom Wreeght pey-hoile,
Yks. Wkly. Post (Sept. 26, 1896). (12) Nhp.i A long, straight stall,
with a serrated hook at the en-d. Ken.l Used in conjunction with
a hink for cutting peas. It was like a ripping-hook, only mounted
on a longer handle. (13) Nhb.i (s.v. Huel), n.Yks.*^, ne.Yks.^,
■w.Yks.^ Lan. Calls the husk or covering of the pea, a ' pea-hull,'
GASKELLZ,erfMce5Z)<fl/. (1854) 15. Shr.2 (14) e.Suf. (F.H.) (15)
Nhb. There are certain times of the year when the young men and
lads refuse to work, and insist on a ' Gaudy Day,' for instance . . .
when the turnips and peas are at maturity. They call these
periods . . . ' a Tormit Mornin ' and ' a Pea Mornin,' Wilson
Pitman's Pay (1843) 62 ; Nhb.'^ (16) Dwn. Them boys cares as
much fur yer guns as a wud aboot wee Paddy's pea-pluffer, Lyttle
Robin Gordon, 63. (17) Nrf. (G.E.D.) (18) e.Yks. In harvest,
when it came a windy day. The sheaves and pea-reaps oft were
blown away, Nicholson Flk-Lore (1890) 34 ; e.Yks.i (19, a)
Cmb. Take away the pease-rice (W.W.S.). Ess. (S.P.H.) (6)
Chs.13, n.Stf. (G.H.H.), Der. (L.W.), Shr.i (20) Stf. (M.A.R.),
War. 2, Shr.'^ (21) War.* (22) Lan. Put us a peigh saloon on,
Clegg Slietches (1895) 336 ; Commonly seen on our market grounds
at Fair times, where peas are cooked for eating (S.W.). (23)
Cum.'* n.Yks.* The peas with their shells on, are scalded or
steamed, then put into a large bowl set in the centre of a table,
round which the company assemble. In the hot heap, a cup con-
taining butter and salt is placed, into which every one dips his
peas-cod. The peas are stripped out by the pressure of the mouth
in the eating. w.Yks.^ (24) Lnk. H'm ! peascones, five for tip-
pence ! Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 22. Edb. Whiles only but a
dry peas scone. With water or scum milk that's lean, Liddle Poems
(1821) 102. (25) N.I.' (26) w.Yks. (W.F.) (27) Ayr. He
inherited from baith of his forbears that pea-splittin' nature which
kythed when he was but a callan', Service D>: Duguid (ed. 1887)
25. (28, a) Nhb.i, Dnr.', n.Yks.i*, w.Yks.i^a Lan.i He wur badly
clemmed. I've seen hira pike peigh-swads out o' th' swillin'-tub
mony a time, Waugh Chim. Corner (1874) 225, ed. 1879. n.Lan.i,
ne.Lan.', e.Lan.i, m.Lan.i, Chs.i s.Chs.' Dhurwoz u laad-, un ee
aad' n6o daad", un ey jiimt intii Ci pee-swaad'; pee'svsraad' woz
sii fill, ey jiimt in-tii u roa-rin bill [There was a lad. An' he had
noo dad. An' hey jumped into a peaswad ; Peaswad was s6 full,
Hey jumped into a roarin' bull]. nw.Der.', Nhp.i (i) Chs.i It
was somewhat similar to duckstone. Each boy, when he threw
his stone, had to say ' pay-swad,' or he had to go down himself.
(29) m.Lan.' Aw think mony a time as aw'd like to live mi ' peigh-
swad ' days o'er ageean. (30) Nhb.i (31) Sc. Named from the
resemblance of its blossoms and pods to those of the pea (Jam.).
sw.Sc, Garden Wk, (1896) No, cxiv, 112, (3a) s.Cy. Grose
(1790) MS. add. (P.) (33) Sc. This comes of your lang fa^ts . . .
and of breaking them with pease-bannock, Scott S/. Ronan (1824)
xvii. Lnk. His mither was baking pease bannocks, Graham
IVritings {1883) II. 228. Edb. A daud o' peas-bannock to help hira
across the Lang Whang, Ballantine Gaberlumie (ed. 1875) 239.
(34) Stf.i [So cali'd, because it smells as the Colliers fancie, like
the blossoms of peas (K.).] (35) Sc. A ragged rascal — with a
coat and hat that would have served a pease-bogle, Scott Nigel
(1822) V. Edb. The coats hung about me like rags on a pease-
bogle, Beattv Secretar (1897) 215. n.Yks.'^ Dressed like an aud
peas-boggle. (36) e.An. (Hall.) Ess. Gl. (1851) ; Ess.i (37')
Sc. What ! pease-brose to your dinner ? Sc. Haggis, 27. Slg. I'll
wish you pease-brose, and the printer's devil, Galloway Poems
(1810) 3. Lnk. Ye'll hae to bide here the nicht, at ony rate, that's
as plain as peas brose, Gordon P)'o/i/iaw (1885) 256. n.Ir. Pease
brose, ye ken that's Glesco goold in a refined state, Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 23. (38) Sc. (Jam.) (39) Edb. Toil for pease-clods
an' gude lang kail, Fergusson Poems (1773) 187, ed. 1785. (40)
Won Bound Provinc. (1876). (41) Cum. And Betty's aw for thick
pez keale, Gilpin Ballads (1874) 139. Lan. Mine's bin chiefly
poddish an' peas-kale, an' blue-milk cheese, Waugh Jannock (1874)
ix. (42, a) s.Sc. (Jam.) Rxb. Thus a law-suit is said to be a pease-
kill for the lawyers (li.). (6) Rxb. (li.) (c) Sc. When a man's
affairs go wrong, and interested persons get the management of
his property, it is commonly said, ' They're making a bonny pease-
kill o't ' {ib.). (43) Cld. So called because in hard times the poorer
classes live almost entirely on this article of food ; and frequent
partaking of the same dish is lilting, taking a lilt (<'6.). (44) Rnf.
They daichy peasmeal trash [of marbles] Ne'er his pooches line,
They've no gat the weicht nor ring O' the current coin, Neilson
Poems (1877) 93. (45) n.Lan.i (46) Cor.i e.Cor. So called in
east Corn, from the custom of eating pea soup that day (W.D.L.).
(47) Wxf.', Brks.> (48) LW.i e.Som. W. & J. Gl (1873). (49)
Edb. He wantet manners vera bad, thon pease-puddin' faced watter-
drinker, Campbell Deilie Jock (1897) 219. (50) Wil. Slow Gl.
(1892). (5i)N.Cy.i (52) Ciim._(J.D.) (53, 54) Lakel.* (55) Ir.
(A. J.I.) N.I.i Your head's just like a peaswisp.
2. Phr. (i) not io say peas, to make no remark ; (a)
splitting of peas, fig. hair-splitting ; (3) the pea of the eye,\}sx^
pupil of the eye.
(i) Kcb. ' Did she say where she was going, or when she would
return ? ' ' No, she gaed awa oot an' never said peas,' Armstrong
Kirkiebrae (1896) 153. (2) Dmf. There would be such argle-
bargling and splitting o' peas to gie neat wecht, Wallace School-
master (iSgg) 333. (3) Shr.i
3. The hard roe offish ; gen. in pi.
Nhb.i Dev. The male salmon is said to attend the female from
the sea, and to observe where she intends to deposit her pease or
spawn, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 237-8. nw.Dev.', Cor.^*
4. //. Pease-meal. Cld. (Jam.) 6. Small pieces of
coal, so called from their size. Nhb.^ Nhb., Dur. Nichol-
son Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). 6. adj. Tiny ; no bigger than
a pea.
Ayr. The sma' Kittle wran . . . flitter'd about on her windlestrae
legs In mortal dread for her wee pea eggs, Ainslie Land of Burns
(ed. 1892) 177.
PEA, sb.^ Obs. s.Cy. Hmp. The weight which is
used in weighing anything with the steelyard. s.Cy.
(Hall.) Hmp. Holloway.
[Fr. (Norm. diaL) peis, 'poids'; so OFr. (Norm.)
(Moisy).]
PEACE, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Pern. Wil. Also in forms
pace, paece Sh.I. [pis, piss.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Peace-
and-plenty, the London pride, Saxifraga mnbrosa ; (2)
-warn, to serve a notice of ejectment ; (3) -warning, a
notice of ejectment.
(i)WU.Garrff«fFA.(i896)No.cxi.76;Wil.iAkindofsmalldouble
white garden Saxifrage. (2) Gall. It was not sportsmanlike to
' peace-warn ' his own tenants, Ctlocketi Kit Kennedy (1899) 105.
(3) I hae a peace-warning to declare to Mathy Armour, . . that
will send him oot o' this comfortable doonsittin', ib. 118.
2. Phr. ij) peace be with us, an exclamation of astonish-
ment; {2) to be in peace, to be quiet; to stop doing anything;
(3) to break the peace of the public, to disturb the public ; to
be riotous and disorderly ; (4) to peace, an imprecation ;
(5) Io give peace, to leave alone, to leave in peace ; (6) to
take peace, to be quiet, to be at rest.
(i) Abd. Then up she got — cried, 'Peace be we's, 1 fear I'm
miss'd 1 ' Cock Strains (1810) I. 123. (a) Sh.I. Doo's hurtin' me
3La
PEACE
[444]
PEAK
shakle-bane. Be in pace, man! Sh. News (Dec. i, 1900); Geng
ower ta Magnis an' Tamy aless doo's in paece. Be a good boy !
ib. (Feb. 16, 1901). (3) Abd. Some frien'less woman in poverty
sunk, Had broken the peace o' the public when drunk, Anderson
Rhymes (ed. 1867) 76. (4) Abd. I wiss til peace she'd niver
seen 'im, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Sept. 15, igoo). Gall. I de-
clare to peace that I will gie ye a daud on the side o' the head,
Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 63. (5) Sh.I. So, Willie gie hir
paece, boy, Sh. News (Feb. 16, 1901). (6) Sh.I. Girzzie 'ill no tak'
paece wance 'at shii begins ta loss paeshens, ib. (Dec. 9, 1899).
3. Soothing syrup.
Yks. Please, mi muther wants a 'awputh 0' peace (F.P.T.).
4. V. To quiet, pacify.
s.Pem. I can't peace the child, Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421.
PEACE, PEACE-EGG, PEACEYAUD, see Pace,
Pace-egg, Paseyad.
PEACH, sb. Cor. [pitj.] Chlorite, a bluish-green soft
stone. Cor.*2 Hence (1) Peachy-ground, sb. a part of
the lode which contains a considerable amount of chlorite.
Cor.^ ; (2) -lode, sb. a lode of chlorite. Cor.^
PEACH, V. Cor. Also written peech Cor.^^ [pit/.]
With away : to coax, entice. Cor.^ Hence Peecher, sb.
a bait ; an allurement. Cor.^'^
PEACH, see Pearch.
PEACH-BELL, sb. Dev. The peach-leaved bell-
flower, Cmnpanula persicifolia. (B. & H.), Dev.*
PEACHY, sb. Nhb.i [prtji.] The lesser redpoll,
Linota rufescens.
PEACOCK, sb. Stf. Lin. Hrt. ?Wil. Cor. Aus.
[prkok.] 1. In comb, (i) Peacock-coal, coal reflecting
various colours ; (2) -ore, copper pyrites when tarnished
or coated with a film of iridescent colour; (3) -'s tail, obs.,
the maple, Acer catnpestre.
(i) Stf.' (2) Cor. Smyth Cat. Mineral Coll. (1864) 10. [Aus.
The prismatic tints of a material sulphide known to miners by the
name of 'peacock ore,' Vogan Blk. Police (1890) xix.] (3) Hrt.
Diapered knots and curled grain have given [Maple] the name of
the peacock's tail, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) "VII. i. 84.
2. The pheasant, Phasianus colchicus. ? Wil. Jefferies
Hedgerow (1889) 201. 3. Obs. A name given to a horse ;
see below.
Lin. At fairs when dealers were showing a pony or a blood horse
(not cart horses) they used to crack their whips and cry out
' Here's your little peacock' many times over (E.P.).
PEAD, V. Stf.i Also written peid. [pTd.] To walk
steadily.
PEA-ESH, sb. Hrf w.Cy. Som. Also in forms peas-
eddis Hrf ; pease-errish w.Som.' [pi'-^J^-] Pea-stubble.
See Eddish.
Hrf. DuNCDMB Hist. Hrf. (1804-12) ; Hrf.i, w.Cy. (Hall.)
w.Som.i You'll sure to vind the birds in the pease-errish [pai'z-
uur-eesh], they be 'most always there.
PEA-FINCH, sb. Midi. Nhp. Shr. Oxf. The chaffinch,
Fringilla coelebs. Cf. pie-finch. ■
Midi. SwAiNSONS/Vrfs (1885) 62. Nhp.'- Shr. Swainson /i. Oxf.
Aplin Birds (1889) 14.
PEAGE, sb. Obsol. Nhb. Also in form piege. A
small, rudely-built hut or shelter. Cf percage.
Jamie Macfarlane, who, during summer, dwelt in a peage or
divot-hut on Belford Moor, Dixon Whiltingham Vale (1895) 158 ;
(R.O.H.) ; Nhb.i
Hence Piege-hut, sb. a shelter for a herdsman. Nhb.
(R.O.H.)
PEAGLE, see Paigle.
PEA-GOOSE, sb. and v. e.An. [pr-giis.] L sb. One
who has a sickly and silly appearance. e.An.' 2. v. To
behave as a ' pea-goose.'
e.An.' How he do go a pea-goosin' (s.v. Peaking). Nrf. (E.M.)
[1. Away, good peakgoose, away, John Cheese, Ascham
Scholemaster (1570J 48 (Nares).]
PEA-HALM, PEAIG, see Pease-haulm, Pieg.
PEAK, sb> and v} Sc. Yks. Hrt. Mid. Dev. Also
written peek Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Sh.I. Hrt. [pTk.] 1. sb.
The summit or sharp point of a sea-cliff or rock.
Sh.I. Da rocks wis strong, an' I could howld on ta da peeks, Sh.
News (May 20, 1899). e.Yks. (C.A.F.)
2. A triangular piece of linen, used for binding the hair
below the cap.
Ags. Prob. so named because in form it resembles apeak (Jam.).
3. See below. [Not known to our correspondents.]
? Dev. Wishing that he should have what was then in fashion . . .
a pair of fine peaks, as they were called, one being on either side
the forehead, she caused the hair to be regularly shaved off, Bray
Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) III. Lett, xxxviii.
4. A very small quantity ; a ray.
So. A peek o' fire {Jam. Suppl.). Per. Richt eerie at nicht Was
yon peekie o' licht. Ford Harp (1893) 306.
5. V. To make pointed.
w Mid. Jest peak that ere stick and stick it in the ground. Lend
us your knife to peak my pencil (W.P.M.).
Hence Peekish, adj. pointed.
Hrt. A peekish head and tail, Ellis Shep. Guide (1750) 151.
PEAK, v.'^ and adj. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Eng. and
Amer. Also written peeck Amer. ; peek Sc. War.* Brks.'
Ken. Sun' Dor. Som. Dev. ; and in forms peck Glo.' ; peeak
Abd. ; peyke Cum.' ; pick Lin. War.** s.War.' Glo.' Oxf.'
Hmp.' Wil.' Dor. w.Som.^ [pikj piak, pik.] 1. v. To
look pinched and sickly ; to waste away. Cf. peaky, adj!'-
Cai.', Cum.', Lei.', War.^ [Amer. She peaked an' pined, an'
died when Billy P. was about fifteen or so, Westcott David
Harum (1900) xvii.]
Hence (i) Peaked, //>/. adj. having pinched features ; thin,
wasted, sickly-looking ; unwell ; (2) Peaking, ppl. adj.
pinched in appearance, sickly, feeble ; pining ; peevish ;
(3) Peakish, adj. weak, ill.
(i) w.Yks. Thou'rt looking as peaked and pined as a Methody
preacher after a love-feast, Gaskell Sylvia (1863) 1. ii. Lei.'
War.2 What a pick(5d face that child's got ; War.s* s.War.', Glo.'
Oxf. The child's looking very picked ; what can be the matter
with her? (G.O.) ; Oxf.' You must take keer [kee-iir] 0' your
Bob, 'e looks very pickid. Brks.', ne.Ken. (H.M.), Sur.', Sus.',
Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.' Wii. Slow Rhymes (1889) 36 ; Wil.l
Dor. Gl. (1851) ; Barnes Gl. (1863). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
w.Som.'AnastypickedfacedoId thing. Dev. His peaked body began
to growround and plump, Mortimer Tales Moors (1895) 53. [Amer.
Sorry to see you. Banks, lookin' so peecked, Sam Slick Clockmaker
( 1836) ist S. X. ] (2) Abd. Benjie was an orpiet peeakin little sinner,
Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xiv. Frf. Yer no' peekin John
Small o' Oathland, Lowson Guidfollow (1890) 247. Fif. The peekin,
dwinin bairn, Colville Vernacular (1899) 17. n.Cy. Holloway.
Not. She looked very white and peaking (L.C.M.). Rut.' A poor
peakin little thing. Lei.' Nhp.' The child looks but peaking ;
Nhp. 2, War .3 Shr.' Said of young poultry for the most part.
' Bad for turkies ; I've lost several, an' theer's more looks very
peakin'.' Hrf.2 The chickens are poor little peaking things. e.An.',
Suf.' w.Som.' I thort the poor maid looked maain peakin. Dev.
A peeking stomach, picking and choosing the little it eats with
great niceness, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 321. (3) Hnt. (T.P.F.)
Hmp.' She do look very peakish of late.
2. adj. Pinched in the face through illness ; weak,
languid, delicate.
Lin. (Hall.) Nhp.' A farmer complained that his ' horse was so
peak and wankling,' he could hardly get him along. e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873).
[1. Weary se'nnights nine times nine Shall he dwindle,
peak, and pine, Shaks. Macbeth, i. iii. 23.]
PEAK, V? and sb?- Sc. Lei. War. Also in forms
peeack Bnff.'; peeak Mry. (Jam.) [pik, piak.] 1. v. To
chirp as a young bird ; to squeak like a mouse; to speak
or sing in a thin, weak voice.
Sc. He's no sae puir as he peaks (Jam.). Mry. {ib.") Bnff.' Yer
chuckles are peeackin' gey muckle, an' hingin' ther wings. They
peeackit an' sang a wee filie, an' syne ga't up for an ill job. Abd.
I winna hear my frien's misca't, Sae dinna ment to peak. Cock
Strains (1810) II. 135. Lei.', War.3
Hence Peeackin', ppl. adj. having a habit of singing or
speaking in a thin and often querulous voice. Bntf.'
2. sb. The chirp of a young bird ; a small, insignificant
voice.
Bnff.' Abd.'Peak, peak,' cried the chicken, PAUL^Arf.(i88i) 125.
_ 3. A person, esp. a small person, who speaks or sings
in a thin, weak voice.
Bnff.i He's jist a mere peeack. We hardly saw 'im i' the poopit,
an' he cheepit an' squeeackit like a moose aneth a firlot.
PEAK
[445]
PEAR
PEAK, sb.^ and v." Cum. Yks. Der. Wil. Also written
peek Der.^; and in forms peyke Cum.*; pike Wil. 1. sb.
Offence, umbrage, pique ; a grudge.
Cum." She hes a peyke at me. Yks. He's taken a peak against
him (C.C.R.). m.Yks.i He's taken a peak at somewhat. Der.^
Owed him a peek. Wil. I only married her out of pike, Tennant
ym. Notes (1900) 40.
2. V. To offend, pique ; to bear a grudge.
Cum." m.Yks.i He's peaked about somewhat.
PEAK, see Pick, v.", Peek, Perk.
PEAKED, ppl. adj. Lin. Wor. Hmp. 1. Pointed, tri-
angular ; applied esp. to triangular pieces of land or
corners of fields. Cf. pecked, piked.
s.Wor. The peaked bits often found at the corners of fields (H.K.).
Hmp.' A peaked piece, a triangular field.
2. Of trees: blown on one side, out of the perpendicular.
sw.Lin.' I've cutten out some peaked larch. There's a many
peaked, if not fallen. When they're peaked, they do no more good.
PEAKIE, PEAKLE, see Pickie, adj?, Peekle.
PEAKREL, sb. n.Cy. Midi. Der. Also written peakrU
n.Cy. [prkril.] 1. An inhabitant of the Peak district.
Midi. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. Der.^, nw.Der.i
2. pi. A breed of mountain sheep.
n.Cy. The stock of the more southerly heathlands are native
mountain sheep of a light frame — their faces mostly grey — some of
them horned, others hornless; and bear the name of peakrils,
Marshall Review (1808) I. 523.
PEAKY, adj.^ and sb. Sc. Yks. Also written peeky
Ayr. (] AM. Suppl.) [prki, w.Yks. pia'ki.] 1. a^'. Sharply
pointed.
w.Sc. A peevish discontented-looking face, with a peaky little bit
of a nose, MACDONA.t.T>Seii!emeHi{i86g).^$, ed. 1877. w.Yks. f J.W.)
2. sb. A Steel knitting-pin. Ayr. (Jam. Suppl.) Hence
Peaky-worker, sb. a knitter.
The knitting of these articles is done almost entirely by females,
called peakies or peaky-workers, ib.
3. A knitter.
The occupation of the peaky is completely gone, for every
variety of knitted cap or bonnet is worked by machinery, ib.
4:. pi. Knitting; always used with the def. article, ib.
PEAKY, adj.^ War. Shr. Hrf. Brks. Mid. e.An. Ken.
Sur. Sus. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Also written peeky War.
Brks.' Nrf Ken.' Som. ; and in form picky War. Wil.'
Som. [piki, pi-ki.] 1. Having pointed, pinched features;
sickly-looking ; delicate. Cf. peak, v.^
War. (J.R.W.), Shr.' Brks.' A be a-Iookin' maain peeky, med-
be a wants moor me-at to yet. w.Mid. Don't worry her, she is
peaky this afternoon (W.P.M.). Nrf. (A.C.),Ess. (H.H.M.) Ken.'
He was terr'ble peeky yesterday. Sur.' Sus. She was that peaky
as a baby, O'Reilly Stories (1880) II. 179. Wil.', Dor. (C.W.)
Som. SwEETMAN Wincattton Gl. (1885). e.Som. W. & J. GI. (1873).
Dev. I can't abide to zee 'e look so cruel weist and peaky,
Blackmore Kit (i8go) viii.
2, Bashful. Hrf.2 He's so peaky and shy.
PEAKY-BLINDER, sb. Midi. War. A young ' rough ' ;
see below.
Midi. N. & Q. (1901) 9th S. vii. 28. War. Is there any
Volunteer ofiScer who will come down and captain a company of
budding 'peaky blinders'? B'kamDy.Argus{Nov. it, i8g6); War.^
It was introduced a few years ago ... to describe that section of
the rough element which, while the hard felt hat was in vogue
amongst them, distinguished themselves by shaping a portion of
the rim, by pulling the hat over the knee, into a peaky form. The
hat was then worn low down over the left eye, displaying on the
exposed forehead, on the right, a lock of hair (the only portion
of that adornment not closely cropped) known as the ' donkey-
fringe.'
PEAL, sJ.' n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Nhp. War. Shr. Hmp.
Also written peel Hmp.' ; and in forms peighl Lan. ; peil
w.Yks. ; peyl w.Yks.' ; pyel Shr.' [pH, pial, w.Yks. peil.]
1. A noise, clamour ; an outcry.
n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.', ne.Lan.' Nhp.' What a peal the children
are making ! War.^ Shr.' ' Sammy, yore wife's djed.' . . . 'Well,'
answered Sammy, 'jest yo' wait'n till I've done this drink, an' then
yo'n 'ear me mak' a pretty pyel.'
2. Phr. (i) fo be in a peal, to be in a temper ; (2) to get
into a peal, to get into a temper; (3) to keep a peal, (4) to
lead a peal, to make a noise or disturbance.
(i) Hmp. Wise Ne-w Forest (1883) 284 ; Hmp.' (2) Lan. Durnt
get into a peighl abeawt it, aw nobbut axt thee a civil question,
Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 6. (3) w.Yks. What a peil keep you,
Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; Children keep a peil for half-pennies,
Yks. Wkly. Post (May i, 1897). (4) w.Yks.' He leeads a filthy
peyl . . . wi' his prancin,' ii. 305; w.Yks.^; w.Yks.* They lead
a sad peal.
'P'EA'L,sb.^ Nhb. Som. Dev. Also written peel w.Som.'
Dev. nw.Dev.^ ; and in form peyle Dev. [pil.] Salmon
of the first season ; grilse.
Nhh.' Applied by fishermen very vaguely to the young of the
bull trout (Salmo eriox), and often by mistake to other species of
salmonidae, HowSE Nat. Hist. (1890) X. 370. w.Som.' Dev.
Th' vloods da car vur up th' stream Gurt peyle an' sammon too,
PuLMAN Sketches (1842) 33, ed. 1853 ; About a mile from the
village was a mill leat, in which salmon, peal, and kelts often lay
in time of high water, Mortimer Tales Moors (1895) 58. nw.Dev.'
Hence Peel-stream, sb. a salmon stream.
Dev. 'Tis a peel stream this, and the more peel the fewer trouts,
Phillpotts Dartmoor (1896) 35.
PEAL, v.^ Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Also written peeal
Cum.' ; peel N.Cy.' Nhb.' Cum.' ; and in forms pale, pell
Sc. (Jam.) [pH, pisl.] 1. A shortened form of ' appeal.'
Nhb.', Cum.i, w.Yks. (J.W.) Hence Pealer, sb. (i) an
appealer ; an applicant ; (2) an application, proposal.
(i) Nhb.' (2) N.Cy.' Two or more proposals for a farm, contract,
&c., being alike, are peelers.
2. With off: to appeal off, to get rid of.
Nhb.' A happy man was he who could peel off from the militia.
3. To call, summon ; see below.
Abd. On seeing a dead-candle, to demand a view of the person's
face whose death this fatal candle portends. . . This is done by
addressing the candle in these words : ' I pell thee for a mament,'
upon which the image of the fated person's face appears for an
instant. If the words, ' for a mament,' be omitted, the person who
pells the candle is deprived of all ability to move 'till the cock
craws,' while the image grins in his face all the time (Jam.).
PEAL, v.'^ Obs. n.Cy. Yks. Glo. Also written peale
N.Cy.= Yks. ; peel w.Yks. Glo. 1. In phr. to peal the pot,
to cool a vessel full of hot liquid by taking out a ladleful
and pouring it in again.
n.Cy. (P.R.), N.Cy.2, Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. Thoresby Lett. ( 1 703).
2. To pour out any liquid. Glo. (K.), Glo.'
PEAL, v.^ Hmp.' [pil.] To lose the hair.
[Every shoulder was peeled (=depilaius), Bible Ezek.
xxix. 18. Yr.peler, ' degarnir de poll' (Hatzfeld) ; Lat.
pilare, to make bald.]
PEAL, adj. w.Som.' [pial.] Of the countenance :
unhealthy, pasty-looking.
[It] implies much more than pale. ' Our Jim idn vitty 't all, a
lookth peal [pee'ul] and walk like.'
PEAL, see Pail, v.. Peel, sb?, v}, Peil.
PEALTHROAT, sb. Nrf. The goldfinch, Carduelis
elegans. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 51.
PEAN, see Peen.
PEANER, sb. Obs. Sc. A small, ill-clad, trembling
person. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
PEANERFLEE, s6. Obs. Sc. One who has the appear-
ance of lightness and activity.
Gall. (Jam.) ; Maggie, wha swore she detested the men, kiss'd
wi' Tammy the Peanerflee, Mkctkcgkrt Encycl. (1824) 70, ed. 1876.
PEANIE, sZ>. lObs. Sc. A turkey-hen.
Gall. My turkey-cock I'll gi'e to thee, And the breeding Peanie,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 66, ed. 1876.
[Cp. Fr. paon d'Inde, a turkey cock (Cotgr.).]
PEANIE, see Pinny, s6.'
PEAN(N, sb. Cum. [pisn.] In phr. all in a pean{n,
thick-set with weeds ; matted together.
Cum.' A sheep is o' in a peann when its fleece is matted or felted
with scab ; Cum.^-*
PEANNOT, see Planet, sb.'^
PEAR, s^.' Sc. [pir.] A peg-top ; prob. so called
from its resemblance to a pear. Cf peerie, s6.'
n.Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 249. Abd. The gird,
tap, or pear, at the time was the play, Cadenhead Bon-Accord
(1853) 256 ; I thocht mair o' my bools, o' my tap, an' my pear,
Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 16.
PEAR
[446]
PEART
PEAR, V. and sb." Sc. Cum. Glo. Som. Dev. Cor. and
Amer. Also written peer Cum.^ Som. ; pere Cor.^ [pir,
pi3(r.] 1. V. A shortened form of ' appear.'
Cld. (Jam.') Cum. I'll 'peer hee if I dee peer, Dickinson Cumbr.
(1876) 217 ; Cum.i Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
w.Som.i Peeur-2 au"f dhai wiiz gwaa'yn vur chai"t mee aewt u
mee muun-ee. iJev. An' you'peared so onrestful an' wisht that I
was gwaine to wake 'e, Pall Mall Mag. (Apr. 1900) 439. Cor."
[Araer. 'Pear somehow as if you'd ben cryin', Westcott David
Harum (1900) xxii.]
2. sb. An appearance. GIo.^ Cf. appear, sb.
PEAR, see Peer, sb.^
PEARCE, adj. Cum. Also in form ? fierce Cum.* Of
clothes : fine, showy, extraordinary ; well-dressed.
The lasses in their feyne pearce claes, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed.
1805) 128; Cum.'' Thou's varra fierce to-day.
PEARCE, see Pace.
PEARCH, V. Cum. Yks. Lan. Lin. Also in forms
peach n.Lin.' ; peeach e.Yks.^ ; peerch n.Yks.' ne.Yks.' ;
perch n.Yks.i [pirtj, piatj, pitj.] To pierce ; to penetrate ;
used esp. of cold winds or raw weather.
Cum.i n.Yks.2 ' That puzzom pearch'd em,' the poison destroyed
them. 'Pearch'd wi' caud.' e.Yks.' Let's cum tl fire-side; Ah's
ommost peeach't ti deeath. m.Yks.i It fair pSarches to the bone
to-night— it's that raw-cold.
Hence (i) Pearcher, sb. a spell of cold, piercing
weather ; (2) Pearching, ppl. adj. of the weather : cold,
piercing, biting.
(i) m.Yks.i (2) Cum."^ It's a pearchan' cold wind, this!
n.Yks.i2, ne.Yks.i, e.Yks.i m.Yks.J It was pearching cold at the
fore-end of the night. w.Yks.^, ne.Lan.i n.Lin.i It's been peachin'
weather for this last month, niver a daay beoot snaw ; noa wonder
as drowt bosses hes inf'aamation.
[To perche, to thirle, Cath. Angl. (1483) 276 ; A crown
of thorn seal perchyn myn brayn, Coventry Myst. (c. 1450)
338. Fr. (Norm, dial.) percher, ' percer ' ; so OFr. (Norm.)
(Moisy).]
PEARCH, PEARK, see Perch, sb.^. Perk.
PEARL, sb.'' and v.' Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Wm. Yks. Rut.
War. e. An. Wil. Also written paerl Sh.L ; peearl w.Yks.'
[pari, paL] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Pearl-coated, of sheep :
having a curled fleece ; (2) -rot, a pearl-worker; (3) -shell,
the pearl mussel, Myiellus Margaritifera.
(i) n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.i Farmers think [it] denotes a tendency
to fattening. The small globules of the wool are supposed to re-
semble pearls. (2) War.^ (3) Abd. Arbuthnot Fishes, 32 (Jam.).
2. Obs. ? The head of a rivet.
Rnt.^ Six nine-inch riuets and perls, 2S., Ace. (1756).
3. The button-grass, Avena elatior.
Ant., Don. The knobs at the base of the stem are the pearls. . .
These . . . are of great value as a cure for inflamed eyes, whether
of man or of cattle. A handful of the knobs is crushed in a small
quantity of water, and the water is then applied to the eye as a
wash (B. & H.).
4. The common tern, Sterna fluviatilis. e.An.' 5. The
little tern, S. minuta. ib. Cf chit-perle. 6. A cataract
in the eye.
Sc. His one eye was with pearl adorn'd, Colvil XVhigs Suppl.
(ed. 1796) I. 158. Sh.I. Doo laekly heard 'at it turn'd till a paerl
apo' mam's e'e ? Sh. News (July 15, 1899). w.Yks.^
Hence Pearl-blind, adj. weak-sighted. Wil.i 7. pi.
The round dung of sheep. Wm. (J.H.) 8. v. To stud
with pearls. Also usedj?^.
Per. Daisies pearl the lea, Haliburton Oc/iil Idylls (1891) ig.
Lnk. Enamelled a' wi' leaflets green, An' lilies pearlin' them.
Lemon St. Mungo (1844) 17.
PEARL, sb.^ and v.^ Sc. 1. sb. A kind of ornamental
lace used for edging ; also in comp. Pearl-lace.
Sc. (Jam.) Frf. Buskit wi' feathers an' gumflo'ers, an' pearlies, '
Lowson Guidfollow (i8go) 52.
2. V. Obs. To edge with lace, to border ; to ornament
with a knitted border. Sc. (Jam.) Hence Pearled, ppl.
adj. edged with lace.
Abd. He had on his head a white pearled mutch, Spalding Hisi.
Sc. (1792) II. 218. Edb. A pearled Cross-cloth, a woven belt,
Pennecuik Helicon (1720) 65.
PEARL, sb.° Sc. (Jam.) In phr. to cast up a pearl, to
purl a stitch instead of knitting it plain.
PEARLIN(G, sb. Sc. Cum. Also written perlin Lth.
[paTlin.] 1. Lace ; esp. a kind of thread lace ; freq.
in pi. Cf pearl, sb.^
Sc. Let Jenny Dennison slip on her pearlings to walk before my
niece and me, Scott Old Mortality (1816) ix. Sh.I. Wi' silks an'
wi' satins, wi' pearlin s an' a', Stewart Tales (1892) 237. n.Sc.
Now I am tinkler Downie's wife, Wi' the pearHn ower my een,
BucHAN Ballads (1828) II. 62, ed. 1875. Abd. On every ell of im-
ported pearling, made of thread or of silk — betwixt three and six
pounds, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 141. Per. Lay by your silks
and pearlins noo, A worset-goon's the liker you, Haliburton
Horace (1886) 54. Fif. Douglas Poems (1806) 145. Rnf. Harp
(1819) 72. Lth. Hae ye gowd to busk me aye gawdie ? Ribbans,
and perlins, and breast-knots enew? Macneill Poet. Wks. (1801)
196, ed. 1856. Bwk. The ghost was designated Pearlin, from
always wearing a great quantity of that sort of lace, Henderson
Pop. Rhymes (1856) 94. Slk. He hight a braw pearling in present
to gie, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 64. Dmf. Nor pearlins nor gowd
to make her look gawcie, Cromek Remains (1810) 93. Gall. I'll
busk thee fine in pearlins braw, Nicholson Porf. Whs. (1814) 152,
ed. 1897. Cum. I'll hae some pearlings to make mysel' fine, Gilpin
Ballads (1874) 206.
2. Comp. Pearlin-keek, a cap with a border of lace.
Ags. (Jam., s.v. Keek).
PEARLING, sb. Sc. 1. A string of pearls.
Ayr. There's goud an' siller in this ban' Will buy us mony a
rigg : There's pearlings in this other han' A stately tow'r to big.
Ballads and Sngs. (1847) II. 73; Bobs for the lugs, an' finger
rings, Wi' leeming pearlings, strings on strings, Ainslie Land of
Bums (ed. 1892) 188.
2. //. Fig. Tears.
Dmb. Frae your eyes in glitterin' pearlin's speak, Salmon Gowo-
dean (1868) 5.
PEARLY, adj. Nhb. Also written perley, perly.
[paTli.] 1. In phr. perly hail has a long tail, said when
showers of hail occur between large flakes of snow.
(R.O.H.) 2. Small and round.
Nhb.i A pearly clod is a small, round, hard clod.
PEARi", adj. In gen. dial, use in Eng. Also Amer.
Also in forms peat w.Yks. ; peeart Lakel.^ n.Yks. e.Yks.'
s.Chs.i ; peeort Lan. ; peert Cum.* n.Yks.' Chs.^ Stf Rut.>
Nhp.i s.Wor.i Hrf Gmg. Brks. Bdf Sus.^ ; peet n.Yks. ;
piert Cum. Yks. Lin. War. Hrf.^ Glo. ; pyert Lan. [piart,
piat.] 1. Brisk, lively, spirited, cheerful ; in good health ;
esp. of one recovered from illness ; used also of animals
and plants. See Pert.
Nhb. A feythor says wi' pride 'the bairn's peart as alop'(R.O.H.) ;
Nhb.i It leuks a vast pearler. Dur. It's a fine peart bairn (J.W.).
Lakel.2 Cum. Piert as a pyet (J.Ar.); Cum.i", n.Yks. (T.S.),
n.Yks.12 e.Yks. As peart as a lop, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 20 ;
e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i w.Yks. She told him he looked pearler for his
early rising, Snowden Tales Wolds (1894) xi ; w.Yks.s As peart
as a robin. Lan. ' Well, an' heaw arto gettin' on, Dan, owd lad ? '
' Oh, peeort lad ; peeort as a pynot,' Waugh VcM-Bofo (1867) 18 ;
As pyert as a buUspink, Clegg Sketches (1895) 397 ; Lan.i^ Chs.
Come, wake up, Enoch, . . an' look a bit moor peart, Croston
Enoch Crump (1887) 10 ; Chs.i ' Poor an' peert, like th' parson's
pig,' is a common proverbial saying. . . It probably refers to the
times when the parson collected his tithe in kind. The pig re-
served for him, being a small one and not overfed, was consequently
brisk and active. Applied also to a plant which, being transplanted,
has not drooped ; Chs.^, s.Chs.^ s.Stf. Afore ten o'clock he got
quite peert like, an' dai seem much the wuss for his dippin, Pin-
NocK Blk. Cy. Ann. (1892) 58. Der.^, nw.Der.', Not.i, Lin. (L.T.)
n.Lin.^ I thoht Jennie's foal wo'd dee ; but it's straange an' peart
noo. sw.Lin.i The babe's quiet pSart again. Rut.' I felt quite
peert this morning. Lel.i Them onions look peart. Nhp.i The
child is getting better, it has been quite peert to-day. Wane's .
War.* In a week or two yer'll be as peart as a cock-robin'.
n.War. Or's more pleasanter looksed when he's piert and merry
Geo. Eliot S. Mamer (i86i) 159. s.War.i He's quite peart to-
day. Wor. Hevery nows an' thens a be a bit pearter. Cutis Vig.
Mon. in Berrow's Jm. (1896). w.Wor.i As peart as a spoon means
unusually bright and cheerful. se.Wor.i, s.Wor.i Shr.i I'm glad
to see yo' so peart agen ; Shr.2 The missis bin pretty peart.
Sht*., Hrf. Bound Prawmc. (1876). Hrf.12 Rdn. Morgan Wds.
(1881). Gmg. Collins Gower Dial, in Trans. Phil. Soc. (1848-50)
IV. 222. Glo, (W.H.C.), Glo.i, Brks. (M.J.B.), Brks.i Bdf. A
child recovering from sickness is said to be peerter than yesterday
PEART
[447]
PEAT
(J.W.B.). Ken.i He's bin out of sorts for a long time, but . . .
he's quite peart this mornin'. e.Ken. Pretty peart again now,
thank you (G.G.). Sur. These pretty, nimble little creatures, so
' peart ' . . . and lively in their motions, are fly-catchers. Within an
hour of Land. (ed. 1894) 55 ; Sur.' Peertest old gentleman I ever
see'd. Sus. I never thought to see her so peart as she be now,
O'Reilly Stories (1880) II. 18 ; Sus.i She just is a nice pleasant
peert young lady. Hrap. Thee look'st peart, Foresters' Misc.
(1846) 162 ; Hmp.i I.W. A peart mayde was our Eln, I war'nt
she was, Gray Annesley (1889) I. 30. Wil."^ Her's as peart as ar'
a bird, that's what her is ! Dor. Zue's as peart as bird on bough,
Dorica (1888) 167 ; Dor.i Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885).
w.Sora.i No literary words can exactly express 'peart' — there is no
idea of ' pert ' in it. Applied to temperament or health, and never
to dress or manner. ' Her's so peart 's a cock rabbin, for all, the
cheel idn dree weeks old, gin Zinday.' Dev. 'Er wuz iQking za
peart 's a rabbin thease marning, Hj^nett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.*^
n.Dev. Cum, doo be peart a-bit. Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 2.
nw.Dev.' Cor. The little 'uns be all peart, Baring-Gould Rich.
Cable (1889) 329 ; Cor.2 [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 240.]
Hence (i) Peartish, adj. tolerably brisk and active ;
fairly well in health ; {2) Peartly, adv. lightly, brightly,
briskly ; (3) Peartness, sb. liveliness.
(i) War.2 I'm peartish now. Shr.i ''Ow bin yo'?' 'Oh,
peartish-like.' w.Som.i Her's a peartish sort of a maid like —
on'y her's like some o' the rest o'm, her on't never hurt herzul
way no hard work. (2) w.Yks.^, War.^ (3) n.Yks.*
2. Sharp, intelligent ; smart.
e.Yks.i She's a peeart bayn, she knaws what's good for hersen.
w.Yks. (R.H.R.), Wil.* Dev. She judged Joe must be pearler
than anybody in they paarts to keep 'is liberty, Phillpotts Dart-
moor (1896) 44. Cor. The latter looked ' peart,' with a red rose
in his button-hole, Longman's Mag. (Feb. 1893) 381 ; Cor.i He's
a peart fellow.
Hence Peartly, adv. cleverly, neatly, smartly.
Som. Hes gearn wer virgin swile but peartly made, Agrikler
Rhymes {iQ-jz) 52.
3. Slightly intoxicated. Cf. market-peart, s.v. Market,
i(q)-
Hrf. He may have been piert but I'll swear he was not drunk
(W.J.H.).
4. Violent ; stinging.
Nhb.' Aa hard some brattles o' thunnor, aye, they war peart
yens ! WIL^
PEART, adv. Obs. Sc. Scarcely, hardly.
Bnlf. Hersel be simpel Heelan-man, Owre young to leave her's
mammie, Tho' she be peart twa tither years Before her Prither
Tammie, Taylor Poems (1787) 125.
PEARTEN, V. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf. Glo. Also written
peerten s.Wor.' Glo. [pia'tsn.] To enliven, cheer ; also
intr. to grow lively, to revive. Gen. with up. See Peart.
War.2 Pearten up, old chap. s.Wor.i Shr.^ Oh I yo'n soon
pearten up, yo' beginnen to look better a'ready. Hrf. Your
missus have peartened me, I was never so peartened in all my
life (H.C.M.). Glo. (A.B.), Glo.»
PEARTLE, V. Shr.^ [pia'tl.] With up: to enUven,
cheer.
'Er quoite pyurtled 'im 6op w'en 'er come w6am (s.v. Pearten).
PEAR-WHELP, sb. e.An.^ [Not known to our
correspondents.] An offshoot from the root of a pear-tree.
PEARY, see Peerie, sb.'^
PEASCOD, sb. Sc. Nhb. Wm. Yks. Lan. Der. Lin.
Lei. e.An. Dev. Also written pease-cod Sc. ; pea-skod
w.Yks. ; and in forms pay-cod Dev. ; peeas-cod e.Yks.^ ;
peigh-cod Lan. ; pescod n.Cy. Der.-' Lei.^ e.An.'^ ; peskad
Suf."^ ; pesket e.An.' ; peskit Nhb.^ ; pess-cod e.Yks. ;
pey-cod w.Yks.' ; pey-scode Wm. ; pusket e.An." Suf ;
puskit e.An.' 1. A pea-pod ; esp. one with the peas still
in it.
Sc. Garden Wk. (1896) No. cxvi. 136. n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS.
add. (P.) Nhb.' Wm. Pray ye, nebbers, dunnet pull [peas] ;
I'll gi' ye a pey-scode when they're iul\, Lonsdale Mag. (1820)
I. 512. n.Yks.'24 e.Yks.i, m.Yks.', w.Yks. (W.F.), w.Yks.'s
Lan. Come peigh-cod time, Waugh Owd Cronies (1875) vi. Der.'
n.Lln.' When you've dun shillin' chuck th' peascods to th' pigs.
Lei.1, e.An.'2 Suf. Raven Hist. Suf. (1895) 264; Suf.' Dev.
I wish y ii wid draw awl they paycods intu tha pegs-lewze, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (189s).
2. Comb, (i) Peascod-feast, (2) -scalding, a feast of
boiled peas ; see below ; (3) -swad, an empty pea-pod ;
(4) -tree, the laburnum, Cytisus Laburnum.
(i) n.Yks.2 The peas with their shells on, are scalded or
steamed, then put into a large bowl set in the centre of a table,
round which the company assemble. In the hot heap, a cup
containing butter and salt is placed, into which every one dips his
peas-cod. (2) n.Yks.' e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
(3) n.Yks.(T.S.), n.Yks.'2, e.Yks.', m.Yks.' (4) Sc. Garden Wk.
(1896) No. cxvi. 136.
PEASE, V. Sus. Hmp. Dor. Som. Dev. Also written
peaze w.Som.' nw.Dev.'; peeze Sus.'^ Hmp.'; and in
forms pase Dor. ; payse Dev. ; payzeJDor.' ; paze Dor. ;
peyse Dev. ; pize nw.Dev.' [piz, pez.] To ooze out,
trickle, leak ; gen. with out.
Sus.'2 e. Sus. Hollow ay. Hmp.' Dor. (C.V.G.) ; G/. (1851);
Dor.' Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885). e.Som. To run
out in globules, W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' I zeed the cider
peazin' out droo the head o' the cask. The water do keep on
peazing out o' the wall. Dev. I know'd we was a-come to the
right place, 'cause I zeed how the water had a-peysed out,
Reports Provinc. (1884) 25. nw.Dev.' s.Dev. The water is
peasing out of that cask (F. W.C.).
PEASE, PEAS-EDDISH, PEASE-ERRISH, see Pees,
PEASE-HAULM, sb. Chs. Nhp. Wor. Shr. Hrf. Hnt.
Sus. Hmp. LW. Som. Also written pease-haum Chs. ;
and in forms pea?halm s.Wor. ; pea-haulm Nhp.' Hnt. ;
peashalm Sus.' Hmp. ; peasham s.Cy. ; peason Shr.'^ ;
peeaz-haam I.W.' ; pessum Shr.' Hrf.^ [pi'z-^m.]
1. Pea-straw; the dried stalks of peas.
Chs. Carefully protected by a covering of straw or pease-haum,
Marshall Review (1818) II. 152. Nhp.', s.Wor. (F.W.M.W.)
Shr.' A wuz sen' to stop a glat the pigs maden i' the stack-yord,
'e rommed some pessum i' the 'ole ; Shr.^ Hrf. (W.W.S.) ; Hrf.*
At the termination of harvest it was customary to carry lighted
wisps of straw or pessum round the ricks, 47. Hnt. (T.P.F.),
Sus.' Hmp. Holloway. I.W.' w.Som.' Paiz-uulum.
2. Phr. bean pessum, the dried stalks of beans. Shr.'
PEASE-MUM, sb. Dmf. (Jam.) In phr. to play pease-
mum, to mutter.
PEASER, sb. Sc. [pi'zar.] A strong bumper of
liquor.
Slg. Jenny made him pease brose, For they agreed weel wi' a
peaser, Taylor Sngs. (1862) 33.
PEASEWEEP, PEASHAM, see Peesweep, Pease-
haulm.
PEASIE, sb. Sc. Lakel. Also in forms peysie Ags.
(Jam.); pezzy Lakel.* 1. A very small marble no bigger
than a pea. Lakel.* 2. Comp. Peasie-whin, green-
stone. Cf pease-meal-cobble, s.v. Pea, sb}
Ags., Edb. It has received its name from the resemblance of the
spots in it to pease (Jam.).
PEASIPOUSE, sb. Wor. Hrf Glo. Also written
pease-a-pouse, pease-e-pouse Glo. ; peasy-pouse se.Wor.'
Hrf. [pi'zipeus.] A crop of peas and beans growing
together. se.Wor.', s.Wor.', Hrf. (W.W.S.), Glo. (H.S.H.),
Glo.'
PEASLING, sb. Yks. [pei-zlin.] The bitter vetch,
Lathyrus macrorrhisus. w.Yks. Lees Flora (1888) 203.
PEASWEEP, see Peesweep.
PEASY, sb. Der. Also written peazy. [pl'zi.] Lead-
mining term : the valuable product left after the ore has
been beaten small by'buckers'; also in comp. Peazy-ore.
Tapping Gl. to Manlove (1851) (s.v. Buck) ; A mineral term,
being a lesser assortment of ore, that may by the hand be poised,
so as to determine its weight and value as to dressing by the
hand. 'Bing and peasy ore,' a round lump or piece of ore,
Mander Miner's Gl. (1824). n.Der. There were other things to
work and strive for than the paltry pittance earned by beating
ore with a bucker, or making peasy in a sieve over a vat full of
gritty water. Hall Hathersage (1896) vii.
PEAT, sb} and v} Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Chs. Also written peet n.Ir. Lakel.* Cum. ; and in
forms paet Sh.L ; peeat n.Cy. Wm. n.Yks. w.Yks.' ;
peeate Wm. [pit, piat] 1. 56. In comb, (i) Peat-bank,
the place from which peat is, or has been, cut; (2)
PEAT
[4481
PEAT
•barrow, a wheelbarrow for carrying peat ; see below ;
(3) -brew, peaty water ; (4) -brot, a broken place in the
turf where the sheep rub themselves ; (5) -brown, the
colour of a dried peat ; (6) -cashie, a basket for holding
peat; (7) -caster, a peat-cutter; (8) -casting, peat-cutting;
(9) -claig, a place built with stones to hold peats ; (10)
-clod, a brick or piece of peat ; (11) -coom, (12) -corn,
peat-dust ; (13) -creel, see (6) ; (14) -crue, the place where
peat is stored ; {15) -day, the day on which peat
is brought home ; {16) -digger, see (7) ; (17) -futherer, a
carter of peat ; (18) -grieshoch, red-hot peat; (19) -hag(g,
a hole from which peat has been cut ; a peat-hole filled
with water ; the rough projecting margin of a peat-pit
after the pit has grown up again ; a projecting mass of
peat on a peat-moor ; a portion of peat left by the edge
of a water-gutter on a high moor; (20) -height, the height
of a peat ; (21) -high, as high as a peat ; about knee-
high ; (22) -hole, see (19) ; (23) -house or Peatus, the
house in which peat is stored ; (24) -lair, a place for
spreading peat to dry ; (25) -lowe, a iire of peat ; (26)
-man, a retailer of peat ; (27) -meel, see (12) ; (28) -moss,
a moorland or bog from which peat can be dug ; (29)
-moss-looker, an official whose duty it is to see that 'peat-
mosses ' are kept in proper order ; see below ; (30)
-mould, see (12) ; (31) -mow, (a) a stack of peat ; the
place where peat is stored ; {b) see (12) ; (32) -mull, see
(12) ; (33) -neuk, the corner, gen. by the fireside, where
peat is stored for immediate use ; (34) — of soap, a bar
of soap ; (35) -pan, a hard stratum below the peat, im-
pregnated with iron, impervious to water, and nearly
impenetrable by trees, but holding water like a pan ; (36)
-pot, see (19) ; (37) -reek, (a) turf smoke ; {b) the smoky
flavour noticeable in whisky distilled over a peat fire ;
Highland whisky ; (38) -reekit, filled or discoloured with
peat smoke ; (39) -reek whisky, see (37, b) ; (40) -rick,
see (37, a) ; (41) -setting, setting two pieces of peat
edgeways against each other to finish the drying
process ; (42) -shieling, a hut built of peat ; (43) -silver,
obs., a rent or tax paid to the lord of the manor ; (44)
-skeal(l, a house on the fell in which peat is stored before
it is carted away for use ; (45) -spade, a particular spade
used for cutting peat ; see below ; (46) -stack, a stack of
peats ; (47) -stacking, building up dry peats into a stack ;
(48) -stone, the stone at the top of the wall of a house,
which projects, and with which the angle towards the
chimney begins ; (49) -waight or -weght, a tray or sieve
on which peat is carried into the house.
(i) Sh.I. Dey wir paet-banks here an' dere troo da Vailey,
Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 66 ; A strip of peat-moss stripped of
the surface turf and smoothed ready for cutting (J.S.). n.Sc.
(Jam.), Cai.>, Bnff.i, w.Sc. (Jam.) (2) n.Vks. A barrow without
sides on which when the peat is cut from the bulk, it is put
edgeways, and others in succession (W.H.). (3) Gall. The
green slimy moss wet with the peat-brew keeps all soft as a
quicksand, Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 16. (4, 5) Lakel.2
(6) Sh.I. She bed me whombled apunder a muckle paet-cashie
dat wis lyin' ipa da fliiir, Stewart Tales (1892) 261. (7) Wgt.
A malevolent peat-caster . . . sent his spade through a partition
ofthe moss which had kept back the water, Fraser Wigtown {i&i'))
378. (8) Sh.I. What wis I tinkin' aboot buits i' da hert o' pact
castin' ? 5^. A^«ze/s (June 18, i8g8). Abd. So many days at sowing
time, so many at peat-casting and driving home, Anderson Rhymes
(ed. 1867) 211. s.Sc. To their peat-casting Jean and Hugh doon
the gate should hae lang syne been hasting, Allan Poems (1887)
13. Wgt. Mair than eighteen-pence a day for peat-casting, Fraser
Wigtown (1877) 271. (9) Gall. My peatclaig is fu' o' links o' gude
peats, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 182, ed. 1876. (10) Elg. [He]
Took twa three peat-clods frae the stack. To mak the weans their
brose, Couper Poetry (1804) II. 73. (11) Wgt. The farmer said he
had cured it by salting it wi'peat-coom, Fraser r^ii^/ow»!( 1877) 365.
n.Ir. I beleev' in my heart he put peet-coom in it, Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 84. Cum.i* (12) Dmf. (Jam.) (13) Sc. My daddy
left me gear enough— A muck fork, and an auld peat-creel, Herd
Coll. Sngs. (1776) II. 143 (Jam.). w.Yks. hucAS Stud. Nidderdale
(c. 1882) 271. (14) Sh.I. He giied ta da paet-crue an' brought in
some lang paets ta rest da fire wi', Stewart Tales (1892) 256.
(15) Wgt. In times of yore, peat-days were classed among the few
big days of the year, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 38. (16) ne.Sc.
The peat-digger was the most notorious carouser in Carglen,
Gordon Northward Ho (1894) 202. (17) Mry., Nai. It [peat]
used to be brought down from the surrounding hills in light carts
made of rods and bars, by persons who went by the name of
' peat-futherers,' Rampini Hist. (1897) 307. (18) Gall. Jean takes
better with the inside of a box-bed and the warmth of the peat-
grieshoch on the hearth, Crockett Standard Bearer (iSgS) 173.
(19) Sc. Twa land-loupers jumpit out of a peat-hag, Scott Guy M.
(1815) xxiv ; He was wild's a peat-hag, fearsome to look at,
Stevenson Catriona (1893) xv. Per. Moorland again, past a peat
hag, with the new cut turf drying in the sun, Cleland Inch-
bracken (1883) 54, ed. 1887. w.Sc. Macdonald Settlement (1869)
127, ed. 1877. Ayr. (Jam.) e.Lth. The suner ye get awa back to
your ain peat-haggs the blyther we wuU be, Hunter /. Inwick
(1895) 237. Gall. The peat hag I had chosen for our defence on
the edge of the Red Moss, Crockett Grey Man (1896) xlii. Nhb.
The deep chocolate ofthe peat-hag, whence the fuel for Dobson's
fireside was being led away, Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 4 ;
Nhb.i (20) Cum. When the bairns were some peat-heet, Ander-
son Ballads (ed. 1808) 18. (21) Lakel.2 Cum.* Noo-a-days
they hev to start wark ameast by they're peat-hee, Richardson
Talk (1878) 18. Wm. Thoo wes a lile bit ov a toddlan thing i
petticats, net meear ner a peeat heeh. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 27.
(22) Gall. 1 tumbled into a peat-hole, and should have been
drowned, had not my sisters been with me, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 328, ed. 1876. (23) Gall. Kerr Maggie 0' the Moss (1891)
49. Lakel.2 Wm. He gat a reeap ya dae en threw it ower
t'peatas. Spec. Dial. (1877) pt. i. 28. (24) Sc. (Jam.) ; Gen. run
out 70 yards, and one square yard is required to put one barrowfu
of wet peat down on to dry (W.C). (25) ne.Sc. The heat that
came from the blazing peat lowe, Gordon Northward Ho (^i8g^)
108. (26) Abd. He pelted the peatmen, e'en wi' their ain peats,
Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 6. (27) Cai.i (28) Sc. (Jam.),
Cai.i Bwk. Peat-mosses or turf bogs are found in all the hilly
country, Agric. Surv. 57 (Jam.). Chs. Each farm, where there
was a peat moss in the township had its moss room allotted to it,
Marshall i?«/!Vz» (i8i8) II. iii. (29) Cum.* When the peat is
cut, the turf must be pared off to a certain depth, and afterwards
replaced with the grassy side uppermost. The appointment is
made at the annual Court Leet of Lord Leconfield for Wasdale
and Eskdale. ' Hedge lookers and peat moss lookers,' w.Cum.
Times (May 20, 1899) 2, col. 7. (30) Sh.I. Da truncher wi' da
kirnin' o' butter apo' da flOer among da paet meld, Sh. News
(Oct. 14, 1899). (31, a) Sc, w.Sc, Dmf. (Jam.) {b) Bch. Our
coachman turned o'er our gallant cart amon' a heap o' shirrels an'
peat-mow, Forbes /)«. (1742) 3. (32) N.Cy.i, Nhb.i (s.v. Mull.)
Lakel.i Used for banking up fires, so that they may smoulder and
continue alighted ; Lakel.2 Peats an' turves were formerly used
fer elden an' at boddum o' t'stack wad be a lot o' smo 'at hed
shirled doon. This was co'ed peet-mull. Cnm.11, s.Wm. (J.A.B.)
(33) Sh.I. Shu cam frae da paet neuk wi' clods ta pit ta da fire,
Sh. News (Oct. 20, 1900). ne.Sc. The peat-ueuck, over which
rested a goodly number of hens, faced the entrance door, and on
either side of it was a door. One of these doors opened into the
kitchen and the other led to the remaining apartments of the
house, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 51. Elg. Couper Poetry (1804)
II. 222. Bn£F. A stool was taen frae the peat neuk, The meat set
on't an' roun' we sat, Taylor Poems (1787) 64. Slk. Something
. . . cried twice in the peat-neuk, Hogg Tales (1838) 148, ed. 1866.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (34) Sc. From its resemblance
to a peat cast for fuel (Jam. \ (35) n.Cy. Holloway. w.Yks.'
(36) Sc. Out of the peat-pot into the mire, Kelly Prov. (1721)
268. w.Sc. What would 1 do wi' B— ? it's naething but a hatter
of peat-pots frae the one end to the other, Carrick Laird of Logan
(1835) 34- Dur. Like frosks in a peat pot, Egglestone Betty
Podktns' Visit (1877) 5. Cum. It went soss intul a peet-pot,
Richardson Talk (1876) 31. Wm. Myert in a peeat pot, tummult
intet Boondry Dyke, Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 10. Cum.* Yks.
Ye must go with me to th' peat-pot, to morn, Howitt Hope On
(1840) viii. (37, a) Sc. It was a low-roofed, close place, . . filled
with the smell and the vapour of the peat-reek. Swan Gates of
Eden (1895) xvi. ne.Sc Carefully applied bay salt and genuine
' peat reek ' . . . were the media used in curing that delectable
fish. Green Gordonhaven (1887) vii. Per. Haliburton Horace
(1886) 9. Ayr. BosWELL Poet. Wks. (1803) 120, ed. 1871. Lnk.
Their gill Weel flavour't wi' peat-reek, Watson Poems (1853) 84.
Nhb. To smell the peat reek, along with the heather, Lilbury
Borderer (1896) 322. (i) Sc. (Jam.) ; Teetotallin' doesna prevent
me frae keepin' a wee drap o' the rale ' peat-reek ' in case o'
illness, Ford Thistledown (1891) 134. Abd. Anderson Rhymes
PEAT
[449]
PECK
(ed. 1867) 211. Frf. To smell 'peat-reek' they'd deem a dangerous
frolic, Except by way of cordial for the colic, Smart Rhymes
(1834) 12. Per. He dealt aye in the pure peat-reek, Spence Poems
( 1898) 76. Gall. Washed down by a few glasses of peatreek,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 91, ed. 1876. (38) s.Sc. Allan Poems
(1887) 12. (39) Frf. Many a fierce fight took place between the
vendors of that toothsome commodity known as ' Peat-reek '
whiskey, and the custodians of His Majesty's Excise, Inglis Ain
Flk. (1895) 5. Ayr. Had imbibed strongly of peat-reek whisky,
Hunter Studies (1870) 131. (40) Cai.'- (41) n.Yks. (W.H.)
(42) Edb. The fiddler had found shelter in a peat-shieling which
stood on the hill-top, where the herds at times resided in summer,
Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 50. (43) Cum. Forest rents,
foster corn, millrents, greenhue, peat silver, Hutchinson Hist.
Cum. (1794) I. 405. (44) Cum.i* (45) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.^ Feb.
The peat-spade is furnished with a triangular cutting mouth, as
also with a cutting wing on the right side, both of well-tempered
metal, to cut the half decayed wood found mixed with the moss ;
the wooden shaft terminates at the end near the iron in an oblong
square shape, on which the peat rests when lifted up, Agric.
Surv. 209 (Jam.). n.Yks. A spade with an upright piece on one
side of it only which cuts the piece from the bulk (W.H.). (46)
CaL^ Edb. In building the peat-stacks the surface tirrings, or
turfs pared ofi' before casting, are laid in layers, at regular distances,
to bind the stack more firmly together, Pennecuik Wks. (1715)
72, ed. 1815. Gall. Gar him tak' the bother o' doin' in the peat-
stack or on some gairy-face instead o' openly on his kitchen floor,
Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 120. Wgt. Eraser Wigtown
{xZ'li) 23. (47) n.Yks. (W.H.) (48) Sc. (Jam.) Abd. His name
and armorial-coat were upon one of the peat-stones, Orem
Descrip. Old Abd. (1791) (j'A.). (49) N.I.i
2. Phr. (i) a heart as great as a peat, a heart ready to
burst with suppressed sorrow ; (2) as sick as a peat,
excessively ill.
(i) Abd. Then Nory wi' her finger in her e'e, Wi' heart as great's
a peat, begins to free Herself . . . Saying, Ross Helenore (176B) 95,
ed. 1B12. Ags. The allusion seems to be to the swelling of a peat.
with rain (Jam.). (2) Cum. It raeade me as sick as a peat, Anderson
"Ballads (ed. 1808) 81 ; Cum.« Wm. Southey Doctor (1848) 558.
3. V. Obs. To cut peats.
Wm. Threshing, ploughing, peating, Hutton Bran New Work
(1785) 1. 39.
PEAT, sb.^ and v.^ Sc. Lan. Not. [pit, piat.] 1. sb.
A term of endearment, a pet ; also used contemptuously.
Sc. She's a proud peat . . . and will be beholden to nobody, Keith
Bonnie Lady (1897) 67. Heb. You were always a proud, undaunted
peat of a lass, Sarah Tytler Macdonald Lass (1895) i^4- ^'f-
The presumptuous peat ! the light-headed auld fule ! to mint sic
madness, Good IVds. (1866) 267. Wm. (B.K.) n.Lan.^ Thow
lile peat.
2. V. refl. To indulge oneself, to live over-delicately.
s.Not. Yer may peat yersen till there's noat good enough foryer
(J.P.K.).
[1. A pretty peat ! Shaks. / . Shrew, i. i. 78.]
PEAT, PEATH, see Peart, adj., Pyet, Pith.
PEAUK, PEAVIOUR, see Pouk, sb}. Paver, sb.^
PEAWEH-WAL, s6. Obs. Stf. A kind of coal which
reflects various colours. (K.), (Hall.) Cf. peacock-coal.
PEAWK, PEAWSE, see Pouk, sb}, Pouse, sb}
PEAZE, see Paise, v}, Pease.
PEAZ(Z, sb. Cum. [piaz.] A raised roadway for
horses to an upper floor ; also used _;?§■.
And away to t'leatth door in a crack ; Hitch't off onta t'peazz,
Dickinson Cumbr. (1875) 226; Cum.i; Cum.* The leath-peaz is a
raised roadway to the first floor of the barn, for the use of carts.
PEBBLE, sb. and v. Sc. Stf. Oxf. Also in forms
peeble Sc. ; pibble Oxf.i 1. sb. In comb, (i) Pebble-
bolster or -boster, a man employed in breaking stones ;
(2) -picking, the picking of pebbles off arable land ; (3)
-stone, a pebble.
(i) Stf. (2) Oxf.i Master Smith a got plenty o' pibble pickin',
if you wants a job, MS. add. (3) Abd. A cappie fu' o' peeble stones
That some time micht hae been the means O' savin' life an' curin'
weans, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 73 ; This spell, or inquiring
by the stones, was performed in the following manner ; — The
performer, generally an old woman, proceeded in the twilight, or,
as it was called, ' betwixt the sun and the sky,' to some running
stream, and gathered from thence three pebble stones of unequal
form— one for the head, one for the heart, and one for the body —
VOL. IV.
she proceeded homewards, preserving the strictest silence during
the whole time ; and after boiling them a certain time, they were
taken out and laid upon the hob, and the one representing that
part of the body which gave a hiss, it was there where the disease
was. It was performed for sickly or withering children, ib. note.
Edb. Peeble-stanes in burns and dells, Ye're no forgot, Liddle
Poems (1821) 137.
2. V. To pelt with pebbles.
Sc. We could aye peeble them wi' stones, Scott Midlothian
(1818) iv.
PECCAID, sb. Mtg. Five gallons. Morton Cyclo.
Agric. (1863). [Wei. peccaid, ' satum ' (Davies).]
PECE, PECGH, PECH, see Piece, Pegh, Pecht.
PECHAN, sb. Obs. Sc. Also in form peghin Slk.
(Jam.) The stomach ; occas. the gullet.
Sc. Sic bangs and paiks upon the pechans, Drummond Mucko-
machy (1846) 15. Fif. Mountains o' bread and seas o' ale Were
down their pechans pour'd, Tennant Papistry (1827) 53. Ayr.
An' tho' the gentry first are stechin. Yet ev'n the ha' folk fill
their pechan. Burns Twa Dogs (1786) 1. 61-2 ; A cog o' fat brose
in his pechan, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 306. Slk. (Jam.)
Gall. 'CVhen we pang'd our pechans wi' siclike [food], there war
nae asthmas, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 27, ed. 1876.
PECHEBLENDE, sb. Obs. Cum. A variety of zinc
blende.
Of different colours and forms, bluish resembling galena, black
or greenish black like pitch, Pecheblende, of a glassy shining surface,
often crystallized in irregular pyramids, Hutchinson Hist. Cum.
(1794) I. App. 52.
PECHLE, sb. ? Obs. Lth. (Jam.) A parcel or budget
carried clandestinely.
PECHLE, see Peghle.
PECHT, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also written peght and in
form pech. I-/'- The common denomination for the
old inhabitants of Scotland, the Picts ; used also as a term
of contempt.
Sc. It was either the Enemy himsell or some of the auld Peghts
that held the country lang syne, Scoit Blk. Dwarf {i&i6)in ; (Jam.)
Abd. This word was applied about 1798 to the persons living in a
country district of Aberdeenshire as a term of contempt, ' Gae awa
hame, ye pechts 0' B e' (G.W.).
2. Contp. Pech-stone, a prehistoric, monumental stone.
Bwk. Grigly Drxdan sat alane By the cairn and Pech stane,
Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 8.
[The Peebles . . . called a counsel, Dalrymple Leslie's
Hist. Scott. (1596) I. 198. OE. Peohtas (B.T.).]
PECK, sb} and v} Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
[pek.] L sb. In comb, (i) Peck-headed, stupid, imbecile ;
(2) -man, a man who carries smuggled spirits through
the country; (3) -of-apples, a fall on the ice; (4) -skep,
a peck measure.
(i) Dev. Reports Provinc. (1897). (2) Per. Ye crockery wives
an Peckmen a', I dread yere trafec's now but sma ; Ye'll hae few
errands north ava' ; — ^Yere coothie friend an' mine's awa, Duff
Poems, 65 (Jam.). (3) Lin.i (4) Lin.i, n.Lin.^
2. Phr. to measure a peck out of one's own bushel or stroke,
to think or treat others like oneself. w.Yks. (J.W.),
w.Yks.' 3. A dry measure of capacity, varying according
to locality and to the nature of the substance measured ;
see below.
Sc. \ ferlot, nearly -| Winchester bushel, except for wheat ; of
meal, 8 lbs. Dutch, 8| English, Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Sth.
Of potatoes, 28 lbs. Dutch, ib. Bnff. Of potatoes, 2 strike = 32 lbs.
Dutch, ib. Abd. Of ground malt, weighs from 12 to 14 lbs. Dutch ;
of potatoes, ^V of a boll = | bushel, imperial, about 40 lbs., ib.
Kcd. Of potatoes, 2 stone Dutch, ib. s.Arg. Of potatoes, of 9 wine
gallons English, heaped, weighing 56 lbs. av. . . . Of barley, berc,
malt and oats, a measure 12 inches in diameter, lojV inches deep,
containing 11423-% cubic inches, a little more than half a Winchester
bushel, formerly heaped, now striked, ib. Cld. Of apples and pears,
6\ gallons Winchester, called a sleek; of meal, ^ stone = 8 lbs.
Dutch, ib. Dmb. Of potatoes, the water peck, nearly 42 lbs., ib.
Rnf. Of potatoes from 36 to 37 lbs. av., ib. n.Ayr. Of potatoes,
reduced to 27 lbs. of 24 oz. each, ib. Lnk. Of beans and peas,
\ less than of barley, ib. ; Oatmeal . . . rose to two shillings per peck
(the peck being about 9 lbs; weight in Enghsh), Hamilton Poems
(1865) 195. n.Lnk. Of potatoes, 42 lbs. av., Morton 16. Bwk.
J of a firlot, ib. Nhb.i At Alnwick and Wooler the peck is equal
to one-third of a bushel Winchester. At Newcastle a peck of barley
3 M
PECK
[450]
PECKICE
and oats is equal to five forpits or quarterns. In mining, peck, a
measure containing 1,209 cubic inclies. w.Yks.' A Craven peck or
strike is half a Winchester bushel. e.Lan.i A meal measure of 34
lb. n.Wal. Of potatoes, 24 quarts, Morton li. s.Wal. 20 quarts,
ib. n.Glo. A heaped peck, ib. s.Glo. Of potatoes and green
vegetables, 2 pecks striked, ib. Ken. Bread is sold in pecks,
gallons, and quarts (G.B.).
4. A large quantity or number ; esp. in phr. a peck of
irouble(s.
Cai.i A peck o' lees. Slk. You canna do less — for sic a peck o'
trashy havers never, never left ma lips afore, Chr. North Nodes
(ed. 1856) III. 323, Nhb.i Wm. A widow in a peck of troubles,
HuTTON Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 373. Lan. A peck o' sovereigns,
Brierley Co««;'s, iii. Not.* n.Lin.' My wife's in a peck o' trubles
this mornin' ; she's fun oot she's lost her bunch o' kays. Rut.i
Oi've had my peck o' trouble. Nhp.' War.^ I am afraid he is in
a peck of troubles. Oxf.i I be in a peck o' trouble, MS. add.
Hmp.^ Som. Cic'ly have a-had a peck o' trouble, poor maid,
Raymond Smoke of War, 167. w.Som.^ Poor blid, her've a-got a
peck o' trouble, sure 'nough.
5. A measure of liquids : two gallons.
w.Som.i I do hear how Farmer Burge is zillin o' very good cider
vor a shillin' a peck.
Hence three peck yill, phr. ? strong ale.
Dmb. That Ufe to ills maun e'en stieve batter'd be Whilk three-
peck-yill and braxy winna free, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 13.
6. A utensil used to contain bread or oat-cake ; see below.
I.Ma. A wooden hoop, about 3 or 4 inches deep, and about aoinches
in diameter, covered with a sheep's skin, and resembhng the head
of a drum, it is used to keep oaten cakes in. ' Run, girl, and fill the
peck; Ihearthemen coming intosupper' (S.M.); The bread-basket
known as the ' peck,' Caine Deemster (1887) 12.
7. V. To measure with a peck.
w.Som.' Mind and peck it op careful like, eens mid-n be no
mistake. Dev. Reports Provinc. (1881) 14.
PECK, sb."^ War. Glo. [pek.] A point ; the point of
the shoulder, esp. of a horse. s.Wor.', Glo. (A.B.), Glo.^
Cf. pecked.
PECK, sb.^ Nhp.» [pek.] Straw ; new stubble.
PECK, 1;.= and sb." Var. dial, uses in Sh.I. and Eng.
[pek.] 1. V. In phr. (i) to peck for oneself, to earn one's
own living ; (2) — one out of one's nest, to send one into the
•world to earn one's own living.
(i) w.Yks. (J.W.) Chs.' It's toime ee pecked for issel ; oi peck
for moisel. (2) Nhp.^
2. To eat ; to nibble.
w.Yks.5 Lan. Heaw thae's peck'd sin th' trade wur wreck'd,
Harland Lyrics (1866) 234. nw.Der.i Tha mun scrat afore tha
pecks. Oxf. (Hall.) Cor. Thanks, I'll peck a pit, Baring-Gould
Curgenven (1893) liii.
Hence (i) Pecker, sb. an eater, used of man or beast ;
(2) Pecking, sb. food ; eating.
(i) w.Yks.s He's a rare pecker. (2) w.Yks. I'll back yah're
Dosey onny day for a bit o' gooid peckin', Cudworth Dial. Sketches
(1884) 21 ; Aw nivver saw a bit o' better peckin, Yksman. (1877)
87, col. 1.
3. To tease ; to taunt ; to worry, annoy ; to find fault
with ; to domineer over ; gen. with at, on, or upon. Cf
pick, D.* II. 1 (2).
Cum." m.Yks.i They pick and peck at one another the day
through. Nhp.i- He's always pecking at him. War.^, Hrf.2
Glo.i I don't believe in being pecked upon. Oxf.i MS. add.
Brks.' She was alius a-peckin' an' yangin' at muh zo as I cood'nt
bide wi' her no longer. Hnt. (T.P.F.) Ken. They were always
peck pecking on her. They used to peck on him so (D.W.L.).
I.W.!2 I was pecked upon all the time I was there, and used wuss
than a dog. Dor.l E 'mussen dink to peck Upon a body zoo,
144. Som. A woman told me that the others did alus peck upon
her boy so coming out o' school (W.F.R.).
4. With out or upon : to churn a small quantity of milk.
Sh.I. I gengs ta peck oot da drap o' milk dat wis standin' i' da
keg, sae as to get a bit o' guid butter ta set by Yule, Stewart
Tales (1892) 43 ; Churning is performed by hand. The milk is put
into a narrow deep vessel, and to the end of a stick a round per-
forated disk of wood is attached. This is wrought up and down
piston-fashion, and the milk is churned by the beating action of
the disk. When the quantity of milk is small the action must be
gently performed, said ' to be peckin upo' da kirn ' (J.S.).
5. sb. Food.
Chs 1 He gets fower shilling a week an his peck. nw.Der.i
Lin. (Hall.) ; Lin.' He mun be ailing for he is aff"his peck. Nhp.*-
A workman has so much wages and his peck. War.^ Wor. I
throwed up all my peck (W.C.B.).
6. Phr. peck of girse, sufficient grass to provide food for
an animal.
Sh.I. If ony peck o' girse is comin', we min keep hit fur da
craturs 'at's ta gie wis a drap o' milk, Sh. News (May 22, 1897).
7. Very thin corn in the harvest-field. Sh.I. (J.S.)
PECK, v.^ Cum. Yks. Lin. War. Wor. Shr. Glo. Sus.
Wil. Som. [pek.] 1. To pitch, throw, esp. with a short,
jerking action.
Cum.* Peckin away at ivery laal stean on't road. Glo. Horae
Subsecivae (1777) 321 ; GIo.^^, Som. (W.F.R.)
Hence (i) Pecker, sb. a coin used in the game of pitch-
and-toss ; (2) Peck-f arden, sb. the game of ' chuck-farthing ' ;
see below ; (3) Peck-and-toss, s6.thegame of pitch-and-toss.
(i) Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885). (2) Som. The game
of Peck-Farden consists in 'pecking' or chucking farthings or
buttons at a mark, the player who is nearest * in ' taking the
farthings (W.F.R. ). (3) Peck and Toss is played by one of two
players throwing several pence, halfpence, or farthings into the air,
the other crying ' heads ' or ' tails ' and taking those which have
fallen according to his cry. I fancy there are varieties of the
game (ib.').
2. To fall forward ; of a horse : to stumble ; occas. with
down.
Cum.* A horse that goes rather ' close to the ground ' with his
fore feet, will frequently touch the ground with his toe and make
a stumble — such an one pecks from want of vigour. Yks. (Hall.)
w.Yks. Grose {i-jgo) MS. add. {V.) War."; War.3 He pecked
on his nose. Wor. (W.C.B.) w.Wor.' Missus wuz comin' down-
stars, an' 'er yud was a bit wimmy-like, an' 'er pecked right over.
se.Wor.i s. Wor. Th' 'arse he pecked, OuTis Vig. Mon. in Berrow's
Jrn. (1896) XV ; s.Wor.i Shr.i Mind the child dunna peck out on
'is cheer. Glo. (A.B.), Glo.i=, Wil.i
Hence (i) Peckit headlums, phr. falling headlong ; {2)
Pecky, adj. inclined to stumble.
(i) Lin. (M.A.R.) (2) Wil.i Th'old hoss goes terr'ble pecky.
3. To go at a good pace. Cf. pike, v.^
Sus. So off I peck'd, Lower /am Cladpole (1872) st. 11.
[1. You i' the camlet, get up o' the rail, I'll peck you
o'er the pales else, Shaks. Hen. VIII, v. iv. 94.]
PECK, see Paik, v.. Peak, v.'^, Pegh, Pick, sb.^, v.^
PECKA, see Peckle, u^
PECKED, ppl. adj. War. Wor. Glo. Hrt. Also written
peckid se.Wor.i; peckied Glo.*; pekked, pekket War.^
[pe-kid, -it.] Pointed ; sharp-edged. See Peck, sb.^ Cf.
picked.
War.3 He threw a pekked stone at me. He jobbed him with a
pekket stick. s.Wor. The pecked bits often found at the corners
of fields(H.K,); s.Wor.i Aboat is peck-ed atboth ends. se.Wor.^
Glo. A pecked stick (H.S.H.) ; Glo.i Hrt. A round pecked heap,
Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) IV. i. 92.
Hence Pecked-arsed, adj. having the root of the tail
protruded or projecting beyond the usual contour.
Hrt. Never make use of a ram which is peck-ar^ed, Ellis Mod.
Husb. (1750) IV. i. 129.
PECKER, sb. Yks. War. Brks. Wil. Som. Also
written peckker Wil. [pe-kafr).] 1. A bird's bill. War.
(J.R.W.) Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885).
2. The human nose.
WU. Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.i Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl.
(1885).
3. Phr. (i) down in the pecker, in bad spirits ; (2) to get the
pecker up, to be in a temper.
(i) Brks.i (2) w.Yks. Sha'd gotten her pecker up be this an
wor flurrishing her finger nails e a dangerous way, Tom Treddle-
HOYLE Bairnsla Ann. (1896) 27.
PECKERT, ppl. adj Chs.i [pe'kst.] Spotted. Cf.
peckle, v}
PECKETING, z/W. 5^-. Irel. The act of pecking.
Equally fatal would have been the pocketing of poultry, Barlow
Martin's Company (1896) 176.
PECK-HAW, sb. Not. [pe'k-5.] The fruit of the
hawthorn. s.Not. (J.P.K.)
PECKICE, see Pickex.
PECKIN'
[451]
PEDIGREE
PECKIN', sb. Sh.I. A small quantity, a scattered few.
Da Weisdil an' San'soond men ir gettin' a peckin' o' codlins i'
da Laerns fir a 00k or twa, Sh. News (Mar. s6, 1898).
PECKISH, adj. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc.
Eng. and Amer. [pe'kij.] 1. Hungry.
Sc. (A.W.), n.Cy. (j.W.) w.Yks. Aw feel a sooart 0' peckish,
'Harij-ey Clock Aim. Ii8g2)z8; w.Yks.'' Lan. We begun to feel a
bit peckish, Widder Bagshaui' s Trip (c. i860) 17. Der.'^, nw.Der.i,
Not.i Lin. 1 I'm not very peckish. Lei.i, Nhp.i, War. (J.R.W.),
War.^ Glo. I ses to meself, ' I be rayther peckish,' Gibes Coiswold
Vill. (1898) 92. Brks.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.i, Suf.i Wil. Slow
Gt. (1892). Som. SwEETMAN Wincanton Gl. (1885). [Amer. I
don't care if I stop and breakfast with you, for I feel considerable
peckish this mornin, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) 2nd S. ii.]
Hence Peckishness, sb. hunger.
■w.Yks. Must have entered the place in a state of considerable
' peckishness,' Phases Bradford Life, 1 1 1 .
2. Dainty; not having a good appetite. Hmp. Hollowav.
PECKIS(S, see Pickax.
PECKLE, v.^ and sb. Lan. Chs. Der. Lei. Nhp. War.
Won Shr. Also in form peckaChs.^ [pe'kl.] \. v. To
speckle ; to freckle. s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854). Chs.'s
Hence (i) Peckled, ppl. adj. speckled, spotted, parti-
coloured ; (2) Peckled-Dick, sb. the goldfinch, Carduelis
elegans ; (3) Peckledy-pied, adj. speckled with black and
white.
(i) Lan. The peckit jump [coat], Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740)
5. e.Lan.i Chs.2 ; Chs.^ A peckled pool. s.Chs.i Wheer's that
pecklet hen ? Der.^ nw.Der.i A peckled hen. LeL^ Nhp.^
Seldom used, except to describe stockings that are of two colours
in equal proportion. ' Little Robin redbreast sat upon a hurdle,
With a pair of peckled legs on a green girdle.' War.^ A peckled
toad ; War .3, w.Wor.', Shr.i^ (2, 3) Shr.i
2. sb. A freckle ; a speckle.
Chs.i ; Chs.3 Fawn peckles once made a vow They never would
come on a face that was fou. s.Chs.' Ahy shiid noa' im ugy'en-
aan-iweeur ; ee wuz sich u faay fel'u, widh ii fai's au'l oar pek-lz.
[1, 2. Peckle (1) maculare, (2) macula, Levins Manip.
(1570)-]
PECKLE, ■y.^ tObs. Sc. To peck.
Dmf. Ye [birds] sail peckle o' the bread an' drink o' the wine,
Cromek Remains (1810) 245.
PECKSOME, a^'. Brks. [pe'ksam.] Hungry. (Miss A.)
PECK-TOOTH, s6. Glo.i A toothpick.
PECKY, see Pick, sb}
PECULIAR, sb. Oxf > The petunia, Petunia nyctagini-
Jlora.
PECURIOUS, adj. ? Obs. e.An. Very minutely and
scrupulously exact. e.An. (Hall.), e.An.^
PED, sb> Nhp. Bdf Hrt. Hnt. e.An. Som. Dev. [ped.]
1. A wicker pannier ; a hamper with a lid. Cf. pad, sb.^
Nhp.i Formerly, peds were always used in couples, suspended
on each side of a horse or donkey, for carrying provision to
market. . . The hampers in which herrings are exposed for sale in
our market are always termed peds ; and fishmongers frequently
say, 'I'vegotafinepedof herrings to-day'; Nhp.^ Bdf. A donkey
and peds (J.W.B.). Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.An.^ Two are commonly
used, and called a 'pair of peds,' one on each side of a horse, in
which pork, fowls, butter, and eggs, are carried to market, and
fish hawked about the country. On the top of the equipoised load,
a broad seat is afforded for a rider. Cmb.'- There were two peds
of oysters and one of plaice. Nrf. Chiefly applied to lobster baskets.
Trans. Phil. Soc. (1855) 34. Suf. Raineird Agric. (1819) 297, ed.
1849 ; Suf.i Ess. They used to have a dickey to have the children
ride in peds (S.P.H.). Dev. Horae Subsccivae (iin) 321.
2. Comp. (i) Ped-belly, a round and protuberant belly ;
(2) -market, a market where fruit, vegetables, chickens,
and other commodities conveyed in 'peds ' are sold.
(i) e.An. (Hall.), e.An.i (^g-, urf. Moor IVds. (1823). w.Som.i
There is a large ped-market at Taunton every Saturday.
3. A pail.
Hrt. They bring the milk home in wooden peds, Ellis Mod.
Husb. (1750) IV. i. 194.
[1. A panel and wantey, packsaddle and ped, Tusser
Husb. (1580) 36 ; I most have myn instrumentes hydder,
. . whyche I praye yow and Berney to gedre joyntly . . .
to trusse in a pedde, Paston Letters (1473) HL 102 ; Pedde,
idem quod panere, Prompt.]
PED, sb.'^ Sc. [ped.] A professional runner, a short-
ened form of 'pedestrian.'
Edt>. ' Ye'll make a ped some day, lad.' ' May be ; but three
yairds is a lang stairt,' Campbell Deilie Jock (1897) 26.
PEDALINCAN, sb. Cor. Sc.L [pedalinksn.] The
great cuttle-fish. Cor.'^ Sc.L Courtney Gl. (1880).
PEDASTER, sb. Lakel. Wm. [pada'stsr.] A long
tramp, march, or journey.
Lakel.2 Wm. Whar they'd to pay twea crowns apiece Forby
their lang pedaster, Whitehead Leg. (1851) 51, ed. 1896.
PEDDER, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. e.An. Also
in forms pethar Nhb.'; pether Sc. N.Cy.i Nhb.' Dur.'
Cum.'* ; pethir Rxb. (Jam.) ; pethur N.Cy.' [pe-da(r,
pe-S3(r).] 1. sb. A pedlar ; one who carries goods to
market in a ' ped.'
So. Skene Dijjicil Wds. (1681) 94. Slk. Thy packs on thy back
leyke a pether, lioGGPoems (ed. 1865) 371. Rxb. Mind the pether
That bears the pack, Ruickbie Wayside Cottager (1807) 173 ; Ye
needna treat a pether after he bans he's fow, Prov. (Jam.) N.Cy.',
Nhb.i, Dur.i Cum. Lai Charlie M'GIen, he was brong up a pedder,
Rayson Poems (1839) 62 ; Cum.l", e.An.i
2. V. To attempt to foist an inferior article on a buyer.
Cum.' Don't pedder that rubbish on me ; Cum.*
[1. Peddare, calatharius, Prompt. ; A pedder, negociaior,
Cath. Angl. (1483).]
PEDDER, see Patter, v}
PEDDLE, V. and sb. Sc. Cum. Yks. Lan. Lin. Wor.
and Nfld. [pe'dL] 1. v. To hawk articles from door to
door ; to sell in small quantities instead of in the lump or
piece ; to haggle over a bargain.
e.Sc. Peddlin' yards o' tape an' hanks o' yarn. Strain Elmslie's
Drag-net (1900) 87. Cum. (J.D.) n.Yks.i ' What few beeas we hae
at this tahm o'year, we can easily get 'em peddled off' ; spoken by
a Dales farmer ... in answer to an enquiry if he saw any necessity
for opening the cattle markets again. w.Yks.^ We weant loise
wer time be peddhng together; al tell yuh what al gi'e yuh.
[Nfld. (G.P.)]
Hence Peddling, ppl. adj. trifling, worthless.
w.Yks.i n.Lin.i Thaay was dearest sheep I iver hed oht to do
wi'. Thaay cum off Scotton Common, an' was little peddlin'
things, not much bigger than cats in a waay o' speakin', an' wo'th
noht at all.
2. To trifle ; to work ineffectually. Cf. piddle, v}
e.Yks.i W.Yks. Willan List Wds. (1811). Lan. Davies
Races (1856) 237. s.Wor. (H.K.)
3. sb. A huckster's cart, a handcart. w.Yks.^
4. Employment.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.i Xhem men'll hev a bonny easy peddle
ont' top o' th' beacon, ii. 305.
5. A long tale ; unnecessary talk.
w.Yks.* Let's ha' a less o' thi peddle.
PEDDLE-BACKED, adj. Obs. Dev. Having a pack
on one's back ; round-shouldered. Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 321.
PEDDYSTONE, s6. Hrf [pe'distan.] A pedestal.
We see the ' peddystone,' as the rustics call the inscribed pedes-
tal there which commemorates the battle of Mortimer's Cross,
White Wrekin (i860) xi.
PEDER, sb. Obs. Lin. A cottager who farms a few
acres of land. Lin. (Hall.), Lin.'
PEDESTALS, sb. pi. Yks. [pe'distlz.] The bearings
for axles used on coal-pit wagons. s.Yks. (J.W.)
PEDGEL, V. Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Also in form
pidgel Lei.' [pe'dzl.] To bargain ; to chaffer ; to deal
as a pedlar. Not.', Lei.', Nhp.' 2, War.*
Hence (i) Pedgeler, (2) Pedgeley, sb. a pedlar; a
' higgler ' ; (3) Pedgeling, //i/. adj paltry ; in a petty way.
(i) Not.' Lel.i Theer warn't noo boyers theer, oon'y pidgelers
an' hidgelers (s.v. Hidgeler). (2) Lei.i (3) Not. He's a poor
pedgeling fellow (J.H.B.); Not.' Lei.' Ah eet sooch hidgelin',
pidgelin' tricks (s.v. Hidgel).
PEDGEL, see Peggie.
PEDIGREE,56. Sc. Yks. Not. Lin. War. Wor. Oxf. Ken.
Som. [pe'digri.] 1. Iwphv. the state of pedigree, ihestais
or show befitting a person's rank.
Ayr. He accepted the invitation, and came with his sister in all
the state of pedigree in their power, Galt Provost (1822) xxxiv.
3 M 2
PEDLAR
[452]
PEEK
2. A long story ; a rigmarole.
■w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. He to'd uz such a pedigree ; but a didn't
believe not hafe (J.P.K.). n.Lin.i It's bad to remember, but Ralf
knaws all th' pedigree on it. War.2 I heerd the wul pedigree o'
that affair at Webster's, to-day. s.Wor. I ups at that and I tells 'er
the whole pedigrees of it (H.K.). Oxf. I had to listen to the whole
pedigree agen ; where he had bin, and what he had done (G.O.) ;
Oxf.i Ken.i He made a middlin' pedigree over it. Som. He'll give
you the whole pedigree (W.F.R.). w.Som.i Nif he didn tell up a
fine old pedigree o' it, for two mortal hours, and all 'bout nort 'all.
PEDLAR, sb} Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Shr. Som. [pe'dlsfr.] In comb, (i) Pedlar's basket,
(a) the ivy-leaved toad-flax, Linaria Cymbalaria ; (b) the
creeping saxifrage, Saxifraga sarmentosa ; (2) — drouth,
hunger ; (3) -pad, a walking-stick.
(i, a) Cum., Wm. (B. & H.) w.Yks.i Probably . . . from its
trailing stems being interwoven together like a basket. ne.Lan.i,
s.Lan. (B. & H.), Chs.is, Der. (B. & H.), w.Som.i (6) Lan.
(B. & H.) Chs.i The pots in which it grows are generally placed
upon a little square board, and suspended by four strings from the
top of the window. The long threadlike runners of the plant
hang down around the pot, and are supposed to resemble the
threads and tapes hanging out of a pedlar's basket. Shr.^ To the
gay appearance of this plant — its leaves lined with red, its flower-
stalks streaming like ribands — the appellation of Pedlar's-basket is
doubtless due. (2) Bwk. When folks have the ' pedlars drouth,'
that is, hunger, they are likely to eat more than they drink,- Hen-
derson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 45. (3) n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.i
PEDLAR, sb.'^ Sur.i [pe-dl3(r).] The small wooden
hook used to collect the cut corn before tying it.
PEDMAN, sb. e.An.i [pe'dmsn.] The smallest pig
of a litter. Cf. petman, s.v. Pet, 1 (2).
PEDNAMENY, sb. and adv. Cor. Also in forms
pedna-a-mean ; pednamene (Hall.), [pe'dnsmeni.]
1. sb. A game played with pins, also called ' Pinny-
Ninny,' ' Heads-and-tails.'
Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 126 ; Cor.l
2. adv. Head to feet, as of people lying at both ends of
the same bed.
They say pednamene head to feet, as in many Cornish huts
large families lie, husband, wife, and children (even grown up) of
both sexes, in one bed, Polwhele in Williams (s.v. Pedn).
PEDNAN, s6. Cor.'^ [pe'dnsn.] Small pieces of turf.
PEDN-B0RBAS,s6. Cor." [pe-dan-b^bas.] Cod'shead.
PEDN-CAIRN-TIN, sb. Cor. Tin found by itself apart
from a lode. w.Cor. (M.A.C.)
PEDN-PALY, sb. _Cor. Also written pedn-paley Cor.= ;
penpaly. [pe'dan-peli.] The blue tit, Parus caeruleus.
She es no pedn-paly, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 40; Jrn.
R. Instit. (1886) IX ; Polwhele in Williams (s.v. Pedn) ; Cor.12
w.Cor. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 34.
\OQor. pedn, head+/>a^, satin or velvet (Williams).]
PEDDLING, adj. Cor. [pe'dolin.] Of illness : long,
lingering. w.Cor. (G.F.R.) See Bedole.
PEDRACK-MOW, sb. Cor. [pedrsk-mou.] A rick
of corn built up on the stubble-field ; see below.
Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 248; Cor.^.A round mow preserving
the same diameter throughout until it begins to contract at the
apex, having all the ears inside, Pedrack Mow (s.v. Mow).
PEDRALL, sb. and adj. ? Obs. Sc. 1. sb. A child
just beginning to walk. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
2. adj. Toddling. Ayr. (Jam.)
PEDWARE, sb. Obs. e. An. s.Cy. Pulse, beans, peas,
or any kind of pods. See Podware.
e.An.' s.Cy. Ray (1691). [Pedware, legumeit, Coles (1679).]
PEE, sb. Obs. Der. A mining term : the point of
intersection where two veins cross.
FuRNESs Medic. (1836) Gl. ; This is made when the cross-vein
breaks over the other, and this belongs to him who first comes to
it, and he shall have the ore that he gets standing in the cheeks of
his own vein, and working as far as he can reach with a hack or
pick. ' Pee of ore,' a piece of ore gotten from the vein free from
all spar, kevel, &c., Mander Miner's Gl. (1824) ; Some take for
one thing, some for other free. As New thing, Old thing, Crosse-
vein. Tee or Pee, Manlove Lead Mines (1653) 1. 44; Tapping Gl.
to Manlove (1851).
PEE, D.i n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Also
written pie Wm. [pi.] 1. To look closely and narrowly as
with contracted eyehds ; to shut one eye when taking
aim ; to squint. Cf. pie, v.^ 3.
N.Cy.i2 Cum. Ah shot t'teaah ee an try't peean up sideways
at it, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 212; Cum.* w.Yks. Willan
List Wds. (1811) ; Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks.i Lan. Davies
i?a«s( 1 856) 237. ne.Lan.i s.Lan. Picton Z>/a/. (1865) 11. Chs.^^
Hence Peed or Peet, ppl. adj. blind of one eye.
N.Cy.!^, Lakel.2 Cum. He had evidently got to the ' peed' side
of Mr. Tinklemere, Rigby Midsummer (1891) xix; Cum.'* Wm.
Pied of an ee (E.C.). w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781).
Lan.i, ne.Lan.i, chs.'^a [Peed, codes, unoculus, Coles (1679).]
2. V)\r. pee in yer oan pok neukk, mind your own business ;
see how it applies to yourself. Cum.'
PEE, v.^ Sc. Cum. Yks. e.An. Som. Dev. [pL] 1. To
urinate ; esp. used to and by children ; in gen. colloq. use.
Cai.', w.Sc. (Jam.) Rnf. He never stealt though he was poor,
Nor ever pee'd his master's floor, Picken Poems (1788) 47 (Jam.).
Cum. (J.D.), w.Yks.', e.An.', w.Som.'
2. Comb. Pee-a-bed, the dandelion, Leontodon Taraxacum.
Dev. (B. & H.) Cf. piss-a-bed.
PEEACE.EGG, see Pace-egg.
PEEACH, V. Yks. [piatj.] To injure ; to overdo.
n.Yks. Hard wark dizn't peeach Strang men (I.W.).
[An aphetic form of lit. E. impeach. Cp. Fr. empescher,
to impeach, pester, trouble, incumber (Cotgr.).]
PEEACK, PEEADLE, see Peak, v."", Peedle.
PEEAGLE, V. e.Yks.^ [pia'gl-] To do anything
slowly and unskilfully. Cf padgel.
PEEAK, V. and sb. n.Yks." [piak.] 1. v. To vomit,
' puke.' 2. sb. An emetic.
PEEAK, see Peak, v.^, Peek, Perk.
PEEAL, s6. Yks. [pial-] A tool with which to ' bray '
frummety. n.Yks. (I.W.)
PEEAL, PEEAN, PEEARK, see Peal, v.\ Peen, Perk.
PEEAZAN, sb. e.Yks.^ [pia-zan.] A mischievous,
incorrigible reprobate.
PEEBLE, PEECH, see Pebble, Peach, v.
PEECH, V. Dev. To pitch ; to pave with small stones.
e.Dev. Th' meedle a-peech'd all wi' leuve, Pulman S>tg. Sol.
(i860) iii. 10.
PEECING,s^i. Obs. Chs.^ Aboilingof salt for the poor.
PEE-DEE, sb. Nhb. Dur. Also written P. D. Nhb.'
[pi-di.] 1. The boy on board a ' keel'
n.Cy. (Hall.) ; N.Cy.' The lad who has charge of the rudder in
a keel. Nhb. The youngest he thought myest blame in this bore,
So P. D. and his marrow were e'en pawk'd ashore, Gilchrist
Sngs. (1824) II ; Nhb.' The crew of a keel consisted of the skipper,
two bullies, and the ' pee-dee,' who was generally a boy from
twelve to fourteen years old. Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Gl. Coal Tr.
(1888).
2. Anything very small ; esp. a tiny marble ; also used
attrib. Nhb.\ e.Dur.'
[1. Pedee, an ordinary foot-boy, a drudge : as. What,
must I be your pedee upon all occasions? Phillips (1706).]
PEEDLE, V. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Also in form peeadle
e.Yks.' [pi'dl, pia'dl.] 1. To look slyly about. Lan.'
Cf. peed, s.v. Pee, v.'^ Hence Peedling, vbl. sb. peering,
as a short-sighted person.
Lakel.2 Any hofe-wit can tell by thy peedlin' Thoo cannot crack
mitch of thy seet.
2. To creep about slyly; to do anything in a slow,
indolent fashion. e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.), n.Lan.'
PEEDODDLE, v. Lin. [prdodl.] To dawdle.
e.Lin. More than one who 'stands peedoddling aboot, isted i'
getten on wi' ther work, and rammen right strite inte it,' Lin,
N. & Q. II. 32.
PEEFER, PEEG, see Piffer, Pieg.
PEEGGIRIN-BLAST, sb. Ayr. (Jam.) A stormy blast ;
a heavy shower.
PEEK, v. Lakel. Lan. Lei. Nhp. War. Oxf. Bdf. e.An.
Ken. Dev. and Amer. Also written peak Lei. War.^ Bdf.
e.An.' Ess.; and in form peeakCum.'*n.Lan.' [pik,piak.]
To peep, pry ; to peer about ; to stare, look wonderingly.
Lakel.'i Cum.' He cam gloppan' and peekan' into ivry corner;
Cum.*, n.Lan.', Lei.^ Nhp.' She's alius coming peeking about ;
Nhp.2 I seed un peakin throw the kay-hul. War.23, s.War.i,
Oxf.' s.Oxf. He did 'ave sech bright little eyes, and 'ee peeked
PEEK
[453]
PEEL
at me as though 'ee knowed me, Rosemary Chillerns (1895) 5^-
Bdf. (J.W.B.), e.An.i Cmb.To peek about these bushes (J.D.R.).
Nrf. Time I was peeking for her, up she [the bird] go, Emerson
Birds (ed. 1895) 179. Suf. (E.G.P.) Ess. Trans. Arch. Soc.
(1863) II. 186 ; Monthly Mag. (1815) I. 125. Ken. An dare we
pook't and peek'd about Ta see what made it stick up, Masters
Dick and Sal (c. 1821) st. 47 ; Ken.i [Amer. You see a feller
peekin' out, Lowell Biglow Papers (1848) 57.]
Hence Peeking, ///. adj. tale-bearing ; currying favour
by underhand means.
Dev. A peeking fellow, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 321.
[To peake into a place, inspicere, Levins Manip. (1570) ;
I peke or pne,jeptpe hors, Palsgr. (1530).]
PEEK, see Peak, sh}^. Pick, sh}, v.^*
PEEKIE, see Pickie, adj.'^
PEEKLE, V. Lakel. Also written peakle Lakel.=
Cum.^* [pi'kl.] 1. To pry into secret matters ; to
observe with care. Cf. peek.
Lakel.2 Ther was somebody peaklin' aboot oor hoose tudder neet
efter dark. Cum. My fadder hed gitten up, an' was peeklen aboot
to see what mischief hed been deCin, Richardson Talk (1871) 35,
ed. 1886; Cum.14
2. Phr. peekle in yer ain pwoke neuk, mind your own
business ; see how it applies to yourself. Cum.*
3. To walk silently.
Cum. I peakel't an' watch't, till his feace I could see, Richard-
son Talk (1876) and S. 132 ; Cum.'*
PEEKY, see Peaky, adj}^
PEEL, sb.^ Sc. Nhb. Cum. Chs. Also written pele
Nhb.^ ; and in form pale Chs.^ [pil.] A Border strong-
hold ; see below ; also used attrib. and in comp. Peel-
castle, -house, -tower.
Sc. One was hanged at his peel door, Stevenson Weir (i8g6) i.
s.Sc. The capture of the peel or castle of Linlithgow, Wilson Tales
(1839) V- 4- -^yr- Auld black Joan frae Creighton peel. Burns
Five Carlins (1789) st. 5. Edb. Inferior landholders occupied what
are now called Peel-houses, i.e. houses with vaulted apartments,
to secure their living property in imminent danger, and an outer
stair leading to upper lodgements for the family, Pennecuik Wks.
(1715) 213, ed. 1815. Slk. Many an ancient peel and barrow,
Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 128. Gall. The man ... is but a bonnet
laird, with a peel tower, Crockett Grey Man (i8g6) xv. N.Cy.'
Nhb.i The ground floor consists of an apartment which is vaulted
in full semicircular form. The entrance to this is strongly guarded
by an oaken door, protected by a grill of flat iron bars fastened to its
outer side, and moving with the door. A newel stair, or in some
cases a straight stone stair in the thickness of the wall, leads to
the upper storey ; here is the chief apartment, and above it is a
second room. Each of these occtSpies the entire area within the
walls. This area is often not more than 19I by 13^ feet. The
tower has battlements, and the angles are sometimes finished with
turrets, which are machicolated. Cum. The peel an' hut o' auld
lang syne Hae lang i' ruins lain. Burn Ballads (ed. 1877) 60;
Cum.i*, Chs.»
[And at Lythkow ves than a peill Mekill and stark, and
stuffit Weill Vith ynglis men, Barbour Bruce (1375) x.
137. OFr. pel, ' rampart, palissade ' (La Curne).]
PEEL, sb.'^ Glo. Wil. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in pi. form
pails Dev.' [pil-] 1- A pillow ; esp. one used for
making lace.
Glo.', w.Cy. (Hall.) Wil. Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.'
Som. Tha gee me stra vor bed an peel ! Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng.
(1825) 170. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Dev. I want'th zom
guze-vethers tu make a couple ov beyde peels wi', Hewett Peas.
Sp. (1892) ; Dev.' n.Dev. Hare's a darning up of old blonkets and
rearting the peels, Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 428. Cor.'^
2. Comp. (i) Peel-bear (cf. pillow-bear), (2) -cloth, a
pillow-case ; .(3) -lace, lace made on a pillow.
(i) Dev.' I've a good doust bed-tye and a tester-bed, peel and
peel-bears, 47, ed. Palmer. (2) Dev. (Hall.) (3) Wil.' A little
' Peel lace ' is still made about Malmesbury.
3. The pillow over the axle of a wagon.
Wil. Davis Agric. (1813) ; Wil.'
[1. OE. pylu, ' ceruical ' (Napier).]
PEEL, sb.^ In een. dial, use in Sc. and Eng. Also
written peal Nhb. Hrf.'^ Hrt. Suf. Ken.' Sur. Dev. ; pele
Shr.^ Suf ; and in forms pale se.Wor.' Glo.' ; pile Hmp. ;
pyle Dor. [pil.] 1. A flat, long-headed shovel, gen. of
wood, used for taking bread and pies in and out of a brick
oven.
e.Sc. Placing a couple of loaves on the palm of the peel, Setoun
Sunshine (1895) 184. Nhb. (W.G.) Cum. A thyvel an' a wood-
hoopt can, A piggin an' a peel, Dickinson Lit. Rem. (1888) 176.
e.Yks.l MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks.^s Chs.' It is planed to a thin
edge, so that it can be slipped easily under the loaves. The long
handle allows the baker to reach to the further end of the oven
without getting too near the hot oven mouth. s.Chs.' We have
two varieties of peels, viz., bread-peels and pie-peels. n.Lin.',
e.Lin. (G.G.W.), sw.Lin.', Nhp.', War.^S", s.War.' Wor. There
is a saying in the neighbourhood that if a woman should break
her peel (a kind of shovel used in baking bread), and should leave
it for a little while in the fairies cave at Osebury Rock, it would be
mended for her. Allies Antiq. Flk-Lore (1840) 419, ed. 1852.
se.Wor,' Shr.' Bring the oven-swoop an' the peel, we sha'n be
ready for 'em in a minute ; Shr.* Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc.
(1876). Hrf.2, Glo. (H.S.H.), Glo.' Oxf. Oven lid and peel,
Stapleton Three Parishes (1893) 163 ; Oxf.' MS. add. Brks. Gl.
(1852) ; Brks.' Hrt. Set them on a peal and lay them to bake at
the oven's mouth, Ellis Cy. Hswf. (1750) 75. e.An.', Suf. (C.T.),
Suf.' Ken. He thought we cou'den tell, Sa often as ya know we
baak, A beehive from a peel, Masters Dick and Sal (c. 1821) st.
86 ; Ken.' Sur. Then there are hay-rakes to be made, also bakers'
peals. Times (Dec. 7, 1894) 13, col. 4. Sus. I've been a bakin', . .
and have broke my peel. Lower S. Downs (1854) 159; Sus.'^,
Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.', Wil.' Dor. Hearingthe noise, out ran his
wife with the oven pyle. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge (ed. 1895) 310.
2^ A_batch of bread. Dev. (Hall.)
"■ o/owr, Palsgr. (1530). OFr.
[1. Pele for an ovyn, ^
pele, 'pelle' (La CurneJ.]
PEEL, sft." Sc. [pil.] L A dial, form of 'pool.'
n.Sc. Then she became a duck, . . To puddle in a peel, Buchan
Ballads (1828) I. 26, ed. 1875. Cai.' Abd. Peels appear That
trickle oot aneth their seats A' ower the fleer, Murray Hamewith
(1900) 78. Kcd. Wi' stick an' heel, owre stream an' peel He rade
wi' micht an' main. Grant Lays (1884) 11.
2. Phr. to make on^s peels, of children : to urinate. Cai.'
PEEL, v> and sb? Sc. Irel. Nhb. Yks. ? Nrf Hmp.
Also written peal Sc. ; and in form pale w.Yks. [pil.]
L V. In comb, (i) Peel-a-bone or -the-bones, severe
weather or a piercing wind which freezes one to the
bone; (2) -a-flee, a person unsuitably and insufficiently
clothed ; see below ; (3) -and-eat, (a) a potato cooked and
served in its skin ; (b) the eating of potatoes cooked in their
skins ; (4) -and-eat-potato, see (3, a) ; (5) -neck, a tyrant
whose yoke galls his dependents ; (6) -tail, a niggard.
(i) Gall. March borrows frae April Three days, and they are ill ;
The first o' them is wun and weet. The second it is snaw and sleet.
The third o' them's a peel-a-bane. And freezes the wee burd's
neb tae stane, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 211, ed. 1876 ; A
common saying, apart from the rhyme of ' The Borrowin' Days '
(J.M.). (2) Peel-a-flee, he said, was a creature out of its element ;
a dandy attempting to play with men at the channle-stane. . .
' Peel-a-flees ' are all those who look better on a street than they
do in the country, Mactaggart ib. 392. (3, o) s.Sc. Yet, O the
cheat ! Was glad to dinner for a' this On peal-an'-eat, T. Scorr
Poems (1793) 336. Gall. Mactaggart ib. 378. Nhb.' (6) s.Sc.
A hearty game at peel-an-eat On some o' Jamie's tatties, Watson
Bards (1859) 75. (4) Abd. Lucky that some fowk cud get plenty
o' lang kail an' peel-an'-aet-potawtoes, Alexander Ain Fik. (i88z)
141. Slk. I got only peel-an-eat potatoes and a little salt, Hogg
Tales (1838) 442, ed. 1866. (5) n.Yks.^ An aud peel-neck tiv his
poor wife. (6) ib. A niggard, who in stripping for the hide,
would have the peelings of the tail into the bargain.
2. To take oif the skin.
Sh.I. A'm brOsd or dan peel'd me left elbik, Sh. News (Feb. 9,
1901). Abd. Lickin' the creatur till's very fingers wus near han'
peel't, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 88. Rnf. Ye winna be at
rest . . . till ye get your skull peeled, Eraser Chimes (1853) 56.
Lnk. I skail'd my snufi", I peel'd my loof, Rodger Poems (1838)
25, ed. 1897. Gall. When I'm for sleeping, she's for waukin,
And peels my shins, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (18 14) 155, ed. 1897.
Kcb. He naps his taes an' peels his heels, Armstrong Ingleside
(1890) 140.
3. To strip ; to take off one's clothes ; also in phr. to peel
off oneself.
Sh.I. ' Come doo an' help ta peel dis ane — ' ' Is shii ill taroo?'
Sh. News (July 8, 1899). Lnk. Your very bed an' blankets peelin'
PEEL
[454]
PEENGE
Frae whar ye sleepit, Watt Poems (1827") 16. Dmf. Thae oor
' bonny Jean ' wad peel O' native charms, Quinn Heather (1863)
200. Gall. As if he was peeling for a fecht, Crockett Bog-
Myrile (1895) 388. Don. He peeled off him again, and takin' off
his inside shirt, Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 222. Nhb. Aw'd
peel her te the varry sark, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 11.
w.Yks. When boath on em hed peeled they stepped inta t'watter,
Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1895) 38.
4. Of a hare : to break ; of a dog : to raise the lips and
show the teeth.
Nrf. Lor, that peeled and showed his ivories at us, Emerson
Wild Life (1890) 109 ; (P.H.E.)
5. To skim. [Not known to our correspondents.]
w.Yks. There, pale t'guilp off, un' then ye'U hae done wi't,
Bronte Wuthering Hts. (1847) xiii.
6. sb. The least particle ; of grass : a blade.
Sh.I. No a peel o' clood ipa dy sky, Stewart Tales (1892) 260;
Deil peel I pat, Sh. News (June 18, 1898) ; Na, peel ta beggry o'
da kraek is aboot him. Juist wait doo fil da okrigaard is aeten,
an' tell me 'at he's a kraek dan, ib. (Aug. 13, 1898) ; A piece of
ground having very scant pasture will be described as 'no haen
ae peel o' girs upon it.' A stupid person may be described as
^no haen ae peel o* sense.' ' I d5na care a peel what ony bodie
says ' (J.S.) ; S. & Ork.i A peel of grass.
PEEL, i;.2 Yks. [pil.] 1. With in : to give in ; to
retire from a contest.
w.Yks. Shoo threeatened to brek ther heeads wi' her sceptre if
they didn't hod ther noise, so they peeled in a bit, Saiinterers
Satchel (i8tj) 25 ; (S.P.U.)
2. With m : to endeavour to become reconciled. Leeds
Merc. Wkly. Sttppl. (Sept. 20, 1884) 8.
PEEL, see Pail, v., Peal, sb.'^^, v.^^, Pail, Pill, sb.^
PEELED, ppl. adj. Sc. Nhb. [pild.] In comb, (i)
Peeled egg, a windfall ; . (2) — grain, a tree-branch
stripped of its bark but otherwise unsquared and un-
dressed.
(i) e.Fif. There wad be sorrow for the death o' Uncle Jeames,
joy at the prospeck o' getting sic a nice peeled egg, and may be
veesions o' a gilt coach, &c., Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) v.
(2) Nhb.l
PEEL-END, sb. Yks. [pM-end.] The sharp end of a
hammer-head. See Pillended-hammer ; cf. peen.
w.Yks. Hit it with the peel-end (B.K.) ; w.Yks.2
PEELER, s6.i Sc. Irel. [prlsr.] A crab which has cast
its shell, esp. the shore-crab, Carcinas nienas. Cf pillan.
Bnff.'^ Fif. CoLviLLE FcrK«oi/a>-(i8g9) 19. N.I.' Used for bait.
Ant. (W.J.K.)
PEELER, sb.^ Obs. Hrt. Of plants : an impoverisher
or spoiler of the ground.
Hrt. Barley and wheat are both reckoned great peelers of the
ground, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) I. i. 73.
[Yet otes with hir sucking a peeler is found. Both ill to
the maister and worse to the ground, Tusser Husb.
(1580) 84.]
PEELER, s^i.3 Ken. [prl3(r).] A crowbar ; a round
iron bar used for making the holes into which hop-poles
are placed. (W.F.S.), Ken.^
PEELER, s6.* Ken. [prl3(r).] A baker's shovel.
(W.F.S.) See Peel, sb.^
PEEL-GARLIC(K, see Pill-garlic.
PEELIE, a«^'. and 56. Sc. L oi^'. Thin, meagre. (Jam.)
2. sb. A scarecrow. Brown Did. (1845).
PEELIE-WALLY, sb. w.Sc. (Jam. Siippl.) A tall,
slender, sickly-looking young person ; used also of a tall,
slender plant or young shoot. Cf speelie-wally.
PEELING, prp. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Lin.
Nhp. War. Oxf. Hnt. e.An. Sus. Hmp. Dor. Also written
peelin Sc. Nhb.' ; peelen Lakel.^ Dor.' [pilin.] 1. prp.
In phr. peeling his wands, entering on a new occupation,
as on the arrival of a first child. Nhb.' 2. Travelling
on a windy day with insufficient clothing. Gall. Mac-
TAGGART Eucycl. (1824). 3. st. Peel ; skin ; a paring.
Cen. in pL
Bnff. Dinna fling the peelins on the fleer, in case o' hurry in
risin' ye should put yere fit on them and fa' and break yere hough,
Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 320. Lnk. Ye've ta'en her heart
a' but the peelin'. Watt Poems (1827) 49. N.Cy.' Apple peeling.
Lakel.2, w.Yks. (J.W.), n.Lin.i, Nhp.', War.' 2, Oxf.',Hnt.(T.P.F.),
e.An.' Sus., Hmp. Holloway. Dor.'
PEELOCK, sb. [pi-lak.] A potato boiled in its skin.
Gall. His peelocks will be sweet to eat, And no puir scabbed
chittery, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 214, ed. 1876. Wgt. ' What
dae ye get tae yer supper?' 'Peelocks,' Eraser Wigtown
(1877) 366.
PEEL-REESTIE, sb. Sc. [prl-risti.J A mischievous,
stirring person.
Kcb. Tam's an unco gleg wee cheil, A rummlin' wee peelreastie,
Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 140.
PEEL-RINGE, sb. and adj. ? Obs. Sc. (Jam.) Also in
form peel-range. 1. sb. A skinflint.
Fif. [One who would] take the bark off a ringe or whisk made
of heath.
2. A tall, thin person; a cold person. Rxb. 3. adj.
Thin, not able to endure the cold. ib.
PEEL-SHOT, sb. Fif (Jam.) Of cattle : dysentery.
PEELWERSH, adj. Frf w.Sc. (Jam.) Also in form
peley-wersh Frf Wan, sickly-looking.
PEELY-GRASS, sb. N.I.' [plli-gras.] Barley with
the hulls and awns removed. See Pail, v. 1.
PEEM-POM, sb. Sc. [pl'm-pom.] A pom-pom ; a ball
of coloured wool worn by infantry in front of the shako.
Sc. Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899). Ayr. A
sturdy wee dyvour wi' a rumpy-bum coat on, the pooches o't
stuffed wi' peeries and bools, string, nails, peem-poms, and siclike
callan's gear. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 29.
PEEN, sh. and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Also
written pean Cum.'* w.Yks. ne.Lan.' ; pien S. & Ork.' ;
and in forms pane w.Yks.' ; peean n.Yks. ; peun Wm.
[pin, pian.] \. sb. The sharp point of a hammer. s.Sc.
(Jam.), N.I.', Nhb.' Hence (i) Peen-end, sb. the sharp,
thin end of a hammer, or of any implement ; (2) -ended-
maul, sb. a large hammer having one end flat and the
other sharpened to a wedge-shape ; (3) -hammer, sb. a
shoemaker's hammer ; see below.
(i) Nhb.l Wm. Bray't in under t'cawker wi' t'peun end o' thi
hammer (B.K.). n.Yks.' Tak' t'peen end o' t'hammer til it, lad :
thou'll mash 't, then, fast enew ; n.Yks.2 ne.Yks.' Ho'd it b3'
t'peean end. w.Yks.^ (2) w.Yks. (W.H.V.) (3) Sc. (Jam.
Suppl.) n.Yks. One with one end long and slightly curved, with
a cross-piece at the end in the shape of the letter T, intended to
knock down nails, &c. inside shoes ; formerly of more use than
now (W.H.).
2. V. To strike, as with a hammer. S. & Ork.', Cum.''',
ne.Lan.' 3. Bootmaker's term : to close up the end of a
boot-sole by beating it with the thin end of the hammer.
Wm. Thoo mun peun that'sooal better ner that aboot t'neb
(B.K.). n.Yks. Tak dhat hamar an plan t'hedj a dhat biut sual
an makt farm (W.H.).
[1. Norw. dial, pen, also pcenn, the pointed part of a
hammer (Aasen) ; cp. G. pinne, the thin side of a hammer
(Grieb). 2. Sw. dial, pena, also pdna, to beat iron with a
sledge-hammer (Rietz).]
PEENDY, see Pindv-
PEENEB, sb. Sh."l. The small horny substance
adhering to the tip of a chicken's bill when it is first
hatched.
Da thing 'at I carried i' me bosom fir twa days wi' da braeth
juist, I can say, blatterin' i' hits body, an' shame ta mak' a lee,
hit wisna [had not] tint hits peeneb at Lammas ! Sh. News (Oct.
15, 1898) ; It commonly drops off in a day or so (J.S.).
PEENGE, V. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Also
written peenje Sc. (Jam.) Lakel.' Cum.' Wm. ; penje
Cum.'*; pinge Sc. (Jam.) N.I.' N.Cy.' w.Dur.' Cum.';
pinjeCum.'* [ping, ping.] To whine, fret ; to complain
of cold or hunger ; to pretend to be poor.
Sc. My sisters wad sit peengin at the ingleside, Scott Blk.
Dwarf {i&i6) x; (Jam.) Frf. Pingin' an' grumblin' because they
haena been born wi' a siller spune in their mooths, Willock
Rosetty Ends (1886) 109, ed. 1889. Fif. She hesna enough o'
food. And she'll just pinge and pine awa' if we canna gar her
eat, Heddle Marget (1899) 259. s.Sc. Sir William has had twa
or three apoplectic strokes and his leddy is aye pinging, Wilson
Tales (1836) in. 54. Edb. Few need peenge aneath misfortune's
glowr Wad fock do a' the guid that's i' their power, Learmont
Poems (1791) 195. Slk. Standing peenging about windows, Hogg
PEENIE
[455]
PEER
Tales (1838) 361, ed. 1866. N.Cy.i Nhb.i Whafs the bairn
peengin aboot, Bessy ? Dur.^
Hence (i) Peenged, ppl. adj. bad-tempered, complain-
ing, on account of ill-health ; delicate ; starved or shrunk
with cold and bad health ; (2) Peenging, ppl. adj. fretful,
whining ; sickly ; starved-looking ; (3) Peengy, adj. fret-
ful, ill-tempered ; pinched with cold ; sickly ; (4) Pingey-
looking, ppl. adj. tight, pinched-looking.
(i) Nhb.i She was a peenged sort of a body. Lakel.^ Thoo's
as peenj'd as thoo can be. Cum.i* Wm. He's as peenj'd an'
canker'd as an auld miser (B.K.). (2) Sc. That useless peenging
thing o' a lassie, Scott Guy M. (1815) xxxix. Abd. Many parents
used to be grievously afflicted by having their chubby, rosy infant
exchanged by the fairies for one of their own ' peenging shargars,'
Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 441. Dmf. It wafts aboot
whar wins insist Wi' pingin' saul nae bigger . . . Than boasts
a stucco figure, Quinn Heather (1863) 149. Gall. It . . . pinging
brutes without did lash. While meikle trees fell wi' a crash,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1834) 398, ed. i&-j6. N.Cy."- A peenging
bairn. Nhb.' It was a bit poor peengin bairn. w.Dur.^ Cum.Shaeme
fa' thur pingin' gowks that grummel, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed.
1805) 139; Cam.i2* (3) Rxb. (Jam.) Dmf. Wallace School-
master (1899). Nhb.i The bit bairney's but peengy, poor thing !
Lakel.2 Ah wadn't be seea peenjy fer nowt. Cum.^* (4) N.I.^
PEENIE, see Peony, Pinny, sb}
PEENISH, V. Cai.' [pi-nij.] To stint, limit ; a dial,
form of ' punish.'
PEENJURE, V. ? Obs. Ayr. (Jam.) To hamper ; to
confine.
PEENY, adj. ? Obs. w.Yks.= Small, puny.
A set of the younger or smaller boys used to be called a
' peeny set.'
PEEOY(E, sb. Sc. Also written peeoe Sc. (Jam.) ;
pioy Lth. ; pioye Ayr. ; pyowe Gall, [pi-ci.] A cone of
damp gunpowder made by boys to serve as a firework.
Sc. (Jam.) w.Sc. Some conceity bodies, that bizz and fizz, and
spit fire like a peeoy, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 277. Ayr.
He was apt to puff and fizz and go off with a pluff of anger like
a pioye, Galt Provost (1822) xxvi. e.Lth. The verra mention
o' Tod Lowrie's name was eneuch to gar her fuff up like a pioy,
Hunter/. /mw!cA (1895) 153. Edb. (D.MacR.) Gall. He had no
powder with him or he would have made a peeoye, the simple
and inexpensive firework of metropolitan youth, Crockett Cleg
Kelly (1896) ii ; Hoo I wussed that he wad hae dune an' let me
hame to mak' pyowes o' poother for the fair on Monday, ib.
Stickit Min. (1893) 103.
PEEP, v} and sb.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in form pip n.Lin.^ [pipO I- ■"• Gram, forms.
Preterite and pp. : (i) Pep, (2) Pepped, (3) Pept.
(i) Not.i s.Not. Ah pep in through the winder an' seed 'im
(J.P.K.). Lei.', War.2 w.Som.i I pep round the corner. (2)
w.Yks.2 (3) w.Yks. Wright Gram. Wndhll. (1892) 144. Lan.
Fern shoots pept fro every cool shelf, Clegg Sketches (1895) i.
Chs.',Not.'^ Rut.i She joost pept in at the window. Lei.' War.^
I pept thro' the winder. w.Som.' I pept in the cupboard.
II. Dial. uses. 1. v. In comb, (i) Peep-glass, a tele-
scope ; (2) -hawk, the kestrel, Tinnunculus alaudarius ;
(3) -hole, obs., a small sliding door ; (4) -hole door, a door
having a small round hole ; (5) -o'-day, the Star of Bethle-
hem, Ornithogalum umbellatum ; (6) -show, see below.
(i) Lth. Can ye wi' thy peep-glass explore the all eterne? Lumsden
Sheep-head (1892) 196. (2) N.I.' (3) n.Lin.' The small sliding
doors of the cells in the old prison at Kirton-in-Lindsey were
called pip-holes. (4) w.Yks. T'owd nodin' Vicar, magistrate, Went
in at t'peep-hoil door. Senior Smithy Rhymes (1882) 56. (5) Shr.'
(6) Brks.' A paper case with glass over, filled by children with
flowers pressed against the glass ; there is a paper lid which is
raised for a 'pin a peep.'
2. Fig. To dawn.
Glo.' In March it begins to peep about 6 o'clock.
3. sb. A peep-hole. n.Lin.' 4. An eye. Som. (Hall.)
5. The nursery game of 'peep-bo.' nw.Der.'
6. The dawn.
Dmb. The lav'rock by the morning peep May wake his brithers
frae their sleep, Taylor Poems (1827) 95.
PEEP, v.^ and sb.^ Sc. Som. Dev. 1. v. To whine,
complain.
So. (Jam.), Cai.' Som. There yow are, peeping again (E.H.G.).
Hence (1) Peeper, s6. a complaining person; (2) Peepie,
«<(?■. complaining, whining ; weak; (3) Peepie-weepie, (a)
adj. of a whining disposition ; (b) sb. a querulous and
tearful child ; (4) Peep-small, [a) sb. a feeble voice ; also
a silly, feeble, weak-minded person ; one who 'sings
small ' ; (b) v. to assume a humble attitude, to keep in the
back-ground.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) (2) Cai.', Bn£f.' (3, a) Ags. (Jam.) {b) Sc.
Mackay. (4, a) Sc. Mackay. Edb. By and bye, a barefooted girl
came to the door, opened it a very little way, and cautiously asked
Maillie what she wanted. . . ' I want nae awmous, ye peep sma','
said Maillie angrily. 'Do I look like a beggar?' Ballantine
Deanhaugh (1869) 127. Rxb. (Jam.) (6) Cai.'
2. Phr. not as poor as one peeps, not as badly off as one
gives out. Sc.Ye're no sae poor as ye peep, Ramsay Prat;. (1737).
3. Of a queen bee: to make a noise in the hive previous
to swarming. Dev. N. &^ Q. (1851) ist S. iii. 310. 4. sb.
Phr. (i) not to hear a peep of anything, not to hear even a
whisper of anything ; (2) to play peep, to utter a feeble
sound.
(i) Cai.' I noor heerd a peep o' 'd. (2) Sc. He darna play peep
(Jam.) ; Mackay.
5. The meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis. Frf. Swainson
Birds (1885) 45.
[1. Familiar spirits and . . . wizards that peep and that
mutter, Bible Isaiah viii. 19.]
PEEP, see Pip, sb.^
PEEP AG, sb. Cai.' [pi'psg-] A reed made of green
straw.
PEEPER, s6.' Sc. Yks. Dev. [pi-p3(r.] 1. A looking-
glass. Rxb. (Jam.) 2. An egg-pie. Dev. (Hall.)
3. pi. The pimpernel, Anagallis arvensis. w.Yks. Lees
Flora (1888) 796.
PEEPER, 56.2 Cor.' [prp3(r).] A species of tub-fish,
Trigla cuculus. Cf. piper, 8.
PEEPING, prp. Lei. Wor. [pi-pin.] 1. In phr. peep-
ing and tooting, prying and spying. Lei.^ 2. Comb.
Peeping-FebruarieSjthe winter aconite, Eranthishy emails.
Wor. (E.S.)
PEEPY, adj. Yks. [prpi.] Sleepy, drowsy.
e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. With long waiting we fell
peepy, Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) 8.
PEER, sb} and v} Sc. I.W. Also written peir Sc.
(Jam.) [pir, pi3(r).] 1. sb. A match.
Ayr. I think na ye're just a peer to Sir Davie, that you need to
ettle at coping with hisbraw mare , Galt Gilhaize (1823) i. Edb. Say,
ye red gowns ! . . Gin ere thir days hae had their peer, Fergusson
Poems (1773) 191, ed. 1785. I.W.' I never zeed the peer to't ;
I.W.'^ I never met wi' the peer too 't.
Hence Peer-mate, adj. of equal rank.
Edb. A peer-mate chief had heard his plot, Learmont Poems
(,1791) 13.
2. V. To match ; to equal.
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. To compass a bower sae rare, As will peer, I
trow, wi' her broad low brow An' her wavin' golden hair, M urray
Hamewith (1900) 59. Per. Whaur is the land on earth to peer
The land o' Scottish mountaineer? %1%'vip.v^t Character {\%$'f) iii.
Ayr. And such a leg ! my bonie Jean Could only peer it, Burns
Kis;o«, St. II. Rnf. FiNLAYSON i?/y'W«s(i8i5) 41. Lnk. Coghill
Poems (1890) 162. Edb. Liddle Poems (1821) 235. Lth. The
Lady Fern, whase slender stalk Alane can peer thy genty mak,
Ballantine Poems (1856) 78. Dmf. I ance was hafflins charmed
before Wi' beauty few coud peer, Quinn Heather {i&t'i) 236. I.W.'
[1. OFr. (Norm.) peer, per, ' egal, pareil ' (Moisy).]
PEER, sb.^ Sh.I. Der. Som. Also written pear Der.^
[pIr, pi3(r).] 1. A sea-slug. Sh.I. [Coll. L.L.B.) 2. A
minnow.
Der.2 When the corn is in the ear. Then the perch will take a
peer. Som. (Hall.)
[1, 2. Norw. dial, pir, a small fish, used of small
mackerel, of small salmon-trout (Aasen).]
PEER, v.^ Oxf. I.W. [pi3(r).] To pour out lard or
any liquid ; to melt or clarify lard.
Oxf. (K.) I.W. She was hindered on peering the flick, Mon-
CRIEFF Dream (1863) 1. 37 ; I.W.' ; I.W.' We be gwyne to peer
the lard this evenen.
PEER
[456]
PEESWEEP
PEER, adj. Lin. Tender, thin, delicate. ? A dial,
form of poor.' (Hall.), Lin.'
PEER, see Pear, v.. Poor.
PEERCH, PEERE, see Perch, sb}, Pair, sh.
PEERER, sb. Sc. [prrar.] One who gazes or stares.
Wgt. Hid by them from the intrusive gaze of peerers on the
streets, Fraser Wigtown (1877) loi.
PEERIE, sby Sc. Irel. Nhb. Also written peary Sc.
(Jam.) ; perie Sc. ; pery Ir. ; pierie, pirie Edb. ; piry Lnlc.
[pi-ri.] 1. A peg-top. See Pear, s6.'
Sc. (Jam.) ; Mony's the peery and the tap I worked for him
langsyne, Scott Antiquary (1816) xx ; Mackay. Cai.i Abd.
Macdonald Malcolm (1875) I. 76. Frf. His peeries an' bools, His
big fauldin' Whittle, an ither queer tools. Watt Poet. Sketches
(1880) 58. Per. Ford Harp (1893) 152. Fif. It's like sounding a
peerie when I get on the floor, Meldrum Margredel (1894) 99.
s.Sc. A bit boy was playin' wi' his peerie, Cunningham Broomie-
burn (1894) xiv. Rnf. Finlayson Rhymes (1815) 42. Ayr. I
would be blithe to see the wee totties spinning about the floor like
peeries, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) ciii. Lnk. Bowls, and ba's, and
taps, and pirys, M<'Indoe Poems (1805) 40. Lth. A bare-footed
urchin . . . who was dozing a peerie, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892)
276. Edb. They . . . went spinning round about like pieries, Moir
Mansie Wauch (1828) ii ; Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875)
Gl. Bwk. We Gallants wad gather oor peeries to spin On the
muckle hearth stane, Calder Po^'ms (1897) 60. Slk. Chr. North
Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 293. Dmf. She . . . made her spoon gang
roond i' the cup as fast as a peery, Pouder Kirkcumdoon (1875) 20.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 82, ed. 1876. Ir. Brenan^mkoi/s
(Dec. 18, 1895). N.I.i Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). Nhb. The
weans his pranks and jokes enjoy, He'll spin their peerie, Strang
Earth Fiend (1892) pt. iii. st. 10.
Hence Pery-headed, adj. top-headed. Ant. (S.A.B.)
2. //. The game of spinning tops.
Frf. Monypenny was willing to let him join in . . . peeries, . .
or whatever game was in season, Barrie Tommy (1896) xiv.
Fif. In their due seasons came 'bools,' 'peeries,' 'carrick,'
CoLviLLE Vernacular (1899) 12. Slg. The spirit-stirring sport At
peeries, bools, or ba', Towers Poems (1885) 181. Lth. The boys
had also the 'peeries,' and the 'taps,' and the 'buttons' and the
'paips,' Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 33. Kcb. He plays at
peeries, papes, an' bools, Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 142.
PEERIE, ai^'.' and s5.^ Sc. Also in form perrie, pierie
Sh.L [pi'ri.] 1. adj. Small. See Peer, s6.^ ; cf pirrin.
Sh.I. Shu got sontin in a perrie gless ta rub its een wi', Stewart
Tales (1892) 7; (A.W.G.); Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 38 ;
S. & Ork.i A peerie-foal. Or.I. To the westward . . . hes what
once was an extensive loch ; it is now called the Peerie Sea,
Fergusson Rambles (1884) 41. Cai. Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V.
696 ; Cai.i Fif., e.Lth. (Jam.)
Hence (i) Peerie-breeks,s6.^/.short trousers, used^?^. of
a person with short legs ; (2) -foal, sb. a small bannock or
cake ; (3) -pinkie, sb. the little finger ; (4) -wee, adj. very
small; (5) -weerie, (a) adj., see (4); (6) 56. any very small
thing ; esp. the little finger or toe ; (6) -weerie-winkie,
adj. excessively small ; (7) -winkie, see (5, b) ; (8) -writ,
sb. small-text handwriting.
(i) Sh.I. ' Peerie-breeks ' and ' scoor da buggie,' as Lowrie had
contemptuously called him. Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 32. (2)
Sh.I., Or.I. (Jam.) (3) Cai.i A children's rhyme on the fingers,
beginning with the thumb, runs thus : — "Iss is 'e man 'at brook 'e
barn, 'Iss is 'e man 'at stealt 'e corn, 'Iss is 'e man 'at carried 'd
awa, 'Iss is 'e man 'at tellt on 'em a'. An' poor peerie pinkie paid
for 'em a'.' (4) Sc. A peerie wee bit o' a manikinie, Ramsay
i?em!«. (ed. 1892) 117. Cai.l (5, a) S. & Ork.', Or.I. (Jam.) Slk.
A pert, prim, pompous prater, wi' a peerie-weerie expression about
the een, Chr. North Nodes (1856) III. 280. (6) Ayr. (Jam.) (6)
S. & Ork.i (7) Sc. Glasgow Herald(T)sc. 23, 1889). Per. (G.W. ),
Ayr. (Jam.) (8) Sh.I. I never was guid at da peerie writ, Sh.
News (Apr. 13, 1901).
2.56. In'phv. a wee peery, }nst a little. Ayr. (F.J. C.)
PEERIE, adj.'' Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) Timid, fearful.
[Fr. peureux, fearful (Cotgr.).]
PEERK, PEERT, PEERTEN, see Perk, Peart, adj,
Pearten.
PEERY, V. ? Obs. Sc. Of water : to run in a small
channel ; to trickle.
Rnf. PicKEN Poems (1788) Gl. (Jam.) Slk. The water peeryin
out amang the lowse stanes, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV. 38.
Hence Peerie-weerie, sb. a slow-running stream. Ayr.
(Jam.)
PEERY, adj. Sc. [Not known to our correspondents.]
Peeping, peering.
Elg. Now cauld and clear the risen day Shines peery oure the
waste, CouPER Poetry (1804) I. 223.
PEERY- WEERY, adj and sb. Obs. or obsol. Sc.
1. adj. Blinking, small-eyed ; sore-eyed.
Sc. With something of a peery-weery twinkhng about the eyes.
Steam-boat (i8zz) 295 (Jam.). Ayr. [ib.)
2. sb. A mysterious and hidden person. Ayr. {ib.)
PEES, int. Sc. Also written pease Per. A call made
to calves, pigeons, &c.
Per. Pease, pease, pease, pigeons ; here's some crumbs to you
(G.W.). Cld. (Jam.)
Hence Peeser, sb. an unfledged pigeon. Cai.'
PEESKAAB, sb. Sh.I. Also written peeskarb. A
reproach, byword ; one who acts so as to call forth dis-
paraging remarks.
Tak' doo my advice an' gie naebody da shance o' makin' ony
peeskaab troo da parishen (J.I.) ; (J.S.)
PEESKER, adj. Sh.L [piskar.] Of corn : thin,
lean; used humorously. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 46. Cf.
piskie.
PEESNIP, see Peesweep.
PEESTER, V. and sb. Sh.L Also written peestir.
[prstsr.] 1. V. To chirp ; to squeak as a mouse.
(Coll. L.L.B.), S. & Ork.' Hence Peestering, vbl. sb. a
squeaking.
Dere wis a peesterin' an' a neesterin', a pleepin' an' a cheepin',
Stewart Tales (1892) 252 ; S. & Ork.'
2. sb. The sound made by a mouse ; a squeak. Spence
Flk-Lore (1899) 164 ; S. & Ork.'
[1. Norw. dial, pisira, to make a weak sound like the
squeak of a mouse (Aasen).]
PEESWEEP, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Chs.
Not. Lin. Lei. e.An. Cor. Also written peaseweep Bnff.
Slk. ; peasweep Sc. Nhb. ; peeseweep Sc. ; peez-weep
N.Cy.' ; and in forms peesnip Chs.' ; pee-weep Sc. (Jam.)
Sh.I. w.Yks. Not.' Nrf. ; pee-wheep s.Not. ; pe-weep Nrf.
Cor.^ ; pie-wipe Lin. e.An.' Nrf ; pisweip Lnk. ; pi-wipe
Nrf. ; pye-wipe Not. sw.Lin.' Lei. e.An.' Nrf. ; py-wipe
n.Lin.' Nrf. [przwip, pi'w^ip, Lin. e.An. pai'w^aip.]
1. The lapwing, Vanellus vulgaris. Also used Jig.
Sh.I. Listening to the murmuring waves and the faint cry of
the ' peeweep,' Stewart Tales (1892) 65. ne.Sc. When the lap-
wing, peeweet, peeseweep, wallop, kept screaming and flying
round one, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 143. Bnff. Gordon Chron.
Keith (1880) 280. Frf. The plaintive cry of the peesweep as it
rose in the air, Barrie Minister ( 1891) xxxv. w.Sc. A persistently
skirling and eminently vituperative peeseweep, Macdonald S«W/c-
>«««; (1869) 127, ed. 1877. Slg. SwAiNSONZJ!Vrfs( 1885) 184. s.Sc.
Ye never . . . found a young peasweep, Watson £07-^5 (1859) 197.
Dmb. Satist. Ace. XVII. 251 (Jam.). Ayr. Save at times the melan-
cholious note of the peeseweep, neither the sound nor the voice of
any living thing was heard there, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xx. Feb.
Ye peeseweeps mak' haste to some mair friendly shore, Affleck
Poet. IVks. (1836) 112. Lnk. Go, go, ye painted pisweeps to fairs
and weddings, and there display your proud banners of pride,
Graham Writings (1883) II. 139. Slk. Pease-weeps' eggs is
capital poached, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 68. Gall.
Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 56. N.I.', N.Cy.' Nhb. He's as
good as his maister ; ay, or as that peasweep o' a mistress, Graham
Red Scaur (1896) 281 ; Nhb.', e.Dur.', Cum.'-*, w.Yks. (W.F.),
Chs.'3, Not. (L.C.M.), Not.', s.Not. (J.P.K.) Lin. The piewipes
utter their plaintive cries as they flutter around, Anderson Pocket
Guide (1874) 103. n.Lin.' Peiweip. e.Lin. (G.G.W.) sw.Lin.'
Lei. N. &> Q. (i860) and S. ix. 133. e.An.' Nrf. Here 'bor . . .
hornpipes or pe-weeps, as some call 'em, gin'rally lead this time
o' the year, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 106; A bunch of
peeweeps, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 186 ; I ha' held the swivel
up agin the wall and fired at plover. I ha' got a lot of piwipes like
that, ib. Lagoons (ed. 1896) 53 ; Swainson ib. 184 ; Cozens-Hardy
Broad Nrf. (1893) 46. e.Nrf. N. £r Q. (i860) 2nd S. ix. 133.
Hence (i) Peesweep-like, adj. having sharp features, a
feeble appearance, and a shrill voice ; (2) Peesweepy, adj.
poor, pitiful, silly, whining.
PEET
[457]
PEG
(i) Sc. Mackay. Fif. A pees-weep-like thing (Jam.). (2) Lth.
A peesweepy creature (Jam.).
2. Comb. Pe-weep-stick, the young branch of a sycamore
out of which whistles are made. Cor.^ 3. Vhr. a peas-
weep kind of a place, a poor place. Nhb. (R.O.H.)
PEET, see Peart, adj., Peat, sb.^
PEETH, sb. w.Cy. Cor. Also in form peth w.Cy.
[pi)j, pef).] A dug well, as distinguished from a natural
spring.
w.Cy. (Hall.) Cor. The peeth is full, Thomas Randigal Rhymes
(1895) 22 ; Cor.'^2. cor.3 A deep well from which water is drawn
in a ' cool ' by a windlass. w.Cor. (J.W.)
PEETH, see Pith.
PEET-LARK, sb. Lan.' [pit-lak.] The meadow
pipit, Anthus pratensis.
PEETLY-PAILWUR, sb. Sc. [pitli-pelwar.] An
expression of endearment used to children.
Kcb. You're dear to mammie an' to dad, Oor ain wee peetly
pailwur, Armstrong Ingleside (i8go) 143.
PEET-PEET-PEET, int. Wor. [pit.] A call to
turkeys. (H.K.)
PEETY, adj. Ken. [prti.] Of a noise : small.
They [ducklings] were givin' little peety cries. Making a little
peety noise (D.W.L.).
PEETY, PEEVEE, see Pity, s6.\ Paw, sh."^
PEEVER, sb. Sc. Also written peavor, peevor.
[prvsr.] The piece of stone or slate used in the game
of ' hop-scotch ' ; also the game itself
Aba. The peavor was kicked out of one line and brought round
in a curve (J.Ar.). w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Rnf. Wallace School-
master (1899) 344. Ayr. Skirling lassocks are playing at hespy
on the stairs or the peever on the loans, Service Notandums
(1890)74. Lnk. CoLViLLE F«r«ac«/fly(i899) 13. Lth. Wallace I'A.
Hence Peeverall or Peeverals, sb. the game of ' hop-
scotch.'
Sc. He had often to chase her in frae playing the 'peeverall ' after
she was married, Wright Sc. Life (1897) 22. Rnf. Wallace ib.
Lnk. Seldom will you see her playin' Peeverals, or buskin' dolls,
Nicholson Idylls (1870) 29. Lth. Wallace ib.
PEEVER, V. w.Sc. (Jam.) [prvar.] To urinate ; used
of and by children.
PEEVER, see Piver.
PEEVIE, sb. Lon. [pi'vi.] A boy's marble. Baker
Gl. (1854) (s.v. Pevy).
PEEVISH, adj. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. [pl'vij.] 1. Obs.
Witty, subtle.
n.Cy. Bailey (1721) ; Ingeniosus, argutus. Coles (1679) ; N.Cy.^
2. C3f an animal : fond of being petted. Chs.'' 3. Of
the wind : piercing, very cold. n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.^
PEE-WEE, adj} and v. e.An.^ Also in form pee-wic.
[pi"-wi.] 1. adj. Pining ; whining, whimpering. 2. v.
To whine, to ' peak.'
PEE-WEE, adj? and sb. Yks. Also inform pey-wey
w.Yks.® [pi'-wi, pei'-ivei.] 1. adj. Small, diminutive.
e.Yks.' 2. sb. A very small marble. w.Yks.*
PEEWEETS, sb. pi. Dev. [pi-wits.] The eye-bright,
Euphrasia officinalis. Science Gossip (1873) 235.
PEE-WHEEP, PEE- WHIT, see Peesweep, Pee- wit.
PEE-WIT, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Lan. Chs. Stf
Lin. Shr. Brks. Nrf. Cor. Also written pee-weet e.Lan.' ;
pee-whit Brks.^ ; and in forms peese-weet Sc. ; pewet
Cor.; pewit Chs.'^; pivit Nrf; puit Nrf [pi-wit,
piu--it.] 1. sb. In comp. Pee-wit-ground or -land, poor
undrained land, such as is frequented by pee-wits.
N.Cy.', Chs.123^ s.Chs.i Lin. I have heard Lincolnshire rustics
speak of poor, moist, rush-growing land as ' Peewit Land,' as those
birds love to frequent such spots, Lin. N. 6r= Q. I. 13, 14.
2. The cry of the pee-wit.
Fif. The teuchat was followed as it wailed out in circles round
the intruder, ' Peese-weet, peese-weet, hairy my nest, and gar me
greet I ' Colville Vernacular (1899) 12.
3. A musical instrument ; see below.
Brks.i There is a primitive musical instrument made by boys
called a pee-whit ; a small stick is split and an ivy leaf inserted,
blowing on this produces a curious sound.
4. The black-headed gull, Larus rudibundus ; also in
comp. Pee-wit-gulL
VOL. IV.
Nhb.i, Cum. (R.H.H.) Stf. Swainson Birds (1885) 209. Shr.
Wilbraham Gl. (ed. 1826). Nrf. The ' gull' that follows the plough
is the ' puit,' or ' puit-guU,' for they love worms as dearly as a gull
loves a shrimp, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 312; 'Them's pivits,'
says the captain. White Eng. (1865) L 100. Cor. Rodd Birds
(1880) 315.
5. V. To cry as a pee-wit. e.Lan.' 6. Fig. To court.
Lan. Is he come a-peeweetin' at yo're Mary ? Brierley Layrock
(1864) iii; TheWs some pee-weetin' goin on between 'em, ib. Irk-
dale (1865) 75, ed. 1868.
PEE-WITTAL, V. n.Lan.^ [pi--witl.] To urinate;
used of and by children.
PEEZE, see Pease.
PEEZY-WEEZIES, sb. pi Hmp.' [pi-zi-wiziz.]
1. In phr. to have the peezy-iveezies, to be sulky ; to be in
the dumps. 2. A swollen face.
PEFF, 5i.\ V. and adv. Sc. War. [pef.] 1. sb. A
dull, heavy blow ; a dull, heavy fall ; the sound made by
such a blow or fall. Bnff.^ Hence to give a person peff,
phr. to thrash him. War.2 I'll gie yo' peff.
2. The act of walking with a dull, heavy step; the sound
made by such a footstep. BnfF.' 3. A big, stupid person.
ib. 4. V. To beat with dull, heavy blows ; to beat
severely, ib. 5. To walk with a heavy step. ib.
6. With down or in : to drive.
ib. Peff in the pile. Peff doon that stane.
7. With over : to knock over ; to fall with a dull, heavy
sound, ib. 8. adv. With a dull, heavy fall ; with heavy
footsteps, ib.
PEFF, 56.* Lin. [pef.] The pith of a plant. n.Lin.'
Hence Peffy, adj. of a stalk or root : stringy.
n.Lin. These beet-roots is very peffy, N. (f Q. (1897) 8th S. xi. 25.
PEFF, see Pegh.
PEFFEL, V. Chs. War. Wor. Shr. Also written
peffil s.Chs.i ; peffle Wor. [pe-fl.] 1. Of birds : to pick
at ; to peck. Cf pafHe, v. 2.
s.Chs.i Yaan-dur)z u Tiim--nuwp i dhii gdo-zbri biish-iz ; ah
daayt 6e)z pef-ilin. War.^ s.Wor. The birds peiHe the seeds
(H.K.). Shr.i Them birds bin peffelin' out that turmit sid sadly.
PEFFIN, sb. Bnff.i [pe-fin.] A very big, stout
person. Cf peff, sb.^ 3.
PEFFLE, v.^ and sb.^ Cum. Chs. War. Wor. Shr. GIo.
Brks. Also written peffel Cum.* Shr.' ; peffil s.Chs.'
[pe-fl.] 1. V. To beat severely, esp. about the head ; to
throw at ; to exhaust.
Cum.* In the Penrith district, a man would be said to be ' fair
peffelled,' implying that he was thoroughly fatigued by the use of
the flail. s.Chs.' s.Wor. What be a doin' ov a pefflin' thot young
un thot awahy for ? (H.K.) Shr.' 'E peffeled 'im reet well about
the yed wuth 'is fisses.
Hence Peffling, (f) ppl. adj. overpowering, exhausting;
(2) vbl. sb. a beating, a knocking about the head.
(i)War.2This is peffling weather. (2) s.Chs.^ Yulit-lnuwtl ahy
oa-p yur daad'i)l gy'i)yu u regy'-ilur giid pef-ilin wen yil get-n wom.
2. Of rain or snow : to come down heavily.
War.^ The rain came pefHing down. Glo.i The snow peifled
down, and whiflBed round the earner.
3. sb. A nervous state ; a condition of hurry and con-
fusion.
Brks.i A zimmed in zuch a peffle as a did'nt knaw what a was
a-zaayin' on.
PEFFLE, v."^ and sb."^ Lin. [pe-fl.] L v. To cough
with a short, dry, tickUng cough. Cf pegh.
Streatfeild Lin.'and Danes (1884) 347. sw.Lin.' I oppened
the window a little yesterday, and she peffled all day.
Hence Peffling, ppl. adj. of a cough: short, dry, tickling.
(Hall.) sw.Lin.' He's gotten such a peffling cough.
2. sb. A short, dry, tickling cough.
Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 347. sw.Lin.' She had
another peffle.
PEFFLED, ppl. adj. War.^ [pe-fld.] Begrimed.
PEG, sb} and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. Amer.
and Aus. Also written pegg Rnf ; and in forms pag
m.Yks.^ Dor.' [peg.] I. sb. In comb, (i) Peg-hole, the
vent-hole of a barrel ; (2) -leg, (a) a wooden leg ; also a
person who has a wooden leg ; (b) to walk away quickly ;
\c) rapidly ; in phr. to go peg-leg ; (3) -stick, a ' cat ' stick ;
3N
PEG
[458]
PEG
see 2 (2) ; (4) -tankard, a tankard marked with pegs to
show the draught allowed to each drinker.
{i)0-i^tMHS.a3d . (2,a)w.Yks. Besides, he's a peg leg, Hartley
C/oci^/w. (1872) 48; w.Yks.2 Lan.Thae'd better tak that peg-leg
o' thine eawt o' seet, Waugh Besom Ben, 352 ; Lan.^, e.Lan.', Chs.'
s.Chs.i Owd Peg-leg Parry. nwXin. (G.P.) (A) e.Yks. Poor Billy
was ommast flaid oot ov his wits, an thowt he was getten, bud when
he fan his legs, he peg-legged away full pelt, Nicholson Ftk-Sp.
(1889) 33; e.Yks.* {c) e.Yks. 1 He went peg-leg, an seean gat
there. (3) w.Yks. Hutton Tow;- to Caws (1781'). (4) Dur.'
2. Phr. (i) not to care a peg, to care nothing at all ; (2)
peg and stick, a game ; see below ; see Piggy ; (3) to draw
a person's peg, to put him in a bad temper ; (4) to get one's
peg out, to get angry ; (5) to turn one a peg, to do a person
an ill turn, esp. by way of requital ; (6) to buy ov geta thing
off the pegs, to buy second-hand or ' shop-made' clothing.
(i) Cum. Nut a peg dud Nancy care, Richardson Talk (1876)
2nd S. 50. w.Yks. (J.W.) (2) w.Yks. The players provide
themselves with short, stout sticks, and a peg (a piece of wood
sharpened at one or both ends). A ring is made, and the peg is
placed on the ground so as to balance. One boy then strikes it
with his stick to make it spring or bounce up into the air ; while
in the air he strikes it with his stick, and sends it as far as he
possibly can. His opponent declares the number of leaps in
which the striker is to cover the distance the peg has gone. If
successful, he counts the number of leaps to his score. If he
fails, his opponent leaps, and, if successful, the number of leaps
count to his score. He strikes the next time, and the same
process is gone through, Gomme Gaines (1898) H. 37. (3) n.Cy.
^B.K.) n.Yks. T'fond felb kept tiazin at ma til hi ferli driu mai
peg, an dhen A let draiv at him wi mi nisf (W.H.). w.Yks.
T'oud man gar iz peg drjan (J.W.). (4) w.Yks. ' Can't ta speyk,
gaumless?' axed Ikey, gettin' his peg aht, Hartley Clock Aim.
(1894) 7. (5) w.Yks.i (6) s.Chs.i Shr.i 'E bought it off the
pegs, it 66nna do 'im much joy.
3. A piece of round wood put in the hole of a ' lag' in a
loom. w.Yks. (J.M.) 4. A leg, foot ; a step.
Abd. I don't stir a peg without it, Macdonald Warlock (1882)
XX. Rnf. That . , . hath been still the next pegg to popery,
WoDROw Corres. (1709-31) I. 82, ed. 1843. Lnk. Nicholson
Kilwuddie (1895) 28. Lth. The beggar he coost aff his wee wooden
peg. An' he shaw'd them a brawny an' sturdy leg, Ballantine
Poems (1856) 55. n-Ir. A'U no gang yin peg ! No the length o'
my fit ! Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 41. Dwn. No a peg wud she a
went, ib. Robin Gordon, 87. Nhb. Se stiff, they scarce could move
a peg, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 24. w.Yks. Bud better hed
it been for him If he'd neer stutr'd a peg, Preston Poems (1864)
8. Lan. He would no stur a peg fur till he'd fund eawt what it
wur, Brierley Day Out (1859) 53. Midi. I would'nt move a peg,
Bartram People of Clopton (1897) 189. Ess. Some wor so ob-
stropolus They 'oodnt star a peg, Clark /. Noakes (1839) st. 108 ;
Ess.i Dor.i Zome did stir ther nimble pags, 191. [Amer. I
knowed better than to move another peg, Cent. Mag. (Dec. 1884)
269.]
5. A tooth, esp. a child's tooth ; gen. in pi. N.Cy.',
Cum.i*, w.Yks.'", Ess.' 6. The ball used by ' shinty '
players. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). 7. A roller ;
a clod-crusher.
Hmp.* That peg will do if he has a new frame.
8. A blow or thump with the fist, esp. in boxing ; a
stroke. Lth., Dmf. (Jam.), Cum.'*, Suf.'
9. V. Comb, with prep, and adv.: (i) To peg at, to work at
anything industriously and perseveringly ; (2) — away,
(a) see (i) ; (6) to walk fast ; to hurry on ; (c) to eat or
drink voraciously ; (3) — away at, to beat ; (4) — ofiF, (5)
— on, see (2, b) ; (6) — out, (a) to give out, pay out ; (b)
to die ; (7) — through, to pull through.
(i) n.Yks. A kept pegin at it til a finish't it (W.H.). m.Yks.i
What, pagging at it yet ! w.Yks. (J.W.) Suf. I'm like you— good
for peggin' at it till I'm a corp. Pall Mall Mag. (Nov. 1900) 402.
(2, a) Sc. (A. W.) Don. At his bench and pegging away briskly next
morning, Macmanus Bend 0/ Road (i8g8) g6. Cum. Peg away, lad,
an' thoo'llgit throughitseun (J.D.) ; Cum.* n.Yks. A'l pegsweat
it an dhen asal git it diun (W.H.). e.Yks.', w.Yks. (J.W.), Nhp.i,
War.3 Sur., Hmp. Holloway. (b) Lth., Dmf. (Jam.) Wxf.
Away he pegged hotfoot, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 34. Cum.' *
w.Yks.i; w.Yks. 2 He can peg away. Lan. Wait till I throw my
cap up and then yo' may peg away, Brierley Out of Work, v.
War.3 (c)Sc.(A.W.) e.Yks.' He peggd-awayat that lego' mutton
like a good un. Lin. Holloway. Nhp.', War.^ Brks. "Peg away '
is a common encouraging phrase for ' commence eating,' or ' eat
heartily.' Sus.i Hmp. Holloway. (3) Nhp.' Peg away at him.
(4) Lth., Dmf. (Jam.) Ir. When they were pegging off they met
the goose, Kennedy Fireside Tales (1870) 25. w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lan. I went into th' hewse un sticks o' mess o' podditch e meh
guts un o' lunchun o' chees, un off I peg'd, Paul Bobbin Sequel
(1819)34. Suf.i Come, peg off. (s)Sc. (A.W.) Dwn. Her skirts
get gruppit samwae in the gate, but Peggy was peggin' on, an' sez
Mister Parr, sez he — 'Ye'U teer yer dress, mem,' Lyttle Robin
Gordon, 86. (6, a) Lnk. Let her gang — Grannie ! peg oot the line,
Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 160. (b) w.Yks.2 If I lived there I
should soon peg out. Lan. (S.W.) Midi. If my ould man ever
pegged oot, Bartram People of Clopton (1897) 236. Dev. There's
one thing I've got to zay afore I peg out, Mortimer Tales Moors
(1895) 63. [Aus. He's just returned from where that — where
Dyesart the explorer pegged out, Vogan Blk. Police (i8go) xx.]
(7) s.Wor. I didn't think as a'd pegged through (H.K.).
10. Phr. (i) to peg a person down, to bind a person to a
bargain ; to silence an opponent by a decisive argument ;
(2) — a person one, to mark off a person for future revenge ;
' to put a spoke in his wheel.'
(i) Nhp.i I pegged him down till he hadn't a word to say for
himself. (2) War.^
11. To hammer ; to beat ; to thump with the knuckles.
Frf. Wi' a hazel rung may ye ne'er peg her, Johnston Poems
(1867) 184. Lnk. Never seeking to find Who had pegg'd him be-
hind, Orr Laigh Flichts (1882) 18. Ir. Willie kicked up a racket
outside, and pegged on the gates for all he was worth, Macmanus
Chim. Corners (1899) 103. N.Cy.', Cum. 2* w.Yks. Will an List
IVds. (1811); w.Yks.' Der.2 Peg it into him. Nhp.' Peg him
well. Shr.2 Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.'
12. To work hard.
Cum. r th' meanteyme th' fiddlers changt an playt As hard as
they cud peg, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1805) 132.
13. To hurry on ; to walk fast ; to proceed with deter-
mination ; freq. in phr. to peg it.
Lnk. The wee ane by a guid wheen yards hard peggin' in the
van, Orr Laigh Flichts (1882) 27. m.Yks.' Lan. As aw're peggin
mi way to th' train, Dottie Rambles (1898) 26 ; Lan.', War.^ Nrf.
Law! how I pegged it, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 141.
14. To throw ; angling term : to throw a fly.
Wmh. Peg a shtone at him. He was pegging for trout (M.M.).
Lan. She pegged a stone at me, Francis Daughter of Soil {18^5) 34.
15. To anger, irritate.
n.Cy. That pegged him (B.K.). w.Yks. ' Tha'd do for a currier,'
sed ah ta a chap wun day at hed pegged ma, Tom Treddlehoyle
Bairnsla Ann. (1876) 17 ; w.Yks.s Doan't peg him. Thah's peg-
gen him reight this time.
Hence Fegged, ppl. adj. irritated ; out of temper.
w.Yks. Dorothy seem'd a little bit peg'd at what Ruth hed said,
Dewsbre Olm. (1880) 8; (J.W.) ; w.Yks.5 He's sorely pegged.
PEG, sb.'^ Sc. Dun Yks. Lan. e.An. [peg.] 1. In
comb, (i) Peg-a -lantern, a Will-o'-the-wisp ; cf. peggy,
sb.'^ 2 (i) ; (2) -pie, the magpie, Pica rustica; (3) -puff, a
young woman with the manners of an old one ; (4)
-trantum, a hoyden ; a tomboy.
(i) Lan. On autumnal evenings, the flickering flame . . . of the
' Corpse Candle,' ' Will-o'-th'-Wisp ' ... or ' Peg-a-Lantern "...
performed his or her fantastic and impossible jumps in the plashy
meadows, Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867) 53. (2, 3)
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (4) e.An.'
2. Phr. (i) Peg's night or Pego' NeWs night, see below;
(2) Pego' Nell, the sprite of the river Ribble ; (3) — Powler,
the sprite of the river Tees ; (4) — Powler' s cream, the
finer foam seen floating on the Tees ; (5) ~ Powler' s suds,
the masses of foam seen on the higher part of the Tees ;
(6) — with the iron teeth, a supernatural apparition ; a
' boggart ' ; (7) — Walker shower, see below.
(i) Yks., Lan. When ' Peg's night' . . . came round, unless a
bird, a cat, or a dog was drowned in the stream, some human being
was certain to fall a victim there. . . ' And its Peg o' Nell's night,
and she has not had her life,' Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) vii. (2)
That of the Ribble is a Peg too. Peg o' Nell, ib. (3) Dur. The
river Tees has its sprite called Peg Powler, . . with green tresses,
and an insatiable desire for human life, ib. (4, 5) Dur. ib. (6)
Lan. N. & Q. (1870) 4th S. v. 156. (7) w.Yks. Elderly people on
the approach of twilight often say, ' I think there is going to be a
Peg Walker shower.' The tradition is that Peg Walker, who lived
PEG
[459]
PEGGY
at Low Wortley, went out to make hay and after dinner fell asleep
under a haycock till dusk, when, having no idea how long she
had been asleep, she exclaimed, 'I think there is going to be a
shower,' Leeds Merc. Wkly. Suppl. (June 21, 1884) 8.
PEG, sh? Sc. [peg.] A policeman.
Abd. (A.W.) Rnf. Here come twa blue-coated pegs, The
armies baith tak' to their legs, Young Pictures (1865) 139. Ayr.
The ' peg' was puzzled, Aitken ioys (1883) 104.
PEG, PEGALL, see Pig, s6.", Pig-haw.
PEG-FICHED, sh. w.Cy. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A game ; see below.
The performers in this game are each furnished with a sharp
pointed stake. One of them then strikes it into the ground, and
the others throwing theirs across it endeavour to dislodge it. When
a stick falls, the owner has to run to a prescribed distance and back,
while the rest, placing the stick upright, endeavour to beat it into
the ground up to the very top (Hall.).
PEGGALL, see Paigle, Pig-haw.
'P-E.GGEQ,ppl.adj. Cum. Yks. Nhp. [pe-gd.] 1. Of
a train : signalled.
Nhp. The Manchester express was ' pegged,' Dy. Mail (Sept. 5,
2. With out : tired out.
Cum. Ah've worked tuU Ah's fairly pegged oot (J.D.).
3. Full to repletion.
w.Yks. When he'd hetten [eaten] one an' a hawf he wor fairly
pegged aht, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. 18, 1896).
PEGGENS, sb. pi. Nhp. War. [pe'ginz.] Children's
teeth. Cf. peg, sb} 5.
Nhp.i Come lets feel of your little peggens. War.^
PEGGIN'-AWL, sb. Rxb. (Jam.) A kind of awl used
by shoemakers for entering the pegs or wooden pins
driven into the heels of shoes.
PEGGmG, vbLsb. Obsol. Lei.Hrt.Hmp. The opera-
tion of 'settering' (q.v.).
Lei.i The custom of ' pegging ' calves or yearlings for the ' black
leg ' is now rapidly dying out. It was done by punching or
burning a hole through the ear or the dewlap, putting a twist of
horsehair through it, like a seton, and securing it with pegs at each
end. Hrt. Putting a bit of Hellebore root in the grisly part of the ear
which is called pegging, Ellis Experiments (1750) 62. Hmp.
Longman's Mag. (Sept. 1899) 467.
PEGGINGS, sb. pi. Obs. Hrt. Inferior kernels of
wheat ; see below.
What we call peggings, being composed of those corals that
were swept off the heap of wheat after throwing, Ellis Mod.
Husb. (1750) VI. iii. 60 ; Peggings . . . being what comes from the
under line or blighted, or other wheat ears, most of which con-
tain in them very thin little kernels, that will easily part from
their chaff, ib. Cy. Hswf. (1750) a.
PEGGIN'-TOP, 56. Irel. Dur. [pe-gin-top.] A peg-top.
Don. The poor boy's comin' roun' as fast as a peggin'-top. He'll
be himself again in another minit or two, Cent. Mag. (Oct. 1899)
958. e.Dur.i
PEGGLE, V. Der. Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Glo. Also in
form pedgel Not.' Lei.' Nhp.' War." [pe'gl, pe'dgl.]
1. Of birds : to peck ; to eat corn in the fields.
Not.', Lei.' Nhp.' The corn is so pedgelled by the birds. War.3
2. With at: to gnaw at any hard substance. Nhp.'
3. To pick over and examine ; to poke about in the ground.
Der.2 nw.Der.i, Not.' Lei.' Shay wur a-pedgellin i' the doost-
'ool all mornin' fur it.
4. To mend roughly ; to patch.
Not' Glo. I'm not a cobbler but I'm trying to peggle my boots
(A.B.).
Hence Peggler, sb. a clumsy workman. War.'
PEGGLE, see Paigle, Pig-haw.
PEGGLING, ppl. adj. Der.= [pe'glin.] Struggling,
laborious, hard-working, plodding.
He's a poor peggling life of it.
PEGGY, s6.' Cum. Yks. Chs. Lin. War. Oxf [pe'gi.]
1. In comp. (i) Peggy-far-to, a boys' game ; see below ;
(2) -leg, a person who walks with a wooden leg; (3)
•nut, a boys' game with nuts ; (4) -stool, a round stool
for children.
(i) Oxf. The game consists in placing some object on the
ground, and throwing darts at it with some spiked instrument,
such as a cricket-stump. Whoever succeeds in first pegging the
object is the winner. Sometimes played in school with inkpens,
having the desk for a ground (G.O.). (2) n.Lin. (E.P.) (3)
Cum.i4 (4) w.Yks. Peggy-stool and chair maker, Yks. Wkly. Post
(July I7i 1900)-
2. An infant's tooth ; also in comp. Peggyweggy. Cf.
peg, sb} 5.
w.Yks. Let mha lewk at its little peggyweggies (^.B.) ; Unless
it should ... be bothered wi' its peggies, Hartley Clock Aim.
(1883)5. War.= (s. v. Peggens).
3. A boys' game with nuts. Cum." 4. A colliery term :
a pickaxe, having a hammer fan at one end. w.Yks.
(D.T.) 5. The game of hockey, played with a wooden
ball. Chs.' Cf peg, sb} 6, piggy.
PEGGY, s6.= and v. Var. dial, uses in Eng. [pe-gi.]
L sb. In comb, (i) Peggy chaw, (2) — cutthroat, the
whitethroat, Sylvia cinerea ; (3) — dishwasher, the pied
wagtail, Motacilla lugubris ; (4) — lantern, a Will-o'-the-
wisp ; (5) — nine-holes, the lampern, Lampetm fluviatilis ;
(6) -otchen, a hedgehog ; (7) — peggy whitethroat, see
(2) ; (8) — raw, an untidy, wild-looking woman ; see
below; (9) — washdish, see (3); (10) — white, see (2);
(11) — whitethroat, (a) see (2); (b) the stonechat,
Pratincola rubicola ; (c) the chiff-chaff, Phylloscopus rufus ;
{d) the willow-warbler, P. trochilus ; (e) the wood-warbler,
P. sibilatrix; (f) the wren. Troglodytes parvuliis.
(i, 2) Midi. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 23. (3) Ken. Swainson
ib. 43 ; Science Gossip (1882) 65. (4) n.Lin. It's years sin' I seed
a peggy-lantern while to-neet, bud ther's won i' ohd George yard
(M.P.). sw.Lin.' (5) Shr.' (6) n.Lin.i (7) n.Cy. Yks. Wkly.
Post (Dec. 31, 1898). (8) Lakel. Peggy Raw was one of those half-
idiot and half-sharp characters common in Westmoreland half a
century ago. They begged or stole their food, slept in outhouses,
and exercised some terror over many owing to their witchlike
appearance (B.K.). (9) sw.Lin.i,Ken. (G.B.), Ken.i Som. Peggy
wash-dish made herself at home in the scullery, Compton Wins-
combe Sketches (iS^z) 115. (lo)Nhp.' (ii,a)Lakel.2 Cum." Wm.
PenrithObs.{Ua.yii,iSg'i). w.Yks. (W.F.), Chs.ia s.Chs.'Peg-i-
weytthroat. nw.Der.', Lin.', n.Lin.', War.^ (A) War.'"', s. War.'
(c, d, e) Slir.' (/) Wm. Ah'U show thi a peggy-white-throat
nest, if thoo'U net rob it (B.K.).
2. Phr. (i) Peggy with the or her lantern, a Will-o'-the-
wisp ; cf. peg, sb.'' 1 (i) ; (2) to be all one's eye and Peggy
Martin, to be all nonsense ; (3) to dance peggy, to dance a
simple ' shuffle,' an old-fashioned step in dancing ; (4) to
ride Peggy behind Margit, to ride one behind the other.
(i) n.Yks.* W.Yks. As bad as follerin Peggy wit lantern,
Shevvild Ann. (1855) 9 ! w.Yks.^ Lan. Occasionally in the plashy
meadows . . . Peggy-with-lanthorn was visible after dark, dancing
and gambolling away in impossible jumps, TV. &' Q. (1869) 4th S.
iv. 508. n.Lin.' Dazed it may be, by the brightness of the Gospel,
so as not to discern the flicker of a peggy wi' her lantern from
the light of day, Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870) II. 31. (2) w.Yks.
It's all mi eye an' Peggy Martin, Prov. in Brighouse News (Sept.
14, 1889) ; (S.K.C.) (3) Cum.* (4) s.Chs.'
3. A man with feminine habits ; a simpleton. ne.Lan.',
e.Lan.' 4. The whitethroat, Sylvia cinerea.
n.Cy. If thoo'll gah wi' me Ah'U show thi a peggy nest with
young uns in (B.K.). Lan. 5«'eK« Go5S()i (1882) XVIII. 164. Not.
(J.H.B.), Not.i, Rut.', Lei.'
5. The garden-warbler, S. hortensis. Not.', Lei.'
6. The blackcap, S. atricapilla. ib. 7. The stone-
chat, Pratincola rubicola. War.^ 8. The chiff-chaff,
Phylloscopus rufus.
w.Yks. Swainson ib. 25. Lan. Science Gossip (1882) XVIII.
164. Shr.i
9. The willow- warbler, P. trochilus.
w.Yks. Swainson ib. 27. Lan. Science Gossip (1882) XVIII.
164. Shr.'
10. The wood-warbler, P. sibilatrix. Shr.' 11. The
sedge-warbler, Acrocephalus phragmitis. Not.', Lei.'
12. The pied wagtail, Motacilla lugubris. Ken. (G.B.),
Ken.' 13. A wooden instrument, used in washing
clothes ; see below. Cf. dolly, sb} 4.
w.Yks. Sha poss'd, an sooapin t'cloas sha made a splash. Her
peggy used, sha'd give her things a scrub, Tom Treddlehoyle
Baimsla Ann. (1896) 64 ; w.Yks.'^ ; w.Yks.^ An instrument used
in washing clothes, having a long handle inserted at right angles
to the plane of a wooden disc, in which are set several pegs.
3 N 2
PEGGY
[460]
PEINT
Lan. The washing day was not now one of slop and depression ;
the ' peggy ' whirled merrily in the tub, Brierley Cast upon
World (1886) vi ; Lan.', e.Lan.i, Chs.i, s.Chs.i, Not. (J.H.B.),
Not.2 s.Not. (J.P.K,), n.Lin.i, sw.Lin.l, War.2, Shr.l
Hence (i) Peggy-legs, sb. pi. the feet affixed to the
circular bottom-piece of the ' peggy ' ; (2) -stick, sb. the
shaft of the 'peggy'; the stick used to turn the clothes
round in the washing-tub ; (3) -tub, sb. the large washing-
tub in which the ' peggy ' is used.
(i) w.Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post (May 22, 1897). Der.= (2) n.Yks.*
e.Yks.iiI/5. add. (T.H.) (3) n.Yks.^" e.Yks.i .^5. add. (T.H.)
w.Yks. It's scandlus for a woman 'at's getten to thy time o' life to
be bendin ther back ovver a peggy tub, Hartley Sts. Yks. and
Lan. (1895) i ; (J.W.) Der.2, s.Not. (J.P.K.)
14. A night-light ; see below.
n.Lin.i Xhese were formerly made of sheep's fat surrounding
a wick formed of a lavender stalk wrapped round with cotton.
15. V. To stir the clothes with a ' peggy ' ; to wash in a
' peggy-tub.'
w.Yks. Shoo sed as I'd nowt else to du I wor to peggy for her,
Pudsey Olm. (1876) 18. Lan. I may peggy an' scrub, an' 'ring
till I dee, Caial. Pearson, No. 379. s.Chs.' s.Not. Come, go an'
peggy them clo'es (J.P.K.). Shr.i
PEGGY, PEGGY WIGAN, see Piggy, Piggwiggan.
PEGH, v., sb. and int. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Lin. Also in forms pecgh Sh.L ; pech Sc. (Jam.)
In n.Cy. n.Yks.^ peck w.Yks.^; peff N.Cy.i Lakel.=
Wm. n.Yks.i"* ne.Yks.^ e.Yks.' m.Yks.^ w.Yks.^s n.Lin.';
peh Lakel.2 Wm. ; peich Don. ; peigh N.Cy.^ Cum. Lan. ;
patch Lan. ; peygh e.Lan.' [pef, Sc. Ir. pex-] 1. v. To
pant ; to breathe with difficulty ; to sigh heavily.
Sc. I hear his honour Comin' pechin up the stair, Vedder
Poems (1842) 85. Sh.I. Dey loupit up an' tuir an' pecgh'd.
Burgess Sketches (and ed.) 127. Cai.' Elg. Couper Poetry
(1804) I. 200. Bnff. The twa carlins peght. An' strak again, Wi'
might and main, Taylor Poems (1787) 26. Abd. Cadenhead
Bon- A ccord {i&^'i) 160. Kcd. Grant Lajw (1884) 21. Per. Heching
and peching, Because I hae nae pith, Nicol Poems (1766) 124.
Cld. Howe'er we puff or pech, Nimmo Stigs. (1882) 89. w.Sc.
Nae wonder, than, you're peching and blawing like a bursting
haggis, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 254. Fif. The sergeant
dug and peched at every sturdy blow, Colville Vernacular
(1899) II. Rnf. Hae ye been rinnin ? Ye're a' peching, Eraser
Chimes (1853) 21. Ayr. Boswell Poet. Wks. (1803) 115, ed. 1871.
Lnk. Murdoch Readings (1895) II. 66. e.Lth. I thocht he was
in the auld hech-how, aye pechin through Chronicles, Hunter
J. Inwick (1895) jt. Edb. Peching like a broken winded horse,
MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) ix. Bwk. Calder Poems (1897) 221.
Feb. Ben either peghed or groan'd, Lintoun Green (1865) 51, ed.
1817. Slk. Whar are ye comin' pechin' an' fuffin' to me, Hogg
Tales (1838) 84, ed. 1866. Dmf. They who had corns or broken
wind, Begood to pegh and limp behind, Mayne Siller Gun (1808)
33. Kcb. Her presence gi'd his heart a bang, An' set it a' a
pechan Wi' joy, Davidson Seasons (1789) 6. Wgt. FraserPo^>«5
(1885) 49. n.Ir. They pech'd an' they pelted. Lays and Leg.
(1884) 55; N.I.1, Uls. (M.B.-S.) Don. Poor Phelim pantin' and
peichin', Pearson's Mag. (May 1900) 475. n.Cy. Border Gl.
{Coll. L.L.B.) ; N.Cy.i, Nhb.' Lakel.2 It maks yan peh trailen up
a brant hill wi' a Had. Cum. Leyke a porpoise peighan, Stagg
Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 136; Cum.'*, Wm. (B.K.), n.Yks.a,
m.Yks.i, w.Yks.l
Hence Pech-pech, sb. the sound of heavy breathing
made during any severe exertion.
Ayr. Hearing the old man's severe and continued pech-pech.
White Jottings (1879) 47.
2. To cough shortly and faintly, or with a continuous
tickling cough ; to cough as a sheep.
Bnff. Taylor Poems (1787) 142. Lth. Bruce Poems (1813)
II. 16. n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.' Lakel.^ Peffen an' coughen
o' neet till yan gits neea sleep. Wm. (B.K.), n.Yks.12 e.Yks.
Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.i w.Yks. CoiEn'
an' pefEn' an' pretendin' to be poorly, Tom Treddlehoyle
Bairnsla Ann. (1850) 41 ; w.Yks. '^^ Lan. If aw'd happent t'be
petchin' i' th' nook, Ramseottom Sorrowin (1866) st. 5, in Cy.
Wds. No. iii. 40. e.Lan.i s.Lan. Picton Dial. (1865) 11. Lin.
Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 347. n.Lin.i
Hence Peghing, (i) ppl. adj. (a) of a cough: short,faint,
husky, tickling; (b) troubled with a short cough ; (2} sb. a
fit of short, faint coughing.
(i, a)n.Yks.i ne.Yks.'He'sgottenanastypeffin' cough. e.Yks.'
Ah deeant like that nasty peffin cough at all ; it soonds varry
chotch-yaadish. w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; w.Yks.^
He's got a nasty peckin' cough. n.Lin.i (j) n.Cy. Holloway.
(2) w.Yks. Cudworth Horton (1886) Gl. ; Yks. Wkly. Post (May
22, 1897).
3. sb. A breath ; a heavy sigh such as is made after
any great exertion ; laboured breathing.
Cai.i Abd. Wi' mony an asthma'd pech an' blaw Mak her
petition, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 161. Frf. Loud above the
whisper of the burn from which the common climbs, and the
laboured ' pechs' of the listeners, rose the preacher's voice, Barrie
Licht (1888) iii. Per. Auld Allan loot a pech, an' laid him doun,
Haliburton Dunbar (1895) loi. Fif. Wi' a pu', syne a pech, and
another langpu', M<^Laren Tibbie (1894) 23. Ayr. Gae blaw their
thumbs wi' pechs and granes, Boswell Poet. Wks. (ed. 1871) 195.
Lth. We'll climb the high Pentlands, without pech or grane,
Ballantine Poems (1856) 149. Uls. (M.B.-S.) ne.Yks.i He's
short o' peff.
4. 'Phr. to get over anything with a pech, to accomplish it
with an effort. Cai.i 5. A cough, esp. a short, little
cough.
e.Yks.i m.Yks.i He gave a bit of a peff. w.Yks. Banks Wkfld.
Wds. {1865). Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes {1884)34-]. n.Lin.i
6. int. A sudden exclamation hardly more than a forcible
emission of breath.
Sc. Pech ! Mistress Cameron, but yon's gude whiskey. Steel
Rowans (1895) v. Abd. Johnny gave an expressive 'pech,'
Alexander yo/mjy Gibb (1871) vii.
[1. Now mon thay wirk and labour, pech and pant. Sat.
Poems (c. 1550), ed. Cranstoun, L 235. 3. Thair cumis
5ung monkis of he complexioun . . . with pechis and
pantis, Dunbar Poems (c. 1510), ed. Small, H. 80.]
PEGHAW, PEGHIN, see Pig-haw, Pechan.
PEGHLE, V. Slk. (Jam.) Also written pechle. [pe'xl.]
In phr. to hechle and peghle, to pant much in doing any work.
PEGHT, see Pecht.
PEGIL, sb. and v. Sc. (Jam.) Also written paigle.
1. sb. The dirty work of the house. Sc. 2. Phr. to
work the pegil, to do the dirty work of the house. Ags.
3. V. To do the rough work of the house. Ayr.
PEGLE, PEG-NUT, PEH, see Paigle, Pig-nut, Pegh.
PEGRAL, adj. Sc. Also in form pygral. Paltry.
Brown Diet. (1845).
PEHOY, sb. Sc. A sneeze.
Lth. When he nodded the straw went up his nose, and he gave
a pehoy that garred us start from our seats, Kittlegairy Vacancy
(1885)20.
VE.Vi.TS, sb.pl. Bnff.i [pexts.] Inphr.to make pehts
and kail of, to beat very severely ; to destroy.
PEICEN, PEICH, PEID, PEIFER, see Piecen, Pegh,
Pead, PiiFer, Piver.
PEIGHL, see Pail, v., Peal, sb?-
PEIK, sb. Abd. (Jam.) A long piece of lead used for
ruling paper. Cf. lead-pike, s.v. Lead, sb? 1 (9).
PEIL, V. and sb. Obs. Sc. Also written peal, peel
(Jam.). 1. V. To equal, match.
Sc. When Ardrose was a man He cou'd not be peal'd, Poems on
R. Company of Archers (1726) 62 (Jam.). Rnf. Picken Poems
(1813) Gl. Lth. (Jam.)
2. sb. A peer ; an equal.
Sc. In time of peace, he never had a peel. So courteous he was,
and so genteel, Hamilton Wallace (1722) 158 (Jam.). Rnf. Sae
she fush him John Gilpin, nae sang is its peil, Picken Poems (1813)
11. 131. Lth. (Jam.) ; When time was called, the numbers on
each side were equal, or 'peels,' in curling phraseology, Strathesk
More Bits (ed. 1885) 273.
PEIL, PEILD, see Pail, v., Peal, sb.^, Pilled.
PEILK, V. Sh.I. Also in form pjelk. To pick up or
gather small articles.
To pick up or gather small things, as potatoes, berries, and esp.
whelks. These in scarce times formed a food to Shetlanders, and
the gathering of them, and more particularly the eating, i.e. picking
out the food part with a pin, was called ' pjelking whelks' (J.S.);
S. & Ork.i rj a \j J ,
PEIMEALSTON, sb.
granite boulder-stone.
PEINT, see Point, sb.
ne.Lan.' [pei'mialstan.] A
PEIPERS
[461]
PELL
PEIPERS, sb.pl. Ken. [pei'paz.] The strong, rank
vines of the hop-plant which bear no hops. (W.F.S.)
PEIR, PEISE(N, see Peer, sb.'^, Paise, v.^
PEISLED,///. «(^'. lObs. Rxb. (Jam.) Also in form
pyslit. In easy circumstances ; snug.
Robin Tod's a bien, fou, weel-peislet bodie.
PEIST, V. and sb. Bnfi'.^ [peist.] 1. v. With at or
with another v. : to work feebly. Hence Peisting, ppl.
adj. working feebly, accomplishmg little.
That vright's bit a peer peistin' busht.
2. sb. A little, weak person.
PEITAN, sb. Sh.I. Also written pietan. [pei-tan.]
A diminutive, ill-tempered person ; also applied to a
young pig.
We hae a maelishins pietan 0 an aalie grice (J.S.) ; Jakoesen
Norsk in Sh. (1897) 67 ; S. & Ork.i
PEIZE(N, see Paise, v}
PEJORATE, V. Sc. Law term : to prejudice ; to
render worse.
You do not appear to me to recognize the gravity of your
situation, or you would be more careful not to pejorate the same,
Stevenson Cairiona (1893) iv.
[Lat. pejoro, to make worse.]
PEKLTY, sb. Sh.I. Anxiety.
Da alilambs wis a' abune da lambhoos, doo needna be in ony
peklty aboot dem, Sh. News (Oct. 29, 1898).
PELCH,56. War. Shr. [peltj.] A fat, corpulent person.
War.3 Shr.^ 'E's gettin' a despert pelch.
PELCH, see Pelsh, sb}, Pilch, sb}
PELDER, V. Cum. [pe'ldar.] 1. To encumber. Gl.
(1851) ; Cum.* Hence Pelderment, sb. an encumbrance,
used 7?^. an untruth. Cum.* A heap o' pelderment.
2. To encounter. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 309.
PELE, see Pail, v., Pale, v.\ Peel, sb}^
PELERINE, s6. Sc.Yks. Also in forms palerine Ayr. ;
pillar ine w.Yks.^ [pe'larin.] A kind of small cloak or
tippet worn by women.
Ayr. She has on her palerine wi' the blue tassels, Johnston
KUmallie (i8gi) I. 124. -w.Yks.i I want a new pelerine, Cud-
worth Dial. Sketches (1884) 115; w.Yks.^
[Silks, muslins, prints, ribbons, pelerines are awfully
dear, Blanchard Life ofL. E. L. (1841) I. iii. Yr. pelerine,
' grand collet rabattu qui couvre les 6paules et la poitrine'
(Hatzfeld).]
PELEY-WERSH, see Peel-wersh.
PELF, sb. Sc. Yks. Chs. Lei. War. Won Glo. Dev.
Cor. Slang. Also written pelfe w.Yks. ; and in forms
pilfCor.'^^; pilthDev. [pelf,pilf.] 1. Rubbish, refuse,
esp. vegetable refuse ; weeds.
Lei.i Vfs.T. B'ham Wkly. Post Qnne 10, 1893) ; War.i^; War.3
The land is full of pelf. Won (W.K.W.C.) ; ' 'Er'd put 'im in 'er
apurn an' thraowed 'im out alung o' the t'other pelf.' The April
hoeing, when many thistles would be, as a matter of course, cut
up with the other 'pelf (H.K.). Glo.i Cor. And I raked all
the pilf off the land, Thomas Randigal Rhymes (1895) 6; Cor.i
Light grass and roots raked together to be burnt ; Cor.^ Stubble
or couch grass, or other surface cleaning of fields, with all soil
worked out of it and dried. [Which is the best means of clearing
a wood from roots and pelf? Farm. Jm. (Jan. 21, 1828).]
2. Fluff, fine dust, fine fragments of fur, feathers, &c.
Dev. When yii'm sewping out tha chimmer, 'Liza, diiee mind an'
sewp up awl tha pilth vrom under tha beyds, Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892) ; Reports Promnc. (1887) 13. Cor.2 w.Cor. Courtney Gl.
(1880) ; Dust or small feathers of a bed, &c., that adhere to one's
clothes (M.A.C.).
3. A tangled mass of anything.
s.Chs.i Wot u pelf u ae-r yoa-)n got-n. Dhiir)z u praat-i pelf u
ee- u dhaat- feyld, weyiir dhii fliidz won ; ah daayt dhii misheyn)!
nev'ur gy'et thrbo it.
4. The fur or fine hairy coat of an animal ; a fleece of
wool. s.Chs.*, Cor.'^ 5. A worthless, good-for-nothing
person. m.Yks.^ w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781).
6. Money, gen. used contemptuously.
Sc. His guidsyre was a sexton fairie elf, Liv'd on the dead, and
digged graves for pelf, Maidment Pasquils (1868) 199. Bch. I . . .
will make them soon lay down their pelf, Forbes Shop Bill (1785)
12. Frf. For credit or for ready pelf, Morison Poems (1790) 2.
s.Sc. Just as muckle pelf as keep me frae The cauldrife han' o'
poverty wi' ease, T. Scott Poems (1793) 367. Dmb. Pelf o' itself
is really guid, Taylor Poems (1827) 27. Cld. Tho' Geordie be
laird of a housie. And brags o' his kye and his pelf, Nimmo Sngs.
(1882) 19. Edb. Your kirn was dry. Your pouches clean o' pelf,
Maclagan Poems (1851) 147. Rxb. A baker . . . Wha gat the
word o' pelf, W. Wilson Poems (1824) 3. Slang. Baumann
Londinismen (1887).
PELFER, V. s.Chs.* [pe-lf9(r).] To eat daintily, to
peck at food, to pick and choose when eating. Also in
phr. to pell and pelf er. See Pell, v.^
PELFY, adj. Cor.^ Also in form pilfy. [pe'lfi.] Soft
and spongy.
PELHAM, sb. Lin. In phr. he lives like Pelham,
spoken of any one who lives in a good style, with refer-
ence to an ancestor of the Earl of Yarborough, Thompson
Hist. Boston (1856) 733.
PELHAM, see Pilm.
PELK, V. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Lan. [pelk.] To beat,
thrash ; to strike with the fist. n.Cy. (Hall.), Cum.^,
w.Yks.', ne.Lan.'
PELL, 56.1 and t;.' Ken.Sus. [peL] 1. s6. A deep place
or hole in a river, &c., a hole of water. Ken.-', Sus.'" Cf.
pill, sb? 2. A broad, shallow piece of water, larger than
an ordinary pond. Sus.'* 3. v. To wash into holes or
pools ; with away : to wash away ground by the force of
water. Sus.'^ e.Sus. Holloway.
PELL, sb?- Sc. [pel.] 1. A useless, worn-out thing ;
a thick, dirty piece of cloth ; pi. rags, tatters.
Sh.L {Coll. L.L.B.) ; S. & Ork.i ' A pell of a thing,' anything
that is in tatters, as applied to clothing ; or that is very much out
of repair, as applied to a vessel, house, &c. Cai.\ Bnff.^
Hence Pelly, arf/'. ragged. Cai." 2. A lump of dried
dirt sticking to the hind-quarters of an animal ; a tuft of
clotted wool. Cf. pelled, 1.
Sh.I. He an' Betty wis tyin' her feet afore dey sood peel aff da
feltit pells o' '00' 'at wis still apon her, Sh. News (July 31, 1897).
3. A term of abuse ; a lazy, dirty, worthless person.
Sh.I. I'se paece dee, du drukken pell. Burgess Lowra Biglan
(1896) 56; \Coll. L.L.B.) n.Sc. (Jam.) Ags. Lazy pell, nasty
pell (<*.). Frf. There were wives, ca'd ' Weirdless pells,' Whase
mou's whiles needit to be wat. Watt Poet. Sketches ^I88o) 21.
PELL, sb.^ ? Obs. Sc. (Jam.) Buttermilk very much
soured.
This term occurs in the proverbial phr. ' as bitter's pell ' ; some-
times * as salt's pell.'
PELL, v.^, sb." and adv} Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
[pel.] 1. V. To dash, drive, or strike violently ; to walk
with a heavy dashing step.
Bnff.^, w.Sc. (Jam.) Per. They begun to pell and mell, and kill
and fell, Ford Harp (1893) 60.
2. sb. A heavy dash, blow, or fall ; the sound made by
such.
Bnff.i W.Sc. Ga'in' hame he got twa or three gae pells on his
head (Jam.). Rnf. I hae witnessed mysel' His unmercifu' pell,
Webster Rhymes (1835) 43-
3. A heavy shower of rain or hail, accompanied with a
strong wind.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Lakel.' It donks and drizzles, bit nivver cums
doon in nea greet pell ; Lakel.^ It com a reg'lar pell. Cum. Lin-
ton Lake Cy. (1864) 309; Cum.* Wm.i, w.Yks.', ne.Lan.'
4. Turmoil, tumult. Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 309.
5. adv. With great force or violence.
Bnff.i w.Sc. He fell pell down on the pavement (Jam.).
[1. OFr. (Norm.) peler, ' forcer d'aller, litteralement
pousser' (Moisy).]
PELL, v.^ and adv.'' Chs. War. Shr. Hrf. Glo. [pel.]
1. v. To make bare, as of sheep or cattle eating down a
pasture. See Peel, v}
Shr.' Them ship han pelled that fild as bar' as yore 'ond.
2. To make bare, spoken of the hair.
War.2 Don't pell your hair back, like that. Glo. Northall Flk-
Phr. (1894).
3. To peel. Shr.'^ (s.v. Pill.) 4. To pick and choose
eatables instead of taking them straight before one.
s.Chs.i Naay, du)nu pel dhii bred u)dhaat')nz, els ahy shaa)nur
aav d streyt loa'f tii kiit bre)m) biit'ur far)th mes'tiSr. ' Pellin an'
PELL
[462]
PELT
pelferin' ' are sometimes used together. Shr.i Said of food chiefly,
as when children help themselves surreptitiously. ' The lad
pelled an' pelled at the dumplin' till 'e pelled it all away.'
5. adv. In comp. Pell-necked, of sheep : having the neck
bare. Shr.i, Hrf.^
PELL, see Peal, v}, Pill, sb*
PELLACK, PELLAK, see Pellock, sb}
PELLAD, sb. Cai.i [pe'lsd.] A tadpole.
[Cp. Gael, poll-cheannan, a tadpole, lit. ' pool-head.']
PELLAR, sb. Cor. Also written peller. [pe-la(r).]
A conjuror, ' wise man,' wizard. Also used attrib.
Shewas going to the 'peller' to get a' charm' said for him, Long-
man's Mag. (Feb. 1893) 389 ; Unless a ' pellar ' could by his skill
and incantations grant protection, ftt-Z.o;-fyr«. (1886) IV. 125; His
wife then stated that the virtue was in her and not in him ; that
she was of the real ' Pellar ' blood, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng.
(1865) 317, ed. 1896 ; Cor.i Apphed to in supposed cases of be-
witching ; Cor.2 -w.Cor. She's too lazy to clean the pig's trough
... yet she'd go a score miles or more to consult the pellar, Bottrell
Trad. 3rd S. 78.
PELLAS, sb. Cor. Also in forms pelles, pilez,
pillas ; pillis Cor.'^ ; pillus Cor.i [pe'lss, pi'lss.] 1. The
naked oat, Avena niida.
And to pellas I sowed a brave splat, Thomas Randigal
Rhymes (1895) 6; So I hove down some pellas amongst em to
eat, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 45 ; So called from its naked
seeds, the husk not adhering to the grain, as in common oats
(B. & H.) ; One gallon of pilez with 20 gallons of potatoes, makes
a rich fattening mess for pigs, Marshall Review (1814) V. 542 ;
Cor.i2
Hence Pillas-gerts, sb. pi. the groats from the naked
oat, or occasionally barley.
■w.Cor. They buy oatmeal ... or thicken their milk with bar-
ley-flour ; yet neither of them is half so good as the pillas-gerts
that used to be grown by most everybody here that had a few
acres of land, Bottrell Trad. 3rd S. 67.
2. The fruit of the dwarf-mallow, Malva rotundifolia.
(B. & H.)
PELL-CLAY, sb. Lnk. (Jam.) Nhb.^ Pure and tough
clay, also called Ball-clay.
[Fr. pel, lome, dawbing or plaister for the walls of a
house (CoTGR.).]
PELLED, ppl. adj. Sh.I. Also in form pellat S. & Ork.^
[peld, pe-lat.] 1. Matted together. S. & Ork.^ See
Pell, sb? 2. Comp. Pelled-rol or -rool, a young horse
having his coat hanging in elf-locks.
Sh.I. Mony a pelled rOl has come to be a good horse, Spence
F/k-Lore (1899) 215 ; S. & Ork.i
PELLET, s6.' Dur. Yks. Chs. Nhp. War. Hnt. [pe'lst,
-it.] L A shot ; the wad of a gun or pop-gun ; shot.
Chs.', War .^ 2. Com;>. Pellet-gun, a kind of pop-gun.
Nhp.i A small tube, made by removing the soft pith of a portion
of a small branch of elder, and fitted with a piece of wood for dis-
charging pellets, which are formed of tow, moistened and hardened
by mastication. Used as a boyish pastime. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
3. A round substance of stone or iron.
Dur.' Throwing the pellet was a pastime in my recollection.
4. The ejection of an owl. War.^ 5. A stamping tool
used on a steam hammer.
w.yks. The top pellet is fastened to the hammer, the bottom
pellet is fastened to the anvil (S.K.C.).
[1. Fr.pelole, ' petite masse en forme de balle ' (H atzfeld).]
PELLET, sb." ? Obs. Sc. Also in form pellet (Jam.).
A skin. See Pelt, sb.^
Lth. Commonly applied to a sheep-skin without the wool (Jam.).
Slk. Gin I thought it worth my while, I wad tan ye like a pellet
for it, Hogg Tales (1838) 301, ed. 1866. Rxb. (Jam.)
PELULE, V. Abd. The redshank, Tolanus calidris.
SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 197.
PELL-MELL, sb. and adj. Sc. [pe'l-mel.] 1. sb. A
scrimmage, a headlong rush ; confusion.
Cai. In the pell-mell the blacksmith's tongs assailed ' The Sur-
veyor's ' nose, Horne Countryside (1896) 172. Ayr. So on they
fell, wi' sic pell-mell, Till some lay on the ground, Ballads and
Sngs. (1846) I. 94.
2. adj. Confused, haphazard.
Elg. These gentlemen . . . were no adepts in systematizing; ac-
cordingly they made a pell-mell kind of work of it, Couper Touri-
Jications (1803) II. 56.
[Fr.pele-mele, ' dans uneconfusion complete' (Hatzfeld).]
PELLOCK, sb.^ Sc. Also in forms paelag Cai.';
palach Fif. (Jam.) ; pallach, pallack Sc. (ib.) ; pallo Or.I.
(ib.) ■ pellack S. & Ork.' Or.I. ; pellak, pellick Sh.I. ;
pelloch Dmf ; pelluck Kcb. ; pulloch Ags. Frf. (Jam.)
[pe'lsk, pa'lsk.] 1. The porpoise, Delphmus phocaena.
Also in comp. Pellack -whale.
Sh.I. He turned as fat as a tiestie, and as round as a pellick,
Stewart Tales (1892) 27 ; Transforming herself into the likeness
of a pellack-whale or porpoise, upset a fishing boat, Hibbert
Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 267, ed. 1891 ; S. & Ork.i Or.I. Many Spout
Whales or Pellacks, which some times run in great numbers upon
the shore and are taken, Wallace Desc. Or.I. (1693) 17, ed.
1883 ; A great number of little whales, which sweem through these
isles, which they call spout- whales or pellacks, Brand Desc. Or. I.
(1701) 48 (Jam.). Cai.i Bch. The second chiel was a thick-
setted, swown pallach, Forbes Jrn. (1742) 2. Abd. Shirrefs
Poems (1790) Gl. Fif. A palach, a great destroyer of salmon. Sib-
bald Hist. Fif. (1803) 129 (Jam.). Dmb. A species of sea animals,
most destructive of the salmon, are almost every summer found in
numbers, playing in the Clyde off the Castle. These are called
buckers, pellocks, or porpoises, Statist. Ace. IV. 22 (ib.). Slk.
That is but a gull — that only a seal — and that a mere pellock, Chr.
North Noctes (ed. 1856) II. is. Dmf. The pellochs had followed
the fish amaist up to the town, and heaps of them was catched at
theCastledykes, £^6. S/rt>-(Aug. 22, 1823) (Jam.). Gall. Wi power
roar Whilk scar'd the. pellocks frae the shore Wi' smacking fin,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 192, ed. 1876. Kcb. Gib's now gane
for the Western seas Whare selchs an' pellucks whamble, David-
son Seasons (1789) 17.
2. A young or small crab. Ags. (Jam.), Frf. {ib., s.v.
Poo), Rnf [ib.)
[1. Et eidem per unam petram Atporpoys et tres pellokis,
XV T, Accounts (1331) I. 227 (Jam.).]
PELLOCK, sb.'^ Cum.* [pe'lsk.] A wooden vessel
for carrying bait for fishing lines.
PELLOWE-BERE, see Pillow-bere.
PELLUM, PELM, PELONIE, see Pilm, Polonaise.
PELROLLOCK,sA. Shr.» [pe'lrolak.] An ill-dressed
faded, worn-out looking woman ; also nsedftg.
'Jim France 'as jined the 'totallers.' 'A good thing an' all fur
'is family — 'is wife looks a poor pelroUock, an' 'is childern 'afe
clemmed ' ; ib. What a pelroUock that peckled 'en looks now 'er's
mountin' (s.v. Mounting).
PELSH, 56.1 and adj Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also
written pelch N.Cy.' Wm. ; and in form pelse Cum. Wm.
w.Yks.' ne.Lan.' [pelj, pels.] 1. sb. Refuse, trash ; any
kind of vile stuff. w.Yks.', ne.Lan.^ Hence (i) Pelse-
ment, sb. trash, anything of little value. w.Yks.' ; (2)
Pelsy, adj. mean, worthless, ib. 2. Rain, snow, or sleet
as it lies on the ground.
n.yks. There'll e' to be a pash o' sum male 0' pelsh afore it's any
warmer (R.H.H.). w.Yks. Tharr's sa mitch rain o' t'fog, it maks
it blashy as weel, tharr's been sa mitch pelsh lately, Lucas
Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 33 ; w.Yks.i We wor nayther freetened
wi' a shower o' rain er pelse, ii. 341.
Hence Pelsy, adj. rainy, sleety.
w.Yks. 1 T'weather . . . wor seea pelsy, coud and raty, ii. 289.
3. A mean, worthless person. w.Yks.', ne.Lan.' Hence
Pelsy, adj. bad, evil, mischievous ; perverse, obstinate.
Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 309. Wm. Their great men were
pelsy and proud, Hutton Bran New IVark (1785) 1. 204.
4. adj. Weak, exhausted ; feeble, ailing.
N.Cy.' Nhb.i ' She's varry pelsh, poor body.' Applied also to
cattle when thin or ailing and weakly. Also used when speaking
of one who does work in an indifferent manner from lack of strength.
' He's oney a pelsh 'un.' Wm. (J.H.)
PELSH, s6.2 Bdf. [pelj.] A blow. Batchelor ^wa/.
Eng. Lang. (1809).
PELTj s^.i In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and Eng. [pelt.]
1. A skm, hide.
Cld., Ayr. Commonly applied to a sheep-skin without the wool
(Jam.). Dmf. Dip their pelts in some peat hole Besmeared wi'
mud, Quinn Heather (1863) 153. Gall. Folks that are aye taking
their nap ofT other folks are the thinnest in the pelt themselves,
Crockett Raiders (1894) xvi. N.I.' N.Cy.^ Chiefly sheepskins
PELT
[463]
PELTER
when the wool is off. n.Yks.i ; n.Yks.^ ' Hoorns, tail, an' pelt.'
' He's t' stingiest near-go iv oor deeal, he wad skin tweea deeavils
for yah pelt ' ; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.l They're thick i t'pelt is yon lot.
m.Yks.i w.Yks.3 Used chiefly of rabbit pelts and hare pelts. Lan.
He's some idle bwons in his pelt, Waugh Winter Fire, 18. n.Lan.i
ne.Lan.i A skin with the fur on. Chs.i Lin.i A sheepskin without
the wool. Nhp.^ Particularly a sheep-skin, after the wool is clipped
off; Nhp.2 War. Ah, the pelt baint worth half the money they
used to was, Z,ea»!!«^/oM Co«n'e»- (Feb. 27, 1897) ; War .3* s.Wor.
PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 15. se.Wor.i Shr.i A sheep-skin of
which the wool has fallen away from the living animal, in conse-
quence of ' skin disease ' of some kind. Hrf. Morton Cyclo. Agric.
(1863) ; Hrf.i The skin of a sheep after the wool has been taken
off. Glo. When I'd a-hung un up in th' woak tree, I starts fur to
git 'ers pelt off, an' to dress un a bit, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(1890) xiv. Brks. Gl. (1852) ; Brks.^ e.An.' A sheep's skin with
the wool on. Suf. Pelt is applied here to the skin of a rabbit with
the fur on, c.An. N. (f Q. (1866) II. 363 ; Rainbird Agric. (1819)
297, ed. 1849. Hmp.i ' The pelt is very thick,' said of the skin of
a pig. I.W.* w.Som.l A sheep-skin in the raw state after the
wool has been got off, but before being subjected to other processes
by which it may be turned into chamois, morocco, roan, sheep, or
other leather. Cor. The skin of a sheep after the wool has been
taken off, Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). [Amer. An animal's skin
and fat together, Dial. Notes (18^3) 1. 380. Nfld. In sealing denotes
the skin of the seal with the fat attached, though in hunting it is
also used to denote the skin of any fur-bearing animal (G.P.).]
Hence (i) Pelterer, sb. a dealer in skins, a furrier ; (2)
Peltry, sb. a skin.
(i) n.Yks.2 (2) Sc. Sheep or lamb skins without the wool
(Jam.). Ayr. A bannet, wig, an' slough o' hair. Like peltry o' a
norlan' bear, Ainslie Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 190. Suf.' A
dealer in peltry.
2. Comp. (i) Pelt-rot, a disease of sheep ; (2) -wool, wool
shorn oif the skin of a sheep after its death.
(i) N.Cy.' When sheep die from poverty or ill keeping. Hrt. A
disease affecting new shorn sheep, Ellis Experiments (1750) 43.
[LowsoN Mod. Farrier (1844) 232.] (2) Nlip.', cAn.i
Z. Phr. (i) daz thee pelt, a mild form of malediction; (2)
in bare pelt, naked.
(i) Glo.i (2) N.I.' He ran out on the street in his bare pelt.
ne.Yks. They were in bare pelt (J.C.F.).
[1. Fr. (Norm, dial.) pelette,' vaorcea.n de peau de mouton,
avec sa laine' ; I'on prononce/i/ert' (Moisy).]
PELT, 56.2 Sc. Ken. [pelt.] Rags, rubbish ; a piece
of thick, dirty dress. Bnff.^ Ken.'^ Hence Peltin'-pyock,
sb. a thick, worthless dress or bag. Bnff.'
[Dan. pialt, rag, tatter.]
PELT, sb.^ Yks. Pern, [pelt.] A slang term for
a man.
w.Yks. It would seem . . . that Bill, like many other ' owd wed
pelts,' played second fiddle, Binns Vill. to Town (1882) 134 ; What
need a owd wed pelt like thee I' t'loins o' t'neet to roam ? Yksman.
(Apr. 21, 1887)235. s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421.
PELT, sb.* Sus. Hmp. Also in form pilt Sus. [pelt.]
The iron plate on the heel of a boot. Sus. (S.P.H.), Hmp.'
PELT, v., sb.' and adv. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [pelt.] 1. V. To strike ; to beat, thrash.
Fif . Sanct Salvador's lang strappan steeple Had peltit five hours
to the people, Tennant Papistry (1827) 134. Cum. An' blinded
wid rage an' wid fury He pelted away at the pump, Gilpin Sngs.
(1866) 535 ; If thoo divvent tak care what thoo's aboot, ah sal hev
teh pelt tha (E.W.P.). nw.Der.i
Hence Pelting, sb. a beating.
Cum. T'seaam policeman at seaavt thee hide fra a good peltin,
Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 137.
2. To work or do anything violently or with force and
energy ; of rain : to come down heavily. Also with at
or up.
Cai.i Hid's peltan at 'e rain. Bnff.^ I got 'ir peltin' up the
washan. He peltit on at the cuttan a' day. n.Ir. Swatin' thir
hearts an' thir sowls out, an' workin' like bastes ; They pech'd an'
they pelted. Lays and Leg. (1884) 55. Cum.* Screapen away at
their stibbly chafts as hard as he could pelt, W. C. T. (Mar. 12,
1898) 2, col. 3. e.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.)
3. To walk or go quickly ; to hurry, rush, run. In gen.
colloq. use.
Bnff.l He peltit through the dubs. He peltit on an' didna myne
ony ane. Rnf. Neilson Poems (1877) 43. n.Ir. He rattled through
Creeslough, an' pelted through Doe, Lays and Leg. (1884) 22.
Dwn. As fast as he could pelt (C.H.W.). n.Cy. (J.W.), Nhb.i,
e.Yks.' w.Yks. Th' dog run after as hard as it could pelt,
Hartley Clock Aim. (1887) S'- Lan. They wur o' scutterin'
off whoam, as hard as they could pelt, Waugh Heather
(ed. Milner) I. 149. Nhp.' Always conveying the idea of heat
from over-exertion. War.2 I saw him go pelting along ; War.^,
Oxf.i MS. add. Dev. The groom urns for't so 'ard's 'e can
pelt 'long the windin' path, Phillpotts Dartmoor (1895) 227, ed.
1896. Cor.3 I've been pelting along till I'm in a power of
sweat. The river came pelting down over the road. [Amer.
Them fellers come a'peltin' round with the engine, Adeler Hurly
Burly (1878) xvii.]
Hence Pelting, ppl. adj. hurrying, bustling ; hot or
heated from the effects of hurry.
War.^ He came in pelting hot. It was a pelting walk. Oxf.
You are in a pelting hurry to-day (G.O.).
4. sb. A downpour ; a heavy fall. Cai.' 5. A stroke
or blow.
Fif. On Michael's white bald pate discharge thou quick A pelt
enough to stun the wizard wight, Tennant j4«s^e;- (1812) 115, ed.
1871. Rnf. I am sorry at the pelts of our brethren, Wodrow
Corres. (1709-31) I. 396, ed. 1843. Rxb. The pane he shattered
wi' a pelt, RiDDELL Poet. Wits. (ed. 1871) I. 4. n.Cy. I hit him a
pelt, Grose (1790). Cum.*, w.Yks. (J.W.), ne.Lan.i, Wor.
(J.R.W.), e.An. (Hall.) Suf.i I'll gie ye a pelt i' the nid. s.Cy.
Grose (1790). Slang, A pelt in the smellers, Tom Crib's Mem.
(1819) 23.
6. The noise made by the fall of anything.
Bnff.' A hard the pelt o't fin it fell aff o' the hehd o' the hoose.
7. A rush ; speed, rate.
Cum.i He com in wid a pelt; Cum." n.Yks.* He cam doon t'hill
sikeapelt. w.Yks.* Lan.' Now then. Bob, doesto yer? Wheer
arto for at sich a pelt ?
8. A rage, passion ; a fit of ill-temper ; a fuss ; a noisy
disturbance.
ne.Lan.i, Nhp.2, Wor. (J.R.W.), Glo.' Oxf. He went off in a
great pelt (G.O.). Brks.' I zimmed in a girt pelt about ut. Sur."-
He can't a-bear being kept in doors ; you can't think what a pelt
he gets in. Hmp. Esp. of animals. ' What a pelt the dog is
making,' Wise New Forest (1883) 284 ; Hmp.' A' come in, in such
a pelt. Wil. [He'd] put Jack in a girt pelt, coz 'ud stand clost by
the zide an hin to watch un, Akerman Spring-tide (1850) 22 ;
Slow G/. (1892) ; Wil.' Dor.' He wentoffinsichapelt. w.Som.'
My eyes I wad'n er in a pelt then ? Dev. He was in a tur'ble pelt,
PuLMAN Sketches (184a) 123, ed. 1871. Cor. Back he comes in a
regular pelt, Parr Adam and Eve (1880) III. 79 ; Cor.''
9. One who is much out of temper. Brks. GL (1852).
10. adv. Violently and noisily.
Bnff.' He fell pelt our the dyke in o' the ditch.
11. Y-hr. full pelt, at full speed.
Ir. Wid that he was full pelt after the car. Barlow Kerrigan
(1894^ 83. Nhb.i He ran full pelt. e.Yks. Bud when he fan his
legs, he peg-legged away full pelt, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 33.
w.Yks. (J.W.) War.3 Anderton Lett. (1891) 36. GI0.2
PELT, s6.^ e.An.' [pelt.] A game of cards somewhat
like whist, but played by three only.
PELTAG, see Piltock.
PELTER, V. and sb. Sc. Ir. n.Cy. Lakel. Yks. Lan.
Not. Wor. Aus. [Fe'lt3(r.] 1. v. To beat, patter; to
throw, pelt.
n.Cy. (Hall.), Cum. (M.P.) m.Yks.' He's been peltering on
me with stones. w.Yks.' Here's a saary neet, nobbud hear how
t'rain pelters ageean't winders ; w.Yks.^ Naay, gi'e owre peltering
— one at a time ! that's enew. Lan. My feyther used to tickle mine
when I had bits o' fits, an' he'd ha' peltered my bonds, like playin'
at slap, Brierley Cast upon World {1886) 181 ; Davies Races (1856)
337. ne.Lan.', e.Lan.' s.Not. The rain did pelter down (J.P.K.).
2. To be in a passion. n.Lan.' 3. sb. A heavy down-
pour ; a torrent. Cum.* m.Yks.' It came such of a pelter.
4. A hurry, a quick rate.
Lakel.2 Thoo needn't gang at seek a pelter. w.Yks. (J.W.)
5. A State of excitement ; a passion, temper.
Rnf, I couldna speak a single word, I was in such a pelter, Barr
Poems (1861) 9. [Aus. Nobody ever seemed to be able to get into
a pelter with Jim, Boldrewood Robbery (1888) 1. iii.]
6. Anything large ; a ' whopper.'
Cum. An' dall, but it's a pelter, Gilpin Pop. Poetry (187O 61 •
Gl. (1851). ne.Lan.', Wor. (J.R.W.)
PELTRY
[464]
PEN
7. A pistol.
Qco. Our family pistols, denominated pelters, were brass,
Barrington Sketches (1830) II. i.
PELTRY, sb. and adj. Sc. [pe-ltri.] 1. sb. Trash,
rubbish. See Pelt, sb?-
Bch. You ne'er saw sik peltry i' your born days, Forbes Jrn.
(1742) 14. Fif. Better be pynet to death by hunger, nor for a little
peltrie of the earth to perish for ever, Row Ch. Hist. (1650) 322,
ed. 1842.
2. Any kind of ill-cooked food. Bnff.' 3. Wet and
stormy weather. »i. We've hid unco peltrieo' weather a' hairst.
4. adj. Worthless, ib. 5. Of the weather : wet and
stormy, ib.
[1. Myne host Lambert . . . was delyvered from hys
vayne beleve of purgatorye, and of other popysh peltryes,
Vocacyon of Johan Bale (1553) (Dav.).]
PELVER, V. Not.i Lei.i [pe-lv3(r).] To pilfer.
[OFr. (Norm.) pe(frer, 'voler, derober ' (Moisy).]
PEMBOLADE, sb. Rdn. A tadpole. N. &- Q. (1878)
5th S. X. 105.
PEN, sb.^ and v.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Amer. Also in form pin w.Yks.^ [pen.] 1. sb. In
comp. (i) Pen-driver, (2) -man, a writer, an author; a
clerk ; also used attrib. ; (3) -point, the nib of a pen ; (4)
-shank, (5) -staff, (6) -stick, a pen-holder ; (7) -work,
writing, copying.
(i) Frf. Here was this young pen-driver, no twa months after
the lamentit separation, lookin' as happy as ever he did, Willock
Rosetty Ends (1886) 55, ed. 1889. (2) Gall. No poor penman chap
durst think or speak of any other creature but them, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) Introd. 11. e.An.^ Any one who uses the pen in
filling up blanks ; taking minutes of proceedings, &c. as the
justice's clerk; the auctioneer's writer, &c. (3)Sc.(A.W.),e.Dur.i,
Yks. (J.W.) [Amer. I have a pen-point, and now I must have a
pen-staff to go with it, Z)m/. iVo<«s (1896) I. 392.] (4) e.Dur.i (5)
Amer. Dial. Notes (i8g6) I. 392.] (6) Som. A new word born of
the Board Schools (F.T.E.). (7) Sc. It's little of pen-work he'll be
doing this day, or I'm mistaken, Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 285.
2. A feather, quill ; a wing-feather.
Sh.I. Having no catheter, he relieved the patient with a haigrie's
pen [heron's quill], Cowie Sh. I. (1871) 89. Cai.i Per. She
crowned the eagle King of Fowls, And gave him vision far and
speed of pens, Haliburton Dunbar (1895) 79. Gall. What gars
ye flutter roun' yer hens ? Ye'U dirty a' your bonny pens,
Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 84, ed. 1897. n.Cy. Grose (1790)
Suppl.; N.Cy.l
Hence Pen-gun, sb. (1) a pop-gun ; see below; gen. in
phr. to crack like a pen-gun, to be very loquacious ; (2) a
loquacious person, ^«;«. of small stature.
(i) Sc. Pen-guns are made and fired at the season when the
turnip first comes to market ; which turnip, cut in thin slices and
bored through with the quill, forms the charge, Blackw. Mag. (Aug.
1821) 35 ; The women were in and out of each others houses, their
tongues going like pen-guns, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 65. Cai.i
A pen-gun is usually made from the larger bone of the wing of a
goose, and is charged by boring into a turnip or a potato. Bnff.
We could crack to her by the hour like a Pengun, Gordon Chron.
Keith (1880) 51. Abd. Sawny's head grew light's a feather, An'
[he] bauldly crack'd like a pen-gun, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826)
43. e.Fif. He sat on the board, snufBn' an' crackin' like a pen-gun,
Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) iv. Ayr. A man weel stricken in years,
but of a youthy mind, and a perfect pen-gun at a crack, Galt
Gilhaize (1823) xvii. Lnk. He crackit like a pen-gun, Fraser
Whaups (1895) xiii. e.Lth. Hoo's a body to collec' his thochts, an'
your tongue gaun like a pen-gun ? Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 54.
Edb. Cracked away just like two pen-guns, MoiR Mansie Wauch
(1828) xvii. (2) Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.i
3. A short rudimentary feather or quill just breaking
through the skin of a bird. Also called Pen-feather (q.v.).
Lakel.=, Cum.*, Wm. (B.K.) w.Yks.i= ; -w.Yks.^ A young bird
in coming to maturity is first 'nakt,' then in 'blue pen,' then
'flegg'd.' ne.Lan.i e.Lan.^ The sheath in the skin of a fowl out
of which the feather grows. Chs.i, s.Chs.i, w.Wor.i Shr.i; Shr.^
A cook complains that the fowl she is plucking is ' full of pens.'
Hence (i) Pen-flesh, sb. skin roughened by cold,
resembhng the skin of a plucked fowl. w.Yks.'^ ; (2) Pen-
less, adj. of birds : featherless. n.Lin.^ 4. A shoot
for grafting.
Chs.i s.Chs.' Ahy)v bin piit-in u tdouthri fresh penz i yaan'diir
uwd pae-r-trey. Shr.i The owd gardener 's piit five diiferent pens
i' the big par tree, so we sha'n 'ave a sortment if they growen.
5. pi. The ends of broken fronds, &c. ; the old twigs in
a hedge ; long bits of hard grass which the scythe, in
mowing, does not cut.
N.I.i Cum.* Her hands get cut with the sharp stones and
bracken pens, Rea Beckside Boggle (1886) 290. n.l.in.i
6. Part of the stem of colewort.
So. A kail-castock, or pen, that is, the thick rib up the middle of
the colewort stalk, Edb. Mag. (Oct. 1818) 330 (Jam.).
1. pi. The long hairs of deer. Nhp."- 8. pi. The short
ribs. Nhb.' 9. A snuff-spoon, a quill shaped like a
spoon used in taking snuff. Also in comp. Snuff-pen.
Sc. She took the pestle an' the pen, She coost them but, she coost
them ben, . . I never wanted sneeshin ! Auld Wife ayont the Fire
(Jam.). Cai."- Abd. Now o' the snish he's for a dose: Wi' pen just
rising to his nose, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 29. Per. The pinch
[of snuff] was conveyed to the nose by means of a bone snuff-spoon
or pen, as it was called, Haliburton Fields (1890) 98.
10. A spoon. Cld. (Jam.) Hence Pen-full, sb. a spoon-
ful ; fig. a mouthful, a good meal.
Cld. He taks a guid pen-fu' (Jam. ) ; Also appHed to drinking.
' He whiles taks a gae pen-fu',' i. e. more than enough of liquor ; or
with a touch of humourous exaggeration, ' His pen-fu's a chapin
jug ' {ib).
11. A spigot.
Som. (Hall.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i The ' pen
and fosset ' used in brewing. Dev. ' To open the pen,' to tap the
liquor, Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) nw.Dev.^ Pen and posslet.
In brewing, the spigot and faucet used for drawing off the wort
from the keeve.
12. The pudendum of a sow.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.i When maris appetens, she is said to be
' proud i' th' pen.'
13. The female swan.
e.Yks. The shee-swanne is called the penne. Best Rur. Econ.
(1642) 122. Chs.i Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 87.
[Swainson Birds (1885) 151.]
14. V. To pick the soft quills out of poultry when pre-
paring them for table or market.
s.Chs.^ Ahy dii)nu lahyk sen'din fuwl tu maa-rkit wi dhur fidh -urz
on um ; biir it)s lahyk u thingg- fu dhfl wiins, — ahy rae-li aa)nu aad'
tahym pen um. Shr.' It'll tak' more time to pen 'em [ducks] than
a bin wuth (s.v. Pen-feathered).
Hence Penned, adj. of the skin : rough with cold, re-
sembling the skin of a plucked fowl. e.Lan.^ 15. To
graft. Chs.^ 16. To take snuff with a quill or a spoon-
shaped 'pen.' Abd. (Jam.)
PEN, sb.^ and v.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in forms pend Cor.^; poyn Wil.* [pen.] 1. sb. An
enclosure for sheep or cattle.
Per. Gang they far or gang they wide, There's peace around the
pen, Haliburton Ochil Idylls (1891) 19. n.Cy. (J.W.) w.Yks.
Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 106. Chs.i, War. (J.R.W.)
Oxf."^ Set the pen. s.Wil. An enclosure where sheep are kept for
some httle time. A fold is shifted daily as a rule (G.E.D.). Som.
Formed by the same pen or clyse, Hervey Wedmore Chron. (1887)
I. 217. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
2. Comp. (i) Pen-fauld, the close or yard near a
farmer's house, for holding his cattle ; (2) -fed, stall-fed ;
(3) -parlour, an enclosure made with chairs for children to
play in ; a secure place ; fig. a difficult or perplexing
position ; (4) -stock, a pound.
(i)Rxb. (Jam.) (2) Lan.i, n.Lan.i (3)Nhp.i ; Nhp." I beinsuch
a pen-parlor ! (4) Hmp. There be a pen-stock on Grigg's Green,
there be, but they don't use he now (VV.M.E.F.).
3. A Stall for a horse in a stable. Sus.' 4. A hen-coop.
Rut.^ 5. V. To shut up sheep in a fold or ' pen.' Wil.
Davis Agric. (1813) ; Wil.^ 6. To enclose, shut in,
confine.
s.Wor. It don't do for children to be penned up (H.K.). Shr.^
I think it's a shame to pen the poor children i' the 'ouse all day.
Hrf. BouNDProOTMC. (1876); (Hall.) Oxf.^MS.add. Brks.iTher
be zome bwoys in the archut a-got at the apples, let zome on us go
roun' t'other zide en 'um an' zo pen 'um. I.W. Used of inanimate
objects, e.g. foodpreservedin tins isspokenofas 'penned' (J.D.R.);
I.W.i, e.Cor.i
Hence Penning-time, sb. bed-time. Oxf. (Hall.)
PEN
[465]
PENDICLE
7. To fasten by means of a hasp and staple. Oxf.^ MS.
add. 8. To abstain from milking a cow ; see below.
Cf. stock.
Soin. When a cow is sold as a milcher, it is the practice not to
milk her immediately before — that the purchaser may see whether
she is likely to prove a good yielder (W.F.R. ).
9. To contract ; used in pp.
N.I.* A horse sometimes has its knee ' penned in the sinews.'
PEN, sb.^ Sc. Cum. Glo. [pen.] A hill; a peak or
conical top, gen. in a range of hills.
Sc. (Jam.) Edb. Lee Pen is a high and pointed hill of pyramidal
shape. . . Cairn Hill ... is a stupendous mountain like Lee Pen,
Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 49, ed. 1815. Cum. Linton iaAs Cy. (1864)
315. Glo.^ Used as a common noun. ' I live just under the Pen to
which Pen lane leads.'
[Wei. pen, ' caput, promontorium ' (Davies).]
PEN, sb.* Sc. (Jam.) The dung of fowls. Gen. in
comp. Hen-pen (q.v.).
PEN, sb.^ Sc. [Not known to our correspondents.]
An old saucy man with a sharp nose. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
PEN, int. Shr. [pen.] A call to turkeys to come and
be fed. (H.K.), Shr.*^ (s.v. Call-words). See Penny, int.
PEN, see Pin, sb.'^
PENA, adj. Cor. Bad, tainted. (J.W.) See Pindy.
PENALTY, sb. Bcks. In comb. Penalty-of the-wall,
the pellitory-of-the-wall, Parietaria officinalis. (B. & H.)
PENANCE, sb. s.Chs.^ [pe'nans.] Trouble ; always
used with a pass. pron.
I've my penance. 6o)z aad- iir pen'iins wi dhaat' nuw'ti, drungk'n
uz'bund ii uurz.
PEN-BAUK, sb. n.Cy. Der. Lei. Also in forms pen-
book, -bouk Lei.' ; -bowk Den' ; -buck Lei.' 1. Obs. A
beggar's can. N.Cy.'', Der.' 2. A small wooden pail
with a lid. Lei.'
PENCE, sb. pi. Sc. Irel. Chs. Stf Nhp. Hrf. Pem.
[pens.] 1. In phr. (i) pence apiece, one penny each ; see
also Pennies apiece ; (2) to want some pence of the shilling,
to be wanting in intellect, &c.
(i) Ir. In constant use here [Dublin] as in other parts of Ireland,
to the entire exclusion of the legitimate 'penny a piece,' N. fj" Q.
(1856) 2ndS. ii. 118. Chs.i Stf. Fifty years ago I remember a
familiar expression of a woman who sold gingerbread, fruit, &c.,
and being asked the price of some of her commodities used to
answer, ' They are halfpence a piece,' N. tf Q. ib. Hrf. As a
market phrase it was formerly employed, but seems falling into
disuse, ib. 66 ; We, your neighbours yonder, Have bought these
geese, at pence a piece, And sent it by the gander, ib. Pem. ib.
99. (2) Gall. They are all, however, of rather a wild frantic nature,
and seem to want ' some pence of the shilling,' a penny or more,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 99, ed. 1876.
2. Comp. Pence-pig, an earthenware money-box. Sc.
(A.W.) Cf. Penny-pig. 3. Money, fortune.
Gall. I lo'ed ye mony a day, Phemie, Or ye gat the pence,
Mactaggart ib. 63.
4. The yellow rattle, Rhinanthus Crista-galli. Nhp.' Cf.
penny-grass {a).
PENCEY, PENCH, see Pansy, Paunch, s6.'
PENCIL, sb. Nhb. Dur. Cum. [pe'nsil.] 1. In comp.
Pencil-wood, cedar-wood.
Cum. T'main timmers of our house is pencil wood, Dickinson
Sng. Sol. (1859) i. 17.
2. Shale or ' plate ' of a somewhat compact nature, used
for coarse slate pencils. Nhb.' Dur. Borings (1878)
I. 264.
PEND, sb} and v} Sc. Irel. Cum. Also m form pen(n
Sc. (Jam.) Uls. Cum.* [pen(d.] 1. sb. An archway ; an
arched or covered gateway or passage.
Sc. Under the same dark-browed pend where Miss Finlay had
gone mincingly by, Keith Indian Uncle (i8g6) 241 ; We took
shelter under a pend at the head of a close or alley, Stevenson
Catriona (1893) i. ne.Sc. There wis a great heich yett 't open't up
intil a pen. Green Gordonhaven (1887) 50. e.Sc. Bird fanciers
brought their cages to Little Ekky's pend, Setoun Sunshine (1895)
II. Abd. Under the ceiling at the West End of the pend whereon
the great steeple stands, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 246. Frf.
LowsoN Guidfollow (1890) 242 ; There was a rush of angry men
through the ' pend ' that led to his habitation, Barrie Licht (1888)
VOL. IV.
X. Fif. Tennant Pa/lw^;^' (1827) 43. Edb. The Secretar oxtered
the lass out from the courtyard and through the pend into the
street, Beatty Secretar (1897) 69. Gall. A yett house with an
open pend, Crockett Grey Man (1896) 28.
Hence (i) Pen-mouth, sb. the entrance to a ' pend ' or
covered gateway ; (2) -stone, sb. the irregularly cut stone
from which the arch of a bridge springs.
(i) Cld. When I gaed by, he was stannin' at the pen-mouth
(Jam.). (2) Cnm.*
2. A covered sewer or conduit.
w. & s.Sc. Also the entrance to, or the grating over, a conduit or
sewer (Jam.). Dmf. («i.) Gall. Mactaggart ^wcyc/. (1824). Uls.
An underground pipe or drain in a field (M.B.-S.),
3. A small block of sandstone used for paving a water-
course. Cum.* 4. V. Obs. To arch.
Sc. In a vault which he digged under the ground, and penned
for his hiding, Thomson Cloud of Witnesses (1714) 226, ed. 1871.
Hence Pendit, ^//. adj. arched.
Slk. Ane could hae gaen oure it like a pendit brig, Hogg Tales
(1838) 299, ed. 1866.
PEND, v.'^ and sb.^ e.An. [pend.] 1. v. To incline,
lean. e.An.' The wall pends this way. Nrf.'
2. To press or pinch ; fig. to be in need or distress.
e.An. (Hall.) ; e.An.' Commonly said of apparel which does
not fit. 'The shoe pends here.' Sometimes used _/?§•. for ' that is
the tender point,' or the like. Nrf.'
3. sb. Pressure, strain, force ; fg. an emergency, need,
■ pinch.'
e.An. (Hall.) Nrf. He helps me in a pend, Arch. (1879) VIII.
172. Suf. (Hall.) ; Suf.'There's the pend [the point of pressure].
[1. OFr. (Norm.) pendre, 'pencher' (Moisy).]
PEND, v.^ Brks. Sur. I.W. [pend.] A shortened form
of ' depend.'
Brks. Don't have any of that writing . . . 'pend upon it, Hughes
Scour. White Horse (1859)- viii ; Brks.' Snr. 'Pend on't, Maister
Vaggetter, Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) I. i. I.W. (Hall.), I.W.'
PEND, see Pen, sb.'
PENDICLE, sb. Sc. [pe'ndikl.] 1. Obs. An ap-
pendage, one thing attached to another ; a pendant ; also
used fig.
Sc. The heads of our sufferings are his crown and the pendicles
over it, Shield Contendings (1780) 147 (Jam.) ; Poor Canterbury,
he is so contemptible that all cast him out of their thoughts as a
pendicle at the Lieutenant's ear, Baillie Lett. (1775) I. 251 {ib.).
s.Sc. Confiscation o' a' gudes, gear, particles and pendicles, Wilson
Tales (1839) V. 330. Edb. Whatever was part or pendicle of the
coat at the time of purchase . . . became . . . part and pendicle of
the property of me, the legal purchaser, MoiR Mansie Wauch
(1828) xi.
2. A small piece of land attached to a larger estate ; a
small farm or croft.
Sc. Disclaiming all intention of purchasing that pendicle or
pofBe of land called the Carlinescroft, Scorr Midlothian (1818)
Introd. 2 ; Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Sh.I. It [the estate] was
soon afterwards blown over with sand, and nothing now remains
to mark its site, but a sandy desert, and ' some small patches called
outsets or pendicles,' Statist. Ace. in CowiE Slwtland (1871) 107.
Frf. Bob Stanchell was the owner o' a sma' pendicle on the sooth
side 0' Crowdiehowe, Willock Rosetiy Ends (1886) 181, ed. 1889.
Per. This man got married, and obtained a lease of his pendicle,
Monteath Dunblane (1835) 81, ed. 1887. Fif. There are many
pendicles partly let off the farms, and partly let immediately by
the proprietor, Statist. Ace. I. 379 (Jam.). Knr. Very small farms,
'here and in most places of Scotland, are called " pendicles," as
depending upon either the proprietors of land or the larger tenants,'
YouNG^M«fl/s^^n!:.( 1 784-1815) XXIX. 127. Slg. Many of them
were employed upon the large farms,and attended to their httle pen-
dicles in their spare hours, Fergusson My Village (1893) 114.
Lnk. Dependances, parts, pendicles, and pertinents thereof what-
somever, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 76, ed. 1828. Edb. A little
under it is the Plewland, formerly a pendicle of the estate of Colt-
coat, Pennecuik Wlis. (1715) 174, ed. 1815.
Hence Pendicler, sb. one who farms or holds a small
croft or piece of land attached to a larger estate.
Per. The neighbouring pendiclers were alarmed, armed, and
in motion, Monteath Dunblane {1835) 41, ed. 1887 ; It's no an ae-
koo-kirn mine like a ' pendicler's, Ian Maclaren Auld Lang Syne
(1895) 71. Fif. The parish also abounds with pendiclers or
30
PENDILO
[466]
PENKET
inferior tenants, Statist. Ace. XI. 357 (Jam.). Edb. It might be
owned by a Forester or by a Pendicler, Beatty Secretar (1897) 182.
3. Obs. A church or parish depending on another.
Fif. Of thir many are small congregations, and but pendicles,
Row Ch. Hist. (1650) 83, ed. 1842. SIg. The paroch of KiUinshie
being but looked on as ane pendicle of ane other parish, Wodrow
Set. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 142. Twd. It [Stobo] was a parsonage
having four churches belonging to it, which were called the Pen-
dicles of Stobo, Statist. Ace. III. 330 (Jam.).
PENDILO, sb. Som. Dev. Also in forms pendalaw,
pendalow Dev. [pe-ndilo.] A pendulum.
■w.Som.i Maister 've a-zend me arter the pendilo [paindeeloa-]
^he foi-got'n hon he tookt 'ome the clock. Dev. Jist like the
pendalaw in Granny's clock, Daniel Bride of Seio (1842) 176.
n.Dev. As I hear the pendalow O' maister's clock tick to an vro,
Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 131.
PENDLE, sb.^ Sc. Yks. Lan. Rut. Wor. Ken. Cor.
Also written pendel e.Lan.^; pendil w.Yks.'^^; and in
form pendule Sc. (Jam.) [pe ndl.] 1. A pendant ; an
earring.
Sc. She's got pendles in her lugs. Chambers Sngs. (1829) II.
378 ; Yea one pendule of his crown should not be yielded, Shield
Contcndings (1780) 188 (Jam.). Slk. Still used in the same sense
but ludicrously (Jam.).
2. The pendulum of a clock.
n.Yks. (T.S.) w.Yks. Soa, when I'd gotten t' clock up agean,
I gi'd pendle a good swing, Hallam Wadsley Jack (1866) xii ;
■w.Yks.'^, e.Lan.i Eut.i Allowed fox [the carpenter] for cutting
way for the pendle, is.. Church Aect. (1742). se.Wor.i, Ken.
(D.W.L.), Cor.i
3. Comp. Pendil-bob, the weight attached to a clock
pendulum.
w.Yks. Th' pendil-bob hed tum'led off, Yks. Wkly. Post (June
27, 1896).
PENDLE, sb.'' Nhp. Shr. GIo. Oxf. Bdf. Also written
pendal Glo. [pe'ndl.] A stratum-in a stone-pit; abed
of flag-stones. Also in comp. Pendle-rock, -stone.
Nhp.' A name given by quarry-men to the upper course in a
stone-pit, whether of the upper or lower Oolite or Fuller's earth,
transmitted ignorantly from one to the other. In the neighbouring
quarries of Kingsthorpe, the hard blue stone, which lies above the
paving-stone is called the pendle-stone. The two upper courses
in a pit at Wootton, of the Fuller's earth formation, are termed
the upper and lower pendle ; Nhp.^ Shr. Thick flagstones called
' Pendle ' by the workmen, Woodward Geol. Eng. and Wal. (1876) 58.
GIo. A piece of ground at the [stone] quarry is measured oif and
the upper eight or ten feet of loose stuif cleared away, thus
'ridding' the ground for the 'pendal,' as the slates are called. . .
The frost swells the bed of natural moisture in the ' pendal,' and in
a thaw the layers may be separated by a fewblows with a hammer
and cut to the sizes required, Stone Trade Jrn. (Aug. 1900). Oxf.
The top stratum in the stone quarry at Ishp (Hall.). Bdf. Under
which is a small stone, short, thick, and hard, called the pendle
rock, Batchelor Agric. (1813) 8.
PENDLE, sb.^ Lan. [pe'ndl.] In phr. as fause as a
Pendle witch, as cunning as a witch ; see below.
' Eawr Matty gets as fause,' said he, ' As one o' Pendle witches,'
Waugh Poems (ed. Milner) 88; Pendle Forest was associated
with the old witch superstitions of Lancashire, ib. note.
PENDLE, CT^i;. Wbs. Hrf. Suddenly.
He came pendle over the hill upon him (Hall.).
PENDOLLY, sb. Lin. [pe-ndoli.] A child's doll.
(Hall.), Lin.^
PENDULE, see Pendle, sb}
PEN-FEATHER, sb. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Not. Lin. Nhp. War. Wor. Shr. Also in forms
-fedder Cum.* n.Yks. ; -fither s.Chs.' [pe'n-fe(53(r.] 1. A
young, not properly developed quill feather. Also used
Jig. See Pen, sb.'^ 3.
Dur.i s.Not. A don't like pluckin this fowl ; it's all pen-feathers
(J.P.K.). n.Lin.i 'To pull out his pen-feathers' means very
seriously to injure another. Nhp.^, Wa.r.^^ Shr.' Pe'n-fidh-ur ;
Shr.2
Hence (i) Pen-feathered, adj. having an undergrowth
of young, undeveloped feathers ; also used Jig. ; (2) Pen-
feddery, adj. half-fledged.
(i) Cum. (J.D.), Cum.* s.Chs.i 'Yolooken despert pen-fithered,'
said to a man, would imply that he was dirty, unshaven, and
sickly -looking ; used to a woman, it would signify that her hair
was frowsy and untidy, &c. The metaphor refers to the untidy
appearance of a fowl, which has not been properly penned.
sNot. (J.P.K.) Lin. N. &= Q. (1878) 5th S. x. 98; (R.E.C.) ;
Lin.i Are the birds bubs or pen-feathered ? i.e. have they got their
quill feathers. n.Lin.i My lad works a deal oher hard ; he looks
real pen-featherd, he duz. Shr.' I want to send some o' them
ducks to markit, but I see they bin despert pen-fithered. Oxf.^
'Em bent pen-feathered it [yet]. (2) n.'Xks. T'yung birds is pen-
feddery (I.W.).
2. A fledgehng. ne.Lan.\ Wor. (J.R.W.) 3. A horse
whose hair is rough. ne.Lan.^ Wor. (J.R.W.) Hence
Pen-feathered, adj. having the hair rough and bristly ;
applied esp. to a horse's coat. Also nstd Jig.
Nhb. (R.O.H.), w.Yks.i, Lin. (Hall.) sw.Lln.i Said of the
hair, when in rough and untidy locks ; or of the skin, when rough
and contracted with cold.
PENG A, sb. Sh.L [pe'nga.] Money. S. & Ork.^
[Dan. /e«^^, money (Larsen).]
PENGILY, adj n.Yks.^ Also in form pengy. Sickly,
pensive ; also used advb.
' She leuks at it varry pengily,' — the sickly cow at her food.
PENHEAD, s^>. ^.Obs. Sc. The upper part of a 'mill-
lead ' where the water is carried off from the dam to
the mill.
They take in water from the river Don, at the intake or pen-
head of the meal-mill, Fraserof FraserJield(iSo^)s2ij{]AM.); The
mill-lead of the said field maybe about four feet broad near to the
penhead, ib. 235.
PENIQUE, adj. Cor.^ [psnrk.] Firm, precise, neat.
She's a penique little thing. You are looking quite penique.
PENITENT-FORM, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. I.Ma. The
communion-rail; a special place in front of the communion-
rail where penitents professing or desiring conversion take
their seat. ? In gen. use among Wesleyan and Primitive
Methodists.
n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) Lan. An' yond's the penitent-form, AcK-
WORTH Clog Shop Chron. (1896) 305. I.Ma. The Testament falling
open on to the penitent-form, Caine Deemster (1889) 15.
PENITERRY, s6. Irel. [pe-nitari.] The pellitory-of-
the-wall, Parietaria officinalis.
A weed called, locally at least, Peniterry, to which the suddenly
terrified [schoolboy] idler might run in his need, grasping it hard
and threateningly, and repeating the following ' words of power' :
' Peniterry, peniterry, that grows by the wall, Save me from a
whipping, or I pull you roots and sSS.,' Father Connell,yi\i,va. (B. & H.).
PENJE, see Peenge.
PENK, V?- and sb. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. [peqk.] 1. v.
To strike a slight blow ; to hit or strike feebly. Fig. to
work ineffectually; to make a feeble attempt. Cf. pink, w."
Lan. Two foos — stonnin' up an' penkin' at one another's faces,
Waugh Chim. Corner (1874) 154, ed. 1879 ; Watchin th' masons
penkin at stones Wi' their little picks, Clegg Sketches (1895) 108 ;
Th' poor owd womun (God help hur) kept penkink un penkink,
Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 38 ; Lan.i e.Lan."^ To pick at with the
bill, as fowls when fighting.
Hence Penking, (1) sb. a tap, slight blow ; a feeble
attempt ; (2) ppl. adj. feeble, ineffectual ; not suitable for
the purpose intended.
(i) Lan. I fancied, however, that I heard one or two sly penkins
at the plates, followed by gasps from scalded mouths, Brierley-
Cast upon World (1886) 120. (2) -w.Yks. This is a lad' chisel. Ah
can't hannle a penkin' thing like this (S.K.C.).
2. To hunt along a hedge for birds, with stones and
catapults. s.Wm. (J.A.B.) S. sb. A slight blow ; a tap.
Lan. I'll have a penk at his piggin, Waugh Jannock (1874) ix;
A blow with a stick or other instrument. 'Aw gan 'im a good penk'
(S.W.). Chs.i A bricklayer's labourer said : 'If tha does that again
aw'l gie thee a penk wi' th' brick hommer beak.'
4. Fig. A try, an attempt, experiment.
Lan. I'll have a penk at weddin' afore I dee, Waugh Hermit
Cobbler, vi.
[1. Sw. dial, pikka, pekka, pinka, to strike softly (Rietz).]
PENK, I/.2 e.Lan.i To cough.
PENK, PENKAFEL, PENKER, see Pink, sb.^, v.',
Pinkiefield, Panker.
PENKET, sb. Obs. Lan. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A measure of small coal.
e.Lan, The poorer people were in the habit of going to the pits . . .
PENKIN
[467]
PENNY
and bu3'ing a 'penket' (a less measure than a basket) of a cheaper
kind of small coal, which was commonly called ' penky,' Cy. Wds.
(1867) No. xiii. 208.
PENKIN, /*/. adj. Yks. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Studying, esp. in phr. to put on one's penkin
cap, to put on one's thinking cap, to think hard. w.Yks.
Yks. Wkly. Post (May 22, 1897).
PENKL, V. Sh.I. [pe-r)kl.] To twinkle, sparkle.
S. & Ork.i
PENKLE, sJ. Per. (Jam.) A rag, fragment.
PENKLE, V. Lan. [pe-qkl.] To trifle, waste time on
matters of little importance. Cf. pingle, 2.
Penklin' abeawtth'heawse an' th' garden, BRiERLEY/^*«/afe(i868)
102 ; Lan.i
PENKY, sb. Lan. [pe-rjki.] 1. Obs. or obsol. A
cheap kind of small coal.
e.Lan. In common use in Rochdale and the neighbourhood thirty
or forty years ago, where coals were then sold by measure at the
pits in that locality. Numbers of the poorer people were in the
habit of going to the pits ... and buying a ' penket "... of a cheaper
kind of small coal, and which was commonly called ' penky,' Cy.
Wds. (1867) No. xiii. 208.
2. Cheap, common ale.
Damp thi woindpipe wi this penky, un then let's have thi tale.
Wood Hum. Sketches, 14 ; Alot o weighvurs drinkin penky, Staton
B. Shuttle Manch. 36 ; Very common (R.P.). e.Lan. When the
new beer act came into operation, ale was sold in the beer-houses
at threepence and fourpence per quart. The cheap ale was com-
monly called 'penky,' Cy. Wds. (1867) N0.xiii.208; e.Lan."- ni.Lan.i
Penky's woss nor fourp'ny, aw think.
PEN(N, PENNARD, PENNATH, see Pend, s6.',
Pennyworth.
PENNER, sb.'^ Sc. Also written pennar (Jam.) ; and
in form pennart (Jam.) Fif. [pe'ner.] 1. Obs. A writer,
composer ; a scribbler.
Sc. I shall not here, with burlesque penners. Carp at her beauty,
wit, or manners, Maidment Pasquils (1868) 285. Slg. I appeal the
devisers, penners, and allowers of that detestable libel before the
High Tribunal, Bruce Sermons (1631) 179, ed. 1843. Rnf. The
unhappiness to differ from the appointer of the day and the penners
of the proclamation so much, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) I. 466,
ed. 1843.
2. A tin cylinder or tube used for holding pens,
pencils, &c.
Bnff. The exporters were always loaded with white iron penners
to fetch a drink for the drouthy neighbours in the interior [of the
School], Gordon Chron. Keith {i&&o)6g. Abd. This bought a bulk
and thatapenner, Shi'rti.'ets Sale Catal. (1795) 4; Each boy carrying
a tin tube, called a penner, for holding his pens and slate pencils,
Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 214. Fif. Colville Vernacular
(J899) 19.
PENNER, sb?- Sus. [pe-ns(r).] [Not known to our
correspondents.] A ' trunk ' for preserving fish alive.
He had the eels in a penner behind his boat on Monday morning,
w.Sus. Gazette (Dec. 20, 1877) in N, 6^ Q. (1879) 5th S. xi. 245.
PENNET, s6. Obs. Som. Dev. A sheep or cow pen ;
an occasional pen used for sheep or cows. Cf. penning, 1.
Som. (Hall.) n.Dev. Wi' tha zame tha splettest away-down
tha Pennet — hilter skilter, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 172; Horae
Subsecivae (1777) 323.
PENNETH, see Pennyworth.
PENNETT,s6. w.Yks.s [pe'nit.] A sweetmeat of the
' humbug ' (q.v.) kind, cut in form like a double pyramid.
[Penide, a pennet, the little wreath of sugar taken in a
cold, CoTGR. ME. & OFr. penyde, Gr. nriviSinv, a thread
round which sugar has been allowed to crystallize (Alphtta
(note) 139) ; see Skeat's Notes to P. Plowman (c.) vii. 88.]
PENNIES, sb. pi. Sc. Cum. Chs. [pe'niz.] In phr.
pennies apiece, one penny each. See Pence apiece.
Sc. Common, N. if Q. (1856) 2nd S. ii. 118. Cum. Dancers pat
i' Brammery's hat Pennies apiece for th' fiddler, Gilpin Sngs.
(1866) 280 ; Cum." They got pennies a-piece. They cost pennies-
apiece. Chs.i; Chs.^ ' How's eggs goin to-day, missis?' 'Pennies
apiece, sir.'
PENNIKIN, see Pinnickin.
PENNILESS, «(^: Cum.* In cow6. Penniless doctor,
a small, red-bodied insect. See Penny-doctor, s.v. Penny,
sb.' 3 (2).
PENNING, sb. n.Cy. Nhb. Dur. Also Nhp. Som.
Also written pennin Nhp.^ Som. [pe'nin.] 1. Any
temporary enclosure for cattle ; the enclosed place where
cattle are fed or watered.
Nhp.i Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825); (J.S.F.S.);
(F.A.A.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
2. Stones paved to form a watercourse.
N.Cy.i Nhb. He tried to cross the river where a penning had
been made, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VIII. 115;
Nhb.i Dur. Obs. Raine Charters, tfc, Finchale (1837) 375.
3. Mining term : spouting used to form a watercourse.
Nhb.' The penning was swimming about on the top of the water,
Scott Coal Mines (1868) 55.
PENNOCK, s6. n.Yks.i2 [pe'nak.] The young of the
coal-fish, Merlangus carbonarius, in their first stage of
growth.
PENNOCK, PENNORD, see Pinnock, sb., Pennyworth.
PENNY, s6.i and v.'^ Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [pe'ni.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Penny-apiece, a
street-seller of penny articles ; also used attrib. ; (2)
-bake, a penny roll or biscuit ; (3) -boo, a large top ; (4)
■bowl, a small bowl or dish ; (5) — brag, a game ; (6)
■breid, a penny loaf; penny loaves; (7) -brick, a small
roll of bread; (8) -bridal, obs., a wedding at which each
of the guests contributed to the expenses ; (9) -cast, a
game; see below; (10) -cookie, apenny baker's roll; abun;
(11) -duck, a mixture of pig's lights and blood, seasoned
with herbs; (12) -earth, see below ; (13) -father, a miser;
(14) -fee, money, wages; (15) -fettle, see below; (16)
-friend, a deceitful, interested friend ; (17) — gaff, a penny
theatre; seeGaff,s6.^; (18) — Herioter,oAs.,aball;seebelow;
(19) -hole or -hoi], the office where time-keeping is checked
by a system of metal checks resembling pennies in shape
and size ; (20) — hop, (a) a low-class dance, where each
person pays a penny ; {b) obs., a benefit-night party held at
an inn where a landlord was about to leave ; (21) -jug, a
pitcher ; (22) -land, a measure of land in Shetland and
Orkney ; (23) -liggan or -laggin, out of pocket, with an
empty purse ; also in phr. to come home with Penny Liggan ;
(24) -liggy, penniless ; (25) -master, obs., a term formerly
applied to the treasurer of a town, society, or corporate
body; (26) — measure, a clay lying above the Penny-
stone (q.v.), from which coarse earthenware is manu-
factured ; (27) -note, .' a forged bank-note ; (28) -packing-
day, see below ; (29) -pap, see (2) ; (30) -pay, (a) ready
money ; (6) to pay a mechanic separately for each job in
contradistinction to contracting ; (31) -pie, a fall on the
ice ; (32) -pieces, nodules of argillaceous ironstone ; (33)
-pig, a money-box ; (34) -pig-luck, the money returned
for luck to the buyer of a pig ; (35) -pot, [a) a small money
or thrift box ; (b) a pimple on the face caused by drink ;
(36) -prick, a game consisting of throwing oblong pieces of
iron at a mark ; see (9) ; (37) — reel, obs., a dance at which
admission was paid for; (38) -shell, the nummulite of the
Fuller's earth-bed, so called from its compressed spherial
form, and from its being found in the ' Penny-earth ' (q.v.) ;
(39) -siller, money, hard cash ; (40) -some, profitable by
small items ; (41) -stipend, money, salary ; (42) -stone, («)
a flat circular stone, a quoit ; //. a game played with these
stones; (6) see below; (43) -stone-cast, a distance not greater
than a man can throw a quoit ; (44) -swag, a man who sells
articles at a penny a lot in the streets ; (45) -tight, short
of money ; (46) -trist, the money for articles sold on
credit ; (47) -wabble, beer of a very weak kind, sold at a
penny a bottle ; (48) -warse price, a sum beneath the
value ; (49) -wedding, see (8J ; (50) -whaup, (51) -whip or
-wheep, see (47) ; (52) -whittle, a boy's cheap knife,
formerly sold for a penny ; (53) -winner, a scanty wage-
earner; (54) -wisdom, injudicious economy.
(i)Lon.The original 'penny apiece' died fouryears ago, Mayhew
Lond. Labour (1851) I. 447 ; The ' penny apiece' or ' swag' trade
. . . was originated by a man who, some 19 years ago, sold a variety
of trifles from a teatray in Petticoat-lane, ib. (2) Cld. (Jam.)
(3) Bnff.i (4) Ayr. She stude for a meenont wi' een like penny
bowls and fell skreighin' in a fit. Service Notandums (1890) 119.
(5) Fif. He'll be playing ' penny brag ' in here or at Bindalow's,
302
PENNY
[468]
PENNY
Meldrum Margre'del (i8g4) 18. (6) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) (7) Nhb.i
(8) Sc. He not loving to be idle Turns cook to any penny-bridle,
CoLViL Whigs Suppl. (ed. 1796) I. 182. ne.Sc. The feast was at
times paid for by each guest, and when such was done it was
called a penny wedding or penny bridal, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881)
93. Bnff. In respect of the many abuses and disorders that falls
out at penny brydals. Presbytery Bk. (1631-54) 4, ed. 1843. (9)
■w.Yks.^ A game played with round flat stones, about four or six
inches across, being similar to the game of quoits ; sometimes
played with pennies, when the 'hobs' are a deal nigher. (10)
Sh.I. Tell him, sir, the Muse is dead. Starved on tea and penny
cookies, JuNDA Klingrahool {i8g8) 16. (11) w.Yks. Dyer Dial.
(1891') 99. (12) Nhp.i A stoney earth, with a great number of
sea-shells in it. Some of those shells being flat and roundish,
resembling some of our ordinary pieces of money, or imagined to
do so, have occasioned it that name of Penny-earth, Morton Hisl.
65. . . This name is still retained at Kettering, and appropriated to
that portion of the Fuller's earth beds which abounds with its
characteristic shell, the Ostrea acuminata; Nhp.° Bdf. Under the
rock is penny-earth, used for making-floors, barn-floors, &c.,
Batchelor Agric. (1813"! 8. (13) Hrt. An old penny-father, that
would not allow his cattle meat enough, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750)
V. vi. (14) Sc. Till then there is bed, and meat, and the penny-fee,
'Lksc Monk of Fife {i8']6') 57 ; Naehauding but his penny-fee, Scott
Rob Roy (1817) xxiv. Kcd. She must na grudge her penny fee
To buy a marriage frock, Grant Lays (1884). Per. Wearied with
toil for the poor penny fee, Spence Poems (1898) 80. Dmb, Twa
stout arms to work for penny fee, Salmon Goivodeaii (1868) 102.
Rnf. Waes my heart ! the pennj'-fee To wife an' wee anes awin',
Picken Poems (1813) I. 93. Ayr. The master that I served there,
being in debt, ran away, by which cause I lost my penny fee, Galt
Gilhaize (1823) xxi. Lnk. Nicholson Idylls (1870) 11. Edb. Bal-
LANTiNE Gafec/MMsw (ed. 1875) 7. Dmf.Wha seeks but for the penny
fee In God's grand vineyard gets nae mair, Thom Jock o' Knowe
(1878) 10. (15) n.Yks.2 ' I'm not in penny-fettle,' I am unprovided
with money. (i6) Cld. (Jam.) (17) Wor. (W.C.B.) Lon. Inmany
of the thoroughfares of London there are shops which have been
turned into a kind of temporary theatre (admission one penny). . .
These places are called by the costers ' Penny Gaffs,' Mayhew Loitd.
Labour (1851) I. 40. (18) Edb. Playing at the ba' is also a favourite
game with the boys of Edinburgh, and ' penny Herioters ' were at
one time very celebrated. These balls were manufactured by the
boys of George Heriot's Hospital, and, from this circumstance, got
the name of 'Herioters,' Blackw. Mag. (Aug. 1821) 36. (19) w.Yks.
Doady recognised th' timekeeper as him at kept th' penny-hoil
wheear he worked, BiCKERDiKE Z)D«rf)i iJraaK, 48 ; (J.M.) (20,0)
w.Yks. Roberts Tom and Charles (1850) 88; w.Yks.^ A rude
dance which formerly took place in the common taverns of Sheffield,
usually held after the bull-baiting ; w.Yks.* Lon. A private dance
at a tavern, attended by whores and apprentices, Grose (1790)
MS. add. (M.) ; (Hall.) Dev. A country club of dancers, where
each person pays a penny to the fidler, Gkose ib. (6) Cum.*
(21) s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421. (22) Sh.I. The skat
[was] assessed on the marks in a pennyland, Sh. News (Apr. 30,
1898) ; Shetland, as part of the earldom of Orkney, must have
been originally divided into ounce and pennylands, ib. Or.I. The
arable lands called pennylands, merk-lands, farthing-lands, and
cowsworths, Fergusson Rambles (1884) 143; None of these
pennylands, or other terms, indicate any definite extent of ground ;
and they are of different extent in different towns. But all the
pennylands, marks or cowsworths in the same town are of equal
extent, Peterkin A^ote (1822) 6. (23) Cor. ' He's coming home
with Penny Liggan,' sometimes ' Peter Lacken, ' signifies the return
ofa penniless scapegrace. Theterm was probably 'penny lacking'
originally. Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 425, ed. 1896 ; Cor.^
(24) Cor. 12 (25) Sc. (Jam.) (a6) Shr.== (27) Edb. A scaw'd bit
o' a penny note That lost a score o' shillins To her that day,
Fergusson Poems (1773) 133, ed. 1785. (28) Nlib.i The last day
of the fair, when the dealers were packing their goods, and were
supposed to sell cheaply to save the further trouble and expense of
carrying away their unsold things. Like the toy fair itself, the
term is almost obs. (29) Cld. (Jam.) (30, a) n.Yks.2 ' Penny-pay
is far afoore penny-trist,' ready money is better than credit
given. (6) Nhb.i Gen. used in dealings with the country blacksmith.
(31) Lakel.2 Cum. In winter, the spwort daily wish'd for was
sleydin, Tho' shiv'rn, we oft gat a sad penny pye, Anderson
Ballads (ed. 1840) 59 ; Cum.i (s.v. Cold pie) ; Cum.* (32) s.Wal.
Ssiyth Cat. Mineral Coll. (1864) 49. (33) Sc. Laying up his penny
a-week pocket-money in a penny-pig, Blackw. Mag. (Sept. 1828)
280; (Jam.) Edb. When he had collected half a crown in a penny
pig, MoiRArBKS<«f^«j(c/i (1828) xxii. (34)n.Yks.2 (35, a) w.Yks.
In common use at Wakefield 50 years ago, Yks. Wkly. Post (May
I, 1897). (6) w.Yks.i (36) w.Yks.2* [A sport, throwing at
halfpence placed upon sticks which are called Hobs, Grose (1790)
MS. add. (P.)] (37) Sc. I figured at 'penny reels,' 'bottlings,'
and 'washing o' aprons,' Sc. Haggis, 161. Ayr. They had been
haein' penny reels there yestreen. Service Notandums (1890) 122.
Lnk. To join the penny reels, Whaur to 'Jenny dang the Weaver '
Blythely they flung up their heels, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895)
72. (38) Nhp.i2 (gg) Sc. Set a lass on Tintock tap, Gin she hae
the penny siller. The wind will blaw a man till her, Chambers
Pop. Rhymes (1870) 392. ne.Sc. A' yer penny siller's either in
the grun' or in yer fairm stockin' an' implements. Grant Chron.
Keckleton, in. Bnff. I hae a penny siller, I'm sure will get a
graun' Man till her, Taylor Poems (1787) 59. Abd. They flee
unto the law, and haggle wi't till they Are wearied or their peny-
siller's done, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 8. Rnf. Donald looked
o'er them a' [her faults], A' his thoughts the penny siller, Webster
Rhymes (1835) 97. Edb. Her nane-sell wad tak gude care How
she the penny-siller ware, Crawford Poems (1798) 40. Dmf.
Cromek Remains {1810) 100. Gall. Lauderdale Poems (1796) 90.
(40) Cum.i* (41) Lnk. His wee bit penny stipen' [He] aye gat
keepin'tohimsel', Nicholson Kilwuddie (18^5) 44. (42,a)Sc.(jAM.)
Heb. Do you mind yon game of penny-stanes ? Sarah TytlerA/ac-
donald Lass (1895) 187. Edb. Penny-stanes are played much in the
same manner as the quoit or discus of the ancient Romans, Blackw.
Mag. (Aug. 1821) 35. N.Cy.i, Nhb.^, Lakel.* Cum. Some plaid at
pennice-steans for brass, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1805) 133 ; Cum.*,
w.Yks.i (J) shr. Marshall Review (1818) II. 199; Shr.i The
Penny Stone is the most remarkable and productive iron-stone in
Shropshire. It is composed of a series of nodules, producing from
2,000 to 2,600 tons to the acre, and contains about 35 per cent, of
iron. . . The Penny Stone is interesting with its appearance and
evidence of the piercing by burrowing worms, which have left, as
a writer says, ' heaps of excretions at the doors of their dwellings,'
Parton Coal-field (1868) ; Shr.^ A measure of iron stone about
nine yards thick. (43) Sc. (Jam.); Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.)
(44) Lon. The miscellaneous dealers of whom I am treating, who
are known among street-folk as ' swag-barrowmen,' or, in the
popular ellipsis, ' penny swags,' MAYaEwLond. Labour{i8$i] 1. 447.
(45) sw.Lin.i He's a badly wife, and that's kep' him penny-tight.
(46)n.Yks.2 (47)Bnff.i (48) n.Yks.^ (49) n.Sc. In the Highlands,
until about a century ago, the bride walked round the wedding
party at the close of the ceremony, saluting each with a kiss. A
dish was then passed round, in which each deposited a coin, the
amount collected being given to the bride. The term ' penny-
wedding' appears to have arisen from this custom. Owing to the
large number of guests entertained .. . it was usual for the neighbours
to assist in providing for them. Landowners gave beef, mutton, and
venison; farmers, poultry and dairy produce; and the minister
and the schoolmaster lent cooking utensils, Andrews Ch.Life (1899)
223. Elg. A penny-wedding is when the expence of the marriage
entertainment is not defrayed by the young couple or their relations,
but by a club among the guests. Statist. Ace. IV. 86, note (Jam.).
Abd. 'And what's a penny wedding 1 ' . . ' We a' gang to the weddin'
and eats an' drinks plenty an' pay for a' 'at we hae ; an' they mak'
a guid profit oot o' it,' Macdonald Malcolm (1875) I. 41. SIg. Ae
day I caper'd at a penny wedding, Galloway Poems (1804) 69.
Lnk. Will ye mak a penny wedding? Graham Writings (1883)
II. 59 ; Originally, pennies were contributed by those present, and
any overplus, after providing for the wedding feast, went towards
assisting the young couple in their furnishing, ib. note. Edb. At
blithe penny-weddin' . . . Sic ribbons, sic ringlets, sic feathers are
fleein', Maclagan Poems (1851) 65. Slk. Riding . . . away to Kate
Cheyne's penny-wedding, Hogg Tales (1838) 284, ed. 1866. (50)
Fif. Treacle-peerie, made of sweetened water mixed with barm to
produce a kind of ale, and feebler even than penny- whaup, Colville
Vernacular (1899) 15. (51) Sc. Twenty years back . . . the poor
man was able to get desirably tipsy upon penny-whip for twopence,
Blackw. Mag. (Dec. i8ai) 671. Rnf. Unlike the poor, sma' penny-
wheep Whilk worthless, petty change-folk keep, Tannahill Poems
(1807) 81 (Jam.). Ant. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Lan. ib. (P.) ;
Cy. fFrfs. (1867) No. xiii. 208. Chs.is (52) e.Yks.i (53) Per. The
peddling thrift of penny-winners Is gone to publicans and sinners,
Spence Poetns (1898) 85. (54) Nbp.^ It is penny-wisdom when a
person will buy an inferior article, rather than expend a little more
money for a good one.
2. Comb, in plant-names : (i) Penny-cake or -cakes, (2)
-caps, (3) -cod, the leaves of the navel- or wall pennywort,
Cotyledon Umbilicus \ (4) -cress, the wild cress, Thlaspi
arvense ; (5) -grass, (a) the yellow rattle, Rhinanihus
PENNY
[469]
PENNYWINKLE
Crista-galli ; [b) the panick-grass, var. species oi Panicum;
(c) see (3) ; (6) -hat or -hats, see (3) ; (7) -hedge or -in-
the-hedge, the garhc mustard, Alliaria officinalis ; (8) —
John, the common St. John's wort, Hypericum perforatum ;
(9) -leaves, see (3) ; (10) -pies, (a) see (3) ; (b) the Cornish
moneywort, Sibthorpia europaea ; (11) -plates, see (3) ;
(12) -rattle, see (5, a) ; (13) -rot, the marsh pennywort,
Hydrocotyle vulgaris ; (14) -wall, see (3) ; (15) -weed,
see (5, a).
(i) s.Pem. (W.M.M.), s.Dev. Cor.i ; Cor.2 Children string
them to resemble a pile of pennies. (2) Som. (W.F.R.), Dev. (3)
Cor. (4)Edb.PENNECuiKrFfo.(i7i5)i64,ed.i8i5. (5,a)Ir. e.Yks.
Soe soone as the pennie-grass beginne to welke and seeme dry,
Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 31. Lan. Science Gossip (1882) 164.
Chs.i It is always considered that hay grass is ready for mowing
when the penny grass comes into flower ; Chs.^ Supposed to be
injurious to grass, by growing on the roots. When the seeds
rattle, some people cut their hay. Nhp.^ The seed-vessels of the
plant are round and flat, resembling pence, which accounts for
the designation. Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) IV. i. 103. {¥)
Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 717; Lin.i (c) Frm. (6)
Dev.4 (7) Wor., Nrf. (8) Nrf. (9) Wtf. Som. From its round
flat leaves. (10, o) Sus., Dev.*, Cor. (b) Cor. (11) Dev. (12)
Sus.'^ (13) Shr. (14) I.Ma. These penny walls and little ferins
has got a very putty [pretty] appearance. Brown Doctor (1887)
244, ed. i8gr. (15) Midi. Marshall if«r. Econ. (1796) II.
3. Comb, in names of birds, fishes, &c. : (i) Penny-bird,
the little grebe, Trachybapies fluvialilis ; {2) -doctor, a
small red-bodied insect ; see Penniless doctor ; (3) -dog,
the dog-fish, Galeus vulgaris ; (4) -men, a bird term applied
to the smaller waders ; (5) -sow, a wood-louse ; (6) -wag-
tail, the water wagtail, Moiacilla lugubris.
(i) n.Ir. (J.S.); N.I.i Also called ' Drink-a-penny.' Ant.
SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 216. (2) Cum.>4 (3) Sus. (F.E.S.)
[Satchell (1879).] (4) Nhb.i (5) Pern. (W.H.Y.) s.Pem.
(W.M.M.) ; Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421. (6) e.An. (Hall.),
Suf.i e.Suf. e.An. Dy. Times (1892).
4. Phr. (i) penny in hand, ready money, cash ; (2) — o'
money, see below ; (3) — o' rent, small money rent ; (4)
— o' siller, a sum of money ; (5) clean as a penny, (a) said
of any one neatly and cleanly dressed; (b) entirely, com-
pletely ; (6) to live by the penny, to purchase all that one
consumes, instead of living on the produce of one's own
land ; (7) to make or turn a penny, to convert anything
into money ; to buy or sell for profit.
(i) n.Yks.2 ' They're penny-in-hand fooaks,' ready-money cus-
tomers. (2) Sh.I. When the music ceased, they once more raised
the guiser's cry of Penny-o'-money ! and sure enough a bright
threepenny piece clinked merrily into their cannister, Clark
N. Gleams (1898) 152. (3) Ir. How would I, so to spake, be runnin'
me head out from under me penny of rent, Barlow Martin's
Company (1896) 9. (4) Abd. She would gar her Her purse or ten
her life surren'er. An' she's a penny o' siller on her, Anderson
Poems (ed. 1826) 60. (5, a) w.Yks. (J.W.), nw.Der.i, Nhp.l
(i) w.Yks. (J.W.) ; w.Yks.' I've lost my knife as clean as a penny.
(6) Nhp.i2 (7) Sc. (Jam.) Cai.' '"To mak a bonny penny of
a thing' is to make a large profit out of it. Edb. She was making
a bonnie penny here, Beatty Secretar (1897) 86. w.Yks. (J.W.),
w.Yks.i, Nhp.l
5. Money, a sum of money, cash ; small earnings or
income. Also in phr. the penny.
Sc. The ' mair penny ' means more money, higher price, better
advantage. To sell an article for the ' maist penny ' is to sell it
at its highest market price or to the highest bidder (Jam. Suppl.).
Elg. Feint a-flea, man, car'd we, man. As lang's we drew the
penny. Tester Poems (1865) 127. Kcd. In the brak' o' a bank
His penny an' Efiie's thegither Were equally swallowed an'
sank, Grant Lays (1884) 199. s.Sc. Her tocher was a trifle
sma', A hard-earned, weel-saved pennie, Watson Bards (1859)
171. Slg. WoDRow Sc/. £jo^. (ed. 1845-7) I. 268. Ayr. It comes
to a bonny penny when a' things are puttin' thegither, Johnston
Glenbuckie (1889) 74; Are ye herding the penny ? Burns Ortltodox,
St. 8. Lnk. My sister she sneers 'cause he hasna the penny,
Rodger Poems (1838) 25, ed. 1897. Gall. A wily, spruce, and
nipping blade, Wha made the penny aye his trade, Nicholson
Poet. Wks. (1814) 57, ed. 1897. Don. Oh, but I considher that
a big penny, Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 233. w.Yks. Itl
kost o boni peni [a large sum of money] (J.W.).
6. v. To levy a penny fine upon workers five minutes
behind time; to check workers by a system of metal
checks, resembling pennies in shape and size.
w.Yks. ' Dooant yo penny 'em nah ? ' asked Doady o' th' time-
keeper, BicKERDiKE Doady Braan, 48 ; If aw dooant luk sharp
aw'st be pennied, ib. ; The ' pennying ' process — that is, the
levying of a penny fine upon all who are five minutes behind
time — has been abandoned, Cudworth Bradford (1876) 45.
PENNY, J/.2 and sb.'^ [pe'ni.] 1. v. To eat much and
with great gusto ; to feed, fare.
Bnff.i- He penniet the broth an' beef intil 'im. He penniet in
the biscuit an' bilet berries. Abd. On them [Etnagh-berries] she
penny'd well, and starker grew, Ross Helenore (1768) 62, ed. 1813.
2. sb. The act of eating.
Bnff.i Used of food more dainty than ordinary ; as, ' They hid
a right penny o' the mairts inside.'
PENNY, adf Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Lin. War. Wor. Shr.
[pe'ni.] 1. Said of poultry when the skin is full of
sprouting feathers. See Pen, 5^.' 8.
w.Yks. (S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.i A fowl is ' penny' when the feathers
cannot be thoroughly plucked out ; w.Yks.^^, Lan. (S.W.), Chs.l,
s.Chs.i, n.Lin.i sw.Lin.i I'm dressing a fowl but it's very penny.
War.2 w.Wor.i I dunna like to ause to sell them fowls to any-
body. Thaay be so penny you canna pluck 'em clean, try 'ow
you will ! Shr.i
2. Of the hair of animals, &c. : rough, bristly. Of trees :
dead and bare at the top.
Not. His coat is very penny (J.H.B.) ; Not.^ A lamb is said to
be ' penny' when it is ill and shows it by its wool being up and
rough. Lin.i The hair of the foal looks very penny. sw.Lin.'
They are growing so penny, I doubt they'll do no more good.
3. Cold, starved, having 'pen-flesh' (q.v.). w.Yks."
PENNY, int. Yks. Lin. [pe'ni.] A call to turkeys to
come and be fed. e.Yks. (Miss A.), n.Lin.^ See Pen, int.
PENNY-DOG, sb. Sc. Nhb. [pe'ni-dog.] A person that
dogs another person's footsteps. Cf. pirrie-dog, s.v. Pirrie.
Sc. He haunts me like a penny-dog, Watson Coll. Sngs. (1706)
I. II (Jam.). Sh.L Foo raony vaiges is doo gaein ta hae me
rinnin' laek a penny dog? Sh. News (Nov. 11, 1899). Nhb. ^ He
follows me like a penny-dog.
PENNY-HEADED, a<^'. Brks. A corruption of 'opinion-
ated.' (A.C.)
PENNY -HEDGE, s6. Yks. [pe'ni-edg.] A fence or
hedge set up annually on the eastern shore of Whitby
harbour, at the Feast of the Ascension ; see below.
n.Yks. The planting of the horngarth, or ' pennyhedge,' per-
formed at Whitby on Wednesday, is one of the most curious, in
its origin, of the several ancient customs which survive in England.
According to a legend dating from 1315 ' the lords of Sneaton and
Ugglebarnby, with others, whilst hunting the boar, did mortally
injure an hermit, who dared to protect the quarry,' and as penance
for the outrage it was decreed that thenceforth the local lord and
his successors should plant a certain number of stakes in the
tideway. The ' penance ' has been performed annually ever since,
Dy. Mail (May 25, 1900) ; The so-called Penny-hedge observance ;
I mean the making of fences or hedges by aid of stakes and
wattle-work, Atkinson Whitby (1894) 234 ; n.Yks.^ A hedge of
wicker work set up annually ... by the holders of certain lands who
carry out, in semblance, the injunction laid down in the ' Penny-
hedge Legend.' . . The performance involved is called the ' Horn-
garth Service,' or the ' Setting of the Penny Hedge,' ib. Pref. 13.
PENNY-MOUCHER, s6. Wil.^ The fruit of the black-
berry, Rubusfructicosus. A corr. of Berry-moucher (q.v.).
Cf. perry-moucher.
PENNYTAG, sb. Yks. A boys' game, very similar
to ' Rag-stag ' (q.v.). n.Yks. (I.W.)
PENNY- WIDDIE, see Ponthe-widdie.
PENNYWINKLE, sb. Nhb. Yks. Der. War. Brks. Suf.
Ken. Dev. Also in forms pennyrinkle Dev.*; -wilk
Nhb. ; -wink Ken. [pe'niwiqkl.] The periwinkle.
Nhb. Pennywilks, crabs, an lobsters aw bring, Allan Tyneside
5«^5. (ed. 1891) 406 ; Nhb.i e.Yks.ii/5. arf^^. (T.H.) nw.Der.i,
War .3, Brks.i, Suf.' Ken. ' Pennywink, wink, O ! ' ' Pennywink '
from old Joe always brought some one or other to the door for
a pint of winkles, Ann. Fishing Village (ed. 1892) 122. Dev.*
[OE. pinewincla uel sa-sn^l (.SIlfric), in Wright's Voc.
(1884) 122.]
PENNYWORTH
[470]
PENTE
PENNYWORTH, sb. Van dial, forms and uses in Sc.
Irel. and Eng. [Fe-n3|>.] I. Dial, forms : (i) Pennard,
(2) Pennath, (3) Pennerd, (4) Pennert, (5) Penneth, (6)
Pennord, (7) Pennorth, (8) Pennuth, (9) Pen'ord, (lo)
Punnah, (11) Punnath, (12) Punner, (13) Punnor, (14)
Pun-or.
(i) Dev.i (2) w.Yks.l (3) Dev. I want'th dree pennerd ov
nits, plaize, missis, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). nw.Dev.i, Cor."
(4) Bch. Forbes Jrn. (1742) 17. (5) Dev.i (6) Cor. Flk-Lore
Jrn. (1886) IV. 238 ; Cor.3 (7) Uls. A pennorth o' rat pooshin,
M^Ilroy Craiglinnie (igoo) 23. Lan.i, Nhp.l, War.3 Ess. A
pennorth bote Ov lollipops or candy, Clark/. Noakes (1839) st.
156. Sus. Buy a penn'orth of bull's-ej'es, Egerton Flk. and
Ways (1884) 30. Dor. To buy a penn'orth of rathe-ripes of that
tree yonder. Harper's Mag. (Dec. 1900) 26. Dev. Such a poor
pennorth as you, Phillpotts Sons of Morning {t goo) 187. (8)
e.Lan.i (9) Cor. Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 11. 230. (10,
11) Snf.i (12) e.An. Here, maur, take yeow this here gotch, an'
goo an' buy a punner o' yist, N. & Q. (1872) 4th S. ix. 167. (13)
Nrf. I'll have a punnor o' 'im. Spilling Giles (1872) 6. (14) Suf.
Sell them ... by the bushel, . . the peck, . . or the pun-or, Strick-
land Old Friends (1864) 325.
II. Dial. uses. 1. \n-phr.{i) a pennyworth of Christmas,
a pennyworth of evergreens and holly; (2) — of ease is
worth a penny, old saying; (3) — of say or sea, a penny
ride in a boat on the sea ; (4) in pennyworths or two
pennyworths, in small detached or separated portions.
(i) Cor.3 (2) Nhp.i (3) Cor. They go on Midsummer day to
Falmouth or Penzance, to get ' a pen'ord o' say' — that is, they go
out in a boat on payment of a penny, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng.
(1865) II. 230; Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 238; Cor.^ (4) Bch.
Wi' a great hassick o' hair hingin in twa-pennerts about her haffats,
Forbes Jrn. (1742) 17. Ayr. A taivert tawpie wi' her hair
hingin' doon her back in pennyworths, Service Nolandums (1890)
73. n.Cy., Yks. (J.-W.)
2. A purchase, bargain. Gen. used with good or bad.
Also usedT?^., esp. of a matrimonial bargain.
Lnk. Heth she's o'er gently brought up to be a poor man's
pennyworth, Graham Writings (1883) II. 55 ; They'll get a
lumping penny-worth o' me, get me wha will, ib. 207. Don.
Them buys him for a fool 'ill have a wise penn'orth, Macmanus
Bend of Road (1898) 40. w.Yks.l To git a good pennath. My
word ! but shoe's gitten a pennorth. Not.', Lei.' Nhp.i I've got
a good penn'orth for my money. War.^ You are a very bad
pennyworth [You are not worth your salt]. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
3. Obs. Retribution, revenge.
Edb. He swore by a' that bides aboon That pennyworths he
wou'd hae soon, Liddle Poems (1821) 161 ; I hae gotten penny-
wo'th for't a', Learmont Poems (1791) 339.
4. Value for money paid.
Edb. Sending back a plack's worth of salt as not pennie-worth
enough, Maidment Spoiiiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) II. 55.
PENPALY, see Pedn-paly.
PENSE, v} Bnff.' [pens.] To walk with a measured
step and a conceited air. Gen. in prp. See Pensy, 2.
The puchal, pachtie bodie geed pensin' ben the passage.
PENSE, v.'^ e.An. [pens.] To be fretful or whining.
e.An.', Nrf. (G.E.D.), Nrf.' See Pensy, 4.
PENSEFUL, adj. Sc. [pe'nsfl.] 1. Thoughtful,
pensive, meditative. See Pensy, 1.
Rnf. Chairs that when pensefu' ye may rock in. Young Pictures
(1865) 165.
2. Proud, conceited. See Pensy, 2.
Sc. (Jam.) Rnf. Nor thus be fash'd wi' three or four, Sic
pensefu' breed, Picken Poems (1813) I. 126.
Hence Pensfu'ness, adj. self-conceit and affectation.
Sc. (Jam.)
PENSEL, sb. Obs. Sc. A small banner.
Fif. That squadron cam' in sicht Wi' bannerols and pensels
bricht, Tennant Papistry (1827) 66.
[Pensell a lytell baner, banerolle, Palsgr. OFr. penoncel,
' pennon ' (La Curne).]
PENSHENS, see Paunchings.
PENSIFUL, a^'. n.Yks.^ [pe'nsifl.] Sorrowful. See
Pensy, 1.
PENSIL, see Pinswell.
PENSIONER, sb. Lon. A street musician ; see below.
The blind street musicians, it must be confessed, belong generally
to the rudest class of performers. Mu.5ic is not used by them as a
means of pleasing, but rather as a mode of soliciting attention.
Such individuals are known in the ' profession ' by the name of
' pensioners ' ; they have their regular rounds to make, Mayhew
Land. Labour (ed. 1861) III. 159.
PEN-STOCK, sb. n.Cy. s.Cy. Sus. Hmp. [pe'n-stok.]
A flood-gate ; a sluice to a mill-dam or in a pond, &c.
N.Cy.2 s.Cy. (Hall.), Sus.2 Hmp. Holloway ; Hmp.i
PENSWELL, PENSWOLL, see Pinswell.
PENSY, adj. Sc. Cum. Wm. Also e.An. Also written
pencey Ayr. [pe'nsi.] 1. Quiet, thoughtful, pensive;
sedate.
Sc. Couthie, and pensie and sicker, Wonn'd honest young Hab
o' the Heuch, Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) I. 292 ; Her that was
now so quiet and pensy to try such a wild kind of freit seemed to
strike us all as something no canny, Whitehead Daft Davie (1876)
286, ed. 1894. Slk. It's an inspirin retreat for the inditin o' a bit
cheerfu' or pensie sang, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 177.
2. Proud, conceited ; affected in manner; smart, foppish ;
tidy in dress and appearance. Also used advb.
Sc. Helen Walker was held among her equals pensy, that is,
proud or conceited, Scott Midlothian (1818) Introd. 8, ed. 1829 ;
Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl. Cai.^ Rnf. Pensy he strootit alang
the North Brig, Picken Poems (1813) II. 134 ; Finlayson
Rhymes (1815) 112. Ayr. A pencey wee man, fou o'naething but
noise, Aitken Lays (1883) 64. Feb. The donsie dort, like pettled
cade, Wi' pensy paughty pow, Lintoun Green (1685) 81, ed. 1817.
Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351. Wm. She is a pensy
thing, i.e. has an affected manner (B.K.),
Hence (i) Pensieness, sb. self-conceit and affectation ;
(2) Pensylie, adv. in a self-important manner.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) (2) Lnk. Ribbon knots at his blue bonnet lug
Whilk pensylie he wears a thought a-jee, Ramsay Poems (1800)
II. 76 (Jam.).
3. Delicate, fastidious ; having a poor appetite.
Lake!. 2 Cum. A sick woman tells me she has a pensy appetite.
Another person, speaking of a little dog that has been'much petted,
says, ' He is so pensy, he will not touch newmiIk,'A''. fii'g. (1866)
3rd S. X. 67 ; Some pensy chiels, a new sprung race, Blamire
Poet. Wks. (ed. 1842) 200; (M.P.) ; Cum.* A snow in the month
o' May Meks pensy kye eat steydal hay. Old Saying. Wm. ' Her
appetite is so pensy.' Often applied to invahds (B.K.).
4. Fretful, peevish, uneasy ; fractious, complaining.
e.An. Commonly used. Chiefly apphed to children when they
are capricious, full of complaints, and don't know what they want,
N. &^ Q. (1866) 3rd S. X. 118; e.An.1 Chiefly applied to wayward
children. Nrf. The child has been pensy all the day ; the poor
little thing ain't well (W.R.E.) ; She is a poor pensey little thing,
CozENS-HARDYi?roarf Nrf. (1893) 99. Suf. ' Billy is a very pensy
child.' On asking exactly what was meant I was told he was
'whinnocky' (W.F.R.); Suf.i
[1. Fr. pensif, pensive, thoughtful (Cotgr.).]
PENT, pp. and sb. Yks. Nhp. Hnt. e.An. Ken. [pent.]
1. pp. Confined in space, without sufficient room in which
to do anything properly.
Nhp.i I'm quite pent up for want of room. Hnt. (T.P.F.) c.An.i
Pent for rume.
2. Hard pressed for time, esp. hard pressed to finish a
piece of work within a limited period.
w.Yks. Shah mud hev hed more sense nor ax sitch a silly
queshtan when ta sees hah pent I am for time, Saunferer's Satchel
(1877) 7 ; Charley was always ' pent ' when the end of the week
came, and it was time to ' liver in,' Cudworth Dial. Slietches
(1884) 125; The risk of being 'pent' at 'carrying-day,' Ylis.
N. & Q. (1888) I. 78. Nhp.i ' I'm so pent, I shall not finish my
work,' is said by artisans at the end of the week. Obsol. Hnt.
(T.P. F.) e.An.i Pent for time. Nrf. We are not so pent for half-
an-hour. Rye Hist. (1885) xv.
3. sb. An enclosed piece of water.
Ken. The harbour at Dover is so called ; and the Baptist Chapel
near it is called Pentside Chapel (W.F.S.).
4. The time allotted for certain work.
w.Yks. The pent will cease so-and-so. ' I've got the pent off,'
i. c. succeeded by diligence in getting the piece off the loom at the
due time (S.A.B.).
Hence Pent-day, sb. making-up day in a weaving-shed.
w.Yks. Bradford Obs. No. 9948, 7.
PENTAS, PENTE, see Penthouse, Paint.
PENTHOUSE
[471]
PEPPERGATE
PENTHOUSE, sb. Nhb. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Chs. Stf.
Der. Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf. Hnt. Suf. Ken.
Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms paintice Der.^ nw.Der.' ;
pentas Nhb.^ Lakel.^ Cum.'* ; penters Ken. ; pentes
Cum. ; pent-hus War. ; pentice Chs.'^ s.Wor. Shr.'
w.Som.'nw.Dev.'Cor.; pentis Hrf.'^ Suf.' ; pentus Cum. ;
pentys w.Yks.^ [pentas, -is.] 1. A shed attached to
the side of a house, esp. the shed belonging to a smithy,
where horses stand to be shod.
Nhb.i Dur. Marshall Review (1808) I. 123. Lakel.l Cum.
She thrusts out her hp leyke a pentes, Anderson Ballads (ed.
1840) 30 ; We com anunder a terrable lang pentus, Sargisson Joe
Scoap {1881) 14; Cum.i*, w.Yks.^, Chs.'^, Stf.', Der.2, nw.Der.',
Not.', Lei.i, War. (J.R.W.), War.3 Wor. Blacksmith's shop with
pent house, Evesham Jrn. (May 19, 1900). ne.Wor. (J.W.P.),
s.Wor. (H.K.), Shr.i, Hrf.2, Hnt (T.P.F.), Suf.i, Ken. (G.B.),
Som. (W.F.R.) w.Som.' Paintees. Applied solely to the shed
belonging to a smith's shop, where horses stand to be shod.
(Always so called, and so pronounced.) nw.Dev.' Also, the porch
often seen before a cottage door. Cor. P'* for mending the Pen-
tices, Hammond Cor. Parish (1897) 76.
2. Canvas or tarpaulin to lay over a stack or corn, &c.
on a wagon. Suf 3. A hen-coop for chickens. Nhp.'
[1. Pentyce, of an howse ende, appendicium, Prompt. A
shortened form of appentice.'\
PEN-THRUSH, s6. Nhp.'^ [pe-n-jjruj.] The missel-
thrush, Turdus viscivorns.
PEN-TROUGH, sb. Yks. Lan. [pe-n-trof.] The
wooden or iron conduit by means of which water from a
dam or reservoir is conveyed to the top of a water-wheel.
w.Yks. Caught between the iron buckets of the wheel and the
iron front of the pen trough, Yks. IVkly. Post (Aug. 6, 1897) ;
(S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.2 Pen-trow. e.Lan.'
PENTY, V. and sb. Obs. Sc. 1. v. To fillip.
Lnk. Or shall I . . . Penty the pope upon the nose ? Ramsay
Poems (1800) II. 550 (Jam.).
2. sb. A fillip. Sc. (Jam.)
PENURE, adj. Obs. or obsol. Sc. Penurious.
Ayr. Yon twa wizzent and gaizent penure pigs o' Barenbraes,
Galt Lairds (1826) xiv ; He's an even-down Nabal — a perfect
penure pig, ib. Entail (1823) iv.
PENURY, s^>. Obs. Sc. Scarcity.
Edb. Proofs of the penury of wood stiH remain, Pennecuik Wks.
(1715) 58, ed. 1815.
PEN-WET, sb. Nhb.' [pe'n-wet.] Wet received mto
a stack below the eaves.
PEONY, sb. Van dial, forms in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
[pia-ni, prni, pai'ni.] I. Dial, forms : (i) Peenie, (2)
Peeny, (3) Piano, (4) Pie-nanny, (5) Piney, (6) Pinny, (7)
Piny, (8) Piona,. (9) Piony, (loj Pyanno. See also
Pianet, sb.'^
(i) Sc. (Jam.) (2) Glo. JaSne who wur as smart as a peeny,
BucKMANi)a;'fe'sSo/bMra(i89o)xvii. (3) N.I.' (4) n.Yks.2 (5)
Ant., War.", Glo.', I.W.' Som. So red as a piney, Raymond M««
o" Mendip (x8g8)v. Dev.* Cor. I have a colour like a piney, Parr
Adam and Eve (1880) I. 99. (6) Som. Blooshen' rhed as the
pinnies oop the walk, Leith Lemon Verbena (1895) 53. (7) Glo.
(B. & H.), Oxf.', Ken.' Dor. Shortliv'd pinies, that do shed Their
leaves upon a early bed, Barnes Poems{ 1879) 59. w.Som.' Puy-
nee. (8) Ayr. (9) Chs.', Hrf.2, Dev.* (10) Tyr.
II. Dial. use. In comp. Peony-rose, the common garden
peony, Paeonia officinalis.
Sc. (Jam.)- Ayr. There's the piona rose, Hunter Studies (1870)
155. Lth. Brackens is puir trash compared wi' peenie roses an'
sic like, Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 135. N.I.' Ant. Bally-
mena Obs. (1892). Tyr. N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 386.
PEOPLE, sb. pi. Cor. [pi'pl.] In phr. the people, the
Methodists.
He was a fervent Methodist — a circuit preacher, in fact — and
was held in some admiration by ' the people ' for his lustiness in
prayer-meeting, 'Q.' Three Ships (18^) viii; He left the 'people,'
that he mightn't be read out. Hunt Pop. Rom, vo.Eng. (1865) 104,
ed. 1896.
PEOVER, sb. Chs. [pi'va(r).] In comb. Peover
Pecks, a nickname given to the mhabitants of Peover ;
see below.
Chs.' ; Chs.3 In former (cock-fighting) days different townships
were called after the peculiar breed of their fighting cocks ; by
which afterwards and to this day, the inhabitants are designated.
Thus we have ' Lymm Greys,' ' Peover Pecks' (s.v. Peckle).
PEP, see Peep, w.'
PEPBLE, sb. Dor. See below.
I can cure love-sick maidens, jealous husbands, squalling wives,
brandy-drinking dames, with one touch of my pepble liquid, Mum-
ming Play in Flk-Lore Rec. (1880) III. pt. i. 97.
PE-PE BIRD, phr. Brks. The wryneck, Jynx tor-
quilla. (M.J.B.)
PEPPER, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in form pupper Suf.' [pe-p3(r.] 1. sb. In comb.
(i) Pepper-and-salt, the shepherd's purse, Capsella Bursa-
pastoris ; (2) -cake, a thick gingerbread cake ; (3) -cress,
the garden cress, Lepidium sativum ; (4) -curne or -curns,
a hand-mill used for grinding pepper ; (5) -dredge, a
pepper-box ; (6) -dulse, the jagged fucus, B'ucus pinnati-
fidus ; (7) -grass, mustard and cress ; (8) -mint, the
garden mint, Mentha viridis ; (9) -plant, the water pepper.
Polygonum Hydropiper; (10) -squatter, a pair of candle-
snuft'ers ; (11) -wheat, a disease in wheat caused by
vibrio tritici; (12) -wheeangs, an old-fashioned household
pepper-mill.
(i) Mid. (B. & H.) (2) Nhb. Pepper kyek an' scranchin o',
Tyneside Sngstr. (1889) 132. Cam.2* -n.Yks.' At Christmas, and
on occasion of the birth of a child also, one of these cakes is
provided and a cheese ; the latter is set on a large platter or dish
and the pepper-cake upon it. . . All comers to the house are invited
to partake of the pepper-cake and cheese, the form of invitation
seldom varying much : — ' Noo, ye mun taste our cheese ' ; n.Yks.24
n.Lin.i Gingerbread with sweet pepper in it. (3) Dev.* About
Newton Abbot and Plymouth this name is employed on account
of the biting nature of the two, and to distinguish it from Mustard
Cress, the two being usually sold together. (4) Fif. (Jam.) Tev.
A machine consisting of a piece of wood about six inches in
length, and three in breadth, in the middle of which a hole is
bored, but not quite to the bottom, of about two inches in diameter ;
in this aperture a few grains of pepper are put, and by means of
a handle, into which some rough nails are driven at the lower
end, the pepper is bruised till it be fit for use {ib.). (5) nw.Dev.'
(6) Sc. (Jam.) (7) s.Pem. Laws Z,!'«/c £m^. (1888) 421. (8) Dev.*
(9) n.Yks. (B. c& H. ) (10) Som. The good housewives of Somerset
perhaps go to bed by daylight, and keep their candle snuffers so
clean, that they may serve for better uses upon occasion, Horae
Subsecivae (1777) 323. (11) Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) II. ii. 32.
(12) n.Yks.2
2. A thief, cheat, esp. a cheating horse-dealer.
n.Lin. The lees he'd been tellin' to them Yorkshire peppers.
Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870) I. 37 ; n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' There was
a gang of Nottingham peppers at the Races.
Hence Pepper-gang, sb. a body of men who sell inferior
horses for sound ones. w.Yks.^ 3. v. To beat, thrash ;
to rain, hail, pelt ; to strike with shot or small missiles.
■w.Yks. (J.W.), ne.Lan.' e.Lan."^ To pelt with small missiles.
nw.Der.' Lin.' Did not the Prussian needle-gun pepper the
Austrians ! n.Lin.' Nhp.' The rain peppered away. War.^ Brks.'
I properly peppered a rabbut but a managed to crape into his
hawle. Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An. (Hall.) Suf.' Tha's right— pupper
"em right well. Wil. The custom of ' peppering' with shot a dog
for disobedience, Jefferies Gamekeeper (1887) 179.
Hence Peppering, (i) sb. a beating, thrashing ; (2) a
heavy shower of rain or hail ; (3) ppt- adj. of rain, &c. :
beating, driving, pelting.
(i) Nhp.' (2) Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 717; Lin.'
(3) ■w.Yks.'' Nhp.' A good peppering shower. War.^
4. To dust or cover with powder, &c.
Ayr. Their heids creeshed wi' pomatums and peppered wi'
stoor. Service Notandums (1890) 78.
5. Obs. To titillate, tickle.
Edb. A mill with snitian, to pepper her nose, Pennecuik He/j'cott
(1720) 65.
6. To rate, scold. ne.Lan.' 7. To cheat as a ' pepper '
or cheating horse-dealer does. n.Lin.'
PEPPER, see Pipper.
PEPPERGATE, sb. Chs.' [pe-paget.] See below.
There is a proverb ' When the daughter is stolen, shut the
Peppergate.' This is equivalent to 'when the steed is stolen,
shut the stable door.' The proverb is said to be founded on fact.
At any rate the legend runs that the daughter of the Mayor of
PEPPERIDGE
[472]
PERCH
Chester was stolen as she was playing at ball in Pepper Street ;
and the young man who carried her off took her through the
Pepper Gate. After the loss of his daughter, the Mayor ordered
the gate to be closed.
PEPPERIDGE, see Pipperidge.
PEPPERMINTER, sb. Lon. A seller of peppermint
water.
'A pepperminter' had two little taps to his keg, which had
a division in the interior. From one was extracted ' peppermint-
water'; from the other, 'strong peppermint-water,' Mayhew
Loud. Labour (1851) I. 191.
PEPPES, sb. Dev. [pe-piz.] The foxglove. Digitalis
purpurea. Science Gossip (1873) 235.
PEPPILARY, see Poppilary.
PEPPIN, V. Sc. Also written peppen and in form
pappan (Jam.), [pe'pin.] To cocker, pamper ; to bring
up young people or animals too delicately.
Bnff. (Jam., s.v. Pappant). Mry. It most freq. denotes such
improper management of a daughter by her mother (Jam.).
Hence (i) Pappant, adj. rich, rising in the world ; (2)
Peppint, ppl. adj. rendered pettish by over-indulgence.
(i) Ags. (Jam.) (2) n.Sc. Applied to those who exercise great
care about themselves or others for warding off anything that
might be hurtful {ib. s.v. Pappant).
PEPPIN, see Pippin.
PEPPLE, V. Lan. [pe-pl.] To come up suddenly to
the surface as a fish does to take a fly. n.Lan. (W.S.)
PEPSE, V. Nhp. Bdf. w.Cy. [peps.] To throw at ;
to pelt.
Nhp.i A market-woman said, ' I was obliged to get the plumbs
before they were ripe, the boys pepsed 'em down so.' Bdf. Gen.
applied to children'splay,BATCHELOR^Ka/. £«^.Z.aK^. (1809) 140.
w.Cy. (Hall.)
PER, see Pur, sb.
PERAMBLE, sb. and v. Irel. Yks. Chs. Lin. Hrf. Sus.
Also written perramble Sus.^ ; and in forms paramble
Ir. ; perammle w.Yks.^ [para'mbl.] 1. sb. A dial, form
of ' preamble.'
Don. Not . . . that the prayers in themselves were so hard upon
us ; but it was what we called the parambles with which he
introduced each prayer, Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 146 ;
The head judge got up an', afther a long paramble, announced
their decision. Cent. Mag. (Nov. 1899) 42. Sus.' He set to and
punched into him without any perramble whatsumdever.
2. A long rambling statement or story ; a ' rigmarole.'
See Priamble.
Don. 'An' now,' says he, when he had finished the paramble
of his woes to Andy, Cent. Mag. (Feb. 1900) 603. w.Yks.' Thou's
maad sike a feaful lang perammle ... at thouz nivver tell'd me whar
them shooters war ganging tuU, ii. 299. s.Chs.' Oo sed iiz <5o
kud')nu leyuv iir, un 60 woz sfi sor*i iiz yoa* wiin gon ; iin
dh^e-iir iir went of wi sich" ii puraam'bl [Hoo sed as hoo cudna
leeave her, an hoo was so sorry as yO wun gone ; an' theer her
went off wi' sich a peramble]. n.Lin.i Ohd Mr. H. ewsed to tell
sich perambles aboot th' corn laws that I got sick to hear
him. Hrf.i
3. V. To talk in a rambling, tedious, or unconnected
manner.
n.Lin.i When I was badly he cum'd of'ens an' talk'd an'
praayed wi' me, bud I thoht noht to it ; he niver got no fo'ther,
bud was alus peramblin' aboot roond two or three wo'ds.
PERAUNTER, adv. Obs. w.Yks.^ Peradventure.
[Perauntire watire had swelighid us, Hampole (c. 1330)
Ps. cxxiii. 3.]
PERCAGE, sb. Nhb. [pa'rkid?.] A little sheltering
cot for a man at a check gate ; a shelter used by shepherds
when sheep are lambing. (J.H.), (R.O.H.) Cf. peage.
\OYr. parcage, 'enceinte pour parquer les bestiaux' (La
Curne).]
PERCASE, arfw. Obs. or obsol. n.Yks.^w.Yks.^ Also
in forms parcaas, percaas w.Yks.'' ; perkeease n.Yks.^
Perchance, if so be ; perchance.
[Percase,/or/^, Levins Manip. (1570) ; pei shul . . . com
not in his bond percase. Cursor M. (c. 1340) 4002.]
PERCEIVANCE, sb. Yks. e.An. Also in forms per-
saivance, persavance w.Yks.' Ess.'; persayvance Nrf.;
perseyvance Suf. [pssrvans, pase'vans.] Perception,
sense, intelligence, understanding, knowledge ; notion,
conception.
n.Yks.'^ ; n.Yks.* Ah'd na perceivance o' what he meant ti'
deea. m.Yks.' Nay, bairn, thou perceives nothing; thou's no
perceivance in thee. w.Yks.' I've a girt persavance how our
navvy an volunteers . . . o'l ayther snape 'em, ii. 305. e.An.' The
boy is a dunce, and has no perceivance. Nrf. (E.M.); If a man is
occasionally the worse for drink, and not to be depended on, they
say 'he has no persayvance over hisself,' Cozens-Hardy Broad
Nrf. (1893) 85. Suf. Billy hee'nt got haaf the perseyvance his
brother hev (M.E.R.). Ess. Monthly Mag. (1814) I. 498; Ess.'
[The senses and common perceivance might carry this
message to the soul within, Milton Church Government
(1641) II. 3 (CD.). Cp. OFr. percevance, ' evidence ' (La
Curne).]
PERCER, see Piercer.
PERCH, sb} and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms pearch Lan. ; peerch e.Lan.' [partj, pitj.]
1. sb. A lineal measure varying in amount ; see below.
See Perk, 7.
Sc. i8f feet, Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Dmf. A rod of 3
ells, or 9 feet 3 inches, ib. Ir. Of land, 7 yards in length or
square, ib. Wm. 7 yards, ib, Lan. 5}, 6, 6\, 7, 7J, or 8 yards
in different parts of the county, ib. Lei. Of hedging, 8 yards ;
sometimes 8 yards square for land, ib. Wor. 8 yards, ib. Shr.'
Fencing or ditching, 8 yards, Clee Hills. 7 yards, Ludlow.
Walling or ditching, i6| feet, Ludlow, Introd. 92. Hrf. Perch of
fencing, seven yards, Duncumb Hist. Hrf. (1804-12) ; Perch of
walhng, sixteen feet and a half, ib. ; Perch of land, five yards and
a half, ib. ; Of fencing, 7 yards in length ; of walling, 5 J, Morton
ib. ; Hrf.° The true perch is sj yards, yet local hedgers reckon
seven yards, even at ploughing matches. Append. 40. s.Wal. Of
land, sometimes 9 feet square, loj feet square, 11 feet, sometimes
Ti^ feet, sometimes 12 feet; of labourers' work, in some parts of-
Wales, 6, 7, or 8 yards, Morton ib. Oxf. Of draining, 6 yards,
ib. Brks. Sometimes 18 feet for rough work, ib. Hrt. Sometimes
2Q feet, sometimes called a lug, ib. Dev. Of stone work, i6i feet
in length, i in height, and 22 inches in thickness ; of cob work,
18 feet in length, i in height, and 2 in thickness, ib.
2. Two uprights and a cross-beam of wood, for propping
up sawn boards for drying. Nhp.' See Perk, 5. 8. A
wooden frame or pole over which pieces of cloth are
pulled in order to examine them thoroughly. w.Yks.
(R.H.R.), w.Yks.3 See Perk, 6. 4. A pole surmounted
by a barrel and set up to mark a shoal. Lan.' 5. The
pole which connects the axle-tree of the hind wheels of a
carriage or wagon, by means of the main-pin with the
fore wheels.
•w.Som.' We often see advertisements of 'Cee spring Broughams
without a perch.'
6. The iron-pointed stave or stick often fixed by a joint
to the axle-tree of carts and wagons, to prevent their
running back when the horse stops on an ascent, ib.
7. V. To sit ; to sit down, take a seat.
Lan. Let's goo an' pearch i' th' garden, Brierley Cotters, iil.
Gmg., Pem. N. V Q. (1852) ist S. vi. 152. Dor. Won't 'e perch ?
(Miss M.) Som. (F.A.A.) ; He perched himself down by me
(J.S. F.S.). Dev.^ An old woman in Westdown astonished me one
day on my entering her cottage by exclaiming, ' Prithee, perch ! '
8. Phr. to perch board, see below.
w.Som.' To perch board is to stand it on end leaning against a
bar, alternately putting a board on each side edgewise. Sawyers
usually perch freshly-sawn boards in this way. Builders also
perch the flooring board to season before using.
_ 9. To examine cloth thoroughly to discover any defects
in it ; also used of examining work of other kinds ■ see
below. See Perk, 10. '
w.Yks. (J.M.) ; After the cloth is woven, there is still much to
be done before it comes to the wearer ; it still requires scouring,
fettling, and perching, the two latter processes being required
to rectify any mistakes in weaving, Cudworth Bradford (1876)
356; (F.M.L.); w.Yks.3 w.Som.' When any kind of article
made from materials found by the master is brought to be examined
and passed for payment, this word is used both to represent the
production of the work for examination by the workman, and
also the examination itself by the master or his agent. ' I shall
have dree dizn n' gloves ready to perch gin Zadurday, and then
you shall have your money.' ' I'd zoonder by half th' old maister'd
PERCH
[473 J
PERISH
perch the work hiszul, he don't faut it not a bit like the young
Joe.' To examine a weaver's work is always to ' perch ' the piece.
10. To raise a nap on woollen cloth. e.Lan.*
PERCH, 56.2 Cum.* [part/.] Th(t hass, Labrax lupus.
PERCH, 56.3 Obs. Cum. The mouth of a harbour.
'The Perch ' is a word used here for the mouth of a harbour
[Ravenglass], Gent. Mag. (1748) in Hutchinson Hist. Cum.
(1794) II. 493.
PERCH, see Pearch.
PERCOCK, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Der. A small, early apple,
resembling a ' sweeting ' (q.v.).
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) w.Yks.2 Der.' Paer-kok\
PERCONNON, sb. Sc. A condition, term, under-
standing ; probably a nonce word.
Abd. But upon this percdnnon I agree, To lat ye gae, that
Lindy marry me, Ross Heleitore (1768) 58, ed. 1812.
PERDE, PERDLE, see Pardi(e, Pirl, v.
PERELT, ppl. adj. Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) Paralytic,
affected with palsy. Cf. perils.
PEREMPT.flfi^: Sc. A shortened form of 'peremptory.'
Rnf. The beast gied orders sae perempt, 'Twas vain an excuse
tae attempt, Fraser Chimes (1853) 135.
PEREMPTORY-DAYS, s6. /./. Obs. Wm. See below.
Cf. parish-pudding days, s.v. Parish.
Days when iis. was the customary parish expense to be spent
on drink (B.K.).
PEREMPTOUR, «</?■. and 56. Obs. or obsol. Sc. Also
written peremptoir, peremptor, peremtor, peremtur ;
and in forms peremper, perempor Lth. (Jam.) 1. adj.
Peremptory ; precise, exacting, particular.
Sc. It was thought unfit to be too peremptour at that time in
naming the day, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) I. 60, ed. 1843.
Sh.I. Benna is ower peremtur wi' her ain aerinds, lat alane idder
folks, Sk. News (Feb. 18, 1899). Fif. He desyrit him at certian
peremptor dyettes to be present in Edinbruche, Melvill Autobiog.
(i6io) 63, ed. 184a. Slg. Quhen they are dung out of this, they
make their last an peremptour defence in their opinion, Bruce
Sermons (1631) iii, ed. 1843. Lth. (Jam.) Edb. That peremtor
messenger's boun' . . To flit ye far. Lord knows to where, Liddle
Poems (1821) 185.
Hence Peremptourlie, adv. precisely, unalterably.
Sc. He suld set his court peremptourlie upon fifteen daies,
Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 112.
2. sb. An allegation for the purpose of defence.
Sc. Gife he proponis ony relevant exception, declinatour, de-
latour, or peremptour, hee thereby castis and annuUis the brieve,
Skene Dijfficill IVds. (i68r) 24.
3. Phr. to be upon one's perempers, to be very precise.
Lth. He's ay upon his perempers (Jam.).
PEREPOINT, see Parpoint.
PERFECKSHOUS, a^. Sc. Perfection.
Lnk. The rabbit itsel's jist quite perfeckshous, . . as tender's a
bit o' chicken, Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 15.
PERFECT, adj and adv. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Also in form
perfeck Sc. [paTfek(t, ps'fekt.] 1. adj. Thorough, com-
plete, utter.
Sc. The queen tore her biggonets for perfect anger, Scott Mid-
lothian (1818) xxiv. Abd. Gar your lugs ring like a bell Wi' per-
fect shame, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 167. Kcd. He saved
his life, an' little mair. By perfect speed o' fit. Grant Lays (1884)
4. Fif. It was a' a perfect blether, Tennant Papistry (1827) 52.
Rnf. Keep vi'lence aif our head, we yield To nae down-draught but
perfect eild, Picken Poems (1813) I. 68. Ayr. To get up wi' the
leg under the sax weeks would be to mak a perfect botch o't,
Service Noiandums (1890) 2. se.Sc. To think o' this wad mak'
ane speir Wi' perfect sconner, Donaldson Poems (1809) 36.
Lnk. A set o' maut-inspired whims, That end in perfect smoke,
Rodger Poems (1838) 24, ed. 1897. Lth. Worn to perfect skin
and bane, Macneill Poet. Wis. (1801) 139, ed. 1856. Feb. I'm
worn to perfect banes aud skin, Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 60.
Dmf. Gar a thief forget himsel'. An' blush for perfect shame, Quinn
Heather (1863) 156. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
2. adv. Thoroughly, quite, utterly.
Lnk. That's three times, Laird, ye've jink't the Deil, Gane
deid, an' wauken'd perfeck weel, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 29 ;
I'm perfeck roastin', Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 57.
PERFECTION, sb. Hmp. [psfe-kjen.] In phr. to
come to perfection f of pain : to be very bad ; to hurt greatly.
VOL. IV.
She's 'ad a lot o' pain, poor thing, but it hezent come to perfec-
tion as it did afore she left off 'er tea (W.M.E.F.).
PERFIT(E, adj. and v. Sc. Yks. Also written perfyit
Sc. ; perfyt(e Sc. ; purfit w.Yks.^ [Sc. psrfl't.] 1. adj.
Perfect, exact, neat ; finished, complete. Cf parfit.
Sc. Still used to denote one who is exact in doing any work or
who does it neatly (Jam.) ; Making the island happy by a perfyte
union, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 301. Bnff. For the making vp of
a perfyit manse and gleib, Presbytery Bk. (1631-54) 137, ed. 1843.
Abd. Guid help us, there's few sae periite as we should be, An-
derson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 34. Edb. Like Dian, they will seem
periite, Fergusson Poems (1773) 158, ed. 1785. w.Yks.^
Hence (i) Perfytely, adv. perfectly, in a finished style,
thoroughly; (2) Perfytness, sb. perfection; exactness,
neatness.
(i) Abd. Ininstructingofthairyouthe to write fair and perfyitlie,
Turreff Gleanings (1859) 186. Per. These he had read perfytely,
WoDROw Soc. Set. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 72. (2) Sc. Use wald
perfytnes mak but moir, Rogers Reformers (1874) 60 ; Use
makes perfytness, Ramsay Prov. (ed. 1800) 79 (Jam.).
2. Comb. Perflte age, obs., majority, the ageof twenty-one.
Sc. Being within lesse age, or being of perfite age, Skene Difficil
Wds. (1681) 84. Or.I. At the perfyte aige of the said umquhile
Oliver, Peterkin Notes (1822) Append. 97. Fif. That yeir . . . was
halden the first Parliament be the King efter his perfyt age of
twenty and a [one] yeirs, Melvill Autobiog. (1610) 259, ed. 1842.
3. V. To finish, accomplish, bring to perfection.
Sc. I understand it will take five or sax years to perfyte him in
that language, Campbell (1819) I. 23 (Jam.) ; To perfyte publickly
what he hade formerly essayed privately, Kirkton C/t. Hist.
(1817) 7. Sh.I. I wis juist gotten dis perfjtit whin Sibbie cries,
' Ir dey onybody i' da barn?' Sh. News (Sept. 4, 1897). Abd.
Thatworke stood not fullie 5 yeers after it was perfytted, Turreff
Gleanings (1859) 104. Per. That whilk he began the following
grace perfytes, and crowns it in you, Wodrow Soc. Set. Biog. (ed.
1845-7) I. loi ; That it will take large money and expenses to
perfyte it, Maionent SpottiswoodeMiscell. (1844-5) II. 296. w.Sc.
Your nearly perfited in your trade, doctor, Carrick Laird of Logan
(1835) 136. Ayr. To send her ... to learn manners, and be per-
fited, as her mother said, wi' a boarding-school education, Galt
Entail (1823) xiii. Slk. (Jam.) Wgt. Instruments for perfyting
said Casway on his oune charges, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 31.
PERFORMED, ppl. adj Dev. [Not known to our
correspondents.] Complete. (Hall.)
PERFUMED, adj Sh.I. Used as an intensitive :
thorough, ' out and out.' Cf. anointed.
Bairns, dat Meggy TuUock is a perfumed leer [liar], if der wan
apo' da fitstol [earth], Sh. Neivs (Apr. 22, 1899).
PERFURNISH, z^. Obs. Sc. To furnish thoroughly.
Fif. His henchman's hand, That near him did perfurnish'd stand
Wi' a' his battle-gear, Tennant Papistry (1827) 178.
PERFYIT, PERFYT(E, see Perflt(e.
PERGADDUS, sb. Sc. [psrgadas.] A heavy fall
or blow.
e.Fif. [He] flang himsel' doon on a furm beside her wi sic a
fearfu' pergaddus that naething but whunstane an' yettlin cud weel
withstand it, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxix. Rnf. (Jam.)
PERGY, see Purgy.
PERIAL, adj. War. [pi-risL] Fine, splendid, superior
in style, quahty, &c. ; ? a shortened form of ' imperial'
War.2* s.War.' That 'ere picture be perial, to be sure !
PERIAL, PERIE, see Prial, Peerie, sb.
PERILS, sb. pi. Bwk. Rxb. (Jam.) Also in form perls,
[pa'rilz.] A palsied shaking of the head or limbs in con-
sequence of a paralytic affection.
PERISH, V. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
in forms parish Nhb.^ w.Yks. Lan.^ nw.Der.^ ; parrish
N.Cy.' w.Yks.* ne.Lan.^ e.Lan.' s.Lan. nw.Der."^ [ps'rij,
pa'rij.] 1. To kill or starve with cold or hunger ; to
become chilled, benumbed, or frostbitten ; to be half
dead with cold. Gen. in pp.
Sc. Scrimply clad, and perished with the cold about his breek-
less legs, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 56. Frf. I'm fair perished
wi' the cauld (W.A.C.). Per. Ye wouldna hae us, perish'd i' the
dark, Haliburton Dunbar (1895) 100. UIs. (M.B.-S.) w.Ir.
Perished with the cowld and hunger. Lover Leg. (1848) I. 166.
N.Cy.i Lakel.2 They're aboot perishen wi' cauld. Wm. (J.M.)
e.Yks.^ Let's cum an warm mysen, for Ah's ommost perisht.
m.Yks.^ If thou goes out to-night it will perish thee. w.Yks. Aw'm
3P
PERISHABLE
[474]
PERK
welly parished to th' death (D.L.); w.Yka.^i Lan. I'm gettin'
quite parisht, Waugh Chim. Corner (1874) 30, ed. 1879 ; Put a
dry shirt on, or else thou'll be parisht to th' deeath, Brierley
Waverlow {1863) 183, ed. 1884; Lan.i, ne.Lan.', e.Lan.i s.Lan.
Bamford Dial. (1854). Chs.i^s Stf. Northall Wd. Bk. (1896).
Der.2 nw.Der.i Come to th' fire, tha art parrisht. Not. (L.C.M.),
Not.i s.Not. A feel quite perished, dress as awill(J.P.K.). Lin."-
I am perished, get me some fat shag. n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' Why,
you're not haef happed up : you must be quiet perished. Lei.i
Coom in, an' doon't stan' perishin' theer. It's anew to perish ye
to death. It's fraizin' fit to perish the nooze oiTyer feace. Nhp.',
War.23, w.Wor.i se.Wor.i Come 'is ways, poor little saowl, he's
amwust perished. s.Wor.i, Hrf.2, GIo. (A.B.), Glo.^ Oxf.i I be
perished o' cold, MS. add. s.Oxf. Why, child, you look perished !
Rosemary C,ft!7fe>-Ks( 1895') 19. Hnt. (T.P.F.) Ken. My hands are
nearly perished (D.W.L.). Suf. Wholly perished wi' cold
(C.G.B.) ; e.An. Dy. Times (1892). w.Som.' Come in by the
vire, cas'n — neet bide perishin' out there. Dev.', nw.Dev.'
Hence (i) Perishing, />//. a^'. extremely cold, freezing;
(2) Perishment, sb. a severe cold or chill ; excessive cold;
gen. in phr. a perishment of cold.
(i) m.Yks.i We have got hold of some perishing weather at
last. Not. It war a perishing night (L.C.M.). s.Not. It's a
perishin coad day (J.P.K.). (2) Sh.I. A'm shure der nane furt
wi' sic a night o' perishment waitin' fer me, Sh. News (Feb. 11,
1899). N.Cy.i A panishment o' cauld. e.Dur.i n.Yks.i He sat
knapping flints a' thruff that blustery, droppy day, while t'rain ran
off iv him ; an' he's getten a perishment o' cou'd ; n.Yks.^ I gat
a sair perishment ; n.Yks.4, m.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. To decay, become rotten.
n.L:n.i Grain is said to have perished when it is killed in the
ground by frost or wet. Shr.2 By this word farmers describe the
peculiar condition of theiryoung crops, when there has been a wet
winter. ' Whod o' th' wet a th' land, un altogither, the weats
welly perished.' Glo.i Som. (F.A.A.) ; (J.S.F.S.) w.Som.' Any-
thing, such as wood, fruit, vegetables, that has become decaj'ed or
rotten, is said to have perished. ' Must put new rafters and new
battens, all th' old ones be proper a-perished.' ' We be having so
much wet all the zeed'll perish in the groun'.'
■Hence Perishty, adj. withered. GIo.' 3. To destroy ;
to injure, hurt.
Ayr. Mony a beast to dead she shot, And perish'd mony a bonie
boat, Burns Tarn o' Shanter (1790) 1. 168. e.Yks. Perish [the
young ones] for wante of broodinge. Best Rur. Econ. (1642) 109.
e.Aa.i The frost has perished all my tender plants. His eye was
perished by a blow. Ess. He [a cobbler] perishes my fit, Clark
/. Noakes (1839) st. 176 ; Gl. (1851) ; Ess.i
Hence Perished, ppl. adj. slain, murdered, dead.
Ayr. The mourning women and the perished child in the arms,
Galt Gilhaize (1823) xix.
4. To devour, ' polish off.'
Frf. He perish'd a hale platefu' o' porritch (W.A.C.).
5. To waste, squander, spend lavishly ; gen. in phr. to
perish one's pack, to spend or waste everything.
Sc. He has perish'd his pack (Jam. Suppl.) ; I hae perish'd the
pack already, an' I am gaun to lak' my stilt the morn's morning,
and let the creditors tak' what they can get. Ford Thistledown
(1891) 315. Ayr. Her son perished the pack, and they say has
spoused his fortune and gone to Indy, Galt5!>^. Wylie {i^zz)
xciii. Lnk. Davie had ta'en to the bottle and perished the pack,
Fraser Whaups (1895) xii. Nhb.' He had a cliver knack O'
kepping beer, aye three yards off, when he ' Parish'd the pack ! '
Armstrong Newc. Worlhies ; Aw kens how to perish the brass
that aw gets, Robson Bards (1849) S^ta.
6. Phr. perish-me-pink, an ejaculation after a joke. Nrf.
(P.H.E.)
PERISHABLE, adj. Glo. Wretched, miserable.
Ur be a perishable specimen, but then ur yent a Wayfer in urself
GissiNG Vill. Hampden (1890) II. v. '
PERIWIG, adj. Obs. Hrt. In phr. periwig matting
growth, a tangled, matted growth.
Thetcheswhen they are sown thick and grow well commonly run
into a periwig matting growth, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) II. i. 72.
PERIWIGGLE, see Porriwiggle.
PER JIM, adj. Cai.^ [pardgi'm.] Spruce, neat in dress
or figure. See Perjink.
PERJINK, adj and sb. Sc. Also written pirjink
Sh.I. ; and in forms perjinct (Jam.) ; pirjinct Per.
[psrdgi'ijk.] 1. adj. Exact, precise, particular ; trim,
neat ; finical. See Prejink.
Sc. I don't like people being so perjink, Ferrier Destiny (183 1)
I. XV ; It did me good to look on Tummas, he was straucht, slim
and perjink, 5c. Haggis, 154. Sh.I. Winderful sma' an' pirjink
aboot da legs, Stewart Tate (1892) 88. Cai.i Abd. Dawvid's a
rael perjink weel-leern't body, Alexander /0;%««jv Gibb (1871) xx.
Frf. He was looking unusually perjink, Barrie Thrums (1889)
xiv. Per. He wasna maybe sae shairp at the elements as this pir-
jinct body we hae noo, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 4.
w.Sc. Tummas was sae straucht, slim, and perjink, Carrick Laird
of Logan (1835) 276. Fif. The elder sister, 'fikey' and 'perjink,'
was severe on a younger brother's ' hashiness,' Colville Verna-
cular (1899) 17. Ayr. Bailie Pirlet's conceit of spinning out long
perjink speeches, Galt Provost (1822) xxxi.
Hence Perjinkities, sb. pi. niceties, preciseness, exact
details.
Sc. You've gien us eneuch o' your perjinkities, Roy Horseman's
Wd. (1895) xi. Ayr. To correc' the press, and to put in the points
wi' thelaveo' the wee perjinkities, Galt S/V^. f^/!i?(i822)xxviii.
2. sb. One who is very particular about everything ; a
precise person. Cld. (Jam.) 3. pi. Phr. to be on one's
perjinks, to be on one's ' p's and q's.'
Ayr. If we maun be on our perjinks, will you and her rinawathe-
gither? Galt5!>^. Wylie (1832) xl.
PERJINKETY, arf/-. Cor.^ [padgrrikati.] Apt to take
offence.
PERK, sb., V. and adj. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Yks.
Lan. Chs. and midl. counties. Also e.An. Sus. I.W.
Wil. Som. Also in forms pake Nrf. ; peak w.Yks.^ ;
peark n.Yks. w.Yks. Lei.^ se.Wor.^ Nrf.; peeak w.Yks.^;
peeark w.Yks.^ m.Lan.^; peek Lin.; peerk n.Cy. ne.Lan.^
e.Lan.i Chs.^^^ s.Wor.' Glo.^ pirk Sc. ; pork n.Yks.;
pyerk Lan. [park, p5k, pik, piak.] 1. sb. A perch.
Ayr. (Jam.) w.Yks. Pearks for canary cages, Tom Treddle-
HOYLE Bairnsla Ann. (1847) Pref. 7 ; When they sooin pull'd me
off my peak, Hallam Wadsley Jack (1866) xviii ; w.Yks.125 L^n.
Sam bowt a duck ; he thowt th' henroost wood be a nice peearkin'
place for it, an' put it on th' peeark, Ferguson Moudywarp's Visit,
17. e.Lan.i, sw.Lin.i, Glo.i, e.An.i Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad
Nrf. (1893) 61 ; (E.M.) ; (G.E.D.) Suf.i
2. Fig. A seat.
Lan. All the seats in a car being occupied, a man said, 'There's
a peerk here [on his knee] for thee ' (S. W.).
3. A clothes-line.
So. (Jam. Suppl.) SIg. On every pirk the clouts are clashing.
An' dreepin' duds announcing washing. Mum Poems (1818) 56.
Ayr. A rope extended for holding anything in a house (Jam.).
Hence Perk-tree, s6.a pole used to support a clothes-line.
Sc. Rough or unbarked poles from which green or garden poles
are made (Jam. Suppl.).
4. A peg, a small wooden skewer used for stopping up
a hole. Cai.i 5. A wooden frame against which sawn
timber is set up to dry. See Perch, sb.'- 2.
e.An.i So called from its resemblance in form to a perch in a
bird-cage.
6. A wooden frame or pole over which cloth is passed
so as to examine it thoroughly. See Perch, sb.^ 3.
w.Yks. An arrangement whereby a couple of shafts or wooden
rails are fixed, about six to seven feet from the ground, parallel, and
about three feet apart ; so that cloth can be passed and the
examiner can look through it as it passes down between him and
the light (W.T.) ; (R.H.R.)
Hence to stand the perk, phr., fig. of a man's character :
to stand examination. w.Yks. (W.T.) 7. A measure of
land, hedging, &c., gen. of 8 yards. See Perch, sA.' 1.
Wor. A lineal measure of 8 yards. Hedging and ditching are
done by the peark (E.S.). s.Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.i, se.Wor.i
Shr.i, Hrf.', Glo.'
8. An affected little girl. Cai.' 9. v. To perch, sit.
n.Yks. (T.S.), n.Yks.2 w.Yks. A man sittin' on a miln chimley
can hev a better view o' men an' things nur one 'at's pearked on a
hay.cock, Yksman. (July 1878) 75 ; He wor pearked like a flee on
a wmdo', Yks. Wkly. Post (Feb. i, 1896) ; T'number ov . . . ducks
1 ve tried to mak peark, Cudworth Dial. Skeiches{i&Q^) 12; w Yks ^
, o"o' V /'""'^ "^' ''°^ Pyerkd theer like a true sojer, -Lau^k Acquitted
(1083) xix. m.Lan.i Der.i What are tha doin' perkin' theer ' Lin.
1 owd hen's peeked on the basket-start (R.E.C.). sw.Lln.i,
e.Aa.i Nrf. As the days draw in they [the rails] begin to ' perk '
PERKIN
[475]
PERODE
or jump up on to the reeds and gladen to roost, Emerson Birds
(ed. 1895) 253 ; Such and such birds pake at sundown (E.M.).
Suf.l Som. Now that's the worst I do like about being perked up
there to Manor House, Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894) 9.
Hence (i) Parker, sb. a young rook ; (2) Perking-place,
sb. a perch, roosting-place.
(i) n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.i (2) Lan. He thowt th' henroost
wood be a nice peearkin' place for it, Ferguson Moudywarp's
Visit, 17.
10. To_ examine cloth on a ' perch' so as to discover any
defects in it ; fig. to examine closely. See Perch, v. 9.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks. ' I shall have to peeark to-day,' or ' The
master is peearkin the pieces' (J.S.J.) ; (J.M.); w.Yks. '3; w.Yks.s
The old clothiers come to see it 'peaked,' but the merchant
'perches' it for them.
11. With rtp or out: to stretch or project upwards or
outwards.
•w.Yks. To see all th' church spires peearkin' up. Hartley
Budget (1871) 142. Nhp. The early blossoms perking out their
heads, Clare Shep. Calendar (1827) 32.
12. To revive, lift up the head ; to arouse ; to become
brisk and lively ; to brighten up. Gen. with up.
Sc. (A.W.), e.Yks.i w.Yks. My een missed nought . . . that could
help topeark my pride, Snowden Web of Weaver (iBg6) 84; w.Yks.i
To peeark up again. ne.Lan.i, Chs.i, Not.', LeU Nhp. The flowers
reviving from the ground Perk up again and peep, Clare Poems
(1820) 33 ; Nhp.i A child perks up when recovering from sickness.
Plants which droop, from drought, perk up their heads after a
shower. War.3 Shr.i Well, John, I'm mighty glad to see as yo'
bin beginnin' to perk- up a bit. Oxf. Perk up, old chap, you'll be
all right after a bit (CO.). Hnt. (T.P.F.) I.W. 'Did you find
Ellen any better?'. . . 'She was wonderfully perked up, as the
cottagers say,' Gray Annesley (1889) I. xxvii. Wil.'-
13. To bridle, toss the head ; to give oneself airs ; to
walk consequentially, to brag. Freq. with up.
Sc. (A.W.), n.Cy. (Hall.) Lan. Three or four o' them wax dolls
ut he peearks so of i' his shop window, Accrirtgton Times (May 16,
1868) 3, col. 8. ne.Lan.i sXan. To ' pyerk up,' to be affected
(S.B.). Not.i, Lei.i, War.s, Sus.l
Hence Perked or Perked-up, ppl. adj. proud, conceited,
elated.
w.Yks. Shoo's nowght but a clever pearked-up thing, Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Jan. 6, 1896) ; w.Yks.i
14. To prune the feathers of a bird ; fig. to make oneself
smart.
w.Yks.i ' To peeark one's sejf up,' to adorn, trim, or dress.
n.Stf. You'd be perking at the glass the next minute, Geo. Eliot
A. Bede (1859) I. 139. Not.i, Lei.i, War.s
15. To prick up the ears as an animal does.
w.Yks. (J. W.) e.Sus. Holloway. [The saucy red squirrel .. .
perked his ears and chattered, Watson Nature and Wdcraft.
(1890) xiv.]
16. To fidget restlessly.
Ken.i How that kitten doos keep perking about.
17. adj. Brisk, lively, in good spirits and health ; proud.
w.Yks.i e.Lan. Still used around Hurstwood, Wilkinson 5/i«Kso-
(1867). Chs.i23^Lei.i e.An.i Perk as a peacock. Ess. G/. (1851);
Monthly Mag. (1814) I. 498 ; Ess.i
PERKIN, sb. Glo. Oxf Wil. [p§-kin, pa-kin.] The
washings after the best cider is made. Also used in pi.
Glo. Morton Cyc/o. ^^nc. (1863). Oxf. ^ MS. add. Wil. Mor-
ton ib. • Wil.l
PERKINS, sb. pi. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) A species of
gingerbread. Cf parkin, 56.1
Formed into thin round cakes like biscuits, with a piece of
almond in the centre of each.
PERKS, sb.pl. Sc. Lon. Slang. Also in forms pirkas
Cai.i ; pirkus Gall, [paks, Sc. pi'rkss.] 1. Perquisites.
Cf. parkaseet.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 383. Lon. At this yard the
sifters are allowed to take as ' perks,' wood, corks, and a daily quan-
tity of cinders, Good Wds. (1879) 739. Slang. BARRi;RE & Leland.
2. A thing not worth having. Cai.i 'At's a' pirkas.
PERKY, adj. Sc. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Lin. Lei. War.
Hrf Glo. Oxf Brks. Hrt. Ken. Hmp. Som. Colloq. and Amer.
Also written pirky Hrt.; and in form porky Lin.i [psrki,
pa'ki.l 1. Brisk, lively, sharp ; saucy, impudent, pert.
Fif. Mind ye, show me none o' your perky ways wi' Broomie-
laws ! Meldrum Grey Mantle (1896) 156. e.Yks.i What a perky
lahtle thing she is. w.Yks. (J.W.) ; Hlfx. Courier (May 29, 1897).
ne.Lan.i, chs.i =3, Not.i n.Lin.i He's been a sight oher perky iver
sin' th' ohd man willed him that munny. I was lekken very bad
o' Sunda', bud I'm perky agean noo. Lei.i ' How is Dolly this
morning?' 'Oo, shay's as perky as a poll-parrot.' War. How
perky and plucky these [sparrows] are, Anderton Lett. (1891) 76 ;
War.3, Hrf.i, Glo.i Oxf. He seems quite perky to-day (G.O.).
Brks.i Ken. Well, look a bit perkier then, Comh. Mag. (Jan.
1894) 69. Hmp.i She be a perky little maid. Colloq. Looking at
the girls, as perky as a bantam cock, Jerome Idle Thoughts, 147.
[Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 210.]
2. Pretty, dainty, smart ; coquettish, attractive.
w.Som.i You must a-knowed her 'vore he married her — her was
a purty little perky sort of a body, and such a tongue !
3. Haughty, insolent, superior in manner; independent;
touchy. n.Yks." w.Yks. Hlfx. Courier (May 29, 1897).
4. Obs. Early, forward in growth.
Hrt. Being of a pirky nature, the kernel at harvest is ready to
start out of its chaif, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) VI. i. 15.
PERL, sb. Nrf Also written purl, [pal.] The
common tern, Sterna fluviatilis. See Great purl, s.v.
Great, 2 (10).
Cozens-Hakdy Broad Nrf. (1893) 46 ; Great purl, Swainson
Birds (1885) 202.
PERL, see Pirl, v.
PERLANG, V. Cum. [parla-r).] To belong.
Whea else could it perlang to ? Dickinson Cumbr. (1875) 153 ;
Cum.*
PERLIE, PERLIN.PERLY, see Pirlie, sb.^^, Pearlin(g,
Pirlie, sb.^
PERN, V. Som. [Not known to our correspondents.]
To prosper. (Hall.)
PERN, see Pirn, v.^
PERNICIPERS, sb. pi. Sh.L Also in form perni-
shapas S. & Ork.i A pair of tongs. {Coll. L.L.B.), S. &
Ork.i
PERNICKETY, adj, adv. and sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum.
Lin. Nrf. and Amer. Also written pernicketty Sc. N.L'
Nhb.; pernickitie, pernickitty Sc; pernickity Sc. Cum.*
Amer. ; pernikity Nrf ; pernikkety Gall. ; and in forms
parnickety Nhb.i; pernackety, perneekity, pernicked
Sc. ; pirnickerie s.Sc. (Jam.) ; pirnicky Sc. [par-,
pani'kati.] 1. adj. Particular, fastidious, precise in
trifles ; fidgety, difficult to please, troublesome ; dainty.
Sc. A timorous and pernickity old lady. Ford Thistledown (1891)
97. Cai.i Bnff. In future life, these pernickitie minutiae were set
at nought and exploded, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 69. Abd. I
kent Jean Futtrit was aye a pernickitty, sansheuch kin' o' deemie
in 'er nain wye, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 179. e.Sc. Just as
auld maids were always accounted pernickety, Setoun Sunshine
(1895) 255. Fer- Pirnicky, tidy, Obliging, civil Jamie Scotty,
Stewart Character{i8^']) 114. Fif. Hoot, toot, guid wife, ye mauna
besae pernickety, M"^Laren Tibliie and Taut {iSg^) 108. s.Sc. (Jam.)
Rnf. Some pernickety guidmen . . . Hae the assurance to assert,
Young Pictures (1865) i6r. Ayr. I never saw any mortal man
look as that pernickity personage, the bailie, did at this joke, Galt
Provost (1822) xxxi. Lnk. If it tastes hauf as weel as it smells,
the pirnickiest mooth '11 hae naething to fin' faut wi', Murdoch
Readings (1895) I. 15. e.Lth. The eye of the most learned and
pernackety connoisseur of human symmetry and beauty, Muckle-
backit Rhymes (1885) 118. Slk. Poo — I'm no sae pernickitty as
that about my original ideas, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 93.
Gall. (J.M.) ; Awfu' pernikkety fowk as they are on the Shire side,
Crockett Kit Kennedy (i8gg) 54. N.I.i Nhb. Far ower dressy and
pernicketty for the like o' me, Grahaw Red Scaur(i8g6) 306. Nhb.i
He's a varry parnickety body. Cum.* A pernickity job — requiring
careful treatment. Lin. (F.R.C.) [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) 1.217,
380.]
2. adv. Particularly, fastidiously, daintily.
CaL His hair . . . wis drookit wi' hair-ile an' combed most per-
nicked, HoRNE Countryside (1896) 210. Lnk. Ye're no to be
perneekity modest, an' set up an affronted refusal, Murdoch
Readings (1895) I. 37. Nrf. Emerson Lagoons (ed. 1896) 70.
3. sb.pl. Niceties, preciseness, 'p's and q's.'
Ayr. We're no to stand on such pernicketties wi' the like o'
Martha Docken and her oye, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) xcii.
PERNTICE, see Prentice. _
PERODE, sb. Fern, [pared.] A yarn, rigmarole.
s.Fem. Having a long perode (W.M.M.).
3 P3
PERPETUAL
[476]
PERT
PERPETUAL, si. Yks. [pape'tiual.] A'cropping-
machine,' a machine with circular knives to cut down the
nap on cloth. w.Yks. (S.C.H.)
PERPLE, sb. ? Obs. So. (Jam.) A wooden partition.
s.Sc. Hence Perplin, sb. a wall made of 'cat and clay'
(q.v.) between the kitchen and the ' spence ' of a cottage.
Rxb.
PERQUEER, adv. and adj. Obs. So. Also in forms
perqueir, perquer, perquier, perquire (Jam.) ; prequeer-,
proqueer Gall. 1. adv. Exactly, accurately, by heart.
Sc. He said his lesson perqueir (Jam.) ; A number of othir
passages I had perquire, Baillie Lett. (1775) I. 17 (ib.). Abd. Ye
maun gee your answer just perqueer, Rosa Helenore {I^68) 39, ed.
1812.
2. Distinctly, separately.
Sc. He is like to get the stipend and Mr. Rule to live perquire,
Baillie Lett. (1775) II. 408 (Jam.).
3. adj. Exact, accurate; skilled, elaborate.
Bnff. Him speak saefair, him sae perqueer, Taylor Po««5 (1787)
131. Bch. At threeps I am na' sae perquire, Norauld farren as he,
Forbes Ajax (1742) 2. Gall. The wark was mair proqueer Wi'
gowd, an' ither costly gear, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 22.
Hence Perqueerly, adv. accurately, by heart.
Sc. He could read ye very perqueerly the x. chapter of Nehe-
miah, Magopico (ed. 1836) 5. Gall. The English cou'd na mak' out
the preceese meaning o' the words perqueerly, Nicholson Hist.
Tales (1843) 129 ; Cou'd a tauld them right prequeerly, Howfo'k's
employ'd there late an' early, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 95.
[1. He schew me first Wedderburn's Songs, wharof I
lerned diverse par cceur, Melvill Autobiog. (1610), ed.
1842, 16. Fr. par ccsur, by heart, by rote, without book,
without missing (Cotgr.).J
PER(R, V. Sc. Lan. Also written pare Sc. (Jam.) ;
pirr Cld. (Jam.) Gall, [par, p§(r).] To pour, stream.
Sc. We commonly use 'pour' when greater quantities issue forth ;
and ' pere ' when the liquor trickles down by drops, or as it were small
threads, when there is little remaining in the vessel, Ruddiman
7m^;W, (1773) (Jam.). Cld. (Jam.) Gall. Blood is said to pirr from
the wound made by a lancet, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Lan.
Liquid pers when it falls connected like a string (Hall.). e.Lan.i
As rain in a continuous stream.
PERRAKIT, sb. Sc. (Jam.) A sagacious, talkative, or
active child.
PERRICK, see Parrock.
PERRICUT, sb. Yks. I.Ma. Also written perricot
w.Yks. Dial, form of ' petticoat.'
w.Yks. Send him tot King a Spain to help him to may a perricot
for't Virgin, Bywater Sheffield Dial. (1839) 2. I.Ma. Linsey and
checks for frocks and perricut stuff for the women, Rydings Tales
(1895) 28; Look at the scarlet perricat! Caine Man.xman (1894)
pt. II. xxii.
FERRIS, sb. Sc. A dial, pronun. of ' parish.'
Abd. Gien she thoucht there was a hole i' the perris she didna
ken a' the oots an' ins o' 'it wad baud her ohn sleepit, Macdonald
Malcolm (1875) HI. 21 ; There's naething like it in a' the perris,
in the hale perris, in half a score o' perrishes roun an' roun. The
warst laddie in oor perris (G.W.).
PERRISHIN, see Parishin.
PERRIWINK, sb. Obs. Ken. Slang. Also in form
perriwinkle Slang. A wig.
Ken. Grizzles, perriwinks, or bobs, Nairne Tales (1790) 27, ed.
1824. Slang. Lex. Balatronicum (1811).
PERRY, sb} Nhb. Wm. Lan. e.An. Also in form
parrey Nhb.* ; parry Wm. [pari, paTi.] A sudden,
heavy fall of rain ; a sudden whirling wind ; a squall.
Cf. pirr, sb. 1.
N.Cy.i, Nhb.i Wm. It came on a heavy parry of rain (J. H.).
Lan. (J.D.)
Hence Perry-wind, sb. half a gale. e.An. White Eng.
(1865) I. 92, in FoRBY Gl. (ed. 1895).
[A perrie of wind caught hold of our sailes, Harrison
Desc. Brit, in Holinshed's Chron. I. 45 (Way) ; Pyrry a
storme of wynde, bovffee de uent, Palsgr. (1530) ; Pyry, or
storme, Prompt.l
PERRY, 56.= Obs. n.Cy. Yks. A little cur-dog. Cf.
pirrie-dog, s.v. Pirrie.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Yks. (K.) n.Yks. Our Perry garr'd him
run, Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 127.
PERRY, sb.^ Yks. [pa'ri.] The corn-spurrey or toad-
flax, Spergula arvensis. e.Yks. Baines Yks. Past (1870) 123.
PERRY, V. and si." Lan. [pa'ri.] 1. v. To throw
money or other articles to be scrambled for. Also in
comp. Perrywherry.
Used of throwing nuts, apples, &c. for children to run and
gather (C.J.B.) ; Aw'U perry empty bobbins at th' same time if
yo'U do me th' same honour, Accrington Observer (Feb. 16, 1895)
2, col. I ; Lan.*, e.Lan.*
2. sb. A scramble, scrimmage, a rush of people.
At the church door, an idle crowd was always ready for the
' perry,' i. e. to contest for the scattered halfpence, Thorneer
Hist. Blackpool (1837) 97 ; (J.D.)
PERRY-DANCERS, sb. pi. N.Cy.* e.An.* Also in
form pyrrhy-dancers N.Cy.* The northern lights or
Aurora Borealis.
PERRYMEDOLL, sb. Suf.* The pyramidal bell-
flower, Campanula pyramidalis; a corruption of 'pyramidal.'
PERRY-MOUCHER, 56. Wil.* The fruit of the black-
berry, Rubus fructicosus. A corr. of Berry-moucher (q.v.).
Cf penny-moucher.
PERSECUTE, v. Yks. Lin. War. To prosecute.
w.Yks. In common use (J.W.). Lin.^ ' Trespassers will be perse-
cuted.' Notice near the Foss-dyke, Lincoln. n.Lin,* He was
persecuted at th' assizes for stealin sheap. War.24^ s.War.*
PERSH, sb. Glo.* [paj.] The osier, Salix viminalis.
Also used aitrib.
PERSHORE FAIR, /An Wor. A fair held on June
27th and 28th.
The cuckoo goes to Pershore Fair to buy a horse to ride away,
Flk-saw (A.B.).
PERSIL, see Parsil.
PERSKEET, adj Sh.L Also written perskeit.
[parski't.] Precise, particular, fastidious ; modest.
Shii's dat perskeit 'at shu winna lowse her breast ta tak' oot da
letter afore da men, Sh. News (July 17, 1897) ; Ye see we're no
sae perskeet as Betty. Shu mebbie haes suntin' ta lippin da night,
ib. (Feb. 26, 1898).
Hence Perskeetness, sb. modesty, nicety of conduct,
delicacy.
Diel bit da lasses is ony better as dey wir afore dis. A' der
perskeetness is only afore folk, ib. (Dec. i, 1900).
PERSONABLE, adJ Sc. I.W. [paT-, pa-sanabl.]
Good-looking.
Ayr. He's a very personable lad, Galt Entail (1823) Ixxvii.
I.W. Personable she be and pleasant spoke as ever I known, Gray
Annesley (1889) I. 182.
[(She) did pourtray Him such as fittest she for love
could find Wise, warlike, personable, courteous and kind,
Spenser F. Q. (1596) bk. iii. iv. 5.]
PERSONALITY, sb. Sc. Personal peculiarity ; per-
sonal appearance.
Ayr. He was in his personalities chiefly remarkable for two queer
and twinkling little eyes, Galt Provost (1822) xvii.
PERSOWDIE, sb. Sh.I. A medley, an incongruous
mixture. S. & Ork.* See Powsowdy.
PERSUADE, V. Yks. Wor. Suf. Hmp. [paswi'd.]
1. To persuade by means of some action.
Suf. I think 'haps them bushes will persuade them not to break
through there again, e.An. Dy. Times (1892).
2. To advise strongly ; to counsel, urge, without imply-
ing that the advice will be followed.
w.Yks. (J.W.), s.Wor. (H.K.) Hmp.* I persuaded him to see
the Doctor, but he wouldn't do it.
3. To appease.
Yks. Let him alone ; he'll cool down ; it's no use trying to per-
suade him (C.C.R.).
PERSWADIANS,s6.//. N.L* [parswe'dianz.] Per-
suasion, entreaties. ' Through perswadians I done it.'
PERT, adj. Lakel. Lin. Hrf. Oxf. Bdf. Hmp. [part,
pat, piat.] 1. Lively, brisk, in good health and spirits.
See Peart, adj.
Lakel.i^ Ah thowt that sheep was gaan ta dee streyt off, but it's
beginnen ta look pert again. Lin. As pert as a pearmonger,
Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 733. Hrf.* Ox£ 'Er looks more
perter nar 'er did, Ellis Prommc. (1889) V. iig. Bdf. ' As pert
as a maggot,' and ' As pert as a jay,' are common similes (J.W.B.).
PERTEEN
[477I
PET
2. Of ale, &c. : lively, invigorating.
Hmp.i Oat-malt and barley-malt equally mixed, as many of the
country people here use it, makes very pretty, pert, smooth drink,
and many in this country sow half barley, half oats, for that pur-
pose, and call it Dredge. [A pert smooth drink. Lisle (1757) 243.]
PERTEEN, t/. Sh.I. [psrti'n.] To pertain, to belong
to ; also with with.
Dey're truckit an' laid doon da best rig o' Scots aits perteenin'
me, Sh. News (Sept. 4, 1897) ; Der a' perteenin wis 'at's gaun wi'
hale lugs noo, ib. (Oct. i, 1898).
PERTENSE, sb. Cum. Wm. Pride, assumption, pre-
tence.
Cum,'' A man is said to have pertense when he pretends to be
able to do more tlian he really can. ' It's nowt bit pertense, an'
he's nowte efter aw.' Wm. Did ta ivver see seek pertense ! an'
thers nowt behint it nowder (B.K.).
PERTRICK, see Partridge.
PERTRUBILL, w. Obs. Sc. To perturb, trouble.
Fif. But mair pertrubill'd was his case. Whan . . . They cam a'
round him in a fluther, Tennant Papistry (1827) 38.
PERUSE, V. Hrf.2 [psru-z.] To explore the fields
or woods.
PERVET, V. Lei.^ [psve't.] To rummage, ransack,
'brevit.'
I didn't wish her to think as I'd been pervetting about in the
pantry.
PERWENTATIVE, PERWENTIVE, see Preventive.
PERWIG, V. Hmp. [pa'tvig.] To make a disturbance.
e.Hmp. We don't want them to go perwigging about the copse
when the young birds are out (H.C.IM.B.).
PERY, PES, see Peerie, sb}, Pace.
PESANSELLS, sb. pi. Suf. [Not known to our other
correspondents.] Liquid food in time of sickness, or
quack medicine. (H.H.)
PESANT,s^>. Obs. Nhb.Wm. A stern, hard-hearted
miser. Cf. peyzart. Nhb.' Wm. He'sa very pesant (J.H.).
PESCOD, PESE, PESHUN-, see Peascod, Paise, v.\
Passion.
PESIBLENESS, sb. Lan. Quietness, calm, peaceful-
ness. n.Lan. Thar's pesibleness when she isn't here (G.W.).
PESKY, adj. Sc. Yks. Oxf Bck. Amer. [pe-ski.]
Troublesome, tiresome, 'plaguy.'
e.Lth. A . . . dominie, — a pesky noisy polemic, Mucklebackit
Rhymes (1885) 97. e.Yks. There's a pesky lot o' rubbish i' the
heart, Wray Nesileton (1876) 8 ; (C.A.F.) s.Oxf. These pesky
boots ha' rubbed my feet somethin' crewel, Rosemary Chilterns
(1895) 118. Bck. Drat your pesky tongue! Buchanan Stormy
Waters, 33. [Amer. He only wanted to know if they had seen
anything of that pesky bullfrog, Bartlett (1877).]
PESS, sb. e.An. [pes.] A hassock, esp. a church
hassock. e.An.S Cmb. (J.D.R.), Nrf. (E.M.), Suf. (C.L.F.)
Cf. bass, sb} 4.
PEST, sb. and v. Sc. Cum. Yks. Lin. Sus. [pest.]
1. sb. In phr. what the pest, an ejaculation or mild oath.
Sus.' What the pest has become of the watering-pot ?
2. V. To pester, plague, worry ; to tease, annoy, harass.
Abd. The raggit chiels that pest our town, Anderson Rhymes
(ed. 1867) no. Rnf. The Highlands were pested wi' Sandy
M°Nab, Webster Rhymes (1835) 56. Lnk. Oor Parliament's sae
pested Wi' a cless seemed born tae thraw, WARDROPy. Mathison
(i88i) 107. Cum. We pestit on a canny while, Richardson Talk
(1871) ist S. 12, ed. 1886 ; I's niwer deun wid pestin', Gwordie
Greenup Yance a y««r (1873) 4 ; Cum.*, w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.'
That theare dog o' thine is alust pestin' oor ky.
PESTER, V. and sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Lin. Lei.
Won Ken. Also in form pesker Not.^ [pe'st3(r.]
1. V. To trouble, worry, annoy ; to inconvenience ; to
hamper, crowd.
Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks. (T.S.), w.Yks. (J.W.), n.Lan.i, Chs.', Not.i
n.Lin.' He'd gotten deals stowed all oher decks an' hetches while
th' keel was fair pestered wi' 'em. Lei.' ' Doon't ye pester soo '
is a common exclamation in a crush. Wor. We were pestered to
know what they meant (W.C.B.). Ken.' He'd got so much to
carry away, that he was reg'lar pestered-up, and couldn't move, no
form at all.
2. sb. Trouble, worry, annoyance.
s.Chs.' Ahy)v aad- sich u pestur tii ot yu dhii wai'tiir ; tin naay
yoa" diin")u waan't it. Not.*
PESTERMENT, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. [pe-st3(r)ment.]
Annoyance ; perplexity, embarrassment. n.Cy. (Hall.),
n.Yks.2, w.Yks.S ne.Lan.*
PESTILETT, see Pistolet.
PESTLE, sb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Der. Lin. Shr. Som.
Dev. Also written pestel nw.Der.' ; pestil(l w.Yks.'
Lan.' e.Lati.' nw.Der.' n.Lin.'; and in form pistol- Cum.*
[pe'stl, pe'stil.] 1. In phr. do things by degrees as the cat
eat the pestle, prov. n.Lin.' 2. The shank or fore-leg of
an animal, esp. of a pig. Also used^^. of persons.
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. i, 1896) ; w.Yks.' ; w.Yks.2
Gen. applied to a thick leg. ' What a pestle tha's got ! ' Lan. As
prime vyel an pestil as need beh tutcht, Tim Bobbin View Dial.
(1740) 27 ; He brought eaut a fresh-boilt pestil, Clegg Sketches
(1895) 331 ; Lan.', e.Lan.', nw.Der.' Shr.' The fore-leg of a
slaughtered pig, between the knee and the flitch. ' We'n 'ave a
pair of pestles an' a fowl boiled on Friday, then theer'll be broth
for the men's breakfasts.' w.Som.' ' Pestle [paesl] o' pork.' So
called when cooked fresh, instead of being salted for ham 0' pork.
Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 323. n.Dev. Pestle of pork, Grose
(1790).
Hence Pestle-pie, sb., see below.
Dev. ' A pestle pye,' a large standing pye, which contains a
whole gammon, and sometimes a neat's tongue also, together with
a couple of fowls, and if a turkey not the worse. A noted dish at
country fairs and wakes, and sometimes a Xtmass treat, Horae
Subsecivae (1777) 323 ; Grose (1790) MS. add. (iW.)
3. Com/.Pestle-tail,ahorse'staildenudedofhair. Cum.'*
[2. Pestelles of porke, Boke of Keruynge (1508) in Meals
and Manners, ed. Furnivall, 164.]
PESTMENT,s6. Cum. [pe'stment] A pest, plague ;
an annoyance.
Methods they devis'd This pestment to destroy, Stagg Misc.
Poems (ed. 1807) 39; Cum.*
PESTRATION, sb. Obs. Sc. Plague, worry, annoy-
ance.
Slg. In spite o' Birmingham, or Jews, Our pestration, Galloway
Poems (1792) 32.
PESZ, see Pea, sb}
PET, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written pett Abd. Gall. ; and in form pit- e.An.'
Nrf. Suf.' [pet.] \. sb. In cow/, (i) Pet-loll, a favourite,
darling ; (2) -man, the smallest pig in a litter, Jig. the
youngest child of a family, the smallest of a brood.
(I) Rxb. (Jam.) (2) e.An.' Nrf. (A.G.F.) ; (J.W.B.) ; Then I
weant to see to the owd sow's little pitman that I fed on milk
every morning, Spilling Molly Miggs (1873) x. e.Nrf. Mar-
shall Rur. EcoM. (1787). Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 292, ed.
1849; Suf.'
2. An extraordinarily bright day in the midst of bad
weather. Gen. in comp. Pet-day.
Rnf. It is commonly said, ' I fear this day will be a pet ' (Jam.).
Ayr. The lown of that time was as a pet day in winter, Galt
Gilhaize (1823) xxiii. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Ir.
(M.S.M.)
3. Temper, ill-humour, sulks, esp. in phr. at pet, in the
pet, to take pet or the pet.
Abd. Some girnin gowks May tak' the pett at harmless jokes,
Skinner Poems (1809) 102. Slk. To tak the pet, an' sit turnin up
your nose, Hogg Tales (1836) 223, ed. 1866. Cum. T'fella went
off heaam at pet, Sargisson/oc Scoap (1881) 79 ; I will tak t'pet,
Dickinson Lit. Rem. (1888) 142 ; To bed in t'pet wild Lantie
went, Richardson Talk (1876) 2nd S. 52; Cum.* n.Yks.' Wheea,
Jessy's teeak'n pet agen, folk sez ; n.Yks.* e.Yks. ' He taks pet
at ivvery thing yan sez or diz.' One who has had all his pets or
fits of ill-temper indulged to excess is said to be ' pettled,' Nichol-
son Flk-Sp. (1889) 77. w.Yks. (J.W.), ne.Lan.'
4. Comp. Pet-lip, a hanging, sulky lip ; a pout such as a
child makes before it begins to cry.
Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 309; (J.D.) ; Cum.* To hang a
pet-lip is to be sulky. n.Yks. He's mackin' a pet-lip (I. W.).
w.Yks. A ! t'little doy's settin it pet-lip ageean, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Feb. 1, 1896). ne.Lan.i, Wor. (J.R.W.)
5. V. To feed delicately ; to pamper. Sc. (Jam.)
6. With on : to be fond of a person as a child is. Used
in pp.
N.I.' Uls. She was that petted on me, Hamilton Uls. Bog
(1896) 21.
PET
[478]
PETTLE
7. To sulk, take offence ; to cause offence.
Sc. Several gentlemen inclined to have gone with us ; but the
Erie petting at it, forbare and stayed there, Hume Narrative (1809)
42 (Jam.). Cai.i Gall. Should some passage pet or pout them.
They ken best if the bonnet suit them, Nicholson Poet. Wks.
(1814) 100, ed. 1897.
8. To scold in a fretful, peevish manner.
Nhp.i ' He petted at him for nothing,' i.e. was angry without
occasion.
PET, PETAL, see Pit, sb}, Pith, Pattle.
PETCH, sb} Lan. [petj.] The black-headed gull,
Larus rudihundus. Science Gossip (1882) 164.
PETCH, 56.'' Yks. [Not known to our other correspon-
dents.] A pelt or dried skin used to make size for warps.
w.Yks. (D.L.)
PETCH,t/. Som.Cor. [petJ.] 1. To 'pitch,' light, settle.
Som. Lower an' lower they swept, till their shiny tails near
petch'd an the folded hly leaves that laid an the pond, Leith
Lemon Verbena (1895) 96.
2. To 'pitch,' to set the keynote of a tune ; &\so fig. to
begin, start.
Cor. The apurn-traade oal petch'd to scraim, T. Towser (1873)
78 ; To shaw our sperrits, ler us petch The laast new berryin'
[burying] tune, Hammond Parish (1897) 359.
PETCH, see Pegh.
PETER, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
written petre Ken. ; and in forms pater- Brks.' ; pity-
Wil.i [prt3(r.] 1. In comb, (i) Peter-boat, («) a decked
fishing-boat, smaller than a smack or yawl ; (b) a dredger-
man's boat ; (2) — Dick or a Dick, see below ; (3) —
Grievance or Grievous, a grumbler; a cross, fretful
child or person ; also used aitrib. ; (4) -man, {a) a fisher-
man ; {b) a Dutch fishing-vessel ; (c) obs., see below ; (5)
— Moguz, an ass ; (6) -'s plough, the constellation, Ursa
major; (7) -'s staff, the constellation, Orion's sword; (8)
•stone, a fragment of fossil encrinite ; (9) -waggy, a toy
in which the arms and legs of a grotesque figure are
thrown up when a string is pulled.
(i, a) Ken. (G.B.) (6) Suf. A boat which is built sharp at each
end, and can therefore be moved either way (Hall.). Lon. The
boats of the dredgermen are of a peculiar shape. They have no
stern, but are the same fore and aft. They are called Peter boats,
Maiuew Loud. Labour (1851) II. 148, col. i, ed. 1861. (2) Gall.
A favourite dancing step with the peasantry, performed by three
flegs (q.v.) with the feet, and two stamps with the heel alternately.
The movement of the feet correspond[s] to these words when said
at the same time ; indeed the noise the feet make seems to speak
them— 'Peter a Dick, Peter a Dick, Peter a Dick's Peatstack,' Mac-
taggart Encyd. (1824) 379, ed. 1876. N.I.i A child's toy made of
a half walnut shell, a small piece of stick and some thread. When
played upon by the fingers in a particular way, it makes a ticking
noise, and is supposed to say : — ' Peter Dick, Peter Dick, Peter
Dick's peat stack.' (3) War.=, w.Wor.i, Glo.i Oxf.i What a Peter
Grievance you be !— thar, 'ole thee tongue, an' Mam '11 gi' tha a
sugared tater. Brks.i, Ken.i, Sur. (L.J.Y.), Sur.i Sus.i What a
peter-grievous child you are ! Whatever is the matter ? Wil.i He
be a peter-grievious-looking sort of a chap. Children who look as
if they thought themselves sadly 'put upon' by their elders are
said to be ' Peter-grievous.' (4, o) e.An.i Still in use on the
Suf. coast. (4) Snf.i (c) Wil.' At Kington Langley ... the revel
of the village was kept on the Sunday following St. Peter's Day
(29th June), on which occasions a temporary ofBcer called 'the
Peter-man ' used to be appointed, bearing the ofBce, it may be
presumed, of master of the sports, Wil. Arch. Mag. XXIV. 83. (5)
Cor.2 (6)Sc.(Jam.) Per. They conjured Pleiades, implored Peter's
plough, Spence Poems (1898) 53. Gall. Lang Peter's Plough lift
hintings round the Pole, Mactaggart Encyd. (1824) 380, ed.
1876. (7) Sc. (Jam.) (8) Lei.^ Some of the fossils called astroites,
or vulgarly, Peter-stones, are found in the parish. White Gaz. Lei.
(s.v. Lubbenham). Nhp.i A common name, among agricultural
labourers, on the western side of the county, for pentacrinal ver-
tebrae, when they are turned up by the plough. (9)N.Cy.i, NUb.i
2. Phr. (i) to make a Peter of, to befool, ill-use in any
way ; (2) to make a Peter or bonnie Peter of oneself, to make
oneself look foolish or ridiculous ; (3) to put the Peter on, to
snub; (4) to comehomewith Peter Lacken,\.oreX\xm'^e.Vim!i.^s's,.
(i) Bnif. Ye nivver saw sic a peter 's they made o' the aul'
cripple boddie wi' geein 'im ower muckle drink (W.G.). (2) The
bairn fell into the deuk dub ower the een an made a bonnie [or
fine] peter o' himsell. He geed t' the market, an made peter o'
himsel' (!'6.). (3) Cai.', Bnff. (W.G.) (4) Cor. Hunt Po/. i?o(«.
w.Eng. (1865) 425, ed. 1896. •
3. //. Flagstones of unusual width, either wider or
narrower. w.Yks. (W.H.V.)
PETERS, sb. Chs.i Hatting term : work which has
been paid for before completion.
PETH, see Path, Peeth, Pith.
PETHER, PETHERED, see Pedder, Pithered.
PETHUR, V. n.Cy. To run ; to ram ; to do anything
in a hurry. (Hall.) Cf. patter, v} 3.
PETITION, sb. e.An.i [psti'Jan.] An adjuration.
He took strong petitions that he was innocent.
PETREL, sb. Yks. [pe't-rL] The kittiwake, Rissa
tridactyla. e.Yks. Swainson Birds (1885) 206.
PETRIE-BALL, s^i. Bnff.i [pe'tri-ba.] A kind of ball
used by shoemakers.
PETRIFIED, ppl. adj. Hrf. In comb. Petrified salt-
cellars, the fossil cup-shaped sponges, found in the
Farringdon soil. N. &-" Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 253.
PETTICOAT, sb. e. & s.Cy. Ken.^ Also written petty-
coat Ken.^ [pe'tikot.] A man's waistcoat.
e. & s.Cy. Ray (i6gi). Ken. Lewis /. Tenet (1736) ; Ken.12
PETTICOAT-TAILS, sb. pi. Obs. Sc. A kind of
cake baked with butter.
Such making of cookies and petticoat-tails, Scott Bride of
Lam. (1819) xxvi; (Jam.); Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 55.
PE'TTIE, s3. Sc. [Not known to our correspondents.]
[pe'ti.] A sea-bird.
Ayr. A precious load of sea-fowls, which he calls Ailsa cocks,
Ketty wakes, petties, and solan geese, Ainslie Land of Burns
(ed. 1892) 102.
PETTIES, s^i. ;!i/. Obs. ne.Lan.^ A term of contempt
for the lower scholars at Cartmel School.
PETTIGUES, sb. pi. Sus. [pe'tigiuz.] Troubles,
worries.
I never had pettigues but wot I fun frens ter draa me out ov urn,
Jackson Southward Ho (1894) I. 289 ; A peter-grievous wot
shrapes an makes a rookery, an a ranky chimley be pettigues fer
to send a feller in de crazy-house, ib. 338 ; Sus.i She's not one as
would tell her pettigues to everyone.
PETTING-STONE, sb. Nhb. Dur. [pe'tin-stisn.] A
stone, at a church-gate, over which a bride jumps on
leaving the church ; see below.
n.Cy. There was a 'petting-stone' for the bride to jump over, Den-
ham Tracts (ed. 1893) II. 213. Nhb. Then having duly jumped the
petting stones, Dixon Whittingham Vale (1895) 52 ; This is called
the louping stone, or petting stone, and it is said on the spot that
the bride must leave all her pets and humours behind her when she
crosses it, Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) i ; Nhb.i A custom prevails
at Bamburgh and other places, on the occasion of a wedding, for
the bride to be lifted over a stone, called the petting-stone, at the
church gates after the ceremony. It is generally commuted by a
money payment. Dur. A cross near the ruins of the church in
Holy Island ' is now called the Petting-stone. Whenever a
marriage is solemnised at the church, after the ceremony the bride
is to step upon it ; and if she cannot stride to the end thereof, it is
said the marriage will prove unfortunate,' Hutchinson Hist. Dur.
I-33-
PETTITOES, sh. pi. Chs. [pe-titoz.] A pet name
for the feet.
s.Chs.i [Great feet belong to the grunting hog, And the petti-
toes to the Httle pig, Halliwell Rhymes (1886) 278.]
PETTLE, s6. Sc. [pe-tl.] Afoot.
Rnf. Thro' glaury holes, an' dybs, nae mair Ye'U ward my pettles
frae the lair, Picken Poems (1813) I. 32. Ayr. (Jam.) Dmf.
Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351.
PETTLE, V. Sc. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. [pe'tl.] 1. To
fondle, caress, pet; to make much of; to coax, indulge;
to nestle or cling to.
Sc. Pettle us up wi' bread and water and siclike sunkets, Scott
Midlothian (1818) xviii. Lnk. Sae roos'd by ane of well-kend
mettle Nae sma' did my ambition pettle. My canker'd critics it will
nettle, Ramsay Pofws (1800) II. 329 (Jam., s.v. Pet). Lth. Ilka
young lassie he coaxes an' pettles, Ballantine Poems (1856) 43.
Bwk. He covered his mare wi' his cloak and his breeks. And
pettled her up like a queen, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 134.
Rxb. Ministring spirits should like to be pettlin' him here,
PETTLE
[479]
PEWRL
Edwards Mod. Poets, nth S. 295. n.Yks.' ^, ne.Yks.i m.Yks.i Of
a lamb and sheep together, it will be said of the former, that ' it
pettles ' with its head against the old one. w.Yks. Hutton Tour
to Caves (1781). Lan.^, ne.Lan.^
Hence Fettled, ///. flrf;'. (i) indulged to excess, spoilt;
(2) peevish, irritable, discontented.
(i) e.Yks. One who has had all his pets or fits of ill temper in-
dulged to excess is said to be ' pettled,' Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889)
77 ; e.Yks.i Applied gen. to a spoilt child. (2) e.Yks.i Misthress
is se pettl'd yan disn't knaw what ti deeah ti pleease her.
2. To occupy time over trifles ; to trifle.
Lakel.^ Thoo mun pettle aboot t'fauld an' deea tell we see hoo
t'wedder turns. Cum. He may pettle about, keepin o' things frae
harm. And at it from mwornin till murk, Dickinson Cumbr. (1876)
249 ; Cum.* Wm. He was prood ov his garden an' wad pettle
aboot it wi' a niver ceasin' (B.K.). n.Yks.^ w.Yks. Tour to
Caves (1781). Lan.', ne.Lan.i
Hence (i) Pettlement, sb. easy, trifling jobs of work ;
(2) Fettling, adj. trifling.
(i)w.Yks. HuTTON 7'o«;-/o Caws (1781). ne.Lan.^ (2)ne.Lan.'^
PETTLE, adj. Obs. n.Cy. Pettish, peevish. N.Cy.^
Grose (1790).
FETTLE, see Fattle, sb.
FETTY, adj.^ and sb.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also written pettie- Sc. (Jam.) [pe'ti.] 1. adj. In comb.
(i) Petty-pan, a white-iron mould used for pastry ; (2)
-point, a sewing stitch ; {3) — Sessions, see below.
(I, 2) Rxb. (Jam.) (3) Nrf. (Hall.) e.Nrf. The High Constable
of the hundred in which a ' statute ' is held, holds what is called a
petty sessions ; at which the hiring [of servants] and its attendant
circumstances are, or may be, registered ; which register becomes,
in cases of dispute, a useful record, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787)
I. 40.
2. Small, insignificant. eXin. A little petty shop (G.G.W.).
3. sb. A privy, latrine. Cf little-house.
Cum.i*, e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(May 31, 1884)8; w.Yks.=, s.Lan. (F.R.C.), Chs.ia, s.Chs.i,s.Not.
(J.P.K.), Lin. (J.C.W.), n.Lin.i, sw.Lin.i, War. 3, e.An.i
4. Obs. A short woollen under-vest worn by men. Cai.^
FETTY, sA.2 Der. [pe'ti.] The riimp.
A man who had put his arm into a rabbit hole and seized the
rabbit behind, said, ' I've got hold of his petty.' The word is in
common use at Dronfield. It is used bj' old gamekeepers and others,
Addy Gl. (1891).
FETTY, «i^'.=' sw.Lin.i [peti.] Pettish, out of temper.
See Pet, sb. 3.
He was a bit petty all day. I scufted the old cat, so it's made
her petty.
PETTY-BAB, sb. Yks. Also written pettibab w.Yks.^ ;
and in forms pettibabe w.Yks.^ ; petty-babby w.Yks.
[pe'ti-bab, -babi.] A spoilt child or person. Cf. Bessy-
bab(s. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Sept. 19, 1891) ; w.Yks.3
PETTY-CHAFS, sb. Nhp. Cor. Also in form petti-
chap Nhp.^ [pe'ti-tja2p(s.] 1. The golden or garden
warbler, Sylvia hortensis. Cor. Rodd Birds (1880) 315.
2. The long-tailed titmouse, Acredula rosea. Nhp.^
PETTY-WHIN, sb. Sc. Yks. Chs. [pe'ti-win.]
1. The needle furze. Genista anglica.
Lnk. Patrick Plants (1831) 280. w.Yks. Lees Flora (1888) 784.
2. The rest-harrow. Ononis arvensis. n.Yks. (R.H.H.),
Chs.^ (s.v. Hengorse.)
PEUGH, V. Sc. Yks. To breathe shortly and spasmodi-
cally. m.Yks.^ Cf pegh. Hence Peught, adj. asthmatic,
having great difficulty in breathing. Ayr. (Jam.)
PEUGH, mA Sc. An exclamation of disgust or annoy-
ance.
Slk. Difificulty in marrying a maid with light blue eyes — and
that maid an English one too ? Peugh ! Hogg Perils of Man (1822)
III. 382 (Jam.).
PEUGH, FEUGHLE, see Fue, Pule, v.''
FEUK(E, V. Sc. Cum. To whine, wail.
Abd. It would peuke awa like a bairnie greetan', Michie Dee-
side Tales (1872) 169.
Hence Feuking, ppl. adj. whining.
Cum. The schoolmaster . . . affecting a peuking voice, Caine
Shad. Crime (1885) 304.
FEUL, FEUN, FEUST, see Pule, v.^, Feen, Fuist.
PEUTER, see Peuther, Puter.
PEUTHER, V. Obs. or obsol. Sc. Also in forms
peuter Ayr. (Jam.) Kcb. ; pewter Gall. ; putherSc. (Jam.)
Or.I. L To canvass ; to go about in a bustling manner
to procure votes.
Sc. The tvva candidates were baith busy peuthering yesterday
at Aberdeen. He has peuthered Queensferry and ... he will
begin to peuther Stirling next week (Jam.). Ayr. {ib.)
Hence Peutering, vbl. sb. the act of canvassing.
Ayr. The peutering went on, and I took no part. The two
candidates were as civil and liberal to Mrs. Pawkie and my
daughters, Galt Provost (1822) xli.
2. To go about in an aimless manner ; to potter ; to have
the appearance of working and yet accomplish nothing.
Or.I. (S.A.S.) Gall. To pimp, an' peuther, and to tell A guid
tale, ay about mysell, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 59. Kcb. Fikin'
wi' cups and saucers, and peutrin' about nothing. Elder Borgue
(1897) 31.
Hence Fewtring, ///. adj. bungling, careless.
Gall. At bonspiels, ay, o' what a shilpet crew. Sic pewtring
bodies, curse me, ne'er I knew, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 86,
ed. 1876.
FEUTS, m/. Irel. An exclamation of impatience.
Don. Peuts, woman I ye might as well climb an apple tree to
gather wallflowers, Pearson's Mag. (July 1900) 52.
FEVERAL, sb. Sc. The flat stone with which girls
play the game of 'beds' (q.v.).
Lnk. A wee queen wi' a peveral, A wee king wi' a ba',
WARDROpy. Mathison (1881) 97.
PEVIL, V. N.I.i [pe-vil.] To strike rapidly.
PEVY, v. Nhp.i [pe-vi.] To pelt.
He pevy'd him well. The hail pevy'd about.
PEW,s6.and w. Sc. Nhb. Also written piewCld.( Jam.);
pioo S. & Ork.* ; pue Gall. ; ptih Edb. [pju.] L sb.
The least breath of wind or smoke ; the least ripple on
the sea. Used with a neg.
Sh.I. Not a pew of sea {Coll. L.L.B.) ; Dere's no a pju o' wind,
Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 78. Gall. There's no a pue o' reek
in a' the house, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 389, ed. 1876.
2. Phr. (i) not to play pew, (a) to be incapable of making
a sound ; Jig. to be utterly incapable ; (b) to make no
impression whatever; (c) not even to resemble approxi-
mately ; (2) to say pew to it, to emit a sound.
(i, a) Sc. I couldna hae played pew upon a dry humlock, Scott
Bride of Lam. (1819) xxiv ; ' He canna play pew,' is a phr.
still used to denote a great degree of inability, or incapacity for
any business. ' He never play'd pew,' he did not make the
slightest exertion (Jam.). Lnk. Wi' that he never mair play'd
pew, But . . . Away his wretched spirit flew, Ramsay Poems
(1800)1.311(16.). Nhb.i (A) Sc. It never played pew on him (Jam. ).
Edb. It [fire engine] did not play puh on the red het stanes, Moir
Mansie Wauch (1828) xix. (c) Ayr. The genie of Aladdin's lamp
could not play pew to you, Gki-t Sir A. Wylie (1822)11. 134 (Jam.).
(2) w.Sc. If John had been in ony ither body's hands he never
could ha'e stood it, but ye see he scarcely ever says pew til't,
Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 136.
3. A small quantity.
S. & Ork.i Cld. Being a smaller quantity than a pew or tait
and larger than a hait (Jam.).
4. V. Of smoke, &c. : to be wafted, to ascend.
Gall. The reek's pueing up. Whar comes the reek pueing frae ?
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
FEW, see Pue.
PEWDLE, V. Yks. Lan. Also in forms pewtle
w.Yks.^^ ; poutle, putle w.Yks.3 [piu'dl, piu'tl.] To cry,
whine, whimper. Cf puter.
w.Yks. Tommy let part of the contents of his spoon fall on the
head of one of the front ranks and he began to pewtle, Sad Times
(1870) 37 ; w.Yks.3 ; w.Yks.^ If thah doesn't gee ower paewdling
al gi'e thuh summut to paewdle for. Lan. They're pewdlin an'
singin, Clegg Sketches {i&g$) 266.
PEWEEP, PEWET, see Feesweep, Fee-wit.
PEWETY-SOILS, 56. //. Obs. Der. See below. Cf
peewit, 1.
Cold clayey soils in this county have numerous pewets, or
lapwings, flying and screaming over them, whence such are
often called pewety-soils, Marshall Review (1814) IV. 89.
PEWEY, FEWIL, PEWIT, FEWK, PEWRL, see
Paywee, Pule, v.°, Fee-wit, Pouk, sb.'^, Pule, v.^
PEWTER
[480]
PHILLIS
PEWTER, si?. ? Obs. w.Yks.' Also in forms puder,
puther. In phr. (i) /o rear like London pewter, to assume
consequence ; (2) to rear one on^s pewter, to bring one a
large fortune by marriage.
(i) In farm-houses it is usual to expose the pewter as ornamental
furniture, which was generally liept bright, and has an imposing
appearance. (2) ' She's reared him his puder,' spoken of a woman
who has brought her husband a large fortune.
PEWTER, PEX, see Peuther, Puter, Paik, v., Pixy.
PEYAILACK, sb. Sh.I. The membraneous covering
of the roe of a fish ; the roe entire. S. & Ork.^
PEYAY, int. Sc. A call made by milkmaids for
calves to come to their mothers. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
PEY-COD, PEYGH, see Peascod, Pegh.
PEYK(E, see Peak, sb.^, v."", Pick, v.^, Pike, v.'^
PEYKIL, PEYL, see Pikel, Pail, v., Peal, sb."-
PEYLE, see Peal, sb.'^, Pile, sb.^
PEYSE, PEYSEN, see Pease, Paise, v.^
PEYSHEN-DOCK,PEYSIE, see Patience dock, Peasie.
PEYSLE,56. Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) Also written peyzle.
Any small tool used by a rustic.
PEYSTEEGG, see Face-egg.
PEYSTER, sb. Sc. A miser who feeds voraciously.
Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 381. w.Sc. (Jam.)
PEYVEE, PEY-WEY, see Paw, sb.'', Pee-wee.
PEYZART,s6.anda^'. Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) Also written
peysart, peysert. 1. sb. A miser, niggard. 2. adj.
Parsimonious, niggardly. Cf. pesant.
PEZAC, sb. Cor. Also written pezzack Cor.^ [pe'zsk.]
A pilchard with a broken back. Cor.^^
Hence Pezzacky, adj. of fish : poorly, sickly. Cor.^
[OCor. pesach, rotten (Williams).]
PEZZEL, V. Lakel. Also written pezel Lakel.^ ; and
in form pizzel Cum.* [pe'zl, pi-zl.] 1. To labour with
might and main.
Lakel.2 We pezl't on a canny while. They pezel aboot a bit, an'
git ta knaw bi slow degrees. Cum. We . . . began pizzelan away
wih t'hacks an speeads, Sargisson /o« Scoa;!> (1881) 224 ; Cum.*
2. To dispute, wrangle. Lakel.^ 3. To hesitate, ib.
PEZZY, see Peasie.
PHAIRG, V. and sb. Bnff.^ [ferg.] 1. v. To do any
kind of work with vigour ; gen. with at or up.
2. To rub or beat severely ; gen. with up.
Phairg up the knife o' the stane. Phairg up's back till 'im.
3. sb. The act of rubbing.
PHANTAGES, s6.//. Obs. Nhb. [Not known to our
correspondents.] Faneies, whims, caprices. N. &' Q.
(1888) 7th S. vi. 148.
PHANTOM, adj. Chs. Wor. Also in form phantomy
Chs.^ [fa-ntsm.] Weak ; withered. See Fantome.
Chs.3 Horses are very phantomy at this time of year. w.Wor.^
Applied by mowers to bad grass.
PHARAOH, s6. Yks. [feaTa.] In phr. stout Pharaok,
strong ale or beer. Yks. (Hall.), w.Yks.'
PHARISEE, sb. War. Wor. Nrf. Suf. Ken. Sus.
[fa'risi.] A fairy. Cf. fairy.
War.3 I have only heard this word from quite old people.
Wor. Was a favourite haunt of the fairies {vulgo pharises). Allies
Aniiq. Flk-Lore (1840) 418, ed. 1852. se.Wor.i Nrf. Clyde Nrf.
Garl.(\Z'i2)\. %vS. ib. New Garl. {i.?,(i(}) -i-]i). Ken.12 Sus. It's
very hard to say how them rings do come, if it isn't the Pharisees
that makes 'em, Lower 5. Downs (1854) 157 ; Sus.'^
Hence Pharisee-loaves, sb. pi. flint echini turned up
by the plough, or found on the sea-shore. Sus. Lewes
Ch. Mag. No. Ixxv; (F.E.S.)
PHARSON'S TUESDAY, ;5/zr. Lin. Shrove Tuesday.
Every ' Pharson's Tuesday' cock-fighting went on in the pinfold
from morning to night, Cornh. Mag. XLVI. 229.
PHEARE, sb. Sc. A companion. See Fere, sb}
Gall. To win a pheare. Harper Bards (ed. 1889) 155 ; Learn
to chuse thee a pheare, ib. 156.
PHEASANT, sb. Cum. Nrf. Sus. Som. Dev. [fe-z3n(t.]
1. The bearded titmouse, Panurus biarmicus. Nrf.
SwAiNsoN Birds (1885) 31. 2. Comb, (i) Pheasant's
eye, the evergreen alkanet, Anchusa sempervirens. Som.
(B. & H.), w.Som.i; (2) -'s feather, the London pride,
Saxifraga umbrosa. Sus. (B. & H.) ; (3) — lily, the com-
mon fritillary, Fritillaria Meleagris. Cum.^* ; (4) -'s tail,
the shield fern, Polystichum aculeatum. Cum.*
PHEER, w. Sc. [fir.] To mark off the breadth of the
ridges by one or two furrows. Bnff."- See Feer, sb?-
Hence (i) Pheeran, {a) vbl. sb. the act of turning a
plough ; (b) sb. the furrow or furrows drawn to mark off
the breadth of the ridges ; (2) Pheerin-pole, sb. a pole
used by ploughmen in opening the furrows.
(i, a) Bnfif. When the ridge is at iirst broken up, there ought
to be a small interstice left between the two furrows, to facilitate
the next pheering, Agric. Surv. 4 App. (Jam.) ib) Bnff.i (2)
Hdg. It stands as plain's a pheerin' pole, Lhmsden Poems (1896) 23.
PHEESY, adj. e.An.i [fi-zi.] Fretful, querulous,
irritable, sore. See Feasy, s.v. Fease, v} 3.
PHEGGY, adj. Shr.^ [fe-gi.] Having a superabun-
dant crop of Cynosurus cristatus. See Feg, sb.
PHELIEBEG, see FiUibeg.
PHELTRIE, sb. Lin. A disorder in cattle and horses ;
? a misprint for ' pheltric' Reports Agric. (1793-1813) 29.
Cf. feltrics.
PHEUCH, int. Sc. Also written pheugh. [fjvxx-] An
exclamation of disgust and impatience.
Abd. Pheuch I fat wye cud she ken that, an' it but a little wee
creatur', Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 30 ; Pheuch ! never min'
altho' we shak' the ceihn', Ogg Willie Waly (1873) 29. Ayr. He
humm'd and haw'd— the lass cried pheugh ! And bade the fool no
deave her, Boswell Poet. Wis. (1883) 14, ed. 1871.
PHIBBIE, sb. Cor. The Phoebe, an old country dance.
Hence to dance the Phibbie, phr. a horsewhipping.
Cornishman (Sept. 1891).
PHILABEG, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Also in forms phili-
beg Sc. n.Cy. ; phillybag Cum. 1. The tartan kilt of the
Scottish Highlander. See FiUibeg.
Sc. And clad my hurdies in a philabeg, Scott Waverley (1814)
xliii. Rnf. I got a fleg Wi' their claymores and philabegs. Harp
(1819) 279. Ayr. The cut of Adam's philibeg. Burns Grose's
Peregrinations (1789) st. 8. Lnk. With his philabeg showing
a stout pair of legs, Coghill Poems (1890) 81. Lth. Directly
from his philabeg the Piper drew a large parcel of bread and cold
meat, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 173. Slk. Cam ye by Athol,
lad wi the philabeg ? Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 410. GaU. A philabeg
o' the rashes green, Harper Bards (ed. 1889) 73. n.Cy. Border
Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.)
2. The leather pouch worn in front of the Highlander's
kilt as a pocket.
Edb. Wi' kilt, an' dirk, an' philabeg, Wi' hose, an' brogues,
an' a', M^Dowall Poems (1839) 40.
3. //. Obs. Long drawers visible below the skirt, formerly
worn by girls.
Cmn." Axt him if he'd ivver seed laal sprickelt paddicks wid
phillybags an gallases on, W. C. T. X. (1899) 4, col. 2.
PHILANDER, v. Obs. Sc. To prance, caper.
Edb. And up and down philandered the beast on its hind-legs
and its fore-legs, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) iii
PHILIBEG, see FiUibeg.
PHILIP, sb. Chs. Nhp. The common sparrow. Passer
domesticus. Chs.* (s.v. Jack Nicker), Nhp.*
[' A litle boke of Philip Sparrow,' title of an elegy by
Skelton.]
PHILISTINES, sb. pi. Nrf Earwigs and other insects.
Brewer Did. (ed. 1895) ; (E.G.P.)
PHILL, see Fill, sb."-
PHILLER, si^. Nhp.i A shaft-horse. The same word
as Filler, s.v. Fill, sb?
PHILL-HANKS, s^.. ;>/. Not. The same word as Fill-
hanks, s.v. Fill, sb} (W.H.S.)
PHILL-HORSE, sb. Nhp.i se.Wor.^ A shaft-horse.
The same word as Fill-horse, s.v. Fill, sb}
PHILLILOO, sb. Irel. Also written phillelew w.Ir.
[fl-lilu.] An uproar, noise, outcry. SeeFillyloo. Cf pillaloo.
w.Ir. There was no use in life in settin' up a phillelew. Lover
Leg. (1848) 1. 189. s.Ir. He'd snap at and bite and then there was
the philliloo, Croker Leg. (1862) 26.
PHILLIS, sb. Ken.i [fl-lis.] A loosely-twisted kind
of string, made of hemp. See Fillis.
PHILS
[481]
PIANET
PHILS, sb. pi. Sh.I. [filz.] A spinning term : the
strands, cords.
The rim of the wheel being turned in the direction contrary to
that by which the strands — which are variously called ' phils ' or
cords— are spun, Sh. News (July 2, 1898).
PHILTREWORT, sb. Yks. [filtawat.] The en-
chanter's nightshade, Circaea luietiana. w.Yks. Lees
Flora (1888) 237.
PHINGRIM, sb. Abd. (Jam.) A kind of coarse woollen
cloth. See Fingerin.
PHINK, 5A. Sc. Various species of the finch, P/yrrw/a.
Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899).
PHINNICK, PHINOC, see Finnac(k.
PHIZ-GIG, sb. Lin. A wizened old woman dressed
extravagantly. (Hall.) See Fiz-gig.
FHIZZ, sb. Obs. Sc. ? A beard.
Edb. Auld Willie at the keekin'-glass Is takin' afF his phizz,
Auld Handsel Monday (1792) 19.
PHLEME, sb. Sc. Yks. Also in form phleeam. The
same word as Fleam, sb} (q.v.)
PHOOKA, s6. Irel. A phantom horse which is believed
to carry off belated travellers on its back. See Pooka.
Ir. The Irish Phooka takes the shape of a horse, and induces
children to mount him, then plunges with them over a precipice,
Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) vii. n.Ir. On went the Phooka with
nivir a halt Through began' rough heather, an' on by Lough Salt,
Lays and Leg. (1884) 22. s.Ir. The Phookas were very numerous
in the times long ago, Croker Leg. (1862) 139; The peasantry
usually ascribe accidental falls to the agency of the Phooka, ib. 159.
PHOOKY, adj. e.An.i= Of fruits and also of turnips :
unsound, soft, woolly. See Foky.
PHORANS, sb. pi. Irel. Also in form phorams.
Various species of dock, Rumex. Lou. (B. & H.)
PHOSY, adj. Nhb.i e.An.'== Also in forms phoosy
e.An.'^; phossy e.An.^ Of fruits and crops: frostbitten,
soft, woolly. See Fozy.
PHRASE, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Also Cor. Also
written phraze Sc. ; phraise Sc. Cum.^* ; phraize Sc. ;
and in form phrasy Nhb."- [friz.] 1. sb. Smooth,
flattering, insincere speech. See Fraise, sb}
Sc. There need na be sae great a phraise. Chambers Sngs.
(1829)1.41. Frf. MoRisoN Poems (1790J 150. Edb. To 's greatest
praise, without an' phraise Was 's integrity, Liddle Poems (1821)
7. Bwk. Then let your frien'ship show itsel' 'Thout fashion's
phraise or fetter, Calder Poems (1897) 217. Gall. Lauderdale
Poems (1796) 60. Cum.3 He's ta'en her in his armes twa, Wi'
monie a kiss an' phraise ; Cum.*
2. Unmeaning, voluble talk ; fuss, ado.
Per. I'll stap up to Erlock withouten mair phrase, S pence Poctms
(1898) 32. Edb. What is man? Why a' this phraze? Fergusson
Poems (1773) 208, ed. 1785.
3. Phr. to make a phraise, (i) to pretend great regard,
concern, or sympathy ; to pretend to suffer more than
one does in reality ; (2) to flatter ; (3) to have a confiden-
tial talk ; to make a verbal fuss ; to use many words
expressive of reluctance when one is really inclined to do
as proposed.
(i) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.! (2) Sc. (Jam.) Rnf. Poor the fame my
Verse canlen',Wi' a' the phraize I'm makin',PicKENPoews(i8i3)
I. 146. (3) Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Nor need I mak' a phrase an' tell
How times, how trade is dull, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 29.
Bwk. Owre their ain guid deeds or sayin's Nane but fules wad
mak' a phraise, Calder Poems (1897) 227. Rxb. The twa auld
birkies made an unco phrase, A. Scott Pof/«s(ed. 1808) 28. N.Cy.i
What need ye make sic a phrase about it ? Cum. Blamire Poet.
Wks. (c. 1794) 192, ed. 1842.
4. A disturbance, quarrel. Nhb.', Cum.* 5. A habit,
custom.
Cor.i I shall soon learn the phrases of the house. w.Cor. She's
all the time groanin'. Why? Nothin' in the world but a nasty
old phrase she've took up (H.D.L. ).
6. V. To talk insincerely ; to use coaxing, flattering
language.
Cai.i Fif. From it he us'd, on gala-days, . . To pitter-patter and
to phrase, Tehnant Papistry (1827) 202. Ayr. Service Notandums
(1890) 9. Gall. Now-a-days ane canna phraise, An' sooth, an'lie,
an' sweeten, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 84. Cum.^*
VOL. IV.
Hence (i) Phraiser, sb. a wheedling, coaxing person ;
(2) Phraising, (a) sb. flattery ; fair speech ; (b) ppl. adj.
given to flattery.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) (2, a) Dmb. At an auld wife's phraisin' blush na
so, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 36. eXth. There's nae dou't he has
the gift o' phrasin ; he wad w^yle the laverocks oot o' the lift,
Hunter /. Inwicli (1895) 153. Cum.3 An pays what he owes
fwok wid phraisin' or fratchin, 55. (b) Bnfl.^ He's naething bit a
phraisin' busht o' a mannie. Ayr. Auld Nanny, her mother, was
a phraisin' body, — . . ' Come your wa's ben, my wee pet lamb,
chookie, hen, bird, doo, ' . . she would say, Service Dr. Duguid
(ed. 1887) loi. Edb. Blear-e'ed phrasan' Marion dwells, Carlop
Green (1793) 134, ed. 1817.
PHRENZY, adj. Der. Lei. War. Also in form phranzy
Der.'^ nw.Der.' [fre'nzi, fra'nzi.] Hasty, passionate.
Cf franzy. Lel.^ A's so phrenzy. War.^
Hence Phranzy-tempered, adj. ill-conditioned. Der.'*,
nw.Der.'
PHRUMPING,;5r/. Der. News-mongering. Monthly
Mag. (1815) II. 297. See Frump, v? 2.
PHTHISICKIN, adj. Ess. [ti'zikin.] Of a cough:
slight, tickling.
He used to have a little phthisickin cough when he was at
school (S.P.H.).
PHUNKY, adj. War. Sodden with water. See
Funky. Cf. phunlay.
Land saturated by rain is said to be phunky (Hall.).
PHUNLAY, adj. War. [funle.] Sodden with mois-
ture, applied to land. Cf phunky.
Whaat bist us to do with long oolands this year, maister ; it's
so phunlay it's over j'our shoe tops in wa'ater? Leamington
Courier (Mar. 6, 1897) ; War.*
PHYNNODEREE, sb. I.Ma. A useful sprite, said to
dislike clothing.
It reminds us of the Manx Phynnoderee, who, when the farmer
complained of his not cutting the grass sufficiently close, left the
grumbler to cut it himself next year, Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) vii.
PHYSGY, sb. Dev. Also written phizgie. [fl-zgi.]
A pickaxe. See Bisgy.
Go and fetch me a phizgie, Reports Provinc. (1889) ; The men
were armed with picks, levers, ' physgies," Baring-Gould Idylls
(1896) 210,
PHYSIC, sb. Lin. Lon. [fizik.] 1. In comp. Physic-
pie, a name apphed to rhubarb when first introduced on
the streets.
Lon. People laughed at him for offering ' physic pies,' but he
persevered, and I have shown what the sale of rhubarb now is,
Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) I. 84.
2. Phr. on the physics, suffering from diarrhoea. n.Lin.'
PHYSICAL, adj. Obs. Sc. 1. Pertaining to physic ;
drugs, &c.
Abd. All sort of physical and chirurgicall mendicamentis, Tur-
REFF Gleanings (1859) 172.
2. Medical.
Ayr. The droggest would tak him for a word o' my mouth, if ye
thought he's o' a physical turn, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) vi.
3. Medicinal, healing.
Ayr. If he gives a bitter cup, it is physical, Dickson Writings
(1660) I. 41, ed. 1845.
PIAAG, V. Sh.I. [pjag.] To work hard, to toil
assiduously. Jakobsen Norsk in Sh. (1897) 11; S. & Ork.*
PIALE, see Pale, sb}
PIANA, sb. Nhp. Ken. The magpie. Pica rustica.
See Pianet, sb} Nhp.^ Ken. Baker Gl (1854).
PIANET, sb} Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Not. Shr. Also written piannet Dur.' w.Yks.
ne.Lan.'; pie-annet w.Yks.; pyanet Lan.'; pyannet
n.Lan.' ; and in forms pianate w.Yks. ; piannot n.Yks.^
Chs.^; pieannot Chs.^^ ; pienet w.Yks.^ ; pinotnw.Der.';
pyanot N.Cy.' Nhb. Not. ; pyenat(e w.Yks. ; pynart
Lan.' ; pynate w.Yks.* ; pynet(t N.Cy.' Der.'^ Not. ;
pynot w.Yks.'^ Lan.' e.Lan.' [paisnat, pai'nat.] The
magpie, Pica rustica.
Sc. Johnson Did. (1755). n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.' Nhb.
Dentiam Tracts (ed. 1895) II. 20; Nhb.', Dur.', n.Yks.^ w.Yks.
SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 75 ; Az big az pyenat nests, TomTreddle-
HOYLE Bairnsla Ann. (1864) 27 ; She flew at me scriking out
32
PIANET
[482]
PICK
likea 'pie-annet,' Snowden Web of Weaver {i&(j6) x ; Hutton Tour
to Caves (1781) ; w.Yks.^'^^'* Lan. I yerd meh gronny say hoo'd
as leef ha' seen two Owd Harries as two Pynots, Tim Bobbin View
Dial. (1740) 22 ; Nor see th' three lucky pynarts fly, Ramsbottom
Phases 0/ Distress (1864) 100; Laa.i, n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', eXan.i Chs.
Science Gossip (1865) 36 ; Chs.i^s^ Der.12, nw.Der.l, Not. (L.C.M.),
(J.H.B.) Shr.i Obsol. \_Agasse, a Pie, Piannet, or Magateepie,
COTGR.]
PIANET, sb.'^ Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin. Shr. Also
written piannet Cum.^* s.Chs.' ; pyannet w.Yks. ; and in
forms peannot Lakel.^; piannet Clis.^^ ; pyanot w.Yks.'^
Lan.' n.Lin.^ ; pynat w.Yks. [pai-anat, -it; painst] Tlie
common peony, Paeonia officinalis. Also in cow/. Pianet-
flower.
Lakel.2, Cum.l* w.Yks. Wi a faice az red az a pynat-flaar,
Tom Treddlehoyle Ba»V«s/a Ann. (1859) 55; Aw blushed like
a pyannet. Hartley Puddin' (1876) Burfs Baby ; w.Yks.^, Lan.',
Chs. '3 s.Chs.' Pahyaan-it. nLin.i Shr.' 'Er'd got a posy as
big as a besom, 60th three planets, an' a armful o' gilliflowers.
[Double peony, vulgarly called a pianet. Holme Armory
(1688) bk. ii. 71.J
PIANO, PIAS-EGG, PIAT, see Peony, Pace-egg, Pyet.
PIAVIER, PIBBLE, see Paver, sb.'^, Pebble.
PIBCORN, sb. Obs. Wal. Cor. A ' hornpipe,' a rustic
musical instrument ; see below.
Wal., Cor. Formerly very common. It consists of a wooden
pipe with seven holes, surmounted by a horn at each end, the one
to collect the wind blown into it by the mouth, and the other to
convey the sound as modulated by the performer. It is 19 inches
in length, the tone a medium between the flute and clarionet,
N. & Q. (1870) 4th S. vi. 512.
[Wei. and OCor. pib, ' fistula, tibia ' + corn, ' cornu,' see
Davies and Williams.]
PIBROCH, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Also written peebroch Rnf. ;
and in forms peebrach Sc. ; pibrach Edb. n.Cy. ; pibrugh
Edb. [prbrox-] Bagpipe or Highland music, esp. that
of a martial kind. ,
Sc. The martial strains of the peebruch, Magopico (ed. 1836) 30 ;
Whistling part of a pibroch as he reloaded his piece, Scott Waver-
ley (1814) xvi ; Gen. applied to those airs that are played on the
bagpipe, before the Highlanders, when they go out to battle (Jam.).
Elg. March to the pibroch's soul-stirring strain, Tester Poems
(1865) 177. Abd. Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 66. Per. Monteath
Dunblane (1835) 108, ed. 1887. Fif. Pibrochs and tunes one
mingled roar, Tennant Anster (1812) 84, ed. 1871. s.Sc. Snaith
Fierceheart (1887) 42. Dmb. Pibrochs shrill Lead marshalled
hosts of kilted men, Salmon Gowodean (1868) viii. Slg. MuiR
Poems (1818) 61. Rnf. Frae ae hut roars the peebroch loud,
PiCKEN Poems (1813) II. 127. Ayr. Goldie Poems (1822) 26.
Lnk. Watson Poems (1853) 94. Edb. A' the clan does pibrughs
sing Frae noon till gloamin', Forbes Po««)s (1812) 51; Now the
bagpipe's dumb, . . Sae sweetly as it wont to bum. And Pibrachs
skreed, Fergusson Poems (1773) 129, ed. 1785. Hdg. Lumsden
Poems (i8g6) 9. Bwk. I hear the pibroch soundin', A rousin'
martial blast, Calder Poems (1897) 176. Gall. Nicholson Poet.
Wks. (1814) 198, ed. 1897. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.)
Hence Pibroch-reed, sb. a bagpipe.
Edb. I'd rather be a highland laird, To play upon a pibroch reed.
Than be a prince, Liddle Poems (1821) 209.
[Gael. piobaireacM, the art of playing on the bag-pipe, a
piece of music peculiar to the bag-pipe (M. & D.)!]
PICAROONER, sb. nw.Dev.^ A small herring-boat ;
orig. applied to boats used in wrecking.
[Der. of lit. E. picaroon, a plunderer of wrecks (CD.).
Sp. picaron, a great rogue.]
PICCATARRIE, see Pictarnie.
PICCHE, sb. n.Cy. A bee-hive. (Hall.)
PICE, sb. w.Yks.'' [pais.] A box, used in conip.
Salt-pice.
PICHER, sb. and v. Sc. Also in form picker (Jam.).
[pi'xar, piksr.] 1. sb. A flurry, bustle ; work done in
a bustling, useless manner ; a bother, perplexity. Bnff.',
w.Sc. (Jam.) 2. A weak, busthng person ; one who
works in a flurry, without plan or method, ib. 3. v. To
work in a hurried, busthng manner ; to be bothered or
perplexed in one's work. ib.
PICHERTY, PICHOCKS, see Pickelty, Pitchats.
PICHT, V. and sb. Sc. [pixt] 1- i>. To work in a
weak manner. Bnflf.^ 2. sb. A very diminutive and
deformed person. Abd. (Jam.)
PICIMA, see Pickmire.
PICK, sb} and v} Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written pic w.Yks.^ ; picke Chs. ; pik Sc. ; and in
forms pack Sur. ; peck Crk. Rut. War.* s.Wor.^ Glo.^
Oxf ' Brks.i Ess.i Ken.' Sus.' Hmp.^ Wil.' ; pecky Dor. ;
peek Cor. ; pix Nhp.* [pik, pek.J 1. sb. A pickaxe ;
a miner's pointed hammer.
S. & Ork.i MS. add. Elg. Couper Poetry (1804) I. 218. Abd.
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 187. s.Sc. Wi' pick an' spade, T.
Scott Poems (1793) 320. Ayr. Service Notandums (1890) 62.
Lnk. The handle of a miner's pick, Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 56.
Edb. Maclagan Poems (1851) 159. GaU. Wark that's done wi'
pick, or sledge, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 59. Wgt. Fraser
Wigtown (1877) 123. n.Ir. Pick, spade, an' sack. Lays and Leg.
(1887) 20. Nhb. To thraa in the picks [to throwupajob](R.O.H.);
Nhb.' It is about eighteen inches long ; sharpened at both ends;
now usually of steel throughout, weighing from three pounds up-
wards. Through an eye or socket in the centre is fixed a handle
of ash or hickory, two and a half feet in length. Nhb., Dur. Green-
well Coal Tr. Gl. (1849"). e.Yks.' w.Yks. A small pickaxe,
usually weighing from 3 to 4 lb. The principal tool used by a
collier (S.J.C.) ; w.Yks.^ Chs.i In salt-mining the picks used are of
a somewhat special construction. The handle of wood is about 30
inches long ; the head is straight but tapering at each end, with
sharp steel points. The weight is from four to six pounds. Der.
No miner's . . pick . . may be removed from their ground, Man-
LOVE Z.rarf7lf!'MC5 (1653) 1. 207. Not. (L.C.M.) Nhp. Which the
sandman's delving spade. And the pitman's pix have made, Clare
Vill. Minst. (1821) I. 116; Nhp.' A pointed mattock, a pick-axe.
In some places a single tool is called by a plural name, as, ' a pair
of picks'; Nhp.2, War. (J.R.W.), War.2 s.Wor. Pick or peck
has two pointed ends. Pick-axe has one pointed end and one cutting
end at right angles to the helve (H.K.) ; s.Wor. 1, se.Wor.i, Glo.^,
Oxf. (G.O.), Oxf.i MS. add., Brks.i, suf.i, Ess.» Ken. The roads
are so hard, it spoils their picks (D.W.L.). Sur. (T.S.C.), Sus.',
Hmp.i, Wil.l Dor. Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in N. & Q. (1883) 6th S.
viii. 45. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i Kaan dtie-noa'urt
wai dhee-uz pik voaT ee-z u-shaa-rpt. Dev. A labourer with what
is here called a pick. Bray Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) I. 70.
nw.Dev. ^
2. Camp, (i) Pick-carrier, a boy employed to carry the
blunt 'picks' to the 'pick-shop' to be sharpened; (2)
-hammer, a geologist's hammer ; (3) -hawm, the handle
of a pickaxe ; (4) -hole, a wound made by the point of a
pickaxe ; (5) -money, (6) -pence, a sum varying from id.
to 2d. per week paid by each hewer for the sharpening of
his pickaxe ; (7) -shaft, see (3) ; (8) -sharper, the smith
employed to sharpen the hewers' 'picks'; (9) -shop, the
place where the ' picks ' are taken to be sharpened.
(i) Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. G/.(i888). (2) Nhb. Gannin'
aboot jowlin' aal the rocks an' ' glidders '-wi' a wee pick-hammer,
Pease Mark o' Deil (1894) 124. (3) Lan. Sich heighvy-keighvy
pickhawms, CLEGcSfe^cAfS (1895)397. (4, 5, 6) Nhb.' Nhb., Dur.
Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (7) n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.), s.Wor.i,
Glo.i (8) Nhb. I The hewer finds his own picks, but has them
sharpened and set out for him by the colliery smith (called the
pick-sharper) employed for the purpose, paying to him in return \d.
per fortnight, Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). Nhb., Dur. Nichol-
son Coal Tr. Gl. (9) Nhb., Dur. Nicholson ib.
3. Obs. A pike.
Sc. I will go, if it were with but a pick upon my shoulder,
Rogers Reformers (1874) 4. Abd. These gallants had dainty
muskets, picks, and guilded partisans, and such like, Spalding
Hist. Sc. {iig'2) I. 21. Wxf.'
Hence Pickman, sb. a soldier armed with a pike.
Sc. He hade, from the degree of a pickman in Colonel Hep-
burn's regiment in France, by his great gallantry, raised himself
to the chief command, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 66.
4. A gaff used in sea-fishing; an eel-spear; an instru-
ment for detaching limpets from the rock ; a fisherman's
heading-knife.
Sh.I. He took his cuddie an' pick an' guid i' da lempit ebb, Sh.
News (Jan. 22, 1898) ; S. & Ork.' MS. add. n.Sc. He [the kelper]
is armed with a ' pick,' an implement resembling a very strong hay
fork, but with the prongs set, like those of a rake, at right angles
to the handle. With this pick ... he grapples the tumbling sea-
PICK
[483 J
PICK
weed and drags it up to the beach, out of the reach of the waves,
Longman's Mag. (Nov. 1895) 33. Nhb. 'Stand by with the pick,
it is a big 'un,' and a fine codling was hauled in. The ' pick' was
a rudekind of gaff, Davies Rambles Sch. Field-club (1881) xxxv.
e.An.i, Ken.i
5. An instrument used for cutting beans ; a turnip-hack ;
see below.
Rut. (J.P.K.) Ess. They cut their beans with a tool they call a
peck, being a short handled scythe for one hand, and a hook for
the other, Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815) II. 50.
6. A point ; the prong of a fork. Not. (L.C.M.), Nhp.12
7. A small mark or stroke.
Dev. I think there's a little pick over it, Reports Provinc. (iSSi^) 25.
8. A basket used for drawing coals out of a pit.
Chs. Eight pickes make a tun (K.) ; Chs.'^
9. V. To use a pickaxe ; to loosen ground with a pick-
axe ; gen. with up.
s.Wor. (H.K.), Oxf.i MS. add., Brks.i Sus.i He pecked he with
a peck. Wil. To peck up the road (G.E.D.) ; (E.H.G.) ; Wil.i
Hence (i) Pecking-poker, sb. the poker with which
slag is removed in casting metal ; (2) Picker, sb. (a) a
man who separates coal from refuse at the pit-bank ; (b)
a mining tool ; see below ; (3) Picking-standing, sb. the
floor upon which the quarryman stands to pick ' jad.'
(ij s.Yks. (W.S.) (2, a)w.Yks. (T.T.) (b) Cor. Haft of round
iron, blade, rectangular, or slightly tapered with chisel-faced point,
used in the St. Just district for working in jointy ground, Bauer-
man Mining Models (1865) 19. (3) Som. Winwood Excur. to
Corsham, Prov. Geol. Assoc. (July 1896) XIV. 351.
10. To uproot turnips with a hand instrument. Rut.
(J.P.K.) Hence Picker, sb. an instrument used for
picking turnips.
Nhb.i It is called a 'tormit' picker, or picker simply. It is
usually made from a broad-bladed sickle, the back rib of which is
forged and drawn over in hook form to a fine point. The pointed
hook is used for ' ruttin up' the turnips, whilst the blade is used
for ' shawin' the tops, when the turnips require to be gathered
and stored. For pulling turnips only, a two-pronged curved-in
picker is used. A third form of picker is used for lifting out the
shells of turnips which have been eaten hollow below the surface
by sheep; it has a point at nearly a right angle from the shank,
and is called a ' dyeuk-neb' (duck-bill) picker. n.Yks. (I.W.)
11. To give a light stroke with any pointed instrument ;
to indent ; to hew and dress stone.
Sc. ' To pik or pick a millstane,' to indent it slightly (Jam.).
Sh.I. Shfi's as slight noo as a sharpin'-stane for want o' bein'
■picVXi, Sh. News {hec. 11, i89'7). Bnff.'
Hence Picked, ppl. adj. of a millstone : dressed and
prepared for grinding.
Abd, The miller sets a new picked stane, An' dreams o'aswellin
moulter, Murray Hamewith (1900) 4.
12. Phr. to see as far on or through a millstone as he that
picked it, to understand what is gomg on.
Sc. Kelly Prov. (1721) 215. Don. The same lad . . . can see as
far through a millstone as the man picked it, Macmanus Bend of
7?oarf (1898) 40.
13. To dig for eels with an eel-pick ; to detach limpets
from a rock.
Sh.I. (J.S.) Nrf. We go a' pickin for sich eels as have buried
theerselves in the mud, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895) 51.
14. Salt-making term : to break up and take away the
scale that forms on the bottom of a pan during
evaporation.
Chs. Pan-scratch or scale gradually accumulating it becomes
necessary to remove it every three or four weeks by picking,
Marshall Review (1819) II. 97 ; Chs.^
Hence (i) Pickings, sb.pl. salt encrusted at the bottom
of the pans ; (2) Picking-salt, sb. the first salt made after
a pan has had the scale taken off the bottom.
(i) Chs. These pickings were analysed, He found 480 parts to
contain 40 muriate of soda, 60 carbonate, and 380 sulphate of
lime, Marshall Review (1818) 97. w.Wor.^ Broken and ground
up for agricultural purposes. (2) Chs.^
15. Fig. To set to work ; to work hard.
Crk. Away they pecked at it hard and fast, Flk-Lore Jrn. (1883)
I- 317-
PICK, sb.'^ and v.^ In gen. dial, use in Sc. and n.
counties to Not. Lin. Also written pic w.Yks.^ ; pik
e.Lan.' Der.^ [pik.] 1. sb. Pitch. Also used advb. in
comb. Pick-dark, -mirk, &c.
Sc. The last of Pick and Tarre . . . ij ounce, Skene Difficil IVds.
(1681) 28. Sh.I. Seven yoag shalls o' pick, Sh. News (June 12,
1897) ; S. & Ork.i Or.I. Twa barrels pick castin in about the
banks of the Skerries, Peterkin Notes (1822) Append. 30. Abd.
It's mark's pick in winter, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 208. Per.
As dark as pick, Edwards Siratheam Lyrics (1889) 125. Frf. The
nicht's coming on as black as pick, Barrie Minister (,1891) xxxi.
e.Fif. Pick-mirk cam doon on them afore they had gane half the
wey, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) ii. Lth. I canna tarry, Pick mirk
night is setting in, Macneill Poc^ Wks. (1801) I3i,ed. 1856. Edb.
Roads are deep, and nights pick dark, Macneill Bygane Times
(1811). Peb. Twa tups, . . Wi' sconces black as pick, Lintoun
Green (1685) 11, ed. 1817. n.Cy. (J.L. 1783), N.Cy.i Nhb.i Pick
an' tar meng'd together. Pick dark. Pick black. Dur. Raine
Charters, b'c, Finchale (1837) 360. Cum. It was seunn as dark as
pick, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 204. Cum., Wm. Nicolson
(1677) Trans. R. Lit. Sac. (1868) IX. Wm. Afooar it wes pick
dark, Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 7. n.Yks.^^" ne.Yks.i T'neefs as
black as pick. e.Yks. Beughs o' big esh three, at cooaner, meead
it as dahk as pick, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 33 ; e.Yks.', w.Yks.
(F.P.T.), w.Yks.is, n.Lan,l, e.Lan.', Der.S Not. (J.P.K.) Lin.
Skinner (1671). n.Lin. Sutton Wds. (i88i); n.Lin.i sw.Lin.i
It's pick, I'm just hotting it for the mester, he's clipping sheep.
Hence (i) Pickie-fingered, adj. inclined to steal ; cf.
tarry-fingered ; (2) Picky, adj. pitchy ; dark.
(i) s.Sc. Applied to one to whose fingers the property of his
neighbour is apt to adhere (Jam.). (2) w.Yks.'
2. Comp. (i) Pick-mark, the mark on sheep, made upon
them when newly shorn. n.Yks.'* ; (2) -pot, a pitch-pot.
sw.Lin.' 3. Wax. S. & Ork.^ Hence Pickit-lingal, sb.
a shoemaker's waxed thread, ib. 4. v. To daub or
cover with pitch or dirt.
Sc. (Jam.) S. & Ork.' ' Pickit-wi-dirt '. — daubed with dirt.
[1. Fyk or pyche, ^;x, Prompt; Pikke, pix, Cath. Angl.
(1483). 4. To pykke, bituminare, ib.]
PICK, v.^ and sb.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written pic w.Yks.^ ; pik w.Yks.® ; and in forms
peck Dev. ; peek Som. Dev. [pik, w.Cy. also pik.]
1. V. To pitch, throw ; to fling, toss ; to thrust, pushy
shove ; to pitch forward, overbalance.
S. & Ork.' s.Sc. To pick stanes, to throw stones at any object
(Jam.). n.Cy. Grose (1790) Suppl.; (J.L. 1783); N.Cy.' Nhb.i
'Justpickhere,Iookye.' G««. used in games. Dur.',Lakel.'^ Cum.
Efter pickan yan or two yung chaps backerts ower t'skemmel,
SARGissoNyoe5coa/i(i88i) 20; Cum.' Ned pick't Joe ower; Cum.^
Wm. He pickt me intul t'beck (B.K.). n.Yks.' He picked him
intil t'beck ; n.Yks.^* ne.Yks.' That feeal Jack picked oor lahtle
Annie doon inti t'muck. e.Yks. He picked me down, Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks.' He tried to pick me
down ; w.Yks.^^-'s Lan. Hoo pick'd him o' th' hillock, Axon
Flk. Sng. (1870) 15 ; Davies Races (1856) 237. ne.Lan.', e.Lan.'
m.Lan.' When footbo' players pick a side, they shove t'other side.
Der.2, Not.', n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' It seems as if I should pick head-
forwards. Lei.' Ah wur sa feared a'd pick in. Shr.' (s.v. Peck).
2. To pitch or lift corn, hay, &c. from the ground on to
a wagon or stack.
ne.Yks.' She's pickin' atop o' t'stack. Der.' To pick corn or
hay, i. e. pitch it from the wagon into the barn at the picking-hole.
Not.^ It is harder to pick a load than to team it. s.Not. In harvesting
to pick is to take up the hay or corn from the cock or stook on the
long pick-fork, and deliver it to the loader in the wagon (J.P.K.).
Lin.' I've been picking in the harvest field all day long. n.Lin.'
sw.Lin.' He picked all last harvest. When they're mates, some'll
pick and some'll team. s.Dev. To pick up hay (G.E.D.).
Hence (1) Picker, sb. the man who ' picks ' or pitches
the sheaves, &c. on to a wagon or stack in harvesting; (2)
Picking-fork, sb. a long fork or pitchfork used for lifting
sheaves, &c. on to a wagon or stack ; (3) -hole, sb. a hole
in the wall of a barn or hayloft, through which hay or
straw is thrown.
(i) w.Yks.2, Not.', Lin.', n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' He wanted Frank to
be picker this harvest. Lei.', Nhp.' (2) w.Yks. (J.W.), Der.^,
Not. (J.H.B.), n.Lin.' (3) n.Cy. Grose (1790) Suppl. w.Yks.
Made it into hay an thrawn it throo t'pickin-hoyle, TomTreddle-
hoyle iJajms/a^iwH. (1854) 25; w.Yks.°^, Der.2, nw.Der.' n.Lin.'
A hole, commonly square, closed by a wooden shutter, through
which sheaves of corn are put into a barn.
3Q2
PICK
[484 J
PICK
3. To play at 'pitch and toss.' Lin. (Hall.) Hence
Pick-and-hotch or Pickenhotch, sb. the game of ' pitch
and toss.' Lin.^, n.Lin.^ 4,. Vhr. to pick pie over, to tMrn
a somersault. w.Yks.' 5. To vomit. Gen. with up.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). LakeL* Wm. He pickt up o' his food
(B.K.). n.Yks.i234 e.Yks.MARSHALL7?M?-.£cow.(i788) ; e.Yks.i,
m.Yks.' w.Yks.'^s. -w.Yks.^ He wur pikking await' neet. Lan.
(J.L.), n.Lan.i, e.Lan.' se.Lan. N. & Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 344.
Chs.' s.Chs.' The words ' pickin' an' purgin' are generally used
together. Der.i^^ nw.Der.i, n.Lin.^
6. Of animals : to give birth to or ' cast ' prematurely.
Twd. To pick foal, to part with a foal before the proper time.
Also appUed to cows (Jam.). Gall. So that none of the kye, the
incomingyear, may be guilty of picking-cauve, MACTAGGARTjEMcyc/.
(1824I 304, ed. 1876. Wgt. (A.W.), N.I.i Nhb.i The mear hes
picked her foal. The new coo hes hed a misfortin — she's pick'd
her calf. Cum. Jerry' black filly pick'd the fwoal, Anderson
Ballads (1805) 83. Wm. We hed twea kaws pickt coaf, Wheeler
Dial. (1790) 51, ed. 1821. n.Yks. If one of the cows in a dairy
unfortunately produces a calf prematurely — in local phrase, ' picks
her cau'f,'ATKiNsoNil/oo(-/.Pam/2( 1891)62; n.Yks.^^*, w.Yks.'^^,
ne Lan.i Chs.^ Abortion in cattle often takes the form of an
epidemic. The popular idea is that it is infectious, or even that
one cow influences another in some mysterious way; and several
superstitious practices are resorted to in order to prevent the spread
of the disease. One remedy is to bury the first prematurely born
calf under its mother's boose. Occasionally the calf is nailed up
against a wall, and left there to decay ; Chs.^, s.Chs.\ s.Not.
(J.P.K.), n.Lin.i sw.Lln.' We'd a yow picked three lambs this
morning. The mare picked her foal. Shr.i- [Ewes in Iamb ... or
kept in a wet lair, will pick lamb, that is suffer abortion, Stephens
Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) I. 221.]
Hence (i) Picked-calf, sJ. a premature or stillborn calf;
also used fig. as a term of abuse ; (2) -calver, sb. a cow
which calves prematurely ; (3) Picking-calf, sb. abortion
in cows.
(i) Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351. Chs. Thah gurt
gawpingle picked cawf, Cloqgh B. BresskitUe ( 1879) 3. (2) s.Chs.'
(3) Lan., Chs., w.Cy. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863).
7. Weaving term : to throw or push the shuttle across
the loom ; also with over ; see below.
w.Yks. One of the weaver's hands ' picked ' the shuttle, the other
sent the weft home with the 'going part,' and was termed 'striking,'
so that when the warp was good, he had nought to do ' but pick
an' strike.' Before the flying shuttle was invented for broad
looms, a man was stationed at each end of the loom, and each
pushed or picked the shuttle across the warp to his fellow. It is
prob. about 100 to 120 years since this way of weaving ceased in
this locality [Calverley] (W.T.) ; 'To pick double,' when the
shuttle is driven across the loom and back, or twice across (S.A.B.) ;-
(R.H.R.) ; w.Yks.^ 'To pick a pick,' to throw the shuttle once
across. Lan. He ne'er picked ower i' his loife, Gaskell M. Barton
(1848) iv.
8. To push off with the inner edge of the ' calker ' when
sliding on the ice in clogs. Cum.* 9. 56. A pitch or shove ;
a push. Also in comp. Pick-by or -over. Also ustd fig.
Cum. And monny a panting heart was there That buode full
bitter picks, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 40 ; A snotty lad ga'
ma a bit ov a pick by, IVilly Wattle{iQio) 8 ; Cum.* ' Bidin' t'picks
on't,' suffering from the gibes and jeers of malevolent neighbours.
' When ah say " three " give her a good pick reet ower and let her
gah,' IV. C. T. X. (1893) 5, col. 4. n.Yks.^, e.Yks.» m.Yks.i He
gave him a pick, and ower he went. Give him a pick-ower.
10. A small flat stone used in the game of 'pickie' (q.v.).
Ker. GoMME Games (1898) II. 451.
11. Camp. Pick-pie, in phr. to turn a pick-pie, to turn a
somersault. w.Yks.^ 12. A pitchfork. Also in comp.
Pick-fork. Cf. pike, sb} 4.
Wxf.i, N.Cy.i, Nhb.i, Dur.l, n.Yks.i24 ne.Yks.l e.Yks.^ MS. add.
(TH.) w.Yks.i2, s.Not. (J.P.K.) n.Lin. Sutton IVds. (1881).
sw.Lin.i, Nhp.i Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 325 ; Gl. (1851) ;
Glo.l2j Hmp.' WiL Britton Beauties (1825); Wil."- Dor."^ Wher
the haymakers put all ther picks, 72. Som. An' carr' a pick in my
han', an' just walk roun' bimeby, Raymond Sam and SaHna (1894)
73 ; Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885). e.Som. W. &J. G/. (1873).
w.Som.' Dev. Aw yii gert slamicking theng ! Yer clothes lukes
s'off twuz drawed on wi' a peek! Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 1G3 ;
Horae Subsecivae (1777) 325; Dev.' n.Dev. A gaff, dree picks
vrom Varmer Reed, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 74. nw.Dev.i
Hence Pick-pike, sb. a pitchfork. Glo.^
13. An emetic.
w.Yks.' He gav her a pick last neet, ii. 290 ; w.Yks.^^ se.Lan.
The doctors gave him a pick, N. &• Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 344.
14. The thread of yarn laid by one throw of the shuttle
across the piece. Also use.Afig. and in comp. Pick-over.
w.Yks. They do a loom to soa many picks a minit. Hartley
P«((^rfm' (1876J 319 ; (J.M.) ; w.Yks.^ Lan. A couple of picks-o'er
is a shuttle sent twice. We say sixty picks in an inch. I have seen
cloth with over four hundred picks-o'er per inch (S.W.) ; I'll be
wi' thee, owd gel, in a couple o' picko'ers, Brierley JVaverlow
(1863) 151, ed. 1884.
Hence (i) Picker, sb. the instrument by means of which the
shuttle is ' picked ' or pushed across the loom ; (2) Pick-
ing-arm, (3) -band, (4) -bant, sb. a stout piece of leather
used to connect the ' picking-stick ' (q.v.) with the 'picker'
(q.v.) ; (5) -peg, (6) -red, (7) -stick, sb. the wooden rod or
handle by which the shuttle is thrown in weaving.
(i) se.Sc. My pickers too, I want them sair, My shuttle swears
she'll rin nae mair, Donaldson Pof«i5 (1809) 70; So may your
pickers gae nick-nack. Just like the pend'lum o'your clock, (6. 137.
w.Yks. It is made of buffalo hide, and moved along a small rod
used as a guide, in the shuttle-box at each end of the loom. A
string (or strings) is fastened to it, the other end of which is held
by the weaver's right hand, and often affixed to a handle for a
better grasp. A sudden jerk causes the shuttle to cross the warp
(J.T) ; (J.M.) ; (W.T.) Lan. Wi' mi pickers and pins, Axon Flk.
Sng. (1870) 53. Chs.i A small frame of buffalo leather fitted on
the spindle which propels the shuttle across the yarn. (2) w.Yks.
(JM.) (3) w.Yks. (W.T.) (4) Chs.i (5) w.Yks. Clothiers wi
cloaze props an pickin' pegs, 'Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann.
(May 1850) 2; (D.L.) Lan. To and fro like a picking peg,
Brierley iaj;roc^ (1864) iv ; Lan.', Chs.' (6) Lan. Straight as
ony pickin' rod, Waugh Sngs. (1866) 19, ed. 1871; Lan.' (7)
Cum." This was held in the hand-loomweaver's right hand, and gave
motion to the Fly by means of a cord attached to the spindle of the
Fly, and thus the Shuttle carrying the weft passed it between the
threads of the warp. w.Yks. Her looms are clattering away like
fury, the ' picking sticks ' hitting out violently at each other, Brad-
ford Life, 196 ; It bettered tewing with picking-stick, Snowden
Web of Weaver (1896) 26; (W.T.) Lan. Davies Races (1856)
237; lan.l
[1. To pick, iaculari, Levins Manip. (1570) ; I pycke
with an arrowe,/? darde, Palsgr. (1530).]
PICK, v." and sb.'' Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Amer. Also written pik Sh.L ; and in forms peak Suf. ;
peeksw.Lin.^Nhp.' [pik.] I. v. Gram, forms. Preterite
and pp. : (i) Pook, (2) Puck, (3) Puk.
(i) Lei.i Has onybody pook oop a poomp ? (2) n.Stf. The little
doog there as I puck up on the road, Geo. Eliot^ . i?f fi?« (1859) xxxvi.
s.Stf. I'm sure I dain't stale it, I puck it out o' the gutter, Pinxock
Blk. Cy. Ann. {i8g5). Lei.», War.3 Shr.i Bin them pars shuk or
'and puck? Shr., Hrf. Bound Prow«c. (1876). Hrf.^ I like them
shoes best as I puck out first. (3) LMa. The place where Donal'
was puk up, Rydings Tales (1895) 51.
II. Dial. uses. 1. v. In comb, with adv. and prep.: (i)
Pick abroad, to rip apart ; (2) — at, to find fault with ; to
tease, upbraid ; to quarrel with ; to persecute ; (3) — in,
to fetch or take in ; (4) — on, {a) to pick out, choose ; (b)
to worm out a secret ; (5) — out, to discover, find out by
inquiry; (6) — up, (a) to overtake; (b) in the game of
marbles: to assist another boy by picking up and holding
all the marbles which he knocks out of the ring ; (c) to
pick a pocket; (7) —upon, (a) see (4, a) ; (b) to tease,
annoy, make a butt of; (8) —up with, to fall in love with,
to ' keep company with.'
(i) Dev. ' When I sent it to Pullar's I did not pick it abroad, for
I thought it would not run up so.'. . She meant that she did not
rip the dress to pieces, because she thought it would not shrink
so much as it would have done if she had sent it in pieces, Reports
Proviiic. {i8gi). (2) e.Dur.' Cum. 1 They're always pickin' at yan
anudder; Cum.* If theear's owt wrang he starts pickan at me.
n.Yks.l; n.Yks.^ They're always picking at teean t'other ; n.Yks.*
ne.Yks.i T'au'd man's varry natthery ; he's awlus pickin' at ma.
e.Y^s}MS.add. (T.H.) Chs.i Of a boy at school who was always
being teased by his schoolfellows, or a cow in a herd that was
constantly being persecuted by the rest, it would be said, ' They're
alius pickin at him, or her.' s.Not. They wor pickin at my cloak
becos it wor an oad un (J.P.K.). n.Lin.i I'd be shaam'd to call
PICK
[485]
PICK
mj'sen a gentleman, an' then pick at my awn wife as thoo duz.
swXin.i She's always a-picking at him. [Amer. He's always
picking at me to sell out, Carruth Kansas Univ. Quar. (1892) I.]
(3) Cor. My landlady was out in the garden, 'picking in' her
week's washing from the thorn hedge, ' Q.' Noughts and Crosses
(1891) 251. (4, a) Sc. The chmax of his importance being reached
as he picked on one of the porters waiting at the gate for a job,
Stevenson Puddin (1894) 52. Gall. The first twa that he picked
on War Rab and Jock the Tar, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 267,
ed. 1876. (61 Dor.i (5) w.Yks. (S.P.U.), Not.i Lei.i Ah couldn'
joostly pick aout wheer a coom frum. War.^, Glo.'^ w.Som.i I
can't pick out nort at all about-n. Do 'ee try vor to pick out all
you can. [But what do we picke out to resolute him withall ?
Rogers Hist, of Naaman (1642) 396.] (6, a) Sus.i j picked up
the postman between Selmeston and Berwick, {b) Oxf. (G.O.)
(c) Chs.13 (7, a) e.An.2 (6) Ken.i They always pick upon my boy
coming home from school. Sur.i You all seem to want to pick-
upon him. Sus.i (8) Nhb. He sune picks up wiv a lass, Pease
Mark o' Deil (1894). Dor. He might pick up with a maid with a
bit ov money, Agnus y«K Oxber (igoo") 166; She picked up wi'
en against her father's wish, Harpers Mag. (Dec. igoo) 25. Cor.
Joan's picked up wi' a sweetheart — tee-hee ! ' Q.' Splendid Spur
(ed. 1893) 207.
2. Comb, (i) Pick-and-dab, potatoe.s and salt ; (2) -fig, a
fastidious person ; (3) -folly, the lady's-smock, Cardamine
pratensis ; (4) -lock, the finest selected staple from a fleece
of wool ; the dearest class of wool ; (5)lockkey, a master key ;
(6) -man, [a) the fore-raker in haymaking who rakes the
grass into 'rollers'; (b) 06s., the tern, Sterna fluviatilis; (7)
-needle, the musk heron's-bill, Erodium moschatum ; (8)
•nosed mouse, a shrew-mouse ; (9) -purse, (a) the shep-
herd's purse, Capsella Bursa-pastoris; (b) the corn spurrey,
Spergula arvensis ; (10) -sniff, (a) an insignificant, paltry,
contemptible person ; {b) paltry, despicable ; (11) -the-
puddock, a contemptuous name for a Frenchman ; (12)
-thong, a variety of apple ; (13) -tooth, a toothpick ; (14)
-up, (a) the last train at night which runs on the Man-
chester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire railway from Sheffield
to New Holland ; (b) fried fish and potatoes mashed
together; (15) — us up, a stimulant, 'pick-me-up.'
(i) Sc. One of the poorest meals of the poorer classes (Jam.).
(2) Som. (C.W.D.) (3) Nhp. (W.D.S.) ; Nhp.2 Children pick the
leaves of the herb called ' Pick-folly,' one by one, repeating each
time the words — ' Rich-man, poor-man, beggar-man, thief,' &c.,
fancying that the one which comes to be named at the last plucking
will prove the condition of their future partners, 162. (4) w.Yks.
(J.M.) Hrf. The dearest class of wool, called ' picklock,' is esti-
mated at thirty-two pence a pound. Foot ^^nc. (1794)61. (5)
w.Yks. Wha a pick-lock key waddant naw t'road inta wun on em,
Tom Treddlehoyle Fr. Exhibition (c. 1856) 33. (6, a) Dor.' (s.v.
Haymiaken). (J?) Cum.* (7) Dev. Much esteemed for its musk-
like fragrance. . . Nor, indeed, are any of the numerous and
beautiful nosegays which deck our market-stalls considered perfect
without a branch of Muscovy or Pick-needle, Banks Flora (1830)
in (B. & H. ). (8) w.Sus. Uttering curses deep against those horrid
' ■p\ck-nose.Am\ce: ' Flk-Lore Rec. (1878) I. 42. (9, a)n.Cy. (B.& H. )
(6) Lin.l The pick-purse is smothering the wheat. sw.Lin.^,
e.An.i Nrf. Marshall i?«n £co«. (1787). (10 o, 6) War.^ (n)
Ayr. I'll learn ye that, Monshur Pick-the-puddock, Ainslie Land
of Bums (ed. 1892) 16. (12) Dor. We are only just grinding down
the early pick-thongs. Hardy Desperate Remedies (1871) 151, ed.
1896. (13) Glo.i (14, a) n.Lin.i (6) Cor."- (15) Nhb. Come up
ti the hoos, an' hev a pick-us-up, an' a bit wash, Pease Mark o'
Deil (iSg4) 45.
3. Phr. (i) pick packet to London, a child's name for the
shepherd's purse, Capsella Bursa-pastoris \ (2) — your
mother's eyes out, the field speedwell, Veronica agresiis ;
(3) — your mother's heart out, see (i) ; (4) to pick and dab,
to eat ; (5) — and dab at, (6) — and pike at, to find fault
with, criticize ; to quarrel with ; (7) — it in, to get a severe
scolding or punishment; to 'catch it'; (8) — a person's
fingers, to harass, annoy, punish; (9) — on^s lane, to
manage for oneself; (10) — prates, to tell tales; (11) —
sport {out) on, to make game of; (12) — up flesh, to gain
flesh ; (13) — up one's crumbs, to recover health after
sickness ; to prosper generally ; (14) — upon the kirn, to
churn gently by hand.
(i) w.Yks. Juveniles get one another to pick one of the seed-
vessels off and cry in derision, ' Pick packet to London, You'll
never go to London ' (F.K.). (2) Dor. (G.E.D.) (3) War. Flk-
Lore Rec. (1878) L 159 ; (B. & H., sv. Mother's Heart). (4) Lnk.
He must needs pick and dab, Rodger Poems (1838) 33, ed. 1897.
(5) Ayr. The rising generation began to pick and dab at him,
Galt Provost (1822) xxiii. (6) Lakel.^ Cum.* If thoo doesn't
like it, niver pick and pike at it like that, leave it. (7) w.Som.^
Dhee-t pik ut ee'n muy-n, haun maeustur zee'th dhee ; aay wud'n
Stan een dhuy sheo'z vur zau'mfeen. (8) Bnff.i It 'ill pick's
fingers till 'im, afore he big an' plinsh his new hoose. Cld. I'll
pick his fingers to him for that yet (Jam.). (9) e.Fif. It had lang
been my intention to tak the young man into pairtnership wi' me
as sune as he was of legal age, an' able to pick his lane, Latto
Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxvii. (10) w.Som.' Billy, I on't ha you
comin' to pick prates 'pon the tothers ; you be all so bad's they.
n.Dev. And nif tha dest pick prates upon me and tell vauther o',
Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 221. nw.Dev.' (11) n.Lin.^ (12) Nhp.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) (13) e.Yks.i, w.Yks. (J.W.) Chs.i
' He's picking up his crumbs nicely,' said of anyone who is pros-
pering, Chs. Sheaf, I. 322. s.Stf. He's better now he picks up his
crums the last tewthree days, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
Nhp.i, se.Wor.i w.Som,' Our Liz bin ter'ble bad, her was a'most
come to a nottomy ; but her's pickin up her crooms again now,
like, thank th' Almighty. (14) Sh.I. The milk is put into a narrow
deep vessel, and to the end of a stick a round perforated disk of
wood is attached. This is wrought up and down, piston fashion,
and the milk is churned by the beating action of the disk. When
the quantity of milk is small this action must be gently perfornfed,
and is said to be 'picking apo' da kirn' (J.S.) ; Com' an' pick
apo' da kirn fil I see if I can rin doon wi' yon fraik o' a grice,
Sh. Neivs (May 13, 1899) ; A'll come an' pik apo' da kirn a
moment, fil doo rests dee, ib. (Oct. 21, 1899).
4. To glean ; esp. to glean a field a second time ; to pick
up the broken ears of corn left on the ground ; also in
phr. to pick ears.
ne.Lan.i, Stf.^ Nhp. ^ We're going a picking; ib. The gathering
of [wheat stubble for thatching] after harvest, is called peeking the
haulm (s.v. Haulm). War.^ (gleaners gathered only the wheat
ears on stalks which they could bind into knots or tiny sheaves,
and could afford to leave on the ground those ears of wheat which
had been broken from the stalk, and were left for food for pigs, or
to the operation of picking after gleaning. Wor. (J.R.W. ),
Hrf.i, Bdf. (J.W.B.), w.Cy. (Hall.) s.Dev. Fox Kingsbridge
(1874)-
5. To strip off feathers, to pluck a fowl.
Sus. (F.E.) Dev. Luke sharp, Jane, and pick tha vowls. Ya
knaw there's zebben geeze and dree turkeys 'et tii be picked,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
6. To pilfer, steal.
Rnf. A charge of picking and unlawfully intromitting with his
neighbours'goods, Hector /Mrfi'c.^«c. (1876) 193. w.Sus. Picking's
picking, and stealing's stealing, Gordon Vill. and Doctor (1897) 54.
7. To peck or eat in small quantities, as a bird ; to eat
httle, have a poor appetite ; to eat ; also fig. to help or
support oneself
Sc. A white and shilpet thing — picking at her meat as if it was
a sin to be hungry, Keith Lisbelh (1894) xii. Sh.I. Da snawie
fuils [snow buntings] wi' coorin' wing Around da door cam'
pickin', Stewart Tales (1892) 97. Frf. A cow he'll chuse To
pick around his borders, Morison Poems (1790) 45. se.Sc. He's
been my care, six years an' mair Sin' he began to pick, Donaldson
Poems (1809) 83. Lnk. Hamilton Poems (1865) 35. Dmf. Each
puir man's parritch pot he pickit, Hawkins Poems (1841) V. 42.
Don. I mayn't say I ate at all ; I only pick, like a chicken. Harper s
Mag. (Jan. 1900) 215. w.Yks. II atla skrat afoor he picks, ur else
fly up yji' a empty crop [He would have to work or else have no
food and go to bed hungry] (C.C.). sw.Lin.' They'll soon begin
to peek. War.^; War.* Our Bill is a bit better, he can pick
a bit at his meals now again. w.Mid. Children and chicken should
always be picking (W. P.M.).
Hence (i) Picking,///, adj., (2) Pickish, (3) Picksome,
(4) Picky, adj. having a small appetite ; dainty, fastidious
in eating.
(i) Oxf.i MS. add. w.Som.i I'll tell thee hot 'tis, thee'rt to
pickin by half. Poor blid, her do look wisht sure 'nough ; and
there, her's so pickin too, her don't make use o' nothin'. (2)
Sus.2, Hmp.i (3) w.Mid. He's such a picksome child, he won't
eat any fat (W.P.M.). Ken. A sickly child is said to be picksome
(W.F.S.). Sur. The pike ... is, at certain times of the year,
very 'picksome,' as our folks say, if not dainty, Son of Marshes
On Sur. Hills (ed. 1894) 155 ; Sur.i Sus. He's wonderful pick-
PICK
[486]
PICK-CHEESE
some wi'his vittles, Geni. Mag. (May 1899) 465 ; (F.A.A.) ; Sus.'^,
Hmp.i (4) Cum.' ; Cum.* T'barn's nut weel, it's too picky by far.
8. To choose, select, pick out.
e.Sc. He needna hae pickit that lass o' a' lasses ! Strain
Elmslie's Drag-net (1900) 223. Dmb. We mean to pick our ain
minister noo, and for a' time coming, Cross Disruption (1844)
xxxix. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) Shr. The father picks the name,
BuRNE Flk-Lore (1883-6) xxii. War.3 Wor. This player was
not picked at the committee meeting, Evesham Jm. (Sept. 25,
1897). Oxf. (G.O.) Bdf. Will you pick me a Psalm ? (J. W.B.)
9. To find fault ; to quarrel.
m.Yks.i Don't pick so. Chs.i, sw.Lin.^, Suf. (E.G.P.)
Hence (i) Picking, {a) t/5/. 5*. fault-finding, quarrelling;
(b) ppl. adj. carping, fault-finding, censorious ; (2) Picky,
adj., see (i, b).
(i, a) sw.Lin.i There's such a deal of picking one can hardly
live. (6) s.Not. Her neighbours are all such a newsy, picking lot
(J.P.K.). (2) sw.Lin.' She's rather a picky kind of woman.
10. To worm out a secret. w.Cy. (Hall.) 11. A term
in playing marbles ; freq. with at, from, or off; see below.
Nhb. (W.G.) ; To pick off, to pick from, is to make a shot at
the pool of marbles and strike out of it one or more. The marbles
so detached become the property of the successful shot. To ' pick
at ' is also to aim at a particular marble in the games of ' Three-
hole-teezer,' ' Brewery,' &c. (R.O.H.)
12. sb. In phr. (i) pick and wale, a selection from which
to choose ; the best choice ; (2) —of the basket, the best of
the lot ; (3) — or bang, see below.
(i) Abd. Purchase goods at Lon'on town Whare he wad get his
pick an' wale. An' a' thing o' the newest style, Anderson Poems
(ed. 1826) 44. Fif. The hail pick and wale o' Fife, Gentle and
sempill, Tennant Papistry (1827) 167. Dmb. When I gang to
buy a hat, I get nae pick and wale o' shapes like ither folk. I
have just to tak' the biggest I can get. Cross Disruption (1844) xi.
(2) Nhb. The lad canna help his freends, and he's the pick of the
basket, Graham Red Scaur (1896) 23. (3) e.An.i A way of
deciding which side is to go in first at any game. A stick is
thrown up, and if it falls upright it is ' pick,' and ' bang ' if it falls
flatling.
13. A chosen or selected article.
Sh.I. Seemon dune up i' da picks o' his sister Osla's wardrobe,
Ollason Mareel (1901) 85.
14. A peck.
Sc. The hen jist gied ae pick at it an' left it (Jam.).
15. The small quantity which a bird takes at a peck ; a
small quantity of food ; a meal ; a small quantity of
anything.
Bnff.i There hizna a pick o' meals-corn gehn our's craig this
three days. There's nae a pick o' clay on's sheen. w.Sc. There
were few in our house could tak ony dinner that day ; I took my
ordinar pick, CA.macvi Laird of Logan (1835) 275. Cld. He taks
a guid pick o' meat now (Jam.1. Rnf. YovuG Pictures (1865) 173.
Ayr. I should be taking my pick, that the master's wark mayna
gang by, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) xiii. Lnk. Coghill Poems
(^1890) 25. Ir. Won't ye sit down and have a pick of dinner with
us ? Macmanus Chini. Corners (1899) 97. Don. Into my left
pocket I dives me arm, but behould ye, there was ne'er a bone or
a pick there ! Harper's Mag. (Jan. 1901) 326. Nrf. I'm gettin'
scrannish [hungry] and could do a pick, Emerson Wild Life
(i8go) 96.
Hence Pick-straw, sb. the smallest possible amount.
Lakel.2 He didn't care a pick-streea fer any man Jack amang t'lot.
16. The fruit of the sloe, Prunus spinosa. Wil.'
17. The bar-tail godwit, Limosa Lapponica. e.An.^ Nrf.
SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 198.
PICK, sb.^ Nhb. Not. Nhp. Glo. Nrf 1. A pointed
hill or mountain ; a steep ascent. Cf pike, 56.' 11.
Nhb.^ A heavy pick. Glo. Cam's Pick, Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 325-
2. The corner of a field ; a small field. Cf. pike, 5^.^10.
Not. (L.C.M.) Nhp.^; Nhp. ^ Triangular fields are thus denom-
inated in true Saxon phrase, ' Three-pick closen.' Nrf. Trans.
Phil. Soc. (1885) 35.
PICK, sb.^ Sc. n.Cy. Dun Cum. Yks. Lan. Also
?W.Cy. Also written pik w.Cy.; and in forms pict
w.Yks. ; pike Abd. 1. A spade in playing-cards.
Sc. He then laid out the ace o' picks, Burness Tales, 286 (Jam.).
Abd. In rural districts. ' The ace o' pikes is trumph.' The Jack
o' spades is ' the munsie pike ' (G.W.j,
Hence Pik-axe, sb. the ace of spades. ? w.Cy. (Hall.)
2. A diamond in playing-cards.
N.Cy.i, Dnr.i Cum. Picks was trump, Gilpin Pop. Poetry
(1875) 67; Cnm." OAs. Yks. Grose (1790). e.Yks. Marshall
Rur. Econ.(i^W). w.Yks.Hvrroa Tour to Caves {l^8l) ; w.Yks.''*,
Lan.', ne.Lan.i
Hence (i) Pick-ace, sb. the ace of diamonds. n.Cy.
Grose (1790) ; (2) pic/es and hearts, phr. red spots on the
shins occasioned by sitting too near the fire. w.Yks.'
[Fr. pique, a spade [a suit of cards], G. pique (Grieb).]
PICK, see Peak, v.'^, Fyke.
PICK-A-BACK, adv. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in
Eng. Also in forms pack-aback Dor. ; pick-a-pack
Lin.' ; pick-back Glo. ; pickiback w.Mid. ; pick-pack
w.Yks.^ Glo. ; picky-back War. Wil. w.Som.' nw.Dev.' ;
pig-aback Dor. Som. Dev.'; pig-back e.An.' Suf.^ Hmp.';
pigga-back ne.Lan.' ; piggy-back Hmp.' Dor. [pi'k-a-
bak, pi'k-ibask.] In phr. to carry or ride pick-a-back, to
ride on the back of another person.
n.Cy. (J.W.) ■w.Yks.2''; w.Yks.^ A child is set ' a-pickpack '
a horse or mastiff, or the father gallops it 'a-pickpack' on his
back round the room. ne.Lan.', Lin.', n.Lin.' Nhp.' A mode of
riding on the back of another person, by clasping the arms round
the neck ; the legs being placed under the arms of the person, or
allowed to dangle down the back. A favourite amusement with
children. War. (J.R.W.), War.^, se.Wor.' Glo. A boy riding
upon another's back and shoulders is said to ride a 'pick pack,'
Horae Subsecivae (1777) 325; ' Pick-back'- is more freq. used,
Grose (1790) MS. add. fM.) Brks.', Hnt. (T.P.F.) w.Mid. Give
us a pickiback, dada ! (W.P.M.) e.An.',Saf.l, Hmp.' Wil. Slow
Gl. (1892). Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863) ; You shall ride All safe
ashore a piggy-back. Young Rabin Hill (1867) 9. Som. Riding
pig-a-back on his shoulders, Raymond No Soul (1899) 151 ;
Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885). w.Som.' The poor old man
can't walk no more'n a cheel ; Joe's a-foced to car'n picky-back
up'm down stairs. Dev.', nw.Dev.'
[A pig-back, Tergum recurvum, Robertson Phras. (1693) ;
Our modern wits behold, Mounted a pick-back on the
old, Much further off, Butler Hudibras (1664) i. ii. 72.]
PICKADOG, sb. Irel. Dev. Cor. Also in forms piggy-
dog Cor.' ; piky dog N.I.' [pi'ksdog.] The piked dog-
fish, Spinax acanthias.
N.I.', nw.Dev.' Cor. That picky dogs may eat the sceane when
fule, Eat'n to rags and let go ale the schule, W. Eclogue (1762)
287 ; Cor.' [Satchell (1879).]
PICKADY, V. Wil. Also written picady. [pi-kadi.]
To point or sharpen a pencil, &c. Slow GL (1802).
s.Wil. (G.E.D.)
tlCKAL, sb. Cai.' A miller; so called from his
' picking,' i. e. dressing the millstones.
PICKATERNIE, see Pictarnie.
PICKATREE, sb. n.Cy. Nhb. Wm. Yks. [pi-katrl.]
The green woodpecker, Gecinus viridis.
n.Cy. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 100; N.Cy.', Nhb.' Wm. A
nimble squirrell, or a pick-a-tree, Brathwait Mushrome (1615)
134, ed. 1878. Yks. Geiti. Mag. (1785) 333, ed. Gomme.
PICKAXE-HEELED, adj Irel. Having long heels.
-ii.UMS.add.
PICK-CHEESE, sb. and v. Wor. Hrt. e.An. [pi-k-
tJTz.] 1. sb. The fruit of the common mallow, Malva
sylvestris. Also used attrib.
Hrt. (B. & H.) Nrf. Tree-mallows or ' pick-cheese trees,' as
they are locally called— the seeds of this plant, called ' pick-
cheeses,' bearing a faint resemblance to a cheese, Emerson Birds
(,ed. 1895) 64 ; Nature Notes, No. 9 ; Science Gossip (1873) 205.
2. pi. The internal flint casts of cidarids ; see below.
Nrf. ' Pick-cheese ' is the term applied to the fruit of the common
mallow, and as the internal flint casts of Cidarids greatly resemble
these fruits, the name has been transferred to them by the quarry-
men, Science Gossip (1873) 205.
3. The blue titmouse, Parus caeruleus.
e.An.'2 Nrf. The blue tit is extremely fond of these pick-cheeses,
whence he has been called locally ' the pick-cheese,' Emerson
Birds (ed. 1895) 64; (U.W.) ; Swainson 5»-rfs (i88s) q4. Suf.
(G.E.D.) V 0/ at
4. The great titmouse, Parus major. w.Wor. Berrow's
Jrn. (Mar. 3, 1888). 5. v. To potter about. Nrf. Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 14.
PICKED
[487]
PICKING
PICKED, *^/. adj. Sc. Nhp. War. Glo. Oxf. Brks. Bck.
Hmp. Wil. Dor. Som. Also written picket Abd. Glo.^ ;
pickit BnfF.' ; pickked n.Wil. ; and in form piggid Wil.'
[pi-kid, -3d.] 1. Peaked, pointed, sharp. Cf. pecked.
Nhp.2 A picked stick. Wax.2 This pencil's got a picked point ;
War.4, s.War.i, Glo.i, Oxf.i Brks.' A run a pick-ed staayke into
his voot. n.Bck. A stick with a picked end (A.C.). Hmp. ' A
picked piece.' a field with one or more sharp angular corners,
Wise New Forest (1883) 284. Wil.i Thuck there prong yun't
picked enough. n.Wil. He've got a main pickked top to 'un
(E.H.G.). Dor.i Som. Children still use 'picked' of a pencil
with a good point to it, Hervey Wedmore Chron. (1887) I. 327.
w.Som.' I yur'd em zay how a man made in a vire way nort but a
picked stick an' a little bit o' board way a hole in un.
Hence Picked-arsed, adj. of an animal: having the root of
the tail protruded beyond the usual contour ; of cattle :
pointed or angular at the buttocks.
w.Som.i Purty peaked arsed old thing ! Why, you can hang
your hat 'pon the pins o' un.
2. Fig. Meagre, niggardly ; bare.
Bnff.i The dainner wiz a meeserable pickit concern. Abd. Nae
doubt his hoose is thacket, But ... I think it unco poor and picket,
And far frae bonny, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 358.
[1. Proude prestes come with hym • mo than a
thousand, In paltokes and pyked shoes, P. Plowman (b.)
XX. 217-8.]
PICKEL, see Pikel.
PICKELTY, sb. Sc. Also in forms picherty Abd. ;
picklty Sh.I. ; picktelie Abd. (Jam.) fpiklti.] A diffi-
culty ; a state of need, distress, or embarrassment ; a state
of anxiety or eagerness.
Sh.I. What made daa i' sic a pickelty wis, 'at Arty haes a Iamb
da very sam' colour, Sh. News (May 12, 1900) ; Weel, if dis is a'
da '00' 'at ye hae ta caird, gude wife, what's da lasses in sic a
picklty aboot ! ib. (Mar. 5, 1898). Abd. Ye need na jist rin, Jockie.
Tak' your ain time. I'm nae jist in sic an awfu' picherty as a' that,
Greig Logie o' Buchan (1899) 81 ; (Jam.)
PICKEN, V. Nhp.i [pikan.] To sharpen the point
of anything, esp. the point of a pencil.
My pencil is so dubbed, it wants pickening.
PICKEN, adj. Sc. Also in form pickenie Bwk. (Jam.)
[pi-kan.] A dial, form of ' piquant ' ; pungent to the
taste ; esp. of cheese.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 381. Bwk. (Jam.)
PICKEN, PICKER, see Picking, Picher.
PICKER, sb. Sc. A young fish ; see below.
' It will just be ain o' they pickers.' I believe . . . that pickers
or suckers is really only the local name for young codlings, lythe,
or cuddies. In fact for all young fish, Steel Rowans (1895) x.
PICKEREL, sb.^ e.An. Also written pickarel Suf.'
[pikaral.] 1. A young pike, Esox lucius.
Suf. Science Gossip (1883) 113; Suf.' [Satchell (1879).]
2. Comp. Pickerel-weed, (i) var. species of pond-weed,
Potamogeton ; (2) the water crowfoot. Ranunculus aqiiatilis.
(i) e.An.l Suf. Science Gossip (1883) 113 ; Suf.^ Pickarel-weed
is well known in Suffolk and Cambridge, and the idea that the
sun's heat helps the breeding of pike in it is common. (2) e.An.
(B. & H.)
[Pykerel, dentriculus, lucillus. Prompt. ; Bet is, quod
he, a pyk then a pikerel, Chaucer C. T. e. 1419.]
PICKEREL, sb.'' Sc. [pi'karal.] Th5 dunlin, Tringa
alpina. (Jam.) ; Swainson Birds (1885) 193.
PICKEREL, sb? Sus. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] ? A court or court-house. N. &^ Q. (1880) 6th S.
ii. 328.
PICKERILL, sb. Wor. [pi-karil.] A four-tined
pickaxe used for road-making. s.Wor. (H.K.) See
Pick sb.^ 1.
PICKERY, 56. Obs. Sc. Petty theft, pilfering.
Sc. The stealing of trifles, which in our law-language is styled
pickery, Erskine Instil. IV. iv. 59 (Jam., s.v. Pike). Per. From
robbery and pickery in these troublesome times, Edb. Antiq. Mag.
(1848) 56. Rnf. The pursuer had been guilty of any act of theft or
pickery. Hector /Mrf/c. Rec. (1876) 131. Edb. Free-booting and
pickery are now unknown, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 302, ed. 1815.
PICKET, sb.^ Nhb.' [pi'kit.] A hook attached to
the end of a small stick ; used by fishermen in landing
their fish.
PICKET, sb.'^ Sur. [pi-kit.] A sloe bush.
Heath, brambles, and sloebushes, locally termed pickets, Son
OF Marshes Sur. Hills (1891") 177.
PICKET, V. and sb.^ Sc. (Jam.) [pikit.] 1. v. To
project a marble or taw with a smart stroke against the
knuckles of the losers in the game. Rxb. 2. sb. A stroke
of this description, ib. 3. //. The punishment inflicted
on one who occurs a forfeiture in the game of tennis.
s.Sc. He must hold his hand against a wall while others strike it
with the tennis-ball.
PICKETARNIE, see Pictarnie.
PICKETTY, adj. Dev. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Picked out, studded.
Er'd got a workbox for Liza . . . picketty all over with silver,
Cresswell Ginger in Cy. House (Apr. 1896) 80.
PICKEX, sb. Som. Dev. Also in forms peckice
nw.Dev.' ; peckis e.So'm.; peckiss e.Dev. ; pickice
nw.Dev.'; pickis Dev. [pikeks, pe'kis.] A dial, form
of pickaxe.'
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Dev. At 7 a.m. we all turned out
with pickisses, two-bills, crowbars and spades, and made our way
to the scene of action, Dawson //a«Km,g'^K, vi. nw.Dev.^ - e.Dev.
Wi' shoulder'd shule and peckiss, Pulman Sketches (1842) 18, ed.
1853.
PICKIE, sb.^ Sc. Irel. The game of ' hop-scotch ' or
' beds ' ; also in //. Cf. pick, v.^ 10.
Lth. The ' pickies ' (or the ' beds,' or the ' Pall-all ') played with
a flat stone on the pavement, Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 33.
Ker. One player commences first by winning the toss. The pick
(a small fiat stone) is pitched into No. i bed. It is then moved
out of this first place, backward across the front line, and not
otherwise, by touching or forcing it with one foot, the other foot
being kept up ; that is, the player must hop and use the foot on
the ground to strike the ' pick.' No line must be touched. If this
happens, or if the pick, when being driven towards the pitching
line, gets away otherwise than across the front line, the player is
' out,' and the next boy goes in. All the beds are done likewise,
and all must be then done in a reverse way, beginning with No. 10.
The first player who completes the game wins, Gomme Games
(1898) II. 451.
PICKIE, adj.'^ and sb.'^ Sc. 1. adj. In comp. Pickie-
man, a miller or his servant.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 381. n.Sc. From his work
of keeping the mill in order or picking the stones (Jam.).
2. sb. A wooden pole, furnished with a strong iron
hook, used for striking fish into the boat. S. & Ork.'
PICKIE, flfl)'.^ Sc. Also in forms peakie, peekie.
Small ; petty, insignificant, trifling.
Or.I. Often used in place of and also along with the word
' peerie,' e.g. 'a peerie pickie stane.' I think I have heard it used
specifically of a field, a brae, or knoll and the like (J.G.). Or.I.,
w.Sc. ' The bairn's a puir, pickie, wee thing.' ' Peekie ' is gen. used
as an intensive of ' pickie ' and applied to very small objects (Jam.
Suppl.).
Hence Pickie-laird, sb. a small proprietor.
Or.I. An amusing picture of an old ' pickie laird ' at the tail of
such a plough, Fergusson Rambles (1884) 145 ; (J. G.)
PICKIE-BURNET, sb. Sc. A young black-headed
gull, Larus rudibundus.
Rxb. A name for the young gulls, whose head is light brown,
while the upper plumage is a darker shade of the same colour,
Swainson Birds (1885) 209.
PICKIETAR, PICKITARNIE, see Pictarnie.
PICKINDAIL, sb. ? Obs. Sc. See below.
Edb. I must take clouts and blads For pickindails, for caps and
hose. So to be short, and make a close, I'll steal from petticoat
or gown, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 391, ed. 1815.
PICKING, sb. and ppl. adj. Sc. Yks. Chs. e.An. Ken.
Wil. Also written picken Edb. ; and in form peeking
Ken.^ [pikin.] \. sb. A scrap of food ; ^e«. in ^/.
Per. It's taen awa the wee bit pickin', Ford Harp (1893) 349.
Lth. Ilka birdie round thee cowers. Cock, hen, an' chickens. While
wi' an open hand thou showers Them walth o' pickin's, Ballantine
Poems (1856) 6. Edb. Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) Gl.
2. pi. Phr. (i) a lump of pickings, a dirty, slovenly,
ragged woman ; (2) as drunk as pickings, very drunk.
(1) e.An.' (2) w.Yks.Home he cums az drunk az pickins, ToM
Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1838) 8.
PICKIS
[488]
PICKLEHERRING
3. Gleanings of fruit-trees. Ken. (G.B.), Ken.'
4. Parings of potatoes and apples. Wil. (K.M.G.)
5. ppl. adj. Of a road : difficult.
s.Chs.' Where man and horse must pick their way.
PICKIS, see Pickex.
PICKLE, sb} Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Also in
form puckle Sc. (Jam.), S. & Ork.' [pi'kl.] 1. A grain
or kernel of corn ; fig. a hailstone.
Sc. ' Baby-pickle,' the small grain, which lies in the bosom of a
largeroneatthe top of astalkofoats(jAM.); (A.W.) Sh.I.Dafirst
'at rattled apo' da fluer introw da lum, wis da dry hail puckle, Sh.
News (Feb. 26, 1898) ; S. & Ork.i, Cai.i Per. Through alluvial
straths yielding their last pickle of corn, Ian Maclaren K. Car-
negie (i8g6) 2. Lnk. Fed him with cakes saved from my own
breakfast and barley pickles rescued from the hen's dish, Fraser
Whaups (1895) vi. Edb. Sheaves bra' large, Sound, sonsie, weel
winn'd pickles, Forbes Poc;«s (1812) 40. Dmf. Cromek Remains
(1810) 119. Dwn. (C.H.W.) Nhb.' If ye'U coont that heed o'
barley, ye'll find as much as eighty pickles on't. Cum. (E.W.P.) ;
Cum.* A paviour near Armathwaite undertook to set cobble stones
on a certain road, as fast as a hen could pick up pickles of barley.
We have the fullest stackyard we've had for some years, and it
does not yield so ill but rather small in the pickle. n.Yks.'
2. A very small quantity of anything ; a small number ;
a few.
Sc. It properly denotes a small quantity of anything that readily
separates into distinct particles. Never used of liquids (Jam.);
What's the use o' looking sac glum and glunch about a pickle
banes ? Scott Antiquary (,i8i6) ix ; Twa shillings Scots : no pickle
mair, Stevenson Cairiona (1893) iii. Sh.I. A puckle o' '00' when
da sheep wis rued, Stewart Tales (1892) 78 ; S. & Ork.' ne.Sc.
A puckle o' yon idle, orra chiels. Green Gordonhaven (1887) 144.
Cai.i Fishermen who have got a pretty good catch of fish, but not
exceptionally large, often modestly admit to an inquirer that they
have got a pucklie. Bch. Forbes Ulysses (1785) 31. Abd. Now
and then, to red her head, She taks a pickle snuff, Beattie Parings
(1801) 26, ed. 1873. Kcd. I'm wauken't, wife, llat go my puckle
hair! Grant Lajis (1884) 21. Frf. Puckle was nearly the word,
but it did not mean so many people as he meant, Barrie Tommy
(1896) 437. Per. That's a fine pucklie aits ye hae in the laigh
park, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 61. e. Per. The quantity
of salt, meal, &c. which can be lifted between the thumb and three
fingers (W.A.C.). Fif. The pickle clouds that are floatin' aboot
are gey an' high, Robertson Provost (1894) 19. e.rif. Bob
Tamson persuaded me to slip doon a picklie o' the poother below
Bessie's chair, Latto 7am Bodkin (1864) iii. s.Sc. I'm awa down
to Auchtermuchty for a pickle snuff, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 54.
Dmb. It's no my weel-hained pickle siller that's to keep him.
Cross Disruption (1844) i. Rnf. Nae doubt she has a pickle kye,
Barr Poems (1861) 17. Ayr. Gie me a pickle pea-strae, and sell
your wind for siller, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) xxxiv. Lnk.
Married anither for love of a pickle auld clouts, Graham Writings
(1883) II. 33. e.Lth. D'ye mean to tell me the kirk wuU come to
an end for the want n' a puckle siller? Hunter J. Inwick (1895)
172. Edb. Crawford Poems (1798) 17. Bwk. We toil baith
nicht an' morn To hoard a pickle gear, Calder Poems (1897) 269.
Peb. (A.C) Slk. I mak' his pickle meat, Borland Yarrow (1890)
214. Gall. There'll be a pickle siller, Crockett Raiders (1894) ii.
Dmf. Maggie was making a wee pickle hay, Shennan Tales (1831)
154. n.lr. A pickle stray fur a bed fur the moiley coo, Lyttle
Paddy McQuillan, 72 ; N.I.' Uls. ' A pickle of grain.' Used also
of single grains of anything, but particularly of sugar, of which
a crystallised kind in ' pickles ' is commonly used instead of lump
sugar in Belfast (M.B.-S.). N.Cy.i Nhb. A wee pickle hair,
Proudlock Borderland Muse (i8g6) 6; Nhb.' Gi's a pickle mair.
Aa've just bowt a pickle o' yaits. A pickle nuts. A pickle waiter.
Cum. (E.W.P.) w.Yks. Willan List IVds. (181 1).
PICKLE, z;.' Sc. Nhb. Lin. e. An. [pi-kl.] 1. To pick;
to peck at or pick up as a fowl. Also with up anAfig.
Sc. (Jam.) Cld., Lth. Applied to fowls collecting grains or food
of any kind {ib.). Edb. Jock had . . . ser'd three tomans wi' laird
Dunstock ; An' pickl'd up some scrapes n' lair, Learmont Poems
(1791) 56. Dmf. And ye shall pickle the red cherries. And drink
the reeking milk! Cromek Remains (1810) 74. sw.Lln.^ The
place is sore, and he will keep pickling it. The old cement wants
pickling out.
2. Phr. (i) to pickle in or out of one's own pock-neuk, to
depend on one's own exertions ; (2) to pickle out of one
pock, to share equally, to have a common stock.
(i) Sc. Thou must pickle in thine own poke-nook, and buckle
thy girdle thineain gate, Scoty Midlothian (i8i8)xxviii ; But e'en
pickle in your ain pock-neuk— I hae gi'en ye warning, ib. Rob
7?qy(i8i7) xxiii. Nhb.i 'Pickle i' yor aan poke neuk'— do for
yourself Said to a beggar, it is equivalent to an emphatic refusal
and an exhortation to the suppliant to shift for himself. (2) Sc.
Gen. applied to married life (Jam.). s.Sc. This douce, decent
kiple . . . baith contentitlie did pickle Out o' ae pock, T. Scott
Poems (1793) 325.
3. Fig. To pick up a tune note by note.
Edb. I now pickle with some freedom the refrain of Martini's
Moutons. . . I have been pickling deeply in the Magic Flute,
Stevenson Lett. (July 1886) II. 37.
4. To commit sfnall thefts ; to pilfer. Also usedy?^-.
Sc. ' It's ill to be ea'd a thief, and aye found pickling,' ^row., i.e.
it is a decisive proof against a man, if he is not only habit and
repute a thief, but detected in many petty acts of theft (Jam.).
Fif. iib.) Gall. Thou [tobacco] picklest aft the poor man's penny,
Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 129, ed. 1897. _
5. To glean a field a second time. e.An.', Suf. (H.H.),
Suf.' 6. To trifle, dawdle, ' piffle.'
Edb. When I remember all I hoped and feared, as I pickled
about Rutherford's in the rain, Stevenson Lett. (Sept. 6, 1888)
II. 115.
PICKLE, sh.'^, v.^ and adj. Van dial, and coUoq. uses
in Sc. Irel. and Eng. [pi'kl.] 1. sb. In comp. Pickle-
plant, the jointed glasswort, Salicornia herbacea.
Cum. Used as a substitute for samphire (B. c& H.) ; Cum.'*
2. A mess, plight, confusion ; a state or condition of
difficulty or trouble. In gen. coUoq. and slang use.
Abd. The Cath'lic rent, too's grown sae mickle As put the
Protestant in a pickle, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 65. w.Sc. I
mind a sad pickle that the mistress was in, Carrick Laird of
Logan (1835) 132. Rnf, I'm in a most unseemly pickle, Finlay-
SON Rhymes (1815) 18. Ayr. I'm a wee feared I'm in the same
pickle mysel', Service Noiandunis (1890) 96. Don. There the
masther was in a party pickle, Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899)
173. Lakel.2 e. Yks. Laws o' me ! what a pickle yu'r in ! Nichol-
son Flk-Sp. (1889) 37. w.Yks. If yond chap hadn't turned up
when he did, aw'st ha' been in a bonny pickle, Hartley Seets Yks.
and Lan. (1895) xiii ; w.Yks.'^ Lan.^ Tha's getten into a bonny
pickle this toime, lad. e.Lan.', nw.Der.i, Lin.', War.^, Hnt.
(T.P.F.) w.Som.' They'll be in a purty pickle, ah'Il warn 'em,
zoon's they years o' it. Dev. Well, crimminy ! yer's a go ! Yu
be in a drefful pickle, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). [She was ashamed
to be seen in such a pickle. Fielding J. Andrews (1742) bk. iv. ix.]
3. A troublesome, mischievous child ; also used of a
grown-up person who is in a dirty state.
Sc. (A.W.) Nhb. Let him gi' this pickle the skelpin' he well
deserves, Graham Red Scaur (1896) 58. w.Yks. (J.W.), Der.^
Not.2 A precocious child. Nhp.' He's 1 pretty pickle. War.^,
Hnt. (T.P.F.), Brks.' Dev. Every one knows me. . . I was a
pickle, a terrible pickle, Baring-Gould i^tH-ac 5/oom (1899) ^3!
Dev.i CoUoq. (A.B.C.)
4. V. To steep seed-corn in solutions of van kinds,
preparatory to sowing.
ne.Lan.', Shr.', Glo.', w.Cy. (Hall.) w.Som.' Seed corn before
sowing is very often steeped in solutions of various kinds,
according to the receipts or fancies of different farmers. This is
always called ' pickling' the corn, and is done to prevent grubs or
birds from devouring the seed. Used also for poisoning any sub-
stance for vermin. [Seed-wheat should be pickled, Stephens
Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) I. 535.]
5. adj. Obs. Wicked. Not. Harrod Mansfield (1801) 53.
PICKLE, s^i.3 Nhb. A prickle.
An urchin clad in pickles red, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk
(1846) VII. 66.
PICKLE, see Pightle, Pikle.
PICKLED, ppl. adj. Obs. Sc. In comb. Pickled primi-
neary, a quandary, a state of doubt or confusion. Cf.
pickle, sb.'^ 2.
Slk. Walter was truly in what he called a pickled primineary,
Hogg Tales (1838) 16, ed. 1866.
PICKLEHERRING, s6. Obs. Con A droll or merry-
andrew.
It was his name at Looe in my boyhood, and was frequently
abridged into Pickle, or rather Peckle, Pengelly in N. & Q. (1871)
4th S. vii. 421.
[Pickle, an arch waggish fellow; Pickle herring, the
zany or merry andrew of a mountebank, Lex.Balatronicum
PICKLESS
[489]
PICTURE
(1811). Addison uses the word 'pickle-herring' for the
merry-andrew of an itinerary quack: There is another
branch of pretenders to this art, who, without either horse
or pickle-herring, lie snug in a garret. Spectator (1714)
No. 572.]
PICKLESS, adj. Cum.'* [pi-k-, paiklas.] Incom-
petent, feckless, useless ; unable to pick and choose.
PICKLICK, V. Hnt. [piklik.] To pick over one's
food in a fastidious, fault-finding manner.
Now, then, don't sit there mammocking them air vittals over. If
yercan't doarout picklicking, you'll 'a'terdo arout grub altogether,
A'. &■ Q, (1870) 4th S. vi. 328.
PICKLIN(G, sb. Yks. Lin. e.An. [pi-klin.] A kind
of coarse linen or fine canvas.
n.Yks.i Used for covering meat-safes, and other like objects.
Lin.i Get some pickling to make a sile. e.An.' Coarse linen, of
which seedsmen make their bags, dairy maids their aprons. Suf.
(H.H.),Suf.i
[Pykelynge, purgulacio, Prompt.']
PICKMIRE, s6. Sc. Nhb. Also in forms picima Nhb.i;
pickmaw Sc. [pi'kmair.] The black-headed gull, Larus
rudibundus.
Sc. The very pickmaws and solan geese, Scott Bride of Lam.
(1819) xxiv. Rxb. The lav'rock, the peasweep an' skirlin pickmaw,
A. Scott Poems (ed. 1808) 224 ; Swainson Birds (1885) 209.
Nhb.i Also called ' sea crow.' [Morris Birds (1857).]
PICKNICKETY, adj. Cum.'* [piknikati.] Nice in
small matters, neat in dress ; unnecessarily careful about
trifles ; fastidious. Cf pernickety.
PICKNICKLE, V. Rut.i [pi-knikl.] To put up a
wattle-fence.
' Where's your husband ? ' ' He's picknickling to day.'
PICKOCK, sb. N.I.i [pi-kak.] A small fish, esp. the
young of the coal-fish, Merlangus carbonarius. Cf. picky.
PICK-POCKET, sb. Chs. Not. Nhp. Wor. Bck. Nrf
Ess. Ken. Sus. Wil. Som. Dev. [pi'k-pokit.] 1. The
shepherd's purse, Capsella Bursa-pastoris.
Not. From its impoverishing the land cf the farmer. Nhp.i
Children, when gathering this plant, frequently repeat thefollowing
couplet: — 'Pick-pocket, penny nail. Put the rogue in the jail.'
Wor., Bck. (G.E.D.), Nrf., Sus.i, -Wil.i, Dev.-*
2. The greater stitchwort, Stellaria Holostea. Ken.,
Som., Dev.* 3. The corn-spurrey, Spergula arvensis.
Chs. 4. Th& s&\i-\\&a\, Prunella vulgaris. Ess. 5. The
rye-grass, Loliutn italicum. Dev.
PICK-SEA, sb. Rxb. The black-headed gull, Larus
rudibundus. Swainson Birds (1885) 209.
PICKSEY, PICSIE, see Pixy.
PICK-THANK, sb., adj. and v. Sc. Irel. War. Wor.
Glo. Dev. 1. sb. A flatterer; a tale-bearer ; a mischief-
maker ; a fault-finder ; also used attrib. Cf. pike-thank.
w.Sc. I'll gar ye chauner there, ye pickthank, Carrick Laird of
Logan (1835) 86. Gall. A miser, a cuckold, a pickthank, a loon,
And a lustfu'auld rogue, Mactaggart £Kcyc/. (1824) no, ed. 1876.
Ir. Ah, if my man was here he'd make these pick-thanks run,
Macmanus Silk of Kine (1896) 161. War.^, se.Wor.l, s.Wor.
(H.K.), Glo.* Dev.' I'll ha' thee to know thou make-bate, pick-
thank hussy, 45, ed. Palmer ; Dev.^ 'Er's a riglar old pickthank,
tha more murtchy 'er can brew tha better 'er's plaized.
2. The tool held in the left hand to claw the grain in
'bagging' wheat.
Glo. The pick-thank is used in the left hand to hold the wheat,"
whilst the man cuts with the reaping-hook in his right hand
(A.B.) ; Glo.l
3. fl(^'. Ungrateful. Bnff.* 4.f. To slander; to carry tales.
Wxf. Pick-thanking, and tatling, Kennedy Evenings Duffrey
(1869) 42. s.Wor. A pickthanked mah an' backbited mah (H.K.).
[1. Many tales devised, Which oft the ear of greatness
needs must hear, By smiling pick-thanks and base news-
mongers, Shaks. I Hen. IV, iii. ii. 23-5.]
PICKTIPY, V. Not. [pi-ktipai.] To turn a somer-
sault. Also used advb. Cf. pick, v.^ 4.
s.Not. Coom an' picktipy off of the stack. He went right over,
picktipy (J.P.K.).
PICKY, sb. N.I.i [piki.] A small fish, esp. the
young of the coal-fish, Merlangus carbonarius. Cf pickock.
PICKY, PICLE, see Peaky, adj.'^, Pightle.
VOL. IV,
PICOD, 5Z>. War.=* s.War.> [pikad.] The chaffinch,
or pea-finch, Fringilla coelebs.
PI-COW, sb. Sc. (Jam.) [pr-kil.] 1. The game of
' hide-and-seek.'
Ags. When the hiding party have concealed themselves, one
of them cries ' pi-cow ' as a sign that the one who is to seek may
set to work.
2. A game ; see below.
Ags., Per. One half of the players are supposed to keep a castle,
while the others go out as a foraging or marauding party. When
the latter are all gone out, one of them cries ' Pee-ku,' which is a
signal to those within to be on the alert. Then those who are
without, attempt to get in. If any one of them gets in without
being seized by the holders of the castle, he cries to his com-
panions ' The hole's won ' ; and those who were within mustj'ield
the fortress.
PICROUS-DAY, sb. Cor. The second Thursday
before Christmas Day ; see below.
The second Thursday before Christmas day is a festival observed
by the tinners of the district of Elackmore, and known as Picrous-
day. . . It is the occasion of a supper and much raerr3'-making. . .
This is said to be the feast of the discovery of tin by a man named
Picrous, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 469, ed. i8g6; Picrous
day is still kept up in Luxulyan, ib. 89: Cor.' e.Cor. The second
Thursday before Christmas is in East Cornwall kept bythe ' tinners'
[miners] as a holiday in honour of one of the reputed finders of
tin. It is known as Picrous-day, Flk-Lore Jrn. (i886j IV. 114.
PICT, see Pick, sb.^
PICTARNIE, sb. Sc. Cum. Also written picktarnie
Cai.' Fif. e.Lth. ; and in forms piccatarrie Sh.I. ; picka-
ternie S. & Ork.' ; picket-a Or.I. ; picketarnie Sc. (Jam.) ;
pickietar Bnff ; pickitarnie Cai.' ; pic'tarn Sc. Cum.*;
pictame, pictarnitie Sc. (Jam.) [pi'ktarni.] 1. The
common tern. Sterna fluviattlis.
Sc. Herring gulls. Pewit gulls, and great Terns, called here
Pictarne's, Pennant 7oz(»-(i769) 81 (Jam.) ; It is said proverbially _
'If ye do that' or ' If that be sae, I'se be a pictarnie,' referring to
a thing supposed to be impracticable or incredible (Jam.) ; 'What
do you see extraordinary about that bird, Hector?— it's but a
seamaw.' 'It's a pictarnie, sir,' Scott Antiquary (1816) xxxix.
Sh.I. Sv/AiNSON Birds (1885) 202. Sh. & Or.I. The name Picketarnie,
it has been said, is a close imitation of the call of the bird, Neill
Tbi«- (1806) 42 (Jam.) ; S.&Ork.' Or.I. Swainson <'i. 203. Cai.*
Bnff. A still more remarkable instance of brotherly sympathy and
help on the part of the common Tern, called Pickietars in the
neighbourhood of Banff, Smiles Naiur. (1879) xii ; I observed
several parties of Pickietars busily employed i n fisiiing in the firth,
ib. Fif., e.Lth. Swainson ib. 202. Cum.'' Obs.
2. The Arctic tern. Sterna macrura.
Sh.I. The graceful and elegant tern, the 'piccatarrie' of our
beaches and lochs. . . The tern we have with us in our Islands is
the Arctic tern, S/i. News (Jan. 14, 1899). Cai.'
3. The black-headed gull, Larus rudibundus. Rxb.
(Jam.) ; Swainson Birds (1885) 209.
PICTUR(E, sb. Nhb. Dur. [piktar.] See below.
A covering of sheet iron or brattice deals hung from the roof and
shaft framing to protect the onsetters from the dripping of water
at the shaft bottom, Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888) ; Also a similar
cover to protect the hewer from water which falls from the roof in
wet working, Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
PICTURE, sb. Var. dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. Irel.
Eng. and Amer. Also in forms picksher Cor. ; picktre
Wm. ; picter Sh.I. Sur.* Amer. ; picthur Don. ; pictur
Sc. Nhb. n.Lin.i Oxf Brks. Dor. [pi-kta(r.] 1. In
comp. (i) Picture-cards, the court cards of a pack ; (2)
-maker, a landscape or portrait painter.
(i) n.Lin.', Oxf.' MS. add. (2) ne.Sc. Instead o' settlin' doonto
a sober industrious callin' ye hae taen in yer held to turn a pictur'-
maker, Grant Keckleton, 7.
2. Image, likeness ; resemblance. In gen. colloq. use.
Abd. Isna his mere 'at they ca' Kelpie jist the pictur' o' thedeil's
ain horse? Macdonald Lossie (1877) Iviii. Fif. He's the very
picture o' Wull, Dug, Meldrum Margredel (1894) 59. Lnk. A
perfeck airmfu' o' a wean ! — The picture o' its daddie ! Murdoch
Doric Lyre (1873) 49. Edb. Twa weans, the picture o' hersel' an'
me, Learmont Poems (1791) 278. Don. He looked the very
picthur of a grand gentleman, Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 63.
n.Cy. (J.W.) Nhb. You're the verra pictur' o' awd Mr. Selwyn,
Graham Red Scaur (1896) 271. Wm. Wyah t'varra picktre a
3R
PICTS
[490]
PIE
deeath is i' the feease, Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 20. Yks. (J.W.)
Chs.^ 'Just the very picture of so and so ' is another way of saying
verylilte. n.Lin.' He's the very picturo'hisgran'faather. w.Som.'
Dhu zaak-pili'turu dh-oa-1 au's [The exact image of the old horse].
3. Used as a term of high praise.
Brks. There now, ain't she a pictur'? Hughes Scour. White Horse
(1859) ii. Sur.i To express something very pretty they will say
it is ' a regular picter.' Dor. It [best room] be very nice, I'm sure.
It be quite a pictur, Windsor Mag. (May 1900) 740.
4. A spectacle, sight, object, gen. used as a term of con-
tempt.
Sh.I. I'm tinkin' I wis a boonie sicht mysel', but he wis a picter !
Stewart Tales (1892) 263. Abd. Ye're a bonnie pictur' to gang
coortin' ony lassie ; ye puir, helpless yowie, Abd. Wkly. Free Press
(Jan. 27, 1900). Lnk. 'To see him's a picture when reading the
Scripture, Nicholson Idylls 1,1870) 26. Don. They'd be long sorry
to let that picthur with them — for he was a picthur and no doubt
of it, Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 38. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
n.Wil. ' Darned if I ever seed such a crooked picter of a house ! '
said he, Jefferies Amaryllis (1887) xxxiv. Cor. ' Be he bruised
same as you?' 'A sight worse; he's a picksher, I tell 'e,' Phill-
POTTS Lying Prophets (1897) 32. [Amer. If you keep on makin' a
picter of yourself, Cent. Mag. (Jan. 1883) 406 ]
PICTS, sb. pi. Sc. Nhb. [pikts.] In comb, (i) Picts'
houses, mounds which contain cellular enclosures under-
ground ; (2) — wall, the Roman Wall, extending from the
Solway to Wallsend ; (3) -work-ditch, a fosse extending
from Peel Fell to Galashiels.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) Or.I. IMany of those houses sometimes called
Picts-Houses, and sometimes Kemp-Houses, Wallace D^-scr. Or.I.
(1693) 194, ed. 1883. Frf. Some of those subterranean erections
called Picts' Houses were discovered a considerable number of
ye.s.\-s&^o,Edb.Antiq. Mag. {iB^S,) 14,5. (2) Nhb.' Till quite recently
our Wall always appeared on the maps as the Picts' Wall, the
Vallum sive Murus Picticus of Camden, a designation borne, not on
account of its having served as a defence against the Picts, . . but
■because it was popularly held to have been the uncanny work of
that mysterious race. Bates Border Holds, 323. (3) N.Cy.i
PID, int. e.Lan.i [pid.] A call to hens.
PIDDAPACE, see Pittapace.
PIDDLE, v.i Sc. Yks. Lan. Lei. War. Won Shr. GIo.
Wil. Som. [pi'dl.] 1. To trifle, do light work; to
perform work in a trifling, careless, or unskilful way.
Also with about.
e. Yks.' Poor awd chap ! he's piddlin ower that bit o' waak, bud
he's good fo' nowtnoo; he'll nivvermaknowton't. w.Yks.' Lan.
Davies Races (1855) 237. War.^ se.Wor.i Not much used now ;
to ' fiddle ' about seems to have taken the place of this expression.
Glo. Gl. (1851) ; (Hall ) ; Glo.'Z Suf. To go about pretending to
work, but doing little or nothing, as after illness a man is said to go
piddling about, though as yet unable to do much (Hall.). WiU
n.Wil. I caant do nothin now but just piddle about (E.H.G.).
Tv.Som.i Come on, soce ! b'ee gwain to bide piddlin here all day ?
He'd bide piddlin over thick there job vor a month o' Zindays.
[The soldier ... did not choose to throw away his time for nothing,
but . . . would piddle for a crown a game, Smollett P. Pickle
(1751) Ixix.]
Hence Piddling, ppl. adj. trifling, insignificant, paltry.
Rnf. Some piddlin' fauts demean us, Picken Poems (1813) I. 68.
GIo.i A piddling job. -wr.Som.' Never didn zee the river zo small
avore, he's nort now but a little piddlin lake o' water.
2. To trifle with one's food ; to eat daintily and without
appetite. Also usedy?^. and with on.
Fif. They were pykin' thus and piddlin', And wine-dubs round
and round were driddlin', Tennant Papistry (1827) 118. n.Yks.*
1/ei.i Thank you, I'll just piddle with a biscuit.
Hence Piddling, ppl. adj. dainty, picking ; having little
appetite for food.
Shr.' I doubt it'll tak' a despert w'ile to feed this pig, 'e's sich a
piddlin' ater.
3. To take short steps in walking.
Rxb. (Jam.) w.Yks.' Look how 't mear piddles.
[1. She plays and sings ... a pretty poet, Begins to
piddle with philosophy, Fletcher Wit without Money
(1639) I. ii. (CD.)]
PIDDLE, W.2 Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Not. War. Won e.An. Also in form pittle n.Cy.
Nhb.Yks. Lan. nw.Den's.Not. e.An.i [pi'dl, pi'tl.] L To
urinate, make water, used of and by children.
Sc.(Jam.); (A.W.) Ir. (A.S.-P.), n.Cy. (J.W.) Cum. Com-
monly used to children (J.D.). Yks. (J.W.), Lan. (S.W.), s.Chs.',
n-w.Der.i, War.^s se.Wor.i e.An.' He ha' pittled his britches.
2. Comb. Pittle-bed, the dandelion, Leontodon Taraxacum.
Nhb. Thoo pittilbed iv unnyins [onions], Chater Tyneside Aim,
(1869) 16. s.Not. (J.P.K.)
PIDDLE, v.^ e.Yks.' [pidl.] To tickle.
PIDDLE, see Pightle.
PIDDLE-PADDLE,s6. Chs.^ [pi'dl-padl.] Verypoorale.
PIDDLYMINS, int. Con A cry in the game of ' pins.'
Cf. pednameny.
Cor.3 In the game of 'pins' one player holds a pin in the closed
hand, palm upwards ; another places a second pin along the tips of
the first one's fingers and guesses heads or tails — that is, that both
heads will be one side. If on opening the hand the heads are
opposite, they cry 'piddlymins,'and the result is considered unlucky
for the guesser.
PIDGEL, PIDIE, see Pedgel, Piedy.
PIE, sb.''- and v.^ Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
written pye Der. Glo. Ess. Dev. Cor.'^ ; and in form poi
w.Yks.2 Lei.i [pai, Midi, poi.] 1. sb. In comb, (i)
Pie-gathering, see below ; (2) -kiln, a kiln for burning
lime in ; (3) -lid, a pie-crust ; (4) -peel, a pole with a flat
piece of wood at the end of it, used for putting in or taking
out loaves, pies, &c. from an oven.
(i) Cum.* It was formerly a custom in some districts at Christmas
time for the boys to collect pies, cakes or money, and afterwards
to divide the collection between them. (2) Der. Uses a great deal
of lime and burns it in a pye-kiln, Marshall Review (1814) IV.
'37- (3) eLan.' (4) s.Chs.' We have two varieties of 'peels,'
viz. bread-peels and pie-peels (s.v. Peel).
2. Phr. (i) pie and roast, see below ; (2) as noist as pie,
said of anything convenient, comfortable, appropriate, or
toothsome ; (3) as right as pie, quite right ; (\) father of the
pie, {a) a lover of delicacies and good living; (b) the
chairman of a convivial meeting ; (5) in the pie, in a plot,
confederacy, &c. ; (6) like pie, very warm ; (7) to make a
pie, to combine in order to make money ; (8) to put in the
pie, a process resorted to in choosing sides in a game, &c.;
see below.
(i) n.Yks.2 ' It's pie anrooast for 'em,' as a success attained. 'I've
had nowther pie nor rooast,' nothing whatever to eat. (2) Lei.i
' It fits 'im as noist as poy,' I heard said of a coat. 'War.s (3)
■w.Yks.2 Str., War., WQr.,Glo. NoRTHALLFtt-PA)-. (1894V (4, a)
Glo. Old Father of the Pye, I cannot sing, my lips be dry. Old
Sng., Horae Subsecivae (1777) 343. (J>) Dev. (Hall.) (5) Lnk.
J Can ye keep a secret, Tarn ? ' ' Brawly, Johnny, brawly, — if I am
in the pie, ye ken,' Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 109. (6) Cor.^
Your hands are like pie. (7) n.Cy. (Hall.), ne.Lan.i (8) Nhb.i
Also called ' odd man ' and ' last man out.' One of the players lends
his cap, and each of the others stands round with one finger in the
pie. One of them then recites a rhyme, touching the fingers in
succession as each word is repeated. He whose finger is touched
at the last word stands aside. The process is continued until one
only is left in, and he, being last man, is 'hit.' The following is
the formula which is usually repeated on the occasion : ' Onery,
twoery, tackery, tivven, Alaboo, clackaboo, ten or iliven, Peam, patn,
musky Tom, Tweedle-um, twaddle-um, twenty-one.'
3. Fig. A mess, scrape ; a state of difficulty or em-
barrassment.
Lnk. ' Eh, me, we're in a fine pie noo ! ' forebodingly said Mattie,
Murdoch Readings (1895) II. 109. Lakel.2
Hence Piement, sb. confusion ; dirt, mess.
n.Lin.i What an' a piement them bairns hes maade all oher this
clean floor.
4. A prize or find ; see below.
Nhb.' Also used when something is found to turn the laugh against
an antagonist. ' It wis grand pie tiv us.'
5. Blocks of tin adulterated by lumps of iron being en-
closed in the centre. Con= 6. A heap of root-crops, esp.
potatoes, stored in the open fields during winten Cf.
clamp, sd.' 5.
Bwk. A pit or pie is a conical heap of potatoes, about four feet
diameter at bottom, built up to a point as high as they will admit of,
and restmg upon the dry bare ground. The heap is carefully covered
over by a layer of straw ; a trench is then dug all round and the
earth thrown over the straw and well beaten down by a spade.
The apex or summit of the heap is generally secured from rain by
PIE
[491 ]
PIECE
a broad grassy sod, Ague. Sum. 293 (Jam., s.v. Pit). n.Yks.i A
heap of thirty or forty bushels is made of a low or blunt conical form ;
this is then covered with straw to the thickness of four or five inches,
and over the straw earth, dug from the surface surrounding the pie,
is regularly laid and afterwards smoothed over with the spade, so
as to form an even sided cone of three, or three feet and a half high,
with a base of nine or ten feet ; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i T'buU loup'd
reel inti Nanny taatie-pie. e.Yks. He asked him to come and empty
the ' pie,' and wheel all the potatoes into an outhouse, Nicholson
Flk-Lore (1890) 120; e.Yks.', w.Yks. (J.W.), Not.i, s.Not. (J.P.K.)
Lin. He stole a lot o' taties out o' pie, an' hugged 'em awaay i' a poke
(J.T.F.). n.Lin.iThe pyes [preserving pits] being ready 6 inches
deep, and 6 feet wide, the carts take them [the potatoes] home,
Young ^^nc. (1799) 143. sw.Lin.i, e.An.i Suf. Morton Cyclo.
Agric. (1863); Suf.i
7. A manure-heap or pit ; a stack of dung.
Wor. ' In making silage by the pie-system an oblong excavation
would be made of much greater dimensions than for potatoes. . .
After the pit had been filled up with the green crop,' the loads of
green crop would be piled up until such a height is attained that
the horses can no longer pull the loads up one side or other of the
mound. 'This is exactly the process followed so far in making
dung pies, only there is seldom any excavation of => pit for them.'
The silage pie is finished by placing a little straw on the crown,
covering this with earth, and ' after the earth from the pit has been
clamped round, a trench is dug out for more earth to be clamped
up, and this trench serves to keep the pie perfectly dry at its
{ounda.tioT>,' Evesham Jrn. (Oct. 10, 1896). w.Cy. The land would
be the better for this year's lying fallow, and the very ' trumpery'
it brought forth, could be burned to fill the pies, Bayly J. Merle
(1890) xxxix.
8. Obs. A receptacle for rape-seed.
Yks. ('Hall.) e.Yks. The [rape]-seed is cured (i.e. takes the
heat which is incident to all recent vegetables) in the chaff or
pods (provincially ' pulls ') either on a barn-floor, a granary, &c. ,
or in pies built in the field for this purpose with plaited straw,
Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) II. 40.
9. A wagon. Also in comp. Pie-wagon, see below.
n.Yks. While others are equally busy in putting the unwinnowed
seed into bags, and carrying it to the pie or waggon, Tuke Agric.
(1800) 137. w.Yks. Pie-wagon, a railway wagon loaded with
many small consignments of goods for var. stations, as distinct
from a wagon fully loaded for one station (B.K.).
3.0. V. To store root-crops, esp. potatoes, in the open
fields during winter. Also with down or up.
n.Yks.'* ne.Yks.i Wa a'e gotten t'biggest part o' wer tonnops
pied. e.Yks. In October the plants [mangel wurtzelj should be
drawn up, and either put into a building to protect them from
severe frost, or otherwise ' pied,' that is, laid upon the ground in
a dry place, on a heap about five feet wide and three feet in height,
formed like the roof of a house, and covered with straw ; a trench
is dug round, and the soil neatly thrown over the straw, and beat
down with the spade. Potatoes and carrots are also ' pied,' Farm
Reports, Scoreby (1832) 12; e.Yks.', w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. A've
piedallmytatersup (J.P.K. ). n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' A heap of potatoes
or other roots placed in a hole, . . covered down with straw and
earth against the winter, . . are said to be 'pied down' or to
be ' in pie.' 'Better buy a ton at once and pie them down.' Ess.
They are all holed or pyed, Marshall Review (1817) V. 179.
PIE, sb.'^ and w.2 Sc. Irel. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Also
written py Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.' ne.Lan.' ; pye Sc. (Jam.)
n.Yks.'' m.Yks.^ [pai.] 1. -s*. A magpie. Pica rustica.
Per. The crane, the crow, the daw, the pie, Haliburton Ochil
Idylls (1891) 77. Fif. Haunt o' owl, gled, roupie corbie. Of bat,
an' omen [ominous] pie. Cracks wi' Flutorum (1899) 35. n.Yks.^
[Not too high for the pie, nor too low for the crow, Ray Prov^
(1678)265.]
2. Comp. (i) Pie-craw, (2) -mag, (3) -nanny, the magpie,
Pica rustica.
(i) n.Yks.'^ (2) ne.Lan. Swainson Birds (1885) 76; ne.Lan.'
(3) n.Yks.* ne.Lan. Swainson ib. ; ne.Lan.'
3. V. To pry about or peer like a magpie ; to squint.
Sc. (Jam.), Slk., GalU {ib.") Gall. The twasome pied down on
the cauld sneep snaw, Wi' the sorry hauf striffen'd e'e, Mactag-
GART Encycl. (1824) 412, ed. 1876 ; Looking steadfastly at some
object, like a dog when he sees ground a stirring by a mole in it,
ib. 381. N.L^ Nhb.i He went pyin aboot. nYks.'* ne.Yks.'
He's awlus piein' aboot t'toon. e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1788) ; e.Yks.' Missis is awlas peepin an piein aboot. m.Yks.'
HencePyer,s6.a busybody; a listener on the sly, n.Yks.*
[1. ME. pye, a magpie (Chaucer). Fr. pie, a pye,
pyannat, meggatapy (Cotgr.).]
PIE, see Pee, v>
PIE-APPLE, sb. Nhp.' The cone of the fir. See
Purr-apple.
PIEBALD, sh. e.Lan.' [paib^ld.] Almost equally
black and white, but not streaked.
PIE-BALL, 5*. Nhb.' A game resembling 'rounders,'
in which the ball is always struck with the hand. Cf.
pize, V. 3.
PIECE, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Amer. Also written pece Sc. (Jam.) ; peece Fif. Dwn.
w.Yks.; and in form pe-us Brks.' [pis, pias.] 1. sb.
In phr. (i) piece of music, a harmonium ; (2) — of work, a
disturbance, fuss ; trouble ; (3) all of a piece, (a) all alike,
all of the same kind of pattern; {b) stiff; {c) adherent;
stuck together ; {i^) for the piece, each, apiece; (5) on {by)
the piece, contract or piece-work ; (6) through the piece, as a
whole, from first to last ; (7) to the piece, see (4) ; (8) all to
pieces, thoroughly, entirely, to perfection ; (9) to fall to
pieces, to give birth to a child ; see Fall, v. 16 (13).
(i) Nrf. That's a werry nice piece of music you've got in the
chutch now (W.R.E.). (2) War.^Ther'll be a nice piece of work
about this broken window ; War.^ What a piece of work you are
making about nothing. This is a fine piece of work — how did if
come about ? se Wor.', Oxf.l Brks.' A maayde a ter'ble pe us o'
work when I tawld 'un as a cood'nt hev the donkey to-daay. e.An,*
My mistress will make a fine piece of work when she sees it.
There was a great piece of work at the fair. Suf. There'll be a
rare piece 0' work about that 'ere (C.T.) ; He made a great piece
o' work about it, «.yi(«. Z)v. Times (1892). Ken. (G.B.) w.Som.'
Come now, her did'n go to do it, and tidn nort vor to make a piece
o' work about. There's a purty piece o' work up 'm town ;
they've a-broktthe winders to the King's Arms, and the [poa-lees]
police can't do nort agin 'em. (3, «) n.Lin.' She's makkinhersen
a patchwork bed-twilt, an' it's all of a peace like, iv'ry bit on it
maade o' silk. w.Som.' Maister've a-zend back these here baskets;
they baint no good nif can't 'ave 'em all of a piece. You must
paper the wall all over nif you want to make'n look all of a piece.
(6) n.Lin.' I'm very badly : this weet weather maks me all of a
peace wi' th' rewmatics. (c) ib. We fun a strike skep full o' sneel
shells, e' th' ohd esh tree, e' th' Wood-cloas hedge, an' thaay was
all of a peace ; stuck together as fast as could be. (4) Sc. Should
have gotten frae each minister four pounds for the piece, Spalding
Hist. Sc. (1796) I. 59 (Jam.). (5) w.Yks. Tak thi time, gomeless ;
tha mud be on th' peece, Bickerdike Beacon Alni. (1873) ; Am.
on bit pisna (J.W.). (6) s.Sc. Just thro' the piece tak Yeadie's
race, An' point out ane wi' a clean face, T. Scott Poems (1793)
341. (7) e.Sc. I poured oot their share to the piece o' them, Strain
Elmslie's Drag-net (1900) 285. (8) Dwn. She w'ud a pleesed ye a'
tae pieces, an' wud a been charmed tae a haen a minister fur a son-
in-law, LvTTLEBa//}'«(rfrf)' (1892) 79 n.Cy , Yks. (J.W.) s.'Wor.
PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) ^o ; (H.K.) (9) Lei.' Anybody can
say what's the matter wi' yew wi' 'af a oy. Yer's a-gooin' to fall to
paces.
2. A part or portion of anything ; a little ; often used in
Sc. with ' of omitted.
Sc. She had a piece bread and cheese in her pouch, Whitehead
Daft Davie (1876) 205, ed. 1894; A piece paper. Monthly Mag.
(1798) II. 437; Scoticisms (1787) 73. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) Lan.
Far I think he's a piece on a Rascot, Tim Bobbin View Dial, (ed.
1806) 26. Oxf. With his brain, ' a good piece dolled,' Blackmore
Cripps (1876) iv. Ken. She'd been ailin' a piece and they
thought it'ld set her up, Cornh. Mag. (Jan. 1894) 65. w.Som.'-
No, tidn a finished, not eet; why we 'ant a bin there only two
pieces o' days— i.e. parts of two days. Better have home some
more cider, had'n er, sir ? there idn but a piece of a hogshead a
left. ' What ! do you call yourself a man ? ' ' Well, I zim I do,
a piece of a one, like.' I can't go home 'long way 'ee, . . but I
don't mind gwain a piece o' the way.
3. A term of contempt or abuse for a woman. Occas.
applied to a man. Also in phr. a piece of baggage, piece of
goods, &.C.
Sc. She must be an ill- fashioned piece, if you're so much afraid
of her, Scott Nigel (1822) xxxv. Abd. There's few wad think her
sic i» saucy piece, Shirrefs /'o««s (1790) 117. Ayr. The bold
pi^ce, to kiss a woman she had never seen in her life before 1
Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 60. Lnk. Ye littleworth piece o' a
3 R 2
PIECE
[492]
PIECE
littleworth kin', Watson Poems (1853) 46. Ir. (A.S.-P.) Nhb.i
She's a bonny piece that'n is. Nice piece o' goods she is, aa's
sure. w.Yks.3 Lan, I did get it fur thee, tha nasty owd piece,
Burnett //azBor/A's (1887) xxi. Lan., Chs. (F.R.C.) Chs.^ Used
slightingly of an untidy woman. ' Oo's a slatternly piece, anyhow.'
s.Stf. Her's a nice piece o' goods to be a skule guvness, Pinnock
Blk. Cy. Attn. (1895). Der. She's a cross old piece ; orShe's a fast
piece (G.G.). n.Lin.* War.2 Sometimes 'piece of goods,' or
' piece of flesh.' ' 'Er's a nice piece ' ; War.* Some say Polly's a
good-looking young faymale. I doant thinks her much of a piece
though. Wor. I knew 'er were a hugly piece (H.K.). w.Wor.^
se.Wor.i 'Er caunt do much, 'er's a very poor piece. Shr.i 'Er's
a poor piece ; w'y 'er dunna know 'ow to wesh 'er 'usban's shirt
fur all 'er brags 'erself for everythin' ; Shr.= ' A natter'd piece,' as
they say of an ill-conditioned old woman (s.v. Natterd). Hrf.^
Glo.' Her's a loothy piece. Wil. She's a nice piece of fifteen
years now, Swinstf.ad Parish on Wheels (1897) 206. Dor. I once
hinted my mind to her on a few things, as nearly as a battered
frame dared to do so to such a froward piece ! Hardy Madding
Crowd (1874) xxii. w.Som.' Used to express unchastity. ' You
knows th' old Bob Zalter's wive, don 'ee ? Hers a gurt ccose
piece, you know.' Dev. What duee thenk o' Zarey Ann ? — 'er be
a purty piece o' gudes, Salmon Ballads (1899) 64: He'm an
ancient piece wi'out gert store o' words best o' times, Phillpotts
Sons of Morning (igoo) 90. Cor. An impudent piece (F.R.C).
f Amer. She is a bold piece, a torn-down piece, Green Vireinia Flk-
Sp. (1899).]
4. A recitation ; a tale in prose or verse, gen. but not
necessarily one committed to memory.
Sc. (A.W.) w.Yks. Ahr Louisa wor alius a gooid un at sayin'
pieces. Hes ta le'nt that piece yut ? Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 26,
1896). Lan.i ' What are yo for neaw ? ' 'We're gooin' a-sayin'
pieces at schoo'.' Chs.' In the country schools when children recite
poetry it is always called ' saying their pieces.' n.Lin. It's a piece
that my gran'feyther offens tell'd me. Peacock Tales and Rhymes
(1886) 105 ; n.Lin.i I'm gooin' to chapil to-neet to hear th' bairns
saay the'r peaces. Thoo mun hear all thrif th' peace I'm agooin'
to tell thee afoore ta says oht. s.Oxf. All the 'pieces' that the
children learnt to repeat at school they taught to her, Rosemary
Chiltems (1895) 83.
5. A piece of timber ; a log.
w.Som.' I be a-comed over vor to git some help, vor to git the
piece up to pit ; me and Jimsy baint men enough by ourzels.
[Can. From fifteen to twenty ' pieces ' can be piled on the sleds,
Eng Illus. Mag. (Sept. 1892) IX. 882 ; Most of the logs or 'pieces'
are loaded on ocean steamers built for the trade, ib. 885.]
6. An indefinite space or distance. Also in phr. piece of
way(s.
Sh.I. Da folk a' cam' trampin' in frae here an' dere aboot, some
o' dem frae a lang piece awa. Burgess Sketches (and ed.) 109.
Frf. He waitit till Mary cam' up the garden a piece, an' made himsel'
sure that it was her, Willock Rosetiy Ends (1886) 151, ed. 1889.
Per. When he gets up a wee piece he aye shoves in a wedge
below to keep him frae fa'ing back, Sandy Scott (1897) 28. n.Cy.
(J.W.) W.Iks. He lives a piece of way off (C.C.R.). n.Lin.i He
went peace o' waays home wi' her that neet. Sam's gettin' to
read nistly, he's begun his testament, an' is peace o' waay thrif
Mark. He's dull o' hearin', so I ax'd him if he could hear th'
preacher, an' he nodded his head, just e' this how, an' said, 'peace
o' waay, nobbut peace o' waay.'
7. A short, indefinite period of time.
N.Cy.i, Nhb.i Cum.* Very rarely heard now. ' Ah'll gang efter
a laal piece.' n.Yks. Wait a piece (I.W.). ne.Yks.' Ah stayed
wiv him for a piece. e.Yks.' He's lived wiv us noo a good piece.
w.Yks.i Stay a piece ; w.Yks.s I'll be wi' yuh in a piece. ne.Lan.'
n.Lin. He'd gotten some in a piece back, Peacock R. Skirlaugh
(1870) II. 117 ; n.Lin.' sw.Lia.i I'll do it in a piece. They lived
Louth way a piece. They flitted a piece afore harvest. [Amer.
Who is this 'Joe ' you mentioned a little piece back ' Cent. Mag.
(Dec. 1900) 301.]
8. A slice of bread or bread and butter, &c., esp. that
given to children and carried in the pocket, to be eaten
as lunch.
Sc. You used to ask me to tea, and give me scones and jelly-
pieces, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 99. ne.Sc. Pieces, however,
were ordinarily given, Gregor Flk-Lore (i88r) 93. Cai.' Abd.
Neithertak'her siller nor a piece, ShirrefsPocots (1790) 121. Kcd.
Stepin,my bairns, an'get a piece. Grant Z.a_vs( 1884) 23. Frf. They
gied him a ' piece ' that had little to spare, Watt Poet. Sketches
(1880) 15. Per. A' thae bairns . . . skirlin' for a piece, Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) no, ed. 1887. Fif. Pieces were exhausted,
and pooches reipet for miilins, Colville Vernacular (1899) 11.
Rnf. They're greetin for a wee bit piece, But she has nane to gie.
Young Pictures (1865) 120. Ayr. Here's a piece for Samsie and
you to eat i' the glen, Johnston Kilmallie (1891) II. 29. Lnk.
Her starvin' weans cry for a piece, Thomson Musings (1881) 2r.
Lth. Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 25. Bwk. It is still a com-
mon phr., when a child gets a little eatable present, ' Here's a
piece wad please a Brownie,' Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 66.
Dmf. Nor wi' sad aspect droopin' sour At bairns' pieces stood tae
glower, Quinn Heather (1863) 75. Gall. Hungrily looking for a
piece, Crockett Grey Man (1896) 185. Wgt. A dry piece is plain
loaf bread, or oatcake, without milk, butter, or jam, or treacle to
make it more palatable (A.W.). N.I.i Uls. Taking the soda-
scones off the fire and getting ' a piece ' for Mary Ann, Hamilton
Uls. Bog (1896) 15. Dwn. Mebbe the boy wud eat a peece?
Lyttle Robin Gordon^ 17. Nhb.^ He' ye getten yor piece wi' ye ?
w.Yks. (J.W.) ■War.2;Virar.8 Have you had your piece [luncheon]?
Then run back to school. Wor. 'What do you feed baby on ? ' ' O,
she'll eat a piece now' (H.B.). w.Wor.i I be clemmed, mother, gie
I a piece ! se.Wor.i Shr.' Yo' shan' a no more pieces afore
dinner, yo'n bin piece, piece, piecin', all mornin', an' then when
the garden stuff's done [cooked], yo'n ate nuthin'. Cot? If a
child tells you she's had ' nothing but a piece all day,' you know
she means bread and butter. ' I aint had a piece all day, let alone
flesh-mait or figgy.'
Hence Piece-time, sb. lunch-time.
e.Sc. It was comin' on for their piece time, Strain Elmslie's
Drag-net (1900) 281. Cld. Come hame at pece-time (Jam.).
9. A field or close of land, esp. arable land ; an enclosure,
piece of ground ; a garden.
w.Yks. Very common (J. W.). nw.Der.',Not. (L.C.M.) • n.Lln.^
A portion of land in an open field, sometimes a small enclosure.
Lei.' A ' piece ' of tui'nips, potatoes. Sec, is the parcel of ground
on which they are growing. ' A noist pace o' 'tatus next the lean.'
Nhp.2, War.' =3 Wor. A piece used to be called Portway Furlong,
Allies Aniiq. Flk-Lore (1852) 405. w.Wor.i The cows is in the
thirteen-acre piece. se.Wor.', Shr.', Hrf,^, Glo.', Brks.', e.An.i
Nrf. Cut free rounds round the piece, Emerson Son of Fens
(1892) 135 ; I ha' seen saveral old heres [hares] about yon piece
(W.R.E.). Suf. I was a digging on my piece (M.E.R.). I.W.' A
field of corn. w.Som.i In speaking of any crop on the ground,
whether the whole field or only part is referred to, it is usual to
say, 'Thick piece o' whate.' 'Rare piece o' grass.' ' Shockin'
poor piece o' turmits.' ' Thindest piece o' barley I've a-zeed de
year.'
10. Place, room.
Or.L r the bad piece [i.e. hell] he t'ocht himsel, Paety Toral
(1880) 1. 105, in Ellis Pronunc. (1889; V. 794.
11. Weaving term : a section of a warp that is woven
into cloth and ready to leave the loom.
w.Yks. Working across the length of the two pieces. Peel
Luddites (1870) 9 ; Burnley Sketches (1875) 204 ; Gen. half of the
quantity produced from one web (W.T.). Lan. My ' piece ' is o'
but woven eawt, Bealey Jottings (1865) 12 ; To go to Blackburn
with Edward's pieces, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 36.
Hence (i) Piece-poke, sb. a weaver's bag in which the
' pieces ' are carried ; (2) -wool, sb. as much wool as makes
a ' piece.'
(i) w.Yks. (J.F.),.Lan.i (2') Lan. Boh it prooft o mon weh o
piece-woo, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 34.
12. Pottery term : a number varying according to the
size of the pots ; see below.
Chs. At West Kirby common flower-pots were sold 'by the
piece,' the number contained in a 'piece' varying according to
the size of the flower pot (E.M.W.). Stf. When potters sell their
goods to the poor crate men, they reckon them by the piece, i.e.
quart or hollow ware, so that six pottle or three gallon bottles
make a dozen or 12 pieces, and to more or less as of greater or
less contents. The flat wares are also reckoned by pieces and
dozens, but not (as the hollow) according to their content, but
their different breadths (K.) ; (Hall.)
13. A quantity of wine ; a hogshead of wifie.
Sc. (Jam.) ; Mr. Stevenson presented Halton with 3 piece of
good wine, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 372. Abd. Twa peice of
wyne, ane of quhyt and ane wther of claret, Turreff Gleanings
(1859) 189. Lnk. Haltoun was presented with a piece of good
wine, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) 11. 329, ed. 1828. Glo.i A vat or
large cask.
PIECEMEAL
[493]
PIFKIN
14. V. In phr. to piece it up, to become reconciled ; to
renew intimacy.
w.Yks. I've gien her a chance to piece it up, mother, Snowden
IVeb of Weaver (1896) xviii.
PIECEMEAL, adv. and v. w.Som.' [pl-smesl.]
1. adv. In phr. to let out piece-meal, to let a farm to a
number of different tenants. 2. v. To let land out in
small holdings.
I've^a-tookt the zix acres o' Mr. Baker, and I be gwain to piece-
meal [pee-s mae'ul] 'n out in garden splats.
PIECEN, V. Yks. Stf Som. Cor. Also written peicen
w.Yks.^ [prsan.] To join or fasten together broken
parts ; to mend, piece, patch.
w.Yks. He alius finds me wark enough To piecen up his brocken
stuff, Hartley Ditt. (1868) 20 ; w.Yks.^ Said of threads broken
in weaving. s.Stf. I con piecen that chaney cup wi' coagulin,
PiNNOCK Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). w.Som.i We've a-piecened th'
old chaney tay-pot, eens you widn never knovsr he was abrokt.
He'd a got on a old brown coat that anybody widn pick up in the
road— he was a piecened and a-patched all over. Cor.i^^
Hence Piecener, sb. a boy or girl in a factory, who
pieces or joins together the ' ends ' or threads which break
while being spun.
w.Yks. (J.IW.) w.Som.i Until recently pieceners were children
who lapped together the soft wool rolls from the carding engine
to feed the ' billy.' Now this handiwork is altogether superseded.
PIECER, sh. Sc. Yks. [pi's3(r.] A boy who pieces
or joins broken ends at a ' mull.'
Slg. One boy, who was a piecer in the factory, left for one of
the large cities, Fergusson My Village (1893) 118. w.Yks. (J.M.)
PIE-CURR, sb. Wil. [pai--k3(r).] The tufted duck,
Fulisula cristata.
Wil. Arch. Mag. XXII. 193 ; Wil.^ s.Wil. It is the commonest
of the rarer ducks in the neighbourhood of Salisbury. It is locally
known there as the Pie-curr, Smith Birds (18B7) 490.
PIED-WIGEON, s6. Shr. [pai'd-widgsn.] The goos-
ander, Mergus merganser.
The male bird presents a beautiful appearance, from the contrast
of the rich buff orange colour of the breast with the black back :
hence the name, Swainson Birds (1885) 163.
PIEDY, sb. Chs. Bck. Also written pidie s.Chs.^;
pydie Chs.' [pai'di.] The chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs.
See Pie-finch.
Chs.i, s.Chs.i Bck. I knaws to a nest of piedies (W.H.Y.).
PIEFER, see Piffer.
PIE-FIJSrCH, sb. Chs. Midi. Der. Lei. Nhp. War. Won
Shr. Hrf. Wil. Also in forms pied-finch Chs.^''^ s.Chs.'
Der.i Shr.* ; ? pierinch Hrf.'' [pai--, paid finj.] The
chaffinch, Pica rustica. Cf. pea-finch.
CUs. Science Gossip (1865) 36; (E.F.) ; Chs.l = 3, s.Chs.l Midi.
Swainson Birds (1885) 62. Der.=, Lei.i, Nhp.i, War.z^ w.Wor.
He be now nigh as bad off as a piefinch, as his missus ban laft him,
Berrow'sjrn. (Mar. 10, 1888) ; w.Wor.>, s.Wor.l, se.Wor.i Shr.
SwAiKSON j'6. ; Shr.' So called from its parti-coloured plumage;
Shr.2, Hrf.^ Oxf. Aplin Birds (1889) 214. Wil. Thurn Birds
(1870) 29.
■ PIEG, s6. Sh.I. Also in forms peaig, pig. [pig, pjeg.]
A little cabbage-stalk ; fig. of anything small : a little
person, anything of diminutive or inferior growth.
In early spring small shoots like tiny cabbages grow on the stems
of cabbages, and these shoots are properly called ' peaigs.' Hence
comparatively any very small cabbage (J.S.) ; Da kail is grown
weel dis year, alto i' yon shaald shurgy bit i' da head o' da yard
der naethin' bit peaigs, Sh. News (Dec. 25, 1897) ; Jakobsen
Norsk in Sh. (1897) 66 ; S. & Ork.i ' A pieg 0' kail,' a.very small
cabbage.
PIEGE, sb. ? Obs. Per. (Jam.) A spare ; a trap for
catching rats or mice.
[Fr. piege, a snare, gin or grin (Cotgr.),]
PIEGE, see Peage.
PIE-HOLE, sb. Sc. Yks, Also in form pie. [pai--,
pei'-hol.] 1. An eyelet hole in a garrnent, &c. for
receiving a lace ; a hole made in patterns of knitting and
emfcroidery work. Also used^f^.
Sc. (Jam.) Sh.I. Dey hed aald bain spies for da shoddeen An
peerie bress pies i da lugs, Junda Klingrahopl (1898) 45. Cai.'
Per. Yer stockings are getting into pie Jioles (G.W.). Ayr. Nanny
was advancing to the requisite degree of perfection in chain-steek
and pie-holes, Galt Legatees (1821) xiv.
2. A window through which one's neighbour can be
overlooked. n.Yks.° See Pie, sb.^ 3.
PIEL, si. n.Sc. (Jam.) An iron wedge for boring holes.
PIEN,PIE-N ANNY, PIEPHER, see Peen, Peony, Pififer.
PIE PICKED, rt^-. Obs. Dev. Piebald.
(Hall.) ; Dev.' With their pie-pick'd skittering flimzy gownds,
17, ed. Palmer.
PIER, see Pyer.
PIERCEL, sb. Sh.I. [prrsjal.] A gimlet. (Jam.),
S. & Ork.'
PIERCER, sb. Lei. War. Suf. Sus. Also in forms
percer Sus.' ; purser Suf.' [pi3'ss(r).] 1. A gimlet or
auger. Lei.' War.^ Obs. in Birmingham.
2. A punch used by blacksmiths. Sus.' 3. A sail-
maker's needle. Suf.'
[Vrille, a gimblet or piercer (Cotgr.).]
PIERIE, PIERINCH, see Peerie, sb.\ Pie-finch.
PIERK, V. Sh.I. [pirk.] To frizzle up, to stand up
like the pile of cloth. Hence Pierkit, ///. adj. frizzled,
rough. S. & Ork.'
PIERS, sb. Sh.I. A long, reddish-coloured worm
found under the ebb-stones. S. & Ork.'
PIERT, PIETAN, see Peart, adj., Peitan.
PIEUST,PIEW,PIE.WIPE,see Puist, Pew, Peesweep.
PIEYARD, 56. e.An.' . The bullock-yard. Cf. par,s6.
PIFELET, PIF(F, see Pikelet, Pith.
PIFF, sb. Irel. Lan. Cor. [pif.] L Obs. A small
puff of wind, as with the mouth. Wxf.'
Hence Piff-paffs, sb. pi. a kind of spasms.
Lan. Hoo wur liable to a complaint that's not very unloike th'
spazzums, un which amung owd-fashunt wimmin is known as the
piffpaffs, Staton 5. Shuttle Bowtun, 19.
2. Fig. A shght quarrel ; a tiff. Cor.' Hence Piffed,
adj. slightly affronted or vexed. Cor.^
PIFFER, V. and sb. Sc. Cum. Also in forms peefer
Dmf. ; peifer Rxb. (Jam.) ; piefer Sc. ; piepher Gall. ;
pifer Cum.*; pyfer Rxb. (Jam.) Dmf. [pi'far, peifar
pi'far.] 1. V. To whimper; to complain peevishly for
little cause ; to be peevish, petulant.
Rxl). (Jam.) Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351. Cum.»
What's te pifren aboot ?
Hence (i) Pilfering, /i/i/. fli^'. whimpering, complaining ;
(2) Pifrey, adj. peevish, petulant.
(i) Rxb. He's a puir pyferin' bodie (Jam.). Dmf. Ye see yon
pookitpyferingface, WALLACESc/!Oo/»«asfe>-(i899) 371. (3) Cum.*
He's varra pifrey.
2. To do anything in a feeble and trifling way. Rxb.
(Jam.) Hence Pifi"ering, ppl. adj. trifling, insignificant ;
useless.
Sc. A pieferin useless crater, WALroRD D. Netherby, v. Fif.
' She's a pifierin' fick-ma-fyke,' a dilatory trifler (Jam.). Dmf. * A
peefering body,' a trifling person, 'Wai.lace Schoolmaster (iBgg)
351. Gall. WuUie was aye but a pieferin useless body a' the days
o' him, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 25, ed. 1876 ; A piephering
monkey, ib.
3. sb. An extremely useless creature ; a cypher. Gall.
Mactaggart ib.
PIFFLE, V. Yks. Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Oxf. Slang,
[pi'fl.] To trifle, dawdle ; to engage in little, trifling
occupations. Gen. with about and in prp.
n.Yks.* Lei.' He'd use to be piffling about the farm-yard. Nhp.'
He's always piffling about the farm. War.^ He's only pifHing
about. Colloq. If I come into your rooms and work, I can't piffle
away all ray time — you won't let me, Coleridge Near Relation, viii.
Hence (i) PifHer, sb. an ineffectual ball or stroke ; (2)
Piffling, ppl. adj. trifling, engaging in little trifling occupa-
tions ; ineffective, useless.
(i) War. Brought on to bowl leg pifHers, B'ham Dy. Gazette
(May 19, 1900). (2)Not.',Lei.i Oxf. It was a piffling job (CO.).
War.2 A piffling fellow ; War.^ He rows a piffling stroke. What
a piffling ball [at cricket]. Slang. (A.B.C.)
PIFFOLO, sb. e.Dur.i [pi'falS.] The small flute
called the ' piccolo.'
PIFKIN, sb. Glo.' A little jug or pipkin.
PIFLE
[494]
PIG
PIFLE, I/. n.Cy. Lakel. Cum. Yks. Also written pyfle
Lakel.^ Cum. [pai'fl.] 1. To steal in small quantities ;
to pilfer, filch.
n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy.i=, Lakel.2, n.Yks.i^*, m.Yks.i
w.Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post (May 29, 1897) ; w.Yks.i
2. To eat in a heartless way without appetite ; to pick
delicately.
Lakel. 2 Pyklin an' pyflin, thoo gits nowt doon. Cuni. Linton
Lake Cy. (1864) 309.
PIFLER, see Pipe, sb. 1 (3).
PIG, sb} and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in form peg Brks.^ Dev.^ [pig. w.Cy. peg.] 1. sb.
In comb, (i) Pig's-boat, the receptacle in which pig's food
is kept ; (2) -chafted, having the upper jaw projecting
beyond the lower ; (3) -chaps, the lower jaws of a pig ;
(4) -cheer, sausages, pork-pies and other dishes made
from the viscera and inferior portions of a pig; (5)
•club, a society whose members are mutually bound to
help each other to purchase a pig in place of one which
has died a natural or accidental death ; (6) -'s-cot, (7)
•cote or -coit, a pig-sty ; (8) -cratch, a low table or bench
with handles on which pigs are killed and dressed ; (9)
-cree, -creeve, or -creevy, (10) -'screw, -crough, or -crow,
see (7) ; (11) -dilly, a cart used for the transfer of pigs ;
(12) -foot, to draw the half-beers of a warp through one
another so that they will not open to wind on ; (13)
■footed, of a warp: having the half-beers drawn through
one another; (14) -form, a flat. frame on which pigs are
laid to be killed ; (15) -'s fraw, the 'fry' of a pig, the liver,
lights, heart, &c. sold for frying ; (16) -'s frill, the mesentery
of a pig; (17) -('s fry, see (15) ; (18) -greean or -groin, the
snout of a pig ; {19) -'s hack, the rough fat from the inside
of a pig; {20) -hole or -hull, (21) -'s-house or pigs'-, see
{7) ; (22) -keepin, driving and watching over pigs ; (23)
-ken, see (7) ; (24) -killing, the occasion or day on which
the stock of pigs kept on a farm is killed ; also used
attrib. ; (25) -'skit, the trough from which a pig feeds ;
(26) -loom, see (i) ; (27) -'s-loose, -looze, or -lews, see
(7) ; (28) -'s-louse, a wood-louse ; (29) -marine, a volun-
teer; (30) -('s-meat, {a) fresh pork, uncured meat from
bacon-pigs ; (b) food for pigs, pig-wash ; swill, inferior or
unpalatable food ; (c) a crop of mixed corn ; (31) -minster,
see (7) ; (32) -muddle, disorder, mess ; (33) -'s-nose, a
particular kind of apple; (34) -'s-pant, a trotter; {35)
-pestil, the shank of a bacon-flitch ; (36) -potatoes, small
potatoes; (37) -pound, see (7) ; (38) -('s-pudding or Pigs'-,
a black-puddmg, hog's-pudding ; (39) -puzzle, a gate fixed
to swing both ways to meet a post ; (40) -ring, a game at
marbles ; (41) -roast, a ' Mop-fair ' (q.v.) ; {42; -running, a
sport practised at rural festivities ; see below ; (43) -saim,
hog's lard, both in the bladder and in the layer ; (44)
-seause, brawn ; (45) -ste, see (7) ; (46) -steul, see (14) ;
(47) -sticker, a pig-killer ; (48) -sty-doors, trousers but-
toned breeches fashion with flap fronts ; (49) -swarth, the
rind or skin of bacon ; (50) -sweat, great haste; a ruffled
temper ; (51) -swill, see (30, b) ; (52) -swinyort, a dealer
in pigs ; (53) -tail, a small candle ; also used attrib. ; (54)
•tree, see (7); (55) -trotter, a pig's foot or trotter; (56)
-trough, {a) a ' goafer ' or cake made of batter, baked over
the fire in an iron instrument ; {b) a broken or water- worn
ammonite showing the cavities; (57) -tub, see (i); (58)
-'s whisper, {a) a loud whisper meant to be heard ; (b) a
very low whisper ; (c) a short space of time ; (59) -wick,
the horizontal door above a pig's trough through which
the food is poured ; (60) -wood, the smaller branches of
an oak when lopped off" and peeled ; (61) -yock, a wooden
yoke put around the necks of pigs to keep them from
forcing their way through hedges.
(i) Nhb.i (2) Lakel.2 (g) n.Yks., w.Yks. Pigchaps are nice
rooasted ta breckfast. Hoo mitch will yo' tack a pund fer t'pig-
chaps? (W.H.) (4) e.Yks.i Also plates of similar portions of the
animal, sent round as presents to friends and neighbours. Lin.^,
n.Lln.i sw.Lin.i I mak' 'em a present of pig-cheer nows and
thens. He was charged with stealing a hamper of pig-cheer. (5)
n.Lin.i (6) s.Wor.', Glo. (A.B.), Glo.l, Sus.i (7) w.Yks. Th'
owner coom to ax ' w)io'd run away wi' his pig-coit door ? '
Hartley Clock Aim. (1879) 23 ; w.Yks.= 3 Lan. We go'n into their
pig-cote, ut's no pig in now, Brierley Cast upon World (1886) 12;
Mak' a place for these roppits i' th' pig-coite, Ackworth Clog Shop
Chron. (1896) 223. ne.Lan.i, Chs.'^, s.Chs.l, nw.Der.', n.Lin.*,
s.Wor. (H.K.), Shr.i, w.Cy. (Hall.) (8) n.Lin. He . . . lugged
forth a pig cratch, Peacock _/. Markenfield {i&'n) I. 134; n.Lin.'
(9) Nhb.i (10) N.I.', nw.Der.', Dev. (Hall.) Cor. A pig's-crow
and a midden, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 39; Morton
Cycfo. ^^«<:. (1863); Cor.' 2 (11) Som. (W.F.R.) (12) Lan. The
weaver winds on with what is called a raith. Every half-beer has
a certain number of ends in ; they are laid on the raith teeth
equally and should open out without crossing one another. Every
weaver should weave his own warp, then he would not pig-foot
it (S.W.). (13) Lan. (S.W.); As cross as a pig-foowted warp,
Brierley Layrock (1864) viii. (14) Cum.* (15) w.Yks.^ (16)
War.3 (17) n.Yks. (T.S.), n.Lin.', s.Wor.', Glo. (A.B.) (18)
n.Yks.2, w.Yks. (J.W.) (19) Chs.' (20) n.Cy. Holloway. Cum.
Linton Zafe Cy. (1864) 309. n.Yks,^ w.Yks. They worcrooidled
up in a pig-hoil, Dewsbre Olm. (1876) 12; w.Yks.' ^a Lan. Acres
of land lying . . . between a certain PyghuU of William Gerard, of
Ince, . . and a highway, Warrington in 146^^ ed. Beamont (1849)
65. ne.Lan.' (21) Dev. Hewett Pra5. SA (1892) 109; The or-
dinary closed pigsty is always called ' peg's-'ouze,' Reports Provinc.
(1893). (22) Brks.' Driving pigs to corn stubble and having whips
to prevent them from straying ; this work is much appreciated by
boys. (23) m.Yks.' About Leeds (s.v. Padding-can). (24) n.Yks.'
A large number of pigs is always a part of the stock of a Dales
farmer, and the pig-killing is a kind of high-day at which the neigh-
bours are invited to be present and to assist, concluding the day with
a social party at the inviting farmer's house. n.Lin.' ' Pig-killing-
time,' winter (pigs are slaughtered at that time). (25) Nhb.'
Hence applied to a messy condition in eating. ' Ye he' the tyebel
like a pig's-kit.' (26) Nhp,' A large sunk receptacle, lined with
brick or stone for the reception of pigs' or hogs' wash (s.v. Loom).
(27) w.Dor. Roberts Hist. Lyme Regis (1834). Som. Jennings
Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Sora.'
John Gadd do want to have a new pig's-looze, but I told him the
rent was to low already. J)s-7, Horae Sulisecivae {I'j'n) ■^21 ; Only
applied to an open pigsty, or a shelter for pigs. Reports Provinc.
(1893) ; Aw crimminy ! I zeeth 'n ; 'e's croped behind tha peg's
lews wall, HEWETTPras Sp. (1892) 66; Dev.' n.Dev. I've a zent
to thee pegs-looze . . . two young zows, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867)
St. 73. s.Dev. Fox iiTm^sAr/if^e (1874). (28) w.Sora. (F.W.W.) ;
w.Som.' Peg-z laews. (29) w.Yks.^ A term of contempt formerly
appUed to volunteers. (30,0) Stf. (M.B.) War.= ; War .3 Some
friends in the Birmingham market were asked by a countryman if
they would buy a chicken or some pig-meat. s.Wor. ' I thought I'd
make me some soup as long as we had some pig-meat in th' house.'
Pig-meat is the lean of a bacon pig, distinct from pork (H.K.).
s.Wor.' Hrf.2 Parts of a pig eaten before being salted down. Glo.
(A.B.),Glo.i, Qxf. (G.O.),Oxf.'il/5. flrfrf.,Sus.',Wil.i (A) Gal]. A
pail of pigs' meat in her hand, Crockett Grey Man (1896) 233.
n.Yks." The refuse of the kitchen and dinner-table gathered together,
and saved with other swill in a tub for pig-food. e. Yks.' Slops and
refuse food ; bran, refuse corn, &c. w.Yks. (J.W.) w.Som.'When
very fluid it is often spoken of as ' clear meat.' Dev. She looked
well after the ' pig-meat,' and rose early to cream her milk set
overnight, O'Neill /rfyfe (1892) 118. ^w.Dev.', Cor.^ (c) n.Yks.'
Usually bigg and oats, sometimes with a proportion of wheat
among it, specially grown for consuniption in fattening the pigs.
(31) n.Lin.' I'm buildin' squire sum pig-minsters. (32) Wil.' (33)
Dev.* (34) Lin. (J.C.W.) (35) w.Yks. Ah've hed some broth
made aht ov a pig-pestil (B.K.). (36) Wil.' Usually boiled up for
the pigs. (37) Ken.', Sur.' (38) e.Dur.' (s.v. Puddings), Lei.'
War.2 Blood, groats, and fat, highly spiced, boiled, and put into
skins; War.3, se.Wor.' (39) Brks.' So that an animal pushing it
from either side cannot get through. (40) ib. A ring is made
about four feet in diameter, and boys ' shoot ' in turn from any
point in the circumference, keeping such marbles as they may knock
out of the ring, but losing their own ' taw ' if it should stop within.
(4i)Wor. (E.S.) (42) Nlip.i A large pig, with the tail well soaped,
is turned out and chased by young men and boys, as a prize for
the first who can retain his hold of the struggling animal. (43)
n.Yks.2 (44) Lan. Adorned the tea-table with ... a nice bit of
pig seause, Ackworth Clog Shop Chron. (1896) 190. (45) War .2
(46) Cum.* (47) w.Yks. (J. W.\ Not' (48) War.2 (49) n.Yks.'^*
ne.Yks.' Ho'd thi noise ; here's a bit o' pig-swath for tha. (50)
w.Yks.s In a pig-sweat. (51) n.Lin.' (52) Chs,', nw.Der.' (53)
w.Yks. The least [candle] put in to make weight, Thoresby Lett.
(1703); w.Yks.' The watching of the pig-tail was a ceremony,
observed in Cravefi, aniongst m^ny others, on the eve of St. Mark.:
PIG
[495 J
PIG
On that evening, a party of males and females, but never a mixed
company, place on the floor a lighted pigtail, for so a small or
farthing candle is denominated. This, however, must be previously
stolen, otherwise it loses its prognostic effects. They then sit
down, in solemn silence, and fix their eyes attentively on the taper.
The doors and cupboards are never locked, lest the violent attacks
of the evil spirit should break them. When it begins to burn blue,
the person, whom they are respectively to marry, will make his
appearance and walk across the room ; w.Yks.'' Lan. With what
patience she watched, on the eve of St. Agnes, the ' pig-tail,'
Thornber Hist. Blackpool (1837) 103 ; On the fast of St. Agnes
she watches a small candle called a ' pig-tail,' to see the passing
image of her future husband, Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore
(1867) 140. ne.Lan.i (54) n.Cy. (Hall.) (55) Lon. The ham-
sandwich men and pig-trotter women will give you notice when
the time is come, Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) I. 18. (56 a, b,
57) n.Lin.i (58, a) N.I. ^ (6) Nhp."- (c; I'll do't in a pig's- whisper,
tb. (59)Hmp. (H.E.) (60) s.Chs.' (6i)n.Lin.i
2. Comb, in names of plants: (i) Pig-berry, the haw or
fruit of thehawthorn, Crataegus Oxyamntha ; (2) •'s-bubble(s,
(3) -'s-cole, the cow-parsnip, Heradeum Sphondylium ; (4)
-'s-ears, the biting stonecrop, Sedum acre, and other
varieties of stonecrop ; {5) -'s-eyes, the cuckoo-flower,
Cardamine pratensis ; (6) -'s-foot, the bird's-foot trefoil,
Lotus corniculatus ; {7) -grass, (a) the knot-grass. Polygo-
num aviculare ; ib) the persicaria, P. Persicaria ; (c) the
sweet vernal grass, A MtAoxanthumodoratum; (8) -'s-grease,
the brook-lime, Veronica Beccabunga ; (9) -i'-the-hedge,
the wild sloe, Prunus spinosa ; (10) -leaves, (a) the cotton
thistle, Onopordon Acanthium ; (b) the meadow plume-
thistle, Carduus pratensis \ (11) -'s-noses, the hip or fruit
of the dog-rose, Rosa canina ; (12) -'s parsley, the wild
parsley, Caucalis Anthriscus ; (13) -'s parsnip, see (3) ;
(14) -'s pettitoes, see (6) ; (15) -('s rose, the dog-rose,
Rosa canina ; (16) -rush, see (7, a) ; (17) -taU, the goose-
frass, Galium Aparine ; (18) -violet, the wood violet,
^iola sylvatica ; (19) -weed, («) see (3) ; {b) see (7, a) ; (c)
the white goosefoot, Chenopodium album ; (d) the com-
frey, Symphytum officinale ; (20) -wick, the soft meadow-
grass or duifel-grass, Holats mollis ; (21) -'s-wrack, a kind
of sea- wrack ; see below.
(i) Wil. Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.i (2) Som. Extensively collected
as food for pigs, which are very fond of it. w.Som.^ Usual name
about Wellington. Pigs are very fond of it, and cottagers gather
it about in the hedges. (3, 4) Dev.* (5) Ess. (6) Suf. (7, a)
n.Yks., e.Yks. (B. & H.), s.Not. (J.P.K.), sw.Lin.i Shr. Science
Gossip (1870) 228 ; Shr.* (A) Lin. They calls it pig-grass because
it amost grows by pig-sties (W.M.E.F.). (c) n.Yks. (8) Dor.
(G.E.D.) (9) Hmp. (W.M.E.F.) (10, a) n.Cy. Grose (1790).
e.Yks. Marshall if M>-. ^coK. (1788). w.Yks. Lees F/ora (1888)
277. (A) n.Cy., n.Yks.^ e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796).
(11) Dev. (12) w.Som.i (13) Shr.l^, w.Cy. (Hall.), w.Som.i
(14) Sus.i (s.v. Pattens and Clogs). (15) s.Dev. (G.E.D.), Cor.
(16) Shr.' The pest of light soils in some parts of Salop. (17)
Nhp.l (18) Chs."- (19, a) Oxf. Science Gossip (1882) 165. (b)
Wor., Hmp.i (c) Hmp.i {d) Wil.i (20) w.Yks. Lees Flora
(1888) 483. (21) n.Ir. Probably Chondrus crispus (B. & H.) ; N.I.1
Boiled with meal or potatoes, and given as food for pigs.
3. Phr. (i) a pig to be shaved, a sarcastic explanation of
a crowd assembling to watch some point of interest ; (2)
as happy as a pig in muck, indolently content with a state
of dirt ; (3) pig dock, pig dock, (4) pig, pig, pig, a call to
pigs ; (5) the pigs ran through it, something interfered to
prevent the arrangement being carried out ; (6) to be like
a pig in a well, to be without visible means of support ;
(7) to be like a pig, to do no good alive, to be very covetous ;
(8) to be on the pi^s back, to be prosperous ; (9) to bring,
take, call, &^c. one's pigs to a bad, wrong, or fine market, to
make a bad bargain ; to make a mistake, to be disap-
pointed ; (10) to buy the pig in the poke, to buy anything
unseen and so to make a bad bargain ; (11) to drive one's
pigs to market, (12) to drive pigs, to snore ; (13) to get a pig
out of the way, to cut up a pig after it is killed, salt it, and
make mince-pies, sausages, &c. of it ; (14) to have the pig
on one's back, to be unfortunate ; (15) to kill any on^s pig
for him, to cause anyone serious disappointment or injury;
(16) we don't kill a pig every day, merrymaking does not
come every day ; (17) what do you expect from a pig but a
grunt, a proverb, saying.
(i) n.Cy. (B.K.) (2) w.Yks. Very common (J.W.); w.Yks.*
(3) n.Yks. (I.W.) (4) Shr.i (5) N.I.i (6) n.Lln.* A child who
has no parents or guardians, or a person who has no visible means
of subsistence, is said to be like a pig in a well. (7) w.Yks.' Said
of a covetous man, regardless of the happiness of others, whilst he
is ever fruitlessly endeavouring to secure his own. (8) Ir. Nine-
teenth Cent. (July 1900) 81. (9) Frf. The maist feck o' folk were
o' opinion that Jamie was ca'in' his pigs to a bad market, Willock
Rosetty Ends (1886) 60, ed. 1889. e.Yks.' A person who has fallen
into trouble by his own foolishness or misconduct says, ' Well,
Ah've browt mi pigs tiv a bad mahkit.' w.Yks. Leeds Merc. SuppJ.
(Feb. 22, 1896) ; w.Yks.' ' He has brought 'is pigs to a fine market,'
... he has been very unsuccessful in business. It is, however,
often used ironically. n.Lin.' To take your ' pigs to a wrong
market.' NIip.' You've brought your pigs to a fine market. Hnt.
(T.P.F.) CoUoq. A pretty market I brought my pigs to, Besant
& Rice Aforft'Aqy (1872) xlii. (10) Sc. (A.'W.) w.Yks. Doan't thee
buy t'pig i' t'poake ; if ta does, tha'U ten to one be letten in, Leeds
Merc. Siippl. (Feb. 22, 1896); (J.W.) (11) Nhp.i, War.3 (12)
w.Yks.' (13) n.Lin.' Ther's noabody likes gettin' a pig oot o' th'
waay better then me, bud I'm fairly stall'd to-year. (14) Ir.
Nineteenth Cent. (July 1900) 81. (15, 16) n.Lin.' (17) e.Yks,
(Miss A.)
4. A boar ; a hog of any size.
Yks., Der. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Cor. A boar is always
a 'pig,' whilst a sheep under a year old is a ' hog,' Hammond
Parish (1897) 340.
5. Conip. Pig-iron, a flat piece of iron hung between the
fire and meat when roasting to retard the operation. It
is hung on the bars by a hook. Suf 6. A particular
weight of lead ; see below.
Dur.' A piece of lead of an oblong shape from eight to twelve
stone in weight. w.Yks.' A piece of lead weighing 123 lb. Der.'
7. A segment of an apple or orange.
Chs.' Lin. N. ^ Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 134. n.Lin.' s.Hmp.
' What beautiful fruit,' said he, beginning to eat the ' pigs ' into
which she was cutting it, 'Verney L. Lisle (1870) vi. 'Wil.'
8. A wood-louse. Cf pig's-louse.
n.Lin.', Rut. (J.P.K. ), Rut.', Nhp.' (s.v. Old Sow). 'Wil.'
9. The shell of the mollusk Cypraeidae.
Dor. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) [So called . . . from their
resemblance to the body and back of a pig ; otherwise a sow, Yule
Hobson-Jobson (s.v. Porcelain).]
10. A small cushion used in knitting ; see below.
w.Yks.^ A knitting-pig is a small cushion made of wash-leather
or other material and fastened to the waist by strings. It is used
by women for keeping the knitting-needle steady.
11. A game resembling tip-cat. Cf piggy, sb.
w.Yks.^ Well known, but comparatively new here.
12. v. To feed and attend to pigs.
Dev. I've washed and baked and pigged for my father these
seven years, Baring-Gould Dartmoor Idylls (1896) 131.
13. To supply or provide with pigs.
s.'Wor. I dooesn't waant no pigs ; 1 be pigged up fahrish, OuTis
Vig. Mon. in Berrow s Jm.
14. To bring forth pigs.
Sc. She deid the last time she piggit, Tennant Vill. Notes (1900)
170. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
15. To herd or crowd together ; to sleep more than one
in a bed ; to have crowded, uncomfortable quarters.
Sc. (A.'W.) Nhb. Eight of us had to pig in thegither, Graham Red
Scaur {iSg6) i&. Lakel.^ Ye mun pig-in as well asye can. Cum.'
Come, barns, pig in to bed wi' ya. e.Yks.' w.Yks, Abaht twenty
lodgers pigg'd together an' all ate an' slept i' one hoil (.lE.B. ) ;
w.Yks.' 2 Lan.' They pig o' of a rook i' one room. e.Lan.',
s.Chs.', Der.2, Not.', n.Lin.' Lei.' Teddy can come to dadda'sbed,
an' you an' Sam can pig together. Brks.' Sus., Hmp. Holloway.
w.Som.' There was nine o' um all a-pig together in thick there
little bit of a 'ouze. Dev., Cor. Her parents' cottage, where the
whole family pig in one room, Baring-Gould Old Cy. Life (1890)
xii. Cor. We can't pig it as did our ancestors, ib. Curgenven
(1893) xvii.
16. To pitch off a horse or ass. n.Lin.'
PIG, sb.'^ Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Also written pigg Sc. ;
and in form peg- Nhb.' [pig.] 1. An earthenware jar
or pitcher ; a stone bottle.
Sc. Where the pig's broken let the sherds lie, Ferguson Prov.
PIG
[496]
PIGGID
(1641) 34. Sh.I. Fetch yon pig 'at doo us'd ta tak drink ta da liill,
S/!. News (May 13, 1899). Or.I. Ellis Pi-onunc. (1889) V. 805,
810. Cai.' Abd. She hedna a pig teem, Alexander Johnny
Gibb (1871) vi. Kcd. Grant Lays (1884) 8. Frf. There are mair
broonpigscomestae the manse than tae onyitherhoose i' the parish,
Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 20. Per. Made his money by selling pigs,
Ian Maclaren^mW Lang Syne (1895) 3. Slg. Wodrow Soc. SeL
Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 340. Ayr. Having got the pig with the
wonted allowance of broth and beef in it, Gai-t Provost (1822)
xxxviii. Lnk. MuiR Minstrelsy (i8i6) 47. Lth. Pigs for haudin
pickled berries, Thomson Poems (1819) 74. Edb. Just a muckle
pig For ha'din' kail or 'tatoes, Forbes Poems (18121 31. Gall.
' Hae ye ought i' the pig the day?' is a common salutation when
friendly neighbours meet at others houses, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824)240, ed. 1876. n.Cy. Border Gl.{Coll.'L.h.'B.) Nlib.iBrown,
coarse earthenware.
2. Comb, (i) Pig-ass, an ass used to draw a cart filled
with crockery ; (2) -man, a dealer in crockery ; (3) -penny-
horse, a child's money-box made in the form of a small
earthenware horse ; (4) -shop, a crockery shop, china
shop ; (5) -wife, a female vendor of crockery.
(i) Bnff. Frae Phoebus' beams ye apes retire Wi' your pig-asses,
Taylor Poems (1787") 79. (2) Lnk. Pigmen and cadgers, barrow-
men and weavers, Muir Minstrelsy {1816) 8. Lth. Pigmen, an'
grocer folk, an' bakers, Were on the rump o' business ridin'.
LuMSDEN Sheep-head (1892) 152. (3) Lth. Whaur wee pig penny
horses pranced, Whaur crowds o' bairnies gazed entranced,
Ballantine Poems (1856) 9. (4) Sc. (Jam.) Per. His father
keepit a pig shop, Ian Maclaren K. Carnegie (1896) 226. (5) Sc.
Already has the pig-wife's early care Marked out a station for
her crockery ware, Blackiv. Mag. (Jan. 1821) 423 (Jam.). Bnff.
Some ape poets may be said rather to lead pig-wives' cripple asses,
TaylorPo««s (1787) 79 note. Abd. "Vagrant lodgers— Wi' tinklers,
knaves, pig-wives, and cadgers. Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887)
459. Ayr. Come, my auld princess o' pig-wives, Ainslie Land of
Burns (ed. 1892) J47. Edb. Wi's pig-wife Kate, that begs, Carlop
Green (1793) 129, ed. 1817. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
3. A hot-water bottle. Also called Piggy or Peggy.
Sc. Shall I put a pig in your bed to keep you warm? Ford
Thistledown (1891) 152; This nicht is cauld, my leddy. Wad ye
please, To hae a pig i' the bed to warm your taes! Leighton Wds.
(1869)7. Nhb.^ An earthenware bottle filled with hot water and
used as a foot warmer in bed by delicate people. A traveller
reported that in Northumberland the people slept with the pigs
for warmth. He had been asked if he would have a piggy in
his bed.
4. A chamber-pot.
Abd. He niest fell in wi' Mungo's wig, An' Lowrie's sneeshin'
mill, Sae stapit baith in Kettle's pig. An' steepit them right weel
'Mang Strang, Cock Strains (1810) II. 137; Into my putrid
channel At nicht each wifie tooms her pig, Ogg Willie Waly
(1873) 71-
5. A flower-pot.
Sc. A rich Glasgow manufacturer . . . sent for a London artist
to decorate the panels in the principal cabin [of his yacht]. The-
artist asked what kind of decoration he required. The reply was,
' Ony thing simple, just a pig wi' a flower,' Mackay.
6. A can for a chimney-top for increasing the draught.
Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. Pigs from the lura-heads came rattling down
like thunderclaps, Galt Provost c 1822) xxiv.
7. Any piece of earthenware, a potsherd. Sc. (Jam.)
Hence (i) Pigger, sb. an earthenware marble ; (2)
Piggery, sb. {a) the place where earthenware is manu-
factured, a pottery ; (6) a crockery shop ; {c) earthenware
crockery.
(i) Abd. A' kinds o' bools — marble, stoner, and pigger, Caden-
head Bon-Accord (1853) 249. Frf. Our bools were known as
piggers, marleys, and sclaiteys, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 94. (2, a)
Sc. (Jam.) {b) Cld. ib. (c) Abd. There will be sold ... a quantity
of haberdash, an' gin ony body wants to ken what that is, it's
piggery, Paul Abd. (1881) 46.
8. Phr. (i) ptgs and whistles, a mass of foolish, inconve-
nient furniture or nick-nacks ; (2) to go to pigs and whistles,
to go to wreck and ruin.
(i)Gall. Mactaggart ^Kcj'f/. (1824). (2) Cai.^ Dmb. If it's this
black and that black, ye should surely be glad to think it's gaun a'
to pigs and whussles. Cross Disruption (1844) xxix. Ayr. The
place a' gaun to pigs and whussles. Service N^otandums (i8go) i.
Lnk. He . . . married my auld school companion, Mary Mathieson,
and immediately thereafter gaed a' to ' pigs and whistles,' Roy
Generalship (ed. 1895") 16. Edb. The back-ga'en tenant fell ahint.
And cou'dnae stand ; So he to pygs and whistles went. And left the
\2i'aA, Har'st Rig (^i']!ji^ 18, ed. 1801. n.Ir. Iverything's gaun tae
pigs an' whussels, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 102.
[1. Argus Was porturit thayr . . . Furth of ane payntit
pyg, Douglas Eneados (1513) m. 139, ed. 1874.]
PIG-ABACK, PIG- ALL, see Pick-a-back, Pig-haw.
PIGEON, sb. Van dial, uses in Irel. and Eng. Also
in form pudgen Nhb.' [pi'dgan.] In comb, (i) Pigeon-
cove, (2) -ducket, a pigeon-cot or dove-cot ; (3) -'s-eye,
the cuckoo-flower, Cardamine fratensis; (4) -felt, -felty,
or -fieldfare, the fieldfare, Turdus pilaris; (5) -gull, a
young gull ; (6) -('s hop, in the game of ' tip-cat ' : a hop
taken with one foot placed across the instep of the other ;
(7) -house, see (i) ; (8) -'s meat, food for pigeons ; (9) -'s
milk, (a) the partly-digested food given by pigeons to
their young ; (b) an imaginary article for which children
are sent as a hoax, a fool's errand ; {c) a contemptuous
term for a greenhorn ; (10) -necked, afflicted with goitre;
(11) -('s pair, a family consisting of a son and daughter
only ; (12) -toed, having the toes turning inwards ; (13)
■toes, feet which turn inwards ; (14) -walk, a boys' game ;
see below.
(i) Sus.l (2) Nhb.l (3) n.Yks. (B. & H.) (4) Cum.", Nhp.l
Oxf. Aplin Biids (1889) 214. Oxf., Brks., Bck. Swainson Birds
(1885) 5. Ken. In our young days we used to shoot, when we
could, two varieties of fieldfares, tlie fieldfare common, and what
we in our juvenile fashion called the pigeon fieldfare, or felt ; . .
even now we hear of pigeon felts from some of our old rustic
friends, Son of Marshes Within an Hour of Lon. (ed. 1894) 103.
(5) Suf. Young gulls when they first come down our river, the
Deben. Skin them and pie them, they are good, e.An. Dy. Times
(1892). (6) Hmp. (W.H.E.) (7) Der.i Obs. (8) Cor.3 (9, a')
n.Lin.l (i) n.Cy. When . . . pigeon's milk . . . and other nonsensical
pleasantries were in successive requisition, Flk-LoreRec. (1879) II.
84. Nhb.i w.Yks. Elder boys, for a lark, send little boys into
shops for ' A ha'porth o' pigeon milk,' Yksman. (i888j 184, col. 2 ;
■w.Yks.l To send a child to a neighbour's house, for a spoonfull of
this rare article, is a trick frequently practised on the first of April.
n.Lln.i, Nhp.l War. Sent yer for pigeon's milk did they, and yer
believed them? Well I never I Leamington Courier (Mar. 6,
1897) ; War.23«, Oxf. (G.O.), Brks.i Suf.i An unsuspecting lad is
sent to a shop, generally, I think, ashoemaker's, for ' tewpunnath of
pigeon's milk.' w.Mid. On the first of April children were often
sent to buy 'two penn'oth o' pigeons' milk.' The person to whom
they had been sent would direct them elsewhere. This would go
on until the victim found out that it was a hoax (W.P.M.). (c)
•War.3 (10) Lin. (G.W.) (11) N.Ll, Nhp.i, War.2, Oxf.iMS. add.,
e.An.i, Wil.l, w.Som.l (12) m.Lan.', n.Lln.^, w.Som.l Slang.The
pigeon-toed step and the rollicking motion Bespoke them two
genuine sons of the ocean, Barham Ingoldsby (ed. 1864) Dead
Drummer. (13) w.Som.' Bow-legs and pigeon-toes usually go
together. (14) N.I. 1 Nhb.i The 'pigeon' is blindfolded, and stands
with legs astride. The other players throw their caps between
the straddled legs and shout ' Pigeon waak.' The blinded pigeon
walks accordingly, and endeavours to touch a cap with his foot
in his forward progress. A lad whose cap is touched becomes
'pigeon' in turn.
PIGEONY, sb. Brks.^ [pi'dgsni.] Small pimples,
showing esp. at the back of the neck in elderly people ;
goose-flesh.
PIGER, sb. Som. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A pitcher. (Hall.)
PIGGAL, sb. Cov}'^ Also written pigol Cor.^ [pi'gl.]
A pickaxe, a large hoe for cutting turf.
[OCor. pigol, a pickaxe (Williams) ; Breton (Leon)
pigel, 'petite houe' (Du Rusquec).]
PIGGATORY, sb. Ess. [pi-gatsri.] Great trouble
'purgatory.' ifow^A/)/ Afo^. (1814) I. 498 ; G/. (1851) ; Ess.>
PIGGERY, sb. Sc. n.Cy. w.Cy. [pi'gari.] 1. A col-
lective name for pigs.
Kcd. They wad . . . Rear superior breeds o' beastial, Poutry,
piggery, sheep an' kye. Grant Lays (1884) 68.
2. A pig-sty. N.Cy.i 3. Z';^. A mess, a state of dirt.
w.Cy. Here's a purty piggery. Bless my soul, it'll take me four
and twenty hours right on end to get this fitty, Cornh. Mag. (Dec.
1900) 749.
PIGGID, see Picked.
PIGGIN
[497]
PIG-HAW
PIGGIN, sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and n. and
midl. counties to Lin. Nhp. War. Shr. Hrf. Also Hrt.
Mid. Hmp. and Amer. Also written piggen Cum. n.Yks.^
w.Yks.*'' e.Lan.' Mid. [pi'gin.] 1. A small pail or tub,
gen. of wood, a milking-pail ; a lading can ; a wooden
dish or basin.
Sc. He . . . sprawls and spraugliles like a swine at the piggin,
Sf. Patrick (1819) 11.266 (Jam.). Sh.I. Da mate sent wir bairn up
ta da tapmast head wi' a tar piggin, TApjusoiiAlm. (1900) 126. se.Sc.
The cutty spoon, an' crowdie piggin, Donaldson Poems (1809) 215.
Dmf. (Jam.) NI.^ Made of hoops and staves, with one stave
prolonged so as to formahandle, used for milking in. Uls. (M.B.-S.)
Ant. Larger than a noggin, Ballymena Obs. (1892). Dwn. She fills
a ten quart can an' a lump o' a piggin wi' milk ivery nicht an'
mornin', Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 39. s.Ir. [He] Dipped a little
piggin into the pitcher, Croker Leg. (1862) 102. Tip. Many a
piggin uv milk she made me dhrink, Kickham Knocknagow, 372.
N.Cy.' A small wooden cylindrical vessel, made with staves and
bound with hoops like a pail ; N.Cy.^ A little pail or tub with an
erect handle. Nhb. Containing about a quart (J. H.) ; Holdingnear
a pint, Gent. Mag. (1794) x6, ed. Gomme ; Nhb.', Lakel.^ Cum.
A three-quart piggen full o' keale, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 78 ;
Cum.'; Cum.*A wooden basin for holding porridge. Wm.' Origin-
ally a small wooden vessel, used for drinking, &c., made of staves
and having one stave longer than the rest to serve as a handle.
Later they were turned from sohd wood. Small wooden pails for
feeding calves are still called piggins. n.Yks.'^ ne.Yks.' A small
tub or pail with vertical handle, used for milking, and carried when
empty under the arm. e.Yks. A small wooden drinking vessel ;
now disused, Marshall Rur. Econ (1788) ; e.Yks. ^ With one or
two of the staves rising above the others, sometimes pierced with
hand-holes, to serve as handles ; used by brewers for lading liquor,
and by milkmaids for transferring milk from one receptacle to
another. w.Yks. A tin receptacle, a deep tin tureen, A ' piggin '
as a rule has a handle at the side and not over the mouth as in
ordinary pails (L.M.S.) ; A vessel, gen. of wood, holding from one
to two gallons (M.T.) ; w. Yks.^ 'Prentices ate their porridge out of
piggins; w.Yks.^"^ Lan. I'll have a penk at her piggin, if I have
to pay for th' garthin' on't, Waugh Chim. Corner (1874) 154, ed.
1879; Lan.', n. Lan.' ne. Lan.' A small wooden vessel made in the
manner of a half barrel, and having one stave longer than the rest
for a handle. e.Lan.' A vessel in which pigs' food is carried to the
stye, s Lan. To borrow a piggin of meal, Bamford Traveller {\9:i,i^
55. I. Ma. First came the broth. . . This was served in wooden
piggins, Ct^m^ Deemster (1887) 5, ed. 1889. Chs.'^ Der. 1730.
Item a Piggin and two Potts to wash 3^ church, o. o. 6, Chwardens'
Ace. ofYoulgreave Church in Cox Churches (1877) II. 340; Der."',
Not.23, s.Not. (J.P.K.), Lin.i, n.Lln.', sw.Lin.' Nhp.' Nearly obs.
War. B'ham Wkly. Post (June 17, 1893) ; War.'^^ Shr.' The
piggin was formerly used for eating porridge or other 'supping'
out of ; it gave place to the ' poUinger.' ' The cow jumped o'er the
moon, The little dog laughed to see sich sport ; And the piggin ran
after the spoon.' Hrf.'^ A wooden quart used for carrying milk or
toast and cider to workmen. Hrt. We had no mugs to drink from,
but wooden bowls in the shape of small tubs, with wooden handles.
These were called piggens, Wickham Recollections Hertford School
(1841) vi. Mid. Auction Cat. Staines (1801) in N. & Q. (1894) 8th
S. vi. 329. Hmp.' [Amer. Green Virginia FlkSp. (1899).]
Hence (i) Piggin-bottoms, sb. pi. spiced cakes made in
small tins ; (2) -calf, sb. a calf reared by hand ; (3) -stake,
sb. a stake on which milkpails, buckets, &c. are hung ;
(4) Piggin tie, sb. a 'piggin '-full.
(i) Cum. Gilpin Ballads (1874) 215. Wm. Her pigginbottoms,
her brandy snaps, Bowness Studies (1868) 40. (a) Chs.' About
KnutsfordandMobberleythe term 'piggin calf used to be restricted
to a calf reared after the cows go out to grass, when milk becomes
too valuable to give to calves, all being required for the cheese-tub.
These calves were fed upon fleetings instead of milk, and were the
wife's perquisite ; consequently she used generally to feed them
with cream fleetings, which are extremely rich, and the calf was
soon fed up to the value of four or five pounds. s.Chs.' A calf
belonging to the mistress of the house, which is consequently reared
upon the drippings and the best of the fleetings. Shr.' So called
from the piggin being used to hold its 'supping.' (3) Clis.' It is
often formed of a post about five feet high, with side pegs mortised
into it, like a hat stand ; sometimes it is made of a branching piece
of oak, peeled. It is fixed into the ground near the kitchen door,
and the milk-cans and smaller dairy vessels are hung upon it after
being washed and scalded; Chs.^ (4) Chs. Soaping a piggintle,
VOL. IV.
Clough B. Bresskittle (1879) 10; Clis.'^; Chs.^ Oi could lay in a
piggintle o' buttermilk, roight off, oim that dry.
2. An earthenware jar or jug.
Dmf. (Jam.), Nhb.' Wm.' Later the term was applied to small
jugs and mugs of earthenware.
3. A small iron pot with two ears.
Nhb. That supped up the broo and syne — in the piggin, Richard-
son Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VII. 405; Nhb.'
PIGGIN-RIGGIN, sb. Irel. A half-grown boy or girl ;
see below.
The eight or ten childer were what we call ' piggin riggins,' too
old for a dumly and too young for bacon, Barrington Sketches
(1830) III. xvi.
PIGGINS, sb. pi. ? Obs. Dev. The joists to which
the planching is fixed ; the ' sleepers ' or pieces on which
the boards of the lower floor are fixed. Horae Subsecivae
i^lll) 327- Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
PIGGLE, V. Yks. Der. Not. Rut. Lei. Nhp. War. e.An.
[pi'gl.] To pick at ; to touch continually ; to pull oif by
degrees ; to pick out, uproot ; fig. to do anything in a
trifling, desultory manner, to fiddle.
e.Yks.' To pick out with a pointed instrument. Der.^, nw.Der.'
Not.'; Not.'' Yer 'piggling' that cake, are yer? Not.^ s.Not. If
y'er alius pigglin {or pigglin at) that place it'll never get better
(J.P.K.). Rut.' Particularly of rooting up potatoes with the hand.
Lei.' Piggling off acorn. Nhp. '^ Jo root up potatoes with the hand.
War.^ e.An.' To be nice with one's food, turning it over.
Hence Piggling, (i) sb. any rather small article ; (2)
ppl. adj. small ; paltry, trifling.
(i) Not.2 (2) s.Not. Such pigglin work ! Do it as if yer meant
it. A can't do wi' such pigglin little taters (J.P.K.).
PIGGWIGGAN, s6. Dur. Also in form Peggy Wigan.
[pi'gwigsn.] In phr. to get Piggwiggan, to have a severe fall.
He's got Piggwiggan, Denham Traits (ed. 1B95) 11. 87. [' Pig-
widgeon.' This word is used by Drayton as the name of a fairy,
Johnson.]
PIGGY, sb. Yks. Fern, [pi'gi, pe'gi.] A short piece of
wood sharpened at both ends, used in a game similar to
'tip-cat'; the game of 'tip-cat.' Also in cow«/i. Piggy-ninny.
w.Yks. A gentle blow is administered to one of the pointed ends,
causing the piggy to rise into the air ; the object is to drive it as
far as possible by a blow from the stick before it falls (H.L.) ;
(J.W.) ; Th' way to play it an' th' tackle wanted is as follas ; — A
lad wi' a stick . . . an' a piggy, . -an' a chap wi' a window — bigger
an' better. Th' lad rises his piggy, an' knocks it throo th' chap's
window ; th' lad runs away, an' th' chap runs after him. Th' gam
is coppin' th' lad, Yks, Wkly. Post (May 22, 1897); w.Yks.^
s.Peni. We are gwayin to play piggyninny; will yea come? Obs,
(W.M.M.)
PIGG'y, adj. Cor. Also in form peggy. 1. Dirty.
A piggy mess. Your dress is in a piggy state (M.A.C.).
2. Obstinate.
Thou peggy varmen ! Lfe Widow Woman (1897) 165.
PIGGY-BACK, -DOG, see Pick-a-back, Pickadog.
PIGGYKNACK, sb. w.Yks.^ [pi-ginak.] A child's
name for a pig.
PIGGY-PIE, sb. Som; Cor. [pi-gi-pai.] A pie said to
be made of little pigs that have died at birth or before
weaning, a ' strat-pie.'
w.Som.' Cor.2 A pie made of prematurely born veers.
PIGGY-W HIDDEN, sb. Cor. [pigi-widan.] The
smallest or youngest pig of a litter ; the youngest child of
a family.
Sometimes sould a fine fat fowl, Sometimes the piggy-whidden,
J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 39 ; Cor.'^
Hence Piggy-whidden-pie, sb. a pie made of a ' piggy-
whidden.'
Cor.' Some would die, and some did die, and of these we made
piggy-whidden-pie.
[Piggv-whidden lit. white-pig. OCor. gwidn, a form of
gwyn, white (Williams).]
PIG-HAW, sb. e.Cy. Hmp. Wil. Som. Also written
pig-hau Hmp.' ; and in forms pegall e.Cy. ; peggal,
peggall Wil. ; peggle Wil.'^n.Wil. ; peg-haw Wil. ; pigall
e.Cy. w.Cy. 'Wil.' ; pigaul Hmp.' ; pigs-hale Som. w.Som.'
[pi-g-9, -61 ; pegL] 1. The haw, the fruit of the haw-
thorn, Crataegus Oxyacantha.
e.Cy., Hmp.', w.Cy. WiL (K.M.G.) ! Britton Sra?<//fs (1825) ;
33
PIGHTLE
[498]
PIKE
Wil.' n.Wil. The thrushes and pigeons feed on the peggles which
cover the great hawthorn bush so thickly as to give it a reddish
tint, Jefferies Wild Life (1879) 223. Som. (W.F.R.) ; Jennings
Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.l
Peg'z-ae-ulz.
2. Comp. Peggall-bush, the hawthorn, Crataegus Oxya-
eantha. Wil. (B. & H.)
[1. The -/ forms -all, -aul, -hale, &c. prob. show contami-
nation with Hall, sb? (q.v.)]
PIGHTLE, sh. n.Cy. Ylis. Rut. Nhp. Brks. Bdf. Hnt.
e.An. s.Cy. Hmp. Amer. Also written pightal Suf. ;
pightel Suf. Cmb. Amer. ; pightell w.Yks. Hnt. ; pitle
n.Cy. Brks. Bdf. e.An.' Nrf. Ess.' ; pytle Nrf. Suf.' ; and
in forms pickle w.Yks. e.An.' ; picle N.Cy.^ w.Yks. Nrf. ;
piddle Brks.' ; pighell, pighill w.Yks. ; pikle Nhp.' Nrf.
Ess.' Amer. ; pycle Brks. Suf. ; pykle Bdf. e.Nrf Amer.
[paitl ; pai'kl, pi-kl.] 1. A small field or enclosure, esp.
one near a house.
n.Cy. HoLLOWAY ; N.Cy.'-' w.Yks. Common in old deeds and
courtroIls(S.J.C.); Ofo. (J.W.) Rut.i Nhp.' The term frequently
occurs in early deeds; nor is it yet disused. In 1840, a small
Pightle, occupied as garden-ground, was advertized in the North-
ampton Mercury. Brks. There was one meadow close to the house
called the Pitle, Knight Once upon a Time (1854) II. 117 ; Grose
(1790); Gl. (1852); Brks,' The 'Church piddle' at Hampstead
Norreys. Bdf. (J.W.B.) ; N. & Q. (1872) 4th S. ix. 220. Hnt.
e.An. N. &= Q. (1862) I. 204, ed. 1864. e.An.12 Nrf. To be sold
— A house with a good pightle of land (U.W.) ; A glad sound of
Christmas bells. Out it swept over layer, pitle and fallow.
Haggard Col. Qiiariich (1888) III. xv; Morton Cyclo. Agric.
(1863). e.Nrf. Marshall Swr. £■£»«. (1787). Suf. (H.H.) ; (C.T.);
Principally applied to the closes or small fields in which flax is
grown, N. & Q. (i860) and S. ix. 490 ; Suf.' Cmb. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (M.) Ess. One of the glebe fields, a small meadow,
adjoining the churchyard of Ashen, is called Church Pitle, N. & Q.
(1859) 2nd S. vii. 90; Boxted Vicarage. It is said that the
Vicarage-house standeth in a small pikle, containing about an acre,
Newcourt Repertorium Eccles. (1710) II. 79, in A'. V Q. ib. 57 ;
Ess,^, Hrap.^ [Amer. Very nearly obsolete. Pightel signifies an en-
closure surroundingadwelling-house, and is sometimes synonymous
with lawn, A'. Gi^Q. (i860) 2nd S. ix. 443; Dial. Notes (1896) 1.392.]
2. A small corner of a field, a long narrow slip of ground,
terminating at a sharp angle.
Nhp.i s.Cy. Sometimes planted with trees, but more commonly
overgrown with underwood, N. &= Q. (1859) 2nd S. vii. 444.
3. ? A meadow shed. Nrf. Dy. News (May 16, 1895).
PIGHTS, see Pawts.
PIGMIRE, sb. e.An.' [pi-gmai3-(r).] The ant. See
Pismire, s6.'
PIGMY, sb. Nrf. [pi-gmi.] 1. In comb. Pigmy
curlew, the curlew sandpiper, Tringa subarquata.
I'm going for that ' pigmy curlew ' what I see'd te mo'nin,
Emerson Wild Life (i8go) 29 ; Swainson Birds (1885) 194.
2. />/. The curXevj sanAp'w^er, Tringa subarquata. Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 46.
PIG-NUT, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Not.
Lin. Nhp. War. Shr. Hnt. ? Mid. Suf Ess. Wil. Som.
Also in forms peg-nut ? Mid. ; pig's-nut w.Som.' [pig-
nut, -nBt.] 1. The earth-nut, Bunium jlexuosum, esp.
the root.
Ayr. A white umbelliferous plant, very much like v;ild carrot,
. . . my companion said was pig-nut, or ground-chesnut, Cent. Mag.
(Aug. 1884J 487. n.Cy. (Hall.), Wm (B.K.), n.Yks.", w.Yks.^*^
Lan.i, n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', e.Lan.', Chs.', Der.2, s.Not. (J.P.K.),
sw.Lin.', Nhp.', War.3, Shr.', Hnt. (T.P.F.) ? Mid. In my school-
days we used to dig up ar-nuts in Highgate Wood. We called
them peg-nuts, N. &= Q. (1872) 4th S. x. 53. Suf. Delicate and
beautiful little things are pushing cautiously out of the earth-fringed
pig-nut, GuRDON Memories (1897) 11. Wil.' n.Wil. Has any
attempt ever been made to cultivate the earth-nut, pig-nut, or
ground-nut, as it is variously called, which the ploughboys search
for and dig up with their clasp knives? Jefferies Wild Life (.1879)
331. w.Som.'
2. The root of the tuberous caraway, Carum Bulbocasta-
num. Wil.' 3. The horse-chestnut, Aesculus Hippo-
castanum. Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885). 4. //.
The seed-capsules of the wood violet, Viola sylvatica.
Chs.' Occasionally. Children are in the habit of eating [them].
5. The meadow parsley, Oenanthe pimpinelloides. Ess.
(B. & H.)
PIGOL, PIGS-HALE, see Piggal, Pig-haw.
PIGSEY, PIGSIE, see Pixy.
PIGSNIE,s6. Lan.Wil. Dev. Also in form pigsyn. Lan.*
[pi'gsni.] L A term of affection, esp. for a little girl.
n.Lan.' Thow lile pigsy. Wil. I heard not long since a baby
called a darling pigsnie, evidently as a term of affectionate admi-
ration, A^. & Q. (1870) 4th S. vi. 196. Dev. Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 331-
2. A term of contempt for an immodest woman.
Dev. She began to pour forth . . . insinuations relative to a
certain ' Trapseing, hautecking, kerping, pigsnie,' Madox-Brown
Dwale Bluih (1876) bk. 1. v.
[1. How pretely she could talke to him, How doth my
sweteheart, what sayth nowne pigs eie ? Bp. Gard. De
Obed. Tr. (1553), in Todd's Johnson. 2. She was a
prymerole, a pigges-nye For any lord to leggen in his
bedde, Chaucer C. T. a. 3268.]
PIK, see Pick, sA.'^, v.^"
PIKE, sb.^ and v.^ Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
[paik.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Pike-handles, wooden staves
used for a bier at a funeral ; (2) -staflF, a long stick or staff
with a sharp ' pike ' in it, carried as a support in frosty
weather ; a ' pack-staff' ; (3) -stick, a long leaping-pole ; *
(4) -stower, obs., the iron bar or standard fixed in the
' ear-breed ' (q.v.) of a cart, strengthening the sides.
(i) Nhb.i Before the parish (of Elsdon) had a hearse, their dead
were carried to the grave on a bier of poles, which they called
pike-handles, and were the perquisite of the rector, Hodgson A%6.
pt. II. I. 92, note. (2) Sc. I'll gang, though it should rain auld
wives and pike-staves (Jam.) ; Fare ye weel, my pike-staff, Wi'
you nae mair my wife I'll baff. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) II. 223
ifb.). w.Yks. A pedlar's staff. 'As plain as a pike-staff,' i/(/^.
Courier (May 29, 1897). (3) Cum.* With the assistance of a pike-
stick they make such leaps in the pursuit, Hutchinson Hist. Cum.
(1794) 447- (4) e.Yks. The foreman is to bee forewarned that he
seeke out three or fower pikestowers aforehande. Best Rur. Econ.
(1641I 48.
2. Phr. as straight as a pike, very straight indeed.
Wil. The squire walks as straight as a pike, Penruddocke
Content (i860) 6.
3. Fig. See below.
Lnk. He was a tall thin pike of a man, with a cadaverous coun-
tenance, Murdoch Readings (1895) II. 20.
4. A hay-fork ; a pitchfork. Also in cotnp. Pike-fork.
Cf pick, sb.^ 12.
Lan. Chaps ... as I wouldn't touch with a pikefork, Westall
Old Factory (1885) xxi ; Lan.', ne.Lan.1, e.Lan.' Wor. It be on'y
a bit of a jobble, as much as a could put on a barra, not more nor
two or three pike-full, Outis Vig. Mon. Shr.' Pikes and rakes,
Auct. Catal. (1870). Hrf. They was to bring some pikes with 'em,
to 'elp 'im to turn the 'ay, Ellis Promtnc. (1889) V. 177. Dev.
Zum like a putchin'-pike, and zum a zack, Daniel Bride of Scio
(1842) 177. w.Dev. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796). Cor. Armed
with pitchforks, or pikes, as in Cornwall they are generally called,
Hone Every-day Bk. (i826_, 854. w.Cor. Common (M.A.C.).
5. A pickaxe.
Chs.3 An iron instrument, sharp on one side and like a hammer
on the other, used for splitting and breaking coals. s.Stf. Pinnock
Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Shr.'^
6. Salt-making term: a one-pronged instrument used
for lifting and handling lumps of salt. Chs.' 7. The
iron tip of the scythe sned. Cum.* 8. The rib of an
umbrella.
Gall. A gurl came, when all sail was set, and away went the
tappin lift [umbrella], down came the pikes clashing about his lugs,
and one of them transfixed his cheek, Mactaggart Encvcl (1824.')
263, ed. 1876. ^
9. The ' beck ' or pointed end of an anvil. w.Yks.*
Hence Pike-horn, sb. the pointed end of a blacksmith's
anvil. w.Yks. Stick it on t'pike-horn (B.K.).
10. A land or ' ley ' running to a point ; a peaked piece
of land. See Gore, s6.' 1, Piking, s6.
s.Not. (J.P.K.), Lei.' Nhp.' The pike of a close is the end which
runs up into a point. s.Wor. (H.K.) Shr.' Short ' buts ' ploughed
in pointed furrows of graduated lengths; filling up spaces— left by
the long ' buts ' lying at right angles— in fields of irregular form.
PIKE
[499]
PIKE
11. A pointed hill ; the conical top of a hill or mountain.
Cf. pick, sb.^
N.Cy.', Nhb.I, Lakel.*, Cum. (M.P.), Cum.l " Wm. Kirhy Stephen
and Appleby Monthly Mess. (Apr. i8gi). w.Yks. Phillips /?ro«ra
(1853) ; w.Yks.', ne.Lan.', nw.Der.' Glo. A hill rising in a cone,
such as Cam's Pike, Grose (1790) MS. add. (_M.) Mon. Aberga-
venny's Pike, Horae Subsecivae {iTTj) 325.
Hence Pike-wall, sb. a wall built to a point at its
summit. w.Cy. (Hall.) 12. A pillar or cairn of stones
erected on the highest point of a mountain or hill.
Edb. These piles of stones are often termed Cairn, Pike, Currough,
Cross, &c., Pennechik Wks. (1715) 49, ed. 1815. Cum.i*
13. The spire of a church. e.Lan."^ 14. A pointed or
peaked pile of hay, made up, like a temporary stack in
the hay-field, until it can be carted to the farm-yard.
N.I.i n.Cy. Even. Mail (July 28,1828) iTX.Cy.^ Nhb.i A pike con-
tains about one cart-load of hay ; I'A. The conditions then determine
whether it [hay] shall be at once put up as hay in the form of pikes
or further exposed. . . If the weather be very fine and dry the win-row
is at once drawn up into large heaps and forked into a pike, without
cock or kyle having been made. The pike is really a small stack,
only it is left in the field till the whole crop can be put into the great
stacks in the farm yard {s.v. Hay-making). Dur.' A large pile of
hay, in size, between a cock and a stack. e.Dur.^ A large haycock,
often six feet high. LakeL^, Cura.i'' Wm. Let's put it i' pike till
Monday (B.K.). n.Yks.4,ne.Yks.i e.Yks. A singular expedient is
here practised to get it [the hay], as it is intended, out of harm's
way. This is to put it into pikes, or stacklets of about a load each,
before it be fit to put into stack, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788)
II. 140; Best /?8<f-. Econ. (1641) 37; e.Yks.^ A circular stack of
hay, with a conical top, so called in contradistinction to those of
an oblong shape. m.Yks.i w.Yks. Peter was under the impression
that he could make one of the large cocks or 'pikes, Life Peter Barker
(1876) 5 ; w.Yks.l, ne.Lan.i, Lin.l, Nhp.2
Hence Pikelins, sb. pi. half-sized hay-cocks. Cum.^*
15. A stack of corn, circular in form, pointed, and of no
great size.
n.Yks.i It [the wind] wapped t'top o' t'pike off by t'easins ;
n.Yks.2 e.Yks. (E.W.) ; The harvest is all gathered in, the ' stag-
ga'th' is full of ' pikes ' and stacks, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) la ;
e.Yks.i
16. pi. Obs. Woollen-trade term : see below.
w.Yks. Short irons in the form of an L upon which the ' going
part ' of a loom swung to an fro. A loom was sharpor slow ' strucken,'
heavy or light in the hand, and a good or a poor wefter, as the going
part was swung and balanced (W.T.).
17. The iron hinge pin at the foot of the post of a gate or
door. w.Yks. (J.J. B.) 18. t/. In -phr. to pike one's toes,
to turn up one's toes in dying.
Yks. He piked his tuas an' deed (H.W.).
19. To measure and mark out land for the plough. See
sb. 10. s.Not. (J.P.K.) 20. To put hay into ' pikes ' or
large cocks.
Nhb. Tumbling among the cocks when the hay was being ' piked ,'
Graham Red Scaur (i8g6) 80. Dur. Come, let's be off; they'll be
done piking directly, Longman's Mag. (Oct. i8g6) 575 ; You chose
to come into our work-field when we were throng on piking, ib,
C«m.4, Yks. (H.W.)
Hence Piker, sb. a man who puts hay into ' pikes ' or
cocks. Nhb.^
PIKE, sb.^ Yks. Der. Lei. War. Shr. Glo. Sus. w.Cy.
Som. Amer. [paik.] 1. A turnpike gate or toll-bar.
w.Yks. Herfathur'ssongallopsdownt'broad road, while he flees
afore to oppen t'pikes, Bronte Wuthering His. (1847) x. Der. Till
they came to a 'toll-bar' ... no farmer ever spends a penny in
pikes, Verney StoKe ^rf^e (1868) vii. Lei.', War.ss, Shr.i Glo.
Turnpike is never used in Gloucestershire, it is always ' the pike,'
GiBBS Cotswold Vill. (1898) 83 ; Gl. (1851). Sus. Walking a full
mile from the 'pike, Jennings i^j'fWPa^/iS (1884) 50. w.Cy. The
man at the pike ran to open the gate, Longman s Mag. (Nov. 1896)
66. w.Som.' [Amer. S'pose any gentleman that keeps a pike was
to give you a bad shillin in change, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836)
3rd S. xi.]
2. The toll payable at a turnpike gate.
w.Som.* Hast a-got any money vor to pay the pike way ?
3. A turnpike road.
War.^ Occas. used. ' Go on along the pike till you come to the
next turning on the right.' Sus. Holloway.
Hence Piker, sb. a tramp, one who is always on the road.
Cf. pikey. Sus.i= e.Sus. Cadgers and pikers, Holloway.
PIKE, V? and sb.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and n. and
midl. counties to Nhp. Won Shr. Also written pyke Sc.
(Jam.) Cum. w.Yks.^ Lan. ; and in forms peyke Cum.*;
poik(e Lei.i Nhp.'^ [paik, Midi, poik.] 1. v. To pick ;
to gather ; to choose, select. See Pick, w.*
Abd. The tae corbie winna pyke cot the tither's e'e, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) xx. Frf. May the flames get her banes tae pike,
Lowson Guidfollow (1890) 155. Fif. TennantPo^w^j^ (1827) 103.
s.Sc. Gie ye to the witches to pike your banes ahint the aisle,
Wilson Tales (1839) V. 55. SIg. A prin a thristle can pike out, MuiR
Poems (1818) 73. Rnf. Barr Po«ms (1861) 58. Ayr. Service Z)>-.
Duguid (ed. 1887) 23 ; Sae merrily 's the banes we'll pyke, Burns
Jolly Beggars{\i8'^\.\']^. Lnk. Coghill Poems (1890) 37. e.Lth.
We'll gie the laird an' the maisters a bane to pil^e. Hunter J.
Inwick{i8g5)z2. H&g. Lvmsden Poems {i8g6) 180. Bwk. Hender-
son Pop. Rhymes (1856) 126. Dmf. Wallace Schoohnasler (i8gg)
78. Gall. Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 120. Ir. So they piked
away after it with their flails, Kennedy Fireside Tales (1870) 20.
N.Cy. ' Cum. Tak a pwok up to t'fell, . . Pyke some ore out, Dickin-
son Cm»mA^. (1876) 251. n.Yks.123 w.Yks. A man said of his dog,
'She'd rather have a bone to pike' (S.O A.) ; All warks togither for
gooid to them as is chozzen, and piked out fro' th' rubbidge, Bronte
Wuthering Hts. (1847) ix ; w.Yks.i^ss Lan. Some o'th neigh-
bours piked him up, Waugh Hermit Cobbler, viii ; Frozen to death,
and their een pyked out by crows, Westall Birch Dene (1889) II.
17 ; Lan.', n.Lan.' ne.Lan. Wherever did ta pike her up ? Mather
Idylls (1895) 48; ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.l, m.Lan.', Chs.', Der.' Obs.
nw.Der.'- To pike lime from the ashes at a lime-kiln; to pike fruit,
&c. Nhp.i ; Nhp.2 To pike the dirt off a spade. Wor. (W.C.B.)
Shr.' We met'n as well pike a bit i' the owd stubble as sit under
the 'edge waitin' fur the tother — they hanna finished luggin' the
barley yet ; Shr.^ fe
Hence (i) Pike-a-plea body, phr. a litigious person or
one fond of lawsuits ; (2) to pike out, phr. to delineate,
draw in outline ; (3) — out the een, phr. to blind.
(i) Rxb. (Jam.) (2I Ayr. I slept ae hauf o' the time, and spent
the ither in pyking oot leddies and parasols on the bookboard wi' a
preen, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 17. (3) nw.Abd. It's just
like to pike oot my een, Gen I butbyaak or brew, Goodwife (1867)
St. 24.
2. To pilfer, plunder ; to engage in petty thefts.
Sc. ' It is ill to becall'd a thief, and ay found piking.' It is ill to
have a bad name, and often found in a suspicious place or posture,
Kelly Prov. (1721) 177 ; Ye pykit your mother's pouch o' twal-
pennies Scot, Scott Midlothian (i8i8) xviii. Or.I. My house was
evil pyked by these that had the charge of keeping it, Peterkin
Notes (1822) 50.
Hence Pikie or Pykie, adj. dishonest, given to pilfering
or petty thefts. Abd. (Jam.) 3. To pick up and place
in a heap or mound ; used of potatoes, turnips, &c. e.Yks.^,
w.Yks. (J.W.) 4. To pick out or abstract the loose knots
and imperfections from a web.
w.Yks. Usually done by the lips (E.G.) ; (J.T.); Well-known
in the worsted trade. A piece has to be piked with small tweezers
to remove slubs, &c., Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 21, 1896). Lan.
Thou can be pikin' rowler-ends and cleanin' clearers, Brierley
Cast upon World (1886) 46.
Hence Pikers, sb. pi. small tweezers used for 'piking'
the bits or ' moits' out of the web.
w.Yks. Still commonly used. One end of the pikers is pointed
to assist in drawing out any knots, &c. (J.T.)
5. Of fowls: to clean or pick at their feathers ; see below.
w.Yks. ' Leuks ta at t'birds ! ' 'Aye! T'weeat maks 'em pike
'em,' Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. 3, 1891); w.Yks.'; w.Yks.^ As a
sort of catch specimen of Yks. dialect, the expression, ' Th' weet
maks 'em pawk 'em,' is a great favourite. It is applied to fowls
cleaning themselves after rain, and the interpretation is, ' The wet
makes them pick themselves.'
6. To clear the edges of a field with a scythe, after the
mowing-machine ; to trim or remove refuse from flower-
beds, &c.
Sc. A gardener pikes his flower-beds, vines andfruit(J am. 5m/i//.).
w.Yks.3
7. To make the last picking or gathering of fruit on a tree.
w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. Our currans on'y wants pikin' ower
(J.P.K.).
3s 2
PIKE
[500 J
PIKE-THANK
Hence Pikings, sb. pi. the last remains of fruit left on
the trees after the main crop is gathered.
w.Yks. (J. W.), Not.3 s.Not. There's noat but the pikings left o'
their plums (J.P.K.).
8. To glean ; to pick up stray corn after harvest.
n.Yks.=, w.Yks.3 Midi. IVIarshall i?Mr. Econ. (1796) II. Lei.'
9. Fig. To look closely and curiously.
s.Not. She went peepin' an' pikin' round the house (J.P.K.).
Hence Pike-roimd, sb. a look round.
s.Not. Sometimes a short walk, in which prob. the eyes will
be as busy as the legs. ' Put yer hat on, an' coom an' hae a pike
round' {ib^.
10. To eat, esp. to eat sparingly and without appetite ;
to nibble.
Fif. He gaed to Cellardyke, To get a caller scate to pike, Gray
Poems (1811) 72. Lnk. Our mare and foal were sent to pyke
Alang the lown side o' a dyke, Watson Poems (1853) 26. Edb.
Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) Gl. Cum. Nobbit nibblers,
peyket, an eat Just leyke as monny meyce, Stagg il/!sc. Poems
(ed. 1805) 132; Cum.* w.Yks. If ivver onny boddy catches me
pikein owt a t'soart, for accoardin ta my ideas thare az longbaited
an az tasteless az a stewed crekkit bat, Tom TREDDLEHOYLEiJOTras/a
Ann. (Nov. 3, 1859). Lan. Not a bad thing for a hungry chap to
pike at, YJavgu Jannock (1874) ii.
Hence Piking, sb. nourishment, food ; Jig. livelihood.
Frf. Ah, laddie : yer father gied 's guid pasture — plenty o' clover
in't ; nae bare pykin like this puir creature, Inglis Ain Flk.
(1895") 236. w.Yks. This year's rayther poor pikin, Yks. Wkly.
Post (Nov. 21, 1896).
11. To eat pasture very close.
Bnff.i He pat our mony nout on o' the haugh, an' they piket it
into the varra red earth.
12. To emaciate. Bnfr.i That fiwer piket 'im fell sair.
Hence IPy'k.it, ppl. adj. emaciated, pinched.
Lnk. The upshot sune was seen, Wi' pykeit chafts an' watery
een, Hamilton Poems (1865)36. Rxb. (Jam.)
13. To quarrel, find fault with. Ge7i. with af.
Cum. Let nae snafflin' cares e'er drift ye to pleen and peyke,
Stagg Misc. Poems in Wm. & Cum.i ; Cum." They're olas pikin
at yan anudder.
14. sb. Choice, selection.
w.Yks. Shu's t'pyke o' hir 'at bare hir, Littledale Cmv. Sng.
Sol. (1859) vi. 9.
15. A small quantity of food ; anything to pick up or eat.
Dmf.The faucht ye hae for a pyke betimes, REiDPocms( 1894) 182.
[1. I pyke out, j'eeslys, Palsgr. (1530). 2. (He) picked
of her a) the good he mighte, Chaucer Z(?g-. G. f-F. 2467.
5. He proyneth him and pyketh, ib. C. T. e. 2011.]
PIKE, W.3 Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. e.An. Cor. Slang.
Also written pyke Lan.; and in forms pick w.Yks.;
poik Lan. [paik.] To move or go off ; to go away. Gen.
with off.
Lakel.= Thee pike-off aboot thi business. Wni. Ah piked rai'sel
off at yance (B.K.). w.Yks. Off he'd pike to t'public hahse, Yis.
WItly. Post (May 30, 1896) ; ' Pike home," get off home quietly, Hlfx.
Courier (May 29, 1897) ; w.Yks.= Come, pike off, or tha'll get thy
back strapped ! Lan. Wi poikt off tort theirheawse, Wood Hum.
Sketches, 4 ; So, be sharp, an' pike off, while yo'r weel, Waugh
Owd Blanket (1867) ii ; Lan.', e.Lan.i Chs. Aw wur gradely
teighert, an' piked off to bed, Yates Owd Peter, iv. nw.Der.'
Well, aw'I be pikin off naa. e.An."^ Cor. Sam thrawed his pick
and showl 'pon hes showlder, and piked off, Tregellas Tales
(i860) 145. Slang. 'Pike off,' run away, Lex. Balatronicum (181 1).
PIKE, see Peak, sb^. Pick, sb.^, Pouk, sb}, Pyke.
PIKED, ppl. adj. Sc. Lan. Nhp. Sus. Hmp. Also
written pyked Hmp. ; and in form pikit Slk. Pointed.
Slk. Dare ye heave your pikit kent at me? Hogg Tate (1838) 302,
ed. 1866. ne.Lan.i Nhp. 1 A piked stick ; Nhp. 2 Sus.', Hmp. (H.E.)
[Pykyd as a staffe, cuspidatus, Prompt]
PIKE-EVIL, s6. ^Obs. Shr. Also written pikeavill.
A pitchfork. See Evil, sb.'^
The bristles on his back were as big as pikeavill grains, Burne
Flk-Lore (1883) X ; Shr.i Gough in his History of Myddle (1833)
makes repeated mention of a ' pike-evil,' apparently the same
thing as a pikel — ' pikeeavell grains,' 'a long pikeevil,' &c. (s.v.
Pikel).
PIKE-HILL, see Pikel.
PIKE-HOLE, sb. Nhp.' = An aperture in the wall of a
barn for the admission of light.
PIKEL, sb. Sc. Irel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Der. Lei.
Nhp. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf Rdn. Hnt. Som. Also written
pikle Ir. Lei.* Hrf ^ Hnt. ; pykle Dmf. ; and in forms
peykil Chs. ; pickel Lan. Stf ; pickle s.Stf. Som. ; pike-
hill Chs.^ ; poickel Chs. ; poikel Chs.* ; poikle Lan.
[pai'kl, pei'kl, pikl.] 1. A hay-fork, pitchfork.
Dmf. Get a pykle and lift that hay for me (A.C.). Ir. (J.B.),
w.Yks. (D.L.) Lan. The're followed by a lot o'farm lads, carryin
a pickel apiece, Brierley Jingo (1878) 5; Thee get that pikel
eawt o' th' nook. . . Ned shoothert pikel, ib. Tales (1854) 185 ;
Lan.* Chs. Oi con hondle a pleugh, or a spead, or poickel, or a
flail wi' onny mon. Banks Prov. House (1865) 249, ed. 1883 ; The
instrument that it was to be tossed out by, a plain country pikel,
pikehill — how do you spell it, you longhand folks ? Byrom Remin.
(1731) in Clteth. Soc. Publ. XXXIV. 491 ; A muck fork, an a pey-
kil, Clough B. Bresskittle (1879) 4! Chs.'^^^ s.Chs.* Stf. They
had got rakes, and brooms, and pickels reaching into the pond, Flk-
Lore J m. (1884) II. 43. n.Stf. (J.T.), s.Stf.(T.P.),Der.2,nw.Der.',
Lei.i, Nhp.i War. B'ham IVkly. Post (June 10, 1893) ; War.*23^
w.Wor.i Shr. Proked 'em 66th pikels, Burne Flk-Lore (1883)
vi ; Shr.' One dozen pikels in lots, Auct. Catal. (1877) ; Shr.^
' Goa and git mizzhurd for a pikel,' applied to a tall and lazy
person. Hrf.l, Rdn.', Hnt. (T.P.F.), Som. (Hall.)
2. Phr. lo rain pikels, to rain heavily, rain 'cats and dogs.'
Lan. For if 't rains poikles, late or soon, Aw'I goo again, if aw
goo beawt shoon, Sngs. Wilsons (1865) 56.
[The pitchfork or pikel which we vulgarly call it, Holme
Armory (1688) HI. viii. 331.]
PIKELET, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Der. Not.
Lin. Lei. Nhp. War. Wor. Shr. Glo. Nrf. Som. Also
written pikelit w.Yks. ; piklet sw.Lin.* Som. ; pyklet
sw.Lin.'; and in forms piclate Midi.; pifelet n.Lin.* ;
piphlet e.Yks* ; pyflet sw.Lin.* Lei.* [pai'klit, pai'flit.]
L A crumpet ; a small, circular, half-baked tea-cake. See
Pikelin. Cf. bara-picklet.
N.Cy.', e.Yks.i w.Yks Matty hed a cloaze basket full a muffins an'
pikelits, Tom Treddlehoyle BairnslaAnn. (1849) 27 ; w.Yks.*^^,
Laa. (A E.G.), Lan.*, ne.Lan.*, Chs.* 3, s.Chs.* Midi. N. & O.
(1885) 6th S. xi. 13. Stf.* Der. As for the pikelets, 'twill be
better to throw them and butter 'um as folks want 'urn, Verney
Stone Edge (1868) iii. Not. (L.C M.), Not.', s.Not. (J.P.K.),
n.Lin.*^ sw.Lin.* Fresh mufSns and pyklets every day. Nhp.i
War. She al'ys says she niver gets sich pikelets as mine nowhere ;
. . . thick, unwholesome things, you might as well eat a
sponge, Geo. Eliot Scenes CI. Life (1858) Janet's Repentance;
(G.F.B.) ; War.3 Muffin and pikelet baker. se.Wor.* Shr. N.
^ Q- (1884) 6th S. X. 448 ; Shr.' 2 Glo. The only word in Bristol
for crumpets (A.L.M.) ; Glo.* Nrf. A glazy kind of muffin, also
called Leather-back (A.G.). Som. A kind of light bread or cake
made with milk (W.F.R.).
2. Comp. (i) Pikelet-faced, pock-marked. Lan. (H.M.) ;
(2) -stone, a flat piece of iron on which to bake 'pikelets'
on the ' lazy-back.' Lei.*
PIKELIN, s6. Yks. Lan. [paiklin.] A crumpet. See
Pikelet.
w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781). Lan.*, ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.*
s.Lan. N. & Q. (1885) 6th S. xi. 93.
PIKEMAN, sb. Sc. A miller's servant. Cf. pickie,
adj.^ 1.
Wgt. The Clerk and Jamie the Pikeman were exercised with n
mutual dislike and dread of each other, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 60.
PIKER, s6. Sc. Nhb. [pai-ksr.] L ? A priming wire
for cleaning the vent of a gun or musket.
Edb. The birse for cleaning out the pan, and the piker for the
motion-hole, MoiE Mansie Wauck (1828) xii.
2. The nose. Nhb.* A cant term. ' Had up yor piker '
PIKES, sb. pi} Obs. Sc. Short, withered heath ; lit.
spikes.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Thro' birns and pikes and scrabs and heather
lang, Ross Helcnore (1768) 26, ed. 1812.
PIKES, sb. pip- Cai.* [paiks.] In phr. to get on^s
pikes, to get a sound drubbing. See Paik, sb? 5.
PIKE-THANK, sb. and adj. Sc. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Also written peik-thank Bnff.* Abd. (Jam.) ; and in
forms pike-thonk Chs.' ; pyke-thanks w.Yks.* [pai-k.
J)ar)k.] 1. sb. A parasite, a hanger-on ; a meddlesome,
officious person ; a slanderous mischief-maker. See
Pick-thank.
PIKEY
[501]
PILE
Cum.' *, m.Yks.^ w.Yks. Hutton Tbwfto Gitos (1781); w.Yks.',
Lan.', Chs.i nw.Der.' I have heard my father apply this word to
one of the children when he or she Jias been trying to obtain a
favour from him.
2. Phr. for pike-thank, for mere thanks, without other
reward.
Cai.i Persons who expect remuneration foreverj'action, reproach
those who do a kindness without payment, by saying that they do
it for pike-thank.
3. adj. Ungrateful.
Bnff.i Abd. Gen. conjoined with pennyworth as a reproachful
name for a person (Jam.).
PIKEY, sb. Ken. Sur. Slang. Also written piky Ken.^
[pai'ki, pei-ki.] A turnpike traveller ; a tramp, vaga-
bond, vagrant ; a gipsy. Cf. pike, sb?- 3.
Ken. {H.M.J; Oh! they're pikies (D.W.L.); (G.B.); Ken.',
e.Ken. (G.G.), Sur.i Slang. Barr^re & Leland.
PIKING, sb. Wor. A piece of land running to a
point ; also used attrib. (H.K.) See Pike, sb} 10.
PIKING, /r^ Chs.'3 [pai-kin.] Joking.
PIKLE, t^. Yks. Also in forms pickle n.Yks.'* [pai'kl,
pi'kl.] To take small quantities of food without appetite ;
to play with one's food. See Pike, v.^ 10.
n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^ To nibble only a small quantity at a time, as
sickly cattle take food out of the hand ; n.Yks.*, m.Yks.', w.Yks.
(F.K.R.)
Hence Pikly,a(^'.loath toeat,havingnoappetite. n.Yks.''
PIKLE, see Pightle.
PIKY, adj. Obs. Hrt. Peaked, pointed.
Long piky roots, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) III. i. 87.
PIKY DOG, PILAM{Y, see Pickadog, Pilm.
PILCH, sb} Sc. n.Cy. Midi. Nhp. War. Wor. e.An.
Ken. Som. Cor. Also in forms pelch Cor.° ; pilcher Som.
[piltj.] 1. A triangular flannel wrapper worn by infants.
Abd. The 'belly-band' is usually of cotton ; the 'pilch' is attached
with three buttons, a triangular piece of cloth for keeping the rest
clean (G.W.). Ltb. (Jam.), N.Cy.', Nhp.', War.^, e.An.' Cmb.'
Is that baby's pilch a-scorching agin the fire ? Ken. (K.\ Ken.'
Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W.& J.G/. {1873).
Cor.' A warm flannel outer garment for children ; Cor.^
2. A thick shoulder shawl. e.An.' 3. Anything hung
before the thighs to protect them from injury in the
operation of casting peats with a flaughter-spade (q.v.),
s.v. Flaughter, sZ>.' Sc. (Jam.) 4. A coarse piece of rug
laid over a saddle ; a saddle-pad.
Midi. (K.), (Hall.), s.Wor. (H.K.) w.Som.' A soft kind of
saddle, made without a tree or other hard foundation. Used^c«.
for very young riders (s.v. Pad, 4).
[ME. pilche, a warm furred outer garment (Chaucer) ;
OE. pylce, a robe of skin (Sweet).]
PILCH, si.2 Sc. Irel. [piltJ.] 1. A short, fat person ;
anything thick or gross. Also used attrib. Cf pilshach, 2,
Sc. A pilch carl, a short and gross man (Jam.). Ant. Ballymena
Obs. (1892).
2. A tough, skinny piece of meat. Sc. (Jam.)
PILCH, 56.3 Chs.' [piltJ.] The back.
Lads playing at leap-frog will say to each other, ' Set thi pilch.'
PILCH, v} Wor. Glo. [piltJ.] To pilfer, filch. s.Wor.',
Glo. (A.B.), Glo.i See Pilk, v} 2.
[Some steale, some pilch, some all away filch, Tusser
Husb. (1580) 33; To pilch, miche, sitffurari. Levins
Manip. (1570).]
PILCH, V?- s.Wor.'" Glo.i [pilt;.] To butf ; to po^e
with the horn. See Pilk, v?-
PILCHARD, sb. and v. Cor. Also in form pilcher
Cor,' 1. sb. Used in van prov. expressions ; see below.
Anything particularly good, ambitious, or excessive is cpm-
pared to ' cream on pilchards,' Hjimmond Parish (1897) 56; Cor.'
Money without Jove is like salt without pilchers. Killed as dead
SS a s^lt pilcher.
2. V. Obs. To catch pilchards.
One buss, and then to pilcharding I'll packy, W. Eclpgue (1762)
^87.
■ PILCHECK, s6. Wbs. Sc. A worthless fellow or rake-
Nane like the pilchecks noo wha gang At twal hours lafe,
Donald Poems (1867) $7 ; ib. pote.
PILCHER, sb. Abd. (Jam.) The marble which a
player at 'taws' uses in his hand, as distinguished from
the other marbles used in play. See Pitcher, 5^.^ 1.
PILCHER, see Pilch, sb}
PILCOCHIA, sb. Nrf [pilko-tja.] A thrashing.
I gave him pilcochia, Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 94.
PILDER, V. Lan. Also in form pilther. [pi-ld3(r).]
To wither, shrivel ; to fade away. Gen. in pp. and used
attrib.
I . . . axt o' meeverly, pildert owd woman, Paul Bobbin Sequel
(1819) 15 ; [Hoo] had waited for a fine husbant till hoo're as pildert
as an owd apple, 'BRiERLEt Ab-o^ih-Yate (1870) 36; Davies Races
(1856) 237; Lan.'
PILE, sb} and v} Sc. Irel. Yks. Lon. Dev. Cor. Also
written pyle Sc. (Jam.) [pail.] 1. sb. In phr. (i) in a
pile of wrangle, deeply involved in a dispute ; (2) the pile
of mags, a juggler's trick ; see below ; (3) short in the pile,
fig. short-tempered.
(i) Cor.2 (2) Lon. I does what they call ' the pile of mags,'
that is, putting four halfpence on a boy's cap, and making them
disappear when I say ' Presto, fly ! ' Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851)
III. 107, ed. 1861. (3) Wgt. He was very 'short in the pile,'
and his temper was sorely put to the test, Fraser Wigtown
(1877) 275.
2. A small quantity.
w.Sc. A wee pile, a very small quantity (Jam. Suppl.").
3. A heap of ten faggots of wood, arranged in the form
of a prism. nw.Dev.' 4. v. Phr. pile your duds, a
challenge to fight, requiring the person addressed to
strip and throw his clothes in a heap. s.Don. Simmons
Gl. (1890). 5. To pack spools of yarn into ' skeps,' &.c.
Hence Filer, sb. a boy of from 12 to 15 years of age,
employed to pack spools of yarn into ' skeps.' w.Yks. (F.B.)
PILE, sb.' and v.'' Midi. Stf Nhp. War. Wor. Shr,
Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. [pail, poil.] 1. sb. pi. The awns
of barley. Nhp.', s.Wor. (H;K.), se.Wor.', Shr.'^, Dev."
Hence Piley, adj. of barley : having a great many of
the awns attached to it, after being dressed. Nhp.' War.
Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). 2. v. To break off the
awns of threshed barley. Cf pail, v.
Midi. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. Nhp.', War.^ Dev.
Reports Provinc. (1895).
Hence (i) Piler, sb. an implement formed like a grid-
iron, with a long upright handle, used for cutting off the
beard or awns of barley ; (2) Piling, sb. the ' hummelings '
of barley; (3) Piling-iron, see (i).
(i) War.^, s.Wor. (HK.) Dor.' A tool, consisting of an iron
frame with many compartments for pounding off the hoils of
thrashed barley. Som. Barley piler, Auct. Advt. (Nov. 1895).
Dev. Reports Provinc. (1895). n Dev. A piler, an' paddle iron,
Rock/iw a«' iVcH (1867) St. 72. Cor.' 2 (2) Stf. Morton Cvc/o.
4gric. (1863). (3) Midi. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. Nhp.'
Called, in other p^rts of the county, ' Faltering-iron ' and ' Polting-
iron.' War. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). se.Wor.' Shr,'
Riddles, sieves, and barley piling-irons in lots, Catal. (1877) ;
Slir.2 Sumtimes the thrashall unna tak one hofe o' the piles off, an
then a bin obleeged to use the piling iron, yo sin. Cor. Morto.v
Cyclo, Agric. (1863).
[1. OE./r/, a spike, prickle (Sweet).]
PILE, sb.^ Yks. Lan. Lin. [pail.] The head of an
arrow.
e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks.^"; w.Yks.s A 'tin pile 'is
gen. the workmanship of the juvenile himself ne.Lan.', n.Lin.'
[Dan. piil (pi. pile), arrow, bolt, shaft (Ferrall) ; EFris.
pH, ' Pfeil • (Koolman).]
PILE, sb.* Sc. Also written pyl S. & Ork.' [pail,
peil.] Fat or grease floating on the surface of soup, &c. ;
grease skimmed off the liquor in which fat meat has been
boiled.
Sh.L We boils da coo's head and da skenk houghs, an' sic a
sap o' pile as came aff o' dat pot! Stewart Tcfles (1892) 250;
S. & Ork.i, Old. (Jam.)
PILE, sb.^ Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Wor. Also written pyle Ayr. ; and in form peyle Cum.'*
[pail, peil.] 1. A blade or stalk of grass, ^c.
Sh.I. No a pile o girse, Junda Klingrahool {18^8) 6. SJg.Thepiles
of grass that are in the earth, WoPROW Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7)
PILE
[502]
PILL
I. 272. Lth. The pile of grass is naething less, A wonder to our
view, Thomson Poems (1819) 90. Slk. Hung to the earth by
viewless pile, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 127. n.Cy. Grose (1790)
(K.). Nhb.i When cows or horses eat up their fodder clean it is
said, ' They haven't left a pile.' Lakel.^ Ther izzant a pile o'
gurse left. Cum.' Theer isn't a pile o' girse on o' t'field ; Cum.*,
n.Wm. (B. K.) n.Yks.Whewts of girse, young fresh piles or blades
of grass, Meriton Praise ^/« (1684) Gl. ne.Yks.^ e.Yks. They
will not leave soe much as a pile of grass. Best Rur. Econ. (1642)
76; Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). ne.Lan.i, Wor. (J.R.W.)
2. A coarse grass, growing near the shore.
n.Cy. Sedges and rushes are called ' coarse piles' (K.). Cum.'*
3. A single grain.
Sc. A pile of caff, a grain of chaff (Jam.). e.Sc. We haena
found a pile o' seed. Strain ElmsUe's Drag-net (1900) 284. Ayr.
The kail's sae thin that every pile o' barley runs round the dish,
Galt £'K/fli7 (1823) xviii ; The cleanest corn that e'er was dight,
May hae some pyles o' caff in. Burns Address to Unco Cuid
(1786) Motto. Dmf. Cromek Remains (1810) 117. N.I.' A single
grain of shot. Nhb. A caff-pile (R.O.H.).
PILE, s*.^ Yks. [pail.] The plain side of a knife.
w.Yks.^ I toss thee up ; mark or pile ? w.Yks.*
[Fr. pile, the pile-side of a piece of money, the opposite
whereof is a cross (whenceye n'qy croi'x ny pile) (Cotgr.).]
FILE, sb? Lan. Dor. Also written pyle Lan. [pail.]
1. A hurdle-stake. Dor. (C.V.G.) 2. Cow^ Pile mow,
a wooden hammer used in fencing.
Lan. I thawt too obewt th' stake un th' pyle-mo, Paul Bobbin
Sequel (1819) 20 ; (Hall.)
_ [OE. pile, a stake, in comp. temes-pik, stake to support
sieve (Sweet).]
PILE, sb.^ ? Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) The motion of the
water, caused by a fish when it rises to the surface.
PILE, v.^ Pern, [pail.] To throw a stone.
(W.H.Y.) ; ' Not you pile stones,' do not throw stones (E.D.).
s.Pem. (W.M.M.) ; Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421.
PILE, v.* Som. [Not known to our correspondents.]
To welt a coat. (Hall.)
PILE, see Peel, sb?
PILED, ppl. adj. Nhb. Yks. Also written peyled
w.Yks. Mottled, piebald. See Piley.
Nhb.i Charged w*" the felonious stealeing of a dunn mare and
a black pyled gray foale. Arch. AE^liana (1628) I. 151. w.Yks.
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Feb. 6, 1896).
PILEM, see Film.
PILEY, adj. and sb. Nhb. Cum. [pai-li.] 1. adj.
Mottled, speckled.
Nhb. Praise Lang Wilson's ' piley cock,' Wilson Pitmavis Pay
(1843); Nhb.i
2. sb. A white game-fowl having a few black or red
feathers. Cum."
PILEZ, PILF, see Fellas, Pelf.
PILFERING, sb. Pem. [pi'lferin.] A weakling; a
weak, insignificant child with a poor appetite.
s.Pem. This 'ere boy, I 'na knaw what to make of 'n, I never
saw sich a pilfering (W.M.M. ).
PILFY, see Pelfy.
FILGER,5/^. e. Yks.i e.An.i [pi-lg3(r.] A three-pronged
eel-spear ; a fish-spear.
[OE./f/ (pointed stick or stake) +^ar (spear) ; cf auger.]
PILGET, sb. and v. Sc. [pi'lgst.] 1. sb. A conten-
tion, quarrel, broil ; a contest. Also used^^.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Bch. I needna' tell the pilgets a' I've had wi'
feirdy faes, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 19. Abd. We begood the
pilget here thegither, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xliv.
2. A difficulty.
Bnff.i He's niver oot ae pilget aboot's money matters bit he's
intil anither. Abd. He hed sic a pilgit huntin' up aul' Lindsay for
stealin' bees, Alexander yoA««y Gibb (1871) xviii.
3. V. To quarrel ; to get into trouble or difficulty.
Ayr. Usually applied to the contentions of children (Jam.).
FILGIE, sb. and v. Sc. [pi'lgi.] 1. sb. A contention,
quarrel, broil. n.Sc. (Jam.) See Pilget. 2. v. To
quarrel, contend, fight.
Sc. He pilgies sair an' mak's a dip, Donald Poems (1867) 37.
PILGIL, FILIACK, see Pill-gill, Piljack.
FILIERS, sb. pi. Cor.12 [pilisz.] Places on the
downs interrupting their smoothness ; tufts of long grass,
rushes, &c. forming cover for hares.
PILING, sb. Stf Shr. [pai'lin.] A truss of threshed-
out straw.
stf. A bundle of straight wheat straw, containing about three
sheaves, Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Shr.i Rots bin nippers
for pllin's.
PILJACK, s6. Cor.i2 Also in form piliack. [pildgEek.]
A poor, mean fellow.
PILK, v} Sc. [pilk.] 1. To pick, pluck; to shell,
take out of the husk or shell.
Sc. Monie a day, my minnie and me Hae pilkit at your pow,
Kinloch Ballads (1827) 28. Sh.I. Ye'll pilk up da siUicks like
stour, Stewart Tales (.1892) 13. n.Sc. To pick periwinkles out
of the shell (Jam.). Cai.i
2. To pilfer, thieve. See Pilch, v.^
n.Sc. She has pilkit his pouch (Jam.). Cai.' e.Fif. He's been
pilking yer pouches too, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) xvi ; He had
not only pilkit my pouch o' four an' saxpence, ib. xx.
[1. Uor euere me schal Jiene cheorl pilken & peolien,
Anc. Riwle (c. 1225) 86.]
PILK, V? Pem. Dev. Also in form pelk s.Pem.
[pilk, pelk.] 1. To butt or poke with the horns. Cf.
pilch, v.^
Pem. (W.H.Y.) s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 426; Mind
thee strike bull, Gwelph, a's bad to pilk. There a nasty bull at
the Park, a's pelking, a'l run after yea (W.M.M.).
2. To poke, stab ; to scratch.
Dev. Thou'dst no warn't ter tak't wis me ; I'd gat th* vedge an'
nif I daunt pilk tha' I Mabox-Brov/s Dwale Bluth {iSjO) bk. ii. iii.
[2. Cp. Norw. diai. pilka, to scratch, stab, prick (Aasen).]
PILKEY, adj. Dev. [pilki.] Domineering.
s.Dev. The boy be uncommon pilkey to his little brothers and
sisters. Reports Provinc. (1883) 90.
FILKIE-EYED, adj. Uls. [pilki-Id.] Having an eye
with cataract. (W.H.P.), (M.B.-S.)
PILKINGS, 51!.. //. Fif. [pilkinz.] Last-drawn milk.
Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863).
FILKS, sb. pi. Wil. [pilks.] In phr. pilks and sloes,
sloes, esp. small ones. (K.M.G.)
PILL, 56.1 Sh.I. IreL Yks. Lin. Also in form peel Sh.I.
[pil.] 1. Anything very difficult or unpleasant, esp. in
phr- a bitler or bad pill, &c. Also applied to persons.
Sh.I. Dat pairtin' wis a bitter peel for you ta swally, Sh. News
(May 14, 1898). Ir. ' I tell you,' observed O'Neil, ' there's a bad pill
)"
taaties
up was a strange pill that year [1846], raain, raain ivery day.
2. Anything very small or inconsiderable.
Sh.I. A pill of bread, &c. {Coll. L.L.B.)
PILL, sb.^ Glo. Som. [pil, w.Som. pial.] 1. A pillow.
See Peel, sb.'^
w.Som. 1 Very common. ' I never can't zlape way a soft pill.'
2. Comp. (i) Pill-slip, (2) -tie, a pillow-case.
(i) Glo.i (2) w.Som.i Sometimes applied to the entire pillow
PILL, sb.^ Wor. Hrf. Pem. Glo. Som. Cor. Also
written pyll Cor. [pil.] 1. A pool ; a creek ; a small
running stream.
Hrf.i A small creek capable of holding barges for unlading. This
word is used on the Severn and is prob. peculiar to that river as
an appellative. s.Fem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421. Glo. Gen.
the pool, which is made by the fall of water from the flood-gates
or hatches of a mill is styled ' the pill,' Horae Subsecivaeii-ni) 327 ;
We stand on the rustic bridge above the ' pill,' gazing down into
the smooth flowing water, Gibbs Cotswold Vill. (1898) 361 ; Num-
bers of pills are marked in the Ordnance map, Seebohm Eng Vill
Community{i%&^)iSo; (A.B.); Glo." Peculiar to the Lower Severn;
GI0.2 The pool caused by the junction of two streams. e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). Cor. Pyll, sir, otherwise a creek, ' Q.' Trov
rowM (1888) iv; Cor.i 2 > M ^ "y
2. A shallow well, fed with surface-water. se.Wor.^
3. A fishing-village with a creek.
Som. You will have noticed Pill, Bristol Pill— the word is found
all over the Som. coast ... and means a fishing-village, with a
creek. Guardian (Aug. 18, 1879) ; (W F R )
[I. OE. Pyll, a pool, ' pill ' (B.T.).]
PILL
[503 J
PILLENDED- HAMMER
PILL, s6.« s.Cy. Hmp. I.W. Dor. Dev. Also in form
pell Dev. [pil.] A pitcher ; an earthen vessel.
s.Cy. (Hall.), Hmp.i I.W.i; I.W.2 My Polly veil down and
broke the pill all to pieces. Dor. (C.W.B.), Dev. (Hall.)
PILL, sb.^ Sc. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also in forms pillick
Cum.* ; pillie S. & Ork.^ ; pilluck Wm. Yks. ; pilly Wm.
[pil, pi'lgk.] The male organ, the penis. S. & Ork.^,
Cai.i, Cum.*, Wm. (B.K.), w.Yks. (J.W.)
[Norw. dial, pill, ' penis ' (Aasen).]
PILL, v} and sb.^ Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Der. Not. Lin.
Rut. Lei. Nhp. War. Won Shr. e.An. Som. [pil.] 1. v.
To peel, strip off the outer skin, rind, bark, &c.
n.Yks. A Gillinge man for pilling of the barke, &c., Quart Sess.
Rec. (July 1618), in TV. R. Rec. Soc. (1884) H. 175 ; n.Yks.2^ w.Yks.
(S.J.C), w.Yks.i235, Lan. (S.W.) Chs. 5^^/(1878) 1. 22 ; Chs.is
s.Stf. Pill them tayters clane. Sail, but do' waste 'em, Pinnock Blk.
Cy. Ann. (1895). Der.^, nw.Der.', Not. (W.H.S.) s.Not. A must
pill ma taters (J.P.K.). n.Lin.i I seed 'em pillin' bark e' Mr. Nel-
thorpe woods as I cum fra Brigg to daay. sw.Lin.i Used most
commonly of the oak-pilling, or stripping the bark of the oaks when
felled in spring: as 'They'll not cut them while [till] the bark'U
pill.' 'They started pilling in April Fair week.' Rnt.i Mr. M
wur very choice of his Cambridge kidney potatoes, as if they was
goold. But they took some pilling, they did. Lei.', Nhp. 12 war.
B'ham Wkly. Post (June 17, 1893); War.^ Shr.^ Lads mak'n
poor laisers gener'lly — they'n al'ays got a stick to pill, or anythin'
but bend thar backs to the stubble; Shr.^ Pilling the crust off the
loaf [Pill a fig for your friend, a peach for your enemy, Ray Prov.
(1678) 53.]
Hence (i) Pillers, 56. /i/. persons or instruments for
peeling oak-trees, &c. ; (2) Pilling-iron, sb. an instru-
ment for paring the bark of felled timber ; (3) Pillings,
sb. pi. parings, peelings ; occas. in sing.
(i) w.Yks.i (2) Chs.i, Shr.2 (3) e.Yks.i w.Yks.'; w.Yks.s
Taaty pillings. m.Lan.i, e.Lan.' Stf. He blew me up like pillin's
o' onions (J.A.L.). nw.Der.^ Potato pillins, apple pillins, &c.
s.Not. Put them tater pillings i' th' swill-tub (J.P.K.). n.Lin.'-
Lei.i Breens ? A een't got no breens ! oon'y a 'at-full o' tato-pillins.
War.^ Go and give the tater-pilling to the pigs. War., Wor.
(J.A.L.),e.An.2
2. To graze land very closely.
Som. I put some sheep in to pill the field, but they wouldn't stay
ill it (W.F.R.).
3. sb. Peel, rind, skin, bark.
s.Not.(J.P.K.) n.Lin.i'Ther"s a queer smell.' ' Yis, bud it's noht
bud th' pill o' them cringes me an' Ann's been eatin'.' The candied
peel of lemons. Lei.^ Nhp.^ Boil the taters with the pills on.
War.2 Orange-pill, tater-pill ; War." Taking the pill off the osiers.
Suf. Bark of trees, Rainbird Agric. (1819) 289, ed. 1849 ; Suf.'
[L And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of
the hazel and chesnut tree, and pilled white strakes in
them", Bible Gen. xxx. 37 ; Pyllyn or pylle bark or ojier
lyke, decortico, Prompt. 3. Now that part thereof which
is utmost and next to the pill or rind is called tow or hurds,
Holland Pliny, bk. xix. i.]
PILL,s6.^ Som. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A rock. (Hall.)
PILL, z/.= Yks. [pil.] To rob.
w.Yks. (J.W.), w.Yks.i [To pill, to rob or plunder, to use extor-
tion, to fleece one, Bailey (1721).]
[Wher see ye oon, that he ne hath laft his leef ... Or
pilled her, Chaucer Leg. G. W. -L'2lb'2i\
PILLACATER, sb. Yks. Lin, [pi'laketsCr).] A
caterpillar.
w.Yks. Ah gate some coUyflahr on to my plate, an' I were fair
sickened — if there worrant a pilla' cater as big as a pay-cod. Berry
trees was fair nak'd wi' them pilla'caters (J.T.F.). Lin. I've just
fun' a greet pillacater e' my collyfloor as big as a paycod, Lin.
N. &= Q. (Jan. 1892) 12. n.Lin.i
[Pillar + cater, the two elements of ' caterpillar ' reversed.]
PILLALOO, sb. and v. Irel. Yks. Not. Cor. Slang.
Also written plllalue n.Yks.; pillilew w.Yks. s.Not.
[pilalii, -liu.] 1. sb. An exclamation, outcry ; a crying,
howUng, esp. in phr. to cry or sing pillaloo.
w.Yks. We ran after him wol we collared him en then we made
him sing pillilew, Yks. Wkly. Post (Sept. 22, 1900). s.Not. A hit
the dug on th' back wi' a stun, an' made 'im cry pillilew (J.P.K.).
Cor. What wi' the rumpus an' her singin' out ' Pillaloo ! ' . . . the
Lawyer's sarmon . . . was clean sp'iled, ' Q.' Troy Town (1888) xi.
Slang. Pillaloo. The Irish cry or howl at funerals. Lex. Bala-
ironicum (1811).
2. A severe thrashing.
n.Yks. He givsall t'skollarspillalue ittahms (I.W.). w.Yks. (J.W.)
3. V. To cry, howl, moan. Gen. in prp.
Ir. Paddiana (ed. 1848) I. 100. Don. Nanny sitting in the
chimney corner whillilew-ing and pillillew-ing, crying the very
eyes out of her head, Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 189.
PILLAM, see Pilm.
PILLAN, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Also in form pullen
N.Cy.^ [pi'lan.] A small green-coloured sea-crab, used
as bait. Cf. peeler, sb?-
Fif. Cancer latipes Gesnen, the shear crab. Our fishers call
them Pillans, Sibbald Hist. Fif. (1803) 132 «. (Jam.) N.Cy.^
Pullen is a term for the small crab used for baiting sea-fishing-hooks.
The correct name is pillan, from peel, to skin, because if you crack
the shell of the pillan you may strip it off, leaving the substance of
the claw entire. Nhb.' I threw my hook (baited with a bit of pillan,
or peeling, crab) into the main sea, Newcastle Mag. (Jan. 1823) 21.
PILLAR, sb.^ and v. n.Cy. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Chs. Sus.
Wil. Som. [pi-l3(r.] 1. sb. Coal-mining term : an
oblong or square mass of coal contained between two
boards and two headway courses, and left during the
first working for the support of the roof.
N.Cy.i Nhb. They jenkin a' the pillars doon, Wilson Pitman's
Pay (1843) 59 ; Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
w.Yks. (T.T.)
Hence Pillar- working, prp. driving a passage through
the ' pillars.'
Nhb.i In ' broken ' or pillar working a passage is driven through
the pillars, which are then said to be 'jenkined.' What is then
left of the pillars are called ' stooks,' and when these are taken
away the roof collapses on the worked out ' waste.' Nhb., Dur.
Greenwell ib.
2. Salt-mining term : a mass of rock salt left in exca-
vating a mine extending from floor to ceiling, in order
to support the overlying strata. Chs.^ 3. One of the
transverse pieces which support the ' bed ' or a wagon or
carriage over the axles. Also in comp. Pillar-piece.
WU.1 (s.v. Waggon). w.Som.' The cross timber attached to
and supporting the bottom of the fore-part of the body. It bears
upon the poll-piece [pul-ur pees], and turns upon it when the
wheels are ' locked.' The main-pin passes through both. In a
timber-carriage or railway timber-truck the pillar-piece is that on
which the log actually rests, and is made to turn on its centre.
4. A large thick pile of white clouds. Sus.' 5. v. To
erect artificial supports for the roof of a mine. Nhb.*
Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
PILLAR, s6.= Wor. [pi-l3(r).] A peal ; an outburst.
A pillar of laughter (W.C.B.).
PILLAS, see Pellas.
PILL-BASS, sb. Obs. Lin. Prob. a species of lime ;
see below. See Bass, sb.^ 1.
S.Lin. The woods in the south part of this county produce oak,
ash, and poplar, about one-third of each, and scarce any other
sort is to be met with therein, except a tree (the real name of
which I could never learn), called by the woodmen ' Pill-Bass.'
It seems to be of the poplar class, but a distinct species, Young
Agric. Surv. (1799) 213, in (B. & H.).
PILL-COAL, sb. ? Obs. w.Cy. Som. A kind of peat,
esp. that dug from a great depth or out of rivers.
w.Cy. (Hall.) Som. Peat obtained at a great depth, beneath
a stratum of clay, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873).
PILL-CORN, sb. Cor. Also written pil-. [pi'l-kgn.]
The naked oat, Avena nuda. (B. & H.), Con' (s.v. Pellas),
Cor.'^ (s.v. Pillas). See Pellas.
PILLED, /i/i. Obs. Sc. (Jam.) w.Yks.* Also m form
peild Sc. (Jam.) Made bald.
[Pylled as one that wanteth heart, pellu, Palsgr. (1530) ;
Pillede schrewe, P. Plowman (a.) vil 143 ; As piled as an
ape was his skulle, Chaucer C. T. a. 3935.]
PILLEM, see Pilm.
PILLENDEDHAMMER, sb. Yks. A hammer with
the head finished at one end with a square face and at
the other with a perpendicular cutting edge, used at
Whinstone quarries, n.Yks. (C.V.C.) Cf, peel-end.
PILLERDS
[504]
FILM
PILLERDS, sb. Cor. [pi'ladz.] Barley. Cf. pellas.
Grose (1790) ; (Hall.) ; Perhaps the naked variety of barley
is intended, or the raked oat, which used to be much cultivated
in Cornwall (B. & H.).
PILLERINE, see Pelerine.
PILL-GARLIC, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Chs. Nrf. Dev. Slang. Amer. Also written pilgarlak
Lakel.2; pilgarlic(k Edb. Nhb. Cum.i* Wm. Lan.^ Dev.
Amer. ; and in form peel-garHc(k w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.)
N.I.' Cum.'" [pi'l-garlik, -galik.] A person or thing of
no value or importance ; a person deserving of pitj', a
weakling ; a simpleton, idiot. Also used attrib. znAfig.
w.Sc. ' A puir, wee peel-garlic,' is not uncommun. It has var.
applications, but they all imply a wan, sickly, wasted, or miserable
appearance, and consequently weakness or worthlessness (Jam.
Suppl,). s.Sc. What's he, that peelgarlic o' a body, wi legs nae
thicker than drum sticks, and a wame as lank as an empty blether?
Wilson Tales (1836) IV. 105. Edb. Hallo ! whatna stagger was
that ye gied, you puir pilgarlic? Ballantine Gabeiiumie (ed. 1875)
242 ; Our gentry's wee peel-garlic getts Fed on bear meal an'
sma' ale swats, ib. Wee Raggii Laddie, st. 4 (Jam. Suppl.). N.I.i
A yellow person : a person dressed shabbily or fantastically.
Nhb. By gox o' pilgarlick's a terrible crowd is ! Roeson Bards of
Tyne (1849) 258. Lakel.^ Cum. Daft Peg's got hersel, man, wi'
bairn. And silly pilgarlic's the fadder. Anderson Ballads (1805) 8 ;
Cum.''* -Wm. Silly pil-garlick was I (B.K.). w.Yks.^ A poor,
ill dressed person ; an object of pity or contempt. Lan.' He's
a poor pilgarlick as ever crept upo' two legs. Chs ^^ Nrf. You
are always down on pillgarlic, but if there be a stranger come to
the door, it is, ' Oh, you'll never hurt my house,' Emerson Marsh
Leaves (1898) 103. Dev. Two young ladies being caught in a
thunderstorm near Ilfracombe, took refuge in a cottage, when the
good old dame said : ' Oh, yu tu dear pilgarlics ! Come in 'ouze
du an' drow yerzels,' Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). Slang. Pill or
Peele Garlick. Said orig. to mean one whose skin or hair had
fallen off from some disease, but now commonly used by persons
speaking of themselves: as, 'There stood poor pill garlick,' i.e.
there stood I, Lex. Balatronicum (181 1). [Amer. 'Pilgarlic,'
one's self. Farmer.]
PILL-GILL, sb. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also written pilgil
Wm. [pM-gil.] A raree-show or any kind of itinerant
or public entertainment.
Wm. Ivvery lile pilgil gits chittered aboot, Spec. Dial. (1880) pt.
ii. 29. w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781). Lan.l, ne.Lan.^
PILLIBEEN, sb. Irel. Also in forms phiUibeen,
phillipene. The lapwing, Vanellus vulgaris.
Ir. SWAINSON Birds (1885) 184. Ant. (S.A.B.) Tip. When I'm
in the bog, an' the phillibeens whistling round me, Kickham
KnocknagoWy 247.
[Ir. pilbin, a lapwing (Foley).]
PILLICK, PILLIE, PILLIE-WINKES, see Pill, s6.=,
Piliiiewink(s.
PILLIE-WINKIE, sb. Fif. (Jam.) Also in form pinkie-
winkie. A children's game ; see below.
' He's ay at pillie winkie wi' the gowdnie's eggs,' he is always
engaged in some mischief or other. An egg, an unfledged bird,
or a whole nest, is placed on a convenient spot. He, who has
what is called the first pill, retires a few paces, and being provided
with a 'cowt' or rung, is blindfolded or gives his promise to
wink hard (whence he is called Winkie), and moves forward in
the direction of the object, as he supposes, striking the ground
with the stick all the way. He must not shuffle the stick along
the ground, but alwaj's strike perpendicularly. If he touches the
nest without destroying it, or the egg without breaking it, he loses
his vice or turn. When one of the party breaks an egg, he is
entitled to all the rest.
PILLILEW, see Pillaloo.
PILLION, sb.^ Nhb. Cum. [pi'lisn.] In comp. (i)
Pillion-seat, a pillion or seat behind a rider on which a
woman can ride ; (2) -stone, a step placed at the door to
enable a rider to get on horseback.
(i) Cum. While some wi' pillion seats an' sonks, Gilpin Pop.
Poetry (1875) 100 ; (M.P.) ; Cum.i (2) Nhb.'
, PILLION, 56.2 Cor.2 [pilian.] The tin which remains
in the slag after the first smelting.
PILLIONS, sb. pi. Lth. (Jam.) Rags, tatters.
PILLIS, see Pellas.
PILLIVER, sb. Lakel. Yks. Lan. [pi'liva(r.] A
pillow-case, a pillow. Cf. pillow-bere.
Lakel. 2 An' a pilliver tuck't inta t'sma' ov his back. Cura.^ He
laid back on his pilliver, 26 ; Cum.* e.Yks. 5 pillivers of lininge,
^^sr Riir. Econ. ^I642) 172. n.Lan.*
[OY.. pylewer, ceruical (Napier).]
PILLIWINKS, see Pilniewink(s.
PILLONIAN, sb. Obs. or obsol. Sc. A kind of coarse
blue cloth.
Lnk. A pair o' new pillonian breeks o' his mither's making,
Graham Writings (1883) II. 207.
PILLOW, sb."- Shr. Ken. Sus. Som. Dev. [pi'la, -o.]
In comp. (i) Pillow-coat or -coot, (2) -drawer, (3) -tie, a
pillow-case.
(i) Shr.', Ken.i, Sus.^ (2) n.Dev. O' pillor-drawers a bundle,
Rock Jim an Nell (1867) st. 70. (3) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
PILLOW, s6.2 n.Sc. (Jam.) A tumultuous noise. Cf.
pillar, sb.^
PILLOW-BERE, sb. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Der.
Lin. Shr. e.An. Ken. Sus. Som. Cor. Amer. Also written
-bear(e e.Yks. Chs.^ n.Lin.' Som. Amer. ; -beer Der.^
Shr. Suf.' Ess.' e.Som. ; and in forms pellowe-bere
Cor.i^ ; pillaber N.I.' ; pillow-bar n.Yks.^ ; pillow-beard
s.Chs.' [pi'labi3(r.] 1. A pillow-case or slip. See Bere.
Sc. (Jam.), N.Cy.' n.Yks. A pair of sheetes and a pillow-bere,
worth 305., Quart. Sess. Rec. in N. R. Rec. Soc. (1884) I. 86.
e.Yks. A paire of pillow-beares seemed. Best Rur, Econ. (1642)
162. w.Yks. 2* Chs. Pillow-cases, still called pillow-beards,
Local Gleanings (Feb. 1880) VIII. 300; Chs.' In use until a
comparatively recent date. s.Chs.' Pil'ii-beeiard. Der.' Obs.
n.Lin.i Obs. Shr. N. & Q. (1867) 3rd S. xi. 190 ; Shr.' Now
[1876] very rarely heard. 'Eight paireof flaxen pillow beares, one
course Pillow beare,' Invent. Owlbury Manor-House (1625") (s.v.
Bere). Suf.', Ess.', Ken.', Sus.', Som. ( W.F.R.) e.Som. W.&J.
Gl. (1873). Cor. Glad to put ma head 'pon the pellowe-bere,
J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 59; Cor.'2 [Amer. Green
Virgiitia Flk-Sp. (1899).]
2. A pillow. N.I.' 3. A bed-bolster upon which the
pillows rest. n.Yks.^
[1. iij. fyne pelow beres, Paston Letters (1487) III. 464 ;
Pilwe beer, Chaucer C. T. a. 694.]
PILL-STICK, sb. Yks. [pi'l-stik.] A droll person.
Cf. pill-garlic.
w.Yks. Thah art a pill-stick, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Feb. 22, 1896) ;
Very common (J.W.).
PILLUCK, PILLUM, PILLUS, see Pill, sb.^, Pelm,
Pellas.
PILLY, sb. Sc. [pi'li.] A boys' game ; a cry used
in the game.
Frf. He knocked down houses, and there we were crying
' Pilly ! ' among the ruins, Barrie M. Ogilvy (1896) ii ; Mony-
penny was willing to let him join in . . . pilly, or whatever game
was in season, ib. Tommy (1896J 161.
PILLY, see Fill, sb.^
PILLY GROUND, pkr. Cor.^ A fishing term for
alternate stretches of sand and rocks covered with sea-
weed, under water.
PILLYSHEE, see Pullisee.
PILM, sb. and v. ? Lan. Won Pem. Gmg. Dor. Som.
Dev. Cor. Nfld. Also in forms pelham Som. ; pellum
Lan. Dev. ; pelm Dor. Nfld. ; pilam Dev.' ; pilamy Dev. ;
pilem s.Dev. ; pillam(y Dev. ; pillem Dor. Cor."^; pillum
Wor. w.Som.i Dev.^ nw.Dev.' Cor.^; pullem Dev.^ [pUm,
pelm, pilam.] 1. sb. Dust ; dry dust, fluff.
Lan. N. & Q. (1852) 1st S. vi. 279. Wor. (M.A.R.) Pem.,
Gmg. N. (y Q. ib. 152. Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863). Som. The
pill'm do vlee zo (W.F.R.); Young Annals Agric. (1784-
1815) XXX. 314 ; Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (18731. w.Som.' Piil-um. Dev. Pillums be mux
as cooms by drowth (G.E.D.); An a kik'd up tha pilamy an
made zich a stewer, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (1847) ist S. 37,
ed. 1858 ; Reports Provinc. (1897); Zom in the mlicks, and pellum
sprawlin, Peter Pindar Royal Visit (1795) pt. i. st. 3 ; Dev.'^s
n.Dev. What is pilm? Mux a drow'd, Horae Subsecivae (1777)
328 ; I be a'most a-choked wi' pilm, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867)
St. 27. nw.Dtv.' e.Dev. Go and see . . . the mark of the big
man's feet in the pilm, Blackmore Perlycross (1894) ix. s.Dev.
Fox Kingsbridge (1874). Cor. Morton Cycle. Agric. (1863) ; Th«
PILMER
[505]
PIMPERT
wind brings the pilme, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 436, ed.
1896; Cor.i2 [Nfld. Any light ashes, as those from burnt cotton,
cardboard, &c. (G.P.)]
Hence Pilmy, adj. dusty, full of dust.
■w.Som.i ' I'll make thy birches pillumy vor thee, nif I catch thee
again.' Very common. Dev. The passon seemed tired arter the
mornin sarvis auver to Hartland, an the jorney don the pillamy
rawds, n.Dev. Jrn. (Aug. 13, 1885) 3, col. i; Lock! lock! an
her mon 'ud gie yit hare, an mek hare bodice pilmee an I wert
'un ! Madox-Brown Dwale Bluth (1876) bk. i. i. 58 ; Dev.^ n.Dev.
Chell make thy boddize pilmee, E.xm. Scold. (1746) 1. 83.
2. V. To give out dust, as a carpet, &c. does when
beaten.
w.Som.i Dev. It pilmeth, N. tr Q. (1852) ist S. vi. 544.
[1. OCor. pilm, flying dust like flour (Williams).]
PILMER, sb. Dev. Cor. [pi'Im3(r).] A heavy shower
of rain. Dev. Grose (1790) ; (Hall.) Cor.^
P1LNIEWINK(S, sb. Obs. So. Also in forms pillie-
winkes, pilliwinks, pilliwinkies, pinnywinkles. An
instrument of torture of the nature of a thumbscrew.
Sc. They prick us and pine us, and they pit us on the pinny-
winkles for witches, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) xxiii; Her
daughter, about seven years old, put in the pilnie-winks, or
cairds, all in the woman's presence, to make her confess. Kirkton
Ch.Hist. (1817) 252 ; Torment her with the torture of the pilliewinkes
upon her fingers, which is a grievous torture, Pitcairn Crim.
Trials (1829) pt. ii. 215. Edb. There's a man foment her door,
and will be, till they gang tae her wi' the pilniewinks — puir lass,
Beatty Secretar (1897) 333. e.Lth. He crushed her fingers in an
instrument called the pilliewinkies or thumb-screws, Sands
Tranent (1881) 39. Dmf. It is customary for the nurse to amuse
the child by going through its different fingers . . . till she comes
to the little finger. This she denominates ' Pilniewinkie,' and . . .
gives it a severe squeeze, on which it is understood that the child
must cry out as if suffering acute pain (Jam.). Gall. The ' boots'
for the torture of the legs, and the pilniewinks for the bruising of
the thumbs, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xhi.
PILRAG, sb. Sus. [prlraeg.] A field that has been
ploughed up and neglected. Sus.''^ e.Sus. Holloway.
PILSHACH, sb. Sc. Also in form pilshock. [prljax,
piljak.] 1. A piece of thick, dirty cloth ; a dirty, ugly
piece of dress. Bnff.' 2. Fig. A low, coarse, dirty
fellow. Cf. pilch, sb.^
Abd. Common. ' You nasty pilshock ' (G.W.).
PILT, PILTH, FILTHER, see Pelt, sb.*, Pelf, Pilder.
PILTOCK, sb. Sc. Also in forms peltag Cai.' ; pil-
tack, piltick, piltik, pilt-tick Sh.I. [piltak.] 1. A
young coal-fish, Merlangus carbonarins, in its second year.
Sh.I. Get a cup o' tae efter der denner o' dow'd piltiks an'
tatties, Sh. News (Sept. 3, 1898) ; Many gray fishes, such as
sillocks, piltocks, &c., CowiE Sh. I. (1871) 81 ; About August they
become very abundant, measuring from 6 to 8 inches in length. . .
About the month of May ensuing they are found to have grown
from 8 to 15 inches, acquiring during this period of their growth
the name of Piltocks, Hibeert Desc. Sh.I. (1822) 25, ed. 1891;
Mine was an idle task for the pilt-ticks would not take, Clark
N. Gleams (1898) 31 ; (K.I.) ; S. & Ork.', Cai.i
2. Comp. (i) PHtock-eela, a fishing-ground for ' piltocks '
near the shore ; (2) -fly, a fly used in catching ' piltocks ' ;
(3) -wand, a fishing-rod for catching ' piltocks.'
Sh.I. (i) I wis only saxteen, an' never been farder dan da lempit
ebb an' da piltik eela, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 238 ; I've often
wished to be at the ' piltock ella,' as you call it, 5/;. News (June
25, 1898). (2) I set me afore da butt window ta busk a new
piltik flee, Sh. News (June 29, 1901). (,3) I gets baud o' da limb o' a
piltock waand dat wis stickin i' da ruif, Stewart Tales (1892)
257 ; Pittin' on a scaerd ipun a piltack waand. Burgess Sketches
(2nd ed.) 107.
3. Phr. to go to the piltocks, to fish for 'piltocks.'
Sh.I. I meets Sizzie hersel', ae nicht whin I wis gaein' t'da
pilticks, Stewart 7"afc(i892) 257.
PIMBLE, V. Hrt. [pi-mbl.] To eat squeamishly.
Don't pimbie your poodin' like that, Cussans Hist. Hti. (^1879-
81) III. 321.
PIME, V. n.Cy. Yks. Der. Also written pyme n.Cy.
[paim.] To peep ; to hide about looking for something
to pick up and steal.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.); (Hall.) w.Yks.^ To peep
and pime. Der.' Peepin' an' pimin' about.
VOL. IV.
PIMGENET, s6.' ? Obs. Sc. e.An. Dor. Also written
pimginet Sc. ; and in form pinginnet Dor. A small red
pimple; esp. one resulting from over-indulgence in spirits.
Sc. I clear the lass with wainscot-face, And from pim-ginets free,
Ramsay Tea- 7oA/cil/wc. (17241 53, ed. 1871. e.An.' Dor. Haynes
Vac. (c. 1730), in N. &= Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 45. [Nine pimgenets
make a pock royal. Old Saying (^Hali..).~\
[Is it not a manly exercise to stand licking his lips into
rubies, . . parching his pimginits, carbuncles ? Dunton
Ladies Diet. (1694) (Nares).]
PIMGENET, sb.^ Obs. e.An.' [Not known to our
correspondents.] A pomegranate, Punica Granatum. See
Jennet.
PIMKIN, sb. Shr.^ [pi-mkin.] A small earthen pan
used for boiling infants' food, &c. in ; a ' pipkin.' Cf.
pirapert.
Mind as that pimkin's clane afore yo' put the child's pap in.
PIMLICO, sb. Dev. Amer. Also in form primlico
Amer. In phr. in Pimlico {order, in good order.
Dev.i I daresay. Bet, you'll keep it as much in Pimlico as her
did, 58, ed. Palmer. [Amer. In pimlico order. Pimlico order,
Dial. Notes (1896) I. 79. J
PIMMOCK, sb. and v. Oxf Bdf Som. Dev. [pi'mak.]
1. sb. A person dainty or delicate in appetite.
Bdf. A poor pimmock. Takes more to keep a pimmock than a
glutton (J.W.B.).
Hence Pimmocky, adj. delicate, fanciful.
Oxf. She is a pimmocky little thing, never eats nothink (M.W.).
2. V. To be dainty and fanciful with regard to one's food.
Bdf. How dainty ye be, pimmocking (J.W.B.). Dev. iih.^
Hence Pimmocking, /i^/. adj. dainty.
Som. Often used of a child unable to eat the homely fare
provided (W.F.R.).
PIMP, sb> Oxf. Mid. Lon. Ken. Sur. Sus. [pimp.] A
small bundle of chopped wood, used for lighting fires.
Oxf. (A. L.M.) Mid. The spray made up into what they called
' pimps ' [yielded] several shillings into pocket, Foot Agric. (1794)
41. w.Mid. (W.P.M.) Lon. Lex. Balatronicum (1811). Ken.
What are pimps today? (D.W.L.) ; Ken.' Sur. The convenient
little fagots, locally called pimps, . . are unknown in the North,
made of small brushwood bound together with a green withe,
Maxwell Woodlands (1895) 247 ; Sur.', Sus.'
[Small light bavins which are used in taverns in London
to light their faggots, and are called in the taverns a Brush,
and by the wood-men Pimps, Defoe Tour, I. 138 (Dav.).]
PIMP, sb? Yks. Wil. [pimp.] A pimple.
w.Yks. T'tongue at diddant speik i praize ov all . . . desarves ta
hev a pimp on it az big az a bell button, Tom Treddlehoyle Fr.
Exhibition (c. J 856) 12. n. Wil. This here pimp's terrible terrifying
(E.H.G.).
PIMP, V. Yks. [pimp.] To indulge a squeamish
appetite. m.Yks.' Cf pimper. Hence (i) Pimping, ppl.
adj. squeamish with regard to food ; gen. in superl. m.Yks.';
(2) Pimpish, adj. dainty ; taking food in small quantities.
ne.Yks.'
PIMPELTING, adj War.^ [pimpltin.] Small, petty.
PIMPER, V. Yks. Der. [pi-mpa(r).] 1. To show
daintiness with regard to food ; to toy with one's food ;
to pick and choose. Cf pimp, v.
w.Yks. A sickly child pimpers at its food when it does not begin
to eat heartily ; a spoiled child pimpers at food it dislikes ; and I
suppose that an affected woman who should toy with what was
on her plate as a pretence of good breeding might properly be said
to pimper at it also, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. 9, 1897) ; I have
been nigh on three years planning and pimpering, Snowden Web of
Weaver (1896) i.
Hence (i) Pimpering, (a) ppl. adj. dainty, fastidious in
eating ; {b) vbl. sb. complaining ; squeamishness ; (2)
Pimpery, adj., (3) Pimpery-stomached, ppl. adj., see (i, a).
(i, a) w.Yks. Shoo is a pimpering eyter. See yo', shoo hardly
eyts owght, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. 9, 1897'). (6) w.Yks. Theer
were no pimperin abaht some'dy hevvin bitten on't, Yksman.
Comic Ann. (1876) 3. (2) m.Yks.' (3) A cow is pimpery-
stomached, ib.
2. To bring up children over-delicately; to over-indulge
them in the matter of food. nw.Der.'
PIMPERT, sb. Obsol. Shr.' A very small pan; an
' egg-saucepan.' Cf. pimkin, pomper, sb.
ST
PIMPEY
[506]
PIN
PIMPEY, sb. Cor. Also written pimpy Cor.* [pi'mpi.]
Weak cider made by adding water to the apple ' cheese.'
The after cider, made by throwingwater on the almost exhausted
cheese. . . It is sometimes called beverage, and is only fit for imme-
diate use, QuiLLER-CoucH Hist. Polperro (1871) Gl.; Cor.'^
PIMPING, ppl. adj. and sb. So. Yks. Lin. Nhp. War.
Shr. Glo. Sus. w.Cy. Dev. [pi'mpin.] 1. ppl. adj. Small,
paltry ; sickly ; mean ; often used pleonastically.
Lnk. Ramsay Gentle Shep. (Scenary ed.) Gl. w.Yks, Nah, this
statue, ta me, lookt pimpin an not aboon hauf t'size a wot he owt
to a been for t'spot he wor plaict in, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla
Ann. (1859) 44. Lin.i What a pimping piece for a peckish chap.
Nhp.i What a pimping little bonnet you've got on ! War.^ What
a pimping little basket this is. Glo.* Sus. A nine inch wall is not
so pimping as a four and a half one (J.L.A.). w.Cy. (Hall.)
n.Dev. Knawed the pimpin'st place, Rock Jim an' 7Ve//(i867)st.57.
2. sb. A small, delicate creature.
Shr.i The baby's but a little pimpin' fur a twel'month owd.
PIMPLE, sb. Shr. e.An. LW. Wil. Slang, [pi'mpl.]
1. The head.
e.An.i It must be a diminutive as well as a feeble head which is
denominated. Suf.i I. W.* He's got a rare pimple ; I.W.^ Han't
a got a pimple on 'en, you? Wil.i Used by children. Slang.
Sharp brains in my noble pimple, Racing Song, Baumann Londi-
nismen (1887) ; Lex. Balatronicum (1811).
2. A pebble.
Shr.i ' Whad bin 'ee trimplin' at ! ' ' Theer's a pimple i' my
boot, an' it's blistered my fut.'
PIMPLE-PAMPLES, sb. pi. s.Chs.* An imaginary
disease. Cf. Billy-go-nimbles, s.v. Billy, sb.^ 4 (3).
Stond baak, mis'is I ur)z got'n dhii pim-pl paam'plz, bil'igu-
nim'blz, tin pom'pitai'shn fl)dhu aa'rt [Stond back, missis ! her's
gotten the pimple-pamples, billy-go-nimbles, an' pompitation o' the
heart] (s.v. Billy-go-nimbles).
PIMPY, adj. Glo.* [pi'mpi.] Small, paltry, mean,
sickly. Cf. pimping.
PIMROSE, sb. Sc. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Shr. Hrf. Hmp.
LW. Wil. Dev. Also in forms pimerose Chs. ; pimme-
rose Chs.* Hrf.= ; pimniirose Shr.* ; pumrose Dmf. The
primrose. Primula vulgaris.
Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 384. w.Yks.2, e.Lan.', Chs. (B. & H.), Chs.i, Not.
(L.C.M.) Shr.iPimmiroses an' cowerslops. Hrf.^ Hmp. Dart-
NELL & GoDDARD Wds. (1893). I.W. 'Tis pleasant and heartsome
up under tree where the pimroses blows, Gray Annesley {i88g) I.
no. Wil.*, nw.Dev.*
PIN, s5.* and v.^ Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written pinn Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.*; and in form pen
Bnff.* fpin.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Pin-burr, the bed-
stra^v, Galium Aparine ; (2) -case or -cass, (3) -cod, a pin-
cushion ; (4) -curtle, a pinafore ; (5) -eyed, see below ; (6)
-mittens, woollen gloves knitted by men on pins, instead
of on the wires used by women ; (7) -pointing, too exact-
ing about trifles ; (8) -poppet, a small wooden case for
pins, made in two parts or halves, which screw together ;
(9) -pote, a teetotum, used in gambling for pins ; see
below; (10) -rush, the candle rush, Juncus effusus ; (11)
-set, of potatoes, beans, &c. put in with a pin ; (12) -todle,
(13) -toodle, see (3) ; (14) -tooth, an eye-tooth, a milk-
tooth ; (15) -well, a well into which pins are dropped as a
votive offering or to secure good luck, &c. ; (16) -wheel,
a St. Catherine wheel firework ; see below ; (17) -wing,
the pinion of a fowl.
(i) Bdf. Batchelor Agric. (1813') 325. (2) n.Cy. (Hall.)
w.Yks. (SP.U.); Leeds Merc. Siippl (Feb. 29, 1896); w.Yks.*,
nw.Der.i (3) n.Cy. (P.R.), N.Cy.l= Der.* Obs. (4) Dev. (Hall.)
(5) Chs.* Polyanthuses are said to be pin-eyed when the pistil,
which resembles a pin's head, is seen in the throat of the flower.
(6) Tev. (Jam., s.v, IMittens). (7) Cum."* (8) Lan. Others were
to sing ; those who could not must pay forfeits in the shape of
buttons, thimbles, 'pin-poppets,' Brierley Cast upon IVorld {jS86)
116. nw.Der.i (9) Lakel.^ A teetolly, used about Kirsmas time
ta gammle for pins. The four sides are marked respectively
T, N, P, S, and these as they fall upwards after being spun
mean : T, tak yan away ; N fer nicklety nowt ; P, put yan doon ;
S, sweepen n' away. w.Yks. (R.H.K.) (10) Nrf. A scant crop
of pin-rush and chate, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 72. (11) s.Wor.
(H.K.) (12) Slk. Gae nought but a lang pin-todle, Hogg Tales
(1838) 318, ed. 1866. (13) Oxf.i MS. add. (14) e.Yk.s.'^MS. add.
(T.H.) n.Lin. My word, th' pup's pin-teeth is sharp (M.P.).
sw.Lin.* He's just getting his pinteeth. She's about her pinteeth ;
she's gotten one nearly thruff. (15) N.I.* A well in the demesne
of Red Hall, near Carrickfergus, is so-called. Nht. Hester's been
paying a visit to the pin-well when she was over at Wooler. . .
The mystic well ... is one of those supposed to be endowed with
the power of granting the desires of such persons as approach them
in a believing mood. These persons must, while fervently wishing
for some boon, drop a crooked pin into the water, to propitiate the
genius of the fountain, Lilburn Borderer (1896) 173; Near to
Wooler, there is a spring of water locally known as Pin Well.
The country maids in passing this spring, drop a crooked pin into
the water. . . The superstition consists in a belief that the well
is under the charge of a fairy, and that it is necessary to propitiate
the little lady by a present of some sort; hence the pin as most
convenient, N. &^ Q. (1852) 1st S. vi. 28 ; Nhb.* A curious custom
was long observed in connection with a well at the foot of Horse-
dean, near Wooler. On May-day a procession was formed, and
marched from the town (Wooler) to this spot, where a halt was
called, and each of the processionists dropped a crooked pin into
it, at the same time 'wishing a wish.' Though the formal pro-
cession on May-day morning is no longer acted, the custom is still
kept up by young people. Hall Guide to Glendale (1887) 9. Wm.
In Westmoreland there is a Pin Well into the waters of which
rich and poor drop a pin in passing, N. 6f Q. ib. Lan. There is a
well at Sefton, where it is customary for passers-by to drop in a
new pin ' for good luck ' or to secure the favourable issue of an
expressed wish, ib. (1878) 5th S. x. 96. Mon. Near Chepstow is
the Pin Well, still in some repute for its healing powers. In
' good old times ' those who would test the virtues of its waters
said an Ave, and dropped a pin into its depths, ib. 8. Sus. ib. 96.
(16) w.Yks. ' Catharine-wheels,' which have a pin stuck through
them into the end of a stick before they are let off (H.L.); (S.K.C.);
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1896). (17) e.An.i
2. Phr. (i) pin a dip, a children's game ; see below ; (2)
— of the throat, the uvula ; (3) to keep in the pin, to keep
from drinking ; (4) to let loose a pin, to have an outburst ;
(5) to put in the pin, to give up drinking; (6) to put to the
pin of the collar, to work hard, do one's utmost ; (7, a) pins
attd needles, the creeping feather-moss, Hypnum serpens ;
(b) the fir-tree, Pinus sylvestris; (8) — and needle tree, see
(7, b) ; (9) for small pins, for next to nothing, for a very
small sum or price ; (10) in pins, (11) in pins and needles,
(12) on needles and pins, in a condition of great anxiety or
suspense.
(i) Oxf. A pin is placed haphazard between the leaves of a book,
in which small pictures have been placed. If a picture should be
found in the place dipped into, it belongs to the dipper ; if not, the
pin goes to the owner of the book (G.O.). (2) e.An.* %^3S.. e.An.
Dy. Times (1892) ; Suf.* Used when describing a relaxed state of
the uvula. ' The pin of the throat is down.' (3) Per. He had
religiously abstained from drinking during the twelvemonths he
had himself determined to keep in the pin, Monteath Dunblane
(1835) 89, ed. 1887. (4) Lnk. The Deil that e'en was ettlin' to let
loose a pin, DeiVs Hallowe'en (1856) 14. (5) Sc. I will put in the
pin, I will — I never will get fu' again, Edwards Mod. Poets, 13th
S. 252. Per. 'Mang his thousand whims an' tricks, The Doctor
' put the pin in.' — The better day the better deed : — 'Twas Sab-
bath, Stewart Character (1857) 192 ; He resolved to put in the
pin for a twelvemonth, Monteath Dunblane (iSss) 88, ed. 1887.
(6) Ir. Bekase I was put t'the pin o' me collar to see un' do th'
best I cud for meself an th' ould mother, Blackburne Stories, 11.
Myo. What wid dhrainin' and plantin' and fencin' ... it had put
me to the pin iv me collar to find the money, Stoker Snake's Pass
(1891) iii. (7, a) Shr.' The little stalks or 'seta,' of this
pretty moss, bear upon their summits the spore-cases or capsules
—these are the pin's heads, (i) Wa-.^ (8) w.Yks. Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1897). (9) Dev. And thoflf zo handzom, vor small
pins. One now and then raert buy their skins — How wonderzomly
cheap! Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) IV. 17a. (10) w.Yks. A. he
wor i' pins to get to knaw who 'twor 'at hed been walkin' their
Rachel Ann aht. My word, but Ah'U tell tha Ah wor i' pins whol
Ah gate to knaw 'at ahr Jack worn't one o' t'sowdiers 'at hed
getten killed at Johannesburg, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1896).
Lan. He fair in pins to have a bit ov a do. Wood Hum. Sketches,
8. (11) w.Yks. T'eventful neet arrived. Sal an' Ah stood afore
t'show i' t'surging craad i' pins an' needles for t'oppening, Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Aug. 12, 1893). (12) Sc. (A.W.)
PIN
[507]
PIN
3. Fig. A small, neat person or animal ; a person of
small stature. Bnff.^, Cld. (Jam.) 4. The latch or handle
of a door.
Elg. Your fingers numb Will hardly turn the pin, Cooper Poetry
(1804) I. 232. Abd. Tho' by the fore-door locket in, The back had
neither bar nor pin, Cock 5^>-a«'MS (1810) I. 124. Per. With her
fingers lang and sma' She lifted up the pin, Sharpe Ballad Bk.
(1823) 5, ed. 1868. Ayr. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 15.
Lnk. The door she sneckit— made fast the pin, Coghill Poems
(1890) 74. Edb. Tirling ay saft at the pin, Beg in sweet tone to
let them in, Macheiia. Bygane Times (181 1) ig. Gall. It was you
that used to let him in when he cam' tirlin' at the pin, Crockett
Raiders (1894) xxxiii. Nhb. She tirled softly at the pin, Richard-
son Sorrfscfrs Table-bk. (1846) VII. 26.
5. An iron or wooden peg.
Fif. Tennant Papistry (1827) 39. Ayr. Heelshod and taeshod
and tacket and pin, Shaemaker, shaemaker, shoo mashoon, Aitken
Lays (1883) 118. Edb. We plann'd wi' pins, wi' rod an' line, Five
feet flower borders, Forbes Pofws (1812) 90. w.Yks. (S.K.C.),
se.Wor.i w.Som.i Roofs are often covered (or rather were) with
small slates, which instead of nails have small wooden pegs called
pins, driven firmly into a hole in the slate (s.v. Pin-pointing).
Hence (i) Pin-leg, sb. a wooden leg ; (2) -plastering or
-pointing, prp., see below.
(i) Rnf. A man with a pin leg or wanting an arm, Wallace
Schoolmaster (1899) 151. Wgt. An old soldier with a pin-leg,
Fraser Wigtown (1877) 307. (2) w.Som.i Roofs are often
covered (or rather were) with small slates, which instead
of nails have small wooden pegs, called pins, driven firmly
into a hole in the slate. These pins are allowed to project
only on the under side, and resting upon the lath, prevents
the slate from slipping down. In order to keep them in their
places, and also to prevent the wind from disturbing the small
slates, the row of pins along each lath is buried in a rim of mortar,
which sets around them and keeps them firm. This final operation
is called ' pin pointing' or 'pin-plastering.'
6. A violin or fiddle peg.
Sh.I. Dan he set him doon, and screwed his pins. Burgess
Sketches {2nd ed.) 113. Frf. Screw weei your pins an' banish hums,
MoRisoN Poems (1790) 23. Per. In flinders flee, like fiddle pins,
SpENCEPo^ms (1898) 191. V,Tik.. DeiFs Hallowe'en {i&=,6)2J. Lth.
The fiddlers than began to screw Their fiddle-pins in order, Bruce
Poems (1813) II. 66. Edb. Forbes Poems (1812) 76.
I. pi. Weaving term: the bobbins of weft. Chs.' SeeFirn,
sh.^ Hence Pin-wheel, sb. a wheel used for winding the
bobbins or 'pins' of weft. ib. 8. The peg inside a cider-
cup ; see below.
Hrf.2 Cider cups with pins or pegs inside . . . gave rise to several
expressions. A quiet person who took less than his share [of cider]
would be described as ' a man who will let you go under the pin.'
9. Humour, temper, mood, esp. in phr. a merry pin.
Sc. Be upon a merry pin, At night we shall hae a fou skin. And
merry grow, Pennecuik Coll. (1787) 11. Abd. I'd fain pit ye in
a merry pin Afore I leave you freely, Walker Bards Bon-Accord
(1887) 313. Per. Bless you when you're sorrowful, Or in a merry
pin, Stewart Character (1857) 160. Fif. Tennant Pa/Zs^^jv (1827)
177. Edb. Neither of us was in a merry enow pin, Beatty Secreiar
(1897) 386. Nhb. A jug o' Geordy's maut an' hop Suin put us iv
a merry pin, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 52; Nhb.', s.Wor.i
[Ray Prov. (1678) 265.]
10. A point, summit, peak.
Sc. He lighted at the ladye's yate And sat him on a pin, Scott
Minstrelsy (1802) III. 154, ed. 1848. Fif. The sun was cockin' now
upon The vera pin o' mid-day's cone, Tennant Papistry (1827)
184. Ir. Those twelve towering Connemarese peaks, which in
Saxon speech have dwindled into Pins, Barlow Idylls (1892) i.
II. The hip, hip-bone ; the projecting bone of the hip.
Also in comp. Pin-bone.
Ayr. Your pin would help to mend a mill In time o' need, Burns
Haggis, St. ^. N.I.' The pointed bone above a horse's flank. Shr.^
Obsol. 'The rheumatic's bad enough anyw'eer, but it's wust i' the
pin-bwun o' the 'ip, fur yo' can carry a bad arm, but a bad leg
66nna carry yo'. GIo.' 'Wil.i A cow with hips above its back
is said to be 'high in the pins.' Dor. (C.V.G.); (C.W.) Som.
(W.F.R.) e.Sora. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i Pee-n-boa-un.
Dev.' ; Dev.^ I be cruel bad til-day, I've agot the boneshave in my
pinbone. nw.Dev.i, Cor.'^
Hence (1) Pin-shut or -sleft, sb. an injury to the hip-
joint of a horse ; also used attrib. ; (2) -tail, sb. a person
who is very small and narrow in the hips ; also used
attrib. ; (3) -tailed, ppl. adj. slender, slim.
(i) w.Som.i Often produced by the animal rushing through a
doorway, and getting thereby a violent blow on the projecting
bone. (2) Cor. A pin-tail built lass like you be, Phillpotts Lying
Prophets (1897) 271 ; Cor.^ (3) Dev. You'm no gude to 'em — a
poor pin-tailed wench like you, Phillpotts Sons of Morning
(1900) 105.
12. A leg. In gen. slang use.
Mry. Weel made, and weel set on their pins, Kav Lintic (1851)
13. Abd. Ogg Willie Waly (1873) 151. Ayr. Service Dr. Duguid
(ed. 1887) 180. Lnk. Will some day set ye on your pins, Or I'm
faur wrang, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 55. Lth. Lumsden Sheep-
head (1892) 305. Dmf. Wi' their bleecht faces, an' their stuntit
pins, Paton Castlebraes (1898) 284. w.Ir. Scramblin' up on his
pins agin, as well as he could. Lover Leg. (1848) I. 198. n. Cy.
(J.W.) w.Yks.2 Knocked off his pins. e.Lan.i Midi. Kicks him
roight offhis pins, Bavltrak People of Clopton (1897) 140. nw.Der.i
Mid. To see an old man show more pluck than a young one, . . set
me on my pins again, Blackmore Kit (1890) II. xiv. Dor. 'A's
getting wambling on his pins ... as aged folks do. Hardy Tower
(ed. 1890) xvi. Cor. Ganger Hocken hain't extra spry 'pon his
pins, ' Q.' Three Ships (ed. 1892) 23. Slang. Who ventures this
road need be firm on his pins, Barham Ingoldsby (ed. 1864) Lord
of Thoulouse.
13. Anything used for closing or filling up, or for joining
or connecting.
Sc. Pinn-stanes for filling up walls (Jam.). Bnff.iAsmall stone
used to fill a crevice in a wall.
14. The middle place for a horse in a team of three.
n.Yks. (W.H.) ne.Yks.i We'll put him i' t'pin. s.Chs.i Dhaaf
yungg OS mun)ii bi put ndo'weeur els bur i)th pin". Shr.* Yo'd'n
better put that cowt i' the pin a bit. -w.Som.i Ah'U warn un to go
avore or in the pin, but he idn no sharper [shafler].
Hence (i) Pin-horse, (2) Pinner, sb. the middle horse
in a team of three.
(i) n.Yks. (W.H.), s.Chs.l, n.Lin.l, Shr.', e./n.' Nrf. Arch.
(1879) 'VIII. 172. Ken.i w.Som.i They are the vore'oss [leader],
pin-'oss, and sharper [wheeler]. (2) Shr.i
15. V. To attach, join, connect ; to fasten. Also with on.
Sc. (Jam.) -w.Yks. To fasten on with wire the scales, &c. of a
pocket-knife (C.V.C.). n.Lin.' Pin that yate.
16. Fig. To hold, clench ; to convince, overcome in
argument.
n.Lin.' He began to lee soS I pinn'd him by tellin' him I was
theare. w.Som.' I knowd he was a slippery sort of a customer, zo
I pun un there and then. To pin the bargain.
17. To Stop or fill up a small hole or crevice in masonry
by driving something in.
Sc. (Jam. ) Bnff.i The dyke's biggit, bit it's nae pinnt yet. Cai.^
Gall. He didna batter, line, and pin. To please the e'e, Mac-
taggart Encycl. (1824) 191, ed. 1876,
Hence Pinning, sb. (i) anything used to close or fill up
crevices ; (2) the low masonry which supports a frame of
stud-work.
(i) Fif. They are found in var. shapes and sizes, from that of
the smallest pinnings to the most solid binding masses employed
in building, Statist. Ace. W. 438 (Jam.). (2) e.An.i
18. To fill. BnfF.i He pinnt's pouches wee apples.
Hence Pinnan, sb. a surfeit.
Bnff.i The pinnan o' bread an' cheese an' ale it he took wiz
something by the bye.
19. To seize, grasp ; to steal, pilfer, thieve.
Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.i Rnf. The Laird, arm'd wi' the law, . . For
his rent-dues pin'd her a', Young Pictures (1865) 156. I.'W.^
Zomebody's ben down in orchard pinning the apples.
PIN, sb.'^ Lon. Ess. Ken. [pin.] A four-and-a-half-
gallon cask.
Lon. Where he gets two ' pins,' or small casks of beer, Mayhew
Land. Labour (ed. 1861) II. 94. Ess. Beers now supplied in 4J
gallon casks (Pins). Pins to be obtained solely through agents,
Walthamstow and Leyton Guardian (Dec. 1889). Ken. (W.W.S.)
\N. •St' Q. (1894) 8th S. vi. 7, 76, 117, 174.]
PIN, sb.^ Chs.^ A small enclosure made with hurdles,
a pen.
PIN, v.^ and sb.* Sc. Also written pinn Sc. (Jam.)
[pin.] 1. V. To strike from a distance by throwing or
by firearms ; to break by throwing a stone, so as to make
a small hole.
3x2
PIN
[508]
PINCH
Sc. Who taught me to pin a losen [to break a window], to head
a bicker, and hold the bannets? Scott Tferf^. (1824) Lett. i. Bnff.'
We set up a bottle on the dyke an' a pinnt it at the first lick.
Frf. Ae shot o' Shot o' Sampson wad hae pinn'd you, Sands
Poems ( 1833) 86. Cld. He pinnt it the first shot (Jam.). Lth. {ib.)
2. To beat severely ; to drub. Also with up.
Cal.i, Bnff.i Cld. I'll pinn ye for that yet (Jam.).
Hence Pinnan or Pinning, sb. a drubbing, beating.
Bnff.i Rnf. She gave me no pinnings — she only groaned, and
then wept, and that groan, and that weeping was the sorest
thrashing I have ever received yet, Fraser Chimes (1853) 10.
3. sb. A sharp stroke or blow, esp. of an object thrown
or sent from a distance. BnfF.', Cld. (Jam.) 4. A severe
beating. Bnflf.^
PIN, v.^ Wor. Brks. [pin.] With up : to clear up ;
to end off; to finish off.
s.Wor. This snow will pin up the weather (H.K.). Brks. They
pinned up the feast the last day (E.G.H.).
PIN, v.* Cum. Yks. To give pain, to torture.
Cum.* 'Man! it did pin me sair' — said to a doctor. w.Yks.
(J-W.)
PIN, prep. Dev. A dial, form of ' upon.'
Tha pigs pin tap tha ducks eggs zot, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett.
(1847) 61, ed. 1865 ; Ef et val intu a pit pin tha' zabbith, Baird
S.Matt. (1863) xii. 11.
PIN, PIN-A-SHOW, see Pen, sb}, Pind, i;., Pinnyshow.
PIN-ASIGHT, sb. Yks. Oxf. Also in form pinaseed
w.Yks. A child's peep-show; see below. Cfpinnyshow.
w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; w.Yks.s Similar to a
'pinnyshow' (q.v.), only that (there being no box) the pictures
or ornaments are pasted on glass, and this being let into a bacli-
frame of wood, the whole is covered with paper, which is cut at
the top, bottom, and on one side, at equal distances from the
centre, in front, over the glass part, where the pictures, &c., are;
thus opening hke a door, and showing what is to be seen. Oxf.l
A child's peep-show, made of the petals of flowers pasted on glass
and covered with paper.
PINASTER, sb. ? Obs. Nrf A variety of the Scotch
fir, Pinus sylvesiris.
The larch, the chestnut, and the pinaster, Marshall Review
(1811) III. 325.
PIN-BASKET, sb. Nhp.i e.An.^ Suf.^ The youngest
child in a family.
PINBEFORE, s6. Lei.i [prnbifoa(r).] A pinafore.
PINC, see Fink, sb."^
PINCE, s6. Som. [pins.] A pair of pincers.
Give me the pince (W. F.R.).
PINCENS, see Pinsons.
PINCER, v} Yks. Lan. [pi-ns3(r).] To torment,
harass ; to oppress, grind down, squeeze.
w.Yks. What Moses said abaht pincerin' t'poar, Yksman. (1877)
71 ; Awobadli pinsad wi Sem negnealz (J.W.). Lan. Awshould
be soory for anybody ut were pincert wi' two [wives] at once't,
Erierley Irkdale (1868) xii; Lan.i
PINCER, v.^ Yks. Lan. [pi-ns3(r).] To turn the toes
in when walking. e.Lan.' Hence Pincer-toed, ppl. adj.
walking with the toes turned in.
e.Yks. (W.W.S.) w.Yks. Yond chap walks pincer-toed (^.B.) ;
w.Yks.5
PINCER-BOB, sb. Hmp. The male stag-beetle. See
Pincher-bob, s.v. Pincher, sb} 3 (i).
It's only t'toms as is pincer-bobs, N. & Q. (1897) 8th S. xi. 229.
PINCH, sb} and v} Sc. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Stf. Hrf. Som.
Also in form pincher n.Yks. [pinj.] 1. sb. An iron
crowbar or lever. Also in comp. Pinch-bar.
Sc. ' Pinches or forehammers will never pick upon 't,' said . . .
the blacksmith, Scott Blk. Dwarf (1816) ix. Cai.^ Fif. Some
ran to pinches and to picks, Tennant Papistry (1827) 53. Nhb.'
Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. v 1888). n.Yks. Raise t'steeans
wiv a pincher (I.W.). Hrf.^ [Reports Mines.']
2. V. To work with a lever or crowbar, to prize or lift
up with a lever or crowbar.
Nhb.i Pinch the styen off the cairt. s.Stf. Gie me the bar, I'll
pinch it forrata bit while yo' restin, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
w.Som.i To prize or raise up with a lever point, having the
fulcrum to bear down upon. To raise with a lever by using the
point as the fulcrum, is ' to heave.' 'Take and pinch'n up, j'ou
can't heave'm like that— you've a-got'n to dead by half.'
PINCH, s6.2 and w.^ n.Cy. Yks. [pinJ.] 1. sb. A
game which consists in pitching halfpennies at a mark ;
see below.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865); w.Yks.'
The game of pitch-halfpenny or pitch and hustle. It is played
by two or more antagonists, who pitch or cast a halfpenny each,
at a mark, which in Craven is called a motto, placed at a certain
distance from what is called the bye. The owner of the half-
penny, which falls nearest the motto, claims the privilege to
hustle first. The next nearest halfpenny entitles its owner to
the second claim, and so on in rotation. When they hustle, all
the half-pence that are pitched at the mark are thrown into a hat
held by the player, who claims the first chance. After shaking
them together, he hits the crown of the hat a smart blow with his
fist, which causes them to jerk out, and as many as lie with the
impression of the head upwards belong to him. The remainder
is then put into the hat a second time, and the second claimant
performs the same kind of operation, and so on in succession, till
all the halfpence fall with the heads upwards, gen. called a man,
as the opposite side is called a woman. If it so happen, that after
all of them have hustled there remain some of the half-pence, that
have not fallen with the heads uppermost, the first player then
hustles again, and the others in succession, until they do come so;
w.Yks.'' Some colliers were lately fined £i each and costs for
playing at pinch on Sunday ; w.Yks." ; w.Yks.s (s.v. Mot).
2. V. Vhr. pinch and hustle, tha game. oV-pmch.' w.Yks.^
(s.v. Mot).
PINCH, 56.3 Som. [pinJ.] A stool. (W.F.R.)
PINCH, v.^ and sb.* Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [pinJ.] 1. V. In comp. (i) Pinch-belly, one who
starves others ; a penurious person ; (2) -buck, the stag-
beetle ; (3) -fart or -vart, (4) -gut, (5) -pot, a miser,
niggard ; a stingy, penurious person ; (6) -weed, the
spotted persicaria, Polygonum Persicaria ; see below.
(i) n.Yks. (T.S.) s.Cy. Robinson Whitby Gl. (1876) (s.v. Nip-
kite). (2) Hmp. Wise TVfzi/ Fores/ (1883) 280. (3) I.W.' w.Som.i
A proper old pinchfart ! why I'll war'n un he'd skin a vlint vor
ha'penny. Dev.' n.Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 329 ; It a vore
oil th'art an abomination pinchvart vor thy own eends, Exm.
5coW. (1746)1. III. nw.Dev.l (4) N.Cy.i, Nhb.', Cum.i* e.Yks.i
A miserly person who stints his servants in food. n.Lin.' (5)
Nhb.' (6) Nhp., Oxf. There is a flower . . . which is said to have
been stigmatised by the Virgin, and condemned to a life of
inutility. She used to employ it for the manufacture of an oint-
ment, but on one occasion ' She could not find it in time of need. And
so she pinched it for a weed.' . . Every leaf has a dark spot in the
centre, just as though it had been pinched, on which account
it goes by the name of ' pinch-weed,' Academy (Aug. 11, 1883) 92,
in (B. & H.).
2. To save, economize ; to stint, starve ; to be miserly
or niggardly.
Rnf. [They] basely the corn-law assails For pinching their back
and their stomach, M''Gilvray Poems (ed. 1862) 52. Lnk. Wi'
belly aft pinched, and wi' back nearly bare, Rodger Poem's
(1838) loi, ed. 1897. Edb. To pinch a hireling o' his wages,
Liddle Poems (1821) 162. Dmf. He had been rather pinch'd at
hame. From causes that I need not name, Shennan Tales (1831) 9.
Gall. I ay hae gotten raair or less, Tho' aften times wi' pinchin',
Lauderdale Poems (1796) 76. Cum." wm. Theybeant a being
terble pinch't an starv't. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 38. w.Yks.
There wor no use us bein pinchin' an' scranny, Cudworth Dial.
Sketches (1884) 7. Nhp.i, s.Wor. (H.K.) Oxf.' I shall 'ave to
pinch, for my usbun a lost three days this wik, MS. add. Brks.'
' Pinch and screw,' to try to avoid expenditure by extreme care-
fulness and even meanness. Dor. 'Well, my lady,' he observed,
' in dry weather we might drive in there by inching and pinching,
and so get across by Five-and-Twenty Acres,' Hardy Tower
(ed. 1890) i.
3. To fall short of; to be insufficient ; to drive to diffi-
culties, to distress ; to puzzle, put to the pinch.
Edb. What to say hersell, she said, It did completely pinch her,
YoK^zs Poems (i8ia) 32. Cum. I'se pinch'd to ken my thoum,
Gilpin Sngs. (1866) 153 ; T'rwoad was pinch't to be wide eneuf
for us, Richardson Talk (1876) 2nd S. 6 ; Cum.' He'll be pinch't
to get it done ; Cum.* Wm. ' Hoo far ist ta Appleby— three mile ? '
' Nay, it'll be pincht o' three ' (B.K.).
4. To steal, pilfer.
Lan. When asked how he had obtained it he replied, ' I pinched
it,' Manch. Guardian (Dec. 3, 1896). Lei.' Shay oon'y joost
PINCHED
[509]
PINDER
pinched a bit o' cool from the bank. War.'' Common ; War.^ You
had better put it in the road and let somebody pinch it. Glo.^,
Oxf. (G.O.)
5. To arrest, take into custody.
■w.Yks. He'll get pinched sure enough, an' then it'll be seven
days (H.L.). Lon. He got acquitted for that there note after he
had me 'pinched,' Mayhew. Z-owrf. Labour (1851) HI. 387, ed.
1861 ; 'E takes 'em back, an' 'e sez, sez 'e, ' Don't pinch me this
time.' . . I woz too many for j'er, and got the pleasman ter pinch
yer, AUrincham and Bowdon Guardian (Aug. 29, 1896). Caat.
I 'adn't been there a fortnight before I got rumbled and pinched,
Carew Auiob. Gipsy (1891) xxxv.
6. sb. In phr. pinch and drojith, hunger and thirst.
So. Nae mair wi' pinch and drouth we'll pine, Jacobite Sng.
(Mackay).
7. The smallest possible portion.
Abd. It's a gurly nicht ; no a pinch o' licht, Macdonald Warlock
(1882) XX.
8. A difficulty, anything severe or pressing ; a crisis.
Sc. Whilk will make it nae pinch to win harae, ^coit Midlothian
(1818) xxxix. Ayr. Wi' pinch I put a Sunday's face on, BoRNS
Ans. to Epistle, st. 7. Suf."- Hmp.' It has come to the pinch now.
9. A short, steep hill.
Ir., Ker. (A.S.-P.) Dor. The figure of Shepherd Robbins
shambling slowly down the steep ' pinch ' of road that led to the
farm gate, Longman's Mag. (Nov. 1898) 51.
10. A miser, a very parsimonious person. e.An.^
Hence Pinchy, adj. miserly, stingy, parsimonious.
Nhb.i They war that pinchy they hardly hed eneuf to eat (s.v.
Pinch- gut).
PINCHED, pp. Yks. [pinjt.] Woollen-trade term :
see below.
w.Yks. When the warp -threads break, and are not taken up
and pieced in their proper order, the warp becomes meshed or
entangled, and is said to be ' pinch'd ' (WT.) ; The state of a
weaver's warp brought about by an ignorant or careless weaver
tying the broken threads out of their places, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Nov. 5, 1884) 8.
FINCHEM, sb. Bdf. [pi-njsm.] The blue titmouse,
Pants caeruleus. Cf. pincher, sh.^
A Tomtit, whose note resembles this name, Batchelor Anal.
Eng. Lang. (1809) 140 ; Swajnson Birds (1885) 34.
PINCHER, sb.^ Sc. Yks. Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War. Oxf.
Brks. Sur. Hmp. LW. Also written pinsher n.Yks.
[pi'nj3(r.] 1. pi. Pincers, tweezers.
Sh.I. Da faider hed ta poo da nail wi' his pinchers, Sh. News
(Feb. 3, 1900'). Abd. (G.W.) SIg. John ance an independant
laird. He's glad to wield the pinchers. For standin' good for
Willie Baird, He whistles through the stenchers, In jail this day,
Galloway Poems (1792) 52. n.Yks. Find me my pinshers,
LiNSKiLL Haven under Hill (1886) Ixii. Not.', Lin. (J.T.F.), Lei.',
Nhp.», War.^, Oxf.i MS. add., Brks.'
2. pi. The tails of an earwig. Brks.^ 3. Comp. (l)
Pincher -bob, the male stag-beetle ; see Plncer-bob ; (2)
■wig, the earwig.
(i) Sur. (E.L.), Hmp.i, e.Hmp. (W.M.E.F.) (2) I.W.i ; LW.a
There's dree or vour girt pincherwigs in my dinner bag.
PINCHER, sb.^ Nhp. [pi-n;3(r).] The note of the
titmouse in winter and early sprmg ; the titmouse, Parus
major.
Nhp.^The frost isnot gone yet, for the Black-cap cries 'pincher'
still. [The Titmouse foretells cold, by crying Pincher, Swainson
Weather Flk-Lore (1873) ^47']
PINCHER, see Pinch, sb}
PINCHERY, sb. Cum. Yks. [pi-njari.] Extreme
carefulness almost approaching niggardliness ; poverty ;
a state of want or deficiency.
Cum. If we hedn't experienced a fine spring theear wad been a
bitopincheryamang iciA&&x,YK9CB.K\.\.Market-dayCrack; (E.W.P.) ;
Meks up for pinchry lang seyne, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1805)
ijg. n.Yks,'^ They wur living i' parlous pinchery, for a' he 'ad
brass i's kist ; n.Yks.^ ' Fetch'd up wi' pinchery,' brought up in
poverty ; n.Yks.*, ne.yks.l
PIN.CLOTH, sb. Yks. Lei. Nhp. Hnt. Wil. Som. Also
in form pin-clout Lei.^ A pinafore.
nw.Yks. Hist. William (1821) 157. Lei.i, Nhp.', Hnt. (T.P.F.),
Wil. (K.M.G.), Som. (Hall.)
PIN-CLOUT, see Pinclotb.
PINCUSHION, sb. Not. War. Hrf. Glo. Oxf. Bck.
e.An. Wil. Dev. [pi'nkujin.] 1. The field scabious,
Scabiosa arvensis. Not., Cmb., Nrf, n.Ess., Wil.' 2. The
sweet scabious, S. atropurpurea. n.Bck., e.An., Dev.'*
8. The guelder rose, Viburnum Opulus ; also in comb.
Pincushion tree. War.^, Hrf., Oxf., n.Bck. 4. The
fruit of the spindle-tree, Euonymus europaeus. War.^,
Glo.' Hence Pincushion-shrub, sb. the spindle-tree,
Euonymus europaeus. s.Bck. 5. The thrift, Armeria
maritima. Dev."* 6. The yellow corydalis, Corydalis
lutea. ib. 7. The kidney-vetch, Anthyllis vulneraria.
Wil.' 8. ? The corn-cockle, Z-jkc/jm/s GzV/^a^o.
Suf. Science Gossip (1882) 214. [Armeria is probably meant
(B. &. H.).]
9. The head of the large thistle. War.^ 10. The
growth uponthebriarorwildrose. s.Not. (J.P.K.) [(A.B.C.)]
PIND, V. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Lin.
Rut. Nhp. Hnt. e.An. Also in forms pin n.Yks. Chs.'^
s.Not; pinne, pyn Midi, [pind, paind.] 1. To put in
the pound, to impound stray catt'e. Cf poind, v.
Hdg. Patrik Thomsone had done him wrong yt day in pinding
his hors, being onlie grazing on ye stubble, Ritchie 5/. Baldred
(1883) 152. Rxb. If in my yard again I find them. By IWahomet,
I swear I'll pind them, Ruickbie Wayside Cottager (1887) iia.
N.Cy.i, Nhb.i Dur. Raine Charters, &c. Finchale (1837) 120; (K.)
n.Yks. (T.S.), n.Yks.2 e.Yks.' w.Yks. Banks Wkjld. Wds. (1865).
Chis.'^ s.Not The pinder ; 'im as pins things as gets out (J.P.K.).
n.Lin.'
Hence (i) Pinder or Piiiner, sb. the official in charge of
the pound or 'pin-fold ' (q.v.) ; (2) Pin-lock, sb. the money
given to the person who locks and unlocks the pound-gate.
(i) n.Yks. (T.S.\ n.Yks.', ne.Yks.' e.Yks. When the pinder
had come, they would have given him victualls, and hee would
have been well pleased. Best Rur. Econ. (1642) loi ; e.Yks.'
w.Yks. T'Wibsey pinder man mun avoid catchin' mules bit' tail,
Tom Tredplehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (June 2, 1850) ; w.Yks.^^*,
e.Lan.i,Chs.'3 Not. (L. CM.); Primarily the office of the 'pinder'
was to pound all stray cattle, but in time other duties became
attached to it. . . The 'pinder' ^««. accompanies all boundary
perambulations. A'. & Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 176; Not.',. s.Not.
(J.P.K.). Lin. There no pinder's son Is seen to wile in quest
of aught that stray. Brown izV. Laur. (1890) 5. n.Lin.', sw.Lin.',
Rut.' Nhp. While pinders . . . Drive his rambling cows to pound,
Clare Village Minst. (1821) I. 88; Nhp. '2, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Cmb.
Pinder as apphed to a man in charge of ' common ' lands, as in the
borough of Cambridge, N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 89. w.Nrf.
The ould raiser as lived at Dunham, who was paarish pinder thar,
Orton Beeston Ghost (1884) 8. [In some parts of England the
' pinder,' as well as discharging his own proper duties, is required
to act as an overseer of ditches, drains, and watercourses, JV. ^ Q.
(1877) 5th S. vii. 176 ; Than commeth the pynder, and taketh him,
FiTZHERBERT Husb. (1534) loo.] (2) Midi. (K.)
2. To confine within narrow limits. n.Yks. (W.H.)
[OE. pyndan, to shut up, confine.]
PIND,a(^'. w.Cy. Som. Also written pinned Som. [pind.]
1. Of wheat, flour, &c. : fusty, mouldy, musty. See Pindy.
Som. An old man told me how in ' the war time ' (i. e. Peninsular
War) farmers would keep back their corn, and how the heaps had
to be constantly turned ' lest they should get pinned ' (W.F.R.),
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
2. Of meat : tainted, mouldy. w.Cy. (Hall.)
, PINB, ppl. adj. w.Cy. Som. [pind.] Of a saw: having
lost its pliancy through being over-bent. w.Cy. (Hall.)
e.Som. W. & J. G/. (1873).
PINDER, V. Yks. Lan. Chs. [pi-nd3(r).] L To
burn ; to over-roast meat ; to scorch, shrivel up. Gen. in
pp. Cf. pine, v.^ 8.
Lan.i Nay, tha mun tak that back; aw'statenoneonit; it'spinder't
to a cinder. n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', m.Lan.^ Chs.' He left his dinner
i'th oon, an forgeet it, an it were pindert away.
2. Fig. To waste away ; to pine.
Lan. Awd sooner be as aw am than be pinderin away as an owd
maid, Staton Loominary (c. i86i) 11.
Hence Pindered, ppl. adj. puny, ill-developed.
w.Yks. It may be a bit ov a pindered lookin thing, Hartley Diit.
(1868) 84 ; Babbies browt up on paregoric an' condensed milk, an'
sich-like tackle, are gen'rally pindered lukkin', Yks. Wkly. Post
(May 29, 1897).
FINDING
[510 J
PINE-APPLE
FINDING, sb. Obs. Sc. Yks. A disease of lambs :
costiveness. See Pinned.
Sc. Finding is another disease exclusively confined to sucking
lambs, Prize Ess. Highl. Soc. III. 350 (Jam.). e.Yks. Lambes . . .
out of dainger of pindinge, Best Rur. Econ. (1642) 81.
FIND LING, #/. adj. Dev. Amer. [pi-n(d)lin.] Fret-
ful, fractious, tiresome.
Dev. I niver seed sech peevish, pindlin, fractious ways, CasseWs
Fam. Mag. (Apr. 1895) 333. [Amer. It seemed to her that Ellen
looked kind of 'pindlin',' Harper's Mag. (Mar. 1901) 511.]
PIN-DOWLER, sb. Lan. Also in form -deawler. A
woman who falls in love with and courts a man.
As full o' gam as a pindeawler, Clegg Sketches (1895) 399.
e.Lan.i
FINDY, adj. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in form peendy
Dev. Cor.i^^ [pi'ndi, pi-ndi.] Of bread or meat, &c. :
tainted, mouldy ; musty in taste or smell.
w.Som.'- Applied chiefly to corn or flour. ' Mother 've a-zend
me vor to tell 'ee how we can't eat the bread — her zess 'tis so
pindy, 'most stinks.' e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Dev. Thease
piece ov beef es tu pindy tu ayte ef tez cilked, Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892); Meat slightly tainted is pindy meat, and inferiorflourisalso
pindy, N. & Q. (i866) 3rd S. ix. 320 ; A fine pindey smell, Reports
Provinc. (1882) 19; Horae Subsecivae (1777) 329; Dev.' He zed
his bread was a-cUt and pindy, 12. nw.Dev.i Applied chiefly to
corn or flour. s.Dev. The meat is pindy. Fox Kingsbridge (1874).
Cor.i Applied to meat ; Cor.2 Used of animal food going or gone
bad. e.Cor. (Miss D.)
FINE, sb.^ Som. [pain.] A pen for sheep or cattle ;
an enclosed place in which cattle are fed.
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873) (s.v. Pen). w.Som.i The cow-pines
be shockin' bad out o' order, there idn one o'm fit vor a cow to
calvy in.
"PWE^sb.^ Ant. Also in form pine maw. The black-
headed gull, Larusrudibundus. Swainson Bi7ds (1885) 209.
FINE, s6.3 Som. The end. (Hall.)
FINE, v}, sb.* and adj. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also written pyne Sc. (Jam.) ; and in forms pinn Sc. ;
poin Lan. [pain, poin.] 1. v. To suffer pain or torture ;
to pain, torture, give pain.
Sc. He that has na gear to tine has shins to pine, Ferguson Piov.
(1641) No. 389. Bnff. My love-sick mind, with anguish pin'd. Is
dead to pleasure, Taylor Poems (1787) 88. Fif. Row Ch. Hist.
(1650) 332, ed. 1842. Rnf. It pangs their entrails fu' o' win',
"Whilk pines them sair, Picken Poems (1813) I. 130. Edb. If from
paunching Bacchus' wine. Then they should a' be niade to pine,
hiDOLE Poems {i8si) 149. Gall. Few spleens or vapours pine them,
Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 124, ed. 1897.
2. Obs. To take pains ; to toil.
Sc. 'He pyned hiiriself,' he used his best endeavours, Sibeald
Gl. (1802) (Jam.).
3. To complain, fret, whine.
Frf. Tak this, that heaven has sent. Or pinning ye'll thro' life
the deed repent, Morison Poems (1790) 140. s.Wor. (H.K.),
Bdf. (J.W.B.) Nrf. She's alius a fretterin an pinin (E.M.).
Hence (i) Finey-whiney, adj. fretful, complaining from
indisposition. Nhp.' ; (2) Fining-stool, sb. a ' cuck-stool '
(q.v.). s.Wor. (H.K.) 4. To~ waste away. Also in
phr. to pine for their mother, see below.
Chs.i When young oats cease to draw nutriment from th? seed,
and begin to feed from the soil, they very often look yellow and
sickly. It is then said that they are ' pining for their mother,'
or that they are ' being weaned ' ; and these curious expressions
actually describe the physiological changes that are taking place
in the plant. Cor. ' Do'e b'lieve any harm will come o' seeing it ? '
< Mary Doble saw it and pined,' Hunt Pop. Rom. ■w.Eng. (1865)
353, ed. 1896.
Hence (i) Finer, sb. an animal that does not thrive ; a
wounded bird that has grown thin and weak ; (2) Fining,
sb. a depressing sensation in the bowels ; also in phr.
pining in the belly ; (3) Piny, adj. wasted, ill.
(i) Abd. He roundly and hotly accused him of selling him, as a
sound cow, an animal which was a confirmed ' piner,' and all but
worthless, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 102. Nhb.i (2) Cutn.i It
isn't t'gripes, it's a pinin ; Cum.* (3) Dur. Your face is getting
that peaky and piny that you'll most likely end by dying, Long-
man's Mag. (July 1897) 256.
5. To starve ; to kill with hunger.
e.Yks.i w.Yks. We mun pine, or mun beg, or else stall.
Hartley Ditt. (1868) 54 ; w.Yks.i They cannot bide to pine, ii.
340 ; w.Yks.2 Lan. The com'anders having courage to pyne a
lady, not to fight with her. Civil War Tracts (1642-1651) in Cheth.
Soc. Publ. (1844) No. 2. Stf.i, Not. (L.C.M.), Not.' s Not. A
wouldn't keep a cat to pine 'er (J.P.K.). n.Lin.i, sXin. (J.H.W.)
sw.Lin.' He pinched and pined him a'most to dead. Rut.' It's no
use pining them [the recipients of out-door relief]. I tell Jane not
to water the clematis. It's making too much wood ; it needs to
be pined. Lei.i They besieged the town in hope to pine 'em. War.^
Hence (i) Pination, sb. starvation, want; insufficiency
of food ; (2) Pined, ppl. adj. starved, famished ; suffering
from hunger, thin, hungry-looking ; (3) Fine-house, (4)
Pining-house, sb. a place where animals for slaughter are
shut up to fast before being killed.
(i) w.Yks. Pination and paleece, Yksman. (1878) 73 ; (J.R.)
n.Lin.'^ Them bea's at Grayingham deed of real pinaation. (2)
n.Sc. He's a peer pynt ablach ; he wid jist scraap hell for a baw-
bee, Gregor Notes to Dunbar (1893) 44. Lakel.*, Cum.* w.Yks.
No wark wor to be gotten an* t'poor chaps wor sadly pined an
dispirited, Pudsey Olm. (1885') July Notes ; Lets e sumat ta eit, am
omast paind ta diafi (J. W.). Not. Poor thing, she looked pined to
death (L.C.M.) ; Not.' s.Not. The poor thing looked quite pined
(J.P.K.). D.Lin. Ragged an' pined. Peacock Tales and Rhymes
(1886) 136. S.Lin. He said he'd had nout to eat and were near
pined to dead (F.H.W.). sw.Lin.^ Pined to dead or to death is a
common expression for death from hunger : as ' He looks haef
pined to dead.' Lei.^, War.^ (3) n.Lin.i, sw.Lin.^ (4) n.Lin.'
To be let . . . butcher's shop, with slaughter-house, pining-house,
and every convenience, Gainsburgh News (Sept. 25, 1875).
6. Reflex. To deny oneself the necessaries of life.
w.Yks. Speaking of Leeds mill-girls one of my men said, * They
pine theirsens to get finery ' (W.B.T.). Lan. Sho' wanted a grand
feather, and sho' pined hersen for months to git it {ib.).
7. To shrink, contract, become less in dimensions.
n.Yks. The corn being thrashed as soon after it is cut, measures
much more than it would at a later period, when, by drying, it has
pined and lost considerable bulk, Tvule Agric. (1800) 126-; n.Yks.^
Hence Pined, ppl, adj. of wood : shrunken, dried.
Nhb.i ' Pined hazel rods ' were used for corf making. Cum.*
8. To burn, scorch ; to over-roast. Cf pinder.
Lakel.2 T'breed's pined i' t'yubben. Wm. The cake is pined to
a cinder (p.K.). Lan. Look after this meyt i' th' oon ; aw'm feeart
it'll be poined away, Betty o' Yep, 11. e.Lan.^
9. To dry or cure fish by exposure to the weather.
Sh.I. When the body of the fish is all equally pined, which is
known by the salt appearing on the surface in a white efSorescence,
here called bloom," they are again piled for a day, to ascertain
whether they be completely pined or not, Agric. Surv. 91 (Jam.) ;
Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 229, ed. 1891 ; S. & Ork.i, Cai.i
10. sb. Obs. or obsol. Grief, pain, miserj', sorrow.
Sc. I wish him dool and pyne ! Scott Minstrelsy (1802) I. 317,
ed. 1848. n.Sc. O head me soon, O head me clean. And pit me oot
o' pine, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 21, ed. 1875. Abd. Ye should
kill the beast an' pit her oot o' pyne, Abd. IVkly. Free Press (June
25, 1898). Per. Thus Johnie died withouten pine, NicoL Poems
(1766) 100. Fif. Wi' mickle pyne and stress, Tennant Papistry
(1827) 180. Slg. Keeping cats an' dogs in pine, MuiR Poems
(1818) 21. Rnf. Ye wha can greet, an' grane, an' whine, In hours
o' sickness and o' pine, Picken Poems (1813) I. 4. Ayr. Speak !
speak ! my lord, my dearest lord, Nor keep me thus in pine,
Ballads and Sngs. (1846) I. 114. Gall. Beauty . . . Source o'
meikle dool and pine, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 117, ed. 1897.
n.Cy. (K.)
11. Phr. to take pine, to be at pains, to excite oneself. Sc.
(Jam.) 12. adj. Obs. Difficult, esp. in phr. ?Vjs/iw«/o/e^/.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; Bailey (1721) ; N.Cy.^ [It's pine, difficile
est, Coles (1679).]
FINE, v.'^ Sc. Nhb. Yks. 1. .? Qbs. Of wind : to blow
strongly.
Yks. The [winds] have been pining from the east. Farmer's Jrn,
(Mar. 16, 1829).
Hence Finer, sb. a somewhat strong breeze from the
north or north-east. Bnff.^ 2. With out : see below.
Nhb.l Weather that has been long unsettled and promises to be
fine is said to pine-out.
PINE, see Fine-end, Pining.
PINE- APPLE, sb. War .3 The cone of the fir.
[IVoix de pin, a pine-clog, or pine-apple (Cotgr.).]
PINE-END
[511I
PINGLE
PINE-END, sb. Cth. Pern. Glo. Wil. Som. Also in
forms pine, pwine e.Som. ; pwine-end Wil.' Som. ;
pwining-end e.Som. [pai'n-end.] The gable-end of a
house. Cf pinion, sb.'^
Cth. (W.W.S.), Pern. (E.D.) s.Pem. Laws Ltitle Eng. (1888)
421. Glo.i, Wil.i Som. Jennings Ois.Z'/a/. le^.i'M^. (1825). e.Som.
W. &J. Gl. (1873).
PINE-FINCH, sb. Midi. Shr. [pai-n-finj.] The
chafBnch, Fringilla coelebs. Cf pie-finch.
Midi., Shr. [So called] from the variegated hues of its plumage,
SwAiNsoN Birds (1885) 62. Shr.' So called from its querulous note.
PINE-MAW, see Pine, sb-^
PINE-PIG, sb. Sc. Also written pyne-pig. An
earthenware money-box.
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Why keep your Savings' pyne-pig toom O'
white or yellow ? Edwards Mod. Poets, 2nd S. 45 ; (A.W.)
PINER, sb. Sc. Also in form poiner Sc. (Jam.) A
labourer who prepares clay mortar for masons ; one who
cuts and prepares peat for fuel and other purposes.
Cai.' Inv. Her father said, that the people she saw were not
tenants on the Green of Muirtown, but were poiners or carters
from Inverness, who used to come there for materials, Case Duff
ofMuirton, &c. A. (1806) (Jam.). Bnff.l
[Cp. MLG. piner, a workman (Schiller-Lubben).]
PINE-RAFT, s6. I.W. See below.
Part of the silicified trunk of a coniferous tree, probably allied
to the pine ; from the ' pine-raft ' which covers the shore between
high and low-water marks, at Brook Point. . . This sandstone, which
forms Brook Point, is the lowest bed seen at the base of the chff,
and reposes on the red and green variegated marls underlying the
sandstone with the trunks of the trees forming the pine-raft,
Ramsay Rock Spec. (1862) 151.
PINEY, PINFAD, -FALD, see Peony, Pinfold.
PIN-FALLOW, sb. and v. n.Cy. Midi. Stf Der. Lei.
War. Som. [pi'n-fala, -fsela.] 1. sb. Winter fallow ; a
fallow in which no crop is lost.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Midi. Marshall i?«n Econ. (1796) I. 191. Stf.
Morton Cyclo. Agric. (i863\ nw.Der.i, Lei.', War.^ [A pin
fallow for wheat, two ploughings after a crop which has been
gathered in the same year the wheat is sown, Marshall Review
(1818) 11. 29.]
2. V. To winter fallow.
nw.Der.^ Lei.'- When lea-land is fallowed about July or August,
ready to be ploughed again for the crop, it is said to be pin-fallowed.
War.^ Som. Ploughing after vetches, clover, or beans, two or
three times, to prepare for a succeeding crop of wheat, Reports
Agric. (1793- 1813) 159.
PIN-FEATHER, 56. Lei.Nhp. War. Som. [pi-n-fe(Sa(r).]
A young, not properly developed quill-feather. Also
used atirib. See Pen-feather.
Nhp.' Hmp. The young birds were in the early pinfeather stage,
Longman's Mag. (May 190 1) 21.
Hence Pin-feathered, adj. having an undergrowth of
young undeveloped feathers.
Lei.i Nhp.i Among the leaves the young are snugly nurst;
Morning's young dew wets each pin-feather'd wing, Clare MS.
Poems. War.3 w.Som.i Applied to poultry when the downy
chicken plumage is changing to the coloured natural feathers;
when first the diiTerence can be noted between cocks and hens.
' I never didn zee no chicken grow so vast, why they be pin-
veathered [pee'n-vadh'urd] a'ready.'
PINFOLD, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Wm. Yks. Lan. LMa.
Chs. Der. Not. Lin. Rut. Lei. Nhp. Shr. Hnt. Suf. Also
in forms pinfad Nhb.' ; -fald Wm. ; -faud N.Cy.' ; -fo'd
s.Not. ; -fould Chs.«; -fowd w.Yks.^ Lan.; -fowt Chs.'
[pi-nfoud, -fgd, -fad.] 1. sb. A pound ; an enclosure for
strayed cattle, &c. See Find, v.
Sc. A few scattered ruins resembling pinfolds, Scott St. Ronan
(1824) i. Lnk. He thrust so many into that ugly dungeon in Kil-
marnock called the thieve's hole. . . When in this pinfold, one of
them . . . fell dangerously sick, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 63,
ed. 1828. N.Cy.' Nhb. These silly folks, . . agreed that, if she
could be secured ' within a pinfold there,' they would never have
winter more, Flk-Lore Rec. (1879) II. 67 ; Nhb.', Wm. (E.G.),
(B.K.), n.Yks. (T.S.), n.Yks.i", ne.Yks.', e.Yks.' w. Yks. Lucas
Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) Gl. ; w.Yks.^is Lan. Between th' Pin-
fowd and th' Goose Lone, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) II. iii.
LMa. Happy sinners on their way to the devil's pinfold, Caine
Manxman (1894) pt. i. v. Chs. A mon showd me th' rode in a spot
loik a pinfowt, Chs. N. &' Q. (Nov. 12, 1881) 1. 182 ; Chs.'», Der.',
nw.Der.i Not. He's got his lambs in the pinfold close (L.C. M.);
Not.' 2, s.Not. (J.P.K.) Lin. I've no call [desire] to be beholden to
folks, I'd rather camp in the pindfold, 'soever, ELLisProw(«c.(i889)
V. 308. n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' They live close agen the pinfold. Rut.'
For mending the pinfould Yeat, 25. 3^., Accts. (1721). Lei.', Nhp.'
Shr.i Han'ee put them strafes i' the pinfoud? Hnt. (T.P.F.)
2. An enclosure for sheep, a sheepfold. Rut.', Lei.',
Nhp., Hnt. (T.P.F.), Suf 3. v. Obs. To impound,
confine in a pound or enclosure.
Wm. If aur nebbour's stot or stirk break inti'th fog, let us not
pinfald it, Hutton Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 476.
PING, sb. and v.'^ Sc. Yks. Brks. [pii).] 1. sb. The
noise made b3' any hard substance striking against metal
or other hard material. Also used advb.
Frf. The corks o' the bottles played ping up against the roof,
WiLLOCK Rosetty Ends (1886) 89, ed. 1889. w.Yks.^ The noise
made by a pickaxe as it strikes coal, stone, or other hard material.
Brks.l
2. V. To strike, dash against.
e.Sc. Twa-three great heavy drops came pingin' into my face,
Strain Elmslie's Drag-net (1900) 124.
PING, v.^ w.Cy. Som. Dev. [pig, w.Som. also peg.]
I. Gram, forms. 1. Preterite : (i) Pung. Dev.' ; (2)
Pung'd. w.Som.' 2. pp. : (i) Pung, (2) Pung'd. w.Som.'
II. Dial. uses. 1. To push, thrust; to push or throw out.
w.Cy. Grose (1790). w.Som.' I catch'n by the scruff and
pung'd the head o' un up agin the wall. Dev. I wish they'd gie
thy cat ter th' butcher, ter naup and ping loose ower the moor-
yavils out there, Madox-Brown Dwale Bluth (1876) bk. 11. iii ;
Dev.' n.Dev. Tha wudst ha' borst en to shivers nif chad net
a vung'd en, and pung'd en back agen, Exnt. Scold. (1746) 1. 255.
2. Obs. To pound, crush ; to punch.
n.Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 329 ; Grose (1790) MS.
add. (M.)
[1. OY.. pyngan, to prick (B.T.),]
PING,PINGE,PINGERT,see Pang, v.^, Peenge, Pingot.
PINGING, ppl. adj. Sc. [pi'ngin.] Sordid, mean,
miserly ; ' pinching.'
Lnk. To get gear was a' her drift, and [she] used many a
pinging shift, Graham Writings (1883) II. 45 ; Pingin' misers just
thro' greed, Thomson Musings (1881) 227.
PINGINNET, see Pimgenet, 56.'
PINGLE, s6.' n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Der. Not. Lin. Rut. Lei.
Nhp. [pi'i)(g)l.] 1. A small enclosure or croft. Cf.
pightle, pingot.
n.Cy, Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.'^ w.Yks.^ Gen. land of choice
quality ; w.Yks.* Chs. Sheaf (1883) III. 92 ; Cbs.=3 Midi.
Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. Der.' 2 nw.Der.' Gen. long
and narrow. Not. (W.H.S.), n.Lin.' Obs. sw.Lin.' Used in
names of fields for a small enclosure. Rut.', Lei.' \_AgelluhiS
domui rusticae adjacens, a pingle. Coles (1679).]
Hence Pingling, adj. of a field : narrow.
s.Chs.' Always applied to a field. Yaan'diir)z ii lit"l, pingg'Iin,
naarii bit, iiz ahy kon'Jii dii miich widh [Yander's a little,
pinglin', narrow bit, as I conna do much with].
2. A clump of trees or underwood, not large enough for
a ' spinney' (q.v.).
Nhp.' Meadow and close, and pingle ; where suns cling And
shine on earliest flowers, Clare MS. Poems.
PINGLE, s6.2 Sc. [pi-r)(g)l.] A small tin pan with a
long handle ; a small saucepan. Also in comp. Pingle-pan.
Rxb. While twa-three eggs forbye a' these Were boiling in
the pingle, Riddell Poet, IVks. (ed. 1871) II. 142. Slk. Used
for preparing children's food (Jam.). Dmf. They talk about the
' laggan ' o' the ' pingle,' Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 339. Gall.
Mact.aggart Encycl. (1824). Kcb. The pingle was carefully filled
with water, but carelessly poised on the point of a piece of coal,
Armstrong Kirkiebrae (1896) 317.
PINGLE, ».' and sb.^ Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Lin. Suf Also
written pingil Sc. (Jam.) [pi'q(g)l.] 1- v. Obs. or obsol.
To contend, strive, compete ; to quarrel. Also usedy?^.
Sc. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl. Ayr. They stood long out
pingling with God, Dickson Writings (1660) I. 27, ed. 1845.
Gall. They pingle meikle on his side to play, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 350, ed. 1876 ; Still used (Jam.). Kcb. And ne'er by any
o'er the lea were ever seen to pingle 'bout straes, Davidson
Seasons (1789) 14. n.Cy. Border Gl. (Coll. L.L.B.)
PINGLE
[512]
PINK
2. To toil, struggle, labour ; to work hard and toilsomely
with but little progress ; to trifle with work. Also usedjig.
Sc. Ta Tighearnach (i.e. the Chief) did not like ta Sassenagh
Duinhe-wassel to be pingled wi' mickle speaking, as she was na
tat weel, Scott IVaverley (1814) xxiv. Sh.I. {Coll. L.L.B.) Cai.'
'To pingle o'er a thing,' to waste time on it with little result.
e.Fif. It was very far wrang ... to hand ye pinglin' sae lang at
sogers' breeks, an' only gi'ein' ye auchteenpence for yer day's
wark, Latto 7am Bodkin (1864") ix. Lth. The miser for his
money does pingle, Strathesk Blinkbonny (ed. 1891) 40. Edb.
Let us strive to get that Spirit to pingle out, and get the victory
against this canker in the heart, Rollock Wks. (1599) II. io9i
ed. 1844-9. N.Cy.i Nhb. I tell'd my faither he was a fool to
fret and pingle and make life a misery, Graham Red Scaur {iBgS)
19 ; Are ee sic a numskull as no to ken what I've been pinchin'
and pinglin' a' these years for ? ib.
Hence Pingling, (i) sb. the act of struggling or striving
for a livelihood, &c. without much success ; constant and
irksome application ; difficult or tiresome work ; (2) ppl.
adj. irksome and profitless, yet requiring close attention ;
diligent about trifles though unable to accomphsh much.
(r) Bnff.i Abd. And wi' sair pingling wan at last awa, Ross
Helenore (1768) 51, ed. 1812. Ayr. (Jam.) Edb. Tyet up to her
short stakes An' left bare pinglin', Learmont Poems (1791) 214.
(2) Bnff.^ Ayr. He's just an auld pinglin body (Jam.). Lin.
Miller & Skertchly Fenland (1878, iv. Suf. (C.T.)
3. sb. Obs. A struggle, strife, contest, combat ; a turmoil.
Sc. Till haill Scotland Be fir'd and fury'd with this pingle,
Drummond Muckomachy ^1846) ; It will be a dirten pingle, Kelly
Prov. (1721) 218. Abd. It's right our care wi' sangs to mingle.
To help us thro' life's weary pingle. Walker Bards Bon-Accord
(1887) 607. Fif. Tennant Papistry (1827) 153. Ayr. 'Wha su'd
be Regent for the croun, 'Was like t'have been a pingle, Fisher
Poems (1790) 49. Lnk. 'Twad be a pingle Whilk o' you three
wad gar words sound And best to jingle, Ramsay Poems (1800)
II. 324 (Jam.). Edb. Sic like in Pantheon debates, 'Whan twa
chiels hae a pingle, Fergusson Poems (1773) 159, ed. 1785.
4. Obs. or obsol. A difficulty ; striving, effort, labour, toil
without much progress.
Bn£f. I airslins than did kiss a stool Cou'd hae twa kists bot
[without] ony pingle, Taylor Poems (1787) 63; Bnif.' Bch. At
last wi great peching an granin we gat it up wi a pingle, Forbes
Jrn. (1742) 16. Abd. They 'at hae . . . claise to hap baith bed
and back, I think hae nae grite pingle, ^za.tt\e Parings (1801) 37.
Per. Oh ! had I liv'd single, although with a pingle, I had pre-
serv'd my chastity, Nicol Poems (1766) 39. Rnf. Health to your
little cheerfu' Sproot ; Soun' sleep, an' little pingle, Picken Poems
(1813) I. 156. Ayr, It's a pingle fae mornin till nicht, and little
for 't (Jam.). Edb. Sport rousin' wine to smoor a pingle, Lear-
mont Poems (1791) 63. Slk. If ye wad hear tell o' their pingle,
Hogg Poems (ed, 1865I 32,
[2. Sw. dial, pyngla, to be busy about small matters, to
work lazily (Rietz).]
PINGLE, V? Yks. Lin, Nhp, War, Hrt, e,An, [prr|(g)L]
To eat with little appetite ; to be fanciful or dainty about
one's food,
e.Yks. 'Wee . . , lette them (three lean young sheep) pingle
about, Best Rur. Econ. (1642) 75. Lin. Miller & Skertchly
Fenland (iS'jS) iv. Nhp.^ 'War. B'fiam Wkly. Post {June 17, 1893) ;
War."^ Hrt. She just sits and pingles her victuals (H.G.).
e.An.^ Nrf. He keep pinglin' over his wittles, Cozens-Hardy
Broad Nrf. (1893) 41 ; (A.G.F.) Suf. (H.H.) ; (C.T.) ; Suf.i I
hee'nt no stummach for my wittels. I jest pingle a bit. Ess,
(M A.R.) ; The child is not well, she pingles her food (H.H.M.).
[Great drinkers do but pingle at their meat, and eat little, Ray
Prov. (1678) 33.]
Hence (i) Pingling, ppl. adj., (2) Fingly, adj. having a
poor appetite, fanciful or dainty about one's food,
(i) Cmb. She's very pingling in her eating (W.W.S.). (2)
Suf. That allers wer such a pingly child, wer Annie, . . The doctor
say she wer to hev meat and wine, Gurdon Memories (1897) 28.
Ess. She's but a pingley little thing (A.S.-P.) ; (H.H.M.)
PINGLES, sb.pl. Sc. Miscellaneous goods made up into
bales for carriage by a pedlar ; a pedlar's stock-in-trade.
These made up into bundles Robby used to call his pingles,
HisLOP Anecdote (1874) 104.
PINGOT, sb. Wbs. Lan. Chs. Der, Also in form
pingert Lan.^ A small croft or enclosure of land. Cf,
pingle, sb.^
Lan. Pooin' turmits in his pingot, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740)
6 ; Lan.i Chs, SAca/( 1883) III. 92; Chs.i, nw.Der.i
PING-PONG, s^". Obs. Sc. A jewel fixed to a wire with
a long pin at the end and worn in front of the cap.
Edb. Chambers Trad. Edb. (1825) II. 59,
PINGS'WIG, sb. Yks. [Not known to our correspon-
dents,] A scarecrow. (Hall.)
PINGZWILL, see Pinswell.
PINIATED, adj. Lin. Nhp. Hrf. Oxf. Som, Also in
form pinianated Hrf,= [pini-etid.] A corruption of
' opinionated' ; of opinion; obstinate; arrogant, conceited.
nLin.i I'm piniaated we shall hev a long blast this winter;
winter bo'ds hes cum'd so early. Nhp.i, Hrf.2 Oxf.i 'E's a piniated
old chap, everybody a's to 'old wi'n, and take everythink a says
for law and gospel, MS. add. w.Som.i He idn much o' it — to
much to zay by half — I never baint a-tookt in way these here
piniated [piin'iae'utud] sort o' vokes.
PINIE, sb. ? Obs. Sc, [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] A game.
Where Holms and Ruyter play'd at pinie, Colvil Whigs
Supplic. (ed 1796) I, 586.
PINIKIN, see Pinnicking,
PINING, sb. Sc, Nhb. Also written pineing Nhb. ;
and in form pine Sc. (Jam.) [painin.] A disease to
which sheep are subject ; tubercular consumption,
Sc. Pining is most severe upon young sheep. . . The rot is a
disease of debility ; . . in the pine, on the contrary, the condition
of the animal is too high, its blood too thick, and the pasture too
arid, Ess. Highl. Soc. III. 404-5 (Jam.). w.Sc. Called also
' Daising' and ''Vanquish.' Thus denominated because of the
gradual wasting of the animal (Jam,). Nhb. They are never visited
with the rot or subjected to any other disease, except what is
termed pining, Denham Tracts (ed. 1892) I. 331 ; Nhb.^ [Arma-
tage Sheep (1882) 104.]
PINION, sb} Cum. Der. Brks. L'W, Cor, Also written
pinyon Brks.' ; pinyun LW.' [pi'njan.] A shortened
form of ' opinion.'
Der. It's my 'pinion . . . his frens 'ud do well, 'Verney Stone
Edge (1868) xxii. Brks.' 1 ent got no pinyon o' that ther veller
zence I knawed as a cabbaged zome o' my zeed taayters. 1,'W.^
Cor, A diiference of 'pinion, Phillpotts Lying Prophets (1897) 64,
Hence Pinion-tied, adj. opinionated, obstinate and pre-
judiced in one's opinions.
Cum. He's a varra pinion-tied man (M P.) ; Cum.l*
PINION, s6,2 Fern, [pi'njan,] The gable-end of a
house. s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421. Cf pine-end.
[Fr. pignon, a gable.]
PINION, sb? Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) A pivot.
PINIONS, sb. pi. Som. [pi-njsnz.] The short refuse
wool left in the comb after the long-stapled ' sliver ' has
been drawn off, ' noils.' e.Som, 'W, & J, Gl. (1873).
w.Som.' \¥v.peignon, noils.]
PINIOUS, adj. n.Cy. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Having a poor appetite. (Hall.)
PIN -JANE, 56, LMa, [pi-n-dgen,] L Curds and whey.
You may smooth it till it's like pin-jane, Brown Witch (1889)
38 ; A man can't live on pin-jane, ib. Doctor (1887) 152 ; I'll take
a spoonful of this cowl pinjane, Rydings Tales (1895) 60 ; A
spoonful of cold pinjane, Caine Manxman (1894) 306.
2. Fig. A bashful, shy woman.
But these pin-janes of women That'll hardly look up when they
hear ye comin, Brown Doctor (1887) 152.
[Ir. binidean, rennet (O'Reilly).]
PINJE, see Peenge.
PINK, s6.' Irel, Nhb. Dev. [pink,] 1, The sea pink,
Armeria mariiitna. Dev, (B. & H.), Dev,* 2. The
London pride, Saxifraga umbrosa. ib. 3. The corn-
cockle. Lychnis Githago. N.L' MS. add., Dwn. (B. & H.)
4. The cuckoo-flower, Cardamine pratensis ; freq. in pi.
Nhb.' 5. Applied vaguely to any flower with pink
blossoms. Dev,*
PINK, s6,2 Cum, Lan. Midi. Not. Lin. Rut. Lei. Nhp.
War. Won Shr, Hrf Pem, Glo. Bdf Hnt. Som. Dev.
Also written pine Lan. ; and in forms pinky Cum.* ;
? pint Bdf. [piqk.] 1. The chaffinch, Fringilla coelebs.
See Spink.
Cum.4 Lan. Gaskell Lectures Dial. (1854) 10. Midi. In the
PINK
[513]
PINK
midland counties they [chaffinches] are called ' pinks ' from their
constant repetition of the note conveying that sound, Chambers
Bk. Days (1869) II. 4. Not. (L.C.M.), Not.i, Lin. (E.P.), n.Lin.i
sw.Lin.i Its them pinks, they male' such work wi' the seeds.
S.Lin. (F.H.W.), Rut.', Lei. vG.H.), Lei.i Nhp. A pink's nest to
its prickles grew, Clare Remains (1873) '8^! Nhp.i", War.*^*,
s.War.i w.Wor. Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 3, 1888). Hrf.^, s.Pem.
(W.M.M."), Glo.' Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 140.
Hnt.(T.P.F.) Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825); (W.F.R.)
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873) (s.v. Twink).
Hence Pink-twink, sb. the chaffinch, FringiUa coelebs.
Shr., Som., Dev. It receives the name from its reiterated monoto-
nous call-note, Swainson Birds (1885) 6a. Som. A^. & Q. (1877)
5th S. viii. 358. e.Som. W. & J. 61. (1873). w.Som.i Doubtless
from its peculiar double note.
2. A linnet, Linota cannabina. Lin. (Hall.)
PINK, sb? n.Cy. Lakel. Yks. Chs. Der. Not. Lei. War.
Shr. Hrt. Also in forms pank n.Cy. ; penk Chs.'^^ Hrt.
[piijk, pei)k.] 1. 'Y\i& vav!m.<yfi, Leuciscus phoxinus.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; ib. MS. add. (P.) w.Yks.'^ Pinks and
gudgeons are the prey which the school-boy aspires to take.
Chs.i23_ Der.l, Not.' Lei.* So called from the colour of the belly
in the breeding-season. War.^, Shr.' Hrt. The minnow, or as
some call it the penk, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) III. ii. 87.
2. The young of salmon, Salmo salar.
Lakel,^ Cum.* (s.v. Herling). w.Yks. Also called smelts
(R.H.H.). [All migratory fish of the genus salmon, whether
known by the names hereinafter mentioned, that is to say, salmon,
parr, spawn, pink, last spring, . . or by any other local name,
Stat. 24 & 25 Vic. (1861) c. 109, § 4.]
[A minnow (which some call a penke), Walton C. A.
(1653) I37-]
PINK, v> and sb." Sc. Irel. Yks. Bdf. Som. Cor. [pigk.]
1. V. To deck, adorn ; freq. used with out or up.
Bnff.i She pinkit hirsel' oot in a' 'ir best. Ayr. Pink her oot in
her falderalis that's a' she cares (Jam.). w.Yks. T'windas wor
pinked aht wi a touch a gas leet inside, Tom Treddlehoyle
Bairnsla Ann. (i8g61 20. Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang.
(1809) 140. Som. (Hall.), Cor.*
2. sb. An example or type of utmost perfection ; a term
of endearment applied by a young man to his sweetheart.
Ayr. She's the pink o' womankind, Burns Posie, St. 2. N.I.*
3. Phr. the pink o' the core, the prettiest of the company,
the best of the lot. Ayr. (Jam.)
PINK, v."", sb.^ and adj."- Sc. n.Cy. Lakel. Yks. Lan.
Lin. Nhp. Wor. Hmp. Dor. Also in form penk w.Yks.*
[pirjk ] 1. V. To make small ; to contract, esp. to con-
tract the eyes ; to peer, wink ; to wink or peer with half-
shut eyes.
Sc. (Jam.), N.Cy.l Lakel.2 Peeken an' pinken she wad hev her
nooase in if tlier was owt gaan on. e.Yks.i Winkin and pinkin.
w.Yks.' 23 sw.Lin.' She goes pinking about. s.Wor. Why do
you go pinking about in this bad light? (H.K.)
Hence (i) Pinker, adj. small, applied especially to the
eyes ; (2) Pinking, ppl. adj. (a) of an eye : small, peering ;
(6) of light : dim ; (3) Pinking-drop, sb., see below.
(I) Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp." (2, a) Lin.' What pinking eyes he
has got. Nhp.' What little pinking eyes. (6) s.Lin. That candle
makes a pinking light (I.W.). Nhp.' What a pinking light the
candle gives. s.Wor. (H.K.) (3) w.Yks.* A poor fellow about
here, who had drooping eye-lids, used to be teased by impudent
boys, who entreated him to sell them a penn'orth of ' penkin drops.'
2. With in : of the daylight : to fade ; ' draw in.' Gen.
in prp.
Dor. Get on with your work, or 'twill be dark before we have
done. The evening is pinking in a'ready. Hardy IVess. Tales
(1888) I. 59.
Hence the pinking in of the day, phr. the time just before
dusk.
Dor. It being now what the people called the ' pmkmg in ' of the
day, that is the quarter-hour just before dusk, ib. Mayor of Caster-
bridge (1886) 252, ed. 1895.
3. sb. A small gleam of light.
Gall. A person beneath expectation, one with a small mind, with
only a pink or small gleam of light in it, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
382, ed. 1876.
4. adj. Small ; esp. of the eye.
N Cy.i Lan. Pink-eyed [small-eyed], Cy. Wds. (1867) 208, No.
13. ■ Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.i
VOL. IV.
[1. Though his iye on us therat pleasantlie pinke. Yet
will he thinke that we saie not as we thinke, Heywood
Spider and Flie (1556) (Nares). Du. pincken, to shut the
eyes (Hexham).]
PINK, w.* and sb.^ Sc. [pijgk.] 1. v. Of water,
moisture, &c. : to trickle, drop, drip.
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. A' the time the tears ran down her cheek And
pinked o'er her chin upon her keek, Ross Helenore (1768, 29, ed.
1812; O'er their nose the pearls run pinkin', Anderson Poews
(ed. 1826) 24 ; The soot draps pinkin' frae the riggin', Walker
Bards Bon- Accord (1887) 368.
Hence (i) Pink, adv. in drops ; (2) Pinking, ppl. adj.
dropping, dripping, trickling.
(i) Bnff.' The wattir wiz comin' pink pink doon fae the reef.
(2) Sc. Pinking drops perpetual fall, West Briton (Apr. 14, 1815)
(Jam.).
2. To bespot. Bnff.* 3. sb. A drop ; the sound caused
by a drop.
Bnff.i A' cud get nae sleep for the pink o' a drap it a hard a'
nicht. Cld. (Jam.)
4. A very small hole ; a very small spot. Bnff.*
PINK, sb.'' Nhb. Lin. Shr. A vessel with a narrow
stern. See Pinkern.
Nhb.i An old-fashioned type of collier vessel, familiar on theTyne
until about the middle of the present century. The stern was
'cat-built,' falling off to a point almost as sharp as the narrowing
at the bow, and on the top of this stern a square erection, forming
a high poop, was built. n.Lln. He would . . . get on a pink and
go up wi' th' Ager apiece. Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870) II. 87.
[Those used in the Mediterranean Sea differ from the xebecs only
in being more lofty and not sharp in the bottom ; they are vessels
of burden, have three masts, and carry lateen sails. Falconer Z3<'c/.
Marine (1790) ; A pink (or small ship, or boat), Naselle, nacelle,
COTGR.]
Hence Pink-stern, sb. a narrow stern, a narrow vessel.
Nhb. In 1883 1 sailed in the well-known old ' Liberty and
Property ' — a collier with ' pink ' stern ; the last of her race I
believe, Haswell Maister {i8g$) in, 112. Shr.= Chiefly used by
fishermen on the river Severn.
[Du. espincke, pincke, a. pinke or a small fishers boate
(Hexham); Sw.esping,ship boat (Serenius); ON.espingr,
a ship's boat (Vigfusson).]
PINK, v.* Sc. Irel. Yks. Midi. Nhp. War. Dev. [piqk.]
1. To strike, hit ; to strike with a sure aim. Cf. penk, v.'-
Cld. To strike smartly with any small object, as a pea, marble,
&c. ' Pink that bool out the ring' (Jam.). N.L' Midi. Knocking
him about like a shuttle-cock and pinking him until he was drenched
with gore, Bartram People of Clapton (1897) 19.
2. To beat, punish. Cld. I'll pink ye for that yet (Jam.).
3. To push ; to toss with both arms.
m.Yks.' He pinked it clean over the hedge. ' Did he push thee
into t'dyke?' 'Nay, he pinked me in.' n.Dev. Exm. Scold.
(*746)G/. . , ...
4. To pitch at a mark m order to settle precedence in
any game ; see below ; also fig. : to make a person a
mark for sport or abuse.
War.2 The player whose missile falls nearest is allowed first
or best place in the ensuing sport. ' Don't pink on to me, I won't
stand it.'
Hence Pinking, sb. a method of deciding the order
of precedence in any game ; see below.
Nhp.' To decide which boy is to commence the game, one of
them tosses up anything which presents two different surfaces, and
asks each boy to guess which side is uppermost, and the last boy
who guesses wrong is the first to begin the game. . . This mode of
deciding is called Pinking (s.v. Ducks).
PINK, v.^ Wm. [pirj'iJ.] To eat in a heartless way
as an invalid.
Pinkin an' pikin ower hermials, ther's nowt'll gah doon wi' her
(B.K.).
PINK, adj."^ and v.^ Cum. Yks. Chs. Lin. Nhp. War.
Bck. Wil. Dor. Som. [piqk.] 1. adj. In comb, (i) Pink-
bed, a bed of stone in the Swanage quarries; (2) —bird's-'
eye, the herb Robert, Geranium Robertianum ; (3) -eye,
a variety of potato ; (4) -flowered gorse, the thorny
rest-harrow. Ononis arvensis ; (5) -grass, various
species of sedge, esp. the glaucous heath sedge, Carex
glauca, and the spring sedge, C. praecox; (6) -more, a
3U
PINK AND SHANK
t5i4]
PINNEL
rough kind of grass in water-meadows, which cattle refuse
to eat ; (7) -spot, the six-spot Burnet moth, Zygaena fili-
pendulae; (8) -weed, the knot-grass. Polygonum aviculare.
(i) Dor. The ' Pink Bed,' which forms a part of the Freestone
Series, Ramsay Rock Spec. (1862) 142. (2) s.Bck. (B. & H.) (3)
n.Yks., e.Yks. (I.W.\ Chs.i, n.Lin.i, w.Som.l (4) War.^ (5)
Chs.' ; Chs.3 There is an old saying that, ' A cow will not clem, if
there are three blades of pink grass in the field.' (6) s.WU. (G.E.D.)
(7) Cum.4 (8) n.Yks. (R.H.H.)
2. V. To turn pink ; to blush. Nhp.^ How she pinks up!
PINK AND SHANK, phr. Nhp.i First in the morning
and last at night ; applied almost exclusively to agricultural
labourers who work early and late.
PINKEEN,56. Irel. [prrjkm.] The minnow, Z,«'««sa«s
phoxinus; also fig. a small, contemptible person. Cf.
pink, sb.^
Ir. Fishing for pinkeens along by the river, Barlow Idylls
(1892) 169. w.Ir. I'll turn you into a pinkeen. Lover Leg. (1848)
I. 43; Justapoor little pinkeen of a fellow, not up to my shoulder!
Lawless Crania (1892) IL 89. s.Ir. What matter what she says,
you pinkeen, Croker Leg. (1862) 199.
FINKEN-EYED-JOHN, PINKENEY-, PINKENNY-,
see Pink-eyed- John.
PINKER, V. Wor. [pi-r)k3(r).] With about: to go
about with half-shut eyes ; to potter. Cf. pink, v.^
s.Wor. Why do you go pinkering about in this bad light ! (H.K.)
PINKERN, sb. ObsoL Shr.i A very narrow boat
used on the Severn, a ' pinkstern.' See Pink, sb7
This is a river term, which still lingers on amongst the Severn
bargemen, though rarely used. It was heard in December, 1875,
at Shrewsbury, and about the same time in the S.E. of Salop — at
Cleobury Mortimer, or Neen Sellers. ' Whad a pinkern that is o'
yore's ! ' ' Aye, but it's an oncommon 'andy boat.'
PINKERTON, s6. Sc. A person of small intelligence.
Gall. Mactaggart Encyd. ( 1824). Cf. pinky, 3.
PINKET, sb. Wor. Also written pinkett; pinkit
se.Wor.^ [pi qkit] A Will-o'-the-wisp.
The ignis faluus is called Pinket in the parish of Badsey,
Allies Antiq. Flk-Lore (1840) 435, ed. 1852. se.Wor.', s.Wor.
(H.K.)
PINKETY, sb. Nhp. [pi-qkati.] The chaffinch,
Fringilla coelebs. See Pink, sb.^
It receives the name from its reiterated, monotonous call-note,
SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 62 ; Nhp.'^
PINK-EYED-JOHN, sb. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War. Bdf.
Also in forms pinken-eyed- Bdf.; pinkeney- Nhp.';
pinkenny- Nhp. ; pinkney- War.^ ; pink-o'-my- Lei.' ;
pinky-eyed- sw.Lin.' The pansy, Viola tricolor. n.Lin.',
sw.Lin.', Lei.i, Nhp. (B. & H.), Nhp.>, Wa^.^ Bdf. (B. & H.)
PINKIE, sb.^ f Obs. Sc. The clove pink, Dianthus
Caryophyllus.
Rnf. I gather'd the pinkies an' roses. Ilk flower that was bonny
to see, PicKEN Poems (1813) I. 193. Lnk. The beautiful pinkie
before her does sink ay, Its lustre nae pleasure can yield to the
e'e, MuiR Minstrelsy {1816) loi.
PINKIE, sb.^ Dev. [pi'n-, pi'qki.] A pincushion.
I wonder how them pinkies have sold, Baring-Gould /. Herring
(1883) 260, ed. 1884.
. PINKIEFIELD, sb. Sh.I. Also in form penkafel.
A quarrel, a slight disagreement. (J.S.), S. & Ork.'
PINKIE- WINKIE, see Pillie-winkie.
PINKING, ppl. adj. Dor. Som. Dev. [pi-gkin.] Ailing,
weak, querulous ; gen. of women.
Dor. Gl. (1851). w.Som.' Well there, 'tis 'nough vor to make
any fuller g'out vor t'ave a drap, way zich a poor pinl<in' thing of
a wive's he've a-got. nw.Dev.'
PINKLE-PANKLE,v.ands3. Obs. Sc. l.w. Tomakea
tinkling sound as of a little liquid left in a bottle, jar, &c.
Cf. pink, V?
Gall. 'I dare say thereisadreeping.' 'Ay, I heard the gude wife
say it could pinkle-pankle,' Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 241, ed.
1876.
2. sb. The tinkling sound of liquid in a bottle, &c.
They canna lae the [whisky] pig ava while it sounds pinkle-
pankle, ib, 113,
PINKLING, :;W. 56. Obs. S:. A thriUing motion.
I, one day, when I felt the wonted two o'clock pinkUng in my
belly, stepped into an eating-house, Sleam-boai (1822) 270 (Jam.).
PINKNEY, sb. w.Yks.i [pi-qkni.] A potato with
red eyes or ends.- Cf. pink-eye, s.v. Pink, adj.'' 1 (3).
PINKNEY- JOHN, PINK-O'-MYJOHN, see Pink-eyed-
John.
PINKY, adj and sb. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Lin. Nhp.
Oxf. Also written pinkey Nhb.' [pi-nki.] 1. adj.
Small ; of eyes : narrow, drooping, half-closed. See
Pink, v.= 1.
Sc. There's a wee pinkie hole in that stocking (Jam.). Lnk.
Meg Wanet wi' her pinky een, Ramsay Poems (1800) I. 262 {ib.).
Feb. He has twa glimmeran' pinky een That blink frae 'neath
his brow, Lintoun Green (1685) 25, ed. 1817. N.Cy.', Nhb.' Lan.
Cy. Wds. (1867) No. xiii. 208.
Hence (i) Pinky-eyed, adj. having winking or half-
closed eyes ; (2) -wee, adj. very small ; esp. used by
children ; (3) -winky, adj. very small ; of eyes : narrow,
half-closed.
(i) sw.Lin.' (2) Nhb. A bussy-tail'd pinkey wee Frenchman,
MiDFORD Coll. Sngs. (18181 31 ; Nhb.' (3) N.Cy.' ' You're all pinky-
winky and ready for nebby'; said to children who sit up till they
are half asleep. Lan. Cy. Wds. (1867) No. xiii. ao8. Nhp.' What
pinky winky little eyes he's got.
2. sb. A blindfolded person.
Sc. Every art is employed ... to mislead the blindfolded person,
who is also called the Pinkie (Jam., s.v. Pillie-winkie).
3. A person of small intelligence. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 382, ed. 1876. 4. Anything very small;
esp. the smallest candle that is made ; also in comb.
Pinkie-small. Sc. (Jam.) ; Mackay Did. (1888). 5. The
little finger ; also in coinp. Pinkie-flnger.
So. He's got mair spunk in his pinkie than mony a man in his
hail body, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 198. Frf. Never again should
his pinkie fingergothrough that warm hole,lJARRiE Tommy (1896)
ii. Ayr., Lnk., Lth. A term mostly used by little children or in
talking to them (Jam.). e.Lth. He had a gowd ring on his pinkie.
Hunter /. Inwick (iSgs) 19. Edb. His pinkie was hacked off by
a dragoon, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) i. Dmf. There's no a rat . . .
that I wad na raither save, than lift yae pinkie tae save that
deevilish man, Paton Castlebraes (1898) 297.
6. Phr. to put, or turn, up the pinkie, to drink, tipple.
Sc. ' Pit up 'er pinkie,' pressed the carrier. . . She took only a
sip and puckered her face again, Tweeddale Moff (1896) xi. Lnk.
So very fond was Tam of ' turnin' up his pinkie,' that he latterly
lost both his credit and character, Murdoch Readings (1895) 1. 107.
7. The weakest kind of table-beer ; the liquor drawn off
from the third mash in brewing.
Sc. (Jam.), w.Yks.'* Oxf, He's had a drop too much of the
pinky (G.O.).
PINKY, PINK Y-EYED- JOHN, see Pink, sb.'', Pink-eyed-
John.
PIN(N, V. and sb. Sh.L Lan. [pin.] 1. v. To do a
thing hastily ; to run away.
Lan. I scampurt awey as hard as I cou'd pinn, Tim Bobbin View
Dial. (1740) 17 ; I'r slips ewt o' th' poke un wur meyink ofr us
hard us e could pin, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 14.
2. sb. Speed, haste.
Sh.I. Aandrew took after the hat full pin, Burgess Sketches (and
ed.) 45.
PINN, PINNA, see Pin, 56.', v.'', Pinny, sb}
PINNACK, V. e.Yks.' [pi-nak.] To do or attempt
anything in a sluggish, unworkmanlike style. Cf.
finnack, 4.
PINNE, see Pind, v.
PINNED, pp. Sc. Cum. Also in forms pinnit s.Sc.
(Jam.) ; pin't Cum.''* [pi'nid, pint.] Of lambs : seized
with diarrhoea to such an extent that the excrement
glues the tail down to the anus, and prevents all discharge.
s.Sc. (Jam.) Feb. When the mothers have little milk the lambs
are rarely pinned, Agric. Surv. 389 (Jam.). Cum.' When the ewe
gives much milk the excrement of the young lamb glues the tail
down upon the anus and prevents all discharge. The lamb is
then said to be pin't or pinned ; Cum."
PINNED, see Pind, adj.
PINNEL, sb. Nhb. Cum. Lan. Wal. [pi'nl.] A hard
subsoil of clay and gravel ; sandstone with pebbles in it.
Nhb.', Cum.'*, ne.Lan.' n.Wal. Local name given to the
Lower Boulder Drift, Woodward Geol. Eng. and Wal. (1876) 440,
PINNER
[515]
PINNY-NINNY
PINNER, sb} Obs. Sc. Cum. 1. A head-dress, worn
esp. by women of rank, having lappets pinned to the
temples, reaching down to the breast and fastened there.
Sc. (Jam.) ; Do ye put on your pinners, Scott IVaverley (1814)
xlii ; Go take the milk from yon milkmaids, And poind their pinners,
since they have no plaids, Pennecuik Coll. (1787) 23. Lnk. I man
hae pinners With pearling set round, Ramsay Poems (ed. 1800) II.
31a (Jam.). Cum. Let clean pinners grace each head, Relph Misc.
Poems {I'jii']) 109; Cum.*
2. Comb. Fleeing-pinner, a head-dress having the ends
of the lappets hanging loose. Ags. (Jam.)
PINNER, sb.^ Ken. Also in form panner. [pi'n9(r).]
The little button or fastening of a cupboard door ; a
wooden fastening which turns a screw. (W.F.S.), Ken.'
PINNER, v} Cum. Wm. Yks. Also written pinnar-
Yks. [pi-n3(r.] To pinch ; to allow too little of any-
thing. Lakel.* Thoo's pinner"d thisel fer stuff.
Hence (i) Pinnardly, adj. thin, starved-looking, weak,
unflourishmg ; gen. of persons, but used also of animals
and plants ; (2) Pinner'd or Pinner't, /^/. adj. (a) pinched
up, crowded ; (b) starved, shrivelled, lean.
(i) w.Yks. (S.P.U.) (2, a) Wm. Mi teeas er o' pinner'd in a
heap i' these clogs (B.K.). (6) Cum.'*
PINNER, v.^ Wm. [prnar.] In a boys' game : to
throw a ball at a hand stretched against a wall. s.Wm.
<J.A.B.)
PINNER, v.^ Sc. To move swiftly and with noise, to
dash, roll. Cf. binner.
Gall. Garrin' the stanes pinner doon the hillside like ail-evermore,
Callovidian (1901) III. 73.
PINNER, see Pinny, sb.^
PINNER-PIG, sb. ? Ohs. Sc. A money-box. w.Sc.
(Jam., s.v. Pirly-pig), Rnf. (A.L.C.)
PINNET, s6.i Cor. [pinit] A pint. iV. fir- iQ. (1854)
1st S. X. 359.
PINNET, sb.'^ Sc. A streamer ; a pennant.
Ayr. Laces and ribands of all colours, hanging down in front of
the booths, and twirling like pinnets in the wind, Galt Provost
(1822) xviii,
PINNET, sb.^ Yks. [pi-nat] A pin ; see below.
w.Yks.2 Pansies or other flowers are pressed beneath a piece
of glass, which is laid upon a piece of paper, a hole or opening
which can be shut at pleasure, being cut in the paper. The charge
for looking at the show is a pin. The children say . . . ' A pinnet
a piece to look at a show. All the fine ladies sat in a row. Black-
birds with blue feet. Walking up a new street ; One behind and one
before, And one beknocking at t'barber's door' (s.v Pippy-show).
PINNICK, s6.' and adj. Dev. Cor. Also written
pinnik Dev. ; and in form punick Cor.'" [pinik.] 1. sb.
A weak, puny child ; a small person ; a dwarf.
Dev. A little pinnick of a chap, always ailing. Reports Provinc.
(1891). Cor.12
Hence Pinniky, adj. delicate.
Dev. My Mary was ever a pinniky little maid, Sharland Ways
Village (1885) 19.
2. A small eater. Cor.' 3. adj. Puny. Cor.^
PINNICK, sb.'^ Cor. Sc.I. [pi-nik.] 1. The wryneck,
Jynx torquilla. Cor.' 2. Obs. The petrel, Procellaria
pelagica. Sc.I. Rodd Birds (iWa) 315.
PINNICKING, ppl. adj Glo. Dev. Cor. Also written
pinikin Dev.' Cor. ; pinnakin Dev.* ; pinnikin Glo.'
Cor.^ ; and in form pannikin Cor. [pi'nikin.] 1. Weak,
puny, ailing, wan. Cf. pinnick, sb}
Dev. I'm sure thickee poor little cheel wunt live long, 'er's za
pinnicking an' delicate-like, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.'Thof
her looketh so puny and pinikin, her lowersteth and worketh so
long as ort is to be do, 5 ; Dev.* Sarah look'th terrible pinnakin
lately, what's up with her ? nw.Dev. Her always was a pinnickin'
little thing (R.P.C.). Cor. Ae's pinikin, palchy, and totelin ; ae's
clicky and cloppy, an' a kiddles and quaddles oal day, Hammond
Parish (1897) 342 ; An got oal feebul an pennikin, T. Towser
(1873) 16 ; Cor.' ; Cor.* What a poor pinnickin child !
2. Fastidious, dainty. Glo.'
PINNIN(G, ppl. adj. Yks. [pi'nin.] Requiring con-
stant effort or a severe strain.
w.Yks. An' tho' th' struggle may be pinnin. Perseverance wins
reward, Hartley Ditt. (c. 1873) 62 ; Yks. Wkly. Post (May 29,
1897).
PINNING, sb. Obs. Sc. Diarrhoea. See Pinned.
s.Sc. (Jam.) Peb. Diarrhcea, or looseness. This disorder is
commonly called by the shepherds pinning, Agric.Surv. 389 (Jam.).
FINNISH, V. Sh.I. [pi-nij.] To pinch or wither with
cold. S. & Ork.'
PINNIT, see Pinned.
PINNOCK, sb. Ken. Sus. Also in form pennock
Sus."^ [pi'nak, pe'nak.] 1. A little bridge over a ditch
or watercourse. Ken. (W.F.S.), Sus.'* 2. A brick or
wooden drain placed under the road or through a gate-
way. Ken.', Sus.'*
PINNOCK, t).i Nhp.' [pi-nak.] To pull out the long
quill-feathers in a bird's wing to prevent its flying.
The bird can't fly, it's been pinnock'd.
PINNOCK, v.^ Yks. [pi-nsk.] To perch on the edge
or point of anything.
m.Yks.' Look at yon' bairn where it's pinnocking. Go to it,
before it tumbles. w.Yks. (J.W.)
PINNOCKS, 51^. //. Shr.* [pi-naks.] Fine clothes.
My dahter nivir wears any fine pinnocks, and yo needna fear
taking on her.
PINNOLD, sb. Sus. [pinald.] A small bridge.
Sus.'* e.SuS. HOLLOWAY.
PINNY, sb.^ In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc. and
Eng. Also written pinney Wil. Som. ; and in forms
peanie Lnk. ; peenie Sc. (Jam.) ; pin Dev.^ ; pinna
s.Chs." ; pinner w.Yks.* Lan.' Stf. Der. Not' sw.Lin.'
Rut.' Lei.' Nhp.' War.*' w.Wor.' se.Wor.' Shr.' Oxf.'
Brks.' Wil.' Dor. ; pinnow w.Yks.^ [pi'ni, pi'na.] 1. A
child's pinafore ; a servant's or milker's apron.
Sc. (Jam.); Here's a frock I've been makin' for her, an' twa
peenies, Lawson Sacrifice (1892) 31. Cai.^ Abd. The toddlin'
wee thing wi' a clean peenie, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Aug. 18,
1900). Lnk. In their newly-washed and ironed frocks and peanies,
Murdoch Readings (18951 II. 33. Nhb. You just think your
mother can get you out of every difficulty as easy now as when
you wore a pinny, Graham Red Scaur (1896) 158. m.Yks.'
w.Yks. Hoo's spoilt hur noice pinny theaw sees. Warty Rhymes
(1894) 6 ; w.Yks. 'i Lan. Her white pinny all full of flowers,
Francis Fustian (1895) 170 ; Lan.', e.Lan.', m.Lan.' s.Chs.' Iv
dhaaf lit-1 brivit aa)nu gon un mest fir kleeiin pini ! n.Stf. Now,
then, Totty, hold out your pinny, Geo. Eliot A. Beds (1859)
I. 329. s.Stf. PiNNOCK Black Cy. Ann. (1895). Der. Dunnot ye
dirt her clean pinner, Good Wds. (1B81) 842. Not.' sw.Lin.*
Let mother tie your pinner. Rut.', Lei.', Nhp.', War. (J.R.W.),
War.23, w.Wor.', se.Wor.' s.Wor. It takes a lot o' rag, I 'a
ripped up one o' 'er pinners already (H.K.). Shr.i Oxf.' She's
bin an' dirted her pinner, MS. add. s.Oxf. Wot a mess you've
made of j'our clean pinner ! Rosemary Chillerns (1895) ^^- Br'.is.i
Put on the childerns' pinners. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892); Wil.'
Dor. A sturdy middle-aged man whose long white pinner was
somewhat finer and cleaner than the wraps of the others. Hardy
Tess (1891) 138, ed. 1895. Som. Even the milking-pinney, put
on with such pride the day she left the workhouse to go out to
work, was only hers to wear, Raymond No Soul (1899) 49.
w.Sora.' You've a-dirt you pinny again. Dev. Put on a clayne
pinny, then go tii skule, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.^ Cor.
You've got your pinny on foorth as' back, Hammond Parish
(1897) 339-
2. Comp. Pinny.slip, a child's pinafore, n. Yks.*, w.Yks.'
PINNY, 5^>.* n.Yks.* [pi'ni.] A fish which is just
hatched.
PINNY, adj. w.Cy. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Of a saw: having lost its pliancy from being
over-bent. (Hall.) Cf. pind, ppl. adj.
PINNY, see Peony.
PINNY-LAND, sb. Wil.' [pi'ni-laend.] Arable land
where the chalk comes close to the surface, as opposed
to the deeper clay land.
PINNY-MEASURE, sb. Obs. Shr. Strata at Light-
moor Wimsey pit. Marshall Review (1818) II. 193.
PINNY-NINNY, sb. Cor. [pini-nini.] A Christmas
game played with pins ; see below.
Children at Camborne who were playing a very primitive
game called by them ' pinny-ninny.' . . A wishing well, near
St. Austell, was sometimes called ' Pennameny Well,' from the
custom of dropping pins into it, Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. ia6;
Children drop over the edge of a basin ' pound-pins' (rough pins
sua
PINNYSHOW
[5161
PIOY(E '
with wire heads). He whose pin falls and forms a cross on top
of a heap takes the heap— and so on till one beggars all the rest
(M.A.C.) ; Cor.i (s.v. Pednameny).
PINNYSHOW, sb. Yks. Also in forms pin-a-show
n.Yks.^ ; pinshow ne.Yks.' ; pin-tolook-in-show w.Yks.
[pini-Jou, -Jeu.] 1. A child's peepshow ; see below. Cf.
pin-a-sight.
n.Yks.'2, ne.Yks.*, ni.Yks.> w.Yks. Thafs what I call a reight
pin-to-leuk in-shew, Yks. Wkly. Post (Feb. 22, 1896) ; w.Yks.s
A wooden box, the inside of which is pasted over with coloured
pictures, the lid fastened down, and a hole for the eye made at
one end ; the charge for peeping being a pin, in extraordinary
cases, two. ' A pin to look in A very fine thing ! '
2. A room handsomely furnished. n.Yks." Hence
Pinnyshowwark, 56. ornamental details about a building.
ib.
PINNYWINKLES, PINOT, PINPANCH, see Pilnie-
■wink(s, Pianet, sb}, Pin-patch.
PINPANNIERLY, adj. Obs. n.Cy. Also in form
?-panniebly N.Cy.* In comb. Pin-pannierly fellow, a
miserly, covetous, suspicious fellow.
Bailey (1721); Grose (1790); N.Cy.i ; N.Cy.'^ A covetous
miser that pins up his panniers or baskets.
PIN-PARNCH, see Pinpatch.
PINPATCH, sb. Yks. e.An. I.W. Also in forms
pin-panch, -parnch Nrf. ; -patcher I.W. ; -paunch e.An.*
[pi'n-patj.] The periwinkle, Turbo littoreus.
n.Yks.* ' Cuvvin ' is the prevalent name in this part. e.An.^
Nrf. The fish-man came round, and 1 bought a few pin parnches
for tea (W.R.E.) ; We cooked the periwinkles ('pin-patches'
Joey called them), Emerson Wild Life (1890) 58 ; Cozens Hardy
Broad Nrf. (1893) 35; (A.G.) w.Nrf. He sould bergoods an'
pinpanches, Orton Beeston Ghost (1884) 8. Stif. Science Gossip
(1882) 215 ; Suf.l, Ess.i, I.W. (C.J.V.)
PINROW, sb. e.Lan.* [pi-nrou.] A streak in cloth
caused by mixed shades of weft. Cf. pin-rowed.
PIN-ROWED, adj. Irel. Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Shr.
[pi'n-roud, -rod.] Of butter : having streaks formed by
a quantity of small holes, in consequence of having been
imperfectly worked after the salt has been added to it.
Uls. (M.B.-S.), Not.l, Lei.", Nhp.i, War.s Shr.i 'Butter wuz
chepper o' Saturd'y, I 'ear.' ' Aye, som pin-rowed stuff as wunna
fit to ate ; but good butter kep' its price.'
PINSEL, PINSHER, see Pinswell, Pincher, sb.^
PINSHOT, sb. Rut.i Lei.' War.^ [pinjot.] The
fine payable for redeeming an animal from the ' pinfold '
or pound.
PINSHOW, PINSOLE, see Pinnyshow, Pinswell.
PINSONS, sb. pi. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Der. Lin. War.
Wor. Shr. Hrf. Also wiitten pincens s.Wor. ; pinsens
w.Wor.' se.Wor.' ; and in form pinson Shr.* [pi-nsanz.]
A pair of pincers ; a dentist's forceps.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) w.Yks.*, Chs.i s.Chs.i
Ahy wuz staayt Ciniif dhiin ee draud)th pin'snz aayt [I was
stai't enough than he drawed th' pinsons ait]. nw.Der.', Lin.
(J.T.F.), n.Lin.', War.*, w.Wor.i, se.Wor.l, s.Wor. (H.K.) Shr.»
Gie me the omber an' pinsons 'ere, an' I'll soon fatch the nail out.
The tuth broke i' the pinsons ; Shr.* A pair of pinson. Hrf.*
[Pynsone, tenella, cancer ; pynsone, to drawe owt tethe,
Prompt.'\
PINSWEAL(E, see Pinswell.
PINSWELL, sb. and v. Pem. Dor. Som. Dev. Also
in forms pensil Som. ; penswell, penswoll Dor. ; pingz-
will Dev. ; pinsel Dor. ; pinsole Dev. ; pinsweal Dor. ;
pinsweale Dor.* ; pinswheal, pinswil Som. ; pinswill
Dor. w.Som.* Dev.* nw.Dev.* ; pinzel Pem. Dor. [pl-nzwel,
■wil ; pi-nzl.] 1. sb. A boil ; an abscess, ulcer ; a
pimple ; a large blister.
s.Pem. My faace is all broke out with pinzels (W.M M.). Dor.
Gl. (1851); Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in N. V Q. (1883) 6th S. viii.
45 ; (W.C.) ; Dor.*, w.Dor. (C.V.G.), Som. (Hall.) e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.* Peenzwul. Dev. It commonly
breaks out on the lower parts of the body. But sometimes else-
where,//orae Subsecivae (1777)329; Creeping under an arched
bramble ... to cure blackheads or pinsoles, Trans. Dev. Assoc.
(1877) IX. 96; Dev.' 71. n.Dev. Why Zukey's pinswell's going
Wrang, Rock Jim an Nell (1867) St. 10. nw.Dev.*
2. V. To smart. Dev. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
[Cp. OE. ptn, pain, and geswell, swelling, tumour.]
PIN'T,/^. Cum.'* Inphr. (i) piM't into the hardyert/i; (2)
hardpin't, said of the grass when eaten off the bare ground.
PIN'T, see Pinned.
PINT, sb. and v. Sc. Cum. LMa. Nhp. Nrf. Suf. Also
written pynt Sc. (Jam.); and in form peynt Cum.* [paint.]
1. sb. In comp. (i) Pint-jug, an ale-mug ; (2) -pig, an
earthenware money-box ; (3) -stoup, (a) a pint-measure ;
a drinking vessel ; {b) a spiral shell of the genus Turbo.
(i)LMa.Aw,dearl but he made the pint joughs fly, Brown Vawji
(i88r) 170, ed. 1889. (2) Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Pint-pigs for haudin'
your Friday's bawbees, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 249. (3, a)
Sc. Holding a pint-stoup as big as himself, Scott Redg. (1824)
Lett. iii. Per. Gif the pint-stoup but clatter, ye'U ken him ere
lang. Ford Harp (1893) 207. Ayr. A weel-boiled egg, in a raw
cold morning, is worth mair than a pint-stoup of salt tears, Galt
Sir A. Wylie (1822) Ixi. Edb. Maclagan Poems (1851) 141.
Gall. Each with his pint-stoup before him, Crockett Bog-Myrtle
(1895) 19. (6) Lth. Most probably from its elongated form as
resembling the measure above-mentioned (Jam.).
2. Phr. to give a pint and gill, to give a good deal.
Abd. I hear fowks . . . say . . . That they'd gie a pint and gill
Ere they wan loose, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 215. Ayr. A pint
an' gill I'd gie them baith To hear your crack, Burns Ep. to
J. Lapraik (Apr. i, 1785) st. 7.
3. A measure equal to two Eng. quarts.
Sc. (Jam.) ; The Scottish pint of liquid measure comprehend?
four English measures of the same denomination, Hislop Anecdote
(1874) 732. Edb. New Year's Morning (1792) 8.
4. Of butter : twenty ounces.
Nrf. 'How many pints of butter do ye make in a week?' . .
Twenty ounces of butter, . . put into nicely shaped and stamped
rolls, are a pint. Spilling ^Arry and'Arriett (i88o) 24-5. Nrf,
Suf. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Suf. Butter ... I have a whole
half pint, Strickland Old Friends, &c. (1864) 299.
5. V. To drink a pint ; to drink. Cf. gill, sb.'' 6.
Cum.* He pey nted and peynted on till Chris'mas Day, W. C. T. H.
(1893) 9, col. 3. Nhp. Would cash, when wanted, pockets fill,
To pint it just at iny desire, My drooping Muse with ale inspire,
Clare Poems (1820) 128 ; Nhp.i*
PINT, see Pink, sb.^, Point, sb.
PIN-THEWIDDIE, sb. Sc. Also in form penny
widdie. 1. A small dried haddock, unsplit.
Abd. (Jam.) Edb. Chewing our cuds owre whisky toddy On
speldins or a penny- widdie, Macneill Bygane Times (18 ii) 4.
[Satchell (1879).]
2. Fig. A very meagre person. Abd. (Jam.)
PIN- TIDY, sb. Nhp.* A child's pinafore. See Pin-
cloth.
PINTLE, sb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Nrf. [pi ntl.] 1. The
membrum virile. Cum.*, Wm. (B.K.), Nrf. (P.H.E.)
2. Cotnp. Pintle-twister, a whore. n.Yks. (T.S.)
[OE. pintel, membrum virile (B.T.).]
PINTLEPANTLE, adj Lin. [pintl-pantl.] Trem-
bling through fear or through too frequent beatings of the
heart. (P.R.) Hence Pintledy-pantledy, (i) adv., obs.,
of the heart : beating hurriedly as through fear ; (2) sb. a
continuous, monotonous, regular noise.
( i) My heart went pintledy pantledy , Skinner (167 1). (2) Lin.l
PINTO, sb. w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) A wooden pin or
lever for turning a weaver's beam.
PIN- TOED, at//-. Nhp.* War.* [pi-n-tod.] Having the
toes turned inwards.
PIN-TO-LOOKIN-SHOW, see Pinnyshow.
PINWIRE, sb. Sur. ?A trap or snare for game;
used attrib.
The wild rabbit of the waste lands is nothing more or less
than ' pinwire varmint,' as the rustics say. . . In the days I write
of, the pinwire dotters were the pest of the farmers. Son of
Marshes On Sur. Hills (1891) 60.
PINY, PINYON, PINYUN, PINZEL, see Peony,
Pinion, sb.\ Pinswell.
PIONA, PIONY, PIOO, see Peony, Pew.
PIOORL, V. Sh.I. [pjtirl.] To whine, whimper.
S.&Ork.i Cf. pule, I/.* ^
PIOT, PIOY(E, see Pyet, Peeoy(e.
PIP
[517 1
PIPE
PIP, sb} War. Oxf. I.W. Som. Dev. [pip, pap.]
1. Dyspepsia. War.^ 2. Phr. lo take pip at or of, to take
offence at.
w.Som.i, Dev.* n.Dev. Ha murt take p'po' and meach off,
Exm. Citshp. (1746) 1. 468; Grose (1790).
3. A slight cough.
w.Som.' Why, Billy, what's the matter — got the pip ? n.Dev.
Of a person with a short hecking cough it is often said ' Her've a
got the pip,' Exm. Scold. (1746) Gl.
4. The 'lues venerea.' s.Cy. (Hall.), I.W.'^ 5. A
foolish person.
Oxf. He must have been a pip to have believed that (CO.).
PIP, sb? and v.^ Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Not. Lin. Lei.
Nhp. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf. Glo. Oxf. Hnt. e.An. Wil.
Also in form peep w.Yks.'^* Chs.^^^ stf Not. n.Lin.*
Nhp.** War.'° Hnt. [pip, pip.] 1. sb. A single blossom
of flowers growing in a cluster ; the detached corollas
of certain flowers, esp. of the cowslip and primrose.
w.Yks.i The flowers of cowslips detached from the calyx ;
w.Yks.2 ne.Lan.',Chs.*23,s.Chs.i Stf. In the markets of Stafford
and Stone the detached corollas of cowslips and primroses are sold
under the name of ' peeps' for making cowsHp and primrose wine or
vinegar (G.H.H.). Not. Cowslip peeps (J.H.B.); Not* s.Not.
Go an' pick the peeps frum them cowslips (J.P.K.). Lin.*, n.Lin.*,
sw.Lin.l Lei.* The detached blossoms of the cowslip used for
making wine. Nhp. Cowslip-peeps are fit to pull, Clare Village
Minst. (i82i)n. 29; Nhp.*, War.'^s^ s.Wor.*,Slir.*2, Hrf.^, Glo.*,
Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.*
2. The pistfl of a flower. w.Yks.'^* 3. A young shoot
or bud, a small blossom.
Nhp.'^ War. I've picked a daisy, mother, the first this year ; it
is but a pip though, Leamington Courier (J/lar. 6, 1897); War.'*,
Glo.* Wil. Britton Beauties (,1825) ; Wil.*
4. A spot upon a woman's dress, &c. n.Lin.* 5. A
small spot on the skin. Oxf.* 6. //. 'Muscae volitantes,'
specks appearing to dance before the eye. Lei.* 7. v.
To pick off the blossoms of cowslips for making wine.
s.Chs.* Wee mun aa dheyz ky'aay sltips pip't ilfoaT ney t. War .3,
s.Wor.* Shr.* I promised the Missis as the childern shoulden get
'er a basket o' cowerslops, an' now 'er wants 'em pipped. Hrf.^,
Glo. (A.B.)
PIP, V.' War. Glo. Oxf. Amer. [pip.] 1. To crack
the egg-shell in hatching ; also used/ig:
War.2, Glo.** Oxf.' Uuwr enz u set in, un uur u got too egz
pipt [Our 'en 's a settin', an' er 'a got two eggs pipped]. [Amer.
She's welcome to all she gets out o' me. I pipped my shell as
many as two seasons ago. Cent. Mag. (Jan. 1901) 44a.]
2. Of a flower-pod : to burst. Glo.' *
PIP, see Peep, v}
PIPE, sb. and v,^ Var. dial, and slang uses in Sc. Irel.
Eng. and Amer. Also in form poipe w.Yks. [paip,
Midi, poip.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Pipe-bent, a stalk of
grass, a blade of the dog's»tail grass, Cynosurus cristatus ; (2)
■drink, Kght ale esteemed by smokers ; (3) -filler or
Pifler, a child who, in weaving, fills or winds the thread
on the pipe ready for the weaver ; (4) -gun, a pop-gun ;
(5) -gutter, a drain made with ordinary tile-pipes in
contradistinction to a stone gutter ; (6) -head, the bowl of
a pipe J {7) -kiln, see below ; (8) -reek, tobacco smoke ;
(9) -ross, a salt-water worm ; (10) -shank, the sterti of a
tobacco-pipe ; (11) -shankit, having long, thin legs; (12)
•small, a silly, useless person, one who is feeble both in
body and mind ; (13) -steil, see (10) ; (14) -stopper, the
stem of a pipe ; broken pieces of the stem of a clay pipe ;
also nse-AJig. and attrib. ; {15) -stopple, -staple, or -stapple,
{a) see (14) ; (b) see (i).
(i) Slk. Picking the seeds o' the pipe-bent, Hogg Tales (1838)
363, ed. 1866. (2) Shr.* ; Shr.* A weak sparkling fresh ale, fit for
smokers and for no one else to drink. w.Cy. (Hall.) (3) e.An.*
(4) Sc. The Shooter, again, he begins with his pop or pipe-gun,
formed of the last year's growth of the branch of a plane-tree,
Blackw- Mag. (Sept. 1828) 276. (5) w.Som.* Puyp-guadT. (6)
Don. As good tibbacky as ever ye put intila pipe-head, Macmanus
Bend of Road (zS^B) Cx). n.Cy., Yks. (J.yV.) (7) Sus.* A frame-
work of iron, in which long dirty clay pipes are put, and placed
over a hot fire or in an oven, till they burn white and clean again.
(8J Ayr. Gettin' a glint 0' a neighbour's face lookin' out amang
pipe reek. Hunter Studies (1870) 247. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) (9)
Nrf. All them pipe-ross worrums what make the rough ground is
killed, Emerson Wild Life (1890) 99 ; Only to begot far out at sea
(P.H.E.). (io)Sc.(A.W.),e.Dur.' (ii)Lnk.Lang,thin,shilpit,pipe-
shankit, white-chaff't. Murdoch Readings (1895) 1. 24. (12) Rxh.
(Jam.) (13) w.Yks. Shuv'd a poipe steil i't foire, Hallam Wadsley
/acA (1866; xi. (i4)Lakel.2 e.Yks.' He desaavsshuttin'wi' pipe-
stoppers. w.Yks. "Tawk abaat rain — whew ! It didn't fall i' drops,
it coom daan i' streeams as thick as a pipe-stopper, Hartley Clock
Aim. (1890) 29 ; Gough ! but yond chap's some reight pipe-stopper
legs, Leeds Merc. Suppl, (Mar. 7, 1897). ne.Lan.* (15, a) Sc. Ye
might as weel batter at it wi' pipe-staples, Scott BW. Dwarf
(1816) ix. s.Sc. I'll go to such a place though it should rain auld
wives and pipe-stapples (Jam.). Lnk. Murdoch Readings (1895)
III. 26. Lth. (Jam.) Edb. Pipe-staples form a very amusing play-
thing, by putting two pins crosswise through a green pea, placing
the pea at the upper end of the pipe-staple, and, holding it verti-
cally, blowing gently through it, Blackw. Mag. (Aug. 1821) 35.
Slk. I gart his arm just snap like a pipe-stapple, Hogg Tales (1838)
7, ed. 1866. Rxb. Anything very brittle (Jam.). N.l.*, N.Cy.*
Nhb.' Usually applied to the broken piece of a clay pipe. Dur.*,
e.Dirr.*, Lakel.'^ Cum. Ah wad think nowt eh breckan a fella eh
thy swatch across me knee like a pipe-stopple, Sargisson/oc Scoap
(i88i) 201; Cum.*-*, w.Yks. (C.W.D.) (6) Sc. The grass Cyno-
surus crisiaius, whose stiff stalks are used to clean pipes (CD.) ;
(G.W.) Lth. (Jam.)
2. Phr. (i) in the filling of a pipe, in a very short time ;
(2) to put a person's pipe out, to subdue or silence him; (3)
to take a pipe, (4) to tune one's pipes, to cry, weep ; (5) pipes
of pain, a flail.
(i) Nhb. My feyther wes as guid as an elder, an' cud wipe oot
the likes o' him i' the fillin o' a pipe. Pease Marko' Deil (1894) *2^-
(2) Sc. (A.W.) n.Lin.* Noht put Dr. Kenealy's pipe oot like gettin'
into th' Hoose o' Commons. (3) Old. (Jam.) Slk. He's takin a pipe
to himsel at the house-end — his heart ... is as saft as a snaw-ba,
Hogg Brownie 0' Bodsbeck (1818) II. 155 (Jam.). (4) Sc. (Jam.)
(5) Bnff.*
3. The common field draining pipe.
w.Som.* Used only in the singular. ' I'll pay vor gutterin', nif
you'll plase to vind the pipe.' ' Thick gutter '11 take vower hun-
dred o' dree inch pipe.'
4. A thin layer or bed of coal or mineral ; an irregular
formation of ore.
Nhb.* Also the carbonized remains of plants frequently found in
irregular thin patches. Nhb., Dur. Soft blue metal with coal pipes.
Borings (1881) II. 6. Der. Distinguished from a vein by its
irregularity in width, being sometimes very wide and at others so
closed up that a leading only is discoverable ; and where wide, is
generally filled with a soft clay, or sometimes fine loamy soil in
appearance, in which the ore lays loose in lumps ; a pipe also
generally, but not invariably, runs in a contrary direction to the
veins or rakes where they are found. Pipes and Flats are the
same ; they always lie flat, having in general a hard lid or roof and
sole, Mander Miners' Gl. (1824) ; A vein running unlike a rake,
having a rock roof and sole, Mining Gl. (1854) ; Broad rake, flatt,
pipe, and vein, Furness Medicus-Magus (1836) 16 ; A pipe of ore
is known by being covered with rock at the roof, and supported
by it at the sole : it abounds also with runs of holes and ranges,
bounded by such rocks in different forms : but the whole body of
it may consist of several lodes or ranges running parallel to each
other, ib. Gl. ; A species of lead mine, very irregular in width, in
which the ore runs forward endways in a hole, and does not sink
downwards or in a vein. Tapping Gl. to Manlove (1851). Cor.^
' A pipe of ore,' a great collection of ore without any vein coming
into, or going from it.
Hence (i) Pipe-coal, sb. a thin seam of coal ; (2) -vein,
sb. a lead-vein lying between strata as distinguished
from one which intersects them ; (3) -work, sb. a species
of lead-mine ; see below ; (4) Pipey, adj. streaked with
thin thready layers of coal.
(i) Nhb., Dur. There are the pipe-coal, which perhaps is not
above four or six inches thick, Compleat Collier (1708) 4. (2) Nhb.*
(3) Der. Primgaps, roof-works, flat-works, pipe-works, shifts, Man-
love Lead Mines (1653) 1. 264 ; A species of lead mine, very
irregular in width, in which the ore runs forward endways in a hole,
and does not sink downwards or in a vein. Tapping Gl. to Manlove
(1851). (4) Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. Coal with some small pipy lumps
or scare bands. Borings (1878) I. 2.
5. A small channel leading from the central pool in a
duck-decoy. See Piper, 6.
PIPE
[518]
PIPER
Lin. The channels called pipes, Miller & Skertchly Fenland
(1878) xii. n.Lin.i, e.An.' Sur. It is when resting in the decoy
that they are coaxed up one of the decoy pipes, and get captured,
Son of Marshes Woodlanders (ed. 1893) 258.
Hence Pipe-stave, sb., ohs., ? a post or pile used in the
construction of such a channel.
Chs. Out of this wood the best hath been made use of for pipe-
staves, which were sold for £6 a 1000, Brereton Travels (,1634-
5) in Cheth. Soc. Publ. (1844) I. 146.
6. A branch or side-run in a rabbit-warren. s.Chs."^
7. A small dingle or ravine issuing from a larger one.
Chs.i=^ Der.'^ 8. The throat, windpipe ; the voice.
Edb. Rich melons ripe, For great D — s, that statesman keen,
To clear his pipe, Forbes Poems (1812) 90. w.Yks. T'shauts at
thay drew aght a ther pipes az t'weddiners past i ther carridges
wor really wunderfuU, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1859)
3. Nhp.* Open your pipes. War.^ [Amer. He seized him by
the throat, and twisted his pipe, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836)
ist S. vi.l
9. //. The larger vessels of the lungs and heart, the
veins and arteries.
n.Yks. (I.W.), w.Yks.2, Not.' n.Lin.* More commonly used in
relation to the vessels of the lungs only. ' He's bad in his pipes
when he walks up hill.' ' If you doan't tak care to cut the pipes
cot e' th' shoh'der-peace o' a pig it weant tak salt, an' then the
meat '11 soon begin to stink.' Lei.', e.An.', w.Som.^
10. //. The bagpipes.
Sc. He . . . could play weel on the pipes ; he was famous at
' Hoopers and Girders,' Scott Redg. (1824") Lett. xi. Per. I hae
sma' brew o' the hieland folk, wi' their kilts an' their pipes, the
daft antics, Cleland Iitchbracken (1883) 107, ed. 1887. Arg. You
have skill of the pipes ; I know by the drum of your fingers on the
horn spoon, Munro Lost Pibroch (1896) 7. Ayr. He screw'd the
pipes and gart them skirl, Burns Tarn o' Shanier (1790) 1. 123.
Hence Pipe-skill, sb. skill in playing the bagpipes.
Abd. John o' pipe-skill was na scant, SHiRREFsPoe>M5( 1790) 213.
11. pi. Of horses : a disease causing wheeziness.
Oxf. One of these horses 'got the pipes,' Blackmore Cripps
(1876) viii ; (A.P.)
12. One of the changes in a linnet's song. Lon. Mayhew
Land. Labour (1851) III. 14, ed. 1861. 13. The pufifin,
Fratercula ardica. Cor. Swainson Birds (1885) 2?o.
14. A kind of confectionery.
Lon. Sugar constitutes the base of an almost innumerable variety
of hard confectionary, sold undei the names of lozenges, brilliants,
pipe, Mayhew ib. I. 204.
15. A cask for beer, wine, or brandy. n.Cy. (Hall.),
Nhb. (R.O.H.) 16. //. The acorn cup with the stalk
attached.
n.Yks. Children carry [it] in their mouths and pretend they are
smoking (B. & H.).
17. A large round cell in a bee-hive used bj' the queen-
bee. w.Cy. (Hall.) [(K.)] 18. Obs. The charge of
powder or shot for a fowling-piece.
Suf.i Some 30 or 40 years ago ... we carried our powder in
one bag, and our shot in another, with the bowl of a tobacco-pipe in
one or both. . . The term pipe is sometimes still heard to express
the quantum of a charge, though the thing be, in fact, no longer
used. Of a long duck-gun I lately heard it said, ' She'll carry tew
pipes of each.'
19. V. Of the wind: to whistle, -howl.
w.Sc. A common saying when the wind is rising, ' Hear how it's
pipin' i' the lum-tap ' (Jam. SuppL).
20. To wheeze. n.Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 329.
Hence Piping,///, adj. wheezing, husky.
w.Som.i Her's a poor pipin', crakin' poor cratur, her is. n.Dev.
A wud ha' had a parbeaking piping body in tha ! Exm. Scold.
(1746) 1. 148. nw.Dev.i
21. To cry, weep, to shed tears, esp. in phr. to pipe the
eye ; in gen. colloq. use.
Cai.i, Bnff.i, Cld. (Jam.), n.Cy. (J.W.) w.Yks. Where many
a scapegrace, pip'd hi? e'en, When t'vicar shack'd hiz locks,
Senior Smithy Rhymes (1882) 35. ne.Lan.i Lin.' Now, then,
pipe away. Nhp.i Applied only to petulant children. ' What do
you stand piping there for ? ' War.3 The great looby piped his
eye, [Apier. It actilly a'most made me pipe my eye to see him,
it was so affectin, Sam Suck Clockmaker (1836) 3rd S. ix.]
Slang. A fortnight after marriage : early times for piping eye,
Thackeray Miscell, (1855) 140.
22. Of onions : to run to seed-stalks but not to seed.
Bdf. We've a lot of onions piped and worth nothing (B.K.).
Hence Pipey, adj. run to stem instead of to seed.
[The bines which come from that or any other joint higher up
the set grow fast, but are coarse, hollow, or what we call 'pipey,'
and unproductive, Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) H. 40.]
23. To frill with an Italian iron.
Sc. A mutch which she has no doubt piped regularly, Wright
Life (1897) 62. Cal.', Cld. (Jam.)
Hence (i) Pipet, ppl. adj. frilled ; (2) Piping, sb. a frill,
curl, edging ; (3) -iron, sb. an Italian iron.
(i) Abd. She seems to clutch At Firhill's clean, new-pipet
mutch, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 170. (2) Slk. Thin pipings
of reek could be seen, Hogg Poems {^A. 1865) 289. (3) CJd. (Jam.)
PIPE, v.^ Yks. Aus. Slang, [paip.] To watch
stealthily ; to take notice of, detect.
w.Yks. He's pipin' abaat, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1897) ;
w.Yks.^ Pipe his kuss [mouth]. A detective is said to pipe round
a public-house when in search of a culprit. [Aus. ' How does he
know we're here, I wonder ? ' . . ' Some of the telegraphs piped
us, I suppose,' BoLDREWOOD Robbery (1888) I. x.] Slang. To
follow or dog a person. Term used by detectives, Slang Did.
(1865V
PIPER, sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
[pai-p3(r.] 1. In comb, (i) Piper's bags, the bagpipes ;
in ^hr.priesfs books and piper's bags is poor widow-rights,
a spying ; (2) -faced, pale and delicate-looking ; (3)
-full, 065., very drunk; (4) -'s neivs, stale news; (5) — ■
warning, a hasty invitation at the last moment.
(i) Cum. (M.P.) (2) Lnk. Their piper-fac'd fingers are not for
hard labour, Graham Writings (1883) II. 148. (3) Abd. I drank
till I was piper fu', Shirrefs Poems (1790) 41. Ayr. Fill'd them
bra' an' soon. A' piper-fou, Fisher Poems (1790) 60. (4) Sc.
Before dark it was piper's news that the Captain had humbly
begged the laird's pardon, Keith .BoKKzciarfy (1897) 65. Sh.I.
Tell wis suntin' 'at we dunna ken. Yon's piper's news, Sh. News
(Aug. 21, 1897). Abd. Hint it noo, it's piper's news, Murray
Hamewiih (1900) 56. Slg. I hear ane crying, ' Fiddler's news ! '
Fiddler's, or piper's if ye choose, Towers Poems (1885) 69.
eXth. But I daursay it wiill be piper's news to you. Hunter
J. Jnmick (1895) 97. Slk. ' I came expressly to inform you.' . .
' Came with piper's news,' said the lady, ' which the fiddler has
told before you,' Hogg Perils of Man (1822) I. 29 (Jam.). (5)
Cum. (M.P.)
2. Phr. (i) as drunk as a piper, ver^ drunk; (2) as mad as a
piper, passionate, excitable ; (3) by the piper, (4) by the piper
that played before Moses, expletives, oaths.
(i) ne.Sc. Gordon Northvuard Ho, 202. Per. He called in
liquor until every one was as drunk as a piper, Monteath Dunblane
(1835) los, ed. 1887. w.Yks. (J.W.) Stf. Monthly Mag. (1816)
I. 494. (2) Cum. (M.P.) (3) Ir. Be the piper, sure enough I was
up there splicin' the handle of your mother's ould basket, Barlow
Idylls (189a) 274. n.Ir. I hope they don't hear me, Or else, by
the piper, they'll make me sing sad, Lays and Leg. (1884) i6. (4)
Don. Be the piper that played afore Moses I'll call out me regiment
of throopers, Cent. Mag. (Nov. 1899) 45.
3. Obs. A singer, vocalist.
Edb. There a'lflaist better catgut scrappers, And far excel as
vocal pipers, Liddle Poems (1821) 210.
4. A bird. Nhb. (W.G.) 5. A horse that makes a
wheezing noise going i(p-hill ; a broken-winded horse.
See Pipe, v} 20.
Oxf.i Slang. Lex. Balatronicum (1811).
6. A dog trainee! to lure wild-fowl up the ' pipes ' of a
decoy. See Pipe, sb. 5.
Lin. The dog . . . vyas a piper of the highest quality, Fenn
Dick o' the Fens (1888) viii ; A well trained little dog—' the piper'
is a necessary agent in the work of decoying. Miller &
Skertchly Fenland (1878) xii.
7. A Stem of grass. N.I.i 8. A species of tub-fish,
Trigla lyra. Cf peeper, sb?
Cor.i There is another species of tiib-fish caught here [Mouse-
hole] very similar to, but much smaller than the fornier [the tub],
sometimes called ' Piper ' (s.v. Denneck). [Satchell (1879).]
9. A trout, thin and out of condition, in the season for
fishing. Wmh. (W.M.) 10. A half-dried haddock.
Abd. (Jam.) 11. The sea-urchip, Echinus cidaris.
Sh.I. Edmonstone Zetland (i8og) II. 320 (Jam.) ; S. & Ork.'
12. The crane-fly or daddy-longleg?. Abd. (Jam.)
PIPERIDGE
[519]
PIRJINK
13. An innkeeper. [Not known to our correspondents.]
Dev. (Hall.)
PIPERIDGE, PIPHLET, see Pipperidge, Pikelet.
PIPING, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. [pai-pin.] The noise
made by bees preparatory to swarming. n.Cy. (Hall.),
w.Yks.', ne.Lan.^
PIPING HOT, phr. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc
Eng. and Amer. Very hot, fresh from the fire; also
used^^. ; rarely piping alone.
Abd. Used of lessons said by a boy or girl immediately on
closing tile school-book. ' You've said your lessons piping hot,'
implying that they are not likely to be long remembered (A.W.).
Per. Buy my hot and tottling pies ! Fine mutton pies, fat, piping
hot, Spence Poems (1898) 84. Slg. Serve it piping, that's Jema-
dar's stew, Towers Poems (1885) 45. Dmb. Salmon Gowodean
(1868) 63. Ayr. Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 35. Edb. On nice
howtowdies, piping hot. And drapit eggs, ilk fiU'd his wame,
Macneill Bygone Times (181 1) 8. Dwn. Lifting to his lip His
piping tumbler for a soothing sip, Savage-Armstron<? Ballads
(1901) 203. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.) w.Yks. (J.W.),
nw.Der.^ Nhp.^ Formerly exemplified here, by the nightly invita-
tion to purchase hot mutton pies ; — ' Piping hot, smoking hot !
Mutton pies, All hot ! all hot ! ' Metaphorically, ' He's gone off
piping hot to tell the news.' War.^ 'Piping hot' may yet be
heard as a street cry. Hot. (T.P. F.) Loo. Bavmahn Londim'smen
(1887). Cor. August month it was, an' pipin' hot, ' Q.' Troy Town
(1888) V. [Amer. Piping, simmering, boiling, piping-hot, so hot
as to liiss or simmer, Green Virginia Flk-Sp. (1899).]
[Pypyng hote, tout chault, Palsgr. (1530) 840 ; And
wafres, pyping hote out of the glede, Chaucer C. T.
A. 3379-]
PIPKIN, sb. Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War. Hnt. Suf.
[pi'pkin.] 1. A glazed earthenware vessel ; a glazed
saucepan, whether earthenware or metal.
s.Not. A deep cylindrical vessel of coarse red earthenware,
glazed within, now obsol. It was in two sizes, the larger, called
a ' hull pipkin,' held about two gallons ; the smaller, called a ' hafe
pipkin,' held half that quantity (J.P.K.). Liu.i, Lei.i Nhp.' A
small vessel, of the form of a saucepan, made of brown glazed
earthenware. War.^, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Suf.^ An earthen domestic
utensil.
2. Fig. The head. Suf.' 3. A round wooden milkpail
with one ear. Not.' Cf. pippen, sb. 2.
PIPLIN, see Pipple.
PIPPEN, sb. Yks. Not. Lin. Nhp. War. Won Also
written pippin w.Yks.^ Lin.' [pipin.] 1. A round and
deep earthenware pan ; a ' pipkin.'
w.Yks.2 Not.' A tall round earthenware jar glazed inside, in
which bread or flour is kept. Lin.' Put the bread-loaf in the
pippin.
2. A milkpail, a round vessel for holding milk or cream.
Not.' A round wooden milk-pail with one ' ear.' Nhp.' An
earthen creampot. War.^ Tin vessels, shaped hke milk-pails, or
buckets, but with handles and spouts for convenience of pouring
into a churn, the cream that is stored in them awaiting churning.
Wor. Cream pippens and sye bowls. Auctioneer's Caial. ; (E.S.)
PIPPER, s6.' Dev. [pi-p3(r).] A foot, trotter.
' Hev 'ee zeed ort o' my jackass ? ' ' Ees. I zeed 'n voar tap
turnpike walvin' in the dist wai' hees vower pippers in een,'
Reports Provinc. (1893).
PIPPER, V. and sb.^ Sc. Also in form pepper Cai.'
[pi'pgr, pe'par.] 1. v. To tremble, quiver ; to vibrate.
Sh.I. My very flesh is pipperin' upo' my banes wi' faer, Stewart
Tales (1892) 112 ; Hit's very klung lack. See dat foo hit pippers
sometime ! Sh. News (May 14, 1898) ; S. & Ork.', Cat'
2. To hesitate. S. & Ork.' 3. sb. A convulsive move-
ment, a quiver.
Sh.L He laid her cauld : shu juist gae a pipper or twa wi' her
feet, and there she wis, Sh. News (Dec. 24, 1898).
[1. Norw. dial, pipra, to tremble (Aasen) ; ON. ptpra,
to quiver, shake (Vigfusson).]
PIPPERIDGE, sb. n.Cy. Lin. Hrt. e.An. s.Cy. Hmp.
Also in forms pepperidge Hrt. Suf.' ; piperidge Cmb. ;
piprick Lin. [piparidg.] 1. The barberry-tree, Berberis
vulgaris. Also in comp. Pipperidge-bush.
n.Cy. Lin. Them there beast hev been . . . breaking down the
pipricks, N. &> Q. (1865) 3rd S. vii. 31. Hrt. e.An.' The fruit is
always called by its proper name. Suf.' Ess. Gl. (1851) ; Ess.',
s.Cy. Hmp. It was formerly known as the ' Pipperidge-bush,'
that is, red-pip, a name descriptive of the colour and character of
its berries, which were preserved in various ways, Longman's
Mag. (Dec. 1899) 181.
2. pi. The fruit of the barberry.
Ccnb. (B. & H.) Suff., Ess. Ray (1691) ; Grose (1790) ; Gl.
(1851) ; Ess.' [Pipperidges, berberis, Coles (1679).]
PIPPERMENT, sb. Nrf. [pi'pament.] The smallest
pig of a litter. (P.H.E.)
PIPPIN, sb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Also
written pippen Dur.' w.Yks. n.Lan.' ; and in form peppin
Chs.' [pi'pin.] 1. A pip, the seed of an apple, pear, or
orange, &c.
Dur.' Cum. A pippin frae an apple fair I cut. And clwose
atween my thoom and finger put : Then cry'd, whore wons my
luive, come tell me true ; And even forret stright away it flew,
Relph Miscell. Poems (1747) 95 ; Cum.", Wm. (B.K.), n.Yks.'
e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781) ;
Very common (J.W.) ; w.Yks.' n.Lan.' The black pippins of
the apples are used by the country youths and maidens, as a
charm to tell in what direction their future wife or husband lies.
The fresh pippins are used, and are pressed between the finger
and thumb until they fly, the following verse being repeated
meanwhile : — ' Pippin pippin paradise. Tell me where my love
lies; East, West, North, South, Kirby, Kendal, Cockermouth ? '
ne.Lan.', e.Laa.'
2. A variety of apple raised from a ? pip. Wm. (B.K.),
Chs.'
[1. Yr.pepin, a pippin, the seed of fruit (Cotgr.).]
PIPPLE, sb. l.Ml. Som. Dev. Also in forms piplin
Som. ; pippler Dev. [pi'pl.] The aspen, Populus tremula,
(B. & H.) See Popple, 56.'
PIPPLE, V. Sc. 1. To cry, whimper.
Abd. What are ye pipplin' an' greetin' at? (G.W.)
2. Comp. Pipple-papple, to patter, pop, to do anything
with a sudden noise or motion. Also used advb.
Abd. The hail-stones came down pipple papplin' on the sky-
light of the house (G.W.). Ayr. Peter the gauger, himsel', Whiles
comes pipple papple in, Boswell Poet. Wis. (1816) 151, ed. 1871,
PIPPLE, PIPPLER, see Popple, 56.=, Pipple.
PIP-POP, s6. Bck. A swing-gate, a 'kissing-gate' (q.v.),
Jllus. Lon. News (Jan. 7, 1888) 26, col. 3. s.Bck. (A.C.)
PIPPY-SHOW, sb. w.Yks." [pi-pi-Jeu.] A peep-show.
Cf poppy-show.
Pansies or other flowers are pressed beneath a piece of glass,
which is laid upon a piece of paper, a hole or opening, which can
be shut at pleasure, being cut in the paper. The charge for
looking at the show is a pin. The children say, ' A pin to look at
a pippy-show.'
PIPRICK, see Pipperidge.
PIPSEY-WEE, sb. Wor. [pi'psi-wi.] In phr. to get
the pipsey-wee, to be lazy and idle. See Hipsee-wee.
s.Wor. A've got the pipsey-wee ; a con eat, an' drink, an' slip,
but a con't work (H.K.).
PIRAN, sb. and adj. Cor. 1. sb. In comp. (i) Piran-
broadcloth, rush mats made at Piran ; (2) -day, March 5.
(i) Cor.2 (2) Flk-Lore Jrn. (18B6) IV. 221 ; Cor.' A tinner's
holyday. St. Piran is the patron saint of tinners, popularly sup-
posed to have died drunk.
2. adj. Intoxicated, drunk.
Hammond Parish (1897) 341 ; Cor.2 He was Piran last night.
Hence Piraner, sb. in phr. as drunk as a Piraner, very
drunk. Cor.'
PIRCH, V. Dev. [patj.] To push ; lit. perch.
I saw J. G. pirch him on the grond, Reports Provinc. (1885) loi.
PIRDLE, PIRGY, PIRIE, see Pirl, v., Purgy, adj.\
PIRIE'S CHAIR, /^r. Obs. Sc. See below.
n.Sc. In Pirie's chair you'll sit, I say. The lowest seat o' hell,
Proud Lady Margaret in Child Pop. Ballads (1884) I. 429 ; Familiar
in doggerel lines recited by boys in their games. One boy stood
back against the wall, another bent towards him with his head on
the pit of the other's stomach ; a third sat upon the back of the
second. The boy whose head was bent down had to guess how
many fingers the rider held up. The first asked the question in
doggerel rhyme in which Pirie's chair was the doom threatened
for a wrong answer, ib. Gl.
PIRJINCT PIRJINK, see Perjink.
PIRK
[520]
PIRLICUE
PIRK, PIRKAS, PIRKUS, see Perk, Perks.
PIRKLE, PIRKY, see Prickle, Perky.
PIRL, s6.' Sc. Nhb. Cum. Also written purl(e Sc.
(Jam.) Nhb. Cum.' ; and in form pirlag Cai.* [psrl-] A
small round lump of dung ; dried cow-dung used for fuel.
Sc. Particularly of horses or sheep, as it has been dropped on
the ground (Jam.). S. & Ork.' Excrementum ovium. Cai.* Fif.
To gather purls (Jam.). Lth. The auld woman was gathering
horse-purls. She dries them on her window-sole and uses them
for lunts (<■*.). SIk. {ib.) Nhb. Ray (1691). Cum.i
PIRL, V. and sb.^ Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War.
Wor. Glo. Oxf Brks. Nrf Hmp. LW. Wil. Som. Cor.
Slang. Also written perl Oxf. Nrf ; purl S. & Ork.^ Nhb.'
n.Yks.i* e.Yks. n.Lin.i War.^ Wor. Glo.'= Oxf Brks.'
Nrf Hmp.i I.W.'^ WiU Slang; purle Lei.; purrl Sh.L;
pyrl Sc. (Jam.) ; and in forms perdle, pirdle e.Som.
w.Som.' ; purdle Wil.' ; ptirdly w.Som.' [pari, pal,
w.Cy. pa'dl.] 1. v. To spin round, as a top ; to whirl,
turn round ; to cause a top to spin.
Sc. Often followed by prep, aboot, at, up. ' Pirl up the pennies '
(Jam.) ; Oh what a treat it is to see Bonny, bonny stanes come
pirlin', Caled. Curling Club Ann. (1887-88) 377. Edb. Cran-
reuch snaw blaws pirlin' on the plain, Learmont Po^ms (1791)273.
Nhp.i Applied to a top, when it revolves very rapidly. ' It pirls
well.' War.^ How that wheel goes purling round. w.Wor. He
hit the fence and then purled over, S. Beauchamp Graniley Grange
(1874) II. 268. GI0.12 Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 46.
Hmp. As clouds veer round with the wind (J. R.W.I; Hmp.i
I.W.' He purled round like a top ; I.W.= Som. Used of the flail
round the head (W.F.R.). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i
There was a fuller tookt a plate, and made'n purdly roun tap o' a
stick the very same's a whirdly gig. Let me pirdle the top, I'll
show thee how to make'n go. Cor.^ e.Cor. Joost look how he
do pirl 'ez steck, Daniel Poems.
2. To turn head over heels ; to turn a somersault.
Wil.^ Som. SwEETMAN Wincanton Gl. (1885).
Hence Pirler, sb. a fall, tumble, somersault, esp. a fall
from a horse ; a knock-down blow.
War. (J.R.W.) ; He was sent over, a nasty purler, B'ham Dy.
Gazette (Mar. 23, i8g6) ; War.^ A regular purler is to-day on the
football field only equivalent to a regular cropper, which is a com-
plete spread-eagling fall. Oxf. A term used in the hunting field.
'He came a regular purler over the rails or hedge' (M.A.R.).
Brks.i My herse stopped shert at the ditch, an' I went a purler
awver his yead. Wil. Swung his gun round, and fetched him a
purler on the back of his head, Jefferies Gamekeeper (1878) ix ;
Wil.l
3. To twist, twine, curl ; to twist between the fingers
and thumb.
Cld. (Jam.) Edb. A bit daigh, half an ounce weight, pirled
round wi' the knuckles into a case, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828)
xxvi. Slk. The hair was pirled with his dark e'ebree, Hogg Queer
Bk. (,1832) 183. Rxb. To twist horse-hair into a fishing-line (Jam.).
Nhb.' To play a marble by holding it between the tip of the fore-
finger and the thumb. It is done as a preliminary to certain games
in order to settle precedence. By purlin the marble nearest the
mark a player obtains first turn. Horsehair is purled thus in
making snares for bird-catching in winter. w.Cy. To wind wire
of gold or silver (Hall.).
Hence (i) Pirlie, adj. crisp, having a tendency to curl
up. Rxb. (Jam.) ; (2) Pirlie-skinned, ppl. adj. having a
crisp, curly coat. ib.\ (3) Pirlin, ^/>/. a^'., see (i). ib.\ (4)
Purley, sZ>. a game of marbles. Nhb.' 4. Of water: to
ripple, to have the surface slightly stirred by the wind.
Sc. (Jam.) ; Purlin', curlin' 'Mang the whins, Ballads and Poems
(1885) 169.
5. To stir, move, poke ; to fumble, grope ; to handle
over-much.
Sh.I. ShQ purrl'd da mold oot wi' her finger, sae 'at Bawbie
could see, Sh. News (Apr. 29, 1899) ; S. & Ork.' ' To purl for
potatoes,' to select the largest of theyoung potatoes by feeling them
with the fingers without pulling up the 'shaw' or foliage; ib. To
search with the finger in any substance such as mould, ashes, &c.,
MS. add. Bnff.i He pirlt lang at the sneck o' the door, afore
he got it opened. He pirlt wee't in's han' till he brook it. Mry.
To stir or poke anything with a long rod or wand (Jam.). Abd.
Fat are ye deein pirlin aboot at yer breid? Alexander yo/inKji Gibb
(187 1) viii. Cld. What are ye pirlin at the sneck for? (Jam.)
Hence (i) Pirlin, vbl. sb. the selecting of potatoes by
feeling for them with the hand ; (2) -stick, (3) -wand, sb.
a rod used for stirring ' shilling seeds.'
(i) Sh.I. ' Purlin' is a ruinashen, an' hit's far ower shune ta dell
up.' ' Niver speak o' purlin', . . hit's a curse,' Sh. News (Aug. 14,
1897). (2, 3) Abd. Used for stirring 'shilling seeds' for making
them burn, where they are used as fuel on the hearth (Jam.).
6. Of a bird : to plume the feathers.
Wil. When the cuckoo purls its feathers, the housewife should
become chary of her eggs, N. dr' Q. (1868) 4th S. i. 533 ; ib. ii. 22.
7. To work at anything needlessly ; to dawdle or trifle
at work ; to work in an easy manner but accomplishing
little. Bnff.', Cld. (Jam.) 8. To shoot.
Gall. Wi' a gun [he] pirl'd the muirfule. As they wad whurrin'
flee, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 117, ed. 1876.
9. sb. A whirl, toss ; a fall, somersault.
Sc. (Jam.), n Lin.^ War.^ When this young Earl got his fiftieth
purl, MoRDAUNT & Verney War. Hunt (1896) I. 328. Slang,
BarrJ:re & Leland.
10. A twist, twining, curl.
Cld. That line has na the richt pirl (Jam).
11. Phr. to win the purl, a term in marbles ; see below.
Nhb.* By purlin the marble nearest the mark a player obtains
first turn. Or he ' wins the purl ' when marbles are played for in
this way.
12. A reel or winder for cotton, silk, wool, &c.
n.Yks.i* e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796). w.Yks. Leeds
Merc. SuppU (Mar. 7, 1897).
13. A ripple on the surface of water.
Sc. There's a pirl on the water (Jam.). Ayr. There was a fine
pirl out frae the wast, wi' a sma' smurr o' rain, Ainslie Land of
Burns (ed. 1892) 102; (F.J.C.) Slk. Wi' the pirl bein'awa', the
pool was as clear as crystal, Hogg Tales (1838) 150, ed. 1866.
14. Obs. A small stream, a rivulet.
Lei. Another Brooke called Sence, increased before with another
little purle. Burton Desc. Lei. (1622) 5.
15. A gentle stirring or motion.
Bnff.i Particularly with anything pointed. ' He keepit a pirl
wee's finger i' the hole.'
16. An undue handling, ib. 17. Work done in an easy
manner with little accomplished, ib.
[4. Norw. dial, purla, to gush, bubble, well forth
(Aasen).]
PIRL, PIRLAG, see Prill, v., Pirl, sb>
PIRLET,56. tObs. Sc. Also written pirlit. A puny
or contemptible figure.
Ayr. A pretty pirlit ye'U be : me leading you hame, blind and
bleedin wi' a napkin or an auld stocking tied round your head,
Galt Sir a. Wylie (1822) v ; It would be a disgrace to them to
pass thro' the town with such a pirlet of a driver, ib. ciii.
PIRLEY PEASE-WEEP, phr. Sc. A game played
by boys.
Edb. The name demonstrates that it is a native one ; for it would
require a page of close writing to make it intelligible to an English-
man. The following is the rhyme of this play : ' Scotsman, Scots-
man, lo ! Where shall this poor Scotsman go ! Send him east, or
send him west, Send him to the craw's nest,' Blackw. Mag. (Aug.
1821) 37 ; Gomme Games (1898) II. 42.
PIRL-GRASS, sb. Sc. (Jam.) The creeping wheat-
grass.
PIRLICUE, s6. and f. Sc. n.Cy. Also written pirliecue
Lnk. ; purlicue Sc. (Jam.) ; and in form parlicue Sc.
(Jam.) [pi-rlikiu.] 1. sb. A brief resume or recital given
at the close of a series of addresses or sermons of the
principal subjects and points treated.
Sc. The exhortations which were wont to be given by the Pastor
on Monday [after the Sacramentl, at what was called ' the close
of the work.'. . Sometimes extended to all the services on Monday
(Jam.) ; If you distaste the sermon, I doubt the pirlicue will please
you as little, Stevenson Kidnapped (1886) 245. w.Sc. The
recapitulation (given by the pastor on the Saturday preceding the
dispensation of the Sacrament of the Supper) of the heads of the
discourses preached by the assistants (Jam.). Rxb. {ib.) Gall. A
pirlicue which pleased them but little, Crockett Moss-Hags
(1895) xxxvi.
2. A dash or flourish at the end of a word in writing.
Sc. Mackay. Abd. (Jam.), N.Cy.' 3. The space en-
closed by the extended forefinger and thumb.
PIRLIE
[521]
PIRN
N.Cy.l ' A spang and a purlicue ' is a measure allowed in a certain
game at marbles.
4. pi. Whims, peculiarities of conduct, trifling oddities.
Ags. (Jam.) 5. v. To give a resume of tiie previous
sermons at the close of a sacrament season, &c.
Lnk.TheCommunal ^Communion] Seasons. On the Salurdaj', after
the two sermons had been delivered, the parson ascended the pulpit
andgavea lengthyaddress. Hementioned the arrangements forthe
morrow, but especially he gave a resume of the sermons which
had been preached on the Thursday and that day. This was con-
sidered a very important and critical ceremony, which got the
strange name of pirliecuing, Nestor Recoil, of Old Glasgow (1880)
182. w.Sc. (Jam.)
[1. Fr. par la queue, par le bout, par la fin ; cf. commencer
le roman par la queue (Littre).]
PIRLIE, s6.i Sc. Also written perly,purlie. [paTli.] A
money-box. Also in comp. Pirlie-pig.
Sc. Donald did not possess a bike yet, and my ' tips ' went into
a perly pig in which he was saving up to buy one, Longman's Mag.
(Nov. 1900) 49. n.Sc. A circular vessel of crockery resembling
what is called a Christmas box, which has no opening save a slit
at top, only so large as to receive a half-penny ; used by children
for keeping their money (Jam.). e.Sc. Dropped into the ' purlie'
they [pennies] grew into sixpences and shillings, Setoun Sunshine
(1895) 3. Frf. I mind he broke open his pirly, an' bocht a ha'penny
worth o' something to ye every day, Barrie Thrums {iS8g) xviii.
Fif. Each offering a more popular fate for spare bawbees than the
' pirlie-pig,' Colville Vernacular {iBgg) 14.
PIRLIE, sb.^ and adj. Sc. Nhb. Also written perlie
Lth. (Jam.) [paTli.] 1. sb. Anything small. Lth.
(Jam.) Hence (i) Pirlie-wee, adj. small. Bnff.^ ; (2)
-weeack, sb. anything small of its kind. ib. 2. A child's
name for the little finger. Also in comp. Pirlie-winkie.
Sc. Thumbkin brak the barn, Lickpot stealt the corn, Langman
carried it awa, Berrybarn stood and saw. Wee Pirly Winkie paid
for a'. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (ed. 1870) 20. Fif. This ain biggit
the baurn, This ain stealt the corn, This ain stood and saw. This
ane ran awa — An' wee pirlie-winkie paid for a', Colville Ver-
nacular (1899) 17. Lth. Used in the nursery rhyme : ' There's the
thief that brak the barn (taking hold of the fore-finger). There's
the ane that steal'd the corn (. . . the middle finger). There's the
ane that tell'd a' (. . . the ring finger). And puir pirlie winkie
paid for n' ! ' (Jam.)
3. adj. Small and round. Nhb. (Hall.) See Pearly.
4. Difficult to please.
s.Sc. ' Pirlie fellow.' A term of contempt (Jam.).
Hence Pirly-wirlie, sb. a term of contempt. Abd. (G.W.)
PIRM, see Pirn, sb.^
PIRN, 56.' and v.^ Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Chs. Also
written purn Sc. Cum.'*; pyrn Fif.; and in form pirm
Sh.I. [pirn, parn, pan.] 1. sb. A reel or bobbin round
which yarn or thread is wound, the bobbin of a shuttle.
Sc. When she put out her hand to save a pirn, it perked up in
her face in the form of a pistol, Scott Anliquary (1816) vi. Sh.I.
'At Fate reels aff frae ever fleein pirm, Burgess Rasmie (1892)
no; Cloots, spuns, an' pirms o' yarn, Sh. News (Sept. 22, 1900).
Cai. Sannagie gripped a bundle of 'purns' and hurled it ragefully
at her, Horne Cyside (1896) 65 ; Cai.' BnfT. His mother had her
husband's pirns to fill. Smiles 7Va/M>-. (1876) 9, ed. 1893. e.Sc.
He held his pirns close to the little four-lozened window to tell
their colour, Setoun 7?. Urquhart (1896) ii. Abd. Keith Farmer's
Ha' (1774) St. 7. Kcd. His pirns an' clews, an' worset hesps Be-
clairtit i' the glaur. Grant Lays (1884) 8. Frf. A contrivance
with pirns in it, that was climbing up and down the whirring mill,
Barrie Tbwjwj' (1896) xi. Per. Ford //a;-/i (1893") 157. Fif. Plied
the shuttle and reeled the pirns in sweet content, Colville Ver-
nacular (1899) 9. Dmb. Taylor Poems (1827) 59. Enf. Allan
Poems (1836) 113. Ayr. She fills pirns noo to a weaver in the
Green o' Kilwinning, Service Nolandums (1890) no. Lnk. The
stalks [of Arundo Phragmites\ were formerly used for making
weaver's pirns, Patrick Plants (1831) 82. Lth. Thomson Poems
(1819) 37. Edb. Cracking with James Batter on . . . the cleverest
way of winding pirns, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) vii. Bwk.
Calder Poems (1897) 298. Gall. A pokeful of purns of mug-yarn
for Davie M'Lamroch, the weaver, Gallovidian ( 1900) II. 59. N.I.'
Uls. Uls. Jrn. Arch. (1853-1862). Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892).
N.Cy.', Nhb.i- Cum. She preten's to win' purns: but that's aw fun,
AnDERSOtt Ballads {ed. 1840) 37 ; Cum.' ; Cum.* A core or cylinder
of wood, round which the weft was wound from the swifts ; this
VOL. IV.
placed in the shuttle was thrown backwards and forwards between
the warps. It was sometimes called a bobbin, but a bobbin was
the core round which the warp was wound, and from which it was
unwound on to the beam fcr the hand-loom weaver. Not beards,
of Carlisle. Chs.'
Hence Pirned, ppl. adj. having unequal threads or
colours, striped.
Ags. A web is all pirned when woven with unequal yarn. Cloth
is thus denominated because for each stripe a different pirn or quill
is used in weaving (Jam.). Fif. He tucks up his pyrnit tunic bra',
Tennant Papistry (1827) 22.
2. Comp. (i) Pirn-cage, an arrangement used in power-
loom factories ; see below ; (2) -cap, a wooden bowl used
by weavers for holding their quills ; (3) -girnels, boxes
for holding 'pirns,' while being filled ; (4) -house, a weaver's
shed ; (5) -stick, a wooden rod on which the ' pirns ' are
placed while the yarn put upon them in spinning is
reeled off; (6) -wheel, a wheel for winding bobbins ;
also used allrib. ; (7) -wife, a woman who fills the 'pirns'
with yarn ; (8) -winding, (a) the act of winding ' pirns ' ;
(6) employed in winding ' pirns.'
(i) N.I.i An arrangement of pins standing up from a square
frame, and in which ' pirns' or bobbins are stuck. (2) Sc. (Jam.)
(3) Fif. One empty, the other full (J.Ar.). (4) Frf. Noo nae mair
in oor pirnhouse Ye'll hunt the rats nor catch a mouse, Johnston
Poems (1869) 129. (5) Sc. (Jam.) e.Fif. My legs, that were aince
fat an' plump as my cheeks, Alas ! they're like pirn-sticks buskit
in breeks, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxi. (61 e.Sc. Women dis-
cussed it at their pirn-wheels, Setoun R. Urquhart (i8g6) xxi.
Frf. From the day they have the strength to turn a pirn-wheel to
the day they crawl over their bed-board for the last time, Barrie
Tommy (1896) 316. Per. Haliburton Furth in Field (1894) 146.
Fif. His wife had laid aside the pirn-wheel one night, Robertson
ProKos^ (1894) 55; Pirn-wheel dames, !6. 56. Lnk. Rodger Poews
(1838) 173, ed. 1897. (7) Frf. Oor pirn wife's gane awa', Johnston
Poems (1869) 132. (8, «) Fif. Seventy years of pirn-winding,
Robertson Provost (1894) 54. (i) This weaving and pirn-winding
community, ib. 53.
3. Phr. (i) a ravelled pirn, (2) a sad pirn, a difficulty, en-
tanglement ; confusion ; (3) the pirn will get ravelled in the
reeling, the affair will not go off well ; (4) to play a bonny
pirn on one, to play tricks upon one; to put into confusion;
(5) to redd a pirn, to clear up a difficulty; to get free of an
entanglement ; to get out of a difficulty ; (6) to wind a bonny
or queer pirn, to get or be in a difficulty; (7) to wind intil a
pirn, to come or bring into a great difficulty; {^) to wind some
one a pirn, to prepare trouble or difficulty for some one ; to
take revenge upon some one ; to cause to repent ; (9) to
wind (up) on^s pirn, to finish up, bring to an end.
(i) Sc. Our times are in His hand — I'm glad they're no in mine,
or they would be a ravelled pirn, Whitehead Daft Davie (1876)
335, ed. 1894. Abd. She's left me wi' a ravel'd pirn. Cock Strains
(1810) I. 99. (2) Abd. Mony a sad pirn wud there be ere ye gat
them a' splice't on the principle o' pure love an' affection, Alexander
Ain Flk. (1882) 165. (3) Edb. I doubt the pirn will get ravelled
in the reeling, Beatty Secretar (1897) 215. (4) Bwk. Troth, they
play'd a bonny pirn On decent Nelly Shaw. They chang'd her
woo' to clatts o' shern — The witches o' Edencraw, Henderson
Pop. Rhymes (1856) 56. (5) Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Ance lat a hissy get
you in the girn, Ere ye get loose ye'll redd a ravell'd pirn, Shirrefs
Poems (1790) 52. Ayr. Ye gae him gay ill purns to rid, Fisher"
Poems {i-jgo) 86. Nhb. By the time you comeback, WiUie, I'll have
this pirn redd up, Graham Pfrf 5caM(- (1898) i6r. (6) Sc. Ye'll
spin and wind yoursell a bonny pirn, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xxiii ;
Your father, with whom you are like to have a queer pirn to wind,
Stevenson Cairiona (1893) xxviii. w.Sc. A person in difficulty is
said to have a bonnie pirn to won (Jam.). Per. It's no chancy
when a minister begins at the tail o' his subject : he'll wind a queer
pirn afore he's dune, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 222. (7)
Bnff.i He's wun himsel' intil a fine pirn. (8) Sc. The Master of
Ravenswood is the lad to wind him a pirn, Scott Bride of Lam.
(1819) v. Sh.I. I'll wind dee a pirm yet, Burgess 7aw^(i898)
162. Dmb. But a wabster wan them a pirn. For Maggy he lo'ed
dearly, Taylor Poems (1827) 14. Edb. He vows he'll ne'er rest
till he can Wind him a pirn, //a/s?Pi]g-(i794) 22, ed. 1801. e.Lth.
MucKLEBACKiTP/;_y»;es(i885) 228. Slk. Hogg Tn/cs ( i 838 i 31, ed.
1866. Feb. Mettaegi'esomeapirn tae wind, 'ore day, Lintomi Green
( 1685) 1 59, ed. ] 81 7. 1 9) Sc. Beforeyou endyour fiyte, And wind yer
pirn, Ford Thistledown (1891) 206: I'm spinning out the thread
3X
PIRN
[522]
PISHMOTHER
of my discourse . . . ower sma', and least it should break, I'll just
wind up my pirn, and hae done with a remark or sae, Sc. Haggis,
i6r. Edb. M^Dowall Poems (1839) 213.
4. Yarn rolled upon ' pirns.'
Sc. A certain quantity of yarn, ready for the shuttle, is said to
consist of so many pirns (Jam.); The women and weavers Scot,
call a small parcel of yarn put on a broach (as they name it), or as
much as is put into the shuttle at once, a pyrn, Ruddiman Introd.
(1773) {ib.).
5. A reel of cotton, &c.
Sh.I. Shii poo'd a treed aff o' a white penny pirm, an' baet him
an' dan treeded her needle, Sh. News {July i, 1899). ne.Sc.
Similar wud be the case gin a customer ca'd for a penny pirn, Grant
Keckleton, 64. Ayr. (F.J.C.)
6. The reel of a fishing-rod.
Sc. Sinclair Obser. (1782) 159 (Jam.). Frf. Auld Jacob's staff
and fishing pirn, Sands Poems (1833) 78. Per. I wauken'd bricht,
To my pirn wildly skirlin'. Ford Harp (1893) 149. Ayr. Doon to
the Leap I'll aften rin, Richt glad to hear my pirnie spin. White
Joih'ngs (iB-jg) 19a.
7. A wheel.
Abd. Hear the whirr o' the miller's pirn, Murray Hamewith
(1900) 3.
8. V. To reel ; to run to and fro.
Edb. The word 'murder' was no longer pirning in my held,
Campbell Deilie Jock (1897) 54.
[1. Pyrne, or webstars lome, mestier a tisser, Palsgr.
(1530) ; Pyrne or webstars lome. Prompt, (ed. Pynson).]
PIRN, 56.2 and v.^ Nhb. Lakel.Yks. Lan. Also written
purn N.Cy.' Nhb.* Lakel.* [pirn, parn, pan.] 1. sb. A
twitch for a vicious or unruly horse.
N.Cy.i, Nhb.i, Lakel.2, n.Yks.3 w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Mar. 7, 1B97). ne.Lan.i
2. pi. A ring for the nose of a ' vicious ' beast. ne.Lan.^
3. V. To seize, secure, punish. n.Yks.^ w.Yks. Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1897).
PIRN, v.^ Lakel. Yks. Lan. Also written pern w.Yks.
ne.Lan.* [parn, pan.] To shrink or shrivel up ; to over-
roast, dry up ; to pine.
Lakel.'* Cum. Gl. (1851) ; Cum.* To shrink in bulk as when
a fat animal becomes thinner. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7,
1897) ; HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781), ne.Laa.*
PIRNICKERIE, PIRNICKY, see Pernickety.
PIRNIE, adj. and sb. Sc. [pi'rni, pa-rni.] 1. adj.
Of cloth or a web, &c. : of unequal threads or colours ;
striped. See Pirn, sb.^
Sc. Used to denote cloth that has very narrow stripes (Jam.).
Rnf. A guid west-kintry pirnie plaid, Fjnlayson Rhymes (1815)
156. Lnk. Crossing his 'pirnie' plaid over his shoulders and
chest, Hamilton Poems (1865) 192.
2. sb. A nightcap. Also in comp. Pirny-cap.
Sc. Plucked off his pirnie, Hislop Auec. (1874") 385. Rxb.
Gen. applied to those manufactured at Kilmarnock (Jam.). Gall.
Nightcaps, woven of various coloured threads, such as those
bearing the name of Kilmarnock, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) ;
A monkey plucked off his pirnie, making off with the booty as
fast as it could spang, ib. 383, ed. 1876.
PIRNIE CASTLE, phr. Sc. A term of contempt
given to the man upon that [harvest] rig which is for the
most part found behind the rest.
Rxb. Poor pirnie castle in a huff. Far, far ahind, I ween,
A. Scott Poems (ed. 1808) lor.
PIRR, sb. and v. Sc. [pir, par.] 1. sb. A breeze ; a
gentle breath of wind. Also used^^. Cf. perry, sb}
Sc. There's a fine pirr of wind (Jam.). Sh.I. As da pirr o
memry, blaain', Frae mi een da skub aa clears. Burgess Rasmie
(1892) 115 ; Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 119 ; Da pirr o' wind is fae
da wast, Stewart Tales (1892) 9a.
2. Vigour, energy ; a flurry. Cf. birr, sb., pirwee.
Bnff.' He gangs till's wark wee a pirr. The gueedewife geed
intil an unco pirr fin the laird cam t'see 'ir. Bwk. When one is
in a pirr about things which do not go well, Henderson Pop.
Rhymes (1856) 127.
3. A fit of pettish humour. Bnff.> 4. v. With up : to
blow gently, to freshen.
Sh.I. He's beginnin' ta pirr up, Sh. A'ews (Nov. 11, 1899);
He'll be pirrin' up a grain by an' bye, Ollason Mareel (1901) 58.
Hence Pirring, ///. adj. blowing gently.
Fif. Lo ! careerin'on the pirrin' breeze, A greedy gled,TENNANT
Papistry (1837) 62.
PIRR, adj. ? Obs. Sc. Also in form pirrie (Jam.).
Trim, neatly dressed ; precise in manner ; having a
tripping mode of walking. Bwk. (Jam.) Gall. Mactag-
gart Encycl. (1824).
PIRR, PIRRAINA, see Per(r, Pirrin.
PIRR(E, sb. Sc. Irel. Also written purre N.I.' Ant. ;
pyr- N.I.' [pir, par.] 1. The common tern, Sterna
fluviatilis ; the cry of the tern.
Gall. A seafowl with a long tail and black head, and unwebbed
feet : it flies above the bosom of the calm sea, and when ever it
sees any small fish or fry, dives down through the air on them
crying ' pirr !' Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 383, ed. 1876. n.Ir.
(J.S.),N.I.i Don. The centre of the lake where the many hundred
white pirrs now circled, and called, Macmanus Bend of Road
(1898) 195.
2. Comp. (i) Pirr-egg, the egg of the tern ; (2) -maw, (a)
the common tern, Sterna fluviatilis ; (b) the roseate tern,
S. dougalli.
(i) Gall. Live on partons, pirr-eggs, &c., Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 469, ed. 1876. (2, a) n.Ir. (J.S.); N.I.i Harris Hist.
Dwn. (1744). (6) Ant. Swainson Birds (1885) 203.
3. The black-headed gull, Larus rudibundus. N.I.'
[3. Dan. dial, pirrfugl, the name of a kind of small sea-
gull (Molbech).]
PIRRIE, V. ? Obs. Sc. (Jam.) Also in form para-
Ags. To follow a person from place to place like a
dependant. Rnf. Hence Pirrie-dog, sb. a dog that is
constantly at his master's heels ; one who is the constant
companion of another; a parasite. Ags., Rnf. Cf. penny-
dog, perry, sb.'^
PIRRIE, see Pirr, adj.
PIRRIHOUDEN, adj Obs. Per. (Jam.) Fond, doating.
PIRRIN, sb. Sh. and Or.I. Also in form pirraina
S. & Ork.' [pi'rin.] A female child, a little girl. See
Peerie, adj.^
Or.I. We manna speak a word, Pirrin's noo sae cosie, Fergusson
Rambles (1884) 168 ; S. & Ork.i
PIRRY, V. I.Ma. [pi'ri.] In phr. pirry us, an excla-
mation ; a dial, form of ' pity.'
Couldn help laughin sometimes — pirry us! (S.M.)
PIRTLE, sb. and v. Nhb.' [pa-rtl.] 1. sb. A short
stick used for stirring porridge. 2. v. To poke. Cf.
powtle.
PIR'WEE, sb. Cai.' [pi-rwl.] A flighty or excited
mood. See Pirr, sb. 2. ' He's awa' in a great pirwee.'
Hence Pirweeans, sb. a conceited, flighty person.
She's a mere pirweeans of a creater.
PIRZIE, adj. Lth. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Conceited.
PIS, PISAMOOR, see Piss, int., Pismire, s6.'
PISCY, PISE,PISE-"WISE, see Pixy,Pize, v., Pax-wax.
PISGEY, PISGIE, PISGY, see Pixie.
PISH, V. and sb. Sc. 1. v. To urinate.
A' thing helps, quo' the wren when she pish't i' the sea,
Fergusson Prov. (1641) 7 ; Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.)
2. sb. In phr. no a pish ahin, not a jot behind. Grose
(1790) MS. add. (C.)
[1. See Dunbar Poems (ed. Small) Gl. (s.v. Pische).]
PISH, PISHEMEER, PISHEMIRE, see Pishty, Pis-
mire, s6.'
PISHMINNIE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. Also in form pisminnie
(Jam.). An ant. Cld., Dmf , Gall. (Jam.) Gall. Mactag-
gart Encycl. (1824). See Pishmother.
Hence (i) Pishminnie-hillan, (2) -tammock, sb. an ant-
hill. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
PISHMIRE, see Pismire, sb.^
PISHMOOL, sb. Irel. [pi-Jmiil.] An ant. Uls.
(M.B.-S.) Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892).
PISHMOTHER, sb. Sc. Irel. Cum. Also in forms
pishmidderCum.'*; pismitherN.I.'; pissimudder Cum.* ;
pissmudder Cum.'* An ant. See Pishminnie.
Slk. (Jam.), N.I.i Cum.' ; Cum.'' Ah think "at it's co'd t'fleein
pissimudder.
PISHOGUE
[523 J
PISS-A-BED
PISHOGUE, sb. Irel. Also written pishoge s.Ir. ;
and in forms pishrogue Wxf. ; pisteroge s.Don. ; pish-
trogue Ir. Sorcery, witchcraft, magic ; a charm, spell.
Ir. A result which the neighbours were occasionally disposed
to view with mistrust, as rather probably wrought through the
agency of ' some quare old pishtrogues,' Barlow Lisconnel (ieg$)
166; Carleton Traits Peas. {1842,) I -63. s.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890).
s.Ir. ib. Wxf.He threw pishrogues on our eyes, Kennedy Evenings
Duffrey (1869) 357. Kry. He had no right to be bringing hisauld
Irish pishogues to Rome, Choker Leg. (ed. 1879) 74.
[Ir. piseog, witchcraft, also pisreog (O'Reilly) ; Mir.
pisoc, see Macbain (s.v. Piseach}.]
PISH TH' BED, see Piss abed.
PISHTY, mf. and sb. Irel. Wal. Wor. Hrf Glo. Hmp.
Wil. Also in forms pish Hmp.^ Wil.^; piste, pistle Glo.
[pi'Jti.] 1. int. A call to a dog ; also used subsi. as a
name for a dog.
Wor. Obsol. (W.K.W.C.C) w.Wor.i A strange dog is always
spoken to as 'Pishti' (s.v. Calls). s.Wor. Doan't a be afeard o' the
pishty, a 'on't 'urt 'ee. Pishty ! pishty ! down I tell 'ee (H.K.) ;
s.Wor. 1 Hrf.' Used in calling a puppy ; Hrf.^ Applied to a dog
when the speaker does not know its usual name. Glo. Pet name
for a puppy (A.B.); (H.S.H.) ; Glo.J, Hmp.^ WU. Britton
Beauties {1825) ; wa'
2. A call to a horse.
Cla. The order to a horse to stop, D. & G. Wds. (1893).
se.Wor.*
3. sb. An object of little value. Wal., Hrf Havergal
Wds. (1887).
PISHTY-WISHTY, adv. Som. Irregularly.
But da wriggle pishty-wishty, stead of zwangin to and fro,
Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 20.
PISIMER, see Pismire, sb.^
PISK, 56. Sc. A dry, saucy-looking girl. Gall. Mac-
TAGGART (1824). Cf pisket.
PISKAY, PISKEY, see Pixy.
PISKET, ppl. adj. Sc. 1. Dried, shrivelled; also
used advb. in a dry, reserved manner. Cf. pisk.
Gall. To behave dryly to a friend is to behave pisket, Mac-
TAGGA.RT Encycl. (1824).
2. Marshy. Cld. (Jam.) [Not known to our correspon-
dents.]
PISKIE, adj. Sc. Also in form peeskie Ayr. (Jam.)
[pi'ski.] 1. Dry, shrivelled, withered ; short, stunted.
Ayr. (Jam.) Dmf. Applied to grass or to the hair of cattle,
V^ALLACE Schoolmaster (1899) 351. Gall. Anything withering dry
is pisky, Mactaggart Encyd. (1824}.
2. Marshy. Cld. (Jam.) [Not known to our correspon-
dents.]
PISKIE, PISKY, see Pixy.
PISLE, sb. m.Yks.' [pi'sl.] An epistle ; a narration
of any kind.
She went naggering on with a long pis'Ie that it would have
tired a horse to stand and listen to.
PISLE, V. Yks. Also written pahzly, parsle, parzle
n.Yks. [pa'zl.] 1. To saunter or lounge about lazily or
heavily ; to creep stealthily, to slink about aimlessly.
n.Yks. r now a sees t'aud cat come parslin along, Frank Fishing
(1894) 33 ; (T.S.); n.Yks.i* ne.Yks.' He gans pahzhn aboot.
Hence Parzly, adv. stealthily, in a creeping, slinking
manner.
n.Yks. He went varry pahzly to watch them (I.W.).
2. To prose, to make a long narration. n.Yks.^
PISMINNIE, see Pishminnie.
PISMIRE, s6.i Sc. Irel. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Not. Lin. War. e.An. Hrt. Also written pissmire
Wm. Not. ; and in forms passimere n.Yks.' ; passimire
ne.Yks.' ; pisamoor e.Lan.' ; pishamer Nrf. ; pishemeer,
pishemire e.An.' ; pishmire Uls. e.An.' ; pisimer Chs. ;
pismyour s.Chs.' ; pissamer Wm. ; pissamoor Cum.' ;
pissemire n.Lan.'; pissemyore Lan.; pissimer Cum.'*
Wm. ; pissimire Lakel.° Cum.* ne.Yks.' Lan. ; pissmare
w.Yks. ; pissmere War. ; pissymire n.Yks. ; pissymoor
Dur.'; pissymyours.Chs.'; pushmire e.An.' [pismaia(r.]
An ant.
Sc. Creeping on the ground, I saw a pismire, Chambers Pop.
Rhymes (ed. 1870) no; Finding In the field a nest of pismires,
[he] fills a box with them, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (181 7) 161. Rxb. A
pismire race compared wi'you an' me, A. Scorr Poems (ed. 1808)
33. N.I.1, xns. (M.B.-S.), Dur.', Lakel.2, cum.'* Wm. (E.C.) ;
Some pissimers hed stung mi hip. Whitehead Leg. (1859) 48,
ed. 1896. n.Yks. This barns gitten a lot a pissimires on to her
an' they've bitten her all ower (W. H.) ; n.Yks.', ne.Yks.' e.Yks.
As a conceited person walks with head erect, it is said ' He walks
as brant [upright] as a pissimire,' Nicholson Flk-Lore (1890) 124.
w.Yks.3* Lan. Watchin th' pisamoors march abeaut like armies
o" sodiers, Clegg Sketches (1895) 106. n.Lan. Like a lot o' pisse-
myres when ye mell n' the'r nest, Morris Siege o' Brmt'ton
(1867) 4 ; n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', e.Lan.i Chs. Hatched under a hen,
fed with pisimers, and kept in a house, Brereton Travels (1634-5)
in Cheth. Soc. Pub. (1844) I. 73. s.Chs.i Not. (W.H.S.) ; Did ye
tak' notice whata lot o' pismires there was o' the causey! (L.C.M.)
Not.3, Lin. (J.C.W.), Lin.1, n.Lin.i, sw.Lin.', War. (J.R.W.),
e.An.' Nrf. (E.M.); Kinsarm them there pishmires ! Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 64 ; (W.W.S.) Hrt. Ellis Mod. Husb.
(1750) VI. ii. 107.
Hence (i) Pismire-bed or -'sbed, (2) -hill, (3) -nest, sb.
an ant-hill.
(i) Lakel.2 Wm. That hill's a pissamer-bed(B.K.). Lin.' (2)
n. Yks. She must 'ev been rowling on a pissimire hill to git so mony
ontoher (W.H.). e.Yks. Tummelled ower a pissimire hill, Nichol-
son Flk-Sp. (1889) 34. sw.Lin.' The gress close were full on
pismire hills. (3) Lan. Mowdy-warp hills an' pissimire nests,
R. PiKETAH Forness Flk. (1870) 7, in Prevost Gl. (1899).
[He is as angry as a pissemyre, Chaucer C. T. t>. 1825.
Dan. myre, ant (Larsen) ; ON. maurr (Vigfusson).]
PISMIRE, sA.2 Or.I. A steel-yard. See Bismar.
They not using peck and firlot, but instead thereof, weigh their
corns on pismires or pundlers, Brand Desc. Or.I. (1701) 28 (Jam.) ;
S. & Ork.'
PISMITHER, PISMOTE, PISPER, see Pishmother,
Pismote, Pister.
PISS, V?- and sb. Wm. Yks. Not. Lin. Sus. [pis.]
L V. In phr. (i) to piss by the pot, see below; (2) — in a
pot, to be in league ; to hatch mischief; (3) — in the sheath,
said of oats when they cannot force themselves out of their
grass covering ; (4) — out at the tap, said of liquid passing
through a narrow passage.
(i) Wm. Said of a married man guilty of sexual irregularities.
By older people the phrase is used under the impression that it
is a polite, or at least not a coarse allusion to an offence that is
always spoken of with reserve (B.K.). (2) Tak neea nooatis
o' that crew, they o'piss-in-a-pot {ib.). (3) Not.^ (4) n.Wm. It's
nobbud pissing oot at t'tap (B.K.).
2. sb. In comp. (i) Piss-burnt, damaged by urine ; fig.
blighted, bleached by the sun ; (2) -nancy, a vessel
used to carry urine in the manufacture of alum ; (3) -pot,
the great bindweed, Convolvulus sepium ; (4) -prophet,
a water-doctor, one who pretends to discover and heal
ailments by examining urine.
(i) n.Lin.i An animal's hair is said to be pissburnt when it is
bleached by the sun. Leaves or straw that are blighted, or the
bedding of animals damaged by their urine. (2) n.Yks. (T.S.)
(3) Sus. (B. & H.) (4) n.Lin.1
PISS, int. and v?- Sc. Also written pis Sh.I. fP's-]
1. int. A call to a cat ; an exclamation used to drive away
a cat.
Sh.I. Pis, pis, pussy, come dee wis here, Sh. News (Feb. 3,
1900). Cai.' During the prayer the cat began to lap at a bowl of
milk in the room, and one of those on their knees said Piss !
Piss!! Piss!!!
2. V. To hiss in order to drive off; to incite a dog to
attack. Cai.' To piss a dog at one.
PISS, see Paise, v}
PISS-A-BED, sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Amer. Also in forms pish th' bed Don. ; pissbed e.An.' ;
pissebed n.Lan.' ; pissibed Cum.'* ne.Yks. e.Yks. w.Yks.
ne.Lan.'; pissubed n.Yks.; pissybed Cum.* Wm. n.Yks.
Amer. 1. The dandelion, Leontodon Taraxacum. Cf.
pissimire.
Sc. Garden Wk. (1896) New S. No. cxvi. 136 ; Mackay. Don.,
Nhb. Cum.'* Wm. Thoo murt smell at that floor er thoo'll
wet t'bed (B.K.). n.Yks. (G.M.T.) ne.Yks Marshall Rur.
Econ. (1796) II. 337. e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. Banks
Wkjld. Wds. (1865) ; w.Yks.*, Lan.', n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', Chs.',
3x2
PISSAMER
[524!
PIT
nw.Der.i, n.Lin,', War.^, ss.Wor.i, s.Pem. (W.M.M.), Glo.l, Oxf.
(CO.), Bck., e.An.i Cmb., Nrf., Suf., n.Ess., Hmp.l, I.W.2, Wil.',
Dor.' w.Som.' Among old people this is still the usual name.
Dev., Cor.^ [Amer. Children are warned not to pull it under the
penalty of wetting their beds at night. Green Virginia Flk-Sp.
(1899"!. Piss-a-bed, Taraxacum, sic dictum, fort, a vi aperienti
diuretica, Skinner (1671).]
2. Applied to several other plants resembling the dan-
delion, such as Leontodon autumnalis and L. hirtus. Chs.
(B. & H.) 3. The ox-eye daisy, Chrysanthemum Leucanihe-
miim.
[Amer. On Cape Cod, piss-abed is used for the ' field-daisy,'
' white-weed,' Dial. Notes (1896) I. 56 ; ib. 212.]
4. The plant Houstonia caerulea (Linn.).
w.Yks. A small plant having a white or bluish flower, and
growing among grass, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1897).
PISSAMER, PISS AMOOR, PIS S AMOTE, see Pismire,
sb.^, Pissmote.
PISS-ANT, sb. Wor. Shr. Amer. Also in forms piss-
aint se.Wor.' ; pissannat Shr.'^ An ant.
se.Wor.' 'Er screws 'er waist up till 'er looks like a piss-aint.
Shr.i2 [Amer. ' Piss-ant,' an ant, Green Virginia Flk-Sp. {iSgg).]
PISSIBED, PISSIMER, PISSIMIRE, see Piss-a-bed,
Pismire, sb.'-
PISSIMIRE, sb. Lakel. Yks. Also in forms pismire
w.Yks.^; pissimerWm. ; pissmare w.Yks. [pi'simai3(r.]
The dandelion, Leontodon Taraxacum. Also in comp.
Pissimer-flower. Cf. piss-a-bed.
Lakel. 2 The flower of the dandelion afoor it turns intuU a
bessy-clock. Wm. It's nowt nobbut apissimer-floor(B.K.). Yks.
(B. & H.) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1897) ; w.Yks.^
PISSIMGTE, PISSIMUDDER, see Pissmote, Pish-
mother.
PISSLES, sb. pi. Lin. [pi-slz.] Small fossils ; joints
of pentacrinites. Cf kessels, possel, sb.^
n.Lin.i The astroites are called pissles and possles, Peck /.
Axhohrte (1815) 28.
PISSMOTE, sb. Lan. Chs. Der. Nhp. w.Cy. Also
written pismote Lan.' ; and in forms pissamote nw.Der.' ;
pissemot Nhp.^ ; pissimote Chs.' [pi'smot.] An ant.
See Mote, sb.'^
Lan. Aw begant smart as iv five hunthert pissmotes wurn imeh
clooas, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 22 ; Whot te firrups ur
thoose little creturs? . . ar the pissmotes? Paul Bobbin Sequel
(1817) 25; Lan.', Chs.', Der.2, nw.Der.', Nhp.^, w.Cy. (Hall.)
Hence Pissmote-hoyle, sb. an ant-hill.
Lan. Boh meh mind moot os weel o line on o pissmotehoyle,
Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 39.
PISSMUDDER, PISSUBED, see Pishmother, Piss-
abed.
PISSUM, si. tObs. Hrt. An ant. Y.i.usModHusb.
(1750) IL ii. 93. HencePissum bank, s6. an ant-hill. ib.
PISSYBED, PISSYMIRE, PISSYMOOR, PISSY-
MYOUR, see Piss-abed, Pismire, sb}
PIST, adj. Nhb. [pist.] An abusive epithet.
Sit still, you pist fool, Tyneside Sngstr. (1889) 6.
PISTE, see Pishty.
PISTER, V. Som. Dev. Also in form pisper Dev.'^
To whisper ; gen. in phr. whistering and pistering.
w.Som.^ They be always whisterin' and pisterin' together.
Dev. Much 'pistering an' whistering' of a more or less scandalous
nature, Madox-Brown Dwale Bluth (1876) bk. i. i ; Dev.' To make
mischief by whispering secrets; Dev.^ n. Dev. OH vor whistering
and pistering, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 297 ; Grose (1790).
PISTERIL, sb. Suf A dial. pron. of ' pistol.'
PISTEROGE, PISTLE, see Pishogue, Pishty, Pistol.
PISTOL, sb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also written pistil
w.Yks.' ; pistle Wm. [pistl.] A term of derision or
contempt, used of any one peculiar or eccentric in ap-
pearance, or disorderly in conduct.
Cum. Thour't a bonny pistol, Sullivan Dial. Cum. Wm. (1855)
90, ed. 1857 ; Cum.'' A term of derision amongst the young,
equivalent to ' son of a gun.' ' Thoo's a bonny pistol, thoo is.'
' Bill hissel was sec a pistol as ye nivver seed,' W. C. T. X. (1897)
15, col. 3. Wm. Thoo liuks a bonny pistle e' that cooat. He's
a gay pistle wi' a sup o' drink in him. He's a gay pistle is oor
laal Jacky (B.K.). w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1896) ;
They've sum pistols o' weyver's to deeal wi', Pudsey Olm. (Oct.
1894) ; w.Yks.i He's a sad pistil.
Hence Pistilrig, sb. a strange or eccentric person.
w.Yks. He's a pistilrig ! Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1897).
PISTOL, see Pestle.
PISTOLET, sb. Obs. Sc. Also written pistolette
and in form pestilett. A small pistol.
Sc. Now, by this light, I had as lief that ye had bended a real
pistolet against me, Scott Nigel (1822) v ; Fetch me my pestilett.
And charge me my gonne. Child Po/>. Ballads (1889) 111. 430;
Quha shuttis at deare . . . with culveringes, pistolettes, or gunnes,
Skene Difficill Wds. (1681) 122. Fif. Slean in a tumult be a schot
of a pistolet in the head, Melvill Autobiog. (1610) 60, ed. 1842.
[Fr. pistolet, a pistolet (Cotgr.).]
PISTOL-FOOT, sb. Nhb.' A lame foot; a stiff foot
owing to injury of some kind. See Pestle, 2.
PISTY-POLL, V. and a</z;. Wil. Som. L v. To ride on
the shoulders of another. Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl.
(1885). 'i. adv. Seated on the shoulders of another.
Wil.' A child riding with his legs on your shoulders is said to
be carried ' a pisty-poll.'
PISWEIP, see Peesweep.
PIT, sb} and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Amer. Also in forms pet Suf Sus.^ Hmp.' ; pittee Dev. ;
pitty Glo.' Som. ; pity Dev.' [pit.] 1. sb. In comb, (i)
Pit-bank, the mound of coal, earth, rock, &c. around
a coal-mine ; (2) -bar, a frame or bar of wood to support
the boards used in sinking through loose stuff in a colliery ;
"(3) -black, as dark as a pit ; (4) -boots, boots worn by
miners when hewing coal ; (5) -Ijottom, the bottom of the
colliery shaft ; (6) -candle, a very small candle of thirty or
forty to the pound ; (7) -clothes, the working clothes of a
miner ; (8) -cracket, the low seat used by a coal-hewer ;
(9)''-dark, see (3) ; (10) — double tack-nail, a strong nail,
four and a quarter inches long; (11) -eye, see (5); (12)
■fall, a trap for catching animals ; a snare ; (13) -grate, a
grating over the ash-pit in a kitchen ; an ash-pit covered
with a grating ; (14) -head, a building in which coal is
' screened ' ; se? below; {15) -head man, a man in charge
of a 'pit-head'; (16) -heap, (a) see (i) ; (A) the elevated
framework of wood or iron at a pit-bank, to the top of
which the pit is continued above the surface ; (17) -hill,
the raised ground round the top of the colliery shaft ; (i8)
-hitch nail, a strong nail ; (19) -hole, {a) a pit ; [b) a grave ;
esp. used by and to children ; (c) an old disused pit-shaft ;
(20) -life, a collier's life ; (21) -man, a collier ; (22) -man's
pink, the single pink, a variety of Dianthus ; (23) -mirk,
or -murk, {a) see (3) ; (6) intense darkness; (24) -mirkness,
see (23, b) ; {25) -prop, a short piece of round timber used
as a support in the roof of a mine ; (26) -punch, see below ;
(27) -roller, a sawyer's term ; see below ; (28) -rot, a con-
temptuous term for a collier ; (29) -row, a row of houses
inhabited by colliers ; (30) -saw, a large saw for cutting a
tree into planks in the saw-pit ; (31) — single tack-nail,
a very strong nail, three and a half inches long ; (32) —
spar-nail, a nail five and a half or six inches long ; (33)
•stead, (a) a place where there has been a pit ; {b) a coal-
pit ; (34) -winkle, see (6) ; (35) -wood, wood, esp. larch,
used for various purposes in a mine ; (36) -work, the part
of the mining machinery which is placed in the shafts or
levels.
(i) Sc. (A.W.), w.Yks. (B.K.) (2) Nhb.' (3) Nhb. Aal o'.a
heap in his bed wiv his tongue pit-black, his eyes starin'. Pease
Mark o' Deil (1894) 23. (4) He tried to shift it, an' threw his
pit boots at it, ib. 26. (5) Sc. (A.W.), w.Yks. (S.J.C.) (6) Nhb.,
Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (7) Nhb.' Nhb., Dur.
Nicholson ib. e.Dur.' (8) Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. Nicholson ib,
(9) Sc. Mackay. Abd. 'Tis yit pit dark, the yerd a' black aboot,
Ross Helenore (1768) 23, ed. 1812. (10) Nhb.^ (11) w.Yks.
(T.T.) (12) Fif. In the cabbage rovis, a pit-fall was set for him,
CoLviLLE yernacular (1899) 12. (13) War.^, Shr.' (14) Lnk.
The pithead of a colliery ... is simply an oblong wooden house
erected upon a high scaffolding of stout logs, and so arranged as
to have the shaft of the mine at one of the narrower ends. The
floor is covered over for the most part with cast-iron plates, to
facilitate the wheeling backwards and forwards of the ' hutches,'
Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 84. (15) The pithead man must draw it
PIT
[525]
PITCAKE
[coal] off and screen it into the waggons with regularity, ib. 85.
(16, a) Nhb. Alec Hedley... watched the pit-heap, N. Counties Mag.
(1901) II. pt. vii. 6z; Nhb.i Dnr. When the pit-heap happened to be
mentioned, GuTHRiE/ir!V(j'Fa^aK(i9oo) 141. (A) Nhb., Dur. Nichol-
son Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (17) w.Yks (S.J.C); The war getheren
sleek on t'pit-hill(B.K.). ( 18) Nhb.i It is about two inches long, with
aflat point and a rose head (s.v. Hitch-nail). (19,0) Not. (L.C.M.),
Lei.», Nhp.2, War.3 (jj Lei.i, Nbp.i War.2 Baby's dead, and
gone in the pithole ; War.^ s.Wor. Porson Quaint Wds. (1875)
16; s.Wor.l,Glo. (A.B.), Glo.i,Oxf.i, Brks.i, Hnt.(T.P.F.),e.An.i2
Su'. (E.G. P.) ; ' I'll put you in the pet-hole,' is still a charming
threat used to naughty children (C.L.F.). Ken. (K.) Wil. Slow
Gl. (1893) ; Wil.i They lies, the two on 'em, the fourth and fifth
i' the second row, for I dug pit-holes for 'em, Parry Dick (1892)
vi. Som. (J.S.F.S.), w.Som.i Dev. Now, Polly, yil've abin a bad,
naughty maid, andef yObe sich a wicked cheel again, I'll zend vur
tankerabogus tu come and car yfi away tu 'is pittee-'awl, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892) 133 ; Dev.' (c) Nhb.' (20) Lnk. A pit-life sune
tak's a' the particularness oot o' ane, Gordon Pyotshaw (1885) 52.
(21) n.Cy. Obsol. (J."W.H.) ; N.Cy.l, Nhb.', e.Dur.i (22) N.Cy.i A
great favourite amongst pitmen. Nhb. (Hall.) (23, a) So. And
yon place . . . was pit mirk from dawn to gloaming, Stevenson
Catnona (1893) xii. Cai.i Ayr. It was pit-mirk, Service Notan-
dums (1890) 56. Edb. The night was now pitmirk, Moir Mansie
IVauch (1828) X. Gall. So the night being pit mirk, Crockett
Moss-Hags (1895) xlvi. n.Yks.^^ (J,) Sc. Daylight after the pit
mirk, Cobban Andaman (1895) xxx. Heb. One would not need to
mind pit-mirk or wind and wet, Sarah Tytler Macdonald Lass
(1895) 59. e.Sc. Stumpin' so fast through the pit-mirk o' this night.
Strain Elmslie's Drag-net (1900) 118. Edb. We two stood
glowering from the pit mirk of the passage into that gousty looking
place, Beatty Secretar (1897) 99. Gall. When it's as black as pit-
mirk, Crockett Bog-Myrtle (1895) 176. Nhb. O'er the fields at
midnicht hour, 'Neath pit-mirk, Strang Earth Fiend (1892) pt. ii.
St. n. (24) Fif. Men lookit up wi' fear and dreid On the pit-mirkness
cur their held, TENNANTPfl/>w/)j'(i827) 220. (25)Sc.(A.W.), Nhb.i
(26)n.Cy. Onehuge tankardof ale, laced with rum, called Pit-punch,
^aYS Fiddler of Came (1896) 154. (27) w.Som.^ A strong piece
of timber cut ' eight-square,' i.e. octagonal in section, used by
sawyers. It is that which bears on each side of the pit, and
carries the front end of the log. It is movable, so as to allow the
sawing to be continued past the bearing point. (28) Shr.'- (29)
N.Cy.l (s.v. Pitman). (3o)i,w.i, w.Som.i (3i,32)Nhb.i (33, a)
Chs.1'3 {b) Chs.3 (34) Nhb.' Formerly used by pitmen in the
mine. (35) Shr.' ; Shr.^ Wood which is thus called generally
runs from three feet six inches to four feet in length, and is very
thick. It is used for supporting the roof of a coal pit. w.Som.i
Thick plantation idn gwain to do no more good ; nif he was mine
I should clear'n — pit-'ood's zellin' middlin' now. (36) Cor.2
2. A marl-pit. Chs.^ 3. An excavation in the soil ;
see below.
Erics.' These are extremely common in fields in the 'Hill Country'
of Berkshire. They owe their origin to the practice of sinking
wells or making excavations in order to obtain chalk as a ' top-
dressing ' for the soil ; the subsequent filling in caused pits to be
formed.
4. A colliery ; also the well sunk from the surface to the
coal-seams.
Sc. A dungeon as deep as a Newcastle pit, Weudkr Poems (1842)
3. Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. A circular, square, or oblong vertical sinking
from the surface. The term ' shaft,' which is often used as synony-
mous, may either be a pit or only a portion of one, severed off by
a vertical or main brattice ; a pit may thus be divided into two or
more shafts, Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). e.Dur.', 'Yks. (J.W.)
Hence Pittie, sb. a collier. e.Dur.*
5. A saw-pit ; see below.
w.Som.' Not by any means necessarily an excavation. Sawyers
very often speak of putting up a pit, that is, of erecting a frame-
work on posts or other supports above ground, on which to place
the ' piece ' to be sawn.
6. A pit with water in it ; a well ; a pond.
Chs.i, Rut.i, Lei.i, 'War.3 Shr. They'd 'n raught as fur as the
pit soide, Burne Flk-Lore (1883-6) viii. e.An.i urf. Fie out the
pit (E.M.). Stis.2, Hmp.i, 'Wil.' n.Wil. We han't got no water
'cept what we gets out o' the pit (E.H.G.). w.Som.' I have let
the pit rest for a few days, as the foul air is in it very bad. Dev.
Reports Provinc, (1889).
Hence pit and gallows, phr., obs., a privilege granted to
Jjarons, allowing them to have on their land a pit for
drowning women, and a gallows for hanging men, con-
victed of theft; the punishment inflicted by such a custom.
Sc. (Jam.) Or.I. The power of pilt and gallows, and all other
priviledges, Wallace Desc. Of-. 7.(1693) 51, ed. 1883. w.Sc. The
prescriptive rights of the legitimate lords of pit and gallows, Mac-'
DONALD Settlement (1869) 128, ed. 1877. Lnk. Outfang-thief,
infang-thief, pit and gallows, Wodrow C/i. Hist. (1721) II. 77, ed.
1828. Edb. Put your hands on my shoulders and we'll slip in ;
it's either that [swimming] or the pit and gallows, Beatty Secretar
(1897) 38.
7. Obs. A dungeon.
Or.I. Those strongholds. of misery which went by the appella-
tion in Scotland, of ' keeps,' ' donjons ' or ' pits,' Vedder Sketches
(1832) 33.
8. The grave. Cf. pit-hole (1, 19).
Dev. A . . . cuss'd me into the pit for interruptin' uv'n, Norway
Parson Peter (1900) 196 ; Dev.* Many nits, many pits [if there is
much hedge-fruit, there will be many graves] (s.v. Nit). nw.Dev.^
9. Obs. A trench dividing lands.
e.Yks. Our chiefe care is to save . . . our fresh pitts, Best Rur.
Econ. (1641) 118.
10. A mark or spot left by any cause, as rain upon silk.
n.Yks.' w.Yks.5 When milk splashes broad-cloth, it may be
rubbed dry, but the ' pits' still remain.
11. The deep water of a bay.
Cor. Going down to the porth, we embark in the boat that
carries the ' stop-net,' and row out to the sean-boat at her moorings
in ' the pit,' Good Wds. (1896) 14 ; (M.A.C.)
12. A heap, esp. a conical heap of potatoes or mangolds
covered with earth ; the mound in which potatoes are
thus stored. Cf potato-pit, s.v. Potato, II. 1 (22).
Sc. The potato fields, with only heaps of sodden shaws, and the
long newly-filled pits to tell of what had been. Swan Gates of Eden
(ed. 1895) XV. Cai.i Bwk. A pit ... is a conical heap of potatoes,
about four feet diameter at bottom, built up to a point, as high as
they will admit of, and resting upon the dry bare ground. The
heap is carefully covered by a layer of straw ; a trench is then
dug all round, and the earth thrown over the straw, and well
beaten down by the spade. The apex ... is generally secured
from rain by a broad grassy sod. A shallow hollow, about a foot
deep, is generally dug in the place where the potatoes are to be
laid ; and, from this circumstance, the name has been extended
to the heap itself, Agric. Surv. 293 (Jam.). Dmf. Quinn Heather
(1863) 228. Ir. (A.S.-P.) Oxf. I shall order a sack of potatoes
when it's time for them to be taken out of the pit (G.O.). Wit
The mode of preserving potatoes during winter . . . being in
general left in the fields, covered up in long narrow ridges of
earth (provincially 'pits'), with an intermediate covering of dry
straw, Davis Gen. View Agric. (1811) vii ; Wil.' ? Dev. The heap,
or ' pit,' of oak and birch chumps was built up yesterday, Mortimer
Tales Moors (1895) 360. [Amer. Wood stacked for charcoal
burning, Dial. Notes (1896) I. 332.]
13. V. To prepare a cock for fighting in the cock-pit ;
alsoy?^. to provoke a person to hostilities ; to quarrel.
Cum. At pittin a cock, or at shootin', Anderson Ballads (ed.
1808) 47. n.Yks.'2; n.Yks.* Tha're pitting yan anither leyke
all that.
Hence Pitted, ///. adj. matched.
n.Yks.i^ They were weel pitted. w.Yks.', Nhp.'
14. To spot ; to mark with spots, as in small-pox.
n.Yks.'*, w.Yks." Hence (i) Pit-marked, ///. adj.
marked with small-pox ; (2) Pitted, ppl. adj. covered
with small indentations, as after small-pox ; spotted.
(i) n.Yks.' 2 (2) Lakel.2, n.Yks.2 w.Yks. T'tongue desarves
ta be pittid rairly for it ingratitude, Tom Treddlehoyle Fr.
Exhibition (c. 1856) 12 ; w.Yks.^ A silk dress gets ' raan pitted.'
15. Of potatoes, &c. : to make them into a heap covered
with earth and straw.
Frf. We had often wondered at her letting Sanders pit his own
potatoes when he was so unable, Eareie Thrums (1889) xii. Wor.
When potatoes aregraved or pitted, Evesham Jm. (Oct. 10, 1896).
Wil.' ' To pit potatoes,' to throw them up in heaps or ridges, in
field or garden, well covered over with straw and beaten earth,
for keeping through the winter. ;
PIT, sb.''- m.Yks.' [Not known to our correspondents.]
A fruit-stone.
PIT, see Pet, Put, v?-
PITCAKE, sb. Bwk. (Jam.) The plover.
Supposed to express the sound emitted by the bird.
PITCH
[526]
PITCH
PITCH, sb} Sc. Lan. Chs. Nhp. GIo. Oxf. Som. Cor.
Also in form pitchy Cor.^ [pitj.] 1. Incow2/'.(i)Pitchcord,
a strong cord smeared with pitch, used for thatching ; (2)
•eyed, of a bean : so ripe that a black spot appears on it ;
(3) -haired, having a rough staring coat, as a horse in cold
weather; (4) -lapped, bound or twisted round with a fine
string covered with pitch.
(i) s.Chs.i (2)Glo. (H.S.H.) (3) Cor.2 (4) Lan. He would
mount his rostrum, and drawing forth his cane, carefully pitch-
lapped at both ends, proceed to deal forth execution, Westall Old
Factory (1885) iii ; Applied to a cane wrapped or lapped round at
both ends with a fine string, pitched first, to prevent it splitting
(S.W.).
2. Phr. as dark as pilch, pitch dark ; quite dark. Sc.
(A.W.), Nhp.i, Oxf. (CO.), w.Som.i
PITCH, v.^ and sb.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms pootch Dev. Cor. ; putch Dev.'^ [pitJ-]
1. V. In comb, (i) Pitch-back, a game of progressive
leap-frog ; the same as Inchy-pinchy (q.v.) ; (2) -button,
a game at pitch-and-toss ; (3) -halfpenny, (a) the game of
pitch-and-toss played with halfpence ; (b) in phr. to play
pitch-halfpenny, of rooks : to stoop and pick up worms ; (4)
■hole, (a) the aperture in a hay-loft or barn through which
corn, hay, &c. is thrown ; (6) the temporary hole left in
the roof of a rick, in which a man stands to ' top up ' ; (5)
•hole door, the door which closes the aperture in the hay-
loft ; (6) -up, (a) a short rest, as when a cart is going up a
steep hill ; {b) a conversation ; (c) a small concourse of
friends.
(i) War^^ (2) Lon. I was watching a lot of boys playing at
pitch-button, Mayhew Loud. Labour (1851) III. 134. {3, a) Nrf.
Let's have a game of pitch-halfpenny, Emerson Son of Fens {iS^^)
339. Dor. They say now that she've business in every bank in
Casterbridge, and thinks nomoreofplayingpitch-and-toss-sovereign
than you and I do pitch-halfpenny, YiAKDy Madding Crowd i^iHi^')
vi. (6) Nrf. Nrf. Arch. (1849) II. 298. (4, a) Chs.i ; Chs.3 The
hole left to fill the bawks above with hay or straw. s.Chs.', Nhp.'
Glo. The end wall [of the barn] was pierced for a large pitch-hole,
'BvcKWA.Ti Darke^ s Sojourn (i8go) viii. Hnt. (T.P.F.) (A) w.Mid.
It*s very hot work in the pitch-hole, when it's up to your middle
and the sun's right atop of you (W.P.M.). (5) Chs.^ (6, a) Wil.i
(6) Sur.i I happened on him in the street, and had a bit of a pitch
up with him. (c) Hmp.^ A boy's pitch up were his ordinary com-
panions.
2. Phr. (i) pitch and chuck, (2) — and hustle, or — and
nostle, the game of pitch-and-toss ; (3) — a pieing, a boys'
game ; see below ; (4) — in the hole, a game of chance ;
(5) — pitch, butterfly, an invocation by which children hope
to catch a butterfly ; (6) to pitch a hole, in swimming : to
let down one's feet to try and touch the ground ; (7) — and
toss, to play at pitch-and-toss ; (8) — it into, to attack by
word or blow ; to ' pitch into ' ; (9) — the hunters, a game,
see below ; (10) — to, to set to work ; to set about any-
thing in earnest ; (11) — up, (a) to give up, abandon ; to
stop ; {b) to associate with ; to talk with ; (12) — up to, to
make advances ; to make love to.
(i) Hrt. Ellis 5fe/>. Guide (it^o) 199. (2) War. Troops of boys
playing 'pitch and hustle' in the outskirts. White Wrekin (i860)
xvii. Brks.^ (3) w.Mid. In ' pitch-a-pieing ' boys place their
hands on the ground, then their head, and then throw themselves
head overbeds so that they he on their backs (W.P.M.). (4) Hrt.
Shoot in the ring, odd and even, and pitch in the hole, are the
leading games, Wickham Hrt. School (iS^i) x. (5) Cor.2 Pitch,
pitch butterfly, down low, down low. (6) Dor. If a boy is
swimming over a deepish hole a fellow on the banl^ would very
likely bawl out, ' Pitch thic hwole. Bob," i.e. let your feet down
and try if it's within your depth (H.J.M.). (7) Lan.i There's
a deal o' sin committed thereabeawts ; pitchin' an' tossin', an'
drinkin', an' beawhn', i' Summer lime, Bamford Eaily Days
(1859) 169. (8) w.Som.i (9) Lon. Pitching the hunters is the
three sticks a penny, with the snuff-boxes stuck upon sticks; if
you throw your stick, and they fall out of the hole, you are
entitled to what you knock off, MAVHEvy Land. Labour (1851)
'• 352. (10) Cor. Our boy, he wor to school a bit afore aw
pitched to bal, Forfar Pentowan (1859) i ; Cor.i^ (11, a) Nhb.i
A've pitched-up the job. I.W. (Hall.) (6) Hmp.i I.W.2 There
the bwoy was, pitched up wi dree or vour more yoppellin away
at one another. (12) Cor.'^
3. To load a wagon with hay, corn, &c. by means of a
pitchfork ; to throw sheaves upon a stack.
Wm. Tak t'pitchfork an' pitch yon hay on't' t'back mew
(B.K.). n.Stf. With a face a shade redder than usual from the
exertion of pitching, Geo. Eliot A. Bede (1859) xxxii. nw.Der.',
Not.i Rnt.' He hurt his side, pitching. Lei.^, Nhp.', War.
(J.R.W.) s.Wor. 'E wanted a mon as could do pitchin' (H.K.).
Shr.i Yore new waggoner's despert short an' stiff, I dunna know
'ow e's to pitch at 'arroost. Hrf.", Glo.i^^ Oxf.' MS. add. Brks.i
To ' pitch wuts ' is to raise oats in the straw into a waggon by
means of a coarse-grained prong. Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An."- Nrf.
Holloway. Ess. When he'd done pitchin' hay, Clark /. Noakes
(1839) St. 54. Sus., Hmp. Holloway. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892);
Wil.', Dor.l Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885). w.Som.'
Last year I pitched every stitch o' corn 'pon the farm. Dev.^
Pitching is the duty (generally assigned to some skilful hand) of
unloading the wains as they return from the cornfield, and handing
up their contents to those who tread the mow; Dev.* I have been
putchin' hay all day. n.Dev. Last barest wey the young Dick
Vrogwill whan George Vuzz putched, Exni. Scold. (1746) I. 33.
w.Dev. The sheaves are pitched from the point of a prong formed
very narrow in the tines over the head of the pitcher. I have seen
a man thus pitching sheaves up to the roof of a stack above the
ordinary height ; throwing them several feet above the reach of
his fork. The spring is got by the arms and knees jointly, or is
done at arm's length, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) 177.
Hence Pitcher, sb. the labourer who throws the hay or
corn to the ' loader ' ; occas. the one who throws the
sheaves upon the stack.
Not.l, Lei.', Nhp.l, War. 3, se.Wor.l, S^r.', Glo. (S.S.B.), Oxf.i,
Brks.^, e.An.i, Sus.^ Hmp. Holloway. Dor. A pitcher wi' his
long stem'd prong, Barnes Poems (1863) 53. Som. Then at noon
the pitchers, rickmakers, and the freckled child of ten who led the
horse, sat out of sight, Raymond Tryphena (1895) 14. w.Som.'-
■w.Dev. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) 177.
4. To set out goods for sale in the market.
n.Lin.l War. The wool pitched was in very good condition,
Efesha>fi_/rn. (July 2, 1898). Wil.i There wur a main lot o' cheese
pitched s'marnin'. w.Som.^ There idn a quarter much so 'ool a-
pitched to Bristol Fair as used to. I mind they always used to
pitch the corn in our niarket, and peck it out there right.
Hence Pitch(ed-niarket, sb. a market where corn is
exposed for sale, not sold by the sample.
w.Yks. The corn market at Doncaster is termed a ' pitched
market,' inasmuch as a farmer can take the bulk of his corn to
market, pitch it in the corn market, and sell the entire quantity,
instead of selling it by sample, N. & Q. (1878) 5th S. x. 54. Brks.
Marshall Review {iBii) V. 63. Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang.
(1809) 140. Wil. Davis Agric. (1813) in Arch. Rev. (1888) I. 37 ;
Wil.i, w.Som.l
5. To plant stakes in the ground for the purpose of
making hurdles, or fencing.
Hmp. Holloway. Wil. They took an iron bar with them and
pitched the stakes for the fence, Jefferies Bevis (1882) xxiii ; Wil.*^
6. To ram or press down firmly.
w.Dor. I shall pitch these stones (C.V.G.).
7. Obs. To set on a spike ; to affix.
Sc. The heads of Major M^CuUoch and the two Gordons should
be pitched on the gate of Kirkcudbright, Kirkton Ch, Hist.
(1817) 248.
8. To fall forward.
Sc. (A.W.) Oxf.i Thee 'ult pitch in the fire ! MS. add. Sur.i
When I first gets up from the chair I seems ready to pitch-like.
9. To sit down ; also in phr. to pitch one's body, — one's
weight.
Gmg. Please to pitch your weight, dear ladies (E.D,). Dor. Do
ee pitch (J.J.R.) ; Do ye pitch your-zelf in a chair, Barnes Gl.
(1863). Dev. Plaze to pitch, ma'am. Reports Provinc. (1893). Cor.
Won't you pitch a bit ! Hammond Parish (1897) 338.
10. To stand.
Cor. I can't pitch on thiccy foot. They two maids was pitched,
one on either side of 'ee, Hammond Parish (1897) 338.
11. To take root after transplanting ; of fruit : to set.
s.Dev., e.Cor. (Miss D.) Cor.' The turmats are pitched ; Cor.2
12. To lessen, abate ; esp. used of a swelling ; also of
soil : to settle, sink down, present an uneven appearance.
Oxf.' That rick'll look less when 'tis pitched, MS. add. Hmp.»
The ground pitches in that field. Wil. The custom is, to give the
meadows a 'thorough good soaking at first'. . . to make the land
PITCH
[527]
PITCHER
sink and pitch close together, Davis Gen, View Agric. (1811) xii ;
Wil.^ The ground this end o' the Leaze pitches uncommon bad.
Dor. (W.C.) ; To subside, as dirt in water, Barnes Gl. (1863) ;
'How's Sammy's leg?' 'They do say he's pitched' (C.W.).
Som. My hands have pitched, sir, but my legs be terrible swollen
— but they'll pitch maybe by and by (W.F.R.). w.Som.i A hay-
rick always sinks materially in height when it begins to heat ; in
so doing it is said to pitch. ' Thick there rick lookth purty high
a-cock'd up, but zee un in a vortnight's time arter he've a-pitcht,
he 'ont be half s'igh.'
13. Of man or beast : to waste away ; gen. with away.
Hmp.i Wil. The ewes shrink their milk, the lambs ' pitch and
get stunted,' and the best summer food will not recover them,
Davis Gc«. View Agric. {liii) -xM ; Wil.^ Som. Brought on a sort
of hesitation-like in his stomach, so that he pitched away and got
so poor that he were little better than a shadow, Raymond Love
and Quiet Life (1894) 205. w.Som.' Our Bill bin shockin' bad
way the fayver — I 'sure you, he's that a-pitch'd away, he's most
a-come to a nottomy. They bee-us be a pitch'd away oncommon
— they baint 20 good's they was by vower a head. Dev. He was
disturbed at seeing her so pitched away, Sharland Ways Village
(1885) 104.
14. To pave with small, uneven stones set up edgeways.
e.Lan.i, Chs.i3, nw.Der.i, Nhp.', Hrf.2, s.Cy. (Hall.) Hmp.
Holloway. I.W. The large flints with which the court was
pitched. Gray ^«««s/«jv(i889') I. 175. Wil.'- Som. Jennings OAs.
Dial. w.Eng. (1825"). w.Som.i Will 'ee have the floora-put in way
brick, or else will 'ee hab'm a-pitcht ? Dev.i
HencePitched, //i/.ai^'.paved with small, irregularstones.
Som. A paved way is always smooth and even ; a pitched way
always rough and irregular, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
15. To give the keynote of a tune ; also ns&AJig.
Sc. ( A.W.) Midi. They've pitched their taale a leetle too strong,
Bartram People of Clapton (1897) 145. Dor.' An' Liz the best to
pitch a zong, 132.
16. To begin ; to lead at cards.
Dev. Jimmy, yii pitch, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). Cor. Lighted
our pipes, and then Zebe pitched, Tregellas Tales, 30 ; And next
they pitch to laid ee off, Hicham Dial. (1866) 23 ; Cor.^ We pitches
to work.
17. To arrange ; to undertake.
Cor. I dedn't pitch to raave and rooar, Tregellas Tales, 16.
18. sb. Comp. (i) Pitch-axe, a narrow axe used to make
the first incision in felling timber and to cut round stones,
&c. ; (2) -bar, a pointed bar of iron for making holes in the
ground; a crowbar; (3) -gutter, a channel or shallow
open drain formed with small stones or pebbles ; (4) -pea,
the wild vetch, a variety of Vicia ; (5) -pipe, a pipe
used in country churches to denote the pitch of the music.
(i) s.Wor. (H.K.) (2) s.Cy. Holloway. (3) w.Som.i Thick
road 'on't never be vitty gin there's a proper pitch-gutter a-put in
both zides o' un. (4) sw.Sc. Garrfen fFi. (1896) No. cxiv. 112. (5)
Sc. (A.W.), Cum.i, n.Yks. (T.S.), Brks.'
19. Phr. (i) Pitch of work, the area in a water-meadow,
which the water-supply can flood properly at one turning
on ; (2) to make a pitch, to make a point ; to make a custom
or principle ; (3) to work by pitch, mining term : to receive
payment according to the quantity of ore dug out.
(i) Wil. The water is thrown over as much of the meadows as
it will cover well at a time, which the watermen call a pitch of
work ; and when it is necessary to lay this pitch dry, they . . .
proceed to water another pitch, Davis Gen. View Agric. (1811)
xii ; One tier of these ridges being usually watered at once, is
usually called 'a pitch of work,' Marshall ifewVw (1817) V. 196;
Wil."- (2) Hrf.° They always make a pitch of picking the burden
fruit. (3) m.Yks.i
20. A short steep hill, esp. in a road ; gen. used of the
descending side ; an inclination, dip ; uneven ground ; an
undulation in the ground.
w.Yks. (J.W.) Der. One long street, which wandered up and
down the steepest 'pitches,' according to the lay of the hill,
Verney Stone Edge (1868) iv. Nhp.i It's a steep pitch. War.^
Go gently up the pitch. Wor. Allies Antiq. Flk-Lore (1840) 246,
ed. 1852. s.Wor. (H.K.), Hrf. (E.M.W.), Hrf.12 Rdn. Morgan
Wds. (1881). Glo. We were just going up that pitch near Horse-
ferry Bridge (A.B.); Glo.', Hmp.i, Wil.^ Som. It's a sharpish
pitch coming into Weston (W.F.R.). n.Som. The coal takes a
south pitch or inclination, Marshall Review (1818) II. 497.
21. The quantity of hay, &c. taken up at one time on a
pitchfork.
Shr.' Jack 66nna 'urt 'imself— 'e dunna tak' more at a pitch than
yo' coulden put on (56th a toastin'-fork. Glo.^ Brks.' The quantity
of oats taken on the prong is called the ' pitch.' w.Cy. (Hall.)
Dor. Woone do teake The pitches in, Barnes Poems, 53. Wil.'
22. A piece of ground on which costermongers and other
traders may set out goods for sale ; the quantity of goods
set out for sale at one time in a market.
w.Yks. The pitch of oats, wheat and beans, N. & Q. (1878) 5th
S. X. 54. Lin. The pitch of cheese was not equal to last year,
N. tf Q. ib. ix. 407. n.Lin.i Ther' was a good pitch 0' cheese last
Gaainsb'r mart, but noht like what it ewsed to be afoore thease
raailwaays was on the goa. Lei. N. & Q. ib. x. 54. Glo. Old
people always speak of the cheese offered at market as ' a large,'
'a middling,' or 'a small pitch,' according to the quantity, ib.
Lon. In consequence of a New Police regulation, 'stands' or
' pitches ' have been forbidden, Mayhew Loud. Labour(iS5c) I. 10.
Wil. Mr. W. S. H had, as usual, a small pitch of cheese
(G.E.D.).
23. Obs. An iron bar with a thick square point, used to
make holes in the ground for hurdle-stakes.
c.An. Ray (1691). Ess. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). s.Cy.
Grose (1790). Sns.'
24. A tin-mining term : a defined section or area of the
lode in which a ' tributer ' works.
Cor. The old man and his son took the 'pitch,' and in a short
time realised much wealth, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 91,
ed. 1896 ; Cor.' The working of a piece of a mine, sold by public
auction to two or four workmen every two months. The whole
mine is let out in pitches; Cor.''
Hence «^oorf /';y<rA,/Ar. a good bargain. Cor.' 25. A
rod of willow, poplar, or elder which, being stuck in the
ground at a certain season, will take root. Cf. pitcher,
s6.= 5.
w.Som.i In making new hedges it is usual to stipulate ' to be
planted with good withy or elder pitches.'
26. A game played with pennies or other round disks ;
see below.
w.Som.i The object is to pitch the penny into a hole in the
ground from a certain point.
27. The number of rows of teeth or ' broiches ' in a
hand-wool comber's comb ; see below.
w.Yks. There were from three to seven. The combs were hence
known as ' pitch three,' ' pitch four,' &c. (S.K.C.)
28. A swarm of bees. Lan. (S.W.)
PITCH, sb.^ and v.' Stf. Shr. Mtg. Cth. 1. sb. An
untidy patch ; a dilapidated or badly-mended dress ; only
used in connexion with ' patch.'
Stf., Shr. My jacket's all pitches and patches, Flk-Lore Jrn.
(1886) IV. 259. s.Sbr. Not only as applied to dilapidation in the
rustic wardrobe, but often to any ' bungling' work and the like,
Oswestry Advertizer {h-pr. 10, 1901). Mtg. About forty years ago
I heard in the parish of Buttington the following : ' A patch on a
hole is a credit to see. But pitch upon patch looks quite beggarly,' ib.
Hence (i) Pitch-patch, (2) Pitch-patchy, (3) Pitchy,
patchy, adj. untidy, clumsily mended ; careless. Also
used advb.
(i) Cth. Common. A young girl walks pitch patch when she
is heedless of where she sets her feet, and half covers her dress
with mud, ib. (Apr. 17, 1901 ). (2) s.Shr. That's a bit pitch patchy,
inud it? ib. (Apr. 10, 1901). (3) Cth. A man's garden is 'pitchy
patchy ' when it is set anyhow ; a dress is pitchy patchy when in
addition to being oft-mended, the mending has been done with no
eye to tastefulness, the pieces or patches used being of different
material and differing in size and colour, ib. (Apr. 17, 1901).
2. V. To patch ; used only in connexion with ' patch.'
Shr. Pitch 'em and patch 'em Say the bells of Old Atcham,
Oswestry Advertiser (Apr. 17, 1901).
PITCHATS, 5i. //. Shr. Hrf. Also written pitchets ;
and in form pichocks Shr.' [pi'tjats.] Broken glass and
china, esp. when used as playthings by children. Cf,
pitcher, 56.' 4.
Shr.' A littlegirl admiring hermother's new tea-china, exclaimed,
' Eh ! 66dna they maken pretty pitchets ? ' Hrf.'
PITCHER, sb} and v. Yks. Lin. Shr. Glo. Som.
[pi'tja(r).] 1. sb. In camp. Pitcher-shop, a china-shop.
Shr.' 2. Phr. like a humble bee in a pitcher, indistinct in
PITCHER
[528]
PITCHY
speech. Glo.' 3. Various specific kinds of earthenware
vessels ; see below.
n.Lin.i An earthen vessel with an ear and a lip to pour from ;
to be distinguished from a jug. sw.Lin.' Always used for a small
jug, such as a milk jug. The term Jug is applied to large stone-
ware jars. Shr.i Earthenware vessels of the finer kinds, common
china included. w.Som.'- A deep vase-shaped jug, having one
handle at the top on one side. The pitcher is always made of coarse
brown earthenware (cloam). If of finer ware, or china, it is a jug.
4. pi. Bits of broken crockery used as playthings by
children. Shr.^ 5. v. To demand money of one who
begins a courtship ; see below.
n.Yks. When a young man paid his addresses to a young woman
who did not reside in the same village as himself, it was the
custom 40 or 50 years ago to ' pitcher ' him, i.e. the young men
residing in the same village as the woman would agree that he
should be 'pitcherd.' Consequently, when they knew the man
was with the woman, several would go and take a pitcher into
which he was expected to drop some money for drink. If he
submitted to be thus ' pitcherd ' he was allowed to come quietly ;
if not he was subject to constant annoyance (W.H.). w.Yks.
Two young fellows, some yearssince, had to pay£4for 'pitchering'
a young man who came from Huddersfield to Almondbury Bank
courting. . . W. M. was 'pitchered ' at Smithy -place, near Honley ;
he was, in fact, thrown into a sump hole, where he was almost
suffocated, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1896) ; w.Yks.i One of the
young inmates of the family takes a small pitcher and half fills it
with water; he then goes, attended by his companions, and,
presenting it to the lover, demands a present in money. If he is
disposed to give anything, he drops his contribution into the
pitcher, and they retire without further molestation. He is thus
made a free-man and can quietly pay his visits in future, without
being subject to any similar exaction. But if, after repeated
demands, the lover refuse to pay his contribution, he is either
saluted with the contents of the pitcher, or a general row ensues,
in which the water is spilled and the pitcher is broken ; w.Yks.^
Hence (i) Pitchering, vbl. sb. the custom of demanding
money from a man who is going courting ; (2) Pitchering-
brass, sb., (3) Pitcherings, sb. pi. the money given by the
man who is ' pitchered.'
" (i) n.Yks. N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. vii. 336. w.Yks. Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Nov. 8, 1884) ; w.Yks.i (2) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Mar. 7, 1897). (3) w.Yks.^ When any young men meet with an
acquaintance in company with his sweetheart, they put in their
claim for ' pitcherings,' or for a sum of money, to be given by the
male, which is spent in ale, and the courtship is ever afterwards
duly recognized. Should he be discovered again with a fresh
Companion, the claim is renewed. ' Pitcherings, owd lad !
pitcherings ! ' is the polite mode of putting it.
PITCHER,56.2 Sc. Nhb. Chs. Pem. Oxf. Hmp. w.Cy.Dor.
Som. Cor. Also in form pitchers Cai.^ [pi"tj3(r.] 1. The
marble with which a boy aims ; the piece of lead, slate,
&c. used in playing ' kype ' or ' hole.'
S. & Ork.' Abd. E'en though our pitcher was nearest the mottie
— Tho' we had but ae hole at the kypies to fin', Cadenhead Bon-
Accord (1853) 256. Gall. It is also called a pitcher because
the boy pitches it (A.W.). Nhb.l The player wins all marbles
which he drives into the hole with a stroke of his pitcher,
also any that may have been tipped by the pitcher in the throw.
2. The flat roundish piece of stone used in ' hop-scotch ' ;
the game of 'hop-scotch' itself.
Cai.^ Played by young girls on flagstone pavements. The player
hopping on one foot kicks a pebble from one flagstone to the next.
The game is to miss no flagstone or to let the other foot down.
w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Oxf. 'Slip your pitcher, nip your pitcher,
pitcher on line.' Three things putting a child out of play (G O.).
3. A tool used by stone-masons to knock large pieces
off the edges of stones or flags. Chs.' 4. A slab of
slate or stone forming the side of a cattle-trough. Cor.^
5. A withy bough, cut for planting, esp. used in making
hedges ; also the pollard willow.
Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.>, w.Cy. (Hall.), Dor.i Som. Withy
plants in this county are very useful for stakes or pitchers, as they
are called, Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815) IV. 245. w.Som.'
6. A branch of an apple-tree having an excrescence or
burr upon it which is capable of taking root.
s.Pem. (W.M.M.) w.Cy. Jrn. HoHic. (Apr. 15, 1875) 300.
7. A young hawthorn bush, Crataegus Oxyacanlha. s.Pem.
PITCHER, sb? and adj. Yks. Chs. Shr. [prtj3(r).]
1. sb. A fierce mastiff'. Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1896). 2. adj. Ill-tempered, cross.
s.Chs.i Yoa)m des'purt pich ilr dhiis mau'rnin ; yoa must li got-n
dh)uwd laad' iipiS yur baak', iir yu wiid'nii bey si naaz'i wi foa ks.
Shr.i Maister's mighty pitcher, yo'd'n better mind whad yo' bin
doin'.
PITCHER-HUNTER, s3. Lon. Amanwhosuperintends
the game of ' pitch the hunters ' (q.v.), s.v. Pitch, v.^ 2 (9).
I came to London with my master the pitcher-hunter, Mayhew
Land, Labour (1851) I. 352.
PITCHETS, see Pitchats.
PITCHFUL, sb. se.Wor.i [pi't/ful.] The quantity of
hay, straw, manure, &c. which can be taken up at one
time with a pitchfork.
PITCHING, sb. Sc. Yks. War. Won Shr. Hrf. Glo.
Oxf. Nrf. Sun Hmp. I.W. Wil. Don Som. Dev.
1. In phr. the pitching of corn, the sale of corn in the
bulk instead of by sample. See Pitch, v} 4.
Nrf. The markets, as far as relates to the pitching of corn, are
everywhere dropt, and the whole trade is carried on by sample,
Marshall Review (181 1) III. 308.
2. A chemical term : precipitation. Glo. Gl. (1851).
w.Cy. (Hall.) 3. A method of dressing wall-stones that
leaves them rough on the face. w.Yks. (T.H.H.)
4. A narrow, uncovered passage. Hmp. (W.M.E.F.)
5. A pavement made of pebbles or small stones ; a
flagged footpath.
War.i2; War.3 Mind you walk on the pitching. Wor. On the
pebble pitching, Evesham Jrn. (Oct. 2, 1897). Hrf. (W.W.S.)
Oxf.' 'Er's out an the pitchins wi' narra shoe an. Sur.' Hmp.
In a street the smooth flat stones on which persons walk are called
the pavement — the rough stones, on which horses travel, the
pitching, Holloway; (W.M.E.F.); Hmp.', Wil.12 n.Wil. The
musk finds root in every interstice of the pitching, Jefferies Wild
Life {iSig) 162. Dor.' Som. The rattle of hoofs upon the pitching
before the stable door, Raymond Tryphena (1895) ig. w.Som.',
Dev.3
6. Comp. (i) Pitching-axe, a large axe used in felling
timber ; (2) -bar, the iron bar used to ' pitch ' hurdles ;
(3) -pick or -pikel, (4) -prong, a pitchfork ; (5) -ring, the
ring in playing marbles ; (6) -stone, a small stone suitable
for paving.
(i) Shr. (Hall.); Shr.2 Weighing from six to seven pounds.
(2) Wil.' (3) Shr.' 'E 11 want a good lung pitchin'-pikel. Dor.'
An' trigg'd en up wi' oone o'ms pitchen pick, 127. (4) s.Cy.
(Hall.), I.W.' (5) Abd. He was generally the most expert among
his companions at the pitching-ring, Ruddiman Sc. Parish (1828)
no, ed. 1889. (6) I.W.', w.Sora.'
PITCH-POLL, v., sb. and adv. Not. War. Wor. Glo.
Oxf. Brks. Wil. Also in forms pitchipoU Glo.' ; pitch-
paowl se.Wor.' ; pitch-pawle Brks.' ; pitch-pole Wor.
Oxf.' [pi'tj-pol.] 1. V. To turn head over heels.
s.Not. He went pitch-polling over down the bank (J.P.K.).
War.2, se.Wor.l, a. Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.', Glo. (A.B.), Glo.' Oxf.
You'll go pitchpoUing down the stairs if you don't mind (CO.);
Oxf.' Children pitchpole on a bed by turning a somersault on it.
2. To make a profit; to 'turn one's money over'; to
sell an article for double what it has cost.
War.2 Wor. I sold the pig I bought a month ago and regular
made him pitchpole, Evesham frn. (_Nov. 25, 1899) ; To pitchpole
a sheep. To pitchpole one's money (W.A.S.). s.Wor.', Glo.'-
Oxf.i When cattle, &c. sell for double their cost they are said to
have pitchpoled.
3. To start afresh after a misfortune.
Wor. Defendant had had a bad season and plaintiff said he would
give him (([50 and a horse and cart, and make him pitchpole upon
the world. . . He heard plaintiff say that he would give defendant
£1 to make him pitchpole, Evesham frn. (Nov. 25, 1899).
4. sb. A somersault; the game of turning head overheels.
Oxf.', Brks.' WU.' When rooks are flying round and round,
playing and tumbling head over heels in the air (a sign of rain),
they are said to be ' playing pitch-poll.'
5. adv. Head over heels. s.Wor.', Glo. (A.B.), Glo.'
PITCHY, sb. Glo. [pitji.] In phn the itchy pitchy,
the itch.
I can cure the itchy pitchy, Palsy and the gout, Gibes Cotsvuold
Vill. (1898) 407.
PITCHY
[529I
PITTAPACE
PITCHY, see Pitch, sb}
PIT FOR PAT, phr. Sc. A corruption of ' pit-a-pat.'
Lnk. Pit for pat his heart now thumpet, Muir Minstrelsy (1816)30.
PITH, sb. So. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Nhp. Won Hrf.
Glo. Suf. Wil. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms paeth Som. ;
peath Cor.' ; peeth Som. Cor.^ ; pet In ; path Nhp.' Hrf
Glo.' 2 Wil.'; pif e.Lan.'; piff Lakel.= ; pithe Sc. [pi}),
pej), w.Cy. also pa]>.] 1. In comp. Peth-straw, the
' haulm ' of peas. Nhp.' 2. Phr. (i) pith o/hetnp, obs.,
the rope of the hangman ; (2) — of malt, whisky.
(i) Edb. If [you] shore them wi' the pith o' h — p, 'Twill surely
keep thera mair in stent, Liddle Poems (1821) 150. (2) Fif. Gie
me the sterling pith o' maut, Aboon them a' it bears the gree, Gray
Poems (1811) 160. Peb. Strangers to the pith o' malt, Sworn foes
to social drinkin', Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 87.
3. The crumb of a loaf.
Ir. (A.S.-P.), s.Wor. (H.K.), Hrf.' Glo. I can't eat crust, give
me a bit of path (A.B.) ; Glo.' 2, Wil.' n.Wil. Gie I the peth on't,
I caant eat no crowst (E H.G.). Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl.
(.1885); (W.F.R.) Dev. (Halu)
Hence Pethy, adj. crumby.
Glo.' Wil.' A pethy loaf. n.Wll. (E.H.G.)
4. Marrow. e.Lan.' 5. Strength, vigour, power,
energy ; substance.
Sc. I ken weel by sad experience that pcortith takes away pith,
Scott Nigel (1822) xxxv. Sh.I. Der no sae muckle pith inta da
men noo, Sh, News (June 19, l8g7^. Rs. I sail pruve my pithe on
him, Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) H- 33^- Elg. The
vein, ne'er swell'd wi' gusty art. Seeks na fause pith frae wine,
CoupER Poetry (1804) I. 118. Bch. It cost baith wit and pith to
see The back-seams o' their hose, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 19. Abd.
A pith of expression that shewed it was nae apprentice wark wi'
her, RuDDiMAN Sc. Parish (1828) 34, ed. 1889. Per. I have confuted
Mr. Smith, Your adversar, for all his pith, Smith Poems ( 1714) 15,
ed. 1853. s.Sc. If Jamie's health an' pilh keep hale, Watson Bards
(1859)76. Dmb. TAyLORPo«>«5(i827)ii. Ayr. Wicked Culzean
was a hero of pith in the deevil's service. Hunter Studies (1870)
14. Lnk. Weel might he boast his pilh o' jaw, MuiR Minstrelsy
(1816) 22. Lth. Ballantine Poems (1856) 130. Edb. As lang's
there's pith into the barrel We'll drink an' gree, Fergusson Poems
(1773) iiij ed. 1785 ; I said with all my pith and birr, VloiK Mansie
Wauch (1828) xvi. Slk. That's what he was doing wi' a' his pith,
Hogg Tales (1838) 50, ed. 1866. Kcb. The pith o' meikle banes
Sent whunnerin' up the rink the channel stanes. Elder Borgue
(1897) 37. Wgt. Fraser Poems (1885) 58. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll.
L.L.B.) Nhb. He bangs them a' for pith an' speed, Midford Coll.
Sngs. (1818) 6. Lakel.2 He's neea pith in him fer nowt 'at's owt
at dow. Cum. Thus with pith restword yence mair, Stagg Misc.
Poems (ed. 1805) 132; Cum.* e.Yks.' He's getten sum pith in
him, or else he couldn't he' geean thruff it si weel. Nhp.' He's no
peth in him. Suf.' A've no pith in em. w.Som.' Dhur waud'n
noa paeth' een dhu puud'n.
Hence (i) Pithful, adj. of words : powerful; pithy ; (2)
Pithless, adj. weak, feeble ; (3) Pithy, adj. strong.
(i) Fif. Pithful texts and Strang, Tennant Papistry (1827) 14.
(2) w.Yks. Moithered to know what she could find to better my
strength, because I seemed to be pithless and low, Snowden Web of
Weaver (1896) xviii. (3) Dmb. Pithy yill and brandy, Salmon
Gowodean (1868) 63. Edb. On mair pithy shanks they stood Than
Noah's line, Fergusson Poems {i-lTi) 144, ed. 1785.
e. Wit. Cor.2 Hence Pithy, adj. witty.
Cor.' He's a peathy man. Peathy old fellow with plenty of
gumption ; Cor.*
[5. Age . . . Hath me biraft my beautee and my pith,
Chaucer C. T. d. 475.]
PITHEE, int. Som. Dev. Also in forms pitha n.Dev. ;
pithah Dev.* ' Prithee,' ' I pray you.'
w.Som.' A com. expression of familiarity, of affection, of con-
tempt, or defiance, according to intonation. ' Oh aye ! pithee,
mun, thee art'n a-gwain to come over me thick farshin!' 'There's
a sartin thing thee dis'n know, pithee!' Dev.' Pithee don't be
spare about men, 10 ; Still common among the old people, ib. Gl. ;
Dev.*^ Come inside pithah, don't stay out in the cold. n.Dev.
Pitha dest thenk enny theng will ! Extn. Scold. (1746) 1. 57 ; So
pitha, tell na more, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 33.
PITHER, V. Not. War. Won Shr. w.Cy. Glo. Brks.
Ken. Also written pitther Shr.* w.Cy. ; and in form
pitter Ken.' [pi«S3(r).l 1. To move with a slight
VOL. IV.
rustling noise ; to fuss or fidget about ; to pester as flies
do ; also in comb. Pither-pather.
s.Not. Law! the flies do pither me (J.P.K.). 'War.3 A swan
resting on the water and ' pithering ' all round him with his
beak to keep the water from freezing ; War.-*, s.War.' w.Wor.'
1 'card them rots a-pitherin' about over my yud ahl night, an' I
couldn't get a wink o' sleep. Shr.' I felt summat pither- patherin'
about my neck an' flirted it off, an' it wuz a great yerriwig ; Shr.*
w.Cy. (Hall.), Glo.'
2. To move lightly over a surface ; to scratch, dig
lightly ; to trifle with one's work.
War.*; 'War.^ He pithers with his work. He pithers with his
food ; War.* s.'Wor. What be the good o' pitherin' about like
that thur? a con't do scarce nothin' at it 'ordly (H.K.). Shr.i I
canna think whad yo'n bin pitherin' at all mornin' — I could a done
twize as much in 'afe the time. Brks. (W.H.Y.), Ken. (Hall.),
Ken.l
Hence Pithering, ppl. adj. trifling, dawdling. War.*
8. To pat ; to fondle.
War.*; War.^ He forthwith pithers her into a consent. B'/iam
Wkly. Post (Apr. 29, 1899) ; War.*, s.'War.', Brks. (W.H.Y.)
PITHER, see Pitter.
PITHERED, pp. Ken. Sun Sus. Also in form
pethered Sun' [pi'Ssd.] 1. With tip : shrivelled up
with cold.
Ken, Poor blood, he looks reg'lar pithered up, dOan' he? (P.M.)
2. With up : of eyes : nearly closed ; ' bunged up.'
Sur.' Sus.^ I've had such a terr'ble gurt cold, my eyes seem
quite pithered-up o' mornings.
PITHERY, adj Ken. [pi'^ari.] Shivering.
One feels all pithery like (W.F.S.).
PITHEST, PITI, PITICE, PITIS, see Pitous, Pitti,
Pitous.
PITISANQUINT, adv. Obs. Som. Pretty well in
health ; ' so-so.' (Hall.); Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869) 165.
• PITLE, see Pightle.
PITLEURACHIE, sb. Sc. Also in forms pillarachie,
pilleurichie. Confusion, hubbub. See Leerrach.
Abd. That's an awfu' pillarachie the hens are hadin' this mornin'
(G.W.) ; An siccan a pitleurachie I'm sure y& never saw As wis
amo the Hielanmen When they saw Macdonell fa. Battle of Harlaw
in Child Pop. Ballads (1889) III. 320.
PITMATICS, sb. pi. Nhb. Dur. A humorous name
for the technicalities of colliery- working.
Nhb.' Dur. Pitmatics ? I've been schooled in them, Guthrie
Kitty Fagan (1900) 8.
PITOUS, adj. Hrf. I.W. Som. Dev. Con Also in
forms pithest Dev.' ; pitice w.Som.' ; pitis Som. ; pittice
Som. Dev. ; pittis Con' ; pittish Dev. ; pittus I.W.'
[pi'tas, pi'tis.] 1. Piteous, pitiable, exciting compassion.
Hrf.i, I.W.' Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). Dev.
He [a pony] luked up in my vace za pittice-like an' bivered til
mowth like a Curschan [Christian"!, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 16 ;
Dev.i The leet windle ne'er blubbereth or weeneth, but look'th
pithest and sif th.
2. Feeble, delicate ; pale, wan.
Dev. Lor, cheel, yCi be aliiking dreiful pittice ! Be 'e bad ?
Mayhap yfl be steeved wi' the cold, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ;
Cureit liiketh pale and pittice. An' 'es vace be thin an' long, Sal-
mon Ballads (1899) 74. Cor. N. & Q. (1854) ist S. x. 359 ; Cor.'
3. Inferior in quality ; worthless; contemptible.
Som. But 'tes such a pittice little town feller, I sim, to catch
a mind to, Raymond Sam and Sabina (1894) 155. w.Som.'
' Where's get thick knive ? 'tis a pitice thing, sure 'nough — I widn
gee thee tuppence vor'n.' * A pitice tale that, sure 'nough ' — i.e.
improbable story ; not likely to deceive anybody. ' Pitice job ' —
i.e. badly done as to workmanship. 'Pitice consarn' — i.e mean,
paltry piece of business. ' Pilice fuller,' an undersized, in-
efficient weakling ; half a man. ' Poor pitice trade,' weak, washy
beverage. Dev. Tis a pittice thing sure 'nough [of a tool], Reports
Provinc. (1885).
[1. His moder made he in pitous array, Chaucer C. T,
B. 3673-]
PITTAGE, sb. Obs. Nhb.' The cost of working
coal. (s.v. Pit.)
PITTAPACE, V. w.Yks.* Also written pittypace ;
and in form piddypace. [pi'ta-, pi'tipes.] To walk
backwards and forwards.
3Y
PITTEE
[530]
PIXY
PITTEE, see Pit, sb}
PITTER, V. Dur. e.An. Ken. Also in form pither
Ken. [pita(r.] To be querulous ; to complain ; to be
in low spirits ; gen. in phr. pittering and pining.
e.Dur.i ■ Ay, he s pitterin' on ' (said of one who was continually
fancying he was just about to die). e.An. (Hall.), e.An.i
Hence (i) Pithering, ppl. adj., (2) Pithery, adj. peevish ;
weakly, (i) n.Ken. A poor pithering creature (D.W.L.). (2) ib.
PITTER, see Pither.
PITTEHING-IRON, s6. Ken.^^ A poker.
PITTER-PATTER, v., sb. and adv. Sc. n.Cy. Yks.
Lan. Nhp. War. 1. v. To beat continuously witii light,
rapid strokes ; to fall in hasty, repeated drops, as rain or
hail. Cf. patter, v)-
Sc. (Jam., s.v. Patter). n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.', Nhp.', War.^
2. To walk backwards and forwards, or in and out of
doors ; esp. used of children ; to move up and down,
making a clattering noise with the feet. Sc. (Jam.)
3. To palpitate. n.Cy. (Hall.) 4. To speak quickly,
esp. to repeat prayers hastily. Cf patter, v.^
Sc. The Cleckgeese leave off to clatter, — And priests, Marias to
pitter-patter, Watson Coll. (1706) I. 48 (Jam.). Fif. Sir Freir
began wi' blitter-blatter His pray'rs to saints to pitter-patter, And
muse on mass and haly watter, Tennant Papistry (1827) 134.
5. sb. The act of striking or beating with a light, rapid
stroke ; the sound made by such action. w.Sc. (Jam., s.v.
Patter). 6. The act of walking with a quick, short step ;
the sound made by such action. (26.) 7. A palpitation ;
the fluttering movement of a perturbed heart.
n.Vks. Oh dear, thoo ez ilowter'd me, thoo's meead mi heart all
ov a pitter-patter ; thoo sudn't A cum'd sa sudden (W.H.).
8. adv. Allinaflutter. Gan.MACTAGGART£'«o'c/.(i824\ e.Lan.i
PITTERTY-PAT, adv. Sc. A corruption of pit-a-pat.'
Frf. Wi' my heart playin' pitterty-pat against my ribs, Willock
Rosetty Ends (1886) 51, ed. 1889.
PITTI, sb. Sh.I. Also written piti. [prti.] A small
or partly broken oil-pot. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 34.
Hence Pittiskord, sb. a piece of broken kettle for
holding oil. ib.
PITTICE, see Pitous.
PITTING, wW. s*. Obs. Cmb. The practice of burning
down the soil so as to lower the whole surface of a field.
In Chattris common, some persons who burnt [land] in a very
dry season without sufficient attention, burnt down the soil so as
to lower it six inches over a whole field ; . . this is called pitting,
YoutiG Annals Agric. (1784-1813) XLIII. 144.
PITTIS(H, see Pitous.
PITTIVOUT, sb. Kcd. (Jam.) A small arch or vault.
[Fr. petit voute, a little arch ; vouie, a vault or arch
(COTGR.).]
PITTLE, see Piddle, i/.=
PITTY-PATTY, adv., adj. and sb. Sc. 1. adv. A
dial, form of ' pit-a-pat.'
Rnf. There's something queer Plays pitty patty at my heart,
Barr Poems (1861) 171. Ayr. Pittie pattie A' Johny's heart
begude to play, Fisher Poems (1790) 73. Lnk. My heart plays
a' pitty patty, Graham IVritings (1883) II. 113,
2. adj. Unsteady, tottering, pattering.
Ayr. She came toddling along, with pitty patty steps, Galt
Gilhaize (1823) viii.
3. sb. The fluttering movement of a perturbed heart.
Gall. M.ACTAGGART Encycl. (1824).
PITY, sb.'^ and v. Sc. Irel. Cum. Yks. Hmp. 'Wil.
Also written peety e.Sc. Ir. [pi'ti.] 1. sb. In phr. (i)
it's a pity of a person, an expression of compassion for
any one ; (2) to think a pity of any one, to feel sorry for
any one.
(i) e.Sc. If the doags dinna get a haud o' something, it's a peety
o's I Strain Elmslie's Drag-net (1900) 151. n.Ir. Puir fellow, a
declare it's a peety o' him, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 79. (2)
Puir fellow ! A thocht a peety o' him, ib. 11.
2. Love. Hmp.^ 3. v. In phr. (i) one's face doesn't pity
one, one does not look as ill as one really is ; (2) pity me,
an exclamation, gen. of self-commiseration or surprise ;
(3) to pity, to be pitied.
(i) n.Wil. (G.E.D.) (2) Sc. But pity me, could they no maun to
reform the kirk withoot sic a bizz ! Cr.uks about the Kirk (1843) i.
Per. Pity me ! gin there's no' a wimmin i' my very bed, Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) 272, ed. 1887. (3) e.Yks.i He isn't ti pity.
4. To feel compunction ; to be sorry.
Sc. I pitied much" to see men take the advantage of the time,
Baillie Lett. (1775) I. 133 (Jam.). Cum.* It was seah whiet, poor
thing, 'at Ah pity't to kill 't last 'ear.
5. impers. It fills one with pity.
Sc. It would have pitied a heart to see so many faint, weary,
half drowned, half-starved creatures, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 240.
Cum. 'Twad ha' pittit thy heart, barn, ta leuk on an' see't, Dickin-
son Cracks of Carters Wife, 11 ; Cum."* It fair pitied me to see
t'poor auld galloway so sairly failed. e.Yks. It pities me to see
him (E.F.).
[5. It pitieth them to see her in the dust, Prayer Book
Ps. cii. 14 ; It pytyeth me to se an honest persone fall in
to povertye, // me fait mat, dfc, Palsgr. (1530).]
PITY, sb.'^ Obs. Sus. A variety of ironstone. Agric.
Surv. (1793-1813).
PITY, see Peter, Pit, sb}
PIVER, w. Sc. Also in forms peever, peiferw.&s.Sc.
[prvsr.] To tremble, shake, quiver.
Or.I. Patie pat on the key, bit his ban's pivered wi' faer a' the
time. Trath a' the time he sat he wus piveran' hke a paedle on a
plate, Dennison Sketch Bk. (1880) 33 (Jam. Suppl.). w. & s.Sc.
(Jam. Suppl.)
[Cp. Norw. dial, bivra, to shake, tremble (Aasen).]
PIVERT, sb. e.An.i Dev.* Also in form pivet e.An.^
The privet, Ligustrmn vulgare.
PIVIT, PIWIPE, see Pee-wit, Peesweep.
PIX, sb. Dev.' [piks.] In phr. a pix take any one, an
expletive. ' Maester was routing in the zettle (a pix take en !),' 19.
PIX see Pick sb}
PIXY, sb. and't;. ' Sc. n.Cy. s.Cy. Sus. Hmp. Wil. Dor.
Som. Dev. Cor. Also written picksey, picsie, pyxie
Dev. ; and in forms pex Som. ; pigsey Cor. ; pigsie Dev. ;
piscy Som. Dev. ; pisgey Dev. ; pisgie Dev. Cor. ; pisgy
Dev. ; piskay Cor. ; piskey Cor.^^ ; piskie Sus. Dev."*^
Cor. J pisky nw.Dev.' Cor.'^; pix w.Cy. w.Som.' Dev.^;
pysgy w.Cor. [pi'ksi, pi'ski ; pi'gsi, pi'sgi.] 1. sb. A
fairy, sprite.
Sc. Mackay. Sh.I. If thou'rt of air, let the gray mist fold thee.
... If a Pixie, seek thy ring, Scorr Pirate (1821) xxiii ; S. & Ork.^
s Cy. [A woman] dressed herself in her husband's clothes . . . and
went to the barn to do her husband's work. On the morning of
the second day, when she went to the barn, she found a large
pile of corn threshed which she had not done ; and so she found
for three or four days her pile of corn doubled. One night she
determined to watch and . . . saw a little pixey come into the barn
with a tiny flail, with which he set to work so vigorously that he
soon threshed a large quantity. During his work he sang, ' Little
pixey fair and slim. Without a rag to cover him.' The next day
the good woman made a complete suit of miniature clothes. . . At
the usual time the pi.xey came to work, . . saw the suit of clothes,
took them down and put them on him, and surveyed himself with
a satisfied air, and sang, ' Pixey fine and pixie gay, Pixey now
must fly away.' It then flew away and she never saw it more,
N. if Q. (1850) ist S. ii. 514. Sur. He saw two little ' Piskies'
working away with their fairie flails, Henderson /7i-iore (1879)
vii. Wil.iSaid to be in use about Malmesbury. w.Dor. Roberts
Hist. Lyme Regis (1834). Som. Hallowmas Eve, when all the
pixies were abroad, Raymond No Soul (1899) 139 ; Jennings Obs.
Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i The
belief in these little creatures is still prevalent, although there is
great confusion of idea between them and witches, bogies, goblins,
hags, or other uncanny things. Rusty horse-shoes are nailed over
stable-doors to prevent the pixies from ' terrifyin' ' the horses.
Som., Dev. The Piscy or Pixy of East Devon and Somersetshire is
a very diff'erent creature from his cousin of a similar name in
Cornwall. The former is a mischievous, but in all respects a very
harmless creation, who appears to live a rollicking life amidst the
luxurious scenes of those beautiful counties. Hunt Pop. Rom.
w.Eng. (1865) 80, ed. 1896. Dev. An old fisherwoman . . . told us
that they were men, women, and children like ourselves, only they
always dressed in green, lived underground, and were ' very small
iaXV.^ Monthly Pkt. (Oct. 1864) 447; The pixies are certainly a
distinct race from the fairies ; since, to this hour, the elders
amongst the more knowing peasantry of Devon will invariably
tell you . . . that these native spirits are the souls of infants, who
were so unhappy as to die before they had received the Christian
PIXY
[531]
PIXY
rite of baptism, Bray Desc. Tamar and the Tavy (1836) I. lett. 10;
All owing to them beggaring little pigsies, Iozktl Poems (1873)
■76 ; Dev.i It is commonly believed to be one of the chief delights
of these mischievous sprites to pinch 'black and blue ' those who
thwart their revels or otherwise interfere with their proceedings ;
Dev.'^ n.Dev. Fath ! tell me o' tha Rexbush, ye teeheeing pixy,
Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 130. nw.Dev.i Cor. A piskey . . . which
frequently made its appearance in the form of a small child in the
kitchen of the farm-house where the inmates were accustomed to
set a little stool for it. It would do a good deal of household
work. . . One evening it was sitting on the stool as usual when it
suddenly started, looked up and said, ' Piskey fine and Piskey gay,
Now, Piskey 1 run away,' and vanished ; after which it never
appeared again, N. &" Q. (1850) ist S. ii. 475 j It is believed that
wherever the pixies are fond of resorting, the depths of the earth
are rich in metal. Very many mines have been discovered by
their singing, ib. 515 ; There are five varieties of the fairy people,
clearly distinguishable — i. The Small People. 2. The Spriggans.
3. Piskies, or Pigseys. 4. The Buccas. . . 5. The Browneys. . .
The Piskie ... is a most mischievous and very unsociable sprite.
His favourite fun is to entice people into the bogs by appearing
like the light from a cottage window, or as a man carrying a
lantern. . . No Pigsey could harm a man if his coat were inside-
out, and . . . persons who had to go from village to village by
night . . . [wore] their jacket or coat so turned ... to render them
safe, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng, (1865) 81-82, ed. 1896 ; Cor.' See-
saw, Margery Daw, sold her bed and lay upon straw. Sold her
bed and lay on hay, Pisky came and took her away ; Cor.*
se.Cor. At Looe and Polperro, unbaptised children were formerly
believed to become fairies, or, in the language of the district, piskies,
N. & Q. (1872) 4th S. ix. 24.
2. Comb, (i) Pixy-bed, a bog on a moor ; (2) -feet or
Pixies' feet, ridge-tiles having a round Icnob on them ; (3)
-folk, fairy Icinsfolk ; (4) -gate, cotton-grass growing in
bogs on moors ; (5) -glove, a thistle ; (6) -house, a
natural fissure or narrow cavern amongst the rocks; a
heap of stones, supposed to be the home of pixies ; (7)
•led, -laid, or -laden, led astray, lost, bewildered ; (8)
•man, a male fairy ; (9) -pear, [a) the hip, the fruit of the
dog-rose, Rosa canina ; [b] the haw, the fruit of the haw-
thorn, Crataegus Oxyacantha ; (10) -pows, see (2) ; (11)
•puff, the giant puff-ball, Lycoperdon giganteum, or the
puff-ball, L. Bovista ; (12) -purse, the egg-case of the
spotted dog-fish, Squalus caniculus ; (13) -rided, of a horse :
supposed to have been ridden by the fairies ; (14) -ring,
(a) a fairy ring or circle of green in pasture land ; (6) an
ancient spinning-whorl ; {15) -seat, an entangled knot in
a horse's mane; (16) -('s stool, a toadstool or mushroom ;
(17) -tale, a fairy tale; (18) -wording, gathering stray
apples in an orchard after the trees have been stripped.
(i) Cor. When you put your leg into a piskey bed, Cornwall
Twice Rescued, 122 ; Cor.^ Marshy ground in which the water is
overlaid with a tangled mass of grass that makes it look safe, which
of course it is not. (2I Cor.* (s.v. Pysgy-pows). (3) Dev. From
their dwellings dim His pisgy-folk were calling him, Salmon
Ballads (1899) 9. (4) Dev. So there we were ; lost on Dartmoor,
. . . and how we kep shut o' th' quag-mires or pixy-gates is more
than I could ha' (old, Madox-Brown Yeih-hounds (1876) 253 ;
(J.D.P.) (5) Dev. Where the pixy glove Will soon hang out its
crest, Capern Ballads (1858) 128 ; (J.D.P.) (6) Dev. The pixie-
house which we might be able to see for ourselves if we went near
Sheepstor, Peard Mother Molly (1889) n8 ; Bsxy Desc. Tamar
and the Tavy (1836) III. lett. 34. Cor. ' What be all they great
stone heaps on the high places ; they be round as a platter, and
some have great pieces of rock stuck up on edge about 'em, in a ring
like! ' 'They be pixy houses,' Bar:ng-Gould Curgenven (1893)
xii. (7) Sc. Mackay. n.Cy. Denham Tracts (ed. 1895) II. 87.
Som. Never was man more pixy-led, Raymond Love and Quiet Life
(1894)215; Jennings OA5. i)««/. ro.£K^. (1825), Dev, They tellth
that Varmer Lambshead tii Ringmore wuz a pixy-led last night
coming 'crass Milbern Down. . . They tried tii kindiddle 'n 'crass
'Aldon, but 'e managed til turn 'is coat, and they vanished like
winky, Hewett Peas. Sp. (189a) ; If you are in a field or any
place and cannot find the entrance out you are pisky laid ; then
you turn your jacket or apron inside out and put it on so, and then
you find where you are, &c. (H.E.) ; The cure is, to turn one of
your garments inside outward, which gives a person time to
recollect himself, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 344; A nurse . . . has
often been pixy led, and has heard the little rogues tack their hands,
and cry out for joy, at seeing what a maze she was in, Tozer
Poems (1873) 81. Cor. Many a miner will tell alarming stories of
his being ' pixy-led,' probably by some seducing light which
decoyed him from the highway into the crofts, where he was
doomed to wanderuntil some friendly jDank or other obstacle served
to break the spell, Hammond Parish (1897) 360 ; To dispel the
charm with which the ' piskay-led ' traveller was entangled,
nothing was deemed sufiicient but that of his turning one of his
garments inside out. This generally fell upon one of his stockings;
and if this precaution had been taken before the commencement
of the journey, it was fully believed that no such delusion would
have happened, Drew & Hitchins Hi^t. Cor. 97, in Hunt Pop.
Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 82, ed. i8g6 ; 'Tes fine an' queer, I'm piskey-
laden I s'poas! T. Towser (i8j3) 105; Says I, I'm pisky laaden,
HiGHAM Bial. (1866) 8 ; I thought you'd run home agen, or was
pisky-laid. Parr Adam and Eve (1880) I. 117 ; Cor.' 2 (8) Cor.
He didn' see me more'n ef I'd a-been a pisky-man, ' Q.' Troy Town
(1888) xi. (9, a) s.Hmp. Allays after them blackberries and pixie-
pears, Verney L. Lisle (1870) x. Dev. (B. & H.) (6) Dor,
(B. &H.),Som.(C.W.D.) (10) w.Cor. Jagg G/. (1882). (ii)n.Cy.
Denham Tracts (ed. 1895) 11. 10. Dev. Bowring Lang. (1866) I.
pt. V. 17 ; Dev.i (12) Cor.3 Pisky purses. (13) n.Dev. To guard
against [it] a horseshoe is nailed against the stable door, Exm.
Scold. (1746) Gl., ed. 1778. (14, a) Sc. Mackay. Som. She . . .
traced upon the parched grass the greener round of a pixy ring,
Raymond Men o' Meiidip (1898) xiii. w.Som.i Pixy-rings, round
which they dance on moonlight nights. Dev.' These rings are
indicated by an exuberant growth of grass, depending on the
presence of a number of minute fungi, which, like cutaneous
diseases in the human body, affect the circular arrangement, and
cause sheep and cattle to reject the grass which grows on these
parts. (6) Cor. The mysterious charm . . . proved to be a rudely
drilled stone with a bit of coloured ribbon run through it — a
piskie-ring, or spinning-whorl, in fact, Pearce Esther Pentreath
(1891) bk. in. A. (15) Dev.i Supposed to be the work of these
elves. (16) Sc. Mackay. s.Hmp. There's a fairies' ring, and no
end n' pixy-stools on the knap yonder, Verney L. Lisle (1870)
xiii. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873^. w.Soni.i Dev. Grose (1790) ;
A throwing of muck and pixy's stools at her, Chanter Witch
(1896) vi; Dev.!"* n.Dev. £xot. 5coW. (1746) G/., ed. 1778. Cor.^*
(17) Dev. 'Telling about nothing but a real pisgie tale,' as the
children say here. Bray Desc. Tamar and the Tavy (1836) I. lett.
10. (18) w.Som.i Farmer Jones 've a-tookt in his orchet, zo
we can g'up there pixy wordin'. n.Dev. Exm. Scold. (1746) Gl ,
ed. 1778.
3. Phr. (r) to laugh like a pixy, to laugh heartily; (2)
please the pixies, a saying or exclamation.
(i) Dev. Leek a pisky, laugh'd and play'd, Peter Pindar Wks.
(1816) III. 376. Cor. They must have been a merry lot, since to
' laugh like a Piskie ' is a popular saying. Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng.
(1865) 82, ed. i8g6 ; He beginned to laff and grizzle like a piskey,
HiGHAM Dial. (1866) 12; Cor.i Laughing like a pisky. (2) Dev.
N. & Q. (1852) ist S. V. 450.
4. A phosphorescent light over the surface of a mine on
a dark night.
Cor. And sometimes the pixies do shawutin the night, Forfar
Pentowan (1859) v.
5. A moth, esp. the common clothes-moth.
Cor. Athenaeum (Oct. 9, 1847) in N. If Q. (1851) ist S. iii. 220;
Mr. Thoms has noticed that ' the moths, which some regard as
departed souls, others as fairies, are called Pisgies.' This is some-
what too generally expressed ; the belief respecting the moth, so
far as I know, is confined to one or two varieties only, Hunt Pop,
Rom. w.Eng. (1865) I. 68 ; Cor.2
6. The greater stitchwort, Stellaria Holostea.
Dev." This was the regular name around Plymouth some years
ago. The children around still say that if you gather the flowers
you will be pixy-led.
7. The down of thistles when floating in the air. Dev.
(J.D.P.) 8. A variety of Savoy cabbage.
Dev.-* A Plymouth gardener's catalogue last year contained the
name of ' Little Pixie' as applied to a kind of Savoy cabbage.
9-.- pi. The dried stems of the cow-parsnip, Heracleum
Sphondylium. Cor. (B. & H.) 10. v. To glean stray
apples.
w.Cy. (Hall.) Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
e.Som. W. & J. G/. (1873). w Som.' They baint so particular our
way — can pixy all over the parish nif you be a mind to ; they on't
zay nort.
[1. Sw. ii&l.pysk, a small fairy (Rietz).]
3 Y2
PIZ
[532]
PLACE
PIZ, sb. Lan. [Not known to our correspondents.]
[piz.] A combination, collusion.
For thieving game, drinkin' and makin' a piz (a collusion) wi'
poachers, Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) III. 75.
PIZ, see Pea, sb}, Pizzie.
PIZAN, sb. Twd. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] In phr. to play the pizan with one, to get the
better of one ; prob. a dial, form of ' poison.'
PIZE, sb> Sc. Yks. Nhp. War. Shr. Hnt. Suf. Ken.
Sus. Also written pyze Ken. ; and in form pars n.Yks.^
m.Yks.^ [pa-iz, Yks. paz.] A term occurring in certain
mild forms of anathema or execration : (i) pize lit on't,
' pize ' (meaning unknown) light on it ; (2) — on or upon,
(3) — take, imprecations ; (4) what a pize ? or what the
pize? a mild oath.
(i) n.Yks.i=, m.Yks.i (2) Sc. Obs. But that the present had
(pize upon it!) cost him one of the best pen-feathers o' his wing,
Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) xxvii. Shr.' Pize on them naughty
lads, conna they let that poor cat alone? [Ah! a pize upon it!
Diclr, after all, was the man, Smollett P. Pickle (1751) Ixxxviii.]
(3) Ken. Pj'ze take it, Grose (1790). (4) Nhp.^ What the pize is
the matter ? War.^ Shr.* What the pize han yo' got to do wi'
it? Hnt. (T.P.F.) Suf. Dame, what makes your ducks to die?
What the pize ails 'em, what the pize ails 'em ? Garland {181S)
400. Ken. What a pyze had you to do with it! Grose (1790). Sus.'
[(2) A pies upon you, Cowley Cutter of Coleman Street
(1663) (Nares). (4) Why what a-pies iz she made of?
Unnatural Mother {!&()%) (ib.) ; What the pize ails them?
Whiter Specimen (1794) 19 (Hall.).]
PIZE, V. and .sb.^ Yks. Der. Also written pise w. Yks.
[paiz.] 1. V. To strike, knock ; with down : to shoot.
w.Yks.2 Pize him o'er. Der.l To pize down a hare.
2. To throw or serve a ball to be struck by another in
the game of ' pize-ball ' ; to strike the ball with the hand.
w.Yks. Throo thrawin stones, tipsey lakein, an pizein a balls it
publick streets, good Barnsla deliver uz, Tom Treddlehoyle
Bairnsla Ann. (1869^ 55 ; I'll pize and you look out (H.L.); w.Yks.*
To throw a ball gently for another to bat with the open hand. . ,
The ' pizer ' ' pizes ' the ball to a number in succession. . . If all
happen to be * pized out,' the ' homey ' is ' burnt.'
Hence Pizer, sb. the 'server' in the game of pize-ball,'
the one who throws the ball to be struck by another.
w.Yks.* 3. Camp, (i) Pize-back, a game similar to
rounders ; (2) -ball, {a) see (i) ; {b) the ball used in such
a game.
(I) w.Yks. (J.W.) (2, a) w.Yks, (S.P.U.) ; (H.L.) ; w.Yks.2
Sides are picked, as for example six on one side and six on the
other, and three or four marks or ' tuts ' are fixed in a field. Six
go out to field, as in cricket, and one of these throws the ball to one
of those who remain ' at home' and the one *at home ' strikes or
pizes it with his hand. After pizing it he runs to one of the 'tuts,'
but if before he can get to the ' tut ' he is struck with the ball by
one of those in the field, he is said to be ' burnt' or out. In that
case the other side go out to field ; w.Yks.* The game of 'Pize-
ball,' in which the 'pizer ' ' pizes ' the ball to a number in succes-
sion, who run to different places called ' hobs,' where they remain
till they have a chance of escape. If one of them is hit with the
ball while running, he or she becomes the ' pizer.' If all happen
to be ' pized out,' the ' homey ' is ' burnt,' i.e., the ball is thrown
straight to the ground, and the last in the ' ring' has to go back,
pick it up, and become the 'pizer.' Der.* (6) w.Yks. A hollow,
india-rubber ball (S. K.C.); w.Yks,^ A ball which children play
with, formerly stuffed with sawdust, &c., and used on ' Yester
Monday, Fastens, and so on.' It was often parti-coloured and
ornamented ; now it is sometimes of india-rubber, and hollow.
The idea seems to be a ball for tossing.
4. sb. A blow. w.Yks.'^ 5. A throw or serve in the
game of 'pize-ball.'
w.Yks. Let me hev a pize, an' ah'll mak' him send a cop, Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 7, 1897).
PIZE, PIZEN, see Pease, Pizy, Paise, v}
PIZINGS, sb. pi. w.Yks.3 [pai-zinz.] A term in a
game of marbles. See Hundred, 6.
The one who first gets the hundred (or other number) now goes
in for his ' pizings,' which performance takes place thus : The
loser, so far, is lying about and the winner goes back to ' drakes'
and again tries to lodge in the hole, and if he succeeds the game
is up. If not he lies still and the loser tries for the hole ; if he
gets in he counts another ten, or if he should succeed in hitting
the winner, he scores his adversaries' hundred to his own number
and then goes in for his pizings, as the other had done. In failure
of either securing the game thus, the process is repeated at drakes.
When, however, the one who is on for his pizings manages to taw
into the hole the game is concluded (s.v. Hundreds).
PIZY, adj. Yks. Shr. w.Cy. Also in form pize Shr.^
w.Cy. [pai'zi.] Peevish, irritable.
Yks. She was never fause. Nor fratchety, nor pizy, Munby A.
Morgan (1896) 32. Shr.' A pizy owd maid ; Shr.^ Th' oudhoman's
grow'd mighty pizy ; her's a pize ode yarb. w.Cy. Trans. Phil,
Soc. (1858) 166.
PIZZEL, PIZZEN, see Pezzel, Pea, sb}
PIZZIE, sb. Sc. Also in form piz. [pi'zi.] A small,
diminutive person ; a mischievous child.
Abd. Hoc fiercely he glared while ye fearless did chant, 'Halloo,
little Pizzie ! ' ' Halloo, Pizzie Grant ! ' Ogg JVillie Waly (1873)
115; Ye've tried my patience lang, ye geet, ye fashious little
pizzie! »6. 123 ; ' We got a new-comer yesterday mornin' — a bit piz
o' a lassie.' A common term here when a child is doing harm.
' Pizzie, dinna do that.' ' Pizzie, tak that oot o' yer mou' ' (G.W.).
PIZZLY, arf?'. Chs.^ [pi'zli.J Of pasture land: rough,
tufty.
PJELK, see Peilk.
PJOLLS, sb. pi. Sh.I. Also in form pjoUs. Old or
ragged clothes worn while engaged in dirty work.
I min pit a lok o' dis dirty pjolls in steep, sae 'at I can get da
hairst dirt jappl'd ato'd wi' dis dry wadder, Sh. News (Nov. 24,
1900); (J.S.)
PLACAD, PLACAN, see Placket, sb}, Playgin.
PLACE, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb._Dur. Yks. Nhp. Hrf. Ken.
Sur. Sus. Dor. Som. Dev. [pies, pleas, plias.] 1. sb. In
comb, (i) Place-brick, a particular kind of brick ; see
below ; (2) — of repentance, obs., a particular part of a
church ; see below.
(i) e.Sus. So called because laid singly in a level smooth place
to dry until stiff enough to be trimmed and the edges dressed,
Neves Builders' Diet. (1786) ; Place-bricks are made of finer clay
and better made (F.E.S.). (2) Wgt. It was the custom ... to re-
buke offenders . . . from the pulpit, in presence of the congregation,
especially breakers of the seventh commandment, some of whom
had to stand open rebuke on several Sabbaths. . . There was a
part of the Church known as ' the place of repentance,' where
these delinquents stood, clad in sackcloth, Fraser Wigtown
(1877) 106.
2. Phr. (i) any place, obs., in any place ; (2) a place for
Abraham to bury his wife, any small cavity ; (3) in place of,
obs., instead of; (4) just the place, of meat: 'done to a
turn ' ; (5) to give oiit the place, to mention the place in the
Bible in which the text of a sermon is to be found ; (6)
to place, in domestic service.
(I) Ayr. I daur you try sic sportin As seek the foul thief ony
place. Burns Halloween (1785) st. 14. (2) Dev. A labouring man
whilst breaking stalagmite . . . disclosed a cavity in it, and remarked
' There's a place for Abraham to bury his wife,' Reports Provinc.
i^^l'^') 136. (3) Sc. In place of pitying he laughed at me. Monthly
Mag.(i']g8) II. 437. (4) Som. Thismeat is just the place (J.S.F.S.).
(5) Sh.I. ' Whaur took he his text, lass ? ' ' Kens doo 'at I didna
hear what pairt o' da Bible or Testament hit wis in, fir Willa
Fraser wis juist harkin ta me whin he wis gien oot da place,' Sh.
News (Jan. 26, 1901). (6) n.Yks.* Ah is'nt gahin ti pleeace yet.
ne.Yks.i ' Where's Anne now?' 'Sha's goneti Stowsla ti pleeace.'
3. A fortified dwelling ; a manor-house ; the principal
house in a locality; a farm or small holding; a house.
Sc. Now vulgarly applied to the seat of anyone who is the pro-
prietor of the estate on which it is built (Jam.). Sh.I. Hit's a year
gien by i' June, sin I flitted ta da toon. An' took a bit o' place fir
me an' Jean, Sh. News (Dec, 22, 1900). ne,Sc. His ain placie
bein' owre sma' to employ a' his time. Grant Keckleton, 29. Abd.
Greig Logic o' Buchan (1899) 132. Ayr, Service Notandums
(1890) I, Wgt. In the middle of the moor-land appears an old
tower or castle. . . It is called the old Place of Mochrum, Statist.
v4(rc. XVII, 570 (Jam). Nhp.' Hrf.' A house with a small quantity
of land attached to it. Ken.^ Sur. As for the ' Place ' it was unr
inhabited when I was there, Jennings Field Paths (1884) 47;
Sometimes as a pleonasm we find ' the Place House' (G.L.G.);
Sur.i You'll find him up at the Plaace. Dor. I be keepen my place
on vor a bit. I — I may want it, Windsor Ma^. (Feb. 1900) 388. j
PLACEAN
[533]
PLACK
4. A court-yard; a 'barton.' Ken. Lewis /. Tenet
(1736) ; Ken.** 5. V. In phr. to place the work, a mining
term ; see below.
Nhb. Man, will ye niver place the wark ? Wilson Pitman's Pay
(1843) 28 ; Nhb.i To arrange each man's labour for the day in a
pit, and of a certain number of scores of corves to arrange how
many each man is to hew and how many each tram is to put.
Placing the work is an operation performed by the deputy. Nhb.,
Dur An operation performed by the deputy for the purpose of
ascertaining the coals hewed by each hewer, each putter at the
flat shall put. The putters at the flat cavil at the commencement
of each week, or longer period, as the custom of the colliery may
be, for the ' going ' ; the first cavil being ' first placed,' the second
' second placed,' and so on ; the first placed putting from the
hewer nearest and farthest off from the flat ; the second from the
next, and so on ; and the last placed in consequence getting all
his work from the ' middle sheath,' as the mid number between the
nearest and farthest-offplaces is called,NicHOLSONCoa/7'y.G/.(i888).
PLACEAN, see Plazen.
PLACED, pp. and ppl. adj. Sc. Of a minister :
beneficed ; settled in a charge.
Sc. Here sit I, a. placed minister in the Kirk of Scotland,
and here sit my three sons, each a placed minister of the same
Kirk, Ford Thistledown (1891) 243. Or.I. There was honour even
in being worsted by a person of college education, and a placed
minister to boot, Vedder Sketches (1832) 18. Per. There was . . .
a succession of preachers, all placed clergymen, Haliburton
fields{i8go) 17. Gall. When the new minister came to be 'placed'
a party of dragoons was considered necessary to protect him from
the fury of the misguided people, Nicholson Hist. Tales (1843)
62 ; The common people speak of a ' placed ' minister, i.e. one in
a settled charge in contrast to a Probationer or Licentiate who is
unordained (A.W.).
PLACEN, see Plazen.
PLACING, vbl. sb. Sc. Yks. Lin. Also in forms
plaacin' n.Lin. ; pleeacin' e.Yks.^ [ple'sin, plea'sin,
plia'sin.] 1. The appointment of a minister to a parish.
Ayr. I had been three whole weeks and five days absent, which
was more than all my absences from the time of my placing, Galt
./Inn. Parish (1821) xx.
2. Domestic service ; a situation.
n.Cy. (Hall.) n.Yks^ My dowther's gone to placin' sen Marti'-
mas. ne.Yks.i n.Lin.' She's not e' plaacin' ; she's a manty-maaker
at Loughton. Hes ta getten a plaacin' this stattus ?
3. Phr. to go a placing, to take a situation as a domestic
servant.
e.Yks.' ' What's become o' Jenny, I haint seen her o' leeat?'
' Shee's geean a pleeacin'.'
PLACK, sb> Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Lan. Also in form
plock Gall, [plak.] X. A small copper coin, worth four
pennies Scots, or one-third of an Enghsh "penny ; fig. the
smallest coin, the least amount of money.
Sc. Placks and bawbees grow pounds, Ferguson Prov. (1641)
No. 716 ; When one adopts any plan supposed to be unprofitable,
■or pursues a. course offensive to a superior, it is frequently said,
'You'll no mak your plack a bawbee by that' (Jam.). Sh.I. He
said nae deil plack wad lig raise i' da price, Stewart Tales (1892)
113. ne.Sc. Muckle money down told Till they came till a plack,
Gregor Fill-Lore (1881) 18. Mry. Hay Untie (1851) 65. Elg.
The deevil a plack had this pennyless crew, Tester Poems (1865)
136. Abd. She . , . gat fowth 0' ill words, but naither plack nor
bodle to haud her an' her bairn fr^e the ro'dside, Macdqnald
IVarlock (1835) xlix. Kcd. Heir to Bailie Brodie's siller, Countin'
pounds for ilka plack, Grant Lays (1884) 40. Frf. Wi' no a
plack i' the warld tae ca' yer ain, LowsoN Guidfollow (1890) 35.-
Per. My last plack is spent, Haliburton Diinbari^iSgs) 106. w. Sc.
Shares his plack, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 148. Fif. Ten-
nant Papistry (1827) 213. Slg. I'll wad a plack, Muir Poems
(1818) 16. s.Sc. Never a Scotch plack will William Oliphant get,
Wilson Tales (1839) V. 3. se.Sc. Gie me my wages ev'ry plack,
Donaldson Poems (1809) 58. Rnf. M<^Gilvray Poems (ed. 1862)
T04. Ayr. He was rookit of every plack he had in the world,
Galt Provost (1822) xxviii. Lnk. My plack it has now grown
a crown, Lemon St. Mungo (1844) 84. Lth. Pouch and purse
without a plack, Macneill Poet. Wits. (1801) 146, ed. 1856. Edb.
I havgna ae plack to rub against anither, Moir Mansie Wauch
(1828) xiv. Slk. I would not give a plack for your evidence, Hogg
7«/«s(i838) 37, ed.i866. Rxb. Without a single plack, W.Wilson
Poems (1824) 8. Dmf. The landlord has never spent on the
cottage sae muckle as yae single plack, Paton Castlebraes (1898)
295. Gall. It canna be proven that ever I handled a plack o' the
price, Crockett yJ«MaJl/a)A( 1899) lii. Wgt 'Deed ye're no worth
a plack, FraserPocws (1885) 48. Nhb. We'll spend wor hin'most
plack, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 47 ; Nhb.' Lakel.^ Ah hevn't
aplack. Cum. Deilaplack hed I, Anderson Sa//arf5 (ed. i8o8) ig;
Cum.'!234 ^ffa^. For't blast he didn't care a plack. Whitehead
Leg. (1859) 28. ne.Lan.'
Hence Plackless, adj. penniless, poor.
Sc. There are in cottages, Whare poor folk plackless gae, Nicoll
Poems (ed. 1843) 161. Abd. It taught me that the plackless hind
May shame the proudest peer, Still Cottar's Sunday (1845) 100.
Frf. My plackless purse, Johnston Poems (1869) 210. i er. Ilk
plackless peasant, Spence Poems (1898) 185. Ayr. Poor plackless
devils like mysel'. Burns Sc. Drink (1786) st. 16. Lnk. 'The poor
plackless laddie, Rodger Poems (1838) 64, ed. 1897. Nhb. Though
plackless and landless, Allan Poems (1837) 30.
2. Comb, (i) Plack-pie, obs., a pie sold for a ' plack ' ;
(2) -'s-worth, a thing of very little value.
(i) Sc. He asked . . . whether he could have a plack-pie, Scott
Redg. (1824) XX. (2) Sc. Except a dry paternoster, and a drap
holy water, . . nae a plack's-worth we get frae ony o' them, Ten-
NANT Card. Beaton (1823) 25 (Jam.).
3. Phr. (i) neither by plack nor penny, by no amount of
money ; (2) not for two and a plack, not for a great deal ;
(3) plack and bawbee, —boddle, &^c., every penny; (4)
plack sure, perfectly sure ; (5) to birl one's plack, to spend
one's money freely ; (6) to catch the plack, to gain a little
money ; (7) to wager two and a plack, to wager a consider-
able amount.
(i)Rnf. By the plack or the penny I'll ne'er be won, "BplR-r Poems
(i86i) 74. (2) Sc. (Jam.) ; I would not Sir Halbert had seen her last
evening for two and a plack, Scott Abbot {i&zo) vi. (3) Sc. Unless
he pays me plack and bawbee, ib. Rob Roy (18x7) xviii. Bnff. I'se
frankly own mysel' his debtor For plack an' boddle, Taylor Poems
(1787) 6. Per. The whisky mongers . . . knew . . . that he would
pay them plack and fardin, Monteath Dunblane (1835) 94, ed.
1887. e.Flt It's a' here, Mr. Bodkin, every plack and bawbee o't,
Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) iv. Dmb. The missin' gowd, ilk plack
and pun', they see, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 28. Ayr. Pay him
his wadset, plack and bawbee, Galt Lairds (1826) xxiii. Lnk.
The rule is wi' me, When due, ye maun pay me down plack an'
bawbee, Rodger Poems (1838) 37, ed. 1897. (4) Dmb. ' You're
confident?' ' Plack sure,' Salmon Gozi/orff aw (1868)84. (5) Sc. Sen
I am come back E'en let us birle about our plack, Pennecuik Coll.
(1787) 17. Lth. Drouthie cronies meet to birl Their ora placks at
e'en, Bruce Poems (1813) II. 15. Edb. The farmers coming in to
birl their placks, Mitchell Tinklarian (ed. 1810) 7. (6) Edb.
Stench conscienced knaves, to catch the plack, Whane'er they can,
M'DowALL Poems (1839) 33. Exb. If by it he can steal a groat Or
catch a plack, Ruickeie Wayside Cottager (1807) 94. Gall. To
catch the plack be sure be cannie, For what's a body wanting
money? Lauderdale Poems (1796) 50. (7) Sc. I wad wager twa
and a plack that hemp plaits his cravat yet, Scott Bride of Lam.
(1819) xvi.
[OFt. plaque, a coin so called in the xv cent. (Hatzfeld).]
PLACK, s6.= Wm, Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Lei. Nhp. War.
Wor. Shr. Hrf. Rdn. Glo. Also in form plock Shr.
Hrf [plak, plaek.] L A small plot of ground ; a small
field ; a small portion or piece of anything. See Pleck, 2.
Wm. (Hall.) Yks., Lan. Kennett Par. Antiq. (1695) (s.v.
Placia). Not.' Lei.' A plot of ground of uncertain size, seldom
less than about five yards square, and seldom more than half an
acre. ' A plack'll be enough for you to grow Brussels sprouts for
the winter.' Nhp.*, War.^ Wor. In the market-garden district
there are several — often many— tenancies in one enclosure, hedges
being discouraged as a refuge for game, and these separate hold-
ings, or even a division of them, are spoken of as placks. ' Oh, no,
it isn't too late yet to plant Brussels sprouts, if it comes some rain —
that plack where the peas have been cleared off will be planted
with them' (E.S.). s.Wor. The ploughing was done on clearings
of land, in placks a furrow long, or furlong or forty poles in length
(H.K.) ; s.Wor.' Shr. Some men were sowing barley in a fiel(j
called the Plock, Burne Flk-Lore (1883-6) 418; Shr.' Yo'n got a
good plack for tatoes i' the fallow; Shr.^ A plack o' cabbages. A
plack o' taturs. Hrf. To sow the field opposite the plock, Ellis
Pronunc. (1889) V. 74 ; Hrf.' 2, Glo.l
2. A situation; an allotment of work ; a job.
s.Chs.' £e)l Idoz u giid plaak', iv ee gy'ets sent fiwee" thriim
Chiim'li. w.Wor.' Shr.' Yedut wunna want for work this good
PLACK
[534]
PLAID
bit, the Squire's gid 'im a placlc as'll las' 'im o'er Miamas. John's
a rar placlt at the paas'n's, 'e loolcs as if 'e didna crack many djef
nuts; Shr.* When I've done o' my present placlc, I reckon I shall
tak to the diching again. Rdn. Morgan IVds. (1881).
PLACK, adv. Lei.' With a slap, ' smack.'
PLACK, see Playock.
PLACKET, sb.^ Obs. Sc. Also in form placad (Jam.).
1. A placard.
Sc. At their masters commands affixed plackets upon the kirk-
doors, sealed with the Earl's own hand and signet, Lindsay Hist.
Sc. (1728) 44 (Jam.).
2. A public proclamation.
Ayr. The Saxon lads wi' loud placads, On Chatham's boy did
ca', Burns Guildford Good, st. 7.
PLACKET, sb.^ Irel. Yks. Not. Nhp. e.An. [pla-kit.]
1. A pocket. Not. (L.C.M.), Nhp.^, e.An.^ Hence
Placket-hole, sb. a pocket-hole. N.I.* Yks. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (P.) 2. Obs. A petticoat. Suf.'
PLACKET, sb.^ Shr.' [pla'kit.] A very small plot
of ground. See Plack, 56.''
A little hamlet built on some old common allotment is called
'The Golden Plackets.'
PLACKET-BOORD, sb. Chs. Shr. The back-board
of a wagon.
s.Chs.' Shr.' It slips inside the ' cratch,' and is used when the
load being of a loose nature, such as lime, is liable to shed through
the open ' cratch.'
PLAD(D, PLADDI, PLADDY, see Plaid.
PLADDY, sb. Irel. [pla-di.] A sunken rock.
N.I.i Dwn. Round many a pladdie, many an isle green with
the glancing shower. How fleetly up the Lough we'd sped, Savage-
Armstrong Ballads (1901) 176.
PLADE, see Plead.
PLAFF, adv. Sc. [plaf.] Sutfdenly, as with the
sound of a slight explosion. Cf. pluff.
Gall. Ye speak bravely aboot Quintin getting married ; but as
soon as we speak about ony lass— plaff ! ye gang up like a waft o'
tow thrown in the fire, Crockett Siandai'd Bearer (1898) 144.
FLAG, sb. Sh.I. [plag.] Any article of clothing.
A'm laid affplag efter plag fil der noo har'ly onything oot ower da
skin, an' still A'm ower haet, Sh. News (July 29, 1899) ; S. & Ork '
PLAGUE, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Yks. Der. and Amer.
[pleg.] L Used in various quasi-oaths and expletives.
Sc. (A.W.) Per. Plague upo' ye. Plague tak' ye (G.W.).
s.Sc. What the plague's been the matter the nicht ? Wilson Tales
(1836) 11. 162. Edb. What plague's the sense o' makin' laws!
Syne layin' them up on hallan wa's. Like some bit clatt'rin' mither's
tawse, Learmont Pofws (1791) 54. n.Cy. (J.W.) Dur. May the
plague alight on you (T.K.). w.Yks. (J.W.) Der.'' Plague tak'
thee. nw.Der.i What the plague! Plague-tai-th«e I [Amer. Who
the plague wants to hear 'em repeat a yard o' poetry ? Sam Slick
Clockmaker (1836) 2nd S. xx.]
2. Phr. to be at the plague, to take the trouble.
Sc. Deil a brute or body about my house but I can manage when
I like, . . but I can seldom be at the plague, Scorr Midlothian
(1818) xxvi.
PLAGUED, ppl. adj. Sc. and Amer. Also in form
plagit Rnf. Used as a term of abuse, or as an intensitive.
Rnf. Affectation's a' your study, Ye plagit, vile, pedantic body,
Webster Rhymes (1835) 125. Wgt. There's some plagued guid-
lookin' snaps on that stan', Fraser Wigtown (1877) 277. [Amer.
If y'w'n't so plagued obstinate an' near. Cent. Mag. (Dec. 1900)237.]
PLAGUELY, adv. Obs. Lan. Exceedingly, very.
They'r plaguely mistane, VHALKERPlebeianPol. (1796) 7, ed. 1801.
PLAGUESOME, adj. Sc. (A.W.), n.Yks.=, Ken.'^
[ple'gsam.] Troublesome.
PLAGUEY, adj, and adv. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Eng.
and Amer. Also written plaayguey Brks.' ; plaguy
nw.Der.' Nhp.' War.^ Brks. Hnt. Sun' Amer. ; pleyagy
LW.' [ple'gi, plea'gi.] 1. adj. Vexatious, annoying,
troublesome.
Nhp.' He's a plaguy, good-for-nothing chap. War.^ GIo. If be
chance 'er died up here, 'twould be a sad plaguey job on it. There's
no coffin as can be got down these 'ere stairs, Buckman Darke's
Sojourn (1890) xi. s.Oxf. Keepin' them plaguey rewks that's as
cunnin' I can't frighten them nohow, Rosemary Chilterns (1895)
22. Hnt. (T.P.F.) w.Sus. They great teeth have been the torment
and trouble of my life, and glad I be to get rid of 'em — they be
plaguey monsters, Gordon Vill. and Doctor (1897) 267. I.W.'
Dor. Tes the most plaguest lad as ever was. Hare Vill. Street
(1895) 237. Dev. I was still roaming in the dark by them plaguey
mires, Mortimer Tales Moors (1895) 292.
Hence Plaguiness, sb. mischievousness.
Yks. She had scolded him many a time for his plaguiness,
Haherton Wenderholme (1869) I. 69.
2. Angry, vexed.
ne.Lan. Whenever awm a bit daanhearted, or plaguey wi' folk,
Mather Idylls (1895) 56.
3. Great, excessive ; used always of somethingderogatory.
se.Wor.' A plaguey nuisance. He drinks too much, a plaguey
sight. [Amer. You're a plaguey sight better company than she
was, Roe He fell in love (1886) 149.]
Hence Plaguily, adv. greatly, exceedingly.
Dmf. The scouff whose name we had both learnt to hate so
plaguily, Hamilton The Mawliin (1898) 266.
4. adv. Very, excessively.
Lnk. He was so plaguey wee and ill to catch, Murdoch Readings
(1895) I. 10. Nhb. It's plaguey little he knows or's like to know
about women, Lilburn Borderer (1896) 30. n Yks. He's plaguey
young (I.W.) ; n.Yks.^ He's plaguey queer. nw.Der.' Glo. Gie
us a 'and, Martha ; 'tis plaguey dark, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(1890) X. Brks. I be so plaguy bad wi' th' rumatiz in my back,
Hughes T. Brown (1856) 48; Brks.' My awld 'ooman be got
plaayguey vond o' vinery to be zure. w.Mid. Well, that is plaguey
bad luck I (W.P.M.) Sur. It's plaguy hot, Bickley Sur. Hills
(1890) I. i ; Sur.' My missus is plaguy ornary. I.W.' He's a
pleyagy queer chap. Cor. Et did luk plaguey like th' evil eye,
an' that there's no denyin', 'Q.' Troy Town(i?&&) xi. [Amer. Tell
yejist the eend I've come to Arter cipherin' plaguy smart, Lowell
Biglow Papers (1848) 47.]
PLAICE, sb. Hrt. Nrf. Wil. [pies.] A worm which
infects the head and liver of sheep ; the ' fluke ' ; also in
comp. Plaice-worm.
Hrt. Ellis /a)7«fr (1750) 137. Nrf. A plaice's prick is wene-
mous, Emerson Wild Life (1890) 100. Wil. Davis Agric. (1813).
[So called from its resemblance in shape to the flat fish called a
plaice. Lisle Husbandry (1757).]
PLAICH, see Pleach.
PLAID, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Also in forms plad Cum. ; pladd Abd. ; pladdi Wm. ;
pladdy Lakel.* w.Yks. ; plaithie Edb. ; pled Lan. ; plyde
Lnk. [pled, plad, pla'di.J 1. sb. A piece of woollen
stuff, gen. of a tartan pattern, forming part of a High-
lander's dress; a shepherd's shawl; dress material having
a chequered pattern ; also used attrib.
Sc. The women also wear a plaid, but it is so narrow as seldom
to come below the waist (Jam.) ; Their brechan or plaid, consists
of twelve or thirteen yards of a narrow stuff, wrapt round the
middle, and reaches to the knees ; is often fastened round the
middle with a belt, . . but in cold weather is large enough to wrap
round the whole body from head to feet ; and this often is their
only cover. . . It is frequently fastened on the shoulders with a
pin . . . and before with a brotche, Pennant Tour (iidci) 209 (»i5.).
Elg. Off goes the tartan plaidy ; 'Tis spread on the grass, Taylor
Poems (1865) 46. Abd. (A.W.) Frf. The women still retain the
plaid, but amopg the better sort it is now sometimes of silk, or
lined with silk. Statist. Ace. IV. IQ3 (Jam.). Ags. (Jam.) Rnf. He
faulded me in his brooched plaidie, Harp (1819) 317. Ayr. Goldie
Poems (1822) 97. Lnk. Ye'U no tak' it ill if I hap ye wi' my plyde,
Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 106. Lth. Sae weel rowed in his
tartan plaidie, Macneill Poet. Wks. (1801) 314, ed. 1856. Edlj.
Y^'ve coost awa the plaithie, Ta'en up the pen To climb Parnassus,
Liddle Poems (1821) 197. Gall. Wi' sword and targe he seeks
the charge, And frae his shoulder flings the plaidie, Nicholson
Poet. Wks. (1814) 177, ed. 1897. Nhb. Sae don your plaid an' tak
your gad, Charnley Fishers' Garland (1824) 7. Lake!.'', Cum.
(E,P.) Wm. She'd a pladdi frock on (B.K.). w.Yks. T'furst
articles at catch't me ee wor some waistcoitins an' pladdys for
bairns, Tom Tpeddlehoyle Trip to Lunnon (1857) 22. Lan. The
child to ... be let see into the whole trad? of pled weaving,
Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 13.
2. Comp. Plaid-neuk or -nuik, the sewn-up corner of a
' plaid,' large enough to carry a weakly lamb, small child,
&c. ; also used^?^.
Sc. How can ye bid me , . . dispone Beersheba, when it lies
sae weel into my ain plaid nuik? Scott Midlothian (1818) viii.
Lnk. Carried them about in his plaid-neuk, Eraser Whaups (1895)
PLAIDING
[535]
PLAINISH
vii. Gall, The child . . . was too frightened to cry in the wild
roar of the storm and the darkness of the plaid neuk, Crockett
Raiders (1894) xliii. Cum.''
3. A plaid used as a blanket.
Dmf. Run away back, then, lassie, and put it between the bed-
plaides, Hamilton The Mawkin (1898) 20.
4. V. To clothe, usedy?^.
Gall. The other plaids his rare fancy in pure and simple words,
Mactaggart Encycl, (1824) xiv, ed. 1876.
PLAIDING, sb. Sc. Also written plaiden, plaidin,
playding. A coarse woollen twilled cloth ; also used
aitrib. See Plaid.
Sc. (Jam.) Sh.I. Dey wir gotten a wab 0' white plaidin' hame
frae da sooth, Sk. News (Dec. 16, 1899). Elg. A good many
weavers are constantly employed in making coarse cloth, com-
monly called plaiden, from the produce of their sheep, which, in
the summer markets, is sold for from gd. to is. the Scotch ell.
Statist. Ace. IV. 109 (Jam.). Abd. A skelpet hat and plaiden hose.
Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 181. Kcd. Wi' a mill'd plaiden
jockey coat, Burness Thriimmy Cap (c. 1796) 1. 11. Frf. Sands
Poems (1833) 96. Per. NicoL Poems (1766) 94. Slg. Anaith the
cadger's plaiding pock, Muir Poems (1818) 8. Cld. Coverings,
blankets, sheets, and plaiden, Nimmo Sngs. (1882) no. Dmb.
Country-plaiding, clouted thrice, good wear. Is wealth to me,
Salmon Gowodean (1868") 22. Rnf. One or two elns of ' playding,'
Hector Judic. Rec. (1876) 333. Ayr. I gaed up to Dunse To warp
a wab o' plaiden. Burns Robin Shure in Hairst, st. 1. Lnk.
Rodger Poems (1838) 140, ed. 1897. Lth. Thomson Poems (1819)
182. Edb. She had cured a young man who had been bewitched
by another, by putting on him a white plaidine wastecoat, which
his infernal Majesty gave her, Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell.
(1844-5) II- 6^- Dmf. I mind her weel in plaiden gown, Cromek
Remains (1810) 98. Gall. I am clothed in my own country plaidin,
Kerr Maggie o' Moss (1891) 86.
Hence Plaiding-merchant, sb. a dealer in ' plaiding.'
Ayr. In the way of his traffic as a plaiding merchant, Galt Gil-
haize (1823) iii.
PLAIG, PLAIGAN, see Playock, Playgin.
PLAIK, sb. Ags. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A plaid, a loose covering for the body.
PLAIK, see Playock.
PLAIN, s6.i Obs. Yks. ? Thread.
w.Yks. 1716 — For a stone of wool for filling the long cushions,
6s. 8rf. For Blue Plain for mending the same, is. irf., Bradford
Parish Ace.
PLAIN, V. and sb.^ Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Der. Also written plain w.Yks. ; pleyn Cum.^
w.Yks. ; and in forms plaan n.Yks.* ; plean s.Sc. N.Cy.'
Dur.^ w.Yks.'^ ne.Lan.' ; pleean Cum."* Wm. n.Yks.*
e.Yks.^ w.Yks.i; pleen Sc. Nhb.> w.Dur.i Lakel.^ Cum."4
Wm. ; pleyan w.Yks.* [plen, plesn, plian, plin.] 1. v.
To complain ; to be querulous.
Sc. Heard I my lady pleen of paramours ? Aytoun Ballads (ed.
1861) I. 283. s.Sc. I darna plean o' skaith, T. Scott Poems
(1793) 326. N.Cy.i Nhb. An' yit they pleen o' hunger, Chatt
Poems (1866) 87; Nhb.i Hoots: yor elwis pleenin aboot some-
thin' or another, Dur.^ Lakel.' She pleens a gay deal aboot her
heed. w.Dur.* Cum. Wi' pinchin' and pleenin' He screaped up
aw the gear he cud get, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 94 ; Cum.'*
Wm. They pleean't a being terble pinch't an starv't. Spec. Dial.
(1885) pt. iii. 38. n.Yks. Sha pleeans ot rumatiks (W.H.) ;
n.Yks. ''^^ ne.Yks.' Sha's awlus pleeanin is oor Anne. e.Yks.
T'way that poor muther-bod pleean'd an' twitter'd . . . was aneeaf
te melt a flint, Wray Nestleton (1876) 85; e.Yks.', m.Yks.'
w.Yks. What are ta pleynin' abaat nah! (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.'^;
w.Yks.5 Shuh used to plean if we wadn't gang, p. x. ne.Lan.',
Der.l2j nw.Der.l
Hence (i) Plainer, sb. a complainer, grumbler ; (2)
Plaining, (a) sb. a complaint ; (b) ppl. adj. complaining ;
poorly ; (3) Pleeny, see (2, b).
(i) n.Yks.i Au'd Mally's been at me wiv a parlous teeal. She's
a desput guid pleeaner ; n.Yks.'* (2, a) w.Yks.' (6) Cum. She
was 'nobbut pleening an' varra badly,' Linton Lizzie Lorton (1867)
i. ne.Lan.' (3) Lakel.^ She's nobbut a bit pleeny. Wm. T'auld
man's varry pleeny just noo (B.K.).
2. Phr. io plain poverty, to complain of poverty. n.Yks.
(T.S.) 3. To tell tales against.
ne.Yks.' He gans tiv his maasther ti pleean on him. w.Yks.
Hutton Tour to Caves (iqSi) ; w.Yks.' ^^ ne.Lan.'
Hence (i) Plain-cat, (2) Pleyner, (3) Pleynpoake, sb. a
talebearer ; an informer.
(i) w.Yks. Hl/x. Courier (June 13, 1897). (2) w.Yks. Shoo is
a little pleyner, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 21, 1896). (3) w.Yks.
Shoo's t'warst pleynpoake I iver knew i' all mi life : shoo tells
iv'rything shoo hears, ib.
4. sb. A complaint.
Wm. T'pleen was 'at Ah was drunk (B.K.). n.Yks.^ Complaints
in all senses. w.Yks. (S.P.U.)
5. A complainer. Lan. (G.P.R.B.) 6. A tell-tale; a
gossip. N.Cy.*, ne.Lan.'
[L Go pleyn thee to Sir Cayphas, and byd hym do the
right, Towneley Mysi. (c. 1450) 188.]
PLAIN, adj., adv. and sb.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. and
Eng. Also written playne Inv. ; and in forms plaain
n.Lin.'; plaan n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' ; pleean n.Yks.*; pleen
Som. [plen, plean, plisn.] 1. adj. In comb, (i) Plain-
looking, ugly, not handsome ; (2) — money, see below.
(i) Sc. (A.W.) n.Yks.* Yon'sa pleean-leeaking lass, hooiveer.
w.Yks. (J.W.) (2) Dev. Plain money usually signifies hard cash or
readily convertible security, such as money in a bank, as distin-
guished from property not so easily realized. ' He had about £1000
plain money,' Reports Provinc. (1884).
2. Flat, level.
Sh.I. Ane o' der ain calf kye lyin' stark dead apo' da plain green,
Sh. News (Mar. 2, 1901). Inv. This part is fertill and playne,
Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) II. 355.
3. Exposed, open to the wind. Also used advb.
w.Yks. The house stands very plain (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.^ That
house is in a plain situation. Chs.' It's a cowd shop, it stands
very plain ; Chs.s This road is plain to the wind. s.Chs.' It's a
plain bonk.
4. Frank, sincere ; unaffected ; homely.
Edb. By my trogs, I'm plain to tell, I wish you rightly ken your-
sell, Crawford Poems (1798) 84. n.Lin.' Thaay're real plaain
foaks. w.Wor.' Lady Mairy is such a plain lady ; she come into
my 'ouse, an' sits down, an' tak's the childern in 'er lap as com-
fortable as con be. She's as plain as you be, miss, every bit.
Hrf.2 I likes them Miss J.'s, they be so playn. Wil.' Dor. I'd
'low she be a nice plain young woman, Francis Fyande/s Widow
(1901) ii.
5. Inferior in quality or appearance ; used also of moral
qualities.
n.Yks.* Ah wadn't trust yon, he's nobbut a plaan un. ne.Yks.^
Sha's nobbut a plaan 'un. n.Lin.' ' Maaster,' says I, ' you've getten
a plaain waay o' gooin' on regardin' this here chech. If I couldn't
rowt my sen oot o' bed a bit sooner on a sabbath mornin' I'd lig
theare altogither if I was thoo.' Plaain weather. Plaain roads.
Dor. Gl. (1851) ; Dor.' 'Tis but a plain chap. w.Som.' I calls thick
there a very plain piece 0' beef. The very [plaa-yndees] plaindest
lot o' stock's I've a-zeed a-zold 'is longful time. Dev. A plain field
of grass, Reports Provinc. (1884). nw.Dev. '
e. Poor in health.
Dor. N. tf Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 157. w.Dor. Oh, yes, I'm very
plain to-day (C.V.G.). Som. Terrible pleen (E.D.). w.Som." How
are you to-day ? ' ' Thank 'ee, I be on'y very plain, I sure 'ee.'
7. adv. Quite, fully.
Dor. The wind is plain south, Barnes Gl. (1863).
8. Phr. to talk plain, to talk dialect.
n.Lin.' Maaster Edward's gettin' to talk straange an' plaain.
9. sb. A level piece of ground, no matter how small.
Sus.' 10. A level place surrounded by houses in a town.
Oxf. (G.M.M.), e.An.' Nrf. In the city of Norwich there are
several : as S. Mary's Plain, the Theatre Plain (Hall.).
11. Phr. what the plain do you mean? an emphatic mode
of asking a person his intentions.
n.Lin.' He ewst to cum coortin' oor Selina, . . so says I, 'What
th' plaain duz ta mean ? ' an' he says, ' Noht bud a bit o' nonsense
like.'
PLAINEN, sb. Per., Rnf (Jam.) [Not known to our
correspondents.] Coarse linen.
PLAINISH, a«^'. Som. [ple-nij.] 1. Rather homely.
She ud vind us plainish volk, I expect, Raymond Misterton's
Mistake (1888) 285.
2. Somewhat inferior; very ordinary.
If 'twere a plainish lot o' teasels I shouldn' worrit ray head about
'em so much, ib. Men 0' Meitdip (1898) x. w.Som.' Plainish sort
of a farm — anybody must git up over night vor to live in un.
PLAIN STAN ES
[536]
PLAN
PLAINSTANES, sb. pi. Sc. n.Cy. Also written plain-
stenes, planestanes, and in form plenstanes Sc. [plen-
stenz.] 1. The pavement ; a flagged roadway.
Sc. That Lovel dings a' that ever set foot on the plainstaiies o'
Fairport, Scott Anliquary{iHi6) xv; The kitchen lass . . . washing
the plainstenes before the door, Blackw. Mag. (June 1820) 269
(Jam.). ne.Sc. Right and left flew the plainstanes of Aberdeen
before the Duke of Gordon's twal ousen plew, Gregor Flk-Lore
(1881) 181. Cai."- Frf. I forgaithered wi' this worthy on the
plenstanes in front of Peter Plenstanes' windie, Inglis Ain Flk.
(1895) 165. Tv.Sc. Some sergeant who, morning and evening,
wore out his shoes on the plainstanes for lack of other employment,
Carrick Laird of Logan {iS^^) 298. Fif. On the plainstanes at
his feyther's door, Meldrum Grey Mantle {i&gS) 25:. Dmb. Has
Willie fa'en and broke his crown On the plane-stanes 1 Taylor
Poems (1827) 34. Lnk. Walking aboot on the plainstanes o'
Glasgow, Fraser IVhaups (1895) 155. Edb. The spacious street
and plainstanes, Fergusson Poems (1773) 173, ed. 1785. Dmf.
Leavin' ma coat an' waistcoat in a hunder shreds on the Plain-
stanes, Paton Casthbraes (1898) 12. Gall. Upon the plainstanes
of Ayr, Crockett Grey Man (1896) iv. n.Cy. Border Gl. (Coll.
L.L.B.)
2. The cross or exchange of a town, as being paved with
flat stones. Sc. (Jam.)
PLAINT, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Also in forms plant,
plente Sc. 1. sb. A complaint ; a pitiful tale.
Sc. He passed to the north of Scotland, and heard the plentes
thair in lyk maner, Lindsay Chron. (ed. 1814) 297 (Jam.V Abd.
The 'plaints o' his tenants didna seem tae reach him, Abd. Wkly.
Free Press (May 18, 1901). Ayr. Common-sense is gaun . . . To
mak to Jamie Beattie Her plaint this day. Burns Ordination (1786)
St. ir. n.Yks.i; n. Yks. ° There was a whent o' plains an' plaints ;
n.Yks.*, m.Yks.l
2. Phr. to make plaint, to complain.
Ayr. Nanny Polique frae Auchinmade would mak plent o' Merry-
higen her neebor. Service Notandums (1890) 100.
3. V. Obs. To complain.
Sc. He plaints early that plaints o' his kail, Ferguson Prov.
(1641) No. 373. Per. Shame light upon your calf-like face That
plaints on me, when I'm from thee, ^icoL Poems (1766) 40. Ayr.
Ye needna plaint upon your muse, Fisher Poems (1790) 89. Edb.
Cooks and kailwives baith refus'd him. Because he plainted of
their dish, Pennecuik IVks. (1715) 385, ed. 1815.
[1. OFr., ME. plamte, pleinte, a complaint.]
PLAENYIE, V. and sb. Obs. Sc. Also in forms
plenyie Sc. ; plenzie Fif. 1. v. To complain.
Sc. (Jam.) ; Of a' our store we need not plenyie, Chambers
Sngs. (1829) II. 353.
2. sb. A complaint ; dissent.
Fif. He spak, and instant a' the senzie Did ratifie it without
plenzie, Apprieval rang loud frae their menzie, Tennant Papistry
(1827) 107.
PLAISE, PLAISH, PLAISTER, see Please, Plash,
v.^, Plaster.
PLAIT, V. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Chs. Lin.
[plet, plat.] I. V. Gram, forms. 1. Present Tense : (i)
Plat, (2) Plet, (3) Plett, (4) Plit. [For further examples
see II below.]
(i) m.Yks.i (s.v. Pleat), w.Yks. (J.W.), Chs.l^, s.Chs.i (2)
Ayr. Thou hast taught this hand to plet snoods, cast the fisher's
knot, spin lines, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 103. Edb.
I'll kemb his beard, his whiskers I'll plet, Pennecuik Helicon
(1720) 66. Dmf. Quinn Heather (1863) 123. Nhb.i Plet maa hair
for me. Dur.', w.Dur.', Lakel. ^ Cum. Then dadged we to the
bog owr meadows dree, To plet a sword and seevy cap for thee,
RelphMwc.Po^ots (17471 15; Cum.* e. Yks. ' Ah deeant coll [curl]
my hair noo. Ah plets it. m.Yks.^ (s v. Pleat). w.Yks.' (3)
N.Cy.i (4I m.Yks.i
2. Preterite : (i) Plat, (2) Plet, (3) Plett, {4) Pletted, (5)
Plettit.
(i) Slk. Out o' the lady's grave grew a bonny red rose. And
out o' the Knight's a brier. And they twa met, and they twa plat,
Borland Yarrow (1890) 51. (2) m.Yks.i (s.v. Pleat). n.Lin.^ I
plet it my sen last week. (3) Slk. His knees plett lyke the wande,
Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 69. (4) Lin. N. &> Q. (July 1890). (5)
Ayr. They tied his beard wi' rashes to a rash buss and plettit it
wi' nine witch-knots, Service Notandums (1890) 106.
3. pp. : (i) Plet, (2) Plett, (3) Pletted, (4) Plettit.
(i) Sh.I. As shune as A'm plet me back hair, Sh. News (June
8, 1901). Frf. When tightly plet and brawly iron'd out. They'll
gar him look again I hae nae doubt, Morison Poems (1790) 148.
Lnk. Graham Writings (1883) II. 106. Slk. (Jam.") (2) Ayr.
Her silken cords of twirtle twist, Well plett with silver sheen,
Ballads and Sngs. {l84^)U. 41. w.Yks.i (3) w.Yks.i (4) Nhb.
Bewick Tales (1850) 11. Cum. Wid his hair o' plettit roond,
Dickinson Lamplugh Club (1856) 8.
II. Dial. uses. 1. v. To cross the legs ; to throw one
leg over the other in walking.
s.Sc. Sits down beside you on a sofa — plets his legs, and passes,
Wilson Tales (1839) V. 251. Lnk. There was a very little taylor
sitting on a table . . . with his legs plet over other, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 106. Slk. My bonny gray I find ye plaittin' at
the knee, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 90. Nhb.' He plets his feet.
Lakel.2 A chap's legs plets when t'maut gits intul them, an' they
lap aboot anunder him. Cum. He did plet them oald legs ov his,
¥ A.RR\i.i. Betty Wilson (1886) 80 ; Cum.* He gangs plettan his legs,
and wammels like an eel. Chs.' ; Chs.^ He had often seen them
platting their legs as they were returning home market p6art.
s.Chs.i Lin. He was pretty well on [affected by alcohol], he
pletted his legs sOa he could nobbud just git along, Lin. N. & Q.
(July 1890).
2. To mark with folds.
Dmf. Care in wan wrinkles deeply plettin' Nell's bonnie face,
Quinn Heather (1863) 123.
3. With down : to fold.
Dmf. Wi' unchristened fingers maun plait down the breeds,
Cromek Remains (1810) 11 1 ; This is an allusion to the Scottish
Brownie, whose unbaptised fingers loved to plait and fit on the
ladies' frills, ib. note in the Appendix.
4. sb. A fold ; a pleat, gather.
Slk. Ye hae settled the pletts o' your sark, Hogg Tales (1838)
75, ed. 1866. N.Cy.i, w.Yks.i
5. Comp. (i) Plait-backie, a bedgown; see below; (2)
•rope, a rope of hay, a plaited rope.
(i) Abd , Ags. A kind of bedgown reaching down to the knees,
commonly made of blue camlet or serge, with three plaits on the
back (Jam.). (2) Nhb.i
6. 'Phr. (1) three-a-plet, foitr-a-plet, five-a-plet, o^ p\aits: of
three, four, and five strands respectively ; (2) to put the
mouth into small pletts, to be circumspect in behaviour.
(i) Nhb.' (2) N.Cy.i I must put my mouth into small pletts
when I go there.
PLAIT, PLAITHIE, see Plat, sb}. Plaid.
PLAITINGS, sb. pi. Fif. (Jam.) The two pieces of
iron below the ' sock ' of a plough.
PLAIZE, see Please.
PLAKE, adj. Lakel.'^ Dirty about the hands and feet.
PLAN, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
[plan, plasn.] L sb. In phr. (i) in a poor plan, in a poor
state of health ; {2) on the first plan, obs., according to the
original design ; (3) plan of wrack, a plot of ground on
which seaweed is grown ; (4) to fall upon another plan,
obs., to adopt a different line of conduct.
(i) Wil.i (2) Ayr. Nature, To mak amends for scrimpit stature,
She turned you aflf, a human creature, On her first plan. Burns
/. Sniith (1785) St. 3. (3) N.I.' In parts of the co. of Down the
flat portion of the shore, between high and low water mark, is
divided into plots, each of which belongs to a. certain farm, and
on these plots or ' plans ' the farmers grow sea-weed for manure,
cutting the wrack periodically, and carting it inland. Stones are
placed for the wrack to grow on. (4) Ayr. The Session says I
maun Gae fa' upo' anither plan, Burns Answer to Epistle, st. 5.
2. The annual arrangement for providing Methodist or
Bible Christian preachers on the several circuits ; an
appointment to preach at a place. In gen. use in Eng.
n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) s.Yks. Mr. Slcekface gave me a plan of the
circuit. Round Frear/iei- (1846) 29; Evans G/. (i 881). Lei.' Oxf.
Baptists and Congregationalists also use the word. Most plans
are now arranged quarterly (G.O.). Dor. He has been added to
the plan as a local preacher, and is well known as a racy speaker
throughout the Circuit, Agnus /«« Oxber (1900) 320. Cor. I had a
' plan ' at St. Just, and after I had done my work there, I went on
to St. Ives, Bourne Billy Bray (ed. 1899) 59.
3. Way, fashion.
Sc. {KyN.) I. Ma. Try my plan of doing it (S.M.) ; How could
a man like him be losin himself that plan — sittin there in a public
house. Brown Doctor (1887) 20.
PLANCH
[537]
PLANK
4. V. To appoint to preach on a Methodist circuit or
among the Bible Christians.
Nhb. Whenever Brother Riddell was planned, the chapel filled,
as by magic, Lilburn Borderer (1896) 135. s.Yks. I . . . found
that I was planned in the circuit-town once in three weeks,
Round Preacher (1846) 29; Evans G/. (i88r). Lei.' Cor. Every
Sunday I was ' planned.' Sometimes I had to walk twenty miles
or more, and speak three times, Bourne Billy Bray (ed. 1899) 59.
PLANCH, sb. and v. Gmg. Suf. Dor. Som. Dev. Cor.
Also written planche Gmg. Dev. ; and in form plunch
Dev.* [plsenj.] 1. sb. A plank, board ; wooden flooring.
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Tv.Som.' Board of any kind of wood,
if an inch thick or over ; thinner it is called ' board,' or ' thin
board,' or J, f , \ inch board, as the case may be ; while thicker
than ij inches it is always plank. ' A piece o' planch ' would be
understood as a piece of board, at least an inch in thickness. Dev.
The time-worn planches creaked and shook, O'Neill Idyls (1892)
121 ; Dev.i ; Dev.* We want a new plunch in the barn.
Hence Planch-floor, sb. a boarded floor.
w.Dor. (C.V.G.), Som. (W.F.R.) w.Som.i Thick there 'ouze
did'n ought vor to bide void, way a good garden to un, and a
planch-vloor and all. Dev. Us dQ thenk ourzels mortel fine now
us 'ave agot planche floors awl dru tha 'ouze, Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892). nw.Dev.^
2. V. To lay with planks, to make a boarded floor.
Gmg. Collins Gow. Dial, in Trans. Phil. Sac. (1848-50) IV. 222.
Dev. Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) Cor.^ The parlour is planch'd
by the present incumbent ; all the rest of the ground rooms are
floor'd with earth. Terrier of Gwennap Parish (1727).
Hence Planched, ppl. adj. boarded.
Suf.^ A paled gate we call a planched gate. Dor. Gl. (1851) ;
Dor.i Dev. An under room plankt is called a planch'd floor, Horae
Subsecivae (1777) 331. Cor. The room or passage is said to be
planched (W.S.).
[1. Fr. planche, a plank or thick board (Cotgr.).]
PLANCHANT, PLANCHARD, see Planching.
PLANCHE, V. Sus. [plsenj.] To disembowel an
animal. (J.L.A.)
PLANCHER, sb.'^ and v. e.An. Dev. Also written
plansherNrf. Suf.'w.Dev. [plaB-nJa(r).] X. sb. A plank;
flooring ; a boarded floor. See Planch.
e.An.i* Nrf. Grose (1790) ; An upper chamber with boarded
floor as opposed to the brick floor of downstairs (M.C.H.B.).
e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). Suf. Cullum Hist. Hawsted
(1813) ; Suf.i Floor of a bed-room; especially the part near the
bed's foot. w.Dev. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796).
2. ».■ To lay planks.
Dev. ' He planchereth his lofts in the water,' Amos ix. 6, as
rendered by Ainsworth, Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
[L They ben scarse kne hey fro the plawncher, Paston
Letters (1449) I. 83.]
PLANCHER, sh.^ Nrf. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A plate. (Hall.)
PLANCHING, sb. e.An. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in
forms planchant Som. ; planchai-d Nrf. ; planchen
Cor.'*; plancheon Dev. Cor.; planchin w.Som.'nw.Dev.'
Cor.^*; planchon, planction Cor.; planshen w.Dev.
Cor. ; plaunchin, plaunching Dev. ; plunchin Dev.*
[plaenjin.] Planking ; a boarded floor ; the board of a
floor. See Planch.
Nrf. Cozens Hardy SroarfA^f/. (1893) 39. Suf. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (P.) e.Som. W.& J. G/. (1873). w.Som.iTheplanchin's
proper a-weared out, 'ton't pay vor men'in. Dev. The plaunching
is like a glidderd pond, Pulman Sketches, 10, in Pengellv Verbal
Pron. (1875) 123 ; The flooring (' plancheon ' locally), all were of
oak, Baring-Gould Spider {i&^q) I. i; Dev.i Up in his chamber
looking down drii the squinches in the planching, 14 ; Dev .2 How
do you sell those plunchin' boards ? n.Dev. Bit now I think on't,
on tha plaunchin'. Our veet '11 zet et all a scraunchin', Rock/iVm
an' Nell (1867) st. 24. nw.Dev.^ w.Dev. Marshall i?«n Econ.
(1796). Cor. Go upstairs and wash up the planchon (H.E.); Pulled
up the remains of windows and doors and planctions, O'Donoghue
St. Knighton (1864) xiii ; Next time in any house I see or near am,
I'll down upon the plancheon, rat am, tear am, Hunt Pop. Rom.
tu.Eng. {1865) 461, ed. 1896; Eh thraw'd en pon ta planshen, Hen-
■wooDMineCon/erence, 32,mPF.NGEi.t.YV'erbal Pron. (1875) i23;Cor.i
'Tendar! tendar! stop the injun, left ma boondle on the planchen'
(called out of a railway carriage to the guard) ; Cor.i ° ; Cor.^ Nails
to mend the planching, St. Ives Borough Accounts (1716) ; I never
VOL. IV.
heard this word used of a single plank, but alwaj'S of a floor, or
partition made of several. It is a collective word like ' cattle,' &c.,
and not applicable to a single object.
Hence Planchin-board, sb. a flooring-board. w.Som.',
nw.Dev."^
PLANCHON, PLANCTION, see Planching.
PLANE, 56.1 Obs. or obsol. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. The
sycamore, Acer Pseiido-Platantis ; also in cotnp. Plane-tree.
Sc. LiGHTFOOT Flora (1792) 639 (Jam.). Clc. (B. & H.) Slk.
No able to tell whether he's handlin an aik, or an elm, or a pine,
or a beech, or a plane, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV. 166.
s.Cy., n.Cy. Johnston Botany (1853) in (B. & H.). s.Cum.
(B. & H.) e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788).
PLANE, s6.* Nhb.' [plen.] Mining term: a main
road, whether level or inclined, along which coals, &c.
are conveyed by engine-power or by gravity.
PLANE, adj. Sc. In cotnp. (i) Plane-footed, (2)
-soled, flat-footed, having little instep.
(i) Slg. The superstition here is ' red-headed or plane-footed is
an unlucky first-foot ' (G.W.). (2) ■w.Sc. A plane-soled person was
an unlucky first-foot, Napier Flk-Lore (1879) 160.
PLANET, sb. Irel. n.Cy. Dur. Cum. Yks. Der. Lin.
Lei. Nhp. e.An. Ken. Som. Also in form plennet Dur.'
Cum.'* [pla-nit, plae-nit.] 1. In comb, (i) Planet-ruled,
influenced by the planets ; (2) -shower, a short, heavy
shower ; (3) -stroke, a paralytic affection ; a seizure ; (4)
-struck, paralyzed ; blasted ; (5) -strucken, one who has
had a stroke of paralysis ; (6) -ta'en, see (1) ; (7) -tcoken,
see (5).
(i) Lin.' (2) N.I.' (3) Lin.i Supposed to arise from the ad-
verse influence of a planet. (4) Lin.', sw.Lin.' (5) nXin.' (6)
Lin.l (7) n.Lin.l
2. Phr. (i) by planets, irregularly, capriciously, by fits
and starts, esp. used of rain ; {2) in planets, o{ rain: falling
with violence, but very locally ; (3) to rule the planets, to
practise astrology.
(r) Der.* Lei.' 'But why by planets, ray friend?' asked I.
' Why, don't you know, . . it's all along o' the planets! ' e.An.'
In changeable weather the rain and sunshine come and go by
planets. A man of unsteady mind acts by planets. Ken.'^ (2)
N.Cy.' The rain falls in planets. Dnr.' Cum. Down in plennets
teems the rain, Stagg Misc. Poems {ed. 1807) 22 ; Cum.'" w.Yks.
That no two floods in Nidderdale are alike in effect is locally ac-
counted for by saying, ' that the rain falls in planets,' Lucas S/«rf.
Nidderdale {c. 1882)206; w.Yks.' T'rain hez faun seeamichi' planets,
ii. 289 ; w.Yks.23, nw.Der.' Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856)
718. Nhp.' (3) w.Som.' 1 well knew a 'conjurer' who was
said to be able ' to rule the planets,' and who made a good living
from those who consulted him.
3. A horoscope.
n.Yks. He's getten his planet ruled (I.W.). e.An.' ; e.An.' She
went to old Nan Barrett to have her planet written.
4. A partial shower. Lin.' 5. The climate. n.Cy. (Hall.)
PLANETY, adj. Sus. Of the weather: overcast;
thundery.
e.Sus. It looks terr'ble planety surely. Sawyer Nit. Hist.
(1883) 4.
PLANISH, V. Lin. [pla-nij.] To heap up with
various things ; to cover with things untidily.
To cover anything as a table, room, etc., with all sorts of articles
untidily placed ; as when children have been playing together and
a room is heaped up with their playthings (Hall.) ; Lin.' Don't
planish the things about. n.Lin. Sutton Wds. (1881). sw.Lin.'
How you planish that table about ! They've every table a'most
planished sometimes.
PLANISHIN, see Plenishing.
PLANK, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Lan. Chs. Shr. Pem.
Oxf. Som. Dev. [plagk, plagk.] \. sb. A mining term:
a board about z\ inches thick and 6 or 8 broad, used to
support the roof In coal-workings, the ' crown-tree.' Nhb.,
Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). 2. Hat-making
term : the workman's bench or table which surrounds
the ' kettle.' Chs.' Hence to get a plank at a place, phr.
to get work in a hat-factory.
Chs.' He's getten a plank at Denton's.
3. Calcareous flagstone of the Stonesfield oolite beds.
Oxf. Phillips Geol. (1871) 149. 4. A regular division of
land in contradistinction to the irregular ridges of the
3Z
PLANK
[538]
FLAPPER
'run-rig'; the quantity of land assigned to each farm in
readjustment of boundaries ; a piece of cultivated land
longer than it is broad; in ploughing: a strip of land
between two open furrows.
Or. I. The average extent of each plank was about an acre,
Fergusson Rambles (1884) 148 ; S. & Ork.i, Cai.l
5. Bread baked on a girdle. s.Pem. Laws Little Eng.
(1888) 421. 6. V. To place, plant ; also used 7?^.
Lnk. Hide it below the bed, or plank it on the highest shelf in
the house, Murdoch 7?earf('«^s (1895) I. 69. e.Lan.' Shr.i It's no
use yo' sayin' yo' didna, fur 'ere the eggs bin to spake fur tharselves,
so yo'n plankt the lie on yoreself.
7. With down : to set down ; to settle.
Lth. Hastily I handed my dear Lady Matty to a seat, and planked
my own huge carcase upon another one, Lumsden Sheep-head {jQ^2)
205. Lan. So we crope up th' slates, an' plankt ussel' deawn ut
th' top, Brierley Day Out (1859) 49.
8. Of a pliant substance : to bend, spring.
w.Som.^ The idea is that of ^valking on a plank bearing only on
its two ends, which springs up and down when walked over.
Any horizontal support which is bent down with the weight upon
it is said ' to planky down,' or ' to be planked down.' Dev. Twill
be difficult to drive so heavy a thing over the boards ; they plank
up and down so much, Reports Provinc. (1877) 136.
9. To allocate land in large lots.
Sh.I. The land [has been] planked or allocated in due proportion
to each person, CowiE Shetland (1871) 158. Or.I. Peterkin iVo^fS
(1832) 6 ; In the process of planking . . . separate sections of the
arable and grass lands were assigned to the various holders in pro-
portion to the number of penny-lands, farthing lands, cows-worths,
and other denominations represented in their title deeds, Fergus-
son Rambles (1884) 148 ; S. & Ork.i Cai. To divide, or exchange
pieces of land possessed by different people, so that each person's
property may be thrown into one field (Jam.) ; In many cases the
arable land has been planked, or converted into distinct farms, in
place of the old system of tenants occupying it in run-rig, Agric.
Surv. 268 («6.).
Hence Flanker, sh. a land-measure. S. & Ork.^
PLANK, see Plonk, v.
PLANKAN, s6. Cor. [plEe-qkan.] A plank. (W.S.)
PLANKING, vbl. sb. Chs. [pla-gkin.] Hat-making
term ; see below.
The body-maker commenced operations, and for bowing, basining,
boiling, and planking he received in 1805 85. per dozen, Hist. Den-
ton Chapel, II, in Cheth. Soc. Publ. (1855) XXXVII; Chs.i The
felting of hat bodies by rolling them on a plank, and frequently
immersing them in acidulated water.
PLANKY, sb. Ayr. [pla'liki.] A large marble.
(F.J.C.) See Plonk, s6.2 6.
PLANNY, V. ? Obs. e.An. Also in forms plenna,
plenny e.An.^ 1. To complain fretfully. See Plain, v.
e.An.'^ Sick children are said to plenny. Nrf. Trans. Phil. Soc.
(1855^ 35.
2. To lose flesh, decline. e.An.^
PLANSHEN,PLANSHER,seePlanching,Plancher,56.'
PLANT, s6.' and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [plant, plant.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Plant-cot, a
small enclosure for rearing cabbage-plants. Cai.* ; (2)
■leaf, a cabbage-leaf. Hrf.' 2. Vhr. to water on^s plants,
to shed tears. w.Yks.' 3. A young cabbage-plant fit
for planting out ; used also of young brocoli, Brussels-
sprouts, &c.
Gall. (A. W.) , N.I.i, s.Wor.i, Hrf.i «, Glo. (A.B.) Dor. Were I asked
by a neighbour ' Can you spare me a few plants ? ' I should not ask
what plants, but answer at once as to cabbages (G.M.M.). w.Som.i
How be you off vor plants ? mine didn come up 'tall ; but I've
a got a plenty o' curly greens and that, and I wants to changy way
zomebody vor zome plants, vor zome o' they.
4. A crop. Glo.i A good plant of wheat.
5. A cudgel, staff, stick.
Uls. The country people came pouring in— each man carrying
his ash 'plant,' M"^Ilrov Craiglinnie (1900) 54.
6. The scum that rises to the surface of vinegar. s.Chs.*
7. An aim. Mid. (Hall.) 8. v. \n -phr. to plant a stick
on a person's back, to thrash him. Lin.* 9. Obs. To
supply with a minister.
Rnf. In planting vacancies, and bearing down Popery and
Atheism, Wodrow Corresp, (1709-31) I. 136, ed. 1843. Lnk. The
bishops are appointed to plant the kirks which have vaiked since
the year 1637, ib. Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 265, ed. 1828. Hdg. Auld-
hame had not been planted since the Reformation, Ritchie St.
Baldrcd {1883) 25.
10. To beat with a stick, to thrash.
Lei.' The ash-plant in general use for corrective purposes no
doubt supplied the term. Nhp.', War.^
PLANT, sb.^ Won Dev. The greater plantain, Plantago
major ; also the ribwort plantain, P. lanceolata. s.Wor.
(H.K.), Dev. (B. & H.), Dev.*
PLANTA-CRUIVE, sb. Sh.L Or.L Also in forms
planta-crew (Jam.) ; planti-crii, planti crub Sh.L A
small enclosure surrounded by a dike for the purpose of
growing cabbage-plants. See Cruive.
Sh.I. Robbing a bee's nest in the wall of his planti-crfl, Clark
N. Gleams {i8g8) 166; Whin da sinisowerdawaasterplanticrub,
dat's juist sax o'clock frae da know [the now], Sh. News (Sept. 3,
1898) ; S. & Ork.' Or.I. The plants are raised from seed sown in
little enclosures of turf, often on the commons, called . . . planta-
crews. These planta-crews are numerous, some circular, others
rectangular, and have a singular appearance to strangers, seldom
exceeding ten yards square, Agric. Surv. 80 (Jam.).
PLANTANY, 56. Bck. The plantain, esp. the greater
plantain, Plantago major. s.Bck. (B. & H.)
PLANTED, sb. Dev." The ribwort plantain, Plantago
lanceolata.
PLANTICRiJ, -CRUB, see Plantacruive.
PLANTIN(G, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Lakel. Cum.
Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Not. Lin. e.An. Som. Also in form
planteen Nhb.* [pla'ntin.] L A plantation ; a coppice.
Sc. They hied to a plantin' an' pu'ed a young ash, Vedder Poems
(1842) no. Bnff. Frae a' your plantins you'll soon be Ca'd aff by
Death's resistless force, Taylor Poems (1787) 15. Abd. Spalding
Hist. Sc. (1792) II. 286. Frf. Ane excellent great house, good
yards and planting, Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) I.
324. Per. Spence Poems (1898) 161. Slg. Thro' Ijonny wee
townies, an' meadows, an' planting, Muir Poems (1818) 266. s.Sc.
Watson Bards (1859) 148. Rnf. Webster Rhymes (1835) 50.
Ayr. Do ye ken, laird, that wee bit belt o' plantin' by the water
side? Service Notandums (1890) 45. Lnk. It rooted up the
younglin' trees In plantin' an' in shaw. Lemon St. Mungo (1844)
51. Lth. The fir plantin', Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 59. Edb.
Macneill Bygone Times (1811) 53. Bwk. A' aroun' the clachan,
Frae the plantin' to the schule, Calder Poems (1897) 77. Rxb.
Dander hameward through the plantin', Murray Hawick Sngs.
(1892) 25. Dmf. That nicht beside the plantin' yett. When I was
gyte wi' joy, Reid Poems (1894) 131. N.I.i Nhb.* He's gyen
aback o' the plantin. e.Dur.*, Lakel.^, Cum.*, e.Yks.* w.Yks.
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 14, 1896). Lan.', ne.Lan.', s.Chs.*,
nw.Der.i s.Not. They're felling timber in the No Joke Planting
(J.P. K.). n.Lin.i Ther's a straange lot o' hetherds e' th' Snaake-
Plantin'. sw.Lin.* They're soughing the little close agen the
plantin'. e.An.*, Cmb. (J.D.R.) Nrf. Up went a buttle to the top
of a tree in a planting, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 206. w.Som.*
2. Phr. craw planting, a rookery.
Per. On to Arthurstane's craw planting, Spence Poems
(1898) 195.
3. A setting of cabbages, &c. Nhb.*
PLANTRY,s6. Obs. Sc. Garden grounds ; plantations.
Edb. Sober fock wha busk your plantry Are lookit owr, Lear-
MONT Poems (1791) 182.
PLANXTY, sb. Irel. A dance tune of a lively and
sportive character.
w.Ir. The harp . . . did not ring forth the spirit-stirring planxty,
Lover Leg. (1848) I. 24. s.Ir. Each contributes planxty, song, or
superstitious tale, Croker Leg. (1862) 295 ; (P.W.J.)
PLAP, V. Lan. [plap.] To talk, chatter.
Plappiu away for twenty minutes about Sir Robert Peel, Clegg
Sketches (1895) 469.
PLAP, adv. Sc. [plap.] In phr. to fall or play plap,
of water : to fall with a sudden splash.
Gall. The raindrops played ' plap' on my naked skin, as though
I had no more on me than a dame's cambric kerchief, Crockett
Raiders (1894) xxvi ; I ken fine she's greetin'. For I hae fand the
water faain' plap plap on my heid, ib. Kit Kennedy (1899) iii.
PLAPPER, v., sb. and adv. Bnff.* Also in form
plypper. [pla'psr.] 1. v. To make a noise with the
lips or by striking a flat-surfaced body in water. 2. sb.
PLART
[539]
PLASH
The act of making a noise in a liquid by the lips or by a
body having a flat surface ; the noise so made. 3. adv.
With a splashing sound.
PLART, V. and sb. Irel. Also in form plert Dwn.
[plart, plert.] 1. v. To fall down. N.I.i 2. sb. A fall.
Dwn. ' A fell my hale length this very day,' sez he. ' Did iver,'
sez I. 'Man, ye wud come doon a quer plert!' Lytilk Robin
Gordon, 94.
PLASAD, adj. Dev. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] In fine condition. n.Dev. Grose (1790).
PLASH, v.^ and sb.^ In gen. dial, use in Eng. Also in
forms plaish Hrt. ; pleash Som. ; plesh Hmp. Dor.' ;
plesher Glo. ; plush Pern. Glo. Hmp.' I.W.' Dor.^ w.Som.^
[plaj, plej, plBj.] 1. V. To trim or lop trees, hedges,
&c., to ' lay ' a hedge. Cf. pleach.
Cum.^* n.Yks. This is called laying or plashing the hedge, and
is chiefly performed upon such as are young, Tuke Agric. (1800)
96. w.Yks.* Hedges are . . . plashed when in order to make them
stronger they are intertwined with boughs (s.v. Plaich). ne.Lan.'
Chs.l To renew a hedge by cutting half way through the stems,
so as to bend them down. The cut stems throw up numerous
vertical shoots, and the bottom of the hedge becomes thick again ;
Chs.^ Not I could see he didn't know how^ to plash a fence
properly (L.C.M.); Not.'^s^ n.Lin.' sw.Lin.i Yon hedge wants
plashing ; it's not been plashed for a many years. Lei. The man
who can cut, lay, or plash an hedge, Marshall Review (1814) IV.
211; Lei.i, Nlip.12, War. (J.R.W.), War.i = 3, Hrf.^, s.Pem.
(W.M.M.) Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 331 ; (S.S.B.) Hrt. A
standing hedge plaished in a clever manner, Ellis Practical Farmer
(1750) I. 91. Hnt. (T.P.F.) Suf. Rainbird ^^nc. (iSig) 297, ed.
1849; Suf.i Also the operation of out-hawling ditch and hightening
bank. Ken,' To repair a live hedge, by cutting half through some
of the stems near the ground and then bending the upper parts
down, and keeping them so by means of hooked sticks driven into
the bank ; Ken.^, Hmp.^ I.W.i ; I.W.^ I sholl have that hedge
plashed next week. Wil. Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.' Dor.
There the hedge that werleately so high, Wer a-plush'd, an' along
by the zide, Barnes /'osws (1869-70) 26; Dor.^ Som. Sweetman
IVincanton Gl. (1885). w.Som.'The quick or growing underwood
is bent down with the points outwards, and sods are laid on the
top so as to make it grow thicker ; this is to plush the hedge.
n.Dev. Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) Gl. Cor.^
Hence (i) Plashed, ppl. adj. of hedges, banks, &c. :
trimmed; 'laid'; (2) Plasher, sb. {a) a stem partly cut
through and woven into a hedge in ' laying ' ; (6) a man
who 'lays' the hedge; (3) Plashing-system, sb. the
practice of ' laying ' hedges.
(i) Sur. Woodcraft . . . comprised timber-felling and planting, . .
making plashed banks, Times (Dec. 7, 1894) 13, col. 4. Dor.'
Friths ar lops Vrom new-plesh'd hedge, 64. (2, a) Hrf.*, Sur.',
Hmp. (H.C.M.B.) Som. He explained the mark of a blow upon
his forehead by saying that he was struck by a ' plusher ' while
hedging (W.F.R.). w.Som.' (6) n.Lin.' Tommy Lee was th' best
plasher I iver heard tell on. sw.Lin.^ He was mostly a plasher,
and a deal among the hedges. (3) Hrt. The plashing system is
carried on to the greatest extent, Marshall Review (1817) V. 27.
2. sb. A live stem in a hedge cut half through and bent
down.
War. B'kam IVkly. Post (June 10, 1893); War.'^ Hit. The
plaish or live stick must be bent easily and warily, Ellis Practical
Farmer (1750) 92.
[1. Cut vines and osier. Plash hedge of enclosier, Tusser
Husb. (1580) 86. OFr. platssier.]
PLASH, w.^ sb." and adv. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also in form plesh n.Yks.* [plaj, plej.] 1. v.
To splash ; to dash through water or mud ; to rain
heavily. Cf plosh.
Sc. (Jam.) Sh.I. He heard da pilticks plashin' i' da ooster,
Sh. News (June 25, 1898). Cai.' Bnff.' The sodgers plasht
through the burn. Abd. (AW.) Kcd. Plashed the water owre.
Grant Lays (1884) 29. Frf. Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 77,
ed. 1889. Fif. The mermaids flounce and plash exulting in the
waves, Tennant Ansier (1812) 91, ed. 1871. Slg. Muir Poems
(1818) 12. s.Sc. Plashin' thro' baith thick and thin, T. Scott Poems
(1793^ 359. Cld. It's been plashin' for twa hours (Jam.). Dmb.
Plash'd in the boyne, Taylor Poems (1827) 44. Rnf. Young
fowks . . . Thro' holes, an' wreaths 0' snaw, an' sleet, Cou'd
brawly plash on, Picken Poems (1813) I. 127. Ayr. Hearkening
to the rain plashing doon the ronns and flushing the syvors.
Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 155. Lnk. Black Falls of Clyde
(1806) 124. Lth. Held an' lugs, a droonin' crew, This bog the
farmers plash in, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) i6i. Edb. He . . .
coaches owr the dubs to plash him. Learmont Poems (1791) 59.
Bwk. The floor all plashed with blood, Henderson Pop. Rhymes
(1856) 74. Rxb. RuicKBiE Wayside Cottager (1807) 181. Dmf.
Aften hae 1 crossed the heather, Plashin' through baith thick and
thin, Johnstone Poems ( 1820) 96. Dwn. Plashing through the rills,
Savage-Armstrong Ba//arfs( 1901) 223. N.Cy."! Nhb.' What's that
plashin ? Dur. He was a wondering what could have been plashing
down on the road all the way as he went, Longman's Mag. (July
1897) 265. Lakel.^ T'rain fair plashes again when it comes a gurt
heavy shoor. Cum.^*, n.Yks.i24_ ne.Yks.i, m.Yks.', w.Yks.*
Lan. Thou's plashed th' fire-place till it's as speckled as a cuckoo,
Brierley Fratchingtons (1868) ii. Chs.i n.Lia.i This raain's
plashed th' walls reight up aboon th' winda' sills. Nhp.^ Here
the gay river, laughing as it goes. Plashes with easy wave its
flaggy sides, Clare Rur. Life, 8. War.^ Hrt. Ellis Cy. Hswf.
(1750). Ken. To plash a traveller (K.).
Hence (i) Plashing, ^//.ai^'. (a) splashing; (6) splashed;
of clothes : saturated with water so as to emit a splashing
sound ; (2) Plasbing-wet, adj., see (i, b) ; (3) Plashy, adj.
splashing ; wet, watery ; wet under foot.
(i, a) Lnk. The plashing dripping sound of incessant rain,
Hamilton PocJMs (1865) 235. Edb. A streamlet glides into Rough
stanes, with plashing sound, Carlop Green (1793) 174, ed. 1817.
(6) Sc. My claise are aw plashing (Jam.). e.Sc. He maun ha'e
been fair plashin, Setoun Sunshine (1895) 241. (2) Sc. (Jam.),
Cai.', Bnff.i, Nhb.' (3") Sc. (Jam.), Cai.i Bnff.i We've hid
plashie weather for a day or twa. Per. Snaw, drift, frost, an'
plashy rain, Stewart Character (1857) 125. Ayr. Plashy sleets
and beating rain, hvRKS Jockey s ta'en the parting kiss, St. 2. Edb.
Beatty Secretar (1897) 363. Slk. Was sitting by the plashy
shore, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 329. nw.Der.', Lel.i Nhp. And
wan-hued lady-smocks, that love to spring 'Side the swamp
margin of some plashy pond, Clare Village Minst. (1821) II. 132 ;
Nhp.i, War.s
2. To wash or scour in a slovenly manner ; to work
about with the hands in any liquid ; to do anything
ineffectually.
So. Ye're just plashing the water (Jam.). Bnfif.' She wiz
plashin' an' washin'. Cld. Ye're no washin, ye're just plashin i'
the wattir (Jam.).
3. sb. A splash ; a splash of mud.
Sc. The thunder-rain, in large drops, came plash after plash on
the blanket roof, Blackw. Mag. (May 1820) 158. Cai.', Bnff.'
Slg. Awa', wi' a' sic hashes, Wha wear nought but spatterdashes.
They hardly serve to fend the plashes E'en frae the bran, Gallo-
way Poews (1792) 18. Ayr. The only sounds are the chirming
o' the birds and the plash o' => bit linn near bye, Service Notan-
dums (1890) 98. Edb. 'Twas wae to see ye in sic a plash, Liddle
Poems (182!) gS. Feb. His breeks were filled wi' Lilly's plash,
Frae th' headband, to the knee, Lintoun Green (1685) 78, ed.
1817. Slk. I ran plash for plash down the burn, Hogg Tales
(1838) 373, ed. 1866. Gall. The steady plash, the weary dash Of
waters against the side, Irving Fireside Lays (1872) 211. Nhb.
An' we'll hae a plash amang the lads. Coquet Dale Sngs. (1852) 59.
n.Lin.', War.^ Wor. The old saying ' the more plash the more
dash ' was not right to-day, Evesham Jrn. (Jan. 28, 1898).
4. A heavy downfall of rain, snow, or sleet ; also in
comb. Plash of wet.
Sc. Were ye oot o' that plash? (Jam.) Cai.i Abd. It has
come on a sair plash o' w'eet, Mi^Kenzie Sketches (1894) xvii.
N.Cy.i Nhb.' If the oak before the ash Then we're sure to have
a plash. If the ash before the oak. Then we're sure to have a
soak, Weather saw.
5. A puddle ; a small pool ; a mill-head ; a slough.
Sc. Ye'U trot the cannie auld grey mare Through dubs and
plashes, Vedder Poems (1842) 196. Abd. Hear the whirr o' the
miller's pirn. The plash where the trouts are loupin', Murray
Hamewith (1900) 3. n.Cy. Grose (1790) Suppl. ; N.Cy.^ Cum.
In northern plashes dips his bill, Gilpin Pop. Poetry (1875) 233.
n.Yks.^* w.Yks. Hlfx. Courier Quns 12, 1897). ne.Lan.i Chs.'*
(s.v. Flash) ; Chs.^ A shallow piece of water like that left in a
field after a thunderstorm (s.v. Flash). Not. (W.H.), n.Lin.'
Lei.' A ' plash ' is often made for washing sheep or horses by
placing two fences across a brook, between which the animals
are driven from one side to the other. Nhp.' 2 Shr.^, Glo.'^,
e.An.i Hmp. Wise New Forest (1883) 284 ; Hmp.i
3Z2
PLASH
[540]
PLAT
6. A quantity of any liquid or semi-liquid, esp. when
dashed violently ; a quantity of strong drink ; a quantity
of ill-cooked liquid food.
Sc. (Jam.), Cai.' Bnff.' She threw a plash o' wattir in's face.
They ga' 'im a plash o' drink an' fillt 'im fou.
7. adv. With a splash ; also used^^.
Sc. It fell plash into the burn (Jam.) ; A shower o' texts came
plash like rain, And fairly washed it clean oot o' my brain, Good
IVds. (1881) 503: Cai.> Bnff.' He fell plash in our the hehd
amo' the wattir.
[1. MDu. plasschen in V water, to plash or plunge in the
water (Hexham). 5. Plasche, where reyne watyr
stondythe, ' torrens, lacuna,' Prompt.^
PLASH, «;.« Nhb.i [plaj.] Toleave work unfinished.
' Aa'll he ta plash them,' said by a shoemaker on leaving work
unfinished at the end of the week.
PLASHET, sb. Dev. Cor. fplas-Jit] A moist place
where a stream rises ; a quagmire. Cf. ploshet(t ; see
Plash, v.'^
Dev.2 Let's run down here, there's a plashet at the bottom,
Peard Mother Molly (1889) 189 ; Dev.' Vetch'd a vege to thicka
plashet, 5, ed. Palmer. s.Dev. Fox ^w^sini/jf« (1874). Cor.'^
PLASH-FLUKE, sb. Rnf. Lth. (Jam.) The plaice,
Plaiessa vulgaris.
PLASHIE, sb. Rnf (Jam.) The plaice, Platessa
vulgaris.
PLASH-MILL, sb. Sc. [pla-J-mil.] A mill where
cloth is fulled ; a ' wauk-mill.'
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. Macdonald R. Falconer (1868) lai.
Hence Plash-miller, sb. a fuller.
Ags. John Young, plash-miller at East Mill, was drowned in
the river Esk, Dundee Advertiser (Dec. 19, 1822) (Jam.).
FLASKET, s6.i lObs. Sc. An evil trick.
Ayr. I canna believe her to have been playing ony plasket,
Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) xxxv.
PLASKET, s*.2 Lon. A basket.
He was a good customer, and was very fond of peaches.
I used to sell them to him, at 125. the plasket, when they was
new, Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) I. 22.
PLAST, V. Dor. [plast.] To swell with wind ; see
below.
' He is very plasted a'readj',' was said of a dead child by
the woman who had laid him out (C.K.P.). s.Dor. A sheep or
bullock would be said to be ' plasted,' when from feeding raven-
ously it became filled with wind (C.W.).
PLASTER, sb. and v. Irel. Yks. Chs. Also in form
plaister Yks. [pla-st3(r, ple'st3(r.] 1. sb. In comp. (i)
Plaster-floor, a floor of hard clay ; see below ; (2) -hill,
an escarpment of clay.
(i) Chs.' In many old Cheshire farmhouses the cheese room
floors used to be made of an extremely hard calcareous clay,
which was sometimes laid upon laths, but not unfrequently upon
reeds. The material was obtained from seams of shaly rock,
which are found in the clays of the New Red Sandstone formation.
It was burnt and treated like Plaster of Paris. . . The same material
was used for barn floors. (2) On the banks of the river BoUin,
in the neighbourhood of Mobberley and Styall, there are one or
two high escarpments of clay containing calcareous bands of shaly
stone. These escarpments, and especially one on the Oversley
Ford farm, are called ' plaster hills.' They furnished the material
for the hard clay floors described above, ib.
2. Salt-mining term : the common name for gypsum.
Chs.^ 3. Fig. Anything overloaded with vulgar, showy
ornament. N.I.' Hence Plastery, adj. gaudy, over-
ornamented, ib. 4. pi. A variety of dishes. Ant.
(S.A.B.) 5. A plasterer.
w.Yks. Aw've awlus thowt 'at if ther' wer' a tax o' hair oil,
whiteweshers and plaisters wod be sure to get off scot free.
Hartley Grimes' Trip (1877) Lett. i.
6. v. To paste up a notice.
n.Yks. Udders plaisters up i't street, ' T'Chetch is i' danger,'
Castillo Poems (1878) 25.
PLAT, sb.'' Sc. Irel. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin.
Bck. Mid. Nrf Som. Dev. Cor. Also written platt w.Yks.
Chs.^ ; and in forms plait Wm. ; plet Ir. ; plett w.Yks.
[plat, plset, plet.] 1. A plot of ground ; a garden allot-
ment ; a bed of vegetables, &c. ; a place ; ? a dial, form
of ' plot.'
Lnk. Leaves . . . forming extensive green plats on stagnant
waters, Patrick Plants (1831) 48. n.Ir. An ark full av meal an'
a garden av kail; An' plet av good barley, Lays and Leg. (1884)
53. Cum. Some spots i' t'rwoads was a fair ice-plat, Gwordie
Greenup Anudder Batch (1873) 15 ; Cum.' ; Cum.* Below t'toon
theer a plat of fine land, Richardson Talk (1871) ist S. 112, ed.
1886. e.YJis.l Frequently used to denote the entire estate of
a small landed proprietor. ' If things disn't mend Ah sail be
fooac'd tl sell plats.' w.Yks. Grass-plat, Banks Wkjld. Wds.
(1865) ; w.Yks.' Black-hill Crag, that feaful onely plat, ii. 301 ;
w.Yks.^^s Chs.2 A plat of turnips = a bed of them ; Chs.^,
n.Lin.i Bck. Plat of oziers in Brickyard ; and 4 plats of bushes
and underwood in Long Spinney, Oxf. Times (Dec. i, igoo) 2.
Mid. Shaken out into straddles, or separate plats, of five or six yards
square, Marshall Review (1817) V. 106. w.Som.^ Very common in
field names. ' Mr. Leat 've a-tookt the field o' groun vor to let-n
out in plats.' Dev. A mortal plat Vur witches an tha likes a that,
Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (,1847) ist S. 53, ed. 1858. n.Dev.
Bring tha browze And cricks vrom Cockhedge plat. Rock Jim an'
Nell (1867) St. 4. Cor.2
2. Phr. to point plat, to put a foot to the ground.
w.Yks.s Ah gat laamed sorely that time ; ah couldn't point plat
fur a month at after.
3. The floor.
w.Yks. When I stept on to t'platform, I fell backards way on
to t'platt, Yksmati. Comic Ann. (1879) 9; Tha'll suarly lend a
elpin and Ta lift hur oif at plat, Preston Poems (1864) 8.
4. Tin-mining term : an open space near the shaft.
Cor. He found himself in what he supposed to have been
originally a ' plat ' or ' plot,' that is, a place distinct from the
shaft, intended for the convenience of lodging ore till it can be
carried off', Blackw. Mag. (Dec. 1828) 743 ; Several other miners
. . . were on the plat above, calling down, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng.
(1865) 351, ed. 1896.
5. The mould-board of a plough. e.Nrf. Marshall Rur.
Econ. (1787). 6. A small foot-bridge over a stream or
gutter. ne.Lan.*, Chs.''^^ 7. A line of hay ready for
being put into cocks.
Lakel.^ Cum. And cockin and brekkin' for good hay to meakk
and rake into plat, Dickinson Cumbr. (1876) 2nd S. 249; Cum.'*,
Wm. (E.G.) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl (Mar. 14, 1896). ne.Lan.'
Hence Plat-brecker, sb. a coarse-toothed wooden rake
for breaking out swathes of hay.
Cum. Her teeth's leyke plat-breckers, her chin is aw hairy,
Rayson Poems (1839) 43.
8. Phr. a plat of pins, a paper packet of pins.
Dev. Liikee zee, Mr. Gammon 'ath a gied me a plat of pins in-
stid ov a varden change, Hewett Peas. Sp. (189a) 142.
PLAT, adj., adv., sb? and v. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks.
Nhp. Oxf. Wil. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written platt S.&Ork.»
n.Dev. ; and in form plet Sc. (Jam.) Cum. [plat, plaet,
plet.] 1. adj. Flat.
S. & Ork.i w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 14, iSgeV
Hence Plat-footed, adj. flat-footed ; splay-footed ;
shambling in gait.
Cld. (Jam.) Som. Reports Provinc. (1893). w.Som.' A plat-
vooted, nackle-ass old son of a bitch ! why I widn gee un his zalt,
let 'lone taties ! Dev.' n.Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 331 ;
Whan a had a had a . . . platvooted . . . swashbucket, Exm. Scold,
(1746) 1. 56. Cor.i2
2. Clear, plain, distinct ; gen. in phr. plain and plat.
Sh.I. Ta pit it a' doon plain an' plat Wid hinder time ower
muckle, Nicolson Aithstin' Hedder (1898) 50 ; Da answer cam
baid plain an plat. Burgess Rasmie (1892) 64. N.Cy.'
3. adv. Very, quite.
Sh.I. He [it] wis plat calm, an' we had ta row ta da lodges,
Sh. News (Dec. 9, 1899) ; S. & Ork.i
4. Due, direct Abd. Plet south, plet north (Jam.).
5. sb. The broad level side of a stratum of stone. Nhp.^
6. A flattened cake of any substance, esp. of a soft
clayey kind ; a cake of cow-dung.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Nhb. A plat o' coo-share (R.O.H.) ; Nhb.i A
' plat o' clarts.' Dur.', Oxf. (G.O.)
7. The plateau or plain of the downs ; a broad ridge
of land.
Cum.'*, Wil.* s.Wil. The ploughed land from which the flints
are collected high up on the plain of the Downs is said to be ' on
the plat' (G.E.D.).
8. v. With down : to smooth, press down.
PLAT
[541]
PLATTER
Cor.^ w.Cor. Your hair is rough ; plat it down with your hands.
When our mangle was broken we platted down the sheets with the
iron (M.A.C.).
8. To walk heavily.
Cum. They gar't his varra skin to creep, And caused his steps to
plet and vary, Dickinson Cumbr. (1876) 257 ; Cum.*
[1. Prudly on a plat playn, Cleanness (c. 1360) 1379.
OFr./&/, flat.]
'P'LA.T, pret. Obs. Sc. With m^ : erected.
Leith fortifications went on speedily ; above 1000 hands daily
employed, plat up towards the sea sundry perfect and strong
bastions, BaillieZ,c«. (1775) I. 160 (Jam.).
PLAT, pp. Lin.' [plat] With up: calculated,
estimated.
I've plat-up my earnings, and I calculate by ta'en work I've
made three bob a day.
PLAT, see Plait.
PLATCH, sb} and v?- Sc. Nhb. [platj.] 1. sb. A
flat foot.
Rxb. If you are going on a journey, on Monday morning, and
meet a man who has platches or plain soles, it is necessary . . .
that you should turn again, because it is an evil omen. The only
way to prevent the bad effect of so fatal an occurrence, is to return
to your own abode, to enter it with the right foot foremost, and to
eat and drink. Then you may safely set out again on your
journey ; the spell being dissolved (Jam.).
Hence Platchy-footed, adj. having a flat-footed style of
walking. Nhb.' 2. v. To make a heavy noise in walking
with a quick, short step. Rxb. (Jam.)
PLATCH, v.'^ and sb.'^ Sc. [platj.] 1. v. To splash ;
to besmear.
Sh.I. I sees Geordie comin' platchin' ower da guttery rigs, Bur-
gess Sketches (2nd ed.) 107. Bnff.' He platcht his face wee ink.
He platcht's claise wee dubs. Cld. (Jam.)
Hence Platchie, adj. splashy, besmearing.
Rxb. And platchie are the moorlands aye, Riddell Poet. IVks.
(1871) II. 131.
2. sb. A splash ; a large spot ; a clot ; a large piece of
anything.
Sc. A platch on his face. A platch o' Ian' (Jam.). Cai.'- Bnff.l
He hiz an ugly platch on's cheek. Cld. (Jam.)
PLATCH, v.^ and sb.^ Bnflf.' Cld. (Jam.) [platj.]
1. V. To patch ; to repair in a clumsy manner. 2. sb.
A patch, a piece of cloth sewed on a garment to repair it.
PLATCHACK, sb. Sh.I. A large patch. S. & Ork.'
Cf platch, v.^
PLATCHEN, V. and sb. Bnff.' Also written platchin.
[pla'tjsn.] L V. To cover with spots ; to besmear.
2. To patch ; to repair clumsily. 3. sb. A very large
spot or clot. 4, A very large patch.
PLATE, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Der. Nhp. Ken. Sus. Also in forms pleat Ken. ;
plet Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.' [plet, pleat, pliat.] 1. sb. In
comp. (i) Plate-bone, the blade-bone ; (2) -brick, a brick
made from shale ; (3) -jack, obs., coat-armour ; (4) -man,
the man who holds the offertory plate ; (5) -nail, mining
term : a nail used in laying underground tramways ; (6)
-rail, a wrought-iron tram-rail ; (7) -rand, the flat ribs of
beef; (8) -spade, a digging-spade having a nearly flat
blade.
(i) Sus.l (2) Nhb.l (3) Sc. "Vet his plate-jack was braced and
his helmet was laced, Scorr Minstrelsy (1802) IV. 185. (4) Sc.
■HiSLOP Anecdote (1874) 546. (5) Nhb.i Strong, round nails, with
flat points, having a countersunk head, flat or rounded on the top,
and measuring two inches or two and a half inchgs long ; used
for nailing down the 'plates' — the rails— to the sleepers in an un-
derground tramway. A plate-nail is driven through a hole in the
plate, which is countersunk to receive the bead of the nail. Nhb.,
Dnr. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). (6) Nhb.l In section like an
unequal angle-iron, the base being three inches wide by half inch
thick, the enclosed angle slightly obtuse and w'th short heel pro-
jecting so as to give greater support to the side on which it is laid.
The upper side, standing two inches higher than the plate, served
as flange or guide to the trajn whpels, which were themselves
-plain discs without any flanges. (7) Nhp.^ (8) Ken. (D.W.L.) ; I
reck'n Kent's de pleace where dey call a pleat-spead a pleat-spead
an' no a shovel ! (A.M.)
2. Phr. (i) to have a plate for anything, to have means for
getting it ; (2) to make a good plate of anything, to make
a good thing out of it.
(i) w.Yks.2 I've a plate for a quart of beer. (2) ib. Somebody
will make a good plate of it.
3. The rail on which colliery trams are run ; a section
of a gang-road ; a flat cast-iron rail with a flange.
Nhb. God bless the man wi' peace and plenty. That furst in-
vented metal plates! Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 32; Nhb.',
w.Yks. (J.P.^, Der. (B.K.)
4. Shale ; the refuse of former lead-mine workings.
Nhb. Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 127 ; Nhb.' Usually described,
according to its appearance, as blue plate, black plate, grey plate,
&c. Nhb., Dur. Borings (1881) II. 12. Cum. Plate, a coal in the
middle, in some places three feet thick, in others strata of plate
between the coal, Hutchinson Hist, Cum. (1794) I. 48. w.Yks.'
Hence Platy, adj. containing layers of shale.
Nhb.l Sandstone when intermixed with shale beds or partings,
is called platy freestone or platy post.
5. A flat rock in a harbour. N.I.' 6. A trick ; a device.
w.Yks. Wen seen many a plate at thah kno's nowt abaht. By-
water Sheffield Dial. (1839) 99 ! w.Yks.*
7. V. To clinch a nail ; to rivet.
Fif. (Jam.) Rxb. Used by blacksmiths, who, in shoeing horses
turn down the points of the nails ((A.). n.Cy. (Hall.) Nhb.'Aa
want a hunder nails ; the kind that'll plet. Lakel.^, Cum.i",
n.Yks.'* ne.Yks.' Clench or bend back the end of a nail when
driven, and so flatten the end of it. w.Yks.' Mind to plate t'nails
weel down.
8. To hammer a thick piece of iron until it becomes thin.
s.Yks. Originally the thick piece of iron was made of rolled
plates ; this is not so now, but the name remains to the operation
(W.S.).
9. To thrash, chastise.
w.Yks. Tha's plated me mi ribs an' reyt, Yksman. Comic Ann.
(1891) 15, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 14, 1896).
Hence Plating, sb. a sound thrashing.
n.Yks." w.Yks. He did giv him a platin' an' reight an' all,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 14, 1896).
10. Phr. (i) to plate it, to make a vigorous effort ; to sur-
pass ; (2) to plate it into one, to eat vigorously.
(i) Wm. It does plate it, an nea mistak, Gibson Leg. and A'otes
(1877) 68. (2) Wm. He'd a gay big trencherful afoor him, an' my
sang he dud plate it inlul him (B.K.).
PLATFORM, s*. Nrf The cabin floor of a boat.
I laid the table on the platform, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) iv.
PLATIECRUB, s6. Sh.I. A patch of enclosed ground
for growing cabbages. See Planta-cruive.
Whin hit [ice] gae wye hit brook roond aboot wiz, fir da world
lack da stead o' a peerie platieciub, Sh. News (Jan. 21, 1899).
PLATIMORE, sb. Ess. The London clay underlying
the beach on the coast of Essex.
(W.H.W.); When men are digging a well they would say,
' Now we have come to the platimore (or blue lug or London
clay); we must get through this before we come to water' (H.H.M.).
PLATING, sb. w.Som.' The piece of wood which
runs longitudinally on the top of each wall of a building
upon which are fixed the rafters.
PLATNORE, sb. s.Cy. I.W. Also in form plotnore
I.W.' A species of clay. s.Cy. (Hall.), I.W.' Cf.
platimore.
PLATOON, sb. Sc. [pla'tun.] A volley, report of a
shot ; also used fig.
Abd. The terriblest platoon gaes aff, garrin the road shak',
Aj-EXANDER Johnny Gibb (1871) xl. Feb. Yon stripling . . . Has
gien me monie a sair platoon, Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 32.
FLATTEN, v. ? Obs. Sc. (Jam.) Also in form plettin.
To rivet ; to clinch a nail. Cf. plate, 7.
Fif., Rxb. Used by blacksmiths who in shoeing horses turn
down the points of the nails.
Hence Plettin-stone, sb., see below.
Fif. A large flat stone, till of late years lying at the door of a
smithy. On this stone, the horse's foot was set flat, after the
shoe was driven, that the nails might be plattened (rooved), i.e.
turned a little over the hoof, to prevent their coming out.
PLATTER, s6.' Chs. Nhp. Ess. Som. Dev. [pla-t3(r),
plae'ta(r).] L In comb, (i) Platter-dock, the broad pond-
weed, Potamogeton natans ; (2) -face, a round flat face ;
PLATTER
[542]
PLAY
(3) -foot, a flat foot, with little or no instep ; (4) -footed,
flat-footed.
(i) Chs.' ; Chs.^ So called from lying flat, or like a platter on
the water. (2) w.Som.' Very common. ' Ya gurt platter-face ! '
(3) e.Dev. Set out as brave a platter-foot as man could wish for to
see, Jane Lordship Passen and JVe (1897) 213. (4) Som. Reports
Provinc. (1893). Dev. I was anxious about some young ducks, but
was reassured by the coachman, who said, ' They'll do all right if
they don't get platter-footed.' . . As far as I can gather it is a
weakness of the spine which affects the legs of young ducks, causing
them to straddle or sprawl about, ' Boath 'er veet be za flat's a
pancake, an' 'er turns 'urn boath out. Luk'th like quarter tu dree
by 'um. Whot I call'th platter-vuted,' Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
2. Phr. to cover the platters, of a joint of meat, &c. :
to yield good large slices.
Chs.^ A beast's heart's a very profitable piece, it covers th'
platters.
3. Earthenware, esp. a broken piece of earthenware.
Nhp.i Ess. ' A piece of platter flew into his eye.' ' Are these
candlesticks metal?' 'I'm sure I thought they were platter'
(S.P.H.).
PLATTER, v., sb.^ and adv. Sc. Nhb. Chs. [pla'tafr.]
1. V. To dabble in a liquid or semi-liquid ; to walk with
a sharp step in water or mud.
So. (Jam.), Bnff.i e.Lth. He'd platter For troots an' eels in
Tyne's deep water, Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 39.
2. With alon^: to walk in an awkward, scrambling way,
like a man with bad corns. Chs.^^ 3. sb. The act of
dabbhng or walking in water, mud, &c. ; the noise so caused.
Sc.{jAM.),Bnff.' 4. A splashy mess. Nhb.^ 5. ao^z;. With
a sharp continuous noise in water or any liquid.
Sc. When the noise has continued for some time ' platter-
platterin' ' is the term used (Jam.). Bnff.i
PLATTING, sb. Lan. Der. A small bridge across a
stream. See Plat, sb} 6.
Lan. Obs. So that the water may passe under John Gee his
plattinge, il/awtrA, Court Leet Rec. (1600) 11. 156. nty.Der.'-
PLATTY, adj. Ken. Sun Sus. Som. [pise ti.] 1, Of
any crop : growing unevenly ; flourishing in some places
and poor in others. Cf plat, s6.'
Ken. A witness was asked what sort of hop season there had
been ? to which he replied, ' Only platty.' The judge asked,
' What is platty ? ' ' Oh ! platty's platty, my Lord.' This lucid
explanation is now frequently used in Kent, when any question is
answered in a similar indefinite way, N. & Q. (i860) and S. x.
435; Ken.1; Ken.^ Corn grows platty, when it is good only in
here and there a place. Sur.' Sus.^ 'Apples are very platty
this year,' would mean that there is a quantity in some places and
none at all in others ; Sus.^ Having bare spots, as corn-fields
sometimes have. w. Som.^ Idn quarter so good's he looks, thick
there field o' barley ; he's ter'ble platty.
2. Of a person : capricious ; fastidious and dainty in
appetite.
Ken.i ne.Ken. I don't like her, she is so platty (H.M.). e.Ken.
He doesn't eat much, he is platty. I don't see much of her, she is
very platty about visiting (G.G,).
PLAUCH, PLAUGH, PLAUM, PLAUNCHING, see
Pleach, Plough, Plim, v.'^, Planching.
FLAW, sb. Sus.* [pl9'] A small wood ; a plantation.
PLAW, PLAWF, see Play, z/.=. Plough.
PLAY, v.^ and sb.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng.
Amer. and Aus. _AJso written plaay LW."*; and in form
plee s.Chs.* [pie, plea.] 1. v. In comb, with prep, and adv.
(i) to play along, to go quickly, make haste ; (2) — at,
to begin to enjoy ; to nibble at ; (3) — for, to hurry to ;
(4) — fore, to put forward ; (5) — in, to begin at once ; to
take one's turn and join in ; (6) — up, {a) to behave
boisterously ; of a horse : to jump or frisk about ; {b) to
scold; (c) of mackerel: to rise up or leap out of the water;
(7) — upon, to prey upon ; to torment.
( i) Hmp. Now you just play along, and mind you gets back soon
(W.H.E.). (2) Ayr. You rax your arms an' gant, playing at the
sleep that you need and expect. Service NolaHdums (1890) 94.
(3) Lan. Owd fox turned his heel when he geet eawt a' th' seet. And
play'd fer their heawse deawn in Parliament Street, Laycock Sngs.
(i86o) 44. (4) n.Dev. Play vore thy leg, min. Pithee, spaik, Rock
Jim an' Nell (iBOq) St. 51. (5) Brks.i, s.Cy. (Hall.) LW.i Come,
look sharp ; plaay-in ; I.W,^ While t'others were footeren about.
he plaayed in, and had it out in noo time. (6, a) Lin.' He came
home beery, and playing-up, broke the dolly. n.Lin.i Thaay're
still eniff when the'r faather's at hoam, bud thaay do plaay up when
thaay're to the'r sens. sw.Lin.' This pony does not play up at the
trams as the other did. [Aus. He could do more with a horse than
any man I ever saw. They never seemed to play up with him,
BoLDREWooD Robbery (1888) II. iii.] (i) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(IWar. 14, 1896). (c) Cor. The old hands tell us the sun when he
rises will eat up the mists, and the schools of the mackerel will
then ' play up ' in order to warm their noses. ' There they go !
Look, look ! Oh the beauties ! Play up, play upl' GoorffJ'rfs. (1896)
15- (7) '^^s- I think the cold is trying, it will play upon the con-
stitution (S.P.H.). Sur.i The toothache played upon me so that
I was nearly drove distracted. Ken. (J.A.B.) ; Ken.' It plays upon
her mind.
2. Phr. (i) old Nick to play, the deuce to play ; (2) to play
a cross, to take a short cut, to cut across ; Jig. to steal a
march upon, to 'round 'upon; (3) — a fall, to wrestle;
(4) — a fore hand, a curling term : to play first ; to lead ;
(5) — at riband, to play truant ; (6) — cheep, obs., to make the
least noise ; (7) — clatter, obs., to continue clattering ; (8)
— crash, to break with a crash ; (9) — deep, of the heart :
to beat violentlj' ; (10) —flee, to let fly ; (11) — from
school, see (5) ; (12) — glaum at, to make a clutch at ; (13)
— hell with, to abuse ; (14) — hemp with, to damage, to do
mischief to; (15)— w the papers, to play cricket in a
county match ; (16) — jink, of money ; to be quickly
spent ; (17) — lick, to make a cut with a cane or other
weapon ; (18) — old boots with, to make havoc of; (19) —
quake, to quake suddenly; (20) — rattle, to go with a
rattle; (21) — sharp, (a) to be quick; to begin at once; to
strike in ; (b) to get an advantage by some unfair means ;
(32) — snap, to give a snapping sound ; (23) — the band, of
a band : to begin to play ; (24) — the bear, to make havoc ;
(25) — the dule; to torment ; to act with cruelty or im-
petuosity ; (26) — thud, to beat quickly ; (27) — tingle, to
tingle, itch ; (28) — Tom and Harry with, to throw into
confusion, to make havoc of; (29) — tug, to pull suddenly
and with violence.
(i) Wm. Ther'll be auld Nick ta play when thi fadder co's biam
(B.K.). (2) Brks. (M.J.B.) ; He was took drinking at a public-
house, someweres up Hounslow way, wi' a companion who played
a cross viri' 'un, and I b'live 'a was hanged at Newgate, Hughes
Scour. White Horse (1859) v. (3) Nrf. (C. W.B.N.) (4) Lnk.
Ye're well set on, man, but ye're roaran, Whatna way's that to
play a forehan' 1 IWIndoe Poems (1805) 55. (5) se.Wor.i (6)
Edb. Durstna for his lugs play cheep, Tint Quey (1796) 15. (7)
Ayr. Still the clap plays clatter. Burns Unco Guid (1786) St. i.
(8) Lnk. Ae nicht as he was ringin' ten. Something played crash,
Watson Poems (1853) ir. (9) Slk. My heart play'd deep against
my breast, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 424. (10) Ayr. Like a shot
frae a gun at the rat he played flee, Wi sic force, Aitken Lays
(1883) 59. (11) Midi. Please'in 'Liza Melen's playing from school
(C.W.). (12) Lnk. Wi'that I play'd glaum at his buttonless sark,
Nicholson Kilwuddie (ed. 1895) 152. (13) w.Yks. Ah'll play hell
wi yond fooil ovver this (B.K.). (14) Ess. The frost has played
hemp ooth [with! the titers. The boys played hemp with the old
man's apples (H.H.M.). (15) Glo. The man who has been known
' to play in the papers,' as they are accustomed to call big county
matches, Gibbs Cotswold Vill. (1898) 238. (16) Lnk, To let your
siller cheery clink, . . than gar't play jink. As gin ye'd fun't,
CoGHiLL Poe»«5 (1890) 10. (17) Frf. A third played lick at it with
the lantern, Barrie Tommy (1896) xv. (18) Lan. Bur if they'n
played old boots wi' thy good cheer, They'n not neglected me i'
shape o' beer, Doherty N. Barlow (1884) 36. (19) Sc. My spauls
plaid quake, and a' my hair Stood upon end, Pennecuik Coll.
(1787) 15. (20) Lnk. Up to the dyke fu' fast they brattle, Out
o'er its tap the horse play'd rattle, Watt Poems (1827) 99. (21, a)
ne.Lan.' I.W.' ; LW.* Now then, plaay sharp, off wi' ye. (A)
Brks.' (22) Lnk. When I closed ye wi' a bicker. Your spring
play'd snap like ony tricker, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 35. (23)
Ken. (G.B.); Ken.i They are going to play the hand. (24) Bdf.
Poachers are said to ' play the bear among the rabbits' (J.W.B.).
(25") w.Yks.i (26) Sc. Nae langer their he'rts played thud wi'
fricht, Wright Sc. Life (1897) 81. (27) Per. He open'd his pack
fu' o' claes o' the best — Wi' the sight o't my lugs they play'd
tingle, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 140. (28) Lnk. The French have
jist landed on a hill at the back o' Caralachie ... an' they're likely
to be in the toon playin' Tom an' Herry wi' a' thing the morn's
PLAY
[543 J
PLAY
momin', Murdoch Readings (1895) II. 10. (29) Lnk. The keel
may play tug at the cable, Watson Poems (1853) 81.
3. Reflex. To amuse oneself, to play.
n.Sc. He was playing him at the Clyde's water. Perhaps he has
fa'en in, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. lao, ed. 1875. Inv. (H.E.F.)
N.I.* The chile's playin' his self. N.Cy.' He has been playing
hissel. Nhb. When thoo plays thysel' at the fortnight's ends,
Pease Mark 0' Deil (1894) 23. Cum.* Barns, give ower, ye've
played yersels aneuf. Lan. I reckon lads is playin' theirsels a bit,
FOTHERGILL Hittley (1884) iv.
4. To be out of work ; to abstain from work ; occas. used
reflex.
Nhb.'- When work is stopped for a period, the men are said to
play. w.Yks. (F.M.L.) Chs.' A man who is unable to get any
work is said to be ' playing him.' Mill hands when on strike are
' playing them.' The expression is extended to horses standing
idle in the stable. Lan.' Aye, they're in a bad way, poor childer
— thur fayther's been playin' for nearly a twelvemonth. m.Lan.'
Chs.3 When the hands of a mill have struck or the mill is closed
the hands are said to be playing. Midi. They're mending the
furnace, so we've been playing since Monday (C.W.W.). War.^
Shr.' Theer's mighty little doin' at the mines now ; the men wun
playin' one 'afe thar time las' wik ; Shr.° My mon's in meety poor
get. Sir ; 'a has but half a turn, an' 'a play'n three days i' th' wik.
Glo.i Us plyed dree days last wick. w.Som.' The work bin ter'ble
slack sure 'nough, we bin fo'ced to play half our time purty near
all the winter.
5. To have a bout at wrestling or singlestick ; also in
phr. to play to wrestling.
w.Som.i Aay muyn aay plaa'yd Jiim Eeul tu Lang-vurd ravul,
vur u aulun shuur't [I remember I played Jim Hill at Langford
revel, for a hoUand shirt]. Aa-1 plaa'y dhee vur u suvreen [I will
play thee for a sovereign]. Dev. Reports Provinc. (1885).
6. Of bees : to swarm ; to fly about just before swarming.
Shr.' ' Two 'ives played in one day. Sir.' The bees are said to
play high, or play low, as the case may be. Hmp. Wise A'i^ji;
Forest (1883) 184 ; Hmp.' w.Som.i When likely to swarm they
fly in great numbers, just flitting about in front of the hive : this
is playing. ' Thick there butt o' bees '11 zwarm to-morrow, I
reckon, they bin playin' all's mornin'.' The actual swarming is
not called playing. Dev. By the help of poker and tongs and a
tattoo played on the brass warming-pan, for bees, especially when
they are playing, love a noise, O'Neill Idyls (1892) no.
7. To fly high and sweep through the air, as rooks.
Shr.' 'Ow the rooks playen about to-day ! it's a sign we sha'n
ave a starm afore lung.
8. sb. Comb, (i) Play-act, to act, recite ; (2) -acting, (a)
acting ; a drama ; {b) theatrical ; (3) -actor, an actor ;
also used attrib. ; (4) -actoring, dramatic ; (5) -boy, (a) the
devil ; (b) a playful woman ; (6) -day, a holiday ; a day of
enforced idleness ; (7) -fair or -fare, {a) a playfellow ; (b)
a plaything ; (8) -felly, see (3) ; (9) -gay, see (7, b) ; (10)
-ground, a tract of water at an estuary, in which salmon
may not be caught ; (11) -house, a theatre; (12) -lake, {a)
see (7, b) ; {b) to idle, play ; (13) -laker, {a) see (7, a) ; (b)
see (3) ; (14) -lakin(g, [a) a toy, a trifle ; (b) see (7, a) ; (c)
a simpleton, esp. in phr. to make a playlaktnig of any one ;
(15) -marrow, see (7, a) ; {16) -pipes, a child's musical
instrument ; see below ; (17) -planchion, a broken piece
of crockery used by children; (i8)-singer, a public singer ;
(19) -stool, a public recreation ground ; (20) — Wednesday,
a Wednesday on which there is a half-holiday.
(i) Abd. Ootwi't like a man, an' no playac'the gunpoother-plot
ower again, Macdonald Lossie {!&'}•]) xlvii. Draf. Yatter a wheen
French phrases, or playact half a dizzen pretty poems, Paton
Castlebraes (1898) 140. (2, a) Frf.Tlie twa young folks had made
a rin-awa match, an' had ta'en to play-actin' for a livin', Willock
Rosetty Ends (i886) 31, ed. 1889. Sotn. But 'tis all the outcome o'
reading this here play-acting and rubbish, Raymond Tryphena
(1895) 47. Dev. 'Tis like playactin' to see Pengelly takin' off the
Mayor, Norway Parson Peter (1900) 153. [Amer. I don't know
nothing about play-act'n, and haint ever seen much of it, Cent,
Mag. (Feb. 1885) 548.] (i) Dmf. Cryin oot Delay, wi' the objeck
o' gettin' a vain play-actin' cretur to be oor minister, Ponder Kirk-
cumdoon (1875) 142. (3) So. Ye neednabe lettin' a' body ken that
you've been brocht up among playactors, Lawson Sacrifice (1892)
42. Cal. We dinna ken anything o' its faither — maist lekly some
playacter or ither rag, Horne Countryside (1896) 140. Abd. I
didna ken ye in sic playactor kin o' claes, Macdonald Lassie {^^Tfj^
XX. Ayr. She had ta'en up wi' some play-actor body 'at cam aboot
'e Green wi' the shows, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 236. War.
The fine tinselled dresses of the play-actors, Elson Climbing Boys
(1900)27; War.3 Dor. So many gipsy folk about, and play-actors,
and all sorts, Francis Pastorals (1901) 240. (4) s.Sc. To read
playactorin books an' novels, Wilson Tales (1836) III. 29. (5, a)
Don. The divil sittin cheek be jowl with him in his own chimbley
corner ! . . an' himself an' the playboy shoughed out o' the same
pipe ! Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 107. (6) N.I." MS. add.
(6) nw.Der.i Shr.^ A play-day amongst colliers is 'the Monday
after the reck'ning.' (7, a) Sc. Play with your play-fairs, Ferguson
Prov. (1641) No. 712. (J>) Cai.i Edb. What's siller for . . . But
gowden playfair, that may please The second sharger till he
dies? Fergusson Poems (1773) 217, ed. 1785. (8) Lan. Be-
thowt mi awd doo th' saim uz them playfelly's dun, Ferguson
Moudywarp, 14. (9) Cor. O'Donoghue St. Knighton (1864) Gl.
(10) Nhb., Dur. There is a ' playground ' in which the fishermen
are not permitted to cast their nets, and a determined effort has
just been made by the majority on the Salmon Conservancy Board
to extend this ' playground ' beyond its present liberal limits.
As soon as the fish have passed this preserved piece of water
they are [allowed to be] caught, Newc. Dy. Leader (July 6, 1896).
(11) Abd. The play-hoose is whaur ye gang. to see what comes o'
things 'at ye canna follow oot in ordinar' life, Macdonald Lossie
(1877) xvii. (12 a, i) Nhb.l (13 a, 6) n.Yks.= (14, a) Nhb. I hae
a wee play-lakin or twa for them, puir things, Jones Nhb. (1871)
no; Nhb.i Here's a nice playlakin'aa've brout ye. n.Yks.^ (i)
Lin. He's my play-laking, Thompson Hist. Boston (1756) 718;
Lin.' Whose your play-laking now? (c) e.Dur.' (15) Ayr. Pleasure
at the sight of his old play-marrow, Galt Gilhaize (1823) iv.
s.Chs.' Hey'd stop behint to talk to some on his pleemarrows (s.v.
Buz). (16) n.Yks.' A boy's plaything, made from a joint of the
green stalk of the bunnon or cow-parsley, or of a stout oat-stem,
by cutting it two-thirds through, at intervals of about one-third or
half an inch, along the greater part of its length. This 'instrument'
is played upon by blowing in at one end and, by a modified flexure,
causing the cuts to open in succession from one end to the other,
so as to produce a series of varying notes. (17) Nhp.' (18) Dor.
They wouldn' believe nohow that thik lady was ever a play-singer,
AGNUs_/a« Oxber {i<joo) 245. (19) Ken.' Very common throughout
Kent as the name of a field which was once parish property.
(20) Abd. He found it was play- Wednesday, and that he had been
all the half holiday trying one thing after another to interest him-
self withal, Macdonald R. Falconer (1868) 95.
9. Phr. (i) a play of the pipes, a bout of playing on the bag-
pipes ; (2) the best of one's play, one's best policy ; (3) to
make play, to get on quickly ; to manage well.
(i) Abd. Jist sit doon . . . an' tak a play o' yer pipes. I'll hear
ye fine, Macdonald Lossie (1877) Ixii. (2) Uls, Vis. Jrn. Arch.
(1855-62) VI. 44. (3) Hmp. When the roads are like this (i.e. so
slippery) you can't seem to get to make play at all (W.H.E.).
[Aus. He could make pretty good play in thick country, and ride
a roughish horse, Boldrewood Robbery (1888) I. i.]
10. A game ; sport of any kind ; a country wake ; also
used ironically for a scrimmage or fight.
Abd. It mattered nae whether the bools or the buffets. The gird,
tap, or pear, at the time was the play, Cadenhead Bon-Accord
(1853) 256. Rnf. Sic chiels as ane sees noo-a-days Pick up their
schulin' wi' their plays, Young P('rfMccs (1865) 142. Don. Doesn't
Teddy have a fall out with the King of England's son, and then
that was the play! Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 39. Lei.'
Such a treat in Twycross before I never see ; There was dancing
and horse-racing, besides a foot-ball play. Smith Prince Wedding
Day, Leicester Jrn. Som. (Hall.)
11. A holiday ; used also by workmen of enforced idle-
ness through lack of work.
e.Sc. It was Saiterday mornin'— they get the playfrae the school,
Strain ElmsUes Drag-net (1900) 281. Abd. The colleginers got
the play upon the 27th of December to the 3rd of January,
Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 331. Per. The bairnies thocht they
wad get play, Ford Harp (1893) 119. Rnf. There was never a
schoolboy more desirous to have the play than I am to have leave
of this world, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) III. 33, ed. 1843. Ayr.
The country folks came in dressed in their best : the schools got
the play, Galt Provost (1822) xviii. Edb. Schools at noon-day
get the play, Fergusson Poems (1773) 204, ed. 1785. Feb. Gi'e
the weanes the play, Lintoun Green (1685) 73, ed. 1817. Slk. It
wasna safe in you, sir, to gie a' your domestics the play for a
haill month in hairst, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV. 244.
n.Cy. Down in the black north country, where ' play ' means being
PLAY
[544]
PLEA
laid up by sickness, Ruskin Crown Wild Olive (1870) § 28. Nhb.^
War.2 I've had three wiks play ; War.^ I have been at play for
three \veeks.
12. Scope ; room for movement.
Nhb. A wheel is said to have too much or too little play, as it
happens to be too tight or too slack on the axle (M.H.D.). Hmp.
Of a screw : ' He's got too much play there, you know ' ( W. H.E. ).
13. The first swarm of bees in the season from one hive.
Shr.' A play of bees in May's wurth a noble the same day ; A
play in June's perty soon ; A play in July's nod wurth a butterfly,
Local Rime.
PLAY, v.^ and sb.'^ Sc. n.Cy. Yks. e.An. s.Cy. Som.
Also in forms plaw e.An.' ; ply Som. [pie, e.An. pig.]
1. V. To boil ; to parboil.
Sc. A mein pot never played even, Kelly Prov. (1721) 27.
N.Cy.2 Yks. Mack the pot play (K.). n.Yks. Did'th pot play
when you com? Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 43. c.An.i Nrf.
Ray (1691). Som. (P.R.)
Hence Playing-hot, adj. boiling-hot.
s.Cy. Bailey (1721). Som. (P.R.)
2. Phr. to play brown, to assume a rich brown colour in
boiling. Cf. brown, 2 (3).
Sc. (Jam.) Rnf. Their walth for either kyte or crown, Will ne'er
gar Symon's pat play brown, Picken Poems (1813) I. 124. Dmf.
Ye're big brose pot has nae played brown Sin the Reaver Rade o'
gude Prince Charlie, Cromek Remains (1810) 102.
3. sb. A shght boiling.
e.An ' If the meat seems likely to be tainted before it can be
dressed, the cook must 'give it a plaw' to check the progress of
decay, and, if possible, keep it a httle while at a stand. Suf. e.An.
N. & Q. (1866) II. 325.
[Plaw, ' bullicio, ebullicio,' Prompt.]
PLAYCH, PLAYDING, see Pleach, Plaiding.
PLAYFULSOME, arf;". Wor. Playful. s.Wor. (H.K.)
PLAYGIN, sb. Nhb.' Also written plaigan ; and in
form placan. A piece of broken earthenware or crockery
used by children as a plaything ; a corruption of ' play-
lakin(g.'
PLAYING AT THE PITCHER, phr. Sc. The game
of ' hop-scotch.'
Edb. The lassies out of doors had games of their own, chief
among which was the skipping-rope and the 'pallely,' the latter
known politely in Edinburgh language as ' playing at the pitcher,'
but perhaps more universally known as 'hop scotch,' Inglis Ain
Flk. (1895) 98.
PLAYING-BAIRN, sb. Obs. Sc. A playfellow.
Ayr. When he and my grandfather were playing-bairns they
had spent many a merry day, Galt Gilhaize (1823) iv.
FLAYKE, see Playock.
PLAYOCK, sb. Sc. Also written playick Abd. ; and
in forms plack Rnf. ; plaig, plaik Sc. (Jam.) ; playke Sc.
[ple'ak, plek.] A plaything, toy ; a trifle.
Sc. Woman, thou'rt but a bairnlie playke, Wi nought but beauty's
blossom, Cunningham Sngs. (1813) 50. Abd. Pictures and playicks
a thousand and mair, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 249. Cld.
(Jam.) Rnf. Send me word with Johnny what placks to buy for
Mary, WoDROW Carres. (1706-31) I. 227, ed. 1843. Ayr. As for
the balance, ye'll just keep it to buy a snuff-box or ony ither
playock that may please you better, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822)
xxviii. Lnk.Siccan trash! fit playocks fora wean, NicHOLSON/rfv//s
(1870) 87. Edb. Whaur the wisdom is that can abide being made
a pla3'ock o', I wotna, Beatty Secretar (1897) 207. Rxb. (Jam.)
Draf. That's but a swatch o' the plaiks that they play, Reid Poems
(1894) 48. Gall. 'Tis but a bairn's plaik at any rate, Crockett
Grey Man (1896) xi. Kcb. There are wee weans' plaiks laid care-
fully by, Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 90.
PLAYRIFE, adj. Sc. Playful.
The saying was verified, that old folk are twice bairns ; for
in such plays, pranks and projects, she was as playrife as a very
lassie at her sampler (Jam.).
Hence Playrifety, sb. playfulness.
Sc. A bit dash o' skeely advice about daffin' and playrifety, Roy
Horseman's Wd. (1895) x. Ayr. A laddie . . . like his grandfather
... as a kittlen's like a cat, the only difference being a wee thought
mair o' daflSng and playrifety, Galt Entail (1823) xci.
PLAYSOME, adj. Sc. Yks. Wor. Hmp. Dor. [pic-
sam.] Playful, sportive.
Sc. (Jam., s.v. Playrife). Hdg. Twa playsome foalies wi' our
mithers, Lumsden Poems (1896) 23. n.Yks.2 Wor. For all that
he be playsome and peart (H.K.). s.Hmp. He . . . said he were
only playsome, and that 'tweren't vice, Verney L. Lisle (1870)
xxviii. Dor. Zummer winds, in playsome flight, Barnes Poems
(ed. 1869-70) 89.
PLAYWARD, adj. Dor. Som. [ple'-wsd.] Playful.
Dor. The maid was a poor windling thing, and though a play-
ward piece o' flesh when he married her, 'a socked and sighed,
and went out like a snoff! Hardy Two on a Tower (^1882) i.
Hence Playwardness, sb. playfulness.
Som. 'Twere only gaiety o' heart and playwardness after all,
Raymond Souls 0/ Cider-land {igoi) 63.
PLAZE, see Please.
PLAZEN, sb. pi. Stf. Not. Rut. Lei. Nhp. War. Shr.
Oxf. Brks. Hnt. Hmp. Wil. Som. Also in forms placean
Lei.; placet! Not. Oxf. Brks. Hmp.; plazens Not.; pleacen
Wil. Dial. //. form of ' place.'
s.Stf. Hurryin' away From one o' them plazen, Pinnock Blk. Cy.
Ann. (1895) 13. Not. (J.H.B.), s.Not. (J.P.K.) Rut.' The land's
still cracked in plazen from the drought. Lei. (Hall.) ; We'd better
keep our own plazen (C.E.) ; Lei.', Nhp." =, War. (J.R.W.) Shr.i
Plazen's none so plentiful as what they wuz. Oxf., e.Erks.
(W.H.Y.), Hnt. (T.P.F.), Hmp. (HE.) WU. Slow Gl. (1892).
n.Wil. In th' zecret pleacen o' th' stairs. Kite Sng. Sol. (c. i860)
ii. 14. Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
PLEA, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Lan. Also written
plee Sc. Dun; and in forms pley Sc. n.Cy.; ply Sc.
[pli.] 1. sb. A lawsuit.
Sc. Nae plea is best, Ferguson Prov. (1641) No. 668. Mry.
Hay Linlie (1851) 53. Bnfif. Lawyers . . . May lade their pleas
wi' sicken clogs, As thae to herry, Taylor Poems (1787) 10.
Abd. Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 89. Slg. So this is the end of
our cat, dog, and plea, Galloway Poems (1792) 66. Dmb. Every-
body kens it's uncanny to ha'e a plea wi' him. Cross Disruption
(1844) v. Rnf. You won the plea, M'Gilvray /'oems (ed. 1862)
75. Ayr. This gave rise to many pleas, and contentious appeals
and bickerings, before the magistrates, Galt Provost (1822) xxvii.
Lnk. Graham Writings (1883) II. 83. Lth. Desperate debts and
pleas unlucky, Macneill Poet. IVks. (1801) 169, ed. 1856. Edb.
To pick a plea you try'd your skill. On him right snell, Liddle
Poems (1821) 134. Dmf. 'Twas first this plea, an' than that plea,
Till ilka pun' o' debt was three, Thom Jock o' Knowe (1878) 21.
Kcb. WoDROW See. Set. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 384. Dur. Raihe
Charters, &c., Finchale (1837) 37.
Hence Plea-house, sb., obs., a court-house, law-court.
Edb. He's seldom at hame when there's ony o' the plea-houses
open, Scott Midlothian (1818) v.
2. The cause or subject of a lawsuit.
s.Sc. Tho' a plea be past sae slim. It's no the law that ye maun
blame But crafty scribes, T. Scott Poems (1793) 333. Rnf. To
ridd, and clear. And judge a case, had been a plea For twenty
year, M'Gilvray Poems (ed. 1862) 157.
3. A quarrel, debate ; strife, wrangling.
Sc. Nought's to be won at woman's hand Unless ye give her
a' the plea, Ramsay Tea-Table Misc. (1724) I. no, ed. 1871 ; But
aye the mair when they fell out, The sairer was their plea, Scott
Minstrelsy (1802) III. 13, ed. 1848. Sh.I. I could hear. .. da
plee o' da young skories as dey shaestid der midders trow da air
fir a crab, Sh. News (July 8, 1899). Cai.i Elg. Macguldroch
straight forbade the pley, And ga'e them a' a sang, Couper
Poetry (1804) II. 61. Bch. O worthy Greeks ! thought ye like me,
This pley sud seen be deen, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 14. Abd.
There was like to be a ply between them an' the Forbeses, Michie
Deeside Tales (1872) 120. Per. WoDROW Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed.
1845-7) I- 77- Fif. To end this pley, and this debate, Take
Homer's canny classic gate, Tennant Papisity (1827) 121. Rnf.
BIythe Jock's an' sullen Nannie's plea to clear, Finlayson Rhymes
(1815) 48. Ayr. Warne also y byreman, and y° women, to
witness q" of thame beginnis the pley, Wodrow Soc. Sel. Biog.
(ed. 1845 7) I. 47. Edb. Now at the door they'll raise a plea ;
Crack on, my lads! — for flyting's free, Fergusson Poems (1773)
148, ed. 1785. Feb. Whan ye're drunk, ye're picken pleas,
Affleck Poet. Wis. (1836) 122. n.Cy. Border Gl. (Coll. L L.B.)
Hence to get a ply, phr. to be scolded. Mry. Gl. Surv.
(Jam.) 4. v. To go to law ; to plead, sue.
Sc, He has been pleaing in the court for fifteen years, Scott
Redg. (1824) Lett, xiii ; The case fell asleep when her grand-
father dee'd. And few folk remembered it e'er had been plea'd,
OuTRAM Lyrics (1857) 115. Dmb. Scorn the love for whilk sae
mony plea, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 41. Rnf. Thrice more than
all ye plea'd about. You're left to pay, M'Gilvray Poems (ed.
PLEACH
[545]
PLEASURE
1862) 39. Lan. Aw'm like to plea poverty, Lahee Traits Lan.
Flk. (1887) 9.
5. To quarrel, wrangle.
Cai.'^ Ayr. She would a' said when we were a' pleain',—
' Noo, weans, if ye be quate, I'll tell ye a story aboot Burns,'
Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 197.
PLEACH, V. and sb. In gen. dial, use in Eng. Also
in forms plaich w.Yks.* se.Wor.^ Bdf. ; platch Hrf. ;
plauch Stf.i; playch s.Wor.i Hrf.'* [plitj, pi it J.] 1. v. To
bind or ' lay ' a hedge ; to intertwine the branches of trees.
Cf plash, v}
n.Cy. Grose (1790) Suppl. ; N.Cy.i, w.Yks.2, s.Chs.^, Stf. (K.),
Stf.i, Der.'2, Not. (L.C.M.), Lei.i, Nhp.2 War. (J.R.W.) ; War.^
In pleaching the unplaited branches are 'laid,' and, if necessary,
pegged, on the bank towards the ditch, forming a protection to
the hedge while again growing. w.Wor.^, s.Wor. (H.K.) Shr.
Ray (1691) ; Shr.i I'll back John to plaich a 'edge 66th any mon,
'e does it like basket-work ; Shr.* Hrf. ' Plaching' — that is laying
old hedges. The plants are cut almost through in order to en-
courage the young shoots to spring from the old stumps, Marshall
Review (1818) II. 276; Hrf.i^ Rdn. Morgan Wds. (1881). GIo.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) ; Glo.'^ w.Cy. Longman's Mag.
(Apr. 1898) 545. WU.>
Hence (i) Plaichud, sb. a stem partially cut through
and woven into the hedge in ' laying ' ; (2) Pleached-walk,
sb. a walk under intertwining trees ; (3) Pleacher, sb., see
(i) ; (4) to be pleached, phr. to get married.
(i) se.Wor.i (2) Bdf. (J.W.B.) (3) se.Wor.i The thick stems
in a hawthorn hedge, which, when a hedge is 'laid,' are left at
regular intervals as supports to the smaller wood. They are cut
nearly through with a ' hacker ' or ' bill-hook ' a few inches from
the ground, and fixed in an obUque position. s.Wor. (H.K.),
s.Wor.i, Shr.i, Hrf.*, Glo.*, Wil.' (4) w.Cy. Longman's Mag.
(Apr. 1898) 545.
2. To spread thickly over.
s.Chs.i Yoa- plee-chn dhii biit-iir on shai'mfiil, \ia mey gy'etin
a'if u kraayn u dish.
3. Fig. To rain blows on.
Ahy)l yuw mi ii raam-piun aayt)n dhfl ej, iin pleech iipon' yu
[I'll yow me a rampion ait'n the hedge, an' pleach upon y6l, ib.
4. sb. A branch of hawthorn brought down and laid
horizontally in a fence to thicken a weak part.
Suf.i It is notched at the point of tact with the earth, which is
loosened to encourage the pleach to strike root, and to which it
is kept fixed down by a hooked stick or peg.
[1. To plasshe or pleche a hedge, Fitzherbert Husb.
(1534) 80. OF r. plecier, pkssier, 'plier, entrelacer.']
PLEACHY, adj. ? Obs. Nhp. Mellow, powdery.
The old propt haystack's pleachy brow, Clare Rur. Muse (1835)
77 ; While o'er the pleachy lands of mellow brown, ib. 26; Nhp.'
PLEAD, V. and sb. Sc. Cum. Yks. Shr. Som. Also
written plede Sc. ; and in form plade Shr.^ [plid, pliad,
pled.] I. Gram, forms. 1. Pret. : (i) Plad, (2) Pled.
(i) Shr.i The Missis 66d a turned 'er off, but the Maister, 'e
plad for 'er. (2) Sc. He pled his own cause, Mitchell Scoitic.
(1799) 65. Cum.i He pled hard for his life. w.Yks. He pled for
him just same as if he wor his awn lad, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar.
14, 1896) ; w.Yks.^ Shr.' 'E pled 60th me to gie the poor chap
another chance.
2. pp. Pled. W.Yks.'
II. Dial. uses. 1. v. In phr. to plead pardon, to ask pardon.
Shr.i Well, I tell yo' whad, if yo' dunna plade pardon, yo'n
lose yore plack, fur I 'eard the Maister say so. w.Som.i Nif thee
art'n a fool, thee't go and plead pardon, and ax'n vor t'overlook it.
2. To argue, debate, quarrel.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 382. Lth. Strathesk
More Bils (ed. 1885) 227. Shr.' Tummas an' me han bin pladin'
an' cross-pladin' about them apples ; 'e says as they wun got
afore Miamas, an' I say as they wunna.
3. sb. A quarrel, strife. Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang.
(1882) 382.
PLEAF(F, PLEAGH, see Plough.
PLEAICH,s6. N.I.^ T:h&f^shingirog,Lophiuspiscatorius.
PLEAK, PLEAN, see Plough, Plain, v.
PLEANY-PIE, sb. n.Cy. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Also
written pleanipie ne.Lan.' ; p'eanypye N.Cy.' w.Yks.;
and in forms pleanie-piannet w.Yks.; pleanie piet Lakel.*;
pleany-pyat n.Lan.' ; pleenpie w.Yks.' [pliani-pai.]
VOL. IV.
1. A tell-tale ; a gossip, lit. a complaining magpie. See
Plain, V.
N.Cy.i, Lakel.* Wm. Pleanie-piet, pleanie-piet sits e t'kirk
steel, A scab on his arce as big as t'miU wheel (B.K.). s.Wm.
(J.A.B.) -w.Yks. Willan List IVds. (1811) ; w.Yks.' 'A pleean-
pie tit, Thy tongue sal be slit, An iv'ry dog i' th' town Sal hev
a bit.' It is usual to slit the tongues of mag-pies in order to make
them articulate. n.Lan.', ne.Lan.'
2. A complainer. w.Yks. (C.W.D.)
PLEASANCE, sb. Obs. or obsol. Sc. Pleasure,
amusement, delight.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 296. Ayr. He . . .
feigned so long a false pleasance, that he almost became pleased
in reality, Galt Gilhaize (1823) iii. Gall. There was however
little pleasance or laughing, Crockett Grey Man (1896) 338.
PLEASE, V. and sb. Sc. Dur. Yks. Lan. Chs. Ken.
Dev. Cor. Also written pleease w.Yks.^ Chs.'; and in
forms plaze Chs.' ; plaise Cor. ; plaize nw.Dev.^ [pliz,
plisz, pliz.] 1. V. Obs. To relish, hke.
Rnf. Mr. Wilson did not please the sentence, Wodrow Corres.
(1709-31) III. 53, ed. 1843. _
2. To pay for or return the value of anything received ;
to give ' a quid pro quo ' ; to satisfy.
n.Yks.' ne.Yks.i My muther says mud sha hev ^ dhrop o'
brandy an' sha'U pleease ya for't. e.Yks. I'll please thee for't,
Kendall God's Hand {i8qo) 11. w.Yks.i I'll please you for't;
w.Yks.3 Tell him to do that for me, and I'll please him well.
ne.Lan.i Chs.' If you will arrange this for me with so and-so,
I'll please you. Now, if you'll get that farm forme, I'll please you.
3. To amuse. Ken. That bit seemed to please him ^D.WL.).
4. Phr. (i) please sure, without doubt ; (2) — to have,
what do you say ? (3) — yes, or no, yes, or no.
(i) Cor. ' Nowmaister's vexed,' says Betsey Jane, ' What fools
we be, plaise sure,' Forfar Poems (1885) 17. (2) Dev. N. &^ Q.
(1879) 5th S. xi. 6, 116. nw.Dev.' A corruption of ' What will you
please to have?' Used as an interrogation, meaning simply
' What ? ' ' What do you say ? ' (3) e.Dur.' A schoolchild's answer
to his teacher. ' Tommy, do you know your lesson ? ' ' Please yes.'
5. sb. In phr. to fiae nae please, to have no pleasure, to
be unable to be pleased.
nw.Abd. Fan they come first to sair the frem, They hae nae
please ava, Goodwife (1867) st. 8.
[2. Once ended thy haruest, let none be begilde. Please
such as did helpe thee, man, woman, and childe, Tusser
Husb. (1580) 132.]
PLEASEMENT, s6. N.I.' [pli-zment.] Satisfaction,
gratification.
I was glad to hear it, but perhaps it's no pleasement to you.
I'll do it to your pleasement.
PLEASH, see Plash, v>
PLEASING, sb. Chs. Also written pleeasin s.Chs.^
[plia'zin.] Choice, arbitrament.
Chs.i A little boy said to his uncle ; ' Uncle, whose pleasin is
it what we have for dinnerl yours or my aunt's ? ' s.Chs.' Pol-i,
aa-r Jim- sez yoa' bin-^u tii goa- dhu wai-ks. — It i)nii iz plee'uzin
wedh-ur ahy miin goa' tir noa [' Polly, ahr Jim says yo binna to
go the wakes.' ' It inna his pleeasin' whether I mun go or no'].
PLEASTER, see Pleezter.
PLEASURE, V. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Nhp. Brks.
w.Cy. Dev. Amer. Also in forms pleazur Brks.' ; pleeazr
n.Yks.*; pleesure Sc. ; plesser Lan.; plezzer w.Yks.'
Nhp.' [pirz3(r, ple'Z3(r.] 1. To please, afford pleasure
to ; to gratify.
Sc. Errol canna pleasure her. Nor can no other man, Maidment
Garland {\%2.d^ 34, ed. 1868. e.Sc. She kens I'd do onything to
pleasure her, Setoun R. Urquhart {i8g6) ii. Abd. There's naething
mortal man could dae to pleasure ye 'at I widna try, Abd. IVkly.
Free Press (June 25, 1898). Per. I'll strive to pleasure my sweet
lass With kisses and caresses, Nicol Poems (1766) 22. Ayr.
I was under no obligation to obey them mair than pleasured
myself, Galt Proi/os? 1,1822') vii. Lnk. I'll dee to pleesure neither
deil nor deacon, Murdoch Readings (1895) II. 14 . Edb. Gif Mistress
Ainslie would pleasure us a bit, 1 would speak with you alone,
Beatty Secretar (1897") 57. Gall. All to pleasure my mother,
C-ROZVLETS Grey Man 1,1896) 328. Dwn. Gorge the meats intended us,
thedead, to pleasure? SAVAGE-ARMSTR0NGZJa//arfs(i90i) 41. Nhb.
To pleasure Marion I had ta'en uncommon pains wi' plantin' mair
bits o' flower roots i' the garden, Jones Nhb. (1871) 63. n.Yks.*
4A
PLEAT
[5461
PLENNY
' I'll pleazr my eye, if I pester my heart,' as the woman said who
preferred to marry the man that was the handsomest, but not
otherwise desirable. Lan. Oi kneaw it ud pleasure yo, parson,
Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) HI. 81.
2. To enjoy oneself; to take a holiday trip for pleasure.
Gen. in phr. to go a pleasuring.
■w.Yks. O dooant gooa a pleasurin' we onny sooat a chaps,
Shevvild Ann. (1848) 5 ; w.Yks.^ ' Whear's thy husband?' ' He's
gone a plezzerin.' Nhp.i Our folks are gone a plezzerin. Brks.i
If a goes a-pleazurin' about zo much a want be aayble to paay his
waay much longer. w.Cy. I haven't bin pleasurin' in a trap since
'lection time, Cornh. Mag. (Apr. 1895) 396. [Amer. I'm going a
pleasurin to-day in the Custom-House boat, Sam Slick Clock-
maker (1836) ist S. xiii.]
Hence Plesserin, sb. the act of taking pleasure ; a
pleasure-party, a holiday trip.
Uls. She's overly fond of treats and pleasurings, Hamilton Bo^
(1896) 20. Lan. We seede no mak o sens wi' knockin ursels op
wi' plesserin', Ormerod Fellcyfro Rachde (1864) iv. Dev. Wance
to the 'ospital and wance to Susanna's sister's burying, nayther
zackly pleasurin's, as yu might zay, Longman' s Mag. (June 1901)
145 ; The missus her dawn't 'old wi' pleasurin' much, ib. 146.
[Amer. Late that fall my mother gave a dance, a rude but hearty
pleasuring. Cent. Mag. (Mar. 1901) 787.]
[1. Be readie to pleasure me, as I would wish, Tusser
Husb. (1580) 15.]
PLEAT, V. Sc. Cum. Yks. [pllt, pliat.] A dial, form
of ' plait.'
Bwk. We pleated wreaths o' varied hues To bind our lassie's
hair, Calder Poems (1897) 91. Cum.'' His legs appeart to git
pleatit, an' he tumelt. e.Yks.i, m.Yks."-
PLEAZUR, see Pleasure.
PLECK, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Lei. War. Wor.
Mtg. Hrf Mon. Glo. Dor. Wil. Also written plec Lan. ;
plek Chs.^ Mtg. [plek.] 1. A place.
n.Cy. Grose (1790); Trans. Phil. Soc. (1858) 166. Yks. Ray
(1691). -w.Yks. Here is a good pleck to sit deawn an' rest (D.L.) ;
■w.Yks. 2 You never saw such a pleck in your life. Lan. Aw laft
th' pleck nowt bo' a yep o' cinders, Brierley Tales (1854) 16 ; A
long narrow pleck, like a shootin gallery, CleGG Sketches (1895)
44 ; Lan.1 Chs. Wyn tak a luck a th' kannick's pleck, Chs. N. & Q.
(Oct. 29, 1881) I. 173; Chs.i This is the very pleck ; Chs.^, Der.12
nw.Der.' That's a queer pleck.
2. A plot of ground, small enclosure, meadow. Cf.
plack, sb.'^
n.Cy.ApIeckofbeans(K.). Lei.\War.=3 Wor. Allies ^k%F//6-
Lore (1840) 437, ed. 1852. s.Wor. Porson Quaint Wds. (1B75) ;
s.Wor.i, Hrf.i^ Mon. Morton Cyc/o. ^^ra. (1863). Glo.i ne.Glo.
Wheer's George ? . . I told um to meet me down i' the pleck,
i/oMSfAoW Wrfs. (1885) No. ccxvii. 141. Dor.' Wil. Two plecke of
void ground, Wil. Rent Roll, temp. Elie. in N. ^ Q. (1865) 3rd S.
vii. 277.
3. A hay-making term : a square bed of dried grass.
Chs.' 3 Mtg. John, go down after dinner and throw that piece of
hay into pleks(E.R.M.).
[2. ME. and MDu. plecke, a plot of ground.]
PLECK, see Pleg.
PLECK-PLECK, sb. Sc. The cry of the oyster-
catcher, Haematopus osfrilegus.
Bnfif. By the seaside he would hear by night . . . the pleck-
pleck of the oyster- catcher, as they came down from their
breeding-grounds to the shore. Smiles A'a/wn (1876J 125, ed. 1893.
PLED, PLEDE, see Plaid, Plead.
PLEDGE, V. Sc. In phr. ye pledge, you may be sure.
Kcb. The train was ready for the lowe — A weel-laid train ye
pledge, Armstrong Inghside (1890) 43.
PLEDGE-HOUSE, sb. Obs. Sc. A house where
debtors were confined.
Lnk. Mr. Webster and his two friends continued in that ugly hole
full three weeks, and after that removed to the pledge-house, where
debtors used to be put, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 485, ed. 1828.
PLEE,s6. Sh.L [plL] 1. The cry of a bird.
The plee 0' the skorie, the birr o' the snipe, Spence Flk-Lore
(1899)14.
2. The young of every species of gull, imitative of their
cry. S. & Ork.i
PLEE, PLEEN, see Play, v}, Plea, Plain, v., adj.
PLEENGIE, s/!>. Rnf. (Jam.) The young of the herring-
gull, Larus argentatus. Cf. plirrie.
PLEENPIE, see Pleanypie.
PLEEP, w.ands6. Sc. [plip.] 1. v. Of birds: to chirp.
Sh.I. Sh. News (June 19, 1897). Cai.^
Hence Pleepin, (i) vbl. sb. the chirping of a bird ; (2)
ppl. adj. chirping.
(i) Sh.I. Dere wis a peesterin' an' a neesterin', a pleepin' an' a
cheepin', Stewart Tales (1892) 252. (2) S. & Ork.i
2. To speak in a querulous, complaining tone of voice.
S. & Ork.', Cai.' Hence Pleepin, ppl. adj. complaining,
querulous, pleading poverty or sickness. S. & Ork.'
3. sb. The plaintive chirping of sea-fowl.
Sh.I. Da pleeps alang da shore. Burgess Rasmie (1892) 61 ; I
link I could hear da pleeps o' hit whin it wis i' his stameck, Sh.
News (June 19, 1897).
PLEESH-PLASH, PLEESK, PLEETER, see Plish-
plash, Plesk, Plouter.
PLEG, V. Yks. Also in form pleck w.Yks. [pleg,
plek.] A schoolboys' term : to run away, play truant.
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 14, 1896) ; w.Yks.^
PLEIN, PLEK, PLEM, see Plain, v., Pleck, Plim, v?
PLENISH, V. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Der. Also
written plennish Cum. [ple'nij.] 1. v. To fill, furnish,
stock, supply.
Sc. Sco/rasms (1787) 67. Abd. Alexander /oA«)y Ci'iA (1871)
X. Kcd. I'll hae the lass wi' the shaif o' bank notes To plenish the
toun o' bonnie Buchairn, Kinloch Ballad Bk. (1827') 119, ed.
1868. Frf. The tradesman bodies o' oor clachan end Had biggit
an' plenished it a'. Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 67. Per. Alang
wild shores . . . Plenish'd wi' nocht but shells and tangle wreck,
Haliburton Furth in Field (1894) 99. s.Sc. A little money to
enable the young couple to plenish their little domicile, Wilson
Tales (1836) II. 257. Rnf. Finlayson Rhymes (1815) iii. Ayr.
Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 281. Lnk. Watson Poems (1853)
48. Dmf. In a world sae weel plenished as this, Thom Jock o'
Knowe (1878) 37. Gall. Responsible, God-fearin' men, . . wi'
farms weel plenished and siller in the bank, Crockett Kit Ken-
nedy (1899) 12. N.Cy.i, Cum. (E.W.P.), n.Yks.12* m.Yks.»
Plenish that bairn her larl water-kit. Der. A lamp plenished wi'
too little oil, Gilchrist Nicholas and Mary (1899) 73.
Hence Plenishment, sb. furnishing.
Sc. As if the gift of the gab is plenishment enough in marriage,
Keith Prue (1895) 172.
2. To repair, renew. w.Yks.' 3. sb. Furniture.
Dmf. A house my ain, o' plenish fu', Quinn Heather (1863) 225.
PLENISHING, sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Also in
forms planishin, pleenishin, plennissin, plinisan Sc.
[ple'nijin.] Furnishing, furniture, stock, goods generally.
Sc. Tho' they've nae planishin' amaist ava. Shepherd's Wedding
(1789) 13 ; Goods and gear, corn, cattle, . . outsight and insight
plenishing, Scott Waverley (1814) xv. Or.I. I receivit The House
with some gudeplenishingof beds and buirdSjPETERKiN /Vote (1822)
50. ne.Sc. The bride's plinisan is taken home with as much show
as possible, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 99. Per. A' wudna come
thro' the like o' yon for half the pleenishin o' Hillocks, Ian Mac-
laren Brier Bush (1895) 218. Fif. She was coming frae Dundee
wi' the last o' her plenishin', Meldrum Grey Mantle (1896) 298.
Dmb. I have some plenishing ready already, but naething like
enyeuch. Cross Disruption (1844) xxxii. Rnf. Young Pictures
(1865) 147. Ayr. That will help to get some bits o' plenishing for
a house, Galt Entail (1823) xxvii. Lnk. Wardrop /. JWaMz'soK
(1881) 10. e.Lth. The new modes in plenishin' — clocks, knick-
nacks,&c.,MucKLEBACKiT/?Ajv»«es(i885)i2. Edb.Theirplenishing
was good, substantial, plain, M"Dowall Poems (1830) 185. Slk.
The free gift o' the best o' the Duke's farms, wi' a' the plen-
ishin, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 296. Dmf. Ha'e ye
got your meal and plenishing laid in ? Johnstone Poems (1820)
130. Gall. There's some gear an' plenishin' brunt, Crockett
Raiders (1894) xii. Ir. Not a penny less than fourscore of pounds
— not to mention plenishing, Cent. Mag. (Aug. 1899) 626. N.I.',
N.Cy.' Nhb.' Thor's a cairt load o' plenishin gyen by. Dur. The
last touch that was to be added to its plenishing was 'Lisbeth's
sampler, Longman's Mag. (July 1897) 258. n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^She
has brass tiv her fortune and lots o' plenishing. m.Yks.' They
will bide some plenishing.
Hence Plenishing-wain, sb. a wagon loaded with
furniture belonging to a bride. N.Cy.', n.Yks.*
PLENK, PLENNET, see Plonk, v., Planet.
PLENNA, PLENNY, see Planny.
PLENSHING-NAIL
[547]
PLIM
PLENSHING-NAIL, sb. Sc. (Jam.) A large nail, such
as those used in nailina; down floors to the joists.
PLENSTANES, PLENT(E, see Plainstanes, Plaint.
PLENTY, sb., adj. and adv. Sc. Irel. Yks. Lei. Oxf.
Mid. Ken. Sur. Som. Dev. Cor. Amer. Also in form
plintylr. [ple-nti.] 1. sb. A sufficient quantitj-, enough.
Lel.i A common nursery-rhyme, used in relation to the distribu-
tion of fruit or ' goodies,' runs thus : • One's none, Two's some.
Three's a many. Four's a plenty. Five's a little hundred.' Ken. I
thought tlie kettle seemed to h.ive a plenty in it. I'm sure he's
got a plenty ^D.W.L.); Ken.i There, tliere, that's a plent.v.
w.Soni.^ You be welcome to so many's you be a mind to, and
there'll be a plenty a-left arterwards. No more this time o' zittin
down, thank'ee, I've a-had a plentj-. Cor. A plenty of silver hair
fell over his fur collar, ' Q.' Splaidid Spur (_ed. 1893'' 3.
2. adj. Plentiful.
Sc. Horses . . . are now as plenty as blackberries, Scott Jf'atfrin
(1814) xlix. Slk. It is weel kenned how plenty the trouts are in
your ain water, Hogg Tales (1838^ 63, ed. 1866. Ir. Whose
aquils ... he consaited you wouldn't find plintier in the world
than an apple sittin' on a sloe-bush, B.*rlow Liscotmel v^Soj^ 75.
w.Yks. (J.W.) w.Som.i Hurts [whortleberries' be ter'ble plenty
'pon our hill de year. Makin' a new cellar for to hold the cider,
'cause 'lis likin to be so plenty de year i,May a6, 1881). Dev. Eggs
is getting plenty now. O'Neill Idyls (.iSca^ 8.
8. adv. Sufficiently.
ShJ. Hit's first rate tae, an' plentj' sweet, S/i. .Vi.ts ^Sept. 18,
i8o7">. e.Yts.' That's plenty good aneeaf fo' thoo .1/i^. add,
(T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.") Oxf. It's plenty good enough for me
(CO.). w.BUd. He don't want to grow no more, he's plenty tall
enough (W.P.M.^. Snr.^ It's plenty big enough for all I want.
Som. Mrs. Joshua Pettigrew . , . had plenty enough head-piece to
save her heels, Rayhokd Ttyplittia ^,ISo5' 44. i^Amer. 'They er
plentj- nigh enough. Cfnl. Ma^. (,Tan. 1866^ 430.]
PLENYIE, PLENZIE, PLEOCH, see Plainyie, Plough.
PLEOCHAN, sb. Sh.l. A dial, form of ' plough." S.
& Ork.i
PLEOUGH, see Plongh.
PLEP.sft. ! Obs. n.Sc,(jAM.") Anj-thing weak or feeble.
Hence Pleppit, adj. feeble ; not stiff.
PLERT. PLESERY, see Plart Plessery.
PLESH, PLESHER, see Plash, c•.J^ Plash, v.^
PLESK, :'. Sc. (Jam.) Also in form pleesk. To dash
and wade throuch water. Cf plash, :'.^
PLESSERY,"i;|^. Obs. Lin. Also written plesery.
A flower-garden ; a pleasure place.
(H.\Li."> ; I4n.' The plessery looks better now than ever.
PLESTOR, sA. Obs. Hmp. A village green.
This Plej-stow, !l\^is ludonim, or plaj--place [• La Plaj-stow ' in
erant of 1271] is a level area near the church . . . known now bj-
the name of tlie Flestor, White Se'^tvr-ue ^i 7SS' aao. ed. 1853 ; .\t
the fourth corner of the Plestor, or area, near the church, ib. 144.
[OE. pUg-stdii\ a place for play.]
PLET, see Plait, Plat, .idj., sh.''
PLETHAN, V. aiid adj. Cor. Also written plethon.
1. :■. To braid ; to plait.
Her cruddlj- hair was plethoned up, Thom.xs Rjf.digal Rkynsts
(1805" It ; Cor.i=s
S. To make a wattle fence. Cor.^ 3. adj. Of a fence:
made of wattles, ib.
[OCor. pMh, a plait, braid, \\-reath (Wiloams).]
PLETT. see Plait, Plat s*.^
PLETTIN. PLEU. see Platten. Plough.
PLEUAT, s6. Rnf. (Jam.) A green turf or sod for
covering houses. See Plood.
PLEUCH, PLEUF. PLEUGH. see Plough.
PLEUGHT. PLEUK(K. see Plonte, Plook.
PLEURISY STITCH, phr. Chs.^ The pleurisy.
A man is never said to be suffering from pleurisj-, but that he
has ' getten a pleurisj- stitch.'
PLEUTERj see Plouter.
PLEVY. J*, w.'i'ks.s [pliA-i] 1. A brickla5-ers
hanmier with a cutting edge. 2. A tool used in plough-
ing, to set the ploughsnare right.
PLE'WlF, PLEWGH. see Plongh.
PLEWK, PLEY, PLEYN, see Plook, Plea, Plain. :■.
PLICHEN, 5*.^ Obs, Fi£ (Jam.) A plight, condition.
A sad plichen.
PLICHEN, s6.= }Obs. w.Fif. (Um.) A peasant.
PLID, sb. Dev. [plid.] Mud, "mire, dirt.
BowRiNG Lang. (1866) I. pt. V. 35; Th' parson's gaed stug i'
th" plid agin, Madox-Brown IhiaU BliitJi (1876') bk. i. ii ; Dev.'
I was a stugg'd in plid — I never ■was in sich a pickle avore, 19.
PLIERS, 56. Obs. Glo. Also written plyers. A kind of
tongs used by smokers for taking up a lighted wood coal.
Grosk (1700' MS. add. \ii..') ; Horae Subsiaiut ^1777) 331.
PLIES, sb. pi. Obs. Sc. Thin strata of freestone.
Lnk. Separated from each other bj- a little claj- or mica, Ure
His/. RuthtrgUn (1793^ 286 i_Jam."i.
PLIF(F, see Plough.
PLIGHTLY, rti/:'. ne.Lan.' [plltli.] Diligently.
PLM, sb., v.'^ and adj} Lan. Chs. Der. Lei. War. Wor.
Shr. Hrf. Glo. [plim.] L sb. A plummet. se.Wor.',
Hrf.' 2. Conip. Plim-bob, a plumb-line, plummet.
Lan. Aw've lost mv plim-bob. Brierley Irkdalt (^1868') 1^9.
e.Lan.1, Chs.', s.Chs.l." War.s, s.Wor.', se.'Wor.l, Shr.i, Glo.i
8. ;'. To fathom with a plummet ; to adjust by a plumb-
line. Chs.' =^ Lei.S ^Var.^ se.Wor.', Shr.V Hrf.'
Hence Plimmer, sb. a plummet. 4. To bend. Wor.
(R.M.E.) 5. adj. Perpendicular; straight; also used
advb. Cf plum, adj.'^ 1.
eian.i, Chs.'-^ s.Chs.' When a person holds himself ridicu-
louslj- straight, he is said to be ' about two inches above plim.'
nw.Der.l. Lei' War. Bham U'klr. Post (June 10. 1893'!; War.i^s,
■Wor. i^H.K.) s.Wor. The grass is so bathj-, the scythe doesn't
come out of it plim, Porsox Quaint U'ds. ^1875^. Shr.i The o\-en
inna set plim to the grate. Hrf.' A hare goes plim ; Hrf.-
6. Smooth, neat, well-trimmed ; also used advb.
Hrf.^Itwent asplim ascouldbe. How plim that's going. Glo.'
7. Pliable. Wor. (R.M.E.), Hrf (Hall.)
PLIM. V.'. adj.' and adv. Rut. Lei. Nhp. War. Wor.
Hrf Gmg. Pern. Glo. Oxf Brks. Mid. Hmp. LW. Wil.
Dor. Som. Dev. Also written plym Gmg. Brks.' : and in
forms plaum Rut.' : plem Som. [plim.] 1. :'. To swell
out, increase in bulk ; to cause to swell : freq. with out, up.
Rnt.' Lei.' Being asked if cur bread plimraed in the milk-por-
ridge. I said, • No, Mrs., it was tough.' Butterlly wings require
to be phmmed bj- the air before the insect can take to flight.
Nhp.' It is good rice, it plims so well. War.= The bacon plims
well in the boiling ; War.^, s.Wor.' se.Wor.' Bacon killed in the
prime of the moon plims ; that killed in the wane of the moon
boils out. Hrf.- The bacon plimm'd. Gmg. Collins Gou: Dial.
in Trans. Phil. 5or, ,1848-50'! IV. ^22. Glo. The mutton h.-,s
plimmed well ,.VB.^ ; Glo.'- Oxf. It will plim out well when it's
cooked ^.A..L,M.); Oxf Plums ina pudding are said to plim in the
boiling. Brks. ^M. J.B."» ; Brks.' 'The leathern strap be got
plymmed an' wur.t work backerds an" vorruds in the buckle no
moor.' Seeds arc said to have ' plj"mmed ' when swollen readj-
to sprout w.Mid. i^W.P.M.^ Hmp. i_H.E.\- Hmp.' Fowls or
ducks are said to ' plim up well ' in roasting. I.W. i^J.D.R.) ;
L'W.'; I.W.= That bit of pork'll plim in bwilen. Wil. He wur a
teenj- little thing shrammed up wi' cold, but he's been plimming
out since. Swinste.\d ParisJt on Wh/els vl8Q7^ 202 ; WiL' Dor.
Don't that make your bosom plim" H.\rdy r.-5j' ,1891^ jj ; Dor.'
Som. Jenxings C\v'. Dial. a.Eng. , 18.25" : The vrcg thought he'd
plem out hes carkus wi' th.-it.AcRiKLER R/:\'t!/-s(iS-2'' 21. w.Som.'
Poor little maid. I rim how could plim her up. waj- a little more
kitchen phjsic like. Thej-peasbaint meat ware, thej-on't plirnmy
one biL Dev. Pawnt yii bulkee in my veaoe ag.vin. dist \er : or
I'll plim thy 'ead\-ur thee, Hevtett Ft.is. S". JS92'' 5 v. Bu'.'tiee' ;
Dev.' Es poor hands plimm'd up like pumples w.'.y chilbladders, 15.
n.Dev. Chell phm tha, £.«7«. 5. v.'.i'. ^1746^ 1. 67. nw.Dev.' s.Dev,
Fox Kitigsiriii-gf iS74'>.
2. To raise up a path in furrows, by wheels, frost. &c.
Rut' They plaumed it oop so, who could keep i: tidy •
3. aa-'. Stout, fat, filled out : of bread: light.
Glo. '^H.T.E.'l, Oxf.' Hmp.'BarleyispIim when itisfull. Som.
(W.F.R.^ Dev. I c.iwnt think I've ad sich gude plim burd out ov
thease grist avore. Hewett Fr.is. Sf-. ^1892^.
4. Full to overflowing.
Gmg. CoLuss Gcti. Dia.'. in Tmtis. PiU. S.r. ,iS4S-5o^ IV.
232. s-Pem. That pan \s"onna hold anv more, i: be quite pUm
naw ^W.M.M A.
5. adv. Mildly. %\-ith mellowness.
DeT. If I da feel a bit out o' soarts I can ma'ie use of a drop of
Mrs. Pat's home-brewed. . . It sort o" lies plim on the stomach, it
du, Et:g. i:::.s, M.ig. June 1896; 257.
4 A2
PLIM
[548]
PLOAD
PLIM, v.^ Wil.i See below.
Many j'ears ago, old Captain Goddard spoke to a farmer about
a dangerous bull, which had just attacked a young man. The
farmer's reply was : ' If a hadn't a bin a plimmin' an' vertin' wi'
his stick — so fashion — (i.e. flourishing his stick about in the bull's
face), the bull wouldn't ha' run at un.'
FLING, int., sb. and v. Sh.I. I.Ma. Also in form plink
Sh.I. [pliq, pliqk.] 1. int. Expressive of the sound of
the harp.
I.Ma. Playin, playin. And the lovely twang goin pling, pling,
pling. Brown jDoc/of (1887) 144.
2. sh. A vibrating sound, like a string smartly struck.
S.&Ork.^ 3. V. To tune or tighten the strings of a fiddle.
Sh.I. I screw my pins an' plink my strings, An' rub my bow wi'
roset, Stewart Tales (1892) 83.
Hence Plinkin, ppl. adj. tinkling, murmuring.
Sh.I. Plinkin watter-faas ta ean anidder sang, Burgess Rasmie
(1892) 98.
PLINISAN, PLINK, see Plenishing, Pling.
PLINK, sb. Or.I. [plink.] Small beer. (S.A.S.), S.
& Ork.i
PLIRRIE, s^-. Rnf. (Jam.) The young of the herring-
gull. Lams argentatus. Cf. pleengie.
PLISH, v} and sb. Wm. Yks. Lan. [plij.] 1. v. To
blister.
Wm. Poor lile lad, he has plished his hand with raking (B.K.).
w.Yk'?. HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781'). ne.Lan.^
2. To excite the redness in the skin which precedes a
blister. ne.Lan.' 3. Obs. To scrape off the skin.
w.Yks.' Ya foote war feafuUy plish'd, ii. 296.
4. sb. A blister, caused by friction, burning, &c. s.Wm.
(J.A.B.)
PLISH, t;.2 Sc. Cor. 1. To splash. Cf plash, v."^
Cor. An' . . . plish the water with them, Daniel Poems ; Cor.^
2. Phr., obs., to play plish, to splash about.
Bnff. I did range where whales play plish, Taylor Poems
(1787) 8.
PLISHPLASH, v., adv. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Also in
forms pleesh-plash Bnff.' ; plish-for-plash, plitch-platch
Nhb.' 1. V. To splash. Cf plash, v.^
So. How tup-horn spoons, wi' muckle mou, Plish-plashed ; nae
chiel was hoolie, Nicol Poems (1805) I. 144 (Jam.). Bnff.' Fif.
The ragin' lowes gae up its sides, Garrin' plish-plash the internal
tides, Tennant Papistry (1827) 38.
Hence Plitch-platching, sb. a noise caused by splashing
in water, &c.
Nhb. I heard a great plitch-platching as it were o' some hundreds
o' little feet i' the stream, Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846)
VII. 136.
2. Phr. to play plish-plash, to splash about. Sc. (Jam.)
3. adv. In a splashing manner.
Bnfif.' Knc. Plish-plash the water skelpit in Across the dirty
fleer, Grant Lays (1884) 5. Nhb. Here cums little Andra Karr,
plishplash throw the clarts, Bewick Tyneside Tales (1850) 10;
■ The greet round-shot went plish for plash Into the tortured deep,
Allan Tyneside Sngs. (1891) 469 ; Nhb.'
4. sb. Splashing or dabbling in a liquid ; the noise made
by so doing.
Bnff.' Nhb.' She held her breathe wyth anxious care. And
thought it all a dreame ; But an eiry nichershe heard i' the linne.
And a plitch-platch in the streirae, Telfer Gloamyne Buchle (1824).
PLISKETS, see Plisky.
PLISKIN, sb. Cor.2 [pli'skin.] An eggshell.
[OCor. pliscin, an eggshell (Williams).]
PLISKITS, see Plisky.
PLISKY, sb. and adj. Sc. Cum. Yks. Also in forms
pliskets Cum.*; pliskits Cum. [pli'ski.] 1. s6. Atrick;
a mischievous escapade ; a practical joke.
Sc. I can hae nae reason to play an ill pliskie t' ye in the day o'
your distress, Scott Antiquary (1816) xli. Abd. Playin' pliskies
as Jeanie's play'd me, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 215. Frf.
It wes a bonnie-like pliskie onywy, and hardly fit for an Auld Kirk
elder, Ian MACLAHEfi Brier Bush (1895) 215. e.Fif. Never afore
had I played sic a pliskie, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) viii. Ayr.
But, haith ! he played them a' a pliskie in the end. Service
Ahtandums (i8go) 9. Lnk. Mony a pliskie droll I've seen, Coghill
Poems (1890) 96. Lth. I'll play their clerk a bonny plisky,
Thomson Poems (1819) 145. Edb. I take black burning shame of
myself to make mention of such ploys and pliskies. Mom Mansie
Wauch (1828) xxii; Beatty Secretar {i8gi) 114. Peh. Fernzeerah;
ah I ye play'd a plisky, Affleck Poet. Wis. (1836) 124. Slk. Sic
a plisky as he shouldna forget, Hogg Tales (1838) 323, ed. 1866.
Rxb. He'll twa or three a pliskie play, Riddell Poet. IVks. (1871)
II. 134. Gall. I'm gettin' ower auld to play sic tricks an' pliskies,
Crockett Raiders (1894) xlvi. 'Wgt. My certie,but he has played
his pliskies weel. Good Wds. (1881) 403. Cum. To th' deil . . .
Their Pagan pliskits banish'd, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 133 ;
Cum.* Obs.
2. //. Supernatural or uncanny tricks or games. Cum.*
3. A plight.
Sc. Ye little ken what pains I prove, Or how severe my pliskie
0 ! Chambers Sngs. (1829) I. 136 ; 'Whatever Was my plisky. .•»
1 tipp't aff"a bottle 0' whisky, Outram Lyrics (1857) 141. Ayr. It
would have been a bonnylike pliskie that, Johnston Glenbuckie
(1889) 24. Edb. 'Was it ale or whisky That d — d ye into sic a
plisky? Liddle Poems (1821) 27. Slk. Have ye nae pity on . . .
him in sic a plisky ? Hogg Tales (1838) 221, ed. 1866.
4. A fray, ' scrimmage.'
Abd. They're a' oot to Scaurnose to see the plisky ! The factor
he's there, I ken, an' some constables wi' 'im — to see 'at his
order's cairried oot, Macdonald Lossie (1877) Iviii.
5. A rage.
w.Yks. I nobbut wish he may catch ye i' that plisky, Bronte
Wiithering Hts. (1847) xiii.
6. adj. Mischievous, given to play tricks.
Ayr. Auld Habkin o' the Pethfit, who was a pliskie body,
scartled a wheen scadded pennies on the street at his dochter's
waddin', Service Dr. Duguid {e&. 1887) 27.
PLIT, sb. Obs. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Midi. Brks. Som. A
ridge of earth turned up by the plough ; a furrow.
Bwk. At its fore part it is an exceedingly sharp wedge, so as to
insinuate between the fast-land and the plit or furrow-slice, with
the least possible resistance ; the wedge gradually widens back-
wards to separate the plit effeclually, and it spreads out con-
siderably wider upwards, so as to turn over the plit, Agric.
Surv. 150 (Jam.). Nhb. 'The ridges may be formed either with a
common plough laying two plits or furrows back to back, Marshall
Review (1808) I. 83. n.Yks. Quantity of seed one gallon an acre,
sown generally on the rough plit of one ploughing, Tuke Agric.
(i8oq) 132. e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) I. 259. Midi.
Sods have been torn off the plits by the harrows, ib. I. 159. Brks.
The ground is plowed in narrow plits, or slices, ib. Review (1817)
V. 80. Som. The breadth of the plit about ten and the depth fouc
inches. . . A man is employed to go after the plough ... to lay the
plit flat, Billingsley Agric. Surv. 93 ; (W.F.R.)
PLITCH, sb. Dev. [plitj.] A thick hempen material.
(R.P.C.) Hence Plitch-bag, sb. a bag made of 'plitch'
used for grist. nw.Dev.'
PLITCH-PLATCH, see Plishplash.
PLIT-PLAT, adv. Cum.* Expressive of the sound
made by a horse's hoofs as it trots along the road.
' As my fadder reudd on't powney, plit-plat, plit-plat, aw't way
to Cock-brig an' back agean.' Formerly the people of Haltcliffe
and district, when appealing against their assessment for the
King's Taxes, had to go all the distance— close on 20 miles of an
indifferent road, to Cockbridge Hostelry on the Ellen for that
purpose. A young damsel questioned as to the whereabouts of
her father made the reply quoted above, which has become an es-
tablished saying, amounting almost to a proverb, for more than 70
years in the neighbourhood.
PLIVER, sb. Sc. Cum. Also written plivver Sh.I.
Cum. [pli'var.] A dial, form of 'plover,' Charadrius
pluvialis.
Sh.I. Du sail hear da laverik singin An da plivver upo da mossj
JuNDA Klingrahool (1898) 25. Rs. Wilde goose, duck, dracke,
whape, pliver, Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) H- 34°-
Frf. Abundance of patridges, plivers, dottrills, ib. I. 319. Ayr. He
swoor, by a' was swearing worth. To spit him like a pliver. Burns
Jolly Beggars (1785') st. 39. Gall. The pliver whistled o'er the fey,
Nicholson Poet. IVks. (1814) 56, ed. 1897. Cum. (E.W.P.)
PLLEUTER, PLLOUD, PLLOUT, see Plouter, Pload,
Plout.
PLOAD, V. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Nhp. Also
written plode Nhb.' Cum.'* n.Yks.'' ; and in forms plloud
Bnff.'; plooad n.Yks.^ plood .?Sh.I.; plowd N.Cy.'
Nhb.' m.Yks.' Nhp.' [plod.] 1. v. To wade through
mire and water ; to walk with difficulty over heavy land.
FLOAT
[549]
PLONK
n.Cy.. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.^ (s.v. Plouter). Nhb.i Leuk at him
plowdin through the clarts. ' Fither'll hammer ye for ploading i'
the broad witter,' Luckley Alnwick Lang. Cum.i", n.Yks.124^
ne.Yks.i, m.Yks.i, Nhp.i
2. To walk with a waddling kind of pace. Bnff.^
3. To fall with a short, heavy fall.
He pUoudit our 0' the green, ib.
4. Fig. To try, endeavour ; to exert oneself; to strive
laboriously; to dive with energy into a pursuit. Sh.I.
{Coll. L.L.B.), n.Yks.'2 Hence Pleader, sb. a plodder, a
hard worker, one who works energetically and perse-
veringly. n.Yks.^ ; n.Yks.* A plooader efther pelf.
5. sb. A waddling pace. Bnff.^ 6. A short, heavy
fall. ib. 7. A thick-set, fat person or animal, ib.
FLOAT, see Plot, v.^
FLOCK, sb. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. [pick.] A
block of wood, a log ; wood sawn into logs. Also in comp.
Flock-wood.
Hmp. 'A Christmas plock,' for the Yule-log (J. R.W.) ; Hmp.i
I.W.^ Put a plock into the vire. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wood
sawn transversely, then cleft longitudinally into blocks either i ft.
craft, in length, tlAvisAgric. (1813) ; Wil.' Large wood, or roots
and stumps, sawn up into short lengths, and cleft for firewood.
Dor.i A block for chopping wood upon. ' A plock C wood so big's
an uppen-stock,' ib. 225. Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885).
FLOCK, see Flack, sb.^'^
PLOD, sb.'^ Yks. [plod.] A plodder, an industrious,
hard-working man.
e.Yks.i Esp. if somewhat slow and steady. ' Awd man's been
a threw-hearted plod all his days,' MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.)
PLOD, sb.'^ Lakel. Yks. Lan. Also Cor. Also in
form ploddy Lakel.^ w.Yks. [plod.] A dial, form of
' plaid,' a checked pattern in cloth.
Lakel.2 w.Yks. Shoo alius donned her barns i' some mak' o'
ploddy, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 21, 1896) ; w.Yks.'a Lan. I'
frock o' Heelan plod (J.T.C.). e.Lan.i, Cor.2
Hence Plod-leg, sb. an abusive term for a Highlander.
Lan. A passel o' skotch plod-leggs, Axon Flk-Sngs. (i8'7o) 30.
PLOD, sb.^ Cor. [plod.] A short or dull story ; a
lying tale.
(F.H.D.) ; Cor,3 So she came to the cap'n an' preached up some
plod.
PLODDEN,s6. Cor.'^ (s.v.Lodden). [plo-dsn.] A pool.
[In a foul plodde, R. Glouc. (c. 1300) 536.]
PLODDER, sb. and v.^ Sc. Dur. Cum. Yks. Also in
forms plothern.Yks.'^* ne. Yks.'; plouder Sc. ; plowder
w.Dur.'Cum.*m.Yks.'; plowtherCum.*; pluthern.Yks.'^*
ne.Yks.' m.Yks.' [plo'da{r, plo-t53(r.] 1. sb. Soft liquid,
mud, slime. Cf. pload.
n.Yks.'2; n. Yks.* Makking plother leeak leyke rock. ne.Yks.i,
m.Yks.i
Hence (i) Ploddery, adj. muddy, miry; (2) Plotherment,
sb. liquid mud or filth, slush ; (3) Flowderer, sb. one who
forces his way through mud or dirt-
(t) n.Yks. This gatestead is ploddery (I.W.); n.Yks.'^*
m.Yks.l (2) n.Yks.l=*, m.Yks.l (3) m.Yks,'
2. V. To wade or walk with difficulty through mud,
dirt, or water ; to plunge. Cf. plouter, pload.
Arg. The Gleshan, and Guildee, Thay love to plouder through
the loch, CoLViLLE Vernacular {i8gg) 8. w.Dur.i Cum.* Aye, as
ower the deykes I sprang An' plouther't through the mire, Brown
Lyrics (1893) Peggy Gill. m.Yks.'
3. To" bring into a state of mud, to trample ground into
a soft, miry condition, to bemire ; with in : to sow seed
in soft, miry ground.
n.Yks.1 As must needs be the case with soil, or a soft roadway,
in wet weather, by the continuous treading of cattle as they pass
to and fro. To commit seed to the ground when the latter is so
wet and soft that the necessary treading of man and horse brings
it into a soft kneaded or muddy condition. ' Have you finished
sowing? ' ' Aye, we's getten 't pjothered in efter a soort ' ; n.Yks.*
PLODDER, v.^ Sc. To toil almost night and day.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
PLODDY, PLODE, see Plod, sbP-, Pload.
PLODGE, V. and sb. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Also in
form pludge Nhb. [plodg.] 1. v. To wade in water or
mire ; to plunge or splash about in water ; to paddle.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.' Nhb. They say the blacks is verry
clivver. When they're plodgin in the river, Bagnall Sngs. (c.
1850) 12 ; Nhb.i ' Plodge ' is generally used for wading in water ;
'plowd' for wading in mud. ' He's been plodgin i' the wetter aall
day' (s.v. Plowd). e.Dur.i, s.Dur. (W.W.S.1, Cnm.'*, n.Yks.' =*
m.Yks.l v/hen they begin to ' plodge ' wilfully or stupidly, after
the manner of a clumsy-gaited person, then rebuke becomes
justifiable (s.v. Plosh).
Hence (i) Pledger, sb. one who paddles or wades in
water; (2) Plodgy, ac^?'. (a) splashing ; (6) of snow: deep,
not trodden down.
(i) Nlib. Along the sands we myed wor way. Like plodgers on
a rainy day, Wilson Tyneside Sngs. (1890) 29. (2, a) m.Yks.,'
Look at that raggle-tail, what plodgy deed he's making there. (A)
n.Yks. T'snow seems plodgy (I.W.).
2. sb. A splash, a kick in water or mud.
m. Yks.' He gave a great plodge with his foot, and blathered me
all over.
PLOFFY, adj. Cor. [plo-fi.] Fat, plump ; soft and
spongy. See Pluffy.
Nice ploffy young mabyers, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846)
53; Cor.l2
FLOG, sb. and v. Lan. Ken. Bus. Hmp. [plog.]
L sb. A plug. e.Lan." 2. A clog; the block of wood
at the end of a halter to prevent its slipping through the
ring of the manger. Ken.' Hmp. Holloway. 3. v. To
plug, close.
Lan.' Sit tho still ; an' plog thi ears up ! Waugh Chim. Corner
(1874) 151, ed. 1879. e.Lan.'
4. To clog, hamper, retard ; to be a disadvantage.
Ken.' I reckon it must plog him terribly to be forced to goo about
wid a 'ooden-leg. Sus.'
PLOIGHER, V. N.L' To cough in an asthmatic or
wheezing way. Cf ploughore.
FLOIT, FLOITER, see Flout, v., Plouter.
PLOIZY, adj. Dev. [ploizi.] Of cloth, rope, or
fibrous material : soft, weak, ready to fray out.
The clath is cruel ploizy trade ; I reckon twan't laste no time 't
all. Reports Provinc. (1895).
PLONCH, V. Lakel.* [plonj.] To wade, to walk in
water, mire, &c.
Plonchin' aboot up ta yan's knees i' snow broth, it's eniuf ta gie
yan yan's deeth o' cauld.
PLONGER, see Plunger.
PLONK, 56.' Sc. Yks. Lan. [plor)k.] 1. A plank ;
a tree.
Gall. Every sage is at a loss to tell whan plonks lay down in
moss, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 352, ed. 1876.
2. A stone or piece of timber by which to cross a stream.
e.Lan.^ 3. A joiner's trestle or stock. w.Yks. (S.K.C.)
PLONK, V. and sb.^ Lakel. Yks. Lan. Also in forms
plank, plenk w.Yks. [ploqk.] 1. v. To hit, strike,
thump ; to beat.
w.Yks. I'll plonk tha, if I get hod on tha (S.P.U.) ; I'll plonk
tha, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. 3, 1891) ; Plenk him one o' t'noase if
he doesn't shut up, ib. (Mar. 21, 1896) ; w.Yks.^
2. In marbles : to strike an opponent's marble before
touching the ground ; to throw in an underhand way ; to
send a marble a long distance. See Flunk, w.' 8.
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 21, 1896) ; (S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.3
3. Comp. Plonk-taw, a game at marbles.
w.Yks. He's a rare hand at plonk-taw, Saunteret's Satchel {iB-j-j)
44 ; Can ta laik at plonk-taw ? Wyke Yks. Cousins (1895) 272.
4. To pitch as in the game of ' pitch-and-toss.' e.Lan.'
5. sb. A blow, thump.
Lakel.2 Ah gat a plonk wi' his neef w.Yks. (J.W.)
6. In marbles : an underhand throw of the marble ; a
blow given by one marble to another at its base or before
touching the ground.
w.Yks. A player who objects to this mode of projection will
sometimes prohibit it in an opponent by caUing out ' No plonks ! \
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 21, 1896) ; Gough ! but Ah did give thy
taw a plonk then, ib.
7. pi. A game of marbles. Also in comb. Plonks and
spans.
w.Yks. A game . . . where long-distance shots are made by
'plonking,' Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 21, 1896); (J.H.T.)
PLONKER
[550]
PLOSHET(T
PLONKER, sb. Lakel. Yks. [plo-r|k3(r.] 1. Any-
thing large of its kind.
Lakel.2 Noo that's a plonker. Wm. That turnip's a plonker
(B.K. ). w.Yks. Sitha Bill at that young woman's improver, isn't
it a plonker? Pudsey Olm. (Mar. 1885) ; That chap is a plonker
(^.B.) ; w.Yks.5
2. A large marble. See Plunker, s.v. Plunk, v} 8.
w.Yks. (S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.3 A large marble of stone, clay, pot,
&c., about one and quarter inches in diameter.
PLONKING, ppl. adj. Yks. [plo-qkin.] Large, big.
w.Yks. A gurt plonkin' cat (jE.B.) ; What a plonkin' hoile tha
hes fer a bed-rahm. Little Jimmy hes a plonkin' wife, Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 21, 1897).
PLOOAD, PLOOAT, see Pload, Plot, v."^
PLOOD, sb. Sc. Also written ploud Abd. (Jam.)
[pliid.] A green sod. Cf. pleuat.
Elg. Wi' the help o' a plood on the trams he gat, Abd. IVkly.
Free Press (June 25, 1898). Abd. They are supplied with turf
and heather from the muirs and a sort of green sods, called plouds,
which they cast in the exhausted mosses, Statist. Ace. IV. 218 (Jam.).
PLOOD, PLOOG, PLOOIT, see Pload, Plook, Plot, v.^
PLOOK, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Also in
forms pleuk Sc. ; pleukk Cum.' ; plewk Nhb. ; ploog
Cai.' ; plouch n.Cy. ; plouk Sc. Cum. ; pluck Sc. Cum. ;
pluik Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) ; pluke Sc. Nhb.' n.Yks.* ne.Yks.'
e.Yks.' [pluk.] 1. sb. A pimple ; a spot on the skin.
Sc. Whase face was fam'd Through a' the shire for wrats and
plouks, Drummond Muckomachy (1846) 7. Cai.', Inv. (H.E.F.),
w.Sc. (Jam.) Fif. The twa men war verie read and tead-lyk
faced, for ploukes and lumpes, Melvill Autobiog. (1610) 64,
ed. 1842. Slg. Ane attrie kind of boil, striking out in many heads
or in many plukes, Bruce Sermons (1631) vi, ed. 1843. Ayr.
Sair as a plook, Service Notandums (1890) 17. Edb. Fergusson
Poems (1773) 156, ed. 1785. Gall. (J.M.) n.Cy. Grose (1790).
Nhb. When plewks like hens eggs grows on the end o' yor
probossis, Chater Tyneside Aim, (1869) 40; Nhb.i Cum. Her
feace is . . . aw spattered owre wi' red plouksj Anderson Ballads
(ed. 1808) 124 ; (J.Ar.) ; Cum.i* n.Yks. Av a pluk ami bru
( W.H.) ; n.Yks.i =*, ne.Yks.i e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ;
■There's a pluke cummin upov his aym, Nicholson FJk-Sp. (1889)
92 ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.'
Hence (i) Plook-besprent, adj., obs., covered with
pimples, pimply ; (2) -faced, adj. having pimples on the
face ; (3) Plookiness, sb. the state of being covered with
pimples ; (4) Plookit, ppl. adj., (5) Plooky, adj., see (i) ;
(6) -faced, adj., see (2).
(i) Sc. Drummond Muckoniachy (1846) 46. (2) Kcb. An' there
was pluke-fac'd Willie Kell, Davidson Seasons (1789) 72. (3)
Sc. (Jam.) (4) Per. Drunkards and sots Wi' their red plookit
noses, Stewart Character (iS^"}) 132. (5) Sc. Plouky, plouky are
your cheeks, Scott Minstrelsy (1802) 264, ed. 1839. Rnf. A
grewsome face, without a grace. A' ploukie, greasy, and pock-
pitted, M'^GiLVRAY Poems (ed. 1862) 319. Ayr. His face was as
plooky as a curran' bun, Galt Provost (1822) xxxii. Edb. Ye
wha are fash'd wi' plucky noses, Fergussqn Poems (1773) 123,
ed. 1785. N.Cy.i, Nhb.i, n.Yks.' (6) Sc. Herd Coll.Sngs. (1776)
Gl. Cat.' Rnf. Plookie-fac'd Wat in the mill, Sempill Bridal,
St. 3. n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.', Nib.', n.Yks.' =4
2. Obs. A small dot or knob near the top of a metal
measure for liquid.
Sc. When the liquid sold does not reach this the seller acts
illegally (Jam.). Slg. That the pluik be benethe the mouth of ilk
Etoup as foUowis, Burgh Rec. Slg. 92-3 (Jam. Suppl.). Ayr.
A' might be pushon that's aboon the plook wi' them, Galt Lairds
(1826) xviii ; Scotch pint-stoups, before the reformation of the
imperial measure, were made to hold something more than the
standard quantity ; but at the point of the true measure a small
papilla or plook projected, the space between which and the
brim was left for an ' ad libitum,' an exercise of liberality on the
part of vintners and other ministers to haustation. When,
however, measure was regulated by the scrimp rule, it was said
proverbially of those who did so, ' that of their liquors all was
poison abune the plook,' ib. Author's Note.
Hence (i) Pluck-measure, sb. measure up to the ' plook '
of the vessel ; (2) Plukie, adj. full of little knobs.
(i) Wgt. They disagree about the measure of the pint ; the
town alledging that it should be jugg measure, and some of the
countrey alledging that it should be only pluck measure, Fraser
Wigtown (1877) 90. (2) Cld. (Jam.)
3. V. Obs. To set the plook or measure-knob on a vessel
used as a measure of liquids.
Lnk. For the only ploukyng of vtheris iiij d., and the treyn
stoipis to be ploukit and merkit lykwys, Burgh Rec. Glasgow in
Rec. Soc. I. 83 (Ja.m. Suppl.).
[1. Plowke, 'puscula, pusculetus,' Cath. Angl. (1483).]
PLOOKY, sb. Obs. Sc. A slight stroke.
Ayr. Now and then gie them a plooky on the cheek with a pip
or a cherry stane, Steam-boat (1822) 339 (Jam.).
PLOOSTER, see Plowster.
PLOOTS,s6.//. Sh.I. [pliits.] Thefeet. Cf.ploutsacks.
Warming his 'ploots' at the same fire as Liza, Burgess
Sketches (2nd ed.) 19 ; Wi wir smaa human ploots, ib. Rasmie
(1892) 48; S. & Ork.' Applied to the feet when bare.
PLOP, v., sb. and adv. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Der.
Nhp. War. Nrf. Also in forms plope Rxb. (Jam.); ploup
Rxb. (Jam.) n.Ir. ; plowp Sc. [plop.] 1. v. To plunge,
flop; to fall or drop suddenly into water; to pop, go off
hastily.
Lth. Nae pool it stoppit — Till sudden — owre the marge It
ploppit Deep in its dark embrace, LuMSDENSA«^/i-Ararf (1892) 317.
SIk. I plowpt in ower heads and ears, Chr. North Nodes (ed.
1856) II. 6. Rxb. It plop't into the water (Jam.). Dmf. Twa-
three cheils here'U rather plop him into the miller's dam, Paton
Castlebraes (1898) 289. n.Ir. Nancy ploups her ban' intil the
boilin' pot, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 86. Nhb.' He plopt ower
heed. w.Yks. A fift tried ta leap ower t'broad deep dyke an
plopt reight in, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1873) 44,
Der. I am informed the word is current in Der., Baker Gl. (1854).
Nhp. Here runs the brook which I have dammed and stopt . . .
And watched with joy till bursting off it plopt, Clare Village
Minstr. (1821) IL 16.
Hence Plopping, ppl. adj. popping.
Nhp. The plopping gun's sharp momentary shock, Clare Shep.
Calendar (1827) 84.
2. sb. The sound made by a small object falling into
water, or by falling water ; a pop, thud.
Cai.', Rxb. (Jam.) Ir. And now and agin wid a plop Come
a bullet dhruv deep in the sand, Barlow Bogland (1892) 185,
ed. 1893. Nhb.' The drop, drop of water is called a plop. w.Yks.
You should have heard the plop he [a cork] made when I drew
him, Yks. Wkly. Post (Nov. 28, 1896). Lan. (F.R.C.), ne.Lan.'
3. Phr. to play plowp, to fall suddenly into water.
Slk. There's ane o' them played plowp intil the basin, Chr.
North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 27.
4. adv. Of a fall: suddenly, flop, plump ; with a pop.
w.Yks. Went plop into t'watter. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865).
War.3 He fell plop into the brook. ' Off it went plop.' Applied
only to corks suddenly ejected from bottles, or to pop-guns. Nrf.
Plop ! it goes into the sea, Forbes Odd Fish (1901) 185.
FLOPPY, adj Pem. [plopi.] Soft, fat.
s.Fem. A's not strong, the fat a got is'n good, it's ploppy
(W.M.M.).
PLORE, V. Lnk. (Jam.) To work amongst mire ; gen.
used of children. Hence Plorie, sb. any piece of ground
which is converted into mud by treading or otherwise.
PLOSH, V. and sb. n.Cy. Yks. Also Cor. [ploj.]
1. V- To plunge in mud or water, to splash, bespatter.
See Flash, v."^
n.Yks. It's nought but gorr, it ploshes under feaut, Meriton
Praise Ale (1684) 1. 109; n.Yks.'^* ne.Yks.' e.Yks.' AfS. add.
(T. H. ) m.Yks.' Any light feet may plosh their way, and call for
pity. Cor.3 w.Cor. They will be always playan weth the fire
when they arn't ploshan in the water, Bottrell Trad. 3rd S. 58.
2. sb. A puddle ; a wet, rniry place ; liquid mire, slush,
n.Yks.'=* e.Yks.' MS. orfrf. (T.H.) m.Yks.i Cor. By stanking
through the plosh, Thomas Randigal Rhymes (1895) 22 ; Cor.'°^
Hence Ploshy, adj. wet, muddy, sloppy, splashy.
n.Cy. (K.) n.Yks. T'rooads is varry ploshy (I.W.) ; n.Yks.' 24^
ne.Yks.' e.Yks.' MS. arfrf. (T.H.) m.Yks.', Qor.^
3. A splash. m.Yks.'
PLOSHER, sb. Yks. Also Cor. [plo-j3(r).] 1. A
small coble used in herring-fishing. n.Yks. (T.S.)
2. A half-grown bream. Cor.'^
PLOSHET(T, sb. Dev. Cor. [plo'Jit.] A moist watery
place, a quagmire ; a water-meadow. Cf. plashet.
Dev.' Up a rak'd all to wance and vetch'd a vege away to
thicca ploshett, 2. Cor.^ (s.v. Plashet).
PLOT
[551]
PLOUGH
PLOT, sb} and v} Sc. Nhb. Yks. Suf. Ken. [plot.]
1. sb. A place, spot ; a patch or spot of ground ; a
flower-bed.
Dmf. Redd up their gairdens and tidy the flooer-plots, Patok
Castlebraes (1898) 21. Nhb. Two men could scarcely have
attended to the innumerable flower-plots, Graham Red Scaur
(1896) 50. n.Yks. Intiv his gardin, to the plots o' spices,
Robinson Whitby Sng. Sol. (i 860) vi. 2. Suf. A sore plot, Cullum
Hist. Hawsted (1813) ; Suf.l A grass-plot. Dew yeow stah i'
that there plot till I come back.
2. Obs. A plan, design, sketch, drawing.
Ken.^ Given to Mr. Vezy for drawing a plot for an house, 02 00
00, Expense Bk. (1656-7).
3. November 5th, the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot.
■w.Yks. Every year as Plot comes round, Yks. Wkly. Post (July
14, 1887)6; (J.W.)
4. V. To plan, scheme.
Ayr. My mother had been plottin' wi' hersel aboot this vera
thing in the nicht time, Service Notandums (1890) 65.
Hence Plottin, sb. a plan, scheme.
Abd. The loonies' plottins, pranks an' ploys, Shelley Flowers
(1868) 159.
PLOT, v.^ and sb.^ Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Also
written plott Sc. ; and in forms ploat Sc. n.Cy. Nhb.'
n.Yks.i" m.Yks.' ; plooat Lakel.'^ Cum." n.Yks.^ ; plooit
Wm.; plote Sc. N.Cy.' Nhb.' Dur.'; plout, plowt Sc. ;
plwoat n.Yks.^ [plot, plot, ploat.] 1. v. To dip or
plunge into boiling water ; to scald ; to make any liquid
scalding hot.
Sc. (Jam.), Cai.^ Abd. An' plot her milk dishes weel, Alex-
ander yoAK«y G/iA (1871) i. nw.Abd. I plotts the dishes weel,
Goodwife (1867) St. 32. w.Sc. To plout a sore finger into as hot
water as can be tholed, Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam.
(1899). Fif. The bustling of stickin' with the gully, ploatin' in
the tub, scrapin' and disembowelling [a pig], Colville Vernacular
(1899) 15. e.Fif. The hail regiment o' them lip fou o' water for
Gussie to be plottit in, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) iv. Lth. Het
pints like toplotye, BRUCEPof»M(i8i3) II. 18. Slk.That he might
get me bled an' plottit, Hogg Tales (1838) 234, ed. 1866. Gall.
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). N.Cy.' 'To plote a pig' is to pour
scalding water over it, so as to make the hair come off easily.
Hhb.i To dip a finger in hot water in order to ease the pain
caused by a bruise. Cum.* To plunge a fowl after a partial
plucking into hot water so that the remaining feathers may be
the more easily removed ; to scald a dead pig so as to cleanse
it and remove the thin outer skin and hair by scraping ; to steep
a gathered finger in hot water.
Hence (i) Plotted, ppl. adj. scalded, dipped in boiling
water; (2) Plotting, ppl. adj. scalding, boiling; fig.
sweating, stewing ; (3) -hot, adj. scalding-hot.
(i) Cld. (Jam.) Rnf. Breasts that rise, like hills for size, The
colour of a plotted grumphie, M°Gilvray Poems (ed. 1862) 319.
(2) Sh.I. Da plottin' watter wid need ta be boilin whin da guaat's
head is afF, Sh. News (Dec. 22, 1900). Old. (Jam.) se.Sc. Yon
chiel that's sitting plotin' Amang the thrums, Donaldson Poems
(1809)141. (3) Sc. That water's plottin-het (Jam.). N.Cy.', Nhb.i
2. Comp. Plot-hot, scalding, boiling-hot.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Bwk. It's plot hot, like Jock Vertue's tea, Hender-
son Pop. Rhymes (1856) 121.
3. To burn, scorch, make hot.
Bch. I never sooner money got. But all my poutches it would
plot, And scorch them sore, Forbes Dominie (1785) 26. Abd.
I'm like to be plotted wi' heat, Paul Abd. (1881) 56. Ayr. Auld
Habkin . . . scartled a wheen scadded pennies on the street, . . and
Stair warsled for them among the stoor, and plowted his fingers
wi' the lave. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 27. Gall. Let Welsh-
men plot and toast their cheese, Nicholson Pof/. Wks. (1814) 131,
ed. 1897.
Hence Plottit, ppl. adj. fond of heat, unable to endure
cold. Bnff.' 4. To pluck the feathers of a bird ; fig. to
fleece, rob, plunder, to cheat.
Bwk. When old John Knox and other some Began to plott the
bags of Rome, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 71. Rxb. (Jam.)
Dmf. I doot we shall be plottit as bare as a birk, Hamilton The
./l/«w*i« (1898) 251. n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy.' Nhb. A boy at
Benwell who traps sparrows, and, after ploating their heads, sets
them off. Monthly Chton. (1887) 445 ; Nhb.' At the first fall of snow,
children sing in chorus : ' Keelmen keelmen, ploat yor geese ;
Caad days an' winter neets,' Newc. Rhyme ; ' The folk i' the eas' is
plotin their geese, An' sendin their feathers ti huz,' Alnwick version.
Dur.i Lakel.2 'Tweea Martindale geese biath full o' fedder. Thee
plooat tian an' Ah'll plooat tudder.' This was t' poetical advice of
yah Peerith turney tuU anudder aboot a client er tweea. Cum. 2*
Wm. Ah mun plooifthem ducks. They plooited him at o' ends tell
he was as poor as Job (B.K.). n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.2 The house
was plooated. ' I can nobbut plooat where I finnd feathers,' can
only get money where I find it is to be had ; n.Yks.^*, m.Yks.'
Hence (i) Ploaters, sb. pi. robbers ; (2) Ploating, ppl.
adj. thieving, robbing ; (3) Plottit, ppl. adj. plucked, made
bare, fleeced.
(i) n.Yks.2 (2) ib. They're a plooating set. (3) SIk. The poor
bit plottit, fore-foughten corby, Hogg Tales (1838) 6g, ed. 1866.
5. To scold. N.Cy.' How she plotes him.
6. sb. A scald or burn with boiling water; a dip into
boiling water ; a hot, stewing condition.
Frf. When you are wraxing ower your kail-pot in a plot of heat,
Barrie Tommy (1896) 36. Cld. Gie 't a plot i' the pat afore ye
begin (Jam.).
[4. Cp. Du. plooten de wolle, to pluck wool (Hexham).]
PLOTCH, V. ? Obs. Slk. (Jam.) To dabble ; to work
slowly.
PLOTCOCK, 5*. Obs. Sc. A name given to the devil.
Sc. A cry heard at the market-cross of Edinburgh, at the hour
of mid-night, proclaiming as it had been a summons, which was
named and called by the proclaimer there of the summons of
Plotcock, Lindsay Hist. Sc. (1728) 112 (Jam.). Lnk. Seven times
does her prayers backward pray, Till Plotcock comes with lumps
of Lapland clay, Ramsay Poems (1800) It. 95 {ib.).
PLOTE, PLOTHER, PLOTNORE, PLOTTER, see
Plout, v., Plodder, sb., Platnore, Plouter.
PLOTTER-PLATE, sb. Obs. Sc. A wooden platter
with a place in the middle to hold salt.
rif. For my part I wad rather eat Sow's jadin aff a plotter-plate,
Gray Poems (1814) (Jam.).
PLOTTY, sb. Sc. [plo'ti.] A hot drink. Cf. plot, v."
Sc. Getus a jug of mulled wine — plottie as you call it, Scott St.
Ronan (1824') xxviii ; Composed of wine and spices; properly
denoting one of an intoxicating quality (Jam.). Per. Arise, an' tak'
your morning plotty, Stewart Character {i6$f) 114; Is't whisky
that mak's us sae canty? Na, na, it's our plotty o' tea ! ib. 151.
PLOUGH, PLOUD, PLOUDER, see Plook, Plood,
Plodder, sb.
PLOUGH, sb. and v. Var. dial, forms and uses in Sc.
Irel. and Eng. Also written plow, [plau, plu, pliu ;
pliuf, pluf, pluf, plif, Sc. pljox, pljux. plju-] I- Dial.
forms : (i) Plaaw, (2) Plaew, (3) Plaow, (4) Plaugh, (5)
Plawf, (6) Pleaf, (7) Pleaff, (8) Pleagh, (9) Pleak, (10)
Pleeaf, (11) Pleoch, (12) Pleough, (13) Plau, (14) Pleuch,
(15) Pleuf, (16) Pleugh, (17) Plew, (18) Plewf, (19) Plewgh,
(20) Plif, (21) Pliflf, (22) Ploo, (23) Ploogh, (24) Plu, (25)
Plue, (26) Pluf, (27) Plufe, (28) Pluff, (29) Pluif, (30) P'yough.
(i) nw.Der.l (2) w.Yks.s (3) nw.Der.' (4) m.Yks.' Dev.
Leetle Ihan . . . ku'd layd 'osses ta plaugh bettur nur 'e ku'd,
Burnett S^aft/cSojv (1888) xii. (5) m.Yks.' (6) Yks. He ran ower
't pleaf, Spec. Dial. (1800) 24. m.Yks.', w.Yks.s (7) Yks. Grose
{I^go)MS.add.{P.) (8)m.Yks.' (9)Der.2 (10) w.Dur.',n.Yks."»,
ne.Yks.', e.Yks.1 (11) Cai.' 06s. (12) Wxf.' (13) n.Yks. (T.S.)
(14) Abd. To baud the pleuch, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 51.
Dmf. The lads and lasses, bred for the pleuch, Paton Castlebraes
(1898) 145. (15) Nhb.', Dur.' Lakel.'^ T'auld soond's hard, but
varra seldom. ne.Yks. ^V. if Q. (1865) 3rd S. viii. 509. m.Yks.'
(16) Fif. Gallant Hay, wha lows'd his pleugh, Douglas Poems
(1806) 12. Dwn. Pleughin' an' plantin', Savage-Armstrong
Ballads (1901) 32. N.Cy.' Nhb. My twa brithers followed the
pleugh,JoNEsiWjA.(i87i) 19. Cum.', ne.Yks.', m.Yks.', w.Yks.'^a,
n.Lin.' (17) Cai.' Dwn. Tae hand a plew, Lyttle Robin Gordon,
29. Nhb.', Dur.', Lakel.^ Cum.^ Keep t'plew cot o' t'land, 30.
Cum., Wm. (M.P.), n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.', e.Yks.', w.Yks.s, n.Lln.'
(18) n.Yks.' (19) n.Yks. To yoak 'ith plewgh, Meriton Praise Ale
(1684)1.103. (20) Yks. Grose (1790). m.Yks.' (21) w.Yks.' (22)
Sc. Ye've pickit it up at the ploo, Swan Gates of Eden (ed. 1895) vii.
Dwn, Sut doon the ploo hannel, Lyttle Robin Gordon, 13. Nhb.'
Wm. Like nags in a ploo, Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii. 50. e.Yks.',
m.Yks.', w.Yks.' ^, ne.Lan.', Chs.', nw.Der.' [plu6w], n.Lin.' (23)
n.Yks., e.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 21, 1896). Chs.' Formerly
pronounced with a strong guttural sound. (24) Cum.'* (25) e.Yks.
Marshall /?«;-. &0M. (1796). (26) Nhb.', n.Yks.' e.Yks. Phillips
/?/f«-5 (1853). m.Yks.i (27) n.Yks. '2* e.Yks. Marshall 7?«r.
PLOUGH
[552]
PLOUGH
EcoH. (1788). (28) N.Cy.i, e.Dur.i, w.Yks.i Lan. Clegg Dial.
(1895). nw.Der.i [pluoffj. (29) Cum., Wm. Only as a noun (M. P.).
(30) Ayr. Obsol. (J.M.)
II. Dial. uses. 1. sb. In comb, (i) Plough-balk, (a)
the beam of a plough ; {b) an irregularity in ploughing,
caused by the ploughshare being allowed to vary in depth,
and thus to spoil the uniformity of the furrow ; (2) -bote
or -boot, the right of a tenant to cut timber for the repair
or making of ploughs ; (3) boys, morris-dancers, see (6) ;
(4) -bred, bred to the plough; (5) -bridle, that which is
attached to the head or end of a plough-beam for regu-
lating the depth or breadth of the furrow ; (6) -bullockers,
farm-servants or ploughmen performing in the ' Plough
Monday ' observances ; see Fool-plough ; (7) -bullocking,
the act of taking part in the ' Plough Monday ' rites and
observances ; (8) -bullocks, see (6) ; (9) -elates, iron
wedges belonging to a plough ; (lo) -cock, the front
portion of a plough-beam ; (11) -cords, the cords used as
reins to drive or guide the horses in ploughing ; (12)
•co'er, obs., the driver of each pair of plough oxen or
horses ; (13) -cooter, the coulter of a plough ; (14) -day,
{a) a day on which the neighbouring farmers assist a new
tenant of a farm to plough his land ; see Ploughing-day,
s.v. Ploughing ; {b) the first Monday after Twelfth-day,
see (33) ; (15) -gang, (16) -gate, as much land as can be
ploughed by a single plough ; (17) -gear, the harness and
equipment of a plough; {18) -ground, a ploughed field;
(19) -guides, see (11); (20) -hale or -ale, the handle of
a plough ; (21) -hatchet, see below ; (22) -hodder, one
who holds the plough ; {23) -irons, the coulter and plough-
share of a plough ; (24.) -Jacks or -jags, see (6) ; (25)
-jagging, see (7) ; (26) -jogger, a ploughboy, ploughman ;
(27) -lad, (a) see (26) ; (b) see (6) ; (28) -land, (a) arable
land ; (b) a measure of land ; (29) -light, obs., see below ;
(30) -lines, see (11); (31) -master, see below; (32) -mall,
a small wooden hammer occasionally fixed to the plough;
(33) — Monday, the first Monday after Twelfth-day ; see
below; (34) -money, the money given to the 'plough-
bullocks ' on ' Plough Monday ' ; (35) -pad, the soft padded
saddle which supports the chains of a plough-horse ; (36)
-paddle, a small spade or ' paddle ' used to scrape the
earth from a plough ; (37) -path, a bridle-path ; (38)
-pattle or -pettle, see (36) ; (39) -ridd, a custom peculiar
to Cuckfield Manor ; see below ; (40) -rut, a furrow ; (41)
-shears, a bolt with a crooked head used to regulate the
'bridle' and keep it steady when the plough requires to
be raised or depressed in the furrow ; (42) -sheath, the
head of a plough, made either of metal or of wood, on
which the ploughshare is put when at work ; (43) -shoe,
(a) the ironwork upon which the sock is fixed ; the
casing of iron at the nose or forepart of that part of a
plough which enters the ground ; also in pi. ; (b) a wooden
frame for conveying a plough upon a road; (44) -sled,
see (43, b) ; (45) -slipe, the mould-board on the right side
of the ploughshare, placed for the purpose of casting up
the furrow ; (46) -sock or -suck, the ploughshare ; {47)
•spade, (48) -spud, see (36) ;' (49) -staff, (50) -stick, a rod
with a flat iron for the purpose of cleaning a plough ; a
paddle ; (51) -stilt, see (20) ; (52) -stots, see (6) ; (53)
-strake or -streak, a long narrow slip of iron affixed to
the land side of a plough to meet the friction of the
unturned earth; (54) -tail, the handles or shafts of a
plough, the rear of a plough ; also used fig. ; (55)
■witchers, (56) -witches, see (6j ; (57) -witching, see (7);
(58) -witch Monday, see (33).
(i a, 6) n.Lin.i (2)Cum.iTimberwhich the lord of the manorwas
bound to allow to his customary tenant; Cum." The right of customary
tenantstotakewood fortherepairof ploughs, carts andharrows; also
for the making of rakesand forks. Obs. n.Yks.i2 ne.Yks. Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1796) I. 82. w.Yks.i n.Lin.' To have . . . sufficient
houseboot, hedgeboot, fireboot, plowboot ... to be used on the
premises, Lease of lands (1711). (3) Lin. A drama played by a
set of ' Plow-boys or Morris-dancers ' in their ribbon dresses, with
swords, on Oct. 20, 1779, at Revesby Abbey in Lincolnshire,
Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1813) 407 ; Lin.i (4) Rnf. Ilk plow-bred
■ wight wad gang, dear saf us, Picken Poems (1813) I. 122. (5)
Rxb. (Jam.), Nhb.i (6) Lel.i (7) Not. 1 expect 1 shall have to go
a plough-buUockin to Mr. S.'s (L.C.M.). s.Not. Shan't yer coom
a plough-buUockin wee uz to-night? (J. P.K.) (8) w.Yks.^ Not.
So called at Ratcliffe (E.P.) ; (L.C.M.) ; Not.i s.Not. In the old
days a plough highly decorated was drawn through the streets,
and the true plough bullocks were no doubt the young men who
harnessed themselves to it and pulled it along (J.P.K.). Lin.
Brookes Tracts Gl. ; Lin.i Plough bullocks are characters now
almost unknown, but there are persons living who well remember
these itinerant Thespians, about the period of Plough Monday (Jan.
8th), exhibiting their performance wherever they found people's
doors not barred against them. . . They had the wild man and the
jester, combined in one character, who with his conical cap, and
in a dress entirely covered with shreds of various coloured cloth,
seemed to be the chief ' persona dramatis.' Another character
designated ' Sweet Sis ' was undertaken by one of the more
juvenile of the company, and a third, named ' Old Joan,' both
habited in female costume, . . were the most conspicuous of the
performers. The others, some half-dozen youths, having their
rustic attire covered with bunches of gaudy-coloured ribbons,
being merely supernumeraries. . . The former of the two lady
characters, by her fastidiousness, lost her lover (he in shreds with
the conical cap), whom the coarse homeliness of 'old Joan' won.
The amount collected by these plough-bullocks was often con-
siderable, and was expended in giving a treat to their friends,
male and female. n.Lin.' The next day the plough-bullocks, or
hoggins, go round the town to receive alms at each house, where
they cry ' Largus.' They are habited similar to the morris-dancers,
are yoked to, and drag a small plough ; they have their farmer,
and a fool called Billy Buck, dressed like a harlequin, with whom
the boys make sport. The day is concluded by the bullocks
running with the plough round the cross in the market-place, and
the man that can throw the others down and convey their plough
into the cellar of a public house receives one shilling for his agility,
Veck Ace. Isle Axholme {iSi$) z-jQ. Lei.i On Plough-Monday it
was the custom for some of the villagers to dress in grotesque
masquerade and perform morris-dances before all the houses where
they were likely to get money or drink. Sometimes they were
accompanied by a gang of lads with raddled faces, half-hidden
under paper masks, who dragged a plough, but this was unusual.
Some of the performers, generally four, had on white women's
dresses and tall hats. One of these was called Maid Marian. Of
the other performers, one was the Fool, who always carried the
money-box, and generally a bladder with peas in it on a string at
the end of a stick, with which he laid lustily about him. Another
was Beelzebub, in a dress made up of narrow strips of flannel,
cloth, &c., with the ends hanging loose. . . The rest were simply
grotesques. The dance they performed was merely a travesty of
a quadrille with ad lib. stamping and shuffling of feet. (9) Chs.'
The plow elates, a kind of wedge to raise the beam higher or
lower, to make it strike accordingly into the ground, Acad. Armory,
bk. III. viii. (10) The plow cock, is the iron to tye the oxen to
the plow, z6. (11) Cum., Wm. (M.P.) n.Yks. (T.S.) ; He drives
t'hoises wi t'pleeaf-cooads (I.W.). (12) Cum. A plu' co'er lad is
amangt'bullockfeet, Dickinson C»<;«6?-. (1876)243; Cum.i Usually
a lad or stout girl, whose duty it was to steer the animals, to keep
them moving steadily, to turn them in at the ends, and to bear
patiently the scowls and reproaches, and occasionally the cuffs, of
the irritated ploughman when his want of skill caused a blunder
in his performance. One or two centuries back a full plough-team
was called the ' lang ten, 'and was made upof ten individuals, viz.;
two pairs of long horned oxen, one pair of horses or galloways, a
ploughman, a person (often a woman) to hold down the beam,
and two plu' coers, sometimes an eleventh to turn the tough ley
furrow behind the plough with a spade. (13) Nhb.i Cum. As
plain as a pleugh cooter, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 213. (14, a)
Nhb.' The neighbours on all sides send in their teams and ploughs
to help in the first ploughing. The horses are decked with rosettes
and gaily-coloured ribbons for the occasion, and the hinds are
entertained to a substantial dinner by the farmer. (6) Lin. Lin.
N. (y Q. 86. (15) Per. The number of plough-gangs in the hands
of tenants is about 141 1 — reckoning 13 acres of arable land to each
plough-gang, Statist. Ace. V. 56 (Jam.). Fit Now understood to
include about forty Scotch acres at an average (Jam.). (16) So.
Non constat at this present. What is a plough-gate of land 1 Scott
Midlothian (1818) xii. Fif. A plough-gate of land is now understood
toinclude about forty Scotch acres at an average (Jam. ). Hdg. There
are 56 plough-gates and a half in the parish. Statist. Ace. 1. 121,
122 tjAM.). (17) Cai.i Cum. Thy plew-geer's aw liggin how-
strow, Gilpin Sngs. (1866) 256. n.Yks.^^, ne.Lan.i (s.v. Gear),
e.Suf. (F.H.) (i8j Som. Like a rook in a plough-ground, Raymond
PLOUGH
[553]
PLOUGH
Smoke 0/ War, 8^. (19) w.Som.' (20) e.Yks. (Miss A.), w.Yks.
(J.W.), n.Lln.1 (21) Midi. (Hall.) Nhp. If he [the ploughman]
could succeed in throwing his plough hatchet into the house before
she [the servant-maid] reached the door he was entitled to a cock
to throw at the next Shrove tide (s.v. Plough-Monday). (22)
Cum. Co't' plue-hodder, plue co'er — two or three mair, Dickinson
Cumbr. (1876) 242. (23) Cai.i Edb. To the plough irons turn'd
the hostile spear, Learmont Poems (1791) 120. N.!."^ Plough aims.
Shr.2 (24) Lin. Brookes Tracts Gl. ; Lin.i n.Lin.i Ther's been
plew-jags iver sin' th' flood. When thaay cum'd oot o' th' ark
an' put th' fo'st plew into th' ground, thaay dress'd the'rsens up
e' bits o' things an' danced an' capered aboot an' thaay've dun it
e' mem'ry o" that iver sin'. sw.Lin.^ (25) Lin.i The custom of
maurice dancing or plough-jagging (another name it had) ceased.
nXia. We're goin' to hev some real good plew-jaggin', Peacock
R. Skirlaugh (1870) III, 229. (26) Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1787). (27, a) Gall. Some errand about the work of the plough-
lads, Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 190. w.Yks.s Whistlin'
like plew-lads, 77. (b) e.Yks.' In East Holderness the special
designation of farm-servants generally, who at Christmas-tide go
about from village to village fantastically dressed, and dance to
rude music, accompanied by the mummery of a clown. (28, a) Abd.
Seed time and rain gladden ploo-land and plain, Walker Bards
Bon-Accord (1887') 627 ; The marquis of Huntly, with his lady, and
virgin daughter was in the ploughlands in harvest, Spalding Hist.
Sc, (1792) I. 16. Nhb. I thought of ee managin' the stock and
Simon the plough-land, Graham Red Scaur {iBg6) 26. w.Som.i
In making your list kindly set out each field whether meadow or
plough-land, (b) n.Lin.' Obs. An oxgang is an eighth part of a
plow-land, Surv. Manor of Kirton in-Lindsey (1787). s.Pem, A
hide of land. Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421. (29) Nrf. There was a
light in many churches called the Plow Light, maintained by old
and young persons whowere husbandmen, before some image ; who
on Plough Monday had a feast, and went about with a plough and
some dancers to support it. Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1813) I. 397;
Anciently a light called the Plough-light was maintained by old
and young persons who were husbandmen, before images in some
churches, and on Plough Monday they had a feast and went about
with a plough and dancers to get money to support the Plough-
light, Hone Every-day Bk. (1826) 74. (30) s.Not. (J.P.K.),
w.Som.i (31) lin. In the old Churchwardens' Book of Waddington
there is, under the date of 1642, the appointment of 4 persons as
' Plowmeisters.' These appointments continue to be entered
annually for about 100 years. These Plough masters had in their
hands certain moneys called ' Plow money,' which they undertook
to produce on ' Plow day,' Lin. N. & Q. 86. (32) n.Cy. (Hall.)
(33) n.Cy. In some parts of the country, and esp. in the North, they
draw the plough in procession to the doors of the villagers and
townspeople. Long ropes are attached to it, and thirty or forty
men, stripped to their clean white shirts, but protected from the
weather by waistcoats beneath, drag it along. Their arms and
shoulders are decorated with gay-coloured ribbons tied in large
knots and bows, and their hats are smartened in the same way.
They are usually accompanied by an old woman, or a boy dressed
up to represent one. She is gaily bedizened and called the Bessy.
Sometimes the sport is assisted by a humourous countryman to
represent a fool. He is covered with ribbons and attired in skins
with a depending tail, and carries a box to collect money from the
spectators. Hone Every-day Bk. (1826) 73 ; The Monday next
after Twelfth day the plow men draw a plow from door to
door and beg money to drink, which having obtained they plow
two furrows across in the base court or other place near the house,
Blount (1681). ii.Yks.-»(s.v. Pleeaf Stots). w.Yks. PlooMunday.
: — It iz ; but ah think i' me heart at t'owd ploo's brocken up, and
sumady's run away wi t'stilts for firewood, Tom Treddlehoyle
Bairnsla Ann. (1868) g; w.Yks.^, nw.Der.' Not. Still celebrated
at Cropwell, 1887 (L.C.M.). s.Not. (J.P.K.), Not.i Lin. Some
also wore small bunches of corn in their hats. . . Occasionally, if
the winter was severe, the procession was joined by threshers
carrying theii- flails, reapers bearing their sickles, and carters with
their long whips,. . . while even the smith and the miller were
among the number. . . The great event of the day was when they
came before some house which bore signs that the owner was
well-to-do in the world and nothing was given them. . . The word
was given, the ploughshare driven into the ground before the door
or window, . . and in a minute or two the ground before the
house was as brown, barren, and ridgy as a newly ploughed field,
Chambers Bk. of Days (1869) 94, 95 ; A custom in this neighbour-
hood [Wigtoft] of the ploughmen parading on Plow-Monday,
'^ICHOLS Illus. Antient Manners in Brano Pop. Antig. (ed. 1813)
i. 397 ; Lin.i, n.Lin.i, sw.Lin.l Rut.' Now they go round— men,
VOL. IV.
lads, or little boys — in small companies, sometimes with a small
attempt at disguise or dressing up, but without the plough. Lei.
On Plow-Monday I have taken notice of an annual display of
morris-dancers at Claybrook, Macaulay Hist. Claybrook (1791)
128, in Brand lA. 398. Lei.i Nhp. 'Plough Monday ' is still kept
up by children and ' hobbledehoys,' who go round with blackened
faces, and ribbons, &c., in their hats, expecting that the heads of
the houses visited will ' Remember the ploughboys,' though it is
questionable if the party are now following the plough. Standard
(Oct. 1 1, igoo) 7 ; Nhp.' Now little more than a pretext for soliciting
money, by some rude rustics in motley atlire, unaccompanied by
the plough. In the northern and eastern parts of the county it is
more noticed than in the neighbourhood of Northampton. The
pageant varies in different places, sometimes five persons precede
the plough, which is drawn by a number of boys with their faces
blackened and reddled. Formerly . . . the plough was drawn by
oxen decorated with ribbons. The one who walks first in the
procession is styled the Master, and is grotesquely attired, having
on a large wig ; two are gaily bedizened in women's clothes ; and
two others have large hunches on their backs, on which are sewed
the knave of hearts ; these two are called Red Jacks, or Fools.
Each of the five carries a besom, and one of them a box, which he
rattles assiduously among the spectators, to obtain their donations,
which are spent at night in conviviaHty and jollification. In some
instances they plough up the soil in front of the houses of such
persons as refuse their contributions. Before the inclosure of
open fields, there was another custom in connection with this day.
When the ploughman returned from his labours in the evening,
the servant maid used to meet him with a jug of toast and ale ;
and if he could succeed in throwing his plough hatchet into the
house before she reached the door, he was entitled to a cock to
throw at the next Shrove-tide, but if she was able to present him
with the toast and ale first, then she gained the cock. War. [At
Eatington, near Stratford-on-Avon] where Plough Monday is
observed with the customary freedom, ribaldry, and mirth, B ham
Dy. Mail (Nov. 16, 1897) ; War.^ Shr. On Plough Monday . . .
ploughing and spinning began again. Indulgent masters allowed
a half-holiday on this day. . . The extra allowance of beer was
stopped, Burne Flk-Lore [x^'&'i^, 411 ; Shr.i Hnt. N. 6^ Q. (1871)
4th S. vii. 53 ; (T.P.F.) Lon. To-day is Plow Monday, and several
interesting customs will be witnessed in connection with the civic
life of the City of London, B'ham Dy. Argus (Jan. 8, 1900) 4.
£ss. [At Bulmer] on Plough Monday — the first Monday of the year
— our sword-dancers will, I hope, reappear ; for I learn from a
cheery and good-looking labourer who played the Bessy in the
' Plough' that was sent forth in Jan. 1879 . . . that he with the
King and Queen and the Fool and the dancers, was but three daj's
when they brought home no less a sum than nine pounds sterling.
The last time I was here on Plough Monday. . . we had an excellent
sword-dance with all the regulation characters, N. ^ Q. (1880) 6th
S. i. 43. Cor. Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 392, ed. i8g6. (34)
Not.i, Lei.l, Ess.' (35) Chs.' (36) Nhb.', w.Yks.', nw.Der.',
se.Wor.', Shr.'* (37) e.Som. W. & J. G/. (1873). w.Som.' Tidn
no road thick way, 'tis on'y a plough-path into the ground. Dev.
You can ride there very well, sir, if you keep to the plough-path.
Reports Provinc. (1885) 102. (38) Ayr. I'll wad my new pleugh-
pettle Ye'U see't or lang, Bvrns Author's Earnest 03/(1786) st.
15. Cum.' (39) Sus. The copyholders have always claimed and
taken liberty to plow ridd and mead ridd, that is to say, to fell and
dig up by the roots any great trees that stand scatteringly dispersed
in their arable grounds or meadows, Customs Cuckfeld Manor in
Burrell MS. 5701, 159. (40) n.Yks.^ (41) Rxb. (Jam.) (42)
Rxb. (Jam.), Nhb.' (43, a) N.Cy.' Nhb.' Plooshun, or race
clouts, that is the two bars of iron on the bottom of a plough.
se.Wor.i A piece of iron fastened to the side of the ' throck ' to
prevent its wearing away with the friction with the soil. Bdf.
Plough-shoe and ground-wrists, £0 3s. od., Batchelor Agric.
(1813) 162. (A) n.Yks. (I.W.) (44) Lakel." He'd a fiut on liim
hke a plew-sled. n.Lin.' (45) n.Yks.a (46) Nhb.' It is fitted on
to the ploo-sheth and is removable so that it can be fettled or
sharpened. n.Yks.2, ne.Lan.' (47) Nhb.' [The ... plough-spade,
as it is called in some parts. Its use consists in shovelling off the
mould that may adhere to the front of the mould-board, Stephens
Farm Bk. (ed. 1849) 1. 151.] (48) Not. (W.H.S.) (,49) Cal.' Edb.
The pleugh-staff or whittle wield Mair bang than ever, Learmont
Poems (1791) 214. Rxb. Hei tuik his muckle plow-staff than. And
cam' and swabbled mei, Murray Hawick Sugs. (1892) 17. n.Cy.
(J.W.), w.Yks.', Chs.' Bdf. The handle on the right-hand side is
loose, and is called the plough-staff, Batchelor Agric. {i&i^) 161.
(50) s.Wor. (H.K.) (51) Sc. But a farmer, and with a hand that
never held pleugh-stilt or pettle, that will never do, Scott Redg.
4B
PLOUGH
[554]
PLOUGHED
(1824) Lett. X. Abd. Ye wudna hin'er Tammy to gie up the
plough stilts, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 244. Lnk. I'd be mair
atween the ploo-stilts, I'm tliinkin', Murdoch Readings (1895) 11.
III. Edb. Eith can the plough-stilts gar a chiel Be unco vogie,
Fergusson Poems (1773) 151, ed. 1785. Nhb. He can nowther
handle a gun nor haud the plough stilts, Graham Red Scaur
(1896) 245; Nhb.i Cum, As weel I know, when t'plew stilts
hoddin', Richardson Talk (1876) and S. 69. Cum., Wm. (M.P.),
Wm. (B.K.), n.Yks. (W.H.) w.Yks. He'd a tain houd a t'ploo
stilts, Tom Treddlehoyle Fr. Exhibition (c. 1856) 28. Lan. Wor
pluflf stilts they slid fro' mi grip, Harland Lytics (1866) 136.
n.Lin.i Iver sin he was big enif to walk atween a pair of plew-
stilts. Hmp.i When he be walking between the plough-stilts,
Smith New Forest (1829) II. 25. (52) n.Yks.i There used to be a
procession of young men trailing a plough, 'with their shirts over
their jackets, and with sashes of ribbons tied across their breasts
and backs, and knots or roses of the same fastened on to their
shirts and hats.' They accompanied a band or party of sword-
dancers, and always had one or more musicians with them. Egton
Bridge seems to have been famous for the observance of this
custom some score of years or so since ; n.Yks.^ The bands of
' Plough Stots,' who follow shortly after Christmas, belong to the
pageantry of former days. They are got up chiefly by our country
youths, who were wont to be followed by a plough ; but that
ponderous implement is now represented by a small model carried
on a staff. Their white shirts over their jackets are garnished
with flourishes cut out in vari-coloured paper or cloth. Sashes of
ribbon cross the back and the breast ; and rosettes of every hue
decorate their hats ; while some in the procession, showily dressed
in female costume, are termed ' Bessybabs,' 'Ladymadaras,' 'Queens.'
The set have their sword-dancers and musicians, Pref. 6 ; n.Yks.*
About twelve in number. re.Yks.' Formerly they made rounds
lasting two or three weeks. Both the lime and number of actors are
nowreduced. w.Yks. On Plough Monday 'Plough Stots' have from
lime immemorial paraded and walked in procession along the
principal streets of Wakefield. . . Until within a few years of this
date [1867] they broughta plough with them, and about 20 farmers'
men drew it along with a rope, whilst one man held the stilts and
guided the plough. . . One or two had cows' horns which they
blew loudly, and attracted many people from their houses and
shops. When they got a copper they cried ' Largess, largess,'
Yks. Wkly. Post (Aug. 22, 1896) ; Plough stots ... go round
begging on Plough Monday, with a plough frame steered by the
last married man, the two youngest lads being drivers, two of the
eldest men the beggars, and the rest taking place of horses. The
practice is almost gone out now, though one party, without plough,
came into Wakefield in 1865, but on the wrong Monday, namely
a week too soon, Banks r-F*/7rf. IFafe. (1865). (53) n.Yks.' ^ (54)
Abd. The lads come frae the flail, Or else frae haddin' the plough-
tail, Keith Farmer's Ha' (1774) st. 3, ed. 1801. Dmb. If I just
could get abune day's darging at the plew-tail. Cross Disruption
(1844) ^- Slg. His victorious sons of the plough tail, Galloway
Poems (1804) xi. Nhb. They'd slip off their skins an' run ti the
plough-tail, Oliver Z.ora/S«,g-5. (1824) 6; Nhb.i e.Yks.' Used to
designate farm-service in general, not necessarily that of a plough-
man. 'Is thi son Jack at skeeal yet?' ' Nau, he's at ploo-tail.'
Chs.i 'To be brought up at the ploo-tail ' is equivalent to saying
that a person is a peasant. s.Wor. The depth and width of the
furrow are gauged and regulated by a proper use of the plough-tail
by the ploughman(H. K.). Cor. She appear'd no whit abash t, but leant
on the plough-tail and regarded me,' Q.'5/>&Mrfirf5/>w;-(ed. 1893) 181.
(55) Rut.' Men and lads dressed up with blacked faces, strips of
paper in their hats, carrying ^ holly bush, on Plough Monday.
Hnt. The plough witchers came as usual to my house on the
evening of Plough Monday (Jan. 9th) ratthng their cans and asking
for money, TV. Cr Q. (1871) 4th S. vii. 53. (56) Nhp.' War.^
Down to 1874, and possibly later, in se.War. the plough witches
presented themselves on the evening of Plough Monday, with faces
painted white, and marked out hideously in red or black lines.
The Fool carried no separate rattle, but used the money-box as one.
The dance was a mere shuffling of feet, and there was much
shouting and noise. Hnt. (T.P. F.) (57) Rut.' He was so set on
the plough-witching. Nhp.i (58) Nhp. On plough-witch-Monday
I was in the barn, Clare 5A«/i. Cateirfrtr (1827) 156 ; Nhp.'; Nhp. 2
The ancient practice . . . is fast falling into desuetude. On Monday
last, a few visited us, serving to remind us of the recurrence
of the day; but they were unaccompanied by the paraphernalia
of exhibition which attracted attention and excited interest in our
boyish days, Nhp. Herald (Jan. 15, 1848).
2. Phr. (i) one-way plough, a particular kind of plough ;
cf. one-way zull, s.v. One, II. 1 (40) ; (2) to give a plough
earth, to adjust a plough in such a way as to cut a deeper
furrow ; (3) to shut ploughs, to agree.
(i) s.Wor. A specimen of an unusual sort called Hornsby's One-
way Plough. It has two wheels, a double shelboard, which
turns over two cutters, and a skim-coulter in combination. The
wheels can be easily raised or depressed ; the shelboard thrown
over at the end of each bout ; and the skim-coulter reversed ;
while the double cutters pulverize the soil as it is passed on to
them from the shelboards, so that no scuffling would be needed
upon light soils. At the end of each bout the plough is turned,
and a new furrow cut close to the last. It would seem to be an
implement likely to effect a great saving of time and labour to men
and horses (H.K.). (2) Bnff.' (3) Dor. (C.V.G.)
3. A team ofhorses for a plough or wagon; ateamofoxen.
Wil. A plough of horses (W.C.P.). Dor. (C.V.G.) ; Morton
Cyclo. Agric. (1863) ; Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in A^. ^ Q. (1883)
6th S. viii. 45. Som. 'Twere Varmer Mowdy's plough runned
away, and 'twere fauch'nate they hadn't a hitched on the zull,
Jackson Hist. Wadham Coll. (1893) 31, notez. e.Som. W. & J. Gl.
(1873). w.Som.i I calls that there so good a plough o' osses as
ever was a-hitch'd by the neck. Dev. Of two stray horses in a
field, 'Whose plough's this here!' Reporis Provinc. (1882) 20.
nw.Dev. Still in use (R.P.C.). w.Dev. A team of oxen, Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1796).
4. A wagon and horses ; a cart.
Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 331. Wil.* Paid for 41 daj'S
worke with a ploughe carrying stones to the Causey, Rec. Chippen-
ham (1709) 239. s.WlI. In case your man should some day tell
you that the plough is gone for coal. Arch. Mag. XVII. 30^. Dor.
(A.C.) ; An' here a geate, a-slammen to, Did let the slow-wheel'd
plough roll droo, Barnes Poems (1863) 12. Som. Sweetman
Wincanton Gl. (1865'). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Dev. Farmer
Smith got a cappical plough, Pulman Sketches (1842) Gl., ed.
1853. Cor.l
Hence (i) Ploughman, sb. a wagoner or carter ; (2)
Plough-tackle, sb. farm implements of all kinds worked
by horses or used in the harnessing of horses.
(i) Wil.i Obs. Paid for beere for the plowmen and pitchers,
Rec. Chippenham (1690) 237. Som. Ploughmen have been
haleing bells, Hervey Wedmore Chron. (1887) I. 78. (2) w.Som.i
Sight o' wear'n tear o' plough-tackle 'pon a farm way so much
tillage. Dev. Such as carts, wagons, suUs, drags, harrows, rollers,
harness, chains, ropes, &c. ' Ter'ble farm 'bout tearing abroad o'
plough-tackle,' Reports Provinc. (1885) 102.
5. Obs. The quantity of land which one plough can till.
So. (Jam.) Bnfif. For the maintainance of ane schoolemaister
every pleuch within the parish of Dumbennand shall pay ane firlot
victuall. Presbytery Bk. (1631-54) 10, ed. 1843. Abd. I'll gie him
to his dowry Full fifty ploughs of land, Maidment Garland (1824)
29, ed. 1868. Rnf. Ten firlots of meal on every plough, or four
oxen-going of land, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) II. 134, ed. 1843.
6. Ploughed ground ; a field ploughed but not seeded.
e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). Suf.i Mr. Smith's plow.
7. A joiners' tool: a plane for making a 'groove and
feather'; a match-plane. Sc. (Jam.) Wor. A^. 6^ Q.
(1890) 7th S. X. 473. Hence Plough-irons, sb. pi., see below.
Loose cutters of various widths, which the workman inserts as
may be required for the groove it is desired to plough, ib.
8. The constellation, £/rsa wo/or. Nhp.' 9. A heavy fall.
Hrf.2 I went such a plough.
10. V. In phr. (i) to plough to death, to impoverish land
by keeping it too long under tillage ; (2) — with dogs, to
do anything in the slowest possible way, to work in-
effectually ; (3) — with the hetfer, to try to worm out a
husband's secret through the medium of his wife.
(i) Chs.i (2) w.Yks. 2 Get on wi' thee ; it's as bad as plewin'
wi' dogs I Chs.i ; Chs.3 My knife is so blunt I might as well
plough with dogs. (3) Nhp.'
11. With in : to bury by ploughing.
Sur. A very strong and luxuriant crop of charlock was ploughing
in on a thin light soil, Marshall Review (1817) V. 390.
12. With down : to plough the earth away from the roots
of hops before cutting them. w.Wor.' 13. With w/ : to
turn back the earth after it has been ploughed away from
the roots of hops. ib. 14. To ' groove and feather ' ; to
use a match-plane. Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.'
PLOUGHED,/!//, arf/. Oxf.Wil. In co;>2/. (i) Ploughed-
flesh, proud flesh. Wil.*; (2) -land, arable land. Oxf.*
MS. add.
PLOUGHING
[555]
PLOVER
PLOUGHING, ppl. adj. Dur. Yks. Chs. Oxf. Also in
forms pleeafing, plewing n.Yks.* ; plooing Chs.' In
cotnp. (i) Ploughing-day, the day on which the neigh-
bouring farmers assist a new tenant of a farm to plough
his land; see below; (2) -engine, a steam plough; {3)
•iron or -aim, the coulter of a plough.
(i) Dur.i When a farmer enters upon a new farm he generally
requires, assistance in ploughing his land. He therefore invites
his neighbours to assist him with a draught of horses on a speci-
fied day, when a good dinner is prepared of beef, dumplings, and
ale. n.Yks.' On a farm of 100 or 120 acres sometimes as many as
thirty or thirty-five ploughs may be seen at work at once. The
ploughmen are liberally entertained by the farmer, and their
masters are not infrequently present also, and make it a day of
jollity. The custom used to be, when the men lowsed out ' dinner-
time,' to ride a race to the farmstead, or wherever the refreshment
for man and horse might be provided, on the plough-horses. The
rivalry now seems rather to be which of the men shall turn out
the best piece of ploughing. 'James B.'s gannan t'ha'e'spleeafing-
daa o' Monday fo'st ' ; n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.i Chs.* When a new
tenant enters a farm, it is customary for his neighbours to give him
a day's ploughing. He goes round, generally with some friend
who lives in the place, to invite them to come on a certain day,
when dinner is provided, and a considerable amount of ploughing
is done for the new comer. (2) Oxf.i (3) n.Yks.i*
PLOUGHMAN'S-WEATHERGLASS, s6. Wil.' The
scarlet pimpernel, Anagallis arvensis.
PLOUGHORE, V. Irel. To cough and expectorate
much. S.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890). Cf. ploigher.
PLOUGHYA, sb. Cor. A splash, crack, a sudden
shock.
Ef all the stones in the world war put ento one great big stone
and then cast ento the say, what a ploughya et uld maake. Mining
Jm. (Feb. 1881).
PLOUK, see Plook.
FLOUNCE, V. and sh. e.An. Dor. [pleuns.] 1. v.
To plunge with a loud noise ; to duck.
e.An.i Dor. Four women having ' spent the most pt of [two]
daies in scolding ... it is ordered they shall be plounced.' On
May 23rd, 1634, three scolds are ordered ' to be plounced thrice
apiece under the water this present afternoone.' . . May 6th, 1631,
' Mary Tuxderry, for scoulding at the sergeants when they did goe
about for mersements, is ordered to be plounced when the wether
is warmer,' Minute Bks. Borough Court Dorchester in w. Gazette
(Feb. 15, 1889) 6, col. 6 ; Barnes Gl. (1863).
2. To nonplus. e.An.' 3. sb. A noisy plunge.
Dor. An' teake a good plounce in the water, Barnes Poems
(1869-70) 44.
PLOUP, see Plop.
PLOUT, v., sb.^ and adv. Sc. Irel. Cum. Also written
pUout Bnff.' ; and in forms ploit N.I.'; plote Cum.'*;
plut Dmf. [plaut, plote.] 1. v. To splash, wash ; to
fall with a splash or sudden drop ; to fall heavily.
Or.I. (S.A.S.) Bnff.i The bairn plloutit our n' the fleer. He
plloutit in o' the gueede amo' the wattir our the hehd. Lth.
Screaming, pouting, plouting, plashing, Tell of tiny elfins washing,
Ballantine Poems (1856) 34 ; Doun fa's the thick an' grizly weet,
Plout, ploutin', on our auld trough-stane, ib. 27. N.I.i What are
ye ploitin' down for there, ye fitless falla ?
Hence Plloutin', ppl. adj. weak and awkward at work.
Bnff.' 2. To put down suddenly and heavily. Dmf.
Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 351. 3. To touch with
dirty fingers.
Cum.* Plotin' her durty fingers ower my minsh-pies.
4. To wade through water or mud ; to walk over heavy
soil. Cf. plead.
So. Mackay. Bnfif.' He plloutit up and doon the burn fishin'
wee a nit made oot an aul pyoke. Cum.'*
5. To walk, go. Uls. (M.B.-S.) 6. sb. A fall, esp. a
fall into liquid ; a splash ; the noise made by such a fall.
Bnff.' Sic a pUout into the ditch iz he got. Lnk. The loupin'
braise an perch fell back Wl mony plouts an' plashes, Hamilton
Poems (ed. 1885) 187.
7. Phr.lo play plout,obs.,to fall withasplash orsuddendrop.
Ayr. As the sugar or the cream Plays plout into the cup, Ainslie
Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 47.
8. The act of walking in water, mud, or over wet soil.
Bnff.' 9. //. The hands. Cf. 3. Cum.* Greet plotes.
10. adv. Of a fall: suddenly, plump, flat.
Bnff.i He fell pUout our.
PLOUT, 5^-.= Som. A plant. (Hall.)
PLOUT, see Plot, t;.=
PLOUTE, sb. lObs. n.Cy. Nhb. Also in form
pleught Nhb.' A long walking-stick.
N.Cy.i Generally used (with the thick end downward) by foot-
hunters. Nhb. His leg pletted oure his yek pleught, Bewick
Tyneside Tales (1850) 11 ; Nhb.l
PLOUTER, v., sb. and adv. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks.
Also written plowter Sc. n.Ir. ; and in forms pleeter
Cum. ; pleuter Cum.'* ; plleuter Bnff.' ; ploiter Sc. ;
plotter w.Sc. (Jam.) w.Yks. ; plutter Nhb.' Cum.'
[plau't3(r.] 1. V. Towadethroughwaterormud; tosplash,
flounder, dabble in any liquid substance. Cf plout, v.
Sc. Bairns ploutering in the dubs, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897)
46. Cai.' Bnff.' The loon cam pUeuterin' through the pleut laan,
an' clortit a's breeks wee clay. Per. Folk 'ill whiles gang
ploutering in the mud, Sandy Scott (1897) 69. w.Sc. (Jam.) Fif.
He thought he was plouterin through dubs, Robertson Provost
(1894) 63. Slg. Again I seem A laddie ploitering in thy stream.
Towers Poems (1885) 134. Edb. Plowtering my time away in a
dub of water, Beatty Sccretar (1897) 39. Slk. I had gone in to the
dookin and was plouterin about in the pool, Chr. North Noctes
(ed. 1856) IV. 24. Hdg. LuMSDEN Poems (1896) 148. n.Ir. A
man used to come . . .An' plowter for hours in the water for fish.
Lays and Leg. (1884) 14. Uls. (M.B.-S.), N.Cy.', Nhb.' w.Yks.
Miss's pony has . . . plottered through, raight o'er into t'meadow,
Bronte Wuthering Hts. (1847) ix.
2. To be engaged in wet or dirty work ; to work awk-
wardly or slovenly ; to trifle, dawdle, linger.
Sc. When he's aye ploiterin amond, Donald Poems (1867) 17.
Bnff.i She pUeutert for raair nor an oor at washin' the taties.
Per. What are ye ploiterin' aboot here for ? Ian Maclaren Brier
Bush (1895) 233. w.Sc. (Jam.) Tif. He's ower fond o' plouterin'
aboot they woods, Heddle Marget (1899) 58. Ayr. I haenae time
to byde, but maun awa and plowter in the sun ance mair. Service
Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 287. Lnk. You, Betty, were formed by
Nature to . . . plowter awa' a' your days wi' a washin'-cloot, a
hearth-broom, an' a black-lead brush ! Murdoch Peadings (iSg^)
I. 61. e.Lth. She juist made a show o' eatin, an' sat an'ploutered
wi' her spune, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 203. Hdg. The 'men ' are
plouterin' breakin' sticks, Lumsden Pocwss (1896) la. GalL (J.M.);
Your mither has dune naething but plowter about the house,
Crockeit Kit Kennedy (1899) 282. N.Cy.', Nhb.' Cum. He
pleeters on an' gets nae work duin (E.W.P.) ; Cum.*
Hence (i) Pleutery or Ploiterie, {a) sb. anything wet,
dirty, or disagreeable ; wet weather ; refuse, rubbish ;
ill-cooked food ; (b) adj. wet and dirty, disagreeable ; (2)
PUeuterin, //>/. adj. weak and unskilful at work, laborious
without success.
(I, a) Bnff.' She didna yse them verra weel ; for she ga' thim
bit a plleuterie o' half-bilet neeps. Cum.' Rid away that pleutery,
Maggy ; Cum.* (6") Bnff.' Abd. Wi' byous coorse ploiterie road,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 219; A kin' o' ploiterie wark, ib.
161. (2) Bnff.' She's a plleuterin' hanless lassie. w.Sc. (Jam.)
3. sb. A splash, plunge ; a splashing sound ; the act of
walking through mud or water. Also in comp. Plowter-
plowter.
Sc. The sea was extremely little, but there went a hollow
plowter round the base of it, Stevenson Catrioiia (1893) xiv ;
For mony a foul weary plouter She'd cost him through gutters
and glaur, Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) I. 294. Bnff.' The
plleuter, it they hid amo' the water, ga' thim the caul. A hard
like a plleuter amo' the wattir. e.Sc.I heard the plowter-plowter
o' the burn under the brig, Strain Elmslie's Drag-net (1900) 286.
Frf. She heard o' his plouter the sound, Watt Poet. Sketches
(1880) 96. w.Sc. (Jam.)
4. Phr. to play plouter, to fall with a splash.
e.Fif. Ayont him lay the jaw-hole and reet into the middle o't him
an' me an' the divots played plouter, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) x.
5. Wet, disagreeable work. Bnff.', w.Sc. (Jam.) 6. Ill-
cooked food. Bnff.' 1. pi. A term of contempt. Nhb.'
•8. adv. With noise in a liquid substance. Bnff.'
PLOUTSACKS, sb. pi. Sh.I. The feet. S. & Ork.'
Cf. ploots.
PLOVER, sb. Sc. Cum. Lei. L In comb, (i) Plover('s
page, (a) the dunlin, Tringa alpina ; [b) the Jack-snipe,
Limnocryptes gallinula ; (2) -('s provider, see (i, a).
4 B 3
PLOVERER
[556]
PLUCK
(i, a) Sh.I. Sh. News (Jan. 14, 1899). Heb. It is there said
that a solitary Dunhn will attach itself to a solitary Golden
Plover, and this strange notion has extended to the Hebrides,
where from its habit of associating with those birds it is called the
' Plover's Page,' Smith Birds (1887) 438. w.Sc. Swainson Birds
(1885) 193. Lnk. (R.H.H.^, Cum." (6) S. & Ork.i Generally an
attendant on a flock of plovers. (2) Cum.< Fauna (1892) 380.
2. The golden plover, Charadrius pluvialis. Rxb. Swain-
son ib. 47. 3. Phr. a Leicester{shire plover, obs., a bag-
pudding.
Lei. Ray Prov. (1678) 317 ; There are men here . . . would not
want their share of a Leicester plover, Scott Midlothian (1818)
xxxiii.
PLOVERER, s6. n.Lin.' A man who catches plovers
or who gathers their eggs.
PLOVING, sA. n.Lin.' [plu'vin.] Thecry of the plover.
PLOWABLE, o^-. Sc. Arable.
Gall. The haleware o't seem'd to be gran plowable Ian', Mac-
TAGGART Encyd. (1824) 307, ed. 1876.
PLOWD, see Plead.
PLOWDEN, sb. Shr. In phr. the case is altered, quoth
Plowden, a prov. saying.
Shr.2 This phr., which originated through the unexpected
decisions given by the celebrated Judge Plowden, has continued
current amongst us since his time. [' The case is altered, quoth
Plowden,' a very favourite old proverbial phrase. Plowden was
an eminent lawyer in Queen Mary's time, who being asked what
legal remedy there was against some hogs that trespassed on the
complainant's ground, he answered, he might have very good
remedy; but the other telling him they were his hogs, 'Nay,
then, the case is altered,' quoth Plowden (Hall.).]
PLOWDER, see Plodder, sb.
PLOWLICK MONDAY ,/»%>-. Obs. Nrf. The Monday after
Twelfth-day. See Plough Monday, s.v. Plough, II. 1 (33).
Called 'Plowlick Monday' by the husbandmen in Norfolk,
because on that day they doe first begin to plough, Roiley
Absurdities of Miles Corbet (1646) 6 note, in Brand Pop. Antiq.
(ed, 1813) 399.
PLOWMB, PLOWP, see Plum, adj}. Plop.
PLOWSTER, V. and sb. Sc. Also in form plooster.
1. V. To toil in mud or filth. Rxb. Gl. Sibb. (1802)
(Jam.). Cf plouter. 2. sb. Fig. A bungle, muddle.
Bmf. My uncle turned his head to me and said . . . ' He has
made an awesome plooster o' that place ' [i. e. of Inferno], Jane
Carlyle Lett. (July 27, 1849).
PLOWT, see Plot, v.\ Plut.
PLOWTER, PLOWTHER, see Plouter, Plodder, sb.
PLOWY, adj. Cmb. [plau'l.] Awry. (W.W.S.)
PLOY, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Also in form ply
Gall, [ploi.] 1. sb. Amusement, merrymaking, sport ;
a frolic, escapade ; a trick, practical joke ; a shortened
form of ' employ.'
Sc. I warrant you cart- ropes would not hold them back from
such a ploy as I shall propose to them, Scott Nigel (1822) xxxv.
Sh.I. Noo, Bawby, what's ta be da ploy? Stewart Tate (1892)
81. e.Sc. That was but a silly freak o' his last summer after a bit
ploy he'd been at down at Muiredge, Setoun R. Urquhart (1896)
vii. Abd. He would gladly have given even his books for such
a ploy, Macdonald Sir Gibhie (1879) xxxiii. Kcd. Only the
selec' Were warnt anent the dancin' ploy. Grant Lays (1884') 59.
Frf. Tells the tale of the ploy in which the young fellows found
themselves entangled, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 46. Per. Guddlin'
was a graund ploy, Ian Maclaren Auld Lang Syne (1895) 142.
Fif. Tennant Papistry (1827) 60. s.Sc. He's to gie them a ploy
forbye, after [the wedding] is a' owre, Wilson Tales (1836) III.
29. Dmb. Ye plan'd the ploy with the spaewife as weel as I
could doo mysel, Cross Disruption (1844) ix. Rnf. M'Gilvray
Poems (ed. 1862) 243. Ayr. In short we had just a ploy the
whole two days they stayed with us, Galt Ann. Parish (1821)
xvii. Lnk. Tam o' his ain ploys grown weary, Nicholson Idylls
(1870) 33. Lth. The spoiling of their expected 'ploy' irritated
them, Strathesk Blinkbonny (ed. 1891) 176. Edb. In public
companies and assemblies of the people, such as strawberry ploys,
council meetings, dinner-parties, and so forth, Moir Mansie Wauch
(1828) xix. Bwk. Folks, wha owre him shake their pows at the
ploys he's led 'em, Calder Poems (1897) 125. Feb. Affleck
Poet. Wks. (1836) 94. Slk. Oh, but it was a gran' ploy! and may
we soon see sic anither, Chr. North Noctes (ed. 1856) III. 70.
Dmf. Reid Poems (1894) 159. Gall. The loons are ever after
some daft ploy, Chockett Moss-Hags (iSgs) liv ; At all . . .
jerkins, plys, sprees, and rows of every kind, Mactaggart Encyd.
(1824I 488, ed. 1876. Wgt. Fraser Poems (1885) 53. N.Cy.'
Nhb. At a ploy There's nana to beat him, Strang Earth Fiend
(1892) 18 ; Nhb.l
2. Employment, occupation, business ; a serious matter
or affair ; a quarrel, brawl.
Sc. After the bonny ploy ye made in the forty-five, Scott
Redg. (1824) vii. Bch. I soon prevail'd wi' her to send The
young man to the ploy, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 18. Abd. Sammy
Riach's mixed up in the ploy, tee ! Abd. IVkly. Free Press (Oct.
20, 1900). Arg. If I was a stone or two lighter . . . it's off on this
ploy I would be too, Munro Lost Pibroch (1896) 210. Fif.
Tennant Papistry (1827) 63. Ayr. On account of some ploy he
had with the Dalmailing Session anent a bairn, Galt Provost
(1822) xiii. Bwk. There were terrible ploys about Howdies in
the daj'S of our grandmothers, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856)
166. Dmf. A wumman's haun's are in yon ploy, Paton Castlebraes
(1898) 158. Gall. He would set no finger to such a ploy, Crockett
Anna Mark (1899) ^'''- Nhb. This wonderfu' ploy o' cleanin', Jones
Nhb. (1871) 81. Cum.2
3. V. "To employ.
Nhb. Gin ye ploy ony fair, hard-workin' lassie, Jones Nhb,
(1871) 212; Macduff, wha was ployed amang the flower-beds
near the house, ib. 263.
PLOYDE, sb. Lan. See below.
Prescot, Huyton, and merry Childow, Three parish churches,
all in a row, Prescot for mugs, Huyton for ploydes, And Childow
for ringing and singing besides, N. & Q. (1851) ist S. iv. 501 ;
Ploydes, ploys — merry meetings ; although some think 'ploughs'
are meant, Harland & Wilkinson Leg. (1873) 183.
PLUBBY, «<f7". Glo.^ [plBbi.] Swollen, puffy, 'pobby.'
He is not so plubby in the face as he was.
PLUCHER, V. ? Obs. Lan. To pilfer, steal. Davies
Races (1856) 276. s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854).
PLUCK, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Yks. Lan. Lei. Nhp. Shr.
e.An. Dev. [pluk, plBk.] I. v. With up: to gain
courage ; to make up to a person in a bold manner.
n.Yks. Thoo mun pluck up tul him er he'l all'as be t'raaister.
Well dun, Tom, pluck up t'him, doon't thee bi freeten'd on him
(W.H.). w.Yks. Bud he pluckt up an' tried ta laff hissen aht ov
hisfreet, Pudsey Olm. (1893) in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 28, 1896) ;
I saw her come aht, an' I plucked u,p to her, Cudworth Dial.
Sketches (1884) 2.
2. With off: to cease work.
w.Yks. We wrought every day, but we plucked off on Setterdas
(A.C.).
3. Comb, (i) Pluck-up, an eager struggle for anj'thing to
be sold or given away ; (2) -wool, wool plucked from the
sheepskins after the sheep are dead.
(i) Bnff.i There wiz a riglar pluckup for tickets t'the Penny
Readins. (a) nw.Dev.'
4. To twitch.
Shr.i Mother, theer's summat the matter 66th my eye— it's
pluckin'.
Hence Plucking, sb. a nervous twitching; St. Vitus'
dance.
I wish yo'd'n a pluckin' i' yore 'eels to get out o' my road, ib.
5. Phr. to pluck a /a', obs., to settle a difference.
Bch. The Kirk and you maun pluck a fa' About young Jock,
Forbes Dominie (1785) 44.
6. sb. That which can be plucked ; a small quantity ;
gen. of grass, herbage, &c.
Sh.I. Ta see if hit widna trive faster apo' da green pluck aboot
da doors, Sh. News (Aug. 7, 1897). Edb. Our beasties here will
take their e'ening pluck, Fergusson Poems (1773) 106, ed. 1785.
Slk. The dog an' me will let ye tak a pluck an' fill yoursels,
Hogg Tales (1838) 23, ed. 1866. Gall. Naebody wad grudge
ha'eing to gie you a pluck o' girse to j'our bit beastie, Nicholson
Hist. Tales (1843) 128.
7. pi. Herrings, broken or otherwise injured ; see below.
Cai.i Herring when stuck so fast in the net that they cannot be
shaken out, have to be plucked out by hand. In" doing this their
heads are often taken off, or they are otherwise injured.
8. A slight tear.
e.An.' That bromble gon my gown a rare pluck.
9. Phr. (i) to get a pluck, to have one's clothes caught on
a nail or briar, &c. ; (2) to have or tak' e pluck, of fowls : to
moult.
PLUCK
[557]
PLUG
(i) Uls. Purty people an' ragget people's often gettin' plucks,
Uls. Jrn. Arch. (1854) II. 127. (2) Cai.'
10. Comb, (i) Cock o' pluck, a brave fellow ; (2) Pluck-
pasty, (3) -pie, a pie made of the viscera of an animal.
(i)Rnf. That fourscore cock o' pluck 'Fore whase name dynasties
hae shuck, Young Pictures (1865) 142. (2) Lei> Nhp.i Made of
the pluck of a pig, with the exception of the liver, chopped up
with apples, and mixed with currants, sugar, spice, and wine.
(3) e.Yks.i More generally of kidney and liver than of other
portions.
11. Fig. The human heart, the lungs.
w.Yks. Aa, Jack lad, tha shouldn't hurry thisen like that, mun,
it's enough to gie thee th' palpitation o' th' pluck, Hartley Clock
Aim. (1881) 9, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 28, 1896). Lan.
Dunno let it meighdur thy yed nor potter thy plucks, Staton
Loominary (c. 1861) 117 ; Leys, taxes, customs, meyn our plucks
to throb, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) i.
Hence Pluckless, adj. spiritless, depressed.
So. The pluckless soul may yield to grief— We'll live in jollity!
OuTRAM Lyrics (1857) 145; The 'Assise ' bears all the marks of
a selected set of worthless and pluckless wretches, Pitcairn
Trials (1829) pt. iv. 249.
12. A two-pronged instrument, with the teeth at right
angles to the shaft; used for taking dung out of a cart, &c.
Abd. (Jam.) 13. The armed bullhead, Aspidophorus
Europaeus.
So. Small and ugly, supposed by the fishers to be poisonous.
Often taken in oyster-dredges, and herring-nets, but is detested by
the fishermen, Neill Fishes (1810) 9 (Jam.), [Satchell (1879).]
PLUCK, see Plook.
PLUCKED,///, adj. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Nrf Dev. Cor.
Slang. Also written pluckt Yks. Lan. [plukt, plBkt.]
High-spirited, courageous, brave; gen. in comb, with adj.
Gall. Faith, but you are a well-plucked one ! Cjiock^ti Standard
Bearer (1898) 255. Nhb. He's a good plucked one, is th' young
Squire efter aal, Pease Mark o' Deil (1893) 42, ed. 1894.
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 28, 1896). Lan. T'lad was a
pluck't un, Waugh Heather (ed. Milner) I. 118. Nrf. You're
a well-plucked 'un, mate, Emerson Yarns (1891) 41. Dev. Then
et corned tu be a gude plucked thing tu walk around the Tower
by night, Phillpotts Dartmoor (1895) ip'- Cor. When
I thrashed 'ee for stealin' my apples 'ee were a good plucked 'un.
An' good plucked 'uns don't keep dolls, Pall Mall Mag. (Mar.
1901) 420. Slang. We'll drink the boat, and drink the crew,
good pluck'd ones every one, Latham Brasenose Ale Verses (1858).
PLUCKER, sb} Yks. [plu-k3(r).] A woollen-trade
term : a machine for mixing wool, &c., previous to
'scribbling.' w.Yks. (J.M.)
PLUCKER, sb.^ Sc. [plskar.] 1. The great fishing-
frog, Lophius piscatorius.
Sh.I. Da highest lift fir da past twa saesons wis seeven sillocks
an' a plucker, Ollason Marcel (1901) 63 ; S. & Ork.'^
2. The father-lasher, Coitus bubalis. Cai.'
PLUCKER-DO"WN, sb. Obs. Shr.' A part of the
head-gear of an infant in the eighteenth century.
The skull-cap was a tight-fitting cap of linen which went over
the cross-cloth; to this was attached the plucker-down— an
invention designed to keep the child from throwing its head back.
It consisted of two linen bands, which, being secured to the cap at
one end, were at the other fastened to the shoulders of the child's
dress, thus keeping the head in position.
PLUCKING, sb. Yks. Lan. [plu'kin.] 1, Obs. The
quantity of worsted plucked from the end of the ' slifFer '
or ' sliver,' and folded over the fingers, whilst turning the
spinning-wheel. w.Yks.' ne.Lan."^ 2. Phr. as white as
a plucking, as white as pure wool, very white. w.Yks.
Brighouse JSlews (Aug. 10, 1889). 3. The process of
mixing up different qualities of the wool after ' scribbling.'
w.Yks. Baines Yks. Past (1870) 632. 4. Fig. A repro-
bate person.
w.Yks. Generally qualified by the adj. ' mucky,' as, ' Shoo js a
mucky pluckin',' Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 28, 1896).
PLUCKSH, int. Lin. Also in form plux. [plujcj.]
A word used to frighten chickens. Thompson Hist.
Boston (1856) 718. n.Lin.'
PLUCKY, adj. Suf. [plB'ki.] Heavy, clogging, ad-
hesive.
The clay is so 'plucky,' ^acmillan's Mag. (Sept. f88g) 3§p,
PLUD, sb. Yks. Som. 1. Obs. A puddle. w.Yks.
HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781). 2., The swampy surface
of a wet ploughed field. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
PLUDGE, PLU(E, PLUF(E, FLUFF, see Pledge,
Plough.
FLUFF, v., sb. and adj. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Yks. Lin. Lei.
Nhp. War. Hnt. Dev. Cor. [pluf, plBf.] 1. v. To emit
a short, sharp breath ; esp. to blow anything, as peas,
pellets, &c., through a tube.
Abd. (A.W.) S.Don. Simmons G/. (1890). N.Cy.i, Nhb.', n.Yks."
Lin.i Several people were fined for plufEng peas at policemen.
Hence PlufFer, sb. a popgun, pea-shooter.
Abd. Chasing the leeries wi' pluffers an' pease, Anderson
Rhymes (ed. 1867) 31 ; (A.W.) Nhb. A pluffer was made from
dry hemlock stem or of tin (J H.) ; Nhb.i
2. To explode gunpowder. N.Cy.^ Hence PluflFer, sb.
a shooter, marksman.
Slk. Is that the pluffer at partridge-pouts who had nearly been
the death of poor Ponto! Blackw. Mag. (Sept. 1828) 278.
3. To swell, puff up.
S.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890). Lej.>, Nhp.', Hnt. (T.P.F.) Dev.
Hasn't the pudding pluifed up beautifully ? Sharland Ways
Village {1885) 110.
4. sb. A puff, blast, shot ; a slight explosion.
Kcd. Jamie Muse (1844) 99. Ayr. There cam only frae't a
muckle Jenny-mony-feet and a pluff'o' bad air that put the caunle
oot, Service Noiandums (1890) 56. Lth. On Queen's birth-days,
thy squibs and plufl"s, Slappit in face o' drucken scuffs, Or bizzin'
amang lassies' ruffs, Ballantine Pofws (1856) 67. Edb. In the
one pistol but a pluff of powder, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) xvi.
Slk. But the mystery o' life canna gang out like the pluff o' a
cawnle, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 13.
5. A pinch, a small quantity of powder, &c.
Gall. A wee pins' o' ash that I shall hold like snuff between my
fingers and my thumb, Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 301.
6. Atube to 'pluff' with, apea-shooter;apopgun. n.Yks.*,
e.Yks.^ 7. Comp. (i) Pluff-grass, (a) the creeping soft-
grass, Holcus mollis ; (b) the meadow soft-grass, Holcus
lanatus ; (2) -gun, a popgun.
(i «, 6) Bnff.i (2) Frf. Pluff-guns and pouther there was in't,
Jamie Emigrant's Family (1853) 48.
8. A powder-puff.
Sc. A veshel that rins ashore wi' us flees asunder like the pow-
ther when I shake the pluff, Scott Antiquary (1816) xxxvi.
9. See below.
s.Sc. (Jam.) Dmf, The Brownie . . . would take up the pluff (a -
piece of bored bourtree for blowing up the fire), and, stirring out
the red embers, turn itself till it was rested and dried, Cromek
Remains (1810) 331.
10. Fur, soft down ; the fur or fine hairy coat of an
animal. Lei.', War.=, Cor.'= 11. A rotten and dried
mushroom, which, as soon as it is touched, goes to dust.
Sc. (Jam.) 12. A pear with a fair outside, and appar-
ently sound, but within entirely rotten. Rxb. (ib.)
13. adj. Puffed up, soft, spongy.
Cor. N. & Q. (1854) ist S. X. 359 ; Cor.l An old turnip is said
to be pluff ; Cor.*
PLUFFER, s6. e.Yks.' A dial, form of ' plover.' MS.
add. (T.H.)
PLUFFINS, sb. pi. Sc. Anything easily blown away,
as the refuse of a corn-mill. See Pluff.
Slk. He's as weel aff down wi' the auld miller ; he'll get some
pluffins o' seeds or dust, Hogg Perils of Man (1822) II. 33 (Jam.)
PLUFFY, adj Sc. Yks. Lei. "War. Dev. Cor. [plufi,
plB-fi.] 1. Fat, swollen, chubby. See Pluff, Ploffy.
Abd. Her cheeks they are pluffy, her lips they are thin, Ogg
Willie ?Fa/y(i873) 164. S}k. A big, dun-faced, pluffy body, Hogg
Tales (1838) 329, ed. 1866. n.Yks. ' She leeaks a pluffy leeak,'
said of a drunken woman (I.W.). Lei.' The monks at the
Tin-meadows say they live on nothing but vegetables ; how come
they to be so pluffy, then ? W^r.^
2. Soft, porous, spongy.
Dev.i n.Dev. A pauking, pluffy nestledraff. Roots. Jim an' Nell
(1867) St. 87. nw.Dev.i Often applied to bread. Cor.l Applied
to feathers, &c., sometiines to a spongy turnip; Cor,*
3. Poorly, out of sorts. Cor.*
PLUG, sb. and v. Sc Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Der. Shr. e.Cy. Dev. Cor. [plug, plBg.] 1. sb. A
PLUGGER
[558]
PLUM
wooden block attached by a chain to one foreleg of a
horse or an ass to prevent it from straying. nw.Dev.^
2. //. Toy batteries.
w.Cor. The boys at St. Peter'stide fire off miniature rock
batteries called ' -pXu^s,' Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 239.
3. Logs of wood ; sections of the trunk of a tree.
Dev. I'll put up some plugs there to keep them from driving on
the soft gravel, Reports Provinc. (1889).
4. An undersized person. e.Cy. (Hall.) 5. A long-
continued pull. Cum.*, Chs.i 6. Comh. (i) Plug-and-
feather, (a) a coal-mining term : a long wedge driven
between two other wedges with their thick ends placed
in an opposite direction ; (b) a quarry term : wedge-
shaped chisels, used for putting in holes after they have
been drilled, to split up the hard rock ; (2) -and-wing,
see (i, b).
(i, a) Nhb.^The plug and feather vi^as introduced into coal mining
by Mr. G. C. Green well in 1869. It had been from early times
used in lead mining. Nhb., Dur. An arrangement for lessening
the friction in wedging. It consists of two round-backed strips of
wedge-shaped iron, put thick end first into a drill-hole, and a
wedge driven in between them, Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
(6) LakeL2, Wm. (B.K.), w.Yks. (W.H.V.), Lan. (S.W.) (2)
Der. Which plug and wing affirmed, Furness Mediats (1836) 51.
7. V. To Strike with the fist.
Dmf. Great uproar, and cries of ' Sit doon, IWatthy ! ' ' Plug him ! '
' Stick in, Matthy ! ' Ponder Kirkcumdoon (187s) 86. e.Yks.iJI/S
add. (T.H.)
Hence Pluggin, sb. a flogging, beating.
e.Yks. A good pluggin is what thoo desahves, Nicholson Flk-Sp.
(1889) 28 ; e.Yks.' Ah'll gi tha a good pluggin if tha dizn't behave
thi-sen, MS. add. (T.H.)
8. To load a cart with manure.
n.Yks.* ne.Yks.i 'What is Tom doing?' 'Pluggin' muck.'
m.Yks.i We shall have to go to plug muck to-morn.
0. To pluck, pull ; esp. of the hair.
Cum.l", Lan.i, ne.Lan.i Chs. The pulling of the hair is not called
• lugging,' but • plugging,MOTrf. (Aug. 23, 1884) 126 ; Chs.i s.Chs.i
Aa-r Ben will pliig mi. Shr.l 'Er's pluggin' my yar.
10. Phr. to plug upparts, to apply any very severe
measure ; lit. to pull a person's hair upwards. Chs.'
See Lug, v} 4.
PLUGGER, s6.i Lakel. Yks. [plu-g3(r.] Anything
very large of its k]nd.
Lakel.2 n.Yks. A, bud that is a plugger (I.W.); n.Yks.'*
ne.Yks.' It wer a plugger. e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 31 ;
e.Yks.i That apple's a plugger, MS. add. (T.H.) m.Yks.', w.Yks.
(C.W.D.)
PLUGGER, s6.2 Hrt. [plB-ga(r).] Beefsteak pudding.
PLUGGIN, />//.arfy. e.Yks.' [plu'gin.] Very large.
That's a pluggin apple, MS. add. (T.H.)
PLUGGY, adj. Lan. e.An. [plu'gi, plB-gi.] 1. Short,
thick, sturdy.
e.An.i ; e.An.2 A pluggy chap ; a pluggy mawther ; a pluggy
horse. Suf. Betty and Molly . . . united ... in describing Martin
... as a short, pluggy man, with a pug nose, Strickland Old
Friends (1864) 33.
2. Of hair: tangled, knotted. Lan. (G.E.D.), (E.H.G.)
PLUGMAN, sb. Nhb.' [plu'gman.] The man in
charge of a pit pumping-engine.
PLUIF, PLUKE, see Plough, Plook.
PLUM, sb.^ Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
written plumb Ess. [plum, plBm.] 1. In phr. he would
bile a plum a-two, said of a tradesman who gives bare
measure. Oxf. (A. P.) 2. Comb, (i) pium-bird, (s)
-budder, the bullfinch, Pyrrhula Europaea; (3) -damas,
•dame, -damis, a damson ; a Damascene plum ; (4)
•dough, -duff, (a) a suet dumpling ; (b) a drink made from
plums, a kind of plum-wine ; (5) •duffer, a seller of plum-
duff ; (6) -g(h)erk, •g(h)erkum, see (4, b) ; cf. gerkum ; (7)
•heavy, a small round cake made of pie-crust, with
raisins or currants in it ; (8) -picking, autumn ; (9)
•pudding, (a) the great hairy willow-herb, Epilobium
hirsutum ; (b) a spring flower [not identified] ; (c) var.
kinds of campion. Lychnis ; (d) a game at marbles ; («) a
coach-dog ; (iq) •pudding and roast beef, a game, nearly
the same as 'English and French' ; (11) •pudding close,
a rich piece of marsh land ; (12) -pudding dog, a kind of
collie; (13) -pudding stone, Hertfordshire pudding-
stone ; {14) — Sunday, the last Sunday in September; (15)
■swarm, the first and most valuable swarm of a hive
of bees.
(i) Shr. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 67 ; Shr.' (2) Shr. Swainson
ib. ; Shr.' To the bullfinch's well-known habit of feeding on the
buds of fruit-trees is this local name doubtless due. (3) Sc. Except
the fruits growing in Scotland, as also figs, raisins, plum dames,
almonds, and other unconfected fruit, Sc. Pari. Act (1581) in
Andrews Ch. Life (1899) 208. Abd. Guid barley broth and skink
came next, Wi' raisins and plumdamis raixt, Shirrefs Poems
(1790) 210. Edb. The table was covered with dishes full of jar-
gonelles and pippins, . . shell walnuts and plumdamases, Moir
Mansie Wauch (1828) ii. (4, a) ne.Sc. There were dumplings —
'plum duffs' they were called — cooked to perfection and usually
eaten with the beef, after broth as rich as turtle soup had been
disposed of, Green Gordonhaven (1887) 71. [b) Wor. (H.K.)
(5) Lon. I have ascertained . . . that, take the year through, six
' plum duffers' take is. a day each, Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851)
1. 198. (6) Wor. (E.S.) (7) Sus." You have got plum-heavies for
tea, . . which I never saw but when I have been visiting in Sussex.
(8) s.Wor. Since las' plumpickin' wuz a twel' -month, Outis Vig.
Mon. in Berrow'sjrn. (1896). (9, a) Clis. From its smell (B. & H.) ;
Chs.' (6) Suf. A local flower described as being blue, about
the size ofclover, but flatin form (H.H.M.). Ess.(S.P.H.) (c)Siif.
Lychnis diurna, red campion ; Lychnis vesperiina, evening campion
(B. &H.); Science Gossip {1882) 21 5. (rfjNhp.' Of two ormoreboys,
each puts an equal number of marbles in a row close together ; a mark
is made at some little distance, called taw ; the distance is varied ac-
cording to the number of marbles in a row. The first boy bosses at
the row, in such a way as to pitch just on the marbles, and so strike'
as many as he can out of the line ; all that he strikes out he takes;
the rest are put close together again, and the other players take
their turns in the same manner, till all the marbles are struck out
of the line, when they all stake afresh, and the game begins again.
(«) Lon. The species which I have enumerated are all that are now
sold in the streets, with the exception of an old 'plum-pudding,'
or coach dog (the white dog with dark spots which runs after
carriages), Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) II. 53, ed. 1861. (10)
Suf.' (11) Lin. Here and there is an exceptionally rich piece [of
marsh land], which often goes by the significant name of ' plum-
pudding close,' Longman's Mag. (Jan. 1891) 253. (12) Sur. A
wiry fox-like coUie, one from the Lake district, a ' plum-pudding
dog,' covered with patches of light and dark slate-coloured hair,
having one eye light green, with brown specks in it, the other a
greyish blue, Son of Marshes On Sur. Hills (1891) 195. (13)
e.Yks. If this . . . pebble were the . . . plum-pudding stone, Linskill
E.xchange Soul (1888) xvi. Ess. A lightish loam, on a gravel
bottom ; and under this gravel, an iron rag, and plumb-pudding
stone. Young Agric. (1813) I. 18. (14) Cum.* When people used
to assemble at Langwathby to pick plums and make merry at the
inn. (15) Wm. Plum swarms ar' mine an shinin sleek, Sewart
Rhymes (1869) No. 68.
PLUM, adj}, adv.\ sb.^ and v.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc.
Eng. and Amer. Also written plumb Sc. Cum.^ ne.Yks.'
e.Yks.' w.Yks.=35 Nhp.' e.An.' Wil.' w.Som.' Amer.;
and in form plowmb Cum.^ [plum, plBm.] 1. adj.
Perpendicular, upright, level with ; stretched in a line.
Cf. plim, sb. 5.
Sc.(A.W.), Dur.i Cum.3 He was mair nor plumb. Wm. That wo'
issant plum (B.K.). n.Yks.' Yon wall's not plum by a vast ; n.Yks.*
ne.Yks.' Wa mun 'ev it plum, howivver. w.Yks.' ; w.Yks.^ In
fitting up a clock, the workman will be reminded to make it
' plum'.' nw.Der.i, n.Lln.' Brks.' The plank along this zide yent
plum wi' the one on t'other zide. e.An.', Saf.' Dor. Now theare's
his whip-nob plum Upon the teable vor a drum, Barnes Poems
(c. 1869-70) 59. w.Som.' Thick there wall on't never stan' ; why
he idn plumb by up dree inches.
2. Fig. Sane, of sound mind ; honest, straightforward.
e.Yks.' He's not 'xacly plumb. w.Yks.' He's nut quite plum ;
w.Yks.3; w.Yks.5 My mother says he isn't plumb, 5. Wil.' 'A
plumb man,' an upright man, one who always keeps his word.
Hence Plum-up, adj. straightforward, reliable, steady.
Wm. He's a chap at's alius plum-up (B.K.).
3. Exact, up to time,
w.Yks. I'm plum tul e minnet, Leeds Loiners' Olm. (1878) 19;
w.Yks.s Ah wur thear plum' to t'tiroe.
PLUM
[559]
PLUMP
4. An intensitive : excellent, fine, great.
e.Dev. The room seemed all the more plum in that the air outside
was frosty, Jane Lordship (1897) 248; The finest, fattest and
plummest baby as ever I seed, ib. 309. Dev. Theer'll be some
plum drinkin' by all accounts, Phillpotts Sons of Morning (1900)
180. [Amer. Ef I hed your gun, I'd hev plum fun, Dial. Notes
(1896) I. 373.]
5. Solid, heavy, sad, as bread or land. Nhb.^ Hence
Plumness, sb. solidity.
Dor. Theophilus Dewy . . . used to say there was no ' plumness '
in it — no bowing, no solidity, — it was all fantastical, Hardy Life's
Ironies {eA. 1896) 182.
6. Comp. (i) Plum-bob, (a) a tool to test perpendicularity,
used by masons, carpenters, &c. ; (b) the leaden weight
in a plumb-rule ; (c) the float of a fishing-line ; (d)
straight off; (2) -daytle, {a) very laborious ; (6) a hard
day's work.
(,1, o) w.Yks. It consists of a 'straight-edge ' or wooden rule, 4 to
5 inches wide and 3 to 6 feet long; near the bottom a pear-shaped
aperture is cut, large enough to admit the free passage of a pear-
shaped lump of lead. This is suspended by a long cord and swings
freely from the top of the ' straight-edge.' The edge of this rule
is applied to the work to be tested, when if it be not vertical the
plumb-bob, instead of swinging through the hole provided, either
dangles against the wood or saws the air (,H.L.). GIo.i (s.v. Plim-
bob). Som. Christopher thought it was not more than an inch
[crooked] at most — and he offered to run in and fetch the plumb-
bob, Raymond Sam and Sabina (1894) 46. [Amer. If he is found
here after twenty-four hours, they'd make a carpenter's plumb-bob
of him, and hang him outside the church steeple to try if it was
perpendicular, Sam Slick Clockmaker {18^6) ist S. v.] (6) e.Yks.',
n.Lin.l, w.Som.' (c) w.Yks.^ {d) w.Yks. He fired at it plum-bob,
Bradford Citizen Wkly. (Xmas No. 1895) 3. (2 a, b) e.Yks.i
7. adv. Upright, straight ; exactly.
Lakel.= Ah went ebbm reet plum tuU it. w.Yks. Which is t'south
soide of a jackass, when his tail stans plum north ? Bywater
Sheffield Dial. (1839) 181, ed. 1877. Lan. Con God shew his sel
plum contrary to whod he is ? O Bit ov o Chat (1884) pt. ii. 4.
Nhp.i This work stands plum. e.An.'
8. Obs. Entirely, quite, very.
Ken. Plum pleasant, Grose (1790) ; Ken.^ Plum wrong.
0. sb. The steepest part of a hill.
ne.Yks.i They seean gat ti t'plum o' t'hill.
10. A deep pool in a river or the sea; a perpendicular fall.
Sc. The plums were the only parts of its narrow channel that
showed signs of water, Ochiltree Redburn (1895) xv. Per. The
plums and the pools where the biggest trout He, Haliburton Ochil
Idylls (1891') 70. Rnf. Yon fause stream, that near the sea, Hides
monie a shelve and plum, Ford Harp (1819) 208. Ayr. Come and
letusha'e a splash, Doon in the Plumb, White /oWm^s (1879") 241.
Slk. Tak tent ye dinna droon me in some plum, Chr. North Nodes
(ed. 1856) IV. 235. Cum. Owre the dike, and in the plumb, Jenny
dang the weaver, Williamson Local Etym. (1849) 42.
11. Phr. off the plum, off" the straight ; from the right
direction.
Ayr. Aff the plum he's ne'er beguil'd Wi' Pleasure's witching
e'e, man, White Jottings (1879) 218.
12. V. To sound, bottom ; to empty.
w.Yks. Barring that Sleck's pockets had been plumbed to pay
for supping-stuff, Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) 146.
PLUM, v.^, adj.^ and adv."^ Rut. Won Glo. Ken. Wil.
Som. Dev. Cor. Also written plumb Dev. Cor. ; and in
forms plume Dev. ; plump w.Wor.' Glo.^ Ken. [plBm.]
1. V. To swell ; to rise, as bread. Also with up. Cf
plim, v? 1.
w.Wor.i Glo.' Let them lie for the dew and rain to plump
them. Ken. As food does when cooked (D.W.L.). e.Som. As
soaked peas or rice, W. & J. Gl. (1873). Dev. You mussen kill a
peg when the mune wis batin or the vlesh wudden plummy in
cookin, n.Dev. Jrn. (Sept. 17, 1885) 6; Dev.i To blister up.
nw.Dev.i The bread plum'th well. Cor. There was the pan of
bread set down before the fire to ' plumb,' Pearce D. Quorm
(1877) 3a ; Cor.i 'Twill plum in boiling; Cor.^
Hence Plumming, sb. yeast for leavening bread. Cor.'^
2. With up : to swell up and resume the original shape
after pressure is removed ; to shake up a bed or pillow.
Cor.2 A pillow ' plums up ' again. To ' plum up ' the bed or
pillow, i.e. to render them soft.
3. adj. Light, smooth, soft ; mellow, as of drinks ;
agreeable.
Glo.i Wil. Yielding, as India rubber (G.E.D.). w.Som.i < xhjs
here cider's rare trade, do drink so plum's milk.' Applied to soil;
thoroughly tilled, or prepared for the seed. ' Darned if we an't
a-do'd zomethin' vor thick field ; we've a-work-n and a-work-n gin
he's so plum's a arsh-'eap.' Dev. An old woman said, ' The soup
wer' nice and plum to her stummick,' Reports Provinc. (1890; ; Yer,
Sissie, come an' toze up thease yer bedtie and make'n plum,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 136. n.Dev. Plum be tha zoil a-tap their
breast, Rock y«« aw' TVfW (1867) st. 98. nw.Dev.^The baid's nice
an'plum. s.Dev. FoxS'/«.§'Si5nrf^c(i874). Cor.' This tye [feather-
bed] is as plum as 'ool ; Cor.'^ The dough is plum.
4. Comb, (i) Plum-boil rice, rice made soft by boiling ;
(2) -cake, a light cake ; (3) -dough, well-risen dough ; (4)
-tye, a feather-bed.
(i) Rut.' (2, 3) Cor.i (4") Cor. Hammond Parish (1897) 339.
5. Of the weather : mild, genial, soft, warm.
w.Som.i We shan't have no plum weather vore we've a-had
some rain. Dev. Us be hevin' very plum weather, ban't us, zir ?
Reports Provinc. (1897'); Dev.', nw.Dev.', Cor.'^
6. Fig. Stupid, silly.
Cor. When some great plum head bucca comes talking, Thomas
Randigal Rhymes (1895) 27 ; Cor.' He's as plum as boften dough ;
Cor.3 w.Cor. Oh, my son, why didn't they make the shell of thy
noddle stronger ? A es as plum as a pie-crust, dough-baked, and
made too thin by the half, Bottrell Trad. (1870) 3rd S. 123.
7. adv. Softly.
Cor.' To fall plum is to fall soft, as in mud ; Cor.''
PLUM, s6.2 and v? Sh.I. [plBm.] 1. sb. A fillip
with the finger-nail. S. & Ork.' 2. v. To give a fillip
with the finger-nail. ib.
PLUMACHES, sb. pi. Obs. Sc. Plumes of feathers.
A dial, form of 'plumage.'
Plumaches above, and gamaches below, It's no wonder to see
how the world doth go, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (181 7) 68.
PLUMB, see Plum, adj.^^
PLUMILLION, sb. Nrf. A pumpkin. See Million.
Mother says, ' Have a bit of this here plumillion pie,' Emerson
Son of Fens (1892) 341.
PLUMMEL AND LINE, phr. Yks. A mason's plumb-
line.
w.Yks. It's as true as a plummel an' line, Hartley Clock Aim.
(1893) 57, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Mar. 28, 1896).
PLUMMET, sb. Obs. Sc. The pommel of a sword.
Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 382. s.Sc. Dickie could na
win at him wi' the blade o' the sword, But fell'd him wi' the
plummet under the e'e, Scott Minstrelsy (ed. 1803) I. 165 (Jam.).
PLUMMOCK, sb. Yks. [plu-mak.] A small plum;
one beginning to form on the tree. A^. &= Q. (1877) 5th
S. vii. 37. n.Yks.'^
PLUMP, s5.', v.^, adj} and adv. Sc. Irel. Cum. Yks.
Lan. LMa. Not. Lin. Nhp. War. Hnt. Nrf. Suf. Colloq.
Also in form plomp n.Cy. ; plumb Gall, [plump, plBmp.]
1. sb. A plunge; the noise made by anything plunging
into water.
Cai.' Lth. 'Twill lichten and brichten Far mair than plumps in
Tyne ; 'Twill clean him, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 135. Gall.
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 384, ed. 1876. I.Ma. A heave and a
plump, Brown Witch (1889) 7 ; He went with a plump into the
river (S.M.).
2. A heavy shower that falls straight down ; a ducking.
Cai.' Rnf. Ye weel deserve to ride the stang, Or get a sousin'
plump, Barr Poems (1861) 154. Gall. He ran peat water like a
spout in a thunder plump, Crockett Stickit Min. (1893) 70.
3. Obs. A smart blow.
Suf.' A gon em a right good plump i' the bread-basket.
4. v. To plunge heavily ; to flop ; to sink.
Abd. Up he gat, wi' eldritch scream, . . Plumpit into Ugie's
stream, Deep, deep an' miry O, Still Cottar's Sunday (1845) 182.
Per. Up to the neck in a deep midden-hole. Like a trout in a
bucket, I plumpit, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 130. Fif. They
plumpit down frae whare they stood, Amang the harbour's sludge
and mud, Tennant Pa/ni^o" (1827) 88. Gall. Whan we got tae
the kirkyard the sin was just plumpin down, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 264, ed. 1876. Lin. I sidled awaay an awaay till I plumpt
foot fust i' the pond, Tennyson Spinster's Sweet arts (1885). Nrf.
Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 345.
PLUMP
[560]
PLUNK
5. A term used in the game of marbles : to shoot at the
marbles, by raising the hand, so that the marble does not
touch the ground until it reaches the object of its
aim. Nhp.', War.^, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Hence Plumpings-
out, sb. pi. a game played with marbles.
Nrf. We turned to and played plumpings out, Emerson Son of
Fens (1892) 7.
6. To speak out plainly ; to accuse openly.
n.Yks.* Ah plump'd him wi' 't tiv his feeace. He advised him
to plump. w.Yks. I plumpt him to his face, Hlfx. Courier (June 12,
1897) ; Ah plumped him wi' steylin' mi eggs, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Mar. 28, 1896). n.Lln. There's nothing for it but plumping Sir
Lionel with it, Peacock M. Heron (1872) III. 204. Nhp.' He
plumpt it out. War.3, Hnt. vT.P.F.)
7. adj. Candid, frank, straightforward.
Yks. Nay, let's have plump doings. He's plump in what he
says (C.C.R.).
8. adv. With a ' plump,' straight, face to face.
Frf. Plump twa in a hole did row, Morison Poems (1790") 27.
Ir. The best way ... to avoid danger, is to meet it plump, Bar-
RiNGTON Sketches (1830) I. xvii. Don. At length one day the
Dain met him plump, MACNAtius Bend 0/ Road (1898) 201. Cnm.i
He went plump down like a steann. n. Yks.* Ah tell'd him plump
oot what Ah thowt. It cam plump doon i' t'frunt o' ma. s.Not.
He slipped and fell plump into the water. We runned plump
agen each other (J.P.K.). Nhp.* I met him plump in the face.
War. Ran plump for Heyford Banks, B'ham Dy. Gazette (Nov. 25,
1896); War.3, Hnt. (T.P.F.) CoUoq. And down Harry Waters went
plump on his knees, Barham Ingoldsby (ed. 1864) Dead Drummer.
9. Comb, (i) Pliunp down, outright ; (2) — out, straight
out, without equivocation.
(i) w.Yks. Up to nah, shoo'd hardly passed me a wreng word,
an' done ivverything shoo could to please ma except plump dahn
refusin' to wesh t'dog, Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884) 9 (2)
I sez, plump aht, 'They wor my mates, but I'll fell onny on 'em 'at
does it ageean,' ib. 3.
10. Phr. plump and plain, Straight out, without ceremony.
Sc. I asked him plump and plain before Isabella, Keith Lisbeth
(1894) xvi. Abd. She tell't Kirsten, plump and plain, that she
wasna ginna mak' a gawky o' hersel' for a' the pairties in the
Broch, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (May 19, 1900). Dmb. This was
plump and plain and awee provokesome, Cross£'/5?-«/>/(0« (1844) v.
n.Yks. Ah telld him plump an' plain (I.W.).
11. Completely, thoroughly, quite.
w.Yks. He gate plump stall'd, Binns Orig. (1889) No. i. 5 ;
Ah'm plump jaded to t'deeath wi' wark (.lE.B.). Laii. I'm plump
weary o' noather seein' nor yerin Trot potterin abeawt, Lahee
Trot Coffie, 4 ; Whol a'm plump foarced to get up too, Standing
Echoes (1885) 3. Nhp.i The wind is plump east. War.^, Hnt.
(T.P.F.)
PLUMP, sb?- Sc. n.Cy. Lin. [plump, plBmp.] A
clump of trees.
Abd. She wins to foot, an'swavering makes to gang. An' meets
a plump of averans ere lang, Ross Helenore (1768) 25, ed. 18 r2.
Arg. A thick plump of beech, Munro /. Splendid (1898) 100.
N.Cy.i n.Lln.i Ther's a plump of French willa's in Manby Wood,
just aboon Mottle-esh Hill, upo' th' No'th side.
PLUMP, sb.^ and v.^ Sc. I.W. Wil. Som. Dev. Cor.
[plBmp.] 1. sb. A pump ; a draw-well.
Wil.' w.Som.i Plase, sir, the plump's a-brokt, can't plump
a drop o' water. Dev. Us ant 'ad a drap ov waiter fit tQ drenk
zince they dued away wi' our plump, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
Cor. Ef thee poison the water in th' plump, do 'ee think 'ull come
pure in th' pail ? Pearce Esther Pentreath (1891) bk. 11. vi ; Cor.'^
2. Comp. (i) Plump-pit, a well having a pump attached ;
(2) -traw, the trough of the pump.
(i) w.Som.' The plump-pit's bound to be a-cleaned out 'vore
the water'U be fit to drink. (2) Dev. O Lor ! 'ow 'ot I be, tU be
sure ! I'll go out to the plump-traw an' 'ave a gflde slouch, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892) (s.v. Slouch).
3. V. To pump. w.Som.*, Cor.' 4. To churn butter.
I.W. (C.J.V.), Cor.' Hence (1) Plumper, 5^-. a kind of
churn which is worked up and down. I.W. (C.J.V.) ; (2)
Plump-kirn, sb. the common churn. Bnff.'
PLUMP, sb.* ? Obs. e.An.' Bread broken or cut,
with salt sprinkled and water poured over it.
PLUMP, adj? and v.^ Ken. Sur. [plBmp.] L adj.
Hard, dry, firm.
Ken. When the paths after rain are almost dry, they are said to
be plump, Grose (1790) ; Lewis /. Tenet (1736); Ken.* A plump
whiting. The ways are plump ; Ken.^
2. V. With up : to dry, become firm.
Sur.' If there comes a fine night, the ground 'uU soon plump up.
PLUMPATEEL, adj. Nrf. Direct, straightforward.
He never gan me a plumpateel answer. Arch. (1879) VIII. 172.
PLUMPENDICULAR, adj. Obs. e.An. Also in form
plumpandikkela Suf.' Perpendicular, upright, straight.
Also used advb.
e.An.' Suf.' A floppt plumpandikkella down — gulsh. *
PLUMPIT, ppl. adj. Obs. Sc. Plump, protuberant.
Lth. Thy plumpit kite, an' cheek sae ruddy. Are fairly baggit,
Ballantine Poems (1856) 65.
PLUMPY, adj. Sc. [plBmpi.] Plump, chubby.
Per. Your form sae fair an' plumpy, an' your gouden curly head,
Edwards Stratheam Lyrics (1889) 127.
PLUMROCK, s6. Obs. Sc. The primrose.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1B24). Kcb. Hail, lovely Spring!
thy bonny lyart face, And head wi' plumrocks deck'd, Davidson
S«aso«s ( 1 789) I (Jam.).
PLUNCH, PLUNCHIN, see Planch, Planching.
PLUNDER, 5*.' Yks. Lin. Lon. [plu-nd3(r, pli3-nda(r).]
Profit made out of a business transaction.
n.Yks.' ' He's putten it in sae low, he'll get nobbut a lahtle
plunder oot in't ; ' of a tradesman who had engaged to supply
a clothing-club at very moderate prices ; n.Yks.* w.Yks. He'll
noane get mich plunder aht o' sellin' eggs fowerteen to t'shillin',
this time o' t'year, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 4, 1896). Lin.' Shall
you get much plunder by the undertaking ? Lon. A common
word in the horse trade to express profit, Mayhew Lond. Labour
(1851)1. 175-
PLUNDER, sb."^ and v} s.Chs.' 1. sb. A noise as of
articles of furniture falUng or being moved. Cf. blunder.
2. V.' To make a noise, as above.
Wot)n yij goa' plundilrin i)th daark u)dhaafnz fuur ? Wey
kudnu yu taak- u leyt ? [What'n y6 go plunderin' i'th' dark
a'that'ns fur ? Whey cudna y6 tak a leight?]
PLUNDER, t;.2 w.Yks.^ [plu-nd3(r).] To endeavour,
try, attempt.
A woman who was telling folk-tales to me one day said, ' The
more you plunder to think, the worse you get ! '
PLUNDERSTICK, sb. Cmb. A bar of wood, used to
secure a cart to the shafts. (W.W.S.)
PLUNG, sb. Sh.I. [plBq.] A pop such as is made
when a cork is drawn. S. & Ork.'
PLUNGE, sA.' Nhp. Wor. Glo. [pl^ng.] 1. A strait,
difficulty. Nhp.' I was put to a plunge. s.Wor.', Glo. (A.B.)
2. An illness.
s.Wor. A bad plunge, Porson Quaint IVds. (1875) 16 ; s.Wor.',
Glo. (A.B.)
PLUNGE, sb.^ and v. Suf LW. Som. [plBng.] 1. sb.
A deep pool. Som. (Hall.) 2. v. To exercise a horse
on a long rope. Suf. (C.T.) 3. To throb. LW.'
PLUNGECHURN, sb. Sc. Irel. A churn driven per-
pendicularly, with both hands on the upright rod.
Edb. A wooden armed chair for the husband . . . and a few
stools for the rest of the family, and a plunge churn, completes
the inventory of household furniture, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 84,
ed. 1815. Uls. Her duties seldom entailing anything more difficult
than a two hours' spell at the plunge-churn, once or twice a week,
M<^Ilroy Craiglinnie (1900) 17.
PLUNGER, sb. Nhb. Dur. Shr. Also in form plonger
Shr.' [plu-n23(r.] 1. A coal-mining term : a ram or
piston for forcing water. Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr.
Gl. (1888). 2. Comp. Plunger-lift, the set of pipes
attached to a forcing pump. Nhb.' 3. A long shaft used
in trammel-net fishing.
Shr.' While the net is being dragged, a man in the boat occupies
himself continually with plunging the shaft into the river in order
to scare the fish and send them into the net ; whence the name
'plunger' given to the shaft, — the 'watermen' call it a 'plonger.'
PLUNK, s6.', v} and adv. Sc. Yks. Bdf. e.An. Cor.
Also written pllunk Bnif.' [plugk, plBrjk.] 1. sb. The
sound made by a stone or heavy body falling into water,
or produced by the drawing of a cork.
Sc. The king's name and the plunk of corks drawn to drink his
health, resounded in every house, Blackw. Mag. (Sept. 1822)
313 (Jam.).
PLUNK
[561]
PLYM
2. A sudden blow or stab.
Lth. In his guid naig's fat rump it [a dirk] stuck : Whilk nae
beihg us'd to sic a plunk Gae suddenly a fearfu' funk, Bruce
Poems (1813) II. 166. Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809)
X. 140.
3. The act of propelling a marble by the thumb and
forefinger. Cld. (Jam.) See Plonk, sA.* 6. 4. A short,
stout, and thick-set person, animal, or thing. Bnff.'
Hence (i) PUunkart, sb. a person or thing, short, stout,
and thick-set ; (2) Plunkie, sb. a kind of sweetmeat made
with molasses ; ' parkin ' ; (3) Plunky, adj. short, thick,
heavy.
(i) Bnff.i (2) Bnff." Abd. A pennorth o' plunkie (G.W.). (3)
e.An.'
5. V. To drop or throw anything so as to produce a
hollow sound or crackling noise ; to sink down heavily.
Sc. Un syne she plunket in O', Donald Poems (1867) 349.
Bnff.' He pUunkit a big stane doon in o' the wall amo* the wattir.
Fif. Whin and broom pods plunkt their peas on ruddy cheeks,
CoLviLLE Vernacular (1899) 11. Cor. He ' plunked-down ' all-of-
a-heap on a neighbouring balk of timber, Pearce Esther Pentreath
(1891) bk. I. i.
6. To draw a cork. Sc. (Jam.) 7. To croak or cry like
a raven.
s.Se. The corpie plunkin' i' the bog, Made a" my flesh turn
cauld, Old Sng. (Jam.)
8. A term in the game of marbles : to give a fair and
full hit. See Plonk, v. 2.
Per. Each boy puts a marble into the ' caup ' and stands back,
say 8 or 10 ft. at the 'butts.' He throws, and if he hit any out,
they become his property. He loses his marble if he ' plunks ' it
(if it remain in the hole) (G.W.). Cld. To propel the bowl by
a jerk of the thumb, with the intention of striking another bowl,
and driving it away (Jam.). Lnk. Plunkin' your bools an' playing
preens, Watson Poems (1853) 52. w.Yks.s As boys take aim at
and plunk marbles, or any object set to aim at.
Hence (i) Plunker,56. (a) a large marble; see Plonker;
(b) anything larger than usual ; (2) Plunkin, sb. a game at
marbles.
(i, a) Sc. Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899). Frf.
The ' nicker,' sometimes also called a ' plunker,' was a ' pigger '
that had been partly vitrified in the fire, and generally had one
side burned to a darker hue than the other, Inglis Ain Flk.
(1895) 94. Fif. He drew forth a large marble, and said exultingly,
'Ye haena a plunker like that,' Robertson Provost (1894) 33.
w.Yks.s (6) Yks. That strawberry's a plunker (F.P.T.). (2)
B.Sc. He was engaged in plunkin, and crammin a handful o' bools
into his pocket, Wilson Tales (1836) IV. 90.
9. adv. Suddenly, smartly, at once.
Bnff.' He leet the saxpins pUunk in o' the bottle. Per. They
slip aff sudden in the end, and then they juist gang plunk, Ian
Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 188. e.Fif. Afore ye cud hae said
sax the train played plunk into Moncreff Tunnel, Latto Tarn
Bodkin (1864) XXX. Edb. The cornal put his left hand plunk
doon on the stakes, Campbell Deilie Jock (1897) 318.
PLUNK, 56.2 m.Yks.' [plur)k.] 1. The body of grass
within a ' fairy-ring.' 2. A gathering, collection, clump.
A plunk o' folk. A plunk o' trees.
PLUNK, v.^ Obs. Sc. To screw up, and tune the
strings of a harp or fiddle. Cf. pling.
Rxb. Let Europe plunk her fiddle strings, Till them to unison
she brings, A. Scott Poems (ed. 1808) 229.
PLUNK, v.^ Sc. [plBgk.] 1. To desert, shirk, play
truant.
Sc. I'll no plunk tlie schule ony mair, Smith Archie and Bess
(1876) 16. Lnk. Shinties to fung the fleeing bool. An' aiblins gar
me plunk the schule, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 36.
Hence Plunker, sb. one who is accustomed to play the
truant. Sc. (Jam.) 2. To stand still, to 'reist,' hke a
vicious horse. Sc. (Jam.) Hence Plunker, sb. a horse
that is given to ' reisting.' ib.
PLUNKET, sb. Lin. [plu-rjkit] A wooden vessel,
for holding yeast. Thompson i/is^ Boston (1856) 718 ; Lin.i
PLUNKY, sb. and adj. Sc. [plB-tjki.] 1. sb. A
trick ; a practical joke.
Sh.I. Dat sanna hinder wiz frae playin' you a plunky or da
winter is by, Sh. News (Oct. 22, 1898) ; Hit wis a winder 'at dy
fule wyes played dee no a plunkie, Mansie, ib. (Mar. 25, 1899).
VOL. IV.
Or.I. For a' she ken't, it might hae been A plunkie o' the deil,
Paety Toral (i88o) I. 200, in Ellis Pronunc. (1889J V. 797 ;
S. & Ork.»
2,. adj. Tricky, not to be trusted. Cld. "(Jam.)
PLUNT, sb. Wor. Glo. [pl^nt.] An oak cudgel ; a
walking-stick with a large knob.
s.VPor. PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 16; s.Wor.^ Glo. Baylis
Illus. Dial. {i8-jo) ; G/. (1851); Horae Subsecivae {l^^^) 332 ; Glo.'
PLUSH, sb. Obs. Der.» In phr. at a plush, at an
instant.
FLUSH, see Flash, v.'^
PLUSHES, sb. pi. Glo.' w.Cy. (Hall.) [plB-Jiz.] The
hoops of a besom.
PLUSHY, adj Dev. [plB-Ji.] Glossy, velvety.
s.Dev. People often admire that dog, he has a plushy sort of
coat, Reports Provinc. (1883) 91.
FLUX, sb. Nhb. Cum. Also in form plowt Cum.*
1. A term of contempt for a fat, lazy woman ; a clumsy,
blundering person or animal.
Nhb.' She's a greet useless plut (said of an ungainly, slovenly
and dirty woinan). 'A windy plut,' a noisy useless persoik Cum.*
2. A term of endearment for a child. Cum.*
PLUT,PLUT,PLUTHER,seePlout,f.,Plutt,PIodder,s6.
PLUTHERIN, prp. Irel. Also in form plutth'rin'.
Crowding.
First the neighbours come plutherin' round, Barlow Bogland
(1892) 129, ed. 1893 ; Cluth'rin' an' plutth'rin' together like bins,
ib. 52.
PLUTS, sb. pi. Shr.* [pluts.] Temporary pools
of water.
PLUTT, V. Sh.I. Also in form pliit. To whine, com-
plain whiningly.
He pliits wi a wail, Burgess Rasmie (1892) 16 ; S. & Ork.i
FLUTTER, see Plouter.
PLUVYER, s6. Wil. [plB-vj3(r).] The golden plover;
a dial, form of ' plover.'
■Wil.i(G.E.D.) n.Wil.Not used of the pewit or lapwing (E.H.G.).
PLUX, PLWOAT, see Plucksh, Plot, v.^
PLY, V. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. I.Ma. Glo. I.W.
Wil. Dor. Som. Also written plie Sc. N.Cy.^ [plai.]
1. V. To bend, twist.
GI0.12 l.W. (J.D.R.); I.W.'; I.W.* I ben tryen to ply this bit
o' ore. WU. N. & Q. (1881) 6th S. iv. 106. Dor. Gl. (1851).
Som. See how it plies [of a saw] (W.F.R.).
2. Obs. To work closely ; to exert oneself.
Slk. We ply a' the day, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 265. e.Yks.
A man will rake . . . sometimes fowerteene acre a day, if hee ply,
Best Rur. Econ. (1642) 108.
3. To repeat.
I.Ma. And lek to plyin A text to hissen. Brown Doctor
(1887) 209.
4. To consent. Dor. Gl. (1851). 5. sb. A bend.
Glo.' A boy with rheumatism was said to have ' no ply in his
joints.'
6. A fold, wrapping.
Sc. Add some five or six plies Of good Turk upon Turk, Maid-
MENT Ballads (1844) 62, ed. 1868. Cai.' Gall. It was speaking
from under three ply of blankets, Crockett .ffiV.ff«««erfy (1899) 199.
Kcb.Whohathseenthefoldingsand plies, and the heights and depths
of that glory, Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 85. N.Cy.' Twee
plie, three plie. Cum.' We put on three ply o' flannin for a sare
throat ; Cum.*
7. A Strand or twist of rope, worsted, &c.
Sc. Cast twa plies round it, Scott Antiquary (1816) vii. Frf.
There was a cross of oowen thread. Of twa ply twisted, blue an'
red, Piper of Peebles (1794) 18.
8. A condition, plight.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 297. Dmf. Now the
riders mount to try If n' things be in proper ply,SHENNAN Tales
(1831) 44.
9. Phr. out of ply, disordered, out of sorts.
Gait Some animals are said to be aten out o' ply when they are
extremely lean in flesh, although they have been taking a great
deal of food. Thus few gourmands are very fat, they eat them-
selves out of ply ; that is to say, overdo themselves with eating,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 22, ed. 1876.
FLY, see Play, v.'^, Plea, Ploy.
PLYDE, PLYM, see Plaid, Plim, v.^
40
PLYMOUTH CLOAK
[562]
POBBLE
PLYMOUTH CLOAK, phr. Dev. A cane, stick, cudgel.
n.Dev. ' Thou wilt please to lay down that Plymouth cloak of
thine.' And he pointed to the cudgel, Kingsley Westward Ho
(1855) 53, ed. 1889.
PLYPE, V. and sb. Sc. [pleip.] 1. v. To walk or
dabble in water or mud ; to work in liquids in a slovenly
manner.
Bnff.' She geed plypin' through the doss wee a pail in ilky lian'.
Abd. (Jam.)
2. To fall, or bob into water.
Bnff.i Abd. Plype doon fan the jaw's comin', Alexander /o/iKMy
Gibb (187 1) V. Rnf. (Jam.)
3. sb. Dabbling in any liquid or muddy substance ;
walking in water or over muddy ground; doing any work
in liquids in a slovenly way. Bnff.' 4. A fall into
water. Rnf. (Jam.) 5. The noise made by the fall of a
body into a liquid or semi-liquid substance. Also used advb.
BnfF.», Abd. (Jam.) 6. A heavy fall of rain. Rxb. (Jam.)
PLYPPER, see Flapper.
PLYVENS, s6. //. Sc. The flower of the red clover,
Trifolium pratense. Abd., Per. (G.W.), Cld. (Jam.)
PO, see Paw, sb}
POA ! POA ! int. N.Cy.' Nhb.' Also written poe !
poe ! N.Cy.i [po-a.] A call to turkeys.
POACH, V. and sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms pauch w.Som.' Dev.' ; pautch Som. ;
poatch Sc. (Jam.); poch Won Ken.'^; poche Hrf.'^ ;
pooch Hrf.2 Sus.' Cor.= ; potch Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.i Stf
War.2 Shr.>2 Glo.i* ; pouch Not. Glo.i Hmp.' I.W. Dev.'
[potj, w.Cy. P9tJ.] 1. V. To poke, esp. with the fingers;
to thrust, push suddenly ; to prick a hole ; to dig ; Jig. to
interfere.
s.Sc. We'll poach the fire, an' ha'e a crack aside the chumla lug,
Watson Bards (1859) 92 ; Mine keeps his een on everything I
dae — eternally poachin' amang my feet, Abd. Wkly. Free Press
(Dec. 8, 1900). War. (J.R.W.) ; War.= Potch these oddments in
the corner. These things are all potched together. Shr.» A little
school-child was complained of to his teacher for 'potching pins'
into his neighbour ; Shr.^ Potched his finger i' my eye. Potched
the pikel in his leg i' the quern harrast. Hrf.2 Glo. To potch a
hole, Horae Subsecivae (iv?^) 336; GI0.12, Sus.', I.W. (C.J.V.)
Dev. Reports Provinc. (1885) ; Dev.' Poaching es steck into the
ground. n.Dev. Hur shan't be pauched about, Rock Jim ««' Nell
(1867) St. 62. Cor.2 What be 'ee poochin like that vur?
2. Phr. to potch a person, to take his place ; to take pre-
cedence of him.
s.Stf. If he'shauf a minute longer gettin his ball out o' the furnace
I shall potch him, PinnockB/A. Cy. ..4k«. (1895). \Pocher le labeur
dautruy, to poch into, or incroach upon another mans imployment,
practise or trade, Cotgr.]
3. To trample soft ground into mire and holes, esp.
used of cattle ; to walk through soft or miry ground.
Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.i, s.Sc. (Jam.), Cum.i* n.Yks. The horses, in
working, poach the furrows very much, Tuke Agric. (1800) 84.
ne. Yks. Suffer it to be eaten with sheep or poached with other stock,
Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. gi. Chs.^ s.Not. The ground
was all poached, wi' the beasts alius stannin' about the gate
(J.P.K,). Nhp.i, Hrf.i, War. (J.R.W.) Mid. The ground work
of cow-yards ought to be made of lime rubbish, chalk, &c., which
makes a sound bottom, prevents the cows from poaching the yard,
MiDDLETON Agric. (1798) 33a. e.An.'=, Suf. (M.E.R.), Ken.12^
Sur.i Sus.i Mus' Martin's calves got into our garden last night ;
. . they've poached the lawn about middlin', Hmp.i, Wil.', Dor.
(C.W.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i They buUicks '11
pauch thick mead all over like a ploughed field. Dev. It was in a
mess with the cattle poaching it up. Reports Provinc. (1897).
4. Of ground : to become full of puddles ; esp. from
much trampling.
Suf. That fare to poach up everywhere after this wet (C.G.B.).
Ess. Poaching with rain, Marshall Review (1817) V. 169. Sur.*
It's bad land to work in wet weather, it doos poach so. Sus.,
Hmp. Holloway. Wil.'
Hence (i) Poaching, {a) ppl. adj. of land : wet, soft,
swampy, full of puddles ; (A) vbl. sb. the turning up of
the sward ; the trampling of it into holes ; (2) Poachy,
adj., see (i, a).
(1,0) Ess. Young Agric. (1813) I. 21. Dev. (Hall.); Dev.*
'Tis cruel poaching in the arish, ao, ed. Palmer. (S) s.Sc. (Jam.)
Peb. The parks are extremely subject to winter poatching, Agric.
Surv. 159 lib.). (2) s.Sc. (Jam.) Peb. The land is put into a
poatchy state by every heavy shower of rain, Agric. Surv. 158 {ib.),
s.Wor. PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 15. Glo.' Hrt. The land is
very wet and poachy in the spring, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) IV.
iv. 23. Ken."2 Sus. Holloway. Hmp.' Dev.' I zim we had
best keep along the lane ; 'tis cruel poachy in the field, 11.
5. To beat clothes in washing with a wooden instrument
resembling a ' dolly.' s.Not. Pouch them clo'es well (J.P.K. ).
6. To poke in a wet substance ; to do any kind of work
in a liquid or semi-liquid substance in a dirty, awkward
manner ; gen. with at.
Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.i Slk. Plunging and poaching to make all the
fish take into close cover, Hogg Tales (1838) 75, ed. 1866.
Hence Potching, ppl. adj. awkward and dirty at work.
Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.' 7. To drive backwards and forwards ;
to play about with, to mess, tumble.
Bnff.' To drive backward and forward. Abd., Ags. Applied to
a dirty way of using food. Children are said to potch their por-
ridge when they tumble them about in the dish (Jam.).
8. sb. A puddle ; wet soil trampled by cattle.
Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.i The hail closs wiz jist a potch.
9. A wooden instrument resembling a 'dolly,' used in
washing.
s.Not. Shaped like a cross, with a long handle at right angles to
its plane (J.P.K.). *
10. A broad piece of wood used to open the old thatch
in thatching. Oxf. (M.W.) 11. A disordered condition
of affairs, a muddle, confusion. Sc. (Jam.), BnfF." 12.
Phr. all to pauch, of potatoes : boiled to a mash. Dev.*
(s.v. Hauchee-pauchee).
[1. I'll potch at him some way, Shaks. Cor. i. x. 15. Fr.
pocher, to thrust, or dig out with the fingers (Cotgr.).]
POACHER, sb. Oxf Sus. Also in form poocher Sus.»
A broad piece of wood used to open the old thatch in
thatching. Oxf (M.W.), Sus.i See Poach, 10.
POACHER-COURT, sb. Obs. Sc. A nickname for
the Kirk Session.
Ayr. I gaed a roving wi' the gun, An' brought a paitrick to the
grun. . . Somebody tells the poacher-court The hale aS'air, Burns
J. Rankine (1784) st. 7, 8.
POACHIE, sb} Sc. A child's game.
Per. C games there were mony an' pleasures an' a' — The
' poachie,' the ' skippin' rope,' bat an' the ba', Edwards Straihearn
Lyrics (1889) 34.
POACHIE, sb.'^ Sc. A child's name for porridge or
pottage.
Abd., Per. Come and get yer poachie noo (G.W.).
POAD, sb. Ken. Sus. Also in forms pored Ken.*;
pourd Sus.* [pod.] The first few meals of milk that
come from a cow lately calved ; also milk that curdles in
boiling ; gen. in comp. Poad-milk.
Ken. (K.), Ken.12, Sus. (Hall.), Sus.'* e.Sus. Holloway.
PO ADDLE, see Poddle, sb}
POAGE, sb. Irel. Also written pogue n.Ir. [pog.]
A kiss.
n.Ir. The Masons . . . were well mulvathered With many a pogue
from the cruiskeen lawn. Lays and Leg. (1884) 9. Wxf.^ Each
bye gae a poage, 96.
[Ir. pog, a_ kiss (Gael, pog, pag) ; Olr. poe, fr. Church
Lat. (ace.) pacem, 'the kiss of peace' (IVIacbain).]
POAK(E, see Poke, sb}, Puck, sb}
POAM, POAN, see Palm, sb}, PoUan, Pone.
POANIK, POAP, POAR, see Pone, Paup, Pore, sb.
POAT, POATCH, see Pote, Poach.
POB, sb. Sc. Also in form pab Fif. [pob.] The
refuse of flax ; freq. used as fuel ; also in comp. Pob-tow.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Elg. It smells o' . . . Foosty meal-bags, tarry pob.
Tester Poems (1865) 147. Bnff. Gordon Cbron. Keith (1880) 66.
Abd. Wi' a horn an' pob smokin' auld folk like bees, Anderson
Rhymes (ed. 1867) 31. ^er. Gar your Kate Mak' pob rocks o' her
tow, Spence Poems (1898) 65. Fif. At an old lint mill, . . a great
heap of this refuse or pab-tow, as it is called, had been formed,
Highl. Sac. Essays, II. 10.
POBBIES, see Pobs.
POBBLE, sb} Yks. [po'bl.] A puddle. w.Yks.
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 4, 1896) ; w.Yks.^
POBBLE
[563]
POCK
POBBLE, V. and sb.' Cum. Brks. [po-bl.] 1. v. To
bubble. Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 209. Cf. pabble,
popple, V. 2. sb. The noise made by the bubbhng of
water when commencing to boil. Brks.'
POB-BOB, sb. Sc. [po-bob.] A hubbub.
Per. What a pob-bob that day was in Geordie's hat, Spence
Poems (1898) 30.
POBBY, adj. Yks. [po'bi.] Swollen, gm. used of a
soft swelling. w.Yks. (J.W.)
POBE, see Pobie, sb.^
POB-HOLE, s6. Yks. Inform-hoil. A child's game.
w.Yks. We used to laik at makkin pob hoils together, Hartley
Sis. Yks. and Lan. (1895) vi.
POBIE, s6.' lObs. Sh.I. Also written pobe. A father
or foster-father.
If he could not prevail upon his wife to go to her pobe the
devil, HiBBERT £>«jc. SA. /. (1822) 269, ed. 1891 ; (J.S.); S.&Ork.>
POBIE, sb.^ Sh.I. A high hill.
Fishermen all round these islands speak of the ' Pobies o' Unst,'
i.e. Saxavord Hill, ' da Muckle Pobie,' and the Hjoag o' Crusifell,
'Pobie littla ' (J.S.) ; S. & Ork.i
POBS, sb. pi. Lakel. Yks. Lan. I.Ma. Chs. Der. Also
in form pobbies Lakel.^ w.Yks.'^ Lan.' n.Lan.' e.Lan.'
m.Lan.' s.Chs.' [pobz, po'biz.] Bread and milk ; pap ;
porridge ; occas. in sing.
Lakel.2 w.Yks. Ah'd swollud my milk an my pobs, Preston
Poems {iZ6^) 31; w.Yks.' ^^ Lan. Crying for its pobbies, Gaskell
M. Barton (1848) ix; Lan.^, n.Lan.', e.Lan.i, m.Lan.' I.Ma. He
was ladling the pobs into the child's mouth , Caine Manxman (,1894)
pt. VI. ix. Chs.' 3, s.Chs.l, nw.Der.i
POCH(E, see Poach.
POCHIT, sb. Lin. A pollard tree. (Hall.), Lin.'
POCK, sb} and z).' Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Also written pok
Sc. ; and in forms pokky Sh.I. ; puock Abd. ; pyock Sc.
[pok.] 1. sb. A bag, sack, wallet ; a purse ; a paper
bag ; anything shaped like a bag. Cf. poke, s6.'
Sc. He has brought his pock to a braw market, Ramsay Prov.
(1737). Sh.I. Every young sheeld hed his muckle pokky o'
sweeties. Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.) 115. ne.Sc. An they got
a lick oot o' this wife's pyock, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 15. Cai.'
Bnff. Tam chewed sandy sugar from a front pock, or wallet,
Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 71. Abd. Tak' a lick oot o' this
wife's puock, Paul Abd. (1881) 123. Frf. There's the pocky ye
gae me to keep sewin' things in, Barrie Thrums (1889) xx.
Per. If he hadna a pock o' peppermints, Ian Maclaren Brier
Bush (1895) 160. w.Sc. Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 265.
Flf. M'JLaren Tibbie (1894) 12. Slg. Anaith the cadger's plaiding
pock, MuiR Poems (1818) 8. s.Sc. I'll juist get a pock and set up
by to Sandy Laing's for a peck or twa, Wilson 7"a/«5 (1839) V. 90.
Dmb. I gied her a pock fu' o' raisins, Cross Disruption (1844) xv.
Rnf. Young Pictures (1865") 54. Ayr. He has had his ain luck to
fill his pock so weel already, Galt Gilhaiee (1823) xix. Lnk.
Nicholson Idylls (1870) 104. Lth. The bairnies cam toddlin' . . .
An' pookit the pocks o' the queer auld man, Ballantine Poems
(1856) 54. Edb. Meat should be let out of the pock, MoiR Mansie
Wauch (1828) xxii. Slk. With thy pocks on thy back, Hogg
Poems (ed. 1865) 371. Rxb. Ruickbie Wayside Cottager {\^oi)
200. Dmf. Quinn Heather (1863) 38. Gall. Aiblins the pock
that bauds the meal, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 93, ed. 1897.
Kcb. Armstrong Kirkiebrae (1896) 69. n.Cy. Border Gl. (Coll.
L.L,B.) Nhb. If I had a pock on my shouthers beggin', Graham
Ped Scaur (1896) 246.
Hence Pockful, sb. a bagful, a sackful.
Sc. He'll come doon like a pockfu' o' goats' horns at the
Broomielaw, Ford Thistledown (1891) 57- Abd. 'Neath his oxter
he carries a pockfu' o' meal, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 49.
Frf. A pockfu' niest was fatten'd weel, Half seeds, an' capes, the
other meel, Morison Poems (1790) no. Ayr. Ye have a perfect
pockfu' of uncos, and need only to put in your hand and graip for
the first ane that comes. Service Notandums (1890) 5. Lnk.
Three pockfu's o' tow, Graham Writings (1883) II. 12. Feb. My
heart did flutter in my breast. Just like a pockfu' living things,
Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 135.
2, Comp. (1) Pock-nook, {a) the corner or bottom of a
sack ; (b) private property ; esp. in phr. on one's own pock-
nook, on one's own means ; (2) -pud or -pudding, (a) a
bag-pudding ; {b) a glutton ; a term of contempt for an
Englishman ; also used aitrib. ; (3) -shakings, the
youngest child of a family ; a small, weak pig ; (4) -staff.
the light pole to the end of which a ring-net for fishing is
suspended.
(i, «) Sc. Dugald industriously filled his pock-neuk, Vedder
Poems (1842) 204. Dmb. Frae frien's pock-neuk the meal to gi'e,
Salmon Gowodean (1868) 82. Edb. Your mouter fills mony a
pock nook, Ballantine Deanhaugh (1869) 18. n.Cy. Or how
could we keep the pickle meal in the pock-neuk, Cunningham
Broomieburn (1894) v. {b) Dmb. He is fechting a hard battel to
keep himselff'on his own pock neuk, Cross Disruption (1844) xiii.
Ayr. When it was thought that it would have to come out of
their own pock-nook, Caut Ann. Parish {1&21) s.\v. (2,0) Sc.
Sibbald Gl. (1802) (Jam.), (b) Sc. From the idea of his feeding
much on pudding of this description (Jam.) ; They'll fright the
fuds o' the Pockpuds, Jacobite Sng. (1745) in Mackay ; A wheen
pock-pudding English folk, Scott Rob Roy (1817) xiv. Dmf.
Warning themselves with a gigot of Branxholm mutton. Pah !
the dirty pock-puddings ! Hamilton Mawkin (1898) 213. (3)
Sc. It often implies the idea of something puny in appearance.
Hence it is usual to say of a puny child, that he seems to be the
pockshakings. This probably alludes to the meal which adheres
to a pock or bag, and is shaken out of it, which is always of a
smaller grain than the rest (Jam.) ; The small weak pigs are
nicknamed wrigs or pock-shakings, Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1849)
I. 653. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 384. (4) Cai.'
3. Phr. (i) a knight of the pock, a beggar ; (2) the pock and
string, the practice or profession of begging ; (3) to loose
or lowse the pock, (4) to open the pock, to begin to relate
one's news ; (5) to take the pock, to take to begging ; (6) the
pocks, see (2).
(i) Dmf. Lords o' the wallet, an' knights o' the pock, Thom
Jock o' Knowe (1878) 40. (2) Dmb. Sandie Grist, dung to the
pock and string, Frae Hopper Mill where he sae lang was king,
Salmon Gowodean (1868) 72. (3) Abd. Sae, wi' a phrase, he
lous'd his pock, His Lon'on news to tell. Cock Strains (1810) II.
124. Per. Frae house to house still keep a troak Daily, of lies to
loose the pock, Nicol Poems (1766) 60. Edb. Ony news that's
unco rare. Come, lowse yer pock, and gie's them here, Liddle
Poems (1821) 203. (4) Abd. She had the design to win at some-
thing she thoucht I kent, an' sae to entice me to open my pock
she opent hers, Macdonald Malcolm (1875) II. 40. (5) Edb.
When [we] downa work, we'll tak' the pock, Liddle Poems
(1821) 66. (6) Rxb. I can toil nae mair; I see nought else for't
but the pocks, W. Wilson Poems (1824) 11.
4. A bag-shaped fishing-net ; esp. one fastened to an
iron ring ; also used attrib. and in comp. Pock-net.
Sc. (Jam.) Sh.I. I timed da pock weel, an' I lifted wi da first
shot what fill baith wir biiddies ta da baand, Sh. News (Oct. 2,
1897) ; Draw dy flee ower da pok, wha kens, der mebbie a piltik
or twa oot by, ib. (Oct. 6, 1900) ; I . . . held da pok haandle atween
my legs, ib. ; S. & Ork.' Used for catching coal-fish.
5. The stomach of a fish. Cai.' 6. A bag growing
under the jaws of a sheep indicative of its having the rot ;
the disease itself. Sc, s.Sc. (Jam.) 7. v. To catch fish
in a net.
Sh.I. Ye could ha' pokket or drawn da fill o' a skjo, Spence
Flk-Lore (1899) 178 ; I came here ... to pok sillocks, Ollason
Mareel (1901) 64.
8. Of sheep : to be seized with the rot. Rxb. (Jam.)
[1. OE. (Nhb.) pocca, ' pera ' (Luke ix. 3).]
POCK, sb.^ Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Chs. Lei. e.An. Sus.
Hmp. I.W. Dor. Som. fpok-] I- I" comb, (i) Pock-
broken, marked with small-pox ; (2) -faced, having a face
marked with small-pox ; (3) -fredden, -fret, or -fretten,
(4) -holed, see (i) ; (5) -mark, a scar left by small-pox ;
(6) -marked, see (i) ; also used/^. ; (7) -pit, see (5) ; (8)
-pitted, (9) -vurden, see (i).
(i) Rxb. He's sair pock-broken in the face (Jam.). Nhb. He's
sair pock broken, Allan Tyneside Sngs. (1891) 2; Nhb.', e.An.i
(2) Gall. Hang thee, pock-faced varlet, Crockett Grey Man (1896)
X. (3) N.Cy.' Nhb. Aa wis cock-'een'd an' pock-fretten, Chater
Tyneside Aim. (1869) 31 ; Nhb.', Cum.'*, n.Yks.'^ w.Yks. Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 4, 1896). Chs.'*^, e.An.' Nrf., Sus., Hmp.
Holloway. I.W.>,Dor.i Som. Jennings Ois.£»/a/. zt/jEw^. (1825).
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). (4) n.Yks.2 (5) Sc. (Jam.) Ayr.
A foul lie is no so durable as pock-mark, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822)
xxi. n.Cy. (J.W.), w.Yks.' (6) Sc. He was a long, thin, black-
a-vised man, . . rather pockmarked. Whitehead Dajt Davie (18^6)
218, ed. 1876; Common (A.W.). Nhb.', Lakel.^, w.Yks.' Hmp.
Holloway. Dor. Poor hands ... as it were, pock-marked from
4 C 2
POCK
[564]
POD
perpetual immersion in the suds, Francis Pastorals (1901) no.
(7) Sc. (Jam.) (8) Sc. (Jam.) Per. Pock-pitled, ill-legged, in-
kneed, and broad-footed, Edb. Antiq. Mag. (1848) 47. Rnf. A
grewsome face, . . A' ploukie, greasy, and pock-pitted, M'^Gilvray
Poems (ed. 1862) 319. n.Yks.^ (9) w.Som.l You must know un
very well— go'th lame, and ter'ble pock-vurden ; but he idn a bit
the wiss vor that.
2. The small-pox ; gen. in pi.
Sc. Tobacco . . . was first found out by some of the barbarous
Indians, to be a preservative, or antidot against the pockes. Rait
Royal Rhet. (1900) 36. Rnf. Hive, pock, an' measles a' at ance,
PicKEN Poems (1813) II. 113. Ayr. What wi' the pocks and the
keenkhost, the nirls, and the branks, there's been sic a smasherie
amang the bit weans o' the parish as I haena seen for mony a day,
Service Notandums (1890) 4.
Hence (i) Pocked, ppl.adj. (a) marked with small-pox ; (6)
of sheep : afflicted with a disease resembling scrofula ;
(2) Pocky, (a) adj. subject to small-pox ; (6) sb. a par-
ticular kind of granular limestone.
(i, a) Feb. Pocked Jock, and crippled Bean, Ltnfoun Green
(1685) 63, ed. 1817. (A) Sc. (Jam.) (2, «) Sc. As for curing of
the pockes, it serves for that use among the pockie Indian slaves.
Rait Royal Rhei. (1900) 47. (6) Lei.' So called from its blotchy
appearance.
3. The eruption caused by inoculation.
Sc. Has he got the pock yet [has he been inoculated] (Jam.).
[1. ME. pokke, 'porrigo' {Prompt.) ; OE. pocc, a pock,
pustule (B.T.).]
POCK, sb.^ and v.'^ Som. Cor. [pok.] 1. sb. A
shove ; a push, a ' poke.'
Cor.Sich pocks and sich touzing, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial.[i8^6)
20; Cor.' 2
2. V. To shove, push.
Som. (Hall ) Cor. You may laid thorn— not pock thorn — to go
the right way, Forfar Poems (1885) 75.
POCK-AART, POCKARD, see Pock-arred.
POCK-ARR, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan. [po-ka(r.]
A scar left after small-pox. See Arr, sb.
Sc. (Jam.), n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.' (s.v. Arr), Nhb.', n.Yks.'*,
ne.Yks.', w.Yks.', Lan.', e.Lan.'
Hence Pock-arrie, adj. full of the marks of small-pox.
Cld. (Jam.)
POCKARRED, a^'. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Chs. Der. Lin. Also in forms pock-aart Cum. ;
pockard Dur.' w.Yks.^ n.Lin.' ; pock-arr'tCum.'* ; pock-
err't Cum.'*; pockey-ort Slk. ; pockiawrd Gall.; pock-
yawr'd Ayr. Marked with small-pox ; also used Jig. and
subst. Cf. arr, sb.
Ayr. A black-avised, pock-yawr'd, knock-kneed dominie, Galt
Lairds (1826) xix. Slk. Hecate a beauty ! I aye thocht she had
been a furious fright — black-a-viced, pockey-ort, wi' a great stool
o' a beard, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 327. Gall. Mac-
TAGGART Encycl. (1824). N.L' n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; NCy.',
Dur.' Cum. Thoo ugly pock-aart spaffles, Sargisson Joe Scoap
(1881) 201 ; Cum.'* Wm.i He's terbly pock-arred. n.Yks.'^^,
ne.Yks.', e.Yks.' w.Yks. Tha'll see fbasement storey al be doin
i' t'pockard style, Yksman. Xmas No. (1878) 15; w.Yks.'^^^ Chs.'
(s.v. Arred), Der.^, nw.Der.' Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes
(1884) 347. n.Lin.'
POCKET, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [pokit.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Pocket-brass,
spending money ; (2) -flush, flush of money ; (3) -hanky,
a pocket-handkerchief; (4) -hole, a placket hole; (5)
-napkin, see (3) ; (6) -neckcloth, a piece of cotton used
either as a neckcloth or as a pocket-handkerchief; (7)
-pick, to pick a person's pocket ; (8) -prospect, a pocket-
telescope ; a glass through which objects are viewed.
(i) w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. An' divide er pocket-brass wi' one
another, Waugh Hermit Cobbler, xi. (2) s.Wor. (H.K.) (3) Cai.
She wudna mak' a pocket-hankie to dicht her nose, Horne
Countryside {i8g6) 125. Frf. Plenty o' places whaur a flag couldna
hing were decorated wi' a pocket-hanky, Willock Rosetty Ends
{1886) 195, ed. 1889. (4) Ir. Little old Mrs. Kilfoyle, too, might
for many years be met pattering along with a clean white flannel
petticoat over her head, and her face looking out quaintly through
the pocket hole, Barlow Idylls (1892') 165. (5) Sc. Like a doggie
with a pocket-napkin, Stevenson Catriona (1893) xii. ne.Sc. She
Wis stan'in at ane o' the windows wi' her pocket-naipkin in her
han', Grant Keckleton, 74. Fif. Ye can put them up in ane o' my
red pocket-napkins, Robertson Pfoyos/( 1894) 44. Ayr, She took
ou't her pocket-napkin and began to wipe her eyes, Galt Lairds
(1826) vii. e.Lth. Hunter /. Inwick (1895) 202. Edb. Bob . . .
had contrived to twist his poket-naipkin roond his neaves to protect
them, Campbell Deilie Jock (1897) 43. (6) e.Cum. (J.Ar.), w.Yks.
(E.G. ) (7) Dmf. Thy pained victim, Doon, feckless sprawlin', whar
ye've laid. An' pocket-picked him, QuiNNi/ra<Ae>'(i863) 139. (8)
Sc. Mitchell Scotticisms (1799) 66.
2. A measure of hops, about 168 lb. ; also the bag in
which kiln-dried hops are put.
Wor., Hrf., Glo. The crops . . . are estimated at from 24,000 to
26,000 pockets, of which 4417 pockets have already passed the
public scales. There have been more hops on offer than for many
years past. Standard (Sept. 20, 1887) 3, col. 7. Ken. A Kent
pocket is 3 feet wide, and 7I feet long, to consist of 5 yards of
cloth at 7rf. the yard, to weigh 5 lb., and to contain i cwt. 2 qr.
5 lb gross weight of hops, Stephens ivifm Bk. (ed. 1855) IL 318;
Tempe . . . looked with something of awe upon the high massy
bags which the Kentishman dubs pockets, and fills with hops
packed with a denseness which suggests that should these bags
fly open, the catastrophe would be great. Keeling Return to Nature
(1897) XX ; Ken.' Sur. i\ cwt., measuring about 5| feet in cir-
cumference, 7^ long ; 4 lbs. being allowed for the weight of the
canvas, Morton Cyclo. Agric. ( 1863). Sns. He has ... to make
the pockets (or sacks) by sewing the sackcloth, Jefferies Hdgrow.
(1889) 82.
3. A hole in the stiff clay in which rain-water accumu-
lates. n.Lin.' 4. A kind of pouch in a cow's udder,
which retains the milk and prevents it from flowing
freely through the teats. s.Chs.' 5. v. Of a cow : to
secrete milk in a ' pocket' ib.
POCKETLE, sb. Chs. Stf. [po'kitl.] A pocketful.
s.Chs.' £e)z gotn u pok-itl li braas' [He's gotten apocketle o'
brass]. n.Stf. (A.P.)
[For the suff. -tie or -le, representing the -ful of lit. E.,
see s.Chs.' 57.]
POCKEY-ORT, POCKIAWRD, see Pock-arred.
POCKIE, 56. Nhp. A pocket.
The other day ye wore a pockie, Clare Remains (1873) 204 ; I
believe that a pockie is the large loose pocket worn by vi^omen
under the dress (C.A.M.).
POCKMANTEAU, sb. Sc. Nhb. Lin. Also in forms
pockmankle n.Lin.'; pockmanky Sc. (Jam.) ; pockmantel
Nhb.' ; pockmanty, porkmanky, porkmanty Sc. A
portmanteau.
Sc. Baith ends o' the pockmanky full, Scott Antiquary (1816)
XXV ; The porkmanky, . . is Martha and me no' to bring it ? Keith
Indian Uncle (i8g6) 85. Cai.' Abd. In a pockmanteau or a wallet,
Meston Poet. Wks. (1723) 3; I luikit a' up and doon the street
till I saw somebody hine awa wi' a porkmanty, Macdonald
R. Falconer (1868) 204. s.Sc. (Jam.) Lnk. Lifted his pock-
manty off the furm, Fraser Whaups (1895) 208. e.Lth. He
micht as weel pack up his pockmanty and tak the road sooth,
Hunter/. Inwick (1895) loi. Nhb.', n.Lin.'
[This form repr. lit. E. portmanteau, with the substitu-
tion of Pock, si.' (q.v.) for the first element.]
POCK-YAWR'D, see Pock arred.
POD, s6.' and i;.' Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Lei. Nhp. War.
Brks. e An. Sus. Hmp. [pod.] L sb. In comp. Pod-
thistle, the broad-leaved thistle, ? Carduus acaulis. Nhp.'
2. A large, protuberant stomach. Brks.', e.An.' Sus.,
Hmp. HoLLOWAY. Hence (i) Pod-bellied,///, a^'. round-
bellied, pot-bellied ; (2) Pod-kite, sb. (a) a person with a
protuberant stomach, a stout person ; a glutton ; (b) a
puffed-up, conceited person ; esp. a pompous official ; (3)
Poddy, adj. stout, obese ; (4) to run to pod, phr. to become
obese, to have a protuberant stomach.
(i) Nhb.', e.An.i Nrf., Sus. Holloway. (2, a) N.Cy.i, Nhb.'
(6) Lakel.2 A lal brossen podkite, 'at is ta. Wm. Thou puffin pod-
kite, biasent feayce, Thou's far ower big, grown for thy pleayce,
Whitehead Leg. (1859) 50, ed. 1896. (3) Suf.' I am a gitten
kienda poddy. (4) Suf. Forby Vocab. (1830).
3. A complaint to which young rabbits are liable. Nhb.'
Cf. podge, sb} 4. 4. The body of a cart. s.Cy. (Hall.),
Sus."* 5. A net used for fishing in small streams ; an
eel-net ; a purse-net ; also in comp. Pod-net.
Lakel.*, Cum. (M.P.) e.An. In this long wall of net are three
POD
[565]
PODE
or four openings, to which purse-nets, about eighteen feet long,
stretched on hoops like bownets, are attached, the far ends being
closed. These ' pods,' as they are called, are extended down
stream and attached to stakes in the river bottom, their positions
being marked by floats, Longman's Mag. (Nov. 1892) 88. Nrf.
Drawing his crook towards the middle of the net, he drew the
pod up stream ; it was taut and heavy with eels, Fishing Gazette
(Feb. 14, 1891) 85.
6. A little person; any animal small and neat of its kind.
Bnfif.i Sic a dear pod o' a loonie.
7. Card-playing term : see below.
Lel.^ A ' pod ' is when the pool at cards is empty, and each
player has to pay something towards filling it again. War.^
8. V. Of beans, &c. : to produce pods.
Nrf. The cold seems to have prevented them [beans] from
podding satisfactorily, \Iacc\rti Farmer s Yearin Longman's Mag.
(May 1899) 39.
9. With Up : to pay up into the pool at cards ; to pay up
generally.
Lei.^ Kidney-beans having formerly been in common use for
counters. ' Ah'U Caounty Coort ye, an' mak ye pod up.' War.^
POD, sb.' and v.' Sc. n.Cy. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not.
Lin. Lei. War. Also in form poddy w.Yks.* [pod.]
1. sb. A foot, esp. a child's foot. Cf. pad, sb.'^
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.^ Put down thy lile pods. ne.Lan.i
2. A child's shoe. w.Yks.^ 3. v. To walk, esp. with
short, unsteady steps, as a child or old person ; to put
down the feet awkwardly and cautiously ; to walk softly ;
to go on the tramp. Cf. pad, v. 6.
Rxb. (Jam.) n.Cy. To put down awkwardly, Grose (1790).
LakeL^ Podden aboot i' t'dark. w.Yks. They're poddin away wi
ther feet it treddlehoyle, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann.
(1873) 62; w.Yks.'; -w.Yks.^ A word used by nurses when
speaking of children. e.Lan.^ s Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854).
Clis.i, Not.i Lei.i Ah podded oop steers wi' my shews oflf. Come,
do you pod into the parlour. War.3
'iiencs io pod the hoof , pkr.io go on the tramp; to walk off,
Chs.' If he does na behave hissel, he'll have to podth' hoof.
4. To potter about ; to work leisurely at trifling jobs ;
gen. with about.
w.Yks. Ah see shoo pods abaht yit, an' Ah'm seure Ah niver
thowght to see her aht o' deur ageean, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr.
4,1896); (S.P.U.) sw.Lin. I seed her podding about in the garden.
He pods about, and does odd jobs (R.E.C.).
POD, si.s Sc. Irel. Also in form pode N.L' [pod,
pod.] A louse.
Baff.i N.I.' Children are warned that if they do not allow their
heads to be combed with a ' fine tooth comb,' the podes will make
ropes of their hair, and drag them into the sea and drown them.
POD,5A.* w.Yks.^ [pod.] A small, pointed knife with
a short handle.
POD.i;.' Cum. Wm. Lan. [pod.] 1. To poke; to prod.
Cum.l* Wm. He podded mi i' t ribs wi' his walkin' stick (B.K.).
2. To shoot a marble unfairly by jerking the hand.
ne.Lan.'
POD, v.* Lan.' [pod.] To sulk.
POD, int. Sc. [pod.] A call to pigeons. Per. (G.W.)
PODAR, sb, Cor. Also written poder. [po'd3(r).]
1. Mundic, pyrites. Cor.^ 2. Obs. The name by
which copper was originally called.
(S.R.) ; Parr Guide to Mount's Bay (ed. 1824) 179.
[1. OCor. podar, rotten, corrupt, good for nothing
(Williams).]
PODART,56. Lin. [po'dst] A young sheep. (Hall.),
Lin.'
PODDEL, see Poddle, sb}
PODDER, sb. Chs. Lei. rpo-d3(r).] 1, One who
gathers field peas for market. Chs.' 2. Card-playing
term : the holder of the pool. Cf. pod, v> 9.
LeL' You don't pl^y fair ; I'll be podder myself.
PODDER, V. Sc. To ' potter,' to do anything slowly
and with little progress ; to walk slowly, to go to and fro.
Dmf. (J.M.) Gall. Cauld poddering, and foddering The nought
amang the biels, Mactaggart Emycl. (1824) 333, ed. 1876.
PODDER, PODDERY, see Podware, Pothery.
PODDIGE, PODDIL, see Poddish, Poddle, 56.'
PODDINGER, 56. Cum. Wm. [po'dindgar.] A coarse
earthenware pot or rpug i^sed for porridge. See Porringer.
Cum. Poddingers on ivery truncher stood, Gilpin Pop. Poetry
(1875) 204; Cum.'* Wm. & Cum.' Some gay gud hawns. Fell
tea wa poddingers an' cans, 201.
PODDISH, sb. and v. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also
written podish Wm. ; and in forms poddige Wm. Lan. ;
podditch Lan. [po'dij.] L sb. Porridge ; pottage or
broth made from oatmeal ; freq. used as a pi.
Dur. Brockett CI. (1846) ; Dur.', w.Dur.', Lakel.* Cum. Cud
ta mak me a lal few poddish 1 Joe and Landlord, 6 ; Always used
as a plural (J.Ar.) ; Cum.' * Wm. Yan gat an poddige twice a day,
Gibson Leg. and Notes (1877) 67 ; She gave us a few of their
poddish, SouTHEY Doctor (1848) 560. n.Yks. (I.W.), n.Yks.^
ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. 337. m. Yks.' A hound's
mess of flesh and oatmeal is poddish. w.Yks.' Lile Dick hed naa
sooner gitten his poddish, ii. 287 ; w.Yks.^ Lan. Boh it leet
weell atth' podditch wur naw scawding, Tim Bobbin View Dial.
(ed. 1806) 61 ; I can git poddige for mysel' and t'barns. Eaves-
dropper Vill. Life (1869) 4. ne.Lan.'
Hence (i) Poddish-kite, sb. a gluttonous child or youth ;
a big-bellied person or animal ; (2) -pan, (3) -pot, sb, a pot
used in making porridge ; (4) -stick, sb. a stick used for
stirring the boiling pot.
(i) Cum.' It's nut t'skin of a clap keakk 'at'll sarra that poddish
kite ; Cum.'* (2) Cum. As black as a poddish pan, Willy Wattle
(1870) 7. Wm. She's net o' that mak 'at'll leeak ez tha cuddent
Say 'Poddish-pan lid,' Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii. 30. w.Yks. Doon
chimler hang a gert chean ... at which they yused to hing t'poddish
pan, Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 217. (3) Dur. Put on the
poddish-pot, Brockett Gl. (1846). ne.Lan.' (4) Cum.'' She'll
lick a lean poddishstick, Bobbie, that weds the like of thee,
Caine Shad. Crime (1885) 19, ed. 1891.
2. Phr. (i) to put one by one's poddish, to take away one's
appetite ; (2) to save one's wind to cool one's poddish, not to
waste words or labour needlessly ; to hold one's tongue.
(i) Wm. What,thoo'll nivver come nar neea mair! Let me tell
thi that'll put nin on us by wer poddish (B.K.). (2) ne.Lan.'
3. Anything that has a shmy, semi-liquid appearance.
Wm. T'taties hez o boiled ta poddish (B.K.).
4. Fig. Nonsense, absurdity.
n.Yks. Pretha hod thi noise ; A believe it's all poddish ta's
saying. What poddish sum fooaks duz turrn ower. Ay, an' what
poddish sum fooaks is ready ta believe (W.H.). e.Yks.' He
talked a lang whahl, bud it was all poddish.
5. V. To eat one's porridge, to take a meal of porridge.
Cum. So they poddish't at eebnin seunn, Dickinson Cumbr.
(1875) 214.
PODDLE, 56.' Wm. Yks. Lan. Cor. Also written
poddel w.Yks.*; poddil w.Yks.'; and in form poaddle
Wm. [po'dl.] A puddle ; a small pool ; also in comp.
Poddle-hole.
Wm. A dirty poaddle, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 113, ed. 1821.
w.Yks.235, e.Lan.1 Cor. N. & Q. (1854) ist S. x. 359.
[Podel, lacuna. Prompt.^
PODDLE, sb.^ Cor. [po'dl.] A quart. Morton
Cyclo. Agric. (1863).
PODDLE, V. Sc. Nhp. War. Cor. Also written podle
Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.' [podl.] 1. To walk with short, un-
steady steps, as a child or stout person ; to move about
the feet irregularly. See Pod, v.^ 3.
Bnff.', Cld. (Jam.) Nhp. The ruddy child nursed in the lap of
care, . . Beside its mother poddies o'er the land, Clare Shep.
Calendar {1621) 69; Nhp.' Cor. N.ifQ. (1854) ist S. ju 359.
2. With about : to potter about in the wet.
War.3 Don't poddle about in the rain. Come in doors ; what
are you peddling about in that muddy road for?
3. To poke about ; to meddle, interfere.
Cor. N. & Q. ib. ; Cor.' She goes poddling ; Cor.^
PODDLIT, jft//. adj. Rxb. (Jam.) Of poultry : plump ;
in good condition.
PODDOCK, PODDOCK-CRUDS, see Paddock, s6.',
Paddock-rud.
PODDY, sb. 1. Obs. Sus. A farmer.
Ya know how 'tis wud poddies now, Dey wont employ de lads.
Lower Tom Cladpole (1831) st. 15.
PODDY, see Pod, s6.*
PODDYWIG, sb. Lei.' [po'diwig.] A tadpole. Cf.
podle, sb.^
PODE, sb. Som. [pod.] A jumping-pole. (M.A.R.)
PODE
[566]
POIGNARD
PODE, see Pod, sb.^, Uphold.
PODER, PODGAL, see Podar, Podgel.
PODGE, sb.^ In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc. and
Eng. [podg.] 1. Anything very thick and sticky. Wil.^
2. A miry place ; a pit, hole ; a cesspool. Cf. pudge, sb."
Nhp.i Glo. Horae Subsecivae {I^^^) 333. Ken. (Hall.), Ken.*
Hence (i) Podge-hole, sb. a puddle-hoIe ; (2) Podgey,
adj. of land : heavy, wet.
(i) s.Not. She stepped into a podge-'ole, an' squotted 'er all
ower. Look at yer boots ! Y'ave bin dancin' in a podge-'ole
(J.P.K.). (2) Hmp. Garden be too podgey to dig in, it be that
(W.M.E.F.).
3. A short, fat person ; a fat and dirty person ; a fat
child ; also a small, but strong and thick-set animal. Cf.
pudge, sb.^
Bnff.i, n.Yks.i2* m.Yks.i Come hither, thou old podge, and
I'll be the kissing of thee to death ! w.Yks. Shoo is a podge.
When shoo puts her fooit dahn shoo shaks all t'bieldin', Leeds
Merc. Suppl. {Apr. 4, iBge). Cor.2 Quite a podge. CoUoq. (A.B.C.)
Hence Podgy, fi) adj. short and fat ; in gen. colloq.
use ; (2) sb. a short, fat person.
(i) Abd. She brak a haddock in twa wi' her plump podgy hands,
.Abd.Wkly. Free Press {Sept. ic,^ igoo). n.Cy. (J.W.) Cum." He
was a laal shwort podgy fella, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 206.
n.Yks." e.Yks.i What a lahtle podgy chap he is ! why he's
ommost as brade as lang. w.Yks.^, Lan.i s.Not. She was a
podgy little woman (J.P.K.). War.^ w Sus. With podgy hands
resting on short, thick thighs, Gordon Vill. and Doctor (1897) 64.
Cor.i2 (a) Cum.!
4. A disease in rabbits resulting from constipation. Cf.
pod, sb} 3.
s.Not. His rabbit's got the podge with eating so much green
stuff (J.P.K.). Lei.i
[1. Brouet, any liquor, podge or sauce, Cotgr.]
PODGE, V. and sb.^ Sc. Dun Yks. Nhp. War. e.An.
Hmp. Cor. [podg.] 1. v. To walk with short, uneven
steps. Bnff.^ 2. To poke about ; gen. with about.
Cor.i Podging about the house. In this thing, and podging
in that.
Hence Podging, ppl. adj. stupid, clumsy. Cor.= (s.v.
Pokemen). 3. To mend or patch clothes clumsily. Nhp.^
4. To punch ; to give a blow with the fist. Cf. poach.
War.2 Come down the railway And see a jolly fight. Two dead
men Podging left and right, Fik-rhyme.
5. To Stir the fire violently. w.Dur.^ 6. With down :
to press down forcibly and roughly. e.Yks.^
7. To stir and mix together. e.An. (Hall.), e.An.'
8. sb. A poke ; a nudge ; a blow.
Hmp. I'll give you a podge in the guts, Grose fiigo') MS. add.
(M.) ; Hmp.i
9. A jumble, mixture.
Ayr. Such a precious but unutterable podge of pleasant musings,
AiNSLiE Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 71.
10. A hurry, bustle, state of confusion. Per. (Jam.)
PODGEL, sb. and v. Sc. Not. Shr. Also written
podgal Sc. (Jam.) [po-dglj 1. sb. A strong, thick-set
person or animal. Cai.*, Bnff.^ Cld. (Jam.) See Podge,
sb.^ 3. 2. V. To do anything in a clumsy way.
Shr.i Whad bin 'ee podgellin' at ?
Hence Podgelling, ppl. adj. (i) clumsy, awkward ; (2)
short and fat ; (3) of a dress : baggy, loose.
(i) Shr.i I never seed sich a podgellin' fellow. (2) s.Not. A
podgelling little chap, as broad as 'e wor long (J.P.K.). (3) It
meks the dress look so podgelling {ib.).
PODGER, sb.^ Ess. [po-dz3(r).] A fat person. Trans.
Arch. Sac. (1863) HI. 186. See Podge, 56.' 3.
PODGER, sb? Obs. or obsol. w.Cy. Pev. A pewter
dish ; also an earthen platter, porringer, or pipkin.
w.Cy. (Hall.), Dev.' a.Hev.Horae Subsecivae {I'ji'i') 333; Tha
wut . . . slat the podgers, Exm. Scolcf, (1746) 1. 248.
PODISH, see Poddish.
PODLE, sb.^ Lth. (Jam.) A pet name for a healthy
child. Cf pud, sb.^ 2.
PODLE, sb.^ Sc. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A tadpole. Cf. poddjrwig.
PODLE, PODLER, see Peddle, v., Podley, Poodler.
PODLEY, sb. Sc. Nhb. Also written poddlie Fif.;
podlie Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.'; and in form podle Lnk. [po-dli.]
1. The immature coal-fish, Merlangus carbonarius. Cf.
poodler.
Sc. 'Tis neither angel, nymph, nor bride — 'Tis Podley Jess of
Dubbyside ! Outram Lyrics (1887) 128. u.Abd. (W.M.) Frf.
Fishing through a knot-hole in the pine flooring for podlies in
the water beneath, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 254. Flf. Colville
Vernacular {\%r)<j) 19. Lnk. Lobsters, partans, podles, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 220. Lth. (Jam.) Edb. Sillock, known at
Edinburgh under the name of ' Podleys,' Hibbert Desc. Sh. I.
(1822) 25, ed. 1891. Nhb.i
2. "The pollacli, Merlangus pollachius. Sc. (Jam.)
PODN, sb. Cor. [Not known to our correspondents.]
Mine dust. Bottrell Trad. 3rd S. Gl.
PODSY, fli//'. Sc. A dial, form of 'podgy.'
e.Fif. In staps a little fat podsy body, Latto Tam Bodkin
(1864) XXX.
PODWARE, sb. Ken. Also in form podder Ken.'^
[po"dwea(r).] 1. A name given to beans, peas, tares,
vetches, and such vegetables as have pods.
(Hall.) ; Lewis /. Tenet (1736) ; Ken.' 2
2. Cow/, (i) Podware-gratten or -grotten, the stubble
of beans, peas, &c. ; (2) -hook, a hook used in reap-
ing peas.
(i) The hagister was in the podder-grotten, Lewis /. Tenet
{ 1 736) (s.v. Libbit) ; Ken.' = e.Ken. To leave a quantity of pod ware
gratten, for a wheat tilth on farms where some sorts of podware
is the worst tilth known to sow wheat upon. Boys Agric. (1794) 31 .
(2) Marshall Review (1817) V. 440.
POETER, s6. }Obs. Sc. A poet.
Slk. Ane wad think the poeter that made it had the second sight,
Hogg Tales (1838) 16, ed. 1866.
POFF, POFFLE, see Puff, PafBe, sb.
POG, sb} Yks. [peg.] 1. A bog. Also in cotnp.
Pog-hole. w.Yks.'' It's a regular pog-hole.
Hence Poggy, adj. boggy; sloppy, as a field in wet
weather. w.Yks.^^ 2. A shallow pit near a coal-pit ;
see below.
w.Yks. Pits about six ft. deep near coal-pits. Said to be made
when looking for a place to make a shaft or to find coal, and called
' Sharbston Pogs ' or ' Smith's Pogs ' after the place or owner.
There are generally from six to a dozen close together (W.F.).
POG, V. and sb.'^ Stf. Wil. Som. [pog.] 1. v. To
push; to thrust with the fist, occas. with the foot. Cf.
pug, v.^
wa', s.Wil. (G.E.D.), Som. (W.F,R.) e.Som. W. & J. G/.(i873).
w.Som.' I never didn never hat'n 'tall, plase sir, I on'y Jis pog'n.
2. Phr. pog off, be off! Stf (I.W.), Stf.' 3. To plant
potatoes ; to set beans. Wil.', s.Wil. (G.E.D.) 4. sb. A
push ; a thrust with the fist ; an obtuse blow. Som.
Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.'
POG, int. Wor. Also in form poggy. A call to calves.
POGICIAN, sb. l.Ua. A dial, form of ' position.'
Tuk up a pogician. As the bobby said. Brown Doctor (1887) 6.
POGRAM, sb. e.An. Slang. Also written pogrim
e.An.' ; and iq forms pogramite, pogrimite Nrf. [po'grsm.]
A nickname for a Noncoriformist.
e.An. A^. &- Q. (1875) 5th S. iii. 237 ; e.An.' Nrf. Cozens-
HARDY.STOarfA')y:(i893) II. Suf.' Slang. So called from a well-
known dissenting minister of this name, Slang Diet. (1865).
POGUE, POI, see Poage, Pie, sb}
POICH, sb. Obs. or obsol. Yks. Lan. Also in forms
pyche w.Yks.' ne.Lan.' ; pytch Lan.' A bee-hive, esp.
one to take bees immediately after they have swarmed.
Yks. (Hall.) vr.Yks. Watson Hist. Hlfx. (1775) 544; w.Yks.'*,
Lan.', np.Lan.'
POIDLES, sb. pi: w.Yks.? Also in form pawdles.
[poi'dlz.] Fancies.
Said . . . of a . . . little boy temporarily lame, ' Eh, poor bairn,
he's all poidles.'
POIGNARD, sb. Dor. [poi'nad.] The iron rod used
by thatchers for combing down the thatch ; a ' groom.'
His ricking.rod, groom, or poignard, as it was indifferently
called— a long iron lance, sharp at the extremity and polished by
handling, Hardy Madding Crowd (1B74) xxxvii.
[The same word as Fr. poignard, a poniard (Cotgr.).]
POIK
[567]
POINT
POIK, V. and int. Cum.* Also in forms poiks, powk.
1. V. To take up a marble that is in play, in an irregular
manner ; to steal. ' What's te poikin that for ? '
2. int. See below.
'Poiks ! ' is called out when a game at marbles must cease, then
each player calling this out, is entitled to appropriate as many
marbles which are in play as he can.
POIK, see Pike, v.^^, Poke, sb.^. Puke, v.
POIKE, POIKEL, see Pike, v.^, Pikel.
POIN, see Pine, v.^, Poind, v.
POIND, sb.^ ? Obs. Sc. Nhb. A silly, useless, inactive
person ; one easily imposed upon.
Rxb. HoutI he was aye a pair poind a' his days (Jam.). Nhb.^
Poind occurs in the name applied to one of two monoliths which
stood near Shafto Crags. They were known as the ' poind and
his man.'
POIND, V. and sb.^ Sc. Also written poynd Sc. ; and
in forms poin Elg. ; poon Dmb. ; poyn Sc. [poind,
pind.] 1. V. To distrain ; to seize and sell under war-
rant ; to impound. Cf. pind, v.
Sc. Ye may poind for debt but not for unkindness, Ferguson
Prov. (1641) No. 936 ; He who finds cattle trespassing on his
ground, is said to poind them, when he shuts them up, till such
time as he receives a sufficient compensation from the owner for
damage done (Jam.). Or.I. It sail be leisom to him to poynd and
uplift the saids paines, Edb. Antiq. Mag. (1848) 6. Elg. Jock
Frock poin'd the whole, Tester Poems (1865) 136. Abd. Gordon
poinded some stirks belongan' to Forbes that had gone across the
march, MicHiEZ)f«sirf« Tales{i8']z) 120. FeT.lllAiDNEfn Spottiswoode
Miscell. (1844-5) !'• 235. w.Sc. Her crony, whose effects Jock
had lately poinded, Macdonald Settlement (1869) 165, ed. 1877.
Dmb. When sent to poon a neighbour's house, This active man was
bald and crouse, Taylor Poems (1827) 17. Rnf. Some harsh laird
. . . commanded you to . . . poind the all Of some poor soul, and
turn him out Of house and hall, M^^Gilvray Poems (ed. 1862) 103.
Ayr. He'll apprehend them, poind their gear, Burns Twa Dogs
(1786) 1. 98. Lnk. Their goods were na poinded by limbs o' the
law, Rodger Poems (1838) 100, ed. 1897. Edb. The flocks upo'
the bent Are poindit, to gie lairds their rent, Learmont Poems
(1791) 171. Slk. His effects were poinded and sold for ready
money by auction, Hogg Tales (1838) 299, ed. 1866.
Hence (i) Poinded, ppl. adj. distrained, impounded ; (2)
Poinder, sb. the distrainer ; the official who impounds
strays ; (3) Poinding, {a) sb. a distraint ; an impounding ;
a warrant for distraint ; (b) ppl. adj. distraining ; (4)
Poinding-plea, sb. a suit to distrain.
(i) Sc. Getting back their poyned goods, Kirkton Ch. Hist.
(1817) 404. Lnk. The mere liftin' o' a spectral ban' against the
can'le licht winna fail to skail the beagles, an' set your poinded
body free, Murdoch Readings (1895) II. 17. (2) Sc. I'll . . . get
my bit supper frae Ringan the poinder up by, Scott Antiquary
(1816) xxiv. Frf. The whole sum . . . Wadna pay the poinder.
Sands Poems (1833) 26. (3, a) Sc. He'd gat his share o' pleas an'
jars, O' hornin's, poindin's, an sic wars, Donald Poems (1867) 20.
Or.I. Under pain of poynding, Peterkin Notes (1822) App. 32.
Abd. Ony lane widow whase landlord had sent A scur wi' a poinding
to roup for her rent, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 139. Per. Sum-
monses, hornings, and poindings for debtors, Stewart Character
(1857) 35. w.Sc. He had a strong love for poindings and seques-
trationsfor rent, Macdonald Settlement {i86g) 98, ed. 1877. (6) Frf.
Claith an' seams o' yon bode thrift. An' will prevent the rarein'
O' poinding night, Morison Poems (1790) 87. (4) Ayr. The
Laird from wham the Ian' was took, Was boun' ... To lay the
poinding plea aside, Ainslie Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 185.
2. sb. A distraint.
Dmb. Glad to catch him with your poind and horn, Salmon
Gowodean (1868) 63. Gall. We hadna siller to gie for't ; A poind
was ca'd, we maun remove. For saying things we couldna prove,
Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 71, ed. 1897.
3. Comp. Poynd-fauld, obs., an enclosure for strays ; a
pound.
Fif. Ther were neuer such a company of bedlames driuin wnto
ane poyndfauld as wee, Maidment Spoitiswoode Miscell. (1844-5)
I. 211.
[1. ME. punden, to impound (Stratmann).]
POINER, see Piner.
POINT, sb. and v.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written poynt Wm. ; and in forms peint s.Chs.' ;
pint Rnf. Lnk. (Jam.) [point, Midi, paint.] , 1. sb. In
comp. (i) Point-bitch, obs., a bitch pointer ; (2) -game, a
curiing term ; see below ; (3) -hold, an introduction ; in
phr. to have gitlen point-hold, to have received an introduc-
tion ; (4) -skeet, a mining term : the conductor in a pit-
shaft ; see below.
(i) Edb. O' chaps than point-bitch wad been stauncher Upo' the
set, LiDDLE Poems (1821)90. (2) Slg. Point and rink games were
played for prizes offered by enthusiastic patrons of the sport, Fer-
GussoN My Village (1893) 158. Gall. Point games are those which
each member of the curling club plays by himself, at the various
shots, generally for a medal. In the rink games he is one of a band of
four players on one side. The medal for ' points ' is called the
single-handed medal, that for rinks, the rink medal, in Galloway
(A.W.). (3) n.Yks.2 As a nail to be driven first enters by the
point. (4) Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. Terminating below the opening at
bank and above the opening at the bottom of the shaft where the
tubs are changed, Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
2. Phr. (i) at point, on the watch ; (2) to bring to a point,
to prove ; to put into practice ; (3) to make his point, of a
hunted deer : to strive to reach some particular region ;
(4) to stretch a point, to walk quickly, to make haste in
order to accomplish a purpose.
(i) Per. For a winter Domsie had been at point, racing George
through Caesar, Ian Maclaren Brier Bush (1895) 10. (2) Hmp. She
gave me good advice an' now I'm thinkin' of bringin' it to a point
(W.M.E.F.). (3) w.Som.i n.Dev. Shall he not make his point in
the cliffs beyond Combe Martin? Whvte-Melville Katerfelto
(1875) xxiii. (4) w.Yks.i
3. A thorn.
Nrf. I picked up an old snake's slough and a marshman saw me
carrying it. ' That's good for drawing points out of your hand,'
Emerson Lagoons (ed. 1896) 231.
4. The branch or projection upon a stag's horn.
w.Som.' Those which grow at the end of an old deer's horns are
called 'points upon top.' To be able to 'count his points' is to
tell his age. n.Dev. An antler is judged by the number of points
or tines which spring from the beam. The beam is the main
stem, and the points are the branches, Jefferies Red Deer^iSB^) iv.
5. A String for tying ; a boot or shoe lace ; a stay-lace ;
a thin strip of leather used as a thong for a flail, &c.
Sc. There's ' Eleven Points to bind up a Believer's Breeches,'
Pitcairn Assembly (1766) 62. Sh.I. Shii cam' inby, an' began to
lowse da points o' hir boits ; an' da ledder o' dem wis juist grey,
Sk. News (Sept. 15, 1900). Cai.^ Elg. Nineteen points o' gospel
whang, To tie believers' breeks, Couper Poetry (1804) II. 70.
Slg. Dear shoon gars us wear strings for buckles . . . Points pre-
vail, Galloway Poems (1792) 41. Rnf. Ye want the pints frae
baith your shoon, Picken Poems (1813) I. 126. Lnk. (Jam.) Dev.
Nuts, points, and farthings to be scrambled for on Perambulation
Day, Reports Provinc. (1893).
6. The ornamental part of a stocking extending above
the ancle. Dur.^ 7. The brow of a hill.
s.Chs.i Ahy)v jus-tiimeyt met"n yair Tiim, wi ii ky'aa'rt-ldoud
u brik- iipu)th peynt u)dh il yaan'diir.
8. Obs. The left-hand side of a ' bandwin ' (q.v.) ; the
portion of the harvest-field reaped by the left half of the
' bandwin ' ; the leader of a ' bandwin.'
Sc. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Gall. He . . could shear a
point baith fast and slaw, And thresh, and dike, and ditch, and
maw, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 42, ed. 1897; He wha had
been touned out wi' tenants, Would soon be head man to the
laird— A point at baith shearin' and mawin', ib. 194 ; The person
who first entered (at the point end) of a bune, or band, of shearers,
who was thus pacemaker for the whole. ' He's aye cuttin' afore
the point,' alluding to one who was too eager, or meddlesome, in
anything. The 2nd, 3rd, &c., had to keep up with ' Point,' who
was an important person. He was generally the farmer's own
man (J.M.).
9. V. In phr. (i) bread, or potatoes, and point, a meal of
bread, or potatoes, only ; see below ; (2) to point ground,
earth, floor, &c., [a) to set one's foot to the ground ; (i) to
touch the ground with a stick in walking; (3) —on^s
clogs or on^s nose in any direction, to travel towards ; (4)
— out, a mowing term ; see below.
(i) w.Sc. The inhabitants subsist largely on dried fish in the
winter months. The fish are suspended from the roof of the apart-
ment, and in times of scarcity the potatoes are eaten, the ordinary
accompaniment being merely pointed to and kept for another day,
N. tf Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 443. N.I.' Myo. We're in the hoight iv
POINT
[5681
POISON
good luck ! Herrins, it is, and it might have been only pitaties
an' point, . . that is whin there is only wan herrin' amongst a
crowd — too little to give aich a taste, and so they put it in the
middle and point the pitaties at it to give them a flaviour. Stoker
Snake s Pass ( i8gr) i. Cum. Their habits o' leevin was poddish at
mvvorn, And taties and point at neunn, Dickinson Cumbr. (1876)
237. Wm. Thoo wad nivver hev a dinner if it was nobbut tatis en
poynt, RoBisoN Kendal C. News (Sept. 22, 1888). w.Yks. ' What
are we bahn to hae for dinner! ' ' Potatoes an' point,' Yks. Wkly.
Post (Nov. 28, 1896). Lan. It meant a modicum of salt — or none
at all, according to circumstances, the mineral being so dear that
poor people had often to content themselves with pointing at the
empty salt-cellar. Hence the expression — ' potatoes and point,'
Westall Birch Dene (1889) I. 275. w.Som.i It is said that
' maister ' has the meat, while the ' purntice ' points at it by way
of seasoning to his potatoes. Dev.= Cor. N. & Q. ib. (2, a)
n.Cy. (Hall.) n.Yks.^; n.Yks.^ ' I can't point grund wi' 'it,' said
of a lame foot. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 4, 1896) ; He hesn't
pointed t'plat for moor nor a fortneet (S.J.C); w.Yks.^ I've
streeaned ya guider o' my leg seea mich at I cani;ot point t'eearth
wi my foote. n.Lin.' A man or beast so lame as to walk with
much difSculty is said to be ' hardlin's aable to point grund.' (6)
n.T^ks.' (3) w.Yks. Hoamwards aw'll point mi owd clogs. Hartley
Ditt. (1868) ist S. 55; He mun point his noas up to th' big
haase, ib. 13. (4) s.Wor. It was formerly a stipulation made with
mowers of the grass that they should ' knoll down and point out.'
It is still expected of them to do so. It means that they should
. . . make a sufficiently wide blow or sweep of the scythe, bring
the ' point ' of it out far enough to ensure regularity in the
swathes (H.K.).
10. To hold up the foot as though it were tender.
Oxf.i MS. add. "W. Pratt, cross-examined, said the horse
' pointed' its foot, but did not go lame, Oxf. Times (Oct. 9, 1897).
11. To go away ; of a hunted deer : to make off in a
certain direction.
s.Chs.i Kiim, peynt, wiin yii? [Come, peint, wun yO ?] Ey
peyntid of fur worn [Hey peinted off for wom]. w.Som.' At first
the deer pointed for the forest, and a grand moorland run appeared
on the cards, Wellington Wkly. News (Aug. 19, 1886).
12. To make known.
w.Som.' I told'n to be sure and pointy when he was comin'.
n.Dev. Es marl ha dont pointee whot's in tha meend o' en, Exm.
Crtshp. (1746) I. 629.
POINT, v."^ Dor. Dev. [point.] To appoint. Dor.
N. &- Q. (1885) 6th S. viii. 45.
Hence Pointment, sb. an appointment.
Dev. I have made a pointment with Mr. to-morrow, Reports
Provinc. (1885).
POINTED,//-/, adj. Sc. Nhb. and Amer. Also in form
pinted Sc. Amer. [pointid.] Of a person : particular,
accurate, precise, decided; punctual in payment; also tidy.
Sc. Glasgow Herald (Apr. 3, 1899) ; There are other two passages
. . . and 1 doubt nothing of the truth of them in my own mind,
though I be not pointed in time and place. Walker Peden (1727)
30 (Jam.) ; The minister's very pinted about his parritch, Keith
Bonnie Lady{i8g'}) 45. Cai.i Ayr. He's a great han' for splorin'
about his punctuality in ordinary transactions, and of what a
pointed man his father was, Hunter Studies {1870) 283. Edb.
Ye're sae precise an' pointet, Forbes Poems (1812) 78. Nhb. Sir
Hugh's a pointed man . . . and has made up his mind what figure
he'll bid, Graham Ped Scaur (1896) 90. [Amer. He's a mighty
p'inted an' a orful sot in 'is way, Cent. Mag. (Mar. 1885) 678.]
Hence Pointedly, adv. exactly, accurately ; distinctly ;
punctually, without fail. Sc. (Jam.)
POINTER, sb. Irel. Yks. Can. Amer. Also in form
pinter Can. [poi'nt3(r.] 1. A coal-mining term : a guard
to a rail end. w.Yks. (J. P.) 2. Fig. A hint, clue, ' tip.'
Don. I'll give ye a pointer or two on these Sents o' yours that
'ill be useful to ye, Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 106. [Can.
I'll give you a pinter that i'm the only man in the nayborhood that
kin rede and rite, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (June 29, igoi"). Amer.
Can you give me a pointer on Jim Matheson? Cent, Mag. (Dec.
1900) 297. J
POINTING, ppl. adj. and vbl. sb. Wor. Ken. Sus. Som.
Also in forms pwinting se.Wor.^ ; pwointing Som.
[point, pwaint.] 1. ppl. adj. In comb, (i) Pointing-end,
the gable end of a building ; (2) -post, a signpost ; (3)
•stethe, a small anvil or stithy ; (4) -study, see below.
(i) Som. The pointing-end of Jacob Handsford's house, Raymond
No Soul (1899) 45. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' There's
th' ouze, you can jis zee the pwointin' een o' un 'twixt the trees.
(2) Ken.i (3) Sns.i (4) s.Wor. An old-fashioned appliance used
by smiths for pointing horse nails, when they were not made or
sold pointed as they are now. An upright post supports a tray,
andin the middle ofthe tray is an upright 'stud' of iron, flat-topped,
about 2 ins. high, on which the nails were pointed, the tray holding
them (H.K.).
2. vbl. sb. Fishing with a rod and hne. se.Wor.^
POINT- VICE, adv. and adj. Dur. Yks. [poi-nt-vais.]
1. adv. In perfect order.
w.Yks. Oh ! he is a very particular man, and will have everything
about his place point vice, N. & Q. (1871) 4th S. vii. 255.
2. adj. Exact, perfect.
Dur.i The term is applied to any one who is neat and nice in
person.
[1. Sche coude tricke it point device, Miller of Abington
(Hall.). Cp. ME. phr. at point-devys, exactly, perfectly.
Up rist this loly lover Absolon, And him arrayeth gay, at
point-devys, Chaucer C. T. a. 3689. Cp. OFr. a devis,
par devis, 'en bel ordre, d'une maniere bien ordonnee'
(Godefrdy). 2. You are rather point-device in your
accoutrements, Shaks. As You, in. ii. 401.]
POINYEL, sb. ? Obs. Ayr. (Jam.) A bundle carried
by a traveller.
[OFr. poignal, ' qui remplit le poing ' (La Curne).]
POIREEN, sb. Irel. Very small potatoes. s.Don.
Simmons Gl. (1890).
[Ir.pdmn, a small potato (O'Reilly).]
POISE, sb. Yks. War. Also in form poyzer War.
[poiz.] A lever. n.Yks.^War. (J.R.W.) Cf. paise, 56. 3.
POISE, POISES, see Pause, Posy.
POISON, sb., V. and adj. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and
Eng. Also in forms peighson Lan. ; piezen Suf.' ; pizen
Dev.^; pizon Oxf Dev.; pooshin Sh.I. ; poozhan Cai.' ;
poushin S. & Ork.' ; powson Dev.^ ; pueshen, pushen
Sh.I.; pushion Sc. n.Cy. Nhb.'; pushon Ayr.; pusion
Abd. ; puzzen Nhb.' Cum.; puzzum n.Cy. n.Yks.* w.Yks.^;
pwizon Oxf.^ [poi'zan, Yks. pui'zan, Midi, pwai'zan, Sc.
pu'Jan.] 1. sb. In comb, (i) Poison-berry, (a) the fruit
of the black briony, Tamus communis ; (6) — ofthe woody
nightshade. Solatium Dulcamara; (c) — ofthe mountain-
ash, Pyrus Aucuparia ; (d) — of the cuckoo-pint. Arum
maculatum ; (e) — of the stinking iris. Iris foetidissima ;
(/) — ofthe holly. Ilex Aquifolium ; (g)_fig. an ill-natured,
malicious woman ; (2) -daisy, the stinking camomile,
Anthemis Coiula; (3) -faced, ugly, dirty- looking ; (4)
■flower, the woody nightshade. Solanum Dulcamara ; (5)
•maur, the root of the wild orchid. Orchis mascula, and of
the cuckoo-pint. Arum maculatum ; (6) -pate, the sting-
fish. Coitus scorpius ; (7) -poppy, the common red poppy,
Papaver Rhoeas ; (8) -rhubarb, the butter-bur, Petasites
vulgaris ; (9) -root, the cuckoo-pint, Arum maculatum ;
(10) -weed, any species of stonecrop, Sedum.
(i, «) Ken., Sus.',Wil.i, Dev." (6) se.Sc, n.Cy., Nhb.', Oxf.
(B. & H.) (c) Nhb.l w.Yks. Tha moan't eyt that, doy. It's a
poois'n-berry! Leeds Merc. Suppl. {Apr. 4, i8g6'). (rf;n.Yks., Wil.',
Dev." (e) Dev.* (/) n.Yks. (^) w.Yks.^^ ' Old poison-berry ' is
a term applied to a woman who slanders or speaks ill of her neigh-
bours. (2) Sus. (3) n.Yks.2 (4) Hrt. (5) Dev. I chud reckon
hers ginged yeng Haenton, cause 'un's dark i' th' eyes, by gieen'
on un' thae pizon-maurs her prinks in sher's hair, Madox-Brown
Dwale Blutk (I8^6) Z08; Dev.^ (6) Cor.s (7) n.Bck. Doubtless
in allusion to the supposed noxious properties of the plant (B.& H.).
(8) n.Yks. (9) Wil.i (10) Hnt. Nature Notes, No. iii.
2. Phr. (i) all poison abune the plook, see below ; (2)
a poison on, an imprecation ; see Pize, 56.' ; (3) what
a poison, ' what the dickens ' ; see Pize, s6.'
(i) Ayr. They're no for a man that likes a free house and a fu'
measure. A' might be pushon that's aboon the plook wi' them,
Galt Lairds (1826) xviii; Scotch pint-stoups, before the reforma-
tion of the imperial measure, were made to hold something more
than the standard quantity ; but at the point of the true measure a
small papilla or plook projected, the space between which and the
brim was left for an ad libitum, an exercise of liberality on the part of
vintners and other ministers to haustation. When, however, measure
was regulated by the scrimp rule, it was said proverbially of those
POISONING
[569 J
POKE
who did so, that of their liquors all was poison abune the plook, ib.
note. (2) Suf.i A piezen on 'em. (3) Why, law, what a piezen
ar' yeow a dewin ? ib.
3. An eyesore ; anything offensive ; esp. used as a term
of contempt for a disagreeable person.
Sh.I. A fantit ting o' a grice aboot a hoos is shflrely wan o' da
greatest pushens 'at can be seen, Sh. News (July 30, 1898) ; He's
a oot-o-da-wye pueshen, sib alto' he is, ib. (Nov. 17, 1900). Abd.
He's a pusion o' a craitur. He's a perfit pusion, Gregor Notes to
Dunbar (1893) 40 ; Faugh ! it's jist pushion to think o't, Abd. Wkly.
Free Press (June 4, 1898). Cum. Ilk dud she wears upon her back
Is puzzen to the e'e, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1840) 45. n.Yks.'' ' A
parfit puzzom,' morally, a thoroughly pernicious individual. Oxf.i
If uuy bee nuthn but u saaTvuut, uuy bent pwuuyzn [If I be
nuth'n but a sarvunt, I ben't pwizon].
4. Spite, malice. n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Ylis.^ 5. v. In comb.
Peighson-guts, uneatable, poisonous food.
Lan. Aw didn't need axin twoice to pitch th' bottle away. In less
than two minnits it wur . . i'th dust oth ashpit ; the fittest place,
Sayroh said, for aw sitch peighson guts, Staton B. Shuttle
Boititun, 28.
6. To spoil, mar, esp. to render unfit for food.
Frf. Ye've pushioned a' the kail wi' sute. Sands Poems (1833) 95.
Wor. That galvanizing poisons the iron (W.C.B.).
7. adj. Bad, contemptible, disgusting ; gen. of persons.
Sh.I. He's a pooshin wadder-head, a dirty sOal i' da sea, Spence
Ftk-Lore (i&^Qi) 2^0 ; S. &Ork.' A poushin crater. Cai.' A poozhan
moniment.
POISONING, ppl. adj. So. Yks. Chs. Also in form
poosioning Abd. 1. In comb. Poisoning-berries, (i)
the fruit of the black briony, Tamus communis. w.Yks.
(B. & H.) ; (2) — of the woody nightshade, Solanum
Dulcamara, ib. ; (3) — of the white briony, Bryonia
dioica. ib. 2. Poisonous, noisome.
Abd. What can we expect from brocks but a poosioning flavour !
RuDDiMAN Sc. Parish (1828) 37, ed. 1889.
3. Salt-making term : see below.
Chs.i Said of a pan when some ingredient is put into it to make
the brine work differently ; or to prevent it working freely and
properly.
POISONOUS TEA PLANT, phr. Oxf. The woody
nightshade, Solanum, Dulcamara. (B. & H.)
POIST.i;. Obs. Sc. Also in forms poost, puist. 1. To
urge, push. Sibbald Gl. (1802) (Jam.). 2. To cram the
stomach with more food than is necessary. Rxb. (Jam.)
POIST see Post sb}
POIStIeR'D, ppl. adj. Abd. (Jam.) Petted, indulged,
spoiled.
POIT, sb. Yks. Fern, [poit.] 1. A particle, a minute
fragment or portion. n.Yks.'* w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Apr. 4, 1896). 2. Obs. A link of yarn; a piece of thread.
s.Pera. Gi' me a poit of yarn to mend the stockin' (W.M.M.).
POIT, adj. ? Obs. e.An. Assuming airs of importance,
' uppish,' excessively pert. (Hall.), e. An.^
POIT, see Pote.
POITERED OUT, phr. N.I.^ Also in form poutered
out. Of land: exhausted and having received only slight
superficial cultivation.
POIT-HOLE, sb. Yks. [poit-oil.] A cavity in the
roof of a mine, from which a piece of rock or fossil has
dropped. w.Yks. (B.K.)
POITIBROD, sb. Sh.I. A piece of a broken kettle for
holding oil. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 34-
POITIK, sb. Sh.I. Also in form pootyek. In comp.
01i-poitik, an oil-pot. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 34.
POK, POKASSUN, see Pock, sb.^, Pokeassin.
POKE, sb.^ and v.^ In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written poak Wm. w.Yks.* Lan. ; poake
Wxf.* e.Yks. ; and in forms poik Sc. ; pooak Lakel.^
Wm. n.Yks.'^* e. Yks.^ w.Yks. n.Lan.i ; pook Nhb.' ne.Lan.^
W.Som.' ; pooke Wxf.' ; pouk Dmf. ; powk Sc. ; pwoak
n.Yks.^; p wok Cum.; pwokeCum.'^* [pok, poak, pwok.]
1. sb. A bag, sack ; a wallet ; a pocket. Cf. pock, sb.^
Sc. I've jist ta'en doon the poke frae the east bedroom lum,
Swan Aldersyde (ed. 1892) ii. Sh.I. Da boy . . . airmed wi' a
poky o' sQt, Ollason Mareel (1901) 31. Per. She gaes up tae
her room an', taks oot a pokie o' rose-leaves we dried in the
VOL. IV. .
simmer, Ian Maclaren Auld Lang Syne (1895) 282. Lth. Four
gude sacks, an' a poik, Thomson Poems (1819) no. Dmf. Wi'
a pouk, Gaun oot some neebours pit [of potatoes] tae houk, Quinn
Heather (1863) 228. Gall, My gudeman follows after, wi' the
cuddy, powks and keel, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824') 69, ed. 1876.
N.I.', Wxf.i n.Cy. Grose (1790). Nhb. Millery ! raillery! mounty
poke, Put in your hand and steal a loke, Dixon Whittingham Vale
(1895) 273. Dur.i e.Dur.i Flour-poke. Lakel.2 Cum.i Nivver
buy a pig in a pwoke ; Cum.^ He pang't beath o't ledder pwokes as
full as they wad hod, 3. Wm. Lost poak, hoaf a steaan a woo,
Wheeler Dial. (1790) 17 ; To let t'cat oot o' t'pooak, Spec. Dial.
(1880) pt. ii. 32. n.Yks. Late some pokes, and put up our seed-
corn, Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 82; n.Yks.' 234^ ne.Yks.'
e.Yks. Afore wee putte it in the poake. Best Rur. Econ. (1641)
104 ; e.Yks.l, m.Y^ks.^ w.Yks. Am nu9n ban ta bai 9 pig in a
puak (J.W.) ; w.Yks.' 2** Lan. Som brout wiskets, som baskets,
an' som poaks to put their different lots in, Donaldson Rossendell
Beef-neet, 9 ; In my boyish days every cottager had a ' meal poke '
to fetch meal from the grocer's for porridge. It would hold about
one or two pecks (S.W.). n.Lan.' Chs. I ud put 'em i' his poke,
Clough B. Bresskittle (1879) 14. Der.12, nw.Der.i, Not. (L.C.M.)
Lin. The mice charmed the harden poke and let out the chisels,
Miller & Skertchly Fenland (1878) iv. n.Lin.i Rut.^ 'What
wur that poke as you wore of yewr back?' (a question asked by
a farmer of a Cambridge graduate after the first occasion when
he had worn in church his raaster-of-arts' hood. ' Her milk-pokes'
(of a cow). Nhp.'2, War.3, Glo. (A.B.), Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.',
Nrf. (C.W.B.N.) Suf. If he be given a handful of chaff. . . in a
poke on his nose, Strickland Old Friends, &'c. (1864) 325 ; Suf.'
Less than a coomb sack. Ken. A bag for putting green hops
into, immediately on picking them (A. E. C. ); Ken.' Sur.' Don't
make such a noise there, or the master'll put you in the poke.
Sus. He has been to get a poke of chaff to help to make up his
bed with, Egerton Flk. and Ways (1884) 137 ; Sus.' Dev. The
second had an ordinary sack partly filled, and was taking it up,
when the first shouted, ' Never mind the poke,' Reports Provinc.
(1895). [Amer. He had a poke of peanuts. Dial. Notes (1896)
I- 373-]
2. Comp. (i) Poke-bag, (a) a sack, bag ; (b) the long-
tailed titmouse, Acredula rosea ; (2) -band, the string of a
bag ; (3) -brass, pocket-money ; (4) -cart, a miller's cart ;
(5) -day, the day on which an allowance of corn in part
payment of wages is paid to labourers ; (6) -horse, obs., a
pack-horse ; (7) -mitten, a glove knitted without the
fingers being divided ; (8) -needle, a large needle used
for mending sacks ; (9) -nook, the bottom or corner of a
bag ; the corner of a plaid ; (10) -piece, a ' pocket-piece ' ;
a keepsake coin ; (11) -pudding, (a) a puddmg boiled in a
bag ; a sausage ; (b) a contemptuous name for an English-
man ; (c) see (I, b)\ (12) -purse, a bag-purse; (13) -rent,
the money a farmer spends on sacks of flour when his
own corn has not sufficed; (14) -sack, a long, narrow,
coarse bag ; (15) -shakings, the last and inferior flour
shaken out of the sack ; also^^. the youngest child of a
family ; the smallest of a litter of pigs.
(i, a) n.Lin,' (A) Shr., Glo. Swainson Birds (1885) 32; Glo.*
(2, 3) ii.Yks.2 (4) e.An. (Hall.); e.An.' Laden with the pokes
belonging to his customers. (5) e.An.', Suf. (Hall.) (6) Nhb.'
Lead ore was formerly transported from the mine to the smelt
mill in pokes, carried by galloways on the top of a wood saddle.
(7) Cum. Now for pwok-mittens on dinnellan hands, Dickinson
Cumbr. (1875) 220; Cum.'* (8) n.Lin.' (9) Gall. Keeping it
with one or two other books in the pokenook of my plaid whenever
I went to the hills, Crockett Standard Bearer {18^8) 60. n.Yks.*,
m.Yks.' (s.v. Newk). (10) n.Yks.2 (11, a) Nhb.' (6) Sc. My
countrymen ... all over Scotland, are dignified with the title of
Poke Pudding, which . . . signifies a glutton, Burt Lett. (1754)
I. 13, 138 (Jam., s.v. Pock-pud), (c) w.Wor. Berrow'sjrn. (Mar. 3,
1888). Shr.' Glo. Gl (1851); Glo.' (12) n.Yks.' A canvas or
brown-holland purse, with a division in it so as to make separate
receptacles for gold or silver, square or oblong in form, and with
a string-slide or tie to close the mouth ; n.Yks.^ (13, 14) n.Yks.2
(15) Abd. (A. W.) N.I.' The last child borne by a woman — supposed
to be puny. ' That's a brave chile, it's no the poke shakins
I'm thinkin'.' n.Cy. (Hall.), Cum.">, Wm. (B.K.), n.Yks.2, w.Yks.'
3. Phr. (i) more poke than pudding, more show than
substance ; (2) the poke's as good as me sack, one person is
as good as another ; (3) to gel the poke, to be dismissed
from employment ; ' to get the sack.' ; (4) lo give the poke,
4D
POKE
[570 J
POKED UP
to dismiss ; (5) to open one's poke and sell on^s wares, to
open one's mouth and speak one's thoughts ; (6) to tie up
the poke before it is full, to leave off eating before one has
had sufficient ; (7) to throw the poke off one's own shoulders on
to another's back, to clear oneself at the expense of another.
(i) NUb.i w.Yks. Prov. in Brighouse News (July 23, 1887);
w.Yks.i (2) n.Yks.2 (3) w.Yks. (S.O.A.) (4) w.Yks. He's
gi'en him t'poake, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 4, 1896). (5) n.Yks.^
(6) e.Yks. ' Did tha hev a good tuck oot at your young maisther's
weddin ? ' ' Nay, nut mich ! They meead ma tee up pooak afore
it was full,' Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 5. (7) w.Yks.i I wod be
waa for't saak o' clearin wersells to thraw't poke off wer awn
shooders on yower backs, ii. 316.
4. The bag of a bagpipe.
Kcd. Piper Tam had got his smoke, And fiU'd again his airy
poke, Jamie Muse (1844) 102.
5. A purse-net in fishing.
Wgt. The free salmon fishing that proved sic a boon Tae the
puir fisher-folk, Wi' their stake net and poke, Fraser Poems
(1885) 47.
Hence Poke-end, sb. the bottom of the bag part of an
eel-trap.
Nrf. Down tu the poke end they wriggle, Patterson Man and
Nat. (1895) 51.
6. A cover used for wrapping section warps in. w.Yks.
(S.K.C.) 7. A finger-stall. (J.W.), w.Yks.i 8. The
belly ; the stomach ; the salted stomach of a calf from
which rennet is made.
Lan. The encouraging injunction of our hostess to ' fill yo'r
pokes,' as she quaintly expressed herself, Brierley Cast upon
World (1886) xiii. ns.Lan.*^ Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng.
(1825). e.Soni. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i ' I wish you'd tell
me where you get your rennet.' ' Why, I buys a veil and zalts-n
in.' ' A veil ? whatever is that ? ' ' Don'ee know hot a veil is ?
Why a pook, be sure ! '
Hence (i) Poke-blown, ppl. adj. (a) having a distended
stomach so that any exertion leads to breathlessness ; (b)
but of breath; (2) -brussen,/^/. arf/'., see (i, a) ; (3)Pookie,
adj. fat, stout.
(i, a) n.Yks.i2 {b) n.Lln.i (a) n.Yks.2 'A pooak-brussen
weean,' a fat wheezy woman. (3) Som. So and so looks rather
pookie (M.A.R.).
9. The rot in sheep.
So. Prize Essay Highland Soc. III. 456 (Jam., s.v. Pock). Per.
That disease called by sheep-farmers the poke (a swelling under
the jaw). Statist. Ace. XX. 469 (Jam.).
Hence Poked, ppl. adj. having the rot.
Nhb.i Cum.* Sheep tainted with rot or consumption often
exhibit the symptoms of a poke or bag under the jaws ; Cum.*,
w.Yks.i
10. V. To carry corn or grist to and from a mill.
e.An.* To go a poking.
Hence (i) Poker, sb. (a) obsoL, the person who carries
flour ground at the local mill to customers in the country ;
(6) the miller's cart; (2) Poking-cart, sb., see (i, b).
(I, a) Nhb. The miller — the ' Poker,' as he was termed — came
through the village, Dixon Whittingham Vale (1895) 273. (A)
e.An.' The miller's cart, which is laden with the pokes or flour-
bags belonging to his customers. (2) e.An.'
11. To glean a corn-field a second or third time.
se.Wor.* Probably so-called because most of the gleanings
consist of ears of corn only, which have to be put into a poke.
12. Of tumours, &c.: to swell.
w.Yks. His bile poaked up varry near an inch, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Apr. II, 1896).
Hence Pooak'd, ppl. adj. swollen. n.Yks.'^ 13. To
dismiss a workman.
w.Yks. He wor poaked baht noatis, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla
Ann. (1878) 14 ; I wor poked afore eleven o'clock t'next mornin',
Burnley Saunterer's Satchel (1880) 41 ; w.Yks. ^
[1. They walwe as doon two pigges in a poke, Chaucer
C. T. A. 4278. ON.poki, a bag (Vigfusson).]
POKE, sb.^ Sc. [pok.] The small-pox.
I've had the poke five times, nae less, Tweeddale Moff {18^6) 28.
[Norw. dial.poka, the small-pox (Aasen).]
POKE, sb.^ Ken.»2 [pok.] A cesspool; the nasty
pool into which the stable and all its dung ' sews.'
POKE, s6.* Lin.i [p5k.] Scurf in the head.
POKE, «;.=, sJ.5 and adv. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel.
Eng. and Amer. Also in forms pawk Don. ; pooak
n.Yks.2; pook Ken.' Hmp.i I.W.^ ; powk Sc. (Jam.)
Bnflf.^ [pok, posk.] 1. v. In comb. Poke-up, turned up,
' tip-tilted.'
Ayr. Wi' your little poke-up nose and your little lock o' hair !
AiNSLiE Land 0/ Burns (ed. 1892) 287.
2. Of cattle : to gore, push with the horns.
n.Yks. (I.W.), Glo.' Ken. Cooper Gl. (1853). Sus.2 The cow
poked him with her horns. Hmp.'
3. To project, to bulge out. w.Yks.^ 4. To dawdle,
loiter ; to perform work, such as digging or quarrying, in
a slow, clumsy manner.
Bn£f.i He wiz powkin' an' howkin' a big hole, fin a geed in
aboot. \rf. Wherever have you been poking to, bor! Emerson
Son of Fens (1892) xxxii. w.Som.* Come on, soce ! look sharp !
b'ee gwain to poky there all's day ? I zeed'n pokin' along, just
the very same's whip a snail. Dev. I onlyjust poke about. Reports
Provinc. (1877). [Amer. This train pokes. Dial, Notes (1896)
I. 210.]
Hence Poking, ppl. adj. slow, dawdling.
w.Som.i Whatever d'ye have sich a pokin' old fuller's he vor?
5. To grope about in the dark.
Bnff.', Cld. (Jam.) Nhp.' I went poking along, for I couldn't see.
6. With about : to pry, esp. with a view to pilfering ; to
go about in a sly manner.
Brks.* What be at pokin' about yer. I.W.i w.Som.' Th' old
man's always pokin about, way his nose int' everything.
Hence Pokey, adj. prying, inquisitive. Cor.* 7. To
walk in such a way as to produce a dull, heavy footfall.
Bnff.' He powkit up an' doon the burn fishin'. Cld. (Jam.)
8. With a/: to meddle with.
Ayr. If you will be poking at a business of this kind, ye maun
just abide the consequences, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) xxxv.
9. To give offence. n.Cy. (Hall.) Hence Poked, ppl
adj. offended.
N.Cy.' He was sair poked. Nhb.' e.Dur.' He's getten hissel'
poked. n.Yks. 2
10. With at : to make fun of.
Dmf. Broth? Ye're pokin' at me noo, Paton Castlebraes (1898) 15.
11. Comb. Powk-powking, a repetition of the acts of
thrusting, striking, digging ; of groping; of walking with
a dull, heavy step. Bnff., Cld. (Jam.) 12. sb. In phr. a
poke in the eye ivith a burnt stick, a phr. setting up a standard
than which any existing or hypothetical circumstance is
better. Lei.', War.* 13. A blow, esp. one which pro-
duces a hollow sound.
Bn£f.i He ga' a powk or twa o' the heed n' the bowie wee's
stick. Cld. (Jam.) s. Don. Esp. that given to the gauley in playing
commons, Simmons Gl. (1890). w.Som.' The bar vall'd down and
gid me a poke in th' aid.
14. A dull, heavy sound ; the hollow sound caused by a
blow or by anything falling into a hollow place.
Bnff.' A hard the powk o' the stane, fin it strack the botham.
Cld. (Jam.)
15. The peak of a cap ; the projecting part of a bonnet.
War.^s, se.Wor.S Oxf. (G.O.), Ken. (G.B.), Ken.' Hence
Poke-cap, sb. a cap with a peak. Oxf. (G.O.) 16. The
act of groping after anything in the dark or in a hole.
Bnff.', Cld. (Jam.) 17. A person who stoops in walking.
w.Som.' D'ye ever zee sich a old poke in your life ?
18. A dawdler ; a slow, inactive person.
w.Som.' A riglur old poke, one step to-day and another to-
morrow. [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 392.]
19. adv. In phr. (i) to fall powk, to fall suddenly and with
a hollow sound ; (2) to go powk, to walk awkwardly and
with a heavy footfall.
(i) Bnfif.' He fell powk heelstergoudie in o' a hole i' the ditch.
(2) He geed powk powk ben the fleer, ib.
POKE, see Pook, s6.', Potik, s6.'
POKE ASSIN, prp. I. W. Also written pokassun I.W.*
[po'kssin.] 1. Prying about ; following people slyly to
find out what they are doing ; gen. with about. I.W.*''
2. Pottering about, spending time to no purpose. I.W.*
POKED UP, phr. w.Som.' Confined in space; in-
convenienced for want of room. Cf. poking.
POKE-FACE
[5711
POLE
POKE-FACE, sb. Lon. A mask.
They don't seem to have ordinary faces, but nasty ugly faces, as
if they had poke-faces on (A.L.M.).
POKEFUL, sb. Sc. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Also
written poak- w.Yks. ; and in forms pokel Chs.* ; pokle
Chs.=s; pooakful Wm. n.Yks.= [p5-kful, pokl.] A bag-
ful, a sackful ; also Jig. a sufficiency, surplus.
e.Sc. A man to read our grand auld ballads just to gather a pokefu
o' words, Setoun 7?. Urqithart (1896) xviii. Wm. A pooakful of
meal (B.K.). n.Yks.'^ w.Yks. Of a man with a too large family
it will be said, ' Nah, he's getten a poke-full hes yond,' Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Apr. II, 1896); (J.W.) Lan. Like a greyt pokefull o'
sleek, Waugh Owd Bodle, 260. Chs.''^
POKE-HOLE, 56. Glo.i [p5-k-ol.] A small or wretched
building. ' It's only a poke-hole of a place.'
POKEL, see Pokeful.
POKEMANTIE, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Also in form poke-
mantle N.Cy.^ A packman's portmanteau. Cf. pock-
manteau.
Gall. Of coorse, a man canna gang aboot six year wi' a poke-
mantie withoot seein' somethin' o' baith sides o' life, Crockett
Stickit Min. (1893) 56. N.Cy.l
POKEMEN, adj. Cor.^ [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Stupid, clumsy. ' Such pokemen ways.'
POKER, sb.^ Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Nhp. Lon. Nrf Ken.
Cor. [po'k3(r, po3'k3(r.] 1. In phr. (1) as stiff as a poker,
rigid, esp. rigid in death ; (2) poker and tongs, the noise
made by a horse when the hind-leg strikes the fore-leg.
(i) Sh.I. Gud feth, he'll be as stiff as a poker 'ithin five meenits,
Sh. News (May 14, 1898). n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) (2) N.Cy.', Nhp.l
2. A mining tool ; see below.
Cor. Strong stout form [of pick] with curved sided point, used
in the St. Just district for working in jointy ground, Bauerman
Geol. Models (1865) 19.
3. The head of a bulrush ; also pi. the bulrush, Typha
latijolia.
Chs.i Nrf. The taller bulrushes, whose big brown ' pokers '
flung their shadows over them, Patterson Man and Nat. (1895)
II. Ken. (B. & H.)
4. A casual labourer in the dockyard timber-trade.
Lon. There are occasionally as many as forty casual rafters, or
' pokers,' as they are called, from their poking about the docks for
a job, Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) III. 295.
POKER, s6.2 Lin. Nrf. Hmp. [pok3(r).] The pochard,
Fuligula Jerina.
Lin. SwAiNSON B(Vrfs (1885) 160. Nrf. We blazed away several
times, pickin' up near twenty pokers, Patterson Man and Nat.
(1895) 85. Hmp. SwAiNSON ib.
POKEY, sb. Yks. [poa-ki.] A slang term for goods
paid on the ' truck ' system ; see below.
w.Yks. The descriptions of goods made were dobbies, tammies,
and moreens, and it was no uncommon thing for part of the wages
to be taken out in 'pokey,' Cddworth Bradford (1876) 173;
Goods brought home in the ' piece-poker,' in which they carried
pieces. Many of the old manufacturers employing hand-loom
weavers kept a shop with groceries and drapery, cScc, and forced
the weavers to take part- payment in goods or ' truck,' i.e. pokey
(J-F.).
POKEY, see Pawky.
POKEY-HOKEY, 56. e.An.i'^ A bugbear with which
to frighten children.
POKING, ppl. adj. Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Hnt. [po-kin.]
Of a house or building: small, inconvenient, insignificant ;
built in a dull situation.
Not.i Lei.i There was only a poking little inn there. Nhp.'
What a poking place. War.s, Hnt. (T.P.F.)
POKING-NEEDLE, 56. Yks. [poa-kin-nldle.] A large
needle used to mend sacks. See Poke-needle, s.v. Poke,
56.1 2 (8).
n.Yks. He's mending t'secks wi' t'pooakin needle (I.W.).
POKIT, POKKY, POKLE, see Porket, Pock, sb.\
Pokeful.
POKUM, sb. Dev.* [poksm.J A dilatoi-y person.
Cf. poke, V.' 4.
POKY, ad/. Ess. fpo'ki.] In a state of semi-intoxication.
He was a bit poky ^G.A.W.).
POKY, see Pawky.
POL, sb. Sh.I. Also in form poyll. [pdel-] A small
rounded bight.
Sees du yon whillie rowin ower da pel ? Spence Flk-Lore (1899)
241 ; Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 99.
POL, see Poll, sb.^
POLAND, 56. Oxf. A hornless cow. (A.P.) Cf. polled.
POLANDER, POLANT, see Polliant.
POLAT, sb. ? Obs. Cor. See below.
It is a common expression in Cornwall to call a great man, a
great polat. Trans. Phil. Soc. (1864) 15.
POLDACH, see Polch, Poulch, Polder.
POLDAVY, sb. lObs. Lan. Cor. Also in forms
powdavy Lan. ; powle-davies Cor.'' Coarse hempen
cloth ; sail-cloth.
Lan. A weaver of ' pow-davy,' a kind of sail cloth, Waugh
Rambles Lake Cy. (1861) iii. Cor. Moils, poldavy, tin-stuff, J. Tre-
NOODLE Spec. Dial. (1846) 20 ; Cor.^
POLDER, sb. Sc. Ken. Also in form poldach Ags.
(Jam.') [p6-lda(r.] A marsh ; a piece of boggy soil, esp.
marsny ground lying by a body of water.
Ags. (Jam.) Ken. (G.B.) ; Ken.' There is also a place still called
Polders, between Sandwich and Woodnesborough.
[Du. polder, a tract of low land reclaimed from the sea
by means of high embankments.]
POLE, sb. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also
in forms pawl Ken.' ; poll Hrf ; pow w.Yks.' Lan.
s.Chs.' ; powl Cai.' w.Yks.' [pol, poul, pou.] \. sb. In
comb, (i) Pole-chain, a- chain by which a horse's collar is
attached to the front of the pole, to enable it to guide
and keep back the carriage ; (2) -loup, a pole-jump ; (3)
■man, a person employed in hop-gardens; (4) -piece, a
strong strap by which a horse's collar is attached to the
front of the pole ; (5") -pitching, setting up poles in a hop-
garden ; (6) -puller, the man employed to pull the hop-
poles out of the ground and lay them down for the
pickers ; (7) -pulling, taking out the hop-poles at the end
of the season ; (8) -ring, the ring which fastens the
scythe-blade to the ' snead ' ; (9) -strap, a leather strap
which fastens the hames together above the collar of a
cart-horse ; (10) -swarming, climbing a pole ; (11) -work,
a long, tedious business.
(i) w.Som.i (s.v. Pole-pieces). (2) Nhb.' (3) Hrf. (E.M.W.)
(4) w.Som.' (5) w.Wor.', Hrf.^ (6) Sus.' In former times, at
the commencement of the hop- picking season, the pickers purchased
a neck-cloth for the pole-puller. The article was of some showy
colour, to make him more conspicuous in the hop-garden, and its
purchase seems to have been attended with some convivialities, if
we may judge from the following extract : ' September 23, 1756.
— Halland hop-pickers bought their pole-pullers nick-cloth and,
poor wretches, many of them insensible.' (7) w.Wor.' (8)
s.Wor.i, Hrf.2, Glo.', Hmp.', Wil.', Som. (W.F.R.) (9) w Mid.
(W.P.M.) (10) Lan. Is there to be no seek races, wheelbarrow
races, nor pow swarmin ? Ab-o'th-Yate, Oddlad (1884) 12. (11)
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.)
2. A Strut or prop placed against a building to support
it. Ken.' 3. The long handle of a scythe or other
implement.
w.Yks.' s.Lan. Scythe pow, stang pow (S.B.). s.Chs.'
4. A walking-stick ; a crutch.
Cai.' nw.Dev.' Vetch ma ma pole.
5. Cloth-making term : a long pole used for working the
wool or cloth in dyeing.
w.Yks. The four mates who worked together were distinguished
as ' Short powl,' the one nearest the cam-pot ; 'Long powl,' the
one most distant, and ' Cross powl ' on either side (J.T.) ; (H.H.)
6. V. In phr. to pole the hops, to put in poles for the hops to
cling to.
s.Cy. They are talking of poling the hops, Jefferies Hdgrow.
(1889) 16.
7. To heap or move grass or reeds, &c. on long poles.
Nrf. Arter we had mowed the tro', I say, we'll pole it out now.
. . We began to pole it inter the boat, Emerson Son of Fens
(1893) 172.
Hence Poled-litter, sb. ' litter ' or sedge that has been
cocked on long poles and left standing.
Nrf. Of the harriers that roost on the wall, or heaps of poled
4 D2
POLE
[572]
POLL
litter that dot the marshland, ib. Marsh Leaves (i895> 58, ed.
1898 ; Where the ground is too soft for carts to go, the rough
crops are carried to heaps and cocked on two long poles : this stuff,
a mixed crop of sedges, &c., is called 'litter.' These heaps of
litter are often left standing in the spring for a long time on
the marshes, and then they become roosting and feeding places for
various birds (P.H.E.).
8. Cloth-making term : to work the material with a pole
or stang. w.Yks. (H.H.)
POLE, see Poll, sb?, Pool, sb.\ Powl.
POLEAN, sb. Nrf. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] The brent goose, Bernicla brenta.
That other goose that sails by the Broadlands, and rarely alights
on the marshes, is what they call the ' polean,' Emerson Birds (ed.
1895) 210.
POLEAPS, sb. I.W.'2 Also written polehaps I.W.^
[po'l-aeps.] A leather strap fastening the harness at the
top of a horse-collar ; lit. 'pole-hasp.' See Hasp, sb}
POLER, POLEY, see Powler, Poll, sb.^
POLICE, adj. Obsol. So. In comp. Police-dung or
■manure, manure derived from towns.
Sc. The manure derived from towns was called street or police
manure, Stephens Farm Bk. (ed. 1855) II. 413. Edb. The land
cot here is noo quite tired o' police dung, Ramsay Remin. 170.
POLICY, sb. Sc. [po lisi.] The pleasure-grounds of
a country house or mansion ; properly the place or tract
within which one has authority to administer affairs.
Sc. Larches . . . ower trim and garden like for my taste, and
only fit for gentlemen's policies, Whitehead Daft Davie (1876)
260, ed. 1894. Abd. When Cosmo reached the gate of his lord-
ship's policy, he found it closed, Macdonald Warlock {i^%z) Ivii.
Rnf. On a considerable eminence . . . stands the present mansion-
house of Greenock. .. Its policy (as they call it), or pleasure ground,
has been extensive, but has fallen into decay, Statist. Ace. V. 568
(Jam.). Ayr. A pleasant policy adorned with jonquils and jelly-
flowers, and all manner of blooming and odoriferous plants, Galt
Gilhaise (1823) i. Lth. The game they played on a loch within Sir
John IVIcLelland's policy, Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 268.
Gall. If you come on the policies again he will have you prosecuted
for trespass, Crockett Stickit Min. (1893) no.
POLIN(G, sb. Nhb. Der. Also in form polling Der.
1. A lead-mining term : a stake or plank, driven above
the head-tree, where the roof is of a soft or loose nature.
Ntjb.i Der. Small poles driven over the tops of stemples to keep
rubbish from falling- into the mine or works, Mander Miners' Gl.
( 1824) ; Mawe Mineralogy (1802).
2. The dressing of calc-spar, &c. off the lead preparatory
to its being roasted and crushed. Tapping Gl. to Manlove
(1851).
POLISH, V. Irel. Yks. [po'lij.] \. To eat up entirely.
■w.Yks. He worn't lang i' polishin that an' cutting another,
Hartley Diit. (1868) 105; Ther's Jim Umpleby comin'. He'll
polish t'gooise if onnybody can, Yksman. Comic Ann. (1879) 35,
in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 11, 1896).
2. With out: to pull out ; to succeed in pulling.
n.Ir. He soon polished out Three beauties — the purtiest darlin'
big trout. Lays and Leg. (1884) 15.
POLISHED, ppl. adj. Sc. Also in form polist (Jam.).
[po-lijt.] 1. Obs. In comb. Polished lair, educational
accomphshments ; a 'finishing' education.
Edb. I sent my daughter into E'inbrugh, where A hantle maidens
gang for polish'd lair, . . She's brunghame accomplishments anew,
Learmont Poems (1791) 296.
2. Finished, complete ; used in opprobrium, esp. of a
fawning, designing person.
Sc. A polist loun (Jam.). Lnk. Losh preserve us a' the day, ye
polisht vagabond, ye ; ye ken owermuckle aboot my man, Gordon
Pyotshaw (1885) 146.
POLISHER, 56. lObs. Sc. A policeman.
Rnf. The polishers o' towns are a set o' greedy loons, That wi'
tyranny would try to control us, Webster Rhymes (1835) 104.
POLISSER, sb. Dev. A smock-frock. (Hall.)
POLITITIONER,56. Chs.'^ [politi-j3n(r).] A politician.
POLKA, sb. Sc. Yks. Also in form poUcy w.Yks.
[po'lks.] 1. A woman's jacket.
Sh.I. Shii grippid da needle in her teeth an' poo'd her oot o' da
breest o' da polka — a auld ane o' Girzzie's, Sh. News (Sept. 23, 1899);
Shu cuist aff her wincey polka, an' pat on a white slug oot ower
her waests, ib. (June 23, 1900). Lnk. I hae a veil an' polka tae,
Thomson Musings (1881) 46.
2. A cotton skirt worn by factory girls.
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 11, 1896).
POLKE, POLKY, see Pulk, sb}, Palky.
POLL, sb} and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written pol Or.I. ; and in forms pole Sc.
Chs.'^ Hmp. Dev.; poul Wxf.'; pow Sc. (Jam.) Irel.
N.Cy.i Nhb. Lakel.'^ Cum. Wm. n.Yks.'* m.Yks.' w.Yks.»
Lan.i e.Lan.i m.Lan.» Chs.i^s s.Chs.> Der.* nw.Der.'
n.Lin.^; powe Sc. Cum.'^* e.Lan.^ ; powl Lakel.= Cum.'
Wm. w^Yks.i Suf.i Dev.; powle e.Lan.' ; pul Wxf.*
[poul, pol, pou, pau.] 1. sb. The head, esp. the human
head ; a skull ; a head of hair ; the top or crown of any-
thing.
Sc. Fat paunches bode lean pows, Ramsav Prcyv. (1737). Sh.I.
Frosty pows ... an' cankersome, countermashious nature, Stewart
7afe(i892)ii. Cai.i Wry. Bullsegs will wave their nigger pows.
Hay Lintie (1851) 55. Elg. Wi' a pow as white's a ewe, Tester
Pojms( 1865) 146. Bn£f. Taylor Poems (1787) 3. Bch. Vengeance
light Upo' your graceless pow, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 32. e.Sc.
Barin' his silver pow an' vowing vengeance, Setoun R. Urquhart
(1896) iii. Abd. Still Cottar's Sunday (1845) 139. Kcd. Grant
Lays (1884) 28. Frf. There was wit in that pow, Sands Poems
(1833) 23. Per. He strakes the white-haired caliants on the powe,
Stewart Character {18^1) 182. Fif. Robertson Provost (iSg^) 63.
Slg. Towers Poems (1885) 124. se.Sc. Black-coats wi' their pow-
der'd pows, Donaldson Poems (1809) 164. Rnf. Pjcken Poems
(1813) I. 88. Ayr. I placed my hand on the fair curly pow of the
biggest boy, Johnston Glenliuckie {i88g) 280. Lnk. Deil's Hallowe'en
(1856) 53. Lth. Singe the hair upon your pow, Thomson Poems
(1819) 31. Edb. One of them had a red pow, Moir Mansie Wauch
(1828) XX. Hdg. Lumsden Po^>Ms (1896) 146. B-wk. My pow was
early grey, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 170. Feb. Affleck
Poet. Wks. (1836) 99. Slk. Scratched their grey polls, Hogg Tales
(1838) 400, ed. 1866. Rxb. The powdered pows to work war
•wiWin' ,'Rmcvi-BiEWayside Cottager{l8o^)JIl. Dmf. QvitmHeather
(1863) 99. Gall. A man with a cropped black poll, Crockett Bog-
Myrtle (1895) 231. Kcb. I'll . . . smooth the shinin' gowden pow
O' daddie's bonnie doo, Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 36. Wgt. To
put a souple gab afore a grey pow, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 184.
Uls. Uls. Jrn. Arch. (1853-62). Dwn. Auld men wi' white pows,
Lyttle Ballycuddy (iSgz) sg. Wxf.i, N.Cy.l Nhb. When Spring
pops in her bonny pow, N. Minstrel (1806-7) pt. iii. 36. Dur.
Daft was thy poll, Z)««Aam rmcfe (ed. 1892) I. 96. Lakel.2 Cum.
Thy curly pow, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) no ; Cum.' ; Cum.s
There's little within his powe That lichts a candle at the lowe ;
Cum.* A clowse mouth shews a wise pow. Wm. Put thi hat on
thi pow (B.K.). n.Yks.i2, m.Yks.i -w.Yks.'; w.Yks.s Luke at his
poll. Lan. Soon to drop i' white ashes fro it bare pow (J.T.C.).
Chs.'S, Der.2 nw.Der.' A carroty pow. Suf.' Hmp. Stoats don't
eat rabbits, they only suck they blood from t'back o' they poles
(W.M.E.F.). Dor.' Sting wi' nettles oone o'ms poll, 131. Som.
This word, as used here, does not denote the whole of the head,
but the lower part of the back of the head (W.F.R.). -w.Som.i
I baint gwain 'long way they there bwoys, vor t'ave my hat a-hat
off an' the poll o' un a-brokt. nw.Dev.' Dev. The ladies . . .
Poked vorth their powls, Peter Pindar Royal Visit (1795) pt. i.
156, ed. 1824.
2. Comb, (i) Poll-fag, (a) to fatigue the brain ; to tire,
exhaust ; (b) a haggard-looking person ; (2) -fagged, (a)
tired out, exhausted ; distressed ; {b} of mowing : bad,
rough, as though done by wearied mowers ; (3) -fagging,
exhausting work ; trouble, difficulty ; (4) -high, as high
as the head ; (5) -money, obs., a poll-tax ; (6) -piece, (a)
the top or ridge of a roof ; the piece of timber against
which the rafters are fixed to form the apex of the roof;
(b) part of a cart or wagon ; see below ; (c) a woman's
caul ; (7) -shaking, a shake of the head ; (8) -sheet, the
top fixed bar of a rack or frame for stretching woollen
cloth ; (9) -sickness, see below ; (10) -wow, a term for a
child's head.
(i, a) Lan.', e.Lan.l (i) Lan. That redmad powfag readin th'
papper, Clegg Sketches (1895) 334. (2, a) Lakel.* Ah's aboot
powfagg'd wi' t'heat an yah thing an' anudder. w.Yks. Aw're
sooary to see him soa powfagged an' ill (D.L.). Lan.' ' Tha looks
terribly powfagg'd.' ' Aye, aw've been wanderin' abeawt seechin'
for wark for weeks.' m.Lan.i, Chs.'^ (fi) chs.' (3) Lan. Thy
plan con leod to nowt but trouble un powfaggin, tivLhins Johnny,
POLL
[573 J
POLLICATE
ii ; After the powfaggin ut hoo'd gone through durin th' day,
Staton B. Shullle Manch. 81. (4) Lnk. Ye might . . . carry your
noddle Perth-Provost-pow-high, Rodger Poems (1838) 63, ed.
iS97- (5) Sc. Retention, sess [cess^, and pole money Have done
enough to danton mee, Maidment Ballads (1844) si, ed. 1868.
Or.I. He has not considerable tenants to help him with poUraoney,
Peterkin Notes (1822) 160. (6, a) w.Som,' (6) The transverse
piece of wood upon which the body rests, and which bears on the
springs, or on the axle. It is always directly under the ' pillar-
piece,' ib. (c) Dev. (Hall.) (7) Ayr. I heard that far awa hints
and pow-shakings were gaun on. Service Dr. Duguid {ed. 1887)
141. (8) w.Som.i The continuous upper row of tenter-hooks is
driven into the poll-sheets. (9) Nrf. He replied that he was suffer-
ing from 'poll-sickness,' which he had caught from a horse by
sleeping in a rug belonging to the said horse. Poll-sickness, it
seems, is a kind of sore or abscess which horses get from knocking
their heads against low doorways, and is commonly supposed to
be incurable. Haggard Farmer's Year in Longman's Mag. (Oct.
1899) 529. (io)Lnk.Weecurlypow-wow,an'fairbroo,M>^LACHLAN
Thoughts (1884) 41.
3. Phr. (i) the deil sit in thy pow, an imprecation; (2) to
wagone'spow in a pulpit, to preach ; to become a clergyman.
(I) Sh I. Oh ! diel sit i' dy pow, dere im I cleev'd da face 0' me
loom, Sh. News (May 14, 1898). (2) Sc. Their bairn might wag
his pow in a pulpit yet, Scott Guy M. (1815) ii. Per. Gin ye
dinna tak tent, ye'se no wagyer pow in a poopit this mony a day,
Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 107, ed. 1887. w.Sc. Tae wag yer
pow in her faither's poopit, Macdonald Settlement (1869) 20, ed.
1877. Gall. (A.W.)
4. The striking part of a hammer, the head. S. & Ork.^
Hence Poll-pick, sb. a mining tool ; see below.
Cor. Poll pick, single-armed pick with a short bluff point, used
for hard veins and working into rock where the slitter is too slight,
Bauerman Geol. Models (1865) 22.
5. A cutting of the hair of the head.
w.Yks. Ah'm bahn to t'barber to hev a powl (.lE.B.) ; (J.W.)
6. V. To cut the hair.
Per. Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) II. 276. n.Cy.
HoLLOWAY. Lakel.'^ Cum.' ; Cum.*Atthebarber'sforhaircutting,
we have come to get powd, Firecrack (1896) 26. Wm. Can ye
powl mi? (B.K.) w.Yks. He has powed me some bare (D.L.);
w.Yks.i^^*; w.Yks.* Ahm bown to get polled. Lan. If he'd shave
that wool off an' get his yead powed, Brierley Marlocks (1867)
54, ed. 1884; Lan.i, e.Lan.', m.Lan.* Chs.' ; Chs.^ You munpow
me. s.Chs.', nw.Der.', n.Lin.' w.Cor. I broft in our Johnny
cheeld to-day to git un polled, for the 'ead o' un was like a raoo-
lan (M.A.C.).
Hence (i) Polled or Pown, ppl. adj. close-cut, shaven ;
(2) Poller, sb. a haircutter ; a barber.
(i) w.Yks.' Ther short poud heeads, 'bout powther, ii. 296.
Lan. As mad as a pown haund, TakirC th' New Year in (1888J 9.
(2) w.Yks.i, Chs.is
7. With Up : to raise up the head ; to shovif the head.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 385, ed. 1876. 8. To
cheat.
Lin.' 'Two poll one,' i.e. two confederates to cheat another
person. Lon. As the contractor had nothing which he could
truck with his men, and if 'he polls us hisself,' the man said,
' he's not likely to let anybody else do it,' Mayhew Land. Labour
(1851) II. 220.
9. ? To win, secure.
Hdg. Whare's worthy Leslie wi' his plan, Anither Bannockburn
to poll? LuMSDEN Poems (1896) 3.
POLL, sb.'^ Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Not. Lin. Ken.
Sur. Hmp. and Aus. Also in forms poley Aus. ; poUy
Cum.2* Chs.' s.Chs.' Not. Lin.' ; poly Ken. Sun' ; powley
Ken. [pol, po'li.] 1. A hornless cow or ox. See
Polled, 1.
Cum."* w.Yks. Yond's a poll, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr., 11,
1896). e.Lan. 1, Chs.', nw.Der.', n.Lin.' Ken. Morton Cyclo.
Agric. (1863). ne.Ken. (H.M.)
2. Comp. (i) Poll-cow, a hornless cow ; (2) Poll-sheep, a
hornless sheep.
(i) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 11, 1896). s.Chs.' a.Not.
Who does that poUy cow belong? (J.P.K.) Lin.' n.Lin. Th'
owd poll-coo kep' him . . . i' a corner o' th' hoam-cloSse, Peacock
Tales and Rhymes (1886) 78. Suf .' [Aus. I'd like to have that
dark bay colt. . . If he can't gallop I'll never say I know a horse
from a poley cow, Boldrewood Robbery (1888) v.] (2) Hmp.
Hornless, or as they call them, ' poll-sheep,' White Selbome
(1788) 121, ed. 1853.
POLL, see Pole, Powl.
POLLACHIE, sb. Rxb. (Jam.) The crab, Cancer
pagurus. Cf pellock, sb.^ 2.
POLLAN, sb. Sc. Irel. Cum. Also in forms poan,
powan Slg. (Jam.) ; puUan N.I.' 1. The fresh-water
herring of Lough Neagh, Coregonus pollan.
n.Ir. Confined to two or three loughs in Ireland, Keddie Highl.
Routes, No. vii. 59; N.I.'
2. The fresh-water herring, C. clupeoides.
Slg. (^G.W.) ; Besides the fish common to the loch [Lomond]
are Guiniads, called here Poans, Pennant 7o«)-(i76g) 245 (Jam.);
This is one of the three fishes which have passed under the
denomination of Fresh-water Herrings. . . By this name and that
of Powan it appears to have been long known as a distinct species
to the people living near . . . Loch-Lomond, Couch Fishes,
295, in Montgomerie-Fleming (1899) Notes on Jam. [Satchell
(1879V]
3. The vendace, C. Willoughbii.
Dmf. Peculiar to the lakes of Lochmaben district, Keddie ib,
4. The Gwyniad powan, C.fera. Cum. Keddie ib.
POLLARD, sb. Hmp; [polsd.] A large post. Grose
(1790) MS. add. (M.) ; Hmp.'
POLLARD, see Polled, Pow-head.
POLLARDS, s6. //. Nhb. Glo. [po-lsdz.] L Spoilt
grain ground for feeding pigs. Nhb.' 2. A mixed crop
of beans and peas. Glo.'" Cf. poults.
POLL-DAVY, sb. Stf. A game of cards ; the same
as ' Lady Coventry ' (q.v.). Baker Gl. (1854) (s.v. Lady
Coventry).
POLLECK, see PoUet.
POLLED, ppl. adj. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Yks. Der. Lin. Nhp.
Hnt. Suf Som. Cor. Also in forms pollard Nhp.' Hnt. ;
powled Suf.'^ 1. Of cattle : hornless, having the horns
sawn off. See Poll, sb.^
Per. Driving off Drumsheugh's polled Angus bull, Ian Maclaren
K. Carnegie (1896) 273. Slg. Special sale of West Highland,
cross, black polled, and Ayrshire cattle, Falkirk Herald (Oct. 28,
1899). N.I.', n.Cy. (J.W.) w.Yks." A cow without horns is
polled. n.Lin. Our best cow, she was a red fleck't poll'd un.
Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870) II. 108. Suf.'
Hence PoUed-cow, sb. a hornless cow. n.Cy. (Hall.),
nw.Der.', Nhp.', Hnt. (T.P.F.), Suf.' 2. Of fish : be-
headed. Cor." 3. Comb. Polled stone, stone hewn into
shape, and faced ready for building. Som. (W.F.R.)
POLLEN, sb.^ Obs. Nrf. A hen-roost ; also in comp.
Hen-pollen. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787).
POLLEN, 56." e.An. A pollard tree. e.An.» Suf.
Rainbird Agric. (1819) 297, ed. 1849. Cf. poUinger.
POLLER, 56.' e.An. Also written pollar e.An.'";
and in form puller Nrf. [pol3(r).] A loft in which
poultry or doves roost. Cf hen-poller, s.v. Hen, s6.' 1 (39).
e.An.'" Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787) ; (Hall.)
POLLER, sb.^ ? Obs. e.An. A pollard tree. e.An.^
Suf Rainbird Agric. (1819) 297, ed. 1849.
POLLER, sb.^ Cor. A top hat.
Pack oal yer best clooas, high poller an oal, T. Towser '1873) 90.
POLLER, z^. Chs."^ Also in form powler. [pou-l3(r).]
To beat in the water with a pole.
POLLER, see Powler.
POLLET, sb. Cor.'" Also in form poUeck. [po'lit.]
A crooked stick, knobbed at one end.
POLL-HEAD, see Pow-head.
POLLIANT, sb. Yks. Lan. Chs. Nhp. Nrf. Also in
forms polander Nrf; polant Nhp.'; poUyante Lan.;
poUyaunt Yks. [poli-a'nt.] A corruption of polyanthus.'
w.Yks. Ah bid Pollyaunts and Sweet Williams a good-bye, Tom
Treddlehoyle Exhebishan (1857) 25. s.Lan. Bamford Dial.
(1854). Chs.', Nhp.', Nrf. (B. & H.)
POLLICATE, sb. Obs. Sc. Also in form pulicate
Lnk. A weaving term ; see below. Also used attrib.
Fif. When poUicates wove in a 1000 reed were advanced to
Srf. per ell for weaving, and i Jrf. per shilling additional in name of
out-house wages. . . The poUicates that hae nae fauts Are five
pence ilka ell, Douglas Poems (1806) 47. Lnk. There was Will
I Lightbody, the pulicate weaver, Hamilton Poems (1865) 232.
POLLING
[574]
POLTER
POLLING, see Polin(g.
POLLINGER, sb. e.An. [po-lindg3(r).] A pollard
tree. Cf. pollen, sb.'
e.An.i Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 297, ed. 1849. [Now lop
for thy fewel! old pollenger growen, That hinder the corne or the
grasse to be mowen, Tusser Husb. (1580) 78.]
POLLINGER, POLLONIAN, see Porringer, Polonaise.
POLL-PARROT, sb. Nhp.' In comb. Poll-parrots'
beaks or bills, the fossil shells known as Gryphaeae.
POLLRUMPTIOUS, see Polrumptious.
POLLUTE, i;. Sc. Irel. [palii-t.] L To tamper with.
N.I.l The other man polluted the mearing [tampered with the
boundary].
2. pass. To be overrun, beset with.
Sc. (A.W.) N.I.i The house is polluted with books. Uls. I have
heard it said of a charitable . . . lady, who was . . . beset by
beggars, ' she is polluted with them,' meaning merely that they
crowded about her, N. &^ Q. { 1874) 5th S. ii. 426.
POLLUTED, ppl. adj. Irel. Puffed up with pride ;
conceited. N.I.i Them people's got quite polluted.
POLLY, sb.^ and v. Cum. Stf. Lin. War. Wor. Glo.
e.An. Wil. Dor. Som. [po'li.] L sb. In comb, (i) Polly-
cot, (a) an effeminate man ; one who busies himself with
woman's work ; (b) of a man : to be busied with woman's
work; (2) — dishwasher, the pied wagtail, Motacilla lugu-
b>is ; (3) -doddle, see (i, a) ; (4) — wash-dish(es, see (2).
(i, a) Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 702 ; Lin.i, n.Lin.l
(6) e.Lin. (G.G.W.) (2) Wil.i (3) Stf., War., Wor., Glo.
NorthallF/*-PAj-. (1894). (4)e.An.i Nrf.CozENS-HARDYCroarf
Ntf. (1893) 46. Dor. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 44. w.Dor. (C.V.G.)
Som. Nothen' else was muvvyen' zave a little Polly wash-dish,
who was a' poppen' her tail in water, Leith Lemon Verbena
C1895) 98.
2. The magpie. Pica rustica. Cum." 3. An effeminate
man ; one who delights in doing woman's work.
n.Lin.l He was a straange polly ; he'd get up at foher p' th'
mornin' to rub th' dinin'-room taable bright.
4. V. Of a man : to do woman's work.
n.Lin. He's perpetiwell pollyin' i' th' hoose (M.P.).
POLLY, s6.2 Wil.' [poll.] A pollard tree.
A . . . man, on being told by the hospital surgeon that his arms
would have to be amputated, exclaimed, ' Be I to be shrowded
like a owld polly ? '
POLLY, see PoU, sb.', Poullie.
POLLY-ANDREWS, sb. Glo. Wil. A corruption of
• polyanthus.' Glo.S Wil. (W.C.P.)
POLLY- ANN, sb. Hrf * A corruption of ' polyanthus.'
POLLY ANTE, POLLYAUNT, see Polliant.
POLLYSQUIGGLE, sb. Dev. [poliskwigl.] A
cuttle-fish.
n.Dev. If it had been a pollysquiggle it would have got you fast
directly with its suckers, Fenn Boys (1890) xi.
POLLYWAG, see Polly wig.
POLLYWIG, sb. Sc. Lan. Lei. Nhp. e.An. Hmp. Dev.
and Amer. Also written poUiwig e.An.^ ; and in forms
pollywag Per. ; pollywiggle Lei.^ Suf.' ; polljrwog Lan.'
Suf Hmp. Dev. Amer. ; poUywriggle Nhp.' ; polwiggy
Nrf. [po-liwig.] A tadpole ; frogs' spawn. See Porri-
wiggle.
Per. He filled the dish wi' newts an' frogs an' pollywags, Fer-
GUSSON Vill. Poet (1897) 179. Lan.l, Lei.*, Nhp.>, e.An.' Nrf.
Trans. Phil. Soc. (1855) 35. Suf. Science Gossip (1882) 215 ; Suf.i,
Hmp. (W.M.E.F.), Dev. (W.L.-P.) [Amer. Little ponds never
hold big fish; there is nothing but pollywogs, tadpoles, and
minims in them, Sam Slick Clockmaker {iB^fi) 2nd S. xix.]
[Polewigges, tadpoles, young frogs (Florio) ; Polwygle,
wyrme, Prompt.']
POLLYWIGGLE, POLLYWOG, POLLYWRIGGLE,
see PoUywig.
POLONAISE, sb. Obs. Sc. Also in forms pelonie,
pollonian Sc. (Jam.) ; polonian S. & Ork.' ; polonie Sc.
(Jam.) 1. a dress for young boys; an old-fashioned, long,
tight-fitting overcoat.
Sc. The dress of the old man had . . . been changed ... to a
sort of clothing peculiar to the men of the distant Isles, resembling
a vvaistcoat with sleeves, and a petticoat, all made in one piece.
This dress was laced from top to bottom in front, and bore some
resemblance to that called Polonaise, still worn by children in
Scotland of the lower rank, Scott Leg. Mont. (1818) xvii ; The
blue polonie that Effie made for him . . . was the first decent dress
the bairn ever had on, ib. Midlothian (1818) v. Cai.', Heb., s.Sc,
Cia. (Jam.) Slk. They will have to put on their pollonians o' the
pale colour o' the fair daylight, Hogg Tales (1838) 77, ed. 1866.
2. A person dressed in old-fashioned garments ; an
oddity. S. & Ork.'
POLONY, sb. Yks. [palo-ni.l A Bologna sausage.
w.Yks. (J.W.), w.Yks.2
POLP, see Pulp.
POLRUMPTIOUS, adj. Lin. Ken. Cor. Also written
poUrumptious Ken. [polrB'mJas.] Restive, rude, ob-
streperous, uproarious.
Lin. Thou dost not look so polrumptious as thy play-fellow
yonder, Scott Midlothian (1818) xxxii. Ken. Grose (1790);
Ken.i2 Cor. I'll get the loan o' the Dearloves' blunderbust in
case they gets polrumptious, ' Q.' Troy Town (1888) xvii ; Cor.'^
POLSH, V. e.Lan.^ To prepare eggs by beating ; to
poach.
POLSTEAD-CHERRY, sb. Suf The bird-cherry,
Prunus Padus.
Perhaps named as being plentiful at the village of Polstead
(B. & H.). •
POLSTERER, sb. Sc. Yks. Lon. [pou-st3r3(r.] A
shortened form of ' upholsterer.'
So. That vile lubberly baist the polsterer, Sc. Haggis, 86. Yks.
(J.W.) Lon. Their labour is devoted, with the rarest exceptions,
to the ' slaughter-houses,' linendrapers, 'polsterers, or warehouses,
Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) III. 224, ed. 1861.
POLSY, arf>: Chs.13 [polsi.] Bad, spoilt.
POLT, t/.i and 5*. Der. Lei. Nhp. War. Wor. Hrf Glo.
e.An. Ken. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Also in forms poult
Lei.i Nhp.' War." Hrf Suf ; powlt Wil.'= ; pult Hmp.'
[poult.] 1. V. To knock down fruit from the trees with
a long pole ; to beat, strike.
Lei.i, War.2 s.Wor. Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) ; I be goin'
polting apples (H.K.); s.Wor.i, Hrf.12, Glo.i, Ken.i Sus. I aim'd
ma an levell'd well To polt un on de head, Lower Tom Cladpole
(1831) St. 138.
Hence (i) Polting-iron, sb. an instrument used for
beating the awns off barley ; (2) -lug, sb. a long stick used
for knocking fruit off the trees ; (3) -pole, sb., see (2) ; (4)
Pulting, sb. a beating.
(i) Nhp.i (2) Hrf. You will see the ' polting lugs,' — long slender
poles with which apples are beaten off the trees. White Wrekin
(i86o)xi. Glo. Marshall 7?«n £co«. (1789) I; Glo. 1 (3) s.Wor.
(H.K.) (4) Hmp.' To give one a pulting with a stick.
2. sb. A knock, thump ; a hard, driving blow ; a blow
with a stick.
Der.2, Lei.i Nhp.' I gave him a good poult on the head for his
pains. War.23, s.Wor.i,GIo.», e.An.i Nrf. Holloway. Suf.' Ken.
Lewis/. 7V««/(i736); Ken.'' Sus. So hold your tongue, you foolish
jolt, Or may be you will gain a polt, Lower S^T-ayLcaws (1862) 9;
Sus.i, Hmp.i, I.W.' Wil. I'll gie thee a polt presently, Britton
Beauties (1825) ; Wil.' '
3. A rat-trap which falls down. Ken. Lewis /. Tenet
(1736) ; Ken.' 2
[1. Cp. Hit wule pulten on him, Anc. Riwle (c. 1225) 366.]
POLT, V.' Som. [Not known to our correspondents.]
To cut, shave. (Hall.)
POLT, adj. Ken. [polt.] Saucy, audacious. Grose
(1790) ; Ken.'
POLT, see Poult.
POLTED, ppl. adj. Yks. [po'ltid.] Of work: half
done ; indifferently done. See Polting.
w.Yks. It's a polted piece o' wark (.<E.B.) ; (J.W.)
POLTENS, s6. />/. \Obs. e.An.' Crutches.
POLTER, v} and sb. Sc. Irel. LakeL Yks. Also in
forms polther Ir. ; pouter Sc. ; pouther Don. ; powter
Sc. (Jam.); pyowter Abd. [pou't3(r, pau-ta(r.] \. v.
To poke about, to rake as among ashes ; to stir with the
finger or some instrument ; also usedy?^.
Sc. There's no the like o' him ony gate for powtering wi' his
fingers amang the het peat-ashes and roasting eggs, Scott Waverley
(1814) Ixiv ; I'm ready for Andra wi' Scripture for this day's wark
if he has onything to pouter about, Dickson Kirk Beadle (ed. 1892)
POLTER
[575]
POMP
55. Bnff.i w.Sc, Na, Betty, just gang awa out and pouter a few
frae the roots o' the shaws wi' your hands, Carrick Laird of
Logan (1835) 133. Rnf. At street corners pouterin' stood, Wi'
stick in han', Drench'd ' Charlies,' reddin' weel's they could the
chockit stran', YovNG Pictures (1865) 127; [They] pouter'd lang wi'
spades and shules Before they try'd the plowing, Webster Rhymes
(1835) 156. Ayr. He powtered aboot the dresser and in the
press. Service Notandums (1890) 18. Lnk. I began to grape for't
syne, Thrang pouterin' wi' my staff, Rodger Poems (1838) 24,
ed. 1897. Lth. After a wee he poutert the ase wi' his forefinger to
see gin he couldna fin' some sma' unburned remnant, Lumsden
Sheep-head (1892) 208.
2. To work in a careless, unskilful manner ; to patch
and mend, to do little, easy jobs.
Bnfr.i Cld., Slk. (Jam.) Don. Masther Mi^Grane called shame
on Neil to let Phelira Ruadh, who was only poutherin' through the
books, bate him like that, Pearson's Mag. (IVIay 1900) 477. Lakel.^
3. To go about aimlessly or so as to cause annoyance or
confusion ; to walk backwards and forwards ; to trifle.
Bnff.' Abd. While Inglis, thus opprest wi' drink an' care,
Pyowtered alang, Guidman Inglismill (1873) 45' <-ia. (Jam.)
n.Yks. He was polterin on (I.W.).
4. To make a noise in a liquid. Bnff.', Cld. (Jam.)
5. To rain heavily and with a great noise.
Ir. It settled to polther an' pour, an' the sky overhead grew as
black as the bottomless pit, Barlow Bogland (1892) 86, ed. 1893.
6. sb. A poking, stirring; the noise made by such actions.
Ayr. Gie the fire a pouter (Jam.).
7. A heavy downpour of rain.
Ir. You're abroad in great ould polthers. Barlow Idylls (1892) 95.
8. A person who works carelessly or who goes about in
an aimless manner. Ayr. (Jam.)
POLTER, w." Obs. e.An.i Also in form poulter.
To shoot with a cross-bow.
POLTHOGUE, sb. and v. Irel. Also written polthoge
Ir. ; poltogue S.Don. 1. sb. A heavy blow ; esp. a blow
with the fist. See Palthogue.
Ir. John Grimes hot him a polthoge, Carleton Trails Peas.
(ed. 1843) 169. Don. He draws the flail one polthogue at the lad
in the door and just barely missed him, Macmanus Chirn. Corner
(1899) 164. S.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890).
2. A heavy downpour of rain.
Ir. Wid the storms an' the mists an' the polthogues n' rain,
Barlow Bogland (1892) 19, ed. 1893.
3. V. To rain heavily.
Ir. Polthoguin' fit to drownd a water rat, ib. Idylls (1892) 78.
[Ir. palltog, a thump, blow (O'Reilly).]
POLTING, ppl. adj. Yks. Of work : shuffling, poor,
indifferent, bad. See Palting, Polted.
w.Yks. Tha hes made --< poltin' job o' that, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Apr. II, 1896) ; It's a poor poltin' job (jE.B.).
POLTOGUE, POLTS, see Polthogue, Potilts.
POL WIG GY, POLY, see Pollywig, Poll, sb?-
POLYN, sb. Cor.i^ Also written pol-yn Cor.' A
stick, (s.v. Pollet.)
POMACE, sb. Won Shr. Hrf Hrt. e.An. Sun Wil.
Dor. Som. Dev. Also written pomice Won Shr.' e.Som.;
pommace Som. ; and in forms pommey Hrf. ; pommy
Dor. ; pummace e.An.' Suf Som. ; pummey Som. ; pummy
Hrt. Suf.' Sur. Wil.' Dor.' w.Som.' Dev. ; pummice Dor.
Som. ; pumy e.Som. [pu-mis, pB-mis; p-e-mi.] 1. Apples
crushed to a pulp in the process of making cider, must.
Also in comp. Pumy-squat.
Wor. The pomice or must after cider abstraction, Evesham Jrn.
(Jan. 16, 1897). Shr.' Hrf. You may witness the effects of pressure
upon apples in the thick cakes of ' pommey ' that come from under
the screw. White Wrekin (i860) xi. c.An.' The mass of apples
mashed under a stone roller before they are placed between layers of
straw or the cyder-press. Sxif. e.An. Dy. Times {z&gs). Dor. Ware
o' the pommy, ma'am ; 'twill spoil yer gown, Hardy Madding
Crowd {i8t4.) lii ; Smells of pomace, and the hiss of fermenting
cider, ib. JVoodlanders (1887) I. i ; Dor.' Substance of apples after
the cider is expressed from it. Som. (W.F.R.) ; Sweetman IVin-
canton Gl. (1885) ; The pummice is wrung in hair bags, after
which it is put in a tub, Marshall i?«i/!Vit/ (1818) II. 523. e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' Always so called before the juice is
expressed ; and the same wprd is applied to the refuse when
pressed dry ; this latter is, however, sometimes called cider-muck.
2. Fig. Anything crushed to a pulp ; a soft pulpy con-
dition ; gen. in phr. all of a pummy, all to a pummy.
Hrt. We must dig deeper there, sir, it's all of a pummy like
(G.H.G.). e.An.' I will beat you to a pummace. Suf. Them scraps
are all of a pummy (M.E.R.); My leg fare all of a pummace and
that doke in good tidily, e.An. Dy. Times (1892) ; Suf." All of a
pummy,' said of heap of over-ripe pears. Sur. It was all squabbed
to a pummy, N. (f Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 239. Wil.' To beat all to a
pummy. Dor. I shall be churned into a pummy, Hardy TVis (1891)
172, ed. 1895 ; Dor.i Breaken buones, an' beaten heads to pummy,
93. Som. Young Jan Hodge . . . had a had his head a knocked
about till ha wur nothen but a apple-pummy, Raymond Misterton's
Mistake (1888) 112. w.Som.' Dev. N. & Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 345.
POM ATE, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Also in form
pometSc.(jAM.)n.Cy. [pame't.pames't.] 1. s6. Pomatum.
Sc. (Jam.) Edb. The pomet slaister'd up his hair, Fergosson
Poems (1773) 206, ed. 1785. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.)
w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. V. To grease with pomade.
Ayr. His hair, with the heat he was in, was as if it had been
pomated, Galt Gilhaise {i8z3) xiv.
POMDASH, sb. Yks. [po-mdej.] An individual
accompanying a brass band ; see below.
w.Yks. In the Wilsden and Bingley districts this term is well
known, and is applied generally to the person who accompanies
brass bands on their playing expeditions, he burling out the ale
that is given by publicans at whose houses brass bands frequently
stop for gratuitous libations ; he also may be seen relieving the
drummer by carrying the drum, and sometimes the drummer
himself has this term applied to him. A Bingley man has ex-
plained the origin of the word to me in this way. The brass
band of that town used to have a drummer who was deaf When
about to begin drumming he gave the signal in the words, ' Pom —
dash ! ' The first stroke of the stick being made on the pronounce-
ment of the last word, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 11, 1896).
POME, 56. Dev. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A young rabbit. (Hall.)
POME, V. n.Cy. [Not known to our correspondents.]
To pelt continuously. (Hall.)
POME,POME-PECKERT,seePalm,56."',Pawmpeckled.
POMELL,s6. Obs. Wxf Also in form pomeale. A fool.
POME-PIRK, sb. Obs. Hrt. Also in form pompirkin.
A drink made from apples. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) IV.
iv. 15.
POMET, see Pomate.
POMEWATER, sb. Hmp. [po-mw9t9(r).] A large
kind of apple.
(J.R.W.) ; Hmp.' Tempting to the sight, but excessively sour.
[When a pome-water, bestucke with a few rotten cloves, shall be
more worth than the honesty of an hypocrite. Vox Graculi (1623)
49, in Brand Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1848) I. 17.]
[Ripe as the pomewater, Shaks. Love's L. L. iv. ii. 4.]
POMFER, V. Lei.' [po'inf3(r).] To pilfen
POMFRET CAKE, phr. Yks. [po-mfrit keak.] A
cake of liquorice.
w.Yks. Little round cakes of black Spanish liquorice juice, about
the sire of a halfpenny, stamped with a castle in ' exergue.' Pom-
fret is Pontefract where liquorice is grown, Dyer Dial. (1891)
108 ; Very common (J.W.).
POMICE, POMMACE, see Pomace.
POMMEL, 5*. Yks. [po'ml.] The knob of a door or
drawer. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 11, 1896) ; w.Yks.^
POMMEL, see Pummel.
POMMELLER, s6. Shr.'*Apavior's mallet. Cf. punner.
POMMEY, POMMY, see Pomace.
POMMY-STONE, sb. Oxf. A pumice-stone. (G.O.)
POMP, sb. and t^.' Lan. Won [pomp.] 1. sb. Obsol.
Good health, the prime of life.
Lan. Owd 'Siah, not being so nimble as he was when m his
' pomp,' lumbered after, Brierley Tales (1842) 90 ; ' He's losing
his pomp,' i.e. by senile decay or by disease, &c. In the latter
case he might recover his pomp (S.W.).
2. V. With off: to dress smartly.
s.Wor. [The ladies] wuz hall pomped hoffand togged up, Outis
Vig. Mon. in Berrow's Jrn. (1896).
3. With up : to pamper, spoil ; to feed up.
s.Wor.' Spoiled children are said to be pomped-up ; also horses
and other animals for sale.
POMP
[576!
PONTED
POMP, V.''- Som. [pomp.] To promise.
Not unfrequentlyto the question in the Catechism, 'What did your
godfathers and godmothers then for you ? ' they reply, ' They
pomps and vows three things in my name,' A'. C/ Q. (1878) 5th S.
ix. 156.
POMPER, sh. Obsol. Shr} Also in form pompet. A
shallow vessel of coarse earthenware for setting milk in
for skimming. Cf pimpert.
POMPER, V. Not. Lei. [po-mp3(r).] To feed up. A
dial, form of ' pamper.'
Not.i Lei.' The beast look rayther poor. Mister. An' th' dew !
The'll dew well wi' yew ; the' een't bin pompered.
POMPET, see Pomper, sb.
POMPEY, sb. Dur. Yks. Lan. Dor. [pcmpi.] 1. A
small boy ; a dwarf. e.Dur.^ 2. A tea-kettle.
Lan. Pompey wassinging away on the 'crow,' Brierlev Day Out
(18591 6. Dor. N. £/ Q. (i860) 3rd S ix. g6.
3. The House of Correction. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Apr. II, 1896) ; w.Yks. 3
POMPIDOO, sb. So. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Some article of clothing ; see below.
Per. Noo she's got a ' pompidoo,' the pattern o' my sark, Whilk
sairs in turn a pinafore an' dishcloot at her wark, Edwards
Slratheairn Lyncs (1889) 126.
POMPION, see Pumpion.
POMPIOUS, adj. Lan. [po-mpias.] A dial, form of
'pompous'; self-sufficient.
He were a short, fat, pompious chap, Clegg Sketches {iQg$) 467.
POMPIRKIN, see Pome-pirk.
POMPLE, adj. Som. [po-mpl.] Responsible, trust-
worthy. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
POMPOCALI, sb. w.Yks.5 [pompakeli.] Remains
of Roman and Saxon fortifications.
At Scarcroft, near Leeds, there are remains of Roman and
Saxon fortifications ; in one instance consisting of a mound,
twenty yards high, and of great extent, and thus called by the
inhabitants.
P0MPREN,s5. Pem. [po'mprsn.] A rustic foot-bridge.
(W.H.Y.) s.Fem. We canna cross the pompren, the waater is
over it. Oiso/. (W.M.M.)
[Wei. pontbren, a wooden bridge.]
POMPS, POMPSTER, POMPSY, see Pomster.
POMSTER, V. and sb. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written
pompster Som. ; and in forms pomps Som. ; pompsy
Dev. ; pomstry n.Dev. ; pounster e.Som. [po'mst3(r).]
1. V. To act as a quack-doctor ; to treat illness without
knowledge or skill in medicine ; to tamper with disease.
Som. Who'll have to pomster un up wi' his rheumatics? Raymond
Men o' Mendip (i8g8) ii ; Old doctor used to say 'twas no manner
o' use to pomster in the ear— you did more harm than good
(W.F.R.) ; The word ' pomps' I have heard used by two persons
in a small village on the Mendips at different times. They were
saying they had been recommended several remedies for their
complaints, but could not 'pomps ' themselves to use them, A^. dr'Q.
(1878) 5th S. ix. 78 ; Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' Dev. Don't get pompsying
thyzull, PuLMAN Sketches (1842) 126, ed. 1871 ; Dev.' A hath
always zome glam or tother and makes em worse by pomstering,
32, ed. Palmer ; Dev.^ n.Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 333 ; And
net ha' pomster'd about et, as moather ded, Exm. Scold. (1746)
1. 26. Cor. There's doctors as pomsters all sorts of diseases,
J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 17 ; Cor.i
2. sb. A quack. Cor.'^ »
[Cp. OCor. ponster, quackery, giving improper medicines
(Williams).]
PON, see Pan, sb.^
PONACKS, sb. s.Chs.' Also in form ponnack.
[po'nak, po'nak.] A diminutive or pet term for a pony.
Kum, gy'et lilung-, poa-nuks [Come, get alung, ponacks].
PONAGE, sb. n.Sc. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] The place of a ferry.
POND, sb. and v. Yks. Lon. Sus. Hmp. Som. [pond.]
1. sb. In comp. (i) Pond-fish, large gold or silver fish ;
(2) -garth, an enclosure round a pond ; (3) -pudding, a
roly-poly pudding made with currants ; (4) -skater, the
common sandpiper, Tringoides hypoleucus.
(i) Lon. Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) II. 78, ed. i86r. (2)
m.Yks." (s.v. Fold-garth). (3) Sus.i (4) Hmp. Three fiddlers,
or pond-skaters, . . come skating into sight on the space of bright
water, Longman' s Mag. (Jan. 1900) 266.
2. V. To dam back water.
w.Som.i Here, Jim 1 urn down and onchuck the gutter, the
water's pondin all back the road. 'Tis the hedge 've a-rused in
and a ponded the water, the gutter idn a-chuck'd.
PONDER, V. and sb.^ Cum. Wm. Chs. and Sus. Also
in form punder Wm. 1. n. To puzzle : gen. with up.
Wm. (Hall.) Sus. I was quite pondered up (,G.A.W.).
2. With after : to hanker after.
s.Chs.' Ahy)kn sey ey)2 pon'durin aaf'tilr siim wensh.
3. sb. A ' brown study,' a reverie.
Cum. 'Vou's ay ways in a ponder, Blamire Poel. IVks. (c. 1794)
212, ed. 1842.
PONDER, sb.'' Cum.'* [po'ndSar.] In comp. Ponder-
how, see below.
In the Cockermouth district, the accommodation lanes are
so called.
PONDLE-TREE, see Pundletree.
PONE, sb. and v. Sh. & Or.I. Also in forms poan
Sh. & Or.I. ; poanik Sh.I. [pon.] 1. sb. A thin strip of
turf, esp. one used for the purpose of roofing.
Sh.I. Instead of flaas the Shetlanders frequently substitute what
they call ' pones.' These . . . materials for rcofing are nothing
more than swards of earth cut very thin, upon the surface of
which grows a short grass. . . Pones are thinner than fails, and
they are never used for the construction of dikes, but for the sole
purpose of roofing, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822 21, ed. 1891 ; The
wood of the roof is first covered with thin turf called pones or
flaas, and afterwards thatched with straw, Edmonstone Ze/l.
(1809) II. 48 (Jasi.); Shu stude pechin' an' tryin' ta taer afT
a poanik, Sh. News (May 19, 1900); Jakobsen A^orsk in Sh.
(1897) 55 ; S. & Ork.l Or.I. A braw new hoose nived wi' poanes,
Fergusson Rambles (1884) 162.
Hence Pone-spade, sb. a spade used for cutting ' pones.'
Sh.I. I ran fir da door, an' fistid daa's pone spaed, Sh. News
(July 20, Igor).
2. V. To pare off the surface of land.
Sh.I. Shu poned aff o' da upper moor o' da bank afore me,
Sh. News (May 19, 1900) ; Hae, boy, laek a gude sowl, poan aff
dis bit for me, ib. ; S. & Ork.^ Or.I. This practice of paring, pro-
vincially poning, the surface of grass and heath grounds in a slate
of common . . . has had an effect so destructive and extensive as
hardly to be believed without being seen, Agric. Sum. 100 (Jam.).
3. To thatch with pieces of turf. Also in comp. Pone-tack.
Sh.I. * To yar-poan de ruiff ' : to ' double-poan,' to put on two
layers of sods (in thatching) and not the usual layer of straw,
Jakpbsen Dial. (1897) 46 ; We hae da rflf o' wir lambhoos ta
ponetack, he's rinnin' in da watter apo' da tings o' lambs, Sh. N^ews
(Sept. 16, 1899).
PONES, see Pounce, sb.^
PONEY, adv. Obs. Yks. In a litter. w.Yks. Piper
Sheffield Dial. (1824).
PONGER, V. and sb. Hrf^ [po-ggafr).] 1. v. To
wander in mind, to be delirious. 2. sb. In phr. to be on
the ponger, to wander, be delirious.
His head was on the ponger all night.
PONGER, PONNACK, see Punger, Ponacks.
PONOMMERINS, sb. pi. Chs. [po-nomarinz.] Light
fleecy clouds dappling the sky ; see below.
' I thought it wur goin' to rain, didna yo see those ponommerins
this morning? ' So called from their resemblance to pan-hammer-
ings : the markings on new pans (E.M.G.).
PONSHARD, see Panshard.
PONT, sb. N.I.i [pent.] A kind of boat carrying
thirty hundred-weight of turf, used on Lough Neagh.
PONTCH, V. Som. Also in form paunch w.Som.'
To tread or trample in soft, wet ground. -
e Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' They bullicks . . . didn
ought to a-bin a-Iet out, paunchin about, such weather's this.
PONTED, ppl. adj. War. Dor. Som. Dev. Also in
form punted War. Som. [po'ntid, pB-ntid.] Bruised
with indentation ; esp. used of fruit with the notion of
incipient decay ; tainted, rotten.
War. (J.R.W.) Dor. Gl. (1851) ; Dor.' Deas vish is a-ponted.
Som. Any person whose' skin or body generally is puffed up by
disease, and subject to occasional pitting by pressure, is said to be
PONTIC
[577]
POOK
■ ponted ' ; but the primary meaning is applied to fruit, as, a
ponted apple, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825) ; Like a punted
apple (W.F.R.). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Dev. Thease apple's
a pontid, Pulman Sketches (1842) ia6, ed. 1871.
PONTIC, sb. Lin.i [ponti-k.] A slang word for
credit ; an abbreviation of ' upon tic'
PONY, sb} Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Ess. Also in
forms pownie Sc. (Jam.) ; powny Cum.* [po'ni, poani.]
1. In conip. (i) Pony-lugged, of a horse : having short,
small ears ; (2) -putter, in mining : the lad vi?ho brings
the tubs from the working-places to the flat with a pony.
(i) Cum. Peculiar to certain strains of the thoroughbred (J.Ar.);
Cum.* She's a fair picter ! but just a wee bit pony-lugged. (2)
Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (i888j, w.Yks. (J.W.)
[Reports Mines. 1
2. A general name for a horse. w.Sc. (Jam.) 3. A
small trestle for supporting temporary tables or benches.
Cai.' 4. Of beef: six ribs and the shoulder.
Ess. A butcher sued another for thirty shillings, the value of
a pony of beef, N. & Q. (1896) 8th S. x. 47.
PONY, sb.^ and v. Chs. Nhp. Amen Also written
poney Nhp.' 1. sb. In phr. to ride the pony, to receive
money in advance for work not completed. Nhp.'
2. V. To pay.
s.Chs.i To ' pony out,' a slang term. [Amer. Come, Mr. Brown,
pony up that account, Bartlett (1877).]
[1. Cp. ' pony,' an old slang word for money, see Lex.
Balatronicum (1811) ; in mod. slang twenty-five pounds,
see BARRiRE & Leland.]
PONY, sb.^ Yks. [poa'ni.] A fringe of hair cut with
an even edge. w.Yks. (S.K.C.), (J.W.)
POO, see Pool, sb.^, Pow, sb., Pull.
POOATLE, POOC, see Pottle, v., Pook, sb.^
POOCH, sb.^ and v. Lan. Der. Nhp. War. Shr. Hrf.
Glo. Oxf Ken. Sus. Wil. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written
pootch Dev. Cor. ; pouch nw.Der.' Nhp.''^ Oxf.' Sus. ;
f)outch Hrf.' ; putch Dev.'' ; and in form peawch Lan.
putj, putj, w.Cy. pStJ.] 1. sb. A pursing or protruding
of the lips in a sulking or pouting manner.
nw.Der.' Tha does 'ing thy pouch. w.Som.' Look to the pooch
[peo'ch] o' 'er! Well, her's a beauty, and no mistake! Dev.
My eymers ! there's a ptitch ! Whot's 'er sticked out like that
vur ! Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.^ Dith'n Sarah look purty ?
look at her putch.
Hence (i) Pooch-mouth, sb. a pouting mouth ; a mouth
with thick, protruding lips ; (2) Poochy, adj. (a) having
thick, prominent lips ; (6) sullen, sulky ; (3) Poochy-
mouth, sb., see (i).
(i) w.Som.i A gurt pooch-mouth, nif her purty face idn enough
vor to turn all the milk so zour's a grig. Cor.' (2, a) Cor.*
(J)) Nhp.^" n.Dev. Hur used vor ha' a poochy way. Rock Jim
an' Nell (1867) St. 21. (3) Cor.2
2. The projecting rim of a vessel. Lan. (S.W.) 3. v.
To stick out, protrude, esp. to protrude the closed lips ;
to pout ; to cause to protrude ; gen. with out.
Lan. (S.W.) War. (J.R.W.) ; War.2 Don't pooch your mouth
at me like that. Shr.', Hrf.', Glo.', Oxf.' Ken. (G.B.) ; Ken.'
When I axed him for a holiday, I see his lip pooched out purty
much. e.Sus. Holloway. w.Cy. (Hall.), Wil.' n.Wil. Look
at his pocket how 'tis pooching out (E.H.G.). e.Som. W. & J. Gl.
(1873). w-Som.' I'll make thee poochy [peochee] vor something,
s'hear me ! can't spake to thee, I s'pose, 'thout always zeein' thy
purty mouth a-pooch'd up thick farshin vor a quarter day. Dev.'
Hog pooched out es mouth, and look't glum, an didn't know what
to zay, 18. n.Dev. Whan tha com'st to good tackling, thee wut
poochee, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 188. nw.Dev.' Cor. Don't pooch
your lep, Daniel Poems ; Cor.' ^
Hence (i) Peawchin, //i/. adj having a projecting rim ;
(2) Pootcher, sb. a pouting mouth.
(i) Lan. A full peawchin mug o' whoam-brewed, Brierley
Irkdale (1865) 18, ed. 1868; 'A full peawching mug' means a
drinking vessel made of brown or stone ware which holds a pint
and has a projecting rim all the way round (S.W.). (2) s.Dev.,
e.Cor. (Miss D.)
POOCH, sb.'^ Shr.^ [put/.] A wicker strainer placed
over the spigot-hole within the mash-tub to prevent the
grains passing through into the wort.
POOCH, s6.3 s.Cy. A pot, a jug. (Hall.)
VOL. IV.
POOCH, POOCHER, POOCHIN, see Poach, Poacher,
Pootchin.
POOCHY, sb. Ken.i [pti'tji.] A bathe ; a paddle in
shallow water. Cf poach, 6. ' Let's go and have a poochy.'
POODLE, sb. Obs. Sc. A ' pattle,' a small spade
used to clear away the earth from the ploughshare.
Rnf. Robert Campbell accused of also beating and abusing
Patrick Speir in Chapelton with the poodle of ane plough, Hector
Judic. Rec. (1876) 214.
POODLER, sb. n.Cy. Nhb. Also in forms poadler
Nhb.; podler Nhb.'; puddler Nhb. [pvi-dlar, po'dlar.]
The immature coal-fish, Merlangus carbonarius, when
about a foot in length. Cf. podley.
N.Cy.i Nhb. Occasionally we got a gurnet or a poadler, Davies
Rambles Sch. Field-club (1881) xxxv ; Codlings and puddlers,
White Nhb. and Border (1859) 273 ; Nhb.i They increase by
September to one foot in length, and are then called poodlers,
Oliver Rambles (1835) 23.
POODLOCK, see Pudlock.
POOF, int. Sc. n.Cy. [puf.] An exclamation of con-
tempt or disgust.
Ayr. Mountain daisy! poof! That was ane o' the whim-whams
o' Doctor Gregory, Ainslie Land oJ Burns (ed. 1892) p. xxxiii.
n.Cy. Poof, Tim, man, that's nothing, Rhys Fiddler of Carne
(1896) 269.
POOF, see Puff.
POO-IK, int. Shr.^ [pil'-ik.] A call to pigs at a dis-
tance, (s.v. Call-words to Animals.)
POOK, sb} and v} Brks. Sus. Hmp. LW. Wil. Dor.
Som. Dev. Cor. and Nfld. Also written pooc Cor. ; pooke
Wil. n.Dev. ; and in forms poke Sus.^ Som. Dev.^ ; puke
n.Dev. Cor.' ; puuk Cor. [puk, w.Som. pSk.] 1. sb. A
haycock ; a heap of corn ; a small rick ; a mound of
turfs. Cf puck, sb.^
Brks. (W.H.E.), Hmp. (H.E.),Hmp.i I.W.Theold gallybeggar
by the corn pook, Moncrieff Dream (1863) 1. 42 ; I.W.' Wil.
In a pook may be put a load or two, Lisle Husbandry (1757) 211 ;
Wil.' Dor.' Haymiakers among ther pooks, 84. Som. Varmer
Trevinnek's laast poke o' hay was harled, Leith Lemon Verbena
(1895) 67. w.Som.' e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Dev. Tha
wind'th ablawed tha pooks awl awver tha place, Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892) 113 ; Dev.' n.Dev. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) nw.Dev.'
w.Dev. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796). s.Dev. Fox Kingsbridge
(1874). Cot. Horae Subsecivae {iT]-]) 334; O'er shoading-heaps
and pooks of turv^, Tregellas Tales (1865") 20; Cor.'^s [Nfld.
Patterson Trans. Amer. Flk-Lore Soc. (1894).]
2. V. To gather hay, barley, &c. into heaps.
Brks. (W.H.E.), Sns.^ Hmp. Pook that straw all up into a
heap, Holloway. I.W.^ Wil. Hay, barley, and drodge (mixed
crop) are pooked (G.E.D.) ; Wil.' To hold for 21 years, paying
yerely of rent the thirdes and tythes of the corne growing upon
the errable land ; the tenant to sow and dress 60 acres with wheat,
and 60 with barley ; to cut down, sheafe, pooke, and rake the
said thirdes and tenths, Wil. Rent Roll (c. Eliz.) in N. & Q. (1865)
3rd S. vii. 277. Dor.' Thy pooken don't goo on not auver sprack.
Why I've a-pook'd my wiale, 126. w.Som.l Take and pook'n up
avore you lef work. e.Dev. I was pooking hay in the Park that
morning, Jane Lordship Passen and We (1897) 41.
Hence (i) Pooker, sb. a woman employed to gather up
hay, &c. into heaps. Wil.' ; (2) Pookers'-tea, sb. the
yearly treat given to the ' pookers.' ib. ; (3) Pooking-fork,
sb. the large prong, with a cross-handle, for pushing along
in front of the ' pookers,' to make up the hay into ' pooks.' ib.
POOK, V?- and sb? Sc. Irel. Also in_ forms potik,
powk, puik Sc. (Jam.) ; puk Rnf Lnk. [puk, puk.]
\. V. To pull with nimbleness or force ; to pull gently ;
to pluck a fowl ; to pull the hair ; also xxs^AJig.
Sc. (Jam.) ; Pookin' an' pooin' is Scots folk's wooin', Mont-
gomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899) ; I'm pookin the hairs out
o't (Jam. Suppl.) ; Ye pookit a' the wee lintie ; but ye'se no pook
me. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (ed. 1870) 60. Per. Ford Harp
(1893) 210. Fif. She pouked Tam by the airm, McLaren Tibbie
(1894) 30. Rnf. Webster Rhymes (1835) 136. Ayr. The weans
haud out their fingers laughin. And pouk my hips. Burns Death
and Dr. Hornbook (1785) St. 14. Lnk. Watson Poems (1853) 53-
Lth. The bairnies . . . pookit the pocks o' the queer auld man,
Ballantine Poems (1856) 54. Edb. Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed.
1875) Gl. Bwk. Noo bairns' bairns roun' us rin, An' pouk thee by
4E
POOK
[578]
POOLEY
the goun, Calder Poenis (1897) 117. Slk. A craw to pook wi' us
even now, Hogg Talts (1838) 292, ed. 1866. Dmf. [V\\] . . .pouk
yere rosie kame, Cromek Remains (1810) 74. Gall. Was for ever
pook-pooking at the lasses, Crockett J3og-Myrtle (1895) 201.
Wgt. And so they pooked a cock alive, Edwards Mod. Poets
1st S. 362. n. Ir.Sannypookit my coat-tail, LYTTLEParfrfyAfcgM;7/a«,
30. Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). Dwn. A pookit the Meer's coat
tail, Lyttle Robin Gordon, 74.
Hence (i) Pooked,^//. adj. {a) pulled; (A) plucked; (c)
pinched, starved -looking ; lean and bony ; shabby in ap-
pearance ; (d) scrimp or short of measure or amount ; (e)
stingy; {2) Pookie, adj., see (i, c) ; (3) Pookit-like, «<//'.
(a) having a puny, meagre, and half-starved appearance,
like a plucked chicken ; (b) diminutive.
(i, a) w.Sc. Ye needna expect to get ony thing in this house
when you come back but a pouket lug, Carrick Laird of Logan
(1835) 44. {b) Ayr. Hides like the skin o' a pouket guse, Galt
Lairds (1826) xxvi. Lnk. A forretsome-looking young chiel, wi'
a skin like a puket goose, Fraser IVIiaiips (1895; xv. Edb. My
skin grew all rough, like a pouked chicken, Moir Mansie Wauch
^1828) X. Gall. I had not the spirit of a pooked hen, Crockett
Moss-Hags (1895) Iv. Wgt. Just like a scauded pookit cock,
Edwards Mod. Poets, ist S. 362. (c) Cld. (Jam.) Dmb. The
pookit waif o' some jook-halter crew, Salmon Gowodean (1868)70.
Ayr. Wee Jackie Creighle from the Linn, who toiled up the kirk-
style on his pookit wee pins, Service Dr. Diignid (ed. 1887) 180.
Edb. They werena like the pookit body rattlin' awa at tunes,
Ballantine Gaberhinsie (ed. 1875) 309. Dmf. Ye see yon pookit
pyfering face, Wallace Schoolmaster (1899I 371. (rf) Cld. (Jam.)
(«) Cld., Edb. {ib.) (2) Cld. {ib.) (3, a, Sc. I had forgotten the
loss of the flap of my coat, which caused no little sport when I
came to recollect what a pookit-like body I must have been,
walking about . . . like a peacock without my tail, Blackw. Mag.
(Aug. 1820) 472 (ib.). Ayr. What a pookit-like body I must have
been, Galt Legatees (1820) v. e.Lth. He's a puir, poukit-Iike
cratur, Hunter /. Imtiick (1895) 20. (6) Sc. They hadnae thae
pooket-like taps ye hae noo, Ferrier Marriage (1818) xxxv.
2. Phr. to pook and rook, to pillage.
Ayr. Pooking and rooking me ... o' my ain lawful jointure and
honest hainings, Galt Entail (1823) I''-
3. To moult.
Sc. Because the angels were poukin at the time, Hislop Anecdote
(1874) 320.
4. To lift or take in small quantities.
Sc. He just pouks at his meat (Jam. Suppl.).
5. sb. The disease to which fowls are subject when
moulting.
Cld. Denominated from the effect, as they appear as if plucked
(Jam.).
6. Phr. (i) to be in or on the pouk, of a person : to be in a
declining state of health ; (2) to play pouk, to pluck at.
(i) Cld. (Jam.) (2) Dmf. There's never a corbie daur play pouk
at yere tail, Cromek Remains (1810) iiB. Gall. (J.M.)
7. A very small quantity ; a pick.
Sc. A pouk o' 00 [a minute tuft of wool]. A pook o' meat [a
very small quantity of food (Jam. Suppl.).
8. pi. The short unfledged feathers on a fowl when they
begin to grow after moulting. Rxb. (Jam.) 9. Down or
any similar substance adhering to one's clothes ; the end
of threads ; unconsidered trifles.
Sc. (Jam.) Rnf. Wee Bawsy will before us nod. And feed on
pooks about the hedges, Webster Rhymes (1835) 32. Gall. Why
should I myself immure Eternally 'mang powks and stoure ? I
like the breath o' air that's pure, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 344,
ed. 1876.
POOK, Z).s Dev. To kick. (Hall.)
POOK, see Poke, sb.^, v.^, Puck, sb."^
POOKA, sb. Irel. [pii'ka.] A supernatural being.
Cf. phooka.
Ir. On November Eve they [the fairies] are at their gloomiest,
for according to the old Gaelic reckoning, this is the first night of
winter. This night they dance with the ghosts, and the pooka is
abroad, and witches make their spells, and girls set a table with
food in the name of the Devil, that the fetch of their future lover
may come through the window and eat of the food. After
November Eve the blackberries are no longer wholesome, for the
pooka has spoiled them, Yeats Flk. Tales (1888) 3 ; The pooka . . .
essentially an animal spirit ; . . a wild staring phantom, ib. 94.
Don. In whose valleys and woods all sorts of goblins, pookas, and
even the terrible each-uisge, are making their last stand against
the vain, unholy scepticism of the age, Macmanus Bend of Road
(1898) Introd. viii.
^r. plica, an elf, sprite, hobgoblin (O'Reilly).]
POOKA^WN, POOKE, POOKFOIST, see Pookhaun,
Poke, sb.^, Puckfeist.
POOKHAUN, sb. Irel. Also written pookawn. A
one-masted fishing-smack ; a ' hooker.'
Ir. I do be tellin him 'tis as good as biddin' the say wather rise
up and do disthruction on him to go proddin' an oar into it out of
any such a quare little pookawn, Barlow Kerrigan (1894) no;
Wid the coffin just skimmin' andswimmin'away down the sthrame
ahead of them, as aisy and plisant as if it was a bit of pookawn, ib.
Lisconnel (1895) 170. w.Ir. There is the bay, very near indeed,
with, perhaps, a ' pookhaun ' or a hooker upon it, Lawless Crania
(1892) II. 103.
POOKY, sb. Sh.I. [pceki.] 1. A very young infant.
(Coll. L.L.B.) 2. A corpulent person, ib.
POOL, sb.^ Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Chs. Shr. e.An. Ken.
Som. Dev. Also in forms pole w.Som.' ; poo' Cum.* ;
pow Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.* Cum. Cmb. Nrf. ; powe Cum.'*;
pull Wm. s.Cy. Som. [pu(l.] 1. In comp. (i) Pool-pipes,
various species of horsetail, Equisetum ; (2) -reed, the
common reed, Arundo Phragmites ; (3) -snipe, the red-
shank, Totanus calidris ; (4) -spear, see (2).
(i) Wm. (B. & H.) (2) Som. A long reed growing in ditches
and pools, used for ceilings instead of laths, Jennings Obs. Dial.
w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.i (3) Ken. Son of Marshes Within an
Hour of Land. (ed. 1894) 256. (4) s.Cy. (Hall.) ; (B. & H.)
2. A large sheet of natural water ; a small lake ; a wide
and watery ditch ; a large open drain. N.Cy.*, Cum.*(s.v.
Sowe), Chs.^ Shr.* Hence Pow-dike, sb., obs., a ditch
cut through the fens and fortified with banks of sand;
a sea or river bank of sand. Cmb., Nrf Horae Subsecivae
(1777)338- 3. A slow-moving rivulet, esp. in ' carse ' land.
Sc. (Jam.) Per. The country is intersected in different places
by small tracts of water called pows, which move slowly from the
N. to the S. side of the carse, and which are collected mostly from
the trenches opened for draining the ground. Statist. Ace. IV. 490
(fb ) ; A very slow- running water is . . . called a dead pow (Jam.).
4. A watery or marshy place ; a swamp.
Slg. Powmilne and Polmaise appear to be derived from pow, a
provincial word signifying a watery place. Statist. Ace. X. 113
(Jam.). Cum. If paddocks crowk in t'pow at neet We may expect
baith win' an' weet (E.P.) ; Cum.'*
5. A small creek which affords a landing-place for boats ;
a wharf, a quay.
Per. (Jam.) Clc. The quay is built of rough hewn stone in a
substantial manner, and runs within the land and forms a pow, or
small creek, where the rivulet that runs through the NE. end of
the town falls into the river. Statist. Ace. VIII. 595 {ib.) ; A cargo
of peats from Ferintosh were discharged this week at Cambus Pow,
Caled. Merc. (Jan. 24, 1824) (Jam.). Slg. (Jam.) Gall. A pool in
an estuary where small vessels may lie for cargo (J.M.).
Hence Pow-lady or -lord, sb. the woman or man em-
ployed in driving coals to the quay. Sc. (ib.)
POOL, 56.= Som. Dev. [pde'-al.] 1. The space on
each side of the threshing-floor of a barn, where the
corn is piled up before being threshed.
w.Som.* We always clean out the pool [p4o-ul] of the barn gin
sheep-shearing, 'cause 'tis so handy 'bout keepin' o'm in the dry,
like. Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 333.
2. Building term : see below,
w.Som.' In building, it is usual to speak of ' a pool of joists';
meaning the number of joists sufficient for the space between the
wall and a beam or girder, or between two beams, into which the
joists are either fixed or ready to be so. The word only applies
where main beams or short joists between dwarf walls are used ;
when the joists reach from wall to wall, the number for any room
is called a ' floor of joists.' ' Well, I consider 'twas purty near
time to part ; he never done'd a stroke vor a wole day's work,
more'n to drow in they two pool o' jice.' Also used for a similar
space on a roof, which is covered by a ' pool o' rafters.'
POOL, V. Cor.2 [p«L] To cut holes in granite.
Granite is split by appljnng wedges to holes cut or pooled in the
surface of the stone, a few inches apart.
POOLEY, sb. Irel. w.Cy. Also written pooly w.Cy.
[puli.] Urine. In (A.S.-P.), w.Cy. (Hall.)
POOLIE
[579]
POOR
POOLIE, see Powlie.
POOLLY-WOOLLY, sb. ? Obs. Sc. The cry of the
curlew, Numenius arquata.
Slk. We'll never mair scare at the poolly- woolly of the whaup,
nor swirl at the gelloch of the em, Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck (1818)
I. 288 (Jam.).
POOLTER, POOMER, see Pulter, v., Pummer, sb}
POON, see Poind, v., Pound, v.^
POONCER, sb. Nhb.' [pu-nsar.] Anything large or
inflated ; Jig. an untruth ; a ' bouncer.'
' Ma wordy, that's a pooncer ' (said of a huge trout).
POOP, sb. Obs. n.Cy. Der. A gulp in drinking ; sen.
in pi. n.Cy. (K.), N.Cy.^ Der.i
POOP, V. War. Wil. Cor. Also in form pup War.^
Wil. Cacare, used of and by children. War.*, Wil.
(G.E.D.), Cor.^
POOP, POOPLE, see Proop, Popple, sZ>.»
POOR, adj., sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng.
and Amer. Also in forms peer Sc. Bnff.' ; pore Dor. ;
pour, puir, pure Sc. (Jam.) [p5(r, po3(r, Sc. also pir.]
1. adj. In comb, (i) Poor body, (a) a poor creature, a
sickly, delicate person ; (b) a beggar ; (2) — case, a hard-
ship, grievance, injustice, wrong ; (3) — creature, a sick
person ; a person mentally afBicted ; (4) — doings, a bad
business ; (5) — folk, labourers ; (6) — ground, allot-
ments, garden-plots ; (7) -('s-house, the workhouse ; (8)
— hoy, ? see (2) ; (9) — John, a cod found in poor con-
dition in shoal water; (10) —lights, a bad example; (11)
— look-on or look-out, a dismal prospect; (12) — luck,
cat's dung; (13) — man, (a) see (i, b) ; (b) a labourer ; (c)
a frame for holding fir candles ; see below ; (d) the devil,
the personification of evil ; (e) a heap of corn-sheaves,
consisting of four set upright on the ground with one laid
across them; (/) the blade-bone of a shoulder of mutton ;
the broiled remains of a shoulder of mutton; (14) — man's
friend, (a) a sea-gull, Larus canus ; {b) an edible plant [not
identified]; (15) — man's goose, a cow's spleen stuffed
and roasted ; (16) — man-ofmutton, see (13,/) ; (17) —
— rnan's punch, ale-posset ; (18) — mess, a sick person ;
an invalid; (19) — money, bad money; (20) — out, in
phr. to make a poor out or outs of anything, to do badl}', to
obtain a poor result ; (21) — page, see (13, c) ; (22) —
stock, store cattle ; (23) — tale, a bad business, something
much to be wondered at and little to be proud of; (24) —
tanner, a children's game [not known to our correspon-
dents] ; (25) -tempered, ill-tempered ; (26) — thing, see
(23) ; (27) — tipple, small beer ; weak drink ; (28) —
widow, a game ; see below ; cf. silly old man ; (29)
— "Willie, the bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica.
(i, a) Fif. (E.M.M.) Dur. Grose (1790) 7I/S. arfrf. (P.) w.Yks.
(J.W.) (6) Sc. I took ye for some gentleman, at least the Laird
of Brodie ; . . Are ye the poor bodie ? Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) II.
28 (Jam.). Slk. She had a' the poor bodies to lodge, Hogg Poems
(ed. 1866) 65. (a) s.Ir. That's a poor case [to have to go to jail
for a mistake], Lover Leg. (1848) II. 474. (3) w.Yks. (J.W.)
s.Not. If she's a poor crater, 'er 'usband made 'er one (J.P.K.).
sw.Lin.^ He's a strange poor creature I reckon. She's nobut a poor
crittur, poor old lass : Doctor says she must have plenty of good
support. (4) Not' Lei.' It's poor doings you can't keep out o'
the house in hay-harvest. War.^ (5) Oxf.i 'Ee's that stuck up
sence a got put an to work the talegraph, a wunt 'ardly spake t'
■poor folk. (6) Dev. At Culmstock a labourer about 50, speaking of
a covey of partridges, said, ' I count they be in the poor-ground. . .
You ant a tried the poor-ground,' Reports Provinc. (1891). (7) Sc.
I suppose ye've gotten anither bairn hame ? Ye'd better set up a
puirshoose at once, S'VIAj^ Aldersyde (ed. 1892) 209. Elg. Tester
Poems (1865) 3. Abd. It's a sair fecht that's nae better nor the
peers honse, Abd. Wkly. Free Press {Aug. 6, 1898). Frf. A common-
place, every-day affair as a puir hoose, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886)
33, ed. 1889. Fif. Her bits o' gear is to gang to the sale ; but
'she's no' to gang to the puir's-hoose, Heddle Marget (1899) 10.
Lnk. I was glad to become a wee Puir's-hoose laddie, Nicholson
Idylls i^^^o) /^^. Kcb. Armstrong A'!V/t(«6nr« (1896) 125. Ir. Why
don't yer take the craythur to the poorhouse ? Lawson Sacrifice
(1892) 16. Dwn. The teers wur stannin' in Peggy's ee'n as we
went past the Poor-hoose, Lyttle Robin Gordon, 82. Dor. There
Jje the pore-house vor we when our backs be bent, and our hair be
grey, Agnus Jan Oxber (1900) 152. [Amer. You was his brother,
an' well off, an' hadn't ought to let him go t' the poorhouse, West-
COTT David Harum (1900) xxii.] (8) Dur. It was a poor-hoy yan
cudn't git what yan wanted fer pay in for, Egglestone Betty Podkin's
Vtstt l^i&T^) S. (9)S. &Ork.i (10) Not.i Lei.i It's poor lights as
they set to the parish. War.s (11) Sc. (A.W.) e.Yks.^ MS. add.
(T.H.), w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Stf. It would be a poor look out if folks
didn't remember what they said and did when they were lads, Geo.
ELiOT^.S«rfe(i859) xvi. Not.i, Lei.', War.3 (12) Lin.i (13, a)
Sc. They'll rive a' my meal pocks, and do me mickle wrang. . . O dool
for the doing o't I Are ye the poor man! PiNKERT0NSa//flrfs(i783)
II. 34 (Jam.). {/>) Oxf.i 'What's your 'usband?' ''Ee's a poor
man, ee g66s t' work.' (c) ne.Sc. The peer-man was of various
shapes — a common kind consisted of asmall roundish block of stone,
perforated with a hole in the centre, in which was inserted a
piece of wood about three feet in height, having on the top a cleft
piece of iron into which the candle was fixed with the flame towards
the door, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 54. Mry., Nai. The rude iron
frame which held the fir candle is locally known by the name of
the peer-man, from the fact that when a vagrant begged and
obtained food and shelter for the night he was expected to make
himself useful in return by holding the fir candle while the house-
hold discharged their usual nightly tasks, Rampini Hist. Moray
and Nairn (1897) 307. Bnff.' It consisted of a stone with a hole
in the centre, into which was fixed a pillar of wood of about four
feet high, with a cleft piece of iron into which the candle was fixed.
Abd. ' Peer-man,' used langsyne for haudin' fir, Murray Hame-
with (1900) 9. Fif. The village had long passed the age of the bog
candles and the peerie-man, a stand with a notched stick a-top to
hold the spalls previously dried behind the cruck and in the ingle-
neuk, CoLviLLE Vernacular {iBgg) 10. (rf) Sus. 'The Devil's Dyke'
near Brighton was formerly called Poor Man's Wall, Sawyer Leg.
DeviFs Dyke, 2 ; ' The Poor man ' is the Sussex peasant's name for
the Devil, whom he is most anxious not to mention, ib. 5. (c)
Cld., Dmf. This is practised in wet seasons. The name might
originate from the supposed resemblance of the figure, when seen
at a distance, to a beggar covered with his cloak (Jam.). (/) Sc.
The Earl . . . replied to his host's courtesy : ' Landlord, I think I
could eat a morsel of a poor man ' (Jam.) ; li.isi.ov Anecdote (1874)
152. (i4,a)w.Cor. (M.A.C.) (6) Sus. How the gentlefolks could
like to eat ' Poor Man's Friend,' Egerton Flk. and Ways (1884) 5 ;
(G.A.W.) (15) War.2 (16) Sc. (Jam.) ; Permit me to return to
my . . . poor-man-of-mutton, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) xix. (17)
Der. N. &■ Q. (1877) sth S. viii. 483. (i8) Rnt.i O, sir, I'm a poor
mess! (19) Cor.i (20) s.Wor. Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 19;
s.Wor.l, Glo.i, Oxf.l MS. add., Suf.' (21) ne.Sc. Thin splinters
of bog- fir, from one to two and a half or three feet long, fixed in a
sort of candle-stick called the . . . peer-page, Gregor Flli-Lore
(1881) 54. Bnff.i (s.v. Peer-man). (22) w.Som.i I never didn
know poor stock so dear. (23) n.Stf. It's a poor tale you couldn't
come to see the pudding when it was whole, Geo. Eliot A. Bede
(1859) liii. Not.i s.Not. It's a poor tale you couldn't keep your
frock clean (J.P.K.). Lei.i, War.^ (24) Suf.i (25) Cor.'^ (26)
s.Not. It's a poor thing you can't do it without being told (J.P.K.).
(27) Cor.2 (28) Nai. ' There was a poor widow left alone, and all
her children dead and gone. Come, choose you east, Come, choose
you west. Take the man you love best. Now they're married, I
wish them joy. Every year a girl or boy, I hope this couple may
kiss each other.' One child is chosen to act the part of the widow.
The players join hands and form a circle. The widow takes her
stand in the centre of the circle in a posture indicating sorrow.
The girls in the circle trip round and round, and sing the first five
lines. The widow then chooses one of the ring. The ring then
sings the marriage formula, the two kiss each other, and the game
is continued, the one chosen to be the mate of the first widow
becoming the widow in turn, Gomme Games (1898) II. 63. Kcb.
ib. 451-2. Ant. I. Here's an old widow who lies alone, Lies alone,
lies alone. Here's an old widow who hes alone, She wants a man
and can't get one. Choose one, choose two, choose the fairest.
The fairest one that I can see Is [Mary Hamilton], come unto me.
Now she is married and tied to a bag. She has got a man with a
wooden leg. II. There was an old soldier he came from the war
His age it was sixty and three. Go you, old soldier, and choose
a wife, Choose a good one or else choose none. Here's a poor
widow she lives her lone, She hasn't a daughter to marry but one.
Come choose to the east, choose to the west. And choose the very
one you love best. Here's a couple married in joy. First a girl
and then a boy. Seven years after, and seven years come, Pree
young couple, kiss and have done, ib. 62-3. w.Cor. ' I am a poor
widow go walking around. Go walking around, go walking around
my own. And all of my children are married but one. Are married
4 £ 2
POOR
[580]
POORISH
but one, are married but one, my own. I put on a nightcap to
keep her head warm, To keep her head warm, to keep her head
warm, my own. Then rise up my daughter and choose whom you
please, And choose wliom you please, and choose whom you please,
my own.' The mother then joins the circle, and the daughter
becomes the poor widow. On the mention of the nightcap a
white handkerchief is spread over the head, the circle walking
around slowly, and chanting the words slowly and dismally, ib,
452. (29) e.Lth. SwAiNsoN Birds (1885) 198.
2. Comb, in plant-names : (i) Poor Jan's leaf, the house-
leek, Sempervivum tectontm ; (2) — land daisy, the ox-eye
daisy, Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum ; (3) — man's blood,
the early purple orchis, Orchis maculata ; (4) — man's
flannel, the great mullein, Verbascuni Thapsus; (5) —
man's geranium, the creeping saxifrage, Saxifraga sar-
mentosa ; (6) — man's mustard, the garlic mustard,
Alliaria officinalis ; (7) — man's pepper, {a) the biting
stonecrop, Sedum acre ; {b) the field pepperwort, Lepidiuwi
campestre; (8) — man's salve, (a) the water figwort,
Scrophularia aquatica ; {b) the knotted figwort, S. nodosa ;
(9) — man's tea, the germander speedwell, Veronica
Chamaedrys; (10) — man's treacle, the garlic, Allium
sativum; cf. Charles' treacle; (11) — man's ■weather-
glass, (a) the common pimpernel, Anagallis arvensis \
(b) the woody nightshade, Solanum Dulcamara ; (12) —
oats, bearded wild oat-grass, Avena fatua ; (13) — Robin,
(a) the red campion, Lychnis diurna ; (A) the red eye-
bright, Bartsia Odontites ; (14) — widow, the sweet
scabious, Scabiosa atropurpurea.
(i) Dev.* The people have great faith in the healing properties
of the plant, whence its peculiar designation. (2) Nhp. From its
growth on poor clay land; Nhp.i (3) Ken. Science Gossip (1881)
211. (4'l Bck. 5a«K<:eGoss!>( 1866) 83. (5) Dev.* (6) Lin. (7,0)
Not. s.Not. (J.P.K.), Sus. (4) War .3 (8«, i)E.Dev. (9) Cum."
(lo)Chs.'s (11, a") Lnk. Patrick P/«h/s (1831)113. Cum.', Chs.i
■w.Chs. From its closing its flowers before rain. Nhp.i, War. 3,
Hnt. (T.P.F.), Hmp.i {b) Bnff. Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 287.
(12) Som., w.Som.i (13, «) Dev.*, s.Dev. (^G.E.D.) (6) Nhb.i
(14) Dev.
3. Phr. (i) as poor as a coot, in great poverty ; (2) it's a
poor heart that never gives nature a fillip, he is a poor
creature that never gets drunk ; (3) poor fool or poor old
fool, an expression of pity for a suffering animal, esp. a
horse or a dog ; (4) — Mary sits or is a-weeping, a game ;
see below ; (5) — pride, ostentatious grandeur without the
means to support it ; (6) — wretch, a term of endearment ;
(7) 'o go poor, of milk, &c. : to turn sour ; (8) to make a
poor mouth, to complain of poverty or trouble ; to plead
poverty when in easy circumstances.
(i) Cor.2 (3) Not.i, Lei.i, War.s (3) w.Som.' The 'poor'
expresses the pity, and the ' fool ' the lack of reason. nw.Dev.'
(4) n.Sc. Poor Mary is a-weeping, a-weeping, a- weeping, a-weeping.
Poor Mary is a-weeping, on a fine summer's day. Pray tell me
what you're weeping for? &c. Because my father's dead and
gone, is dead and gone, is dead and gone ; Because my father is
dead and gone, &c. She is kneehng by her father's grave, her
father's grave, &c. Stand up and choose your love, choose your
love, c&c, GoMME Games (1898) II. 55. w.Yks. ib. Stf., Lin. ib.
51. s.Wor. ib. 48. Brks. ib. 51-2 ; All the children in the ring
sing the first two verses. Then the boys alone in the ring sing
the next verse ; all the ring singing the fourth. While singing
this the kneeling child rises and holds out her hand to any boy she
prefers, who goes into the ring with her. When he is left in the
ring at the commencement of the game again, a boy's name is sub-
stituted for that of ' Mary.' There appears to be no kissing, ib.
61 ; The . . . version introduces the apparently unmeaning incident
of Mary bearing a shepherd's cross, ib. 62. Cmb. ib. 53. Suf.
Poor Mary is a-weeping, a-weeping, a-weeping, Poor Mary is a-
weeping on a fine summer's day. What is she weeping for,
weeping for, &c. She's weeping for her sweet-heart, &c. Pray
get up and choose one, &c. Pray go to church, love, &c. Pray
put the ring on, cScc. Pray come back, love, &c. Now you're
married we wish you joy; Your father and mother you must obey;
Love one another like sister and brother ; And now it's time to go
away, Gurdon County Fik-Lore, 66-7, in Gomme ib. 50. Ess.
GoMME ib. 49-50. Sur. ib. 47-8; A ring is formed by the children
joining hands. One child kneels in the centre, covering her face
with her hands. The ring dances round, and sings the first two
verses. The kneeling child then takes her hands from her face
and sings the next verse, still kneeling. While the ring sings the
next verse, she rises and chooses one child out of the ring. They
stand together, holding hands while the others sing the marriage
formula, and kiss each other at the command. The ring of children
dance round quickly singing this. When finished the first ' Mary'
takes a place in the ring, and the other child kneels down, ib. 61.
Wil. ib. 53. s.Dev. Poor Mary is a-weeping, a-weeping {bis), On
a fine summer's day. What is she weeping for? &c. She is
weeping for her lover (bis), &c. And who is her lover? &c.
Johnnie Baxter is her lover, &c. Her lover is a-sleeping, a-
sleeping {bis), Is a-sleeping at the bottom of the sea. [Another
version has] this variation only in the last line, ' Kiss her once,
kiss her twice, kiss her three times over,' N. & Q, (1892) 8th S.
i. 249-50. (5) Sc. (Jam.) (6) Glo. Gl. (1851). (7) Cor.' ; Cor.3
This milk is gone poor. (8) Sc. It's no right o' you to be aye
making a puir mouth, Blackw. Mag. (Sept. 1822) 307 i,Jam.). Ayr.
From being in a very wee way and making aye a poor mooth [he]
got suddenly very gash and bien, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887)
141. Lnk. A decent, douce bodie. Ne'er kenn'd to mak a puir
mouth to a neebor or frien', Hamilton Poems (1865) 289, ed.
1885. N.I.l S.Don. Simmons G/. (1890). [Amer. To put up a po'
mouth, Dial. Notes (1896) I. 231.]
4. Thin, lean, out of condition ; gen. used of live stock.
Sc. (A.W.) Cav. That's a very poor beast though it is well fed
(M.S.M.). Cum.i* n.Yks. They are as poor as reeaks (I.W.).
e.Yks.', w.YUs. (J.W.) s.Chs.i As poor as a rook, 60. nw.Der.i
n.Lln.i She'd ha' been sent to jaail fer pinin' her herses and things
while th're that poor thaay hevn't strength to stan'. Them beas
o' Butterwick Haale's all as poor as wood ; sum on 'em '11 be deein'
if thaay're let to oher-stock it e' this how. He couldn't eat, an'
was as poor as a craw, soa missis hed him shutten. War.^*,
s.War.', Oxf.i MS. add., Sus.' w.Som.i 'They bee-us be shockin'
poor.' ' Poor's a crow ' is the regular simile, though ' poor's a
rames,' i.e. skeleton, is sometimes heard. 'Poor's a rake ' is a
phrase used by ' gen'l vokes ' very often, but not by the working
class.
5. Bad, worthless ; tainted, decayed, rotten ; also small.
Ken.i; Ken.'^ Poor weather. A poor day. w.Som.' Poor job
wadn it, sir? Very poor lot o' things, nothin' there worth ort.
Shockin' poor trade ; what they do draw into ' White Bear ' tidn
fit to drink. Cor. A rotten apple would be said to be ' poor ' ; we
also speak of a ' poor temper,' and shoes that are wearing out are
described as ' coming poor,' Hammond Parish (1897) 337 ; Cor.*;
Cor.3 Poor luck. Guer. There is a poor little bit yet (G.H.G.).
6. A term of endearment.
Sc. Monthly Mag. (1800) I. 239. Abd. Peer thing [of a boy],
Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) x. Mid. ' Poor dear.' A term of
endearment applied to animals (H.B.).
7. sb. A poor creature ; one who is in any sense unfor-
tunate or contemptible.
Sh.I. Dey wir nedder fiiles or piiirs, Sh. News (Jan. 29, 1898) ;
Lat alaene a creepin puir o' a twayer'ld, ib. (May 13, 1899).
8. V. Obs. To impoverish.
Sc. Till drink and dice have poored him to the pin. Priests of
Peebles (Jam. Suppl.).
Hence ^oxait, ppl. adj. impoverished, meagre. Sc. (Jam.)
POOR, see Pour.
POOR AGIN ER HOW, phr. Ken. See below.
Pooragin-er-how is the plu. used by the farm servants to one
another when they meet at the Canterbury Michaelmas hiring.
When they meet one says to his mate 'poor-agin-er-how?' which
means ' pork again or how ? ' If the person addressed is remaining
in the same situation he answers ' poor-agin,' and his questioner
passes on ; but if he replies 'how' then the questioner stops to
learn all the particulars of his mate's new situation (W.F.S.).
PCORD, sb. Som. A pole used by snipe-shooters.
A pole with a flat wooden foot used by snipe-shooters to enable
them to leap ditches, the foot being intended to prevent the pole's
sinking in the mud, Queketfs Sayings (1820) 13, ed. 1888.
POORIE, sb. Sc. Som. Also in form purie Or.I. (Jam.)
1. A small, meagre person. Or.I. (Jam.) 2. A small
quantity of anythmg. Bnfif.' 3. A term of endearment.
Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885).
POORIE, see Pourie.
POORISH, adj. Sc. Yks. Hrt. Dor. Dev. Som. Also
written poreish Dor. [poTiJ, posTiJ.] 1. Rather poor.
Sc. (A.W.) w.Yks. Banks W^;?rf. rrrf5. (1865). Dor. It strikes
I, ma'am, that you got hold of a poreish specimen of a man,
POORISHLY
[581]
POP
Windsor Mag. (June 1900) 64. Som. An' a poorish han' too, sim
zo, Raymond Smoke of War, 18. Dev. 'Tis poorish keep on the
moor, Mortimer Tales Moors (1895) 289.
2. Comb. (1) Poorish do, a poor affair, a bad business ;
(2) — few, (3) — twothree, a small number.
(i) w.Yks. (J.W.) Hrt. I'm a thinkin' it'll be but a poorish do,
a poorish do, when they gits it all their own way, Geary Rur.
Life (1899) 95. (a) n.Yks.2 (3) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr.
II, i8g6).
POORISHLY, adj. Wm. Biggish ; freq. used as an
augmentative. ' A poorishly cofe ' [a ' bigishly ' lad] (T.C.).
POORLY, adv. and adj. Sc. Yks. e.An. Also in form
puirly Sc. [po-(r)li.] 1. adv. In poverty.
Ayr. No longer mourn thy fate is hard Thus poorly low. Burns
Vision, II. St. 2.
2. Used pleonastically with ' ill ' ; as 'poorly ill.' e. An.^
3. In a sickly manner, in a state of^mental or bodily
suffering. Cld. He put owre the nicht very puirly (Jam.).
4. Obs. Softly, gently.
Sc. Young Branxholtn peep'd and puirly spake, O sic a death is no
for me, Scott Minstrelsy (1802) IV. 253, ed. 1848.
5. adj. Sickly.
n.Yks. The headache and the poorly feeling . . . were no pre-
tences, Atkinson Zos< (1870'! xvii ; n.Yks.2
, 6. Comb. Poorly end, an unfavourable result. n.Yks.''
POORTITH, sb. Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Also
written pourtith Sc. ; and in forms pocrtha Sc. ; poor-
toth Per. ; porta, puirta Sh.I. ; puirtith Sc. Cum. ;
purta Sh.I. [po'rtijj.] 1. Poverty ; also used atlrib.
Sc. Poortha parts friends, Kelly Prov. (1721) 248; Eild and
pourtith are a sair burden for ae back, Henderson Prov. (1832") i,
ed. 1881. Sh.I. In sorrow may dey live an' dee, In pOrta may dey
pine, Spence Flk-Lore (1899) 143. Bnflf. HeUcon is poortith's
drugs, Taylor Poems {I'jS']) 4. e.Sc. O Poortith cauld, an' restless
love, Ye wrack my peace atween 'e, Setoun R. Urquhart (1896)
iii. Abd. Puirtith's a teuch thing to fecht wi', GreigLo^w 0' Buchan
(1899) 50. Kcd. Grant Lays (1884) igg. Frf. Watt Poet.
Sketches (1880) 33. Per. Wha to the blast o' poortith crouches,
Stewart Character (1857) 112; Nicol Poems (1766) 50. w.Sc.
Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 283. Dmb. When we were coup
an' creel in poortith's net, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 9. Rnf. Allan
Poems (1836) 144. Ayr. I kent she was in poortith and bedrid,
Galt Entail (1833") xliv. Lnk. To lowly puirtith I'll gae back,
cauld hearth, an' empty wame, Nicholson Idylls (1870) 11. Lth.
To wipe the tear frae poortith's e'e, Ballantine Poems (1856) 32.
Edb. Macneill S^^a«« Times (1811) 45. Hdg. Lumsden Poems
(1896) 71. Bwk. The spot presents a picture o' puirtith an' decay,
Calder Poems (1897) 83. Slk. Chr. North Nodes {ed. 1856) III.
336. Rxb. Wi' poortith nippit, Ruickbie Wayside Cottager ( 1807)
175. Dmf. In poortith's toils I must not pause Her charms to
trace, Johnstone Poews (1820) 85. Gall. Nicholson Pof/. Wks.
(1814) 60, ed. 1897. Kcb. Armstrong /«^fe«'rfc (1890) 206. Dwn.
Though ye'd gilt auld Poortith's den, I cannae thole ye ! Savage-
Armstrong Ballads (1901) 71. n.Cy. Border Gl. (Coll. L.L.B.)
Nhb. My sun is set ; my eyne are wet ; cauld poortith now is mine,
Allan Tyneside Sngs. (1891) 161. Cum. Dull care and puirtith
are forgot, Anderson Ballads, 165 ; Cum.*
Hence Poortith-struck, adj. poverty-stricken.
Elg. We're poortith struck an' penceless, Tester Poems (1865)
127. Feb. Repine not my poortith struck brothers, Affleck Poet.
Wks. (1836) 51.
2. Leanness, weakness from want of food.
Sh.I. As I cam trowshfl [a ewe] made apon her ta rise, an' . . .shu
hed twise ta tak till her afore shii wan till her feet, an' dat wi'
solid purta, Sh. News (May 15, 1897) ; As fir wir flekkid whaik
[quey], pairt wi' puirta an' waarbiks, shu's oot o' liftin', an' dat's
a', ib. (May 13, 1899). Abd. Their ae best cow I saw them lately
slay. That for plain poortith laird intill a bog, Ross Helenore (1768)
18, ed. 1812.
POORTMANKLE, see Portmantle.
POOS, s6. Sc. A sort of cake; see below.
Mry., Nai. A sort of sour cake usually called 'sour poos,' . . the
leaven of which had been moistened with water poured off sowens,
which gave it a peculiar acid flavour, Rampini Hist. (1897) 325.
POOSE, see Pouse, v.^
POOSER, sb. Nhb.' A cant term for a huge, uncouth
thing, (s.v. Rammer.)
POOSK, V. Sh.I. To pick, collect; to search for
vermin on the person. {Coll. L.L,B.), S. & Ork.'
POOST, ROOSTER, see Poist, Posture.
POOT, s6. Obs. Nhb.i A pool, a pond.
ROOT, see Pote, Poult, Pout, v.^
POOTCH, V. Wor. Hrf. [piitf.] To mend a hedge.
POOTCH, see Pitch, v}, Pooch, sb.^
POOTCHIN, sb. Shr. Glo. Also written poochin
Shr.i [pu-tJin.Shr. putjjn.] L A pocket-bag to contain
the seed for dribbhng. Glo.' 2. A wicker eel-trap. Shr.>
POOTHERY, POOTHY, see Puthery.
ROOT, FOOT, ROOT, /An Or.I. A call to young pigs
at feeding time. (J.G.) See Rooty, sb.'^
ROOTY, s6.i Nhp. [pii-ti.] A snail-shell, esp. the
shell of the girdled snail. Helix nemoralis; also in comp.
Rooty-shell.
Searching the pooty from the rushy dyke, Clare Village Minst.
(1821) I. 10; The painted pooty-shell, ib. II. 16; Nhp.'^
ROOTY, s6.2, adj. and int. Or.I. 1. sb. A small cod.
S.&Ork.' 2. A smalllad. (S.A.S.) 3. a^". Small, young.
' A pooty codling.' Often used of young pigs: ' A pooty grice '
(J.G.)-
4. znf. A call to young pigs at feeding time. ib.
POOTYEK, see Poitik.
POP, v.^, sb.^ and adv. Van dial, and colloq. uses in
Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also in forms pap Sc. Ir. ; pape Sc.
(Jam.) [pop, pap.] 1. v. To fire off a gun ; to shoot ;
to clang a whip.
Frf. Even tiny urchins popt their little gun Beneath his very
nose, Smart Rhymes (1834) 99. Brks. Gl. (1853) ; Brks.' ' Poppin'
about,' applied to the frequent shooting of unskilful sportsmen.
2. With up : to startle, rouse up suddenly.
se.Sc. Carver made work for a' the rest, He'd pop up pussie frae
her nest, Donaldson Poems (1809) 93.
3. With out : to divulge, ' blab.'
Nhp.' I didn't mean it to be known, but she popp'd it out,
Hnt (T.P.F.)
4. 'To put, place ; to thrust suddenly or quickly ; in gen.
colloq. use.
Sc. John pap'd in his bogle head, Pennecuik Coll. (1787) 27.
Ayr. The dyvour's pappin' twa into the mooth o'm, Service
Notandums (1890) 14. Lnk. They are papped out by those who
are against the reformation, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) I. xxxii,
ed. 1828. Edb. You'll ne'er dare pop your nose again Within the
synagogue, Liddle Poems (1821) 27. Gall. They . . . pert pop in
their word and nose, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 92, ed. 1897.
Dwn. Ivery time he wuz gaun to rise the tune he pappit the wee
shugar tangs intil his mooth, Lvttle Ballycuddy (1892) 28. n Cy,
Thah mun pop thi walkin' stick under thi arm (B.K.). Nhb. They
popp'd us in a jiffy down, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 25 ; (W.G.)
w.Yks. He gate th' coffin an' popped it on th' table gravestun,
Yks. Wkly. Post (Oct. 24, i8g6). Brks.' To ' pop away ' a thing
is to secrete it hurriedly. Som. We . . . popp'd an our best
Tuskin' bannets, Leith Lemon Verbena (1895) 87.
5. Comp. (i) Pop-abouts, yeast dumplings ; (2) -the-
bonnet, a game ; see below.
(i) Nhp.' A very appropriate name, from their lightness. (2)
Rxb. A game in which two, each putting down a pin on the
crown of a hat or bonnet, alternately pop on the bonnet till one
of the pins crosses the other; then he at whose pop or tap this
takes place lifts the stakes (Jam.). [This game is now played by
boys with steel pens or nibs, Gomme Games (1898) 11. 64.]
6. To move quickly or suddenly ; to go, run, come. In
gen. colloq. use.
Sc. It is usual for rogues when they have done a mischief, to
pape into the next state, Balfour Lett. (1700) 238 (Jam.). Elg.
Tester Poems (1865) 130. Ayr. I used aften tae pap in at nightfa',
AiNSLiE Land of Bums i,ed. 1892) 151. Lnk. He . . . cam poppin'
oot like a lamplichter, Wardrop J. Mathison (1881) 10. Lth. The
dominie paps in, to read her thenews aye, BALLANTiNEPoemii (1856)
47. Edb. Pap ye down and look after the shop, Ballantine
Gaberlumie (ed. 1875) 134. Nhb. Ye pop intiv a hidie hole like a
skeered rabbit, Lilburn Borderer (1896) 342. w.Yks. Crept up
beside th' door an' pop'd aght. Hartley Clock Aim. (1871) 35.
Lan. Pop up to bed again, theer's a good lass, Francis Yeoman
Fleetwood (ed. 1890) 297 ; They poppn out o'th sect, Brierlev
Out of Work, i. Not.i Ah'Il pop into th' ouse and get it. Nhp.'
I just popp'd in. Brks.', Hnt. (T.P.F.) Dor. Zome of the
neighbours'!! be poppen in, 'zno, Agnus Jan Oxber (1900) a6i.
POP
[582]
POPE
Som. For fear he should hap to pop in an' catch sight o' 'ee,
Raymond No Soul (1899) 41.
7. With off: slang for ' to die.'
w.Yks. (J.W.) Chs.i Brother Bill popped off sudden, didn't he ?
8. With about : to move from place to place, to go about.
Sc. To gang pappin about (Jam.). Edb. I maun just e'en pap
about, And seek what nature craves, Liddle Poems (1821) 24.
e.Lth. Ye micht find him ony day stan'in at his shop door, or
pappin aboot his yaird, Hunter /. /mjwcA (1895) 74 ; Auld Rob E.,
in's big coat, . . yet papp'd about, Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885)
232. Nhb. Mony a day they [wild birds] might be seen as tame
as piets poppin' aboot among the dogs, Graham Red Scaur
(1890) 325.
9. With upon: to meet with accidentally; applied to
both persons and things. Nhp.^, Hnt. (T.P.F.) 10. To
drop ; to fall quickly or lightly.
Frf. Pappin' down my cheeks like rain The saut tears ran.
Smart Rhymes f 1834) 93. Ayr. A captain . . . pap'd on his knee,
BoswELL Poet. Wks. (1803) II, ed. 1871. Lnk. He pappet on his
bended knee, Penman £'cAo« (1878) 119. Gall. To let anything
fall lightly, is to let it pap, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
11. To vex, annoy, put out of temper; to surprise in an
annoying way ; gen. in pp.
w.Yks. He felt popt abaht his fancy stick, Yksman. (1888) 223,
col. 2; CuDwoRTH i/o(-?o« (1886) G/. Lin. Yow Seem straange and
popped this morning, young mester, Fenn Dick o' the Fens (1888)
ix ; Lin.i I spoke my mind, although I could see that he was popped.
Nhp.i He's terribly popp'd.
12. Phr. to be hell, or the devil, to pop, to be ' the deuce ' to
pay, to be a row.
n.Cy. Ther'll be hell ta pop when t'gaffer comes. There'll be
the divil ta pop ower yond (B K.). w.Yks. (J.W.)
13. sb. The foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. Gen. in pi.
See Poppy, sb.^
Hmp. The bells of the foxglove, from making a ' popping' noise,
when blown out, and suddenly burst (J.R.W.) ; Sarum Dioc.
Gazette (Jan. 1896) 6, col. i ; Hmp.', Dor. (G.E.D.) Som. From
the well-known habit which children have of inflating the corolla,
and then striking it with the hand, so as to make a slight report
(B. & H.). w.Som.i
14. A seed-pod. [Not known to our correspondents.]
n.Dev. Powder don't grow in the furze pops, does it ? Fenn
Boys (1887) iii ; Seed pods of furze, when dry, burst with a
sharp pop I (G.E.D.)
15. A dot ; a spot or speck.
e.Fif. Gin Mary Anne chance to lat a pap o' soot fa' into the
kail pat, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxviii. Cum.l; Cum.* As
a sheep mark it is a daub of paint on different parts of the animal.
'What's your mark?' — 'Red pop o' the shouther, black o' the
rump,' DAi.^YMayrcyd (1888) 104. e.Yks.i A reead hangketcher
wi white pops, MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (J.J.B.)
Hence (i) as near as a pop, phr. as nearly as possible;
(2) to a pop, phr. exactly, to a T.
(i) w.Yks. A hit dhat mark sz niar az 3 pop. Ai it just did mis,
an dhat war 6l it waz az niaraz a pop (W.H.). (2) Cum." It just
cuhs teh . . . eighteen shillin and tenpence, tull a pop, Sargisson
Joe Scoap (1881) 241. n.Yks. Ah knew it wad just suit tha tiv
a pop, TwEDDELL CUvel. Rhymes (1875) 47 ; It wad just suit tha
tiv a pop. Broad Yks. (1885) 30.
16. A short space. Lan. (Hall.) 17. A term of en-
dearment for a little girl. m.Yks.^ 18. A name given
to a borer among limestone quarrymen. w.Cum. Labour
Gazette (Apr. 1901). 19. Comb, (i) Pop-and-touse or
Poppentouse, a disturbance, uproar, general confusion ;
(2) -bant, thin string tied round the cork of bottles of
ginger-beer ; (3) -dock, (4) -glove, the foxglove, Digitalis
purpurea ; (5) -gun, (a) a child's toy ; see below ; {b) elder-
wine [not known to our correspondents] ; (c) pi, see (4) ;
(6) -hole, a rabbit-hole running right through a bank ; any
hole through a hedge or wall, &c. ; (7) Pops-and-pairs, a
card-game.
(i) Cor. She'll be frightened sure 'nuff weth this pop-an'-touse
all ower town, Pearce Esther Pentreath (1891) bk. 1. iii; Cor.^a,
w.Cor. (M.A.C.) (2) Lan. It'd tak a rare length o' popbant to
send a kite, Clegg Sketches (1895) 27. (3) w.Som.', Cot.^^ (4)
^°r^ (5, a) Nhp.i A small tube made of the quill of a feather,
the aperture fitted with a piece of stick. An inoffensive weapon,
as it is generally charged %vith raw potato. War.s Hnt. Also a
term of contempt for inefficient firearms (T.P.F.). Hmp. A piece
of elder with the pith extracted, used with two wads and a stick.
The wads are inserted into either end of the pop-gun. By means
of the stick one wad is forced towards the other till the com-
pressed air forces the other out with a pop (H.W.E.). w.Som.'
Made with a piece of elder wood, from which the pith has been
removed. (6)s.Cy. (Hall.) (c) w.Som.* (6) Wil. Subterranean
galleries of the • buries ' with their cross-passages ; ' blind ' holes
and ' pop ' holes (i. c. those which end in undisturbed soil, and
those which are simply bored from one side of the bank to the
other, being only used for temporary concealment), Jefferies
Gamekeeper (1878) 116, ed. 1887 ; Wil.i (7) Lakel.^ Cam. At
pops an' pairs laik't long an' sair, Gilpin Sngs. (1866) 276 ; Ae
neet at pops-an-pairs, AtiDERSON Ballads {1805) 102. Wm. Three
handed lant, an paps an pars, Wheelek Dial. (1790' 80.
20. adv. In phr. pop goes the weasel, a children's game ;
see below.
[Children stand in two rows facing each other ; they sing while
moving backwards and forwards. At the close one from each
side selects a partner and then, all having partners, they whirl
round and round, Gomme Games (1898) II. 64.] w.Yks. Half
a pound of tup'ny rice, Half a pound of treacle; Mix it up and
make it nice. Pop goes the weasel, ib. 63. Lon. An additional
verse is sometimes sung with or in place of the above. ' Up and
down the City Road, In and out the Eagle ; That's the way the
money goes. Pop goes the weasel,' ib. 64 ; (A.B C.)
POP, W.2 and sb.^ Sc. Nhp. Brks. Hnt. Lon. Hmp.
Also in forms paip Per. ; pap Sc. Bnff.' [pop, pap.]
1. V. To strike, knock, beat ; to knock down.
Sc. I'm blessed if I can see where the knockin' bit comes in,
when a' day ye're pappin on the fore-door o' a cairt, Tweeddale
Moff (1896) 210. Abd. Pap oot his bools. Fat are ye pappin'
at? The maister pappet 's a' roun' (G.W.). Lnk. Recommejid,
without a scruple. The stuff that's pappet wi' the souple [flail],
Watson Poems (1853) 15. Lon. If we met an 'old bloke' we
'popped him,' and robbed him, Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) III.
387, ed. 1861 ; Then Big Tim popped it on Selby's face, Dy. News
(Jan. 4, 1895) 3, col. 7. Hmp. To pop a child (J.R.W.) ; Hmp.i
Hence (i) Pappin, sb. a thrashing, beating ; the sound
made by hail, &c. beating against anything ; (2) Popping-
hole, sb. a small bump or swelling on the head produced
by a blow or fall.
(i) Bnff.i Per. Mony's the sair paipin' she's gi'en me, Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) 10, ed. 1887. Cld. He got a guid pappin for
his pains (Jam.) ; The pappin o' the big hailstanes on the window
{ib.). (2) Nhp. I
2. To shoot at, aim at ; to throw, pelt.
Sc. He took the note from his pouch, . . and, papping it at Donald,
hit him, Sc. Haggis, 96. Per. Common 50 years ago at Perth
Grammar School (A.W.). Ayr. Quat pappin' stanes at thae hens,
sir. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 234. Lnk. Let's try a shot at
the ' Lang Rifle Range.' . . I'm itchin' to pap the bull's eye,
Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 128. Edb. At the Edinburgh High
School (A.W.).
3. sb. A knock, blow ; a tap, pat.
Sc. Ilka pap wi' the shool on the tap o' the mod, Outram
Lyrics (1857) 137. Abd. I'll gie yer paps for that (G.W.) ; (Jam.)
Brks.i A ' pop on the yead.' Hmp. (J.R.W.) ; Hmp.' Gie that
post a pop on the head wi' a bightle.
FOP,s6.3 Nhb.i [pop.] A fop. Hence Foppish, a<^:
foppish.
POP, see Pope, sb}
POPE, s6.' and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in forms pop Hrt. ; p wop Dor.'; pwope Dor. [pop.]
_ 1. sb. Inco>M6.(i)Pope'seye,aroundpieceoffat andgland
in the middle of a leg of mutton or of a ham ; (2) -'s-eye
steak, a steak cut from the middle of the thigh of beef or
mutton ; (3) -'s face, a mask ; (4) -'s head, a round-headed
broom with a very long handle for sweeping ceilings, &c. ;
(5) -lady, a bun made in the form of a woman ; (6) -'s
nose, the tail-piece and oily glands of cooked poultry ;
(7) -'s ode, the monkshood, Aconitum Napellus.
(I) w.Yks.2, Nhp.i, War.3, Hnt. (T.P.F.) w.Som.i The round
ball of muscle at the small end of a leg of mutton. A favourite
morsel with many gourmets. (2) Lnk. He vowed that it was
'jist like a stale pope's e'e steak!' Gordon Pyofa/jaw (1885) 71.
(3) Ess. The usual word amongst the children (A.S.-P.). (4)
Nhp.' (5) Hrt. In St. Albans, and, I believe, in other towns iij
Hertfordshire, certain buns are made and sold under this name
on the first day of each year. They have the rude outline 0/
POPE
[583]
POPPLE
a female figure, and two currants serve for eyes. There is a tradi-
tion that they have some relation to the myth of Pope Joan, but
nothing certain is known of their origin, N. Cj* Q. (1873) 4th S.
xi. 341 ; These buns were made and sold on Lady-day in each
year, and not on the ist of January, 16. 412 ; Brand Pop. Antiq.
(ed. 1870) I. 12. (6) War.3 (7) Nhp.i 'Ode' is evidently a
vitiation of ' hood.'
2. An effigy of the Pope burnt on Nov. 5th.
w.Yks.' Along pole, to which an effigy of the pope was attached.
Ken.i Please, sir, remember the old Pope ! w.Dor. Roberts Uist.
Lyme Regis (1834').
3. A term of contempt for a person or thing ; an oddly-
dressed person ; a bunchy thing.
Dor. Gl. (1851) ; Barnes Gl. (1863) ; Dor.' w.Dor. Pope of a
thing, Roberts Hist. Lyme Regis (1834).
4. Obs. A weevil. [Not known to our correspondents.]
Hmp. Ray (1691) MS. add. (U.) in (Hall.). 6. v. To
go round with a guy on Nov. 5th. Ken.'
POPE, sb.'^ Hmp. Dor. Cor. [pop.] 1. The bullfinch,
Pyrrhula Europaea. Dor. Swainson Birds (1885) 66.
2. The red-backed shrike, Lanius collnrio. Hmp.
Swainson ib. 47. 3. The puffin, Fratercula arctica.
Cor. Swainson ih. 220 ; Willoughby Ornithology (1678) in
RoDD Birds (1880) 315 ; Cor.12
POPE, sh? Nhp. Glo. Oxf. Ken. Also in form popy
Glo. Ken.'^ [pop, po'pi.] The common red poppy,
Papaver Rhoeas. Nhp.', Glo., Oxf., Ken.'^ Hence
Poping, vbl. sb., in phr. to go a-poping, to weed out poppies.
Nhp.i It is not uncommon for weeders to say, when they are
sent into the corn fields to exterminate this plant, ' We're going
a-poping.'
POPE, POPEL, see Paup, Popple, v.
POPELER, sb. Nrf. The shoveller, Spatula clypeata.
Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 51.
POPILARY, POPIN, POPINGOE, see Poppilary,
Pappin, Papingo(e.
POPLAIN, sb. Shr.^ Hrf.^ w.Cy. (Hall.) Also written
poplen. [po'plsn.] The poplar ; var. species of Popttlus.
POPLE, see Popple, v.
POPLEN, adj. Rut' Hrf.' Also written poplin Rut.';
and in form poplem Hrf.' [po-plan, -lin.] Made of
poplar, belonging to poplar trees.
POPPED, ppl. adj. Lei. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Nicely dressed. (Hall.)
POPPERS, sb. pi. Hmp.' The foxglove, Digitalis
purpurea. Cf. pop, sb} 13.
POPPET, s6.' Yks. Lan. Chs. Midi. Der. Not. Lei.
Nhp. War. Hrf Hnt. e.An. Som. [po-pit] L A puppet ;
a doll ; fig. a silly, vapid female.
n.Lan.i, e.An.' w.Som.' Poor fuller ! her idn nort but a neer
poppet of a thing.
2. A term of endearment for a child or j'oung girl.
■w.Yks.i, n.Lan.', Chs.', s.Chs.' MidL My pretty poppet, Bar-
tram People of Clopton (1897) 102. nw.Der.' Eh, tha little poppet !
Lei.' Come, my Uttle poppet. Nhp.' You pretty little poppet !
War.s, Hrf.', Hnt. (T.P.F.), Suf.'
3. The head-stock of a lathe.
w.Som.' The [draiveen paup-iit] is that in which the pulley
works— the head-stock proper. The [vaul'een paup-ut] following
poppet is the movable head or centre.
4. A tubular receptacle of wood.
s.Not. A smaller kind, called a pin-poppet, is used to hold pins
and needles ; a larger, called a pencil-poppet, is used by school-
children for pens and pencils. 'I want a poppet to keep my
needles in '(J.P.K.). ^ ^,
POPPET, sb? War.3 [po'pit.] The common red
poppy, Papaver Rhoeas, and the long-headed poppy, P.
POPPILARY, sb. Lan. Chs. Der. Also written
popUary Chs.* ; and in forms peppilaryChs.'^*; poppilar
Der." nw.Der.' [po'pilari.] The poplar, various species
of Populus. ,
Lan. If hoo'd livt hoo'd neaw ha' bin like one o thoose pop-
pilaries, Brierley Irkdale (1865) 33, ed. 1868. Chs. Trans. Phil.
Sac. (1858) 166; Chs.'2a, Der.2, nw.Der.'
POPPIN, sb. e.An.' [po-pin.] A puppet. Hence
Poppin-show, sb. a puppet-show.
POPPIN, see Pappin.
POPPING, sb. and ppl. adf Sc. Irel. Nhp. Som. Dev.
[po-pin.] 1. sb. Empty chatter, 'jaw.'
w.Som.' n.Dev. Pitha tell reaznable, or hold thy popping,
Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 138.
2. ppl. adj. In conip. (i) Popping-job, an odd job, a small
piece of work ; (2) -widgeon, (a) the red- breasted mer-
ganser, Mergus serrator ; [b) the golden-eye, Clangula
glaucion.
(i) s.Sc. Wull there be nae other bit poppin' job when I am at
it? Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Dec. 8, 1900). (2, a) Mth., Lou.
Drogheda Bay, Swainson Birds (1885) 164. (V) ib. 161.
POPPINODDLES, sb. Cum. [po-pinodlz.] A boyish
term for a somersault ; also used advb.
Cum.i; Cum.* ' I is to tumble poppenoddles.' . . And presently
the rustic young gamester is tossing somersets for a penny, Caine
Shad. Crime (1885). 300.
POPPLE, 56.' Rut. e.An. Cor. Amer. Also in form
poople e.An.'" [po'pl.] 1. The poplar, various species
of Populus. Also in contp. Popple-tree.
Rut.' Will you have the popple hulled! e.An.'", Suf. (C.T.),
Suf.' Ess. White Eng. (1865) II. 204. Cor.' [Amer. Dial.
Notes (1896) I. 342.]
2. The willow, Salix alba. Nrf. Cozens-Hardy. £roarf
Nrf (1893) 92.
[1. Popul-tre, ' populus,' Prompt.]
POPPLE, sb.^ Wor. Pem. Hmp. LW. Wil. Dor. Som.
Dev. Cor. Also in form pipple Won [po'pl.] A pebble;
a smooth round stone, a cobble. Also in comp. Popple-
stone.
Wor. (H.K.) s.Pem. (E.D.) ; Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421.
Hmp.', I.W.'" Wil. Slow G/. (1892) ; Wil.' Dor. Up above the
clear brook that did slide By the popples, Barnes Poems (1863)
50. w.Dor. Roberts Hist. Lyme Regis (.1834). Som. Jennings
Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825); Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885).
e.Som.W. SzJ.Gl. (1873). w.Som.' That there popple lime idn no
good 'bout no buildin' work. They there white popples be the
best vor pitchin' of a path like thick there. Dev. Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 335 ; These popple stones be worth half-a-crown a barrowful,
Reports Provinc. (1891) ; Dev.' n.Dev. I'd . . . Dra' popples wi a
malley, RockJ/w an' Nell (1867) St. 35. nw.Dev.', Cor.'^
Hence (i) Popple-rock, sb., see below; (2) -stone
pavement, (3) -stone pitching, phr. a pavement made of
pebbles.
(i) s.Dev. The term ' Popple Rock ' is sometimes applied to the
conglomerates, Woodward Geol. Eng. and Wales (1876; 138. (2)
Cor.' (3) w.Som.'
[OE. papal, in comp. papol-stdn, a pebble.]
POPPLE, sb? Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lin. e.An.
Also written poppel N.I.' ; and in form papple Sc. [po'pl.]
1. The corn-cockle. Lychnis Githago, esp. the seed of the
corn-cockle.
Sc. (Jam.) Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824); (J.M.) N.I.',
N.Cy.", Nhb.', Cum. (M.P.), Cum.'* n.Yks.' It has been ... the
custom in this district to lease out the popple and sleean from the
wheat previously to thrashing. e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1788). m.Yks. (B. & H.), n.Lin.', sw.Lin.', e.An. (B. Si H.)
2. The common red poppy, Papaver Rhoeas. Cum.*,
n.Yks.", m.Yks.', w.Yks. (J.W.) 3. The mustard, Sinapis
arvensis. Cum. (B. &H.) 4. The seed of the catch-weed,
Galium Aparine. Lin.' 5. The seeds of all kinds of the
Brassica. Cum.' 6. The seeds of agricultural weeds in
general. Cum.*
[ME. Popul, a weed, 'lolium' (Stratmann).]
POPPLE, V. Sc. Nhb. Wm. Yks. Lan. e.An. Sus. Dev.
Cor. Also written popel Dev.; pople Sc. (Jam.) Dev.;
and in forms paple, papple Sc. [po'pl, pa'pl.] 1. To
bubble, boil up like water ; to tumble about with a quick
motion ; to purl.
Sc. A . . . bonnie drapping well that popples that self-same gate
simmer and winter, Scott Antiquary (1816) xxi. n.Sc. (Jam.),
Abd. (G.W.) s.Sc. Till the broth pot be fairly set a poppling,
Wilson Tales (1839) V. 220. Rnf. Used to denote the effect of
heat when any fat substance is toasted before the fire (Jam.). Lnk.
A little fount where water popland springs, Ramsay Gentle Shep.
(1725) 48, ed. 1783. Slk. A burine popUn' by O, Hogg Poems
(ed. 1865) 272. Dmf. What wiels the wee burn popples intae,
Reid Poems {iSijn) 44. Wm. Water nymphs popple up thro' the sur-
POPPOLOLL(Y
[584]
PORK
face of the deep, Hutton Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 51. ne.Lan.'
e.An.' As dumplins, . . when the pot boils briskly. Nrf. Hollo-
way. Suf.i Cor. The brooklet popples and purls, PEARCEisMe?-
Pentreatli (1891) 35.
Hence (i) Poppling, //>/. adj. bubbling; (2) Popply, adj.
gusty, rough, tossing up and down.
(i) Sc. I've sat under it mony a bonnie summer afternoon,
when it hung its gay garlands ower the poppling water, Scott
Guy M. (1815) liii. Sus.i A poppling sea is when the waves rise
and fall with a quick sudden motion. (2) Nrf. The wind was from
the nor'-east, and was popply hke, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 89,
2. Fig. To boil with indignation.
n.Sc. I was aw paplin (Jam.).
3. To be in a state of violent perspiration. Lnk. ib.
4. To pout and puff with the lips in the act of blowing.
n.Yks."^ 5. To speak foolishly, talk nonsense.
e.An.i Nrf. There, don't popple, Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf.
(1893'! 92 ; How yow du popple, to be sure (W.R.E.).
6. To pop, drop.
Nhb.' His een was like to 've poppled out, Stuart Discourse
(1686) 45.
7. Obs. With about: to hobble about ; to loiter ; to stalk
vainly about.
n.Dev. Horae Subsedvae (1777) 335 ; Whare art, a popeling and
a pulching? Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 616; To stalk about like a
popinjay or parrot, Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
8. To go about muttering, as of an old woman. n.Dev.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
[1. The veschell may no mayr the broth contene, Bot
furth it poplis in the fyre heyr and thair, Douglas Eneados
(1513) m. 114, ed. 1874.]
POPPOLOLL(Y, s6. Yks. [po'paloli.] A drink ; see
below.
w.Yks. It's a liquid, an' is made wi' puttin' lumps o' Spenish
juice in a bottle abaht three-quarters full o' wotler, an' shakkin'
'em up whol all t'Spenish juice s goane into t' wotter an' made it
leuk like mucky wotter. Ah've made lots misen . . . when Ah
wor a lad, an' enjoyed it as weel as ony lad does nahadays, Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 11, 1896').
POPPY, sb} n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Lin. Wil. [pcpi.]
1. In comp. (i) Poppy-knop or -nop, the seed-capsule of
the poppy after flowering, a poppy-head ; (2) -pill, opium
[not known to our correspondents] ; (3) -smack, obs., a
vessel in which poppies were sent from Whitton to Hull ;
(4) -tea, (5) -water, a decoction of poppies taken as a
narcotic or used for fomentations.
(i) Yks. (B. & H.), n.Yks.2 (2) n.Cy. (Hall.) (3) n.Lin.i
Poppies were formerly much grown at Whitton and in the neigh-
bourhood. (4, 5) ib.
2. The greater stitchwort, Stellaria Holostea.
Wil. Poor Stellaria holostea is ... at Farley ' Poppies,' Sarum
Dice. Gazette (Jan. 1891) 14, col. i ; Wil.i Lyneham and Farley.
3. The corn-cockle. Lychnis Giihago. Chs.*
POPPY, si.2 Sc. Yks. Chs. Hrf. Oxf. [po'pi.] 1. In
comp. Poppy-show, a peep-show, puppet-show. See
Puppy-show.
Per. A pin to see a poppy show, Gomme Games (1898) II. 42.
Edb. You'd mak a noble poppey-show, Crawford Poems (1798)
88 ; Cou'd you but gar the carlin trow, You meant me for a
poppy show, ib. 96. Chs.i Children place flowers behind a small
piece of glass, and fold all up in paper. They then cut a trapdoor
in the paper, and make it into a sort of peepshow. Each person
who looks at it has to pay a pin. s.Chs.* A pin to see a poppy-
show. Oxf. A piece of glass, with bright-coloured flower-leaves
underneath. Shown by children to one another for a pin a peep
(G.O.).
2. A term of endearment for a child. w.Yks.'' 3. A
man who wishes to pass as a gentleman.
Hrf.2 Oh, he can work well enough, but is a bit of a poppy.
POPPY, sb? and adj. Yks. Nhp. War. Bck. Hmp. Wil.
Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in form puppy- w.Yks.^ [po'pi.]
1. sb. The foxglove, Digitalis purpurea. Also in comp.
Poppy-dock.
w.Yks.^ s.Bck. From the habit of children to inflate and burst
the flower (B. & H.). Hmp. Sarum Dioc. Gazette (Jan. 1890) 6,
col. i; (G.E.D.) Wil.i, Dor. (C.V.G.) Som. Tryphena . . . had
grown straight and bright as the poppy-docks, Raymond Tryphena
(1895) 21. w.Som.i, Dev.*, Cor.12
2. The bladder campion, Silene injlata. Wil.' 3. adj.
Soft, tender, leaving an impress after pressure, applied
to a soft swelling or tumour. Nhp.', War.^
POPULAR, adj Sc. Wor. 1. Obs. Populous.
Sc. The most popular part of Scotland, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817)
2." Of a plant : tall. Wor. (W.C.B.)
POPULATION, sb. Wil. Dev. A dial, form of ' palpi-
tation.'
Wit. Suffered from ' population of the heart,' Tennant Vill. Notes
(1900) 7. Dev. So bad wi' the population o' the heart, Good Wds.
(i88r) 845.
POPY, POR, see Pope, sb.^, Pore, sb., Pur(r.
PORATE, see Potato.
PORBEAGLE, sb. Cor. [p^-bigl.] The bottle-nosed
shark, Lamna cornubica. Cor." [Satchell (1879).]
PORCH, sb. Yks. [postj.l A mining term : the arch
at the bottom of a colliery shaft.
w.Yks. At the bottom of the shaft Dick and I made a porch for
about 6 yards. . . From the end of the porch I cleared out and
packed an old bord (S.J.C.).
PORCH, V. Hrt. To roam, ramble.
He was a porchin about with the horses (H.G.).
PORDY, see Purdy, sb.
PORE, sb. Dev. Cor. Also written poar Cor."; por
Cor. ; porr Cor.' ; and in form purr Cor.' [po3(r), p93(r).]
1. A state of agitation, fuss, fume, bother.
Dev. In sich a pore, Daniel Bride of Scio (1842) 175 ; I niwer
did zee a chap in zich a pore. Reports Provinc. (1893I. n.Dev.
He waz in a wonderful pore ; R.P.C.). Cor. I dooant like sich por
and rows, Higham Dial. (1866) 7; Nothing but pors will be this
night, Tregellas Tales (1865) 84; Cor.i^
2. Trouble, difficulty.
Cor. When Luther . . . beginned for to praich agin un, An' get
into a fine por for sayin' just the same as he, Werner Rozzy
Verran (1893) 99 ; Cor.^
PORE, v.^ Shr. Glo. Som. Dev. Also written porr
e.Som. ; and in form paur Dev. [poa(r), p93(r).] To
supply plentifully ; to cram, stuft"; to thrust.
Shr.' I pored a sight o' thurns i' the 'edge, but a lot o' greet
jowts comen an' maden another glat. Glo. You quite pore me,
Horae Subsecivae (1777) 335 ; Gl. (1851); Glo.' e.Som. W. & J.
Gl. (1873). Dev. Hur got th' ole man ta tul tha tale ; — Way thick
me vrends I need'n paur Cuz es hav tole min wance avaur, Nathan
Hogg Poet. Lett. (ed. 1858) ist S. 6r. nw.Dev.' He paur'd it down
the draut o'n.
PORE, v.'^ Sc. (Jam.) To purge or soften leather that
the ' stool ' or bottom of the hair may come easily off.
Also with down.
PORE, i;.a Shr.' To intrude.
'Er hanna invited me, so I shanna pore myself.
[ME. poure, pore, to look closely (Chaucer).]
PORE, PORED, see Poor, Pur(r, Poad.
PORF, s6. Cor.' 2 [pof.] A pool of stagnant water.
PORFLE, V. Obs. ne.Lan.' To hoard, save.
PORK, sb. and v} Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
[p9k, pgak, poak.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Pork-bolter, a
nickname for the fishermen of Worthing ; (2) -bree, soup
made of fresh pork ; (3) -cheese, brawn, the collared rind
of bacon ; (4) -ham, a ham in contrast to a mutton ham ;
(5) -pig, a young pig, fattened for killing to be eaten as
fresh pork.
(i) Sus. N. & Q. (1884) 6th S. ix. 402. (2) ne.Sc. Pork-bree
was looked upon as a sovereign remedy for many diseases, Gregor
Flk-Lore (1881) 130. (3) Lin. (J.C.W.), e.An.' Nrf. A compound
of pig's head, beef, salt, and spices, boiled and compressed in a
mould (W.H.E.). (4) Sh.I. Fader o' mercy! A hale pork ham?
Sh. News (Mar. ■^, igoi). (5) n.Yks. (I.W.), w.Yks. (J.W.),
s.Wor. (H.K.)
2. A young pig fattened for killing ; the meat of such a
pig. s.Wor. (H.K.) 3. v. To fatten pigs for pork ; also
with away or off.
n.Lin.', s.Wor. (H.K.) w.Som.' Applied to young pigs. To
fatten them for sale while very young. ' I shan't keep thick varth,
I shall pork em off.' ' I s'pose you'll porkaway thick loto' little pigs.'
Hence Porking-pig, sb. a pig fattened for pork. n.Yks.
(I.W.)
PORK
[585]
PORRIDGE
PORK, v? Sc. e.An. 1. To rout about for small
articles, to grub, poke about.
Draf. Her ase heap owre they porked an' ripdd For the wee
nips that had been cHppdd Aff ilka liveJhing, QuiNN//rart«y(i863)
134. e.An.'; e.An.2To 'go a-porking,' to go picking up small pieces
of wood, coal, or other fuel, on the sea-beach.
2. To poke, thrust.
Gall. He porked the bear wi' a stick till it yowled (J.M.).
PORK, see Perk.
PORKER, sh. Lan. Nhp. Wor. Oxf. Bck. Sus. Hmp.
Som. A young pig fattened for killing to be eaten as fresh
pork.
ne.Lan.i, Nhp.i, se.Wor.*, Oxf. (G.O.) Bck. From the time that
the bacon hogs go to market to May, porkers are fattened for
London, Marshall Review (z&i\) IV. 549. Sus., Hmp. Holloway.
Som. Present entries: 30 large store pigs, 10 porkers, w.Gasette
(1895). w.Som.'
PORKET, sb. and v. Yks. Stf. Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp.
War. Wor. Shr. Glo. Oxf. Also in form pokit Not.' Lei.'
[p9'kit, poa'kit.] 1. sb. A young pig fattened for killing
to be eaten as fresh pork.
w.Yks.2 Stf.i Not. I think I shall keep one of these and kill
the other for a porket (L.C.M.) ; Not.', n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' A young
pig, fit to kill for pork, but not large enough for bacon. ' He
reckoned as the pigs weren't fresh enough for porkets.' Lei. Baker
Gl. (1854) (s.v. Porker) ; Lei.' Nhp.' (s.v. Porker). War.=3,
a.Wor.', se.Wor.' Shr.' I shall feed up a couple o' them little
pigs fur porkets, they'n do fur present use an' save the big bacon.
Glo.' Oxf. Prizes to the value of £70 will be given for . . . bacon
hogs and porkets, Ox/. Times (Dec. i, 1900) 2.
2. V. To fatten a young pig for killing. Not.', Lei.'
PORKLING, sb. Sc. e.An. A young pig. Sc. N. &'
Q. (1856) 2nd S. i. 417. e.An.'
[Through plenty of acornes, the porkling to fat, Not taken
in season, may perish by that, Tusser Hush. (1580) 52.]
PORKMANKY, PORKMANTY, see Pockmanteau.
PORKY, adj. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Shr. 1. adj.
Stout, corpulent, plump.
N.Cy.' What, the poky gentleman ? Nhb.' A porky body. Shr.'
'Ow the young Maister's barnished ! — 'e's gettin' quite porky.
2. sb. A name given to a pig.
Feb. Those from whom now Porky fled. That raised such an
uproar, Lintoun Green (1685) 69, ed. 1817.
PORKY, see Perky.
PORPIN, sb. Som. A hedgehog. (Hall.)
PORPOISE, sb. Sc. Yks. Lin. Cor. Also written
porpus Sc. e.Yks.' w.Yks. Lin.' n.Lin.' Cor. [po'rpss,
P9"p3s.] 1. In comp. Porpoise-pig, a porpoise.
Yks. N. & Q. (1873) 4th S. xi. 138. e.Yks.' n.Lin.' Pd for a
porpes pygge iijs, Household Ace. (1552) m Archaeologia, XXV. 448.
2. A very fat man.
Lin.' n.Lin.' He's a real porpus, scar'd o' sittin' doon e' a arm-
chair, fear'd he shouldn't be aable to get oot agean.
3. A term of contempt for a stupid or self-important
person.
Mry. Deil end him, and rend him, each self-conceited porpus.
Hay Liutie (1851) 38. Cor. What are ee playing at, you g'eat
fat-headed porpus? (M.A.C.)
PORPY, sb. Obs. Sc. A porpoise.
Slk. We'll fank the porpy and the seal, Hogg Poems (ed.
1865) 277.
PORR, sb. Obs. N.Cy.2 1. A glazier, plumber. 2.
A salamander.
PORR, see Pur(r.
PORRET, sb. Yks. Hrf. Also in forms pouret(t Hrf. ;
purrit Hrf. [poTit] 1. Obs. The garlic. Allium sati-
vum. Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876) ; (B. & H.) 2. A
variety of leek. Hrf. (W.W.S.) 3. A small onion.
n.Yks.*
[With grene poret and pesen • to poysoun Hunger thai
thoujte, P. Plowman (b.) vi. 300. OFr. poret?[
PORRIDGE, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Lin. Nhp. Hnt. Also written porrage Sc. ; and in forms
paritch, parrach, parrage, parratch Sc. ; parridge Sc.
Nhb.; parritch Sc. Nhb. Cum.*; porritch Sc. w.Yks.
m.Lan.' Chs.' [poridg, poritj, paridg, paritj.] 1. Used
as a pi.
VOL. IV.
Sc. They're gude parritch eneugh, Scott Old Mortality (18 16) vi ;
Ye's get a panfu' of plumpin' parrage. And butter in them, and
butter in them, Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) II. 182. n.Cy. (J.W.)
Cum. They (i.e. porridge) are good meat. Can she eat them?
(W.K.) ; Cnm.* Yks. Will you like a few porridge for breakfast ?
Matilda makes them very nicely (F.P.T.). w.Yks. Thou willn't
sup thy porridge to-neeght ; they'll be naught but lumps, Bronte
Wuthering Hts. (1847) xiii ; w.Yks.^ There's not many porridge
made now. Lan. My porritch are waitin' upo' th' hob, Waugh
Heather {ei. miner) II. ^o■, (S.W.) Chs.'
2. Comb.{i) Porridge and rap, (2) — and stop, porridge
by itself without other food ; {3) -bicker, a dish or vessel
for holding porridge; (4) -broo, the water for making
Eorridge ; (5) -cap, (6) -coggie, see (3) ; (7) -hale, in such
ealthas to be able to take one's ordinary food ; (8) -hearted-
ness, soft-heartedness ; (9) -hours, meal-times, esp. break-
fast ; (10) -ible, a stick or rod used to stir porridge ; see
Thible ; (11) -kettle, a pot or vessel for boiling porridge in ;
(12) -luggie, see (3); (13) -meal, oatmeal; (14) -pan, see
(11) ; (15) -pie, a particular kind of pie ; see below ; (16)
■pingle, see (11); (17) -pot, (a) see (11) ; (b) in phr. to get
any one's porridge-pot to boil, to pay for any one's food, to
furnish the ways and means ; (18) -slice, see (10) ; (19)
-spurkle or -spurtle, (20) -stick, see (10) ; (21) -time, see (9) ;
(22) -tree, see (10).
(i) w.Yks. This, to the initiated, signifies the lowest depth of
hard and frugal living i,B,K.) ; They had to live o' ' porritch an'
rap,' Warty Rhymes (1894) 28. (2) w.Yks. A local expression,
relating to the hard times when power-looms were introduced. . .
In those days, the working classes of the West Riding lived
almost entirely on porridge, many having porridge as often as
three times a day, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. j, 1897) ; We had
nought but porridge and stop then, Snowden Web of Weaver
(1896) 3. (3) Dmf. I wadna steer my parritch-bicker, Though
caul' and ready. Till by my name they'd ca' me siccar, Quinn
Heather (1863) 75. (4) Frf. Maggie links on the porritch broo,
MoRisON Poems (1790) 47. (5) Per. Although our parritch-cap be
sma . . . We'll spare a sup, Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 160. Rnf.
Winter's keen breath has made him yap : He langs to see the
parritch cap, Picken Poems (1813) I. 77. Edb. The gudeman
out-by maun fill his crap Frae the milk coggie, or the parritch cap,
Fergusson Poems (1773) 109, ed. 1785. Peb. Ilk wi' her paritch
cap O' guid aik tree, a pint that ha'ds, Lintoun Green (1685) 87, _
ed. 1817. (6) Bwk. Mammie ! fill the parritch coggie ! Chisholm
Poems (1879) 23- (7) ^'f- (Jam.) (8) Abd. She cudna be in sic
a mist o' benevolence and parritch -hertitness gien she cud lippen
till a wiser, Macdonald Lossie (1877) xl. (9) Edb. Ye never stick
to parrach hours, Nor dinner, or late supper rules, Liddle Poems
(1821) 45. (10) m.Lan.' (11) Edb. I thought I'd rung a better
frae A paritch kettle, Crawford Poems (1798) 47. (12) Lnk.
Twa dabs she gae me. And took my porrage luggie frae me,
M'Indoe Poems {1805) 6. (13) s.Sc. To work for bread an' parritch
meal, Watson Bards (1B59) 76. (14) Rxb. The parrach pan was
fiU'd up rather fu', W. Wilson Po«»is (1824) 11. Lan. (S.W.)
(15) Chs.' Wilmslowand the neighbourhood. These were raised
pies made of coarse flour, and the crust very hard ; they
were filled with a sort of batter composed chiefly of flour and
treacle, and were seen at many of the farmhouses' some forty or
fifty years ago. They were sickly things, and by no means
relished by the farm servants for whom they were made. . . They
were occasionally filled with rice. (16) Sc. (Jam , s.v. Pingle).
(17, a) ne.Sc. The man wha has his share in the same parritch pat
wi' yoursels. Grant Keckleton, 78. Frf. An empty parritch-pat
ye'll claw. Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 31. Slg. My parrach pot
an' kettle, Galloway Poems (1792) 50. Rnf. It ne'er will boil
my parritch pat, Picken Poems (1813) I. 124. Ayr. And parritch-
pats and auld saut-backets. Burns Grose's Peregrinations (1789)
St. 6. Lnk. A roun' parritch pat wi' a broken lid, Wardrop
/. Mathison (1881) 10. Nhb. A' the parritch pots o' the village
was dune wi' an' set awa', Jones Nhb. (1871) 115. (A) Kcd.
When Tam got better he cannily crept to follow his rural toil,
But soon again 'twas the company Gat his parritch-pot to boil.
Grant Lays (1884) 121. (18) Lan. Same as owd Douty porritch
slice, Brierley Layrock (1864) v ; A piece of hard wood about
14 inches long, i^ inches wide, and \ inch thick, to stir porridge
with when in the process of cooking. When working people
lived solely on porridge, two meals every day, the porridge-pan
was not a very small one, and good porridge needs a long time
boiling, during which they must be kept well stirred. A spoon
would get too hot, so an implement of wood was kept for the
4F
PORRINGER
[586]
PORTER
purpose, clean, and hung up by a string in the top when not in
use (S-W.). (19) Lnk. The'll mak' the parritch-spurkle become
closely acquaint wi' the back o' my held, Murdoch Readings
(1895) II. 99. Dmf. As plain as a parritch spurtle, Paton Castle-
braes ( 1898) 144. Gall. I wadna by le my parritch-spurtle, Crockett
Grey Man (1896) 217. (20) Lth. A parratch-stick, a mouse trap,
Sax cutties, an' a spoon, Thomson Poems (1819) 113. eXth.
MucKLEBACKiT Rhymes {1885) 181. Edb. He's the boy that'll gie
them a clean parritch-stick to lick, Ballantine Gaberlumie (ed.
1875)311- Lan.i (21^ Sc. (Jam.) Fif. Richt glad his fire-hung
pat to hear Singin' and dringin', token clear That merry parridge-
time was near, Tennant Papistry (1827) 112. Dmf. Now, sirs,
it's porridge-time, Hamilton The Mawkin (1898) 258. Gall.
Comin' on for parritch-time, Crockett Sunbonnet (1895) ix. (22)
Cai.i
3. Phr. (i)as)//aw as porridge, (a) veryplain or explicit;
(b) ugly in appearance ; (2) as thick as porridge, very thick
in substance, muddy, not clear; (3) to cook the porridge, to
manage any piece of business ; (4) to give any one his
porridge, to keep liim in order, to scold ; (5) to keep or save
one's breath or wind to cool one's porridge, not to spend
labour or words in vain, to hold one's tongue; to mind
one's own business ; (6) to sup all on^s porridge, to die.
(i, a) Sc. It's as plain as parridge that he was both a Roman
and Socinian, Magopico (ed. 1836) 35. (6) Tif. Plain as parritch,
forbye! Heddle Marget (1899) 60. (2) w.Yks.' A proverbial
simile frequently applied to beer. (3) Sc. But wha cookit the
parritch for him ? . . Wha, but your honour's to command, Duncan
Macwheeble ! Scott Waverley (1814) Ixxi. (4) Lnk. If I had my
will o' the men, My certie, I'd gie them their porridge ; I'd keep
the loons under my thoom, M"Lachlan Thoughts (1884) 20. (5)
Sc. ' Hold your peace, Sir,' said the Duke, ' and keep your ain
breath to cool your ain porridge — ye'U find them scalding hot,
I promise you,' Scott Old Mortality (1816) xxxvi. Per. If our
young Captain has wance ta'en the notion, they may save their
breath to cool their ain parritch, that would gainsay him,CLELAND
Inchbracken (1883) 92, ed. 1887. Nhb. Keep yer breath to cool
yer parridge, Clare Love of Lass (1890) I. 162. w.Yks.' Save
thy wind to keel thy porridge. Nhp.i, Hut. (T.P.F.) (6) Lin.
N. &■ Q. (1885) 6th S. xi. 238.
4. Nonsense, foolish talk.
Lan. Dunnot tawk sich porritch, aw prithee, Staton Loominary
(c. 1861) 4.
PORRINGER, sb. Irel. Lakel. Yks. Lin. Nhp. "War.
Shr. Hnt. Also written poringer n.Yks.* ; and in form
pollinger Shr.' [poTin(d)ga(r.] A coarse pot or mug,
gen. of earthenware, used for porridge, broth, &c. Cf.
poddinger.
Tip. Taking a small porringer from a nail, Kickham Knocknagow,
151. Lakel.'' Wm. Between a teacup and a pint pot in size and
shape. Thoo's hev a porringer an' sit aside o' me ta thi tee
(B,K.). n.Yks.l A pipkin with a loop or handle on the side, and
which may be set on the fire if required ; n.Yks.'*, ne.Yks.i,
ra.Yks.i, w.Yks.*, Lin.i, Nhp.', War .3 Shr.' Al'ays bread the
men's pollingers. Hnt (T.P.F.)
PORRITCH, PORRITO, see Porridge, Potato.
PORRI-WIGGLE, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lei. e.An. Sun Also
in forms periwiggle Sur. ; porwiggle Lei.' ; purwiggy
e.An.' [poTiwigl.] A tadpole. Cf. poUywig.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Yks. Eh ! looky ! he's nobbut a porriwiggle,
VJhvtr Month in Yis. (1888) xiii. n.Yks." 2*, Lei.', e.An.' Sur.
Nature Notes, No. 6. Wrf. Trans. Phil. Soc. (1855) 35.
PORRI-WINKLE, sb. ne.Lan.' A dial, form of
' periwinkle.'
PORSY, adj. n.Lan.' Short of breath ; pursy. Cf.
pussy, adj.
PORT, 56.' Nhb. I.Ma. Suf. Ken. Sus. Dev. [pot, poat.]
In comb, (i) Port-le-murrough steak, a herring ; (2) -men,
obs., the twelve burgesses of Ipswich ; the inhabitants of
the Cinque Ports ; (3) -reeve, (a) an official of certain
towns ; (b) a tenure of land.
(i) I.Ma. ' Port-le-murrough ' is the Manx for Peel, the principal
herring fishery port. ' I had a couple of port-le-murrough steaks for
dinner' (S.M.). (2) Suf. The government ofthis town is by two bailiifs
as at Yarmouth. Mr. Camden says they are chosen out of twelve
burgesses called portmen, Defoe Tour (1772) 96, ed. Cassell's
Nat. Lib. (3, a) Nhb.' The chief officer in the ancient borough
of Warkworth. Ken. He held the office of portreeve in Marshton
at the time I write of, Ann. Fishing Vill. (ed. 1892) 27 ; The
Portreeve was chosen annually at the Court leet, ib. i. Sus. An
ancient official at "Pevensey. An existing official of Arundel
Corporation (F.E.S). Dev. Tavistock and Holsworthy possess
a Portreeve, N. tf Q. (1897) 8th S. xi. 468. {b) Sus. Port-
reeve service. Free portreeve (F.E.S. ).
PORT, sb.^ Sc. [port.] 1. A gate, gateway.
Sc. The access was through gates, called in the Scottish language
ports, Scott Midlothian (1818) vi. Or.L There are ports to all
the four quarters of the world, Wallace Desc. Or, I. (1693) 136,
ed. 1883. Abd. Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 15. Per. Its ports
an' pends, hinged brigs an' slidin doors, HALiBDRT0NZ)««6ar ( 1895)
89. Fif. The Protestants went out to their Kirk in the fields at
St. Hugo his port. Row Ch. Hist. (1650) 7, ed. 1842. Slg. I shall
go down to the ports of the grave, I am drawing near to the ports
of death, Bruce Sermons (1631') viii, ed. 1843. Ayr. In ancient
times Gudetown had been fortified with ports and gates at the
end of the streets, Galt Provost (1822) xv. Edb. We ambled
leisurely down the street, until we came foment the great port,
Beatty Secretar (1897) 159. Wgt. There were two 'Ports' in
Wigtown in the olden time— the East and the 'West Ports, Fraser
IVigtown (1877) 24.
2. Obs. The day for hiring harvesters; also in comp.
Port-day.
Edb. The West-port of Edinburgh, or rather the Grassmarket
adjoining, is the place where reapers are hired every day during
harvest. Abundance of them are to be hired there, particularly
on Mondays, when there are sometimes from two or three thousand
at once, Har'st Rig (1794) 38, ed. 1801 ; Masters far and near hae
been At port, they say, ib. 39 ; To Dun-eudain they hie with haste
The next port-day. In hopes some better chear to taste. And get
mair pay, ib. 41.
3. In curiing or bowls : a passage left between two
stones or bowls.
Ayr. Come thro' the port a wee bit on. White Jottings (1879)
237. Lnk. If ye get a right in-weik. Then down the port like a
King's cutter, Your stane'U slide into the whitter, W'luDO-e. Poems
(1805) 57. Lth. ' He's through the port ' ; and after the stone had
passed between the t^vo, David swept behind the tee, and * saw
him out o' the house,' Strathesk More Bits(ed. 1885) 272. Peb.
To draw, guard, strike, or wick, he tries, Or through a port to
steer, Lintoun Green {168$) 38, ed. 1817. Gall. To inwickastone,
is to come up a port or wick, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 280, ed.
1876.
PORT, sb.^ Sc. Irel. Also written porte. [port.]
L A hvely tune upon the bagpipes, a catch, glee.
Sc. You, minstrel men, play me a porte, That I on this floor
may prove a man, Chambers Pop. Rhymes (ed. 1870) 178. Arg.
I can play — oh yes ! I can play two or three ports, Munro Lost
Pibroch (1896) 8.
2. Comp. (i) Port-vent, part of a bagpipe ; (2) -youl or
Portule, a cry, howl ; gen. in phr. to sing portule, to
cry out.
(i) Abd. Malcolm set his port vent to his mouth, rapidly filled
his bag, . . and then sent from the instrument such a shriek, Mac-
DONALD Lossie (1877) xi. (2) Sc. I'll gar you sing Port Youl,
Kelly Prov. (1721) 397 ; I'll make fhem know they have no right
to rule, And cause them shortly all sing up Port-yeull, Hamilton
Wallace (1722) 161 (Jam.) ; All folks are singing songs of joviality,
but the people of God, they must sing Port-youl, Bruce Lectures
(1708) 62 {ib.). Gall. Af gangs hisstane, and ay it clamps, Buthoh
portule, a hog— It grunts that day, Mactaggart i'Krvc/. (1824) 81,
ed. 1876 ; A singular song, commonly sung about Christmas, ib.
384. Ant. A'U mak' you sing portule wi' the wrang side 0' your
lip oot, Ballymena Obs. (1892'!.
[1. Gaelic port, a tune (Macbain) ; Olr. port, a tune, a
jig (O'Reilly).]
PORT, V. Sc. In phr. port the helm, a boys' game ;
see below.
Bnfr. Any number may join in it. The players join hands and
stand in line. The leader, generally a bigger boy, begins to bend
round, at first slowly, then with more speed, drawing the whole
line after him. The circular motion is communicated to the whole
line, and unless the boys at the end farthest from the leader run
very quickly, the momentum throws them off their feet with a dash
if they do not drop their hold, Gomme Games (1898) II. 64.
PORT, PORTA, PORTAY, see Paut, Poortith, Forty.
PORTER, sb. Sc. Nhb. Also written portor Nhb.
1. In cow/. Porter-pokeman, a grain porter, who carries
the grain from the ship to the quay or warehouse.
PORTERAGE
[587]
POSE
Nlib. A kweer sort iv a portorpokemin chep, Keelmin' s Annewal
(1869) 30; Nhb.^ The brawny porter-pokemen, bending under the
sacks of grain, are seen steadily walking the springing planks laid
from the deck to the quay edge, Charleton NewcaiiU Town
(1885) 313.
2. A bar used as a handle or carrier, on which a smith
welds a heavy piece of work, when much manipulation is
required to be done to it. Nhb.' 3. A weavirtg term :
a certain number of threads forming a section of a warp.
Cf. beer, sb."^, porty.
Sc. A term used by weavers, including twenty splits, or the fifth
p^rt cf what they call a Hundred. What the Scotch weavers term
a Porter, the English term a beer, Peddie Weaver s Assiitant {i%ii^')
152 (Jam.).
PORTERAGE, sh. Sh.I. Also in forms porteretch,
portridg S. & Ork.^ ; po'.ridge. A portrait, likeness.
His sholmarkit lugs, juist da very porterage o' his midder's anes ?
Sh. News (June 12, 1897) ; If dat's no da livin' porteretch o' Gibbie
dan I sail baud my tongue, ib. (July 17, 1897) ; Dey followed him
a' dat gate he cudna bit see veerily enouch da potridge o' dem,
Stewart Tales (1892) 88 ; S. & Ork.i
PORTERER, sb. Obs. Sc. A portrait.
They found moe papers and a Bible full of porterers, Kirkton
Ck. Hist. (1817) 418, Append.
PORTERETCH, see Porterage.
PORTH, sb. Cor. [pojj.] A cove, a small bay.
The . . . dwellers at Mawnan Porth, O'Donoghue St. Knighton
(1864) iii ; The sandy peninsula which runs out in the ' porth,' or
port, Hunt Pop. Rom. tu.Eng. (1865) 202, ed. i8g6 ; Cor.i
fOCor. porth, a port, harbour, bay (Williams).]
PORTIE, sb. Obs. Ayr. (Jam.) Air, mien, carriage,
behaviour.
FORTIETH, PORTIFF, see Porty.
PORTION, 56. Lon. A dial, form of ' proportion.'
Fresh herrings is a blessing too, and sprats is young herrings,
and is a blessing in 'portion, Mayhew Land, Labour (1851) I. 69.
PORTIONER, sb. Sc. [poTjansr.] The occupier of
part of a property which has been originally divided
among co-heirs; the proprietor of a small portion of land.
Sc. My father was portioner of Little-dearg, Scott Monastery
(1820) iv; Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899). Sh.I.
James Jamieson, portioner of Veensgarth, Sh.NewsiJwae 17, 1899).
w.Sc. His landlord, a substantial portioner, Macdonald Settlement
(1869) 180, ed. 1877. Slg. WoDROW Soc. Set. Biog. (ed. 1845-7)
I. 130. Rnf. Hector /wrfic. Rec. (1876) 15. Ayr. I'll neither hae
colleague nor portioner, Gk\.t Sir A. Wylie (1822) xxxiv. Lnk.
Robert Schaw, portioner in Auchmuty, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721)
238, ed. 1828. Lth. Edb. Anliq. Mag. ( 1848) 127. Edb. There are
several Portioners of this town holding feu of the Superior,
Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 158, ed. 1815. Hdg. Ritchie St. Baldred
(1883) 57. Bwk. A neighbouring portioner or laird, Henderson
Pop. Rhymes (1856) 51. Feb. Lairds and Portioners, in squads.
Came down to feast their eyes, Lintoun Green (1685) 20, ed. 1817.
PORTIPIN, sb. Wm. Lan. Also written portapin
ne.Lan.^ A teetotum ; a small top spun with the finger
and thumb.
s.Wm. One form of it is used in playing a game of chance for
pins (J.A.B.). ne.Lan.i
PORTIS, sb. Obs. Lin. A weaving term ; see below.
Cf. porter, 3, porty.
The hundred after the weavers accounts is five portises, every
portis conteyning nineteen reeds. Rates of Wages (1680) in Thomp-
son Hist. Boston (1856) 765.
PORTITH, PORTIVE, see Porty.
PORTLE, V. Nhb.' To poke. Cf. pirtle, powtle.
Thor's an eel anunder that styen ; aa'll get a stick an' portle him
cot.
PORTMANTLE, sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Eng. and
Amer. Also in form poortmankle Brks.^ [po'rt-, poat-
mantl.] A dial, form of ' portmanteau.'
Sc. Leave his bill unsettled . . . and his portmantle and his fishing-
rod, Scott St. Ronan (1824) xiv. Lnk. They took also a portmantle
outofthe coatch, WoDROw Ch. Hist. (1721) III. 51, ed. 1828. N.Cy.',
Nhb.', w.Yks.i, e.Lan.l, n.Lin.l, Nhp.>, Brks.i, Suf.i Ess. There's
a portmantle of his up there, Baring-Gould Mehalah (1885) 179.
Som. Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869) ; (F.A.A.) Cor.i Did 'ee see
or hear tell of sich a thing as a portmantle ? Cor.'' [Amer. What
the dogs has become of my horse and portmantle? Sam Slick
Clockmaker (1836) ist S. xxxii.]
PORTMANTY, sb. Sc. Irel. A dial, form of ' port-
manteau.'
Sc.Hereliesinterr'd our good old Aunty, Whom Death has catch'd
in his port-manty, Pennecuik Coll. (1787) 64. Lnk. Stuff them
intae the portmanty alang wi' the rest o' the things, Murdoch
Readings (1895) II. 71. Edb. We . . . got oor portmantys and
booked to Worcester, Campbell £>«/(« /ocA (1897) 259. Ir. Has
yer honours anything but the two portmanty's ? Paddiana{ed. 1848)
II. 115. Don. Less self'Consait with them, when they label their
portmantieys ' Irelan',' Harper's Mag. (Sept. 1899) 509.
PORTRIDG, see Porterage.
PORTUS, sb. Ags. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A skeleton.
PORTY, sb. Yks. Also in forms portay, portieth,
portiflf, portith, portive. [poa'ti.] 1. A woollen-trade term :
a certain number of threads forming a section of a warp.
w.Yks. A number of threads which being repeated in the process
of warping formed a web. A certain number was drawn from the
cops placed in the creel, from 25 to 40, and one lap, from end to
end of a warp, was termed a ' half,' two laps making the portith.
It was and is the measure of the number of threads in a web, which
are said to be 60 portiths of 30 = 60 x 60 = 3600. The standard
portith was 38 threads (W.T.) ; A given number of ends in warping,
generally 38 (J.M.) ; A porty is forty ends, woollen, Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Apr. II, 1896); (S.P.U.); (F.R.); w.Yks.a
2. Comp. Porty-woof or -woove, woven in a peculiar
manner. w.Yks.'
3. A silk-weaving term : the proportion of silk thrown
into the pile.
w.Yks. Determined by the revolution of the giving-ofif motion.
'The portray of this piece is to be so-and-so' (S.A.B.).
[Cp. Du. portie, a portion, share, part.]
PORVAN, sb. ? Obs. Cor. Also in form purvan
Cor.!"^ A rush wick for a lamp ; shreds of cotton used in
wick-making for a ' chill.'
Cor.' The purvans were rush wicks, the plaited rag wicks were
called ' boobas ' ; Cor.'^
PORWIGGLE, see Porriwiggle.
PORY, a^'. Sh.I. Of bread, &c. : light, porous, spongy.
Slott, if hit s right made, sood be as pory an' light as a bit o'
Lerrick lof, Sh. News (June 2, igoo) ; (J.S.)
POSE, sb.'^ Obs. or obsol. n.Cy. e.An. s.Cy. Cor. Also
in form pawse Cor.^ A cold in the head, a catarrh.
N.Cy.', e.An.', Suf.' c. & s.Cy. Ray (1691). s.Cy. Grose (1790).
Cor.2
[OE. geposu (pi.), colds in the head, Leechdoms, I. 148.]
POSE, sb.'^ and v.^ Sc. Nhb. Also in form poss Edb.
[poz.] 1. sb. A hoard ; a secret store ; savings ; lit. that
which has been set or laid down.
Sc. Misticot's pose had muckle yellow gowd in't, Scott Antiquary
(i8i6) xxiv. Bnflf.' Abd. He keepid his pose himself, Spalding
Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 217. Frf. Morison Poems (1790) 81. Per.
Spence Poems (1898) 165. s.Sc. He used to be gettin the baud
o' auld wives' posies when they died, Wilson Tales (1836) IV. 47.
Dmb. Salmon Gowodean (1863 65. Rnf. Our wee bit pose is e'en
nae spar'd To buy a coat as braw's the Laird, Picken Poems (1813)
I. 124. Ayr. Jenny Clatterpans . . . has a pose in her kist-nook,
Galt Lairds (1826) xxxix. Edb. Learmont Poems (1791) 46-
Slk. It was years afore the rebels recovered frae the want o' the
wages and the waste o' the pose, Chr. North Nodes (1856) IV.
86. Rxb. Gars misers loose their poses, Ruickbie Wayside Cottager
(1807)187. Dmf. Cromek /?fm«ms(i8io) 87. Nhb. But the 'pose'
was gone, the coffer had vanished, Richardson Borderers Table-bk.
(1846) 91. . , . ,.
2. V. To hoard up, amass, lay up m secret. Also with
by or up.
Bnff.' The aul' bodie hiz a houd o' siller poset up, an's eye
^osin' up mair.
POSE, v.^ Obs. Sc. To examine, question.
Sc. Pitcairn Crim. Trials ( 1829) pt. iv. 308. Bnff. Being posed be
the Moderator with sumquestions,P?-«s&y/co'^*-('63'-54)i,ed-i843.
Abd. Being posit, they deponed on their oath, Turreff Gleanings
(1859)80. Fif. Ritchie 5/. BaWrerf( 1883) 113. Slg. I will give you
leave to pose me upon particulars, Bruce Sermons (1631) iii, ed.
1843. Lnk. Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) III. 465, ed. 1828. Rxb.
When he posed me upon it, I confessed it unto him. Wodrow Soc.
Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 427. Gall. I did seriously pose both him
and his wife upon the matter, Telfair True Relation (1695) in
Nicholson Hist. Tales (1843) 8.
4 F a
POSEN
[588]
POSS
POSEN, POSES, POSET, see Post, sb.\ Posset, v."
POSH, sA.i Sh.I. [poj.] A rough kind of fiddle.
In cam' Jermy Tarl wi his posh, Burgess Sketches (2nd ed.)
113 ; He ran his toom ower da strings, ' Is dis dy new posh 'at doo
bought, Willie ! ' Sh. News (Dec. 10, 1898) ; S. & Ork.'
POSH, sb.^ Cor.'"^ [poJ.] A heaviness on the chest
from mucus, occasioning a loose cough. Cf. pose, sb.^
POSH, sb.^, v: and adv. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Der. Not.
Lin. Lei. War. Wor. Shr. [poJ.] 1. sb. A soft, pulpy
condition or mass ; mud, slush.
Lakel.2 Dor land's in a fair posh sen t'rain com, 'at is 't. s.Wni.
(J A.B.) n.Yks.2 'There's a posh on't,' a pasty looking quantity.
' T'land's all in posh ' ; n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' T'rooads is all ivaposh.
e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i
2. A sudden gush, esp. of water ; a heavy fall of rain.
See Pash, sb}
Der.2 Nof^ There has been quite a posh of rain. War. Did yer
see what a posh the water came down the bruck ater the thaw,
and no wonder the snow was a fut deep, Leamington Courier
(Mar. 6, 1897); War.^* Shr.i Whad'n'ee think that child's done ?
— pool'd the spigot out o' the mashin'-tub, an' the drink come out
sich a posh. Be'appen we sha'n 'ave a posh o' wet tofirt middle
day ; Shr.2 The waater com'd all of a posh. A grate posh o' Waaler.
Hence Poshy, adj. wet, rainy, steaming; dirty. War.
(J.R.W.), \y.Wor.i 3. v. To crush, beat to a pulp ; to
smash to pieces; to stir or poke violently; to push. See
Pash, V.
Dur.i To posh the fire. n.Yks.", e.Yks.i, Lel.i, Shr.^
4. To dash violently with water, to souse; to beat clothes
in water with a stick for the purposes of washing. Cf.
poss, 3.
Lakel.2 Howken amang watter an' muck. n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.^
s.Not. Boh, mother, it does rain I it's poshin ! (J.P.K.) Nhp.i
Hence (i) Poshing-pin, (2) -stick, s6. a staffer pin used
to beat clothes in washing them, a ' dolly ' (q.v.) ; (3)
poshin wet, phr. very wet, dripping.
(i) e.Yks. Thet's oor poshin-pin hengin' cop theer (F.P.T.). (2)
n.Yks.4 ne.Yks.i A stick with feet at the end of it, used for
washing heavy articles in a peggy-tub or other vessel. (3) s.Not.
Yer cooat's poshin wet (J.P.K.).
5. To vomit violently. Lei.' 6. To slip down ; to fall in.
n.Lin.i Said of a wall, the side of a well, ditch, or drain.
7. adv. With a sudden gush or splash, heavily.
n.Lin.' Th' side o' th' draain will come posh in wi' th' wall a-top
on it. Lei.' A went posh into the wat^r. War.^ The water came
out, or down, posh (s.v. Pash) ; 'War.^
POSH, sb.* and v.^ Yks. Not. [po/.] 1. sb. A slang
word for money. e.Yks.' 2. A share or portion.
Not. Boys, when a comrade finds something in their company,
call out ' Posh ! ' (a less polite ' Halves ! ') The finder cries ' No
posh! ' (J.P.K.) s.Not. I ain't got my fair posh. If ah'd a fun oot,
ah'd a gone posh with yo {ib.).
3. V. To divide, to go shares.
Not.' s.Not. To posh up, to rehnquish equal shares to others,
' Come, posh up! I seed it too' (J.P.K.).
POSHAY, sb. Der. Suf Cor. A corruption of ' post-
chaise.'
Der. 'Twas Cormoran that canje by the po'-shay last night, Le
Fanu Uncle Silas (1865) II. 11. Suf. For he corned in a real po-
shay, Strickland Old Friends, &c. (1864) 8. Cof. He hired a
ramshackle po'shay, 'Q.' Ship of Stqrs (1899) 67.
POSHIE, sb. Sc. [po'Ji.] A child's name for porridge.
Abd. Common (G.W.). Ayr. See, there's yer poshie, noo, my
pet, Edwards Mod. Poets, 2nd S. 165.
POSICAL, adj. Nhb.' [po'zikl.] Whimsical.
POSIT, see Posset, sb.
POSKER, sb. Yks. [po-sk3(r).] A piece of broken
crockery-ware. w. Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 31, 1884) 8.
POSNET, sb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Also
Sus. Also written posnett w.Yks.' ; posnette Dur. ;
posnit Yks. ; posnitt w.Yks. ; posnut Lan. ; possnet
Yks. ; possnit w.Yks.^ ; postnet, postnit w.Yks. ; and in
form possinet w.Yks. [po'snit] An iron pot used in
cooking, with a handle and three Teet ; a saucepan ; a
'porringer.' Also used7?§-. and attrib.
Dur. Raine Charters, (^c, Finchale (1837) clvi. Cum. Many's
the drink o' whiskey I have had out o' that old posnet, Dalby May-
royd (1880) II. 71, ed. 1888; Cum.", Wm. (B.K.) Yks. That big
possnet holds as much water as t'fish-kettle (F.P.T.). w.Yks. A
large iron pan, either with an overhanging curved handle, or an
outstanding straight one, either with or without feet, Leeds Merc,
Suppl. (Apr. 18, 1896); w.Yks.i=8*s Laa. Wi' ther big posnut
hats on, Accrington Times (May 16, 1868) 3, col. 7. e.Lan.',
m.Lan.' Chs. It. one posnet, lis. virf., Inventory (1611) in Loccil
Gleanings (Jan. 1880) VII. 264; Chs.', Sus.'
Hence Posnetful, sb. the contents of a posnet.
w.Yks. A posnitful o melted butta, Bywater Sheffield Dial.
(1839) 15. Lan. A posnetful of ale apiece, Clegg Sketches (1895) 336,
[Posnet, ' urceus,' Prompt. OFr. pofonet.]
■ POSS, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Der. War. Shr. Also written posse s.Lan. [pos.]
L V. To push, dash, thrust ; to knock, kick, thump. Cf.
pouse, v.'^ 1.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 383. Slk. (Jam.) Ant.
To stand over a person or animal that is lying on the ground, and
repeatedly push or thrust against it with the foot placed on the
belly. Butchers sometimes do this to oxen and cows after their
throats are cut, with an intention to force out the blood from the
inner parts, Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) n.Cy. ib. (P.) w.Yks.' 2;
w.Yks.^ Of a lamb, ' See haa he's possin t'owd ewe agean ' ;
w.Yks.s Lan. Theer the rowltunt me, un possunt me that poke,
Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 10 ; Foak begun o thrutchin, possin,
un tearin owey, Scholes Tim Gamwaitle (1857^ 45. s.Lan. Picton
Dial. {186$) 20. Der.' As a calf or lamb does in sucking. nw.Der.'
Applied to a calf, which pushes or dashes with its head the can
or pail when drinking its meals.
2. Obs. A marling term : to inflict punishment upon a
marler who is late at work. Cf. boss, v.^
Chs.' ; Chs.2 He is held across a horse with his posteriors ex-
posed, and struck on them with the flat side of a spade by the
head-workman ; Chs.^
3. To dash or shake violently in water, esp. to beat
clothes in water for the purpose of washing them; to rinse
with water. Cf. posh, sb.^ 4.
Sc. Applied to the washing of clothes ; particularly to that branch
of it in which the person employed drives the clothes hastily back-
wards and forwards in the water (Jam., s.v. Pouss). Old. To poss
claes (Jam.). GaU. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). N.Cy.', Nhb.i,
Dur.', e. Dur.' Cum.' She was possan blankets in a tub. n.Yks.i*
ne.Yks.' Poss them things weel. m.Yks.' w.Yks. Sha bent
ower t'peggy-tub, an poss'd, an sooapin t'cloassha made a splash,
Pogmoor Olm. (1896)65; w.Yks.i^as ng.Lan.', e.Lan.' s.Chs.'
Mae-ri, weyl yoa- bin fl)posin, yoa" mid iiz wel pos mahy shaak'it
throo. War.* Shr.' These things bin ready fur swillin', get plenty
o' waiter an' poss 'em well to clier 'em.
Hence. (i) Possen, adv. in phr. possen wet, very wet,
soaking ; (2) Posser, sb. a staff used to stir up or beat
clothes when washing them ; (3) Possing, vbl. so. the pro-
cess of beating clothes in water for the purposes of
washing ; (4) -staff, (5) -stick, sb., see (2) ; (6) -tub, sb. a large
tub or barrel for washing clothes.
(i) Cum. Oor Bob's been i' t'beck, an' his feet ur possen wet
(J.D.) ; My feet ur possen wet, Richardson Talk ( 1876) 2nd S. 67.
(2) m.Yks.' w.Yks. An inverted funnel fixed at the end of a short
pole and used to stir dirty clothes amongst the water in which they
are being soaked preparatory to washing them (B.K.). (3) n.Yks.'
A vigorous manipulation of linen, especially heavy articles, such as
sheets or table cloths, which is carried on in the posskit by the aid
of a staflT; n.Yks.^ The operation of 'possing' being performed
by means of a staff' with knobs at the immersed end, and a cross-
piece for a handle at the top. The staff" is worked through a hole
in the lid, in the way of a pestle and mortar. (4) Dur.i (5)
n.Yks. A washerwoman's possing-stick is cloven, but a peggy has
four feet (I.W.) ; n.Yks.'*, ne.Yks.' w.Yks.s A possing-stick is
a handle of wood with another shorter one cross- wise, near the top,
having a wooden base like a little cheese — more rounded perhaps.
(6) Sc. 'Tis strange the good old fashion should have fled When
double-girded possing-tubs were made, Blackw. Mag. (Jan. 1821)
432 (Jam.). n.Cy. A round tub, two and a half feet high, known
as the ' possing-tub,' IVork and Leisure (Oct. 1888) 273. n.Yks.*
A cylindrical vessel in which linen is cleansed in hot water;
n.Yks.-* w.Yks.5 A sort of peggy-tub, but more substantial. Laa.
Lee MS. Gl. (1B43).
4. Comp. (i) Poss-kit, a large tub or barrel in which
clothes undergo the process of 'possing'; (2) -stick, the
staff' or heavy stick used to beat or ' poss ' clothes in
washing them ; (3) -tub, see (i).
POSS
[589]
POSSET
(i) n.Yk8.i24j ne.Yks.l, ra.Yks.i, w.Yks.s (2) Nhb.' A piece of
timber with a heavy foot and stalk. e.Dur.' Cum." She laid aside
her poss-stick and rinsed the suds from her hands, Clare Pearl,
123. n.Yks. (I.W.), n.Yks.', w.Yks.5 (3) N.I.l, N.Cy.' Nhb.
Drop them in the poss-tub amang the wettor, Wilkinson Tyneside
Sngstr. (1886) 16; Nhb.' A strong forty or fifty gallon barrel,
\vith an open end. It is partly filled with hot water, to which soap
is added ; and the dirty clothes being put in are possed.
e.Dur.i, Cum. (J.D.), Yks. (J.W.)
5. To soften in water, as bread for a poultice ; to steep.
n.Yks.'^ 6. To confuse, mix ; also with up.
Yks. Weel, I've got kings, and queens, . . clergy, and poets, and
good chaps, and naebodies all possed oop, Fetherston Farmer, 28.
m.Yks.i
7. sb. A push. w.Yks.2 8. A simple form of ' dolly '
(q.v.) ; the staff or pin used to beat clothes when washing.
Cum.* The legs are replaced by two transverse cuts at the bottom
of the stem where it is greatly increased in its diameter. m.Yks,'
w.Yks. The kind in common use in W. at present consists of a long
handle, at one end of which is a tin cone, whose base is open and
is situate at the extreme portion of the instrument. Inside the
large outer cone is a smaller one. The cone arrangement is
supposed to have powers of suction, as well as being useful in the
churning and tossing process, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 18, 1896).
9. Phr. (i) all in a poss, (2) as wet as pass, saturated with
water, very wet.
(i) Cum.i (2) Cum." The prints were delivered to the drapers
' as wet as poss,' Burn Brampton (1893') 6.
10. A waterfall. w.Yks.' 11. Fig. A mess, muddle,
confusion. m.Yks.' Thou'U make a poss of it before thou's done.
12. A fat, heavy person.
w.Yks. Shoo is a poss, Leeds Merc, Suppl. (Apr. 18, 1896).
13. A heavy fall.
w.Yks. He coome dahn wi' sich a poss ! Leeds Merc. Suppl. (tb.)
[1. A cat of a courte . . . pleyde with hem perilouslych
and possed hem aboute, P. Plowman (b.) Prol. 149.]
POSS, see Pose, sb.'^, Post, sb}
POSSE, sb. Sc. Nhp. Glo. Brks. Hnt. e.An. Sus. Hmp.
Also written possey Sc. Brks.' ; possy Glo.*^ [pcsa,
po'si.] A large company of people, a great muster, in
allusion to a sheriff's ' posse comitatus.'
Edb. Having at his back ... a posse of the city-guard, Beatty
Secretar (1897) 88. Gall. A possey o' crouse honest men, Mac-
TAGGART Encycl. (1824) 305, ed. 1876. Nhp.i What a possd of
them. GI0.2 Brks.' Ther be a possey o' volk gone to Vaair,
to-day. Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.' Sus , Hmp. Holloway.
POSSEL, sb.^ Shr.' [po-sl.] A state of soft, wet,
swampy saturation.
Yo' conna g66 o' the leasow now, the ground's all of a possel.
POSSEL, sb.^ Yks. [po'sl.] A broken remnant of
the stems of pentacrinites.
e.Yks. To this spot [Kell Well] and its channel on the hill side
young people have resorted, time out of mind, to pick up ' kessels
and possels,'. . washed out of the lias beds by the continuous action
of the water. These are also found in the Has gravel on the
Humber beach, at Whitton, an adjoining village. . . The star-like
single joints are called kessels ; the portions consisting of several
of these, possels, N. (f Q. (1866) 3rd S. x. 470.
POSSESS, V. Sc. Yks. [paze's.] 1. Obs. To give
legal possession ; to infeoff.
Sc. He obtained the earldome of Marr from the king, and was
possest in the same, Pitscottie Chron. (ed. 1814) 184 (Jam.).
Abd. After removing of the bishop's wife from Spynie, the earl of
Murray possessed his sister's son . . . therewith, Spalding Hist. Sc.
(1792) II. 13. , . ,
2. To inform, convince, persuade ; with with : to per-
suade deceitfully.
n.Yks. Ah possessed him wi this notion (I.W.). w.Yks.'
3. Phr. to be possessed within oneself, to be taken up with
thoughts of oneself
Edb. One of the bailies was so possessed within himself that he
tried to chair himself where chair was none, Mom Mansie Wauch
(1828) ii.
POSSESSION, sb. Der. In lead-mining : the right
to a 'meer' of ground; the 'stow' or windlass placed
upon a ' meer ' of ground to confer such a right.
The miner calls his mine and the land granted to him by the
barmaster to work in his possessions; and defends them as such
from any encroachments. . , Every miner or miners having pos-
sessions should have stowces and timber in a conspicuous place for
keeping possession of them,MANDER./l/»Me)''sG/. (1824) ; A cross and
holea good possession is But for three dayes : and then the custom's
this, To set down stowes, timbered in all men's sight, Then such
possession, stands for three weeks' right, If that the stowes be
pinned and well wrought With yokings, sole-trees, else they stand
for nought, Manlove Lead Mines (1653) 1. 9-14 ; The term is also
gen. used to signify the stows themselves, because thereby the
miners obtain possession. Tapping Gl. to Manlove (1851); A
Possession or Stowse of Pretence is a machine which formerly was
the only apparatus for drawing up the ore in tubs from the mine,
ib. (s.v. Stowe).
POSSESSIONING, vbl. sb. n.Cy. Nhp. [pszejanin.]
The custom of beating the bounds of a parish in proces-
sion. See Processioning.
n.Cy. Going the bounds of a parish on Holy Thursday, Grose
(1790) MS. add. (P.) Nhp.' Going in triennial procession on
Holy Thursday to perambulate a parish for the purpose of marking
and retaining possession. The parochial authorities are accom-
panied by other inhabitants, and a number of boys, to whom it is
customary to distribute buns, &c. in order to impress it upon the
memory, should the boundaries at any future period be disputed.
POSSET, sb. and z<.' Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Der. Not. War. Glo. Oxf Brks. Nrf Suf Dev. Also
written posit w.Yks.^ ; possett Lakel.* Lan. ; possit
w.Yks.^ Lan. Chs.' ; possut Brks.' [po'sit.] 1. sb. A
warm drink, gen. consisting of milk and bread seasoned
with ale or treacle, &c.
Ayr. Tea . , . did no harm, . . which was not the case with the
possets that were in fashion before, Galt Ann. Parish (1821) iii.
Nhb. An there was posset — an honey an bacon collops, Bewick
Tyneside Tales (1850) 13; Nhb.' Lakel.* Boilt milk wi' yal in't ;
good fer mowers. Cum., Wm. A dish of milk boiled with small
squares of white bread and mixed with ale, sweetened and
seasoned, was a common supper for strangers, when home-produce
was almost exclusively used (M.P.) ; Wm. & Cum.' Before the
introduction of tea, it was customary to give strangers at festival
times ale-possets ; they were served up in bowls called dubblers.
w.Yks. A treacle posset has no meal or flour of any kind, simply
milk and treacle, cracked by the addition of a little vinegar, thus
forming curd, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 2, 1896) ; Milk boiled and
broken into curds (D.L.). Lan. The possett they had imbibed,
Brierley Layrock (1864) xvi ; One of their receipts for a common
cold is ' a whot churn-milk posset, weel sweet'nt, an* a traycle
cake to't, at bedtime,' Waugh Sketches (1B55) 22 ; Lan.' Der. A
Kirsmas posset i' harvest time. .. Gin i' el, an' rum, an' whiskey,
an' nutmegs, an' cloves, an' ginger. I wunna hev milk — a gill o'
cream wi' lump sugar's the best. An' a raand o' toast to soften et,
Gilchrist /Va/6/a«rf /a^^o/ (1897) 93. nw.Der.', War. (J.R.W.),
Glo.' Brks.' ' Tracle-possut ' and ' inon-possut ' are considered
excellent remedies for a cold. Nrf. A mixture of treacle and milk
for a cough, Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 84. Suf. (E.G.P.)
Dev. Have a cider posset on the hob to furnish inner comfort,
Baring-Gould Spider (1887) xvi.
Hence (i) Posset-cup, s6. a cup of silver or pewter used
for drinking ' possets ' ; (2) -funeral, sb., obs., a funeral at
which by the custom of the family the chief dish of the
refreshment was ' posset ' ; (3) -masking, sb. the making
and drinking of ' possets ' ; (4) -pot, sb. the pot or vessel
in which ' posset ' is made.
(i) N.Cy.' Wm. & Cum.' The posset-cup shone as an article of
finery in the better sort of houses ; it was made of pewter, and
was furnished with two, three, or more lateral pipes through which
the liquid part of the compound might be sucked by those who did
not choose the bread. (2) Cum., Wm. Distinguished from the
custom of other families, which had meat-funerals, or a general
sort of entertainment for the whole of a village, when the bell
went round to intimate that ' two were bidden from each house ' ;
the formula when it was in words, and notageneral invitation, asnot
beingfora householder,&c. I saw, perhaps, one of the latestinstances
in this village [Langwathby], as a child. Long tables were laid out
in the barn for those not related ; they were covered with beautiful
linen, and bowls at convenient intervals filled with genuine posset.
From opposite sides, people, about four, reached out, dipped their
spoons, and sipped the posset (M.P.). (3) Ayr. Decent ladies
coming home with red faces, tosy and cosh, from a posset masking,
Galt Ann. Parish (1821) iii. (4) Lan, Yo mitn o' let'n th' possit
pot bothom o' bin fund ere yo'dn kiket it oer, Paul Bobbin Sequel
(1819) 41.
POSSET
[590]
POST
2. Phr. eating the posset, a wedding custom ; see below.
Nhb.i In to the [bridal] chamber was brought a bowl containing
a portion of broken white bread soaked in white milk instead of
wine, into which the marriage ring was dropped; the- bride and
bridegroom tasted the contents first, then the bowl was assailed
by the lasses and lads ; and whoever ' fished ' up the ring was
accounted to have the best chance of being first married, Richard-
son Borderer's Table-bk. (1842) 344.
3. The flower of the meadow-sweet, Spiraea Ulmaria.
Lan. That tall, white flower, which country folk call ' posset,'
spread out itscurdy top among the elegant summer grasses, Waugh
Sketches (1855) 163 ; Lan.l
4. The liquid food vomited by babies.
w.Yks. Sutha, wipe me this 'posit off o' mi arm, Leeds Merc,
Suppl. (Apr. 18, 1896J. e.Lan.'
5. V. Of a baby : to vomit, to throw up small quantities
of food.
Lakel.2, Cum.* Wm. (J.M.) w.Yks. Bless its little heart, it's
possetting again (H.L.) ; w.Yks.^^, e.Lan.', Chs.i, s.Chs.', s.Not.
(JPK-) ...
Hence Posseting, ppl. adj. of babies : given to vomiting.
s.Not. Posseting babies always come on (J.P. K.).
POSSET, v.'^ Yks. Lan. Chs. Also written poset
w.Yks.'^ [po'sit, w.Yks. paze't] To dance; in dancing:
to change positions for the next figure.
w.Yks.2 The accent is on the last syllable. Chs.' Sammy, let's
posset.
Hence Possetting, vbl. sb. dancing.
Lan. When it coom to th' possettin Johnny took th' opportunity
to squeeze hur waist, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 50.
POSSIBILITY, sb. Not. Lei. War. The extent of
one's means.
Not.* Lei.i It eeh't in our possibility to dew no more. War.^
POSSIBLE, sb. Sh.L Nrf. Slang and Amer. [po-sibl.]
1. Utmost ; also in pi.
Nrf. I'll do all my possibles to order it right (G.E.D.). [Amer.
I'll do my possible that the like don't happen agin, Sam Slick
Clockmaker {1830) ist S. xxvi.]
2. pi. Means, wherewithal, money.
Sh.I. Doo sees 'at wi' plenty o' siller, gude prices can be gotten,
bekis folk hae da possables, Sh. News (Nov. 4, 1899). Slang. So
then the hold chap as had loaned the possibles, he puts it into the
boss's hands, Murray Nov. Note-bk. (1887) 64.
POSSTNET, POSSIT, see Posnet, Posset, sb.
POSSIT, sb. Irel [posit.] A shortened form of
' deposit ' ; used attrib.
Dwn. The twa banks . . . whaur a keep a wheen o' wee Possit
Resales, Lyttle Robin Gordon, 8r.
POSSIT, adj. Sc. [po'sit.] Possible.
Dmb. ' It's hangin', neck and rape ! ' ' Hangin's nae possit,
Tam, in ony shape,' Salmon Gowodean (1868) 88.
POSSLET, sb. nw.Dev.i [po'slit.] In phr. pen and
posslet,'m brewing: the spigot and faucet used for drawing
off the wort from the keeve.
POSSUT, POSSY, see Posset, sb., Ptssy, adj.
POST, sb.^ and v.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in forms poist Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) ; pooast n.Yks.'^;
poss Cor.' 2 [p5st, po9st, pwust.] I. sb. Gram, forms :
pi. (i) Poasses, (2) Posen, (3) Poses, (4) Posses, (5)
Posstes, (6) Postes, {7) Posteses, (8) Postesses, (9)
Postis, (10) Postises, (11) Postisis, (12) Ptio-u's, (13)
Pwostes, (14) Pwostisses, (15) Pwusses, (16) Pwustes.
(i) War. There'nt no finger poasses in these parts (J.B.). (2)
Nhp.i Shr.i Puos-n. Hnt. (T.P.F.) (3) Lin. Her legs were
swelled up like mill-poses (R.E.C.). Rut.' For two poses of wood,
8rf., Accounts (1721). Nhp.', War.2 (4) Not. (L.C.M.) Dev.
Can 'ee let me hev a couple of rough posses ? Reports Provinc.
(1882) 19. s.Dev. Fox Kingsbridge (1874). Cor.' Water will wear
away stonen posses; Cor.3 (5) Con^ (6) Sur.i The giat's good
enough, but the post-es be rotten. Hrt. (H.G.) ; My legs ... as
stiff as two postes, Geary Rur. Life (1899) 81. Hmp. (H C.M.B.)
Wil. (K.M.G.) Som. Monthly Mag. (1814) II. 127. (7) Nrf. His
legs air as posteses o' marble, Gillett Sng. Sol. (i860) v. 15.
Wil. (K.M.G.) (8) n.Stf. (J.T.) n.Dev. He stands just like a
pictur', with the postesses to either side of him, Blackmore
Perlycross (1894) 40. (9) Nhp.' Brks. Gl (1852). (10) Nhp.*
(11) Mid. Grose (1790). Lon. Zounds, how you all move like so
many postisis 1 ib. Olio (1796) 105. (12) Shr.' (13) Wil. (K.M.G.)
(14) Brks.i (15, 16) se.Wor.i
II. Dial. uses. 1. sb. In comb, (i) Post and pan, (2)
— and panel, (3) — and petrel, (4) — and tan, terms
apphed to old half-timbered buildings ; (5) -bird, the
spotted fly-catcher, Muscicapa grisola ; (6) -holes, holes
dug in the ground for the insertion of gate or fencing
posts ; fig. nothing ; (7) -mi'l, a wooden mill supported on
posts; (8) -sick, bedridden.
(i) Sc. The walls were formed of upright posts tied with pans
or cross-pieces of timber; and this framework was filled up with
stones and black mortar, i. e. clay or mud. . . Specimens of the style
may still be seen in some of our rural villages (Jam. Suppl). n Cy.
Grose (1790). n.Yks. '; n.Yks.^The plaster interspaces externally
are sometimes filled in with ornamental devices, and the framing
itself, being painted black, appears as black stripes. ne.Yks.i
e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). w.Yks. Just on the top of
that wall was a post-and-pan storey as dry as snuff and as inflam-
mableaspetroleum . . . That's the sort of building Leeds was composed
of before bricks came in, which I reckon was about 1700 to 1720,'
at the earliest, for general use, Yks. Even. Post (June 3, 1899) ;
w.Yks.' n.Lin.i A deal o' Gaainsb'r Ohd Hall's not stoan nor
brick, it's poast an' pan. (2) sw.Sur. The 'panel' is formed by
twisting hazel-wands, hurdle- wise, round upright hazel-rods which
are fixed into the oaken frame. The ' panel ' is then filled up solid
withaplasterofmarly clay and chopped straw, Nevill Old Cottages
(1889 1 19. (3) Lan. A dwelling for the young couple, of clay and
wood, what is called post and petrel, Harland & .Wilkinson
Flk-Lore (1867) 263; Lan.' Postand-patril wall, a mud wall.
Chs.' Framed woodwork fixed on stone. (4) Sur. The woodmen
and their ' post and tan ' cottages have passed away, Son of Marshes
On Sur. Hills (1891) 49. (5) Ken. From its habit of perching on
a post, watching for flies, Swainson Birds (1885) 48; Science
Gossip (1882) 65; Ken.' (6) Ken.' Used in n.Ken. as a comic
word for nothing. ' What have ye got in the cart there?' ' Oh !
only a load of post-holes.' (7) n.Lin.' e.Lin. And then we'd past the
owd poast mill. Brown Lit. Laur. (1890) 78. Wil. On the rising
ground . . . stood one of those small wooden windmills known as
Post-mills, EwiNG Jan Windmill (1876J x. (8) Rxb. (Jam.) Dmf.'
The thought ofMarjorie lying post-sick up Ettrick water, Hamilton
The Mawkin (1898) 283.
2. Phr. between yon and me and the post, in confidence.
N.I.' 3. pi. A sarcastic term for thick legs. w.Yks.'
4. In mining: a pillar of coal left unhewn for the purpose
of supporting the roof of the workings ; a perpendicular
column of rock.
w.Yks. (S.J C ) ; w.Yks.' It is sometimes called a horse or a
rider, when a perpendicular block intercepts the horizontal beds
or strata.
Hence (\) post and stall, phr. a method of mining; see,
below ; (2) -coil-getter, sb., (3) Poster, sb., see below.
(i) Der. The method of post and stall, or leaving large pillars and
excavating between them, is resorted to, Marshall 7?m«ro (1814)
IV. 118. (2) w.Yks. A man who gets the coal left on the road-
side to support the roof, which, therefore, will have an open face
and also an open end. It is generally partially crushed, and easier
to get than the main body of the coal (W.H.V.) ; A miner who is
working out pillars of coal that had previously been left to support
roads or for other purposes (C.B.C.) ; Ask any collier who has
worked for the Low Moor, Bowling, or any other of the colliery
companies, what a 'post-coil-getter' is, and no doubt you will
receive some enlightenment, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 2, 1896). (3)
w.Yks. In coal-getting, the man who blasts down the roof, after
the coal has been got, and sorts out the iron stone, and ' fays ' the
muck behind him (W.H.V.).
5. A layer of stone in a quarry ; a stratum.
Slg. The stratum or post, as it is here called, of this quarry is
from 10 to 15 feet thick, Agric. Surv. 52 (Jam.). Nhb.' Applied
to any distinct, massive bed. ' Grindstone post,' the stratum from
which Newcastle grindstones are obtained. ' A number of limestone
bands, or posts, will be found at the head of Sills burn,' Miller
Geol. Surv. Otterbum. Cum. Each key is composed of a number
of layers of stone, of a different thickness, which the workmen call
' posts,' Hutchinson Hist. Cum. (1794) II. 443; A layer of living
rock separated by natural cleavage from the contiguous layers
(E.W.P.) ; To expose a post of living stone from which could be
hewn . . . apiece of rock, Cxi.veiu.ey Sculptured Crosses, 23. n.Yks.'
A mass of rock in a quarry of some considerable depth or thickness,
so as to be suitable for quarrying purposes. w.Yks. A layer of
stone between two natural beds (T.H.H.) ; The whole of the piece
of rock with the natural seams, before any quarrying is done
POST
[591]
POSY
(W.H.V.). Nhp.i The beds of stone between the gulf-joints in a
quarry; Nhp.^ Morton Nat. Hist. (1712).
Hence (i) Poster, sb. a quarryman, a hewer of rock.
w.Cum. (S.K.C.) ; (2) Posting-down, vbl. sb. trimming the
face or edge of the posts so as to leave an approximately
plumb face. w.Yks. (W.H.V.) 6. Sandstone.
N.Cy.i Nhb.l Sandstone ofa very firm, fine, compact grain. Nhb.,
Dur, Grey post, Borings (1881) II. 2. Dnr. Geol. Surv. Vert. Sect.
Sheet 43. CuTi." n.Yks. A massive bed of freestone (I.W.).
Hence (i) Post-clyers, sb.pl. nodules in a bed of sand-
stone ; (2) Posty, adj. of the nature of sandstone.
(i) Nhb.l (2) Nhb., Dur. Posty mill. Borings (1881) II. 254.
7. V. With ope : to fasten open.
Som. His mother bustled out to ' post ope ' the barton gate in
readiness for the cattle to come in, Raymond No Soul (1899) 18.
■w.Som.i Mind and post ope the door, eens he mid'n vail vast.
Zomebody 've u-paus oa'p dhu gyiJt" [a-post ope the gate], an'
all the bullicks be a-go to road. nw.Dev.i
8. To fix a gardening guide-line by sticking the short
rods at either end into the ground.
I.W. He reached his line of string, which he pulled up and
posted further on, when he dibbled a second row of holes along
its course, Gray Annesley (1889) I. 159.
9. To cut trees into a square form. w.Yks.' 10. To
lean against a wall or post, to prop, stand up ; to stick,
place, or push up. Gen. with up.
Why possed up in a row? J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 20 ;
Cor.i With a make-wise faace, possed on top of his awn ; Cor.^Theer
a stonds possed op, lookin like a vool.
POST, sA.", V.'' and adv. Sc. Nhb. Yks. ? Sur. Dev.
Also written pooast n.Yks.'^ [post, poast.] 1. sb. In
comp. (i) Post-till, a bank post-bill ; a bill of letters trans-
mitted by mail ; (2) -house, a post-office ; (3) -road, a main
road used by the mail.
(i) Sc. Premium on a Bank of England post-bill, Scott St. Ronan
(1824) XV. (2) Nhb. He'd keepit his place at the post-hoose for
mony a year, Jones N/ib. (1871) 212. n.Yks.i^^ m.Yks.' (3)
Nhb. A strong fertile clayey loam . . . reaches as far as the great
post-road, Marshall Review (1808) I. 13.
2. Phr. American post, a children's game ; see below.
Ayr. ' What kind o' games na ? ' ' Oh, hide-the-thimble — the
American Post, cards, and such like,' Johnston Kilmallie (1891)
I. 157 ; One goes outside of the room, and knocks at the door:
he is asked such questions as ' Who's there ! What with ? For
whom ? ' to which he answers, ' The postman : a letter, — so and
so,' naming some person in the room. That person goes out with
the first one, and then they both knock, and the same round of
questions and answers goes on till all in the room are in the
lobby or staircase. The question is also asked, ' What's to pay ! '
and if the answer is arf. or 3a!., that involves the payment of two
or three kisses (A.W.).
3. A postman ; also called Postie.
Sc. I said to mysel', when I saw Postie linkin' round the corner,
'There's news for us the day,' Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 3.
Sh.I. I mind when I saw ' Posty ' come, My heart began ta beat,
Stewart Tales (1892) 227. ne.Sc. Gordon Northward Ho, 94.
Abd. Postie handed me a thin envelope, Abd. Wkly. Free Press
(Mar. 16, 1901). Kcd. Grant Lays (1884) 35. Frf. The postie
had haen a letter to deliver at it, Willock 7?o5e«_y Ends (1886)
71, ed. 1889. Fif. Ther was also ther a postr that frequented
Edinbruche, Melvill Autobiog. (1610) 22, ed. 1842. Lnk. They
that gi'e least trade to the post, Shou'd get a doonricht flyting,
Thomson Musings (1881") 114. Nhb. Tam Buglehorn, the postie,
. . . when he cam' wi' the letters, Jones Nhb. (1871) 84. ? Sur.
They pore crethurs as has to moil loike we postes, Bickley
Sur. Hills (1890) I. i.
4. V. To convey, accompany.
Kcd. He couldna stand his lane. Till twa, ane on ilka side. Did
post him to his Jean, Jamie Muse (1844) 76.
5. adv. Obs. In phr. post alone, quite a\one. [Not known
to our correspondents.] Dev. (Hall.)
POST, v.^ Sc. To tread linen under foot for the
purpose of washing it, to ' wauk.' Cf. poss, v. 3.
Sc. To ' post the linen ' was to tread upon it with the bare feet
in the washing tub, a common practice among the women of the
working classes in Scotland, Mackay; In scouring woollen
clothes or coarse linen when the strength of arm and manual
friction are found insufficient, the Highland women put them in
a tub with a proper quantity of water, and then with petticoats
tucked up commenced the operation of ' posting.' When three
women are engaged, one commonly tramps in the middle and the
others tramp around her, Armstrong Gael. Diet. (1820) yib.). Abd.
They post clothes with hands as well as feet (G.W.).
POSTED, pp. Cld. (Jam.) In phr. postit wP sickness,
overpowered by sickness.
POSTING STAMP, phr. Hrt. A postage stamp.
I returns you your money in posting stamps, Geary Rur. Life
(1899) 44.
POSTMAN'S KNOCK,/./«r. Oxf. A method of sliding
on ice.
The slider moving on one foot, and tapping the ice with the
other (G.O.\
POSTMANTLE, sb. w.Som.^ [po-smasntl.] A port-
manteau.
POSTMARTYR, v. Sus. To make a post-mortem
examination.
He was shot by the Coast-guard and they postmartyred him,
Blackmore Springhaven (1887) xxxix.
POSTNET, POSTNIT, see Posnet.
POSTURE, sb. and v. Sc. Oxf Brks. Lon. I.W. Also
written poster Brks.' ; postur Oxf ; and in forms
pawstjur I.W.' ; pooster S. & Ork.' ; powster Fif.
1. sb. Position, attitude ; state.
S. & Ork.1 e.Fif. Maitters were in this powster whan the train
drew up, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) xxx.
2. V. Tostrikeanattitude,tostrutconceitedly; to swagger.
Oxf.' Jack Harrod come in an' stood posterin' about, MS. add
Brks.i To zee that ther chap poster along, thee 'ood zay a was
a Lerd ! I.W.' That fellow finely pawstjurs about.
Hence Posturing, vbl. sb. the performance of acrobatic
feats.
Lon. What is meant by posturing is the distortion of the limbs,
such as doing spUts, Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) ill. 98,
ed. 1861.
POSTY, sb. Som. Dev. Also written postfe Som. ;
and in form pausty Dev. [p6 sti.] 1. A post.
Som. (F.A.A.) Dev. A certain gate . . . with a posty on either
side of it. Bray Desc. Tamar and Tavy (1836) III. Lett. 40.
2. Comp. Pausty-legs, the robin, Erithacus rubecula.
Dev. The peasantry here have a most uncouth name for this pretty
bird ; they call it pausty-legs. . . Mr. Johnes told me it was
intended for posty-legs, or legs like a post, Bray ib. Lett. 30.
POSY, sb. and adj. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc.
Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also written posey Nhb.' w.Yks.
n.Lin.' Nhp.' Hnt. ; pozy Glo.° Suf.' ; and in forms pooasy
w.Yks.° m.Lan.' ; pooazy n.Yks.'^ ; poouzyl.W.'; puasy
Dur. ; pwosy Cum. ; pi. poises Lan. [po'zi, pos'zi.]
1. sb. A bunch of flowers ; a bouquet, nosegay.
Sc. The bank . . . was a perfect picture with wild roses ; . . you
could gather a posy there. Whitehead Daft Davie (1876) 260,
ed. 1894. Per. A posy of primroses, Ian Maclaren K. Carnegie
(1896) 257. s.Sc. Watson Bards (1859) 148. Rnf. Young
Pictures (1865) 54. Ayr. And a' to pu' a posie to my ain dear May,
Burns The Posie, st. i. Uls. Uls. Jm. Arch. (1853-1862') I. 65.
n.Cy. (J.W.) Dur. Gert big pu'asies like shafls o' stree, Eggle-
ssoss. Betty Podkin's Visit {I8^^) 11. Cum.', n.Yks.^*, m.Yks.»,
w.Yks. (E.G.), w.Yks.2 Lan. Aw show forth poises o' some sort,
Staton B. Shuttle Bowtun, i. Der.', Not.(L C.M.),Lin.(J.C.W.),
n.Lin.i sw.Lin.' The children have cropped a posy in the dyke.
Nhp. On this same bank I bound my posies up, Clare Vill. Minst.
(1821) II. 16; Nhp.i, Shr.i Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 335 ;
Glo.!2 s.Oxf. Make some posies of 'em out 'ere, Rosemary
Chiltems (1895) 57. Hnt. (T.P.F.), Suf. (.C.T.), Suf.', I.W.'
Som. He picked a posy for Sophia, Raymond Sam and Sabina
(1894) 34. w.Som.i Dev. A huge posy of willow-herb, Neill
Dimpses (1893) 14.
2. Fig. A cluster ; a small collection.
Abd. See yon children . . . Now assembled in a posy, Ogg Willie
Waly (1873) 56. Dmf. I send you this wab o' my weavin' — This
posie o' sangs, Reid Poems (1894) 44.
3. Fig. A bouquet, used in addressing any one.
n.Yks.2 ' Thoo bonny pooazy ! ' you lovely creature. Ironically,
of a nauseous looking individual.
4. Any single flower.
N.I.', Lakel.2 Cum. Well known here as a general name for
a single flower, the first by which a country child used to hear
of a flower. The use of the poets is chiefly on the side of its
being plural, but not exclusively so. ' He promised to buy
POT
[592 J
POT
me a garland of roses, He promised to buy me a garland of posies.'
A garland of varied flowers, not bunches of them (M.P.) ;
Cum.^ w.Yks. Life wodn't be worth livin' if ther* wor noa
posies i' t'world, Yks. Wkly. Post (May 29, 1897). Lan. Kay-
Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) II. 237 ; Lan.' ' What a pratty
posy tha's getten. What is it?' 'Oh, it's nobbut a woild un—
a bit o' honeysuckle 'at aw geet i' th' cloof.' ne.Lan. I want a
dry grave, wi' a posy growin' on th' top, Mather Idylls (1895) 20.
m.Lan.' Shr.' The plural form 'posies' is used for growing flowers.
' Dick . . . says theer'U be sich pretty posies, pollyantuses, and
riccaluses, . . an all sorts.' [Amer. I was weeding a flower bed. . .
He . . . called out sociably, 'Good mornin' ! Workin' out in your
posies, be ye ? ' Cent. Mag. (Mar. 1882) 766.]
5. Comp. (i) Posy-bed, (2) -garden, a flower-garden ; (3)
■knot, a flower-bed.
(i) Cum. (M.P.) (a) Not. Well, and how's your posy-garden
looking? (L.C.M.) (3) Shr.i They bin makin' the paas'n's gardtn
so nice, sich pretty posy-knots, diaments, an' rounds.
6. The garden peony, Paeonia officinalis. Wil.' 7. A
floral pattern, esp. on an article ot clothing.
Nhb. Aw pat on my blue coat, . . My jacket wi posies se fine,
Allan Tyneside Sngs. (1891) 88.
8. The scent of hay or clover.
n.Lin.' If th' raain ho'ds ther'll be nOa posey e' oor haay to year.
9. An unsavoury smell.
Ayr. The posies which cam cot from some of the jawboxes and
reeking closes in the High Street, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887)
87. n.Yks.2
10. adj. Flowery, gay with floral patterns.
Nhb. Used as an adjective to express a gay coloured article of
dress, especially flowered prints. ' Her cotton posey goon,'
Chater Tyneside Aim. (1869) 15 ; An a posie goon Aw'll buy
thee soon, Allan Tyneside Sngs. (1891) 75; Nhb.i A posey
sampler.
Hence Posey -jacket, sb. the holiday jacket of a pitman,
of curious patterns, and displaying coloured flowers.
Nhb. Maw posy jacket, a' bran new, Wilson Pitman's Pay
(1843)43; Nhb.i
POT, sb.^ and v} Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written pott Nhb. Dor.'; and in form pat Sc. [pot,
pat.] 1. sb. Obs. A wool-combing term : the comb-pot
used for heating the combs ; the number of men working
at one comb-pot; gen. in phr. a pot of one, four, &c.
w.Yks. The number was limited by the size of the room,
generally a cottage, and the size of the cam-pot. Thus there were
a ' pot o' four,' &c., seldom more than six. A man who worked
by himself formed a ' pot o' one ' (E.W.) ; There might also be a
pot o' three, two, or only one (J.T.) ; When wool was combed by
hand, the steel combs were heated in a small furnace or apparatus
called a comb-pot, and one of these to accommodate four workers
was called a ' pot o' fower.' ' An' t'fragments of a pot-o'-fower,'
Preston Yksman. (1880) 33.
Hence pot o' one, phr. a bachelor, one who lives alone ;
an eccentric person, one who differs from others.
w.Yks. He's a pot o' one (E.W.) ; Very common in the Bradford
district. ' Nah, he's a pot o' one is Johnny ; he's ways ov his awn
an' he'll du noa other,' Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 25, 1896).
2. A small still.
Abd. Wi' the foreshot o' the pot rheumatics she removed,
Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 26 ; Cause bear's so ill, fouk winna
yoke The whisky pot, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 30.
3. Obs. A tub or barrel. Wil.' 4. Earthenware ;
china. Also used aitrib.
Nhb.' A pot dolly. Them figures is made o' pot. Cum.*, Yks.
(M.P.) w.Yks. A lot Ov knives wi hannals made - pot, Tom
Treddlehoyle Thowls, 6'c. (1845) 29; Tha's goane an brokken
that pot cat an' dog, Yks. Wkly. Post (Feb. i, 1896) ; As stupid as
a pot-mule, Brighouse News (Aug. 10, 1889). Lan. Lookin-glasses
and pot dolls, Brierley Layrock (1864) iii; Tinker's heawse wi'
pot dolls on, Sngs. of Wilsons (1865) 55. Not.' s.Not. There was
a pot dog on the chimneypiece (J.P.K.). Lei.' Yo'U say a pot
man i' the windo'.
Hence Potting-clay, sb. clay used in the manufacture
of china.
Cor. There are two main branches of the trade, the ' bleaching '
and the ' potting ' : for the former only the whitest clay is available,
but for the china manufacture a yellow colour makes no difference
— of potting clay the bulk goes ... to the Staffordshire potteries,
Hammond Parish (1897) 52.
5. A vessel made of earthenware or china, cocas, of
glass ; a mug, flagon ; pi. crockery.
Cum., Wm. A tumulus was found here, . . and the less familiar
name Urn, by which the vessel was at first known, soon began to
give way in rustic speech to ' fpot ' (M.P,). n.Yks. ^d. the gallon
in pottes not sealed. Quarter Sess. Rec. (Apr. 4, 1616) in N, R.
Rec. Soc. (1884) II. 117. w.Yks. Am ban ta weS t'pots an panz.
Ar Aik nokt t'tesbl ouar an brak a lot at t'pots (J.W.). ne.Lan.'
Chs. Eh! look at the pots! who's done that? (G.H.H.) s.Not.
They sell cups and saucers and all sorts of pots (J.P.K.). n.Lin.'
A servant, having broken a glass tumbler, said : ' Please m'm, I've
brok' this here; I haate to braake a pot, but I didn't do it a'
purpose.'
6. A boy's marble composed of coarse clay. War.^
See Potty, sA.' 1. 7. The piece of broken crockery or flat
stone used in the game of ' hop-scotch.' Cum.* 8. The
last division or heading in the game of ' hop-scotch.'
Bnff.' Nhb.' To achieve it is to get ' pot,' and subsequent steps
in the game count 'one o' pot,' 'two o' pot,' and so on.
9. A measure of quantity used for fruit and vegetables ;
a basket holding a certain quantity of fruit or vegetables.
Wor. 5 pecks, MoEa-ON Cyclo. Agric. (1863) ; The pot holds
about five pecks, Marshall Review (1818) II. 366. w.Wor.'
Varying from eighty to ninety pounds. s.Wor.' Of potatoes,
plums, and pears the weight is 84 lb. ; of plums and onions, 72 lb.;
of gooseberries, 63 lb. se.Wor.' Shr.' 5 pecks Bridgnorth,
Corve Dale ; 5 pecks, sometimes 6, Ludlow. Two pots = one bag.
Hrf.2 Containing 4^ to 5 pecks. Glo. A measure of 5 pecks
(A.B.) ; Glo.' 84 lbs. of apples, 100 lbs. of pears, 90 lbs. of plums.
Hence (i) Pot-basket, (2) -hampern, sb. a hamper which
holds a ' pot.'
(i) w.Wor.' A square hamper. (2) s.Wor.', Glo. (A.B.)
10. The panniers of a pack-saddle, esp. those used for
carrying dung ; a dung-cart. See Put(t, sb}
Chs. (K.), Glo.' Wil. Davis Agric. (1813) ; WU.' A two-
wheeled cart, made to tilt up and shoot its load. Dor.' A dung-pott,
abroad-wheeled dung-cart that tips to shoot the dung. Som. The
wicker-panniers formerlyused with pack-saddles forcarrying goods.
Old people remember their use (W.F.R.). w.Som.' Small D shaped
boxes, placed bow side outwards, on either side of a pack-saddle
for carrying heavy articles, such as manure, stones, sand, &c.
Each pot has a hinged bottom, fastened by a catch, by which
means the load is discharged instantly. Called also dung-pots.
Dev.' w.Dev. Dung, sand, materials are carried in pots, or strong
coarse panniers. The bottom of each pot is a falling door, on a
strong and simple construction, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796),
Dev., Cor. Dung was commonly carried in two tubs or pots
slung across a horse's back^hence the term got transferred to a
cart when used for the same purpose, Davis Agric. (1813). Cor.'
Wooden boxes without covers, and with moveable sides, formerly
used to carry dung on horses' backs to the fields ; Cor.^
11. A stick with a hemisphere of wicker-work as a shield,
used in cudgel playing. Dor.' 12. A wicker lobster-
pot ; a wicker vessel for catching fish. Cf putt, sb.
s.Cy. A hollow vessel made of twigs with which they take fish
(Hall.). Dor. (C.W.)
13. A Straw hive for bees. Wil. (C.V.G.) 14. The
stomach, guts, entrails, the internal organs ; gen. inpl.
Dev. Oh, I be bad in my pot ! doo 'ee closeu the dooer, Reports
Provinc. {iS8g); The mawpot,//o;'a«SM65rat'a«(i777)337. nw.Dev.'
Cor. Ur be jet in ma pots weth a spaar ur a dagger, Daniel Bride
ofScio (1842) 231 ; Cor.'2
15. A kind of black-pudding. Gen. in comb. Pot and
pudding.
w.Som.' Sausages made of pig's blood and fat. Dev. The pot is
a hogs black pudding made with the bloud and grits unground
stuff 'd into pigs gutts or chitterlings. . . The pudding is more of the
sausage kind, and has no bloud in it. But minced pork, and some-
times raisins and currants, and spice to season it, and many other
rich materials, stuff'd commonly into larger gutts, Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 337 ; Dev.' A thorra paced huzzy, and wid'n tern her back
to any boddy for making pots and puddings and standing pies, 6.
16. A disease in rabbits. Lei.' Cf. podge, 56.' 4.
17. Comb. (i)Potal(lor-alley, a boy's marble, composed
of coarse clay ; (2) -apples, fine, well-flavoured apples,
distinguished from those used for cider; (3) -bainey,
tripe minced and seasoned; (4) -ball, {a) a dumpling;
gen. made of yeast dough ; (b) a nickname given to the
inhabitants of Rossendale ; (5) -bank, a pottery term ;
POT
[5931
POT
see below ; (6) -barley, barley used for domestic con-
sumption ; (7) -belly, a disease among animals, consisting
of an expansion of the intestines; (8) -blossom, a spot or
blotch upon the face, resulting from intemperance ; (9)
-boiler, a housekeeper ; (lo) -boiling day, a day on which
broth is made in the kale-pot ; (11) -brod, a pot-lid or
cover ; (12) -brose, a dish consisting of milk and oatmeal ;
(13) -butter, butter put away during the summer in
earthenware jars for use in the winter ; (14) -cake, a
cake baked in an iron pot ; (15) -cart, the cart or van of
an itinerant seller of earthenware; (16) -checks, small
pieces of broken earthenware ; a game played with such
pieces ; (17) -chip, a potsherd, a piece of broken earthen-
ware ; (18) -clep, a pot-hook ; (19) -crate, a large coarse
basket .for carrying crockery ; (20) -crocker, a boy em-
ployed in a large garden to learn gardening ; (21) -crook,
-crake, or -creeak, {a) a pot-hook ; (6) Jig. in writing : a
pot-hook ; (22) -day, see (10) ; (23) -dinner, see below ;
(24) -donnock, see (i) ;. (25) -dung, farm-yard dung ; (26)
-dyed, dyed in a pot ; (27) -fruit, eating fruit, distinguished
from the rougher sort used for cider, &c. ; (28) -gronan,
soft granite-like ground in which it is easy to drive an
adit ; (29) -ground, loose ground ; (30) -gun, a small kind
of gun used for firing salutes ; (31) -gutted, stout, cor-
pulent; (32)-hangel, (33) -hanger, see {18); (34) -head,
(a) the ' caaing-whale,' Delphinus deductor ; {b) a block-
lead, a stupid person ; (35) -hole, the place for the ashes
under the ' set-pot ' or boiler ; (36) -hook, in phr. pol-Aooks
and ladles, the letters p and q ; (37) -jon(nock, see (i) ;
(38) -keealing, in phr. to tend to the pot-keealing, to see that
the pot does not boil over ; (39) -kelp or -kilp, (a) see (18) ;
(b) the movable handle by which a pot or bucket is hung ;
(40) -kited, see (31) ; (41) -knur, (a) see (1) ; (6) a round
ball of clay used in the game of ' knur and spell ' ; see
Potty, sb} ; (42) -ladle, a tadpole ; (43) -landlord, {a) a
person appointed by a landlord to collect rents and see
to the repairs of the property ; (b) a tenant who sub-lets
a house or other property ; (44) -lid, (a) a curling term :
a stone placed on the tee ; (b) a dish of stewed rabbit ;
(c) a geological term ; see below ; (45) -link, see (18) ;
(46) -Uquor, the water in which food has been boiled ;
(47) -lug, (a) the handle of a jug, the loop or hole on each
side of an iron pot to which the movable handle is attached ;
(6) a bar in the chimney on which the ' cotterel ' hangs to
which a pot or kettle is fastened ; cf. lug, sb? 3 ; (48)
-maker, the man employed to mix and tread the clay
and make the crucibles in which steel is melted ; (49)
-man, a dealer in earthenware ; (50) -marjoram, the
marjoram. Origanum vtdgare; (51) -marvil, see (i) ; (52)
-metal, cast iron ; (53) -moulds, small, specially-cast blocks
of plaster-of-P_aris used to whiten the hearthstone ; see
Pottery-moul(d ; (54) -noddle, see (42) ; (55) -on day, see
(10) ; (56) -pie, {a) beef cut up into cubes, encased in dough
and boiled in a pot ; (b) a boys' vaulting game ; see below ;
(57) -piece, obs., a mortar ; (58) -posy, vegetables used to
flavour soup ; (59) -quoit, see (i) ; (60) -rack, [a) a plate-
rack, a rack for holding pots, crockery, &c. ; {b) see (18) ;
(61) -rail, see {60, a) ; (62) -scar, -scard, or Potsker, (63)
•sear [? misprint for -scar], see (17) ; (64) -set or -setten,
(a) of milk, &c. : burnt, adhering to the sides of the
saucepan ; (b) engrimed with dirt ; (65) -share, see (17) ;
(66) -shelf, a range of shelves fixed against a wall for
■holding clean pots on ; (67) -shkirt, a piece of a broken
kettle used for holding oil ; (68) -shop, a crockery shop ;
(69) -side, the masonry in which a copper is set ; (70)
-sitten, (a) see (64, a) ; (6) see (64, b) ; (71) -spoon, see
(42); (72) -stick, a 'spurtle'; a stick for stirring broth,
porridge, &c. ; (73) -stuff, (a) vegetables for cooking ; (6)
plants grown in pots ; (74) -wabbler, («) see (9) ; {b) a
scullion ; (75) -walliner, see (74, b) ; (76) -walloper, a term
of contempt; a scullion; one who is fond of drinking;
(77) -walloppin, a contemptuous epithet ; (78) -water,
water used for domestic purposes ; (79) Pots-and-kettles,
the fruit of the box-tree, Buxus sempervirens.
(i) e.Yks.^ Made of pottery, and painted in variegated colours.
VOL. IV.
n.Lin.^ Nhp.i Variegated marbles. War.* The imitations made
of painted clay in the potteries are called pot-alleys (s.v. Alley).
(2) Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). (3) Nhb.' This used to be sold in
the streets by measure, and the familiar cry of the street vendor
was: ' Fine black puddins, hinney; nicepot-bainey.' (4, a) Lan.
Potbos ar scant, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) i ; Oi mun ha'
moor milk, an' moor male, an potboes, Kay-Shuttleworth
Scarsdale (i860) I. 149; Lan.i, e.Lan.i, Chs.^, s.Chs.i War.*
Usually eaten with treacle. Shr.i A piece of dough about the size
of an egg is thrown into a pot of boiling water, and boiled till it
rises to the surface, when it is taken out and served with hot
treacle, (i) e.Lan.^ (5) Stf. Countless of generations worked at
the ' -pothan^,' Sat. Review (1888) LXVI. 11, col. i. (6) Nhb. Great
quantities are made into pot or shelled-barley, Marshall Review
(1808)1.77. (7)Nhp.2 (8)n.Yks.i24 (9) e.An. (Hall.), Nrf., Suf.
(E.G. P.) (10) Cum.i Commonly Sunday in country places. (11)
Frf. (J.B.) e.Fif. Dinna ye be liftin' the pat-brod an' glowerin' into
the pat to spy oot ferlies, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxviii. (12)
Bnff.i Made by dashing compressed handfuls of meal into boiling
milk, and boiling the mixture for a few minutes. (13) w.Som.' In
order to keep it, larger quantities of salt are needed. (14) Shr.*-
A cake of dough. ' 'Er's messed all the bit o' laisin' away i' pot-
cakes, instid o' yeatin' the oven." Sur. A cake baked in a large iron
saucepan, N. & Q. (1869) 4th S. iii. 505. (15) w.Yks. (J.W.),
n.Lin.i (16) w.Yks. Played with small pieces of pots, some of
which lay on the floor whilst one is pitched up, and one or more
picked up and retained in the hand and the one tossed up caught.
' Let's hev a gam at pot-checks ' (B.K.) ; Small earthenware cubes,
triangles, &c., used in the girls' game of ' knuckle-bones' (H.L.).
(17) Cmb.' Here's a fine bit of pot-chip to play at hop-scotch with.
(18) Gall. Upon Sabbath . . . the crook and pot-cleps were taken
away, and were a wanting four days, Telfair True Relation (1695)-
in Nicholson Hist. Tales (1843) 11. N.Cy.i*, Nhb.i n.Yks.2
The original pot-hooks which hung down the chimney and hooked
to the rim-holes at the pot-sides, when it had not the bowed handle
across it by which it is now suspended. Nhp.* (19) w.Yks. Tom,
. . . seated in a pot-crate wethaght hat, Pogmoor Olm. (1847) 35, in
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 25, 1896) ; Lookin' for all t'wurld az if
thay wor set in a pot-crate, reedin' an' chewin' rostad apples an'
shugar, ib. 44. ne.Lan.^ (20) Chs.' One of his frequent occupa-
tions is to break up ' crocks ' or potsherds with which the flower-
pots are drained, hence the name. (21,0) n.Yks.*, e. Yks.', w.Yks.
(J.W. ) Dev. E'en let'n suffer vor a rogue, A potcrook let'n veel,
Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) IV. 194. {U) Cor.* (2a) Nhb.' On
pot-days, of which Sunday is always one, flesh, broth, dumplings,
and a profusion of vegetables form a kind of family feast, Mac-
kenzie Hist. Nhb. (1825) I. 201. Nrf. (Hall.) (23) Nhp. A dinner
cooked in one vessel, as for example beef boiled in a large pot
into which, at a later stage of the cooking, different kinds of vege-
tables and dumplings can be placed and cooked, and the whole
served on one dish. ' It is a cold day, we will have a pot-dinner'
(E.S.). (24) w.Yks. The commonest kind, . . made of baked clay,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 25, 1896) ; (J.W.) (25) Brks. It would
seem to be used at present in contradistinction to sheep's dung,
Marshall Review (1817) V. 55 ; Grose (1790) ; Gl. ( 1852) ; Brks.l
Wil. South Wiltshire farmers have no great quantity of yard or
pot dung, Davis Gen. View Agric. (181 1) vii ; Wil.' (26) Ayr. He
had on a pair o' dark-blue pat-dyed . . . worsted stockings, Galt
Sir A. Wylie (1822) x. (27) w.Wor.i, s.Wor.>, se.Wor.', Hrf.2,
Glo.i (28) Cor.2 (29) Cor. The latter lost his life ... by a
quantity of loose ground (called by miners potground), Tregellas
Tales (1868) 138 ; Cor.2 A miner's term. (30) Nrf. Pot-guns were
short cylinders set perpendicularly in a frame ' flat-candlestick '-
wise, four or six in a row ; and were fired by a train of powder
running from touch-hole to touch-hole, as a part of the entertain-
ment ... at the public grounds at Norwich, some twenty years
ago, N. (5r= Q. (1853) ist S. vii. 191 ; In the parish of Halvergate,
a train of seventeen pot-guns is kept at the blacksmith's shop. . .
Each pot-gun .. . is set in a separate block ofwood, and not several
in a frame together. By touching the touch-holes of each pot-gun
successively with a bar of red-hot iron and with the aid of two
double-barrel guns, a royal salute is fired at every wedding or
festive occasion in Halvergate, ib. 319. (31) n.Yks. It macks them
pot-gutted (I.W.). (32) n Cy. (Hall.), Wil.' (33) Sus.l (34. a)
Sh.I. The whales, which were found to number 108, are of the
usual ' caaing' species, or ' pot-heads,' Sh. News (July 30, 1898).
(b) w.Yks. What's up, ye potheead, nab ? Yksman. (Apr. 21, 1887)
235, col. I ; LeedsMerc. Suppl. (Apr. 25, 1896). (35) w.Yks. Binns
Vill. to Town (1882) 69. (36) e.Lan.' (37) w.Yks. Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Apr. as, 1896). (38) n.Yks.* 'Tend te t'pot-keealing.'
Done by checking the blaze beneath it, or by adding to its contents
4G
POT
[594]
POT
a small portion now and then of cold water. (39, a) N.Cy.' (s.v.
Kelps), Nhb.i n.Yks. Brockett G/. (1846) (s.v. Clips) ; n.Yks.2
(A) n.Yks.i e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788). w.Yks.i,
sw.Lln.i (40) n.Yks.2 (41, a) w.Yks.^^ White glazed marbles.
(6) w.Yks. [At Rotherham] the knur ... is a small round ball,
made of hickory for match-players, but for the ordinary play of the
lads made of clay, and covered with bright white glaze and called
'pot-knurs,' N.tfQ. (1868) 4th S. i. 325. (42) Nhp.i, e.An.'^,
Nrf. (E.M.) (43, a) w.Yks.s (4) w.Yks. (F.K.) (44, a) Se. A
rare patlid, I fear your play is just owre guid, Ca!ed. Curling Club
Ann. (1893-94) 114- Frf. As it ueared the tee it curled grandly
in, makin' a clean pat-lid, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 76, ed.
1889. Ayr. Johnston Kilmallie (1891) II. 109. Lnk. Watson
Poems (1853) 63. Lth. His stone landed on the Tees. 'A pat-
lid,' said Douce Davie, Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 271. {b)
w.Wor.i (c) Nhp. The name Pot-lids is used for certain inferior
oolite limestone masses which occur in the Lincolnshire oolite,
not the Northampton sand (C.A M.). (45)Nhp.i (46) Oxf.' It is
transferred to the hog-tub to be used as food for pigs. ' Poour
foa'ksiz pot lik'uur au'lus maikzdhu best wosh, kau'z dhaibwuuylz
aul dhaa-r vituls tugedh-uur in wunpot.' Brks.l w.Som.' Some-
times called green-liquor, when cabbage or other green vegetables
have been boiled in it. (47, a) n.Yks.i The loop on the margin of
the porridge-pot, one at either end of a diameter, in which the end
of the bow, or handle, is made fast ; n.Yks.2* (6) Hmp. (J.R.W.i,
Hmp.l (48) s.Yks. (W.S.) (49) w.Yks. (J.W.), n.Lln.> (50) w.Yks.=
Lan.i Used to season broth. n.Lin.' (51) Chs.' The commonest
kind of boys' marbles made of unglazed earthenware. (52) Sc.
(A.W.), Cai.i, Nhb.i Cum. (M.P.) ; ' Pot metal brig,' a bridge on the
high road between Carlisle and Glasgow over the Esk river — so
called because it was made wholly of cast iron (E.W.P.) ; Cum.*
<53) w.Yks. (H.L.) (54) Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes{iBS.^)
221 ; Lin."- (55) e.Yks.i A farm-house term, for days occurring
generally three times a week, when the big kale-pot is put on the
fire, and a dinner of boiled beef or mutton and dumplings supplied,
MS. add. (T.H.) (56, a) N.Cy.' Yesterday morning four hundred
pot pies and as many loaves of bread were distributed to poor
people, Newc. Dy. Jm. (Feb. 18, 1895) 5, col. 6. Nhb.i Not. I
tould her to stew it under a pot-pie, Bartram People of Clofton
(1897) 52. (A) e.Dur.i All caps being placed on a lad's back, the
rest vault over him, ' leap-frog ' fashion, and the one who displaces
a cap becomes vaulting-horse in his turn. (57) Sc. Those peeces
of cannon that are farthest heard, are called pot-peeces or mortiers,
MtJNRO Exped. (1637) II- 214 (Jam.). Abd. Granadoes, pot pieces,
and others, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 188. (58) w.Yks. Ther
baan aght o' date is pot-posys. Aw con remember fotchin' penny
pot posys fer mi mam when aw wor a lad ; . . ther wor marjram,
thyme, sage, a bit o' sallery, an' a carrit an' turnop, Yks. IVkly.
Post (May 29, 1897). m.Lan.' (59) e.Dur.' A large white marble
made of earthenware. (60, a) Der. She moved to the pot-rack,
GiLCHRiSTPraWa«rf/3^g-o;(i897) III. (A) Nhp.i (61) Lan. Tried
to save himself by making a desperate clutch at the pot-rail, when
down it came with a run, Westall Old Factory (1885) ii ; (S.W.)
(62) n.Cy. HOLLOWAY; N.Cy.=, n.Yks.12 w.Yks. (C.W.D.) ;
Hlfx. Courier (June 19, 1897) ; w.Yks.'^, n.Lan.', ne.Lan.l (63)
w.Yks.2 (,64, a) w.Yiis. Sheffield Indep.iI8^4)■,{].W.) Lei.iWhen
milk is pot-set it is usual to say that ' the bishop has had his paw
{or set his foot) in it.' (i) Not.^ Of a vessel on which dirt has become
dry and hard. n.Lin. (,E.P.) (65)ne.Lan.i (66) Lan. (S.W.) (67)
Sh.I. Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 34. (68) Yks. She keeaps a potshop,
Fetherston T. Goorkrodger (1870) 9. w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. I
bought the basin at a pot-shop (J.P.K.). n.Lia.' (69) w.Yks.
T'potside looks grand, check'd red an' white, Senior Smithy
Rhymes (1882) 38 ; w.Yks.^ The brickwork of the potside is usually
painted of a bright red colour, and the mortar white, so that it
appears to be checked in red and white. (70, a) uCy. Grose
(1790). n.Yks.i24^ ne.Yks.i {b) w.Yks.^ Applied to a dirty,
unwashed person. 'A pot-sitten fellow'; w.Yks." nw.Der.' Tha
'as a pot-sitten neck. (71) Nrf. (P.H.E.) (7a) Gall. (W.G.)
(73, a) Edb. A wee bit yardy mete out square, Wi' a wheen pat-
stuffs plantit there, Learmont Poems (i^gi) 183. (6) Gall.
(A.W.) (74, «) Nhp.i (.A) Chs. Chs. N. if Q. (1882) I. 229. (75)
tb. (76) Don. Undher-bred lot of scullions an' pot-wallopers, ye !
Cent. Mag, (Nov. 1899) 45. Wxf. You potwallopers ! Kennedy
Banks Boro (1867) 336. w.Yks. T'teetotalers an pot-wallopers e
Pogmoor this last year formed a sasiety ta keep public hahses
oppen, Pogmoor Olm. (1891) 31. Laa Never thee mind that pint
pot-walloper. Wood Hum. Sketches, 4. Chs. Chs. N. if Q. (1882)
I. 225. (77) w.Ir. Bad cess to you, you potwalloppin' varmint,
Lover Leg. (1848) 195. (78) w.Som.' Used for drinking and
booking, as distinguished from slop-water. ' We be a-fo'ced to
vatch every drap o' pot-water down to copse.' w.Dev. Marshall
Rur. Econ. {iqg6). Cor.' Not drinking water. (79) Wil.i
18. Phr. (i) all to (the) pot, (2) away to pot, ruined,
destroyed, spoilt ; (3) /o/ or //rf, heads or tails ; {4) — sure,
quite certain ; (5) to boil the pot, (a) to make broth by
boihng a joint of meat in the pot ; (b) Jig. to furnish a
livelihood or means of subsistence ; (6) to hold the pot
boiline, to keep things going, to keep up the sport ; (7) to
keep the pot boiling, to live luxuriously ; (8) to make the pot
to boil, see (5, b) ; (9) to put any one's pot on, to make any
one angry; [lo) to send to pot, to ruin, destroy; (ii) pots
or parkins, much or little, valuables or trifles.
(i) Elg. Yer Lossie Banks are a' to pot, Tester Pocws (1865) 158.
Gall. The brod maun be lifted with the screw the night ony way,
or it will be a' to the pot or morning, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
158, ed. 1876. (2) Lnk. There's a haill saxpince worth o' hair-line
and gut, forbye the hook, awa' to pot at a whup 1 Gordon Pyotshaw
(1885) 116. (3) w.Yks.^ When boys are choosing sides in a game
a cap is thrown up by one, who cries ' pot or lid ? ' The crown of
the hat is the Hd, and the interior the pot. (4) Der.^ (5, a) Lakel.2
Wm. Mi mudder's boilin' t'pot to-day (B.K.). (i) Gall. It's an
honest business. . . Aye, it boils the pot, Crockett Kit Kennedy
(1899) 118. (.6) ne.Sc. O, dear sisters, pray on. Haud the pottie
bilin', Green Gordonhaven (1887) 78. Abd. (Jam.) (7) Bnff.'
(8) Wgt. Labour mak's the pot tae boil. Eraser Poems (1885") 80.
(9) Wil.' I zes ' Baa ! ' agean. An' that put her pot on, bless'ee !
at a terrible rate, an' she zes to I, ' Who be you ' — she zes, — ' to
zaay Baa ! to I ? ' 215. (10) Sc. To send in a trice . . . The old
sacrilegious villain to pot, Vedder Poems (1842) 5. (11) w.Yks.
Noa chap gets his livin honestly 'at stalls, noa matter whether he
stalls ' pots or parkins,' Hartley Ditt. (c. 1873) 2nd S. 138.
19. A game.; see laelow; also m pi.
Nhb. Throwing a ball against a wall, letting it bounce arid
catching it, accompanied by the following movements : — i. Simply
three times each. 2. Throw, twist hands, and catch. 3. Clap
hands in front, behind, in front. 4. Turn round. 5. Beat down
ball on ground three times and catch. 6. Again on ground and
catch (once) at end of first 'pot' and twice for second 'pot,'
Gomme Games (1898) II. 65.
20. V. To stew in a pot. Sc. (Jam.) 21. To hive a
swarm of bees.
Hmp. My missus could pot 'em just as well as I (G.E.D.). Dor.
It is considered very unlucky to ' pot ' a swarm of bees after night-
fall, w.Gasette (Feb. 15, 1889') 7, col. i.
POT, 56.2 and v.'^ Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Lin. [pot.]
1. sb. A deep hole or cavity, esp. in the bed of a river,
a pool ; a moss-hole from which peats have been dug.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) n.Sc. Down 1 fell in the black waters of the
Hag's Pot, Gordon Carglen (1891) 95. BnfF. A person of some
note in the parish is said to have pushed back into the pot the last
witch who was drowned here, ib. Chron. Keith (1880) 53. Abd,
Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 190. Kcd. She sank into the
muckle pot, Aneth the kelpie's stane, Grant Lays (1884) 12. Frf.
The Terrible Well (or Pot of Auchmithie), Maidment Spoitiswoode
Miscell. (1844-5) I- 345- Edb. Mayhap she'll get flang crossways
intil a pot o' water, Beatty Secretar (1897) 248. Peb. Into the
hole bumbaz'd he squash'd. Like stane into a pot, Lintoun Green
(1685) 69, ed. 1817. Lakel.i The deep circular holes generally
filled with water, from which peats have been dug upon the
mosses, are called peat pots. Also applied to the deep circular
holes which the action of a river forms amongst the rocks in the
Duddon. Cum. N. & Q. (1873) 4th S. xii. 90 ; Cum.", Wm. (M.P.),
n.Lin.i
2. A fissure in limestone of great depth.
n.Yks. Grackpot, Soyden Pot (R.H.H.). nw.Yks. (J.W.)
3. Camp, (i) Pot-hole, [a) a circular hole worn in the
bed of a river or in the earth ; {b) in mining: the hole
left by the fail of the conical mass of stone forming the
bottom of a fossil tree-stem; the stone itself; (2) -peat,
the peat cut from the bottom of the peat-bank ; (3) -stone,
cone-shaped masses of stone found in the roofs of mines.
(i, a) Nhb.i Circular holes in a rocky stream bed, worn out by
the swirl and scour of pebbles or gravel driven violently round and
round in a depression of the rocks during floods ; also the sinking
lines on limestone hills. ' Swally-hole ' is the common name for
the circular depression found along the line of outcrop of a lime-
stone stratum. Lakel.^ Phases whar t'grund's glen way an' left a
roond hollow spot. Wm. Found in fields and on the moors in
various parts of the county — probably the result of some under-
POT
[595]
POTATO
ground stream of water. ' We fand sum grand ferns in a pot-whol
on Worton Scar' (B.K."). (b) w.Yks. These stones are very
dangerous because of falling out unexpectedly (S.J.C.). ^Reports
Mines.'] (2) Bnff.i (3) Nhb.i
4. Phr. pot and gallows, obs., the privilege of ' pit and
gallows ' (q-v.). Abd. (Jam.) 5. v. To plant or set in a pit.
Sc. As in potting march stones ; also to pit and cover as in
potting potatoes in order to preserve them during winter (Jam.
Suppl.).
[1. He gert men mony pottis ma Of a fut braid round,
and all tha Var deip vp till ane manis kne, Barbour
Bruce (1375) xi. 364-6.]
POT, v.^ Sc. (Jam.) [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] To trample soft or wet soil as cattle do. Cf.
poach, 3,
POT, see Pote, Put, v}
POTACK, s6. Obs. Yks. A beggarly person. w.Yks.
HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781).
POTATION, sb. Lan. Der. 1. An annual feast given
to lead-smelters. Der.^ 2. Com/i. Potation-penny, 06s.,
money formerly paid to the master by the scholars of
Manchester Grammar School. Cf. drinking, 4.
Lan. Item, that every schoolmaster . . . shall teach freely . . .
without any money or rewards taken therefore, as Cock-penny,
Victor-penny, Potation-penny, or any other whatsoever it be, In-
denture(j$z^) in Carlisle GrammarSchools ( 1818) 1. 677, in JV. tr" Q.
(i8go) 7th S. ix. 90; Potation penny.-- Paid by the scholars or
their friends to the master to enable him to give an entertainment
at some season of the year (usually in Lent) to the scholars on
quitting school, Wharton Hist. Manch. Gram. School (1828) 25, in
N. &- Q. ib.
POTATO, sb. Var. dial, forms and_uses in Sc. Irel.
Eng. and Amer. [psteta, patet ; pre'ti, preta ; te'ta,
tea'ta.] I. Dial, forms: (i) Bidaade, (2) Partatow, (3)
Patawtie, (4) Pertaayter, (5) Pertater, (6) Pertatie, (7)
Piatee, (8) Pitata, (9) Pitatey, (10) Pitatie, (11) Pitattie,
(12) Pitaty, (13) Pitawta, (14) Pittattie, (15) Pittayatee,
(16) Peltate, (17) Poltatie, (18) Porate, (19) Porrito, (20)
Potaaty, (21) Potate, (22) Potaty, (23) Potito, (24)
Pottato, (25) Pottytu, (26) Prae, (27) Praitay, (28)
Praitie, (29) Prata, (30) Pratee, (31) Pratey, (32) Pratie,
(33) Prate, (34) Prawta, (35) Preaty, (36) Pritta, (37)
Pueata, (38) Puttate, (39) Pyatie, (40) Taaty, (41)
Taayter, (42) Tatar, (43) Tatie, (44) Tato(e, {45) Tatur,
(46) Taty.
(i) Wxf.i Obs. (2) Rnf. A false measure fibr his partatows
selling, Hector /«rf!c. Rec. (1876) 145. (3") GaU. He disna ken a
turnip frae a patawtie, Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 226. (4)
Brks.i (5) Ken. For cookin' a pertater, Cornh. Mag. (Jan. 1894)
63. Cor. Seed pertaters, Hammond Parish (1897) 358. [Amer.
Cent. Mag. (Jan. 1901) 444.] (6) Siir. I'll dish up the pertaties in
a minute, Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) I. i. Dev. Growin' pertaties,
Barikg-Gould Furze Bloom (1899) 79. (7") Ir. He ate the seed-
piatees, Blackburne Stories, 13. (8) Sc. (Jam.) (9) n.Ir. Lays
and Leg. (1884) 66. (10) Gall. Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 108.
(11) Lnk. Skinso' pitatties, Nicholson Kilwiiddie {iSgs) 157. (12)
Sc. (Jam.) Ir. A good hot pitaty's tastier any day, Barlow
Idylls (1892) ii. (13) Abd. Fees yer pot o' pitawtas, Macdonald
Sir Gibbie (1879) ^•^'v^- Gall. Like pitawta dreels, Crockett Sun-
bonnet (1895) 35. Wgt. Fraser Wigtown (1877) 376. (14) Sc.
Tweeddale iWo/f (1896) 219. (15) w.Ir. Lover Leg. (1848) 1. 194.
(16) Cor.' (17) Cor. Fish, poltaties, and straungers, J. Trenoodle
Sfiec. Dial. (1846) 20. (18) m.Yks. ' w.Yks. Peeling sum porates,
Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884) 121. (19) Lan. Theau mun mak'
a porrito-pie for th' dinner, Brierley Red Wind. (1868) xii.
e.Lan.i (20) S. & Ork.i (21) m.Yks.', w.Yks.^ Lan. Pill th'
potates. Axon Flk. Sng. (1870) 56. (22) w.Yks. He thowt he'd
try his hand at a potaty pie, Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884) 34.
(23) Lan. Amos o' Copper-nob's an' his potitos, Waugh Snowed-
tip, iii. (24) Lan. Brierley Layrock (1864) x. (25) Lan. Meyte
un pottytus, Ormerod Felley fro Rachde (1864) i. (26) Ir. English-
men feeding on roast-beef, .. or Irishmen on 'wetuns' and 'praes,'
Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) II. 288. (27) N.I.' (28) Don. Cent.
Mag. (Feb. 1900) 603. (29) Chs.i (30) Myo. There's no better
than the apple pratees, Barrington Sketches (1830) III. xvi.
(31) n.Ir. As saft as a pratey in June, Lays and Leg. (1884) 46.
(3a) Ir. All the praties were sthruck wid the blight, Barlow 5og--
land (1892) 19, ed. 1893. Lan. Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale
(1860)1.85. (33) m.Lan.i, Chs.i (34) Wgt. Twa bows o' rotten
prawtas, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 364. (35) Ir. (W.W.S.) (36)
n.Ir. Twa or three prittas, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 13. (37)
Tip. A bit of a biled pueata, Kickham Knocknagow, 54. (38)
w.Yks. We've a load o' puttates, Hartley Ditt. (c. 1873) 2nd S.
II ; Yks. Wkly. Post (May 29, 1897). (39) Wxf. Wouldn't I make
these pyaties look as big as I could, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867)
27. (40) Cld. (Jam.) (41) Brks.i (42) Chs.i Shr.i Tai-tu'z,
Shrewsbury ; Pulverbatch. Ti'ae'tu'z, Clun. Chaat'u'z, Bridg-
north. Tifuz, Ellesmere. s.Oxf. 'Twas time as the taters was
lifted, Rosemary Chiltems (1895) 211. Dor. Ye be goin' to plant
yer taters, Cornh. Mag. (Sept. 1900) 308. w.Som.' Tae'uteez,
tae'udeez, tae-ureez, taiteez, (taeteez, Hill country, Dulverton to
Porlock). (43) Sc. (Jam.) (44) se.Sc. 'Tatoes travel slowly down
The throat, Donaldson Poems (1809) 19. Lnk. Ewing Poems
(1892) 13. Lth. A 'tatoe hoe, Thomson Poems (1819) 36. (45)
w.Som.i Taeuturz. Cor. Last week I was a-diggin' up my 'taturs,
Pearse D. Quorm (1877) 100. (46) Sc. (Jam.), Nhb."-
II. Dial, meanings. 1. In camp, (i) Potato-apple, the
seed-vessel of the potato ; (2) -beetle, a potato-masher ;
(3) -bing, a potato-heap covered over for the winter ; (4)
-bodger, a dibble or instrument used to set seed potatoes;
(5) -boggle or -bogle, a scarecrow ; (6) -box, the mouth ;
(7) -bread, bread or scones made with potatoes and flour ;
(8) -cake, a small cake made with potatoes and flour ; (9)
•clods, tough sods cut from a peat-bog, used for covering
potato and turnip heaps to keep off the frost ; (10) corn,
a particular kind of oats; (11) -creel, a basket for carrying
potatoes ; (12} -fritter, see (8) ; (13) -garth, an enclosure
m which potatoes are grown ; (14) -grave, a hole in the
ground in which potatoes are preserved during the winter ;
(15) -gun, a boy's plaything ; see below ; (16) -haulms,
the tops of potatoes ; (17) -kieve, a tub in which potatoes
are kept covered with earth ; (18) -muild, a field on which
a crop of potatoes has been grown and considered suffi-
ciently rich to give a crop of oats without manure ; (19)
-oat, see (10) ; (20) -oaten, a coarse kind of bread made
of potatoes and oatmeal ; (21) -pie, (a) see (3) ; {b) a
pie made with slices of potato ; (22) -pit, see (3) ; (23)
-pot, a joint of meat baked in the oven on the top of a
dish of potatoes ; (24) -setSj small potatoes, or large
potatoes containing eyes, set in the ground ; (25) -sheigh
or -sheuch, a potato-drill or furrow ; (26) -stack, see (3) ;
(27) -stone, geode from the junction of New Red marl and
carboniferous limestone; (28) -vine, the potato-plant, that
part which is above the ground.
(i) War.s (2) Ayr. A potatoe-beetle is not to be had, Galt
Legatees (1820) viii. (3) Rnf. Potatoe-bings, in beautiful array,
Contain the hopes o' mony a future day, Finlayson /fAji'mei (1815)
25. Ayr. Potatoe-bings are snugged up frae skaith, Burns Brigs of
Ayr (1787) 1. 27. (4) War.2 A cross handled implement of wood,
pointed and shod with iron, for making holes in the earth into
which the seed potatoes are set, (5) Sc. To be hung up between
heaven and earth like an auld potato-bogle, Scott Rob Roy (1817)
xxxi. Cld.(jAM.),N,Cy.',n.Yks.(I.W.) (6) Lnk. Tingle the ivories in
her potato-box, Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 120. (7) Abd. What
did please maist ilka guest. Potatoes-bread, Shirkefs Po««s (1790)
210. n.Ir. A hale lot o' soda an' pritta-breid, Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 18. (8) Ir. The grand little pitaty-cake I had for him.
Barlow Martin's Company (1896) 57. Dwn. Oat-cake, potato
cake, pancakes, Lyttle Betsy Gray (1894) 22. Chs.i A tea cake
made of mashed potatoes and flour in equal parts, buttered, and
eaten hot. There is another kind called ' grathert tater-cake '
[grated potato cake], which is thus made : The raw potatoes are
grated on a large grater and are mixed with flour, occasionally
currants, and milk to the consistence of batter. The batter is
poured on a backstone and baked over the fire. (9) Chs.i (10)
Gall. The other kind [of oats] termed ' potatoe corn,' where two
grains always hang together, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 141, ed.
1876. (ii)Ir. He brought her the full of the pitaty-creel. Barlow
Lisconnel {iSg5) 109. (12) e.Suf. (F.H.) (13) m.Yks.i (s.v. Fold-
garth). (14) Lin. Z,m. iV. £?■ 0. (Jan. 1892) 12. (15) Dur.' Formed
of a quill open at each end, and a ramrod. A potato, cut into thin
slices and forced through the quill, forms the charge. (16) Ir. A
cart-load of pratie-haulms,BARLOw/rfv//s(i892)254. (17) Cor.i (s.v.
Keeve). (i8)S. &Ork.i (19) Nhb. The potatoe-oat, a truly acci-
dental variety, being of later discovery, Marshall Review (1808)
I. 78. Bdf. The potatoe-oats are esteemed the most proper for
good land, Batchelor Agric. (1813) 395. (20) N.I.i As coarse as
403
POTCH
[596]
POTHER
praity-oaten. (21, a) N.Cy.^ The mound of earth, mixed with
straw, in which farmers store their potatoes for winter use.
n.Yks. Conical-shaped store-places for potatoes, Atkinson Moorl.
Parish (i8gi) 196. w.Yks.i, n.Lin.i Ess. She found the parson
making a potatoe pie for the winter, Baring-Gould Mehalah
(1885) 151. (i) n.Lin.' The main ingredient is sUces of potatoe,
with only a very little meat therein, for the purpose of giving it
flavour. (22) Sc. (Jam., s.v. Pit). Cai.i A potatoe pit is not an
excavation. It is usually a heap surrounded by a shallow trench.
Gall. Like fower pitatie-pits weel covered, Crockett Kit Kennedy
(1899) 108. n.Ir. Meal-arks, an' pitatey-pits — fifty at laste, Lays
and Leg. (1884) 66. N.Cy.i (23) Nhb.i A favourite dish. (24)
War.2 (25) Don. Both of them were digging potato-sheighs, for
shovelling. Harper's Mag. (Oct. 1900) 794 ; The end of a praitie
sheuch. Cent. Mag. (Feb. igoo) 603. (26) Hrf.'' (27) Mon. Lined
with crystals of quartz, and containing acicular crystals of rutile,
Ramsay Rock Spec. (1862) 120. (28) Wil. Rabbits. . . make short
holes . . . under the potato-vines, finding the soil easy to work,
JeFferies Gamekeeper (iS'jS) 175, ed. 1887.
2. Phr. (i) (o do or be the dean potato,io do or be the right
or fair thing ; (2) to carry or keep a stolen potato in one's
pocket, a supposed cure for rheumatism.
(i) Sc. Duffy didna dae the clean pit tattie wi his siller, Tweed-
dale 71/0^(1896) 219. [Aus. 'Tain't the clean pertater, is it, for
a superintendent flay into a chap at Sunday School for things what
he done outside ? Gilchrist Rue Bargain (1898) 311.] (2) Nrf.
I hev carried a tater in my pocket since Christmas, an' it fare ter
me it dew no good ; the tater waste, but tha rheumatecs doan"t
go, Emerson Wild Life (1890) 19. Wil. The cure for rheumatism
which follows on the keeping of a stolen potato in one's trousers
pocket, Swinstead Parish on Wheels (1897) 25.
3. AppHed humorously to a person.
Lan. ' Do yo know Jim Fowler ? ' ' Wur 'e a blacksmith ! ' ' Th'
same owd potato ' (S. W.) ; ' You are Sam o' Ducky's 1 ' . . ' The
same owd porrito," said Sam, Brierley Red Wind. (1868) iii.
POTCH, w. n.Yks.* [potj.] To throw.
Gi'e ower potching steeans. ib. Elves wadn't be yabble ti potch
'em at t'beeasts, 142.
POTCH, see Patch, Poach.
POTE, V. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Shr. Hrf. Glo. Oxf Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms
poat Cum.* n.Yks.* ne.Yks.* m.Yks.' w.Yks. nw.Der.'
e.Lin. w.Som.* Dev.' nw.Dev.' ; poit n.Yks.* w.Yks.*^*
e.Lan.' Dev.; poite w.Yks.*; pooat n.Yks.^* ne.Yks.'
e.Yks.' Som. Dev. ; poet Cor.*^ ; poyt w.Yks.* ; pret. pot
Cum. Wm. [pot, poat, w.Yks. poit.] 1. v. To kick,
push with the hands or feet, esp. in sleep, gen. implying
a light action. Cf paut.
N.Cy.2 To pote the cloaths off. Cnm.^t, n.Yks.ii, ne.Yks,',
m.Yks.i w.Yks. Thoresey Z,e«. (1703) ; w.Yks.i^; w.Yks.^The
child is poiting about i' bed ; w.Yks.-* Lan. An potes abeaut in
a dark hole wi his feet, Clegg Sketches (1895) 25 ; Lan.*, e.Lan.',
Chs.*23 s.Chs.i Used in the limited sense of 'kicking in bed."
Der.*^ nwDer.iWot ert potih' en' dooin' ? e.Lin. To push out
the feet alternately, Lin. N. if Q. I. 55. Shr.' Them lads han
poted these sheets through a'ready. w.Som.' Our Bill do poaty
mainly in his sleep. Dev. I can't zlape no longer wi' sister
'Lizabeth, vur 'er du pote zo I can't tine my eyes awl night,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.* n.Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777)
336 nw.Dev.*, Cor.' 2 e.Cor. In some parts of East Cornwall
to pote = to push or strike with the heel as opposed to kicking
(with the toe) (T.C.P.).
2. To push or strike heavily ; to thump.
n.Yks.' Cor. She scatten, an screechen, an pooten, The Ex-
hibition (1873) 64; Cor.*2
3. To push or poke,^«ra. with a stick; esp. to stir the fire.
n.Yks.* ; n.Yks.2 He now gans pooating with a stick. e.Yks.*
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 4, 1896) ; w.Yks.'*, Chs.*, Glo.*
Hence (i) Pooatter, sb. a long stick such as drovers
use ; (2) Poteing-stick, sb. a thick stick used to turn the
clothes when in the furnace boiling.
(i) ne.Yks.* (2) Dev. 'Avee zeed that poteing-stick, Mary?
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
4. To push awkwardly ; to fumble.
"•Cy. (J.L. 1783). Cura.2 Mudder was poten away over her
dropped stitches, Gwordie Greenup Yance a Year (1873) 3 ;
Cum.4 w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 9, 1896).
5. To paw like a horse or dog.
Lakel.'^, Cum.*, n.Yks.*, m.Yks.* Dev. To push with the hind
feet, as a cat or dog in a lady's lap. Reports Provinc. (1887) 14.
6. To push through any confined opening or hole.
Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). Cor. At last she
squeedg'd and pooled through, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 40.
Hence Pooaty or Poty, adj. confined, close, crammed,
w.Cy. (Hall.) Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
7. Comp. Pote-hole, a small hole through which anything
is pushed with a stick ; a confined place. Som. Jennings
Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). 8. To struggle, gen. of some
one lying down.
w.Som.' n.Dev. But thof ha ded viggee and potee, Exm. Scold.
(1746) 1. 216; Sheep being shorn are said to poa'tee, ib. Gl.
nw.Dev.*
9. To make repeated efforts to reach anything, as of a
child. Cum.* 10. To walk heavily or clumsily ; to walk
with uncertainty as on ice ; to walk in an affected manner.
Cum. Thro' the snow stark-neak't he pot, Stagg Misc. Poems
(ed. 1805) 91 ; Cum.* ; Cum.3 Sooa back we pot, 15 ; Cum.*
Wm. We poted alang, Southey Doctor (1848) 559. n.Yks.**
Lan. We poted away deawn th' hee road, Clegg Sketches (1895) 394.
U. To walk quietly and gently ; to take a leisurely walk ;
to dawdle. Cum.**, e.Yks.* 12. To trifle ; to work
carelessly. e.Yks.* 13. To go creeping about moodily
or uneasily ; to pry into little things.
Cum." Ah red . . . ov a Clifton chap 'at was catch't potin' aboot
t'beck wid a cannel end, W.C. T.H. (1894) 6, col. 2. ne.Yks.*
Shr., Hrf. A prying person is said to go about 'poting,' Bound
Provinc, (1876).
14. sb. A kick or push, gen. implying a gentle action.
Cum.* A gentle blow with the flat hand. m.Yks.* An infant's
playful kicks are pSats. Also pawing like a horse. w.Yks.
HuTTON Tour to Caves (1781). ne.Lau.* A small stroke on the
head. w.Som.* Th' old Bob 've a-gid me a poat right in the
thigh. nw.Dev.* Cor.* This young fellow . . . gauve him a poot
or two with his foot, but as to kicking him, he didn't.
15. A stick with which to poke ; a poker.
s.Sc. (Jam.), n.Yks.* w.Yks. An walked ... as stiff. . . As if
he'd swollud t'poyt, Preston Poems (1864) 10; Thoresby irf/.
(1703); w.Yks.' 24
16. A broad piece of wood used by thatchers to open the
old thatch and thrust in the new straw. Oxf. (Hall.)
Cf potter, sb.' 11.
[1. OE. potian, to push, thrust, strike, butt (B.T.).]
POTECARY, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Lan. Nhp. Shr.
e.An. Som. Also written poticary Gall. Nhp.* e.An.*
Som. ; potticary Cum. ; and in forms potticar N.Cy.*
w.Yks.* ; pottiker ne.Lan.* [pctskari.] An apothecary.
Gall. The main poticary and herb doctor in the city, Crockett
Anna Mark (1899) xiii. N.Cy.* Cum. What they ail in head or
heart Nae potticary knows, Anderson Ballads (1805) 73. w.Yks.*
I war foarced to send th' lad for t'potticar, ii. 290 ; w.Yks.*,
ne.Lan.', Nhp.* Shr.* 'Er's bin takin' stufffrom Pugh the potecary,
an' 'e's as good as a doctor, on'y 'e hanna walked the 'ospitals.
e.An.* Som. Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869). w.Som.* Not now
of common use, but I have heard it used disparagingly. ' Calls
hissul a doctor do er! I calls 'n a drunkin old potecary, there
now ! ' ' Potecary' is by no means a rare surname.
[ME. potecarie (Chaucer) ; OFr. apotecaire.]
POTEEN, sb. Irel. Also in forms potheen, potsheen
Ir. ; potteen Don.; pottheen In; potyeen N.L*; put-
theen Wxf. [potrn.] 1. Whisky, esp. that which has
been distilled illegally.
Ir. He employed her in conveying . . . jars of potheen from
a certain wholly illicit still. Barlow Idylls (1892) 107 ; Heigh for
the potsheen, and contrabands ! Barrington Sketches (1830) I.
viii ; (P.W.J.) N.L* Don. The two gintlemen would get hearty
at the potteen, Harper's Mag. (Sept. 1899) 510. s.Ir. Croker
Leg. (1862) 84. Wxf. Kennedy Banks Bora (1867) 96.
2. Comp. Potsheen-twang, a lie ; the power of lying.
Ir. Nature had not given him enough of . . . what they call the
' potsheen-twang,' Barrington Sketches (1830) I. v. Ant. A
double pot-sheen twang, a h-11 of a lie (S.A.B.).
POTENT, see Potten.
POTHER, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Lan. Lin. Nhp. Won
Hrf. Glo. Hnt. Ken. Dev. Cor. Slang. [po-S3(r.] L sb.
A disturbance, stir, confusion ; trouble, bother ; a squabble*
See Pudder, Puther, 3.
POTHERISH
[597]
POTTER
Sc. She rais'd such a pother 'twixt him and his mother, Ramsay
Tea-Table Misc. (1724) II. 133, ed. 1871 ; The young hempies . . .
made a little pother about their not understanding his Latin and
Greek, Magopico (ed. 1836) 9. Abd. What in the main is all their
pother But borrowing from one another! Shirrefs Poems (1790)
343. Edb. I was ... in a mortal fright at this pother, Beatty
Secretar (1897) 19. Gall. Therefore quit your pother, Crockett
Grey Man (1896) 129. w.Yks. There had been a rare pother at
first, Snowden fFcA o/freaw>-( 1896) 149. Lin.i Nhp.' They're
making such a pother over dividing their money. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
Dev., Cor. E'en then, 'tis a chance, but they get in a pother, And
jostle and cross and run foul of each other, Baring-Gould Cy.
Life (1890) viii. Slang. And often among their pother and rout,
When this otherwise amiable couple fell out, Barham Ingoldsby
(1840) 7.
2. Smoke or steam ; also in phr. a pother of smoke.
Lin.i Cor. There be such a pother o' smoke I doubt if that you
can see her, Baring-Gould Curgenven (1893) xlvi.
3. Dust. Cf. puther, 1.
Nhp.i What a pother you're making. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
4. V. To puff from want of breath ;• to be overheated.
Nhp.i He goes pothering along ; Nhp.^ A jist did pother some.
Hnt. (T.P.F.)
5. To shake, disturb, poke ; to knock off loose apples.
Nhp.i And glossy green ivy Round the oak bole drest. That
pothers up stivy, When boys climb the crow's nest, Clare MS.
Poems. Shr., Hrf. Bound Proviitc. (1876). Hrf.i, Glo.i, w.Cy.
(Hall.)
Hence Pothering-pole, sb. a pole used for shaking
down apples. s.Wor. (H.K.) 6. Comp. Pother-hook,
a hook used for cutting a hedge ; a sickle. Ken.'^
POTHERISH, adj. Sus. Of sheep: affected with
water on the brain, giddy. See Patherish, Pothery.
A sheep which has water on the brain, which causes it to fall
down or move in a very weak, tottering, and uncertain manner, is
said to be potherish, Holloway.
POTHERMENT, sb. n.Yks.i24 [po-tSsrment.] A
source of petty trouble or annoyance ; perplexity.
POTHERY, adj. ? Suf Ken. Sur. Sus. Also in forms
poddery ? Suf. ; puthery Sus." [po'cSari.] Of sheep :
affected with water on the brain. Cf pathery, pother, sb. 1.
? Suf. Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815). Ken.i Affected by a
disease to which sheep and pigs are liable ; it makes them go round
and round, till at last they fall down. Snr.' Said of sheep when
they are affected in the head, and run round in circles. Sus, A
sheep which has water on the brain, which causes it to fall down
or move in a very weak, tottering, and uncertain manner, is said to
be pothery, Holloway ; Sus.*
POTHERY, POTIE, see Puthery, Potty, sb.^
POTINGARIE, POTINGER, see Pottinger, sb.^, Pot-
linger, sb.^
POTLE-BELL, sb. Bnff.' [po'tl-bel.] In phr. to ring
the potle-bell, a mode of confirming a bargain among
children ; see below.
It was performed by the contracting parties hooking together
the little fingers of the right hand, shaking the hands up and down,
and repeating, ' Ring, ring the potle-bell. Banes may brack an'
banes may heal, Bit gehn ye brack the bargain Ye're sure t' gang
f hell.' Or more shortly, ' Ring the potle-bell, Gehn ye brack the
bargain Ye'U gang to hell.'
POTRIDGE, see Porterage.
POTTAGE, sb. Obs. or obsol. Sc. n.Cy. Also written
potage ; and in form pattage. 1. Porridge.
Sc. Meal boiled in milk or water to a certain consistency, Scott-
cisms (1787) 70. Abd. Call on Jinse for their pottage, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) i. Per. Swoons and pottage, NicolPo«'»«(i766)
67. Fif. Keall, pattage, and fische was giffen, Melvill Autobiog.
(1610) 263, ed. 1842. Lnk. Potage and milk was her greatest feast,
WoDROW Ch. Hist. (1721) IV. 508, ed. 1828. Edb. Grind the corn
to be his pottage, Crawford Poems (1798) 26.
2. Comp. (i) Pottage-herb, the rape, Brassica napus; (2)
-meal, oatmeal ; (3) -pan, a porridge-pot.
(i) n.Cy. (B. & H.) (a) Abd. Buys the pottage meal. Walker
Bards Bon-Accord (i88i) 332. (3) Per. They look a-squint upon
the auld goodman, That once were fain to lick his pottage-pan,
NicoL Poems (1766) 76.
POTTED, p>pl. adj. Sc. Dun Yks. Oxf. Also in form
pottit Sc. Bnff.^ [po-tid.] In comb, (i) Potted butter,
butter salted and preserved in a pot; see Pot-butter, s.v.
Pot, 56.' 17 ; (2) —head, a dish made from the head of an
ox or pig; stewed meat ; (3) — meat,/^. an imitation of
granite graining ; used atfrib.
(i) s.Oxf. Some potted butter . . . bought fresh when butter was
plentiful and cheap, Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 180. (2) Sc.
(Jam.), Bnff.i Abd. For makin' puddin's and pottit-heid She hasna
her marrow i' the country, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (June 25,
1898). Gall. The flesh of ox-head or pig-head ' hashed,' boiled,
and jellied (A.W.). e.Dur.i Stewed meat, as sold in butchers'
shops. (3) w.Yks. Thah mun paint t'fire-jawm i' t'potted-meyt
stj'le {JE.B.) ; Pottedmeyt painting, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 25,
1896).
POTTEK, 5J. Obsol. Cum. Also written pottak. A
dial, form of ' pocket.'
They gat . . . ther pottaks full eh t'maister brass, Sargisson Joe
Scoap (1881) 189; Cum.l
POTTEN, sb. Sc. e.An. Also in form potent Sc.
(Jam.) [po'tsn.] 1. A crutch ; gen. in //.
Sc. Sibb. Gl. (1802) (Jam.). e.An.'* Nrf. Trans. Phil. Soc.
(185s) 35.
2. ;*/. Stilts. Nrf (Hall.)
[mE. potente, a crutch (Chaucer).]
POTTER, sb.^ n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. [po-t3(r.]
1. A hawker of earthenware.
n.Cy. N. & Q. {1853) ist S. viii. 305. Wm. He went aboot wi'
a potter cart (B.K.)- w.Yks. He used to boast that he could . . .
wallop a potter or preach a sermon with any man in the country,
Dixon Craven Dales (1881) 71. ne.Lan,^
2. A gipsy ; a vagabond.
Cum.* He had seen potters camping on it, W. C. T. (Jan. 28;
1899) 3, col. 2. Wm. The 'potters,' a kind of indigenous gipsies
often curiously bearing the names of the great Northern families,
Quarterly Review (1867) II. 378; A com at a potter tent int' green
lonnin. Spec. Dial. {1&85) 38.
POTTER, v., sb.' and adj. Van dial, and colloq. uses
in Sc. Eng. and Amen Also written pottar w.Yks. ; and
in forms potther e.Yks.' Lan. ; puttah Suf ; putter Suf
Sun Amen [pot3(r.] 1. v. To do anything in a feeble,
ineffectual way ; to work in a lazy or inefficient manner ;
to waste time ; to busy oneself with trifles.
Sc.(A.W.) Lakel.^Potterabootdiunowt. Cum. He potters about,
and never gets through much work (E.W.P.) ; Cum.^* n.Yks.^*
e.Yks.' He gans pottherin aboot shop, bud he can't deeah nowt
good for owt. w.Yks. He goas potterin abaht doin na good. Banks
n^kjld. Wds. (1865) ; (S.P.U.) ; w.Yks.'^ Lan. As Betty wur pot-
terin abeawt th' broth pon, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 33 ; Lan.',
Chs.lSj Stf.l, Der.2, nw.Der.^ nLin.' He's potterin' aboot doin'
noht, just e' th' ohd fashion. Nhp.* War.^ He potters so over
his work. Wor. I gets out o' doors and potters about, and does
what I can like in the garden (H.K.). Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc.
(1876). Brks.', Hnt. (T P.F.) Ess. Through potterin' here so
late to-night Mayhap there'll be a row, Clark y. Noakes (1839) st.
168. Wil. Pensioned off in his old age, . . he potters about,
Jefferies Gamekeeper (1878) 37, ed. 1887. CoUoq. (A. B.C.)
[Nfld. Paiterson Trans. Amer. Flk-Lore Soc. (1894). Amer.
Waal, 's I come along I seen the deakin putterin' 'round, Westcott
David Harutn (1900) ii.]
Hence Pottering, ppl. adj. slow, awkward, feeble ; idle ;
tedious, ineffectual.
n.Yks.i24 chs.* He's a potterin' owd chap. Der. I'm pretty
well in my potterin' way, Verney Stone Edge (1868) xi. Lin.'
2. To do necessary odd jobs which do not form part of
one's regular work. n.Lin.* 3. To walk slowly or
feebly ; to halt, hobble.
w.Yks. He's potterin cloise at mi heels, Hartley Clock Aim.
(1896) 18. Lsin. So aw pottert off deawn th' stairs, Staton B.
Shuttle Manch. 14 ; He pottert off toart th' grave, Bowker Tales
(1882) 236. Nhp.i A horse is said to go pottering along, when hi^
feet are tender and he does not lift them up properly. War. Bless
us how old Mart does potter now ; he can't stand work much
longer I be sartain sure, Leamington Courier (Mar. 6, 1897).
War.s*, Hnt (T.P.F.)
Hence Pottering, p>pl. adj. slow or feeble in gait.
Nhp. With lingering pott'ring pace And head bleach'd bare,
Clare Village Minst. (1821) II. 193.
4. To finger, handle, fumble ; to rummage, pry, meddle.
n, Yks.* m.Yks.i To engage in anything requiring much manipu-
lation, or a fussy movement of the hands. w.Yks. (E.G.) Lan.
Hoo potter'd abeaut his poor winterly pate, Waugh Sngs.. (edi
POTTERASHUN
[598]
POTTY
1871) 73; Hoo potter't an' rooted abeawt, tryin' these keighs, tb.
Healher{ed.Wi\neT)l.i6s. Nhp.'.e.An,' Suf. (C.T.) ; Suf.i 'A go
puttah, puttah, puttah, about — alawkus ! I don't mind 'em. Sur.
She found the door wouldn't lock, but she didn't like to putter
with it (J.D.R.).
5. To poke, stir up ; with out : to work out slowly and
gradually ; to poke or rake out. Cf. pote.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; N.Cy.» e.Yks.' Potther up
fire a bit, or it'll gan oot. w.Yks. Ah'd potter'd all t'cowks aht o'
t' grate an' started o' blackleeadin' {JE.ii.) ; w.Yks.' I tacks up't'
beesom start, potters yan down, ii. 300 ; w.Yks. ''^j ne.Lan.i Der.''
Poking or pottering in the earth. nw.Der." Lin. Streatfeild
Lin. and Danes (1884) 348. n.Lin.' Noo then, Anne, potter that
fire, or it'll be dead oot in a minnit. sw.Lin.' The bad places in
the plaster want pottering out. If they get a hole, the bairns
potter it out wi' their fingers. I was stood pottering the fire.
e.An.1
6. With out : to pull out, bring forth ; to pay.
n.Yks.* They're lang i' pottering out their brass. w.Yks. It's
time then for rich folks ta potter aght ta t'relief a them at's poor,
Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1856) 31 ; w.Yks.^ Lan. Aw
wodent potter eawt foive shillin for't. Great Eggshibishun (1856)
17 ; Lan.i Come, potter-out thi brass — tha's had it, an' tha mun
pay for't. Lin. Jim pottered out his brass. Brown Lit. Laur.
(1890) 47. n.Lin.' Cum potter oot, or I'll see what th' coort '11
do for you. sw.Lin.' He hasn't pottered out no-but two shilHngs
all winter. War. (L.M.)
\ 7. To confuse, perplex, puzzle, bother ; to vex. Gen.
used in pp. Also with up.
w.Yks. He wor sadly pottered ower yon theear (J.J.B.) ;
w.Yks. 1234. w.Yks.5 Sadly pottered an' vexed. Lan. Me feelin
potther't a bit, Clegg SketJxes (1895) 472 ; Wouldno sitch o moon-
shoyne traunce potter anybody plucks ? Tim Bobbin View Dial.
(1740) 10; Lan.', e.Lan.', m.Lan.', Chs.'^a^ Der.^, nw.Der.', Lei.',
Nhp.', War.^ Suf. That wholly puttered me up (C.T.).
Hence (i) Potterer, sb. a poser, anything that puzzles ;
(2) Pottering, ppl. adj. bothering, vexatious.
(i) Lan. ' Um ! ' said Tummus, ' that's a potterer,' Staton
Loominary (c. 1861) 4. (2) w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Its o feeoful
pottering thing to be aulus oth push, an aulas behinnd, Chat
obeeat Leciurs (1884) pt. i. 5.
8. With Up : to crowd up ; to have a superabundance of
articles in small room ; gen. in pp.
e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781) ;
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 25, 1896). Nhp.' We're pottered up.
Hence Pottering, ppl. adj. small, confined, poky.
Lan. He would lay out no more money in potterin' bits o'
property like them, Hamerton Wenderholtne (1869) xv ; It's sic
a lile potterin' house there's na roum for nout, Eavesdropper
Vill. Life (1869) 19.
9. To trample in soft mud, &c. Frf. (J.B.) Cf poach, 3.
10. sb. A poker. Cf pote, 15.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) w.Yks. T'asnook full of
it cowks potter, Bywater Sheffield Dial. (1839) 115; T'wcmen
wi smoothing irons, rowling-pins, a maiden or two, potters
an' tongs, Hallam Wadsley Jack (1866) ii ; w.Yks.'^* Lan.
He're expectin' th' foyer potther whiskin' abeawt his ears,
Brierley Traddlepin, v ; Th' monki wur makkin o foyar potter
ov it neeburs paw, Scholes Tim Gamwattle (1857) 56. Der. He
picked up th' potter . . . an' shoved et into th' heart o' th' fire,
Gilchrist Peakland Faggot (1897) 45; Der."^, nw.Der.' Lin,
Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 348. n.Lin.'
11. A piece of wood used by thatchers for driving pegs
into the rick. Oxf (A.P.) 12. Confusion, agitation.
Lan. r my potter aw'd popped my yed through t'winder,
Widder Bagshaw s Trip (c. i860) 6.
13. adj. Slow, idle, indolent. Lin.^
POTTERASHUN, sb. Lan. [potarejan.] Vexation,
excitement, confusion. See Potter, v. 7.
Hoo seemt to ha' getten o'er hur potterashun un keawrt as
quiet as a wench at skoo, Staton B. Shuttle Manch. 20.
POTTERLLOW, sb. Bnff.i Utter ruin.
He's t' potterllow wee drink.
POTTERMENT, sb. Obs. w.Yks.^ A bungler, an
inexperienced workman.
POTTERTON HEN,Mr. Sc. The black-headed gull,
Larus rudibundus. Abd. Swainson Birds (1885) 208.
POTTERY, sb. Yks. Lan. Glo. w.Cy. [potsri.] In
comp. (i) Pottery-moul(d, small blocks of plaster-of-Paris
or pipeclay, used to whiten hearthstones ; (2) -ware,
earthenware.
(i) w.Yks. A cleaner hearthstun never shone Wi' stripes o'
pottery-moul, Cudworth Dial. Sketches (1884) 105; She had
drawn an elaborate design with pottery-mould, Fletcher Wapen-
take (1895) 189; (F.L.) (2) ne.Lan.', Glo.', w.Cy. (Hall.)
POTTICAR(Y, POTTIKER, see Potecary.
POTTINGER, sb.^ Obs. Sc. Also written potingarie,
potinger, pottingar. A cook ; an apothecary, druggist.
Sc. The just degree of fire which learned pottingers prescribe
as fittest for the body, Scott Monastery (1820) xvi. Edb. The
potingers were very crouse, Pennecuik IVks. (1715) 392, ed.
1815. Hdg. To give ane physician . . . 40s., qrof 28s. given to the
pottingar, Ritchie St. Baldred (1883) 138 ; Proper stuarts,
cunning baxters, excellent cooks and potingaries, with confections
and drugs for ther disserts, Pitscottie (1728) 174, in Francisque-
MiCHEL Lang. (1882) 45.
POTTINGER, 56.2 Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Chs. Also
written potinger Chs.' [po tin(d)2a(r.] A pot, mug, or
cup ; a porringer.
Abd. (Jam.) N.Cy.' A coarse earthenware pot with a handle.
Nhb.' Old fashioned surgeries and apothecaries' shops had these
pots, which were highly glazed and perforated through the handle.
w.Yks.' A small pewter mug or vessel, containing about three
quarters of a pint. Chs. xxxj potingers, . . a potinger used in
the house, Inveiitory {1611) in Local Gleanings (Feb. 1880) VIII.
299 ; Chs.l
POTTLE, sb. Yks. Chs. [po'tl.] 1. A small tiib
with a projecting stave, serving as a handle, and used in
lading liquids. e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.) 2. A measure
of two quarts. Chs.^
POTTLE, V. Cum. Yks. Also Dev. Also in form
pooatle e.Yks.^ [potl, poa'tl.] 1. To trifle, dawdle ; to
work carelessly or ineffectually; to do odd jobs. Cf.
pawtle.
Cum.' ; Cum.* Said esp. of a woman. e.Yks.' (s.v. Pooat).
w.Yks.^ Dev.^ Pottling round.
Hence Pooatling, ppl. adj. trifling, dawdling, inexpert.
e.Yks.' He's nobbut a pooatlin hand.
2. To poke about. e.Yks.' Hence Poatler, sb. a long
stick used by drovers.
w.Yks. Held about eighteen inches from the top; it is something
like an alpenstock, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Apr. 4, 1896).
POTTLE-BELLIED, adj. Glo. Som. Dev. [po'tl-belid.]
Pot-bellied, stout, corpulent.
Glo.' Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). Dev. Horae
Subsecivae (1777) 337 ; Dev.'^, nw.Dev.'
POTTOCK, see Paddock, sb.^
POTTY, s6.', adj. and v.^ Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Not.
War. Also in form potie Cld. (Jam.) [pcti.] 1. sb. A
boy's marble ; a small round ball of clay used in the game
of ' knur and spell.' Cf pot, sb} 6.
Sc.(A.W.) Nhb.' Made offine clay like porcelain. LakeL^Alad's
poorly hodden 'at's nowt on hand but potties. Cum.* w.Yks. Large
taws of hard stoneware, Sheffield Indep. (1874) ; [At Rotherham]
The knur is ... a small round ball, made of hickory for match
players, but for the ordinary play of the lads made of clay and
covered with bright white glaze. . . Amongst them the inquiry
would be ' Hast ta ony pottys 1' N. if Q. (1868) 4th S. v. 325 ;
w. Yks. ^ White glazed marbles. Not.^ Made of baked grey clay.
s.Not. I'll give you five potties for a stony (J.P.K.). War.^
2. adj. Stewed or preserved in a pot. Cld. (Jam.)
Hence Pottie-head, sb. a dish made from the head of an
ox or cow. Sc. (ib.) 3. 'Phr. gien I be potty yeVe panny,
we are both tarred with the same brush. Abd. Mac-
donald Malcolm (1875) H. 142. 4. v. To stew in a pot,
Sc. (Jam.)
POTTY, sb."^ and i/." Sc. [po'ti.] X. sb. A dial, form
of ' putty.'
Sc. Lord keep ye for a lump o' potty that can be twisted into
ony shape, Smith Archie and Bess (1876) 6. Cal.' Lnk. I'm
hang'd if Mattie hisna filled up the keyhole o' the door wi' potty,
Murdoch Readings (1895) III. 45.
2. V. To fill up chinks, &c. with putty, to cement with
putty.
Dmb. The house is gaun to wrack for want o' pottying an4
plaistering, Cross Disruption (1844) xxxvii.
POTTY-CLOCK
[599]
POULCH
3. Fig. To suit, work, do.
Ayr. ' Na ! na ! Johnnie,' quo' he, ' it'll no potty ava I ' Service
Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 95.
POTTY-CLOCK, 56. w.Yks.^ [po-ti-tlok.] A machine
used in cloth manufacture ; fig. a foolish person.
A teeth-girt machine of small dimensions and simple con-
struction, which regulates the quantity of thread wound on the
spindles of slubbing machines and mules.
POUCE, see Pouse, sb>
POUCH, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Not. Nhp.
War. Also in forms pooch Sc. Yks. ; pootch Bnff.' ;
poutch Sc. [Sc. and n.Cy. piitj.] 1. sb. A pocket ;
occas. a purse.
Sc. [She] would gie the een oot o' her held to pit her hand in
your pooch, Keith Indian Uncle (1896) 243. Sh.I. Kirstie had him
upo da but-room fluir and wis huntin troo his pooches. Burgess
Lowra Biglan (1896) 56. n.Sc. She rifles the pooches o' some,
thraws the neck o' ithers, Gordon Carglen (1891) 157. Mry.
Hay Lintie (1851) 30. Elg. Tester Poems (1865) 132. Bn£f. Wi'
a toom pouch an' plenishin' but mean, Taylor Poems (1787) 3.
Bch. Forbes Dominie (1785) 26. Abd. Yer waistcoat pouch,
Alexander yoAwKy Gibb (1871) xxi. Kcd. Grant Lays (1884) 9.
Frf. Mony a pouch was pickit bare. Smart Rhymes (1834) 87.
Per. Stewart Character (1857) 112. w.Sc. The trouble of carrying
your wit in your waistcoat pouch, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835)
21. Fif. Robertson Provost (1894) 120. Slg. Towers Poems
(1885) 161. Cld. NiMMo Sngs. and Ballads (1882) 116. Dmb.
Yer pouch did pay for a', Taylor Poems (1827) 76. Rnf. It's
a crown She frae her faither's pouch has stown, Picken Poems
(1813) I. 63. Ayr. But just the pouchie put the nieve in. Burns
2nd Ep, to Davie, St. 6. Lnk. Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 56.
Lth. Pouch and purse without a plack, Macneill Poet. Wks.
(1801) 146, ed. 1856. Edb. His waistcoat was low in the neck
and had flap pouches, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828J i. Bwk. Calder
Poems (1897) 91. Feb. Frae her pouch a crown she houkit,
Affleck Poet, Wks. (1836) 132. Slk. I'll put it in my pouch,
Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 72. Rxb. W. Wilson Poems
(1824) 4. Gall. Wi' bannock and cheese in his pouch, Lauderdale
Poems (1796) 75. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.) Nhb. Taein'
some brass oot o' his pouch, Jones Nhb'. (1871) 65. n.Yks. Iv
her awd pooch, ther money chink't, Castillo Poems (1878) 59.
Hence (i) Pouchful, sb. a pocketful ; (2) Pouchless, adj.
pocketless ; fig. poor.
(i) Sc. Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 104. Elg. Gin ye promise to
tak' hame wi' ye a pouchfu' o' notes. Tester Poems (1865I 134.
Abd. I'm gaein' a lang tramp the morn, an' maun hae a poochfu' o'
breid, Macdonald Warlock (1882) Ixii. Frf. Watt Poet. Sketches
(1880) 58. Rnf. I've brought ye a pouchfu' o' ware, Picken Poems
(1813) II. 135. Kcb. Armstrong Kirkiebrae (1896) 337. (2) Elg.
Pouchless youth, pensive and blae, Press'd up life's weary, hope-
less brae. Cooper Poetry (1804) II. 105.
2. Contp. (i) Pouch-companion, a pocket-companion ;
(2) -flap, (3) -Ud, a pocket-flap ; (4) -pistol, a pocket-pistol ;
(5) -room, pocket-space ; (6) -strings, purse-strings.
(i) Ayr. Snuff was never ony great favourite or pouch companion
o' mine, Ainslie Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 70. (2) Frf. A daud o'
tanned claith frae the sail o' a boat Made sonsy pouch -flaps to
Jock Wobster's auld coat. Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 17. Gall.
Waistcoats with pouch-flaps side on the thee, Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824) 263, ed. 1876. (3) Sc. Better at padding pouch-lids than
handlin' the goose. Ford Thistledown (1891) 296. w.Sc. The
common gauge o' the fur was my pouch-lids, Carrick Laird of
Logan (1835) 162. (4) Frf. The short poutch-pistol that had shot
him dead. Piper of Peebles (1794) i5- (5) ^e.Sc. She's [a watch]
keepit time for the best pairt o' sixty years. . . I think ye'll find
her weel worth pouch-room for some years yet. Grant Keckleton,
8. (6) Edb. Glaiket lasses, wha will tug at my pouch-strings and
wheedle me, Ballantine Gaberlunsie [ed. 1875) 23.
3. V. To pocket ; fig. to steal.
Sc. It shall never be said I pouched her siller, Scott Pirate
(1831) vi. Elg. Tester Poems (1865) 128. Abd. As mickle's I
cou'd pouch or eat, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 19. e.Flf. I
pouched the newspaper on the sly, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) xx.
Cld. NiMMO Sngs. and Ballads (1882) 53. Lnk. To pouch the
wage they dinna see unlaith, MuiR Minstrelsy (1816) 5. Lth.
Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 276. Edb. They pouch the gowd,
Fergusson Poems (1773) 170, ed. 1785. Slk. Leave. .. bannocks
. . . till they moul or be pouched by them that draff an' bran wad
better hae mensed, Hogg Tales (1838) 74, ed. 1866. Dmf. How
he'd fairly poutch'd the multre o' the weans's bridal shoon, Cromek
Remains (1810) 105. Gall. Airchie broke my peerie and pooched
the string, Crockett Bog-Myrtle (1895) 379.
Hence Poucher, sb. a person who pockets food, &c.
Gall. I would as soon become a real thief at once as a petty
poucher ; . . those who pouch at funerals are the most hateful race
ofpouchers, Mactaggart fwcyc/. (1824) 384, ed. 1876.
4. To swallow ; to eat greedily or with relish.
Bnff.l War.3 An angler will speak of a pike pouching the bait.
Hence Pootching, ///. adj. greedy, fond of good hving.
Bnff.l He's a greedy pootchin' busht.
5. To eviscerate an animal, esp. a deer.
s.Not. 'Ere, coom an' pouch this rabbit for me (J.P.K.). Nhp.^
6. To strike in the paunch ; see below.
s.Not. When a beast is knocked down and stuck, a man holding
by the tail, strikes it repeatedly in the paunch with his foot to
promote the flow of blood ; this is called pouching. ' The blood
don't come ; yer mun pouch 'im well' (J.P.K.).
POUCH, see Poach, Pooch, sb.^
POUD, sb. s.Cy. Sus. [peud.] A boil ; an ulcer ; an
abscess. s.Cy. Bailey (1721). Sus. (S.P.H.), Sus.^^
POUFF, sb., V. and adv. Bnff.^ [piif.] 1. sb. A dull,
heavy blow or fall ; the sound caused by such a blow
or fall. ' A hard the pouff" o' 'im, fin he fell aff" o' the dyke.'
2. The act of walking with a heavy step, esp. through
weariness. ' He keepit a sair pouff" a' day through the toon.'
3. A big, stupid person. 4. v. To beat with dull, heavy
blows ; occas. with up ; to dash down with violence ; with
in : to drive or hammer in.
He poufft 'im our on's back. Pouff in the pailin' post.
5. To fall heavily. 6. To walk with a dull, heavy step.
He geed pouffin' ben the fleer.
7. adv. With a dull, heavy fall or blow; with heavy steps.
He geed poufi" against the wa'.
POUFFIN, sb. Bnff.l a big, stupid person. Cf.
pouff, 3.
POUGH, sb. and v. w.Yks.^ [pau.] 1. sb. The lower
lip. 2. V. To cry.
POUGY, sb. Ken. Hmp. [Not known to our other
correspondents.] A ferret. (W.H.E.)
POUK, sb.^ n.Cy. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. "War.
Wor. Shr. Hrf. Rdn. Also written pouke n.Cy. nw.Der.*
Shr. Hrf. ; powk w.Yks. Chs.^ s.Chs^ ; and in forms paak
w.Yks.^ e.Lan.' ; pahke, pairk, park w.Yks. ; peauk
e.Lan.' ; peawk Lan.^ m.Lan.' ; pewk w.Yks. ; pike
Lakel. ^ ; poke War.^ s.Wor.^ ; puck se.Wor.' ; puke
Lakel.* [pouk, pok, w.Yks. pak, Lan. pek.] A pustule,
pimple, boil, blister ; a stye on the eyelid.
n.Cy. (Hall.), Lakel.^, m.Yks.i w.Yks. Bits o' pahkes on his ee,
Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; He's getten a pairk at t'back ov his neck
(S.K.C.); (S.P.U.); w.Yks.^^a Lan.i He does na need to mak
sich a greyt to do abeawt it ; it's nobbut a bit of a peawk. n.Lan.',
ne.Lan.i, e.Lan. 1 m.Lan.i A peawk on his nooas end. Chs.'^s^
s.Chs.', nw.Der.l, War.^a, w.Wor.i, se.Wor.', s.Wor.l, Shr.ia
Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Rdn. Morgan Wds. (1881).
[A water-powk, pustula, papula, Coles Lat. Diet. (1679).]
POUK, s6.= and v. Yks. Also in form pawk. 1. sb.
A fret ; a fit of sulks.
n.Yks. Like a lass in a pouk, Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 517.
2. V. To fret. ib.
POUK, sb.^ Mry. (Jam.) Bnff.i A small pit or hole
containing water or mire ; a deep hole, whether full or
empty. [Polke or pul yn a watur {Prompt.).^
POUK, see Poke, sb.\ Pook, i/.=
POUKING, sb. Rdn. A weak, sickly person. Morgan
Wds. (1881).
POUL, see Poll, sb.^
POULANDER, sb. lAn} A species of domestic fowl.
POULCH, V. and sb. Lin. Nhp. Hnt. Hrt. Also in form
polch- n.Lin.i Nhp. 1. v. ?A dial, form of 'poach,' to
take game illegally.
n.Lin.i Nhp.' He goes poulching about. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
Hence Poulcher, sb. a poacher.
n.Lin.' Success to every polcher that wants to sell a hare, Lin,
Poacher in Midi. Hist. Coll. II. 320. Nhp. (Hall.), Nhp.', Hnt.
(T.P.F.)
2. To poke, thrust. See Poach, 1.
Nhp.' ' Poulch the fish out of the hole.' ' Poulch the clothes
POULEE
[600]
POUND
down,' a washerwoman would say, when they are boiling fast in
the copper.
3. sb. A pulp; a wet, pulpy condition. Cf. poach, 12.
Hrt. Turnips when thawed are apt to rot, stink like carrion,
and be of a poulch, Ellis Mod, Husb. (1750) VI. ii. 83.
POULEE, s6. Obs. Wxf.i Pulse.
POULIE, see Powlie.
POULLIE, sb. Sc. Also in forms poUy (Jam.) ; puUie
Bnff.' ; pully Cai.* A turkey ; gen. in comp. Poullie-cock
or -hen.
Sc. (Jam.) ; It is easy to recognize . . . poule d'Inde in poullie
hen, Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882I 135. Cai.', Bnff.^
POULT, sb., V. and adj. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Der. Lin. Hrt. e.An. Sus. Hnip. Wil. Som. Also in
forms polt w.Sus. Hmp. ; poot Cai.^ Nhb.^ Dur.' Cum.*
n.Yks. w.Yks.'^ Lan.' e.Lan.' m.Lan.^ Chs.'^ s.Chs.' Der.^
nw.Der.i Lin. ; pout Sc. (Jam.) N.Cy.' Cum. Hrt. Nrf.
Suf." ; powt Sc. Nhb.' [put, w.Cy. p5It.] 1. sb. A
chicken, pullet ; a young turkey ; young game, esp. a
partridge or moorfowl ; an unfledged bird.
Sc. Now ye peep like a powt, Chambers Sngs. (1829) II. 560.
Cai.' Rnf. That non slay any muir-pouts before the first of July,
and other pouts before the first of August, Hector Judic. Rec.
(1876) 199. Ayr. The wee pouts begin to cry, Burns/ Rankine
(1784) St. II. Lth. Thomson Poems (1819) 170. Edb. Learmont
PocOTS (179 1 ■) 62. Slfc. Nourish yauping pouts, Hogg Queer Bk.
(1832) 31. Rxb. Boil'd and roasted, partridge, powt, and pullet,
RuiCKBiE Wayside Cottager {i8oj) 75. Gall. Mactaggart ^kitvc/.
(1824) 385, ed. 1876. N.Cy.' Nhb.i Thor's five raa poots i' the
nest. Dur.i, Cum.*, n Yks. (T.S.), w.Yks.>= Lan. I want no
poot for t'come peckin at me, Brierley Waverlow (1863^ 247, ed.
1884 ; Lan.' A young hen just ready for or beginning to lay. e.Lan.'
m.Lan.' A poot egg. Chs.i^^ s.Chs.', Der.2,nw.Der.' Lin. Hollo-
way. Hrt.Turkey-pouts,ELHsAforf.//«s6. (1750) Ill.ii. 146. Suf.'
Young turkey, fit for table but not full grown. w.Sus., Hmp.
HoLLowAY. Wil.i w.Som.i The only name for black-game.
' Comin' across the hill we rosed a fine lot o' poults, sure 'nough.'
2. The sound made by a chicken. w.Sc, s.Sc. (Jam.
Suppl.) Hence to play pout, phr. to utter a word, to make
the least sound, ib. 3. A term of affection for a child or
young girl ; an inexperienced young person ; a woman
or child who cries with little provocation; a person whose
pluck fails him at the critical moment.
Cai.' Abd. I ance had a wife and wee pouts that charm,
Davidson Poems (1861) 47. Per. The meikle trake come o'er
their snouts That laugh at winsome kissing pouts, NicoL Poems
(1766) 20. Cum. He's a greet pout, yewlan like a barne (J.D.) ;
Cum.* Lan. Aw'ra nobbut a poot yet, and happen a bit gawmless,
Brierley Irkdale (1868) ii; Lan.' Wil.' A perfect poult [an
awkward girl].
4. Anything small, esp. an insignificant person.
Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.' He's a little black poot.
Hence Pootie, adj. niggardly, mean, stingy. Bwk.
(Jam.) 5. The ruff. Machetes pugnax.
Nrf. The ruS'e or ' pout,' as the Broadsmen familiarly call him,
Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 387.
6. ? Obs. A small haddock, Morrhua aeglefinus.
Fif. We'se hae a bannock and a poot to our dinner, Tennant
Card. Beaton (1823) 174 (Ja.m.).
7. A young trout. Slk. (Jam.) 8. v. To shoot at young
partridges. Sc. (Jam.) Hence (i) Pouter, sb. a sports-
man who shoots young partridges or moorfowl ; (2)
Pouting, sb. the sport of shooting at young partridges
or moorfowl ; the season for such shooting ; (3) Pouting-
season, sb. the shooting-season.
(,1) Kcb. A wagtail shooter, Wi' pointers on the hill did sten',
The prince o' pouters, Davidson Seasons (1789) 114 (Jam.). (2)
Sc. I can tell ye something that will keep the captain wi' us
amaist as weelras the pouting, Scott Antiquary (1816) xliii ; The
poutin's nearly past, Donald Poems (1867) 78. (3) Ayr. The
pouting season, as it is called, was to her a period of more than
ordinary enjoyment. Many of the sportsmen . . . frequented her
cottage, Ballads and Sngs. (1847) II. 66.
9. adj. Soft, spiritless.
Cum.* When two lads fall out at school, a third and bigger lad
holds up his finger saying ' Let the cock spit over my finger ' ;
the cock does so, then the third says ' Say Boof,' and the one so
addressed replies ' Strike, give him a good coof.' This results in
a fight ; he who is unwilling to fight is poot.
[1. Pulte, young hen (Pro'inpti)i\
POULT, see Polt, v?-
POULTER, sb. and v. n.Cy. Yks. Also in form pulter
n.Yks.'^ L sb. A poulterer. N.Cy.' 2. v. Phr. to
pulter fowls, to deal in fowls ready dressed for cooking.
n.Yks.'
[To rere vp much pultrie, and want the barne doore,
Is naught for the pulter and woorse for the poore, Tusser
Husb. (1580) 56.]
POULTER, see Poller, v!^
POULTICE, sb. Cum. In phr. poultice of d maks, a
kind of poultice made of cow-dung ; see below.
Cum.^ Not as its name seems to imply, a compound, but a simple
substance, which it is unnecessary to indicate more distinctly than
to mention that it was generally turned to when pleasanter appli-
cations had failed, 165 ; An' he keep't an oald pultess of o' maks
upon't Till Joe an' liis thumb warn't nice to cu' nar, ib. 161 ;
Cum,*
POULTNESS, w. Hrf.'^ To poultice.
POULTRY-FOWLS, s6.^/. Obs. Sh.I. Also in form
pouther -fools. A tax ; see below.
His lady being accustomed to the oppressive feudal impositions
then laid upon the poor peasantry of Caithness, introduced some
of them on her husband's estate, viz. the payment of a hen for
every merk of land possessed by them, under the name of Poultry
Fowls. . . The poultry is still paid, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822)
135, ed. 1891 ; Da minister. . . dat hes his teinds as sure as da
bank an' his pouther fools, fat kye, Scots horses, an' glebe,
Stewart Tales (.1892) 17.
POULTS, sb. pi. Glo.' = Sun' Sus.' Wil.' Also written
polts Glo.' ; powlts Wil.' A mixed crop of peas and
beans, ' pollards.'
POUNCE, 5^.' e.An. Ken. [peuns.] A blow, esp. one
with a stick or the fist; a thump on the head. SeePunce, i/.'
Nrf. Miller & Skertchly Fenland (1878) iv. Snf.' Ken. I
theft I'd fedge him one more pounce, So heav'd my stick an' meant
it, Masters Dick and Sal (c. 1821) st. 76 ; Ken.'
POUNCE, s6.= Or.L Also in forms pones (Jam. Sz////.) ;
puns. Long meadow-grass, esp. the duffel-grass, Holcus
lanatus.
Tethers and bridle-reins were wrought of long meadow-grasses,
such as Holcus lanatus, which grasses here receive the name of
pounce, or puns, Neill Tour (1806) 17 (Jam.) ; S. & Ork.'
POUNCE, V. Obs. Sc. To spring upon.
Ayr. Here's Satan's picture, Like a bizzard gled, Pouncing poor
Redcastle Sprawlin' as a taed, Burns Heron Ballads (May 1796)
iii. St. 8.
POUNCEFUL, rt«^'. Wil.' [peu'nsfl.] Masterful, self-
willed. Cf. bounceful, s.v. Bounce, v. 3 (2). Hence
Pounceftdly, adv. powerfully, forcibly.
He preached pouncefully.
POUND, s6.' and i/.' Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms pahnd w.Yks. ; peaund Lan. ;
poond Wm. ; poun' Sc. ; powan Abd. ; powin ne.Sc. ;
pun Ir. Lakel.' Cum.'* n.Yks.' m.Yks.' s.Chs.' Der.
War.« w.Som.'; pund Sc. Nhb. Cum.^* n.Yks.' w.Yks.
Lan. Shr.' [Midi, pound, paund, s.Cy. peun(d, w.Yks.
pand, Lan. pend, n.Cy. Sc. pun(d.] L sb. In comb.
(i) Pound-butter, butter made up into pats of a pound
each ; (2) -note, a bank-note for £\ ; (3) -pear, an old-
fashioned variety of pear ; (4) -piece, a sovereign ; (5)
-pin, a clumsy, badly-made pin, sold by the pound ; (6)
— Scots, the twelfth part of the pound sterling ; (7) -stone,
{a) a pebble or cobble stone as nearly as possible of the
weight of twenty-two ounces ; (6) dirt lying next under
the coal ; the coal-floor ; (8) Pounds-of-sugar, the seed-
vessels of the foxglove, Digitalis purpurea.
(i) Cu;n.*, w.Som.' (2) Abd. It wad be weel ta'en gien ye tuik
a poun'-nott the piece to the twa women, Macdonald Lossie (1877)
Ixiii. (3) Chs.i It was very large, very hard, and most excellent
for stewing, but totally unfit for eating uncooked. (4) Ayr. There
are twenty gouden pound-pieces, and seven bonny white siller
shillings, Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 261. (5) Cor. Small piles of
pins — not well made ones sold in papers, but clumsy things with
wire heads — ' pound-pins,' Flk-Lore Jrn. (1886) IV. 126 ; He told
POUND
[6oi]
POUND
her ... to get a packet of pound pins, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng.
(1865) 320, ed. 1896. (6) Sh.I. The penalty often pounds Scots,
Hibbkrt£)«c. SA. /. (1822) i84,ed. 1891. Slg. Twa pair of shoon
. . . For three pund Scots, Galloway Po«ws (1792) 41. Dmb. Five
poun' Scots wad bought a jockie coat, Taylor Poems (1827) go.
(7, a) Lakel.i In old days butter was sold by the long pound,
which weighed twenty-two ounces. Great care was exercised in
selecting a round stone of the precise weight. Cum." n.Yks.
(T.S.); n.Yks.i; n.Yks.'^ A natural pebble or stone of a pound
weight, by which farmers formerly balanced out their butter;
when meat was sold by ' weight of hand,' and the quantity
adjudged ' by the lift.' And here we may notice the practice
among country matrons, of giving their daughters on the wedding
day, if they marry farmers, a ' butter-penny,' for placing on the
scale along with the pundstan, that customers may never have to
complain of hard weight. m.Yks.i (6) Shr.12 (8) Shr.'
2. Phr. (i) pound o' more weight, a rough game ; see
below ; (2) to come pound and yard, to walk with a heavy
step and wide stride.
(i) Cum.i* w.Yks. A boy, or girl, lies down and calls out,
' A p'und o' more weight lig on, lig on ! ' and a companion comes
and Hes on the top of him or her, and with each addition the cry
is continued, ' A p'und o' more weight lig on, lig on ! ' until the
bottom one is fain to cry out for release, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May
30, 1896) ; Then three or four skaters fell atop on him, as if they'd
been lakin' at ' a p'und o' more weight,' Yksntan's Comic Ann.
(1877) 46 (j'i.). (2) n.Yks.2 Here he comes pund and yed.
3. A weight varying in different localities and according
to the articles weighed ; see below.
So. Trone pound, x\ Dutch, 21J oz. av. ; troy or Dutch weight,
i-o888 lb. av. = I7t^V oz- av., Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Bnff.
Of butter, cheese, hay, and wool, 24 oz. av. ; of meal and meat,
17^ oz. av., ib. Abd. Of butter and cheese, 20 or 26 oz. Dutch ;
of malt, meal, and corn, 24 oz. Dutch, ib. Trt. Brechin, Forfar, and
Montrose, 24 oz. av., Glamis, 26 oz. av. , Kirriemuir, 27 oz. av., ib.
Ags. Trone pound, 22 oz. av., ib. Per. Of butter and cheese, 22
oz. av., ib. Arg. Campbelton, 16 oz. av., Inverary, 24 oz. av., ib.
Sig. Of butcher's meat, 22 oz. av. trone weight; of pork, i7joz.av.
or troy weight, ib. Dmb. 23 oz. av., ib. Ayr. Of groceries, i lb.
av. ; of butter, hay, and meat, 24 oz. av., ib. e.Lth. Of hay, hides,
and tallow, 22 oz. av. ; of meat, Dutch weight; of wool, avoird.,
ib. Bwk, Of meat, generally Dutch weight ; of butter, at Berwick
market, 18 oz. av. ; in the country markets, 22 J oz., which is the usual
pound for cheese ; that of wool is 24 oz., ib. Feb. Of butter,
cheese, hay, and wool, 23 oz. av.,ib. Wgt. Of butter, 16 or 24 oz.,
ib. Dur. Of butter in many parts, 22 oz., Stanhope, 21 oz., Stock-
ton, 24 oz., ib. Wm. Of butter, 20 oz. ; . . of wool, 12, 16, 18, and
21 oz., ib. n.Yks. Of butter, 16 to 24 oz., 16. e.Yks. Of butter,
16 to 200Z., i'i. w.Yks. Of butter, 20 oz.,!'A. Lan. Of butter, 18 oz.,
ib. Chs.i A pound of butter used formerly to weigh eighteen
ounces generally throughout Cheshire, but in certain markets the
weight varied. n.Wal. Of butter, 18 to 21 oz. ; of wool, 5 lbs.,
Morton ib. Stf. Wolverhampton, of butter, 18 oz., ib. Der.
Of butter, 17 oz., ib. Lin. Louth, of butter, 18 oz., ib. Lei.
Of butter, a little more than 16 oz., ib. Shr. Of butter, 17 oz.,
ib. Hrf. A ' pound of fresh butter,' eighteen ounces, Dun-
CUME Hist. Hrf. (1804-12'). s.Wal. Of wool, 17, 18, and 24 oz.,
Morton ib. Glo. Of butter, sometimes 18 oz., ib. Bck. Of
butter, sometimes 17 oz., ib. Dor. Of butter in some parts, 18 oz.,
id. Dev., Cor. Of butter, 18 oz., j'i. Jer,, Guern. Of butter, a little
more than 17 oz. ; the same of bread, ij lb. av., ib.
4. Used for //. pounds. In gen. coUoq. use.
So. A thousand pound, Monthly Mag. (1800) I. 238. ne.Sc. Jlst
only lat a chiel hae a hunner powin or twa i' the bank. Green
Gordonhaven (1887) 84. Abd. I'm expectin' sax and twenty powan
for him, Abd. IVtly. Free Press (Oct. 6, 1900). n.Ir. It'll tak a
cupple o' pun' at the least, 'Liirt.E Paddy McQuillan, 18. Uls. It'll no
b'lang till ye get it back again, an' ony ither twa-three pun a may
hae scrapit up, M'Ilroy Craiglinnie (1900) 153. Nhb. The chest-
nut at the Mains is better by at least ten pund to my thinkin',
Graham i?crf5ca«>- (1896) 261. Cum.s Here's six an twenty pund
o butter says she, 18. Wm. Thirty poond. Spec. Dial. (1877) 1. 42.
w.Yks. Altogether it cam to thirty two pahnd, Cudworth Dial.
SItetches (1884) 5. Lan. He says he's addled fifty pund, Harland
Lyrics (1866) 76. s. Clis.i Twelve pun. Der. Two couple o' ducks
weighin' six pun' apiece, Gilchrist Peakland Faggot (1897) 70.
Not. (W.H.S.) War.2 I gin five-pun-ten for that pony; War.^
Shr.' 'E gid six pund odd fur it. Soni. Thirty-vi-pun', Raymond
Misterton's Mistake (1888) 88. w.Som.' Voo-urteen paewn.
Dhuurteen p'n tain.
VOL. IV.
5. V. To make up into pats or parcels of i lb. weight ;
gen. of butter ; to divide into pounds.
n.Yks.2 w.Som.i We always poun's up our butter ; niftidna-
pounded, they zess 'tis pot-butter.
POUND, s6.2 and t;.^ Sh.I. Yks. Stf War. Shr. Hrf Glo.
Sur. Sus. Hmp. Som. Dev. and Aus. Also in form pund
S. & Ork.' [paund, peun(d, pun(d.] 1. sb. A small
enclosure ; a sheepfold ; a pig-sty.
Sh.I. HiBBERT Dcsc. Sh. L. (1822) 184, ed. 1891 ; In the Main-
land, the proprietors of sheep . . . gather their sheep in[tol folds
or what are termed here punds, Agric. Surv. App. 43 (Jam.) ;
S. & Ork.^, Sur.i, Sus.^ Dev. At a very remote period a considerable
population worked the surface of the Moor for tin, and the remains
of their rude circular dwellings — usually a mere fringe of granite
blocks— and their walled enclosures, or 'pounds,' point to this
occupation, Page Explor. Dartmoor {iS8g) iii; Near most of the
Dartmoor Wallabrooks there are to be found foundations of hut
circles or 'pounds,' Cornh. Mag. (Nov. 1887) 513. [Aus. The
drafting lane ... is a long narrow yard . . . immediately connected
with the pound or final yard, and leading into it by a gate,
BoLDREWooD ColoH. Re/omier (iSgo) II. 113]
2. A position from which escape seems difficult, esp. in
hunting.
n. Wil. Don't you think . . . you could speak to your father about
these money matters ; you know he's getting into a pound, he
really is, Jefferies Amaryllis (1887) xxiv. w.Sora.' I knowed
very well hon they went into thick there field o' ground they was into
a proper pound.
3. A pond ; an accumulation of water.
n.Yks. Our awd meer is slidden into'th pownd, Meriton Praise
Ale (1684) \. 132. Stf. There were no indications to show that
they were approaching a ' pound' (lodgment or accumulation of
water), Dy. News (Feb. 8, 1895) 3, col. 6. Shr.' A mill-pound is
the backwater which is held in reserve for the supply of the mill.
Hrf.2, Glo.i
Hence Pound-stakle, sb. the floodgates of a pond with
the posts and frame which support them. Glo. Lewis
Gl. (1839) ; Glo.' 4. A baby's napkin.
Hmp. Baby's pounds be airin' at kitchen fire (W.M.E.F.).
5. V. To dam up water.
War.3 Shr.' They'n bin gropin' fur trout I spect, I see the
bruck's pounded.
Hence Pounded, ppl. adj. of milk and the mammae :
pent up and overcharged.
Shr.' That child may well look bad, gettin' nuthin' but pounded
milk every night. Tak' car' and drip them cows clane, or we
sha'n be 'avin oans i' thar elders — see 'ow a bin pounded.
6. Hunting term : see below.
War. Lord Willoughby, who did an extraordinary feat with
Balloon, and pounded the field, was never far from them, Field
(Jan. 1890) in Moedaunt & Verney War. Hunt (1896) II. 175.
n.Wil. He'll be pounded, jEFFERiES^>«ar)i&s( 1887) xxiv. w.Som.'
An impassable barrier is said 'to pound the field.' So also a bold
rider who clears a fence which others cannot do is said ' to pound
the lot.' ' Ah ! tidn the fuss time I've a zeed em a-pounded, there
to thick place.'
7. To catch fish ; see below.
Som. To pound fish is to practise a method of catching them in
the reens by means of a pounding-net, which is placed across the
reen, and men then beat the water with poles and thus frighten
all the fish forward into it (W.F.R.).
Hence Pounding-net, sb. the net used in catching
fish. ib.
POUND, sb.^ Sus. A boil ; an ulcer. (P.R.)
POUND, v.^ and sb.* Var. dial, uses in Eng. Also in
forms poan Cor. ; poon n.Cy. w.Wor.' Shr. Hrf.^ Rdn. ;
pounn Hrf=; pun n.Cy. w.Yks. s.Chs.' Der.^ nw.Der.'
Not.' Lei.' War.' = 3 se.Wor.' Shr.' Hrf Glo.'; pund
w.Yks.'; punn Nhp.= ; pwn Mtg. ; pp. pown e.Lan.'
m.Lan.' [piin(d.] 1. i^. To knock ; to beat, pummel ;
to kick, stamp.
n.Cy. Ise pun him till the bitling, Grose (1790). w.Yks. Ah U
p'und thee, lass, if ta doesn't give ower, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May
30, 1896) ; w.Yks.' Lan. Whose face appeared to have been pown
into all shapes, Brierley Layrock (1864) ix. e.Lan.', m.Lan.',
s.Chs.' Der.2 I'll pun thy shins for thee. nw.Der.', Not.', Lei.',
Nhp.2 War. B'ham Wkly. Post (June 10, 1893); War.'^a^
w.Wor.', se.Wor.' s.Wor. If I wants to make anybody hear, I can
pound at the wall ^H.K.). Shr. Bound Provinc. (1876); Shr.'
4H
POUNDER
[602]
POUSE
' Please, Ma'am, it wuz only Betsey punning Sally down to lay the
cloth.' Such was the explanation given to a lady who enquired of
her maid-servant the meaning of a repeated knocking she had
heard at a backstairs door. Sally was not knocked down, but was
reminded of her duty by Betsey ' punning at the door! ' Mtg. I'll
pwn thee head for thee if thee dusn't be quiet ^E.R.M.). Hrf. I
pooned at the door {Coll. L.L.B.); Hrf.i ; Hrf.= Poon the door.
Rdn. Morgan IVds. (i88r). Glo. Who's that pounds at the door
so? Grose (1790); Glo.i Oxf.i If you waunts I, you pound.
Brks.i To knock continuously with a stick or implement, so as to
make as much noise as possible. I.W.i I'll pound thy head aal to
mortar. Dor. (W.C.) Cor. I'll poan thee well (W.S.).
Hence Pooning, sb. a beating, thrashing.
Shr. I'll give you a pooning, Bound Provinc. (1876).
2. To grind apples for cider. w.Som.^ 3. Phr. (i) to
pound a horse at anything, to rush him at it ; to ride him
hard ; (2) — grass, of sheep or cattle : to trample grass
in wet weather.
(i) w.Wor. Turn your horse about and pound him, S.Beauchamp
Grantley (1874) I. 155. (2) Som. (W.F.R.)
4. sb. A cider-mill ; the place where cider is made ;
also in comp. Pound-house.
Som. Jacob Handsford stayed out in the pound-house, paring
down the sides, and giving another screw to his apple-cheese,
Raymond No Soul (1899) 122. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
w.Som.' There's a capical cider-press, and a hoss-pound 'pon the
farm. Dev. They came down, and looked around, and poked
about in the poundhouse, Mortimer Tales Moors (1895) 122.
nw.Dev.' w.Dev. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) 228.- s.Dev.
(G.E.D.) Cor. The roof o' the pound house be nigh blown away,
Baring-Gould C«r^^«u^M (1893) xvii ; Cor.^
[1. OE. piinian, to pound, beat, bray (B.T.).]
POUNDER, sb. N.I.i A person who sells pounded
freestone for scouring.
POUNDING, vbl. sb. Chs. Dor. Also in form punning
Chs. 1. Obs. The operation of grinding gritstone into
sand by small hand hammers. Chs. Sheaf (1879) I. 250.
See Pound, v.^ 1. 2. Comp. (i) Pounding-cote, obs.,
the shed or hut in which the gritstone was pounded ; (2)
■ground, the flat place where flax is beaten with a flat
mallet to get the seed out.
(i) Chs. Sheaf, ib. (2) w.Dor. (C.V.G.)
POUNDMEAL, adv. Obs. Oxf. By the single pound.
The market women sell their butter by the dozen or pound-
meal (K.)-
FOUNDSALL, sb. e.Yks. [Not known to our other
correspondents.] A fine for impounding of cattle. (F.K.)
POUNIE, sb. e.Lth. (Jam.) A turkey-hen.
POUNIE, POUNN, POUNSTER, see Pownie, Pound,
v.^, Pomster.
POUNTLE, adf Sus. [peu-ntl.] Honest, reliable.
Ibepountle an no huckster as wud jostle ya, Jackson 5oK/toarrf
Ho {lHg^) 1.433; Sus.i
POUR, V. andsb. Sc. Yks. Dev. Also written poor Sc.
(Jam.) BnflF.' [po(r,po3(r.] 1. v. In phr. to rain and pour
fl'owH, to rain very fast. Sc.(A.W.), w.Yks.' 2. To pour
out ; to empty ; to drain, esp. to drain off the water in
which potatoes have been boiled.
Sc.(Jam.) Sh.I. Deywir just poorin' der dinner. Iminditwis
crappin heads an' tatties, Stewart Tales (1892) 244 ; He told
them to put on the supper, as he was going out for a short time,
and would be back by the time the kettle was ' poor'd,' Spence
Flk-Lore (1899) 23 ; Sibbie lifts da kettle apo' da tub ta poor him
[itl, Sh. News (May 28, 1898).
Hence to poor taties, to kill by letting blood.
Enff. Evidently a low term drawn from the act of pouring the
water from potatoes after they have been boiled (Jam.) ; Bnff.i
3. sb. A stream ; a gush ; a constant, steady flow or fall ;
a heavy shower ; fig. a great number.
Sc. A poor o' rain (Jam.). Frf. O'er her nose the sweat in
sooms. In pours began to tumble, Morison Poems \ 1790) 23.
Ayr. The coal heughs . . , brought a pour of money among us,
Galt Ann. Parish (1821) viii. Gall. There cam' a pour o' men-
folk frae 'tween the lintels, . . every man o' them wild wi' fear,
Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 123. n.Dev. Baisiers too in
pours, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 49.
4. A small portion of liquid, as tea, &c. Cld., Rxb. (Jam.)
POUR, POURD, POURET(T, see Poor, Poad, Porret.
POURIE, sb. and adf Sc. Also written poorie Bnff.'
1. sb. A vessel with a spout for holding beer and other
liquids ; a small ewer ; a cream-jug ; a decanter.
Cld. (Jam.) ; Miss Jenny Macbride's side-board, . . where all
the pepper-boxes, poories, and tea-pots . . . of her progenitors are
set out, Gai.t Legatees {t.Qzo)x.; A bonny wee china pourie full
o' thick ream, ib. Sir A. IVylie (1822) Ixxxviii. Lth. (Jam.)
2. A small quantity of a liquid. Cld. (Jam.) 3. adf Of
a stream : pouring, rushing along.
Gall. A broad flat stone overhanging the little pourie burn that
tinkles and lingers among the slaty rocks, Crockett Moss-Hags
(1895) xliv.
POURING, s^i. Sc. Also written poorin (Jam.). 1. A
very small quantity of any liquid.
Sc. Something exceeding a. few drops ; as much as may be
poured but nothing more (Jam.). Cld. Here's a house keeps a
pouring, Wi' the sign 0' the Muckle Black Cow, Ni.vimo Sngs.
(1852) 197. Lnk. I'll tak' a bit taste o't — jist the wee'st pourin',
Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 35.
2. pi. The dregs or leavings of any liquid.
Fit'. The thin liquids strained or poured from sowens, after fer-
mentation, before they are boiled ; that only being retained which
gives them a proper consistence (Jam.). Cld. yib.)
POURT, POURTITH, see Part, Poortith.
POUSE, sb."- and v.' Irel. Nhb. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Stf. Der. Lin. Shr. Also written pouce N.I.i N.Cy.^ Nhb.'
w.Yks.''; pous Chs.^^ Der.° ; powce Chs.; pows Lan.;
powse n.Cy. Wm. e.Yks.' w.Yks. Lan.' ne.Lan.' e.Lan.'
m.Lan.' Chs.'^^ s.Chs.' nw.Der.' n.Lin.' ; and in forms
peawse Lan. ; poust Chs.°^ [paus, pous, pus.] 1. sb. Dust,
dirt ; rubbish, esp. bad food ; weeds. Cf. powse, sb.^
N.I.' The floating dust in rooms where flax is being dressed.
N.Cy.i, Nhb.', e.Yks. (W.W S), e.Yks.' w.Yks. If he gets hold o'
that nasty powse. Hartley P»(rfrf;«' (1876) 166; w.Yks.^ It's all
pouse [it's all rubbish] ; w.Yks.^ Weak or tasteless liquid is
called 'weary pouse'; w.Yks.* It's nowt but pouse; w.Yks.s
Pretha what sort o' pouse is this thah's geen muh ! Lan. Only a
guinea for that bundle o pouse, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 37 ;
Lan.', ne.Lan.', e.Lan.', Chs.i^s s.Chs.' Saal'i, eeur)z u baas kitl
u aap'lz dha Mis'is iiz sent yii ; do sez yoa' mun pik- um oa'r, iin
pil' dhu best on urn fur u pahy, iin dhen yoa)kn chiik dhu paws
tiDth pig. Stf.', n.Lin.' Shr.' The refuse of the apple pulp when
all the cider has been expressed ; Shr.^
Hence (i) Pousedirt, sb. anything inferior or dirty ; a
worthless person ; (2) Pousement, sb. dirt, refuse, lumber,
rubbish ; a mischievous, worthless person ; occas. used
as a term of endearment for a child ; (3) Pousy, adj. (a)
dusty, dirty, untidy ; {b) asthmatic, from the effects of
inhaling flax-dust ; (c) rubbishy, worthless, contemptible.
(i) Lan. I may no 'count of sich like pouse-dirt, Waugh Chim.
Corner (1874) 28, ed, 1879; Aw wur noan sawsy to thee, pows-
dirt ! Sam Sondnokkur, pt. iv. 16; Lan.', Chs.' (2) w.Yks.';
w.Yks.5 'Pousement,' however, here, is the plural of 'pouse.'
When there are two or more persons to be stigmatized, the singular
' pouse' is put away and ' pousement' takes its place. Lan. Ger
off to th' school, tha young peawsement, Lahee Acquitted (1883)
iv ; Lan.' n.Lan. Our new parson, wi' his spon-new ways and
pousement, Thornber Penny Stone (1845) 14. ne.Lan.' Chs.
Awd fawn asleep, and th' powcements, when they'd done ringin,
. . . had laft me theer i' th' dark, Croston Enoch Crump (1887)
10 ; Chs.' Der. Yo good-for-nowt little powsement, Ward David
GWwe (1892) I. 39. nw.Der.' (3, a) N.Cy.' (i) N.I.', Chs.' ^ (j)
w.Yks. Good rost beef an ale ; that's the stuff. . . for Englishmen, an
not ther pousy 'Vin Ordinaire,' Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann.
(1861) 45 ; Them boots wor powsy things ; they wor done in three
vieek,LeedsMerc.Suppl. {May g, 1896) ; w.Yks.^ Lan.Aw'lIbenoane
mesturt wi sitch a pousy thing as a bottle cork, Staton B. Shuttle
Bowtun, 51. m.Lan.' Chs. Theest powsy, CAs. A''. (VQ. (1881) I.
16. s.Chs.' Dhi)m ii puw'si lot, dhem Braaynz ; yii nevflr noa'd
ndo'bdi kum tu aan'i giid, iiz kiim u dhaat' breyd.
2. Phr. (i) pouse on it or me, an imprecation ; (2) pride
and pouse, pride in that which is worthless.
(r) Lan. Pouse on me, did ever anybuddy know anybuddy else
ut geet wed witheawt cooartin, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 104.
e.Lan.' Gen. addressed to an unruly child. (2) w.Yks. Thale rue
for gein way ta sich pride an pouse, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla
Ann. (1855) 24; w.Yks.5 He'd long risen aboon yer pride an'
pouse o' fam'ly, 103.
POUSE
[603]
POVERTY
3. A worthless fellow; a dirty person, esp. a woman ;
a person in low society; a mischievous or playful child ;
anything troublesome or destructive.
Wm. A stinkin' auld powse, she's drunk again (B K.). w.Yks.
Eawr Nan, t'little powse 'at hoo is, Warty Rhymes (1894) 6 ;
w.Yks. "^1 w.Yks.^ Did yuh ivver see sich a pouse i' your life ?
Lan. We often see quallity become powse and powse become
quallity, N. &= Q. (1875) 5lh S. iii. 353. ne.Lan. Ne'er heed him,
owd powse ud he is, Mather Idylls (iSg^) 297. eXan.^, mXan.'
Chs.' Rappits is wary powse. s.Chs.i Der.2 Thou'rt a nasty
pous. nw.Der.^ Eh ! tha Httle pouse.
4. V. To make a dust.
Lan. Aw dunno' mind bein' dusted a bit, owd crayther ; so
powse away, Brierley Red Wind. (1868) xii.
[1. Cp. Fr. pousse de bled, the chaff of corn (Cotgr.).]
POUSE, v.^ and sb.^ Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Also written poose Nhb.' ne.Yks.' ; pouss Sc.
. (Jam.) N.I.' ; powse Nhb.> Cum.* w.Yks.^ Lan. s.Chs.'
[pous, paus, pus.] 1. V. To push, thrust, strike, knock
about ; to attack vigorously ; also nse^dfig. Cf. poss.
Sc. To pouss one's fortune (Jam.). Fif. They pous'd, they
jundy'd ane anither ; Their wambes afftimes were jamm'd thegither,
Tennant Papistry (1827) 98. Ayr. If you were going to pouse
your fortune, Galt Legatees (1820) v. Ant. Grose (,1790) MS. add.
(C.) Nhb.i Peg powsed thor jaws and myed them squall, Robson
War t Sandgyet (1851). Cum.* Ah'll powse thi' haffets. ne.Yks.^
He poos'd her oot o' t'clooas. Lan. They conna powse th' foyer
to thi likin, Brierley Treadlepin, v. s.Chs.' Dhii maer iz puwsin
in'tu)dh In'di-mee-l [The mare is powsin' into th' Indy-meal].
2. To wash clothes by repeatedly lifting them from the
bottom of the tub and then kneading them down with
some force. Sc. (Jam.), CId. (& s.v. Poss), N.L' 3. Of
a woman : to go about in a pushing, masculine manner.
w.Yks.5 Goas powsing abart hke a man.
Hence Powsing,///. adj. of a woman: pushing; mas-
culine. ' A gurt powsing woman,' ib,
4. sb. A push ; a blow.
Sc. (Jam.) Ayr. Tho' at times when I grow crouse, I gi'e their
wames a random pouse. Burns Ans. to Poet. Ep. st. 2. Dmf.
■Would some but gie your lugs a pouse They'd ser' you right,
Johnstone Poems (1820) 133.
5. A pushing, masculine woman.
w.Yks.s My conscience ! what a powse !
POUSE, sb.^ Lan. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A hazy atmosphere. (Hall.)
POUSE, POUSHIN, POUSLE.see Powse, sb}, Poison,
Puzzle 1),
POu's6"WDY, POUSS, POUSSIE, see Powsowdy,
Pouse, v.', Pussy, sb.
POUST, sb.^ Obs. Sc. Power, strength, vigour. Cf.
poustie.
Sc. Wi' poust and pushing, Drummond Muckomachy (1846) 35.
Fif. Wi' great poust o' arm and leg, Tennant Papistry (1827) 216.
POUST, sZ>.= and u' Bnff.' 1. sb. The person who
plays second among three players in the game of marbles
or ' buttons.' 2. v. To put a person in the position of
playing second in such a game.
POUST, j;.= Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) To snuff a candle.
POUST, see Pouse, sb.^
POUSTED, ppl. adj. Or L [pu'stid.] Bewitched,
charmed, infatuated. (S.A.S.), S. & Ork.'
POUSTER, sb. Sc. Also written pooster S. & Ork.' ;
pousture ne.Sc. [pvistsr.] Power, strength, ability. Cf.
poustie. „. , , ,
Sh.I. {Coll. L.L.B.), S. & Ork.i n.Sc. They say that he has
lost the pousture of his side or arm, when he has lost the use of
either, Ruddiman Gl. {tTi3) (Jam.).
POUSTIE, sb. Sc. Irel. Also written poustee Wxf.>
[pti-sti.] Power, ability, bodily strength. Cf. poust, sb.^
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 297. Abd. Is' uphaud
Ma'colm again' the haill poustie o' ye, Macdonald Lossie (1877)
xlvii. Fif. Her weary knicht's ilk limb and lith Gat tenfauld
poustie, powr, and pith, Tennant Papistry (1827) 147. 'Wxf.i T"
beek up ee bathes h' had na poustee, 88.
[ME. pouste, OFr. poesie, power, ability (Stratmann).]
POUT, sb} Ken. Also written powt Ken.' [paut.]
1. A small, round stack of hay or straw.
A hay-powt, Grose (1790) ; Ken.' In the field hay is put up into
smaller heaps, called cocks, and larger ones, called pouts ; when
carted it is made into a stack ; Ken.2
2. A ventilator made of twisted straw placed in the top
of a stack. (D.W.L.)
POUT, sh? Hrf. Ken. [paut.] 1. In comb. Pout-
ledden, spirit-led, as by the 'Will o'-the-wisp. Hrf.'
2. Phr. to play old pout, to play the deuce.
Ken.i I've been out of work this three days, and that plays old
pout with you when you've got a family.
POUT, sb? Sc. A grub very destructive to springing
grain ; also in coinp. Pout-worm. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 385, ed. 1876 ; (A."W.)
POUT, s6.* Obs. e.An. A backward or sickly lamb.
Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815).
POUT, v> and sb.^ Obs. Sc. n.Cy. 'Wm. Som. Also
in form poot n.Cy. 'Wm. Som. 1. v. To cause to pout ;
to render sullen.
Gall. Should some passage pet or pout them, They ken best if
the bonnet suit them, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 100, ed. 1897.
2. To cry; to blubber. n.Cy. Grose (1790). Som. (Hall.)
3. sb. Phr. in the pools, in a bad temper.
■Wm. An sair 'twad set them into t'poots If I their reel sud
claim. Whitehead Leg. (1859) 14.
POUT, v.^ Sc. To start up on a sudden, as from
under water ; to make a noise when starting suddenly
from under water.
Sc. (Jam.) Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
POUT, see Paut, Poult.
POUTCH, see Pouch, Pooch, s6.'
POUTER, sb. Ken.' The whiting-pout, Morrhua lusca.
POUTER, POUTERED OUT, see Polter, v}, Poitered
out.
POUTHER, V. Rxb. (Jam., s.v. Peuther). To canvass,
to go about in a busthng manner to procure votes. See
Peuther.
POUTHER, POUTHER-FOOLS, POUTLE, see Polter,
v}. Poultry-fowls, Pewdle.
POUT-PUNCH, 5&. Nhb. Dur. A mining term : a tool
used by the deputies in drawing timber out of a dangerous
place.
Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. It has a shank about 8 feet long, with a spade
handle, and a head pointed and slightly curved towards the handle
at one side and like a hammer at the other. It is either used as a
ram to knock the props down, or to draw them out after they have
been knocked down, Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
POUZLE, see Puzzle, v.
PO'VEREESE, V. Sc. Also written povereeze Bnff.'
[po'variz.] To impoverish ; to exhaust.
Cai.^ Abd. The lave maun be poverees't wi' sax ouks clockin',
Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xix. Cld., Lth. (Jam.), Bnff.'
POVERTY, sb. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin.
Nrf Sur. LW. Also written puverty Sun' ; and in form
pupperty Sur.' [po'v3(r)ti.] 1. In camp, (i) Poverty-
bells, the game of quoits ; (2) -box, a cradle; (3) -engine,
a tea-kettle ; (4) -knocker, (a) a weaver; (b) the shuttle
of a handloom ; (5) -knocking, the occupation of weaving;
(6) -pink, the clover, Trifolium ; (7) -purse, the shepherd's
purse, Capsella Bursa-pastoris ; (8) .wetd, ia) the ox-eye
daisy. Chrysanthemum Leucanthemunt ; {b) the purple
cow-wheat, Melampyrum arvense; (c) the corn-spurrey,
Spergula arvensis.
yi, 2) w.Yks.2 (3) Nhb.' So called from the increasing use of tea
in place of milk and oatmeal. (4, a) w.Yks. Here the words were
used contemptuously of a hand-loom weaver, whose earnings were
much less than those of a power-loom weaver. Most probably the
words have reference to the timed single knock, such as is made
by a poor beggar, N. & Q. (1887) 7th S. iv. 396 ; Ah once knew
a poverty-knocker 'at did sitch a thing, Binns Orig. (1889) 6. Lan.
Not used to be cawd a poverty knocker, er hond-loom weighvur,
Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 124 ; The sound made by the picking
sticks which send the shuttle from one side of the loom to the other,
is construed by weavers into ' poverty knock ' ; hence the phrase,
iV. (5-= Q. ib. 328. (A) Lan. I've gan o'er swingin a poverty-knocker
now, Brierley Waverlow (1863) 249, ed. 1884. (5) w.Yks. Billy
Joanson wor sa varry hooat one day — t'glass wor 100 at poverty-
knockin', Pudsey Olm. (1894) 6, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 2,
1896) ; "Tha'Unooanbe inclined to goa back to poveity knockin' after
4 H 2
POVEY
[604]
POWER
this! Hartley C/oc;J^/»!. (1878) 36. (6) Bwk. The weed, indica-
tive of sterility, Denham Tracts (ed. 1892) I. 36. (7) n.Lin.*^
Perhaps so called because it grows on bad land. (8, a) Chs.' ;
Chs.^ It tells a tale of overworked or neglected land. (6) Sur.^
I.W. Bears reference ... to an opinion that it exhausts or impover-
ishes the soil, Bromfield Flora (1836) 357, in (B. & H.) ; I.W.'
(c) n.Yks. (B. & H.)
2. ? The purple cow-wlieat, Melampyrum arvense. Sur.'
3. The Greek valerian, Polemonium caeruleum.
Cum. The well-known Poverty of the cottager's garden, Trans.
Assoc. (1883) pt. vii, 142, in (B. & H.).
4. The creeping pearlwort, Sagina procumbens.
Nrf. Very indicative of poor land (B. & H.).
POVEY, sb} Hrf. Glo. Wil. [p5-vi.] 1. The barn-
owl, Strix flammea.
, Hrf.i Glo. SwAiNSON Birds (1885") 126; Glo.*; GIo.° From the
appearance of the bird— 'puffy.' n.Wil. (G.E.D.)
2. The plover, Charadrius pluvialis. n.Wil. (G.E.D.)
POVEY, sb? Shr. In phr. Povey'sfoot, see below.
Wm. Povey when a young man met with an accident to his
foot, on the strength of which he led a life of idleness, his usual
answer to any inquiry as to the welfare of his foot being that it
was ' wus and wus,' and the saying ' Vi^us and wus, like Povey's
foot,' gradually spread throughout the district (W.B.). Shr.° Wos
and wos like Povey's foot. As large as Povey's foot.
POVICE, sb. Obs. n.Cy. Also written puvice. A
sort of mushroom or fungus when soft and easily shaken
into dust. (Hall.) ; As soft as puvice (K.).
POVIE, adj. Sc. 1. Snug, comfortable, well-off.
Per. Povie folk [people possessing abundance without making
any shew] (Jam.).
2. Spruce ; conceited. Fif iih)
POW, sb} Obs. Sc. (Jam.) Also written poo. A crab.
e.Lth., Hdg. Hence Pow-tae, sb. a crab's claw. e.Lth.
POW, sb.' Sc. Also written pou. A slow-running
stream or runlet. Brown Diet. (1845).
POW, v.^ Nhb. Yks. [pou.] To walk awkwardly or
with difficulty ; to turn in the toes. Cf. cow, v.' 2.
Nhb.* He can hardlies pow. n.Yks. '2
fCp. Dan. dial, poie, to walk shufflingly, awkwardly, or
laboriously (Molbech).]
POW, V.' Sc. To strike.
Baff. Pow en's head. He weal deserves a' ye can gee 'im,
Gregor Dunbar (1893^, 328.
POW, see Pole, Poll, sb.\ Pool, sb.^, Pow-head.
POWAN, see PoUan, Pound, sb.^
POWART, sb. Sc. (Jam.) A seal.
POWART, see Pow-head.
POWCAT, sb. Cum. fpou'-kat.] 1. The stinkhorn.
Phallus impudictts ; a dial, form of ' polecat.'
Science Gossip (1869" 45 ; Cum.' A fungus which grows in hedges
and has a very offensive smell, ' and stinks like a powcat'; Cum.*
Refers to . . . several kinds of fungi.
2. A tadpole. Cum.*
POWCE, POWDAVY, see Pouse, sb.\ Poldavy.
POWDER, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms pooder Lakek^ Cum.'* Wm. ; poother
Sc. (Jam.) Bnff".' Nhb.' Chs.' s.Chs.' ; pouther Sc. (Jam.) ;
powdher Ir. ; pudder Chs.' [Sc. and n.Cy. pud3(r,
pvi <53(r.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Powder-brand, a disease
in grain ; (2) -deil, a small quantity of moistened gun-
powder set on fire, gen. in the shape of a cone ; (3)
-monkey, (a) see (2) ; (6) ash-leaves, gen. with an even
number of leaflets, worn by boys on the afternoon of the
29th of May ; (4) -pan, the part of a firelock which holds
the priming ; (5) -pouch, a powder-flask ; (6) -reek, the
smoke produced by exploded powder ; (7) -room, a
powder magazine ; (8) -sugar, crushed loaf sugar.
(i) Sc. The black ears in barley and oats, provincially termed
powder-brand, and which are more frequently found in American
barley, than in any other variety, Edb. Even. Courant (Apr. 7,
1818) (Jam.). (2) Sc. (Jam.) Bnff. When a wedding occurred,
Poother Deils and choking the lums with a divot . . . made a brisk
commotion below, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 71 ; Bnff.' (3, a)
Wil. Ho w to take the honey was not so easily settled, till they thought
of making a powder-monkey, and so smoking them out. . . By
damping and forming it into a cake, it would burn slowly and
send up dense fumes, which would answer the same as sulphur,
Jefferies Bevis (1882) xxxii; Wil.' Damp gunpowder, moulded
into a ' devil,' or cake which will smoulder slowly, used by boys
for stupifying a wasp's nest, (i) Hmp. The ash leaves in the
arternoon they calls powder-monkey. And I've got up sometimes
over night to get a bit, so as to alter it at dinner-time. If you
hadn't got a bit o' ash in the arternoon, 'old powder-monkey'
they used to say (W H.E.). Wil.' (4) Ayr. He . . . drew his
hand several times through the water, and in lifting it, took care
to drop and sprinkle the powder-pans of the firelocks, Galt
Gilhaize (1823) xxii. (5) Elg. Fire awa yer feus-de-joie Till
ammunition lack again. Yer pouther pouch again gae fill, Tester
Poems (1865) 162. (6) Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coo/ r>-. Gl. (1888).
(7) Or.I. For fear of a train to the pouther-room, Peterkin Notes
(1822) 222. (8) Suf
2. Phr. (i) a powder-and-lead divine, a parson fond of
shooting; (2) by the powders, (3) by the powders of del/, (4)
by the powders of war, (5) in the name of powder, oaths,
exclamations.
(i) Sc. A shootin' minister ! . . Irreverent, poachin', poother-'
an'-lead Divine! Leighton Wds. (1869) 19. (2) Don. Well, by
the powthers, but I'm looking for a sarvant, Macmanus Chim.
Comers (1899) 160. (3) Ir. Be the powdhers o' delf, nothin'
barrin' the downright grace o' God, Carleton Fardorougha
(1836) 171. (4) w.lr. By the powdhers o' war, I'm all right. Lover
Leg. (1848) I. 166. (5) Don. In the name of powdher where did
you get the mait ? Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 167.
3. Dust ; stifling smoke.
Chs.' What a poother tha kicks up wi' thi brush! s.Chs.' A
person entering a room full of smoke or dust would say, ' Wey !
wot u pdo'dhur yi)n gotn 6eur' [Whey! what a poother ye'n
gotten here]. A puff of tobacco smoke directed into a person's
face would be a poother.
4. Curhng term : strength, force, speed, the 'way' on a
curling-stone in motion.
Ayr. I carena though ye're twa ells short — Hands up— there's
walth o' pouther, BosWell Poet. Wks. (ed. 1871) 196 ; Canny,
clap a guard an ell from this stane. Eh, ye have oure much
powther — man, you're raging like a pest, Johnstone Kilmallie
(1891) II. III. Gall. The player ... is not to give it [stone]
powder, and shove all to lochhead of desolation, but simply to
brak an egg, Mactaggart ^hcj'c/. (1824) 62, ed. 1876.
5. Fig. A hurry, bustle.
Lakel.2 He was gaan at a tremendous pooder. Cum. Heame
set he in a powder, Gilpin Sngs. (1866) 275 ; Cum.' Off he went
in sec a pooder; Cum.*
6. V. To sprinkle, esp. to sprinkle butter or meat with
salt ; to cure meat for immediate use ; occas. with down.
Sc. I'll . . . pouther his pow wi' a watering can, Whistle Binkie,
II. 309 (Jam.); To powder beef, Monthly Mag. (1798) II. 435.
Suf.' Putting pork, &c., into a tub with salt is called ' powdering
down.'
Hence (i) Powdered, ppl. adj. slightly sprinkled with
salt, corned ; (2) Powdering-tub, sb. a salting- tub.
(i) Sc. A priest whose teeth did head and legs swell, Did still
eat powder'd beef and eggs twell, Colvil Whigs Supplic. (ed. 1796)
II. 90; And there a piece of powder'd fish lies, ib. 129. Cor.'
A powdered cod ; Cor.^ (2) Sus.', Hmp.'
7. With up : to dress the hair with powder.
Lnk. Ca' Bessie in frae 'mang the kye. An' pouther up her hair.
An' stick her newest kame abun't, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 93.
8. To discomfit an adversary in a conflict ; to ' pepper'
him. Nhb.' 9. To bustle, hasten ; to fidget about.
s.Ir. Away powdhered the horse. Lover Leg. (1848) II. 434.
Lakel.2 Ah pooder'd off fer t'doctor as hard as Ah could liddur,
Wm. I poodert efter him es fast es i%var I cud, Kendal C. News
(Sept. 22, 1888). ne.Lan.' s.Chs.' Oo kon'u bi kwai"t — auviz
brivitin un p6o"dhurin iibuwt.
POWDIKITE, sb. Lakel.2 [pou'dikaU.] A boastful,
self-conceited person.
POWE, see Poll, sb>. Pool, sb}
POW-EE, sb. Frf (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A small, fresh haddock.
POWEED, see Powhead.
POWER, sb. Var. dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. Irel.
Eng. and Amer. Also in forms paur, pawer Wm. ;
peawr Lan. ; pooar Wm. ; pooer Abd. Cum. ; poor
Lakel.'' ; pour Edb. [pau'a(r, Sc. n.Cy. pii'ar, w.Yks.
pa-3(r), s.Cy. peu-3(r).j 1. In phr. power of good, a
supernatural benefit.
POWERATION
[605T
POWLER
Wll. She believed in the power of good held by a large flat-iron
in her cottage. It kept the disk of the fender bright. It also
kept strange cats from the cottage, Tennant Vill. Notes (1900) 24.
2. A large number or quantity ; a great deal ; in gen.
colloq. use.
Sc. Methuselah must have been worth a power o' money when
he dee'd, Ford Thistledotxn (1891) 333. Cai.^ Abd. This has
taen a heap o' time, an' a pooer o' painsfu' labour, Macdonald
Warlock (1882) xxiv. Ayr. He made ... a power of profit, Galt
Provost (1822) XV. Edb. To say them nae A pour o' times, Lear-
wont Poems (1791) 141. Gall. They shot off a power of powder
after him, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xlvi. Ir. There's a power
of things a-wantin' around. Barlow Kerrigan (1894) 61. N.I.i
s.Ir. There's a power of ivy growing on the old church, Croker
Leg. (1862) 30. n.Cy. (J.W.) Lakel.^ It does me a poor o' good.
Cum.l* Wm. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 20; Thear wur a paur
a fowk et berrin, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 50, ed. 1821. s.Wm.
Ye ta"en some power o' Fleaks, HurroN Dial. Siorih and Arnside
(1760) 1. 31. n.Yks.^, e.Yks.l w.Yks.i A power of brass ;
w.Yks.°3 1.031. 'F-ERGV50-H Moudyuiarp's Visit, ^. Chs.i^^g.ciis.',
Der.i Obs., nw.Der."^ n.Lin.' Ther' was a power o' foaks at th'
camp-meetin'. sw.Lin^ There's been a power of rain. Lei.^,
Nhp.i2 War.23, w.Wor.i, s.Wor. (H.K.) Shr.i If I'd a knowed
as I'd a bin so thirsty to-day, I'd a drank a power more isterd'y ;
Shr.'^, Hrf.i Glo. Ye've a power o' gumption, that ye have !
GissiNG Both of this Parish (1889) 1. 115 ; Glo.^^ Bdf. Batchelor
Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 140. e.An.' There was a vast power of
gentle-folks at the music. Sur. It's done me a power of blessing
for one, Bickley Sur. Hills (1890) I. 54. w.Sus. She has cured
a power in Silford, Gordon Village and Doctor iiSg"}) 254. I.W.
I've putt a power o' quality underground, let alone the common
zart. Gray Annesley (1889) x. Wil. A's got a power o' plaguy
long spikes all auver's body, Akerman 2'ales (1853) 118; Wil.'
A power o' volk. Som. A power of rain, Jennings Dial. w.Eng.
(1869). w.Scm.' Dev.i I've hard her had a power of sweetharts,
6; Dev.3, nw.Dev.' Cor. Powers of people from Cornwall, Forfar
Exhibition (1859) st. i ; Cor.' Maade of pasty-board, with powers
of beads and looking-glass; Cor."^ [Amer. Carruth Kansas
Univ. Quar. (1892) I.]
3. Obs. A military force.
Sc. If he refused, to take the power of the countrey with him,
and take them out by force, Maidment Spoiiiswoode Miscell.
(1844-5) !• 119- Ayr. A most respectit and pious oificer of the
town's power, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xiv.
4. Power to dispose of; possession.
Ayr. I wad be ayont fifteen, a sturdy fellow, feth ! but hadna
the power o' a bawbee. Hunter Studies (1870) 19.
5. Security for money advanced, lent, or deposited.
n. Yks.' Ah's got power for tweea hunder pund i' ma' pocket.
6. The power-cod, Morrhua minuta. Cor.'^ 1. pi.
Evil powers ; the powers of darkness.
Wil. She kept a bunch of gorse thrust far up her chimney when
there was no fire. It blocked it completely, and, she said, kept
the Powers out, Tennant Vill. Notes (1900) 24.
8. pi. Used in various quasi-oaths and expletives.
Dwn. Oh, powers o' war, but this wull be a day an' a nicht,
Lyttle Betsy Gray (1894) 20. Dev. What in the powers be up
to ? Mortimer Tales Moors (1895) 210.
POWERATION, sb. Chs. Stf. Shr. Hrf. A great
quantity.
Chs.i s.Chs.' It kos-iz fl puwiirai-shun ii miin-i [It cosses
a poweration o' money]. Stf.' Shr.' A poweration o' rain.
Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876).
POWERFUL, adj. and adv. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Won I.W.
Dev. and Amer. Also in forms pooerful, poorfil Sh.I.
1. adj. Great, considerable.
s.Ir. Yowz live to a powerful age here under the water ! Croker
Leg. (1862) 201. Nhb. It wud tak' a tarr'ble powerfu' sinner to
hide up on these desolate fells, Pease Mark o' Deil (1894) 134.
w.Wor. Ha sid'm a powerful lot o' toimes, S. Beauchamp N.
Hamilton (1875) I. 213. I.W. I hreckon Squire Rickman'll hae
a powerful weight of hay this year, Gray Annesley (1889) II. 122.
2. Of liquor : strong.
Sh.I. ' Man, dat's poorfil ! ' William said, after he took da dram,
an' rubbid his mooth, Sh. News (Dec. 22, 1900).
3. Plentiful.
Sh.I. Da craws wis aboot her most pooerful, Junda Klingrahool
<i898) 45-
4. adv. Very, extremely.
Ir. The man looks powerful poor and weakly, Barlow East
unto West (1898) 193. I.W. She's powerful high. . . She's most
too high vur work-a-days. Gray Annesley (iS&g) I. 163-4. Dev.
I've corned a powerful long road, Phillpotts Dartmoor (1895)
258, ed. 1896. s.Dev. They'm powerful took up in their pickters,
Longmans Mag. (May 1901) 44. [Amer. She would like manny-
fac mighty well ef 'tweren't so powerful weak. Cent. Mag. (May
1883) 147.]
POWET, POWEY, see Pow-head, Puy.
POW-HEAD, sb. Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Nhp. Also
written f owe-headCum.^; andin forms pavr-heed Cum.'*;
pollard, poll-head Nhp.^ ; pohead n.Cy. ; poheed Nhb.' ;
pow Wm. ; powart, poweed Sc. (Jam.) ; poweheed
Cum.* ; powet Bnff. ; pow-heed Nhb.' ; powheid Lnk. ;
powie Per. (Jam.) ; powit Bnff.' ; powlick Per. (Jam.) ;
powowit Edb.; powrit Fif (Jam.); pwoadCum. [pou"-ed,
-iad, -id.] 1. A tadpole ; also used attrib.
Sc. The poor pow-heads are all baked up together in a mud-pie,
Blackw. Mag. (Apr. 1822) 485. Bnff. No end of horse-leeches,
powets, frogs, and other creatures that abound in fresh or muddy
water, Smiles Naiur. (1876) I. 8, ed. 1879 ; Bnff.' Per., w.Sc,
Fif. (Jam.) Ayr. I would as soon meet wi' a pow-head in my
porridge, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) xliii. Lnk. Wee powheids
in plenty that soom in a plate, Nicholson .ffi'/wwrfrfje (1895) 133.
Edb. The pug-like smilan' Pegh ; Wi' the powowit poll, Carlop
Green (1793) 119, ed. 1817. Slk. A' the world's hotchin wi'
authors noo, like a pond wi' powheads, Chr. North Nodes (ed.
1856) II. 239. Rxb. (Jam.) Gall. Puddock-reed is fu' o' e'en,
And every e'e's a pow-head : But Nelly's twa beats them clean,
She is a charming pow-head, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 389, ed.
1876. Kcb. Powheads spartle in the oosy slosh, Davidson S«flsoMS
(1789)12. N.Cy.' Nhb. Here may be fund the po-heed, Chater
Tyneside Aim. (1869) 13 ; Nhb.' Cum. A silly sackless pwoad,
Stagg Misc. Poems ^ed. 1807) 93 ; Cum.'*, Wm. (J.H.), Nhp.'
2. Obs. A musical note.
n.Cy. So called perhaps from their resemblance to tadpoles
(Hall.); 'Toplay by the poheads,' toplay by the notes,GROSE (1790).
3. A Vesuvian match, so called from its resemblance to
a tadpole. Gall. (A. W.) 4. The minute-hand of a clock.
Rxb. Perhaps from a supposed resemblance in its form or motion
to a tadpole (Jam.\
5. The reed bunting, Emberisa schoenidus. Nhb.'
POWIE, sb. Rxb. (Jam.) A young turkey. See PouUie.
POWIE, POWIT, see Pow-head.
POWK, see Poke, 56.', v.^, Pook, ^/.^ Pouk, sb.^
FOWL, V. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Yks. Lan. War. Pern. Also
in forms pole, poll w.Yks. [poul.] 1. To walk or move
rapidly, to hasten. Cf. powler.
Ayr. He turn't on his heel, and powled himsel awa wi' his
stilt, Galt Lairds (1826) iv. Don. Brave Billy powlin' away for
Sthrabeg, with his head higher. Cent. Mag. (Feb. 1900) 605.
w.Yks. (S.P.U.) ; Down the hill we polled, Snowden Web of
Weaver (1896) v. War.^ Shoddy sportsmen and townsmen who
powl about on their hacks, Anderton Lett, from Cy. House
(1891) 39.
2. To eat fast and greedily ; to 'polish off.'
Nhb. An' then a plate o' pie, the thief! An' powls them off like
fun, man, Wilson Tyneside Sngs. (1890) 251. s.Pem. A was as
hungry as a beest, a powld a whole loaf in noa time. Give 'n to
me, I'll powl 'n (W.M.M.).
3. To leave off work in order to go to an alehouse.
s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854). Hence powled off, phr.
made drunk.
Nhb. Stiifdrownded i' the ragin' tide— powl'd off at last — eehoo I
'od bliss him I Gilchrist Sngs. (1824) 7 ; If there's ony left that
sees When Willy's tap runs thinnish, Let them be powl'd off at
The Keys, Or at the Black Horse finish, Wilson Pitman s Pay
(1843) 79 ; Nhb.i
POWLDOODY, sb. Irel. An oyster.
Wonderfully large supplies of exquisitely flavoured ' powl-
doodies,' and other kinds as well, used to be obtained from ' the
waters that break upon the shores of the Green Isle,' and at one
period these were sold at a cheap rate in Dublin, Standard (Dec.
26, 1890) 6, col. 4.
POWL(E, see Pole, Poll, sb?-
POWLED, POWLE-DAVIES, see Polled, Poldavy.
POWLER, V. Lan. Chs. Fit. Der. War. Also written
powlar Lan.; and in forms poler Chs.'*; poller Chs.';
powlurt Lan. [pou"l3(r).] 1. To prowl, esp. with a
POWLER
[606]
PRACUS
view to picking up trifles ; to work or walk shiftlessly
and aimlessly ; to ramble or get about. Cf. powl.
Lan. I ran thro' aw maks o' by gates, un bits o' tracks ut e
coom to, powlurtink o'er hedges un doytches, Paul Bobbin
Sequel (1819) 21 ; Lan.', eXan.i Chs.i After a bit o' snow th'
grass is sweet, and th' sheep powlern after it hke annythink ;
Chs.^ He died worth a power o' brass, but he'd been scratting
and powlering for it aw his loife. He could poler about a bit-
not do a day's work, but just poler. s.Chs.i Ky'ee-ps puwlarin
tibuw-t iz biz-ns [a man ' keeps powlerin abowt his busin'ss '].
nw.Der.^ War.3 On his tricycle powlering along the road at
fire-engine speed, Anderton Lett, from Cy. House (1891) 116.
Hence Powlerer, sb. a rambler.
Awth" rest mun be powlerers, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 15.
2. To work hard.
Lan. Aw know'd heaw aw'd powlart an' teighlt, Ramsbottom
Phases of Distress (1864) 21; Lan.i nw.Der.' He powlers an'
Works booth neet an' day.
3. To make a rambling noise. Fit. (T.K.J.)
POWLER, see Poller, v.
POWLEKT, ppl. adj. Lan. Knocked about ; alsoT?^.
distressed, broken down, impoverished.
Gettin powlert up an down, Waugh Stigs. (1866) 46, ed. 187 1 ;
Those at took sides wi' em, an' could never expect havin any
benefit eaut o' th' row, coome as badly off as their leeaders, an
geet powlert in a fearful way, BRiERLEv/m^o and Bear (1878) 7 ;
l^n.i s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854).
POWLEY, POWLICK, see Poll, sb.", Powhead.
POWHE, sb. Sc. Also written poolie, poulie. [pu'li.]
A louse.
Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (i8gg) 351. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 363, ed. 1876; (A.W.)
POWLSE, POWLT, POWLTS, see Pulse, sb.'^, Polt,
v}, Poults.
POWLURT, POWN, see Powler, Pound, v.^
POWNIE, sb. Sc. Also written pounie, powney. A
peacock.
Sc. Pounie-cock (Jam., s.v. Pollie-cock). ji.Sc. {ib. s.v. Pawn).
Lnk. I wad rather hae a bit good powny an' a pound o' cheese,
Graham Writings (1883) II. 24.
[The painted pawn with Argos eyis, Montgomerie
Cherrie (ed. 1615) in Evergreen (ed. 1761) II. 99 ; Duck,
drake, brissel-cock and pawnies, Pitscottie Hist. Scott.
(1575) ed. 1728, 146 (Jam., s.v. Brissel-cock). Fr. paon, a
peacock (Cotgr.).J
POWOWIT, POWRIT, see Powhead.
POWP-HEAD,s6. Wm. A blockhead. s.Wm. (J.A.B.)
POWS see Pouse sb.^
POWSE, s6.> Lin'. Won Shr. Hrf. Glo. Also written
pouse Shr.' Glo. ; pousse Wor. 1. Peas, beans ; pulse.
Cf. pouse, sb}
Wor. It seems to kill the beans, pousse, &c. (R.M.E.) s.Wor,
The powse '11 be in by another fortnight (H.K.). Shr.i A mixed
and varied crop of grain and pulse, as oats, pease, and vetches ;
oats and vetches ; oats, barley, and pease — frequently used as
green fodder for horses. Hrf. Duncumb Hist. Hrf. (i8o4-r2\
Glo. Often sown on fields skirted by game covers, and therefore
planted merely for the game who ruin other crops (H.G.H.) :
(S.S.B.)
2. The fragments of pods after threshing pulse, or of
clover when the seed has been milled out. Shr.^ 3. Silly
talk. n.Lin.'
POWSE, sb." and v. Cum.* 1. sb. A curly head of
hair. 2. v. To pull the hair.
POWSE, see Pouse, v.", sb}
POWSELS, s6. //. Chs.i=3 Dirty scraps and rags;
also in comb. Powsels-and-thrums. Cf pouse, sb}
POWSEN, sb. Pem. A louse.
s.Pem. Don' go anear 'n, the doorty fella, a's full of powsens,
they be creepin' over 'n (W. M. M.).
POWSEN, sb. pi. Glo. Wooden frames to protect
young trees in orchards.
' What be ee cutten up t'wood for ! ' ' I be makin o' powsen
for't yung trees in maister's orchard' (E.W.P.).
POWSEY, POWSON, see Pussy, adj., Poison.
POWSOWDY, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Lakel. Cum. Also
written pousowdy Sc. Nhb.' ; powsoddy N.Cy.' ; pow's-
sowdy Feb. [pou'soudi, -sodi.] 1. Sheep's-head broth ;
meal and milk mixed together ; any mixture of incon-
gruous sorts of food.
Sc. Making some pousowdie for my lord, for he doesna eat like
ither folk, Scott Antiquary (1816) xxxv. n.Sc. (Jam.) Bnff. A
young Quyne be pringit in Some trypal an' powsowdie, Taylor
Poems (1787) 131. Rnf. Fouth of good gabbocks of skate, Pow-
sowdie, and drammock, and crowdy, Sempill Bridal, st. 7. Edb.
May, that mak's pow-sowdy weell, Carlop Green (1793) 139, ed.
1817. Feb. Pow's-sowdy, king's-hoods, mony-plies, Sheep's
trotters hot and hot, Lintoun Green (1685)92, ed. 1817. N.Cy.'
A pudding placed under the roast. Nhb.'
2. An ale-posset ; see below.
Lakel. 2 Cum.' ; Cum.* A favourite dish was powsowdy. Ale
warmed in a kail-pot or set-pot sweetened and spiced, laced with
rum, toasted shives of bread cut into little pieces and put into the
liquor, and served up smoking in basons.
Hence Powsowdy-night, sb. the night on which 'pow-
sowdy ' is eaten.
Cum. The ale-posset continues to appear at the village tavern
on what is called the Powsowdy night, and consists of ale boiled
with bread, and seasoned with sugar and nutmegs, Sullivan
Cum. and Wm. (1857) 169.
POWT, see Paut, Poult, Pout, sb}
POWTLE, V. n.Cy. Nhb. Also written powtel Nhb.';
powtil Nhb. [pau'tl.] 1. To poke, stir up ; to rout about.
n.Cy, (Hall.) Nhb. The moudies powtelit out o' the yirth,
Richardson Borderer's Table-bk. (1846) VII. 141 ; Nhb.' ' What
are ye powtellin at ? ' To ' powtel about a burn side ' is to poke
in order to start trouts from their hiding places. Young pigs
enjoy themselves when powtellin among loose straw. To powtel
a fire is to stir the ashes out of it.
2. To work feebly. Nhb. (Hall.), Nhb.'
POWTER, see Polter, v}
POWZE, V. e.Yks.' [pouz.] To spill water.
POX, sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Yks. Chs. [poks.] 1. sb.
In phr. to cut for the pox, to vaccinate. Sc. (A.W.), N.I.',
w.Yks. (J.W.) Cf. pock, sb." 2. A plague ; used only
in imprecations.
Sc. Pox tak' such deils, Pennecuik Coll. (1787) 10. n.Sc. A
pox upo' their lodomy, Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 247, ed. 1875.
BnT. Pox o' your snotties An' i' your coatties, Taylor Poems
(1787) 25. Edb. A pox confound the solan goose, Maidment
Garland (1824) 52, ed. 1868. s.Chs.' Poks taak-sich frifnt wuurk.
3. V. To plague.
Slg. Tho' we are pox'd wi' poverty and law, Galloway Poems
(1802) 70.
4. To break so as to be useless.
Gall. The common term in the stone trade about Dalbeattie for
any total damage in working (J.M.).
POX-STONE, sA. Obs. Stf. A hard stone of greyish
colour found above the coal-seam.
So hard, that if a cleft be found in it, they soften it by fire
(K.). St.^'
POY, V. Sc. (Jam.) 1. To work diligently and
anxiously. CId. 2. With ttpon : to use persuasion so
as to unduly influence another. Per.
POY, POYER, POYN(D, see Puy, Pur(r, Poind, v.
POYT, see Pete.
POYTHE, sb. Pem. Wedding presents. s.Pem.
Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421.
POZY, PRAAL, PRAAM, see Posy, Prall, Pram, sb.
PRAAV, sb. Cor.^ [preav.] A sea-worm, of the
family Nereidae. [OCor. pref, prev, a worm, reptile.]
PRABBLE,sA. w.Yks.^ [pra'bl.] A quarrel, squabble;
? a dial, form of ' parable.'
Au darn't differ wi' him for fear on a prabble.
PRACCAS,PRACHEMENT, see Prachis, Preachment.
PRACHIS, sb. Irel. Also written praccas, pracus.
[pra'kis, -as.] A prize, a fortune ; a large number or
quantity ; a sensation ; freq. used iron.
n.Ir. He'd miss'd all the prachis he'd cum for, Lays and Leg.
(1884) 56. Uls. So and so for a husband would be a fine pracus.
Also used as a reviling epithet: 'adirtypracus'(M.B.-S.). Tyr. (t'A.)
PRACTICAL.EYED, adj. Wm. Observant.
A vara practical-eyed man, a man as seemed to see aw that waS
stirrin', Rawnsley Remin. Wordsworth \i&&^) VI. 167.
PRACTIQUE, PRACUS, see Pratik, Prachis.
PRADE
[607]
PRAN(N
PRADE, 56. Glo.i [pred.] A talk, chat.
I met him going to the Doctor's, and had a prade with him.
PRAE, see Potato.
PRAENT, adj. Obs. Dor. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Arch ; saucy ; smart. (W.C. c. 1750.)
PRAETHA, PRAETIKEN, see Prithee, Pretiken.
PRAG, V. Lin.^ [Not known to our correspondents.]
In phr. pragged with things, having a great abundance.
PRAH, PRAHD, see Pray, v., Protid.
PRAHEEN-CARK, sb. Irel. The hooded crow, Cor-
vus comix. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 86.
PRAISE, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Cor. [priz.] 1. sb.
Used in ejaculatory phrases as a synonym for ' God.'
Sc. ' Praise be blest,' God be praised. This is a common form
. . . with such as, from reverence, decline to use the sacred name,
Callander Poems (1782) 5 (Jam.). Sh.I. Lat dem come, tanks da
praise we're no needin', Sh, News (Dec. 31, i8g8). Abd. We've a'
thing safe an' soun' — sae Praise be blest, Guidman Inglismill
(1873) 28. Fif. Tennant Papistry (1827) 146. Ayr. Praise be
blest, thy mind's at rest, Burns Tither Morn, st. 3.
2. pi. Phr. praises he! an ellipsis for ' praises be to God.'
Cor. He can combine gospel and drink, . . which is a gift.
Praises be I If you will come along, Baring-Gould Gaverocks
(1887) xlv.
3. V. Phr. praised be, an ellipsis for ' praised be God.'
Yks. Please, sir, I've got a little lad at last, praised be, and I
want to have him baptized, Cornh. Mag. (Feb. 1887) 189.
PRAISE, see Prize, w.^^^
PRAISEACH, sb. Irel. Also in forms praisseagh-
Ir. ; prasaugh- Wxf.^ ; prashagh Don. ; prassia In ;
presha N.I.^; pressia Dwn. ; prushus N.I.^ The wild
mustard, Sinapis arvensis ; also in comp. Praiseach-buee,
•buigh, or -bhwee.
Ir. Threlkeld Hibernicarum (1727) in (B. & H.) ; The growing
oat crop struggles with the perennial thistle, dock, and prassia,
M'G RATH P;'rf«res, 113 (;6.). N.I.' Uls. f//s.yn«. ^reA. (1853-62)
VII. 278. Dwn. (C.H.W.) S.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890). Wxf.i
Kaayle an nettles, ee-mixt wee prasaugh buee, 94.
[Ir. praiseach, cabbage ; praiseach bhyiidhe, yellow cab-
bage, wild rape (O'Reilly).]
PRAITIE, PRAIY, see Potato, Pray.
PRAJANT, adj. I.W.^ [predgent] 'Swaggering';
conceited.
PRALL, V. and sb. Cor. Also written praal Cor.^
[pr§l.] 1. V. To beat. Cor.^ She praal'd Bertie.
2. To attach anything to the tail of an animal, or to the
back of a person.
Cor. We . . . pralled them with old lattice pans, Thomas Randigal
Rhymes (1895) 8 ; Cor.i
3. sb. A blow. Cor.^
PRAM,- sb. Sh.I. Also written praam, [pram.] A
mixture of milk and meal.
Unboiled. The meal used is chiefly that called ' burstin ' (J. S.) ;
S. & Ork.l Toasted meal stirred in with cream or milk.
PRAM, V. Sh.I. [pram.] To press ; to straiten for
room ; to overcrowd.
I widna expeck 'at ye wid be ony wye prammed fur room i' wir
skule, Sh. News (May 29, 1897) ; Da cru is prammed wi' sheep an'
folk, ib. (July 24, 1897) ; S. & Ork.i
[Cp. MLG. pramen, to press (Schiller-Lubben).]
PRAMBLE, see Preamble.
PRANCE, V. Sc. Yks. Also in form pronse m.Yks.^
[prans.] To dance, gambol, caper; to pace ostentatiously.
Sh.I. To see queer fishes prance in a new-fashioned dance,
Stewart Tales (1892) 36. Frf. He tunes his winsome reed. The
wee things loup and prance, MORISON Poems (1790) 47. Per. And
first Sir Andro, he maun prance, And he maun show his paces,
Haliburton Dunbar (1895) 22. Enf. Barr Poems (1861) 107.
Ayr. Fu' o' fun we'll wheel and prance, Till baith fa' doon. White
Joltings (1879) 193. Lnk. MuiR Minstrelsy (1816) 25. Edb. Glass
Cal. Parnassus (1812) 53. Feb. Whilst they [youngsters] touzle,
ramp, and prance. The carles took their gill, Linfoun Green (1685)
93, ed. 1817. Rxb. A sad mischance . . . which gart me caper,
loup, and prance, W. Wilson Poems (1824) 10, Dmf. To see the
folk sae busy dancin', And hear the tunes that kept them prancin',
Shennan Tales (1831) 36. Gall. Then roun' him ring, and prance,
and squeel, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 93, ed. 1897. m.Yks.i
Hence Prancer, sb. a dancer.
Rnf. They ken ... A' the fam'd equestrian prancers That grac'd
their stages, Webster Rhymes (1835) ii9- -^y- Ainslie Land of
Burns (ed. 1893) 326. Lnk. My fegs, but he's a prancer. . . Ye
ne'er saw sic a dancer, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895J 131.
PRANK, sb. and v} Sc. Irel. Yks. I.W. [prarjk.]
1. sb. In phr. to be like the prank, to be hkely to play any
particular prank.
s.Sc. E'en bonnie Peg Gibson sae slee and sae cannie, Yes, yes !
she was liker the prankie than any, Allan Poems (1887) 14.
2. V. To play tricks on ; to play fast and loose with.
Frf. It formed a halesome lesson to him no' to prank wi' blue or
red fire for a while again, Willock Rosetty Ends (i886) 88, ed.
1889. Per. I think the gentles micht hae better to do, nor prankin'
wi' the gude name o' a puir lass 'at ne'er wranged them, Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) 66, ed. 1887.
3. To prance.
Sc. Behold the pedlar, how he pranks With merchants marching
in their ranks, Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) I- 172.
Frf. Ye playfu', prankin', prattlin' thing, Wi' sunny locks an'
gowden hair, Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 62. I.W. (C.J.V.)
[His nag did kick and prank, Halliwell Nursery Rhymes (1842)
114, ed. 1886.]
4. To be forward or pert. w.Yks.^ 5. To amuse one-
self. N.I.i
PRANK, !/.= Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Nhp. War. Sur.
Hmp. I.W. Cor. Also in form pronk w.Yks.^ ne.Lan.'
[praqk, prseijk.] To .decorate, deck out ; to dress. Cf.
prink, v}
Fif. A mitre prank'd his pow, Tennant Papistry (1827) 37. Ayr.
The spreading landscape . . . appeared pranked with spots altogether
familiar to her eyes, Ochiltree Out of Her Shroud (1897) 361.
Lnk. First we'll prank a sprig o' thorn, wi' crimson daisies fair,
Nicholson Idylls (1870) 133. Hdg. Prank't in the blase o' fashion,
LuMSDEN Poems (1896) 72. Dmf. Reid Poems (1894) 72. Nhb.
Spring pranks midst her blossoms and flowers, Richardson Bor-
derer's Tablebk. (1846) VII. 78. e.Yks. Noon has passed, and the
baby, after a fretful and wakeful night, is only awaking, but
bright and refreshed. The nurse takes him, and, swinging him in
her arms, keeps time to the following nursery rhyme — 'Pranky
iddity ; pranky aye, Baby hezn't been pranked ti-day. But let ti-
morra come ivver sa soon Baby sail be pranked bi noon,' Nichol-
son Flk-Sp. (1889) 15; e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks.', ne.Lan.i
Cor. A person dressed out fine, is said to be pranked out (W.S.).
Hence (i) Pranked, ppl. adj. (a) decked out, adorned,
ornamented ; {b) variegated, mottled, speckled ; of a cow :
brindled ; (2) Pranked-jay, sb. the jay, Garrulus glandarius ;
(3) Prankied, ppl. adj. spotted, mottled ; (4) Pranking,
ppl. adj. dressing gaudily ; (5) Pranky, adj., see below.
(i, a) Nhp.' Kings cannot wear Robes prankt with half the
splendour of a flower, Clare Rur. Muse (1835) 7. War,^ l.W.i
\b) Sur. (T.S.C.) Hmp.i A pranked butterfly, a pranked kerchief.
LW.12 (2) I.W.I (3) I.W. As prankied as a snake (J.D.R.). (4)
w.Yks.' (5) e.Yks.' Pranky iddity, pranky aye. Tommy must be
a good boy to-day, MS. add. (T.H.)
PRANKET, sb. Sc. [pra-qkit.] A childish prank.
Kcb. They'd better fyle their wylie coats. An' fecht me wi' their
prankets, Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 144.
PRANKLE, sb. I.W. [praeqkl.] A prawn. (Hall.),
PRANKLE, i>. I.W. [prse-r)kl.] To prance. (C.J.V.)
PRANKSOME, adj. Sc. [pra-gksam.] Lively, full
of pranks.
Lth. The weans shall daff in their pranksome play, Ballantine
Poems (1856) 24.
PRAN(N, V. and sb. Sc. Also in form pron (Jam.)
Bnff.'; prone Mry. [pran, pron.] 1. v. To bruise,
hurt ; to squeeze ; to crush.
Cai.i Bnff.' The horse lay doon o' the 6ne' bit earikie, an' pront
'ir t'death. Abd. Leave them to be pran't or ill-guidet ony gate,
Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xx. Frf. There's few but I baith
pran'd and paikit, Beattie Arnha' (c. 1820) 32, ed. 1882; John
pran'd him down among the mud, ib. 33. Rnf. (Jam.)
Hence (i) Pran'd, ppl. adj. bruised, wounded. Bch.
(Jam.) ; (2) Pronning, sb. a bruise ; a squeeze. Bnff.'
2. To scold, reprimand.
Abd. We'll baith be prann'd for biding out, Beattie Parings
(1801) 31.
PRAPEEN
[608]
PRAWTA
3. sb. A bruise ; a squeeze.
Bnff.i He ga's finger a pron atween twa stanes.
4. Any substance crushed to fragments ; coarsely-
ground oatmeal; also 'flummery' made from such oatmeal.
n.Sc. (Jam.), Cai.' Mry. Prone, the bran of oatmeal, of which
so wens is made, Gl. Surv. (Jam.)
[1. Cp. Gael, pronn, to pound, bray, mash (Macbain).]
PRAPEEN, sb. Irel. [praprn.] A mixture of oat-
meal and milk.
Wxf. I have not a thing under the roof I could offer your honor
but a mug of prapeen, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 210.
PRAPPER, sb. Obs. Sc. A prop, support.
Edb. Thae hingin' sprays that bield the mavis' eggs, Will sune
be prappers for its younglin's legs, Learmont Poems (.1791) 116.
PRAPPRAP, V. Sc. Of tears : to triclcle, form in
drops.
Edb. The tears prap-prapped down his cheeks, Moir Mansie
Wauch (1828) xxi ; I found the warm tears prap-prapping to my
een, ih. xxv.
PRAR, see Prayer.
PRASAUGH, PRASHAGH, see Praiseach.
PRASKEEN, sb. Irel. [praskrn.] An apron, esp.
a large, coarse apron.
Ir. Winding the strings of her praskeen, Kennedy Fireside Stories
(1870) 147 ; He added gratis some yards of the stoutest grey
holland in his stock to make Stacey a couple of large aprons —
praskeens she called them. Barlow Idylls (1892) 209. s.Don.
Simmons Gl. (1890).
[Ir. praisdn, an apron (O'Reilly).]
PRASSIA, see Praiseach.
PRAT, sb. and v. Sc. Also written pratt ; and in
forms prate, pret, prot Sc. (Jam ) [prat, pret, prot.]
1. sb. A trick ; a piece of roguishness ; a wicked action.
See Ill-prat, s.v. Ill, II. 1 (129).
Sc. To detect an' expose the bits o' prets, by quhilk they inveigle
the public to buy their beuks, Scotsman (1812) 29 (Jam.). n.Sc.
(;'6.) Cai.i Bch. Your prats, she says, are now found out, Forbes
Dominie (1785) 29. Abd. Lear it prots it never saw. Cock Strains
(1810) 1. 18. e.Fif. It was high time for me to set aff to the
schule, if no to learn, at least to keep me oot o' ill-pratts, Latto
Tarn Bodkin (1864) iii. Lnk. Pate o' the Pans play'd a sad prat,
by casting in twa pounds of candle among the kail, Graham
IVriiings (1883) II. 231. Rxb. For witches play their dev'lish
prats, RuicKBiE Wayside Cottager (180-]) 112.
Hence (i) Pratful, (2) Prattle, adj. tricky, mischievous.
(l) Ltli. (Jam.) Edb. A pratefou callan' lately set a girn,
Learmont Poems{i']gi) 325. (2) Sc. A prattle, peevish, monstrous
beast, Maidment Pasquils (1868) 33. n.Sc. (Jam.)
2. Phr. to take the prate, to become restive.
Rxb. Nor did I prance, an' tak the prate Up braes when in a
pinch, A. Scott Poems, 61 (Jam.).
3. V. To become restive ; esp. of a horse or donkey.
Lth. Thomson Poems (1819) 152. Peb. I never pretit onie where.
At mid-day, night or morn, Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 60. Rxb.
(Jam.)
\OY..prcet, craft, art, wile, trick (B.T.).]
PRATA, see Potato.
PRATE, V. and sb. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Lin. War.
Bdf e.An. s.Cy. I.W. Dev. Cor. Also in form preyat
I.W.' [pret, prest.] 1. v. In comb, (i) Prate-apace, a
chatterbox ; a forward, talkative child ; also used attrib. ;
(2) -roast, a talkative child.
(i) War.2 What a prate apace that wench is, to be sure. s.Cy.
(Hall.), I.W.' Dev. Didee iver yer sich a prate-apace little
'aggage 1 'Er tell'th twenty t(l tha dizen ! Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ;
Dev.' I have zummet to zay to you, Mrs. Prate-apace. Cor.3 (2)
nw.Der.i
2. Of a hen : to make the peculiar noise indicating she
is about to lay.
w.Yks.'^ Hens are said to prate when they go about in search
of food. Chs.' s.Clis.i Dhaat- blaak- en)l bi lee'in s6on ; ahy)v
6eurd lir prai'tin fur u fau'rtnit. n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' I heard her
[a hen] prate and went out. Bdf. (J.W.B.), e.An.' Nrf. If the
hen doant prate she oant lay. Spilling Molly Miggs (1873) 6.
3. With at : to scold, give a talking to.
sw.Lin.i He might have prated at him and let it go by.
4. sb. Impudence, impertinent talk. m.Lan.^ 5. A
scolding.
Dev. I'm crQel dissappointed wi' 'er prate, Salmon Ballads
(1899) 59.
PRATE, PRATEY, see Prat, Potato.
PRATICK, sb. Sc. Also written prattick Sc. ;
prattik (Jam.) ; and in forms practique, protick Sc. ;
prottick Bnff. Abd. 1. Practice. Sc. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (C) 2. A form of procedure in a court of law ;
a precedent ; a piece of policy.
Sc. He's mock'd by the age, and his practiques forgotten,
Maidment Pasquils (1868) 362. Lnk. Be [by] this practique
several ministers have been put to hard suffering, Wodrow
Ch. Hist. (1721) I 302, ed. 1828.
3. Obs. A warlike exploit ; an achievement, esp. one
depending on a stratagem.
Sc. Grose (1790) A/5. arfrf.(C.) n.Sc. (Jam.) Bch. My proticks
an' my doughty deeds, O Greeks, I need na' tell, Forbes Ajax
(1742J 4.
4. An experiment, project.
Sc. Habbie was nae given to proticks, But guided it weel
eneuch, Jamieson Pop. Ballads (i8o6j I. 293. Abd. I'm nae jist
vera keerious aboot that doctor's protticks, Alexander Johnny
Gibb (1871) xxv.
5. A mischievous trick.
Sc. It is eith learning ill praticks, Ramsay Prov. (1737) 45, ed.
1776. Bnff. There's the littlans again at their protticks, Gregor
Notes to Dunbar{i8g3) 178. Bch. For proticks past. She blew me
here before the wind, Forbes Dominie (1785) 29. Abd. Gin he
try to play protticks wi' Muirlon, he'll maybe grip him as ticht's
vera mony, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 152.
6. Phr. (i) to prieve pratick, to attempt to play a trick ; to
try a ridiculous experiment ; (2) to play one's praticks, to
play one's cards well.
(i) Sc. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl. Lnk. Ramsay Poems
(1721) Gl. Rxb. You'll need to rise a \vee thingie airlier, an you
wad prieve your pratticks on Trimmie, Hamilton Outlaws (1897)
206 ; Dinna prieve your pratticks on me (Jam.). (2) Bwk. Had
ye but played your praticks weel, Henderson Pop. Rhymes
(1856) 168.
[Ft. prattique, practique, practice, experience; the course
of pleading, or of proceeding (Cotgr.).]
PRATLY, see Prattily.
PRATT, sb. Sus.i [prat] The bar of a plough to
which the traces are fastened.
PRATT, see Prat.
PRATTER, V. and sb. m.Yks.^ [pra-t3(r).] 1. v.
To prate. 2. sb. Prating.
PRATTILY, adv. n.Cy. Yks. Der. Also in forms
pratly w. Yks.^ ; prattley, prattly w.Yks.^ [prat(i)li.]
1. Softly, quietly, gently, cautiously ; also used attrib.
A dial, form of prettily.'
N Cy.2 w.Yks. Talk prattley, Hartley Budget (1867) 8 ;
w.Yks.' Gang prattily, er thouTt wacken' t'barn ; w.Yks. ^ A
child who takes short steps walks pratly. A tap runs pratly when
it lets out only a small stream in proportion to its size. nw.Der.'
2. Well, in good health.
w.Yks.s 'How's t'maaster to-daay, missis?' 'He's prattly,
thenk yuh.'
PRATTLE-BASKET, sb. Obs. w.Yks.^ A prattling
child.
PRATTLY, adj. n.Yks." [pra'tli.] Prattling,
chattering.
PRATTLY, see Prattily.
PRAUNGE, V. and sb. Yks. [pr^nfdlg.] 1. v. To
ramble about ; to search for game. n.Yks. (I.W.)
2. sb. A time of wild enjoyment.
m.Yks.' We had a rare day's praunge of it.
PRAUNTING, ppl. adj. Shr.' [pr9ntin.] Of a
horse : prancing, curvetting. Cf aunty-praunty, s.v.
Aunty, adj. 2.
PRAWCH, V. Wil.' [prgtj.] To stalk, ' swagger.'
I see un come a prawchin' along up the coort.
PRAWL, V. Wor. Hrf. Also written proU s.Wor.'
[prol.] To sew roughly or carelessly ; to patch or mend
clothes. se.Wor.i, s.Wor.i, Hrf.^^
PRAWTA, see Potato.
PRAY
[609]
PREAL
PRAY, sb.^ Sun [pre.] A long, narrow foot-bridge,
consisting of a plank and a rail, gen. across a ford ; a path
by or over a brook or pond.
Cattle ... go through the ford — pedestrians walk along by the
pray, N. ty Q. (1880) 6th S. i. 239; ib. (1889) 7th S. vii. 66; (R.D.B.);
(W.W.S.)
PRAY, sb.^ GIo.' [pre.] Awooden pin used in thatching.
PRAY, V. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng. Also written
praiy s.Wor. ; preigh Wm. ; prey Nhb. w.Yks.^^ Lan.
Uer.' ; and in form prah Suf.^ [pre, prea.] 1. In comp.
Pray-book, a prayer-book.
n.Lln.' What's all them gran'faathers an' gran'muthers e' th'
pray-book for?
2. Phr. (i) pray dear, an exclamation of impatience or
annoyance ; (2) — goodness or to goodness, an exclamation
of surprise ; (3) — pretty Miss or Priperty Miss, a game ;
see below; (4) — ye, — you,preya, or preo, a form of entreaty,
often used redundantly ; (5) to be prayed for, {a) to have
one's banns published in church ; (b) to be churched.
(i) Suf. Prah dear ! don't Stan garpen there. Prah dear ! don't
put on them airs (M.E.R.). (2) w.Yks. Noan bahn to stop ? pray
goodness, lass, Gie me thi bonnet, Pudsey Olm. (Feb. 1894) in
Leeds Merc Suppl. (May 9, 1896). (3) Elg. ' Priperty Miss, will
you come out. Will you come out, will you come out? Priperty
Miss, will you come out To help us with our dancing? ' ' No ! '
' The naughty girl, she won't come out, &c. Priperty Miss, will
you come out,' &c. ' Yes ! ' ' Now we've got another girl,' &c.
All the players stand in a line except two, who stand facing them.
These two join hands crosswise, and then advancing and retiring,
sing to the child at the end of the line the first four lines. The
first child refuses, and they then dance round singing the second
verse. They sing the first verse again, and on her compliance
she joins the two, and all three dance round together, singing the
last verse. The three then advance and retire singing, the first
verse to another child, Gomme Games (1898) II. 65-6. w.Yks.
' Pray, pretty Miss, will you come out to help us in our dancing? '
' No ! ' ' Oh, then you are a naughty miss, won't help us in our
dancing. Pray, pretty miss, will you come out to help us in our
dancing ? ' ' "V'es ! ' ' Now we've got our jolly old lass to help us
with our dancing,' Flk-Lore Rec. V. 87, in Gomme ib. 66, Sus. Obs.,
Gomme ib. 66-7. Cor. A ring is formed, a boy and girl standing
alternately in the centre. The child in the middle holds a white
handkerchief by two of its corners; if a boy he would single out
one of the girls, dance backwards and forwards opposite to her,
and sing the first verse. If the answer were ' No ! ' spoken with
averted head over the left shoulder, he sang the second verse.
Occasionally three or four in turn refused. When the request
was granted the words were changed to the fourth verse. The
handkerchief was then carefully spread on the floor ; the couple
knelt on it and kissed : the child formerly in the middle joined
the ring, and the other took his place, or if he preferred it,
remained in the centre ; in that case the children clasped hands
and sang together the first verse over again, the last to enter the
ring having the privilege of selecting the next partner, ib. (j.)
Nhb. Aw sez tiv her, ' prey ye if ye please,' Bewick Tyneside Tales
(1850) 15. Wm. Preigh ya stop a lal bit, Briggs Remains (1825)
167. w.Yks. What's it abaht, preya? Bywater Gossips, 4;
w.Yks.23 ; w.Yks.5 Preya gi'e ower. Lan. Preo na, tell meh ha
theese lung nemes leet'n, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 33.
Der.i (5, a) e.An.' Mr. Hunnard was prayed for in church to-day.
Cor. Hammond Parish (1897) 340. (b) w.Yks.'
3. Used redundantly.
Suf.i 'Well, John, how are yow?' 'Pure well, thanky sir;
prah how de yeow dew, prah ? ' Dev.i Than pray a call'd her
a purting glum-pot, 5. ....
4. To take care, mind ; always used with best.
s.Wor. You'd best pray I don't catch you again, Porson Quaint
Wds. (1875) II ; I'll forgive him this once, but he'd best praiy
I don't come across him again (,H.K.).
PRAY, see Prey, Pry, v. ^ . , . ,.
PRAYER, sb. Lan. I.Ma. Shr. Sus. Dev. Also m form
prar Shr.^ 1. In comb, (i) Prayer-day, a day of devo-
tion ; (2) Prayers-going, a service in church.
(i) Lan. Being under promise to go to a prayer day at Jennet
Parkinson's, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 88. (2) Sus.i We only
have prayers-going once on a Sunday at our church.
2. Phr. (i) to take a prayer, to pray audibly and extem-
pore ; (2) to give a person the prayers of the Church, to read
the burial service over him without a fee.
VOL. IV.
(i) I.Ma. Brother Cowin was ast [asked] to take a prayer and
he went arrit full belt (S.M.). (2) Dev.^ Plaize, zur. Jack Stiggins
is dead, and us come w' ether you'll gie 'un the prayers o' the
Church.
3. Divine service.
Dev.3 If 't plaize yeur honour, will yeu tell us when pray'r go'th
in up here %
4. An imprecation ; a witch's curse.
Lan. A class of people whose curses or ' prayers,' as they were
called, were much dreaded. Black Flk-Medicine (1883) i. Shr.^
I gid 'im a prar.
PRAYING-BOOK, 56. Sus.^ A prayer-book.
PREACE, see Preeze.
PREACH, V. and sb. Sc. Yks. Dev. Also in forms
praych Dev. ; preych w.Yks. [pritj, w.Yks. preitj.]
1. V. To make an excited statement, gen. of admonition;
to talk, chatter.
Yks. Lauk hoo tha preached, Ingledew Ballads (ed. 1842') 275.
w.Yks A, he did preych at 'em t'first time he ccome across on
'em. He'll preych thee a sarmon, nah, an' reight an' all, when he
gets ho'd on tha, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 9, 1896). s.Dev. Passon
be never tired of hearin' Job praychin' on hees old tales, Long-
man's Mag. (May 1901) 51.
2. Phr. to preach up the times, to discuss politics and the
business of the State in the pulpit. Sc. Hislop Anecdote
(1874) 325. 3. sb. An excited statement, gen. of ad-
monition.
w.Yks. A, he did mak' a preych when he fan aht 'at someb'dy
'd stown his eggs, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 9, 1896).
PREACHING, sb. Sc. Irel. Amer. [pritjin, pre tjin.]
A sermon; a rehgious service, esp. a Communion service.
Per. Wasna yon a fine preachin' the day ? Cleland Inchbracken
(1883) 62, ed. 1887. w.Sc. On the Tuesday after the preachings,
Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 132. Fif. He aft gaed streachin',
Sax, aught, or ten miles to a preachin'. Gray Poems (1811) 75.
SIg. Dureing that time I wrote all the preachings before I preached
them word by word, Wodrow Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I. 135.
Cld. To fairs and to bridals, and preachin's and a', Nimmo Sngs.
(1882) 117. Ayr. She was wont to attend the' tent sermons of
the Kilwinning and Dreghorn preachings, G alt Legatees (1820) vii.
Lnk. They . . . brought thee out of the kirk on the Sabbath-day
betwixt the preachings, Wodrow Cfi. Hist. (1721) II. 55, ed. 1828.
Lth. For fairs and for preachings I hae but ae gown ! Macneill
Poet. Wks. (1801) 206, ed. 1856. Edb. Mony a preachin' round
our bound I hae been at, Liddle Poems (1821) 33. Slk. At fair,
or at preaching, nae wooing, nae (leeching, Borland Yarrow
(i8go) 72. GaU. On washing o' dishes too I'd mak a preaching,
Mactaggart £Mcyc/. (1824) 109, ed. 1876. Dwn. The furst Sunday
that my brither Wully wuz at hame a tuk him tae the preachin'
wi' me, Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892) 16. [Amer. Dial. No/es {i8g6)
I- 392.]
Hence (i) Preaching-box, sb. a pulpit ; (2) -tent, sb. a
covered erection for an open-air pulpit. .^.
(i) Dor. Passon, he'd take I fast by the ear, an' car' I up
alongzide o' he in the preachen-box. Hare Vill. Street (1895) 29.
(2) GaU. His full bell-like voice sounded out from the preaching-
tent over their heads, Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 166.
PREACHMENT, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Yks. Lan. Lin.
War. Wor. Som. Also in form prachement Lan. se.Wor.^
[pritJ-, pri'tj-.] 1. A sermon.
Per. On the Kirk he's fit to go For to hear a preachment,
Smith Poems (17x4'! 80, ed. 1853. Edb He had . . . pickl'd up
some scrapes o' lair Frae preachments an' life debonair, Learmont
Poems (1791) 56. Lan. If t'runners han' scent o' our prachement,
Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) I. 167. ne.Lan.i War .3
A simple homely preachment, Anderton Lett, from Cy. House
(1891) 120.
2. A long, tedious dissertation or admonition, ^en. imply-
ing reproof.
n.Cy. I'm skeddled if I'll swaller any preachments from any one
in this house, Rhys Fiddler of Came (1896) 264. Cum.'*,
n.Yks.i24 e.Yks.i, m.Yks.i n.Lin. Sutton Wi/s. (1881). War.3
He gave me a fine preachment about it. se.Wor.^ Som. These
here agitators, you zee, do come . . . wi' a wonderful preachment
'bout reiorm, 'Raymoi^d Love and Quiet Life {iQgi^) 27. w.Som.^
Hold thy noise I mus'n a fuller zit down half an hour 'thout all
this yer preachment?
PREAL, see PriaL
41
PREAM
[6io]
FREE
PREAM, sb. m.Yks.i [priam.] A lengthy discourse,
a wordy narration, either written or spolien; a shortened
form of ' preamble.'
He wrote her a great long pream of a letter.
PREAMBLE, sb. Won Sun Hmp. Wil. Also in
forms pramble Hmp. ; priamble Sun^ Wil. ; pryomble
se.Wor.' [pri-ambl.J 1. A long, rambling story, long
and diffuse speech. See Peramble, 2.
se.Wor.i Hmp. She made a great preamble about such and
such a thing (T.L.O.D.). Wil. Slow Gl. (1892).
Hence Pramble-talk, sb. evasive, unsatisfactory talk.
Hmp. Blackley PFd. Gossip (1869) 168.
2. Phr. to make a long priamble, to raise difficulties.
Sur.i He made a long priamble about it, and so I dechned.
PREASE, see Freeze, Prize, v}
PREASER, sb. Obs. Yks. Also in forms pressur,
prissur. Rennet.
n.Yks. I stale a keslup. Nan, fra thy fatther, Which made me
a deel of dainty preaser, Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 624;
A^. 6- Q. (1891) 7th S. xii. 51.
[Fr. presure, rennet (Cotgr.).]
PREASfS, PREAVE, see Preeze, Prove.
PREAW, PREAWT, PREAZE, see Prow, Prowt, sb.,
Preeze.
PRECEESE, adj. and adv. Sc. [prisrs.] 1. adj.
Particular. A dial, form of precise.'
Sc. I'm in a preceese hurry, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) xii.
2. adv. Precisely, exactly.
Fif. He lichts, preceese at aucht o'clock. On Crail's auld
steeple's weathercock, Tennant Papistry (1827) 23. Gall. (A.W.)
PRECENT, V. Sc. To lead the singing ; to play the
part of a precentor.
Abd. Johnny Gibb precented, Alexander/o/!k«;i Gibb (1871) xii.
PRECENTOR, sb. Obs. Yks. An officer formerly
elected by the ratepayers to protect public footpaths.
■w.Yks. The person who last held the office of pinder and pre-
centor in Stainland is still there, Hlfx. Courier (May 29, 1847).
PRECEPT,s6. Obs. Sc. A law term : a legal injunc-
tion or document.
Sc. He, be ane precept and wryting subscryuit be my Lord
Regent, wes chargeit to persew the saidis persones, Pitcairn
Crim. Trials (1829) pt. i. 17. Sh.I. The precept or sasine desires
the Bailie to pass to the ground of the foresaid lands and per-
tinents thereof, Sh. News (Dec. 4, 1897). Abd. A precept to the
tenantes to paye their silver rentes for that yeare to them, Blakhal
Breife Narr. (1667-7) 74, ed. 1844. Per. I . . . had a precept from
Pitmidden For rents to Bishops now forbidden. Smith Poems
(1714) IDS, ed. 1853. Fif. Direct no precept upon the retours,
Scot. Apolog. Narration (1644) 216, ed. 1846.
PRECIOUSER, adj I.Ma. Som. [pre-j3S9(r).] Dearer,
more costly.
I.Ma. More preciouser till any pearl. Brown Doctor (1887) 71.
w.Som.i These here be more preciouser, but I count they be
cheapest, come to last. [Litil fob at a tyme is preciousere than
wisdom and glorie, Wyclif Eccles. x. i.]
PRECKET(T, PRECKLE, see Pricked, Prickle.
PRECOGNITION, 5^>. Sc. A law term : a preliminary
judicial inquiry by examination of witnesses.
Rnf. Several are taken up, and lawyers have taken a precognition,
WoDRow Corres. (1709-31) II. 505, ed. 1843. Lnk. At his desire
precognition was taken in all business relating thereto, ib. Ch. Hist.
(1721) I. 133, ed. 1828. Wgt. By a precognition led before me of
this date, Fraser Wigtown (1877) 73.
PRECOGNOSCE, v. Sc. A law term : to make pre-
liminary legal inquiry by examination of witnesses.
Arg. I'm not disposed to precognosce every lodger in Tyree
upon his politics, Munro J. Splendid (1898) 277. e.Fif. Havin'
precognosced Mrs. Snifters an' her servant lass ... as witnesses
for the defence, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xv. Lnk. The manner
of the crimes objected . . . will not be found expedient to be tossed
in public, or touched with every hand, but rather to be precog-
nosced upon by wise, sober, noble and judicious persons, Wodrow
Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 133, ed. 1828.
PRECUNNANCE, sb. Sc. A prearrangement ; a con-
dition ; an understanding.
Abd. Upon this ' precunnance ' matters stood, Alexander Ain
Flk. (1882) 156 ; The Session itsel cudna relieve ye, man, upo'
nae ither precunnance, ib. 223.
PREDIKANTER, s6. Obs. Sh.I. A preacher, ministen
He had many other names, such as, for instance, de predikanter,
Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 26.
PREDNEY, adv. I.W.^ [pre'dni.] A corruption of
' presently.' 'I'll gi' ye a belting predney.'
PREDOMINANT, sb. Obs. Sc. A dominant sin or
passion.
Slg. Beware, I pray you, of predominants, these devils that
cannot be cast out but by fasting and prayer, Wodrow Soc. Sel,
Biog. (ed. 1845-7) !• 269. Kcb. You have never cleared yourself
of many predominants and bosom sins, whereof I both spake and
writ to you, ib. I. 391.
FREE, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Also written
prie Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. [pri.] 1. v. To prove, experience,
venture upon ; to attain ; a contracted form of ' prieve.'
See Prove.
Abd. We've pree'd the pangs o' hunger, Murray Hamewith
(igoo) 82. Per. Such pleasures as happy hearts ever shall pree.
Ford //af/> (1893) 217. Fif. May they share o' ilkablessin', Sorrow
never pree ava, Douglas Poems (1806) 113. Lth. Macneill Poet.
Wks. (1801) 139, ed. 1856. Edb. May the bargain fit That ye sae
eithly pree, M'Dowall Poems (1839) 217.
Hence Freeing, sb. proof, experience.
Ayr. Which was the first taste and preeing of what war is, when
it comes into our hearths, Galt Ann. Parish (1821) xvii.
2. To taste, partake of, drink ; to give relish to.
Sc. And prie the wine amang, Aytoun Ballads (ed. 186 1) I.
I79._ n.Sc. If ye hadnae preed the critur at a', ye wad hae con-
tentit yersel' wi' a 'gude-day' tae the maister, Gordon Carglen
(1891) 173. Cal.i Elg. He, honest carle, whiffs awa', Or pries
his mill, CouPER Po^ms (1804) II. 15. nw.Abd. Say awa, an' pree
the cheese, Goodwife (1867) St. 30. Frf. The preserves had to
be pree'ed and praised, Inglis Ain Flk. (1895) 155. Per. At our
bridals wha wad prie Until they sair the Minister? Stewart
Character {\?,yi) Ixvi. w.Sc. Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 115.
e.Fif. Mr. Muckhawkie brocht oot his New Year's bottle, an'
garred them pree a wee lickie o't, Latto Tam Bodkin (1864) ii.
Slg. They prie sae nice, they need nae spice, Galloway Poems
(ed. 1795') 41. s.Sc. To prove the pudding is to prie't, Watson
Bards (1859) 75. Cld. Weary on your niggard drone That never
prees the kame, Nimmo Sngs. (1882) 89. Dmb. Fairy prospects
do we see Whan we thy healin' barm do pree, Taylor Poems
(1827) 20. Rnf. Sempill Bridal, st. 9. Ayr. Pree her cherry
bounce, Galt Legatees (1820) viii. Lnk. M°Indoe Poems (1805)
50. Lth. Something guid their gabs to prie, Bruce Poems (1813)
II. 34. Hdg. LuMSDEN Poems (1896) 7. Bwk. O' our roast pig
thou shal't prie, Henderson Pop. Rhymes (1856) 13. Peb. Affleck
Poet. Wks. (1836) 121. Slk. And he that comes near these bullets
shall prie, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 86. Rxb. We'd surely prie't wi'
httle priggin, A. Scorr Poems (ed. 1808) 77. Dmf. Sweet maiden,
will ye pree? Cromek Remains (i8io) 6. Gall. They cracked
owre a' the news in town. And preed a drap to synd them down,
Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 62, ed. 1897. Kcb. His brother bees
around him run in troops To prie the new-earn'd sweets, Davidson
5#a50Ks(i789) 75. N.I.i n.Cy. Bo/-*>- G/. (Co«. L.L.B.) Nhb. He
shakes his head above the trough, But dares not prie the corn,
Dixon Sngs. Eng. Peas. (1846) 83. Cum. To gang an' pree anudder
bicker, Gilpin Pop. Poetry (1875) 143. •
Hence Preeing, sb. a testing, tasting ; a taste, bite ; a
drinking, tippling.
Abd. Regretting that they hadn't likewise brought a ' preein' o'
her hame-brewn,' Greig Logie o' Buchan (1899) 184. Frf. Sands
Poems (1833) 115. Per. The pruif o' the puddin's the preein' o't,
Ci.EZ.Aiiv> Inchbracken (1883) 64, ed. 1887. w.Sc. I hae gotten baith
my cheese an' whisky laid in. So you'll maybe come and get a
preeing o't at New'r-day, Carrick Laird of Logan (1835) 114.
Ayr. Their preein's began to tell on their breath. Hunter Studies
(1870) 145. Lnk. Watt Poems (1827) 17 ; Your sugars and teas,
If e'er I thought wordy the preeing, M'^Indoe Poems (1805) 104.
Edb. The proof of the pudding's in the preeing o't, Beatty Secretar
(1897) 62. Kcb. They canna tak' a dram o' Hquor now without
ha'ein' as mony mimins and preein's to gang through, as if they
were a' born gentry, Elder Borgue (1897) 31.
8. To kiss ; gen. in phr. to pree the mouth.
Sh.I. Her sweet cherry lips did he pree, Stewart Tales{iSi}z) 237.
Elg. Let my lips again Thy lips sae ruby pree, lassie, Tester Poems
(1865) 213. Bnfif. I pried her mou' an' thumt her chin, Taylor
Poems (1787) 57. Abd. I clasp'd her i' my arms, an' then, I pri'd
her mou', Cock Strains (1810) I. 119. Kcd. He cheered the bonny
lass. And pree'd her mou' among the grass, Jamie Muse (1844) 5.
PREEAFLINS
[6ii]
PREEN
Frf. He had no thought o' preeing lasses' mouths now, Barrie
Tommy (1896) 215. Per. Cum pree ma mou, Ian Maclaren
Brier Bush (1895) 199. e.Fif. At the conclusion there was a general
kissin' 0' the bride, causin' Tibbie to blush to the very tips o' her
lugs at havin' her cherry lips thus pree'd ' afore folk,' Latto Tarn
Bodkin (1864) xxiv. Slg. Towers Poems (1885) 151. Dmb. Yer
sucker mou' she ne'er wad pree, Taylor Poems (1827) 75. Rnf.
Harp (1819) 8. Ayr. Fu' sweetly then I pried her mou', Laing
Poems (1894) 81. Lnk. Syne Johnnie pried the widow's mou',
Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 83. Lth. Thomson Poems (1819) 65.
Edb. Be ATT Y Secretar (1897) 245. Bwk. I . . . pree'd her sweet
mou', Calder Poems (1897) 284. Feb. Fain wad I pree thy bonie
mou', Affleck Poet. Wis. (1836) 134. Slk. Aye he pree'd her
cherry mou', Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 93. Gall. Ilk time that a
smack o' her mou' I did pree, Mactaggart Encyd. (1824) 109, ed.
1876. Kcb, The miller has taen me hame, An' preed o' my rosy
mou', Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 20. Cum.^ An' aye he preed
the lassie's mou'.
4. To Stop at any place in order to make trial for fish.
Or.I. (Jam.) 5. sb. A small portion ; a taste.
Rnf. Sae after some drams 1 gat a pree, I bade gude day, Webster
Rhymes (1835I 182. Ayr. Gie me a pree, but no my fill, White
Jottings (1879) 169. Lnk. Puir souls, they've forgotten its pree !
Wardrop J. Mathison (1881) 126.
[1. ' Thei wol alleggen,' quod I, ' and by the gospel
preuen, Nolite indicare quemquam,' P. Plowman (b.) xi. 88.]
PREEAFLINS, sb. pi. n.Yks.^ In phr. to see the
preeaflins, to be convinced by the proofs.
PREEAN, see Preen, sb.
PREEART, «c{?'. e.Lan.i [prist.] A dial, form of 'pert.'
PREEAY, int. Sc. [pri-i.] A cry used for calling
calves. Abd. (G.W.) Cf. proo.
PREEDY, adj. and adv. Cor. [pridi.] 1. adj. On
an even balance, and ready to turn or vibrate with a very
slight difference of weight. Cor.^^ 2. adv. Easily,
creditably.
That lock goes mighty preedy (Hall.) ; Cor.' She does it bra'
and preedy; Cor.^ Putty preedy.
■ PREEDY, PREEF, see Pridy, Proof.
PREEK, sb. Lnk. (Jam.) Impatient eagerness to
accomplish anything.
PREEK, see Prick.
PREEM, sb. Yks. Lan. [prim.] A cotton-trade term :
a comb used by weavers to loosen the yarn. Lan. Trans.
Phil. Soc. (1855) 268. s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854). Prob.
the same word as ' preen,' sb. (q.v.) Hence Preemer, sb.
a boy who cleans teazles. w.Yks. (F.M.L.)
PREEN, sb. and v. Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Cth. Pem.
Also in forms preean Lakel.'^ ; prein Sc. (Jam.) ; prin Sc.
N.Cy.' Cum.^ n.Yks.^^ m.Yks.^ ; prine Sc. [prin, prin.]
1. sb. A pin.
Sc. And for twice fifty thousand crowns I value not a prin-O,
Ramsay Tea-Table Misc. (1724) I. 178, ed. 1871 ; Begin with
needles and prines and leave off with horse and horn'd nout,
Kelly Prov. (i.'j^i) 68. Sh.I. His een lookit at me as sharp lack
as preens, Burgess /?«sm!'« (1892) 12. ne.Sc. Steal a needle, steal
a preen. Steal a coo or a' be deen, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 20.
Cai.i Abd. The mistress bad's seek some preens, Alexander
Johnny Gibb (1871) vi. Per. Drobbin' him wi' prins, an' what no,
Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 232, ed. 1887. w.Sc. Carrick Laird
of Logan (1835) 274. Slg. Fergusson My Village (1893) 132.
Rnf. PiCKEN Poems (1813) I. 125. Lnk. Braw ribbons, pocket
napkins, needles and preens, Fraser Whaups (1895) xii. Lth.
Few at first will steal a cow. But needle or prin will pu' Frae out
a sleeve, Thomson Poems (1819) 115. Edb. She sold oatmeal and
red herrings, needles and prins and what not, MoiR iWawsie Watich
(1828) i. Slk. A prinkling through a' my veins and skin like
needles and preens, Hogg Tate (1838) 7, ed. 1866. Dmf. Shennan
Tales (1831) 75. Gall. Even a preen . . . will not be touched,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 210, ed. 1876. Kcb. He . . . staps
pushion'd preens through bonnie wee butterflies, Armstrong
Kirkiebrae (i8g6) 167. Wgt Fraser Wigtown (1877) 309. n.Cy.
Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.i Nhb.^Thor's a preen on the floor. Cum.'
2. Phr. (i) a preen the better, worse, &c., any better,
worse, &c. ; (2) as neat as a preen, (3) like a {new-made)
preen, very neat and tidy ; (4) not to care or mind a preen,
(5) not to give a preen, not to care in the least ; (6) not
worth a preen, of exceedingly small value, worthless.
(i) Sc. And never been a preen the waur, Oliphant Lover and
L ass, 130. e.Flf. Withoot makin' me ae preen the better, Latto
Tarn Bodkin (1864) xviii. Ayr. A bit birz that I'll soon no be a
prin the waur o't, Galt Sir A. Wylie (1822) iii. e.Ltb. Naebody
wad be a preen the waur. Hunter /. Inwick (1895) 206. Edb.
The rogue will no be a preen the waur, Beatty Secretar (1897)
205. (2) Bwk. Their mither looks after the roguies An' keeps
them as neat as a preen, Calder Poems (1897) 70. (3) Sh.I. She
keeps da house laek da preen. Burgess Lowra Biglan (1896) 57.
Elg. Isa— like a new-made preen. Tester Poems (1865) 191.
Abd. Busk ye trig's a new-made preen, Cadenhead Bon-Accord
(1853) 144. Lnk. A' things are polish'd hke ony new preen,
Rodger Poems (1838) 37, ed. 1897. Dmf. The hoose was shinin'
like a new preen, Paton Castlebraes {iBi^Q') 158. Lth. Every corner
is as clean as a new preen, Strathesk B/mAAoKKj' (ed. 1891) 189.
(4) n.Sc. The lassie never care't a prin for him, Gordon Carglen
(1891) 108. Abd. Ogg Willie Waly (1873) 75. Per. Either she
disna care a preen. Or else she kens I'm leein', Haliburton
Horace (1886) 17. Lnk. It's no the taties I care a preen for,
Fraser Whaups (1895) xiii. e.Lth. Hunter /. Inwick (1895) 24.
Edb. MACLAGANPof»«5(i85i) 91. Bwk. Calder Poems (1897) 66.
Slk. She disna mind my love a preen, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 269.
Gall. Your gran'faither onlj' pleased her by pretendin' no to care
a preen for her, Crockett Raiders (1894) xxxiii. (5) Fif. I dinna
gie a preen's value for either Baudrons, the hoose, or dynamite,'
McLaren Tibbie (1894) 63. s.Sc. For half o' yer pedantic lore I
wadna gie a preen, Watson Bards (1859) 198. Dmb. I wood
not give a preen to see her. Cross Disruption (1844) xiii. (6)
Rnf. I had not been the man I am, nor ever worth A penny
preen, M''GiLVRAy Poems (ed. 1862) 65. Ayr. My memory's no
worth a preen. Burns To W. Simpson (May 1785) st. 19. Lnk.
MuiR Minstrelsy (1816) 115. Lth. Sugar dirt, no worth a prin,
Bruce Poems (1813) II. 24. Bwk. Reckoned at their fullest value
They're no worth a raw o' preens, Calder Poems (1897) 258.
Rxb. Wilson Poems (1824) 42. Gall. No worth a preen, Crockett
Bog-Myrtle (1895) 368.
3. Comb, (i) Preen-cod, {a) a pincushion ; {b)fig. a little,
fat person ; (2) -cushion, see (i, a) ; (3) -head, a pin-head ;
(4) -headed,,/?^, small-brained ; (5) -point, a pin-point; (6)
■'s worth, the worth of a pin.
(i, a) Per. A preen-cod, aged fifty years. Aye danglin' at the
side. Ford Harp (1893"! 210. Ayr. The nabob made them presents
of new gowns and princods, Galt Provost (1822) v. Gall. Mac-
taggart Encycl. (1824). N.Cy.', Nhb.', n.Yks.12, m.Yks.' (6)
n.Cy. Grose (1790). (2) Lnk. Like a bunch o' daurnin' needles in
a sawdust preen-cushion, Murdoch Readings (1895) II. 65. (3)
Sc. * No worth a preinhead,' a phrase commonly used to intimate
that the thing spoken of is of no value (Jam.). Rxb. I canna mind
ae single Armstrong o' Whithaugh worth a prein-head, Hamilton
Outlaws (1897) 207. (4) Abd. Fat's that preen-heidit ablach deein
there? Alexander yoAfjHjv Gibb (1871) xxxiv. (51 Frf. No' carin'
a preen-point for the sorrow they left ahint them, Willock Rosetty
Ends (1886) 42, ed. 1889. Lnk. Down she sits with all her weight
on the prin point, Graham Writings (1883) II. 112. (6) Ayr.
Lord, there's no a preensworth but Thou kens. Service Dr.
Duguid (ed. 1887) 20.
4. A hook, used in fishing. Also in comp. Preen-hook.
Sh.I. Shus juist left me da upper preen o' mi new gut-flee, Sh.
News ( Oct. 2, 1897) ; I flang by me grain o' hoe-busk an' me preens
an' guid for da door. ' Can ye tell me, gudeman, what dis is 'at ye're
claedinyour preens wi'?' (J. I.); Fishin' tackle o' a' descriptions, frae
a preen-hook till a troot waand an' Zulu flee, Ollason Mareel
(1901) 60.
5. A knitting-needle.
Cth. (W.W.S.X Pem. (W.H.Y.) s.Pem. Laws Little Eng.
(1888)421; (W.M.M.)
6. A hairpin. s.Pem. (W.M.M.) 7. pi. A game ; see
below.
Frf. Monypenny was willing to let him join in . . . the preens,
or whatever game was in season, Barrie Tommy (1896) 161 ; A
circle was made on the ground and each player put a pin in it.
They played in rotation. The player wetted his thumb and
pressed it on a pin. If this made the pin adhere to his thumb till
the hand was clear of the ring, the pin became his property and
he played again, and so on until he failed, when the next player
got his chance. The pin often fell as it was being withdrawn from
thering(J.M.B.).
8. V. To pin.
Sc. She took the dish-clout aff the bulk And preen'd it to her
cockernonie. Chambers Sngs. (1829) II. 408. Sh.I. Shu . . . dan
4 I 2
PREEN
[612]
PRENTICE
preen'd up her cot behint her, Sh. News (Dec. 17, 1898). n.Sc.
And wha will prin my sma' middle? Buchan Ballads (1828) I. 98,
ed. 1875. Cai.i Abd. I canna hae the bairns aye preen't to my
tail, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xlii. Frf. Puir crazy Meg
may preen cloots to her goon, "Watt Poet. Sketches (1880 59. Per.
Cleland Inchbracken (1883) 262, ed. 1887. e.Fif. Preened inside
the mou' 0' the pock was a wee bit paper, Latto Tarn Bodkin
(1864) V. Ayr. A clean cambric handkerchief very snodly preened
over her breast, Galt Gilhaize (1823) xxiv. Lnk. Tak' care o' the
feathers, for they're jist preen'd in, as ye may see, Murdoch
Readings (1895) I. 36. Lth. Thomson Poems (1819) 195. Edb.
Them that like may either prin their faith to my coatsleeve ornot,
MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) vii. Dmf. Cromek Remains (1810) 241.
9. To dress up, deck oneself out ; to comb and dress
the hair.
Sc. She's prink'd hersell, and preen'd hersell, Aytoun Ballads
(ed. 1861) I. 7. Frf. Ne'er price a weardless, wanton elf, That
nought but pricks and prins herself, Morison Poems (1790) 81.
Lnk. Ay scraping and washing at heisel, picking and prining,
Graham Writings (1883) II. 55. Lakel.^ Applied to persons who
are given to an extreme regard for personal appearance — ' preeanen
hersel afoor t'glass.' Cum. (E.W.P.), Cum.*
[1. OE. preon, a pin, brooch, fastening.]
PREEN, adj. Cor.^ [prin.] Pretty, bright with colour.
PREEVE, see Prove.
FREEZE, V. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Also
written prease w.Yks. Lan.' ne.Lan.' ; preas(s Sc. ;
preaze n.Yks.; preese Nhb.' Cum.^; and in forms preace,
preise, preiss Sc. [priz.] 1. v. To press, importune ;
to invite.
Sc. To vrge and preise his Maiestie to subscrybe signatours,
PiTCAiRN Crim. Trials (i82g) pt. i. 105. Lakel.= Cum. Efter Joe
hed preezt meh at iver he preezt meh ah dud promish, Sargisson
Joe Swap (1881) 176 ; Cum.i, Lan.', neXan.i [Duncan Etym.
(1595).]
2. Obs. To endeavour, try, set oneself
Sc. I have preissit schortly in this lytill paper, to mak, as it wer,
ane memoriall of the same, Rogers Reformers (1874) 81. Fif. Let
us . . . preass to imitat their patience, pietie, wisdom, and courage,
Row Ch. Hist. (1650) 266, ed. 1842. n.Yks. He was weel to-day.
And preaz'd to git ore'th hedge into our fog, Meriton Praise Ale
(1684) 1. 147.
3. To strain, to make ineffectual efforts to evacuate the
bladder or bowels. N.Cy.^ Nhb.' 4. sb. Obs. Pressure,
tribulation ; a difficulty.
Sc. He was put to ane preace, Quhen that the Queue of tressoun
did accuse him Before hir Lordis, Rogers Reformers {181^) 87.
Fif. But pruff thy preas can nocht be understude, Melvill
Autobiog. (1610) 496, ed. 1842.
5. Choice ; invitation. w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves
(1781). ne.Lan."-
PREFACE, sb. and v. Sc. 1. sb. Obs. A profession,
pretence.
A man of many pious prefaces, but who never missed an occasion
of embracing this present world, Kirkton Ch. Hist. ti8i7) 136.
2. V. To give a short practical paraphrase of those verses
of the psalms which are to be sung before prayer. (Jam.)
PREFERMENT, sb. w.Yks.= Probation.
Young unmarried women are said to be on their preferment
when they are waiting to be preferred by some young man. ' If
yo'd been a young woman now on your preferment I'd have over-
looked it.'
PREG, sb. Lin. [preg.] A peg.
n.Lin. We went to catch bullheads wi' a tarmarl line and a preg.
Peacock Tales and Rhymes (1886) 122 ; n.Lin.'
PREGNANT, adj. Obs. or obsol. Sc. Full, sufficient ;
full of promise, clever.
Sc. The most part of the Counsell resolved to hear more pregnant
proofe, that accusation was not sufficient, Maidment Spottiswoode
Miscell. (1844-5) I. 117 ; Being a lad of pregnant parts, he takes
them up at his own hand, Magopico fed. 1836) 7.
Hence Pregnancy, sb.,ftg., fullness, ripeness.
Rnf. The same continued still upon the groweing hand untill it
did come to that pregnancy that you must be eased thereof, Hector
Judic. Rec. (1876) 99.
PREIGH, PREIN, see Pray, v., Preen, sb.
PREISE, PREISS. PREITHE, see Preeze, Prithee.
PREJINK, adj. Sc. Also in form prejinct. Exact,
prim, neat ; with an ultra-mannerism, hypercritical. See
Perjink.
Sc. Baith my childer, son and dochter, as prejink and genteel
... as the best born that was there, Sc. Haggis, 157. Fif. (Jam.,
s.v. Perjink). Edb. As for Mr. Batter, he looked as prejinct as a
pikestair, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) xxiv. Gall. (J.M.)
Hence Prejinctly, adv. with minute accuracy.
Ayr. A young genteel man, with a most methodical gravat, pre-
jinctly tied. Steam-boat (1822) 180 (Jam.).
PREJUDGE, V. Obs. Sc. To prejudice ; to be to the
prejudice of
Sc. This is not to prejudge the labours of anye godly learned
brethren, Rogers Reformers (1874) 158 ; Quhatsumevir thing the
Aduocat did, in the persuit of thame, sould nocht prejudge nor
hurt his actionne, Pitcairn Crim. Trials (1829) pt. i. 91. Or.L
Thai are heavily hurt and prejudgit be divers and sundry crafty,
malicious and invyous personis within the countrie, Peterkin
Notes (1822) App. 42.
PREMIER SHEADING, /An LMa. The largest parish
of the island.
Then the coroner of the premier sheading began to recite the
same titles in Manx, Caine Manxman {1894) pt. v. xi.
PREMUNITORIES,s6.//. Sc. Premonitory symptoms
of illness.
w.Sc. Jist write him a bit caird letter that ye've been suddently
ta'en wi' the premunitories, Macdonald Settlement (1869) 20, ed.
1877.
PRENE, sb. Som. An iron pan. (Hall.)
PRENK, see Prink, v.'^^
PRENNY, sb. Lin.' [pre'ni.] A ploughing-match.
Aist go to Donnington prenny ?
PRENSLEY, adv. Sus. [pre'nzli.] A dial, form of
' presently.'
Sus.' [Soprensley I sees the stoat, Gent. Mag. (M.a.y iBgo)^6g.']
PRENT, see Print.
PRENTICE, sb. and v. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also written prentas Cum.' ; prentis w.Yks'.'
nw.Der.' Cor.° ; and in forms perntice w.Som.' ; printice
LMa. [pre-ntis.] 1. s6. An aphetic form of 'apprentice';
apprenticeship ; also used attrib.
Sc. The tailor wi' the goose and the twa prentices. Chambers
Pop. Rhymes (ed. 1870) 83. Abd. Hard ahint, wi' the shears an'
goose. His wee, pechin' 'prentice trampin', Murray Hamewith
(1900) u. Ayr. He's there but a prentice I trow, Burns Jolly
Beggars (1785) 1. lor. Edb. Beatty Secretar (1897) 8r. Dmf.
Ponder Kirkcumdoon (1875) 15. Ir. A red-hot Orangeman, vice-
chairman of the ' 'Prentice Boys,' Lever H. Lorr. (1839) vi. n.Cy.
(J.W.) Nhb. It was baith my uncle's wish an' my mither's it I sud
gang 'prentice to him, Jones Nhb. (1871) 19. Dur.', Cum.',
w.Yks.i, nw.Der.i Nrf. In our prentice days, Forbes Odd Fish
(1901) 89. Lon. After I finished my 'prentice articles, Mayhew
Land. Labour (1851) III. 80, ed. i86r. w.Som.' He wadn nothin'
but a parish perntice, same's myzul. Why, we sar'd our perntice
together 'long way th' old Farmer Venn. e.Dev. Absalom (my
prentice lad), Jane Lordship (1897) 41. Cor.a
Hence (i) Prentice-foy, sb. an entertainment given
upon completing one's apprenticeship ; (2) -hand, sb. a
first attempt, the effort of a novice; (3) Prenticeship, s6.
apprenticeship.
(i) Per. There used also to be 'prentice foys in the homes of
blacksmiths, wheelwrights, and such-like country craftsmen, Hali-
burton Furth in Field (i8g^) 17. (2) Ayr. I have lang wondered
that a man come to your time o' life . . . should not as yet have
tried his prentice haun at the pen. Service Notandums (1890) 6;
Her prentice han' she try'd on man, Burns Green grow the Rashes,
St. 5- (3) Ayr. My prenticeship I past where my Leader breath'd
his last, Burns Jolly Beggars (1785) 1. 34. Edb. I . . . was at my
prenticeship in Edinburgh, Ballantine Deanhaugk (1869) 129.
Don. This was Jack come home again afther sarvin' his 'prentice-
ship, and he had the thrade back, Macmanus Chim. Comers (1899)
213. n.Cy. (J.W.) w.Yks. Finish'd ther 'prenticeship, Yksman.
Comic Ann. (1889) 38, col. 2 ; w.Yks.'
2. V. To apprentice.
Fif. He was willing to 'prentice him in the autumn, Meldrum
Grey Mantle (1896) 203. Don. What thrade will I 'prentice him
to? Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) aio. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.) I.Ma.
Prenticed, you know, to a docthor in London, Brown Doctor {i88f)
PREPARATION
[613]
PRESS
25. s.Oxf. Wot shall us 'prentice 'im to ? Rosemary ChiUerns
(1895) 79-
3. Comb. Prentice-my-son-John, a game ; see below.
War.2 A game at pitchback. The players fix on a trade,— say
that of a butcher. Each player has a chosen joint or portion of a
beast for formula, which he utters as he pitches the back. But
before one player makes the back, he arranges in secret with the
leader that to name a certain joint or portion shall put the speaker
in his place, i.e. ' down.' e.g. one player pitches, crying 'steak '
perhaps ; another says ' kidney,' and so on, until one unfortunate,
who has chosen ' liver,' say, for his formula, finds himself forced
to make the back, ' liver ' having been the portion prohibited.
PREPARATION, sb. Obs. Lan. In comp. (i) Pre-
paration-day, a day of religious service ; (2) -sermon, a
sermon preached on such a day.
(i) It being preparation day, I got ready for chapel, Walkden
Diary (ed. 1866) 31. (2) I would come and preach his preparation
sermon to-morrow, ib. 46.
PREPARE, V. Yks. Chs. 1. In phr. to prepare their
bobs, of fir-trees : to enlarge their cones with the advance
of spring. Chs.-'^ 2. In dyeing: to mordant previous
to dyeing with coloured matter. w.Yks. (H.H.)
PREQUEER, see Perqueer.
PRESBYTERIAN, adj. Chs. Ess. In comb, (i)
Presbyterian road, the wrong way of passing a bottle.
Chs.^^; (2) — trick, a dishonest bargain, a knavish trick.
Ess.'
PRESCRIVE, V. Obs. Sc. Also written prescryve.
To prescribe.
Sc. Prescrived and appointed be the law of this realm, Skene
Difficill Wds. (1681I 8. Abd. My grannie may prescrive an herb
for me, Davidson Poems (1861) 77. Fif. Machiavel himselff could
nocht haiff prescryvit it sa Weill as I haiff, Melvill Auiobiog.
(1610) 20, ed. 184s. Slg. Nane hes power to appoint onypart of
his service, or prescrive ony part of his worshipping, but onely
dod himselfe, Bruce Sermons (1631) iii, ed. 1843.
PRESENT, sb., v. and adv. Sc. Lan. Hrf. Suf Ken.
Wil. Som. Dev. [pre'zant.] 1. sb. A white spot on the
fingernail. Cf. gift, 2.
ne.Sc. The nearer the spots are to the points of the nails the
nearer are the gifts, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 26. Hrf. Bound
Provinc.{i&'](s). Dev.i Supposed to augur some approaching good
fortune.
2. V. Obs. To make presents to a woman after child-
birth.
Lan. July 7, 1617. Father, Mother and Coz Radcliffes wyfe, to
Whalley, a psenting my coz. Assheton's wyfe that lay in, Assheton
Jrn. (1617) in Cheth. Sor. (1848) XIV. ai ; This custom is said to
have died out about 1 750, ib.
3. To bring before a judge.
Abd. Donald M<^Kenzie was taken, . . presented to the sheriff of
Murray, assized, convicted, and hanged to the death, Spalding
Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 32.
4. adv. Presently ; at present, now.
Suf.i, Ken.i2 n.Wil. Tell 'un I'll be thur present (E.H.G.).
w.Som.' I'll go an' do it present. Dev. I could do thick job present-
like. Reports Provinc. (1885) 103.
Hence Present-an-bye, adv. presently.
n.Wil. The form used at Yatesbury (.G.E.D.).
PRESENTLY, adv. Sc. Yks. Chs. Lin. Nhp. War.
Som. Dev. Amer. [pre'zantli.] At the present time,
now ; immediately, instantly.
Sc. He lives presently in London, Scoticisms (1787) 66 ; The
noble Lord Glenvarloch presently prisoner in your Royal Tower
of London, Scott Nigel (1822) xxxi. Ayr. This Dundonald plan
or scheme That presently is buta dream, Laing Poems (1894) 144.
w.Yks.s, Chs.3, n.Lin.i Nhp. I will go and do it presently (E.S.).
War.s I have heard the word used in this sense in rural War. but
not in recent years. w.Som.i Still used habitually by elderly
people of the better class. Dev. Her drugs had cured someone
presently, Reports Provinc. (1885) 103. [Amer. One hundred and
ten cases of the ' caisson disease," of which three were presently
and probably more finally fatal, Harper's Mag. (May 1883) 945, in
Elworthy Gl. (1888).] , .^ , ^. , r
PRESERVATION, sb. Dev. A dial, form of
' perspiration.'
'Er wuz proper-terrified, I can tellee ! Tha preservation stude
out ov her vor'ead like gert pays, Hewett Peas. Sp. (189a) (s.v.
Proper-terrified),
PRESERVE, z/. and s6. Sc.Irel.Nhb.Yks. Alsoinforms
presairve Fif ; presarve Sc. Ir. [prize'rv.] 1. v. In
phr. (i) preserve a' livin', (2) — me, (3) — us, {4) — us a',
exclamations of surprise, fear, &c.
(i) Abd. ' Preserve a' livin ! ' ejaculated Mrs. Donaldson, holding
up her hands, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Oct. 20, 1900). (a) Lth.
Preserve me, George, that's liker a risp than a razor, Strathesk
More Bits (ed. 1885) 42. n.Ir. ' Presarve me ! ' sez I, ' didn't a
think ye wur gien me a sail fur naethin',' Lvtile Paddy McQuillan,
IS- (S) Kcd. ' Preserve 's,' he cries, ' the hale concern's Nae worth
a bunch o' thrums,' Grant Lays (1884) 8. Per. ' Presarve us,
Johnny ! ' exclaimed the Muckle Wife o' Bithergirse, Monteath
Dunblane (1835) 91, ed. 1887. Cld. Preserve 's ! it has fingers and
taes on't, Nimmo Sngs. (1882) 196. Lnk. ' Preserve 's ! ' quo' Dick,
' it's Will Muirfit,' Watt Poems (1827 , 62. Edb. She cried, ' Pre-
serve us ! whare's the cow 1 ' Tint Quey (1796) 15. Nhb. Preserve
us ! did you ever think how time's been runnin' ! Graham Red
Scaur (1896) 74. (4) ne.Sc. 'Preserve's a' !' cried she, 'what's
the maitter wi' ye, Lizzie ? ' Grant Keckleton, 45. Cai. Preserve
us a'. Mistress Dool, wisna ma puir wife as dead's ever she'd be 1
Horne Countryside (1896) 64. Abd. Preserve's a'! Ye're a sicht
for sair e'en, Maister MacPhail I Macdonald Lossie {i^li) Iv.
Per. But preserve us a' ! What's yon he's carryin' afore him ? Cle-
LAND Inchbracken (1883) 28, ed. 1887. Fif. Presairve us a' ! Oh,
me ! Oh, dearie me ! Heddle Marget (1899) 113. Dmb. Preserve's
a', Mr. Jimes, but ye're early up ! Cross Disruption (1844"! ii.
Lnk. A cat, preserve us a' ! a cat I a cat ! Black Falls of Clyde
(1806) 177. Lth. Keek in at twal, or thereabout! Preserve us a' !
Thomson Poems (1819) 147. Gall. Preserve us a' — we maunna
raise a finger against the brat, Crocke-tt Kit Kennedy (1899) 20.
2. sb.pl. Spectacles which magnify little or nothing,
worn to preserve the sight. Sc. (Jam.)
3. Comp. Preserve-pudding, a pudding made with pre-
served fruit.
w.Yks.s The dough, or ' doaf,' is rolled out into an oval form,
of a moderate thickness, and the fruit laid on. It is then rolled
up, care having been taken not to lay the fruit too near the sides
for it to escape at the two ends when the paste is thus being
rolled up. It is then put into the ' poke,' or bag, and the open
end being sewn up, is dropped into the pan of boiling water on
the fire (s.v. Roll-pudding).
PRESES, sb. Sc. [prTsiz.] The president or chair-
man of a meeting.
Sc. Have apologised for not attending the Royal Society Club,
who . . . seemed to count much on my being the preses, Scott
Jm. (Jan. 17, 1826) 83, ed. i8gi ; The preses of ameeting, Mitchell
Scotticisms (1799) 67. Or. I. Patrick Blair of Little Blair, preses
and convener, Peterkin Notes (1822) 189. Lnk. With submission
to the preses, I would speak anent the steeple's height, M'^Indoe
Poems (1805) 16. Slk. I had the honour of having been named
preses, Hogg Tales (1838) 162, ed. 1866.
[Lat. praeses, one who presides or guards.]
PRESHA, see Praiseach.
PRESIDENT, sb. Dev. A pond or pool near a stable
or farm-yard, the moisture of which drains into it.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) s.Dev. Papers ... on the Meliora-
tion of Water by Lime, and the Improvement of Lands by erecting
Presidents, Cornish Cultivation of Potatoes (1795) 5 ; President is
a name the South Devon Agricultural Society have adopted for a
pond, the water of which is enriched by the drain of an adjoining
linhay, and the addition of a bag of lime at different times, ib.
PRESS, V. and sb. Sc. Cum. Yks. Chs. Der. Nhp. Oxf.
Also in form prass w.Yks. [pres.] 1. v. To crowd.
Gall. Although the shop was e'er sae prest. He'd spier for her
and a' the rest, Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 58, ed. 1897.
2. sb. A squeeze, pressure.
Per. To repay him, a kiss I will gi'e. And a press o' the hand,
and a glance o' the e'e ! Nicoll Poems (ed. 1843) 163.
3. A crowd, mob.
Nhp. Calling out like a press after thieves, Clare Remains (1873)
329-
4. A machine used for pressmg cloth.
w.Yks. (J.M.) ; The press was to harden and Mellor assisted at
hardening the press. Peel Luddites (1870) 116.
5. A large shelved cupboard, esp. one built into the wall.
Sc. Keith Lisbeth (1894) vi. Bnff. I' my press draw'r I hae some
cash, Taylor Poems (1787) 64. Elg. In a neuki' the press she's
a wee drap dram Reserv'd for his ain lov'd sel'. Tester Poems
(1865) 185. Abd. Ilk little Sunday suit, neat folded, lies, In press,
PRESS
[6i4l
PRETTY
or drawer, Still Cottar's Sunday (1845) 19. Frf. There was a
' press ' or cupboard containing a fair assortment of cooUing
utensils, Barrie Lkht (1888) ii. Per. Gae ben the hoose, an'
rype the press, An' what ye find o' whisky fess Soberly oot, Hali-
BURTON Ochil Idylls (1891) 40. Dmb. More jamb and geely than
she can find room for in her presses, Cross Disruption{z.?>i,\) xiii.
Fif. Tennant Papistry (1827) 211. Rnf. Young Pictures (1865)
165. Ayr. He powtered aboot the dresser and in the press, Ser-
vice Notandums (1890) 18. Lnk. Thomson Musings (1881) 46.
Lth. The press, weel fill'd wi' milk an' meal. Smith Merry Bridal
(1866) 73. Edb. At the opposite wall stands the ambry, or shelved
wooden press, in which cow's milk, and other family provision
are locked up, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 83, ed. 1815. Feb. Lintoun
Green (1685) 165, ed. 1817. Gall. Lauderdale Poems (1796) 28.
Ir. BewaiUng her loss, to which the rifled press bore witness. Bar-
low East and West (1898) 285. Dwn. Maxwell to his press had
turned about To bring his best of gin and whiskey out, Savage-
Armstrong Ballads (1901) 187. Cum. (J.Ar.), Cura.^, w.Yks.
(G.H.) Chs.i A linen or clothes chest. Der. Thaa 'It stan' i' a
press full o' Crown Derby, Gilchrist Peakland Faggot (1897) 94.
Oxf.i MS. add.
Hence Pressful, sh. a cupboardful.
Lnk. Her books ;- a muckle pressfu' In her cozy room did stan',
Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895") 40.
6. A cofiFin. Chs.'^ 7. Com/i. (i) Press-bed, a box -bed
with sliding doors ; (2) -boards, the boards between
which Woodstock gloves are pressed when finished ; (3)
•clog, a strong wooden block on which bales are packed ;
(4) -door, the door of a cupboard ; (5) -room, the room in
which cloth is pressed.
(i) Sh.I. A small private apartment including within the recesses
of its walls two or three press beds, Hibbert Desc. Sh.I. (1822)
242, ed. 1891. e.Sc. Strain Elmslie's Drag-net (1900) 143. Abd.
One [salmon] was reported to have been found in a press-bed,
Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxxiii. Edb. The press-bed doors,
stools, tables, and other furniture, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed.
1875) 22. Cum.* (2) Oxf.i (3) w.Yks. (R.H.R.) (4) Rnf.
Setting his back to the press door wher the webb was. Hector
Judic. Rec. (1876) 216. (5) w.Yks. Start with Sowden and bring
him into the press-room, Peel Luddites (1870) 84.
PRESS, adj. Dev.2 [pres.] Pleased, satisfied with,
proud of. ' Susie is wonderful press on her new hat.'
PRESSER, sb. Nhb. Dur. [pre'sar.] 1. A press or
cupboard, esp. one that can be easily moved. Nhb.^
2. A folding-bed. Also in comp. Presser-bed.
Nhb.* Made to imitate a presser when closed. Dur. A bed
capable of being compressed into a small space during day, Raine
Charters, ifc. Finchale (1837) 155.
PRESSER, see Preaser.
PRESS-GANG, sb. Sc. Nhb. [pre's-gai).] A group
of romping children. Also used attrib.
Lth. An' Where's the chields that like sae fine To hae a press-
gang row ? Smith Merry Bridal (1866) 37. Nhb.i
PRESSIA, see Praiseach.
PREST, adj. and adv. e.An.i [prest.] 1. adj. Ready.
2. adv. Presently. ' I will be with you prest.'
[I am prest to fette hym when yow liste, Chaucer
Troilus, III. 917. OFr. prest, ready, prompt.]
PRESTABLE, adj Sc. Payable. See Prest.
I shall give you an acknowledgment for it, and I will keep it
prestable at a moment's warning, Scott 7V<^«'/ (1822) xxxi ; The
first suspensioun for liquid soumes or deeds presentlie prestable,
Act. Sederunt (Jan. 29, 1650) (Jam.) ; Francisque-Michel Lang,
(1882) 383.
PRESTE, sb. Obs. Yks. A sepulchral tumulus.
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 16, 1896) ; (Hall.)
PRESTINGOLVA, sb. Sh. & Or. I. Also in form
prostingolva Sh.I. A clergyman.
Sh.I. {Coll. L.L.B.) ; S. & Ork.i A term used by the fishermen
of Unst. Or.I. Fishermen studiously refrain from saying the
word 'kirk' while setting out upon a fishing excursion. . . Ministers
must not be spoken of either. They are mentioned as upstanders,
hoydens, or prestingolva, Fergusson Rambles (1884) 165.
PRET, see Prat.
PRETEND,!/. Wor. [prite'nd.] To offer, come forward.
s.Wor. Some on 'em ud pretend to wrustle (H.K.).
PRETENSION, sb. Obs. Sc. An intention, pretext.
Kcd. These catherans aftcamo'er the hill, ..And good pretensions
didna bear, Maist paid a visit ilka year, Jamie Muse (1844) 107.
PRETERMIT, v. Sc. To omit.
We should be unjust ... if we were to pretermit a narrative
which he held essential to his fame, Scott Midlothian (i8i8) xliii ;
In testimony we have neither pretermitted nor forgotten your
faithful service, ib. Nigel (1822) xxxii ; (A.W.)
PRETHA, PRETHE(E, PRETHY, see Prithee.
PRETIKEN, 5*. S. & Or.I. Also written praetiken
Sh.I. ; prettikin S. & Ork.* [pre'tikin.] A feat, trick,
gambol. See Prat.
Sh.I. Yon wis only da praetiken 0' ane lost der wits, Sh. Nezas
(May 20, 1899). Or.I. Thus a' t'rough merry Islington This
pretikens he did play, Oread. J. Gilpin, st. 34, in Ellis Pronunc.
(1889) V. 807 ; S. & Ork.'
PRETTY, adj., adv. and sb. Var. dial, forms and uses
in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Amer. [priti, pre'ti, pra'ti ; pa ti.]
I. Dial, forms: (i) Party, (2) Pirty, (3) Pooty, (4)
Praitie, (5) Pratty, (6) Pretty, (7) Pritty, (8) Protty, (9)
Proty, (10) Prutty, (11) Purty, (12) Putty.
(i) Der.2 Som. I'll own it yent perty, Agrikler Rhymes
(1872) 35. (2) ne.Lan.i Hrf.2 A pirty set out. e.Dev. Yeu
pirtist o' umman-vawk, Pulman Sng. Sol. (i860) v. 9. (3) Mid.
A pooty little Bayby, Thackeray Miscell. (1855) 153. [Amer.
The wannut logs shot sparkles out Towards the pootiest, Lowell
Biglow Papers (1848) 10.] (4) S. & Ork.* (5) n Cy. (K.), Dur.i,
w.Dur.', n.Yks.2 e.Yks. Thoo knoas she's parlous pratty, Wray
Nestleton (1876) 50. m.Yks.', w.Yks.i^s, e.Lan.i, Chs.i, nw.Der.i
Lin.* I see u'r pratty child, 232. s.Dev. Yer's a pratty stirredge !
Longman's Mag. (May 1901) 47. (6) Rut.* Pronounced as with
' e.' (7) War. There's nobody 'ud think as anybody could be so
pritty, Geo. Eliot S. Marner (1861) 90. Ess. I nuver saa sich
pritty draffs as these, Clark /. Noakes (1839) St. 124. (8) Sc. Ye
iook'd sae protty, Stewart Character (1857) 39. Abd. As protty
horn speens as ever Young turn't oot, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) xl. Lan. Bess Demdike's too yunk an' too protty, for a
witch, Ainsworth Lan. Witches (ed. 1849) i. (9) Bch. Forbes
Ulysses {118$) 11. (10) m.Yks.i, Cor.3 (11) N.I.* w.Ir. Where
I showed you the purty watherfall, Lover Leg, (1848) 1. 12.
Wxf. A smart purty little schoolmistress, Kennedy Evenings
Duffrey (1869) 394. m Yks.' Lan. Purty landskip, Saunders
Abel Drake {1662,) 'ui. Der.2, Ken.*, Sus.* Wil. Slow G/. (1892).
w.Som.* Dev. 'Er wuz a purty maid, Longman's Mag. (Feb.
1899) 335. Cor. That so purty a story as ever you reed, Forfar
Jan's Crlshp. (1859) St. 12. [Amer. A stream — the purtiest that ever
washed gold, Cent. Mag. (Dec. 1900) 294.] (12) I.Ma. Brown
ZJorfo?- (1887) 30. Cor.2 [Amer. Z)('a/. A'ote (1896) I. 333.]
II. Dial. uses. 1. adj. In comb, (i) Pretty-and-little,
the Virginia stock, Malcolmia marilima ; (2) — Bet, the
London pride, Saxifraga umbrosa ; (3) — Betty or Betsy,
{a) the red valerian, Centranthus ruber ; (b) see (2) ; (4) —
dancers, the Aurora Borealis ; (5) — little girl of mine, a
children's singing-game ; (6) — maids, the white meadow
saxifrage, Saxifraga granidata ; (7) — Miss Pink, see (5) ;
(8) — money, coins preserved as a curiosity and not
spent ; (9) ■ — Nancy, see (2) ; (10) — pretty creature, the
yellow-ammer, Emberiza citrinella.
(i) Dev.* (2) Nhp. (B. & H.) (3, a) Don., Oxf., Ess. (B. & H.),
Ken.*, Sus. (S.P.H.), Dor. (G.E.D.) (A) Nhp. (B. & H.), se.Wor.*,
Suf. (B. & H.) (4) Sc. (Jam.) (5) [This game is played in the
same way in all the different variants. . . A ring is formed by the
children joining hands— one child stands in the centre. The ring
dances or moves slowly round, singing the verses. The child in
the centre kneels down when the words are sung, rises and
chooses a partner from the ring, kisses her when so commanded,
and then takes a place in the ring, leaving the other child in the
centre. In those cases where the marriage formula is not given,
the kissing would probably be omitted, Gomme Games (1898)
II. 76.] GaU. 'Kneel down on the carpets, we shall kneel ; The
grass grows away in yonder fiel'. Stand up, stand up upon your
feet. And show me the one you love so sweet. Now they get
married, I wish them joy, Every year a girl or a boy ; Loving
together like sister and brother, Now they are coupled to kiss
together.' The kissing match sometimes degenerates into a
spitting match, according to the temper of the parties concerned,
ib. 76. Ant. Down on the carpet you shall kneel, While the
grass grows on your field, &c., ib. 73. Dwn. See what a pretty
little girl I am. She gave me many a bottle of wine, Many a bottle
of wine, and a biscuit too, See what a pretty little girl can do. On
the carpet you shall kneel, &c., ib. 70-71. w.Yks. King William
was King David's son. And all the royal race is run. Choose from
PRETTY
[615]
PRETTY
the east, choose from the west, Choose the one you love best.
Down on this carpet you shall kneel, While the grass grows in
yond field. Salute your bride and kiss her sweet, Kise again upon
your feet, ib. 74-75 ; [At Wakefield] On the carpitt you shall
kneel, &c., ib. 74. Lan. [Liverpool and the neighbourhood] On
the carpet you shall kneel, While the grass grows fresh and green.
Stand up straight upon your feet And kiss the one you love so
sweet. Now they're married, &c., ib. 74 ; [At CoUeyhurst, Man-
chester] See what a pretty little girl I am ! Thfy brought me
many a bottle of wine, &c. . . My sister's going to get married. . .
Ee ! li I Oh ! Open your gates as wide as high. And let the
pretty girls come by. And let the jolly [or bonny] matrons by,
One in a bush. Two in a bush, Ee ! li ! Oh ! ib. 72. Stf. [At
Eccleshall] On the carpet you shall kneel, &c., ib. 72. n.Stf.
On the carpet you shall kneel, &c. . . — Is married with a good
child, First with a girl and then with a boy ; Seven years after
son and daughter. Play with a couple and kiss together, ib. 73.
Der. Flk-Lore Jrn. I. 385 {ib.). Not. Gomme ib. 73. Nhp. Oh! this
pretty little girl of mine. Has cost me many a bottle of wine, &c.,
Nhp. N. (&^ Q. I. 214 {ib.) ; N.if Q. (1890) 7th S. x. 450. Shr. On
the carpet you shall kneel, Where the grass grows fresh and
green. Stand up, stand up on your pretty feet. And show me the
one you love so sweet, Burne Flk-Lore (1883) 509. Mid. Gomme
ib. 73. Suf. See this pretty little maid of mine ! She's brought
me many a bottle of wine. . . Take her by the lily-white hand.
Lean across the water [at these words the two in the centre lean
over the arms of those forming the ring]. Give a kiss, — one,
two, three, To Mrs. — — 's daughter, ib. 71, 76. Ess. Here's a
pretty little girl of mine, She's cost me many a bottle of wine. . .
Down on the carpet she must kneel, &c., ib. 70. Hmp. Oh, this
pretty little girl of mine, Brought me many a bottle of wine. A
bottle of wine and a guinea, too, See what my little girl can
do, &c., ib. 68 ; [At Gambledown] Here's a pretty little girl of
mine, Who's brought her bottle and glass of wine, &c., ib. Dor.
[At Symondsbury] Here's a pretty little girl of mine, She's
brought me many a bottle of wine. . . On the carpet she shall
kneel, &c., Flk-Lore Jrn. VIL 207 (*.) ; [At Hazelbury Bryan]
I had a bonnet trimmed wi' blue. Why dosn't weare it? Zo 1 do.
I'd wgare it where I con To teake a walk wi' my young mon. . .
Zee what a purty zister is mine, Doan't 'e think she's terble fine?
. . . Just zee what my zister can do. On the carpet she can kneel. . .
Stand upright upon thy feet And choose the prettiest you like,
sweet, Gomme *. 208. s.Dev. N. if Q. (1892) 8th S. i. 249.
[For rhymes and further information, see Gomme 67-77.] (^)
Brks. This may be referred to in the old nursery rhyme : ' Cockle
shells, and silver bells. And pretty maids all of a row ' (B. & H.).
(7) Not., n.Lin. The children place themselves in a row. They
each choose a colour to represent them. One player must be
pink. Another player stands facing them, and dances to and fro,
singing the first four lines, ' Pretty Miss Pink, will you come
out ... to see the ladies dancing? ' The dancer then sings the
next two lines, and Miss Pink having answered, rushes forward,
catches hold of the dancer's hand, and sings the next verse. Each
colour is then taken in turn, but Miss Pink must always be first,
Gomme Games (1898)11.77. [For rhymes, see Gomme <7j.] (8)
Wil.i Such as old George-and-dragon crowns, or new Jubilee
pieces, given to a child to keep as curiosities. (9) Sc. Garden
Wk. (1896) New S. No. cxiii. 100. Rxb. Science Gossip (1876)39.
Hrf. (B. & H.), Sur.i (10) Glo. Swainson Birds (1885) 70;
Glo.i So called from its peculiarly plaintive note.
2. Handsome, good-looking ; graceful, accomplished.
Sc. He is a very pretty man, Scoticisms (1787) 72. Bch. Tho'
she had clad him like a lass, . . I shortly kenttheproty lad, Forbes
Ulysses (1785) 17. Abd. Mr. Strachan was a gentleman and a
pretty man, both in parts and in body, Orem Desc. Chanonry
(1791) 178 (Jam.). Don. Axin' them if they'd seen or heard any
tidin's iv his purty son, Neil Og, Pearson's Mag. (May 1900) 478.
n.Cy. (K.) Lan. Well, thah'rt a pratty-lad. Banks Manch. Man
(1876) ii. I.Ma. The puttiest man in London town, Brown
Doctor (1887) 30. Chs.i
3. Bold, Stalwart, warlike, brave.
Sc. Observed that they were pretty men, meaning, not handsome,
but stout warhke fellows, Scott Waverley (1814) xvii ; The said
Francis, with the help of two pretty men that attended him,
rescued him, Guthry Mem. (1747) 28 (Jam.). Bch. There's mony
a protty lad amon's As guid's you i' their kind, Forbes Ulysses
(1785) 36. Abd. His lady with some pretty men was within the
house, whilk was furnished with ammunition, Spalding Hist. Sc.
(1792) I. 220 ; Tooming faulds or scouring of a glen Was ever
deem'd the deed of protty men, Ross Helenore (1768) 134, ed.
1812. Rnf. Many of our prettiest men, Mr. Forbis, Langlands,
Ramsay, &c. were sent thither, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) I. 83,
ed. 1843. Edb. A pretty man of his got the lick, yet the loon
was near being quits, Beatty Secretar {iSg-;) 402.
4. Fine, excellent, splendid.
Kcd. We captured troots an' eels, An' noo an' than a protty
grilse, Grant Lays (1884) 23. Ayr. He was the prettiest shuttler
I ever saw. Hunter Studies (1870) 155. Edb. Fergusson Poems
(1773) 132, ed. 1785. n.Ir. The purtiest, darlin' big trout. Lays
and Leg. (1884) 15. Der. It's as pratty a congregation as lives,
Verne Y Stone Edge (1868) ii. Sus. They are saying that it is
a ' pretty day,' 'pretty weather,' Jefferies Hdgrow. (1889) 79.
Som. Perty play ! perty play ! I never wish to see quicker,
Raymond Men o' Mendip (1898) vi. [Amer. A pretty day, Dial.
Notes (1896) I. 422.]
Hence a pretty way, phr., used iron. : in a state of
excitement or anger.
Oxf. (G.O.) n.Dev. He was in a pretty way about it. Chanter
IVilch (1896) 3.
5. Of a scent or odour : sweet, fragrant ; of a taste or
touch : pleasant, agreeable.
s.Sc. Thae floors have a pretty smell (J.F.). Der. Is the pottage
ready? . . It's a very pretty smell is onions, Verney Stone Edge
(1868) i. w.Som.l 'Tis a purty smell ; I likes it. I likes it un-
common, 'tis very purty stuff [a liqueur]. Of a dose of medicine,
' Why tidn a bit nasty, 'tis a very purty taste with it.' There's
a very purty veel way it. A very purty han'lin sort of a tool.
Cor. A ' pretty smell,' Hammond Parish (1897) 337.
6. Considerable, large in quantity.
Sc.(A.W.) -w.Yks.' Pratty deal. Lan. We'dn done a pratty day
or two's wark, Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale (i860) I. 85. Sus. A
pretty deal. A pretty way [a longish way] (F.E.) ; A pretty ways
(F.A.A.). e.Dev. Ev darn gurt vish a purty lot, Pulman Sketches
(1842) 29, ed. 1853. Cor.3 'How many were there?' 'Aw,
I don't know exactly, but a pretty lot of 'em.'
7. Small in size ; insignificant, petty.
Sc. A pretty man (Jam.). Ags. A pretty affair {ib.^.
8. adv. Prettily, nicely, finely.
Ayr. Lauchin' an' singin' awa tae hersel' a' the time pretty,
Service/)?'. £>M^M!'rf(ed. 1887)224. I.Ma. The puttyjined, Brown
Doctor (1887) 12. War. I like Aaron to behave pretty to you ; he
always does behave pretty to you, doesn't he, father? Geo. Eliot
S. Marner (1861) xvi ; Holloaed on to a fox from Froghall Osiers
and ran him very pretty by Kineton village, Oakfields, to the Holt,
MoRDAUNT & Verney War. Hunt (1896) II. 7. Brks.' Dwoant
them ther bells go pretty ? Nrf. She be goin' on pretty, and have
had a beauty sleep, Gibbon Beyond Compare (1888) III. i. Sur.i
A child begins to talk or walk pretty. She is a civil pretty spoken
girl. I.W. I can't smell, not pretty hke. She don't boil pretty
hke (J. D.R.). Cor. Then the preacher can preach out of un pretty,
Bourne Billy Bray (ed. 1899) 67.
9. In gen. coUoq. use : fairly, tolerably, rather ; very,
thoroughly.
Sc. (A.W.) Ir. I've barked my shin purty well befurre yees,
Paddiana (ed. 1848) I. 131. N.I.i' Purty middlin',' reply toa salu-
tation. Don. It was purty cogglesome ridin', was the moor, Cent.
Mag. (Feb. 1900) 605. n.Cy. (J.W.) Yks. When t'dust hed got
pratty well sleck'd, AdventerseLunnun (1862) 11. n.Yks.^ Pratty
weel ; n-Yks." Pretty warm [comfortably off]. e.Yks.' Pratty
weel sure, tired, MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.) War.s Rain
. . . frequently comes down pretty sharply, Anderton Lett, Cy.
House (1891) 34. Hrf.i He did pretty well tell him out ; Hrf.= He
did pretty well rate me. Brks."- If a dwoant come we shall be in a
pretty bad mess. w.Mid. It was pretty nigh ten afore we started
(W.P.M.). Ken.i 'Tis purty nigh time you was gone, I think.
Dor. He'll perty quickly zend'n on. Young Rabin Hill (1867) 2.
Som. He'll dust your jacket vor 'ee purty tidy, Raymond Love and
Quiet Life {i.8g<i) 164. w.Som.i ' Well, Jan, 'owdoyoubear't up?'
' Au ! purty middlin like.' Dev. A purty darned silly notion, tu,
Blk. and White (June 27, 1896) 824. [Amer. It'll be a putty hard
tesi,'WESTCOTT David Harum (1900) i; 'Pretty middlin' smart,'
indicates a fair state of health. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 333.]
Hence {1) pretty fete or veat, phr. considerable in quantity,
fairly large ; (2) — well, phr. [a] nearly, almost ; [b) enough.
(i) Brks. Gl. (1852); Brks.i I shall hev a pretty ve-at lot o'
turmuts vor my ship to yet bym by. [A pretty fete parcel, Nichols
Bibl. Topog. (1790) IV. 56.] (2, «) Yks. He eat meat pretty well
every day. White Month in Yks. (1888) vi. Som. I come on here
. . . keeping to the fields pretty well all the way. Palmer Mr.
Trueman (1895) iii. (A) Wor. The wind be cold but I got pretty
well o' clo'es on (H.K.).
PRETTYSOME
[6i6]
PRICK
10. sb. The ornamental part of a glass.
Nhp. Let me fill your glass up to the pretty (A.B.C.). Glo. He
proceeds to pour into the glass whisky nearly up to the ' pi'etty,'
BucKMAN Darke's Sojourn (1890) ix. e.An.' Fill it up to the pretty.
PRETTYSOME, arf/ Cum. Pretty.
Ye mak a prettysome kind o' thing to luke at, Linton Liszie
Lotion (1867) xii ; Not in common use, though I fancy I have
heard it addressed to children, as in a phrase such as, ' Nea ! Nfia !
ha' done now ! that's not prettysome however !' (J.Ar.)
PREVADE, 7;. Obs. Sc. To neglect.
My man, James Lawrie, gave him letters with to the General ;
. . prevade not to obtain his pay, Baillie Lett. (,I775) I- 298 (Jam.).
PREVENTER, sb. Nrf. [priventa(r).] A stick fas-
tened to the tail-poke to pull in by. Emerson Wild Life
{1890) 102.
PREVENTIVE, sb. Sc. Ess. Ken. Som. Cor. Also in
forms perventive w.Som.^ ; perwentative Ess. ; per-
T)rentive Ken. [prive'ntiv, pswe'ntiv.] 1. A coast-
guard, one of the 'preventive service.'
Ess. Well, one night comed the Perwentatives, H eyg ate Poe)«5
(1870) 188. n.Ken. The prewentives have just passed in their
cutter (H.M.).
2. Comp. (i) Preventive-man, a coastguard ; (2) -ship, a
coastguard ship for the prevention of smuggUng; {3)
■station, a coastguard station.
(i) Heb. The islands themselves, they are that over-run with
preventive men and parties of soldiers, Sarah Tytler Macdonald
Lass (1895) 90. w.Som.^ Purvai'nteev-mae'un. Cor.i^ (2) Ken.
Directly opposite to the portreeve's property a coastguard-ship,
or, as the fishing-folk called it, the Preventive ship, was anchored,
Ann. Fishing Village (ed. 1892) 31. (3) w.Som.', Cor.'
PREVIOUS, adj. Dev. [prrvias.] Early.
I'm a little previous this morning, Reports Provinc. (1891).
PREY, sb. and v. e.An. w.Cy. Som. Also written
pray Som. [pre.] 1. sb. The herd of cattle driven
from a common pasture to ascertain if there is any stock
there which does not belong by right. Gen. in phr. to
drive the prey.
e.An.i Som. To drive the pray, Gent. Mag. (1793) 1084 ; Grose
(1790) MS. add. (P.)
2. V. To drive the cattle of a common pasture into one
herd for the above purpose.
w.Cy. The unclaimed stock is then pounded till claimed by the
owner, who is usually obliged to pay for trespassing (Hall.).
Som. To pray the moor, Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825).
e.Som. Done twice a year i^i.e. at Lady-day and at Michaelmas),
with a view to ascertain whether any person has put stock there
without a right to do it, W. & J. Gl. (1873).
PREY, see Pray, v.
PREYME, PREYTHE, see Prime, v., Prithee.
PREZTRY, sb. Sc. A corruption of ' Presbytery.'
The worthy metropolitan and patriarch of the preztry or pres-
beetery (for it is spelled both ways) of StarnikiUock, Magopico (ed.
1836) 26.
PREZZY, adv. Nhp.^ [pre'zi.] A corruption of
'presently.' ' I'm coming prezzy.'
PRIAL, sb. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Nhp. Shr. Oxf.
Brks. Hnt. Suf. Also written priall w.Yks.' ; and in
forms perial ne.Lan.' ; preal w.Yks. ; prile w.Yks.^
m.Yks.^ [prai'sl.] 1. Three of a sort, a trio.
Nhb. This resolute prial, fought on battle royal, RoBSON Sngs. of
Tyne (1849) I55- Cum.i* w.Yks.'* A prial of horses; w.Yks.^
Lan. I geet a good oak lungsattle an' a prial o' looms chep, Waugh
Chim. Corner (1874) 157, ed. 1879 ; Lan.', e.Lan.'
2. Three cards of one sort, a pair royal.
w.Yks.', ne.Lan.l, Nhp.', Shr.', Oxf.' MS. add., Brks.', Hnt.
(T.P.F.), Suf.'
3. Several persons, ^^«. of a similar disposition, gathered
together.
m.Yks.' Mostly bad. ' Never a one is better than the rest —
there's a prial of them.' 'A bonny prile.' w.Yks. If yo doant
mind, yol get inta a pinfowd varry sooin, all t'preal on yo, Tom
Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1858) 34 ; w.Yks.^
[The game. (Shove-Groat) is counted ... by fifteens,
sequences, pairs and pairials, Strutt Sports (ed. 1898)
399 ; A pair is a pair of any two, as two kings, two queens,
&c. A pair-royal is of three, as three kings, three queens,
&c., Complete Gamester, 106 (Nares).]
PRIAMBLE, PRIAN, see Preamble, Pryan.
PRICE, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Stf. Lin. Also in form
preace Yks. 1. sb. In phr. (i) to be in great price, to be
held in great estimation ; (2) to have a thing in price, to
have the offer of something for sale, but to have not yet
concluded the bargain.
(I) e.Yks. Marshall Rur.Econ. (1788). (2) n.Lin.' I can't tell
you what I shall want for her [a cow], for Mr. hesher i' price.
2. V. To inquire the price of. Cf prize, v.^ 2.
Sc. (A.W.) e.Yks.' Ah priced geese 1 mahket, bud didn't buy
neean. w.Yks. He . . . priced a bit of meat. . . What's this ... a
pund, Terry 1 Binns Vill. to Town (1882) 37. n.Lin. He . . . goSs
aboot pricein' blood-hosses, Peacock Tales and Rhymes (1886) 89.
s.Stf. Theer was lots o' ducks in the market, but I dain't price
'em, PiNNOCK Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895).
3. To ask in marriage.
Frf. Ne'er price a weardless wanton elf. That nought but pricks
and prins herself, Morison Poems (1790) 81.
PRICH, sb. Obs. n.Cy. Yks. Thin drink, small beer.
N.Cy.^, w.Yks.^ [Prich, ' potus pertenuis,' Coles (1679).]
PRICHELL, see Pritchel.
PRICK, V. and sb. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also in form preek Nhb.^ [prik.] 1. v. Obs. To pin,
fasten.
Sc. (Jam.) ; Better fill'd than pricked, Kelly Prov. (1721) 67.
Bch. The clout about me would be pricked at the kirk-door,
Forbes Dominie (1785) 42. Fif. The warden's Irunk-hose to his
fecket Wi' gowden corken-priens was pricked, Tennant Papistry
(1827) 133.^
2. To write music by perforating the paper. Dev., Cor.
(R H.H.) 3. Phr. (i) to prick butts, to stalk flat-fish ; (2)
— notes, to copy music ; (3) — the loaf, obs., to make little
holes on the top of a loaf.
(i) Nrf. ' Pricking butts' or stalking flatfish at the ebb is very
good fun, Cornh. Mag. (Mar. 1899) 319. (2) Chs.' (3) w.Yks.
(J.W.) Cbs.^ Acad. 0/ Armory, III. iii. This refers to pricking
bread before putting it into the oven. It is now generally done
with a steel fork.
4. To mark in a list of names such people as are de-
faulters.
n.Lin.' Mr. George Chatterton rode Brumby sewer, an' ther' was
one man 'at hedn't dun his lot ; soa Chatterton prickt him, an' th'
Commissioners maade him do it.
5. A coal-mining term : to pierce with the point of a pick.
Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). 6. Obs. To
discover a witch by means of pricking.
e.Lth. The magistrate and minister caused John Kincaid in
Tranent, the common-pricker, to prick her, and found two marks
upon her which he called the Devill his marks, which appeared
indeed to be so, for she did neither find feel] the prein when it was
put into any of the said marks nor did they blood when they were
taken out again. Sands Tranent (1881) 47.
7. With out, through, up : to spring up, as corn.
w.Yks.' As't gers pricks up. Nrf. The swedes are beginning to
prick through on the ridges, Longman s Mag. (Apr. 1899) 501 ;
Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 20.
8. To trace the footsteps of a hare or rabbit. w.Yks.^'*,
ne.Lan.^, Nhp.', w.Som.' 9. Withw/: tohold up one's head.
n.Yks.' Prick up your head, bairn, and deean't luik sae cow'd.
10. To run fast ; gen. of cattle.
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. To scamper or run from flies in summer.
' They're prickin' ' (G.W.) ; The heat and the insects together give
the poor brutes no rest, so that they must walk around the field
constantly, or run as fast as they can. This is what the herds of
a former day called 'prickin',' Abd. Wkly. Free Press (July 13,
igoi); (A.W. ) Per. He up the brae right fast did prick, Smith
Poems (1714) 5, ed, 1853.
11. With out : to push out, lengthen.
Rut.' The days begin to prick-out already in January.
12. With out: to plant out seedlings singly.
w.Som.' They plants be to leggy, they wad'n a-pricked out
zoond enough. The best way is to zow the zeed in a frame and
then prick 'em out.
13. To adorn, to dress in a gaudy manner ; to set promi-
nently forward.
Sc. (Jam.) Frf. Ne'erpricea weardless, wanton elf. That nought
but pricks and prins herself, Morison Po«»«s (1790) 81. Rnf. I'
the vera front in state, Forsooth, ye maun be prickit, Picken Poems
PRICK
[617]
PRICKER
(1813) I. 108. Lnk. Ay scraping and washing at hersel, pricking
and prining, Graham IFrititigs {1883 ill. 55. Nhb.iShe'sa'preeked
up wi' ribbons an' laces. nXin.' To decorate a church or chapel
with holly for Christmas. sw.Lin.i ' Pricking the Church,' dressing
it up with evergreens.
14. sb. A knitting-needle ; a skewer ; a wooden pin or
bodkin.
Sc. If ever you make a good pudding, I'll eat the prick, Kelly
Prov. (1721) 198 ; It's a bare moor that you'll go o'er, and no get
a prick to your blanket, ib. 184 ; Deil nor it were hewn down for
me, To puddin' pricks, Pennecuik Coll. (1787) 10. Cum.i Sing,
sing, what mun I sing ' Cat's run away wi' t' puddin' pwoke string.
Some gat puddin' and some gat prick ; They warn't warst off 'at
gat clout to lick, Nursery Rhyme; Cum.* w.Yks. It was wonderful
how sorrow left the heart when the pricks were in the fingers,
HowiTT Hope On (1840) vi ; Peggy was sae vexed, she teed up her
pricks and went out, tb. ix ; (F.P.T.)
15. An eel-spear ; an iron crow. e.An.^^ 16. A prop
pointed at one end with iron, used to support the shafts
of a cart, or to relieve a horse from its weight, when
resting in an ascent. Shr.'^ 17. The footprint of a hare
or rabbit. e.Lan.', w.Som.^ 18. Phr. /o make pricks
into pracks, and pracks into nowt, to be without a clear
notion of what to do, and so be unsuccessful ; to malce
useless changes until one fails altogether.
w.Yks. A man who shows a sign of being full of whims which
are cultivated in an unsuccessful manner, is a man 'who makes
pricks into pracks and pracks into nowt,' Binns Vill. to Town (1882)
91 ; Prov. in Brighoiise News 'July 23, 1897) ; (C.C.) ; (F.K.)
19. Comb. (1) Prick-book, a note-book ; (2) -bush, the
holly, Ilex Aquifolium ; (3) -ears, a particular breed of
pigs ; (4) -gutter, a small gutter ; (5) -haste, hot haste ;
(6) -hedge, a dry hedge of thorns, set to protect a newly-
planted fence; (7) -hollan, -hoUand, -hollin, (8) -holly,
see (2) ; (9) -lugg'd, with upright ears ; (10) -madam, the
crooked yellow stonecrop, Sedum reflexum ; (11) -meet,
-mete, of the exact size of anything, fitting tightly;
fastidious, over-exact ; (12) -nickle, see (6) ; (13) -post, a
post used in post-and-rail fencing ; (14) -stohp, see (13) ;
(15) -the-clout loon, a contemptuous nickname for a tailor ;
(16) —the garter, (17) — (at) the loop, a swindling game
played at fairs; (18) -louse, -a- or -the-louse, see (15);
(19) -timber, obs., the spindle-tree, Euonymus europaeus ;
(20) -wood, {a) see (19) ; {b) the dogwood, Cornussanguinea;
{21) -'s-worth, anything of the lowest value.
(i) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 16, 1896). (2) sw.Lin.i (3)
Cum. The kind preferred in this establishment is what are pro-
vincially called the ' prick ears,' a well made, sliort-legged animal
of its kind, of a yellowish-white colour, averaging, when quite fat,
sixteen or seventeen stone. Farm Reports, Netherby (1830) 57. (4)
e.Lan.i Cut with the point of a spade. s.Chs.i (5) Sc. You're in a
prick- haste, Pitcairn Assembly (1766) 34. (6) Nhp.i (7) e. Yks.'
Lin. Her hands were in a taking next day with the prick-hoUin
(R.E.C.). n.Lin.>- nw.Lin. The people here [Messingham] invari-
ably call holly Prick Holland, and for that reason the natives called
this part of the lordship Holland woods (B. & H.). sw.Lin.^ It's
the house where there's that pointed prick-hollin tree. (8) n.Lin.
What's that? Why, prick-holly, Peacock Tales and Rhymes (^1886)
120. (9) n.Yks. That pig's a prick-lugg'd un (I.W.). ne.Lan.i
(10) Cum.* (11) Lakel.2 They've gone doon t'toon as smart
as prick-meet. Lan. Their mother's just prick-mete their dur-hole
full, to an inch, Wavch Heather {ed. Milner) I. 45 ; Lan.i, e.Lan.i,
Chs.i nw.Der.i xha wants it so prick meet ; there's noo pleasin
thS6. (12) Nhp.i (13) w.Yks. The intermediate post in a fence
to which the rails are nailed as distinct from the ' end-post,' which
is stronger, and has holes morticed in it for the ends of the bars to
rest in (B. K.) ; Thoresby £««. (1703)- n.Lin.i Which is not setin
a hole dug for the purpose, but is hammered down with a ' mell '
01- a ' gablock.' (14) n.Lin.i (15) sc. Ye are welcome to Scotland,
yeprick-the-clout loon, Scott iJerf^. (1824) Lett.xii. (;i6)Frf.The
money-sellin' dodge, or the three card trick, or prick the garter,
or the pea-an-thummils, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 154, ed.
1889 Lnk. Rowly-powly ! wheel o' fortune. Prick the garter,
hide the pea, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 71. (17) Sc Prick-the-
loops, wha are sae familiar wi' the hangman's loop that they ve
turned the idea into business, an' set up wi' their garter, Ford
Thistledown (1891) 313. N.I.i Played with a strap and skewer.
(i8)nSc. 'Prick-the-louse'— that is, in other language, the tailor-
was indeed a notable man, Gordon Carglen (1891) 91. Slg. Ne'er
VOL. IV.
term a tailor, scolding, prick the louse, Galloway Po«h<s (1804)
57. Dmb. To nicknames, nor to prick-the-louse. He ne'er gaed
heed, Taylor Poems (1827) 17. Lnk. A Barber, which always
plagued Leper, calling him a Prick-the-louse, Graham Writings
(1883) II. 123. Edb.The twa pert prick- the-lice. Wee Yaky's sons,
Carlop Green (1793) 126, ed. 1817. Cum. (J.D.), Cum.*, w.Yks.l,
ne.Lan.i, nw.Der.^ (19) Wil.' Prick-timber ... is common, especially
in North Wilts. The butchers doe make skewers of it, — because
it doth not taint the meate as other wood will doe : from whence
it hath the name of prick-timber, Aubrey Nat. Hist. Wit. 56, ed.
Brit. (20, a) Cum.*, Sus. (B. & H.) (6) Bck. Science Gossip (1869)
30. e.Cy., s.Cy. (B. & H.) (aj) Sc. He did na leave me a pricks-
worth, he left me nothing at all (Jam.).
PRICKED, ppl adj. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Nhp. Hrf.
Bdf Ken. Hmp. I.W. Dor. Som. Dev. Also written
prickt w.Yks. Nhp.^ ; prickit Sc. ; and in forms precket
Dev." ; preckett n.Dev. ; preekt Sc. [prikt.] 1. In
comp. Prickt-rug, a rug made by perforating a sheet of
canvas with a skewer, and passing through it pieces of
list, tailor's cuttings, &c.
w.Yks. Ah'U mak ye awther a prickt rug er a fringe un (B.K.).
2. Stimulated.
Lnk. Spirited, they rose again Wi' prickit kyte and burnin' brain,
Deits Hallowe' en (1856) 29.
3. Grieved, annoyed, irritated. n.Cy.(B.K.) 4. Dressed
up, conceited.
s.Sc. Preekt, pauchty, pudgel loons, Watson Bards (1859") 197.
Dev.2 Doesn't that fellow look precket? n.Dev. The tilty, twily,
preckett toad, Rock Jim an Nell (1867) st. 90.
5. Of liquids and fruit : sharp, slightly sour, fermented.
w.Yks. Pricked oranges, oranges partly damaged (S K.C.). Chs.l
Said of preserves in which a slight vinous fermentation has com-
menced. Nhp.i Hrf.i Pricked cider. Bdf. Batchelor^h«/. ^J^.
Lang. (1809) 140. Ken. Used of home-made wine if it becomes too
sharp owing to insufficiency of sugar (P.M.). Hmp. Holloway
(1839). LW.2, Dor.i, Som. (Hall.) w.Som.^ That there beer idn a
worth nort, 'tis a prickt every drap o' ut. Time this here cider
was a-drinkt ; I zim 'tis a little bit a prickt like.
PRICKER, sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs-
Der. Nhp. War. Shr. Nrf Som. [pri'kafr.] 1. Any
sharp-pointed instrument. w.Yks. (J.W.), ne.Lan.'j
nw.Der.i 2. A needle. Shr.^ 3. A bradawl.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). Dur.^, Cum.*, n.Yks.12 e.Yks. Marshall
Rur. Econ. (1788). w.Yks. Hes teh a pricker to bore a hoil wi' ?
(.^.B.) ne.Lan.i A carpenter's tool.
4. pi. Iron prongs fixed on the front of the grate, upon
which to toast bread or fry sausages.
Cum. Stickan t'bits atop eh t'prickers afooar t'fire, like as mickle
breid twoastan, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 201 ; Bring t'prickers
here an' twoast us sum breid (E.W.P.) ; Cura.i*
5. A mining term : a tool used in charging a hole for
blasting.
Nhb.i A thin pointed rod made of yellow metal, and used for
placing and adjusting a blasting cartridge, which it perforates and
remains embedded in till the stemming has been tamped round
it. When withdrawn, it leaves a touch hole through which the
cartridge is fired. A ' stemmer,' also of yellow metal, is a comple-
mentary tool which accompanies a pricker. Hence ' pricker and
stemmer ' are usually spoken of together. Nhb., Dur. About ;J-inch
diameter at the thick end, which is turned into a ring, and
tapered to a point at the other. It is about 3 feet long, and is used
for putting the shot into a hole and keeping a port-hole open to
the powder during the process of stemming, remaining in the hole
during the operation, Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). w.Yks.' A
needle introduced into the hole previously bored in a rock, fo'r the
purpose of making a vacancy, to communicate fire to the powder,
for a blast. Chs.> Salt-mining term. Der. The blast-hole having re-
ceived its proper charge of gun-powder, a cylindrical iron rod, called
a Pricker, is then introduced, round which the miner runs small frag-
ments of stone as firmly as possible, to the very mouth of the hole;
the Pricker is then withdrawn, and a straw filled with gun-powderis
placed in the hole in its stead, which communicates with the powder
in the chamber, and on being ignited, explodes the whole charge,
Mander Miner's Gl. (1824) 54 ; English Mining Terms (1830) 68.
6. An iron rod used for following the burrow of a rabbit
when ferreting. Cum.* 7. A thorn.
Chs.i . Chs.3 The prickers on a brimble. s. Chs.i Ahy)si, wensh,
kus dhii tai- mi u prik-ur aayt u mi fom? [I say, wench, cost
tha tay me a pricker ait o' my fom ?]
4K
PRICKERING
[6i81
PRICKY
8. pi. Obs. A woollen-trade term : forked sticks thrust
into the ground, to carry another horizontal stick, upon
which sized webs were laid out to dry.
w.Yks. Thrust into the ground in pairs about 5 feet apart. The
horizontal piece was the 'ower ligger,' stouter pairs at the ends
were 'end stoops,' and the whole, with the 'end sticks," were
termed ' web sticks' (W.T.).
9. A forked wooden peg used to fasten the gable-poles
in thatching. Nhp.i, War.a Nrf. Arch. (1879) VIII. 172.
10. A small setting-stick used by gardeners. w.Som.'
11. A contemptuous name for a tailor.
Edb. Here's frae Blair-bog, the pricker prim, Carlop Green (1793)
126, ed. 1817.
12. One who tracks a hare by her footprints.
■w.Som.i Mr. White's a capical pricker.
13. A discoverer of witches by pricking.
Frf. John Kincaid.. .appears to have acted as pricker orbrodder-
general in that enlightened district, Lowson Guidfollow (1890)
14. Per. Tales cropped up ... of the ' prickers,' who were the
accredited officers of Church and State, Sarah Tytler Wiich-Wife
(1897) 96. Edb. She had the usual mark on the left shoulder,
which enabled one James Scober, a skilful pricker of witches, to
find her out by putting a large pin into it, which she never felt,
Maidment Spoitiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) II. 67.
14. Van species of the dog-fish, Squalidae, esp. the
basking shark, S. maximus.
n.Sc. When before Peterhead, we saw the fins of a great fish,
about a yard above the water, which they call a pricker, Brand
Or. I. (1701) 4 (Jam.). Nrf. All we got out of a mass of weed and
mud . . . were two prickers, and an old mussel covered with
barnacles, Emerson VVild Life (i8go) 99.
PRICKERING, sb. Suf Line-lying for thornback,
&c. (P.H.E.)
PRICKET, s6. Lan.' [pri-kit.] Six sheaves of corn.
PRICKING, sb. and ppl. adj. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Lan. Der. Nhp. Nrf. Also written prikkin Sh.I. ;
and in form preekin Rxb. (Jam.) 1. sb. A method of
killing oxen, &c.
Sh.I. ' What du ye ca' prikkin ! ' ' Dey tak' a narrow sharp
shiss'I, and set him i' da hole o' da koo's neck, behint her head, . .
an' wi' a straik apo da heft wi' da l6ff dey send him doon an' cut da
mOny, an' da kgo fa's,' Sh. News (Nov. 4, 1899).
2. Short thorn-bushes stuck on the top of an earthen fence.
Cum.'* Wm. When the thorn hedge, cut down so that it may
grow afresh, forms an insecure barrier, the stronger stems are cut
into short pieces (prickins) and thrust in close rows along the top
of the hedge on each side, Hutton Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 398.
3. Evergreens for Christmas decoration. Der.'^ 4. Comp.
(i) Pricking-babs, small transfer pictures printed in
colours ; cf. pricky-babs ; (2) -pole, 'a strong, sharp-
pointed iron instrument.
(i) w.Yks. They were sold in sheets (of about 50) and after-
wards cut up into separate ' babs ' and placed by children in books
to be ' pricked ' for with pins. After pricking the pin was forfeited,
whether a prize was drawn or not (S.K.C.). (2) Nrf. Carry my
pricking-pole up, Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 153.
5. A coal-mining term : a thin layer of soft coaly shale,
often found between the bottom of a seam of coal and the
regular floor. N.Cy.', Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. Son'H^s (i88i) I. 43.
6. pi The footsteps of a hare. ne.Lan.\ Nhp.^
7. ppl. adj. Obs. Sharp -pointed, piercing.
Fif. Wi' his prickin' gude pyk-staff Made them rebound and
wintle afif, Tekkant Papisiry (1827) 173.
8. Fond of dress, conceited, forward.
Rxb. A bit preekin bodie (Jam.).
PRICKLE, V. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Stf Der. Lin.
Nhp. Ken. Som. Cor. Also in forms pirkle Or.L Cai.^ ;
preckle Cor. [pri-kl.] 1. v. To prick.
n.Yks.* Ah've prickl'd my ban's all ower. ne.Yks.^ Ah've
prickled my ban's despretly. w.Yks.*^^, ne.Lan.^, s.Stf. (T.P.),
nw.Der.i sw.Lin.i It seems to prickle and itch a deal.
2. To have a pricking sensation.
n.Yks." Ah prickle all ower. w.Yks. (J.W.)
3. Of hair : to stand up ; gen. with up.
Ayr. The very first sound made the hair on my old grey head to
prickle up, Galt Ann. Parish {1821) ydiv. Edb. My hair prickling,
and the cold shooting down my back, BiAiTY Secretar (1897) 327.
4. Comp. Prickleback, (i) the seed-vessels of the
corn crowfoot, Ranunculus arvensis ; (2) the stickleback,
Gasterosteus trachurus.
(i) n.Yks. (B. & H.) (a) Nhb. Where prickle-backs and min-
nows, Each day I caught in store, Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.)
Der.2, w.Som.i
5. sb. Anything that pricks ; a thorn.
Cal.i w.Yks. She prickled her fingers with the rose prickles,
Sheffield Indep. (1874) ; w.Yks.^ s.Stf. I fun a prickle 'as 'ad bin
pricklin' me all day (T.P.). nw.Der.i n.Lin.i Thoo's as full o'
awk'ardness as a otchen is o' prickles. Cor. He . . . began to
draw off his boot, and search for a prickle, that it seem'd had got
into it, 'Q.' Splendid Spur (ei, 1893) ig8.
6. A pricking sensation.
Arg. A prickle's at my skin that tells me here is dool, Munro
J. Splendid (1898) 223.
7. A kind of muzzle, set with projecting nails.
Or.I. Fixed on the nose of a cow that is given to sucking her
teats (Jam. Suppl.). Cai.i A kind of branks (q.v.) with iron
prickles put on a calf to prevent sucking, or on a cow to prevent
her from sucking herself.
8. Phr. a preckle in the collar, lazy.
Cor. Thomas Aunt Kezziah (1894) xii.
9. A basket of a certain measure.
N.Cy.i Nhp."- Of wicker work, used among fruiterers ; originally
made of briars, . . now nearly obsolete in this application, but trans-
ferred to the agricultural chaffbasket made of peeled oziers. Ken.
Containing three bushels (G.B. ); Ken.i Containing about ten gal-
lons, used at Whitstable for measuring oysters. Two prickles
equal one London bushel. One prickle equals two wash (for
whelks). But the prickle is not exact enough to be used for very
accurate measuring.
10. A tool used by bakers for pricking holes in bread.
Rnf. Lay by the prickles, slips, and pins, yi'^GiuvRAy Poems (ed.
1862) 327.
11. pi. A curling term : the crampit, or iron board from
which the curler plays.
Sc. Upon the prickles tak' your turn And win the cup, R. Caled.
Curling Club Ann. (1893-94) T14.
PRICKLY, adj. Sc. Cum. Yks. Lan. Lin. Cor. [prikli.]
1. In comp. (i) Prickly-back, var. kinds of sticklebacks,
esp. Gasterosteus trachurus ; (2) — Christmas, the holly,
Ilex Aquifolium ; (3) -coals, thin ' shelly ' coals, larger than
nuts; (4) — Dick, see (i) ; (5) -louse, a contemptuous
name for a tailor ; (6) -otchon, a hedgehog ; (7) -tang,
Fucus serratus.
(i) w.Yks.5, ne.Lan.l (2) Cor. Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865)
393, ed. 1896. (3) n.Yks. Put some prickly coals in at the bars
(I.W.). (4) Cum. HoTCHiNSON Hist. Cum. (1794) I. 459 ; Cum.*
The ten-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus pungitis. (5) Cum.*
Prickly louse tealeor . . . sits in a corner, C Pacq. (Nov. 16, 1893)
6, col. I. (6) n.Lln.i (7) Sc. (Jam.)
2. Intense, piercing.
w.Yks. The sun is very prickly this morning (S.O.A.).
PRICKMALEERIE, adj Sc. Particular, precise. Cf.
prickmedainty.
Sc. Mackay. Ayr. Gallanting frae Dan to Beersheba with an
auld prickmaleerie dowager, Gai.t Sir A. Wylie (^1822) xxxiv.
PRICKMEDAINTY, adj. Sc. Cum. Also in forms
prickmadainty, prickmadenty, prickmydainty Sc. ;
prigmedainty Sc. (Jam.) Finical in language and beha-
viour, conceited. Also used subst. Cf. prickmaleerie.
Sc. If he had told her what a high-bendit, prickmadenty lady he had
in his mind's eye, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 67 ; It's an ill world
since sic prick my dainty doings came in fashion, Scoii St. Ronan
(1824) xii. Ayr. Bailie Pirlet was naturally a gabby prick-me-
dainty body, Galt Provost (1822) xxxi. Slk. I may be able to
amuse you by an exposure of some of the betises of this prick-ma-
dainty reviewer, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 313. Dmf.
She . . . took it to be one of her young prick-me-dainties coming
a-jinking after her, Hamilton Mawkin (1898) 75. Cum.*
PRICKY, adj. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lin.
Ken. [priki.] 1. adj. In comb, (i) Pricky-babs, transfer
pictures ; cf. pricking, 4 (i) ; (2) -back, (a) var. kinds of
sticklebacks, esp. Gasterosteus trachurus ; (b) the wild
teasel, Dipsacus sylvestris \ (3) -back urchin or Prick-o'-
back urchin, the hedgehog; (4) -bat, see (2, a); (5)
•board, a nice point, ' scratch,' a test ; the exhaustion of
PRIDDHA
[619]
PRIEST
all means of living ; (6) -louse, a contemptuous term for
a tailor ; cf. prick, 19 (18) ; (7) -sockey, a game played
with pins ; (8) -thistle, the meadow plume-thistle, Carduns
arvensis ; (9) -urchin, see (3).
(i) w.Yks. (S.K.C.) (3, a) Cum.i ; Cum." The ten-spined
stickleback, Gasterosteus pungitis. Ken. (G.B.) (6) Lin. (B. & H.)
(3-) n.Yks. (T.S.); n.Yks.i=; n.Yks.*Then thoo'd nowt . . . tideea
wi t'pricky-back otch'n 1 ne.Yks.i Ah seed yan o' them pricky-
back otch'ns a bit sen. e.Yks. Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1890) 133.
(4) Ken.i (5) Nhb.i When it comes to pricky-board. He'll no'
come up to pricky-board. Cnin.i* (6) Dur.^ (7) Sc. A Scotch
game played on Christmas morning. Little girls . . . with rows of
pins round their, wrists . . . run from house to house. When the
door is opened, one says ; ' Prickey sockey for a pin, I care not
whether I loss or win.' She holds a pin between her iingers,
hiding it. The head of the pin is Sockey, the point Prickey. The
opponent guesses ' this for prickey,' or ' this for sockey.' At night
the other gives her two pins, Gomme Games (1898) II. 78. (8)
n.Yks. (B. & H.) (9) ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II.
337. e.Yks.'- Lin. 'As I was goin' over our gardin gap I spied my
Uncle Ned ; With pins and needles up'n his back An' we kep'
joggin' on ahead.' Answer, a pricky-otchin, N. £7" Q. (1865) 3rd S.
viii. 503. n.Lln. That was a pricky-otchin, Peacock Tales and
Rhymes (1886) 114 ; n.Lin.i
2. sb. Var. kinds of sticklebacks, esp. Gasterosteus
trachurus. cYks."^ [Satchell (1879).] 3. Comb. Prickle-
and-Jockie, a child's game played with pins. Rxb. (Jam.)
PRIDDHA, sb. I.Ma. Also written priddhar. [pri-Ss.]
? A dial, form of ' potato ' ; also used aftrib.
Let me see you stir a foot Till them priddhas is peelt, Brown
Doctor (1887) 103 ; She's out agate o' the priddhars, ib. Witclt (1889)
10 ; Get me a bite of priddhas and salt herrin's for supper, Caine
Deemster ■ (iSiZ'j) 177, ed. 1889 ; It is time the priddhars were put
on the fire (S.M.).
PRIDE, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Shr.
Oxf. Brks. Ken. Hmp. Wil. Dor. Dev. Cor. [praid.]
1. sb. In comp. (i) Pride-brussen, (2) -prankit, puffed up
with pride.
(i) Lan. Tha pride-brussen . . . owd maddlin, tha, wot's up wi'
thi ? AcKWORTH Clog Shop Chron. (1896) 248. (2) Abd. A wheen
pride-prankit beuk-fowk 'at didna believe there was ony angels,
or speerits o' ony kin', Macdonald Sir Gibbie (1879) xxvii.
2. Fineness, brilliancy, richness.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks.' The pride o' t'weather. ne.Lan.l
Cor.3 ' Peacock, peacock, show your pride, ' said to a peacock to
induce it to spread its tail.
3. Phr. (i) to have a pride in one's pace or manner of going,
to be lame ; (2) pride of the country, a mining term : abun-
dant, rich ore, found in an unexpected place ; (3) — of the
morning, the early mist or morning shower which foretells
a fine day ; (4) — of the vein, a lead-mining term ; cf. (2).
(i) Chs.'^^ (2) Cor. 2 When ore is found near the surface, at a
level where it is rarely met with, and in great abundance and very
rich : also when a bunch of ore is found out of a lode like stones
scattered in a quarry, they say, ' It is the pride of the country.' (3)
Yks. N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 129. w.Yks.^ When slight rain
falls early in an excursion morning, a hopeful person will say, ' It
has set in for a fine day.' ' No,' says a desponder, ' it's only the
pride of the morning.' Lan., ^hr. N. ty Q. ib. 275. Oxf.i MS. add.
Brks. N. Sf Q- ib. 275. Ken. ib. (1867) 3rd S. xi. 529. Dor.i
Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 34i- Cor. N. &-Q. (1854) ist S. x.
360. (4) Der. Addy Gl. (1888-90).
4. The uterus of a sow. Wil.^ 5. The lamprey,
Ammocaetes branchialis.
w.Cy. (Hall.), Hmp.i Wil.^ Lumbrici ... are lyke to lam-
purnes, but they be muche lesse, and somewhat yeolowe, and are
called in Wilshyre prides, Elyotes Diciionarte (i559)-
6. V. Obs. pass, to be proud.
Dmf. I, mither-like, was prided o' my ain, Johnstone Poems
(1820) 114.
7. With up : to trim, furbish, make tidy.
w.Som.' Come, soce ! here's a middlin' smutter ; I zim 'tis most
time vor to pridy up a bit, else shan't be able vor to turn round.
Our Jane do look very well hon her's a-prided up Hke. [Anchored
neer Poolo-Pen-Iang, to pridy up our ships, and to take in water
and planks that lay by our side, Furchas Pi/grimes (1625) I. 637.]
PRIDEFUL, adj. Sc. Amer. Also in form pridefu'
Sc. [prai-dfu(l.] Full of pride, haughty, arrogant.
Sc. I'm not ... too prideful to own a fault and seek to mend it,
Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 142. Cai.' Abd. As pridefu' as an
English Lord, Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 322. Frf. Oh
the pridefu' limmer ! Barrie Tommy (i8g6) 73. Per. I ance
thocht him a gude j'oung man, but he's verra pridefu', Cleland
Inchbradien (1883) 67, ed. 1887. Fif. TENNANT/'a/;s/0'(i827) 27.
Dmb. Best it fits that twa should tak' and gie Whom ties like
these fra' pridefu' grudges free, Salmon Gowodean (1868) 36.
Rnf. Webster Rhymes (1835) 104. Ayr. The pridefu' body
braggit, Service Dr. Duguid{ed. 1887) 26. Lnk. Thomson Lcddy
May 1^1883) 5. Lth. Sae pridefu' cummers now to see, Thomson
Poems (1819) 183. Edb. As prideful and full of power as King
Nebuchadnezzar, Moir Mansie IVauch (1828) ii. Feb. Affleck
Poet. Wis. (1836) 32. Gall. The prideful feeling within me died
utterly away, Crockett^. Mark (1899^) viii. [Amer. The doctor's
stately and prideful wife, Cent. Mag. (Dec. 1900) 293.]
Hence (i) PridefuUy, adv. haughtily ; (2) Pridefulness,
sb. an air of pride.
(i) Sc. (Jam.) Abd. To ride as pridefully about the cross, after
hurting of their baillie and his brother, Spalding Hist. Sc. (,1792)
II. 89. (2) Sc. (Jam.) Gall. Philip Stansfield stood forward and
apart with a certain pridefulness, Crockett A. Mark (1899) viii.
PRIDELY, adj. Yks. [prai'dli.] Proud.
w.Yks. Ah sud a been prldely too if thade a been mine, Tom
Treddlehoyle Trip ta Lunnon (1851) 24 ; (J.W.)
PRIDEN-PRAL(L, sb. Cor. Also written pridden-
pral. [pri'dsn-prael.] 1. The blue titmouse, Pants
caeruleus. Cf. prid-prad.
RoDDB«;rf5(i88o) 315; Cor,i2 w.Cor. S\VAiNSONB;'r(fe(i885) 34.
2. The great titmouse, Pants major. Swainson ib. 33.
PRIDPRAD, sb. Cor.^2 [pri'dprged.] The blue tit-
mouse, Parus caeruleus. Cf. priden-pral(l.
PRIDY, adj. Cor. Also In form preedy Cor.'^^
[prai'di, prrdi.] 1. Proud, conceited; forward, advanced.
Cor.i A preedy piece of goods. I shall not make myself preedy ;
Cor.2 ; Cor.3 The boy is preedy for his age. She's a preedy
piece, she'll come to no good.
2. Handsome, good-looking.
He is nothing pridy, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 436, ed.
1896; Cor.123
PRIE, PRIEF, see Free, Pry, sb}, Proof.
PRIEST, sb.'^ and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written preest Sc. [prist.] 1. sb. A Pro-
testant clergyman, a minister.
Slg. To be join'd by some. handy priest In wedlock e'er next
Sunday, Galloway Poems (1792) 52. Nhb. In this use of the
term ' priest ' to signify clergyman he showed himself a true
rustic Northumbrian, White A'Ai. and Border (iS^g) 205. e.Dur.'
I have been to church and heard the priest. Cum. As our priest
says, N. Lonsdale Mag. (Feb. 1867) 312; (C.W.D.) ; Cum." The
clergyman is not called the Reverend So-and-so, but Priest
So-and-so, and he is spoken of as the 'Priest.' 'We went to
t'priest skeull togidder,' Dickinson Lit. Rem. (1888) 204. Wm.
'Twas Wissun Week an' priests so meek, Sewart Rhymes (1869) a.
n.Yks.l
2. The spotted orchis, Orchis maculata.
w.Yks. ^ Probably so called from its gay colours resembling
a priest's chasuble.
3. Comb, (i) Priest-cat, a children's game; (2)-'s crown,
the dandelion, ZeoM/oa'o«7ara;ra«/7«; (3)-dridder,thedread
of priests ; (4) -ebm, a young student on the eve of holy
orders ; (5) -ill, the ague ; (6) -pilly, the cuckoo-pint,
Arum maculatum ; (7) -'s pintel or pintle(s, (a) various
kinds of fungi ; ib) the early purple orchis. Orchis mas-
cula ; (c) see (6) ; (d) the rose-root, Rhodiola rosea.
(i) Sc. Chambers Pop. Rhymes U870) 128 ; A peat clod is put
into the shell of the crook by one person, who then shuts his
eyes. Some one steals it. The other then goes round the circle
trying to discover the thief, and addressing particular individuals
in a rhyme, ' Ye're fair and leal, Ye canna steal ; Ye're black and
fat, Ye're the thief of my priest-cat !' If he guesses wrong, he
is in a wadd, if right he has found the thief, Gomme Games (1898)
II. 79. Gall. An ingleside game ; a piece of stick is made red in
the fire; one hands it to another, saying, 'About wi' that, about
wi' that, Keep alive the priest-cat.' Then round is handed the
stick, and whomsoever's hand it goes out in, that is in a wad, and
must kiss the crook, the cleps, and what not, ere he gets out of
it ; anciently, when the priest's cat departed this life, wailing
began on the country side, as it was thought it became some
supernatural being, a witch, perhaps, of hideous form ; so to keep
4 K 2
PRIEST
[620]
PRIMAR
it alive was a great matter, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). (2)
n Lin.' (3) Gall. Mactaggart i'Kcj'c/. (1824). (4) Wm. Richard-
son Sng. Sol. (1859) Notes iv. (5) Som. In a village near
Burnham where ague is prevalent, esp. along the Athelney
marshes, a man told me that the ' vokes about yer did get priest-
ill or trembling fevers in the autumn time' (S.H.). Dev. (Hall.)
(6) Wm. Ah's puzzun'd, Ah've bitten on a priest-pilly (B.K.).
(7, a) Cam.4 (A) sw.Cum., Chs. fB. & H.), Chs.', War. (B. & H.)
(c) Dur., Cum., Der., Lin. (B. & H.) (rf) Bnff.l
4. Phr. (i) a cheap priest, obs., a clergyman such as those
who performed the Fleet marriages, not recognized by the
regular clergy ; (2) to be one's priest, to kill one ; (3) to give
the priest, or — absolution with the priest, to kill ; to knock
on the head.
(i) Lnk. They met at Edinburgh, where Sawny got the cheap
priest, who gave them twa three words, and twa three hnes, took
their penny [fee] and a good drink, wish'd them joy and gaed his
wa's, Graham Writings (1883) II. 63. (2) n.Sc. (Jam.) Abd.
Anither day like this '11 be my priest, Ross Helenore (1768) 39,
ed. 1812; The wabster . . . claught the fellow by the breast, An'
wi' an awfu' shak'. Swore he wad shortly be his priest, Cock
Strains (1810) II. 135. (3) Ir. Micky Doolan's ' Whirroo-ho-hoo,'
as he gave it plenary absolution with ' the Praste,' might have
been heard in Tralee, Carew No. 7.^7 (1891) xxii.
5. V. To marry.
Nhb. She and me had made it up to get priested in spite of
them, Graham Red Scaur (i8g6) 265.
PRIEST, 56.2 Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) A strong but in-
effectual inclination to go to stool.
PRIESTIES, sb. pi. Lan. The cuckoo-pint, Arum
maculatum. (B. & H.)
PRIEVE, see Prove.
PRIG, v} and sb?- Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Also written
prigg Sc. [prig.] 1. v. To entreat, plead, importune.
Sc. Sair I prigged and prayed they would leave him wi' me,
Scott Guy M. (1815) Iv. Cai.' Elg. Robin's lady prigget sairly
Just to bide till mornin' licht, Tester Poems (1865) 152. Bch.
For this propine to prig, Forbes Ajax (1742) 11. Frf. I dinna
like to prig wi' them to take a roundabout road, Barrie Minister
(i8gi) xii. Per. Spence Poems (1898) 34. Rnf. Many think it
was very great imprudence ... to prigg so with the Assembly
from the throne upon this head, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) I.
553, ed. 1843. Ayr. The lairdie for his life was priggin', Ainslie
Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 192. Heb. Not that I h^ve not prigged
her sore, Sarah Tytler Macdonald Lass (1895) 189. N.Cy.i
2. To haggle ; to beat down in price ; gen. with down.
Sc. Leighton Wds. (1869) 6; Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl.
Cai.' Abd. Ettle sair to prig you doun, Cadenhead Bon- Accord
(1853) 146. Rnf. Young Pictures (1865) 160. Ayr. Ask twice as
much as ye'Il tak' ; for the mistress will prig ye doon, Johnston
Kilmallie (1891) I. 82. Lth. Ane o' the street-musician crew Is
busy priggin' wi' him now, Ballantine Poems (1856) 131. Edb.
Thinks na' o' cost, but dishes plenty, Nor e'er priggs down,
Macneill By^sKC Times (1811) 10. Dmf. If the buyers higgled
sore, And prigg'd till they could prig no more, Shennan Tales
(1831) 38. Gall. Some merchants alter not the price, let the buyer
prigg as he may, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 387, ed. 1876.
Kcb. Do not prig with your frank-hearted and gracious Lord,
Rutherford Lett. (1660) No. 17. N.I.i, N.Cy.i Nhb.i He's be
sure to prig doon yor price, mind. Cum.'*
Hence Prigger, sb. one who beats down the price of an
article.
Ayr. I'm nane against priggers, the best profits maistly come
from them, Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 82.
3. sb. Entreaty, pleading.
Ayr. We wet oor wizens wi' a drap, Withoot a prig, White
Jottings (1879) 191.
PRIG, sb.^ Yks. s.Cy. Also written prigge w.Yks."
s.Cy. [prig.] I. A small pan of brass or tin.
w.Yks. Thoresby Lett. (1703) ; Put t'prig on t'fire, Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (May 16, i8g6) ; w.Yks.*
2. Obs. A small pitcher. s.Cy. Grose (1790) ; Ray (1691).
PRIG, v.^ n.Cy. Yks. [prig.] To move along ; to ride.
n.Cy. (P.R.) w.Yks. Ahs't hae to be priggin' hoame, Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (May 16, 1896).
PRIG-DRINK, sb. Hrf. [prrg-driijk.] The water-
cider of farm-labourers. Bound Prov. (1876).
PRIGGA-TROUT, sb. Sh.I. The stickleback, Gastero-
steus trachurus. S. & Ork.i
PRIGGIN ,ppl. adj. w.Yks.' Priggish, affected, conceited.
PRIGGLE, V. e.Yks.' [pri'gl.] To probe in a crevice
for anything lost.
PRIGGUMS, sb. pi. Yks. [pri-gsmz.] The private
parts of a man. n.Yks. He hit him ower t'priggums (I.W.).
PRIGHT, adj. and adv. Brks. Hmp. [prait.] A
shortened form of ' upright.'
Brks.' Stan' up quite 'pright an' thess zee how tall 'e be. Hmp.'
PRIGMEDAINTY, see Prickmedainty.
PRIGNICKITIE, adj. Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) Precise in
trifles ; trim.
PRIKKIN, PRILE, see Pricking, Prial.
PRILL, s6.' Won Shr. Hrf Rdn. Glo. w.Cy. [pril.]
1. A small stream of running water ; a rill. Cf. pirl, sb." 14.
w.Wor.i Shr. There's a prill o' waiter, BvRSEFlk-Lore (1883)
xi ; Shr.' I could aumust a cried w'en I sid the little prill runnin'
an' ripplin' alung the very same as w'en gran'mother wuz alive ;
Shr.2 A lickle prill o' waiter. Hrf.i Hrf., Rdn. Bound Prov.
(1876). GIo.i w.Cy. Longman's Mag. (Apr. 1898) 545.
2. pi. Purls in a stream. Hrf.^ 3. The backwater of
a mill-stream. Shr.^
PRILL, V. and sb.' Som. Dev. Cor. Also in form pirl
Dev.' [pril.] 1. v. To mix. Cor.'^ 2. Mining term :
to adulterate a sample of ore by substituting for the
whole or a portion metal of a higher quahty. Cor.^^ 3.
To turn sour, as beer. Cor.'^ Hence (A-)prilled or
A-pirled, ppl. adj. beginning to turn sour, soured.
w.Som.' Dev.' The ale was a' pirl'd, 22, ed. Palmer ; The ale
was worse ; — that was a-prill'd, was maukish, dead as dish-watter,
ib. 22, ed. 1837.
4. To get drunk. Cor."^ Hence (i) Prill, (2) Prilled,
adj. half-drunk, intoxicated.
(i) Cor.2 (2) Dev. BowRiNG Lang. (1866) I. v. 35. Cor. A
little prill'd I might ha' ben, Forfar Pentowan (1859) iii ; Cor.'"
5. sb. A small piece or quantity. Cor.'^
6. A small stone.
Cor.' A prill of tin. Masons speaking of a stone which does
not at once make mortar, but afterwards bursts out, call it ' a
hot prill.'
PRIM.s^.' Yks. Lin. Nhp. Ken. Sus. Also in forms
primp Lin.' n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' ; print Nhp.' [prim.]
1. The privet, Ligustrunt vulgare.
w.Yks.' Lin. Thompson //isi. Boston (1856) 687 ; Lin.', n.Lin.',
sw.Lin.', Nhp.i, Ken. (G.B.), Ken.', Sus. (B. & H.)
2. The garden variety of the guelder rose. Viburnum
Opulus. Ken. (B. & H.)
[Ligustrum is called ... in englishe prim plant or
priuet. Turner Herbes (1548) 48 ; Set priuie or prim, set
box like him, Tusser Husb. {1580) 33.]
PRIM, sb.' e.An.' [prim.] A very small smelt,
A theriiia presbyter and Osnterus eperlanus; the fry of smelts.
So called at Lynn, where the smelts are remarkably fine.
PRIM, adj. and sb.^ Yks. Der. [prim.] 1. adj. Neat.
w.Yks. (J.W.), nw.Der.' 2. sb. Obs. A neat, pretty girl.
Yks. (Hall.)
PRIM, V. Sc. Yks. [prim.] 1. To close firmly or
primly.
Slk. His lips were primmed close together, Hogg Tales (1838)
240, ed. 1866; John shook his head and primra'd his mou, ib.
Poems (ed. 1865) 366.
2. To be affected ; to do odd tricks. n.Yks. (LW.)
Hence Primming, /i/i/. adj. affected, proud, putting on airs.
She is a primmin' thing, ib.
PRIMANAIRE, see Priminary.
PRIMAR, sb. Obs. Sc. The principal of a college or
university, ' primarius.'
Sc. Wou'd you know the reason why the government has
made the reverend Mr. Salathiel primar ? Pitcairn Assembly
(1766) 58; All these pageants, with the speeches, were devised
and composed by Mr. John Adamson, Primar, Craufurd Hist.
Univ. Edb. (1808) 123 (Jam.). Abd. Doctor William Leslie, the
most learnit primar of the Kings Colledge, Turreff Gleanings
(1859)97.
Hence Primariat, sb. the office of principal in a uni-
versity.
Sc. Mr. John Adamson ... to succeed to Mr. Robert Boyd in
the Primariat, Craufurd ib. 97 (Jam.).
PRIME
[621]
PRIMROSE
PRIME, adj., adv. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Lan. Lei.
e.An. Lon. [praim.] 1. adj. First, principal, foremost,
original ; natural.
e.Lan.i ' Prime ewe,' the mother of the flock ; ' prime hay,' hay
of the first cutting ; 'prime way,' a footpath formed by the first
inhabitants. Lei.' This house was the prime of all others of the
kind in England, Throsby Views (1789) 48.
2. Ready, eager.
Sc. (A.W.) Slg. Our army thus pants glowing, prime for action,
Galloway Poems (1804) 28.
3. Comp. Prime-good, excellent. n.Cy. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (P.) 4. adv. Capitally, in a first-rate manner.
Ayr. My barmie noddle's working prime, Burns To James
Smith (1785) St. 4. Edb. Gudesake, but ye argue prime, M'Dowall
Po«ms (1839) 199.
5. sb. A name given in the fish-trade to certain of the
better kinds offish, esp. soles and turbot.
e.An. On the east coast of England, and in the London fish-
market, the trade divide the fish into two classes — 'prime' and
' offal,' the first comprising sole, turbot, brill and cod, N. & Q.
(1867) 3rd S. xii. 284. Nrf. The third and fourth hand went
along with the fish, and put the bill in a box aboard the cutter.
That said ' Prime,' that is, soles and turbot, Emerson Son of Fens
(1892) 39. Lon. N. if Q. ill.
6. Phr. (i) the prime of, the best of, capital ; (2) — of the
morning, an early mist foretelling a fine day.
(i) Abd. It was the prime of fun to hear the rant they made,
RuDDiMAN Sc. Parish (1828) 34, ed. 1889. (2) Oxf.' MS. add.
PRIME, V. Sc. Nhb. Cum. e.An, Also in forms
preyme Cum. ; prym Lnk. [praim.] 1. Obs. To fill, load.
Lnk. John calmly prim'd his nose, M'Indoe Poems (1805) 149 ;
Ramsay Poems (1721) Gl. Edb. Her bottle prim'd came last
night frae the town, Learmont Poems ijl^ji) 199. Cum. Come,
Shadey, sit down, preyme thy cutty black peype, Anderson
Ballads (ed. 1840) 95.
2. To pour water into a pump-bucket to make it lift.
Nhb.' Hence Primin, sb., see below.
When a pump bucket becomes dry and leaky and fails to
induce suction, it is said to have lost its ' primin,' ib.
3. To trim or prune the lower branches and twigs of
standing timber.
e.An.i Nrf., Suf. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Suf. Cullum
Hist. Hawsted (1813) ; (C.T.) ; Suf.i
PRIMED, ppl. adj. Sc. Yks. Lan. Lin. Nhp. War. Hnt.
Suf. Sus. Hmp. Amer. [praimd.] L Ready for action.
Nhp.i He's gone off full primed. [Amer. Z)i'a/. Notes (1896) 1. 422.]
2. Fig. Excited, on the point of an outburst.
Sc. I sent him aff weel prim'd wi' passion (Jam.).
3. Intoxicated, excited with drink.
Sc. Thai lads are weel prim'd (Jam.). Cai.' Lnk. Murdoch
Doric Lyre (1873) 11. w.Yks. I saw him among a kitchenful and
they were primed, Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) iv ; w.Yks.'
Lan. When he was ' primed,' 'twas Nathan's wont to pass No
licensed house without another glass, Doherty N. Barlow (1884)
25. ne.Lan.i, Lin.l, nLin.i, Nhp.i, War.3, Hnt. (T.P.F.), Sus.l
Hmp. HOLLOWAY.
4. Spotted from disease. Suf. (Hall.)
PRIMELY, adv. Sc. Cum. Lan. Also in forms
preymly Cum. ; primily Lan.' [prai-mli.] Excellently,
capitally, very well.
Lnk. He who this night dares the road Should have his good
steed primely shod, Murdoch Doric Lyre (1873) 26. Cum. The
lasses a' luik'd preymly, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1807) 7. Lan.
He's marred his-sel primely bi th' look on him, Waugh Chim.
Corner {iSt 4.) 127, ed. 1879; Lan.', e.Lan.'
PRIM-GAP, sb. Obs. Der. Also in forms primegap,
prymegap. In lead-mining : a portion of metalhferous
ground under half a meer in length.
Perchance the farmers may a prim-gapp get, Manlove Lead
Mines (1653) 1. 60 ; A portion of metalliferous rock less than half
a meer, lying between different titles or different jurisdictions.
By custom such portion belonged to the lord or farmer, so that the
miner was obliged to purchase it of the lord or the latter might
work it at his option, Tapping Gl. to Manlove (1851); They are
the odd quantities in laying out ground, that falling under half a
meer, cannot be given to the mine but remain to the lord of the
field, and they arise between two titles ; for when they are found
at the end of a title upon the confines of another liberty they are
distinguished by the name of odd yards. Though the lord is not
entitled to half meers in an old vein, yet he is entitled to prim gaps,
. . between two founders or the takers from those founders. . . Also
a prim gap may happen at the end of the old ground towards that
which is kept as a new vein. The lord cannot make use of the
miner's shafts or gates, to work his prim gaps or forfeited meers,
Mander Miners' Gl. (1824).
PRIMILY, see Primely.
PRIMINARY, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Suf. and Amer.
Also written priminery n.Cy. ; primminnerry Suf.' ; and
in form primanaire Sc. [primi'nari.] Trouble, confusion,
perplexity.
Rxb. For sylphs that haunt the bogs and meadows That far frae
primanaire wad lead us. They warn'd us a', A. Scott Poems (ed.
1808) 50. n.Cy. (Hall.) n.Yks.* I deeant want to git mysel
intiv a priminary. w.Yks.', Suf.l [Amer. (CD.)]
PRIMING, vbl. sb. Wor. [prai-min.] The waxing of
the moon ; the full moon.
'Er'll alius 'ave 'er pigs killed at the priming o' the moon (H.K.).
PRIMING, /r^ Obs. Lin.' Prying, peering.
PRIMINY MIMINY,/>%r. w.Yks.^ Affected, mincing.
Don't talk in that priminy miminy way.
PRIMITIVE, sb. Yks. I.Ma. Lin. Nrf. Cor. Also
written primative Cor. ; and in forms premmitive I.Ma. ;
primithive Nrf. [pri'mativ.] 1. A Primitive Methodist.
w.Yks. (J.W.) LMa. But none of your tearin and shoutin up
to the rafters, like yandhar Premmitives, Brown Yarns (1881) 92,
ed. 1889. n.Lin.' One on 'em was tellin' m€ a peace back 'at e'
heaven Primitives wo'd stan' upo' chech foaks's heads. Nrf. Tlie
immense majority of these are Primitive Methodists, or, as they
usually call themselves, Primit-hives, Jessopp Arcady (1887) iii ;
I always thought he was a Primitive, Forbes Odd Fish (1901) 34.
2. An old-fashioned person.
Cor. We were primatives, honest and just, T. Towser (1873) 23.
PRIMMILY, sb. Suf. [pri'mili.] The garden auricula,
Primula Auricula. (B. & H.)
PRIMMINNERY, PRIMMY-ROSE, see Priminary,
Primrose.
PRIMP, v., sb. and adj. Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Glo. [primp.]
1. V. To dress smartly or affectedly ; to deck ; to behave
in an affected or prudish manner ; gen. with tip.
Abd. Just i' the newest fashion primped, Beattie Parings (1801)
14, ed. 1873. rrf. Ye lassies, too, what is't ye mean. A' primpit
up an' dressed like leddies ? Watt Poet. Sketches (1880) 73. N.Cy.'
Cum. Linton Lake Cy. (1864) 309 ; Cum.*, Glo.'
Hence (i) Primpie, (a) adj. affected in dress or manner ;
(6) sb. an affected person ; (2) Primping, ppl. adj., see
(i, a) ; (3) Primpit, ppl. adj., (a) see (i, a) ; (6) pursed up,
primly set.
(i a, b) Per. (Jam.) (2) Abd. Young primpin Jean wi' cuttie
speen, Tarras Po«w5 (1804) 72 (Jam.). Per. (Jam.) (3, a) Abd.
The tanner was a primpit bit. Skinner Poems (1809) 2 ; Lady
Ladles — primpit dame, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 199. (6)
Abd. Some wi' primpit mou'. And upturn'd e'en, Cadenhead ib. 169.
2. sb. A person of stiff, affected manner. Bnff.' 3. adj.
Formal, stiff. Cum. Gl. (1851).
PRIMP, PRIMPSIE, see Prim, sb}, Primsie.
PRIMROSE, sb. Yks. War. Wor. Glo. Wil. Som. Dev.
[pri'mroz, -roaz.] I. Dial, forms. 1. sg. (i) Pirmrose,
(2) Primmirose, (3) Primmy-rose, (4) Purmrose.
(i) w.Som.i I han't a zeed pirmroses [puurmroa-uz] thicker,
not'syears. (2) se.Wor.i (3) w.Wor.', s.Wor.', Glo. (A.B.), Glo.'
(4) e.Dev. Purmroses in ev'ry hedge, Pulman Sketches (1842) 2,
ed. 1853.
2. pi. Primrosen.
Glo.l Dev. Should a few be brought into the house for the first
time in the early spring, the goodwife will say, ' Whot a vUle yU
be tQ bring in tu or dree primrosen ! Now us shan't a' no chicken
vur a brave while, and they that be a-hatched '11 die ov tha gaps.'
If a large bunch had been gathered and brought in, the results
with regard to chicken hatching and rearing would have been quite
satisfactory. So goes the belief, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
n. Dial. uses. In comp. (i) Primrose-parings, (2)
•pearl, (3) -peerless, certain varieties of narcissus, esp.
the two-flowered narcissus. Narcissus biflorus, and the
poet's narcissus, N. poeticus; (4) -soldiers, the garden
columbine, Aquilegia vulgaris.
(i) Dev. (B. & H.) (2) Yks. Nature Notes, No. 9. (3) War.
(B. & H.), War.3 (4) Wil.'
PRIMSIE
[622]
PRINT
PRIMSIE, adj. ? Obs. Sc. Also in form primpsie
(Jam.). Demure, precise, affected.
Ayr. Poor Willie, wi' his bow-kail runt, Was brunt wi' primsie
Mallie, Burns Halloween (1785) st. 9 ; (Jam.)
PRIMSTICK, s6. w.Yks.« [pri-mstik.] The striking-
stick used in the game of ' knur and spell.'
PRIN, V. Hmp. \yil. [prin.] In phr. prin it, take it.
Hmp.i Wil. Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.' [Prob. the
imper. of Fr. prendre, to take.]
PRIN, see Preen, sb.
PRINCE, sb. Yks. [prins.] A quarryman's term : a
small wedge.
w.Yks. Stone lies i' thin layers and we got 'em wi lile ' princes '
(we ca' 'em) and split 'em (A.C.).
PRINCE'S FEATHER, phr. Also in forms prince-
Rut.' ; princy- Rut. (i) The lilac, Syringa vulgaris.
Rut.'; (2) the seH-h.e3\., Prunella vulgaris. Nhb.', e.An. ;
(3) the London pride, Saxifraga umbrosa. Lan., Sus.,
Dev. ; (4) the navel-wort, Cotyledon Umbilicus. w.Yks.^
(i) Som., Dev. I never saw a white Prince's feather before.
Reports Provinc. (1884) 26. w.Cor. (M.A.C.)
PRINCE-TOWN COLLEGE, phr. Cor.^ A facetious
name for Dartmoor prison.
PRINCIPAL, adj. and sb. Sc. Sur. Cor. Also written
prinncipal Sh.I. [pri-nsipl.] 1. adj. Excellent, prime.
Sc. (Jam.) Sh.I. He's raelly been prinncipal wadder for da
herrin. Burgess Tang (1898) 52.
2. sb. The main thing ; the chief point.
Sur.i Get your wheat in forra'd, that's the principal.
3. pi. Obs. Men appointed to manage markets ; see below.
Cor. From the markets let us pass to The Twelve Men who
managed them. . . At a later date [than 1672] the twelve are called
the 'Principals'; in 1741 they are described as 'the principal
inhabitances ' [st'c], Hammond Parish (1897) 78.
PRINCOCK, s6. Obs. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Also in forms
princox N.Cy.' ; princy-cock w.Yks.' ne.Lan.' A pert,
forward youth ; a conceited young fellow.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) ; N.Cy.'^ w.Yks.' Now my princy-cock
whear's to boun? ne.Lan.' [Nay, I scorn the proud princox too
much for that, Scott Nigel (1822) xxxvi.]
[Precox, a princocke. Levins Manip. (1570).]
PRINCY-COCK, PRINCY FEATHER, PRINDLE, see
Princock, Prince's Feather, Pringle.
PRINE, sb. Ess. The bar-tailed godwit, Limosa
lapponica. Swainson Birds (1885) 198.
PRINE, see Preen, sb.
PRINGLE, sb. Obs. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Also in form
prindle n.Yks. A small silver com about the value of a
penny.
Sc. Grose (1790). n.Cy. (K.) n.Yks. It cost a prindle, Meriton
Praise Ale (1684) I. 673 ; About the bigness of a penny, with two
XX on it, ib. Gl.
PRINK, v} and adv. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Shr. Glo. e.An.
Ken. Som. Dev. Cor. Amer. Also in form prenk w.Yks.'
[prirjk.] 1. v. To dress smartly ; to deck, array, deco-
rate, prank ; gen. with up. Cf. prank, v.^
Sc. She's prink'd hersell, and preen'd hersell, Aytoun Ballads
(ed. 1861) I. 7. Abd. The starns afar in heavens blue, Prinkin'
themsel's in ilka drap o' dew, Guidnian Inglisniill (1873^ 29.
Per. We'll prink ourselves with the best in our silks and velvets
then, Sarah Tytler Wiich-wife (1897) 268. Edb. He was in
treaty for a certain cloth to prink himself out in, Beatty Secretar
(1897) 302. Slk. She's prink'd hersell, and preened hersell,
Borland yarrow (1890) 26. n.Yks.^ Prink'd up. w.Yks.', Glo.',
Ken. (K.) w.Som.' Wad'n 'er a-prink'd off then, last Sunday,
sure 'nough ! Dev. Well, I dii zim yti'm a-prinked out purty-fine I
Where't agwaine tii? Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.' That was
to show their high-kick'd loady heads, prink'd out in the tip of the
mode, 8. n.Dev. Than tha wut prinkee, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1.
109. Cor. For the tendars wor men, all prink'd-up so fine, Forfar
Jan's Crtshp. (1859) St. 8; Cor.' You're prinkt up for the nones;
Cor.2 [Amer. You an' Polly c'n prink up some if you want to,
Westcott David Harum (1900) xx.]
Hence (i) Prinking, (a) ppl. adj. dressing gaudily ; (h)
vbl. sb., fig., the act of shining brightly, twinkling; (2)
Prinky, adj. attentive to dress, smart.
(i, a) w.Yks.i ib) Abd. The dear, the lovely blinkin' o't [an
eye] Has pierced me thro' an' thro' the heart, An' plagues me wi'
the prinkin' o't. Walker Bards Bon-Accord (1887) 634. (2) Cor.
As prinkey and as coxey As ever he could be, Thomas Randigal
Rhymes (1895) 25.
2. To walk jauntily or affectedly ; to strut. Cor."^
3. To be pert or forward ; to smirk.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w.Yks. And prenk and pout, Nidderdale Aim.
(1880); w.Yks.'
Hence (i) Prenkin, //>/. adj. -pert, forward. w.Yks.'; (2)
Prink'd-up,/^/. adj. proud, 'stuck-up'; enlivened. n.Yks.^
4. To look at, gaze upon.
Shr.2 As a girl does at herself in a glass. w.Cy. (Hall.)
5. To prick up the ears. n.Yks.^ 6. To appear above
the ground.
e.An.' The barley is just prinking out of the ground.
7. With up : to revive, recover.
Shr.' As plants do when recovering from transplantation. ' The
sun's laid them cabbidge-plants flat o' the groun', but they'n prink-
up w'en the je'ow comes on 'em.'
8. adv. Primly.
w.Yks. There they set az prink az yo pleaze, Tom Treddlehoyle
Bairnsla Ann. (1855) 23.
PRINK, v.'^ Cor. Also in form prenk. [prirjk.] In
phr, to prink the eye, to close the eye in sleep.
Cor.^ He never prinked his eyes for the night. w.Cor. 'Evvent
prenk'd an eye far tha neight (T.C. P.).
PRINK, ot/. lObs. Nhp. The cry of the blackbird.
And ' prink prink prink' they took to wing, Clare Village Minst.
(1821) I. 73.
PRINKLE, sb?- Sc. A young coal-fish, Merlangus
carbonarius. n.Abd. (W.M.)
PRINKLE, S6.2 Dev." [pri-qkl.] A corruption of
' periwinkle,' Vinca minor.
PRINKLE, V. Sc. Nhb. [pri-x)kl.] 1. To tingle,
prickle.
Fif. Its vera sough did freeze their bluid. And on their scalps,
that birsy stood, Garr'd prinkle ilka hair, T^nifAHi Papistry (1827)
178. Edb. 'My lord!' I protested, prinkling all over, Beatty
Secretar (1897) 294. Slk. Ye gar my heart prinkle wi' joy, Hogg
Tales (1838) 44, ed. 1866.
Hence Prinkling, {1) ppl. adj. tingling, pricking ; (2) sb.
a tingling sensation.
(i) Abd. Cause prinklin conscience wadna own The creed that
clashed wi' reason, Shelley Flowers (1868) 181. (a) Fif. [He]
fand intrench'd the dulefu' dart, That sent a prinklin' to his heart
Mair fierce than burr or nettle, Tennant Papistry (1827) 175.
Ayr. With a superstitious fear stirring about his heart, and a
'prinkling' at the roots of his hair, Johnston Glenbuckie {i88g)
loi. Slk. A prinkling through a' my veins and skin like needles
and preens, HoGG Tales (1838) 7, ed, 1866. Nhb.'
2. To touch ; to cause to tingle.
Abd. Her saft cheek keeps prinklin mine, Shelley Flowers
(i868) 243.
PRINPRIDDLE, sb. Stf. Cor. [prinpridl.] 1. The
long-tailed titmouse, Acredula rosea. Cor. Swainson Birds
(1885) 32. 2. The great titmouse, Parus major. Stf.'
PRINT, sb., adj. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in form prent Sc. Bnff.' n.Ir. Nhb. Dur.'
[print, prent] 1. sb. A pat of butter, a piece of butter
impressed with a die.
Bnff.' She set doon twa dools o' prents o' butter t' the tea.
Cld. (Jam.) Abd. I leyks roon prents o' butter tee, Goodwife
(1867) St. 27. n.lr. It's a sicht tae see fifteen knives playin' dab
at the yin prent o' butter, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 11. Don.
Saucers of cream and prints of butter were to be found upon the
dresser when tea-time drew near, Cornh. Mag., Flk-Lore (Feb. 1877).
175. Dur.', w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. The designs on a window caused by frost.
Nhb. The winter snaw wis on the ground and frost-prents on the
pane, Roeson Evangeline (1870) 320.
3. Phr. (i) as clean as print, (2) as neat as print, in order,
neat, clean, tidy ; (3) in print, {a) see (2) ; (0) to a nicety,
exactly ; (4) out of print, out of order.
(i) Midi. Northall Wd. Bk. (1896). (2) Lei.' The house is as
neat as print ; War.^ (3, a) Lei.' ' Shay kips all 'er plazes in print,'
is high praise for a servant. Nhp.' She's always in print, and so
is her house. War.^ Oxf.' 'Er's all in print (s.v. In). Sus., Hmp.
Holloway. Dev.' Cleanlyness her zeth is next to godlyness ; her
PRINT
[623]
PRITCHEL
lov'th to zee every thing in print, 5. (b) e.An.i (4) Som. Take
care, you'll put your hair out of print, A'', tf Q. (1851) ist S. iv. 12.
4. pi. Newspapers.
Sc. (Jam.) Lnk, I seldom fail three times a week To get o'
Glasgow prents a keek, MuiR Minstrelsy (1816) 45. Sut^
5. adj. Printed.
Sc. Set her on auld tales and she can speak like a prent buke,
Scott Antiquary (1816) xxvi. Frf. Readin' in a prent book bright
O' a giant. Sands Poems (1833) 93. Rnf. Thou com'st wi' some
prent scrap in han', An' say'st ' here, ma, A chaerie letter frae my
daddie,' Young Pictures (1865) 64.
6. Bright, clear ; also used advb.
Ken. Print-star, or moon-light, Grose (1790) ; Ken.^ The night
is print. The moonlight is very print ; Ken.^ The moon shines
print. Sus.^ T'was print-moonlight.
7. Nice. Hnt. (T.P.F.) 8. z;. With a^ : to print.
Abd. He's aye wi"itin' letters to the newspapers, an' they're aye
prentin' at them, Macdonald Warlock (1882) xxix.
9. Phr. to print feet within, to enter.
Edb. Forbids, upo' the highest pain, E'er to print feet within his
house again, Learmont Poems (1791) 374.
10. To take possession of a seat ; to implant oneself
upon a seat.
Cum. Lasses i' rows gat printed on a kist, Gilpin Pop. Poetry
(1875) 204 ; Cum." He needn't print hissel doon theer. Wm.
Print thi body doon e' that chair tell Ah git a bit o' this muck off
mi hands an' fiase (B.K.). w.Yks. (J.W.)
PRINT, see Prim, sb.^'
'P'RINT'EDjppl. adj. Sc. In phr. like printed book, obs.,
without stop or hesitation, right off, clearly.
Abd. They were on the tenter-hook For smithy-chat ; And now,
I trow, like printed book. He gi'es them that, Keith Farmer's Hd
(1774) St. 45.
PRINTICE, see Prentice.
PRIOR, sb} Obs. Ken. The cross-bar to which the
doors of a barn are fastened and which prevents them
from being opened. Holloway.
PRIOR, sb.^ Nhp.i Three cards of a sort. Cf. prial.
PRIP, 5i. e.Lan.' [prip.] The fragment broken off a
clay pipe-stem.
PRIPERTY MISS, see Pray, v.
PRISE, sb. Lin. Also written prize, [praiz.] An
expression of indifference or contempt.
A prize of that, meaning I don't mind it, a pish for it (Hall.) ;
Lin.i
PRISE, see Prize, v}^^
PRISES, sb. pi. Obs. Yks. Duties formerly levied
on the shipping of Hull.
e.Yks. The right to prises in the river [at] Hull : that taking of
prises was a standing cause of quarrel between Hull and Beverley,
White Month Yks. (i888) v.
PRISON, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Shr. Suf.
Amer. Also in form pruson m.Yks.^ [pri'zsn.] 1. sb.
In comp.{i) Prison-bars, (2) -base, the game of 'prisoners'
base ' ; (3) -birds, a game similar to ' prisoners' base ' ; see
below ; (4) -goal, see (2). , . ,
(i) Lan. Others . . . engaged in the games of prison-bars, Harland
& Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867) 255 ; Lan.i The players on each side
run after each other and wait their turn in enclosures called prisons.
Chs.i It used always to be played at Mobberley wakes in one of
my fields, but has become quite obsolete for many years. s.Chs.l
n.Shr. This was once a favourite game among young men. It was
played yearly at Norton-in-Hales Wakes, and the winning party
were decorated with ribbons. Men servants, in the last century,
were wont to ask a day's holiday to join or witness a game of
prison-bars arranged beforehand, as a cricket-match might be,
BuRNE Flk-Lore (1883) 824. Suf.i (2) [Amer.' £>/«/. Notes (1896)
I. 398.] (3) n.Shr. A form of the game still survives there [EUes-
niere] among the school-children, under the name of Prison Birds.
The Birds arrange themselves in pairs behind each other, facing
a large stone or stump placed at some little distance. Before them,
also facing the stone, stands one player, called the keeper. When
he calls ' Last pair out ! ' the couple next behind him run to the
stone and touch hands over it. If they can do so without being
touched by the keeper they are free, and return to a position behind
the other birds ; but any one whom he touches must remain behind
the stone ' in prison,' Burne Flk-Lore (1883) 524. (4) [Amer. Dial.
Notes (1896) I. 398.]
2. The enclosure or 'home 'in the game of 'prison-bars.'
Lan.*- 3. v. To imprison.
Sli.I. Dey'U summons, prison, an' fine a puir body for shuttin' a
corby, Sh. News (Apr. 2, 1898). Frf. He's prison' d, an' examin'd
too. Piper of Peebles {iig^") 13. Slg. He was prisoned in the castle
of Uumbartan, Wodrow Soc. Sel. Biog. (ed. 1845-7) I- 3°4- "-Cy-
D'you think they'll prison the Fiddler? Rhys Fiddler of Came
(1896) 272. m.Yks.i
Hence Prisoning, sb. imprisonment.
Sc. After a few months prisoning, Veitch Memoirs (1680) 5, ed.
1846. Arg. We ken all about your prisoning, Munro J. Splendid
(1898) 315. Edb. Since the taking and prisoning of the queen there
have been great doings, Beatty Sscre/aj- (1897) 393.
PRISONERS, si!'. //. Sc. Nrf. Cor. \. In comb. {1)
Prisoners' bars, (2) — relief, the game of 'prisoners' base.'
(i) Cor. They would leave the square open for the boys to come
and play at prisoner's bars in the dusk, 'Q.' Ship of Stars (1899)
10 ; He was never too busy to ... be umpire at ' tig ' or prisoners'
bars. Pall Mall Mag. (Sept. 1901) 38. (2)Lth. JMany of their games
needed little but swift limbs and good lungs : such as ... ' The
Rounders,' ' Prisoners' Rehef,' Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 33.
2. The game of ' prisoners' base.'
Sc. Common among young people (Jam.). Nrf. We all played
' pris'ners' and all mander of games, Emerson Son of Fens {_i892)
325-
PRISONMENT, sb. Sc. Lon. Imprisonment.
GaU. The laird of Earlstoun had been a mighty Covenanter, and
now wore his prisonments and sufferings somewhat ostentatiously,
C-ROCVLKTi: Standard Bearer {iSgS) 151. Lon. I've been to work
with father when I've come out from my 'prisonments, Mayhew
Prisons of London (1862) 413.
PRISSUR, see Preaser.
PRITCH, sb. and v. Nhp. Wor. Shr. Glo. e.An. Som.
Dev. Also in form purch w.Som.^ [pritj.] 1. sb. A
heavy, pointed iron instrument for making holes for stakes.
e.An.i A fold-pritch is that with which holes are made in the
ground to receive fold-stakes, or what are called the toes of hurdles.
Suf. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863) ; Raineird Agric. (1819) 297, ed.
1849; Suf.i
2. A Staff of wood used as a prop for a cart on a
steep road.
Wor. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Shr.' About three feet in
length, steel-pointed at one end, and attached at the other, by two
iron ' eyes ' to the axle-tree of a cart. Its purpose is to ' scotch '
the cart, when going up-hill, which it does by means of the steel-
pointed end sticking into the ground, at a given distance from the
axle-tree. On level ground, the pritch either drags after the cart,
or otherwise is held up beneath it, by a short chain and a hook.
3. A long pole furnished with an iron fork at one end,
used by Severn boatmen for propelling their boats. Shr.'
4. A spear for taking eels.
e.An.* 2 Suf.i A dentated instrument to strike and hold eels.
5. V. To prick holes in ; to pierce, punch ; to prick,
tingle, throb.
Nhp. Of pain, Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) s.Wor. (H.K.) Glo.
(W.H.C.) ; As in leather, in order to set the crooked wires in for
making cards for wool, //orac SMfofcroae (1777) 339; Glo.' Suf.'
I ha got sitch a lamentaable push, an ta boolk sadly, an at night ta
itch an ta pritch, an ta gaa-alva. w.Som.' Chiefly in horses' shoes
with a pritchil. Jim, mind an' purch thick shoe way vower holes
one zide an' dree tother (s.v. Perch). n.Dev. To make holes for
the wires in the leathers of wool-cards. At present the word is
chiefly used to express the punching of the nail-holes in horse-
shoes, Exm. Scold. (1746) CI., ed. 1771.
Hence Pritching, ppl. adj. pricking, tingling.
Wor. I've got sharp pritching pains (H.K.).
6. To use a ' pritch ' or crowbar ; to spear eels. e. An.^
7. To check, withstand. n.Dev. Grose (1790); Exm. Scold.
(1746) Gl. 8. Phr. pritch thou, an imprecation.
n.Dev. Tha art a beagle, Chun, pritch tha! Exm. Scold. (1746)
1. 244 ; ib. 1. 163.
[An assibilated form of ' prick.']
PRITCHEL, sb. and v. Nhp. Wor. Glo. e.An. Ken.
I.W. Som. Dev. Also written prichell s.Wor.' ; pritchU
w.Som.' nw.Dev.' ; and in form purchil w.Som.' [pritjl.]
1. sb. A sharp-pointed instrument used to make holes ;
a goad ; a hedge-stake. See Pritch.
Nhp.' A strong and sharp-pointed iron instrument, used for
various purposes. Glo.' e.An.' The iron with which the smith
PRITHEE
[624 J
PRIZEABLE
makes the holes in the shoes. A Innd of hard chisel for mill-
stones. Ken.^ An iron share fixed on a thick staff for making
holes in the ground. I.W.^ That wold granny Birt had pulled
every pritchel out o' my ether hedge. w.Som.' The square point
used by smiths to punch the nail-holes in a horse-shoe. n.Dev.
Exm. Scold. (1746) GL, ed. 1771. nw.Dev.'
2. V. To goad, prick.
s.Wor. ' Why do you ride your donkey with a cobbler's awl ? '
' I be obliged to prichell him a bit,' Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 27 ;
s.Wor.i, Glo.i
PRITHEE, int. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Also
written pri the Ciis.^ ; and in forms a-pray-theh Cum. ;
praetha, praet-tha Wm. ; pray tha Cum.' ; preithe Wm. ;
pretha Cum.* n.Yks. w.Yks.^ ; prethe w.Yks.' ; prethee
w.Yks.2 Der. ; pretheh, prethy w.Yks. ; preythe w.Yks.' ;
pritho Lan. [pri'Sa, preSa.] 1. A corruption of ' I
pray thee ! ' used as an expletive.
Cum. Doff that durty sark An' pretha gi'e way git a clean yan !
Gilpin Sngs. (1866) 257 ; ' Ev,' sez ah, 'a-pray-theh deuh, an iv
a hurry teuh,' Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 202 ; Cum.' Wm.
Whaar's ta hed te feeace praetha? Spec. Dial. (1885") pt. iii. 4;
Whens ta gaan ta gift dae in praet-tha? Gooardy Jenkins; Then
if thau will gang preithee dea, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 24, ed.
1821. n.Yks. War's ta gain, pretha? I,W.H.) w.Yks. Wot wor
he, prethy ? Bywater Sheffield Dial. (1839) 51 ; Pretheh hod thy
noise. Banks Wkjld. Wds. (1865) ; Betwin thy horse and mine,
prithee. Tommy, what swops? Ingledew Ballads (i860) 161;
w.Yks.' 2 Lan. What did they do it for, pritho ? Waugh Heather
(ed. Milner) II. in. Chs.' Pri the, woman! dunna bring em up
by rule; you know — 'A child and a chicken Should always be
pickin.' Der. Prethee where else should hoo hev' gone ? Gilchrist
Peakland Faggot (1897) 7.
2. Cotnp. Prethanow or Prethenow, pray now.
w.Yks.' Prethenow, what does't preacher pray for? ii. 312;
w.Yks.6 Prethanow du noa sich thing ! Goa prethanow an' let's
gehr it done wi' ! Prethanow has tuh seen that pictur' 'at awal
t'tawak's abart ?
PRITHO, PRITTA, see Prithee, Potato.
PRITTLE, V. Der. To prick.
Yo' stuck burrs i' my hair when I went to get confirmed, an'
th' owd bishop got his hands prittled, Gilchrist Peakland Faggot
(1897) 112.
PRITTLE-PRATTLE, sb. Yks. Lan. Nhp. War. Hnt.
[pri-tl-pratl.] Childish talk ; small talk, tattle, babble.
w.Yks.' =, Lan.i, Nhp.' War.3 Gen. used affectionately. ' Bless
its little prittle-prattle.' Hnt. (T.P.F.)
PRITTY, see Pretty.
PRIVATE, adj. and sb. Lan. Chs. 1. adj. Obs. In
phr. a private day, a day of formal prayer in a private house.
Lan. After y* dier was w"' me about a private day, and I liked
not y" temp : he came in, Newcome Diary (1663) in Chelham Soc.
(1849) XVIII. 166 ; It being our private day, my love and I got
ready for it, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) g ; A day of devotion
(private day) was then a common practice among Dissenters,
more especially in country places (S.W.).
2. sb. A hatting term : the particular mark by which a
workman knows his own work. Chs.'
PRIVE, see Prove.
PRIVET, V. Wil.' [pri'vit] To pry. Cf. brevet.
To privet about. 'To privet out,' to ferret out anything.
PRIVILEGED, pfl. adj. Dor. Private.
Little privileged things [little private matters], N. & Q. (1866)
3rd S. ix. 96.
PRIVILUS, adj. Chs. [pri'vilas.] Of little value or
importance. ? A mispronunciation of' frivolous.'
Never applied to persons, Shea/ {18S4.) III. 178 ; Chs.'
PRIVY, sb. Sc. Yks. Chs. War. Shr. Suf. Also written
privvy War.* [pri'vi.] The privet, Ligustrum vulgare.
Also in comp. Privy-saugh.
Sc. (Jam.), e.Yks. (B. & H.), Chs.', War.3 Shr.' The Privy-
'edge is in blow. Suf. (B. & H.)
[Set priuie or prim, Set boxe like him, Tusser Husb.
(1580) 33.]
PRIZABLE, see Prizeable.
PRIZATION, sb. Abd. (Jam.) Valuation.
PRIZE, w.' and sb.^ In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also written prise Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.' Ant. Dun'
Cum.' w.Yks,* ne.Lan.' e.Lan.' Stf. nw.Der.' Not. Lin.'
sw.Lin.' Nhp.' War.* w.Wor.' se.Wor.' Shr.^ Hrf. Hnt.
e.An.' Sur.' Sus.^ Hmp.' I.W.' Wil. ; pryze War. Som. ;
and in forms praise Suf.' ; praize e.Yks.' ; prease Cor.' ;
proise Midi. ; pt. proz Shr.' [praiz, Midi, proiz.] 1. v.
To raise by means of a lever ; to force open, lift up ; to
wrench ; to compel to let go.
Sc. The door was instantly assailed with sledgehammers . . .
with which they prized, heaved, and battered for some time, Scott
Midlothian (1818) vi ; Ye mun jist prise the lock (Jam.). Cai.'
Abd. To prize off the top of each successive cask of claret, Alex-
ander Notes and Sketches (1877) xvii. e.Ant. N. &= Q. (1871) 4th
S. viii. 305. n.Cy. (J.W.), Dur.' Lakel.2 Prize it off wi' a bar.
Cum. Noo Tom, thee prize an ah '11 baze, Sargisson Joe Scoap
(1881) 225; He prized t'dooar 6pen wid t'geavlic (E.W.P.);
Cum.', n.Yks.2 e.yks.', w.Yks.'^s, Lan. (S.W.), ne.Lan.', e.Lan.'
Midi. Proise his jaws open, Bartram People of Clapton (1897) 61.
s.Stf. Yo' put the block under when I prize the roll up, Pinnock
Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). nw.Der.' Applied to raising heavy stones
in a quarry with an iron ' crow.' Also to rive portions of stone
asunder at the beds or joints. Not. (J.H.B.), Lin.', n.Lin.'
sw.Lin.' I doubt I shall be like to prise it open. Nhp.', War.
(J R.W.), War.3, w.Wor.i, se.Wor.' Shr.' To compel to let go,
as by wrestling with, or by any other means ' We proz 'im
off ' : said of making a dog let go his hold ; Shr.^ To prise a lock.
Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). B.-ks.' Ooll 'e get a chizel an'
prize the led o' this yer box vor I ? Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.', Suf.
(C.T.), Suf.i, Ess. (W.W.S.), Ken.', Sur.', Sus.z, Hmp.', I.W.'
Wil. Slow Gl. (1892). n.Wil. (E.H.G.) Som. Sweetman J^^/k-
c-a«/o« G/. (1885). e.Som. W. & J. G/. (1873). Cor.'
2. To press down. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
3. sb. A push with a lever ; leverage, purchase.
Sc. Gie't a prise up (Jam.). Bnff.' He ga' the lid a prise up.
Gall. Down ye clantering reel'd At ae gude prize, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 192, ed. 1876. e.Ant. Some men . . . were moving
a large stone in a quarry in the eastern part of the county of
Antrim. The men were using iron crowbars, and called out to
each other. . . ' All together! a prise ! ' N. & Q. (1871) 4th S.
viii. 305. ne.Lan.l, nw.Der.'
4. A lever, fulcrum.
Sc. (Jam.), n.Yks.^, w.Yks. (S.K.C.), w.Yks.', Lan. (S.W.),
ne.Lan.' s.Stf. Run, fetch a prise, quick to lift on, Pinnock
Blk. Cy. Ann. (iSgs). n.Lin.', w.Wor.', e.An.' e.Sus. Holloway.
Dev. I can't find a prize. Reports Provinc. (1877) 137.
PRIZE, z;.2 and sb.^ Sc. Yks. Lan. Der. Glo. Wil. Som.
Cor. Also written prise Glo.' ; pryze Lnk. ; and in form
praise w.Som.' [praiz.] 1. v. To set a price upon, to
value ; also used fig.
Edb. Will was a tycht and strapand chield. And pryz't hymsell
upon it, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (Scenary ed.) 710. w.Yks. (J.W.)
Lan. One Adam Thompson prized what he had in goods, silver
and clothes to something above ;^3, Walkden ZJ/ayy (ed. 1866) 54.
Glo.' Wil. A come an seed the ship an prized un (E.H.G. ).
Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885). w.Som.' I do praise
[praa-yz] thick yeffer in vourteen poun', and I wid'n zill 'n vor no
less, nif he was mine.
2. To inquire the price of. Cf. price, 2.
w.Yks. Ah prized yond neckluffs, an' hah mich does ta think
they axed for 'em apiece? Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 16, 1896).
Der.2 w.Som.' How be 'em zellin 0' peas to market ? — I cant tell
'ee, vor I didn prize 'em.
3. To weigh. Glo.'=, Cor.^ 4. sb. A price.
w.Yks. 2 w.Som.' I baint gwain to gee no jis prize.
PRIZE, v.^ Dor. Also written prise and in form
praise, [praiz.] To show by wincing or otherwise a
feehng of pain ; to complain of pain.
Gl. (1851) ; Dor.' When a horse is touched on a wounded or
bruised part, he is said to praise it or not, by flinching or other-
wise. w.Dor. He don't pr'ise his knee so much now (C.V.G.).
PRIZE, 11.* Obs. Sc. To seize as a prize, to capture.
Gall. Nickie Ben will prize ye, And yomf ye head foremost to
hell, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 447, ed. 1876.
PRIZE, see Prise.
PRIZEABLE, adj. Yks. Der. Lei. War. Also written
prizable n.Yks. [prai'zabl.] Valuable, precious.
n.Yks. Good apples is prizable in May (I.W.). w.Yks. A bit a
advice throo a womman like me 'at's seen t'wurld iz varry prizeable
at times, Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1838) 9. Der. A
thing prizeable is an old friend, Verney 5/o«e Edge (1868) xi.
Lei.', War.3
PROACH
[625]
PROD
PROACH, V. Som. Dev. [protj, proatj.] To poach.
w.Som.i Dev. Zum da zay I proach th' trout I git, Pulman
Sketches (184a) 7, ed. 1853.
Hence Proacher, sb. a poacher.
w.Som.i All the wole fam'ly o'm's preachers. Dev. There id'n
no worse proacher all round than he, Reports Provinc. (1882) 20.
PROADGE, V. Sh.I. Also written prodg. [prodg.]
To poke or push with a stick or long instrument ; to move
the end of a fishing-rod gently up and down in the water.
S. & Ork.i
PRO AG, see Prog.
PROB, V. and sb. Sc. Lan. [prob.] 1. v. To pierce,
stab ; to prod ; a dial, form of ' probe.'
Sh.I. Is yon what they prob da Boers wi'? Sh. News (June 22,
igoi). Abd. He . . . could dress a mart, prob hoven nowt, an'
flay, Murray Hamewith (1900) 10. Lan. This wur a better way
o' spendin' one's time than mowin', an' probbin', an' firin' for glory,
Ab-o'-th'-Yate, Oddlad's (1884) 8 ; Aman might prob another with
a stick, a short dagger, or a-big needle (S.W.). e.Lan.'
2. To throw the eel-spear.
Lan. Thornber Hist. Blackpool (1837) 109.
3. sb. Obs. A prod ; a jog.
Fif. The Fisher-knicht, wi' halbert's prob, Their hobblin' hender-
ends did job, Tennant Papistry (1827) 60.
PROBATIONER, sb. Sc. A licensed preacher looking
out for a settled charge.
Sc. A person, who, after he has gone through his theological
studies and been tried by a Presbytery, is licensed to preach in
public, as preparatory to his being called by any congregation, to
whom he may be acceptable, and ordained to the ofBce of the
ministry (Jam.) ; The Assembly appoints, that when such persons
are first licensed to be Probationers, they shall oblige themselves
only to preach within bounds, or by the direction of that Presby-
tery which did license them. . . 'Tis provided and declared, that
the foresaid Probationers are not to be esteemed by themselves
or others, to preach by virtue of any pastoral office, but only to
make way for their being called to a pastoral charge. Act 10,
Assembly (1694) {tb.). Frf. When he was a probationer he was
michty poor, Barrie Thrums {iSQi)) xiv . Per. Jeremiah Saunder-
son had remained in the low estate of a 'probationer' for twelve
years after he left the Divinity Hall, Ian Maclaren K. Carnegie
(,1896) 151 ; There's Mr. John, probationer devout, Nicol Poems
(1766) 76. Gall. I ken I am too young and light and foolish to be
fit company even for a probationer, let alone a placed minister,
Crockett Standard Bearer (1898) 106.
PROCEEDING, sb. Hrf.'^ Commencement.
That was the first proceeding of the business.
PROCESS, V. Sc. Irel. [pro'ses.] To bring a legal
action against ; to bring to trial.
Sc. (Jam.) Abd. They ordained his minister to process and
excommunicate him, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) H- 52- Lnk. His
enemies wanted only this for a handle to process him criminally
for his zeal and faithfulness in former times, Wodrow Ch. Hist.
(1721) I. 406, ed. 1828. Wgt. Fraser Wigtown (1877) 104. Ir.
He was at the quarter-sessions, processing his brother for tin and
tinpence, Edgeworth Ennui, viii (CD.). Uls. They're saying
the father of the child is that young Archie Kennedy . . . and I
suppose they'll be processing him, Hamilton C//s. Bog' (1896) 114.
PROCESSING, see Processioning.
PROCESSION, sb. and v. n.Cy. Lin. [prase-Jan.]
1. 56. In cow^. Procession-flower, the milkwort, Po/j'^a/a
vulgaris. , , ,
n.Cy. Rogation Week is styled Gang Week. . . In garlands used
on these occasions, the pretty milkwort was much used . . . and
obtained its old English names of Rogation Flower, Gang Flower,
and Procession Flower, Monthly Pkt. (Sept. 1859) 315.
2. V. To walk or perambulate in procession.
n.Lin.i The Foresters alus processions Messingham toon street
ivery year,
PROCESSIONING, vbl. sb. Stf. War. Shr. Glo. Lon.
Som. Also in form processing Som. [prase-Jsnin.] The
practice of perambulating the boundaries of the parish in
Rogation Week ; the practice of beating the parish bounds.
Cf possess! oning.
Stf. Among the local customs which have prevailed here maybe
noticed that which was popularly called ' Processioning.' Many
of the older inhabitants can well remember when the sacrist,
resident prebendaries, and members of the choir, assembled at
morning prayers on Monday and Tuesday in Rogation Week, with
VOL. IV.
the charity children, bearing long poles clothed with all kinds of
flowers then in season, and which were afterwards carried through
the streets of the town with much solemnity, the clergy, singing
men and boys, dressed in their sacred vestments, closing the pro-
cession, and chanting in grave and appropriate melody, the
Canticle, Benedicite, Omnia Opera, &c., Shaw Hist. Stf. II. i.
165, in Brand Pop. Antiq. (1813) I. 169. War.3 Glo. The prac-
tice is still followed in Todenham. In this parish the parties start
in difi-erent directions, having appointed meeting places in the
perambulation, and on meeting whip each other, whether on horse-
back or on foot, with withies from which the bark has been freshly
stripped, this making it difficult to hold the sticks firmly (E.S.).
Lon. The children in London are accustomed to perambulate the
limits of their parish, which they call processioning, Armstrong
Minorca (1752) 5, in Brand ib. 178. Som. (W.F.R.)
Hence Processioningday, sb. the Wednesday in
Rogation Week.
Shr. On this ' Processioning Day,' as it was called, the boys of
the various schools, accompanied by a clergyman, perambulated
the boundaries of the town. Starting from the church, they . . .
returned up the river side to Ludford Bridge, in the centre of which
a decorated birch bough had been fixed to the wall in readiness
for their coming. Every boy carried in his hand a birch bough
closely tied up, and with these ... a tremendous fight for the
possession of the bough upon the bridge took place between the
different schools. This ended, the party marched to the Guildhall,
to finish their work by a feast of plum buns, BuRNEi7A-Lore (1883-
6) 347-8.
PROCHY, see Proochy.
PROCKIE, int. Sc. [pro-ki.] A call to horses. Per.
(G.W.)
PROCKLEIN, sb. Chs.^ [pro'klein.] Old brown
earthenware.
PROCT, sb. Lin. [prokt.] A large wooden prop.
(Hall.), Lin.'
PROCTOR, sb. and v. Obs. e.An. Dor. 1. sb. A
person who rents tithe. Dor. Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in
N. &-= Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 45. 2. v. To hector, swagger,
bully. e.An.' Dor. Haynes Voc. {ib.)
PROCURATOR, sb. Sc Also in forms procutor,
prokitor Sc. 1. A solicitor ; one who, though not an
advocate, is allowed to speak before an inferior court.
Sc. (Jam.) ; In the inferior courts, the practitioners, in place of
being called solicitors, or attorneys, are called procurators. Even
in the supreme court, although the pleaders are in common lan-
guage called advocates, when the judge gives decree on any case,
it is only after the ' parties' procurators ' have been heard, Fran-
ciSQUE-MicHEL Lang. (1882) i6r ; To speak wi' provosts . . . and
prokitors at this time o' day, Scott Midlothian (1818) xvi. Or.L
Compeirs Edward Scollaw as procutor for Hew Sinclair, Peterkin
Notes (1822) App. 39. Edb. The procutors bad him be stout. Care
not for Conscience a leek, Pennecuik Wks. (17 15) 399, ed. 1815.
2. Cotnp. Procurator-fiscal, the public prosecutor.
Sc. The city's procurator-fiscal, upon whom the duties of super-
intendent of police devolved, Scott Midlothian (1818) xvi.
PROCURE, V. Wor. Glo. [pr3kiu-3(r).] To cure
bacon, &c. s.Wor. Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 16; Glo.'
PR0D,s6.' Sc. [prod.] A shortened form of 'prodigal.'
Per. D'ye see these prods gain' to the kirk % Them's my laddies
— a set o' real prods ^G.W.).
PROD, v?- and sb?- Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Not. Lei. War. Brks. Also in forms proddy N.Cy.';
proud Gall, [prod.] 1. v. In comb. Prodawl, a bradawl.
Wmh. (W.H.P.) 2. To stir about, shuffle; to poke about
with ; to poke with the end of a stick, &c.
Dmf. Though ye went keeking and prodding about till the end
of time, Hamilton Uawkin (1898) 277. Cum. ' Whee deals ? ' —
' Prod, shiffle, an' cut, ye tnow,' Anderson Ballads (ed. 1840) 49;
Cum." Wm. Prod under that stone with your stick and you will
see some fish come out (B.K.). w.Yks. He began proddin his
kneives intul't, Yks. Wkly. Post (Feb. 29, 1896). Not.' ; Not.2
There's a rat in that 'oil, prod him out. Lei.', War.^ Brks.' To
prick for with an iron instrument as searching for something
hidden underneath.
3. Fig. Phr. to prod the memory, to help to remember ;
to jog the memory.
Abd. She'll check the tally fae some canny neuk. An' prod his
memory, Murray Hamewith (1900) 22.
4L
PROD
[626]
PROFFER
4. A cricketing term : to keep the ball off the wicket
without ever making a boundary hit.
w.Yks. He did nowght but prod all time, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(May 16, 1896).
5. sb. In phr. to give a prod, to cheat in something sold.
N.I.' 6. A short stake driven into the ground ; a pointed
stick for making holes in the ground ; a tool for piercing
with.
Sc. (Jam.) n.Cy. Grose (1790). Nhb.i A stick to drive anything
out of its hiding place or hold, as fish from under a stone. n.Yks.^,
e.Yks.', w.Yks.i
7. A skewer ; the iron point on a stick ; an iron pin
fixed in pattens ; the peg of a top. Ags. (Jam.), N.Cy.^
n.Yks.2, e.Yks.', m.Yks.', w. Yks.^ 8. A thorn ; a splinter.
Gall. Prods, otherways prickles of hawthorn, when picked out
wi' preens, from their poisoned cells in our hands and feet, whiles
.are eaten by the kintra-folk ; for they say, ' eating the prod hinners
the wound to beelj'MACTACGART^MC}'!:/. (1824' 58, ed. 1876. Cum.*
9. A Sting.
Flf. The quiet but thorough prod of the clegs, Colville Vernaailar
(1899) "•
10. Obs. A pin fixed in the top of a gable, to which the
ropes fastening the roof of a cottage were tied.
n.Sc. If on Candlemas day, this pin was so covered with drift
that it could not be seen, it was believed that the ensuing spring
would be good ; if not, the reverse (Jam.).
11. A long wooden pin used to secure thatch upon a
roof. n.Lan. N. &- Q. (1884) 6th S. x. 193. 12. A house-
thatcher.
Abd. ' Wha's that man ? ' ' That's the prod ; he's comin to put
a few han'fu's o' thack on the riggin o' oor hoose ' (G.W.).
13. A poke, stir.
Sc. (A.W.) Cum. Come, Jobby, gi'e the fire a prod, Anderson
Ballads (1805"! 32 ; Cum.'', w.Yks. (J.W.)
14. A small piece of bread or cheese, as much as can be
stuck on the point of a knife.
Nhb.^ Gi's just a prod o' yor cheese.
15. A cricketing term : a batsman who merely keeps the
ball off his wicket.
w.Yks. A, he is a prod ! He'd cahr in a whole day an' nut mak'
ten runs, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 16, 1896).
[Prob. the same word as Bred, sb.'^ (q-v.)]
PROD, v."" Per. (Jam.) [prod.] To move with short
steps like a child. Hence Prodin, sb. a small foot; a
child's foot.
PRODDED, ppl. adj. n.Yks.^ Pointed, as a sharp in-
strument. See Prod, v}
PRODHmG, ppl. adj. n.Yks.= Penetrating. SeeProd,^.'
PRODDLE, V. Sc. Irel. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also
written proddel Wm. ; prodle Cum.* [prodl.] 1. To
prick ; to goad ; to poke about, esp. with a view to finding
something lost ; to make holes ; to stir up, dabble about ;
also used7?g-. See Prod, u'
Uls. (M.B.-S.) Ant. One who pokes too much will be told to
quit his proddling or that he will proddle the fire out, Ballymena
Obs. (1892). Lakel.2 Thee proddle him i' t'flank wi' t'spur. Cum.
Don't proddle up yon matter again, Caine Shad. Crime (1885) 138;
Cum.l ; Cnm.* T'laal un was prodlan int' beck. Wm. [T'bull]
ramm't at him, proddelt him wi' its horns. Spec. Dial. (1885) pt.
iii. 41. n.Yks.J^* e.Yks. Marshall 7?Mr. i'coK, (1788) ; e.Yks.i,
m.Yks.* w.Yks. Billy was as white as a sheet proddlin in t'barn's
math on t'door step fer a herrin heead, he'd gen it to lake wi',
Pudsey Olm. (1888) 22; w.Yks.i, ne.Lan.l
Hence Proddled, ppl. adj. pricked, stabbed, poked up.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 387. N.I.' Your eyes are like
a proddled cat under a bed.
2. To trifle, idle ; to fumble ; to set to work in a bungling
fashion. n.Yks.'=, m.Yks.', w.Yks. (J.W.) Hence Prod-
ling,///, adj. insignificant.
Cum.* It's nobbut a prodlan mak of a spot.
PRODDY, PRODG, see Prod, v}, Proadge.
PRODGER, sb. Nhp.^ [pro-d33(r).] In phr. a Tom
Prodger'sjob, a clumsy piece of work ; see below.
So called doubtless in remembrance of some individual of that
name, whose local celebrity as an awkward inefficient workman
has been traditionally extended to the present day.
PRODIE, sb. ? Obs. Edb. (Jam.) A toy.
PRODIGAL, adj and sb. Chs. Der. Shr. Hrf. Brks.
Ken. Dor. Also written prodigall Dor. fpro'digl.]
1. adj. Proud, conceited, upstart ; smart-looking.
Chs.' A gallows prodigal chap. s.Chs.* Ai', ee)z ii prod'igil
yuwth, tin des'piirtli waan'ts taak'in daayn u peg. nw.Der.^ Shr.l
'E's a poor prodigal auf — dunna know whose legs 'e stands on, but
be'appen 'e'll find it out w'en 'e buys 'is own shoes; Shr.^ A
prodigal chap. Hrf. He's very prodigal. Bound Provinc. (1876);
Hrf.2 He's a prodigal sort of man. Ken. ' Ah I he's a proper
prodigal old chap, he is ; Ken. 2, Dor. (W.C. 1750).
Hence Prodigality, sb. pride. Shr.* 2. Violent,
impetuous, troublesome.
Chs.i3 Brks. Gen. used of a child (E.G.H.).
a sb. A troublesome child. Brks. (E.G.H.)
PRODLE, V. and sb. Sc. Cum. [pro-dl.] 1. v. To
move quickly with short steps. Per. (Jam.) Cf. prod, v.^
Hence Prodling, (i) sb. a small toddling child ; (2) ppl.
adj. of a child : toddling, unsteady in walk.
(i) Cum.* (2) A laal prodlan thing, ib.
2. sb. A small horse, so called from the short steps it
takes. Per. (Jam.)
PRODLE, see Proddle.
PROFANE, V. Sh.I. Cor. Also in form perfain Sh.I.
1. To swear.
Sh.I. Mansie, is doo fa'n a fule, is doo mindin' 'at der a jantleman
at da fire ? What's doo perfainin' fer? Sit. News (Nov. 5, 1898).
2. With against: to speak against ; to speak ill of
Cor. You may profane agin me so much as you plaise, Lee
Paul Caruh, 140.
PROFESSION, sb. Sc. [prafe-Jan.] 1. A religious
denomination.
Rnf. Belong, at least, to some profession, And try to get among
the Session, IVPGilvray Poems (ed. 1862) 71.
2. An annual examination formerly held in Sc. universities
to test the knowledge gained by the students during the
preceding year.
Sc. The name has originated from . . . the student having a
right to tell what books or branches he is willing to be examined
on (Jam.).
PROFESSIONIST, 5*. Sc. [prsfe'Janist.] A person
who makes an empty profession of religion.
Ayr. I'm nane o' your professionists that find oot at the hinner
end their life has been a' a lee, and are feart to face the truth,
Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 68.
PROFESSOR,si5>. Sc. Lan. Cor. [prafe-s3(r.] A person
who lays claim to an uncommon amount of religious faith
and fervour ; a professing Christian.
Sc. ' As he was a professor, he would drive a nail for no man on
the Sabbath, or kirk-fast.' . . The hearer . . . internally wondered
what college this veterinary professor belonged to ; not aware that
the word was used to denote any person who pretended to
uncommon sanctity of faith and manner, Scott Waverley (1814)
XXX. Feb. Ye great professors, ane and a'. O'er human frailty
dinna craw, Affleck Poet. Wis. (1836) 95. Gall. I ken the
young man is no a great professor, Crockett Kii Kennedy
(1899) 10. Lan. It was generally disapproved of by the brethren
because this Peter was not a professor, Walkden Diary (ed.
1866) 12. Cor. Betty was always racing round the lanes to class-
meetings ; for she had been a ' professor ever since she was a
chield,' Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 104, ed. 1896.
PROFETS,56.^/. Obs. Dev. Also written proflfeets,
proffits. A kind of buttoned buskins. Grose (1790)
MS. add. (M.) n.Dev. Grose (1790).
PROFFER, i;.i and s6. Sc.Cum. Yks. Lan.Chs. Lin. Shr.
[pro"fa(r.] 1. v. To make an offer; to tender one's services.
Sc. (A.W.) Cum.i He profifer't to help us. n.Yks. He profTer'd
us some apples (I. W.) ; n.Yks.' Ah proffer'd him a hau'p'ny an' he
wadn't tak' 't ; n.Yks.=* ne.Yks.i Ah proffered him a rahd, bud
he wadn't cum wi ma. w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Proff"ert bring meh
clear off for have o ginney, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 55.
Chs.i sw.Lin.i He proffered to lead the coal for summut less.
Shr.' One o' yo' chaps mun g66 an' 'elp Jones to-day, they
proffereden us a mon w'en we wun throshin'.
2. To show signs of; to give indications of.
n.Yks.2 It's proffering for a good guess time [showing signs for
a good grass-season]. It proff'ers weel [seems likely to succeed].
e.Yks." It proffers for rain, MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (J.W.)
PROFFER
[627]
PROG
3. sb. A tender of services ; an offer of marriage.
Ayr. It's kent ye had proffers enew, lass, Ainslie Land of
Burns (ed. 1893) 248. Cum.^
[1. And jif pore men profreth ou presentes or jiftes,
Taketh hem not, P. Plowman (a.) vii. 41.]
PROFFER, v? Dev. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] To dodge any one. (Hall.)
PROFFITS, see Profets.
PROFIT, sb. and adj. Sh.I. Yks. Lin. [pro-fit] 1. sb.
In phr. (i) in profit, of a cow : in milk ; (2) to take away
the profit of the malt, to spoil the brewing.
(i) sw.Lin.i She'll not come into profit while next month. (2)
Sh.I. Whenever sacrifices were not the regular pay of the goblin,
the brewing was spoiled, which was named, ' taking away the
profit from the malt,' Hibbert Desc. Sh.I. (1822) 267, ed. 1891.
2. The expected yield of milk or butter.
Sh.I. Whaur's my bonnie yallow butter noo ? Whaur's my
profit noo ? . . O da devil's witch dat shu is. . . But du'U go dis
very nicht, whin dU comes hame fae da sillicks, an" get me twa
or tree hairs aff ane o' her kye, ta lay anunder da boddom o' my
meilk-keg, fir I'll hae my profit back again if I sud rive da ruif
abun her head, Stewart Tales (1892) 43; Johnsmas was the
season when witchcraft was most dreaded, and persons skilled in
the black art deprived their neighbours of the profit of their milk
and butter. . . It was difficult to preserve oneself from scathe, as
the profit was supposed to be taken by such simple means as
stepping over a cow's tether, plucking a handful of grass off the
byre wall, or crossing a woman's path when on her way to milk
the cows, Spence Flk-Lore (.1899) 139, 140.
3. A bargain.
TV .Yks. What a profit Dolly'd got! Ingledew Ballads (i860) 278.
4. adj. Of a cow : in milk.
sw.Lin.i They're allowed a cow in full profit all the year, that's
two profit cows.
PROFITE, adj. Obs. Sc. Clever, expert ; exact.
Frf. Psalm singing was my chief delight ; At prayin's too, I grew
profile. Sands Poems (1833) 25. Fif. (Jam.) Gall. C war we
rhymesters sae profite As epitaphs on thee to write, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 193, ed. 1876.
PROFLIGATE, sb. and adj. Irel. Shr. Dev. [pro-fligat.]
1. sb. A person not necessarily of bad character who
has become a beggar. Uls. N. fir' Q. (1874) 5th S. ii. 426.
2. adj. Prolific.
Shr.' I hke them w'ite 'tatoes as they callen ' Farmers' Glories '
— they bin the most profligate. Dev. (C.J.B.)
PRO FOLIUM, s6. Hmp. [prafo'liam.] The sea pink,
Armeria maritima. (W.M.E.F.)
PROG, V. and sb. In gen. dial, use in Sc. Eng. and
Amer. Also written progg Elg. ; and in forms proag
Cum."; proge Sh.I.; progue Sc. (Jam.) Nhb.> Lakel.^
Shr. Hrf. e.An.^^ Cor.' Amer.; prooag_Wm. n.Yks.*;
proug Lakel.^ ; prwoag Cum.* [prog, prog.] 1. v. To
prod, push, prick ; to probe ; to stir up ; &\aofig. to taunt,
gibe, provoke.
Sc. I was progging up the old witch a Httle to see if I could
make her confess, St. Johnstoun, II. 168 (Jam.1. Sh.I. Dey took
dir aers oot o' da humlibinds an proged, Burgess Sketches (2nd
ed.) 93 ; Proge no. in aboot mi feet, Du'll sweep awa da luck,
ib. Rasmie (1892) 53. Cai.i Arg. To prog a wound (Jam.).
Rnf. {ib.') Ayr. He made a lunge at the hurdles o't and progued
them wi' his fork, Service Noiandums (1890) 103. Lnk. I'd
rather be progged wi' a big roosty nail, \Vardrop /. Mathison
(1881) 88. Lth. (Jam.) Rxb. Sair his flank I've proggit, A. Scott
Poems (ed. 1811) 114 {ib.). N.Cy.l Nhb.i Aa've prog'd me
thoom wuv a needle. Dur. I've progged my finger (A. B.). Wm.
(J.H.), n.Lan.1, e.Lan.i, Not. (L.C.M.), Not.i, n.Lin.i, Lei.i Nhp.
Prog the housed bee from the cotter's wall, Clare Village
Minst. (1821) II. 82; Nhp.'s, e.An.12 Dor. Don't prog me
(C.V.G.). Cor.i
Hence (i) Progger, sb. a butchers' killing-knife ; (2)
Progging, sb. {a) a mode of fishing for eels ; see below ;
(b) a mining term : the ofl'ence of sinking a shaft without
having previously discovered a vein.
(i) Nhb. The progger an' steel, Midford Coll. Sngs. (1818) 46;
Nhb.i (2, a) Som. A mode of fishing for eels, when they have
hidden themselves in rat-holes. A stocking needle is fastened by
the eye to the end of a willow wand, and to the middle of it is
tied a long string. The free end is then baited with a worm.
This is then pushed into the rat-hole. As soon as the eel has
taken the bait the fisherman pulls the string, reversing the needle
and so capturing the eel, Quekett Sayings (c. 1820) 19, ed. 1S88.
{b) Nhb. Gent. Mag. (1794) 13, ed. Gomme. Der. Manlove Lead
Mines (1653) Gl.
2. To poke about for, esp. with a view to pilfering ; to
search for ; to forage ; to beg ; also fig. to inquire about.
Lakel.2 Wm. He wad prooag aboot efter owt 'at was lowse
(B.K.) ; Ye that er careful for nought but progging for belly-
timber, Hutton Bran New Wark (1785) 1. 412. n.Yks.^, s.Chs.',
Der.2, Not. (J.H.B."), Not.i s.Not. He's alius proggin about to see
what there is i' th' 'ouse (J.P.K.). Lei.i Shr., Hrf. Bound
Provinc. (1876). Brks.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.), e.An.i [Amer. To search
for anything imbedded in the mud, as clams, terrapins, or cedar
logs, by means of a sounding rod. Dial. Notes (1896) 1. 333-]
Hence (i) Progger, sb. {a) a beggar ; (b) food ; (2)
Progging, ppl. adj. in phr. on the progging order, able to
forage for oneself.
(i, a) n.Yks.2 ^^^ gen. We take father what he calls his
progger (D.W.L.). (2) s.Chs.' A kitten which had been lately
weaned and was looking out for itself was said to be ' on the
proggin' order.'
3. To gather up fuel for a bonfire on Nov. 5th. w.Yks..
(B.K.), (J.W.) 4. To eat.
Nrf. Rooks prog togither in flocks, crows doan't, Patterson
Man and Nat. (1895) 27.
5. With out : to save up for a rainy day. w.Yks. Leeds
Merc. Suppl. (May 16, 1896). Hence Progger-out, sb. a
careful, saving person.
He's a rare progger-aht is ahr Johnny. He'll mak' a haup'ny
du wheare ahr Jimmy 'd want aboon a penny, ib.
6. Phr. (i) a pin to prog in, a game ; see below ; (2) to
prog (a living) for oneself, to provide for oneself.
(i) Nhb.i A few pictures or coloured papers are placed at
random within the leaves of a book, the owner of which charges
one pin for each chance at the game. The pin is progged in
between the leaves by the player. (2) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Dec. 13, i8go). Lan. Sooa as it con groo up i' health un strength,
un ultimately prog a livin' for itsel' un nod depend o' parish
relief, Accringion Times (Aug. 29, 1868).
7. sb. A goad ; any sharp-pointed instrument ; an arrow;
a spike; a probe ; a prong ; the fang of a tooth.
Sc. (Jam.) Bch. Sin the Fates hae orders gi'en To bring the
progues to Troy, Send me no for them, better far Is Ajax for the
ploy, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 31. Slg. (J.W.) Nhb. 'Branks' wi
sharp progs doon yor thropple to gan, Robson Evangeline (1870)
369. w.Yks. (J.W.), Not. (L.C.M.), Nhp.' 2 Shr., Hrf. Bound
Provinc. (1876). Bdf. (J.W.B.), Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.An.i A curved
spike or prong, to drag what is seized by it. A prog would be of
no use if it could not hold and draw as well as pierce ; e.An.^,
Suf.i, Dor. (C.J.V.)
Hence Prog-staff, sb. a staff with an iron point at one
end. n.Sc. (Jam.) 8. A thorn, prickle ; a sting.
Sc. Mackay Diet. (1888). Nhb.l, Wm. (J.H.)
9. A poke, push, thrust ; a prick ; the act of pricking ;
also^^. a sarcasm, home-thrust.
Sc. (Jam.) Sh.I. He'll mebbe need anidder proge frae my aald
staff. Burgess Rasmie (1892) 36. Rnf. I'll get ae prog ony way ;
sticks are no fair against swords, Fraser Chimes (1853) 34.
Ayr. But I was not so kittly as she thought, and could thole her
progs and jokes with the greatest pleasure and composure. Steam-
boat (1822) 155 (Jam.). Lnk. He . . . gied a progue, that wasna
licht, Knockin' them baith clean oot o' sicht. Dell's Hallowe'en
(1856) 39. N.Cy.i
10. A linch-pin. Sus.' II. Food, esp. food to be con-
sumed out of doors or away from home ; in gen. slang use.
Elg. Ware twa drunk skippers at their prog, Couper Poetry
(1804) II. 12. Dur. They give us very good prog at school (A.B.).
Cum.i'* Wm. T'udder duck et wadn't hev it prog war nowt but
skin en baane, Robison Aald Taales {18S2) 12. e.Yks.' MS. add.
(T.H.) w.Yks. Bad air an' bad prog, Preston Musins in Yksman.
(1878) 118, col. 2; w.Yks.s Lan. The delicious mountain of prog
was being sliced, Brierley Out of Work, i. nw.Der.', Not.'
Lin.' It's a good place to bate at, there's good prog. Nhp,', War.*,
Oxf. (G.O.), Brks.i, Hnt. (T.P.F. ), e.An.', Ken. (D.W.L.) Dev.
Drat it ! here comes some dust down into my prog, Baring-Gould
Furze Bloom (1899) 50. Slang. Who, save at the flagon. And prog
in the wagon, Barham Ingoldsby (1840) 20. [Amer. Dial. Notes
(1896) I. 380.]
4 L 2
PROGE
[628]
PRONG
Hence (i) Prog-basket, sb. a basket in which food is
carried ; (2) -box, sb. a schoolboy's receptacle for cake, &c.
(i) w.Yks. Thay began ta bring aht ther prog baskets, Tom
Treddlehoyle Bairnsia Ann. (1863"! 40 ; We'd to pay tuppence
apiece for ivvery bundle, an' we kept nowt but th' prog-basket.
Hartley Blackpool (1883) 26 in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 16,
1896). (2) Dur. (A.B.), Nhp.l
12. The person who provides food ; a caterer. w.Yks.''
13. A hoard of any kind ; small savings.
Nhp.i He's got a fine prog of money somewhere. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
e.Ken. Her father was married three times and she is the only
descendant, so she has any amount of prog (M.T.).
14. Wood to kindle a fire with ; fuel gathered by boys
for a bonfire on Nov. 5th. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(Dec. 13, 1890) ; (S.P.U.) 15. Phr. to be on the prog, to
have taken to begging. e.An.^
PROGE, see Prog.
PROGGLE, V. and sb. Nhb. Dur. Wm. Lei. Nhp. War.
[pro'gl.] 1. V. To goad ; to prick ; to poke about with.
Cf prog.
N.Cy.i, Nhb.', Wm. (J.H.), w.Yks. (J.W.) Lei.i The' was
progglin' about i' the mud fur't [an eel] best paart o' haf a hour.
Hence (i) Proggling, ppl. adj. poking ; stirring up ;
also fig. meddling, prying ; (2) Progly, adj. prickly.
(i) Nhp. With proggling stick she still renews the blaze, Clare
Poems (1820) 191; Nhp.12, War.3 (2) N.Cy.i Nhb. Thro' puils,
cross progly ditches, Robson Sngs. of Tyne (1849) 142 ; Nhb.i The
whin busses wis progly gan through.
2. sb. A goad : a thorn, prickle. Nhb.', e.Dur.', Lei.^,
Nhp.i, War.3 > . ,
PR0GNE,s6. Obs. Sc. The swallow.
The lintwhite loud and progne proud With tuneful throats and
narrow, Ramsay Tea-Table Misc. (1724) I. 189, ed. 1871; Mont-
gomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899).
[Lat. Procne, Progne, fr. Gr. TlpoKvr], the name of the
daughter of Pandion, who was changed into a swallow.]
PROGNOSTICATION, s^.. Obs. Sc. An almanack.
Sc. Mitchell Scotticisms (1799) 68. Abd. Evidently from the
prognostications it was wont to contain concerning the weather
(Jam.). Hdg. January 13, 1643.— For ane prognostication, Zd.,
Ritchie St. Baldred (1S83) 64.
PROGUE, see Prog.
PROIL, s6. Sh.I. [proil.] Spoils, plunder.
Robbie was completely staggered as to where he should put
the ' proil,'. . painfully gathered during two days' wandering,
Manson Aim. (1900) 122 ; S. & Ork.i
PROINING, prp. Lin. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Prying. (Hall.)
PROISE, see Prize, v.^
PROITLE, V. ? Obs. Sc. To stir, poke out. Cf prokle.
Gall. We proitle them [burn-trouts] out from beneath the over-
hanging brows with the but-end n' the fish-wan, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824).
PROJECK, 56. Sh.L Resource.
Hit's da last projeck, bit if hit's diine right, I niver kent o' hit
bein' a failir, Sh. News (July 3, 1897).
PROKE, V. Sc. Ire!. Cum. Lan. LMa. Chs. Stf Der.
Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Shr. Also in form prowk Cum.'*
To poke ; esp. to poke the fire ; to poke about in an in-
quisitive, obtrusive fashion.
Sc. If a man has a sair leg or a sick body ye needna keep prokin'
at him and roarin' in his lug a' day that he's no weel, Cracks about
Kirk (1843) I- 2. Lnk. For a' her houghs pe prokit, Graham
Wiitings {iS,8s)\. 26^. Cum.'* (s. v. Prod). Chs.' Proke th' fire
a bit. s.Chs.' Oo proa'kt mi i)dhu ribz ; ah thuwt ur ment sum-flt.
Stf.', nw.Der.i Lei.' A prooked it daown my throot. Nhp.'
War,2 ; War.* What are you proking about now? you alius puts
your nose into every mortal thing you can find. Shr.' Dunna
proke the fire. Prokin' in every 'ole an' cornel. Al'ays prokes
'er nose into other folks's business ; Shr.^ Proke out the ess.
Hence (i) Proke-about, sb. a person engaged in hunting
for something in every hole or corner; (2) Proker, sb.
a poker ; a sharply-pointed goad ; (3) Proking-iron, sb.
a poker.
(i) nw.Der,' (2) Rnf. Soon her cheeks wither'd, and yellow as
ochre, Her lips grew as blue as my grandmother's proker,
Webster Rhymes (1835) 87. Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
N.I.', n.Lan.i I.Ma. Prokers and lances. Brown Doctor (1887) 11.
Chs.', s.Chs.1, Stf.i, s.Not. (J.P.K.) Lei.' Tekthe proker tew 'ira,
wumman I m.Lei. (C.E.), Nhp.', War.^, Shr.'^ (3) Lei.'
PROKITOR, see Procurator.
PROKLE, V. Lei.' Also in form prockle. [pro'kl,
pro'kl.] To poke about. See Proke.
'To prockle a pin in a wart' is an approved method of removing it.
PROLL, V. Obs. Sc. In phr. to proil thumbs, to lick
and strike thumbs as a sign of confirming a bargain.
Per. (Jam. ) ; All bargains stood by shaking hands, Or prolling
thumbs, NicoL Poems (1766) 95.
PROLL, see Prawl.
PROMISCUOUS, adv. Der. War. Nrf Suf Ken. Dev.
Also in forms pamiskas, pramiskas Suf; promiscous
Ken. [promi'skiues, promi'skas.] 1. In phr. to live
promiscuous, to have all things in common. Der.°
2. Accidentally ; by chance ; unexpectedly ; also in comb.
Promiscuous-like.
War.3 I called quite promiscuous like. Nrf. You get a barrel o'
the reds, and send it aboard just permiscuous like, Forbes Odd
Fish (1901) 92. Suf.' e.Ken. He came in quite promiscous like
(G.G.). Dev. They [fits] took him ' promiscuous like,' as Peter
said, in the field, at the fireside, at meals, in church, Baring-Gould
Furze Bloom (1899) ^7-
PROMISCUOUSLY, adv. Sc. Nhp. Hrf. Hnt. Sus.
By chance, casually, accidentally ; in gen. colloq. use.
Lnk. Mrs. Pitprops . . . had dropped in quite ' promiscuously'
to have a quiet glass along with . . . Mrs. M'Nab, Gordon Pyotshaw
(1885) 144. Nhp.' I called at his house quite promiscuously.
Hrf.', Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.Sus. Holloway.
PROMISE, V. Yks. Glo. Oxf. Som. [pro-mis.] 1. To
assure; freq. used iron, of punishment.
w.Yks. I'll give it j'ou, I promise you, Sheffield Independent
(1874) ; Very common (J.W.) ; w.Yks.' It's a kittle job I promise
you. Glo.' I do promise ee. Oxf. (G.O.)
2. To promise in marriage, betroth ; gen. in pp.
s.Oxf. Little Nell was ' promised ' to her cousin Sam, Rosemary
Chilterns (1895) 159. Som. To please Yvon I didn't zay nothen'
to anyone but Matha about our bein' promis'd, Leith Lemon
Verbena (1895) 77 ; Ruth an' I have a-promised each other, Ray-
mond Gent. Upcott (1893) x.
[1. I fear it, I promise you, Shaks. M. N. Dream, iii. i. 29.]
PROMO VEji). Obs.oT obsol. Sc. To promote, advance.
For keeping of good order, preveening and removing of abuses
and promoving of pietie and learning, Bower Hist. Univ. Edb.
(1817) I. 196 (Jam.) ; More sett upon establishing themselves than
promoving rehgion, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 54.
Hence Promoval(l, sb. promotion, furtherance.
Promovall cums naether frae the east nar frae the west, Riddell
Psalms (1857) Ixxv. 6 ; We own all the duties professed and
prosecuted by the faithful, for the promoval and defence of these
testimonies, Shields Contendings (1780) 300 (Jam.).
PROMP, V. and adj. Wor. Hrf Glo. [promp.] 1. v.
Of a horse : to be frisky, to curvet and show high spirits.
s.Wor. (H.K.) ; s.Wor.' 'E were a-prancin and a-prompin' about,
pretty nigh ready to snuff the moon, 35.
HencePrompt,;!i/i/.a<^'.of a horse : fresh, spirited, willing.
s.Wor. PoRSON Quaint IVds. (1875) 15 ; s.Wor.' Hrf.^ That
coult be so prompt that I canna hould 'im. Glo.'
2. adj. Of a horse : spirited, fresh. se.Wor.', Glo.^
PROMPT, V. Lan. To ' prank out,' dress, adorn.
Then Grace hoo prompted her neatly and fine, Axon Flk-Sng.
(1870) 15.
PRON, see Pran(n.
PRONACK, sb. Sc. Also in forms prontag Cai.^;
proonach Per. [pro'nak.] A fragment, a splinter ; a
crumb ; esp. a crumb of dough in kneading oatcake. Cf.
pran(n, 4.
Cai.' Per. When their sticks to proonach went, Wi' stanes they
made a bold attack, STEWARTOarari«>-(i857)p.xxxiv. Rnf. (Jam.)
[Gael, pronnag, a crumb (Macbain).]
PRONE, see Pran(n.
PRONG, sb. n.Cy. Nhp. Wor. Shr. Glo. Oxf Brks.
Hnt. Ken. Sur. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor. Dev. Cor. and
Nfld. [pror).] 1. In com/, (i) Prong-handle, the wooden
part of a pitchfork. Brks.'; (2) -spade, a digging-fork
with three thick prongs. Ken. (D.W.L.) ; (3) -steel, the
handle of a fork. s.Cy. (Hall.), I. W.^ 2. A pitchfork,
esp. the metal part of a pitchfork.
PRONGED
[629]
PROP
n.Cy. A hay-prong, a muck-prong, Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.)
GIo. (A.B.), Glo.i° Oxf. Giein her a good hiding wi' a prong
(W.B.T.) ; Oxf.' Used only of forks with two tines or points, MS.
add. Brks. (W.B.T.) ; Brks.i The ordinary prong has two forks,
whilst the dung prong has three. Sur. Git up, an' take a prong
wi' yer, Forest Tithes (1893) 13. Sus. (S.P.H.), Sus.', Hmp.i
Wil. Davis yigric. (1813). Dor. A pitcher wi' his long-stem'd
prong, Barnes Poems (1863) 53. Dev. florae Subsecivae (1777)
325. Cor.' 2 [Nfld. Patterson rra«5.^wcy./"ttiore5oc.(i894).]
3. A table-fork, esp. a silver or plated one in contra-
distinction to a steel one.
w.Wor.l Shr.' Six superior quality electro-plated dinner prongs,
Auctioneer's Catalogue, 1877. Cor. He . . . always dined wi' a pistol
laid by his plate, alongside the knives and prongs, ' Q.' Noughts
and Crosses (1891) 78-9; Cor.^^^
4. The forked root of a tree ; the fang of a tooth. Nhp.^,
Hnt. (T.P.F.)
PRONGED, ppl. adj. Wil.' [protjd.] Of a scythe-
blade : having a small flaw in the edge which may
develop into a serious crack.
PRONK, see Frank, v.'^
PRONKUS, sb. Yks. Lin. [pro-qkss.] A donkey;
also usedy?^. Cf. bronkus.
w.Yks., Lin. One of J ack Fowler's pronkuses (A.C.). Lin.' The
pronkus race have little rest at Cleethorpes in August. n.Lin.
Sutton Wds. (1881).
Hence Pronkus-brain, sb. a stupid person, a fool.
w.Yks. Get along — tha pronkus-brain ! (A.C.)
PRONSE, see Prance.
PRONSY, adj. Yks. [prcnsi.] Ostentatious, dressed
above one's station in life ; a deriv. of ' prance ' (q.v.).
m.Yks.i W.Yks. Yung pronsy flirts i' drabbl'd skirts. Like
painted peacocks stritches, Nidderdill Olm. (1895).
PRONTAG, see Pronack.
PROO, int. Sc. Yks. Lin. Also written prou w.Yks. ^ ;
prroo Bwk. ; pru Sc. (Jam.) ; and in forms prow n.Yks.' ;
prui Gall. ; ptroo, ptru, ptrua, ptrue Sc. (Jam.) ; ptrueai,
ptrumai BnfiF.' [prii, prij-i.] A call to oxen to come
near ; also used in driving horses or oxen.
Sc. Proo, Hawkie, Proo, Hawkie, Whistle-Binkie, II. 308 (Jam.).
Bnff.' Cld. Used when one speaks kindly to a horse, or wishes to
soothe him when restive (Jam.). Bwk. Monthly Mag. (1814) 1. 31.
Dmf. (Jam.) Gall. (A.W.) ; MACTAGGARri'wcjyrf. (1824). n.Yks.'
Usedonlyindriving oxen. Sometimesvaried to Prowin. w.Yks.' A
kind of interjection made use of in driving cattle, for the double
purpose of turning them, and of pushing them forward, when they
would loiter. Lin. Lin. N. & Q. 246.
PROOAG, see Prog.
PROOCHY, int. Sc. Also written prochy Per. ;
prrutchy Bwk. ; prutchee Kcd. [prutji.] A call to
cows ; also in comb. Proochy-lady, -madame, or -men.
Sc. Moo, moo, proochy lady! Proo Hawkie, proo Hawkie!
Lowing i' the gloamin hour, Comes my bonnie cow, Whistle-Binkie,
11.308 (Jam.). Kcd. Ramsay 7f«m/«.(i86i) 2nd S. 71. Per. (G.W.)
Bwk. Monthly Mag. (1814) I. 31.
PROOD, see Proud.
PROOF, sb. and adj. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms preef Bnff.^ ; prief Sc. ; pruff Glo.' Brks.
Som. [priif, Sc. prif.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Proof-barley,
(2) -corn, barley or corn produced from the sheaves
selected in ' casting ' corn. Bnff.'; (3) -ways, in phr. to
show the proof-ways, to prove by demonstration. n.Yks." ;
(4) -white, Bnff.^ ; see (2). 2. Phr. (i)/roo/'q/' /ea^ a pro-
tection obtained by enchantment against leaden bullets ;
(2) — of shot to, incapable of receiving injury or influence
from; (3) to Z>«/iroo^ to be proof against; {i^ to put in proof,
to prove.
(I) Sc. His [Claverhouse's] own waiting man . . . knowing he
had proof of lead, shot him with a silver button. Judgments upon
Persecutors, 50 (Jam.). (2) Sc. 'Tis proof o' shot to birth or money
But yields to what is sweet and bonny. Therms my Thumb (Jam.
Suppl.). Ayr. Proof o' shot to birth or money. Burns Sweetest
May, St. 2. (3) Sc. My heart to every joy is prief, Woe's grown
acquaintwith me, Cunningham Sm^s. (1813)47. Dmf.Tho'mysonsie
dame's cheeks nae to auld age are prief, Cromek Remains (1810)
51. (4) Ayr. Let's see How ye'U pit this in prief to me, Ainslie
Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 188.
3. A scriptural text proving any particular doctrine:
esp. one inserted in the Shorter Catechism.
Abd. The 'proofs,' which the dominie prided himself on having
been the first in our Presbytery to compel his scholars lo tackle,
and which Sandy Mutch found utterly beyond his powers, Alex-
ander Ain Flk. (1882) 86.
4. A mode of ascertaining the amount of grain in a corn-
stack when it is to change hands. Cai.' Hence Proof-
man, sb. the man appointed to determine the amount of
grain in a corn-stack.
Cai.' Mry., Nai. The quantity of grain is ascertained by the
proof-man, a professional character in the country, chosen mutually
by the seller and buyer, Agric. Surv. 180 (Jam.).
5. Strength, substance, body ; nourishment, fattening
power ; esp. used of food for cattle.
w.Yks. I haven't had a decent loaf since the place was altered,
there's no proof in the bread (W.B.T.). Nhp.' The hay is bad,
there is no proof in it. War .3, Glo.' I.W.2 There's zome proof
in that clover haay, varmer. Wil.' 'The rain hev waished aal the
proof out o' my hay.' ' That there muckle hain't done yet ; the
proof yun't gone out on't.' A thriving tree is said to be in 'good
proof.' Dor.' There's some proof in that hay. w.Dor. There was
such proof in't (C.V.G.). Som. Gie um zummut wi zome pruff in't,
AGRiKLER/fA)'i«c5(i872) 21. w.Som.' There's always more proof
in the hill country young stock 'n what is in ours hereabout.
There's more proof in one acre o' your ground to Foxydown, 'an
is in vower o' mine up under the hill. ' nw.Dev.'
Hence Proofy, adj. (i) of animals : likely to improve
and fatten easily ; promising ; (2) of pasture land or cattle-
food : nourishing, fattening.
(i) Hmp. He looks proofy (H.C.M.B.). Dor.i w.Som.' I calls
'em a downright proofy lot o' hogs, cheap's a dog in a 'apenny ;
why they'll cut ten poun' o' 'ool apiece. Dev. Very proofy lot of
sheep, Reports Provinc. (1893) ; Dev.^ They there pegs be a gilde
proofy zoart I can tellee. They'll fattee in a vortnight. nw.Dev.'
(2l Glo.i, s.Cy. (Hall.), Hmp. (H.E.) w.Cy. Morton Cyclo. Agric.
(1863). Wil.' The Monkton pastures used to be of good note in
Smithfield, from the very feel of the beasts. There are no more
' proofey ' fatting grounds in Wilts, IVil. Arch. Mag. VI. 29.
s.Dor, The cow leaze at T. are more proofy than some (C.W.).
w.Som.^ Very proofy ground for young stock. Dev. The grass is
plentiful and very proofy, with constant supply of water. Reports
Provinc. (1893). nw.Dev.'
6. adj. Hard; insensible to pain. Hmp.* 7. Of land:
excellent in quality ; of young shoots, plants, &c. : vigorous,
healthy. War. (Hall.), Brks. (M.J.B.)
PROOF-MAGGOT, s6. Wil.' The larva of the gadfly,
which causes warbles in cattle.
PROONACH, see Pronack.
PROOP, V. and sb. Sc. Also in form poop Abd. 1. v.
To break wind in a suppressed way.
Abd. (A.W.) Gall. He cud never stir nor stoop But out in
strings twad quickly proop, MACTAGGART^nyc/. (1824) 189, ed. 1876.
2. sb. The act of breaking wind in a suppressed way.
Abd. (A.W.) Gall. Mactaggart ib. 387.
PROOVIER, sb. Dev. [pru-via(r).] An improver in
a trade.
No ! her id'n a purntice, her's 'ot they calls a proovier, Reports
Provinc. (1897).
PROP, sb.^ and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in form prap Sc. (Jam.) [prop.] 1. sb. In phr. to
put up one's props, to fight.
War.s Wor. Witness invited him to put his props up, Evesham
Jrn. (Dec. 10, 1898).
2. A piece of wood put under the shafts of a cart to
support them ; also in comp. Prop-stick. w.Yks. (J.J.B.),
Not.^ 3. A support for the roof of a coal-mine ; see below.
Per. Cut up in lengths for coal-pit praps, Stewart Character
(1857) gi. Nhb., Diir. A piece of wood cut 2^ or 3 inches shorter
than the thickness of the seam of coal, and set upright beneath the
end of a crowntree, or under a head-tree, for the support of the
roof, Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
Hence Prop-mall, sb. an iron maul used in setting up or
withdrawing pit props in a mine. Nhb."^ Nhb., Dur.
Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). 4. A slang word for 'leg.'
Edb. Wi' his stiff shank ... As thick again's his soople prop,
Carlop Green (1793) 119, ed. 1817. w.Yks. Yond props is like a
pair o' tengs, Preston Poems (187a) 2nd ed. 1881 ; w.Yks.'
PROP
[630]
PROPER
Midi. ' Whereabouts d'ye think I'm a-stannin noo ? ' ' Whoy on
about the poorest pair o' props I ever did see,' Bartram People of
Clapton (1897) 54. nw.Der.l
5. A landmark ; a mark of any kind ; a molehill.
Sc. (Jam.) Frf. Barley-meal baps, like moudiewort praps,
Watt Porf. Sketches (1880) 13. w.Yks. A prop of ruddle on its
back, Advt. for lost sheep (J.J.B.).
6. V. In phr. to prop oneself up, to support oneself on
some fancied ground of confidence.
Sc. O that's a matter o' moonshine; ye see he praps himsell up
on his station and his degree ; but he was a wise man that said,
' Pride goeth before a fall,' Saxon and Gael (1814) I. 77 (Jam.).
7. To place pieces of timber against the house of a
newly-married couple ; see below.
Nhp.i A custom, when a marriage in any way remarkable occurs,
of placing pieces of timber or poles round the house and against
the door of the newly married couple. An action, in connection
with this curious practice, was tried at Northampton Assizes, in
1842. At the marriage of a gentleman at Bugbrook, some of the
villagers propped his house ; and he, being annoyed at the pro-
ceedings, fired from a window and wounded the plaintiff; since
which time, the practice has been discontinued in that village, but
is partially observed in some others.
8. Obs. To stand by, assist ; to prompt ; to direct.
Slg. Huzza, my brothers I stop each straggling clan, And prop
this hero, though an husbandman, Galloway Poems (1804) 31.
w.Yks.i
9. With up : to aid, support ; esp. to keep a sick person
alive by care, medicines, &c.
n.Yks.* Tha've propped him up foor a bit, bud ... he fails ivvery
daay. -w.Yks. He's been a poorly body this long while back, an'
they've bed to prop him up wi' all maks o' physic, Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (May 16, 1896). n.Lin.l He'd hevgoan all to smash years
sin bud Mr. W propped him up. I should hev been dead
afoore noo hedn't th' doctor propped me up wi' stuff he sends.
Nhp.i He's expected to fail, but his friends will prop him up a little
longer, if they can. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
Hence propped up, phr. of a sickly person : only kept
alive by constant care and medicine.
Lakel.'^ He's nobbut a propt-up mak ov a body. n.Yks. She's a
propped up awd woman (I.W.) ; n.Yks.' ; n.Yks. ^ A propp'd up
soort o' body. w.Yks. (J.W.) sw.Lin.' He's no-but a poor
propped up crittur.
10. To set up as a mark ; to designate by landmarks.
Sc. (Jam.) 11. To throw stones at any object or mark ;
to pelt.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Lth. At paips [cherry-stones] thou praps. Thou
birls bawbees, thou dozest taps, Ballantine Poems (1856) 67.
Nhb. They propped him wi' styens (R.O.H.).
Hence Prapping, sb. a game in which stones are aimed
at a given mark.
Fif. There was no thought of blowing eggs for collection, rather
were they set up on a dyke as a mark in the sport called prappin,
Colville Vernacular (1899) 12.
PROP, sb? Sh.I. 1. A cork, bung.
' Come an' tak' a gless an' a biscuit,' I said, takin' da prop ooto'
da crook, Sh. News (Sept. 18, 1897) ; (A.W.G.) ; S. & Ork.i
2. Fig. A short, thick man. {Coll. L.L.B.)
[1. Uan. prop, a cork, stopple, plug (Rosing).]
PROPAL(E, V. Obs. Sc. To publish, spread abroad-
Sc. Scoticisms (1787) 73. Frf. In kintries nar, and distant far,
Is my renoun propall't, LowsoN Guidfollow (1890) 241. Rnf. To
propale the reasons why some scruple, and the grounds upon
which others take it, Wodrow Corres. (1709-31) I. 262, ed. 1843 ;
Is every letter to a friend a place for propaling a man's sentiments
upon the Hanover succession ? ib. 265. Lnk. The springs of such
surprising treatment of this great man, are either secret, or not
very fit to be propaled, ib. Ch. Hist. (1721) I. 130, ed. 1828.
\\.\^.propaldre, to manifest by speech (Florid, ed. 1688).]
PROPER, adj. and adv. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel.
Eng. and Amer. Also in form prapper Dor. [pro-pa(r.]
1. adj. In comb, (i) Proper man, a fiance ; (2) — marrow,
an exact likeness ; a counterpart.
(i) Gor. That's no call for Ruby's dancin' wi'he a'most so much
as wi' her proper man, ' Q.' Three Ships (ed. 1892) 88. (2)
Nhb. A proper marrow of himself in shape and size. Pease Tales
(1899) 125.
2. Phr. to be in a proper way, to be much disturbed, to be
' in a great taking.'
n.Dev. The maidens screamed outright and Liz she was in a
proper way too, for 'twasn't Bill she wanted at all, but Jack Curtis,
Chanter Witch (1896) iv ; I suppose her was in a proper way
about it and fell to crying, ib.
3. Thorough, complete, genuine.
Sc. See if I dinna gie a proper sorting to yon twa silly jauds,
Scott St. Ronan (1824) xxviii. Nhb. It's a proper drop [surprise]
(R.O.H.). Lan. I've got a proper headache (E.M.M.). Not.i
Lei.i A proper bad un. Nhp.i He . . . has got a proper licking.
War. A proper dare-devil, Mordaunt & Verney War. Hunt
(1896) I. no. S11S.1 He's a proper old rogue I Oxf.^It's a proper
game. Brks.' A proper hidin'. Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.An.' Yes, indeed,
I have had a proper illness. Sur.i ' He's a proper young radical.'
Of a horse, ' a proper good-coUar'd un ' is one that draws right
well. Wil.' He's a proper fool. Som. She always were a proper
giglet, Raymond Good Souls (1901) 246. w.Som.' Nif he id'n
a proper old 'oman. Dev. The way he an' that Em'ly-Jane
carried on was a proper disgrace ! Cassell's Fam. Mag. (Apr.
1895) 334. nw.Dev.i Cor. He's a proper scamp (M.A.C.).
[Amer. They are proper skinflints, you may depend, Sam Slick
Clockmaker (1836) ist S. xvi.]
4. Good, excellent, capital, nice.
Sc. (A.W.) N.I .1 A proper spade. Nhb. Wor Harry's a proper
scholar, Pease rafc (1899) 133. Yks., Midi. (J.W.) Hrf.2 That's
proper. GIo.', Cmb. (J.D.R.), Ken.' n.Wil. That's some proper
taters, bean't urn ? (E.H.G.) Dev. It weren't ray place to say
naught, but I thought it, and so did every proper chap, Baring-
Gould Spider (1887) xxvi.
5. Handsome, fine ; well-grown ; also witty.
Sc. That he was a proper man, that he rode exceedingly well
the horse, and was a great hunter, M ajbwent Spottiswoode Miscell.
(1844-5) I- IS- -A-yr. In Tarbolton, ye ken, there are proper young
men. And proper young lasses. Burns Tarbolton Lasses, II. st. i.
Rxb. She was a right proper quean, Hamilton Outlaws (1897) 13.
Feb. A buxom, hearty, proper lass, Could spin baith lint and woo',
Lintoun Green (1685) 95, ed. 1817. Nhb. Jim was a fine, tall,
proper lad. Pease Tales (1899) no. Glo. (A.B.), e.An.^, Ken.'
Hmp. A term of mock admiration, said of a person who assumes
to be rather grander than his friends. ' O, he's proper' (H.C.M.B.).
Wil.i Her's a proper beauty. n.Wil. Them flowers look proper
(E.H.G.). Dor. Windsor Mag. {Apr. igoo) 611. Dev. You'rn the
properest maiden hever I seed . . . an' I've a doted deep on 'e,
Phillpotts Dartmoor (1895) 143, ed. 1896. n.Dev. He being the
Squire and a proper gentleman, Chanter Witi.h (1896) 2. Cor.'
He's a proper man; Cor.'' [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 392.]
6. Used to express magnitude, either of size or quantity.
Glo. I took her up the church tower ; a proper sight of country
yer can see therefrom, Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) xxii.
Brks.' A proper lot o' pegs. e.An.'' My father had a proper lot of
wheat in the ten-acre piece. Dev. There's a proper lot of rocks
there, Reports Provinc. (1877).
7. adv. Thoroughly, completely ; exceedingly, very ;
freq. used before an adj. as an intensitive.
N.Cy.i It is a proper wet day. Nhb. (R.O H.) Wm. Hes gittan
hod ev oor Marget en me proper, Kendal C. A'ews (Sept. 22).
w.Yks. A man caught in a heavy shower might say he was ' gerrin
iiproper,' She ffield Independent {^Ht^) ■< (J'W.) Lan. She's a proper
poor little girl (E.M.M.). Not.' Lei.' A did let 'im 'ave it proper.
Nhp.i He's proper close. War.^ s.Wor. A's two proper pore
critturs got (H.K.). Glo.' Proper fine. Oxf.' 'Twas proper 'ot,
an' I was proper dry. s.Oxf. 'Ee do look proper bad, Rosemary
Chilterns (1895) 34. Hrt. Er's proper bad, CussANS Hist, Hrl.
(1879-81) III. 321. Hnt. (T.P.F.) e.An.2 A proper quiet fellow.
Cmb. Proper thin (J.D.R.). Suf. That is a proper stingy critter,
Strickland OldFriends, Vc. (1864) 334 ; He hided he proper, e.An.
Dy. Times (1892). Ess. The proper pritty wiew, Clark/. Noakes
(1839) St. I ; Ess.' Proper nice. LW.' Dor, 'Tis a proper good
letter, Hardy Trumpet-Major (1880) xiv. Som. A judge and jury
' all proper a-sucked-in,' Raymond Sam and Sabina (1894) 77.
w.Som.' Have ee a-made a good job o' it? — Ees, I've a-zot up the
hedge, an' a-do'd it proper. Dev. My dear wive, I be proper fond
of 'ee, Eng. Illus. Mag. (June 1896) 259 ; He . . . tongued Bill
proper. Black and White (June 27, 1896) 825. Cor. He dropped
me a whistercuff 'pon the eye as made me blink proper, Phillpotts
Lying Prophets (1897) 32. [Amer. I'm proper sorry I run agin you,
Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) ist S. xix.]
8. Phr. to do a thing and proper, to do a thing without
fail and thoroughly.
w.Yks. Ah'U mak him du it an' proper, t' first time I catch him
(^.B.).
PROPERLY
[631!
PROSS
PROPERLY, adv. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Nhp. Lon. e. An. Ken.
Dev.andAmer. Also written propperly Dev. [pro"pa{r)li.]
Thoroughly, completely ; also used before an adj. as an
intensitive.
Sc. (A. W.) Nhb. Properly wasting away (E. M.W.) ; Sic anither
Bob's-a-dyin' as they two made aboot her I properly disremember,
Pease Mark o' Deil (1894) 21. w.Yks. (J.W.) Nhp.i Well I am
properly tired. Lon. It'sproperly dangerous, Ma^hew Land. Laiour
(1851)111. 259, ed. 1861. e.An.i John was properly tired. Suf. That
fare properly cold, I'm thinkin', e An. Dy. Times (1892). Ken.i Our
party bested 'em properly, fancy we did ! Dev. I properly forgot
it when I was in Exeter. When he was little he was properly.
ugly. Reports Provinc. (1881). n.Dev. We keep a sarvent indeed —
whatever would folks say? I was properly aping my betters.
Outlook (Apr. 16, 1898) 332. [Amer. Blows like a porpus properly
frightened, Sam Slick Clockinaker (1836) ist S. xix.]
PROPERTY, sb. Sc. Yks. Not. Lon. [pro-p3(r)ti.] A
characteristic ; a personal quality.
Slg. He had his properties an' failin's, Galloway Poems (1792)
46. n.Yks. Ma moother had varra good properties ; she always
made us wark and put wer things away (E.L.). s.Not. She's that
property, she'll borrer of anybody. There's good properties about
John (J.P.K.). Lon. There are certain marks about the eyes and
otherwise, which are considered 'properties'; and it depends
entirely upon the property which a dog possesses as to its value,
Mayhew Land. Labour {1S51) II. 48, ed. i86r.
[Ingenmm, property, disposition. Coles (1679).]
PROPEYNE, see Propine.
PROPHECY- TABLE, s6. Cor.^ A jingle said off when
counting petals of flowers, &c., to foretell the position of
one's future husband ; see below.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, Rich man. Poor man. Apothe-
cary, Thief.
PROPHET, sb. Sc. Dor. In phr. (i) my saints and
prophets, an exclamation of surprise ; (2) the Prophets
chamber, a room occupied by a minister.
(i) Dor. Well, my saints and prophets! Where be gwain? Agnus
Jan Oxier (igoo) 64. (2) Sc. (A.W.) Abi. But one other chamber,
which he called ' the Prophet's chamber,' because it was occupied
by the minister, Cobban Angel of Coventry (1898) 230.
PROPINE, sb. and v. Obsol. Sc. Cum. Also written
propeyne Cum. ; propyne Sc. (Jam.) [praprn, pain.]
1. sb. A gift, esp. a gift in acknowledgement of services
rendered ; drink-money.
Sc. Ye're good for carrying a propine, ye can make muckle of
little, Ramsay Prov. (1737) ; There was never sic a braw propine
as this sent to a yerl by an auld fishwife, Scott Antiquary (1816)
xxvii. Bch. Rather na' give him this propine, For deeds that feckless
are, Forbes ^y«Ar (1742) 10. Abd. Let the poor get a propine, Carle,
when the Queen comes, Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 146. Per.
These sma' propines I frankly gi' to you, Nicol Poems (1766) 178.
s.Sc, It was to be paid as a matrimonial propine to the man she
loveth, Wilson Tales (1839) V. 3. Rnf. It lang had claim'd sic
sma' propine O' thocht as I could on it wair. Young Pictures (1S65)
27. Lnk. For your pains, I'll make ye a propine, A tartan plaid,
Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) 22, ed. 1783. Edb. To and for thee
that those lines Th' abortive infantand the poorpropines,PENNECuiK
Wks. (1715) 379, ed. 1815. Slk. True, she had been a step-dame
dour. Grudging the hard-earned sma' propine, Chr. North iVdrfes
(ed. 1856) III. 336.
2. The power of giving ; disposal.
Sc. (Jam.) ; And if I were thine and in thy propine, O what wad
ye do to me? Scott Minstrelsy (1802) III. 22, ed. 1848. Rnf. The
richest gift in Heaven's propine, Picken Poems (1813) II. 71.
3. V. To present, give ; to propitiate.
Abd. Propyned with 20,000 pounds sterling in a fair cup of gold,
Spalding .f/is^. Sc. (1793) I. 336. Gall. Bless God that you have
had a husband, if it were only to propine Him with, Crockett
Moss-Hags (1895) xlix. Cum. Our past misfortunes we'd propeyne
T' oblivion, Stagg Misc. Poems (ed. 1805) 121.
4. To pledge a person in drinking ; to clink glasses with.
Sc. A health to the King I do thee propine. Vivat Rex!
Maidment Pasquils (1868) 317 ; Mackay.
[1. OFr./>-o/ime,drinking-money, a present (La Curne).]
PROPONE, V. Obs. Sc. 1. To put forward by way
of defence.
Frf. I won't answer one question you ask. Nor propone, as you
wish me, just now my defences, Sands Poems (1833) igi. Ayr.
I for their thoughtless, careless sakes, Would here propone defences.
Burns The Unco Guid {I^86) st. 2. Edb. Sae leally I'll propone
defences, As get ye flung for my expences, Fergusson Poems
(1773) 177. ed. 1785. Dmf. But here the muse Propones ... A short
excuse, Mayne Siller Gun (1808) 47.
2. To propose.
Sc. Man propones but God dispones, Ramsay P>-ot/. (1737). Abd.
I would propone that all who have understanding and instruction
be represented, CoBBAiJ Angel of Coventry (1898J 270.
PROPPIT, ppl. adj. Obs. Sc. Marked out, appointed.
Seeing the proppit time of this man's felicity in court, that it was
near spent, Lindsay Chron. (ed. 1768) 221 (Jam.).
PROQUEER, see Perqueer.
PROSE, sb. and v. Obs. Sc. 1. sb. In contp. (i)
Prose-folk, people who talk in prose ; (2) -hash, a prosy
blockhead.
(i) Ayr. But tho' dull prose-folk Latin splatter In logic tulzie,
I hope we Bardies ken some better. Burns W. Simpson (1785) st.
31. (2) Slk. I had been only a mere common ordinar prose-hash
o' a chiel, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 120.
2. V. To put into prose.
Ayr. An' if ye winna niak it cHnk, By Jove, I'll prose it. Burns
Ep. to J. Lapraik (Apr. 21, 1785) st. 6.
PROSPECT, si^. Sc. Yks. [iro-spekt.J A telescope ;
also in camp. Prospect-glass.
Sc. I have lost my prospect wherewith I was wont to look over
to the bloody land, and tell you and others what enemies and
friends were doing, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 265. Per. When at
the top through his prospect He looked round, both far and near.
If he could spy a good fat deer, Smith Poems (1714) 5, ed. 1853.
Lnk. Get oot my storm hat, my prospect glass, Murdoch Readings
(1895) II. 82. Gall. The most part of us were out on the heuchs,
looking to sea-ward with my father's old prospect-glass, Crockett
Raiders (1894) iv. w.Yks.^
PROSPERATION, sb. Yks. Chs. Shr. [prospsrejsn.]
Prosperity.
n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^ Iwery prosperation te ye ! w.Yks.' Chs. A
local toast formerly sung with certain prescribed gesticulations at
the Churchwardens' annual dinner at Barthomley, . . began —
'Come, brave boys, prosperation Be to the Church and Nation.'
Newcomers were narrowly watched and fined if they did not
execute it correctly, Hinchliffe Hist. Barthomley (1856) 145, in
Burne Flk-Lore (1883-6) 471 ; Clis.'a Shr. [At Much Wenlock]
it was customary for the retiring bailiff and his newly elected
successor to choose two new burgesses, whose descendants would
be hereditary voters in the borough. At the ensuing Bailiffs Feast,
the top of the mace was unscrewed, and a cup which held about
one pint taken out. This was filled with port-wine, and each of the
new burgesses was required to stand up in turn and empty the
cup to the toast of ' Prosperation to the Corporation.' The old toast
is still occasionally drunk at public dinners, Burne Flk-Lore (1883-
6) 471; Shr.i =
PROSS, sb} and v> Irel. [pros.] L sb. A process
at law; a shortened form of 'process.' N.I.' Hence
Prossy-server, sb. a process-server.
Glw. Why, if the prossy-sarveris cotched,BARRiiiGTOif Sketches
(1830) III. xvii.
2. V. To sue a person. N.i.i I prossed him.
PROSS, sb.'' and v.^ n.Cy. Dun Yks. Lin. [pros.]
L sb. A chat, gossip ; familiar conversation ; ? a dial,
form of ' prose.'
N.Cy.' Dur. Gibson Up-lVeardale Gl. (1870); Diir.', w.Dur.'
n.Yks. To hev a bit man pross wiv him, Castillo Poems (1878)
29 ; n.Yks.'^*, m.Yks.' Lin.' Come and smoke a pipe, and we'll
have a little pross.
Hence Prossy, adj. conversational, conversable. Dur.
Gibson Up-Weardale Gl. (1870). 2. Phr. to hold pross, to
have a gossip or familiar talk with a person.
n.Yks. There was too much on his hands and on mine to admit
of our ' hoddin' pross ' (holding a gossiping talk) about such
matters, Atkinson Moor. Parish (1891) 59. ne.Yks.' Ah ho'ded
a bit o' pross wiv her.
3. V. To gossip, chat, talk familiarly.
N.Cy.' Hut. GiBSO-n Up-Weardale Gl. {l&^6). w.Dnr.', n.Yks."
ne.Yks.' He did pross. There's ower mich prossin' aboot him.
m.Yks.'
PROSS, v.^ and sb.^ Sc. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Also in
forms prouce n.Yks.^ ; prowse Rxb. (Jam.) [pros.]
1. V. To give oneself airs; to look big and consequential ;
to boast ; to be overbearing.
PROSTINGOLVA
[632]
PROVE
Lakel.'^ Wm. Though I was rader heaymly dress'd, I pross'd
aboot an' did my best, Whitehead Leg. (1859) 43, ed. 1896.
n.Yks.3 w.Yks. HuTTON ToMf-Zo Caws (1781) ; (C.W.D.) ne.Lan.'
Hence (i) Pressing, (a) sb. proud, overbearing beha-
viour ; (b) ppl. adj. bumptious, bold ; (2) Prossy, adj. {a)
consequential-looking ; (6) vexatiously nice and particular
in dress or work.
(i, a) Slk. Keep us from a' proud pressing and upsetting, Hogg
Tales (1838) 405, ed. 1866. [b) w.Yks.i There com a fine mack
of a prossin, flybysky, uncoth fellow, ii. 292. iie.Lan.' (2, a)
ne.Lan.i (6) Rxb. A prossie body (Jam.).
2. sb. A large measure of self-esteem resulting in an
overbearing, consequential manner. Lakel.''
[1. Cp. Dan. dial, pros, proud, haughty ; prose, to boast,
swagger (Molbech).]
PROSTINGOLVA, PROT, see Prestingolva, Prat.
PROTE, V. Yks. Nhp. e.An. [prot] To poke. w.Yks.^
Hence Proter, a poker. Nhp.', e.An.', Suf. (Hall.)
PROTECT, w. Glo.i [pratekt.] To detect.
PROTESTANT, sb. Chs.' n.Lin.' [pro'tistent.] A
variety of potato.
PROTICK, PROTTICK, see Pratick.
PROTLINS, sb. pi. Cum." [pro'tlinz.] The refuse
left after lard has been refined.
PROU, PROUCE, see Proo, Pross, v?
PROUD, adj. and v. Van dial, uses in Sc. Eng. and
Amer. Also in forms prahd n.Cy. w.Yks. ; prood Sc.
(Jam.) Nhb.i Lakel.^ Cum.* Wm. ne.Yks. n.Lin.' [Sc.
n.Cy. prud, w.Yks. prad, Lan. pred, Midi, praud, proud,
s.Cy. preud.] 1. adj. In camp, (i) Proud-carpenter, the
self-heal, Prunella vulgaris ; (2) -fee, a substantial recom-
pense ; (3) -flesh'd, haughty, stuck-up ; (4) -tail, the gold-
finch, Carduelis elegans ; (5) -tailor, (a) see (4) ; (6) a
gaudy-winged insect.
(i) Chs.'s (2) Lth. Gae search a' the world an' ye's get a
proud fee, Gin ye match the Auld Cock o' the North Countrie,
Ballantine Poems (1856) 220. (3) n.Lin. They hate Woorme
. . . because he's such a proud-flesh'd chap, Peacock R. Skirlaugh
(1870)111.232. (4) s.Not. (J.P.K.) (5)n.Yks2 ne.Yks. Mar-
shall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. 338. Lan. Pall Mall Mag. (Sept.
igoi) 140. Stf. ' Proud teelor'is the local name by which the
goldfinch is known in the neighbourhood, White Wrekin (i860)
xxvii; Stf.i, Der.'*, Not. (L.C.iM.), Not.', sw.Hn.i, Lei.', Nhp.>,
War.123 w.Wor. J5fjrote/'s /TO. (Mar. 3, 1888). Shr.'2 e.Som.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i [j>) w.Yks.aa
2. Conceited ; supercilious.
n.Lin.' w.Som.' Ter'ble proud sort of a man ; but vor all he
do make wise vor to know zo much; lor 1 tidn no ways to the
bottom o' un.
3. Pleased, gladdened, elated.
Cld. I'm rale prood ye've done sae weel (Jam.). Cum. I is
proud to see you however! (J.Ar.); Cum.* Ah's prood teh see
theh. Chs.' I'm sure I'm very proud to see you ; CIis.^, I.W.
(J.D.R.) Som. I was quite proud to see a fine Sunday (W.F.R.).
e.Cor. (F.R.C.) w.Cor. She was proud to come home agen
(M.A.C.). [Amer. She will be proud to have her tooth stop
aching, Dial. Notes (1896) I. 373.]
4. Honest.
w.Som.i 'Well, Josep, 'ow be you?' ' Middlin' hke, thankee,
Thomas, poor but proud.'
5. Of a horse : restive, prancing.
w.Yks. It's that prahd it hardly knows hah ta walk (B.K.).
6. Of vegetation : luxuriant, esp. of corn which grows
up too early in the season. Cf. winter-proud.
N.Cy.', Cum.'" e.Yks. If the wheate bee a . . . proude and well
skinned come, Best Rur. Econ. (1642) 99. w.Yks.' T'corn's
vara proud ; w.Yks.^ sw.Lin.' The wheat's gotten so proud.
War.* That wheat be too proud, master, it ull disapint you at
harvest, I be afeared on.
7. Large; projecting in any direction ; of a roof: having
a high pitch.
Sc. Applied to a projection in a haystack, during the act of
rearing it, whence it needs dressing in a particular quarter (Jam.).
Per. That house has a proud roof, but the prouder, the better
(G.W.). n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; N.Cy.' A seam of
coal is said to be proud when its section is higher than ordinary.
Nhb.' LakeL'' Thoo's set that stian ower prood. Wm. Thoo's
putten that on ower prood (B.K.). w.Yks. Said of a fulcrum
when it is placed too near the lever end. ' Pool thi chog a bit
back, thah hez it ta prahd' {ib.) ; w.Yks.' That joint's to proud.
Lin. (Hall.) n.Lin.' Earth or manure is said to be proud when
it lies lightly, before it has had time to settle. ' We've fill'd th'
graave up real proud, but it'll sattle a deal.' sw.Lin.' The nails
stand out too proud. The board's a bit too proud, it wants spoke-
shaving off. Lei.' That lock's a del prouder o' wan soide nur
t'oother. War.^
8. Swollen, inflamed.
Lin. (Hall.) Lei.' Yo' dew leuk praoud [said to a person with
a swelled face]. War.3 Shr.,Hrf. Bound ProwKc. (1876). Glo.',
w.Cy. (Hall.)
9. Of the weather : brilliant or clear.
n.Cy. It's ta prahd tahod aht (B K.). w.Yks.' A proud morning.
10. Of a bitch or sow : maris appetens. n.Cy. (Hall.),
e.An.', Suf.' Hence proud i' th' barren, phr. said of cows
when about to calve. w.Yks.' 11. Of a spring of water :
running too freely. Cor. N. &= Q. (1854) ist S. x. 360.
12. V. To strut.
w.Yks. I saw him prouding by only yesterday (C.C.R.).
PROUD, see Prod, v.'
PROUDFUL, adj Sc. Also in form proodfu' (Jam.).
1. Full of pride, haughty.
Sc. (Jam.) Edb. As it is, nane can deride For proudfu' swell,
M<^Dowall Poems (1839) 30.
2. Of skins : swollen by the operation of lime. Sc. (Jam.)
PROUDISH, adj Sc. Yks. Rather proud.
Lnk. I'm proudish, an' weel may I be't, Watson Poems (1853)
45. w.Yks. (J.W.)
Hence Proudishly, adv. somewhat proudly.
Edb. Looking, however, rather proudishly at what I had said,
MoiR Mansie IVauch (1828) xi.
PROUDNESS, sb. Sc. Dev. 1. Pride.
Sc. The king hearing of this proudness, Lindsay Cron. (ed.
1814) 88 (Jam.). Dev. There's that proudness about varmers'
daughters nowadays, they wunt milkee, nur zar tha pegs, nur
Stan' in tha market, nur car a basket drii tha straytes, Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892). s.Dev. 'Tidden proudness, but us be bashful,
Longman's Mag. {May 1901) 52.
2. Of skins : the state of being swollen out. Sc. (Jam.)
PROUG, see Prog.
PROVABLE, adj. Chs. Der. [prii-vabl.] Of corn :
yielding well : answering the test of time. Chs.', s.Chs.',
Der.' Obs.
PROVAND, sb. and v. Sc. Yks. Lan. Chs. Also in
forms provan Lan. ; provant Lan. Chs.' ; proven
n.Yks.' e.Yks.' w.Yks.* ; provend Edb. ; provin, proven
Lan. ; provun w.Yks. ; provven n.Yks.* w.Yks. Lan.'
e.Lan.' ; provvin Lan.' ; provvun w.Yks. ; prowan Sc.
(Jam.) [pro-v9n(d.] 1. sb. Provender, food, esp. corn,
chopped hay, and other dry cattle-food ; provisions.
Sc. (Jam.) ; He's a proud horse that will not bear his own
prowan, Kelly Prov. (1721) 131. Arg. A firkin of herring and
a few bolls of meal for my winter's provand, MuNRoy. Splendid
(1898) I. Edb. Wi' little wark an' sma' provend, Ballantine
Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 7. n.Yks.' ; n.Yks." ' Bais provven,' cattle
food. e.Yks.', w.Yks. (D.L.), w.Yks.' Lan. Give yond pigs
their dinner ; then chop a bit of hay for provant, Brierley Cast
upon World (1886) 286 ; Iv he didn't get some provan soon, Clegg
Sketches (1895) 443 ; Lan.', e.Lan.', Chs.'
2. Comp. (i) Provand-bag, a receptacle for food ; (2)
-prickt, over-fed ; rendered dainty by too much good
living.
(i) Lan. Mi provin bag wur empty when aw londed theer.
Wood Hum. Sketches, 23. (2) w.Yks.*
3. V. To feed.
w.Yks. Provven th' beeas', Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 16, 1896).
Lan. I'll fodder an provon the tits for the, Tim Bobbin Vievi
Dial. (ed. 1806) 60.
[1. Pabulum, prouende, Levins Manip. (1570).]
PROVE, V. and sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also in forms preeave n.Yks.* e.Yks.' ; preave Nhb.' ;
preeve S. & Ork.' ; prieve Sc. (Jam.) n.Cy. ; prive Sc.
[prtiv, priv.] 1. v. In phr. (i) how prove you f how are
you ? how do you do ? (2) to prove and fend, to argue in a
quarrelsome way. Cf. fend, 2.
(i) Lakel.^ Whia noo an' hoo priuve ye, an' boo er they o' at
hiam ? (2) e.Yks.' Smith an his wife leead a reglar cat an dog
PROVEN
[633]
PROW
life, preeavin an fendin all day lang. w.Yks. Alius provin', alius
fendin', Full ov other folks' consarns, Spencer Field Flowers, 291,
in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 16, 1896).
2. To try, test.
Sc. Ye'U say, that I've ridden but into the wood To prieve gin
my horse and hounds are good, Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806)
I. 221. Fif. Tennant Papistry (1827) 24. Edb. He gat nae leave
His fowling-piece that night to prieve, Liddle Poems (1821) 161.
Dmf. Gif I'd kent ye was gaun to prieve ony of your helicat
pratticks on me, Hamilton Mawkin (1898) 171.
3. Totaste; also/?^. to enjoy, experience; totamperwith.
Sc. Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) Gl. Sh.I. I niver preev'd wan
.whin I cam' in da streen, bit A'll aet dem noo, Sh. News (Jan. 28,
1899) ; S. & Ork.i MS. add. Ayr. Eve Did coy the cursed fruit
to prieve, Sillar Poems (1789) 67 ; I . . . nocht but dule and
dolour pruve, Service Notandums (1890) 91. Lnk. Dar she
nane of her herrings sell or prive, Afore she say, Dear Matkie
wi' ye'r leave! Ramsay Poems (1727) 135, ed. 1733. Edb. Wha
is't that gars the greedy bankers prieve The maiden's tocher!
Fergusson Poems (1773) 183, ed. 1785. Dmf. I wish you may
ha'e long years to prove his blessing, Good Wds. (1882) 157.
n.Cy. Border Gl. (Coll. L.L.B.) n.Yks.2 I trist you'll nut hae te
ondergan what I've preeav'd.
4. Mining term : to test by sinking or boring ; to ascer-
tain the position of a seam of coal thrown downwards or
upwards by a slip.
Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849), ed. i888.
5. To Stop at any place at sea in order to make trial for
fish ; to sample a fishing-net ; see below.
S. & Ork.i I.Ma. Every fishing-boat has a train of nets, con-
sisting of five pair. When fishing these extend through the water
like a hedge over two miles in length. Before hauling all this
tremendous length on board it is customary to ' prove ' or sample
the nets, so about 25 yards of the net nearest to the boat is pulled
up to see if there has been a take of fish; ifthis is found satisfactory
all is pulled on board (S.M.).
6. Of cattle : to fatten ; to improve in size and condition.
Cf. proof, 5.
Nhp.i e.An.i ' How did that beast prove ? ' is a question often
asked of the butcher by the farmer, i.e. ' Did he die fat internally ?
did he tallow well ! ' Dor.i w.Som.i Never zeed nothing prove
so vast in all my life as they steers you bought to Taunton market;
J zim I do zee 'em grow.
7. Of yeast, dough, &c. : to rise well.
Nhp.^ It is good yeast, it proves so well.
8. Of cattle : to turn out to be with young. Chs.*^
9. sb. Obs. A taste.
Sc. A prieve o' her mou' hardly gae'm, Jamieson Pop. Ballads
(1806) I. ags.
PROVEN, pp. and pfl. adj. Sc. Yks. Also written
provin Sh.I. 1. Proved, attested.
Sc. The fact was proven, Mitchell ScoUicisms (iq^ci) 65. Ayr.
My grandfather's great gift of foreknowledge was again proven,
Galt Gilhaize (1823) iii. Lnk. A proven man o' credit— He'll do our
wark, Watson Poems (1853) 2. Gall. It canna be proven that ever
I handled a plack o'the price, Crockett^. il/arA (1899) Iii. n.Yks.^
2. Phr. not proven, a verdict given when neither the
guilt nor the innocence of the accused has been satisfac-
torily established.
Sc. Their verdict in the case of the woman was ' not proven.
Ford Thistledown (1891) 223. Sh.I. The hail poyntis of dittay are
agains her, boith general and special, except theft of Thomas
Urabister not provin, Hibbert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 286, ed. 1891.
PROVERB, V. Obs. Sc. To quote proverbs.
Ayr. Wha taught you to proverb sae glibly! Gwi Sir A. Wylte
(1822) xlii.
PROVES', see Provost.
PROVIDANCE, sb. Cum. Yks. Also written provi-
dence n.Yks.* [pravai-dans.] The provision of food for
an entertainment ; a deriv. of ' provide.'
Cum.i* n.Yks. We'll mack plenty of providance for t dmner
(I W.)'; n.Yks.i The meat and other eatables for a burial enter-
tainment; the cakes, spiced-bread, tea, &c. for a _ tea-party.
' There was nobbut a mean providance, for sike folk an' a ' ; n.Yks."
A mirical wadn't a'e maad yon providence last. ne.Yks.i We
s'all a'e ti mak providance for 'em. -w.Yks. (J.W.)
PROVIDE, V. and sb. Sc. [pravai'd.] 1. v. To provide
for. Gen. used \n pp. „ , , „ s
Per. He's providit that's content, Haliburton Dunbar {iSgs) 57.
VOL. IV.
Ayr. Chance an' fortune are sae guided. They're ay in less or mair
provided, Burns Twa Dogs (1786) 1. 107-8.
2. To furnish with a bridal outfit, household linen, &c.
Frf. I was ance weel providit, an' deemed mysel' thrang, A-
boukin' an' bleachin' haill wabs o' new sheetin', Watt Poet.
Sketches (1880) 45.
Hence Providing, sb. a bride's outfit ; the provision of
household linen, furniture, &c. provided by the bride ;
occas. the goods provided by the bridegroom.
Sc. I was makin' my providin' when I was Mary's age. Swan
Gates of Eden (1B95) iv. ne.Sc. In the interval between the final
contract of marriage and its celebration the young woman was
busy getting in order all herprovidan for her future home, Gregor
Flk-Lore (1881) 88. Kcd. Her hoose was gotten ready an' her
providin' sent hame, Abd. IVkly. Free Press (Feb. 9, 1901). e.Fif.
Neist day I wad be ower at Dundee layin' in providin' o' various
kin's, Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxiv. Lnk. The ' providing' has
always been regarded as an important item of the marriage arrange-
ments, Graham Writings (1883) II. 12. Lth. Lumsden Sheep-head
(1892) 152. Gall. Ye shall have both the lass and a suitable
providing, Crockett Grey Man (1896) xxxiv.
3. sb. A trousseau.
Bnff. Gorgeous dresses — such a provide Keith's lairdships ne'er
before had seen, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 119.
PROVIDER, 56. n.Cy. Yks. [pr3vai'd3(r.] In phr. a
good provider, a working man who habitually spends his
wages in the support of his family. n.Cy. (J.W.H.),
w.Yks. (J.W.)
PROVIN, see Provand, Proven.
PROVOKE, t;. Shr.' [prav5k.] To revoke.
To provoke a bargain.
PROVOKESOME, adj. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. [pravoksam.]
Provoking.
Dmb. This was plump and plain and a wee provokesome, Cross
Disruption (1844) v. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
PROVOKING,//!/, fli^'. Obs. Sc. Tempting, whetting
the appetite.
Gall. 'Tweel thy taste's no sae provokin' 'Tween you and me
[said of tobacco], Nicholson Poet. Wks. (1814) 127, ed. 1897.
PROVOKSHON, sb. Sc. Also written provokshin
Sh.I. [pravo'kjan.] Provocation.
Sc. Gif ye wuU heaer his voyce, hardauna your hairts, as in the
provokshon, an' as in the daye o' temptatione, Riddell Psalms
(1857) xcv. 7, 8. Sh.I. Nae flesh an' bluid can staand siecan pro-
vokshin, as A'm gotten da night, Sh. News (May 15, 1897).
PROVON, see Provand.
PROVOST, sb. Sc. Also in forms proves', prove*.
The chief magistrate of a burgh.
Sc. My Lord Provo', my Lord Provo', Where shall this poor
fellow go ! Some goes east and some goes west. And some goes to
the craw's nest, Chambers Pop. Rhymes (ed. 1870) 121. Mry.
The Magistrates' Loft, with arm-chair for the Provost in the centre
of the front seat. Hay Lintie (185 1) 78. Abd. Come Provost,
Baillies, ane and a', Cadenhead Bon-Accord (1853) 185. Per. Ye
proveses o' rank, an' ye That are but baron-bailies, Haliburton
Ochil Idylls (1891) 60. Ayr. He's the baillie or provost of a bur-
rough's town, Galt Gilhaize (1823) iii. Gall. It maun be the
provost at least, Crockett Cleg Kelly (1896) xxix.
Hence Provostry, sb. the period during which the
provost remains in office.
Ayr. Nothing very material happened in the town till the time
of my first provostry, Galt Provost (1822) x.
PROVUN, PROVVEN, PROVVIN, PROVVUN, see
Provand.
PROW, I/. and 5*. Cum.Wm.Yks.Lan.Chs. Alsowntten
preaw Lan. [prau, Lan. also pre.] 1. v. To prowl about ;
to sneak about a back door. A dial, form of ' prowl.'
Cum." Lan. When ther Sam he coom preawin' abeawt, Har-
land i^nVs (1866) 137. Chs.i ,-,.-d\
2. To poke into ; to rummage about, s. Wm. (J.A.tJ.)
3. To toil hard and continuously.
Wm. Mudther an me hes prowd an screeapt on. Spec. Dial.
(1877) pt. i. 8.
4. To dig or throw up mould ; to root amongst plants ; to
plough deeply.
Cum.* They're howkin' an' drainin , an prowin m t land for-
ivver, Richardson ra/A(i87i) ist S. 61, ed. 1886. w.Yks. Hutton
Tour to Caves (1781). ne.Lan.^
4 M
PROW
[634]
PSALM
5. To seek for prey ; to forage ; freq. with out.
e.Lan.' Chs.^ Cows are said to prow ite when they spread over
the fields in search of new pasture in the spring.
6. With out : to probe, sift evidence.
Chs.' It were ne'er gradely prowed ite, bur aw awways thowt
he were th' guilty party.
7. sb. Very deep ploughing. Cum. (E.W.P.)
PROW, PROWAN, see Proo, Provand.
PROWIE, sb. Sc. A cow. Cf. proo.
Edb. So they waited on, and better waited on for the prowie's
calfing, MoiR Mansie Wauch (1828) i.
PROWK, see Proke.
PROWL, V. and sb. Nhp. Cor. 1. v. To re-glean a
field. Nhp.i 2. sb. Plunder.
Cor.^ Thee 'assent nuff prowl far um.
[1. I proUe, I go here and there to seke a thyng, Je
tracasse, Palsgr. (1530).]
PR0WLY,s6. Obs. Or.I. Also written prowley. A
sharp scolding ; corporal punishment.
Gin every lass . . . gaes her lad as tarf a prowly, As I hae
gotten frae thee this night ;— Hid might hae meed a sa'nt gang gite,
Orcadian Sketch Bk. loi (Jam.),
PROWSE, V. and sb. Lan. Stf. [prouz ] 1. v.
To stir.
Lan. It has prowst my inside up, Waugh Snowed Up, v ; Lan.'
2. To search about for any one. Stf.' 3. sb. Rubbish.
Lan. Us soyne us I're cleeont o' bit o' th' sluch un prowse, Paul
Bobbin Sequel (1819) 36.
PROWSE, see Pross, v.^
PROWT, sb. and adj. Yks. Lan. Also in forms preawt
Lan. ; prout w.Yks. [prat, Lan. pret.] 1. sb. Rubbish ;
worthless stuff; also used of an idle, good-for-nothing
person.
w.Yks. Aw ne'er seed sich prout, throw it away (D.L.). Lan.
I clapt meh piss pot i' th' hoyle, brimfoo o' nasty prowt, Paul
Bobbin Sequel (iSig"! 37 ; There's no mak o' preawt in it, Waugh
TattlM Matty, 14 ; Seeam us . . . yon prowt up i' Birchwood,
Brierley Layrock (1864) iii ; Lan.'
2. adj. Poor, insignificant. s.Lan. Picton Dial. {1865) 14.
PROWT, V. Obs.- Bdf. To wander about like a child.
Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 140.
PROXY, adj. Lei. Nhp. War. Bdf. Hnt. [pro'ksi.]
Of a horse : frolicsome, skittish ; occas. used also of a
human being.
Lei.' Nhp.* Restricted to a horse that is playful, from rest and
good feeding ; itimphes more than 'frisky,' but less than ' restive.'
War.3 Bdf. Don'tgo near thatproxyhorse(J.W.B.). Hat.(T.P.F.)
PRRUTCHY, see Proochy._
PRUANT, sb. Sus. [pruant.] A prune, French
plum. Friend Plant Names (1882).
PRUDENT, adj. Yks. Chs. Lin. Wor. Bdf. Suf. Cor.
[priTdant, priu'dant.] Chaste, virtuous, modest ; prudish.
Yks., Chs. I'm afraid she's not a prudent woman, N. fj* Q.
(1880) 6th S. i. 480. Chs.i, n.Lin.1 Wor. N. &= Q. ib. Bdf. A
woman said of her husband, ' He is as prudent as an old maid. He
was in such a way because a woman came into the room unex-
pected, while he was changing his shirt' (J.W.B.). Suf. (C.G.B.)
se.Cor. N. <Sr= Q. ib.
PRUDGAN, see Prugian.
PRUE, sb. Wor. Cmb. [pru.] 1. Inferior cuttings
of asparagus ; also used of fruit, &c. ; see below.
Wor. Not grown fine enough to be included in the tied bundles for
sale, but tied in bundles separately and sold at a much lower price
for ilavouringpurposes, soups, &c. (^E.S.); Prue, rhubarb, and goose-
berries, Evesham Jrn. (June 13, 1896).
2. Young asparagus. Cmb. (W.W.S.)
PRUGIAN, adj. Obs. Oxf. Also written prudgan.
Pert, brisk, proud. ' You look mighty prudgan ' ;^K.).
PRU(I, PRUIT, see Proo, Prut.
PRULE, sb. Ken.' [priil.] A gaff-hook.
PRUMMACKS, sb. pi. Sh.L [prB-maks.] The breasts
of a woman. S. & Ork.*
PRUNK, adj. and v. Sh.L 1. adj. Neat, pretty, smart.
I wis as prunk a young man as wis eneath da Wart Hill,
Stewart Tales (1892) 11 ; S. & Ork.i
2. Proud, vain, saucy. (Coll. L.L.B.), S. & Ork.' 3. v.
With up : to make oneself smart and neat. S. & Ork.*
[3. Cp. Sw. prunka, nitide vestiri vel procedere,
Serenitjs 1
PRUSH, PRUSHUS, PRUSON, see Pruss, Praiseach,
Prison.
PRUSS, V. Cum. Also in form prush Cum.^ [prus,
pruj.] To press ; to importune.
Let Iwords and ladies pruss the downy seat, Gilpin Pop. Poet.
(1875) 57 ; Theer was plenty eh room if that yung wooman up in
t'corner wad nobbut pruss up a bit, Sargisson yo? Scoa/ (1881)
15 ; Cum.'*
PRUSSIAN, adj. Chs. Hmp. In comb, (i) Prussian's
caps, the common pink garden balsam, Impatiens balsa-
mina ; (2) — rock, a salt-mining term : a variety of'
rock-salt.
(i) Hmp. (W.M.E.F.) (2) Chs. The rock of the purer quality,
or, as it is termed, 'Prussian Rock,' Marshall 7fm«zti(i8i 7) II. 84;
Chs.' The rock salt as got, large and small together.
PRUT, int. Cum. Cor. Also in form pruit Cor. A
call to cows, horses, &c. to come. Cf. proo.
Cum.'* Cor. 'Pruit! pruit! pruit !' called Cherry, just as she
would call the cows at home, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865) 124,
ed. 1896 ; Cor.'
PRUTCHEE, see Proochy.
PRUTE NO, phr. Sc. An expression of contempt.
Lnk. If they had tell'd me tuts, or prute no, I laid them o'er
my knee, and a com'd crack for crack o'er their hurdles, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 150.
PRUTTEN, V. Obs. n.Cy. To be proud ; to hold up
the head with disdain. (Hall.), (K.)
PRUTTY, PRWOAG, see Pretty, Prog.
PRY, sb.' Sc. Nhb. Cum. Not. Ess. Also written prie
Not. ; prye Nhb.^ [prai.] 1. Var. species of the carex
grass, esp. Carex glauca and C. panicea.
Sc. (Jam.) Rxb. The most common of all, especially in the
higher parts of the country, are difTerent species of carex, here
called pry, and by Ainsworth interpreted sheer-grass, Agric. Surv.
108 (ib.). Dmf. Valuable food for hill sheep, Wallace Schoolmaster
(1899) 351. n.Dmf. Garden Wk. New S. (1896) No. cxiv. 112.
Nhb.' Cum. Hodgson Bot. Caldew ; Cum.' Vernal sedge, Carex
praecox ; Cum.* Aw yon middle part growes nowte bit bent an'
pry, C. Pacq. (Aug. 17, 1893) 6, col. i. Not. A blue spiry grass,
called here ' prie-grass,' which is produced on cold wet land,
Young Ann. Agric. (1731-1815) XXII. 470.
2. The rough-stalked meadow-grass, Poa /n'OTaAs. Nhb.'
3. The midge-grass, Holcus lanatus. ib. 4. The lime-
sedge, Tilia parvifolia. Ess. (B. & H.) 5. The woody
variety of coal in the Shilbottle seam. Nhb.'
PRY, sb.'^ Fif. (Jam.) Refuse, small trash, inferior
vegetables.
The pry of onions, of potatoes, &c., which are scarcely worth
the trouble of gathering or almost unfit for use. Chiefly if not
exclusively applied to culinary stufls.
PRY, V. and st.^ Suf Ess. Amer. Also in form pray
Suf.' [prai.] \. v. To force up by means of a lever ; a
dial, form of ' prise.'
Suf. (C.T.) ; Suf.' Pray away. Ess. To pry open a box, Trans.
Arch. Soc. (1863) II. 186; (W.W.S.) [Amer. With a deal of
sweating and swearing, prying and lifting, the rock was put upon
a scale and weighed. Cent. Mag. (Sept. 1882) 778.]
2. sb. A lever used for the purpose of forcing. e.An.',
Suf
PRY AN, sb. Cor. Also written prian. [prai'an.]
1. A mining term : soft white clay.
Esteemed a favourable indication when found in a lode, English
Mining Terms (1830).
2. Comp. Pryan-lode, a soft clayey vein of tin. Cor.*
[OCor. pryan, clayey ground (Williams).]
PRYMEGAP, PRYOMBLE, PRYZE, see Prim-gap,
Preamble, Prize, v.^'^
PSALM, sb. Sc. Lan. Cor. 1. In phr. (i) the cursing
psalm. Psalm cix ; see below ; (2) to take up the psalm, to
act as precentor.
(i) Cor. I thot I weer gwaine to die, an' I read the cussin'
psalm agin you, Phillpotts Lying Prophets (1897) igi ; If read
by a wronged person before death, it was, and is sometimes yet,
supposed to bring punishment upon the evil-doer, ib. note. (2)
n Sc. Reading the lines and then singing the tune alternately was
the old practice. It survives now only in the Highlands (A.W.).
PSALMAS-'UNTING
[635]
PUCKER
Per. It was ordained that he should on no ways pretend to such
an office in time coming, or yet should take up the Psalm in the
Kirk, Lawson Bk. of Per. (1847) 145; For providing of an
musician for taking up of the Psalms in the Kirk, ib. 275.
2. Contp. Psalm-caking, a custom observed upon All
Saints' Day ; see below.
Lan. In some places it is called ' soul-caking,' but there [Great
Martin] it is named ' psalm-caking ' — from their reciting psalms
for which they receive cakes, Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore
(1867) 251.
PSALMAS-'UNTING, adj. Cor. [sa-maz-Bntin.]
Hypocritical, sanctimonious ; lit. ' psalms-hunting.'
I stayed wi' the psalmas-'untin' ould cadger, ' Q.' Troy Town
(1888) xi ; Cor.i ' Psalmasunting-person,' a person who con-
tinually goes to church to the neglect of other duties.
PTROO, PTRU(A, PTRUE{AI, PTRUMAI, see Proo.
PUADY, PUASY, see Puddy, sb., Posy.
PUBBLE, adj. and v. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
[pu'bl.] 1. adj. Fat, full, plump ; well-grown ; used esp.
of corn or fruit.
N.Cy.12, Nhb.i Cnm.^; Cum.^ He . . . was gittin' as pubble an'
roond as a bo', 163 ; Cum.* Grain well fed is ' pubble as a
partridge.' n.Yks. (l.W.) ; n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^ As pubble as a
partridge. ' Pubble wheat,' plump in grain ; n.Yks.* e.Yks.
If the wheate bee pubble, proude and well-skinned, Best Rur.
Econ. (1642) 99. m.Yks.' Applied to a round lumpy object.
w.Yks.i Shoe war pubble an grosh, ii. 296. ne Lan.'
2. V. Of corn : to fill out.
n.Yks. 2 T'coorn's beginning to pubble.
PUBLIC, sb. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc. and
Eng. [pu'blik, p-eblik.] 1. A public-house, an ale-
house, inn.
Sc. Being also a public, it was two stories high, Scott Waverlcy
(1814) XXX. n.Sc.Guid wud come o' them wha own dacent publics,
and retail guid leequor, Gordon Carglen (1891) 231. w.Sc.
Kirsty's ' public ' was only a stone's throw from the kirk, Mac-
DONALD Settlement (iSeg"! 112, ed. 1877. Ayr. He gaed to Widow
M"Plooky's public, and waur'd the sixpence on gills, Galt Lairds
(1826) xxviii. Hdg. Crowds in publics baud the splore, Lumsden
Poems (1896) 145. Gall. Aul' Lucky Hair's, wha keepit the
public at Underbill, Gallovidian ( 1900) II. 59. n.Cy. (J. W.) Nhb.
He came to a sma' public by the road-side, Jones Nhb. (1871) 19.
Yks., Midi. (J.W.), nw.Der.' Nhp.^ Our Jim's a wild chap, he's
alius at the public. War.^, Hrf.'^ qIo. He wur gwain home
vram public, Roger Plowman, 17. e.An.' e.Dev. The publics
also, of which we passed three, Jane Lordship (1897) 93.
2. Comb, (i) Cheat-the-public, (2) Public-house-bargain,
a loose bargain ; a bad or unprofitable bargain ; (3)
-room, a reception-room ; one of the principal rooms of a
house excluding the bedrooms and kitchen.
(i) Cai. I'll lay ma head it is a 'cheat-the-public' Braw in
colours— God forgie us! — yet it didna cost more nor tippence,
HoRNE Countryside (1896) 211. (2) n Lin.i Them carrots isn't
wo'th moore then hauf what George hes gen for 'em. It's been a
real public-hoose-bargain. (3) Sc. We continue to call our
reception rooms ' public rooms,' Ramsay Remin. (ed. 1859) 217.
PUBLICAN, sb. Yks. Oxf The marsh-marigold,
Caltha palustris.
Yks. Nature Notes, No. 9. w.Yks. We used to call marsh-
marigolds ' publicans,' and some other plant (I forget which) by
the name of ' sinners ' ( J.T.). Oxf. ' Publicans-and-Sinners,'
applied to Marsh Marigold and Buttercups when they grow
together (B. & H.).
PUBLICATION, sb. Wal. A preaching engagement
amongst Nonconformists. 'Hegaveme a publication' (J.Y.E.).
PUBLISH, V. Wal. To announce the preacher for
a particular day. (J.Y.E.) Hence Publisher, sb. the
church officer who makes the church announcements, {ib.)
PUBLISHT, adj .? Obs. Ags. (Jam.) Plump.
' A weel-publisht bairn,' a child that is in full habit, or well
filled up.
PUCCAWN, see Puckawn(e.
PUCELLE, sb. Obs. Oxf Brks. A maid, damsel.
This word was much used in former times by young gentlemen,
especially at places near Oxford, one of which was Garsington in
Oxfordshire, and another was Sunningwell in Berkshire, Hearne
Gl. Rob. Glo. (1810) (s.v. Pykeled).
[Fr. fucelle, a maid, girl (Cotgr.).]
PUCHIL, adj. Sc. Also written puchal Bnflf.' [pB'xil-]
1. Substantial; well-off; thriving.
Abd. I've been the puch'Iest in this place, For corn, an' kine,
Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 20.
2. Of small stature ; neat, somewhat conceited ; conse-
quential.
Bnff.i Abd. It sairt 'im richt, puchil upsettin' smatchet, Alex-
ander/oA««_y Gibb (1871) xxxviii.
PUCK, sh} Sc. Irel. Der. Wor. Shr. Glo. Sus. Hmp-
Also in forms poake Wor. ; pook Sus.* ; pouk Sc. Shr." ;
puke Sc. (Jam.) [puk, pBk.] 1. A mischievous fiend,
an evil spirit ; the deuce. Also used^^.
Fif. SiBBALD Hist. Fif. (1803) 34 (Jam.). Dmf. But ay as
they at the auld carlin played pouk, Cromek Remains (1810) 84.
w.Ir. What the puck are you doing? (W.W.S.) Der. And why
the puck don't you let her out ? Le Fanu Uncle Silas (1865) II. 270.
se.Wor.i Hmp.i A New Forest sprite.
2. Comb, (i) Puck-foisted, bewitched; (2) -ladden or
-ledden, betrayed, deceived by false ideas ; (3) -needle,
(a) the shepherd's needle, Scandix Pecien ; (b) the corn-
cockle, Lychnis Githago ; (4) -'s stool, the puif-ball, Lyco-
perdon Bovista.
(i) Glo.i (2) Wor. The peasantry in Alfric and those parts say
that they are sometimes what they call ' Poake ledden' ; that is,
that they are occasionally waylaid in the night by a mischievous
sprite whom they call ' Poake,' Allies Antiq. Flk-Lore ( 1840) 418,
ed. 1852. Shr.2 Glo. I do know as it be an easy matter for folks
in general to be a-puckledden by fancy, Gissing Both of this
PamA (1889) I. 246; Glo. 12 (3, «) Sus> w.Sua. Flk-Lore Rec.
(1878) I. 27. Hmp.i {b) Sus. (Hall.), Sus.« (4) Sus. Sawyer
Nat. Hist. (1883) 15. w.Sns. Flk-Lore Rcc. (1878) VI. 27.
3. The nightjar, Sfrix caprimulgus. Also in co;«/. Puck-
bird. Cf puckeridge, 1.
w.Sus. Flk-Lore Rec. (1878) I. 18 ; The puck would fly before
her and she did not Sare to cross its path. Sawyer ib. 8 ; Swainson
Birds (1885) 97.
4. A distemper in calves, supposed to be caused by the
attacks of nightjars. Also in comb. Puck complaint.
w.Sus. Swainson ib. ; Sawyer ib.
PUCK, 5*.= and v.^ Irel. Lan. Amer. [puk.] 1. sb.
A blow, esp. a blow with the horns of a goat. Cf.
puckaw^n(e.
Ir. He gave me a puck in the back. The goat reared up and
gave me a puck (A.S.-P.). N.I.i He got a puck in the eye. Lan.
A puck in the jaw (F.R.C.). [Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 380.J
2. V. To hit or strike sharply ; to butt with the horns,
used esp. of a goat.
Ir. She is crying because the goat pucked her. He pucked him
with his fist (A.S.-P.) ; The ram and the cow pucked her with
their horns, Kennedy Fireside Stories (1870) 37.
PUCK, sb.^ and v.^ Glo. Hmpl Wil. Som. Dev. Also
written puk Dev. [puk.] 1. so. A small rick of hay or
corn. See Pook, s6.*
GI6. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 334 ; Glo.' A quantity of sheaves
put into a small stack in the field, when the weather is unsettled,
and the corn not fit to be put into a large stack ; Glo.", Hmp.*
w.Cy. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Wil., Som. A large cock (of
hay) that will stand the wind, Horae Subsecivae (I'm) 334. Dev.
Skace a minnit did hur luk, Bevaur et strik'd 'n bout a puk,
Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (1847) 2nd S. 45, ed. 1866.
2. V. To put up sheaves of corn, or hay-cocks.
Hmp. Esp. of barley and oats, Wise New Forest (1883) 285 ;
Hmp.* Dev. Ha'd stay an puk up zummat moar, Nathan Hogg
Poet. Lett. (1847) II. 45, ed. 1866.
PUCK, see Pick, Pouk, sb.^
PUCKAN-SULLA, sb. N.I.^ A basket or hamper
made of well-twisted oat-straw rope.
Used for holding seed potatoes ; it holds about two and a half
bushels.
PUCKAWN(E, sb. Irel. Also written puccawn ;
puckane Wxf ^ A he-goat, a butting goat.
Ir. Bring me the giant's puckawn with the golden bells round
his neck, Kennedy Fireside Stories (1870) 7 ; (A.S.-P.) Wxf.i
[Olr. pucdn, a small he-goat (O'Reilly).]
PUCKER, sb. and v. In gen. dial, and colloq. use in Sc.
Irel. Eng. Aus. and Amer. [pu-ka(r, pB-k3(r.] 1. sb. A
state of fright, perplexity, agitation ; confusion, vexation.
Sc. In a terrible pucker (Jam.). e.Fif. The gudeman flew into
4 M 2
PUCKERATION
[636]
PUDDING
an awfu' pucker, Latto Tain Bodkin (1864) xxi. Smb. Don't
put yourself in such a pucker, Cross Disruption (1844) xvi. Ayr.
The mistress is that unreasonable and gets into a pucker aboot
naething, Johnston Congalton's Legacy (1896) 285. s.Don.
Simmons Gl. (i8go). N.Cy.i What a pucker he's in! Cum.i''
e.Yks.i When Ah tell'd him meear had stuml'd an brokken her
knees, he was in a fine pucker. w.Yk5. O thowt they sempt in a
pucker a sum hah, Bywater Sheffield Dial, {t?,-]']') 331; w.Yks.'
Lan. My word, aw said, but theaw'd be in a pucker, Staton
Loominary (c. 1861) 124. e.Lan.i, Der." Not.* Shay were in
a rare pucker. Nhp.' I'm in a terrible pucker. War.^ Oxf. He's
in a pretty pucker over that business (CO.). Brks.' If 'e maaykes
a pucker o' things like this yer agin zomebody else med put 'um
to rights vor 'e vor I wunt. Hrt. What with the storm and my
limb and poor head I was in a pucker (G.H.G.). Hnt. (T.P.F.)
Suf.' I was all of a pucker. Ken. (J.A.B.) ; Ken.i You've no call
to put yourself in a pucker. Sus.i Hmp.i I be in a terrible
pucker. Wil.' I be in a main pucker 'bout what to do wi' they
taters. Dor. What a pucker everything is in ! Hardy Madding
Crowd (1874) ix. Dev.' Why do ye put yourself in such a pucker ?
21. Cor. You stuffs it in her gills, and makes such pucker, Gent.
Mag. (1762) 287. w.Cor. He's in a great pucker, abusing the men
like mad (M.A.C.). [Aus. He needn't make so much pucker,
Clarke Valley Council (1891) x. Amer. ' All in a pucker,' in a
hurry. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 392]
2. Comp. Pucker snatch, a difficulty.
s.Hmp. I was in a terrible pucker-snatch (H.C.M.B.).
3. Obs. A small ridge.
Hrt. If the reaper uses sweeping horizontal strokes he will
beat up the straw in puckers, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750) VI. iii. 54.
4. V. To perplex, confuse, fluster. Gen. in pp.
w.Yks. An' his wife looked as pucker'd as could be, Hartley
Budget (1872) 91. Nhp.' I had such a world of things to do, I
was pucker'd to death. War.^
5. With up : to change countenance ; to show signs of
nervous excitement.
Ir. And I seen Granny . . . wid the fright puckered up in her
face, Barlow Bogland (1892) 130, ed. 1893. -w.Som.' When he
zeed me watchin' o' un, did'n er pucker up !
6. Coal-mining term ; of a floor : to rise up with the
action of gas.
w.Yks. 2 A collier when returning to his work in the morning
often finds the floor silted, or, as he sometimes calls it, ' puckered '
(s.v. Silt).
7. With up : to shrivel up with cold. Sus.^
PUCKERATION, sb. Lan. Written puckerashun.
[pu'kareijan.] State of excitement, vexation.
It's no use gettin into oather a tantrum or a puckerashun
abeawt an accident o' this sort, Staton B. Shuttle Bowtun, 52 ;
Didn't my flesh creep uppo my booans ! Didn't aw go aw into
a state o puckerashun ! ih. Loominary (c. i86r) 17.
PUCKERIDGE, sb. Sur. Sus. Hmp. [pBk-, pukaridg.]
1. The nightjar, SMx caprimulgus. Cf. puck, sb} 3.
sw.Sur. Nature Notes, No. 10. w.Sus. Flk-Lore Rec. (1878) VI.
18. Hmp. The fern-owl or churn-owl . . . they also call a pucker-
idge. White Selborne (1788) 280, ed. 1853 ; (J.R.W.) ; Hmp.'
2. The distemper fatal to calves and heifers, supposed
to be caused by the bite of the nightjar.
w.Sus. Swainson Birds (1885) 97. Hmp. The fatal distemper
[of weanling calves] known to cow-leeches by the name of 'pucker-
idge,' White Selborne (1788) 280, ed. 1853.
PUCKERIN(G, sb. Yks. [pukarin.] A rage. See
Pucker.
e.Yks. Noo, sha was iv a puckerin ! Ti think at oor Jack sud sa
shamfuUy suck her in, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889) 46.
PUCKERMENT, sb. e.Yks.i 1. A state of perplexity
or agitation. 2. A crushed-up, creased, or disorderly
mass. See Pucker.
PUCKERY, adj. Yks. Amer. [pu'kari.] Puckered,
inclined to puckers.
n.Yks. This is puckery clout (I.W.). w.Yks. (J.W.) [Amer.
If Pugwash had a watery mouth when he married, I guess its
pretty puckery by this time, Sam Slick Clockmaker {iS^fi) ist S. x.]
PUCKET, sb. Obs. Irel. A lump of bread. Wxf.
Stanyhurst Desc. Ir. (ed. 1808) 4.
PUCKETS,s6.;>/. Obs.orobsol. n.Cy.Yks.Suf.Sus.Hmp.
Nests of caterpillars, spiders, and other suchhke insects.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (July 11, 1896).
Suf.', Sus. (K.), Sus.' 2, Hmp.i
PUCKFEIST, sb. n.Cy. Nhp. War. Won GIo. Oxf.
Suf. Wil. Dev. Also written puckflest Suf.'; puckfist
n.Cy. Glo.'Dev.' ; puckfyst se.Wor.' ; and in forms pock-
foist s.Wor.i ; puckfice War. ; puckfoist Glo. ; puckfoust
Glo.^'' Wil. ; puckfris, puckfrist, pugfiest Wor. ; pugfist
Nhp. Oxf. [pu-k-, pB-kfeist, -fist, -foist.] The devil's snuff-
box, Lycoperdon Bovista. Cf. puck, sb} 2 (4).
n.Cy. Denham Tracts (ed. 1895) II no. Nhp. (B. & H.), War.
(M.E.B.) Wor. (W.K.W.C.C.) ; They also call the puff, or puck-
ball fungus, by the name of ' pug-fiest,' Allies Aniiq. Flk-Lore
(1840) 418, ed. 1852. se.Wor.i I shiid like a drap o' drink, fur
I feels as dry as a puck-fyst. s.Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.' Glo.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) ; Glo.'^ Oxf. Science Gossip (1882)
165. Suf.i, n.WiI. (G.E.D.), Dev.>
PUCKLE, sb. Shr. Hrf [pu'kl.] A pimple, pustule.
Shr.'2 Hrf Bound Provinc. (1876). Cf pouk, sb}
PUCKLE, PUCKSIE, see Pickle, sb}, Puxy.
PUCKWAX, sb. War. The cartilage of a cow's
shoulder. (J.R.W.) See Pax- wax.
PUD, sb} Hmp. Wil. Dor. Som. Cor. [pud, pBd.]
The fist ; the hand.
Hmp. HoLLOWAY. Wil.i A nursery word. Dor.' Gie's a pud.
Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). Cor.'
PUD, sb.^ Obs. Sc. A shortened form of ' pudding.'
Cf. pock-pud, s.v. Pock, sb} 2 (2).
n.Sc. Whan the puds war sodden, Buchan Ballads (1828) I.
255, ed. 1875.
PUD, sb.^ Sc. (Jam.) Also in form puddie. 1. The
belly. Cld. Cf. pod, sb} 2. A plump, healthy child ; a
fondling term for a child. Sc. A fat pud (s.v. Pod).
3. Comp. Pud-dow^, sb. a pigeon. Lth., Rxb.
PUD, 5*.* ? Obs. Lth. (Jam.) An inkholder.
PUD, sb.^ Sc. An innkeeper. Brown Did. (1845) ;
Guid Sc. Diet. (1895).
PUD, see Pad, sb.^
PUDBEGGAR, sb. Wil. Also in form pudbaiger.
[pu'dbega(r).] The water-spider, Argyroneta aquatica.
Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.'
PUDDENY, adj. Brks.' [pu'dini.] Round, chubby,
shaped like a pudding.
PUDDER, sb. Sc. Cum. Lan. Chs. Nhp. Dev. Con-
fusion, bustle; a 'to-do'; a rage; a squabble. See Pother,
Puther.
Sc. The pony, hearing this pudder over his head, began ... to
think it would be best both for himself and Davie to return from
whence they came, Scott Antiquary (1816) xv. Fif. Tennant
Papistry (1827) 202. Cum. Aw th' house was in a pudder, Gilpin
Pop. Poetry (1875) 69; Cum.' (s.v. Podder). ne.Lan.' Chs.
'Twas uncivilly done, Such a hideous pudder to keep, Halliwell
Pal. Anthol. (1850) 109. Nlip.i Dev. Now she bushing roars,
and makes a pudder, Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) III. 25. [Pudder,
strepitus, tumultus, Coles (1679).]
PUDDER, see Powder.
PUDDILL, sb. Obs. Sc. A pedlar's pack; the bag
in which he carries his wares.
Ane pedder is called ane merchand or cremar, quha beirs ane
pack or creame upon his back, quha are called beirares of the
puddell be the Scottismen in the realm of Polonia, Skene Difficill
Wds. (1681) 94; (Jam.)
PUDDING, sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. and Eng.
Also written pudden w.Yks. Brks.' Nrf Suf ' Ess. LW.*
Cor. ; puddin Sc. Nhb.' Cum.' n.Yks. e.Yks.' w.Yks.
n.Lan.' ne.Lan.' Chs.' s.Chs.' Der. [pu'din, pB'din.]
1. sb.pl. The entrails, intestines.
So. Like turd from puddings overcharged, Colvil Whigs
Supplication (ed. 1796) I. 54. Per. They'll birze his puddin's out,
Monteath Dunblane (1835) 56, ed. 1887. Slg. He took his gully
by the haft. An' twirl'd the blade ; 'Mang puddin's he could warp
an' waft, MuiR Poems (1818) 17. Ayr. (F.J.C.) Lnk. Graham
Writings (1883) II. 58. e.Lth. Sands Tranent (1881) 15. Gall.
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 400, ed. 1876. Wgt. Fraser Wigtown
(1877)355- n.Cy.(J.W.),e.Dur.Ss.Wm. (J.A.B.) n.Yks. (T.S.),
n.Yks.i2*, ne.Yks.', e.Yks.i w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865);
w.Yks.245, ne.Lan.', Chs.i, s.Chs.' Lin.' He sUt open the poor
fellow's belly and let out the puddings. n.Lia.^
Hence (i) Pudding-fat, sb. the fat of a pig's intestines ;
(2) -leather, sb. the stomach ; (3) -linked, />//. adj. having
PUDDING
[6371
PUDDLE
a twist or obstruction of the bowels ; (4) -skin, sb. the
large intestine of a pig, stuffed with bread and seasoning,
(i) e.Yks,', n.Un.1 (2) Bnff. First we pang'd our puddin leather
Wi' oysters fresh an' herrin sawt, Taylor Poems (1787) 176. (3)
n.Yks, (I.W.), n.Yks.' * (4) Cor. A piece of pudden skin, Herbert
Aunt Keziah, ii.
2. The stuffed entrails of a pig filled with various
ingredients ; a pork sausage. Cf. black pudding, white
pudding.
Sc. The entrails of the pig cleaned, and filled with the blood,
onions, &c., for black, and with meal, dripping or suet, for white
puddings (A.W.). Sh.I. Eddie Tarn has killed his grice, An'
Eppie puddins makin', Baith black an' white, Stewart Tales
(1892) 98. Per. Links of puddings, black and white, Haliburton
Furth in Field (1894) 10. Fif. When the pig was killed a feast
of cracklins and puddings followed, Colville Vernacular {i8gg) 14.
Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 19. Der. Th' puddin's
weere talked o' i' Milton for months, Gilchrist Nicholas (1899)
196. s.Dev. (G.E.D.)
Hence Puddin-wife, sb. a professional or expert maker
of puddings or sausages.
Nhb.^ At pig-killing it was formerly usual to call in the services
of a puddin-wife, who had skill in dressing the various edible
portions of the ' innards ' of the pig.
3. Comb, (i) Pudding-bag, (a) the long-tailed titmouse,
Acredula rosea ; {b) a blind alley, cul-de-sac ; (2) -bag
road, (3) -street, see (i, b); (4) -bed, a bed of soft stone in
Swanage quarries ; (5) -bell, a bell rung when the con-
gregation leaves a church ; (6) -brined, soft-headed,
simple ; (7) -broo or -bree, the water in which puddings
have been boiled ; (8) -cake, a composition of flour and
water boiled ; (9) -clout, a linen cover for dumplings or
puddings whilst being cooked ; (10) -dip, sauce ; (11)
■faced, having fat, chubby cheeks ; (la) -grass, the penny-
royal, Mentha pulegium ; (13) -head, a stupid, heavy
person ; (14) -headed, stupid, thick-headed ; (15) -herb,
see (12) ; (16) -in-a-poke, see (i, a) ; (17) -kite, an un-
fledged bird, a young bird just out of its shell; (18) -leggie,
having fat, chubby legs ; (19) -pie, (a) a piece of meat
baked in batter ; (b) a tart made with custard and pie-
crust ; (c) a small lime-kiln ; (20) -pie doll, {a) see (19, a) ;
(b) batter pudding baked in a hard crust ; (21) -pin, a pin
or skewer for pricking puddings when boiling; (22)
-poke, {«) a pudding-bag ; {b) see (i, a) ; (c) the wren,
Troglodytes parvulus ; (23) -prick, see (21) ; (24) -stone,
conglomerate ; (35) -time, dinner-time ; jig. the nick
of time.
(i, a) Nhp.i Bdf. So called from its nest being in the form of
a long pudding bag, with a hole in the middle, Batchelor Anal.
Eng. Lang. (1809) 140. Hnt. (T.P.F.) Nrf. Swainson Birds
(1885) 32. (6) War.^ (2) War. The street is no longer to be a ' cul
de sac' or ' pudding bag,' but will be continued through, Bham
Dy. Argus (Oct. 20, 1899) ; War.s (3) s.Stf. It's just a Pudding
Bag street that leads to nowhere, Murray Rainbow Gold (1886)
307. (4) Dor. (C.W.) (5) Lan. Another bell, rung in some places
as the congregation quits the church on Sunday, is popularly
known among country people as the ' pudding-bell,' they sup-
posing that its use is to warn those at home to get the dinner
ready, Harland & Wilkinson F/A-iorc (1867) 44; 'The pudding
bell,' as country folks sometimes call it (under the impression that
its use is to warn those at home to get the dinner ready) is still
rung in some of the old Lancashire parish churches as the con-
gregation go out, N. 6- Q. (1854) ist S. ix. 567. [It is the signal
for the baker— who usually cooks the Sunday's dinner for the
humbler classes to open his oven : and I have often heard old
folks speak of it as 'the pudding bell,' ('i.] (6) Ess. Arter that
ere fall he got as pudden-brined as that, Downes Ballads (1895)
21. (7) Sc. What ails ye at the pudding-broo That boils into the
pan ? . . Will ye kiss my wife before my een, And scald me wi'
pudding pudding-bree ! Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) H. 160 (Jam.).
(8) Siis.» Differing from a hard dick in shape only, being flat
instead of round. (9) Cum.i (10) w-Yks. Piper Sheffield Dial.
(1824) 22. (11) Brks.i (12) Cum.* (13) Nhb. Ye damned
clumsy-footecj puddin-head. Pease Mark o' Deil (1894) 75. w.Yks.
Sutha at yond gurt puddin'-heead, Leeds Merc. Supfl. (May 26,
1896). Brks.i (14) So. A purse-proud, pudding-headed, fat-
gutted, lean-brained Southron, Scott Nigel (1822) xxvi. Lnk.
A what ! ye puddin'-heided full, Orr Laigh Fltchts (1882) 24.
n.Cy,, Yks. (J.W.), Nhp.>, War.s, Hnt.(T.P.F,), Suf.i,I.W.i (15)
n.Yks.2 For flavouring black puddings. (16) Suf. (C.G.B.) (17)
n.Lan.i, ne.Lan.i (18) Lnk. Wi' his wee puddin' leggie he trots
like a naggie. Lemon St. Mungo (1844) 63. (19, a) Lei.l, Nhp.',
e.An.i (6) Ken. A custard made at Easter ; it has a thin bottom
paste (G.B.) ; Ken.i A flat tart made hke a cheese-cake; with
a raised crust to hold a small quantity of custard, with currants
lightly sprinkled on the surface. These cakes are usually eaten
at Easter, (c) Der. Marshall i?et/!«j( (1814) IV. 137. nw.Der.*
(20, fl) Nrf. Grose (1790). (b) Oxf. (Hall.) (21) Ayr. I dinna
care a puddin' pin Hoo ithers crack, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed.
1892) 44. (22, a) Cmn.i Made of ' harden ' and a hemp string.
n.Yks. Our great whean-cat hes eaten'th pudding-poke, Meriton
Praise Ale (1684) 1. 179. Nhp.^, e.An.i [Mammy's lost her
pudding-poke, Halliwell Nursery Rhymes (1842"! 274, ed. 1886.]
(b) e.An.i Suf. (P.H.E.) ; Suf.i A very small bird laying 15 to 20
eggs. So called from shape of its nest. e.Suf. e.An. Dy. Times
(1892 ~l. (c) Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893') 7. (23'! Edb.
Split his stults to pudding-pricks, Crawford Poems (1798) 95.
(24) Hrt. The term as applied ... to the conglomerates of Hert-
fordshire [is used to denote] their composition, the latter being
composed of gravel and flint pebbles, Damon Geol. Weymouth
(1864)24; Evans Gl. (1881) (s.v. Mother-stone). Dor.Applied tosep-
tarian nodules of the Oxford Clay (C.V.G.) ; Though locally termed
' Pudding stones ' they [the Septaria] are essentially distinct from
the conglomerate known by that name. The term as applied to
Septaria is used to denote their form and structure, Damon ib. ;
Barnes Gl. (1863). Som.We build our housesand railway bridges of
the hard and solid ' pudding stone' thus made, Compton Winscombe
Sketches (1882) 152. (25) w.Yks.s It is the prevailing custom to
begin with pudding; spice and every kind of pudding being
operated upon first. Lan. To warn those at home to get the
dinner ready, as, in homely phrase, ' pudding time has come,'
Harland & Wilkinson Flk-Lore (1867) 44. s.Chs.i ' Yoa- bin
jiist i piid-in-tahym ; wi)m jus gbo-in aav Or tee'.' It used to be,
and among old-fashioned folks is still, the custom for the pudding
to form the first course at dinner. Der.2, nw.Der.i Nhp.i ' You've
hit pudding-time well,' is a common salutation to any one who pops
in accidentally to dinner, whether a pudding forms part of the
repast or not. War.^ Dinner in the agricultural districts is always
begun with pudding, a substantial pudding to begin the meal
being supposed to save the meat. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
4. Phr. (i) to guess pudding, to throw away a guess ; (2)
to keep the pudding hot, to keep the ball rolling, to keep
things going.
(i) w.Yks. Shoo could guess at twice, an guess puddin once,
that's th' beauty on it, Hartley Budget (1867) 4. (2) Lnk. Their
wives, instead o' flytin', help to keep the puddin' het, Nicholson
Kilwuddie (1895) 118. Lth. The ice . . . had its shoals of sliders,
crying, ' Clear the road !' 'Keep the puddin' het!' falling in heaps,
scrambling out, and at it again, Strathesk il/or« aVs (ed. 1885) 34.
5. A compound of barley, flour, and milk, given to
poultry. Nhp.^ 6. A stuifed cushion fastened to a
child's forehead when it is first beginning to walk alone.
e.An.^ 7. Leverage, ballast ; the undue displacement of
balance. Also used/^.
Nhb.i In the game of see-saw, ' Gi's a bit mair puddin ' means
let me have a longer leverage. ' To give the craa a puddin,' to
fall suddenly in worldly position or estate. w.Yks. We want
some more puddin' o' this side, we can't hardly sweigh ye up,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 26, 1896). s.Chs.» If a see-saw be not
perfectly balanced, the longer end is said to have too much puddin .
Oxf. (G.O.) J , ,
8. V. To present an egg, a handful of salt, and a bunch
of matches to a newborn infant.
w.Yks. In the neighbourhood of Leeds the child is said to be
puddened, Denham Tracts (ed. 1895) II. 25.
Hence Puddining, vbl. sb. the ceremony or custom of
presenting such an offering.
w Yks In the neighbourhood of Leeds the ceremony is called
puddening, Denham Tracts (ed. 1895) II. 25 ; Henderson Ptt-io«
(1879) i Lan Chs. Salt used in England to be considered as proof
against all demoniac influence and was and is given in some parts
of England to a new-born babe to preserve it from the devil until
screened from him by baptism. The present (not uncommon in
Chs and Lan.) on its first visit of an egg, ii handful of salt and
a bunch of matches, is called ' puddining,' Leigh Ballads and Leg.
(1867)65; Chs.i . r. T 1 J
PUDDLE, sb} and v. Var. dial, uses m Sc. Irel. and
Eng Also written pudill Sc. ; and in form pwuddle
PUDDLE
[638]
PUE
se.Wor.' [pu"dl, p^-dl.] 1. sb. Thick, dirty, stagnant
water.
Not.' Lln.^The act of filling an useless hole would be ' making
a puddle.' Lei.i As thick as puddle. Nhp.i, Hnt. (T.P.F.), Suf.'
2. Comp. Puddle-hole, a puddle.
w.Yks. T' careless thing's goane an' walked intuv a puddle-
hoile! Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 26, i8g6).
3. Prepared or tempered clay. Sc. ( A. W.), N.I.^ n.Cy. N. &'
Q. (1852) 1st S. V. 250. Hence (i) Puddle-bank, (2) -dyke,
(3) -wall, sb. prepared clay, tempered to form a wall in a
reservoir bank, or a lining to resist water. n.Cy. N. &= Q. ib.
4. A state of disorder or perplexity ; the act of working
in such a state. Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.^ 5. One who is slow,
dirty, inefficient, or unmethodical at work, a bungler, a
muddler.
Sc. (Jam.), Bnflf.i, Not.', Lei.' Nhp.^ He's a poor puddle. Hnt.
(T.P.F.)
6. The implement with which thistles and other weeds
are cut below the surface. e.An.' Cf. paddle, s6.' 7. v.
To walk through wet, dirty roads, or puddles ; to'walk
over marshy ground, to play with hands or feet in water.
Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.i Abd. Through dubs an' dirt he puddles o'er
the e'en. Walker Bayds Bon-Accord (1887) 455.
Hence Puddled, ppl. adj. trampled and dirty.
Arg. Playing well content among puddled snow, MuNRo/. Splen-
did {i8g8) 91.
8. To poke, push, stir, gen. with a stick.
Nhp.i What are you puddling in that hole for ? Why do you
puddle the fire so? Hnt. (T.P.F.)
_ 9. To work clay round a pond or cistern, so as to make
it hold water; to smear with mud.
Sc. (A.W.) Arg. He scrambled out, and got ' pudillit in ane
myre,' Maidment Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) II. 365. n.Cy.,
Yks. (J.W.), Lin.i War. They'm well puddled. White Wrekin
(i860) XXV. Cxf. Oxf. Chron. {Ozt. 28, 1882).
Hence Puddler,sA. one who makes the bottom of a hole
impervious to water in order to make a pond. w.Yks.
(J.W.), Not.S Lei.' 10. To work in a dirty, disorderly
manner ; to potter about, doing little odd jobs of no great
utility ; to dawdle.
Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.»,Not.i, Lei.', Nhp.^ V?or. ' He keeps puddling
at it,' said of a sick man at his work in his allotment (H.K.).
se.Wor.' 'E oondly pwuddles about in other folks's way. Glo.', Oxf.
(G.O.) Bdf. The term is commonly applied to persons recovering
from sickness, or very aged and infirm folk (J.W.B.). Bck. Oh,
she's puddlin along, Ward Marcella (1894) 270. Hmp.i, Wil."-
Hence Puddler, sb. a bungler ; a muddler. Lei.' 11.
With about: to walk about slowly and feebly. Sur.', Sus.
(LW.) 12. Obs. To engage laboriously and frivolously
in the Popish ceremonies.
Sc. (Jam.) Slg. They have already preferred the leaven of the
Pharisees, and gone to mumchances, mummeries, and unknown
language, wherein they puddled of before, Bruce Sermons (1631)
xi, ed. 1843.
13. To tipple.
Bnff.i He puddlet at porter a' day. He puddlet an' drank in
ilky hoose he geed intil. Dev.'
Hence Puddle-head, sb. one who is constantly tippling.
w.Yks. He wor what some fowk wod call a pot-hahse orator,
an' others a puddle-heead, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 26, 1896).
PUDDLE, adj. and 56.= Yks. Der. [pu'dl.] 1. adj.
Plump, almost fat. Cf. pubble.
Yks. (Hall.), n.Yks. (I.W.), Der.' Obs.
2. sb. Obs. A stout, plump person. w.Yks. Thoresby
Lett. (1703) ; w.Yks."
PUDDLER, see Poodler.
PUDDLING, />//. a^; Sc. Nhp. War. Wor. Hnt. Also
written puddlin Bnff.' [pu'dlin, pB-dlin.] Weak, trifling;
unmethodical ; dirty. Cf. puddle, v. 10.
Sc. (Jam.) Bnfif.' She's a sad puddHn' bodie.' Often used
with a tone of commiseration. Nhp.' A person who does not pay
attention to external comfort or appearance at table, ' lives in a
puddling way.' War.^ A person who lives in a house below his
means is said to live in ' a poor puddling place.' One who does
more business than he has accommodation for, ' does business in
a puddling way.' s.Wor. (H.K.), Hnt. (T.P.F.)
PUDDLY, adj w.Yks.' [pu-dli.] Fat, gross. See
Puddle, adj. ' He's growin vara puddly.'
PUDDOCK, sb. Midi. Lin. Nhp. [pu'dak.] A name
applied indiscriminately to the kite, Milvus ictinus, or
buzzard, Buteo vulgaris. See Puttock, sb.''-
Midi. SwAiNSONB!yrfs( 1885) 133. Lin. (J.CW.) Nhp. Shrilly
noise of Puddock's feeble wail, Clare Poems (1827) 87 ; Nhp.'*
PUDDOCK, see Paddock, s6.'
PUDDOCK-PONY, 56. Sc. A tadpole. (G.W.)
PUDDOCK-REED, see Paddock-rud.
PUDDY, sb. Obs. Sc. Also in form puady. A kind
of cloth. ? A corruption of ' paduasoy.'
(Jam.) ; A skirt of puddy, Ramsay Tea-Table Misc. (1724') \.
204, ed. 1871 ; A skirt o' the puady. Chambers Sngs. (1829) I. a.
PUDDY, arfy. Obs. Nhp.' Short, thick-set.
PUDDY, PUDER, see Padda, Pewter.
PUDGE, 56.' Sc. Chs. Also in form poodge Slk.
(Jam.) [pud?.] 1. A thick-set, short, fat person or
animal ; anything short and fat of its kind.
Sc. A person who feeds well (Jam.). Bn£f.' Abd. An Aberdeen-
shire person, looking at the pictures of some idols, exclaimed,
'Look at this pudgie o' a godie' (G.W.). Chs.' It is sometimes
applied as a soubriquet. A man kept the ' Bird in Hand ' public
house, at Mobberley, who went by the name of Pudge Graisty.
Hence Pudgick, (i) sb. a short, fat person or animal.
ne.Sc. (Jam.), BnfF.' ; (2) adj. short and fat, corpulent.
ne.Sc. (Jam.) 2. Anything small and confined ; a small
hut or house.
Per., Slk. (Jam.) Nhb. A rude hut for shelter. A shelter or
enclosure for sheep during the lambing season (R.G.H.).
PUDGE, sb.'' Chs. Lin. Nhp. War. [pudg.] L A
puddle, muddy pool, ditch.
Lin. Skinner (1671); (J.CW,); Lin.' Strind over the pudge.
n.Lin.' sw.Lin.' She went reiet into the pudge. Nhp. Swarms of
dancing gnats Each water-pudge surround, Clare Poems (1820)
31 ; Nhp.' 2
2. Comp. Pudge-hole, a puddle.
sw.Lln.' The bairns will walk thruffall the pudge-holes.
3. Dirt, rubbish.
Chs.i Often applied to bad mortar, or to loamy sand unfit for
making mortar. ' It's good t'nowt ; it's nobbu' pudge.'
PUDGE, see Padge, si.'
PUDGEL, adj ? Obs. Sc. Fond of good living,
inclined to feed too well.
s.Sc. Preekt, pauchty, pudgel loons, Watson Bards (1859) 197.
PUDGELL, sb. Nhp. Hnt. A puddle of stagnant,
muddy water. Nhp.', Hnt. (T.P.F.) Cf. gudgell.
PUDGEN, see Pigeon.
PUDGET, sb. and adj. Sc. 1. sb. A short, fat person.
se.Sc, Lth. (Jam.) Hence Pudgettie, adj. short and fat.
Dmf. I'm no to be set by with pudgettie auld carles sic as yon,
Hamilton Mawkin (i8g8) 236.
2. adj. Short and fat, corpulent. se.Sc, Lth. (Jam.)
PUDGY, adj.^ Sc. Yks. Lan. Not. Lei. Nhp. War.
Som. Dev. Cor. fpu'dgi.] Podgy, short, fat, sturdy ;
thick in proportion to the length. Cf. pudge, s6.'
Bnff.' He's a pudgie bodie. Cld., sw.Sc. (Jam.) e.Yks.' MS.
add. (T.H.) n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', Not.', Lei.', Nhp.', War.23 w.Som.'
A pudgy little man about up to your elbow. n.Dev. 'Tis pudgy
Will, RocK/im an' Nell (1867) st. 30. Cor. Mine be all the [purgy]
pudgy, bustious shape just now, ' Q.' Three Ships (1892) iv.
PUDGY, adj.^ Nhp. Wor. Som. [pu-dgi.] Watery,
muddy, sticky. Cf. pudge, sb.^
Nhp. And litter'd straw in all the pudgy sloughs, Clare Poems
(1827) 162 ; Nhp.' Wor. You musn't put too much, linseed makes
it sa soft and pudgy else (H.K.). w.Som.' Can't work this here
paint 'thout some more oil, 'tis so pudgy's wex.
PUDL0CK,s6. Wor. Also in form poodlock. [pu'dlak.]
A puddle.
(W.C.B.) ; The rain came so heavy it lay in poodlocks all about
the yard (H.K.). w.Wor.'
PUDROOM, sb. Obs. Nhp. A fungus, toadstool.
(B. & H.), Nhp.=
PUE, sb. Hrf. Glo. w.Cy. Wil. Dev. Also written
peugh Hrf. ; pew Glo. n.Dev. [piu.] The udder of a
cow or sheep, esp. when cooked.
Hrf. Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) no; Hrf.' Glo. Shall I help
you to some of the pew ? Grose (1790) ; Glo.' 2 w.Cy. Morton
PUE
[639]
PUG
Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Wil. Britton Beauties (1825") ; WU.i » n.Dev.
Grose (1790).
[Cp. Wei. piw, uber, Davies (1632).]
PUE, see Pew.
PUER, s6. Nhb. The droppings of dogs.
Used in tanning for loosening the hair on hides. Old people
are engaged in ' gathering puer ' for the tanners in the public
streets (R.O.H.).
PUESHEN, PUEST, see Poison, Puist.
PUFF, sb., V. and adv. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Ire), and
Eng. Also in form poflF Lin.^ ; poof Abd. [puf, p^ef.]
1. sb. In comb, (i) Puff-and-dart, a game ; see below ;
(2) -and-lal, verbiage, nonsense, empty boasting ; (3)
•crumb, a small portion of protruding bread on a newly-
baked loaf.
(i)n.Yks. (I.W.) Nhp.i A game played by puffing or blowing
a dart through a long narrow tube, aiming to strike the numbers
painted on a circular board hung against a wall ; the various figures
are arranged like those on the face of a clock, and he who strikes
the three highest numbers wins the game, which is played by two
or more persons. (2) e.Yks.i (3, War.^; War.^ Puff-crumbs are
produced by two loaves having been set too near to each other in
the oven and to have accidentally joined in the baking.
2. Phr. o« /-w^ dressed up, 'in full fig.' Nhb. (A.F.B.)
3. Breath, esp. in phr. out of puff; sX&ofig. life.
Cai. Getherin' puff a bit, I couped masel ower 'e cofEn-edge
intil 'e bed, Hoene Countryside (1896) 155. Abd. He's gey short
in the puff, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Aug. 25, 1900). Ayr. She
needed a' her puff to rin to the dyke, Johnston Congaltori s Legacy
(1896) 80. Lnk. They ane by ane lost puff, Murdoch Doric Lyre
(1873) 23. Dmf. Wallace Schoolmaster (1899) 331. Kcb. I can
fin' mysel' gey short o' the puff noo, when I tackle a brae, Arm-
strong Kirkiebrae (1896) 194. Dwn. Lyttle Robin Gordon, 89.
Nhb. Aw've kist that lass, till aw wis oot o' puff, Chater Tyneside
Aim. ( 1869) 15. Lakel.'^, Cum.^ Wm. I wes fare oot a puff afooar
I'd hofe gittan tult top, Kendal C. News (Sept. 12, 1888). n.Yks.*
Ah git seea oot o' puff. e.Yks.^ He com alang at sike a speelin
pace, that when he gat here he hadn't a puff left. w.Yks. He gave
me a pooak i' t'ribs 'at ommost tewk mi puff, Hartley Grimes'
Trip C1877) Lett. ii. Lan. (S.W.) Chs.' Wait a bit, I'm out of
puff. s.Chs.' Ah nev ur seyd sich ii thingg- in au- mahy bau-rn
piif. Der.^ I've no puff left. nw.Der.', Not.^ n.Lin.i I soon lose
my puff gooin' up hill. sw.Lin.' Short of puff. Lei.' War. [The
hills] try the puff and tax the energies of cyclists, Midi. Herald
(May 28, 1896) ; War.»
Hence good puffed, phr. having good lungs, long-winded.
Lei.l A's a good puffed un.
4. Obs. Panting.
Edb. The race it was but short. And end't wi' muckle pain an"
puff, LiDDLE Poems (1821) 228.
5. Rate or pace of locomotion ; speed. Lin.' 6. Obs.
Insincere flattery.
Frf. For puffs, fanfarronades, John wore the crown. Sands Poems
(1833) 35.
7. A newspaper poster.
w.Yks. Ah see they've getten't on t' ' Mercury ' puff 'at t'Shah's
getten assassinated, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 26, 1896).
8. An expression of contempt ; see below.
w.Yks. Used when A asks B to do something or to accept con-
ditions that the latter thinks beneath him or her, B exclaiming to
such proposition, ' Thee puff I' Leeds Merc. Suppl. ib.
9. Extra iron surreptitiously used by puddlers to conceal
waste in the furnace through neglect.
s.Stf. He's tu young to work but he can fetch a bit o' puff now
an' then, Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895").
10. ? A piece, esp. a piece of bread.
Snf. I . . . grieved to send him out in the mornin' with nothin'
but dry puffs, Macmillan's Mag. (Sept. 1889) 359. w.Som.' The
ostler at an inn at Taunton helping on an ulster said, ' That's a nice
coat, sir, I should like a puff out o' that one.' ' What do you
mean?' ' Well, a puff, sir.' ' What is that ! ' ' Why a puff, sir,
to be sure, that's what we do always say.'
11. V. Comb. Puff-the-wind, bellows.
Lnk. Hand yer tongue, auld puff-the-win' . . . E'en bachelor's
bellowses should learn tobe content, Nicholson X'<7t«'«rfrf!e( 1895) 91.
12. To put out of breath. Not.S Lei.', War.^ 13. To
boast, brag ; to emit news boastingly.
Abd. He was gleg in puffin. Puiiingnews (G.W.). Slg. By the
ingle gleg he puffed his news, Galloway Poems (1804) 55. Edb.
PufiBng o' wealth, and friends high mettled, Macneill Bygone
Times (181 1) 22.
Hence PufSng, ppl. adj. blustering, boasting. s.Chs.'
14. To run very fast. Lin. (Hall.) 15. adv. In a
breath ; all at once.
Abd. I heard the last psalm sung, an' rose tae help wi' the col-
lection, fan, poof, awa' gaed kirk, preacher, an' congregation, an'
I wis wide waken again, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (Oct. 27, 1900).
PUFFER, sb. Sc. Yks. Glo. [p^f3(r, pu-f3(r).] L A
person who bids at an auction merely to raise the price.
Inv. (A.E.F.) 2. The little grebe, Tachybaptesfluviatilif!.
n.Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post (Dec. 31, 1898). 3. A puff-ball.
Glo. As for that thur puffer, nobody ever ate thiy, and them
there tother things be nowt but loadsmeat, Buckman Darke's
Sojourn (i8go) xvii.
PUFFERY, sb. Sc. PufBng advertisements.
Frf. On puffery [he] spent A hunner guid notes i' the year,
Watt Poet. Sketches (1880; 39.
PUFFIN, sb. Irel. The razor-bill, Alca torda. Ant.
SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 217.
PUFFING, sb. and ppl. adj. Sc. Yks. Lan. Lin. Wor.
Pem. Nrf. [pu'fin, pB-fin.] 1. sb. A puff-ball ; a fungus.
s.Pem. (W.M.M.) 2. Pastry puffs.
Edb. Fairly sconnert wi' their pastry and puffing, Ballantine
Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875) 308.
3. ppl. adj. In comb, (i) Puffing Billy, a steam-engine ;
(2) -crumbs, soft pieces of bread which fall or are pulled
off newly-baked bread.
(i) w.Yks. Yks. Wkly. Post (May 29, 1897) ; (J.W.) m.Lan.'
Lin.' Puffing-billy brings many frim-folks to see our Great Tom. Nrf.
Them puffin-Billies ha' turned all that over, Patterson Man and
Nat. (1895) 61. Slang. Like ' Puffin Billy,' the steam-engine,
when she's got the steam up— always ready ' to go,' Barrett
Navvies (1884) 144. (2) Wor. (W.F.R.), se.Wor.'
PUFFIN-PEA, sb. Obs. Hrt. A variety of the common
garden pea, Pisum sativum. Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750)
IV. iii. 41.
PUFFISH, adj. Wil. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Conceited.
Uplsh or puffish with big folks, Penruddocke Content {i860) 6.
PUFFLE, V. Sc. Yks. Lan. Chs. [pu-B, pB-fl.] 1. To
swell, puff up, distend.
S. & Ork.' w.Yks.° It's all pufiled up. Lan. Aw feel aw pufHed
un swelled, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 75. Chs.'^
2. To put one out of breath. Chs.' Going up hill pufBes me.
Hence PufHed,/!//. adj. out of breath ; breathing with
difficulty. m.Lan.' Chs.' I'm quite pufBed.
PUFFY-DUNTER, sb. Nhb.' A porpoise.
PUFT, sb. Obs. Sc. A dial, form of ' puff.'
Bch. A puft o' wind ye cudna get, To gar your cannas wag,
Forbes Ulysses (1785) 19. Abd. Shirrefs could but creep behind.
And get a puft of the same wind, Shirrefs Sale Catal. (1795) 14.
PUG, 5^1.' Sc. Nhp. War. Brks. Bdf Hrt. Nrf. Dev.
[pug, pBg.] 1. Obs. A monkey. Cf puggy, sb.
Edb. Pugs, bears, and dancan' dogs. And raree-showers, Carlop
Green (1793) 132, ed. 1817.
Hence Pug-like, adj. monkey-like.
Here's the pug-like smilan Pegh ; Wi' the powowit poll, ('i^. 119.
2. A lamb six months old ; also a sheep in its second year.
Nhp.2 Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 144 ; The loss
of weight by feeding [sheep] (tegs or pugs) on turnips, is remark-
able, ib. Agric. (1813) 541. Hrt. The second year we call the ewe a
live pug. The weather the second year a weather pug, Ellis New
Experiments (1750) 52.
3. A fox. , . „
Nhp.' War. Pug here made for another point, Mordaunt at
'Verney War. Hunt (1896) I. 252.
4. A hare. War.^ 5. A squirrel.
Nhp.' Nrf. Stoats sometimes chase them, but ' pug ' generally
manages to escape, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 363.
6. The name by which a ferret is called when it is
required to come to hand. Brks.' 7. Obs. A young
salmon. Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 342. 8. A small
locomotive engine.
Ayr. No a shift o' the waggons or shunt wi' the pug. But what's
seen and taen note of by Rodgerson's doug, Aitken Lays (1883) 93.
PUG
[640 J
PUGGY
PUG, sb.^ and v} Yks. Stf. Lei. War. Hrt. Ken. Sur.
Sus. Hmp. Som. Dev. and Aus. [pug, p^g.] 1. sb.
Loam ; clay ; brick-earth prepared for moulding.
Hrt. N. (f Q. (1883) 6th S. vii. 178. Ken. Mother says you'd
better get a penn'orth of pug to put at the back of the stove
(D.W.L.) ; Ken.' Sur. Clay softened to make a joint for a drain
pipe, &c. (J.D.R.) Sus. [Used] as a lining to ponds on the
summits of the South Downs (F.E.S.); Sus.'^, Hmp. J.R.W.),
Hmp.i [Aus. The walls of the house were built of 'pug,' which
means simply well-pounded mud, Millet Parsonage (ed. 1872) 55.]
2. Comp. Pug-mill, a mill for kneading brick or pottery
clay ; a machine for mixing mortar.
w.yks. From the grinding pan the crushed material is caught up
in a powdered state in little buckets and shot into the ' pug mill.'
Here it is tempered with water and passed into a . . . machine,
from which it emerges at the rate of twenty-six to thirty bricks a
minute, Cudworth Bradford (1876) 348. Stf. Pug-mill or wedging
mill for kneading pottery clay, White Wrekin (i860) xxvii. Hrt.
N. &= Q. (1883) 6th S. vii. 178. Ken. That's what they call a pug-
mill (D.W.L. ). Sus. A curious vertical mill driven by a horse, in
which the pug and the soil are more perfectly mixed and ground
up together readyforthe moulder in brickmaking(F.E.S.). w.Som.'
3. A dirty person. Lei.^ 4. v. To fill in a joint with
softened clay. Sur. (J.D.R.) Hence (i) Pugged, ///.arf/'.
of ponds : coated with clay ; (2) Pugging, (a) vbl. sb. the
mixing of clay by machinery for the manufacture of
pottery ; (6) sb. moist mortar or other material used to
fill in spaces between fine joints or cracks in brickwork, &c.
(i) Sus, (F.E.S.) (2, «) Stf. The offence alleged in each case
was the stoppage of money for the pugging of clay, Manch. Guar-
dian (Sept. 19, 1901) 3. (b) War.s
5. To perspire. War. (Hall.) Cf. puggy, adj. 6. To
dirty by overmuch handling.
Dev. Handle things without pugging and pawing them, Sharland
Ways Village (1885) 55.
PUG, sb? Yks. e.An. Dor. Dev. [pug, p'eg.] Anything
short, thick, and irregularly orbicular ; a dwarf. e.An.
(E.G.P.), Dev.^ (s.v. Puggen). Hence (i) Pug-bellied, adj.
protuberant in the abdomen ; (2) Puggy, adj. (a) short
and stout ; (b) poking out, protuberant ; (3) Puggy-nosed,
ppl. adj. having a big nose.
(i) e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) (2, a) Dev. Now, I dawn't cal 'er
a fine ummon. 'Er idden no bigger than Joan Tapp, an' I cals 'er
a puggy little theng, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892). (6) Dor. Barnes
Gl. (1863). (3) Dor. N. £?• Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 157.
PUG, v.^ and sb.* Sc. Nhp. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf. Glo.
Sus. Dor. [pug, pBg.] 1. V. To pull, esp. to pull
entangled hair ; to drag down.
Per. (Jam.) Fif. Nae thing was prosperin' there and thrivin'.
But tirlin' roofs and rafter-rivin'. And pullin' down and puggin',
Tennant Papistry (1827) 211. War.^ Wor. Grose (1790).
w.Wor. ' So they'n pug the ropes a good un for a pale [peal],
S. Beauchamp N. Hamilton (1875) II. 17 ; Ul pug thee ar [hair],
ib. III. 276; w.Wor.' Dunna kip puggin' at my gownd like that,
child. The master's pugged Johnny's ears. se.Wor.' s.Wor.
Pug your right rein a bit, and give we some room, Porson Quaint
IVds. (1875) 29; s.Wor.i, Shr.i Hrf.' Pug a horse's mane or
tail. Glo. (A.B.), Glo.' Sus. George pugged clover in the fore-
noon, Arc/i. Coll. XXV. in N. & Q. (1879) 5th S. xi. 247. Dor.
Barnes Gl. (1863).
2. To pluck a fowl ; to pick out the quills after plucking.
War.* w.Wor.i Do yii cahll that the waay to pug fowls, yil
lazy wench ! Look 'ow penny thaay be. o. Wor.', Hrf. '2^ Glo.
*(A.B.), Glo.i
3. To pull out the loose ends of a rick to make it even.
Hrf.' 2 Glo.i I was atop o' the rick puggin' out handfuls where
it was wet, look.
4. To scrape together.
Glo.i He'll be a puggin' all as he can for his children.
5. To be a drain upon a person's resources.
w.Wor.i My da'hter's ill, an' 'er 'usband's out uv work, an'
thaay've nine little 'uns, thaay pugs me dreadful, thaay do. Hrf.^
He pugged his father dreadful.
6. sb. A newly-growing feather ; a ' pen-feather ' ; a
quill left in a plucked fowl.
War.2 s.Wor. (H.K.) ; s.Wor.J Chockful o' pugs. Shr.', Glo.
(A.B.),Glo.i
Hence Puggy, adj. (i) of a goose : having imperfectly
developed feathers. Glo.' ; {2) of a fowl : having short.
stumpy feathers remaining in the skin after all the
principal feathers have been plucked out. se.Wor.'
7. pi. Tangled locks or ends of hair. Shr.* 8. The
integument or chaff of small seeds, turnips, candy-tuft, &c.
Nhp.' Cf. puggings.
PUG, v.^ and sb.^ Not. Nhp. Wil. Som. Dev. [pug,
pBg.] L V. To thrash ; to poke ; to punch ; to thrust.
Not. (J.H.B.), w.Cy. (Hall.), n.Wil. (G.E.D.) Dor. Barnes
Gl. (1863). Dev. I'd quickly pug their guts, Peter Pindar Wks.
(1816) IV. 176; Dev.i
2. To plough ; to till. Wil.* 3. To crowd ; to crush.
Nhp.' That small house is pugged in between two high ones.
The two families live pugging together.
Hence pugged Up, p/ir. confined in space ; inconvenienced
for want of room.
w.Som.' I never zeed no jish place avore ; there's he and his old
ummun, and Jim and his wive and vower chil'ern a-pugged up in
thick there little bit of a house. Can't work a pugged up like this
here.
4. sb. A thrust or blow with the fist. Dev.' 5. The
pulp of apples which have been pressed for cider. Wil.'
Hence Pug-drink, sb., obs., water cider. w.Cy. Grose
(1790).
PUG, v.* and sb.^ Lei. War. [pug.] 1. v. To offend.
Lei.' Yew'n pooged 'im. War.^
Hence Puggy, adj. touchy, apt to take offence. Lei.'
2. sb. In phr. to take pug, to take offence.
Lei.' Shay took poog, ah suppoose. War.^^
PUGFIEST, PUGFIST, see Puckfeist.
PUGGER, sb. w.Som.' [pB-g3(r).] A plug for the
outlet of a ' dilly,' or of an irrigating pond.
Dh-au-s uurnd uwai" wai dhu diil-ee, un aewt kaum dhu
puug-ur-n shaud au-1 dhu zig.
Hence Pugger-hole, sb. the vent or hole in which the
plug fits.
PUGGIL, sb. Chs. [pu-giL] Rubbish ; small dust in
coal ; bad or inferior food.
Sheaf {xZ'fi') I. 87; Chs.i It's nowt but puggil.
PUGGING, s6. Obs. Dev. Also written puggen Dev.*
The gable-end of a house ; gen. in comp. Pugging-end.
(Hall.) ; Grose (1790) ; Dev.' You must know that the puggen
end of the linney neist to the peg's-looze geed way and was ruseing
down, 3.
PUGGINGS, sb. pi. Nhp. War. Glo. Oxf. w.Cy. Also
written puggens Nhp.' [pB-ginz.] ' 1. Refuse corn or
beans ; chaffy corn ; the husks of barley.
Nhp.', War. (Hall.), War.^, Glo.' Oxf.' Refuse of inferior
wheat that has not been winnowed from the chaff, given to fowls.
' Fetch some puggins for the fowls.' w.Cy. Morton Cyclo. Agric.
(1863).
2. The refuse from a cider-press. w.Cy. Morton ib.
Cf. pug, sb.^ 5.
[1. Cp. ME. pugge, refuse (Stratmann).]
PUGGLE, V. Hrt. Ess. [pB'gl.] 1. To poke, esp. to
poke the fire ; to stir with a stick ; to clear a pipe by
pushing a wire up and down it.
Hrt. I worn't a goin' to 'av 'im pugglin' about in my eye (G.H.G.).
Ess. To puggle the ashes out of the grate. To puggle rubbish out
of a drain. Trans. Arch. Soc. (1863) II. 186 ; To puggle a wasp's
nest, or puggle stones in the river (for gudgeon catching)
(H.H.M.); Ess.'
Hence Puggled, ppl. adj. stirred vigorously. Ess.
(W.W.S.) 2. With down : to poke about to see whether
the potatoes are large enough to dig up. Ess. (IVI.R.)
PUGGY, sb. and i;.' Sc. Lin. [pB-gi.] 1. sb. A
monkey ; also used attrib. and in comp. Puggy-monkey.
See Pug, s6.'
Sc. ' See that wee body sittin' on the man's shouther.'. . ' That's
a puggy, man,' Blackw. Mag. (Nov. 1821) 392. Frf. The puggie
was a great treat to a'body that saw it, Willock Rosetty Ends
(1886) 178, ed. 1889. Per. A skrankie puggie face an' scaud ee,
Stewart Character (1857) 64. Lnk. Wardrop /. Mathison (1881)
40. Lth. Callants wi' white mice an' puggies, Ballantine Poems
(1856) II. Edb. I've heard talk o' some missing link atween men
and puggies, CAtuPBELi. Detlie Jock (1897) 29. Diuf. Her ill-faured
brats, dressed up mair like puggies than bairns, Ponder Kirkcum-
doon (1875) 20. Gall. Everything I craved for is here saving the
brown puggy-monkey, Crockett Grey Man (1896) ii.
PUGGY
[641]
PULE
Hence Puggie-like, adj. like a monkey.
Lth. Puggie-like [he] lap on the table tap, An' there he sat
noddin' an' winkin', M'Neill Preston (c. 1895) 67.
2. A squirrel. Lin. Miller & Skertchly Fenland (1878) xii.
3. A drunken man.
Sc. A bonnie-like puggie he made n' himsel', Montgomerie-
Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899).
4. V. To play tricks on ; to befool.
Lth. Somebody's been puggyin' me, Strathesk BUnkbonny (ed.
1891) 96.
PUGGY, W.2 Sc. [pB-gi.] With Mj> : to bridle up ; to
show temper. Cf. pug, v.*
Sc. ' I have begun to like to see her puggy up.'. . ' If she wasn't
jealous of you, she wouldn't show so much temper,' Tweeddale
Moff {16^6) xii.
PUGGY, adj. n.Cy. Cum. Lei. Nhp. War. Wor. Suf.
[pu'gi.] Damp and sticky frorn perspiration ; dirty ; ill-
complexioned ; of the weather: dampand warm, 'muggy.'
See Pug, sb.^ 5.
n.Cy. A puggy hand, Grose (1790) Sh^/i/. ; N.Cy.i Cum. Linton
iafe Cy. (1864) 309 ; Cum.*, Lei.^ Nhp.' How puggy you've made
your work! Apuggyday. War.^, w.Wor.^ s.Wor. Porson Qwflm^
Wds. (1875) 16. Suf.i
PUG-IN- A-PRIMMEL, .s*. Nhp. Oxf. Bck. Also in
form pug-in-a-primmer. The hose-in-hose, a variety of
polyanthus, Primula elatior. (B. & H.)
PUG-MIRE, sb. Der.^ nw.Der.^ [pu-g-mai3(r).] A
quagmire.
PUGSY, see Puxy.
PUG-TOOTH, sb. Dev. The eye-tooth.
(Hall.); Dev.^ GeorgeEames have abin an"ad his pug-tooth out.
PUG-TOP, sb. w.Cy. Som. [pB-g-tep.] A peg-top.
w.Cy. (Hall.), w.Som.*
PUH, see Pew.
PUI, int. Sc. In phr. pui ho or hup, a call to calves.
Rxb. I whiles say, Pui hup ! and whiles I say Pui ho ! to the
caws [calves], Ford Thistledown (1891) 187.
PUIK, PUIR, PUIRL, see Pook, v."", Poor, Pule, v.^
PUIRTA, PUIRTITH, see Poortith.
PUIST, adj. and sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Also written
peust Dmf. N.Cy.i Nhb.^; pieust, piust, puest Nhb.>
[piust.] 1. adj. In comfortable circumstances ; snug
and self-satisfied in mind, body, and estate. Cf. poustie.
Dmf. Puist fowk unus'd to cudgel-play Were a' involv'd in this
deray, Mayne Siller Gun (1808) 73 ; When a bodie's bien they say
he's 'peust,' 'W \l.i.xck Schoolmaster { 1899) 339. Dmf., GaU. Snug,
in easy circumstances ; applied to those who, in the lower walks
of life, have made money, and live more comfortably than the
generality of their equals in station (Jam.). Gall. Some are puist,
though not contented ; but we cannot be puist unless we are com-
petently rich, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). N.Cy.i Nhb.i He
wis leukin' pieust. He's a pieust little fellow.
Hence Puist-body, sb. a person in easy circumstances.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). 2. sb. A groaning
sound made by cattle when they are lying full and com-
fortable. Nhb.i a One who is thick and heavy. Slk.(jAM.)
PUIST, see Poist.
PUISTIE, adj Sc. Nhb. Also written pieusty,
pyustyNhb.i [piu'sti.] 1. In easy circumstances ; well
off. Dmf., Gall. (Jam.) See Puist. 2. Dainty as to food.
Nhb.i If thoo canna eat that, thoo mun be pyusty.
PUIT, PUK, see Pee-wit, Pick, v.\ Pook, i^.^
PUKE, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Dur. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. War. Shr. Suf. [piuk.] 1. v. To vomit, spue.
Per Scores— (Gude help the squeamish asses !) Ran hame to
puke! Stewart Character (1857) 45- Fif. In their bench'd and
gaudy boats Some joking and some puking set, Tennant ^«s^e>-
(1812)38 ed 1871. Ayr. It's no I hke to sit an swallow, then like
a swine to puke and wallow, Burns To J. Kennedy, si. 3. Ant.
Ballymena Obs. (1892). s.Dou. Simmons Gl. (iSgoX Lakel.=,
n.Yks.23, w.Yks.2*, n.Lan.l, Der.2, War.3, Suf. (E.G.P.)
2. s6. An emetic. , , -:, r j- ui
Duri nyks.2 'As good as a puke,' said of a disagreeable
person w.Yks.2* s.Chs.i Ahy diijnu wiin-diir aaf im nuur
waan-tin u pydok : dhu veri nee-mz iiniif mai-k im baad-.^ Shr.i
That child inna well, 'er'd better 'ave a puke 1' the mornin .
3. Fig. A disgusting person ; a vain, conceited fellovsr.
VOL. IV.
Uls, (M.B.-S.) Ant You're a puke, Ballymena Obs. (189a).
S.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890).
[1. The infant Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms,
Shaks. As You, il vii. 140.]
PUKE, see Pook, sb.'^, Pouk, sb}
PUKELIN, sb. Sh.I. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Stealing ; petty theft. S. & Ork.^
VVL,sb. Cor. [pui.] Mud.
Sow barley in dree, and wheat in pui. Hunt Pop. Rom.
■w.Eng. (1865I II. 245.
[OCor. poll, mud (Williams).]
PUL, see Poll, sb.^
PULCH, v.^ Obs. Cum. Also written pulsh. To
strike or push violently; a dial. form o{ obs. lit. E. 'pulse.'
Tom Cowan then pulch'd, and flang him 'mang t' whins, Hutchin-
son Hist. Cum. (1794) 11. 323; When Nan I've strok'd, she's
pulsh'd me like a peet, Gilpin Sngs. (1866) 156 ; Grose (1790)
MS. add. (M.)
PULCH, vP- Obs. Dev. To stalk about very deliber-
ately. Cf. patch, 3.
n.Dev. Whare art, a popeling and a pulching? Exm. Crtshp.
(1746) 1. 616-7.
PULCHRIE, adj Obs. Sc. Beautiful.
Edb. Syne like a pulchrie cloud at night That fleets owr azure
flowin' bright. She tript awa i' robes o' licht, Learmont Poems
(1791) 33.
[Cp. Inly wel formed, pulcrious of face, Rom. Partenay
(c. 1500) 1263.]
PULE, sb.^ Lan. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A pew. Grose (1790) Suppl.
PULE, 56.= and u^ Obs. Cld. (Jam.) \. sb. Of smoke :
a puff. 2. V. To puff out smoke.
PULE, 1/.2 and sb.^ Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Der.
Nhp. War. Hnt. Som. Also written peughle Sc. (Jam.) ;
peul Sc. ; pewil Sc. (Jam.) ; pawl Sc. (Jam.) w.Yks. ;
?pewrl, ?puirl S. & Ork.M pyoul Bnff.^ [piuL] 1- '"•
To fret, whine, whimper as a child.
S. & Ork.S n.Yks.2, e.Yks.i Obsol. w.Yks. A choild begins a
pewhn, Bywater Sheffield Dial. (1877) 185; -w.Yks." Lan.
Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Der.2, nw.Der.'
Hence (i) Puling, ppl. adj. whimpering, feebly crying ;
esp. of children ; sickly ; (2) Puly, adj of fruit : young,
soft, tender.
(i) Gall. A silly, peulin' wean (J.M.). n.Cy. Grose (1790)
Suppl. ; N.Cy.l, Nhb.i, Nhp.^ War.a It's a poor puling little thing.
Hnt. (T.P.F.) Som. As if a pulin' thing like you could make
a man happy! Palmer Mr. Trueman (1895) loi. (a) Sc. Oor
vines ha'e but puly grapes, Robson Sng. Sol. (i860) ii. 15.
2. To eat without appetite ; to eat slowly and little.
Sc. (Jam.) Bnff.i A think the coo's some better ; she's keepit
a pyoulan', o' a pucklie hay a' day. Gall. It leaves its comrades,
and goes peuling about alone, Mactaggart £«o"^/. (1824). N.Cy.i
Hence Puling, ppl. adj. having a poor appetite ; having
the habit of eating slowly. Bnff.', N.Cy.^ 3. To attempt
anything in a feeble manner ; to do anything inefficiently.
Slk. One is said to peughle and hoast when one coughs in a
stifled manner (Jam.). Edb. They'll use their means to your's
control. While they can pewl, Liddle Poems (1821) 109.
4. ? To Steal off ; sneak away.
Lnk. Foxy frae 'mang the whins steals peulin'. Watt Poems
(1827) 98.
5. Of rain : to fall in a continuous dribble ; of snow : to
fall in small particles.
Rxb. Of snow : to fall in small particles without continuation,
during a severe frost (Jam.). Nhb.' ' He' ye had ony snow i' yor
pleyce ? ' ' Wey— it's oney been pulin on.' n.Yks.i Ah deean't
lahk t'iook on't, 't pules an' snaws sae. There'll be mair snaw ;
n.Yks.2 It's puling for snaw.
6. sb. A whine, lament.
Nhb. Wold you please to hear of a sang of dule, Of yea sad
chance and pittifow case, Makes the peur man powt through
many a pule, Bell Rhymes (1812) 166.
7. A small bite, such as a sick ox takes.
Gall. For these bites nowt seek mosses in spring, where peuls
of green grass first appear. . . They tumble down heughs while
ranging for these peuls, Mactaggart ^Kryc/. (1824).
8. A stifled cough. Slk. (Jam.)
[1. Fr.piauler, to howl as a young whelp (Cotgr.).]
4N
PULFER
[642]
PULL
PULFER, 56. e.An. [pu-lf3(r).l The fieldfare, Turdus
pilaris. e.An} Nrf. Arch. (1879) VIII. 172.
PULFERED, p/>l. adj. Dev.* Powdered with dust.
Lukee zee to Bill's coat — 'e's a pulfered all awver wi' dist.
Duee brish'n down avore 'e go'th tu meeting.
PULFIN, sb. Hrf.i [pulfin.] Used of anything large
of its kind. ' A great pulfin of a boy.'
PULHAM, s6. Nrf [pu'lam.] Bread.
' Pulham and cassim will do me fine, sir,' said he, and Joey got
him some bread and cheese, Emerson Wild Life (1890) 97.
Hence Pulham-struck, adj. hungry.
' Ay, pulham-struclc again,' roared old Joey, ib. 96; Don't stay
long for I'm pulham struck, \b. Yarns (1891) 75.
PULICATE, see Pollicate.
PULID, sb. Obs. lAn} sw.Lin.' A kind of hawk,
probably the hen harrier, Circus cyaneus.
PULISSHEE, see PuUisee.
PULK, sb} n.Cy. Pern. e.An. Som. Dev. Also written
pulke Pern. ; and in forms polke e.An.' ; pulker Som.
[pulk.] A pool, esp. of stagnant water ; a small, muddy
pond ; a puddle ; bog-land ; also in comp. Pulk-hold or
-hole.
n.Cy. Bailey (1721) ; N.Cy.2 s.Pem. Where have yea been,
child ? Yea could'n be worse if yea had been lyin' down in a pulk
(W.M.M.); Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421. e.An.^ ; e.An.2 Most
commonly a small pit near the dwelling, in the tenacious soil of
Suffolk, to supply and hold water for domestic use. There is a
different use of the word in Norfolk, where, in the marshy districts,
a lake is called a broad ; a smaller lake a hold ; and a still smaller,
a pulk-hold. Nrf. The pools of clear sea-water on the sands are so
called. Trans. Phil. Soc. (1855) 35 ; An open cess-pool, Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893^ 2 ; Miniature broads which open off
rivers, ib. 77 ; In the lily-flowered pulk-hole, you may . . . see her
[the swanj sink her body into the water, Emerson Birds (ed.
1895) 215. e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787). Suf. The usual
High Suffolk pit for a house-supply of water, Raven Hist. Suf,
{1895) 266; A shallow well or enclosed pool (R.M.B.); Suf.'
Ess. Monthly Mag. {1814) I. ^g8 ; Ess.' Som. Jennings O65. Z>/a/.
w.Eng. (1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). n.Dev. The. .. buoy
. . . Was pixy-led into a pulk. Rock y<>« an' Nell (1867) st. 105.
[That on the feld was neuere a polk, That it ne stod of
blod so ful, That the strem ran intil the hul, Havelok
(1280) 2685.]
PULK, sb.'^ Lin. e.An. Also in form pulks n.Lin.^
[pulk.] 1. A thick, short, chubby figure; a heavy, lethargic
woman. n.Lin.\ e.An.' Hence Pulky, adj. thick, fat,
chubby, and short. e.An.^ 2. A coward.
n.Lin. He's a pulk doon to his very boines (M.P.) ; ji.Lin.*
sw.Lin.i What a pulk yon chap is. He's a strange pulk. He's a
pulk at work as well.
PULKER, see Pulk, sb}
PULKING, ppl. adj. Som. Dev. 1. Of a person : stout,
coarse. See Pulk, sb.'^ Dev. Bowring Lang. (1866) I. 36.
2. Cowardly, bullying.
w.Som.' A gurt pulking [puul'keen] 'oiler-mouth like he ort vor
t'ave his head a-brok't.
PULKS, see Pulk, sb.'^
PULL, V. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and Aus.
Also in forms pa' Suf. ; poo Cai.' Cum.^ Wm. w.Yks.*
Lan. Chs.' ; pool w.Yks. Shr.^ ; pou Sc. Cum. ; pow Sc.
Cum.; pu' Sc. UIs. Chs.'^ [pul, piil, pu.] 1. In comb.
with prep, and adv. : (i) to pull along with, to keep on
good terms with; (2) — back, (a) to unravel, or undo
knitting or sewing; (b) to withdraw, retract; (3) — down,
to bring to naught, subvert ; (4) — in, (a) to finish speak-
ing ; (b) of an evening : to close in as the autumn
advances ; (5) — out, to pull through ; (6) — over, to
knock over ; (7) — up, (a) to take a seat at table ; [b)
to climb up ; (c) to decrease one's expenditure ; {d) to
refuse further credit ; (e) to hold up, ' pluck up.'
(i) Don. The Lord Mayor . . . somehow managed to pull along
with the our nadger. Cent. Mag. (Nov. 1899) 41. (2, a) w.Yks.'
(b) Lan. Mi word's bin passed, an' aw'm noane pooin' it back,
Clegg David's Loom (1894) 177. (3) Sc. An ill won penny will
pu' down a pound, Ramsay Prov. (1737). (4, a) Cum.^ I begon
rayder to think sham o shootin an bellerin at an oald man, . . an
when I hed poo't in, he just said as whietly as iver at I was a
nateral cur'osoty, 12. (6) Nrf. As the nights ' pull in/ and the
gunners grow more keen, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 220. (5)
WU. The doctor said I was just in time, but he warn't sure I'ld pull
out, Swinstead Parish on Wheels (1897) 23. (6) Suf. I ha' been
hully pa'ad over with the rheumatic, e.An. Dy. Times (1892).
(7, a) Lan. Coom, pull up an' talc' your breakfast, Longman's Mag.
(Jan. 1900) 253 ; ' Well, all's ready now.' ' Pull up, then,'
returned her host, ' Help yo'rsel,' ib. (Nov. 1895) 72. (A) Lan.
We'n walkt o'er roofish roads. An' pood up mony a brow, Har-
land Lyrics (1866) loi. (c) n.Lin.'- (rf) A person who has had
further credit refused by the bank, or a shopkeeper with whom he
deals, is said to have been pulled up, ib. («) Cum. At partin he
poud up his spirits, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 23 ; Pou up your
heads ; ay deil may care, Gilpin Sngs. (1866) 58.
2. Comb, (i) Pull-back, {a) a drawback, hindrance ; a
relapse after convalescence ; {b) a man who assists in
delivering coals from a cart ; (2) -bone, the merrythought
of a fowl ; (3) -ling, the mosscrops, Eriophorum vaginatum ;
(4) -oiF, an achievement; (5) -over, a gap in the sand-hills
where carriages can be pulled over on to the beach ;
a cart-road over a sea-bank ; (6) -pace, a driving pace,
a rapid pace ; (7) -poker, a dragon-fly.
(i, «) w.Yks. Tew as hard's ta likes, an' du as weel's tha may,
tha'll finnd aht tha'll hae mony a pull-back yit, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(May 26, 1896). n.Lin.^ It was a real bad pullback for her to
braak her airm afoore she was oot agean fra her layin' in. sw.Lin.'-
They try hard for a living, but they've a very many pull-backs.
Lei.' It's a gret pull-back tew 'er, 'er bein' as shay doon't have no -
fingers o' the roight 'and, loike, oon'y 'er thoomb. Nlip.' He has
had so many pull-backs, he could not get on. War.^ It was a
great pullback to us, the master being laid up all last winter ;
War.3, w.Wor.i, se.Wor.' Oxf. (CO.); Oxf.' Losin' the cow an'
caaf was a gret pulback, 71/5. nrfrf. Hnt. (T.P.F.), Ken.' (6) Lon.
The man who accompanies him to aid in the delivery of the coals
was described to me as the 'trimmer,' ' trouncer,' or 'pull-back,'
Mayhew Lond. Labour (1851) III. 262, ed. 1861. (2) w.Yks. It
is often pulled by two young persons until it snaps in two. The
person getting the small part is jokingly said to be married the first
(j.T.). (3) Twd. There is a moss plant with a white cottony head
growing in mosses, which is the first spring food of the sheep. . .
It is commonly called pull ling. The sheep take what is above
the ground tenderly in their mouths, and without biting it draw up
a long white stalk, Statist. Ace. I. 133 (Jam.). (4) n.Yks. It was
a queer pull off (I. W.). (5) Lin. The sea swept over the pull-over
at Sutton, Lin. Chron. (Mar. 16, 1883) ; Lin.' There is a broad,
but very heavy pull-over opposite the New Inn and Vine Hotels
at Skegness. n.Lin. (E.A.W.P.) e.Lin. (J.T.F.) (6)n.Yks.2 (7)
Ess. (H.H.M.)
3. Phr. (i) big enough to pull a gig, very large of its kind ;
(2) pull devil, pull baker, (3) — dog, pull devil, used to
describe a severe struggle or tussle ; (4) to pull a face, to
make a grimace ; to put on an expression of gravity and
disgust ; (5) — a slip, a wool-combers' term : see below ;
(6) — at the same rope, to be in the same boat; (7) — bonds,
see below ; (8) — by a pap, to milk ; (9) — by the neck, see
below ; (10) — each way, to pull in opposite directions ; to
pull one against the other ; (11) — eyes at, to make eyes
at ; (12) — feet, to walk fast ; (13) — gorfin, see (4) ; (14)
— hot-foot, see (12) ; (15) — one by the sleeve, to take means
for recalling wavering affections ; (16) — one out, to draw
one out ; (17) — over the rolls, to call to account for some
misdeed ; (18) — snooks, to put the fingers to the nose in
derision ; (19) — tag, to pull anything by a cord while
some one pushes behind ; (20) — the backie, to indulge
in secular conversation ; (21) — the castock {custoc), or —
the stock, see below.
(i) n.Lin.' A person wishing to describe any very small thing as
very large of its kind is wont to say that it is big enough to pull a
gig. ' I leets can'le an' laws3' me, if ther' wasn't a grut huge lop e'
bed big enif to pull a gig.' (2) Sc. (A.W.) Lan. It was a case of
' pull devil, pull baker ' (F.R.C.). (3) Nrf. I had had a pratty gude
spell o' work morning and night, pull dawg pull devil, as the saying
is, SpiLLiNGil/o/{)'il/i]§'.fs(i873) 5. (4)Wm.Thaewerstannan a ther
hindre legs, an pooin sick feeases at ma barn as ya nivver saa i o
yer life, Spec. Dial. ( 1885) pt. iii. 3. w.Yks. If he djdn't pull a face
like a fiddle all th' week, Bickerdike Beacon Ann. (1872) 28;
w.Yks.i ; w.Yks.2 He pulled a face as long as a fiddle. Lan.
What are yo pooin sieh a face at ? Ci.zgg Sketches {i8g$) ii. Not.'
Lei.' Ah'U mek ye pull a feace sure's ivver ye coom anoigh. War.^
PULL
[643 J
PULLER
(5) w.Yks. 'To pool a slip,' is the act of pulling the wool by hand to
straighten it, before working it on to the hand-comb (J.C.)5
T'combers wor quite sick, For weeks they nivver pooled a slip,
Bill Hoylus End Poems (1867) 43, ed. 1891. (6) Lan. Aw think
we may booath poo at th' same rope. . . Becose hoo's sowd me
too, BrierleV Marlocks (1867) ii. (7) Oxf.i To draw a handful
of wheat from the sheaf, arrange it and place it on the ground
ready to ' tie up ' another sheaf. A boy often ' pulls bonds ' and the
labourer's wife ties up, MS. add. (8) Chs.' Oo's as good a little kye
as ever wur pood by a pap. (9) Cum, His hoaf-brokken horses setmn
kick thersels out, And poos him by t'neck, gayly low, Dickinson
Cumbr. (1876) 242 ; It was the custom for the ploughman to wear
the guiding cords in one piece, the middle being behind his neck,
that he might not drop the cords whilst his hands were engaged
in holding the stilts and throwing sods at his team, ib. note. (10)
Shr.* 'Well, Jane, yo'n got married, I 'ear.' 'Aye, an' I amma
afeard but whad we sha'n do well, an' one pool each way.' Both
pull together is what Jane Binsley meant to express. (11) Dev.
I see my darter pulling eyes at the fule, Phillpotts Sons of Morning
(igoo). (12) n.Yks.^Thoo'l hae tepullfeeat teowertak'em. (13)
Chs.'s (i^-) Cor. A bull ups an' lets 'ee know. . . Tes jest pull
hot-foot, and thank the Lord for hedges, ' Q.' Troy Town (1888)
X. (15) Sc. Jeanie Deans is no the lass to pu' him by the sleeve,
or put him in mind of what he wishes to forget, Scott Midlothian
(1818) xl. (16) Sc. There is a small maiden of the name of Minnie
who will soon pull you out. Swan Gates of Eden (1895) xi. (17)
e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. 'Tha'll get pooled ower t'rolls,
lad, fer breykin' yond pot.' Probably this is an expression that
has arisen in the textile districts where it is customary for a piece-
taker-in to pull the pieces he has to examine over a roll in front of
a windovsr, the light shining through them showing up the defects,
such as thin places and ends down, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 26,
i8g6). (18) Nhp. (F.R.C.) (19) s.Wor. Of a woman pulling a
plough by a cord while her husband pushed it, ' I shall be mighty
glad when I 'a done wi' pull-tag ' (H.K.). n.Wil. The boy or man
who pulls the cord attached to a lawn mowing-machine, or a
vyheelbarrow which is too heavy for one man to wheel, is said to
' pull tag ' (E.H.G.X (20) Cai.i When the clock had struck twelve
Daavid Steven said, ' Noo bairns, we can poo the backie.' (21)
ne.Sc. You went to the kailyard and with eyes blindfolded pulled
the first stock of cabbage or greens touched. According to the
quantity of earth that remained attached to the root, and according
to the form of the stock, whether well or ill shapen, were augured
the amount of worldly means and the comeliness of the future
husband or wife. It was placed inside the door, and the baptismal
name of the j'oung man or young woman who entered first after
it was placed was to be the baptismal name of the husband or
wife, according as it was a young woman or a young man that had
pulled and placed the castoc, Gregor /VA-Lore (1881) 84. Abd.
The 'custoc,' that is a stock of kail, had to be pulled blindfolded,
two going hand in hand to the kail-yaird for the purpose. If the
stem was crooked, the future spouse would be the same, if straight
and tall, he or she would be handsome, and if earth adhered to
the root the person who tried the incantation would marry money.
The ' custoc ' was then bitten to ascertain from its sweetness or
sourness the disposition of the coming partner for life, Abd. VVkly.
Free Press (Nov. 5, 1898). Ayr. To burn their nits, an' pou their
stocks, An' baud their Halloween, Burns Halloween (1785) st. 2;
The first ceremony of Halloween is, pulling each a stock, or plant
of kail. They must go out, hand in hand, with eyes shut, and pull
the first they meet with. Its being big or little, straight or crooked,
is prophetic of the size and shape of the grand object of all their
spells— the husband or wife, ib. note.
4. To gather fruit, flowers, &c. ; to reap beans or peas ;
to pull up by the root.
Sc. Do you remember my finding the cow-boy busied in pulling
pears? Scott St. Ronan (1824) xi; The time for pu'in' nuts an'
slaes, Wright Sc. Life (1897) 77. Ayr. The lasses staw frae
'mang them a' To pou their stalks o' corn, Burns Halloween (1785)
St. 6 ; They go to the barn-yard, and pull each, at three several
times, a stalk of oats. If the third stalk wants the tap-pickle, that
is, the grain at the top of the stalk, the party in question will come
to the marriage bed ^ything but a maid, ib. note. Lnk. He's out
in the yard powing kail runts, Graham Writings (1883) II. 17.
Lth. Thomson Poems (1819) 177. Feb. I pou'd the green rashes,
Affleck Poet. Wis. (1836^ 141. SIk. Than a' the flowers o' the
forest pu', Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 435. Dmf. We'll pu' a' his
dibbled leeks, Cromek Remains (1810) 148. Cum. As I was
powen pezz to scawd ae night, Relph Misc. Poems (1747) 95.
n.Yks. We are pullin beans (I.W.); n.Yks.* Wa mun pull t' currants
ti morn. ne.Yks.i Sha's pullin' berries. e.Yks.i Apple pullin '11
seean [soon] come on. n.Lin.i We was pullin' apples p' th' new
otchard th' daay th' mare deed.
6. To pluck a fowl.
Cum. I wad rayder poo a duzzen geese nor ya hare, Richardson
Talk (1871) 1st S. 75, ed. 1883, n.Lin.i If y6 doant get them
chickens puU'd missis '11 be efter yS. Nhp. People pulling geese,
Clare SMep. Calendar (1827) 97, in Peacock Gl. (ed. 1889).
6. To pull down or out.
w.Yks. Boys pull t'nests afore t'bods be fligged (W.F.).
7. To clear a ditch of weeds. e.An.^ 8. Rick-making
term : see below.
Bwk. The wright, the smith, an' tailor WuU Gie ilk an ban' the
stacks to pull, Calder Poems (1897) 96. n.Yks. (l.W.) Lei.i
[Hay] is then unloaded and ricked. The sides of the rick are
pulled, and the rick is finally topped out (s.v. Hay).
9. To carry by horse or other traction ; to draw.
Lan. What should hindher 'em fro pooin' carts 1 Clegg David's
Loom (1894) ii. w.Cor. Corn is said to be pulled in harvest, and
coals to be pulled from St. Ives (J.W.).
10. To plough. Uis. (M.B.-S.) 11. To steal.
Lon. We lived by thieving, and I do still— by pulling flesh,
Mavhew Land. Labour (1851) I. 414.
12. To prosecute ; to summon before a magistrate.
Oxf. I'll have him pulled if he don't mind (G. O.). e.An.i Nrf.
The owner ' pulled ' Bob for maliciously killing his cat, Emerson
Marsh Leaves (1895') 21, ed. 1898. Cmb. (J.D.R.) Ken.i If he
knocks me about again I shall pull him. Sur.^ He's bin that
disagree'ble ever sin I pulled him that time. Sus.' [Aus. You'll
be pulled for using language calculated to cause a breach of the
peace, Boldkewood Miner's Right (1890) xii. ]
13. Fig. To weaken ; to bring low ; to 'pull down.'
Ken.i The ague's properly pulled him this time; Ken.^ It has
pulled him sadly.
PULL, PULLAIN, see Pool, sb.^, Pullen.
PULLALUE, sb. and v. Irel. Also written puUaloe,
piillalu, puUilue, pulluUu. [pulalti.] 1. sb. An outcry,
a hullabaloo ; a lamentation. See Pillaloo.
Ir. The poor ould creathure set up such a puUallue, Yeats Flk.
Tales (1888) 209; The groans and 'pullaloes' of Jim White,
Barrington Sketches (1830) III. vi. Wxf. Oh ! what a pullullu
she let out of her, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 49 ; Making a
pullalu about them, ib. Evenings Duffrey (1869) 282.
2. V. To lament, make an outcry.
Ir. She pullilued a long time after all was gone, in dread of
something bad happening to the poor girl, Kennedy Fireside
Stories (1870) 64.
PULLAN, sb. Cor.'" [pu'lan.] A pit; a pond; a pool
of salt-water among the rocks.
[OCor. pullan, a dim. of pul, a pit, pond, muddy pool
(Williams).]
PULLAN, see Pollan.
PULLCRONACK, sb. Cor.^" The shanny, Blenniiis
pholis, found in pools left by the sea. See Bulgranack.
PV'LLED,ppl. adj. Lin.^ [puld.] Of a fowl : cut up
into small pieces but not minced.
PULLEM, see PUm.
PULLEN, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin. Lei. e.An.
and Amer. Also written pullain n.Cy. n.Yks. [pulan.]
Poultry ; also used fig. for a small child.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) Suppl. ; N.Cy.i The Pullen Market in New-
castle. n.Yks. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; n.Yks.2 ' Thoo little
uneasy pullen,' you tiresome child. w.Yks.^ Lan.' This wur
his buttery, wheer he kept pullen, an' gam, an' sich like, Waugh
Sketches (1855) 54. e.Lan.i, Chs.^ n.Lin. I'm not a goin' to hev'
my pullen and lambs run'd away wi'. Peacock R. Skirlaugh
(1870) II. 150; n.Lin.i Obsol., Lei.i, e.An.', Suf.' [Amer. Dial.
Notes (1896) I. 392.]
[Where pullen vse nightly to pearch in the yard. There
two legged foxes keepe watches and ward, Tusser Husb.
(1580) 177.]
PULLEN, see Pillan.
PULLENTRY, sb. w.Yks.^ Also in form pullendry
[pu'lantri.] Poultry.
PULLER, sb. Nhb. Yks. [pu-l3(r.] 1. In comp. (i)
Puller-back, a short rope passed from snout to snout of a
coal-pit tram and used m that position as a handle when
off the road. Nhb.'; (2) -out, the man who attends to and
pulls out the crucible when the steel is melted. s.Yks.
4 N 2
PULLER
[644]
PULPIT
(W.S.) 2. An oarsman, esp. a professional rower.
Nhb.' 3. A dependant, a pensioner ; a beggar.
n. Yks. She hez a deal of pullers (I.W.); n.Yks.^
PULLER, see Poller, sb.^
PULLEREEALLEREE, sb. Dev. A linen material
suitable for underclothing, dowlas.
Ef yil dii want a new smurry or tfl, go intii shop an git a vew
yards ov pulleree-alleree, 'tez za gude as old-fashioned brin,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 125.
PULLET, sb. Yks. [pulit.] A term of derision or
contempt.
w.Yks. A, shoo is a pullet. Shoo goas abaht like a guytrash,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 26, 1896).
PULLEY, sb. and v. Nhb. Dur. Stf. Mid. Also written
puUy Nhb. Dur. [pu'li.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Pulley-
frames, the gearing above a pit upon which the pulleys
are supported; (2) -legs, the ' shear-legs ' to which the
pulley-frames are secured, and which support the weight
of the pulleys and frames.
(i) Nhb. The puUy-frames an' a' Afore five minutes time will
fa', Proudlock Borderland Muse (1896) 95, Nhb., Dur. Green-
well Coal Tr. Gl. (1849). (3) Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. CI.
(1888).
2. The wheel placed above a pit over which the rope for
drawing coals is passed.
Nhb., Dur. Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
3. A kind of ladder up and down which brewers' men
roll the casks when loading or unloading a dray. w.Mid.
(W.P.M.) 4. V. To overwind and draw the cage over
the pulley at the top of the head-stock at the pit-mouth.
Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). n.Stf. J.T.)
PULLING, vbl. sb. and sb. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Der. Shr.
e.An. Also in forms pooin Lan. ; poolin(g n.Cy. w.Yks.'
e.Lan.^ Shr.' [pulin, piilin, pfi'iii.] 1. vbl. sb. In comb.
(i) PuUing-andhauling time, the evening of a fair, when
the girls are pulled about ; (2) -bone, the merrythought
of a fowl ; (3) -hook, obs., a hook for drawing firing from
the wood-stack; (4) -pit, the shaft through which the coal
is raised ; (5) -ring, a bone or wooden ring through which
the 'sliver' is drawn ; (6) -rope, the rope used to bring
the full corves out of the working ; (7) -time, see (i) ;
(8) -trees, the part of a plough to which horses are
atttached.
(i) Yks. Grose (1790") Suppl. (2) Shr.' (3^ Suf. Ten sacks,
whereof every one holdeth a coom, A puUing-hook handsome,
for bushes and broom. Garland (i8r8) 347. (4) w.Yks. (S.J.C.)
(5) w.Yks, The ring was to keep all the slivers about the same
size (J.T.). (6) w.Yks. (J.P.) (7) nw.Der.i, e.An.i Suf. When
the young fellows pull and haul the girls to get them into ale-
houses, CuLLUM Hist. Hawsied (1813). (8) e.An.i
2. sb. pi. The fat which is stripped off the intestines of
a slaughtered animal. n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.\ e.Lan.'
3. //. The rovings of weft so entangled that they cannot
be unravelled.
Lan. This yead o' mine wur . . . like a pokeful o' pooins ut they
couldno' get a single eend out on, Brierley Waverlow (1863)
153, ed. 1884.
PULLION, sb. Sc. A saddle ; also used attrib.
(G.W.); He wore a pair of puUion breeches, Colvil Whigs
Siipplic. (ed. 1796) I. 253.
PULLISEE, sb. Obs. Sc. Also in forms pillyshee
Edb. ; puHsshee Sc. (Jam.) A pulley.
Sc. (Jam.) Lnk, Lang mayst thou teach . . . how pullisees Can
lift on highest roofs the greatest trees, Ramsay Poems (1727) II.
393, ed. 1800 {ib.). Edb. Having fastened a kinch of ropes
beneath her oxters, I let her slide down over the upper step,
by way of a pilly-shee, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) xix.
[Cp. Item, fyve pillie schevis of braiss, ane of thame
garnesit with irne, Inventories (1566) 169 (Jam.).]
PULLOCH, see Pellock, sb}
PULLS, sb. pi. n.Cy. Yks. [pulz.] The shells or
chaff of rape, turnip-seed, &c. ; the husks of oats ; heads
of corn not completely threshed ; broken heads of corn.
Cf. pulse, sb? 2.
n.Cy. (Hall.) n.Yks. The seed is cured ... in the chaff or
pods, provincially 'pulls,' Tuke Agric. (1800) 138; n.Yks.'^*,
ne.Yks.i e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1788) ; e.Yks.i, m.Yks.'
PULLTOW, sb. e.An.i Suf.' Also in form pulter-
Suf.' The coarse and knotty parts of tow, the refuse of
hemp or tow which is not worth spinning. Also in comp.
Pull-tow-knots.
PULLULLU, PULLY, see Pullalue, Poulie.
PULLY,<3c^'. e.Yks.' [ptili.] Uneven; jagged; awry;
esp. of textile fabrics unevenly joined.
PULLY -HAUL, v. Nhb. Not. Lin. Nhp. War. Brks.
Also written puUy-hawl n.Lin.' Nhp.' War.^ Brks.' ; and"
in form -haal Nhb.' [pu"li-9l.] To pull by main force.
Nhb.'Aa the rest on uz puUy-haulin and kicking till the baa gat
clear oot amang them, DixoN Shrovetide.
Hence (i) PuUy-hauly, (a) int. the command given to
men to pull hard and all together ; (b) sb. a struggle ; a
scrimmage ; also a boys' game ; see below ; (c) adj.
rough, romping, rude ; struggling, tussling ; (2) Pully-
hawly-work, sb. unskilful bellringing.
(i, n) Brks.' {b) Nhb.' Thor wis a reg'lar puUy-haaly. War.^
Boys played a game so called. The oldest or strongest sitting
down against a bank or wall, the next sat on his knees and was
clasped round the waist by the first, and so on until the youngest
boy formed the last link in the chain. One boy was left out of
the chain. When the link was complete the boys in the link
called, 'Jack, Jack, your bread is burning all to a cinder.' The
boy not in the link then tugged at the first boy till he pulled him
away from the link. As each boy was so released he joined in
the pull at the remaining link, and so in a short time the game
became the equivalent of the modern tug of war. (c) s.Not.
Neither on 'em wouldn't let goo. It wor a puUy-hauly job (J.P.K.).
n.Lin.' I haate such pully-hawly-wark ; ther's niver noa good
cums on it, an' of'ens misfo'tuns happens. Nhp.i I can't bear
such pully-hawly work. War.^ None o' yer pully-hauly sport for
me. (2) n.Lin.'
PULLY-LUG DAY, phr. Cum. Also in form pull-
lug-day Cum.* A day on which it is supposed that ears
might be pulled with impunity.
N. Ej* Q. (1878) 5th S. x. 249 ; I have a recollection ... of one
of the day-scholars coming up to me one day, and, exclaiming
' Pully-lug day,' forthwith proceeding ... to pull my ' lugs,' ib.
(1886) 7th S. ii. 294; Cum.* The day on which the Mayor is
elected, Nov. 9th ; tradition holds that ears may not be pulled
after mid day. The popular fallacy touching an interregnum
between the incoming and outgoing Mayor, may have given rise
to the idea that assaults might be made with impunity during
that period.
PULLY-LUG FRIDAY, ;)/2r. Cum." The Friday after
Ash Wednesday.
Pully-lug Friday was neamed fra fbarbarous custom o' t'young-
sters pullin' yan anudder's ears, Carlisle Patriot (Nov. 2, 1893)
6, col. I.
PULMERE, sb. Obs. Wxf.' A division of a field
held in strips by different occupiers.
PULOCH, sb. n.Sc. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A patch ; a ' clout.'
PULP, sb. Lin, Ken. Som. Also in form polp Ken.'
[pulp, pBlp.] Food for cattle, consisting of roots, chaff,
grains, fodder, &c., cut small and mixed together.
sw.Lin.' Mixed straw and turnips, cut small by the Pulper, as food
for cattle in the winter. ' I was spreading pulp in the crew.' Ken.'
Hence Pulper, sb. a machine for cutting roots for cattle
into very fine morsels. sw.Lin.', w.Som.'
PULPIT, sb. Sc. Ljn. Also in forms poopit, poupit
Sc. [pu-pit.] 1. In com^. (i) Pulpit-foot, the foot of the
pulpit ; (2) -man, a preacner.
(i) Abd. Had stood at the poopit-fit four times already, M'Kenzie
Cruisie (1894) iv. (2) Sc. He might hae made a tolerable poupit-
man, Magopico (ed. 1836) 35.
2. Phr. (i) to fill a pulpit, (2) to wag one's head or pow in
a pulpit, to become a minister ; (3) exchange of pulpits, an
arrangement made by two clergymen Tor each to preach
in the other's church.
(i) Sc. Jamie, my man, wad ye like to fill a poopit tae? Swan
Gates of Eden (1895) iv. (2) Lnk. John's heart, I kent, was fairly
set on seeing his son wag his head in a pulpit, Roy Generalship
(ed. 1895) 103. Edb. Their heads may all wag in the pulpit. E'en
Sandy, if to next year spar'd May be a chaplain to a laird, Mitchell
Tinklarinn (ed. 18 ro) 4. {^ Per. The next thing '11 be an exchange
o' poopits, Ian Maclaren K. Carnegie (1896) 97.
PUL-ROSE
[645]
PUMP
3. An auctioneer's stand. n.Lin.^ 4. A square box
sunk in a wash-dike in which a man stands to wash the
sheep, ib.
PUL-ROSE, sb. Cor.i2 fpul-roz.] A wheel-pit ; the
pit in which the wheel of a water-mill revolves.
[OCor. pul, pit, and ros, wheel (Williams).]
PULSE, si.^ Irel. In -p^v. pulse of my heart, Sittrm. oi
endearment.
Don. Rody, pulse iv me heart, get into yer coat, an' don't let
the grass grow undher yer heels, Pearson's Mag. (July 1900) 52.
PULSE, 56.= Not. Lin. Oxf. Som. Also in form powlse
Oxf.^ [puis.] 1. Beans and peas growing together.
Oxf 2. Chaff, broken straw and refuse from the
threshing-machine ; the short straw taken out in dressing
corn by the riddle. Cf. pulls.
Not.* Lin. Morton Cydo. Agric. (1863). n.Lin.^
3. Pottage. Som. (Hall.)
PULSER, see Pulsometer.
PULSEY, sb. n.Cy. Yks. [pu-lsi.] A poultice.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). n.Yks.124 e.lJks. Marshall /?m;-. £fOK.
(1788).
PULSH, see Pulch, v.^
PULSOMETER, sb. Stf. Also in form pulsar. A
large machine similar in principle to a pair of smithy
bellows, but worked by a steam-engine, used to ensure a
steady blast in a forge or furnace. n.Stf. (J.T.)
PULT, sb.^ and v. Sc. Cum. [pult.] 1. sb. A dirty,
ungraceful woman ; a fat and lazy creature.
Bnflf.i Cam.i A girt fat pult ; Cum.* A clumsy, blundering person
or animal.
2. A term of endearment for a child. Cum.* 3. v.
With about: to go about in a lazy, dirty manner. Bnff'
PULT, s6.* Cor.i^ [pult.] The pulse.
PULT, see Polt, w.^
PULTER, sb. n.Cy. Coal-mining term : the man who
conveys the coal from the hewer. (Hall.)
PULTER, V. Or.I. Also written poolter. To work
about with the hands in water; gen. used of children.
(S.A.S.) Cf. polter, v.^
PULTER, see Poulter, Pulltow.
PULTHY, adj. e.An.^ [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Filthy.
PULTIE, sb. Rxb. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A short-bladed knife, esp. one that has
been broken and has had a new point ground on it.
PULTRING, ppl. adj. Obs. Sc. (Jam.) Lascivious.
PULTROUS, adj. Obs. Sc. Lustful, lascivious. Rnf.
PicKEN Poems (1788) Gl. (Jam.)
PULVER, V. Hrf.* A dial, form of ' pilfer.'
PULVERING-DAY, sb. Obs. Suf The day on which
the community assembled to let out the town lands to farm,
Gardner Dunwich (1754) Gl.; At Southwold on the 6th of
December (Hall.).
PUM, V. and sb. n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Not. Wor.
Wil. Also written pumm n.Yks.* ; and in form pummy
s.Wm. Wor. Wil. [pum.] 1. v. To pommel, beat,
thrash ; to pound. .
n.Cy. (Hall.), Cum.'* Wm. En' began a plantin blows i-n
a pummin' Joawn his noaws, Blezard Sngs. (1848) 42, ed. 1868.
n Yks.i4 ne.Yks.' Ah pummed him weel. w.Yks. Ah'U pum thee,
lad, when Ah cop ho'd on tha, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 26, 1896) ;
w.Yks.i, Lan. (C.J.B.), ne.Lan.i, Not. (J.P.K.) s.Not. Pum .m
well, Jack. A pummed some 'ouze-leek well an laid it on the
place (J.P.K.). Wor. A'd better git an' pummy it a' up togither
o' the marter an' pistle (H.K.). Wil. Slow Gl (1892).
Hence Pummin g-beetle, sb. a mallet used to break
clods of earth. s.Wor. (H.K.) 2. To paw about and
mess over with the hands. n.Yks.^ 3. Comp Pum-jum,
a substance made soft by working it with the hands, ib.
4. sb. The implement or bat with which the knur is
struck in the game of 'knur and spell' (q.v.). Cum.*,
sWm (J.A.B.), n.Lan.^ Cf pummel. Hence Pum-head,
sb. (i) the bat used in the game of 'knur and spell' ; the
heavy end of the bat; (2) j?^. a blockhead.
(i) Lakel.2, ne.Lan.i (a) Wm. He's a gurt daft pum-heed
(B.K.). ne.Lan.i
5. A heavy log used to force posts or paving-stones into
the earth, or to make the earth solid previous to asphalting
or gravelling a walk. Lan. (C.J.B.) Cf. pummer, sb.^
PUMBLE, V. Oxf ^ [p-eml.] With up : to push up.
1 pumbled up the bed fur th' tickiu' is so bad, 1 could'nt shek
'im, MS. add.
PUMMACE, see Pomace.
PUMMEL, sb. Cum. Yks. Bdf Suf. w.Cy. Dev. Also
written pummil w.Yks. ; pumil w.Yks. Bdf ; and in form
pommel w.Yks.^ Nhp.^ Suf [pu'ml.] 1. The bat used
in the game of ' knur and spell.' Cf pum, 4.
Cum. Those who the 'pummel' well can wield With 'spell and
bullet' take the field, Silpheo Random Rhymes ^1893) 8; Cum.*
w.Yks. Banks Wk/ld. IVds. (1865) ; Burd-caiges, pumils. waukin-
sticks, an' knurs, Tom Treddlehoyle Thowts, &c. (1845) 39;
w.Yks.^ The pommel is of ashwood, with a blade three or four
inches long, and shaped like a sugar-loaf slit lengthwise ; the
handle is wrapped with wax band (s.v. Knor and Spell).
2. The continuation of one of the side-beams of a cart.
Nhp.' Bdf. It must be here observed, that the cart must not be
let down on the pummels, in the usual way, but must be checked . . .
before the pummels descend so low as to press against the ground,
Batchelor Agric. (1813') 414 ; ib. Anal Eng. Lang. (1809) 128.
3. Comp. (i) Pummelhead, (a) the head affixed to the
bat in the game of ' knur and spell ' ; (b)Jig. a blockhead ;
(2) -tree, the long bar of wood to which the whipple-trees
are attached in harrowing.
(i, a) w.Yks. Az fer pumil-heads thear wer scores thrawn abaht,
Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1874) 40. {b) w.Cy. Poole Gl.
(1867); Dev.s (2) Suf. (C.T.), Suf.i
PUMMER, s6." and adj. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Der. Nhp. Also in forms pommer N.Cy.^ ; poomer
N.Cy.' Nhb.' Nhp.' [pu-m3(r.] 1. sb. Anything very
large or of an extraordinary size.
N.Cy.' Ee ! what a poomer it is ! Nhb.' Applied to an untruth.
'That's a poomer, onnyway.' Lakel.* Cum. Than it mun be a
pummer if it be bigger, Sargisson Joe Scoap (1881) 192 ; Cum."
Wm. That taty's a pummer bijen! (B.K.) n.Yks. (I.W.) e.Yks.'
My eye! bud that tonnup's a pummer. w.Yks.^ Lan. I'd a pummer
ofa day on't, yesterday, Waugh Chim. Corner (i&q 4) 169, ed. 1879;
Lan.', ne.Lan.', e.Lan.', nw.Der.', Nhp.'
2. adj. Very large, plump, big. n.Cy. (Hall.), w.Yks.',
n.Lan.', Chs.^^
PUMMER, sb.'^ Lan. The heavy wooden mallet which
paviors use in beating down stones. (C.J.B.), e.Lan.'
PUMMEY, PUMMICE, see Pomace.
PUMMICE, 56. Chs. Shr. [pumis.] The heart, liver,
and hghts ofa lamb.
Chs.' Sheep pummices is the head, heart, lights, liver and wind-
pipe of a sheep all hanging together. Lambs pumices, is the
same of a lamb, Acad. Armory, bk. iu. iii. Shr.'
PUMMILER, sb. Yks. [pumil3(r).] Anything of
extraordinary size. Cf pummer, s6.'
w.Yks. Gough ! leuk at yond cringe. Isn't it a pummiler?
Leeds Merc. Suppl (May 30, 1896).
PUMMING, ppl. adj. Yks. [pu-min.] Extraordinarily
large. e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.) Cf pummer, s6.'
PUMMY, see Pomace.
PUMP, sb} Sc. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Lan. Lin. Shr. Dev.
[pump.] 1. In phr. a pump without a handle, any person
or thing that is quite unfit to discharge the office which
he or it has to fill. . _ .
n.Lin.' I reckon a parson what's not a good hand at preachin' is
just a pump wi'oot a handle.
2. Fig. A public-house, beer-shop.
Edb. ' A dram '11 soon put ye richt.' . . So I just went wi' him
to the nearest pump, Campbell Deilie Jock (1897) 108.
3. Comp. (i) Pump-borer, the lesser spotted woodpecker,
Dendrocopus minor; (2) -pit, a well ; (3) -rod, a coal-mining
term : the rod connecting the bucket to the spears ; (4)
-spear, a coal-mining term : the apparatus to which the
buckets are fixed at various points for pumping out a pit ;
(5) -stang, a pump-handle ; (6) -trees, a coal-mining term :
bearings to support the pump.
(i) Shr. Because the noise it makes is like that produced by
boring with an auger through hard wood, SwAiNSON.Bi>rfs(i885)99.
(2) Dev. The pump-pit must be cleaned out before the water '11 be
PUMP
[646]
PUNCH
fit to drink, Reports Provinc. (1884) 26. (3) Nhb., Dur. Nicholson
Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (4) w.Yks. (B.K.) (5) Lan. Thi nose 'II turn
uplikeapump-stang, BRiERLEY7lf«;-/o(rfo(i867)ii. (6) w.Yks. (T.T.)
PUMP, sb.'^ Irel. In phr. keep your toe in your pump,
keep quiet, do not excite yourself.
Ir. Be easy, Fin. Keep your toe in your pump, will you ? Yeats
Flk. Tales (1888) 273 ; Do you go home, and keep your toe in your
pump, as they say, Trollope Land Leaguers (1885) 19. w.Ir. So
keep your tongue in your jaw, and your toe in your pump, Lover
Leg. (1848") I. 200. s.Ir. Lay me alone — just keep your toe in your
pump, ib. n. 291.
VVmP,v.a.nAsb? Sc. (Jam.) ne.Lan.^ 1. v. To break
wind. 2. sb. Broken wind.
PUMPHEL, sb., V. and adj. Sc. Also written pumfle,
pumphal, pumphil ; and in form pumppil. [pBmfl.]
1. sb. A railed-in enclosure, esp. for cattle ; a square
pew in a church.
Sc. (Jam.) ; Montgomerie-Fleming Notes on Jam. (1899) ; A
covered enclosure within a farmyard where cattle stand on litter
(A.W.). Bnff.i Abd. A set o' cairds rinkin aboot the pumphel,
Alexander Johnny Cibb (1871) xxv ; In the olden time there
were 'pumppils' into which the cattle were driven when the
heat was too much for them, Abd. Wkly. Free Press (July 13, 1901).
2. V. To shut up cattle in an enclosure or ' pumphel.'
Bnff.i Gang awa, lathie, and pumphal the nout. They're gain
t' pumphal ther nout this simmer o' the ley.
3. adj. Boxed in, enclosed.
Abd. His boxed in, or pumphel seat, Alexander Johnny Gibb
(1871) iv.
PUMPION, sb. Obs. Lan. Ken. Also in forms pom-
pion Lan. ; pumpin Ken.' A pumpkin ; also used attrib.
Lan. Pawk ript hoppen, o' bit wider, so ut I cud stur meh
pumpion obewt, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 13; There were
pompions hangt op fresh and green, Collins Poems (1859) 55.
Ken. I know 'twas ya grate pumpin 'ead Fust blunnered through
de glass. Masters Dick and Sal (c. 1821) st. 81 ; Ken.'
[Pompions in May, Tusser (1580) 95.]
PUMPIT, adj Bnff.i Hollow ; said of trees which
are rotten in the centre.
PUMPLE, sb. n.Cy. Won Shr. Wil. Dev. [p^'mpL]
1. A dial, form of 'pimple.'
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) s.Wor. (H.K.), Shr.2
Dev.iEs poor hands plimm'd up like pumples way chilbladders, 15.
Hence Pumply, adj. pimply.
Dev. Whot, is Joe Strike agwaine tii marry thickee chaynee-
eyed baggage, old pumplee Trude's darter? Hewett Peas. Sp.
(1892) 61 ; Dev.^
2. Comp. (i) Pumple-nose, a nose covered with pimples.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; (2) -stone, a pebble-
stone. Shr.i 3. A child's name for the head. Wil.^
(s.v. Pimple.) Cf. pimple, 1.
PUMPLE-FOOT, sb. Hrf. Glo. Sus. Hmp. LW. Dor.
Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms pumble- LW.* Som. Dev. ;
pummel- Hrf. Dor.* Dev. [pB-mpl-.] A club-foot. Cf.
bumble-foot.
Glo. N. Sf Q. (1885) 6th S. xii. 89. Som. Nif he'd o pumple
voot bezide, Jennings Dial. w.Eng. (1869) 98 ; When the toes
are turned towards each other, Sweetman IVincanton Gl. (1885).
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i Dev. She hath got a
pumple foot. Reports Provinc. (1884) 26; N. & Q. (1880) 6th S.
i. 345 ; Dev.i, nw.Dev.i se.Cor. A'^ £y Q. ib.
Hence Pumple-footed, adj. having a club-foot ; clumsy.
Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Sus.12, Hmp.', I.Vf.^'^, Dor.',
w.Som.* Dev. My dear sawl, 'avee a-yerd tell 'bout Jinny Parr's
babbies? They be tij twins, an' both of 'um be pumple-vuted,
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 115. n.Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777)
342 ; He's cross-eyed and pummel-footed, and baint exactly there.
Chanter Witch (1896) iv.
PUMPTIAL, adj. Not. Rut. Lei. Shr. Som. [pu-mjl,
pB-mJL] A dial, form of ' punctual.'
Not.* Rnt.*-Mr. Roberts, the clerk, wur sooch a pumptial old
gentleman. Lei.i w.Som.i Well then you'll mind and be pumptial,
on'ee, eens midn keep anybody a-woitin'.
Hence Pumptially, adv. punctually.
Shr. 2 Pumptially i' th' ownder.
PUMROSE, PUMY, see Pimrose, Pomace.
PUN, sb} Dev. [Not known to our correspondents.]
A child's pinafore. (Hall.)
PUN, sb?- Lin.i [pun.] A funnel-shaped vessel, used
principally for heating beer and milk.
PUN, sb? and v. Nhp.* [pun.] 1. sb. A slow, in-
active person.
Often applied to female servants. ' She's a poor pun.'
2. V. To be slow, dreamy, inactive.
' What are you punning about ? ' ' Don't stand punning there,'
is often said to any one who is listlessly musing, instead of acting,
PUN, sb."- Obs. Sc. A sham.
BnfT. A flatt'rin title's but a pun, Taylor Poems (1787) 41.
PUN, see Pound, sb}, v?
PUNCE, V} and sb. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Shr.
Also written punse Sc. Nhb. e.Lan.* Shr.' [puns.] L v.
To beat, strike, push by striking; to kick. Cf punch, v}
Rnf. Didst . . . punse and bruise her breast ? Hector Judic.
i?«c. (1876) 35. Rxb. (Jam.) Gall. To punse a brock in his lair,
Mactaggart i'Mcyf/. (1824). Nhb. He'll no lay on wi' a walkin'
stick, and he does'na punse you, Graham Red Scaur {i8g6) 230.
w.Yks. Aw could find i' mi heart to punce her an' her mangle aght
o' th' door, Hartley Clock Aim. (1879) 40 ; Goa at him, an punce
him weel (D.L.). Lan. An' aw could ha punce't him, Waugh Owd
Bodle, 265; Punce him well! Banks Manch. Man (1876) xxxii ;
Lan.i e.Lan.* To punch or strike forward with the feet. To
'kick' is to strike backwards, as a horse. Chs.*^, nw.Der.i
Shr.i The red moggy punsed Daddy i' the face.
Hence (i) Puncing, ppl. adj. given to striking; (2)
-clothes, si. //. boxing-clothes; (3) -match, sb. a kicking
match.
(i) Lan. It was feared they might indulge their 'puncing' in-
clinations, Brierley Marlocks (1867) 86. (2) Lan. Aw've had mi
puncin' clooas on to' thre times, Dottie Rambles (1898) 5. (3)
w.Yks. In a twinklin' ther wor a puncin' match gooin' on i' that
bed, Hartley Clock Aim. (1891) 7, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May
30, 1896).
2. sb. A blow with the fist, a thrust ; a kick.
Gall. The command was punctuated by sundry admonitory
punces in the ribs, Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 88. w.Yks.
After two or three gooid punces th' lock gave way. Hartley
Clock Aim. (1885) 17, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 30, 1896^ Lan.
Gie him a punce daun hill to t'dule, Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale
(i860) 11.34 ; Aw feel th'punses now, Brierley iay;-oc.^ (1864) x.
PUNCE, V? Cld. (Jam.) To pierce with a bradawl,
to punch. See Punch, u."
PUNCH, v} and sb} Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Also written punsh Sc. Cum. [punj.]
1. V. To strike with the foot, to kick. Cf. punce, v}
Rnf. Did strike, punsh, and bruise her breast and other parts
of her body with his feet and knees, Hector Judic. Rec. (1876)
34. Ant. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) N.Cy.*, Dur.* Lakel.2
It izzant fair to punch when ye sud be feiten. Cum. For fear he
punsh'd hur, Silpheo Billy Brannan (1885) 3 ; I cud punch them
to bits wid my clogs, Dickinson Lit. Rem. (1888) 200; Cum.''
Wm. T'maestre wed cum, an try ta oppm t'dewer, an when he
fan he cuddent he'd knock an punch at it. Spec. Dial. (1880) pt. ii.
10. w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781) ; w.Yks.l24 Lan.
He'll get his shins punched, Westall Birch Dene (1889) II. 15.
ne.Lan.l, Chs.*, nw.Der.'
2. sb. A hard blow with the foot ; a kick.
Dur.i, Cum.* Wm. Dixon, thoo knas, wor in his stockin feet,
en he thowt if he went en gev Tomson a bit ev a punch, it wadn't
hurt him, Robison Aald Tales (1882) 6. w.Yks. Seein an owd
hat an considerin it ta be i hiz way tade a run punch at it, Tom
TREDDLEH0YLESaiV«5/a^««. (1873) 10 ; w.Yks.2 Lan. It's better
than a punch on th' shins wi' an iron clog, Westall Birch Dene
(1889) II. 99. ne.Lan.*, m.Lan.'
3. A jog, a slight push. Sc. (Jam.)
PUNCH, v.^ and sb.^ Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Chs. e.An.
1. V. To bore a hole in the ear of a sheep.
Cum.* The chief ear . . . marks on sheep are . . . Ray-bittit,
punched, rittit, &c.
Hence Punch-holed, ppl, adj. having a hole bored, ib.
2. Phr. punch it .1 be off e.An.* 3. sb. An iron crow-
bar or lever. Cf pinch, sb}
Sc. (Jam.) Inv. Specially one used for making holes in the
ground (H.E.F.).
4. A woollen-trade term : a machine with space for
four slivers, which are guided through it and passed into
the comb. w.Yks. (S.A.B.) Hence Punchminder, sb. a
PUNCH
[647]
PUNDIE
worker in charge of the ' punches.' ib. 5. A pit-prop.
w.Yks.'^ Cf. puncheon. Hence Punch-prop, sb. a coal-
mining term : a short prop.
Nhb.^ Nhb., Dur. Set upon a crown-tree or balk, where it does
not support the middle of the roof, on account of the place having
fallen before the timber was set. Also a short prop about 14 or
15 inches long placed by a hewer under his sump or back-end
when he is under apprehension of its dropping down before he
has got it kirved sufficiently far, Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849).
6. Comp. Punch-rod, obs., a forging term : a sticli fas-
tened at the head of a fire-punch to hold it.
Chs.' A wreathen stick turned about the head of a fire punch
to hold it on the hot iron while it is striking through or making a
hole in it, Academy of Armory, III. iii. 89.
PUNCH, V? Oxf. To work very hard. (Hall.)
Hence Punching, ppl. adj. hard, difficult.
They very constantly say about here [Woodstock] that if any one
has been working very hard, or had much trouble over anything,
he or she has had a punching time of it lately (M.A.R.).
PUNCH, adj. and sb.^ Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Rut. Suf. [punj,
p'enj.] 1. adj. Short, fat. Sc. (Jam.), n.Cy. (Hall.),
w.Yks.' Cf. punchy. 2. sb. A short, stout person or thing.
Bnff.i Rut.^ He wur sooch another little poonch.
[I . . . did hear them call their fat child punch, which
pleased me mightily, that word being become a word of
common use for all that is thick and short, Pepys Diary
(Apr. 30, 1669) (CD.).]
3. A certain breed of short, thick-set cart-horses.
Suf. A great carcass and short legs, but short-backed, and more
of the punch than the Leicestershire breeders will allow, Mar-
shall Review (1817) III. 431 ; Cullum Hist. Haiusted {1813) 255 ;
[He] means Suffolk in America, and not the county of the Punches,
Sat. Rev. (1888) LXVI. 387.
PUNCH, sb.* sw.Lin.' [punJ.] Lemonade, or any
other cooling drink for the sick.
PUNCH, sb.^ Sc. In comb. Punch and Polly, obs., a
puppet-show, Punch-and-Judy show.
Edb. We were jammed in the crowd of old wives . . . and Punch
and Polly, and puppie-shows, and more than I can tell, Moir
Mansie IVauch (1828) iii.
PUNCHBOWL, sb. Sc. Irel. 1. In phr. ihe bottom of
the punch-bowl, a figure in an old dance.
Per. Right hand oil the couple, left hand and off, another right
hand and turn partner full round — figure 8 each on own side ;
lady sets to second gentleman, gentleman sets to second lady, and
reel three (G.W.).
2. A game ; see below.
Elg. ' Round about the punch-bowl. One, two, three. If anybody
wants a bonnie lassie Just take me.' Another form of words is —
' The fillan o' the punch-bowl That wearies me. The fillan o't up,
an' the drinkan' o't doon, An' the kissan o" a bonnie lass, That
cheeries me.' The Fochaber's game, . . played by girls only. The
players join hands and form a ring. They dance round, singing
the verse. The last ' me ' is pronounced with . . . emphasis, all
. . . jump, and if one falls, she has to leave the ring. The game
is carried on until all the plaj'ers fall, Gomme Games (1898) II.
84-85. Ant. ' Round about the punchbowl, . . one, two, three.
First time never to fall, . . one, two, three. Second time, the
catching time, &c. Third time, the kissing time, &c.' Played at
Belfast. At the words ' one, two, three,' the players drop down
in a crouching position for a few seconds, ib. Lou. ' Round about
the punch-bowl, one, two, three. Open the gates and let the bride
through. Half-a-crown to know his name. . . On a cold and
frosty morning. Ah ! (Michael Matthews is his name, &c.) Half-
acrown to know her name, &c. (Annie Keenan is her name,
&c.) They'll be married in the morning. Round about the punch-
bowl, I.' Played at Louth. All curtsey after the first line, and
the one who rises last is the bride. She is led outside the ring
by another, and asked to whom she is engaged. She tells without
letting the others hear, and the two return, singing the second
line. All sing the next verse, and so on, till the rhyme is finished,
ib. [For rhymes and further information see Gomme.]
PUNCHCLOD, sb. w.Yks.*''* [pu-njtlod.] A low
peasant, a ploughman, one engaged in agriculture.
PUNCHEON, sb. n.Cy. Yks. Der. Also written
punchion n.Cy. w.Yks. 1. A coal-mining term : a pit-
prop, a support for the roof, gen. of wood, but occas. of
iron, Cf punch, sb.'^ 5,
w.Yks. (S.J.C), (J.P.), w.Yks.= Der. The principal appropria-
tion of the underwood is to puncheons, or, supports to the coal
pits, Marshall Review (1817) IV. 132. n.Der. Some puncheons
and scaflings gave way, and th' roof fell in. Hall Hathersage
(1896) iv.
2. Obs. A bodkin. [Not known to our correspondents.]
n.Cy. (Hall.) [Cotgrave (1611).]
PUNCHIK, sb. Bnff.i A person, animal, or thing
which is short, stout, and strong. See Punch, adj.
PUNCHY, adj. Sc. Lin. Nhp. [pu-nji, pB'nJi.] Broad,
thick-set, short, stout. Cf. punch, adj.
Sc. Mackay. Cld. (Jam.) Edb. Snell, punchy Peg, that whisky
mak's As mad as a March hare, Carlop (jrcen (1793) 134, ed. 1817.
Rxb. (Jam.) Lin. A punchy little fellow, Thompson Hist. Boston
(1856) 719 ; Lin.i, n.Lin.^, Nhp.i
PUNCKIN, see Punion, Punkin, sb.
PUNCTUAL, adj. and adv. Sc. Lin. Wor. Dev. Also
in forms punct'aln. Lin.' ; punctial Dev. 1. adj. Orderly,
upright, straightforward, truthful.
Lin.' n.Lin. A woman what's punct'al, and keeps her husband
a comfortable fire-side (M.P.) ; n.Lin.' He's a punct'al man to speak
efter. Thomas Stocks was always a very punctual man.
2. Certain, precise ; particular.
Wor. I am punctual of that (W.A.S.). s.Wor. I heard her was
in Wales ; but nothing to be punctual on her, Porson Quaint
Wds. (1875) 22. Dev. We women are as punctial over our tea as
our men are over their baccy, Reports Provinc. (1887) 14.
3. Phr. punctual promised, promised in a manner which
is quite distinct and clear in all particulars.
n.Lin.' It's to noa ewse saayiu' ony moore aboot that pig, for I
tell ye it's punct'al promised.
4. adv. Obs. Precisely, particularly, especially.
Ayr. I'll scrieve it aff right nimble handed. As gif ye punctual
had commanded. In verse to clatter, Thom Amusements {1Q12,) 24.
PUNCTUALITY, s6. Obs. Sc. A point, technicality,
nicety.
Ayr. Well enough versed in the particulars and punctualities of
the law for an ordinary plea, Galt Provost (1822) ix.
PUND, see Pound, s6.', v.^
PUNDER, s6.' Nhp. Bdf. Hnt. [pu-nd3(r).] A cross-
bar attached to the iront of a cart, to prevent it from
falling backward when being loaded.
Nhp.'2 Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 129. Hnt.
The wooden bar or beam, by removing which from the front of a
cart, the cart is enabled to tip-up, and discharge its contents
behind (J.W.B.).
Hence Punder-stick, sb. the beam that keeps a cart in a
horizontal position when being loaded. Bdf., Hnt. (J.W.B.)
PUNDER, sb.^ Yks. [pu-nd8(r).] A mortar ; lit.
' pounder.' Yks. (Hall.) w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May
30, 1896).
PUNDER, sb.^ Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Lake!. Also written
pundar Sc. [pu'ndar.] 1. A ' pinfold,' a place in which
to impound stray cattle. Lakel.'' Cf. pound, sb? 2. A
keeper of an estate, who looks after the hedges and
woods, and who pens up stray cattle ; a pinfold-keeper.
Rxb. (Jam.) ; The pundar's axe, wi' ruthless rap, Fell'd down
their favourite tree, A. Scott Poems (ed. 1808) 146. N.Cy.' Dur.
Arch. Aeliana (1900) XXII. 96.
PUNDER, t/.' Cum.' [pu'ndar.] To crowd, to in-
commode by crowding.
Theyniwer git a sidementmeadd, and they're o' punder't upstill.
PUNDER.v.^ Obs. e.An.' To be exactly on an equipoise.
PUNDER, v.^ Yks. Der. [pu-nda(r).] To blow, to be
blown away by wind, esp. used of snow.
w.Yks.2 ' I were goin' on t'moor side, and t'snow were punderin'
off o' t'top.' This was said when the wind was blowing the snow
off the hill in a fine powder. When a shot has gone off in a mine,
a collier will say, ' Shoo's pundered,' meaning that the shot has
blown the coal down. Der.^
PUNDER, PUNDFO, see Ponder, v., Punfold.
PUNDIE, s6. Sc. [pB-ndi.] 1. A drinking jug ; y?^.
drink, liquor.
Lnk. Nane were seen gaun doon the brae, To imbibe the cursed
pundie, Nicholson Kilwuddie (1895) 81.
2. A small white iron mug, used for heating liquids on
the fire. Per. (Jam.)
FUNDING
[648]
PUNK-HOLE
FUNDING, sb. Obs. Yks. A woollen-trade term : the
numberofcombfuls of woolper pound weight; lit. pounding.
w.yks. These were generally from 3 to 8, and were accordingly
named ' punding at 3,' &c. (E.W.)
PUNDLER, sb} Obs. Sc. Also in form punier Edb.
1. See below. Cf. punder, sb?
Ags. Even of late, a person employed to watch the fields, in
order to prevent the grain from being stolen or injured, was called
a pundler(jAM.), Edb. Tory's Turk, your captain's dead and gone,
The trusty punier of the Newland pease, Pennecuik IVks. (1715)
363, ed. 1815.
2. A Stalk of peas bearing two pods. Ags. (Jam.)
PUNDLER, sb.'^ Sh. and Or.l. Also written pundlar
S. & Ork."^ [pBndlar.] An instrument for weighing,
resembling a steelyard.
Sh.I. From very early times it [the Bysmar] was with the
Pundlar the universal steel-yard, or weighing machine of Scan-
dinavia, Sh. News (Mar. 26, 18981. Or.l. A beam marked with the
marks of their weight, which hath a stone on the one end (which stone
on the malt pundler should be a setten weight, and on the bear
pundler sixteen mark) and a hook on the other end, Wallace
Desc. Ork. (1693") no, ed. 1883; The pundlar is the same with
the steelyard, Edb. Antiq. Mag. (1848) 10; The pundler is a beam
about seven feet long, and between three and four inches in dia-
meter, somewhat of a cylindrical form, or rather approaching to
that of a square, with the corners taken off; and is so exactly similar
to the Siatera Romana, or steelyard, as to supersede the necessity
of any further description, Barry Hist. Ork. (1805) 212 (Jam.) ;
S. & Ork.l
PUNDLE-TREE, sb. e.An. Also in form pondle- Suf.'
[pB-ndl-tri.] The wooden crossbar to which the horses
are fastened to draw ploughs or harrows. e.An. Morton
Cydo. Agric. (1863) ; e.An.' Suf.' (s.v. Pummel-tree.)
PUNEAR, see Punyear.
PUNFOLD, sb. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also
in forms pundfo Cum. ; punfaad n.Lan.' ne.Lan.' ; -faal
Cum.i; -faald w.Yks. ; -fad Nhb.'; -faud N.Cy.' Dur.';
-fauld w.Dur.' Lakel.= ; -foald Cum.' [punf9(d, -fad.] A
pound ; an enclosure for strayed cattle, &c. Cf. pinfold.
N.Cy.l, Nhb.i, Dur.', w.Dur.', Lakel.* Cum. He's caged like a
cuddy in a pund fo', Wheatley /oe the Buits (1869) 17; Cum.'
Wm. Let's gang an' lake i' t'punfold (B.K.). w.Yks. (C.W.D.),
n.Lan.', ne.Lan.'
PUNG, V. and sb. Som. Dev. [pBg.] 1. v. To pound,
crush ; to thrust ; to push with some pointed instrument ;
to prick. w.Som.' n.Dev. Horae Subsedvae (1777) 329.
Cf. ping, v.^ 2. sb. A blow, push, thrust, prick.
w.Som.' He gid'n jish pung in the back way his stick, he on't
vorgit it vor one while.
PUNG, PUNG(AR, see Ping, v.', Punger, sb.
PUNGELL, V. Obs. Nhp.' To poke, push ; to take
pains ; to labour assiduously with little progress. Cf. pung.
Don't pungell the fire so. What a time you are pungelling over
your work !
PUNGER, sb. Sc. Ken. Also in forms ponger, pung
Ken.' ; pungar Ken. ; pungur e.Ken. [pBn(d)53(r).]
The large edible crab. Cancer pagurus.
Sc. (Jam.) Ken. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; Ken.' Best known
by this name in North Kent ; the name crab being restricted to
the common shore-crab ; Ken.^ By a punger they mean the largest
crabs. e.Ken. N. (f Q. (1870) 4th S. v. 187.
[Fagule, the crab-fish termed a pungar (Cotgr.).]
PUNGER, I/.' Chs. [pu-n(d)3a(r).] To puzzle, con-
found. Cf. pungow.
Oils.' ; Chs. 2 I am so pungered, I know not which eaver to turn
to; Chs.3 s.Chs,' Ahy)m ter'ubli pun'jurd ubuwt it.
PUNGER, v.'-' Obs. Shr. w.Cy. To sponge upon.
Shr.^, w.Cy. (Hall.)
PUNGING, see Punion.
PUNGLED, ///. flrfy. Chs. Nhp. Shr. e.An. [pu-q(g)ld.]
1. Shrivelled and tough, as winter fruit, overkept but
not rotten ; also applied to grain shrivelled with heat or
mildew. Nhp.', e.An.', Suf 2. Embarrassed, per-
plexed, esp. in money matters.
s.Chs.' Th)mes'tur)z aayt u^th roa'd, un PoI"i)z baad- un aad'
goa' bed, un Ky'it'i iz bur u pdoiir tiit'l, un ahy aam' su pimgg'ld
ahy du)nfl noa" wot ddo. Shr.' If Mr. had a large income he
would not be so pungled as he is.
PUNGOW, V. Chs, To bother, harass. Chs.'^^ Cf.
punger, z/.' Hence Pungowing, ppl. adj. wearing,
causing anxiety, bothering.
Chs.' 2; Chs.3 'To lead a threppoing, pungowing life,' means
the sort of life where it is hard to make both ends meet, when one
is puzzled how to get on ; a hand-to-mouth sort of existence.
PUNION, sb. Cor. Also written punnion Cor.^^ ;
punyan, punyon Cor.' ; and in forms punckin w.Cor. ;
punging, punkin Cor.'° [p^nian, pBnjan.] The ex-
posed end of a building, the end which has no doors or
windows.
N. & Q. (1854) ist S. X. 360 ; Cor.' ; Cor.^ The punnion is the
end of the roof of a house when it is not gabled.
Hence Punionend, sb. the end of the house where the
' punion ' is ; the gable-end of a house.
For a punion end in y" churchyard, Hammond Parish (1897)
loi ; I thoft the punnion-end were in, J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial.
(1846) 4t ; There with a turv-rick to the punyan end of un, Tre-
GELLAS Tales (1868) 53 ; Cor.'^s
PUNISH, V. Sc. Yks. Chs. Not. Lin. Lei. Nhp. War.
Won Oxf. Dor. Som. Dev. Amer. Also in forms ponish
Sh.L ; poonish s.Wor. [pu'nij, penij.] 1. To cause
pain or suffering to ; to hurt, try, injure ; to suffer pain.
w.Yks. My new boots punished me dreadful (CF.) ; w.Yks.^
This boot has punished me all day. Chs.' This tooth does punish
me above a bit. s.Chs.' Ahy)v piinisht mahy el'bii u praafi bit,
wi ky'ech'in it ugy'en')th pump-aandl. Not. His leg did punish
him so, all night ^L.C.M.); Not.' n.Lin. I'm uncommon punish'd
wi' rewmatics to-year (M.P.); n.Lin.' Lei.' A said as 'is ankles
poonished 'im a good del. Sbp.^ A sim'd ankammon del punish'd
wi's bad feet. War.^a, s.Wor. (H.K.) Oxf. An injured toe was
said to 'punish the child when she walks' (J. B. P.) ; Oxf.' Jl/S.
add. Dor. The master 'ud tell 'em all 'twas but nat'ral after ye
bein' wi' us so long an' so punished wi' rheumatics, Longman's
Mag. (Nov. 1898) 53. w.Som.' How thick there old tooth have
a-punish me this week to be sure ! I thort he wid a-drove me maze.
Dev. How that tooth did punish me till I had it out, Reports Pro-
vinc. (1891). [Amer. I punished so in my new shoes, Dial. Notes
(1896) I. 231 ; I couldn't get any water, and my ! how I did punish,
ib. 422.]
Hence Punishing, ///. adj. hard, trying, painful.
s.Wor. 'T 'ave bin a poonishin' time o' the pore cattle; no kip
nar no waater; 'em wuz fomished like (H.K.).
2. To impoverish.
nw.Dev.' Applied both to animals and land. ' 'Ow thuze sheep
be punish'd, to be zure.' ' He punish'd the lan' moas' turrible bad
whiles he'd a-got it.'
3. To reduce, cut short.
Abd. To reduce much in cutting or dressing, a term used by
workmen (Jam.).
4. To devour ; to eat or drink heavily of ; to ' polish off.'
Sh.I, William an' 1 pOnish'd what wis efter i'damutchkin bottle,
Sh. News (Dec. 22, 1900). Lnk. Wee Sandy is a capital han' fer
to punish a scone. Penman Echoes (1878) 98. Collog. I shall punish
the Boar's head dreadfully. . . A capital breakfast Tom made,
Dickens M. Chuzzlewit (1844) xxxvi.
PUNISHMENT, sb. Chs. Not. Lin. War. Shr. Hrf. Glo.
Som. [pu'nijment, pB-ni/msnt.] Pain, suffering; misery.
Chs.' Aw pinched my thumb i' th' durr, an it were awfu' punish-
ment. s.Chs.' AaT uwd mon aad" siim'ut groain oa-r iz ahy, un
ee aad- filr goa' Sdo'zbri fiir aav it tai'n of; ah)kspekt it)s bin
despurt piin'ishmunt for him. Not. I thought I better put it out
of its punishment (L.C.M.). n.Lin.' ' How's John ? ' ' Oh, poor
ohd man, he was e' sore punishment when I left him.' sw.Lin.'
It was punishment for him to put his foot to the ground. Shr.' I
maun get this tuth drawed, fur I conna bar the punishment no
lunger. Hrf.' 1 was in great punishment with the toothache ; Hrf. 2,
Glo.' w.Som.' Ah ! poor old dog, his leg is broken ; we must
have him put out of his punishment.
PUNK, sb. n.Cy. Won Shn Hrf. [puqk.] 1. Touch-
wood. n.Cy. (Hall.), Shr.* 2. The scaly polyporous,
Polyporus squamosus.
se.Wor.' Shr. (B. & H.) ; Shr.' A white fungus growing on
decayed ash-trees, which in its dry state is possessed of great
elasticity, and will rebound like an India-rubber ball.
3. A knot cut from a crab-tree. Hrf.'^ 4. Trash ; an
article of inferior quahty. se.Wor.'
PUNK-HOLE, sb. s.Sc. (Jam.) A hole or pit in a moss,
a ' peat -pot,'
PUNKIN
[649 J
PURCHASE
PUNKIN, sb. s.Sc. (Jam.) Also written punckin.
The footsteps of horses or cattle in soft ground.
Reapers sometimes say, that they have been so warm, shearing,
that they were glad to take water to drink out of a horse-punckin.
PUNKIN, adj. w-Som."^ [pB-qkin.] Dumpy, obtuse
in shape.
Often applied to a boat or vessel. ' Uur-z tu pung'keen,' she is
too dumpy in the bows.
PUNKIN, see Punion.
PUNKY, adj. and sb. Yks. Der. [puqki.] 1. adj.
Dirty. w.Yks.^, Der.^ nw.Der.^ 2. sb. A dirty, black
person, esp. a chimney-sweeper.
w.Yks.2 Children are told when they are naughty that ' punky
will fetch them ' ; w.Yks.*
PUNLER, see Pundler, sb.^
PUNNAH, PUNNATH, see Pennyworth.
PUNNER, sb. n.Cy. Chs. Shr. [pu-n3(r.] A piece of
wood used for beating in the soil when filling up a hole,
as in setting posts, &c. ; a pavier's mallet. n.Cy. (B.K.),
Chs.', s.Chs.\ Shr.i Cf pound, v.^
PUNNET, sb. Wor. Brks. Mid. Ken. [pB-nit.] 1. The
indentation at the bottom of a wine-bottle. Brks. (W.F.R.)
2. A small flat basket for strawberries.
Wor. (W.C.B.), Brks. (W.F.R.) Mid. I took a little punnet as
was hanging in the kitchen, Blackmore Kit (i8go) xiv. Ken.i
PUNNING, PUNNION, PUNNOR, see Pounding,
Punion, Pennyworth.
PUNNY, V. Yks. Lan. [pu-ni.] 1. To turn the toes
inwards in walking.
Lan. Tha con punny iv it's ony comfort to thee, Clegg Sketches
(1895) 43. e.Lan.i
2. Comb. Punny-pigeon-toed, with toes turned inwards
in walking, as a pigeon. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May
30, 1896).
PUNS, PUNSE, PUNSH, see Pounce, sb.'', Punce, ■y.^
Punch, v.^
PUNT, adj. Obs. Nhp.i Also in form punty. Neat,
tight, tidy.
PUNT, V. and sb. Nhp.^ 1. v. To push with force ;
to aid any one to rise by a push ; to push with the head,
as a calf 2. s6. A push, lift, 'bunt.'
A boy will often say, ' Give me a punt up on this horse.'
PUNTED, see Ponted.
PUNTER, sb. War.* [pu-nt3(r).] 1. A slow, careful
rider.
The punters followed them over the first two fences. Field
(Dec. 1893) in Mordaunt & Verney War. Hunt (1896) II. 257.
2. A huckster, carrier.
PUNTY, sb. Nhb. Lan. Amer. [pu-nti.] A glass-
blowing term : the iron tube used for glass-blowing.
Nhb. The punty is a sohd iron rod which is dipped into a pot of
fluid glass (R.O.H.). Lan. (S.W.) [Amer. Iron rod with holder
used to finish bottles. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 336.]
Hence Punty-mark, sb. the hole or knob left in the
centre of a sheet of crown glass at the point where the
' punty ' has been detached.
Nhb. The adhering glass is rapidly whirled until it becomes
a circular sheet of the required thinness, when the 'punty' is
detached, leaving its mark in a thick knob or ' bull's eye,' as it
is sometimes called (R.O.H.) ; The portion [of glass] bearing
aviscid, wart-like excrescence known as the 'punty-mark,' Haswell
Maisler (iBgs) 75.
PUNTY, see Punt, adj.
PUNY, adj. Irel. [piu-ni.] Delicate, squeamish.
Ant. Said of a delicate stomach which is not able to retain many
kinds of ordinary food, Ballymena Obs. (1892).
PUNYAN, see Punion.
PUNYEAR, V. s.Cy. I.W. Also written punear s.Cy.
I.W.' [pB-nji3{r).] To read or peruse a book.
' s Cy. (Hall.) I.W.' ; I.W.2 He's indoors, punyearen over a book.
PUNYIE, V. and sb. Obs. Sc. Written punzie. 1. v.
To prick, spur. . , „ , ,
Fif. His steed he punziedwi'hisheel,TENNANTPfl/w/r)' (1827) 164.
2. sb. A prick. .
Strange I that ae punzie on the back Should sooner bring that
carl to wrack Than sticks and cudgels, *. 175.
PUNYON,PUOCK, PUP, seePunion, Pock, sb.^, Foo-p, v.
VOL. IV.
PUPPETY-WEED, s6. Sur. ^ Corn-spurrey, Spergula
arvensis. (B. & H.)
PUPPY, sb} Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. Not. e.An. [pu'pi,
pB'pi.] 1. A puppet.
n.Cy. HoLLowAY. e.Cy. (Hall.), e.An.i Nrf. Holloway.
2. Comp. Puppy-show, a puppet-show, a peep-show.
Also usedT?^. Cf poppy, sb.^
Edb. They let me in with a grudge for twopence ... to see a punch
and puppie-show business, Moir Mansie Wauch (1828) vii. n.Yks.
Hey ! for sports and puppy shows, Browne Poems (1800) 153.
Chs.' Children place flowers behind a small piece of glass, and fold
all up in paper. They then cut a trapdoor in the paper, and make
it into a sort of peep-show. s.Not. She shan't be med a puppy-
show on (J.P.K.).
PUPPY, sb.^ Bdf. Hrt. e.An. Wil. [pB-pi.] 1. A dog
of any age.
Bdf. I suspect the term is chiefly applied to a domesticated dog
(J.W.B.). Hrt. (J.W.)
2. Comb, (i) Puppy-dog, a young dog-fish; (2) -dog's
mouth, the yellow toadflax, Linaria vulgaris.
(i) e.An.i (2) Wil. Saruni Dioc. Gazette (Jan. 1890) 6, col. i.
PUPPY, see Poppy, sb.^
PUR, sb. Glo. Hmp. I.W. Dor. Sorn. Also written
per n.Dor. ; purr I.W.' Dor. Som. [pa(r).] 1. A cas-
trated male lamb up to the age of one year.
Dor. Moreover the lambs that are slaughtered are nearly all purs
and could not assist in the increase of our flocks, Standard [Apr.
21, 1883) in N. & Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 88. Som. N. & Q. (1868)
4th S. i. 390. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i
2. Comp. (i) Pur-lamb, (a) a male lamb, esp. a castrated
male lamb ; (b) a lamb that is to be kept for stock pur-
poses ; (c) the survivor of twin lambs ; (2) -hog, a
one-year-old male sheep.
(i, a) Hmp.i, I.W.12 -w.Cy. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Dor.i,
n.Dor. (S.S.B.) (A) Dor. Pur lambs are sold to dealers from
Somersetshire, and other districts, where breeding flocks are not
so generally kept as in the upland parts of Dorsetshire, Marshall
Review (1817) V. 280. (c) Glo.^ (2) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
3. Obs. A boy. Dor. Grose (1790) ; Gl. (1851).
PUR, int. Wor. Shr. Also in form purry Wor. [pa(r),
paTi.] A call to turkeys.
ne.Wor. Come, Purry, Purry . . . ad lib. (J.W.P.) Shr.i Pur,
pur, pur (s.v. Call-words).
PUR, see Pure, Put, v}
PURBECK-PORTLAND, sb. Dor. Portland stone
quarried in the Isle of Purbeck.
The Portland Stone quarried on the mainland, in the Isle of
Purbeck, is locally known by the name of Purbeck Portland,' by
way of contradistinction to the true or typical stone of the Isle of
Portland, Ramsay Rock Spec. (1863) 138.
PURBLE, V. and sb. Lakel. [paTbl.] 1. v. To hoard
up some insignificant or useless thing as a memento.
Lakel.2 She wad purble up o' macks e' things 'at was their lad's.
What's t'good o' purblen things up 1
2. sb. Anything hoarded up. Wm. (B.K.)
PURCH, see Pritch.
PURCHASE, sb. and v. Sc. Also in form purtchiz
Sh.I. [pa-rtjas.] 1. sb. In phr. (1) to be left to one's own
purchase, to be left to live by one's wits ; (2) to live on one's
purchase, to support oneself by expedients.
(i) Sc. 'The least ye can do is to gie him that o't that's left behind
for his labour, for doubtless he that kend where to find sae muckle
will hae nae difiiculty to find mair.' Dousterswivel's brow grew
very dark at this proposal of leaving him to his ' ain purchase,'
Scott Antiquary {1816) xxiv. (2) Sc. It had originally signified
living by depredation. We still say, ' He lives on his purchase,'
of one who has no visible or fixed means of sustenance (Jam.) ;
There dwells a tod on yonder craig ; . . He lives as well on his
purchase As ony laird or knight, Herd Coll. Sngs. (1776) II. 234 (ib.).
2. Obs. An amour ; an intrigue.
Sc. ' You are as well on your purchase, as some are on their set
rent.' Often spoken to them that have as many bastards, as others
have lawful children, or any such occasion, Kelly Prov. (1721) 392.
3. V. To obtain, procure, secure.
Sc. The swallow also for herself, hath purchased a nest, Scotidsms
(1787) 71 ; Purchase a letter to the parliament, Kirkton Ch. Hist.
(1817) 157. Sh.I. Dat sax men niver took wid i' der haands 'at wid
purtchiz lines here da day, Sh. News (Sept. 24, 1898). Abd. The
40
PURCHIL
[650:
PURGY
marquis was very lolh to quit these offices, purchased for singular
services done to Ihe kings of Scotland by his predecessors,
Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 12.
PURCHIL, PURCILL, see Pritchel, Pursill, sb?-
PURDLE, see Pirl, v., Purl, v.
PURDY, sb. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also
in form pordy Nhb.' n.Lan.' [paTdi, pa'di.] A short
and thick-set person ; also used aitrib.
n.Cy. ( Hall.) Nhb.i ' Whattan sort of a chep was he, Jack ? '
'Oh, a little purdy body.' Dur. Brockett Gl. (1846). Cum.';
Cnm.'' A laal purdy fellow nit ower five feutt sebbm, Sargisson
Joe Scoap (1881) 234. Wm. A purdy brosten-kited fellow (J.H.).
w.Yks. HuTTON Tour to Caves {I'jSi). n.Lan.\ ne.Lan.'
PURDY, adj. e.An. [pa'di.] Surly, ill-humoured ;
self-important, proud, ostentatious. Cf. purgy, adj.^
e.An.' Suf.i 'A fare so big and so purdy tha's no speaken tew 'em.
PURDY'SLANTERN,^A>-. Nhb. Themoon. (R.O.H.)
PURE, adj. and adv. Irel. Yks. Der. Nhp. Won Hrf.
Glo. Brks. Bdf. e.An. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. Cor.
Alsoin forms pewer Cor.' ^; puerCor. ; purCor.^ [piu-3{r.]
1. adj. Well in health ; in a flourishing condition.
Wxf. ' How are you, Pat ?'...' Pure and hearty. Miss,' says I,
Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 336. Yks. Holloway. w.Yks. 2,
War. (W.C.B.), se.Wor.l s.Wor. John's quite pure, and I be
charming, Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) 29; s.Wor.i Hrf.' My
mistress gives her service to you and she is pure ; Hrf.^ ' How is
your wife • ' ' Her be pure, thank 'e, sir.' Glo. I hope, zur, the
ladies be all pure, N. & Q. (1854) ist S. ix. 527 ; Glo.' ' How be
you to-day, John? ' 'Oh! I be pure, sir, thankee!' Glo.= Brks.
Thankye, he's quite pure (W.W.S.). Bdf.(W.F.R.) Nrf. Hollo-
way. Hmp. A^. & Q. ib. x. 120 ; Hmp.' Wil. N. & Q. (1881) 6th S.
iv.io6;Wa.i2 Dor.i'Howb'yel' 'Pure, thenkye.' Som. (W.F.R.)
2. Whole, entire.
w.Yks. I think I'll take t'pure length on't (C.C.R.) ; (J.W.)
3. Nice ; excellent ; wonderful, extraordinary.
I.W.' She's a pure wold dooman. Cor.'^
4. Considerable ; very many.
Cor. Our papers don't say much for a pure spur after this,
J. Trenoodle Spec. Dial. (1846) 11 ; Cor.' A pure lot of people.
5. Used as an intensitive when joined to another adj.
by and.
Yks. I am pure and well, Holloway. Der. Here's a stone that's
pure and flat to sit upon, Le Fanu Uncle Silas (1865) I. 295. Nrf.,
Hmp. Holloway. Cor. He wor puer an proud ower ut, too, Tim.
Towser (I8^3) 5 ; Cor.' Pure and stout; Cor.^ He's pure and fat;
Cor.3
6. adv. Very.
ne.Yks. Pure warm, Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. 338.
•w.Yks. She's got a pure warm coat on (P.P. T.) ; w.Yks.' I'se pure
weel ; w.Yks.^ Nhp. 2 A pure hot day. Bdf. Batchelor Anal.
Eng. Lang. (1809) 139. Suf.' Dor. I be pure sorry they Boers
haven't a-done it for en, Francis Pastorals (1901) 269. Cor.^^
PURE, see Poor.
PURELY, adv. n.Cy. Wm. Yks. Der. Lin. Rut. Nhp.
Brks. Bdf. Hnt. e.An. Hmp. LW. Wil. Som. [pkfsrli,
piu'eli.] 1. Well in health. Cf pure, 1.
N.Cy.i n.Yks.i; n.Yks.^'How do you do?' 'Purely, thank
you.' ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) 11. 338. m.Yks.'
Why, bairn, I am purely, thank you. w.Yks.' ' How's thy mam ? '
' Purely, thank ye ' ; w.Yks. 2 She's purely. Der. How a' ye bin
ever since, lass ? Purely, I warrant, Le Fanu Uncle Silas (1865)
II. 135. Rut.', Nhp.' Brks. Be that you? Well I never ! you do
look purely, Hughes T. Brown (1856) ii. Bdf. I'm purelyQ.W.B.).
Hnt. (,T.P.F.) e.An.' I am purely to-day. Cmb. N. & Q. (1853)
ist S. viii. 230. Nrf. Holloway. Suf. Raven Hist. Suf. (1895)
264. Ess. I fare quite purely to-day, Trans. Arch. Soc. (1863) II.
186; Ess.' Hmp. Holloway; Hmp. 'Quite purely. I.W.' Wil.
Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.' =, Som. (.W.F.R.)
2. Nicely, favourably.
n.Lin.' She's gooin' on purely, thank you. Suf. Only [used] in
connexion with a confinement, Forby Gl. (ed. 1895).
3. Thoroughly ; very much.
s.Wm. They sleaken'd thor sells purely, Hutton Dial. Storth
and Arnside (1760) 1. 86. w.Suf. (J.J.R.)
4. Extremely.
Suf. Purely well, Cullum Hist. Hawsted (1813), Hmp.' 'Tis
purely mild.
PURFEIT, o^'. Obs. Sc. Also in form purfittie (Jam.).
Corpulent, short-necked, having an asthmatical make.
Edb. Thae purfeit chiels that clean coach graith, Wi' mony a
vile blasphemous aith, Learmont Poems (1791) 179. Rxb, (Jam.)
PURFILE, PURFILLIT, PURFIT, see Purfle, Purfled,
Perfit{e.
PURFLE, sb. and v. Sc. Lan. Lin. Also written
purfel Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) ; and in forms purfile, purfloe Sc.
L sb. Obs. An edging, the border of a woman's dress.
Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Cld. I'm prouder o'thee by my side. Though
thy ruffles and ribbons be few, Than Kate o' the Craft were my
bride, Wi' purfloes an' pearlins enow, Nimmo Sngs. (1882) 186.
Lan. With love-ditties and ladies' purfles, Roby Trad. (1829) II.
354, ed. 1872.
2. V. Obs. To make one edge of a seam spread over
the other ; to ornament with trimming ; to fix the hem
of a gown. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Hence Purfled, ppl. adj.
trimmed with a border; fringed ; ruffled.
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) s.Sc. She may wear purfled
sleeves, Wilson Tales (1836) II. 119.
3. To adorn, dress extravagantly.
n.Lin.' She was purfled up fra head to foot."
[1. Tyl Pernelles purfil • be put in here hucche, P.
Plowman (b.) iv. 116. 2. Hue was purfild with pelour ■
non purere in erthe, ib. (c.) iii. 10. Fr. pourfikr dor,
to overcast with gold thread, &c. (Cotgr.)]
PURFLED, ppl. adj. Obs. Sc. (Jam.) Also in form
purfiUit. Short-winded.
PURFLOE, PURGATE, see Pvirfle, Purgatory.
PURGATORY, sb. Yks. Der. Stf Wor. Shr. Hrf Glo.
Oxf. Also written purgaterry Oxf.' ; and in form purgate
w.Wor.' [pg'gatari.] 1. A receptacle for ashes beneath
or in front of the grate ; also in comp. Purgatory-hole.
Der. Et's onpossible, wi' them purgatories on th' harstone, to
keep ashes fro' flyin, Gilchrist Peakland Faggot (1897) 20.
s.Stf. What bad luck to drap yer weddin ring in the purgatory
hole, PiNNocK Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). Wor. The former tenant
'only had the purgatory cleaned out once a week' (E.S.). w.Wor.^,
se.Wor.i s.Wor. PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 16; s.Wor.', Shr.2
Shr., Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876). Hrf.=, Glo.' Oxf.' Av ee emted
the purgaterry ? MS. add.
2. Intense pain.
w.Yks. A war i pagatari oal t'dea wit beliwak (J.W.).
PURGE, V. Sc. Lin. [pardg, padg.] 1. To cleanse a
ditch or drain. n.Lin.' 2. Obs. To acquit.
Edb. The Justice says, ' Ye cannot purge him For any wiles j'e
will invent,' Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 398, ed. 1815.
3. To clear the house, in which a court meets, of those
who are not members. Sc. (Jam.) 4. Law term ; see
below.
Sc. Strictly to interrogate a witness if he be free from any
improper influence, before he is examined in a court of justice as
to the cause on which he is summoned. After this, if nothing
appears against the witness, he is said to be ' purged of malice and
partial counsel ' (Jam.). Frf. Robert Hepburn . . . solemnly sworn,
purged, examined and interrogate, deponed, Lowson Guidfollow
(1890) 265.
PURGING-FLAX, sb. Chs.' The dwarf flax, Linum
cct th (X tUcu th
PURGY," ««(?■.' n.Cy. Chs. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf Rdn.
Glo. Also written pergy Hrf.' Rdn. ; pirgy Glo.'^ [pa'gi.]
1. Conceited, impudent, consequential, saucy; 'perky';
in good spirits.
n.Cy. (Hall.) s.Chs.' What a purgy little thing he is ! n.Wor.
N. & Q. (1872) 4th S. ix. 263. w.Wor.' Shr.' Well, yo' nee'na
be so purgy, yo' bin none so 'onsome, an' if yo' han a bit o' money,
I dar'say a little 'orse can carry it ; Shr.^ Billy's a. purgy dog.
Hrf.'2 Rdn. Morgan fFrfs. (1881).
2. Surly, peevish, quarrelsome, obstinate.
War.2 He's a purgy old chap. n.Wor. A purgy temper, N. &'
Q. ib. 329. se.Wor.' s.Wor. Porson Quaint Wds. (1875) '5 !
s.Wor.i, Shr.2, Hrf.'^ Rdn. Morgan Wds. (1881). Glo. Dwunty
be so damned purgy, GissingBoM 0/ this Parish {iSSgi) 1. 116; Glo.'^
PURGY, adj.^ and sb. w.Cy. Dev. Cor. [ps'dgi.]
L adj. Thick-set and short ; fat, podgy.
w.Cy. N. Et* Q. (1872) 4th S. ix. 310. nw.Dev.' Rhymes with
clergy. Cor.i; Cor.^ A purgy little chap. A purgy pig.
Hence Purgybustious, adj. fat, corpulent, podgy.
Cor. Mine [hens] be all the purgy-bustious shape just now, ' Q.'
Three Ships (ed. 1892) 77.
PURGY-HOLE
[651]
PUR(R
2. si. Ashort, thick, stout person; a fat little boy or girl.
Cor.i She's a regular little purgy.
PURGY-HOLE, sb. War.= Shr.^ The grated ash-pit
in front of a kitchen fireplace. See Purgatory.
PURIE, see Poorie.
PURL, sb. Cor. [pal.] A guard or watch.
Cor.i One need be always upon one's purl ; Cor.^ On the purl.
PURL, v.. Glo. Som. Dev. Also in form purdle Som.
Dev. [pal, pa'dl.] To purr.
Glo.'- w.Som.i There, her'll zit in the zin and purdly by th' hour.
Dev. Za zshore ez hur ole cat wid purdle, Nathan Koog Poet. Lett.
(1847) and S. 71, ed. 1866.
PURL, see Pirl, sb.^, v.
PURL(E, sb. Wor. e.An. An edging, border, fringe.
Cf pearl, sb.'^
Wor. The edge of a piece of lace or needlework (W.C.B.). e.An.^
PURLE, see Pirl, sb.^, v.
PURLED, ppl. adj} Slk. (Jam.) In comb, (i) Purled-
steak, a purl stitch in knitting ; (2) -stocking, a ribbed
stocking.
PURLED, ppl. adp Chs. Shr. Also in form purred
Chs.* [paid.] Emaciated by sickness, injury, or over-
work ; used esp. of cattle.
Chs.i, s.Chs.i Shr.i That beast looks purled.
PURLICUE, PURLIE, see Pirlicue, Pirlie, sb.''
PURLIEU-WOOD, sb. Obs. Nhp. A wood in the
immediate vicinity of a forest. Marshall Review (1814)
IV. 345-
PURLIN-STEEK, sb. Slk. (Jam.) A purl stitch in
knitting.
PURL-MAN, s^i. Obs. Lon. A man who vended 'purl'
to sailors on board vessels lying in the Thames.
The river beer-sellers, or purl-men, as they are more commonly
called, Mayhew ioKrf. Labour {i&^i) II. 93, ed. 1861.
[Purl, a sort of drink made of ale mingled with the
juice of wormwood (Phillips).]
PURLOCK,56. Lakel. [paTlok.] A dirty lock attached
to a fleece of wool.
Lakel.2 Wm. Purlocks mun be dipt ofiT (B.K.).
PURLSOME,nrf/'. Cum.* Written purlsom. [ps-rlsam.]
Hard, severe, trying ; ? a deriv. of ' peril.'
She's had a purlsom back end.
PURLUSION, sb. and v. Bnff.i 1. sb. Anything
noxious or disgusting. 2. v. To render noxious.
PURLY, adj. Brks. Hmp. Wil. Also written purley
Wil."'^ [pa'l'-] Weak-sighted, purblind."
Brks. Zays Ockle to Mabbott, ' I'm uncommon purly,' Hughes
Scour. White Horse (1859) vii. Hmp.' Wil. Britton Beauties
(1825); Wil.l2
PURMROSE, PURN, see Primrose, Pirn, 5*.' =
PURPIE, adj. Obs. or obsol. Sc. 1. Purple ; also used
subst.
Sc. (Jam.) Rnf. On her hinderlets wur seen The purpie an' (he
blue, Fu' gay, Picken Poems (1813) 11. 91. Lnk. We laiggart a'
our cheeks Wi' the bonnie purpie dye, Lemon St. Mungo (1844) 49.
2. Comb. Purpie-fever, typhus.
Sc. He died of a purpie feaver, within 12 or 24 days, Lamont
Diary, 173 (Jam.).
PURPLE, adj., sb. and v. Sc. Irel. Yks. Shr. Ess. Som.
Dev. [psTpl, papl.] 1. adj. In cowi*. (i) Purple-crocus,
the purple crocus, Colchicmn autumnale ; (2) -dea-nettle,
the red dead-nettle, Lamium purpureum ; (3) -man, an
'Orangeman,' one who has reached a certain stage of
initiation in the ' Orange ' system ; (4) -spotted top, a
shelled mollusk, Trochus siziphinus.
(i) Yks. (B. & H.) (2) Shr.' (3) Ir. I am a true blue, sir,— a
purple man, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 199. (4) Dev. A
fine handsome shelled mollusk, the purple-spotted top, Good Wds.
(1864) 90.
2. sb. A slang word for blood.
Elg. Tibb snyted Madge's muckle nizz. Till out the purple
sprang, Couper Poetry (1804) II. 61.
3. A variety of potato.
n.Som. The sorts [potatoes] cultivated are the kidney, . . purple,
and silver skin, JWarshall Review (1818) 11. 519.
4. pi. A disease in wheat due to Vibrio iritici.
Ess. Young Annals Agric. (1784-1815) XLV. 236.
5. V. To appear as purple.
Per. The heather purples in my heart, The hill mists gather grey,
Ford Harp (1893) 327.
PURPLEY, adj. Sc. Cor. and Amer. Also written
purply Abd. Amer. Purple.
Abd. I'll cast a dash I' ray purply silk paletot, Cadenhead Bon-
Accord (1853) 291. Cor. Just a flicker o' piirpley fire, an' a
hundred pound gone! Phillpotts Lying Prophets (1897) 185.
[Amer. Look up with her big purply eyes all soft and wet,
Slosson Dumb Foxglove (_i8g8) 25.]
PURPOSE, sb. and adj. Sc. [psTpss.] 1. sb. Neat-
ness, tidiness ; taste.
Cld. She keepit the house weel red up, for she was a lass o'
some purpose (Jam.).
Hence Purposeness, sb. neatness ; exactness ; method.
Bnff.', Cld. (Jam.) 2. adj. Exact, methodical ; neat ;
well-adjusted ; esp. of a woman.
Sh.I. She was . . . spoken about as a ' cleanly purpose woman,'
Manson Aim. (1900) 125. Cai.', Abd., Slk. (Jam.)
PURPOSELIKE, adj. Sc. n.Cy. As it should be,
suitable to its purpose ; also used advb.
Sc. To do a thing purpose-like. Monthly Mag. (1798) II. 435;
A decent purpose-like body, Scott St. Ronan (1824) xv. N.Cy.i
PUR(R, V. and sb. Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs.
Der. Lin. e.An. Also Cor. Also in forms por N.Cy."-
Nhb.' Dur. Cum.* n.Yks. Lin.' ; pore N.Cy.' Dur.' w.Dur.^
w.Yks. ; porr Sc. (Jam.) Dur. n.Yks.' ^ Cor.; poyer Lin.
[p3(r, po(r.] \. V. Topush, thrust; to beat, bang, punch.
Lan. If he were to pur his ugly face through th' dur hoyle,
Axon Black Kt. (1870) 43. Chs. Aw munna git drunk, th' owd
ooman ses, or awst git my yed purred, Clough B. Bresskittle
(1879) 10; Chs.' Cor. Trans. Phil. Soc. (1858) 166.
2. To kick, esp. to kick with thick boots or clogs.
n.Cy. (Hall.) Lan. Folk thinkin' if they con purr a clod a
pieces an' vote blue, they're fit for a farmin' job, Brierley Cast
upon World (1886) xxiii ; Lan.' Howd ! tha munnot purr him
when he's deawn. e.Lan.' Chs.' ; Chs.^ ' Let's purr him,' often
proves synonymous with 'Let's kick him to death.' Der. 'Then
I'll break the door, for ye shall come through,' exclaimed Milly,
kicking the stout paling with her ponderous boot. ' Purr it, purr
it, purr it !' cried the lass, LeFanu Uncle Silas (1865) I. 293.
Hence (i) Purring-clog, sb. a clog especially formidable
for kicking purposes ; (2) -match, sb. a kicking-match.
(i) Lan. When you went for your wife after the slander had
been uttered, did you not put your purring clogs on ? Manch.
Guardian (Jan. 18, 1899). (2) 'Didn't you insist on this man
going into a field and having a purring match ? ' ' No, we had
a feight,' ib.
3. To stir, poke, esp. to poke the fire ; to spread and
stir the embers of a brick oven.
Lan. Holloway. Lin. Purr the fire (J.C.W.). sw.Lin.' We
used to purr it about the oven. e.An.'
Hence Purring-iron, sb. a poker.
Ags. Obsol. (Jam.) Arg. Poking the logs on the fire with
a purring-iron, Munro J. Splendid (1898) 148. Dmf. In an
inventory of furniture in the castle of Closeburn in Nithsdale,
taken 1717, frequent mention is made of — 'a chimney tongues
and shovel, a porring iron and hearth besome' (Jam.).
4. To prick, stab. Cai.' Gall. Mactaggart Encycl.
(1824). 5. sb. A push or thrust.
w.Yks.2 He gave him a pur in the side with his thumb.
6. A kick.
Kcd. A simple pur wi' a bodie's fit Maks 't rin a most prodigious
bit, Jamie Muse (1844) 155. Lan. I've hauve a mind to give thee
a good purr, Ashton Basin of Broth, 9. Der. I knocked them
awa with a pur n' my foot, Le Fanu Uncle Silas (1865) II. 99.
7. An iron bar or pole for stirring a fire or furnace ; a
poker.
N.Cy.', Nhb.' Dur. Raine Charters, &c. Finchale (1837) cxvii,
civ ; Dur.', w.Dur.' Cum. Sec tengs an por, nin iver seed,
Anderson Ballads (ed. 1840) 63 ; Cum.* n.Yks. Noo put that
por doon an' dooant chor that fire oot (W.H.) ; n.Yks.'^ w.Yks.
The pore, tengs and showl, Lucas Stud. Nidderdale (c. 1882) 25.
Lin. Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 719; Lin.' sw.Lin.' The
long pole with which the hot embers in a brick oven are ' purred,'
or spread and stirred. ' We had a gret long purr to stir the oven.'
e.An.' Nrf. Holloway.
8. A long pole used for pushing sheep about when being
washed. Lin. Streatfeild Lin. and Danes (1884) 348.
402
PURR
[652]
PURTENANCE
9. A prick, stab, a thrust with a sword ; the sound made
by a sharp instrument piercing the flesh.
Sc. Missing his ward he gets a por at the left pape, whereof he
died, Melvill MS. (1683) 194 (Jam.) ; Por of a rapier, ib. 196.
Cai.' GaU. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
[3. Cp. Dan. purre [op i ilden), to poke, stir (the fire).]
PURR, sb} and v. Sc. Nhp. [p3r, pa(r).] 1. sb. A
buzzing sound.
Ayr. The chck and purr of the shuttle had ceased, Johnston
Congalton's Legacy (1898) i.
2. V. To stand hesitating without knowing what one is
going to do. Nhp.i What do you stand purring there for !
PURR, sS.'^ Nhp.^ A small perforated round or square
piece of wood or iron to protect the nut of a screw, (s.v.
Burr.) Cf. bur(r, sbJ
PURR, sb.^ Sh.I. 1. A small codlin. S. & Ork.'
2. Anything very small, ib. MS. add.
PURR, PURRACH, see Pyr, Parrock.
PURR-APPLE. Nhp.i The cone of the Scotch fir,
Pinus sylvestris.
PURR(E, s6. Nhb.Nrf.Wil. [par, pa (r).] The dunlin,
Tringa alpina, when in winter plumage.
Nhb.i Nrf. Swainson Birds (1885) 193; (R.H.H.) Wil. So
much does its breeding plumage differ from its winter garb that
it was long known under two names, the Dunlin and the Purre,
Smith Birds (1887) 457.
PURRE, PURRED, see Pirr(e, Purled.
PURRING, sb. Nhp.^ The noise a peg-top makes in
its rapid gyrations. Cf. purr, sb}
PURRIT, PURRL, see Porret, Pirl, v.
PURRY, sb. Obs. Sc. A pudding made of colewort
mixed with oatmeal. Cf. tartan-purry.
Put on the pat wi' the purry, Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) I. 312.
PURRY, adj. Wil.^ [ps'ri.] Of turnips: spongy,
bad and full of holes.
PURRY, see Pur, int.
PURSE, sb. Sc. Nhb. Lin. Nhp. Oxf. Som. Also in
form puss w.Som."^ [psrs, p5s.] 1. In comb, (i) Purse-
browed, obs., having a pursed-up forehead ; (2) -hinger,
obs., ? the strings fastening the mouth of a purse and
attaching it to the person ; a purse-string ; (3) -net, the
movable net in which ducks are taken in a decoy pipe ;
(4) -penny, a piece of money of whatever value kept in a
purse without being exchanged or given away ; also
used _/?§".
(i) Slg. Far banish'd fly their purse-brow'd frown Frae Stirling
ale, Galloway Poems (1810) 16. (2) Per. The smith is unko
stout. And his purse-hingers bound, Nicol Poems (1766) 57.
(3) Lin. The tunnel net (called by some the purse net), Miller
& Skertchly Fenland (1878) xii. (4) Sc. It is thus preserved as
a curiosity, or from affection for the donor ; sometimes from a
superstitious idea of its bringing good luck to the possessor (Jam.) ;
If I had the faith of these three on my spirit, I could go thorow
all the world comfortably. . . If I had these three purse-pennies,
I wad think nothing to go thorow all the world with them, Bruce
Lectures (1708) 38 (ib.). n.Sc. Applied to anything that cannot
get disposed of (j'6.).
2. A fragment of coal or a spark which cracks and flies
out of the fire.
Nhb. A stranger sae bonnilie flaps on the bars, And a purse
has just fa'en near the auld chest o' drawers, Proddlock Border-
land Muse (1896) 7 ; Nhb.i If it is of rounded shape and clinks as
it cools it is supposed to be a purse with money in it, and it
augurs fortune to the person who picks it up. If, on the contrary,
it is an oblong splinter and emits no sound, it is a ' coiEn,' and
portends evil. n.Lin.^ A hollow bit of coal which flies out of the
fire, and is believed to portend a purse of money coming to him
in whose direction it flies. Nhp.i Sparks which crack and separate
as they fly out of the fire.
3. The scrotum of an animal. n.Lin.^, w.Som.^ 4. The
fresh- water mussel. Oxf. Science Gossip (1882) 165.
PURSE, V. Yks. [p3S.] To have the feeling of
' goose-flesh.' w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 30, 1896) ;
w.Yks.5
PURSE-MOO, sb. Sc. 1. In phr. (i) to open the
purse-moo, to give away money. Cld. (Jam.) ; (2) to steek
the purse-moo, to refuse payment, to keep what one has
got. ib. 2. A form of cloud assuming the shape of a
boat. Sc. (Jam.), Bnff.'
PURSER, sb. Sc. Cor. Also in form pusser Cor.
1. The financial agent for a mine.
Cor. The Pusser would lend us a handsome subsist, T. Towser
(1873) 23 ; Cor.2
2. Obs. A town treasurer.
Lnk. To rouse the clerk and purser wi' their sang, MuiR
Minstrelsy (x8i6) 2.
PURSER, see Piercer.
PURSIKIE,56. Obs. Sc. A small purse ; asmallfortune.
GaU. We shall heir her pursikie, Mactaggart £«c_)if/. (1824)69,
ed. 1876.
PURSILL, sb.'^ n.Sc. (Jam.) As much money as fills
a purse.
PURSILL, sb? n.Sc. (Jam.) Also written purcill. The
edible fucus, Fucus esculentus.
PURSUE, V. Sc. Suf. L Of inanimate objects: to
follow after.
Suf. He was cuttin' o'h'y and fell oflf t'stack, and t'knife pursued
him, e.An. Dy. Times (1892).
2. To walk or run with great energy.
Bnff.i He pursued up the brae.
3. To assault ; 2X%oftg. to urge with great earnestness.
Bnfif.i A pursued 'im sair t' cum wee ma, bit he widna budge a
breeth o's tae. Abd. They pursued the house most furiously,
Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 14 ; Their captain came fiercely
forward to pursue the door, ib. 30.
Hence (i) Pursual, sb. the act of urging with great
earnestness ; (2) Pursuit, sb. an assault.
(i) Bnff.' (2) Abd. His men leaves the pursuit, Spalding
Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 30.
4. To prosecute.
Abd. Every one [was] warded within the tolbooth of Elgin,
while the least mite was paid by such as were pursued in anno
1624, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 6.
Hence (i) Pursual, sb. a prosecution ; an attempt, trial ;
(2) Pursuer, sb. a prosecutor, plaintiff.
(i) Bnff.i Gehn he dinna ge' m' it, a'U gee im a pursual afore
the shirra. (2) Sc. Mitchell Scotticisms (1766) 67. Abd. Sir
Thomas Hope was pursuer in the King's interest, Cobban Angel
(1898) 484.
PURSUING, sb. Irel. Also in form purshuin. Used
in oaths and exclamations to avoid the impiety of actual
swearing.
s.Ir., Where one man would say' the devil a bit I ate to-day,'
a pious fellow would say 'pursuing to the bit I ate to-day.'
' Pursuing to all deceivers ' (P.W.J.). Wxf. ' Purshuin,' says he,
'to all consated scoggins,' Kennedy Banlts Boro (1867) 113;
And pursuin' to the bird ever stirs off" her nest, when he goes by,
ib. Evenings Duffrey (1869) i6g.
PURSY, adj. Obs. Sc. Purse-proud.
Frf. E'en a bailie's name to bear, Wi' pursy pride. Smart
Rhymes (1834) 129.
PURT, v., sb. and adj. Gmg. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in
form purty Gmg. w.Som.^ nw.Dev.' [pat.] 1. v. To
sulk ; to pout.
Gmg. Collins Gow. Dial, in Trans. Phil. Soc. (1848-50) IV.
222. e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' Sue, 'tont never do
vor thee to purty lig that, hon Joe com'th, else I don't never
bleeve '11 ha ort to zay to thee. n.Dev. Nif won zey the le-ast
theng out, tha wut purtee a zennet arter, Exm. Scold. (1746)
1. 162-3. nw.Dev.'^
Hence Purtmg,(i)/i//.a(^'.sullen, sulky; (2) s6. sulkiness.
(i) Dev."^ Than pray a call'd her a purting glum-pot, 5. n.Dev.
Ya purting . . . mencing theng, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 21-2. (2)
Dev.i I'm a-guest thee wot'n meend my purting, 9.
2. sb. A sharp fit of displeasure or resentment; gen.
in phr. to take a purt.
Cor. He has taken a purt, N. & Q. (1854) ist S. x. 360 ; Cor.12
5. adj. Sullen, glum, esp. in phr. ^o»<e /Mr/. See Apurt.
nw.Dev.i He's a-go purt.
4. Of potato-tops : faded, decayed.
Dev. My tetties be a-go purt, Reports Provinc. (1893).
PURTA, PURTCHIZ, see Poortith, Purchase.
PURTENANCE, sb. Lin. Som. Cor. Also in forms
portence Cor. ;' portens Cor.'^; purtens, purt'ns Cor.^
[pa'tinans.] The ' pluck ' of an edible domestic animal,
PURTY
[653 J
PUSSIKEY
esp. a sheep ; the intestines, including the stomach. See
Appurtenances.
Lin.i The sheep's head and purtenance. w.Som.i Tidn no gurt
hardship vor poor vokes when can buy a sheep's purtenance for
eightpence. Cor. N. & Q. (1854) ist S. x. 359; Cor.i Sheepshead
and portens ; Cor.^
PURTY, PURVAN, see Purt, Porvan.
PURVENSION, sb. Sus. Responsibility.
I wol never agen taak de purvension ov maakin a coman out ov
an angel, J ackson Southward Ho {i8g^) I. 339; I doant taak no
purvension dat he wOant hatch afor ya gits ter de village, ib. 433 ;
Sus.^ It is none of my purvension.
PUR VIDE, t^. e.An. A dial, form of ' provide.' (Hall.)
PURVIL, v} w.Yks.i Lin.i [pa-vU.] To provide for ;
to shift for a livelihood ; to provide food and drink by
artful means ; to supply, furnish ; occas. with out.
PURVIL, J^.2 m.Yks.i [pa-vil.] To place articles, esp.
pieces of material, one above the other. Hence Purvilled,
ppl. adj. arranged one above the other.
A purvilled arrangement of articles.
PURVIT, 1/. Stf.i To pilfer.
PURVIZER, flrfz;. I.W.^ With a proviso.
PURWATTLE, sb. Dev. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A splashed hedge. (Hall.)
PURWIGGY, see Porriwiggle.
PURY, sb. Nhb.i [pa'ri.] A foot-stalk or projecting
spur used to steady or stand a vessel upon.
There are three purys at the bottom of a yetUn for it to stand on.
PUS, v. Obs. Ess. To beat. Monthly Mag. {1815) U. 125.
PUSH, V. and sb.^ Var. dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. and
Eng. Also in form puss Dev. [puj, pBj.] 1. v. In
comp. (i) Push-cart, a wheelbarrow ; (2) -penny, a game
resembling shovelboard, played by Birmingham artisans ;
(3) -piat, obs., the game of ' leap-frog ' ; (4) -pin, a child's
game played with three pins ; (5) -plough, -ploo, or -plu,
a plough, worked by hand, for paring turf; a breast-
plough ; (6) -plood, having been pared by a ' push-ploo ' ;
^ (7) -up, a moment, instant.
(i)-w.Yks. Tak thi push-cart away throo theer(B.K.). (2)War.3A
small disk is placed on a long smooth table (answering to the 'Jack '
at bowls) ; a penny is then placed projecting over the end of the table
furthest away from the disk, and is struck towards the disk with
the palm of the hand ; the succeeding player trying to get nearer
to the disk with his penny, or, as in bowls, to force his opponent
out of the position already obtained. This is, in effect, I believe,
the old game of shovelboard, but played on an ordinary table.
(3) s.Pem. (W.M.M.) (4) Edb. Thro' the back game o' the I— s
Wha play'd awa at the push-pins, Learmont Poems (1791) 160.
w.Yks. The endeavour by a player is to push his pin by one push
across either of the remaining two (R-P.) ; Push-pins were nowt
to it, Hallam ffarfs&jvyac^ (i866)x; w.Yks.^, ne.Lan.i (5)Lakel.i-
It was generally used for taking off the surface or top sod from
turf. Cum.*, Wm.i w.Yks. Pushed by the plougher with boards
across the thighs, Hlfx. Courier (May 29, 1897). Chs.^ s.Chs.i
With a single long handle like a spade. Stf. A sort of spade, shod
somewhat in the form of an arrow, with a wing at one side, having
a cross piece of wood on the upper end of the helve, after the
manner of a crutch, to which they fasten a pillow, which setting
to their thigh, and so thrusting it forward, they pare the turf and
turn, it up to dry (K.) ; Stf.i, nw.Der.i, Der.* s.Pem. Laws Little
Eng. (1888) 421. (6) Chs.i (7) w.Yks. He alius comes to t'miln at
t'last push-up, an' if he doesn't mind he'll be locked aht some day,
Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 30, 1896).
2. To butt like a cow. s.Pem. Laws Little Eng. (1888)
421. 3. To hasten, hurry ; to drive, inconvenience,
straiten ; gen. in pass, with /or or up.
n.Yks.'iAh war varra mich pushed fortahm. w.Yks. I haven't been
so pushed for money this three years. Couldn't send em — we've
been so pushed for coals that we couldn't supply orders (W.B.T.).
Som. I'm a little pushed . . . and I thought perhaps you'd let me
have a small matter of fifteen pound, Raymond Gent. Uficoit {iSg^)
ii. w.Som.'^ Arter a bit I shan't be so much a-pushed-up, and
then I'll 'tend to it vor ee. We bin a-pushed-up, sure 'nough, this
[dheeuz] wik. Dev. I oughdn't ta be pussed up zo. Rock Jim
an' Nell (1867) st. 31. Cor. For now I shall push to make tay,
Forfar Jan's Crtshp. (1859) st. vii.
4. With over: to pull through, recover.
Cl»s. He was ill, but he thought he'd push over it (H.R.).
5. With in : to rake hay into ' rollers.'
Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863) (s.v. Haymeaken).
6. sb. Energy, determination. "
n.Yks.* Ther's neea push i' yon youth. Lan.' He'll never make
nowt on it — he's no push in him. Oxf. (G.O.)
7. An overplus, superabundance.
w.Yks. We're very busy; haven't had such a push of work for
twelve months (W.B.T.).
8. Phr. on i'push, in haste, busy.
w.Yks.Werrayderon-t'-push at Ahr spot just nah(B.K.) ; (J.W.)
9. A strait, difficulty, emergency.
w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Chs.i Dh)uwd chyaap)s bin aayt ii wuurk u
twel-miint ; it)s bin rae-dhur u piish upon' im. Oxf.' I can doo't at
a push, MS. add.
10. A moment ; an instant.
n.Yks.* He awlus leeaves iwery thing ti t'last push.
PUSH, 56.2 n.Yks.= [puJ.] A shoal of fish pursuing
their course.
PUSH, sb.^ Yks. Lei. Bdf e.An. Hmp. Also in form
bush Hmp. [puJ, pBj.] A boil, abscess, pimple.
n.Yks.=, Lei.i Bdf. Pushes are very rife (J.W.B.). e.An.12
Crab. I could not come to school, Sir, because I had a push
(W.M.B.) ; (J.W.B.) Nrf. Wiper's oil for scrumatics, an' turps
rags for pushes, Emerson Wild Life (1890) 19; (E.M.) Suf.
(C.T.) ; (C.L.F.); Suf.i Hmp. It's a push, miss, and weeps right
awful. It be a bush, miss, an' weeps dreadful, it do (W.M.E.F.).
[Pustula, a pushe. Levins Manip. ; Eschatibouillure, a
hot push, blain, blister (Cotgr.).]
PUSH, sb.'*- sw.Lin.i [pBj.] A pool, puddle.
The water all stood in pushes. We'd such a push of watter
agen our door, we had to let it off.
PUSHEENS, s6. />/. Irel. Slippers. s.Don. Simmons
Gl. (1890). Cf pushers.
PUSHEN, see Poison.
PUSHERS, s6.//. Irel. Stf Slippers. s.Don. Simmons
Gl. (1890) ; Stf.' Cf. pusheens.
PUSHLA, sb. Sc. Irel. Also in forms pushlagh Ant. ;
pushlock ne.Sc. ; puslic Sc. ; puslick Dmf. Gall. (Jam.)
The dung of cows, horses, or sheep.
Sc. Mackay. ne.Sc. A decoction of sheep's pushlocks . . .
was a cure for whooping-cough, . . also for jaundice, Gregor
Flk-Lore (1881) 46. Dmf., GaU. As light as a puslick. As dry as
a puslick. These are gathered by the poor, thoroughly dried and
bleached through the winter, and used as fuel in the spring (Jam.).
N.I.^ Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892).
PUSHLAGH, PUSHLOCK, see Pushla.
PUSHMIRE, PUSKET, see Pismire, s6.^ Peascod.
PUSKITCHIN, sb. w.Cy. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A tale-teller. (Hall.)
PUSKY, adj. w.Cy. Som. Dev. Also in form paskey
w.Cy. [pB-ski.] Wheezing, asthmatic ; puffing, short of
breath.
w.Cy. (Hall.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w-Som.! What a
proper pusky old fuller th' old Butch' Hartnell's a-come to ! n.Dev.
Et mak'th a pusky chap vor blow. Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) St. 31.
nw.Dev.l
PUSLIC, PUSLICK, see Pushla.
PUSS, s6.' Irel. Contraction of the lips, ill-temper.
Ir. He has an ugly puss, Simmons Gl. (1890). Don. Away the
masther goes with his mouth in a puss, Macmanus Chim. Corners
(1899) 172.
PUSS, sb.'^ Sc. Nhb. Cum. Yks. L A hare. See
Pussy, sb. 2.
Gall. Beasts and burds ... As Puss and Whaup and Wale,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 248, ed. 1876. Nhb. I see the canny
aad lass right i' the middle o' the next field gallopin on ti puss,
Pease Mark o' Deil (1894) 94 ; His eye caught sight of a puss
quietly galloping down by the hedge of a ploughed field, Graham
Red Scaur (1896) 88. Cum.* Used only in the singular number.
' But did ye kill the hares ? ' ' Aye, that we dud.' ' It wadn't been
sea hard to've spar'd a puss,' Graham Gwordy (1778) 30, 38.
2. Obs. A dirty slut; a contemptuous term for a woman.
w.Yks.i
PUSS, see Push, v.
PUSSIKEY, sb. and adj. I.W. [pB-siki.] 1. sb. A
little, short, conceited person. I.W.'^ 2. adj. Small
and self-important.
I.W.2 She's a regular pussikey little bit o' goods.
PUSSIVANTING
[654]
PUT
PUSSIVANTING, sb. andpp/. adj. Dev. Cor. Also in
form puzzivantin Dev. Cor. [pusivee'ntin.] 1. sb. An
ineffective bustle. Cf. pussyvan.
Dev.3 Cor. ' This 'ere pussivantin' may be relievin' to the mind,
but I'm darned ef et can be good for shoe-leather.' (Note : In the
15th cent., so high was the spirit of the Trojan sea-captains, and
so heavy the toll of black-mail they levied on ships of other ports,
that King Edward IV sent poursuivant after poursuivant to threaten
his displeasure. The messengers had their ears slit for their pains ;
and ' poursuivanting ' or ' pussivanting ' survives as a term for
ineffective bustle.), ' Q.' Troy Town (1888) xvii.
2. ppl. adj. Meddling, fussy, given to making a great
commotion without effecting any visible results.
Dev. 3, s.Dev., e.Cor. (Miss D.) Cor.i In the latter part of the
seventeenth century the Poursuivants came into the county to
search out all those entitled to bear arms : hence the term.
PUSSOUGH, adj. Obs. Wxf.' Thick, plump. See
Pussy, adj.
PUSSY, sb. Var. dial, and colloq. uses in Sc. Eng. and
Amer. Also in forms poosie, poosy, poussie Sc. [pu'si.]
1. In comb, (i) Pussy-bawdrons, a cat ; (2) -cat, (a) a
catkin, gen. of the willow, Salix, or of the hazel, Corytus
Avellana ; (b) the hairy caterpillar of the tiger-moth ; (3)
•cat's tails, (rt) the meadow soft-grass, Holcus lanatus ;
(b) see (2, a) ; (4) -paum, see (2, a) ; (5) -row, a tangled
ball of wool; (6) -wants-a-corner, the game of'puss-in-
the-corner'; (7) -willow, (8) Pussies-tails, see (2, a).
(i) Gall. Innocent as pussy-bavifdrons thinking on the cream-
jug, Crockett Raiders (1894) v. (2, a) n.Lin.i, Nhp.i, War.^^,
s.Wor.l, Glo. (A.B.), Glo.i, Brks.^, Bck., s.Cy., Ken., e.Sus.
(B. & H.), Hmp. (W.M.E.F.), Hmp.i Wll. Slow Gl. (1892);
Wil.i More commonly of willow only, (i) War.^ (3, a) Sus.
(B. & H.) (6) Dev. ib. (4) sw.Lin.i (5) Cor.3 (6) s.Chs.i
[Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 422.] (7, 8) Wil.i
2. A hare. See Puss, sb.^
Per. On yonder muir whaur poussie whids, Stewart Character
(1B57) 105. se.Sc. Donaldson Poems (1809) 93. Rnf. Pointing
to where the hare lay, he said, ' Ready the poosy ; it'll pit some
pith in her,' Good Wds.^iS^S) 184. Ayr. Morning poussie whiddin'
seen, Burns Ep. to J. Lapraik (Apr. i, 1785) st. i. Edb. Nor ne'er
a pussie whiddin' clean, Liddle Poems (1821) 145. Slk. I howp
poosie's tasty, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) IV. 98. Dmf. Quinn
Heather (1863) 71. n.Cy. Border Gl. {Coll. L.L.B.) Nrf. I went
down to the broad, and took a bender to hit the pussy with,
Emerson Son of Fens (1892) 280. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892).
3. //. The catkins of the willow, Salix, and of the hazel,
Corylus Avellana.
Glo. Very suggestive of the ' pussies ' of the willow, Ellacombe
Garden (1895) iii. Nrf. (P.H.E.), Wil.^
4. */. The wall barley-grass, Hordeum murinum. Ken.
(B. & H.)
PUSSY, adj n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Lin. Som. Dev.
Also in forms possy N.Cy.^ Nhb.' e.Yks.' Lin. ; pow^sey
N.Cy."^ [pu'si, pB'si, po'si.] 1. Short and fat ; bloated ;
short-winded.
N.Cy.', Nhb.i, e.Yks.', e.Lin. (G.G.W.) w.Som.i What a pussy
old fuller th' old Zaddler White's a-come ; I can min' un when he
used to go a-courtin, a slim young spark. Dev. 'Er's drefful pussy
tU-day, an' can't walk vast nur var, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
2. Decent-looking, respectable. N.Cy.'
PUSSYVAN, sb. Wil. Also in form puzzivent Wil.'
A flurry, temper. Cf. pussivanting.
Slow Gl. (1892); Wil.' 'He put I in such a puzzivent.'
Formerly used in both N. and S. Wilts, but now almost obsolete.
PUT, V.' and sb.^ Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. Eng. and
Amer. [put, pet, pit. The forms ending in -r are only
used when the next word begins with a vowel.] I. v.
Gram, forms. 1. Present Tense : (i) Pidh, (2) Pit, (3)
Poot, (4) Pu, (5) Puhr, (6) Pur, (7) Piit, (8) Putt. [For
further examples see II below.]
(i) Wxf.' Obs. (2) Sc. Formal law-work that we may pit round
us to cover our shame, Scott Midlothian (1818) xii. BnfF.' Ayr.
She pits hersel an' Rob in. Burns Halloween (1785) st. 10. n.Ir.
Wi'out iver pittin' them in a pot, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, 78.
Wxf.' Nhb. Pit the lads on their mettle, Clare Love of Lass
(1890) I. 93. Cum.* m.Yks.' Introd. 38. (3) n.Yks. Peeace to
promooat An' poot an end te strife, Castillo Poems (1878) 54.
(4) Der. Pu' 'em i' wayter overneeght, Gilchrist Nicholas and
Mary{i8gg) 11. (5) w.Yks.^ He could nobbut puhr it darn as the
grossest piece 0' impidence, 91. (6) Lan. Th' maister tuk his hat
deawn to pur it on, Ferguson Moudywarp, 7. l.Ma. Purra [put a]
(S.M.). s.Not. Purrin'. Pur iton the table (J.P.K.). Nrf.HowshulI
I pur it on? GillettSm^. So/, (i860) v. 3. (7) w.Wor.', Ken. (G.B.)
[Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 17, 240.] (8) Sc. (W.C. c. 1750) ;
(Jam.) Cai.' Glo. I wun't be putt aff wi' this yere un, Buckman
Darke's Sojourn (1890) xv. Nrf. Gillett S«^. Sol. (i860) ii. 13.
Sus.2, n.Dor. (S.S.B.), Dev.^ e.Dev. Heue shall ai putt 'em on
agen ? Pulman Sng. Sol. (i860) v. 3.
2. Preterite: (i) Pat, (2) Pit, (3) Por'd, (4) Pot, (5) pur, (6)
Putted, (7) Puttit.
(i) Sc. Murray Dial. (1873) 206. Sh.I. I raise an' pat ipo me,
Clark N. Gleams (1898) 37. Cai.' Ayr. My father pat me fra
his door, Burns Bonie Lad, st. 3. Nhb.', Dur.' Cum. To the
fluir it pat him, STAGcil/wc. Poems (ed. 1807) 14 ; Cum.i m.Yks.'
Introd. 38. w.Yks. (J.W.) (2) Sc. (A.W.) (3) Dev.3 Her por'd
her hand right into the hole. (4) Nhb.' Cum.' ; Cum.^ This pot
t'cap on t'top of o', 11. Wm. T'fella pot his arm roond her waist,
RoBisoN^aWr«a/<'s(i882)8. n.Yks. (I. W.) (5) w.Yks. (J.W.)
(6) Frf.BARRiE7of«»y (1896)99. Gall Mactaggart£«c)'c/.(i824).
w.Wor. [He] putted 'em i' the waater, S. Beauchamp N. Hamilton
(1875) II. 297. (7) Kcd. Burness Garron Ha' (c. 1820) 1. 554.
3. pp. : (i) Pat, (2) Pit, (3) Pitten, (4) Pittin, (5) Pot,
(6) Pottan, (7) Potten, (8) Pur, (9) Putt, (10) Puttan, (11)
Patten, (12) Puttin.
(i) Sc. He's weel pat on too ! Ramsay Remin. (ed. 1859) 218.
Sh.I. His airm he's pat roond her middle sae jimp, Stewart Tales
(1892) 237. Nhb. Aw hae pat off the coat, Robson Evangeline
(1870) Introd. 7. (2) Sc. (A.W.),Cai.' Wxf.' At by mizluck was
ee-pit to drive in, 84. (3) Sc. The book's pitten out the fire? Sc.
Haggis, 59. Sh.I. Lang in gettin' da twa mile pitten ahint wis.
Burgess 5fe/cfes (2nd ed.) iii. Abd. Wemaun get it pitten richt,
Greig Logie o' Bucfian (1899) 292. Gall. He should hae pitten it
doon at the manse door, Crockett .ff^V Kennedy {i&gg) 59. (4)
Sh.I. Sh. News (May 13, 1899). (5) n.Lin.' (6) Wm. Thor lads,
hed geean an pottan t'duck pond ... it middle at rooad. Spec.
Dial. (1885) pt. iii. 2. (7) Sc. Rare (A.W.). Ayr. He had ta'en
the knock to bits and potten't up again twice owre. Service
Notandums (1890) 42. (8) w.Yks. (J.W.) Lan. Aw've pur up wi'
mich, Harland Lyrics {^866) 137. (9) Nrf. I've putt off my coot,
Gillett Sng. Sol. (i860) v. 3. Sus. 2 (10) Cum. T'oald man hed
puttan on gaily fast, SARGissoN/oeScoa/) (1881)8. (11) Sc. Murray
Dial. (1873) 206. Abd. That hed putten 't i' my held may be,
MACDONALDSz>G(64ic(i879)xlvi. Dmb. She's putten me in a singin'
mood, Cross Disruption (1844) xv. Lth. Your things and mine's
putten thegither will mense the house, Strathesk More Bits (ed.
1885)16. Nhb.i, Lakel.2 Cum.' He's putten hisclogson. n.Yks.'^*,
ne.Yks.i, e.Yks.' m.Yks.' Puot'u'n, /w^rorf. 38. w.Yks.'^s Lan.
Arter[s;(:] I'm putten under ground; Longman' s Mag. (Nov. 1895)
65. ne.Lan.', Chs.' (12) Kcb. I'm puttin aboot sadly, Armstrong
Kirkiebrae (1896) 285.
II. Dial. uses. 1. v. In comp. (i) Put-by, (a) a make-
shift, anything temporary, a substitute ; (b) a hoard,
' nest-egg ' ; (2) -hod, a set fixture like the key-stone in an
arch, upon which the stability of the other stones depends;
(3) -off, {a) an excuse, pretext ; {b) capable of being
deferred, not immediately necessary ; (4) -on, [a) style of
dress, attire, ' get-up ' ; [b) assumption, affectation ; (c) a
fabrication, deception ; (5) -pay, in mining: the delaying
of the payment of the fortnightly wages until after the
usual day ; (6) -up-bed, a folding-bed.
(i, a) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.' w.Sc. That's jist a put by o' a dinner
(Jam.). (6) w.Sc. That siller will be a guid put by for the winter
(Jam.). (2) n.Yks.* (3, a) Lnk. When they did complain thereof,
were answer'd with a mere put off, Graham Writings (1883) I.
184. w.Yks.' (b) n.Yks.^ Yan's a put-off job, t'other's a need-
turn (s.v. Need-turn^. (4, a) Lnk. A man with a defective hat . . .
could never be considered ' dressed,' nae maitter what was his
'pit-on,' Murdoch Readings (1895) II. 31. (6) w.Yks. He's far
ta mich put-on abaht him fer my fancy (B.K.). (c) s.Chs.' Ahy
wii)nu bileyv dhaat* ; it saayndz tu much lahyk ii piif-on. (5)
Nhb.' Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (6) n.Yks.
(I.W.)
2. Comb, with adv., prep., &c. : (i) Put about, (a) reflex, to
wrap oneself up, to put on clothes; [b) to put to annoy-
ance or inconvenience ; to distress, vex, harass ; to
disturb, disconcert ; gen. in pass. ; (2) — afore, to put on
in front of; (3) — against, to vote against, oppose ; (4) —
PUT
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PUT
along-, to go or drive faster ; (5) — aside, to bewitch ; (6)
— at, (a) to set to ; to apply oneself; (b) to dun ; (c) to
apply for help ; (7) — away, (a) to put to death, destroy ;
(b) to bury ; (c) to remove one's outer garments ; {d) to
lay by, save ; (e) to pawn ; (/) to scare off ; (8) — back,
to thrust or hold back ; (9) — by, (a) to lay aside care-
fully ; to hoard, save, lay by ; (b) to bury ; to dispose of,
eat ; (c) to maintain, support ; to defray the expenses of;
to entertain ; (d) to delay, defer, postpone ; to turn from
a purpose; to prevent; («) to endure, last, hold out
beyond ; (/) to serve one's turn, to do for the occasion ;
to do as a makeshift, to be satisfied with ; ( 10) — by on,
(ii) — by with, see (9,/) ; (12) — down, (a) to kill, lay
violent hands on ; to hang ; re/lex. to commit suicide ; {b)
see (7, b) ; (c) to bottle ; to preserve in jars, &c. ; to salt,
cure ; (d) to advance money ; (13) — in, {a) see (7, 6) ; (b)
of the seasons, &c. : to come in ; of the days : to lengthen,
increase ; (c) to put into the stable, to unharness ; (d) to
contribute ; to deposit money ; (e) to endure, pass ; to
fulfil ; to suffer as punishment ; (/) to rake hay into
windrows for carting ; (g) to remove corn from the field
to the stackyard ; (h) to plant, cultivate, sow ; (i) to fatten
pigs ; (14) — in for, (a) to tender ; {b) to try in a lottery ;
(15) — off, (fl) to undress oneself; to take off one's outer
garments ; (b) to run or go away quickly ; (c) to kill,
destroy ; to dispose of; {d) to waste, squander ; («) to get
a crop off ground ; (16) — on, (a) to clothe, dress ; gen. in
pp. ; \b) to put or keep on one's hat ; (c) to press _; to be
hard upon, oppress, ill-treat; to dun; to victimize, impose
upon ; to take advantage of; {d) to go at full speed ; to
push forward ; to increase one's speed ; (e) to put on
airs ; to display vauntingly ; (/) to begin to speak ; to
translate into, interpret ; (^) to impute to ; (A) to supply
for a time ; to subsist indifferently ; {i) to delay ; to con-
tinue ; (7) in" mining : to overlie ; (17) — out, \a) to give
out work to be done at home ; (b) to expend ; to pay or
spend money ; to invest, lend on security ; (c) to dress ;
{a) to throw away ; (?) see (15, b) ; (/) to put forth ; to
exert ; {g) to lengthen ; {h) to bake ; (?) to express ; to
propose, throw out a suggestion ; (/) to shout aloud ; ik)
to toll ; (/) in mining : to crop out ; (;«) to settle in life, to
start, educate ; (18) — over, (a) to survive, endure, live
through ; to recover ; {b) to tide over, serve for, suffice ;
(c) to swallow ; (19) — through, (a) to push through,
penetrate ; {b) to spread aboad ; (c) to push on with ; to
get through with an effort ; (d) to deceive, cheat, swindle;
(20) — to or til, (a) to shut, close ; {b) to harness, yoke ;
(c) to put together for the purpose of propagation ; {d) to
apprentice ; (e) to begin, set to work ; (/) to sow with ;
{g) to question, interrogate; {h) to light up (a candle, &c.) ;
(i) in pass. : to be in difficulties or straits, to be sorely
tried ; to be flustered, agitated, abashed ; [j) to make
to endure; to subject to; (21)— up, (a) to raise; to
erect : (6) to settle ; to have a home of one's own ; (c) see
(9, a) ; {d) to provoke, rouse, offend ; (e) obs. to endure,
put up with ; (/) see (13, i) ; (g) to vomit, eructate ; (h)
to reserve for hay ; (22) —up at, to court, woo ; (23) —
up to, to teach, instruct ; (24) — upon, (a) see (i, a) ; (b)
see (16, c) ; (25) — vore, to put forward, advance, exhibit ;
to obtrude.
(i, a) Sh.I. Lat me pit aboot me noo 'at da caauld aer is begun,
Sh. News (June g, 1900) ; Doo'U need ta pit weel aboot dee,
Sibbie, or dan dool get dy deth, ib. (Dec. 17, 1898). (6) Sc. I
was sair put about to get that siller (Jam.). Sh.I. A kind o' pitten
aboot laek, Sk. News (Feb. 26, 1898). Cai.i Abd. She'll be
pitt'n aboot wi' 's bidin' there, Ai-exahder Johnny Gibb (1871) xvi.
e.Sc. Speak up, man, . . d'ye no see he's putten about ? Setodn
Sunshine (1895) 313. Lnk. Fraser IVhaups (1895) 147. Kcb.
I'm puttin aboot sadly, Mrs. Brown, Armstrong Kirkiebrae (1896)
385. n.Cy. (J.W.), Dur.i n.Yks. Ah was sair put about, when
he tell't me (T.S.) ; n.Yks.'* ne.Yks.i Ah can't bahd it ; it puts
ma aboot sadly. w.Yks. A showman sed at he likes alias ta be
putting foaks abaght, Tom Treddlehoyle Baimsla Ann. (1857)
37; w.Yks.i2, ne.Lan.i, chs.', s.Chs.i Der. Ashford was . . .
much 'put about' by the news, Verney Sione Edge (1868) xi.
Not.', Lei.', Nhp.i, War.^s w.Wor.^ That upset along uv the
naaybours pflt me about above a bit. se.Wor.', Shr.', Hrf.^ Glo.
Lewis Gl. (1839) ; Glo.' Oxf.' If we shall put you about, we'll go,
MS. add. Brks.i She zimmed a goodish bit put about 'acause
I happened to ketch her a-workin' at the wash-tub. Hnt. (T.P.F.),
Sus. (S.P.H.) Wil.' Now dwoan't 'ee go an' put yourself about
wi't. Som. Mr. Misterton declared that he was not much put
about by that, Raymond Misterion's Mistake (1888) 29. w.Som.l
Maister was ter'ble put about 'cause you bide about so long.
Dev. Mrs. Turpit was sadly ' put about ' and we ran out of butter
in consequence, O'Neill Idyls (1892) 33. (2) Sh.I. Shii . . .
clikkid a dic'd apren a£f o' da foreside o' da butt bed an' pat afore
her, Sh. News (Nov. 17, igoo"). (3) Sc. (A.W.) n.Yks.2 They've
putten ageean 't. (4) I.W,' Mind your bosses, buoy, and put 'em
along. (5) Som. Ool' Lizzie might ha' wish'd her evil, and me too,
an' then if we was ' putt aside,' . . maybee I coolden goo 'crass zea,
IsiTH Lemon Vei-dena {iSg^) 124. (6, a) Cld. Pit at itan'hae dune
wi't (Jam.). (A) Bnff.' The banker's beginnin' t'pit at him for the
bill, (c) ib, A kenna fat 'ill cum o' 'im noo, fin's breether's awa ;
for he'll hae naebody t'pit at. (7, a) n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' We've
gitten t'poor thing putten away. w.Yks. They're bahn to put
Johnny dog away 'cos they're flayed on't goin' mad, Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (May 30, 1896). (6) w.Yks. Some poor comrades under-
took To see her put away, Hartley Heart Broken (1870) 71-2 ;
(S.K.C.) Der. Go wi' us to Bighlow for the buryin' . . . Theer'll
be none theer— we wanted to put her away byaarsens, Gilchrist
Peakland Faggot (1897) 13. Glo. Dorcas had 'put away four'
[children] in the^cemetrary* on the Fletborough road, Longman's
Mag. (July 1899) 274. Dev. 'Twould fall to dust if you moved
un ; yet I'd not have it do so till I be put away, Pall Mall Mag.
(Apr. 1900) 436. (c) n.Yks.* {d) Fif. I'd a wee siller pit awa.
We'll wrestle through, Heddle Marget (1899) 45. (c) Ess. My
wife's gone to the town to put away a few things (A,S.-P.). (/)
Cum. A hare rushing past will put the plover away from its roost,
Watson Nature and Wdcraft. (1890) ii. (8) Nhb.' I have heard of
iron frames that have been used to put back these quicksands,
Compleat Collier (1708) 21. (9, a) Sc. Pit by a' ye can (Jam.).
Sh.I. Da maist o' folk 'ill pit by ower \veel, Sh. News (Sept, 9,
1899). Cai.', Bnff.' Don. They put by ivery ha'penny they could
scratch or save, Pearson's Mag. (May 1900) 475. n.Cy. (J.W.)
Nhb. A' sorts o' fine froots, . . that aw've putten by for the',
RoBSON Sng. Sol. (1859) vii. 13. w.Yks. (J.W.) Brks.' I vinds
I can't put by no money in thaze yer hard times. w.Sus. He had
a tidy bit of money put by, Gordon Vill. and Doctor (iSg"]) 290.
(A) Sh.I. Da first craw at comes 'ill shune pit hir by, Sh. News
(Oct. 22, 1898). w.Cum. ' Put by ' is the usual way of insinuating
that any one has consumed an inordinate quantity of food (J .A.).
n.Yks.*, w.Yks. (J.W.) {c) Bn£f.' It's nae an aisy matter t' pit by
an election. He likes a gueede diet, an nae little o't tee ; a wyle
it's nae mowse t' pit him b3'. w.Sc. It taks nae wee penny to pit
us a' by dacently (Jam.), (rf) Sc. Whatsoever they had con-
descended to was only to put by that Assembly, Gltthry Mem.
(1747) 80 (Jam.). Dmb. The weans for bread dis greet and cry,
Wi' twathree 'tatoes she puts them by, Taylor Poems (1827) 70.
Dmf. You and I Are sweer to put a merchant by. When we hae
goods, and want to sell, Shennan Tales (1831) 43. Gall. I'll gie
ye a daud on the side o' the head that will pit ye by looking at a
lad till September fair, Crockett Kit Kennedy (1899) 63. Nhp.'
He'd 'a' done it, if he hadn't been put by. Hnt. (T.P.F.) {e)
Sh.I. We need shuggar, an' I dunna den ken if we'll pit by helly for
tae, Sh. News (May 7, 1898). w.Sc. My coat'Il no pit by anither
winter (Jam.). (/) Rnf. [They] may do to put you by Till each
of you has fixed an eye Upon a lass, M'Gilvray Poems (ed.
1862) 70 ; Nor lans, nor wealth o' gear hae I, But aye as muckle's
pits me by, Young Pictures (1865) 23. (10) Cai.' Ye an' me can
pit by on ony thing ; leave 'at bit o' caal runkar till yer faither.
(11) Sh.I. A'm pittin nae tae ta da fire. Doo'll hae ta pit by wi' da
sam' (J. I.). w.Sc. Ye man pit by wi' that for ae day (Jam.V
Cld. That's a' I hae to gie ye an' ye .man jist put by wi't. I could
put by wi' ither five pounds {ib.). (12, a) Slk. The most . . .
accomplished lady of the age . . . was suffered to be put down as
a common criminal, Hogg Perils of Man (1822) III. 291 (Jam.).
Rxb. What for'll you be for putting me down, my lord Angus?
Hamilton Outlaws (1897) 250. Nhb.' Ahorse or dog are [sic'] said
to be put down. ' 1589. Alice Stokoe . . . did put down herselfe in
her maistor's house in her own belt,' Brand Hist. Newc. 674.
Lakel.2 ' What's come o' auld Bawty ? ' ' He's bin putten-doon a
canny while ; he gat seea mucky.' Cnm.^ They'd buriet t'pooer
aid fooak wi' lime, whar the' wer putten doon, 98 ; Cum.* Esp.
with reference to an old and favourite animal. (6) Abd. He's
laid neist to yer fader, laddie — ye'll min' fat wye the aul' fowk
was pitt'n doon, Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 203. Ken. I shall
PUT
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PUT
put my old bones down in my own-born parish, I shall, Murray
Nov. Note Bk. (1887) 285. (c) Lakel.2 Ess. What beautiful
plums, they'll do to put down (F.P.T.). {d)'Wa.v? His father has
had to put down the rent for him. You shall have the house-
keeping book to-morrow ; I have put down the money for the
washing-bill. (13, a) Sus.^ If I knowed when he was a-going to
be putt-in, I'd goo for sartin. (6) n.Yks. When March puts in
(I.W.). n.Lin.i Daays begin to put in nicetly when March hes
cum'd in. Spring winds put in early this year an' lasted laate.
I sha' n't thresh no oats awhile March puts in. {c) Ayr. I'll put
in the powny while you set the tea, Johnston Congalton's Legacy
(1896) 332. {d) Cai.i Cld. He put in a' he had to keep the
business gaein'. I was at the bank an' put in thirty pounds (Jam.).
(«) Cld. He put in a sair nicht. He's put in twa years o' his
prenticeship. I put in thirty days (Jam.). (/) ne.Yks.' It is thus
made into a ' windrow ' for cocks to be formed from or for the
horses to 'sweep' into pike if fully dried. 'Run an' tell yer
muther ti cum an' put in a bit ; it leeaks as thoff it wer boun ti
raan.' Chs.* Bdf. After which it [the grass] is put in, as it is
termed, or laid in double rows, and immediately carted to the
stack, Batchelor Agric. (1813) 442. {g) Cal.i (A) w.Som.^
Plase, sir, I want to bide 'ome to-morrow, to put in my garden.
I an't a put in no paa'snips de year, our vokes don't care nort
'taal 'bout em. (») ib. I shall let 'em urn a little bit longer vore
they be a-put in. (14, a) Sc. (A.W.), w.Yks. (J.W.) s.Not. Five
builders put in for the houses (J.P.K.). {b) n.Yks. (I.W.) (15, a)
n.Yks.' ' Betsy, gan thoo te't shop.' ' Neea, mother, I's jest putten
off. Let Jane Ann gan ' ; n.Yks.* (6) Lakel.^ OflfAh put as hard as
mi legs wad gang, {c) Sh.I. Ir ye gaun ta pit aff da auld koo,
Bawby? Sh. News (June 2, igoo). n.Yks.' Hev ye beared at
au'd Mally at t'work'us has putten herself off? n.Yks.** ne.Yks.i
T'auld dog's that bad, ah think we mun put him off. (rf) Sc.
(Jam.) («) n.Yks. This hay puts off weel (I.W.). (16, a) Sc. O
slowly, slowly, raise she up, And slowly put she on, Scott
Minstrelsy (ed. 1803) II. 168 (Jam.). Cat' e.Sc. He's weel
putten on too, Setoun Sunshine (1895) 309. Frf. He was finely
put on, wi' a gold chain, Barrie Tommy (i8g6) 107. Fif.
Robertson Provost (1894) 119. Ayr. You are well put on to be
that way. Hunter Studies (1870) 74. Lnk. Ye canna pit on like
my dochters an' me, Watson Poews (1853) 46. Lth.Ye're very weel
' put on ' fer a labouring man, Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885)
290. Ir. 'Come, Vengeance,' says CoUier, 'put on you,' Carleton
Traits (ed. 1843) !• 209. N.I.' I had hardly time to put on me.
He rose an' put on him. Don. They wor as well put-on ... as iver
another family in the parish, Pearsons Mag. (May 1900) 475.
Nhb.i He likes to see ye weel put on, Horsley New Start for 81.
Lakel.^ He's nobbut varra badly put-on aboot t'feet. Cum."
e.Cum. He was weel put on (M.P.). n.Yks. He's beautifully
put on (T.S.) ; n.Yks.12 Lin. She is decently put on enow,
Scott Midlothian (1818) xxvii. (A) Abd. I thank you — what's the
news in town ? Pit on, pit on ; How's Simon ? Shirrefs Poems
(1790) 72. (c) s.Sc. He's sair put on for that siller (Jam.). Ir.
The dhragon put very sore on Jack entirely till the sun went
down, Macmanus Chim. Comers (1899) 46. Don. It was the year
of the bad times, an' the same put hard on her, ib. Bend of
Road (1898) 13; Oh 1 don't put sore on the poor boy, ib. 228.
Wxf. But I often wonder why I am always put on to lead the
long dance, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 46. Lakel.2 Thoo's bin
put-on. Cum.' n.Yks.' Sadly putten on, he is, for seear, wi'
thae lang lalloping lasses o' his. Putten on wiv his wife, an' a'
body besides, Ah think. m.Yks.' Thou's putten on o' him long
enough. w.Yks. Shoo leukt as if shoo'd been sadly put on wal
shoo'd been i' service (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.', e.Lan.', m.Lan.', Der.*,
War.3 Wor. Had put on her too much and she was provoked to
say what she did, Evesham Jrn. (Apr. 9, 1897). Brks.', Ess.'
Dor. Dang I iv I'll be put on, Agnus Jan Oxber (igoo) 189. (d)
Sc. Put on, put on my wichty men, Sae fast as ye can drie, Edom
o' Gordon, in Pinkerton Ballads (1783) (Jam.) ; The coachman
put faster on and outrun the most of the rogues, Wodrow Ch.
Hist. (1721) II. App. 8 (Jam.). Cum. He put on a canny bit
faster ner yan wad ha thowt wih sec a leead, Sargisson Joe
Scoap (1881) 6; Cum.' e.Yks.' MS. add. (T.H.) s.Not. When
a got off of the gress, a begun to put on (J.P.K.). Lin.' Put on
the pronkus. Nhp.' You'll be late if you don't put on. Oxf. (G.O.)
I.W.' (e) w.Yks. Gough ! but he did put it on when he gate to be
t'mayor, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (May 30, 1896). Brks.' (/) Sc. Wha
can put words on the warks o' the Lord ? Waddell Psalms (1871)
cvi. 2. Per. She pat on the Gaelic (G.W.). {g) Edb. She . . .
then dyed, putting her death on her, Maidment Spottiswoode
Miscell. (1844-5) II- 54- Don. It's put on him, he's so jintlemanly,
that he was niver yet known to make use of a wrong or dis-
respectable word, Macmanus Bend of Road (18^8) 159. {h) n.Yks.
This breead will put you on till ti mooan (I.W.). w.Yks.',
ne.Lan.' {i) Wm. (J.M.) (/) Nhb.' (17, a) Lan. Weavers . . .
took away in their wallets the warp and weft which Adam ' put
out ' to them, Westall Old Factory (1885) xiii ; He put out a
class of mixed silks, Brierley Layrock (1864) i. Chs.' (i) Sc.
He put out ten pounds on't (Jam.). w.Som.' Can't never look to
do no good in farmering now, nif anybody's afeard vor to put out.
He've always a-got money vor to put out. He've a-got 'undids
a-put out, one place and tother. (c) n.Yks. They put out mair
when they gat t'money (I.W.). (rf) Suf. E. g. of fragments of
food, &c. (S.J.) («) Lakel.2 Oot Ah put. (/) Sc. The spirit of
God whose proper work it is to put out the foresaid noble opera-
tions, Gw^An'^'s TVj'a/ (1755) 167 (Jam.); Fleming Scn^^wj-e (1726).
Nrf. The fig-tree du putt out her green figs, Gillett Sng. Sol.
(i860) ii. 13. {g) e.Yks.' Days begin ti put-oot a bit. {h) Abd.
She maun yet put out a batch O' bear and ait, Keith Farmer's
Ha' (1774) St. 9. Per. Babie was in the act of ' putting out ' —
that is, kneading, rolling with a rolling-pin, and spreading on the
iron griddle on the top of the peat-fire a baking of oaten cakes
for household use, Sarah Tytler JViich-wife (1897) 141. (i) Nrf.
'Did he say anything about the price?' 'No — I didn't know
who'd put it out, you or he.' ' Oh, he'd better put it out,'
Emerson So« of Fens (1892) 106. w.Cy. He've a good maning
al'ays, Gilbert haves, but he don't know how to put it out, Bayly
/. Merle (1890) viii. {j) Cum." With reference to a new clerk in
the parish church, it was reported that he would do well, for he
could 'pit oot the Amens bravely.' 'Ah've hard them [actors]
shoot oot "Me neaam's Nerval" — an than put oot "a horse, a horse!
me kingdom for aseckint Daniel!'" SARGissoN/oe5'co(7^(i88i) 184.
(k) e.An.' To put out the bell. (/) Nhb.' The limestone puts-out.
{m) Som. What can you expect with eight daughters who cannot
be put out ? Raymond Gent. Upcott (1893) i. Dev. Wi' chillun to
be put out in hfe an' done for, Longman's Mag. (June 1901) 148.
(18, a) Cai.' Cld. He'll no put owre till the morn (Jam.). Uls.
The doctor has very bad behopes he'll put over the winter,
Hamilton Uls. Bog (1896) 10. Nhb.' He'll not put-ower the
neet. Shr.^ He wunna put this turn o'er, {b) Cai.' Cld. That'll
put owre the day (Jam.). Ltb. It, wi' a chack o' white bread an'
a mouthfu' o' ale, wad maybe pit us owre a' nicht, Lumsden
Sheep-head (1892) 250. Edb. Ware their hard won penny fee on
what will put them over the following week, Ballantine Gaber-
lunzie (ed. 1875) 7. Nhb.' Aa'll try to put-ower till Christmas.
(c) Cld. I canna put it oure. Tak some milk to put owre your
bite (Jam.). Lnk. 'Here, pit owre that,' handing the well-filled
china cup to her visitor, Murdoch Readings {iSgs) III. 10. (19, a)
Nhb.' Quick-sands (if not too thick) are often put through by
deals or timber, Cornpleat Collier (jioB) 21 . (i) Frf. It was Chirsty
Miller 'at put it through the toon, Barrie Thrums (1889) ii. (c)
Nhb.' If aa oney put-through this job aa'll be reet eneuf. s.Oxf.
Up to her elbows in soapsuds ' putting through ' the family wash,
Rosemary Chilterns (1895) 10. (rf) Cor.3 You was put through
that time. He'll put 'ee through if you d' give en the chance.
(20, a) Sc. Put ta the door ahint ye (Jam. Suppl.) ; The other got
up upon this to put to the door, Kirkton Ch. Hist. (1817) 454,
Append. Cai.' Ayr. In he gade . . . An' eke he did the door
put to, Fisher Poems (1790) 71. w.Yks. (J.W.), Not.', Lei.',
Nhp.', War.3, Hnt. (T.P.F.) Dev. I had put to the door, Good
Wds. (1881) 850. (6) Sc. Putt to the .horses (W.C. c. 1750).
Cum.", Not.' Lei.' Let's put to, an' be off. Nhp.', War.s, Hnt.
(T.P.F.) (c) Sc. (A. W.) n.Yks.;The farmers generally keep a few
Scotch Galloways which they put to stallions of the country,
Marshall Review (1808) I. 486. w.Som.' I always puts my cows to
Mr. Venn's bull. Maister zend me up vor t'ax if you'd plase to let'n
put the bitch to your dog. {d) Sc. (A.W.), w.Yks. (J.W.), Not.'
Rut.' I should like to put him to the butchering or the shoemaking.
Lei.' She was put to the dress-making. War.^ w.Som.' We've
a-put Bill to the blacksmithin, and I s'pose we shall put Jack to
the tailderin. (c) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.' (/) w.Som.i ' Thick fiel' o'
young grass was lookin' zo bad, I brok'n up and put'n to turmuts.'
The invariable form used to denote the cropping of any piece of
land. It is never ' sown with wheat,' but always 'put to wheat,'
'put to potatoes.' {g) Abd. Shirrefs Poems (1790) Gl.; Ye's
get nae harm frae me. Nor mair be putten till whate'er ye be,
Ross Helenore (1768) 64, ed. 1813. (h) Dev. An wen thare lite
thay wid put tu, Tha cannel aul zim'd burnin blu, Nathan Hogg
Poet. Lett. (ed. 1866) 2nd S. 40. (i) Cai.' Cld. I was rale putten
ta when I saw him tak the gun (Jam,). w.Yks. I don't think
thear's onny black man been as hard put tul as a ooind woman
like my mother! Yksman. Comic Ann. (1878) 9. Lan.' He wur
hard put-to, poor lad, to make ony sort of a livin'. War. Rooks
PUT
[657 J
PUT
are more ' put to ' in getting food than used to be the case,
Midi. Counties Herald (May 6, 1897) ; War.s He is often put
to to find food for his family. Oxf.' MS. add. Dor. But we
must needs be put-to for want of a wholesome crust, Hardy
Casierbiidge (ed. 1895) 34 ; He's a put-to vor money, Barnes
Gl. (18631. w.Som.i We was ter'ble a-put-to vor want o' the
things you promished. w.Cor. I was put to to find room for
'un (M.A.C.). (>) Sh.I. Isna dat suntin ta be pittin till wi' a lok
o' furrin kanabils? Sh. News (May 13, 1899). w.Yks. Ye s'd
never have been put to this, Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) xviii.
(21, a) Sh.I. Shu raise an' pat up da wick n' da lamp a bit,
Sh. News (Dec. 1, 1900). Tif. Folk'U see it afif the road, and
be aye speering what it is pit up till I Heddle Marget (1899) 79.
(6) Slfc. You have been the support of my old age . . . and I
should like to see you put up afore I leave you, Hogg Tales
(1838) 340, ed. 1866. (c) Nhp.i I've put up my money to help
buy me a coat. War.^ (rf) Nhp.^ She's put up in a minute if
you contradict her. War.3 (e) Dmf. They fan' him no just trusty
either; and couldna pit it up ava, Shennan Tales (1831) 56.
(/) n.Yks. (I.W.) ig) Cai.i, Cld. (Jam.) {h) I.W. I zeen . . .
the meadow beyond put up for hay with the wind blowing the
grass about, Gray Annesley (1889) 11. 137. (22) w.Yks. He put
up at her, but shoo'd ha'e nowght to du wi' him, Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (June 6, 1896'). Lan. He's puttin' up at one o' th' King o'
Denmark's lasses, Waugh Sphinx (1870) III. 259. (23) w.Yks.
(J.W.) n.Lin.i He knew noht at all aboot aither sufBn' or hedge-
plashin' when he cum'd here, but I soon put him up to 'em.
w.Som.^ Th' old Nailer put'n up to blacksmithy a bit, and he
larned the rest o' it out o' his own head. (24, a") Sh.I. Da servant
heard da knock an' pat apon her an' ran t' da door, Stewart
Tales (1892) 252 ; ShU geed up da stair ta pit ipun her. Burgess
Sketches (2nd ed.) 15. (6) Sc. You that have always been a good
sister to me, and never let me be put upon, Keith Lisbeth (1894)
vii. Ayr. Still must we put upon him, and urge him till he rise,
Dickson H^'fi/m^s (1660) 1. 116, ed. 1845. w.Yks. (J.W.) Der. We
wunna be put upon, Gilchrist PieaWa«rfF«^^o/ (1897) 123. Not.^
Lln.i Being a younger brother, he was put-upon. Lei."- Ah've noo
roights to be put upon a-this'ns. Nhp.' I'll not be put upon by
her. War. I'll not be put upon by no man, Geo. Eliot S. Marner
(1861) vi ; War.a Oxf.i MS. add. Bdf. A good natural person
is ' easily put-upon ' (J.W.B.). Hat. (T.P.F.) Mid. Poor thing!
She is put upon very sadly, Blackmore ^iV (1890) I. vi. Ken. '
He's so easy, ye see, he lets hisself be put-upon by anybody.
Sur.* n.Wil. I tell 'ee I won't have her put upon (E.H.G.). Dor.
I won't have 'Lias Fyander's widow insulted nor yet put upon,
FRA^■CIS Fyander's Widow (1901) pt. i. ix. w.Som.' Now, you
bwoys, drap it, you baint gwain vor to put 'pon the little ones
like that there. w.Cor. He puts upon her ' fine.' Her face do put
upon her body [makes her look well when she is not] (M.A.C.).
[Amer. Put upon, an' snubbed, an' jawed at, Westcott David
Harum (1900) xx.] (25) w.Som.' Oh ees ! he's safe to put vore
heeszul. Mr. Bond's a good raaister 'bout puttin vore 0' work.
All the prizes to the ploughin' match was a-put vore tap the
table. Nicish 'oss, he puts hiszul vore well. n.Dev. And whan
ha put vore tha quesson, Exm. Crtshp. (1746) 1. 467.
3. Phr. (i) not to know where to put oneself, not to know
what to do with oneself from pain, emotion, &c. ; (2) put
down two, a name given to one of the sides of the ' Long
Lawrence ' (q.v.) ; (3) to be put by oneself, t-o be greatly
excited ; (4) — to buck, to be overcome, surprised, aston-
ished ; (5) —to it or til it, to be in difficulties or straightened,
to be in a fix ; to be abashed, put out of countenance ; (6)
to put a case, to propose as a question ; (7) — a si^ht on, to
call on, visit ; (8) — boards in the hole, to shut the door ;
(9) —correction on, to punish; (10) —down the brows, to
frown ; (11) —fast, to close, shut ; (12) —from dinner, to
take away the appetite; (13) — hand in, (14) —hand to,
(1^) — /iand{s on, io lay violent hands on, to assault; reflex.
to commit suicide; (t6) —home, see (11); (17) —ma
foot, to make haste, hurry ; (18) in the banns, cries, or
spurrins, to publish the banns of marriage ; (19) —m the
pin to give up drinking ; (20) — no doubt, not to doubt, to
have no doubt ; (21) —off one's all sorts, to give vent to
one's anger ; to express oneself freely ; to abuse, scold ;
(22) —off one's time, to delay, waste time; (23) —on
another pin, to start on a fresh subject of thought or con-
versation ; (24) — one in the head of, to cause one to
recollect ; to remind ; (25) — one through a thing, to clear
up ; to explain anything to a person ; (26) — one to the
VOL. IV.
door, to dismiss, reject; see Door, 2 (7, b); (27) — one^s
frock on, to change one's dress in the afternoon ; (28) —
one^s muck up, (29) — onefs pot on, to raise one's temper ;
to make angry ; (30) — on^s shoulder out, to get angry ;
(31) — oneself away, (32) — oneself down, to commit suicide ;
(33) — oneself out, see (30) ; (34) — out of hand, to finish
off, accomplish ; (35) — out of the road, {a) to kill ; {b) to
inconvenience ; (36) — out of the way, to dislocate ; (37)
— out one's arm further than the sleeve will let one, to live
beyond one's income ; (38) — out one's breath, to give
vent to one's feelings in speech ; (39) — out one's hand or
out hand, to help oneself at table, to fall to ; (40) — out
the talk, to speak, talk; (41) — past, {a) to put by, lay
aside ; to save ; {b) to give a distaste to ; to dissuade or
prevent from ; (42) — ^w^ ^as/ ows, to exempt one from an
imputation ; to say or think that one is incapable of doing
such and such a thing; gen. used neg. ; (43) — questions
on, to question ; (44) — the comether on, to win over,
beguile by fair speech ; see Comether, 3 ; (45) — the door
in the hole, see (8) ; (46) — the law on, to set the law on
the track of; to give information of; (47) — the old man
on, to outwit, trick ; (48) — the peg in, to put a veto on
anything ; (49) — the time away, to pass the time ; (50) —
the wood in the hole, see (8) ; (51) — through other, to con-
fuse ; (52) — to bed with a shovel, to bury ; (53) — to pieces,
to break ; (54) — to rights, to correct ; (55) — to the hand,
see (39) ; (56) — to trouble, to summons by a lawyer ; to
prosecute ; (57) — up the askings, banns, or spurrins, see
(18) ; (58) — up to the public, to expose to public sale.
(i) Wgt. The sicht . . . garred me lauch sae I kenned na whaur
to pit mysel'. Good Wds. (1881) 402. w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin. Her
husband was that bad wi' paain i' his faace he did n't knaw wheare
to put hissen, Peacock Tales and Rhymes (1886) 97. (2) w.Yks.^
On one side are ten X's. . . On the next to the left three double
cuts or strokes, passing straight across in the direction of the
breadth. . . Each in turn rolls the ' long lawrence.' If . , . No. a
[comes up] he puts down two pins (s.v. Lang Larence). (3) Lnk.
I was perfeckly putten by mysel' wi' the bare thocht o't, Murdoch
Readings (1895) II. 68. (4) w.Som.i Ah, Robert, I reckon yon
was purty well a-put to buck over thick job. Dev. His work had
been so difficult, that he had never been so ' put to buck' in his
life. Reports Provinc. (1877) 137. nw.Dev.' (5) Sc. I was sair
putten till 't to mak throw the winter (Jam.). Fif. We're no' that
pit till't for siller, Heddle Marget (1899) 58. Exb. She was sair
put till't on her bridal day, puir hizzy (Jam.). Cum.i He's gaily
sare putten tuft to git a leevin. n.Yks. They were sair put teea't
last winter (I.W.). w.Yks. I knew he was put to it to do for his
own, Snowden Web of Weaver (1896) vii. (6) Sc. Ingeniously
putting a case which he hoped would induce the stranger to explain
himself, Scott St. Ronan (1824) xv. (7) I.Ma. I am going to purra
sight on them the first fine day (S.M.) ; I was often goin' down
the brew to purra sight on them, Ryding Tales (1895) 43 ; I'm
tould when she was puttin a sight on Bigode, she was fit enough
to sweep the road. Brown Doctor (1887) 149. (8) Yks. A^. & Q.
(1870) 4th S. v. 197. (9) Don. Made short work an' a scatther-
mint o' the oul' lady herself, when she went to put corraction on
him, Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 210. (10) Nhb. You needna
put down your brows, John, Graham Red Scaur (1896) 66. (11)
w.Som.i Mind and put vast the gate. Why's-n put vast the door
arter thee? nw.Dev.i (12) Rnf. A draiglet roun' the mouth and
chin, Enough to . . . put a body frae their dinner, Barr Poems
(1861) 33. (13) Sc. (Jam.) (14) Sc. (Jam.) Rxb. You haena the
spunk to put hand to yourself, Hamilton Outlaws (1897) 206. (15)
Sc. (Jam.) Per. He was not one of them that hurt him, nor put
hands on him, Lawson Bk. of Per. (1847) 138. Ayr. Girtle . . .
suspected his sister of ' patting hand on them,' Johnston Glenbuckie
(1889) 65. Bwk. Who being to be tryed, put hands on himself at
the devil's instigation, MAitmEtn Spottiswoode Miscell. (1844-5) H-
65. n.Ir. The fowk says he'll pit han' on himsel', Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 72. (16) Dev. Come in here, an' put home the door
behind 'e, Phillpotts Sons of Morning (1900) 269. Cor.' Put
home the door ; Cor.* (17) Rxb. Fetch me a cogfu' o' milk as fast
as your auld shanks can lunt along. Pit in a foot now, Hamilton
Outlaws (1897) 195 ; We'll just put in a foot, you and me, and
aiblins we'll be before them yet, it. 274. (18) Abd. Ye'U be pittin'
in the cries I s'pose, Sandy ? Abd. Wkly. Free Press (May 4, 1901).
w.Yks. Hes ta putten t'spurrin's in yit? Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June
6, 1896). Nrf. Wot do you mean by puttin' in 'Tilda's banns
without first tellin' me? Forbes Odd Fish (1901) 113.. Som. 'Tis
4P
PUT
[658]
PUT
a'most time to put in the banns, Raymond Gent, Upcoit (1893)
224. (19) Lnk. The vera best thing ye can dae, Willie, is to firmly
pit in the pin, Murdoch Readings (1895) I. 68. Lon. He had two
or three times resolved to better himself, and had ' put in the pin,'
Mayhew Land. Labour (1851) I. 345, col. i. (20) Abd. A clomp
o' auld ash trees there that I put nae doubt were planted by Black
Airter Forbes himsel', Michie Deeside Tales (1872) 141. Ayr.
After a', I pit nae doot, the clattie gaste o' a body deserved it.
Service Notandums (1890) 91. (21) Ant. (W.J.K.) Don. The
cook was so enraged . . , that she got up in a passion and put oif
her all sorts, Macmanus Chim. Corners (1899) 134. (22) Sc. lam
as stupid as he, to put off my time in speaking to such an old
cabbage-stock, Scott Si. Ronan (1824) xxxvii ; Suddenly recol-
lecting how she was putting off her time, Swan Gates of Eden (ed.
1895) V. Nhb. (R.O.H.) (23) Sc. This is sleeking the stable-door
when the steed is stolen, . . but I must put him on another pin,
Scott Nigel (1822) iii. (24) Dor. He put me in the head on't
(A.C.). (25) Abd. (Jam.) (26) Cld. Scores o' wooers cam'. . .
Kate leu.h, and pat them to the door, Nimmo Sngs. (1883) 104.
(27) Oxf.^ (28') e.An.l (29) n.Wil. I towld un on't, an that turrible
put 'is poton (E.H.G.). (30) w.Yks. Aw haven't ax'd thiforonny
yet, soa tha needn't put thi shoolder aght, Hartley Tales, 2nd S.
59- (31) Dur. Polks reckons that she's putten hersel' away —
drownded hersel', you know, Longman's Mag. (July 1897) 264.
w.Yks.i _ (32) Sc. (Jam.) (33) Suf. (C.G.B.) (34) Ayr. We'll get
the marriage put out o' haun, Galt Lairds (1826) xxx. (35, a)
n.Yks.* Wave 'ed ti put t'au'd meer oot o' t'road. (6) Oxf.i MS.
add. (36) Suf. (C.G.B.) ; e.An. Dy. Times (1892). (37) ne.Sc.
As a business man he's puttin oot his airm further than his sleeve
will lat him. Grant Keckleion, 130. (38) Abd. An' they cud but
get mou' ban' wi' 'er, an' hear Jean pit oot 'er breath upon 'im,
Alexander Ain Flk. (1882) 171. (39) Ayr. Mrs. Braehead was
invited to send in her cup, and to put out her hand, Johnston
Kilmallie (1891) I. 52. Gall., Wgt. (A. W.) Nhb. Dinna be feared,
but pit oot hand and help yoursel', Graham Red Scaur {iS:(jii) 131.
(40) I.Ma. Couldn' put out the talk that was fit, Brown Doctor
(1-887) 148. (41, a) Uls. (M.B.-S.) Cum. It's getten put past
and 1 canna light on't (J.Ar.); Cum.* Said of an article which
having been put carefully away and though safe cannot be found
when required (s.v. Past). s.Wor. (H.K.) (A) Sc. Ye micht as
weel attempt to gar the sun stand still as pit yer faither past a thing
when he's set on't, Swan Gates of Eden (1895) ix. Gall. It was
him . . . that pat my Jerry, that was aye a guid lad, past the
grocering, Crockett Raiders (1894) v. (42) e.Sc. Deed, I wouldna
put it past her, the foolish body. Strain Elmslie's Drag-net (1900)
148. Ir. I wouldn't put it past you (A.S.-P.). n.Ir. I wouldn't put
it past you, Ailsie, to be right glad to go to the same ball if you
got the chance, Mulholland .<4<7«'c's Shoe, 236. Nhb.' Aa waddent
put it past him — should not think it beyond him. Wor Tom's a
queer un ; aa waddent put it past him if he gat here thi neet. (43)
Don. Go over there with yer Spellin' Book till Misther Haraghey
puts queskins on yez, Macmanus Bend of Road (1898) 73. (44)
Don. You know I could niver put the comether on a woman,
Pearson's Mag. (Mar. 1900) 309. (45) w.Yks. So used in outside
places round about Denholme. ' Put t'duir i' th' hoile when tha
goas aht,' ifcrfs Merc. Suppl. (June 6, 1896). (46) Dev. Mr. Hum-
phrey put the law on my man, an' I put the law on his, Norway
Parson Peter (1901) 322. (47) Lan. Yo han put th' owd mon on
mi gradely this toime. Wood Hum. Sketches, 13. (48) Chs.' When
a shopkeeper will trust no more he ' puts the peg in.' This ex-
pression has its origin in the method adopted to fasten an ordinary
thumb latch which can be opened from the outside. . . The latch,
however, can be eff'ectually locked by putting a peg of wood above
it into the carry latch. (49) Nhb. To put the tyme away, Richard-
son Borafefff-'s 7a6/«-W. (1846) VII. 139. (50) Der.2 (5i)Ir. Tim,
you had betther dhrop your joking, . . and not be putting us through
other, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 160. (52) w.Som.' I
year th' old man's bad a bed. Well, 'tis 'most time vor-n to be a-
put to bed way a showl, I zim. (53) Guer. If they take the things
out they'll put every thing to pieces (G.H.G.). (54)n.Yks.''Thoo'll
git thisen putten ti' reets if thoo dizn't tak care. (55) Abd. Come,
Mains, will ye put too yer hand, 'Beatiie Parings (1801) 8, ed.
1873. Cld. Now jist put to your han' (Jam.). Ayr. You'll juist
mak yoursels at hame, and put taeyour hauns, Service Notandums
(1890) 27. (56) Wm. On the occasion of his being put to trouble
by a lawyer, for some debt he had incurred, Lonsdale Mag. (1820)
I. 511. Dor.l (57) w.Yks. T'spurrins hed been put up, an'
t'weddin's wor ta come off in abaht a fortnit, Yksman's Comic Ann.
(1890) col. I, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June 6, 1896). Lan. I mout
put up th' askins next Sunday, Pall Mall Mag. (Sept. 1901) 124.
Dor. There'll be putten the banns up, my dear, Agnus Jan Oxber
(1900) 173. Dev. He'd put up the banns, had the chap in grey.
Pall Mall Mag. (Mar. 1901) 338. (58) Edb. To put her dowry in
your pocket. First putting it up to the public, Liddle Poems
(1821) 117.
4. To push, thrust ; to butt or push with the horns ; to
attack.
S. & Ork.i Putting a person in order to attract his attention.
Cai.i Kcd. Ran an' puttit a' he saw, Burness Garron Ha' (c.
1820) 1. 554. Frf. She putted with her head at Mrs. Sandys and
hugged her, Barrie Tommy {i&^6) 99 ; The shot was sae strong,
the gun puttit me, owre I gaed, Sands Poems (1833) 142. Gall.
She had no other shift than always go, and put at him with her
hand, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 260, ed. 1876. N.Cy.i Putting a
keel. Nhb.' To propel a keel with a powey is called to put. Cum.'
Wm. She yance hed horns, and put furiously, Hutton Bran New
Work (1785) 1. 163. n.Yks. How she rowts I Ise varra arfe
Shee'l put, and rive my good Prunella scarfe, Meriton Peaisc^'/c
(1684)1. 11-2; (I.W.) m.Yks.' w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves
(1781) ; w.Yks.', n.Lan.', ne.Lan.' Shr.' To fly upon, as a dog
would. ' Now put at 'im, lad.' [Proo naunt your mare puts, Ray
Prov. (1678) 79.]
Hence to put on, phr. to pat, touch ; to give a gentle
push as a hint ; to nudge.
Abd. 'Tis true your fump'ring wakened me, I putted [joundy'd,
2nd ed.] o' you for to set youfree, Ross Helenore (1768) 38 (Jam.).
Fif. He sent one who, putting on me, awakened me. Row Ch.
Hist. (1650) 436, ed. 1842.
5. To throw a heavy stone from the shoulder. See
Putting, 2.
Sc. Would the bumpkins but wrestle, or pitch the bar, or putt
the stone, or throw the axle-tree, Scott Old Mortality (1816) iv.
s.Sc. Ance I was a fat stark fallow : Few like me cou'd putt a stane,
T. Scott Poems (1793) 360. Ayr. To lift maist weight, or put the
stane, Thom Amusements (1812) 38. Lnk. When thou didst
wrestle, run, or putt the stane, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) 54, ed.
1785. Lth. Putting, wrestling, leaping, running, Dancing, drinking,
fiddling, funning, Ballantine Poems (1856) 301. Gall. Putted a
stane, fifty pun weight I dare say, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 27,
ed. 1876. Nhb.' The hand is held up over the shoulder and the
stone is laid on the flat palm. A slight bending of the knees
and a quick recovery of the upright position ena;bles the thrower
to put the stone forward with great force.
6. In mining : to push coal in wagons or corves from
the place where it is hewn to the shaft.
Nhb. Aw've hewed and putten twee-and-twenty, Wilson Pit-
man's Pay (1843) 9 ; There's not a lad iv a' wur wark, Can put or
hew wi' me, Marshall Coll. Sngs. (1819) 5. Nhb., Dur. As me
and my marrow was putten the tram, Bishoprick Garl. (1784) 53,
ed. 1834. e.Dur.'
7. To shut, close. Nhb.' 8. To throb, pulsate.
Kcb. Your held is sair. It's puttin' like a mill, Armstrong
Kirkiebrae (1896) 236. Nhb. A wound or sore is said to be puttin
when in an inflammatory state. * Aa've getten a boil on mi neck
and it's puttin somethin' aaful ' (J.H.) ; Nhb.' Me hand's puttin' an'
aa's flaid it's gan ti beeld.
9. To send.
Sh.I. Feth dey'll no tink muckle o' pittin'ta Glesga' for shun,
Sh. News (Feb. 4, 1899). Slk. Put round the port and sherry,
Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 281. w.Som.' Put to school. Put to
pound. Was he the fuller hot was a-put to jail 'bout Mr. Quick's
vowls ? Cor.^ He was put away to Bodmin Asylum.
10. To conduct, escort, take.
Cor. That was when he put the maid ovver to Camborne to see
the wildnagerie of baists, Tregellas Tales, 'Lizbethjane, 5 ; Cor.'
Shall I put you home? Cor.^A man 'puts a girl home' from a party.
11. To make, compel, force ; to cause.
Ayr. No ae foot will I move till I get a dram . . . since ye have
putten me to name it, Johnston Glenbuckie (1889) 62 ; Their tricks
an' craft hae put me daft, BvRVS Jolly Beggars (1785) 1. 288. Don.
It cures the rheumatic, and puts bones to combine, Macmanus
Bend of Road (1898) 3.
12. To attempt.
War. It be a difficult job I know varra well, still I'll put it,
Leamington Courier (Mar. 6, 1897) ; War.*
13. To set out a meal ; to serve with food. w.Wor.*
14. Of plants: to vegetate, put forth buds.
Nhb.' Aa see it's aal reet ; it's puttin.
15. To find the best market for.
Brks.' I alius zells my herses bettern 'n thee acause I knaws
wher to put um better.
PUT
[659]
PUTHERY
16. sb. A push, thrust ; a lunge or dash forward ; an
attack ; the recoil of a gun.
Sc. If I can get his cart at a water I shall lend it a put, Ferguson
Prov. (1641) No. 500 ; What's your business stoppin' before you
got the putt? Dickson Auld Precentor (ed. 1895) 71. Frf. The
awfu' put o' Samson's gun, Sands Poems (1833) 93. Dmb. O for
a put to Friendship's shore, Taylor Poems (1827) 29. Edb. He
will come and give them a putt with sharpness and mercy, and
waken them, Rollock Wks. (1599) IT. 511, ed. 1844-9. GaU.
Just leuk at Tarn, gie Will a put, Lauderdale Poems (1796) 36.
Kcb. Give you and your burdens a putt up the mountain, Ruther-
ford Lett. (1660) No. 27. m.Yks.i He made such on a put at me.
s.Chs.i Wot)shn yu dc5o, iv dhii bill mai'z u piit aat' yii ? Shr.i
'Er made a put at me but I got out on 'er road.
17. The act of 'putting the stone.' Sc. (Jam.) 18. A
golfing term : a slight, gentle push of the ball into a hole.
Sc. (A.W.) Edb. Next to losing a hole at the gowf by missing a
short put, Beatty Secretar (1897) 65.
19. Phr. put and row, difficulty, much ado.
Sh.I. Atween putt an' row I got dem ta tak' a gless an' a
biscuit, Sk. News (Sept. 18, 1897). Abd. Wi' a put an' row he
wan throu', Alexander Johnny Gibb (187,1) xviii ; Get put and
row, wi'mony a weary twine, She wins at last to where the pools
did shine, Ross Helenore (1768) 26, ed. 1812.
20. Position, place ; fig. in phr. to make or keep one's put
good, to hold one's ground ; to gain one's point.
Sc. The- mistress, however, made her putt good and the satin
dress was obligated to be sent to her. Steam-boat (1822) 195
(Jam.). Edb. I aye made a rule of keeping my putt good, MoiR
Mansie Wauch (1828) xxvi. Rxb. An you would mak' your put
guid, dinna let on that ye think him ailing, Hamilton Outlaws
(1897) 218. Gall. In making his putt-gude with any girl he takes
a fancy for, Mactaggart ^Krcc/. (1824) 91, ed. 1876. n.Yks." It
haesn't geean into t'reeght put.
21. An attempt, effort.
Edb. For all your wit. We fear that prove a kittle putt, Penne-
cuiK Wks. (1715) 328, ed. 1815. w.Yks.2 He made a rare good
put when he stopped that horse. Chs. SAra/ (1884) III. 195.
s.Chs.i Wi mun mai'u put ut gy'efin dhu wesh'in diin ufoa-r n6on
[We mun may a put at gettin' the weshin' done lafore noon].
War. Leamington Courier (Mar. 6, 1897) ; War.* Shr.i Yo'n do
it some time, fur yo' hanna maden a bad piit at it.
22. Energy. w.Yks.^ He's no put about him.
23. pi. Proposals. n.Yka.^ Offkessen puts.
24. A kind of buttress erected to support a wall. Slk.
(Jam.) 25. A mass of stones placed in a river to alter
the direction of the current ; a jetty, ib. 26. A game
at cards.
Lakel.2 Cum. Ah neaamt whist, an putt an catch-t-ten, Sargisson
Joe Scoap (1881) 25; Cum.*, ne.Lan.i, se.Wor.' Oxti MS. add.
Lon. He had heard an old tailor say that in his youth, fifty years
ago, ' put ' was a common public-house game, Mayhew Land.
Labour {1851) I. 267, col. i. Dor. The old folk played at ' put"
and 'all-fours' in the parlor. Hardy IVess. Flk. in Harper's Mag.
(Mar. 1891) 595. Slang. ' I want to take a lesson ... in that . . .
game of cribbage or putt,' said the husband, Raby Rattler (1845)
XX. [Amer. You might as well call loo, or put, or all-fours, or any
other game trade, Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) 3rd S. xiii.]
Hence Putt-card, sb. a card used in the game of ' putt.'
[Marking Putt-cards on the edge with the nail, Puckle The Club
(1711)21.] .
27. The deal m card-playing.
Dev. Now, Bill, tez your ' put,' Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) 88.
28. A job, an arrangement.
Ken. If it had been a forced put I would have had nothmg to
do with it (W.F.S.).
PUT,s6.=' Sc. A dimple, a hollow in the chin or cheek.
Abd. An' in her cheek a gracefu' put, Robb Sngs. (1852) 22.
PUT, v.'^ Obs. Nrf. To stumble.
That horse puts, Grose( 1 790). e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ.{z^8^).
PUT, pp.andppl. adj. Sc. Nhb. Yks. Cor. Also in form
putten n.Yks.2 In comb, (i) Put-going, (a) sent offin haste ;
(b) Jig. murdered ; (2) — ground, forced earth, ground
made for a foundation ; (3) — on, (a) dressed, clothed ; (b)
assumed, aff"ected ; (4) -on cow, a cow supplied to a hind
by a farmer ; (5) — upon, oppressed ; hardly treated,
imposed upon. , .,, . ^
(i, a) Cor.s (J) Cor. I reckon twas she as got killed by care,
sir. I niver knawed mysel' but wan animal as got downright
put-goin' i' that way, ' Q.' Troy Town (1888) xiii; Cor-i^^ (2)
n.Yks.2 (3, a) Sc. Up comes a decently put-on, tradesman-like
man, Whitehead Daft Davie (1876) 214, ed. 1894. Lth. There's
a man at the door, a weel put on man, Strathesk Blinkbonny (ed.
1891) 14. Edb. She's a strappin' hizzie, and weel put on, Beatty
Secretar (1897) 222. Gall. A certain young lass, comely and well
put on, Crockett Standard Bearer {i8g8) 104. (6) Arg. I never
heard that a put-on gant was smittal, Munro /. Splendid (1898)
280. Lnk. His put-on airs he canna hide, Stewart Twa Elders
(1886) 69. (4) Nhb. Formerly when hinds kept a cow, as a rule,
as part of their wages, those that were unable to buy one were
supplied by their master on certain conditions (R.O.H.). (5) Sc.
The meek ' put upon' woman who had been of so little account in
life, Keith Lisbeth (1894) vi.
PUTCH, sb. Ken. fP^tJ.] A puddle ; a pit or hole.
Lewis /. Tetiet (1736) ; Ken.'^
PUTCH, see Pitch, v.'^, Pooch, sb.^
PUTCHEN, sb. War. Wor. Shr. Glo. Also written
putcheon War.3 s.Wor.i; putchin s.Wor. Shr.*; putchun
s.Wor. [pu'tjan.] An eel-basket, a wicker eel-trap.
War. Heavy catches of eels in putcheons, B'ham Dy. Post (Dec.
16, 1898) ; War.3, w.Wor.i, s.Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.l, se.Wor.l
Shr.2 A wicker basket in which eels and other fresh-water fish are
taken in running streams. Glo.^
PUTCHKIN, sb. I.W. w.Cy. A wicker bottle into
which the spigot is put in order to strain off beer to cool.
I.W. (C.J.V.) w.Cy. Grose (1790).
PUTE, v. I.W.i [piut.] To impute.
PUTER, V. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Not. Nrf. Also
written peuter Gall. ; pewter s.Not. ; putre w.Yks.'
ne.Lan.^ ; and in form putter Nrf [piu-ta(r.] 1. To cry,
whine, whimper.
n.Cy. (Hall.) w,Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781) ; w.Yks.*,
ne.Lan.l s.Not. Tek the child up ; she's bin mewlin an' pewterin
this 'afe hour (J.P.K.).
Hence Peuterin, ppl. adj. whining, whimpering.
Gall. Mony a mewlin' peuterin' body has great success wi' the
weemen folk, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) xxxii.
2. To grumble continuously, to snarl.
Nrf. She putters all day long (J.H.).
PUTHER, sb. and v. Yks. Lan. Chs. Not. Lin. Lei.
War. Hrf. [pu-<S3(r.] 1. sb. Smoke, steam ; dust ; a
cloud of smoke or dust. See Pother, 2.
w.Yks. He worn't long afore he wor sawderin' a kettle spawt,
an' kickin' up a bonny puther i' t'place, Hallam Wadsley Jack
(1866) ix; w.Yks.2 Not. (W.H.S.), Not.i s.Not. The kettle fell
back i' the fire, an' made such a puther (J.P.K.).. Lei.', War.^^
2. A state of perspiration or bodily heat.
War.2 He'd bin walkin' fast an' far, an' come in all of a puther.
3. A disturbance, bother ; a fluster.
w.Yks. If yol be still withaght makin' a puther, Tom Treddle-
HOYLE Bairnsla Ann. (1849) i'- s.Not. When she knowed what
a puther she did mek to be sure (J.P.K.). e.Lin. In such a puther
mother rose. Brown Lit. Laur. (i8go).78. War.^ She was in such
a puther. What a puther you are making about a trifle.
4. V. To pour ; to roll in volumes ; to reek ; puff; to
stream ; gen. used of smoke or dust.
w.Yks. Seein a claad a smook puthering aht ov a door way,
Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Attn. (Mar. 26, 1861) ; T'factry
handswor all puthering aht, Pogmoor Olm. (1896) 20. Lan., Chs.
Th' smoke's comin putherin down an fillin th' house wi' reach o' of
a piece (S.W.). s.Not. The smoke puthers down the chimney.
The dust went puthering down the road (J.P.K.). n.Lin.' Thoo
moan't leave th' winda's oppen e' a wind like this ; if th' duz sand
an' leaves an' all soorts o' muck '11 puther in like all that. Th'
bag brusted an' meal cum'd putherin' oot upo' th' hoose floor,
sw.Lin.' I'm forced to have the door oppen, 'cause it puthers out
on the chimley. The snow all came puthering off the roof. Lei.^
War.2 The wind made the dust puther along the lane.
5. To encumber, oppress ; to give one the feeling of
heaviness as on a sultry day. s.Chs.' 6. To be disturbed,
agitated, vexed. Hrf ^
PUTHER, see Peuther, Pewter.
PUTHERY, adj. Chs. Midi. Stf. Nhp. War. Wor. Shr.
Hrf. Glo. w.Cy. Also written puthry Stf. ; and in forms
poothery s.Chs.^ Midi.; poothy Nhp.*; pothery Nhp.*
War.3 w.Wor.i Shr.'= Hrf GIo.i w.Cy. [pu'tSsri, po-Sari.]
4 p a
PUTHERY
[660]
PUTTING
1. Close, sultry, heavy. Also used advb.
Cbs.' s.Chs.i Puthery hot. Midi. Marshall if «>-. £com. (1796).
Stf. Ray (i6gi) MS. add. (J.C.) Nhp.12, War.23, ne.Wor.
(J.W.P.), w.Wor.i, se.Wor.i Shr.i It wuz mighty pothery about
three o'clock this onder ; Shr.^ Shr., Hrf. A ' pothery ' place ; a
hot, close, or unhealthy place, Bound Provinc. (1876). Glo.i,
w.Cy. (Hall.)
2. Excited. s.Wor.'
PUTHERY, PUTLE, PUTRE, see Pothery, Pewdle,
Puter.
PUT(T, sb} Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. [pBt] A heavy
farm-cart ; see below. Cf. butt, sb?, pot, sb} 10.
Wil. Slow Gl (1892); Wil.!, s.Wil. (G.E.D.) Dor. (W.C.) ;
A lad was carting manure with two horses and a putt. Dor. Chron.
(Apr. 28, 1891) ; Dor.i (s.v. Pot). n.Dor. (S.S.B.) Som. A two-
wheeled cart used in husbandry, and so constructed as to be turned
up at the axle to discharge the load, Jennings Obs. Dial. to.Eng.
(1825) ; (M.A.R.) w.Som.i A heavy, broad-wheeled tipping cart,
for manure. This is the ' fine ' form of what is known as a butt or
dung-butt. I never heard a labourer say ' putt.' e.Som. A manure
cart with two or three broad wheels, W. & J. Gl. (1873). Dev.
Put a horse in tha putt an' go upen six acres vur tha turmits,
HEWETrPffls. 5/>. (189a); 'Putt' is sometimes seen in auctioneer's
catalogues, but I have never heard it used (R.P.C.); Till I could
come back with a peat putt to carry him in, Mortimer Tales Moors
(1895) 97- n.Dev. The ruts be up to the nuts of a leary putt,
Jefferies Red Deer (1884) x.
PUT(T, s6.2 Obs. e.An. A mole-hill.
e.An.2 Nrf. Grose (1790); Marshall i?Mn£co«. (1787). Suf.i
PUT(T, sb.^ Suf. Dev. Slang, and Amer. [pBt.] 1. A
term of contempt for any one.
Dev. (Hall.) Slang. He could not avoid drinking his old ' puts'
[his wife's] health, Raby Rattler (1845) xxxv. [Amer. A hard
old put, Dial. Notes (1896) I. 380.]
2. An old-fashioned labourer. [Not known to our corre-
spondents]. Suf. Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 283.
PUTT, sb. Glo. Som. [pBt] 1. A salmon-trap. See
But(t, sbP- Som. BucKLAND Report Salmon Fish. ; (W.F.R.)
2. A basket used in making weirs.
Glo. Peculiar to the Wye and the Severn. • These baskets are
called putts or butts or kypes, and are made of long rods wattled
together by smaller ones, with a wide mouth, and gradually
tapering almost to a point at the smaller or butt end,' Seebohm
Eng. Vill. (1883) 152.
Hence Puttcher, sb. a group of ' putts,' a section of a
basket weir.
These putts are placed in groups of six or nine between each
pair of stakes, with their mouths set against the outrunning
stream ; and each group of them between its two stakes is called
a ' puttcher.' The word ' puttcher ' can hardly be other than a
rapidly pronounced ' putts weir,' i.e. a weir made of putts, ib.
PUTT, see Put, v}
PUTTACH,56. Mon. [pu'tax-] A noise, row. Ellis
Pronunc. (1889) V. 179.
PUTTAS, PUTTATE, see Puttice, Potato.
PUTTER, sb? Sc. Nhb. Dur. Yks. Lan. Chs. [pu-t3(r.]
1. In mining : the man or boy who ' puts ' or conveys
the coal from the hewer to the 'flat' and brings back to
him the empty tubs.
N.Cy.' Nhb. Thou'd better ca' the men oot-bye, Afore the
putters ride, Proudlock Borderland Muse(j.?,(j6') loi ; The treble
voices of the ' putters ' calling to the check-weighman through the
tubes. Pease Mark o' Deil {i8g4) 69 ; Nhb.i Nhb., Dur. Nicholson
Coal Tr. G/. (1888). e.Dur.i
2. One who practises or is skilled in putting the stone.
See Put, v.^ 5.
Sc. (A.W.) Slk. 'Thou's naething of a putter,' said Meg, ' I
see by the way thou raises the stane,' Hogg Winter Tales (1820)
I. 265 (Jam.).
3. An animal that butts with the head or horns. Sc.
(Jam.), ne.Lan."- 4. A shrimp-fisher who pushes his net
and carries the shrimps upon his back.
Lan. ' Putters' and ' shankers' are two forms of one occupation ;
the putter is a ' small ' man, and has no cart or boat to assist him at
his work (B.K.).
5. Comp. Putter-out, one who gives out work to be done
at home.
Yks. So called because he purchased wool, warp, woof, store
of which he always kept in hand, and put out the work to be
woven by the weavers as they listed, Yks. Life, 102. w.Yks.i
Lan. He succeeded to the old man's place as principal putter-out.
. . . His duty consisted in going round the country to give out
yarn to weavers to be converted into cloth at their own houses,
receiving from them in return the calico they had woven, and
paying them their wages. There were certain fixed days when
he attended Redburn, . . and elsewhere, on which occasions
weavers came from far and near with their cuts on their backs,
and took away in their wallets the warp and weft which Adam
' put out ' to them, Westall Old Factory (1885) xiii ; It 'ud melt
th' heart of a weight-stone, or what's harder a putter-eawt,
Brierley Daisy Nook (1859) 33. e.Lan.^, Chs.i
PUTTER, si.2 Obs. Sc. A small petard or piece of
ordnance.
Abd. He had about 800 men . . . and six putters or short pieces
of ordnance, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 233.
Hence Putterling, sb. a small petard.
With pistols, putterlings, and other arms, ib. II. 182.
PUTTER, sb.^ Suf. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] A lever. (Hall.)
PUTTER,!;. Chs. [pu-t3(r).] Of cattle : to be in an
unhealthy state of body.
Chs.' ; Chs.s [Used] of cattle, when the skin feels as if it had
paper under it.
Hence Puttered, ppl. adj. decayed, rotten ; of fruit :
overripe.
s.Chs.i Iz aa-rm wiiz red- un yaal-ii iin bl(5o un au' kiil'urz, jiist
lahyk u piit-urd peys il beyf. Welsh pwdr, rotten.
PUTTER, see Potter, v., Puter.
PUTTICE, sb. Ken. Also in form puttas Ken.'
[pu-tis, -as.] A weasel ; a stoat. Ken.', e.Ken. (J.A.B.)
PUTTIK, s^.. Sh.I. [pB-tik.] A small pot.
Maron provided herself with a puttick of tar, a steel noraleg,
a leaf from a Bible, and a lowin taand, SpENCE/V/^-iore (1899) 145.
PUTTING, prp., vbl. sb. and ppl. adj. Sc. Nhb. Dur.
Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Also in forms pittin Sc. ; puttan
Lakel.° ; puttan Lakel.^ [pu'tin, pB-tin, pi-tin.] 1. prp.
In comb, (i) Putting-hewer, a young hewer who is liable
to be called upon to put if necessary ; (2) -off, an excuse,
pretext; (3) -off time, a cold, rainy season, delaying
agricultural operations ; (4) -on, (a) a state of endurance,
a bare hving or existence ; (i) a makeshift, anything of a
temporary nature ; (c) an additional breakfast or meal ;
(5) -out, (a) a lodging ; (b) giving out work to be done at
home ; (6) -pony, a small pony used in mines ; (7) -stone,
a heavy stone used in the game of putting'; (8) -through,
a scolding ; a severe examination, a righting up ; (9) -up,
severe mental or physical exertion; a drubbing, snubbing.
(i) Nhb. A heedsman then they myed me, suin ; And efter
that, a puttin'-hewer, Wilson Pitman's Pay (1843) 32; Nhb.'
Nhb., Dur. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888). (2) w.Yks. It's nobbut
a puttin'-oir doo sayin' 'at he's aht o' soarts, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(June 6, 1896). (3) e.Yks.i MS. add. (T.H.) (4, a) Lakel.^ A
famish Lakeland lad used ta say he nivver was browt up ato, he
was trailed up bi t'hair 0' t'heed. That's a puttin-on. w.Yks.
We worn't sent into this world to be at peeace, . . for aw should
ha had a poor puttin on, Hartley Clock Aim. (1880) 3 ; w.Yks.'
Shoe's a sad putting on. ne.Lan.' If a can but addle his cleyaz
and keep, it'll be a puttin-on. (A) Cum.' w.Yks. It'll du for
a puttin' on wal we can afford to buy a better (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.^
Lan.' I thought it would be a bit of a puttin-on, till to-morn,
Waugh Chim. Corner (1874) 99, ed. 1879. m.Lan.' Chs.' It's
not a livin ; it's on'y a puttin on. (c) Lan. The breakfast at
Preston, and the bait and 'putting on' [another breakfast] at
Kirkham were scenes of uproarious mirth, Westall Old Factory
(1885) xxviii. (5, a) Lan. A putting-out at Higham, Kay-Shuttle-
worth Scarsdale (i860) II. 155. {b) Lan. To go round with him
on his putting-out journeys, Westall Old Factory (1885) xii. (6)
Nhb.' Ponies ten or eleven hands high, used in substitution for
putters or barrow-men. (7) Sc. Most of the antient sports of the
Highlanders . . . are now disused : those retained are throwing
the 'putting-stone,' or stone of strength (Cloch neart) as they call
it, which occasions an emulation who can throw a weighty one
furthest. Pennant 7o«j- (1769) 214 (Jam.). Sh.L A competition
in strength, — who should throw to the greatest distance a large
stone, named a putting-stone, Hibeert Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 275,
ed. 1891. Gall. Nane of them can ither beat At putting-stane,
and doure sweartree, Mactaggart Encycl. (I824^ 411, ed, 1876.
PUTTLESTEAK HOLE
[66i]
PUZZLEMENT
(8) e.Dur.i, Cum.^ (9) n.Yks. This journey has given you a
puttin' up. They gat sike a puttin' up as they nivver had in
their lives (I.W.). w.Yks. When th' coortin' neets com shoo used
to give him a bit ov a puttin' up, for shoo thowt nowt ov a walk
o' eight or ten miles after her drinkin', Hartley Clock Aim.
(1877) ig, in Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June 6, 1896).
2. vbl. sb. The game of throwing a heavy stone from the
shoulder ; gen. in phr. putting the stone. See Put, v.^ 5.
Abd. At flingin' the hammer, or puttin' the stane, Anderson
Rhymes (ed. 1867) 11. Frf. At fitba' matches, wrestlin', an' pittin'
the stone, Willock Rosetty Ends (1886) 59, ed. i88g. Arg. The
dance and the song, with shinty and putting the stone, are their
chief amusements. Statist. Ace. XI. 287 (Jam.). Dmf. What manly
putting I hae seen In the kirkyard upon the green, Shennan
rate (1831) 12. Lakel.2
3. ppl. adj. Pushing, thrusting ; given to butting.
Sc. The puttin' cow should aye be a doddy. Chambers Sngs.
(1829) I. II. Ayr. The tane may turn a puttin' coo. The tither
turn a mule, Ainslie Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 312. Lakel.'^
Thoo's as sulky as a puttan bull. m.Yks.^ Wedding comes all at
once, like a putting calf
4. Throbbing, pulsating. Nhb.^ A puttin' pain.
PUTTLESTEAK HOLE,//^n n.Yks.^ A small square
hole left in masonry for the insertion of beams for
scaffolding.
Left in the upper masonry of old buildings for the insertion of
stakes or scaffold spars for future repairs. In Whitby Abbey
they are numerous.
PUTTOCK, sb} Sc. Nhb. Midi. Hrt. e.An. Ken. Sus.
Also virritten puttokNhb. ; puttuck Suf.^ [pulak, pBtak.]
1. The kite, Milvus ictinus. See Puddock.
Nhb. (W.G.) Hrt., Ess. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Birds (ed. 1845)
I. 73. Ess. The kite, or puttock, as it was locally called, not un-
common in the middle of the century, is now unknown, Longman's
Mag. (Jan. 1893) 313. Ken.i
2. The buzzard, Buieo vulgaris.
Dmf. Wallace ScAoo/ma5/«>-( 1899) 351. Midi., e.An. Swainson
Birds (1885) 133. Suf.^ Ess. Atkinson Brit. Birds' Eggs. Sus.
Knox Ornithological Rambles, 14a.
[L Puttok, bryd, Milvus {Prompt.).]
PUTTOCK, sb.^ Obs. or obsol. n.Cy. Yks. Ken. A
makeweight, a small portion of material or an extra article
put into the scale to make up the required weight ; gen.
in camp. Puttock-candle.
n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy .2 'Puttock candle,' the least in the
pound, put in to make weight. n.Yks.2, Ken.'
PUTTOCK, sb.^ War.^ A stocking or grubbing
mattock.
Manufacturers of tools, whose works are in Birmingham, have
frequently had the grubbing or stocking mattock asked for under
this name.
PUTTY, sb. Nhb. Lan. Oxf. e.An. [pu'ti, p-e-ti.]
1. In comp. (i) Putty-brain, one of weak intellect ; a
blockhead ; (2) -medal, a reward iron, promised to
a stupid person ; (3) -shop, a pawnshop.
(i) Lan. Sich a putty-brain as Clinton (J.T.C.). (2) Oxf. That's
a very clever trick! you ought to have a putty medal (G.O.).
(3) Lan. A putty shop in Street, BRiERLEY/>-Wrt/«(i865) 81,
ed. 1868.
2. The mud at the bottom of a river.
e.An.i Nrf. Tho' my punt only draws a few inches of water,
she may stick in the ' putty,' Emerson Wild Life (1890) 60 ;
Cozens- Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 77.
3. Leverage, the balance or trim put out.
Nhb.i In carrying a weight with a pole, shoulder height, should
the balance be unduly pressed on one side, the labourer will say
to the one with the longer purchase, 'Ye'veower much putty on.'
PUTTY-COW, sb. Cum.' ne.Lan.' A cow given to
attacking people. See Put, v.'^ 4.
PUUK, see Pook, sb.^
PUVE, V. Obs. Chs.^ Of cattle : to be with young.
PUVERTY, PUVICE, see Poverty, Povice.
PUVVAT, sb. Wil. [p-c-vat.] A mass of blossom.
s.Wil. ' All of a puvvat,' said of a fine chestnut tree (G.E.D.).
PUXY, sb. and adj. Hmp. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Also
written pucksey WiL^ ; pucksie Dev. ; pucksy, puksey
Hmp. ; puxey w.Dor. ; puxie Som. ; and in forms pugsy
Som. ; pux w.Som.^ [pBksi.] 1. sb. A miry, boggy
place; a quagmire, a place where a spring rises and keeps
the ground swampy.
Wil.i The roads wer aal in a pucksey. ' Out of the mucksey
( = mixen) into the pucksey,' from bad to worse. Dor. Haynes
Voc. (c. 1730) in N. & Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 45; Dor.i, w.Dor.
(C.V.G.) Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). e.Sora.
W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i Maister, I zim 'tis 'most time vor
to do a little t' our lane, he's always to a riglur pux. Th' orchet's
a-paunched to a proper puxy. Dev. Any ill-considered step might
have plunged us into some bog, or ' pucksie,' as we call the
unexpected soft veins of cla3', where a spring suddenly bubbles
up in a cart track, Gurdon Memories (1897) 169.
2. A State of dirt or confusion, a muddle.
Wil.' What a pucksey the house be in !
3. A difficulty, quandary.
Som. He's in a pugsy and I say he's drawing back, Raymond
Gent. Upcott {iSg'^) 164; You've agot yourzelf into a pretty puxy,
ib. Tiyphena (1895) 77.
4. adj. Deep in mud, miry.
Hmp. (H.C.M.B.) w.Som.' A 'muxy' lane would be merely
a muddy lane, but a ' puxy ' lane would mean ankle-deep at least.
PUY, sb. and v. Nhb. Dun Not. Lin. e.An. Also in
forms pooey Nhb.' ; pouie N.Cy.* ; powey Nhb.' ; poy
Nhb.i Dur. Not.2 Lin.'; puoy N.Cy.' Nhb.' Dun [Nhb.
pu'i.] 1. sb. A long pole with an iron spike at the end,
used for propelling a boat.
n.Cy. (Hall.), N.Cy.' Nhb. Ower the powey slap he fell,
Marshall Coll. Sngs. (1829) 17 ; Gent. Mag. (1794) 14, ed.
Gomme ; Nhb.' Standing at the bow of the keel, the man rapidly
thrusts his ' pooey ' down to the bottom of the fiver, where a
small fork holds it in the sand. He then lays the upper end
against his shoulder, and puts his whole strength into play. As
the keel moves under him the keelman steps along the side,
pushing continuously with his shoulder until he passes to the stern
of the vessel, where he instantly recovers his upright position,
and at the same moment jerks his pooey from its ' had' on the
river bottom, and walks rapidly to the bow again to repeat the
same operation. Nhb., Dur. Bishopric): Garl. (1784) 60, ed. 1834.
Lin. (W.W.S.) ; Thompson Hist. Boston (1856) 719; Lin.', e.An.'
2. A float used for buoying up sheeps' heads when
swimming in the washing place. Not.^ Lin. Morton
Cycle. Agric. (1863). 3. v. To propel a boat with a
long pole.
Nhb. Ye'll hae to powey wiv a huik, till yor shoother's very
sail, Bagnall Sngs. (c. 1850) 5 ; Still the twe cheps kept poweyin
her reet, They powey'd till they powey'd her reet out o' sect,
Tyneside Sngstr. (1889) 114. Dur. A clever blade . . as ever
poy'd a keel, Bishoprick Garl. (1784) 60, ed. 1834.
[A shortened form of Fr. appuy, a prop, rest, or thing
to lean on (Cotgr.).]
PUZZ-BAW, sb. s.Chs.' [pu-z-bg.] A fuzz-ball,
Lycoperdon Bovista ; a spongy fungus.
PUZZEN, see Poison.
PUZZICKY, adj s.Chs.' [pu-zaki.] Close, sultry.
Cf. puzzy, 2.
PUZZIVANTIN, PUZZIVENT, see Fussivanting,
Pussyvan.
PUZZLE, V. Sc. Yks. Stf. Wan Won Wil. Som. Also
in forms pousle, pouzle Sc. [pu'zl, pB'zl.] 1. To make
intricate ; to perplex, trouble.
Sc. This indifference puzzled Lady Penelope's game extremely,
Scott St. Ronan (1824) vi. w.Yks. (J.W.), Stf., War., Wor.
(H.K.)
2. Comp. (i) Puzzle-monkey, the ' monkey-tree,' Arau-
caria imbricata. w.Som.'; (2) -pound, the game of'madell'
(q.v.). Wil.' 3. To search about with uncertainty for
anything; to bewilder oneself, as on a strange road.
n.Sc. (Jam.) 4. To trifle. Fif (ib.) 5. To be airy and
finical, ib. 6. To boast of wealth, esp. with little or no
reason, ib.
PUZZLE, sb. Obs. e.An.' Also in form pussle. A
dirty drab, a filthy slut.
[Pucelle or puzzel, dolphin or dogfish, Shaks. i Hen.
VI, I. iv. 107.]
PUZZLEMENT, s6. Dev. A puzzle, mystery.
Au well, 'tis a puzzlement, sure enough, Mortimer Tales Moors
(1895) 286.
PUZZLY
[662]
PYET
PUZZLY, adj. Nhb. Yks. [pu-zli.] 1. Puzzling,
perplexing. n.Yks. This is a puzzly task (I.W.).
2. Contp. Puzzly-o's, the child's game of ' noughts and
crosses.'
Nhb.i The object is to get three o's in line between or along the
limbs of a cross. The player begins with marking an o, and the
opponent places an x in front of it ; and thus the play continues,
each marking alternately, until three o's are brought in line, or
until all the nine spaces are filled. In the former case o has won;
in the latter x has prevented o, and has himself won.
PUZZOMFUL, adj. Yks. Lan. Dev. Also written
puzzumful w.Yks.'^ ne.Lan.^ Dev. [pu'zamful.]
1. Poisonous, noxious. Cf. puzzomous.
n.Yks.i^^ m.Yks.^ w.Yks.' I knan't whether shoes onny better
for awt' puzzumful stuff bees geen her, ii. ago ; w. Yks.^ Hignorance
. . . is . . . the puzzumful weed which drinks in all the healthy
food which we should have as nourishment, 171. ne.Lan.'
2. Filthy, infectious from extreme dirt.
n.Yks.^'^ T'hoos wur parfitly puzzomful.
3. Keen, piercing, very cold.
n.Yks.2 ' Puzzomful winds,' those from the east so destructive
to our vegetation. w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June 6, i8g6).
w.Yks.i T'winds vara puzzumful.
4. Spiteful, mischievous, provoking.
w.Yks.i Thou's a puzzumful tongue. Dev. I wish they'd gie thy
cat ter th' butcher, . . th' gurt puzzumful grizzeler, Madox-Brown
Dwale Bluth (1876) bk. 11. iii. 139.
Hence Puzzumfulness, sb. spitefulness, malice.
Their innocent ideas concerning what they called the ' puzzum-
fulness ' of the witch, ib. bk. iv. iii. 211.
5. Disgustingly obsequious. n.Yks.'
PUZZOMOUS, a(^: Yks. [pu'zamas.] 1. Poisonous.
n.Yks.2, m.Yks.i Cf. puzzomful. 2. Extremely filthy.
n.Yks.^ 3. Disgustingly obsequious, ib.
PUZZUM, see Poison.
PUZZY, adj. s.Chs.i [pu-zi.] 1. Spongy. 2. Close,
sultry. Cf. puzzicky.
Mee't wii)nu ky'ee'p i dhis- piizi wedhiir.
PWINE(-END, PWININGEND, see Pine-end.
PWINTING, PWIZON, see Pointing, Poison.
PWN, sb. n.Wal. Of straw : 160 lb. Morton Cyclo.
Agric. (1863). \\Ne:\.pwn, a pack, burden.]
PWN, see Pound, v.^
PWNC, sb. s.Wal. [pugk.] A catechism ; see below.
There was the pwnc after the sermon, and we stopped for that,
Raine Torn Sails (1898) 337 ; A kind of catechism in which the
preacher questions the people, who all answer in monotone, ib. note.
PWOAD, PWOAK, see Pow-head, Poke, sb.^
PWOINTING, PWOK(E, PWOP(E, see Pointing,
Poke, 5i.', Pope, sb.^
PWOSTES, PWOSTISSES, see Post, sb."^
PWUDDLE, see Puddle, sb.''
PY, sb. Obs. Sc. (Jam.) A loose riding-coat or frock.
Cf. ridingpy, s.v. Riding.
PY, see Pie, sb.'^
PYAAVAN, adj. Cai.' [pja'van.] Peevish, sickly.
PYAAVIE, s6. Cai.^ [pja-vi.] A short turn of illness.
PYALICK, sb. Sh.I. Also in form pjaelik. 1. The
milt-bag of a fish. {Coll. L.L.B.), (J.S.) 2. A small
immature fish-roe. (J.S.)
PY ANNEX, PYANOT, see Pianet, sb.'"'^
PYARDIE, PYAT(T, PYATIE, see Pyet, Potato.
PYCH, V. Lan. Lin. [peitj.] 1. To skulk about ; to
go about eavesdropping ; gen. with about.
Lan. Aw see thee. Ferret, pychin' reaund th' back theere, Clegg
David's Loom (1894) viii ; Aw yo pychin abeaut watchin o' at stirs,
ib. Sketches (1895) 68. nXin. Thoo man go in here and let me
lock the door, for feerd madam should come ; she's alm'st alus
pychin' about, Peacock R. Skirlaugh (1870) I. 185 ; n.Lin.^
2. With off: to slink away.
Lan. He pyched off quiet enough, Clegg Sketches (1895) g.
PYCHE, PYCLE, PYDIE, see Poich, Pightle, Fiedy.
PYDLE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. A cone made of rushes
with which to catch fish.
Gall. They are set ' whar burns out owre the lynns come
pouring,' so the trouts, in coming down the stream, run into them,
and cannot make a retreat, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) ; It is tied
on to a stick ; made o' rashes as ye wad a butterflee cage. I hae
seen't used in a wee burn atween Carlinwark Loch and the Dee ( J. M . ).
PYE, V. w.Yks.s [pai.] Marble-playing term: to
take aim and shoot the marble. Hence (1) Pyer-off, sb.
a player in the game of ' pyings-off' ; (2) Pyings-oflF, sb.
a game of marbles ; see below.
There is a game called ' pyings off.' First, a hole is made in the
usual manner by one spinning round upon his heel, and then
' dashing ' the loose earth away with his cap, which done, each
knuckles his ' taw ' from a chalked line called the ' ledge,' and the
one who is farthest off the hole ' ligs ' or lays his ' taw ' just
beyond the hole. Each then in his turn ' pyes his taw ' from the
' ledge,' hits (if he can) and ' gets his hoil,' which, however, if he
fails in doing, the ' ligger' takes aim at him from the hole, and if
with effect ' cowdens ' or coldens him, and getting his ' hoil ' joins
the party of ' pyers off,' till the 'game' is up (supposing it is
' a laak fur nowt '), if he is fortunate enough to ' keep in ' the while.
PYE, PYEASEGG, see Pie, sb.', Pace-egg.
PYE-BACK, rtfife. n.Lin.^ ln-p\ir.to carry pye-back,to
carry pick-a-back, or on the shoulders.
PYEL, see Peal, sb.'
PYER, sb. Dor. Som. Also written pier Dor. [pai'3(r).]
1. A handrail on a narrow wooden foot-bridge.
Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863). Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng.
(1825). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
2. Comb. Pyer-and-lug, a bridge over a ditch consisting
of a pole and a handrail. Don'
PYERK, PYERT, PYESTE-EGG, see Perk, Peart,
adj., Pace-egg.
PYET, sb. and adj Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Lan. Wor. Pern. Also written piat Dur.' w.Dur.'
Wm. Pem. ; piet Sc. n.Yks.'^*; piot Sc. Nhb.' Yks.;
pyat Sc. (Jam.) Wm. ; pyatt n.Cy. Lakel.^ Pem. ; pyot
Sc. (Jam.) N.L' n.Cy. Cum. Lan.'; and in forms peat
Frf. ; pyardie Gall, [pai'at.] 1. sb. The magpie, Pica
rustica ; fig. a chatterer ; a pert and forward child. See
Pianet, sb.'
Sc. Duncan Etym. (1595) ; Do they tak on [him] for a craw, or
a kye, or a pyot, or a corbie, Magopico (ed. 1836) 25. ne.Sc. An
old man . . . used to tell, that when he was thriving and laying
up money, the pyots used to hop along the road before him on the
summer mornings, as he was carting home the winter store of
peats. . . A proverb is taken from the magpie : ' Ye're like the
pyot, ye're a' guts and gyangals.' It is applied to a person of
slender form and much given to talking and boasting, Gregor
Flk-Lore (i88r) 137-8. Elg. A thousand pyats chatter round
Whare lords and lairds hae din't, Couper Poetry (1804) II. 92.
Abd. Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 79. Frf. Still more ominous
was the ' peat ' when it appeared with one or three companions.
An old rhyme about this bird runs : ' One is joy, two is grief,
three's a bridal, four is death,' Barrie Licht ( 1888) ii. Per. Owls,
and other unclean beasts, And pyets build their thorny nests,
Spence Poems (i8g8) 187. w.Sc. I knew a man who, if on going
to his work he had seen two piets together, would have refrained
from working before he had taken breakfast, believing that if he
did so it would result in evil either to himself or his family, Napier
Flk-Lore (1879) 114. Fif. Those Roosians, the weasels, the piots,
the hawks, and the shepherd's collies, hae played the de'il wi' it,
Grant Six Hundred, vii. Slg. Twa yatterin' piets drapped a thorn
in her lap. Towers Poems (1885) 175. Cld. Nimmo Sngs. (1882)
162. Dmb. Ilka year it had a pyat's nest, Taylor Po««is (1827) 91.
Ayr. We were thrang herryin' a pyet's nest, Service Dr. Duguid
(ed. 1887) 64. Lnk. Watt Poems (1827) g5. Edb. He prattles
owre like a pyet, Pennecuik Wks. (1715) Sgi, ed. 1815. Slk.
As for pyats, hoodie-craws and the like, I used to herry them
without compunction, Chr. North Nodes (ed. 1856) III. 4.
Gall. Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). Kcb. Of bum bee bykes, pet
pyats, doos and keaws, Davidson Seasons (i78g) 5. Wgt. Tae
harry a piet's nest and hae blin' smash wi' the eggs, Fraser
Wigtown (}i>ii) 263. N.I.' n.Cy. Amongst those who have faith
in omens the pyatt is of some importance, as the following lines
show. They refer to the bird passing in front of or across the
path of those whose luck is presaged. ' Van is sorrow, Tweea is
mirth. Three is weddin'. Fewer is birth. Five is silver. Six is
gold, Sebben is a secret, nivver to be told' (B.K.) ; Grose (1790).
Nhb.i Of the piot it is common to say: 'Yen's sorry; Twee's
morry ; Three's a wedding ; Fower's deeth ; Five's hivin ; Six is
hell ; And Sivin's the deel's aan sel,' Old saying. Dur.', w.Dur.',
Lakel.2 Cum. (J. P.) ; Cum.* Ah couldn't larn a pyet in less ner.
PYE-WIPE
[663]
PYZE
a week teh toke plainer Inglish, Sargisson/o« Swap (1881) 37.
Wm. I'll leeave a mark 'at Sail mak' him for life like a brokken
wingtpyat, S/cc. Z);a/. (1877) pt.i. 45; ' Asaucy piat.' Comparison
with the piat means to convey odium (B,K.). n.Yks. Science
Gossip (1882) 161 ; n.Yks.i24^ Lan.' w.Wor. Berrow's Jrn. (Mar.
3, 1888). s.Pem. I knew as I'd 'ave look, for two or three piats
crossed the road afore me (W.M.M.) ; Laws Little Eng. (1888) 421.
[For an account of the popular superstitions, &c. relating
to the magpie, see Swainson Birds (1885) 76-81.]
Hence (i) Pyeted,//i/.a^'. piebald, freckled; (2) Pyetty,
adj. parti-coloured, having a freckled, cloudy appearance ;
(3) -horse, sb. a piebald horse.
(i) Sc. She maun gang down the Bow wi' the lad in the pioted
coat, Scott i)/<'rftoAia« (i8i8)xxvii. Rxb. (Jam.) (2) Ayr. The salt
must bemixedminutely, otherwise the butterwill acquire a freckled
or cloudy appearance, or in the language of the district, become
pyotty, Agric. Surv. 462 (Jam.). Yks. (Hall.) (3) Sc. A . . .
friend of mine, who rode a horse of this description, . . used to be
pursued by people running after him out of every village and
hamlet, bawling ' Man wi' the pyatie horse, what's gude for the
kink-host ? ' (Jam.)
2. adj. Of animals or things : piebald, variegated like a
magpie ; having large white spots.
Sc. One who rides a pyat-horse has power to prescribe an infal-
lible remedy for the chin-cough (Jam.). Abd. A pyet shelty,
Ramsay Remin. (ed. 187a) 38. Lnk. Like a pyet horse, Graham
Writings (1883) II. 136.
3. Of words : chattering, meaningless ; ornate.
Sc. Very exceeding pyet words, Scott Monastery (1820) xiv.
Bnff. He . . . made a fair speech, and sae he gat him freed, wha,
in his ain blunt way, said, ' Verily, brither, ye hae fine pyet words,'
Leg. Strathisla (1851) 84.
PYE-WIPE, PYFER, see Peesweep, Piffer.
PYFLE, PYFLET, see Pifle, Pikelet.
PYKE, V. and sb. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Also written
pike; and in form pick. 1. v. To dress, adorn, beautify.
To . . . finish embroidery and tambour- work by dressing it with
a pike or picker, and by inserting picks, stitches, or threads of silk,
gold, or silver.
Hence Picker, sb. an instrument used in embroidery.
2. sb. A stitch or thread of silk, gold, &c. ; an instrument
used in embroidery.
PYKE, see Pike, v.^^
PYKER, sb. Obs. Suf. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A small vessel used for fishing. Gardner
Dunwich (1754) Gl.
PYKE-THANKS, see Pike-thank.
PYKIE-POCK, sb. Bnff.i Chicken-pox.
PYKLE, PYKLET, PYL, see Pightle, Pikelet, Pile, sb."
PYLE, V. Sh.I. To pilot, to direct by the aid of a
compass.
' Sees ony o' you vvir raanksman ! '
' You wid be ta mak him a
sign.' ' Yis, an' ta pyle him apo' da compass in case,' Sh. News
(Sept. 17, 1898) ; We're no sae far fram, an' we'll aye be able ta
pyle ashore, ib. (July 21, 1900); Da been yarnin an' pylin ashore
da sam as dey'dhed a simmer day afore dem, ib. (Nov. 3, igooV
PYLE, see Peel, sb?, Pile, s6.i"
PYLL, PYN, see Pill, sb?, Pind, v.
PYNART, PYNATE, see Pianet, sb>
PYNAT, PYNE, see Pianet, sb.^, Pine, t/.'
PYNE-DOUBLET, sb. Obs. Sc. A concealed coat-
of-mail.
Fy ! strike him laigh, because he has a pyne-doublet, Cromertv
'Gowrie Conspiracy (17 13) 61 (Jam.).
PYNE-PIG, PYNET(T, PYNOT, see Pine-pig, Pianet,
sb.''-
PYOCHTER, V. Sc. To cough vigorously in order to
get rid of phlegm. Abd. (A.'W.) Cf blocher.
PYOCK, see Pock, sb?-
PYOGIE, sb. Sh.I. [pjS'gi.] A short, stout man.
S. & Ork.i
PYOT, PYOUL, see Pyet, Pule, v.""
PYOWE, PYO"WTER, see Peeoy(e, Poller, w.^
PYR, V. Not. Nhp. Also written purr Not. A
metathesized form of ' pry.'
s.Not. She wor purrin into ivry corner (J.P.K.). Nlip.^ Always
used in combination with peeping, as, ' peeping and pyring about.'
' Peeping and pyring into every body's business.'
PYR-, see Pirr(e.
PYRAMIDS, sb. pi. Lon. A feat performed by an
acrobat.
We go about the streets doing pyramids, Mayhew Land. Labour
(1851) III. 90, ed. 1861.
PYREY, arfy. Nhb.i [paiTi.] Springy.
Applied to a bed of stone from which water springs ; as ' pyrey
post,' &c.
PYRL, PYRN, see Pirl, Pirn, sb.'-
PYRR,s6. Obs. Rxb. (Jam.) The s&\mon, Salmo salar.
PYRRHY-DANCERS, see Perry-dancers.
PYSERT, sb. Sh.I. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] A miser. S. & Ork.' See Peyzart.
PYSGY, PYSLIT, see Pixy, Peisled.
PYSSLE, sb. Sc. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A trifle ; a thing of no value.
PYSTER, V. Obs. Cld. (Jam.) [Not known to our
correspondents.] To hoard up. Hence Pystery, sb. any
article hoarded up.
PYTANE, sb. ? Obs. Sc. A young child ; gen. used
as a term of endearment.
(Jam.); The nurse takes it, and fondles it, and addresses it
pytane, Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 152.
PYTCH, PYTLE, see Poich, Pightle.
PY'WIPE, PYXIE, PYZE, see Peesweep,Pixy , Pize,sA.i
[664]
Q WITH A LONG TAIL, phr. n.Un} A measuring
tape which winds up into a box.
QU', QUA, QUA(A, see Quoth, Quay, v., Quaw, sb.
QUAAL, QUAALK, QUAALTAGH, see Quail, v.\
Qualk, Qualtagh.
QUAAR, QUAARM, see Quar(r, Quarm.
QUAB, adj. Cor.^^ [kwob.] Sickly, infirm ; also
used subst.
QUAB, see Quob.
QUABBLE, s6.i Hrf.^ [kwo-bl.] Confusion.
My head's all of a quabble.
QUABBLE, V. and sb? Yks. [kwa-bl.] 1. v. To
quibble. w.Yks. (S.P.U.) 2. sb. A quibble, ib.
QUACK, int., v., sb. and adj. Sc. Yks. Chs. Der. Lin.
Wor. Shr. w.Cy. Also written quaak s.Chs.* [kwak.]
1. int. In phr. quack, quack, quack, come to meat, a call to
ducks. nw.Der.^ 2. v. To chatter; to talk for the sake
of talking ; to gossip ; to be noisy.
e.Yks.^ She gans quacking aboot like a-naud steg. Chs.^ He's
alius quaakin abeawt. Lin.*, w.Cy. (Hall.)
3. To entice grouse by lying hid and imitating their call.
w.Yks. (S.P.U.) 4. sb. In phr. not to say quack, to be
silent ; to keep quiet. s.Chs.^ 5. A great gossip.
w.Yks. A, shoo is a quack ! Shoo'd alius be on t'doorston's if Ah
worn't to let her see Ah didn't like sich wark, Leeds Merc. Suppl.
(June 13, 1896).
6. A rough game ; see below ; also the large pebble used
in the game.
se.Wor.' Each boy uses a large pebble called a ' quack,' and one
of them has to place his quack upon a larger stone called the
mother ; the others then throw at it until they succeed in knocking
it off.
7. The shortest possible time ; esp. in phr. in a quack.
Or.I. (Jam.) 8. adj. Silent, close.
Shr.i Yo' met'n trust Jem, 'e's al'ays quack w'en it's wanted —
if anybody gi'es 'im sixpince 'e'U never tell.
QUACK, QUACKING, see Quake, Queek, Quaking.
QUACKLE, V. and sb. e.An. [kwae'kl.] 1. v. To
interrupt breathing ; to suffocate ; to choke.
e.An.* He fanged her by the throat and nearly quackled her.
My cough quackles me. Cmb. Holloway. Nrf. I he'ard him a
quackhng (J.H.B.). Suf. Some quackling cried, ' let go your hold ; '
The farmers held the faster, Garland (1818) 344 ; Suf.* I'm
quackled ta dead a most. Ess. Trans. Arch. Soc. (1863) II. 186;
Ess.*
2. sb. The noise made in choking ; the death-rattle ;
also in pi.
Ess. John's got the quackles; get a doctor for he (W.W.S.).
QUAD, V. Glo. [kwod.] To squat ; gen. with down.
Cf quat, V. 1.
Sometimes when out shooting the keeper ' will suddenly say
"quad down,"' Gibbs Cotswold Vill. (1898) 108.
QUAD, adj. w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Also in form qued.
[kwad.] Vile, base.
[Du. quade, ill, evill, bad, wicked (Hexham).]
QU ADDLE, sb. and v} Dor. Som. Dev. Cor. [kwcdl,
kw9-dl.] 1. sb. A grumbler ; one who complains of
ill-health ; a disagreeable person.
Dor. I dunno — why you bide along o' that wold quaddle, Mis'us
Lake, Hare Vill. Street (1895) 239. Som. How's Mrs. Joop . . .
the wold quaddle, Raymond Gent. Upcott {\Qg-i) 65. w.Sora.* I've
a-know'd her's twenty year, and her've a-bin a proper old quaddle
so long's ever I can mind. They zess how th' old Quaddle's a
middhn' an' 'bout graftin' an' that. Dev. Her's a proper old quaddle,
her is, Reports Provinc. (1891).
2. V. To grumble ; to complain of ill-health.
w.Som.* I don't believe is much the matter way un ; but there,
he'll still quaddly zo long's ever he can get anybody t'harky to un.
Cor. Ac's clicky and cloppy an' a kiddles and quaddles oal day,
Hammond Parish (1897) 342.
QUADDLE, V?- Som. Dev. [kwo'dl.] To waddle.
w.Som.* Dhik yaef'ur-z u zoauld ; uur au't tiie u wai'nt uvoaT
naew, uur-z u faat--s uvur uur kn kwaud'l [That heifer is sold ;
she ought to have gone before now, she is as fat as she can waddle].
Dev. Mrs. B. wid take a vortnight to quaddle up tu the drying-
ground til 'ang out tha clothes, Diiee zee now, Mrs. B., ef yU
can't be dapper vur wance, and not quaddlee about za slowl
Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892).
QUADDLE, see Quod die, v}^
QUADDLIN,56. Cor.'^ [kwo-dlin.] A semi-imbecile
stupid manner. Cf. codling, sb.^
QUADDLING, see Quoddling.
QUADD Y, adj. e.An.^ [kwo'di.] Of a person : very
broad and short ; squat. Cf. coddy.
QUADRANT, sb. Nhb. Dur. [kwo'drant.] Mining
term : see below.
A beam constructed with one half at right angles, with the other
half like the letter L. It is used for converting a horizontal into
a vertical motion, as in the case of an engine being required to
pump from a shaft at some distance from it. It is frequently made
double acting, . . spears being hung on each end. The horizontal
spear from the engine is attached to the top of the vertical leg,
Greenwell Coal Tr. Gl. (1849), ed. 1888.
QUADRE, V. Obs. Abd. (Jam.) To quadrate.
[Fr. quadrer, to square (Cotgr.).]
QUADRELLS, so./>/. Obs. Stf. Four square pieces of
peat made into that fashion by the cutting spade. (K.), Stf.*
QUADRUPLY, sb. and v. Obs. Sc. 1. sb. Legal
term : a fourth reply ; a defender's rejoinder to a pursuer's
second reply. Cf. duply.
Rnf. The practice, which had at the beginning of the nineteenth
century become intolerable, of multiplying pleading, — such as
answers, replies, duplies, triplies, quadruplies, and an infinite
number under other titles, Hector Judic. Rec. (1876) 130. Lnk.
The justices repel the defence, duply, and quadruply proponed for
the pannels, Wodrow Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 47, ed. 1828.
2. V. To make rejoinder to the pursuer's ' triply' (q.v.).
Lnk. Mr. William Maxwell for the pannels quadruplies, Wodrow
ib. 45.
QUAE, QUAEG, QUAEN, see Quay, sb.\ Quean.
QUAFF, V. Cor. Also in form quaiif Cor.* [kwof,
kwef.] To puff up; to fill out. Cor.'* Hence (i)
Quaffed, ppl. adj. satisfled, full; (2) Quaffing, (a) sb.
flatulency ; {b) ppl. adj. luscious, producing flatulency,
satisfying.
(i) Cor.* I'm quaiffed ; Cor.* (2, a) Cried again because their
bellies ached. 'Don't e cry, my dears,' said their granny, 'the
quafian will pass away when on the road home,' Bottrell Trad.
3rd S. 71. (b) The cream was too quaffing to eat with honey, ib.
56; Cor.3
QUAFT, sb. and v. Chs. [kwoft.] 1. sb. A trick.
Cf. quiff, sb.^
Then oer us yeds the wor a loft, We monny a quirk an monny a
quaft, John Stoyls in Chs. N. & Q. (Oct. 29, 1881) I. 174.
QUAG
[665]
QUAILAWAY
2. V. To trick, deceive.
By gol ! sez au, weere gradely quaftet, I'b.
QUAG, sb. and v. In gen. dial, use in So. and Eng.
Also in form quog Not.'^ Lei.^ [kwag, kwseg, kwog.]
1. sb. A quagmire ; soft, muddy ground ; a wet sod ;
also usedy?^.
Per. Adieu to those who would beguile Our feet tlie quag to sink
upon, Spence Poems (1898) 8i. Ayr. The progress of the cart
through the ruts and quags of the moss, Johnston Congal/on's
Legacy (1896) 172. Gall. The stormy desolation of verbs irregular
and the quags of the rules of syntax, Crockett Standard Bearer
(1898) 61. Nhb. Like enough I wad be flung intae the first quag
orpeat-bog we cam' tae, Jones Nhb. (1871) 155. n.Yks.^, ne.Lan.^,
Lin.i, Nhp.i, War.3, Glo.>, Suf.i, Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.i, n.Wil.
(E.H.G.) Dor.i Rolled down into huome-groun' quag, 180.
w.Som.i Applied to a particular kind of bog. It is solid-looking on
the surface, and the turf is often so tough that it can be walked on,
but it shakes and bends beneath the tread. If a quag be broken
through by a horse's foot, he always sinks up to the belly. It is
common for sportsmen to fire a shot at a very short distance down
into a quag ; this breaks a hole through and the water boils out.
A quag is seldom more than a few yards square, and when of the
green grassy kind, is usually very convex, and the most tempting-
looking spot for an unwary horseman. Cor. There's a quag on
t'other side o' the Castle here, 'Q.' Thi'ee Ships (ed. 1892) 156.
Hence Quaggy, adj. of the soil : boggy, soft and tremu-
lous ; used also of fat, flabby flesh.
n.Yks.2 ' A quaggy bit,' a marshy place. Not.^, Lei.', Nhp.^,
War.^, Glo.i Hrt. Quaggy bog earth, Ellis Mod. Husb. (1750)
IV. iv. 42. e.An.i w.Cy. In the quaggy ditch, where the reeds
grow high, hongmarC s Mag. (Oct. 1897) 474.
2. A soft mass of field-dung. n.Yks.^ 3. A shake ; a
state of trembling. Wil.' He's all of a quag with fear.
4. V. To shake.
Brks. CI. (1852); Brks.' Cant 'e veel this yer boggy ground
quag as us walks avsrver 't.
[1. He saw more perfectly the Ditch that was on the
one hand, and the Quag that was on the other, Bunyan
P. P. (1678) 81. 4. Brimbaler, to shake, swag or quag
(COTGR.).]
QUAGGLE, sb. and v} Brks. Sus. Hmp. Som. [kwas'gl,
kwo'gl.] 1. sb. A quivering, shaking motion, such as
that of jelly or of loose boggy soil. See Quag.
s.Cy. (Hall.) Sus., Hmp. Holloway. w.Som.i Mind how
you go up 'pon they there staps, they be all to a quaggle.
2. V. To shake like jelly. Brks.', Hmp.'
QUAGGLE, J^.2 Nrf. [kwse-gl.] To strangle. Cf.
quackle.
Yew ort to be quaggled with a halter round yar troat, Cozens-
Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) 68.
QUAGH, QUAH, see Quaw, sb.
QUAICH, sb. and v. Bnfif.' [kwex-] 1. sb. A wild
scream. 2. v. To scream wildly as a duck when startled.
QUAICH, QUAICK, QUAIFF, see Quaigh, sb., Quay,
sb}, QuaflF, V.
QUAIGH, sb. and v} Sc. n.Cy. Shr. Also in forms
quaich Sc. ; queach Edb. ; quech Sc. ; quaff Sc. (Jam.) ;
quegh Sc. (Jam.) n.Cy. ; quaich Sc. [kwex-] 1. sb. A
small and shallow cup or drinking vessel, with two ears
for handles ; gen. of wood but sometimes of silver ; also
in comp. Quegh-caup.
Sc. (Jam.) ; Made out of staves hooped together. The quaigh
was used chiefly for drinking wine or brandy ; it might hold about
a gill, and was often composed of rare wood, and curiously orna-
mented with silver, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) vi, note ; A huge
barrel of two-penny ale, beside which were ranged two or three
wooden queichs, ib. Leg. Mont. (1818) iv. Inv. (H.E.F.) Elg.
She honoured her striped quaichs with a place beside the wine
glasses, CoUPER Tourifications (1803) II. loi. Bnff. Jannet feesh
ben some whawkie [whisky] To Tam, wi' quaich to ben' about,
Taylor Poems (1787) 65. Abd. Strong ale frothed in the wooden
quaichs, Ruddiman Sc. Parish (1828) 119, ed. 1889. Per. A
quaich of usquebae. Ford Thistledown (1891) 177. Slg. To my
head the quech wi' beer, I eith can hft, Galloway Poems (1795)
I a. s.Sc. It was resolved that the whole guests should rise with
queghs in their hands and drink, Wilson Tales (1836) II. 43.
Cld. Let's toom anither quaich, Nimmo Sngs. (1882) 89. Ayr.
Drinking beer out of quegh caups, Ainslie Land of Bums (ed.
VOL. IV.
1892) 68. Lnk. Did a pease-scon toast Biz i' the queff, Ramsay
Poems (1721) 19. Lth. Ye micht mak' a quaigh o' Athol brose
aff't fordambrods, 'Lvmsd'ev Sheep-head {18(^2) 171. Edb. Handing
to the pedlar a wooden queach or bicker, with scarcely as much
liquor as covered the bottom, Ballantine Gaberlunzie (ed. 1875")
212. Slk. Many a glass of strong beer an' queich of brandy
besides, Hogg Tales (1838) 176, ed. 1866. Shr.' Obsol A cup,
of — what is known to coopers, as — ' bend-ware ; ' a turned round
cup with a short, upright handle. Quaighs . . . were, fifty
years ago, almost as common on kitchen and farm-house tables as
earthenware drinking- vessels. Quaighs of a large size were used
as pails.
2. V. To drink deeply. n.Cy. Border Gl. [Coll. L.L.B.)
[Gael, cuach, a cup, bowl ; Olr. ciiach (Macbain).]
QUAIGH, 11.2 Obsol. Shr.^ To bend ; to turn.
' Quaigh the branch round the end o' the wall,' said of training
a fruit-tree.
QUAIK, see Quay, sb.'^
QUAIL, sb. Lei.' War.^ [kwel.] The corncrake,
Crex praiensis.
QUAIL, zi.' Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
written quaail LW.'; quale Dev. ; and in forms quaal
S. & Ork.' ; quaal Dev.' ; queel Lei.' Som. Dev. ; quile
LW.2 ; quill w.Som."^ Dev. ; quilly Dev. [kwel, kwil.]
1. To languish ; to fail in any way; to fall ill; to faint ;
to have a sinking sensation in the stomach.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.); N.Cy.', ne.Lan.', Nhp.',
Shr.' w.Som.i Poor blid ! hon they brought'n home in the cart,
her quailed right away like a dead thing. Dev.' Look'd as thof
her was quealing away, 5. n.Dev. Ur look'th as if her'd quail,
Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 93. nw.Dev.' I'm quailin' away vor
want o' zummot to ait. s.Dev. Fox Kingsbridge (1874). Cor.^
2. To grow flabby ; of grass or any green vegetable
matter : to dry up, wither ; to harden.
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.' Dhai daash-lz-1 kwee-ulee
gin tu-maarn, un dhan- dhu dhing'z-1 pik aup livree wau'n oa--m
[Those thistles will wither by to-morrow, and then the cattle will
eat them all]. Dev. (Hall.) ; Dev.° There seem'th no dry'th at all
to-day, that grass isn't quailed a bit. nw.Dev.' Cor.' These
flowers soon quail. Your flowers are quailled ; Cor.^
3. To quiet down ; to lull, abate, esp. of the wind ; freq.
with down.
Sh.I. Me midder tell'd dem ta geng nae farder, for hit could du
nae gude an' so dey a kinda quail'd doon, Sh. News (Oct. 23,
1897); S. &Ork.'
4. Of wet, boggy land : to tremble under foot ; of a
swelling : to grow soft and flabby, to lose hardness. Suf.'
Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 349. 5. To be frightened ;
to quake with fear.
Der.' He quailed again, he wor so scar'd. Nhp.', I.W.'
6. Comb. Quail-mutton, the flesh of a sheep that has
died from natural causes, drowning, &c.
Lin.' sw.Lin.' There's nowt no better than quail-mutton —
drownded mutton ; you salt it, and put it in a pancheon.
7. trans. To quench, extinguish.
Lei.' A couldn' queel the foire.
8. To quell ; to subdue through fear.
Edb. Some thrawn obstreperous chief to quail. Or help the
weak, Learmont Poems (1791) 28. Ant. The beatin quailed him,
Ballymena Obs. (1892). LW.2 They putt'n into a straight jacket
and that soon quiled 'en.
QUAIL,_'y.2 Lg;_ Njip Bjjf gj^jj j^igQ jjj fQj.j^ qygjj
Nrf. [kwel.] Of milk : to curdle ; to coagulate in churn-
ing ; of milk, beer, &c. : to turn sour or flat.
Lei' Nhp.' The weather is so hot, the milk won't boil without
quailing. Bdf. The cream is said to be ' quailed ' when the butter
begins to appear in the process of churning, Batchelor Anal.
Eng. Lang. (18 19) 140. e.An.' Nrf. The vinegar will quell the
milk (U.W.).
[Coagulo, qvaylyii, as mylke, and other lycowre {Prompt).
OFr. coailler, to curdle.]
QUAIL, sea Coil, sb?
QUAILAWAY, sb. Dev. Cor. Also in form quillaway
Dev. Cor.= [kwe-1-, kwilawe.] A stye or small pustule
on the eyelid.
Dev. She'd a quillaway on her eye, N. dr" Q. (1866) 3rd S. ix.
320 ; ib. 360 ; The usual cure for a quillaway is to rub it outwards
from the nose with a wedding-ring, Reports Provinc. (1897). Cor.'^
4Q
QUAINT
[666]
QUALITY
QUAINT, V. Sus. Som. and Amer. pp. quaint Sus.^
A shortened form of ' acquaint ' ; to inform.
Sus.i w.Som.' Maister 've a zen' me down vor quaint [kwaa'ynt]
j-ou how on't be no sarvice to-marra, 'cause his father's a-tookt
bad, likin to die. Maister lef word how I was to bring quainted
way it zo many's I could. Oh ees ! I shall sure to zee un to fair ;
me and Mr. Hill be very well quainted. [Amer. 'That's quite a
hoss we come down with ? Had him long ? ' ' Jes' long 'nough
to git 'quainted with him,' Westcott David Harum (1900) ii.]
QUAINTANCE, sb. Sc. Cum. War. and Amer. Also
in forms quantance Sc. ; quentance Cum. A shortened
form of 'acquaintance.'
Sc. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.) Cum. (G.P.) War.* Make
quaintance, missus, with your new neighbour. [Amer. 'Bout the
only 'quaintance you've made of his kind, ain't he? Westcott
David Harum (1900) xxxii.]
QUAIRE, QUAIRN, see Queer, sb.^, Quern, sb.''^
QUAIST, sb. ? Obs. Rnf. (Jam.) A rogue ; a wag.
A main quaist.
QUAISY, QUAIT, see Queasy, adj}, Quiet.
QUAKE, V. Irel. Hrt. Sus. Also in form quack Hrt.
[kwek.] 1. In comb, (i) Quake-ducks. Hrt. (B. & H.) ;
(2) -grass, the quaking grass, Brisa media. Sus. Mar-
shall Revieiv (1814) IV. 45. 2. To cause to tremble.
n.Ir. They heard a squeal That quaked their hearts av granite,
Lays and Leg. (1884) lo.
QUAKE, see Quey, sb.^
QUAKER, V. and sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written quaayker Brks.^ ; and in forms quakker
Der.^ nw.Der.' ; wacker m.Yks.'- w.Yks.^ Lan.^ e.Lan.'
Chs.' s.Chs.' nw.Der.i ; whacker N.Cy.Hv.Yks.^^ne.Lan.^
m.Lan.^ Chs.^ Der.^ nw.Der.^; whackker Lan. ; whaker
Wm. Lan. ; whakker w.Yks. Lan. [kweka(r, wak3(r.]
1. V. To tremble, shake with cold, fear, &c.
N.Cy.^ Wm. Wor sadly freetened an whakered ea iwery lim,
Wheeler Dial. (1790) 32. Yks. She was glad enough to get 'old
of Clarrie's arm, for 'er legs fair whackered (F.P.T.). m.Yks.'
To take the blinders off a horse's head in a busy thoroughfare will
be likely to cause the animal to wacker, in affright. w.Yks.
TiiORESBY Lett. (1703); -w.Yks.i My knees parfitly whacker
ageean , ii. 301 ; w.Yks.^s Lan. It wud mey ony mon to whakker,
Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 10; He kewart whakerink up oth'
tit, Walker Plebeian Pol. (1796) 46, ed. 1801 ; Lan.^, e.Lan.',
Chs.i s.Chs.* Ahy)m dhaat- staa'rft, dhun ahy fae'r vsraak-flr wi
kuwd [I'm that starft, than I fair wacker wi' cowd]. Der.2
nw.Der.i Tha dus wakker, come en' warm thee. We' the 'ont
dus wakker, tha met be feert.
Hence (i) Whackering- grass, sb. quaking grass, Brisa
media ; (2) Wackery, adj. shaky.
( i) w.Yks.'- (2) Lan. He's gettin' very dithersome an' wackery,
Brierley Cast upon World (1886) vi.
2. Comb. Quaker-grass, the quaking grass, Brisa media.
n.Yks.2 w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Sept. 30, 1899) ; w.Yks.',
ne.Lan.i, Chs. (F.R.C.), Nhp.', Wor. (B. & H.), Brks.', w.Som.'
3. sb. In comb, (i) Quakers'-meeting, a silent assembly ;
(2) Quaker's- wedding, a game ; see below.
(i) So. (A.W.), n.Yks. (I.W.) (2) Oxf. (G.O.) Brks. 'Hast
thouever been to a Quaker's wedding?' ' Nay, friend, nay. Do as
I do; twiddle thy thumbs and follow me.' The leader walks round
chanting these lines, with her eyes fixed on the ground. Each new
comer goes behind till a long train is formed, then they kneel side
by side as close together as possible. The leader then gives a
vigorous push to the one at the end of the line [next herself and
that one to the next] and the whole line tumble over. Antiquary,
XXVII. 194, in GoMME Games (1898) II. go.
4. Phr. you're not a Quaker ? used in bargaining to a
person who will not abate the price asked. N.I.' 5. A
game ; see below.
w.'Vks. Men and women stand alternately in a circle, and one
man begins by placing his left hand on his left knee, and saying,
'There was an old Quaker and he went so.' This is repeated all
round the circle ; the first man then says the same thing again,
but this time he places his right hand on his right knee. Then he
places his hand on the girl's shoulder, then round her neck, and
on her far shoulder, then looks into her face, and, lastly, kisses
her, GoMME Games (1898) II. 89-go.
6. A shake ; a shiver ; pi. St. Vitus' dance.
Yks. Bobby Lofthouse has getten t'whackers (F.P.T.). m.Yks.'
Lan. My whul carcase wur in a state o' general wacker, Brierley
Ab-o'th-Yate Yankeeland (1885) viii ; He thrut me into a fit oth'
whackkers ; my teeth rattled i' my jaws, Staton Loominary
(c. 1861) 17. m.Lan.' Chs.' Aw of a wacker; Chs.^, s.Chs.'
7. pi. The quaking grass, Briza media.
Chs.'s Lin. Lin. N. & Q. (Apr. 1892) 42. n.Lin.', e.Lin.
(G.G.W.), War.23, w.Wor.', se.Wor.', Shr.', Hrf.", Glo. (B. & H.),
Glo.l, n.Bck., Suf. (B. & H.), Wil.l
8. pi. The cuckoo-pint, Arum maculatum, when the
spadices are dull-coloured. Lan. (B. & H.) 9. pi.
Scissor-shanks of a particular shape. w.Yks. (C.V.C.)
10. Excrement.
w.Yks. Ah mun gooa bury a quaker chews ha t'cat leets ta jump
(B.K.).
[1. With the forms contammg initial w- cp. pe erfie )jat
})ai sal on stand sal scake, Thurgh ])air syn, and tremble
and whake (qwake MS. Harl. 4196), Hampole Pr. C.
(c. 1340) 5410-1.]
QUAKING, ppl. adj. Sc. Irel. Also in forms quaakin
Dmf ; quackinBnff.'; quacking, quakkin Gall, [kwe'kin,
kwakin.] 1. In comb, (i) Quaking-asb, the aspen,
Populus tremula ; (2) -bog, a moving quagmire ; (3) -esp,
see (i) ; (4) -quaw, see (2).
(i) Sc. (Jam.) ne.Sc. The cross is said to have been made of
the wood of the aspen — 'quaking aish.' Hence the constant
motion of the leaves, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 148. (2) BnfT.'
Dmf. If . . . the rider should disappear for ever in a Quaakin' Bog,
Paton Castlebraes (1898) 297. (3) N.I.' (4) Gall. It was all of
wet, marshy peat, with black haggs; and what were worse,
green, deceitful 'quakkin qua's,' . . in which at the first step one
might sink to the neck, Crockett Raiders (1894) xviii ; Mac-
TAGGAWT Encycl. (1824) 94, ed. 1876.
2. Of a bog : moving, trembling.
Dmf. Sank him tae the chin in a quaakin' stinkin' bog, Paton
Castlebraes (i8g8) 301.
QUAL, sb. e.Yks.' [kwal.] A person of high social
position ; also a parvenu, a ' stuck-up ' wealthy person ;
gen. in pi. A shortened form of ' quality.'
QUALE, see Quail, i;.'
QUALIFIED, ppl. adj. Chs. Not. Lin. Oxf. Som.
[kwal-, kwo'lifaid.] 1. Fit, able, competent.
Chs.' ; Chs.3 I'm as quahfied as he be ; and qualifider too.
s.Not. The huzzy's qualified to say oat (J.P.K.). n.Lin.' He's not
qualified to write a letter, but he can read writin'. Th' graainry
floor, noo the new bauks is in, is qualified to bear hundred
quaarter. Oxf.' MS. add. w.Som.' I 'sure you, sir, he's [the
cartj well put out o' hand, and vor all he do look light, I'll war'n
un that he's qualified to car vive and twenty hundred.
2. In good circumstances.
Chs.' A rich man would be said to be ' qualified.'
QUALIFY, V. Sc. Wm. Sur. Dev. [kwal-, kwo'lifai.]
1. To become fit or serviceable.
Sur.' The mare turned out a kicker ; she wouldn't never qualify.
2. To accord with ; to improve by forming a fitting
complement to.
Wm. Ther's nowt like a bit o' bacon fer qualifyin' beans (B.K.).
3. Obs. To prove ; to authenticate, make good ; to
testify to.
Abd. The one half of the goods forfeited to be employed to the
use of the public, and the other to be given to him who delates
the recepters and qualifies the same, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792)
I. 273. n.Dev. And than Getfer Radger Sherwell he must quahfy't
agen, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 227.
QUALITY, sb. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
Also written quoloty Lin. ; quol'ty w.Ir. ; and in form
karlity Dev. [kwa'l-, kwolati.] I. The gentry ; the upper
classes; also used a^/nZ"., and in co»2/>.Quality-folk(s,-make.
Sc. I'm expectin' the quality. Steel Rowans (1895) 235. Ayr.
[She] was putting on some quality airs that the neebors couldna
thole. Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 141. Ir. The strange
quality generally give us more than we'd ask for, Harrington
Sketches (1830) I. xiii. N.I.' Uls. Brought up to greet the
' quality ' with a curtsey, Hamilton Bog (1896) 17. w.Ir. Get
ready the quol'ty room. Lover Leg. (1848) II. 457. Lns. Father
Clancy . . . likes to oblige the quality, Croker Leg. (1862) 243.
Wxf. The quality from Castleboro, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867)3.
Lakel.2, Cum.^ 17. Wm. You're staying with the quality, Ward
Helbeck (1898) 81. n.Yks.' Ah deean't knaw mich aboot 'em yet :
QUALK
[6671
QUARLY
but they're quite quality folk Ah aims ; n-Yks.* ne.Yks.i 'Mang
t'rest o' quality put doon. e.Yks.' w.Yks. Far sowt and dearly
bowt is good fer t'quality, Prov. in Brighouse News (Aug. lo, 1889);
•w.Yks.25 Lan.i They wanten us t'think ut they're quality-folk ;
but they're nowt o'th soart, raon, — not they. ne.Lan.^, m.Lan.'
I-Ma. They're very strange is the quality, Brown Doctor (1887)
73. Chs.i Oo's bin from wom, an' bin visitin among th' quality.
Midi. Being urged to it by the gentleman farmers (he could refuse
nothing to 'the quality'), Bartrah Peo/ife of Clapton (1897) 11.
Not.' Lin. Loook 'ow quoloty smoiles when they seeas ma a
passin' boy, Tennyson N. Farmer, Old Style (1864') st. 14. n.Lin.i
sw.Lin.i All the quality was there. Lei.' Wheer's your quality
manners ! War.^ Oxf.i He's one of the quality, MS. add. Suf.
(C.T.) Dor. Ef thee was quality, I'm blamed ef thee wouldn' be
abed still! Hare Vill. Street (1895) 194. Som. A deep respect
for quality, Raymond Love and Quiet Life (1894) 83. w.Som.i
Oh ! they reckons theirzul quality vokes, let it be how 'twill.
Dev. You be one of the karlity, Blackmore Christowell (1881) iii.
2. Used attrib. in phr. to keep quality hours, to dine late.
s.Wor. PoRsoN Quaint Wds. (1875) 21.
3. Obs. A kind of tape. Sus." Hence Quality-binding,
sb. a kind of worsted tape commonly used for binding the
borders of carpets. Sc. (Jam.)
4. pi. Intellectual ability.
n.Lin.^ If Maria was nobbud as good e' her behaaviour as she is
e' her qualities she'd be clear different to what she is. She's
reight e' her qualities, her book-larnin', an' all that theare, bud
she's so maisterful, that's th' wo'st on her.
QUALK, sb. Cor. Also written quaalk. [kw^k.] A
heavy fall. Cor.' ; Cor.^ I came down with a qualk.
Hence Qualker, sb. a heavy blow ; occas. a heavy fall.
I struck un too, I knaw I ded, A quaalker right upon his head !
HiGHAM Dial. (1866) 24 ; They ' throwed' her a regular qualker,
Thomas Randigal Rhymes (1895) 8.
QUALL, see Quell.
QUALMY, adj. Nhp. [kw^'mi.] Of the weather:
close, sultry, producing sickly languor. (W.D.S.), Nhp.^
See Caumy.
QUALTAGH, sb. Obs. I.Ma. Also written quaaltagh.
A Christmas or New Year's ceremony ; see below ; one
who takes part in the ceremony.
A company of young lads or men generally went in old times
on what they termed the Qualtagh, at Christmas or New Year's
Day, to the houses of their more wealthy neighbours ; some one
of the company repeating in an audible voice the following
rhyme : ' Ollick ghennal erriu,' &cc. . .When this was repeated
they were then invited in to partake of the best that the house
could afford.' . . The purport of the foregoing rhyme appears to
be : ' A merry Christmas to you, and a happy New Year. Long
life and health to all the family. Your Ufetime and cheerfulness
live together. Peace and love between women and men. Goods
and flummery, stock and store. Plenty of potatoes and herrings
enough. Bread and cheese, butter and the spring-tide. Stealthy
death in neither stack-yard or barn. Safe sleep when you lie
down. And may the flea not make a meal of you,' N. & Q. (1869)
4th S. iii. 424; Who would the 'Qualtagh' to a parish be?
Johnson Isle-iad, 59 ; I should be the first-foot here, only I'm no
use as a qualtagh, Caine Manxman (1894) pt. 11. ii ; Brand Pop.
Antiq. I. 538.
QUAMP, V. and adj. Wor. Hrf. Glo. w.Cy. Wil. Also
in form quomp Glo.'^ Wil.^ [kwamp, kwomp.] 1. v.
To subdue, cow, quiet ; to damp one's spirits.
s.Wor. They fairly quamp one (F.W.M.W.). Hrf. (W.W.S.)
Glo. Baylis Illus. Dial. (1870) ; Glo.i^
Hence Quamped,/^/. adj. subdued, disappointed. Wil.*
2. adj. Still, quiet ; also sulky.
Glo. As quamp as a mouse, Horae Subsecwae (1777) 347 ; Glo.*,
w.Cy. (Hall.) Wil. Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.' n.Wil. He
looks turrible quamp (E.H.G.).
QUANDARY, sb. e.Yks.* In form quandhary.
[kwa-nSsri.] A fit of ill-temper.
e.Yks.i Misthris is 1 yan ov her quandharies ti day.
QUANDORUM, sb.^ Som. Also written quondorum.
[kwo-ndoram.] A quandary ; extreme perplexity.
Christopher was in a terrible quondorum, sure enougli, Ray-
mond Sam and Sabina (1894) 134. w.Som.' Maister [the parson]
was in a quandorum sure 'nough, vor there was the Bishop
woiting and we was all ready, but none o' they wadii a-come.
QUANDORUM, sb.'^ s.Cy. I.W. [kwo-ndoram.] A
pohte speech or gesture. s.Cy. (Hall.), I.W.'
QUANK, V. and adj Chs. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf. Wil.
[kwarjk, kwogk.] 1. v. To overcome, subdue ; to quiet.
Cf cank, v.'^
War.* Your oss is a bit restive, be he ? You must quank him,
or he'll master you. Hrf. Well, sir, that quanked him (N.G.) ;
Hrf.' Wil. Britton Beauties (1825) ; Wil.i
Hence Quanker,S(!). a 'settler.' Hrf. That's a quanker (N.G. ).
2. adj. Still, quiet.
Chs. Grose (1790) Suppl.; Chs.^, Wor. (H.K.) Shr.' As
quank as a mouze. Hrf. She thought it [the cough] was getting
quanker, N. & Q. (1S58) 2nd S. v. 493.
QUANT, sb. and v. e.An. Ken. Sus. Also in form
quont e.An.* Sus.*^ [kwant, kwont.] 1. sb. A long
pole with which to propel barges or punts ; an oak
sapling ; a walking-stick.
e.An.* Nrf. The man . . . seizing the quant, worked away with
a will, supplementing the wind by poling her along, Dale Noah's
Ark (1890) xii. Ken. Grose (1790) ; Ken.*, Sus.'^
2. V. To punt ; to push a boat along with a pole.
Nrf. The boatmen do the punting or ' quanting,' Sat. Review
(1891) LXXI. 604 ; A jolly boat, a most handy craft — one can
safely stand and quant it along, Emerson Lagoons (ed. i8g6) 4.
Hence Quanter, sb. a man who propels a barge or
punt by means of a pole.
Nrf. If a good quanter goes in after him [the pike], he will soon
' muddle ' him up, Emerson Birds (ed. 1895) 375.
3. To thrash, chastise. I'Cen. (W.F.S.)
[1. Whante, or qvante, long sprete or rodde (Prompt.).^
QUANT, adj. Not. [kwant, kwont.] Short-tempered ;
ill-tempered. (J.H.B.)
QUAP, V. Glo. [kwop.] With up : of a trout : to rise
at a fly. Gibes Cotswold Vill. (ed. 1899) 164.
QUAP(P, see Quop.
QUAR, V. and sb. Wor. Hmp. Som. Dev. Also in
form querre Dev. [kw93(r), kwe3(r).] 1. v. Of milk
in the breast : to coagulate.
Som. They didn' look to her, and so her milk quarried, and she
went off her head (W.F.R.). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
2. To become choked.
Wor. When the leaves and all gets quarrcd up there, there can't
nothin' go through it (H.K.). s.Dev. Plymouth Wkly. Merc. (Oct.
20, 1883) ; (W.W.S.)
3. sb. The udder of a cow or sheep when hard after
calving or lambing. Hmp. Wise New Forest (1883) 285 ;
Hmp.*
[2. But as a miller . . . Lets downe his flood-gates with
a speedy fall. And quarring up the passage therewithal!,
Browne Brit. Past. (1613) in Nares.J
QUARANTINE, see Quarrener.
QUARDLE, V. and sb. Wil. Som. Dev. Also written
quardel Dev. [kwQ'dl.] \. v. A dial, form of ' quarrel.'
s.Wil. (G.E.D.), w.Som.* Dev. Wile yu'm quardlin bowt wich
es tha best, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (ed. 1866) 2nd S. 7.
Hence Quardling, ppl. adj. quarrelsome.
w.Som.* I hain't very fond o' un ; he's to quardlin byjialf :
nobody can't zay nort t'he, 'thout all the fat's in the vire to once.
Your Don's the most quardlins [quarrelingest] dog I've a-zeed's
longful time.
2. sb. A quarrel.
Som. SwEETMAN Wincanton Gl. (1885). w.Som.* n.Dev.
Chucked down by Routledge in a quardel, Rock Jim an' Nell
(1867) St. 102.
QUARE, sb. Cor.= [kwea(r).] A joint in a lode.
Hence Quarey, adj. of a lode : jointed.
When a lode or stratum breaks in large hard rocks, being jointed
as it were, it is called a quarey lode or stratum, from its joints or
quares.
QUARE, QUAREL, see Queer, adj., Quire, Quarrel, si.*
QUARENDEL, QUARENDER, QUARENDON, sec
Quarrener.
QUARERTWIFE, QUARK, see Quarter-wife, Quawk.
QUARLY, V. Dev. Also written quarley. [kwa'li.]
A dial, form of ' quarrel.'
n.Dev. Law, Nell, doant quarlej-, 'tis bet fun, Rock Jim an Nell
(1867) St. 41. nw.Dev.* Rhjmes with 'marly.'
492
QUARM
[668]
QUARRY
QUARM, sb. Sh.I. Also written quaarm S. & Ork.'
[kwarm.] The edges of the eyelid on which the eye-
lashes grow.
Shu turn'd up da quarm fil shfl could see, S/i. News (July 15,
1899) ; (J.S.) ; S. & Ork.i
[Norw. dial, kwarm, augnek (Ross) ; cp. ON. hvannr,
eyelid (Vigfusson).]
QUARN, see Quern, sb}
QUAR(R, sb. and v. Lei. Glo. Hmp. Wil. Dor. Som.
Dev. Also written cuarr, quaar Glo. [kw9s(r).] 1. sb.
A quarry, stone-pit.
Lei.i Glo. Horae Subsecivae {titj) ^^T, The stwons keam vrom
the Bleakney quaar, Dixon Sngs. Eng. Peas. (1857) 201 ; Glo.^^
Wil. Slow Gl. (1892I ; Wil.i, Dor.^ Som. There's a pa'cel o' men-
folk just above the quar', Raymond Smoke of War, 17a w.Som.i
I do work in the quar vor Mr. Russell. Dev. The Quar was, in
fact, an abortive attempted excavation for granite, Baring-Gould
Furze Bloom ( 1899) 96.
2. Comp. (i) Quar -man, a man who works in a quarry ;
the proprietor or lessee of a quarry ; (2) -martin, the
sand-martin, Cottle riparia ; (3) -pit, a quarry, esp. a small
roadside one whence stones for road-mending are dug.
(i) Som. Jennings 06s. />!«/. zf.SK^. (1825). w.Som.i (3)Wil.i
n.Wil. These birds are called ' quar-martins ' by the labourers,
because they breed in holes drilled in the face of the sandy preci-
pices of quarries, Jefferies Wild Life (1879) 169. (3) w.Som.i
3. A rough kind of building-stone from the quarry.
w.Som.i We've a got urd o' most all the ruvvle, and you can 'ave
a fine lot o' quars now.
4. A worked stone ready squared for the mason's use.
That's a fine quar o' free stone, ih.
5. V. To work in a quarry ; to raise stones from a quarry.
Hmp.i Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. w.Eng. (1825). Wil. Britton
Beauties (1825) ; Wil.^^ w.Som.^ We can quar stones here 'most
any size.
[1. Quarere, or quarere of stone (quarer K., quar S.,
quarrye P.), lapidicina (Prompt.) ; OFr. qiiarriere, a quarry
of stone.]
QUARRANT, 5*. Obs. Sc. A kind of shoe; see below.
Some I have seen shod with a kind of pumps made out of a raw
cow-hide \vith the hair turned outward, which being ill-made, the
wearer's feet looked something like those of a rough-footed hen or
pigeon. These are called Ouarrants, and are not only oSensive to
the sight, but intolerable to the smell of those who are near them,
Burt Lett. (1754) II. 185-6 (Jam.).
[Cp. Gael. a<arfl«, a brogue, sock; M.Ir. cuardn, a. cover-
ing for the foot and teg (Macbain).]
QlJARKEI),ppl. adj. Hmp. Of beer : harsh or rough
to the taste. Wise New Forest (1883) 285 ; Hmp.^
QUARREL, sb.^ In gen. dial, use in Eng. Also written
quarel Nhb.^ ; quarral Dor. ; quarrell Cor. ; quarril
Dev.' ; and in forms quarl Nhb.' I.W.' Dev.= ; quarle
Lan.'^ [kwa-ril, kwoTil.] 1. A pane of glass, esp. a
diamond-shaped pane. Cf. quarry, sb.^ 2.
■w.Yks. ScATCHERD Hist. Morley (1830) Gl. ; w.Yks.''^ ; w.Yks.s
Isn't there a quarrel out of the window ? w.Xks.^ Lan. Towfe
Malley lowest winda quarrel, Scholes Tim Gamwattle (1857) 7 ;
Lan.i,''e.Lan.i, m.Lan.i, Clis.i^, nw.Der.', n.Lin.i, GI0.12, Brks.',
e.An.i, Ken.i, Hmp.' s. Hmp. Looking through the ' quarrels' of
the lattice, Verney L. Lisle (1870) v. I.W.' Wil. Britton
Beauties {iSz5). Dor. (W.C. c. 1750) ; Dor.' Som. Jennings Ois.
Dial. w.Eng. (1825). w.Som.i The word is now generally applied
to those pieces on which the blow-knob at the centre of the ' table '
of glass has been left. ' I told'n twad'n no odds 'bout best glass vor
the stable winder, a quarrel's well 'nough vor thick there job.'
Dev.i Tore, I don't know how many quarrils of glass, 7, ed. Palmer ;
Dev.= There ! he'th been and brock one 'a they quarls. n.Dev. 'A
brock a quar'l o' glass, Rock Jim an Nell (1867) st. 117. Cor.
N. &- Q. (1854) ist S. X. 360; Cor.' 2
Hence Quarrelled, ppl. adj. of a window : having panes.
Lan. Through his smo-quarrel't window, Clegg Sketches
(1895) S62.
2. Comb, (i) Quarrel-paned, of a window: having
diamond-shaped panes ; (2) -picker, a glazier.
(i) Lan. She looked through the quarrel-paned window, Waugh
Sneck-Bant (1868) i. (2) Chs.3
3. A flag or tile, esp. a square tile.
Nhb-.i A flag or tile, . . made of burnt fire-clay. Under the term
' brick ' are included sizes up to twelve inches long by six inches
wide. Above this area it is called a quarl or tile. Chs.'
4. A kind of bird-bolt having a lozenge-shaped head,
used for beating down rooks' nests. e.An.^ 5. A sheet
of paper. Cor.'
[1. OFr. quarrel, Mod. Fr. carreau, a small square
(Hatzfeld).]
QUARREL, s6.2 and 'o> Sc. Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs. Shr.
Also written quarril w.Yks. ; and in forms warril w.Yks. ;
w^harel ne.Lan.' ; wharl Lakel.^ ne.Lan.' ; wharrel
Lakel.2 [kwa'ril.] 1. sb. A stone-quarry.
Lakel.2 118. w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865); Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Mar. 11, 1899) ; w.Yks.'^s, ne.Lan.' Chs.' Quarry Bank,
a farm house iu Morley, which takes its name from its proximity
to a stone quarry, is called in the old township books of Pownall
Fee, Quarrell Bonk. Shr.^
2. Obs. Materials from a quarry.
Fif. It shall be . . . lawful to the burgesses ... of Kirkaldy . . .
to dig . . . and carry away coals, limestone, clay, quarrell, within
anypart of the bounds of the lands, FouNTAiNHALLZ)e«ij0«5(i7oo)
II. 535, ed. 1759 (Jam.).
3. V. To quarry; to raise stones from a quarry. n.Sc.
(Jam.), Lakel.2
[1. Quarelk of stone (querelle of stane A.), lapidicina,
Cath. Angl (1483).]
QUARREL, V?- Sc. Nhb. Sus. Also written quarrl
Sh.I. [kwaTil.] To question, call to account, challenge ;
to find fault with, rebuke ; to object to.
Sc. (Jam.) ; He was first challenged by his neighbours and after-
wards quarrelled by the Ephori, Scoiicisms (1787) 120. Sh.I. Hir
faider . . . quarrlin' her laad for comin' frae hame til her apo' da
Satterday nights, Sh. News (July 23, 1898). n.Sc. Say on, my
bonny boy, Ye'se nae be quarrell'd by me, Buchan Ballads (1828)
I. 8, ed. 1875. Cai.' Elg. To quarrel our meridian grog, Couper
Poetry (1804) II. 12. Bnff. Taylor Poems (1787) 133. Abd. This
was done several times, but he miskenned all, and never quarrelled
the samen, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 49. Per. I quarrel not
your crimes, tho' they be great, Smith Poems (1714) 95, ed. 1853.
Fif. Douglas Poems (1806) ioi. Rnf. After drinking a little with
him, began to quarrel him to give an account of himself, Wodrow
Corres. (1709-31) II. 142, ed. 1843. Ayr. I can onl3'mind of ance
that he quarrel't me for a faut, Service Dr. Duguid (ed. 1887) 32.
Lnk. Gin I'm quarrell'd for the deed, Ye'll ken wha'll Stan' the
blame o't, Murdoch Doiic Lyre (1873) 99. Lth. Thomson Poems
(1819) 70. Edb. Whan Willy did him quarrel, He damn'd him for
a nasty sullen carle, Learmont Poems (1791) 324. Gall. Mony
were the folk that quarrelled me for being at siccan an expense,
C-ROCK^TT Kit Kennedy (1899) 108. Nhb. She had left her uncle
quarrelling her aunt, N. & Q. (1893) 8th S. iv. 404. Sus. He
quarrel'd at de soadgers so. Lower Tom Cladpole (1831) st. 91.
QUARRELSOME, adj. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Faultfinding,
given to contradiction, litigious.
He's a quarrelsome body ; he's never satisfied.
QUARRENDER, see Quarrener.
QUARRENER, sb. Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms
quarantine nw.Dev.' Cor.^ ; quarendel, quarender Dev.* ;
quarendon Cor. ; quarrender nw.Dev.' ; quarrington
Dev. [kw9Tin(d)3(r).] A kind of russet apple.
Som. Scrunched a ripe quarrener, Raymond Tryphena (1895)
75. w.Som.' A very common favourite in Devon and Somerset.
It is an oblate shaped, deep red, early apple ; also known as suck-
apple, and sometimes as quarantine. Dev. As for her lips, they
was red as a ripe quarrender apple. Black and White (June 27,
1896) 824 ; Bailey (1721) ; Dev.* n.Dev. He had no ambition
whatsoever beyond getting by honest means the maximum of 'red
quarrenders,' Kingsley Westward Ho (1855) 4, ed. 1889. nw.Dev.'
Cor. St. George pulled a red-streaked quarendon out of his trousers
pocket, Baring-Gould Rich. Cable (1889) 334 ; Cor.^
[Conduum, an'^'^aquaryndoun ; conduus, an"^ a quaryndon
tre, Voc. (c. 1450) in Wright's Voc. (1884) 574.]
QU ARRINGTON,QUARRL,see Quarrener, Quarrel,!;.^
QUARRY, sA.' Sc. Nhb. Mer. Also in form wharry
Sh.I. [kwa'ri.] In comp. (i) Quarry-brae, the descent
to a quarry ; (2) -face, the perpendicular side of a quarry ;
(3) -hole, a disused quarry ; (4) -man, the man who
finally splits the slates for the market ; (5) -post, sand-
stone suitable for building purposes.
(i, 2) Nhb.' (3) Sh,I. I cam ipun a muckle wharry holl, an' . . .
QUARRY
[669]
QUARTER
1 cooged me doon intil hit an' waited, Clark N. Gleams (1898) 103.
Nhb.l (4) Mer. Reports Mines. (5) Nhb.i
QUARRY, sb? In gen. dial, use in Eng. Also written
quarrey Som. [kwaTi, kwoTi.] 1. In comp. Quarry-
breest, the upright part of a lime-ltiln or drying-ljiln.
Cum.^* (s.v. Breest.) 2. A pane of glass, esp. a diamond-
shaped pane. Cf. quarrel, sb} 1.
w.Yks.3, Chs.i (s.v. Quarrel), Chs.23, Nhp.i, Shr.2,Hnt. (T.P.F.),
Suf.i, Sns. (S.P.H.) Hmp. HoLLOWAY ; Hmp.i e.Som.W. & J.
61. (1873). w.Som.l, Cor.l2
3. A tile ; a square flooring-brick or paving-stone. Cf.
quarrel, sb} 3.
w.Yks. The floor of the kitchen is supported by beams, upon
which rest square bricks or quarries which constitute the floor
(S.O.A.). Stf. (F.R.C.1 n.Stf. Have you become an amateur of
damp quarries? Geo. Ehot A. Bede (1859) I. 149. s.Stf. Big
square tiles, locally called ' quarries,' with which the parlour was
floored, Murray Rainbow Gold (1886) 75. Nhp.^ Chiefly used for
paving kitchen floors. War.^ ' Quarry and Tile Works ' are familiar
enough in the Midlands. Shr.^ The kitchen flur wuz sich nice
quarries — as red as a cherry. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
4. A sheet of paper. Cor.^ 5. An angular or case-
bottle. Suf.i
[Fr.^j<«rreaw,alittlesquare,asquaretile,orbrick(CoTGR.).]
QUART, sb. Lan. Midi. Ken. Dev. Also written
kwart Dev. [kwat, kwot.] 1. In phr. a quart o' brown,
a quart of ale. Cf. brown, adj. 4.
Lan. Th' owd docthur wi his glass o' white. An' us eawr quart o'
breawn. Ridings Muse (1853) 7.
2. A quart mug.
Dev. Thayzotroun agane, an thay vill'd up tha kwarts, Nathan
Hogg Poet. Lett. (ed. 1865) 48.
3. A dry measure.
Ken. Fruit, vegetables, and fish are sold by the quart. Bread is
sold in pecks, gallons, and quarts (G.B.).
Hence Quart-loaf, sb. a quartern-loaf.
Dev. Jutson put a quart loaf. . . on the long oak table, Mortimer
Tales Moors (1895) 100.
4. Of butter: three pounds.
Midi. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1796) II. Lei. (Hall.)
QUART, adj., adv. and v. Yks. e.An. Also written
quaart n.Yks.^ ; and in forms quayt e. Yks.^ ; wart e.An. ;
whart Suf. [kwart, e.An. wat.] 1. adj. Transverse.
n.Yks.^ Hence Quaartish, adj. contradictious and
quarrelsome, ib. 2. Comb. Quaart-seas, waves meeting
and crossing each other, so as to render the port-entrance
dangerous, ib. 3. adv. Across. Suf. (Hall.) 4. v.
To cross transversely; to plough a field in a direction
transverse to that of the first ploughing.
n.Yks.'" ne.Yks.iNoo, lads,wemunquahrtt'fauf. e.An. (Hall.)
5. To thwart, go contrary to. n.Yks.'^*, m.Yks.'
6. To quarrel, disagree, fall out.
n.Yks.12 ; n.Yks.'' Ah aim 'at oor Tom wad quart wiv a stuffed
monkey. e.Yks.i
[A dial, form of 'thwart' (q.v.).]
QUARTER, sb., adj. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc. Irel.
and Eng. Also written quater Lin. Cor.'; and in form
whaarter Sh.I. [kwarta(r,kwa-t3(r),kw9-t3(r).] 1. sb.
In comp. (i) Quarter-ail, a disease affecting one of the
quarters of an animal, esp. of young cattle and sheep ;
(2) -college, a name given to certain churches ; (3) -evil,
(4) -m, see (i) ; (5) -jacks, the machinery by which the
quarter of the hour is struck on a clock ; the strokes of
the quarter hour. ......
(i) Som. A disease in calves, ' which is a mortification beginning
at the hock, and proceeding with astonishing rapidity to the vital
parts,' Reports Agric. (1793-1813) io9- e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873).
(2) Som. Axbridge Church and Yatton Church are said to be
' quarter colleges ' (,W.F.R.). Dev. Bishop Grandison founded a
' Quarter College ' at Ottery St. Mary's, iV. & Q. (1876) 5th S. vi.
189. (3) n.Yks. TUKE ^^nc. (1800) 259. War.s, s.Cy. (Hall.),
■ Dor." w.Som.i (^^) Sc. Sic bennison will sain ye still . . . Frae
cantrip elf and quarter-ill, Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) II. 363.
ne.Sc. When the quarter-ill made its appearance the muckle wheel
was set in motion and turned till fire was produced. From this
virgin flame fires were kindled in the byres. At the same time, if
neighbours requested the favour, live coals were given them to
kindle fires for the purification of their homesteads and turning off
the disease. Fumigating the byres with juniper was a method
adopted to ward ofT disease. Such a fire was called ' needfyre,'
Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 186. Abd. We talked gravely of the
valuable stirk that had taken the quarter ill, Alexander Ain Flk.
( 1 882) 56. Ags. A very gross superstition is observed as an antidote
against this ill. A piece is cut out of the thigh of one of the cattle
that has died of it. This they hang up within the chimney, in
order to preserve the rest of the cattle from being infected. It is
believed that as long as it hangs there, it will prevent the disease
from approaching the place. It is therefore carefully preserved,
and in case of the family removing, transported to the new farm. . .
It is handed down from one generation to another (Jam.\ Nhb.
The quarter-ill, from which a loss of 15% [of lambs] is estimated,
Marshall Review (1818) I. loi. Nhb.' it is generally fatal. At
the birth of a calf, salt is sprinkled on its back, and an t.%% — shell
and all — thrust down its throat. Sometimes a sort of invocation
or incantation is mumbled over a newly-calved calf, the last few
words being : ' And may thoo ken nee mair o' the quarter-ill nor
aa ken whether thoo's a bull or a quey.' n.Yks. A complaint to
which one-year old calves are hable, Tuke Agrtc. (1800) 259.
w.Som.i (5) w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865). Lin. Thompson
Hist. Boston (1856) 719 ; (Hall.) ; Lin.i What time did the quarter-
jacks say ? — Half past.
2. Phr. (i) to cry quarter, to surrender; (2) on the quarter,
a sawyers' term ; see below ; (3) to be put upon the quarters,
to receive parish relief; (4) — make quarters good, to keep
in with the publicans by dividing custom.
(i) Oxf.' We fowt till 'ee cried quarter, MS. add. (2) Chs.^
When a log of wood is cut into four pieces through the middle, it
is said to be cut 'on the quarter.' (3) Sh.L When any person,
unable to support himself, applies to be put upon the quarters, the
minister gives notice of the application from the pulpit, Cowie
Shetland (1871) 285. (4) Shr.i If a farmer going to market were
to ' put up ' at one house, and go to another ' for a glass,' in order to
maintain just relations with both — he would ' make his quarters
good.' ' Now, then. Bob, come wham.' ' I conna yet, I got to gfiii to
the Swan to mak' my quarters good.'
3. The fourth part of a circular oatcake, scone, &c.
Sh.I. Shu marked aff da whaarters o' da skon wi' da nail o' her
loom, Sh. News (Apr. 20, 1901). Abd. A handfu' o' meal or a
quarter o' bread, Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 50.
Hence Quarter-cake, sb. a ' farl ' of oatcake ; oatcake
cut into four quarters.
Fif. Carrying pokes to hold the quarter-cakes and whpngs of
cheese, Pryde Queer Flk. (1897) 245.
4. A quarter of a pound.
Sh.L He wis [had] niver geen her midder even a quarter o'
tae, Sh. News (May 28, 1898). Dmf. A quartero' bacca tae daidy,
Paton Casilebraes (1898) 43.
Hence Quarter-pund, sb. a quarter of a pound.
Nhb. That's the last of a quarter-pund, Graham Red Scaur
(1896) 87.
5. Obs. Colliery term : a quarter of a yard.
Nhb., Dur. The 3 quarter coal about 3 quarters thick, Compleat
Collier [z^oS) 4.
6. Obs. A farthing.
e.Yks. [Butter] will fall to twopence and two quarters a pownde.
Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 105.
7. One of the four teats of a cow.
Lakel.^ n.Wm. T'coo hes lost a hinder quarter wi' t'sair ewer
(B.K.). Chs.' When a cow, from any accident, ceases to give
milk from one teat, she is said ' to have lost a quarter." s.Wor."^
Glo. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). Som. The yellows frequently
affect the udder and bring on a false quarter, that is, a deprivation
of milk in one teat, accompanied with swelling and inflammation,
Marshall Review (1818) II. 528 ; If only three yield milk, the cow
is said to have a false quarter (W.F.R. ).
8. A measure of varying capacity ; see below.
Yks. Of chopped bark, in some parts, 9 heaped bushels ; of oats,
for bread, in some parts to be made up, 3 cwts., Morton Cyclo.
Agric. (1863). Shr. The quarter bushel is called a hoop, or peck ;
and the fourth of that is called a quarter, Marshall Review (1818)
11.225. Jer., Guern. Of potatoes, 240 lbs. Dutch weight = 263 av.,
Morton ib.
9. A division of land ; see below.
■w.Ir. In the Aran isles the land is divided into townlands,
every townland containing so many ' quarters,' every quarters
[51c] so many 'croggeries,' every croggery so many acres. Mish-
maan possesses but two townlands, containing six quarters each.
Lawless Grania (1892) II. 3.
QUARTERAGE
[670]
QUAT
10. The portion of the road between the wheel-ruts and
the horse-track, or between the ruts and the side of the
road. War.3 Nrf. y^rcA. (1879) VIII. 172. 11. An upright
piece of timber in a partition. Som. (Hall.) 12. A
limestone bed.
War. Name given by quarrymen to a limestone bed in the
Lower Lias near Stratford-on-Avon, Phillips Geol. (1871) iii.
13. adj. In comb, (i) Quarter-barrel, a cask holding 25
gallons ; (2) -cliffe, obs., wood sawn into four parts ; (3)
-clift, a crazy person ; a ' natural ' ; (4) -cord, a lead-mining
term: see below; (5) -lands, a division of land ; (6) -peck,
a measure for selling potatoes ; (7) -wood, obs., a square
piece of timber, four inches thick.
(i) se.Wor.i (2) e.Yks. Forke sliaftes, made of seasoned ashe
and quarter cliffe, Best Rur. Econ. (1641) 34. (3) N.I.1 Uls.
The next degree of aberration [to the eccentric] constitutes a
' quarter clift," Oia»»Ae;-s'5 7»-«. (1856) V. 139. Ant. (S.A.B.) (4)
Der. Quarter cord is the measure of seven yards and a quarter,
which the miner by custom has crossways of his vein on either
side for liberty to lay his earth, stone, or rubbish on, and to wash
and dress up his ore. So long as a mine is wrought and in posses-
sion, everything upon the quarter cord belongs to the miner.
Tapping Gl. to Manlove {1851) ; The quarter cord is one fourth of
a meer of ground . . . and is the measure of that quantity of land
in any freehold upon which the miner claims to have a right to
erect coes and hovels, undress and lay his clothes, dress and lay
his ore till measured, and to lay such mineral tools and materials
as might easily be stolen and carried away, and also to lay all such
rubbish, ore, &c., as he has occasion to draw out of his vein, and
to set huddle fats, &c. . . It must be observed that as the miner has
no customary right to go beyond his quarter cord, so within it he
has no right to make use of more compass of land than is reason-
able and necessai-y, . . all the other parts of the land within the
limits of the quarter cord belonging to the occupier of the land,
Mander Miner's Gl. (1824). (5) I. Ma. Two principal divisions of
land exist. . . Treens . . . usually contain from three to four quarter-
lands, though some have but two, and others even less. . . Quarter-
lands, which are estates of inheritance, vary in size, and contain
from 120 to 140 acres, N. & Q. (1865) 3rd S. viii. 310. (6) Ess.i
Potatoes are sold by the quarter-peck instead of by the pound.
(7) Chs.i
14. V. To divide the country up in making careful search.
Myo. We simply ' quartered ' the land, as the constabulary say
when they make search for hidden arms ; and taking it bit by bit,
passed the magnet over its surface. Stoker Snake's Pass (1891) viii.
15. To drive a vehicle so that the wheels shall not run
in the old ruts ; also in phr. to quarter the wheels.
n.Yks. Two horse-carts should be drawn by the horses abreast,
as in coaches, c&c, by which means they would be enabled to
quarter or stride the ruts, Tuke Agric. (1800) 300. Chs.', Nhp.i,
Shr.' n.Hrf. I have heard an old farmer point to the cleverness
with which the horse that he was driving quartered (E.S.). Hnt.
(.T.P.F.), e.An.i Nrf. Arch. (1879) VIII. 172.
16. To drive uphill so that the horse crosses the road
backwards and forwards.
w.Som.'- Why dis'n let'n quartery ? he on't never pull it up by
hiszuU like that. Th' old Bob '11 quarter th' ill so sensible's any
kirstin.
17. To lodge ; to obtain board and lodging at an inn, &c.
Cum. Whaur does he quarter p' market days ! (J.Ar.) Shr.^
Her quarters with her mother. e.An.^ He quarters at the tailor's.
e.Nrf. Marshall Rur. Econ. (1787).
Hence (i) Quarterer, (2) Quarter-man, sb. a lodger;
one who is furnished with temporary lodgings.
(i) ne.Sc. Now and again there was a quarterer in the family.
... A class of respectable beggars [who] confined their wanderings
to a particular district . . . and made their rounds with great
regularity. Within that district there were certain houses at which
they invariably lodged or quartered, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 57.
Bnff.l, Dev. (Hall.), Cor." (2) Cor.i
18. To fine late-comers at a mill. See Quartering, 3.
Lan. It fell to his lot to ' quarter,' or fine, laggards who came
late to their work, Westall Old Factory (1885) iii.
QUARTERAGE, sb. Obs. or obsol. Yks. Lan. A
quarterly allowance, esp. that portion of a minister's
stipend which is paid quarterly in money from the
offerings of the congregation.
m.Yks.' Lan. Meeting with George Boardman he gave me 35.
of my Martinmas quarterage, Walkden Diary (ed. 1866) 8.
QUARTERING, s6. Yks. Lan. Sus. Som. Also written
quatering ne.Yks. [kw^-tarin.] 1. Timbers sawn into
a size suitable for rafters or partitions ; the wooden
framing of a house, the upper story of which is made of
wood-work covered with tiles. See Quarter, 11.
Sus.i w.Som.'- As the section is usually three inches in one
direction, it may be that the word signifies ' quarter of a foot.'
' Plase, sir, there idn a bit o' nothin' fit, 'thout 'tis that there quar-
terin', and 'tis most a pity to use that.'
2. Obs. Road surface. ne.Yks. Marshall Rur. Econ.
(1796) I. 175. 3. A mill-hand who is late in the morning
and so loses the first quarter of the day. See Quarter, 18.
Lan. He would go down to the mill to report quarterings, Ack-
worth Clog Shop Chron. (1896) 145 ; Those men or women who
on account of lying in bed too long, &c., were not at the mill at
the starting-time (six o'clock) in the morning, so were not allowed
to start till ' quarter-time,' i.e. after the first quarter of the day had
expired, and in payment by the day would only be paid for three-
quarters of a day. The ' knocker up ' had to go down to the mill
to report such as were late (S.W.).
QUARTERLY, arfi/. Obs. Sc. Through each quarter
of a town.
Abd. The baillies went quarterly about, to cause ilk inhabitant
subscribe, Spalding Hist. Sc. (1792) I. 208.
QUARTERN, sb. Sc. Cum. Yks. Lan. Lin. Oxf Also
written quartan Slg. ; and in forms quartron e.Lan.^ ;
wartem w.Yks.^ ; wartren, whartern w.Yks. [kwg'tan,
kwa'tan, ■wa'tan.] 1. In cow/. Quartern-measure, a gallon
measure for dry goods and vegetables. Oxf.' MS. add.
2. A woollen-trade term : 6 lb. of warp.
w.Yks. Yorkshire weavers are on strike in the West Riding for
an advance of one penny per wartem, N. b" Q. (1866) 3rd S. x.
31 ; Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; Used universally in the locality for
stating weights of yarns, mixed wools, or webs (W.T.) ; w.Yks.^
3. A quarter of a pound, esp. a quarter of a pound of
flax ready for spinning.
Cum.i* Lan. We went to Longridge end and called at Mr.
Eccles's shop and bought a quartern of tobacco, Walkden Diary
(ed. 1866) 46. e.Lan.i
4. A quarter. n.Lin.' 5. ? A quart. [Not known to
our correspondents.]
Slg. I'll treat you aff a quartan Gunpowder whisky, Galloway
Poems (1795) ID.
QUARTER-TIME, s6. Hrf* Quarantine.
QUARTER- WIFE, sb. Obs. Sh.I. ?Also in form
quarert-. A poor woman quartered in a house by the
parish. See Quarter, 2 (3).
Prior to the days of the Poor Law Acts every parish or district
provided for its own poor. Persons who vyere friendless and
poor went from house to house in the district (quarter) to which
they belonged, generally remaining a week in each house (J.S.) ;
A'm no dat cauldrife, 'at A'm needin ta row up me head laek a
auld quarertwife, Sh. News (Dec. 17, i8g8) ; On the lit-kettle sets
an old grandmother or ' quarter wife ' rocking the cradle, Spence
Flk-Lore (1899) 179.
QUASH, sb. Nhp.' [kwoj.] 1. A pod of young peas.
2. Phr. to be on the quash, of peas : to begin to form the pod.
QUASHING, vbl. sb. Obs. Hrt. The sound made by
butter when it ' comes ' in churning.
When the butter is come you may know it by its quashing, Ellis
Mod. Husb. (1750) III. i. 130.
QUASHY, adj. Nhp.i [kwo-Ji.] Of land : wet, un-
sound ; of overripe fruit or young peas : pulpy.
QUAT, sb} Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Glo. Hmp. Also
written quatt Not. ; and in form quot Not.' Lei.' Nhp.^
War.^ Glo.' [kwat, kwot.] A pimple ; a small boil or
blister ; a stye in the eye ; also in comp. Quot-boil.
Not. Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) ; Not.' s.Not. What's that
there quot on yer nose? (J.P.K.) Lei.i My arm's covered wi'
quots. He was rubbing his throat, and broke the head of his quot.
Nhp.", War.234 s.War.' Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 347;
Glo.', Hmp. (J.R.W.), Hmp.i [The leaves (of coleworts) laid to
by themselves, or bruised with barley meale, are good for the
inflammationsand soft swellings, burnings, impostumes, and choleric
sores or quats, like whcales and leaprys, and other griefes of the
skin, Langham Gard. of Health, 153, in Nares.]
QUAT, v., adj. and sb.^ Lei. War. Shr. Hrf Gmg.
Pem. Glo. Brks. e.An. Ken. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor.
QUAT
[671]
QUAW
Som. Dev. Cor. Also in forms quert Dor. ; quot Glo.^
e.An.i s.Cy. Ken." Sus.^^ Hmp.' I.W.^ Dor.^ Som. Dev.
Cor. ; quott Dev.^ Cor. ; qwatty, qwot Wil.' [kwat,
kwot.] 1. V. To squat, sit ; to crouch down, esp. of
game ; to hide ; gen. with down.
Lei.i, Hrf.2 s.Pem. Used in the imp. and participle only. ' Quat
in that corner there' (W.M.M.'). Glo. Baylis Illus. Dial. (1870) ;
Glo.i, Brks. (W.H.E.), Brks.' e.An.i Of partridges, 'They've
quotted.' Hmp; (W.H.E.), Hmp.' I.W.i ; I.W.2 I quot down
under hedge. Wil. Quot here, quietly, Kennard Diogenes' Sandals
(1893) viii ; Wil.i n.Wll. He [the corncrake] will then, after a
short time, if still hunted, ' quot' in the thickest bunch of grass or
weeds he can find in the ditch, Jefferies Wild Life (1879) 222.
Dor. How the blood do get into my head whenever I quat down
like that. Hardy Greenw. Tree (1872) I. 179. e.Soni. W. & J. Gl.
(1873). w-Som.! I zee'd thee, ya young osebird, I did ! twad'n no
good vor thee to quat down behind the hedge. Dev. No, Joan,
dant . . . ren and quat, just leek a hare. And think I'll hunt thee
down, Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) III. 252 ; Dev.^ A quat down
upon the mors of the tree, 2. nw-Dev."^ Cor. We quotted down,
soas, 'pon the two little stcolsi Forfar Jan's Crlshp. (1859) st. 19;
Cor. 12 ; Cor.* When I'm tired I quatty on the floor.
Hence quatting and bobbing, phr. sitting down one
minute and bobbmg up again the next ; restless. Lei.^
2. To walk in an undignified manner. Hmp.' 3. To
flatten down, squeeze flat, crush.
Gmg. Collins Gow. Dial, in Trans. Phil. Soc. (1848-50) IV. 223.
Wil.i He sat down on his hat and quat it (W.C.P.) ; Wil.' Som.
I've a quatted my finger (W.F.R.). Cor.^
4. Obs. To satiate, glut ; gen. in pp.
s.Cy. Grose (1790). Ken., Sus.(K.) Sus. Ray (1691) ; Sus.';
Sus.2 I have eaten so much that I am quite quotted. Hmp.', Som.
(P.R.) Dev. To quott a pig, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 351, MS. add.
s.Dev. (Miss D.) Cor. Monthly Mag. (1808) II. 421 ; Cor.' (s.v.
Quaffed) ; Cor.2 (s.v. Quaiffed). e.Cor. (Miss D.)
5. adj. Low and broad, squat.
Dor.i There's a little quot rick. Som. (W.F.R.) Dev. A liddle
quot howze, Pulman Sketches (1842) 128, ed. 1871.
6. Squatted down ; crouched up ; also in phr. to go quat.
Cf. aquat, adv.^
Glo. Quot upon the ground, Lysons Vulgar Tongue (1868) 35 ;
Glo.l Hmp. A man describing a funeral procession said, ' And
there was people quat about in the bushes a takin' of it down,'
i.e. the reporters for newspapers (W.H.E.). e.Som. W. & J.
Gl. (1873'!. w.Som.i Did'n 'ee zee 'em go quat? 'twas a fine
lot o'm. Zo zoon's ever her got in the vuller [fallow] field, her
[the hare] went quat torackly. Dev. Yu mist turn roun tu ur
dree times, and go quat, Nathan Hogg Poet. Lett. (1847) ist S. 29,
ed. 1858 ; Dev.3 n.Dev. Grose (1790).
7. Close, still, esp. of a hare on her ' form.' War.*, Shr.'
8. Full to satiety ; cloyed, glutted ; heavy and dull ; so fat
as not to care to stand ; also in phr. to go quat. See Aquat,
adv.^
Ken.l2 Dor. Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in N. V Q. (1883) 6th S.
viii. 45. Som. (Hall.) e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.'
They ducks 've a-got on sure 'nough ; why they be quat a'ready.
Why they geeze be quat a'ready ! they 'ant a bin in but a week.
Let'n eat a zack or two o' barley, he'll zoon be quat, I'll warn *un
[of a pig]. Dev. Reports Provinc. (1895) ; Dev.'
9. Collapsed, quiet, dead ; a'so used fig. and in phr. to
go quat. ...
Dev. ' Politics be a-go quat, I sim ' (meaning that nothing is now
heard of them) and ' Old is a-go quat' (meaning that he has
lost his position, either socially or financially). Reports Provinc.
(1895). Cor.3 He was perky enough in his speech, but when
had answered him he was quatty and hadn't another word
to say.
10. sb. In phr. to go to quat, to collapse.
w.Cor. If he do nothing to repair the house it will soon go to
quat. The walls of this house are thrawed up [built badly], it
will soon go to quatty (M.A.C.). . , , -j
fl. OFr. quatir, quaitir, catir, to press down, smk, hide ;
refl. to crouch, squat (CD.).]
QUAT, see Quit.
QUATCH, sb. and v. Oxf. Brks. [kwotj.] 1. sb. Obs.
Brks. Grose (1790); Nichols Bibl. Topog. (1783) IV. 57,
ed. 1790. . .
2. V. To keep absolute silence on any given subject.
Brks. Gl. (1852) ; Brks.' 3. To betray ; to tell a secret.
[Not known to our correspondents.]
Oxf. I am certain he won't quatch (Hall.).
[1. Noe ; not a quatch, sad poets ; doubt you There is
not greife enough without you ? Corbet Elegy on Q. Anne
(Davies).]
QUATE, QUATTIT, see Quiet, Quit.
QU AT- VESSEL, s6. Hmp. [kwo't-vesl.] The plume
thistle, Carduus lanceolatus ; also the meadow thistle,
C.pratensis. Wiss New Forest {188^) 28^ ; Hmp.'
QUAUK, V. Sc. A dial, form of ' quake.'
Ayr. Something held within the pat, Guid Lord ! but she was
quaukin ! Burns Halloween (1785) st. 12.
QUAUNCH, arf;'. Yks. [kw^nj.] Squeamish, fastidious.
w.Yks. Used amongst the older people (J.S.) ; w.Yks.* I feel
rather quaunch to-neet.
QUAVE, V. Sc. Der. Wil. [kwev.] 1. To shake ; to
vibrate. Cf. queeve.
Der. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ; Der.', nw.Der.'
Hence Quaving-gog, sb. a quagmire.
Wil.' In the valley below the hill on which Swindon is built,
are some quagmires, called by the inhabitants quaving-gogs,
Bruton Beauties (1825) III. 8.
2. Phr. to quave a brae, to go zigzag up or down a hill.
Rxb. (Jam.)
[1. The wal wagged and clef-andaltheworldequaued,/".
Plowman (b.) xviii. 61 ; Ouavyn, as myre, tremo (Prompt.).']
QUAVER, w.' and sb.' Sc. Yks. Lin. [kwe-v3(r.]
1. V. To shake ; to reel ; to tremble ; to go about any
occupation in an uncertain manner.
n.Liu.1 He was n't real fresh but he quaaver'd a bit in his talk.
2. To equivocate.
w.Yks. (J.W.) n.Lin.' Noo doant quaaver, bud tell us streight
just what you seed.
3. sb. A tremulous voice or cry.
Sc. It was such a cry as a mother's wrung heart might utter for
a helpless bairn in peril, but no answering quaver came back on
the breeze, Keith Bonnie Lady (1897) 61. Per. To ca' your
crackit quaver Melodious noo is juist to haver, Haliburton
Horace (i&S6)5-i-
QUAVER, v.^ and sb.^ Lakel. Yks. Lan. Chs._s.Pem.
Also written quaiver Lan. ; quavar s.Pem. [kwe'vafr.]
L V. To brandish, flourish ; to clench the fists ; to make
a feint of striking.
Lakel.2 Ah'U fell thi as stiff as a stian if thoo co's quaveren
aboot me. e.Yks. Nicholson i7A-S/>. (1889) 28 ; e.Yks.' w.Yks.
He began quaverin abaht, and then t'other felled him, Banks
Wkfld. Wds. (1865). s.Chs.'
2. sb. A flourish.
Lan. Hoo twirled reawnd o' one leg . . . after which hoo made
another quaiver. Standing Echoes (1885) 9. s.Chs.' Jaak', du)nii
fliidh'ur dhaat- wip' ii dhahyn su miich ; 6eur)z Mes'tflr Doa'n
kiim-in biin-t in iz traap-, tin 6e)l thingk- dhu)z sum praat'i
kwai'viirz.
3. Phr. to cut a quaver, ' to cut a dash,' make a show.
s.Pem. A's cuttin' stout quavars (W.M.M.).
QUAVERY, afl?/'. Yks.e.An. [kwe-vsri.] Quavering,
jerky, unsteady. See Quaver, w.'
n.Yks. He's a quavery awd chap (I.W.).
Hence Quavery-mavery, adj. and adv. undecided,
hesitating.
e.An. Hammond Parish (1897) 341 ; e.An.' Suf. e.An. N. £7* Q.
(1866) II. 327.
QUAVIT, 56. and i^. Not. [kwe'vit.] 1. sb. A see-saw.
s.Not. Gie's a plank, dad, to mek a quavit on (J.P.K.).
2. V. To see-saw.
Yo can't quavit across that fence ; it's too high, ib.
QUAW, sb. Sc. Irel. Also written qua Gall. ; quaa
Gall. N.I.'; quagh s.Don. ; quah N.I.' [kwa.] 1. A
quagmire. Cf bobbin-quaw.
Gall. Some think they sank in a snaw wride, and afterwards into
a qua, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824) 287, ed. 1876; He hadna gane
far till down he plumpit in a quaa to the saddle laps, Nicholson
Hist. Tales (1843') 129. N.I.' Ant. Grose (1790) MS. add. (C.)
S.Don. Simmons Gl. (1890).
2. A hole from which peats have been dug ; an old pit
overgrown with earth, grass, &c. Cld., Gall. (Jam.)
[Vorago, a gulfe or quaw-myre, Duncan Eiym. (1595).]
QUAW
[672]
QUEAN
QUAW, V. Nhp.^ [kw9.] To stare about foolishly
or awkwardly. Hence Quawing, ppl. adj. clumsy,
awkward, gawky. Cf. caw, sb.'^ 2.
QUAWK, V. and sb. Yks. Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Shr.
and Amer. Also written quark w.Yks. Not. ; quork Not.
Amer. [kwak, kw9k.] 1. v. To caw; to screech as a
bird ; to call out loudly but inarticulately.
w.Yks. Tommy Hotbread quark'd wi' t'ruck ' Past ten,' owd
watchman-like, Till't grinders took him for a duck One neet ta
th' neighbrin' dike. Senior Smithy Rhymes (1882) 36; w.Yks. 2,
Not. (W.H.S.), Not.^ s.Not. What's them ducks quarkin about ?
(J.P.K.) Lei."- It [a parrot] kept on quawkin' after I'd got it in
my pocket. Nhp. Crows they flocked quawking to rest, Clare
Poems (1820) 208; Nhp.', War.^, Shr.i [Amer. Ole gander
flopped His wings a spell, an' quorked, an' dropped, Lowell
Biglow Papers (1848) 28.]
2. To rumble internally through flatulency. Not.\ Lei.',
War.^ Hence Quawking, sb. an internal rumbling.
Not.' Lei.' Ah've got a sooch a quawkin' i' my insoide. War.^
8. sb. A screech ; a quack.
s.Not. It just gen a bit of a quark (J.P.K.).
QUAWKEN, see Quocken.
QUAY, sb. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Cor. Also written kee
N.Cy.' [ki.] L In comb, (i) Quay-fair, a fair held on
Penzance quay ; (2) -neb, the jutting-out point of a quay
or pier ; (3) -side umbrella, a kind of basket ; see below.
(i) Cor. It is the immemorial usage ... on Midsummer-day to
hold a fair on Penzance quay, . . although the ' quay-fair' on St.
Peter's-day has been discontinued, Hunt Pop. Rom. w.Eng. (1865)
207, ed. 1896. (2) Inv. O, the Clabbydhu, it loves the trinch,
The crouban, the quay-neb, Colville Vernacular (1898) 8.
(3) Nhb.' A swill or kind of basket, formed of unpeeled willows,
which is generally carried on the head of a certain class of
females. When the weather is wet and the basket empty, they
invariably wear it topsy-turvy : hence its proverbial Newcastle
name, Flk-Lore of Newcastle (1855) la.
2. The raised terrace at the side of a street.
Nhb.' These quays have nearly all gone in modern street
improvements; but ' Perkin's Quay' and ' Busyburn Quay' yet
remain.
QUAY, V. Obs. Sc. Also in form qua. To move
on ; only used in imp.
Sc. (Jam.) Rxb. Quay woman, what needs ye stand haverin'
there a' day ? {ib.)
QUAY, QUAY-POOL, QUAZIE, QUDGY, see Quay,
sb.^^, Quy-pool, Queasy, adj.^, Queegy.
QUE, see Cue, 5^>.', Quay, s6.'
QUEACH, sb. Nhp. e.An. Also written queech Suf '
Ess. [kwitj.] A small plantation of trees or bushes ; a
spinney ; a plot of ground adjoining arable ground but
left unploughed because full of bushes or tree-roots. Cf.
squeech.
Nhp.', e.An.' STif. CuLLUM Hist. Hawsted (1813) ; A spinney
. . . planted at the corner of a field of irregular shape to square
ofi the field (C.T.) ;- Suf.' Ess. From thence in nearly the same
direction to a post on the bank of the queech opposite the said
walnut-tree, Surv. Qestingthorpe (1804) 40.
[Thei rode so longe till thei com in to a thikke queche
in a depe valey. Merlin (c. 1450) ed. Wheatley, III. 540.]
QUEACH, see Quaigh, sb.
QUEACHY, adj.'^ and sb. Lei.Nhp.War.Shr.Bdf Som.
Also written queechy Lei.' War.^ Bdf. w.Som.' [kwrtji.]
1. adj. Of land : wet, boggy, marshy. Cf. squeachy.
Lei.', War.3, Shr. (C.S.B.) Bdf. In going over that queechy
placel got woUy washed (J.W.B.). w.Som.'Thick pieceo' groun's
terrible queechy, he on't never be no good till he's a guttered.
2. sb. Wet, boggy land, which requires draining. Nhp.'
[1. Comes from the boggy mears and queachy fens
below, Drayton Polyolbion, song 4.]
QUEACHY, adj."^ Nhp.^ [kwrtji.] Of soil: strewn
with the thin lamina of the limestone. Cf creach.
QUEAGLE, V. and sb. Der. Lei. Also written quaegle
Lei.' ; quegle Der. [kwi'gl.] 1. v. To see-saw ; to
oscillate ; to swing backwards and forwards, crouching
down on the heels in a sitting posture. Der.'^, nw.Der.',
Lei.' See Tweedle. 2. sb. A see-saw, usually made by
laying a plank across a fallen tree. n.Der. Addy Gl. (1891).
QUEAK, V. and sb. Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Also written
queek. [kwik.] 1. v. To squeak, cry, as the young of
rats and mice. 2. sb. A gentle squeak, the weak,
peeping cry of the young of small animals.
QUEAK, QUEAL, see Queek, Quail, v.^, Queel, v.^
QUEAN, s^i. Sc.Nhb.Dur.Cura.Yks.Lan. Also Wil. Som.
Dev. Also written quaen w.Yks. ; queane Som. ; queean
n. Yks.^ ; queen Sc. Nhb.' Dun' Cum.'* w.Som.' ; queine Sc.
(Jam.); queneLnk. ; queyn Sc. (Jam.); and in forms quine
Sc. Nhb.' ; quyne Bnff. ; wean n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' m.Yks.'
w.Yks. Lan. ; weean n.Yks.''^* ; whean n.Cy. Dun'
n.Yks.3 e.Yks. w.Yks.' Lan.; wheen N.Cy.= n.Dev. ;
whein w.Yks. [kwin, win.] 1. A woman ; a damsel ;
a term of endearment for a little girl.
Sc. (Jam.) ; He had within his dwellings Three winsome queens
and five braw callans. Ford Thistledown (1891) 205. n.Sc. Supper,
lassie, if you please, an O, queanie, mak it hot! Gordon Carglen
(1891) 144. Mry. The bonny quines of Moray, O, The beauties
a' of Moray, O, Hay Lintie (1851) 29. Elg. Tester Poems (1865)
III. Bnff. Taylor Poems (1787) 129. Bch. The queans a' starlit
at the sight, Forbes Ulysses (1785) 18. Abd. Gweed quines are
scarce, Abd. IVkly. Free Press (May 19, 1900). Kcd. Grant Lays
(1884) 67. Frf. All romping queans and ranting callans, Smart
Rhymes (1834) 182. Per. Then cam' the lass, a stately quean.
Her very gang was gracefu', Halieurton Dunbar (1895) 24.
Slg. Strange oyster queens, and milk-maids prime, Galloway
Poems (i8io) 26. s.Sc. That's a braw pair o' queens, Wilson
Tales (1839) W. 123. Dmb. Maggy, queen ! is't you ? Salmon
Gowodean (1868) 38. Cld. Willock had trystet wi Jenny, For she
was a braw canty queen, Nimmo Sngs. (1852) 195. Rnf. Thocht-
less queans wi chiels gallantin', Young /'«'c^«>-e5 (1865) 167. Ayr.
Urged him to look out for some decent quean, and marry again,
Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 91. Lnk. Sae smart ilk lad, wi'
bonnet blue. Ilk queue wi' cockernonny, Ramsay Gentle Shep.
(1725) 709, Scenary ed. Lth. Ae douce, mensefu', weel-faur'd
queen, Can grace the hame hersel' keeps clean, Lumsden Sheep-
head (1892) 151. Edb. Auld Scotia's food . . That's reared
thumpin' queans an' fell, Liddle Poems (1821) 124. Bwk. Buxom
queens Just in their teens, Calder Poems (1897) 194. Feb. They
dinna ken a thrifty quean, Affleck Poet. Wks. (1836) 81. Slk.
He had hired a wastlin auldish quean, Hogg Tales (1838) 15, ed.
1866. Rxb. She's a dainty queen, W. Wilson Poems (1824) 20.
Dmf. She is a gude, sonsie, sweet, an' kindlie quean, Cromek
Remains (1810) 13. GaU. Ye're turned a strappin' quean, Nichol-
son Poet. Wks. (1814) 58, ed. 1897. Kcb. Armstrong Ingleside
(1890)20. Nhb.' A good leukin queen. A sonsy queen. Cum.
Strappin', sonsy, rwosy queens, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 74.
n.Yks. T'weean an' me has fettled a' oop fur her, Atkinson Lost
(1870) xxvi ; n.Yks. '2, ne.Yks,' m.Yks.' Now then, you two
great lallopin' weans, where have you been all t'morn ? w.Yks.
Shoo sartanly is one at idlest young quaens at ivver wrung a
disclawt, Bywater Gossips (1839) 10 ; Thoresby Lett. (1703).
Wil.' When a man says of his wife that ' th' old quean ' did so and
so, he means no disrespect to her, any more than if he were
speaking of his child as ' the little wench.' e.Som. W. & J.
Gl. (1873).
Hence Queanish, adj. effeminate. n.Yks.^", m.Yks.'
2. Comb, (i) Quean-bairn, a female child ; (2) -cat, a she-
cat; (3) -craft, female allurements; (4) -crazed, (5) -fond,
of a man : love-stricken ; (6) -hefted, beset with women,
in a lewd sense; (7) -house, a brothel; (8) -lassie, a young
girl ; (9) -struckan, see (5).
(i) Dmb. The quean-bairn's hame-come [birth], Bessie sweet,
Salmon Gowodean (1868) 28. (2) n.Cy. Holloway ; N.Cy. 2, Dur.',
Cum.''* n.Yks. Our great whean-cat hes eaten th' pudding-poke,
Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 179; n.Yks.* w.Yks. Leeds Merc.
Suppl. (Dec. 23, 1899) ; w.Yks.' n.Dev. Grose (1790). (3, 4, 5,
6, 7) n.Yks.* (8) Sc. If I hear ye, quean lassies, sae muckle as
name dancing, Scott Midlothian (1818) x. (9) n.Yks.'*
3. An immoral woman ; a term of reproach for a
shrewish or dirty woman.
Sc. My young master will stick nothing to call an honest woman
slut or quean, Scott Abbot ( 1820) iv ; He keeps a curn 0' queynies
and a wheen widdyfu's. Chambers Pop. Rhymes (ed. 1870) 147.
Abd. 'Bogie' wi his quean maun stan' the Session, Guidman
Inglismill{iST^ 38. Fif. A gipsie quean cam' to that place, Douglas
Poems (1806) 126. Lth. Solomon for wives had haill three
hunder queans, Thomson Poems (1819) 72. n.Cy. Grose (1790) ;
N.Cy.' Nhb.' She's a queen, noo, an' nee mistake. Dur.' Yks.
QUEAN
[673]
QUEEN
111 leakin weean ! Smith Spec. (1839) 19. n.Yks.234 ne.Yks.i
Sha's a meean weean. e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Ecoit. (1788).
w.Yks.^ Lan. They sen hoos a dagg'd-skirtud wean, Tim Bobbin
View Dial. (1740) 50. s.Lan. Bamford Dial. (1854). w.Som.^ A
term of reproach, implying slovenliness and scolding in an old
woman, quite as much as unchastity in a young one. The latter
is the meaning intended when applied to a young person. ' Her's
a purty queen her is.'
[OE. cwene, woman, female serf; a prostitute. Go. qind.'\
QUEAN, QUEAR, QUEASE, see Queen, sb?, Queer,
sb.^, adj., Queese.
QUEASY, adj} Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Chs. War. Shr. Brks.
Hmp. Also written queesy Hmp. ; queezie Gall. (Jam.) ;
and in forms quaisy n.Cy. ; quazie Gall. ; quisey N.Cy.^
[kwi'zi, kwe'zi.] 1. Qualmish ; rather sick, inclined to
vomit.
Gall. (Jam.) ; Mactaggart Encycl. (1824). m.Yks.', Chs.i
War.* I feel a bit queasy. Shr.' I dunna know how folks can ate
fat bacon fur thar breakfast, it makes me feel quaizy to look at it.
Brks. Gl. (1852) ; Brks.^ I was a bit queasy this marnin', an' zo
led in bed till ater breakvast. s.Hmp. I did feel queesy and
queery . . . when Ursley locked me in, Verney L. Lisle {iS^o) xx.
2. Indigestible, tough. n.Cy. (Hall.) 3. Dejected.
N.Cy.i
[1. Quaisy as meate or drinke is, dangereux, Palsgr.
(i53°)- Cp. Norw. dial, kveis, sickness after a debauch
(Aasen).]
QUEASY, adj.^ Dev. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Short, brief (Hall.)
QUEBEC, sb. Chs.^ A round clump of trees ; see below.
A round clump of fir trees grows between High Leigh and
Belmont, supposed to have been planted soon after the taking of
Quebec and thence named [Quebec Cover]. Mr. Warburton was
planting on part of his estate what Byron calls ' a diadem of trees.'
A man who saw him superintending the planting said, ' Esquire,
I sees you be planting a Quebec'
QUECH, QUEE, see Quaigh, sb., Quey, sb}^
QUEEATHE, sb. \ Obs. n.Yks.^ A promise. A
shortened form of ' bequeath.'
QUEEATHEMENT, sb. ? Obs. n.Yks.^ A bequest.
QUEE-BECK, m/. Sc. [kwi'-bek.] The cry of grouse,
when startled.
Gall. We want to hear, as weel's the whirrin', The cry o' grouse
when they're m stirrin' — ' Quee-beck, quee-beck,' Gallovidian
(1901) 11. 145.
QUEECE,QUEECER,QUEECH,see Quist, sb., Queach.
QUEECHER, v. Sc. [kwi'tjar.] To work in a lazy,
unsatisfactory way.
Abd. What wer' ye queecherin at a' day? (G.W.)
QUEECHY, adj. Stf Lei. War. Som. [kwltji.]
Sickly, ailing, feeble.
n.Stf. Poor queechy things, gells is, Geo. Eliot A. Bede (1859)
1. 163. Lei.', War.3 w.Som.i They be a poor queechj^ld couple.
QUEECHY, QUEECK, see Queachy, adj}, Queek.
QUEED, sb. Sc. Also in forms cud, querd, quiddie,
quide (Jam.), [kwid.] A tub ; a vessel for holding fish ;
a wooden chamber-pot. Cf cootie.
Sc. (Jam,) Abd. Shirrefs Poems (1790) Gl. (s.v. Goodie) ; A
fishwoman complains to the magistrates that another had removed
her querd of fish, Ahd. Rec. (Jam.) nw.Abd. Syne fess a queed
to baud the draff, Goodwife (1867) st. 44. Rnf. (Jam.)
QUEED, see Quid, s6.
QUEEDLE, V. Yks. Not. Som. Also m form quiddly
Som. [kwl-dl.] To oscillate, shake ; to totter ; to get
about with difficulty. ., . .
w.Yks. I trod on a quagmire and it begun to queedle about
(S.O.A.)". Som. ' I can hardly quiddly about,' said by a rheumatic
person "(W.W.S.).
Hence Queedling, ///. adj. tottering.
Not. He seemed very nesh and queedling the last time I saw
"qUEEDY, adj Ken.^2 Cor.^^ Also in form quiddy
Ken.'= [kwl-di, kwi-di.] Brisk, sharp ; shrewd.
QUEEGLE, see Queagle.
QUEEGY, adj. Yks. Also in forms kudgy, qudgy,
quidgy m.Yks.> [kwi'dgi, kwi'dgi.] Very small ; also
used subst.
VOL. IV.
e.Yks.l A lahtle queegy bayn. m.Yks.' 'What a little quidgy
apple ! ' ' Ay, it is a quidgy.'
QUEEK, V. Shr. Hrf Also written queak Shr.' ;
queeck Hrf ^ ; and in form quack Hrf ^ ; pret. quoke
Shr.^ [kwik.] To squeeze, press down, pinch, hold
tight. Another form of Tweak (q.v.).
Shr.i I shall be fSoast to get another box, I conna queak all
these things i' this. 'E quoke me so 'ard. Hrf. Bound Provinc.
(1876) ; Hrf.i2
QUEEK, see Queak.
QUEEL, sb} Irel. [kwil.] A bobbin or pirn on which
weft is wound. Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892).
QUEEL, v} and sb.'^ I.W. Cor. and Amer. Also
written queal LW.^; and in form quite I.W.'° Amer.
[kwil.] 1. V. To coil ; to curl up ; to twist ; gen. with
up. ? A dial, form of ' coil.'
I.W. (J.D.R.) ; I.W.i; I.W.2 He was quealed up like a snake.
Cor. She's queeled up somewheere, Exhibition (1873) 49; He
queeled about and moved his head, Higham Dial. (1866) a.
[Amer. Dial. Notes (1896) I. 231.]
2. With in : to go to bed.
l.W.'^ I be as tired as a dog and think I shall go and queal in.
3. sb. A coil of rope. LW.^, Cor.^
QUEEL, v.^ Sc. [kwH.] To cool. See Keel, v.^
Abd. (Jam.) ; The hale scaldin' bree wi' a plash filled his sheen,
Which queeled down his passion for Isobel Skene, Anderson
R/)ymes{ed. 1861)40; Lat 'im queel i' the skin 'at he het in (W.M.).
nw.Abd. The wort's jist queelin there, Goodwife (1867) st. 5.
QUEEL, see Quail, v}
QUEEM, adj. and v. Sc. Also in form quim (Jam.).
[kwim.] 1. adj. Pleasant; calm; smooth; also used «rfi;6.
Sc. Speak till us queem an' spae us a dreme, Waddell Isaiah
(1879) XXX. 10. Gall. At length his restless pulse mair queem
grew, Mactaggart ^Hcvf'- (1824) 7,ed. 1876; Dream, dream, that
the Ocean's queem, ib. 391.
Hence Queemly, adv. calmly, smoothly.
Gall. There cursed clamour queemly sleeps, The wicked's ill-
fared din, Mactaggart ib. 166.
2. Close-fitting, filled up to an even level ; neat, fit.
Sc. Whan the year grown auld brings winter cauld, We flee
till our ha's sae queem, Edb. Mag. (May 1820') (Jam.). Lnk. Yer
wee shilpit weanie's a pityfu' prufe That yer bosom's as dry an'
as queem as my lufe, Hamilton Poems (ed. 1885) 337. Slk. (Jam.)
Hence (i) Queemly, adj. exactly adapted ; (2) Queem-
ness, sb. exact adaptation; (3) quim and cosh, phr. intimate
and familiar.
(i, 2) Cld. (Jam.) (3) Sc. They shall fall in more than ever,
into an intimacy with the malignant enemies to the work of God,
and grow quim and cosh with them, M'Ward Contendings (1723)
262 {ib.),
3. Deep.
Sc. Wae till them wha gang down sae queem, Waddell Isaiah
(1879) xxix. 15.
4. V. To fit exactly.
Lnk. To queem the mortice (Jam.).
Hence Queemer, sb. one skilled in fitting joints ; also
Jig. a wheedler, a fawning person. Cld. {ib.)
[1. pat hire kin be ful wel qu&mt.,Havelok (c. 1280) 393.
4. OE. cweman, to please.]
QUEEN, sb} Van dial, uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng.
[kwin.] 1. In comb, (i) Queen Anne, (a) a game ; see
below ; {b) a coloured butterfly ; (c) an old-fashioned gun ;
(2) — Anner, an old-fashioned tale ; a tale of former
times ; (3) — Bess, the queen of clubs ; (4) — chair, (5)
-'.s cushion, a method of carrying a person ; see below ;
(6) -'s head, a postage-stamp ; (7) -'s man, a soldier ; (8)
— Mary, a game ; see below ; (9) — of hearts, obs., a
country dance ; (10) — of Sheba, a game ; see below ;
(11) -'s play, a temporary truce in a boys' game ; (12) -'s
posset, see below ; (13) -'s stick, a stately person.
(i, d) Sc. This is a game in which a ball is used. The following
rhyme accompanies it ■ ' Lady Queen Ann she sits in her stand,
And a pair of green gloves upon her hand, As white as a lily, as
fair as a swan. The fairest lady in a' the land ; Come smell my
lily, come smell my rose. Which of my maidens do you choose 1
I choose you one, and I choose you all. And I pray, Miss [Jane],
yield up the ball. The ball is mine, and none of yours. Go to
the wood and gather flowers. Cats and kittlins bide within. But
4 R
QUEEN
[674 J
QUEEN
we j'oung ladies walk out and in,' Chambers Pop. Rhymes (ed.
1870) 136. Ant. GoMME Games (1898) II. 92. I.Ma. ib. 453.
n.Lin. There is only one player on Queen Anne's side, the rest
form the line, ib. 95. Lon., Nrf. ib. 93. Ess. ib. 95. Sur., Sus.
ib. 94. Dor. Flk-Lore Jm. VII. 229, in Gomme ib. 91. Dev.
GoMME ib. 94. Cor. Flk-Lore Jrn. V. 52-3, in Gomme ib. 92.
[Sides are chosen, and two lines are formed ; the words are said
by each line alternately. One line, in which is the Queen,
standing still or sitting down, the other line advancing and retiring
while singing the words. The latter line gives one of their
number a ball or some other small object to hold in the hand in
such a manner that it cannot be perceived. All the players on
this side then assume the same position— either all put their hands
behind them, or fold their arms, put their hands under their arm-
pits, or under their skirts or pinafores. The object of the other
side is to guess which child in the line has the ball. The line
which has the ball commences the game by advancing singing or
saying the first three or four lines. Queen Anne answers, and
then names one of the girls on the opposite side whom she
suspects to have the ball, and if she be right in her guess the
lines change sides. If she be wrong, the line retires in triumph,
the girl who possesses the ball holding it up to show the Queen
she is wrong. The children all curtsey when leaving the Queen's
presence. Another girl of the line then takes the ball, and the
game continues till the right holder of the ball is named. When
the Queen tells the line of players to ' turn,' they all spin round,
coming back to face the Queen, and then stand still again, Gomme
ib. 95. For further particulars and rhymes see Gomme ib. 90-
102.] (6) Chs.i {c) Sc. A long barrel, big bore, in comparison
with modern guns, flintlock. A common term for an ancient gun
such as was used in Queen Anne's reign. ' He killed nothing
that day because he insisted on taking his auld Queen Anne
wi'm' (G.W.). Frf. His lang Queen Anne, his darling gun.
Sands Poems (1833) 72. Ayr. Patrick has a lang Queen Ann ;
Now, Lord hae mercy on the man That Patrick tak's a mark at,
AiNSLiE Land of Bums (ed. 1892) 130. (2) n.Yks.^ Tell us some
o' your aud Queen Anners. (3) Nhp. Perhaps because that queen,
history saj-s, was of a swarthy complexion, Gent. Mag. (1791)
141, in N. & Q. (1851) ist S. iii. 423. (4) Sc. (Jam., s.v. King's
Cushion). (5) Sc. Of two persons, each of whom grasps his right
wrist with his left hand, with the other lays hold of his neighbour's
wrist, so as to form a seat of four hands and wrists conjoined.
On these the person who is to be carried seats himself, or is seated
by others, putting his arms, for greater security, round the necks
of the bearers (Jam.). Nhb.' Commonly practised in a children's
game, but not unfrequently used in ambulance work. Wil.' A
seat for a little girl, made by two persons crossing hands. . .
When a boy is so carried the term used is ' King's-cushion.' (6)
ne.Sc. With awkward, trembling fingers, affixes the ' Queen's
head ' to the envelope, Gordon Northward Ho (1894) 93. Nhb.i,
Lakel.2 Wm. Can ye sell mi a queen's heed? (B.K.) n.Yks. (I.W.)
n.Lin. 1 When postage stamps were first introduced they were
called 'Queen's Heads ' (s.v. Head). (7) Dor. They recalled him
as he was in the days before he had become a Queen's man,
Wijidsor Mag. (Aug. 1900) 359. (8) Sc. Played by girls. The
players join hands, form a circle with one in the centre, and
dance round singing. At the words ' 'ill tack me awa,' the centre
player chooses another one, and the two wheel round. Then the
singing proceeds. At the exclamation ' ha ! ha ! ' the players suit
the action to the words of the line, Gomme ib. 104. ne.Sc. My
name is Queen Mary, My age is sixteen. My father's a farmer in
Old Aberdeen ; He has plenty of money to dress me in black —
There's nae bonnie laddie 'ill tack me awa'. Next mornin' I
wakened and looked in the glass, I said to myself, what a hand-
some young lass ; Put your hands to your haunches and give a
ha, ha, For there's nae bonnie laddie will tack ye awa', ib. 103.
Bnff. In the Cullen game the girls stand in a row with one in
front, who sings the verses and chooses another player from the
line. The two then join hands and go round and round singing
the remaining verses, ib. 104. Bwk. Antiquary, XXX. 17, in
Gomme ib. 103. Nhb. Gomme ib. 102-3. [For further rhymes see
Gomme ib. 102-4.] (9) Wm. The Yule clog blazes on the hearth,
. . . lasses fidge their parts ; naw Jumping Joan, naw Queen of
Hearts, Hutton Bran New JVark (1785) 1. 33, 36-7. (10) Not.,
Lin. Two rows of people sit on chairs face to face on each side of
a door, leaving just sulBcient space between the lines for a player
to pass. At the end of the rows furthest from the door sits the
' Queen of Sheba,' with a veil or shawl over her head. A player,
hitherto unacquainted with the game, is brought to the door,
shown the Queen, and told to go up between the rows, after
being blindfolded, to kiss her, taking care, meanwhile to avoid
treading on the toes of the people on each side the alley leading
to the lady. While his mind is diverted by these instructions,
and by the process of blindfolding, the Queen gives up her seat to
' the King,' who has been lurking in the background. He assumes
the veil and receives the kiss, to the amusement of every one but
the uninitiated player, Gomme ib. 104. (11) Nhb.i (12) Lan.
[On Whit-Tuesday a queen was chosen at Downham]. On the
next night all the young persons met at the inn, on invitation
from the king and queen. Each paid a shilling towards the
' Queen's Posset.' A large posset was then made and handed
round to the company. After this the evening was spent in
dancing and merry-making, Harland & Wilkinson Fik-Lore
(1867) 248. (13) Lin. (Hall.)
2. Comb.'vsx names of plants: (i) Queen Anne's flowers,
the daffodil. Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus ; (2) — Anne's
needlework, the striped crane's-bill, Geranium striatum ;
(3) — Anne's thrissel, the musk-thistle, Carduus nutans ;
(4) -'s cushion, (a) the mossy saxifrage, Saxifraga hyp-
noides ; (b) the cropstone, ? Sedunt acre ; (5) -'s feather,
(a) the London pride, Saxifraga umbrosa ; (b) the lilac,
Syringa vulgaris ; (6) -'s fingers, {a) the spotted orchis,
Orchis maculata ; (b) the green-winged orchis, O. Morio ;
(7) — Mary's thistle, the cotton-thistle, Onopordon
Acanthtum ; (8) — ■ of the nieadow(s, the meadow-sweet.
Spiraea Ulmaria ; (9) -'s pincushion, the flower of the
guelder-rose, Viburnum Opulus.
(i) Nrf. (2) Nhp.i (3) Bwk. (4, «) w.Dur.i (A) Rxb. (Jam.)
(S, a) Chs.i3 (6) Dev. Reports Provinc. (1897). (6, a) War.3 I
believe that the only distinction between king's and queen's
fingers was in the colour of the flowers, the former being the
darker. (6) ib. (7) Nhp. On returning through the village an old
dame enquired if we had been gathering ' Queen Mary's Thistle,'
alluding to Onopordon, which tradition says was brought to
Fotheringay by Mary's attendants. Pharmaceutical Jrn. (June 12,
1875) 997) in (B. & H.). (8) Sc. (Jam., s.v. Meadows). Or.L
Wallace Desc. Ork. (1693) 170, ed. 1883. Cai. The fireplace in
summer was dressed in heather and queen of the meadow, Horne
Countryside (1896) 18. Abd. Bushes of meadow-sweet, or queen-
of-the-meadow, Macdonald Donal Grant (1883) ii. Edb. Penne-
cuiK IVks. (1715) 132, ed. 1815. s.Sc, n.Cy. Johnston Botany
(1853) in (B. & H.). Nhb.i, Dur., Cum., Yks., n.Lin.i, War.3,
Dev.", s.Dev. (9) Nhp.^
3. Phr. (i) harvest queen, a figure made out of the best of
the corn, gaily decorated and carried home in triumph ;
cf kirn-baby, s.v. Kirn, 7 (i) ; (2) in the reign of Queen
Dick, never ; {3) to be a queen to, to be much superior to ;
(4) io call the Queen one's aunt or to have the Queen for
one's aunt, to have the greatest happiness or distinction
possible ; (5) to ivork for the Queen, to work overtime
without receiving extra pay.
(i) Som. Upon the top o' the load was a figure made of the
best of the corn, trimmed with ribbons of all colours, and crowned
with poppies, great horse-daisies, and holly-hocks. This was the
harvest-qufien. With it went everybody, singing fit to burst his
throat with the song of harvest-home. ' We have ploughed, we
have sowed, We have reaped, we have mowed. We have brought
home every load, Hip ! hip ! hurrah ! ' Raymond No Soul (1899)
83. (2) sw.Lin.i That happened in the reign of Queen Dick.
(3) Ess. I'm not strong yet, but I'm a queen to what I was a
month ago (S.P.H.). (4) n.Lin.'- An old woman at Winterton,
who was receiving parish relief, said, ' Oh, sir, if th' board wo'd
nobut put me on anuther sixpence a week I wo'd n't thenk yS to
hev th' Queen for my aunt.' (5) w.Yks. If he's his hammer lifted
an' t'buzzer blows he drops it. He doesn't believe in working for
t'Queen, he says (H.L.).
4. The boy or girl holding the second place in class at
school.
Wxf. The 'queen,' i.e. the boy or girl second in rank, proposed
to the ' king ' the most out-of-the-way word he or she could
remember, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 263.
5. A certain quality of teazles.
Glo. The central shoot of each plant called the ' king ' is cut, the
produce of the second and subsequent cuttings are sorted into
' queens,' ' middlings, 'and ' scrubs,' Marshall Review{\8iS) II. 457.
6. A particular size of slates, 3 ft. by 2 ft. Wal. Stuart
Did. Architecture, II. 7.
QUEEN, sb.^ Sus. sw.Cy. Dev. Cor. Also written
quean, qwean Cor.^ ; and in form quin Sus.' [kwln.]
OUEEN
[675]
OUEERVE
1. A small scallop. Cf. gweans.
Sus. Often eaten raw like an oyster (F.E.S.). sw.Cy. Escallops
are of two kinds : . . [the] smaller . . . about the same size as, or
a little larger than, native oysters. These in the S.W. districts
of England are known as 'queens,' Fishing Gaseite (Nov. 29,
1890) 288. s.Dev. In England one hears such names for scallops
as ' fanshells' ... or ' queens ' in South Devon, Fisheries, II. 565,
in (CD.). Cor.i2
2. A periwinkle. Cor.^^
QUEEN, see Quean, Quern, sh>, Quine, sh?-
QUEENING, sb. Chs.^ Shr." Hrf.= Also written
queenen Shr.^; and in forms quinin Shr.'° ; quining
Hrf.^ [kwrnin, kwrnin.] A fine-flavoured, sweet apple ;
also in comp. Quining-apple.
QUEENTRA, see Quintry.
QUEEPLE, v.. and sb. Enflf.^ [kwrpl.] 1. v. To
quack as a duckling. 2. sb. The quack of a duckling.
QUEE-QUAW, sb. and v. Not. [kwl--kw9.] 1. sb.
A see-saw.
Not. 2 s.Not. We want won o' them p!anks for a quee-quaw
(J.P.K.).
2. V. To see-saw.
s.Not. We're going to quee-quaw in the wood-yard (J.P.K,).
QUEER, sb} Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Yks. Chs. Lin. Also
written queere Chs.'^; quere n.Lin.'; quierSh.I. [kwi(r,
kwi3(r.] 1. The choir or chancel of a church ; occas. a
transept ; the persons composing the choir.
Sc. (Jam.), N.Cy.^ Dur.^ e.Yks. Marshall Rur. Ecott. (1788;.
m.Yks.l, w.Yks.l^, Chs.^s Qbs. n.Lin.^ ' My husband's laaid under
th' quere winda.' The north transept at Bottesford is called the
Holme, or the Papist quere, because it was the burial place of the
old Catholic family of Morley, of Holme Hall.
2. A vault.
Sh.I. Its ' quier' or vault, still fairly well preserved, formed the
burial place of the Mitchells of Westshore. . . Queir and voolt in
the east end of the Church of Tingwall, Manson^/;«. (1900) 119.
[ME. quer, quere. OFr. cuer, choir of a church (N.E.D.).]
QUEER, sb.^ Cor. Also written quear, quere.
[kwi3(r).] 1. A mining term : a square piece of ground ;
loose earth in a mine.
Cor.2 w.Cor. A quear of ground fell on him and hurt his pot
(M.A.C.).
2. A small cavity or fissure. Eng. Mining Terms (1830).
QUEER, sb.^ N.Cy.i Dur.^ wTYks.' e.An.' Also in
form quaire e.An.^ [kwia(r.] A quire of paper ; a dial,
form of ' quire.'
QUEER, adj., adv., sb.'^ and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc.
Irel. Eng. and Amer. Also written quear w.Yks. ; and
in form quare N.I.^ Ant. s.Don. Wil. Som. [kwir, kwi3(r,
kwea(r.] 1. adj. In phr. (i) a queer deal, a great deal ;
(2) a queer stick, an odd, eccentric person ; (3) queer and,
very ; (4) — as Dick's hatband, in a very morose or sullen
temper; see Dick, 56.^2 (2) ; (5) — ways, strange, nervous,
squeamish; (6) the queer thief of the world, a thief, rogue.
(i) Ir. It's a quare dale aisier crookenin' things than straightenm'
thim again, Barlow East unto West (1898) 193. (2) Not.i, Lef.i,
nice. Ant. A wus quare , .
Quare and cold. Quare and sick, Simmons Gl. (1890). (4) I.W.
Zummet or nother had putt'n out ; . . he hardly spoke a dozen
words to me,' and was as queer as Dick's hatband. ^ (5) Dmb.
When wee things there are making din In their fathers' arms . . .
It maks me queer ways, Taylor Poems (1827) 43. (6) Ir. Wasn't
she the quare thief of the world to go rob me that way ? Barlow
Martin's Company (1896) 138.
2. Obs. Humorous, entertaining, amusmg.
Sc Mitchell Scotticisms (1799) 69. Ayr. The souter tauld his
queerest stories ; The landlord's laugh was ready chorus, Burns
Tarn o' Shanter (1790) 1- 49-50- . , , ^ r ■ j
3. Ill-tempered, captious ; unsociable irom some lancied
slight or insult. „ ^^ . , ^, .
wYks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June 13, 1896). s.Chs.' Dhi sen
66)z kweeur wi)dh uwd mon [They sen hoo's q"ef r wi' th owd
mon]. Ken. It seemed to make her very queer (D.W.L.). 'Wil.
Slow Gl. (1892). Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885).
4 adv. In comp. (i) Queer-far'd, having a queer counten-
ance or queer features; (2) -gotten, of uncertain parentage.
(i) Cum. Monnie a queerfar'd jwoat was there, Stagg Misc.
Poems (ed. 1805) 129. (2) ne.Sc. Auld MacDowall's queer-gotten
bairn had turned oot tae be a real nait'ral, Gordon Northward Ho
(1894) 66.
5. Phr. to die queer, to commit suicide.
Ken. ' The old gentleman was a-goin' to his son in furrin parts.
But he never did, for he died queer ' — the marsh term for a
suicide. Son of Marshes Anti. Fishing Vill. (ed. 1892) 107.
6. Unsociably, ill-temperedly.
w.Yks. They du things varry queer at yond place, Leeds Mejc.
Suppl. (June 13, 1896). I.W.2 If he acts anyway queer, I sholl
start offhooam agen.
7. Very.
Uls. A queer nice lady (M.B.-S.). Ant. He'sa quare weeldaein'
boy, Ballymena Obs. (1892).
8. sb. pi. Anything odd or strange ; news.
Rxb. 'The Lord kens it's queers to Archie Simpson, that there's
any harm in kissing a lassie, Hamilton Outlaws (1897) 103 ; (Jam.)
9. V. To puzzle ; to put to confusion ; to make or cause
to feel queer ; to cause to go wrong.
Sc. Come now, Jeanie, ye are but queering us — I am no trowing
that there is sic a ane in the warld, Scott Midlothian (1818) xxvi.
w.Yks. That's hah we've bin queered all along, we nivver gat a
reight tale (B.K.) ; Moind yo, he quear'd all't wark for that day,
Hallam Wadsley Jack {1866) xiv. Ess. A-many folks it queered,
Clark /. Noakes (1839) st. 125; Ess.' Ken. What queer'd me,
he sed, 'twas kep All round about de Church, Masters Dick and
Sal (c. 1821) St. 10; Ken.i It queers me how it ever got there;
I'll queer 'em. Sus.^ It has queered me for a long time to find out
who that man is. [Amer. He has queered himself, i. a. gotten into
bad odor, Carruth Kansas Univ. Quar. (1892) I.]
Hence queered and quiammed, phr. intricate, as a piece
of carving. n.Yks.'^
QUEER, see Quire.
QUEERACH, v. and sb. Bnff.i [kwrrax.] 1. v. To
do any kind of work in a weak, trifling manner; gen.
with at; to nurse in an over-dainty manner. Hence
Queeraching, ppl. adj. awkward, unskilful. 2. sb. The
act of working in a weak, trifling manner ; the act of
nursing in an over-dainty manner.
QUEERISH, adj. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Der. Dev.
[kwi'rij.] Rather queer ; rather uncomfortable, not well
in health.
Abd. Their projectors [he] thinks Gay queerish chaps, Anderson
Rhymes (ed. 1867) no. n.Cy. (J.W.) Nhb. I did feel queerish
when yedootedsae muckleitwhat I telled ye was true, Jones Nhb.
(1871) 83. w.Yks. (J.W.) Der. The governor is queerish this
evening, Le Fanu Uncle Silas (1865) I. 314. Dev. He had had
fits in childhood, which made him queerish at times, Mortimer
Tales Moors (1895) 87.
Hence Queerishness, sb. an uneasy sensation.
Elg. Sudden indisposition, with an uncommon faintishness and
queerishness, Couper Tourijications (1803) II. 133.
QUEERLY, adv. and adj. Irel. Cum. "Wm. Yks. Lan.
Also in form quarely Ir. [kwia'(r)Ii.] 1. adv. Con-
siderably, extraordinarily.
Ant. Now we're quarely betther fixed, O'Neill Glens (1900) 17.
Uls. You're mendedquarelythislast while, HamiltonBci§- (1896) 92.
2. adj. Queer, odd ; slightly demented.
Cum. A rayder queerly sort of a house, Caine Hagar (1887)
III. 9 ; Cum.'* A rayder queerly swort of a chap. Wm. He's gone
rayder queerly ower o' that brass he's lost (B.K.). w.Yks. (J.W.)
n.Lan. T'sign ower t'dure's a queerly yan, R. Piketah Forness Flk.
(1870) 29.
QUEERNESS, sb. Yks. [kwia'nss.] 1. In phr.
queemesses and quiams, whims of all sorts. n.Yks.^
2. An estrangement. *
w.Yks. Ther's like's ther's been a bit ov a queerness between 'em
iver sin' Jim gate t'job 'at Neddy wanted, Leeds Merc. Suppl. (June
20, 1896).
QUEERSOME, adj. Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Rather queer.
Elg. We've tripped through mony aqueersome reel. But noo we
sever. Tester Poems (1865) 78. n.Cy., Yks. (J.W.)
QUEERVE, v. Sh.I. Also written querv. [k-wirv.]
To rake mown grass into long separate strips after it has
been spread out, to prevent it drying too quickly. (J.S.),
{Coll. L.L.B.), S. & Ork.i
4 R 2
QUEERY
[676]
QUERE
QUEERY, sb. Sc. Yks. Also written query Rnf.
fkwiTi.] A strange or curious circumstance ; a queer
thing.
Rnf. It's strange to tell their fligmagaries, Their patent netts and
catgut queries, Wi' levers and weights gaun tapsalteerie In counter-
poise, Webster Rhymes (1835) 150. n.Yks.' That wur a queery,
onny ways ; n.Yks.'^
QUEESE, V. Sc. Also written quease. A dial, form
of ' wheeze.' ' Queesin like an auld bellows ' (Jam. Suppl).
QUEESER, see Quist, sb.
QUEESITIVE, adj. Sc. [kwlzitiv.] A shortened
form of ' inquisitive.' Cai.^ Bnff".', w.Sc. (Jam.) Hence
Queesitiveness, sb. Bnff.', w.Sc. (Jam.)
QUEEST, QUEESY, see Cast, v., Quist, sb., Queasy,
adj.^
QUEET, sb. Sc. Also in forms quit n.Sc. ; quiyte
Abd. [kwit.] An ancle; also a gaiter. See Coot, sb.^
n.Sc. He stepped to the quit, Then out he jumped upon the bank.
Says, this water's wond'rous deep, Buchan Ballads (1828) II. 253,
ed. 1875. Bnff. I . . lap aif the Gloyd an' took my queets, Threw by
my hat, put aff my beets, Taylor Poems (1787) 57. Bch. [Stock-
ings] Wi' mony a bony tirly-wirl About the queets, Forbes Shop
Bill (1785) 13. Abd. I've strained my quiyte, Alexander Johnny
Gibb (1871) xxxviii. nw.Abd. The stokens 'ill be some wide aboot
the queets, Goodwife (1867) st. ig. Kcd. He steed until a burnin
baul< cam' crash upo' his queet. Grant Lays (1884) 29.
Hence Queetikins, sb.pl. gaiters, short leggings.
Elg. Wi' breeks o' that ilk, an' queetikins too, Abd. Wkly. Free
Press (June 25, i8g8). Abd. The strap o' ane o' my queetikins
brak, Alexander yo/i«Ky Gibb (1871) xviii.
QUEETER, V. and sb. Bnff.^ [kwrtar.] 1. v. To
do work in a weak, trifling manner. See Cutter, v.
Hence Queetering, ppl. adj. weak, trifling. 2. sb. The
act of doing work in a weak, trifling manner.
QUEE-TH, sb. Bnff. The coal-fish, Merlanmts car-
bonarius, in the second year. (Jam., s.v. Gerrack). See
Cooth, sA.2
QUEEVE, V. Bdf Sus. [kwiv.] To twist; to bend
slowly backwards and forwards as a tree-top. Cf. quave.
n.Bdf. Batchelor Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809) 141. e.Sus. (F.E.S.)
QUEEVERLY, adj. Lei.' [qurvsli.] Fawning; hypo-
critical. Cf quaver, v.^ 2.
QUEEZE, QUEEZIE, see Quist, sb., Queasy, adj.^
QUEEZ-MADDAM, sb.' Sc. A name given to the
French jargonelle pear; the same word as Cuisse-madame
(q.v.).
He'll glowr at a barkit aiksnag as if it were a queez maddam in
full bearing, Scott Rob Roy (1817') xxi.
QUEFF, QUEGH, QUEGLE, see Quaigh, sb., Queagle.
QUEICH, QUEIGHT, see Quaigh, sb.. Quoit.
QUEILE, QUEINE, see Coil, sb.^ Quean.
QUEINT, adj. and adv. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Also in forms waint Cum. ne.Yks.' e.Yks. m.Yks.'
w.Yks. Lan. ; weant Lan. ; went n.Yks.'^ e.Yks. m.Yks.' ;
whaint Wm. e.Yks.' w.Yks.' Lan. ; wheant Lan.' ;
wheint Chs.'^; whent Dur.' w.Dur.' n.Yks.''^ e.Yks.
[went, went.] 1. adj. Strange, odd, out of the way ;
often used iron. : fine.
Dur.' A whent lad. w.Dur.', n. Yks. ^ e.Yks. It's waint weather
(H.E.W.). w.Yks. Whaint wark, Thoresby Leil. (1703). Chs.
Ray (1691); CIis.13
Hence Waintly, adv. strangely.
Lan. Yo lovn a king, sur, waintly, Byrom Poems (1773) I. 109,
ed. 1814.
2. Large, vast ; extraordinary in point of size, quantity, &c.
n.Yks.' ; n.Yks.^ 'A whent spot,' a spacious building. 'Awhent
while.' ' A whent mickle.' 'Awhent dim.' ne.Yks.' A weeant
deal on 'em. e.Yks. Marshall i?«r. £'ra«. (1788) ; e.Yks.' There's
awaynt lot o' apples on that three. m.Yks.i w. Yks.' Awhaint huge
reeky blac spot, ii. 356.
Hence (1) Queintly, adv. (a) greatly, very much ; (b)
very well, hearty ; (2) waintly off, phr. in great trouble, in
a great way or ado.
(I, a) ne.Yks.i Ah's weeantly pleeas'd. e.Yks. ' Machine wants
fittlin up whaintly, MS. add. (T.H.) ra.Yks.' We are always
waintly throng again Martinmas, (b) Cum. Gl. (1851). Lan.'
Aw could ha' gone on wheantly,TiM Bobbin Wks, (1750) xxxvi.
s.Lan. ' Heaw arto this mornin ? ' ' Well, awm weantly, thank yo,'
BAMFORDDia/. (1854). (2) ne.Yks.' Oorjack's weeantly off aboot it.
3. Phr. queint and, very.
ne.Yks.' Ah's weeant an glad on't. e.Yks. I'se went un flayed
I sail never get to Londesbro' Park to-morrow, Ellis Pronunc. (i 889)
V. 498 ; e.Yks.i He's whaint an fond of his glass.
4. adv. Very, exceedingly.
Wm. A woman is whaint ill, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 41. n.Yks.'
e.Yks. It's a waint long way off (H.E.W.). w.Yks. A waint
queer seeght was seen that da, Ingledew Ballads (1842) 273.
Lan. Whaint fond o' summut new, Byrom Poems (1773) I. loi,
ed. 1814.
[1. And evermo, so swift as thought, This queynte hous
aboute wente, Chaucer H. Fame, 1924-5. OFr. cointe,
queinte (Godefroy).]
QUEIST, see Quist, sb.
QUELCH, V. Brks. 1. To swallow. [Not known to
our correspondents.] Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) Cf.
quilt, w.^ 2. Of horses : to make a peculiar noise
internally when trotting. (M.J.B.)
QUELL, V. Sc. Chs. War. Hrf Also in form quail
Sc. [kwel.] 1. To subdue ; to quench, extinguish ; to
be subdued. Cf quail, w.' 7.
Gall. Ay hoping broyliments will quail Frae year to year, Mac-
TAGGART Eucycl. (1824) 366, ed. 1876. Chs.' Yon men's goin' mad ;
see if you can quell him. Th' feire has getten sitch a yed, we shan
ne'er be able to quell it. War.^
2. To kill by crushing.
Hrf.^ That ere black hen did quell most of her chicks in the nist.
3. To quail.
Ayr. But God forbid, we ever sud Be sent the broader path To
quell and quake in burning lake, Laing Poems (1894) 107.
QUELL, QUELLAT, see Quail, v."^, Quill, sb.", Quillet.
QUELPY, adj. Obs. Nhp.' [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] Eggy; havingthe taste of eggspredominating.
QUELSTRING, see Queltring.
QUELT, sb} Lan.' [kwelt.] A blow. See Welt;
cf. quilt, V?-
He gan him a quelt at th' side of his yed ut nearly knock'd him o'er.
QUELT, s6.= Obs. Sc. A kilt.
Those among them who travel on foot, and have not attendants
to carry them over the waters — vary it [the Trouse] into the
Quelt, Burt Lett. (1754) II. 184-5 (Jam.).
QUELT, QUELTERING, see Quilt, v}, Queltring.
QUELTRING, adj Glo. w.Cy. Dev. Also in forms
quelstring,quelteringDev.; quilsteringDev.' [kwe'ltrin.]
Of the weather : hot, sultry, sweltering.
Glo.' w.Cy. (Hall.) Dev. Aw, Jimminy ! idden et a quelstring
'ot day ? I'm za 'ot's Mally Palmer, an' 'er cQdden zay 'er prayers
vur tha yett, Hewett Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.' Vanning way their
hatts as thof 'twas cruel hot, buldering, quilstering weather, 8.
n.Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777)349; Grose (1790). s.Dev. Fox
Kingsbridge (1874).
QUELTY,!/. Dev.3 [kwe'lti.] To breathe. Cf. quilt, z).'
1 bin mortal tissicked up, and cude 'ardly quelty, thort I'd agot
beownkitty or squinges.
QUELVE, «(^'. Chs.' [kwelv.] A dial, form of 'twelve.'
(s.v. Quist.)
QUENCH, V. Irel. Cor. Also in form quinch Wmh.
[kwenj, kwinj.] 1. With away : to die.
Cor. If we die, we are said to ' pass ' or ' quench away,' Ham-
mond Parish (1897) 339.
2. To put out. Wmh. Quinch the candle (S.A.B.).
QUENE, see Quean.
QUENTY, adj. Chs.' [kwe'nti.] A dial, form of
' twenty.' (s.v. Quist.)
QUENYA, sb. Sh.L Also in form whenya S. & Ork.'
A mill. S. & Ork.' Cf quern, s6.'
QUENYIE, see Quinzie.
QUERANTE, sb. Wor. A spree. s.Wor. Porson
Quaint Wds. (1875). See Courant.
QUERD, see Queed.
QUERDOOD, s6. Shn' [kwa-dud.] The small upper
branches and loppings of trees, &c., cut into lengths and
stacked for sale as firewood. See Cordwood, s.v. Cord,
sb. 6 (2).
QUERE, see Queer, sd.'^. Quire.
QUERIOUS
[6771
QUEST
QUERIOUS, a.^'. Wbs. Sc. A dial, form of ' curious.'
Rnf. Ither nigs and naws sae querious, Wad ding philosopher
delirious, Wt.nsiKK Rhymes (1835) 179.
QUERK, see Quirk, sb}, v.'
QUERKEN, V. n.Cy. Ylcs. Ciis. Der. Also written
quirken Chs.^^ Der.^ [kwaTksn, kwakan.] To choke,
esp. to choke for some seconds while drinking. See
Whirken ; cf. quocken, quirk, v.'^
n.Yks.2, w.Yks.i, Chs.is Der. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) ;
Der.i'^, nw.Der.^^
[Querkenyd,si<_^ora/MS {Prompt). OFns.kwerka,querka,
to throttle, strangle (Richthofen).]
QUERN, sb.^ Obs. or obsol. Sc. Irel. Cum. Yks. Lan.
Lin. e.An. Ken. Sus. Dev. Also written quairn Dmf. ;
querne Wxf.' ; quirn n.Sc. ; and in forms quarn e.An.° ;
queen Or.I. ; quions Lin.^ ; quons e. An.^ ; quorn w.Yks.
e.An.^ 1. A small stone hand-mill for grinding grain.
Sc. The music for a hungry wame Is grinding o' the quernie,
Jamieson Pop. Ballads (1806) II. 355. Sh.I. There is, however,
another sort of grinding apparatus . . . that is well known under
the name of Quern. A hand-mill of this kind consists of two stones,
about 21 inches in diameter, that rest on a kind of table. Near
the edge of the upper stone is a handle which the grinder (gener-
ally a female of the house) seizes and turns round with a sort of
centrifugal movement, whilst the left hand is employed in supply-
ing with corn a hole in the centre. The meal then flies outward,
and drops from between the stones on the table, when it is every
now and then scraped together and taken away, Hibeert Desc.
Sh. I. (1822) 205, ed. 1891. Or.I. (S.A.S.) n.Sc. Grind it with-
out quirn or mill, Buchan Ballads (1828) II. 284, ed. 1875. Abd.
He'd querns for grindin' either meal or snuff, Murray Hamewith
(1900)10. Per. Spence Poe>«s (1898) 143. Edb. A kiln for drying
corn, when querns or hand-mills for grinding it were commonly
used, Pennecuik fFAs. (1715) 121, ed. 1815. Dmf. Ye maun grun't
but a quairn, Cromek Remains (1810) 119. N.I.i, Wxf.', Cum.i
n.Yks.2 The mill is formed of two round stones, about a foot and
a half in diameter ; the lower stone is convex, to which the con-
cavity of the upper one agrees ; while the turning was effected by
a wooden handle fixed into the top stone, the flour in the mean-
time escaping through a side-vent in the lower stone. w.Yks. The
ancient quorns were going out of use, Harker Wharfedale (1869)
143 ; w.Yks.^ Lan.i, ne.Lan.' Lin. A machine used to grind malt
with, Thompson //w?. Boston (1856) 719 ; Lin.i, n.Lin.' Obs. e.An.i
A hand-mill for grinding mustard-seed; e.An.2 Ken. A malt-
quern (K.) ; Ken.i, Sus. (M.B.-S.), Sus.' n.Dev. Grose (1790).
2. Comp. Quern-stone, a peculiar stone found principally
near Swaffham. Cf. car-stone.
Nrf. The hard beds, locally termed Carstone, or ' Quern stone,'
are worked for building purposes. Woodward Geol. Eng. and
Wales (1876) 230.
[OE. cweorn, cwyrn, Go. qairnus, a hand-mill.]
QUERN, sb.'^ Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Shr. Also in forms
quairn Sc. ; quoarn, quorn N.Cy.' [kwern, kwsn.]
1. A dial, form of ' corn.' N.Cy.i Shr.2 jhe quern harrast.
2. Phr. to shout a quern, to raise a shout of rejoicing in
the harvest-field when the last of the corn is cut. Cum.'*
Cf. to shout the kirn, s.v. Kirn, 8 (3). 3. A grain, granule,
seed ; a small particle. Cf. cum, sb.
Sc. Francisque-Michel Lang. (1882) 426. Ayr. (Jam.)
Hence Quairny, adj. in small particles. Sc. Francisque-
Michel ib. , ^ ^ , A , , ,-,,T „I N
QUERN, s6.3 Sc. The gizzard of a fowl. Abd. (W.M.),
(Jam.)
QUERNEY, sb. Obs. Sc. A species of rot in sheep.
s Sc Some people have been led to consider the rot as of two
kinds viz. the querney, or black rot, proceeding from foul feeding ;
and the hunger rot, from an absolute deficiency of food of every
kind. Essays Highl. Soc. III. 464-5 (Jam.).
QUERNIE, see Curn, sb. .
QUERN0CK,s6. Sh.I. A little hand-mill for grinding
grain. S. & Ork.' Cf. quern, sb}
OUERRE, QUERT, see Quar, Quat, v.
QUERTY, at//'. Obs. Sc. Also written quierty, quirty
( Jam ) Lively, possessing a flow of animal spirits ; active.
Rnf. i fear the barley bree. An roving blades sae quirty. May gar
him spread his wings an' flee, A. Wilson Poems (179°) 233 (Jam.).
Ayr., Dmf. (Jam.) . ^ / r> j,. -1
[Cp. quert, or whert, tncolumnts, sanus, sospes (rrompt).\
QUERY, see Queerve.
QUERY, V. Lon. [kwia'ri.] To solicit work as a
chimneysweep.
'There's so muchqueryinga-goin'on.' 'Querying!' 'That'swhat
we calls under-working,' Mayhzw Land. Labour {1651) II. 369, ed.
1861.
Hence Querier, sb. a chimneysweep who solicits em-
ployment from house to house.
The ' knuUers ' or ' queriers,' that is to say, those who solicit
custom in an irregular manner, by knocking at the doors of houses
and suchlike, ib. 357 ; Baumann Londinismen (1887).
[Fr. querir, to look, search out ; to seek or enquire after
(COTGR.).]
QUERY, see Queery.
QUEST, s6.i Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin. Shr. Som. [kwest.]
An inquest. See Crowner's quest, s.v. Crowner.
m.Yks.' A crowner's quest. w.Yks.^ Lan.' Th' crunner's quest
is sittin' o'er him to-day. Chs.', n.Lin.' Shr.^ They hannod had
the crowner's quest yit. w.Som.' The sergeant told me how the
crowner was comin' vorto hold the quest to-morrow t'arternoon.
[Is this law ? — Ay, marry, is't ; crowner's quest law,
Shaks. Hamlet, v. i. 24. OFr. queste, inquiry, search.]
QUEST, v} and sb.^ Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. I.Ma.
Glo. e.An. Sus. Hmp. Wil. Som. Dev. Also in form
ques' I.Ma. 1. v. To seek for game ; to lay hounds on
the scent of a hare, &c. ; to give tongue as a dog when
on a scent ; also nstAfig.
Sc. The creature was used to run questing with a little wooden
bowl he carried for largesse, Lang Monk of Fife (1896) 45. Nhb.
The hounds . . . quested about the banks, and swam to and fro in
the water in an evident state of uncertainty, Davies Rambles Sch.
Field Club (188 r) xxxvi ; Gossip . . . fell at once to ill-natured con-
jecture, and quested hotly for her past, Pease Mark 0' Deil (1894)
151. Cum. I questit them up the stairs, Caine Hagar (1887) III.
10 ; Cum.' Jwon Peel questit a hare up Skiddawside and pot her
off beside t'man ; Cum.* After some questing puss was found.
w.Yks. 'How is it there's no sport to-day?' Old Huntsman;
' Dunno, sir, unless it be the hounds can't quest,' Sheffield Indep.
(1874) ; w.Yks.2 I.Ma. Let's ques' with the dog over yandher,
Brown ZJoc/o)- (1887) 267. Glo.', e.An.' Nrf.HoLLOWAV. Sus.'^
Hmp. Holloway; Hmp.', Wil. (G.E.D.) w.Som.' To utter the
peculiar bark which spaniels or terriers give when their game is
found. The word is never used with hounds ; they ' give tongue,'
' speak,' or ' bay.' ' Thick there's a rare good dog, but he's a leetle
bit to quiet. I Hkes to hear a dog quest.' Dev. Every . . . bush
or twig. . . was quested. Memoir Rev. J . Russell {1SB3) 315. n.Dev.
May be you never saw an old black-and-tan twenty-six-inch tufter
. . . snuffle and quest and traverse, till he owned the scent with a
roar, Whyte-Melville Katerfelio (1875) xvi.
Hence Questing, ppl. adj. of a dog : searching for scent ;
giving tongue when on a scent ; also usedy?^.
Gall. Ranging all the time up hill and down dale hke a questing
collie, Gallovidian (1899) I. 153 ; All at once a questing dragoon
held up his hand, Crockett Moss-Hags (1895) x. e.An.' A
' questing spaniel,' is one who opens upon the scent of his game,
in contradistinction to one who runs mute. Snt. e.An. N.b" Q,
(1866) II. 325.
2. To collect money or provisions as alms.
Ir. It was Friar Rooney himself, with a sack of oats, for he
had been questin, Carleton Traits Peas. (ed. 1843) I. 73.
3. sb. The early morning search with hounds for a hare.
Cum. Than up and be off for a day-breck quest Wid a merry and
lively chang, Dickinson Cumbr, (1876) 253 ; Cum.' ; Cum.* Our
meets used to be fixed early that we might have the pleasure of
the quest.
4. The sound made by a spaniel or terrier when on a scent.
w.Som.i He don't never give no quest 'thout he's right 'pon it
[the game].
5. A collection for a charitable purpose.
Ir. We'll have a Quest at the three althars, Carleton Traits Peas.
(ed. 1843) 82.
[1. Fr. quester, to seek, search, trace out ; to hunt
(CoTGR.). See Quest, sA.']
QUEST, sb.^ Obs. N.Cy.^ The side of an oven.
Hence Quested, adj. of a pie : having the sides crushed
by each other, or so joined as to be less well-baked.
QUEST, v.^ Wor. [kwest.] A shortened form of
'question.' s.Wor, (H.K.)
QUEST
[678]
QUICK
QUEST, see Quist, sb.
QUESTION, sb. Sc. War. Also written quaisten
Frf. [kwe'Jtan.] 1. In cow;/. Question-book, the Shorter
Catechism.
Ayr. The laddies were eident at their Question Books, Johnston
Gknbuckie (1889) 141. Lnk. Having a mind to learn to read, I
bought a Question Boole, Wodrow Cli. Hist. (1721) 11. 54, cd. 1828.
2. Phr. (i) to ask the question, a hunting term : to draw a
fox covert ; (2) — get one's questions, to prepare one's lesson.
(i) War.3 (2) Ayr. The bilhe is gettin' his questions To say in
S, Stephen's the morn. Burns Election, st. 5.
3. pi. The Shorter Catechism.
Sc. I judged from the look of the man he would think the better
of me if I knew my questions, Stevenson Catriona (1893) iii.
Abd. Anderson Rhymes (ed. 1867) 78. Frf. Inglis Ain Flk.
(1895) 108. Per. He's proud he can say his questions, Sabbath
Nights (1899) 17. Cld. On Sabbath nicht . . . The questions ye'U
put round and round, Nimmo Sngs. (1882) 168. Rnf. Gilmour
Pen-Flk. (1873) 22. Ayr. Hunter Studies (1870) 34. Lth. He
spiered at them their questions from the 'singles questions,' or
the 'carritch,' as the Westminster Shorter Catechism ... is called
in Scotland, Strathesk More Bits (ed. 1885) 222. Dmf. When
the questions were to say, He couldna gang to school that day,
Shennan Tales (1831) 53.
QUET, sb. Sc. The common guillemot, Lomvia troile.
Abd. SwAiNSON Birds (1885) 217.
QUET, see Quit.
QUEUE-PEE, sb. Yks. Written cew-pee. [kiu--pi.]
The curls of hair on the top of a child's head.
w.Yks. Put him a cew-pee up, can't ta? (B.K.)
QUEVER, see Quiver, adj.
QUEY, sb.^ Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Stf Der. Not. Lin. Also written quay, quhey Sc. ; and
in forms coy Bch. ; quae Not.^ ; quaeg S. & Ork.^ ;
quaick Sh.I. ; quaik Sc. ; quake Abd. ; que Gall. Lin. ;
quee w.Yks.^Not.^n.Lin.'sw.Lin.i; queyagCai.^; queyoch
Or.L ; qui Gall. Ldd. Not. ; quie Der.' ; quoy Sc. (Jam.)
w.Yks. ; quoyach Sc. (Jam.) ; quy Sc. (Jam.) N.L^ n.Cy.
Nhb.'^ n.Yks.^ ; quyacli Sc. (Jam.) ; whaek Sh.L ; whee
e.Yks. ; whey Cum. e.Yks. ; wheye Cum.' ; whi n.Cy. ;
whie n.Cy. Nhb.i w.Yks.^ ; why N.Cy.^ Nhb. Dur.' Lakel.=
Cum.i* Wm. n.Yks. w.Yks.^^ Not.= ; whye N.Cy.i= Nhb.'
Lakel.^ Cum. n.Yks.^^ e.Yks.' Stf.; wie ne.Lan.' ; wy
Yks. Lan. ; wye n.Cy. n.Yks.^^ ne.Yks.^ m.Yks.i w.Yks.^*
Lan."^ e.Lan.i [kwe, kwi ; wi, wai.] 1. A heifer of any
age up to three years, or until she has had a calf.
Sc. Ye might try it on the bauson-faced year auld quey, Scott
Midlothian (1818) xxviii ; Grose (1790) MS. add. (M.) Sh.I. He
had left his ' whaek ' to take care of itself, Nicolson Aithstid
Redder (1898) 11; Yon tree-year-auld quaick played da curse,
Sh. Neivs (Apr. 22, 1899") ; S.& Ork.i, Cai.' Bnif. Roups of stots,
queys, cows, ploughs, Gordon Chron. Keith (1880) 253. Bch.
Yese get a cow, an' a branded coy, Beattie Parings (1801) 64,
ed. 1873. Abd. She's get the mell, and that sail be right now, As
weel's a quoy, although she were a cow, Ross Helenore (1768)
124, ed. 1812 ; (A.W.) Ags. (Jam.) Per. Div ye think yersel
that 'quey' sounds as weel as heifer? Ian Maclaren Auld Lang
Syne (1895) 65. e.Fif. Latto Tarn Bodkin (1864) xxv. Ayr. The
Deil, or else an cutler Quey, Gat up an' gae a croon, Burns
Halloween (1785) st. 26. Lnk. Ye said your crummock and her
bassen'd quey, Ramsay Gentle Shep. (1725) 39, ed. 1783. e.Lth.
Mucklebackit Rhymes (1885) 233. Edb. Seeking for the bassent
quey, Tint Quey (1796) 17. Bwk. Monthly Mag. (1814) I. 31.
SIk. On which she had fed when a young and happy quey, Chr.
North Noctes (ed. 1856) HI. 99. Dmf. Then bullocks, and heifers,
and some open queys. Presented their beautiful forms to my eyes,
Shennan Tales (1831) 82. Gall. ' Weel,' said the farmer body to
the calf, ' I ettled ye for a keeping quey,' Crockett Raiders (1894)
v; (A.W.) N.I.i Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). Ldd. (M.B.-S.)
n.Cy. (J.L. 1783), N.Cy.i2 Nhb. Gent. Mag. (1884) 16, ed.
Gomme; Nhb.', Dur.', LakeJ.i Cnm. I carried our whye to the
bull, Anderson Ballads (ed. 1808) 9 ; Keep his wheys fra takkin'
t'redwatter, Richardson r«tt (1876) 2nd S. 79; Cum.i'> s.Wm.
Dun why and its gitten out 'oth fald, Hutton Dial. Storth and
Arnstde (1760) 1. 20. n.Yks. Our why is better tidded than this
cow, Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 29 ; n.Yks.' T'rooan coo's
getten cauv'd, an' it's a white wye; n.Yks.^^ ne.Yks.' I'st a
bull or a wye? e.Yks. Ray (1691) ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.' w.Yks.
Willan List Wds. (1811) ; ^C.W.D.); w.Yks.' I'se i' some meser
foarced to fest owte ... a why, ii. 289 ; w.Yks.^ ne.Lan.', e.Lan.^
Stf. Ray (1691) MS. add. (J.C.) Not. (W.H.S.), Not.^ Lin.
(Hall.) ; The garthman will show you in the crewe-yard the
stots and the quees of the establishment, Streatfeild Lin. and
Danes (1884) 263.
2. Comp. (i) Quey-calf, a female calf; (2) -fidgings, the
first three meals of milk obtained from a cow after she
has given birth to a female calf; (3) -gates, obs., an old
common road by which cattle were driven ; (4) -laikens,
cows ; (5) -stirk, a heifer from one to two years old.
(i) Sc. Quey caffs are dear veal, Ramsay Prov. (1737) 59, ed.
1776 (Jam.). Or. I. May a' your kye be weel to calve . . . And
every ane a queyoch calf, Fergusson Rambles (1884) 171. Lnk.
Twa quey cawfs I'll yearly to them give, Ramsay Poems (ed. 1800)
II. 116 (Jam.). n.Cy. (J.L. 1783) ; N. &' Q. (1856) 2nd S. i. 502 ;
N.Cy.', Dur.i, Lakel.'^ Cum. Grose (1790). n.Wm. It's a why cofe
(B.K.). n.Yks.'2 ne.Yks.' We've gitten anuther wye cauf. w.Yks.
Watson Hist. Hlf.v. (1775) 548 ; w.Yks.^S" Lan. Davies Races
(1856)269; Lan.' Der.^Kwah-u kauT. Also pron.kwee'kauT. .
Not. Yes, it's a quee calf I'm pleased to say (L.C.M.) ; Not.^, s.Not.
(J.P.K.) n.Lin.' Ey, thaay speak clear different e' Yerksheere to
what we do. I mind hearin' a woman 'at was fra that-awaays-on
teUin' on her naaibour she'd gotten a nist 'why,' an' when I went
to see what it was, it was noht bud a quee-cauf. sw.Lin.^ She's
had three quee cauves running. (2) w.Yks. N. & Q. (1865) 3rd S.
viii. 547. (3) Cum. (J.Ar.) (4) Lakel.2 (5) e.Dur.l, n.Yks.^
[ON. kvtga, a young cow before she has calved (Vig-
fusson).]
QUEY, s6.= Sc. Also in forms quay S. & Ork.' ;
quee, quie Sh.L ; quoy S. & Ork.i Cai.' ; whee, whie
Sh.L 1. A piece of ground taken in from a common
and enclosed ; also in comp. Quey-land.
Sh.L The cultivated soil free from scat was then named Quoy-
land, a term meaning nothing more than an enclosed field, Hieeert
Desc. Sh. I. (1822) 121, ed. 1891 ; Jakobsen Dial. (1897) 107.
S. & Ork.'' Or.L The said quoy of land, called Quoy-dandie, is to be
exposed for sale, &c. What is called a quoy in Orkney is a piece
of ground talcen in from a common, and inclosed with a field or
other fence ; and its boundaries being thus precisely fixed and
ascertained, no doubt can arise as to its extent, Condescendence
D. Erskine (Nov. 27, 1804) (Jam.) ; Detached and separate pieces
of ground [in a 'town'] near the houses called Tumails, or little
inclosures called Quays, Peterkin Notes (1822) 6. Cai.'
2. A sheep-pen. S. & Ork.i
[ON. kvt, a fold, pen, esp. where sheep are milked
(Vigfusson).]
QUEYAG, QUEYL, see Quey, sb.\ Coil, si.^
QUEYN, QUEYOCH, QUEYT, see Quean, Quey, s6.',
Quite, sb.
QUEZZEN, V. e.An. [kwe-zan.] 1. To suffocate
with noxious vapour ; to smother weeds by covering
them with sand or earth. e.An.', Suf ' Cf quizzle.
2. To smoulder away without flame.
e.An.' If the fuel be damp, the fire quezzens out.
QUH-. For words beginning with quh- in Sc. see wh-.
QUHAUP, sb. Ayr. (Jam.) Also in form quhaip. A
goblin, evil spirit ; see below. ? Same word as Whaup (q.v.).
Supposed to go about under the eaves of houses after the
fall of night, having a long beak resembling a pair of tongs for the
purpose of carrying off evil-doers.
QUHEY, QUI, see Quey, 5*.'
QUIAMS, s6. //. n.Yks.2 [kwiamz.] L Whims ;
singular notions. 2. Phr. quiams and quavers, affected
speech and gesture.
QUIB, sb. Obs. Sc. A taunt, jibe.
Rxb. The other, dark anent the quib Cry'd, O sic doolfu' sonnets I
A. Scott Poems (ed. 1808) 141.
QUIBBLY, V. w.Som.' To quiver, shake.
I zeed the leaves quibbly [kwuob-lee, kwiib-lee], and I up way
the gun, but jist eens I was gwain to pull the trigger, I zeed 'twas
one 0' the birds. Ibeafeardl've a catchtachill, I do quibbly all over.
QUIBOW, sb. n.Sc. (Jam.) [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] A branch of a tree.
QUICE, see Quist, sb.
QUICH, sb. Obs. Ags. (Jam.) A small round-eared
woman's cap ; worn under another so as only to show
the border. The quich was frequently used along with pinners.
QUICH
[679]
QUICK
QUICH, w. Hmp. [Not known to our other correspon-
dents.] [kwitj.] To cry out as a baby.
He never quich'd all night (H.C.M.B.).
QUICK, adj}-, adv., sb. and v. Var. dial, uses in Sc.
Irel. Eng. and Aus. Also in forms hwick Nhb.^ ; whick
N.Cy.i Nhb.' Dur.^ w.Dur.^ Lakel.i^ Cum.'^* Wm. e.Yks.i
w.Yks.i Lan.iChs.=3 Der.^ nw.Der.^ Nhp.^; whik Lan. ;
wick Lakel.2 Cum. Wm. n.Yks.^"* ne.Yks.i e.Yks. m.Yks.i
w.Yks."" Lan.' n.Lan.' ne.Lan.i e.Lan.' m.Lan.i Chs.'
s.Chs.i Der.i nw.Der.' Not.^ n.Lin.i [kwik ; wik.] 1. adj.
In comb, (i) Quick-and-quidder, swiftly, quickly ; (2) -start,
an upstart ; (3) •stick(s, {a) immediately, with haste ; gen.
in phr. in (a) quick-stick{s ; [b) in phr. to make quick-sticks
of anything, to do it quickly; to settle the business.
(i) S. & Ork.'- (2) Lan. A lot o' camplin', concay ted wick starts 'at
hannot had time to reckon their limbs up gradely, Waugh Chim.
Corner (1874) 141, ed. 1879; Lan.^, e.Lan.'- (3, a) Cum. They wer'
married i' quicksticks, Burn Fireside Crack (1886) 20. n.Yks. I set
him off, quick-sticks (I.W.) ; n.Yks.'' If thoo dizn't git it deean
quick-sticks, Ah'U wahrm thi jacket foor tha. e.Yks.' Ah'U let him
knaw Ah's maysther o' this hoos 1 quick-sticks. w.Yks. 'T air wor
that boyant an leet at wi shot up aht at seet i' quick sticks, Tom
Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1893) 39. Lan. A bran new re-
public set up i' quicksticks, Clegg Sketches (1895) ji62 ; Lan.',
Aw'U shift thee in quick-sticks, see if aw dunnot. e.Lan.', m.Lan.',
Stf.' Der. I'll shift her in double quicksticks if she ever cooms
meddlin' i' my house, Ward David Grieve (1892) III. 267. Not.
I'll be there in quick sticks (J. H.B.) ; Not.' Lin.' I can go in quick-
sticks. n.Lin.' If thoo's not off in a quick-stick I'll help thS. War.2
You'dbetter get that job doneinquick-sticks,or else you'Uhearsome-
thing ; War.^ Lei.' Yo' be off quick-sticks, or ah'U gie-ye some'at
foryour-sen. ■War.,'Wor.,Glo.NoRTHALLi^i'A-P/!r. (1894). w.Som.^
Uur puut ee" tu dhu rai't u-baewt een u kwik'-stik [She put him
to the right-about very shortly]. Yiie oa'n, oa'nee ! aa'l zee baewd
dhaat--n kwik--stik [You won't, won't you ! I'll see about that this
instant]. Dev.^ I'll be there in quick-sticks. nw.Dev.' [Aus. They
must have some fellows to sell stock, you know, or we should have
a note to settle our little account in quick sticks, Boldrewood
Squatter (1890) xvi.] (A) Cor.^
2. Hasty-tempered. Hrf.^ 3. Alive ; lively, alert ;
also used subst.
N.Cy.' Nhb. Answer me if ye're still whick, Clare Love of Lass
(i8go) I. 147 ; Nhb."^ Dur. On which the straw would become
' quick,' and rise upright, and shufSe away before her, Henderson
/"/*-Z,OTO(i879)vii; Dur.i, w.Dur.i, Lakel.'^ Cum. Fairly whick
wi' flooks (J.Ar.) ; Cum.' ; Cum.^ Whinin oot ' Fadder's deid,' when
ivery body kens 'at fadder's whicker nor meast on us ; Cum." "Wm.
Wor thor giants alive ? Nay, nay, lemme see, they er net whick,
Iracken, Wheeler /)/«/. (1790)98, ed. 1821. s.Wm. Was it whick,
says Ta? Hutton Dial. Storth and Amside (1760) 1. 39. n.Yks.'
' T'wickest young chap at ivver Ah seen ' ; of a young man full to
overflowing of animal life and spirits ; n.Yks." As wick as an eel ;
n.Yks.* ne.Yks.' Is't wick yit 1 i.e. is it still alive ! Them's varry
wick 'uns. e.Yks. Wheeah's fayther was deead, tho' his muther
was wick, Nicholson Ftk. Sp. (1889) 39 ; e.Yks.', m.Yks.i w.Yks.
Ta dream o' t'deead is t'sign o' bein' troubled wi' t'wick, Prov. in
Brighouse News (July 20, 1889); w.Yks.' Whick and hearty;
w.Yks.2 As wick as bees ; w.Yks.^ T'cheese is wick wi' mawks ;
w.Yks.* Lan. Boh whot dust' think Burke wud sey neaw, iv
hee're whik? Walker Plebeian Pol. (1796) 17, ed. 1801 ; Lan.',
n.Lan.', ne.Lan.', e.Lan.', m.Lan.' Chs. 'You saw a real ghost
once didn't you'' 'Ayeithat aw did, a gradely wick un,' Croston
Enoch Crmnp{i?.Bl)i; Chs.'^s, s.Chs.', Der.'", nw.Der.' Not.=
He's a wick dog. Lin. Wa'al, being as it isn't wick Oi doant
moind, Lin. N. & Q. 56. n.Lin.' I thoht thaay was dead last
back-end, bud thaay're wick eniff noo. Sus.i I thought that
the sheep was dead when I first saw it, but I found it was quick
still. Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 349-
Hence Quicksome,«^'. full of life. n.Yks.^ 4:. Comb.
(i) Quick-beam, (a) the mountain ash, Pyrus Aucuparia;
(b) the white beam-tree, P. aria ; (2) -beam tree, see (i, a) ;
(3) -dyke, (4) -fence, a growing quick-set hedge; (5)
-goods, all kinds of living things ; (6) -hedge, see (4) ;
(7) -horn, a horn taken from a living animal ; (8) -meat,
green fodder, such as grass, clover, &c.; (9) -mire, a
quagmire ; (10) -rock, a. mass of stone in strata, the
' living' rock ; (11) -spring, a spring in the bed of a river or
stream; (12) -stock, (13) -stuff, live stock; (14) -tempered,
pliant ; (15) -thorn, the hawthorn, Crataegus Oxyacantlta ;
(16) -thorns, prickly bushes for hedge-work ; (17) -vein,
lead-mining term : a fissure containing ore ; (18) -water,
running water ; (19) -wood, live plants of thorn of which
hedges are made, esp. the hawthorn, Crataegus Oxyacantha.
(i, a) Mun. (P.W.J.), Sus. (B. & H.), Hmp.\ w.Som.' D,-v.
Interspersed with what is called in Devonshire the quick-beam, or
mountain-ash. Bray Desc. Tantar and T'aiy (1836) Lett, vii ; Dev.*
n.Dev. Or ha' this quickbcan [sic] on thy back, Rock Jim aii Nell
(1867) St. 114. (i) Hrt. ExLis Mod. Husb. (1750) VII. ii. 91.
(2) Sus., Hmp., Som. (B. & H.) (3) Nhb.', Lakel.= (4) Nhb.
The expense of making new quick fences, Marshall Review
(i8i8) I. 44. (5) n.Yks.2 (6) N.Cy.^ Nhb.' 'A Nhb. countryman
still deems it necessary to call a thorn hedge a whick hedge by
way of distinction ' from a stockade or dead hedge, Bates Border
Holds, 224. Dur.i, Nhp.i, Shr.=, GIo. (A.B.), Hnt. (T.P.F.), Ken.',
Hmp.' (7) ne.Sc. Eating the food with a 'quick-horn' spoon,
that is with a spoon made from the horn taken from a living
animal, was considered a very efficacious remedy for whooping
cough, Gregor Flk-Lore (1881) 46. (8) w.Som. 1 'Ton't never do
to let the cows ha' nort but quick-meat, they mus' ha' a bit o'
corn and kee-uk [oil-cake] vor to bide b}^ 'em. (9) Dev. (Hall.)
(10) Nhp.2 There being a notion, yet far from being extinct, that
all stones owe their formation from progressive growth. (ir)
n.Lin.1 You moan't ride that poany across here, sir, theare's wick-
springs e' th' boddum, an' you'll be stuck fast if 3'ou do, (12)
n.Cy., Nhp. Brookes Tracts Gl. (13) Dev. Horae Subsecivae
(1777) 349' (14) Cmb. A piece of rattan, &c., is said to be
quick-tempered when it is pliant (W.W.S.). (15^1 Yks. Next
fellah ah saw wor fast in a wickthorn bush, Binns Tom JVallop
(1861) 13. w.Yks. Hunger 'ad go threugh a wick-thorn hedge,
Prov. in Brighouse News (Sept. 14, 1889) ; w.Yks.' Behinnt a
whick-thornhedge, ii.3S9; w.Yks.^ Lan.Thou's torn 'sdresstiU
it looks as if it had been dragged through twenty wick-thorn hedges,
Brikri-ey Fratchingtons {iS6a) ii. (i6)n.Yks.2 (17) Der. Tapping
Gl. to Manlove (1851) (s.v. Vein). (18) Der. Theer werena ony
quick wayter to slake wi', Gilchrist Peakland Faggot (1897) 5a.
(19) N.Cy.i, Nhb.' Cum. Like a lily among t'wickwoods, Sng.
Sol. ii. 2, in Ellis Pronunc. (1889) V. 551. n.Yks. White thorn
(provincially quickwood) constitutes the most common fence
throughout the Riding, "Tuke Agric. (1800) 91 ; n.Yks.2, e.Yks.',
ne.Lan.i, Chs.', s.Chs.' n.Lin.' Quickwood 'at you get oot o' hedge-
boddums an' plantin's isn't noht near as good as what you buy.
5. Phr. sin one was wick, in one's lifetime ;' since one
was born.
w.Yks. Ah nivver saw sich an a fella' sin' ah wor wick, Tom
Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1847) 51. Lan. Hoo said, hoo'd
ne'er had sich a bang sin' hoo're wick, Harland & Wilkinson
Ballads (1875) 171.
6. Pregnant. e.An.'^, Sus.' 7. Of the sands: insecure,
soft and wet.
Ir. Moderately prudent people ... do not attempt the passage ,
for it is full of quick' and ' soft' places. Barlow Martin's Com-
pany (1896) 61. Nrf. The ground is getting ' quicker ' now, as
the fishermen say, and my clogs sink in level with the mud,
Emehson Wild Life (1890) 56. Sus.' You should not ride on the
sands so soon after the tide has turned, for they are sure to be
quick and shifting.
8. Of green fodder : succulent, full of sap.
w.Som.' Applied to any green fodder, of rapid growth, and
which thereby is over aperient to cattle. ' Must gee they bullicks
a lock n' hay, now the grass is so quick.' 'That there trefoy's
ter'ble quick vor 'osses to work by.'
Hence Quickness, sb. of grass : fullness of sap.
Wil. The flock is put into the water-meadows. . . On account
of the quickness of the grass, it is not usual to allow the ewes
and lambs to go into them with empty bellies, nor before the
morning dew is gone, Davis Ge)i. View Agric. (1811) xii.
9. Sharp, piercing.
Lth. Three needles that were unco quick, A bodkin made o'
bane, Thomson Poems (1819) iii. Dev. (Hall.)
10. adv. In comp. Quick-come-by, easily gained or
earned ; used subst.
Som. Quick-come-by is a different colour to hold-fast, Raymond
No Soul (1899) 178.
11. Soon.
w.Yks. (J.W.) nw.Dev.' Us shan't git the railway yur, nat
very quick.
12. sb. In comp. (i) Quick-flaw or -flu, a whitlow, a
gathering on the side of the fingernail ; (2) -spring,
a piece of loose skin behind the fingernail.
QUICK
[680]
QUICKEN
(i) n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) Cum.'*, Der.2, nw.Der.i
(2) n.Un. (I.W.)
13. The growing part of a plant nearest to the roots.
n.Yks.i ' Fed close ? Why, it's eaten into t'hard wick ; ' of a
pasture which has been fed very close.
14. Life.
n.Yks. Ah'll knock t'wick out o' thee (I.W.) ; n.Yks.* This
bangs all 'at Ah've seean i' mah wick. w.Yks. He said he'd nivver
seen such a sight i' all his wick (S.K.C.) ; w.Yks.^ He will get it
out of their wick. n.Lin.i I niver knew sich 'n a thing afoore i'
all my wick.
Hence to put a person's quick out,phr. to put an end to
his life. Nhb.^ 15. An insect ; a maggot, esp. one in
sheep ; also in comp. Wick-maggot.
Lakel. Eggs of the blue fly, developed about the hinder parts of
a sheep, and causing it pain and uneasiness (B.K.); Lakel. ^
Cum. (M.P.), Cum.i*, s.Wm. (J.A.B.) w.Yks. That plant is full
o' wicks. Look at this cheese, it's o wicks (D. L.). ne.Lan.',
e.Lan.i, Chs.l, s.Chs.l, nXin.i
Hence (i) at or in the whicks, phr. of sheep : ' fly-blown,'
having maggots in the flesh ; (2) Quickling, sb. a young
insect ; (3) to clip a sheep out of the whicks, phr. to remove
the wool mixed with maggots from those spots where the
fly has ' struck ' ; (4) Whick't, ppl. adj., see (i).
(i) Cum. As ristless as a sheep i't'whicks (IW.P.) ; And hed you
any in't whicks? Dickinson Cumbr. (1876) 176; Sum or anudder
o' them was at whicks hoddenly while t'wedder was het, Sar-
GissoN Joe Scoap (1881) 144. (2) e.An. (Hall.) (3) Cum. She
vjrad ha' . . . dipt a sheep oot o' t'whicks, Richardson Talk (1876)
and S. 156; Cum.'» (4) Cum.^*
16. A young thorn plant for making hedges ; also the
hedge itself; occas. used of any young shoot.
N.I.i Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). s.Ir. (P.W.J.), N.Cy.i
Nhb. The quicks grow much better, Marshall if«z;;«zu (1818) 40;
Nhb.l, Dur.l, LakeU, Cum. (M.P.), Cum.^*, n.Yks.i24 ne.Yks.i
Them wicks'U mak a good hedge eftther a bit. m.Yks.^, w.Yks.'-^s
Lan. A woman stan'in raang the wicks, Harland & Wilkinson
Flk-Lore (1867) 60 ; Lan.i, ne.Lan.i, e.Lan.i, Chs.i^a^ Not. (J.H.B.)
Lin. Brookes Tracts, 9. n.Lin.i You mun cut doon that quick or
it'll graw crookled. Nhp.i, War.=3, se.Wor.i, s.Wor.i Shr.i
Theer's bin tpo much tinin', an* now it's all djed stuff an' staggers
a 'undred 'ear owd — the 'edge wants riddin', an' some good quick
set. Hrf.2 Glo. You must plant that quick to-morrow (A.B.) ;
Glo.'^ Oxf. Quick, quick, quick for hedgerows. — 1,000,000 for
sale, Oxf. Chron. (Feb. i, 1901). Brks.i, w.Mid. (W.P.M.), Hnt.
(T.P.F.), e.An."- Cmb.i Oh! mother, pull this bit of quick out of
my finger. Nrf. Holloway. Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 298,
ed. 1849 ; Suf.i, Ken. (G.B.), Sus.2 Hmp.i It'll take nigh upon
two thousand quick to plant that bank. w.Som.^ Some men were
going to replant some thorn and other live stumps from a hedge
pulled down ; one said, ' Mus' ha' the cart vor to draa over that
there quick.'
Hence (i) Quick-man, sh. a man who grows 'quicks'
for sale ; (2) -rake, sb. a rake for collecting the uprooted
thorns ; (3) to run wicks, phr. to plant seedlings of haw-
thorn in the process of forming a new fence.
(i) Ant. Ballymena Obs. (1892). (2) n.Yks.^ (3) n.Yks.i
17. Various grasses and weeds, esp. the couch-grass,
Triticum repens, and different species 01 Agrostis; gen. in pi.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) Sufipl. Lake!.*, Cum.'*, Wm. (B.K.),
s.Wm. (J.A.B.) Yks. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863). n.Yks.
Heavier harrows, with longer teeth, drawn by four horses or a
pair of oxen and two horses, are used to clean the land from
quicks, TuKE Agric. (1800) 85 ; n.Yks." ne.Yks.i What are they
bonnin yonder! Ah laay they'll be wicks. e.Yks.^, m.Yks.^ w.Yks.
Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; Soft meadow-grass, Holcus mollis,
Avena elatior. Lees Flora (1888) 483 ; w.Yks.i Lan. Nature Notes,
No. 9. n.Lan.i nXin.^ She's goSn to pick wicks e' th' cloasins.
Wor. (B. & H.) e.An.i They are commonly collected in heaps,
and burned on the land. The process is called ' burning of quicks ' ;
e.An.2 Nrf. Cozens-Hardy Broad Nrf. (1893) loi. e.Nrf. Mar-
shall Rur. Econ. (1787). Suf. Rainbird Agric. (1819) 298,
ed. 1849.
Hence Quick-fire, sb. a fire of weeds.
e.Yks.i Nrf. If the fumes from burning garden refuse assails
the nasal organ, there is a quick fire somewhere, Cozens-Hardy
Broad Nrf. (1893) 35.
18. Obs.oTobsol. An Italian iron ; also in co»2/. Quick-iron.
s.Chs.i Shr.^ The quick — in general use in former days for
' getting up' most kinds of frills — was indispensable to the proper
' set ' of the broad muslin borders of those comely caps. . . The
term ' Quick,' as applied to this, is probably due to the fact of its
being quickly heated.
Hence Quicker, v. to iron and ' set ' frills on a ' quick.'
Shr.2 Now then, get on, an' quicker the frills o' that pillow-coat
— it'll be wanted w'en we make the bed.
19. V. To hurry, cause to hasten.
Sus.i I'll quick him fast enough if he doesn't quick himself a
little more.
20. With with : to swarm with.
Not.2 That cheese wicks wi' maggots.
21. Phr. to quick a hedge, to plant it with thorn. Nhp.',
Shr.=, Hnt. (T.P.F.) 22. To pull up weeds or bad grass.
n.Cy. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) e.Yks.* w.Yks. Banks
Wkfld. Wds. (1865) ; w.Yks.is n.Lin. Their boys and girls
released . . . from 'wicking' and 'singhng' turnips. Peacock
/. Markenfield {i8t^) III. 113; n.Lin.^
Hence Whicker, sb. a person who pulls up weeds and
bad grass. e.Yks.^
QUICK, adj.'^ Sh.I. [Not known to our correspon-
dents.] Lost without hope of recovery. S. & Ork.^
QUICK, see Quig, sb.'^
QUICKEN, sb. and t/.i In gen. dial, use in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. Also in forms hwicken Nhb.i; whicken N.Cy.^
Nhb.i Dur.i n.Yks. w.Yks.i War. ; wicken n.Cy. n.Yks.i"
ne.Yks.i m.Yks.i w.Yks.^ Lan.i Chs.'S Der.^ nw.Der.i
n.Lin.i Shr.' ; wickin Lakel.^ e.Lan.^ ; wickun w.Yks.^
[kwi-kan ; wi'kgn.] 1. sb. In comp. (i) Quicken-berry,
(2) -tree, the mountain ash, Pyriis Aucuparia ; cf. wiggen-
tree ; (3) -whistle, a whistle made of a piece of mountain
ash ; (4) -wood, see (2).
(i) Lns. In Leinster when witchcraft is suspected in the dairy
the doors are shut, and the plough-irons thrust into the fire and
connected with the churns by twigs of mountain-ash or quicken-
berry, Henderson Flk-Lore (1879) vi. (2) Ir. (P.W.J.), N.Cy."-
Nhb. Richardson Borderet's Table-bk. (1846) VII. 182; Nhb.i Dur.
Denham Tracts, 4. ne.Yks.i (s.v. Witch-wood). w.Yks.i I'd
swarm'd upt' wicken tree, ii. 303. nw.Der.i n^. The wicken-
tree, or mountain-ash, is represented as having the power of
deterring evil spirits from where it grows, N. 1^ Q. (1865) 3rd S.
viii. 324. n.Lin. We used to put a bit of wicken-tree in our
bo-som to keep off the witch (E.P.) ; n.Lin.i, War. 3, Shr. Glo.l
A piece nailed over the door is supposed to keep off witches. (3)
Lan. She saw him . . . cutting a twig with his knife. ' William I '
cried she, ' whatever arto doin' ? ' ' I'm makin' a wicken-whistle,'
Waugh Chim. Corner (1874) 4, ed. Milner ; Lan.i (4) n.Yks."*
Tommy 'ed driven a peg o' wicken-wood inti summat. ne.Yks.i,
n.Lin.i
2. The mountain ash, Pyrus Aucuparia ; also in pi.
s.Sc, n.Cy. Johnston Botany (1853) in (B. & H.). w.Yks.i^^",
Lan.i, e.Lan.i Chs.i The mountain-ash is a sacred tree in Cheshire
as elsewhere. It constitutes one of the most infallible charms for
the cure of whooping cough. I have also noticed an objection on
the part of Cheshire labourers to cut one down ; Chs.^, Der.^
nw.Der.i n.Lin.i I've cutten out a mount of wicken at Thorney
for stakes and binders. War. (J.R.W.), Shr.i, Ken. (G.B.), Ken.i
3. The couch-grass, Triticum repens; used also of all
creeping weeds with long roots ; also in comp. Quicken-
grass.
Sc. ScoTT Antiquary (1816) xxxv. n.Sc. So named because of
its lively nature ; as every joint of the root, which is left in the
ground, springs up anew (Jam.). Abd. Quiltin' 's as plenty as
quicken, MacdonaldZoss^ (1877) Iviii. Per. It'sasready to root as
a piece o' quicken, Sandy Scott (1897) 58. Dmf. Wallace School-
master (1899). Gall. (J.M.), N.L1 n.Cy. Grose (1790); N.Cy 1,
Nhb.i, Dur.i n.Yks. Our land is tewgh, and full of Strang whickens
Meriton Praise Ale (1684) 1. 107; n.Yks.124 ne.Yks 1 Sha's
gethenn wickens. m.Yks.i w.Yks. ^w«a cto/or, L., Lees i^/ora
(1888) 483. War. In allusion to the great vitality of its creeping
underground stems (B. & H.).
Hence Wickin-rake, sb. an iron rake for clearing out
couch-grass and other weeds. Lakel.^ 4 A hedge-
thorn, esp. the hawthorn, Crataegus Oxyacantha. n.Yks.^
5 A fine prick or thorn, as the spike of a thistle, &c.,
which enters the skin and presses into the flesh. Nhb.i
Z\ { ° ^""a^'cate couch-grass and other weeds.
n.Yks. One of the processes in early summer agriculture, in
cleaning and preparing the land for fallow crops. ' T' lass 's awa'
QUICKEN
[68i]
QUIETEN
wickenin' i' t'far Wandales field '; n.Yks,'^ They're out wickening ;
n.Yks.4
QUICKEN, v? n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Also in
forms whicken Lakel.^'^ Cum.^* Wm. e.Yks.i w.Yks.';
wicken n.Yks.^^ m.Yks.^ w.Yks.^ ne.Lan.i e.Lan.'
[kwi'kan ; wi'kan.] 1. To put life into ; to revive as
from a state of insensibility.
n.yks.12 e.Yks.i Made use of in reference to the lengthening
of days and the revival of vegetation in spring. ' Ah saw a
primrooas as Ah com on rooad ; things is beginnin ti' whicken.'
m.Yks.^ w.Yks. If owld Oswald 'ad nobbut been oop to't, 'e'd 'a'
wickened 'em (F.P.T.). ne.Lan.i
Hence (i) to wicken on it, phr. to grow better of an
illness. n.Yks.'' ; (2) Wickened, ppl. adj., (3) wickened up,
phr. enlivened in every sense, ib. 2. Of a cow : to
show symptoms of being with calf. w.Yks.^ 3. To
stimulate ; to urge to greater speed or exertion.
n.Yks.*'*, m.Yks.' w.Yks.^ I'll wicken thuh up if ah come to thuh.
4. To ferment as ale. e.Lan.^ Hence (i) Quickening,
(2) Quickening-dish, sb., (3) quickening of yeast, phr. a
small quantity of yeast or balm sufficient for one brewing
or baking.
(i) Lakel.^ Cum.^; Cum.* A small portion of yeast kept from
the last quantity made, added to the freshly made barm in order
to start the proper fermentation. This refers to home-made bread.
Wm. My mudder lent her a whicknin, an we wor bawn at brew,
soa I went for it, Wheeler Dial. (1790) 65. w.Yks.^, ne.Lan.'
(2) n.Cy. (K.) (3) Lakel. Can ye let me hev a whickenin o' yast.
Ah want ta beeak some broon breed 1 (B.K.)
QUICKER, sb. I.W. w.Cy. [kwi-ka(r).] A quick-set
hedge. I.W. (C.J.V.), w.Cy. (Hall.) See Quick, sb. 16.
QUICKISH, adj. and adv. Yks. Wor. Dor. Also in
form wickish n.Yks.'' [kwi-kij, wi-kij.] 1. adj. Quick.
Dor. Be quickish down-stairs, mind 'ee, Agnus Jan Oxbcr
(1900) 194.
2. Somewhat spirited. n.Yks.'^ 3. adv. Quickly.
•w.Wor. That fetched him quickish, like a billy-biter or a
nightingale, Berrow' s Jrn. (Mar. 10, 1888).
QUICK ONE DICK, phr. Oxf. .The quail, Coturnix
communis ; so named from its call-note. Swainson
Birds (1885) 173.
QUICKSAND, sb. Nhb. Dur. Sand so mixed with
water as to render it fluid. Nicholson Coal Tr. Gl. (1888).
QUID, sb. and v.'^ Sc. Lin. Wor. Shr. Glo. Brks. Ken.
Sur. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Also in form
queed Wil.^ w.Som.i [kwid, kwld.] 1. sb. The cud.
See Cud, sb.^, Keed.
Abd. The nowt their quids are chawin In yon verdant gowany
park, Ogg Willie Waly (1873) 56. Shr.» Glo. Lysons Vulgar
Tongue (1868) 47 ; Glo.i Ken. N. & Q. (1877) 5th S. viii. 15 ;
Ken.i The old cow's been hem ornary, but she's up again now and
chewing her quid ; Ken.2, Sur.i, Sus.', Hmp. (H.E.), Wil.i Dor.
Haynes Voc. (c. 1730) in TV. & Q. (1883) 6th S. vin. 43. Som.
(W.F.R.) w.Som.i Nif her do chow her queed comfortable like,
you" no 'casion to zend for me no more. Dev. Th' pankin bullick's
now ... At eyze the'r quid ta chow, Pulman Sketches (1842) 16,
ed 1853 ; Dev.3 Cows chow the quid all day long.
2. Camp, (i) Quid-chaw, to chew the cud ; (2) :Worm, a
ccntiDcdc
(i) Hmp. T'coos quid-chawin', he be (W.M.E.F.). (2) So called
because when cows cannot, through illness, &c., ' chew the quid,
a centipede put down their throat is supposed to cure them {tb.)
3. The pellets of half-digested food cast up by owls. Cf.
cud, s6.i 2.
Shr I Them owls . . . they sin a mouze ... an chawen im . . .
till theer inna nuthin' left on 'im, an' then they droppen the quid.
4. V. To chew the cud. ,
s Wor (H K.) Sur.i The heifer's getting better, she s quiddmg
all right.' w.Som.^ Let me know the minute her do queedy ; her
on't be lio better gin her queedus. , •. r j • i
Hence Quidder, sb. a horse that works its food into
lumps and then casts it out again. Lin. Ltn. N.&- Q. (July
1800) 5. To suck ; to ' mumble,' esp. of young animals.
Brks.l, Hmp.i, I.W.^^ Wil. Britton Beauties (1825) ! W"-'^
ri OE cw^z^, «e/z'rfj/,«f«<rf«, what IS chewed, cud (bwEET). J
QUID v^ e.Lan.i [kwid.] To work as a woodwright
in a small way. Hence Quidder, sb. a woodwright in a
small way of business.
vol. IV.
QUIDDIE, see Queed.
QUIDDLE, sb.^ Ess. [kwi-dl.] A pimple, (M.R.)
Cf twiddle, widdle.
QUIDDLE, v}znA sb."^ Wor. Glo. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil.
Dor. Cor. and Amer. [kwi'dl.] 1. v. To make a fuss
about trifles ; to fuss, fiddle about ; to fret. Cf. twiddle,
widdle.
s.Wor. They others keeps a quiddling at it ( H.K.). Glo.^ Sus.
Aquiddles over his cloase, Grey iJ/As/oKfPj^i/iiVis^iSgS) 40. Hmp.',
sw.Hmp. (W.W.S.) I.W. (J.D.R.) ; I.W.^ He ben quiddlen about,
doen nothen, all day. Wil. Slow Gl. (1892) ; Wil.' ^
Hence Quiddling, sb. a semi-imbecile, stupid manner.
Cor.2 2. sb. A fussy, over-particular person.
Wil.' s.Wil. She's quite a quiddle about the house (E.H.G.).
s.Dor. (C.W.) [Amer. The Englishman is ... a quiddle about his
toast and his chop, Emerson Eng. Traits (1856) vi.]
3. Phr. to be in a quiddle, to be in a quandary. Dor.
N. Or' Q. (1883) 6th S. viii. 45. 4. pi. Whims, foolish
fancies,
Cor.2 w.Cor. She's as full of quiddles as an egg is full of meat,
Cor. Telegraph (Apr. 1891).
QUIDDLE, »." Lei. Nhp. War. Wor. Oxf [kwi-dl.]
To suck as a child does its thumb ; to chew. Lei.', Nhp.',
War.3, se.Wor.', s.Wor. (H.K.), Oxf MS. add. Cf.
quid, V.' 5.
QUIDDLE, v.^ Hmp. [Not known to our other corre-
spondents.] [kwi'dl.] To squeeze with the fingers.
(H.C.M.B.)
QUIDDLY, see Queedle.
QUIDDY,//2r, Sus. [kwidi.] What do you say ?
Quiddy? I doantloike deluk ov dese pills, Mus Ladds, Jackson
Southward Ho {i6g^) I. 200; Sus.' Quiddy? I didn't hear what
you said.
[Fr. que dis tu ? what do you say ?]
QUIDDY, QUIDE, see Queedy, Queed.
QUIE, QUIEECE, see Quey, si.'^ Quist, sb.
QUIEL-LAAUNE, sb. Obs. Wxf ' A smart, lively
fellow.
QUIER, QUIERTY, QUIES, see Queer, sb.\ Qtierty,
Quiz.
QUIET, adj and v. Sc. Irel. Lan. Wor. Hrf Nrf w.Cy.
Wil. Som. Also in forms quait Sc. (Jam.) ; quate Sc.
(Jam.) Dwn._ se.Wor.' ; quite e.Lan.' ; whiet Sh.I.
[kwai'st, kwet.] 1. adj. ; also used advbl. In comb, (i)
Quiet-like, quiet-looking ; (2) —neighbours, the red-spur
valerian, Centranthus ruber; (3) -tongued, not talkative.
(i) Dwn. There wuz a gie hearty lauch at yin saft quate-like
man, Lyttle Ballycuddy (1892I 35. (2) Wil.' (3) Lnk. Douce-
gaun, quate-tongued, canny-minded Wattie Wabster, Murdoch
Readings (1895) I. 96.
2. Phr. (i) quiet as the ground, very quiet ; (2) to be quiet
out, to be still or silent.
(i) Nrf.Iexpect your folk are dranting folk— quiet as the ground,
Emerson Marsh Leaves (1898) 140. (2) se.Wor.'
3. Gentle, civil, not given to strong language.
ne.Lan.' Hrf." A very quiet body. w.Cy. (Hall.) w.Som.' I
never didn year nothin' by un, he was always a quiet, good sort
of a man.
4. Sheepish. e.Lan.' 5. Secret, private.
Sh.I. Willie ... an' Bawby wis at a whiet cooncil, Sh. Neu-s
(Nov. 17, 1900).
e. V. To silence, lull. w.Sc. (Jam.)
QUIETEN, V. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Yks. L_an, Lin. Also in
form quaten Sc. In [kwai'stsn, kwetan.] To quiet,
pacify ; to allay.
Frf. Gang to the stairheid to quieten the dog, Willock Rosetty
Ends (i886) 135, ed. 1889. Lnk, I'm sair fasht wi' the watter-
brash mysel'. . . an' there's naething quatens 't like a wee hue o'
speerits, Murdoch Readings (ed. 1895) HI. 11. Lth. The easiest
method to quaten them a' thegither wad be to gie them the haill
o't, Lumsden Sheep-head (1892) 241. Ir. It wuz a guid while afore
they got quatened doon, 'LynvE. Paddy McQuillan , 107. Nhb. I'm
quieten'd doon a bit syne last ye were here, Pease Math o' Dcil
(1894) 71. w.Yks. That'll quieten 'em, Hartley ClockAlm.{i88g)
41 ; w.Yks.' Gang an quieten them noisy barns. ne.Lan.' n.Lin.
Aamos wants to quieten things doon, Peacock Tales (1890) 2nd
S. 17 ; n.Lin.'
Hence Quietened, ppl. adj. pacified, allaj'cd. n.Yks.*
4S
QUIETLY
[682]
QUILLET
[kwai'etli.] Gradually.
Dev. Quiet, peaceable,
QUIETLY, adv. Hrf.'
It mends very quietly.
QUIETSOME, adj. Yks.
tranquil, retired, silent.
n.Yks.2 e.Yks.^ It's a nice quietsome bayne. Aquietsome neet.
He's a quietsome chap, MS. add. (T.H.) Dev. 'Tis so warm an'
snug an' quietsome 'ere. Ford Postle Fartn (1899) 37.
QUIFF, sb.'' and w.i Lakel. Chs. Sus. Wil. Som. [kwif.]
1. sb. A dodge, trick, 'wrinkle'; a knack; a verbal catch.
Cf. quaft.
Lakel.2 Ah 11 put thi up tull a quiff er tweea aboot neet lines if
tlioo'll gah wi' me some neet. Chs. I'll teach thee a 'quiff,' Chs.
N.&Q.{iS,S,i)l.'iT, Chs.iJheer'saquiffinit. s.Chs.i Dhi tau-k
saayndz reyt iinuf- ; bu dhur)z u kwif' in it. Sus. They ain't got
the quiff with the 'orses (A.F.N.). Wil.iTher's a quiff about thuck
old gate-latch.
2. V. To contrive to cut out a garment from a barely
sufficient length of stuff.
Som. ' I doubt if I can cut a pair of trousers here.' ' Well, you
must quiff it somehow' (W.F.R.).
QUIFF, sb.^ and z'.= Yks. Lin. Also in form quift
w.Yks. 1. sb. A puff, an exhalation ; a breath ; a dial,
form of 'whiff.' __^
n.Yks.^ I gat a quiff on't. w.Yks. Hah nivver heeard a quift
on't, Pmv. in Brigliousc News (Sept. 14, 1889). Lin.i Should you
like a quiff ?
2. V. To puff; to smoke. n.Yks.''
QUIFT, V. Lan. Chs. [kwift.] To quaff, tipple.
Lan. Come an' quift an odd tot, Waugh Snowed Up, i ; Lan.i
Hence Quifting-pot, sb. a measure or pot containing
half a gill.
Lan. Here, Betty, bring us a quart an' a quiftin-pot, 'Waugh
Chim. Comer (1874) 150, ed. 1879 > Theer's two tumblers, three
quiftin pots, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1740) 26 ; Lan.', Chs.^^
QUIFT, see Quiflf, sb.^
QUIG, s6.> Chs. Not. [kwig.] A dial, form of ' twig.'
Chs.i s.Not. Them rasberries wos on'y little bits o' quigs when
a set 'em (J.P.K.).
QUIG, sb.^ Obs. Nhb.i Also in form quick. A
Nonconformist ; a dial, form of ' Whig ' (q.v.).
' Henry Hutson buiried in the Quick's buring plas in Sidgatt,
22nd Jan., 1704.' ' 1708. Quigs buring plas,' Arch. Aeliana, XIII.
240-1.
QUIGGER, sb. Lei.^ [kwi-g3(r).] In phr. as near as
a quigger, as near as may be.
' How fur is't to Peckleton ? ' ' It's foive moile, as near as a
quigger.'
QUIGNOGS, sb. pi. Cor. [kwi'gnogz.] Ridiculous
notions or conceits.
I reckon 'twas all quiqnogs, but et did luk plaguey like th' evil
^y^i ' Q-' Troy Toivn (1888) xi ; Cor.i Get out with your quignogs.
You're full of quignogs ; Cor."
QUILE, sb. Sc. Also written quyle Bnff.' Abd. A
piece of coal, esp. a burning one ; ? a dial, form of 'coal.'
Bnff.i Abd. Quyle is always of glowing coals of fire (whether
peat or wood, &c.), while coal unignited or only blazing is c5l.
' Gee's a quyle tae licht ma fire ' (W.M.). nw.Abd. Ryaak forrat
noo yer firey quiles, Goodwife (1867) st. 39.
QUILE, see Coil, sb?-, Quail, v}, Queel, v}, Quoil.
QUILERS, QUILKEY, see Collars, Quilkin.
QUILKIN, 56. Dev. Cor. Also written quilking Cor.;
and in forms quilkey, quilkquin Cor.'^ ; quilquin Cor. ;
Wilkin Cor.2; wilky Cor.'^ [kwi'lkin.] A frog; occas.
a toad.
Dev. CW.L.-P.) Cor. O'DoNOGHnE St. Knighton (1864) Gl. ;
[Roads] fifty at times but for quilkins and toads, J. Trenoodle
Spec. Dial. (1846) 16 ; (F.M.) Cor.i As cold as a quilkin ; Cor.2
e.Cor. Science Gossip (1866).
[OCor. cwilcen, a frog (Williams).]
QUILL, sb.^ and v} Sc. and Amer. [kwil.] 1. sb. In
phr. to wet one's quill, to take some drink.
Dmb. Jamie was sure to fill the gill, If bid sit down to weet his
quill, Was glad indeed, Taylor Poems (1827) 17.
3. V. To write.
Lnk. This screed whilk he's juist new dune quillin', Coghill
Poems (1890) 67. [Amer. Carruth Kansas Univ. Quar. (Oct.
1892) I.]
QUILL, sb.^ and v.'^ Irel. Chs. Glo. s.Cy. Som. Dev.
Also written quil Uls. [kwil.] 1. sb. A spool on which
weft is wound for placing in the shuttle.
Uis. Uls. Jrn.Arc/i. {1853-62). Chs.', s.Cy. (K.) w.Som.i This
quill used formerly to be made of either a piece of elder, a kex, or
a piece of pole-reed. ' Mai! what's make the quills so big vor?
Can't get 'em in.' Dev. ' I will,' said the weaver, ' as soon as I
have worked out my quill,' Whitcomee Bygone Days (1874) 103.
2. Conip. (i) Quill-boy, a boy who winds the yarn on
spools for the weaver ; also used as a term of reproach
for a person incapable of much work; (2) -turn, the hand-
wheel and spindle upon which the bobbin is wound.
(i) Uls. Uls. Jrn. Arch. (1853-62) 'V. 108. (2) ■w.Som.'-
3. V. To wind a skein of yarn on to the bobbin or spool.
Glo.i w.Som.i I minds the baby an' I do quilly vor mother when
her've a-got any work. m.Dev. Yes, she is quilling off that yarn,
Reports Provinc. (1882).
[1. Qvylle, stalke, calamus [Prompt.)^
QUILL, sb.^ and v.^ Obs. Sc. Dev. 1. sb. The faucet
or bung of a cask. Dev. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 349.
2. Conip. Quill-fatt, a vat having a bung.
Bwk. A wort stand, a quill £att, one 8 gallon barrall, Edb. Antiq.
Mag. (1848) 64.
3. Phr. (i) a brother of the quill, a fellow tapster. Dev.
Horae Subsecivae (1777) 349 ; (2) to make the quill run. ib. ;
(3) — open the quill, to tap the liquor, ib. 4. v. To tap
liquor ; to ply parliamentary electors with drink.
Dev. Horae Subsecivae, ib. ; James BuUer, Esq., of Downs, was
invited ... to come forward as a candidate to oppose the sitting
members; . . the pernicious practice of Quilling then commenced,
and was continued, with very few intervals, until the month of June
following, attended with an enormous expence to the candidates,
and more injury than benefit to the electors, Jenkins Hist. Exeter
(1806) 221.
QUILL, sb.'^ and v." Sur. Sus. Hmp. Also in form
quell Sur. [kwil, kwel.] 1. sb. A spring of water.
Sus.i Hence Qtielly, adj. wet, full of springs.
Sur. The ground is so quelly, Trans. Pliil. Soc. (1854) 83.
2. V. To bubble up as a fountain or spring ; gen. with
up. Sur. Trans. Phil. Soc. (1854) 84. Hmp.^
QUILL, sb.^ Wil.^ The humour, mood, or vein for
anything.
I can work as well as or \_sic] a man, when I be in the quill for't.
QUILLAWAY, see Quailaway.
QUILLED, arf/ Ken. [kwild.] Of the flesh : roughened
by cold ; having 'goose-flesh.' (F.R.C.)
QUILLET, sb. n.Cy. Chs. n.Wal. Agl. Won Shr. Gmg.
Som. Dev. Cor. Also written quillett Cor.; and in forms
guillet Som. ; quellat Cor. [kwi'lit.] 1. A narrow strip
of land ; a small croft ; see below.
N.Cy.2 A furrow. Chs. A strip of land (originally a furlong in
length, i. e. the length of a standard furrow) marked off from
similar strips lying in the same field by mere-stones or a narrow
strip of unploughed land. It was usually employed in dividing up
a tract of reclaimed or enclosed land among the freeholders of
a manor— each freeholder getting one or more strips. . . Land . . .
lying to the east of Great Meols station-bridge ... is still called'
' quilletts,' Nature Notes (Nov. 1894) V. 217 ; A long narrow strip
of land, of which there may be many in one large field, and the
width of one, or at most two furrows. Such land has usually at
some remote time been common land, apportioned out to individual
cottagers of the adjoining township or village, Sheaf {1880) II. 109;
Chs.i A small plot of land lying within the property of another
proprietor, and not separated therefrom by any fence. Of course
the owner of the quillet has a right of road lo his property. There
IS a piece of land called 'The Quillet' which formerly belonged
to the Marquis of Cholmondeley, but was surrounded by other land
belonging to Sir Richard Brooke. ' Lot 6. Nine pieces of land,
being Quillets in Big Maes Ewlin'; Chs.s n.Wal. Very small, and
seldom exceed half or three quarters of an acre in extent. . . They
are situated in fields ... but are not the property of the owners
°1 fi M 4i •■• ^^"' *'°'' t^^'" '= "="«"y P^>d by the owners of
tne nelds. Iheir owners can fence them round, N. & Q. (1884)
otn b. x 228. Agl. Arising from the tenure of gavelkind formerly
nlnrh' f ■■"' ^•i'^ ^- (^'^3^ ** S- ^"' 348. s.Wor. The common
plough ot our village communities which ploughed the quillets and
quarter-acre lots in blocks of ten, in the various clearings and
enclosures of the parish (H.K.). Shr. In an advertisement in the
QUILLY
[683 J
OUINE
Oswesiry Adverliser, May 13, 1885, of a quillet or piece of arable
land' for sale, it is represented as containing 2,420 square yards,
or thereabouts, A^. £- Q. (1885) 6th S. xii. 14. Som. A corner or nook
of land ; a piece of waste ground (W.W.S.). Dev. N. &= Q. (1873)
4th S. xii. 348. nw.Dev.i A small plot of land, generally a coppice.
In a lease, 1702, occurs the phrase : ' A platt or quillet of ground.'
In this case the plot referred to was used as a garden. The word
IS still used as the name of a field. Cor. When they came to an
old gurgie that once enclosed a fold. On one side there was
a bowjey . . . and a few quillets [have been] enclosed near this
spot, BoTTRELL Trad. 3rd S. 33 ; I had a little, small quellat, an
twaddenmuchmorethanagarne,THOMAsi?ffKd'!^fl//?4y»!C5(i895)5
Hence Quillet-stones, sb. pi. boundary stones to mark
where one man's quillet ends and another begins. Chs.^^
2. A small packet done up in a paper cornet. Cor.
(F.R.C.) 3. A small iron wedge with which the handles
of pickaxes, mattocks, and other tools are fixed. Gmg.
N. Or' Q. (1874) 5th S. i. 97. 4. The white clover, Tri-
foliutn repens. Cor.^°
QUILLY, sb} Sus.' [kwi'li.] A roughness of the
skin caused by cold ; 'goose-flesh.'
QUILLY, s6.2 Ken.^ [kwili.] A prank, freak ; a caper.
QUILLY, see Quail, v>
QUILP, V. Wil. To swallow. n.Wil. (G.E.D.) See
Quilt, W.2
QUILQUIN, QUILSTERING, see Quiikin, Queltring.
QUILT, sb> Hmp. [kwilt.] A pimple ; a boil, small
blister. (J.R.W.), Hmp.'
QUILT, v} In gen. dial, use in Eng. and Amer. Also
in form quelt Sur. [kwilt.] To beat: to thrash soundly.
Cf. twilt, welt.
n.Cy. (J.W.), Cum.i" Yks. I'll quilt thy jacket for thee (G.G.)-
e.Yks.i,w.Yks.2, ne.Lan.i Chs.12 ; Chs.si'Il quilt his hide, ifl catch
him. s.Chs.i, Der.=, nw.Der.i, Not.' ^, n.Lin.l Lei.^ Ah mane to quilt
'im. Nhp.i You'll get your jacket quilted, young man. War.
B'ham XVkly.Post (June 10, 1893); War.l^a, -w.Wor.i, se.Wor.l,
s.Wor.i, Shr.2 Glo. Baylis ///ks. Dial. (1870). Brks.i, Hrt.
(G.H.G.) Ken. ' What'U j'e do when ye gits home?' 'Git
quilted,' was the stoic reply. Son of Marshes Ann. Fishing Vill.
(ed. 1892) 16. Sur. Leave off quiltin' me. Forest Tithes (1893)
160. s.Sur. Quelted him down (T.T.C.). Sus.2 Hmp.i To beat
with twigs. 'I'll quilt thee jacket to 'ee,' I.W.i I'll quilt thee
purty tightish vor that; I.W.2 w.Som.i Thick there dog bin
a-quilted awful, else he widn be so shy. nw.Dev.^ [Amer. One
night he got drunk and quilted me, I couldn't walk for a week,
Sam Slick Clockmaker (1836) ist S. xyii.]
Hence Quilting, sb. a beating ; a punishment ; a blow
with a stick.
Chs.»,s.Chs.l,F:t. (T.K.J.),Not.i,n.Lin.l,Lei.l,War.23,w.Wor.',
se. Wor.i, Brks.' Ken. My sakes ! Reedbird, wunt ye git a quiltin'
this time. Son of Marshes .<4««. Fishing Vill. (ed. 1892) 16. Sur.
Dad sez ef one on us meddles with they, he'll give us a quiltin' as
uU last us a week, ib. On Sur. Hills (1891) 61. Hmp.i (s.v. Poult).
I.W.2 I'll gee that bwoy a middlen quilten when I comes across
'en, for pinnen my plums. w.Som.^ Nif he did-n gie un a quiltin' !
I warn the burches o' un '11 be zore vur the next vortnight.
n-w.Dev.i Cor.i I'll give 'ee sich a quilting as you never had in
your life ; Cor.2 [Amer. He helped me once to ginn a blue-nose
a proper handsum quiltin, Sam Slick C/o(ri;«afer (1836) ist S. xix.]
QUILT, v.^ and sb.'^ Won Glo. Oxf Brks. Mid. Hmp.
Wil. Dev. [kwilt.] 1. v. To swallow, esp. to swallow
a large amount at one gulp ; to catch the breath in
swallowing ; occas. with down ; also used^^-.
s.Wor. (H.K.) Glo. He couldn't quilt it, Buckman Darke's
Sojourn (1890) xviii ; Dobbin being a bit short of wind, and quilting
sadly, stuck fast in the mire, Gibbs Cotswold Vill. (1898) 261 ; If
any one tells a 'stretcher' the reply is that it's a bit too much to
quilt, or that a man can't quite quilt that (S.S.B.); GI0.12 Oxf.
(L.J.Y.). Oxf.i MS. add. Brks. Used generally of a sickly baby,
too weak to suck properly. ' A doant quilt as a should ' (M.J.B. ) ;
Brks.^ To swallow a lump of something with very palpable
distension of the throat. w.Mid. (W.P.M.) Hmp. If you hold
his head so tight he won't be able to. quilt it. I know he quilted
then (W.H.E.) ; Hmp.i w.Cy. (Hall.) ; BRiTT0N£raMfes(i825).
Wil.i 'The baby wur that bad, it couldn't quilt nothen.' This is
used of swallowing in the natural way, while 'glutch ' is to swallow
with difficulty. n.Wil. My drawt's that bad as I caan't quilt nothin
(E.H.G.). Dev. I be troubled wi'such a hose in my throat, Tom,
that I can scarce quilty, Eng. Illus. Mag. (June 1896) 256.
Hence Quilter, sb. the swallow of the throat.
Hmp. I could fee! his quilter move (W.H.E.X
_ 2. To kiss. Brks. (E.G.H.) 3. sb. The act of swallow-
ing; the swallowing power; the amount swallowed at one
movement of the throat ; a small drink.
Glo. (S.S.B.) Hmp. I think he had a quilt then (W.H.E.).
Wil. I lost my quilt (G.A.W.) ; Wil.' Have a quilt on't ?
QUILT, ■z;.== I.W.'2 [kwilt] To cover a ball with twine.
QUILT, w.* s.Cy. Sus. Hmp. [kwilt.] 1. To claw
and pound with the claws as a cat upon a carpet. Sus.*
Hmp. HoLLowAY. 2. To be very fidgety. s.Cy. (Hall.)
QUILT, v.^ Glo.' [kwilt.] To miss or slip, applied
to shears sHpping over or missing the wool in shearing.
QUILT, adj. I.W. [kwilt.] Fatigued ; unfit for work.
(Hall.), I.W.'
QUILTER, sb.'^ and v. Cor. [kwi-lt3(r).] 1. sb. A
flutter, fluster; agitation of mind.
'Pon sudd'nt there's a reglar quilter mongst em, T. Towser
(1873) 145 ; Cor.2 She was all in a quilter.
2. V. To flutter. Cor.'
QUILTER, s6.= War. Wor. Oxf [kwi-lt9(r).] Any-
thing or anybody very large ; a ' whopper.'
War.^' That's a quilter,' as applied to an unusually large apple,
or a bouncing statement. 'She's a quilter.' s.Wor.' 'Ere's a
quilter of a cowcumber! Owner, 'as you seen Quilter White to-
dah3' ? Oxf.' Applied to a very large fish.
QUILTING, vbl. sb. Obs. or obsol. Nhb. Yks. In
comb, (i) Quilting feast, (2) — party, a gathering of people
to make a bed-quilt ; see below.
(i) w.Yks.^ When a woman had patched a bed-quilt, she invited
her neighbours to help to quilt it, for which purpose it was stretched
with its lining on a long frame and sewn across. Sometimes they
drew figures with saucers, oyster-shells, &c. In later times tea
and cake were given ; formerly a cold posset consisting of new
milk, sugar, currants, and rum (or beer). When they could get
it, the milk was taken warm from the cow, and milked fast into the
' piggin,' so as to froth it. (2) Nhb. The merry-night, the quilting
party, and other social gatherings for help and good cheer, have
long been falling into desuetude, Longman's Mag. (Feb. 1897) 330.
QUIM, see Queem.
QUIMBLE,!/. Lan. [kwi'niL] In phr. to qitimb/e and
quamble, to fondle, caress, to say nice things.
(S.W.) ; They'd quimble an' quamble when theaw're cooartin'
'em, tilltheaw'd welly think ut they'd wings, Brierley Treadlepin
Fold, V.
QUIN, QUINANT, see Queen, sb.^, Quinet.
QUINCEY,56. Rut.' Dev.* Also written quince Rut'
[kwi'nsi.] The quince, Pyrtis Cydonia.
QUINCH, sb. Dev.* [kwinj.] A kind of apple ; a
corruption of 'quince.'
QUINCH, z;. Obs. Suf.' A dial, form of 'wince.'
QUINCH, QUINCK, see Quench, Quink.
QUINE, 5^-.' and v.'^ Nhp. War. Won Shn Brks. Don
Som. Also written qwine War. se.Won' Som. ; and in
form quoin Wor. [kwain.] 1. sb. A corner ; in
masonry : the exterior or interior angle of a wall ; the
same word as Coin, sb}
War. (J.R.W.), Shr.2, Dor.'- Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl.
(1885). e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). w.Som.i Father zend me
vur to ax whe'er must car up thick quine square or round. Take
care 0' thick young 'oss gwain round the quine.
Hence (i) Quiner. Brks. (C.W.) ; (2) Quine-stone, sb.
a corner-stone in a building. Nhp.' 2. v. To line a
well with stones or bricks. se.Won' Hence Quoined,
ppl. adj. of a well': fined with brick or stone.
Wor. A rough quoined well, Allies Antiq. Flk-Lore (1840) 75,
ed. 1852.
QUINE, sb.^ and v."^ Chs. Wor. Glo. Ess. I.W. Wil.
Som. Also written qwine se.Won' ; and in forms queen.
Chs.' ; quoin Ess.' Som. [kwain.] 1. sb. A dial, form
of ' coin ' ; money.
se.Wor.' Glo. Thaay gits the quine, Buckman Darke's Sojourn
(1890) XV. Ess.', I.W.l Wil. Slow Gl. (iSgaV Som. And now
to Betty Ben must shaw the quine, Agrikler Rhymes (1872) 52.
2. V. To coin.
Chs.' He's queenin money, Som. Jennings Obs. Dial. tv.Eng.
(1825).
432
QUINE
[684]
OUIRK
QUINE, see Quean.
QUINET, sb. Hrf. Glo. Hmp. Wil. Som. Also written
quinnet Hmp.^ Wil.' Som. ; quinnett Hrf.^ ; and in form
quinant Glo. [kwinit.] 1. A wedge, esp. the wedge
which keeps the ring of the scythe ' nibs' in place ; also a
wedge used in quarrying. Cf coin, sb.^
Hrf.2 Glo. Gl. (i8sO ; (W.S.H.) ; Glo.i, Wil.l, Som. (W.F.R.)
2. The iron ring which attaches the head of the scythe-
blade to the pole. Hmp.\ Wil.' (s.v. Scythe).]
[1. Fr. coignet, a little wedge (Cotgr.).]
QUININ(G, see Queening.
QUINING, sb. Won Hrf. Also written qwining
se.Wor.' [kwai'nin.] 1. The foundation of a wall. See
Quine, sb}
w.Wor.i s.Wor. PoRSON Quaint Wds. (1875) 16. Hrf.2
2. The stone or brick lining of a well. se.Wor.'
QUINK,s6. Or.I. Also written quinck (Jam.), [kwiqk.]
The golden-eyed duck, Clangula glaucion. S. & Ork.'
QUINKINS, sb. pi. Rnf. (Jam.) The scum or refuse
of any liquid ; dXsofig. nothing at all.
QUINNY, adv. Ess. Quite, just yet ; gen. used neg.
' Naa, naa," says I, ' nut quinny,' Clark J. Noakes (1839) st.
13; Trans. Arch. Soc. (1863) II. 186; Gl. (1851) ; Ess.l
QUINTAL, sb. Obs. Lei. A heavy weight ; in phr.
throwing the quintal, a wedding custom ; see below.
Sometimes the bride-cake was tried for by persons on foot,
and then it was called 'throwing the quintal,' which was performed
with heavy bars of iron ; thus affording a trial of muscular strength
as well as of gallantry, Macaulay Hist. Claybrook (1791) 130.
[Fr. quintal, a quintal, or hundredweight (Cotgr.).]
QUINTED, adj. Cor.'s [kwi-ntid.] Of animals :
over-filled, stuffed to repletion.
QUINTER, see Twinter.
QUINTRY, sb. Sc. Also in forms queentra, quintra
Abd. A dial, form of ' country ' ; also used attrib.
n.Sc. (Jam.) Bch. Some frae the North, some frae the South,
An' some o' our ain quintry growth, Forbes Shop Bill (1785) 11.
Abd. Gang unto the kirk wi' him, An' see his queentra queans,
Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 94 ; Baith i' the quintra an' the toun.
My Nannie bears the gree awa', Walker Bards Bon-Accord
(1887) 607.
QUINZIE, sb. ?Obs. Sc. Also in forms quenyie,
quynie, quynyie (Jam.). A corner. See Quine, sb.^
Sc. (Jam.) Bch. A whittle that lies i' the quinzie o' the maun
oner the death, Forbes Jrn. (1742) 13. Abd. (Jam.)
QUIONS, see Quern, s6.'
QUIP, sb. Cor. [kwip.] In phr. quips and quirks,
tricks, sharp practices.
F'rall I've b'en with ' The Maister ' so often, an' have seed a
good many of his quips and quirks, and helped in them too, Forfar
Wizard (1871) 102.
QUIP, V. m.Yks.' [kwip.] A shortened form of
' equip ' ; to make ready. ' Now, then, I am quipped and ready.'
QUIRANCE, sb. Obs. Hrf' In phr. to lay quirance,
to inquire. See Quire.
QUIRATION, s6. Hrf. [kwairejan.] In^hr.tomake
quiration, to inquire. (W.W.S.) See Quire.
QUIRE, V. Shr. Hrf. Glo. Ess. Dev. Also in forms
quare Dev. ; queer Hrf. ; quere Shr. [kwis(r), kwe3(r).]
To inquire.
Shr. If my playfellows come to quere for me tell them I am
asleep, N. & Q. (1854) ist S. ix. 320. Hrf. (W.W.S.), Glo.'
Ess. Had yow 'quired his charriter . . . From those who know'd
him, yow'd bin toad 'Twas altogither gud, Clark/. Noakes (1839)
St. 22 ; Ess.i Dev. You bid me go . . . and quare Vor Mister Pitt
— 20 I went there And nack'd, Peter Pindar Wks. (1816) IV. 211.
[A shortened form of ME. enquere (Chaucer). OFr.
enquerre (Burguy), to inquire.]
QUIRK, s6.' and v.'' Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin.
Nhp. Won Shr. Oxf. Som. Dev. Cor. Also written querk
n.Cy. w.Yks.' Lan.' ne.Lan.' Chs.' Shr.^; quejke Chs.^^;
qwerk Som. ; qwirk se.Wor.' [kwsrk, kwak.] 1. sb.
Anything out of the square ; a twist, bend, circle. w.Yks.'',
Chs. 1=^3 2. The end of a pig's tail.
w.Yks. '^ Esquire at the end of a man's name is like the quirk of
a pig's tail, more for ornament than use. Som. Sweetman IVin-
canton Gl. (1885).
3. The clock of a stocking.
Chs.i, s.Chs.' Shr.i I al'ays think w'en I'm knittin' a stockin' as
the waidiest part 's o'er w'en I get to the quirk, an' w'en the 'eel's
bond down, it's aumust as good as done; Shr.^ e.Sora. W. & J.
Gl (1873). w.Som.', Dev. (Hall.)
4. A small piece of leather sewn into the finger or
thumb of a glove at the part where it joins the palm.
se.Wor.', s.Wor. (H.K.), Oxf.' 5. A moulding in
joinery ; an inner angle in a moulding. n.Cy. (Hall.),
w.Yks.'^, Lan.', ne.Lan.' 6. A groove. w.Som.' 7. A
contrivance, dodge, trick ; a quibble, catch ; a question
asked in order to elicit information.
Sc. Countenancing by sentences and quirks and cunning terms
of law, the late begun courses, Scott Midlothian (1818) xii. Abd.
The quirks o' the law, Alexander yo^MMji Gibb (1871) xlix. Frf.
' There is a quirk in this,' he said, . . ' that I don't like,' Barrie
Minister {i&gi) xiii. w.Sc. For every little quirk he had at will To
bilk his shopmates o'er the social gill, Carrick Laird of Logan
(1835) 193. Ayr. Ye'll catechize him every quirk, Burns G. Hamil-
ton (1786) St. 2. Edb. Drainin' Wi' mony a quirk To clear his bogs
o' weitie rainin', Learmont Poems (1791) 42. n.Yks.* Lan. Let
me ax yo un odd bit un o' querk, Paul Bobbin Sequel (1819) 24 ;
So he's to invent bits o' quirks (J.T.C.). Chs.' Aw's no'
straight theere ; there's a querk somewheer. He wer axin him
a quesht'n wi' a bit of a querk in it. n.Lin.', s.Wor. (H.K.) Cor.
I've seed a good many of his quips and quirks, Forfar Wizard
(1871) 102.
Hence (i) Quirksome, adj. subtle ; (2) Quirky, adj. (a)
intricate, tricky ; (b) playful,witty, merry, good-humoured.
(i) Gall. For all his quirksome guile, Crockett Grey Man (1896)
xlvi. (2, a) Sc, Slee, snackie, and wilie, and quirkie, Jamieson
Pop. Ballads (1806) I. 297. Abd. Plain paraphrase, or quirky
hymn. Come a' the same to Peter, Murray Hamewith (1900) 16.
Ayr. "The crooked counsels o' yon quirky bodie, Galt Entail (1823)
lii. Edb. They're dev'lish quirky cunnin' billies, Liddle Poems
(1821) 205. Lin.l (6) Fif. (Jam.) Lin. (Hall.) ; Thompson
Hist. Boston (1856) 719. sw.Lin.^ He's such a quirky lad.
8. A cheat ; an impostor. w.Yks.^^ 9. Phr. all of a
quirk, squirming.
Dev. Our cook . . . spoke of a baby that was restless and was
twisting about rapidly, ' He was all of a quirk,' Reports Provinc.
(1897).
10. w. A building term : to form a narrow groove ; esp.
one in a moulding.
w. Som,' Be sure'n quirk'n out deep enough, so as to stap the drip.
11. To turn quickly.
Nhp. And by the barn side we saw many a mouse Quirking
round for the kernels that litter'd about, Clare Village Minst. (1821")
II. 33 ; Nhp.' 2 * -'
Hence Quirking, ppl. adj. nimble, agile ; of a tune :
intricate, quickly changing.
Lin. The quirking rabbit or mouse (J.C.W.). Nhp. The quirking
rabbit scarcely leaves her hole, Clare Village Minst. (iSai) II. 23
12. Of a lamp: to flicken Som. (J.S.F.S.) 13. To
cheat, overreach ; to elude by stratagem ; to play a trick
or prank.
Edb. Mefoy ! he'd pawn a pair o' shoon Did Satan quirk, Lear
MONT Poems (1791) 43 ; To pass our wooden wa's unseen, An'
Britain's vigils quirk, Glass CaL Parnassus (1812) 41 wYks
(S.K.C.), Lan.', n.Lan. (C.W.D.), ne.Lan.'
14. To question ; to draw a person out. Nhp.'
[1. Cp. ON. kverk, the angle below the chin (Vic-
fusson).]
QUIRK, w." and sb.^ Glo. Brks. Sun Sus. Hmp. I.W
w.Cy. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Also written querk Brks'
Hmp.' I.W.'2 w.Cy. Wil. Som. Dev.' [kwak.] L v
To grunt, groan ; to sigh, complain ; to croak ; to squeal
as an animal in pain; to emit the breath forcibly esp.
after violent exertion. Cf querken. '
Glo. Britton £ca«/«s (1825). Brks.i Sur.' We put the ferrits
into that big bury, and the rabbits did quirk, no mistake. Hmp.
Toads querkin' in t'bushes show a hot day's comin' (W.M.E F 1 >
Hmp.' He be alius querking. I. W.' ; I.W.2 He goos about house
querkin like a wold sow. w.Cy. (Hall.) Wil. Grose (1790) •
Wil.' A frog often quirks, and a toad sometimes. Dor. Nor whine
nor quirk at sich a fashion. Young Rabin Hill (1867) 2- Dor 1
How didst quirk To get en up on end, 128. e.Som. W & I
GL (1873). w.Som.' I 'sure you, mum, her don't do no'rt else but
quirky all the day long. Dev. Whot's tha metier wi' 'e now
QUIRKABUS
[685]
QUIT
than ? I zim yii'm alwes a querking an' a crinting ! Hewett
Peas. Sp. (1892) ; Dev.^ Querking and grunting in es kibby heels, 20.
Hence (i) Querkety, (2) Querky, adj., (3) Quirking-,
ppl. adj. given to peevish complaining ; grumbling,
querulous.
(i) Som. ' How's poor old Betty to-day ! ' ' She's very querkety,
sir— much about the same' (W.F.R.). (a) Brks. (M.J.B.) (3)
w.Som.i There ! I wid-n live way 'er vor no money ; her's the
quirkins old thing ever I zeed in all my born days. n.Dev. Tha
quirking fule's two-double, Rock Jim an' Nell (1867) st. 87 ; And
thee art a crewnting querking , . . baggage, Exm. Scold. (1746) 1. 43.
2. To die.
w.Som.'^ Well, all I can zay is, nif her don't getter better purty
quick, her'U zoon quirk.
3. sb. A deep breath drawn when in pain.
Dev. Bit aul ta wance hur gied a quirk, Nathan Hogg Poet.
Lett. (1847) ist S. 61, ed. 1858.
4. A fuss ; a whim, fancy ; esp. in phr. in a quirk, in a
great to-do.
Sus.i My mistus has been quite in a quirk over it (s.v. Queer).
Hmp., Wil. HoLLOWAY.
QUIRKABUS, sb. Sh.I. A short kind of cough ; a
choking feeling in the throat ; a disease of the jaws to
which sheep are subject. (A.W.G.), S. & Ork.^ Cf.
querken.
QUIRKEN, see Querken.
QUIRKLE, sb. Sc. Lin. [Lin. kwi'kl.] 1. A twist.
n.Lin.i There's a lot o' quirkles e' this band. Cf. quirk, sb.^
Hence (i) Quirkled, ppl. adj. twisted ; (2) Quirklum,
sb. a little arithmetical puzzle in which the answer
depends on a catch or quibble ; (3) Quirkly, adj., see (i).
(i) n.Lin.i (2) Gall. They propose quirklums, as they do
riddlums, and set one another a thinking upon them, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824'). (3) nXin."- It's a straange bit o' quirkly road
atween Eastoft an' Luddington.
2. Fig. A puzzle in which the answer depends on a
catch or quibble.
Gal). I met with the other day, while reading the works of
Hallagree, . . an arithmetical quirkle, Mactaggart Encycl. (1824)
395, ed. 1876.
QUIRM, V. Sh.L Also in form whirm S. & Ork.i To
disappear quickly and mysteriously ; freq. with away.
(J.S.), {Coll. L.L.B.), S. & Ork.'
QUIRN, QUIRTY, QUIS(E, see Quern, s6.^ Querty,
Quist, sb.
QUISER, sb. Obs. Der." nw.Der.^ A Christmas
mummer. Cf. guiser.
QUISES-NECK, sb. Shr.^ A stratum among the coal-
measures which is formed of ' basses ' and indurated clay.
QUISET, V. Lin. Wor. Brks. Som. Also written quisit
s.Wor. ; and in forms quisite Lin.^ ; quizzit s.Wor.^
[kwi'zit.] 1. To question ; to ask prying questions. A
shortened form of obs. Eng. v. ' inquisite,' to inquire into.
Lin.i Did he quisite you? s.Wor. (H.K.), s.Wor.i
Hence Quiseting, ppl. adj. inquisitive. Brks. (M.J.B.)
2. With about : to pry about.
Wil.^ n.Wil. He is always quisetting about (W.C.P.).
QUISEY, QUISH, see Queasy, adj.^, Whish.
QUISHIN, sb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Shr. Cor. Also written
quishon Lan. ; quisshon Shr.^ ; and in forms whishin
Cum." ; whishion ne.Lan.' ; whushin Cum.^ ; wishln
w.Yks.s ; wisin w.Yks. [kwi'Jin ; wi'Jin.] A cushion.
Cum. They hed mahogany dooers, an' whushins till their chair
backs, Dickinson Cumbr. (1876) 295; Cwn.^ w.Yks. Wright
Grant. Wndhll. (1892) 104 ; w.Yks.5 Lan. I was asked by Thomas
Hesketh to bring him a quishon from the Howlskills, Walkden
Diary (ed. 1866) 39. ne.Lan.i, Shr.2, Cor.2
[ME. quisshen (Chaucer) ; Whyssynes vpon quelde-
poynt«s, ])a[t] koywt wer bothe, Gawayne (c. 1360) 875.]
QUISIT(E, see Quiset.
QUISM, sb. Som. Nfld. Also in forms chrism, crism
Som. [kwi-zm.] An odd or witty saying ; a quip. Som.
SwEETMAN Wincanton Gl. (1885). Nfld. (G.P.)
QUISQUOUS, adj. Obs. Sc. Perplexing, subtle;
difficult to discuss.
Sc. (Jam.) Rnf. Though you be vastly more in case to give me
advice in this quisquous time, than I am to offer any thing to you,
WoDROw Carres. (1709-31) I. 327, ed. 1843. Lnk. The truths
delivered by ministers in the fields upon quisquous subjects, ib.
Ch. Hist. (1721) II. 499, ed. 1828 ; The matter is very intricate,
and turns upon quisquous points, ib. III. 250.
QUISS, V. Sh.L To dress or chip stone.
Haanddoo me da hammer. A'U hae ta quiss disaneabit. He'll
mak' a gude corner, Sh. News (Sept. 18, 1897) ; Trade slang (J.S.).
QUISSHON, see Quishin.
QUIST, sb. Sc. Irel. Chs. Fit. Midi. War. Wor. Shr.
Hrf. GIo. Brks. Hmp. LW. Wil. Som. Dev. Also written
quiste Shr.^ ; and in forms Pkivest Hrf.^ ; queece Chs.'
s.Chs.' Midi. War.^ w.Wor.^ Shr.' ; queecer War. ;
queeser War.'' ; queest Edb. Chs. w.Midl. Wor. Hrf
Glo.' w.Cy. Som. ; queeze Chs.^^ ; queist GIo.' ; quest
In Chs.« w.Midl. Wor. Glo. Hmp.' LW. Wil.'^ Som. ;
quice War.^ m.Wor. se.Wor.' s.Wor.' Shr.' Hrf.^ Glo.' ;
quieece War. ; quiest Fit. ; quis Wil. ; quise Wor. Shr.* ;
quisty Wil.' Som. [kwist, kwist, kwis.j 1. The wood-
pigeon, Colutnba palumbus. See Cushat.
Edb. Pennecuik Wks. (1715) 105, ed. 1815. Ir. (A.S.-P.) Chs.';
Chs.2 ' Like the quest, always saying "do do," but everybody knows
it makes the worst nest i' th' wood,' referring to those whose
theory is better than their practice. A queeze's nest is so slightly
put together, that the eggs it contains are generally visible
through the sticks. s.Chs. (E.F.), s.Chs.i, Fit. (T.K.J.) Midi.
Marshall Rur. Ecoit. (1796). w.Midl. Swainson Birds (1885)
165. War. (J.R.W.) ; Timmins Hist. War. (1889) 213; War.^a,
Wor. (W.C.B.), m.Wor. (J.C), w.Wor.i, se.Wor.i, s.Wor.i, Shr.'*
Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876) ; Hrf.if, Glo. (A.B.), GI0.12, Hmp.",
I.W. (C.J.V.) w.Cy. Swainson <6. Wil. The Wiltshire labourers
invariably call it in our fine provincial dialect the ' Quisty,' Smith
Birds (1887) 318 ; Wil.'* Som. Sweetman Wincanton Gl. (1885).
e.Som. W. & J. Gl. (1873). Dev. Bowring Lang. (1866) I. v. 18.
2. A queer fellow ; gen. in phr. a queer quist
Wor. Thee bist a queer queest, as the boy said to his owl
(R.W.M.). se.Wor.l 'E's a queer quist ; I caunt make 'im out.
Hrf. Bound Provinc. (1876) ; Hrf.* Thee bist a queer quist. Glo.
I be a bit o' a queer queist in a waay misuf, Cheltenham Exam.
(Feb. 12, 1896) 8; Glo.' Brks. A^. & Q. (1870) 4th S. v. 316.
Wil. 'Thee bist a queer quist,' remarked Jonas, Akerman Tales
(1853) 90 ; Wil.i ; Wil.2 The vulgar explanation of this phrase is,
that a half-witted fellow got up a tree to rob what he supposed
was a wood-quist's nest, when he discovered it was the nest of
an owl full of young ones, who, when the fellow attempted to
take one of them, manifested their indignation by hissing and
pecking, upon which he exclaimed, ' Thee bist a queer quist ! '
e.Som. A quarish queest, W. & J. Gl. (1873).
3. The stock-dove, C. aenas.
w.Wor. Quest singly, quice collectively, Berrow's Jrn. (Mar. 3,
1886).
4. The woodcock, Scolopax rusticula. Swainson ib. 189.
[1. Askes beth goode, and so hoot is noo dounge Of
foule as of the douve, a quysht outake, Palladius Husb.
(c. 1420) 28.]
QUIST, V. Chs. A dial, form of ' twist.'
Chs.' s.Chs.i Only used in a limited sense, as of twisting hay-
ropes and the like.
Hence Quisted, ppl. adj. twisted, spiral.
Chs.i Jeffrey Bray's gotten some owd-ancient chairs wi' quisted
rails.
QUISTY, see Quist, sb.
QUIT, V. and adj. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Lakel. Cum. Yks.
Lan. [kwit, kwat] I. v. Gram, forms. 1. Present
Tense : (i) Quat, (2) Quet, (3) Quite, (4) Quot, (5) Quut,
(6) Whett. [For further examples see II below.]
(i) Sc. They were all going to quat our sairvice, Blackw. Mag.
(Oct. 1820) 15 (Jam.). Slg. He keekit in till ance he gat it. The
threshold-stane he wadna quat it, MuiR Poems (1818) 16. s.Sc.
Now the muse maun quat her sang, T. Scott Poems (1793) 346.
Ayr. SiLLAR Poems (1789) 60. Lnk. Rodger Poems (1838) 12,
ed. 1897. Rscb. Ruickbie Wayside Cottager (1807) 175. Dmf.
Ye may be glad ye've gat a chance tae quat it, Quinn Heather
(1863) 188. Gall. I'll speer then Gif it be time to quat, Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 335, ed. 1876. (2)N.I.i (3) Or.I. Wallace i>«sir.
Ork. (1693) 90, ed. 1883. (4) Nhb.i (5) N.I.i (6) S. & Ork.i
2. Preterite : (i) Quat, (2) Quit, (3) Quot.
(i) Sc. Murray Dial. (1873) 206. Per. The abbess quat her
knitting And peepit owre the wa', Spence Poems (^1898 23.
QUIT
[686
QUITMENT
Rnf. PiCKEN Poems (1813) II. 80. Ayr. He blush'd for shame,
he quat his name, Burns Fete Champetre, st, 7. Slk. A mountain
preacher quat his horse, Hogg Poems (ed. 1865) 77. m.Yks.^
Inirod. 38. (2) Ir. 'Twas small blame to them they quit. Barlow
Mariin's Company (1896) 13. (3) m.Yks.' ib.
3. pp. : (i) Quat, (2) Quattit, (3) Quit, (4) Quite, {5)
Quitten, (6) Quotten.
(i) Per. Mine [heart], I fear, has never quat the braes abune
Stobha', Ford Harp (1893) 316. w.Sc. Jist tell him ye got quat
o' the premunitory symptoms wi' strong brandy an' murphy,
Macdonald Settlement (i86g) 20, ed. 1877. Slg. Galloway Poems
(1804) 70. Rnf. If ance I were quat o' the auld ane, I'd tak
precious gude care o' the new, Barr Poems (1861) 148. Ayr.
The sun had clos'd the winter day, The curlers quat their roaring
play. Burns Vision, st. i. Lnk. Roy Generalship (ed. 1895) 160.
Edb. My quill I've quat, I'll say nae mair, Liddle Poems (1821)
132. Wgt. Fraser Poems (1885) loi. n.Ir. Lyttle Paddy
McQuillan, 83. (2) Ayr. The sma' kittie wran has quattit her nest,
AiNSLiE Land of Burns (ed. 1892) 177. (3) Ir. Since they're quit,
Barlow Martin: s Company (1896) no. (4) N.Cy.i (5) Sc.
Murray Dial. (1873^ 206. m.Yks.' Introd. 38. (6) m.Yks.'- ib.
II. Dial. uses. 1. v. In phr. (i) quit bridle, quit titt,
leave go the bridle and one will lose the horse ; (2) to quit
the shop of a person, to dismiss, remove.
(i) Sc. Could I but find some one to hold the horses ! but . . . quit
bridle, quit titt, Scott Abbot (1820) xvii. (2) Lakel.2 Whar's seca
an' seea leeav noo? Nay they've quitted t'shop on him, an'
neabody knows ner cares.
2. To resign, abandon, give up ; to lose; to set free.
Sc. (Jam.); Never quat cert^nty for hope, Ramsay Pray. (1737).
Or.I. That for this Magnus King of Norroway should quite all right
that he might pretend to the Isles of Orkney and Zetland, Wallace
Desc. Ork. (1693) 90, ed. 1883. Abd. It's fan ye mak'your reasons
plain . . . ere either party quit sae guid a claim, Shirrefs Poems
(1790) 165. Kcd. He maist gied life the slip. But at the warst he
never quat That raoggin fae his grip, Grant Lays (1884) 31. Slg.
Beside they've quat a' neat breast ruffles, Galloway Focws (1792)
41. Ayr. Your friendship sir, I winna quat it. Burns/. Lapraik
(Sept. T3, 1785) St. 6. Edb. Writers, your finger-nebbs unbend,
And quat the pen, Fergusson Poems (1773) 150, ed. 1785. Ir. Lave
me a chanst to quit the sin off of me conscience, Barlow Martin's
Company (1896) 123. Nhb.^ Quot yor had [let go your hold].
Yks. Thoo will quit that bonny hue. When thoo like me has hard-
ships boorn, Spec. Dial. (1800) 23.
3. To stop, leave off.
Sc. A Yule feast may be quat at Pasche, Ray Prov. (1678) 360.
Per. Sing on . . . Nor quat your singin' for me, Edwards Strathearn
Lyrics (1889") 99. Slg. I'm bribed for towarn ye To quat your sang,
Galloway Poems (1792) 42. Cld. Here we'll quat, Nimmo Sngs.
(1882) 89. Ayr. I'll marry Tam o' the Down . . . When the sun quats
blinking bonnily, Ballads and Sngs. (1847) II. 96. Lnk. Nick
scowl'd wi' rage, an'lang did sweir Afore he quat, Coghill Poews
(1890)41. Edb. BEATTY5«c;-rfa;- (1897) 119. Gall. Ye never quat
dabbin' at his kame, Crockett Raiders (1894') xxxix. n.Ir. A had
tae quat afore a wuz richt startit, Lyttle Paddy McQuillan, ^4.
N.I.' Quut yer cloddin' [stop throwing stones]. Uls. Quit, will
you, Charlie ; you're annoying the little ones, Hamilton Bog (1896)
ID. Ant. We be to quet the laughin' an' pushin' on the floor,
O'Neill Glens (1900) 47.
4. To cease work.
Dmb. At nine they quat, nae lass gaed hame her lane, Taylor
Poems (1827) 93. Ayr. The thrifty wife she teels the pirns. And
bids the lasses quat at night, Thom Amusements (1817) 36. Gall.
Whan the rain drops off the hat, 'Tis fully time for folk to quat,
Wha on the harrest rig do shear Barley, wheat, peas, rye or bear,
Mactaggart Encycl. (1824).
Hence Quatting-time, sb. the time for ceasing work.
Rnf. Should he come for crowdie time, Or quating time draws on.
Our bairns maun todlin' meet wi' him, Webster Rhymes (1835)
165. Ayr. (Jam.)
5. To get out of the way, to ' clear out.'
Ir. None of us could tell the hour or the minyit that they might
be quittin out of it, Barlow East unto West (1898) 206. s.Ir.
Quit this minit, or I'll run down an yes, Lover Leg. (1848) 11. 322.
6. To give a person notice to quit ; to send off, dismiss ;
to remove forcibly.
Lakel.2 Auld Calcraff hed varra nar manidged te get thi. But
we've seeav'd thy bacon this time, for we quit the. n.Yks.* The
landlord quits a tenant ; the master quits a servant or employe.
ne.Lan.^
7. To acquit ; to exonerate ; to free from debt.
S. & Ork.-' Edb. To pay a sum to quit you then. Or free frae
so-rin, Liddle Poems (1821) 120. Cum. (E.P.)
8. adj. Free, released from, rid of.
Sc. Ye're well away if ye bide, and we're well quat, Ramsay
Prov. (1737.) Ir. They were quit of the ould rapscallion for good
and all. Barlow 71/arfm's Co»i/iaM)i (1896) 90. N.Cy.^ Cum.° ; Cum.''
A Cumberland servant, when he has left his situation, says he is
quit. w.Yks. (J. W.) Lan.l ' Han yo' getten quit-on him ? ' ' Aye,
he's gone at last ; but he were a hard un to shift.'
9. Comp. Quit-brass, a periodical payment made for a
child's nursing, esp. for an illegitimate child.
w.Yks. He comes ivvery week ta bring t'quit-brass (B.K.).
QUIT, see Queet.
QUITCH, sb. Irel. Not. Lei. Nhp. War. Gmg. Glo.
Oxf e.An. Som. [IcwitJ.] 1. The couch-grass, Triiicum
repens; also in comp. Quitch-grass. See Couch, sb?,
Squitch, Twitch.
Not.i, Lei.', Nlip.2, War.=3, GI0.12, Oxf. (G.O.), e.An.2, w.Som.'
2. The orchestron grass, Agrostis stolonifera. Gmg.
(B. & H.) 3. The haver grass, Avena elatior; used also
of other weeds. Don. {ib.)
[1. All these maner of otes weare the grounde very
sore, and maketh it to beare quyche, Fitzherbert Hush.
(1534) 23.]
QUITCHIE, adj. Fif (Jam.) Very hot.
Any liquid is said to be quitchie, when so hot as to scald or burn
a person who inadvertently puts his finger into it.
QUITCHY, V. w.Som.i [kwitji.] To twitch; to
make sudden, involuntary movements.
A man was apparently in a fit, but a bystander, suspecting that
it was feigned, said, 'Gee un a prick way a pin, you'll zee In a
minute whe'er he do quitchy or no.' Our little maid idn right, her
do quitchy in her face, same's off her was makin' o' mou's t'anybody.
[Qvycchyn, or mevyn, moveo (Prompt.).']
QUITE, sb. Sc. Also written quyte Bnff.^ Abd. ; and
in form queyt Abd. A dial, form of ' coat ' ; a petticoat.
Bnff.l Abd, Wi' riven breeks, an' thread-bare queyt Hangin' in
tatters, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 71 ; He pat on's quyte but
nae's weskit. She bocht wincey to make a quyte (W.M.). nw.Abd.
Keep up yer quites ; gyang owr the ley ■ baud weel fae the wall-
ee, Goodwife (1867) st. 51.
QUITE, V. Obs. or obsol. n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Also in forms wheyte Nhb.^ ; white N.Cy.i Nhb.^
Cum.^* w.Yks. ne.Lan.' Chs.^'^^ 1. To requite ; esp. in
phr. God quite one.
N.Cy.i Nhb.' God wheyte her, for ill-behavin' se ti maw bayrne,
Bewick C^.^f'«m^(ed. 1850) 15. Cum.' Chs. Ray(i69i) ; Chs. '^^
2. Phr. (i) quite it, the deuce take it ; (2) to quite cost, to
repay the expense.
(i) n.Cy. Grose (1790). w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caws (1781).
ne.Lan.' (2) w.Yks. It will not white cost, Thoresey Lett. (1703!.
[I truste to God oonys to qwite hys meede, Paston
Letters (1460) I. 534.]
QUITE, adv. Sc. n.Cy. Dur. Yks. Lan. Chs. Der. Not.
Lin. Also in form quiet w.Yks.' [kwait, kwai'at.] 1. In
comb, (i) Quite better, (a) much better ; {b) entirely
recovered, quite well ; see Better, adv. 1 ; (2) — worse,
much worse.
(i,a) w.Yks. ' Hah's yahr Tom, lass?' ' He's quite better. He
can nearly sit up i' bed' (M.F.). {b) Sc. (A.W.), N.Cy.l Dur.
Yes, thanks, I am quite better (A.B.). n.Dnr. I am better, but not
quite better (J.W.H.). n.Yks.i All's quite-better now, thankee. Sir;
n.Yks.*, ne.Yks.l, w.Yks.^, ne.Lan.', Chs.', Der.2, nw.Der.' Not.
He's not quite better yet, but he's downstairs again (L.C.M.).
sw.Lin.' Oh, he's quiet better, he started to work of Monday. (2)
w.Yks.' Shoe's quiet warse.
2. Phr. quite and clear, entirely, altogether.
Lan. I should a dined with Mr. Wrigley on Tuesday, and truly
I forgot it quite and clear, Byrom Remin. (1735) in Chet. Soc V 593
QUITE, see Quiet, Quit, Quoit.
QUITHER, sb. Suf. [kwi-S3(r).] A shake, tremble,
shudder, quiver. See Whither.
I'm all of a dither an' a quither, Fison Merry Suf. (iSoq) 6^^
QUITHER, V. Hrf.'' [kwi-S3(r).] To talk or chatter
low ; to whisper.
QUITMENT, sb. w.Som.' [kwitmsnt.] An acquit-
tance ; a discharge ; a receipt.
QUIT-QUIT
[687]
QUOIN
I car'd in all the money, but I could'n get no quitment ; they
zaid how they never did'n gee nother one, but they zaid eens 'twas
all right.
QUIT-QUIT, s*. Wil. The note of the swallow.
The prolonged up and down twitter of [swallow's] monologue
is the word ' quit-quit, quit, quit, quit,' said with infinite repetition,
Tennant Vill. A^oies (igoo) 159.
QUITTANCE, sb. Sc. Cum. Yks. Der. Som. [kwi'tsns.]
1. In phr. to get one's quittance, to receive one's release
or discharge.
Arg.But for him we had no doubt got a short quittance from Mac-
Colkitto, MuNRO J. Splendid {iSgQ) 186. n.Yks. What then? thoo's
gitten thi quittance (I.W.). w.Yks. (J.W.)
2. A receipt.
Cura.i- Aa'U nit pay without a quittance. Der. I'll write a quit-
tance, Gii.cnRisT Peakland FaggoU 18^1) 144. w.Som.' Ishowed'n
the quittance in his own handwritin'.
QUITTER FOR QUATTER, /i^n Ken. Also in form
quittee for quattee. Tit for tat.
The one having . . . bitten the other, who met the action with
what is here called variously quitter for quatter, or whicker for
whacker. Keeling Return to Nature (1897) xv; Ray (1691) (s.v.
Whicket for Whacket) ; Ken.i 2
QUIVER, adj. Suf. I.W. w.Cy. Also in form quaver
I.W. w.Cy. [kwrva(r).] Brisk, smart, gay, lively.
Suf.i He's a quiver little fellow. I.W. (C.J.V.), -vy-Cy. (Hall.)
[ME. cwiver, brisk, lively ; cp. OE. cwiferlice, zealously
(Sweet).]
QUIVER, V. I.Ma. [kwi-V3(r).] To brag.
Them Douglas chaps 'd be talkin and quiverin there, Brown
Yarns (1881) 164, ed. 1889.
QUIVVY, sb. Shr.i [kwi'vi.] .A knack. Cf. quiff, sb.^
Theer's a bit of a quivvy in plantin' these s'rubs.
QUIXON, sb. Shr.'^ A quicksand.
QUIYTE, see Queet.
QUIZ, V. and sb. Sc. Irel. Wm. Lin. Oxf. Som. Also
in forms quies Wm. ; quize Lin.' [kwiz.] 1. v. To
question ; to make prying inquiries.
Slg. She would gossip away with keen relish, and quiz her
visitors as to what was going on in the villagey Fergusson Village
(1893) 99. Don. Two docthors were examinin' the groanin'
Solomon, and quizzin' him regardin' how the pains was workin'
him, Harpei's Mag. (Jan. 1901) 328, s.Wm. She com back an'
quiesed us, Southey Doctor (1848) 560. s.Wor.^
2. With out : to pry ; to try to find out.
w.Som.i Her on't be very long 'vore her'll quiz it all out.
3. sb. A prying, inquisitive person. Lin.' Oxf. N. <&-» Q.
(1885) 6th S. xi. 258.
QUIZCUSS, sb. s.Chs.' [kwi'zkss.] A meddlesome,
inquisitive person.
A tenant complained that his landlord's agent was a ' regular
quizcuss.'
QUIZE, see Quiz.
QUIZZICAL, adj. War.^ [kwi'zikl.] Inquisitive,
prying.
She is a very quizzical old lady, asks many more questions than
I care to answer.
QUIZZING-GLASS, sb. Obs. Sc. An eye-glass.
Ayr. With my quizzing glass so fine. Hair frizzl'd up behind,
Goldie Poenis (1822) 86.
QUIZZIT, see Quiset.
QUIZZLE, V. Obs. Nrf. [Not known to our corre-
spondents.] To suffocate. Holloway. Cf. quezzen.
QULIP, sb. Shr.i [kiulip.] A corruption of ' tulip.'
QUO', QUOAB, QUOAKEN, see Quoth,Kjobe, Quocken.
QUOARN, QUOAT, see Quern, sb.', Quoit.
QUOB, 56. and v. Lei. Won Shr. Hrf Glo. Oxf. I.W.
Wil. Dor. Cor. Also in form quab Won [kwob.] 1. sb.
A marshy spot ; a bog, quagmire ; a quicksand.
Shr.i Shr., Hrf. Bound ProwW. (1876). Hrf.i,I.W.(C.J.V.),Wil.i
Hence (i) Quobby, adj marshy, boggy ; (2) Quobmire,
sb. a quagmire. ., j. , ■ -r
(i) Iwor. (H.K.) Hrf. You'll be smothered wi' dirt, sir, if you
go on any furder, 'tis a very quobby place, N. & Q. (1881) 6th S.
iii. 215. (2) Shr.2 . J , f
2. Phn all of a quob, in a mess ; in a heap ; used also ot
a bad bruise.
Wil.1 Cor. A Zennor woman said that railway porters taking
luggage out of a train, ' pitch it down all of a quob ' (J.W.).
3. An unfirm layer of fat.
s.Wor. He've got a good quob under his jaws [of a pig] (H.K.}.
Hence Quobby, adj. flabby, wanting sohdity.
Shr.' I dunna think it's solid fat, 'e's quobby.
4. A throb ; a palpitation. Lei.' My tooth gave such a quob.
5. V. Toquiver like j elly ; to throb; to palpitate. Cfquop.
Lei.i s.Wor. 'Er said as'er 'eort quobbled despret, Cutis Vig.
Man. in Berrow'sjrn. (1896) xx. Hrf.i, Glo.' 2, Oxf.' (s.v. Quop).
Dor. Barnes Gl. (1863).
[5. Cp. EFries. kwabbeln, kwobbeln, to tremble, vibrate
(Koolman).]
QUOBBLE, sb. Wil.' [kwo-bl.] In phr. all in a
quobble, of a woman's hands : shrivelled and wrinkled
from being too long in the washtub. Cf quobbled.
QUOBBLE, V. Oxf.' [kwcbl.] Of water : to make
a noise in boiling. Cf quoddle, f.'
QUOBBLED, ///.arf;'. Wil.' [kwo-bld.] Of a woman's
hands : shrivelled and wrinkled from being too long in
the washtub.
QUOCK, v} Lan.' Also in form quoke. [kwok,
kwok.] To go shearing or harvesting at a distance from
home. Hence Quocker, sb. one who goes harvesting to
QUOck, v.'^ Lan.' [kwok.] To vomit. Cf quocken.
QUOCKEN, V. n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Not. Rut. Lei. Nhp.
Bdf Hnt. Also in forms quawken Nhp.' ; quoaken e.Lan.'
[kwQ-kan.] To vomit : to choke, suffocate. Cf coaken,
querken.
n.Cy. Grose (1790). w.Yks. Hutton Tour to Caves (1781).
e.Lan.', Not. (L.C.M.) Rut.' My cough is fit to quocken me.
Lei.i The wind wur so hoigh as ah coom aloong ah wur welly
quockened. Nhp.'^ Bdf. Batchelou Anal. Eng. Lang. (1809)
141. Hnt. (T.P.F.)
QUOD, V. Lan. Hmp. I.W. [kwod.] To fish for eels,
esp. with an earthworm tied on to a piece of worsted.
ne.Lan.i Hmp. To fish for eels with a number of worms strung
on a thread of worsted, and tied up in a bunch or quod, that is Cud.
The worsted hanging in the teeth of the eels, causes them to be
caught, Holloway; Hmp.i, I.W. (C.J.V.)
QUOD, see Quoth.
QUODDLE, v} Nhb. Oxf e.An. Also written quaddle
Nhb.' e.An.' [kwo-dl.] To boil ; to make a noise while
boiling. See Coddle, v.^
Nhb.' The pot's quadd'lin on the hud. s.Nhb. (J.H.) Oxf.' 'Ark
atthem taters, 'em be aquoddlin'. e.An.' Nrf. The fish is quaddlin'
beautiful (A.G.F.).
QUODDLE, V? Glo. I.W. w.Cy. Don Also written
quaddle. [kwo'dl.] To dry, shrivel up ; to make hmp or
flabby. I.W.(C.J.V.),w.Cy.(HALL.),Dor.' See Coddle, t;.'^ 4.
Hence (i) Quoddled, ppl. adj., (2) quoddled up, phr.
shrivelled up.
(i) Glo. 'Tolookasifquaddled, half sodden,' spoken of a person
whose skin looks loose and shrivel'd ... by laying long abed, and
sweating, in summer, Horae Subsecivae (1777) 347- (2) Glo.'
QUODDLING, sb. Glo. e.An. Wil. Also written
quaddling e.An.' ; and in form quaddle Glo. [kwo'dlin.]
The codhn apple ; a dial, form of ' codlin.'
Glo. Horae Subsecivae (1777) 347 ; Glo.', e.An.', Wil. (G.E.D.)
QUOG, see Quag.
QUOIF, sb. Obs. Sc. Yks. A cap. Cf coif.
Slk. She wore a quoif or mutch upon her head, Hogg Tales
(1838) 16, ed. 1866. n.Yks.=
QUOIL, sb. and v. Sc. Lei. Shr. Wil. Also in forms
quile Shr.2 Wil.' ; quyle Sc. (Jam.) 1. sb. A hay-cock ;
a heap of hay ready for carrying. The same word as
Coil, sb."
Rnf. (Jam.) Ayr. Ae day he was thrang reddin' up some quyles
o' hay, Service Notandums (1890) 102. Lei.' Have you put the
hee in quoils ? Shr.2, Wil.'
2. V. To make hay into cocks. Rnf (Jam.), Shr.^
QUOIL, see Coil, sb."
QUOILERS, sb. pi. Sur.' The same word as Coilers
(q.v.). Hence Quoiler-harness, sb. the trace harness.
QUOILERS, QUOIN, see Coilers, Quine, s6.' =
QUOIT
[688]
QWYTE
QUOIT, sb. and v. Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Chs. Glo. Oxf.
Dev. Cor. Also in forms queight Chs.' ; quoat m.Yks.' ;
quite Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) ; quyte Sc. (Jam.) ; qwyte Sc.
(Jam. Suppl.) [kwoit, koit, kot] 1. sb. A piece of broad
thin stone or rock ; a horseshoe used in playing quoits.
Glo. A broad thin stone, such as is used at quoiting, Grose (1790)
MS. add. (H.) Dev. A rude granite slab on the farther side of the
hedge. . . It had been the 'quoit' of a great prehistoric dolmen or
cromlech, but the supporters had been removed to serve as gate-
posts, and the covering-stone now formed a seat, Baring-Gould
Spider (1887) ii. Cor. Joan passed the quoit unheeding, and kept
upon the flint roads, FHn.LFOTts Lying Frop/ieis {iSg-]) 284; Cor.^
2. The ball used in the game of tippet and quoit.' Nhb.'
3. The act of skating. Ayr. (Jam.) 4. pL Phr. the
devil's quoits, see below.
Oxf. At a short distance from the village [Stanton Harcourt] are
three large stones known as the Devil's Quoits. . . The name refers
to a popular tradition that the Devil played herewith a beggar for
his soul, and won by the throwing of these huge stones, Murray
Hndbk. Oxf. (1894) 93.
5. V. To play at quoits.
n.Cy. (K.) m.Yks.' I'm boon to quoit. Chs.^
6. To 'curl.' Sc. (Jam. Suppl.), Ayr. (Jam.) Hence (i)
Quiting, sb., obs., the game of 'curling'; (2) Quoiting-
stone, sb. a curUng-stone.
(i) w.Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) (2) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) Lnk. The loch's aye
the loch whaur in cauld days o' yore The lee-side was cheer'd by
the quoitin' stane roar, Watson Poems (1853) 71.
7. To skate. Ayr. (Jam.)
QUOKE, see Queek, Quock, v.^
QUOMP, QUONDORUM, see Quamp, Quandorum, sb.'^
QUONS, QUONT, see Quern, sb.\ Quant, sb.
QUOP, V. and sb. Lei. 'Wor. Hrf. Gmg. Glo. Oxf. Brks.
Hmp. I.W. Wil. Also written qwop se.Wor.' ; and in
forms quap Brks. ; quapp Gmg. Glo. [kwop.] 1. v.
To palpitate ; to throb with pain. Cf. quob, 5.
Lei.», s.Wor. (H.K.), se.Wor.i, Hrf. (E.M.W.), Hrf.^^ G^g.
Collins Gow. Dial, in Trans. Phil. Soc. (1848-50) IV. 223. Glo.
My finger quapps, Horae Subsecivae (1777)347 ; It makes a body's
heart quop to hear tell of such a history, GissiNG Both of this Parish
(1889) I. 103; Glo.i Oxf.' Mudh-uur, muuy gedh-uurd fing-guur
doo kwop [Mother, my gethered finger do quop]. Brks. Gl.
(1852) ; Brks.i I can veel as the donkey quops, zo a beant de-ad it.
Hmp.', I.W. (C.J.V.) Wil. Britton Beauties (1825); Wil.'
Hence Quoppy, adj. (i) palpitating ; having faint sickly
feehngs ; (2) of the ground : unfirm, soft as when the
frost goes.
(i) e.Brks. I was that quoppy that if I hadn't gapsed I should
have been throstled (W.H.Y.j. (2) ib.
2. sb. A throb ; a palpitation. Lei.' 3. Faint, sickly
feelings. Glo.'
[1. So that his herte gan to quappe, Chaucer TV. <&-= Cr.
"I- 57-]
QUORK, QUORN, see Quawk, Quern, sb.^^
QUORUM, s6. Sc. Also written qorumAbd. [kwoTam.]
A company ; an assemblage.
Sc. Enter a' the civic quorum Duly at the blithesome soun',
Vedder Poems (1842) 85. Abd. The best Of orators that e'er St.
Stephen's qorum grac'd, Anderson Poems (ed. 1826) 4. Frf. Thae
twa war chief o' a' the quorum That cam' that night to hae a
jorum, Sands Poems (1833) 50. Per. Thou art the first female
who ever yet knew The secret profound of a quorum so true,
Spence Poems (1898) 39. Rnf. Your auld club mates, a canty
quorum, Webster Rhymes (1835) 109. Ayr. To grace the feast
Of ilka noble quorum, Thom Amusements (1812) 51. Lnk. The
cow'rdliest cur in all the quorum, Graham Writings (1883) 1. 191.
Edb. LiDDLE Poems (1821) 33.
QUOT, see Quat, sb.^, v., Quit.
QUOT-A-BOBBING, adj. Lei.^ See below.
' I like the looks of that cap ; it looks so quot-a-bobbing.'
'Quot-a-bobbing ! what'sthat?' 'Oh, stuck about wi'oddlin's, like.'
QUOTE, V. Obs. Sc. In phr. to quote a paper, a law
term : to indorse the title of a paper. Monthly Mag.
(1798) II. 437.
QUOTH, pret Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Lan. Der.
e.An. Also in forms co Sc. ; kath Suf ' ; ki N.Cy.' Nhb.^ ;
kih Nhb. ; ko Lan. ; qu' n.Cy. ; quo' Sc. N.I.' Wxf.' Nhb.
Der.^ ; quod Rnf [kwo(f> ; ko.] Said. See Co, pret.,
Cuth, Ka, Kiv(e.
Sc. Describe my occupation, quo' ye, Scott Midlothian (1818)
xiii. Sh.I. I'll heuk awa mesel', co Cuttie, Spence Flk-Lore (1899)
39. Elg. ' 'Twad be awfu',' quo' Willie, Tester Poems (1865) 132.
Bn£f. Ta.yi.or Poems (1787) 58. e.Sc. Spunk, quo she? Setoun
R. Urquhart (1896) ii. Abd. ' Wait a while,' quoth Geordie
Cadger, Still Cottar's Sunday (1845) 36. Frf. Moeison Poems
(1790) 136. Per. Haliburton Dunbar (1895) 84. Fif. ' Hoo's
yersel', Tammas ? ' quo' she, Mi^Laren Tibbie (1894) 19. Cld.
Nimmo Sngs. (1882) 186. Rnf. Quod Ferguson : our weil won
fame In Scotland sae enhanc'd our name, FI^■LAYSON Rhymes
(1815) 165. Ayr. ' Wi' that,' quo' Mr. Treddles, 'he whisketlike
a whitteret out o' the door,' Galt 5!V A. Wylie (1822) x. Lnk.
Hech hay, co' she, Graham Writings (1883) II. 39. Lth. Quoth
they, as they'd been bitten, Lumsden Sheep-head {i8gz) 72. Hdg.
ib. Poems (1896) 2. Rxb. W. Wilson Poems (1824) 4. Edb.
' Gude morrow,' quo' our auld gudeman, Maclagan Poems (1851)
55. Dmf. Ceomek Remains (1810) 117. Gall. Mactaggart
Encycl. (1824) 6, ed. 1876. Kcb. 'Ad 200ns!' quo' the Laird,
Armstrong Ingleside (1890) 157. N.I.' ■ Quo' he.' This with
' quo' she, quo' I,' are in very general use. Wxf.^ n.Cy. Qu'e
[quoth he], Geose (1790) ; N.Cy.' Nhb. Nae doot, quo' I tae
mysel', Jones Nhb. (1871) 115; Ae-hy, ae-hy, kih she, Bewick
Tales (1850) 9 ; ' It's a fluiker,' ki Dick, N. Minstrel {i8o6-i) pt. ii.
63 ; Nhb.i, n.Yks.2 Lan. Wau, ko he, whot dust ax for hur? Tim
Bobbin View Dial. (ed. 1806) 26. Der.^ God speed yo weel,
quo' clerk o' Hope. e.An.^ Suf.i Kath a [quoth he].
QUOTHA, int. Sc. Forsooth.
Sc. (Jam.) ; How suld it help me, quotha? Scott Bnde of Lam.
(1819) xxvi. Abd. ' Privy Council, quotha ! ' she cried in a sudden
flame of indignant memory, Cobban Angel (1898) 345. Per.
Presumin' ! quotha ! . . An' has na ilka auld wife e'y Glen been
presumin', as ye ca't, for twa week back an' mair? Cleland
Inchbracken (1883) 205, ed. 1887.
QUOTHER, V. n.Yks.^ [kwo'tSsr.] To talk in a low
and confidential tone. Cf. cutter, v.
QUOTTEN, see Quit.
QUOTTER, sb. Nhb.' [kwo'tsr.] A woman worker
on a farm, without male relations with her in the same
employment. See Cottar, 3.
QUOTTY, QUOY, QUOYACH, see Cottie, Quey, sA.'^
QURD, sb. Bnflf.' A clot of excrement ; also used as
a term of reproach for a person. Cf. turd.
QUSICK, sb. Irel. A small coin.
n.Ir. Not carin a qusick for piper or music. Lavs and Leg.
(1884)50. ' -^ ^
QUUT, QUY, QUYACH, see Quit, Quey, sb}
QUYLE, QUYNE, see Quile, Quoil, Quean.
QUYNIE, QUYNYIE, see Quinzie.
QUY-POOL, sb. Som. Also in form quav-pool. A
decoy. (W.F.R.) See Coy, 2 (2).
QUYTE, Q-VVATTY, see Quite, sb., Quoit, Quat, v.
QWEAN, QWERK, see Queen, sb.^. Quirk, sb}
QWINE, QWIRK, see Quine, sb}"", Quirk, sb}
QWOP, QWOT, QWYTE, see Quop, Quat, v., Quoit.
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